SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 12/15/2019 Anaheim Ducks Chicago Blackhawks 1166288 Ducks’ prospects grow familiar with shuttling between 1166316 Blackhawks blow a 3-goal lead in the 3rd period and fall to Anaheim and San Diego the defending champion Blues 4-3 for their 4th str 1166289 Ducks defeat Rangers in shootout after Hampus Lindholm 1166317 Rookie Kirby Dach is staying with the Blackhawks instead ties it late of playing for Canada in the World Juniors 1166290 Column: NHL observations: Coaches keep getting fired for 1166318 Column: The Blackhawks are bordering on being a hot behaviors known and unknown mess this season — but that might not be the worst of thei 1166291 Ducks getting out of town a day early to avoid unexpected 1166319 Blackhawks collapse in third period, blow three-goal lead travel delays in loss to Blues 1166292 Ducks down Rangers on Jakob Silfverberg’s shootout goal 1166320 Wild visit the Blackhawks after Staal's 2-goal game 1166321 De la Rose, Faulk rally Blues to 4-3 win over Blackhawks Arizona Coyotes 1166322 Ex-Blackhawks forward Brouwer gets new break with 1166293 Coyotes lose to Devils; Taylor Hill sits out for Blues 'precautionary reasons' 1166323 Blackhawks hit new low after epic collapse in St. Louis 1166294 'Mr. Beauty League' Aaron Ness hopes to replicate 1166324 3 Takeaways: Blackhawks lose 4-3 against Blues summer success with Arizona Coyotes 1166325 What Blackhawks can learn from defending Stanley Cup 1166295 Coyotes reportedly a leading team to trade for Devils F champion Blues Taylor Hall 1166326 Blackhawks won't loan Kirby Dach to Canada for 2020 World Juniors Boston Bruins 1166327 Alex DeBrincat joins the Blackhawks All-Decade Team 1166296 Second line posts first tallies in a while for Bruins 1166328 Powers: Change is needed for the Blackhawks to succeed 1166297 Bruins start hot in Florida, end five-game losing skid again 1166298 NHL players mighty particular when it comes to their sticks 1166299 Bruins hold on to beat Panthers 4-2, salvage road trip Colorado Avalanche 1166300 Bruins notebook: Penalty kill slides in recent tests 1166329 Chambers: Why the Avalanche leads the NHL in road 1166301 Brian Gionta didn’t let size hold him back attendance 1166302 Talking Points: Krejci, DeBrusk answer the bell in Bruins' 1166330 Avs Game 32 Grades: Sloppy Victory win over Panhters 1166331 Francouz brilliant again as Avs claw past Devils 1166303 Highlights: B's snap losing skid vs. Panthers 1166304 Could Devils send a player—not Hall—to B's? Columbus Blue Jackets 1166305 Ilya Kovalchuk would still look good in a B's uniform for the 1166332 Ottawa Senators hand Blue Jackets a 4-3 overtime loss right price 1166333 Rash of injuries further dims Columbus Blue Jackets’ 1166306 Losing streak, busted: ‘It looks like we’re getting back to holiday season more Boston Bruins style of hockey’ 1166336 Portzline: Anthony Duclair burns his old mates, and other observations from the Blue Jackets’ OT loss Buffalo Sabres 1166307 Sabres take a 'huge step' by pushing back in overtime loss Dallas Stars to Islanders 1166337 Scoring depth on full display as Stars overwhelm 1166308 The Wraparound: Islanders 3, Sabres 2 (OT) Predators with four-goal second-period 1166309 Dave Andreychuk remains confident struggling Lightning 1166338 Reunited: Big three are back together on the Stars top line are a playoff team 1166339 Stars 20/20: Second-period outburst pushes Stars past 1166310 Mike Harrington's NHL Power Rankings Predators in Winter Classic preview 1166311 Sabres game day: Jack Eichel carrying 15-game point streak into Long Island Detroit Red Wings 1166312 As Casey Mittelstadt struggles at the NHL level, many of 1166340 Jonathan Bernier makes 42 saves as Red Wings beat his 2017 draft peers are still waiting to get there Canadiens, 2-1, for 2nd straight win 1166341 Game thread: Red Wings knock off Canadiens, 2-1 Calgary Flames 1166342 Bernier backstops Red Wings to second straight victory in 1166313 Hurricanes snap Flames' winning streak Montreal 1166314 Flames focus on the bright side after a bubble-popping 1166343 Jonathan Bernier leads Red Wings past Canadiens matinee 1166344 Bernier makes 42 saves, Red Wings beat Canadiens 2-1 Carolina Hurricanes 1166315 The Hurricanes penalty kill is a genuinely enjoyable experience and I don’t know what to tell my children Edmonton Oilers New York Islanders 1166345 Oilers have dropped into a deep hole as Christmas draws 1166382 Islanders extend home streak to 6 with 3-2 OT win over near Sabres 1166346 JONES: Oilers are over-reliant on McDavid and Draisaitl 1166383 Anthony Beauvillier’s OT winner keeps Islanders rolling at 1166347 JONES: Oilers on three-game losing streak with Maple home Leafs coming to town 1166384 Josh Bailey sticks up for Isles tough guy Ross Johnston 1166348 Oilers need to figure out five-on-five woes quickly, starting 1166385 Anthony Beauvillier finds some legs to score overtime with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl winner for Isles 1166349 Lowetide: Who should be the next man up from the 1166386 Anthony Beauvillier rescues a win for Islanders with Bakersfield Condors? overtime goal vs. Sabres 1166387 Michael Dal Colle finding a home on Islanders' second line Florida Panthers 1166350 Barkov injured as Panthers continue to sputter through New York Rangers long home stand with loss to Bruins 1166388 Rangers blow 2-0 lead, lose to Ducks in shootout 1166351 Changes coming? Another loss, more frustration for 1166389 Why Chris Kreider was handed curious Rangers demotion Florida Panthers as trade talks start to swirl 1166390 Rangers’ inconsistency dooms them again in shootout loss Los Angeles Kings 1166391 Postgame analysis: Shootout loss ends New York 1166352 Rust scores in shootout, Penguins beat Kings Rangers bid for back-to-backs wins 1166353 DECEMBER 14 RAPID REACTION – PENGUINS 5, 1166392 NY Rangers projected lineup: Filip Chytil may be ready to KINGS 4 (SO) break out of his slump 1166354 GAME 34: LOS ANGELES AT PITTSBURGH 1166393 Coach David Quinn disappointed in Rangers' 1166355 DECEMBER 14: LINEUP NOTES, QUICK, 5-ON-5 PLAY, penalty-killing unit ROY 1166394 Rangers lose in a shootout to Ducks to complete western road trip Minnesota Wild 1166395 For the Rangers, the question is: Will Alexander 1166356 Wild visit the Blackhawks after Staal's 2-goal game Georgiev's future be on Broadway or elsewhere? 1166357 Wild downs Flyers, overcomes adversity during three- 1166396 Shootouts ruin everything: What could have been a great game homestand Rangers trip goes sour at the end 1166358 Gameday preview: Wild at Chicago 1166359 Wild-Philadelphia game recap Ottawa Senators 1166360 Flyers lose 2 more players, fall 4-1 in Minnesota 1166397 GARRIOCH GAME REPORT: Anthony Duclair sparkles 1166361 Defense keeps Wild rolling in 4-1 victory over Philadelphia as Sens top Blue Jackets in OT 1166362 Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman have been a reliable 1166398 Dylan DeMelo’s injury highlights exactly why the Senators fourth-line pairing for Wild should re-sign him 1166363 Alex Stalock back in net when Wild wraps up homestand vs. Flyers Philadelphia Flyers 1166364 Eric Staal leads Wild to runaway 4-1 victory over Flyers 1166399 Two more Flyers injured as they fall to Minnesota Wild, 4- 1166365 Wild fourth line changing the perception: ‘There’s a lot of 1 skill there’ 1166400 Flyers dedicating season to cancer-stricken Oskar 1166366 Wild sitting pretty despite their unenviable early-season Lindblom schedule 1166401 Flyers lose 2 more players, fall 4-1 in Minnesota 1166367 South St. Paul’s Alex Stalock remembers Minnesota 1166402 Staal scores twice, Flyers take more injury hits in loss hockey legend Doug Woog 1166403 Injuries to Scott Laughton, Tyler Pitlick, a lopsided fight for Joel Farabee and Flyers lose to Wild Montreal Canadiens 1166404 Flyers rallying behind Oskar Lindblom after his Ewing's 1166368 In the Habs' Room: Montreal may have taken lowly Red sarcoma diagnosis Wings too lightly 1166405 Flyers at Wild: Live stream, storylines, game time and 1166369 Laval native Bernier backstops Detroit to 2-1 win over more Canadiens 1166370 Canadiens Game Day: Habs lose to NHL's worst team on Pittsburgh Penguins home ice — again 1166406 Empty Thoughts: Penguins 5, Kings 4 (SO) 1166371 Detroit Red Wings at Canadiens: Five things you should 1166407 Minor league report: Angello leads Penguins past know Monsters 1166372 The Canadiens, in spite of themselves, are faced with an 1166408 Goalie Tristan Jarry not perfect, still good enough for opportunity they have not earned Penguins against Kings 1166373 Video Review: The Canadiens waste an opportunity to 1166409 Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin out vs. Kings build momentum against the worst team in the league 1166410 Penguins recall forward Joseph Blandisi from Wilkes- Barre/Scranton Nashville Predators 1166411 Bryan Rust's scores in shootout, Penguins beat Kings 1166374 Life of an NHL call-up: few clothes, many restaurants, lots 1166412 With Evgeni Malkin out again, Joseph Blandisi recalled on of hotels, uncertainty emergency basis 1166375 Khudobin helps Stars beat Predators for 4th straight win San Jose Sharks New Jersey Devils 1166413 Dell shines as Sharks top Canucks, end six-game slide 1166376 Devils beat Coyotes to snap 7-game skid, earn Alain 1166414 Q & A with Marc-Edouard Vlasic: On his milestone, his Nasreddine 1st win style, and whether NHL players can return to the Olympic 1166377 Devils’ lines, pairings vs. Coyotes (12/14/19) | Taylor Hall 1166415 Sharks beat Canucks 4-2 to snap 6-game skid out again as trade talks continue 1166416 Aaron Dell lifts Sharks to big win vs. Canucks, earns 1166378 How Devils players handled Taylor Hall’s late scratch, another start looming possibility of trade 1166417 Sharks takeaways: What we learned in skid-busting 4-2 1166379 Why the NJ Devils called up Evan Cormier to replace win over Canucks Louis Domingue 1166418 After leading Sharks to much-needed win, Aaron Dell 1166380 Kyle Palmieri’s third-period goal helps Devils end losing earns his chance to grab the crease streak 1166419 Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s path to 1,000 games started with a 1166381 Taylor Hall trade rumors fueled by girlfriend’s goodbye remarkable, breakthrough rookie season party St Louis Blues Websites 1166420 Blues score four in third for historic comeback win over 1166457 Sportsnet.ca / Unlikely Maple Leafs' third line comes alive Blackhawks in victory over Oilers 1166421 Steen back in Blues lineup for Blackhawks game 1166458 Sportsnet.ca / Oilers' even-strength struggles continue, 1166422 This time around, Kyrou wants to stick with Blues losing streak climbs to four 1166423 (Updated) Gunnarsson out as Blues' injury bug spreads to 1166459 Sportsnet.ca / Canucks dynamo Elias Pettersson's defense; Mikkola promoted skill-set broken down in GIFs 1166424 Preview: Blues vs. Chicago 1166460 TSN.CA / Canucks vs Sharks Game Day Preview 1166425 (Updated): Gunnarsson to IR; Blues call up Mikkola 1166461 TSN.CA / Barrett Hayton ‘extremely excited’ to return to 1166426 The Blues are in the mix for Taylor Hall, but how heavily Team Canada for World Juniors are they pursuing the former MVP? Winnipeg Jets Tampa Bay Lightning 1166450 After Detroit disappointment, Jets prepare for tough 1166427 Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov leaves game after a blocked stretch shot 1166451 GAME DAY: Philadelphia Flyers at Winnipeg Jets 1166428 Lightning subbed in a former goalie at morning skate 1166429 A former Lightning coach desperately needs a liver transplant SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1166430 Worried about the Lightning? ’18 Capitals and ’04 Tampa Bay Cup teams say ‘not so fast’ Toronto Maple Leafs 1166431 Frederik Andersen’s 36 saves lead Maple Leafs to win in 4-1 victory over Oilers 1166432 Marner-Tavares line leads Leafs past the Oilers, with defence 1166433 Maple Leafs show they can hold a lead in Edmonton, and take two of three games in Western Canada 1166434 Maple Leafs beat Oilers with bottom-six offence, but lose Tyson Barrie 1166435 Moore and Moore personnel movement on the way for Leafs organization 1166436 SIMMONS: MacKinnon playing with heart, for Hart 1166437 Game Day: Leafs at Oilers 1166438 Mirtle: Should the Maple Leafs trade from a strength — their forward depth — to help them on D and in goal? 1166439 Leafs Report Cards: In front of a roaring road crowd, Leafs’ ‘shutdown’ matchup keeps Connor McDavid in check 1166440 5 reasons to be optimistic about the Maple Leafs under Sheldon Keefe Vancouver Canucks 1166452 Canucks 2, Sharks 4: Canucks assist in breaking Sharks' losing streak 1166453 Culture change in hockey coaching has been a long time coming 1166454 Canucks GM Benning confirms team looking to trade Sven Baertschi 1166455 APTN, Rogers Sportsnet agree to three-year deal to broadcast NHL games in Plains Cree 1166456 The Armies: The goalie curse, the Myers oopsie and the Hughes love fest Vegas Golden Knights 1166441 Blues battle adversity on road to repeating as NHL champions 1166442 Chandler Stephenson quickly gains Golden Knights’ trust 1166443 Golden Knights players let guard down during NHL Network show 1166444 Prospect Jack Dugan could be a Hobey Baker Award winner — and a Golden Knight — by season’s end Washington Capitals 1166445 Capitals practice what they preach in a balanced 5-2 victory over Lightning 1166446 Ilya Samsonov to start in goal vs. Lightning in a ‘good challenge’ game 1166447 Samsonov shines, the bottom-six was the difference and time to Panik? 1166448 Samsonov weathers the Lightning in shutdown performance 1166449 4 things to know for Capitals-Lightning: A battle of top offenses 1166288 Anaheim Ducks
LA Times: LOADED: 12.15.2019
Ducks’ prospects grow familiar with shuttling between Anaheim and San Diego
By JACK HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
DEC. 14, 2019 9:02 PM
Josh Mahura lets his mind drift while music pulses through the speakers of his Grand Cherokee. Max Comtois keeps his hands on his Audi steering wheel and his eyes fixed on the road in front of him. Other young Ducks players have developed their own techniques for a drive that can feel either uplifting or upsetting, and very rarely anything in the middle.
Colloquially, it’s called the I-5 shuttle – a 90-mile trek down the Southern California coast that separates the Ducks’ NHL headquarters from its minor-league affiliate in San Diego. For a club in transition, it’s the physical pathway connecting the franchise’s present to the future. And over the last two years, its next generation of players have become well- accustomed with the trip.
“You’re pretty lucky to be in that situation to be about an hour there and be traveling to come over,” Mahura said. “It makes it a lot easier.”
Up-and-comers such as Mahura and Comtois know when to leave – “after dinner,” Mahura laughed. They know which exits to take – Katella Avenue to get to Honda Center, and Route 56 to reach the San Diego Gulls’ practice facility in Poway.
Most of all, they know how different it can feel depending on which direction they’re headed. Northbound drives represent a cherished NHL call-up, a trip usually spent alerting family and arranging ticket requests. The return swing is more somber, a voyage often occupied by reflection upon a return to minors.
“Some of the stuff that happens is out of your control,” said Mahura, a 2016 third-round pick who has been called up a team-high three times this season. “Just manage what you’re doing, whether it’s San Diego or here.”
The Ducks have made heavy use of their NHL-AHL union of late. Last year, 12 players spent at least 10 games with both the Ducks and the Gulls. This season, seven players have already made at least one round trip (called up and sent down). The latest transaction – forward Sam Carrick being optioned back to San Diego – was made official during the first period of the Ducks’ 4-3 shootout win against the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon at Honda Center.
The reasons for each roster move vary. But coach Dallas Eakins, who spent the last four seasons coaching the Gulls, offers the same encouraging message to each player making a temporary NHL exit: Stay ready. For most prospects, a return to the top league is never that far away.
“Here’s what usually happens: A guy comes up from the minors and you’re the NHL coach, and the first thing you usually think is, ‘Is that guy going to cost us?’ ” Eakins said. “Because I know all these guys so well, I have no fear of putting them into any situations.”
Take, for instance, the Ducks’ “Kid Line” that played a key role Saturday afternoon. Comtois, 20, played alongside 21-year-olds Sam Steel and Troy Terry – current full-time NHLers who know the Anaheim-San Diego route well.
“For me, I really enjoyed playing down there,” said Terry, who has eight points in 32 NHL games this year after splitting last season between the Ducks and Gulls. “It’s all about mind-set. Obviously, the young guys going up and down, they don’t play huge minutes up here. When I got sent down, I was able to go be a guy on a team, play a lot. That was fun for me.”
Terry acknowledged that, in the moment, his round trips between the two cities was taxing. Hindsight, however, has allowed him to see the positives in a process the Ducks hope will fast-track a rebuild.
“I miss San Diego, I really liked living down there,” he said, before smiling. “But I don’t miss driving.” 1166289 Anaheim Ducks “We’re not going to have a parade yet on it,” Eakins said. “I still think we got lots of work to do there, but kudos to those young men. They’ve really taken a real interest in it. They’re working together for their own solutions Ducks defeat Rangers in shootout after Hampus Lindholm ties it late on top of ours, and that’s important. And great to see our team get rewarded by it tonight because we certainly needed it.”
It was the third time in the past 13 games the Rangers allowed multiple Staff Report power-play goals. New York has killed just five of 11 penalties (45.5 percent) in those three games, but is 33 of 34 in the other 10. By ASSOCIATED PRESS “It’s unfortunate when we struggle on the PK it seems to come in DEC. 14, 2019 7:14 PM bunches within a game,” Quinn said.
Trailing after 10 seconds and down 2-0 not even four minutes into their LA Times: LOADED: 12.15.2019 game against the New York Rangers, it would have been easy for the Ducks to call it a day.
But the Ducks found the form that has sustained them this season, using it and a power play that finally seems to be clicking to get a big comeback win.
Hampus Lindholm tied the game on the power play with 1:46 remaining in the third period, Jakob Silfverberg and Ondrej Kase scored in the shootout, and the Ducks rallied for a 4-3 win over the Rangers on Saturday.
“You don’t want to start 2-0 down,” Lindholm said. “It would be nice to have a 2-0 lead to start a game too, but we’ve playing some good hockey. Over 60 minutes, if you just stick with it, you’re going to get some chances.”
Silfverberg had a power-play goal, Erik Gudbranson also scored and Rickard Rakell had three assists to tie a career high for the Ducks (14- 15-4). John Gibson stopped three shots in the shootout after making 29 saves through overtime.
Mika Zibanejad had two goals for the second straight game and Artemi Panarin scored for the fourth consecutive game, and the Rangers (16-12- 4) still have not won consecutive games this month.
Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves, but the Rangers ended up going 2-1-1 on their four-game road trip.
“We wanted six points, but I guess taking five isn’t a bad trip,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “You can’t do what everybody else is doing if you want to do something special.”
The Ducks allowed two goals in the opening 3:59, with Zibanejad giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead 10 seconds into the game. Zibanejad intercepted a pass by Josh Manson and beat Gibson with a backhand.
Panarin made it 2-0 at 3:59 with his sixth goal during his scoring streak, which came on a wrist shot from the left circle. Ryan Strome picked off the puck after Gibson played it behind his own net and fed Panarin for his sixth goal in the past four games.
However, the Ducks stayed committed to their game and got on the board when Silfverberg tipped Lindholm’s shot from the left point in at 8:53 to pull within 2-1.
“We were able to have a good chat as a team during the first timeout, but, like, not one little bit of frustration or panic or anything,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said “And I think that’s a great, great sign for our team.”
The Ducks tied it up at 2-all 1:02 into the second when Gudbranson scored into an open net. Lundqvist over-committed to a sharp-angle shot by Adam Henrique that deflected off a stick and out to Gudbranson at the point.
The Ducks’ Hampus Lindholm celebrates his power-play goal that tied the score late in the third period.
Zibanejad put the Rangers back in front 3-2 at 1:14 of the third. Tony DeAngelo found Zibanejad with a stretch pass to start a rush, and Gibson could not smother a wobbly wrist shot that went between his legs for Zibanejad’s third multi-goal game of the season.
But the Ducks responded again and Lindholm made it 3-all at 18:14 from the high slot just as Gibson was making his way toward the bench for the extra attacker with Brady Skjei in the box for tripping.
The Ducks went two for four on the power play. It was their third straight game with a power-play goal, and they are four for 10 in that span with the man-advantage. 1166290 Anaheim Ducks The Sharks’ smartest move might be promoting Evgeni Nabokov to be their goaltending coach. Nabokov, who spent most of his NHL career with the Sharks, had good results tutoring the club’s minor-league Column: NHL observations: Coaches keep getting fired for behaviors goalies. But he faces a tough challenge: San Jose’s team goals-against known and unknown average stood at 3.32 through Friday and Martin Jones’ .888 save percentage and 3.30 goals-against average in 27 games were among the league’s worst.
By HELENE ELLIOTT Kings coach Todd McLellan, who preceded DeBoer in San Jose and worked with him at the 2015 World Championships, said the coaching SPORTS COLUMNIST fraternity felt the pain of DeBoer’s fall. DEC. 14, 2019 2:57 PM “Our group is disappointed because only we really know how hard we work and the amount of time we put into it. I know that feeling when you’ve got to go home and tell your wife and your kids that you lost your With all due respect to Peter DeBoer, it was almost a return to normalcy job. That’s never a fun one,” McLellan said. “For the most part you stay in to learn the San Jose Sharks fired him purely for hockey reasons and not that community for a little while and you feel like you let a lot of people for anything like the “material act of unprofessionalism” the Dallas Stars down. But Peter’s a hell of a coach ... He’ll get to return to a bench as cited when they fired coach Jim Montgomery on Tuesday. soon as he wants to.”
These are tense times for NHL coaches. Bill Peters’ departure from the Ducks coach Dallas Eakins also praised DeBoer but said the possibility Calgary Flames following disclosures he used a racial epithet speaking to of being fired is a job hazard. “He’s done a hell of a job there over the Akim Aliu a decade ago and had kicked and punched two players while years. That team has very high expectations with the lineup that they he coached Carolina has led other players to come forward to speak of have,” Eakins said. “It’s just hard to see really good coaches let go. The physical or emotional abuse they endured from coaches. ‘but’ is that we know the drill. You can’t complain about it. If you don’t like it, then you go do something else.” As a result, Chicago assistant Marc Crawford was placed on leave while the NHL investigates a report he kicked Sean Avery while both were with Head injury remains an issue for Tim Thomas the Kings. Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas hoists the Stanley Cup following the Reacting quickly, the NHL board of governors announced the league will Bruins’ 4-0 victory over the Canucks in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup create programs to educate team personnel on inclusion, diversity and Final. avoiding abusive behavior. Coaches, assistants, general managers, assistant general managers and minor-league coaches who are under Thomas always was quirky, so his disappearance from hockey after he contract with an NHL team will be required to attend annually. retired in 2014 didn’t seem strange. But there’s a sad reason for it: The goalie on Boston’s 2011 Cup champion team is still suffering from the In addition, a hotline will be set up for players to anonymously report effects of a concussion he suffered in 2013 and must make lists to get abusive behavior. himself through his daily tasks.
“I guarantee we will take all reports seriously and follow up,” NHL “I couldn’t follow the game anymore. My brain wasn’t functioning well Commissioner Gary Bettman said. It won’t be easy to change the suffer- enough to be able to keep up with the game, so I sat out in the woods for in-silence mentality that has allowed abusers to thrive, but the hotline and a few years. I didn’t watch much hockey. There’s not much TV out there,” programs are a decent start. he told reporters last week before being inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Bettman also said all team executives were notified that if they become aware of abusive conduct involving NHL personnel on or off the ice they He said he considered suicide a few times but “never came that near to must report it to him or deputy commissioner Bill Daly or risk “severe taking my own life,” to end his frustrations. Yet, he said his experience discipline.” He added, “Unfortunately, in this world, there are incidents. brought his family closer together and inspired him to educate himself That doesn’t make it all right. One incident is too many.” about brain trauma.
Montgomery’s dismissal was shocking. He guided the Stars to a second- “It taught me a value for life and a value for my brain that I’ve never had round, seven-game playoff loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion before,” he said. “And I have an appreciation for everything that I never St. Louis Blues last spring and the Stars were playing well when general had before. I don’t regret anything.” manager Jim Nill fired him for “unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey Hall Pass League.” The Devils held 2018 MVP Taylor Hall out of their lineup Friday for Nill wouldn’t elaborate but said the firing wasn’t related to allegations of “precautionary” reasons and were expected to do the same Saturday as abuse, wasn’t part of a criminal investigation, and no other Stars they prepared to trade him. Hall can become an unrestricted free agent employees were involved. Montgomery hasn’t commented publicly. after the season and wants to win; the Devils are far from contention. Colorado and Arizona reportedly were among his potential landing spots. Rick Bowness replaced Montgomery and a few hours later earned his first coaching win since April 3, 2004, when the Stars beat New Jersey 2- 0. The Devils had fired their coach, John Hynes, a week earlier. LA Times: LOADED: 12.15.2019 Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson, left, talks to Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman during the 2016 NHL Draft on June 24, 2016.
Three years after DeBoer got the Sharks to the Cup Final he became the fifth coach fired this season, joining Mike Babcock (Toronto), Peters, Hynes, and Montgomery. DeBoer might have lost his players’ attention, but he was handicapped by an old roster, a struggling Brent Burns and poor goaltending.
It’s easier to dump a coach than to dump a dozen players, so DeBoer is out and assistant coach Bob Boughner is in.
“When you have had a level of past success, change is never easy, but we feel this team is capable of much more than we have shown thus far and that a new voice is needed,” Wilson said in a statement. “As a team and as individuals, our play has not met expectations this year and our level of consistency has not been where it needs to be.” 1166291 Anaheim Ducks
Ducks getting out of town a day early to avoid unexpected travel delays
By ELLIOTT TEAFORD | [email protected] | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: December 14, 2019 at 8:02 pm | UPDATED: December 14, 2019 at 8:02 PM
ANAHEIM — Their first flight of the season was late leaving and late arriving, and it messed up the Ducks’ timing when they hit the road for the first time back in October. They were scheduled to arrive in Detroit at a reasonable hour, get a good night’s sleep and prepare for their game against the Red Wings.
Instead, a lengthy flight delay nearly cost them a victory. The Ducks were forced to rebound from a poor start — in hindsight perhaps their worst of the season — to defeat the Red Wings 3-1 in an Oct. 8 game that gave them a 3-0-0 record to start the season.
Taking no chances of a repeat, and with an extra day built into the schedule, Ducks coach Dallas Eakins decided the team should leave Sunday rather than Monday for the start of a four-game trip Tuesday in Philadelphia. The Ducks will practice Monday in Philly and prepare for the Flyers.
Sunday will be devoted to traveling from coast to coast.
“You just don’t know what’s going to happen,” Eakins said.
Above all, the Ducks did not wish to have a repeat of their Detroit journey.
“There was a hiccup with the plane and we sat on the tarmac for an extra two or three hours,” Eakins said. “We got in late and now you’re scrambling. It’s like, ‘Whoa, these guys are in a different time zone.’ Our morning skate is at 11:30. That’s 8:30 our time. Everything’s messed up.”
The drawback is leaving town a day early with family and friends arriving in Southern California for Christmas celebrations. But before the holiday break, the Ducks have one more business trip to make and that’s exactly how they’re going to treat it.
“We’re business first,” Eakins said. “We’re going to leave, get a day in and make sure we get a good practice in and, hopefully, it sets up for a better start. That first period in that Detroit game, we were upside down. For me, it had nothing to do with being prepared. It had everything to do with our time clocks.”
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Eakins shuffled his lines for Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers, moving Devin Shore and Ondrej Kase onto a line with Ryan Getzlaf, reuniting Rickard Rakell, Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg and skating youngsters Max Comtois, Sam Steel and Troy Terry together.
The kids were better than all right, according to Eakins. Although they were scoreless in the Ducks’ 4-3 shootout victory over New York, Steel and Terry were each credited with three shots on goal and Comtois with one as the Ducks posted a season high 42 shots.
“The thought process was easy,” Eakins said. “When you’re searching to score goals, and win games, it’s important to go back and look at the past. We went back to the start of the season and we started fairly well, and we started looking at old combinations that were good.
“They fight for each other. They play for each other. They like the challenge of it.”
The Ducks returned center Sam Carrick to their AHL team, the San Diego Gulls. Carrick had one assist in two games after he was recalled from San Diego on Dec. 7. He was the Gulls’ leading scorer with 10 goals and 16 points in 18 games when he was summoned from San Diego.
Orange County Register: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166292 Anaheim Ducks Orange County Register: LOADED: 12.15.2019
Ducks down Rangers on Jakob Silfverberg’s shootout goal
By ELLIOTT TEAFORD | [email protected] | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: December 14, 2019 at 4:17 pm | UPDATED: December 14, 2019 at 5:02 PM
ANAHEIM — After all the misplays and missed opportunities, Ducks right wing Jakob Silfverberg stood at one end of the ice facing New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist at the other end and decided it was time to try something different Saturday afternoon at Honda Center.
What happened next was some serious Swede on Swede crime. Silfverberg lifted a backhanded shot past a befuddled Lundqvist for the winning goal in a shootout that gave the Ducks a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Rangers.
Silfverberg’s go-to shootout move over the years has been a quick snipe to the goalie’s glove side that was deadly in his first few seasons, but not nearly as effectively recently. But he crossed up Lundqvist with a backhander for his 20th career goal in shootouts.
“I think it was the first time I’ve done something else,” Silfverberg said. “But I think it was about time, too. I think I was 0 for 10 in my last 10 tries or something, so I thought I would try and mix it up and it worked out. You don’t know how it’s going to go in a shootout, but these points are huge.”
After rallying from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2, the Ducks managed to survive an overtime in which goalie John Gibson made two superb saves, including a game-saving stop on New York’s Mika Zibanejad with about 90 seconds remaining in the five-minute extra period.
Zibanejad beat Gibson in the shootout, but Gibson denied the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin and Kaapo Kakko. Ondrej Kase matched Zibanejad’s goal, beating Lundqvist with a backhanded shot. Silfverberg then did the same to give the Ducks a victory.
Zibanejad also scored twice in regulation play, including the go-ahead goal 1:14 into the third period, and Panarin also scored for the Rangers. The Ducks countered with goals from Silfverberg (power play), Erik Gudbranson and Hampus Lindholm (power play).
Lindholm’s goal tied the score 3-3 with only 1:46 remaining in the third period, just as Gibson was leaving his crease in favor of a sixth attacker. Rickard Rakell assisted on each of the Ducks’ goals in regulation, tying Ryan Getzlaf for the Ducks’ lead with 15 this season.
“It was a rough start for us, but I think we just tried to forget about that,” Rakell said of facing a two-goal deficit less than four minutes into the game. “It was nice to get that power-play goal (from Silfverberg). We were still playing a good game when we were down a goal, not thinking too much.”
The Ducks trailed 1-0 only 10 seconds into a rare Saturday matinee at Honda Center, then went down 2-0 after only 3:59 had been played. They rallied smartly when Silfverberg’s power-play goal cut the deficit to 2-1 at 8:53 of the first period, then tied it on Gudbranson’s strike at 1:02 of the second.
In the second, the Ducks seemed to be skating downhill for the better part of the period, outshooting the Rangers by 18-3 and generally creating havoc in front of Lundqvist’s net. They couldn’t produce the tiebreaking goal, though. Zibanejad would put New York in front 3-2 early in the third.
Lindholm’s goal was his first of the season, and it also marked the first time this season the Ducks had scored twice in a game on their 30th- ranked power play. They also scored a man-advantage goal for the third consecutive game, another season high.
“We know we’ve been playing some good hockey lately,” Lindholm said. “We’ve been playing good and outshooting teams, but haven’t really gotten those pucks going in for us. We stuck with it (Saturday) and it shows that if you just keep going, night in and night out, game after game, you can get rewarded.”
1166293 Arizona Coyotes
Coyotes lose to Devils; Taylor Hill sits out for 'precautionary reasons'
Richard Morin, Arizona Republic
Published 9:02 p.m. MT Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 9:32 p.m. MT Dec. 14, 2019
After a day filled with trade rumors, the New Jersey Devils left Arizona with both star winger Taylor Hall and a 2-1 win over the Coyotes on Saturday at Gila River Arena.
Hall, 28, was scratched for the second consecutive game for what the Devils are calling "precautionary reasons" as the trade rumors persist.
The Devils' leader in points (25) has been connected to trade talks for some time after New Jersey's slow start (10-17-5). Several national hockey reporters have named the Coyotes as serious contenders for Hall, with some even saying Arizona could be the frontrunner and were pushing hard to make a deal on Saturday.
A team source confirmed to The Republic that the Coyotes (19-12-4) have legitimate interest in Hall, but it is unclear whether a deal is imminent.
From the Devils' perspective, however, a deal seems to be on the horizon given their benching of Hall, who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 2017-18.
But Hall did not switch locker rooms on Saturday. He left Glendale still a Devil, for now.
As Hall watched from the Gila River Arena press box, the Coyotes navigated a tight game against the Devils, who scored first on a first- period goal by Jesper Boqvist at 2:17 of the first period.
The Coyotes, however, tied the game before the first intermission on a power-play goal by defenseman Alex Goligoski. The primary assist went to Vinnie Hinostroza, who has four assists in his last two games.
Neither team scored in the second period, and Devils winger Kyle Palmieri scored at 11:34 of the third period to put the Devils in front.
Both the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames also lost on Saturday, so the Coyotes did not lose their place atop the Pacific Division standings.
Arizona Republic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166294 Arizona Coyotes has found it difficult to stick around an NHL lineup, but he can be a stabilizing presence on the blue line that any contending team yearns for, even if he doesn't light up the scoresheet.
'Mr. Beauty League' Aaron Ness hopes to replicate summer success with “He’s kind of the perfect guy for that,” Goligoski said. “He can play any Arizona Coyotes role and he’s so solid.”
And the DBL might’ve even taught Ness a little bit about competition. Richard Morin, Arizona Republic Even Guentzel, who won a Stanley Cup in 2017, said the play can get “intense” as the games dwindle down toward the finals. Published 1:13 p.m. MT Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 1:13 p.m. MT Dec. 14, 2019 And in that madness, Ness thrives.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Ness said. “It’s obviously a great group of guys out there skating. It gets competitive toward the end when the game start to matter Most Coyotes fans are aware that both Rick Tocchet and Niklas a little more. … It’s good for all the fans and it’s good for Minnesota Hjalmarsson are three-time winners of the Stanley Cup, but it might be hockey. It’s a lot of good hockey players and the stands are filled. It’s surprising to some that another three-time champion lurks in the depths good for the players, too. It’s a good time.” of the Coyotes’ roster.
That player is Aaron Ness, although it isn’t the trophy of Lord Stanley that the 29-year-old defenseman has hoisted thrice. Ness is a three-time Arizona Republic LOADED: 12.15.2019 winner of the John Scott Cup — yes, you read that right — which is awarded annually by Da Beauty League (DBL), a summer hockey syndicate in Minnesota.
“He is Mr. Beauty League,” teammate and fellow DBL participant Derek Stepan said of Ness.
Da Beauty League is an informal hockey league in which professional and amateur players can compete during the summer months. There are four teams that play eight games each between July and August. The teams skate four players to a side. And at the end of the schedule, one team is awarded the John Scott Cup, named after the former NHL defenseman and 2016 All-Star Game MVP.
A slew of NHL players, most of them Minnesotans, participate in the league, which began in 2016. In addition to Stepan, Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski is also a participant, as well as big names such as Brock Boeser (Vancouver Canucks), James van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia Flyers) and Jake Guentzel (Pittsburgh Penguins), among others.
Yet in the DBL's four seasons, no player has captured as many championships as Ness, who finds himself playing a pivotal role on a Coyotes team chasing down its first playoff berth since the 2011-12 season.
“He’s the piece that every team has had,” Goligoski said of Ness, with whom he won a John Scott Cup in 2017. “He’s got a good record. And he’s stingy, which is key in summer hockey.”
Stepan added that while Goligoski is a former MVP of the league, claiming the honors in 2017, Ness is more deserving of the Mr. Beauty League title because he “is a three-time champ.”
No one is equating Da Beauty League with the intense, high-paced action of an NHL season, but Ness’ Coyotes teammates have long known him to be a player with capabilities to play at the highest level.
“He’s a really smart player,” Goligoski said. “He has an awesome stick, good skater and he’s really good defensively with his gaps and everything. At the same time he’s a good puck distributor and that’s probably something you guys haven’t seen much, but he’s got some offensive talent, too.”
With injuries to Hjalmarsson and Jason Demers, both of whom are expected to miss at least the next few weeks, the Coyotes find themselves without two of their top four defensemen and, in turn, counting on players such as Ness, who began the season with the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate in Tucson.
Before Tuesday’s game against the Calgary Flames, Ness had been a healthy scratch in nine games dating back to Nov. 21 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. But now Ness, who has 61 games of NHL experience with three different teams, is a key cog to a Coyotes team occupying first place in the Pacific Division.
“I think there’s still another level, too,” Ness said of his game. “The more you play, the more consistent and confident you can become. Hopefully I’ll keep taking steps every game and continuously be relied upon. For me it might be contributing more offensively when those situations come up.”
If Da Beauty League taught Ness anything, it was a lesson in staying loose and maintaining consistency. It's been a long road for Ness, who 1166295 Arizona Coyotes
Coyotes reportedly a leading team to trade for Devils F Taylor Hall
BY MATT LAYMAN
DECEMBER 14, 2019 AT 9:20 AM
UPDATED: DECEMBER 14, 2019 AT 1:51 PM
The Arizona Coyotes’ interest in Taylor Hall was first reported more than a week ago, but reports that linked Arizona to the Devils star intensified on Friday night.
John Shannon, formerly of Sportsnet, reported that the there was interest in Hall from multiple teams, but that St. Louis and Arizona were “at the top of the list.” TSN’s Bob McKenzie followed that up by saying:
I’m not saying Hall will end up in ARI, but I would say Coyotes appear to be one of the teams with notable interest in him and likely have the motivation/wherewithal to perhaps get it done. Though I suspect they are not alone on those counts.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Hall would be held out of his team’s game Saturday, coincidentally, at Arizona. That’s the second night in a row he’ll sit out as a trade could be on the horizon. Hall also didn’t play on Friday night at Colorado.
It’s not clear what Arizona would have to give up to get Hall, and mentions of specific names thus far have been purely speculative. But from Friedman’s report on Dec. 4, it’s believed New Jersey wants first- round picks and/or high-level prospects, and badly needs defense. Victor Soderstrom, who seems unlikely to be traded, Kevin Bahl and Kyle Capobianco are among Arizona’s top defensive prospects.
If the Coyotes moved a first-round pick in the deal, keep in mind that their on-ice success this year means it will likely be a late-round pick.
One variable to the trade noise is Hall’s contract situation. The 28-year- old is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, which means that a team acquiring him would have to see him as a rental unless it gets a contract extension done in concert with a trade.
Bear in mind, too, the Coyotes’ cap situation: Arizona doesn’t have an abundance of cap space — only about $1.6 million, according to CapFriendly — which adds a hurdle to a trade by the Coyotes. Hall’s cap hit is $6 million.
Acquiring Hall would fill a need for the Coyotes at the right price, since Hall is a former 39-goal-scorer and won the Hart Trophy (league MVP) only two years ago. The Coyotes rank 23rd in the league in goals per game entering Saturday.
Arizona Sports LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166296 Boston Bruins between the back of Coyle’s skate and the blue paint. Was Coyle, an elite-level hockey player, in control of the puck? The Bruins argued yes, to no avail, in a 5-4 loss.
Second line posts first tallies in a while for Bruins They lost a pair of challenges Oct. 10 in Colorado. Krejci was ruled to have made contact with goaltender Philipp Grubauer, a decision that wiped out a 3-1 lead. With the game tied early in the third period, David By Matt Porter Globe Staff Pastrnak going offside took DeBrusk’s strike from the record. The Avalanche scored twice after that and won, 4-2. Updated December 15, 2019, 12:05 a.m. A Pastrnak goal Oct. 22 against Toronto was called back because
Bergeron, waiting at the blue line on an entry, lifted his skate to start a SUNRISE, Fla. — Looking to kick-start the middle of his forward corps, crossover. He flinched 13 seconds before the goal. That was the only coach Bruce Cassidy shifted Charlie Coyle to David Krejci’s right wing, time the Bruins won a game when they had a goal taken away (1-3-0). where he played a few games earlier this year. What to tell them, as a coach? “Moving Charlie up,” Cassidy mused, “maybe that generates more “Use your discretion at the blue line,” Cassidy said before Saturday’s win. offense than what we’ve seen.” “They’re wingers. They’re used to flying through there. That’s just Entering Saturday, a Bruins forward on the second or third line hadn’t something that has to be ingrained in them over time, that they have scored an even-strength goal in their five-game losing streak (0-4-1). discipline at the blue line. Coyle was without a point in that time. “You’re talking about an inch on a couple of these. We’re not offside by 2 Coyle went scoreless, but the move worked. Jake DeBrusk and Krejci feet, so you’re nitpicking a little bit, but go the extra mile to work to stay each had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers that onside is kind of the message. Hopefully that’s all behind us. Other than relieved the whole locker room. that, we’re not going to admonish guys necessarily if it’s that close. They just have to be better at it, a little more aware of what’s going on.” “They certainly were excellent, so was it Charlie or the other two guys knowing they’re good players, sooner or later they’re going to come Cassidy has not challenged a play, one of five teams not to throw the around?” Cassidy said. (It was both, he added.) proverbial flag (Florida, Philadelphia, Nashville, Los Angeles).
Coyle’s presence around the net helped, but the line as a unit found soft areas low in Florida’s line and recovered pucks. Boston Globe LOADED: 12.15.2019 It also gave Coyle a night mostly away from the faceoff circle; he went 0 for 1. Cassidy was concerned about Coyle’s performance on draws, which has not been stellar. Coming off a 1-for-7 performance at Tampa, he entered Saturday winning a team-low 46 percent of drops. It wasn’t all Coyle’s problem, though.
“He’s going to have to compete harder in there, and he’s going to have to ask his wingers to get in and help him,” Cassidy said before the game. “You win a lot of draws with a guy stepping in and tapping the puck. Part of it will be the ownership of driving that line, and it starts with the faceoff. It is the beginning of the competitive part of a shift. Part of that’s him, part of that’s his linemates helping him out.”
Krejci took 14 drops, winning nine (64 percent). His wingers, as they were assigned to do, got in there.
Patrice Bergeron has long been one of the best faceoff men in the game, and he is usually aces on the penalty kill. Cassidy said they made a PK adjustment that accounts for his acumen.
Clearing the puck has been a problem. Cassidy and his assistants noticed opposing forwards are jumping through the faceoff formation to harass Boston’s defensemen.
“Knowing Bergy wins a lot of draws, some teams are cheating to lose,” Cassidy said. “They’re tying up our D before they can clear it.”
Boston was 3 for 3 on the penalty kill Saturday, making it 6 for 9 in its last three, all against strong power-play units. Entering Saturday, Washington was ranked fifth (24 percent), Tampa second (29.6), and the Panthers seventh (22.7).
The Bruins have been frustrated with their recent losing streak. But this year, nothing has irritated them more than the league’s video review system.
In 498 games played this season through Thursday, there had been 69 coaches’ challenges, according to league data, and 36 goals taken off the board.
No team has had more of its goals challenged than Boston’s six. Only Dallas and Winnipeg had that many. The Bruins lead the league in overturned goals by a wide margin. They’ve had five taken away. No other team had more than three.
All but one of them led to losses for the Bruins.
The most objectionable, from a Black-and-Gold standpoint, was Coyle’s offside Nov. 5 in Montreal, which made headlines in Canada. Coyle was corralling the puck with his skate while moving into the zone. When he accepted a pass at the blue line, video showed a sliver of white space 1166297 Boston Bruins crafty passes and quick feet. They committed two penalties, but killed them both. They even scored their first power-play goal in three games.
■ The Bruins scored first, after DeBrusk took advantage of a whiff by Bruins start hot in Florida, end five-game losing skid Anton Stralman on a bouncing puck inside his blue line. At 14:41 of the first, the winger produced the 100th point of his career on a confident finish, flipping a shot upstairs on a quick break-in. He didn’t overthink it, By Matt Porter Globe Staff flashing his blade open and shooting over Bobrovsky’s blocker after the netminder extended a poke check. Updated December 14, 2019, 11:48 p.m. ■ Krejci made it 2-0 with a one-timer from way out high, a blast that had
enough gas on it to sneak across the line before Stralman could sweep it SUNRISE, Fla. — Tired of losing, the Bruins were hoping the South away. DeBrusk wheeled up the boards and fed his centerman the puck. Florida sun and surf would wash away their troubles. ■ Pastrnak, who fanned on a one-timer from his office on the Bruins’ “You hope so, right?” coach Bruce Cassidy said before puck drop. first power play, cashed in on the third at 12:30 of the second. He “Played a lot of hockey recently. Any time you can get down, out of the finished a gorgeous feed from Brad Marchand, who zipped a pass from cold, sit back, put your feet up, it can be good. It can be refreshing.” the circle, through traffic, to a waiting Pastrnak at the far post.
It wasn’t 60 minutes of rest and relaxation, but the Bruins snapped their ■ The Bruins’ power play, 2 for their previous 27, was on point. The five-game skid, taking a 4-2 victory over the Panthers at BB&T Center. Panthers left seams open — that whiffed Pastrnak one-timer came after Their first win since Dec. 3 meant they were looking at a four-game Torey Krug found him from the other side of the zone — but the details homestand with fresh eyes. were sharp. Patrice Bergeron’s stick lift on defenseman MacKenzie Weegar in the slot let Marchand’s dish find Pastrnak at the post. Florida’s “It looks like we’re getting back to more Boston Bruins’ style of hockey PK was 10th in the league coming in. the last three games,” Cassidy said. “Only one win to show for it, but if we play that way this week at home, I see good things for us, especially if ■ Charlie Coyle, promoted to Krejci’s right wing, had one of the Bruins’ all four lines are able to contribute.” best chances of the first period, cutting to his backhand on a mini- breakaway some five minutes into the game. Bobrovsky blockered it David Pastrnak scored twice, upping his league-leading total to 28. Jake away. Bobrovsky’s game was lost in the Everglades in October, but he DeBrusk and David Krejci (goal, assist each) gave them some much- has a .951 save percentage his previous five starts. The Bruins, eager to needed punch from the second line. More importantly, Boston (21-7-6) snap the skid, peppered him with 11 shots in the first nine minutes and avoided another ridiculous Florida comeback. 22 total in the opening period.
The Bruins won’t forget the first time they played the Panthers this season. On Nov. 12 at TD Garden, the Bruins led, 4-0, at the second intermission. They lost, 5-4, in a shootout. Boston Globe LOADED: 12.15.2019
No comeback in Sunrise on Saturday, but whatever the Panthers discussed between periods, it had an effect.
After getting it handed to them in the first 40 minutes, the Panthers pushed hard. They solved Jaroslav Halak at 2:46 of the third, when defenseman Mark Pysyk jammed in a backhand rebound from the high slot, finding room around Zdeno Chara.
The Bruins had chances in the third. Pastrnak was awarded a penalty shot on a light hook by Aaron Ekblad, but he couldn’t fool Sergei Bobrovsky (38 saves) with a wrister.
“Ahh, you know,” Pastrnak said. “Lately it hasn’t been going my way. I tried to shoot, low blocker. I don’t shoot often in shootouts, so I tried it. We got the win, so that was most important.”
It didn’t rattle the Bruins when Halak, extremely sharp through 40 minutes (22 saves), was baffled by Keith Yandle’s tumbling knuckler from the point. It sailed right by his glove with 10:47 left, the Milton native screaming his excitement through his bubble shield.
“As a group, you’re not worried about your own game so much,” Cassidy said. “You’re like, ‘Jaro, I hope that’s one and done’ type of thing, because he’s typically solid.”
But the Bruins tightened up, and Pastrnak made everyone in Black and Gold exhale when he sent home an empty-netter from center ice with 2:10 left. Halak stopped 31 shots.
“Our team knew we were playing the right way,” Cassidy said, “so we didn’t have that anxiety we had the first time around [vs. Florida], when we broke down too often.”
Their game is more solid, more in tune of late. The plane ride home was looking like a happy one.
More Saturday observations from the press box:
■ The first shift of the night for the Bruins was a minute-long possession in the Panthers’ zone by the top line. The Bruins were on their way to their best first period since their five-game losing streak began. Through 40 minutes, few areas of the rink were not under Black-and-Gold control.
■ At the second intermission, they led, 3-0, and had outshot the Panthers, 32-22. They allowed the Panthers few dangerous chances, and stormed Bobrovsky at the other end. They exited their zone with 1166298 Boston Bruins “If I miss a chance, or I miss a couple passes,” he said, “I’ll usually switch it up. Guys always give me a hard time because everyone’s sticks are the same, and mine are a mess.”
NHL players mighty particular when it comes to their sticks DeBrusk, who scored 27 goals last season, explains the different lengths are “like a reset, in a way” — it forces him to adapt, rather than think about the pass he just muffed. A hot streak, of course, means he’s By Matt Porter Globe Staff sticking with what works.
December 14, 2019, 11:37 a.m. “He’s nuts with that,” said linemate Danton Heinen (himself a “big toe- curve,” Bauer kind of guy). “He’s so imprecise that it’s like, genius,
almost.” The Canadien stick Cam Neely used to hammer pucks past befuddled Marchand gets it, though. Sometimes, he’ll ask equipment manager Matt goalies wasn’t a choice born out of brand loyalty. Falconer to head to the rack after three consecutive shifts. “It’s the stick “The Western Hockey League had a deal with Canadien,” said the Hall of and not the player,” Marchand kidded. “That’s my mind-set. I blame my Famer atop the Bruins masthead, in his 10th year as team president. tools and not my abilities.” “Here’s the sticks you’re going to use. Here’s righthanded, here’s Speaking of length: It’s widely understood no known NHL player has a lefthanded.” longer lance than Zdeno Chara, who got a special exemption for his 67- Neely, a righthanded shot, scored most of his 395 goals with a 6001 inch Warrior poles (the league limit is 63). He has ordered them in rebar- model made of layered ash and fiberglass. As a 17-year-old junior with like stiffness of 175, and now prefers them around 160. They are among the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, he learned how to heat the blade with the strongest ever produced. a blowtorch and bend the pliable wood, giving him his preferred heel It follows that 5-foot-9-inch Torey Krug, a foot shorter than Chara, would curve. Yesterday’s craftsmanship informs his position on today’s use a smaller twig. But Krug’s looks like a squirt’s version. When he composites. stands on skates, he can rest his chin on the knob. “Everything went to lighter material, lighter material, lighter material,” he “I’ve been talked to a couple times about it, people trying to get me to use said. “The sticks are [expletive], in my opinion. They break all the time.” a longer stick to help with defending,“ said Krug, who began cutting a bit He would find a sympathetic ear in Ottawa, where this past week young off the top after college, turning a 77-flex Warrior into about an 85. Brady Tkachuk arrived at an open net and left with two pieces. “Puckhandling is my strength. It’s the reason I’m in this league, making Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, who spent most of his career in the minors passes, making plays. I haven’t messed with my stick in five years.” and had a few cups of coffee in the NHL, was used to taking scrap Fellow defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, a few hairs taller than Krug, likes his lumber from the Neelys of the game. When his sticks arrived, he never CCMs extra long. “I think that surprises people,” he said. “ If they’re knew what he was going to get. coming down on me, they might think I’m smaller, so they have a little bit “In the NHL, you’d get your dozen sticks, and 10 of them were exactly of space. It helps me a lot playing against bigger bodies to have that the same, one or two were a little off,” recalled the Bruins coach, a first- extra reach. I try to hide it . . . at the same time, you can get exposed with round pick of the Blackhawks in 1983 (18th overall; nine slots after the a longer stick, too, because there’s that much more space between your Canucks took Neely). “You get a dozen in the American League, six were blade and your feet. It can make you look silly sometimes.” this way, three were that way, three were the other. The Bruins’ model of consistency, Patrice Bergeron, will change his flex “It was like a box of chocolates. They gave you a little bit of everything, from an 85 to a 75 — the latter is more whip-like and helps him release and they’d stamp your name on it.” quicker one-timers from the power-play bumper. Other than that, it’s the same CCM he’s used for 1,000-plus games. And then came the filing, the shaving, the heating, the glue. The time and effort. “It’s like anything,” he said. “I can’t really change anymore. I’m kind of used to it.” “Now it’s just tape jobs and cutting it down,” Neely said. “They have a machine to cut the thing. You used to have a hacksaw. Their patterns, As is Cassidy, who directs his charges at practice with a model similar to there are no flaws. When I played, I was lucky to get five, maybe six the Canadiens and Kohos he used as a player — just in a composite sticks out of a dozen that I would play with.” Warrior version. Whenever they arrive, he’s happy to tape them up and go. High-end players are fortunate these days. For a few hundred bucks, any well-heeled amateur can go online, customize one from their favorite “I could probably use it for three years and not break it, but every once in brand, and have it shipped to their door. The Bruins get concierge a while they give me a new one,” he said. “I didn’t break a lot of sticks as service, confabbing with the stick reps who check in at Warrior Arena a player. I wasn’t a slasher, I wasn’t a cross-checker. They were all regularly. wood. I’d have to step on it to break it. They didn’t snap on a shot very often . . . unless someone sawed it on you as a joke.” The sticks may be immaculate by yesterday’s standards, but athletes of any generation are finicky. We’re at the point that a coaching change arrived with a necessary disclaimer: It was a hockey decision, nothing more. “It’s amazing what these players can feel,” said Tyson Teplitsky, global brand manager for Bauer Hockey. “If we launch a new stick and there’s a The Sharks turfed Peter DeBoer this past Wednesday simply because of new graphic we introduce, some players can feel the thickness of the lackluster results: five losses in a row, and a 15-16-2 record with a roster graphics.” That’s millimeters of material, mind you. ostensibly loaded to contend, as has become the standard in Silicon Valley. The goaltending — .884 save percentage the last two years, By the time most players reach the pros, they are loathe to mess with worst in the NHL — did him no favors, but San Jose was 25th in scoring success. Not Brad Marchand. as of Friday.
“I toy with different sticks, combos, kickpoints,” said Marchand, a Warrior Five coaches — Mike Babcock, Bill Peters, John Hynes, Jim endorser who has more points (379, or 1.13 per game, as of Friday) than Montgomery, and DeBoer — were fired in a span of five weeks, any left wing since the 2015-16 season. “I don’t know what I have now, I beginning with Babcock’s dismissal Nov. 20. The Maple Leafs were change it so much. I just know what I like.” displeased with the product, but Babcock is now seen in a different light: His players called him a bully. Marchand goes post-and-in with flexes between 95 and 85. He’s had the same blade curve since he was about 13: the P92, the popular, open-toe Peters, Babcock’s protege, got the ax in Calgary after several of his mid curve originally designed by Joe Sakic. Marchand might swap out his former charges in Carolina and Chicago’s farm system said he assaulted stick for another after a bad shift, but they’re all the same length. them and used racist language. The NHL is investigating abuse charges against Blackhawks assistant Marc Crawford. Hynes was fired because Jake DeBrusk is a different bird. On the Bruins’ stick rack, DeBrusk has New Jersey is the second-worst team in the league. As of Friday, three three Bauers in half-inch increments. days after pink-slipping Montgomery, Dallas hadn’t expanded its explanation beyond “unprofessional conduct.” Which gets the mind racing, considering what’s been living under the Technology advancements and beefed-up staffing mean there are few rocks overturned of late. Commissioner Gary Bettman’s four-point plan to secrets in hockey anymore, but the Avalanche might have a better bead stop this madness: zero tolerance, mandatory training for all employees, on Tuukka Rask than most teams. Their goalie coach is 42-year-old establishing disciplinary guidelines, and a hotline for anonymous Jussi Parkkila, who, at the first stop in his career, had a rail-thin Rask as reporting. Good ideas, much-needed . . . but a deep-seated cultural his prize pupil. Parkkila was goalie coach for Ilves Tampere (2003-07) problem deserves a skeptical eye. Prove that “hockey is for everyone” when Rask, a 2005 first-round pick of the Maple Leafs, was tearing up isn’t just a marketing slogan. the Finnish league . . . Another young Tampere native, Sanna Marin, this past week was elected Finland’s prime minister. At 34, she is the “You certainly do your due diligence when you’re talking about hiring youngest ever PM, the world’s youngest sitting PM, and world’s youngest anybody,” said Bruins president Cam Neely, who oversaw the promotion ever PM. Rask, 32, thought that was cool. He barely let an inquisitor of former teammate Don Sweeney to general manager and Bruce finish the next question: post-hockey, what are the odds he gets into Cassidy to coach. “But this makes you dig a little deeper . . . not that we politics? “Zero!” . . . Twelve teams have new head coaches since the end weren’t before.” of last season, some 38 percent of the NHL turning over. In less than two In Neely’s view, the more open dialogue in the game, the better. years, that’s nearly 60 percent. Dallas, which handed the keys to Bruins short-timer Rick Bowness, is on its sixth coach since 2011. Tampa Bay’s “That’s not to say a coach can’t get upset with you if you’re not playing Jon Cooper, who took over in 2013, is the league’s longest-tenured well or doing the right things,” he said. “But there’s a certain line that was coach. Bruce Cassidy, on the job with the Bruins for two years and 10 accepted for the whole time that I played, that’s not acceptable anymore. months, has been at his post longer than all but eight of his peers . . . Was disappointed to see Gary Bettman and Co. kick the can down the “I never got whacked or kicked. Coaches used to come in and break road on a World Cup, which will not return in 2021. Hockey fans want a sticks and throw Gatorade jugs. That wouldn’t happen anymore.” best-on-best tournament, and since there’s no Olympic participation on The Dead Wings are back. the table at the moment, the World Cup is the next-best option. Please figure it out . . . Those Tkachuk boys keep stirring it up. Ottawa’s Brady Jeff Blashill’s club in Detroit has raised the specter of those woeful 1980s Tkachuk was fined $2,486.56, the maximum allowable under the CBA, teams, a rare sight in this era of pucks parity. for his cross-check on Scott Laughton in the waning minutes of a loss to Philadelphia this past week. Older brother Matthew Tkachuk, meanwhile, The Red Wings were 8-22-3 as of Friday, taking just 19 points in their continues to get the better of his beef with Drew Doughty. The first 33 games. They lost 12 straight before beating Winnipeg, 5-2, on defenseman, in a sound bite posted by the Kings’ Twitter account, Thursday. Despite that win, they remained on track to be the worst team fanned the flames by claiming the Calgary forward “thinks he’s of this millennium. something, but he’s not even getting close to anything I’ve done in my Since the 1999-2000 season ended, only one team has approached a career. I’m over him.” Sure about that? . . . Following Boston-Colorado worse points percentage than the .288 clip by those in the Motor City. last Saturday, we got Brad Marchand’s definitive ranking of the top That would be Colorado, which in 2016-17 finished 22-56-4 (.293). players in the league. It may have been a tad biased. “Sid one, Nate Detroit’s point-getting acumen is the lowest since 2000, when the first- two,” said Marchand, ranking fellow Nova Scotians Sidney Crosby and year Atlanta Thrashers went 14-57-7-4 (.238). Nathan MacKinnon ahead of everyone else. Who’s three? “Bergy,” said Marchand, naming teammate Patrice Bergeron. Their bromance is a light Despite a 52 percent chance of landing the first overall pick, the that never goes out. Avalanche fell to fourth in the 2017 lottery. No one in Denver has a problem with the pick: Cale Makar, the superstar-in-training on the back Ex-Bruins defenseman Ian Moran signed on with Wellesley-based Matt line. They took the UMass Amherst product after New Jersey (Nico Keator’s Win Hockey Agency as a director of player development and Hischier), Philadelphia (Nolan Patrick), and Dallas (Miro Heiskanen) recruitment. made picks 1-3. Also couldn’t have gone wrong with Elias Pettersson, who went fifth to Vancouver. Boston Globe LOADED: 12.15.2019 By June 26, when the draft roll is called in Montreal, the Wings could be in line for a front-line forward, one of many commodities lacking on that roster. It might be a winger, given that four of the top five prospects on the NHL’s latest rankings are not centers, defensemen or goalies.
Alexis Lafreniere, the QMJHL Rimouski left wing, is considered the top choice for his playmaking and competitiveness. Big and fast centers are always attractive, and that’s a description of OHL Sudbury’s Quinton Byfield (6-4, 215 pounds). Ahead of the World Junior Championship, which kicks off Dec. 26 in the Czech Republic, NHL.com rated those players 1-2 on their draft board. The rest of the top five includes Swedish winger Alexander Holtz (Djurgarden), OHL Saginaw left wing Cole Perfetti, and another right wing from Sweden, Frolunda’s Lucas Raymond.
The NWHL’s Boston Pride started the season 11-0, outscoring opponents, 63-19. Meanwhile, many of the world’s top women, who pulled out of that league last summer, continue to participate in the Dream Gap Tour and work out on their own.
Amanda Kessel told the “ESPN on Ice” podcast she spends $5,000 to $10,000 a year on training, commuting from her home in New York City to rinks in North New Jersey for ice time. What’s the status of a unified women’s league?
“At this point, I’m really not sure,” Kessel said. “We want it to be done the right way. We don’t want it to be thrown together. We want it to be a strong league from the beginning.”
On Saturday, Hartford was scheduled to host Kessel and other Team USA standouts in the opening game of a five-game series with Canada. The second game (televised on NHL Network) is Tuesday in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Loose pucks 1166299 Boston Bruins
Bruins hold on to beat Panthers 4-2, salvage road trip
By MARISA INGEMI | [email protected] | Boston Herald
PUBLISHED: December 14, 2019 at 9:44 pm | UPDATED: December 14, 2019 at 10:38 PM
SUNRISE, Fla. — The last time the Bruins had a 3-0 lead on the Panthers, it ended in one of the worst defeats of the year.
The Bruins actually had a 4-0 lead early in the third on Nov. 12, only to be thwarted by a dramatic Panthers comeback. On Saturday, Florida made another bid in the final frame, but the Bruins held on to win 4-2 and snap a five-game losing streak.
The Bruins hadn’t earned points in their last four contests and opened their three-game road trip with one-goal losses in Washington and Tampa Bay, where they played solid games but came up short.
Against the Panthers, it appeared history was destined to repeat itself late with the third period working essentially as a Florida flurry, but the Bruins held on to salvage two points to avert a disastrous road trip.
As in their previous two games, the Bruins went ahead 1-0 in the first.
Jake DeBrusk broke through the Panthers defense around the top of the faceoff circles with 14:41 gone in the first. He missed on a similar chance in Tampa Bay two nights prior, but this time, he beat Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Bruins ahead.
This time, though, they extended their advantage, and that’s what earned them the win.
Against the Capitals, the Bruins had what would have been the 2-0 goal wiped off the board from an offside review, and they never extended the lead in Tampa Bay.
But David Krejci’s blast 3:14 into the second squeezed past Bobrovsky and sat on the goal line before it was knocked in to double the Bruins advantage.
Correcting a problem from the past few games, the power play got involved. With 7:30 gone, Brad Marchand connected on a slap pass from the wall to David Pastrnak waiting at the doorstep and he tapped in his 27th goal of the year to go ahead 3-0.
Florida began a comeback bid with 17:14 to go. With traffic in front of Jaroslav Halak, he let up a rebound which Mark Pysyk buried for his second tally of the year.
Pastrnak burst out on a breakaway with 13:31 left in the game and Aaron Ekblad barely got a stick on him, but Pastrnak was still awarded a penalty shot. He sent it right into Bobrovsky, keeping the score at 3-1.
Keith Yandle blasted a shot from the corner of the blue line with 10:47 left, beating Halak glove-side, and it was 3-2.
Florida’s Aleksander Barkov went down late in the third after crashing legs-first into the boards and Charlie McAvoy was whistled for an interference penalty, so things went downhill for the Panthers.
Florida dominated the rest of the period, controlling possession time and getting shots on Halak, but Pastrnak iced it with 2:10 left with a long- distance empty net goal to seal the win.
The Bruins begin a four-game homestand starting on Tuesday against Los Angeles.
Boston Herald LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166300 Boston Bruins
Bruins notebook: Penalty kill slides in recent tests
By MARISA INGEMI | [email protected] | Boston Herald
PUBLISHED: December 14, 2019 at 6:46 pm | UPDATED: December 14, 2019 at 6:47 PM
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Bruins penalty kill has bailed them out of several rough patches this season.
Whether it’s been six-minute kills or being shorthanded at particularly inopportune times, the man-down unit has come through pretty much always.
The past few games, that hasn’t been the case, and there wasn’t anyone to bail them out.
Against the Capitals, the Bruins surrendered a power-play tally to T.J. Oshie — one of two times he reached the scoreboard — and they allowed two man-up goals against the Lightning in the third period that ultimately led to their fifth consecutive defeat.
If the offense was going throughout the lineup or the power play had come back to life, it might not be crippling, but since neither of those things have come around, the penalty kill’s woes have been more glaring.
“It’s a big test,” said defenseman Brandon Carlo. “There’s been some goals, some small breakdowns, nothing we can really fix, so I don’t think it’s been a negative thing so far. They’ve been some really good power plays we’ve been going against who have capitalized on their opportunities.”
It simply could be everything that could go wrong, has, and the puck luck has reversed after a stretch where the Bruins seemingly got away with everything — or it could simply be the opponents have gotten tougher.
“I think on the PK the other night, the last two games, they were very good groups,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “Our guys are used to that, facing good groups, because we consider (our power play) a good group. It hasn’t been that way lately, but in general.”
On their three-game road trip the Bruins faced three of the league’s top seven power-play units. Before that, they faced three straight in the bottom half of the league. It makes sense, too; the better teams on the schedule, the better all their units are going to be, such as a power play, and challenge a Bruins penalty kill that’s been near the top of the league all season.
Entering Saturday night, they ranked 12th in the league at 82 percent, more than two points lower than when they were in eighth place just a week ago.
“We’ve tried to clean up the clears,” said Cassidy. “We made a small adjustment today, got burnt the other night … We have to make sure the structure part of it is right … The structure part we feel has been good most of the year. I’m confident in (assistant coaches) Joe (Sacco) and Kevin (Dean) to get that part of it done.”
Lineup changes
David Backes returned to the lineup in the spot of Brett Ritchie, but the Bruins moved the lines around all night.
Charlie Coyle moved up to play on the right side of the second line with David Krejci, while Chris Wagner, typically on the right side of the fourth line, moved to the middle with Sean Kuraly bumped up to the third line center spot between Anders Bjork and Danton Heinen.
Jaroslav Halak started in net after his loss in Washington on Wednesday night.
Boston Herald LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166301 Boston Bruins the lockout of 2004-05. He finished his career with 291 goals and 595 points.
“There were a few guys who paved the way before me,” said Gionta. “I Brian Gionta didn’t let size hold him back was fortunate enough to play in both eras of the game but, if it’s not for people along the way believing in you, giving you your shot…For my NHL shot, it was (former Jersey GM) Lou Lamoriello and (longtime Devils By STEVE CONROY | [email protected] | Boston Herald scout) David Conte. Both guys believed in me and gave me that opportunity to prove myself. So without that, the 16 years in the league, December 14, 2019 at 4:45 PM the Olympics, the world championships, I don’t think that all comes together.”
For you kids out there, there was a time when we couldn’t always count Gionta also played a part in another great Boston hockey moment, on the local team winning. though it’s one about that probably took him a long to smile about. He was the captain of the Montreal Canadiens in 2011 and the Habs had the Before Adam Vinatieri’s kick sailed through the uprights in the Bruins on the ropes but his Hall fellow inductee, Tim Thomas, would not Superdome in February 3, 2002, there was actually a dearth of titles yield. In the double overtime Game 5, with he series tied 2-2 and a Game around these parts. The Patriots had a glimmer of hope in the late 1990s 6 in Montreal awaiting, Thomas absolutely robbed Gionta on what would under Bill Parcells, but they appeared to be on the wane again. The have been a game-winning goal. It was one of several signature saves Bruins hadn’t won since the Bobby Orr days in 1972. The Celtics, the for Thomas on his magical run that ended with a Cup and the Conn most reliable local winner for four decades, had become mediocre. The Smythe Trophy for Thomas. Red Sox were still, well, the Red Sox. Boston teams were better known for their near-misses than titles. “It would have completely changed the momentum of the series and obviously the outcome of the Cup,” said. Gionta. “I had a 2-on-1 chance And if there was a kindred spirit with the Red Sox on the local college and he came flying over like he does, never giving up, prototypical Tim scene, it was the Boston College hockey team. The Eagles had produced Thomas, flopping across, (Dominik) Hasek-style, made a huge save on some of the best players that this country has ever seen, including Joey me and changed the series, because I think we could have wrapped it up Mullen, Bill Guerin, Craig Janney and Kevin Stevens, to name just a few, at that point.” and they had great teams but the Eagles’ national title drought wore on. No, Gionta couldn’t win ’em all. But the little kid from Rochester By the time Brian Gionta arrived on the Chestnut Hill campus, it had been undoubtedly far exceeded the expectations of many a smart hockey almost 50 years since the Eagles won it all, dating back to 1949. Their person. archrival up Commonwealth Avenue had won four titles since then. Harvard had also won one. And Gionta would taste heartbreak, too, Bruins timeline making the Frozen Four his first three years at the Heights without Tuesday vs. Kings, 7 p.m. — This is the first game back at the Garden bringing home the hardware until beating nemesis North Dakota in the after a disappointing road trip. The Kings are dead last in the Western Final up in Albany, New York. Conference/ With the fractured loyalties in our college total being what they are, BC Thursday vs. Islanders, 7 p.m. — You knew Lou Lamoriello and Barry finally breaking its curse did not have the same unifying effect as the Trotz would turn the Islanders around, but who could have seen them as cavalcade of pro championships the next two decades would have. But an elite team in just the second year of the program. at the time, before pro sports completed dominated the landscape, it was a pretty big deal Saturday vs. Predators, 7 p.m. — One of the favorites to win a very tough Central Division, the Preds are somehow still on the outside looking in to Gionta, taking his rightful place in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last the playoff structure. Thursday in Washington, D.C., reminisced about bringing the title home.
“If you go back to where we were at the time, we had been in two final games and lost in the semis once, so for myself and my class, we were Boston Herald LOADED: 12.15.2019 three straight years of disappointment and we couldn’t get over that hump,” said Gionta, BC’s all-time leading goalscorer. “And to do it my senior year against the all the teams we had kind of lost out against and to bring a championship I guess to Boston in a sense but more specifically BC after (52) years of a drought was a pretty special moment for all of us.”
The 5-foot-7 Gionta was the first of many smaller players to play for coach Jerry York . And the list of sub-six-foot stars — Nathan Gerbe, Brian Gibbons, Cam Atkinson and Johnny Gaudreau — helped York (in attendance on Thursday, of course) himself get inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto just last month.
“I don’t know if it changed his recruiting styles or not,” said Gionta with a laugh, referring to all the small players that followed him. “But an 18-year- old kid out of western New York to give me a shot on a big stage like Boston, Division 1 hockey….Marty Reasoner was there. A couple of other kids from Rochester had gone on to play a little bit of pro. But he gave me that chance. He gave me that chance that a lot of different people may have been questioning. And he didn’t question it from the beginning. He was right in on the recruiting process. And he’s the ultimate gentleman. When he comes in and sits at your kitchen table, it’s a pretty hard sell not to go there.”
Gionta always paid back the folks who gave him a chance. He played 1,026 NHL games — the last 20 of which were with the Bruins in 2018 — and represented the USA on the international stage nine times. He won a Stanley Cup with the team that drafted him in the third round in 1998, the New Jersey Devils, in 2003. When he was drafted, the league was still in the clutch-and-grab era and its talent evaluators were still enamored of the big lugs. Gionta would find a way to slug it out in that era, and then blossomed when the obstruction rules were more strictly enforced after 1166302 Boston Bruins
Talking Points: Krejci, DeBrusk answer the bell in Bruins' win over Panhters
By Joe Haggerty
December 14, 2019 11:08 PM
Here are my talking points from tonight's 4-2 Bruins win in South Florida . .
GOLD STAR: David Krejci didn’t have a single point during the five-game losing streak. But on Saturday night he stepped up and, lo and behold, the Bruins took home two points. It was Krejci helped kick-start the transition game for Jake DeBrusk’s goal in the first period, and then scored one of his own in the second on a strike from the top of the faceoff circle. Krejci finished with a goal and two points and a plus-2 rating in 16:20 of ice time. He also had five shot attempts and won 9-of- 14 faceoffs in a game where the second line providence plenty of offense and pressure. Bruce Cassidy slipped Charlie Coyle up to second-line right wing with Krejci and DeBrusk at the outset of the game, and it seemed to work well for the Black and Gold.
BLACK EYE: Jonathan Huberdeau is having a very good season for the Panthers, but he wasn’t able to bring out his “A” game for Florida against the Bruins. Huberdeau didn’t get a single shot on net in the 21:25 of ice time that he played. He finished with three giveaways and a minus-1 against the Bruins. He was part of the line set to contain the Krejci line, but instead allowed them to march right up the ice on DeBrusk’s first period scoring play. Huberdeau was also on ice in the third, when Florida coach Joel Quenneville pulled the goalie with more than two minutes to go, only for David Pastrnak to quickly notch an empty-netter that sealed the game. Not a good night for a very good player.
TURNING POINT: The Bruins weathered the storm in the third when the Panthers came hard after them and carved out a couple of goals to cut the lead to 3-2. Considering that the Bruins blew a 4-0 third period lead against the Panthers at home just a month ago, there was certainly some nervous, anxious moments, with the Bruins looking like they’d blow a three-goal lead in the third period this time. But the B’s stiffened after Jaro Halak gave up a soft goal on a Keith Yandle point shot to make it a one-goal game. They didn’t allow Florida to take advantage of any other breakdowns. Instead the B’s hung in there, patiently waiting until the Florida net opened up the winning scoring chance for them.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jake DeBrusk was at the heart of some of the criticism from Bruce Cassidy after the loss in Tampa when the second and third lines weren’t getting much of anything done. DeBrusk was also one of the players that responded in a big way this weekend by scoring the game’s first goal, a pretty nifty dangle through Florida defenders before beating Sergei Bobrovsky in tight close to the net. DeBrusk also fed David Krejci for his second period goal, finishing with five shot attempts and a couple blocked shots in 15:38 of ice time while posting a plus-2 rating. Perhaps just as important, DeBrusk was winning 50/50 battles for the puck and playing a competitive brand of hockey rather than doing fly-bys in a lot of areas while hunting the puck. If DeBrusk played with the same kind of speed, skill and tenacity on more nights, he’d be a difference-maker for the Bruins more often.
BY THE NUMBERS: 28 – The number of goals for David Pastrnak after collecting two scores against the Panthers, and putting himself in a position where he’s easily going to have 30 goals before the Christmas break.
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Highlights: B's snap losing skid vs. Panthers
By NBC Sports Boston Staff
December 14, 2019 9:44 PM
FINAL SCORE: Bruins 4, Panthers 2
IN BRIEF: Oh not, not this again? After the Bruins’ epic third-period collapse in their last meeting with Florida, they nearly repeated themselves after going up 3-0 after two periods. Keith Yandle’s goal with 11 minutes left made it 3-2, Boston fought off the Panthers long enough for David Pastrnak to get an empty-netter that sealed it. And so, after coach Bruce Cassidy called out their attention to details earlier in the week, the Bruins snapped their losing skid with a solid all-around effort.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166304 Boston Bruins
Could Devils send a player—not Hall—to B's?
By NBC Sports Boston Staff
December 14, 2019 7:46 PM
Former No. 1 overall pick and Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall is reportedly on the trading block in New Jersey. The Bruins are looking like a potential suitor, as are the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche. So too have the Arizona Coyotes, who could be a favorite in the sweepstakes.
But as far as Boston is concerned, Matt Kalman of WEEI says to pump the brakes:
"However, that doesn’t mean the Bruins should jump to the front of the line to get him. There are going to be several serious bidders, most in more desperate need of his services than the Bruins, and it is going to cost a mint -- think the haul Ottawa got from Vegas for Mark Stone last season -- to acquire Hall. And unlike Stone, there are no indications Hall is going to sign anywhere after a trade."
If there's anyone on the Devils the Bruins ought to be targeting, Kalman throws out the idea of Kyle Palmieri, who could fit nicely on the wing:
If Sweeney’s going to look for a player with term like last season’s Charlie Coyle trade, (Kyle) Palmieri comes into focus. A 27-goal scorer last season, Palmieir’s cap hit is just $4.65 million for this season and next. Again, the price would be steep but it might be worth it to finally solve this wing problem.
Palmieri has 11-8-19 totals in 31 games this season, with a plus-2 and an average ice time of 17 minutes. Nearly half his points have come on the power play (5-4-9).
It's worth noting Hall is out of the lineup again Saturday night, suggesting he might be getting dealt soon.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166305 Boston Bruins Kuhlman, and fits along the lines of whatever the Bruins are hoping to upgrade their forward group with at the trade deadline.
It may be that Kovalchuk simply decides to head back to Mother Russia Ilya Kovalchuk would still look good in a B's uniform for the right price for a big-money deal and eschews the NHL moving forward after he was a spectacular flop in LA over the last couple of seasons.
By Joe Haggerty Given how interested the B’s were in Kovalchuk a couple of summers ago as a free agent and how little they might have to spend to get him for December 14, 2019 9:28 AM the rest of the season, the Bruins need to do some serious tire-kicking on the former No. 1 overall pick who could be a revitalized force playing in a
top-six role for a deep, skilled Bruins team looking to fortify a Cup run. As the Bruins lament the lack of scoring from the middle of their forward lineup amid a five-game losing streak, a viable option might be just about to drop into their lap. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 The latest out of Los Angeles is that Ilya Kovalchuk is about to have his contract terminated with the Kings after last playing a game for them on Nov. 19 and essentially having been told by Kings management a month ago that his time with the organization is over. The 36-year-old Russian winger has three goals and nine points in 17 games this season, but is also a minus-10 and hasn’t been all that good at any point the past few seasons with the Kings.
Kovalchuk had 16 goals and 34 points along with a minus-26 last season in 64 games, but clearly wasn’t a good fit with an L.A. team nowhere close to playoff-caliber. His three-year, $18.75 million deal was viewed at the time as a questionable contract signed to an aging, once-great player coming out of the KHL, but it was the cost to win Kovalchuk over other teams such as the Bruins that had also shown interest.
Certainly, Kovalchuk is no longer the guy that carried the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, or a player that’s capable of putting up 37 goals and 83 points as he did that season. Kovalchuk is still a 6-foot-3, 230-pound winger that can shoot, score goals and finish off plays as evidenced by his 19 goals in 81 games the past two seasons while doing it for a Kings team that’s severely lacking offensive pieces around him.
But if Kovalchuk is either bought out of his contract or granted some kind of release from the Kings, it’s still perfectly reasonable to theorize that the Russian sniper would reach higher offensive levels skating in a second- line role with a natural playmaker such as David Krejci. It’s unclear at this point whether any interested team would have to put up his contract or be free to sign him to a new deal, but there’s no question his value is down after two rough years in L.A.
Sure, it looks like Kovalchuk is a severe defensive liability at this point in his career given that he was minus-36 over the past two seasons, but there are enough responsible defensive players for the B’s to make up for it.
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What they don’t have right now is a finisher who can spark the second line, or somebody with a natural scoring touch for the second power-play unit as well. It was a problem Bruce Cassidy highlighted after the 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night where they didn’t get much of anything from their middle two forward lines. It’s the same kind of issue that dogged the B’s in previous losses to quality opponents Colorado and Washington earlier in the stretch of five losses in a row and earlier in the season when their Perfection Line carried them.
“The top line again was creating. We’re just not getting anything from the middle of the lineup in terms of offense,” lamented Cassidy. “You need four lines to produce for you in this league on a regular basis. It might not be [on Thursday]. It might be Saturday [at Florida], but you need some offense to sort of balance things out.
“We need some guys to get going here a little bit. [They need] to at least find their opportunities and then they’ll go in. I’m not sure they’re even finding their opportunities yet, so that’s step one that they are chasing.”
It will depend on the details, of course, but if the Bruins can land Kovalchuk without surrendering much in the way of actual assets or big- time salary for a player that flamed out in Los Angeles, they need to seriously think about doing it.
If nothing else, he gives them a much better top-six wing option than they now have with Brett Ritchie, Danton Heinen, David Backes or Karson 1166306 Boston Bruins “I thought he was strong on pucks,” DeBrusk said of his right wing. “He’s been there a little bit throughout the year. It’s more so understanding the type of player he is the more reps you get. I thought he was strong on Losing streak, busted: ‘It looks like we’re getting back to more Boston pucks down low. Good defensively as a centerman, naturally. So to have Bruins style of hockey’ that kind of defensive posture gave us more chances to go out there in the D-zone for draws. I thought we played well as a line tonight.”
The Panthers had some late life. Mark Pysyk cleaned up net-front By Fluto Shinzawa garbage at 2:46 of the third. Keith Yandle’s long-distance slapper somehow sailed over Jaroslav Halak’s glove at 9:13, cutting the Bruins’
cushion to just one goal. SUNRISE, Fla. — Leaving six of eight points on the table usually does Cassidy trusted it was a blip, and not the torrent the Bruins experienced not signal a successful road trip. on Nov. 12 when the Panthers flipped a 4-0 third-period deficit into a 5-4 Bruce Cassidy sees it differently. shootout win.
The Bruins have 48 points after their 4-2 win over Florida on Saturday. “As a group, you’re not worried about your own game so much,” Cassidy They are nine clear of Buffalo, the second-place team in the Atlantic. The said. “It’s like, ‘Well, I hope Jaro, it’s a one-and-done type of thing.’ manner in which the Bruins banked points in October and November has Because he’s typically solid back there, and was the rest of the way. I given Cassidy a luxury any coach would like — the lens of progress think our team knew we were playing the right way. So we didn’t have instead of panic through which to view his team. that anxiety the first time around where we broke down too often.”
He likes how that is going recently. In all situations, the Bruins were expected to score 3.89 goals while allowing 2.14. Their 64.59 expected-goals percentage was their highest “There was a week, let’s say three weeks ago, where we might have got since their 4-2 win over Toronto on Nov. 15, when they posted a 67.57 three wins and we didn’t play as well as we did the last three games,” xGF%. Cassidy said. “The process is important. You need wins. You need points. There’s no consolation prizes. But at this time of the year, where The stat sheet confirmed the eye test — Saturday’s win was the best the we are in the standings, we wanted to get our game more solid, more in Bruins have played in quite a while. tune with how we play. I thought the last three games were a lot closer to that than some of the games where we were finding ways to win.” The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 It’s been a mixed bag for almost a month. The Bruins reeled off eight wins they might not have deserved. They lost four straight in regulation, including back-to-back losses to Washington and Tampa, that could have gone the other way.
On Saturday, finally, the result was indicative of the Bruins’ play: fast, fizzy and thorough for most of 60 minutes.
The No. 2 line, perhaps jarred to life by the inclusion of Charlie Coyle, punched in two five-on-five goals. The power play, 1 for 21 in the six previous games, clicked for the winning goal.
The Panthers pushed for two third-period goals, making it a 3-2 score. But David Pastrnak, who missed on a penalty shot earlier in the third, gave the Bruins room to breathe with an empty-net goal.
“It looks like we’re getting back to more Boston Bruins style of hockey the last three games,” Cassidy said. “Only one win to show for it. But if you play that way this week at home, I see good things for us. Especially if all four lines are able to contribute.”
It had not been that way for a while. The Bruins were down to just one reliable threesome, that being the usual cluster of Pastrnak alongside Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.
As a remedy, Cassidy pulled Brett Ritchie off the second line and out of the lineup Saturday. Coyle, quiet as the No. 3 center, moved up to Krejci’s right side. It may not have been an accident that Jake DeBrusk whistled home the opening goal and Krejci ripped in a one-timer a period later.
“They certainly were excellent,” Cassidy said. “So was it Charlie? Or was it the other two guys just kind of … knowing, sooner or later, they’re good players. They’re going to come around. I think it’s a bit of both. Charlie’s a good presence in the slot. He’ll help below the goal line. This is the type of team, Florida, where if you can play low in their zone, you may find some spots in the slot. We were able to do that.”
In 13:03 of five-on-five play together, DeBrusk-Krejci-Coyle recorded a 65.38 Corsi For rating, according to Natural Stat Trick. They controlled the puck, accumulated zone time and gave Cassidy a reliable second unit to roll out after the Bergeron line.
Coyle as No. 2 right wing may be temporary. Player and coach believe Coyle is optimized as the third-line center. But Coyle is the type of right- shot playmate Krejci likes — big, powerful, fast when necessary.
It may be that general manager Don Sweeney can find help on the trade market that will round out the second line and drop Coyle back where he belongs. But faced with a possible zero-win road trip, Cassidy opted for the short-term solution of Coyle out of position. 1166307 Buffalo Sabres Krueger often speaks about the lessons the Sabres can learn from each loss. There were two significant mistakes that he'll use in film study ahead of their game Tuesday in Toronto.
Sabres take a 'huge step' by pushing back in overtime loss to Islanders Michael Dal Colle scored for a 1-0 Islanders lead at 5:11 into the first period when Ullmark mistakenly played the puck into the corner. That allowed Beauvillier to gain possession and send a centering pass to the By Lance Lysowski front of the net. Three Sabres were beat to a loose puck on a shift when Jordan Eberle scored the go-ahead goal with 15:10 remaining in the third Published Sat, Dec 14, 2019|Updated Sat, Dec 14, 2019 period.
"It was a bit of a broken play," Krueger said of the latter play. "That’s the UNIONDALE – Jack Eichel shook his head and, unprovoked, lamented Islanders, you give them just a little bit of a gap." his mistake that cost the Buffalo Sabres a point Saturday afternoon. Still, the Sabres have earned points in 10 of their last 12 games and are After tying the score late in regulation, Eichel forced a pass to Sam 4-1-2 in December. They earned eight of a possible 10 points despite Reinhart during the 3-on-3 overtime that resulted in Anthony Beauvillier's facing Vancouver, Edmonton, St. Louis, Nashville and the Islanders in a game-winning breakaway goal and a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders eight-day span. in NYCB Live/Nassau Coliseum. This was also Buffalo's best special teams performance in weeks. The "It’s unfortunate," Eichel, who scored his 23rd goal of the season, said Sabres' power play went 2-for-3 and they killed three penalties, including inside the visitors' dressing room. "It’s a tough turnover by me in the three in the second period to keep the score tied. Ullmark made 23 saves overtime there. ... It’s obviously frustrating to not get two points." while making his fourth consecutive start.
While the mistake likely bothered Eichel during the short flight to Buffalo, There was tangible progress from their last meeting against the it did not cloud what was an otherwise encouraging performance by him Islanders, but the Sabres were unable to create enough quality scoring and the Sabres. Eichel extended his point streak to 16 games, the chances. longest in the National Hockey League this season, and Buffalo showed "I think in the month and a half it’s been since we played them last I think it will no longer be pushed around against a heavy, forechecking team we’ve taken a lot of steps as a group, and we’re starting to form our such as the Islanders. identity each and every game," Eichel said. "For us to be able to match A pushback earned the Sabres (16-11-7) another point in the standings their intensity was a huge step for our group." and a heavy dose of confidence, both significant achievements against the top defensive team in the league. Buffalo News LOADED: 12.15.2019 "I thought we competed our hearts out," Eichel said. "I thought we played really well. ... It’s a really, really good hockey team."
The Islanders (22-7-2) have allowed a league-best 72 goals through 31 games and improved to 19-0-1 when scoring at least three goals. They're also 13-2-1 at home and are less than one month removed from a 17- game point streak that has them second in the Metropolitan Division.
The Sabres lost to the Islanders, 1-0, Nov. 2 in KeyBank Center, however, as Eichel reminded the media Saturday afternoon, much has changed over the past six weeks. That was illustrated with almost every shift in the Sabres' offensive zone.
Buffalo had 35 shots on goal, including 13 in the third period, and long shifts wore down the Islanders. The first notable mental lapse came at 4:37 into the second period, when Brock Nelson was penalized for holding Kyle Okposo's stick in front of the net.
Victor Olofsson's slap shot from atop the right-wing circle snapped the Sabres' 0-for-8 power-play drought and tied the score, 1-1.
"I thought we were really persistent in the way we put the puck under pressure and we were disciplined through the neutral zone, getting it in behind their pressure," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said. "They like to catch you in the neutral zone. I thought our management of the puck was really strong and then the forecheck sustained so many long shifts where we, again, couldn’t get the fruits out of that labor.
"This is an encouraging game overall for us. We stay on topic, we stay on game plan and we’ve got points in our game every night if we can do that."
With the Sabres again trailing by one goal and only 3:33 remaining in regulation, Rasmus Dahlin drew a roughing penalty after beating Islanders winger Mathew Barzal to a loose puck in the defensive zone. Krueger pulled goalie Linus Ullmark for an extra-attacker, and Eichel sent the game to overtime on a backhanded shot during a scramble in front of New York goalie Semyon Varlamov with 1:46 left in the third period.
Eichel finished with one goal and an assist for his 14th multi-point game of the season, and he had a team-high seven shots on net in 23:58 of ice time. The 23-year-old center came barreling down the ice for a 3 on 2 in overtime, only to have his pass to Reinhart intercepted.
"I think we knew what type of game it was going to be, low-scoring, tight- checking," Sabres winger Jimmy Vesey said. "They do a good job limiting the opposition. They like to run around a little bit on the forecheck. It definitely doesn’t make it easy for the other team. The last four games show the direction we’re going." 1166308 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo News LOADED: 12.15.2019
The Wraparound: Islanders 3, Sabres 2 (OT)
By Lance Lysowski
Published Sat, Dec 14, 2019|Updated Sat, Dec 14, 2019
UNIONDALE – Jack Eichel extended his point streak on Long Island and salvaged the one-game trip for the Buffalo Sabres.
Eichel extended his streak to 16 games with an assist on Victor Olofsson's goal and scored to tie the game with 1:46 remaining in the third period before the Sabres lost to the New York Islanders 3-2 in overtime Saturday afternoon in NYCB Live/Nassau Coliseum.
Anthony Beauvillier scored the game-winning goal with 1:56 remaining in overtime.
The Sabres (16-11-7) failed to extend their win streak to a season-best four games and dropped to 4-1-2 in December.
Eichel's secondary assist on Olofsson's power-play goal in the second period gave the captain the NHL's longest point streak of the season. Eichel also tied Rick Martin (Oct. 27-Nov. 28, 1974) and Tim Connolly (Dec. 23, 2009 to Jan. 25, 2010) for the fourth-longest such streak in franchise history. The Sabres' captain then scored on the power play with an extra attacker on the ice.
Eichel has 15 goals among 29 points during those 16 games, and Linus Ullmark made 23 saves for the Sabres. Michael Dal Colle and Jordan Eberle also scored for the Islanders (22-7-2).
Opening salvo: Ullmark likely regrets his decision to play the puck into the left corner following a Sabres turnover. The puck was immediately retrieved by Beauvillier, who sent a centering pass to an uncovered Dal Colle for a 1-0 lead at 5:11 into the first period.
Entering Saturday, the Sabres were 4-6-4 when trailing after the first period of games this season. The Islanders, meanwhile, were 8-0-1 when leading after the first.
Slow start: Faceoffs were partly to blame for the Sabres' inability to sustain pressure in the offensive zone during the game's first 10 minutes. They were 1-for-10 to start the game and the Islanders thrived in transition. Ullmark was forced to make two saves on Mathew Barzal. Buffalo, though, started to generate momentum after another strong shift by Johan Larsson's line.
That group had a shot on goal in consecutive shifts and likely reminded the Sabres the type of forechecking needed to succeed against the Islanders.
Retaliation: Islanders winger Ross Johnston was shaken up after a legal check by Marco Scandella late in the first period. However, the hit drew the ire of Josh Bailey, who dropped his gloves and went after Scandella. The play resulted in a two-minute power play for the Sabres.
Olofsson has 20 points, including eight goals, in his last 19 games.
Special teams: The Sabres were called for three penalties in a span of six minutes, 13 seconds in the second period, yet they allowed only two shots on goal when shorthanded. Buffalo was 6-for-7 on the penalty kill over its previous three games but ranked 29th in the NHL entering Saturday.
Go-ahead goal: Eberle gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead with 15:10 remaining in the third period on a shot from the slot. Three Sabres failed to retrieve the puck in the corner shortly before Eberle received a centering pass from Beauvillier.
Scratches: Defensemen Zach Bogosian and Colin Miller, and forward Casey Mittelstadt were scratches Saturday against the Islanders. Bogosian and Mittelstadt have sat consecutive games, while Miller had played the previous three.
Carter Hutton served as the Sabres' backup goalie for the 11th time in 14 games.
1166309 Buffalo Sabres • On former teammate Alexander Mogilny's Hall candidacy: "He was a special player. We can put aside his journey to get here, if they don't give credit for that the numbers are still there. I think he was a dominant Dave Andreychuk remains confident struggling Lightning are a playoff player for quite a few years. Even when he left here in Buffalo, he did team some really good things. I'm not on the committee but I'm sure pushing for him."
Aud Night a huge hit By Mike Harrington What promotion in recent Sabres history was better received – and better Published Sat, Dec 14, 2019|Updated Sat, Dec 14, 2019 executed – than Thursday's '80s/Aud Night? The team created plenty of social media buzz the day before when fans realized the T-shirt
arrangement over the seats would look like the old section colors and it Hockey Hall of Famer Dave Andreychuk was back in town to celebrate was wild to see prices shoot up on the secondary ticket market for a Aud Night with the Sabres but a conversation Thursday quickly turned to Thursday night game against Nashville. his current team: What's wrong with the Tampa Bay Lightning? Or is The video presentations were outstanding – even on the outdated and anything actually wrong? too-small videoboard – and the music choices were fun. Using a The Bolts entered the weekend fourth in the Atlantic Division and out of a recording of tenor Joe Byron and organist Norm Wullen for the "Star- playoff spot but thanks to games in hand are actually second in the Spangled Banner" was a great idea, as were recordings of late, great division in points percentage. Still, a 16-11-3 record is pretty Aud PA man Milt Ellis. underwhelming for a team that piled up 128 points last season and has Asides here from many on social media that I agree with: Make the been over 100 for four of the last six. recording of Ellis saying "Last minute of play in regulation time" with one "It's just inconsistency really. We're all watching them and we know minute left in the third period a permanent fixture every game night. And there's a talented team there," said Andreychuk, captain of the Bolts' if the Sabres ever rip out all the digusting seats in KeyBank Center, why 2004 Cup champs and currently a team vice president. "I still believe not consider going all Aud and doing over the sections in the old colors? they're a playoff team. It's hard to get into the playoffs in this conference One quibble: Part of me wonders why alumni who are introduced are and they've been up and down, just not consistent." brought out through the penalty boxes. I wonder if a longer rug out the Andreychuk, who played with the Sabres from 1982-93 and again in Zamboni entrance would make for a more dramatic entrance and better 2000-01, said the Lightning are still weaving through the emotional view for fans. But I get the logistics that a shorter rug allows for a quicker baggage of the stunning first-round sweep they endured last year against teardown of the ceremony to start the game and less chance for residue Columbus. from rugs marking the ice, too.
"You think of what happened last year and they've had to change their Speaking of memories of the Sabres and the Aud, my highest philosophy a little bit and the players are still figuring it out," Andreychuk recommendation goes to a new photo book just released from Greater said. "After 62 wins, you would say it's a tough seven days, right? But at Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame historian and archivist John Boutet. It's called the same time, it's a lesson learned. The style they had, they just needed "Buffalo's Got the Spirit (Growing Up a Crazy Buffalo Sports Collector)" to realize what it takes to win in the playoffs." and a foreword is written by Bruce Andriatch, assistant managing editor of The Buffalo News. That said, the Lightning still have plenty of playoff experience. The core of the roster got to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final in 2015 in Chicago, Boutet, a St. Joe's and Canisius College grad, is the area's premier as well as Game 7 of the East final against Pittsburgh (2016) and collector of memorabilia related to Buffalo sports and the 350-page book Washington (2018). features his breathtaking collection of items. Many of them are related to the Sabres, Braves and other teams that made the Aud their home, and "A lot of those guys on that team have been to the final before. We made the Sabres had Boutet do a full presentation of many of them at their it to the conference finals since so it's not a lack of playoff experience," summer Fan Fest as well as the season opener against New Jersey. Andreychuk said. "It's more realizing that extra step. And give (Columbus coach and former Lightning boss) John Tortorella credit. That team The book showcases far more than just the standard ticket stubs, seats, played pretty well against us." programs and pennants. Boutet has Aud items that include plates from the old scoreboard, the sound baffles that hung from the roof and the Andreychuk said the Lightning are hoping to take a similar path as the section of the basketball court that had script "The Aud" painted on it. Capitals, who spent many years succeeding in the regular season and finally worked out a winning formula in the playoffs to win the Cup in You'll spend hours going down the wormhole of Buffalo sports history. 2018. Remember the Stallions? The Norsemen? Or the Breskis? They're all in there too. "When you get 120 points a couple years in a row like the Capitals did, you think you're there and they never did get there," he said. "Alex Information on Boutet, the book and an order link are available at Ovechkin is a lot different player now than he was when they were a 120- Buffalosgotthespirit.com. point team. And a lot of that is the buying in to that system and realizing Around the boards the 25 guys you have on your roster are all important. • Blues center Ryan O'Reilly on the ascension of former teammate Jack "It's not one line and one defensive pairing.We don't win in Tampa if we Eichel: "It's amazing what he's done. You see how much he impacts the don't have third and fourth lines and six 'D' that can play career years." game and creates. Now with the point streak he's on and what he's More from Andreychuk doing, we have to find a way to shut him down.
• Memories of the Aud: "I went for the first time with my father when I was "He's so dangerous with the way he winds it up. They play hard. You 8. Row 2. It was an amazing experience. Just the energy, the people on notice that about them, which is obviously good to see for them. They top of you. I was just an hour or so down the road (in Hamilton). Lots of work well for each other and for him. And it's nice to see that." family and friends with me in the building every night. I remember skating • Peter DeBoer got fired in San Jose as the Sharks continue to for warmup watching for my dad in the Golds and praying my mother underachieve but it wasn't his fault he's got two goaltenders who can't wouldn't get hit (by a puck) in the Reds." stop a puck. That's GM Doug Wilson's problem. Martin Jones entered the • On living as a Hockey Hall of Famer: "I'm very proud of that happening. weekend at 3.30/.888 and Aaron Dell was at 3.32/.893. You're not likely It took me nine years to get in and that didn't really matter. It was an to make the playoffs that way and you have no chance to survive if you accomplishment you don't do by yourself. It starts with my family, my somehow sneak in. parents, and then you think about all the good teams I played with, all the • Sign of the times: The Sharks sent DeBoer packing and had to send good players. One guy just doesn't get in. It's cool that I've been back word around that it was a hockey-related decision and not for any once after that. As my dad said, our family name will be in there forever. behavioral missteps (Bill Peters) or off-ice issues (Jim Montgomery). It's pretty humbling."
Buffalo News LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166310 Buffalo Sabres 30. New Jersey Devils. Hall awaiting new address at any moment. (30)
31. Detroit Red Wings. Broke 12-game skid with stunner over Jets. (31)
Mike Harrington's NHL Power Rankings
Buffalo News LOADED: 12.15.2019
By Mike Harrington
Published Sat, Dec 14, 2019|Updated Sat, Dec 14, 2019
Through Friday's games. Last week's rankings in parentheses.
1. Washington Capitals. Have won 23 of first 33 and are on 127-point pace. (1)
2. Boston Bruins. Sudden 0-4-1 slide slows down Atlantic runaway. (2)
3. Colorado Avalanche. Won eight of 10 to take over Central lead. (6)
4. New York Islanders. Play defense like a team built for a long run. (4)
5. St. Louis Blues. Champs just not the same offensively without Tarasenko. (3)
6. Arizona Coyotes. A surprise frontrunner in the Pacific. (7)
7. Carolina Hurricanes. In the thick of power-five battle in Metro. (11)
8. Calgary Flames. Ward has incredible 7-0 start as coach. (17)
9. Dallas Stars. Montgomery firing came completely out of left field. (12)
10. Pittsburgh Penguins. Jarry on hot run ahead of Murray in net. (10)
11. Vegas Golden Knights. A #sickmitts overtime goal from Pacioretty in Dallas. (13)
12. Edmonton Oilers. Need more scoring help behind McDavid and Draisaitl. (5)
13. Philadelphia Flyers. Lindblom's cancer diagnosis rocks organization. (8)
14. Winnipeg Jets. An unacceptable loss in Detroit. (9)
15. Buffalo Sabres. As team improves, Hutton's struggles are a burgeoning issue. (20)
16. Minnesota Wild. Just one regulation loss in last 10 games. (14)
17. Vancouver Canucks. Loved their old "Skate" jerseys on 80s Night vs. Sabres. (15)
It's a 3-3 game through 40 minutes of play.
18. Montreal Canadiens. Kotkaniemi out with concussion after cheap hit by ex-Sabres D Zadorov in Colorado. (19)
19. Tampa Bay Lightning. Four-game homestand a chance to finally get a real streak going. (23)
20. Toronto Maple Leafs. Gave up three goals in three minutes during third-period collapse in Calgary. (22)
21. Nashville Predators. Duchene was a handful for Sabres to handle here Thursday. (24)
22. San Jose Sharks. Goaltending was DeBoer's undoing.(16)
23. Florida Panthers. Have started just 3-3 on ultra-rare nine-game homestand. (18)
24. New York Rangers. Panarin up to 18 goals, 41 points. (21)
25. Anaheim Ducks. Went just 1-3 while playing four straight one-goal games. (25)
26. Chicago Blackhawks. WNYer Gilbert averaging 15 minutes a night over last five outings on D. (26)
27. Columbus Blue Jackets. Tortorella fumes over 17-shot effort in OT loss at Pittsburgh. (27)
28. Ottawa Senators. Last two wins are impressive 5-2 drubbings of Oilers, Bruins. (28)
29. Los Angeles Kings. Eden's Iafallo home for matinee vs. Sabres on Saturday. (29) 1166311 Buffalo Sabres "He's just such a good character and he works hard," Krueger said of Hutton. "He's backing and cheering for the team when he doesn't play as much as anybody. There's no extra work there. We do the same thing Sabres game day: Jack Eichel carrying 15-game point streak into Long every day. We look at how many minutes somebody has played and we Island train accordingly, off the ice, on the ice, practices. Mike Bales is in charge of making sure both goalies are ready every day to play and they are. There's nothing out of the ordinary we have to do with Carter Hutton or a defenseman that hasn't played. It's the same process." By Lance Lysowski Familiar challenge: A fluke goal by Derick Brassard was all the Islanders Published Sat, Dec 14, 2019|Updated Sat, Dec 14, 2019 needed to defeat the Sabres, 1-0, in KeyBank Center on Nov. 2. Buffalo allowed only 21 shots on goal, but it could not generate enough scoring chances. The Sabres aren't the only team to struggle against the Eichel, the Sabres' 23-year-old captain, has 22 goals and needs only six Islanders. more to match the career-high he set in 77 games last season. A goal or assist against the Islanders would extend Eichel's point streak to 16 Coach Barry Trotz's defensive-zone structure has allowed a league-best games, which would be the longest in the NHL this season. During that 70 goals through 30 games. The Dallas Stars (74) are the only other span, Eichel leads the league in goals (14), points (27) and plus-minus team in the NHL to allowed fewer than 80 goals this season. The (plus-18) while averaging 22:03 per game, the fourth-highest mark Islanders allowed 31.7 shots per game, which ranks 17th in the league, among forwards. and they've allowed the seventh-most high-danger scoring chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Eichel has eight points in his last seven games against the Islanders, including points in all three road games. "There’s a lot of what they’re doing that we’re still striving for, and I think that game 15 against the Islanders, the first period was actually one of "The consistency he’s showing, it’s a lot more than just the play on the the best in the season until then, I watched it this morning," Krueger said ice," Sam Reinhart said of Eichel on Thursday night. "It’s the leadership, Friday of the Islanders. "Then we got away from our game. We got it’s everything he’s putting into it and that’s saying a lot because you complicated and we had turnovers and they punished us and they out- know he’s always put a lot into his game and he’s always been a heck of chanced and they deserved to win even though it was 1-0 in the end." a player. He’s coming up huge for us and he did again (Thursday)."
Improvement: We might be seeing the best hockey Rasmus Ristolainen has played since he arrived in Buffalo. The 25-year-old defenseman has Buffalo News LOADED: 12.15.2019 one goal among seven points with a plus-14 rating in his last seven games. His best work doesn't always show up on the stat sheet, though.
It was Ristolainen who skated toward the net Tuesday night against St. Louis to drag the Blues' defenders out of position, allowing Eichel to skate to the front of the net for the go-ahead goal. Ristolainen also made an exceptional pass on a goal Thursday night by Jimmy Vesey, who was shouting for the puck while driving to the net.
“He’s just been adding so many things to the game," Krueger said of Ristolainen. "If you look at the 3-2 goal of Jack (against St. Louis), his drive to the back of the net actually creates the chaos for them and they overcheck and let Jack have that space. It’s little things like that that Risto’s adding here and there that make him a special player for us and of course, defensively he’s working hard. He’s been very active in the group and a leader in his own way game in and game out.”
Lineup: Coach Ralph Krueger will dress 12 forwards and six defensemen Saturday against the New York Islanders, though he declined to reveal whom he will scratch. Defenseman Zach Bogosian, who has reportedly requested a trade, and forwards Casey Mittelstadt and Conor Sheary were healthy scratches Thursday night against the Nashville Predators.
Islanders coach Barry Trotz also declined to reveal his lineup.
"They've been really strong," Trotz said of the Sabres. "I think Jack Eichel is probably a MVP candidate. They've been playing well. I think they're 5- 1-3 in their last nine and they're averaging about four goals a game, so they're going offensively. They've got good commitment, they're a deep team, getting goaltending."
Here's how the Sabres lined up at practice Friday in LECOM Harborcenter:
Some quick #Sabres forward line run-thrus. This is gonna be a short practice before the plane to NY with a Sat. matinee.
Olofsson-Eichel-Reinhart
Girgensons-Larsson-Okposo
Vesey-Johansson-Asplund
Skinner-Rodrigues/Mittelstadt-Sheary
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) December 13, 2019
Goalies: Linus Ullmark will start in goal for the Sabres for the 11th time in 14 games. His .923 save percentage since Nov. 23 ranks third in the NHL among all goalies to start at least eight games during that span. Ullmark has won six of those games, including three in a row. Carter Hutton, meanwhile, has started only one game since Dec. 1 and has lost each of his last nine starts. 1166312 Buffalo Sabres Six of the seven players selected before Mittelstadt are on NHL rosters: the Devils’ Nico Hischier, the Flyers’ Patrick, Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen, Colorado’s Cale Makar, Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson and Vegas’ Cody As Casey Mittelstadt struggles at the NHL level, many of his 2017 draft Glass. peers are still waiting to get there The Rangers’ Lias Andersson, drafted one spot before Mittelstadt at No. 7, started this year in New York. But after no goals and one assist in 17 games, the Rangers sent the center to Hartford of the AHL. He has four By John Vogl goals in nine games with the Wolf Pack.
Dec 14, 2019 “We just wanted Lias to get more playing time, touch more pucks,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “There’s got to be a consistency to his
game, one. Two, you know, one of the things that he’s got to continue to Henri Jokiharju would have loved to stay in the NHL all last season. Why work on is playing faster. I know that’s a simple answer. A lot of time it is wouldn’t he? But in January, after 37 games with Chicago, the the answer for a lot of players when they ask, ‘What do I need to do?’ Blackhawks sent him to the American Hockey League. You’ve got to play faster. There’s got to be a little quicker play from one play to the next. And it’s not just skating fast; it’s playing fast. The more Looking back, what does he think of that move? you play, the better chance you have to do that.
“It was really good for me in the end,” Jokiharju said. “It helped me a lot.” “I certainly understand that. From a playing standpoint, he’s got to play a little faster. I thought there were times he did that, and that’s when he’s The demotion was simply a step in his development, something that’s effective, and then I thought there were times where he wasn’t playing helped him become one of only two Sabres defensemen to skate in quite fast enough. You know, he’s done an awful lot of good things the every game this season. He got more minutes in the AHL, played a last year-plus, and again, it’s a 21-year-old going to play in the American bigger role and put up confidence-building numbers. Hockey League to gain some confidence, play a little bit more, touch the “I was playing like 12, 13 minutes (in Chicago) so I wasn’t getting any puck more and put him in better position to have success.” better as a hockey player,” Jokiharju said. Quinn’s description of Andersson’s game sounds remarkably like Which brings us to Casey Mittelstadt. He and Jokiharju were both first- Mittelstadt’s performances. In fact, the forward admitted as much when round picks in the 2017 draft. Like Jokiharju just before his demotion, asked what goes right during his good games. Mittelstadt’s minutes are dwindling. They can’t get lower than zero, which “Just holding onto pucks, making plays, managing the puck and playing was his ice time after getting scratched in three of the past four games. well defensively,” Mittelstadt said. “I think that’s pretty much it for me. The 21-year-old says he’s handling that OK. Usually, it stems from having the puck and making plays with the puck.” “I mean, just keep a positive attitude,” Mittelstadt said. “It hasn’t been too He rarely has the puck in Buffalo, as his 34 shots in 396 minutes attest. bad. I don’t know, just keep a positive attitude, keep working hard. Things The opponents have it way more, holding an advantage of 321-273 in usually work out, so I’ll be fine.” shot attempts despite Mittelstadt starting in the offensive zone 65 percent But will he? Mittelstadt has four goals and five assists in 31 games. In the of the time. Mittelstadt’s expected on-ice goals percentage of 41.3, past 21 games, he has one goal, one assist, 18 shots and is averaging according to MoneyPuck, is worst among Sabres forwards. 13:24 per night. His trips back to the bench after shifts are sometimes None of which is to suggest he’s a bust. Mittelstadt just turned 21 last painful to watch, a look of defeat written across his face. month. As we detailed during the offseason, Mittelstadt comparable Olli “Some nights I have some really good games,” he said, “then some Jokinen didn’t blossom until he was 24. Again, most of Mittelstadt’s peers pretty bad games, too.” are playing anywhere but the NHL.
So far, general manager Jason Botterill has resisted sending Mittelstadt Mittelstadt, of course, is happy to be at this level. But so was Jokiharju – to Rochester. The GM took a similar approach last year with Tage at the time, anyway. He says differently now. Thompson before finally sending the prospect to the Amerks in late “Obviously,” Mittelstadt said, “there’s some things I need to work on, March. It worked wonders for the forward, who had eight goals in 11 AHL some things I need to get better at, but just keep working. It’s always games after putting up seven in 65 games with Buffalo. came for me, so I’ll stick with that.” Mittelstadt still believes he’s ready for the NHL – “I’m here, so yeah, I think I’m ready” – but he’d hardly be alone if he wasn’t. There were 217 players selected in the 2017 NHL Draft. Here’s where they are playing: The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 AHL – 69
College – 51
Europe – 35
NHL – 24
Juniors – 17
ECHL – 14
Out of hockey – 7
So Mittelstadt’s peers are almost three times as likely to be developing in the AHL instead of facing the world’s best players. They are twice as likely to still be in school (the forward stayed just one season at the University of Minnesota).
Of course, there’s a certain status that comes with being a high pick. Mittelstadt was drafted eighth overall. Sending down a top prospect could equate to failure. Except:
Of the 31 first-round picks, 15 are in the NHL.
The other 16 are in the AHL.
So more than half are in the minor leagues, and the NHL total includes two injured players who haven’t played this season (Nolan Patrick and Juuso Valimaki). 1166313 Calgary Flames Warren Foegele potted a pair of shorties, including one into an empty net, in the third to seal the result and end the Flames’ recent roll. The seven-game win streak is tied for the NHL’s third-longest tear this fall. Hurricanes snap Flames' winning streak (The New York Islanders won 10 in a row, while the Boston Bruins rattled off eight straight.)
“We talked about it in here after the game — 8-1-1 in our last 10, beat Wes Gilbertson some really good teams on the road, played some really good games at home, as well,” Ryan said. “If you would have told us that we’d have that December 14, 2019 6:35 PM MST record in that 10-game segment, we would have taken that all day long.
“Obviously not the result we wanted today but at the same time, we have The Calgary Flames lost the challenge … and lost the game. built something here that’s pretty special in terms of coming back from our losing streak before that. I think we’re in a pretty good spot, so no The Flames’ seven-game winning streak was halted during Saturday’s reason to hang our heads.” matinee at the Saddledome, with the Carolina Hurricanes handing the locals a 4-0 shutout setback and ending Geoff Ward’s undefeated run as Next up for the Flames is Tuesday’s tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins interim head coach. at the Saddledome (7 p.m., Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan).
The turning point — at least from this vantage point — came just past the The Penguins are always a hot ticket when the schedule is revealed, but midway mark of this afternoon affair, when Brock McGinn broke a fans in Calgary will miss out on an opportunity to see superstar centre scoreless tie but the Flames argued the out-of-towners were still off-side Sidney Crosby. He is still recovering from sports hernia surgery. after the puck had squirted into the neutral zone earlier on that sequence. UNDEFEATED NO MORE The NHL’s War Room disagreed, ruling that McGinn had tagged up. Ward wasn’t going to stay perfect forever. As a result of the failed challenge, the Flames were tagged with a minor The franchise historians can now update the record book — his 7-0 penalty. introduction was the best for any new head coach in Flames’ club lore. They were still short — it was, after a couple of other whistles, a four-on- So what now? three advantage for the visiting team — when the Hurricanes scored again just 75 seconds later. “When you lose, I think what you do is you need to have a short memory,” Ward said post-game. “You take out of the game what you There was no coming back from that. need to take out of it, and you start preparing to win again. For us, the “It was a little deflating, for sure, especially when everyone on the bench coaches, we’ll take a look at this today and tomorrow. Hopefully, the thought it was off-side and we were pretty sure it was,” said Flames players put it away today. centre Derek Ryan after Saturday’s defeat. “And then it gets called a “As a player, you need to have a bit of a short memory in this game. It’s a goal, and they get on the power-play and score a goal, as well. So a marathon, not a sprint. For us, we’re going to look at short segments of pretty deflating little bit of time there, but that’s the adversity a good team the schedule. This past segment has been excellent and now we have to can get over in the midst of a game.” get on with our next short segment. That will start with Pittsburgh on The Flames (18-13-4) have reminded the hockey world over the past few Tuesday.” weeks that they are a good team. FORWARD THINKING In Saturday’s showdown, their opponents were better. This is a good problem to have — Calgary’s coaches and higher-ups Hurricanes netminder James Reimer made several clutch saves early on, must figure out how to handle a sudden surplus of healthy forwards. giving his group an opportunity to find their legs. Sam Bennett is ready to rock n’ roll after missing almost a month due to a “Obviously, we’ve been playing better,” said Flames centre Elias sore shoulder and Austin Czarnik capped his three-game conditioning Lindholm. “Today, the first period was probably our best during the whole stint at AHL Stockton with an end-to-end overtime winner, showing no ill- season. It’s tough when you don’t get rewarded but I think that’s effects of an ankle injury on that highlight-reel rush. something that we can learn from and keep pushing and keep playing the So who loses their spot in the lineup … or in the locker-room? way we did in the first.” Dillon Dube, 21, looks like a guy who is in the NHL to stay. Added Calgary’s captain, Mark Giordano: “Today was a tough one. It was one of those games that it felt like the team that scored first was going to Zac Rinaldo seems to be the most likely candidate to be boarding a have a real advantage, and I think that was the case.” return flight to Stockton, but the sparkplug winger has scored in his past two contests. He was scratched against the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes struck first, although the initial reaction was that McGinn’s marker — a no-doubter after a sweet feed by Jordan Martinook “That’s a good thing for us,” Ward stressed earlier this week when asked — might not count. about the extra bodies up front. “I mean, when you’re a coaching staff and you’re sitting here and you don’t have tough decisions to make on However, the video review confirmed that the linesman had aced a tricky who is going into your lineup, you probably don’t have the depth in your call. lineup.” “The right call was made, 100%,” said Ward, who didn’t agree that was ICE CHIPS the turning point in Saturday’s showdown. “We just felt like maybe the guy hadn’t tagged up … The overhead seemed to look like that, but when The Flames were blanked Saturday in nearly nine minutes of power-play we took a look at it after, it was the correct call. time, plus allowed two shorthanded tallies … Sean Monahan’s eight- game point spree ended in the shutout loss … It was a milestone outing “There was a lot going on there. You know, there’s a little bit of time for smooth-skating defenceman TJ Brodie, who has now appeared in 600 between when the puck got knocked back in and the time that (Julien games at the NHL level — all of ’em in the Flaming C. The 29-year-old Gauthier) actually put his stick on the puck to give the other guy Brodie is one of just 10 gents to log 600-plus in Calgary’s colours, joining (McGinn) time to tag up again. If he gets his stick down a fraction of a current teammates Giordano and Mikael Backlund and several franchise second quicker, we probably have the off-side call. all-timers on that exclusive list … Down on the farm, Luke Philp scored “We just felt like it was worth challenging at that point. But it was the right again — that’s seven goals during a five-game heater for the 24-year-old call, 100%” right-winger — to lead the AHL’s Stockton Heat to a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda. Just over a minute after that unsuccessful challenge by the home-side, old friend Dougie Hamilton — now in his second campaign in Carolina after being traded away by the Flames — found a hole in David Rittich’s Calgary Sun: LOADED: 12.15.2019 glove to give the guests a two-goal lead. 1166314 Calgary Flames It is not a stretch to say the opening 20 minutes had been the Flames’ finest of the campaign. Except, that is, for the not-scoring part of the equation.
Flames focus on the bright side after a bubble-popping matinee To a ridiculous extent, the hosts carried the play, at one stage owning a 9-1 shot advantage. But James Reimer held the fort. “We should’ve got one or two (tallies),” Elias Lindholm said, “but their goalie was good.” By Scott Cruickshank Still, it seemed like only a matter of time before the surging Flames would Dec 14, 2019 find their offensive footing.
Alas, they did not.
Nothing changes, according to Geoff Ward. No matter if you prevail In fact, the guests wrenched away the territorial advantage and, midway seven straight times, as his boys had done. through the second period, scored. Or did they?
No matter if you lay an afternoon egg on home ice — his charges’ most Because the play in question had been obviously offside and obviously recent display — and end up on the wrong (yet correct) side of a challenged by the Flames and obviously overturned. controversial challenge. Except that it wasn’t. The focus, in the Calgary Flames coaches’ lair, must remain the same. And handily enough, there happens to be an acronym for that Brock McGinn, it had been determined, was able to successfully tag up straightforward approach. at the blue line before teammate Julien Gauthier entered the Flames’ zone and — this is critical — touched the puck. Rather, it’s WIN: What’s Important Now? Post-review fallout at 12:25 — McGinn’s conversion, the game-winner as It’s a mantra that the head coach wants repeated daily at the it would turn out, counts; the Flames are assessed a minor for delay of Saddledome. To keep the task in bite-size chunks, to keep the game. concentration in the moment. “It was a little deflating, yeah, for sure, especially when everyone on the The slogan was first popularized by Lou Holtz, coach of Notre Dame’s bench thought it was offside — we were pretty sure it was,” Derek Ryan football team, who reportedly demanded his players ask themselves that said. “But that’s the adversity a good team can get over.” question 35 times a day. Ward had no beef with the judgment — by his staff or by the league’s In Calgary, though, it’s the coaches who live by WIN. appraisers.
“We go by that acronym — so what’s important now? Then tomorrow, “The right call was made, 100 percent,” he said. “We felt that maybe the what’s important now?” Ward told reporters after Saturday’s 4-0 loss to guy hadn’t tagged up … the overhead (camera) seemed to (confirm) that. the Carolina Hurricanes. “And we’ll just keep moving forward in those But when we took a look at it after, it was the correct call.” short stretches of time.” Following a snappy exchange of minors — Jordan Staal for high-sticking OK, fair enough. So, what is important now? at 13:05, Mark Giordano for slashing at 13:13 — one of the Hurricanes’ power-players, some guy called Dougie Hamilton, made it 2-0 at 13:40. That this one loss doesn’t turn into the porcupine at the Flames’ balloon party (to paraphrase Bob Hartley). Turning point? The skipper said no. He insisted the sequence of events wasn’t a letdown. In the aftermath of the Bill Peters scandal — and, to be fair, even a couple of games before it — the locals had begun to create serious “Sure, you talk about it (with the players), but that shouldn’t cause us to momentum. Shedding their status as a cautionary tale for NHL sag,” Ward said. “If anything, if the call doesn’t go the way you want, you underachievement, the Flames relied on a winning recipe of balanced should actually bump up and generate some energy to make sure your scoring and solid netminding from David Rittich and Cam Talbot. next couple shifts are good and grab some momentum back.
In that way, they muscled themselves back into relevancy. “I don’t think it affected the bench a whole lot. At least I didn’t see that. At that point of the hockey game, we had all kinds of time to get back into Before the arrival of the Hurricanes, they had collected points in nine it.” straight games. They had bagged seven consecutive victories. True, but even when gifted four power-play chances in the third period, They had marched up the Western Conference table. the only strike was a shortie for the travellers that made it 3-0. Game And, especially under Ward, the pressing problems they faced were over. tellingly good ones. “The lesson we need to take out of it? Carolina did not beat themselves,” Goalies making claims for the net. Ward said. “And they just waited. They waited and played a tight defensive game. There wasn’t a lot of room out there for long stretches of Forwards waging fierce internal battles. So high had the upfront bar time … but they didn’t break. They kept playing and kept playing and become that hard-nosed Zac Rinaldo, despite goal-fight and goal-assist kept to their structure.” appearances, didn’t dress for consecutive contests. And? Injured forwards Austin Czarnik and Sam Bennett are raring to return. Road-hockey blueprint aside, there was one postgame angle for the press to pursue. In addition to lineup configurations, topping the to-do list now? Recovering smartly from a single setback. Was the overturned challenge, which created a social media stir, the undoing of the Flames? Seemed likely. But that thrust was ably parried While it’s hard to imagine the Flames falling off a cliff, it wasn’t that long by the players who preferred to emphasize that the Flames are on an 8- ago that they’d dropped five straight, scoring three times in that feeble 1-1 run, that there is a lot to embrace these days. span, and the general manager had been sufficiently moved to describe his own work as “horseshit.” Which, apparently, was a point made in the dressing room before the reporters showed up. Which, if anything, also goes to show how far the team has progressed. “We talked about it in here after the game,” Ryan said. “If you would have A two-week winning streak made the Flames the league’s hottest outfit. told us that we’d have that record in that 10-game segment, we’d have taken that all day long. We have built something here that’s pretty Earlier, the New York Islanders had stitched together a spree of 10, while special, in terms of coming back from our losing streak before that, and the Boston Bruins have managed eight. Beyond that, none was longer we’re in a pretty good spot. No reason to hang our heads.” than the one the Flames brought into Saturday’s contest. Especially after that opening 20 minutes. Three pairs’ and four lines’ And for all the world, they appeared bent on extending it. worth of crispness — just no goals. “Our first period was probably the best of the whole season,” Lindholm said. “We were all over them. We had a lot of O-zone time, a lot of chances, and we were skating. We were fast, and they had a tough time keeping up with us.”
Players were granted a day off Sunday, a development Ward was far from begrudging. Especially after three wins in a four-games-in-six-days stretch against quality teams, home and away.
“We’ll take that in any stretch of the schedule,” he said. “We’ll just put this one behind us and have a good practice Monday and get ready for Tuesday.”
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166315 Carolina Hurricanes remember when Brind’Amour first tossed Aho and Teravainen on the penalty kill last season, I sort of clutched my pearls and asked Brind’Amour where he got the idea. He said as long as these guys are as young and conditioned as they are, and as long as the rest of their game The Hurricanes penalty kill is a genuinely enjoyable experience and I isn’t being impacted (he actually thought Aho feeds off more time on ice), don’t know what to tell my children they could handle it.
I asked Aho when it all started if he’d been working on his penalty killing and he kinda laughed. By Sara Civian “You know what? No, not really.” Dec 14, 2019 As Andrei Svechnikov would say, that’s the magic.
As we discussed Monday, Teravainen has sauced Aho on 49 of his 101 I’ll be honest with y’all, I woke up in Vancouver a few days ago with a bit career goals. I’d call that chemistry. It’s the same deal on the penalty kill, of a Roxy flu. I didn’t even go to The Roxy, but I swear to God the even more fun because of the risk involved. condition is airborne. Aho is leading the league with three shorthanded goals, and Teravainen Anyway, I woke up and I knew that one of my few remaining brain cells has one. The Canes are No. 4 in the league overall with five shorthanded was on to something at some point a few hours prior. I usually leave goals this season (McGinn cashed in the other one). myself notes in the middle of the night when I stumble upon whatever I believe at the time is a good idea. A sampling of my collection: The risk-benefit analysis or whatever business people say is a net win. On top of the goals, Carolina is No. 2 in the league with an 86 percent kill “Finnish baseball, saunas, tennis, coffee” rate overall. It only allowed two shots on goal throughout four Minnesota “Who is the best at Ping Pong?” power plays last Saturday. It ~put on a clinic~ in Edmonton against the then-top power play unit in the league. It went 4 for 5 succumbing to a 5 “We want playoffs chant” on 3, but the first two kills were something else.
“Call mom” This is what we call the “kill” portion of the evening. You’ve got Staal at the dot, McGinn, Edmundson and Pesce doing their thing. As the cliche … Not exactly reinventing the wheel or making much sense, here. But goes, your goalie needs to be your best penalty killer and James Reimer when I woke up in Vancouver I just knew I’d talked to some great hockey showed up here. He even joked postgame that the Hurricanes should be minds and we were really getting into the nitty gritty. paying him more with all these close calls and penalty kills. “Pavel Bure penalty kill” Catch Aho on any given day and he’ll go toe-to-toe with anybody. Catch I respect my past self for making my future self work for this one, but a him when he’s streaking (15 goals since Nov. 1, tied with Jack Eichel for little research and I remembered exactly what I was going for. the lead league since then), and he’ll win.
The Hurricanes penalty kill is actually enjoyable to watch, to the extent “Energy guys” have become a hockey interview cliche, but hometown that I get excited when a Hurricanes penalty is called. That’s a good thing game-winner Jordan Martinook is here to remind us why they matter, as for me these days, considering the 121 minor penalties they’ve racked up Edmonton still hadn’t recorded a shot on this power play and someone this season is the fourth most in the NHL. had to relieve Aho taking his risks.
They’ve had a barrage of calls against lately — some head coach Rod The more you watch these penalty kills and the way they’re implemented Brind’Amour agrees with, some he doesn’t (likewise). But they’re killing — especially realizing Aho and Teravainen are receiving the exact same them, building off it and making it entertaining with their best players out average man-down TOI — the more you realize the coaching staff there. deserves a tip of the hat.
Oh yeah, like Pavel Bure averaging 1:58 shorthanded time on ice in his Even if it’s a top hat. flashy career. This is a comment worth reading.
“You find that there’s almost two trains of thought with the kill now,” The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 Brind’Amour told The Athletic at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday. “Teams are either hyper-aggressive or they’re actually a little passive. But on the flip side, all the best players are killing penalties. You’re seeing a lot more shorthanded opportunities. Teams are going for it a little more now. It makes the game better.”
It really, really does.
There will always be a need for the Joel Edmundsons and the Brock McGinns of the world taking pucks to face shorthanded. And, of course, the rare Brett Pesces of the world sliding for the save when on a lesser team they could be racking up power play minutes for more glory.
That’s why Pesce leads the Hurricanes and is tied for 22nd (wow, makes you think) in the league for average shorthanded time on ice per game at 3:04. Edmundson is right behind him at 2:48. Then there’s Jaccob Slavin. But then there’s Dougie Hamilton leading the team in time on ice and playing more penalty kill minutes than he has in his career. Then McGinn.
Then it’s Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen averaging precisely 1:36 shorthanded time on ice per game apiece.
Petr Mrazek banged his stick against the ice for the final five seconds of a power play in the overtime loss at Vancouver on Thursday for a reason — he’d come off, then he’d trust Aho to come right on and prolong the power play. He scored on a blown play that shouldn’t have been blown — one the refs admitted was a mistake to captain Jordan Staal.
Your difference makers are your difference makers at any strength, especially when you can find two with some rare chemistry. Especially when they’re as well conditioned as most in the NHL are these days. I 1166316 Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks blow a 3-goal lead in the 3rd period and fall to the defending champion Blues 4-3 for their 4th straight loss
By JIMMY GREENFIELD
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
DEC 14, 2019 | 10:00 PM
ST. LOUIS
The similarities were eerie. The outcome was far more painful.
The Blackhawks blew a three-goal third-period lead Saturday night to the defending champion Blues nine days after doing the same in a victory against the Bruins — last season’s other Stanley Cup finalist.
But this time the Hawks failed to come away with even a point. The Blues roared back with four goals — including Justin Faulk’s winner with 2 minutes, 26 seconds left — for a 4-3 victory at the Enterprise Center.
The Hawks had a power play in the final two minutes but failed to score the equalizer despite pulling goalie Corey Crawford. The loss was their fourth straight and 10th in 13 games.
The game was reminiscent of the road win against the Bruins on Dec. 5, when the Hawks were outplayed at the start only to take a 3-0 lead early in the third period.
Brandon Saad had goals in the opening minute of the second and third periods Saturday, and Patrick Kane added his 15th of the season with 15:44 remaining in the third.
But just as they coughed up the lead against the Bruins, the Hawks did the same against the Blues. An Alex Nylander turnover in the Hawks zone on the next shift gave the Blues life just 24 seconds after Kane’s goal. Robert Thomas stripped Nylander and got the puck to Tyler Bozak, who made it 3-1 at the 15:20 mark.
Bozak added his second goal with 6:52 left, and just 12 seconds later Jacob de la Rose tied it on a backhander from the slot.
The Blues spent nearly the entire first period in the Hawks zone, outshooting them 13-2 and posting a 25-4 advantage in shot attempts. Whenever the Hawks touched the puck, the Blues effortlessly took it back and raced up ice to create opportunities.
The Hawks turned the tide in the second. Jonathan Toews nearly scored on a 2-on-1 off the opening faceoff, and 19 seconds into the period Saad slipped a shot from the high slot past Jordan Binnington for his ninth goal to give the Hawks a surprising 1-0 lead.
The rest of the period was fairly even, though most of the Hawks’ scoring opportunities came while going 0-for-3 on the power play — including a two-man advantage for 41 seconds that they failed to convert.
Saad’s 10th of the season 30 seconds into the third period made it 2-0. Toews won a puck battle in the corner and found Saad streaking into the slot. He picked up the pass and easily deked Binnington to score into an open net.
Chicago Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166317 Chicago Blackhawks One-timers: Colliton said Duncan Keith (groin) has resumed skating in Chicago but didn’t offer a timeline on the defenseman’s return. ... A final decision is expected soon on the injury status of Calvin de Haan, who is likely to miss significant time. The defensemen injured his right shoulder Rookie Kirby Dach is staying with the Blackhawks instead of playing for against the Golden Knights and returned to Chicago for evaluation. Canada in the World Juniors
Chicago Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019 By JIMMY GREENFIELD
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
DEC 14, 2019 | 3:59 PM
ST. LOUIS
The only reason Team Canada had any hope of prying rookie Kirby Dach away from the Blackhawks for the World Juniors was because he has had so much trouble filling the scoresheet in the NHL.
But even with no goals in his last 12 games entering Saturday — and no points in his last 11 — the 18-year-old forward is staying with the Hawks.
“It was an opportunity that he had, so we (discussed it),” coach Jeremy Colliton said of Dach playing for Canada in the tournament, which begins Dec. 26. “But he’s playing really well and getting better and better, and his minutes are going up steadily and there’s an opportunity for more if he continues to improve.
"So we didn’t really want to lose that momentum. He’s got an opportunity to take a bigger role, and hopefully he can.”
Dach last month had three goals and four assists in a five-game span but he followed with his current scoring drought. Dach’s ice time did get a boost after his mini scoring binge, though he has played primarily a bottom-six role recently.
Dach entered Saturday’s matchup against the reigning champion Blues averaging just 11 minutes, 1 second of ice time over his last five games, including only 8:01 against the Coyotes on Sunday at the United Center in a game that went to a shootout.
Despite Dach’s minimal playing time, Colliton doesn’t think the rookie’s confidence has taken a hit.
“There’s conversations obviously whether it’s me, the rest of the staff or his teammates just to make sure he’s in the right frame of mind,” Colliton said. "Ultimately, of course, we want him to produce. He’s an offensive player, and he feels better about himself when he does. But it’s how he plays.
"When I look at the last game (against the Coyotes) in particular, he was excellent. He was skating. He made plays. He won a lot of puck battles, very strong stick, very good position defensively, so we're pleased with that. We want him to keep going on that way."
For Dachj to help the team, he needs to create turnovers and not worry about his point totals.
"There’s a lot of other things that happen in the game of hockey other than producing points,” Dach said. "As a young guy, it’s huge for me to learn how to play a 200-foot game if I want to be a complete player in this league, and that’s what I want to do. There’s other ways to judge your performance other than points.
“You can score three goals and still have a bad game, so for me it’s just about feeling good with the puck and making plays and at the same time making sure I’m getting to my own zone and being more responsible defensively.”
A moment Dach will never forget is watching Jordan Eberle score the tying goal with 5.4 seconds left in regulation against Russia in a semifinal of the 2009 World Juniors. Canada won in a shootout and went on to beat Finland for the gold medal.
For Dach, the disappointment of not playing for Canada isn’t too great when he considers where he is.
“That’s the golden moment that most Canadian kids will remember is the goal (Eberle) scored, and they want to be that guy,” Dach said. “To represent your country is a huge honor. But ... I’ve been focused on being with the Blackhawks and helping them win.” 1166318 Chicago Blackhawks The most radical move would be to trade Patrick Kane. As I said, everything has to be on the table.
Don’t laugh. Wayne Gretzky was traded when he was 27. Kane is 31. He Column: The Blackhawks are bordering on being a hot mess this season and has three seasons remaining on his contract with a $10.5 million cap — but that might not be the worst of their problems. Everything should be hit — very reasonable for one of the best players in the league who has on the table to fix things. shown no signs of slowing down.
Whether Kane would waive his no-movement clause is the real issue. Probably not. But if he were to agree to a deal and bring back a By JIMMY GREENFIELD ridiculous haul, that accelerates rebuilds. And no matter what the Hawks say, they are rebuilding — and have plenty of work to do. CHICAGO TRIBUNE Jonathan Toews’ contract is identical to Kane’s, but he doesn’t have DEC 14, 2019 | 8:30 AM nearly the same trade value. He’s not going anywhere.
Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist are obviously talented, but they still have ST. LOUIS to prove they can succeed in the NHL. Dach, 18, had a good week last month but hasn’t registered a point in 11 games. Boqvist, 19, has had One thing the Blackhawks have made abundantly clear over the last few some good games but also has looked overwhelmed at times. He’s weeks is they don’t want to be judged based on how banged up they are. nowhere near a sure thing.
Injuries to Duncan Keith, Calvin de Haan, Andrew Shaw and Drake Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome are players any team would want, but Caggiula simply are part of hockey, and the next man is expected to step neither appears to be a superstar who can carry the Hawks. And their up. Good teams thrive and survive no matter who is lost. days of being cheap labor are over. DeBrincat’s contract extension with a $6.4 million cap hit kicks in next season, and Strome, who is scheduled The Hawks are not thriving. Nor are they surviving. And right now they to be a restricted free agent this summer, will be in the $4 million to $5 are not good. million range. In fact, they are bordering on being a hot mess. A failure to re-sign Lehner, who will be an unrestricted free agent after The Hawks have been trending downward since they won the 2015 the season, could be catastrophic if Corey Crawford decides to retire and Stanley Cup. But despite two seasons of postseason failure and another goalie prospects Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia don’t prove capable of two without a playoff appearance, they appeared to have hope this year. becoming NHL starters. Imagine where the Hawks would be if Lehner hadn’t fallen into their laps last summer. Just a few weeks ago, the Hawks were 9-7-4, riding hot goaltending toward a potential playoff run. Then injuries hit — yes, they do matter to With 50 games remaining, the Hawks’ season likely is over. Comparisons an extent — and the bottom started to fall out, revealing just how tenuous to the Blues winning the Stanley Cup last season despite having the things are for the organization. NHL’s worst record in January don’t hold water.
The Hawks are 3-7-2 in their last 12 games with just one regulation win A better comparison is the Red Wings, the former powerhouse who failed during that span. They suddenly look like a team that won’t be to see the writing on the wall and have turned into the NHL’s worst team. competitive this season with a long-term outlook that perhaps is even If the Hawks aren’t careful, that’s where they might suddenly find more uncertain. themselves. Everything has to be on the table to fix what's wrong.
The most obvious reaction to the Hawks’ troubles would be to make a Chicago Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019 coaching change. When the Hawks decided not to practice Friday in St. Louis, it was a bit of a surprise considering they also did not practice two days earlier in Arizona.
My antenna was up: Would Jeremy Colliton survive the three-game trip? The Hawks have had too many games this season in which they didn’t play hard either from the start or for a full 60 minutes, and at some point that falls on the coach.
But it’s difficult to see general manager Stan Bowman moving on from Colliton a little more than a year after he hired him to replace Joel Quenneville. It would be too much of an indictment for hiring Colliton in the first place.
The larger question is whether it’s time for Bowman to go. He has been GM for a little more than 10 years and presided over the greatest run in franchise history.
Save the debate about how large of a role he played in three Stanley Cups for a different day. He was instrumental, and that part of his legacy should be secure.
But that was then and this is now. The Hawks have to determine if Bowman is the right person to move them forward.
Most recently, he drafted Alex DeBrincat, traded for Dylan Strome and signed Robin Lehner. But he also gave out a number of bad contracts — Bryan Bickell and Brent Seabrook’s are the most egregious — that contributed to trades in which the objective was getting out of salary-cap hell rather than helping the Hawks become better.
I realize the Hawks love continuity, and firing Bowman would have a far greater organizational impact than firing Quenneville did. But the idea he’s the only person who can lead the team forward is ridiculous. If the Hawks don’t have in mind two or three replacements — either from within or around the NHL — they’re not doing their due diligence and just burying their head in the sand. 1166319 Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks collapse in third period, blow three-goal lead in loss to Blues
By Ben Pope@BenPopeCST
Dec 14, 2019, 10:03pm CST
ST. LOUIS — The Blackhawks’ road trip was already a losing cause regardless of Saturday’s result.
It already was before Alex Nylander committed an unacceptable-in- peewee turnover to give the Blues life. It already was before Jonathan Toews lost two faceoffs and two defensive marks in 12 seconds, letting the Blues tie the score. It already was before the entire defense lost track of a pinching defenseman and conceded a late winner.
But after this total meltdown en route to a 4-3 loss — in regulation, no less — the road trip feels like a dagger to the heart, not merely a losing cause.
“When you don’t have the confidence of a bunch of wins behind you, yeah, that can happen,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “The only way we’re going to get out of it is by finding a way in those situations. We just run around for no reason. Play to the inside of your check and defend from the middle, and the game’s a lot easier.”
For 44 minutes, the Hawks appeared on track for a second victory this month over a 2019 Stanley Cup finalist. Brandon Saad broke out of his slump with two goals, Corey Crawford turned in his best start in a while and Patrick Kane sniped the visitors to a 3-0 lead.
Then it all unraveled shockingly fast, starting with Nylander’s momentum- shifting lapse. Colliton came to the polarizing young forward’s aid by tossing the rest of the roster under the bus, too.
“If we bench everyone who makes a mistake, we’re not going to have any players,” Colliton said. “The real issue is that, up and down the lineup, we don’t do the right things all the time every shift. Until that changes, it’s hard to win.”
The Hawks finished their three-game trip 0-3-0 after the Golden Knights, Coyotes and Blues successively piled scoring chances all over them.
Saturday’s game was, statistically, the worst of all. The Blues out- attempted the Hawks 25-4 in the first period (even though Colliton later oddly claimed he liked how the Hawks played in it) and ended up with more than twice as many high-danger scoring chances (15-7).
“It’s easy to look at the storyline and get discouraged and come up with the wrong mentality about what can happen going forward, but it’s the wrong way to go about it,” Toews said. “Each guy has to look at himself and try to find ways to bring more out of himself every night.”
The Blackhawks won’t release Kirby Dach to play for Canada in the world junior championships, which run Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in the Czech Republic.
“I don’t think it was really up to me,” Dach said. “It’s the management’s choice, and whatever they say goes, so you don’t want to upset the boss.”
Dach has gone 12 consecutive games without a point, but Colliton nonetheless seems confident in the third overall pick’s progress.
“His minutes are going up steadily, and there’s an opportunity for more if he continues to improve, so we didn’t really want to lose that momentum,” Colliton said.
Adam Boqvist is eligible to play for Sweden in the world juniors, but the Hawks haven’t announced if they will allow him to go.
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Wild visit the Blackhawks after Staal's 2-goal game
Staff Report
By Associated Press
Posted
12/15/2019 7:00 AM
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota visits the Chicago Blackhawks after Eric Staal scored two goals in the Wild's 4-1 win over the Flyers.
The Blackhawks are 2-5-2 against the rest of their division. Chicago has given up 21 power-play goals, killing 80.4% of opponent opportunities.
The Wild are 2-6-1 against opponents from the Central Division. Minnesota ranks fifth in the league shooting 10.7% and averaging 3.1 goals on 28.6 shots per game.
The matchup Sunday is the first meeting this season for the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Patrick Kane has recorded 37 total points while scoring 15 goals and collecting 22 assists for the Blackhawks. Brandon Saad has scored four goals over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Staal leads the Wild with 25 points, scoring 11 goals and adding 14 assists. Zach Parise has totaled five goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 7-1-2, averaging 3.7 goals, 5.8 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while allowing 2.8 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.
Blackhawks: 3-6-1, averaging 2.2 goals, 3.6 assists, 4.1 penalties and 10.5 penalty minutes while giving up 3.7 goals per game with a .893 save percentage.
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De la Rose, Faulk rally Blues to 4-3 win over Blackhawks
By STEVE OVERBEY
Associated Press
Posted
12/15/2019 7:00 AM
ST. LOUIS -- Jacob de la Rose reached deep into his bag of tricks to help the St. Louis Blues get a big comeback win from three goals down.
Justin Faulk capped a four-goal, third-period rally with a late tally as the Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Saturday night.
Acquired from Detroit in early November, de la Rose keyed a four-goal third period rally with a wicked backhand to tie the scoret 3-3.
"That's the secret weapon in my tool box," he joked.
Faulk followed de la Rose's first goal as a member of the Blues with a blast off the post with 2:26 left in regulation to cap the comeback. St. Louis won in regulation after trailing by three goals in the third period for the first time in franchise history.
Tyler Bozak scored twice for the Blues, who won their second in a row.
Brandon Saad tallied twice for the Blackhawks, who have dropped four straight.
Patrick Kane put Chicago up 3-0 with his 15th goal of the season with 15:44 left in regulation.
Bozak began the comeback just 24 seconds later.
"I think we knew we were playing pretty well, creating a lot of opportunities," Bozak said. "I don't think we ever had any doubt. We felt if we got one, maybe we could get another one and keep piling them on."
St. Louis scored four times in a span of 12:54 to erase the deficit.
Bozak chopped the deficit to one with his fifth goal of the season with 6:52 left.
De la Rose then tied it 12 seconds later.
"I didn't really have time to put it to my forehand," de la Rose said.
De la Rose was acquired on Nov. 6 in exchange for Robby Fabbri. He was making his 15th appearance with the Blues and picked a perfect time for his first goal in a St. Louis uniform.
Faulk followed de la Rose's tally with the game-winner.
"It was nice to see us keep pushing," Faulk said. "That first one gave us some momentum and we went on from there. We were able to stick with it. It doesn't go like that all the time - but we'll take it."
Jordan Binnington made 19 saves to improve to 15-6-4.
Saad scored the game's first goal just 19 seconds into the second period. He added another 30 seconds into the third period for a 2-0 cushion.
Corey Crawford made 34 saves for Chicago, which was 10-0-3 when leading after the second period.
"We've got to be better in that situation," Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook said.
Jonathan Toews, who had two assists for the Blackhawks, added: "It hurts. We kept them off the scoresheet for the first couple periods. It (is terrible) to blow that one."
Daily Herald Times LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166322 Chicago Blackhawks longest tenure was with Washington. But Chicago will always be one of my favorites. They gave me my start and my opportunity. I was able to win a Cup here and we love coming back to the city. ...
Ex-Blackhawks forward Brouwer gets new break with Blues "But one of the most fun seasons that I had was in St. Louis. Just the memories that I have, even away from the rink. My son was born in St. Louis ... right at the beginning of the season.
John Dietz "I just have so many good memories on both sides that I don't know if I'll identify as a fan or a favorite for one of them, but they're both teams that Follow @johndietzdh I'll keep track of when I'm done." Updated Not that he's in any hurry for that day to arrive. 12/15/2019 1:34 AM He is, after all, a hockey player.
He's a travelin' man Hockey players almost always believe they have at least one more A look at Troy Brouwer's pro career:• Drafted by the Blackhawks in the season in them. seventh round in 2004 Even if they're benched, waived, demoted or cut. • 2006-11: Had 49 goals and 54 assists for Hawks in 238 games And that's exactly how ex-Blackhawks forward Troy Brouwer felt after • 2011-15: Had 83 goals and 69 assists for Capitals in 293 games Joel Quenneville and the Florida Panthers released him from a Professional Tryout agreement during training camp. • 2015-16: Had 18 goals and 21 assists for Blues in 82 games
So Brouwer hung in there, kept skating and is now giving the St. Louis • 2016-18: Had 19 goals and 28 assists for Flames in 150 games Blues (19-8-6) some much-needed minutes while the defending Stanley Cup champs' fight through a spate of injuries. • 2018-19: Had 12 goals and 9 assists for Panthers in 75 games
"If I would have come out of that camp (with the Panthers), and they • 2019-20: Has 1 goal and 0 assists for Blues in 9 games would have told me, 'Hey, you're not good enough anymore,' then maybe Career totals: 182 goals, 181 assists in 847 games I probably wouldn't have tried to pursue getting back in the NHL," Brouwer said before the Blues defeated the Blackhawks at the United Career bests: 25 goals for Capitals in 2013-14; 22 goals for Blackhawks Center on Dec. 2. in 2009-10
"But when they told me I was good enough to make the team, that Postseason highlights:• Scored 4 goals and had 4 assists in 19 games actually pushed me a little harder to know that I'm not done yet." during Blackhawks' 2010 Stanley Cup title run. Two of those goals came in the Hawks' 6-5 victory over Philadelphia in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Brouwer, who was a seventh-round pick by the Hawks in 2004 and won a Final. Cup with them in 2010, has skated in nine games for the Blues this season but was a healthy scratch when they played Chicago at • Scored 8 goals and had 5 assists in 20 games for Blues in 2015-16, Enterprise Center on Saturday. He scored 12 goals and had 9 assists in including the series clincher vs. the Hawks in Game 7 of the first round. 75 games for Florida last season, then got caught in a numbers game during camp.
The 34-year-old winger appreciated Quenneville's honesty and added Daily Herald Times LOADED: 12.15.2019 that it was nice to see his old coach back in the NHL.
"The guys down there absolutely love playing for him," Brouwer said. "For me to see him on the ice, it was crazy. His drills haven't changed. His mindset hasn't changed. It was fun. It actually rejuvenated me.
"It was nine years removed from when I played for him last, but it was still the same old 'Q'."
The next six weeks were full of conflicting emotions for Brouwer -- and he seriously contemplated retirement at one point, telling his wife: "I'm tired of this. I'm done."
If it were only that easy. Hockey is like a drug to so many, and Brouwer needed another fix.
To keep the window open, Brouwer stayed in shape by skating with the Western Hockey League's Calgary Hitmen.
During that time, St. Louis suffered major injuries to Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen. Instead of calling up an inexperienced player or two from the minors, Blues GM Doug Armstrong elected to bring Brouwer and 31-year-old Jamie Ginn in on PTOs.
Brouwer was then inked to a one-year, $750,000 deal on Nov. 21 -- the same day it was announced that forward Sammy Blais would miss at least 10 weeks with a wrist injury.
Brouwer's only averaging about 10 minutes of ice time in a bottom-six role. But he's a veteran with a winning pedigree and has easily slotted back into a franchise that he scored 18 goals for in 2015-16.
What's a bit odd about Brouwer, who has a respectable 182 career goals, is that he's suited up for the Blackhawks, Capitals, Blues, Flames and Panthers without spending more than four years with any of them. It begs the question: Who will he identify with once his career does end?
"That's going to be tough," said Brouwer, who scored the series-clinching goal against the Hawks during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. "My 1166323 Chicago Blackhawks A drastic change might be necessary, but the frustration stems from the Blackhawks knowing what the problem is on the ice and still not doing anything about it.
Blackhawks hit new low after epic collapse in St. Louis "We need to, when the game's on the line, buckle down, stop and start, make the right read,” Colliton said. “I know they know and I know we as a group know what we have to do to have success and it's just a matter of doing it." By Charlie Roumeliotis
December 14, 2019 11:30 PM Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019
ST. LOUIS — The Blackhawks needed something to feel good about going into a Central Division showdown against the reigning Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. A solid 60-minute effort would've sufficed, but a win would've trumped all, no matter how they got it. Two points translates into confidence and confidence turns into belief.
Well, both the Blackhawks' confidence and belief are starting to run thin after hitting a new low in Saturday's 4-3 loss.
For the second time in 10 days, the Blackhawks squandered a three-goal lead in the third period by giving up four unanswered goals in a span of 13:16 to a Blues team that, quite frankly, dominated the entire game. The Blues led in shot attempts (65-40), shots on goal (38-22), even-strength scoring chances (34-13) and even-strength high-danger chances (14-2), according to Natural Stat Trick, but couldn't crack a red-hot Corey Crawford until the third period.
It was an epic collapse for the Blackhawks, who lost their fourth in a row and for the 10th time in 13 games. And there are no words to describe it.
"It shows where we're at," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "We're not good enough in those situations. All we can do is continue to talk about and show the team and work together to make it better. That's the only way it gets better. We recognize the problem. We've got to find a way to take a step. I think we have taken steps at times, but it's not consistent enough."
The Blackhawks are a fragile team right now and you could see it in their body language from the opening faceoff, almost as if they're starting the game already down a couple goals. Can you remember the last time they opened a game by dictating the terms?
In dark times like these, your best players have to step up and take control and they did that on Saturday.
Brandon Saad scored twice, Jonathan Toews registered two primary assists, Patrick Kane ended a six-game goal drought and Crawford stopped the first 32 shots he faced before the Blues' third-period onslaught. And yet it still wasn’t enough.
Brent Seabrook and Toews — two members of the Blackhawks’ leadership group — were sitting at their stalls after the game awaiting the media and made no excuses. They accepted responsibility and acknowledged being in this position is unacceptable.
"Being out there in those situations, you got to take pride in it," Seabrook said. "I know I take a lot of pride in it. ... I know I'm on there for two [goals], the second and third one. It's a critical part of the game and I've got to be better in those moments."
"That sucks to blow that one with the lead that we had," Toews said. "But there's situations where we've got to get pucks out and I lost my check a few times."
So what now? Where do the Blackhawks go from here? Will it get worse before it gets better?
Is the season even salvageable?
"Why not? One game at a time," Toews said. "We had a rough week. ... It's easy to look at the storyline and get really discouraged and come up with the wrong mentality in your mind about what can happen going forward, but it's the wrong way to go about it. We've just got to focus on tomorrow night and build off the things we keep doing well. Each guy has to look at himself and try to find ways to bring more out of himself every night."
The Blackhawks have been searching for answers all season and they’re not getting any closer to finding a solution. They’re getting further away from it. 1166324 Chicago Blackhawks
3 Takeaways: Blackhawks lose 4-3 against Blues
By Scott King
December 14, 2019 10:21 PM
The Blackhawks lost 4-3 to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Here are three takeaways:
Blackhawks blow three-goal lead
After Patrick Kane's beautiful stick-side snipe at 4:16 of the third period, the last place Hawks led the defending Stanley Cup champs 3-0 in St. Louis. It was going to be a huge moral victory for Chicago, who had lost three straight games and been outscored 10-3 in their past two.
Twenty four seconds later, Tyler Bozak scored the first of four unanswered Blues' goals to give St. Louis their first lead of the game, and the final score in regulation, 4-3.
"Sucks to blow that one with the lead that we had, but there's situations where we've got to get pucks out, and I lost my check a few times," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said after the game. "Those guys can make plays when you turn the puck over and you lose your check, so just got to keep going back to the drawing board."
Alex Nylander turned the puck over in Chicago's D zone to Robert Thomas near the high slot, who gave the puck to Bozak for the Blues' first goal of the game which sprung three more.
“If we benched every player who made a mistake, we wouldn’t have any players," Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton said after being asked if he thought about benching Nylander after the mishap.
As they've done a lot this season, the Hawks allowed the opposition way too many shots on their net. The Blues were able to pepper Corey Crawford with 38.
"I thought we had a good start to the third, obviously," Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said. "Crow was huge for us all night, really kept us in the game the whole game and I think we let him down."
Crawford and Robin Lehner have been leaned on too much this season by a struggling defense who's definitely missed Calvin de Haan (right shoulder) and Duncan Keith (groin) the past few games. Even before the pair's injuries, the netminders facing around 40 shots was happening too frequently.
"We all take responsibility," Colliton said. "With the coaches, we have to find a way to prepare these guys better so that they can execute those types of reads when the game's on the line. So, that's it."
Colliton also said Keith began skating in Chicago. There's no set timetable for his return, but it should be sooner rather than later now.
Forward Brandon Saad scored his ninth and tenth goals of the season in St. Louis on Saturday. His first goal came 19 seconds into the first period, assisted by Toews.
Saad's second goal of the game came 30 seconds into the third period. Toews used his body to maintain possession on the boards and feed Saad the puck in front of the net for his second helper.
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What Blackhawks can learn from defending Stanley Cup champion Blues
By Charlie Roumeliotis
December 14, 2019 2:30 PM
ST. LOUIS — From 2008-17, the Blackhawks were the gold standard of hockey. Teams across the NHL tried copying their blueprint after nine consecutive playoff berths, five Conference Final appearances and three Stanley Cup wins.
But for the last two-plus seasons, the Blackhawks have been in foreign territory where they can no longer sleepwalk their way to a playoff spot. It's become an uphill battle just to stay in the race.
While there's a lot of hockey left in the season, the Blackhawks are at risk of missing the playoffs for the third straight year and they’re desperately searching for answers. Ironically, they could learn a lot from their arch rival St. Louis Blues.
The Blackhawks played the role of a big brother and bullied the Blues in the Central Division for years but watched them hoist the Stanley Cup last season for the first time in franchise history by overcoming ridiculous odds of sitting in last place on Jan. 3. The Blackhawks find themselves in a similar position, spiraling towards the basement of the Western Conference and trying to salvage a season in which they had legitimate playoff expectations.
The Blues know exactly what they're going through and how difficult it is to stay positive during those dark times.
"It's never easy, no doubt about it, especially when there's guys in that locker room that have won as many Cups as they have and know what it takes to win," Blues forward Brayden Schenn said of the Blackhawks' situation. "If you get the feeling sometimes of it's not coming easy ... I think obviously they're good enough pros in that locker room to find ways to keep positive and believe that they're going to turn it around."
When you go through long stretches without winning, it can feel like a chore coming to the rink every day. And when you're not at the rink, it's difficult for players not to take that frustration home and let it creep into your everyday life. That's where the Blackhawks are at right now.
"It's all part of the job, really," Schenn said. "It's not going to be, if you ask those guys in that locker room if they think they're going to win a Stanley Cup every year that they're going to play, I think they feel very fortunate to definitely win three of them but I don't think you come to the rink, you don't want to bring a negative attitude to the rink, no doubt about it, you want to be positive and upbeat and find ways to work through it."
The Blues' path to the Stanley Cup isn't exactly one teams are looking to emulate. Nobody plans on being at the bottom of the standings around Christmas. But it gives the clubs that are some hope that it can be done.
"It's not going to happen every year where the last place team comes out and dominates the second half and wins the Cup," Schenn said. "But I guess we showed the league and people that it's definitely possible."
Every team that's on the outside looking in will try to rally around the fact the Blues never stopped fighting even when a playoff berth seemed so far away last season. But the Blackhawks have to take it one day at a time and simply focus on what they can control or it's not going to matter.
"They showed it's possible but ultimately we have our own situation," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "They improved so that's what we need to do."
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Blackhawks won't loan Kirby Dach to Canada for 2020 World Juniors
By Charlie Roumeliotis
December 14, 2019 1:20 PM
ST. LOUIS — The Blackhawks confirmed on Saturday that rookie forward Kirby Dach will remain in the NHL and not be loaned to Team Canada for the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship, which begins Dec. 26 and runs through Jan. 5 in the Czech Republic.
The Blackhawks weren't expected to send him, but their recent slide in the standings reignited the discussion as Team Canada was preparing to finalize its roster. Dach, who was taken No. 3 overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, would have played a significant role for his country, but the Blackhawks felt it was better for his development to stay in Chicago.
"Obviously, it was an opportunity that he had but he's playing really well," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "I think he's getting better and better and his minutes are going up steadily and there's an opportunity for more if he continues to improve, so we didn't really want to lose that momentum. He's got an opportunity to take a bigger role as we go here and hopefully he can."
Dach has been a bright spot for the Blackhawks this season. He has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 26 games and is averaging 12:03 of ice time. But he's pointless in his last 11 and probably could've used a reboot by going up against his peers at the World Juniors and playing in all situations.
After all, the Blackhawks sent defenseman prospect Henri Jokiharju to do exactly that last season and he helped lead Team Finland to a gold medal by eating up top pairing minutes and serving in a leadership role.
While he may be bummed about not getting that same opportunity, Dach understands the privilege it is to play in the NHL at 18 years old and that's where his mind is at.
"Obviously World Juniors is pretty big in Canada and growing up it's always a thing you dream of doing," said Dach, who won gold with Team Canada at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and recorded seven points (two goals, five assists) in the tournament. "Growing up I remember the Jordan Eberle goal against Team Russia and that's the golden moment that most Canadian kids will remember, is the goal he scored and they want to be that guy. To represent your country is a huge honor. But at the same time, I've been focused on being with the Blackhawks and helping them win each and every night. Obviously timing didn't work out, but I'm happy to be here. It's the NHL and it's the best league in the world, so I'm excited for the opportunity that I have here and to keep producing.
"It's the management's choice and whatever they say goes, right? So you don't want to upset the boss. For me, it's just about playing good and feeling good on the ice, and obviously I've got a good coaching staff and support staff around me that is helping develop me here. If I was able to go back for the World Juniors, it would be a huge honor, but I've played for Team Canada in the past and it's a fun time."
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Alex DeBrincat joins the Blackhawks All-Decade Team
By Scott King
December 14, 2019 8:55 AM
Throughout the 2019-20 season, NBC Sports Chicago will be unveiling its Blackhawks All-Decade Team. The roster will feature the 14 forwards, 7 defensemen and two goaltenders that made the biggest impact on the franchise from the 2010 through 2019 seasons.
Less than two and a half seasons was all we needed to see from Alex DeBrincat, a highly-skilled and crafty winger for the Blackhawks, who's usually looking to shoot instead of pass.
DeBrincat was one of the biggest steals from the NHL Draft in recent years. The Hawks taking him in the second round, No. 39 overall, of the 2016 draft changed the way teams selected players.
There's been less hesitation for GMs to pick forwards around DeBrincat's height (5-foot-7) if they're point-producing machines with strong vision and skating. Right out of the gate, the 21-year-old recorded 28 goals for his rookie campaign during the 2017-18 season and followed it up with 41 last year.
"The Cat" has seen a dip in production tallying 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 32 games so far this season, but expect that to pick up.
DeBrincat has utilized his size in being able to sneak by defensemen and find open areas in the offensive zone like the left circle, where he's rifled in a lot of his goals with the Hawks. The Farmington Hills, Mich. native has 151 points (77 goals, 74 assists) in 196 games with Chicago.
He hasn't hoisted the cup or even played one playoff game yet with the Blackhawks, but if/when he does reach the postseason in his career, he'll be a reason why his team got there and will surely be a difference maker.
Alex's chemistry (and interesting friendship) with old Erie Otter (OHL) pal Dylan Strome, as well as with Patrick Kane, amplify the forward's strengths and make him even more fun to watch.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166328 Chicago Blackhawks The reality is all in the record. The Blackhawks are 12-15-6 with 30 points this season. There are only three teams in the league with fewer points than they, and those three teams are admittedly in a rebuilding mode. The Blackhawks are in last place in the Central and trail the first-place Powers: Change is needed for the Blackhawks to succeed again Blues by 16 points.
The playoffs are a dream as of today. You can point to what the Blues did last season all you want, but that was rare and also required change. By Scott Powers It was a change in coach and a change in goalie that brought upon the Dec 14, 2019 27 Blues’ rise from the bottom to the top.
The Blackhawks absolutely believe they’re capable of duplicating that. Jonathan Toews wasn’t a man defeated as he stood in front of the media ST. LOUIS — A penny for John McDonough and Rock Wirtz’s thoughts. after Saturday’s loss. Asked if he was still optimistic despite where the Blackhawks stood, he didn’t hesitate in his answer. The Blackhawks are crashing. McDonough and Wirtz are seeing it. They have to be. We’re all witnessing it. So, what now? “Why not?” Toews responded. “One game at a time. Like I said, we had a rough week. Coming into this game, we had an energized team playing There’s no question changed is needed. If the Blackhawks are going to in their own building that we just played that patient game, played smart succeed this season, which is becoming less likely by the game, or again defensively, let our goaltenders see pucks. Guys are blocking shots, in the foreseeable future, change has to come. What that change is is up penalty kill was good, power play gave us a little bit of momentum. We to McDonough and Wirtz. got the lead. I don’t know if we curled into our shell a little bit when we They could make a change in general manager. They could make a gave up a couple — I think guys kept playing, it’s just we gave up some change in coach. They could make changes within the roster. Any and all quality chances and they burned us. changes are justifiable now, but the point is change is required. The “It’s easy to look at the storyline and get really discouraged and come up Blackhawks can’t keep going down this same path and expect different with the wrong mentality in your mind about what can happen going results. forward, but it’s the wrong way to go about it, we’ve just got to focus on That was stamped with the Blackhawks’ 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues tomorrow night and build off the things we keep doing well. Each guy has on Saturday. Despite being widely outplayed — the Blues held a 25-4 to look at himself and try to find ways to bring more out of himself every lead in shot attempts after one period and finished with a 32-13 scoring- night.” chance advantage in five-on-five play for the game — the Blackhawks The question for Colliton was whether he really believed the Blackhawks actually had the defending champs on the ropes with a 3-0 lead in the could discover consistency when all they have been is mostly third period. But as has been too often the case this season, the inconsistent. He was definitive in his answer, too. Blackhawks failed to close out the game. It was 3-1, then 3-2, then 3-3 and finally 4-3. It was unbelievable, but also quite believable if you’ve “It has to,” Colliton said. “The group we have, we have to find a way so been following the Blackhawks as of late. it’s right there for us. We gotta respond better.”
You couple what happened Saturday with the Blackhawks surrendering a That might be true, but it’s also now time for McDonough and Wirtz to 3-0 lead in the third period just last week against the Boston Bruins, respond. recent lopsided losses to the Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights and a 3-7-1 record in their past 10 If they want to give Colliton and Stan Bowman more of a leash to turn games with only one of those wins coming in regulation, and it’s not a this around, the roster needs change. The Blackhawks absolutely miss pleasant snapshot of where the Blackhawks are at. Keith, de Haan and even Andrew Shaw. There is just too much being put on other players who can’t carry that load. The youngsters are struggling, It’d be different if it was just these past 10 games. The sample size is which naturally comes with being young and inexperienced. Alex large enough to know it isn’t. Through 33 games, we have a pretty good Nylander has zero goals and two assists in the past 14 games. Kirby idea of what the Blackhawks are. They wisely invested in goaltending Dach has zero points in the past 12 games. The line combinations and have been propped up by two elite goalies for much of the season. haven’t been clicking lately outside the top one. The Dominik Kubalik- Their defense had some holes when completely healthy and has Toews-Brandon Saad line was on the ice for nine shots on goal for and struggled mightily after being depleted by injuries to Duncan Keith and seven against Saturday, and the other line combinations were outshot Calvin de Haan. They possess some scoring power but not enough 23-3. The defense is bending and often breaking. Brent Seabrook played depth within their lineup. the second most five-on-five minutes Saturday and was on the ice for five shots on goal for and 19 against. Adam Boqvist and Dennis Gilbert are More than anything, the Blackhawks just can’t put it all together treading water. Gustafsson misses Keith as a defensive partner. consistently enough. They’re good enough to find ways to build 3-0 leads in the buildings of the two teams that played for the Stanley Cup last Keith’s recent improvement is good news for the Blackhawks, but they’ll season, but not consistent enough to finish them off. They’ve lacked need more than just him returning from injury. If the Blackhawks want to consistency dating back to last season and rarely been able to satisfy create any hope for the playoffs this season, they need to pursue other Jeremy Colliton’s desire for it since. From period to period and game to players on the trade market with the cap space that will come when de game, it’s anyone’s guess which team will appear. Haan is placed on long-term injured reserve. There’s no way around that.
Consistency has been the word probably uttered by Colliton more than If McDonough and Wirtz decide to go another route, that’s their call. It’s any this season. He’s had to tweak his system, switch lines and pairings all about change in one way or another. It’s difficult to believe they don’t and move around a bunch of parts, but he’s seen glimpses of what he see that, too. thinks the Blackhawks can be. That, of course, hasn’t come as easily as he hoped after having a full offseason and training camp to prepare for this season. Still, he certainly believes they’re capable of eventually The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 reaching that on a more permanent basis.
From the outside, though, that’s becoming harder to envision. We can get into how the Blackhawks are either worst or second worst in the league in shots against per 60 minutes, scoring chances against and high-danger chances in five-on-five play, but that’s been the case for a few years now regardless of whether it was Colliton or Joel Quenneville behind the bench. There are flaws in the roster. But these Blackhawks were designed to win despite that this season.
Corey Crawford (pictured) and Robin Lehner have done their parts to keep the Blackhawks afloat this season. (Jeff Curry / USA Today) 1166329 Colorado Avalanche As Patrick Roy said when he took the Avs’ head-coaching job in 2013, NHL “coaches are hired to be fired.”
Chambers: Why the Avalanche leads the NHL in road attendance Denver Post: LOADED: 12.15.2019
By MIKE CHAMBERS | [email protected] | The Denver Post
December 14, 2019 at 6:00 am
It’s probably because of Nathan MacKinnon, and it might have something to do with Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen, when healthy. But one thing is for certain: Hockey fans really enjoy watching the Avalanche throughout North America.
Through 17 road games, the Avs are playing before an average crowd of 18,163, highest in the NHL. Toronto (18,057), New Jersey (18,040), Boston (17,920) and Dallas (17,677) round out the top five.
Surprisingly, the reigning Presidents’ Trophy champion Tampa Bay Lightning is last on the list at 16,068.
MacKinnon and company sell tickets, just like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner with the Maple Leafs, Taylor Hall and Jack Hughes with the Devils, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand with the Bruins, and Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn with the Stars.
Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers rank 25th in road attendance (16,552), but that’s probably just an example of far-flung Alberta fitting into a predominant American league.
McDavid and MacKinnon, along with Matthews, are show-stopping attractions. And with Colorado, it seems fans want to see the young and exciting roster that includes Makar, the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner as college’s hockey’s best player.
If the votes were cast today, MacKinnon would be in the Hart Trophy running as NHL MVP and Makar, although currently day-to-day with an injury, would solidly be in the discussion for the Calder Trophy (rookie-of- the-year), Norris Trophy (best defenseman) and Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability).
The Avs are also doing well with home attendance, although not as flashy. Through 14 home games at the Pepsi Center, average attendance has been 17,750 — 13th highest in the NHL. The Avs rank 12th in capacity percentage at 98.6.
Behind the bench. If this pace keeps up, half of the 31 NHL head coaches from the beginning of the 2018-19 season will be fired by the end of the current campaign.
Seven were let go last season or this offseason and five have already been replaced since Nov. 20 this season.
Mike Babcock left the Maple Leafs, Bill Peters was no longer wanted with the Flames, the Devils parted with John Hynes, the Stars with Jim Montgomery and Peter DeBoer with the Sharks. They were each fired for different reasons, but clearly, the old-school approach Babcock and Peters used could end their big-league coaching careers. Hynes and DeBoer will be back, both axed because of underperforming teams. Who knows about Montgomery, the former University of Denver skipper, because we don’t know the extent of his “unprofessional conduct” that voided his contract.
Who’s next?
Jeff Blashill might not make it through the Detroit Red Wings‘ dismal season. The Wings took a league-low eight wins and 19 points with a minus-59 goal differential into the weekend. Detroit is on pace for the NHL’s worst season since the Avalanche had just 22 wins and 48 points in 2016-17.
The Columbus Blue Jackets (12 wins, 29 points entering the weekend) might move on from John Tortorella, who is old-school like Babcock and Peters. The fiery Tortorella — who might come down on the media harder than his players — told reporters he was “embarrassed for our organization” after Thursday’s 1-0 overtime loss at Pittsburgh, although he accepted part of the blame. Fact is, the rebuilding Jackets have six rookies on the roster and a youth movement seems inevitable, including with the head coach. 1166330 Colorado Avalanche bad penalty in this one but also got kneed at the end of the game, which went uncalled. Hopefully he’s OK moving forward.
Tyson Jost – B+ Avs Game 32 Grades: Sloppy Victory I felt like Jost was the Avs most consistent forward, shift to shift, in this one. He’s a controversial player right now, but he’s doing a lot of things right. At some point, however, there needs to be a little more production. BY EVAN RAWAL You can’t hate on a guy, who in only nine minutes of even-strength time, registers six shot attempts. DECEMBER 13, 2019 Gabriel Landeskog – D
The Captain has looked pretty rough with the puck since returning, and Mark Barberio – B yet, he has three goals in five games, so not too bad. Took another I think you have to give credit to Barbs. It’s not easy to come out of the penalty in this one, and that’s kind of been an issue all year with him. press box like he does. A lot of players are not built for that mentally. Nathan MacKinnon – B He’s come in and been steady when the team has needed too. Picked up an assist on the Nichushkin goal and nearly had his own in the second Another two points for MacKinnon, and he still didn’t look like he was period on a pinch. flying the way he normally does. The pass on Landeskog’s goal, where he was opened up to shoot the puck, was all world. Pierre Edouard Bellemare – C Valeri Nichushkin – B+ For as poor as Bellemare was to start the year in the face-off circle, he’s really turned it around and now sits above 50%, with another strong night The dude is feeling it right now, and now everything is going in. I really tonight. This game had very little intensity, which is what this guy and his don’t know how you explain it at this point. We’re now sitting at six goals line feed off of. Took a penalty late but I didn’t like that call. in his last 10 games, and he’s picked up a few assists in there as well. My prediction is that a contract extension is almost certain. Andre Burakovsky – D Matt Nieto – B I’m not liking the setup of the top two lines right now. It just hasn’t worked in either of the games they’ve played, and the Avs are still so good Another game where Nieto does a lot of things right, most of them very they’ve won in spite of it. Burakovsky did get a few shots on net in this small to keep the game moving, and picks up another point. Another one but it was an underwhelming night. He was not alone in that. member of the strong penalty kill.
Matt Calvert – B- Mikko Rantanen – D
Like Bellemare, he’s going to feed off intensity and tonight just wasn’t Very quiet game from Rantanen. He registered two shot attempts at even having any of that. Had a chance to basically seal the game shorthanded strength, which is double what his line mates did, but was relatively quiet in the third period but was stopped on a breakaway. Even with all that, overall. Calvert’s line controlled a lot of the play. Calle Rosen – C+ Ian Cole – C- Since being taken out of the lineup, he’s come back and played well. That pairing was the only pair to end up on the negative in shot He’s starting to shoot the puck more in this one, and had a nice one-timer differentials at even strength, and it was by a decent amount. I did like in the second period. He has not, however, taken advantage of any of the Cole on the PK tonight, although I’m not sure that New Jersey power play power play time the staff is giving him, and that may hurt him. is all that powerful. Nikita Zadorov – D+ J.T. Compher – C+ Z’s shot metrics were solid, and he had a few solid rushes up the ice, one Compher was solid on the PK most of the night, including a dive late to of which was shorthanded and another where MacKinnon’s shot was get a puck out of the zone. That line did create some good opportunities blocked. I felt like he struggled to move the puck out of his own end at even strength but just was not able to finish any. though, and in a game with very little hitting at all, he was very quiet.
Joonas Donskoi – D
Tonight was not the mess that it was the other night for Donny, but it BSN DENVER LOADED: 12.15.2019 wasn’t that great either. It was capped off by a shot to the head from Blake Coleman. Donskoi did return late, luckily.
Pavel Francouz – A+
The Avs basically slept through that game, and Francouz was one of the redeeming parts of this one. You can still see the rebounds are out there to get, but he made some big saves, including a few breakaways and two on one’s. The only goal to beat him was off Girard’s stick and in.
Samuel Girard – D
Girard did pick up a power-play assist but still doesn’t look very comfortable there. He took a penalty in the second period on a very uncharacteristic play by him. I didn’t like a lot of his decisions with the puck in this one. At one point he went back to get the puck and had Z on a reverse, but just didn’t do anything and the Devils player took it away from him really easily.
Ryan Graves – C
He didn’t get a “+”, so he’s a complete failure. Kidding, obviously. Graves’ PK work was solid tonight, but spending that much time in your own end against a Devils team that is un-good isn’t ideal.
Nazem Kadri – D
The makeup of this line right now just isn’t working. They’re getting beat down at even strength in terms of shot metrics as well. Kadri took a pretty 1166331 Colorado Avalanche significantly more invested in grabbing two points tonight than the Avs did for most of the game. I don’t think we’re in the neighborhood of a goalie controversy yet but Francouz certainly has had a strong recent run (even counting the five he gave up against the Flames) and Grubauer has had Francouz brilliant again as Avs claw past Devils more of a slow drip of mediocrity after the first month of the season followed by injury issues. We aren’t there but if it continues we might get
there eventually. Frankie has been awesome. BY AJ HAEFELE The Avs got through a week of subpar play but accumulated five of six DECEMBER 13, 2019 possible points. The old Avs used to have play near a perfect game to walk out with a win. That a mediocre effort from them beat two NHL clubs this week is a testament to the kind of talented roster they’ve built.
While the Avs certainly didn’t play their best tonight, they definitely played Mediocre play doesn’t win you games in St. Louis against the champs, and when you have a game that counts in the standings, you just hope to however, and now that this is behind them, they can begin focusing walk out with the two points. entirely on a big-time matchup. Well, as big as it gets for December.
That’s exactly what the Avs did tonight in a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Nathan MacKinnon finished with two more points and you barely noticed Devils in a game beset by lethargic play on the ice and frenzied him tonight. He already has 20 goals and 50 points on the season. It is speculation off it. December 13.
As the Devils have traversed the continent on their current road trip, star This isn’t a space you’re reading for personal life stuff but I’m taking wing and soon-to-be-former Devil Taylor Hall has played continued doing advantage of the platform to wish my mom a happy birthday today! She his thing. That ended tonight when Hall, despite participating in warm- is one of the best people on the face of the planet and has always ups, was a late scratch from the action and kicked off a whirlwind of trade encouraged me to chase my dreams as passionately as possible. I was talk. extremely lucky to be born her son and I hope she enjoyed an excellent day celebrating how awesome she is. With Colorado frequently mentioned as a major contender for Hall’s future services, it was natural to wonder if the Avs had pulled the same trick they did with Derick Brassard last year when they traded for him with his current team in town so all he had to do was switch locker rooms. BSN DENVER LOADED: 12.15.2019
That ultimately did not happen as the game came and went with no resolution to Hall’s situation. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see that resolved before the holiday roster freeze next week but, for tonight, it appears everyone can sleep peacefully.
What happened on the ice was nothing short of a showcase of Pavel Francouz’s ability to frustrate and shut a team’s offense down. Two nights after going 55 minutes until giving up the only goal against, Francouz followed it up with another 55 minutes of shutout hockey.
That goal against made it 2-1 in favor of Colorado as the Avs got goals from Gabe Landeskog in the first period and Valeri Nichushkin in the second period.
It won’t count as a high-event game but it certainly didn’t have the same intensity of a regular NHL game. It most definitely did not feel like the kind of game the top team in the western conference would be involved in but here we are.
One of the measures of good teams in the NHL is their ability to win without playing their best game. The Avs pulled that trick again tonight but it will very likely not fly next week as they take on the St. Louis Blues in an early-season clash of the titans.
For tonight, though, the only deal completed was Colorado getting two points against a bad New Jersey team. Aesthetics aside, sometimes that’s all that matters. And goaltending.
When Taylor Hall participated in warm-ups and was then announced as a scratch just minutes before the game began, the entire feeling of the game changed. Was Hall being traded to the Avs? To ANYONE? What was going on? Where was Hall? He wasn’t in the press box with the rest of the New Jersey scratches. Where was he? Why was his equipment bag sitting outside of the NJ locker room? I repeat, WHAT WAS GOING ON?
It felt very much like everyone in the building, the two teams included, was distracted from that point on. The press box was buzzing with everyone checking phones, firing off texts, and trying to get ahead of what could be a huge breaking story. The players engaged in an extremely disjointed, half-hearted affair that lacked focus and all intensity. It was mentioned by several people that it felt like a men’s league game and it’s hard to argue. It was a slog.
The Avs finished this week 2-0-1 on their three-game homestand and you can’t argue they played anything more than a “B” game all week. Even their best effort against Philadelphia included a lengthy stretch of Flyers domination in which the Avs just had to survive the surge.
The Avs survived that Flyers surge and tonight’s very lethargic overall effort thanks in part to Pavel Francouz’s exceptional play. He was nothing short of awesome in denying a New Jersey team that seemed 1166332 Columbus Blue Jackets
Ottawa Senators hand Blue Jackets a 4-3 overtime loss
Brian Hedger The Columbus Dispatch
Dec 14, 2019 at 5:18 PM
KANATA, Ontario — Prior to entering the locker room Saturday afternoon at Canadian Tire Centre, Anthony Duclair was a popular guy in the tunnel.
He signed a black Ottawa Senators jersey, gave fans a few high-fives, took several selfies and flashed a wide smile the entire time.
What an afternoon it was for the Senators’ leading scorer, who netted his third career hat trick, at age 24, and did it at the behest of the Blue Jackets in Ottawa’s 4-3 overtime victory against his former team.
"I’ve just been given the opportunity of proving myself every shift," said Duclair, who was dealt to the Senators last season at the trade deadline for pending free agent Ryan Dzingel. "Sometimes I don’t have a good shift or make a bad play, but the big thing is I’m right back out there the next shift and I can prove myself. In the past, sometimes if I (made) a mistake or whatnot, I’m sort of glued to the bench. So I’m just happy to get continuing opportunities."
This time, it came at the expense of the Blue Jackets (12-14-6), who lost for the second straight time in overtime and had three players — Sonny Milano, Josh Anderson and Ryan Murray — leave with injuries. It was another stinging loss, despite the Blue Jackets roaring back from a 3-1 deficit to tie it 3-3 in the third period on goals by rookie Alexandre Texier.
The Blue Jackets came into the game off a 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday, which coach John Tortorella said was an embarrassment to the entire organization. His beef was with his team’s work ethic, or lack thereof, against a Penguins team missing five lineup regulars — including stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
He expected a much better response against Ottawa, but didn’t get it until the Senators had built a 3-1 lead, including two goals by Duclair in the first period.
"We need to worry about how we’re going to inflict instead of being inflicted upon, as we were totally in that Pittsburgh game," Tortorella said before the game. "That’s the biggest thing, a mindset of inflicting."
Ottawa did the inflicting first, taking a 1-0 lead 2:16 into the game when Duclair scored on a wrist shot from between the circles that beat rookie goalie Elvis Merzlikins to the far side — a shot that is usually stopped.
Cam Atkinson tied it just 2:37 later on a breakaway, getting help from a video review, but Duclair struck again at 12:05 to give the Senators a 2-1 lead.
Merzlikins, who was pulled for Joonas Korpisalo after one period, was also beaten by Nick Paul with 4:40 left in the first. That would’ve made it 3-1, but the Jackets won an offside challenge to stay within a goal.
Connor Brown did make it 3-1 in the second with a goal against Korpisalo, but the Blue Jackets then began to control play, despite missing two forwards and a defenseman.
The Jackets outshot Ottawa 20-5 in the third, but Duclair ended on a power play in overtime that followed Atkinson being stopped on a breakaway.
"I wasn’t there (in Columbus) for long," said Duclair, who leads the Senators (14-17-2) with 18 goals. "It’s obviously a little more motivation playing ex-teammates, that’s for sure. I’m just happy I played well."
Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166333 Columbus Blue Jackets
Rash of injuries further dims Columbus Blue Jackets’ holiday season
Brian Hedger The Columbus Dispatch
Dec 14, 2019 at 8:01 PM
KANATA, Ontario — Christmas can’t come soon enough for the Blue Jackets.
They still have five games left before a brief holiday break, including four more this week, and now have a slew of injuries heaped on top of a season spiraling downward.
Sonny Milano, Josh Anderson and Ryan Murray were the latest to leave the lineup Saturday in the Jackets’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre, all three with undisclosed upper-body injuries.
Milano was injured at 5:17 of the first period on a hit by Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki, who smashed Milano’s head into the boards on the right wing of the Ottawa zone after the Jackets forward stumbled. Anderson, who fought Borowiecki on the ensuing face-off, finished the first period and was pronounced out for the rest of the game during the intermission break.
Murray was injured in the second period, leaving with 6:49 left and not returning.
No updates were given, so it’s unclear how many will miss further action and how many players might need to be recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League before a home game Monday against the Washington Capitals.
The Blue Jackets also play Tuesday at the Detroit Red Wings and host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday and New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
If any of the three are out, it would be another big blow to endure. Already out are defensemen Zach Werenski (shoulder sprain) and Markus Nutivaara (upper body), plus rookie forwards Emil Bemstrom (fractured rib) and Kole Sherwood (torn oblique).
Brandon Dubinsky, meanwhile, has missed the entire season with a wrist issue and is expected to remain out long-term.
If there is any positive injury news, it’s that Werenski and Sherwood returned to practice this past week.
Werenski’s injury was given an estimated four-week recovery, but he has shown an ability to return early before and played most of 2017-18 wearing a brace for a damaged shoulder. Saturday was two weeks to the day since New York Islanders forward Anders Lee collided with Werenski, which sprained the AC joint in his surgically repaired left shoulder.
Sherwood, who was put on injured reserve Nov. 14, has missed four weeks after being given an estimated timeline of four to six weeks for his issue.
Elvis Merzlikins got another road start, his eighth of the season, and it did not go well. The rookie goaltender allowed the first two of Anthony Duclair’s three goals and was pulled after one period by coach John Tortorella.
Merzlikins allowed two goals on eight shots and was also beaten for a third goal that was negated by a video review for offside. The first goal, a wrist shot by Duclair, was the one that bothered Tortorella the most.
“It’s something we can’t have right now,” he said.
Merzlikins was replaced to start the second by Joonas Korpisalo, who allowed two goals on 19 shots.
Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166336 Columbus Blue Jackets Milano was badly disoriented as he made it up to his skates, and he was helped slowly off the ice, with teammates Nick Foligno and Dubois each taking an arm. He did not return to the game.
Portzline: Anthony Duclair burns his old mates, and other observations Josh Anderson came to Milano’s defense off the ensuing faceoff, when from the Blue Jackets’ OT loss he and Borowiecki dropped the gloves and had a heavyweight bout in which both landed blows.
It may have come at a cost to Anderson, though, who played only two By Aaron Portzline more shifts before leaving later in the first period. He also did not return to the game. Dec 14, 2019 Milano and Anderson were said by the Blue Jackets to have upper-body
injuries, but there is a concern that Anderson may have reinjured the Ten observations from the Blue Jackets’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa shoulder that plagued him late last season in the playoffs and early this Senators on Saturday in Canadian Tire Centre: season.
1. Getting their noses rubbed in it During the second intermission, it was announced that defenseman Ryan Murray (upper body) would not be available for the third period. The Blue Jackets dropped to 1-4-2 in their past seven games, so obviously it’s going swimmingly these days. But the past four losses have “It’s tough when you lose important guys to the team,” Robinson said. each had a personal wrinkle that makes them sting all the more. “But we did a good job rallying in the third.”
On Saturday, it was Anthony Duclair’s turn to burn his former club. 4. Atkinson stymied
Duclair had his third career hat trick, including the winner at 1:56 of Cam Atkinson scored his eighth goal of the season at 4:53 of the first overtime, to lead the Senators. Ottawa acquired him from the Blue period, finishing a breakaway after Murray found him with a 135-foot Jackets at the trade deadline last season, along with two second-round pass up the middle of the ice. draft picks, for Ryan Dzingel. It was first ruled a save by Ottawa goaltender Anders Nilsson, but replays “He’s been great; he’s a shooter,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. showed that Nilsson’s glove was clearly over the goal line with the puck. “Duke’s been great for us all year. He’s certainly found his groove. Good goal.
“I don’t think it matters (being) against his (old) club. I don’t think he’s that If only Atkinson could have had more such good fortune. He had two type of kid. I think he just wants to help his team.” other breakaways that could have dramatically changed the complexion of the game. Duclair has 18 goals on the season, one short of last season’s total (11 in Columbus, eight in Ottawa) and two short of his career high, set in 2015- At 7:42 of the second period, with the Jackets down 2-1, Atkinson had a 16 for Arizona. two-on-none with Foligno after picking off a pass in the neutral zone. It appeared that Atkinson fired wide from close range, but Nilsson may Put another way: He has as many goals as the Blue Jackets’ top two have swept aside his shot with his left pad. goal-scorers combined, Pierre-Luc Dubois (10) and Cam Atkinson (eight). Only 35 seconds later, Ottawa’s Connor Brown cashed in on his breakaway, sliding the puck through Joonas Korpisalo’s pads to make it Duclair left Columbus in good standing with the Blue Jackets, but you 3-1. have to believe the hat trick felt good against one of his former clubs. He’s also played for the New York Rangers, Arizona and Chicago. At 1:23 of overtime, Atkinson had another breakaway, a chance to end the game. This time, he was stopped by Nilsson’s chest and glove, and And it had to sting a bit for the Blue Jackets, watching a player they Atkinson skated away in frustration, nearly slamming his stick on the basically unloaded last February causing a rainstorm of hats at the final glass. buzzer. It continues a recent trend, though. Seventeen seconds later, Alexander Wennberg took a slashing penalty The Blue Jackets lost both of their games last weekend against the to put the Senators on a four-on-three advantage, leading to Duclair’s Rangers (with former Blue Jacket Artemi Panarin) and Florida (Sergei third goal. Game over. Bobrovsky), and they were embarrassed Thursday by an injury-riddled Pittsburgh club. 5. Korpisalo in relief
2. Massive push Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins started the game but looked shaky in the first period — two goals allowed on eight shots — and was pulled after only The Blue Jackets were down 3-1 after two periods but had a massive 20 minutes. He allowed a third goal that was disallowed after replays push in the third period to force overtime, thanks to two goals from rookie showed the Senators were offside. Alexandre Texier. “Didn’t have it,” coach John Tortorella said. Texier made it 3-2 at 4:44 of the third period when he scored from the slot off a Dubois feed. He made it 3-3 at 11:31 when he buried a shot off Merzlikins didn’t factor in the decision Saturday because the Blue of a Dubois rebound. Jackets staged their third-period comeback. But he remains winless (0-4- 3) with an .889 save percentage and a 3.41 goals-against average. It was part of a period in which the Blue Jackets outshot Ottawa 20-5 to rally for a point. Korpisalo stopped 17 of 19 shots through the final two periods and overtime. He had only five saves in the third period as the Blue Jackets “They clog things up pretty good in the neutral zone,” Blue Jackets came back from 3-1 down. forward Eric Robinson told reporters in Ottawa. “If we could get behind them and get in on our forecheck, that’s when we’re at our best. The third “You have to be ready to come in at all times,” said Korpisalo, who has period was a product of that. We had good sticks on the forecheck and relieved Merzlikins twice this season. gave them a tough time getting out of their zone. 6. Rough starts “Down two goals in the third period … by no means is it over. But we just Merzlikins has been plagued by early goals allowed in each of his past couldn’t finish it off.” four starts. He hasn’t made four consecutive saves to start a game since 3. Injuries take a toll Nov. 12 in Montreal.
Sonny Milano was knocked out of the game at 5:17 of the first period “It’s something we can’t have right now,” Tortorella said. when Ottawa’s Mark Borowiecki drove his head into the wall on a heavy On Saturday, the Senators took a 1-0 lead at 2:16 of the first. It was body check. Milano was falling as Borowiecki approached, and the hit did Ottawa’s third shot of the game, a Duclair wrister from 36 feet that not appear to be malicious. Merzlikins would want back. It sailed through him on the glove side. Last Saturday, in Florida, Merzlikins gave up the 1-0 goal only 18 Wennberg was back in the middle for most of the game Saturday. … seconds into the game, but that was a twice-deflected goal touched last Robinson’s two assists gave him his first multi-point game. by the Panthers’ Evgeni Dadonov. The Athletic’s Alison Lukan provided these insights into the Blue Jackets’ On Nov. 30, he allowed a goal on the first shot he faced against the New overtime loss: York Islanders, only 1:18 into the game. On Nov. 23, he allowed Winnipeg to score on its third shot of the game. • When all was said and done, the Blue Jackets had earned 53.11 percent of five-on-five shot attempts, 52.73 percent of scoring chances After Merzlikins was pulled during the first intermission, you can only and 52.09 percent of expected goals. In all situations, the expected-goal wonder where it goes with him now. Will he stay in Columbus and total was 2.62 to 2.07 in favor of Columbus. Money Puck’s “deserve to continue playing about once a week? Or does he head to the AHL to get win o’meter” had Columbus winning the game 60.5 percent of the time. more playing time again? • The fact the Blue Jackets had those edges offensively is pretty 7. Help needed, Cleveland staggering because all of the work to gain those advantages happened in the third period. Before that, Columbus was in a hole on the scoreboard The Blue Jackets came limping back from Ottawa on Saturday, and they and in the underlying numbers. Put another way: According to may need to make some roster call-ups from AHL Cleveland before they MoneyPuck.com, the Blue Jackets had a 30.78 percent chance of face Washington on Monday. winning after the first period, which dropped to a 9.79 percent chance in If Milano and Anderson are out against the Capitals — that seems a the second, then rocketed up to 50 percent at the end of regulation. reasonable assumption — they may need to recall two players from the • In overtime, the teams matched each other shot for shot, with three minors. each. Columbus had one more scoring chance (3) and generated twice Forward Kole Sherwood, out for a month because of a strained oblique, as much shot quality (.3 expected goals to Ottawa’s .17). has been traveling with the Blue Jackets and has been skating harder in • According to behindthebenches.com, John Tortorella is 1-1 in coaches’ recent days. challenges this year. Both have contested that play was onside.
If he’s ready, the Blue Jackets could activate him from injured reserve • The team’s top skaters according to game score: Alexandre Texier and recall one forward from Cleveland. Otherwise, two recalls could be (3.95), Pierre-Luc Dubois (2.53), Cam Atkinson (2.45), Eric Robinson required. (2.29) and Andrew Peeke (1.96).
Center prospect Kevin Stenlund has a 10-game point streak with the — Data via MoneyPuck.com, Evolving-Hockey.com and Monsters and would likely get strong consideration, as would Jakob Lilja, NaturalStatTrick.com and reflects score- and venue-adjusted five-on-five who started the season in Columbus but was sent down in early play unless otherwise stated. November.
8. Texier’s day The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 Texier enjoyed his first multi-goal game in the NHL with his two third- period goals. You saw his second goal above. Here’s the goal that started the comeback in the third:
Tortorella had no choice but to mix the lines after losing Milano and Anderson in the first period. He put Texier with Dubois and Robinson and was alternating Riley Nash and Robinson every other shift until the line clicked in the third.
“Once it just kind of took off in the third,” Tortorella said, “we stayed with it. Nasher kind of had to sit.”
Both of Texier’s goal’s read the same way: Texier, with Dubois the primary assist and Robinson the secondary.
Texier has six goals this season, tied for fourth among NHL rookies.
9. Set the tone
The point the Blue Jackets received for losing in overtime Thursday felt empty. They played horribly against a decimated Penguins lineup and didn’t deserve a single point.
Saturday’s point was different. The Blue Jackets made some crucial mistakes in crucial moments, but the effort was there from the start. In the third period, they were a dominant team.
The first two periods were just OK, though.
As “response” games go — Tortorella called Thursday’s game an “embarrassment to the organization” — the Blue Jackets were just average.
Asked about “jumping on teams,” Dubois said: “That’s one thing we haven’t been doing a lot this year. A lot of games we just wait and see what happens, see how the other team plays. If we just go out there and play our game … if we skate together and make tape-to-tape passes, we’re hard to play against. We’re hard to beat. That’s what we were doing in the third period.”
10. Timbits
One game after playing his 300th game for the Blue Jackets, Seth Jones played his 500th NHL game. … If Anderson is out of the lineup, the Blue Jackets will be at a big disadvantage against the Capitals and power forward Tom Wilson. Those two always go toe-to-toe. … Dubois was just 2-of-12 on faceoffs. … After being moved to wing two weeks ago, 1166337 Dallas Stars Oleksiak’s first: Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak scored his first goal of the season, snapping an 82-game goalless drought (including playoffs). His last goal came over a year ago, on Nov. 5, 2018 as a member of the Penguins. Scoring depth on full display as Stars overwhelm Predators with four-goal second-period Oleksiak received a feed in the slot from Radulov and deked Pekka Rinne before depositing the puck in the vacant net. It was Oleksiak’s first goal as a Star since Dec. 5, 2017.
By Matthew DeFranks The goal helps amplify Oleksiak’s impact on the season so far this year, when he’s been asked to play a top-four role alongside Miro Heiskanen. 2:55 AM on Dec 15, 2019 He’s been active in the offensive zone, pinching down walls often. He’s been physical in the defensive zone, using his 6-7 frame.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The first round in the postseason went to the “Jamie Oleksiak, he’s probably one of our most underrated players right Stars in April. So did the first round of the regular season. now,” Bowness said. “He has played very, very well all year for us. He’s been very consistent. He can skate. He’s doing everything we need him In a rematch of the first-round playoff series from last season and a to do. He’s earned the minutes. He’s earned that top-four ranking and prelude to next month’s Winter Classic, the Stars used a four-goal good for him. second-period outburst to cruise by the Predators 4-1 on Saturday night in Nashville. It was a surgical decimation of the Predators in the second “If you go back to last year, we missed him in that playoff series with St. period, with Dallas capitalizing on Nashville mistakes and showcasing Louis. We did. He was an important part of our team as the season went their own skill. on. When he went down in the playoff series, that hurt us. He’s picked up where he left off from last year so good for him.” Blake Comeau scored a shorthanded goal — a laser off the near post and in — by slipping behind the Predators power play and receiving a FCC scoring: The Stars’ FCC line — Radek Faksa, Andrew Cogliano and long flip from Jason Dickinson. Roope Hintz beat Pekka Rinne between Blake Comeau — accounted for two goals on Saturday night, an his legs with the quick release he’s become known for this season. unexpected injection of offense from the typical shutdown line.
Jamie Oleksiak — after a strong effort from Alexander Radulov to keep Usually, the line is tasked with slowing down the opposition’s best the puck in the offensive zone — scored his first goal since rejoining the players. On Saturday night, the roles were reversed. Stars last season by tucking a backhand past Rinne. Andrew Cogliano “We obviously have some assignments some nights with some of the pounced on a Ryan Ellis turnover, darted to the net, and roofed his own other team’s top lines,” Comeau said. “But we’re starting to hold on to rebound. pucks more. We’re starting to generate more shots and that’s something It was a combination of jagged play from Nashville, and smooth finishing that we talked about coming into this year as a line was trying to provide from Dallas. And it formed the latest chapter in a building rivalry. some secondary offense.”
“It seems like we’ve built a pretty good rivalry, especially with the playoff Cogliano said: “We’re just trying to contribute. I think we have a line that series we had last year and now the outdoor game this year,” Comeau has to do certain things on a nightly basis to make our team good and said. “We knew it was going to be a huge divisional game for us coming make our team effective. Goals are bonuses and when we can provide in to it.” them, it adds a lot to our team.”
“We know that we knocked them out of the playoffs last year,” Stars All three members of the line have the ability to chip in offensively and interim coach Rick Bowness said before the game. “We know they’re they’ve done so throughout their career. Comeau has five seasons of 30- going to be coming hard, this is their first kick at us.” plus points. Cogliano has seven such seasons. And Faksa is tied for third on the team with seven goals. Bridgestone Arena hyped the matchup as a Winter Classic preview. “We’re not going to measure their value to the team on points,” Bowness The video board hanging over the ice used the teams’ specially designed said. “Their leadership, playing the game the right way on a consistent logos for the event and not the primary motifs displayed on their jerseys basis, their ability to kill penalties. All those thing are just as important as Saturday night. In the crowd, for the first time at the same game, Stars any points they get.” and Predators Winter Classic jerseys were spotted in the same venue. The arena advertised Lynyrd Skynyrd’s New Year’s Eve concert in Khudobin’s house: The Stars have been great the last two seasons in Dallas. The “Road to the Winter Classic” filming crew was in the building. Nashville, and Anton Khudobin is a big reason why. The backup goaltender has started four times in Bridgestone Arena and is 3-0-1 with If the Cotton Bowl is as hospitable to the Stars as Bridgestone Arena has a .967 save percentage and 1.25 goals against average. been recently, Dallas will be just fine on Jan. 1. He made 37 saves on Saturday night. After notching just one regulation win in Nashville from 2013-18, the Stars have not lost in regulation in Nashville the last two seasons. “He was there for us today all the way, especially at the beginning,” Saturday’s win improved them to 3-0-1 in the regular season on Radulov said. “In the second period, when we scored one and two, he Broadway, plus a 2-1 playoff record when the loss came in overtime. was there for us. They got a push and Anton was making key saves. That’s huge.” Radulov’s two-point effort led the Stars on Saturday night, as he picked up assists on both Hintz and Oleksiak’s goals. Since he was a healthy Prior to joining the Stars, Khudobin was 0-4-0 in Nashville. scratch last week against Winnipeg, Radulov has six points in four Lineup changes: Justin Dowling re-entered the lineup after he was a games. healthy scratch in the last three games, replacing Mattias Janmark, who “Rads was a hungry guy today,” Bowness said. “When he’s hungry, with missed the game with an upper-body injury. Dowling played on a line his intensity, he’s an effective player and he’s hard to play against with Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski. because he’s just a dog on a bone. He won’t let go. He’s going to stay on Defenseman John Klingberg was back in the lineup after missing Friday that puck and keep fighting so give him credit.” night’s game due to a family illness. Taylor Fedun, who scored a goal in Radulov added: “Sometimes it’s clicking, sometimes it’s going your way. the overtime loss to Vegas, came out of the lineup. It’s a long season. There’s going to be some times when things [are] not There could have been a case for keeping Fedun (two goals and seven going to go your way. You just have to continue working, compete and assists in 22 games) in the lineup over Roman Polak, who has played all win those little battles in the corners, in the zone, on the blue lines, on the but one game since he returned from a fractured sternum on Nov. 14. boards. Simple as that.” “Roman’s been doing a great job on the penalty kill, so we just want to While Radulov led the way for the Stars, depth scoring from Cogliano keep him in there,” Bowness said. and Faksa was welcome, as were 37 saves from backup goaltender Anton Khudobin.
Dallas Morning News LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166338 Dallas Stars
Reunited: Big three are back together on the Stars top line
By Matthew DeFranks
Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Radulov were reunited on the top line Saturday night in Nashville, marking the first time the trio was together under Bowness. It’s been a bit of a rotating door for the third forward on a line with Benn and Seguin, as Radulov follows Mattias Janmark, Justin Dowling, Roope Hintz and Jason Dickinson.
Bowness said it will likely remain a rotation with Benn and Seguin, but expect the two highest-paid Stars to stick together.
“As long as those two guys are going, the third guy is going to have to be able to read off of them and be able to keep up with them in terms of speed and in terms of hockey sense,” Bowness said. “The third guy with them is going to change all the time. It’s no different when we were in Vancouver and we had the [Sedin] twins. That right wingers changed all the time. The duos pretty much stay the same.”
Since Radulov arrived in Dallas in 2017, Benn-Seguin-Radulov has been one of the most effective lines in the league. But often times, stacking the Stars top line has left them devoid of depth beneath them. It’s part of the reason former coach Jim Montgomery split them up last season.
Dallas Morning News LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166339 Dallas Stars him to do … he’s earned that top-four ranking, and good for him. If you go back to last year, we missed him in that playoff series with St. Louis.”
5. Cogliano closed out the goal rush for Dallas and made it 4-1 when he Stars 20/20: Second-period outburst pushes Stars past Predators in took advantage of a turnover by Ryan Ellis at the blue line, created a Winter Classic preview chance and then finished the rebound.
It was reminiscent of a play from the 2019 playoffs during which Jamie Benn physically outmanned Ellis and set up a Stars goal. It wasn’t the By Sean Shapiro same “boom”-type play as Benn on Ellis, but it was a reminder of how much the Stars have been able to shove the Predators around in their Dec 14, 2019 past six meetings.
6. Speaking of that playoff series, if the Stars are going to establish a The Dallas Stars extended their five-game point streak with a 4-1 win rivalry with anyone, the Predators are the best candidate. against the Nashville Predators in a Winter Classic preview on Saturday. Rivalries are formed in the playoffs. Regular-season games can help 1. Less than 24 hours earlier, the Stars were embarrassed in the second enhance a rivalry, but without that playoff history, it’s a superfluous period of an overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. concept that we try to oversell.
The Stars had lost their legs and were outskated. A strong first period That’s why the 2020 Winter Classic really picked up some juice when was completely erased by a no-show middle stanza against a team Dallas and Nashville met in the playoffs. It was a stroke of luck for the playing on the second night of a back-to-back set. NHL and NBC. It’s not just two Central Division teams; it’s two teams that are in the midst of forming a rivalry that makes even some geographic But the Stars bounced back and did to Nashville what Vegas had done to sense. them. 7. It’s fun to talk about the Winter Classic, and it’s a game that’s going to They exploded for four goals in the middle period, from some unexpected be well hyped, but it’s also just another game in the standings. sources, and turned a game that looked like a tough, gut-check night into a laugher on the scoreboard in a span of less than 12 minutes. That’s something several Stars players told me this week when there was discussion about setting a tone for the Winter Classic against Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said the quality play started in the first Nashville in this game. The Winter Classic is going to be an event to period, something that really impressed him in a back-to-back and laid celebrate, but they can’t worry about that celebration when the Stars still the groundwork for the second period. have six games before that game.
2. Blake Comeau started the rally. “We’re not too worried about that,” Bowness said. “That’s another game. It will be fun for everybody.” With Andrew Cogliano in the box, Comeau took advantage of a weird bounce that created a break, and he sniped home his fourth goal of the 8. Alexander Radulov didn’t score, but he played a major role, particularly season past Pekka Rinne. during that four-goal second period.
“I was just trying to leave the zone to get some pressure down ice,” With a smattering of boos still serenading him for past Nashville sins, Comeau said. “And it took a bit of a lucky hop over their defenseman’s Radulov had a pair of assists. stick.” Radulov wasn’t his regular volume shooter, he had only one shot Comeau, one of the Stars’ emotional leaders, was fired up in his attempt, but his work possessing the puck and creating for teammates celebration, and it quieted Bridgestone Arena. It was a galvanizing was noticeable. moment for the Dallas bench, which took that momentum and built on it. “Rads was a hungry guy today,” Bowness said. “When he’s hungry, with “It seems like we’ve built a pretty good rivalry,” Comeau said. “So it was his intensity, he’s an effective player and he’s hard to play against. gonna be a huge divisional game for us.” ‘Cause he’s a dog on a bone.”
3. Eighty-four seconds later, Roope Hintz ended a season-long six-game 9. The Stars still haven’t found any answers on the power play. goal drought to give Dallas the lead. That’s about the biggest negative you could take away from this one for It was a bit of a fortunate bounce for Hintz in the slot, and the puck fell Dallas. right on his stick before he beat Rinne. 10. At the same time, Nashville has reached the point where it might be Hintz scoring isn’t unexpected, he’s the only Stars player with double- better just declining penalties against Dallas. digit goals, but where he scored from was atypical for him. In their playoff series last season, the Predators were toothless against a Hintz has done most of his damage on the rush this season, using his perfect Stars penalty kill. On Saturday there wasn’t much of a threat, and gashing speed to create separation and utilize his shot in transition. it created a key moment for Dallas when Comeau scored short-handed.
The shortcoming in Hintz’s game has been the lack of chances in the 11. John Klingberg returned to the lineup after missing Friday’s game zone and finding a way to create consistently when he doesn’t have two due to a family illness. zones to build up speed. He replaced Taylor Fedun in the lineup, a decision Bowness said was In my view, that’s the difference between Hintz being a 20-goal scorer based on the work Roman Polak does on the penalty kill. and a 30-goal scorer this season. If he can continue to add chances that aren’t on the rush, it’ll open up more things for the Stars. Mattias Janmark was out with an upper-body injury, bringing Justin Dowling back into the lineup after sitting the prior three games as a 4. Jamie Oleksiak last scored for the Dallas Stars on Dec. 5, 2017. healthy scratch.
That was two trades ago. 12. Dallas rolled out this lineup:
Oleksiak had scored for the Pittsburgh Penguins in each of the past two Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov seasons but had yet to find the net since he was once again exchanged for the same fourth-round pick. And the goal he scored Saturday was a Justin Dowling – Roope Hintz – Joe Pavelski pretty one as he showed off his hands in tight space and went to the Andrew Cogliano – Radek Faksa – Blake Comeau backhand to beat Rinne for the 3-1 lead. Denis Gurianov – Jason Dickinson – Corey Perry “Jamie Oleksiak, he is probably one of our most underrated players right now,” Bowness said. “He’s playing very, very well all year for us. He’s Esa Lindell – John Klingberg been very consistent, and he can skate. He’s doing everything we need Jamie Oleksiak – Miro Heiskanen Andrej Sekera – Roman Polak
Nashville countered like this:
Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Calle Jarnkrok
Ryan Turris – Matt Duchene – Craig Smith
Rocco Grimaldi – Nick Bonino – Colton Sissons
Yakov Trenin – Colin Blackwell – Austin Watson
Roman Josi – Ryan Ellis
Dan Hamhuis – Dante Fabbro
Matt Irwin – Yannick Weber
13. When it comes to the Stars lines, Bowness said he believes in duos more than traditional lines, which is a similar line of thinking to former Dallas head coach Ken Hitchcock.
For that reason, he said Benn and Seguin will often be paired together, but the third member of the line will change throughout the season. It’s similar to his time in Vancouver, where Daniel and Henrik Sedin were always a duo, but their right winger often changed.
14. Anton Khudobin continued his regular-season mastery of the Predators and made 37 saves on 38 shots.
In 10 career games against the Predators, he now has a .930 save percentage.
It’s also hard to find much blame for Khudobin on the lone goal against after a deft tip by Watson.
15. Khudobin was good, but the Stars as a whole were effective in limiting the Predators to shooting from distance.
Take a look at the heat map, particularly the lack of even strength chances against in the slot:
16. Maybe my favorite Khudobin moment from Saturday won’t even count as a save after he turned away this shot after the whistle without a mask:
17. The camera crew for “Road to the Winter Classic” arrived in Dallas this week and started filming for the series that will follow the Stars and Predators over the next three weeks.
This year’s edition will be a three-part series, with two episodes before the Jan. 1 showcase and one wrap-up episode.
The schedule is as follows on NBCSN:
Episode 1 — Monday, Dec. 23, 10:30 p.m.
Episode 2 — Friday, Dec. 27, 6:30 p.m.
Episode 3 — Monday, Jan. 6, 10:30 p.m.
The episodes will also be shown on NHL Network and on SportsNet in Canada. That schedule can be found here.
18. A final Winter Classic note: According to the Farmers’ Almanac extended forecast, Jan. 1-3 in Texas will be “fair, cold.”
19. Up next, the Stars host the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid on Monday.
Edmonton was the site of one of Dallas’ biggest games this season, when the Stars completed a comeback to force overtime and then won the game in sudden death on a backhand by Benn.
It’s a game for Dallas that will come after a day off Sunday that is much needed after the back-to-back.
20. The third line of Comeau, Faksa and Cogliano has already played a large role for the Stars, but the past couple of games have shown the unit has played an even larger role after the coaching change.
That’s much easier during games like Saturday’s when the line is able to turn defense into offense.
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166340 Detroit Red Wings
Jonathan Bernier makes 42 saves as Red Wings beat Canadiens, 2-1, for 2nd straight win
Associated Press
Published 10:33 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 11:22 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019
MONTREAL — Mike Green scored a power-play goal in the third period, Jonathan Bernier made 42 saves, and the Detroit Red Wings held off the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Saturday night.
Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for the Red Wings (9-22-3), who have won two games in a row since dropping 12 straight. Green also added an assist and his goal was the game-winner when Tomas Tatar scored in the game’s final minute for the Canadiens (15-12-6).
Montreal outshot Detroit 43-20 but had its three-game win streak snapped. Carey Price made 18 saves in defeat.
The Red Wings snapped a 12-game winless streak (0-10-2) by beating the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Thursday but entered the Bell Centre with the league’s worst record and worst offense.
Detroit took a 1-0 lead at 3:21 of the first period on Bertuzzi’s 11th goal of the season. Dylan Larkin stole the puck from Montreal defenseman Shea Weber behind the Canadiens net and fed a wide-open Bertuzzi in the slot.
The game remained close until Green scored at 7:42 of the third on a power play. He fooled Price blocker side with a one-timer from the point that went off the post and in. Riley Barber was serving a slashing penalty.
The Canadiens had their chances, though, before Green's goal.
Jordan Weal fired a shot off the crossbar in the first period and Joel Armia’s soft backhand hit the post in the second.
Bernier did the rest. The Laval, Quebec native denied Phillip Danault on a short-handed breakaway in the first. He made key saves on Brendan Gallagher and Nick Cousins, from the slot, in the second.
With Montreal exerting pressure in the third, the Red Wings goalie made his best save of the night on rookie Nick Suzuki, a glove stop while sprawled out on the ice.
Tatar scored for Montreal with 47 seconds remaining in the third.
Bernier earned his second victory against the Canadiens this season after a 4-2 triumph in Montreal’s home opener.
NOTES
Wings leading goal scorer Anthony Mantha, who missed the previous eight games with a lower-body injury, was back in the lineup. Winger Andreas Athanasiou also returned from injury after missing two games. ... Gallagher and Danault’s five-game point streaks came to an end. … Price had allowed one goal in each of his previous two starts.
UP NEXT
Red Wings host Los Angeles on Sunday night.
Detroit Free Press LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166341 Detroit Red Wings
Game thread: Red Wings knock off Canadiens, 2-1
Kirkland Crawford
Detroit Free Press
Published 6:00 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 10:34 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019
Detroit Red Wings (8-22-3, 19 points) vs. Montreal Canadiens (15-11-6, 36 points)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal.
TV: Fox Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1; other radio affiliates).
Game notes: At first glance, it looked like tonight was going to be a chance for the Wings to tie the record for consecutive losses. But they put an end to those plans with Thursday's win over the Jets in Detroit.
Detroit Free Press LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166342 Detroit Red Wings Bernier was at his best early in the third period, with the Wings holding a 1-0 lead, making a diving save on Nick Suzuki, then turning aside a Brett Kulak shot from the point, all during the same Canadiens' flurry.
Bernier backstops Red Wings to second straight victory in Montreal In the second period, Bernier stopped Nick Cousins all alone on a 2-on-1 Montreal rush.
Bernier said in October he also enjoys playing in his hometown despite a Ted Kulfan non-winning record. It certainly showed Saturday, as he played with a lot of poise and composure, making 20 of his 41 saves in the third period. The Detroit News Montreal goal Published 10:14 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 10:16 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019 Tatar, the former Red Wing, fired a shot from the top of the slot with the goaltender pulled, that got through Bernier with 47 seconds left.
L.A. Kings at Red Wings Suddenly the Red Wings can’t lose — in Montreal, or anywhere. Faceoff: 7 p.m. Sunday, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit For two games anyway. But the Red Wings will gladly enjoy this after having lost 12 consecutive games TV/radio: Fox Sports Detroit/97.1 The Ticket.
Saturday they won again in what used to be an arena where they hardly Outlook: The Kings (13-18-3) are coming off a 5-4 shootout loss ever won, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. Saturday in Pittsburgh. ... The Kings are 4-5-2 in their last 11 games but remain in last place in the Western Conference. ... C Anze Kopitar (11 Tyler Bertuzzi and Mike Green (power play) scored goals, and goaltender goals) and D Drew Doughty (21 assists) pace the attack. Jonathan Bernier was outstanding with 42 saves — sparkling in his return to his hometown of Montreal — as the Red Wings won again. Detroit News LOADED: 12.15.2019 To do it in Montreal, again, is certainly eye-opening.
When the Wings won in Montreal in October, it ended a 9-game overall losing streak to the Canadiens and was the Wings' first regulation victory in Montreal since 2007.
Now, it's two straight wins in Montreal, and thanks mainly, in both cases, to Bernier, who was even much better Saturday than in October.
The Wings (9-22-3) also ended a six-game road losing streak, playing one of their better all-around defensive games in recent memory.
Former Red Wing Tomas Tatar deprived Bernier a shutout with his 12th goal with just 47 seconds left.
Here are other highlights from Saturday’s game:
Detroit's goals
Bertuzzi gave the Wings a 1-0 lead at 3:21 of the first period.
Dylan Larkin stripped the puck from Montreal defenseman Shea Weber behind the net and fed Bertuzzi open in front of goalie Carey Price, Bertuzzi putting in his 11th goal.
Green made it 2-0 at 7:42 of the third period, his second goal of the season and first since Oct. 18, ending a 17-game drought.
Green took a pass from Andreas Athanasiou at the top of the slot, waited, and ripped a shot past Price, who was screened by several bodies.
Welcome back
Anthony Mantha, Athanasiou and for that matter, Madison Bowey, all returned to the Wings’ lineup.
Mantha hadn’t played in three weeks with a knee injury, but returned to play in his hometown of Montreal and played just over 12 minutes with three hits and a minor fight against Montreal's Jeff Petry (Orchard Lake St. Mary/Michigan State).
Athanasiou missed two games with an undisclosed injury, and drew an assist on Green's power-play goal. Athanasiou had three shots on net, in 16 minutes 3 seconds of playing time.
Bowey was waived Monday and was assigned to Grand Rapids when no other team claimed him.
Bowey was recalled Friday — Dylan McIlrath was assigned to Grand Rapids — and had a good game, with two hits in 14:08 of ice time.
Bernier stars
Bernier was solid all evening, but especially good in the final 40 minutes preserving the lead and frustrating the Canadiens, who had opportunities in close. 1166343 Detroit Red Wings
Jonathan Bernier leads Red Wings past Canadiens
By The Associated Press
MONTREAL — Mike Green scored a power-play goal in the third period, Jonathan Bernier made 42 saves, and the Detroit Red Wings held off the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Saturday night.
Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for the Red Wings (9-22-3), who have won two games in a row since dropping 12 straight. Green also added an assist and his goal was the game-winner when Tomas Tatar scored in the game’s final minute for the Canadiens (15-12-6).
Montreal outshot Detroit 43-20 but had its three-game win streak snapped. Carey Price made 18 saves in defeat.
The Red Wings snapped a 12-game winless streak (0-10-2) by beating the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Thursday but entered the Bell Centre with the league’s worst record and worst offense.
Detroit took a 1-0 lead at 3:21 of the first period on Bertuzzi’s 11th goal of the season. Dylan Larkin stole the puck from Montreal defenseman Shea Weber behind the Canadiens net and fed a wide-open Bertuzzi in the slot.
The game remained close until Green scored at 7:42 of the third on a power play. He fooled Price blocker side with a one-timer from the point that went off the post and in. Riley Barber was serving a slashing penalty.
The Canadiens had their chances, though, before Green's goal.
Jordan Weal fired a shot off the crossbar in the first period and Joel Armia’s soft backhand hit the post in the second.
Bernier did the rest. The Laval, Quebec native denied Phillip Danault on a short-handed breakaway in the first. He made key saves on Brendan Gallagher and Nick Cousins, from the slot, in the second.
With Montreal exerting pressure in the third, the Red Wings goalie made his best save of the night on rookie Nick Suzuki, a glove stop while sprawled out on the ice.
Tatar scored for Montreal with 47 seconds remaining in the third.
Bernier earned his second victory against the Canadiens this season after a 4-2 triumph in Montreal’s home opener.
NOTES: Wings leading goal scorer Anthony Mantha, who missed the previous eight games with a lower-body injury, was back in the lineup. Winger Andreas Athanasiou also returned from injury after missing two games. ... Gallagher and Danault’s five-game point streaks came to an end. … Price had allowed one goal in each of his previous two starts.
UP NEXT
Detroit: Red Wings host Los Angeles on Sunday night.
Montreal: Canadiens play seven road games to end the calendar year, starting with Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Michigan Live LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166344 Detroit Red Wings
Bernier makes 42 saves, Red Wings beat Canadiens 2-1
The Associated Press
6 hrs ago
MONTREAL (AP) — Mike Green scored a power-play goal in the third period, Jonathan Bernier made 42 saves, and the Detroit Red Wings held off the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Saturday night.
Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for the Red Wings (9-22-3), who have won two games in a row since dropping 12 straight. Green also added an assist and his goal was the game-winner when Tomas Tatar scored in the game’s final minute for the Canadiens (15-12-6).
Montreal outshot Detroit 43-20 but had its three-game win streak snapped. Carey Price made 18 saves in defeat.
The Red Wings snapped a 12-game winless streak (0-10-2) by beating the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Thursday but entered the Bell Centre with the league’s worst record and worst offense.
Detroit took a 1-0 lead at 3:21 of the first period on Bertuzzi’s 11th goal of the season. Dylan Larkin stole the puck from Montreal defenseman Shea Weber behind the Canadiens net and fed a wide-open Bertuzzi in the slot.
The game remained close until Green scored at 7:42 of the third on a power play. He fooled Price blocker side with a one-timer from the point that went off the post and in. Riley Barber was serving a slashing penalty.
The Canadiens had their chances, though, before Green's goal.
Jordan Weal fired a shot off the crossbar in the first period and Joel Armia’s soft backhand hit the post in the second.
Bernier did the rest. The Laval, Quebec native denied Phillip Danault on a short-handed breakaway in the first. He made key saves on Brendan Gallagher and Nick Cousins, from the slot, in the second.
With Montreal exerting pressure in the third, the Red Wings goalie made his best save of the night on rookie Nick Suzuki, a glove stop while sprawled out on the ice.
Tatar scored for Montreal with 47 seconds remaining in the third.
Bernier earned his second victory against the Canadiens this season after a 4-2 triumph in Montreal’s home opener.
NOTES
Wings leading goal scorer Anthony Mantha, who missed the previous eight games with a lower-body injury, was back in the lineup. Winger Andreas Athanasiou also returned from injury after missing two games. ... Gallagher and Danault’s five-game point streaks came to an end. … Price had allowed one goal in each of his previous two starts.
UP NEXT
Detroit: Red Wings host Los Angeles on Sunday night.
Montreal: Canadiens play seven road games to end the calendar year, starting with Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Macomb Daily LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166345 Edmonton Oilers “The one thing we lacked tonight … it felt like every scoring chance was one and done,” said Chiasson. “That’s where our team, when we’re good we get one scoring chance and then we find a way to generate a second one. We get a change and the next line comes in… Those are the little Oilers have dropped into a deep hole as Christmas draws near things we’re not doing good enough.”
So, the Oilers are dropped four straight, getting a loser point against Buffalo. Jim Matheson “The margin of error in this league is really small. Our game, it’s not like Edmonton Journal we’re not showing up. We’re kinda there, but there is that little bit that’s Published:December 14, 2019 not there, and that’s not good enough. That’s where we’re at right now,” said Chiasson. Updated:December 14, 2019 9:46 PM MST OUCH!!!
Leafs defenceman Tyson Barrie, playing right side with partner Morgan OK, this Edmonton Oilers bleeding needs more than some gauze and a Rielly, took a Gaetan Haas shot off his ankle early in the first period and couple of Band-Aids. immediately went down the tunnel to the dressing room. He didn’t return after five shifts and 2:52 in first frame. He was getting around without a With the Oilers going two goals down for the fourth straight game, they walking boot after the game so maybe it’s only a bad bone bruise. hung tough against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada’s premier show Saturday, but fell three shots short, dropping LET’S TAKE ANOTHER LOOK their fourth in a row, 4-1 before the first sell-out since game 2 against Los Angeles. They went to video review 13 minutes into the second after the puck dropped under Koskinen’s glove and dribbled into the net but Gauthier Now, they’re off to Dallas and St. Louis after losing to the Leafs for the had shoved the puck under the raised left goal-post. It took about 10 seventh straight time. seconds to confirm no goal which would have made it 3-zip.
“We did a lot of good stuff out there but it’s tough to stand there and say CAMERA, LIGHTS, ACTION that when you lose two points,” said Oilers’ defenceman Oscar Klefbom, who played 28 of the 60 minutes. After Russian rookie Mikheyev beat Koskinen to make it 2-zip for Leafs five and half minutes into the middle period, there was a stoppage for five “There’s lots of try but we’ve got to find ways to turn the try into better minutes to fix a broken camera in the net behind the Oilers goalie. The results,” said Oilers coach Dave Tippett, whose club would help lens popped off and had to be repaired. themselves a whole lot if they weren’t always chasing games. This ’n that: Keefe wasn’t enamoured of Matthews game. He only played “Tough losing to a team like Toronto at Rogers … obviously there’s a lot him 14:34. Kerfoot played 15:19. Part of that was the Leafs only had one of their fans here,” said Klefbom, after the Oilers dropped their fifth game power play of exactly a minute … Oilers GM Ken Holland wasn’t in the at home in their last six. building for the Leafs game. He’s over in Moscow watching the Channel One Cup, especially Jesse Puljujarvi, but also some Russian free-agent Their league-leading power play, as usual, came through with Alex forwards. As expected Joakim Nygard (undisclosed injury) didn’t play for Chiasson driving the net and tucking one through Freddie Andersen’s the Oilers. He was hurt in Minnesota … The Leafs didn’t play former pads in the third period — the seventh straight game the Oilers have a Oilers winger Pontus Aberg … Oilers winger James Neal, skating better PP score — but their continual problem even-strength (32-16 the last 10 after playing with a broken toe for three weeks, bowled over Andersen on games) did them in with all three Leafs’ goals coming five-on-five. a drive to the net late in the first, knocking the Leafs’ goalie onto his Two of them against the Oilers top line of Connor McDavid, Leon backside … Koskinen made a terrific blocker save while sprawling in the Draisaitl and Zack Kassian, rubbing a box of salt into the wound. first off a Gauthier redirect in the blue paint.
The killer by their fourth line centre Frederik Gauthier with six minutes left Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 12.15.2019 after their 3C Alexander Kerfoot scored with a ripper under the crossbar and set up Ilya Mikheyev earlier for a tap-in when Oilers D-man Darnell Nurse was out-numbered.
While John Tavares and Auston Matthews were quiet, their foot soldiers came through.
“Great to see those guys get rewarded. I thought they were skating really well, they were really connected making quick plays with their speed and their hockey sense makes them really good players and a really good line,” said Tavares.
Leafs’ coach Sheldon Keefe seconded that emotion.
“We knew we had to do a job against their top guys and I thought our depth would be a factor in the game today and that’s how it worked out,” said Keefe, watching his first-line winger Mitch Marner get the final one into the empty cage.
Again, three of those goals were even-strength, Oilers’ Achilles this year.
“Our five-on-five game really has to be better ,” said Klefbom.
“Last couple of games we’ve graded our (hard) chances around the net well but we have to find ways to score … we’re getting lots of pucks at the net. Have to find results 5-on-5,” said Tippett.
The Leafs needed Andersen, who stopped 36, but they still scored four which means Oilers have given up 20 goals in their last five games. So Oilers who gave up 2.4 goals a game in the first 10, then 3.0 in the next 10, then, 3.5 in the third 10, are up to 4.0 in this segment.
Troublesome, although Mikko Koskinen bounced back strongly from his worst effort against Carolina. Andersen was better but Koskinen was the Oilers’ best player in the loss. 1166346 Edmonton Oilers It’s 36 games into the season and whether head coach Dave Tippett plays them together or occasionally splits them up — as had been the case in the previous run of games — he has no choice but to skate them into the ice. JONES: Oilers are over-reliant on McDavid and Draisaitl You could make a case that he ought to make some of their shifts shorter. And going 2 1/2 minutes on the ice through an entire power play is open to some debate. Terry Jones The two went into the game Saturday leading all NHL forwards in ice Published:December 14, 2019 time, Draisaitl with 22:48 per game and McDavid with 22:23. Updated:December 14, 2019 9:24 PM MST Against the Leafs, McDavid clocked 22:22 and Draisaitl 22:31. By contrast Matthews played 14:34, Tavares 20:02 and Marner 21:21.
Yes, the Edmonton Oilers have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and Ice time is becoming more of a focus with this team as the Dynamic Duo the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t. gets worn down getting shut down.
And, yes, most Edmonton fans wouldn’t trade either of them for any of Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 12.15.2019 the Leafs — including Auston Matthews, John Tavares or Mitch Marner.
But last night, playing the 5 p.m. local first game of the night on Hockey Night In Canada, as is the Maple Leafs national duty or something, the Oilers skated their two league-leading point producers into the ice.
And McDavid and Draisaitl couldn’t beat them. Not by themselves.
Before the third sellout crowd of the year at Roges Place — the first since the second game of the season — the two Canadian teams gave the nation, for most of the evening, a pretty entertaining hockey game.
But it was the fourth consecutive loss of the season for the fading Edmonton team that was in first place in the Pacific Division a week ago. And this one you couldn’t hang on goaltending like the previous pair of losses in particular.
This time, it was three defensive lapses.
For the most part, Edmonton played well and for the longest time there, they had the Maple Leafs on the ropes. They certainly didn’t look like a team on the skids.
But the Oilers did look like a team that needs general manager Ken Holland to return from Russia with some solution beyond more Band- Aids to solve for their McDavid and Draisaitl and Pray For Rain problem.
For a fourth straight game, the Oilers found themselves down by at least two goals. In the first three, they managed to tie it before they ended up losing, either in overtime or regulation.
Not this time, although you could argue they played well enough to deserve a better fate than what turned out to be a 4-1 empty-net loss for a seventh consecutive game and a fourth straight in Rogers Place.
And this was a night when Matthews, Tavares and Marner were kept off the scoresheet, other than the latter’s empty-net goal.
It was 14 minutes into the second period when the officials called the first penalty of the game to either side when Jake Muzzin was charged with holding while checking McDavid.
The Oilers power play featuring the Dynamic Duo along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, James Neal and Oscar Klefbom has been the last hope lately.
McDavid and Draisaitl already had been on the ice for half a minute or so when the Oilers went on the power play. And the two stayed out there for the entire two minutes.
There was room to criticize there. But early in the third period, the Oilers returned to the power play and out they came again. This time they were accompanied by Alex Chiasson and this time, in short order, it was Klefbom to Draisaitl to Chiasson to put Edmonton on the scoreboard and cut Toronto’s lead in half.
It was the seventh straight game that the Oilers scored on a power play that went into the game with a league-leading 32 goals on an even 100 attempts for easy math to come up with their percentage.
The goal made it a league leading 48 power play goals that the Dynamic Duo has produced so far this season.
Draisaitl moved up to 56 points, one behind McDavid’s league leading 57.
But that was it. 1166347 Edmonton Oilers short-term help from mostly experienced but low-salary players from Europe until the talent developing on the farm was NHL “over-ready.”
He got a big break when Ethan Bear proved himself to be NHL-ready on JONES: Oilers on three-game losing streak with Maple Leafs coming to defence. Caleb Jones might be about to do that now. town It would be interesting to hear Holland’s take on this team at this juncture. But he’s currently returning from a scouting trip to Russia.
Terry Jones My take probably goes against the mood and attitude of Oilers fans if I read their current state of angst correctly. But this is a team that Holland Published:December 14, 2019 hoped could make a playoff run, never once promised would actually make one. Updated:December 14, 2019 6:00 AM MST Let’s go back to when he came in. His name, we pointed out then was
Ken Holland not Ken Houdini. To me, Auston Matthews doesn’t look happy. His team is 15-14-4, out of He was already saying this in June: “You’re hearing this over and over a playoff position and sits 22nd overall. How long before he asks for a again from me. On the short term we’re trying to make decisions on trade to 19-11-4 Pacific Division-leading Arizona? 2019-2020 but ultimately I’m trying to build this team to be a really good Huh? What’s that? Oh, sorry. Don’t write about Paris when Rome is elite team in the Western Conference.” burning? Listen. To me this is the situation. The top 10 teams in the West going Yes. Well, as the Oilers prepare to take on John Tavares, Mitch Marner into games last night had 44, 43, 42, 40, 40, 40, 39, 37, 36 and 35 points and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the problem with evaluating Edmonton and Edmonton was one of the teams with 40. And the next four home right now is to determine if Rome is indeed burning. games are against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames. A sane evaluation of this hockey club at this moment might just be ridiculously simple. Embrace them. And hope your hockey team does, too.
Stop the puck, Mikko Koskinen. Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 12.15.2019
Make a save, Mike Smith.
When the Oilers were leading the Western Conference, they were getting good goaltending (behind surprisingly decent defence and shockingly superb penalty killing).
Now they’re not.
In consecutive starts Koskinen and Smith have given up six goals each, several of the odorous variety behind a defective defence and poor penalty killing.
Thursday the Oilers became the last of 31 NHL teams to lose three games in a row.
Are they to be commended and congratulated? Or castigated and chastised?
League-leading scorer Connor McDavid (20-37-57), two points up on second-place Leon Draisaitl (20-35-55) spoke to the situation in his dressing room media scrum Thursday night in Minnesota.
“We’re not panicking. It’s three games. I think we’re the last team to lose three in a row. Every team has gone through it. We’re going through it now. We’ll find it here,” said the captain.
The guy you want to hear in this situation would be new general manager Ken Holland.
This would be one of those “malfunction at the junction” situations of which Stampede Wrestling commentator Ed Whelan used to speak. Sometimes a general manager will choose to make a move to shake up the team in this situation. Other times he might want to make a ‘steady- as-she-goes, we-didn’t-expect-this-to-be-smooth-sailing, I-believe-in-this- group, I’m-confident-we’ll-right-the-ship-and-get-this-turned-around-in- short-order’ speech.
There’s not much Holland can do about the goaltending. The one developing prospect in the organization, Shane Starrett, is just returning from injury and was scheduled to start Friday for Bakersfield.
Smith is notoriously hot-and-cold, up-and-down and in-and-out and at 2- 5-1 with a .584 save percentage has been mostly cold, down and out for the last five weeks. He’d be tough to trade. You probably just have to wait for him to get hot, up and in again.
Koskinen is 11-4-2 with a .914 save percentage, ranking 23rd in the league behind current leader Tristan Jarry (.941), the former Edmonton Oil King Memorial Cup winner who will be in here next week with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has been more of a positive story than a negative one.
Realistically, this wasn’t supposed to be a smooth sailing season. Holland, because of the salary cap situation, had to build bridges with 1166348 Edmonton Oilers There haven’t been many poor nights from the two Oilers superstars, but this was one of them.
McDavid was held pointless, and the Oilers were out-attempted 24-15 in Oilers need to figure out five-on-five woes quickly, starting with Connor the 18 minutes he was on the ice at five-on-five. He was -2. Running McDavid and Leon Draisaitl mate Leon Draisaitl managed an assist on Chiasson’s power-play goal, but the shot-attempt differential was even wider (24-13) with both sides at full strength. He, too, was on the ice for two goals against in that situation. By Daniel Nugent-Bowman McDavid was barely noticeable, aside from an exciting dash in the first Dec 14, 2019 period when he powered around Leafs defenceman Jake Muzzin and almost slid the puck through the legs of goalie Frederik Andersen.
The way the game played out couldn’t have been any less desirable to Otherwise, he and Draisaitl were shut down by the Leafs, led by Muzzin the Oilers, especially considering how things have gone lately. and Justin Holl. Muzzin played 12:13 against McDavid at five-on-five, and the Oilers were out-attempted 16-9. Holl skated head-to-head for 11:37, The Oilers have relied so heavily on excellent special teams, yet only and the Leafs held a 12-9 edge. three minor penalties were called when they played the Maple Leafs on Saturday. There was little support behind the big two, which has been a common refrain this season. They scored once on two power-play opportunities and surrendered a goal while short-handed, although it was in the final stages of the game “It’s a team game. They try to carry us as much as they can. They put with netminder Mikko Koskinen on the bench. That one’s clearly not on pressure on themselves. That’s why they’re good, young superstars,” the penalty killers. Chiasson said. “There are ups and downs in the season. We all go through that. The rest of the group’s gotta pull on the rope a little bit.” If more of the game had been spent with one team down a skater, the Oilers probably would have been better off. The Oilers have struggled defensively and in net during this latest funk. Another issue: McDavid and Draisaitl haven’t been otherworldly, as they It wasn’t. And as has so often been the case during their recent skid, the were for the first quarter of the campaign. Oilers’ output away from the power play or the penalty kill cost them. McDavid has one goal and five points over the past four games (three “We have to work to be better five-on-five. That’s pretty evident. points at five-on-five). Draisaitl has one goal and three points over that Everyone knows it. That’s something we talk about,” winger James Neal span (none with both teams at full strength). said. “We’re trying to put that complete game together. Once we get to that point, you’ll see things turn around.” In the past nine games, McDavid has two goals and 10 points (with six five-on-five points), whereas Draisaitl has three goals and eight points The Oilers lost 4-1 to the Leafs, extending their losing streak to a season- (one five-on-five point). high four games. They’ve gained one point in the standings over that span, courtesy of an overtime loss to the Sabres. Those are respectable totals but below their standards as the NHL’s top two scorers with 57 and 56 points, respectively, in 35 games. Once again, they were outscored at five-on-five. This time the damage was 3-0. Piling on, all three of those goals were scored by Toronto’s It’s worth noting McDavid and Draisaitl have spent some time apart bottom two lines. during that stretch. Oilers coach Dave Tippett tried Draisaitl centering his own line when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was nursing an injury and also Saturday was an extension of the way things have gone recently at even moved him to a line with Nugent-Hopkins shortly after his return to the strength. lineup.
The Oilers have been outscored 19-11 over their previous four losses. It sure would be beneficial if a few others could pick up the slack until That same eight-goal disadvantage, 14-6, exists at five-on-five. (And two McDavid and Draisaitl return to form. of those goals for came in the third period at Minnesota on Thursday.) “We’re trying to get everybody going. We’ve tried different combinations,” The margins are even worse when dating back to a loss in Colorado on Tippett said. “There’s a lot of things we’re trying. We’ve gotta find Nov. 27. The Oilers are 2-6-1 over those nine games and have been results.” outscored 36-21 (-15). During that same period, they surrendered 27 goals at five-on-five and netted 11 (-16). “You need a complete effort from your whole team if you wanna win hockey games,” Neal said. “Your top guys can work things out and get us “Five-on-five, we’ve gotta be way better,” captain Connor McDavid said. out of holes sometimes. “We gotta find a way to produce goals (and) keep them out of our net. “We’ve gotta be able to chip in all throughout the lineup. If you wanna be “Losing four in a row is not good enough. And it’s been a stretch a little a playoff team — and ultimately win a Stanley Cup — you’re gonna have bit longer than that, too. We’ve gotta find a way to put some wins to have that. We know that.” together here.” Depth production has been a sore spot most of the season, and it’s been Sure, the Oilers were much better in the third period at five-on-five more apparent lately. against the Leafs than they were earlier in the game. The biggest issue has been five-on-five scoring. Eight of Nugent- They entered the frame down 2-0, pulled within one when Alex Chiasson Hopkins’ 18 points have come at even strength. It’s five of 11 for scored on the power play six minutes in and then put the hammer down. Chiasson and eight of 22 for Neal. They out-attempted the Leafs 21-12 over the last 20 minutes, swinging the pendulum in their favour 57-53 by the time the final buzzer sounded “Your specialty teams are (only) gonna take you so far,” Chiasson said. after two subpar periods. “Your five-on-five play, what’s that — 80 percent of the game, most likely? That’s the big majority of the game where we’ve gotta find a way The backbreaker came when Leafs fourth-line centre Frederik Gauthier to be one up or keep it tied.” restored Toronto’s two-goal advantage with a little more than six minutes left in regulation. The goal came with Edmonton’s top line and top “We’re in a position where we can fix it, or we keep going in the wrong defensive pairing on the ice. direction,” Neal said. “We’ve gotta fix what we can here.”
Chiasson felt there were too many one-and-done chances for the Oilers. The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019
“When we’re good, we get one scoring chance and then we find a way to generate a second one in the same shift; we get a change, and the next line goes up,” he said. “Right now, it’s the little things. We’re not doing those.” 1166349 Edmonton Oilers 1 Caleb Jones 5 1 5 6 1.2
2 Joel Persson 8 1 5 6 Lowetide: Who should be the next man up from the Bakersfield Condors? 0.75
3 Evan Bouchard 15 1 9 10 0.67 By Allan Mitchell 4 William Lagesson 15 3 4 7 Dec 14, 2019 0.47
5 Logan Day 15 2 3 5 0.33 In a perfect world, where injuries didn’t happen, Shane Starrett might be the subject of conversation in the office of Edmonton Oilers general 6 Jake Kulevich 8 0 2 2 manager Ken Holland. The Oilers have some wobble at goaltender, and 0.25 Starrett was the de facto No. 3 out of training camp. As an AHL rookie, Starrett led all freshman goalies in save percentage a year ago — a 7 Dmitri Samorukov 13 1 2 3 group that includes Minnesota Wild prospect Kaapo Kahkonen, who beat 0.23 the Oilers on Thursday night. 8 Keegan Lowe 15 0 1 1 The Oilers have reached down to the farm this season with solid results. 0.07 Sam Gagner was recalled on Oct. 19 and has played an effective The prominent offensive players rise to the top. I think it’s safe to say the offensive role as a part-time forward. Caleb Jones was recalled on Nov. offence is NHL-ready for Jones, Persson and Bouchard. Lagesson is 13 and has played in 11 games. There have also been two recalls surprisingly productive at five-on-five (compared with his draft-day (William Lagesson and Stuart Skinner) for players who didn’t see any scouting report) and has underrated ability in that area. NHL action. Now, the goal differential for each defenceman: The Oilers have lots of needs, so recalls are likely in the coming weeks. Who is most deserving of a recall? Let’s have a look. No. Player Games GF GA Dif
Forwards since Nov. 1 1 William Lagesson 15 16 13 3
AHL teams shuffle lineups a lot, so the October lines and pairings may 2 Joel Persson 8 9 6 3 have little to do with what we’re seeing today. I like to use splits in order to see who is performing best, using more recent games to drill down on 3 Evan Bouchard 15 12 14 -2 what the numbers mean. Here are the forwards who have been the most 4 Caleb Jones 5 2 3 -1 productive since Nov. 1: 5 Jake Kulevich 8 4 5 -1 No. Player Games G A Pts Pts/Gm 6 Logan Day 15 8 11 -3 1 Tomas Jurco 8 4 3 7 0.875 7 Dmitri Samorukov 13 5 9 -4
2 Tyler Benson 15 7 6 13 8 Keegan Lowe 15 8 15 -7 0.867 The numbers offer some predictable results (Lagesson is the Condors’ 3 Brad Malone 15 3 8 11 best defenceman among the group playing all or most games in 0.733 Bakersfield) and some surprises (Lowe is faltering in the veteran’s role). Among rookies, Bouchard and Samorukov are struggling a little without 4 Cooper Marody 11 2 6 8 full-time veteran mentors but are playing regularly and are not 0.727 overwhelmed. Those are good signs.
5 Kailer Yamamoto 10 2 5 7 Goalies since Nov. 1 0.7 The Oilers are a little ragged lately in goal, with Mikko Koskinen and Mike 6 Josh Currie 15 7 3 10 Smith struggling in December. If the Oilers were forced to recall a goalie 0.667 from Bakersfield, it would be a difficult choice. Starrett entered the 7 Ryan McLeod 15 2 5 7 season as the starter in Bakersfield, but he has had injury issues. The 0.467 two youngsters have had uneven results replacing Starrett so far. Here are the numbers for each of the three goalies since Nov. 1, sorted by 8 Joe Gambardella 11 3 2 5 goals-against average: 0.455 No. Player Games GAA Pct. 9 Kirill Maskimov 14 1 3 4 0.286 1 Shane Starrett 2 3.41 0.889
10 Colby Cave 12 3 0 3 2 Stuart Skinner 12 3.62 0.886 0.25 3 Dylan Wells 3 3.95 0.894
That look changes the view quite a bit, allowing Benson (who scored All three goalies have struggled, but we are learning about them. For twice Friday), Marody and Yamamoto to rise to the top over the other instance, the Oilers clearly see Skinner as the better option over Wells prospects. AHL veterans who are fringe NHL players, like Jurco and based on usage. Wells could have injury issues, but the deployment Malone, appear where expected, and rookie pro forwards McLeod and shows a strong preference for Skinner when Starrett is injured. Starrett Maksimov are finding their way. played Friday night, allowing six goals, so the answer in goal is not clear Defencemen since Nov. 1 at this time.
Offensive numbers don’t tell the same kind of story for defencemen, but Next man up? they do inform us about who is being used in feature roles. Even-strength I don’t believe the Oilers have a goalie in Bakersfield they can be goal differential (goals scored, for and against, while each defenceman is completely comfortable with playing in the NHL at this time. A healthy on the ice at even strength) also give us an idea about how much and Starrett, playing as he did a year ago, would easily qualify for a recall. how well a defenceman is playing. Here are the numbers since Nov. 1: Right now? He’ll need to show he is healthy and string together several No. Player Games G A Pts Pts/Gm quality starts. It’s a bad turn for a goaltender who delivered so much for the organization a year ago.
Among defencemen, I’d suggest Lagesson is the most NHL-ready, although he’s blocked by numerous left-handed defenders in the NHL. Persson has been up and down between Edmonton and Bakersfield this season, but his minor-league numbers are quality. Bouchard appears to be learning the defensive side of the game while his performance on the power play hasn’t delivered outstanding results, and Samorukov may need a full year on the farm to adjust to the pro game.
Finally, the forwards. Among legit prospects, Benson is ready. He led the team in points last season and is doing it again this year, this time without Marody being completely healthy. Marody and Yamamoto need to show they’re healthy, but I would suggest both are also close in terms of performance. If the team needs a veteran plug and play, any of Jurco, Malone, Cave, Gambardella or Currie may suffice.
Based on team need, and talking pure prospects, I’ll give Lagesson the edge over Benson, but it’s close. If Starrett can deliver several quality starts in a row while staying healthy, he might also join the party.
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166350 Florida Panthers NOTES: Panthers C Dominic Toninato was a healthy scratch. ... In the teams’ last meeting, Nov. 12 at Boston, the Panthers recorded the first four-goal comeback in franchise history, with all four goals coming in the third period. Barkov injured as Panthers continue to sputter through long home stand with loss to Bruins UP NEXT
Panthers: Host the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
By PAUL GEREFFI Sun Sentinel LOADED: 12.15.2019
ASSOCIATED PRESS |
DEC 14, 2019 | 10:27 PM
| SUNRISE
The Boston Bruins ended their four-game trip on a positive note.
David Pastrnak scored two goals and the Bruins snapped a five-game winless streak, beating the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Saturday night.
“It looks like we’re getting back to more Boston Bruins style of hockey the last three games,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Only one win to show for it, but if you play that way this week at home, I see good things for us, especially if all four lines are able to contribute.”
David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, and Torey Krug had two assists. Jaroslav Halak stopped 31 shots.
The Bruins return to home ice for their next four games.
“It hasn’t been what we wanted here on this road trip,” DeBrusk said. “Now, we’re going home not necessarily happy with how the road trip went, but you kind of go as your last game goes. Coming back home feeling good about ourselves is always a good thing.”
Keith Yandle and Mark Pysyk scored goals for the Panthers, who lost their third straight and fell to 3-4-0 in their season-long nine-game home stand. Sergei Bobrovsky made 38 saves, including 21 in the first period.
“They came out hard. You could feel it in the first period when they got so many shots,” Bobrovsky said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter who’s desperate, who’s not. It’s a hockey game. Unfortunately, we lose two points again.”
Florida’s Aleksander Barkov had to be helped off the ice by teammates late in the third period with an apparent leg injury after being forced into the boards by Boston's Charlie McAvoy.
“He should be fine,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said.
Pysyk closed the score to 3-1 when he poked in a loose puck from in front at 2:46 of the third.
The Panthers trimmed the lead to 3-2 when Yandle shot from the point and the puck went over Halak’s glove and into the net with 10:47 left in the game.
Quenneville took little solace on the third-period comeback.
“We scored early and got a little excitement off that,” Quenneville said. “Then we got a second one and all of a sudden you’ve got plenty of time. We got a couple decent looks, but not enough. You can’t think that was good enough and accept it. That was tough to watch for the majority of the game.”
Pastrnak’s second goal was an empty-netter with 2:10 left.
The Bruins went ahead 2-0 on Krejci’s shot from the high slot that was initially blocked but trickled under Bobrovsky’s pads at 3:14 of the second.
Pastrnak’s power-play goal stretched Boston’s lead to 3-0. Brad Marchand passed from the left circle to Pastrnak on the right side of the crease for an easy tap-in at 7:30 of the second. Pastrnak has scored seven goals over the last 11 games.
Pastrnak was awarded a penalty shot at 13:31 of the third when Aaron Ekblad was called for hooking, but his attempt was blocked by Bobrovsky.
DeBrusk gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead after he got a loose puck in the slot and fired it over Bobrovsky at 14:41 of the first. 1166351 Florida Panthers dogging it, but maybe we’re not working as hard as we think we are. We are not working hard enough. When we get angry and play determined, you can see it. We can’t see what kind of game it is and try to play just good enough to win. We have to play consistently. Boston is a team Changes coming? Another loss, more frustration for Florida Panthers as which has had a lot of success due to how they play. Everyone has good trade talks start to swirl players. We have to stay determined and know this is not good enough.”
Boston took control of Saturday’s game from the get-go, taking 10 shots at Bobrovsky in the first eight minutes, many of which were top-end By George Richards scoring chances. Dec 14, 2019 The Bruins scored at 14:41 of the first, but Bobrovsky remained under siege. In the first 40 minutes, Boston took 32 shots on net, was credited with 47 total shot attempts and led 3-0. SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida coach Joel Quenneville said the more desperate team Saturday would win. “They came out hard, you could feel it in the first period,” said Bobrovsky, who ended up allowing three goals on 41 shots faced. “They got so many The Panthers were not it. shots and they were aggressive. Again, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who’s desperate or who isn’t, it’s a hockey game. Again. “We have to step back, do the little things, the simple things, and go from Quenneville did what he could to tinker with the Panthers lineup before there. Reset, regroup, and just make the right plays at the right time and they faced division-leading Boston at BB&T Center, moving second-line chip away. It’s a long season. We can’t allow ourselves to get too down. center Vincent Trocheck up to the top line — but at right wing alongside It’s a very long season.” Sasha Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. Quenneville switched up several of the forwards as well as the defensive pairings. The Panthers made a bit of a comeback in the third period — recalling the big rally in Boston last month — and cut it to 3-2 off goals from Mark Yet, in a scenario that had to be frustrating for the Panthers coach, his Pysyk and Keith Yandle. team looked flat-footed as the Bruins — yes, the more desperate team having lost their previous five — pinned Florida in deep, dominated most Then came the empty-net goal, and that was that. of the first 40 minutes and ended up 4-2 winners. To make matters worse, the Panthers watched Barkov go hard into the Had it not been for goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, the Panthers might have boards in the final minutes and seemingly injure his right leg. been down five or six goals by the second intermission. The captain, who has basically been injury-free the past four seasons, Thanks to their backstop, Florida was able to stay close enough to score had to be helped off the ice by Trocheck and Anton Stralman as he twice in the third and make things extremely interesting. In the end, appeared reluctant to put weight on the leg. however, Boston scored into an empty net with 2:10 left to squash the Panthers’ comeback hopes and end a nightmare road trip on a positive. ALEKSANDER BARKOV IS HELPED OFF THE ICE BY VINCENT TROCHECK AND ANTON STRALMAN AFTER GOING INTO THE When asked if his team looked desperate enough Saturday, Quenneville BOARDS HARD.#FLAPANTHERS #ONETERRITORY #NHL gave a quick response. PIC.TWITTER.COM/CQLPLE5WTA
“No, I didn’t see it,’’ he said. “In the third, I thought we got a little excited — FOX SPORTS FLORIDA & SUN (@FOXSPORTSFL) DECEMBER when we scored, and then all of a sudden, you’re thinking of the last time 15, 2019 we saw them (on Nov. 12, Florida rallied from a 4-0 deficit and won 5-4 in a shootout). After the game, however, Quenneville said Barkov’s condition “is not serious.’’ “This was one of those games where their top guys were really good and we didn’t get the same. … We can’t think that was good enough and “That is scary to see that,” Boyle said of Barkov going down. “He is our accept it because that was tough to watch for a majority of the game.” captain for a reason and goes about everything the right way. He does everything right, sets a great example. We rely on him for everything. He Florida continues to trudge along in this homestand which has seen it is an elite player in the best league in the world and a high-character guy. lose four of the first seven games (all in regulation). The Panthers, a He was trying to make something happen for us.” team seemingly cruising along last month, have run aground. New blood coming via trade? “We need to play with more emotion and just play harder,” Trocheck said. “We need to want it a little more. It is an effort thing, a will to win. We Although they are still weeks away from hitting the halfway point of the definitely need to get better at that.” season, the Panthers appear to be running on fumes.
Over the past three games, the Panthers were outplayed by the With the team falling out of a playoff spot and in need of a jumpstart, Lightning, put up a decent showing against the Islanders and, well, then Florida has jumped into the conversation of franchises that may be came Saturday. considering early trades.
Ottawa, which beat Columbus in overtime on Saturday afternoon, visit Florida has been rumored to be interested in the biggest known player on Sunrise on Monday. the market — as it appears New Jersey soon may trade pending free agent Taylor Hall. The Panthers have a practice scheduled for Sunday morning. The Panthers have reportedly spoken to the Devils (Florida GM Dale “Our last three games, you can take chunks out of it and you can say it’s Tallon is close with Jersey’s Ray Shero) and could be in play, whether not even close to being good enough,” Quenneville said. “And we’re at they actually need Hall or not. home. It’s unacceptable.” HEARING THAT THE FLORIDA PANTHERS HAVE INQUIRED ON After rallying to beat Anaheim on Nov. 21, the Panthers were 12-5-5 and TAYLOR HALL. ABOUT 5-6 TEAMS IN THE MIX INCLUDING ARIZONA on pace to hit 108 points. That total, without a doubt, would put them in AND COLORADO AMONG OTHERS… the playoffs. — PIERRE LEBRUN (@PIERREVLEBRUN) DECEMBER 14, 2019 Since, though, the Panthers are a very pedestrian 3-7-0 as their pace has dropped to 90 points. You do not make the playoffs with 90 points. Florida has an abundance of talented wingers both on its NHL roster and The Panthers, of all teams, know that. in its system.
“You cannot take a loss lightly. If you can move past it easily and are not Trocheck is probably going back to center at some point because the pissed off, that is not a great sign,” forward Brian Boyle said. Panthers simply do not have as much depth at the position.
“Everyone here wants to make a difference, but it is probably going to be The Panthers also could use some defensive help as they have struggled harder than we initially thought. Well, now we know that. Guys are not for long stretches of time to get the puck out their zone. One of Florida’s top center prospects is Henrik Borgstrom, who started the season on the Panthers’ third line but only played four games before being sent to AHL Springfield to get more extensive playing time.
On Saturday night, Borgstrom was held out of Springfield’s game against visiting Providence, which led to speculation he could be a potential piece in a deal with the Devils.
Aleksi Heponiemi, another talented winger who has yet to make his NHL debut, was also held out Saturday.
Springfield GM Eric Joyce said Borgstrom is injured and is day-to-day.
Tallon, as usual, would not comment on trade rumors. “We don’t operate that way,” he said.
Others within the team’s front office said there is nothing going on at the moment.
We will see.
Trocheck’s ‘new’ partners
The Panthers briefly put Trocheck on the top line last season, and he said playing with Barkov and Huberdeau was an amazing experience.
He has not had that chance very much this season, even on the power play.
Saturday night, following the loss and having helped Barkov off the ice a few minutes earlier, Trocheck was not in as jubilant a mood, but he did say it is a great opportunity.
Quenneville made the move as the top line had not scored in two games, while Trocheck came into the night with just one point in his last six.
“I was excited to play with them. They are world-class players,” said Trocheck, who had an assist on Yandle’s goal in the third.
“I was a little nervous, but anytime you get a chance to play with two of the best players in the world, it is fun and exciting. I was just trying to do whatever I could to play hard and get pucks back to them and let them do some work. Just needed to do more.”
As for moving off of center, Trocheck said the positioning is not that different.
With Trocheck on the top line, Denis Malgin took over a second line with Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov. Boyle centered the third line with Noel Acciari back on the fourth.
“Realistically, after a faceoff, everyone is playing every position,” Trocheck said. “I don’t mind either way.”
Good use of his time
Pysyk, usually a defenseman, was back playing forward for the first time in over a month as he slid onto the fourth line with rookie Dominic Toninato sitting out.
The Panthers did not use Pysyk much in the first two periods as he clocked just 3:32 off nine shifts. He did get a shot off and also blocked one from the opposition.
On his first shift of the third, though, Pysyk scored his second goal of the season — both have come while playing forward — by whacking a loose puck past Jaroslav Halak.
Pysyk, who has found playing time tough to come by this season, has two points in the last two games.
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166352 Los Angeles Kings Los Angeles won its second straight overall and ended an 11-game road winless streak with a win at Anaheim on Thursday. Before Thursday, the Kings were 0-10-1 on the road since a win against Winnipeg on Oct. 22.
Rust scores in shootout, Penguins beat Kings Los Angeles plays 11 road games among its 15 total this month. The Kings haven’t won back-to-back road games since beating Anaheim and Calgary in March.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS | “For us to come into this building where they play exceptionally well as a team, and to push a goaltender that’s as hot as anybody in the league to PUBLISHED: December 14, 2019 at 9:53 pm | UPDATED: December 14, a shootout … we’ll take it,” McLellan said. 2019 at 9:53 PM UP NEXT
Kings: Continue their trip Sunday at Detroit. PITTSBURGH — Bryan Rust has helped carry the Pittsburgh Penguins with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup. Orange County Register: LOADED: 12.15.2019 Rust scored twice in regulation and got the lone goal in the shootout, and the Penguins beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 on Saturday night.
“That’s just a character win,” Rust said. “We obviously have a lot of guys out. We were down by two and then up by two and they tied it up again. It was a bit of a roller-coaster game.”
Rust came through again when the Penguins needed him most.
He faked a shot on the forehand and flipped a blocker-side backhander past Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick for the deciding goal. The Kings had a chance to continue the shootout, but the puck rolled off Adrian Kempe’s stick, giving the injury-riddled Penguins their fifth win in six games.
Rust, who scored the overtime winner Thursday against Columbus, had a 5-on-3 power-play goal in the second period. Teddy Blueger and Jack Johnson scored third-period goals, while Jake Guentzel and Kris Letang both had three assists. Pittsburgh has points in 17 of its last 22 games, including 13 wins.
Tristan Jarry, who entered the game with three shutouts in his last four appearances, made 38 saves for Pittsburgh.
Tyler Toffoli, Michael Amadio, Kyle Clifford and Austin Wagner scored for the Kings, who have lost six of their last nine. Quick stopped 23 shots.
“I didn’t think we were sharp in a couple situations offensively where we could’ve finished, but for the most part it was a pretty honest effort from the guys,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said.
Pittsburgh rallied from an early two-goal deficit in the first period, and then blew a two-goal lead in the third. Five of the last eight games between the Penguins and Kings have needed overtime.
Blueger put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 at 9:26 of the third period. Johnson gave Pittsburgh a two-goal lead 29 seconds after Jarry stopped Anze Kopitar on a breakaway, and then a penalty shot.
But the Kings tied the game with two late goals.
Clifford converted a rebound with 5 minutes left and Amadio scored 1:23 later after a net-mouth scramble in front of Jarry.
“I thought our reaction to (the comeback) was great,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We didn’t get rattled and we didn’t get on our heels. We just kept playing the game.”
The Penguins played their second straight game without three of their top four centers.
Malkin skated on his own Saturday morning, but he missed his second straight game with an illness. He’s one goal from becoming the fourth in franchise history and eighth active in the NHL to score 400 goals. Crosby and center Nick Bjugstad have been out since November because of core muscle surgery. Pittsburgh is also without top defenseman Brian Dumoulin and forward Patric Hornqvist, who both missed their sixth straight games with lower-body injuries.
The Penguins have won 16 of their last 22 in the regular season without Crosby and Malkin, including eight of the last 10 at home.
“Our guys are playing hard and competing,” Sullivan said. “We’re fighting hard. I just like our effort.”
The Kings are in a stretch in which they play 12 of 16 games on the road, including their current season-long six-game trip. 1166353 Los Angeles Kings On his decision to step in and fight, after the uncalled boarding on Lizotte I saw that Lizzo was down, I didn’t really see what happened so I just
stepped in after that. I wasn’t sure exactly what happened, I just saw that DECEMBER 14 RAPID REACTION – PENGUINS 5, KINGS 4 (SO) he was down.
Kyle Clifford on the character the team showed in the third-period surge
ZACH DOOLEY I think everybody stuck in it, they stayed in it, they knew it was going to be a grind. I thought we played well enough to win and it was just an DECEMBER 14, 2019 unfortunate turnout and we’ve got to get ready to tomorrow night.
On the game-tying goal, and what he saw on that play
Todd McLellan on a game that seemed to have it all and his take on it It was just a…..Ammo was Johnny on the Spot, he’s played great all overall year. He anticipates those little plays and thinks the game real well.
I think you summed it up pretty well, it had a little bit of everything. Good On if he felt that the Kings controlled the play 5-on-5 and could have start, we got into a little bit of penalty trouble, they clawed back as we gotten the two points on a different night expected, they’re very scrappy, competitive team, they don’t go away, but nor do we and we talked about that in between periods. We’ve got to I thought there were some areas that we could do better in, but we had a respond a little bit here and push and I thought we did that late in the lot of scoring chances, what did we finish with, 45 shot or something like third, we didn’t go away. We get to the shootout and anything can that? I thought, you look at Adrian Kempe stepping up there, that was happen there. We didn’t get too many good looks or shots off in the huge of him, good character shown by him. I can’t praise him enough, shootout, so that was a little disappointing and you can throw the penalty that’s the type of stuff that builds championships. Team toughness and shot in as well. Chalk it up to their one special teams goal, or the it’s not necessarily the fighting stuff, but it’s guys willing to stick up for shootout, I include that in the special teams and they were a little bit each other and grinding for each other. [Reporter: It’s not so much the further ahead of us in that situation. fight, right, it’s more seeing a teammate down and responding?]. Yeah, yeah, there’s a lot more to it than just the fight. The identity part is huge On what he felt the Kings did to generate offense tonight and I think any one of those four guys and Quickie would have jumped in and done the same thing, he was just first man on the spot. It’s We are a volume shooting team, and we take a lot of shots. They’re not encouraging to see and he’s a great teammate. always high danger shots, but we believe that leads to the second and third opportunities and rebounds and Clifford’s goal was a prime example Postgame Notes of that, where we get it to the net and they have to respond to a rebound. That was part of some of our attack plan, but that’s how we’ve played — With the shootout loss, Los Angeles fell to 76-61-24 all-time against and we’ve done that to a lot of teams. We just have a tough time finishing Pittsburgh, a record that includes a road mark of 28-42-13, and an on a regular basis. overtime/shootout record of 8-8-5. These teams will meet once more this season, on February 26 at STAPLES Center. On if he was happy with the team’s 5-on-5 play — With the SOL, Los Angeles fell to 3-5-2 against the Eastern I was. I didn’t think we were sharp in a couple situations, maybe Conference, 2-2-1 against the Metropolitan Division, 7-5-3 in one-goal offensively where we could have finished some good rushes, or some games, 11-4-2 when scoring first, 10-2-1 when leading after one period, plays in the offensive zone where it just kind of bounced around or we 4-2-2 when tied after two periods and 9-15-2 when outshooting their didn’t handle a pass properly. For the most part, a pretty honest effort opponent. from the guys. A little bit sloppy at times, defensively – You look at the 4- on-4 goal, we could have done a better job there, but for us to come into — Forward Austin Wagner scored in the first period, and has now this building, where they’ve played really well, they’ve played collected a point in both games played against Pittsburgh in his NHL exceptionally well as a team, to push a great goaltender like that, a guy career. Wagner’s tally also snapped a 22-game goal-less streak. who’s as hot as anybody in the league into a shootout, we’ll take it. – Forward Tyler Toffoli (1-1-2) and defenseman Sean Walker (0-2-2) On how Adrian Kempe responded to the hit on Blake Lizotte each collected multi-point games in the shootout defeat.
Well, we’re a team. We stick together, I don’t think anybody questions – Forward Matt Luff collected a point for the second consecutive game. anybody’s will or desire to take care of teammates. The take care part — Los Angeles attempted 70 shots (42 on goal, 16 blocked, 12 missed). isn’t always the physical part, it’s the emotional part, in the locker room Pittsburgh attempted 43 shots (27 on goal, 10 blocked, 6 missed). Blake when somebody’s up or down and away from the rink as well. It’s a pretty Lizotte and Bryan Rust tied for the game-lead with six shots on goal. tight group that we have and I’m proud that they do those things. Not necessarily the fighting part, but the taking care of each other part. — The Kings won 28-of-57 faceoffs (49%). Michael Amadio won 2-of-6, Anze Kopitar won 10-of-19, Blake Lizotte won 6-of-12, Jeff Carter won 8- Adrian Kempe on if there was a feeling of letting the Penguins back into of-15, Adrian Kempe won 0-of-2, Alex Iafallo won 1-of-1, Trevor Lewis the game at 2-0 won 1-of-1 and Tyler Toffoli won 0-of-1. I think we played a good game. Obviously they’re a good team, they The Kings are scheduled to fly to Detroit tonight following the game. The have a lot of speed and a lot of skill in their team and obviously we have team is not expected to skate tomorrow before a 7 PM faceoff against the some chances in the game. I think we had a couple of penalties against Red Wings. us and they took advantage of that and came back in to the game. It was a tight game through the entire game I think, we did a real good job at the LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.15.2019 end coming back, I think we definitely deserved one point tonight.
On the resolve of the team, coming back to force overtime
For sure. I think lately, we’ve been playing good on the road. Maybe we haven’t gotten the results, especially when we played Calgary and Edmonton, but going into this game from last game in Anaheim, I think we played a good, solid game. I think we had a pretty good game tonight as well. They came back and then we came back again, it was a tight game, and it was a lot of fun to play in.
On the goal he created with Lizotte and Wagner, and their line using their speed
Yeah, I think it’s easy for me to have those guys on my line. It’s easy to make plays. [Lizotte] was good and Wags is always flying, so it’s pretty easy to play with them and we did a pretty good job tonight. 1166354 Los Angeles Kings
GAME 34: LOS ANGELES AT PITTSBURGH
ZACH DOOLEY
DECEMBER 14, 2019
Los Angeles Kings 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 5
Final – SO
Preview
Box Score
Ice Tracker
Fox Sports Live Stream
SOG: LAK – 41; PIT – 21
PP: LAK – 0/2; PIT – 1/4
First Period
1) LAK – Austin Wagner (3) (Adrian Kempe, Blake Lizotte) 13:08
2) LAK – Tyler Toffoli (8) (Sean Walker, Matt Luff) 18:00
Second Period
3) PIT – Bryan Rust (11) (Jake Guentzel, Kris Letang) 3:31
4) PIT – Bryan Rust (12) (Jake Guentzel, Justin Schultz) 17:36
Third Period
5) PIT – Teddy Blueger (4) (Bryan Rust, Kris Letang) 9:26
6) PIT – Jack Johnson (2) (Jared McCann, Jake Guentzel) 11:58
7) LAK – Kyle Clifford (4) (Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty) 15:00
8) LAK – Michael Amadio (6) (Sean Walker, Kyle Clifford) 16:23
Los Angeles Kings (13-18-2) at Pittsburgh Penguins (18-10-4)
Saturday, December 14, 2019, 4:00 p.m. PT
PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, PA
Referees: #14 Trevor Hanson, #3 Chris Schlenker
Linesmen: #83 Matt MacPherson, #56 Julian Fournier
Fox Sports West, FOX Sports GO, LA Kings Audio Network
LAK starters: G Jonathan Quick, D Joakim Ryan, D Drew Doughty, LW Alex Iafallo, C Anze Kopitar, RW Dustin Brown
LAK scratches: D Paul LaDue, F Ilya Kovalchuk, F Nikolai Prokhorkin
PIT starters: G Tristan Jarry, D John Marino, D Kris Letang, LW Alex Galchenyuk, C Teddy Blueger, RW Brandon Tanev
PIT scratches: D Juuso Riikola, F Evgeni Malkin
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166355 Los Angeles Kings the 24-year-old netminder has posted shutouts of 17, 33 and 28 saves in wins over Columbus, Arizona and St. Louis respectively.
The Backend DECEMBER 14: LINEUP NOTES, QUICK, 5-ON-5 PLAY, ROY Defenseman Ben Hutton will take the ice tonight in the city he was drafted in back in 2012. A special moment?
ZACH DOOLEY “I wasn’t actually at the draft,” he said this morning with a laugh.
DECEMBER 14, 2019 *Throws out idea, starts over*
Hear more from Hutton a bit later this week, as I’ll take a bit of a deeper look at how the Kings’ defensive corps has shaken out behind Drew Game Day in Pittsburgh! After a travel day yesterday, the Kings were on Doughty this season. the ice in full this morning before they will take on the Penguins tonight at PPG Paints Arena (4:00 p.m. PT / FOX Sports West / FOX Sports GO / “We all feel like on any given night, we can all set up and play big roles, LA Kings Audio Network). Below we’ve got an idea at tonight’s lineup and play big minutes and everyone can contribute all over the rink. more! Offensively, defensively, everything. I feel like our d-core is pretty deep that way, which only helps. If one guy is having an off night, the next guy Notes! can step up and help him out.”
KINGS VITALS: Jonathan Quick was the first netminder off this morning Some good stuff from chatting with Ben, as I’ll look to do with others over and is expected to re-take his place between the pipes tonight. The the course of the next few days. goaltender is 4-4-4 lifetime against the Penguins, with Quick taking the OTL the last time these two teams met in Pittsburgh. Quick has been a For now, we shift over to take a look at defenseman Matt Roy, who has rock for the Kings as of late. Since November 9, the netminder has done his share of stepping up as of late, to the tune of four points (1-3-4) posted a 7-5-1 record, to go along with a 2.09 GAA and a .921 SV%, over his last three games played. When he first came into the league, stemming from 314 saves on 341 shots against. breaking in last season, Roy’s emphasis and results were more seen at the defensive end. As he grew in comfort, has his approach, or his output “I’d describe him as stubborn, and I think that’s a real good quality for him changed? and the team,” Kings Head Coach Todd McLellan said following today’s morning skate in Pittsburgh. “He’s determined. If it’s going good, he’s “That’s still my mindset [to take care of his own end first],” Roy said. “I’m steady on the rudder, if it’s not going so good he’s stubborn and he wants just trying to get pucks to the net and the forwards are doing most of the to get back in there and fix things, so I think that type of demeanor rubs work down low. I’m just trying to play good D and get pucks to the net off on his teammates and guys want to play for him. I’ve been on teams when I can…. I’m not leading the rush by any means, but I like to play where players play with the goaltender. In Quickie’s case, I think they offense and try to get pucks to the net when I can.” want to play for him and I think that’s way more valuable and more In his last eight games, Roy has played 18+ minutes in seven of those powerful.” contests. Prior to that, Roy had exceeded 18 minutes just twice in his first Line rushes from this morning’s skate, partnered with who was on late, 25 games played with the Kings this season, marking a pretty severe would indicate a similar group this evening for the Kings both up front uptick in playing time for the still technically a rookie by NHL standards. (19-11-23, 13-77-22, 9-46-51, 73-10-64) and on defense (6-8, 15-3, 56- “You obviously notice when you play more, but you don’t really think 26), but we’ll know for sure closer to puck drop tonight. about it too much when you’re playing, you just kind of get into a groove,” McLellan has been happy with the Kings’ 5-on-5 play as of late, as well Roy said. “I’m just trying to do my part.” as their ability to stay out the penalty box and continue to keep four lines His part has been providing what looks to be the same effort and output rolling throughout games. on a nightly basis. Roy won’t flash you with any one part of his game in “That’s important for our team. If we can maintain a four-line rotation, particular, but that’s the beauty of him. What you see is what you get and bigger bodies playing quality minutes and not playing tired. Handing off a what you get doesn’t change much night-to-night. Consistency and good shift to the next line so they can come out and get going, it certainly steady play, sounds pretty good. favors our team I think in most cases. Refer back to the Calgary game, Just steady,” McLellan said of Roy. “Very predictable, you know what when we got a little short staffed with Pro leaving and Cliffy getting kicked you’re going to get from him shift after shift. It doesn’t mean it’s mistake out of the game, all of a sudden you go to a three-line team and it slows free, but they’re honest mistakes and he’s providing a little more offense, us down a little bit. All four lines have been contributing, six defensemen using his shot a little bit more, getting it off and having the confidence to have been playing well. This will be a real stiff test for us tonight, I think get it there. A lot of real positives in his game right now.” this team is going to test anybody’s work ethic in this league, with the way they grind it out, with the same checking mentality and the Game Thread from Pittsburgh is up next! goaltending that they’ve gotten over the past few weeks. I’m sure they’ll present that test and it’ll be a big challenge. LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.15.2019
PENGUINS VITALS: We know that the Penguins did not hold a full-team morning skate this morning. Embedded below, we know how the Penguins lined up last time out against Columbus. We know that Evgeni Malkin did not play in that game, we know that he did skate as a part of a small group this morning, but we know that forward Joseph Blandisi was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on emergency recall earlier today. We can say that this points to Malkin perhaps not being ready to go tonight, and Blandisi taking his place back in the Pittsburgh lineup…..but really we do not know. If Malkin is indeed absent, it would likely push Jake Guentzel back to center, as he is pictured below.
UPDATE – Malkin is OUT tonight. Expect Blandisi in his place.
Lined up and ready to go. pic.twitter.com/7ID7In0guL
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 12, 2019
Who do we expect between the pipes? If it’s Tristan Jarry, it would mark the first time in the netminder’s history that he’s faced the Kings in his NHL career. Jarry is 3-1-0 in his last four games played, with all three victories coming via the shutout. All three wins came on home ice and 1166356 Minnesota Wild
Wild visit the Blackhawks after Staal's 2-goal game
By The Associated Press
DECEMBER 15, 2019 — 2:20AM
Minnesota Wild (16-12-5, fifth in the Central Division) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (12-15-6, seventh in the Central Division)
Chicago; Sunday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota visits the Chicago Blackhawks after Eric Staal scored two goals in the Wild's 4-1 win over the Flyers.
The Blackhawks are 2-5-2 against the rest of their division. Chicago has given up 21 power-play goals, killing 80.4% of opponent opportunities.
The Wild are 2-6-1 against opponents from the Central Division. Minnesota ranks fifth in the league shooting 10.7% and averaging 3.1 goals on 28.6 shots per game.
The matchup Sunday is the first meeting this season for the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Patrick Kane has recorded 37 total points while scoring 15 goals and collecting 22 assists for the Blackhawks. Brandon Saad has scored four goals over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Staal leads the Wild with 25 points, scoring 11 goals and adding 14 assists. Zach Parise has totaled five goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 7-1-2, averaging 3.7 goals, 5.8 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while allowing 2.8 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.
Blackhawks: 3-6-1, averaging 2.2 goals, 3.6 assists, 4.1 penalties and 10.5 penalty minutes while giving up 3.7 goals per game with a .893 save percentage.
INJURIES: Blackhawks: None listed.
Wild: Joel Eriksson Ek: day to day (upper-body).
Star Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166357 Minnesota Wild So, the power play remains in a funk, going 0-for-18 over the past six games after finishing 0-for-5 Saturday. But the PK was a perfect 3-for-3.
“I've got to believe at some point they're going to figure it out and get Wild downs Flyers, overcomes adversity during three-game homestand better,” Boudreau said. “It's been six games now. I was really happy to see the penalty kill get going today because they have struggled, too. Special teams has been the thing that's been hurting us but if we can continue to do the right things 5-on-5, then eventually those other two By Sarah McLellan things will turn around and come back.” DECEMBER 14, 2019 — 10:19PM Star Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019
The Wild just as easily could have pivoted the other direction after a lopsided 6-2 loss to the Hurricanes last Saturday.
Not only did the result snap the team’s 11-game point streak, but it exposed the fresh holes in the team’s lineup due to injury.
No captain Mikko Koiuv, and defenseman Jared Spurgeon was missing, too.
But instead of letting that adversity derail it, the Wild vowed to regroup and recover.
And in the week since, that’s exactly what the team did – putting an exclamation point on that progress by capping off a three-game homestand Saturday with a 4-1 win over the Flyers that improved the team to 10-1-4 in its last 15 games.
“We have the leadership, the character, in this room to get it done,” winger Marcus Foligno said. “I think guys see it as not ‘poor me’. This is an opportunity for some young guys to kind of get some more ice time.”
That could be the case again Sunday when the Wild starts a three-game road trip in Chicago.
Center Joel Eriksson Ek left Saturday’s game in the second period after getting hit in the corner by the Flyers’ Sean Couturier. After the game, coach Bruce Boudreau said Eriksson Ek was doing better but whether he could play against the Blackhawks wouldn’t be determined until Sunday.
If Eriksson Ek can’t suit up, the Wild has an extra forward on the roster in Gerald Mayhew but he’s a winger. To fill Eriksson Ek’s spot, the Wild could tab Ryan Hartman or Luke Kunin. Both have experience at center but are currently playing right wing.
“We’ve got a few candidates,” Boudreau said.
Goalie Alex Stalock was idle for most of the Wild’s three-game homestand, sitting as the backup for the first two tests, and Stalock wasn’t much busier in the finale.
He faced just 18 shots, stopping all but one, to lift the Wild to 2-0-1 on the week with one more test to go Sunday in Chicago.
“It was a weird game,” Stalock said. “You look at the score clock in the third period the shots were like 14-7. You’re like, ‘What is going on? They’ve got an offensive group, and they can skate. It’ just one of those nights where the game gets played like that sometimes in an 82-game schedule. Kept them to the outside. Our penalty kill was fantastic tonight; we got that back on track.
“Yeah, it was one of those games where you just kind of chipped away. Fun to win a game like that.”
A night like that, however, isn’t exactly a breeze for a netminder because it can be a challenge to stay focused.
“It really is,” Stalock said. “But we did a great job.”
Center Eric Staal was just a point shy of 999 after scoring twice, but Boudreau forgot about the impending milestone until someone on the bench reminded him near the end of the game.
“I went, ‘Oh, man. I forgot,’” Boudreau said. “And then I put him out there for the last minute and something hoping he could get it. I’m sure good things will happen.”
The Wild received one special-teams goal, but it wasn’t a power play marker.
Defenseman Carson Soucy buried a puck into an empty net in the waning stages of the third period on the penalty kill, the Wild’s second shorthanded goal of the season. 1166358 Minnesota Wild
Gameday preview: Wild at Chicago
SARAH McLELLAN
DECEMBER 15, 2019 — 1:09AM
6 p.m. at Chicago • FSN, 107.9-FM
Preview: The Wild kicks off a three-game road trip with its first matchup of the season against Chicago. In 2018-19, the Wild went 1-2-1 vs. its Central Division rival. Both losses came in Chicago. The Blackhawks were also in action Saturday, losing at St. Louis 4-3 when the Blues scored four third-period goals, Chicago's fourth consecutive loss.
Players to WATCH: Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane has 46 points in 49 career games vs. the Wild. C Jonathan Toews has four goals and 10 points at United Center this season. LW Brandon Saad scored twice Saturday. … LW Zach Parise had two goals and three assists vs. Chicago last season.
Numbers: The Wild is 4-1-2 in its past seven road contests. The Blackhawks are 5-1 in the second game of a back-to-back.
Injuries: Blackhawks C Drake Caggiula (concussion protocol), RW Andrew Shaw (concussion protocol) and Ds Duncan Keith (groin) and Calvin de Haan (shoulder) are out. … Wild G Devan Dubnyk (family illness), Ds Jared Spurgeon (hand) and Greg Pateryn (lower body) and C Mikko Koivu (lower body) are also out.
Star Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166359 Minnesota Wild
Wild-Philadelphia game recap
SARAH McLELLAN
DECEMBER 14, 2019 — 11:44PM
STAR TRIBUNE’S THREE STARS
1. Eric Staal, Wild: The center scored twice.
2. Jonas Brodin, Wild: The defenseman recorded two assists.
3. Zach Parise, Wild: The winger tallied team-leading 13th goal.
BY THE NUMBERS
9-0-3 Wild in past 12 home games.
8 Assists for Brodin in his past eight games.
100 Career games for Luke Kunin.
999 Career points for Staal.
Star Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166360 Minnesota Wild "I've never made any excuses," he said. "I knew I needed to be better as a whole and I felt like as a group we also collectively dug in and everyone committed to getting this ship back in the right direction."
Flyers lose 2 more players, fall 4-1 in Minnesota NOTES: Stalock finished with 17 saves. ... Wild C Joel Eriksson Ek left the game in the second period, but he has not been ruled out for Sunday. ... G Devan Dubnyk, out since Nov. 16 as his wife deals with a medical situation, took part in the morning skate and is expected to be on By MIKE COOK Minnesota's upcoming three-game trip. C Mikko Koivu (lower body) and Associated Press D Jared Spurgeon (hand) are also going on the trip. Both were injured Dec. 3. ... This was the first of five games in eight days — and six in 10 DECEMBER 14, 2019 — 9:55PM — for the Flyers. Philadelphia played once in the previous six days.
UP NEXT
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Coming off an emotional announcement a day Flyers: At Winnipeg on Sunday. earlier, things didn't get any easier for the Philadelphia Flyers. Wild: At Chicago on Sunday. Already down their top two scorers, Philadelphia lost two centers early. And it was playing one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Star Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019
Eric Staal scored twice and the Minnesota Wild continued to dominate on home ice, beating the Flyers 4-1 on Saturday.
Zach Parise and Carson Soucy also scored for Minnesota, which is 9-0-3 in its past 12 games at Xcel Energy Center. Only Boston (17) and the New York Islanders (currently at 13) have longer home point streaks this season.
The Wild were 16-18-7 at home last season.
"Every year this team's been in the league they've had one of the best home records in the league. We had one really bad year and now that we're back on track is more of what was normal than what was abnormal," coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Near the bottom of the league after winning just six of their first 18 games, the Wild are 10-1-4 in their last 15.
"I think everyone's just buying in. We feel comfortable now," defenseman Ryan Suter said. "The new guys, usually it takes a few games, 20 games or so, to get used to the system and get used to playing with each other."
James van Riemsdyk scored and Carter Hart made 24 saves for Philadelphia. The Flyers have dropped three of four after winning five straight and lost back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 27-29.
This was Philadelphia's first game since it was announced that Oskar Lindblom has been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. Lindblom's jersey hung in his stall before the game. Before the game, many players talked about winning for their teammate.
Tied with Travis Konecny with a team-best 11 goals, Lindblom is expected to miss the rest of the season. Konecny missed his second straight game with a concussion.
The Philadelphia bench was thinner in the final two periods after centers Scott Laughton and Tyler Pitlick left. No updates were available for either player; however, coach Alain Vigneault expects some call-ups from Lehigh Valley of the AHL in time for Sunday's game in Winnipeg.
"The only thing we can do is what's in our control, prepare those guys, whoever's coming," defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. "We need two points bad."
Vigneault wants more from his top players.
"We just had a few plays right there that we needed to execute. A lot of those players it was our most skilled players. They need to find a way to come through for us," he said.
Minnesota's did.
Down 1-0 after van Riemsdyk's early goal, Parise scored on a redirect and Staal found the net on a rebound less than two minutes apart before the midway point of the period for a 2-1 Wild lead.
Staal's second-period goal came from the left circle and squeezed through traffic before trickling past Hart.
Staal, who leads Minnesota with 26 points and is sitting on 999 career points, has three goals and an assist in his past two games.
Banged up a bit early, Staal had two assists in the team's first eight games. 1166361 Minnesota Wild Center Joel Eriksson Ek didn’t finish the game, leaving in the second period after looking wobbly following a hit from the Flyers’ Sean Couturier. Whether he plays against the Blackhawks will be decided Sunday. Defense keeps Wild rolling in 4-1 victory over Philadelphia “He’s a lot better now,” Boudreau said. “So [I’m] not as concerned as Alex Stalock had to face only 17 shots as his team's home point streak when I saw him coming off.” reached 12 games. And the power play remains in a rut, going 0-for-5 to sit 0-for-18 over its past six games. But the penalty kill was airtight (3-for-3).
By Sarah McLellan “We didn’t give them a lot and didn’t give their skill players any time to move and make plays,” Staal said. “It was a gritty win and a good one Star Tribune here to finish the homestand.” DECEMBER 14, 2019 — 11:38PM Star Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019
Among its recent accolades, the Wild demonstrated a nose for the net that enabled it to outpace some of the more dynamic offenses in the NHL in Tampa Bay and Edmonton.
But how the team prevailed against the Flyers in the finale of a three- game homestand, by locking down the defensive zone en route to yielding a season-low 18 shots in a 4-1 victory in front of an announced crowd of 17,140 at Xcel Energy Center, is much more reflective of the Wild’s identity and its ticket to long-term success.
“That’s kind of back to our game,” winger Marcus Foligno said.
VideoVideo (01:04): Coach Bruce Boudreau recaps the 4-1 win over the Flyers Saturday.
Center Eric Staal scored twice, the recently formed defensive duo of Jonas Brodin and Carson Soucy combined for three points and goalie Alex Stalock turned aside 17 shots to extend the Wild’s point streak on home ice to 12 games (9-0-3). The franchise record is 13, set Dec. 27- Feb. 13, 2018.
Since Nov. 14, the Wild ranks first in the NHL with 24 points (10-1-4).
Not all those successes were defensive clinics like the one the Wild put on Saturday, with photo finishes against the Lightning (5-4) and Oilers (6- 5) part of that run. But by showcasing its versatility, the Wild also seems to be rounding into a form that suits it — growth that’s impressive considering it’s without goalie Devan Dubnyk (family illness), captain Mikko Koivu (lower-body injury) and defenseman Jared Spurgeon (hand injury).
“We’re finding ways to win, whether it’s playing good ‘D’ or scoring goals,” defenseman Ryan Suter said. “It’s a good thing, especially when you’ve got some key guys out.”
Before the Wild hunkered down, Philadelphia scored on its first shot 1 minute, 34 seconds into the first period — a 2-on-1 finish by James van Riemsdyk.
But after that, the Wild seized control.
At 6:16, winger Zach Parise caught a piece of a Kevin Fiala wraparound for his team-leading 13th goal.
Only 1:35 later, Staal tallied his first of the game — sliding in a backhander while Flyers goalie Carter Hart was sprawled out of position.
Staal converted his second of the game, and third in the past two, at 9:47 of the second when he put back a puck that pinballed around the front of the net before kicking out to him. The goal rang up as his 999th career point.
The Flyers had just three shots in the second before making their best push in the third, testing Stalock 10 times. At the other end, Hart turned aside 24 total shots.
“We were skating,” Suter said. “We were moving our feet. We’re a good team when we skate. When we get standing around, teams take advantage of us and I thought in the first period tonight we skated the way we needed to.”
Defenseman Carson Soucy tacked on an end-to-end empty-netter with 2:14 to go, the Wild’s second shorthanded goal of the season. Soucy has three goals and six points in his past six games. Brodin, who was paired with Soucy just last week after Spurgeon was injured, assisted on that goal and Staal’s second.
There were, however, a few blemishes. 1166362 Minnesota Wild division — in St. Louis on Jan. 24-25. Fans can vote online at NHL.com/Vote and on the NHL app. Voting closes Saturday, with the top vote-getters by division (regardless of position) being named All-Stars and captains. Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman have been a reliable fourth-line pairing for Wild A maximum of four players are allowed per ballot. Fans can cast up to 10 ballots for each 24-hour period. Their friendship has helped them on the ice, because they can communicate openly and hold each other accountable. Star Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019
By Sarah McLellan
Star Tribune
DECEMBER 15, 2019 — 1:31AM
Before the season even started, wingers Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman were pegged to anchor opposite ends of a depth line for the Wild — a fit that coach Bruce Boudreau anticipated once the team signed Hartman as a free agent in July.
Fast forward to December, and the two have fulfilled the vision that they would become a reliable duo, delivering a fourth-line boost lately that has revealed the chemistry they have developed.
“We kind of have the same style of play where we’re a little gritty,” Foligno said. “We provide energy, that hardworking style. I think Hartsy’s got a great set of hands on him. He can make some plays. He’s a good passer. As you can see, he can shoot the puck, too, pretty hard and he’s young, too. He’s got a lot of energy.”
Last season, Foligno was one half of a different pair — working with veteran Eric Fehr at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill.
He and Hartman have adopted the same role, handling shorthanded situations together, and they have supplied secondary scoring.Foligno buried a give-and-go feed from Hartman during Thursday’s 6-5 victory over Edmonton, and the game before that it was Foligno who was setting up Hartman. Foligno earned the secondary assist on Hartman’s goal, which opened the scoring for the Wild in an eventual 3-2 shootout loss to Anaheim. The assist rang up as the 100th of Foligno’s career.
“He’s strong,” Hartman said of the 6-3, 224-pound Foligno. “He’s a big guy. Having a big guy out there like Marcus makes me gain a few inches. I feel like I feel bigger out there, but I think we jell pretty well off the ice [and] on the ice. He’s a great guy, and it’s been fun playing together.”
STACY BENGS
The Wild's Marcus Foligno fought the Flyers' Joel Farabee during Saturday night's game at Xcel Energy Center.
This partnership was put on hiatus for much of November when Foligno was sidelined by a lower-body injury, but now that Foligno is back playing, the two haven’t appeared to have had any trouble rediscovering their rhythm — a bond that isn’t limited to the rink.
The two are friends, and having that type of camaraderie helps them on the ice, Hartman said, because they can communicate openly and hold each other accountable.
“We go for dinner pretty much every time we’re on the road together,” Foligno said. “He’s become a close friend of mine now. He’s a funny guy. He jokes around. He’s kind of like my style, so we have fun with each other on the ice, too. That’s huge.”
Roster move
After assigning him back to the American Hockey League on Friday, the Wild recalled forward Gerald Mayhew on Saturday — a move designed to give the team an extra forward for its three-game road trip that starts Sunday at Chicago.Nearly the entire team will make the trip, which also includes stops in Vegas and Arizona. Only defenseman Greg Pateryn, who’s out with a lower-body injury, won’t travel.
Time to vote
Voting for the NHL All-Star Game has started, with fans determining the four captains for the fifth straight year.
Again this season, the festivities will include a skills competition and 3- on-3, three-game tournament among four teams — one for each NHL 1166363 Minnesota Wild
Alex Stalock back in net when Wild wraps up homestand vs. Flyers
By Sarah McLellan
DECEMBER 14, 2019 — 10:21AM
Alex Stalock was idle during the Wild’s last two games, a rare break for the netminder since he’s handled the bulk of the goaltending duties while Devan Dubnyk has been away from the team due to a medical situation with his wife.
But Stalock will be back between the pipes Saturday when the Wild closes out a three-game homestand against the Flyers at Xcel Energy Center.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in there,” Stalock said.
The Wild is 1-0-1 so far at home this week, results that extended the team’s point streak on home ice to 11 games (8-0-3). And continuing this run vs. the Flyers should be a challenge; not only are the Flyers rested, not having played since Wednesday, but Philadelphia has lost only twice in its last eight games.
“They can really skate now,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They’re not the Broad Street Bullies of old. They’re a fast, fast team, and [coach Alain Vigneault’s] got them playing really well.”
Before taking on the Flyers, the Wild recalled forward Gerald Mayhew from the American Hockey League after returning him to Iowa on Friday – a move that gives the Wild an extra forward for its upcoming road trip.
After this homestand wraps up, the Wild will take off for Chicago where it’ll open a three-game road trip Sunday against the Blackhawks before moving on to Vegas (Tuesday) and Arizona (Thursday).
The Wild is expected to have its entire team on the trip minus defenseman Greg Pateryn, who’s dealing with a lower-body injury.
“We’re staying in the pack,” Boudreau said, “and we would love to be able to put a little string together.”
Projected lineup:
Jason Zucker-Eric Staal-Mats Zuccarello
Zach Parise-Ryan Donato-Kevin Fiala
Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Luke Kunin
Marcus Foligno-Victor Rask-Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter-Matt Dumba
Jonas Brodin-Carson Soucy
Brad Hunt-Brennan Menell
Alex Stalock
Key numbers:
99: Career games for winger Luke Kunin.
997: Points for center Eric Staal in his career.
2: Wins for Stalock in two career starts vs. the Flyers.
9-1-4: Record for the Wild over its last 14 games.
1: Goal for center Ryan Donato in each of his past three outings.
About the Flyers:
Philadelphia is off to a solid start to this season, sitting 17-9-5 with 39 points. Although they’ve lost twice in their past three games, the Flyers are 7-2-1 in their last 10 overall. They’re 9-1-5 in one-goal games, and Philadelphia is 11-0-2 when leading after two periods. Winger Travis Konecny has a team-high 11 goals and 28 points. Goalie Carter Hart is 10-6-3 with a .908 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average.
Star Tribune LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166364 Minnesota Wild Joel Eriksson Ek exited midway through the game and did not return. He took a hit from Flyers center Sean Couturier in the second period and looked woozy and he walked down the tunnel.
Eric Staal leads Wild to runaway 4-1 victory over Flyers Pioneer Press LOADED: 12.15.2019
By DANE MIZUTANI | [email protected]
Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: December 14, 2019 at 8:32 pm | UPDATED: December 14, 2019 at 9:45 PM
Like a fine wine, Eric Staal continues to get better with age.
After looking very much like an aging veteran in the decline of his career for a couple of weeks this season, the 35-year-old Staal has rediscovered some magic over the last couple of months, and the Wild have been rolling ever since.
Not only has Staal managed to find the scoresheet with regularity — he has 23 points over his last 25 games — he’s scored timely goals when the Wild have needed it most.
Just like he did on Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center.
With the Wild locked in an extremely tight checking game against the Philadelphia Flyers, and open ice at a minimum, Staal helped break the game open with a pair of goals en route to a runaway 4-1 win.
“It was difficult to start this season,” Staal said.. “I wasn’t at the level I wanted to be at. I was a little banged up and grinding. Sometimes I’d be better off getting back to where I need to be. But I’ve never made any excuses. I knew I needed to be better as a whole.”
Needless to say, Staal has been much better as of late, and on Saturday night he inched ever so close to the 1,000-point plateau for his career. That milestone will have to wait with Staal now sitting at 999 points for his career.
It’s clear coach Bruce Boudreau was trying to help Staal get there as the final seconds ticked away.
“I forgot all about it,” Boudreau said with a laugh postgame. “Somebody told me on the bench he’s got 999 (points) and I went, ‘Oh, man. I forgot.’ Then I put him out there for the last minute hoping he could get it. I’m sure good things will happen (soon).”
That said, it’s safe to assume Staal will settle for the win right now.
That result seemed highly unlikely in the early stages as the Wild fell behind early in the first period when Flyers winger James van Riemsdyk scored on the first shot of the game.
While it looked like that might be the start of a long night, the Wild responded with a flurry, getting a goal from Zach Parise to tie the game and a goal from Staal less than 90 seconds later to take the lead.
“We got that one goal against right away and then we came back again and constantly pressured them at that point,” Boudreau said. “I thought that was a really good sign. We don’t seem to get like big air out of our breath when they score. It’s like we can hear it on the bench like, ‘OK. Let’s get back at it.’ ”
That ended up being all Alex Stalock needed between the pipes, though he got a heck of an effort from his teammates, who limited the Flyers to a mere 18 shots in the game.
“You look at those games and go, ‘Gosh. That’s an easy one for the goalie,’ ” Stalock said when asked how he stayed locked in. “It’s hard to stay focused (without a lot of shots). It really is. But we did a great job. It made my night easy and it was a good way to get back in there.”
For good measure, Staal added his second goal of the game in the second period, and Carson Soucy put the cherry on top with an empty- net goal in the third period to finalize the score.
“I felt like as a group we also collectively dug in and everyone committed to getting this ship back in the right direction,” Staal said. “We just want to continue building on it now. We still have a ways to go.”
BRIEFLY 1166365 Minnesota Wild Mikko Koivu (lower-body injury) and Jared Spurgeon (right hand) are both expected to make the upcoming road trip. They haven’t played since Dec. 3 against the Florida Panthers.
Wild fourth line changing the perception: ‘There’s a lot of skill there’ “They are making the trip, so that’s a good sign,” Boudreau said. “I would certainly like them to play. If there wasn’t any potential of playing I would assume they would stay at home and skate with (skating coach) Andy Ness.” By DANE MIZUTANI | [email protected] Pioneer Press LOADED: 12.15.2019 Pioneer Press
December 14, 2019 at 6:53 PM
Locked in a hotly contested game against the Edmonton Oilers, Wild fourth liner Marcus Foligno uncorked a blistering wrist shot and beat goaltender Mike Smith with relative ease.
A couple of weeks earlier, linemate Ryan Hartman did pretty much the same thing against the Ottawa Senators, ripping a wrist shot past goaltender Anders Nilsson.
Neither shot looked like that of a fourth liner, a label typically reserved for grinders who rarely contribute offensively and a label that Foligno and Hartman are slowly changing the perception about.
“In the past I think that label has been given to a guy that goes out there, throws a few hits, doesn’t touch the puck all game, maybe gets into a fight, and looks at the stat sheet after the game and has a couple of penalties,” Hartman said. “That’s what everyone sees in a fourth liner.”
And while Foligno and Hartman certainly aren’t afraid to throw a few hits or get into a fight, they bring so much more to the lineup.
In fact, entering Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the fourth line has scored a goal in seven of the past 10 games.
“You’ve always heard me say I want that contribution from the fourth line, and when they can be plus-players it’s such a benefit,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I have faith in those guys when they go on the ice and they are bringing in positive reviews. It’s the reason, for the most part, that with the forwards there’s no one usually playing 20 minutes.”
That balance throughout the lineup is something Foligno and Hartman take pride in providing.
“You see a big difference when a team doesn’t have a balanced lineup,” Foligno said. “Usually the teams that are well-rounded are usually higher in the standings. It seems like every playoff team or every Stanley Cup team is built like that with four lines that can generate offense. That’s something we’re trying to accomplish here.”
It helps that the fourth line has gained some stability as of late with Foligno and Hartman flanking Victor Rask.
“There’s a lot of skill there between all three of us and we have been clicking pretty well,” Hartman said. “I don’t think any of us have ever been labeled a fourth line guy, and that makes us really effective. We can play up and down the lineup. Just looking to continue to contribute.”
And if they do that, the sky could be the limit for the Wild.
“You look at some of these teams that are built for a long run and they have 12 guys in the lineup every night that can play over 10 minutes and play in any situation,” Hartman said. “That’s the day and age in the NHL right now. Just the skill level and how everyone can contribute. That’s a big strength of our team.”
ERIC STAAL NEARING 1,000
Eric Staal has played more than 1,200 games in the NHL and is a few points away from joining an exclusive club. He entered Saturday’s game with 997 points for his career.
When Staal hits 1,000 points, which could be coming sooner rather than later with the way he’s been playing as of late, he will become just the 89th player in league history to do so.
“He’s skating as well now as I’ve seen him in recent memory,” Boudreau said. “Look, 1,000 games and 1,000 points are both tremendous milestones. Hopefully he gets it soon. It’s a testament to him and how hard he’s worked.”
INJURY UPDATES 1166366 Minnesota Wild things defensively away from the puck. Stalock and rookie Kaapo Kahkonen have filled in admirably for Devan Dubnyk, who has been on non-roster status since his wife, Jenn, began dealing with a serious medical situation a month ago. Rookie left-shot defenseman Carson Wild sitting pretty despite their unenviable early-season schedule Soucy moved up to the second pair since top-pair defenseman Jared Spurgeon was hurt in Florida and has done an incredible job on the right
side of partner Jonas Brodin, who has been outstanding. By Michael Russo Heck, even Victor Rask has come in mighty handy with the recent Dec 14, 2019 injuries and is doing a quality job most games.
Veterans such as Zach Parise, who scored his ninth goal in the past 15 games and team-leading 13th Saturday, and Staal, who scored his 68th One reason the Wild never really scrapped with the league when they career multi-goal game Saturday, are heating up. Jordan Greenway, Joel discovered they’d become only the second team in NHL history to play Eriksson Ek, who did get hurt Saturday, and Luke Kunin have become a 20 of their first 30 games on the road is because of how pitiful they were tremendous shutdown line. at home last season. DEFINITELY PARISE'S GOAL ON THE FIALA WRAPAROUND Even in the Wild’s most mediocre of seasons, they’ve been dominant at PIC.TWITTER.COM/3ECCSO8HH5 home. — CJ FOGLER (@CJZERO) DECEMBER 15, 2019 Yet last season at Xcel Energy Center, the Wild won a league-low 16 home games while at the same time being quite decent outside of It’s been impressive to watch and so was the job the Wild did Saturday. Minnesota. They held a Flyers team that was 7-2-1 in its previous 10 games and averaged 32 shots a game this season to just 18, including six through So, the Wild higher-ups decided not to piss and moan to the league the first 37-plus minutes of the game. hierarchy about the schedule because they figured maybe a road-heavy schedule early would help this team come together and allow it to dip its “I just think right now we have guys in roles that they’re comfortable and toes into the home portion of its St. Paul slate. confident in,” Staal said. “When you have people in positions that they’re good at or successful with I think it breeds confidence. We have up and Of course, when the Wild opened the season by winning one of its first down our lineup guys contributing in a lot of different areas. And at home, seven games, the brass second-guessed the decision not to beat down we can kind of sort out the matchups a little bit better and I think guys are the league’s door. knowing how we’re going to run our bench and who’s playing where.
Yet, here Minnesota is sitting pretty two months later. “When you get results you start to believe in that more and it continues to grow, obviously confidence is big and guys are playing really well. We The Wild are 16-12-5 overall, have points in 14 of their past 15 games just want to keep that momentum going.” (10-1-4) and haven’t lost in regulation at home since their home opener on Oct. 12. After Saturday’s 4-1 win over former Wild GM Chuck Staal so close to 1,000 points Fletcher’s Philadelphia Flyers, the Wild have points in 12 consecutive games (9-0-3) on home ice. With the net empty and the Wild trying to kill a penalty in the waning minutes Saturday night, Boudreau didn’t put Staal, a non-penalty killer, This puts the Wild in really good position the rest of the season because on the ice despite him sitting on two goals for the game and 999 points by the time they return from this upcoming three-game road trip to for his career. Chicago, Vegas and Arizona that begins Sunday night, they’ll have played 23 of their 41 road games (56 percent) with 18 of their next 22 at “I forgot all about it,” Boudreau said. “On the penalty kill there at the end, home. but it was still a two-goal game. But somebody told me on the bench he’s got 999. I went, ‘Oh, man. I forgot.’ And then I put him out there for the “We talked just before the year started about how important home ice is last minute and something hoping he could get it. I’m sure good things and about how it’s always been an extremely difficult place for other will happen.” teams to play,” said Eric Staal, who scored twice Saturday to give him 999 career points. “We wanted to get back to that. We just want to ride it When Staal gets his next point, perhaps Sunday at the Blackhawks, he’ll as long as we can. It was a good job to finish this homestand (2-0-1).” become the 89th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
GOAL. ERIC STAAL GETS TO THE DIRTY AREA AND SCORES TO Since 2003-04, Staal has played the second-most games in the NHL at GIVE THE WILD THE LEAD. 1,207, scored the fourth-most goals at 428, has the fifth-most points at 999, taken the second-most shots at 3,789, has scored the eighth-most 2-1. PIC.TWITTER.COM/AQ4VO0VLKY power-play goals at 130, has the ninth-most game-winning goals at 69 and logged the most minutes among all NHL forwards at 23,701 minutes, — HOCKEY WILDERNESS (@HOCKEYWILDERNES) DECEMBER 15, 27 seconds. 2019 GOAL. CARTER HART MAKES A NUMBER OF BIG STOPS, BUT ERIC As Bruce Boudreau said after Saturday’s victory, perhaps last season at STAAL FINALLY GETS ONE PAST THE GOAL LINE TO DOUBLE THE home was the “anomaly.” MINNESOTA LEAD. TWO GOALS FOR STAAL TONIGHT. “I think the way we’re feeling right now, the way the group’s confidence 3-1. PIC.TWITTER.COM/XHRTWWK5ED level is, the way the tightness of this group, how we came together being on the road and how we’ve stayed positive through the real, real — HOCKEY WILDERNESS (@HOCKEYWILDERNES) DECEMBER 15, negatives of this, it’s taught this group a lot,” said goalie Alex Stalock, 2019 who made 17 saves for his ninth win of the season. “I think for this group, I’ve said it since day one, this group has not ever been an underdog He has 20 points in his past 23 games after a tough beginning of the group going into the year. season.
“It wasn’t a must-win, get to the Stanley Cup year. They’ve had it on their “It was difficult to start. No question,” said Staal, who now has 11 goals shoulders for how many years. To come in (this season) being after none in his first eight games. “I wasn’t at the level I wanted to be at. underdogs, I think it’s fitting for this group, for people to count us out and I was a little banged up and grinding. But I’ve never made any excuses. I for people to say we still got it here.” knew I needed to be better as a whole and I felt like as a group we also collectively dug in and everyone committed to getting this ship back in After slow to poor starts for almost everybody on the roster, the Wild the right direction. have gotten great performances and efforts up and down their lineup for more than a month. “We just want to continue building on it now. We still have a ways to go.”
Kevin Fiala keeps getting better and better. Ryan Donato, with captain Foligno beats Farabee to a pulp Mikko Koivu hurt, has embraced the elevation from fourth-line left wing to second-line center and is not only scoring but also keeps doing good Joel Farabee, a 19-year-old first-round pick by the Flyers, probably lot of guys that can tip pucks like (James) van Riemsdyk. So to shut them picked the wrong guy to challenge to a fight Saturday night when he down, it was good.” dropped the gloves with the Wild’s toughest hombre, Marcus Foligno. Odds and ends Foligno has gotten into 37 NHL fights in nine seasons. This was Farabee’s second. Parise has scored 13 points in his past 15 games, Fiala has 16 points in his past 20 and Donato has seven in his past nine. … Foligno pummeled the teenager with about five shots to the head before stopping and allowing the linesmen to break it up. GOAL. CARSON SOUCY GETS THE 200-FOOT EMPTY-NETTER. THIS ONE'S AS GOOD AS OVER, FOLKS. MARCUS FOLIGNO AND JOEL FARABEE DROP THE GLOVES. #PHIVSMIN PIC.TWITTER.COM/SBLQ690ROC 4-1. PIC.TWITTER.COM/EIWXZY3V8H — HOCKEY WILDERNESS (@HOCKEYWILDERNES) DECEMBER 15, — HERE'S YOUR REPLAY ḏ (@HERESYOURREPLAY) DECEMBER 2019 15, 2019 Soucy scored a 183-foot short-handed empty-net goal to become the “He had his head down and was kind of falling backwards and I just held fourth rookie and sixth defenseman in Wild history to score a short- him up,” Foligno said. “I’m not a big fan of the keep throwing till the guy’s handed goal. Soucy has three goals and three assists in the past six on his knees hurting. You know when you’re winning the fight, and I think games. in that sense it’s smart and respectful to just let up.” The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 Farabee was sticking up for defenseman Matt Niskanen, whom Foligno had tripped by the Flyers bench.
“Kudos to him,” Foligno said. “That’s a big-character play by that guy. He’s a first-rounder, a high-skilled player. It goes a long way in a dressing room when you’ve got a guy like that who steps up. I didn’t really anticipate the fight. He looked back and said, ‘Let’s go.’”
Foligno said with a chuckle, “I’m not going to not do it. It was a good scrap. Kudos to him for hanging in there. That goes a long way in that room, I’m sure. I went after the puck at Niskanen’s feet and maybe he thought I slew-footed him or something, but not much there. And he gave me a shot and got the blood going and that’s what happens sometimes.”
Eriksson Ek injured
Eriksson Ek, who is in the midst of a strong season as the center of the Wild’s GEEK Squad checking line, was injured with seven minutes left in the second period. He cut his shift short after just 13 seconds after taking a high shot from Sean Couturier.
Eriksson Ek looked loopy as he headed straight down the tunnel. He even appeared to lose his balance and fall into the wall as he was walking to the locker room.
That obviously causes the concern of a concussion.
HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ERIKSSON EK PIC.TWITTER.COM/UYPJEIZEUW
— MICHAEL RUSSO (@RUSSOHOCKEY) DECEMBER 15, 2019
But Boudreau said Eriksson Ek was feeling better after the game and planned to travel to Chicago. It will be determined Sunday whether he can play.
“(I’m) not as concerned as when I saw him coming off,” Boudreau said. “It was a big hit. Collision of two big men.”
The Wild recalled Gerry Mayhew from AHL Iowa on Saturday morning so they’d have an extra forward for the road trip. If Eriksson Ek can’t play, Mayhew, a top minor-league goal scorer, will draw in to play his seventh NHL game and Chicago native Ryan Hartman or Kunin would move from right wing to center to replace Eriksson Ek.
The Wild could be getting some players back soon, though.
Both the injured Koivu and Spurgeon traveled to Chicago to at least practice in Las Vegas and Arizona on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, and Dubnyk also traveled to at least practice.
Good and bad special teams
The Wild’s power play went 0 for 5 with only three shots on goal, including none on its first three tries. Their power play is now 0 for 18 the past six games.
But because the Wild won, we’ll stick with the positive and point out that their penalty kill, which had allowed 11 goals in the previous 11 games, held Philadelphia to no goals on three man advantages.
“Last year we had a big lull on the PK and we were thinking it was going in that direction again unfortunately,” Foligno said. “Big play by us to get the PK going and against a team like that, I mean a lot of one-timers, a 1166367 Minnesota Wild (Courtesy of the University of Minnesota) After his playing days, Woog began to coach and would return to the
Gophers as head coach in 1985. He was known in Minnesota as the South St. Paul’s Alex Stalock remembers Minnesota hockey legend beloved “Wooger,” and he and his wife, Jan, raised three children: Amy, Doug Woog Steve and Dan. Woog coached his alma mater for 14 years and led the program to 12 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and six trips to the Frozen Four. Woog’s 388 wins at the U were tops in school history until his successor, Don Lucia, broke Woog’s record and finished with By Michael Russo 457 until Bob Motzko took over. Dec 14, 2019 (Courtesy of the University of Minnesota)
“Doug Woog bled Maroon and Gold as both a player and as a coach, and Wearing a green No. 32 Stalock jersey, Alex Stalock’s 4-year-old son, his legacy is one of the greatest in the history of the University of Simon, tended goal between a couple of garbage cans on the Wild Minnesota,” Motzko said. “Wooger’s dedication and contributions to dressing room carpet Saturday night. hockey in the state of Minnesota are immeasurable, as are the number of people impacted by his lifetime of work. He will be remembered fondly by As former NHLer Ryan Carter fired pucks at the young boy, Simon’s 32- all and forgotten by none. We lost a true Minnesota treasure today.” year-old dad was surrounded by reporters 20 feet away after his own 17- save, 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers out on the real Xcel Energy IN EXTREMELY SAD NEWS, LEGENDARY PLAYER, COACH AND Center ice. ADMINISTRATOR – DOUG WOOG PASSED AWAY TODAY R.I.P. WOOGER @PACKER_HOCKEY @GOPHERHOCKEY The veteran goaltender and pride of South St. Paul fixated his blue eyes PIC.TWITTER.COM/KKKTAAIPMB on the empty stalls across from him and stared intently as he tried to convey just what Doug Woog meant to the hockey community in — VINTAGE MN HOCKEY (@VINTAGEMNHOCKEY) DECEMBER 15, Minnesota and especially those like Stalock, who grew up in Woog’s 2019 backyard and played at his alma mater, South St. Paul High School. Woog was inducted into the University of Minnesota “M” Club Hall of “He’s South St. Paul,” Stalock said of the South St. Paul icon and Fame in 2000 and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. He was Gophers legend, who died Saturday at the age of 75 after a battle with awarded the John MacInnes Award, which recognizes “great concern for Parkinson’s disease. “Growing up, I played at Wakota Arena, and it’s amateur hockey and youth programs,” by the American Hockey Coaches now Doug Woog Arena, so that says a lot about not just the guy he was Association in 2008. In March 2015, Woog was honored by the in hockey — coaching, the accomplishments, all the milestones — (but) Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association with the Cliff Thompson Award, the person he was. given in recognition of outstanding, long-term contributions to hockey in Minnesota. “When you shook his hand and talked with him, he had all the respect of a person. He was an unbelievable leader. What he did at the University About a year ago, Stalock sat down with Woog for some quality time at (of Minnesota), South St. Paul along the way, he was an incredible man.” his cousin’s graduation party.
The tightknit hockey community in Minnesota was saddened early “I appreciated every time I got to see Doug,” Stalock said. “When he gets Saturday evening when news circulated that the U.S. Hockey Hall of going on a story or you can get him on a story, it was something that he Famer died earlier that day. could still go on pretty good. He was a special man.
#WOOGER THAT HUMAN PUPPY WHO LOVED TO HAVE HIS EARS “He was at University (of Minnesota) when I was trying to make my SCRATCHED. AND WE LOVED TO SCRATCH THEM. I LEARNED college decision, and ultimately I chose Duluth, but every time we played TONS ABOUT THE GAME WORKING NEXT TO HIM. AND HIS FANS Minnesota, whether it was at the DECC or Minnesota, he came over, NEED TO KNOW DOUG WAS MORE THAN HOCKEY – HE HAD A made a point to come and grab me out of the room, spent a few minutes THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE ACROSS MANY SUBJECTS #RIP AND with me just asking how things were going, always shared a joke. THANKS DOUGIE! “He allowed me to work at his camps in the summer whenever I wanted — FRANK MAZZOCCO (@MAZZPUCK) DECEMBER 14, 2019 even though I wasn’t a University of Minnesota guy. He really took care of us South St. Paul guys. I think my cousin (former Gophers goalie) MY CONDOLENCES GO OUT THE FAMILY OF DOUG WOOG. DOUG Adam (Wilcox) would say the same thing; Justin Faulk would say the WAS A GREAT PLAYER, COACH AND MOST OF ALL A GREAT same thing. He really had a passion for the Maroon and White.” FATHER! I ALONG WITH ANYONE WHO KNEW HIM WILL MISS HIM DEARLY!! #RIP #WOOGER The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019
— PAT MICHELETTI (@PATMICK2626) DECEMBER 14, 2019
FORTUNATE TO COACH DOUG’S SONS AND LEARN SO MUCH ABOUT THE GAME FROM DOUG WHEN I STARTED COACHING HOCKEY. HE WAS A FRIEND AND A MENTOR AND HE WILL BE MISSED. CONDOLENCES TO THE WOOG FAMILY. #RIP
— MIKE GUENTZEL (@MLGHOCKEY) DECEMBER 14, 2019
MINNESOTA LOST A GREAT COACH TODAY AND AN EVEN BETTER MAN…AND I LOST A TRUE FRIEND. DOUG WOOG WAS MY MENTOR, MY HIGH SCHOOL COACH AND MY FRIEND. REST IN PEACE, WOOGER. PIC.TWITTER.COM/X7YKDJKBKR
— PHIL HOUSLEY (@PHILHOUSLEY6) DECEMBER 15, 2019
Woog was a first-team all-state player in three of his four seasons at South St. Paul High School in the 1960s, leading the Packers to four state tournament appearances. Woog’s No. 7 jersey was retired by South St. Paul High School in 2010.
He lettered three years at the University of Minnesota from 1964 to 1966 and scored 48 goals and 53 assists in 80 career games for the Maroon and Gold. As a junior, Woog led the Gophers with 26 goals and 47 points, earning All-America and All-WCHA first-team honors. He captained the Gophers his senior year and was named MVP. 1166368 Montreal Canadiens One bit of good news is there are no back-to-back games on the four- game Western Canada swing before Christmas. That gives the team some rest between games and will allow Carey Price to play all four games. He has allowed only four goals in his last three starts. In the Habs' Room: Montreal may have taken lowly Red Wings too lightly Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.15.2019 The game was a lost opportunity to tighten their hold on third place in the Atlantic Division. The are currently tied in points with Toronto, but the Maple Leafs have played one more game.
PAT HICKEY
MONTREAL GAZETTE
Updated: December 14, 2019
Nick Suzuki summed up the Canadiens’ frustrations Saturday when he talked about his scoring chance in the third period of a 2-1 loss to the lowly Detroit Red Wings.
“I had a shot and I didn’t put it in,” Suzuki said. “He got his glove on it, but I definitely had enough room to put it in.”
He is Detroit goaltender Jonathan Bernier, a 32-year-old native of Laval who, until this year, hadn’t enjoyed much success against the Canadiens. Prior to this season, he had a 1-11-3 record against Montreal with a 3.29 goals-against average and a save percentage south of .900.
But Bernier has led the Red Wings, the team with the worst record in the NHL, to two wins over the Canadiens at the Bell Centre. He made 33 saves as the Red Wings beat the Canadiens in their home opener on Oct.10 and he made 42 Saturday to produce a 2-1 victory.
The Canadiens had lots of shots in Bernier’s direction — they also had 16 shots blocked and another 18 were off target — but there were two major problems. Two many shots came from outside — defencemen produced 16 of the shots and there was no concerted effort to take advantage of rebounds.
“There were some guys that went to the front of the net, but we had a lot of guys that didn’t want to get on the inside there,” said coach Claude Julien. “I thought we played a little bit soft tonight at times. We weren’t finishing, we weren’t in the battle and we just kind of looked to play an easier game than we should have and because of that we got burnt.”
“We’re disappointed because we got over 40 shots and we were unable to find a way to beat the goalie in the end,” said Tomas Tatar, who ended Bernier’s shutout bid when he scored his 12th goal of the season with less than a minute remaining in the game.
“It’s a little frustrating, but sometimes that’s the way the game goes,” Tatar added. “It would have nice if we had a little power-play time, but we have to live for another game.”
The Red Wings had four power plays and Mike Green scored the winning goal on one of them in the third period. The Canadiens came up empty on one power play.
When asked whether it was a case of Bernier being good and the Canadiens not burying their chances, Tatar said it was a little bit of both.
“Obviously, the goalie played well, give him credit, but we have to find a way to score,” Tatar said.
Then, there was the question of whether the Canadiens might have looked at Detroit’s record and taken the Red Wings a bit lightly.
“We were a little slow at the start, the first 10 minutes we weren’t playing as well but, as the game went on, we were playing better,” Tatar said. “We outshot them a lot and we were creating chances, but we just couldn’t score.”
The game was a lost opportunity to tighten their hold on third place in the Atlantic Division. The are currently tied in points with Toronto, but the Maple Leafs have played one more game.
It was also an opportunity to grab a win at home before embarking on a seven-game road trip around Christmas. Home ice hasn’t been an advantage for Montreal this season with an 8-8-3 record. They are 7-4-3 on the road. 1166369 Montreal Canadiens
Laval native Bernier backstops Detroit to 2-1 win over Canadiens
Jonathan Bernier made 42 saves on a night when the Canadiens outshot the Red Wings 43-20.
PAT HICKEY
MONTREAL GAZETTE
Updated: December 14, 2019
The Detroit Red Wings are proving that old adage on any given night any team in the NHL can beat another team.
Especially if the team that isn’t supposed to win gets great goaltending.
That was the case Saturday as the Red Wings, the team with the worst record in the NHL, defeated the Canadiens 2-1 at the Bell Centre.
Chalk this one up to the inspired play of Laval native Jonathan Bernier. He made 42 saves on a night when the Canadiens outshot Detroit 43-20. It was the second time this season Bernier has come home to beat the Canadiens. He made 33 saves on Oct. 10 as the Red Wings spoiled Montreal’s home opener with a 4-2 win.
A miscue by captain Shea Weber allowed the Red Wings to score the only goal in the first period. Weber over-skated a loose puck behind the Canadiens net. Dylan Larkin got to the puck and found Tyler Bertuzzi as he joined the rush up the middle and had a clean shot at Carey Price.
The Red Wings, who snapped a 12-game losing streak when they defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Thursday, spent most of the final two periods protecting the lead, but they were given an opportunity to pad their advantage when Riley Barber took a slashing penalty at 6:42 of the third period. The rapidly improving Montreal penalty-killers held the Red Wings on two previous power plays but, on this occasion, defenceman Mike Green, who made his reputation on the power play, beat Price with a shot from the blue line.
Green’s goal became the game-winner after the Canadiens pulled Price and Bernier lost his shutout when Tomas Tatar scored with 44.7 seconds to play,
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Canadiens, but they managed to hold on to third place in the Atlantic Division because Tampa Bay and Florida both lost.
Ryan Poehling, who was returned to the Laval Rocket after Wednesday’s 3-2 overtime win over Ottawa, was back up for this game and will be with the team for the foreseeable future. He was sent down because the Canadiens expected Paul Byron back in the lineup for this game. That plan was scuttled after he aggravated his knee injury in practice Friday.
In another roster move, the Canadiens sent goaltender Cayden Primeau back to Laval and recalled Charlie Lindgren to back up Price. The move was made to give Primeau some playing time. He should return after Christmas when the Canadiens play their next back-to-back set with games against Tampa Bay on Dec. 28 and Florida on Dec. 29.
The Canadiens will be on the road for their next seven games. They left Sunday for a four-game road trip through Western Canada. After a short break at home for Christmas, they will be back on the road for two games in Florida and one in Carolina. Their next game at the Bell Centre will be Jan. 2 against Tampa Bay.
Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166370 Montreal Canadiens “Obviously, it’s always nice to be on the road, get the guys together and spend a little bit more time together,” Tatar said. “I think we’re really looking forward to it. It’s going to be really tough. Every road game is a battle. So it’s going to be a tough seven games, but hopefully we’ll get Canadiens Game Day: Habs lose to NHL's worst team on home ice — ready for it.” again Tatar didn’t think the Canadiens played that bad against the Red Wings. If Canadiens miss playoffs for the third straight season, the Detroit Red Wings will have played a big role in that. “We had a lot of chances, a lot of shots,” said Tatar, who leads the Canadiens in scoring with 12-17-29 totals. “We weren’t able to put the puck in the net. It’s so frustrating at the moment. They played well, but I think we had a lot of chances.” STU COWAN Le 12e but de la saison de Tomas Tatar. MONTREAL GAZETTE Tomas Tatar's 12th goal of the season. #GoHabsGo Updated: December 14, 2019 pic.twitter.com/3SPo735YCg— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 15, 2019
If the Canadiens end up missing the playoffs for a third straight season, Where they stand the Detroit Red Wings will have played a big role in that. The Canadiens (15-12-6) remain in a playoff spot, barely hanging onto Same thing with the New Jersey Devils. third place in the Atlantic Division with 36 points.
The Red Wings still have the worst record in the NHL (9-17-5) after The Canadiens are tied in points with Toronto (16-14-4), but have played beating the Canadiens 2-1 Saturday night at the Bell Centre. The Red one less game than the Maple Leafs. The Canadiens are one point Wings also beat the Canadiens 4-2 on Oct. 10 in their home opener at ahead of both the Lightning (16-12-3) and the Florida Panthers (15-12-5). the Bell Centre. The Red Wings rank last in the NHL in both offence and Those lost points against both the Red Wings are Devils are already defence, scoring an average of 2.12 goals per game, while allowing an looking very costly. average of 3.82. “We really aren’t in a bad spot, but we also have to have some The Devils are the second-worst team in the NHL with a 10-17-5 record, awareness that eventually there’s some teams that are going to catch fire but they have also beaten the Canadiens twice at the Bell Centre this and I’d like that to be our team,” Julien said. “There’s a battle there … season: 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 16 and 6-4 on Nov. 28. we’re not in a bad spot, but there’s a real battle that every night there’s So, out of a possible eight points against the two worst teams in the NHL some movement there in the standings. We’re in that situation right now on home ice, the Canadiens have picked up only one loser point. That that if we don’t win on a regular basis we’re going to slide down and I’d hurts. like us to win a little bit more on a consistent basis so we can move up.
Thankfully for the Canadiens, the Red Wings and Devils won’t play at the “I guess that’s the pressure that every team in this league has to go Bell Centre again this season. through now,” the coach added. “It is what it is. There’s no such thing anymore as: Let’s just play 82 games here and we’ll be fine. Every The Canadiens outshot the Red Wings 43-20 Saturday night, but only got night’s a big night and every win’s a big win. So we have to look at it that the one goal from Tomas Tatar with 47 seconds left in the game. way and make sure that we’re ready to bounce back here in Vancouver.”
“If you want to score goals, get to the net and find ways to outwork the The Canadiens next game is Tuesday night in Vancouver against the goalie,” the Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher said after the game. “We Canucks. didn’t do that tonight and we probably got the result that we deserved. Beautiful! Family I wrote about from #Habs Christmas visit to “Every team’s a challenge,” Gallagher added about losing all four games @HopitalChildren on Thursday is at the Bell Centre tonight with invitation against the Red Wings and Devils. “There’s no easy nights in this league. to loge after 10-week-old twin Inés was finally released from hospital. You can say whatever you want, if you don’t play good enough you’re not Mother, father and all 5 kids are here #HabsIO: https://t.co/a8mDgnn0vH going to win and tonight, even though we had more shots, they were pic.twitter.com/hyTVin5JzM— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) December 15, probably the better team. A lot of our chances were from the outside. We 2019 didn’t get enough quality scoring chances and when we did, we didn’t bury them.” Some stats
Canadiens played ‘soft’ Ben Chiarot led the Canadiens in ice time with 26:45, followed by Shea Weber (25:30) and Jeff Petry (21:13). Joel Armia led the forwards in ice In his postgame news conference, coach Claude Julien agreed with time with 18:14. Riley Barber had a team-low 8:15 of ice time but also led Gallagher that the Canadiens didn’t go to the net nearly enough. the Canadiens in hits with six.
“There was some guys that went to the front of the net, but we had a lot Weber led the team with six shots, while Brett Kulak had five. of guys that didn’t want to get on the inside there,” Julien said. “I thought we played a little bit soft tonight at times. We weren’t finishing, we Phillip Danault went 13-for-18 in the faceoff circle (72 per cent), while weren’t in the battle and we just kind of looked to play an easier game Nate Thompson was 5-for-7 (71 per cent). Max Domi was only 6-for-16 than we should have and because of that we got burnt.” (38 per cent).
The Canadiens now have an 8-8-3 record at home and are 7-4-3 on the Shea donne de grosses mises en échec pour Noël. road. Saturday’s official attendance was 21,302, marking only the ninth time in 19 home games the Bell Centre has been sold out. Shea is delivering hits for Christmas.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/0er9pZH4Ep— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) “We’ve been good on the road, we haven’t been good enough at home,” December 15, 2019 Julien said. “We don’t play as hard at home so far … we haven’t played as hard as we have on the road. So that needs to change.” The three stars
"We got the result that we deserved."#GoHabsGo The Red Wings swept the three stars. pic.twitter.com/SBP32MgkzJ— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) Goalie Jonathan Bernier was the first star after stopping 42 of the 43 December 15, 2019 shots he faced. Defenceman Mike Green was the second star with a goal Hitting the road and an assist, while Tyler Bertuzzi was the third star with a goal.
The Canadiens’ next seven games are all on the road, which might be a Good win boys.#LGRW pic.twitter.com/fkAbk0Y176— Detroit Red Wings good thing at this point. They don’t play again at the Bell Centre until Jan. (@DetroitRedWings) December 15, 2019 2 when the Tampa Bay Lightning will be the visitors. Leskinen sent down to Laval After the game, the Canadiens announced that defenceman Otto Julien said Victor Mete (ankle) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (concussion) will Leskinen has been sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket and that both make the Western Canada road trip as they continue to recover forward Lukas Vejdemo has been called up. from injuries.
Leskinen was pointless in five games with the Canadiens and had only “They’ll be making the trip out West, yes,” the coach said Saturday 8:35 of ice time against the Red Wings. Vejdemo has 8-8-16 totals in 29 morning. “I don’t know if they’ll be well enough to play, but they’ll be close games with the Rocket. The Canadiens selected 5-foot-11, 183-pound if not.” Finn in the third round (87th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. He has yet to play a game in the NHL. Mete hasn’t played since suffering his injury in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 30, while Kotkaniemi has been sidelined Final numbers in Montréal. pic.twitter.com/AMJs1CqnCO— Detroit since suffering a concussion in a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 15, 2019 Dec. 5. Both players have been skating this week.
Lindgren called up, Primeau sent down What’s next?
The Canadiens announced Saturday morning that they had called up The Canadiens will fly to Vancouver on Sunday afternoon to begin their goalie Charlie Lindgren from the Rocket and sent down Cayden Primeau. annual Western Canada road trip. They will play the Canucks Tuesday (10 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio), the Calgary Flames on Thursday Lindgren was Carey Price’s backup for Saturday night’s game and will (9 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio), the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday also be on the Canadiens’ Western Canada road trip next week. Primeau (7 p.m., CITY, SNE, TVA Sports) and the Winnipeg Jets the following was in goal for the Rocket Saturday afternoon at Place Bell, allowing five Monday (8 p.m., TSN2, TSN3, RDS, TSN 690 Radio). goals on 32 shots in a 5-0 loss to the Rochester Americans. Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.15.2019 “We need for him to play,” Julien said about Primeau Saturday morning as the Canadiens held an optional skate at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard. “On this road trip, playing every second day, a good chance you’re going to see Carey in most if not all the games. (Primeau’s) a young goaltender that will benefit from playing vs. being a backup.”
Primeau made two starts with the Canadiens after getting called up from the Rocket, posting a 1-1-0 record with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. With the Rocket, the 20-year-old now has a 7-5- 1 record with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
Lindgren has a 7-6-2 record with the Rocket, along with a 2.67 goals- against average and a .893 save percentage. The 25-year-old Lindgren stopped 17 of 20 shots for the Rocket in a 3-2 loss to Rochester Friday night at Place Bell and was told after the game by Laval coach Joël Bouchard that he was getting called up by the Canadiens.
“I’ve been playing really good in Laval,” Lindgren said after taking part in Saturday’s morning skate. “I think I’m playing some really good hockey, so confidence is definitely there. I just got to keep carrying forward.”
Lindgren was disappointed he didn’t get the call from the Canadiens when they decided to bring up Primeau.
“As a competitor, obviously I was pretty upset and I’m here now so that’s what matters,” Lindgren said. “Just got to keep on playing like I know I can and I know everything will work out.”
Keith Kinkaid, who started the season as Price’s backup, has a 1-1-0 record with a 3.77 goals-against average and a .870 save percentage since being sent down to Laval. With the Canadiens, Kinkaid was 1-1-3 with a 4.24 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage.
On ne peut toujours pas croire que c'est arrivé.
Still can't believe this happened.#GoHabsGo @CoorsLight pic.twitter.com/DS4TcSAXVP— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 15, 2019
Poehling back with Habs
Ryan Poehling, who was called up from the Rocket on Friday, was in the Canadiens’ lineup against the Red Wings, playing left wing on the fourth line with centre Nate Thompson and Barber. Poehling had two shots and one hit in 9:26 of ice time.
Paul Byron, who practised with the Canadiens on Friday for the first time since knee surgery on Nov. 19, won’t play and also won’t make next week’s road trip to Western Canada. Byron did not take part in Saturday’s morning skate.
“Paulie’s not ready,” Julien said Saturday morning. “Paulie is going to be staying behind on this road trip. After yesterday’s practice I think he needs a little bit more time and so we’re going to give him that. To push him right now would be taking a risk and we don’t want to do that after being out for this long. So we’re going to give him a little bit more time.”
A 42 save night. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/NoE3X37krJ— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 15, 2019
Kotkaniemi, Mete will make road trip 1166371 Montreal Canadiens
Detroit Red Wings at Canadiens: Five things you should know
The Wings have the NHL's worst record, but the Canadiens shouldn't take them lightly because they beat Montreal 4-2 in the home opener.
PAT HICKEY
MONTREAL GAZETTE
Updated: December 14, 2019
Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Detroit Red Wings game at the Bell Centre on Saturday (7 p.m., CITY, SN360, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio):
The matchup: The Canadiens extended their win streak to three games with a 3-2 OT victory over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. That completed a sweep of a back-to-back set after they defeated the Penguins 4-1 Tuesday in Pittsburgh. The Red Wings are coming off a 5-2 home win over Winnipeg on Thursday, but that was their first victory since Nov. 12 and ended a 12-game skid. The Wings (8-22-3) have the worst record in the NHL, but there’s no reason for the Canadiens to take them lightly because Detroit beat Montreal 4-2 in the home opener on Oct. 10.
Price back in top form: Carey Price is starting to play like an $84-million goaltender. He has allowed only one goal in each of his last two starts. His numbers are still not where they should be — he has a 2.95 goals- against average and a .905 save percentage — but they are trending in the right direction. Jonathan Bernier is in goal for the Wings after veteran Jimmy Howard suffered a groin injury. The Laval native is 6-9-2 with a 3.34 GAA and an .890 SP.
Boring team is scoring goals: After the Canadiens beat Pittsburgh 4-1 Tuesday, Penguins owner Mario Lemieux talked about the Canadiens being a boring, defensive team. Obviously, the defence had to be good to keep the mighty Penguins to one goal, but the Canadiens are ninth in team offence with 3.19 goals a game, just a tick behind the Penguins (3.25). Montreal is being led by the top line of Tomas Tatar, Phil Danault and Brendan Gallagher. Tatar, who has two goals and an assist in the past two games and a team-best 28 points, is heading for another career season. Gallagher has a team-high 14 goals along with 26 points, while Danault has 25 points.
Medical updates: The Canadiens are getting good news on the injury front. Paul Byron, who has been out with a knee injury, practised on the fourth line Friday and could play against Detroit. And Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who has a concussion, skated on his own before practice Friday. Montreal is still missing Jonathan Drouin (wrist), Matthew Peca (knee) and Victor Mete (knee).
The other guys: The Dead Things have the worst offence in the NHL (2.18 goals per game) and they have a major hole in their lineup because Anthony Mantha is sidelined with a lower-body injury. He’s Detroit’s leading goals-scorer with 12. The top scorer for the Red Wings is Tyler Bertuzzi, who has 25 points, including 10 goals, while Dylan Larkin has eight goals and 20 points. The Red Wings’ special teams are a disaster. They rank last in penalty-killing (72.8 per cent) and 24th on the power play (16.2 per cent).
Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166372 Montreal Canadiens The spectre of the Lightning and Maple Leafs catching fire at some point is always there, and the Canadiens know it, though no one would mention them by name. It is the elephant in the Canadiens’ room right now. The Canadiens, in spite of themselves, are faced with an opportunity they have not earned “It’s a long season; there’s still a long ways to go here, and you understand that teams around you are going to put together win streaks and you’ve got to make sure you avoid what we did a few weeks back: those long losing streaks when you’re not collecting points,” Gallagher By Arpon Basu said. “Those hurt you.” Dec 14, 2019 The Canadiens will have a big challenge over the next six weeks in avoiding that, but what about their competitors in the division? Let’s have a look. It is easy to look at what the Canadiens have done over the past month as a wasted opportunity. It is easy because it’s true. Lightning
Between Nov. 9 and Saturday night’s 2-1 loss to the last-place Detroit The Lightning play five of their next six games at home, where they have Red Wings, the Canadiens played 12 games at home and only five on been just as pedestrian as the Canadiens with an 8-7-1 record. They will the road. They played seven times against the four worst teams in the then play 12 of their next 15 games on the road, and Nikita Kucherov left Eastern Conference — the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, their 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday in the second New Jersey Devils and Red Wings — and came away with six points. period.
The Canadiens went 7-7-3 from Nov. 9 to now, so yes, an opportunity So things aren’t necessarily easy for the Lightning, either. The was wasted and there’s no other way to look at it. goaltending’s been subpar, but it’s hard to imagine the Lightning not turning it around. Still, 12 of 15 on the road is a slog, so the next six “It’s unacceptable that we’re playing .500 at home,” Claude Julien said, games seem somewhat critical for them. before going nuclear on his own team. “I felt we played a little bit soft tonight at times. We weren’t finishing, we weren’t in the battle and we just Maple Leafs kind of looked to play an easier game than we should have. Because of Toronto’s 4-1 win in Edmonton on Saturday basically ended what has that, we got burned.” been a treacherous schedule. The Leafs have played 19 of their 34 Calling his team “soft” is the harshest criticism he has in his holster. The games on the road and have had five sets of back-to-backs. Couple that extent to which the Canadiens have squandered the most favourable with significant injuries to John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Zach Hyman, portion of their schedule, making games against the last-place team in Travis Dermott and Trevor Moore, not to mention firing Mike Babcock, the NHL that much more important, is a big reason Julien went nuclear. and there are somewhat legitimate excuses for where the Maple Leafs sit in the standings. But while the Canadiens were playing soft in another loss, the rest of the Atlantic Division was doing much the same thing as it has over much of But they are about to play 10 of their next 15 games at home, where they this month of treading water by the Canadiens. The Tampa Bay are 7-4-4 this season, with only one set of back-to-back games in that Lightning, Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres all lost. The Toronto span. Aside from Andreas Johnsson and Moore, they are now healthy. If Maple Leafs won for the third time in four games, but they’re still officially they are going to make a run, this is the time to do it. below the Canadiens in the standings, though they are now tied in points. Panthers Somehow, despite being remarkably mediocre for the better part of six The Panthers are at the tail end of a staggering nine-game homestand; weeks, despite being the sixth-worst defensive team in the league and their last road game was on Nov. 27, and their next one will be Dec. 21. It despite playing in what was widely considered the toughest division in was a similar scheduling opportunity as the Canadiens just wasted, and hockey, the Canadiens head to Vancouver on Sunday to start what is they are 3-4-0 on the homestand so far after Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the arguably the most difficult portion of their schedule, sitting in a playoff Bruins. spot. From Dec. 31 to Feb. 25, the Panthers will play 17 of 25 games on the Since Nov. 16, the Canadiens have been the third-worst team in the NHL road. They need to bank some points before that stretch begins, and for with a 4-7-3 record. But over that same span, the Panthers have been 6- that to happen, they will need to get some saves from Sergei Bobrovsky, 7-0, the Maple Leafs 7-6-0, the Lightning 7-7-1 and the Sabres 7-5-4. which hasn’t happened so far this season. People can justifiably accuse the Canadiens of playing down to their opposition, but the other teams fighting for the two playoff spots behind Sabres the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division have been playing down to them as well. Buffalo’s 3-2 overtime loss at the New York Islanders on Saturday was its 18th road game of the season and the start of a mini stretch in the An opportunity has most definitely been wasted, but one still exists. The schedule that is rather difficult. Their next six games are at the Maple Canadiens haven’t exactly earned it, but it’s there. Leafs, at the Flyers, at home to the Kings, at the Senators and then a home and home with the Bruins. “We really aren’t in a bad spot,” Julien said. “But we also have to have some awareness that eventually, there are some teams that are going to But from Dec. 31 to Feb. 16, the Sabres play 14 of 19 games at home, catch fire. I’d like that to be our team. There’s a battle there — and we’re where they are 10-3-3 this season. If they can survive this next little not in a bad spot — but there’s a battle there that every night there’s stretch, they will hit a portion of their schedule that is similar to what the some movement there in the standings. We’re in that situation right now Canadiens just finished. that if we don’t win on a regular basis, we’re going to slide down. I’d like us to win a little bit more on a consistent basis so we can move up. Things are not quite so dire for the Canadiens and their playoff hopes, largely because the rest of the division has cooperated immensely. A “I guess that’s the pressure that every team in this league has to go year ago, the Canadiens prepared to embark on their Christmas road trip through now. It is what it is. There’s no such thing anymore as ‘let’s just by playing their worst game of the season but somehow managed over play 82 games here and we’ll be fine.’ Every night’s a big night, and that trip to take that 4-0 loss to the Bruins and use it as fuel to turn things every win’s a big win. So we have to look at it that way and make sure around when many assumed the trip would kill them. And it all began we’re ready to bounce back here in Vancouver.” with a lecture from Julien before the Canadiens’ toughest practice of the season in Denver. The Canadiens play their next seven games on the road straddling the Christmas break. They play 10 times in 17 days to start January. It’s a The Canadiens didn’t exactly play their worst game of the season tough road ahead, and they need to navigate under the nightly do-or-die Saturday, but it might have been their worst loss, considering the circumstances Julien described. opponent and the circumstances that surrounded it.
“You’re just trying to collect points every night,” Brendan Gallagher said. But an opportunity is ahead of them because their competition has “It seems every other team around you does the same thing; when you allowed it. lose, it feels like it’s tough to make up that ground.” “It would be hard to say the season hasn’t gone the way we would have liked; a season has ups and downs,” Phillip Danault said. “We weren’t expecting to be first in the league, either. We knew we’d be in a battle. We’re not in a bad position, and that’s what’s important to remember. And the trip out West before Christmas is going to be really important.”
Really important in the sense the Canadiens’ season could be riding on it.
The Canadiens have practice Monday in Vancouver ahead of a seriously unexpected and unearned opportunity.
Julien might need to pull out his best Herb Brooks.
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166373 Montreal Canadiens And those scoring chances come fast and often when you’re playing with Suzuki.
He was unlucky to not score against the Red Wings, as were his Video Review: The Canadiens waste an opportunity to build momentum teammates, but Suzuki did a great job tipping the scales in the against the worst team in the league Canadiens’ favour on a night when they were desperate for offence. It didn’t pan out, but in the long run, that’s exactly what you want to see from a rookie.
By Marc Dumont He also generated several clean zone exits and entries, but enough gushing about No. 14 … for now. There’s always the next game. Dec 14, 2019 A Christmas miracle!
With less than a minute to play, it seemed like the fan winning $50,000 The last game at the Bell Centre this decade featured the Canadiens by scoring from mid-ice would be not only the most exciting moment of versus the last-place team in the NHL and the clear-cut front-runners in the game but also the most accurate shot of the night by someone in a the Alexis Lafrenière sweepstakes: the Detroit Red Wings. Canadiens jersey. The Red Wings allow a lot of goals. More accurately, they’ve allowed 131 The good news is Tomas Tatar’s 12th goal of the year meant the goals this season, 11 more than their closest competition, the San Jose Canadiens avoided being the only team the Red Wings shut out this Sharks. It presented the perfect opportunity for the Canadiens to extend season. their winning streak and build precious momentum before hitting the road for the rest of the year. The bad news is it was much too little and much too late.
But since the odds favoured the home team and the hockey gods adore Final word chaos, it also had all the makings of a trap game. To avoid getting frustrated, the Canadiens would need to score early and often, but that We’ve seen this script before. would not be the case Saturday night. The Canadiens completely outplay their opponents but fail to capitalize Despite outshooting the Red Wings 64-28 at five-on-five and out- on their many chances, while their opponents capitalize on a handful of chancing them 8-3, the Canadiens left the Bell Centre on a bitter note, mistakes. It’s a symptom of their lack of star power in the lineup, losing 2-1. especially among the forwards. That lack of elite shooting talent is even more evident when their highest-paid forward, Jonathan Drouin, is Game of inches missing.
Shea Weber is having a hell of a season. Statistically speaking, his And while it wasn’t their worst game of the year, far from it, the offensive value is off the charts. But there’s no denying he’s also allowing Canadiens simply cannot leave points on the table when playing the more scoring chances than ever when he’s on the ice. It’s not to the point worst team in the league. At least not if they want to be taken seriously that his defensive woes are dragging the rest of his game below as a contender for a playoff spot. replacement level — it’s not even close to that point — but it has led to a fair amount of really good scoring chances for opponents, as it did It wasn’t a poor effort, but it was clearly a missed opportunity, one that Saturday night when Dylan Larkin picked Weber’s pocket and found a might come back to bite the Canadiens as their schedule increases in wide-open Tyler Bertuzzi for his 11th goal of the season. difficulty in the new year.
But just as most scoring plays involve more than one player, so do most The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 defensive miscues, as evidenced by Phillip Danault’s lack of defensive awareness in the slot.
Scoring chances on the ice and everything nice
The Canadiens can’t blame anyone but themselves for their lack of production. It’s not that they failed to generate chances. They had plenty of those.
Like short-handed chances:
And five-on-five chances:
And then even more short-handed chances:
And some more five-on-five chances:
They also hit the post not once, not twice, but thrice.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
If there’s one recurring issue that might rival the Canadiens’ defensive breakdowns in November in terms of causing anxiety for Claude Julien and the rest of the coaching staff, it’s probably the lack of discipline the team has shown this season. And it’s not just the indiscipline that’s hurting the Canadiens; it’s the timing, usually at crucial points in the game, and the location, usually 200 feet away from Carey Price, which evokes memories of Steve Begin’s legendary ill-timed penalties.
This time around, Riley Barber’s and Brendan Gallagher’s third-period penalties cost the Canadiens a goal and an opportunity to push the pace for two of the final three minutes of the game.
This is now a Nick Suzuki appreciation video review
If there’s one thing that stood out from the game, it’s that Nick Suzuki is definitely ready for more responsibility, as well as better linemates. That’s not to say Nick Cousins and Jordan Weal have played poorly alongside the 20-year-old centre, but they have had a very hard time keeping up with him. And they certainly haven’t had much luck capitalizing on the chances he creates. 1166374 Nashville Predators "I texted her on the plane and I was like, ‘Hey, we gotta go in like two hours,’ and she's like, 'OK,'" Carr said. "She had her car packed, had my car packed and grabbed the stuff and off we went. We got in at 3:30 in the morning in Milwaukee. She's just a trooper." Life of an NHL call-up: few clothes, many restaurants, lots of hotels, uncertainty Carr eats out often and can name all the best restaurants in Nashville. He said he is on a first-name basis with a few servers in town.
First-timer Paul Skrbina Yakov Trenin packed lightly -- as in "one-and-a-half" suits and a couple Nashville Tennessean of other things -- when he was called up by the Predators on Oct. 19. His NHL debut that day turned out to be the only game he would play that Published 5:00 a.m. CT Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 5:31 p.m. CT Dec. 14, time around. He was sent back to Milwaukee the next day. 2019 He was recalled again Dec. 6, and scored his first NHL goal a day later
against the Devils. Daniel Carr strolled through the Predators team shop inside Bridgestone Trenin found out almost by accident the first time he was recalled. He Arena pretty much unnoticed Tuesday night after his team topped the went into the locker room on a game day, saw he wasn't in the lineup and Sharks 3-1. suspected something was up. Teammates asked him whether he'd be As fans browsed Winter Classic sweaters and hats and pucks and called up. He soon found out he had been. scarves, the Predators forward appeared through one set of glass doors "You don't know how much stuff to take," Trenin said with a laugh. "I took into the store and disappeared through another, onto Fifth Avenue and one week's worth of stuff." into the Nashville night. "During the season you spend half the season on the road. We have a Carr wasn't driving his car home like most of his teammates. microwave in the room. I just eat out. If I buy groceries, I don't have any Carr was headed to his hotel, the place the recent call-up from pans or an oven." Milwaukee called home. At the time he didn't know for how long. And what about that suit-and-a-half? Not much longer, it turned out. Carr was assigned to Milwaukee on Trenin said switches shirts and ties and makes do. Saturday night, just before the Predators faced the Stars at Bridgestone Arena. Much like he did when he first arrived from Russia and struggled with things such as ordering food from a menu. The 28-year-old has been called up from the minor leagues seven times during his career, which for the undrafted free agent began in 2014-15 "When I came here I thought I knew English," he said with a laugh. "I with the Canadiens. found out I know nothing."
During his rookie season, Carr remembered a meeting with then- But it's all been worthwhile, Trenin said. Canadiens coach Michel Therrien. "It's even more than what i expected," he said of playing in the NHL. "The "He said the hardest thing you're going to have to do is establish yourself first day was everything. It was crazy. Now I'm getting used to it and in the NHL," Carr said. "'You’re an undrafted free agent. It’s not going to more comfortable. I just enjoy every day here." be easy.' Tennessean LOADED: 12.15.2019 "Five years later, I’m still trying to do that."
Been there
Carr, who has more than 110 NHL games under his belt, has been placed on -- and cleared -- waivers three times.
He made the Predators out of camp this year, only to be sent down after just three games.
He had been been living out of a suitcase since Nov. 25, when he was recalled. The team is responsible for paying for 28 days of his stay. Teams typically will tell a player whether it's safe to look for a more permanent residence after that.
Such is life in limbo for last season's American Hockey League MVP — and the life of other professional hockey players looking to stick in the NHL.
"You really get used to it," Carr said. "It’s life-changing a little bit when you have a family and a wife and more responsibilities. If you have a girlfriend or something like that it gets a little more complicated.
Carr said he lived in a hotel in Montreal during his entire rookie season. His first call-up lasted roughly a month and a half before he was sent down. He was recalled again to the NHL six days after that.
Six days later, he found himself on injured reserve through the end of the season.
Done that
Carr's wife, whom he calls a "rockstar", drove from Edmonton to Nashville — with their dog — so they could be together during training camp.
The car she packed for Nashville, though, was soon headed back to Milwaukee. Carr found out after the team's game in Arizona on Oct. 17 that he was going back to the AHL. 1166375 Nashville Predators
Khudobin helps Stars beat Predators for 4th straight win
Nashville Tennessean
Published 5:00 a.m. CT Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 8:40 p.m. CT Dec. 14, 2019
Anton Khudobin stopped 37 shots and the Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 Saturday night.
Blake Comeau, Roope Hintz, Jamie Oleksiak and Andrew Cogliano each scored and Alexander Radulov had two assists to help the Stars win their fourth straight.
Austin Watson scored for Nashville and Pekka Rinne finished with 18 saves. The Predators have lost two straight.
This was the first meeting between the teams since the Stars eliminated the Predators in the first round of the playoffs last season.
Nashville Predators center Kyle Turris (8) battle for the puck with Dallas Stars left wing Blake Comeau (15) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
Nashville on the scoreboard first, as Dan Hamhuis fired a shot from just inside the blue line that was deflected by Watson from the slot at 1:04 of the second period.
The Stars roared back with four goals in the period.
Comeau tied it at 4:46 as he skated 1-on-1 through the left circle and beat Rinne to the stick side for a short-handed goal.
Dallas Stars right wing Alexander Radulov (47) gets the puck past Nashville Predators center Calle Jarnkrok (19) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
Hintz put the Stars ahead for good as he scored five-hole from the slot at 6:40.
Oleksiak made it 3-1 with 7:42 left in the middle period as he skated across the crease and backhanded it past a diving Rinne on his glove side for his first of the season.
Cogliano ended the scoring with a wrist shot in heavy traffic to beat Rinne from close range with 3:51 to go in the period.
Tennessean LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166376 New Jersey Devils
Devils beat Coyotes to snap 7-game skid, earn Alain Nasreddine 1st win
By Chris Ryan
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- At long last, Alain Nasreddine has his first NHL win.
In his sixth game as interim head coach and the final game of a Western Conference road trip, Nasreddine’s Devils edged the Arizona Coyotes 2- 1 on regulation on Saturday at Gila River Arena. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak that dated back to Thanksgiving, when the Devils won on the road against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Devils played without forward Taylor Hall for a second straight night, as the team scratched him again in preparation for a possible trade.
Devils forward Kyle Palmieri broke a 1-1 tie with 8:26 left in regulation by cleaning up a Michael McLeod rebound and roofing a shot for his 12th goal of the season. That play gave McLeod his second assist of the night for his first career multi-point game.
Palmieri’s goal backed up a 31-save effort from Mackenzie Blackwood, plus an early Jesper Boqvist goal that came just 2:17 into the game. That opening strike also provided a cruel twist for McLeod.
McLeod, Miles Wood and Boqvist raced up the ice on a 3-on-1, where Wood fired a shot from the left side. The rebound found McLeod in the slot, where he appeared to pot his first NHL goal inside the right post.
McLeod, the Devils’ 2016 first-round pick, was initially credited with the goal, but further review showed Boqvist tipped his shot inside the crease. So Boqvist was credited with his third goal, which McLeod and Wood got assists.
The Coyotes tied the game later in the first period, converting on their second power play of the frame with just three seconds left on the man advantage.
Defenseman Alex Goligoski took a puck in the slot and snapped a wrister past Blackwood’s glove at 15:35 of the first.
Goligoski had an open look at the net on a third-period power play with the game tied 1-1, but he fanned on a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle.
Darcy Kuemper stopped 31 of 33 shots for the Coyotes.
Next up
The Devils will be off on Sunday after traveling back to New Jersey, and they will then get two practices days on Monday and Tuesday before their next game.
They will host the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday at Prudential Center before the Washington Capitals visit The Rock on Friday. The Devils will then have road games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks before the NHL’s Christmas break.
Star Ledger LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166377 New Jersey Devils Jason Demers (3A) leads Arizona in points in the 2019-20 regular season series against New Jersey. Barrett Hayton tallied the game winner for the Coyotes, which marked Hayton’s first career NHL goal.
Devils’ lines, pairings vs. Coyotes (12/14/19) | Taylor Hall out again as Antti Raanta saw the full 60 minutes of action against the Devils, allowing trade talks continue three goals on 35 shots against.
Tonight’s contest concludes New Jersey’s ninth of 16 sets of back-to- back action. The club looks to improve their 3-4-1 record in second By Chris Ryan games.
The Devils are 2-2-0 at Gila River Arena and 6-3-0 overall against the Coyotes since the 2015-16 season. GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Taylor Hall trade watch continues into Saturday night. Star Ledger LOADED: 12.15.2019 Hall will be a healthy scratch for a second straight game when the Devils visit the Arizona Coyotes at 8 p.m. Eastern at Gila River Arena.
The Devils pulled Hall for precautionary reasons just before Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, and the team will keep him sidelined as trade talks continue to intensify around the former NHL MVP.
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With Hall out again, the Devils will roll with the same lineup they used on Friday, except in goal, where Mackenzie Blackwood will get the start. Blackwood relieved Louis Domingue in Friday’s game after Domingue exited in the second period due to a lower body injury.
Domingue was placed on injured reserve prior to Saturday’s game, and the Devils recalled goalie Evan Cormier from the ECHL to back up Blackwood. Domingue will be out until at least Friday, when the Devils host the Washington Capitals. He will also miss Wednesday’s home game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Domingue’s injury isn’t considered serious, and the Devils hope to activate him as soon as he’s eligible on Friday.
Here’s how the Devils will line up against the Coyotes:
FORWARDS
Jesper Bratt - Nico Hischier - Kyle Palmieri
Blake Coleman - Travis Zajac - Nikita Gusev
Pavel Zacha - Jack Hughes - Wayne Simmonds
Miles Wood - Michael McLeod - Jesper Boqvist
DEFENSEMEN
Andy Greene - P.K. Subban
Will Butcher - Sami Vatanen
Mirco Mueller - Damon Severson
GOALIES
Starter: Mackenzie Blackwood
Backup: Evan Cormier
SCRATCHES
F: Taylor Hall (precautionary), Kevin Rooney, John Hayden
On IR: D Connor Carrick (broken pinky; recalled from AHL conditioning stint); D Matt Tennyson (upper body); G Louis Domingue (lower body)
Here are game notes via the Devils:
Tonight marks the second and final regular season contests between New Jersey and Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Devils, 5-3, when the two clubs squared off on Oct. 25 at Prudential Center. New Jersey was 1-5 on the man advantage, and 3-3 on the penalty kill in the first matchup.
Jack Hughes (1G-2A) leads the Devils in points, tallying three in the October matchup. Sami Vatanen (1G-1A) notched two points in his first multi-point game of his 2019-20 campaign.
Mackenzie Blackwood allowed four goals on 17 shots against. The 17 shots is the lowest the Devils have faced all season. 1166378 New Jersey Devils AHL on Tuesday when the Devils put Hischier on IR with his illness, and he was a healthy scratch against the Dallas Stars.
Hischier was making progress and seemed to be on track for a Friday How Devils players handled Taylor Hall’s late scratch, looming possibility return, but Nasreddine said McLeod would be with the team for the of trade remainder of the trip.
If and when something happened with Hall, McLeod was going to be the player set to take his place. By Chris Ryan “It was pretty surprising. Didn’t really see it coming, but at the same time, Nas gave me a heads up that I might be playing tonight,” McLeod said. "Just stay ready. So I went out for warmups like I would for any game.” DENVER -- Everything seemed to be business as usual for the Devils on Friday. Star Ledger LOADED: 12.15.2019 The team participated in a full morning skate at Pepsi Center, just happy to get center Nico Hischier back in the lineup after he missed three games due to illness.
Taylor Hall skated on Hischier’s left and practiced with him on the top power play. The group later went through the typical pregame routine during warmups, with Hall, Hischier and Kyle Palmieri getting a final few touches together 30 minutes before puck drop against the Colorado Avalanche.
Then everything changed in a flash.
Interim head coach Alain Nasreddine got his marching orders in the middle of warmups. Hall was going to be a healthy scratch for precautionary reasons, with trade talks between general manager Ray Shero and potential suitors reaching a boiling point. The Devils had too much to risk by letting Hall play.
So Nasreddine entered the dressing room — a few minutes earlier than usual for his pregame pep talk — and delivered the news. Hall was out. Michael McLeod would make his unexpected season debut. The players had about 15 minutes to process the reality of the situation before hitting the ice for a game.
Even without Hall, the Devils pieced together a strong performance, but a superb 37-save performance by Avalanche goalie Pavel Francouz proved to be the difference in a 3-1 defeat.
Afterward, the team quickly packed ahead of a flight to Phoenix, with more time to reflect on the reality that Hall has likely played his last game as a Devil.
“Basically right after warmups (we found out). Right after," Devils captain Andy Greene said. "Obviously he was out there for warmups and came off. It’s the business, and unfortunately we’ve put ourselves in this spot to make that move.”
Hall’s looming departure became more of a possibility in recent weeks, with Shero starting to listen to potential offers for the star forward. The odds of a move were amplified with the firing of coach John Hynes, plus the Devils’ continued descent to the bottom of the standings.
Further change seemed inevitable, and as much as Devils players maintained their focus on hockey, it was impossible to ignore the storm clouds forming outside the rink and locker room.
“We’re all aware of it. We’re not blinded by the outside world, but we try to keep the outside noise to outside of the room," forward Blake Coleman said. "He’s your teammate until he’s not, so that’s the approach that I have at least, and I try not to think too much about the outside noise.”
Nasreddine couldn’t say whether Hall would play in Saturday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. Barring a dramatic change in the current situation, he won’t, if he’s even still part of the team when the Devils hits the ice for warmups at Gila River Arena.
The coach knew he would be delivering a jarring bit of information to the team when he entered the locker room.
“It’s big news, I’m not gonna lie. It’s big news, one of the top players in the league is not dressing for your team," Nasreddine said. "I’ve said that numerous times we have great leadership, great pros and I think when something like this happens, you rely on those guys to make sure the rest of the team and the young guys are ready to go, and guys like Greener, (Wayne Simmonds, Travis Zajac, P.K. Subban), all those guys. Pretty sure in the room they got everyone ready to play.”
While Friday’s events may have come as a shock, the Devils seemed to be preparing for it all week. McLeod was recalled from Binghamton in the 1166379 New Jersey Devils
Why the NJ Devils called up Evan Cormier to replace Louis Domingue
Abbey Mastracco
NorthJersey.com
Published 7:47 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019
GLENDALE, Ariz. — It’s been less than a year since Evan Cormier’s professional hockey career began but it’s been quite a year for the netminder. The goalie’s journey from the University of Guelph to pro hockey will culminate with a stint in NHL on Saturday.
The New Jersey Devils called up Cormier, who came to the Devils on an American Hockey League tryout contract earlier this year, from Adirondack of the ECHL to replace the injured Louis Domingue on the roster and he’ll dress for the final game of a four-game trip, backing up Mackenzie Blackwood.
Domingue suffered a lower-body injury Friday night in Denver, in the Devils’ 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He was replaced by Blackwood in the second period and placed on injured reserve Saturday afternoon.
Dec 13, 2019; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) attempts on New Jersey Devils goaltender Louis Domingue (70) in the first period at the Pepsi Center.
The Devils don’t expect Domingue to be out long-term, the hope is to get him back by next weekend for back-to-back games. Cory Schneider played for Binghamton of the AHL on Friday night and the BDevils play again on Wednesday, so the timing wasn’t quite right for the veteran to make his NHL return.
“It’s short-term,” interim coach Alain Nasreddine said. “I have to follow up with the medical staff but it’s nothing too serious or long-term.”
Taylor Hall will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game as the Devils look to trade their star winger. Hall is being held out for precautionary reasons but there is nothing to indicate a trade is imminent as of press time.
It might be a disappointing time for the Devils but it’s a cool story for Cormier.
Bergen Record LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166380 New Jersey Devils
Kyle Palmieri’s third-period goal helps Devils end losing streak
By Associated Press
December 14, 2019 | 11:44pm | Updated
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Facing the second game of a back-to-back set on the road against a top team in the Western Conference and without their scoring leader, the struggling New Jersey Devils were poised for an eighth straight loss.
So it was easy to understand the Devils’ exuberant celebration of what ended up being the game-winning goal.
Kyle Palmieri broke a 1-1 tie in the third period, and the Devils held on for a 2-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night, ending a seven- game losing streak.
Palmieri’s team-leading 12th goal of the season came with 8:26 left as he flipped the puck high into net past Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper. Then Palmieri pumped his fist and shouted as teammates jumped on him near the benches.
“A lot of guys stepped up and were pulling in the right direction. It’s a good feeling when every guy in this room is battling for each other,” Palmieri said. “It felt nice to get rewarded for it.”
Jesper Boqvist also scored, and Michael McLeod and Miles Wood each had two assists to help the Devils get their first win this month. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 31 shots.
The win was interim coach Alain Nasreddine’s first since he stepped in for the fired John Hynes on Dec. 3.
“You look at the saves he makes, they look easy. And that gives the team a lot of confidence,” Nasreddine said of Blackwood.
Alex Goligoski scored for Arizona, which has lost five of its last seven home games but remains in sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division. Vinnie Hinostroza picked up his fourth assist in two games, and Darcy Kuemper finished with 31 saves.
The Devils played without Taylor Hall, whose 25 points lead the team, for the second straight game amid trade talks – with the Coyotes mentioned as one of the teams interested in acquiring the forward.
“That’s a game that’s going to sting a bit. It’s a game we feel we should have,” Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun said.
The Devils scored first 2:17 into the game. Boqvist was in front to re- direct a rebound of a shot from McLeod for his third of the season.
Goligoski’s first goal in nine games came on the power play with 4:25 left in the first period. Goligoski brought the puck out of his own end, then took a pass from Hinostroza and sent a wrister past Blackwood to tie the score.
The Coyotes have seven power-play goals in the past seven games.
The Devils opened the second period on a power play after a high- sticking penalty to Goligoski just before the end of the first. Arizona killed the penalty and one other later in the period, thwarting the Devils’ man advantage three times on the night.
Blackwood turned away Conor Garland’s wide-open wrister at 5:55, keeping the score tied in the second period.
“Jersey had that one chance and they scored on a breakdown. We need some guys to produce,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “We got a good goaltender again, but I don’t think we gave up a lot of chances. I didn’t mind our game at all, we just didn’t execute.”
New York Post LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166381 New Jersey Devils
Taylor Hall trade rumors fueled by girlfriend’s goodbye party
By Mark Fischer
December 14, 2019 | 11:57am | Updated
Taylor Hall’s girlfriend may have confirmed rumors that her beau will soon be traded by bidding farewell to wives and girlfriends of other Devils players on Friday night.
Rachel Rush and several other Devils players’ significant others including Ashlee Palmieri — wife of Devils forward Kyle Palmieri — gathered for an apparent goodbye party with rumors swirling around the 2018 MVP.
“Bon Voyage,” Ashlee Palmieri wrote on Instagram, alongside a video of Rush pouring a glass of wine.
“GIRRRRRLLLLL BYE,” wrote Kris Redmond, the girlfriend of defenseman Mirco Mueller, with the women toasting their glasses.
The apparent adieu came as Hall was held out of the lineup in Colorado for what the team called “precautionary reasons,” which interim head coach Allain Nasreddine said was a management decision.
Are the Devils WAGs having a goodbye party for Taylor Hall's GF pic.twitter.com/VL9wF7tpHD
— Sad World Juniors Lauren (@laurkelly24) December 14, 2019
Multiple reports indicate the second-to-last place Devils are close to trading Hall, who is in the final season of his seven-year, $42 million contract (signed with Edmonton) and expected to test free agency where he could command up to $10 million per season.
Hall isn’t expected to play again Saturday night in Arizona, which could be a possible trade destination.
The Avalanche, Blues and Oilers, along with the Coyotes, are all expected to make a push for the 28-year-old left wing, according to TSN, who has six goals and 19 assists in 30 games this season.
The Devils have missed the playoffs the last two years, and haven’t won a playoff series since losing in the Stanley Cup Final in 2012.
New York Post LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166382 New York Islanders Olofsson had tied the game with a power-play goal at 6:11 of the second, rifling the puck past Varmalov. The goal was Olofsson's 14th this season, which leads all rookies. Assists went to defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Eichel. Islanders extend home streak to 6 with 3-2 OT win over Sabres Olofsson has 21 points in the past 19 games — with eight goals and 13 assists. The 24-year-old Swede was a seventh-round pick by the Sabres in 2014, taken 176 spots after Dal Colle. Olofsson also leads NHL By ALLAN KREDA rookies with 31 points overall. ASSOCIATED PRESS | The Islanders were returning after a three-game road trip on which they DEC 14, 2019 | 4:14 PM won at Tampa Bay and Florida after a loss in Dallas.
They have won eight straight games at Nassau Coliseum during a season in which they are splitting games between Long Island and UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Even though it took a few extra minutes on Brooklyn, playing 28 contests at Nassau Coliseum and 13 games at Saturday, the Islanders earned yet another victory at home. Barclays Center.
Anthony Beauvillier scored in overtime to lift the Islanders to a 3-2 win Despite Buffalo's late tying goal, Beauvillier said there no panic on the over the Buffalo Sabres, extending New York's home winning streak to Islanders bench. six games and snapping the Sabres' win streak at three. "As soon as the third period was over, we just said let's go get the two Beauvillier scored on a breakaway at 3:04 against Sabres goalie Linus points,'' added the 22-year-old Beauvilier, who has 20 points this season. Ullmark for his 10th goal of the season. He finished off a sequence in "They scored late but we did a good job coming back and staying overtime in which he accidentally got tangled up with Ullmark in the focused." crease, then was tripped in the Sabres zone before he corralled the puck for the winning play. Buffalo arrived on an offensive surge with 36 goals in its past nine games during which it was 5-1-3. The Sabres met the Islanders and their stingy "I put my head down, put a shot on goal and it went in,'' he said of his defense, which has permitted a league-low 72 goals over the first 31 extra-session score. "I found some legs on the way to the breakaway. I'll games. take it." NOTES: The Islanders scratched defenseman Nick Leddy and forward The Islanders improved to 13-2-1 overall between Nassau Coliseum and Leo Komarov … The Sabres scratched defensemen Zach Bogosian and Brooklyn's Barclays Center this season. Colin Miller and forward Casey Mittelstadt … The teams meet again March 26 at Nassau Coliseum … The Islanders are 19-0-1 this season "We got the win, the two points,'' Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "That and 57-2-3 overall when they score three goals ... The Sabres are 3-6-2 was paramount." in their past 11 games against the Islanders. Islanders right wing Jordan Eberle (7) celebrates his third period goal UP NEXT: against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Islanders: Host Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. Semyon Varmalov made 33 saves for the victory to improve to 11-3-2 on the season, his first with the Islanders. Sabres: At Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
"Varly was solid,'' Trotz added. "When he had to make a save, he did." New York Daily News LOADED: 12.15.2019 Jordan Eberle had snapped a 1-1 tie with a goal early in the third period to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead, but Sabres captain Jack Eichel tied it with a power-play goal at 18:14 after the Sabres pulled Ullmark for an extra skater while Islanders forward Mathew Barzal served a roughing penalty.
Eichel's 23rd goal of the season was assisted by Rasmus Ristolainen and Victor Olofsson and sent the game into overtime. Eichel has extended his points streak to 16 games when he assisted on Victor Olofsson's second-period goal. Eichel has 15 goals and 14 assists during the streak.
Sabres coach Ralph Krueger was upbeat despite the defeat.
"It was an outstanding hockey game, hard fought to the last second,'' he said. "They played their game and I was proud we played our game. I thought there were a lot of times we dominated but didn't create scoring chances. Disappointing in overtime but generally a super effort by the guys."
Eberle, who entered the game with only two goals in 20 games this season, scored his third at 4:50 of the third when his shot from the slot eluded Ullmark. Brock Nelson assisted.
Eberle signed a five-year, $27.5 million free-agent contract in July to stay with the Islanders after scoring 19 goals last season and 25 the previous one for the Islanders.
Michael Dal Colle opened the scoring for the Islanders at 5:11 of the first period when he knocked a loose puck past Ullmark. Beauvillier had the lone assist.
The goal was the second this season for Dal Colle, the fifth overall pick by the Islanders in the 2014 draft who found a spot in recent games on a line with Beauvillier and Nelson. Dal Colle later left the game with an upper body injury thus Eberle became part of the unit in the third.
"Guys that fill in are excited to jump on that line,'' Trotz said. 1166383 New York Islanders Olofsson has 21 points in the past 19 games — with eight goals and 13 assists. The 24-year-old Swede was a seventh-round pick by the Sabres in 2014, taken 176 spots after Dal Colle. Olofsson also leads NHL rookies with 31 points overall. Anthony Beauvillier’s OT winner keeps Islanders rolling at home The Islanders were returning after a three-game road trip on which they won at Tampa Bay and Florida after a loss in Dallas.
By Associated Press They have won eight straight games at Nassau Coliseum during a season in which they are splitting games between Long Island and December 14, 2019 | 4:46pm | Updated Brooklyn, playing 28 contests at Nassau Coliseum and 13 games at Barclays Center.
Even though it took a few extra minutes on Saturday, the Islanders Despite Buffalo’s late tying goal, Beauvillier said there no panic on the earned yet another victory at home. Islanders bench.
Anthony Beauvillier scored in overtime to lift the Islanders to a 3-2 win “As soon as the third period was over, we just said let’s go get the two over the Sabres, extending their home winning streak to six games and points,’’ added the 22-year-old Beauvilier, who has 20 points this season. snapping the Sabres’ win streak at three. “They scored late but we did a good job coming back and staying focused.” Beauvillier scored on a breakaway at 3:04 against Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark for his 10th goal of the season. He finished off a sequence in Buffalo arrived on an offensive surge with 36 goals in its past nine games overtime in which he accidentally got tangled up with Ullmark in the during which it was 5-1-3. The Sabres met the Islanders and their stingy crease, then was tripped in the Sabres zone before he corralled the puck defense, which has permitted a league-low 72 goals over the first 31 for the winning play at Nassau Coliseum. games.
“I put my head down, put a shot on goal and it went in,’’ he said of his New York Post LOADED: 12.15.2019 extra-session score. “I found some legs on the way to the breakaway. I’ll take it.”
The Islanders improved to 13-2-1 overall between the Coliseum and Barclays Center this season.
“We got the win, the two points,’’ Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “That was paramount.”
Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves for the victory to improve to 11-3-2 on the season, his first with the Islanders.
“Varly was solid,’’ Trotz added. “When he had to make a save, he did.”
Jordan Eberle had snapped a 1-1 tie with a goal early in the third period to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead, but Sabres captain Jack Eichel tied it with a power-play goal at 18:14 after the Sabres pulled Ullmark for an extra skater while Islanders forward Mathew Barzal served a roughing penalty.
Eichel’s 23rd goal of the season was assisted by Rasmus Ristolainen and Victor Olofsson and sent the game into overtime. Eichel has extended his points streak to 16 games when he assisted on Victor Olofsson’s second-period goal. Eichel has 15 goals and 14 assists during the streak.
Sabres coach Ralph Krueger was upbeat despite the defeat.
“It was an outstanding hockey game, hard fought to the last second,’’ he said. “They played their game and I was proud we played our game. I thought there were a lot of times we dominated but didn’t create scoring chances. Disappointing in overtime but generally a super effort by the guys.”
Eberle, who entered the game with only two goals in 20 games this season, scored his third at 4:50 of the third when his shot from the slot eluded Ullmark. Brock Nelson assisted.
Eberle signed a five-year, $27.5 million free-agent contract in July to stay with the Islanders after scoring 19 goals last season and 25 the previous one for the Islanders.
Michael Dal Colle opened the scoring for the Islanders at 5:11 of the first period when he knocked a loose puck past Ullmark. Beauvillier had the lone assist.
The goal was the second this season for Dal Colle, the fifth overall pick by the Islanders in the 2014 draft who found a spot in recent games on a line with Beauvillier and Nelson. Dal Colle later left the game with an upper body injury thus Eberle became part of the unit in the third.
“Guys that fill in are excited to jump on that line,’’ Trotz said.
Olofsson had tied the game with a power-play goal at 6:11 of the second, rifling the puck past Varmalov. The goal was Olofsson’s 14th this season, which leads all rookies. Assists went to defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Eichel. 1166384 New York Islanders
Josh Bailey sticks up for Isles tough guy Ross Johnston
By Andrew Gross
Updated December 14, 2019 7:14 PM
This time, it was an Islanders’ teammate sticking up for mammoth Ross Johnston.
Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella drove the 6-5, 235 left wing, who coach Barry Trotz had on Mathew Barzal’s top line with Josh Bailey for the fifth straight game, into the side boards at 18:22 of the first period of the Islanders’ 3-2 overtime win on Saturday afternoon at Nassau Coliseum.
A shaken Johnston remained on his knees while Bailey confronted Scandella, earning a double-minor for roughing.
“I haven’t actually seen the video,” said Johnston, who leads the team with 35 penalty minutes and three fighting majors. “I’m not going to say it was a dirty hit. I just got the puck and turned. I just felt I got cranked. I’m a little stiff now.”
And Bailey’s response?
“Love it,” said Johnston, who returned in the second period and logged 9:05. “I don’t think that was the intent Barry had when he put us three together. Bails is a great teammate. Anytime somebody gets cranked, even when it’s me, he’s the first one in there.”
Johnston was not pulled by the NHL spotter to go through concussion protocol.
Isles files
There likely will be no update on right wing Michael Dal Colle (upper body), who exited at 17:37 of the first period after a collision with Conor Sheary, until Monday as the Islanders will not practice on Sunday…Defenseman Nick Leddy (lower body) participated in the pregame warmups but missed his third straight game…Forward Leo Komarov was a healthy scratch for the third straight game…Semyon Varlamov’s start extended the franchise record goalie rotation to start the season to 31 games…The Islanders have won six straight at home and are 12-0-1 on home ice since Oct. 12…The Islanders tied a franchise record by winning 73.0 of the faceoffs (33-of-45)…The attendance was a near-sellout 13,795.
Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166385 New York Islanders If he can keep it up, it will be a huge bonus for a team that relies on balance in the absence of an elite, goal-scoring sniper. Its best player, Mathew Barzal, still is a playmaker at heart.
Anthony Beauvillier finds some legs to score overtime winner for Isles On Saturday, Beauvillier was the clutch scorer the Islanders needed on an afternoon that took his breath away.
“I guess,” he said, “I found an extra layer of legs there at the end.” By Neil Best Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.15.2019 Updated December 15, 2019 12:59 AM
Anthony Beauvillier is only 22 and presumably in better shape than you or me, but he had an exhausting day at the office on Saturday.
Fifteen minutes after punching out from his final shift he still was breathing so hard he struggled to speak.
Was this sort of thing unusual for him? “Yeah, yeah it is,” the Islanders winger said. “I usually recover really fast. I just had a tough time today.”
He said he “kind of felt heavy” and that “it seemed I couldn’t really find my breath,” citing the 1 p.m. start as a possible reason.
But it didn’t look like a tough day from afar. He set up the first goal, got a secondary assist on the second and scored the third, 3:04 into overtime for a 3-2 victory over the Sabres at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum.
That last one is when the out-of-breath thing came into play. Beauvillier was not sure he had it in him.
It had been an eventful overtime already. He was fortunate not to get called for interfering with Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark.
Then he tried to check Sabres star Jack Eichel, who is 6-2 and 203 pounds, in the offensive zone, bounced off him, landed on the ice and handed Buffalo a gift 3-and-2 rush. Doom seemed imminent.
But Brock Nelson tipped Eichel’s attempted cross-ice pass, and the puck found its way to Beauvillier, who by that time had made his way back to the far blue line.
With what he later said was the last bit of energy left in him, he gathered the puck, scooted down the ice and beat Ullmark for the winner.
“He did a good move; he’s a great player,” Beauvillier said of Eichel. “I thought I had him on the check there. I found some legs, I guess, on the way to the breakaway.”
Beauvillier said he was so gassed that when teammates were putting their gloves in his face during the victory celebration, he thought he was going to pass out.
The important news for the Islanders is that his big day was not a one- time thing. Now in his fourth season, the former first-round draft pick has rounded into a complete, consistent player.
He has 10 goals (third-most on the team) and 21 points (fourth-most) and has developed enviable chemistry with centerman Brock Nelson.
“I think he’s playing with confidence,” Nelson said. “His speed is one of his greatest assets. He‘s good with the puck in tight spaces. He can make you pay.
“He doesn’t need much space, and when he gets his chances, he’s been burying them this year. That’s added to the confidence.”
Beauvillier had 18 goals and 28 points last season but endured some dry patches. Coach Barry Trotz said learning to play through those has paid dividends.
“If you remember last year, I thought Beau went 20 or 21 games with really no production,” Trotz said. “I let him try to work through it as a young player, didn’t take him out of the lineup when he wasn’t producing.
“I kept talking to him and showing him stuff and letting him try to figure it out, and I think he did.”
Beauvillier said the change mostly has been psychological.
“Just my mindset,” he said. “I’m still the same player. I have the same speed, same ability to make plays, same shot. It’s just in my head I think I’m more confident. I know I can make plays. I know I can be a factor.” 1166386 New York Islanders
Anthony Beauvillier rescues a win for Islanders with overtime goal vs. Sabres
By Andrew Gross
Updated December 14, 2019 6:28 PM
Mathew Barzal took a bad penalty at a bad time. That it ultimately didn’t cost the Islanders a win did not temper coach Barry Trotz’s frustration all that much.
“I didn’t like the way we gave away the point,” Trotz said. “We got the lead and we’re pretty comfortable with the lead and we took an unnecessary penalty. That’s unacceptable. We pride ourselves on team first. That wasn’t team first. That was personal.”
Anthony Beauvillier, gassed at the end of a shift that could have gone very wrong for the Islanders after he got caught up ice on odd-man rush, wound up scoring on a breakaway for a 3-2 overtime win over the Sabres on Saturday afternoon at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum.
“I tried to be physical there and they beat me up the ice and it didn’t seem like I could find any energy coming back,” said Beauvillier, who also had two assists. “I put my head down and tried to put a little move and shoot on goal and it went in. We’ll take it.”
The Islanders (22-7-2) certainly played well enough for most of the game to deserve the two points, limiting the Sabres to few dangerous chances five-on-five.
But the Sabres (16-11-7) went 2-for-2 on the power play and that included Jack Eichel’s goal at 18:14 with Barzal off as the Sabres skated six-on-four with the net empty. Eichel also had an assist as he stretched his point streak to 16 games.
Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves while Linus Ullmark stopped 23 shots for the Sabres, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
“It’s tough because you’re kind of in a good spot up until that point,” said center Brock Nelson, who started the sequence leading to Beauvillier’s winner by breaking up the Sabres’ rush with his stick. “When they tie it up, you just have to reset and refocus and know that the game is not over even though it might feel like it. You kind of sink a little bit but you’ve got to pick yourself back up and go.”
Barzal, engaged in a running dispute with Rasmus Dahlin, was called for roughing the defenseman in the Sabres’ zone at 16:27 of the third period as the Islanders were nursing a one-goal lead.
“It’s been mentioned, more than very clearly,” Trotz said. “You learn you can’t let the personal stuff get in the way. Whatever happened on the ice between him and Dahlin, you work that out on your own. Mathew will respond the way he should respond, he’s a good pro. He just had a moment where he saw red and couldn’t let it go.”
Trotz said he considered benching the fleet-skating Barzal, who thrives in the three-on-three overtimes because of the open space.
“Absolutely,” Trotz said. “You want to have accountability. But, also, there’s an opportunity. He’s pretty good three-on-three where he can dominate a shift. You can make up for it a little bit.
“It’ll be a learning moment,” Trotz added. “I’ll guarantee you, if it happens again, he’ll have a long sit. That’s not just one player. That’s everybody. We don’t need that in a game.”
Victor Olofsson’s power-play one-timer off Dahlin’s feed tied the game at 1-1 at 6:11 of the second period. But Nelson fed Jordan Eberle in the low slot for a 2-1 lead at 4:50 of the third period.
Michael Dal Colle, with his second goal of the season and first since Oct. 19, had given the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 5:11 of the first period after Beauvillier created a turnover with his forecheck and backhanded the puck to him.
But Dal Colle exited at 17:37 of the first period with an upper-body injury.
Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166387 New York Islanders essentially the same thing as putting it behind the net. It’s just toward the net, not around the boards.”
Picked from the Pod Michael Dal Colle finding a home on Islanders' second line The Stars’ Blake Comeau is on his sixth NHL stop since the Islanders drafted him in the second round in 2004 and he has made the successful evolution from an offensive-minded forward to a steady bottom-six role. By Andrew Gross He wound up in Calgary in 2011 after the Islanders placed him on waivers. He had started the season without a point in 16 games after he Updated December 14, 2019 3:12 PM set career highs with 24 goals and 46 points in 2010-11 with the Islanders.
Plenty of attention has been paid to burly Ross Johnston’s ascension to Comeau was the guest on Episode 11 of Newsday’s Island Ice podcast playing on top-line center Mathew Barzal’s left wing. Less notice has and he opened up on the career-jarring impact of the Islanders letting been given to Michael Dal Colle recent spell on second-line center Brock him go. Nelson’s right wing. “It was tough, to be honest,” Comeau said. “I was in my early 20s and I That’s where the 2014 first-round pick started four of five games through don’t think I really knew how to handle it, to be honest. You get drafted by Saturday’s matinee against the Sabres at NYCB Live’s Nassau the Islanders. You start with the Islanders. You always have it in your Coliseum. mind that this is where I want to be for the rest of my career and to be put on waivers, I just don’t think I was mature enough at the time to handle it. Dal Colle scored his second goal of the season, and first since Oct. 19, in It took me a couple of years. It was a hard hit to my confidence. the first period but also exited the game with an upper-body injury after and accidental collision with the Sabres’ Conor Sheary later in the “It really took me until probably Pittsburgh [in 2014-15] where I could kind period. of turn my career around,” Comeau added. “I had a great opportunity with [coach] Mike Johnston there. I got to play with some really good players. Any potential absence for Dal Colle would not only slow his recent I was kind of able to get back in the role a little bit where I started with progress but again force coach Barry Trotz’s to figure out who to play New York and then from there it just kind of evolved with me getting with Nelson and left wing Anthony Beauvillier. another good opportunity in Colorado, then a good opportunity here. But, yeah, it was tough to go through, no question. Having to move cities, Until Saturday, Trotz had been able to roll four lines more consistently of pack up and leave and say goodbye to everyone, it was tough.” late. But he has struggled to construct four lasting trios over the first 31 games, save for Casey Cizikas’ identity line with Matt Martin and Cal Fastest to 20 Clutterbuck. The Islanders improved to 20-7-2 (wins-losses-overtime losses) with And the hardest spot to fill has been where Dal Colle was playing. Monday night’s 5-1 win at Tampa Bay, giving them 42 points. That is the second-highest point total through 29 games in franchise history behind Derick Brassard, a natural center, spent a good chunk of time on that line the 43 points the 1978-79 squad secured with a mark of 18-4-7 (wins- but that adversely affected the Islanders’ depth down the middle. losses-ties). The 29 games marked the fastest the Islanders have “I’ve felt good the last few games I’ve played,” said Dal Colle — who has reached 20 wins: two goals and two assists in his first 26 games and had gone 11 games 29 Games –2019-20 (20-7-2) without a point before Saturday’s goal — earlier in the week. “I’ve been good on the forecheck.” 30 Games – 2014-15 (20-10-0)
Good on the forecheck is not a golden ticket to permanent top-six status, 31 Games – 1983-84 (20-9-2); 1978-79 (20-4-7); 1976-77 (20-7-4) though. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.15.2019 Dal Colle is well aware he must be more consistent with his offensive production.
He surpassed 80 points in his last three seasons of juniors in the Ontario Hockey League, including two seasons of 90-plus points. But he had three goals and four assists in 28 games for the Islanders last season and has not been a prolific scorer for the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, either.
The rap on him was his skating ability but Trotz said Dal Colle has made good progress with it. In fact, Trotz said Dal Colle has developed into a “legit” NHL player.
“His pace of game,” Trotz said. “He’s skating as well as he’s ever skated. The systematic stuff in terms of things that are black and white, he’s got those locked down. I think he has a better thought process for those gray areas. I just like the fact that he’s been consistent. He’s not showing me one thing one game and another thing the next. That’s when a player is turning into a really good pro. He’s gone from a guy maybe in and out of the lineup to a guy that should be in the lineup and it’s just my call whether he’s in or not.”
A good reason
Per NHL statistics, Johnny Boychuk took 44 shots on goal through his first 30 games and had 19 missed shots, including 15 that went wide of the net. During a casual conversation with the defenseman, it was relayed to him that Islanders’ fans, via Twitter, had noticed he seemed to be shooting the puck wide of the net at a higher frequency and seemingly on purpose.
Boychuk said that was correct.
“It’s because guys are getting into the [shooting] lane,” Boychuk said. “I’d rather shoot it wide…than getting it blocked. To me, shooting the puck is 1166388 New York Rangers But the Ducks responded again and Lindholm made it 3-all at 18:14 from the high slot just as Gibson was making his way toward the bench for the extra attacker with Brady Skjei in the box for tripping.
Rangers blow 2-0 lead, lose to Ducks in shootout Anaheim was 2 for 4 on the power play. It was their third straight game with a power-play goal, and the Ducks are 4 for 10 in that span with the man-advantage.
By DAN GREENSPAN “We’re not going to have a parade yet on it,” Eakins said. “I still think we got lots of work to do there, but kudos to those young men. They’ve really ASSOCIATED PRESS | taken a real interest in it. They’re working together for their own solutions DEC 14, 2019 | 11:17 PM on top of ours, and that’s important. And great to see our team get rewarded by it tonight because we certainly needed it.”
NOTES: Silfverberg extended his point streak to four games. … Rakell ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mika Zibanejad had two goals for the second straight has five points in the past four games. … Rangers D Libor Hajek missed game and Artemi Panarin scored for the fourth consecutive game, and his fifth straight game because of a sprained knee. the Rangers still have not won consecutive games this month. New York Daily News LOADED: 12.15.2019 Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves, but the Rangers ended up going 2-1-1 on their four-game road trip.
“We wanted six points, but I guess taking five isn’t a bad trip,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “You can’t do what everybody else is doing if you want to do something special.”
The Ducks allowed two goals in the opening 3:59, with Zibanejad giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead 10 seconds into the game. Zibanejad intercepted a pass by Josh Manson and beat Gibson with a backhand.
Panarin made it 2-0 at 3:59 with his sixth goal during his scoring streak, which came on a wrist shot from the left circle. Ryan Strome picked off the puck after Gibson played it behind his own net and fed Panarin for his sixth goal in the past four games.
Trailing after 10 seconds and down 2-0 not even four minutes into their game against the New York Rangers, it would have been easy for the Anaheim Ducks to call it a day.
But the Ducks found the form that has sustained them this season, using it and a power play that finally seems to be clicking to get a big comeback win.
Hampus Lindholm tied the game on the power play with 1:46 remaining in the third period, Jakob Silfverberg and Ondrej Kase scored in the shootout, and the Ducks rallied for a 4-3 win over the Rangers on Saturday.
It was the third time in the past 13 games the Rangers allowed multiple power-play goals. New York has killed just 5 of 11 penalties (45.5 percent) in those three games, but are 33 of 34 in the other 10.
“It’s unfortunate when we struggle on the PK it seems to come in bunches within a game,” Quinn said.
“You don’t want to start 2-0 down,” Lindholm said. “It would be nice to have a 2-0 lead to start a game, too, but we’ve playing some good hockey. Over 60 minutes, if you just stick with it, you’re going to get some chances.”
Silfverberg had a power-play goal, Erik Gudbranson also scored, and Rickard Rakell had three assists to tie a career high for the Ducks. John Gibson stopped three shots in the shootout after making 29 saves through overtime.
However, the Ducks stayed committed to their game and got on the board when Silfverberg tipped Lindholm’s shot from the left point in at 8:53 to pull within 2-1.
“We were able to have a good chat as a team during the first timeout, but, like, not one little bit of frustration or panic or anything,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “And I think that’s a great, great sign for our team.”
Anaheim tied it up at 2-all 1:02 into the second when Gudbranson scored into an open net. Lundqvist over-committed to a sharp-angle shot by Adam Henrique that deflected off a stick and out to Gudbranson at the point.
Zibanejad put the Rangers back in front 3-2 at 1:14 of the third. Tony DeAngelo found Zibanejad with a stretch pass to start a rush, and Gibson could not smother a wobbly wrist shot that went between his legs for Zibanejad’s third multi-goal game of the season. 1166389 New York Rangers
Why Chris Kreider was handed curious Rangers demotion
By Brett Cyrgalis
December 14, 2019 | 9:43PM
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Maybe it wasn’t a direct demotion, but Chris Kreider got a season-low 11:04 of ice time and finished the game playing on the fourth line during the Rangers’ 4-3 shootout loss to the Ducks on Saturday afternoon.
As the Blueshirts wrapped up their four-game Western road trip having gone 2-1-1, Kreider went down to play with Brett Howden and Brendan Smith, getting two shifts over the final 10:54 of regulation. The game had started with Kreider next to Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich, but Buchnevich went down to play with Greg McKegg and Filip Chytil, while Brendan Lemieux and Jesper Fast joined Zibanejad.
“I didn’t love the way certain guys were playing, and wanted to get a different mix,” coach David Quinn said. “We look a little deeper with those four lines. And it being the fourth game in a four-game road trip, the third period, I really wanted to play four lines. So that was part of the decision- making process, and I thought all those lines were effective.”
Quinn added there was nothing physically wrong with Kreider, who has one goal in his past 10 games and seven through the first 32 games.
The only line that stayed together was Artemi Panarin-Ryan Strome- Kaapo Kakko.
Defenseman Marc Staal was able to play despite being a game-time decision, having blocked a shot with his surgically repaired right ankle during the 6-3 win Thursday at San Jose. Staal took a slashing penalty in the second period and got 17:38 of ice time paired with Tony DeAngelo.
Lemieux didn’t seem worse for the wear after he missed Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury. He played 14:28, and was moved onto the second power-play unit in the third period in place of Chytil.
The Rangers’ penalty kill had not given up a goal in the previous five games, going 13-for-13 during that stretch. But they gave up a goal on the Ducks’ first power plays of the game — a Jakob Silfverberg tip at 8:53 of the first period then another to Hampus Lindholm with 1:56 remaining in regulation to tie the game.
The Rangers’ power play had scored at least once in each of the first three games of this trip, having gone 4-for-10, but went 0-for-2 against the Ducks.
New York Post LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166390 New York Rangers “We wanted six points, but I guess taking five isn’t a bad trip,” Quinn said. “You can’t do what everyone else is doing if you want to do something special.”
Rangers’ inconsistency dooms them again in shootout loss New York Post LOADED: 12.15.2019
By Brett Cyrgalis
December 14, 2019 | 6:53pm | Updated
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This was so close to feeling so different.
Instead, the Rangers head home with a middling feeling of disappointment, colored by lingering knowledge their inability to win two in a row has become pervasive, if not downright annoying.
The Blueshirts dropped a 4-3 contest in a shootout against the Ducks on Saturday afternoon, finishing up their four-game Western swing 2-1-1. Like so much of this season, there was good and bad in almost equal measure, now going 10 games trading wins and losses, the most recent back-to-back victories coming just before Thanksgiving.
“It is disappointing, because we had an opportunity to end this on a really positive note,” coach David Quinn said. “We ended it on a disappointing note.”
There was quite a bit more melancholy in the locker room than one might expect after what really was a successful trip, and that’s understandable because the Rangers (16-12-4) were up, 3-2, with just under two minutes in regulation, had a handful of great chances in the 3-on-3 overtime and were even leading the skills competition. A lot of that came from Mika Zibanejad, who scored twice for the second straight game and was the best player on the ice by a mile.
But goalie Henrik Lundqvist did not have his sharpest game, allowing a screened power-play goal to Hampus Lindholm with 1:56 remaining in regulation, then beaten on terrific moves from Ondrej Kase and Jakob Silfverberg in the third and fourth rounds of the shootout, respectively, losing one point — and the chance to make it a really pleasant cross- continental flight.
“I think every time you have an opportunity to get two points — you’re not going to be there every night, but I think right now we’re playing good hockey and putting ourselves in a spot where we can get the two points,” said Lundqvist, who made 39 saves but remains winless in his past four starts going back to Thanksgiving Eve.
“Me personally, I want to be part of it and try to help get wins. It hasn’t bounced my way the last week or so, but I feel like I’m doing a lot of good things. Try to control what I can control.”
The only part of the game the Rangers didn’t really control was the second period, when the Ducks (14-15-4) outshot them 18-3. But despite a 2-0 lead turning into a 2-2 tie, Zibanejad opened the third by toasting Cam Fowler and jamming one past goalie John Gibson at 1:14 for a 3-2 lead. The Blueshirts had a great chance for a cushion on a power play midway through the third, but couldn’t generate much.
The lead lasted all the way until Brady Skjei took a tripping penalty late in the third and Lindholm’s shot from the slot snuck by Lundqvist’s blocker.
“We had a chance on the power play to kind of close it out, we don’t, and they capitalize on their power play,” said Zibanejad, now with 11 goals on the season. “We had some chances in overtime. But this one stings.”
Zibanejad opened the scoring on a breakaway 10 seconds into the game, and it was quickly followed by his partner in the Blueshirts’ dynamic duo, Artmei Panarin, getting his 19th of the season on a left- circle rifle. But after a Silfverberg power-play goal midway through the first, Lundqvist said he “played the percentage” by committing to stay with Adam Henrique as the former Devil came up the left side. When Henrique’s centering feed bounced out to the point, Lundqvist was wildly out of position and Erik Gudbranson easily shot one into the gaping net.
“Unfortunately it ended up on their stick,” Lundqvist said.
It was that hint of disappointment overriding what the Rangers know was a rather good trip. But they’re honestly trying to make the playoffs, so points in the standings are what really matter, and losing one at the end hurt. 1166391 New York Rangers Key moment(s) The Blueshirts didn't let a lackluster second period carry over into the
third. Postgame analysis: Shootout loss ends New York Rangers bid for back- Just 1:14 in, Zibanejad took a pass from Tony DeAngelo at the blue line to-backs wins and went straight toward Gibson, sneaking the puck by on the inside post to give the Rangers the lead back at 3-2.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano He's there when we need him. pic.twitter.com/2GKwTmzGnL
NHL writer — New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 14, 2019
Published 6:48 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 12:24 a.m. ET Dec. 15, Zibanejad entered the road trip with one goal in his previous five games, 2019 but he netted five goals over the course of the four-game trip.
"You're talking about arguably our best all-around player," Quinn said Friday. "Mika's hard on himself. He hasn't been really happy with the way ANAHEIM - The difference between a successful West Coast trip and a he's played since he's been back, but he's done a lot of good things. ... solid one was one minutes and 46 seconds. This guy is a true No. 1 center."
That's how close the New York Rangers were to getting out of the Honda Unfortunately for the Rangers, what looked like a decisive goal from Center with a win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday afternoon, which Zibanejad didn't quite hold up. would have resulted in their third win of the four-game trip. Brady Skjei took a tripping penalty with 3:11 left in regulation, and toward Instead, a late goal from Hampus Lindholm forced overtime, with the the end of the power play, Lindholm beat Lundqvist with a slap shot from Ducks coming away with a 4-3 shootout win. the point to tie it at 3-3 and force overtime.
"It's completely different," Mika Zibanejad said of how the team feels at "It was more the screen and it became a reaction shot," Lundqvist said. the end of the trip. "You win the game and you win three out of four here, "Most shots you read, but it became a reaction shot and I was just too it's a lot easier to kind of work on things and look at things when you're slow to pick it up." winning. I think when you lose, you kind of tend to focus on the negatives and what we have to do better to win the games." The Rangers had a few chances in overtime — including a close-range attempt from Zibanejad that would have sealed a hat trick — but the Zibanejad scored multiple goals for the second consecutive game, Ducks prevailed in the shootout, 2-1. including the go-ahead score early in the third period. (He was also the only Rangers to convert his opportunity in the shootout.) Caught my eye
It wasn't quite enough to will the Rangers back-to-back wins for the first Quinn has shown a tendency to rely heavily on his top three lines, but time since Nov. 25 and 27. They've now traded wins and losses for 10 that trend has been changing of late. consecutive games. (Although they technically got a point and finished His usage of all four lines was more even compared to earlier in the this four-game swing 2-1-1.) season, with every forward playing at least 11 minutes. (Chris Kreider "It is disappointing," coach David Quinn said. "We had an opportunity to started on the top line and actually finished with the lowest total at 11:04, end this on a really positive note. We ended it on disappointing note." with Quinn saying he's not hurt.)
The Rangers (16-12-4) started fast — really fast — with Zibanejad The lines looked more balanced, too. The third line of Greg McKegg, Filip scoring off the faceoff just 10 seconds into the game. Chytil and Jesper Fast remained intact for the second straight game, while Brendan Lemieux returned from his one game absence with an Good afternoon. pic.twitter.com/Ydbbncmjm2 upper-body injury to join the fourth line with Brett Howden and Brendan Smith. — New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 14, 2019 Neither of the bottom-two lines scored, but both had strong shifts in terms Less than four minutes later, Artemi Panarin took his turn padding his of offensive possession and neither line had a player finish with a totals. negative plus-minus rating. Ryan Strome gathered a loose puck on the boards and flicked a "We look a little bit deeper with those four lines," Quinn said. "Being the backhanded pass to Panarin, who pivoted and beat Ducks goalie John fourth game on the road in a four-game road trip, the third period, I really Gibson on the glove side. wanted to play four lines. That was part of the decision-making process. I It was the team-leading 19th goal of the season — and 42nd point — for thought all those lines were effective." the big free-agent prize. More takeaways from Vin Don't blink. pic.twitter.com/sOpvdDEf0u This is a perfect of example how fine the line can be between “things are — New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 14, 2019 great” and “the sky is falling” in sports. If the Rangers get an extra goal on one of their chances in the third period, or if Lundqvist is able to But as encouraging as the start was for the Rangers, they allowed the squeeze the shot from Lindholm, or if they scored in OT, or won in the Ducks to rally. shootout… things would be rosy. Instead, they came up painfully short, and the locker room felt somewhat dejected (as do the fans). Of course, Jakob Silfverberg capitalized on a power play 8:53 into the first period by there are plenty of areas where they can improve — we covered those tipping in a slap shot from Lindholm, but the best stretch for Anaheim earlier in the trip — and as far as the players go, it’s probably a good came in the second period. thing that they take these losses hard. They’re starting to expect more They outshot the Rangers 18-3 in the middle 20 minutes, which included out of themselves. “We’ve shown that we're capable of playing good the tying goal from Erik Gudbranson. Henrik Lundqvist had chased Adam hockey — it’s just sticking to it,” Zibanejad said. “Sometimes it is boring, Henrique too far out of the net, which left it wide open for Gudbranson. but it's going to pay off in the long run and that's what we have to stick to. … It would have been a great road trip.” "When I commit to him and he just holds on to it, I have two choices," Lundqvist said. "I let him go and he’ll probably go around the net, so I The guy who seemed most disappointed was Lundqvist. He was more have to attack him. And when he puts it in the middle, I’m obviously way upset at himself for the third goal at the end of regulation than the one out of position." where he was caught out of position in the second period. It seems to be weighing on him that he hasn't been a part of a win since Nov. 27, with Right place, right time for @Guddy44 to get his second of the season Alexandar Georgiev picking up both wins on this trip. "Right now we’re and tie this one up. #LetsGoDuckspic.twitter.com/98v82tagdJ playing good hockey, putting ourselves in a spot where we can get the — Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 14, 2019 two points," he said. "Personally, I want to be part of it and try to help get wins. It just hasn’t bounced my way the last week or so. I feel like I’m doing good things, and I try to control what I can control."
Not a bad time for @HampeLindholm to get his first goal of the season, since his parents Jonas and Petra were here at @HondaCenter, visiting from Sweden for the holidays.#LetsGoDuckspic.twitter.com/4Dl2gAWa2K
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 15, 2019
The easy reaction that some vocal fans are having is to pin this (shootout) loss solely on Lundqvist. The second and third goals were saves he could have made — or been in better position to make — which he was kicking himself for. It wasn't his best game, but anyone trying to spin it as a bad performance is kidding themselves. (Probably because fans fall in love with young players, like Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin, while magnifying mistakes from veterans.) Did you miss the other 39 saves he made? Or the way he stopped 17 of 18 shots during a poorly- played second period? Georgiev has certainly earned more time (although he only stopped 15 of the 18 shots he faced Thursday in San Jose), and I'm anxious to see Shesterkin in an NHL game. But don't twist the narrative. Goaltending has been the strength of this team through the first 32 games, and Lundqvist has been a big part of that. This wasn't a performance that warrants a benching, by any stretch.
Here's how Quinn evaluated Lundqvist. "Listen, he made some big saves for us," he said. "Knowing him the way I do, I know he probably wants to make one more save. He wants to get in a rhythm — we want to get him in a rhythm — and again, he made some big saves when we needed it. … I just wish we were able to play better in front of him in that second period."
Quinn was critical of the penalty kill, which has been better lately but gave up two goals Saturday. During one stretch in the second period, the Rangers took three penalties in a span of 2:32. And the Skjei penalty at the end of regulation led to the tying goal. "Special teams was the deciding factor," Quinn said. "We didn't finish killing the first one, and then we just kind of made a bad read on the initial rush. We've done a really good job killing that penalty, and we've talked about on the initial rush — absorbing the rush instead of jumping forward. If you're going to move forward, you better get the body or the puck and we got neither. It just kind of a tough shot — a little bit of a screen. … Unfortunately when we struggle on the PK, it seems to come in bunches within a game."
I'm heading out to catch the red-eye flight back to New York after a week on the West Coast. It's been fun, but I'm ready to go home. The Rangers kept it interesting, picking up five of a possible eight points. "We were ready to play," Quinn said. "We wanted six points. We really did. I guess taking five isn’t a bad trip. You always think about going .500, but you can’t do what everyone else is doing if you want to do something special. We almost got the sixth."
Bergen Record LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166392 New York Rangers While Chytil and Howden are similar in age, their development path will likely differ. Chytil has been more productive this season — especially offensively — with his jaw-dropping play Thursday serving as a notable reminder. NY Rangers projected lineup: Filip Chytil may be ready to break out of his slump “Even though he’s young, he’s big and he has good speed and he’s powerful when he gets there,” Fast said. “He’s getting better all the time. It’s very fun to watch him grow into this league.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano Projected lineup: Dec. 14 at Anaheim Ducks
NHL writer NOTE: This lineup could be subject to change. Quinn called defenseman Marc Staal "a game-time decision." Published 8:00 a.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 3:54 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019 Forwards
First line → Chris Kreider (LW) – Mika Zibanejad (C) – Pavel Buchnevich (RW) Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers skates away from Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on December 12, Second line → Artemi Panarin (LW) – Ryan Strome (C) – Kaapo Kakko 2019 in San Jose, California. (RW)
SAN JOSE – Filip Chytil received a no-look pass from Greg McKegg Third line → Greg McKegg (LW) – Filip Chytil (C) – Jesper Fast (RW) near center ice and turned on the jets. Fourth line → Brendan Lemieux (LW) – Brett Howden (C) – Brendan As he approached the San Jose Sharks’ net with Dylan Gambrell bearing Smith (RW) down on him, Chytil flipped the puck behind his own back and left Gambrell in the dust. Defense
Finally, once he had passed the goal line and drawn the defense, he First pair → Brady Skjei (L) and Jacob Trouba (R) pushed a backhanded pass through Mario Ferraro’s legs and right onto Second pair → Ryan Lindgren (L) and Adam Fox (R) teammate Jesper Fast’s stick. Third pair → Marc Staal (L) and Tony DeAngelo (R) “He found me there like he did with a beautiful pass, and I mean, I’ve got to thank him for that one,” Fast said with a smile. “It was kind of an easy Goalies goal.” Starter → Henrik Lundqvist That move & that pass from Chytil is giving me the chills#NYR | @NYRangerspic.twitter.com/B1Cmnos4HD Backup → Alexandar Georgiev
— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) December 13, 2019 Injured: Libor Hájek (knee)
The speed and skill of the 20-year-old center has never been questioned, Healthy scratch: Micheal Haley but his ability to adapt to the NHL game at such a young age has been. Game notes
His struggles during training camp were well-publicized, as was his How to watch/listen: 4 p.m. ET — TV: MSG Network, Radio: ESPN 98.7 triumphant return from AHL Hartford in late October. FM.
Chytil was placed on the second line with Chris Kreider and Pavel All-time series: 18-17-1-1 (11-7-1-0 at home; 7-10-0-1 on the road) Buchnevich for 13 consecutive games, netting seven goals in that span while re-energizing the Rangers’ lineup with Mika Zibanejad hurt. Quack attack: The Rangers have won eight of their last 10 games against the Ducks (8-2 record), dating back to Jan. 7, 2015, and have Since Zibanejad returned Nov. 27, Chytil has cooled off. He’s managed outscored Anaheim, 36-23, in the 10 contests. just two points (one goal and one assist) in the last nine games. Troubs: Jacob Trouba has 13 points (two goals and 11 assists) in 11 Chytil’s linemates have been changing constantly in those nine games, career games against the Ducks. Trouba’s 11 assists against Anaheim with Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Sharks marking the first time played are the most he has registered against one NHL opponent in his career, with Fast and McKegg. and his 13 points are tied for the most he has tallied against one “I thought he played really well last night,” Rangers coach David Quinn opponent in his career. He has registered an assist/point in each of his said. “That line was good for us, I thought, so he's been able to adapt.” last four games against the Ducks (six assists).
It sounds like Chytil will keep the same linemates for at least one more Smooth sailing on the Pacific: Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the game — Saturday in Anaheim at 4 p.m. against the Ducks — but the Blueshirts have posted a 49-22-10 record in 81 games against teams in Rangers ultimately want him to hold down a spot in their top six. the Pacific Division.
For now, Ryan Strome has been reinserted as the second-line center. Game notes provided by New York Rangers public relations coordinator The result has been four consecutive games in which Chytil’s ice-time Michael Rappaport. has not eclipsed 14:16 (including 11:42 Thursday), with a similar drop for Bergen Record LOADED: 12.15.2019 fellow young center Brett Howden.
“With those two guys, I think we’ve been a little bit misled because they've had so much ice-time early on in their careers,” Quinn said. “You’re talking about a 20- and 21-year-old, so if they're playing five or six minutes a night, that could be an issue. But 12-to-15 isn't. I think we all have to keep that in mind.”
Quinn acknowledged that one of the two could eventually be moved to the wing, specifically citing a game from last season in which he thought Howden played well there. But he also noted that by playing them in the bottom six “the game might be a little bit easier” because they won’t be matched up with opponents’ top lines.
“You want them to develop, but we want to win hockey games, too,” Quinn said. “We think we're in a position to compete for a playoff spot. That's our goal. And these guys are going to help us do that, but they’ve got to continue to play well.” 1166393 New York Rangers
Coach David Quinn disappointed in Rangers' penalty-killing unit
Jesper Fast of the Rangers and Hampus Lindholm Jesper Fast of the Rangers and Hampus Lindholm
By Colin Stephenson
Updated December 14, 2019 10:33 PM
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Two days after praising his team’s penalty killing unit, and assistant coach Lindy Ruff, who is in charge of that group, Rangers coach David Quinn was disappointed in his team’s man-down unit, which allowed two goals in three attempts.
“Well, we didn’t finish killing the first one, and then we just kind of made a bad read on the initial rush (on the second power play goal),’’ he said. “We had done a really good job killing that penalty, and (were) talking about on the initial rush (by the opponent), absorbing the rush, instead of moving forward. If you’re going to move forward, you better get the body or the puck, and we got neither.’’
Jesper Fast stepped up in the neutral zone on Rickard Rakell, and made minimal contact, not enough to knock him off the puck, or even prevent him from entering the zone. Rakell got around him and sent a pass to Hampus Lindholm, who beat Henrik Lundqvist with a slap shot from the top of the slot to tie it 3-3.
“It’s one of those things, you know?’’ Quinn said. “Unfortunately, when we struggle on the PK, it seems to come in bunches, within a game. On this one, it certainly didn’t help us tonight.’’
Quinn praises Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist, playing his second game on the trip and second game since Dec. 2, made 39 saves, many of them outstanding.
“He made some big saves for us,’’ Quinn said. “I know he probably wants to make one more. One more save. He wants to get into a rhythm; we want to get him into a rhythm, and, again, he made some big saves when we needed them . . . I just wish we were able to play better for him in that second period.’’
Blue notes
D Marc Staal was a game-time decision with a sore ankle, but he played. LW Brendan Lemieux returned to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game with an upper body injury. Micheal Haley was a healthy scratch . . . In the third period, Quinn shuffled his lines, and ended up dropping Chris Kreider to the fourth line, with Brett Howden and Brendan Smith.
Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166394 New York Rangers
Rangers lose in a shootout to Ducks to complete western road trip
Ondrej Kase of the Anaheim Ducks scores in Ondrej Kase of the Anaheim Ducks scores in
By Colin Stephenson
Updated December 14, 2019 8:53 PM
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Two minutes away from closing out what would have been a fabulous West Coast road trip, the bubble burst for the Rangers.
Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm scored a power play goal with 1:46 remaining in regulation to force overtime, and Jacob Silfverberg netted the winner in the fourth round of the shootout to hand the Rangers a crushing 4-3 loss that ended their four-game swing through Las Vegas and California on a down note.
“We had an opportunity to end this on a really positive note, and we ended it on a disappointing note,’’ Rangers coach David Quinn said after his team completed a 2-1-1 trip. “We wanted six points. We really did. We wanted six points. And I guess, taking five [out of a possible eight] isn’t a bad trip.’’
The Rangers were especially frustrated because they led the game after 10 seconds, led 2-0 by the four-minute mark, and led 3-2 on Mika Zibanejad’s second goal 1:14 into the third period. But their penalty kill, which had preserved a one-goal lead late in Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Sharks in San Jose, failed them this time, allowing two power play goals in three attempts. The second came when Brady Skjei was sent off for tripping with 3:11 to go, and Lindholm beat Henrik Lundqvist with a screened slap shot from the top of the slot to tie it at 3.
Zibanejad, who was denied a hat trick by a John Gibson save on his point-blank shot in overtime, was especially frustrated.
“We lost a 2-0 lead, lost a 3-2 [lead],’’ Zibanejad said. “We had a chance on the power play to kind of close it out, we don’t. They capitalize on their power play . . . This one stings.’’
Zibanejad, who scored two goals against the Sharks, had opened the scoring on the first shift of the game, capitalizing on a horrendous giveaway by Anaheim’s Josh Manson to come in on a breakaway against Gibson and score on a backhand shot. Artemi Panarin’s 19th goal of the season made it 2-0 at 3:59, but Silfverberg scored on the Ducks’ first power play at 8:53 of the first period and the Ducks were back in the game.
They tied it at 2 when Lundqvist gambled and lost as he came out of his net to challenge Adam Henrique, coming in from the left. Henrique didn’t shoot, though, and, as Lundqvist came all the way out, beyond the goal post and way out of the blue paint, Henrique threw the puck back in the middle, where Erik Gudbranson retrieved it and fired it into an empty net at 1:02 of the second period.
“When I commit to (Henrique) and he just holds on to it, I have two choices there: Let him go, and he’ll probably go around the net and get an empty net. So I have to attack him,’’ said Lundqvist, who made 39 saves. “And then when he puts it in the middle, I’m obviously way out of position.’’
In the shootout, the Rangers went first and Panarin was stopped by Gibson. Lundqvist stopped Rickard Rakell (three assists) and then Zibanejad scored to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the tiebreaker. When Lundqvist stopped Max Comtois, Tony DeAngelo had the chance to win it for the Rangers. But he was foiled by Gibson, and Ondrej Kase scored to force a fourth round. Kaapo Kakko’s shot was kicked out by Gibson, and Silfverberg scored on the next shot to win it.
Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166395 New York Rangers David Quinn elevated him to the top six forwards, the No. 2 pick overall in the NHL draft this summer has looked a lot more lively, and after passing up a couple opportunities to shoot the puck early in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Kings in L.A., the Finn flipped the switch and started firing from For the Rangers, the question is: Will Alexander Georgiev's future be on everywhere. He ended up with a team high eight shots on goal that night. Broadway or elsewhere? Kakko said he was frustrated by the one shift early in the game where he passed up a chance for a shot, hoping for a better shot, then passed up a second chance for a shot, then ended up taking a weak slap shot from By Colin Stephenson the blue line that was easily saved. After that shift, he just decided he Updated December 14, 2019 5:08 PM had to be more aggressive.
“The boys on the bench, and maybe ‘Quinnie’ said, ‘Just shoot the puck,’’’ he said. “Yeah, I should shoot, and I didn’t do that. Maybe, I think Alexandar Georgiev has had an excellent season for the Rangers so far, before games, I should shoot more. And it’s coming.’’ establishing himself as a quality goaltender who looks like a player that will have a nice, long career in the NHL. The question the Rangers have Quinn was certainly pleased with the attitude, and Gorton, speaking to ask themselves is: Will Georgiev’s future be on Broadway or about Kakko early in the week, said Kakko, who overall had six goals, elsewhere? eight assists, 14 points, in 29 games entering Saturday, is doing well in his first NHL season. There had been speculation for the last few weeks that Georgiev, who has appeared in 58 career NHL games, might be sent down to the minor “Having two teenagers, I can relate to how hard it must be to walk into leagues before he reached game No. 60, at which point he would need to the best league in the world and make an impact,’’ Gorton said. “And I pass through waivers in order to be sent down. But general manager Jeff think that, definitely, before he got sick (Kakko missed two games with Gorton shut that speculation down Monday when he said Georgiev, 23, the flu, Nov. 14 and 16) he was really coming on. And now I feel, again, had “played well enough to be here.’’ The Bulgarian-born Georgiev, who he’s starting to come back again.’’ grew up in Moscow, is 9-5-1 this season, with a 2.69 goals-against Kakko, who is staying with a billet family near the Rangers’ Westchester average, .923 save percentage and two shutouts. County practice facility, said his parents are not coming over for The question now is whether his standout play means he will stay with Christmas. As of right now, he has no special plans for the holiday, and the Rangers, or fetch a handsome return when he is traded away to a the three-day NHL break surrounding it. team in need of goaltending help, such as the San Jose Sharks, whom “I think I’m just with my billet family,’’ he said. “Or maybe going to Smitty’s he beat, 6-3, on Thursday. (Brendan Smith) house. He asked me. So maybe.’’ The Rangers’ goaltending situation, and his place in it, is a touchy Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.15.2019 subject with Georgiev, an undrafted free agent who was signed by the Rangers after a tryout in 2017.
“What is it?’’ Georgiev said, with a straight face, when asked about his place in the Rangers’ goalie hierarchy. “I don’t know what the goalie situation is.’’
Entering the season, Georgiev appeared to be the man in the middle in the Rangers organization, sandwiched between franchise icon Henrik Lundqvist and another 23-year-old goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, who was drafted in 2014 to be Lundqvist’s heir apparent. Shesterkin, who came to North America for the first time this year, is dominating the AHL with the Rangers’ Hartford Wolf Pack farm team. On Friday, he earned his second shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over Lehigh Valley, and he entered Saturday with a record of 11-3-3, with a league-leading 1.81 GAA and .936 save percentage that was second-best in the 31-team league.
Georgiev claims to be totally ignorant of what Shesterkin is doing.
“I just – I’m in my own bubble, I guess,’’ Georgiev said. “Just improve on my last season, be better every day. The rest, I don’t really try to pay attention to it.’’
Gorton said the Rangers tell their prospects to play well and let the Rangers make the decisions as to who ends up where. But since two is company and three is a crowd, as far as hockey goalies are concerned – and because Lundqvist, who is under contract for this year and next at a salary cap hit of $8.5 million, isn’t going anywhere – it seems that the Rangers are going to have to choose between Georgiev and Shesterkin at some point. That point could be the Feb. 24 trade deadline, when it’s possible Georgiev, who is in the final year of his three-year entry level NHL contract, could be moved to a playoff contender in need of a goaltender.
Georgiev insists he’s not thinking about any of that. And he said he’s not reading any of the speculation about his future.
“No. I’m trying not to read any of the stuff,’’ he said. “I used to read quite a bit. The last, maybe, year, not really. Whatever happens, I’ll hear it from the guys, right? So, no point to really focus on anything like that.
“I mean, obviously, I want to have a great season and show that I’m the guy to trust in the net.’’
Kakko making positive strides
Entering Saturday’s road trip finale in Anaheim, 18-year-old Kaapo Kakko hadn’t scored a goal since Nov. 12, a span of 13 games. But since coach 1166396 New York Rangers All that matters is they got one, and the only way to get one is to lose in overtime or in a shootout.
“Yeah, it’s a little ironic,” Rangers coach David Quinn said about the Shootouts ruin everything: What could have been a great Rangers trip mood change. “It’s just, you would have liked to come out with two goes sour at the end points. You wish it didn’t get to the shootout. You know, we’ll be looking back at it, looking at some situations that we should have been better in, and some of was definitely self-inflicted.”
By Rick Carpiniello So many of the players who spilled sweat, some of whom spilled blood, didn’t even participate in the deciding gimmick. Heck, the coach puts out Dec 14, 2019 his shooters and sits back like the rest of us.
The Rangers will, though, now put most of the blame on themselves for ANAHEIM, Calif. — It could have been a rollicking flight home for the that second period, for letting it go to overtime. So they go W -L-W-L-W-L- Rangers, some deserved laughter, perhaps an adult beverage or two. W-L-W-L in their last 10 games, with two of the losses bearing loser’s points. Could have been. Maybe not should have been. “I think it was just, the puck management from our side was just not But whether the Rangers’ charter flight across the continent was a mini- good,” Zibanejad said. “I really believe in this group. When we were celebration, or whether it was funereal, came down to a shootout, and playing our game — obviously, teams are going to get the momentum this is why I’ve always disliked the shootout. It truly is a crappy way to and whatnot, but I think we’re feeding into it a little too much. When we decide a hockey game that was hard-played — and God knows, not clean that up, I think it’s going to look a little bit different than the win one, perfect — for 65 minutes. Those 65 minutes were hockey, even the lose one. So we’ve got to clean that up and just realize what we are and novelty-act five minutes of three-on-three sudden death. what we do when we’re good.
The skills competition is not hockey and should have no bearing on how “We don’t make it easy on ourselves. We make it hard. And we make it the winner or loser feels about its performance. real easy for them. So that’s something we’ve got to stop doing, and it’s all up to ourselves. I mean, we’ve shown we’re capable of playing good In fact, when the shootout replaced the — heaven forbid! — tied-score hockey. It’s just sticking to it. Sometimes it’s boring, but it’s going to pay result, a loss wasn’t supposed to feel like a loss. It was supposed to feel off in the long run and that’s what we need to stick to.” like a tie, with each team getting the same point it would have received from a tie but the winner grabbing a bonus point. And no ties. Quinn did think the players (and himself) ought to be feeling bad about the result, and the game. But what happened, immediately and in an ever-growing manner, is that a shootout loss began to feel like a loss. It alters how the team that “Yes, I do,” he said. “It is disappointing. We had an opportunity to end played to a 65-minute tie feels about its performance. So fans don’t want this (trip) on a real positive note. We ended it on a disappointing note.” ties? I get that. But do shootout losers wish they had gotten a tie? You bet. Said Lundqvist: “I think we had a little more turnovers in the second, both in our own end and around their blue line, and that’s why they kept The Rangers played well enough to win the last game of their four-city coming back at us. A lot of big chances just from our mistakes. But we Western trip and also did plenty enough to lose it. A win, and they’re managed to get out of the period 2-2. We put ourselves in a pretty good flying home with a 3-1 trip through Vegas, Los Angeles, San Jose and spot, 2-2 on the road and Mika scores another big goal. So right now, it’s Anaheim. In the pre-shootout days, a tie would have left them with the very disappointing.” same 2-1-1 record they had but not going home with a loss. The coach, though, liked the way the Rangers stopped the bleeding — They went home with a loss because of a four-round 4-3 shootout loss to he’s said this a lot lately — and the way they’ve finally figured out how to the Ducks. not collapse from in-game adversity, how to hit the brakes and reset, which they did with a solid third period. “Yeah, but it’s completely different,” said Mika Zibanejad, who was so brilliant in the final two games of the trip with four goals, plus the only All that mattered is the result, and how it felt. Rangers goal in the skills competition (Artemi Panarin, Tony DeAngelo and Kaapo Kakko were stopped). “This one stings,” Zibanejad said.
“You win the game and you win three out of four here. It’s a lot easier to Thoughts work on things and kind of look at things when you’re winning. I think 1. Lundqvist’s frustration is visible. His past four starts — interrupted by a when you lose, you kind of tend to focus on the negatives and what we back issue that had Alexandar Georgiev start three in a row — have have to do better to win the games. In the case we win a shootout, we’re resulted in four losses, one in overtime and now one in a shootout. positive in here. It would have been a great road trip, and now it happened not to be. So that’s unfortunate.” “If you come up with the last save in the shootout or on the tying goal … with some puck luck, you get a win. Right now, I’m not getting that extra Again, there were plenty of negatives, mostly in the second period and bounce to get a win,” he said. on the penalty kill. Zibanejad (10 seconds after the national anthem) and Panarin — who else? — had the Rangers up 2-0 before four minutes had One of the goals was a gamble by him, and it backfired. been played. The Rangers allowed a power-play goal before the first period ended, then had one of those periods that have been all too “Listen, he made some big saves for us,” Quinn said. “Knowing him the common this season, with the ice terribly tilted and Henrik Lundqvist way I do, he wants to make one more save. He wants to get into a under siege. They got out of that with the score tied somehow, and rhythm, we want to get him into a rhythm. He made some big saves Zibanejad scored again 1:14 into the third, but the Ducks tied it on the when we needed him. It could have been 3-2, 4-2 in that second period. I power play again with 1:46 left. The OT was typically crazy, with Adam just wish we could have played better for him in that second period.” Fox and Zibanejad again having great chances to win it. Then came the 2. From an entertainment standpoint, this was about 1,000 times better decisive shootout. And the complexion of the Rangers’ road trip, and than the game in Los Angeles. Though the Rangers didn’t have the same their trip home, changed. type of, or number of, defensive lapses in L.A. “If you win, a win is a win,” Lundqvist said after allowing crazy-good goals 3. Hearing that goalie Igor Shesterkin was lights-out again for Hartford on to Ondrej Kase and Jakob Silfverberg in the shootout. Friday and even attempted to score a goal at the end of the game. “I thought we battled against a team that played pretty physical. At times, 4. Ten seconds into the game, Josh Manson had the puck along the it was really good and at times we just had to battle, and that’s what you boards and threw it to the middle of the ice. The only player there was do a lot of games. It’s not going to be perfect. We managed to, again, put Zibanejad, who dipsy-doodled goalie John Gibson and found the net. 1-0. ourselves in that position to earn two points. So that’s the good thing. A minute later, another hideous turnover, and Panarin nearly made it a The disappointing thing is we didn’t get the two.” two-goal lead.
SLICK BACKHANDER, MIKA. PIC.TWITTER.COM/E0AHEPP9XX — NHL (@NHL) DECEMBER 14, 2019 HE'S THERE WHEN WE NEED HIM. PIC.TWITTER.COM/2GKWTMZGNL 5. The Rangers’ team record for the fastest goal to start a game, by the way, is nine seconds (Ron Duguay on April 6, 1980, at Philadelphia and — NEW YORK RANGERS (@NYRANGERS) DECEMBER 14, 2019 Jim Wiemer on March 27, 1985, at Buffalo). And, yes, I was at both games. 17. Quinn Bin: Quinn shuffled his lines, naturally, after the storm in the second, and that included another demotion for Pavel Buchnevich — 6. Lundqvist had to make a big pad save on Hampus Lindholm early on. who had two great scoring chances in the third. He then dropped Chris Would have been a tough spot to give one up given the fast start. Kreider down to the fourth line. Part of the reasoning, the coach said, was he wanted to play four lines in the third period of the last game of the 7. Daily Bread: Gibson, from behind the net, turned over the puck with a trip, and he felt Kreider gave the lines more balance. But he clearly also pass up the wall. Ryan Strome was there to pick it off and quickly wasn’t thrilled with Kreider’s game. chipped it to Panarin, who snapped it past Gibson. 2-0. His 19th. To the delight of a large Rangers contingent in the half-empty arena. 18. Lundqvist was superb in the third, too, and after a colossal breakdown by the Rangers, he robbed Manson in the slot with just over DON'T BLINK. PIC.TWITTER.COM/SOPVDDEF0U four minutes left. Skjei, though, went to the box with 3:11 left and, as was — NEW YORK RANGERS (@NYRANGERS) DECEMBER 14, 2019 the case in San Jose, the Rangers’ PK was faced with a huge, late kill. And with 1:46 left, the Ducks tied it. Jesper Fast missed a hit on Lindholm 8. Panarin’s career high in goals is 31 in 2016-17, with Chicago. He’s on at the blue line, which allowed Lindholm to step to the middle of the ice pace for 48 or 49 goals this season. And 108 points. His career high in for a blast that Lundqvist picked up late because of the traffic in front of points is 87, two seasons ago with Columbus. He is so good. Even on him. 3-3. the empty-netter in San Jose for the hat trick, he made a really smart defensive play to get the puck, then fired a bull’s-eye from 100-plus feet. “We just kind of made a bad read on the initial rush,” Quinn said. “We Some of his power-play entries are just sublime. were doing a really good job killing that penalty, and we’ve talked about the initial rush, absorbing the rush instead of jumping forward. And if 9. Fox took a penalty, and the Rangers were tested big-time by the you’re going to move forward, you better get the body or the puck, and Anaheim power play … and didn’t do very well with it. Lundqvist we (Fast) got neither. It was kind of a tough shot, too. It was a little bit of appeared to have lost the puck a number of times while the Ducks a screen. One of those things. Unfortunately, when we struggle on the whipped it around and fired shot after shot. Eventually, Jakob Silfverberg PK, it seems to come in bunches in a game. This one certainly didn’t help deflected a Lindholm shot past Lundqvist. 2-1. us tonight.”
10. After a really strong Rangers power play, Lundqvist had to stop 19. At the buzzer, Lindholm sent a 90-foot shot on goal and Lundqvist Silfverberg streaking down the middle, then Troy Terry in close to keep emphatically punted it away, obviously annoyed. the lead. The Rangers followed with a couple of great chances, one a Brady Skjei shot that rolled through the crease behind Gibson, one by In OT, Gibson stopped a Fox breakaway and Zibanejad with a great Brett Howden at the post. attempt for the hat trick.
11. My Great Aunt Tillie Could Have Scored: Just 1:02 into the second, 20. This was the best thing that happened in sports this weekend: Adam Henrique, who probably still gives Lundqvist nightmares (2012 SEVEN YEARS TO THE DAY SINCE THE TRAGIC NEWTOWN Eastern Conference final) cut toward the left post. Lundqvist aggressively SCHOOL SHOOTING, THE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM WINS A came out to challenge him. Too aggressively. Lundqvist slid out of the TITLE. CHILLS. HTTPS://T.CO/ETQN4XPD39 net and Henrique’s pass deflected back to Erik Gudbranson, who was uncovered at the right point, not that it mattered. He had an empty net in — MATTHEW GUTIERREZ (@MATTHEWGUT21) DECEMBER 14, which to fire the tying goal. 2-2. 2019
“When I commit to him and he just holds onto it, I have two choices — to My Three Rangers Stars let him go and probably he will go around the net and put it into an empty net,” Lundqvist said. “So I have to attack him, and when he puts it in the Mika Zibanejad. middle, I’m obviously way out of position. I kind of played the percentage Henrik Lundqvist. there, let him go around the net or hope for a clear in front. Unfortunately, it ended up on their sticks.” Artemi Panarin.
12. At the end of a terribly long shift, and a difficult change by the The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 Rangers, Ryan Getzlaf went between his legs and set up a doorstep tip that Lundqvist stopped. The game had clearly turned, and the Rangers needed to find a way to turn it back.
13. They didn’t. Strome and Panarin were battling for a puck outside the defensive blue line when Sam Steel came out of it with a breakaway on which Marc Staal slashed his stick, probably preventing a goal but also setting up a Ducks power play. Then the Rangers got a break during the kill when Jesper Fast tackled Lindholm and went down, somehow drawing simultaneous holding penalties. It really could and should have been a five-on-three for Anaheim. After the power play expired, Ryan Lindgren went to the box for tripping Steel. Brendan Smith flipped one into the stands, and the four officials met and determined it had deflected — otherwise, it would have been a 1:51 five-on-three. Somehow, with a glove save by Lundqvist on Troy Terry, the Rangers survived the whole sequence with the score still tied.
14. But the Anaheim chances kept coming, and when the Rangers had an opportunity to stop the onslaught, Kaapo Kakko, with a chance to fire one from inside the right circle, instead tried a wish-pass that, of course, failed.
15. The Mighty Ducks outshot Rangers 18-3 that period and attempted 32 shots. And, yeah, we’ve seen this before. It was 2-2 after two.
16. Sure enough, 1:14 into the third, Tony DeAngelo sprung Zibanejad on a break around Cam Fowler (remember him?). Zibanejad roasted him, outmuscled him and put a forehand through Gibson for his fourth goal in two games. 3-2. “He’s really starting to find his groove and looks like he did before the injury,” Quinn said. 1166397 Ottawa Senators lead. Earlier, Duclair opened the scoring by firing the puck past Merzlikins at 2:18.
“Duke’s been good for us all year,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. “I don’t GARRIOCH GAME REPORT: Anthony Duclair sparkles as Sens top think it matters against his own club, I don’t think he’s that kind of kid. I Blue Jackets in OT just think he wants to help his own team.
Just one more time. In case you didn’t already know.
Bruce Garrioch *ahem*
December 14, 2019 5:58 PM EST SIGN
ANTHONY
SENATORS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3 (OT) DUCLAIR
They say revenge is a dish best served cold. OTTAWA
But, in this case, Anthony Duclair did it with his sizzling-hot stick. SENATORS. https://t.co/n3cuki54gH
Give a tip of the cap to Duclair for completing his third career hat trick — Brian Fraser (@brianpfraser) December 14, 2019 with the overtime winner against his former team by firing home a one- “He’s getting a lot more opportunity here. He’s proven that he continues timer on the power play as the Ottawa Senators downed the Columbus to score and when you need goals Duke’s the guy you go to. What I’ve Blue Jackets 4-3 in front of 11,020 at the Canadian Tire Centre on liked about him is his work ethic has seriously improved, he’s very Saturday afternoon. responsive, he’s a good teammate, he’s a team-first guy. It’s great when Connor Brown also scored for the Senators, who moved their record to 9- a guy like him has success because other guys pull for him.” 5-0 at home as Duclair scored his 18th of the season at 1:56 of OT with The Senators didn’t have any luck on the review front at their own end of Alexander Wennberg in the box for slashing. the ice, either. Though initially it looked as if Nilsson had made a brilliant “That was pretty good,” said Duclair, who was acquired in the deal that stop on Atkinson, a check of the video in the National Hockey League’s sent forward Ryan Dzingel to the Jackets at last February’s trade situation room revealed the puck and Nilsson’s glove had both crossed deadline. “I’m just happy I played well. Our line, since the first period, we the goal-line. were hard on the forecheck and we played the game the right way. AN ODD FIGHT “It got away from us in the second and third, but it was nice to get the There was an incident five minutes into the first when Mark Borowiecki win. I was only there for 15 or 20 games, but there’s motivation playing accidentally caught Columbus’ Sonny Milano with a check just as he was ex-teammates for sure.” falling to the ice along the boards. While the Senators looked as if they were in control of this one, the Blue In this case, Borowiecki tried to hold up his hit. Jackets poured it on in the third period and erased a two-goal deficit on the strength of two goals by Alexandre Texier. Columbus, which kept While Milano was knocked out, Borowiecki, who has a history of Ottawa netminder Anders Nilsson busy with 20 shots in the third, also got concussions, checked on him right away. A wobbly Milano, who was a first-period goal from Cam Atkinson. playing his 100th NHL game, had to be helped to the dressing room and didn’t return. With the Senators on their heels in the third, Texier completed the comeback for the Jackets when he beat Nilsson with a shot from the slot On the ensuing faceoff, Borowiecki was challenged to a fight by at 11:31. Columbus winger Josh Anderson. It was nice of Borowiecki to accept Anderson’s invitation, but it really shouldn’t have been necessary. Texier had pulled the Jackets within a goal at 4:44 of the third when he Nothing was done on purpose here. fired the puck by Nilsson from in front. Make no mistake, the Senators weren’t pleased with their third-period effort because this game really “I didn’t really look at it after, it was unfortunate,” Smith said. “You could should have never got to OT. tell the way (Borowiecki) was when (Milano) went down, he went there to hit the guy and I don’t think it was meaningful. “You can’t take your foot off the gas in this league,” said Nilsson, who made 38 stops, including a beauty on Atkinson in OT. “Every single “Boro’s just an honest guy. They’ve got to do what they’ve got to do and player in this league is good enough to score goals so it can’t be an Boro stuck up for himself. I don’t know how much more I’m going to say. excuse to take the foot off the gas because we’re up by two goals. Boro’s that kind of player and he felt he had to do that for himself.”
“We need to be able to continue to play at 100 per cent effort level. It Anderson played the rest of the first period, but also left the game, which was a good lesson for us and I’m just glad we came out with the two meant the Jackets finished with 10 forwards. points in the end.” OFF TO THE SUNSHINE STATE Rookie goalie Elvis Merzlikins started for Columbus, but head coach John Tortorella decided he’d seen enough after Merzlikins allowed two The Senators headed straight to Florida after this one Saturday night with goals on eight shots in the first period. Joonas Korpisalo, who had their dads along for the fathers’ trip. stopped 25 shots in a 1-0 shutout against the Senators in Ohio on Nov. They’ll skate Sunday in Florida to prepare to face the Panthers on 25, took over to begin the second. Monday and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, and Smith noted the Not long after Nilsson made a huge stop on Atkinson on a 2-on-0 break, players are excited to have their dads along. Brown scored his fifth goal of the season to give Ottawa a 3-1 lead. He “It’s great and it provides energy,” Smith said. “You get to this point and skated in alone and was able to slide the puck through Korpisalo’s legs at you’re in that 30-to-50-game mark, and you get an opportunity to input 8:17 of the second period. some energy with the fathers being here for (these) three games.
The Senators had to be pleased with where they stood after 40 minutes, “It’s always special to play in front of your family and to have them including a 20-18 advantage in shots on net. There was no shortage of around to experience the NHL is great.” entertainment in this one, particularly during a high-powered first period. Smith, 42, never had the opportunity to take his late father on a trip, but Not only did the Senators pull out to a 2-1 lead on Duclair’s two goals, he would have loved that chance while he was a player. but it could have been worse for the Jackets if Ottawa had not had another potential goal waved off after a video review determined that “My dad would have loved it,” Smith said. “They live it every day, and winger Nick Paul was offside before he beat Merzlikins with a shot. then to be on the plane and then see the day-to-day, and I’ll let them come in on the meetings and just be a part of the NHL for a day, a lot of That came not long after Duclair one-timed a pass by Artem Anisimov by these parents, right from when these kids were young, Mom and Dad Merzlikins for his 17th of the season at 12:05, giving the Senators a 2-1 watch every shift. To be behind the scenes for a week is great.” “Duke’s been good for us all year. He’s certainly found his groove.”#Sens head coach D.J. Smith discusses today’s OT win over the Blue Jackets at @CdnTireCtr pic.twitter.com/60HHYM9t4N
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 14, 2019
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS
With the Jackets coming off an ugly 1-0 OT loss to the Penguins on Thursday, coach John Tortorella was asked before facing the Senators if his club was at a crossroads.
“You’re not going to get me into the doom and gloom of, ‘S–t, if we lose (Saturday), oh my God,’ ” Tortorella said. “The most important thing for our team is we have to take it one game at a time. We have a lot of things going on our with our club. You want to win now, but I also have to realize, and I’m in total communication with (GM) Jarmo Kekalainen, you have to look at the future, too.
“That’s just the lay of the land with our team right now. That doesn’t let anybody off the hook as far as trying to win games. My biggest problem the last couple of days is the total lack of energy in our room. It’s unacceptable.”
Tortorella didn’t like the effort in Pittsburgh and sounded disgusted.
“You put a uniform on, you play as hard as you possibly can,” Tortorella said. “That’s something you can control, and there’s a lot of things you can’t control in this game, but that’s something you can control. I don’t care how old or how young the player is, that’s something that should be there all the time when you put a uniform on in the NHL.”
THE LAST WORDS
The Senators recalled defenceman Andreas Englund from their AHL affiliate in Belleville on Saturday with defenceman Dylan DeMelo injured. Englund was a scratch against the Jackets, but will likely see action in Florida. “He’s a big, strong guy that defends,” Smith said. “I watched him (Friday) night a little bit with Belleville. He’s certainly one of the harder working guys and he does what the coaches ask of him. It’s always good to have a seventh guy here.” … During an interview Friday, GM Pierre Dorion didn’t shed much light on the approach with unrestricted free agents before the deadline. The club has to make decisions on the likes of Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ron Hainsey, DeMelo, Tyler Ennis, Vladislav Namestnikov, Cody Goloubef and Borowiecki. “We’ve learned from our past experiences,” Dorion said. “We have a lot of potential UFAs and we’re going to keep things in-house.” … Duclair is only the third player in franchise history to complete a hat trick in OT. Bob Kudelski did it in Winnipeg in on Nov. 5, 1993 and Pageau did it against the New York Rangers in Round 2 of the 2017 playoffs. … Lajoie played a total of 3:52, with only eight shifts. He pretty much sat most of the second and third, but was on the ice for the OT power play. Nikita Zaitsev (26:53), Hainsey (26:29) and Thomas Chabot (26:23) were the top three in ice time among the blueliners while Borowiecki was at 22:23 even after serving a five- minute major for his fight. … Brown on getting the two points: “There’s lots to learn from that game. We sat back and kind of threw the puck away in that third, and they kind of took it to us. In our building, with the matchups, we should be able to close that one out.” [email protected]
Twitter.com/sungarrioch
#Senators apologists will be excited as OT win over struggling Blue Jackets gives their team, which finished 31st last year and 30th the year before, a firm grip on 28th place this evening. Attendance was announced at 11,020, well below Ottawa's league low average of 11,591 #NHL
— Don Brennan (@SunDoniB) December 14, 2019
Ottawa Sun LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166398 Ottawa Senators DeMelo, who grew up in London, Ont., plays more of a stay-at-home style but has shown flashes of his ability to make plays. Like this highlight-reel pass to Artem Anisimov in Monday’s win against the Boston Bruins. Dylan DeMelo’s injury highlights exactly why the Senators should re-sign him It’s one of the prettier examples of the type of heady plays DeMelo makes often, although it’s also important to distinguish that he doesn’t play a high-risk, high-reward style, either, and won’t force a stress pass if it’s not there. Hailey Salvian Like Smith said, DeMelo does a lot of little things that go unnoticed, Dec 14, 2019 perhaps because they are simply the right play. For example, against Montreal on Wednesday, he got caught between two Canadiens players on an odd-man rush and effectively used his stick to take away the pass It’s not the X-ray that Pierre Dorion and Co. wanted to see. and seemed to make Tomas Tatar hesitate shooting an open shot. The Senators got the puck back, and Montreal did not score on the play. But now, a small broken bone in Dylan DeMelo’s right hand sustained in Wednesday night’s 3-2 overtime loss in Montreal is shedding light on one It might seem like an obvious defensive play. It’s well known in those of the Ottawa Senators’ biggest weaknesses. scenarios that the lone defender should always take away the pass and let the goaltender take the shot. But contrast DeMelo’s play to another The injury is significant not only because of the right-shot defenceman’s odd-man rush on Monday against the Bruins and you’ll see two different consistent and reliable play to start the season but also because it outcomes. highlights just how thin the Senators are at the position. THAT’S ABOUT AS OPEN AS IT GETS “(He’s) maybe the most underrated player on our team,” D.J. Smith said. PIC.TWITTER.COM/7I5WV5UF3R “Certainly in the league I don’t think a lot of people realize how stable he is back there. He just breaks up a lot of plays you just don’t notice.” — SPITTIN' CHICLETS (@SPITTINCHICLETS) DECEMBER 10, 2019
The Senators coach said the team will need to adopt a “next-man-up A lot went wrong positionally in that sequence, so it’s not a direct mentality,” starting with Max Lajoie, who will start just his fourth game this comparison, but on that two-on-one, Zaitsev was caught in no-man’s season — and his first since Dec. 4 — Saturday afternoon against the land, then fell for David Pastrnak’s shot fake, leaving Patrice Bergeron Columbus Blue Jackets. wide open. The Bruins scored.
Lajoie skated in practice on the third pair with Cody Goloubef, who was a It’s the little things DeMelo does that make him so underrated and healthy scratch until Nov. 5 as the Senators’ seventh defenceman and important to the Senators. His best trait is probably that he makes his has played in only six games this season. Lajoie has averaged 8:55 of defensive partners better, no matter with whom he’s been paired. ice time through three games, while Goloubef has averaged 12:53. To start the season, he was mostly paired with Mark Borowiecki, who is Presumably, with the injury and the current third pairing, Smith is going to on pace to have a career year with 10 points through 32 games. rely on his top four defencemen — Thomas Chabot, Ron Hainsey, Mark Borowiecki credited his partnership with DeMelo for his strong play. Borowiecki and Nikita Zaitsev — quite heavily. “We both think the game in a fairly similar way. We try to play it safe. And in Belleville, there aren’t many options for the Senators to chose We’re not afraid to get up in the play and for whatever reason, we’ve from if Lajoie doesn’t work out. The Senators have three contracted gelled,” Borowiecki said in November, when the pair was still together. players in the AHL who could be recalled: Erik Brannstrom, Christian “He’s really helped me settle my game down and I’ve really, really Jaros and Andreas Englund. enjoyed playing with him. A huge shoutout to him for helping me find my game this year and, hopefully, we’ve got a few more to come together.” Just last week the Senators assigned Brannstrom to Belleville a day after being a healthy scratch and a stretch of games that saw his ice time DeMelo was also paired with Brannstrom before he got sent down and decrease. In 23 games in Ottawa, the gifted offensive defensemen had seemed to be a steadying presence for the 20-year-old. In just under 60 only two assists. minutes played together, DeMelo and Brannstrom had only a 1.35 expected-goals against rating compared to the 2.34 Brannstrom had The 20-year-old Swede is going to need time to work on his game in the when paired with Hainsey. AHL — much longer than the three games he’s played since being sent down, and because of that, it’s unlikely he’ll be called up anytime soon. And more prominently, DeMelo has made Chabot better. That leaves Englund and Jaros, who don’t appear to be 100 percent ready for the NHL quite yet. The Athletic’s Graeme Nichols did a deep dive early in the season on the Senators’ defensive pairings, which mostly looked like this: However, with the Senators going on the road for a back-to-back against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, they might need to call Chabot — Zaitsev up either Englund or Jaros just to be safe. Brannstrom — Hainsey Because he is a right-handed shot, Jaros is a front-runner for a potential Borowiecki — DeMelo recall. But Smith has some flexibility, as Ron Hainsey is able to play on either side if they opt to recall Englund. The numbers in Graeme’s piece indicated that Chabot was struggling with Zaitsev. From a purely offensive standpoint, Chabot had 22 points in Still, the injury to DeMelo highlights how thin the organization is when it the first 17 games last season playing with DeMelo. He had 10 points in comes to established NHL defenceman (they have five reliable players) 17 games this season while playing alongside Zaitsev. and also how important it is that the team re-signs DeMelo, who becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Smith started tinkering with the defensive pairings last month and reunited Chabot and DeMelo. They looked good together, and the DeMelo was originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks 179th in 2011 and numbers back up the eyeball test. was part of the package sent to Ottawa in exchange for Erik Karlsson. At only a $900,000 cap hit, DeMelo is arguably the biggest bargain The Chabot-DeMelo pairing had the second-best expected-goals against defenceman in the league right now. rating on the Senators with only 2.02 goals per 60 minutes and the second-best shot-share percentage with 58.85 percent. Both were Through 32 games this season, the 26-year-old has been the Senators’ behind only the now-defunct Brannstrom-DeMelo pairing. most consistent blueliner, and yes, that includes Thomas Chabot. “The chemistry just kind of comes really quickly with (DeMelo), and I He was averaging just under 20 minutes per game (19:50) and had been really enjoy playing with him,” Chabot said. “It’s been going well tapped by Smith and his coaching staff to play on the penalty kill, and the together.” second power-play unit. And, say what you want about the plus-minus statistic, but DeMelo is a plus-7 on the Senators, who have a minus-14 It’s clear DeMelo is an important piece to the rebuilding Senators, and re- goal differential. The only player with a higher rating on the team is Jean- signing him should be a priority of Pierre Dorion’s. Gabriel Pageau, who is a ridiculous plus-19. But what would the future hold for him in Ottawa?
Well, first it depends on what DeMelo wants. If he expresses that he wants to leave in free agency, then Dorion should get what he can in a trade at the deadline in February.
But, if he wants to stay, a two- or three-year bridge deal would be ideal for DeMelo and the Senators because they might look thin on defence right now, but help is on the way.
Thanks to the past few years of garage sales and gathering draft picks, the Senators have a stockpile of defensive prospects coming up, including Jacob-Bernard Docker, Lassi Thomson and Johnny Tychonick. Christian Wolanin should be back from injury this season and has started skating after he tore a labrum before training camp opened in September.
Throw in Brannstrom, who will work to get his spot back next season, along with more mature Lajoie and Jaros, and the Senators suddenly look a lot deeper as early as next season. But the reality is, a lot of those prospects could be two, maybe three years away from being dependable NHL defencemen.
And that is why the Senators should sign DeMelo, not to a long-term contract, but a bridge deal so they can have a reliable, veteran defenceman and give their prospects time to become NHL ready.
DeMelo might be underrated, but his absence is going to show why the Senators need him this season — and in the future.
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166399 Philadelphia Flyers Hart to knot the score at 1-all. Staal, alone in front, scored on his own backhand rebound 95 seconds later to give the Wild a 2-1 cushion.
Midway through the second period, Staal made it 3-1, scoring on his own Two more Flyers injured as they fall to Minnesota Wild, 4-1 rebound as he squeaked it through Hart’s pads.
Breakaways
Sam Carchidi, Konecny has been skating in Voorhees and making good progress, according to Vigneault, who said he didn’t know if the right winger would be able to return this week. … Defenseman Phil Myers returned to the lineup and Robert Hagg was a healthy scratch. …. Joel Farabee, who is ST. PAUL, Minn. – Before their road trip, the Flyers had won six of their about 50 pounds lighter but doesn’t lack moxie, was pounded by 6-3, last seven games and, even with high-scoring right winger Travis 224-pound Marcus Foligno in a second-period fight. .... Goalie Brian Konecny sidelined by a concussion, were riding high. Elliott will be the starter Sunday in Winnipeg. ... Hart got hit in the Since then, it has turned disastrous. shoulder with a third-period shot but stayed in the game. .... Laughton had been playing well since missing 13 games because of a broken First came the devastating news that gifted left winger Oskar Lindblom finger. was battling a rare type of bone cancer, and then came their second straight loss on the trip, a mostly listless 4-1 defeat Saturday night to the Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 12.15.2019 Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center.
Making matters worse, the Flyers lost two more players to injuries: wingers Scott Laughton and Tyler Pitlick. Pitlick was injured in the first period, Laughton in the second. Neither player returned, and general manager Chuck Fletcher will have to add players from the AHL’s Phantoms, a team that also has a plethora of injuries.
“There’s no doubt it’s a challenging situation,” coach Alain Vigneault said, “but at the end of the day, we had a couple power plays at the end. We had our best players on the ice. They have to find a way to execute and make the other team pay. We were [trailing 3-1] and were a shot away from making this a game.”
Vigneault, whose team’s power play is 0-for-16 over the last six games, said the Flyers were still sorting out which player(s) would be recalled from the Phantoms.
With Michael Raffl (broken pinkie) and Nolan Patrick (migraine disorder) already sidelined, the Flyers are now without five forwards heading into their game at 5 p.m. Sunday in Winnipeg.
“Everybody deals with injuries during the season,” Jake Voracek said. “We have to find a way.”
Eric Staal, Minnesota’s 35-year-old center, had a pair of scores -- the 68th multi-goal performance of his 999-point career -- to pace the surging Wild.
Minnesota, which got a 183-foot empty-net goal from Carson Soucy, has points in its last 12 home games (9-0-3). Overall, the Wild have points in 14 of their last 15 contests.
The Flyers have lost three of their last four, and they suffered consecutive regulation defeats for the first time since Oct. 27-29.
The Flyers managed just 18 shots -- eight over the first two periods -- while playing against the league’s 28th-ranked defense.
“They did a good job of keeping us to the outside and staying in shot lanes," left winger James van Riemsdyk said.
“There wasn’t a lot of room," Vigneault said. "Right now, there’s no doubt we can’t play the open-ice style that some nights we may be able to play” with a healthy lineup. "So we have to tighten it up and we have to find a way to execute the plays we can.”
Minnesota goalie Alex Stalock wasn’t tested much, but early in the third period he made a key stop on van Riemsdyk from the doorstep to keep the Wild ahead, 3-1.
Poor net-front coverage led to a pair of goals that gave the Wild a 2-1 lead in the opening period.
Van Riemsdyk had opened the scoring by taking a pass from rookie Morgan Frost and firing a shot off Stalock’s glove from the right circle, putting the Flyers ahead just 1 minute, 34 seconds into the game.
“Frosty made a great play to pop the puck loose,” van Riemsdyk said after his seventh goal of the season and his third in the last seven games.
The lead didn’t last long.
Less than five minutes after van Riemsdyk’s goal, Kevin Fiala’s wraparound attempt deflected off teammate Zach Parise and past Carter 1166400 Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers dedicating season to cancer-stricken Oskar Lindblom
Sam Carchidi,
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Flyers are playing the rest of the season for teammate Oskar Lindblom, the talented left winger who is preparing to get treatment for a rare type of bone cancer called Ewing’s sarcoma.
“We’re a tight team and what we want to do right now is win hockey games for Oskar,” captain Claude Giroux said before Saturday’s night game in Minnesota. “…. I’m sure that’s what he would want.”
As a tribute to him, equipment manager Derek Settlemyre placed Lindblom’s No. 23 jersey, uniform, and equipment in a locker-room stall, between Giroux’s and Kevin Hayes', as if he were playing against the Wild.
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“I just went into the room and I saw it and it’s kind of tough not to be emotional,” Giroux said two hours before the game. “It’s good for everybody to see his jersey there.”
“It’s just a sign of respect; he’s still part of the team,” Couturier said.
An emotional Robert Hagg talks about his close friend, @oskarlindblom: #Flyers pic.twitter.com/p99dBJuvPQ
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) December 14, 2019
Lindblom, 23, who co-led the Flyers with 11 goals, is expected to miss the season and he will find out the best course of treatment in the coming days.
Mark Herzlich, a Wayne, Pa., native who overcame Ewing’s sarcoma and later played linebacker for the New York Giants, said Saturday that his treatments lasted seven months. His tumor was in his leg; Lindblom’s is in the upper part of his body.
“It’s not easy when one of your teammates is going to go through a fight like this,” Giroux said. “I know we’re all behind him, we’re there to support him. He’s a huge piece to our team. We love Oskar a lot, and he’s a strong kid. This isn’t the news you like to hear. The last few days have been tough on us, and I can only imagine how Oskar is feeling.”
Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher announced Lindblom’s condition Friday, but the players said they knew about it before they lost in Colorado, 3-1, on Wednesday.
“It definitely puts things in perspective,” Giroux said.
Defenseman Robert Hagg was teary-eyed and his voice cracked with emotion as he talked about Lindblom. They are close friends and are both are from Sweden.
“He’s shocked, for sure,” Hagg said. “I was with him when they told him [his condition] and it was hard to see.”
Hagg has had a few conversations with Lindblom since the diagnosis.
“He found out a couple days ago. Sometimes he starts crying, and 10 minutes later he feels fine,” said Hagg, who has known Lindblom for nine years. “He doesn’t feel sick. You feel healthy, but someone is telling you you’re sick. It’s tough on everyone.”
Hagg kiddingly referred to Lindblom as his “annoying little brother.”
He paused.
“He’s awesome,” Hagg said. “I just want to see him back.”
Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166401 Philadelphia Flyers NOTES: Stalock finished with 17 saves. ... Wild C Joel Eriksson Ek left the game in the second period, but he has not been ruled out for Sunday. ... G Devan Dubnyk, out since Nov. 16 as his wife deals with a medical situation, took part in the morning skate and is expected to be on Flyers lose 2 more players, fall 4-1 in Minnesota Minnesota’s upcoming three-game trip. C Mikko Koivu (lower body) and D Jared Spurgeon (hand) are also going on the trip. Both were injured
Dec. 3. ... This was the first of five games in eight days — and six in 10 MIKE COOK — for the Flyers. Philadelphia played once in the previous six days.
UP NEXT
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Coming off an emotional announcement a day Flyers: At Winnipeg on Sunday. earlier, things didn’t get any easier for the Philadelphia Flyers. Wild: At Chicago on Sunday. Already down their top two scorers, Philadelphia lost two centers early. Delaware County Times LOADED: 12.15.2019 And it was playing one of the hottest teams in the NHL.
Eric Staal scored twice and the Minnesota Wild continued to dominate on home ice, beating the Flyers 4-1 on Saturday.
Zach Parise and Carson Soucy also scored for Minnesota, which is 9-0-3 in its past 12 games at Xcel Energy Center. Only Boston (17) and the New York Islanders (currently at 13) have longer home point streaks this season.
The Wild were 16-18-7 at home last season.
“Every year this team’s been in the league they’ve had one of the best home records in the league. We had one really bad year and now that we’re back on track is more of what was normal than what was abnormal,” coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Near the bottom of the league after winning just six of their first 18 games, the Wild are 10-1-4 in their last 15.
“I think everyone’s just buying in. We feel comfortable now,” defenseman Ryan Suter said. “The new guys, usually it takes a few games, 20 games or so, to get used to the system and get used to playing with each other.”
James van Riemsdyk scored and Carter Hart made 24 saves for Philadelphia. The Flyers have dropped three of four after winning five straight and lost back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 27-29.
This was Philadelphia's first game since it was announced that Oskar Lindblom has been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. Lindblom’s jersey hung in his stall before the game. Before the game, many players talked about winning for their teammate.
Tied with Travis Konecny with a team-best 11 goals, Lindblom is expected to miss the rest of the season. Konecny missed his second straight game with a concussion.
The Philadelphia bench was thinner in the final two periods after centers Scott Laughton and Tyler Pitlick left. No updates were available for either player; however, coach Alain Vigneault expects some call-ups from Lehigh Valley of the AHL in time for Sunday’s game in Winnipeg.
"The only thing we can do is what's in our control, prepare those guys, whoever's coming," defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. “We need two points bad.”
Vigneault wants more from his top players.
“We just had a few plays right there that we needed to execute. A lot of those players it was our most skilled players. They need to find a way to come through for us,” he said.
Minnesota’s did.
Down 1-0 after van Riemsdyk’s early goal, Parise scored on a redirect and Staal found the net on a rebound less than two minutes apart before the midway point of the period for a 2-1 Wild lead.
Staal’s second-period goal came from the left circle and squeezed through traffic before trickling past Hart.
Staal, who leads Minnesota with 26 points and is sitting on 999 career points, has three goals and an assist in his past two games.
Banged up a bit early, Staal had two assists in the team’s first eight games.
“I've never made any excuses,” he said. “I knew I needed to be better as a whole and I felt like as a group we also collectively dug in and everyone committed to getting this ship back in the right direction.” 1166402 Philadelphia Flyers
Staal scores twice, Flyers take more injury hits in loss
Staff Writer
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Eric Staal scored twice and the Minnesota Wild continued to dominate on home ice, beating the Flyers 4-1 Saturday night.
Zach Parise also scored for Minnesota, which is 9-0-3 in its past 12 games at Xcel Energy Center. Only Boston (17) and the New York Islanders (currently at 13) have longer home point streaks this season.
Carson Soucy scored an empty-net goal from behind his own end line.
The Wild were near the bottom of the league standings after winning just six of their first 18 games, but they are 10-1-4 in their last 15.
James van Riemsdyk scored and Carter Hart made 24 saves for the Flyers, who have dropped three of their last four games amid a bevy of injuries and the news that second-line forward Oskar Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. He's out for the season.
The Flyers lost back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 27-29. They played without their leading goal scorers Lindblom and Travis Konecny, out with a concussion for the second straight game.
The Philadelphia bench was thinner in the final two periods after Scott Laughton and Tyler Pitlick left for undisclosed reasons. Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek left the game in the second period.
Van Riemsdyk beat Alex Stalock 1:34 into the game, but Parise scored on a redirect and Staal found the net on a rebound less than two minutes apart before the midway point of the period for a 2-1 Wild lead.
Staal’s second-period goal came from the left circle and squeezed through traffic before trickling past Hart.
Staal, who leads Minnesota with 26 points and is sitting on 999 career points, has three goals and an assist in his past two games.
• • •
NOTES >> Stalock finished with 17 saves. ... G Devan Dubnyk, out since Nov. 16 as his wife deals with a medical situation, took part in the morning skate and is expected to be on Minnesota’s upcoming three- game trip. C Mikko Koivu (lower body) and D Jared Spurgeon (hand) are also going on the trip. Both were injured Dec. 3. ... This was the first of five games in eight days — and six in 10 — for the Flyers. Philadelphia played once in the previous six days. ... The Wild are 0-18 on the power play in their past six games.
Delaware County Times LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166403 Philadelphia Flyers
Injuries to Scott Laughton, Tyler Pitlick, a lopsided fight for Joel Farabee and Flyers lose to Wild
Jordan Hall
December 14, 2019 10:45 PM
With a 4-1 defeat to the Wild, the Flyers have two straight losses and they lost two more players in the process.
Alain Vigneault's team stomached a discouraging night Saturday at Xcel Energy Center, suffering consecutive losses in regulation for the first time since Oct. 27-29.
The Flyers (17-10-5) have scored just one goal in three of their last four games, resulting in three regulation losses. In their previous 17 games, the Flyers lost in regulation only twice.
The Wild (16-12-5) improved to 9-1-3 at home and 12-3-4 overall since Nov. 5.
• The Flyers entered the game without forwards Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma diagnosis), Travis Konecny (concussion), Michael Raffl (broken right pinkie finger) and Nolan Patrick (migraine disorder).
Their only extra healthy player was defenseman Robert Hagg.
News on the health front got worse during the action as forwards Scott Laughton and Tyler Pitlick left the game with undisclosed injuries and did not return.
Some more roster maneuvering could be on the way as early as Sunday morning. The Flyers have no time to rest up.
• Flyers defensemen were not sharp.
Philippe Myers had a bad turnover on Zach Parise's first-period goal. Ivan Provorov had the same in the second period, which led to Eric Staal's second goal of the night to give the Wild a 3-1 lead.
Travis Sanheim and Justin Braun were also a step behind and not in good position on Staal's first goal, which turned out to be the game- winner during the opening stanza.
Just one of those games in which the Flyers were off from top to bottom.
• As a result, Carter Hart was sprawling all over the place, trying to save the Flyers. He finished with 24 stops on 27 shots.
• Joel Farabee dropped the gloves with Marcus Foligno and it was a rough matchup for the 19-year-old.
FISTICUFFS: Marcus Foligno unloads on rookie Joel Farabee. Bit of a mismatch there. pic.twitter.com/vBRR9iZAI4
— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) December 15, 2019
• James van Riemsdyk got the Flyers on the board 1:34 into the game. However, the lead didn't last long and the Flyers finished with just 18 shots.
JVR gets this game started! pic.twitter.com/lXumF42yLD
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) December 15, 2019
• The Flyers' power play went 0 for 3 and is 6 for its last 55 (10.9 percent).
• Lindblom's jersey hung symbolically in the team's dressing room. The Flyers are rallying behind their 23-year-old brother and teammate as he starts his fight against cancer (see story).
• The Flyers are right back at it Sunday when they visit the Jets (5 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166404 Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers rallying behind Oskar Lindblom after his Ewing's sarcoma diagnosis
Jordan Hall
December 14, 2019 8:20 PM
The No. 23 jersey of Oskar Lindblom hung proudly and powerfully in the Flyers' dressing room of Xcel Energy Center.
It was a sign of unity.
The Flyers are rallying behind Lindblom, their 23-year-old brother and teammate who has been diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that occurs in bones or in the soft tissue around the bones (see story).
Teammates were emotional but strong Saturday night.
“I just went in the room and I saw it, it’s kind of tough not to be emotional," Claude Giroux told reporters before the Flyers' game against the Wild after seeing Lindblom's jersey. "But it’s good for everybody to see his jersey there.”
The team announced Lindblom's diagnosis on Friday afternoon. The Flyers then had to open a back-to-back set on the road against the Wild on Saturday and the Jets on Sunday.
“He’s a fighter, he’ll get through this," Ivan Provorov said to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Taryn Hatcher before the game. "We love him, we’ll support him all the way and he knows we’re here for him. He’s not fighting this fight alone and we’ll do everything that we can to make sure he feels that there’s all people supporting him.”
The Flyers' captain knows that is most important.
"When one of your teammates is going to go through a fight like this, we’ll all behind him," Giroux said. "We’re there to support him. … We love Oskar a lot, he’s a strong kid."
(Zack Hill/Philadelphia Flyers)
(Zack Hill/Philadelphia Flyers)
(Zack Hill/Philadelphia Flyers)
Giroux on seeing Lindblom’s stall setup in the dressing room before tonight’s game.
“It’s tough not to get emotional. But it’s good for everybody, to see his jersey in there.”
JVR also reiterated, it’s important Oskar know he’s still a big part of this team.
— Taryn Hatcher (@TarynNBCS) December 14, 2019
#OskarStrong in Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/v8IsyzpreE
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) December 15, 2019
Perspective.#OskarStrong | #PHIvsMIN pic.twitter.com/sM6bnAeg9N
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 14, 2019
All in the Twin Cities. #PHIvsMIN | #OskarStrong pic.twitter.com/RNX6ECA1ia
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 14, 2019
Keep moving forward. Keep moving together. #OskarStrong pic.twitter.com/igH4ExqB3v
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 14, 2019
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166405 Philadelphia Flyers Goalies Carter Hart
Brian Elliott Flyers at Wild: Live stream, storylines, game time and more Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019
Jordan Hall
December 14, 2019 2:10 PM
The Flyers will be playing for more than just two points Saturday night.
They'll be playing for Oskar Lindblom, their teammate who was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma. The news was announced Friday and has been followed by an outpouring of support for the 23-year-old (see story).
As they back Lindblom, the Flyers will try to move forward. Since the start of November, they've done a pretty good job of not leaving games empty- handed. The Flyers have earned at least a point in 16 of their last 20 contests, going 12-4-4.
On Saturday, the Flyers (17-9-5) will try to get back into the points column when they visit the Wild (15-12-5).
(Zack Hill/Philadelphia Flyers)
Let's get into the essentials:
• When: 7 p.m. ET with Flyers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m. ET
• Where: Xcel Energy Center
• Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app
• An example of how consistent the Flyers have been is that they haven't lost consecutive games in regulation since Oct. 27-29. They'll try to avoid doing so Saturday night after dropping to the Avalanche, 3-1, Wednesday night.
With head coach Alain Vigneault's constant emphasis on structure and possession, the Flyers have given themselves a chance most nights.
A positive for Vigneault and company heading into the matchup with the Wild: The Flyers are tied for second in the NHL with the fewest shots allowed per game (28.8), while Minnesota puts up the second-fewest shots per game (28.6).
The Flyers have a good chance to play on their terms tonight.
• Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher and assistant general manager Brent Flahr are back in their old stomping grounds.
Fletcher was the GM of the Wild from 2009 to 2018 and Flahr was his AGM from 2010 to 2018.
Fletcher's challenge in Philadelphia was similar to the one he faced in Minnesota and here's how he fared (see story).
• The Wild have played the fewest home games in the NHL (12) and the most on the road (20). Minnesota is 8-1-3 at home and 11-3-4 overall since Nov. 5 following a 4-9-1 start.
Projected lineup
Forwards
Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Jakub Voracek
James van Riemsdyk-Morgan Frost-Tyler Pitlick
Scott Laughton-Kevin Hayes-Joel Farabee
David Kase-Mikhail Vorobyev-Chris Stewart
Defensemen
Ivan Provorov-Matt Niskanen
Travis Sanheim-Justin Braun
Shayne Gostisbehere-Philippe Myers 1166406 Pittsburgh Penguins by Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, Lizotte dished a backhand pass to the left wing for forward Adrian Kempe. As Penguins rookie defenseman John Marino was slow to react to Kempe’s rush up the left wing, Kempe created a two-on-none with forward Auston Wagner and fed a pass Empty Thoughts: Penguins 5, Kings 4 (SO) below the right circle. Wagner finished the sequence by swatting in an uncontested forehand shot past Jarry’s glove hand. It was Wagner’s third
goal of the season while Kempe and Lizotte netted assists. SETH RORABAUGH The Penguins needed all of 19 seconds to respond. Circling around the Sunday, December 15, 2019 2:46 a.m. cage, Penguins forward Brandon Tanev held the puck for several moments before finding a shooting lane in the slot and ripped a wrister past the right leg of goaltender Jonathan Quick. The Kings issued a coach’s challenge citing goaltending interference as Penguins forward Observations from the Penguins’ 5-4 win against the Kings: Teddy Blueger’s stick was caught under Quick’s right leg and tripped him Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin missed Saturday’s meeting at PPG up. Following a lengthy review, the challenged was upheld and the score Paints Arena against the Los Angeles Kings due to an undisclosed was nullified. illness. It was the second consecutive game he was absent for due to the It became a 2-0 game at 18:00 of the second. Going deep with the puck, ailment. His time frame for returning to the lineup is anyone’s guess. Walker fended off a check from Marino and backhanded a pass into the Tristan Jarry? It’s anyone’s guess when he’ll relinquish the No. 1 legs of Kings forward Tyler Toffoli to the right of the crease. As Letang goaltender gig which has all but officially been foisted upon him in recent was slow to react, Toffoli was able to settle the puck and lifted a weeks. backhander over Jarry’s right shoulder for his eighth goal of the season. Assists went to Walker and forward Sean Luff. Making 38 saves on 42 shots, Jarry was hardly perfect. There were some flaws in his game. But he did just enough to direct the Penguins to a wild The Penguins got on the scoreboard for good 3:31 into the second 5-4 victory. And improved his record to 9-5-0 in 14 games this season. period. Picking up a loose puck at his own left point, forward Jake Guentzel lugged it up the offensive right wing and gained the offensive Despite Jarry’s success as of late, coach Mike Sullivan has been hesitant zone. Allowing forward Jared McCann to drive the slot, Guentzel fed a to declare Jarry (or Matt Murray, for that matter) as the top goaltender on cross-ice pass to forward Bryan Rust. Cutting inside Walker, Rust fired a the depth chart. wrister from the left circle past Quick’s right skate for his 11th score this “(Jarry’s) performance had a lot to do with how we’ve utilized him over season. Guentzel and Letang collected assists. the last little while,” Sullivan said. “He’s played extremely well. We The game was tied, 2-2, at 17:36 of the second with a rare five-on-three certainly are weighing those factors when we’re trying to decide to which power-play goal for the Penguins. Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz direction we’re going with the goalies that we have. dealt a pass from above the left circle low in the circle to Guentzel. “Having said that, Matt had a strong game the last game that he played. Finding a passing lane under the stick of Kings defenseman Matt Roy, Matt’s game is trending the right way. He’s had an opportunity to spend Guentzel distributed the puck between the hashmarks where Rust more time with (goaltending coach Mike Buckley). We think that will only snapped off a wrister past Quick’s glove hand. Guentzel and Schultz help him. were credited with assists.
Despite Sullivan’s diplomacy on the matter, the division of labor between That score snapped a hideous 0-for-9 skid in five-on-three power-play the two goaltenders would point towards one being the obvious top opportunities for the Penguins dating back to last season. choice among management at the moment. At 9:26 of the third period, the Penguins took their first lead of the Jarry has started eight of the past 11 games while Murray has been contest. Controlling a puck at the offensive right point, Rust snapped off a limited to three. shot/pass towards the crease which hit off of the right skate of Roy and deflected on net. Quick made the initial stop but couldn’t prevent a “These last couple of weeks have been beneficial for Matt as well as rebound from squirting free behind him in the crease. Blueger crashed in Tristan,” Sullivan said. “It’s nice to have two goalies like we have that and swatted in the loose puck for his fourth goal of the season. Assists gives us a chance to win and that make timely saves.” went to Rust and Letang.
Jarry made quite a few timely saves, especially on Kings all-star forward They made it a 4-2 game at 11:58 of the third during a four-on-four Anze Kopitar. sequence. McCann fended off Roy in the right corner and skated with the puck to the slot where he fired a wrister on net. Quick made the save with First, Jarry denied Kopitar’s forehand shot on a breakaway at 11:28 of his glove but allowed a rebound. Defenseman Jack Johnson, of all the third period to maintain a 3-2 lead with a stout save by his left leg. On people, was doing a drive-by above the crease and jabbed the rebound the sequence leading to that chance, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang quickly past Quick’s glove hand. Assists went to McCann and Guentzel. slashed Kopitar sufficiently that officials awarded a penalty shot. The Kings would not go away. At 15:00, Kings forward Jeff Carter On his mulligan, Kopitar glided in on net, waiting for Jarry to open his five clapped a big old school slapper from the right half wall. Jarry kicked it hole just a bit. Sensing opportunity, Kopitar tried to tuck a silky smooth out but put a big rebound into the left circle where Kings forward Kyle backhand through Jarry’s legs, but the young goaltender was able to Clifford was able to corral it at the dot and shuffled a quick wrister past a clamp down on the puck and keep his team in front. diving Jarry. Carter and defenseman Drew Doughty netted assists.
(Video courtesy NHL) Things were tied again, 4-4, at 16:23 of the third. After a defensive zone Then in the shootout, Jarry fended off Kopitar’s wrist shot to complete a turnover by forward Zach Aston-Reese, Walker corralled the puck at the goaltending hat trick of sorts. That allowed forward Bryan Rust to score center point, skated towards the right boards and fed a pass to Toffoli in on the ensuing shootout opportunity to put the team in the lead. the slot. Skating past fallen Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, Toffoli made his way to the right circle and attacked the net on his “He’s playing really well right now,” Sullivan said. “He’s seeing the puck. backhand, but lost the puck. Clifford and Toffoli each tried to hack it in as He’s tracking the puck. His rebound control is great. He’s seeing it very various members of the Penguins tumbled in the crease around or on well for us right now. They had a fair amount quality chances tonight and Jarry. Out of a tornado of confusion, Amadio was able to secure the puck he made some big saves for us. That’s what he’s done. Our team is above the crease and lifted a backhander into the vacant net. Walker and competing hard in front of him. But certainly, when we have broke down, Clifford collected assists. he’s been there to make some huge save for us.” In overtime, the Penguins controlled play as they outshot the Kings, 6-0. As of late, he’s been there far more than Murray. They nearly won it at 2:49 of the period when Rust had two chances on a breakaway but couldn’t solve Quick. On the ensuing rebound, forward What happened Dominik Kahun chased down the puck to the left of the cage and Los Angeles opened the scoring at 13:08 of the first. Off a stretch pass whipped a quick shot on net from a bad angle, only to be denied by from Kings defenseman Sean Walker, forward Blake Lizotte gained the Quick again. offensive blue line. Just before being taken out on a stiff shoulder check In the shootout, neither team seemed to be terribly adept. Guentzel “Just staying with him, making sure I’m keeping the puck between my missed the net while Letang was denied and McCann hit the cross bar. shoulders and trying to do the best to make myself look big and give him For the Kings, Amadio and Toffoli missed the net then Kopitar had a nothing to shoot at.” wrister snuffed out by Jarry. • Why did Sullivan mix up his top two lines? Rust got his chance on his first career shootout attempt. He flashed forehand then lifted a backhander over Quick’s blocker. “I just didn’t like the first line in the first period. I just thought, ‘Hey, let’s move Jake to the wing.’ Jared had a little jump tonight. So we decided to Kempe had a chance to extend play but failed to even get a shot off and make that switch and put Jake in his natural position.” lost the puck on his attempt. • Rust spoke about what was different with McCann at center: Statistically speaking “He’s just a little bit more comfortable there. Obviously, (Guentzel) is a • The Kings dominated shots, 42-27. great player but he’s an unbelievable player on the wing. We were able to get in on their (defense) a little bit more, cause a few more turnovers • Rust and Lizotte each led the game with six shots. and get a few more chances.”
• Doughty led the game with 29:57 of ice time on 33 shifts. • Rust explained his shootout goal:
• Letang led the Penguins with 27:03 of ice time on 31 shifts. “That’s been my move since I was little. Kind of lost it a little bit at the • The Penguins had a 29-28 edge in faceoffs (51 percent). blue line. Kind of the ice was brutal but then I regained it and I was able to make the move.” • McCann was 11 for 21 (52 percent). • Sullivan expressed satisfaction with getting the win despite allowing a • Kopitar was 10 for 19 (53 percent). two-goal lead in the third to slip away:
• Guentzel led the game with three blocked shots. “I’m happy with the win. Our guys are playing hard, their competing. You look around the league, it happens a fair amount. Not that we want to • Defensemen Kurtis MacDermid, Joakim Ryan, Doughty and Iafallo each have it happen to us fairly often. You have to give (Los Angeles) credit led the Kings with two blocked shots. too, they played a hard game as well. We’re competing hard out there, Historically speaking we’re fighting hard. I just like our effort. I thought our reaction to it was great. We didn’t get rattled. We didn’t get on our heels. We just kept • Rust (136 points) surpassed defenseman Zarley Zalapski (135) and playing the game and I thought that was important moving forward.” forward John Chabot (134) for 65th place on the franchise’s career scoring list. Visually speaking
• The last penalty shot attempt by the Kings vs. the Penguins was by • Game summary. Marian Gaborik in a 5-3 Kings home victory on Dec. 5, 2015. He was • Event summary. denied by Marc-Andre Fleury. • Highlights: • The Penguins recorded their first five-on-three power-play goal since Nov. 25, 2017. Forward Sidney Crosby scored that goal in a 5-2 home Tribune Review LOADED: 12.15.2019 win against the Lightning. Jarry recorded his first career win in that game.
(Video courtesy NHL)
Randomly speaking
• At the start of the second period, the Guentzel at center experiment was put on hold as he was moved back to the left wing and McCann took over as the top line center with Rust at right wing. Dominik Simon moved from first line left wing to center between Aston-Reese and Kahun. That move seemed to spark the offense, at least for the first line.
• We’ll have more on this for Monday, but Joseph Blandisi played his fourth game in four days. Holy heck. He said he was hoping to sleep in on Sunday morning.
• Rookie forward Sam Lafferty received his first career fighting major at 4:05 of the third. After Lafferty crunched Lizotte into the Penguins’ end boards, Kempe immediately challenged him. Lafferty didn’t hold back as he threw his gloves down like Happy Gilmore and went at it with Kempe. They mostly tugged on each other’s jerseys and landed a few rights before wearing out:
• It was another unproductive night for Alex Galchenyuk. He logged 14:39 of ice time on 24 shifts, including 2:36 on the power play. He had one shot on one attempt and was 0 for 1 on faceoffs. His most notable moment in the game came 35 seconds into the third when he slewfooted Doughty and was given a hooking minor. Management is starting to lose patience with him.
• It was a typical night for Letang. That’s to say there were a few ugly moments mixed in with some brilliant moments. You take the good with the bad with that guy.
• The Penguins are now 12-3-1 against the Western Conference this season.
Publicly speaking
• Jarry explained how he approaches breakaway shots, including penalty shots and shootouts: 1166407 Pittsburgh Penguins
Minor league report: Angello leads Penguins past Monsters
SETH RORABAUGH
Sunday, December 15, 2019 1:06 a.m.
Two goals by forward Anthony Angello led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 3-1 win against the Cleveland Monsters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Saturday.
Forward Thomas Di Pauli added a goal and an assist for the Penguins (14-10-3-1) while defenseman Kevin Czuczman recorded two assists.
Goaltender Dustin Tokarski made 27 saves in the victory which snapped a five-game losing streak for the Penguins.
Highlights:
The Penguins’ next game is against the Providence Bruins at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday, 7:05 p.m.
—-
Forward Christopher Brown had two goals and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-2 win against the Rapid City Rush at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, S.D.
Goaltender Andrew D’Agostini made 26 saves for the Nailers (12-10-4-0) who have won three consecutive games, all against the Rush.
Highlights:
The Nailers’ next game is against the Toledo Walleye at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling on Friday, 7:05 p.m.
Tribune Review LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166408 Pittsburgh Penguins Following a one-sided overtime period in which the Penguins outshot the Kings, 6-0, the home team claimed another victory without forward Evgeni Malkin, who missed his second consecutive contest because of an illness. Goalie Tristan Jarry not perfect, still good enough for Penguins against Kings Jarry finished with 38 saves on 42 shots. It was hardly a perfect game statistically, but his impact, particularly against Kopitar, was clear to anyone who watched.
Seth Rorabaugh “He’s playing really well right now,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s seeing the puck. He’s tracking the puck. His rebound control is great. Saturday, December 14, 2019 10:04 p.m He’s seeing it very well for us right now. They had a fair amount quality chances tonight and he made some big saves for us. That’s what he’s done. Our team is competing hard in front of him. But certainly, when we On the surface, Tristan Jarry had his worst game by a country mile. have broke down, he’s been there to make some huge saves for us.”
Considering he recorded shutouts in three of his previous four outings for Tribune Review LOADED: 12.15.2019 the Pittsburgh Penguins, his play was bound to level off at some point. It did Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.
He allowed four goals. Some were tough goals to deny. Others appeared to be preventable.
But the goals he stopped were of the greatest consequence in what ended up being a wild, back-and-forth 5-4 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings.
Specifically, the three instances he faced down all-star forward Anze Kopitar one-on-one proved to be vital in how this game unfolded.
Jarry denied Kopitar’s forehand shot on a breakaway at 11 minutes, 28 seconds of the third period to maintain a 3-2 lead with a stout save by his left leg. On the sequence leading to that chance, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang slashed Kopitar sufficiently that officials awarded a penalty shot.
On his mulligan, Kopitar glided in on net, waiting for Jarry to open his five hole just a bit. Sensing opportunity, Kopitar tried to tuck a silky smooth backhand through Jarry’s legs, but the young goaltender was able to clamp down on the puck and keep his team in front.
The Kings tied the score and forced overtime before the game went to a shootout.
And there was Kopitar once again. One-on-one with Jarry.
Having already forced forwards Michael Amadio and Tyler Toffoli to shoot wide, Jarry stared down Kopitar for the third time. This time, Kopitar, who entered the contest with 40 career shootout goals, ninth- most in NHL history, went with a wrist shot.
Jarry denied him to complete a goaltender hat trick of sorts and allowed Bryan Rust to clinch the win with a backhander on Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick on the next attempt.
The Kings had a chance to extend the shootout but forward Adrian Kempe lost control of the puck allowing the Penguins to jump off the bench in celebration.
Jarry ascribes to a basic stratagem for any breakaway attempt, regardless of the circumstance.
“Just staying with him,” said Jarry, who improved to 9-5-0, “making sure I’m keeping the puck between my shoulders and trying to do the best to make myself look big and give him nothing to shoot at.”
Early on, the Kings had plenty to shoot at as they raced to a 2-0 lead on goals by forwards Austin Wagner at 13:08 of the first period and Tyler Toffoli at the 18:00 mark.
The Penguins moved Jared McCann to top-line center in the second and that appeared to spark the offense as his linemate, Rust, scored his 11th goal of the season at the 3:31 mark. Rust scored again on a five-on-three power-play sequence at 17:36 of the second.
“The game is fun right now,” said Rust, who has nine points over his past six games. “Just trying to take it in stride, trying to get better every day. Things are going well.”
Forward Teddy Blueger scored his fourth goal at 9:26 of the third to give the Penguins their first lead. After Jarry’s saves on Kopitar, defenseman Jack Johnson scored his second goal of the season during a four-on-four sequence at 11:58.
Undeterred, the Kings managed to force a tie thanks to goals by forward Kyle Clifford at 15:00 and Amodio at 16:23. 1166409 Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin out vs. Kings
SETH RORABAUGH
Saturday, December 14, 2019 5:47 p.m.
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin will miss Saturday’s game at PPG Paints Arena against the Los Angeles Kings because of an illness, according to coach Mike Sullivan.
This will be the second game Malkin has not played due to the malady, having already been absent for Thursday’s 1-0 overtime win at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Malkin is one of four players on the Penguins roster who have dealt with an illness in recent weeks. Defenseman Jack Johnson was sidelined on Dec. 4 while forward Zach Aston-Reese and Chad Ruhwedel have only missed practices due to the undisclosed illness.
Malkin is the team’s second-leading scorer with 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in 20 games this season.
Notes:
-Sullivan announced goaltender Tristan Jarry will start. Jarry has recorded three shutouts in his past four games, including in Thursday’s game when he made 17 saves. In 13 games this season, Jarry has an 8- 5-0 record along with a 1.75 goals against average and .941 save percentage.
-With Malkin sidelined, the team recalled forward Joseph Blandisi from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League under emergency conditions. It is the second such recall in three days for Blandisi and his fifth of the season overall.
-Malkin’s absence will likely keep forward Jake Guentzel at center on the top line. He filled that role in Thursday’s game. He logged 22:16 of ice time on 25 shifts, including an ample 1:15 on the penalty kill. He had one shot on four attempts and was in the black on faceoffs going 7 for 13 (54 percent).
-The Kings are expected to start goaltender Jonathan Quick. In 22 games this season, Quick has a 9-12-1 record along with a 3.03 goals against average and an .983 save percentage.
Tribune Review LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166410 Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins recall forward Joseph Blandisi from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
SETH RORABAUGH
Saturday, December 14, 2019 1:07 p.m.
For the second time in three days, the Penguins have recalled forward Joseph Blandisi from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League under emergency conditions.
Presumably, Blandisi’s latest recall is related to the health of forward Evgeni Malkin who missed Thursday’s 1-0 overtime home win against the Columbus Blue Jackets due to an illness. Malkin was withheld from Friday’s practice as a precaution.
Coach Mike Sullivan is expected to provide an update on Malkin’s status at 5 p.m. in advanced of Saturday’s home game against the Los Angeles Kings.
This is Blandisi’s fifth recall of the season. In 12 NHL games this season, he has three points (one goal, two assists). In 13 AHL games, he has seven points (three goals, four assists).
If Blandisi is in the lineup on Saturday, it would mark the fourth consecutive day he has played a game either at the NHL or AHL level.
On Wednesday, he recorded three shots and two penalty minutes for the AHL Penguins in a 4-2 road loss to the Rochester Americans.
Then on Thursday, Blandisi had one shot against the Blue Jackets.
After being sent back to the AHL Penguins on Friday, he recorded two penalty minutes in a 4-0 road loss to the Cleveland Monsters.
Notes:
-The Penguins did not hold a morning skate.
-The Penguins are 11-3-1 against Western Conference opponents this season.
-The Penguins will be wearing their yellow third jerseys.
Tribune Review LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166411 Pittsburgh Penguins reserve. Coach Mike Sullivan might have to consider splitting up those two righties going forward.
Evgeni Malkin missed his second game in a row due to illness. So Jake Bryan Rust's scores in shootout, Penguins beat Kings Guentzel again started Saturday night as the first-line center. But Sullivan, after that trio underwhelmed him in their scoreless first period, moved him back to his natural position and bumped Jared McCann up between Guentzel and Rust. Staff Writer “I just thought, ‘Hey, let’s move Jake to the wing.’ I thought Jared had a DEC 14, 2019 10:04 PM little jump tonight,” the coach explained. “So we decided to make that switch.”
When Bryan Rust was announced as the next man up as Saturday’s It took only two shifts for it to pay off. Guentzel made a cross-ice pass to shootout went into extras, the teeth-chattering ovation at PPG Paints Rust on a 3-on-2 and Rust put a wrist shot past Quick’s glove from 31 Arena startled him. feet.
“I heard them. I definitely wasn’t expecting it,” the grinning winger said. The Kings continued to pepper Jarry, outshooting the Penguins, 27-15, “I’m not usually the one who gets those cheers. But it was definitely through two periods. But Rust tied it up at 2-2 with the Penguins on a 5- pretty cool.” on-3 power play. That was their first tally with a two-man advantage since Nov. 25, 2017. Why wouldn’t those ugly-sweater-wearing fans scream? Rust has been unreal. After Blueger tapped in a loose puck in the paint with 10:34 left in the third period, Jarry preserved their lead by twice shutting down Kopitar. Rust got the lone goal in Thursday’s overtime win against Columbus and has been on fire for weeks. He has seven goals and 15 points in his last Letang let the Kings center to slip behind him. But with Letang whacking 11 games. away at Kopitar, Jarry kicked out his right pad to stop his breakaway try. Kopitar was then awarded a penalty shot. Jarry closed his five-hole to In this file photo Penguins Joseph Blandisi #36 skates with the puck keep that one out. during the second period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on January 18, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. “I tried to do my best to make myself look big and give him nothing to shoot at,” Jarry nonchalantly said of facing a four-time All-Star with 323 He scored two of those goals in regulation Saturday then added a pretty career goals. shootout winner, which gave the Penguins a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings. The “Jarry! Jarry! Jarry!” chant had died down when Jack Johnson scored to make it 4-2. But the Kings tied it back up with goals 83 seconds The puck skipped on the chippy ice after Rust picked it up at center. But apart. Kyle Clifford buried a big rebound. Then during a goal-mouth he settled it, flicked his stick blade to get Jonathan Quick to drop to a scramble Michael Amadio flipped the puck over Jarry, who was on his knee then pulled it to his backhand, coolly flipping it over Quick’s belly, with 3:37 left in regulation. outstretched right pad. “I thought our reaction to it was great,” Sullivan said. “We didn’t get Not bad for a guy who had never taken a shootout attempt in the NHL. rattled. We didn’t get on our heels. … I think that’s really important moving forward.” “That’s been my move since I was little,” the Michigan native said. In 3-on-3 overtime, Quick stopped Rust on a breakaway and his rebound It technically wasn’t a hat trick because shootout goals are counted try for good measure. He then sprawled across the crease to rob separately. Don’t tell that to all the rowdy fans who tossed theirs on the Blueger, too. ice anyway. But Rust totally redeemed himself in the shootout. The Penguins now are After he had to wait about 30 seconds as those hats were scooped off 12-3-1 against the Western Conference, the most wins among Eastern the ice, Adrian Kempe of the Kings lost control of the puck, sealing a win teams. for the Penguins. They will look to keep it going this upcoming week on their annual Tristan Jarry denied the Kings on their first three shootout attempts, Western Canada trip. They play Calgary Tuesday and then have back-to- including a glove save on Anze Kopitar, whom Jarry also stopped on a back games Friday and Saturday in Edmonton and Vancouver before the breakaway and penalty shot during the third period. The Penguins went NHL’s Christmas break. scoreless on their first three tries in the shootout, too. Then Rust beat Quick to validate that ovation. Post Gazette LOADED: 12.15.2019 Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel (2) celebrates his goal with Marcus Pettersson (28) and Jake Guentzel (59) in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, in Detroit.
“The game is fun right now,” Rust said. “I’m just trying to take it in stride.”
This game went to overtime after the Penguins came back from two goals down then let the Kings do the same in the final five minutes of regulation.
The Kings scored twice in the first period against the top Penguins defensive pair.
Kris Letang stepped up to clobber Blake Lizotte at the blue line. But Lizotte still flipped a pass over the stick of John Marino to Kempe. Suddenly, the Kings had a 2-on-0 and Austin Wagner slammed Kempe’s pass into an open net.
Later in that period, Letang lost track of Tyler Toffoli in front. Sean Walker sent a centering pass to Toffoli, who put a backhander over Jarry’s blocker.
Letang and Marino, the savvy rookie, were on the ice for three of the four Kings goals. That makes it two rough nights in the past three games for Letang, who is playing on his weak side with Brian Dumoulin on injured 1166412 Pittsburgh Penguins “[Jarry's] performance has had a lot to do with the way we’ve utilized him over the last little while,” Sullivan said. “He’s played extremely well."
Meanwhile, after posting a .867 save percentage in 10 games in With Evgeni Malkin out again, Joseph Blandisi recalled on emergency November, Murray has made just one start in December. During the lone basis outing, Murray stopped 25 of 28 shots in a win at Detroit on the second half of a back-to-back. Sullivan sees a silver lining in this limited exposure.
Staff Writer “We think Matt’s game is trending the right way,” Sullivan said. “He’s had an opportunity to spend more time with [goalie coach Mike Buckley]. We DEC 14, 2019 6:10 PM think that will only help him. I think these last couple weeks have been beneficial for Matt, as well as Tristan. It’s nice to have two goalies like we have that give us a chance to win and make timely saves.” Joseph Blandisi was sleeping in his hotel room bed in Cleveland on Thursday morning, just hours after the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ Jake in the middle 4-2 loss to the Rochester Americans, when he was roused by a knock on With Malkin injured, Jake Guentzel moved from his typical spot on the the door. top line’s left wing to the center position for the second straight game. “I yelled at the maid, ‘No housekeeping today,’” Blandisi said. “It wasn’t Guentzel has some familiarity in the middle. He played there during the maid.” various stops on the way to the NHL. The Penguins briefly tried him at Thursday was supposed to be an off day for Blandisi and the Wilkes- center during the 2017-18 season as well, before deciding he brought Barre/Scranton Penguins before a two-game, back-to-back series on the more value as a wingman for Sidney Crosby or Malkin. road at the Cleveland Monsters. But plans had changed. With Evgeni But with Crosby, Malkin and Nick Bjugstad out, the Penguins are missing Malkin ill, the Pittsburgh Penguins needed him on the NHL club – and their top three centers. Someone has to do it. fast. “Obviously, it’s not what we’d prefer,” Sullivan said before the Penguins “I’m getting used to it now,” Blandisi said after Thursday’s game. “I’ve got hosted the L.A. Kings. “But given the circumstances, it’s the best option a bag I always keep packed and ready. I’m trying to stay prepared for that we had… We thought a pretty good job there. He was over 50% in anything that comes my way.” the faceoffs. He’s going to have a bigger challenge tonight against a Pittsburgh Penguins' Jake Guentzel reaches for the puck as Los Angeles team that’s very strong in the circle.” Kings' Trevor Lewis defends along the boards during the first period of an Taking precautions NHL hockey game, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, in Pittsburgh. Whatever illness is plaguing Malkin has been floating around the team for On Saturday, he got thrown another curveball. With Malkin still not some time. Zach Trotman came up from Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton with healthy enough to play, the Penguins recalled Blandisi for the second something. Defenseman Jack Johnson was sick for a game. Zach Aston- time this week on emergency basis. Reese got his flu shot but someone picked up some kind of bug. The list That means Blandisi will be playing his fourth game in four nights in three goes on. different cities for two different teams. Asked what precautions he’s personally taking, Sullivan joked, “Not Never mind the fact that his 54-year-old, hockey-loving mother, Josie, much. I probably wash my hands a little more often.” played a game of her own — and earned a shutout — in the Markham In reality, Sullivan said the team is doing its best to take all possible Ladies Hockey League on Thursday night, making five games in four precautions to avoid widespread illness. nights for the Blandisi family. “It’s hard because we live in such close confines,” Sullivan said. “It’s not Blandisi’s teammates nicknamed him “Blender” because the fiery easy. We’ve had discussions with our medical staff and our equipment Canadian with Italian roots tends to mix things up on the ice. But this staff on making sure we take the necessary steps that we can just to do season, he’s given that moniker a new meaning. Since he signed a our best to make sure that we’re not exacerbating the issue.” standard contract with Pittsburgh on July 2, he’s been part of 15 transactions – twice he went on waivers and five times he’s been Post Gazette LOADED: 12.15.2019 promoted to the NHL club.
This week alone is a microcosm of his season. Wednesday, he centered the second line for WBS in Rochester. Thursday, he played on the right wing of the Penguins' fourth line during a 1-0 win over Columbus. Friday, he was sent back to the AHL club and played right wing on the top line during a 4-0 loss in Cleveland. Now on Saturday, he’s back in Pittsburgh for a game against the L.A. Kings.
“Joseph has done a real nice job for us,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a straight-line player. He skates well. He’s strong on pucks…. He brings a lot of energy for us. He plays a safe, reliable, trustworthy game. That’s what we’re asking him to do.”
Riding the hot hand in net
Tristan Jarry earned himself yet another start in net on Saturday, two nights after pitching his third shutout in four games.
And why not right the hot hand? Entering Saturday night’s game, Jarry ranks first among eligible goalies in save percentage (.941) and goals- against average (1.76). He’s also tied with Nashville's Pekka Rinne for first with three shutouts.
As Jarry's numbers have shot up the charts, the Penguins have dramatically changed the way they’ve utilized their goaltenders. Through the first 19 games of the season, Matt Murray started 16 games. That put him on pace to start 69 games this year, which would have been more than any goalie started last year.
But over the last 13 games, Saturday included, Jarry has started eight games and played in seven, while Murray has started just five. 1166413 San Jose Sharks
Dell shines as Sharks top Canucks, end six-game slide
Aaron Dell’s 33 saves help the Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks, their first victory under interim coach Bob Boughner
CURTIS PASHELKA
December 14, 2019 at 10:06 PM
SAN JOSE — Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier both scored and Aaron Dell finished with 33 saves as the Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Saturday, their first victory under interim coach Bob Boughner.
Meier’s goal at the 7:09 mark of the third period came off an assist from Evander Kane, whose empty-netter with 1:21 left in regulation time proved to be the winner after Canucks forward Bo Horvat scored with 27.6 seconds left.
Kane’s goal was his 14th of the season, as the Sharks snapped a six- game losing streak. Logan Couture scored with eight seconds left to seal the win.
Joe Thornton and Kevin Labanc assisted on Hertl’s goal at the 10:50 mark in the first period, and Dell had 19 saves through two periods.
Dell was making his first start since Dec. 5 when he stopped 27 of 29 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Starting with a 37-save performance against Vegas on Nov. 21, Dell entered Saturday with a 1-1-1 in his last five games, including a .912 save percentage and a 2.64 goals against average.
After facing just seven shots in the first period, Dell had to make 13 saves in the second as the Canucks started to apply some pressure after they killed a tripping penalty to Tyler Myers at the 12:41 mark.
Dell then stopped quality scoring chances by J.T, Miller, Tanner Pearson and Brock Boeser within the first six minutes of the third period.
Playing their second game since Pete DeBoer was dismissed as head coach on Wednesday. the Sharks looked more comfortable in Boughner’s system, as they generated more shots on goal and more chances in front of the Canucks’ net.
The Sharks had 19 shots on goal in the first two periods against Vancouver after they had 18 in 60 minutes in their 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers.
The Sharks entered Saturday in sixth place in the Pacific Division and seven points back of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The game was big for San Jose, which had a chance to make up some ground on a handful of divisional opponents. Earlier in the day, Calgary, Edmonton and Arizona all lost in regulation time.
The game was the Sharks’ second of a seven-game homestand that continues Tuesday against the Coyotes.
San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166414 San Jose Sharks I remember watching hockey, late 90s, early 2000s, you wanted big defensemen because they could cross (check) and slash guys in the head and get away with it. But my style was to come in and have a good stick, You don’t need to be running guys through the wall. You just have Q & A with Marc-Edouard Vlasic: On his milestone, his style, and to physical on the puck. I went in the corner, I was using my stick, my whether NHL players can return to the Olympics hockey sense to get it away before they could do anything. So I didn’t really need to cross check. To me, when you cross check, you’re stick’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic will play his 1,000th NHL game Saturday night not on the ice and that doesn’t help you. When I came, there were a lot when the San Jose Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks bigger d-men, people were looking for bigger d-men, physical, out- muscle guys. But I just thought, if I come in, use my stick, good position. To me, you’ve got to work smart in the d-zone. If you run around and try CURTIS PASHELKA and hit people, you’ll be exhausted and have no energy left for the rest of the shift. December 14, 2019 at 2:38 PM A good example is Nick Lidstrom. I didn’t pattern my game after him, but
it’s a similar style. He’s always in position. His stick was outstanding. So SAN JOSE — Eleven defensemen were selected before Marc-Edouard my mindset was, that’s the way I want to play. Vlasic in the 2005 NHL Draft. Q: Who taught you that style, or did it come naturally? Saturday night, when he takes the ice for the Sharks, Vlasic, 32, will A: That’s always been the way I’ve played. When I first started, I become the first defenseman from that draft class to play 1,000 NHL remember notice, atom, I was happy when we’d score, but I was furious games. He’s the first defenseman the Sharks have ever drafted to reach when I would get scored against. Then that’s how I started playing the milestone without changing teams. defense. Dad put me on defense and said, ‘OK, you’re going to do this.’ “Got drafted higher than I thought I would,” said Vlasic, who went 35th And I started getting the grasp of playing d-man, having good sticks, 2- overall. “I just wanted an opportunity and I got it. That’s all I wanted. I on-1s, 3-on-2s, where to position. Just grew my game from there. Always said, ‘Give me an opportunity and I’ll prove I can play. I got it, proved I enjoyed having a 2-on-1 against me. Again, it’s trying to outsmart can play and haven’t looked back.” forwards with your stick, your positioning. That’s what I’ve done. I work, but you don’t want to work tirelessly. You want to work smart. That’s what Here’s a transcript of the interview this newspaper did with Vlasic on the I’ve been doing. eve of playing his 1,000th NHL game. Some questions and answers have been edited for brevity. Q: Yourself and Justin (Braun) really had an identity as being one of the top shutdown pairs in the league. Q: What are your thoughts or emotions about reaching this milestone? A: I enjoyed playing with Brauner. The guy’s similar to me. I know what A: It’s cool. Emotions, I’ve known it’s coming for a while. It’s a pretty cool he’s going to do. He knows what I’m going to do, even before we do it. accomplishment to do it with one team. It means I’ve been playing in this To shut down the top lines for six straight years, and you’re not going to league for a while now. Enjoyed it. A thousand fun games. do it for 82 games, but if you do it moreso than not, your team’s going to Q: That’s what I hear Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau say about end up winning most of the games. To be able to do that for all six years reaching these type of milestones. It just means you’re getting older. and the playoffs for that many years, it’s a lot of work and a lot of fun.
A: Just sucks. I get overshadowed by those guys. No, it’s cool. I hit 1,000 Q: How special was it to play for Team Canada at the 2014 Olympics? and (Thornton) hits 1,600 last game. Patty will hit 1,700 in four weeks. A: It was awesome. Coming in, just meeting the guys. Being a part of the He’s top 20 all-time in everything. Here Pickles comes in, 1,000 games, best 22 players in the world for Canada. It was awesome. Some of those no big deal. I’m 700 and 600 behind. Just incredible what those guys players were in the league before me and I watched them. Rick Nash have accomplished. But a thousand games with one team is pretty cool. was there. You come in and does what they do to win. Some guys played Q: What do you remember about those early days, breaking into the 10 minutes, some guys played 21. It’s just incredible what the best league (in 2006)? players will do when you come in, check everything at the door, check your stats, whatever you did, and check everything to make sure that we A: It was what I wanted to do as a kid, play in this league, to come in at can win. It was cool to see. 19, play against the players I watched growing up. It was pretty cool. You play with some, you play against some. When I started in 06-07, there Q: Mike (Babcock) was good to play for, for you? was not many of those guys left. A: I enjoyed Mike. Nice guy. We got along well. Played me a lot. He was For complete Sharks coverage direct, quick assertive. Everything was quick, everything was go, go, go. Nonstop. I liked it. It worked. It was awesome coming in at 19, playing against (Joe) Sakic, (Brenden) Shanahan, (Jarome) Iginla, I’m missing a whole bunch. But it was really Q: It’s going to be difficult for (NHL players) to get back there, right? cool, it was what I wanted to do as a kid and now I’m doing it. Now in the A: It is. It’s going to be difficult because we never put it in the (collective NHL, it’s even harder to stay in the league for a long time. Not that it’s bargaining agreement). Now (the NHL) has all the power on that, and it’s easy to make it, it’s just that it’s even harder to stay in the league and be a money grab. If the NHL can get money, but if not, we’ll never go. It’s good in this league for a very long time. Fortunate enough, a thousand the bottom line and the NHL’s a business, and if you can make money, games later, here I am. I’ve still got a lot left in me. your business will be successful. So that’s exactly where we stand. Q: It must have felt good coming into the league at 19 and having a Obviously the players want to go. If you want to grow the NHL, grow the coach like Ron Wilson showing a lot of trust in you right away. It had to game, there’s no better stage. We can’t seem to grasp that yet. give you a lot of confidence. Q: Obviously you guys aren’t where you want to be right now. What do A: It did. The coaching staff, Ron, (Rob) Zettler, they had a lot of you see as being the biggest issues? confidence in me but my objective was to come in and force them to play A: We’re not where we want to be, but you put five, six (wins) in a row me. Force them to give me a spot on this team. The way I worked, it got and you move up four spots in the standings. You lose like we did and me that opportunity. Throughout the exhibition games, if they’re going to we drop. If we can get our offensive game on track, I think we’ll be fine. put me out there against the best players, I’m going to try and shut them Now in the new NHL, it’s all about offense. Yeah, you want to play down. That’s the role I got here. defense, and if we’re not scoring, you can’t give up four or five goals a Q: That was an era of big defensemen. Six-foot-four or five, 220, 230. night. If we play tight defensively, normally our offense kicks off. But if we Scouts really wanted big guys. can create offense, keep the team in their zone, we’ll be alright and I think we have the personnel to do it. A: Now I’m a big defenseman. Q: Did you feel a coaching change, a new voice was needed? Q: But your game has stood the test of time. A: It’s on the players. Unfortunately, when you take a coaching job, eventually, you take a job to be fired. It sucks to say, but that’s the way it goes. But I don’t think the coaching staff … it’s the players that have the blood on their hands, not the coaching staff. They implemented a great system because we won 45 games in a row allowing two goals or less. The system does work. It’s on the players to execute it.
Maybe this will shake up the players. I know we didn’t win (Thursday), but in the long run, maybe this will wake us up. We know what we need to do. The coaches, they can tell you to go out there and be physical, but if you;re not going to do it, then what’s the coach going to do. Sit you? It sucks seeing four great coaches go. I enjoyed playing for them. But it’s on us to turn this around.
Q: You want to retire a Shark, is that fair to say?
A: I like being here. I’ve been here for 14 years, so I must like it. I have six years left on my contract. It’s been fun. I enjoy the weather. I enjoy being out here. California’s the most dog-friendly state I’ve seen, so I can’t complain.
Q: More than Florida?
A: More than Florida, more than Quebec. It’s a great place to live. I love playing here. We’re competitive every year, which is great. We have a chance to win, which I like. I’m playing in hockey in California. I can’t complain.
I have a no-trade (clause) for the next couple years. But like I said, I don’t want to leave. I go out there, my objective is to win every hockey game and try and win a Stanley Cup for this team. It’s all I’ve tried to do in 14 years and I’ll keep doing that until I decide I don’t want to play anymore.
Q: When you were in junior, who was the Sharks scout that was looking at you?
“Gilles Cote. A scout in the Quebec league. Really nice guy. I owe him a lot to tell the Sharks to draft me. He was high on me from the start, higher than anybody else in this organization. He forced everybody to draft me. He takes care of the whole Q-league. I still talk to him. Still see him. Such a nice guy, knows so much about hockey. The organization, they always say he’s one of our best guys and I believe that.”
San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166415 San Jose Sharks Brandon Sutter nearly tied it in the closing seconds of the middle period but his deflection trickled just wide of the post right before the buzzer.
“The whole group didn’t think we had a good first period but it was Sharks beat Canucks 4-2 to snap 6-game skid obvious we dominated the last two periods,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. "When you play that way and don’t win, you’re not going to be happy by any means.”
Josh Dubow NOTES: Sutter (groin) returned to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 12. ... Vlasic became the 17th defenseman to reach the 1,000-game 10:40 pm PST, Saturday, December 14, 2019 milestone with one team. ... San Jose D Brent Burns, who led the team with 83 points last season, has no points in his past 11 games.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Interim coach Bob Boughner talked about UP NEXT having an open competition at goaltender for the San Jose Sharks after Canucks: Visit Vegas on Sunday. taking over earlier this week. Sharks: Host Arizona on Tuesday. Aaron Dell more than made his case to get another start. San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 12.15.2019 Dell made 33 saves, including several tough stops while protecting a lead in the third period, and the San Jose Sharks snapped a season-high six- game losing streak by beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Saturday night.
“He was our best player,” Boughner said. “He made some key saves at key times and really kept us in it when we were starting to take on water. That's what a goalie does in a win like that.”
Boughner said that performance will earn Dell another start on Tuesday, while usual starter Martin Jones works with goaltender coach Evgeni Nabokov.
It will be the first time all season that Dell will start consecutive games as the Sharks try to get on a roll after giving Boughner his first win since taking over from the fired Peter DeBoer earlier this week. San Jose lost its first game under Boughner 6-3 to the Rangers on Thursday night.
“I think our compete level was a little big higher," Dell said. "I think we really wanted to dig ourselves out of this hole and this was the first step. I think we played a little safer of a game tonight than we have in the past, and I think that showed a lot.”
Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier scored to give San Jose the lead. Evander Kane and Logan Couture added empty-net goals around a score by Bo Horvat with 28.4 seconds to play for Vancouver.
Jake Virtanen also scored for Vancouver and Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves.
The Sharks were protecting a 1-0 lead early in the third when Dell came up with several big saves following defensive breakdowns, robbing J.T. Miller, Tanner Pearson and Brock Boeser early in the period. He made another stop of Boeser to fuel a rush the other way.
Erik Karlsson sent a pass out to Meier, who worked a give-and-go with Kane before beating Markstrom with a one-timer for his 11th goal of the season.
“You want to feel good about your game," Sharks defenseman Marc- Edouard Vlasic said after playing his 1,000th career game. Now "some guys are feeling better, we’re feeling better as a team. It’s just one game so we’ve got to string some together.”
Virtanen answered less than a minute later on a pass from Adam Gaudette but Dell held the Canucks off until after Kane's goal restored the two-goal advantage.
“It’s never easy chasing the game the entire night," Horvat said. We “have to find a way top come out better. It’s execution. Once we started passing and making plays for each other we played well.”
For the second straight game under Boughner, Hertl opened the scoring in the first period for San Jose. The Sharks put together a strong forechecking shift for some extended zone time. Joe Thornton then slid a pass across the crease to Hertl, who was all alone and beat Markstrom for his 12th.
San Jose was unable to build on an early goal by Hertl in Boughner's first game as they went on to lose 6-3 to the New York Rangers on Thursday night.
But they kept the pressure on for most of the rest of the first period against Vancouver, killed a pair of delay of game penalties starting late in the first and carrying over into the second and then got strong play from Dell in the second period to maintain the 1-0 advantage. 1166416 San Jose Sharks "It's a start," Meier said. "We know there are still a lot of things we need to clean up, but it's a step in the right direction."
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 Aaron Dell lifts Sharks to big win vs. Canucks, earns another start
Chelena Goldman
December 14, 2019 10:42 PM
SAN JOSE - The Sharks named Aaron Dell the first star on the evening after they defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 at SAP Center on Saturday. Really, it would have been silly to give that first star to anyone else.
But in San Jose's first win with Bob Boughner behind the bench, the 30- year-old backup netminder didn't just keep the team in front of him in the game. He also earned himself his first back-to-back opportunity of his 2019-20 campaign, with Boughner all but confirming after the win that Dell would get the start over Martin Jones when the Sharks host the Coyotes on Tuesday.
Earlier in the season, Jones might have gotten the nod to start Tuesday's game regardless of how Dell played on Saturday. But this is Boughner's team now. And the interim head coach is going to play whoever the hot hand is.
"This is a competition," Boughner told reporters after San Jose's victory over Vancouver. "Both guys are good goalies."
Despite an up-and-down first few months of the season, Dell came up big in his first start of Boughner's tenure. He had a shutout bid going against the Canucks up until 7:57 in the third period. Sure, he let two goals in late, but he also strung together some highlight reel-worthy stops to stymie Vancouver's mounting offensive push. Dell stopped 33 of 35 shots, improving to 18-6-3 in his career when recording 30 or more saves in a contest. Needless to say, the performance added to Dell's glowing resume against the Canucks, who he holds a 6-1-0 all-time record against.
#SJSharks Aaron Dell made 33 saves to improve to 6-1-0 in his career vs #Canucks, with a 2.14 GAA, .929 sv pct and 2 shutouts. In his career when making 30+ saves: 18-6-3 with a .932 sv pct. #VANvsSJS
— Darin Stephens (@SharksStats) December 15, 2019
"He was our best player," Boughner said of Dell. "He made some key saves at key times and kept us in it when we were starting to take on water. That's what a goalie does in a win like that"
Teammate Timo Meier agreed with his new coach
"Definitely wouldn't have been able to win without him," Meier said. "He was really solid in net. He played great for us. He's definitely a huge part of this win. He kept us in the game."
Although Dell will start San Jose's next game, Jones won't be sitting around waiting around for his next start. No. 31 is expected to get some extra practice time in with newly-appointed goalie coach Evgeni Nabokov, which Boughner sees as a big positive for San Jose's goaltending tandem.
"Jones is going to get a chance to work with Nabby for a few days, which is an advantage for us," Boughner said.
As for Dell's next outing, it's anyone's guess how he will play in a second straight start. He's 2-2-0 lifetime in back-to-back starts and, again, hasn't played consecutive games yet this season. If his next start is anything like his start on Saturday night, however, the Sharks should be in a good position to get another win.
Of course, San Jose's success won't start and end with how Dell plays on Tuesday against Arizona. The Sharks might have gotten into the win column on Saturday, but they still have work to do to improve the game -- mainly when it comes to playing tight defense for a full 60 minutes.
"It's just one game so we've got to string some (wins) together," Marc- Edouard Vlasic said after Saturday's win. "We played better. We stuck more to our system. Turned (the puck) over too many times, but other than that, we played the way we wanted to." 1166417 San Jose Sharks
Sharks takeaways: What we learned in skid-busting 4-2 win over Canucks
Chelena Goldman
December 14, 2019 9:37 PM
SAN JOSE - It wasn't the cleanest game, nor was it the most dominant. And boy, did it get dicey there at the end. But heck, it was a victory all the same for the San Jose Sharks.
For the first time in the month of December, Team Teal (16-17-2) put a notch in the win column, holding on late to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday's game at SAP Center.
Still in search of that full 60
Perhaps San Jose's biggest issue in their last game was that they didn't put a full effort on the ice for all three periods, thus not being able to hold onto a one-goal lead with 15 minutes left in the game. While they played significantly better on Saturday against the Canucks (16-13-4), there was still some sag in their defense at points during the second and third periods -- especially late in the third period with the game on the line.
San Jose looked its best during Saturday's game when their defense played extra stingy -- pushing Vancouver's offense to the edges and not giving them enough time to get good shots off. Lucky enough for the Sharks' defense, the guy between the pipes was having a heck of a game.
On that note ...
Dell-ightful.
Maybe it was the slick black goalie pads. Or maybe he was just in the zone. Whatever the reason, Aaron Dell put on quite a solid performance in his first start of the Bob Boughner era. Dell was especially good in the second period when Vancouver made a push and pinned San Jose in their own end. His sprawling split save on a Tanner Pearson wrister toward the end of the second stanza was probably his most notable of the night.
The question now is whether Saturday's game earned Dell a second consecutive start in a row. Boughner appears open to the idea of letting both Dell and Martin Jones duke it out for starts. While Dell's shutout bid was snapped in the third period against the Canucks, he certainly made a case for himself starting another game.
The PK prevailed
Yes, the Sharks still need to tighten up for a full 60 minutes. But one area of their game that came up big was the penalty kill. And against the fourth-best power play in the league, that meant a lot for San Jose.
The kill came up huge in the second half of the third period when Kevin Labanc went to the sin bin and the Sharks were clinging to a 2-1 lead. While it is definitely preferable that the Sharks don't take penalties that late in the game when they've had trouble holding onto leads, at least they were able to get the job done.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166418 San Jose Sharks outs. He was seeing the puck well. The only shots they got from the inside is when we turned it over … stuck more to our system, just turned it over too many times. Other than that, played the way we wanted to.”
After leading Sharks to much-needed win, Aaron Dell earns his chance to Boughner said: “I didn’t like our turnovers in the second period. I feel like grab the crease that is what changed the flow of the game. We’ve been stressing north- south mentality and putting pucks behind people and making them come 200 feet and making them defend. When we get away from that is when we get in trouble.” Kevin Kurz Vancouver broke through shortly after Meier’s goal when Jake Virtanen Dec 14, 2019 whizzed in a shot on a two-on-one, and the Sharks employed a bend-but- not-break defense the rest of the way before Kane’s empty-net goal at 18:39 increased it to 3-1. Horvat made it 3-2 after goalie Jacob The most important statistic to any NHL head coach isn’t found anywhere Markstrom was pulled for an extra attacker, but Logan Couture scored an on the league’s official game sheet. empty-net goal himself to seal the win.
We’re not sure who keeps track of scoring chances for the Sharks — it’s “I liked the way we played. We played with some poise,” Boughner said. probably either video coach Dan Darrow or Charlie Townsend, the “The second period we took on too much, but I thought the third period team’s research and development analyst — but in Bob Boughner’s we responded even though they were in our zone a little bit. We didn’t debut as the interim head coach on Thursday against the Rangers, the have too many letdowns and breakdowns in the slot area.” team enjoyed a 12-11 advantage in scoring chances, according to Boughner. Boughner has deployed the same lineup for two straight games, other than replacing Dylan Gambrell with Noah Gregor as the fourth-line center Still, the Sharks lost 6-3 to a rebuilding New York club that won’t likely Saturday. He’s loaded up the top two lines, putting Hertl with Thornton qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. and Kevin Labanc, while Couture has been between Kane and Meier.
“We didn’t produce a lot of shots — 18 shots. But at least the shots we Thornton, especially, has been very good in each of the past two games. did produce were high quality,” Boughner said Friday. “We scored three. His assist on Hertl’s score was perhaps his nicest play of the season, as It would have been nice to win a game 3-2 with the way we came back he froze Tyler Myers before feathering it through the slot to Hertl’s tape. twice.” Thornton’s 17:06 of ice time was a season high, and for the second straight game, that line was the Sharks’ most effective. What was left unsaid was that the Sharks didn’t get the saves they needed from Martin Jones that night, particularly in the third period, when THORNTON ➡️ HERTL AND THE SHARKS TAKE A 1-0 LEAD he allowed three stoppable shots to get past him. Brenden Dillon’s goal PIC.TWITTER.COM/P2EWBRLNAR earlier in the final frame gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead that might have stood up had the team received competent goaltending. — SHARKS ON NBCS (@NBCSSHARKS) DECEMBER 15, 2019
The Sharks did get competent goaltending on Saturday. The result was a “I think we played a way better game than even last game. We’ve got (a) 4-2 win over the Canucks, giving Boughner his first victory since he connection,” Hertl said when asked about playing with Thornton. “I think replaced Peter DeBoer on Wednesday. our line had a lot of chances. I really like to play with him. He’s strong on the puck, he holds it, and he just makes space and we get scoring Aaron Dell made 33 saves in the win, improving to 4-4-1 on the season. chances. He (made) a great play to me, and I think it’s working, so Boughner wasted no time in revealing that the performance earned Dell hopefully we can keep going.” another start Tuesday when the Sharks face another Pacific Division team that’s ahead of them in the standings, the Arizona Coyotes. Boughner said: “Those guys have been our best line when it comes to possession down low. Obviously, (Thornton’s) hockey IQ and his smarts, “I said after last game this is a competition,” Boughner said. “Both guys he’s been around for a long time. … Tommy is a big guy. They are good goalies. Jonesy is going to get a chance here to work with complement each other because he can create space for Jumbo, and (goalie coach Evgeni Nabokov) for a few days, which is an advantage for (Labanc) has obviously got the hands and finesse. It’s a good us. Deller goes into net the next game, and Jonesy continues to work combination, and they’ve been our best line the past two games.” with Nabby and get his game to where it needs to be.” The Sharks’ six-game winless streak (0-5-1) is now over. Next, they’ll try After Tuesday’s game, the Sharks don’t play again until Saturday, giving to win two in a row for the first time since Nov. 29-30, and Dell will make Jones — 12-13-1 with a 3.30 goals-against average and .888 save back-to-back starts in net for the first time this season. percentage — at least nine days to try to fix his game, which has been wildly inconsistent for the second straight season now. “Deller was our best player,” Boughner said. “He made some key saves at key times and really kept us in it when we were starting to take on The Sharks, of course, don’t care who is in net as long as they start to water. That’s what a goalie does in a win like that.” string together some wins. Saturday’s victory brought them to within two points of the upstart Canucks, who have played two fewer games than The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 San Jose. They are five points out of a playoff spot.
For the first half of the game, the Sharks made Dell’s life fairly easy. Vancouver had only 11 shots on goal midway through the second period, and only one — an attempt by Bo Horvat in the high slot in the first period — was dangerous. Tomas Hertl’s goal midway through the first period, set up beautifully by Joe Thornton, was the only score through two frames.
But Vancouver, which recorded eight straight shots over the final few minutes of the second period, kept up the pressure in the third, even after Timo Meier’s score at 7:09 of the final frame increased the Sharks’ lead to 2-0.
Dell denied Tanner Pearson on a two-on-one after a Brenden Dillon turnover two minutes into the third, and he made a stop on Brock Boeser after Erik Karlsson accidentally teed him up for a one-timer from the circle about five minutes in. That allowed Meier to score off a feed from Evander Kane on a rush that began on a soft pass from Karlsson deep in the Sharks’ defensive zone.
Dell “played well, really well,” said Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who was playing in his 1,000th career NHL game. “For the most part, we had good box- 1166419 San Jose Sharks Although he had a nice junior season in Quebec in 2005-06 with 73 points and a +41 rating under coach Patrick Roy, helping the team capture the Memorial Cup that season, no one on the Sharks’ coaching staff figured Vlasic was ready for the big time when he arrived in training Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s path to 1,000 games started with a remarkable, camp the following fall. breakthrough rookie season “There was certainly no thought of him staying originally when camp first started,” said Rob Zettler, who was an assistant on head coach Ron Wilson’s staff that year, overseeing the defensemen and the penalty kill. Kevin Kurz But Vlasic made an impression on the staff, playing that same style that Dec 14, 2019 hockey fans have become accustomed to over the years — steady and efficient, without being all that flashy. As the start of the regular season grew closer, Roy kept calling the Sharks’ brass asking when Vlasic, a Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s journey to 1,000 games in the NHL, all with the Montreal native, would be on his way back to Quebec. Sharks, began in front of a computer, mouse in hand, on July 30, 2005. “Even if I was 19, I came in to make the team,” said Vlasic, now 32. Vacationing with his family in Nova Scotia at the time, Vlasic didn’t attend “Force coaches to play me. The way my game is, back then as it is the NHL Draft that summer. Only the top 20 prospects were invited to today, I guess it helped me out. Trying to make the right play every time, Ottawa, as the draft had to be postponed a few weeks because of the keeping it simple, but if the play is there, make it.” lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season. The event wasn’t as vast or frantic as usual. In the final preseason game, it was time to really give the upstart teenager a test to see if he belonged. The Sharks were at home against Vlasic, though, didn’t even know if he’d even get drafted, so it might not Calgary, and Vlasic was going to get a healthy dose of Iginla, who, at that have been in his plans to attend anyway. NHL Central Scouting had him point, was in the prime of his career, coming off of a 35-goal season in pegged for the fourth or fifth round, but even that was no guarantee. 2005-06 and 41 the season before that.
But he kept hitting the refresh button on that web browser anyway, “We just said, all right, we’re going to put him out there against Iginla hoping his name would appear. every shift we can and just see how he responds,” Zettler recalled. “He’s a smart guy, it doesn’t take him long to figure things out, and halfway It did, much earlier than he expected. through the first period he knew exactly what was going on. He knew he The Sharks selected Vlasic in the second round, with the 35th overall had Iginla for the night even though we didn’t say anything to him prior. choice, utilizing the pick they had acquired from Calgary in 2003 that sent As soon as Iginla is about to get on the ice he would literally turn his goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to the Flames. head and look at me like, ‘I’m ready to go.’ This is as a 19-year-old kid.
“I was surprised, I thought it was an error because it was so high up in “He showed no sign of being nervous. It was all like, ‘I can handle this. I the draft,” Vlasic recalled last week, in an interview at the Sharks’ team got this.’ And, he did, and went out and proved that he could play. He just hotel in Tampa. “I was assuming at some point I might get drafted, but was a guy you could count on, and just kept getting better and better.” you’re never really 100 percent sure. Saw my name so quickly up there, It didn’t take long for Vlasic to get tested in the regular season, either. In saw San Jose. I was pretty surprised, but very happy at the same time.” fact, in his NHL debut against the Blues on Oct. 5, 2006, Vlasic played in Adding to the surprise was that Vlasic never expected the Sharks to take overtime in what was a 5-4 Sharks victory, courtesy of a Curtis Brown him after meeting with team brass in Toronto prior to the event. goal 2:12 into the extra session. Vlasic ended up playing 20 minutes and 54 seconds that night, the fourth-highest total on the team. “After I left the meeting I said there’s no way they draft me,” he said. “There’s no way I come here.” Making the NHL roster as a 19-year-old is one thing. Contributing on a nightly basis and sticking around for the duration is another, and like all Why not? junior players, Vlasic could have been reassigned back to Roy’s Quebec “They just ripped me apart,” Vlasic said. “They’re like, you don’t have Remparts before playing 10 games with the Sharks. enough points, you don’t do this, that. I was like, wow. That was a The decision to keep Vlasic around past the 10-game mark was useless interview. But then, they really liked you. I guess that’s how they apparently an easy one, although they didn’t say anything to the work.” defenseman about it. They just let that 10-game mark quietly come and Vlasic later found out and had a laugh with a few of the other go. organization’s top prospects that endured the same kind of grilling from That Vlasic proved he was NHL-ready that quickly is somewhat Sharks assistant general manager Tim Burke, then the scouting director extraordinary. overseeing the team’s selections. “With a defenseman, you’re very cautious,” Burke said. “You’ve got the “You’ve got to find out how guys are going to respond. It’s different with nine games, now you’ve got to say, OK, are we doing the right thing each guy,” Burke said. “Everybody is a little bit different. The one thing here? It wasn’t any doubt. It wasn’t like, let’s just keep him around so he about the kid is he’s got a lot of conviction in what he believes, and what can develop here. He was already ahead of the game.” he can do. He’s no-nonsense — you can see it in his makeup. He wants to play against Jarome Iginla. He wants to play against (Sidney) Crosby. Vlasic said: “The first game we went into overtime, and I played in He wants to play against (Connor) McDavid. I think he’s always had that overtime. Then I played about 23 minutes or something like that until nine in him. games. You have a sense like, OK, (I’m) going to stay. But you want that 10th game to hit to be like, OK, you’re staying. “Some guys would look at that and say I don’t know if I’m ready for it, and some guys might say they’re ready, but don’t really believe it. He’s got a “When I started I was kind of like, wow, I’m playing in the NHL. And then confidence about him — it’s not outwardly, but it’s there.” after a couple games I said, OK, I can keep up to this pace. I was playing with (Scott) Hannan, playing a lot, playing against the top players. I felt Saturday’s home game against Vancouver will make Vlasic just the 17th comfortable out there, so I knew that with my work ethic and my abilities defenseman to play in at least 1,000 games all with one franchise. He’s to be up here, I can stay here.” been a plus player in 11 of his 13 seasons, he has been part of a Sharks team that has qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs every year except It’s one thing for a highly skilled forward, particularly a winger, to make an 2015, and he represented Canada at the 2014 Olympics and 2016 World impact at the NHL level while still in his teens. Forwards are much easier Cup of Hockey, winning gold both times. He’s often been described in his to integrate into a professional lineup, according to just about every career as one of the most underrated players in the NHL. hockey coach or manager out there.
But perhaps his most remarkable achievement came a little more than a But a primarily defensive defenseman who wasn’t even a first-round year after the Sharks drafted him. As a 19-year-old defenseman, Vlasic pick? That’s almost unheard of in today’s NHL, and it was slightly established himself right away as a key contributor on a contending shocking back in 2006, too. team. “We had camp and we put him against some of the better players. very vocal and talked to other guys, so he probably helped out Pickles Nobody was going anywhere against him,” Burke said. “Then it just kept quite a bit.” building. He was always in good position and gave himself a chance to defend everybody. Zettler said: “Scotty had been around a little bit, so you could see at that time where he was in his career that he was a real good shutdown “Everybody kept waiting and saying, this can’t be happening, this is too defenseman, as well. Between the two of them, the pair just made for a early. Ronny Wilson and the coaches kept saying, ‘We’re going to have good tandem where it was really hard to get anything going against them to keep this guy.’ I’m going, are you absolutely sure? And they said they when they were out there.” can’t find anything wrong with him, and he figures things out really quick. You tell him once, and he’s got it.” Vlasic, of course, hasn’t gone anywhere since that remarkable campaign, and is signed through the 2025-26 season. He’s already played the most Vlasic ended up playing 81 games in the 2006-07 season, posting 26 games for a defenseman in Sharks history, and will become the 343rd points (3g, 23a) and a +13 rating while skating more than 22 minutes a player in league history to reach the lofty milestone of 1,000 games night. He was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie team at the conclusion, played. along with teammate and fellow rookie Matt Carle, who was three years older and averaged four fewer minutes per game than Vlasic. “I’m still the same guy I was when I came in, just 14 years older,” Vlasic said. “Plays the same way, does the same things, plays against the same Patrick Marleau, one of the Sharks’ top offensive threats that season players. Just 14 years older.” along with Joe Thornton, recalled being impressed with Vlasic right away. Zettler, who returned as an assistant coach with the Sharks from 2017-18 “First off I think it was his skating ability, being able to gap up on guys, through last season, said: “I think everybody in the organization, more so and to be able to play in their face defensively,” Marleau said. “And than people outside the organization, know how valuable he is and what nothing really rattles him, or anything like that. It’s his demeanor, in that he brings to the team. You can see by the contract he signed, by how respect.” many games he played in San Jose — none of that surprises people on the inside, because they know how valuable he is.” That demeanor is something that nearly anyone who’s ever spent any time around Vlasic quickly notices. His personality, like his game, is just The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 about as cool as can be. He never seems overwhelmed by any situation, whether it be the Stanley Cup playoffs or high-level international competition. He’s typically been able to raise his game at the most important times, and that ability stemming from his comportment is something that the Sharks learned very quickly.
“He was like that early on,” Zettler said. “How I gauge it is I watch players in the first period, in the second period — does their game change with five minutes left in the third period and you’re up a goal? Do you make different plays, do you back off, do you give guys more room — and the answer was, his game didn’t change. He played the same way. … He knows his role, and he’s confident in it.”
Hannan was paired with Vlasic almost exclusively throughout that 2006- 07 season.
“Sometimes when guys come up there’s a learning curve, they seem overwhelmed by the situation, and it takes them time to be able to play at such a high level,” Hannan said. “When you saw him come in — maybe it’s part of his demeanor, the way he’s kind of mellow through everything. That plays well on the ice for him. When he stepped in, nothing bothered him.
“He always had that quiet confidence, and it shows. I don’t want to so much call it cockiness, because in some ways all of us athletes have it. That’s what you have to be if you’re going to play at that level. But his demeanor and his quiet confidence is probably one of the reasons he was able to make it so early. Some kids seem overwhelmed by the situation, but sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns, and he did it. Not vocal about it, not in your face. Just quietly went about doing his job.”
Something else that helped? The Sharks were an outstanding team that season, finishing with a 51-26-5 record for 107 points and second in the Pacific Division (they went on to beat Nashville in the first round of the playoffs, but lost in the second round to Detroit.)
Vlasic wasn’t some hotshot early first-round pick who was being counted on to carry the team to glory. He could fly under the radar a bit while also seeing what it took to be a professional from veterans in the room who were in the primes of their respective careers like Thornton, Marleau and Hannan.
“Say he’s a top-five pick and he’s with a team that’s really struggling, then the pressure gets put on and maybe they try to do too much,” Burke said. “In our situation, just do your job, and that was enough. If we’re a 25-win team or something, you wouldn’t want him around.”
Hannan was 28 years old at the time, and was one of the most important players on the roster. Putting him with Vlasic seemed to benefit both of them before Hannan was lured away the following summer as a free agent to Colorado on a four-year, $18 million deal.
“Knowing Scottie and what he brought at that time — defensively, shutting guys down, but also being able to talk,” Marleau said. “He was 1166420 St Louis Blues "It was a great job by the guys," Berube said. "Having Steener back in that situation is important for sure. He knows how to close games out. They did a really good job -- all eight guys we used -- to kill that off."
Blues score four in third for historic comeback win over Blackhawks The Blues had a 25-4 edge in shot attempts in the first period, but it took the Blackhawks just 19 seconds to score in the second period, on a fairly straightforward shot by Brandon Saad that seemed to cross up Jordan Binnington, who had the puck go in off his skate. Tom Timmermann The Blues had a chance to get even soon after when they went on a
power play, but 41 seconds in, Brayden Schenn was called for The Blues dominated much of their game Saturday night with the interference to wipe out the rest of it. And then during the four-on-four, Blackhawks, outshooting them, outchancing them, and somehow fell the Blues had too many men on the ice, which gave Chicago 41 seconds behind 3-0. with a two-man advantage and 1:17 of one-man advantage after that, but the Blues killed it off. And then, in a development every bit as unlikely as that, scored four goals in the third period, by three players who had combined for four The Blues weren't quite as dominant in the second as in the first, but they goals with the Blues all season and beat the Blackhawks 4-3. It was the still outshot Chicago 14-9 and had a 22-19 edge in shot attempts. first time in franchise history the team had come back from three goals The Blues are 0-3 in the game on the power play, running their futility down in the third period to win in regulation. The only other time they've streak to 14 straight power plays without a goal. come from three or more goals down in the third to win was their legendary comeback from a 5-0 deficit against Toronto in 2000, where The Blues had the puck for pretty much all of the first period but couldn't they won 6-5 in overtime. score.
"This team went through so much last year, the ups and downs they had The Blues had a 13-2 edge in shots on goal and a 25-4 edge in shot and obviously came out on top," forward Jacob de la Rose, who scored attempts. One of those Chicago attempts, however, was almost a goal. In the game-tying goal, said. "There's a lot of confidence in this room and a two-on-one break for the Blackhawks, Ryan Carpenter put a shot off we know if we stick with it, we're going to get rewarded. Same thing the goalpost. today, we never stop pushing. We just kept pushing and it was an awesome win." Ivan Barbashev had three shots on goal for the Blues and six shot attempts. "We kept pushing and stayed with it," goalie Jordan Binnington said. "We had a lot of shots tonight and a lot of work and offensive zone time. It's The Blues kept taking the puck away from Chicago and sending it back good to see us hanging out back there … they really stepped up and into the zone, giving them a seemingly constant presence with the puck. were huge in that third period. It's a big win for us." The last 7:27 of the first period was played without a whistle. "Once you get one goal, you get energized," coach Craig Berube said. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 12.15.2019 "That gets everybody up."
Justin Faulk scored with 2:26 to go to put the Blues ahead. Prior to that, Tyler Bozak, who came into the game with three goals, scored twice, and Jacob de la Rose, who had yet to score with the Blues, scored the goal that tied it.
Robert Thomas assisted on the first, second and fourth goals.
Bozak started the comeback by getting behind Chicago goalie Corey Crawford and finishing off a pass from Robert Thomas to make it 3-1 4:40 into the third period. That goal came 34 seconds after Patrick Kane had scored to make it 3-0. The quick response was essential.
"That helps for sure," Berube said. "That gets everybody pumped, everybody energized. They can see light at the end of the tunnel."
It was still that way with seven minutes to go, but Bozak took a pass from Thomas, swung, had his stick lifted, and instead had the puck hit his skate and slide into the net to make it 3-2.
And then, 12 seconds later, de la Rose backhanded a shot off crossbar and in to tie the game with 6:40 to go in the third. De la Rose was out on the ice with Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron, the first time Berube had put that group together that game.
"I had a couple shifts (with them in another game)," de la Rose said. "That was the first shift with them today. When you get the opportunity to play with those guys, you've just got to take it and make the best about it."
"I just didn't see anything else going on with guys," Berube said of the move. "He's been playing well."
The finish was a bit agonizing as Faulk was called for delay of game with 1:55 to go and the Blues had to kill off a 6-on-4 after Chicago pulled its goalie.
"It wasn't great," Faulk said of having to watch the finish from the penalty box. "Don't like to do that. That would have been a tough bounce if they got one. Boys did a good job. They stepped up big. I was happy when (the clock) hit zero, I can say that. I did not want that to go any longer. I don't think the boys wanted to play any longer than we had to. Hopefully I don't do that again." 1166421 St Louis Blues Blackhawks projected lineup Forwards
Brandon Saad -- Jonathan Toews -- Dominik Kubalik Steen back in Blues lineup for Blackhawks game Alex DeBrincat -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane
Zack Smith -- David Kampf -- Ryan Carpenter Tom Timmermann Alex Nylander -- Kirby Dach -- Matthew Highmore
Defensemen Alexander Steen, who missed 16 games with a high ankle sprain, will be back in the lineup for the Blues on Saturday. Troy Brouwer comes out of Olli Maatta -- Brent Seabrook the lineup. Erik Gustafsson -- Connor Murphy Coach Craig Berube wouldn't say if Steen would go into Brouwer's spot on the third line or somewhere else. Steen could fit in on the second line, Dennis Gilbert -- Adam Boqvist with Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron, which would mean Tyler Bozak Goalie moving back to center on the third line. Corey Crawford "I could," Berube said. "They played together last year for a stretch and they were really good, I thought." Robin Lehner
Steen has been eager to get back in, but having had a high ankle sprain Scratched: Dylan Sikura, Slater Koekkoek before, he knows to be careful. Injured: Duncan Keith (groin), Andrew Shaw (concussion protocol), "I was a little bit younger the last time it happened," he said. "You know Calvin de Haan (shoulder), Drake Caggiula (concussion protocol) what you need to be doing for the injury, but also for conditioning and making sure you're ready to go when you get back as well. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 12.15.2019
"I think the last week to 10 days was a little bit more frustrating than the start," he said. "I think I was getting really close. It just couldn't get over that last thing, but I feel good and ready to go tonight, so I'm excited."
Berube welcomed getting Steen back.
"He plays the right way and effort based, works extremely hard out there, does all the right things, both ends of the ice," Berube said. "Kills penalties. It's good to have him back."
Zach Sanford is fit to play, coming out of the league's concussion protocol, but isn't in the lineup. "It was my decision to keep him out tonight," Berube said.
The rest of the lineup is the same. Niko Mikkola, just called up from San Antonio, skated with the team. Berube said the injury to Carl Gunnarsson, who went on IR on Friday, wasn't thought to be anything long term, but they would know better next week.
"The middle of the week, we'll know a lot more," Berube said. "That's probably a good timeline."
As for Mikkola, Berube said: "He's been good. He is what he is, he's a solid defending defenseman, big, Closes plays out, an aggressive player. He's got a real good stick at defending. He's played well. I thought he had a good camp here and we like him a lot. He's improved his puck movement, which is good. That's important. I think he's got a good future. We'll see if we can get a look at him up here. We'll see how he goes."
LINES
We're guessing because Berube wouldn't say and the Blues didn't run lines on Saturday morning:
Blues
Forwards
Schwartz-Schenn-Kyrou
Steen-O'Reilly-Perron
Barbashev-Thomas-Bozak
MacEachern-de la Rose-Sundqvist
Defensemen
Parayko-Pietrangelo
Bouwmeester-Faulk
Bortuzzo-Dunn
Goalie
Binnington 1166422 St Louis Blues Against Buffalo, Kyrou had two prime scoring chances, one from the near slot and another on a wraparound attempt. He had a couple of decent chances against the Golden Knights as well.
This time around, Kyrou wants to stick with Blues “Yeah, but I gotta bury one next game,” Kyrou said. “As long as the chances are there, that means it’s going good.”
He’s made some strong passes and used his speed and quickness to Jim Thomas advantage. But the most noteworthy things so far about Kryou has been his ability to win puck battles, and hold up on the boards and in the Dec 14, 2019 0 corners when banging with the big bodies.
That wasn’t the case much last year with the Blues — he was knocked Jordan Kyrou knows he has the ability to play in the NHL. He has the off the puck too easily. requisite skating, passing, shooting skills. But even though he spent most of the offseason doing rehab following But he knows he needs to work on a lot of other things to stay in the kneecap surgery last spring, Kyrou worked on his upper-body strength NHL. The ‘compete level,’ consistency, defense. and has gained some weight.
The Blues don’t want to send Kyrou back to the American Hockey “I definitely feel a lot stronger when I’m in the corners and stuff, like League. They don’t want him riding the San Antonio shuttle, back and holding some of the bigger guys off and being able to spin out and get forth to St. Louis. But playing time is earned, not given, by coach Craig out of there quick,” Kyrou said. Berube. Although he didn’t get an assist on Schwartz’s game-winning goal “Staying and becoming an NHL player — full-time NHL player — it’s against the Knights, Kyrou drove the net and occupied two Vegas gonna be about ‘compete,’ ” Berube said. “He can go down to the defenders, one of whom fell to the ice and surely distracted goalie Marc American Hockey League and score and do all those things because it’s Andre-Fleury. not as competitive down there and he’s a good player. He’s a talented Which was part of the reason why Kyrou earned good reviews from guy. Berube for the second game in a row. “But to do it up here, he’s gonna have to really compete. He’s gonna “He was good again tonight,” Berube said postgame. “Opportunities to have to win puck battles and little things like that. That’s what’s gonna score, skated. I thought he competed on the walls, puck battles. He did a separate him.” good job.” It’s also about moving without the puck, not just drifting and watching. But two games do not make a career. It’s not uncommon for players Having an awareness of what’s going on around him. And on a team that called up from the AHL, brimming with adrenaline, to play well for a few stresses defense, being a responsible defensive player is near the top of games. But then the adrenaline that comes with the callup wears off, and the NHL “to-do” list. reality can set in. “That’s a must,” Berube said. “It’s a challenge,” Berube said. “Like you said, you play on adrenaline for Such things have been stressed to Kyrou by the coaching staff in San a while and that goes away and you gotta be consistent, find a consistent Antonio; and he’s getting another earful in the NHL from Berube and his base. We’ll see how it goes. I can’t give you an answer.” staff. He knows very well what he needs to do to stick around. An answer on whether Kyrou can maintain his early level of play. “The big thing for me is playing without the puck,” Kyrou said. “Got to be But that’s exactly what Kyrou has in mind. strong. It’s what the coaches are looking for and it’s how this team plays. I watch a lot of their games, want to play their style and get in there.” “I want to be here for the rest of the year and help this team win,” he said. “That’s my goal.” He’s in there right now — right in the thick of things. He’s playing right wing on a line with veterans Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 12.15.2019 That’s valuable real estate. He’s been on the team’s second power play unit — although you wouldn’t know that was the case in Thursday’s 4-2 win over Vegas because there weren’t any penalties called against the Golden Knights.
Perhaps most importantly of all, he’s getting meaningful minutes — an average of 14:27 in his two Blues games since Monday’s callup from San Antonio. In 16 games with the Blues last season, he averaged only 9:40, which is fourth-line minutes.
So the Blues are giving the 21-year-old Toronto native every opportunity to succeed. Now he’s got to do it on a consistent enough basis.
It’s just two games, but against Buffalo and Vegas, Kyrou has looked like a different player than the one who opened the 2018-19 season on the “varsity” roster with the Blues.
“I think a year in general is just gonna give a young guy more confidence, more familiarity with the league,” Schenn said. “He looks strong. He looks fast. . . . He’s only gonna get better with time.”
In last year’s season opener, Kyrou played on the same line with Schwartz and Schenn. But that lasted only two games before he was moved down the lineup and eventually down to San Antonio where he spent most of the season.
Those acquaintances have been renewed this time around.
“The more you play with each other, the more chemistry you gain,” Kyrou said. “So every shift I feel I’m a lot more comfortable with them. We kind of know where each other are. So it’s been going good.” 1166423 St Louis Blues “He’s still young. He’s still learning,” Berube said. “But there’s room for growth. He can be better than what he’s played at his best in my opinion. He can be even better.”
(Updated) Gunnarsson out as Blues' injury bug spreads to defense; Steen, Sanford look ready Mikkola promoted For the first time since being sidelined with injuries, forwards Zach Sanford (upper body) and Alexander Steen (high-ankle sprain) skated on lines in practice Friday. That’s usually a sure sign that an injured player is Jim Thomas ready to return to game action.
Berube stopped just short of saying both players would be available Saturday against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. But it looks like So far this season, the Blues’ ever-crowded injury list has been almost Berube will have options when he decides on his lines. exclusively limited to forwards. In practice Friday, the Blues’ first and fourth lines remained unchanged That changed Friday when defenseman Carl Gunnarsson was placed on from the Vegas game: injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Prospect Niko Mikkola was called up from San Antonio to give the Blues a spare body in their D- • Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou. corps. • Mackenzie MacEachern-Jacob de la Rose-Oskar Sundqvist. Gunnarsson did not practice Friday at Centene Community Center, and after practice coach Craig Berube said he hadn’t even been aware of an But on the second line, Berube used David Perron, Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler injury issue with the veteran defenseman until earlier that morning. Bozak and Sanford, mainly rotating Bozak and Sanford.
Several hours later, the Blues announced that Gunnarsson was on IR, On the third line, he used Ivan Barbashev, Robert Thomas, Troy Brouwer which means he will be sidelined at least a week. and Steen, mainly rotating Brouwer and Steen.
Gunnarsson has been in and out of the lineup all season due to injury, To make room for the return of Steen, who has been on IR, forward illness and the rotation with Robert Bortuzzo. He has played in 17 of the Austin Poganski was sent back to San Antonio. Blues’ 33 games and only once has appeared in more than three St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 12.15.2019 consecutive games.
Without Gunnarsson, the Blues will go with their “four righthanders” lineup of:
• Colton Parayko-Alex Pietrangelo
• Jay Bouwmeester-Justin Faulk
• Vince Dunn-Bortuzzo
That’s how the Blues lined up in practice Friday. There was no indication of a Gunnarsson injury in Thursday’s 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. He played 15 minutes 22 seconds — a little more than his season average of 14:56. The last of his 23 shifts came with just 3:48 left in the game.
He missed two games in October with a lower-body injury and two games at the end of November because of illness. Those have been the only games missed by a Blues defenseman other than healthy scratches or Bortuzzo’s four-game cross-checking suspension. Until now.
Pietrangelo, Parayko, Bouwmeester, Faulk and Dunn have played in every game this season.
Mikkola hasn’t received much hype among Blues prospects, probably because he doesn’t score much, but the organization is high on the 23- year-old native of Kiiminki, Finland. A fifth-round draft pick in 2015, No. 127 overall, Mikkola is right off the Blues’ assembly line of big, tall defensemen at 6-4, 205 pounds.
Last spring, he was considered one of the best players on Finland’s national team, which won the Ice Hockey World Championship. This season for San Antonio, he has two goals and six assists in 26 games and is minus-1.
Dunn’s lapses
Berube wasn’t happy with defensive lapses by Dunn, which led to breakaways by Vegas.
“He can’t get on the wrong side of things like he did (Thursday) and give up breakaways,” Berube said, referring to letting a Vegas player get behind him to set up the breakaway. “He’s got to be on the right side of things defensively. Everybody’s got be responsible defensively. . . .He’s a real good puck mover. And so we want him to move the puck and make plays.
“But there’s gonna be times where that’s not always gonna work out. But on the flip side, the defensive side of things, you gotta be responsible defensively. That’s a must.”
Berube has a lot of experience coaching Dunn, going back to their days together with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. So he’s well aware of Dunn’s skill and potential. 1166424 St Louis Blues
Preview: Blues vs. Chicago
Jim Thomas
Dec 14, 2019 0
hen, where: 7 p.m. Saturday, Enterprise Center
TV, radio: FSM, WXOS (101.1 FM)
About the Blackhawks: When the teams met 12 days ago in Chicago, a 4-0 Blues victory, the Blackhawks went with only 11 forwards (but seven defensemen) because of a combination of injury and salary cap issues. In Saturday’s rematch, injuries on defense are the issue for the visitors from the Windy City. Duncan Keith (groin) and Calvin de Haan (shoulder) are both sidelined, putting even more stress on goalies Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner, who are facing a league-high 36.2 shots per game.
Since that shutout loss to St. Louis, Chicago is 2-2-1, losing 5-1 Tuesday at Vegas and 5-2 Thursday at Arizona. Saturday ends a three-game road trip for the Blackhawks, who continue to languish just below the .500 mark at 12-14-6 and in last place in the Central Division.
But the Blackhawks’ firepower can’t be taken lightly. Patrick Kane (14 goals) had a 15-game point streak end in the Dec. 2 contest against the Blues.
St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166425 St Louis Blues Sundqvist missed six games after suffering a sprained right ankle in the second period in Tampa Bay on Nov. 27. He left the ice a little early at Friday’s practice but Berube said he was fine.
(Updated): Gunnarsson to IR; Blues call up Mikkola Steen has missed 16 games since his left high-ankle sprain Nov. 6 against Edmonton.
Sanford has been sidelined just two games since an upper-body injury Jim Thomas Dec. 7 against Toronto.
Dec 13, 2019 0 POGANSKI TO SAN ANTONIO
The Blues assigned rookie forward Austin Poganski to San Antonio on Friday, paving the way for the team to remove Steen from the injured Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson missed Friday's Blues practice with an reserve list. Called up from the Rampage on Thanksgiving following the injury, and coach Craig Berube didn't sound too optimistic talking to Sundqvist injury, Poganski was a healthy scratch for six of the seven reporters about it. game he was with the Blues. When asked if the injury could be a lengthy one, Berube replied: “I don’t He made his NHL debut Tuesday in Buffalo, albeit with just 5 minutes 54 know yet to be honest with you. I don’t want to speculate on it. I just seconds of ice time. found out today.” “Any time you’re up in the NHL. . .just around the guys, taking warmup That was early in the afternoon. About four hours later came some clarity and practice, it’s always good,” Berube said. “If you’re down in the minors when the Blues announced that Gunnarsson was being placed on injured and come up for a little bit, you don’t get a lot of (playing) time but you’re reserve with an upper-body injury. still excited to be up here and you’re still learning and you’re seeing how That means Gunnarsson will be sidelined for at least a week. In his things are done up here. And what’s expected out of each player. So it’s absence the Blues have called up defenseman Niko Mikkola from San good experience.” Antonio. Berube said the same held true for forward Nathan Walker, who was sent Gunnarsson has been in and out of the lineup all season due to injury, down to San Antonio on Wednesday after a stay of nearly three weeks illness, and the rotation with Robert Bortuzzo. Gunnarsson has played 17 that saw him appear in five games with one goal and an assist. Walker of the Blues’ 33 games, and on only one occasion has he appeared in also was a healthy scratch in three games. more than three consecutive games. “He came up and helped,” Berube said. “Walker came up and was an Without Gunnarsson skating, the Blues’ defensive pairings looked like effective player for a few games, helped us win a couple games.” this Friday: St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 12.15.2019 _ Colton Parayko-Alex Pietrangelo
_ Jay Bouwmeester-Justin Faulk
_ Vince Dunn-Bortuzzo
RETURN IMMINENT FOR STEEN, SANFORD
For the first time since being sidelined with injuries, forwards Zach Sanford and Alexander Steen skated on lines in practice Friday. That’s usually a sure sign that an injured player is ready to return to the lineup.
Following a brisk practice at Centene Community Ice Center, coach Craig Berube stopped just short of saying both players would be available for duty Saturday against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.
“We’ll see tomorrow, but they looked good today so they’ll let us know how they felt a little bit later,” Berube said.
Which means for the first time in a while, Berube will have some options and decisions to make when he settles on his lines for the Chicago game.
“It’s tough, but it’s a good thing,” Berube said. “Nobody wants to come out, I get that. But we need everybody down the stretch. We all know that. We need depth. It’s tough, but it’s part of being a pro; it’s part of being a team.”
In practice Friday, the Blues’ first and fourth lines remained unchanged from Thursday’s 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights:
_ Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou
_ Mackenzie MacEachern-Jacob de la Rose-Oskar Sundqvist.
But on the second line, Berube used these four players: David Perron, Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak and Sanford.
On the third line, he used these four players: Ivan Barbashev, Robert Thomas, Troy Brouwer and Steen.
Whether it’s Steen or Sanford _ or both _ in the lineup against the Blackhawks, Sundqvist set the bar pretty high against the Golden Knights when it comes to returning from injury. He had a goal, an assist, several scoring chances, checked like a fiend, battled for pucks, and made his presence felt on the penalty kill. He was named the game’s No. 1 star.
“If they’re anything like Sunny was last night, they’re gonna do a real good job for us,” Berube said. 1166426 St Louis Blues Make no mistake, a move for Hall would certainly be an all-in moment, and it would run congruent with how Armstrong has operated recently and continues to posture himself. He re-signed Brayden Schenn to an eight-year, $52 million extension, then traded for Justin Faulk and The Blues are in the mix for Taylor Hall, but how heavily are they extended him on a seven-year, $45.5 million contract. Meanwhile, he’s pursuing the former MVP? attempting to entice Alex Pietrangelo into a long-term deal. All these moves are made with the purpose of keeping their annual average
values (AAV) as low as possible, regardless of the term, and winning Jeremy Rutherford now.
Dec 14, 2019 The championship window for the Stanley Cup champions is open, and entertaining a trade for Hall reinforces that belief. But it doesn’t mean Armstrong would pay an exorbitant price for Hall to make this season a Cup-or-bust campaign. About two weeks ago, The Athletic asked a question: “Should the Blues be in the Taylor Hall trade talks, and if so, does it make sense? And what If the Blues could bring in Hall, who would fit in nicely on a line with would they give up?” O’Reilly and David Perron, it would improve their chances of winning this season, and it could put them in better position financially next season, The situation between New Jersey and its pending free-agent seems to freeing up money to retain Pietrangelo. If that’s the case, it’s certainly be picking up speed, so we figured it was worth an update. worth investigating. The Devils held Hall out of Friday’s game in Colorado as a healthy What would New Jersey want in return? It will likely seek a 2020 first- scratch, and that will be the case Saturday in Arizona, too, as trade talks round pick and maybe a top prospect such as Jordan Kyrou or Klim continue. The 30th-ranked club is protecting its asset, which The Kostin. The Devils, however, need goaltending, and perhaps they’d be Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun confirmed late Friday night. interested in swapping Jake Allen for Louis Domingue in the deal. Allen is I’M TOLD TAYLOR HALL HAS NOT BEEN DEALT AT THIS POINT, under contract for one more season at $4.35 million, while Domingue HOWEVER, THERE IS SOME TRACTION IN TRADE TALKS THE ($1.15 million) will be an unrestricted free agent. DEVILS ARE HAVING WITH TEAMS AND SO THE RISK IS NOT Allen has had a solid season, helping shoulder the load in Jordan WORTH PLAYING HIM PLAY AT THE MOMENT. STAY TUNED. Binnington’s first season as the Blues’ starter, but shedding his salary in HTTPS://T.CO/I3273TPIDX 2020-21 would allow them more flexibility in the effort to re-sign — PIERRE LEBRUN (@PIERREVLEBRUN) DECEMBER 14, 2019 Pietrangelo. The club is more comfortable with Allen, especially considering his positive attitude toward the situation. But having him is a Five or six teams are in the mix for Hall, according to LeBrun, including luxury, and with salary-cap space at a premium, moving Allen while he’s Colorado, Arizona, Florida and Montreal. on top of his game might be a wise decision.
As The Athletic reported two weeks ago, the Blues have expressed Blues backup goalie Jake Allen (left) has one more season left on his interest and continue to monitor the situation. But at this point, they don’t contract. (David Banks / USA Today) appear to be engaged in serious negotiations — at least serious enough that the Devils are holding out Hall because there’s some traction with In any Hall trade, the Blues would be giving New Jersey considerable the Blues. assets in the form of a high draft pick and/or a top forward prospect, but several of their skilled veteran forwards (Schenn, O’Reilly, Perron, The current buzz seems to be created by the fact that the NHL has a Vladimir Tarasenko) are under contract for the foreseeable future, and holiday freeze on rosters that runs from midnight Thursday through they have players such as Robert Thomas already in the fold. There midnight Dec. 27. won’t be room for everyone, and some won’t be ready while the window New Jersey might find a partner before the moratorium, but with two is open. more games left on the Devils’ schedule before it goes into effect — There are many scenarios in which a deal would be ideal for the Blues Saturday in Arizona and Wednesday against Anaheim — they might give and other scenarios where it might not. That’s what makes this debate so themselves an extra eight days to find the right deal. intriguing. It’s not known what will happen; what is known is that while the Any team trading for Hall before Thursday would probably be meeting or Blues are paying attention, Armstrong won’t overpay. exceeding the asking price of Devils general manager Ray Shero, which The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 with multiple bidders would be steep. Shero will certainly be seeking a trade partner with whom Hall would consider signing a contract extension, maximizing the team’s return.
The Blues would likely look at Hall in terms of a so-called rental player, and based on the trade history of Blues GM Doug Armstrong, it’s not shocking that he isn’t heavily involved in talks at the moment, or that a trade might not happen at all.
If there’s one pattern to take away from the team’s trades under Armstrong’s watch, it’s that he’s patient, and as we documented in late November, he doesn’t often miss. He might not pull off the deal, and there are probably plenty of those we don’t know about, but he doesn’t rush and overpay.
Armstrong had been in contact with Calgary for months before making the deal for Jay Bouwmeester in 2013, and similarly, he stayed in touch with Buffalo for a while before he got the deal he wanted for Ryan O’Reilly in 2018. One might argue that there was far less interest in Bouwmeester and O’Reilly at the time, giving Armstrong more leverage, but he still wouldn’t have made those moves if they weren’t to his liking.
So if Shero is on the cusp of moving Hall before the holiday freeze, it’s likely that Hall isn’t coming to St. Louis.
If Hall is still available after the holiday freeze expires Dec. 27, the hype around him will only intensify in the weeks leading up to the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 24. So the price isn’t going to drop, but the Blues’ interest would likely continue, though only if Armstrong is able to work out a deal the way he envisions it shaping the roster and the salary cap. 1166427 Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov leaves game after a blocked shot
Last year’s Hart Trophy winner missed a game earlier this season with a lower-body injury
Diana C. Nearhos
TAMPA — Nikita Kucherov hunched over, on his knees, at the blue line. The nearly-full Amalie Arena was just about silent.
Kucherov blocked a rocket of a shot from John Carlson and left the game, limping heavily as he made his way down the tunnel, during Saturday night’s game against the Capitals.
Immediately, you could tell something was wrong. Kucherov took one step after blocking the shot at his ankle/shin area and then didn’t put any more weight on the right leg.
Kucherov heads to the locker room after taking a Carlson shot off the leg pic.twitter.com/atWJDaomZf
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) December 15, 2019
He tried to get back to the bench but ended up on the ice, hunched over himself. Officials stopped play and head athletic trainer Tom Mulligan came out to check on Kucherov.
The defending Hart Trophy winner left the ice under his own power, but did so by gliding, still bent in half. He stayed on the bench for a couple of minutes before heading toward the dressing room.
Kucherov may not be scoring at the (historic) clip he did last year, but he’s still been hugely effective for the Lightning. He leads the team with 33 points and his 10 goals are third to Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos.
The play-making star set up two power-play goals in Thursday’s win against the Bruins. One was one of those plays that makes you wonder if he has eyes in the back of his head, a backwards, no-look pass to Point. The other was a nice dish to Stamkos.
Kucherov missed one game earlier this season after leaving the Nov. 19 loss to St. Louis earlier this year with a lower-body injury.
Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166428 Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning subbed in a former goalie at morning skate
Braydon Coburn returned to the ice, but there’s no update on Tyler Johnson
Diana C. Nearhos
TAMPA — Something looked a little different when the Lightning skated Saturday morning. The first goalie on the ice wasn’t Andrei Vasilevskiy and he wasn’t Curtis McElhinney. He wasn’t even on the roster.
Matheiu Garon, who finished his 12-year career with two seasons in Tampa Bay, stood in the far net. But don’t worry, Vasilevskiy took his spot in the starter’s crease a couple of minutes later.
Garon works with the Lightning Foundation’s community hockey program. So he’s on hand when the team needs someone to fill in in net a couple of times a year.
McElhinney was unavailable for morning skate, but coach Jon Cooper said he would be ready to back-up Vasilevskiy for Saturday’s game against the Capitals.
The Lightning were joined by another familiar face at morning skate: Braydon Coburn.
The defenseman has missed nine games with a lower-body he sustained against the Capitals on Nov. 29 (interesting timing). This was his first time skating with the team.
Cooper didn’t have a timeframe for Coburn’s return, saying it’d probably be after Christmas.
He also did not have an update on Tyler Johnson. The forward has missed three games since leaving Saturday’s win over the Sharks in the third period, and has not skated with the team.
Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166429 Tampa Bay Lightning “I’m not going to be remembered as the greatest hockey player or the greatest coach or the greatest TV announcer,’’ Ludzik said. “But I could be remembered as someone who did a lot of good for a lot of people with Parkinson’s. It’s the most proud thing I’ve ever done.’’ A former Lightning coach desperately needs a liver transplant He’s lived with the liver diagnosis for decades, but the bill did not come Once diagnosed with Parkinson’s during his brief tenure as Lightning due until recently. He and MaryAnn were at a Fleetwood Mac concert coach from 1999-01, Steve Ludzik is now in the fight of his life. when he realized he did not have the energy to get up and down from his seat like everyone sitting nearby.
Ludzik visited a doctor who explained he had reached Stage 4 of the John Romano disease. He asked about Stage 5 and was told there was no such thing.
So now he waits. He waits for the best donor possible. He waits for the TAMPA — By now, the lesson is nearly 50 years old. Passed on mindset he will need to face this lifetime foe. He waits to find out how solemnly from a parent to a 10-year-old. much time he has left with his two children and four grandchildren.
Former Tampa Bay Lightning coach Steve Ludzik was being bullied daily “I have to be hopeful. It’s the only way I can deal with it,’’ Ludzik said. by an older and bigger kid. He tried running. He tried taking the long way “Otherwise, I’d drive myself crazy.’’ home from school. He tried everything a fifth-grader could imagine until As our conversation nears its end, I ask Ludzik whatever happened with his mother confronted him about a freshly earned black eye. the schoolyard bully from years ago. When he explained about the size and ferocity of the older kid, his “I always tell people I whupped the s--- out of him, but I actually didn’t,’’ mother promised she would reach out to the school and straighten this Ludzik says. “He was one of those guys in Grade 7 but should have been out. in Grade 9. He had a beard and muscles, and I was still in fifth grade. But That’s when Ludzik’s father appeared from the next room. There would I never had a problem with him after that. I wouldn’t recommend it as be no visits to the school. There would be no requests for help. When Parenting 101, but my dad was right. confronted with a fight, the only solution is to meet the SOB head-on. “Sometimes you have to be willing to fight.’’ Otherwise, you’ll spend your life in perpetual retreat. Potential liver donors for Steve Ludzik must have Type O blood and be in And so Steve Ludzik fought. good health. For more information, call (416) 340-5400 or visit He fought his way into a nine-year NHL career as a grinder with more livingorgandonation.ca. heart than skill. He fought Crohn’s Disease from the time he was a young Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 12.15.2019 man. He quietly fought Parkinson’s Disease without telling anyone as he stood behind the Lightning bench. And now he is fighting Stage 4 liver disease with its utterly grim prognosis.
And all these years later, Ludzik finally needs to ask for help.
His wife MaryAnn went on Facebook last week to tell the world her husband was dying. The end was near if a matching liver donor could not be found. Almost immediately, offers began to pour in. Friends, fans, strangers. A handful appear to be adequate matches, and so tests are scheduled this week in Toronto to determine if there is a path forward.
As he explains this, his words will sometimes slur and his voice sounds tired. The combination of multiple diseases leaves Ludzik, 58, feeling as if he can never shake the world’s worst flu.
And now, all he is seeking is a fighting chance.
“The response has been huge. It’s been astronomical. Now we just have to find the right person, the right match,’’ Ludzik said. “I’m just praying that it works. My job is to stay one step ahead of the devil.’’
Nowadays, his time in Tampa Bay feels mostly like a footnote. He was the guy who coached a teenaged Vincent Lecavalier and proceeded a then-unknown John Tortorella.
Ludzik was a 38-year-old minor league coach in 1999 when his boss, Detroit Vipers owner William Davidson, bought the Lightning. Ludzik was suddenly elevated to head coach of the worst team in the NHL and, a year and a half later, was already out of a job.
“Everybody was good to me in Tampa, it just wasn’t the right time or the right place for Steve Ludzik,’’ he said. “It took me a while to understand that, but that’s the way it goes. There’s a lot more important things in life.’’
Ludzik’s liver problem had been diagnosed long before he arrived in Tampa Bay. An annual physical when he was playing in Chicago showed the early stages of disease (possibly caused by his medication for Crohn’s) and doctors warned him it would only get worse.
Meanwhile, during his brief stay in Tampa, Ludzik was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. He told no one of the disease and went on to work in television for a decade. As his symptoms became more and more apparent, Ludzik finally faced reality.
He announced his diagnosis and then formed a foundation to take on the disease. The Steve Ludzik Parkinson’s Rehab Centre in St. Catharines (Ontario) has now been open for eight years and employs 12 therapists. 1166430 Tampa Bay Lightning were questions about whether captain Alex Ovechkin would ever be a champion, whether the team should be broken up.
“It was hard,” goalie Braden Holtby said. “Especially with the talk about Worried about the Lightning? ’18 Capitals and ’04 Tampa Bay Cup teams our two-year window. I don’t think we ever really thought of that, but you say ‘not so fast’ hear it enough and you start to believe it, and it adds more pressure and more pressure. Then, the next year, no one was really concerned with us having a chance to do our own thing. The first part of the year we struggled, but there wasn’t any panic or anything. We had time to figure it Joe Smith out and make our team better and got consistently better as the season Dec 14, 2019 went on.”
Following the 62-win Lightning’s humbling collapse in a first-round sweep by Columbus, they had a summer of healing. Former Capitals coach TAMPA, Fla. — The Lightning couldn’t find their groove. Barry Trotz said it can be like a “death in the family,” with some people taking longer to get over it, some never able to. Tampa Bay brought in a They’d win two, lose two. Win one, lose another. Their top players were motivational speaker during training camp to help the team move forward inconsistent, some struggling more than others. Their Russian No. 1 and think about attacking, not defending. goalie was a bit leaky. It was nearing Christmas, and the defending division champions were out of a playoff spot. Coach Jon Cooper acknowledged what happened in April would be a “burden” they’d have to carry into this season, answering questions at Six months later, the 2004 Lightning hoisted their only Stanley Cup. The every arena along the way. There’d be no redemption until April. adversity had made them stronger and taught them something: It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Oshie said the Capitals have been there.
“Not a lot of Stanley Cup winners breeze through the season, breeze “You get very deflated. You ask yourself a lot of questions,” Oshie said. through the playoffs. It just doesn’t happen that way,” said Brad Richards, “The big thing for us is all the questions we got asked about ‘Ovi,’ not the Conn Smythe winner on that Tampa Bay team. “I think defensively, if necessarily the rest of the group. And he had a great playoffs when we (the current Lightning team) can keep the puck out of their net more, fell short. once that gets shored up, they’ll be fine. It’s almost Christmas; I’m sure they’ll want to get some points on the board and start coming together. “You’ve got to look at yourself and be confident in what you bring to the table. We didn’t have that confidence early in the year; there were still “It’s all about health and when you come together. There’s still time.” some questions on how we had to play. And when we finally did make the run, everyone was 100 percent convinced in what they had to do. There was some understandable frustration in the stands at Amalie And they were able to do it.” Arena on Saturday night, with the Lightning losing 5-2 to the Capitals. There were some ticked-off players in the room, too. For all the good Sound familiar? The Lightning are still in the midst of trying to change vibes Tampa Bay had garnered in a recent stretch of winning three out of their style a bit, blending the high skill with less high risk. four (including Thursday’s victory over Boston), there was an empty feeling after a (mostly) good effort was wasted by a couple of “egregious” There have been signs of progress, and then there are steps back, mistakes early in the third period when Washington scored twice in 45 including lapses like in Saturday’s loss. A bad turnover in the neutral seconds. To add injury to insult, the team lost Hart Trophy winner Nikita zone by veteran defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk led to Lars Eller’s go- Kucherov, who left the game after taking a shot off the shin midway ahead goal two minutes into the third. A cheat on the forecheck by through the second period. Mathieu Joseph, leading to a three-on-two, led to another goal 45 seconds later. Oshie would seal it on a wraparound that Vasilevskiy The shift after Tampa Bay had pulled within one, Capitals veteran wing probably should have saved. T.J. Oshie delivered the dagger on a wraparound with eight minutes to go. That morning, Oshie offered some perspective Tampa Bay could “To come out the way we did in the third, on just two egregious plays — appreciate. The ’18 Cup-champion Capitals team, still scarred from that we kind of haven’t been doing those types of things (lately) — that another early playoff loss to Pittsburgh after another Presidents’ Trophy, was definitely a lack of attention to detail in the first three minutes, and it didn’t take a smooth path to hoisting hockey’s holy grail. cost us,” Cooper said. “You can’t do it against anybody, especially teams of that caliber. After 31 games that year, Washington had 37 points. Tampa Bay, in the same amount of games, has 35. “We’ll watch the tape, and players will be sitting there going, ‘Why did I do that?’ It’s unfortunate because the building was vibrant and things “When you go through something like they did last year, when they had were going well.” quite a bit of hype, and you fall short, it’s how you handle the next year,” Oshie said of Tampa Bay. “Do you get down on each other? Or do you Both the ’04 Lightning and ’18 Capitals said there wasn’t just one magical stick together?” moment that turned things around, not one players-only meeting or act of God. Oshie remembers back-to-back losses in Nashville and Colorado — It certainly feels like this Lightning team is sticking together. There have giving up six goals in each — in which the group had to look in the mirror been more struggles than they’d like, more nights when they felt they and go one of two ways. deserved a point but ended up with zero, more games in which a few lapses cost them dearly. But they’re playing better hockey these past few “There’s not one magical moment but a bunch of little ones that you weeks and not pointing fingers. piece together and make a strong resiliency throughout the year,” Oshie said. “We lost to Nashville, then Colorado, in November. The other game They’re frankly in better position than the ’04 Lightning team, which was that sticks out is we beat Pittsburgh at the end of the year. 14-11-5-1 after 31 games. By the time the calendar flipped, they dropped to 15-14-6-1. “When we went home for Christmas, there wasn’t a great “Just some of those cuts scar over and make you stronger, and some of feeling around the team, I’ll be honest,” Richards said. “Guys were the wins give you some confidence going forward.” struggling — myself, for sure. The top guys were struggling, and we Before the Lightning finally reached the top, it took a tense talk in the knew if we didn’t come back and get going, it was going to be an awful middle of the 2003-04 season between St. Louis and coach John second half, and we didn’t want that. Tortorella for the team to take off. With Tampa Bay having lost 5-2 in “The second half, we took off. Martin (St. Louis) led the way. Goaltending Ottawa to fall to 16-5-6-1, Tortorella was nitpicking the team in a film came through. We were like a brand-new team. And we continued to do session, especially St. Louis, Richards and Vincent Lecavalier. Richards it in the playoffs. It’s kind of like St. Louis last year: a one-half team. It’s a remembers being told he might be a healthy scratch. Tortorella called marathon, and I think adversity is good. We were fighting for our playoff them his “game-breakers.” life and got back to finish first. Sometimes, that’s just how it happens.” St. Louis followed Tortorella into an elevator at the team’s Ottawa hotel For the Capitals, a lot of their issues were mental, especially for a core after the meeting and challenged the coach. group that squandered a couple of Presidents’ Trophies and a handful of division titles, failing to get out of the second round of the playoffs. There “‘I have no problem with you calling us ‘game-breakers,’ but you have to others. He still logged 21:49, with coaches giving him as many shifts as give us some game-breaking minutes,’” St. Louis told Tortorella. “He Norris winner Victor Hedman. … Braydon Coburn, who has missed nine said, ‘You know what? You’ve got it.’” games with a lower-body injury, was part of the morning skate Saturday but is still out until after Christmas break, Cooper said. … The Lightning’s The Lightning would win the next five games and 11 of 14 to start a top lines were solid Saturday, but the Capitals victimized Tampa Bay’s dominant second half, which culminated in St. Louis winning the Hart bottom six for good spurts of the game. … Jan Rutta made a bad gaffe, Trophy. It was a pinnacle stretch in St. Louis’ Hall of Fame career. This misplaying the puck behind the net on the Capitals’ first goal, but was a common theme for the ’04 Lightning and the ’18 Capitals — the bounced back to score his first goal of the season in the third. “It was best players led the way. unfortunate, but you’ve just got to turn the page,” Rutta said. “It’s early in “Any adversity through the regular season will prepare you for adversity the game.” (Side note: If anyone had Rutta as Hedman’s top-pair partner further down the line,” St. Louis said. “I think there’s no problem taking in mid-December, raise your hand). little steps backwards as long as you’re setting yourself up to take a giant The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 step forward. You connect the dots as the year goes on. Are you better than earlier in the season, collectively and individually?”
St. Louis said time will tell whether the current Tampa Bay team can make a similar run. Just because the ’04 Lightning and ’18 Caps won it all after slow starts doesn’t guarantee this team will follow a similar script. Holtby also pointed out that even if a team like the Lightning comes together, “a lot of things have to go right” to win a Cup. Like Holtby’s legendary save against Vegas in the ’18 Stanley Cup final, or Columbus hitting the post in Game 3 of a first-round series that the Capitals could have easily trailed 3-0. “All the little things that we didn’t get in previous playoffs before that.”
“There’s not so much a winning formula,” Holtby said. “You do it enough that hopefully the right things will go your way sooner or later. That’s kind of how it happened for us.”
But the point is that while it’s fair to have some concerns, don’t count out Tampa Bay yet. When Oshie looks at the Lightning, he said he sees a “great team.” Hard to play against some high-skill stars. “You have to come in mentally sharp or they can make you look real silly,” he said.
When told the Lightning want what the Caps have — a Cup ring — and that leaders such as Stamkos and Kucherov might end up under similar scrutiny as Ovechkin down the line, Oshie can understand.
“They seem like they’ve got good guys in that room, hard workers,” Oshie said. “I hope they don’t win, but they’re going to be a tough team regardless.”
Game notes
Kucherov injury — You could hear a pin drop at Amalie Arena midway through the second period when Kucherov took a John Carlson slap shot off the shin and crumpled to the ice in pain.
Kucherov, on his knees, was attended to by the team’s training staff before slowly skating to the bench. He hobbled down the hall into the dressing room and didn’t return.
The Lightning gave no official update after the game. While early indications were that the injury wasn’t serious, we won’t likely know for sure until Sunday or Monday.
“You all saw what happened,” Cooper said. “I don’t have an update on him. Hopefully, he’s going to be OK because he’s a huge part of our team.”
With the Lightning playing next on Tuesday, if Kucherov has to miss time, you could see a callup from AHL Syracuse, such as Alex Volkov or Cory Conacher. Tampa Bay would be down a couple of skilled forwards in Kucherov and Tyler Johnson, who has yet to return to team skates. As much as Mitchell Stephens has been solid in his first four NHL games, Tampa Bay could use another scorer up front if Kucherov is out.
“You can’t replace (Kucherov),” Point said.
Killorn feeling it — Alex Killorn is playing some of his best hockey in a Lightning uniform, and Saturday’s game was another example.
The winger made a sick no-look pass off the rush to feed Point for the team’s first goal.
Killorn has 26 points in 29 games (including nine goals), and it looks like it could be his first 20-goal season. What’s been the difference? Ask Killorn yourself, as he’s taking subscriber’s questions in this month’s Lightning fan Q&A.
Nuts and bolts — For as much progress as Mikhail Sergachev has made in his own end, and with Cooper saying the Russian has made “big steps,” Saturday’s game won’t be featured a lot on his highlight reel. Sergachev was a -4, though part of it was unlucky due to breakdowns by 1166431 Toronto Maple Leafs Both teams are fast, but the Oilers play with more of a rough edge than the Maple Leafs. Zack Kassian shoved Holl 1:42 into the game, later Darnell Nurse through a punch at Zach Hyman and McDavid tied up John Tavares after Hyman slapped at Koskinen’s glove. Frederik Andersen’s 36 saves lead Maple Leafs to win in 4-1 victory over Oilers “You have to be careful when you are out there against [McDavid and Draisaitl],” Hyman said earlier Saturday. “Both have a unique skill set and you have to be aware of them.”
MARTY KLINKENBERG The Maple Leafs improved to 16-14-4 and are 7-4 since Sheldon Keefe replaced Mike Babcock as head coach on Nov. 2. DECEMBER 14, 2019 The Oilers dropped to 18-13-4 but have lost their last four games and
now seventh of nine. Frederik Andersen continued his mastery over the Oilers on Saturday Gauthier, who had been a healthy scratch for six straight games, flipped and the Maple Leafs shut down the National Hockey League’s most a shot over Koskinen into the far corner of the net with 13:11 left to give explosive line in a 4-1 victory at Rogers Place. Toronto a 3-1 lead. Marner scored an empty netter with 1:21 to seal the The Toronto goalie is 12-0-1 against Edmonton. He had 36 saves in what victory. was his 200th win in the NHL. The 30-year-old Dane has reached the Tyson Barrie left midway through the second period after blocking a shot. 200 mark faster than any European goalie in league history. The Toronto defenceman staggered off the ice, headed directly to the Alexander Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev, Frederick Gauthier and Mitch Marner dressing room and did not return. scored for the Maple Leafs, who went 3-1 on a road trip that also Holl, who played extremely well against McDavid, was selected the included stops in St. Louis, Vancouver and Calgary. Their only loss came second star of the game. Thursday night against the Flames. With the exception of the injury to Barrie, Toronto heads for home They return to Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday and hope to be able to Saturday. The road trip could have been better, but just barely. stymie Buffalo’s Jack Eichel, the league’s hottest scorer, just as they did Edmonton’s superstar centre Connor McDavid and powerful forward Globe And Mail LOADED: 12.15.2019 Leon Draisaitl. Eichel had a goal and an assist on Saturday as he extended his points streak to 16 games.
Andersen started all four of Toronto’s contests on the western swing and is now 9-4-0 on the road this season. The Maple Leafs weighed giving one start to Michael Hutchinson but opted not to.
The win was Andersen’s 16th of the season in 27 decisions.
Toronto has now beaten Edmonton the last six times they have played and are 9-2 against the Oilers in their last 11.
The game was fast-paced and cleanly played. A penalty was not called until 5:21 remained in the second period. Jake Muzzin was whistled for a hold on McDavid, but Toronto killed off the penalty with only one shot allowed.
The Maple Leafs had killed off 18 of their last 19 penalties heading into the game.
Toronto went ahead 1-0 when Alexander Kerfoot netted a shot from 13 feet away with 15:20 left in the first period. It was his sixth goal of the season and came on Toronto’s fifth shot.
Toronto increased the advantage to 2-0 early in the second when Mikheyev shovelled one past Mikko Koskinen from a few feet away on the right side of the net. It was the first goal for the Russian rookie in 21 games dating back to Oct. 25.
“It is a long time since I scored,” Mikheyev said. “I was nervous.”
Touched up for four goals in a loss in Calgary on Thursday, Andersen made a handful of excellent saves to keep the Oilers off the boards in the first period.
First, he stopped McDavid as Edmonton’s captain attempted to stuff a puck between the goalie’s legs on a rush. McDavid faked this way and that but could not finish it off.
“He kind of had me in a blender there,” Andersen said.
That was closely followed by a nifty glove save on a hard wrist shot from the left wing by James Neal, a stop on a long wrist shot by Leon Draisaitl and a save on a backhand by Neal.
McDavid and Draisaitl entered the game with 20 points a piece and were first and second in the NHL in scoring, with 57 and 55 points.
“They have a very dangerous top line,” Toronto defenceman Justin Holl said a few hours before the puck drop. “I have never seen a player like Connor McDavid.”
McDavid was held off the scoresheet and Draisaitl was limited to one assist, on a power-play goal in the third period by Alex Chiasson with 13:52 remaining. It was only the fourth time in the last 20 games that McDavid failed to get a point. 1166432 Toronto Maple Leafs for our team. So we want to make sure that we continue to make our team aware of where we can get better, but not lose sight of the progress that we’re making in other areas.”
Marner-Tavares line leads Leafs past the Oilers, with defence Well, having Marner and Tavares and Hyman being back in sync matters; they have been the biggest underachievers, statistically, on the year.
Bruce Arthur “Yeah, I just don’t think you want to overanalyze five, 10, 15 games,” Tavares said. He talked about how all three members of the line had Sat., Dec. 14, 2019 been injured at different times, and that returning Hyman to the line has been critical.
EDMONTON—Two days earlier, Mitch Marner was mad. The Toronto YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN... Maple Leafs had collapsed in Calgary, and he was asked whether “We talk a lot,” said Tavares. “I think Hymie’s a vital, vital part of our despite that, he was at least pleased that he and John Tavares were group, and I think we’ve seen that since he’s come back. So, yeah, I marking up the scoreboard again. Marner fumed. think we have a good sense of each other’s game, and then we try to be “I thought we’ve been good all year, to be honest,” Marner said that night. really responsible all over the ice, and think we’re competitive, and we go “Everyone just keeps talking about the start, no one cares about it into each night wanting to make a difference.” anymore, it’s done with, I’m over it, so is he. Our team needs to be better They did Saturday. After he was upset after Calgary, Marner was asked every night. We want to help our team win every night, so we got to make why. sure that’s we keep doing.” “We got a lot of goals scored against us (early in the season), which was On Saturday night in Edmonton, Marner didn’t record a point until he got something that pissed both of us off, I’d say,” Marner said. “And I think an empty netter late. But there were so many great stories. The that draws a lot of attention to us, which we weren’t happy with. But I Alexander Kerfoot-Ilya Mikheyev-Pierre Engvall line had two goals, and think at the same time our team wasn’t doing well either, which we put on the wide-eyed Mikheyev, told he had broken the camera in the net on his ourselves, and I think a lot of the fans and stuff got put on our top goal, said earnestly, “I’m sorry.” Frédérik Gauthier, back in the lineup, players, which is understandable. I mean, you know your top players finished the key third-period goal that held off a second straight collapse. gotta be your top players every night. That’s why we’re here. Frederik Andersen became the fastest European goaltender to 200 wins, and spoke proudly that his father Ernst was probably staying up in “I think we just want to own the responsibility of that, we want to make Denmark, watching. Justin Holl continued to grow as a defenceman, and sure it’s hard to get scored on. I think it’s different with Sheldon. He trusts got a “Hockey Night in Canada” towel to take home. a lot of guys against people. So I think it’s just whoever gets on the ice … just make sure you’re trying to keep them out. I mean, the best way to do And underneath all that, the Tavares-Marner-Hyman line was a force. that is playing in the O-zone, and we’ve done a good job that last week or They were the primary defensive line against Edmonton’s all-universe so.” Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl pair, with defencemen Jake Muzzin and Justin Holl. When they weren’t out there against McDavid, Marner and Keefe wanted the Tavares line out against McDavid, though. The Tavares and Hyman produced a raft of chances and dominated zone schedule eases up from here: the two big Western swings are done, and time. They had 11 of Toronto’s 28 shots, and greatly outchanced Toronto gets only five games against teams that entered Saturday night McDavid. with top-10 records in their next 26. On Saturday night, division rivals Tampa Bay, Florida, and Montreal lost, and Buffalo got one point. In the Before the game, Keefe had his staff study teams that had limited Leafs showers you could hear someone yell, triumphantly, “big day in the McDavid. He wasn’t encouraged. Atlantic!” “We’ve looked at some of that, but some of that is just sort of random, or Toronto won three of four on this trip, and flew home Saturday night luck, and not so much that they did anything different than any other happy. The Leafs are in a fight, and the more of them that are in it the team,” Keefe said. “So it’s just trying to keep the puck out of the hands, better. and trying to find him when he’s building his speed and those sorts of things.” Toronto Star LOADED: 12.15.2019 Well, the Leafs ate McDavid and Draisaitl up. The Kerfoot line stepped up to the challenge as the Oilers pushed McDavid toward that matchup in the third period. In all, McDavid was on the ice at 5-on-5 for seven Oilers shots for and 19 against, as was Draisaitl. The Oilers’ top line only got one against the Kerfoot group.
That may not be replicable most nights, but Marner-Tavares-Hyman is. Marner has six points in five games since returning from an ankle sprain, and Tavares had five points on this four-game trip. Of all the missing ingredients on this team this season, a second big-time line was among them, and it’s back.
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“Yeah, really good,” Keefe said. “We did our best to try to get them out there as much as we could, without having last change and I thought they did a great job. Anytime they were away from (McDavid), I thought they dominated the matchups that they had. So we called on them a lot here, just because of the tasks that we had with their best guys. And those guys were great, and they have been all trip.”
He had a lot of sunshine to spread around. Those three quick goals in Calgary and the near-death night in Vancouver made this week seem more fraught than a 3-1 record, but then, this team is racing to be consistent before this season gets too late, early.
“Hopefully would help our confidence,” Keefe said. “We had spent a bit of a roller coaster of a trip, lots of positive things, lots of really good things that are covered up a little bit by the nature of the way some of the games went, and some of the chances that we gave up, and things like that. It masked some of the really good things that are happening here 1166433 Toronto Maple Leafs
Maple Leafs show they can hold a lead in Edmonton, and take two of three games in Western Canada
Bruce Arthur
Sat., Dec. 14, 2019
EDMONTON—Going into the third period, it all felt a little familiar. In Vancouver earlier this week it was a 2-0 lead after two; in Calgary, 2-1. This time, the third line had produced a pair of goals — Alex Kerfoot with the first, Ilya Mikheyev with the second on a Pierre Engvall rush, and Kerfoot could easily have had a third — and the Leafs had yet another narrow third-period lead to hold on this western trip. In Vancouver, the Leafs dodged bullets that they themselves supplied. In Calgary, the game was over in the first three minutes of the period.
So this was the week’s rubber match, and it could have gone either way for a while. Edmonton’s Alex Chaisson scored on a power play after a Cody Ceci delay of game penalty to make it 2-1, and you could see the Leafs start to have some flashbacks.
And then Dmytro Timashov found Frederik Gauthier, who had a great chance earlier in the night, and the Goat scored the third goal Toronto needed. They won 4-1. Funny old game.
Ow, ow, ow! Tyson Barrie hasn’t had the season he hoped, or that Toronto was counting on. Still, it was a problem when he took a shot in the ankle from Oilers forward Gaetan Haas late in the first period, went down, and limped to the dressing room. Barrie returned to test the leg, and hopped back off, and was declared out.
X-rays, however, were negative and Barrie said after the game that he should be OK.
If not, Rasmus Sandin could reappear from the AHL. This Leafs team has stubbornly refused to get fully healthy all season.
Wings and prayers: Winger Trevor Moore is nearly back from a shoulder injury that has cost him a month; he took regular line rushes in practice Friday. Gauthier was back on Toronto’s fourth line Saturday along with Timashov, in place of Nic Petan and Pontus Aberg, and it was helpful. But Moore is expected to be back as soon as Tuesday.
“I’m looking forward to once we can get him cleared and really get him ready for game action,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Obviously, he would bring a lot of speed and competitiveness to our team, a skill level as well to go along with that. And I think he’s really developed himself, from what I’ve observed, as a valuable NHL player in the bottom of the lineup, but also somebody that can move up and can play both wings and all those types of things: power play, penalty kill, so a very important player.”
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Whoosh: The first time John Tavares saw Connor McDavid skate, it was an all-Canadians camp and Tavares was a coach, right before McDavid joined Tavares as a No. 1 pick. Tavares never forgot it.
“I don’t know who was teaching him then how to skate,” Tavares said, “but would have been nice if that was around when I was playing (at that level).”
Up next: The Buffalo Sabres, featuring Jack Eichel and his 16-game point streak, are in Toronto on Tuesday, 7 p.m..
Toronto Star LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166434 Toronto Maple Leafs Muzzin made sure to collect the 200-win puck as a souvenir for Andersen.
“I’ve been on really good teams,” Andersen said of his start with Anaheim Maple Leafs beat Oilers with bottom-six offence, but lose Tyson Barrie and the past 219 games as a Leaf. “You can’t do that by yourself. You just have to do your part and hope the other guys do theirs.”
After Nic Petan was demoted on Friday, Keefe pulled unproductive Lance Hornby Pontus Aberg after three games and rebuilt the fourth line with Gauthier coming out of the press box with Timashov to join Jason Spezza. December 15, 2019 12:04 AM EST “We want (Gauthier and Timashov) to get back to playing the way they
were,” Keefe said of his pre-game expectations. “Those guys were doing EDMONTON — The low end of the salary scale had the goals, while the fine when they were in, but I’ve said a number of times, we just want to brawn on the blue line supplied the minutes when Tyson Barrie was hurt. give ourselves a different look, see different people. We gave Petan and Engvall a chance.” All that and 36 saves from Frederik Andersen — now the fastest European goalie to 200 NHL wins — sent the Leafs home on a high from The Leafs are back to facing another young superstar on Tuesday with their four-game road trip. They not only beat the Oilers 4-1, but kept NHL the Sabres’ Jack Eichel, but at least they’ll be home. leading scorer Connor McDavid off the board for just the eighth time this MIKHEYEV WASN’T CAMERA-SHY ON THIS SHOT season, and bent but didn’t break when their third-period lead was threatened. EDMONTON — Ilya Mikheyev is still not comfortable in huge media scrums with his limited English. Take away the first three minutes of the final period in Calgary and the Leafs could’ve swept a trip against four teams higher than them in the But when called into one, it means the Russian rookie has done standings. Seven teams are separated by five points in the Eastern something good. That was the case Saturday, his first goal in 22 games, Conference wild card race as a result of Toronto’s win. on a great relay with centre Alex Kerfoot. Though he had Edmonton goalie Mikko Koskinen beaten, the Russian slammed the puck in so hard, “It’s been a bit of roller- coaster on the trip,” said coach Sheldon Keefe, it broke the net camera the league uses for reviews and caused a few now 7-4 as Mike Babcock’s replacement. “There were a lot of positives, minutes delay. lots of things that were covered up by the nature of how the games went and some of the chances we gave up. It masked some of the good “I am sorry,” Mikheyev said when informed of the damage afterwards, things.” getting a roar out of reporters.
The immediate concern was Barrie, who took a shot off his ankle midway “A long time since I scored, I’m a little nervous. The important thing is we through the first period. He went right to the dressing room, tried to skate win and it’s a good trip.” during a timeout, but then packed it in. He has 18 points in 34 games. “No update, other than his X-rays were negative, but he didn’t feel comfortable coming back,” Keefe said. Toronto Sun LOADED: 12.15.2019
That meant the Leafs leaned on the shutdown pair of Justin Holl and Jake Muzzin. McDavid danced around each of them early in the game, but was held to one shot, one miss and nothing on the first of two power plays in which he and Leon Draisaitl didn’t come off the ice. Keeping the Oilers to the outside and not getting burned in transition was well- executed.
Holl, named the second star at Rogers Place with 26:10 of ice time, joined Muzzin (27:01), Morgan Rielly (24:53) and Cody Ceci (22:56) as the busiest Leafs.
“It takes a lot to play five guys that long of a game,” praised Andersen. “Muzz had some nice blocks at the end (a team-high three). They showed a lot of character.”
While the line of John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman did not score until a power-play empty-netter with 1:21 to go, they were glad McDavid and Draisaitl didn’t bust out.
“Those two guys, we know how dynamic they are, they don’t need much,” Tavares said.
While it was another silent night for the trio of Auston Matthews — who had just 14:34 of total ice time — William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen (one point in the last two games of the trip), who needed them when Alex Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev and Pierre Engvall were flying and gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead after two periods? The insurance goal, after Alex Chiasson cut the lead in half at 6:08 of the third, was manufactured by two players who’d been healthy scratches on the trip, Frederik Gauthier, who converted a slick feed from Dmytro Timashov.
Mikheyev had not scored since Oct. 25, while Kerfoot had the Leafs’ first and the line could’ve had a couple more.
“Pierre and Mik have a lot of speed, they can fly,” Kerfoot said. “They get on the opposition quickly and force plays. For the most part we stayed above their top guys.”
Despite Toronto’s two-goal lead, there was likely lots of chatter between periods before the third. They were in the lead at Calgary two nights, a game that went south in less than three minutes.
After Chiasson’s power play goal, Andersen turned away 13 more shots in the final frame to preserve the win. 1166435 Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday was a chance for Keefe to see one of his former junior Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds stars — Darnell Nurse — in an NHL environment.
“I haven’t seen him play a lot, other than I caught a game live in Moore and Moore personnel movement on the way for Leafs Winnipeg when he was up around 30 minutes of ice.” Keefe said of the organization Oilers defenceman. “Our time in the Soo, he was an unbelievable leader, captain, member of the community, an ultra-competitor and incredible athlete. Anything he does, it’s not surprising he found his footing and became a big part of his team.” Lance Hornby LOOSE LEAFS December 14, 2019 8:07 PM EST Morgan Rielly tied Eddie Shack for 38th in Toronto franchise history in
games played on Saturday, reaching 504 … Connor McDavid had moved EDMONTON — The Leafs will be getting Moore for their money in more up to 11th in Oilers franchise points before the game at 429, but that was ways than one next week. still more than 1,200 behind Wayne Gretzky … John Tavares on tailing McDavid with his speed and creativity: “His ability to make those plays … Likely before Tuesday’s home game against Buffalo, the club will activate most of us have to slow down. He uses his length and his strength to forward Trevor Moore from injured reserve, giving coach Sheldon Keefe draw in defenders, but he understands the players around him and gets a valued winger he knows well from his Marlies’ days, but has yet to the puck to them. And he knows how to get open and score, as well.” coach at the NHL level. Toronto Sun LOADED: 12.15.2019 “I’m looking forward to that,” Keefe said before Saturday’s game. “He’d obviously bring a lot of speed and competitiveness to our team, and a skill level, as well. I think he’s really developed himself, from what I’ve observed, as a valuable NHL player at the bottom of the lineup, but also someone who can move up.
“He can play both wings, and all those types of things; Power play, penalty-killing. A very important player.”
Moore suffered a shoulder injury on Nov. 15 against Boston, five days before Keefe replaced Mike Babcock. Keefe watched the University of Denver product work his way up the Marlies chain after skipping his final year of school to turn pro in 2016. But he seemed to be hitting the same wall as other Leafs under Babcock, no points in 13 games prior to getting hurt.
The other Moore getting back to work is new Marlies coach Greg Moore. Though hired a couple of weeks go, it was thought best to have him stay with Keefe and the Leafs assistants to “learn the language” of the organization as general manager Kyle Dubas put it. A.J, MacLean and Rob Davison have run the farm team since Keefe was promoted and had a great run, though their last game on Saturday before Moore arrives was a 4-1 loss to Belleville.
Keefe and Moore, who came from the USHL Chicago Steel via the U.S. National Development team, watched the Marlies game from the visiting coaches office at Rogers Place.
“We’ve had a lot of time (to talk) on this road trip, with the way it has been spaced out,” Keefe said. “We spent a lot of time together as a staff and Greg’s been with us every day, all day, in our meetings and on the ice in practices, lunches and dinners.
“We’re sharing ideas both ways. He’s helped me with some that might help us here and might help his transition there.”
ONE MORE CHANCE
Before next week is out, Michael Hutchinson should have another shot at getting his first win of the season and first by a Leafs backup. Counting Kasimir Kaskisuo’s loss, the understudies are an underwhelming 0-6-1.
Hutchinson has watched Andersen play seven in a row and likely an eighth on Tuesday against Buffalo. He would be in line for one of the back-to-backs next weekend, in New York on Friday against the Rangers or home to Detroit the next night.
“Not playing is one of those things that comes with the (substitute position,” Hutchinson said. “Over time, you have to find ways to stay ready. A lot of times you’re doing 3-on-2s or 5-on-2s in practices. They’re a little more difficult than a game. So if you can make the saves there, the guys feel good about you going into a 5-on-5 situation.”
Hutchinson credited Leafs goalie coach Steve Briere with keeping his spirits up.
“Steve’s been great, very big on enjoying the moment and enjoying the process of showing up to the rink every day and working hard,” Hutchinson said. “He does a great job on pre-scout and that’s fortunate, so the same stuff I’m working on is stuff Freddy is working on. You never know when you’re getting in there.”
STUDENT NURSE 1166436 Toronto Maple Leafs Gretzky can come up in comparison. Nobody saw a hockey game the way Gretzky did. Nobody sees players on the court the way LeBron does. Everyone in his draft class is basically retired and King James is reinventing himself. He gets more remarkable by the day and by the year SIMMONS: MacKinnon playing with heart, for Hart … Signing Michael Bradley is like pouring cement in whatever foundation you are building. It’s necessary. He leads, he wins, he creates an
atmosphere around him, he changes teams. For whatever dollars Steve Simmons Toronto FC paid, the investment was necessary. You don’t walk away from treasures, you hang onto them for as long as you can … Ilya December 14, 2019 4:54 PM EST Mikheyev is a nice rookie find for the Maple Leafs. But heading in to Saturday night in Edmonton, he hadn’t scored a goal in 21 games. And
he has been moved up and down the lineup into places where he should Nathan MacKinnon could well serve as an example for Auston Matthews. score. He has a reasonable amount of points for a first-year player, 17 in 33 games — but he needs to shoot more than he does and take In MacKinnon’s first four NHL seasons, he averaged .68 points per game advantage of the gifts he has, especially the ability to cut and shoot more — in other words, he was scoring at a pace of 56 points a season. often …Yogi Berra is alive and well and playing for the Boston Bruins. Then his career took off in Year 5. Said the Bruins Brett Ritchie: “It’s an 82-game season. We weren’t going to be 80-3 or whatever is was.” Since then, MacKinnon, one of the early season favourites for the Hart Trophy as most valuable player in the NHL, has scored at a remarkable SCENE AND HEARD 1.3 points a game over the past three seasons. With this season being Mark Shapiro made noise this week about the Blue Jays need to acquire an explosion all its own. quality players. Then his Blue Jays continued on their garage sale road, MacKinnon has 50 points in the first 32 games with the Colorado buying Tanner Roark in free agency after trading for Chase Anderson. Avalanche. That’s 127-point pace. That’s basically the equivalent to any Roark is a nice piece if you’re looking for a fifth starter. Anderson is season, any centre has had since Mario Lemieux played in a different basically the same, just not as durable as Roark. How many fifth starters NHL back in 1996. Now, no one is saying MacKinnon is anything like does one team need? The notion of having Roark oppose Gerrit Cole or Lemieux — who could be? — but what he’s done in an upward way is Chris Sale on the first game of an AL East series is rather tilted … I keep pave a road that all young star players should more than appreciate. hearing and reading from the same reliable sources that the Jays are after this guy or that guy. Are there reporters out there so close to the Matthews has already scored 40 goals in a season and looks to be Jays front office that they throw they’re name into every chase of just headed there again this season, but he’s never had more than 73 points. about every free agent, to make it look like they’re in the game … So I In his early years, he is outscoring MacKinnon. But can he make the leap wonder, are they not offering enough? Are they not selling their franchise MacKinnon has made from good to great to awesome. or their city the way Paul Beeston and Pat Gillick sold John Olerud on coming to Toronto? Or have the Blue Jays become a Major League Can he contend for Hart Trophies? Can he contend for scoring outpost that doesn’t attract anyone of quality anymore? … I didn’t championships — MacKinnon trails Connor McDavid by seven points in understand how Edmonton running back Chuba Hubbard didn’t make the NHL scoring as of Saturday afternoon. Can he dominate a playoff series Final 5 list for the Lou Marsh Trophy for Canada’s athlete of the year. the way MacKinnon did last spring? And I didn’t understand how he didn’t win the Doak Walker award for top The rise of MacKinnon has not surprisingly corresponded with the rise of running back in the NCAA. The Heisman, I get that, that’s a the Avalanche, now first in the Western Conference, third in the NHL. quarterback’s award but when Derrick Henry won the Heisman in 2015 This could well be his Hart Trophy season. The first person to ever win as a back, he rushed for 21 touchdowns, same as Hubbard, he had 5.6 the Hart in Colorado: The current general manager, Joe Sakic. yards per carry, well below Hubbard’s 6.3 and rushed for 50 yards more. He won the Doak Walker in 2015 … Hubbard is eligible for the 2020 NFL THIS AND THAT Draft. He’ll likely be picked somewhere between the second and fourth round … Bianca Andreescu will clearly win the Canadian Press female The early season Hart Trophy candidates: the final three should be athlete of the year award. But who wins for men? Hubbard? Jordan McDavid, MacKinnon and Jack Eichel from Buffalo … It is early, still 2/3s Binnington? Mike Soroka? All would be good choices. of the season to play, but John Carlson is running away in the Norris Trophy race, partially because of his unprecedented offensive numbers, AND ANOTHER THING partially because he’s playing for the best team in the NHL in Washington … I asked an NHL GM if he would consider hiring Mike Babcock if he Pretty much everybody in Dallas wanted a coaching change. Jason had a coach opening. His answer: “I don’t think so.” … For all his skating Garrett. Not Jim Montgomery … Remember when the analytics zealots and dazzling stickhandling, William Nylander is 49th in the NHL in were drooling all over Stan Bowman, saying the Chicago Blackhawks scoring goals, 109th in assists, 72nd in points. And 32nd in salary among would not have won their three Stanley Cups without Bowman’s wise NHL forwards. Among forwards, Matthews is third in salary, John usage of advanced statistics? Funny, you don’t hear a word about that Tavares is fifth and Mitch Marner is sixth … One thing I’d love to see now that the Blackhawks are among the worst teams in the NHL. Must Nylander do: Use his speed, beat a defenceman wide, tuck his shoulder have been good stats then, bad stats now? … I’m probably repeating in and utilize that big wrist shot of his that he doesn’t take often enough. myself and sorry for doing so but can the Leafs please stop those neutral All in one rush. There’s a lot more to this package that hasn’t been zone drop passes on the power play? Everybody knows they’re doing it opened … For those counting, heading into a rare home game on a and it’s just not working for them … The Leafs are rather terrible with the Saturday night, the Raptors have played five poor games in a row, four of two-man advantage. They haven’t scored a goal yet this season under them losses. And that’s new for Nick Nurse. Their next four games are those circumstances. Mats Sundin was about as great as anyone with a against Brooklyn, Cleveland, Detroit, Washington — all of them should two-man advantage. His down-low plays to Darcy Tucker should be be victories … Two years we wondered if Serge Ibaka had suddenly mandatory viewing for the Toronto power play people … Here’s the thing gotten old and slow and disinterested at the same time. And then last about Top 5 picks in the NHL Draft. You can’t afford to miss on one. You year, he was like a new player, fresh, engaged, effective. And now, the can’t afford to pick Nico Hischier as Ray Shero and New Jersey did when question. Which Ibaka is playing for the Raptors? … How big was the Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar and Elias Pettersson were all available. Kawhi Leonard game in Toronto for television views? Huge. Audience on Dallas, Colorado and Vancouver are all on the rise because it has TSN had almost one-million people watching, the highest regular season Heiskanen, Makar and Pettersson: The Devils are a hot mess almost game in history on the network. And overall, 3.2 million tuned in. Not that everywhere … There is no award for Canadian athlete of the decade but long ago, with good teams, Raptors were doing 2-300,000 on television. if there was one I’d take Sidney Crosby. My decade flag-bearers would That audience has more than tripled at a time when television numbers be the pair of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir … My All-Decade Toronto are in decline across the board. team: Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Ricky Ray, Michael Bradley, Phil Kessel, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan. Who am I missing? … HEAR AND THERE Happy birthday to Jim Leyland (75), Bill Ranford (53), Craig Biggio (54), Shaun Marcum (38), Mo Vaughn (52), Art Howe (73), Surya Bonaly (46) In his 17th season, LeBron James is doing something he’s never done and Rodney Harrison (49) … And hey, whatever became of John Huard? before. He’s leading the NBA in assists with 10.8 a game. Most of his career he’s averaged around 7 a game. This is where James and Wayne TROUBLE IN SAN JOSE Doug Wilson is one of the more accomplished general managers in the That happened on a night when the Sabres and Lightning both had NHL. Since he was hired in San Jose in 2003, his team has had nine unexpected wins. Those are two points you don’t get back. 100-point seasons and missed the playoffs just once. This isn’t about point-counting now because it’s possible the lowest By comparison, in that same time the Maple Leafs have three 100-point playoff point total in recent memory may qualify for a playoff spot in the seasons, missed the playoffs 10 times. In the same period, the Atlantic. The competition should be that fierce. And unless one Atlantic Edmonton Oilers have had one 100-point season and missed the team gets hot in the second half, the odds are that finding a wild-card playoffs 13 times. team from their division is challenging.
In the bigger picture of the NHL, Wilson has been a huge success story The best way to get in — win your head-to-head games, without except for one thing. He hasn’t won a Stanley Cup. He’s had some great overtime; and win on the nights when the teams you’re chasing happen teams but never been close to winning, although his Sharks did play for to lose. It will take some luck and some skill for the Leafs to make the the Stanley Cup once. playoffs. To do so, they’re going to need both.
Wilson has fired three coaches along the way — Ron Wilson, Todd Toronto Sun LOADED: 12.15.2019 McLellan and now Peter DeBoer. All three coaches of reasonable quality.
Wilson has made the boldest trades in hockey, bringing in Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, possibly three Hall of Fame players, without giving up much of consequence from his roster. But now, there is trouble in San Jose. Now, the very solid DeBoer, has been let go, and the Sharks look rather lost. Thornton is at the end of his road. Karlsson looks nothing like the star who turned the Ottawa Senators around. The team has weak goaltending and no real depth anywhere.
Wilson is one of the smartest GMs in the NHL: He’ll need to be to find a way out of the mess that time and circumstance has inflicted upon the Sharks.
TIME FOR SIAKAM TO ADJUST TO LEAGUE
When the season began, and Pascal Siakam had a shining brand new contract and a future paved with gold, the question was obvious: What happens when NBA teams start adjusting their defences to stopping Siakam as the first offensive option on the Raptors?
How will he handle it? How will he adjust? How will coach Nick Nurse adjust to the adjustments?
At the beginning of the year, Siakam looked unstoppable, averaging 28 points a game in October, pulling down 9.2 rebounds, shooting a ridiculously high 44% from three-point land.
In November, that changed. He dropped from 28 a game to 24, from 44% to 35%, with one fewer rebound a game.
Now it’s December and Siakam has scored 22.7 points a game, is bringing down two fewer rebounds a game and is shooting 30.3% from three. If he was a stock, going from 28 to 24 to 22, we probably would have sold by now.
But let’s be honest: Siakam is the Raptors future. He is the one future star and possible superstar that the franchise has. And now that the league has adjusted to him, it’s time for him to adjust to the league. Siakam should be able to change games with his freakish athleticism and his unending energy. He has what coaches like to call that incredible motor.
Sometimes the motor needs tuning. This is one of those times on the road to figuring out exactly who Pascal Siakam will be.
HOW THE LEAFS CAN MAKE THE PLAYOFFS
Here is the simplest way to break down the Atlantic Division and to take stock of the Maple Leafs chances of making the playoffs. Basically, it works like this: There are five teams fighting essentially for two playoff positions behind the Boston Bruins with less than 50 games to play and just four points separating the five contenders — Buffalo, Montreal, Tampa Bay, Toronto and Florida.
Two of those will make the playoffs for sure. Three may not.
To date, the Leafs have played five of the 16 games games against the teams they are fighting with for playoff consideration and haven’t fared especially well. They have just one win in those five games, that coming in overtime against Buffalo. Out of a possible 10 points, the Leafs have picked up just three.
They have 11 games left against Florida (4), Tampa Bay (3), Montreal (2) and Buffalo (2) and must have to start beating the teams they are chasing in the standings. And it’s not just those games, they have to be fortunate and win on nights that the teams above them are losing.
This is simple, yet complicated. The other night, for example, the Leafs blew the third period against Calgary and wound up losing to the Flames. 1166437 Toronto Maple Leafs Leafs: Andreas Johnsson. GAMEDAY LINES
Oilers (projected) Game Day: Leafs at Oilers Leon Draisaitl-Connor McDavid-Zack Kassian
Markus Granlund-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Alex Chiasson December 14, 2019 6:02 AM EST James Neal-Gaetan Haas-Sam Gagner JIM MATHESON Jujhar Khaira-Riley Sheahan-Josh Archibald
Defence FIVE THINGS Darnell Nurse-Ethan Bear 1. Bounce back from Mikko Oscar Klefbom-Adam Larsson Koskinen is coming off his first bad effort, giving up six against Carolina—one power play shot late in the first from Ryan Dzingel he Kris Russell-Caleb Jones would probably like back to make it 3-0 and that 100-footer from Dougie Hamilton, the last goal of the night. After Mike Smith was beaten for six Goal: against Minnesota Wednesday, Oilers badly need their guys in the net to Mikko Koskinen shore things up, although if Oilers give up as many odd-man rushes as they did in Minnesota, Grant Fuhr might be overwhelmed. Mike Smith
2. Work in face-off circle Leafs (projected)
The Oilers are only at 48% for the season, 27th in the NHL while the Zach Hyman-John Tavares-Mitch Marner Leafs are second at 52.3% with the Philadelphia Flyers at 54.4 percent leading the league. Sometimes face-off numbers aren’t the end-all and Kasperi Kapanen-Auston Matthews-William Nylander be-all but when there’s a discrepancy of over four percent on average it Pierre Engvall-Alexander Kerfoot-Ilya Mikheyev means something because the Oilers could be chasing the puck if it keeps up against Toronto. Oilers top guy is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at Trevor Moore-Frederik Gauthier-Pontus Aberg 51.7%. Leafs big dog is Auston Matthews at 57.1%. Defence 3. Even-strength results Morgan Rielly-Tyson Barrie The Oilers have been feasting off the best power play in the league, Jake Muzzin-Justin Holl scoring once a game but five-on-five, which is about 45 minutes out of every 60, they aren’t doing well. They’ve only scored 71 even-strength Travis Dermott-Cody Ceci goals in 33 games and they’ve given up 83, and that’s not a recipe for the playoff picture if this keeps up because PPs usually run cold for awhile. Goal: In the last nine games, Oilers have been outscored 24-12 at even- Freddie Andersen strength. Michael Hutchinson 4. Increased ice for Swiss import Toronto Sun LOADED: 12.15.2019 Gaetan Haas was good in Minnesota playing over 13 minutes, the most he’s played as an NHLer. Scored his third goal (all on deflections) and while he’s only averaging 9:38, he has seven points. His face-off play is very much a work-in-progress because he’s going against guys trickier and with NHL strength. It’s only 43.9% in 198 draws but his speed is much needed and his effort in the corners is getting better too. He could also be an OT possibility because of his wheels.
5. Penalty calls
The Oilers with the top two scorers in the league have only drawn 100 penalties, 17th overall, which is crazy when you consider New Jersey has drawn 110 and Detroit 105, the worst two teams in the league — teams that don’t have the puck anywhere near as much. The Oilers have scored 17 power play goals in their 16 home games and the Leafs are only killing 75 percent on the road which leads you to believe Edmonton’s up a goal before the game starts.
BIG MATCHUP
Connor McDavid vs. John Tavares
Nazem Kadri often played against the NHL’s leading point producer when these two clubs played one another and Kadri brought an edge to his checking but Tavares is also very good, and has much more offence in his toolbox. With apologies to Auston Matthews, a major talent for sure, Tavares is Toronto’s best all-around forward. Of course, McDavid has 57 points so not many people are stopping him these days but it’ll be a nice challenge if that’s the head-to-head.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Oilers: PP 32-100, 32 percent, first. PK 89-105, 84.8 percent, sixth
Leafs: PP 18-91 19.8 percent, 14th PK 78-101 77.2 percent, 25th
SICK BAY
Oilers: Matt Benning, Joakin Nygard 1166438 Toronto Maple Leafs Pierre Engvall, meanwhile, has played only 12 games and averaged 9:58 ice time an outing, but his production translates to 34 points over a full 82-game season, despite zero power-play time.
Mirtle: Should the Maple Leafs trade from a strength — their forward Their chemistry with the diminutive Kerfoot has been really apparent depth — to help them on D and in goal? early on here, something they can build on as they earn more minutes in games like this one. (Matthews skated in a season-low 14:34 as Keefe turned to MKE more and more.)
James Mirtle “They were great,” Keefe said. “They just skated. They skated. They worked. They made plays. They attacked the net. There was a lot of Dec 14, 2019 really good things they were doing. They were feeling it today. It’s a good sign for our team just with three guys like that that skate the way that they do and work. I felt comfortable no matter who they were on the ice EDMONTON — This was, yet again, one of the Maple Leafs’ better against — even if it was McDavid.” games of the season. This road trip was a bit all over the place, with high points in St. Louis Even with a quiet night for the Auston Matthews line and even with Tyson and Edmonton and a disappointing low in Calgary. But the Leafs finished Barrie going down with an ankle injury early on, so many others stepped 3-1-0 and now have some momentum to build off of after improving up that the Leafs were able to dominate long stretches of the night. Keefe’s record to 7-4-0 through 11 games.
Justin Holl played a career-high 26:10 — nearly six minutes more than One challenge facing the new coach will be a logjam up front, as Trevor he had ever skated in an NHL game — and was a key factor in helping Moore is expected to return any day. With Engvall playing so well, it’s shut down Connor McDavid. hard to see where he can find a top-nine role.
Hyman-Tavares-Marner was hugely effective in that effort, too, limiting Even the Leafs’ fourth line is feeling a bit crowded with strong performers McDavid to just 20 percent expected goals in their head-to-head minutes lately, after Dmytro Timashov and The Goat connected for a big at even strength. insurance goal against the Oilers. Jason Spezza, too, has made a strong case to be an everyday player, given his sky-high P/60 and strong Frederik Andersen was, again, excellent, too, bumping his save underlying numbers. percentage to .921 on the season. He’ll enter the Vezina conversation if he continues to play as well as he has the past six weeks. Once Andreas Johnsson gets healthy in the New Year, the Leafs front office is going to have some tough decisions not just about who is in the Of all the various Leafs storylines, however, the one that stood out the lineup but also who even gets to stay on the roster. most to me was the third line. The Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Engvall trio was dominant on the puck all night, producing the first two goals and proving They can’t really demote Engvall if he’s producing like this and eating key exceptionally hard for Edmonton to handle. minutes on a penalty kill that has suddenly become one of the league’s best under the new coach. The mismatch in forward depth was apparent early and often, and while Oilers coach Dave Tippett tried to get his big guns out against MKE, they They can’t waive Timashov, Moore or Goat, either, without expecting to were more than up to that challenge, forcing the NHL’s two highest lose them to another club. (Heck, Nick Shore was claimed when they scorers to defend more often than not. tried that manoeuvre a couple of weeks ago.)
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe had been counting on that as a positive If Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Engvall sticks as a trio, that’ll force either Kasperi factor coming in, too. Kapanen or Johnsson to the fourth line in January, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given their salaries and experience. If the third line “We knew that we had to do a job against those top guys, but we also keeps playing like this, however, those tough decisions could become thought that our depth would be a factor in the game today,” Keefe said. trade chips, as that talk heats up around the league, thanks to the Taylor “It seems like that’s how it worked out.” Hall sweepstakes. The defensive performance was obviously important, but I think the goals Kapanen, in particular, is someone a lot of teams are keeping an eye on. were even more vital, given the droughts that they were in. Ilya You look at how talent-poor a team like Edmonton is on the wing, and Mikheyev’s goal was his first in 21 games, since all the way back on Oct. you can see why. 25. Alexander Kerfoot had scored just once and produced only one assist in his last 17, in large part due to the broken facial bones he suffered in He’s also proven a poor fit with a shot-first centre, which for the Leafs early November. means he can’t excel alongside either Matthews or Tavares, who typically log 40 minutes a night. Not only did he lose about eight pounds off his already small frame, but he also has had to wear that awful fishbowl cage, which has limited his A Kapanen-for-a-D deal might make sense here, if these standout effectiveness with the puck. performances down the lineup continue. I wondered watching the game Saturday night if someone like Adam Larsson might, at some point, be a The good news is he is almost healed — he had plates surgically fit, given Edmonton has room to subtract on the back end. implanted into his jaw — and soon the awkward face mask will go. Perhaps then the Leafs will have the 15-goal, 40-point man they thought The Leafs have been hugely fortunate that Holl has emerged as the they traded Nazem Kadri for in the offseason? unexpected minutes-eater he is, but they still obviously need help on the right side. It’s one thing to shut down a one-line team like Edmonton; the What should also help is the high quality of his wingers. task gets far tougher when the lineups Toronto will face have multiple “Those guys have a ton of speed,” Kerfoot said Saturday. “Both Pierre threats spread out. and Mickey can fly and make it hard on the opposition. They get onto It’s hard to feel confident with Barrie or Cody Ceci in those minutes. In guys quickly and make them force plays. They are just tough to play fact, it speaks volumes that one of the team’s best defensive games of against.” the season came with one of them barely on the ice. (Perry Nelson / USA Today) Bringing in another right-shot D could have the domino effect of making Mikheyev is on pace for 43 points — all of them at even strength. In fact, one of those two more expendable, which could help create more cap only Matthews and John Tavares are ahead of him in that respect on the flexibility and the room to add insurance in goal. Leafs, and he ranks tied for 45th among forwards NHL-wide (alongside The Leafs have a really soft schedule here over the next two weeks the likes of Sebastian Aho, Ryan O’Reilly and the Tkachuk brothers). before the start of 2020. That should allow them to bank some points and He’s also tied with Buffalo’s Victor Olofsson for the rookie lead in even- climb the standings while also giving players like Holl, Engvall and others strength points and has a decent shot of making the NHL’s all-rookie an opportunity to earn more minutes. team at season’s end. If they continue to prove capable, that provides a lot more options for Kyle Dubas. Given the roster and cap crunch incoming soon, it may not make sense to wait for the trade deadline to make a move.
Emptying the notebook
1. X-rays were negative on Barrie’s ankle after he blocked a shot, but Keefe said a full diagnosis will have to wait until Monday’s practice back in Toronto.
2. If Barrie can’t play for a couple of games, Rasmus Sandin may be withheld from the world juniors in the Czech Republic and recalled to play on the third pairing with Travis Dermott. The Leafs can’t afford to lean on Martin Marincin given how crucial these next two weeks are.
3. Michael Hutchinson is expected to start one of the back-to-back games against the Rangers or Red Wings next weekend. I have a feeling the Leafs will give him the sad-sack Red Wings, given how their last meeting went. That’s potentially a huge game for his future as the Leafs have only one more back-to-back series between then and Feb. 7-8. He needs to start putting up wins or the front office’s search for a replacement could pick up.
4. Nic Petan was demoted this weekend so the Leafs have roster room for Moore to rejoin the team without having to move out anyone else before Tuesday’s game against the Sabres. Pontus Aberg could be sent back to the Marlies shortly, too.
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166439 Toronto Maple Leafs SZN#LEAFSFOREVER PIC.TWITTER.COM/0HBHDZTDQY
— TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (@MAPLELEAFS) DECEMBER 15, 2019
Leafs Report Cards: In front of a roaring road crowd, Leafs’ ‘shutdown’ As always, there’s Kerfoot making an extra pass to get his teammate an empty net, but I can’t get enough of Mikheyev’s confidence to make that matchup keeps Connor McDavid in check toe-drag in the slot before getting his shot off. On nights when he flashes that skill in conjunction with his relentless puck pursuit, he looks like a dominant 200-foot player. Ian Tulloch McDavid spent just over six minutes of ice time against Toronto’s third Dec 14, 2019 line. In those minutes, he got outshot 6-1, out-chanced 5-1 and outscored 1-0.
The atmosphere in this game was outstanding; a prime-time matchup on Morgan Rielly (LD, #44) — This might have been the best Rielly’s looked “Hockey Night In Canada” between Connor McDavid’s Oilers and the all season. Toronto Maple Leafs. The energy in the building was electric, with the MORGAN RIELLY LOOKS NOTICEABLY FASTER IN THIS GAME. Edmonton fans chanting “let’s go Oilers” and Leafs fans chanting back “Go Leafs Go!” WONDER IF THAT INJURY WE ALL SUSPECT HE'S BEEN NURSING THIS SEASON IS FINALLY STARTING TO GET BETTER. Toronto ended up getting the last word in, with Mitch Marner potting an empty-netter to make the score 4-1. The game was much closer than — IAN TULLOCH (@IANGRAPH) DECEMBER 15, 2019 that, though, with Edmonton pressing later in the third period to tie the score. McDavid was kept quiet, thanks in large part to Toronto’s He was missing practices earlier in the season under Mike Babcock, “shutdown” matchup, but also a dominant performance from the third presumably to help him rest up from whatever this “mystery injury” was line. — the Leafs have been pretty tight-lipped about it. Now that he has more of that explosion in his skating stride, he’s beginning to look like Morgan To help break things down further, let’s dive into the player grades. Rielly. He’s flying up the ice with the puck, playing a much tighter gap in transition and has the burst to break up plays he wasn’t able to earlier in Player reports the season.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Now that he looks much closer to 100 percent, I’m looking forward to seeing what Rielly can do — especially if he gets to play with a strong Game Ball : Justin Holl (RD, #3) — The Edmonton crowd is roaring transition defender like Travis Dermott. after the Oilers scored their first goal to make the game 2-1, Toronto has just iced the puck, and Justin Holl has the puck on his stick with McDavid ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and Leon Draisaitl coming at him. Jake Muzzin and John Tavares — Neither veteran played a “perfect” “And he doesn’t panic,” Jim Hughson says before Holl finds a way out of game. There were some rough moments by Muzzin, most notably on that the zone with possession. penalty kill goal against. Tavares also had his struggles here and there, It’s pretty crazy to think that over the past year, Holl has gone from a guy but they found a way to win the puck back from the best player in hockey most people didn’t think was an NHL player to someone the Leafs just — and his freakishly talented German sidekick — and outplay that duo matched up against the best duo in hockey — and came out on top. from start to finish. The score effects started to set in a bit in the third period, but if we look at the game overall, Tavares and Muzzin "NO ONE HAS AN ANSWER FOR MCDAVID" consistently made plays to tilt the ice in their team’s favour.
*JUSTIN HOLL'S MUSIC HITS* PIC.TWITTER.COM/5U9SEPR1JY Defence isn’t always pretty, but it’s effective.
— NICK DESOUZA (@NICKDESOUZA_) DECEMBER 15, 2019 Frederik Andersen (G, #31) — This wasn’t quite the barrage of scoring chances he’s been used to facing lately, which must have been a nice For a while, I was wondering if I had a “Justin Holl Bias” because of how change of pace. Andersen held the fort, allowing only one goal on a highly I’ve been rating him. “It’s because he’s been playing really well,” I breakaway. Much like Muzzin and Tavares, it wasn’t always pretty, but keep telling myself. Well, Holl just keeps playing really well, and he did it Andersen found a way to get the job done and make key saves. Saturday night against the toughest competition in the NHL. Coaching staff — This was one of those weird games where the away Zach Hyman (LW, #11) — I was contemplating giving Hyman the game coach clearly wanted a certain matchup — Tavares’ line and Muzzin’s ball, but it just felt like Holl’s night. That doesn’t take away from how great pairing against McDavid and Draisaitl — but the home coach wanted no the gritty puck retriever was. Hyman was all over the ice. He was winning part in it. Dave Tippett did his best to get his stars away from Toronto’s puck battles in the offensive zone, getting into it with Darnell Nurse, but “shutdown” matchup, which resulted in McDavid not getting many most impressively, Hyman was making high-skill plays to get his minutes. To make matters worse, he got outplayed by Engvall-Kerfoot- teammates open. Mikheyev, the line Tippet wanted them to face.
The numbers don’t lie: Hyman was a puck-dominant player. Now, I don’t want to give Sheldon Keefe too much credit here. After all, it MY FAVOURITE STAT FROM THE NIGHT wasn’t exactly a masterclass in coaching, but it was cool to see him trust PIC.TWITTER.COM/QZRG32ZUDJ Holl in such an important role. That Muzzin-Holl pairing weirdly feels like Toronto’s best bet against tough competition, which speaks to how bad — IAN TULLOCH (@IANGRAPH) DECEMBER 15, 2019 Ceci and Barrie have been in their own end but also to how impressive Holl has been as a 200-foot play-driver. This is not the same Zach Hyman from his rookie season — he’s levelled up his puck control. ⭐⭐⭐
The Engvall-Kerfoot-Mikheyev line — Well, this line clearly works. Pierre Mitch Marner (RW, #16) — This is a weird game because I thought Engvall did a great job using his speed to get the puck up the ice, Marner was incredibly creative with the puck on his stick, underwhelming Alexander Kerfoot was making backdoor passes all night, and Ilya without the puck and a downright disaster during that penalty kill goal Mikheyev is making me wonder what’s in that soup. He’s looked against. Personally, I thought his linemates were more responsible for unbelievable lately. Everyone knows what he’s going to give you from an the team’s strong numbers when Marner was on the ice, but we still have effort standpoint — much like Hyman and Trevor Moore — but it’s to give credit to someone for coming out on top against the best player in Mikheyev’s skill with the puck in transition that’s been impressing me the the world. most. Dmytro Timashov (LW, #41) — For a while, I forgot he was playing, 略 WEATHER which is never a great sign, but then he made a beautiful spin-around pass to Frederik Gauthier backdoor for an easy goal. When you throw in 🌶️ GOALS the fact that he was finishing his checks all evening, that’s enough for three stars in my books — even if the rest of your night didn’t go that On Saturday, it was a flip-up into the stands. Last week, it was a point great. shot into a referee — who was standing in the corner. He doesn’t have great puck skills, struggles to make the right decision under pressure, Frederik Gauthier (C, #33) — I was ready to do it … I was so ready to do plays an overly conservative gap in transition and allows way too many it! passes through the middle of the ice. If we’re being objective, he’s *ADDS 10 STAR PARAGRAPH* probably one of the worst defencemen in the NHL — which any reasonable Senators fan could’ve told you six months ago. — JAMES MIRTLE (@MIRTLE) DECEMBER 15, 2019 Heat Map After having a terrible game during which he squandered the only opportunity he had all evening, Gauthier comes up in the clutch and roofs Here’s a quick look at where each team’s shots were coming from, it to give Toronto a 3-1 lead. courtesy of Natural Stat Trick. The Leafs controlled 54 percent of the shots and 57 percent of the #LEAFSFOREVER PIC.TWITTER.COM/UGK3TUPPGZ scoring chances at five-on-five. These numbers are adjusted for score — TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (@MAPLELEAFS) DECEMBER 15, 2019 effects, which played a big part in the third period.
I was ready to write a paragraph asking if it was time to consider waiving Game score Gauthier. I still think it’s a conversation we should have at some point, Game score is a metric developed by The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn to but it’s a lot tougher to make that case after a gorgeous goal like that. quickly measure a player’s performance in a game. Let’s at least enjoy this for another … 24 hours. It’s not perfect, but it can help give us a decent idea of how well players Incomplete: Tyson Barrie (RD, #94) — After blocking a shot in the first performed in a particular game based on their numbers — although I’d period, Barrie left the game with an ankle injury. always recommend combining stats with video, since single-game MAPLE LEAFS DEFENCEMAN TYSON BARRIE WILL NOT RETURN numbers can be wonky. TO TONIGHT'S GAME IN EDMONTON DUE TO INJURY (ANKLE). Trending up or down? #LEAFSFOREVER This is where we break down the latest trends in my Leafs Report Cards — LEAFS PR (@LEAFSPR) DECEMBER 15, 2019 courtesy of Mark Norman. You can play around with the data at his Is that Rasmus Sandin’s music!? tableau page if you’re interested.
⭐⭐ Tweets of the night
Travis Dermott (LD, #23) — He gave Leafs fans a scare at one point by This is probably the best strategy I’ve seen for defending McDavid — turning over the puck on what looked like a botched spinorama attempt. make a “group circle” around him. With Dermott, you want to see him making creative plays with the puck PIC.TWITTER.COM/J7BZPKH32Y — I loved the shift where he skated the puck end-to-end — but there are times you’d like to see him make better decisions with the puck. There — DIMITRI FILIPOVIC (@DIMFILIPOVIC) DECEMBER 15, 2019 were a few more of those moments Saturday than you’d like, which is why he finds himself in the two-star club. Speaking of defence, this next tweet made me chuckle.
Kasperi Kapanen (RW, #24) — The Leafs clearly want to give Kapanen a LEAFS DOWN TO 4 DEFENSEMEN WITH BARRIE OUT AND CECI legitimate chance to make things work alongside Matthews and STILL PLAYING. Nylander, but personally, I just don’t see it. Kapanen excels in the same — LARUE (@TODDLT1968) DECEMBER 15, 2019 areas Nylander does — transporting the puck up the ice with speed — but the problem is that he doesn’t have the same dynamic skill or vision Come on, that isn’t very nice — we should be mature enough to make to complete the play in the attacking third of the ice. There was one play smarter jokes on Twitter. he made a nice little Nylander-esque drop pass to Matthews after gaining the zone, but most of the time, it’s an awkward second or two of him GAETEN HAAS SOUNDS LIKE HOW A GERMAN GUY WOULD SAY holding onto the puck when the passing option is available. "GETTING HOT"
I still think this is an aspect of his game that can grow, but on this team, — FWICK FWACK (@FLYERSPOOP) DECEMBER 15, 2019 I’d argue he’s best served as a super-charged third-line winger. Much like *bursts out laughing* Phil Kessel on those Stanley Cup-winning Penguins teams, a Kerfoot- Kapanen combination gives me Hagelin-Kessel vibes off the rush. Final Grade: B+
⭐ The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019
Auston Matthews and William Nylander — Let me start by saying I know Matthews generated five shots on net, but only one of them looked dangerous enough to beat the goaltender. The bigger issue is that he and Nylander got outshot and out-chanced at even strength despite playing most of their minutes against Jujhar Khaira and Sam Gagner. On a Saturday night, when the other team’s building is rocking, this kind of performance just isn’t acceptable.
There are times Matthews and Nylander look disinterested without the puck, but you’d think we would see them more engaged in a big game like this. If you’re wondering why so many Leafs fans tend to get frustrated with their effort, it’s because of nights like these.
Jason Spezza (RW, #19) — This was a rough game for Spezza. His best attribute at this point in his career is his passing ability, but he was struggling to complete basic passes Saturday night.
Cody Ceci (RD, #83) — At some point, I think we need to come to grips with the fact that Cody Ceci isn’t a very good NHL player. I’ve been rooting for him all season — and continue to — but there are still going to be those nights when he skates the puck up the ice, looks like he’s about to make a good play and does something extremely bizarre. 1166440 Toronto Maple Leafs are getting slimmer after a rough start. Of those 49 games, 27 are at home and 28 are against teams my model deems below average with an average expected opponent strength of 0.494.
5 reasons to be optimistic about the Maple Leafs under Sheldon Keefe The defining stretch goes from here until the All-Star break and it’s then we’ll have a much better idea of what the Leafs are capable of under Keefe. In those 16 games, Toronto is expected to win 10 (0.625 expected win percentage) with 10 games at home and 13 matchups against below Dom Luszczyszyn average opponents (with the exceptions being games against the Dec 13, 2019 Hurricanes, Islanders, and Flames, all of which are at home).
It’s a winnable set of games and if they can’t take advantage of that pillow soft schedule lying in front of them, they’ll be in big trouble. And so the cycle begins again. The Leafs win and everything is fine. The Leafs lose and everything has gone to hell. Even if things go according to plan though, they would still only be 25-19- 5, a 92-point pace, and would need to keep things going with a strong It’s hard to blame the intense cycle of emotions when a team that was finish against an average schedule to make the playoffs. It’s there where supposed to be one of the league’s best has been languishing near the they’ll need to prove they belong. bottom of the standings instead this season. Toronto has been frustratingly plagued with inconsistency, failing to extend any winning 2. New systems take time streak past three games en route to a pedestrian 15-14-4 record. That’s This stuff doesn’t happen overnight. The two examples pointed to most something they’ve only managed once in 2019, last February, a four- often are the two teams that made changes behind the bench after gamer. Whoop-de-doo. disappointing starts only to surge afterwards en route to an eventual Much of that was due to a woeful start under Mike Babcock who was Stanley Cup, Pittsburgh in 2015-16 and St. Louis in 2018-19. It’s a path relieved of his duties on November 20, but the common sentiment on this that Toronto hopes to emulate with Keefe and it’s worth pointing out that current stretch of the 2019-20 roller coaster seems to be that even under things weren’t exactly rosy at the start for those teams either. new coach Sheldon Keefe this team hasn’t been good enough. A 6-4-0 Under Mike Johnston, the Penguins went 15-10-3, but the underlying record is good, but in order to dig out of the early season hole this team numbers weren’t pretty as they earned just 50.3 percent of goals at 5-on- needs to be great, something that’s still only been seen in glimpses 5, and 49.7 percent of expected goals. Under Mike Sullivan, that latter under the supervision of the new bench boss. number changed immediately, jumping up all the way to 57.4 percent, but Ten games is still a very tiny sample size, but within the right context we the team got outscored anyway by a 16-11 margin, good for a 40.2 can still gather some signal amidst the noise to assess whether anything percent rate. They went 4-5-1. After that? A 30-11-4 record off the has changed; whether these are the Leafs that embarrassed themselves strength of an even further improved 59 percent expected goals rate, this in the season’s first 23 games, or the Leafs many expected in time with the actual numbers to match at 59.7 percent. September. It was a very similar story in St. Louis. The team went 7-9-3 under Mike Under the surface the talent is still there and it’s why the team’s current Yeo with even worse underlying numbers earning 44.7 percent of the playoff chances remain relatively high at 68 percent. That may seem goal share and 46.1 percent of the expected goal share. In Craig higher than it should for a team on pace for 84 points and in those cases Berube’s first 10 games that latter number only saw a modest it’s always worth explaining why there’s as big a difference from what a improvement to 47.6 percent as the team was outscored even more to team’s projected to be and their results to date. then to 37.1 percent leading to a 4-5-1 record. But again, it was what happened after that’s worth paying attention to. A 35-14-5 record that put The sky has not fallen in Toronto, not yet anyways, and there’s still plenty them firmly into the playoffs thanks to scoring 60.2 percent of the goals of reasons to be optimistic about the team’s future, especially under and earning 57.7 percent of the expected goals share. Keefe. Here’s why. That the immediate results under Keefe haven’t been nearly as poor is 1. The schedule an encouraging sign as those two teams give hope that things only get better from here (though don’t expect it to the same degree), especially This is the big one and it’s something the average fan likely doesn’t pay with a lighter schedule. much attention to. Schedule strength doesn’t make a huge difference over a full season, but there can be big differences over segments. The 3. 5-on-5 play is legitimately improved Leafs haven’t had the most difficult schedule to date, but it’s been more challenging than the average team and that was while dealing with a Despite it taking some time to figure everything out and work out the bad plethora of injuries. habits, the Leafs’ underlying numbers have still been much stronger under Keefe anyways. In 10 games the Leafs have a 55.5 percent Based on the team’s win probabilities in each game, the Leafs were expected goals rate, good for fourth in the league since he took over and expected to win 12.9 of their 23 games under Babcock, a bit lower than a huge improvement over the 47.9 percent under Babcock. Folks, that’s their average strength at the time of each game (factoring injuries and an elite number and while it tends to fluctuate over the season when starting goalies it was around 0.565) would indicate. While 13 of the 23 looking 10 games at a time (yes, they managed the feat in certain games were at home, there were a large string of back-to-backs to deal stretches under Babcock too), it’s obvious that puck possession and with and 16 of those games were against above average opponents creating offensive chances are a big priority with Keefe in tow. That whose average strength was 0.510. Despite that, there are no excuses they’ve started this strong is a good sign that it’ll continue, not fade. for winning just under four fewer games than expected, making it unsurprising that Babcock would be ousted. There are some out there who want to diminish that and while there were some clunky games mixed in, it’s always best to look at the overall That brings us to the 10 games under Keefe, where a 6-4-0 record is picture in these cases or you’ll miss the forest for the trees. seen as disappointing. And yet, based on the win probability in each game, the Leafs were actually only expected to win 5.6 games. That’s The biggest caveat thrown around is “if you take out the dominant game similar to the rate under Babcock, but this time even lower than their against Detroit, the worst team in the league, well then the Leafs don’t expected strength against an average schedule of 0.575 due to Frederik look as good.” First of all, cherry-picking data and throwing it away to fit a Andersen starting nine of 10 and the team finally getting healthier. This narrative: not exactly ethical statistical practice. The game happened, we time around it’s not so much the opponents (average strength of 0.483), can’t just ignore it especially given the tiny sample size in games under but the fact that eight of the last 10 games have been on the road, a fact Keefe. We can, however, contextualize it and point out that while the few have mentioned regarding Keefe’s first 10 games. game against the Red Wings may be skewing the dataset, it’s very much worth recognizing that game as Detroit’s worst game by expected goals That was the past. The path forward gets much easier. this year at 24.5 percent. Only one other game was below 30 percent. If it’s that easy to do against a team that weak that it should be tossed in Over the Leafs’ remaining 49 games, my model expects them to earn the trash, why has no other team done the same this year? 29.4 wins on the strength of a 0.600 expected win percentage which is substantially higher than the .587 they would expect against an average The proper caveat would be that the average expected goals rate of the schedule. That’s an extra 0.7 wins, which isn’t nothing when the margins teams faced over the 10 games is only 48.9 percent. That suggests the Leafs have been fortunate in the scoring chance department based on who they’ve played, but it’s not nearly to the degree that they’ve earned chances under Keefe.
4. 5-on-5 scoring should increase
Which brings us to the next point. The Leafs have been relying a lot on the goaltending wizardry of Andersen for the last little bit, but that’s mostly due to the fact that they aren’t scoring nearly as often as they used to.
In 2018-19 the Leafs scored on 9.4 percent of their shots. In 2017-18 it was 9.0 percent. Both of those seasons had Toronto in the top three. In 2016-17 it was 8.4 percent, good for seventh. In the Matthews-Marner- Nylander era, only Washington has a higher shooting percentage than Toronto’s 8.9 percent, built partially by earning 2.46 expected goals-per- 60, but also finishing ability to actually score 2.80 – the highest in the league.
Under Keefe the Leafs are close to that latter number, scoring 2.72 goals-per-60, but that’s actually less than their expected goals rate of 2.78. Toronto is creating an abundance of chances, but the finishing touch hasn’t been there, scoring on only 7.5 percent of their shots for the new coach.
Toronto has high potential to be an elite offensive team again under Keefe once its players start scoring at their normal pace. Based on each player’s shooting percentage from the two seasons prior to this one, the Leafs would be expected to have 2.8 more goals under Keefe at 5-on-5. That’s half a win, and would be worth a one percentage point bump in their 5-on-5 shooting percentage. That’s much closer to where they’ve been in recent seasons.
5. The special teams look #ActuallyGood
Like the 5-on-5 numbers, it’s pivotal to put numbers from a small sample size in the right context. Special teams were a huge problem under Babcock this season, but that seems to be one of the biggest things righted under Keefe where the Leafs have a 29.4 percent power play percentage (fourth in the league) and much more surprisingly the league’s best 91.3 percent penalty kill rate.
On the power play front, it’s helped greatly that Keefe has began riding his top unit significantly more. Toronto’s top unit is now seeing around 70 percent of all power play time compared to around 60 percent under Babcock. The team’s expected goals rate is up by a full goal-per-60 and shooting percentage has regressed up from 12.3 percent to 16.7 percent.
For the penalty kill, the Leafs have been magnificent allowing just 2.9 goals-per-60 on 3.8 expected goals against per 60. The lowest full- season mark is 3.9 and 5.0 respectively. Under Babcock it was 9.2 and 7.0. That’s an insane turnaround so far and gives hope that the team will be able to translate that defensive ability to 5-on-5 situations too. Some credit should go to the team’s newfound aggression with the man advantage that is seeing them earn 1.5 expected goals per 60 themselves which would also be one of the league’s best marks. Pierre Engvall in particular has been a gem in that regard. In three seasons under Babcock, the Leafs were closer to the bottom.
In both cases, who they’ve played does matter. The average power play the team has faced would carry a 15th ranked 6.6 goals-per-60 and a 20th ranked expected goals-per-60 of 5.9. Ditto for opposing penalty kills where the teams have been even weaker, allowing what would be a 19th best 7.4 goals against per 60 and a 24th best 6.7 expected goals against per 60.In both instances Toronto handily bested the numbers its opponents have put up this season which suggests the team should be above average on both units, but they still need to prove against more worthy foes. Either way though, it’s still a very encouraging sign.
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019
1166441 Vegas Golden Knights
Blues battle adversity on road to repeating as NHL champions
By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal
December 14, 2019 - 7:45 am
Only the Pittsburgh Penguins have won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles this millennium. That’s the challenge St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube has as he tries to lead his team to an NHL championship for the second straight season.
His job has been made harder by injuries and because the Blues aren’t sneaking up on anyone anymore. After famously being in last place in the NHL on Jan. 1, the team followed an interim coach (Berube) and a rookie goaltender (Jordan Binnington) all the way to the title.
Now, Berube, Binnington and the rest of the Blues are known commodities and getting everyone’s best efforts.
“You have a bit of a target on your back,” Berube said. “You’re going to get a highly competitive game from the team you’re playing. I think there have been nights where we’re not aware of that. It’s just about motivating your guys to be at their best night in and night out. It’s a mental thing more than a physical thing for me.”
Not that the Blues haven’t had their share of physical challenges.
Star right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, who has the eighth-most goals in the league over the past seven seasons, has been limited to 10 games because of a right shoulder injury. Forwards Oskar Sundqvist, Zach Sanford, Sammy Blais and Alexander Steen also have missed time.
The Blues have handled the adversity well, with an 19-8-6 record entering Saturday that puts them second in the Central Division.
“It can be tough with injuries,” said center Ryan O’Reilly, who won the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) and Selke (best defensive forward) trophies last season. “There’s a lot of shuffling around. Definitely (you’re) trying to find that chemistry and connection. But at the end of the day, it’s just as a team we need to do a good job working for each other. We know what that looks like. No matter who’s playing with who, everyone in this room works well together.”
Even at less than full strength, the Blues are formidable. Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said he thinks their blue line is the best in the league. Their forward group is deep. And Binnington is playing excellent after receiving a two-year contract extension last summer.
It’s still going to be difficult to repeat as champions. But after the challenges the Blues overcame last season, their current issues must seem like first-world problems.
“We’ve done a pretty good job of it so far,” Berube said. “Just understanding that every team you play, it’s going to be a hard game.”
The Dallas Stars are the rare team that fires their coach without wanting much to change on the ice.
The Stars fired coach Jim Montgomery on Tuesday because of a “material act of unprofessionalism,” according to general manager Jim Nill. Rick Bowness, who had 463 games of NHL head coaching experience, took over and doesn’t plan to tinker much with a team that’s 13-3-3 since Nov. 1. That should help players adjust to the change.
“I think we put it beside when we’re playing out there,” Stars defenseman Esa Lindell said. “No one is thinking about that stuff that happened earlier. So just play like normally before. I don’t see (the coaching change) affecting us.”
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166442 Vegas Golden Knights
Chandler Stephenson quickly gains Golden Knights’ trust
By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal
December 14, 2019 - 6:00 am
Chandler Stephenson and the Golden Knights didn’t start off on the best of terms.
Stephenson was part of a Washington Capitals team that provided a sobering ending to the Knights’ otherwise magical inaugural season. He played in all five games of the Stanley Cup Final. He skated around T- Mobile Arena with the Cup.
But those hard feelings are gone now that Stephenson is with the Knights after a Dec. 2 trade. The 25-year-old forward has been welcomed with open arms, and that has appeared to help lift his game.
He’ll try to make another good impression when the Knights host the Vancouver Canucks at 5 p.m. Sunday.
“Since the first day, the group and coaching staff and everything has made me feel right at home,” Stephenson said. “I got the utmost confidence playing because the coaching staff has showed me that. The trust in myself. That’s huge.”
Coach Gerard Gallant immediately showed belief in Stephenson when he put him on the ice at the end of the Knights’ Dec. 3 game against the New Jersey Devils. Stephenson suddenly was helping to protect a 4-3 lead at the end of the third period for his new team. It made a huge early impression on the newcomer, a 2012 third-round pick of the Capitals when George McPhee, the Knights’ president of hockey operations, was Washington’s general manager.
The Knights then doubled down on their early faith in Stephenson by moving him to second-line center between left wing Max Pacioretty and right wing Mark Stone before Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. In eight days, Stephenson went from being expendable in Washington to centering the Knights’ two highest-paid forwards.
“I didn’t know much about him before he came,” Pacioretty said. “I obviously knew he was a fast player and didn’t get as much of a chance probably as he deserved in (Washington).”
Pacioretty knows a lot more now. Stephenson’s play has risen to the challenge of playing with two “All-Stars,” in his opinion. The career bottom-six grinder has three points (two goals, one assist) in six games with the Knights. He had four points in 24 games with the Capitals and 33 points in 168 career games before the trade.
He’s been able to show off speed that surprised Gallant. And Pacioretty, who boasts the team’s best wrist shot, has been impressed with Stephenson’s release.
Stephenson used it to best Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop, a Vezina Trophy finalist last season, in the second period of the Knights’ 3-2 overtime win Friday.
“He, as you saw tonight (Friday), he’s got a phenomenal shot,” Pacioretty said. “It’s really nice to see a guy with a nice shot who’s really a pass-first guy. Obviously, his wheels are some of the best on the team. Whenever you play with a guy that fast, you want to try to make sure you keep pucks going north, and he did a good job of recovering them.”
Stephenson will be happy to keep chasing pucks from Pacioretty and Stone. But even if he moves down the lineup, he’s already proven to be a reliable addition to the Knights’ forward group with his speed, defensive acumen and penalty-kill prowess.
“He’s played real good. Good solid hockey,” Gallant said. “I think he’s getting to know his teammates well, and he’s fitting in real good with our group.”
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166443 Vegas Golden Knights
Golden Knights players let guard down during NHL Network show
By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal
December 14, 2019 - 6:00 am
DALLAS — Max Pacioretty likes to shoot far-side. Nick Holden’s proudest hockey moment came in bantams.
Those were two of the details the Golden Knights players revealed on their segments on the NHL Network show “Ice Time,” which will premiere Saturday along with an interview with left wing Jonathan Marchessault. The segments will air at 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Saturday and at 7 a.m. Sunday.
Pacioretty’s and Holden’s parts were filmed Aug. 27 at City National Arena with NHL Network analyst Mike Rupp, who played 11 seasons in the NHL and won the 2003 Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils. And Rupp believes the timing, when some Knights were back for informal skates but had yet to begin training camp, helped the players open up.
“The fans of hockey overall are going to love it because you see a different side,” Rupp said in August. “Catching them this time of year, it’s always really good because it’s before the grind starts, you know?”
Rupp got Pacioretty to discuss his wrist shot — the best on the Knights — while the two were on the ice shooting pucks. Rupp wanted to know how Pacioretty, who has the 10th-most goals in the NHL since 2011, crafted his shot.
“Max Pacioretty didn’t really have a slap shot. (He) grew up shooting wristers because the ceiling in his basement was too low,” Rupp said. “That’s stuff we love. That’s stuff that kids get to hear, too. Little things that the guys do to make themselves better as kids.”
Holden’s sit-down conversation had a different feel but was just as casual. After discussing his proudest hockey moment — a hat trick in bantams (ages 13 and 14 in Canada) that led to a local newspaper clipping — Holden talked about the most difficult players in the NHL to defend, among other things.
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon made Holden’s list.
“It’s always fun to do this stuff, especially when the interviews are like that and you’re casual and goofing around,” Holden said. “You don’t have to sometimes be serious about your answer.”
Friday’s 3-2 overtime victory at Dallas marked the third time in Knights history that they played on Friday the 13th. They went 1-1 in the first two games, including their 2-1 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series April 13, 2017.
“I’m superstitious,” right wing Alex Tuch said. “I don’t really think about Friday the 13th, though, not in that way. I’m superstitious in other ways. I’m more into habits and stuff.”
Tuch said he’s superstitious about aspects of his pregame routine, like how he gets dressed and what he eats. He declined to share specifics.
“They’re secret; I’m sorry,” Tuch said. “I can’t say anything.”
Hague out
Knights rookie defenseman Nic Hague missed his second consecutive game Friday after the Knights said he felt “under the weather” Thursday.
Hague has six assists in 25 games.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166444 Vegas Golden Knights Longtime Providence Friars coach Nate Leaman received a call from Dugan’s prep school coach Chadd Cassidy, recommending he take a look at Dugan. Cassidy coached four years with the Rochester Americans in the AHL prior to taking the job at Northwood Prep, and is Prospect Jack Dugan could be a Hobey Baker Award winner — and a one of the most well-respected prep coaches in the country, so Leaman Golden Knight — by season’s end made the trip to Lake Placid, New York.
“We followed up on it, and thought the world of him when we saw him,” said Leaman, who loves Dugan’s underdog mentality equally to his game By Jesse Granger on the ice. “That’s one of the best traits you can ever have as a player. Dec 14, 2019 Having a chip on your shoulder. And Jack definitely has that.”
In Dugan’s initial year of draft eligibility he watched as all 30 teams passed on him for seven straight rounds. Something he hasn’t forgotten. In June, Golden Knights prospect Jack Dugan sat down with Kelly McCrimmon and George McPhee in an office at City National Arena to “Rather than get down on myself, I don’t really see the point in that, so I discuss his future. use it as motivation,” Dugan said. “I kind of like being the underdog.”
Vegas selected Dugan in the fifth round of the 2017 NHL Draft, and he’s In their first draft in franchise history, the Golden Knights selected Dugan already outplaying that draft selection. Following a successful freshman with the 142nd overall pick in the fifth round. season at Providence College, Dugan returned to Las Vegas this “He has been hidden. He has been under the radar,” Leaman said. “He summer for the rookie developmental camp, showing significant growth probably has much higher ability than a fifth-round player. For me, that in his game, both physically and mentally. has always been one of his best traits is that he’s always had a chip on Assistant coach Mike Kelly described Dugan as “a big, strong guy, who is his shoulder. At times he can get emotional as a player, and we’re still a man now. When he first came to Vegas he wasn’t a man.” working to reel that in a little bit, but that chip on his shoulder is what drives him. Continuing to prove to people what a good player he is. I Standing 6-foot-2 and already approaching 200 pounds, Dugan is a think it’s a special trait.” power forward with excellent hands and hockey sense to go along with his physical attributes. He was one of the most impressive players on the Dugan is a fiery competitor on the ice and isn’t afraid to throw his body ice during development camp, and that’s including Cody Glass and Nic around to get to the dangerous parts of the ice. Hague, who are already major contributors for Vegas at the NHL level. “He is a powerful guy who can get to the net against big, strong guys,” Unlike those players, Dugan didn’t to Las Vegas for training camp and Kelly said. “As that happens the confidence grows. When a player preseason in the fall. He was at Providence, gearing up for his matures they get bigger and stronger, and consequently they become sophomore season. So in June, as development camp wrapped up, he more confident in their game.” sat down with McPhee and McCrimmon to set goals, discuss what the That’s clearly the case with Dugan this season. His instincts in the organization wanted to see out of him this year, and most importantly — offensive zone are second to none, regularly finding passing lanes to set what he wanted out of himself. up dangerous scoring chances. “I told them that my goals this year were to dominate and be the best “He’s an outstanding passer, and outstanding poise with the puck, with player in college hockey,” Dugan said. very good vision,” Leaman said. “He’s long. He’s 6-foot-2, but he uses a Simple, lofty goals, but that’s exactly what he’s done. long stick, and can really play long and protect pucks and use his body well.” Nearing the halfway point of the college hockey season, Dugan leads the entire NCAA in scoring. The winger has six goals and 27 assists through Dugan’s 27 assists not only lead the NCAA but are eight clear of the next only 17 games, a pace of 1.94 points per game. closest player. There’s still an entire second half of the season to be played, but if he continues on his current pace, Dugan’s numbers will The closest college player to Dugan in scoring is his linemate, Tyce rival some of the best Hobey Baker Award winners of all time. Thompson, who is six points behind Dugan’s pace. Past that, no other player in college hockey has more than 20 points, meaning Dugan has a Here’s how his numbers stack up to some of the most recent winners: 13 point lead on all non-Providence players. That’s obviously great company to be in, as those other players have Dugan is one of the front runners to win the Hobey Baker Award, given to enjoyed a ton of success at the NHL level. I threw Dugan’s current the most outstanding player in the NCAA. general manager in for fun, even though Dugan said he and McPhee have never spoken about the award. “I know that I’m the best player in college hockey and I’m trying to prove that every day by helping my team win games any way I can,” Dugan told While Dugan isn’t the same scorer Vesey, Eichel and Gaudreau were, The Athletic. his assist numbers are through the roof. What’s equally impressive about Dugan’s season is he’s played his best against the toughest competition. He’s competing against elite players like Alex Turcotte and Cole Caufield, both of whom were selected in the first round of last summer’s NHL draft. “The biggest thing I’ve seen is that in his freshman year he got off to a But despite the difference in draft position, Dugan has 13 more points great start, like he had this year, but as you go through the season the than Caufield and 18 more than Turcotte. teams get better and better, and it gets harder and harder,” Leaman said. “You have to work more for the puck, and I think that’s one area that he’s Dugan exudes confidence out of necessity. Throughout his career few got more confidence in, and he’s developed a lot better.” have believed in his abilities to the extent he feels he deserves, so he makes up for that in self belief. Dugan has multi-point games against college hockey powers like Denver, Boston University and Boston College, and has played extremely well as “My whole life I’ve had to kind of bet on myself,” Dugan said. “Outside of of late against the likes of Cornell and Minnesota Duluth. my immediate coaches and family, I haven’t had a lot of people betting on me.” “Two things drive the Hobey Baker,” Leaman said. “The success of your team and the success of the individual. We’ve always had a team- Growing up in Rochester, New York, Dugan loved watching college oriented program and culture, but at the same time I do think what he’s hockey. He regularly attended games at the Rochester Institute of doing this year is very special, and he’s very worthy of all the recognition Technology, rooting on the RIT Tigers with his father and brothers with for that. We still have a second half to go, but there’s no doubt in my dreams of one day playing college hockey. Dugan didn’t receive invites mind that he’s that caliber of a player, and worthy of an award like that.” to Team USA camps, never quite making the cut, and he wasn’t offered by a college until the age of 17. Dugan said his focus is on helping his Friars team qualify for the Frozen Four in Detroit this season, but couldn’t deny that being in the running for “I’m just sitting here watching guys who I think I’m better than, or I can the Hobey Baker would be a dream come true. play with at least, getting all of these college commitments,” Dugan said. “I’m still waiting there, for pretty much anyone to give me an opportunity. “We want to go to the Frozen Four, and that’s my main goal,” Dugan It just kind of built a fire in me.” said. “When the team does well it usually helps individuals do well. But any kid who plays college hockey that tells you the Hobey Baker wouldn’t mean anything to them is lying. That would obviously be really cool. It’s a lifelong dream I’ve had since I was a really young kid. I want to be the best player in college hockey, so whether that’s winning that award, or whatever comes with it, I don’t really care.”
Which brings us to the next point. The last player to win the Hobey Baker Award followed it up by joining his NHL team in the playoffs and is currently the favorite to win the 2019-20 Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. Now, Cale Makar isn’t a perfect comparable for Dugan, considering Makar was drafted fourth overall by the Colorado Avalanche. However, Dugan’s phenomenal play does raise questions about his immediate future.
“Watching Cale do that was pretty cool, and he’s not the first one,” Dugan said. “Obviously as a draft pick in college hockey, if you have a good year you think that might happen. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
It will be up to Golden Knights management, who have loved what they’ve seen this season from Dugan.
“He’s doing what we expected he would do at Providence. He’s one of the top players in college hockey, which we expected to be the case for Jack,” McCrimmon said. “I think he’s ready to turn pro. He’s ready for the next challenge. He’s got to continue to be a dominant player at the level that he’s at.”
Turning pro doesn’t necessarily mean joining the Golden Knights this season. It could also mean playing with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL, similar to Glass’ run to the Calder Cup final last summer. However, the Wolves have been one of the worst teams in the American League, so they may not be playing much longer than Dugan’s Providence Friars. That means the odds of him ending up wearing the steel gray and gold are much better.
“Obviously that’s my goal. I want to be a pro-ready player,” Dugan said. “I’ve been doing everything I can to make sure of that. I’m working really closely with my coaches, whether it’s one-on-one, or with the team, to try to keep growing my game. I want to be ready to play in the pros, whether that’s now, or whenever the timing is right.
“Obviously that’s a good thing to hear, that they think that highly of me. That’s exactly what I’m trying to prove.”
The Golden Knights have a need for offensive playmaking in the bottom six. Alex Tuch has found his stride as of late, and Glass has shown glimpses throughout the season but is now sidelined with an injury. Cody Eakin has struggled tremendously when healthy.
It would go against the precedent set by McPhee and McCrimmon to this point. They’ve proven they aren’t keen on rushing prospects, and would much rather “overcook” them than risk throwing them into the NHL before they’re ready. Adding the most productive offensive player in college hockey at the end of the season may be a long shot, but it’s certainly a fun possibility for Vegas.
“I don’t think there’s any question that he’s good enough,” Leaman said. “I think it’s about rounding out his game. I think he’ll be able to score and produce offense at that level. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. It’s making sure that he’s rounding out his game so that he’s able to get a good amount of minutes at that level.”
A fifth-round pick has approximately a 32.3 percent chance of ever playing in the NHL, and a less than 10 percent chance of playing 200 NHL games. But those odds don’t bother Dugan. In fact, he welcomes them.
“I like being the underdog,” Dugan said. “When I am playing well, and when I’m doing these things it seems to be a surprise to people, but for my whole life I’ve been a surprise. It’s kind of funny how that’s working out.”
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166445 Washington Capitals It was the sixth goal of the season for Backstrom, who returned to the lineup three games ago after missing eight contests with an •upper-body injury. He has five points (two goals and three assists) since his return. His first game back was Monday's 5-2 loss to Columbus, when he tallied Capitals practice what they preach in a balanced 5-2 victory over a late goal. Lightning Tampa Bay appeared to have scored an equalizer 4:26 into the second period, but it was quickly waved off after Mathieu Joseph was called for goalie interference. By Samantha Pell Barely a minute later, Point's strike off the rush was never in doubt, December 14, 2019 at 10:17 PM EST knotting the score at 1 and snapping a streak of 20 straight penalties killed by the Capitals. Washington became the last team in the NHL to allow a power-play goal in December. TAMPA — The Washington Capitals preach balance like a mantra — balance spread among each of their four forward lines, balance among The Capitals were whistled for four minor penalties in the middle frame linemates as they continue to tweak and tweak while getting one game alone. The Lightning came into Saturday with the second-best power closer to the postseason, and balance between the coaching staff and play (29.6 percent) in the league. the players. "Overall we took too many penalties," Backstrom said. "Tough second Against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, the Capitals put period there especially; we had to kill them off there. Other than that, we forth a 5-2 victory underscored by the very principle that has come to worked ourselves into the game and we had a good start to the third define this remarkable run to start the season. Each line scored an even- there, so that was huge and we got two points." strength goal, with two tallies coming from the bottom six in a 45-second Just after Washington's third minor penalty in the second, Tampa Bay flash early in the third period. lost Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov after he blocked a hard shot by "It means a lot — obviously key to be successful down the road," center John Carlson with his right leg and crumpled to the ice. Kucherov was Nicklas Backstrom said of the balanced scoring. "That is something that helped to the bench before limping down the tunnel to the dressing room. we've been trying to do the whole year and trying to work on every day." Kucherov, who has 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists), did not return.
The Capitals improved to 24-5-5 and have won five straight games on "Just a testament to the guys in the room how hard we came in the third the road. period, and we didn't lose a step, and we played our game," Hathaway said. Lars Eller scored 1:58 into the third period to break a 1-1 tie; it was his first goal since Nov. 27. Garnet Hathaway followed it up less than a minute later with a goal that would become the game-winner. Hathaway Washington Post LOADED: 12.15.2019 was denied on his first shot, but the puck hit his leg as he flew through the crease and trickled into the net for his fifth goal of the season.
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis on possible NHL game in Russia: ‘We are all in’
Tampa Bay cut the lead in half when Jan Rutta's snipe beat goaltender Ilya Samsonov with 8:44 left, but the Lightning drew no closer. T.J. Oshie responded with a wraparound goal with 7:42 remaining, and Tom Wilson added a late empty-netter. It was Oshie's 14th goal of the season and his third goal in two games after his two-goal night in a 3-2 win against Boston on Wednesday.
"It's important getting contributions throughout the lineup," Brendan Leipsic said of the team's balance. "It is not going to happen like that every night, but coming into a tough building, Lars got us going there to start the third. . . . Got back to our game, got pucks deep."
Tampa Bay's best period was the second, with Brayden Point scoring on the power play to tie it at 1. In a penalty-filled period, the Capitals killed off three other Lightning power plays and fended off multiple extended stretches in their own end.
"Second period, Sammy was unreal," Leipsic said of the Capitals' rookie netminder. "We were penalty killing — I think halfway through the game we had 10 penalty minutes or something crazy like that — but your goalie has to be your best penalty killer, and Sammy was tonight."
Samsonov was strong early, helping cover for a handful of defensive mistakes. He started the night with a confident glove save on Alex Killorn, then followed it up with a pad save on Anthony Cirelli. He finished with 26 saves and improved to 8-2-1 with wins in his past three appearances. His eight wins are tied for the most among rookie goaltenders, and his 2.38 goals against average and .918 save percentage rank first.
With the Capitals' on their annual dads trip, Samsonov's father, Aleksei, was on hand, watching his son play an NHL game in •person for the first time.
"You know I'm happy because I win this game for him," the goalie said. "His first time watching live my game [in the NHL], it was really important."
With the Capitals' top lines unable to give Samsonov much help early, the team's scrappy fourth line settled things down and opened the door for Washington to capitalize on Tampa Bay's first true mistake of the night — a turnover that Backstrom corralled at the front of the net for the game's first score. 1166446 Washington Capitals
Ilya Samsonov to start in goal vs. Lightning in a ‘good challenge’ game
By Samantha Pell
December 14, 2019 at 2:26 PM EST
TAMPA — Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov sat in his dressing room stall and grinned.
The rookie Russian goaltender knew he was getting the start Saturday night at the Tampa Bay Lightning, the first game of a three-game road stint that continues Monday at the Columbus Blue Jackets. What he also knew was his father, Aleksei, who is participating in his first dads’ trip with the Capitals, would be in attendance to see him face fellow Russian goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
“It is good,” Samsonov said. “I like it. I know it will be a competition. I like it, to play against a Russian goalie; it is interesting. I want to win for sure today. I will try.”
Samsonov has won his past two starts for the Capitals, with his most recent appearance Dec. 4 in a 3-1 win at the Los Angeles Kings. It was the second game of a back-to-back on the Capitals’ week-long trip to California. Samsonov is tied for second in wins among rookie goaltenders; he is 7-2-1 through 10 games.
Vasilevskiy, in his sixth NHL season, is 13-8-1 through 22 games.
“[I’ve watched] highlights the last few years. I like how he plays,” Samsonov said. “He’s a really good goalie.”
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis on a possible NHL game in Russia: ‘We are all in on this’
Capitals Coach Todd Reirden said he wants Samsonov to play a little more often, and he has had this game with Tampa Bay (16-11-3) circled for some time. Reirden called the matchup a “good challenge” for Samsonsov, a chance to see him face a top-notch team after the Lightning saw starter Braden Holtby on Nov. 29 in Washington during the Capitals’ 4-3 overtime win. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov had the game- winner.
“We don’t really want him not playing for more than a week at a time,” Reirden said of Samsonov. “When we are in a situation like that, he hurts his game overall and ... we don’t want to overplay Braden. Two difficult games this week. I thought [Holtby] was able to give us a chance against Columbus, and I thought he was excellent against Boston.”
Holtby had 33 saves in a 5-2 loss to Columbus on Monday and 30 in a 3- 2 win over Boston on Wednesday that pitted the NHL’s top two teams.
With Samsonov in net Saturday, it is expected Holtby will get the start Monday against Columbus. The previous time Holtby played in Columbus, in December 2018, he pitched a 4-0 shutout. Recording 28 saves, it was his second shutout of that season. Also in that game, Travis Boyd scored his first NHL goal. Boyd is not in the lineup Saturday against the Lightning.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Reirden joked when asked whether Holtby’s shutout at Columbus had anything to do with the decision to start Samsonov on Saturday. “No, you do look at all of those things and that, at different times, different guys play well in different buildings against different opponents or different things like that. But this was a game we had set for Sammy, and looking forward to watching him.”
Washington Post LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166447 Washington Capitals Washington's bottom-six that gave them the edge as Lars Eller scored early in the third and Garnet Hathaway added a second goal just 45 seconds later.
Samsonov shines, the bottom-six was the difference and time to Panik? Suddenly the Lightning were on their heels after looking in control for the majority of the game.
Play of the game By J.J. Regan Just when the Caps took the one-goal lead, Hathaway came swooping in December 14, 2019 9:41 PM to make it 3-1.
Stat of the game
Ilya Samsonov had his best NHL performance on Saturday in a big 5-2 The Caps' PK had a success rate of only 78.9-percent last season. This win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the Capitals got contributions is a dramatic improvement. from players all over the lineup in a big win. The Capitals have killed 22 of the last 23 opposing power play Check out a recap of the game here. opportunities (95.7 percent).
Observations from the win
Everyone is pitching in Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 Look at Saturday's game and Wednesday's game. Whatever the Caps needed, they were able to get. Against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, they needed a key coach's challenge and the video coaches delivered. They needed someone to take over the game and T.J. Oshie delivered. They needed a big night from the penalty kill and Carl Hagelin and Co. delivered. They needed a response to Boston's tying goal and John Carlson delivered.
Now look at Saturday's game. Ilya Samsonov got the start and he delivered when the Caps had a slow start to the game. The fourth line settled everything down and Alex Ovechkin forced a turnover behind the net to give Washington the lead. The bottom-six scored twice to give Washington control, Oshie scored a quick response goal when Tampa Bay tried to battle back and the penalty kill delivered again.
The Caps are not being carried by Ovechkin, it's not a hot goalie or a dominant blue line, it is a complete team effort and it is extremely impressive to watch.
Samsonov had his best NHL game
We knew Samsonov and Braden Holtby were going to split the weekend's games for the dad's trip. I expected Holtby would get the tougher game in Tampa Bay, but instead Todd Reirden went with Samsonov. The rookie had three brilliant saves in the first five minutes of the game. Tampa Bay was the better team for the first two periods and Samsonov only gave up one goal in those 40 minutes. This was a big boy offense and some big boy hockey. Samsonov was up to the task.
Good penalty kill, too many penalties
The Lightning entered this game with the second-best power play in the NHL. Limiting penalties was a big key to the game for Washington and...they did not do that. The Caps gave up five power play opportunities to Tampa Bay, just daring the Lighting offense to take fire. Tampa Bay was only able to cash in only once.
On the one hand, it's great that the penalty kill is playing so well. On the other hand, the Caps must stop taking so many penalties.
Time to Panik?
I have stressed the importance of patience for Richard Panik who is not only adjusting to a new team, but who had an injury and missed 10 games on LTIR. Now, however, it seems like patience is starting to run out.
Panik played a team-low 8:10 on Saturday. Players who get that little ice time are usually either fourth line players or players who do not contribute to special teams. Panik is supposed to be a penalty killer, but despite five penalty kill opportunities, he registered only 14 seconds of shorthanded ice time.
Panik's offensive struggles have been well documented (he had an assist on Saturday), but if he is not contributing on the penalty kill either...well, that's an issue.
Turning point
Tampa Bay looked like the better team for the first 40 minutes. Thanks to Samsonov, the game was tied at 1 at the start of the third. These two teams boast some of the top offensive stars in the NHL, but it was 1166448 Washington Capitals
Samsonov weathers the Lightning in shutdown performance
By J.J. Regan
December 14, 2019 9:40 PM
Ilya Samsonov got the difficult assignment on Saturday of playing on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He proved to be up to the challenge with a brilliant performance in net, leading the Capitals to the 5-2 victory, their second win over the Lightning in 16 days.
Here is how Washington won.
There's no question who the player of this game was. Samsonov was brilliant in this game. He had an immediate impact as the Lightning came out firing. Samsonov robbed Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev all in the first five minutes of the game.
Samsonov did not fade down the stretch either. Tampa Bay dominated in the second period and Samsonov turned aside 10 of the 11 shots he faced. For the game, he stopped 26 out of 28.
The fourth line and top line team up
The Lightning were all over Washington at the start of the game and Samsonov was the only reason Tampa Bay did not take advantage. A really strong shift by the fourth line for Washington seemed to settle everything down. Soon after, the Caps were celebrating a 1-0 lead.
Defenseman Jan Rutta had the puck behind the net. Ondrej Palat came wheeling around for the handoff and Alex Ovechkin saw him coming. As Palat wheeled one way, Ovechkin came charging the other. That forced Rutta to flub the pass and the puck bounced right in front of the net to a wide-open Nicklas Backstrom who fired it into the net.
Incidental contact
Tampa Bay thought they had the tie early in the second when Carter Verhaeghe finally got one past Samsonov, but the goal was immediately waved off for goalie interference.
Mathieu Joseph and John Carlson were battling in the defensive zone when Joseph was skated into Samsonov. He was not necessarily pushed, but he and Carlson battled their way into the Caps' netminder, which did not allow Samsonov the chance to defend against Verhaeghe's shot.
You never know what can happen with a goalie interference call, but in this case the referee got it right. It was no goal for incidental contact and no penalty for goalie interference.
The bottom-six
These two teams boast some of the top offensive stars in the NHL. But that's not all it takes to win in the NHL and the Caps' showed off their depth in the third period, which really proved to be the difference.
With the game tied at one, Dmitry Orlov made a great play at the offensive blue line to get the puck over to Richard Panik despite the immediate pressure he faced. Panik set up Lars Eller who one-timed it past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Just 45 seconds later the fourth line came streaking down the ice and Brendan Leipsic teed up Garnet Hathaway, who took it in on net and chipped it through Vasileskiy.
Those two quick goals suddenly turned the game on its head. To that point, the Lightning had been the better team. After that, the Caps were dominant.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166449 Washington Capitals
4 things to know for Capitals-Lightning: A battle of top offenses
By J.J. Regan
December 14, 2019 1:37 PM
Coming off a big win on Wednesday against the Boston Bruins, the Capitals (23-5-5) will look to stay in the win column as they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning (16-11-3). Tune in to NBC Sports Washington for pregame coverage with Caps FaceOff Live kicking things off at 6 p.m. followed by Caps Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m. bringing you up to the 7 p.m. puck drop. Be sure to stick with NBC Sports Washington after the game for all your postgame coverage with Caps Postgame Live and Caps Overtime Live.
Here’s what you need to know for Saturday’s game.
Samsonov gets the start
When you are coming off a big win over the second-best team in the NHL, it's not a surprise to see the Caps stick with the same lines at Saturday's morning skate.
One thing to note, since it is the dad's trip it is traditional for every player to get into the lineup for one of the two games. It was expected that Samsonov would start Monday in Columbus, but it looks like that will now go to Braden Holtby. You should also expect to see Travis Boyd on Monday as well.
When last we met
The Caps and Lightning last met on Nov. 29 in a thrilling game that saw Washington rally from a 3-1 deficit with two goals in the third period before winning in overtime. Ovechkin tied the game with a shot from the office on the power play and Dmitry Orlov would go on to record the overtime winner.
As a refresher, you can check out the recap from this game here.
Tampa Bay is not obliterating the NHL like it was last year and people are scratching their heads wondering how a team this talented isn’t even currently sitting in a wildcard spot in the standings. One aspect of their game you can’t blame for their struggles this season is the offense as the Lightning rank second in the NHL with 3.57 goals per game. Washington sits just behind them at No. 3 with 3.55.
This year, Tampa Bay’s offense is much more spread out. Nikita Kucherov leads the team with 33 points, tied for 15th in the NHL. That’s a far cry from the 128 points he put up lace season. Behind him there are six Lightning players with over 20 points. Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Brayden Point should come as no surprise. The other two, however, are Alex Killorn and Kevin Shattenkirk.
The power play has also been hot for both teams. Tampa Bay is second in the NHL with a 29.6 power play percentage while the Caps are fifth at 24.0.
Braden Holtby and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s numbers are remarkably similar this season. Holtby has a .911 save percentage and 2.80 GAA while Vasilevskiy has managed a .910 save percentage and 2.78 GAA.
That’s pretty close until you move on to their records this season. Holtby boasts a 16-3-4 record in 24 starts this season. His 16 wins leads the NHL. Vasilevskiy, meanwhile, is 3-8-1 and that says a lot about how much better Washington is playing defensively.
The Caps defense is currently allowing 2.82 goals per game as compared to Tampa Bay’s 3.17. Likewise while there is not much that separates these two teams on the power play, Washington has the superior penalty kill. With Carl Hagelin back in the lineup, the Caps have climbed all the way to third in the NHL at 85.3-percent. The Lightning’s penalty kill is only at 79.8 percent.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166450 Winnipeg Jets "That’s what we’re trying to do — stay hard on the forecheck, good sticks on their defencemen, finishing checks so we make their D rim pucks instead of making plays. That’s usually when we can get that puck back," Perreault said. "I think we’ve been able to provide some offence as well, After Detroit disappointment, Jets prepare for tough stretch so that’s always nice. If not, we always have that good strong defensive, physical game."
The Jets have gone winless in their past three road games (0-2-1), but By: Mike McIntyre have four straight victories on home ice. They’ll look to continue that hot Posted: 12/14/2019 3:04 PM | Last Modified: 12/14/2019 10:24 PM | streak against the Flyers, followed by visits on Tuesday from Carolina Updates | and Thursday from Chicago.
"It feels good to be home. Nice to be back in front of our crowd. It’ll be a good time of the year," said forward Gabriel Bourque, who added the With a poor outing now in the rear-view mirror, the Winnipeg Jets say mentality with his group is to quickly "turn the page" on the dud in Detroit. they’re focused on flushing it out of their systems and getting back on track. Whether it’s just a one-off or greater cause for concern remains to "The guys want to win every game. Every time we lose, we’re frustrated a be seen. bit, but just work towards the next game," he said.
They certainly looked the part on Saturday, with a crisp, up-tempo practice at Bell MTS Place in stark contrast to the sloppy squad that fell Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 12.15.2019 5-2 on Thursday night in Detroit. All of the attention was on a three-game homestand beginning this afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers.
"The other night is a possibility every night. Grinding games for us. I didn’t mind, actually, the legs or the effort. Our hands were way off it. You’re looking at times for the group tell. If it’s one guy, one guy has a tough night. If you think your whole group isn’t right, there’s something amiss," head coach Paul Maurice said of falling to the NHL’s cellar- dwelling Red Wings.
"So we needed the rest. We got back to fast today. And I liked, more importantly, they were mentally trying to do what they needed to do, even if they couldn’t execute it. At this time of year, it’s as much mental as it is physical."
The Jets (19-11-2) will need to be strong in all areas of their game as they get into a tougher portion of their schedule, with six of their next nine games against teams currently occupying a playoff spot. By contrast, Winnipeg just wrapped up a nine-game stretch which involved only two tilts against teams above the line, going 6-2-1 in that span.
"It won’t get any easier, that’s for sure. We’re playing some really good teams. Philly’s coming in, they’ve been playing really well, so this is going to be a great challenge. We’ll take it one game at a time, but we’re going to have to stay really sharp because we’ve got some big games coming up," veteran forward Mathieu Perreault said.
"Just looking at the standings, they’re sitting up there, so you know they find a way to win games. They must be playing good hockey."
Philadelphia (17-9-5) will be playing on back-to-back days after a Saturday evening match against the Minnesota Wild. They took a 7-2-1 run into St. Paul, riding a combination of excellent goaltending, strong special teams and plenty of offence from both the forwards and a talented blue-line.
"Speed to their game now. A bit of maturation in their net. They’re getting better goaltending. Their back end is as active in the offensive zone now as anybody’s. They have a dynamic back end, and then a really skilled and mature forward group, they can make plays. The overall package is, I think, Philadelphia plays a much faster game than they were in years past," Maurice said.
It was all hands on deck for Saturday’s skate, save for captain Blake Wheeler, who took a maintenance day.
No other lineup changes are expected, with Connor Hellebuyck in goal and Carl Dahlstrom and Joona Luoto as the two healthy scratches.
Perreault said it will be important for the rested Jets to try to get a jump on the visitors. The 22 hours between puck drops for the Flyers (6 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday) represents the minimum rest required under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement.
"Over the years, I don’t really think that changes a whole lot. Everybody’s in good shape in this league, so we’re expecting them to come out and be really good," Perreault said.
His line, with Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp, will likely have plenty to say about that. When on top of their game, they can tilt the ice in Winnipeg’s favour and wear down the opponent. 1166451 Winnipeg Jets
GAME DAY: Philadelphia Flyers at Winnipeg Jets
Scott Billeck
December 14, 2019 7:09 PM CST
For a while, all the talk about the Winnipeg Jets on offence surrounded Nikolaj Ehlers and his growing tally of goals or Patrik Laine and his surprising number of assists. Lurking not too far in the distance was Mark Scheifele, who took over the goalscoring lead from Ehlers and the points lead from Laine last week. A big part of that has been a five-game point streak that he brings along with him into Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Scheifele has five goals and eight points in that span and has seemed to find a comfortable spot between both Laine and Kyle Connor on the team’s top line. Scheifele posted his eighth multipoint game on Thursday in Detroit, most on the team. It should pose an interesting matchup against one of the league’s stingiest defence cores. The Flyers have given up the fifth-fewest number of goals this season.
FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Flying Philly
The Flyers are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games heading into Saturday’s action (they played Minnesota on Saturday as part of the first half of a back to back). They’ve been rock-solid at home with a 10-2-4 record but haven’t been able to reproduce that on the road with a 7-7-1 record. The Jets are likely to face Brian Elliott between the pipes with Carter Hart starting against the Wild. Elliott is 10-2-5 against the Jets during his NHL career with a .916 save percentage and a 2.37 goals-against average.
2. Laine’s assistance
Patrik Laine eclipsed his assist total of 20 in Tuesday’s 5-1 thumping of the Detroit Red Wings with his 21st of the season. Laine has never finished an NHL season with more assists than goals but he certainly seems poised to do so this year. His 21 assists are seven shy of his career-high of 28 established back in his rookie season.
3. Confident Connor
You’d have to go back to Nov. 10-12 to find a span of two games where Kyle Connor didn’t produce at least a point. Since then, Connor has only come away empty-handed on the scoresheet twice. In the 13 games he’s played in the past month, Connor has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points. He’s currently riding the wave of a five-game point streak with three goals and five assists in that span. Quirky fact: Connor is the only Jets this season to fire eight shots or more on goal in two different games.
4. Afternoon delight
The Jets might begin petitioning for more matinees next season. This year, they are a perfect 4-0-0 in games that begin in the afternoon, including 2-0-0 at home. For now, it bodes well considering Sunday’s game is their fifth of what will end up being 14 afternoon starts in 2019- 20.
5. Back to normal at home?
The Jets are 9-5-1 at home this season, a record that continues to get better as the season wears on. A big part of that has been the last nine games at BellMTS Place, where the team has gone 7-1-1, including a run of four straight wins where they have outscored their opponents 17-7.
Winnipeg Sun LOADED 12.15.2019 1166452 Vancouver Canucks Not very far or very long, as it turned out. The Canucks were outplayed badly in first period, surrendering the
opening goal to Tomas Hertl while being outshot 13-7. Two gift power Canucks 2, Sharks 4: Canucks assist in breaking Sharks' losing streak plays on back-to-back delay of game penalties to the Sharks also failed to produce a scoring chance.
By the start of the second, Boeser was back with the Pettersson line and ED WILLES Virtanen had resumed duty with Gaudette and Roussel and the Canucks started to claw their way back, outshooting the Sharks 12-6 while December 14, 2019 10:50 PM PST carrying the play over the final 10 minutes of the period.
Green was asked if the new lines contributed to the Canucks’ poor start. Funny how a visit from the Canucks is like a get-well card for the Sharks. “That had nothing to do with it,” he said. “Our team is more than used to SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks just fired their coach and were on a playing with different lines.” six-game winless streak before they encountered the Vancouver ‘Constant battle’ Canucks on Saturday night. Sutter on the injury that kept him out for a month. Funny how a visit from the Canucks is like a get-well card for the Sharks. “It’s a bit of everything in that area,” he said. “It’s a constant battle but Here’s what we learned from San Jose’s 4-2 win. everyone has their challenges. Thursday night, Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom stole a 1-0 overtime “It kind of comes out of nowhere. You don’t really have any signs and all win over the Carolina Hurricanes with a 43-save shutout. San Jose’s of a sudden something happens. That’s the most frustrating part. It’s Aaron Dell wasn’t as dominant on Saturday night but he was the more frustrating than you can imagine.” difference in the Sharks’ win. Sharks milestone Dell, who came into the game with an .893 save, stopped 31 of 33 shots, including 25 of 27 over the final 40 minutes as the Canucks carried the The Sharks’ Marc-Eduoard Vlasic played his 1,000th NHL game on play after a lacklustre opening 20. Saturday night. A second-round pick in 2005, Vlasic became the first Sharks’ defenceman to play all 1,000 games with the club and the 17th With the Sharks leading 1-0 early in the third, Dell made standout saves blueliner in NHL history to reach that milestone with the same team. off a J.T. Miller slapper and Tanner Pearson on a length of the ice two- on-one.
Against the run of the play, Timo Meier gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead with Vancouver Province: LOADED: 12.15.2019 13 minutes left when he roofed a wrister over Markstrom’s shoulder but Jake Virtanen finally beat Dell a minute later, setting the stage for more heroics from the Sharks’ goalie.
On a late Canucks’ power play, the Sharks goalie stoned Elias Pettersson twice on clean looks. Pettersson also just missed on a tip in.
With Markstrom pulled for an extra attacker, Evander Kane potted an empty-netter with just over a minute left to seal the victory.
Bo Horvat made things marginally interesting when he scored off a scramble with 28 seconds left but Logan Couture added another empty- netter in the dying seconds.
“I’m upset we didn’t play well in the first,” said Canucks head coach Travis Green.” It was pretty obvious we dominated the last two periods. When you play that way and don’t win, you’re not happy by any means.
“We had a lot of heat on them. Give their goalie credit. He played well and their team was strong around their net.”
Markstrom, meanwhile, said Meier’s goal was the key to the game.
“It’s always easier when you’re down 1-0,” he said. “You want to keep it a one-goal game.”
The Canucks’ goalie was asked if he just tips his hat to the shooter when he gets beat by a quality shot.
“I never tip my hat to the shooter,” he said.
Canucks outplayed
Owing to Brock Boeser’s scoring slump and the availability of Brandon Sutter, Green took the mix master to his lines to start Saturday night’s game. Virtanen was moved up to the nominal first line with Pettersson and Miller and Boeser was dropped to a line with Antoine Roussel and Adam Gaudette.
Sutter, who’s missed 13 games with a nagging groin issue, played a fourth-line role with Jay Beagle and Tim Schaller.
“ I don’t look at it as one guy is playing better than another guy,” Green said before the game. “I think it’s different look and maybe get Brock going a little bit.
“Sometimes it gives a guy a kickstart, a different energy. Brock and Jake are different players. Jake brings a lot of speed to any line he plays on and Brock can put the puck in the net. We’ll see where it goes.” 1166453 Vancouver Canucks So, he started writing down a hoped-for score before games, something he’d be happy with, so that post-game he could measure his own reaction against something he’d spent time reflecting on.
Culture change in hockey coaching has been a long time coming It didn’t change how he coached, but it became a way for him post-game to have something to look at that would force him to focus on his coaching, while helping to keep his passion for winning in check.
PATRICK JOHNSTON “That’s still a fine line, communicating and being honest with players while still also being hard enough to get points across when you need December 14, 2019 4:46 PM PST them … I like to talk to my players, I like to talk in general. I also like the team to have fun, which I think is very important.”
How coaches treat their players in the years to come will be vastly Ernest Hemingway once said, more or less, that change happens different from how they did in the past — and that's a good thing. gradually, then suddenly. That’s some of what we’re seeing now in coaching, according to Lorraine Lafrenière, the chief executive officer of When Travis Green was a rookie with the New York Islanders there was the Coaching Association of Canada. one dreadful night when he thought his NHL dream was going to end. “The flash points that we’re seeing are coaches who still behave the way Each time he stepped on the ice, he felt like something went wrong. they did 10 years ago, 15 years ago,” she said, adding the coach’s behaviour is a top-of-mind issue now. His team lost and he was certain blame would be directed his way, the team’s checking-line centre, and he’d be shipped off to the AHL, never to “You can bet your bottom dollar all the other coaches, GMs are talking be heard from again. about this. And they should be talking about this in the boardroom.
“This is going to be my defining moment as a professional hockey Lafrenière added this week: “There’s a reckoning happening in hockey. I player,” he said in June, while sharing the tale in a Vancouver ballroom think there is also a reckoning happening in sport, in terms of the need filled with coaches from the pro and amateur ranks, all gathered for an for coaching styles to change. I think the conversation is a good thing.” NHL Coaches’ Association clinic. There are the recent stories of the actions of Mike Babcock, Bill Peters As he stared down at his skates, still in his sweaty Islanders’ uniform, he and Marc Crawford. In the past there’s the abuse on players by former realized there were a pair of shoes in front of him. junior hockey coach Graham James. And outside hockey there have been stories of abuse, many of them horrific, in a broad swath of sports. He looked up. It was legendary Isles head coach Al Arbour. Here it comes, Green thought. The coach hadn’t spoken with him much up to “These are catalysts for change, a painfully positive thing,” Lafrenière that point. said. “It needs to continue. We can’t go back to sleep.”
Call the interaction a defining moment for Green the player, and person. When Sheldon Kennedy first started talking about his junior hockey Arbour sat down, stared right at him, and told him to forget about the experiences with James in 1996, it sent shock waves through the hockey game. world.
“It was almost like a father to a son,” Green recalled. “There were significant strides made in coach education,” she said. The CAC continues to work in partnership with Kennedy’s Respect Group, “Travis, these are great players, Hall of Fame players and they have which empowers people to recognize and prevent bullying, abuse, these kind of nights. And they had one tonight. And for you it’s going to harassment and discrimination. happen again and you need to understand that. I need you to understand it and your team needs you to, too,” Green recalled Arbour saying. “What’s really important is the support of the witness,” Lafrenière said. “We’re trying to shift to a place where the bystander has more of the “You’ve got Mario Lemieux coming in Saturday night and we need you to power in the moment, when something is occurring.” get some rest, have a good skate tomorrow, learn from this and be ready to play against him,” Arbour added, according to Green. Creating whistleblower programs that demand independence on the investigating end and trust in the process on the reporting end, is the “Here was a man who cared enough to make sure that one of his next important step. younger players was OK,” Green said. “That gesture that Al made will stick with me forever.” “The whole concept of duty of care belongs to everyone in the clubhouse, not just the coach and the player.” The culture of hockey hasn’t always been one driven by empathy toward players. Coaching has, for the most part, come a long way from the days of Don Cherry abusing the few good players he actually had on his woeful But it has been for Green. Empathy, caring, understanding, listening and Colorado Rockies’ 1979-80 squad. Cherry once yanked Mike McEwen, a communicating are the five words he highlighted in what he believes skilled defenceman acquired early in the season from the New York drives a successful coach. Rangers, off the ice, literally: he reached out off the bench and pulled “You’re not only coaching to help the players become better, but also to McEwen off the ice by his collar, then roughed him up. inspire them,” the Canucks’ bench boss said. “If you make better hockey The former minor league defenceman, who improved his stock coaching players and you help them to become better people, I’ve got a feeling the highly talented Boston Bruins of the mid-70s, won just 19 games with you’re going to win a lot more hockey games while you’re at it.” Colorado that season. There are things he mimics from coaches he’s liked in the past just as Don Saleski, a checking forward who won two Stanley Cups with the there are things he avoids from coaches he didn’t like. Philadelphia Flyers, once said that Cherry’s approach that season was in “You take tidbits from everyone,” he said about his evolution as a coach. stark contrast compared to what he experienced with Fred Shero’s In his early days behind the bench he would get mad at his team after a Flyers. loss. Shero, he said, was tough, but rarely raised his voice. And he knew how But after a while it dawned on him how he was getting overwhelmed by to handle young and old players. his hatred of losing and had lost sight of how his team had played in the “He knew how to coax his players. He got us to understand exactly what game. he expected of us,” Saleski recalled a few years ago for Philadelphia One morning after a loss he watched some game film and realized his hockey writer Bill Meltzer. team had played pretty well. Saleski said Cherry didn’t know how to handle young players. “I was the jackass who came in guns a-blazing,” he admitted, realizing “Don had no clue what to do with them. No clue. So he’d just scream and then he had to change his approach. try to intimidate the guys by acting tough,” he said. There was no self- reflection on his approach, it would seem. One young player on the squad was Mike Gillis. The Cherry experience was an early lesson in how not to run a hockey team or how to treat people, Gillis said.
After a long, successful run as a player agent, he was hired in 2008 as general manager of the Canucks.
He wanted his players to find themselves in a trusting, positive environment, one that reflected the diversity of modern society.
“There has to be more opportunity for players to have a place to go that they can trust and rely upon, that they’re going to do the right thing,” he said. “Everyone is coming from different socio-economic backgrounds, different countries, different experiences.”
The Canucks became a tight-knit group, which created a strong, trusting support network.
“They were willing to open up with each other, with us. They weren’t concerned with being betrayed by us,” Gillis said. “I saw first-hand that when you remove the stigma of betrayal, they grow exponentially.”
In gaining respect, you walk a fine line. You still have to be able to lead, to make the hard decision, while being transparent in doing so.
Modern players are wired by their school experience, which puts them at the centre of their learning process.
As students, they weren’t just told what to do, they were allowed to understand the whys and hows behind their lessons. And this process was, more often than not, also found in their sports life.
Lafrenière points to this shift in education as another catalyst for change.
“Young people have had a hand in shaping their life,” she said. “Think about the practices teachers employed in the classroom 30 years ago, they’re no longer relevant now. What was acceptable then is not now. Command and control is not acceptable now … we see that in the workforce. We’re not building robots.”
“We wanted the players to feel they were included in the decision making,” Gillis said. “Every year we’d sit down with our leadership group and ask ‘is there anything we can do better? Can we communicate better? Can we treat you on the road better? Can we treat your families better?’”
Canucks captain Bo Horvat has had a number of coaches he’s appreciated in his hockey career, who have been hard, but fair. And their reasoning has always been transparent.
“I think what makes a good coach is holding guys accountable but at the same time being positive toward your players,” he said. “And every player is different. The coach has to know what buttons to push, what’s going to motivate different players.”
Players come to the NHL already knowing so much of the game. In the old days, perhaps, they had much to learn but now, between the coaching they get even before they’re teenagers and then the amount of time in the off-season they get to prepare, there’s not much they don’t know about the game, Horvat pointed out.
The other thing that can’t be neglected: as today’s players become tomorrow’s coaches in a reshaped culture, the screamer and-or abuser, will be harder to find.
“I didn’t want to forget, ever, what it was like to be a player,” Green said.
Vancouver Province: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166454 Vancouver Canucks
Canucks GM Benning confirms team looking to trade Sven Baertschi
ED WILLES
December 14, 2019 3:47 PM PST
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jim Benning has been trying to trade Sven Baertschi for the past 10 weeks.
According to the Canucks’ general manager, the only thing that’s changed over that time is Baertschi’s agent Andre Rufener decided to make this news public on Saturday morning, as revealed by TSN 1040 radio’s Rick Dhaliwal.
“Nothing’s changed,” Benning said. “I’ve been talking to Andre (Rufener, Baertschi’s agent) once or twice a week. We’ve been working on this. I don’t know why he decided to come out publicly.”
Just a guess but maybe it’s because his client is frustrated playing in Utica for the AHL Comets.
“I am not happy with the way this season has gone for Sven, he played well when he was in the NHL. In my opinion he did not get the opportunity he needed,” Rufener told Dhaliwal.
The agent said he’s been given permission by the Canucks to contact teams in an effort to expedite a possible trade.
“We told (Baertschi) when we sent him down at the start of the year we’d try to figure out how we could get him back playing in the NHL,” Benning said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. There’s some teams we’ve talked to who’ve shown some interest, but it hasn’t led to a deal.”
It was put to Benning that he’s not asking a lot in return for Baertschi.
“You’ve assumed correctly,” he said.
Baertschi trade buzz is legit. Here's how winger broached subject with me on Nov. 10: "I want to be on a team that needs you and that’s sort of the mindset that I have. Some additions over the summer didn’t make it easier to come into camp and protect my spot." (1/2) #Canucks— Ben Kuzma (@benkuzma) December 14, 2019
The 27-year-old Baertschi has posted impressive numbers — 4-18-22 in 15 games — in Utica this season. He played six games with the Canucks in November, recording two power-play assists, before he was sent back to the Canucks’ affiliate. He’s since recorded 13 points in eight games with the Comets.
Upon his return to Utica at the end of November, Baertschi admitted frustration with the situation.
“I wasn’t happy being sent down, I’m not sure exactly the reason,” he told the Utica Observer-Dispatch. “You have to find that motivation again. At this point, I’m fighting for my career.”
“He’s played well down there,” Benning said. “But we’ve kind of evolved as a team and our skill players are more hard skill than soft skill.”
Since being acquired from Calgary at the 2014 trade deadline, Baertschi has played 225 games with the Canucks. In three seasons between 2015 and 2018, he averaged 20 goals per 82 games but he missed most of last year with a concussion.
Vancouver Province: LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166455 Vancouver Canucks
APTN, Rogers Sportsnet agree to three-year deal to broadcast NHL games in Plains Cree
Staff Report
THE CANADIAN PRESS
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 13, 2019
UPDATED DECEMBER 13, 2019
APTN and Rogers Sportsnet agreed to a three-year deal on Friday to broadcast NHL games in Plains Cree.
The first of six games to be broadcast on APTN in the Indigenous language will be when the Winnipeg Jets visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 19. The next will be when the two teams meet again on Feb. 9 in Winnipeg.
APTN will also broadcast the Calgary Flames’ visit to Detroit on Feb. 23, the Vancouver Canucks’ trip to Columbus on March 1, Vancouver hosting the Jets on March 15, and the Edmonton Oilers welcoming Anaheim on March 29.
The deal guarantees a minimum of six games will be broadcast in Plains Cree per season.
APTN broadcasted the first nationally televised game in Plains Cree between the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes last season.
Play-by-play announcer Clarence Iron and host Earl Wood were joined by analyst John Chabot as the Hurricanes edged the Habs 2-1 on March 24.
Sportsnet will provide the broadcast production for the six games each season.
“Last year we partnered with APTN to deliver the first ever NHL game in Plains Cree and saw first-hand the positive impact it had uniting hockey fans across the country,” said Rob Corte, vice-president, Sportsnet & NHL Productions. “We know that Canada’s Indigenous communities have a great passion for hockey and we are excited grow our partnership with APTN to deliver more games over the next three years.”
LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166456 Vancouver Canucks Frustration, cursing and then laughing sheepishly at yourself. Best oopsie
The first Sharks goal showcased Tyler Myers utilizing something out of The Armies: The goalie curse, the Myers oopsie and the Hughes love the Erik Gudbranson playbook, which is probably all the foreshadowing I fest need to give you:
Yes, that is the vaunted slip-and-slide defence made popular by Kevin By Wyatt Arndt Bieksa during his last few seasons in Vancouver, except in this case, there was no sliding. It was just sort of like that meme where the little girl Dec 15, 2019 decides she’s just going to sit down and take a nap right here.
“Goodnight.”
There’s a scene in the original “Ghostbusters” where every member of There is something very deflating about a 6-foot-7 hockey player the team has to try and clear their mind of any thoughts because the first stretching out to block a pass only to have the puck go right around him thing they think of will be summoned by an enemy God to destroy the and lead to a goal. I think the worst part of this goal is that Myers is world. Dan Aykroyd’s character thinks of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man making this play against Joe Thornton, a player who hasn’t scored a goal because it seems like a safe choice, because how could a friendly giant in around 40-plus games, dating back to last season. made of marshmallows hurt anyone? I think we can all safely say that even if Myers ran screaming at Hertl to As it turns out, anything can become an evil horrifying nightmare in the bear hug him to death and left Joe a free lane to the net, Thornton still right situation, which brings us to Saturday’s Canucks game. If the would have tried to pass the puck. It was the same way with Henrik Canucks were in that scene in “Ghostbusters,” you can almost guarantee Sedin. Remember when Hank passed THROUGH the goalie? Henrik and they would think of “average-to-below-average goalie with a sub-.900 Joe are all about that passing lifestyle. save percentage” because, hey, how could that hurt anyone? We also have to point out that even though Hughes lost his stick, his Yet here we are, wondering how Aaron Dell ended up terrorizing the effort probably could have been better utilized in the play. Don’t get me Canucks, looking like a young Evgeni Nabokov and turning aside 33 of wrong, playing without a hockey stick is like John Garrett trying to eat a 35 shots, instead of looking like the goalie who entered the game with a hot dog without ketchup (only with more dry heaving), but Hughes should 3.32 GAA and an .893 save percentage. The annual tradition in at least be trying to initiate body contact there. Vancouver of elevating goaltenders to look like Vezina candidates continues, as the Canucks fell 4-2 to the Sharks on Saturday night. Also while we’re throwing people under the bus, Boeser is just kind of watching the whole thing go down, like a neighbour checking out a If you’re looking for a silver lining in the game, it’s going to focus on the garage sale and finding nothing to their liking. second half of the game. After being soundly outplayed for the first period and a half, the Canucks managed to finally find a way to effectively attack Again, it’s easy in hindsight to break these things down. And on a broken the San Jose Sharks’ offensive zone. It was probably a little bit of score play like this where everything is happening so quickly, it’s not easy to effects, and a little bit of third-period desperation, but either way, the pick up reads and try and figure out who to cover. Canucks finally managed to make the Sharks sweat, after seemingly But I will say that if you are going to utilize the “having a nap right here” being unable to make a clean-zone exit for the entire first period. Alas, defence, make sure you only use it in emergency situations. It’s so easy with Dell facing them down, and Roussel’s mustache curse hanging over to be made to look like a fool when you go down on your face like that. the team, it was too deep a hole for the Canucks to climb their way out of. Going down to one knee, like Pettersson showcased here, feels like a much better strategy: You can also add Bo Horvat to the list of people who know the Canucks need to find a way to start their games more effectively. Pettersson still gets to cut off the ice on a pass by going to a knee, but he can get up and continue to close the gap on his check. Yes, the pass “I mean, it’s never easy chasing the game the entire game,” Horvat said. gets through, but luckily the Canucks are covering everyone really … OK “I did think we played a pretty good game for 40 minutes, I think our start well, they aren’t covering everyone really well, but I do like Pettersson’s wasn’t good enough, and when you’re playing catch up the rest of the play on this. As you can see, though, Virtanen decides to just ghost on game, we’ve got to find a way to start right off the bat and play as well as Couture, and Jimothy Timothy Miller is seemingly guarding Malcom we did in the last 40 minutes.” Crowe. The point remains, though, that going all-in on dives in hockey is Jacob Markstrom, who followed up his tremendous outing against a dangerous game. And since we’re talking about porous defensive Carolina with another solid game, agreed that Dell, and perhaps some coverage: puck luck, were the deciding factors. This was the kind of first period the Canucks were having. It involved a “They came out really fast and got a power play early and got a little lot of scrambling around in their own zone, and it felt like the Sharks were momentum with that, and obviously up 1-0, then second and third period the fastest kid alive, as they had Vancouver on the ropes with their fore- I think we’re playing a really good game,” Markstrom said. “We had our checking. It led to a lot of dangerous chances for the Sharks and once chances, and Dell made a couple of really big saves in the third, and you again the Canucks had to thank their lucky stars that Markstrom was know, we couldn’t really get the puck in and it didn’t want to bounce our feeling good about his game. way today.” Best oopsie No. 2 And while the Canucks’ ability to find their feet and play better as the We talked about it last Armies, in that a top-four defenseman is going to game wore on was admirable, for a team that is looking to make the play a lot of minutes and will by nature, showcase more mistakes than playoffs, they are going to need to start finding a way to win multiple poor Troy From Richmond, who has a curfew of 15 minutes a game. games in a row. That being said, Myers has seemed to struggle in his own zone as of Even in games against back-up goaltenders. late, and Evander Kane drove right around the large fella Saturday, Best Frozen reaction leaving him spinning in his tracks:
It gets a little lonely. To make matters worse, Myers would then take a penalty on Logan Couture: All these empty scores. The problem here is Couture would never dive, he’s too honest for that, Just watching the hours tick by. so that’s an automatic call from the referees every time.
Best reaction Myers ended the night with 22:43 of ice time, and to his credit, he does continue to look good in the offensive zone. However, at six points If you’re too sad to read a summary of the game, and/or words upset and through 32 games, he is on pace for one of his worst offensive seasons frighten you, then this gif summarizes the game nicely. ever. Whether that’s indicative of his overall play, or his lack of power- play time, or just the team’s general issue with five-on-five scoring, Best grease remains to be seen. Horvat was the only other Canuck to score on the night, notable for the All we do know is if you add in his giant contract and the fact he tends to fact it was Quinn Hughes’ 23rd assist on the season, and because make very visual mistakes (hard to hide mistakes when you’re a giant, Horvat really really needed a goal. just ask Hagrid), Myers is firmly in the spotlight of many fans right now. “Hopefully the flood gates open for me,” Horvat said. “I’m just trying to Best advice create chances for my linemates and I’m still getting my chances, and they’re feeding me, it’s just a matter of one going in for me. Luckily You either die a leaf eater or live long enough to see yourself become the tonight it did.” villain. Best empty-net goalie Best plea Is it really pulling your goalie if Pettersson is out on the ice? These are The Canucks said they felt they played better as the game wore on, and the questions hockey men refuse to answer. to be fair, they did generate chances. It’s just against Dell if you don’t make the perfect shot, you’re out of luck. This marks the second game in a week in that Pettersson balled out and made a glorious empty-net save. Full credit to Dekey Pete for utilizing JT Miller, who continues to impress with his ability to bust out “NHL 20” Hasek style goaltending instead of sticking to straight butterfly. dekes on command, almost broke through the Sharks defence to score a highlight-reel goal only to miss high and wide: If anything gets Edler to rush back from injury it will be this, though. Seeing another man trying to take his backup goalie spot will irk him to Elias Pettersson would have his turn next, but with three Sharks closing no end. in on him, was unable to close the gap enough to utilize the Backhand of Doom™ that Petr Mrazek is probably still watching sadly on a loop: Best of Maverick
The returning Brandon Sutter was almost able to call Baton Rouge but I just want to state, it is a god damn delight to watch Quinn Hughes play just tipped the puck wide on Dell: hockey. After years of having to watch borderline defencemen play hockey for this club, it is downright mind-blowing to watch what this 20- Even when Erik Karlsson started feeling so bad for the Canucks that he year-old kid is doing on a nightly basis. You know who led the team with began passing the puck to Miller for one-timers, they were unable to beat 27 minutes of ice time? Maverick. the Sharks goalie: And it’s stuff like this, where just when you think you’ve escaped Quinn At which point, someone used the “Always Sunny” implications logic: Hughes causing havoc on your own zone, there he is, jumping up and Yes, yes it did. shoving that puck right down your throat:
Normally, Tanner Pearson is an empty-net specialist, but even with great That should be a rush the other way but because Hughes is the Will patience, he was also unable to find the back of the net: Hunting of hockey, he pinches and turns an odd-man rush against into a mini-breakaway for. Then, in the most cliche hockey moment of the game, the Canucks had a great chance at one end of the ice, only to be scored on at the other end: And while Brent Sopel of all people got this super weird reputation as being the best guy in the world at keeping the puck in at the line (2001 Not shown here is Karlsson passing the puck to Boeser in the slot earlier was a weird time), Hughes’ ability to keep the puck in and dance the line in the play (such a polite host), but what IS shown here are the Canucks is truly something to behold: failing to score on a good chance once again. Even worse for the Canucks, Karlsson finally remembers his team is in dark jerseys, and he Now, there are some mistakes. But watch this play where he passes the makes the pass that leads to the second goal for the Sharks. puck to the Sharks. Clearly, clearly Horvat was in the wrong spot. If Hughes passes the puck and you’re not there for it, you were in the I listed all of these gifs to show you, that yes, the Canucks did play much wrong, end of story: better as the game wore on, it wasn’t just lip service. And they probably did deserve a better fate if we’re being honest. It’s just how many times Every time you think you’ve got Hughes on the ropes, he manages to find can you say that before the season starts slipping away. That is the a way to squirm out of danger. Even on plays where his size should be question the Canucks have to be asking themselves right now. an issue, he finds a way to protect the puck and keep it moving:
Best Scrum Lord King exchange Also, if Evander Kane thought he was going to beat Maverick by banking the puck off the back of the net, he was sadly mistaken: Jacob Markstrom talking about the second goal in Saturday’s game: Summary, Hughes is really good at hockey. “Yeah I want to save it, I want to save the first one too, I want to save the third one too, and the fourth one. I want to save all goals.” Best shoutout
It felt like Sarah McLachlan music should be playing in the background, That is indeed a very positive sign for Fantenberg because I never find but kudos to Markstrom for shouldering the blame for even empty-net myself clipping video of him. Which is a very good thing when it comes to goals at this point. This guy is the ultimate teammate. You can almost a player who has been asked to jump into the lineup to help eat up some hear him wishing he could go back in 2011 and save the goals from of Edler’s minutes. What I like about his game is he isn’t just a “chip off Game 7 of the Finals as well. the glass and out, try and survive” kind of guy, he actually will try and make smart passes and do more than just pray Travis Green doesn’t yell Best of the Abbotsford way at him. He has the veteran savvy of a guy who feels like he can play in the NHL. While the game started with Jake Virtanen on the first line (The Lotto Line re-united after the first period), he eventually ended up on what I did want to use one gif, though, that just kind of shows his solid play in continues to be an intriguing line for the Canucks. Playing with Gaudette his own end: and Roussel, Jake Virtanen looks like he might have found himself a permanent home, as that line continues to look like it might have some It’s just a smart, simple play, but noticeable because he does this a lot chemistry. during games. And on this one, it leads to a solid zone exit, something the Canucks were struggling with early. There are no pizzas being And it was Shotgun Jake who finally found a way to solve the unbeatable handed out or Derek Pouliot rushes in front of his own goalie where it Dell: seems he’s determined to score on his own net. It’s just reliable hockey from him so far. He might be the most impressive injury call up D-man What makes this goal the good stuff is the fact it involved solid defensive the Canucks have utilized in quite some time. work, a nice toe drag-zone entry by Gauds, and then Jake simply shooting the puck on net instead of like, circling the net three times Worst passing before firing the puck at the goalie from the corner. It was the eighth even-strength goal for Jake, and if you’re on his booster club, that is a Boeser’s passing has been quietly gaining some critics, as he has been number you will be smashing your finger against repeatedly as you noticeably giving away the puck as of late, on shall we say, high-hope defend him on online hockey forums. passes. While he can, and has, threaded the needle on these passes before, it seems like lately he’s been trying to force the puck a little too much:
He continues to try high-risk, low-reward passing, and it has led to some needless turnovers:
I’m not saying Boeser is the world’s worst passer or that his game is falling off a cliff, but I do agree that lately his passing has not seemed very crisp, and we wouldn’t be doing The Armies correctly if we didn’t point it out.
The Athletic LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166457 Websites “There’s some hurdles defensively that we have to get over,” Keefe said. “It’s a mindset. Part of being a great possession team is being an elite defensive team.
Sportsnet.ca / Unlikely Maple Leafs' third line comes alive in victory over “That’s where we have to have our greatest growth.” Oilers So, it served as a confidence booster that the Leafs slammed the door and a Jake Muzzin–Justin Holl shutdown pair barred the Art Ross leader from the score sheet. Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox Dmytro Timashov and Frederik Gauthier, two fourth-liners who’d been December 14, 2019, 9:59 PM scratched all trip, connected for a pretty insurance goal in the third, fuelling the twin themes of unsuspecting heroes and bottom-six
production. EDMONTON – In a game loaded with marquee names and eight-figure The victory — Andersen’s 200th, making him the fastest European salaries, it was a bunch of guys whose surnames would be difficult to netminder to hit that mark — saps some sting out of the injury news of spot on any of the crowd’s sea of orange-and-blue replica sweaters who the night. delivered the highlights. Tyson Barrie’s left ankle took all of Gaetan Haas’s blast off a rush, and Can’t say we saw a single Toronto Maple Leafs fan at Rogers Place (and although the defenceman tested his foot twice during TV breaks in there was a flood of them) representing for the role players. attempt to return, he never returned to the game. Defensive issues, optional zone exits, and a combined 30 giveaways X-rays proved negative, and Barrie was spotted walking in dress shoes made for a sloppy-good, entertaining Saturday night, but the players who postgame. made the most of the evening’s 53(!) scoring chances were not the ones you’d imagine. If the puck-moving Barrie is out long-term, one must wonder if 19-year- old Rasmus Sandin, the AHL Marlies’ best defenceman, gets called back The Maple Leafs reached in the crates and played all of the deep cuts in up to the NHL instead of heading to the world juniors. their spotlight 4-1 victory over Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s flash-and-dash Edmonton Oilers. “It’s great to see contributions from everybody. Goes a long way for the morale,” said Tavares, whose Leafs outscored some tough opposition “We knew that we had to do a job against those top guys, but we also 15-8 over the course of the roadie. thought that our depth would be a factor in the game today,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe (7-4) said. “Seems like that’s how it worked out.” “We took care of business this week.”
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ rather quiet third line — Pierre Engvall– Alexander Kerfoot–Ilya Mikheyev — crawled out of hibernation to extend the Edmonton Oilers’ season-worst slump to four games and gather a Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.15.2019 critical six points on a nine-day western swing that Keefe compared to a roller coaster.
As the Leafs fired high and often at Edmonton’s Mikko Koskinen, it was Kerfoot who lit the lamp first, notching just his first goal in 13 games with a laser over the giant Finn’s shoulder in the first period.
“This has been a tough stretch for me, particularly,” Kerfoot said. “To get three out of four [wins], it’s a great trip for us.”
Kerfoot then fed Mikheyev with a nice touch pass in the second, and the Russian rookie — buzzing in both Alberta affairs — found the net for his first strike in 22 games. His shot busted Koskinen’s net cam.
“We have speed last two games, yes. And we’re looking good,” Mikheyev continued in his second language. “I long time can’t have score and a little nervous, but now I feel fresh in my brain, and this is good. It’s very important we win. Good trip.”
Those marked the first even-strength goals from the Maple Leafs’ bottom six during the excursion, and there would be more to come.
Considering the steady production the Leafs have reaped this month from the Auston Matthews and John Tavares lines (Oilers coach Dave Tippett dubbed them 1A and 1B), Keefe challenged the Kerfoot line to chip in, believing all four lines should be able to score — a belief lacking in Edmonton.
“They were feeling it today,” Keefe said of his third line. “They skated, they worked, they made plays, they attacked the net.
“I felt comfortable no matter who they were on the ice against, even if it was McDavid.”
Soundly outscored in third periods all season, the Leafs were given a do- over to flip the script and hold a lead they let slip in Calgary Thursday.
Panic didn’t run wild when Cody Ceci threw a puck over the glass in his own zone, and Alex Chiasson instantly scored on a power-play deke, narrowing the gap to 2-1 and throwing the Leafs under pressure late again.
“We have to know the score and manage the puck better,” Matthews warned.
Keefe had cautioned his group about the Oilers’ quick-strike capabilities pre-game. 1166458 Websites Edmonton is officially in trouble here, losers of four straight with a bunch of very difficult opponents ahead on their schedule. They travel through Dallas and St. Louis this week, only to come home for a back-to-back next weekend featuring Pittsburgh and Montreal. Sportsnet.ca / Oilers' even-strength struggles continue, losing streak climbs to four The depth scoring that was feared to be insufficient has completely disappeared, and now McDavid and Draisaitl have cooled down as well. The bounce-back game from Koskinen should earn him a start Monday in Dallas, but they need some goals from guys like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Mark Spector | @sportsnetspec (one in his last eight games), James Neal (one in nine), and even December 14, 2019, 11:40 PM McDavid, who has two goals in his past 10 games.
They’ve made a habit of falling behind in games, and when you can’t score at even strength, that’s a killer combination. EDMONTON — The hope lies in that old hockey chestnut, which says you always drop a couple of games at the end of a losing streak that you “Against a team like Toronto,” Klefbom said, “you want to be up 2-0 and likely could have won, and you tend to win one or two at the end of a make them fight for it. Tough for us mentally and physically going into winning streak that perhaps you should have lost. Dallas and St. Louis but we have to come together as a team. It’s a playoff game every game until Christmas.” Edmonton did not play poorly against Toronto. But they lost, 4-1. And that’s all that really matters.
“We did a lot of good stuff out there,” Oilers defenceman Oscar Klefbom Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.15.2019 said. “But it’s tough to stand here and say that because we lost two points. It’s tough to lose to a team like Toronto at Rogers (Place), obviously with a lot of their fans here.”
Edmonton was outscored 3-0 at five-on-five play, and lost for the seventh straight time to the Maple Leafs. It was anyone’s game with eight minutes remaining, the Leafs leading 2-1 and the Oilers on a full-court press.
But then Toronto got something the Oilers simply do not get enough of: an even-strength goal from their fourth line. It was a back-breaker that sent the Oilers to a fourth straight loss.
“The margin of error in this league is really small,” said winger Alex Chiasson, who scored on the power play for Edmonton’s only goal. “Our game, it’s not like we’re not showing up. We’re kinda there, but there is that little bit that’s not there, and that’s not good enough. That’s where we’re at right now.”
Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.
There are parts of the Oilers game that are good. Just never enough of them on the same night to result in a victory.
At five-on-five, the Oilers have been outscored 32-16 in their last 10 games. Their two big guns — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl — were both minus on the night and are even and minus-four on the season, respectively, despite sitting one-two atop the NHL scoring race.
Draisaitl is on a run of nine games in his past 10 where he’s been a minus player. For McDavid, its eight of his past 14.
“Five-on-five we’ve got to be way better,” McDavid said. “Our special teams have been good. Five-on-five we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to find a way to produce goals and keep them out of our net.”
The Oilers received solid goaltending from Mikko Koskinen, but Frederik Andersen was superior in the Maple Leafs’ goal. Or, at least, the Leafs buried their chances, while Edmonton managed not to beat Andersen, the familiar bleat of a team on a losing streak.
“We just have to capitalize on some more chances,” Edmonton head coach Dave Tippett said. “The last couple of games we have created enough of what I call hard chances, we just have to find a way to capitalize on a few of them. We are getting a lot of pucks at the net, we’re just not finding anything in the net. We just have to find better results in our five-on-five play.”
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Not enough dogged pursuit, said Chiasson. Certainly, not enough ugly goals by the bottom six forwards.
“The one thing lacked tonight,” Chiasson began. “It felt like every scoring chance was ‘one and done.’ That’s where our team, when we’re good, we get one scoring chance and then we find a way to generate a second one. We get a change and the next line comes in…Those are the little things we’re not doing well enough.” 1166459 Websites He’s a defensive nightmare, willing to out-wait blue-liners and find teammates seemingly anywhere in the zone as soon as the opposition flinches. And that poise with the puck only amplifies the danger of every other skill on this list. Sportsnet.ca / Canucks dynamo Elias Pettersson's skill-set broken down in GIFs There are two sides to the coin when it comes to the impact of the patience mentioned above. Give Pettersson time and space to make plays and he’ll eventually find the minuscule avenue through which to thread the needle. Rush him, and he’ll make you look like this: Sonny Sachdeva | @sachdevasonny Stickhandling specialist Pavel Barber recently spoke to Sportsnet to December 14, 2019, 11:50 AM break down the top young handlers in the game, and it was Pettersson who topped his list. But it isn’t simply the skill with which he pulls off flashy moves, according to Barber, it’s when he chooses to do so. It’s difficult to picture what exactly Vancouver Canucks hockey looks like without an elite Swedish dynamo, or two, leading the pack forward. It’s “You can be a great stickhandler, but if you don’t know where and when been decades since we’ve even been forced to contemplate the image. to apply the right skills, you are ineffective — this is where Pettersson thrives,” Barber said of the Canucks centreman. “He has such a great Look to the club’s top three all-time scorers and that blue-and-yellow vein sense for the game and is constantly shifting around on the ice to pose running through the heart of Canucks hockey is difficult to miss — just as the greatest threat. He can break ankles simply by receiving a puck, Markus Naslund’s near-decade of sensational sniping wound to a close, rotating his hips and loading a puck. Henrik and Daniel Sedin broke out with the first of many elite campaigns. And in the very first season the club was forced to take the ice without “Every NHL player can do those skills, but the way his body language the twins’ magic in tow, after the MVP nods and the scoring titles were all suggests what he’s going to do is on another level. He’s mastered the art on the shelf, we saw the next Swedish phenom arrive at Rogers Arena of deception.” ready to dominate. That deception has become foundational in the dynamic, creative game A century of games into his NHL career, Elias Pettersson has done little we see out on the ice in today’s NHL, and No. 40’s got it down to a else but that. After claiming the 2019 Calder Trophy, he’s already the science. premier name on a Canucks squad stocked with young talent, and But like his playmaking ability, his stickhandling isn’t limited to dealing pushing for a spot among the game’s very best offensive gems. with oncoming danger. He’s just as willing to engage himself, navigating The 21-year-old earned his 100th career point Thursday night against into traffic to pull defenders in and create space for teammates, to try to Carolina, tallying the milestone marker in typical Pettersson fashion — draw calls, or simply to see if he can work his way into a shooting lane game-winner, defenders closing in, a stray stick on the ice to navigate closer to the cage. around, concluding with a flash of the hands and a ridiculous top-shelf The one thing that makes every skill here as effective as they’ve been for backhand. the young Canuck is the fact that they all work in conjunction with one Anyone who’s taken in more than a few shifts of the young Canuck doing another. his thing was likely unfazed by the tally. It’s par for the course for Try to defend him as he wades into traffic and he’s got a powerful Pettersson at this point, with his pile of highlight clips already a towering enough shot (we’ll get to that in a moment) and a dangerous ability to stack. But with the Sundsvall, Sweden native officially into triple digits in find his teammates that he becomes a handful to contain. career scoring, it’s worth stepping back and appreciating everything he’s been able to showcase through his first 103 games in the big leagues. There’s one facet of Pettersson’s skill-set that sets him apart, though. One that separates him from other similarly skilled stickhandlers in the With 100 points worth of impressive play for us to dig into, let’s take a game: that blistering shot. closer look at the most impressive aspects of Pettersson’s skill-set so far: Imagine, each time No. 40 hit a new level, debuting in a new league, the There’s no question one of Pettersson’s most overtly dominant abilities is first time defenders realized they had to deal with that shot. It’s almost setting up his teammates. The combination of exceptional hands, elite comical. After everything else — the dangling, the passing, the eyes-in- vision and an innate understanding of what’s playing out on the ice — the-back-of-his-head vision — the fact that Pettersson also has the bomb that sixth-sense awareness of knowing where every player is, has been that he does takes him from being simply a potentially elite scorer to a and will be — makes Pettersson a lethal passer. future contender for a place among the top five names in the game. It’s one thing to deliver a crisp tape-to-tape dish on the breakout, or to There’s a uniqueness to the way he shoots, too. float a perfect saucer pass cross-ice on the power play, but then you have plays like this: “He’s more of an old-school (shooter),” former NHLer Colby Armstrong said of Pettersson recently, noting the Canucks pivot is not often one for What’s there to even say? The ability to read and disrupt the opposing the new-school pull-and-drag style of sniping. play is impressive enough, as is swarming the defender to strip him of the puck, but tripped up and sent to the ice, Pettersson still has the “It’s like Wendel Clark-style, back foot to front foot and he releases it from awareness to know his linemate is streaking to the cage, and the hands there. (He’s) like Bruce Banner — he’s a small, slight guy, 175 pounds. to hook the puck softly into the slot for him — from his knees. Absurd. He turns into the Incredible Hulk, and that’s what he looks like when he gets on the shot. That’s only one aspect of the wide array of playmaking abilities Pettersson brings to the table, though. On the far other end of the “And I think what separates him from (Auston) Matthews is his ability to spectrum is this one from No. 40 against Colorado: really hammer the puck on the one-timer. For a small, slight guy, he turns green when he’s setting up for that one-timer, and throws everything into Again, pick whichever aspect of the play most impresses you here — it.” having the touch to properly pull off this Sedin-esque bank pass to Boeser is one thing, having the confidence to try it at all this early into his In Rory Boylen and Ryan Dixon’s recent look at the top 50 NHLers of NHL tenure is another. But it’s the fact that Pettersson picks up the puck 2019, they offered another all-time scorer whose shooting mechanics and makes the decision to try this in about one second that lays bare his seem echoed in Pettersson’s game. otherworldly understanding of what’s going on out there. “People are loathe to compare anyone to Wayne Gretzky — and I’m not There’s one particular aspect of playmaking we tend to see time and time comparing (Pettersson) to Wayne Gretzky in terms of where he’s going again from the very best in the league — the willingness to practice to land, his place in the game, or the impact he’s going to have in his patience, to suss things out and allow the game to come to them. career or next season. But specifically the way he shoots the puck as a slight guy,” Dixon said. Just like Pettersson had no qualms with trying that risky bank pass as a rookie, the young pivot hasn’t been shy about taking his time with the “Picture Gretzky coming down the ice against the Calgary Flames, that puck, knowing he’ll find the lane when it presents itself. overtime winner, that was the vintage Wayne Gretzky. For a guy who probably weighed 178 soaking wet, he could just rifle it. And it was accurate, it was a great slapper, and Petterson’s got almost like a carbon copy of that.”
Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.15.2019 1166460 Websites The Canucks beat the Sharks 5-2 in the Bay Area in their lone meeting so far this season on November 2nd.
TSN.CA / Canucks vs Sharks Game Day Preview TSN.CA LOADED: 12.15.2019
Jeff Paterson
The Canucks are back to work following a 1-0 overtime victory against Carolina on Thursday. Elias Pettersson notched the 100th point of his National Hockey League career with the lone goal of the hockey game 40 seconds into OT. Jacob Markstrom made 43 saves for the fourth shutout of his career.
Markstrom will make a third straight start tonight with Michael DiPietro as his back-up. Brandon Sutter is expected to return tonight after missing 13 games with a groin injury suffered on November 12th against Nashville. Sutter will skate on the right side with Jay Beagle and Tim Schaller. Jake Virtanen will start the game on right wing with Elias Pettersson and JT Miller while Brock Boeser is slated to start the game on a line with Adam Gaudette and Antoine Roussel.
Tyler Motte, who has been out with a broken foot since October 25th, is on the road trip and took part in the morning skate. Travis Green suggested that Motte could be an option to return to game action tomorrow in Las Vegas. Tonight, Motte will join Zack MacEwen, Loui Eriksson and Guillaume Brisebois as the scratches in San Jose.
The Canucks have scored just two goals in their past two games. In addition to Pettersson’s goal against the Hurricanes, Josh Leivo found the back of the net in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to Toronto. The Canucks went 0/5 on the power play against Carolina and have not scored with the man-advantage in the past two games. That’s noteworthy because it’s just the second time all season – and the first since the first two games on the schedule – that the Canucks have not cashed in on the power play.
The Sharks are in a tailspin having lost six straight games (0-5-1). On Wednesday, they relieved Pete DeBoer of his duties as head coach and replaced him with assistant coach Bob Boughner. In their first game with Boughner behind the bench the Sharks dropped a 6-3 decision to the New York Rangers on Thursday night. Goals by Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Brenden Dillon had San Jose ahead 3-2 early the third period before the team surrendered four unanswered goals. Martin Jones made 24 saves in the loss.
The Sharks are 30th in the league in goals against allowing 119 through their first 34 games (3.50 per game). As a team, they have been outscored 119-90 so far this season. During the team’s six-game winless skid, San Jose has been outscored 28-10.
San Jose has had trouble getting saves this season. As a team, the Sharks have the worst 5-on-5 save percentage in the league at 87.7%. Of the 50 goalies in the NHL to start at least 10 games this season, Martin Jones ranks 49th in save percentage at 88.8%.
One area the Sharks excel is on the penalty kill where they lead the league at 87.8% and are even better on home ice where they are killing penalties at 92.5%. They have allowed just four power play goals on 53 attempts in 17 games at SAP Center.
On the season, Evander Kane leads San Jose with 13 goals while Logan Couture is the team’s leading scorer with 10+20=30.
On Thursday night, Joe Thornton became the 12th player in NHL history to appear in 1600 regular season games. Tonight, Marc-Edouard Vlasic will skate in his 1000th NHL game – all with the Sharks.
Last season, San Jose was the runaway league leader in terms of points from its defense with 221 (2.70 per game). This season, the Sharks are 10th in that category with 72 points through 34 games (2.12 per game). Erik Karlsson has 3+21=24 while Brent Burns had 5+16=21. No skater in the league has been on the ice for more goals against this season than Burns who has been on for 56 of the 119 goals San Jose has surrendered.
The Sharks are playing the second game of a season-high seven game homestand tonight. They don’t play their next road game until New Year’s Eve in Detroit. 1166461 Websites "I'd say probably his shot. It was so hard to read for a lot of guys. You try to get in the blocking lane and he'd just pull it around you and he has good hands as well. Not a fun player to play against."
TSN.CA / Barrett Hayton ‘extremely excited’ to return to Team Canada Hayton looks to use NHL experience to elevate his game at World for World Juniors Juniors
Barrett Hayton was quite excited when he received the news that the Arizona Coyotes would release him so he could represent Canada at the Mark Masters World Juniors and spend another year with the Maple Leaf on his chest.
Before this week, Nico Daws had never been at a Hockey Canada event. The only guy he knew well here was Peterborough goalie Hunter Jones, How long did it take Barrett Hayton to get over Canada's heartbreaking who trains with him in the summer. overtime loss to Finland in the quarterfinals of last year's World Juniors? "I was very nervous coming to camp," Daws readily admits. "I didn't know "To this day, it's a bitter taste in my mouth," the 19-year-old centre told anybody. I've never done anything like this so to have him be around and TSN on Friday night after arriving at the Team Canada hotel. "It takes a for him to be my roommate, it was really special, helped me out a lot and long time. It's something you just try to put on the back-burner." I'm very thankful for that." Hayton was loaned to Hockey Canada by the Arizona Coyotes on On Thursday night, the pair sat and waited to learn their fate together as Thursday after playing 14 NHL games this season, producing one goal Team Canada's management staff made cuts. One goalie would have to and three assists. go and at the start of the week the competition was described as "wide "I was extremely excited," Hayton said of the decision. "It's such an open" by Mark Hunter. amazing tournament and obviously representing your country, yeah, I "Stressful," said Daws of the waiting game. "We had 'The Office' playing was very excited." in the background, but we weren't really paying attention to it. You're "That's amazing news to hear for everyone," said Knights forward Liam hoping to not get a knock." Foudy. "All Canadians should be happy about that. Barrett is a great But there was a knock. Jones was let go in what Mark Hunter called the player, he’s done a lot for the country in previous events and he's in the toughest decision of the nine players released. NHL for a reason. So, him coming back, he can bring a lot to this team. He can play basically anywhere that coach wants and he's just a great It says a lot about both Jones and Daws that the Petes goalie, clearly guy as well." emotional, made sure to credit his rival during his meeting with the media after the decision came down. Hayton, who skated on the top line between Rimouski's Alexis Lafrenière and Kelowna's Nolan Foote at Saturday's practice, said the move was "You're praying that you don't really get the knock and hoping that you "not necessarily" a surprise considering he hadn't played for the Coyotes can both move forward and be on the team together," Jones said, fighting since Nov. 29. back tears. "So, I'm really proud of Nico and what he's done this season. He's earned it." The arrival of Hayton, who posted four assists in five games at last year’s event, provides Team Canada with a huge boost as the group aims to "It's an absolute honour," Daws said. "A little sad that he couldn't be here avenge last year's sixth-place showing, the country's worst-ever result on with me." home ice. Daws has authored perhaps the greatest turnaround story in junior "He was an elite player," said Team Canada management group leader hockey this season. In his first two seasons with Guelph he was an Mark Hunter. "I've seen him play at a younger age and seen him grow as unremarkable back-up posting sub .900 save percentages. In June, all a younger player and he wants the puck. He plays a game of puck 31 teams passed on him at the NHL draft. It was a moment of truth for possession, skill and determination too. Sometimes we all forget about the Burlington, Ont. native. the will and the will is very important for Barrett, the will and the character comes out big time in him." "I knew coming into the summer that this year would be a big year for me," he said. "I needed to prove myself. Whether that was going to be With news that the Arizona Coyotes have loaned centre Barrett Hayton to with Guelph or another team, I didn’t know it, but I needed to be ready. Canada's World Junior team, Bob McKenzie joins Mark Masters to So, I lost 25 pounds in the summer and I really just dedicated myself. I explain why this is a game changer for the team and whether there might knew what I wanted and I went and got it." be additional loans from the NHL on the way. The process started with a new diet immediately after he got back from Last year, Canada had just one returning player, captain Maxime the Memorial Cup where he watched Anthony Popovich backstop the Comtois, at the World Juniors. Now, with Hayton back in the fold, there Storm to the semifinals. are five returnees this year, including Grand Rapids centre Joe Veleno, Lafrenière, Halifax defenceman Jared McIssac and Spokane "I did the Keto diet and that was horrible. It works, but I don't recommend defenceman Ty Smith. it," Daws said with a chuckle. "No, it worked out good. I lost 10 pounds right away doing that and then I got a nutritionist and really focused. I Hayton has been in "constant communication" with his friends on Team think dieting was my biggest problem last year." Canada and made it clear he plans to take on a leadership role in Ostrava. Did he have a lot of guilty pleasures?
"There's nothing that really emulates the tournament," Hayton pointed "There's always guilty pleasures," he said with a smile. "I just try not to out. "It's quick, it's high intensity, there's a lot of great teams and a lot of snack. I'm a big snacker, I love to snack, so I got to cut that out as much great players so I think there's a ton of little things you take from the as I can, take it easy on the sweets and the candy. I love sour Skittles, tournament and definitely a lot of things that'll help me for this year.” but have to put those to the side for a bit."
Hayton failed to hit the scoresheet in his last eight NHL games, but isn't Now listed at 202 pounds, the six-foot-four Daws says it’s "crazy" how worried about regaining the scoring touch that allowed him to light the much quicker he feels in the crease thanks to the weight loss. Similarly lamp 26 times in 39 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds last crazy are the numbers Daws has posted this season, including a .939 season. save percentage to lead the OHL. He's helped a Guelph team expected to take a step back, remain atop the Western Conference. "It's the NHL, the practices are extremely high paced," Hayton noted, "you have to be sharp, you have to have to be ready so, yeah, I don't The rise has been meteoric and it’s hard for Daws to sum up what it think I've lost a step." means to wear the Maple Leaf on the biggest junior stage.
Foudy knows from first-hand experience how hard it is to defend against "It's kind of indescribable," he said. "You know, it’s one of those things Hayton. The toughest part? that you can’t really put into words. You look forward to it your whole life. I mean, it's a dream as a kid, you watch the World Juniors growing up and just to be a part of that is unbelievable, really." But the work is far from done. Canada is taking three goalies to the "He's pretty reserved for the most part," said Vancouver Giants Czech Republic, which means someone may not see any action at all. defenceman Bowen Byram, "but he's always cracking little jokes here and there when it's appropriate so he makes it very fun coming to the Moncton's Olivier Rodrigue has the most international experience in the rink." group while Portland’s Joel Hofer has comparable numbers (.937 save percentage) to Daws. The stakes are high for whoever gets the call as Sudbury forward Quinton Byfield said Hunter made him laugh after a Canada has never won gold in Europe without the tournament’s top shootout miss during the selection camp and that wasn’t the only time the goalie and Group A rivals the United States (Spencer Knight) and Russia 17-year-old was left smiling by the coach. (Yaroslav Askarov) both feature highly-touted tenders. "Another funny moment there, he told me to look up in the rafters in "My goal is to push to be No. 1," Daws said. "I want to play and I want to Sudbury and his name would be up there so I'll have to check when I’m be the starting goalie so that's going to be my goal for the next couple there one time,” Byfield said with a chuckle. weeks going into the tournament." Hunter played for Sudbury from 1978-80 racking up 195 points in 120 After making it through the cuts, Nico Daws is all smiles as he prepares games. His No. 15 now hangs in the rafters at Sudbury Community to take to the ice with the maple leaf on his chest for the first time in his Arena. career. His hard work over the last few months hasn't gone unnoticed, now all he has to do is prove that he's what they're looking for in a And while Hunter is often a man of few words, it’s clear how much this starting goalie. chance means to him. The family connection to the event runs deep as older brother Dave Hunter played for Canada in the first official World Dale Hunter admits this is something he's wanted to do for some time. Juniors in 1977, which was held in Czechoslovakia. After two Memorial Cup titles, a gold medal at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup (the under-18 summer event now known as the Hlinka "I remember mom and dad left us home here at Christmas alone," Dale Gretzky Cup) plus a stint coaching the Capitals in the NHL, Hunter is Hunter said with a chuckle. "It was pretty special ... quite an honour for finally getting his chance to guide Canada at the World Juniors. him to go over there and for mom and dad to leave the farm."
"He wants it bad," said forward Connor McMichael, who plays for Hunter Now, finally, it’s Dale Hunter's turn to go to the Czech Republic and step in London. "Yeah, he loves to win. There's nothing he loves more than to onto the biggest stage in junior hockey. win hockey games so he's excited." Hunter finally puts his stamp on World Junior team: 'We like skill and lots "He definitely wants this a lot," said Foudy. "Him and (Knights GM) Mark, of will' they're just winners. They don't go to stuff to lose, right? And they've London Knights bench boss Dale Hunter is one of the most successful been winners in London forever and they're coming here to win the gold junior coaches in this generation and now he is finally getting a chance to for Canada so that's the plan." lead Canada's World Junior team. After overseeing the first two days of Hunter made a point of being behind the bench for all six Russia series practices at the selection camp, Hunter outlined his vision for this year's games. He's attacking this opportunity in the way you’d expect from a team and reflected on what this long-awaited opportunity means. man, who's closing in on 800 career OHL coaching wins.
“He’s not here just for the resume,” said Foudy. “He wants to come here TSN.CA LOADED: 12.15.2019 and actually get it done and win a gold medal so having that is a huge boost for us guys.”
Both Hunter brothers have been careful not to speculate about why it's taken so long for this opportunity to come about. However, they have not been shy about laying out their vision for how they want Team Canada to play.
"We're a skilled team, but we're going to be a hard-working team too," Dale Hunter said, "and we're going to play a fast game. We got good skill, good speed so we'll have to play on top of the puck all the time."
"Our D is going to be very solid," said Mark Hunter, "very mobile, very skilled and can move pucks out of our zone very quickly, which we want to do and get it up to our forwards so I think we're going to play a high- speed game."
The message has been received loud and clear.
"Just fast," said Lethbridge forward Dylan Cozens when asked about the identity of the team. "Fast and hard and just focus on managing pucks a lot. Getting pucks behind and just hunting them down, getting the puck back and running switches and different plays. But I think the biggest thing is just speed. Speed."
Despite being 59, Hunter has continually found a way to connect with younger players and get the most out of them.
"He trusts his players a lot," noted Foudy, "that's the biggest thing. He's got trust in us to do whatever we want out there, like, as long as we play good D-zone he trusts us to make offensive plays and that's what I like about him."
Hunter is reserved in his media sessions and also with his players. Foudy points out that most of his instruction comes in the form of video sessions. He'll rarely address the Knights during intermissions.
"He's not an in-your-face coach," observed Mark Hunter. "He's very calm, but he's a coach who gets his point through by ice time and his presence on the bench and in the dressing room. There's a calmness to him and there's a respect that he holds behind the bench that a lot of coaches don't have."
Hunter can also be a disarming presence using a sharp wit to relax players.