SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 01/19/18 1093697 What we learned from the Ducks' 5-3 win over the 1093734 Lunch Special: What could the Avalanche do at the trade Penguins deadline? 1093698 Kings aren't a hit in loss to Penguins and extend skid to 1093735 Eight it is: Avalanche hangs on to defeat San Jose to five games extend winning streak 1093699 Ducks' Adam Henrique is already a big part of rivalry with 1093736 Musical chairs with Colorado Avalanche rookie forwards the Kings 1093737 MacKinnon, Avs win 8th straight by holding off Sharks 1093700 Sparks and fists fly when the Kings and Ducks collide Columbus Blue Jackets Arizona Coyotes 1093738 Blue Jackets: Jokinen recalls his time as an opponent in 1093701 Arizona Coyotes lose lead late, fall in shootout to Nashville Nationwide Arena Predators 1093739 Blue Jackets 2, Stars 1, SO | Joonas Korpisalo shines in 1093702 Preview: Coyotes at Predators, 5:30 p.m., FOX Sports victory Arizona 1093740 Blue Jackets oddly find winning easier than scoring 1093703 Coyotes surrender lead late, fall in shootout to Predators 1093741 Blue Jackets | Jussi Jokinen starts in first game with team 1093704 Succession plan: Fischer could be Coyotes’ next great power forward Dallas Stars 1093705 Coyotes’ Rick Tocchet on Duclair’s departure: ‘It just didn’t 1093743 Stars-Blue Jackets preview: What to expect from Dillon click’ Heatherington in his NHL debut 1093744 How Ken Hitchcock has impacted Tyler Seguin, John Klingberg in his first year back with Stars 1093706 Patrice Bergeron does the trick in win vs. Islanders 1093745 Ken Hitchcock not happy with disallowed against 1093707 Zdeno Chara shrugs off monster shift vs. Montreal Columbus 1093708 Anton Khudobin will be Bruins’ goalie vs. Islanders 1093746 Why Stars took major step forward as a team despite 1093709 Bruins notebook: Ryan Spooner delights Bruce Cassidy missed opportunities vs. Blue Jackets with greasy goal 1093747 Cold facts: What 2-1 shootout loss to Blue Jackets means 1093710 Patrice Bergeron nets three in Bruins’ 5-2 win over for Stars Islanders 1093748 Stars' Dillon Heatherington wanted to 'stick it to' the 1093711 Patrice Bergeron, Bruins continue red hot roll Colombus Blue Jackets in his NHL debut 1093712 Julien thankful for B's video tribute, 'happy he can move 1093749 Final: Stars fall to Blue Jackets in shootout on' 1093713 Bruins take down Islanders, extend point streak to 15 Detroit Red Wings games 1093750 Detroit Red Wings mull personnel swapping to correct 1093714 Bergeron notches hat trick as Bruins defeat Islanders, 5-2 power play 1093715 McQuaid makes impact in return to B's lineup after lengthy 1093751 Red Wings’ power play plummets during recent slump absence 1093752 Red Wings to swap parts on ineffective power-play units 1093716 Morning Skate: PK Subban rightly recognizes O'Ree as a 1093753 Red Wings' Tyler Bertuzzi chipping in points while grinding hockey pioneer 1093717 Haggerty: Longtime Julien targets get last laugh in Claude's return 1093754 Oilers place Nugent-Hopkins on injured reserve with sternum injury Buffalo Sabres 1093755 Lowetide: Tweeners and Iiro Pakarinen 1093718 The Wraparound: Rangers 4, Sabres 3 1093756 Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL 1093719 Sabres Notebook: Lehner touched by Lundqvist's gesture, teams' prospect pools playing through trade talk 1093757 Jussi Jokinen Q&A: Veteran out to prove he can still keep 1093720 With new Sabres deal never discussed, Kane awaits trade pace for Blue Jackets call 1093721 Sabres at Rangers: Five Things to Know Florida Panthers 1093722 Lehner grateful to Lundqvist for Instagram post after 1093758 Keith Yandle owns longest active games-played streak Winter Classic after Andrew Cogliano's suspension: 'You feel bad for him 1093723 Amerks' Guhle, Ullmark show Sabres their skills in NHL 1093759 Hyde: A Panthers night to say thanks to H. Wayne but focus on helping Rochester win Huizenga | Commentary 1093760 As bye week ends, Panthers' climb up standings becomes tougher 1093724 Roundtable: Flames are good. Here's how they can be 1093761 Preview: Golden Knights at Panthers, 7:30 p.m., Friday better. 1093725 Jim Rome talks stick-toss, Flames with Gulutzan 1093726 After many lean years post-Kiprusoff, goaltending falls into place for Flames 1093727 World juniors a learning experience for Flames prospect Linus Lindstrom 1093728 Gulutzan, Flames make headlines on The Jim Rome Show 1093729 Flames roundtable: How they got so good, and what they need to get better 1093730 Flames goaltending vision finally taking shape 1093731 Five Flames who might make franchise history this season Chicago Blackhawks 1093732 Column: Niklas Hjalmarsson tries to move on after regrettable trade from Blackhawks 1093733 Luck of the draw hasn’t been kind to Blackhawks centers 1093762 Kings aren't a hit in loss to Penguins and extend skid to 1093800 scores twice as Rangers hold on to beat five games Sabres, 4-3 1093763 Penguins hand slumping Kings their 5th consecutive loss 1093801 Rangers will be without key defenseman to start road trip 1093764 Kings backup goalie Darcy Kuemper shines despite 1093802 Rick Nash ignores trade talk and dominates again in infrequent opportunities Rangers win 1093765 Sparks and fists fly when the Kings and Ducks collide 1093803 Rangers found their optimal blueprint in Flyers win 1093766 GAMEDAY PREVIEW: ALL-AMERICAN SHOWDOWN 1093804 Rick Nash again scores twice as Rangers edge Sabres at 1093767 JAKE MUZZIN ACTIVATED FROM IR; EXPECTED TO MSG PLAY TONIGHT 1093805 Marc Staal sits out for first time this season with hip flexor 1093768 STEVENS ON CARTER’S REHAB, TONIGHT’S issue MATCH-UP VERSUS PITTSBURGH, MORE 1093806 Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey talks to Long Island kids 1093769 JANUARY 18 POSTGAME QUOTES: JOHN STEVENS 1093770 JANUARY 18 POSTGAME QUOTES: BROWN, DOUGHTY 1093807 Second-period meltdown costly to Senators in loss to 1093771 GAME 45: LA KINGS VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Blues 1093772 FORMER-ISH PENGUIN JAKE MUZZIN ON FACING 1093808 Warrenspiece: Borowiecki's farm week, Chaplik's surprise, THE TEAM THAT DRAFTED HIM Pang goes back in time and why Kid Rock? 1093809 Senators plan to keep captain Erik Karlsson Minnesota Wild 1093810 GM Pierre Dorion says has a plan in place and he's not 1093773 How the Wild stays in playoff hunt despite being last in ready to give up on the Senators Corsi 1093811 What's in a name? The Blues' Vince Dunn is on top of the 1093774 No-NHL 2018 Olympics makes for unique preparation hockey world strategies 1093812 Chlapik in, Pageau out as Senators prepare for the St. 1093775 Veterans Nagy, Surovy to lead Slovakia at Olympics Louis Blues 1093816 Five takeaways from Senators GM Pierre Dorion's presser 1093776 Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly blossoming into Philadelphia Flyers offensive threat 1093817 Tyrell Goulbourne back in Flyers' lineup; Legion of Doom 1093777 Canadiens at Capitals: Five things you should know will be reunited 1093778 New Canadiens forward Logan Shaw arrives with 1093818 Flyers-Maple Leafs preview: Philly trying to sweep season -kill pedigree series 1093779 Melnick: The good, the bad and the ugly game 45, 1093819 Flyers rally late, stun Maple Leafs, 3-2, in OT behind Sean Montreal 1, Boston 4 Couturier's clutch goal 1093780 Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL 1093820 Eric Lindros gets emotional reception from fans as No. 88 teams' prospect pools is retired 1093781 Basu: Claude Julien has challenged his players like he 1093821 Flyers' future takes another step forward with three never has before promising prospects 1093822 McCaffery: In retiring Eric Lindros’ No. 88, Flyers stayed true to themselves 1093782 Predators squeak by Arizona Coyotes in shootout for 1093823 Flyers notebook: Eric Lindros not satisfied with progress of fourth consecutive win concussion research 1093824 Flyers go from running on E to comeback for 'Big E' 1093825 Watch Eric Lindros' heartfelt speech 1093783 New Jersey Devils vs. : LIVE score 1093826 Flyers vs. Maple Leafs: 3 things to watch in Game 45 updates and chat (1/18/18) 1093827 Flyers 5 takeaways: Michal Neuvirth stars in comeback 1093784 Why Keith Kinkaid will get 2nd straight start in goal for win Devils 1093828 What Flyers see in Jori Lehtera, the exception to NHL’s 1093785 Devils' lines, pairings vs. Capitals (1/18/18) | Keith Kinkaid prototype starts again 1093786 How Devils' Jesper Bratt went from 6th-round pick to NHL Pittsburgh Penguins in 1 season 1093829 Former 1st-rounder Jamie Oleksiak quietly showing 1093787 Taylor Hall's OT goal lifts Devils past Capitals | Rapid pedigree with Penguins reaction 1093830 Penguins bounce back with road win over Kings 1093788 Devils Cory Schneider agrees with decision to start Keith 1093831 Penguins turn to Casey DeSmith in goal Kinkaid 1093832 Dave Molinari: How are NHL All-Stars chosen? In some 1093789 Mirco Mueller sent to Binghamton for conditioning stint cases, the eyes have it. 1093790 Devils Daily Faceoff: Another shot at the Capitals 1093833 Tristan Jarry might be cooling off from his excellent 1093791 Devils 4, Capitals 3 (OT): Post-game observations December 1093792 Devils beat Capitals 4-3 on Taylor Hall's OT winner 1093834 Justin Schultz: Dustin Brown had 'plenty of time' to avoid 1093793 Game 44 Live Blog: Devils top Capitals, 4-3, in OT hit 1093835 Casey DeSmith wins first NHL start as Penguins beat Kings, 3-1 1093794 Islanders can't overcome Patrice Bergeron's hat trick in 1093836 Casey DeSmith to get his first NHL start for 5-2 loss to Bruins the Penguins 1093795 Islanders get one of their All Stars back at crucial time 1093796 Josh Bailey picks up right where he left off in Islanders return 1093797 Islanders fall again, swept by Bruins 1093798 Islanders start strong but fall to Bruins on Patrice Bergeron’s hat trick 1093799 Injured Islanders Johnny Boychuk, Andrew Ladd skate again but remain out San Jose Sharks Websites 1093837 Three things to know: former-Sharks forward is playing a 1093880 The Athletic / No. 88 goes to the rafters: How Eric Lindros key role in Avs’ turnaround season and the Flyers found peace 1093838 Is Jones healthy? Is he still the Sharks best option in goal? 1093881 The Athletic / What's the best case scenario for Sam 1093839 Sharks fall to streaking Colorado Bennett? A Bayesian Analysis 1093840 Sharks face surprisingly tough test in Avalanche 1093882 The Athletic / Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL teams' prospect pools St Louis Blues 1093883 The Athletic / Dellow: When do defencemen make it? 1093841 Gordo: Forwards remain scarce in NHL marketplace 1093884 The Athletic / Get to know a rebuild: What the Red Wings 1093842 Hutton in goal, Dunn on defense vs. Ottawa can learn from the Winnipeg Jets 1093843 Blues notebook: Rare line continuity against Senators 1093885 The Athletic / Custance: The impact of Spezza's benching 1093844 Blues get offense clicking in win over Senators and why it's not a problem unique to the Stars 1093845 Blues score three in second period on way to 4-1 win over 1093886 Sportsnet.ca / Andersen’s harsh criticism exactly what Ottawa Maple Leafs needed to hear 1093887 Sportsnet.ca / Don Cherry on Eric Lindros: He was the Tampa Bay Lightning best player in the league 1093846 Life is good for Jonathan Marchessault. 1093888 Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs’ Andersen sounds off on team 1093847 Lightning’s Cory Conacher hopes ‘simple’ leads to more after latest loss ice time 1093889 Sportsnet.ca / Lindros saga to get its unlikely happy 1093848 EVENTS ‘Piratically speaking,’ NHL thrilled to don ending in Philadelphia Gasparilla garb for All-Star Game 1093890 Sportsnet.ca / 8 goalies to potentially replace injured 1093849 Lightning falls to Golden Knights Blackhawk Corey Crawford 1093850 Joe Smith’s takeaways from Thursday’s Lightning-Golden 1093891 Sportsnet.ca / Jack Johnson talks trade request, family: ‘I Knights game have nothing to hide’ 1093851 Lightning journal: Cory Conacher ready to take advantage 1093892 TSN.CA / Andersen delivers fragile Leafs a wake-up call of J.T. Brown’s departure 1093893 TSN.CA / Big night for the Big E 1093894 TSN.CA / Leafs’ Kadri not sweating career-worst skid Toronto Maple Leafs 1093895 TSN.CA / An icing analysis of the Maple Leafs 1093852 Morgan Rielly emerging as offensive threat from Leafs’ 1093896 USA TODAY / Coach Ken Hitchcock has Stars thinking blueline defense and dreaming big 1093853 Leafs fall to Flyers in OT 1093854 Time heals all wounds for Lindros in Philly Winnipeg Jets 1093855 Leafs fall in overtime to Flyers, have lost four in a row 1093874 Call it the Central nervous system -- Jets may be in first 1093856 Babcock's advice to Marner: Forget and move on but division foes are closing fast 1093857 Maple Leafs' Kadri calls assist dry spell 'very unlucky' as 1093875 Jets players meeting expectations in mid-season report Leafs try to end three-game losing streak card 1093858 The hands were the window to Eric Lindros' hockey soul 1093876 Get to know a rebuild: What the Red Wings can learn from 1093859 'It's forever': Lindros takes place among Philly icons as the Winnipeg Jets No. 88 retired by Flyers 1093877 Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL 1093860 Frederik Andersen calls out Leafs teammates as teams' prospect pools frustration boils over 1093861 Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL teams' prospect pools SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1093862 Q&A with James van Riemsdyk on missing out on the Olympics, Bozak as a father and memories of Phaneuf 1093878 Botchford: Boeser vs. Barzal a Calder conundrum 1093879 How the Canucks strive to coach and build tough in today's NHL 1093863 Golden Knights end two-game skid with 4-1 win at Lightning 1093864 Former Thunder star Todd Richards impressed with Golden Knights 1093865 Live Blog: Golden Knights face Lightning in battle between NHL’s top teams 1093866 Golden Knights sweep season series with 4-1 win over Lightning 1093867 Vegas Has The Best Expansion Team In The History Of Pro Sports, And It’s Not Close Washington Capitals 1093868 Capitals rookie Madison Bowey honors NHL pioneer Willie O’Ree by wearing No. 22 1093869 Andre Burakovsky a healthy scratch again when Capitals face Devils 1093870 Capitals make their point, but fall to Devils in overtime 1093871 Game 46: Capitals at Devils Date, Time, How to Watch, Game Thread 1093872 4 reasons the Caps lost to the Devils 1093873 3 stars of the game: Caps fight back to earn a point, but fall in overtime 1093697 Anaheim Ducks

What we learned from the Ducks' 5-3 win over the Penguins

Mike Coppinger

The Ducks, in their first home game of 2018, ended the Pittsburgh Penguins' four-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory at Honda Center. The Ducks seemingly had the game locked up after four unanswered goals, but a late Pens surge on the power play forced the Ducks to fend them off to hold on for the win. Here's what we learned: Kevin Bieksa brings veteran leadership and toughness to the squad, but his turnovers are becoming a liability. The 36-year-old was responsible for two turnovers on one shift alone, the last of which resulted in an Evgeni Malkin goal to put the Pens up 1-0. But Randy Carlyle isn't about to single out Bieksa. "I'm concerned about everybody's turnovers," Carlyle said when asked about Bieksa's play by the Los Angeles Times. "I think you're singling him out. I think there's a few guys back there who are having too many [turnovers]." When Bieksa passes the puck, he often doesn't generate enough mustard on it, leading to it floating on the ice, and often collected by the opposing squad. But with Sami Vatanen in New Jersey, Bieksa is going to play. Ondrej Kase has been a revelation in his second season. The Czech Republic native producing his second multi-point game in three outings, and he generated two breakaways, scoring on one that showed just how great his hands are. Paired up with centerman Adam Henrique and power forward Nick Ritchie on the third line, the Ducks now have three reliable lines that can put the puck in the net. "He's gotta be put in situations that he can have success and that's the most important thing," Carlyle said. "With our lineup, we're finally getting some consistency back. The addition of Henrique in the middle with Ritchie and Kase has given us another, somewhat of an offensive weapon. "I know that [Ryan] Kesler and [Jakob] Silfverberg with [Andrew] Cogliano and [J.T.] Brown tonight, I know that they can provide offense also and [Ryan] Getzlaf, [Corey] Perry and [Rickard] Rakell would be our go-to guys. It gives us some depth in creating offense." John Gibson continues to give the Ducks a chance to win almost every night. Sure, he let up two late goals, but those were both against the league's best power play, and when it mattered most, Gibson was there with his trademark splits and sprawls to hold on to victory. The goalie now boasts a 1.87 goals-against-average and a .934 save percentage in his last eight starts, allowing two goals or fewer in five of those outings. "They have talent and we gave them some chances, it's something we have to work on," Gibson said. "I wasn't at my best in the third, either, but we fought back and we held on and it was a good win."

LA Times: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093698 Anaheim Ducks

Kings aren't a hit in loss to Penguins and extend skid to five games

Curtis Zupke

This was not the ripple effect the Kings sought. It was one fell swoop, er, one illegal hit against the one team they couldn’t put on the power play that doomed them Thursday. Dustin Brown’s hit on Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz resulted in a five-minute boarding major that the Penguins used to put the game away 3-1 and send the Kings to a season-high fifth straight loss in front of 18,230 fans at Staples Center. The reverberations were felt in the standings, too, because the Kings fell to ninth in the Western Conference, or out of the playoff picture for the first time this season. That’s based on a game in hand by the Colorado Avalanche, but it’s a minor detail in a bigger picture that is slipping from the Kings’ hands. “It’s been tough,” Brown said. “It’s frustrating to lose five straight, especially in the situation we were in … it’s one of those things where you have to realize where you are. It’s been hard. It’s been brutal here for us, frustrating. But … we’re still fighting for a spot.” Down 2-1 early in the third period, Brown sent Schultz into the boards while Schultz was knelt down with his back to Brown. Brown was ejected from the game and given a five-minute boarding major in which Patric Hornqvist scored his second goal of the game. The Kings made it more difficult with two more minor penalties, but the game was essentially swung on Brown’s penalty. “I’m going to close on him,” Brown said. “He stumbles, toe picks. I don’t drive through the wall or anything but I also close in on the play. At most it’s probably a two [minute penalty]. I hope he’s OK.” The play allowed Pittsburgh’s top-ranked power play ample opportunity against the Kings’ No. 1 penalty killing unit, and Hornqvist scored on a shot just inside the post past Jonathan Quick, who had a rather forgettable outing. Meanwhile the Kings got one goal — albeit a highlight score by Adrian Kempe — past Pittsburgh’s Casey DeSmith in DeSmith’s first NHL start. “We’re obviously pretty down on ourselves right now,” Drew Doughty said. “We want to turn it around as soon as we possibly can and that will start [Friday]. At times I thought we deserved better tonight and could have won that game.” Just when the Kings seemed poised to take the lead — they are the best third-period team in the NHL — the Penguins struck 26 seconds into the third on Evgeni Malkin’s faceoff win against Nick Shore and subsequent chip shot off a rebound to put the Kings in a 2-1 hole. Quick had little chance on the shot but he seemed to shake off another fluky start. For his second straight game, he allowed a blooper-type goal from the right side. This time it was Hornqvist with a shot from the right- side boards that appeared to glance off Derek Forbort’s stick before it snuck through Quick’s legs 43 seconds into the game. Quick allowed a similar goal to the Ducks’ Ondrej Kase on Saturday. The Kings get the Ducks again Friday in a tough turnaround. They don’t have time to pout. “If you’re not frustrated, there’s something wrong with you,” Brown said. “But we’re just trying to channel that frustration into positive energy that you can use to win games, because there’s going to be ups and downs, and you’ve got to find a way to dig yourself out.” Defenseman Jake Muzzin returned to the lineup after a three-game absence because of an upper-body injury and picked up an assist on Kempe’s 14th goal.

LA Times: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093699 Anaheim Ducks “It was more of a shock than anything,” he said. “I guess when you play in every game for 11 years, it's something you're not used to. So I think [the emotions] were pretty normal. I just wanted to keep playing and Ducks' Adam Henrique is already a big part of rivalry with the Kings hoped [the streak] would continue. “I’m past the pity part now in terms of how everything came out to be. … You get a good idea of what people think of you in moments like this.” MIke Coppinger UP NEXT

DUCKS VS. KINGS Adam Henrique is no stranger to bitter rivalry games. When: Friday, 7 p.m. PT. He was a rookie in the 2011-12 season when he was introduced to one of the NHL’s most heated feuds, the Hudson River rivalry between the On the air: TV: NBCSN. Radio: 830. New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers. Update: The game is the Ducks’ second consecutive showing on national It was during that same campaign — he finished third in Calder Trophy television. ... The Ducks have picked up points in six of their last eight voting for rookie of the year — that Henrique scored the Game 6 games. overtime winner against the Rangers to advance the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final and ensure he would be remembered in rivalry lore. LA Times: LOADED: 01.19.2018 After six full seasons in New Jersey, Henrique was dealt to the Ducks in November, and last week he became acquainted with his new squad’s rivalry with the Kings. When the Ducks and Kings threw down for three fights in the first three minutes, Henrique was reminded of the time his Devils and Rangers had three members of each team punching one another at the opening faceoff. Henrique and the Ducks will play the Kings again Friday, and for the first time at Honda Center. “Those games … you always circle them on the calendar,” said Henrique, who has six goals and four assists in 21 games with the Ducks. “It’s that playoff-type atmosphere from the fans to the ice and it’s always ramped up to another level. “It’s always something you have to be prepared for, but it’s the fun games to play in. It’s exactly what we live for. You’re always looking to step up to that next level and be more intense and play harder and play better. Those games always seem to bring it out in ya.” Since his debut in a Ducks uniform Dec. 1, Henrique has been valuable on both sides of the ice. The 27-year-old solidified the third line and his playmaking skills have lifted Ondrej Kase’s play to new heights. Henrique sees Kase as an impact player, and now that the Czech Republic native has recovered from the flu, they’ve had time to build chemistry. Kase has multi-point games in two of his last three outings, and Henrique scored a nifty wrap-around goal in Wednesday’s victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. “When we acquired [Henrique], we felt that he was a top-level center iceman, and that’s where we’re gonna play him,” coach Randy Carlyle said. “People have played him on the wing; we don’t see him there. “He can play there, yes, and we wouldn’t be adverse to playing him there for a game or a shift or whatever, but the bottom line is we like the ability to have strength down the middle at center ice, and he’s filled in quite well for us. He’s fit in to our group.” Cogliano returns Andrew Cogliano will return to the lineup Friday. never returned to a lineup, but he will Friday against the Kings. The winger’s streak of 830 consecutive games played ended unceremoniously when he was suspended two games for an illegal hit Saturday on Kings rookie Adrian Kempe. Cogliano admitted the hit was late but didn’t feel it warranted a suspension, and that thought was echoed by his peers, many of whom reached out with messages of support. He took comfort in that, and now Cogliano is ready to fill his regular role as left wing on the checking line alongside Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg. “When you sit out, I think you realize how much you miss it and how important it is and how much fun it is to play in this league,” said Cogliano, who signed a three-year extension last week with an annual average value of $3.25 million. “It's a privilege. … I'm at a point now where I think the most important thing is to get back playing and help your team start winning. We're in a big playoff push here and that's all that matters right now.” Cogliano held back tears when discussing the end of his streak, the fourth-longest in NHL history. It was also the longest active streak in the NHL, and he had never before been suspended. He is a four-time nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy for sportsmanship. 1093700 Anaheim Ducks “It’s just a hard game,” Cogliano said. “It’s a tough, physical, emotional series we have with each other. But there’s definitely respect there because we’ve been playing a lot of (those) guys for a long time.” Sparks and fists fly when the Kings and Ducks collide Boll knows fighting is on the decline. The winger is well aware of the danger and injury factor that can come with dropping the gloves. Yet, as he sees it, friction is still inherent when teams battle for space on the ice By ERIC STEPHENS and there’s plenty of it when the Kings and Ducks meet. Sparks are going to fly. PUBLISHED: January 18, 2018 at 5:11 pm As he noted, “There’s a long history between the two teams and that’s UPDATED: January 18, 2018 at 7:48 PM part of it. You take care of business when you have to.” Fighting might not be Gary Bettman’s cup of tea but it can galvanize a team.

“If you’re ever in the locker room during a game or after a game and you ANAHEIM — For a moment, did we really know what was what in last feel the guys really appreciate what you do in going out there, it makes week’s fever-pitched tilt between the Ducks and Kings? To paraphrase you feel good,” Boll added. “It makes the whole team feel good. Guys Elton John, Saturday night really was all right for fighting. really come together when stuff like that happens. It brings guys Jared Boll vs. Kurtis MacDermid. vs. Kevin Bieksa. Nick together.” Ritchie vs. . Get the latest news delivered daily! Those who are convinced that fighting is in sharp decline within the NHL

– and it is – might have been scratching their heads at three bouts that each lasted longer than the four seconds that elapsed on the scoreboard. Orange County Register: LOADED: 01.19.2018 Those who still enjoy them in the sport were in pure bliss. The teams gather again for the second time in six days, with the venue changing to Honda Center for Friday night’s fourth slugfest between the rivals. The last two matchups have seen three fights break out in the opening period. Eventually some hockey was played and each team garnered a win. One would presume that messages have been sent and scores have been settled by now. But it isn’t necessarily about that. “For me, I can’t speak for other guys but it’s really not about personal things,” said Boll, the Ducks’ right wing and a longtime pugilist. “It’s more about the team and what we need to do to get ourselves ready. Stuff like that – obviously you don’t see it that much with three in a row. ”But you can see guys, you see Nicky get into a fight like that, you can just see he’s into the game. He’s in the whole game and plays a great game. Sometimes it gets guys going individually, and as a team.” Each time these teams meet, it is an old-school reminder of how hockey was played years ago, a decade ago, perhaps even decades. Rough stuff not only occurred, it was encouraged. And when it comes to the Kings and Ducks, they’re making it clear that this is now the NHL’s most physical rivalry. Adam Henrique is now indoctrinated. As he watched the three bouts in succession Saturday, the Ducks’ center had “flashbacks” of a March 2012 night at Madison Square Garden where, while a rookie with the New Jersey Devils, three fights with the New York Rangers commenced after the opening faceoff. “Those games, they always have a little extra,” Henrique said. “You circle them on the calendar. It’s that playoff-type atmosphere from the fans, on the ice. And it’s always ramped up to another level. It’s always something you got to be prepared for but it’s always the fun games to play in.” Henrique took it a step further. They’re “exactly what we live for” and they bring out an intensity that makes teams play harder and play better. “Those games always seem to bring it out in you,” he added. The Ducks feel that playing the Kings brings out of the best in them. Maybe the worst as well. Andrew Cogliano got in a rare fight with the Kings’ Oscar Fantenberg back on Nov. 25. And now the mild-mannered winger is coming back from a two-game suspension, the first disciplinary measure of his 11-year career. Cogliano’s decision to apply a high hit to Kings center Adrian Kempe resulted in the first NHL games he has ever missed, a streak of 830 that ended in shocking fashion via suspension. “It’s been a tough couple of days in terms of just different, obviously not playing,” Cogliano said. “It’s something I’m not used to. When you sit out, I think you realize how much you miss and how much the game means to you and how important it is. How much fun it is to play in this league and it’s a privilege. “I think you get a good idea of that, when I wasn’t playing.” But it is the physical style the Ducks and Kings subscribe to that sets the tone. With the Ducks seeking to move into playoff position and the Kings looking to keep theirs, Cogliano said the importance of gaining points only heightens the combative behavior. 1093701 Arizona Coyotes

Arizona Coyotes lose lead late, fall in shootout to Nashville Predators

Staff

Craig Smith scored the deciding goal in the shootout to give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night. Scott Hartnell and Ryan Ellis scored for Nashville, which won its fourth consecutive game. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Perlini scored for Arizona. The Coyotes have lost five straight. In the fourth round of the shootout, Smith was able to beat Arizona’s Antti Raanta with a quick wrist shot low to the glove side. With time winding down in the third, Parlini split a pair of Predators before beating Nashville’s Pekka Rinne with a backhand high to the glove side in the top corner. Rinne finished with 27 saves in regulation and overtime and denied three of four Arizona shootout attempts. Ellis tied it at 2 with 2:36 remaining in the third with a one-timer from the high slot that beat Raanta on the glove side. Arizona challenged the goal, questioning whether Nashville’s Nick Bonino interfered with Raanta. After a short review, the goal was allowed to stand. Raanta made 37 saves in regulation and overtime, but allowed two goals in the shootout. Hartnell scored the game’s first goal with 1:43 remaining in the second period. After taking a stretch pass from Ryan Ellis at the Arizona blue line, Harnell drove in on the right side with Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on his hip. Harnell shielded the puck from Hjalmarsson and moved toward the low slot, where he slid the puck by Raanta along the ice on the glove side. Arizona tied it at 1 with 11.3 remaining in the second on Ekman- Larsson’s eighth goal of the season. From the goal line to the left of the Nashville net, Derek Stepan threw the puck toward the low slot, where Richard Panik spun and sent a backhand shot on goal. Rinne kicked that shot away, but Ekman-Larsson skated in and flipped the rebound by Rinne.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093702 Arizona Coyotes Jordan Martinook: Need to bottle that up and take it on the road with us. @ArizonaCoyotes head to Nashville and St. Louis next. pic.twitter.com/IQHwQzz9Bi Preview: Coyotes at Predators, 5:30 p.m., FOX Sports Arizona “There’s not a ton of games where we’ve been blown out or embarrassed,” Coyotes center Brad Richardson said. “It’s just games where we slip here or there and end up losing the game. It’s a fine line, The Sports Xchange and we just seem to be on the wrong side of it a lot.” Jan 18, 2018 at 12:33p ET Arizona is expected to start Antti Raanta (6-12-4, 2.68 goal-against average, .915 save percentage) in net against Pekka Rinne (21-8-3, 2.43 GAA, .925 save percentage). Rinne hasn’t played since a 2-1 win on Jan. 9 over Edmonton. Injuries are a part of any season. They have hit the Nashville Predators at the midway point of 2017-18, potentially leaving them without their entire first line for Thursday night’s visit from the Arizona Coyotes. foxsportsarizona.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 Fortunately for Nashville (26-11-6), it got plenty of practice at dealing with key injuries during last spring’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals. So if it has to play Arizona without Filip Forsberg (upper-body), Viktor Arvidsson (lower-body) and Ryan Johansen (upper-body), it wouldn’t be ideal by any means, but so be it. “It’s what you have to do. It’s kind of what we talked about all last year during the playoffs,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. “Whoever’s playing, whoever gets the minutes, we’re confident in everybody in this room and we’re going to get the job done. “Obviously, when you’re missing those guys, they’re spectacular and they create a lot of offense for us. But we’ve got a lot of good hockey players in here to step up and take those minutes. It might end up like a one-to-nothing game with those guys filling in those minutes and just working hard.” Which is exactly how Tuesday night’s win over the Vegas Golden Knights played out. Despite getting outshot 43-27 by the Western Conference’s top team, Nashville got a sterling performance from goalie Juuse Saros and a third-period goal from Kevin Fiala to leave the rink with two points. Laviolette’s move to send Saros down to Milwaukee of the AHL during the Predators’ week off paid dividends. He stayed sharp by playing three games in four days and was the best player on the ice on a night when Nashville was in defend mode most of the game. “I always try to improve every day and help the team as much as I can when I get in,” Saros said. “Right now, I’m feeling good, but obviously you can’t get too comfortable.” #Yotes youngsters in for a treat tonight in Nashville, says @jasondemers5: "It's a hell of a barn to play in, so I think it's going to be good for the young guys who haven't played there to see. It can be intimidating, but you've just got to enjoy the moment." pic.twitter.com/KNhjtaA1k1 — FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) January 18, 2018 That could also apply to the Predators when it comes to playing the Coyotes (10-28-8). While Arizona is the NHL’s worst team, it did get the better of Nashville two weeks ago in Glendale, pulling out a 3-2 overtime victory. The Predators led that game late in the third period, but an penalty led to a tying goal that forced extra hockey. Christian Fischer scored the winner for a rare Coyotes victory. The Coyotes are making their first visit of the season to Bridgestone Arena, where they are 0-4-2 in their last six games. They can expect a typically raucous Nashville welcome. “It’s a hell of a barn to play in, so I think it’s going to be good for the young guys who haven’t played there to see,” defenseman Jason Demers told ArizonaCoyotes.com. “It’s fun to play there. It can be intimidating, but you’ve just got to enjoy the moment.” Coach Rick Tocchet said it’s crucial to keep the mistakes to a minimum: “They’re loud, and when they put the pressure on you, you’ve got to make that play under pressure to quiet them a little bit, because if you make mistakes after mistakes they just keep on going and the building gets louder and louder. That’s something good teams can do — they can quiet a crowd by making a really good play here or there under pressure.” The Coyotes are winless in four games (0-1-3) since the victory over Nashville, but they nearly pulled off a comeback win Tuesday night, erasing a 2-0 deficit and forcing overtime before falling 3-2 to San Jose in a shootout. It was its 14th loss in 17 games, four of them in overtime or a shootout. 1093703 Arizona Coyotes

Coyotes surrender lead late, fall in shootout to Predators

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS JANUARY 18, 2018 AT 9:37 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Craig Smith scored the deciding goal in the shootout to give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night. Scott Hartnell and Ryan Ellis scored for Nashville, which won its fourth consecutive game. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Perlini scored for Arizona. The Coyotes have lost five straight. In the fourth round of the shootout, Smith was able to beat Arizona’s Antti Raanta with a quick wrist shot low to the glove side. With time winding down in the third, Parlini split a pair of Predators before beating Nashville’s Pekka Rinne with a backhand high to the glove side in the top corner. Rinne finished with 27 saves in regulation and overtime and denied three of four Arizona shootout attempts. Ellis tied it at 2 with 2:36 remaining in the third with a one-timer from the high slot that beat Raanta on the glove side. Arizona challenged the goal, questioning whether Nashville’s Nick Bonino interfered with Raanta. After a short review, the goal was allowed to stand. Raanta made 37 saves in regulation and overtime, but allowed two goals in the shootout. Hartnell scored the game’s first goal with 1:43 remaining in the second period. After taking a stretch pass from Ryan Ellis at the Arizona blue line, Harnell drove in on the right side with Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on his hip. Harnell shielded the puck from Hjalmarsson and moved toward the low slot, where he slid the puck by Raanta along the ice on the glove side. Arizona tied it at 1 with 11.3 remaining in the second on Ekman- Larsson’s eighth goal of the season. From the goal line to the left of the Nashville net, Derek Stepan threw the puck toward the low slot, where Richard Panik spun and sent a backhand shot on goal. Rinne kicked that shot away, but Ekman-Larsson skated in and flipped the rebound by Rinne. NOTES: Ekman-Larsson has a three-game point-scoring streak. … The Coyotes are 3-17-5 when their opponent scored first this season. … Nashville C Ryan Johansen played, but did not play the third period of Tuesday’s victory over the Vegas Golden Knights after being hit by William Carrier late in the second period. UP NEXT: Coyotes: at St. Louis on Saturday. Predators: host Florida on Saturday.

Arizona Sports LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093704 Arizona Coyotes Wisconsin and St. Louis, where he faced off repeatedly against Clayton Keller and Matthew Tkachuk.

While Mission regularly won Illinois state championships, it was always a Succession plan: Fischer could be Coyotes’ next great power forward goal short of the nation’s elite teams, falling in the late rounds of the Bauer Tournament, Silver Sticks or Nationals. BY CRAIG MORGAN Mission finally broke through in Fischer’s final season by winning the Bauer and national championships. His coach remembers a critical JANUARY 18, 2018 AT 7:09 AM Fischer goal in the semifinals of the Bauer tournament against Team Wisconsin. UPDATED: JANUARY 18, 2018 AT 8:39 AM “It was a 2-on-2 and he was coming down his off-side,” said Chris Michael, a Mission assistant in Fischer’s first two seasons and the head coach for his final four. “His support was coming and the defense allowed GLENDALE, Ariz. — Mike Fischer tried to give his four-year-old son a the zone entry, but the support was behind him so once he got over the gentle nudge into the game he played as a kid. blue line there was a lane and he allowed his support to split the D on a Christian Fischer needed more incentive. net drive. “I brought him to the rink and he wanted nothing to do with hockey,” Mike “His support took a good route that forced the strong-side D back and Fischer said. “He just dropped to the ice so we thought, ‘maybe we’ll wait took the weak side D with him. Christian made a lateral cut to the middle another year.’ and it was explosive. All of the sudden, he’s in the middle of the ice. He froze the goalie and continued laterally to where the arc begins at the “When we brought him back, we coaxed him with video games. To get bottom of the right circle. He held it, held it, and two guys slid into the net him on the ice, the deal was I would give him some quarters to play Pac- trying to block it but he roofed it like he had done it a million times before. Man afterward.” “There was such a high level of hockey IQ and skill on that play that you Fischer doesn’t need those carrots any more. Ever since he worked his just thought, ‘wow.'” way onto the Triple-A Chicago Mission, the Coyotes forward has supplied his own fuel. He won a Midget national championship in his last season That skill attracted the USNDTP, which brought Fischer aboard the same with the Mission. He played for the United States National Team year as Matthew Tkachuk. The Tkachuks’ and Fischer’s friendship had Development Program’s U17 and U18 teams. He scored 40 goals and grown naturally out of previous encounters. It went to another level when had 90 points in one season with the Windsor Spitfires of the the boys became teammates. Hockey League, and he had 20 goals and 47 points in 57 games with the The two families rented a house in Ann Arbor, Michigan where the boys Tucson Roadrunners of the last season. lived under the supervision of one set of parents or the other on a Fischer’s rise through the system was complete when he made the rotating basis while the other returned home to suburban Chicago or St. Coyotes roster out of training camp this season. In 44 games, he is Louis. The sacrifice still astounds Christian, but Mike and Sheryl Fischer second on the team with 12 goals. Five of those have come in the past both work from home and their other kids were older so they had the 11 games. flexibility. Keith Tkachuk was just beginning a scouting stint with the St. Louis Blues so he could also travel with his wife, Chantal, to help raise a “Progress is a good way to describe it,” Fischer, 20, said. “From Day 1 to couple of growing boys. now, I think I’ve gone upward. You can go one of two ways. You can have a long adjustment period or you can focus on making sure you’re “They ate a lot of food. I can tell you that much,” Tkachuk said. playing the right way. Fischer said he often consults Tkachuk for advice on a position the “I know what I’m good at, what I bring to this team, so it’s not so much former Jet, Coyote and Blue perfected, but Tkachuk called it a “huge adding to my repertoire as perfecting what I do.” plus” that Fischer is learning from another power forward and former teammate in Tocchet. What Fischer does is something familiar to coach Rick Tocchet. Tocchet had 440 goals and 952 points in 1,144 career games. He did it by getting “Not everybody can be Clayton Keller or Patrick Kane,” Tkachuk said. dirty. “Christian has really tried to make his own niche. Back when I first started, you could beat a goalie coming down the wing but it’s not going “I’m probably harder on Christian than most guys on our team because I to happen like that any more. In the NHL now, you have to be able to was that player,” Tocchet said. “He’s not pretty, but he works hard. produce goals around the net. “He’s starting to understand what I want from a per se power forward. “You see him around the net or taking the D wide and scoring around the He’s grasping the importance of holding onto pucks, going to the net, paint. He’s learning that ‘if I get to those areas and if I am strong around being a net-front presence, being a better wall guy. There’s not a lot of the net, I’m going to score goals. If I use my body, I’m going to give guys like that in the league that can also skate. If he can perfect those myself more room.’ Every team needs that.” things, he can be a hell of hockey player in the NHL.” Fischer turned sheepish when the topic arose, but it is difficult to ignore Fischer adopted a competitive drive and a willingness to go to the hard his potential place in the succession of Coyotes power forwards. Tkachuk areas a couple years into his sports career as a baseball and hockey is the standard with 323 goals and 623 points in 640 games with the player. It took a little longer to harness those tools. franchise. Shane Doan just retired with 402 goals and 972 points in 1,540 games. Now comes Fischer, who calls both men, as well as his coach, “It was probably in his second year of travel baseball and we were his mentors. beating up on a team pretty good down at Burlington Central,” said his Bartlett Silver Hawks baseball coach, Dan Koss. “When you’re up on a “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to replace Shane Doan, but it’s a focus of team 10, 11, 12, 13 runs, you back off. mine to be that next power forward,” Fischer said. “I’ve had a pretty good scenario where I’ve had Keith, Shane and now Toc to learn from. “It’s late in the game, I’m coaching at third and he’s on third base so I tell Hopefully, I can grow into that type of player they were one day.” him, ‘no passed balls, we’re not stealing, we’re going to get in and out of this game.’ He says, ‘OK, coach.’ Coyotes at Predators “Well, there’s a passed ball and Christian goes home. It was his first When: 6 p.m., Thursday reaction as a competitor. The catcher comes back to the plate and instead of avoiding the tag, Christian just steamrolls the guy and gets Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville ejected. He didn’t even try to go around him. He was just a rhinoceros. Radio: 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station He went right through him.” TV: FOX Sports Arizona Mike Fischer was angry with his son and took Christian home while Koss apologized profusely to the opposing coach. A decade later, the story brings a smile to Christian’s face. Arizona Sports LOADED: 01.19.2018 “Killed him,” Fischer said, joking. “Highlight of my career.” While Fischer was learning to regulate his adrenaline, he was also rounding into a bona fide prospect. He played six seasons with the Mission, which meant traveling for better competition to Canada, Detroit, 1093705 Arizona Coyotes

Coyotes’ Rick Tocchet on Duclair’s departure: ‘It just didn’t click’

BY TYLER DRAKE JANUARY 18, 2018 AT 6:00 AM

It’s been a week since the Arizona Coyotes traded away forward Anthony Duclair to the Chicago Blackhawks, and while the initial returns are still being evaluated, Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet feels the move was the right thing for both sides. “I’ve been involved in the league for 28 years and there’s always times when a guy needs to go somewhere else and I think Duke was that guy,” Tocchet told Burns & Gambo Wednesday on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. “It just didn’t click. He’s a great kid, I love him to death, he’s a great kid. “The consistency level, maybe he’ll find it with another team. He’s going to Chicago, they have a strong leadership group there and I think Duke needs that.” The Coyotes acquired Duclair in March of 2015 from the New York Rangers in a trade that included defenseman Keith Yandle. Over the course of three seasons, Duclair played in 172 games for Arizona, scoring 34 goals with 40 assists. During his time with the club this season, Duclair was scratched from the lineup numerous times, sparking reports that he had requested a trade. He played in 33 of the Coyotes’ 43 games and was fourth on the team in goals scored. Coming over as part of the four-person trade for Duclair was forward Richard Panik. The 26-year-old played the last three seasons in Chicago. Before joining the Coyotes, Panik had six goals and 16 points through 37 games. He has one assist and two penalty minutes in three games with Arizona. When asked if he felt Panik could help out the team, Tocchet was very positive, but also explained where he needs work. “Yeah he can, I think he struggled this year and there’s been glimpses the last couple of games for me is that he’s got some talent, he’s got some stickiness to his game, grit,” Tocchet said. “Chicago plays a little more east-west than us and I got to get him to play a little more north- south but he’s definitely got the potential and the talent to turn this thing around.” And while the Coyotes made headlines for their recent move, it wouldn’t be surprising to see their name in more reports before the Feb. 26 trade deadline. “We’re always trying to improve the hockey club, (John Chayka) is always listening to people,” Tocchet said. “Whatever we can do to get the type of players that want to play this style and system to win, John’s always going to listen and try to make deals.”

Arizona Sports LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093706 Boston Bruins Marchand sealed the game with an empty-netter at 18:59 of the third. The outcome could have been far tighter.

At 14:24 of the third, John Tavares scored after a Charlie McAvoy Patrice Bergeron does the trick in win vs. Islanders turnover to make it a 4-2 game. The Islanders were a hair away from closing to one goal. Brock Nelson slipped behind the defenders to get a breakaway chance on Khudobin. But the backup challenged Nelson’s By Fluto Shinzawa shot and snatched the forward’s riser with his glove at 17:38. After making the stop, Khudobin punted the puck away. JANUARY 19, 2018 “The save was good,” Khudobin said. “Two minutes left, and it kept it 4-2, which was important. I don’t know why I did that, to be honest. But I did it.” NEW YORK — Patrice Bergeron was very good in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Montreal. More scenes from the game He had two assists, including a slick cross-crease dish to set up David Brad Marchand, who sealed the game with an empty-netter in the third Pastrnak. He won 14 of 25 faceoffs. Bergeron logged 17:16 of ice time, period, knocks the Islanders’ Mathew Barzal to the ice during the second including 1:27 on the penalty kill, most of any Black-and-Gold forward. period in New York. But there was one statistical oddity. For the first time since Oct. 22, 2016, Brad Marchand, who sealed the game with an empty-netter in the third Bergeron failed to land a single puck on net. He had gone 114 straight period, knocks the Islanders’ Mathew Barzal to the ice during the second games with recording at least one shot on goal. period in New York. One night later, Bergeron made sure it was a temporary blip. Fluto Shinzawa Not only did the No. 1 center fire four pucks on goal, three of them Boston Globe LOADED: 01.19.2018 slipped past Jaroslav Halak in the Bruins’ 5-2 win over the Islanders at Barclays Center. Bergeron started his goal-scoring barrage at 13:41 of the first with a five- on-five goal. At 13:49 of the second, after picking up the rebound of a blast, Bergeron pumped a power-play strike past Halak to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead. Bergeron completed the hat trick at 3:45 of the third with a hand from Brad Marchand. “He’s so consistent,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “I thought he was very good [Wednesday] night. I didn’t realize he didn’t get a shot. He made a tremendous play on Pasta’s goal. You can’t say enough about his ability to contribute every night. You talk about some guys, when they don’t have it offensively, to bring something else. “But he brings it every night no matter what. It’s nice to see him get rewarded. He’s shooting the puck. They’re all threats on that line. If teams are thinking they’re going to take away Marshy or Pasta, then he gets available. It makes it a nice three-way attack where anybody can score.” The Bruins did not have their best legs early. They were playing for the second straight night. The Islanders struck first at 7:35 of the opening period after a Brandon Carlo turnover led to a Jordan Eberle goal. Bergeron completes hat trick But the Bruins settled into their rhythm, rode Bergeron’s hot stick, and counted on Anton Khudobin to make timely saves. They are now 11-0-4 in their last 15 games. “He’s a small sample of our whole team,” Krug said of Bergeron. “We produce offense from the defensive side of pucks. We go in on odd-man rushes. We have the ability to make plays because we have high-end players. That’s a perfect example of that.” On his line, Bergeron’s shot is the least dangerous of the three. It is not a condemnation. It’s just that his wingmen can fire the puck with special skill. When he gets open at the left circle, Pastrnak can bring the hammer down on his one-timer. Marchand’s snap shot, especially when he delivers it off the rush, sizzles off his stick. “Last game was one of those games where I was trying to find my wingers,” Bergeron said. “You want to get some shots on net. That’s the only way you can really score goals. Tonight was one of those where I was getting the looks again. I was trying to take them.” While Bergeron’s shot is not as dimensional as those of his linemates, he puts the puck on net with purpose. His best attempt on Thursday, ironically, was an off-wing snapper that sailed wide of the net. The shots that slipped past Halak were not of the smoking variety. But they did the job. In the first, when Marchand and Bergeron went on the attack, the center did not give Halak any time to slide over to his right to get in front of his shot. In the second, after Adam Pelech blocked Krug’s blast, Bergeron swatted in the rebound before the Islanders’ penalty killers could reset their box. Bergeron’s third, a spin-o-rama through traffic, had eyes. “When he’s playing the way he is right now, it’s just fun to watch,” Marchand said. “It’s fun to be on the ice with him. You know he’s going to make a play every time he gets the puck. You can’t give him enough credit. He’s an incredible player.” 1093707 Boston Bruins and bodies in the lanes. But that’s one adjustment we have talked about if we had to use them on a regular basis.”

Miller out sick again Zdeno Chara shrugs off monster shift vs. Montreal Defenseman Kevan Miller was unavailable against the Islanders because of an illness. Miller also was too sick to play against Montreal By Fluto Shinzawa Wednesday. With Miller out, the Bruins tapped McQuaid to dress on the third pairing for the second straight night. JANUARY 18, 2018 “Very solid,” Cassidy said of McQuaid, who played for the first time since breaking his right leg Oct. 19. “I thought he handled the puck very well, especially at the offensive blue line. I thought that’s where the rust would NEW YORK — Zdeno Chara had a long way to skate. be, not having pressure around him. But he handled it very well. It was the second period, meaning he was on the opposite end of the TD “Penalty kill is one of his fortes. Obviously delivered there. Solid Garden ice from his bench. But even if the penalty kill happened in the defensively. Very pleased with his game.” first or third period, with his bench just a few strides from his left-side position, Chara would not have considered retreating for safety. It is unknown whether Miller will be well enough to travel to Montreal. On Saturday, the archrivals play for the third time in an eight-day span. His job was to kill all of Charlie McAvoy’s penalty and most of Brandon Carlo’s infraction. Greasy spoon “I was tired,” conceded Chara, whose shift lasted 4:18. “Nothing that Ryan Spooner scored a net-front goal at 9:47 of the second after a Jason didn’t happen before. You feel you’ve been there for a while. It takes Chimera turnover. It was Spooner’s sixth goal in his last eight games. “I some energy out of you. just like the fact that he competed for the puck,” Cassidy said. “That’s a greasy goal. If we had said that about Ryan Spooner. . . that’s the part of “At the same time, that’s my job. I train to do that. Those are the times the game we’re encouraging out of him. Score some greasy goals. He’ll and moments where I absolutely love to be on the ice. Whatever the get his share of nice goals. He’ll make his nice plays. But get some team needs, I’m willing to give.” greasy goals. I think he’s done that. He’s done a real good job of it. You’ve got to tip your hat to him.” . . . Frank Vatrano and Paul Postma At 6:40 of the second period of Wednesday night’s game against were the healthy scratches. Montreal at TD Garden, Chara started his fourth shift of the period. At 8:33, McAvoy was nabbed for holding. Even though Chara had been on Fluto Shinzawa the ice for nearly two minutes, he is responsible for starting every penalty kill alongside Carlo. The problems were compounded when, at 9:24, Carlo was caught for slashing. Boston Globe LOADED: 01.19.2018 Chara was down both his five-on-five and penalty-killing partners. But he stayed on the ice, with assistance from Adam McQuaid, to wipe out Montreal’s two-man advantage. At 10:58 of the period, with 24 seconds remaining on Carlo’s penalty, Chara finally said “job done.” He relinquished his clutch on the left-side position, handing it off to Torey Krug to complete the kill. The Canadiens, who could have turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, never came close to scoring. The Bruins wound up beating their rivals, 4- 1. “The guys who are on the ice, that’s our job to prevent them from getting a goal and some good chances,” Chara said. “For the most part, I thought we did a really good job to keep them on the outside. “When you come to the bench, you know that you gave your team a good chance. At that point of the game, it’s a turning point. They can easily get two goals. That would obviously be a different story. “That’s my job. That’s our job, to make sure we do our best to prevent that from happening.” Chara played a game-high 25:32 in Thursday’s 5-2 win, including 3:36 on the kill. Short subject Through 43 games, Chara is averaging 3:45 of shorthanded ice time per game. It is the second-highest total in the league after Ron Hainsey (4:30). The Bruins are comfortable feeding Chara that much time on the kill because of his strengths. He does not see regular power-play time. Chara’s reach, smarts, strength, and experience make him a monster for opposing power plays to tackle. But Chara’s increased shorthanded responsibilities (his third-highest average workload as a Bruin) are partly due to the team’s limited left-side shorthanded options: Krug and Matt Grzelcyk. Krug is averaging 12 seconds of PK time per game, mostly at the end of kills as they transition to five-on-five. Grzelcyk has logged 35 seconds of total shorthanded time in 25 games. The undersized defensemen are simply not built to defend power-play attackers. If the Bruins were to increase either of their shorthanded time, it would require the entire unit to play more of a puck-pursuit style. Coach Bruce Cassidy would consider it a big ask of his forwards. “The adjustment we would make is to be a little more aggressive when they’re out there — use that to their strength,” Cassidy said. “That’s tough in-game in the middle of a kill when our forwards are used to having a certain level of structure with our big-bodied guys to get sticks 1093708 Boston Bruins

Anton Khudobin will be Bruins’ goalie vs. Islanders

By Fluto Shinzawa JANUARY 18, 2018

NEW YORK — Anton Khudobin will be in net for the Bruins Thursday night against the Islanders at Barclays Center. The Bruins are riding a 10-0-4 streak following Wednesday night’s 4-1 win over Montreal in Boston. Defenseman Kevan Miller will miss his second straight game because of an illness. Miller remains in Boston. It is unknown whether he will be well enough to travel to Montreal. The rivals will play for the third time in eight days Saturday at the Bell Centre. With Miller unavailable, Adam McQuaid will dress for the second straight game. Assessing McQuaid’s play Wednesday, coach Bruce Cassidy said, “Very solid. I thought he handled the puck very well, especially at the offensive blue line. I thought that’s where the rust would be, not having pressure around him. But he handled it very well. “Penalty kill is one of his fortes. Obviously delivered there. Solid defensively. Very pleased with his game.” Projected lineup Forward lines Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak Jake DeBrusk-David Krejci-Ryan Spooner Danton Heinen-Riley Nash-David Backes Tim Schaller-Sean Kuraly-Noel Acciari Defensive pairings Zdeno Chara-Charlie McAvoy Torey Krug-Brandon Carlo Matt Grzelcyk-Adam McQuaid Goalies Anton Khudobin Tuukka Rask Islanders at a glance ■ When, where: Thursday, 7 p.m., at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. ■ TV, radio: NESN, WBZ-FM (98.5). ■ Goals: Anders Lee 26, John Tavares 24, Mathew Barzal 16. ■ Assists: Josh Bailey 38, Barzal 31, Tavares 30. ■ Goaltending: Jaroslav Halak (13-13-2, 3.22 GAA), Thomas Greiss (10- 6-2, 3.89 GAA). ■ Head to head: This is the third and final meeting. The Bruins won the first two. ■ Miscellany: The Islanders have allowed the most goals (168) in the NHL . . . The Islanders have only two regulation wins since Dec. 1 . . . Bailey (lower body) has missed the last four games and is questionable. Fluto Shinzawa

Boston Globe LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093709 Boston Bruins their weak showing in Boston Wednesday — after which players and press, along with coach Claude Julien, questioned the team’s desire — it’ll be interesting to see what the Canadiens bring to the ice tomorrow Bruins notebook: Ryan Spooner delights Bruce Cassidy with greasy goal night at the Bell Centre.

Stephen Harris Boston Herald LOADED: 01.19.2018 Friday, January 19, 2018

NEW YORK — Bruins forward Ryan Spooner has been credited with six hits the past two games. That was a month’s worth for him a couple of years back. But there’s no doubt Spooner has grown substantially as an all-round player. And coach Bruce Cassidy was delighted by the second-period goal he scored last night in the B’s 5-2 victory over the Islanders. “I just like that he competed for the puck and scored a goal,” said Cassidy. “That’s a greasy goal. . . . That’s then part of the game we’re encouraging from him: Score some greasy goals. “He’s going to score some nice goals, he’ll make his nice plays, but get some greasy goals, too. He’s done that. You’ve got to tip your hat to him.” Off a faceoff in the right circle of the New York zone, David Krejci nudged a puck to his left, partway toward the net. Spooner was there, battled for the loose rubber and gave a little backhanded rap at the puck that somehow slipped under Jaroslav Halak at 9:47. Looking good, Adam Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller (illness) stayed home, missing his second game. And Adam McQuaid was back in for his second. McQuaid was good Wednesday in his return to action after missing 36 games with a broken leg (and the lack of an open spot for him to fill in the lineup), playing 15:12. Last night, his ice time jumped up to 20:07. “Very solid,” said Cassidy of McQuaid. “I thought he handled the puck very well, especially at the offensive blue line. I thought that’s where the rust would be, to be honest, not having pressure around him (in practice). But he handled it very well. The penalty kill is one of his fortes, obviously, and he delivered there. (He was) solid defensively. (I was) very pleased with his game.” . . . Fans may have noticed that the Bruins, after an earlier flirtation with those delayed entries on power plays — a defenseman skating up from behind to take a drop pass in neutral ice — have not been employing this method lately. “We went back to our speed entries,” said Cassidy. “I just thought it’s better suited for us, until teams start taking that away. Our entries have been pretty good.” The B’s scored on their lone power play last night. Beat the streak Numerous Bruins are riding outstanding hot streaks. Winger Brad Marchand, with a goal and an assist against Montreal and a goal and two assists last night, has totaled 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his last seven games. Over his last 22 games, Marchand had produced 12 goals and 19 assists. Patrice Bergeron has been hot, too, with last night’s three-goal game giving him nine goals and five assists in his last eight games. Winger David Backes has been piling up the points, with six goals and eight assists in his previous 13 games, though he was off the scoresheet last night. . . . Old friend Johnny Boychuk, now 33, remains sidelined and on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury, but he’s close to a return. Rookie star on Island Folks around the Islanders are touting the immensely talented 20-year- old Mathew Barzal for the Calder Trophy, and they have a pretty good point. He is the No. 1 rookie scorer in the NHL, with 16 goals and 32 assists, with an impressive plus-6 rating. The 6-foot Barzal is already one of the most dynamic and entertaining players in the league — and, as fans know too well, was drafted right after the B’s selected Zach Senyshyn and Jake Zboril. . . . After the game the Bruins flew back to Montreal, where they will try to complete a three-game sweep of the Habs in an eight-day span. After 1093710 Boston Bruins Boston Herald LOADED: 01.19.2018

Patrice Bergeron nets three in Bruins’ 5-2 win over Islanders

Stephen Harris Thursday, January 18, 2018

NEW YORK — The Bruins, and Patrice Bergeron, just keep making it look easy. The B’s have now taken points in their last 15 games (11-0-4), after last night’s very solid 5-2 victory over the banged-up Islanders at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The bulk of the damage for the Bruins was done by Bergeron, who registered his second hat trick in less than two weeks. “I was getting the looks again, and I was trying to take them,” said Bergeron. “I don’t know the stats the last few years, but I feel like I’m shooting just as much. I’m getting some better looks. Brad (Marchand) is finding me in the slot. That being said, the puck is going in. Sometimes it doesn’t, right now it is, so I’m going to try and keep shooting and keep trying to find the back of the net.” Bergeron capped a hat trick (No. 19) during a delayed penalty call at 3:45 of the third. Marchand drew the penalty with a nice spin move down right wing, incurring a trip from defenseman Nick Leddy. He then got the puck into the slot to Bergeron, whose turnaround shot hit something in front and went in. Ryan Spooner (No. 7) also scored for the Bruins, and Marchand hit an empty net with 1:01 left off an unselfish feed from David Krejci. Goalie Anton Khudobin was very good early and fine all night, improving to 10-2-4 this season. “We have a lot of fun,” said Marchand of linemate Bergeron. “It’s been a long time together and a lot of years building that chemistry. When he’s playing the way he is right now, it’s just fun to watch. It’s fun to be on the ice with him. You know he’s going to make a play every time he gets the puck. You can’t give him enough credit. He’s an incredible player.” Not unexpectedly, the Islanders came out pressing hard, carrying the play for most of the first half of the opening period. Khudobin recorded some nice saves, getting himself right into the flow of play. But at 7:35, the B’s goalie didn’t have much chance after defenseman Brandon Carlo made an attempt to drop a pass to Torey Krug but simply lost the puck in the right circle. Isles star rookie Mathew Barzal accepted the gift and then fed a quick pass into mid-slot to an uncovered Jordan Eberle. The ex-Oiler didn’t miss, snapping a forehander past Khudobin’s glove. But the B’s came right back and tied the game on Bergeron’s first, a laser wrist shot from the hash that rang in off the left post. “We kept playing our game,” said Khudobin. “It’s a 60-plus minute game. We can’t be thinking about, ‘Oh, we’re down one goal, the game is over.’ We have to keep playing. That’s what we did.” The B’s dominated Period 2, starting with a backhander slid in by Ryan Spooner at 9:47. The B’s then cashed in on the game’s first power play at 13:49, stretching their lead to 3-1. Krug let go a hard slapper from mid-slot. The puck was blocked in front and caromed ideally to Bergeron, who wasted no time sending a quick forehander past Jaroslav Halak. Then it was Bergeron again early in the third to complete the hat trick and make it 4-1. In the final minutes, John Tavares and Marchand (No. 20) swapped goals as the B’s wrapped up the win and headed back to Montreal to see the Canadiens again tomorrow night. The B’s will be hoping Bergeron, Marchand and David Pastrnak stay hot. “He’s so consistent,” said coach Bruce Cassidy of Bergeron. “You can’t say enough about his ability to contribute every night. He brings it every night. It’s nice to see him getting rewarded. They’re all threats on that line. If teams think they’re going to take away Marchie or Pasta, then he’s available. It makes it a nice three-way attack where anybody can score.”

1093711 Boston Bruins

Patrice Bergeron, Bruins continue red hot roll

Stephen Harris Thursday, January 18, 2018

NEW YORK — The Bruins just keep making it look easy. The B’s have now taken points in their last 15 games (11-0-4) after a very solid 5-2 victory over the banged-up Islanders at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center Thursday night The bulk of the damage for the Bruins was done by center Patrice Bergeron, who registered his second hat trick in less than two weeks. Bergeron capped his scoring night with goal No. 19 during a delayed penalty call at 3:45 of the third. Brad Marchand drew the penalty call with a nice spin move down right wing, incurring a trip from D-man Nick Leddy. He then got the puck into the slot to Bergeron, whose turnaround shot hit something in front and went in. Ryan Spooner (7) also scored for the Bruins, and Marchand (No. 20) hit an empty net with 1:01 left off an unselfish feed from Dave Krejci. Goalie Anton Khudobin was very good early and fine all night, as he improved to 10-2-4 this season.

Boston Herald LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093712 Boston Bruins

Julien thankful for B's video tribute, 'happy he can move on'

By Joe Haggerty January 18, 2018 1:47 AM

BOSTON – It was the final piece of closure for former Bruins coach Claude Julien when he made his return to TD Garden for the first time as the bench boss for the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. Julien stood on the visiting bench, watched a first period video tribute of appreciation for his 10 years guiding the Bruins and then received the warm, thankful ovation from the B’s fans that still very much appreciate his efforts that resulted in a 2011 Stanley Cup title. Unfortunately for him and the Canadiens he also presided over a lifeless, limp effort from his Montreal club in a 4-1 loss to the Bruins where his team simply couldn’t derive any emotion or juice from his return to Boston. Julien said in both French and English that that his Habs simply “laid an egg” on the road, and that was disappointing for him given that Montreal already has its back against the wall for a possible playoff spot. Instead Julien’s biggest bright spot in the game turned out to be the video tribute from the Bruins midway through the first period, for which he was greatly appreciative. “It’s always something that you kind of dread a little bit because it’s a little emotional, and at the same time [you’re] trying to keep your emotions intact there so you can coach a game and stuff like that. But, you know, I appreciate what they did for me,” said Julien following his second loss to the Bruins in five days. “As I said, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about this organization that gave me the opportunity to spend 10 years here. At the same time I’m kind of happy it’s over so we can move on now, but that doesn’t mean you forget what’s happened here. It’s always going to be with you. But now I’m in another chapter of my coaching career, and I’ve got to think about that.” Julien’s counterpart, Bruce Cassidy, called the video tribute a “classy move” by the Bruins organization after the game had been settled, and there’s no doubting it was the right move for a coach that won over 400 games during his 10 years leading the Bruins. It was also the final chapter in his Bruins book as Julien now has completely moved on to his new gig guiding the Canadiens where it seems like his work is most definitely cut out for him.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093713 Boston Bruins

Bruins take down Islanders, extend point streak to 15 games

By Joe Haggerty January 18, 2018 10:21 PM

GOLD STAR: Who else but Patrice Bergeron? The Bruins center finishes with three goals and his second hat trick in a span of six games, and now has 11 goals scored in his last 11 games during a wicked goal-scoring spree. Bergeron clearly wasn’t just about the goals as he also finished with four shots on net and won 12-of-18 face-offs in his 15:39 of ice time, but it’s amazing how he’s been able to get into so many great scoring positions while always facing the other team’s best defensive players. It speaks to just how good he is when he gets those chances in the slot, and how good both Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are at getting the puck to him in the spots where he can do his offensive damage. Bergeron now has 19 goals on the season and continues to roll out some serious offensive numbers for a Bruins team that’s just destroying their opponents. Bergeron is the first Bruins player to score two hat tricks in the span of six games since Rick Tocchet did it in five games back in 1996 for the Black and Gold. BLACK EYE: The Barclays Center shouldn’t be housing NHL hockey games, and thankfully won’t be in the near future when the Isles move out of Brooklyn. That being said, it had to demoralize whatever fans have made the move to Brooklyn to see so many Bruins hats get tossed on the ice from Boston fans after Bergeron scored his third goal of the game. The Islanders games have always felt like de facto home games for the Black and Gold given the huge contingent of B’s fans that make the trip to New York for these games. But it’s all the more of a gut punch when it turns into those road warrior Bruins fans loudly and animatedly celebrating goals, wins and hat tricks in front of the Islanders players and coaches. That’s a tough spot for them to be in during what’s supposed to be a strong home ice presence, but that’s life at a Barclays Center that makes me pine for Nassau Coliseum. TURNING POINT: The Bruins gave up the first goal of the game on a bad Brandon Carlo turnover in the D-zone, and it could have gone against them in the second night of a back-to-back on the road. But the Bruins dug in, reversed the momentum and instead found the Bergeron line to lead the way with their first goal scored in the game. After that they just continued to pour on the hard work, the offense and the Bergeron goals as he scored three overall and the Bruins rode the momentum wave into five goals and a strong finish in the third period. In two straight games the Bruins have given up the first goal, and it doesn’t even cause them to bat an eyelash. HONORABLE MENTION: On the second night of a back-to-back game Zdeno Chara logged 25:32 of ice time, blocked four shots including a couple during a penalty kill that left him shaking his right hand in pain on the bench and threw three hits while holding the high-powered Islanders to just a couple of goals in the game. It wasn’t a particularly dazzling night of work for the 6-foot-9 defenseman, but the Isles really had limited offensive looks thanks to Chara playing big, strong and powerful in the defensive zone. The big ice time number is perhaps most impressive of all coming after Chara also played a big role in Boston’s win over the Habs at the Garden on Wednesday night. We’re still a long way away from Chara proving he can do this kind of thing night after night in the playoffs as a 40-year-old, but he showed a little something on Thursday night. BY THE NUMBERS: 15 – the number of consecutive games with a point for the Bruins as they’ve posted an 11-0-4 record over those games, and matched a 15-game point streak from the 2011-12 season in the year after they won the Cup. QUOTE TO NOTE: “I like the way we closed out the game in the third period. In a back-to-back there were issues at the beginning and ending of the game, and we fought through it and didn’t let the game get away from us. In the third period in their building they were going to make a push, and I thought we were really, really good in terms of generating the offense and keeping the puck away from the front of the net. I was proud of the guys for that. That was a good, strong finish.” –Bruce Cassidy to NESN postgame about what we liked most in the 5-2 win over the Isles.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093714 Boston Bruins

Bergeron notches hat trick as Bruins defeat Islanders, 5-2

By Associated Press January 18, 2018 8:32 PM

NEW YORK - Patrice Bergeron scored three goals to lead Boston to a 5- 2 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night, giving the Bruins at least a point for the 15th consecutive game. Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists as Boston improved to 11-0-4 since its last regulation loss Dec. 14 against Washington - its best stretch since going 15-0-1 from March 2-30, 2014. Ryan Spooner had a goal and an assist, and Anton Khudobin stopped 22 shots. Jordan Eberle and John Tavares scored for New York, which has dropped seven of 10 - with each of the losses coming in regulation. Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves while facing fewer than 35 shots for the first time in his last 11 games. Bergeron completed his third career hat trick - just 12 days after a four- goal, five-point night at home against Carolina - when he took a pass from Marchand, spun and fired the puck in from the left circle at 3:45 of the third period. It was his 19th goal of the season. Tavares pulled the Islanders within two with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining with his 25th goal. Marchand capped the scoring with his 20th with just over a minute to go. Boston won for the second straight night after giving up the first goal of the game in the first period. The Bruins did the same thing in a 4-1 win at home against Montreal on Wednesday night. In this one, they took control with two goals in the second period and sealed it with two more in the third. Spooner put Boston ahead 2-1 near the midpoint of the second. Off a faceoff in the Islanders' zone to Halak's left, Spooner backhanded the puck past the goalie for his seventh at 9:47. Just 15 seconds after New York's Anders Lee was sent off for tripping, Bergeron extended the Bruins' lead to 3-1. After Torey Krug's initial shot went off Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech's leg, Bergeron got the puck on the right side and beat Halak for his 18th of the season with 6:11 left in the middle period. Krug got his 200th career assist. Eberle got the Islanders on the scoreboard 7:35 into the game. Mathew Barzal intercepted Brandon Carlo's pass in the Bruins' zone and passed to a streaking Eberle, who beat Khudobin from the inside edge of the right circle for his 15th. Barzal got his 32nd assist and 47th point - both tops among all NHL rookies. The Bruins tied it with 6:19 left in the first when Bergeron took a pass from Marchand and fired it past Halak from the inside edge of the right circle.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093715 Boston Bruins

McQuaid makes impact in return to B's lineup after lengthy absence

By Joe Haggerty January 18, 2018 6:08 PM

BOSTON – Adam McQuaid had to wait months to get healthy and weeks to finally push back into the lineup once he was over his broken leg, but that was all in the rear view mirror when he made his return to the B’s lineup on Wednesday night. McQuaid was his solid, simple self on the ice in Boston’s 4-1 humbling of the Montreal Canadiens at TD Garden, and immediately made an impact with his size, strength, physicality and penalty killing in the win. Afterward McQuaid was happy with the plus-1 rating in 15:12 of ice time while working mostly with rookie Matt Grzelcyk, and he even managed to get four pucks on net while playing assertive, aggressive hockey in the O-Zone. All in all it was a strong return after missing the past 36 games with a broken leg, and it was a much needed dose of again feeling like he’s a part of the team for the selfless, hard-working McQuaid. “I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just went with the first shift and then the second, and just went down from there. I wanted to try to keep things really simple, Grizz [Matt Grzelcyk] made life pretty easy to play with…he played really well,” said McQuaid. “All the guys did, so it was nice to be back and be a part of the win, I’m happy to be back. “It’s nice to be in those situations – you don’t want to be – to be put in that situation. I think guys thrive off of wanting to kill that and be in those situations. Even though I was a little winded at the end of it, it was a good feeling for sure.” The part that winded McQuaid was killing off a key 5-on-3 Canadiens power play in a tight, one goal game in the second period. McQuaid was second only to Zdeno Chara with his 1:34 of shorthanded ice time in the win over the Bruins, and the PK is clearly a situation where the rich get richer when the shot-blocking, rugged McQuaid draws back into the fold with Kevan Miller “under the weather” this week. “We did a good job, real good job [on the penalty kill]. It doesn’t surprise me,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “Adam [McQuaid] is very good on the kill. We’ve said that all along, that’s one area we miss when he is out of the lineup.” Now McQuaid will continue knocking any residual rust off by again drawing into Boston’s lineup on Thursday night in Brooklyn as Miller was left behind in Boston, and a respected B’s veteran is finally getting some run after a long wait.

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Morning Skate: PK Subban rightly recognizes O'Ree as a hockey pioneer

By Joe Haggerty January 18, 2018 4:12 PM

Here are all the hockey links from around the world, and what I’m reading, while wondering when my video tribute is coming. *Great interview with PK Subban, who appropriately lauds Willie O’Ree for his trailblazing, pioneer accomplishment of breaking through the NHL’s color barrier 60 years ago today. It was very cool that O’Ree did it with the Bruins and even cooler that he was in Boston last night from the Bruins-Habs game at TD Garden. *Speaking of the Canadiens, old friend Joe Morrow decided to show the Canadiens digital people around Southie this week. That was his big accomplishment in these last two Bruins-Habs games. *The Winnipeg Jets are having some big success this season, but they’ve also got some serious financial considerations coming up. *The Colorado Avalanche continue to see attendance issues in their building, but at least there’s a reasonably better product on the ice. *What is the value for power forward Patrick Maroon on the trade market as a rental? It certainly matters who is asking. *Jack Johnson and John Tortorella are talking out their issues after it surfaced that the Columbus D-man wants a trade out of town. *With Victor Hedman injured, it looks like young Tampa Bay D-man Slater Koekkoek is finally going to get a featured look with the Lightning. Per Elliotte Friedman, this is a player that the Bruins have eyed in trade possibilities in the recent past. *For something completely different: Liam Neeson is open to returning as Qui Gon-Jinn, which adds another interesting piece to a standalone movie for Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093717 Boston Bruins David Krejci certainly had his moments of frustration as a creative offensive player dealing with Julien in their long time working together, and once again he stepped up as well vs. the Habs. Krejci finished with a Haggerty: Longtime Julien targets get last laugh in Claude's return goal and two points along with a team-best plus-2. He also absolutely dominated in the face-off circle with a 16-for-20 performance and crushed young players Drouin and Jacob De La Rose. By Joe Haggerty Judging by his recent, pretty disconnected comments about seeing Julien behind the Montreal bench, it’s fair to say that Tuukka Rask was another January 18, 2018 3:38 PM Bruin not overly worked up about last season’s coaching change. Rask wasn’t exactly facing wall-to-wall challenges from a pop-gun Montreal

offense that only managed to scratch out 22 shots on net, but he stopped BOSTON – The lack of energy, emotion and urgency from the Montreal 21 of them while standing tall as Boston killed a 5-on-3 power play in the Canadiens in their coach’s return to Boston on Wednesday night second period. revealed some things about that group of players. It also once again Rask improved to 13-0-2 in his past 15 decisions dating to Nov. 29 and confirmed the particular brand of nowhere that Claude Julien’s Habs are has surpassed Andrei Vasilevskiy (13-0-1 from Oct. 9 – Nov. 16) for the destined for this season. longest such run by a goaltender this season. So, Wednesday night’s On the other side, it was also mighty telling which Bruins players stepped showing in Julien’s return was yet another example of a Bruins player up and made a major impact in the 4-1 victory over Julien and his hated who appeared happy to make sure the coach’s much-hyped return was Habs at TD Garden. cloaked in defeat. Almost to a man, it was the Bruins who faced the most criticism and Just don’t expect any of them to publicly gloat about it, or hint that there scrutiny under Julien in Boston, who rose up and did the most damage might have been some motivation with Julien on the other side. against the Habs on a night their coach hoped for a triumphant return. “Gain as many points as you can. They’re all important games, especially Perhaps nobody in a Bruins uniform had a rockier road with Julien than divisional matchups,” said Rask. “You try to get points like we have. Still Ryan Spooner, the speedy, skilled center who was never tough enough, a lot of games left, so trying to keep our game the way it’s going. Our aggressive enough or good enough at the little things to satisfy his effort and battle have always been there. Execution sometimes is not demanding, old-school coach. there, but I think that’s what it all comes down to. Just effort, battle level Some of that was clearly on Spooner as he developed his game in fits and how well your head is in the game…a lot of it is just being a smart and starts in the NHL, but some of that was absolutely on a coach who hockey player. never truly connected with the player, or gave him the room to grow and “You know, you understand what you do right and what you do wrong develop his confidence. There were many instances where Julien simply and then you correct the mistakes. Then you go out there and execute decided a player couldn’t help his team, and that would be that. In many them. I mean it’s pretty simple to say it, but I think the guys we have here instances, the former Bruins coach was spot-on in his determination, but are really smart hockey players. They understand.” there were many examples of speed, skill players such as Spooner where he was blind to their potential. The “effort” and “battle level” Rask was referring to is something that was lamented as missing many, many times in Julien’s final couple of years in It’s been a different story under Bruce Cassidy, who has brought out the Boston. It clearly went AWOL for the Habs on Wednesday night in a best in Spooner this season as evidenced by his game-winning goal game that should have been emotional and urgent. against Julien and the Habs Wednesday. The goal gives the red-hot Spooner three in his past four games and has him on a pace for a It was telling so many of Julien’s former critical targets left with a victory career-best 16 goals and 40 points this season while also importantly and their former coach shuffled out of the Garden lamenting in two turning into a plus player on the ice. languages that his Montreal team “laid an egg” in Boston. While Julien might have deserved better given his long body of work, it’s clear his Spooner carried the puck straight through the guts of the Montreal former Bruins players earned the better result as they received a little defense toward the net and attempted to make a centering pass toward measure of revenge in the place it matters most, the scoreboard. Matt Grzelcyk at the far post. Instead, the puck bounced off Jonathan Drouin’s skate and into the net to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead in the second period. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 Boston scored two more goals in the one-sided game, but it was Spooner’s goal that stood as the game-winner in Claude’s not-so- triumphant return. After the game, Spooner was asked whether it felt good to score against a coach that had doled out so much tough love to him in the past. “It was just another game for me, I just want to help out,” said Spooner, who was clearly playing it down given some of his critical words for Julien in the past. “It was nice to score though...Yeah, for sure. I just think that we have a good mix here. “We have some guys who are young that stepped up for us and that’s huge. I mean, to be one of the top teams in the league you have to have some guys that are 18, 19, 20 [years old] that are going to step up and we’ve had that so that’s been good for us.” Clearly, Spooner had a little something extra in this one from the drop of the puck, though. The speedy winger led the Bruins with four shots on net and threw a whopping four registered hits perhaps in an effort to show Julien some of the hardness that he’s developed in his game. This has been a consistent trend in Spooner’s game this season, though, as he’s put up 22 registered hits in 23 games played this season, which actually gives him more than Brad Marchand (17) while No. 63 has even played in 12 more games than the Spoon Man. Spooner wasn’t alone, however, in shining on Wednesday night in Rendezvous De Claude. David Pastrnak was another young player that had his ups and downs with Julien in his first three seasons. He found himself on the bench on more than one occasion when puck management or defense became an issue. Pastrnak scored the Bruins first goal after doggedly chasing the puck and turning it over from Jeff Petry behind the Montreal net. He finished with six shot attempts, a goal and a plus-1 rating in 14:57 of ice time. 1093718 Buffalo Sabres second period even though he was plummeted into the end boards by Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. The New York blueliner got a cross-checking call but Buffalo got no power play as Reinhart was also The Wraparound: Rangers 4, Sabres 3 sent off on an even-up call. "I said he sent the standard with Casey Nelson trying to be strong down low (on a cross-checking call in the first period) and then Sam gets an Mike Harrington embellishment penalty which I totally disagree with," said coach Phil Housley. "He set the standard at the beginning of the game and now he's Published Thu, Jan 18, 2018 | Updated Thu, Jan 18, 2018 going to give embellishment for a guy who's head is going into the boards."

"I've never really dived in my life and I certainly didn't there," Reinhart NEW YORK -- Three rallies. No go-ahead goal. Another loss. said. "I had a good talk with him after. I respect him as a ref and we've That was the disappointing tale for the Buffalo Sabres Thursday night as seen a lot of each other even growing up. It's his call to make and I Pavel Buchnevich's goal with 3:58 left in the third period snapped the respect that but I don't know what he saw there." third tie of the night and gave the New York Rangers a 4-3 win over Up next: The Sabres headed home right after the game and will practice Buffalo in Madison Square Garden. Friday in KeyBank Center. They'll host the surging Dallas Stars in a Buchnevich, a 22-year-old who came from the KHL in Russia last matinee Saturday at 1 in their final home game prior to the All-Star break. season, scored his 12th goal of the year by tapping the puck into an The team heads West on Sunday to open a three-game road trip Monday empty net off a Mika Zibanejad feed. The play started when Rick Nash in Calgary. stripped the puck from Sam Reinhart near the Buffalo blueline.

Buchnevich and Nash both had three points in the game, with Nash posting his second straight two-goal output. Buffalo News LOADED: 01.19.2018 In the first game after their bye week, the Sabres fell to 11-25-9 with their second one-goal loss of the month to the Rangers -- and their 16th one- goal loss of the season. They suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to New York in the Winter Classic Jan. 1 in Citi Field. The Sabres, who are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, also failed to win two straight for the eighth straight time this year. Buffalo never led in the game but came back to pull even on three occasions. Dramatic third: The Rangers snapped a 2-2 tie on Nash's goal at 6:49 of the third period, his second of the game. But the Sabres tied it with 5:01 left on Rasmus Ristolainen's shot from the point, their second power-play goal of the night. The game ended with the Sabres on a 6-on-4 power play but Henrik Lundqvist robbed Ristolainen in the final four seconds and the Rangers hung on. "We directed a lot to the net and there's a big difference of just shooting to shoot," said Reinhart, who assisted on two goals. "The guys out top did a great job tonight. When there was a lane to the net and a separation, they were able to find it. We were all going to the net and getting the puck back." Numbers games: The Sabres had a 37-34 advantage in shots on goal and a 70-61 edge in attempts. Evander Kane (7) and Jack Eichel (6) combined for 13 shots on goal but didn't score. Eichel had two assists. Rough start: The Rangers took the lead at 1:24 as Nash burned Robin Lehner high to the glove side on a breakway after bursting away from Jake McCabe in the neutral zone. Justin Falk's bad pinch left McCabe in trouble and he was unable to stop the speed of Nash on the play. Pulling Even I: The Sabres tied the game with 1:19 left in the period on Kyle Okposo's power-play goal. Okposo beat Lundqvist through the pads after a nifty diagonal pass from Reinhart. Okposo is for offense: Okposo's goal was his eighth of the season and marked the first time this season he has scored in consecutive games. Okposo has two goals and four assists in the last three games and 11 points in the last 11 games (3-8). Falling behind: The Rangers went ahead, 2-1, on J.T. Miller's goal at 8:26 of the second, a snapshot that beat Lehner high to the glove side in the wake of a McCabe giveaway. It came 18 seconds after Casey Nelson got out of the penalty box after a holding penalty. With new Sabres deal never discussed, Kane awaits trade call Pulling Even II: The Sabres tied the game, 2-2, on Justin Falk's goal at 17:10 of the second period, a shot from the right point that beat Lundqvist between the legs after a screen from Zemgus Girgensons. It was Falk's first goal of the season and first goal as a Sabre. It was his 74th game for the Sabres the last two years. Falk's career stats: The goal was the 29-year-old Buffalo defenseman's third in 245 career NHL games. It was his first goal in 101 games, since he scored for Columbus at New Jersey on March 6, 2015. His other goal came for Minnesota on Jan. 24, 2012 at Colorado. "Get it to the net and let the forwards battle away," Falk said. "Fortunately for me, it had eyes there." Bizarre call: Reinhart assisted on the first two Buffalo goals and was victimized by one of the worst embellishment calls in NHL history as he was sent to the penalty box by referee Kyle Rehman with 5:04 left in the 1093719 Buffalo Sabres Victor Antipin skated hard Thursday morning but remained a healthy scratch. He has not played since Dec. 19 and missed several of those games due to the flu. Sabres Notebook: Lehner touched by Lundqvist's gesture, playing "He hasn't had a chance to get some really good practices in," Housley through trade talk said. "Yesterday was his first solid practice with the team. He'll get worked out today and eventually he'll work his way into the lineup." Mike Harrington The Sabres will return to New York to meet the Rangers on March 24. This will be the first time in franchise history the Rangers will not play in Published Thu, Jan 18, 2018 Buffalo during a season. The teams' Winter Classic meeting Jan. 1 in Citi Field was a Buffalo home game and was the only one the Sabres were Updated Thu, Jan 18, 2018 scheduled to have against the Rangers this season.

NEW YORK — After the Sabres and Rangers battled through overtime Buffalo News LOADED: 01.19.2018 Jan. 1 in the Winter Classic at Citi Field, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist took to Instagram and paid tribute to Buffalo goalie and fellow Swede Robin Lehner. Lehner, who has known Lundqvist for roughly 15 years, was touched by the gesture. "I saw that and it was nice, really nice," Lehner said Thursday in Madison Square Garden. "We've known each other for a long time and obviously I've followed his career. Then I popped up in North America and he saw that I was here. I started to be around him when his career was taking off. From the first year he went over from Frolunda (Lundqvist's Swedish Elite League team), he turned into a big star for Sweden and this team. It's fun how the path of us playing against each other in the game was very cool." Lehner and Lundqvist battled here again Thursday night. Lundqvist's win over Philadelphia on Tuesday made him the first goalie in NHL history to earn 20 or more wins in his first 13 seasons, and the first in league annals to win 20 in 13 straight years at any point of his career. Lundqvist used to work with Lehner's father, Michael, a longtime goalie coach in the Swedish League. "I remember him and my dad working together a little bit and I remember him coming out on the ice with us when I was a little younger and he was in Frolunda," Lehner said. "He helped me out. Since he started here, I would see him in summers, goalie schools. He's always been a really classy guy. I moved over here and you catch up in summers. Sometimes in summers I've been practicing in Sweden and he's been there too. "It was cool the way he put it on his post because it was true: I was really a young kid who couldn't stand on my skates back then. I started fairly late in hockey, around 11. I couldn't skate real well and I think it was a surprise for people that I made it here. It was really cool for two guys from the region in Sweden to make that game." Lehner, an upcoming restricted free agent, admits he's heard his name getting more traction on the trade front with the deadline less than five weeks away. In particular, the Chicago Blackhawks have been linked to Lehner because starter Corey Crawford could miss the rest of the season due to the effects of vertigo. "It's not that dififcult to me to play through it. At the end of the day, people have been talking about my name for quite some time now," Lehner said. "It's a business. I'm trying to do my best here this year and we havne't gotten results. We have a ways to go as a team here to get where we need to be. You don't perform and names float around. It's the nature of the beast. I feel I'm a good goalie. I have no issues with it all." Lehner said the team needs to keep pushing out of its bye week, even thought its playoff hopes are long gone at this stage of the season. "We have a lot to play for when you talk about this team and organization," Lehner said. "This organization gives us all the resources we need. It's a great organization in that way. At some point here, we have to start building something and getting it going. ... It's our job and we have to perform. That's what we get paid for. We have a lot to lose still in this locker room and we need to start stringing positive things together and build on our game that we've all seen in bits and pieces." Nathan Beaulieu, who missed practice Wednesday in Buffalo, sat out Thursday's game with the flu and Casey Nelson made his season debut after being recalled from Rochester. Nelson leads the Amerks with a plus-11 rating while collecting 11 points in 37 games. "No. 1, he's earned his right to come up here because he's played solid down in Rochester," said coach Phil Housley. "Just his puck movement, jumping up in the play, defending well. We're going to have to defend against a good team that cycles well, and see him jumping up in the play to create some things offensively. It's nothing he hasn't done down in Rochester. It's more of the same up here." 1093720 Buffalo Sabres Botterill declined comment Thursday on Kane's situation but the Sabres have been happy with how Kane has handled his walk season, both on and off the ice. Kane said he understands the position the team is in. He With new Sabres deal never discussed, Kane awaits trade call reiterated players should feel they're playing for the entire league and not just the team they're currently with. After all, he reasons, you never know who's watching and might be interested, or who your team might be talking to about you. Mike Harrington "I'm aware of what's going on. I stay fully aware of my situation even Published Thu, Jan 18, 2018 though I don't necessarily do a lot of reading," Kane said. "I'm in the loop. I don't think there's anybody in the loop more than myself and my agents. Updated Thu, Jan 18, 2018 Reading doesn't really get me anywhere, doesn't give you any more information that I can't get on my own." NEW YORK — Evander Kane knows his phone could crackle today, Kane skated in his 541st career game last Thursday night. The only NHL tomorrow, next week or that he might have to wait all the way until the players who have yet to be on the ice more without competing in the NHL's trade deadline on Feb. 26. Stanley Cup playoffs are injured Buffalo teammate Zach Bogosian (552) and Carolina forward Jeff Skinner (542). The Sabres' winger, who will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, knows the call is inevitably coming. He's going to be traded by the club There's a good chance that drought finally ends for Kane this season, his even though he's the team's second-leading goal scorer and, at age 26, ninth in the NHL. It should be noted that Kane was a huge winner as an is in the prime of his career. amateur as he won a Memorial Cup with the 2007 Vancover Giants and helped that team get to the Western League's conference final in 2009. The Internet has been rumbling in recent days on Kane, with TSN Also in 2009, Kane won a gold medal for Canada on a legendary World reporting the Sabres could be looking for as many as four pieces in Junior Championship club that included the likes of current NHL stars return for a player who entered Thursday night's game against the New John Tavares, P.K. Subban, Jamie Benn and former Sabres Tyler Myers, York Rangers with 16 goals and 20 assists in 36 games. One of those Tyler Ennis and . assets the Sabres are reported to be coveting is a first-round pick at the June draft in Dallas. But Kane has never had a chance in the NHL's postseason party with the Atlanta Thrashers, Jets or Sabres. It remains to be seen if first-year General Manager Jason Botterill could pull off such a haul for a rental player. Still, it's known the Sabres have "I'm just not focused on that right now. I'm still here and I want to be in made it clear they're willing to retain some of Kane's salary for the rest of Buffalo for as long as possible," Kane said. "Unfortunately I haven't had the season as a way to up the ante for potential trade partners. There's the opportunity for that but the prospect of it is exciting and that's how no shortage of teams at least pondering the possibility of a Kane trade, I've felt about it coming into every season. It's something I want to be a with some likely suitors including Pittsburgh, St. Louis, New Jersey, Los part of, you always want to be in. I'm betting the excitement will be even Angeles, Nashville and the New York Islanders. higher when it comes because I've never been fortunate enough to have the chance." Botterill, like predecessor Tim Murray, has been consistent with the message that he will trade players on expiring contracts to reclaim assets rather than have them leave for nothing in free agency. Buffalo News LOADED: 01.19.2018 Kane, however, clearly wishes things were different. He's in the final year of a six-year, $31.25 million contract he signed with the Winnipeg Jets in 2012 and confirmed to The Buffalo News this week what has been widely assumed: The Sabres have never negotiated with him on a new deal. "Does it surprise me? Well, I've said many times nothing really surprises me," Kane told The News. "This is all part of the business. Both sides. We're in different situations and I understand it all. One thing I've always said is that I've really really enjoyed my time here and will continue to do so for as long as I'm here. My focus is simply game to game, keeping the focus narrow." Kane left no doubt he would have entertained negotiations on an extension if the Sabres had approached him and his representatives from Newport Sports Management in Mississauga, Ont. "Of course I would have. Absolutely," he said. "I've said from Day One I've really enjoyed the time here. For me, it's a place where I've grown to know more and more about Buffalo. It's been a real great experience for me. I'm just going to continue that until I get told something different." The salary cap is obviously a major deterrent to Kane's return, and it's known that owners Terry and Kim Pegula were furious when Kane was arrested for harrassment in the wake of an incident at a Chippewa Street bar the night before the 2016 NHL Draft opened in Buffalo. Those charges were dropped last May, 11 months after the alleged incident, but the Pegulas were mortified by the situation because it came with representatives of the league and every team in town for the draft. Whether or not the Pegulas wanted him gone or the Sabres even feel Kane is a building block for their future, a big-money contract was unlikely, given what they will be paying next year in cap space to their other marquee names. The Sabres have high on-the-hook 2018-19 numbers for Jack Eichel ($10 million), Ryan O'Reilly ($7.5 million), Kyle Okposo ($6 million), Jason Pominville ($5.6 million), Rasmus Ristolainen ($5.4 million), Zach Bogosian ($5.142 million) and Marco Scandella ($4 million). That's $43.6 million committed to just seven players in a year where the cap will be rising to a figure ranging from $78 million to $82 million. Kane makes $5.25 million this year and is certainly going to be looking to move into the $7 million and up category. There's little chance the Sabres can absorb that kind of cap hit. 1093721 Buffalo Sabres

Sabres at Rangers: Five Things to Know

Mike Harrington Published Thu, Jan 18, 2018 Updated Thu, Jan 18, 2018

NEW YORK – The Sabres had a good memory going into their bye week, snapping a five-game losing streak with last Thursday's 3-1 win over Columbus in KeyBank Center. They return to action tonight in Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers, once again trying for their first two-game winning streak since October. Since beating Boston and Detroit in a pair of one-goal games Oct. 21 and 24, the Sabres are 0-5-2 in their attempts to win two straight. There's your first stat of the day. Here are Five (Other) Things to Know about tonight's game: 1. On the air: Folks on Twitter seem more interested in the Vegas-Tampa Bay showdown tonight in Florida but it's the Sabres and Rangers who are getting the national treatment on NBC Sports Network this evening. Faceoff is shortly after 7:30 with Gord Miller and Brian Boucher on the call. Dan Dunleavy and will be doing the game on WGR Radio. 2. In the nets: It's an all-Swedish matchup, just like at the Winter Classic with Robin Lehner (9-16-6/2.94/.910) manning the Buffalo net against Henrik Lundqvist (20-11-4/2.54/.924). Lehner has been pulled twice in his last three starts and took a shot to the neck area Jan. 7 in Philadelphia. Linus Ullmark got the start and earned the win against the Blue Jackets. Lehner is 2-2-2 in his career against the Rangers with a 3.19 goals- against average but a .918 save percentage. This will be his 200th career NHL game. Against Buffalo, Lundqvist is 19-12-2/2.34/and also .918. But in his last 10 meetings, The King is 7-2/2.12/.924 against the Sabres, allowing one goal or fewer in five of the 10 games. Lundqvist's win over Philadelphia on Tuesday night made him the first goalie in NHL history to earn 20 or more wins in his first 13 seasons, and the first in league annals to win 20 in 13 straight years at any point of his career. Lehner grateful to Lundqvist for Instagram post after Winter Classic 3. The Sabres lineup: Nathan Beaulieu is out with the flu so Casey Nelson makes his season debut here tonight. Victor Antipin skated hard this morning and will remain a healthy scratch. Nelson leads the Rochester Amerks with a plus-11 rating while collecting 11 points in 37 games. Coach Phil Housley today on Nelson: "No. 1, he's earned his right to come up here because he's played solid down in Rochester. Just his puck movement, jumping up in the play, defending well. We're going to have to defend against a good team that cycles well, and see him jumping up in the play to create some things offensively. It's nothing he hasn't done down in Rochester. It's more of the same up here." Housley on Antipin: "He hasn't had a chance to get some really good practices in. Yesterday was his first solid practice with the team. He'll get worked out today and eventually he'll work his way into the lineup." Sabres Notebook: Big doings over break for Girgensons, Housley 4. Killer penalty kill: The Sabres have allowed a power-play goal in seven straight games, going just 11 for 20 on the penalty kill in that stretch. They have dropped to 25th overall in the NHL on the PK and 28th on the road. The Rangers, meanwhile, are 15th on the power play and 11th at home. Buffalo remains last in the NHL on the power play at 12.9 percent and 26th on the road. 5. Screwy schedule: This will be the second of three meetings between the teams this year – and the Rangers will not travel to Buffalo for the first time since the Sabres entered the NHL in 1970. Buffalo's lone "home" matchup against New York this season was the Winter Classic, and the Sabres also come here on March 24. The Sabres have won their last two trips to the Garden after going 0-4-1 in their previous five visits.

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093722 Buffalo Sabres

Lehner grateful to Lundqvist for Instagram post after Winter Classic

Mike Harrington Published Thu, Jan 18, 2018 Updated Thu, Jan 18, 2018

NEW YORK – After the Sabres and Rangers battled through overtime Jan. 1 in the Winter Classic at Citi Field, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist took to Instagram and paid tribute to Buffalo goalie and fellow Swede Robin Lehner. Lehner, who has known Lundqvist for roughly 15 years, was touched by the gesture. "I saw that and it was nice, really nice," Lehner said Thursday in Madison Square Garden. "We've known each other for a long time and obviously I've followed his career. Then I popped up in North America and he saw that I was here. I started to be around him when his career was taking off. From the first year he went over from Frolunda (Lundqvist's Swedish Elite League team), he turned into a big star for Sweden and this team. It's fun how the path of us playing against each other in the game was very cool." About 15 years ago I met a kid in his backyard in Gothenburg Sweden working on his game with a puck machine. Today we battled it out in front of 43.000 people. Pretty cool how things played out Robin.. Great job! A post shared by Henrik Lundqvist (@hank30nyr) on Jan 1, 2018 at 4:48pm PST Lehner and Lundqvist will meet again in goal Thursday night in a 7:30 game nationally televised on NBC Sports Network. The Sabres have been off for a week following their bye week. The Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak with Tuesday's 5-1 win over Philadelphia. Sabres at Rangers: Five Things to Know Lundqvist used to work with Lehner's father, Michael, a longtime goalie coach in the Swedish League. "I remember him and my dad working together a little bit and I remember him coming out on the ice with us when I was a little younger and he was in Frolunda," Lehner said. "He helped me out. Since he started here, I would see him in summers, goalie schools. He's always been a really classy guy. I moved over here and you catch up in summers. Sometimes in summers I've been practicing in Sweden and he's been there too. "It was cool the way he put it on his post because it was true: I was really a young kid who couldn't stand on my skates back then. I started fairly late in hockey, around 11. I couldn't skate real well and I think it was a surprise for people that I made it here. It was really cool for two guys from the region in Sweden to make that game."

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093723 Buffalo Sabres

Amerks' Guhle, Ullmark show Sabres their skills in NHL but focus on helping Rochester win

Andy Lipari, 5:23 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2018 Updated 7:32 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2018

Brendan Guhle and Linus Ullmark were not up in Buffalo with the Sabres long but they made an immediate impact last week. Both had previously made their NHL debut before last week's call-up, but for Guhle, the initial NHL experience was minimal. The Sabres second- round pick (51st overall) had a three-game stint in December last season with Buffalo and logged more than 15 minutes of ice time per game. Guhle's takeaway: Never take a play off. “Everything is a little bit quicker and little snappier," said Guhle. "Just be ready at all times and don’t get caught daydreaming or lollygagging.” Guhle's first game in Buffalo this year was a rough one, a 7-4 to the Winnipeg Jets. The second game went much better with the Sabres winning, 3-1. Plus, Guhle recorded his first NHL point with an assist on Buffalo's second goal. The 20-year-old Guhle only played 15 professional games coming into this season spending the majority of the past three years in the WHL (Western Hockey League). In 37 games this season in Rochester, Guhle is tied for sixth on the team with 21 points including seven goals. Amerks head coach Chris Taylor said Guhle can improve his decision- making when to join a rush and get involved on the offensive end, but that takes time to learn. "He doesn’t choose to go enough. There are times were he could choose better on when to use his speed and be a little more aggressive," said Taylor. "I think he’s a little tentative, and that’s understandable for a young guy, but I think he has more opportunities to use his speed and get up in the play a little bit more. "He's young, he's learning, he's developing every day and getting better every day." Ullmark, from his crease, has the best view in the arena of Guhle's skill and has high praise for the young blue-liner. “He has prefect speed, that’s one of his biggest assets," Ullmark said. "He can grab the puck and go behind the net and take it all the way down. He’s done a good job in his first year in the league and I only see good things for him.” Ullmark's first go-round with the Sabres this season netted a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets last Thursday. He stopped 44 shots. The 24-year-old has posted stats near or at the top of a number of multiple AHL categories this season. He is second in the AHL with 17 wins, one behind Milwaukee's Anders Linback, and leads the league with 825 saves. The win was Ullmark's first priority with Buffalo. “The feeling of coming up there and winning is one of the best feelings to have come with me if I ever get the chance again and opportunity again," Ullmark said. "But I’m focused on being here (in Rochester) at the moment and focused on the next game.” Despite at three-game losing skid — two in shootouts to Utica — Ullmark's numbers are still outstanding. He is 17-6-5 with a 2.26 goals- against average and a .929 save percentage. "Linus has played great all year, he's got a lot of confidence and he cares how we (Amerks) do," Taylor said.

Democrat and Chronicle LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093724 Calgary Flames Thursday’s action, he’d scored more than Sidney Crosby, more than Patrick Kane and more than Jamie Benn and Connor McDavid and Steven Stamkos. Ferland has a wicked shot and softer hands than some Roundtable: Flames are good. Here's how they can be better. folks realize, so I figured 20 goals was gettable. Not before the end of January, though.

What has been the most interesting storyline so far? Wes Gilbertson Francis: The fact that for the first time in decades, the Flames can lean on the farm for competent help. One-quarter of the team’s opening-day lineup has been replaced by raw rookies, and some are playing The Calgary Flames will return to work Friday, likely sporting sun tans — significant roles. Hey, the Jaromir Jagr dalliance was interesting, too, but or possibly sun burns — after brief vacations during their CBA-mandated these AHLers are leaving a lasting impression that give Flames fans bye in the schedule. hope the team has the depth to be contenders moving forward. The plan, of course, is to pick up exactly where they left off — the Flames Odland: David Rittich was a bit of an enigma when the Flames signed rattled off seven consecutive victories before their getaways. him to a one-year deal in the summer of 2016. Who was this guy? Is he as good as the team brass says he is? Turns out, they unearthed a They’ll be shooting for eight straight in Saturday’s rare matinee against diamond in the rough. He’s been an exceptional back-up for the Flames, the Winnipeg Jets at the Saddledome (1 p.m., CBC/Sportsnet going 4-1-1 with a 2.03 goals against average and a .932 save West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan). percentage in his appearances this season. It’s not easy, mentally, to be With a 25-16-4 record to date, Postmedia columnist Eric Francis and the No. 2 man in the NHL. Rittich has done well, which will bode well for Flames reporters Kristen Odland and Wes Gilbertson reflect on the first the Flames, who’ll need to lean on him to give Smith some rest. three months of the 2017-18 NHL campaign and look ahead to the Gilbertson: The emergence of Mark Jankowski. Credit to the 23-year-old playoff push … centre for completing his lengthy climb from first-round reach in the 2012 Heading into their CBA-mandated break, the Flames had won seven in a NHL Draft — the Flames’ previous management regime did him row. How the heck did that happen? absolutely no favours with a comparison to franchise fave Joe Nieuwendyk — to full-time NHLer this winter. He looks like a keeper. Eric Francis: Everything came together. The top line was dominant, the goaltending near perfection, the defencemen are finally pushing What does the future hold for Jaromir Jagr? offensively and the depth from the American Hockey League filled gaps Francis: Unfortunately, the NHL has seen the last of ol’ Jags. His age admirably, taking pressure off everyone. Oh, and they were largely on and injuries have conspired to ensure he’s not able to keep up anymore the road, which seems to help this club. or provide the Flames with any sort of dependability. It hasn’t worked Kristen Odland: It probably has something to do with Jobu, the figurine here, so why would anyone else take a chance on him? He’ll return to the the Flames coaching staff brought in this year to help their odds in Czech team he owns and play his final days there … for the next four Anaheim (which worked … I know, we still can’t believe it either). But for years. me, it’s belief. They’re winning those close games that they weren’t Odland: I truly believe that Jagr is done with the Flames and, potentially, winning earlier this year, special teams are starting to click, and, led by done in the NHL. It’s been a frustrating season for the 45-year-old living the top line and goaltending, their supporting cast is also chipping in. legend, and, frankly, it’s sad to see it end this way. Playing in a Canadian Wes Gilbertson: Mike Smith hasn’t had many off-nights all season, and market is difficult, but it’s the first time in his career that he’s really the defence has been stingy since early December. So why seven struggled with injuries. You probably knew this was a possibility, given straight all of a sudden? The Flames top trio had been in a funk, but his age and the fact he had no training camp. Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Micheal Ferland have combined Gilbertson: Well … he has a birthday coming up — he’ll be 46 on Feb. for 10 goals and 32 points during the winning spree. This is no longer a 15. Whether he negotiates an out with the Flames or continues to sit until one-line team, but when the No.-1 unit is producing at that clip, the his groin/knee heals, what the future doesn’t hold for Jagr, at least the Flames are tough to beat. way I see it, is the NHL’s all-time games played record. Too bad, would Who would you select as the team’s MVP through 45 games played? have been neat to see him erase Gordie Howe’s career mark in Flames togs. Francis: Easy – Mike Smith. None of this is possible without the Flames shoring up its No. 1 problem the last handful of years. He’s not only What does Brad Treliving need to do at the NHL’s trade deadline to consistent, but he’s stolen games and made huge saves early to mask improve this club? slow starts that otherwise would have been runaways. His stickhandling Francis: This might be the year he goes from selling to buying at the has also taken pressure off the defencemen unlike any other goalie can. deadline. The club could use another scoring winger – who couldn’t? – Odland: Mike Smith, and it’s not even close. Yes, Johnny Gaudreau is and he should kick tires on Mike Hoffman and Max Pacioretty to see if playing out-of-this-world hockey, but without solid, dependable some of his emerging prospects could land one of those big fish. He goaltending, the Flames are nowhere near the position they’re in right should stay away from the Evander Kane gong show, though. now. He’s making the saves he should be making and, often, making the Odland: Add another high-powered scorer … but not at the sacrifice of saves he shouldn’t. He’s ultra-competitive and likeable — no one on the the organization’s future. A pipe-dream, right? It’s likely not going to team wants to let him down. happen as those commodities come at a price. Matt Stajan has been a Gilbertson: Can we call it a tie? Smith stole several games for the Flames soldier for the Flames, but the reality is time is ticking on his career. He early in the season, when their defensive-zone play could be best scored on Sunday in Carolina (his first goal of the season), but ideally, summed up as, ‘Oh-bleep-hopefully-somebody-else-will-get-that-guy.’ you’d like to get more production from your fourth line or, at least, provide Gaudreau, meanwhile, has factored on 41.8 per cent of their goals and is a little more juice. Their first and third lines are solidified, and when a legitimate contender for the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading Michael Frolik is healthy, you can expect he’ll pick up right he left off. point-producer. Both MVP-worthy. Depth is so important in the NHL, and it trails off for the Flames outside of their top three lines. Which player has been the biggest surprise? Gilbertson: Turn off his cell-phone. Log off his e-mail. Maybe take his Francis: The fact that Mark Jankowski is a 20-goal threat is wife for lunch. It never hurts to add a bit of depth, especially on the overshadowed by Micheal Ferland’s 19 at the midway point. Everyone blueline, but Treliving already traded away 2018/2019/2020 draft picks to knew Ferland had the tools to hang, compliment and protect the big boys land Smith and defenceman Travis Hamonic. With their recent call-ups on the top line, but no one was sure he’d be able to do it as consistently showing well, does it make sense to surrender any more chips? as he has. Finish this sentence: The Flames will make the playoffs if … Odland: Micheal Ferland. The 25-year-old left-winger is on the verge of his first 20-goal season ever with 19 goals and 10 assists in 44 games. Francis: Glen Gulutzan hurls his stick a few more times with reminders It’s something he likely never dreamed of, especially during his darkest the lads still have plenty of work to do. Complacency and inconsistency days when he was toiling between the AHL, ECHL and, eventually, back have been killers for these guys, making their home games an adventure to the WHL once upon a time. You can’t help for cheer for this guy — a at best. A better record at the Dome is the starting point for a bunch that, young father who has found the confidence and belief in his own ability. on paper, is a legitimate contender. Gilbertson: There are several candidates, but it’s gotta be Ferland. The Odland: Get their powerplay in order. It’s a small thing but so important, first-line thumper has a career-high 19 goals already. Heading into especially for this team that derives so much of its momentum from big goals and big-time plays. They’ve finally adjusted to life without Kris Versteeg, and it seems like both units are turning a corner. That and continue to separate themselves in the Pacific Division standings. Gilbertson: They don’t get too far ahead of themselves. As Glen Gulutzan’s profanity-filled, stick-tossing tantrum reminded us, this group is sometimes guilty of feeling too high on themselves. The Flames have all the makings of a playoff squad but only if they don’t fall back into any of their bad habits.

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093725 Calgary Flames The Flames are getting good goaltending from Mike Smith who is proving to be every bit the netminder Flames general manager Brad Treliving traded for. The 35-year-old former Arizona Coyotes ‘tender was sitting Jim Rome talks stick-toss, Flames with Gulutzan among this season’s top-10 goalies who have won 20 games or more heading into the Flames’ break.

Smith has played 38 games, going 20-13-3, which is also among the Kristen Odland most heavily utilized netminders in the NHL. His 2.46 goals against average was fifth in the NHL among goalies playing 35 games or more Published on: January 18, 2018 (heading into Wednesday’s action) while his .924 save percentage had him in a three-way tie for second in the league along with Jonathan Quick Last Updated: January 18, 2018 2:45 PM MST of the Los Angeles Kings and New Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. As the Calgary Flames return from their mid-season getaway on Friday, “He’s been such a good acquisition for us, and his goaltending has been hitting the ice at 4 p.m. after a five-day NHL-mandated break, the fantastic,” Gulutzan told Rome. “He’s one of the top guys in the league. question everyone wanted to know was posed to Glen Gulutzan on But we acquired a great leader — this guy has a lot of passion and a lot Thursday. of fire. He’s very positive, and he’s given us some great leadership in the locker room.” The storyline is so obvious that not even a national sports radio program like The Jim Rome Show could miss it. With 37 more games to go, the Flames are in a much better position than they were a few weeks ago. The Calgary Flames head coach made a rare appearance on the show which airs on Sportsnet 960 The Fan and fulfilled his lone media request And after getting his point across — by some interesting motivational of the team’s bye-week. tactics — Gulutzan pointed out that they’ve set the framework for the team. Now it’s up to the players (especially the veterans such as Smith, Rome asked the question about the team’s newsworthy seven-game win captain Mark Giordano, Mikael Backlund, Troy Brouwer, TJ Brodie, streak and the, perhaps, unfortunate timing of the team’s hiatus. Travis Hamonic, Michael Stone, Matt Stajan and even Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan) to go get it. “You want to keep it going, but one thing in this league is that these guys get used to playing every second night. And when you get on a roll and “In any high functioning team, at the end of the year, basically the coach are playing every second night, you want to keep going with it,” Gulutzan is a facilitator,” Gulutzan said. “The veteran guys can grab ahold of said. “We weren’t that tired of a group so, sure, we’d like to keep it going. everything, and the coach is just the facilitator. Maybe he’s looking at the gauges and making sure nothing overheats. “But what the league is doing is pairing teams up that are coming off these mandatory bye-weeks as well. So at the end of the day, the playing “If the veterans are running it, then you’ve got something.” field is all square for us. We just have to get back on it quick.”

The Flames host the Winnipeg Jets for a rare matinee on Saturday (1 p.m., CBC, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), a team which is also Calgary Herald: LOADED: 01.19.2018 coming off a bye-week after dropping a pair of back-to-back losses against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild. Heading into Thursday’s action, the Flames (25-16-4) were sitting third in the NHL’s Pacific Division and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. The mission is, obviously, to continue to climb up the Western Conference standings as the NHL playoffs approach. Given the timing of their break and their impressive play of late, the question was predictable. And so was Rome’s next question … “You tossed a stick …” Gulutzan chuckled. The material was too easy. Giving the ol’ heave-ho to his composite on Jan. 5, following a come- from-behind victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings, Gulutzan’s outburst went viral and made headline news across the nation and, apparently, in the U.S. too. “We win one (bleeping) game … One (bleeping) game,” screamed Gulutzan, irked by signs of complacency during his stick-toss. “We’re so (bleeping) good? You check the (bleeping) standings? Let’s (bleeping) go — (bleeping) practice. “I’ve seen one good game from some of you (bleeping) veteran guys. Let’s (bleeping) practise. Let’s go!” The censored video footage is all over the web. Not one to shy away from controversial subjects, Rome was interested in getting to the bottom of the story, which is — at least in this city after the team’s seven-game win streak which was sparked by Gulutzan’s tirade — old news. “In any good program, in any sport, you talk about the culture,” Gulutzan said, explaining the chain of events leading to the javelin toss. “We wanted to be sharp. We wanted to be good. We wanted the veterans to lead it. We didn’t get that early. And so, that’s what a little bit that set me off … I didn’t want to let it go on longer than about seven or eight minutes … I had some strong words for the guys, obviously. I threw the stick — not one of my finest moments. But I wanted to deliver the message.” No kidding. Fast forward to the Flames’ four-game road trip which saw wins in Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina. 1093726 Calgary Flames position what people don’t understand is they have to have the right make-up. When you play as a back-up to Mike Smith, you’re going into tough situations. You’re not getting a rested team (in front of you). You’re After many lean years post-Kiprusoff, goaltending falls into place for playing in back-to-backs and, sometimes, on the road. You have to have Flames the ability but also the mental makeup to handle it. David’s got it. We think highly of David.”

But wait … wasn’t Gillies was projected to be ‘the guy?’ The 75th overall Kristen Odland, back in the 2012 NHL draft, the 6-foot-6, 223-pounder who starred with the NCAA’s Providence Friars from 2012-15 before joining the AHL’s Published on: January 18, 2018 Heat in 2015-16? Last Updated: January 18, 2018 10:18 AM MST He played seven games that year before undergoing hip surgery in what was supposed to be his first full season of professional hockey. Then,

last year, he was challenged by Rittich in Stockton and finished with an In the last five years, essentially defined as the post-Miikka Kiprusoff era 18-14-1 with a 2.93 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. in this city, the Calgary Flames goaltending depth chart has been a Heading into Wednesday’s game against the San Jose Barracuda, Gillies revolving door rather than an escalator. was 11-8-2 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.43 goals against Granted, a goaltender’s progression to the is average. never linear. Flames management feels that Jon Gillies could use more time in the Heck … the path to the NHL for most players can be unpredictable. And AHL. AL CHAREST / POSTMEDIA sometimes, the best laid plans — even if just for a short-term — never Clearly the Flames management believe that Rittich is a little more suited work out exactly as a general manager envisions when plotting the plan for prime time (at the moment), while Gillies, who played one game for of attack during the off-season. the Flames in November when Smith was injured and Lack had allowed Exploring Calgary’s timeline of netminders since the 2013 lockout season five goals on 15 shots, could benefit from a few more regular proves that. Before 2017-18, 12 different had played for the appearances in the AHL. Flames since Kiprusoff — arguably the best goaltender in franchise Remember that linear pattern? Doesn’t always happen. history — sailed off into the sunset, never to be heard from again. Those names, to jog your memory, are: Joey MacDonald, Danny Taylor, Leland “Everyone wants everyone to get to the NHL really quick,” said Treliving, Irving, Reto Berra, Karri Ramo, Joni Ortio, Jonas Hiller, Niklas who also has Mason McDonald, the second-round pick (34th overall) of Backstrom, Brian Elliott, Chad Johnson, David Rittich and Jon Gillies. the 2014 draft now toiling with the ECHL’s . ‘It’s Keep in mind, these decisions were spread between three general not that easy, especially for goaltenders. We knew that, on our reserve managers: Jay Feaster, Brian Burke and Brad Treliving. list, we have some depth there, and we think those guys have a chance to be good goaltenders. You look at David, you look at Jon Gillies, and But the fact that the Flames are finally approaching stable ground with a down the line … It’s just a matter of when you think they’re ready.” clear vision of the future should not come as a big surprise. But wait … what about Tyler Parsons, the Flames’ 54th overall draft pick And even this season isn’t going quite as planned … in 2016? Isn’t he supposed to be ‘the guy,’ too? Mike Smith is proving to be every bit the goaltender Treliving traded for, a The 20-year-old’s story is interesting, too, as he began this year with the nice surprise as the 35-year-old former Arizona Coyotes star was sitting ECHL’s Mavericks and, after the Flames traded Lack to the Devils, a spot among the top-10 netminders who have won 20 games or more heading opened for him with the Heat. into the Flames five-day CBA-mandated bye-week. His first AHL game wasn’t entirely indicative of the final score, as Smith has played 38 games, going 20-13-3, which is also among the Parsons kept the Heat afloat early in the game but wound up losing 7-2 most heavily utilized netminders in the NHL. His 2.46 goals-against as Parsons faced 40 shots. average was fifth in the NHL among goalies playing 35 games or more (heading into Wednesday’s action) while his .924 save percentage had Competition will no doubt exist between the two Heat goalies, but him in a three-way tie for second in the league along with Jonathan Quick Treliving has no plans to rush either netminder up to the NHL. of the L.A. Kings and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. “Let’s just hold on … let’s let them develop on their own time,” Treliving But the Flames brought in Eddie Lack during the off-season as a said. “We don’t want to rush things. I like where we’re trending. We think potential back-up, given that he’d played some NHL games and could, it’s starting to set up. But we’ll see. It takes time. You look at guys that potentially, spell off Smith. It became clear early on that Lack wasn’t as have had a year or two or three down there and it doesn’t hurt them, dependable as they originally thought (and needed more live bullets), so especially at that position.” the team put him on waivers Nov. 23. The Flames sent him to play with the American Hockey League’s and eventually traded him to the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 30. Calgary Herald: LOADED: 01.19.2018 Backup goalie Eddie Lack was traded to New Jersey Devils on Dec. 30. LEAH HENNEL / POSTMEDIA “I don’t know if it’s changed,” said Treliving, when asked about his club’s goaltending landscape as of Jan. 14. “We brought Eddie in during the summer and wanted to be careful of rushing everyone … We got into the season, and Eddie didn’t get to play. But it was over that two-month period that the guys in Stockton were ready. They were ready for an opportunity. “We felt we could move Eddie along, and it allows us to give David a chance and a lot of reps for Jon.” David, of course, is Rittich, the 25-year-old Czech netminder who was a wildcard in 2016-17 when the Flames signed him to a one-year deal, his first season in North America. Originally brought in as competition for Jon Gillies, the heir apparent to the throne in Calgary, Rittich is now Smith’s back-up. Able to mentally handle the back-up role in stride, Rittich has played six games this season and has a 4-1-0 record. One of those victories was a 41-save effort, a 4-2 win over the host Florida Panthers on the second half of a back-to-back which helped extend the Flames’ current win streak. “He’s played well,” Treliving said of Rittich. “We thought he was a good goalie. You never know until you get here. But the other part to that 1093727 Calgary Flames The starting netminder in Skelleftea is a name you’ll recognize — Joni Ortio was once in the goalie-of-the-future conversation in Calgary, totalling 37 crease appearances for the Flames over a three-season World juniors a learning experience for Flames prospect Linus Lindstrom span. Lindstrom, meanwhile, hopes he’s trending toward the Saddledome. The young centre has two goals and one assist and has averaged 11:27 of Wes Gilbertson icetime in his 27 skates for Skelleftea so far in his second professional campaign. Published on: January 17, 2018 “It’s been really good for me here,” Lindstrom said. “All the older guys Last Updated: January 17, 2018 12:28 PM MST come with tips and stuff like that. They want to teach us what they can. So it’s a good experience to play with some older guys. Everybody is

bigger and stronger, so you have to be really smart. So I’m learning a lot. It’s still too soon for talk of a silver lining. “I want to play in Calgary in the future, for sure,” he added. “I’m trying Calgary Flames prospect Linus Lindstrom realizes he will eventually take now to have focus here in Skelleftea and not so much focus in Calgary. a shine to his second-place keepsake from the 2018 IIHF World Junior But, of course, I want to play there someday.” Hockey Championship, but the disappointment must dull first.

After all, it’s been just a week-and-a-half since Sweden’s heartbreaking Calgary Herald: LOADED: 01.19.2018 loss to Team Canada in the gold-medal showdown. “It’s going to take a little while more. I’m not thinking about it so much now,” said Lindstrom, now back in the lineup for his hometown professional team — Skelleftea AIK of the Swedish Hockey League. “But in a couple of weeks, I think we will look back and see what we’ve done, and we will be proud.” Lindstrom, who turned 20 last week, should certainly be proud of his personal performance on the international stage. The left-handed lad skated between two top talents in Buffalo but earned praise mostly for his defensive handiwork. He was a key piece on the penalty-kill and Sweden’s most trusted faceoff man, winning 52.8 per cent of his 89 draws. Lindstrom assisted on Sweden’s lone goal in the championship finale against Canada, cruising into enemy territory on a short-handed rush and leaving a drop pass for Chicago Blackhawks up-and-comer Tim Soderlund for one of his three helpers in seven outings. “It was a great experience. It’s the best players in the world in my age, so good to compare to everyone,” Lindstrom said. “I think I had a great tournament. I had a pretty big role on my team to penalty-kill, and I had a good opportunity to play with (Alexander) Nylander and Elias Pettersson so I had to give them great passes and take a little bit more defensive place. But I think I had a good tournament, played good, found my game good. “I’ll remember the team — we had a great team. We really came together and we played really good, but sad to finish second-place. That’s pretty tough with the group we had.” The Flames had a six-pack of prospects in action at the latest world- junior shindig and although Lindstrom — a fourth-round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft — wasn’t the headliner on that list, there’s no doubt he boosted his stock in Buffalo. The 6-foot, 170-lb. pivot seems to have embraced his role as a defence- first sort — both with his national program and his professional club. In fact, he’s been working to model his game after centre Marcus Kruger, a fellow Swede who won two Stanley Cup rings as a shutdown guy for the Chicago Blackhawks. Flames prospect Linus Lindstrom during the team’s development camp last year. Al Charest/Postmedia “(Lindstrom) has some offensive ability — you could see he made some plays — but he’s just a really smart, reliable guy in those types of defensive roles,” said Flames general manager Brad Treliving shortly after the world juniors. “I think he took all the big faceoffs. He played with good players, but you can see he cleans up a lot of messes, defensively, on a line. Penalty-kill. He’s a guts-of-game kind of guy. “You can just tell who coaches trust by who goes out on the ice in key situations, and Linus was out in a lot of key situations. I thought he played very well.” Admittedly riding a boost of confidence after his showing on the international stage, Lindstrom is now aiming to make an impact for Skelleftea AIK, currently a middle-of-the-standings squad in Sweden’s top league. A hat-trick of his teammates — including former NHLers Joakim Lindstrom and Oscar Moller — were named Tuesday to Sweden’s roster for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Linus Lindstrom’s career stats: 1093728 Calgary Flames The Flames are getting good goaltending from Mike Smith who is proving to be every bit the netminder Flames general manager Brad Treliving traded for. The 35-year-old former Arizona Coyotes ‘tender was sitting Gulutzan, Flames make headlines on The Jim Rome Show among this season’s top-10 goalies who have won 20 games or more heading into the Flames’ break.

Smith has played 38 games, going 20-13-3, which is also among the Kristen Odland, most heavily utilized netminders in the NHL. His 2.46 goals against average was fifth in the NHL among goalies playing 35 games or more January 18, 2018 (heading into Wednesday’s action) while his .924 save percentage had him in a three-way tie for second in the league along with Jonathan Quick January 18, 2018 2:45 PM UTC of the Los Angeles Kings and New Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. As the Calgary Flames return from their mid-season getaway on Friday, “He’s been such a good acquisition for us, and his goaltending has been hitting the ice at 4 p.m. after a five-day NHL-mandated break, the fantastic,” Gulutzan told Rome. “He’s one of the top guys in the league. question everyone wanted to know was posed to Glen Gulutzan on But we acquired a great leader — this guy has a lot of passion and a lot Thursday. of fire. He’s very positive, and he’s given us some great leadership in the locker room.” The storyline is so obvious that not even a national sports radio program like The Jim Rome Show could miss it. With 37 more games to go, the Flames are in a much better position than they were a few weeks ago. The Calgary Flames head coach made a rare appearance on the show which airs on Sportsnet 960 The Fan and fulfilled his lone media request And after getting his point across — by some interesting motivational of the team’s bye-week. tactics — Gulutzan pointed out that they’ve set the framework for the team. Now it’s up to the players (especially the veterans such as Smith, Rome asked the question about the team’s newsworthy seven-game win captain Mark Giordano, Mikael Backlund, Troy Brouwer, TJ Brodie, streak and the, perhaps, unfortunate timing of the team’s hiatus. Travis Hamonic, Michael Stone, Matt Stajan and even Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan) to go get it. “You want to keep it going, but one thing in this league is that these guys get used to playing every second night. And when you get on a roll and “In any high functioning team, at the end of the year, basically the coach are playing every second night, you want to keep going with it,” Gulutzan is a facilitator,” Gulutzan said. “The veteran guys can grab ahold of said. “We weren’t that tired of a group so, sure, we’d like to keep it going. everything, and the coach is just the facilitator. Maybe he’s looking at the gauges and making sure nothing overheats. “But what the league is doing is pairing teams up that are coming off these mandatory bye-weeks as well. So at the end of the day, the playing “If the veterans are running it, then you’ve got something.” field is all square for us. We just have to get back on it quick.”

The Flames host the Winnipeg Jets for a rare matinee on Saturday (1 p.m., CBC, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), a team which is also Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.19.2018 coming off a bye-week after dropping a pair of back-to-back losses against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild. Heading into Thursday’s action, the Flames (25-16-4) were sitting third in the NHL’s Pacific Division and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. The mission is, obviously, to continue to climb up the Western Conference standings as the NHL playoffs approach. Given the timing of their break and their impressive play of late, the question was predictable. And so was Rome’s next question … “You tossed a stick …” Gulutzan chuckled. The material was too easy. Giving the ol’ heave-ho to his composite on Jan. 5, following a come- from-behind victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings, Gulutzan’s outburst went viral and made headline news across the nation and, apparently, in the U.S. too. “We win one (bleeping) game … One (bleeping) game,” screamed Gulutzan, irked by signs of complacency during his stick-toss. “We’re so (bleeping) good? You check the (bleeping) standings? Let’s (bleeping) go — (bleeping) practice. “I’ve seen one good game from some of you (bleeping) veteran guys. Let’s (bleeping) practise. Let’s go!” The censored video footage is all over the web. Not one to shy away from controversial subjects, Rome was interested in getting to the bottom of the story, which is — at least in this city after the team’s seven-game win streak which was sparked by Gulutzan’s tirade — old news. “In any good program, in any sport, you talk about the culture,” Gulutzan said, explaining the chain of events leading to the javelin toss. “We wanted to be sharp. We wanted to be good. We wanted the veterans to lead it. We didn’t get that early. And so, that’s what a little bit that set me off … I didn’t want to let it go on longer than about seven or eight minutes … I had some strong words for the guys, obviously. I threw the stick — not one of my finest moments. But I wanted to deliver the message.” No kidding. Fast forward to the Flames’ four-game road trip which saw wins in Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina. 1093729 Calgary Flames It’s something he likely never dreamed of, especially during his darkest days when he was toiling between the AHL, ECHL and, eventually, back to the WHL once upon a time. You can’t help for cheer for this guy — a Flames roundtable: How they got so good, and what they need to get young father who has found the confidence and belief in his own ability. better Gilbertson: There are several candidates, but it’s gotta be Ferland. The first-line thumper has a career-high 19 goals already. Heading into Thursday’s action, he’d scored more than Sidney Crosby, more than Wes Gilbertson Patrick Kane and more than Jamie Benn and Connor McDavid and Steven Stamkos. Ferland has a wicked shot and softer hands than some January 18, 2018 4:56 PM UTC folks realize, so I figured 20 goals was gettable. Not before the end of January, though.

Mark Jankowski looks like a keeper. The Calgary Flames will return to work Friday, likely sporting sun tans — or possibly sun burns — after brief vacations during their CBA-mandated What has been the most interesting storyline so far? bye in the schedule. Francis: The fact that for the first time in decades, the Flames can lean The plan, of course, is to pick up exactly where they left off — the Flames on the farm for competent help. One-quarter of the team’s opening-day rattled off seven consecutive victories before their getaways. lineup has been replaced by raw rookies, and some are playing significant roles. Hey, the Jaromir Jagr dalliance was interesting, too, but They’ll be shooting for eight straight in Saturday’s rare matinee against these AHLers are leaving a lasting impression that give Flames fans the Winnipeg Jets at the Saddledome (1 p.m., CBC/Sportsnet hope the team has the depth to be contenders moving forward. West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan). Odland: David Rittich was a bit of an enigma when the Flames signed With a 25-16-4 record to date, Postmedia columnist Eric Francis and him to a one-year deal in the summer of 2016. Who was this guy? Is he Flames reporters Kristen Odland and Wes Gilbertson reflect on the first as good as the team brass says he is? Turns out, they unearthed a three months of the 2017-18 NHL campaign and look ahead to the diamond in the rough. He’s been an exceptional back-up for the Flames, playoff push … going 4-1-1 with a 2.03 goals against average and a .932 save Heading into their CBA-mandated break, the Flames had won seven in a percentage in his appearances this season. It’s not easy, mentally, to be row. How the heck did that happen? the No. 2 man in the NHL. Rittich has done well, which will bode well for the Flames, who’ll need to lean on him to give Smith some rest. Eric Francis: Everything came together. The top line was dominant, the goaltending near perfection, the defencemen are finally pushing Gilbertson: The emergence of Mark Jankowski. Credit to the 23-year-old offensively and the depth from the American Hockey League filled gaps centre for completing his lengthy climb from first-round reach in the 2012 admirably, taking pressure off everyone. Oh, and they were largely on NHL Draft — the Flames’ previous management regime did him the road, which seems to help this club. absolutely no favours with a comparison to franchise fave Joe Nieuwendyk — to full-time NHLer this winter. He looks like a keeper. Kristen Odland: It probably has something to do with Jobu, the figurine the Flames coaching staff brought in this year to help their odds in Jaromir Jagr’s bid to break the record for number of games played in the Anaheim (which worked … I know, we still can’t believe it either). But for NHL is in jeopardy. me, it’s belief. They’re winning those close games that they weren’t What does the future hold for Jaromir Jagr? winning earlier this year, special teams are starting to click, and, led by the top line and goaltending, their supporting cast is also chipping in. Francis: Unfortunately, the NHL has seen the last of ol’ Jags. His age and injuries have conspired to ensure he’s not able to keep up anymore Wes Gilbertson: Mike Smith hasn’t had many off-nights all season, and or provide the Flames with any sort of dependability. It hasn’t worked the defence has been stingy since early December. So why seven here, so why would anyone else take a chance on him? He’ll return to the straight all of a sudden? The Flames top trio had been in a funk, but Czech team he owns and play his final days there … for the next four Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Micheal Ferland have combined years. for 10 goals and 32 points during the winning spree. This is no longer a one-line team, but when the No.-1 unit is producing at that clip, the Odland: I truly believe that Jagr is done with the Flames and, potentially, Flames are tough to beat. done in the NHL. It’s been a frustrating season for the 45-year-old living legend, and, frankly, it’s sad to see it end this way. Playing in a Canadian Flames goaltender Mike Smith market is difficult, but it’s the first time in his career that he’s really Who would you select as the team’s MVP through 45 games played? struggled with injuries. You probably knew this was a possibility, given his age and the fact he had no training camp. Francis: Easy – Mike Smith. None of this is possible without the Flames shoring up its No. 1 problem the last handful of years. He’s not only Gilbertson: Well … he has a birthday coming up — he’ll be 46 on Feb. consistent, but he’s stolen games and made huge saves early to mask 15. Whether he negotiates an out with the Flames or continues to sit until slow starts that otherwise would have been runaways. His stickhandling his groin/knee heals, what the future doesn’t hold for Jagr, at least the has also taken pressure off the defencemen unlike any other goalie can. way I see it, is the NHL’s all-time games played record. Too bad, would have been neat to see him erase Gordie Howe’s career mark in Flames Odland: Mike Smith, and it’s not even close. Yes, Johnny Gaudreau is togs. playing out-of-this-world hockey, but without solid, dependable goaltending, the Flames are nowhere near the position they’re in right Max Pacioretty may be worth a look. now. He’s making the saves he should be making and, often, making the What does Brad Treliving need to do at the NHL’s trade deadline to saves he shouldn’t. He’s ultra-competitive and likeable — no one on the improve this club? team wants to let him down. Francis: This might be the year he goes from selling to buying at the Gilbertson: Can we call it a tie? Smith stole several games for the Flames deadline. The club could use another scoring winger – who couldn’t? – early in the season, when their defensive-zone play could be best and he should kick tires on Mike Hoffman and Max Pacioretty to see if summed up as, ‘Oh-bleep-hopefully-somebody-else-will-get-that-guy.’ some of his emerging prospects could land one of those big fish. He Gaudreau, meanwhile, has factored on 41.8 per cent of their goals and is should stay away from the Evander Kane gong show, though. a legitimate contender for the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading point-producer. Both MVP-worthy. Odland: Add another high-powered scorer … but not at the sacrifice of the organization’s future. A pipe-dream, right? It’s likely not going to Micheal Ferland celebrates a goal against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. happen as those commodities come at a price. Matt Stajan has been a 29. soldier for the Flames, but the reality is time is ticking on his career. He Which player has been the biggest surprise? scored on Sunday in Carolina (his first goal of the season), but ideally, you’d like to get more production from your fourth line or, at least, provide Francis: The fact that Mark Jankowski is a 20-goal threat is a little more juice. Their first and third lines are solidified, and when overshadowed by Micheal Ferland’s 19 at the midway point. Everyone Michael Frolik is healthy, you can expect he’ll pick up right he left off. knew Ferland had the tools to hang, compliment and protect the big boys Depth is so important in the NHL, and it trails off for the Flames outside on the top line, but no one was sure he’d be able to do it as consistently of their top three lines. as he has. Gilbertson: Turn off his cell-phone. Log off his e-mail. Maybe take his Odland: Micheal Ferland. The 25-year-old left-winger is on the verge of wife for lunch. It never hurts to add a bit of depth, especially on the his first 20-goal season ever with 19 goals and 10 assists in 44 games. blueline, but Treliving already traded away 2018/2019/2020 draft picks to land Smith and defenceman Travis Hamonic. With their recent call-ups showing well, does it make sense to surrender any more chips? A giant Canadian flag moves across the crowd at the Saddledome during a playoff game against Anaheim Ducks last season. Finish this sentence: The Flames will make the playoffs if … Francis: Glen Gulutzan hurls his stick a few more times with reminders the lads still have plenty of work to do. Complacency and inconsistency have been killers for these guys, making their home games an adventure at best. A better record at the Dome is the starting point for a bunch that, on paper, is a legitimate contender. Odland: Get their powerplay in order. It’s a small thing but so important, especially for this team that derives so much of its momentum from big goals and big-time plays. They’ve finally adjusted to life without Kris Versteeg, and it seems like both units are turning a corner. That and continue to separate themselves in the Pacific Division standings. Gilbertson: They don’t get too far ahead of themselves. As Glen Gulutzan’s profanity-filled, stick-tossing tantrum reminded us, this group is sometimes guilty of feeling too high on themselves. The Flames have all the makings of a playoff squad but only if they don’t fall back into any of their bad habits.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093730 Calgary Flames half of a back-to-back which helped extend the Flames’ current win streak.

David Rittich makes a save on a shot by Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Flames goaltending vision finally taking shape Barkov on Jan. 12. “He’s played well,” Treliving said of Rittich. “We thought he was a good Kristen Odland, goalie. You never know until you get here. But the other part to that position what people don’t understand is they have to have the right January 18, 2018 10:18 AM UTC make-up. When you play as a back-up to Mike Smith, you’re going into tough situations. You’re not getting a rested team (in front of you). You’re playing in back-to-backs and, sometimes, on the road. You have to have the ability but also the mental makeup to handle it. David’s got it. We Flames prospect Linus Lindstrom boosts his stock at world juniors think highly of David.” Calgary Flames goaltender David Rittich is shown in warm up before But wait … wasn’t Gillies was projected to be ‘the guy?’ The 75th overall NHL action against the Edmonton Oilers in Calgary Saturday, December back in the 2012 NHL draft, the 6-foot-6, 223-pounder who starred with 2, 2017. He replaced starter Mike Smith in the third period. Flames lost 7- the NCAA’s Providence Friars from 2012-15 before joining the AHL’s 5. Jim Wells/PostmediaJim Wells / Postmedia Heat in 2015-16? In the last five years, essentially defined as the post-Miikka Kiprusoff era He played seven games that year before undergoing hip surgery in what in this city, the Calgary Flames goaltending depth chart has been a was supposed to be his first full season of professional hockey. Then, revolving door rather than an escalator. last year, he was challenged by Rittich in Stockton and finished with an Granted, a goaltender’s progression to the National Hockey League is 18-14-1 with a 2.93 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. never linear. Heading into Wednesday’s game against the San Jose Barracuda, Gillies Heck … the path to the NHL for most players can be unpredictable. And was 11-8-2 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.43 goals against sometimes, the best laid plans — even if just for a short-term — never average. work out exactly as a general manager envisions when plotting the plan Flames management feels that Jon Gillies could use more time in the of attack during the off-season. AHL. Exploring Calgary’s timeline of netminders since the 2013 lockout season Clearly the Flames management believe that Rittich is a little more suited proves that. Before 2017-18, 12 different goaltenders had played for the for prime time (at the moment), while Gillies, who played one game for Flames since Kiprusoff — arguably the best goaltender in franchise the Flames in November when Smith was injured and Lack had allowed history — sailed off into the sunset, never to be heard from again. Those five goals on 15 shots, could benefit from a few more regular names, to jog your memory, are: Joey MacDonald, Danny Taylor, Leland appearances in the AHL. Irving, Reto Berra, Karri Ramo, Joni Ortio, Jonas Hiller, Niklas Backstrom, Brian Elliott, Chad Johnson, David Rittich and Jon Gillies. Remember that linear pattern? Doesn’t always happen. Keep in mind, these decisions were spread between three general managers: Jay Feaster, Brian Burke and Brad Treliving. “Everyone wants everyone to get to the NHL really quick,” said Treliving, who also has Mason McDonald, the second-round pick (34th overall) of But the fact that the Flames are finally approaching stable ground with a the 2014 draft now toiling with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. ‘It’s clear vision of the future should not come as a big surprise. not that easy, especially for goaltenders. We knew that, on our reserve list, we have some depth there, and we think those guys have a chance And even this season isn’t going quite as planned … to be good goaltenders. You look at David, you look at Jon Gillies, and Mike Smith stops Vancouver Canucks’ Markus Granlund on a breakaway down the line … It’s just a matter of when you think they’re ready.” on Dec. 9, 2017. But wait … what about Tyler Parsons, the Flames’ 54th overall draft pick Mike Smith is proving to be every bit the goaltender Treliving traded for, a in 2016? Isn’t he supposed to be ‘the guy,’ too? nice surprise as the 35-year-old former Arizona Coyotes star was sitting The 20-year-old’s story is interesting, too, as he began this year with the among the top-10 netminders who have won 20 games or more heading ECHL’s Mavericks and, after the Flames traded Lack to the Devils, a spot into the Flames five-day CBA-mandated bye-week. opened for him with the Heat. Smith has played 38 games, going 20-13-3, which is also among the His first AHL game wasn’t entirely indicative of the final score, as most heavily utilized netminders in the NHL. His 2.46 goals-against Parsons kept the Heat afloat early in the game but wound up losing 7-2 average was fifth in the NHL among goalies playing 35 games or more as Parsons faced 40 shots. (heading into Wednesday’s action) while his .924 save percentage had him in a three-way tie for second in the league along with Jonathan Quick Competition will no doubt exist between the two Heat goalies, but of the L.A. Kings and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. Treliving has no plans to rush either netminder up to the NHL. But the Flames brought in Eddie Lack during the off-season as a “Let’s just hold on … let’s let them develop on their own time,” Treliving potential back-up, given that he’d played some NHL games and could, said. “We don’t want to rush things. I like where we’re trending. We think potentially, spell off Smith. It became clear early on that Lack wasn’t as it’s starting to set up. But we’ll see. It takes time. You look at guys that dependable as they originally thought (and needed more live bullets), so have had a year or two or three down there and it doesn’t hurt them, the team put him on waivers Nov. 23. The Flames sent him to play with especially at that position.” the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat and eventually traded him to the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 30. Backup goalie Eddie Lack was traded to New Jersey Devils on Dec. 30. Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.19.2018 “I don’t know if it’s changed,” said Treliving, when asked about his club’s goaltending landscape as of Jan. 14. “We brought Eddie in during the summer and wanted to be careful of rushing everyone … We got into the season, and Eddie didn’t get to play. But it was over that two-month period that the guys in Stockton were ready. They were ready for an opportunity. “We felt we could move Eddie along, and it allows us to give David a chance and a lot of reps for Jon.” David, of course, is Rittich, the 25-year-old Czech netminder who was a wildcard in 2016-17 when the Flames signed him to a one-year deal, his first season in North America. Originally brought in as competition for Jon Gillies, the heir apparent to the throne in Calgary, Rittich is now Smith’s back-up. Able to mentally handle the back-up role in stride, Rittich has played six games this season and has a 4-1-0 record. One of those victories was a 41-save effort, a 4-2 win over the host Florida Panthers on the second 1093731 Calgary Flames If he breaks 38 points, he'll become just the second defender to score that many at 34 or older. The last guy to do it was Phil Housley, back in 1998-99 and 1999-2000, at the ages of 34 and 35, respectively. Five Flames who might make franchise history this season While cheering for the Flames this year has been frustrating at times, we should remember that we're likely seeing some of the best players and, potentially, some of the best single-season performances to ever come By Kent Wilson through the franchise over its 40-year history.

Prior to the recent seven-game winning streak, the Calgary Flames The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 season had been very up-and-down. The team had problems starting games, then keeping leads. When their penalty killing was good, their power play wasn't. When the defence started to restrict shots against, their even strength offence evaporated. The frustrating start-and-stop nature of their year has masked some remarkable performances from individual players so far. In fact, after 45 games, a handful of Calgary players are poised to make an indelible mark on the franchise's history, assuming they can continue to perform at the same level for the rest of the year. With the help of Hockey Reference, here are the five guys who could enter the Calgary Flames' record books this season. 1.) Johnny Gaudreau (98 point season) With 54 points in 45 games, Johnny Gaudreau is projected to score 98 points by the end of the season. If he manages the feat, he'll become just the second Flame in the last 25 years to hit that number (Jarome Iginla did it once in 2007-08). The last Flame to do it before Iginla? Theoren Fleury, back in 1992-93, when he garnered 100 points in 83 games. Over the course of franchise history, just 10 Flames have managed to score 98 or more in a single season, and almost all of them did it during a much higher scoring era in the '80s. 2.) Sean Monahan (38 goals at 23 years old or younger) Sean Monahan is also on pace for a career-best season, including the potential to score 38 goals (he has 21 currently). If he does it, Monahan will join a group of just eight other Flames skaters who managed to score 38 or more before their 24th birthday. Joe Nieuwendyk actually did it three times, aided by a higher scoring era and some of the greatest lineups the team has ever put on the ice. Theoren Fleury did it once at 22 years old (51 goals) and Robert Reichel joined the club twice at 21 and 22 years old (40 goals each time). 3.) Mike Smith (.924 SV% at 35 years old) Most goalies aren't NHL starters at 35 years old and only a few of them manage to put together an above average season at that age. In fact, if Mike Smith can hold on to his current .924 save percentage, he will become the first netminder in Flames history to have that high a save rate at 35+. No, not even Kipper did it. As with the forwards above, this is a bit of an uneven comparison, for the opposite reason. While scoring was much easier back in the 80's and early 90's, the corresponding league-wide save percentage was much lower. As such, a goalie like Mike Vernon doesn't really have a chance in this sort of comparison. Nevertheless, Smith's season will be one of a kind if he can hold the fort. 4.) Matthew Tkachuk (56 points at 20 years old) With guys like Monahan and Gaudreau on the roster, it's sometimes easy to forget how remarkable Matthew Tkachuk is. Although he isn't a flashy player like Gaudreau or a sniper like Monahan, Tkachuk already excels in some of the toughest circumstances in the league alongside Mikael Backlund. He is currently third on the Flames in scoring with 13 goals and 31 points, despite facing much tougher minutes than the club's two offensive stars. If Tkachuk can continue to score at this pace, it will be just the sixth time in Flames history a player 20 years old or younger has scored 56 or more points in a season. Monahan joined that list in 2014-15 with his 61 point season, and the other guys are players from a bygone era (Dan Quinn, Tom Lysiak, and Kevin LaVallee). 5.) Mark Giordano (38 points at 34 years old) A lot of great defenders have made their way through the Calgary organization. Al MacInnis, Gary Suter, Phil Housley, Paul Reinhart, to name just a few. When his career is over, Mark Giordano will likely be remembered among them. This year, the Flames captain is again the best defender on the team and on pace to score 38-points, his fifth straight season with 35 or more. 1093732 Chicago Blackhawks Some things never change: Despite limited action, the player known as “Hammer” still ranks among the league’s top 10 in blocked shots per game, average 2.5. Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet referenced that Column: Niklas Hjalmarsson tries to move on after regrettable trade from dependability when Hjalmarsson returned from his lengthy absence. Blackhawks “He’s steady for us,” Tocchet told reporters. Gradually, life in the desert steadies for Hjalmarsson and his wife, Elina, David Haugh who always embraced the opportunity to stay active in the Chicago community. The family relocated outside Scottsdale with sons Theo, 3, and Oliver, who was born last April just before the playoffs. During Hjalmarsson’s extended layoff due to injuries, Dad stayed busy scouting Two minutes into a conversation at Gila River Arena, Coyotes places to take the kids — and enjoyed all his outdoor wintertime options. defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson sounded as if he misses the Blackhawks as much as his former team clearly misses him. “I can tell you it’s definitely different celebrating Christmas without cold or snow, but you get used to it quickly and start liking it,’’ Hjalmarsson said. “I grew up there,’’ Hjalmarsson said of his 10 seasons with the Hawks. “Beautiful scenery. This is one of the better places to live in this league if “As a kid in the minors, my first organization. … The city was special to you have a family. The organization is great and super friendly to me. My me, and the guys I played with for such a long time, I’ll be connected with wife is starting to like it, a great place off the ice.’’ my whole life. There are a lot of fun reunions I’m looking forward to.’’ On the ice remains a work in progress in Arizona. Looking back at the breakup still is baffling, especially considering how much the Hawks have struggled on the blue line. But then unloading the “I’m just trying to stay positive and work as hard as I can to be a best defensive defenseman on the roster will have that effect on a team. professional,’’ Hjalmarsson said. “It’s definitely a different experience, but I think after all those years in Chicago, I got a little spoiled.’’ On the day of the NHL draft last June, Hawks general manager Stan Bowman overreacted to his vow for change by trading Hjalmarsson to the He wasn’t the only one. Coyotes for younger and more affordable defenseman Connor Murphy, who has been a disappointment. Chicago Tribune LOADED: 01.19.2018 One of only seven Hawks to have his name engraved on three Stanley Cups, Hjalmarsson left town regarded as one of the top defensemen in team history — yet was considered expendable at 30. The fact that veteran Duncan Keith has been the only Hawks defenseman who hasn’t been a healthy scratch this season says everything about the inconsistency at the position. Those persistent problems underscore why trading Hjalmarsson upset Hawks coach Joel Quenneville enough for him to walk out of an NHL coaches meeting last summer after he was told. Hjalmarsson learned about the trade at home in Sweden, where it took awhile for the news to register. “I didn’t see it coming,’’ Hjalmarsson said. “I felt like I had a decent regular season, but obviously our playoff run was embarrassing. Every year with the salary-cap situation in Chicago, a couple guys always move, so it was my turn — even if I wasn’t prepared for it.’’ Seven months later, Hjalmarsson says he has yet to talk to Bowman about the deal but holds no bitterness. He even roots for the Hawks to make the playoffs. He didn’t develop a reputation as one of the toughest guys in the league, pound for pound, because his ego bruises easily. “It doesn’t bother me, and we’ll talk sometime in the future,’’ Hjalmarsson said. “I understand it’s a business. In this league, you have to separate that and try to see it Stan’s way and what he’s trying to do for the team. His opinion was he was trying to make the team better, and I have to accept that.’’ Hjalmarsson smiled. “Instead of being pissed off about it, I’m trying to look back and be extremely proud of what I did in Chicago and thankful for the fans there,’’ he said. In Arizona, fewer fans care about hockey and fall short of creating the atmosphere Hjalmarsson experienced at the United Center. The anthem before Tuesday night’s matchup against the Sharks, which ended in a 3- 2 shootout loss, came before a crowd of only 11,961 in a building that lacked buzz. No NHL team has fewer than the Coyotes’ 10 victories and, in this market, nobody seems terribly bothered about it. The Coyotes hoped Hjalmarsson would help establish a winning culture, one of the reasons they made him an alternate captain. He welcomes the responsibility. “We had a lot of leaders in Chicago, but obviously I have a bigger role here with such a young team, so I want to show consistency on the ice with how I’m playing and off the ice with how I’m preparing and taking care of my body,’’ Hjalmarsson said. Injuries have slowed Hjalmarsson’s adjustment, causing him to miss 26 games already after missing just 32 over his last eight seasons with the Hawks. The first upper-body injury occurred Oct. 30 against the Flyers, and a second one happened Nov. 28 against the Oilers, knocking him out the entire month of December. “It’s been a little frustrating obviously because you want to put your best foot forward and prove the organization right,’’ Hjalmarsson said. 1093733 Chicago Blackhawks

Luck of the draw hasn’t been kind to Blackhawks centers

01/18/2018, 10:32PM Mark Lazerus

At the tail end of most morning skates, Jonathan Toews and several other Blackhawks forwards will crowd around one of the neutral-zone dots and start working on faceoffs. An assistant coach will play the part of linesman, throwing down puck after puck. And typically, Toews wins draw after draw. It’d be funny if it weren’t so problematic. Toews is one of the best faceoff men in the league, winning draws at a terrific 57.4 percent clip this season. The problem is, he has been the only guy on the team above water at the dot. Artem Anisimov is at a respectable 47 percent. Tommy Wingels, a winger by trade, is at 45.9 percent. Ryan Hartman and Vinnie Hinostroza, natural wingers who have spent time at center this season, are 45.1 and 44.8 percent, respectively. And Nick Schmaltz, the Hawks’ No. 2 center, is at a dreadful 40.1 percent. Even with Toews, the Hawks are 20th in the league at the dot at 49.5 percent. “We’re a puck-possession team, so that’s a huge piece of it,” Schmaltz said. “You’ve got to bear down. I’m definitely working on that. The more we can boost that percentage up, that’ll help our team game and help us have the puck more.” It has gotten to the point where Toews frequently starts a penalty-kill shift in his own zone just to take the faceoff, then immediately scampers back to the bench for a change once the Hawks have possession. “He really keeps us in the mix with his efficiency,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “Outside of him, Vinnie hasn’t really taken a lot of faceoffs in his career. Arty’s never been in that area where he’s been above [50 percent]. And Tommy hasn’t been a center. It’s what it is.” Rookie David Kampf has helped, winning 52.5 percent of his draws in his 10 games as the third-line center. But the Hawks’ inability to win key draws — particularly offensive-zone draws on the power play and defensive-zone draws on the penalty kill — has been an issue throughout the season. It has been a bad year to have so many wingers and first-year centers in the mix, given the league’s crackdown on faceoff violations. Toews sometimes gets thrown out of the faceoff circle a half-dozen times in a game. So winger Brandon Saad has taken 66 draws, losing 40. Alex DeBrincat, John Hayden and Lance Bouma have taken at least 22 faceoffs each, despite never playing in the middle. The crackdown has focused on keeping players’ skates behind the hashmarks, forcing them to be square and preventing them from “cheating” for little advantages with an early stick or gliding into a draw with some momentum. “Some games you get away with stuff, and other games you don’t,” Schmaltz said. “You can cheat a little more with certain refs. And you can try to cheat a little bit more in the neutral zone, where there aren’t those lines, then deal with the rules in the offensive and defensive zones.” Getting to know the linesmen — what they allow, how quick their hooks are, how they throw the puck — is key, too. “Some linesmen let a little bit go, and some are so stiff they throw you out right away,” Anisimov said. “Some games it’s easy, some games it’s harder. And sometimes in the same game, you have two very different linesmen.” The Hawks regularly work with faceoff specialist Yanic Perreault, but Toews plays a similar role, working with younger players and natural wingers and teaching them the game within the game. “We try to pick each other’s brains, and we ask [Toews] all the time what he does because he’s really good there,” Wingels said. “Just because it’s not our natural position doesn’t mean we can’t be elite in that area. So we’re working on it as much as we can. It’s an area we have to get better in.” Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093734 Colorado Avalanche What will likely happen to Girard’s playing time when Barrie returns? Mike: It will decrease, mostly because of the PP … Barrie is our top PP point guy. I have thought Girard has been doing a great job in Barrie’s Lunch Special: What could the Avalanche do at the trade deadline? absence. He struggled some after his first couple weeks with the team, but, man, he’s a terrific young talent — just needs playing time. By MIKE CHAMBERS PUBLISHED: January 18, 2018 at 11:35 am | Anyone on the team staying in touch with Dutchy? UPDATED: January 18, 2018 at 3:44 PM Mike: I really don’t know, but suspect so … Will there be an impact defensemen available at the trade deadline that The Denver Post’s Mike Chambers answered your questions in a live would be a good fit with the Avalanche? chat. Here are the highlights: Mike: Well, Oliver Ekman-Larsson MIGHT be out there. What does ARZ At this year’s trade deadline, what do you think the Avs will do? I hope do with its rebuild? Just not working, and it’s not because of a lack of they more of less stay where they are. With the chemistry the team talent. I’m thinking the Yotes might consider moving OEL, and thus he currently has I would hate to do something to ruin that. Only possible would be the most sought-after D in the league. The guy is super trade I would think about would be for a good upcoming goalie. Our talented and would cost a fortune … but a fortune is what the Avs got for defense will start to get a great upgrade in the next few years. Duchene, and there’s a lot of prospects and draft picks in there, plus current assets, that you could probably get OEL. He’s under contract at Mike: Good question. it’s going to be interesting what GM Joe Sakic does $4.5M through next season and then UFA — and Yotes probably can’t — stand pat or use some of the goodies he got in the Duchene trade to afford him. Trading him now will bring a bigger return than a year from improve the team for the spring playoff push. Imagine Montreal captain now when he’s just a deadline rental. Max Pacioretty in CO? Looks the Habs will be sellers and despite his team-friendly $4.5M cap hit the captain could be on the block if Montreal I subscribed today. doesn’t win a ton of games over the next month. Mike: Thank you! I realize you have a lot of options with sports coverage I don’t think they’ll go after a goalie — with Jonathan Bernier, Semyon here in CO, and everywhere, but if nothing else I’d like to remind people Varlamov and Andrew Hammond, plus Spencer Martin in the AHL, I to subscribe because of the watch-dog business that we are. If big believe they think they’re good there. Keep in mind Varlamov is already papers like the DP fold the political/business industry could become back skating. super corrupt. Every community needs a community newspaper that has the peoples’ backs. As for sports, I hope you consider supporting us What do you think changed fundamentally to make the Avs so good on because, if you’re not on the road, in the locker room all the time, you’re the penalty kill this year? not in the game. Our road travel is expensive but absolutely necessary for us to give you the inside scoop. Mike: I guess coaching … The PK is just awesome and the Carl Soderberg line should take much of the credit. Those guys have been so Do you see Barrie here long term with all the young puck-moving D in good in that situation. They each were here last year, too, and played in their future? similar roles, but the PK was bad along with everything else. Confidence has to be a factor too. You get rolling on something and suddenly you’re Mike: Great question … All depends on Makar and Timmins. Think of it not afraid to take a penalty because you’re confident the team will kill it. this way: If you have two guys on their ELCs and they’re generally That extends to even strength and everything else in your game. capable of doing what Barrie does, wouldn’t you want to growth the the young, relatively inexpensive younger guys than a guy making $5.5M? Tyson Barrie and Nathan MacKinnon are around the same age, both It’s a business and if Barrie’s numbers don’t add up I do believe he will single (or not in a heavy relationship that I know of), and they live in be shopped. Cherry Creek. So that’s a natural bro-mance, as you say. Johnson and Landeskog are tight and the rookies all hang out — J.T. Compher, Tyson Do you think OEL would be enough to help the Avs not only get into the Jost, Alex Kerfoot, A.J. Greer, Samuel Girard etc. Girard is just 19 but playoffs but out of the first and possibly second round? They are very lives with his girlfriend so he’s got his own group. Blake Comeau and young which can work against them but they have shown a lot of grit and Soderberg are 30-something family men so they have a lot in common … ability to finish games. Not to mention the special teams have been really but last year there was much more of that, with Jarome Iginla, John good. What are your thoughts? Mitchell, Rene Bourque, Francois Beauchemin etc. … Just a younger, Mike: I think Ekman-Larsson could help any team go anywhere … Just a more vibrant team this year. massive left-shooting talent and he would fit in great in COL with the Mike, What are the chances we see Conor Timmins or Cale Makar with other Swedes. Nikita Zadorov is coming along very nicely but imagine the big club next year? OEL and Erik Johnson as a top pair … exciting stuff, then Zadorov commands the second pair and probably becomes better because of it. Mike: Timmins: Strong. Makar: who knows? Something tells me Makar really wants to focus on getting halfway through his degree — something If Varly’s injuries become a concern long-term, do they have a good I thought about when he turned down the Canadian Olympic team. But I prospect for No. 2 or even a new No. 1? Or will they trade for someone? don’t think you want to bring both these guys in at once. Remember, Mike: I answered this a little while ago … please scroll up and know I they’re both right-shooting, puck-moving D. In today’s game, you want believe the Avs are fine with Bernier and Hammond carrying the mail if multiple guys like that in your lineup but probably not two rookies. Varlamov doesn’t recover and get back out there. Bernier’s had the Hey Mike. Thanks a ton for doing this. In an article today, it said Varly is better season anyway … skating on his own, but now with the team. Any insight into his return? Just a few months ago is seemed like Joe Sakic needed to be fired. But Mike: I suspect he’ll travel, brother … team departs Sunday for Toronto, after the Duchene trade and the team playing well, how much time do which is relatively close to where Hammond plays in the AHL for you think he’s bought himself with this youth movement? What’s his Belleview. So they’ll probably take three goalies on the charter and re- reputation around the league now as a GM? evaluate Varlamov during the Toronto-Montreal back-to-back set. I doubt Mike: His reputation WAS a Hockey Hall of Famer who was over his Bernier will play both of those games. So it’s either Varlamov or head as GM. Not now. He’s winning the O’Reilly trade and he absolutely Hammond in one of them, I suspect. killed it in the Duchene trade. His mistakes — Berra, Brad Stuart, But certainly, it’s a good sign Varlamov is back on the ice. It appears he Beauchemin/Iginla term … and generally going after far too many 30- tweaked the groin — and it might not be the same problem he had the somethings when the league was getting younger, is a thing of the past. last three-four years. Lots of muscles in there. He’s learned his lessons. Not saying he’s a well-respected GM just yet but I believe his peers respect his patience. Do you think the Avs hurried Tyson Jost to the NHL? Where do you see his ceiling? Thanks! Is MacKinnon getting any serious consideration for the Hart Trophy? Mike: Ummmmmmmm, YES … Should be a sophomore at North Dakota. Mike: Yes, absolutely. Like everyone in COL, people around North Should have captained Canada in the WJC. His two early leg/hip injuries American know how talented MacKinnon is and have expected him to set him back but even when he’s healthy he’s not doing much out there. take off. Take a look at the other MVP guys — the Tampa guys, NYI He’s been OK on the PP but Compher and Kerfoot are MUCH more guys … they complement each other. Not saying Landeskog and ahead of Jost because of age. At 19, it’s tough. Compher is 22 and Rantanen don’t compliment 29 but MacKinnon is putting up huge Kerfoot 23. Sam Girard is just a freak of nature playing D in the NHL at numbers without MVP talk of 92 and 96. So that’s an advantage for 19. MacKinnon’s Hart Trophy push. Do you think Buffalo is rethinking making ROR a long term $7.5 mil cap hit? His production isn’t elite and any intangibles he was supposed to bring to Buffalo haven’t translated into wins. Mike: Well, Buffalo obviously wishes it had Compher and now realizes Zadorov is a terrific young D in this league … I don’t like to speak about something I don’t know but O’Reilly is a big-money guy on a bad team and that’s tough for him. I’m doing an upcoming podcast on the O’Reilly trade and really examine it with a buddy who played at Wisconsin. A very opinionated buddy … It goes without saying that this year is a ton of fun (compared to last!). What does it take for the Av’s to go from the verge of the playoffs to a threat to winning it all in the coming years? Mike: I guess you have to ask Edmonton. Last season the Oilers were feeling out the playoffs and supposed to be in Cup contention this year. That’s not the case. Man, the parity in this league is razor thin. So incredibly close. You have to have chemistry to make it all consistently click. So even thought the Avs presumably will be better next season with all the youth, you can’t count on that — which is why I believe you make the strongest playoff push when you can, and why Sakic should be aggressive at the trade deadline.

Denver Post: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093735 Colorado Avalanche The Avs complete a three-game homestand Saturday against the New York Rangers before visiting Toronto on Monday to begin a stretch that has them playing 13-of-16 games outside Denver. Eight it is: Avalanche hangs on to defeat San Jose to extend winning Denver Post: LOADED: 01.19.2018 streak

By MIKE CHAMBERS | PUBLISHED: January 18, 2018 at 9:52 pm | UPDATED: January 18, 2018 at 11:15 PM

Extending its winning streak to eight games seemed like a sure thing 22 minutes into the game Thursday night, but the Avalanche had to scratch and claw for it after surviving an impressive comeback by the San Jose Sharks at the Pepsi Center. Behind Nathan MacKinnon’s two goals and eighth three-point performance of his remarkable season, the Avs prevailed 5-3 to for their eighth consecutive win, the third-longest streak in club history. Colorado nearly blew a 4-0 lead, allowing three consecutive goals before getting the game’s final one from left wing Matt Nieto with 3:14 to play. “It was a good test for us,” MacKinnon, the NHL’s second-leading scorer, said after tightening the scoring race to four points behind Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. “Down the stretch, they scored a couple goals. They broke (the shutout) up in the second, a couple in the third and all of the sudden it’s a one-goal game. They had like seven power plays so that’s obviously tough to give the fifth-ranked power play but our PK stopped every one of them, which was fantastic. It was a collective effort tonight.” Colorado has scored first in all eight victories during its streak and outscored its opponents a combined 34-13. The Avs have not trailed during the streak, the longest stretch of consecutive wins without trailing in Quebec/Colorado history. MacKinnon’s right winger, Mikko Rantanen, also had a three-point night with a goal and two assists; and second line Nieto had a goal and an assist. Nieto’s goal at 16:46 of the third period stopped the bleeding — and it was profuse. “We won the first half of the game. They won the second half and our goalie was a difference-maker tonight,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. Goalie Jonathan Bernier (44 saves) was outstanding to extend his winning streak to seven games, making some of his best saves to prevent San Jose from getting its fourth goal and tying it up. The Sharks were 0-of-7 on the power play, but fed off Colorado’s penalties to dominate the second half of the game. Bernier, who has technically been playing for the injured Semyon Varlamov, can’t recall if he previously won seven straight games in his career — primarily because he doesn’t usually start that many consecutive games. “The thing is, even when you get rolling, even when I was in Toronto and playing a lot, you usually get a rest,” he said. “But now Varly’s not there so it’s kind of nice I get to be on the roll and play every night. It feels good.” The Avs, who took their 4-0 lead just 1:34 into the second period, only produced 16 shots through two periods. But they nevertheless controlled the first half of the game by burying their chances and avoided getting hemmed in their own zone. It was an end-to-end affair but Colorado was more opportunistic. MacKinnon scored 7:03 and 8:01 into the game, the latter on the power play with a one-time slap shot from pointman Sam Girard. Center Carl Soderberg made it 3-0 at 18:14 to cap a nifty behind-the-net play by Nieto. And winger Rantanen redirected the puck off his body 1:34 into the second frame. MacKinnon touched the puck with his stick before it caromed in off Rantanen. If Colorado did anything wrong in the first 40 minutes, it was taking four penalties. The third one, by rookie forward Alex Kerfoot, led to San Jose’s goal at 9:44 of the second period. The goal came at the same time Kerfoot was released from the box, so it wasn’t a power-play goal, but Kerfoot’s interference minor hurt nonetheless. After San Jose scored two quick goals to begin the third period, Colorado continued to take penalties, and the ice became tilted in San Jose’s favor. The Sharks got goals from Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Thornton at 29 seconds and 4:53, respectively, of the final frame. Joe Pavelski “We felt like we should have won that game, at least tie it up there,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “They make a nice play to score an extra one, but even at that point with the opportunities and power plays we had, we made it 4-3 and got some looks. Our only thought was to tie it up. It’s a deep hole to come back from, but a lot of credit to the guys to make it a game and give ourselves a chance.” 1093736 Colorado Avalanche

Musical chairs with Colorado Avalanche rookie forwards

By MIKE CHAMBERS PUBLISHED: January 18, 2018 at 7:01 pm | UPDATED: January 18, 2018 at 9:52 PM

The Avalanche, now tied with Columbus as the NHL’s youngest team, has a plethora of rookie forwards. Previously injured rookie J.T. Compher returned to the lineup Thursday, replacing rookie Tyson Jost — who sustained an injury last game — as Colorado’s fourth-line center. And rookie Dominic Toninato, who was recalled from the minors Tuesday, replaced rookie A.J. Greer as the left- winger on rookie center Alex Kerfoot’s line. That’s five rookie forwards, but the Avs have actually used six this season: Vladislav Kamenev, who was acquired from Nashville in the Nov. 5 Matt Duchene trade, made his Avalanche debut Nov. 16 in a game he broke his arm and hasn’t played since. The Avs’ healthy scratches against the San Jose Sharks were Greer and defenseman David Warsofsky. On the mend. Forward Sven Andrighetto and defenseman Tyson Barrie participated in Thursday’s morning skate and goalie Semyon Varlamov skated on his own. Each could return from injury and play as early as Saturday against the New York Rangers, but it’s more likely they’re held out until the beginning of a three-game road trip Monday at Toronto. Andrighetto missed his sixth consecutive game Thursday with a leg injury and Barrie missed his ninth straight with a fractured hand. Varlamov sustained a groin-area injury Jan. 2 and has missed the last five games. Jost has a leg injury from inadvertently blocking a teammate’s shot in Monday’s 3-1 victory over Anaheim. He is day-to-day. Footnotes. The Avs and Columbus Blue Jackets each have an average age of 26.5, youngest in the NHL. … Entering Thursday, Colorado’s power play was a sizzling 31.1 percent (14-of-45) in its previous 12 games. … San Jose has scored 20 power-play goals in its last 17 games, and had scored on the man-advantage in nine straight home games. … The Sharks are on a stretch that has them playing 14-of-18 games outside San Jose. The Avs, after Saturday’s matinee against the Rangers, will play 13 of their next 16 games outside Denver. Denver Post: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093737 Colorado Avalanche

MacKinnon, Avs win 8th straight by holding off Sharks

By: PAT GRAHAM, AP Sports Writer January 18, 2018 Updated: January 18, 2018 at 10:08 PM

DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice during a 58-second span in the first period, Matt Nieto added a late insurance goal and the Colorado Avalanche ran their winning streak to eight straight by holding off the San Jose Sharks 5-3 on Thursday night. Carl Soderberg also scored, while Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists for the Avs, who've won eight in a row for the first time since the 2005-06 season. It's tied for the third-longest streak in franchise history. Even more, Colorado has never trailed during the stretch and has outscored teams by a 34-13 margin. What looked like a cakewalk turned into anything but with Colorado nearly squandering a 4-0 advantage. The Sharks sliced the deficit to a goal when Joe Thornton scored early in the third period. Nieto sealed the win with a goal against his former team with 3:14 remaining. Timo Meier and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also had goals for San Jose. Jonathan Bernier stopped 45 shots to run his winning streak to a career- best seven games. He's filling in with starter Semyon Varlamov sidelined by a lower-body injury. Bernier made a big save on a power play in the third period, when he just stuck out his left pad to thwart Tomas Hertl. Colorado weathered seven penalties and was outshot by San Jose 48- 22. The line of Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog and MacKinnon combined for three goals and four assists. MacKinnon also added an assist and leads the league in scoring at home with 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) in 25 games. He put the Avalanche up early in the first period when he sent a wrist shot through the legs of Vlasic and through the pads of goaltender Martin Jones. He added another on a slap shot that ticked off Jones' glove and went in. MacKinnon also was credited with an assist on a goal in the second period that hit Rantanen off and bounced in. It gave Colorado a 4-0 lead. NOTES: The Sharks are in a stretch during which they play 14 of 18 games on the road. ... This was the first of three meetings between San Jose and Colorado. ... Avalanche C Tyson Jost (lower body) was out of the lineup, while LW J.T. Compher (upper body) returned after missing six games. "They're kind of trading off injuries," coach Jared Bednar said. ... F Sven Andrighetto (lower body) was placed on injured reserve. ... Varlamov has resumed skating, Bednar said. ... Colorado has scored 92 goals on home ice, the most in the league. ... There was a scary moment in the second when Soderberg appeared to take a skate to the neck when he fell to the ice. He headed to the bench and into the dressing room. He returned later in the second. UP NEXT Sharks: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday. Avalanche: Wrap up a three-game homestand Saturday against the New York Rangers. Colorado Springs Gazette: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093738 Columbus Blue Jackets “It always helps when you’ve had the coach before and you know what to expect,” Jokinen said. “The best thing with Torts is there’s no gray line. You know if you’re playing well, you’re playing more. If you’re not playing Blue Jackets: Jokinen recalls his time as an opponent in Nationwide well, you’re not playing that much. He’s really direct. You know what he Arena wants.” Injury update By Steve Gorten Tortorella described defenseman Ryan Murray, who will miss his 23rd consecutive game Thursday because of an upper-body injury, as “not Posted at 12:45 PM even close” to returning, and added, “That’s not even in the conversation for me.” Updated at 2:12 PM Right wing Cam Atkinson skated in full pads Thursday after skating in regular clothes prior to practice Wednesday for the first time since foot surgery. Newly acquired forward Jussi Jokinen took the ice with his Blue Jackets teammates for the first time Thursday during a rare morning skate prior to Slap shots playing the Dallas Stars, but he was already familiar with several of them. Stars defenseman Dillon Heatherington, whom the Jackets drafted in the Jokinen, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings on second round (50th overall) in 2013, will make his NHL debut Thursday. Wednesday and arrived in Columbus later that night, said he got to know In that same draft, the Jackets selected center Alexander Wennberg in the Jackets well during a 2013-14 playoff series while he was playing for the first round (14th overall) and right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand in the third the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins won that series 4-2. (89th overall). ... In recognition of Military Appreciation Night, the Jackets will wear camouflage jerseys during pregame warm-ups that will be “It’s one of the best playoff series I’ve ever been a part of. It was two auctioned off or raffled. Some players will also wrap camo tape around great teams,” he said. “That’s when Columbus really showed they’re their sticks. ... The Jackets enter Thursday’s game having scored on 21.2 going to be a really good team for a long time.” percent of their power plays (11 of 52) since Dec. 8, a stretch of 18 Jokinen joked that he “was afraid of that cannon before” at Nationwide games that has bumped them up one spot from last in the NHL rankings Arena, but has grown accustomed to it after several appearances here. to 30th (13.5 percent). 1/1HIDE CAPTION Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stops a shot from then-Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Jussi Jokinen during a Stanley Cup playoffs first- round matchup in Nationwide Arena on April 28, 2014. [Adam Cairns] “It was an unbelievable rink to play in. Even regular-season games, it’s a nice atmosphere,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed playing here.” The 34-year-old veteran, who started the season with the Oilers before getting traded to the Kings, will make his Blue Jackets debut Thursday against the Stars, the same team that drafted him in the sixth round in 2001. Coach John Tortorella said he didn’t know whether Jokinen would start out playing center or wing. Jokinen provided the impression he’ll be at center. The Jackets did not skate in lines Thursday. Jokinen said he’s eager to make an impact with the Jackets, his fourth team in the past year and eighth overall. “I’ve been written out of this league so many times in my career. I’ve always found a way to come back,” Jokinen said. “It’s now that time again. It’s a fun challenge. You enjoy that challenge and pressure. You have to prove yourself again.” Jokinen said the knee injury that hampered him last season with the Panthers, when he had 11 goals and 17 assists, is no longer an issue. “I’ve been 100 percent healthy the whole summer and this year,” he noted. “My body feels really good.” Jokinen said “versatility” is his top asset, and he can play anywhere from the top line down to the fourth. Tortorella said Jokinen will be used in all situations, including power play and penalty kill. Jokinen said he feels he can help the team on faceoffs as well. “As a good hockey team, you need different types of players and I feel I can bring something different that these guys don’t have yet,” Jokinen said. “So I’m excited to be here.” In 32 games with the Oilers and Kings this season, Jokinen had a goal and five assists. In 2015-16, he had 18 goals and 42 assists as the Panthers won the Atlantic Division under former Jackets coach Gerard Gallant. Jokinen averaged 53.7 points the previous three seasons, and said he’s still capable of piling up points. “A year and a half ago I had 60 points, probably the best season of my career at (age) 33, so I still feel I have lots of hockey to be played and my body feels really good. Last year was a tough year in Florida, and this year it hasn’t gone that well, but at the same time you have to remember what kind of role you’re playing. In Florida, I was playing top-six and power play and this year I’ve been mostly playing fourth line, 10 or 11 minutes.” Jokinen has a long-standing relationship with Jackets general manager and fellow Finn Jarmo Kekalainen that includes their time together at the Olympics and World Cup. He’s from the same hometown as countryman and Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara, and the two have trained together in the offseason. Jokinen also played for Tortorella in Tampa Bay. 1093739 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets 2, Stars 1, SO | Joonas Korpisalo shines in victory

By George Richards Posted Jan 18, 2018 at 10:59 PM Updated Jan 18, 2018 at 11:00 PM

Before his team’s five-day break, Joonas Korpisalo was told to be ready to play when the Blue Jackets returned. Instead of going to South Beach or the Bahamas like many of his teammates, Korpisalo reported to minor-league Cleveland to get some work in before returning to the Jackets for more preparation. It paid off Thursday night. Korpisalo got the start and made 35 saves, not including two in the shootout, and Columbus snapped a two-game slide with a 2-1 shootout win over the Dallas Stars. The Jackets have won the past five against Dallas. “All the other guys were in Miami but I came here and practiced, and that made it a bit easier on me,” Korpisalo said. Starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has won 11 of 13 against the Stars, yet coach John Tortorella decided early that his backup would be on the ice. Bobrovsky, meanwhile, watched the game from the end of the bench in a ski cap. “I have a lot of respect for (Korpisalo) because he ... got himself ready,” Tortorella said. “Bobrovsky has struggled a little coming out of a break, so this was planned. Korpisalo has handled himself very well, made some key saves. We were on his back tonight.” Korpisalo had a shutout going until Dallas tied things at 1 with 2:05 remaining in regulation after Alex Radulov fired off a 60-foot shot that found a way through. In his second overtime session of the season, Korpisalo made four saves on the Stars as both teams had 4-on-3 power-play chances go for naught. Korpisalo only faced two shots in the shootout (Radulov lost the puck), with Artemi Panarin scoring the winner in the second round. The Jackets improved to 12-3 in overtime games and 6-3 in shootouts. “I knew about this, so my game (for Cleveland) last Saturday night was in preparation for this,” Korpisalo said. “It feels great to play here. It feels like it has been a long time since I did. This was a big win.” Said newly acquired Jussi Jokinen: “He was the difference-maker.” The Jackets gave Korpisalo a 1-0 lead midway through the first when Jordan Schroeder charged the net and picked off Dan Hamhuis’ errant clearing pass from behind the net and then beat Ben Bishop. “It felt good, I got a good bounce and that happens when you’re playing the right way,” Schroeder said. “You get those bounces. It was a good forecheck by our line to force the turnover, and I was able to pounce on it.” Dallas appeared to tie the score at 1 early in the third period when Radulov — a nice free-agent signing by the Stars — brought the puck in low, with Antoine Roussel getting it past Korpisalo. Radulov and Korpisalo made contact, however, and after officials looked at the video off a Tortorella challenge, they ruled Radulov got enough of Korpisalo to keep him from making a play on the puck. So the goal was taken off the board and the Blue Jackets moved on holding a 1-0 lead it would later lose with Bishop on the bench and the Stars having an empty net. “He kind of pushed me in, and it’s 50-50 if they are going to accept it or not,” Korpisalo said. “We were glad it wasn’t a goal this time.” Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093740 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets oddly find winning easier than scoring

Posted Jan 18, 2018 at 10:55 PM Updated Jan 18, 2018 at 11:34 PM Michael Arace

These are your Blue Jackets, ladies and gentlemen. They are a team with sterling goaltending. They have some grit to them, as evidenced by their league-best record in overtime and shootout games. Also, they can’t score. So it was Thursday night, when they beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 in a shootout at Nationwide Arena. Fans may be inordinately frustrated by a team that thinks three goals is a mushroom cloud, but, goodness, they keep their wits about them under pressure. You’ve got to give them that much. The Jackets’ record in overtime and shootout games is 12-0-3. Artemi Panarin continues to impress in extra time. He scored the winner against Dallas by selling his patented high-glove forehand and then tucking a backhand past goaltender Ben Bishop, who understood he’d been conned and threw his stick. Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo did the rest. The last time these teams met, on Jan. 2 at Dallas, the game was ground down to the point of being unwatchable. Oliver Bjorkstrand managed to beat Bishop — who is about the size of the Huntington Center building — twice in the third period to give the Jackets an actual regulation victory. This time, the Jackets were coming off a five-day break. As the crowd settled in on Military Appreciation Night, the fans had to be wondering what they might be getting from their boys in blue. It was anybody’s guess. Korpisalo was an interesting choice to start over Sergei Bobrovsky, whose career record against the Stars is 11-1-1. Any goaltending questions were answered well before Korpisalo made the save of the night, a post-to-post, stick-dropping, Dominik Hasek tribute save on Tyler Seguin midway through the second period. Before that, the Jackets played a solid first. Fourth-liner Jordan Schroeder staked them to a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season at 12:33. By the time Korpisalo went all Gumby on Seguin in the middle period, it was clear that the goalie would have to be the No. 1 star if the Jackets were going to win this game. (He was.) When a Stars goal was disallowed because of goaltender interference early in the third, there was a sigh of relief from the stands that sent a breeze swirling through the bowl. Maybe someone should install a wind sock on top of the Jumbotron. The advantage in shots climbed in the Stars’ favor through the second and third periods. It was not a shock, then, when Alexander Radulov tied the score with 2:05 remaining in regulation. If there was a wind sock, it would have been sucked right off its flagpole. These are your Jackets, ladies and gentlemen. When it comes to scoring goals, they are one of the six most anemic teams in the league, and the other five are non-playoff teams. They are one of two teams holding a playoff spot despite a negative goal differential. Pittsburgh is the other. Veteran forward Jussi Jokinen, claimed off the waiver wire Wednesday, will help a little. But these are your Jackets. Unless general manager Jarmo Kekalainen gets an offer he can’t refuse, it’s doubtful the Jackets can trade themselves out of their offensive malaise. The prices are high, and they’re just going to rise as the trade deadline (Feb. 26) nears. These are your Jackets, strong of heart and weak of offense. As they wait for healthy reinforcements — defenseman Ryan Murray and forwards Cam Atkinson and Brandon Dubinsky are on the shelf right now — they’ll have to keep scratching up points like they did Thursday. Maybe it builds character or something. Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093741 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets | Jussi Jokinen starts in first game with team

By Steve Gorten Posted Jan 18, 2018 at 10:00 PM Updated Jan 18, 2018 at 11:00 PM

Jussi Jokinen made his Blue Jackets debut Thursday night at Nationwide Arena as part of the starting lineup against the Dallas Stars. The 34-year-old forward, claimed off waivers Wednesday from the Los Angeles Kings, centered the third line flanked by Matt Calvert and Nick Foligno, and he was also used on special teams. “I’ve been written out of this league so many times in my career. I’ve always found a way to come back,” Jokinen said after the morning skate. “It’s now that time again. It’s a fun challenge. You enjoy that challenge and pressure. You have to prove yourself again.” Jokinen, who grew up in the same town in Finland as Markus Nutivaara and has trained with the defenseman during the offseason, said he got to know several Jackets players well while playing for the Penguins during the teams’ 2013-14 playoff series that Pittsburgh won 4-2. “I remember that 3-0 lead wasn’t a good lead,” Jokinen quipped, adding, “It’s one of the best playoff series I’ve ever been a part of. It was two great teams. That’s when Columbus really showed they’re going to be a really good team for a long time.” Nutivaara angers Tortorella Jack Johnson’s elevation to the second defensive pairing was in part because of Nutivaara’s subpar play the past couple of games. Coach John Tortorella told radio announcer Bob McElligott he was “surprised” and angered that Nutivaara “wasn’t ready to play” last Friday against the Vancouver Canucks and was “thinking about his break already” during the game. Nutivaara skated on the third pairing with Scott Harrington against the Stars. Korpisalo gets start Backup Joonas Korpisalo started in goal the first game back from the team’s mandatory five-day break despite Sergei Bobrovsky’s 11-1-1 record against the Stars. The reason? Tortorella told McElligott that Bobrovsky “has had some struggles coming off breaks.” Bobrovsky has played more than expected (38 of 46 games), and Korpisalo was sharp in his start for minor-league Cleveland (35 saves on 36 shots) during the break. Murray ‘not close’ Defenseman Ryan Murray missed his 23rd consecutive game because of an upper-body injury, and despite practicing recently is “not even close” to returning, Tortorella said. Right wing Cam Atkinson skated in full pads Thursday after skating for the first time since foot surgery, without gear, the day before. Slap shots Defenseman Dillon Heatherington, the Jackets’ second-round pick (50th overall) in the 2013 draft, made his NHL debut Thursday with the Stars. ... Jordan Schroeder’s goal in the first period was his first as a Blue Jacket. Tyler Motte assisted for his first point in his past 18 games. Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093742 Columbus Blue Jackets “It always helps when you’ve had the coach before and you know what to expect,” Jokinen said. “The best thing with Torts is there’s no gray line. You know if you’re playing well, you’re playing more. If you’re not playing Blue Jackets: Jokinen recalls his time as an opponent in Nationwide well, you’re not playing that much. He’s really direct. You know what he Arena wants.” Injury update By Steve Gorten Tortorella described defenseman Ryan Murray, who will miss his 23rd consecutive game Thursday because of an upper-body injury, as “not Posted Jan 18, 2018 at 12:45 PM even close” to returning, and added, “That’s not even in the conversation for me.” Updated Jan 18, 2018 at 2:12 PM Right wing Cam Atkinson skated in full pads Thursday after skating in regular clothes prior to practice Wednesday for the first time since foot surgery. Newly acquired forward Jussi Jokinen took the ice with his Blue Jackets teammates for the first time Thursday during a rare morning skate prior to Slap shots playing the Dallas Stars, but he was already familiar with several of them. Stars defenseman Dillon Heatherington, whom the Jackets drafted in the Jokinen, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings on second round (50th overall) in 2013, will make his NHL debut Thursday. Wednesday and arrived in Columbus later that night, said he got to know In that same draft, the Jackets selected center Alexander Wennberg in the Jackets well during a 2013-14 playoff series while he was playing for the first round (14th overall) and right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand in the third the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins won that series 4-2. (89th overall). ... In recognition of Military Appreciation Night, the Jackets will wear camouflage jerseys during pregame warm-ups that will be “It’s one of the best playoff series I’ve ever been a part of. It was two auctioned off or raffled. Some players will also wrap camo tape around great teams,” he said. “That’s when Columbus really showed they’re their sticks. ... The Jackets enter Thursday’s game having scored on 21.2 going to be a really good team for a long time.” percent of their power plays (11 of 52) since Dec. 8, a stretch of 18 Jokinen joked that he “was afraid of that cannon before” at Nationwide games that has bumped them up one spot from last in the NHL rankings Arena, but has grown accustomed to it after several appearances here. to 30th (13.5 percent). 1/1HIDE CAPTION Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stops a shot from then-Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Jussi Jokinen during a Stanley Cup playoffs first- round matchup in Nationwide Arena on April 28, 2014. [Adam Cairns] “It was an unbelievable rink to play in. Even regular-season games, it’s a nice atmosphere,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed playing here.” The 34-year-old veteran, who started the season with the Oilers before getting traded to the Kings, will make his Blue Jackets debut Thursday against the Stars, the same team that drafted him in the sixth round in 2001. Coach John Tortorella said he didn’t know whether Jokinen would start out playing center or wing. Jokinen provided the impression he’ll be at center. The Jackets did not skate in lines Thursday. Jokinen said he’s eager to make an impact with the Jackets, his fourth team in the past year and eighth overall. “I’ve been written out of this league so many times in my career. I’ve always found a way to come back,” Jokinen said. “It’s now that time again. It’s a fun challenge. You enjoy that challenge and pressure. You have to prove yourself again.” Jokinen said the knee injury that hampered him last season with the Panthers, when he had 11 goals and 17 assists, is no longer an issue. “I’ve been 100 percent healthy the whole summer and this year,” he noted. “My body feels really good.” Jokinen said “versatility” is his top asset, and he can play anywhere from the top line down to the fourth. Tortorella said Jokinen will be used in all situations, including power play and penalty kill. Jokinen said he feels he can help the team on faceoffs as well. “As a good hockey team, you need different types of players and I feel I can bring something different that these guys don’t have yet,” Jokinen said. “So I’m excited to be here.” In 32 games with the Oilers and Kings this season, Jokinen had a goal and five assists. In 2015-16, he had 18 goals and 42 assists as the Panthers won the Atlantic Division under former Jackets coach Gerard Gallant. Jokinen averaged 53.7 points the previous three seasons, and said he’s still capable of piling up points. “A year and a half ago I had 60 points, probably the best season of my career at (age) 33, so I still feel I have lots of hockey to be played and my body feels really good. Last year was a tough year in Florida, and this year it hasn’t gone that well, but at the same time you have to remember what kind of role you’re playing. In Florida, I was playing top-six and power play and this year I’ve been mostly playing fourth line, 10 or 11 minutes.” Jokinen has a long-standing relationship with Jackets general manager and fellow Finn Jarmo Kekalainen that includes their time together at the Olympics and World Cup. He’s from the same hometown as countryman and Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara, and the two have trained together in the offseason. Jokinen also played for Tortorella in Tampa Bay. 1093743 Dallas Stars challenge. You enjoy that challenge and pressure. You have to prove yourself again."

-- Former Stars forward Jussi Jokinen, who was picked up off waivers by Stars-Blue Jackets preview: What to expect from Dillon Heatherington in the Blue Jackets Wednesday and will make his Columbus debut on his NHL debut Thursday. Stars' projected lineup By Mike Heika , Jamie Benn-Tyler Seguin-Alexander Radulov Mattias Janmark-Jason Spezza-Devin Shore STARS at BLUE JACKETS Antoine Roussel-Radek Faksa-Tyler Pitlick 6 p.m. today (FSSW/1310AM The Ticket-96.7FM) Remi Elie-Martin Hanzal-Gemel Smith Storyline Esa Lindell-John Klingberg Stars rookie Dillon Heatherington makes his NHL debut and makes it Dan Hamhuis-Greg Pateryn against the team that drafted him. With veteran defenseman Marc Methot out with a knee injury, Stars coaches would like to take a look at the 22- Dillon Heatherington-Stephen Johns year-old Heatherington, who plays a lot like Methot. Ben Bishop Key matchup Kari Lehtonen Alexander Radulov vs. Artemi Panarin: The two forwards were among the best in the KHL for a couple of seasons and were part of a historic Scratched: Julius Honka, Gemel Smith Western Conference showdown in 2015. Radulov has 42 points in 46 Injured: Marc Methot games this season, including 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in the past five games. Panarin has 38 points in 46 games, including 4 points (2 Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.19.2018 goals, 2 assists) in the past four games. Key number 1.74: That's the goals-against average for Sergei Bobrovsky in his career against the Stars. And yet Columbus coach John Tortorella is opting to play Joonas Korpisalo against Dallas tonight. Bobrovsky is 10-1-1 in his career against the Stars with a 1.74 GAA and .944 save percentage. That includes 21 saves in a 2-1 victory in Dallas Jan. 2. Korpisalo has played one game against the Stars. Notable -- Dallas beat Detroit on Tuesday, 4-2, and is 26-17-3 (55 points), 10-11- 2 on the road. -- Columbus is coming off a 5-2 loss to Vancouver on Friday and is playing its first game after the bye week. The Blue Jackets are 25-18-3 (53 points), 15-8-0 at home. -- Ben Bishop is expected to start in net for Dallas. He is 20-12-2 with a 2.51 GAA and .916 save percentage. Bishop is 5-4-0 in his career against Columbus with a 1.84 GAA and .937 save percentage. -- Joonas Korpisalo is expected to start in goal for Columbus. He is 4-4-0 with a 3.10 GAA and .904 save percentage. -- Marc Methot is out for Dallas. He has been battling a knee injury all season and missed 26 games. He came back and played one game, and experienced some soreness. The Stars say they are going to put him on the shelf for at least two more weeks to see if they can get him fully healthy. -- Dillon Heatherington will make his NHL debut and will play beside Stephen Johns. Julius Honka will be a healthy scratch. -- Jussi Jokinen was picked up off waivers by the Blue Jackets on Wednesday and will play against his old team Thursday. Jokinen played 215 games with the Stars and tallied 131 points (45 goals, 86 assists). -- Dallas is 6-2-0 in its past eight games. Columbus is 3-5-0 in its past eight games. -- Dallas is 10-4-3 against the East. Columbus is 7-7-0 vs. the West. He said it "It's tough to put into words what I feel right now. You work so hard for so many years to get to the NHL. I don't know what it is going to be like. I am just going to go out there, have some fun and really try to enjoy it." -- Stars defenseman Dillon Heatherington on making his NHL debut Thursday. "Solid. Just solid. Competitive as heck. Big, physical player. He's got his game simplified, so he is very effective. Great teammate. Everything is really positive." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock on what he has seen from Heatherington. "I've been written out of this league so many times in my career. I've always found a way to come back. It's now that time again. It's a fun 1093744 Dallas Stars

How Ken Hitchcock has impacted Tyler Seguin, John Klingberg in his first year back with Stars

By Mike Heika

Mike Heika, Stars beat writer for SportsDayDFW.com and The Dallas Morning News, answered your questions about the team in a live chat recently. Here are some highlights: Has Tyler Seguin become the two-way center Hitch hoped he'd be before the season started? Heika: Yes, definitely. His game in Boston was a shining example of he has become patient and how he trusts that playing good defense will eventually lead to offensive chance. I think both he and John Klingberg are learning that this can actually be an easier way to play hockey. You slow down your brain, you think about where you are and what the next move is, and you play defense first. It's sort of calming. Then, when you look at both Seguin and Klingberg, they still are getting offensive numbers. That just supports in their own mind that this is a better way to play hockey. Will Tyler Seguin re-sign? And what do you think he will ask for? Heika: The odds are he will. My guess is discussions are probably going land somewhere near the eight-year deal that Jamie Benn signed that averages $9.5 million a year. Like I have said before, a lot of where this goes will depend on how the Stars do in the playoffs and how Seguin does in the playoffs. He needs to create a playoff part of his resume in Dallas. 'That's what a No. 1 center does': OT winner makes Tyler Seguin's return to Boston extra special What do coaches look for in their ideal LW/RW positions? Heika: It's different for every player and every role. You can look at Mattias Janmark and say you need speed, skill and determination. You can look at Alexander Radulov and say he's better playing his off wing and using his skill as a rover. One of the things the Stars do is get a lot of centers and turn them into wings, so I think hockey sense is a big part of what they like in their wingers. The want players who are versatile and can read the game. When in the lineup, Jason Dickinson hasn't shown any flashes of what he can do at the NHL level. Understanding he is still young do you get a since the Stars would've liked to seen a spark from him when he had chances? Heika: You would always like that, but he's a young player playing out of position. I think if he gets a chance to play some power play or play with more skilled players (even on a wing), I think we'll see more from him. I think the Stars have long-term plans for Dickinson. Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093745 Dallas Stars

Ken Hitchcock not happy with disallowed goal against Columbus

By Mike Heika ,

The Stars had a goal disallowed on video review Thursday, and Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said he was confused and upset by the decision. Stars winger Alexander Radulov drove the net, and Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo made a save. Stars winger Antoine Roussel followed closely behind and shoveled in the loose puck for what appeared to be a goal. However, Columbus asked for a review, and the video center in Toronto said Radulov was guilty of goaltender interference and the goal shouldn't count. "At 3:12 of the third period in the Stars/Blue Jackets game, Columbus requested a Coach's Challenge to review whether a Dallas player interfered with Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo prior to Antoine Roussel's goal. After reviewing all available replays and consulting with NHL Hockey Operations staff, the Referee determined that Dallas' Alexander Radulov interfered with Korpisalo before the puck crossed the goal line. According to Rule 78.7, "The standard for overturning the call in the event of a 'GOAL' call on the ice is that the Referee, after reviewing any and all available replays and consulting with the Toronto Video Room, determines that the goal should have been disallowed due to 'Interference on the Goalkeeper,' as described in Rules 69.1, 69.3 and 69.4." Hitchcock said the goal was the kind that is scored every day in the league. "I don't understand where we're going, because we practice every day, like every other team does in the NHL, going to the net," Hitchcock said. "Our player went to the net and was responsible for putting a play on the net, and we scored on the rebound. When we're in a situation where you're not counting those as goals now, what are we doing? What are we doing to our game that that can't be a goal?" Radulov said he felt he played the game the right way. "I was pretty sure it would be good goal, because I wasn't basically pushing or doing anything," Radulov said. "But I guess they saw some contact there, and they waived it off and it is what it is." Hitchcock said he's not exactly sure how to coach his players on that situation going forward. "I don't understand how that can't be a goal," he said. "That's what every coach wants his players to do and now, you're going to tell your player, 'Well, you can't do that, or you have to when you go to the net, you've got to be careful and you've got to make sure that you tiptoe around the outside. You can kind of stick your toe in the water, but you've got to go back to the beach.' Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093746 Dallas Stars important step to someplace better ... even if he wasn't in the mood after the game.

"It's hard," Radulov said. "But tomorrow is a bright day." Why Stars took major step forward as a team despite missed opportunities vs. Blue Jackets Bright enough to see the "good side" of a team starting to understand its mission.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.19.2018 By Mike Heika ,

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ken Hitchcock didn't want to hear about the good side Thursday night. But you do. Yes, the Stars lost 2-1 in a shootout to a Columbus team that was returning from its bye week. Yes, the Stars couldn't solve backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Yes, Dallas missed opportunities in the third period, the overtime, and the shootout that could have resulted in a win. But this was still a major step forward for a team that probably couldn't have taken a point out of this game a month ago. "Don't talk to me about a point," Hitchcock said, only half playfully. "Don't even bring it up or you're going to wear that microphone somewhere else." Hitchcock said he was "disappointed" by his team's slow start and inability to convert great scoring chances late, and he's right. The Stars could have and should have won the game. But they also found a way to push themselves to 26-17-4 (56 points) and maintain the first wild-card playoff spot in the West. They found a way to overcome a lot of adversity. Along the way, Ben Bishop had one of his better games of the year in goal, Alexander Radulov overcame a couple of hard-working mistakes and scored the tying goal, and players such as John Klingberg (29:56 in ice time, three blocked shots, two hits), Tyler Seguin (22:25 in ice time, 14 of 21 on faceoffs) and Stephen Johns (a team-high 2:34 in short- handed ice time) raised their defensive games. Dan Hamhuis had a giveaway in the first period that led to Jordan Schroeder's goal that stood as the only marker for almost three periods. However, Hamhuis came back and had a key assist on the Radulov goal that tied the game with 2:05 remaining. "It's a sign of a good team that finds ways to get points," Hamhuis said. "First month or six weeks, the game probably would have passed us by. It's a good sign of this team, the resiliency, even if you aren't feeling it, you find ways to buckle down and come together and get something out of it." The Stars were outshot 11-7 in the first period and then dominated the remainder of the game, outshooting Columbus 25-14 in the second and third periods. Radulov helped create a tying goal for Antoine Roussel, but he then saw it erased on replay because of goaltender interference. That could have sunk the Stars, who disagreed with the video replay team in Toronto. But instead of getting caught up in the decision, they dug in. It wasn't just coincidence that Hamhuis had the shot on goal and Radulov the tip that tied things up. Both were motivated. In a season of transition, the Stars might've just found out how to use Jason Spezza and Martin Hanzal "It's a huge point for us," said Radulov, who took a penalty in overtime that had to be killed. "We battled back in the third and got that points. Then in overtime, guys did a good job on the PK, then we had chances to finish them, but their goalie played well also." Bishop robbed Alexander Wennberg with a glove save in the final minute of regulation to deliver the game to overtime and give Dallas a point in the standings. "When it's this time of the season, you've got find ways to get points when you're not kind of at your best," Bishop said. "I don't think anybody in this rooms' going to say it was our best game, but to find a way to get a point there -- to get that goal at the end of the third to kind of get that point -- it's a big key for us, important, and obviously still can turn in for a really good road trip after Buffalo." Korpisalo was fantastic throughout and pretty much stole the game. It was a pretty hard battle that tested the participants. "That's what it's all about," Radulov said. "It doesn't matter how the game is gonna go, you still have to stick with it and play good as a team and battle for every inch on the ice." Because when you do that, you not only get an extra point, you grow as a team. That's why Hitchcock might just look back on this game as an 1093747 Dallas Stars

Cold facts: What 2-1 shootout loss to Blue Jackets means for Stars

By Mike Heika ,

Blue Jackets 2, Stars 1 (SO) Three Stars 1. Joonas Korpisalo, Blue Jackets - 35 saves and wins in shootout. 2. Ben Bishop, Stars -- Kept Stars in it with 25 saves, many early. 3. Artemi Panarin, Blue Jackets -- Only player to score in shootout. Big play With the game tied 1-1 in the final minute of the third period, Ben Bishop made a save on Oliver Bjorkstrand in front and then made an amazing glove stop of Alexander Wennberg to force overtime. Discuss Did you like Dillon Heatherington on the third pair with Stephen Johns or did you think the Stars would be better with Julius Honka in the lineup? What does it mean? On the good side, the Stars seem to be dialed into a patient game plan and will wait it out now. On the bad side, they got beat 2-1 in the shootout. GOALS Blue Jackets: Dan Hamhuis and Ben Bishop had a miscommunication handling the puck behind the net, and Hamhuis sent the puck out in front of the net. There, Jordan Schroeder punched it in for his first goal of the season at 12:23 of the first period. Blue Jackets 1, Stars 0. Stars: Dan Hamhuis put a shot on net. The puck trickled through the pads of Joonas Korpisalo with 2:05 remaining in the third period. It was Radulov's 18th goal of the season. Stars 1, Blue Jackets 1. Blue Jackets: Artemi Panarin scored in the shootout, while the Stars were unable to score. Blue Jackets 2, Stars 1 (SO). Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093748 Dallas Stars

Stars' Dillon Heatherington wanted to 'stick it to' the Colombus Blue Jackets in his NHL debut

By Mike Heika ,

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The symmetry was perfect for Dillon Heatherington. A second-round draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013, Heatherington made his NHL debut Thursday as a member of the Stars. Acquired in a trade for Lauri Korpikoski last March, Heatherington's path came full circle. "It's unreal, it's tough to put into words," Heatherington said Thursday morning. "Playing against the old team that I was drafted by, you kind of have to stick it to them. I'm looking forward to it." Heatherington is in an interesting place with his new team. He was down on the depth chart to start the season, just getting dug in with the AHL Texas Stars. But the NHL team lost Patrik Nemeth on waivers, traded away Jamie Oleksiak and then saw a nagging knee injury continue to keep Marc Methot out of the lineup. That created a need for a seventh defenseman, so Heatherington was called up to act as support on this four-game road trip. Three games in, Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said it was time to take a look at Heatherington. "We need to see what we have," Hitchcock said Thursday morning. "Let's get him out there and see how he looks. With this situation with Methot, not knowing when he's going to come back, we need to find out about these younger guys." Likewise, Heatherington wants to find out what he can do. The big (6-4, 225) defenseman from Calgary has won a gold medal in the world juniors (2015) and helped Cleveland win the AHL championship in 2016. He has 13 points in 39 games with the Texas Stars this season and is ready to take the next step. On Thursday, he played 13:28 and made simple plays. Why Stars took major step forward as a team despite missed opportunities vs. Blue Jackets "He was good, solid, smart," Hitchcock said. "This is a different dimension for us. He's an asset, a really good asset for us." Heatherington had his parents and brother in the stands, and he had to take the "rookie lap" during warm-ups. Teammates make him go out and skate one lap by himself with his helmet off while they applaud. Heatherington said the entire night was an "unreal experience." "You always dream as a kid playing in the NHL. To achieve that goal was something special," he said. "The first five minutes my legs were shaking, so it's tough to concentrate. As the game went on, (defense partner Stephen) Johns helped me out so much. He has experienced that before, and he just kind of helped me settle down and I finally found my game and went there." Julius Honka was a healthy scratch Thursday and Methot could be just weeks away from getting back into the lineup, so this could be a short audition for Heatherington. Then again, he could seize an opportunity the way Greg Pateryn has this year and make it difficult to take him out of the lineup -- at least for a little while. "We're excited, and we're curious," Hitchcock said. "This is an exciting moment, not just for Heater, but also for the guys with the American League team because he's a popular guy there, he's a big-time player, he's one of these guys who just worked his way up and he's earned the right to play some games." Klingberg continues to impress: Defenseman John Klingberg entered Thursday's game with an eight-game scoring streak. That's the first eight- game scoring streak for a Stars defenseman since Sergei Zubov in 2006. Doing anything that includes Zubov's name is impressive in the Stars' universe. "When I was a kid, I didn't know much about him. It was all [Nicklas] Lidstrom," Klingberg said. "But ever since I got here, I understand how big he was. It's a huge challenge for me to be named in the same area of the games as he was, so I take pride in that." Klingberg leads all NHL defensemen in scoring and has been named to his first All-Star Game. Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093749 Dallas Stars

Final: Stars fall to Blue Jackets in shootout

By Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Artemi Panarin scored in the second round of a shootout, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Thursday night. Joonas Korpisalo had 35 saves for Columbus (26-18-3), which returned from its five-day break after losing both ends of a back-to-back last week. Jordan Schroeder scored his first goal of the season in the first period. Korpisalo blocked a shootout try by Jason Spezza before Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin came up empty. Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop blocked Jussi Jokinen's shootout attempt before Panarin beat him. Korpisalo got the start ahead of Vezina Trophy-winner Sergei Bobrovsky, who struggled in the recent losses. The 23-year-old Finn got his first win in nearly a month in his ninth game this season. Dan Hamhuis scored for Dallas with 2:15 left in regulation. Bishop had 25 stops, including a terrific glove save on Alexander Wennberg with 30 seconds left in the third. Dallas (26-17-4) had won two in a row. Schroeder -- getting more ice time because of injuries to three top forwards -- put the Blue Jackets in front 12:23 into the game. Bishop skated behind the cage to retrieve the puck, but he wasn't set when Tyler Motte deflected it back out front to Schroeder, who was racing through the slot. Dallas' Antoine Russell tapped a shot into the net early in the third period, but it was waved off because a replay showed Radulov had interfered with Korpisalo. NOTES: Dallas D Dillon Heatherington made his NHL debut. ... Jokinen, claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, made his debut with the Blue Jackets. At 34, he is the oldest player on the roster. ... F Markus Hannikainen was a scratch for Columbus. ... Dallas scratches included D Julius Honka and F Gemel Smith. UP NEXT Dallas: At Buffalo on Saturday. Columbus: At Vegas on Tuesday. Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093750 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings mull personnel swapping to correct power play

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press Published 6:28 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2018 | Updated 8:45 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2018

The Detroit Red Wings badly need a shot of confidence on the inept power play. To that end, coach Jeff Blashill is mulling rearranging personnel from one unit to another, as well as possibly adding Frans Nielsen to the mix. The Wings look to Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes as a chance to restore efficiency with the man advantage after a rough stretch. After operating at 22.6 percent on power plays through Dec. 20, the power play has run at 6.1 percent the past 10 games (2-for-33, 29th in NHL). It was 1-for-7 Saturday at Pittsburgh. “It hasn’t been good at all, and in the last little bit, it’s taken away,” Blashill said after Thursday’s practice. “We went through a stretch where, through December it wasn’t great, and into January, but I also thought it looked good, it was getting chances. It’s not good enough right now. Our entries have gone a little dry, that’s an area for certain that we have to work on. We might have to make some tweaks in personnel to help with entries, just shifting guys from one unit to the other to maybe give ourselves a little bit more speed on each unit, and then we have to get back to getting pucks into the cage area and scoring some ugly goals. We’ve gotten a little bit on the outside of the dots too much. “If I had to go in order, it would be entries, it would be unforced errors, and then the mentality of attacking the net.” The units have Henrik Zetterberg with Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, Niklas Kronwall and, in the past two games, Anthony Mantha serving in the net-front role in place of Justin Abdelkader, who is sidelined by a groin injury. The second unit has Dylan Larkin with Andreas Athanasiou, Martin Frk, Mike Green and, of late, Tyler Bertuzzi in the net-front role in place of Mantha. One option is to move Athanasiou onto the Zetterberg unit to give it more speed. “You have Larkin and AA on the same unit, and they’re both real good entry guys with the speed,” Blashill said. “That’s something we’re going to look at. “Mostly it’s going to be mixing and matching. The one guy that’s not on it that’s healthy that I think is a good power-play player is Frans Nielsen. He’s had a history of being a good power-play player. Is he better than the guys who are on there? I don’t know, we’ll have to keep watching.” Bertuzzi didn’t practice for maintenance reasons but is expected to do so Friday; Zetterberg practiced for about 30 minutes and is expected to be available Saturday. Players bemoaned a lack of cohesiveness on recent power plays. “We have to help each other more on the breakout and be more compact,” Tatar said. “That’s how we can be better for sure because I feel like now, everybody is on different page. Right now our biggest problem is the breakout — we have a really big problem to get to the zone. And in the zone, when things aren’t going good on the power play, you have to overshoot for sure.” The Wings have two power play goals since Dec. 23. “We’re not executing,” Larkin said. “We have to get to our spots and play as a five-man unit, not try to do it on our own.” Frk said the power-play members “have to help each other more and put a lot of pucks on the net.” The penalty kill hasn’t looked sharp since Dec. 23 either, operating at 75 percent (25th in NHL), in part because they are missing key PK personnel. Luke Glendening was lost to injury Dec. 20; he averaged 2:40 minutes per game killing penalties, third highest on the team and tops among forwards. Darren Helm (2 minutes shorthanded per game average) and Abdelkader (1:07) have missed the past two games. All three are out at least through Saturday. Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093751 Detroit Red Wings a player and that was negotiated in as part of the agreement to go 3-on-3 (format in the All-Star Game).

“I don’t think much about it.” Red Wings’ power play plummets during recent slump Ice chips

Forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Zetterberg didn’t practice but Blashill Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News Published 6:25 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2018 | expects both to play Saturday, saying both had “maintenance days”. Updated 6:28 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2018 …With Justin Abdelkader (lower body), Luke Glendening (hand) and Darren Helm (lower body) all not in the lineup, the penalty kill is in a state Detroit — This is beginning to look a lot like last season. of flux. No, not the Red Wings’ season in general. But, specifically, the power- Getting players like Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, David Booth and Dominic play’s struggles. Turgeon work in practice will help their familiarity heading into games. For most of last season the unit struggled — especially on the road — “They haven’t had a lot of reps,” Blashill said. “They’re learning on the fly. costing the Red Wings many games. We have to get some reps with those guys, we’ll get it in practice, and as we keep going they’ll have to keep finding the little nuances of being The power play was fine early this season, and the Red Wings remained better.” competitive in the standings. Detroit News LOADED: 01.19.2018 But lately, the power play has sagged and so with it have the Red Wings. The Red Wings are 1-for-17 in the last four games on the power play, a key reason they’ve lost three of those four games. “It hasn’t been good at all,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “In the last little bit, it’s taken momentum away. We went through a stretch through December, and it wasn’t great into January, but it looked good and was getting chances. “It’s not good enough right now.” The Red Wings are having a difficult time entering the zone and setting up in man-advantage situations. “Our entries have been pretty bad, we haven’t executed,” forward Gustav Nyquist said. “Over the course of the year our entries have been pretty good but that’s something we have to clean up, to get into the zone and just to set up. “I don’t know if we’ve gotten set up that much over the last three games.” Blashill appears set to switch some personnel on the two units, maybe placing Andreas Athanasiou on Henrik Zetterberg’s unit to bring a little more speed to that group. “We may tweak a little bit in terms of personnel to give ourselves more speed on both units,” Blashill said. Then, there’s the age-old mantra of simply getting pucks to the net and creating chaos around the goalie. The Red Wings have stayed too much outside of the goalmouth lately. “We have to get pucks to the cage area and score some ugly goals,” Blashill said. “We’ve gotten a little bit to the outside of the dots a little bit too much.” Blashill didn’t sound as if he’ll be putting any new personnel on either unit. He did acknowledge Frans Nielsen is one player who has had power play success in his career, and could be a possibility to replace someone. Odd schedule Just last week the Red Wings were in the midst of a five-day “bye” week that every NHL team gets during the regular season. But the odd part for the team is having three days between games, again, in this stop-and-start month of January. The Red Wings played Tuesday and don’t play again until Saturday (hosting Carolina), which begins a span of four games in six days before the All-Star break (and five days before another game). “It’s weird how that works,” Nyquist said. “Another break coming up, we had the three games in four days. Every team goes through it, but it is a little weird.” Blashill gave the team Wednesday off, after the three games in four days, and Thursday had a spirited, physical practice. “You get to practice harder and gives you a chance to work on some battle stuff,” Blashill said. In a perfect world, Blashill would rather do away with the bye week and tack on those off days before, or after, the All-Star break. “The players like it,” Blashill said. “I’ve got nothing to do with it. I coach the schedule I’m given. I’m not a big fan of the bye week but I’m also not 1093752 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings to swap parts on ineffective power-play units

Updated January 18, 2018 at 5:42 PM; Posted January 18, 2018 at 5:31 PM By Ansar Khan

DETROIT - After ranking in the top 10 on both specialty teams much of the season, the Detroit Red Wings have regressed in each the past few weeks. The power play has converted only 2-of-33 opportunities the past 10 games (6.1 percent). The penalty kill has allowed nine goals in 28 shorthanded opportunities over 12 games. (67.9 percent success rate). "I said in the beginning of the year we need elite specialty teams and I thought for a portion of the year we had that and right now we don't," coach Jeff Blashill said. "If we want to win games before the All-Star break, we need elite specialty teams." The Red Wings have four games before the break, starting Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit). Blashill cited lack of clean entries as the main issue with the power play. He'll likely shift a player from one unit to the other. The most likely scenario will see Andreas Athanasiou, because of his speed, join the first unit with Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist, Anthony Mantha (net front) and Niklas Kronwall. "Could be," Blashill said. "You got (Dylan) Larkin and AA on the same unit, and they're both real good entry guys with speed. We hadn't needed it until recently, but that's something we're going to look at going into tomorrow's practice." This would result in a second unit of Larkin, Tomas Tatar, Tyler Bertuzzi (net front), Mike Green and Martin Frk. The only other realistic change would see Frans Nielsen getting power- play time. "For the most part, I think we have the power play guys on there," Blashill said. "Frans has had a good history on the power play. Is he better than the guys that are on there? We'll have to keep watching and seeing." The power play ranked 18th at 18.7 percent heading into Thursday's games. "It hasn't been good at all," Blashill said. "I think in the last little bit it's taken momentum away. Through December it wasn't great, into January, but I also thought it looked, it was getting chances." Nyquist said entries have been particularly bad the past three games after the bye week. "I don't think we've executed enough," he said. "Our entries over the course of the year have been pretty good, but that's something we need to clean up again in the zone and just get set up." In addition to improving entries, Blashill said, "We got to get back into getting pucks into the cage area and scoring some ugly goals. I think we've gotten a little bit on the outside of the dots too much." The penalty kill has dropped to 19th at 79.8 percent. Part of the problem is missing three key PK forwards with injuries (Luke Glendening, Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader). "I think we have guys in those spots that can do a good job, but I also think between Glenny, Helm and Abby, you're missing three guys that have done an excellent job for us this year and I thought propelled us into the top 10," Blashill said. "Nothing we can do about that on Saturday. We got to find a way with the group we have, which I think is a good group." Blashill said replacements Dominic Turgeon and David Booth need more reps in practice. Maintenance days: Bertuzzi didn't practice Thursday and Zetterberg left the ice early. Blashill cited maintenance and said both are expected to play Saturday. Jimmy Howard practiced in the starter's net. Michigan Live LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093753 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings' Tyler Bertuzzi chipping in points while grinding

Updated January 18, 2018 at 6:09 AM; Posted January 18, 2018 at 6:02 AM By Ansar Khan

DETROIT - Tyler Bertuzzi is showing he can do more than grind in the NHL, he can also contribute offensively. Bertuzzi has eight points (goal, seven assists) in his past nine games. He has four points in the past two games and has recorded three multi-point games since Dec. 31. He assisted on both goals in the Detroit Red Wings' 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars Tuesday. Bertuzzi circled behind the net and made a centering pass to Trevor Daley for a goal in the opening minutes. He made a long outlet pass to spring Andreas Athanasiou on his breakaway goal in the second period. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said Bertuzzi was perhaps their best forward and his line, with Dylan Larkin and Athanasiou, the team's most effective. "The one thing with Bert is, against a team that defends well, that protects the ice well, that makes it hard to get to their net, you need guys like him and that's why he's always been a good playoff performer," Blashill said. "I think when a game's wide open, you don't notice him as much. But when the game's a hard grind, you notice him more and certainly he makes tons of little plays. He's just got real good hockey smarts and poise with a real hard approach and that's a special combination, and a combination that's transferable to successful hockey." The Red Wings play the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit). Bertuzzi had been playing on a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist. Blashill shuffled lines after Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm were injured Saturday in Pittsburgh (they'll remain out against Carolina), putting Bertuzzi with fellow young forwards Larkin and Athanasiou. "I'm just getting more used to it every game," Bertuzzi said. "Playing with Larks and AA it's pretty easy on me. AA, he doesn't cheat, but he's smart when he blows the zone, and if I can just get it off the glass, they're going to have a footrace." Said Athanasiou: "I think in development camp and playing the prospects tournament for so many years you kind of develop that chem, and that comes back quick when you play with them." Bertuzzi has put up 23 goals and 39 points in 42 playoff games with the the past three seasons - he won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP last year. His primary role with the Red Wings is to forecheck hard, play physical and agitate the opposition. But so far, he is demonstrating his offensive ability at this level, too. Michigan Live LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093754 Edmonton Oilers

Oilers place Nugent-Hopkins on injured reserve with sternum injury

Jim Matheson, Published on: January 18, 2018 | Last Updated: January 18, 2018 2:56 PM MST

Edmonton Oilers centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has a bruised sternum and has been placed on injured reserve, possibly missing only Saturday’s home game against the Vancouver Canucks. When Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Brayden McNabb belted Nugent-Hopkins in front of the Oilers bench 13-1/2 minutes into the second period last Saturday night, it appeared he had injured his left shoulder as he immediately went to the dressing room. His head also snapped back with possible concussion or whiplash issues mentioned. But it’s neither of those ailments. He’s simply sore and needs a little more rehabilitation time after playing all 46 Oilers games with 16 goals and 31 points. He leads the team in goals and is third in points behind Connor McDavid (52) and Leon Draisaitl (36). NcNabb caught Nugent-Hopkins with a shoulder block to the centre’s sternum, which rattled RNH and brought in to look for his pound of flesh in a spirited fight. Nugent-Hopkins didn’t play the rest of the 3-2 Oilers overtime win, then went to Hawaii to rest up on their five- day National Hockey League break, which ends with practice Friday. Nugent-Hopkins’s absence complicates forward combinations, however. Draisaitl would move to the No. 2 centre spot with in the No. 3 slo and Mark Letestu as the fourth pivot. Either Drake Caggiula or Jesse Puljujarvi could play right-wing with Connor McDavid on the top line. One of those two could be with Draisaitl and Milan Lucic on the second unit. Strome could play with Jujhar Khaira and Mike Cammalleri on the third.. The Oilers have recalled winger Iiro Pakarinen from their farm team in Bakersfield, Calif., to give them an extra forward with Nugent-Hopkins out. He’s been lighting it up for the last month with nine goals and 13 points in 18 games for the American Hockey League’s Condors. Either Pakarinen, an ace NHL penalty-killer, or Anton Slepyshev, who is available in a trade because he can’t get any traction as a regular winger, will play fourth-line left- wing. ON THE BENCH: Goalie Laurent Brossoit has played four games in Bakersfield with a 2-1 record, 2.37 average and .923 save percentage … , who’ll be playing in the AHL all-star game, has 16 goals but they opted to recall Pakarinen instead. Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093755 Edmonton Oilers season, Pakarinen has a fantastic SA/60 (38.03) that leads forwards on the team who have played 10 or more minutes. Leon Draisaitl has played about the same number of minutes on the 4-on-5, and his SA/60 is Lowetide: Tweeners and Iiro Pakarinen 62.07! Even with this kind of evidence, it seems ridiculous to suggest one man could make such a difference to a team's overall penalty kill. I do wonder By Allan Mitchell 8 hours ago about the tone of conversation between general manager and coach when the decision was made to send Pakarinen down. You may recall the demotion was made necessary when Edmonton put in a claim for Washington Capitals winger Nathan Walker, who is no longer with the I define a “tweener” as a player who is too good for the AHL and not organization. good enough for the NHL. That's not fair of course, the actual line in the sand for fringe NHL players likely includes 80 guys in the league right Where will Pakarinen slot in with the current Oilers? now and another 50-70 in the AHL. That pool of talent is somewhat interchangeable, so if your team is trading something valuable for a Using the forward lines from the last game, and factoring in the injury to fringe player they are wasting an asset. Nugent-Hopkins, the four lines on Saturday may look like this: Iiro Pakarinen is a tweener, but that doesn't mean he has no value. Oilers Maroon—McDavid—Caggiula fans are either thrilled about his recall today or mad as hell the Finn got the call instead of Ty Rattie or Patrick Russell. One suspects the key Lucic—Draisaitl—Puljuarvi man in the recall is Todd McLellan, who trusts Pakarinen and values Cammalleri—Strome—Kassian what he brings. When NHL teams wade into that 'pool' of tweener prospects for replacements, the player called up is often well known to Khaira—Letestu—Pakarinen the coach. Why does McLellan value this player? There's a chance Anton Slepyshev or Yohann Auvitu draw in over McLellan on Pakarinen, January 2016: “We were all over the map trying Pakarinen but McLellan has shown a preference for the Finn and that to find players and trying to motivate guys, but Pak wasn’t one of them. I may hold this weekend. put him right wing, left wing, power play, penalty kill. He was very effective.” (Edmonton Journal) Will Pakarinen stay? Opportunity Knocks The Oilers practice tomorrow and we should get an idea about the lineup without RNH. We are about one month from the trade deadline, and the The Oilers placed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on IR today and recalled Slepyshev decision may be coming sooner. Pakarinen could slide onto Pakarinen from AHL affiliate . The timing makes that fourth line after a Letestu trade, with Jujhar Khaira or Brad Malone at sense—Edmonton is back to work practising tomorrow after the bye- centre, Pakarinen on either wing (and Kassian as part of the group). If he week—and it's a good opportunity for the team to have a look at has any kind of positive impact on the penalty kill, he's going to stay. Pakarinen. When perusing the Condors roster, there are very few forwards (Rattie, Brad Malone) who are likely to receive a recall. I wonder The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 if Pakarinen sees the minors again this season and further wonder if this is the beginning of the transaction process that sees Mark Letestu finding a new home. The AHL 2014-15 (age 23) 39 GP, 17-11-28 (.718 points-per-game) 2015-16 (age 24) 4 GP, 1-2-3 (.750 points-per-game) 2016-17 (age 25) 5 GP, 0-1-1 (.200 points-per-game) 2017-18 (age 26) 18 GP, 9-4-13 (.722 points-per-game) Total: 66 GP, 27-18-45 (.681 points-per-game) Pakarinen is a capable AHL scorer, averaging .409 goals-per-game during his AHL time in the Oilers organization. He's a shooter (207 shots in those 66 games) and gets power-play time in Bakersfield (10 of his 27 goals came on the power play). The NHL Pakarinen in the NHL has been about what you'd expect, scoring enough in spurts to hang around for 10-15 games each season. In one of those campaigns, Pakarinen had a real sustained run, going 63 GP, 5-8-13 during the year. That season ('15-16) was McLellan's first in Edmonton and gives us some real insight into why the coach may value this player enough for today's recall. Pakarinen '15-16 at 5-on-5: 557:58 (8:51 per game), 1.17 5-on-5/60 scoring Pakarinen '15-16 at 4-on5: 72:07 (1:08 per game) with a 48.24 SA/60 (ranking No. 71 among F with 50-plus minutes) The scoring rate would put Pakarinen in the company of fourth liners like Letestu and Zack Kassian this season and the penalty-killing number would be a Godsend for this team currently. I hesitate to trumpet that part of his game, 72 minutes is significant but that was two years ago and if he was so valued 4-on-5 we would have seen him penalty killing more. Here are Pakarinen's 4-on-5 ice-time totals for each of his NHL seasons, via Natural Stat Trick. 2015-16: 72:07 (in 63 games) 2016-17: 3:49 (in 14 games) 2017-18: 28:24 (in 18 games) So, if Pakarinen is the man at the 4-on-5, McLellan would have kept him. Right? The interesting thing is that in those 28 minutes of PK time this 1093756 Edmonton Oilers constant waves of controllable, affordable prospects will be paramount for them to stay successful and competitive.

At No. 3, the trends become more evident. Were the pools defined by Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL teams' prospect their best three players, Winnipeg and Vancouver would stand atop, pools followed closely by Ottawa, Calgary and Toronto, with Montreal and Edmonton at the rear. The Jets and Canucks are the only teams that don't have a prospect ranked lower than fourth relative to the other By Scott Wheeler 19 hours ago teams, while Edmonton's best ranks at sixth-or-lower on all three lists. There also isn't as pronounced a gap between the top-two by this point as there is on the other list. All of Vesalainen, White, Evans and Dahlen Over the course of the last three months, I have ranked every single are tightly grouped, while Kylington and Johnsson stand a cut above prospect in each Canadian NHL team's pool, from the 31 the Leafs have Jones. Nearly every prospect on this list would rank ahead of Bear were at the high end to the 23 apiece the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames they grouped together. control. But there's more to the team's prospect pools than their best players. In all, the seven rankings put 187 players into context within their own How far their depth runs will play a huge factor in giving each Canadian organization, and sought to identify those who had legitimate NHL hopes, team its best odds at hitting home runs on their proverbial lottery balls. those each team missed on. Here's a look at that next tier of high-end prospects for each team: The criteria was simple. The players had to be under-23, not playing in the NHL full-time (at the time of the ranking), and either drafted by the The first thing you'll notice is that there aren't any Oilers or Canadiens in team or signed to an entry-level contract. Draft picks whose rights have this group of 17. As good as Tyler Benson or Joni Ikonen are, they're still expired, or players who were on AHL/ECHL deals, were excluded. a tier below the likes of Dube and Phillips. Given that neither team mitigated against that thin depth by having standout players at 1-3 in their The Lists: Toronto Maple Leafs | Vancouver Canucks | Montreal pool and there's real cause for concern about the state of Montreal and Canadiens| Winnipeg Jets | Ottawa Senators | Calgary Flames | Edmonton's flow of young talent for the next few years. Edmonton Oilers After leading the way at the top of their pools, the Canucks also have In wrapping up the series, I wanted to put each of those pools in a three players in the top-six of the best of the rest and five of the top-11. different context by examining them against one another. Which After years of struggling, the Canucks have done a good job hitting on Canadian teams' prospect pool bodes most favourably for the future, and their high-end picks and that should help them turn things around and which of the seven teams has done the poorest job drafting and rebuild. developing its current farm system. The Flames aren't far behind either and matched the Canucks with five Rather than placing the emphasis on the individual players by ranking players on the best of the rest list, though three are at its end. each of the team's top prospects in one collective list to close out the series, I have opted to provide comparative context by matching each of The Leafs, the Jets and the Senators also each appear on the list the team's top-three prospects into three separate lists, with a best of the multiple times, led by Travis Dermott. For context, each of Dermott, rest to close things out. In doing so, we get a better understanding of how Andersson, Gaudette and Demko would rank higher than Jones and each team's top young prospects match up against the rest. Bear on a complete list. (Note: some players in the best of the rest ranking would actually finish Below, is my final ranking of each of the seven teams' prospect pools: higher on a complete list than a few of the players at No. 3 or even a couple of the No. 2s on some of these teams, but that's not the focus That the Leafs and Jets, in particular, have managed to maintain strong here. If you want a comprehensive ranking of many of the individual pools despite graduating such high-end talents in the last couple of prospects, check out Corey Pronman's mid-season top-50 drafted seasons is perhaps most impressive. In Winnipeg, others, including prospects list. If you want more info on any/all of the players, my team Mason Appleton, Eric Comrie, and Mikhail Berdin also factor into their rankings take a comprehensive look at each.) ranking. Similarly, in Calgary, I have always been high on D'Artagnan Joly and still believe Morgan Klimchuck can become an everyday NHL After contextualizing each team's depth against one another, you'll find a player. In Toronto, there is depth in numbers outside of the six players ranking of the pools against one another below. who made these lists, from Adam Brooks and Eemeli Rasanen to Yegor Korshkov and Dmytro Timashov. Off the top, there are a few things about each team's best prospect that are worth mentioning. With the Canucks, there's an element of “about time” to their pool's strength, but it is still a really impressive group given that players such as The first is that the top-two prospects (Pettersson and Chabot) exist in a Petrus Palmu, Jonah Gadjovich and William Lockwood are also all tier of their own. Chabot is one of the best defence prospects in hockey legitimate prospects. and Pettersson is in the process of having one of the greatest under-20 seasons in the history of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). After that, The Flames, to put it mildly, have a lot coming — particularly on defence things tighten up. I have Liljegren alone at No. 3, but the gap between — even if they don't have a Pettersson or a Chabot-level prospect after him and the next tier of Roslovic and Fox (who are close) is smaller than graduating Matthew Tkachuk and others. the gap between Chabot and Liljegren. Like Roslovic and Fox, Yamamoto and Poehling are also close, but the former has more To the Canadiens' credit, I have liked their selections of Cale Fleury and weapons and a higher ceiling. Josh Brook in recent memory. Among the No. 2s, you'll start to see some familiarity in the teams that And despite having a strong top-five, I am not high on Ottawa's pool are represented at the top vis-a-vis each other. (though I do think Maxime Lajoie has a lot more to give). Alex Formenton and Aaron Luchuk are fine prospects, but their ceilings will limit them if Here, the gap starts to widen and the depth in some pools is exposed. they ever make it to the NHL level full-time. Valimaki and Juolevi stand ahead of this pack (and deserve to be in the No. 1 tier) by a fairly pronounced margin, while Kapanen, Foley, If you have any questions about the players or the rankings, leave them Scherbak and Brown are nearly interchangeable and Bear trails pretty below and I'll be happy to answer them. considerably. The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 Here, the Oilers' depth is exposed. Part of this is just symptomatic of how many good young players Edmonton has on its NHL roster, including Jesse Puljujarvi, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse, but the same could be said of the Leafs, who've lost their three best prospects to the next level and the Jets (Patrik Laine, Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor). The Oilers need to do a better job of hanging onto their picks, acquiring others and drafting for skill beyond the top-10. As each pool digs deeper, that lack of depth in Edmonton is even more evident. The Oilers are well-positioned for years to come with their young core, but as McDavid and Draisaitl's lucrative deals kick in, the need for 1093757 Edmonton Oilers AP: How is your knee after the injury you suffered early in 2016-17 with Florida?

JJ: That’s been kind of overblown. I never had any knee surgery. Just Jussi Jokinen Q&A: Veteran out to prove he can still keep pace for Blue had, you know … every player has something when they play the game. Jackets Everywhere I read is that I’ve been slowed down by the knee. I’ve been 100 percent healthy this year. I still feel I have lots of game left. I know the game is getting much faster, but I’ve never been the fastest guy in my By Aaron Portzline 22 hours ago career, not anywhere. I still feel like I can skate fast enough, and that’s never been an issue. I can think the game really well, being a smart player. Playing fast can mean something other than skating fast. I’m 100 percent healthy and I'm very hungry to prove I can still be an NHL player, The Blue Jackets claimed Jussi Jokinen off waivers Wednesday, hoping to help this team make the playoffs and win. the veteran forward can goose their moribund offense as the stretch drive of the 2017-18 season draws near. He'll make his debut tonight vs. — Reported from Columbus Dallas. The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 Jokinen, 34, spent Wednesday traveling from Los Angeles to Columbus — he lost 50-plus degrees in this trade, the poor chap — but he took a few minutes upon his evening arrival to speak with The Athletic about his new opportunity, what he knows about the Blue Jackets, and how he thinks he can handle the speed of today's NHL. Aaron Portzline: You've bounced from Edmonton to Los Angeles now to Columbus all in the span of about two months. That can't be easy, but I'm guessing you're relieved a little bit having been claimed on waivers instead of clearing waivers. Jussi Jokinen: Yeah, for sure it’s better. When you’re on waivers, you just hope somebody will pick you up, so, yes, this was good news. AP: Your thoughts on landing in Columbus? JJ: When I was in Pittsburgh (2013-14), we played a playoff series against Columbus, so I got to know this team and these players pretty well. Lots of respect for these guys, and, obviously, this organization has taken really big steps the last three or four years. They’ve shown the hockey world that they are a really good team. I’m excited to join the Blue Jackets, for sure. AP: It's such an unsettling process, but did you have any hint that you were going to be claimed, or that Columbus would claim you? JJ: I kind of heard (on Tuesday) before I went to bed that there were a few teams who were interested, and I kind of heard a little bit that Columbus was one of those teams. I had a little bit of an idea that it might happen. AP: Your fellow Finn came through! JJ: (laughs) Jarmo has done a really good job here the last five years. I think he’s really well-respected everywhere in the hockey world. Everybody knows how hard he works, stuff like that. Everybody in Finland is very proud of him, what he’s been able to do, being the first European GM in the league. So, yeah, this is nice. AP: You're used to playing big minutes, having a significant role. How frustrating has this season been, because the minutes haven't been there in Edmonton or Los Angeles, and, as a result, neither has the offense. JJ: Yeah, frustrating for sure. In Edmonton, I felt like I had a pretty good training camp, had five points (1-4-5) in three (preseason) games, and then kind of the whole team just didn't have a very good start. We were really struggling. We were able to create lots of chances, but couldn't score goals and we were giving up way too many goals. AP: Then you get traded to Los Angeles, which looks like an upgrade … JJ: Yeah, in L.A. I felt like I was playing my role pretty well, playing fourth-line the whole time and getting 10 or 11 minutes a night. Five points in fourth-line minutes, over 60 percent on faceoffs, playing on the penalty kill. It was pretty surprising they started to scratch me and stuff like that. When they start to scratch you, you kind of know … something like this is going to happen. I pretty much have been playing big minutes throughout my career, the first 10 years, 16 to 18 minutes a night. So this year has been kind of a different story, a different role. I still think one of my strengths as a player is that I can play first line to fourth line, PK and PP, take faceoffs … we'll see how Torts decides what's best for the team. We'll see what's going to happen. AP: Did you ever imagine, this many years later, that you'd be reunited with Tortorella? JJ: (laughs) You never know in this hockey world, right? I wasn’t with him too long (2007-08), but over the years we always kind of … not kept in touch, but whenever I see him we talk and chat. Obviously, I have much respect what kind of career he has had in the NHL and with Team USA. Lots of respect for the way he coaches and what he’s done. He’s a great guy, a great human being, too, so lots of respect for that guy. 1093758 Florida Panthers “He’s still on the same timetable, but we were sort of waiting,” Boughner said. “Sometimes on those long rehabs, you got good days and bad days. He’s had some good ones back-to-back now. Hopefully, he’s out of Keith Yandle owns longest active games-played streak after Andrew those tougher days.” Cogliano's suspension: 'You feel bad for him' Sun Sentinel LOADED: 01.19.2018

Matthew DeFranks

Keith Yandle didn’t see the play that elevated him up a hallowed NHL leaderboard. He was on vacation in the Bahamas so he missed the moment that gave him the league’s longest active games played streak. When Anaheim forward Andrew Cogliano was served with a two-game suspension this week for a hit on Los Angeles forward Adrian Kempe, his 830-game streak of consecutive games played ended. It ushered Yandle’s current streak of 676 games to the top of the active leaderboard. “I don’t know exactly what happened,” Yandle said Thursday after the Panthers returned to practice. “You feel bad for him. I know what type of guy he is. Obviously, he brings it every single night and you hate to see anybody lose a streak like that, especially for such a long one that he’s had. Definitely feel bad for him.” Cogliano’s streak was impressive not only for its length but also for its beginning. The streak started at the beginning of his career, meaning he’d never missed an NHL game in his 11 seasons prior to Monday’s absence. Yandle, meanwhile, has not missed a game since the 2008-09 season, when he was a member of the Phoenix Coyotes. Since then, the Coyotes changed their name to the Arizona Coyotes and Yandle’s been traded twice (to the Rangers and then to the Panthers). The last game he missed was on March 22, 2009, between the Coyotes and Ducks. To peruse that box score is to walk through history. Former Panther Ed Jovanovski played for the Coyotes that game. Both Niedermayer brothers were on Anaheim, as were Chris Progner, and Teemu Selanne. Pronger now works in the Panthers front office. Parros works in the league office responsible for handing down punishments. Selanne was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in November. “To play any game in the league is special,” Yandle said. “For me, I never take it for granted. You come to the rink and enjoy every moment of it, try to get better every day. To play any games in this league is a true honor for me.” He’s played in 125 consective games for the Panthers since joining the team during the summer of 2016. Yandle has eight goals and 56 assists for Florida entering Friday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Yandle’s streak is the eighth-longest in the history of the league, and he could catch Henrik Sedin (679) within the next week. “I think it’s good for the young guys to actually see, too,” Panthers coach said. “As long as he’s played and how he prepares and what he does, and he’s had a great year for us. He’s been a steady, steady guy back there. It’s good to have guys like [Ian McCoshen] and [MacKenzie Weegar] and everybody to see that consistency in his game. I think that it’s infectious.” Luongo turns corner, but timetable remains same Boughner said that injured goaltender Roberto Luongo (lower-body) has “turned a corner a little bit” in his rehabilitation process, before adding that the beginning of February was still the target for his return. “He’s shown some good improvement here in the last few days,” Boughner said. “We’re excited to hopefully get him back on the ice during a practice.” Luongo has been out since Dec. 4, when he injured himself making a right pad save on a slap shot from Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock. Friday will mark the 17th consecutive game he’s missed. Luongo first skated on Dec. 21, but has not participated in a Panthers practice. Boughner did not say when he would practice with the team, and did not say how many practices Luongo would need to feel comfortable playing. “I think we got to judge that after the first few practices and see how he feels,” Boughner said. During the bye week, Boughner said Luongo continued his rehab and workout regimen. 1093759 Florida Panthers hockey. He made us major league, even if he was the first to say sports weren’t his best work.

“My business decisions were all very good,’’ he said one day at the Hyde: A Panthers night to say thanks to H. Wayne Huizenga | Dolphins headquarters. “My sports decisions?’’ Commentary He held out his palm and waggled it back and forth.

There will be memories and applause and thanks Friday when a jersey Dave Hyde with No. 37 (he was born in 1937) is retired. Perhaps thanks, most of all. Panthers coach Bob Boughner wasn’t around when Huizenga brought hockey and baseball to South Florida. This is what you must always remember about H. Wayne Huizenga, on the occasion of the Panthers holding a Friday night ceremony to honor He’s a sports lifer, though, so understands what a man like Huizenga their original owner: As much as building, as much as winning, he loved means to a franchise like the Panthers. the big event. “It’s going to be a great night for this organization,’’ he said. “We’re “To success,’’ Huizenga said, a flute of champagne held high, in a looking forward to honoring Mr. Huizenga, but when the puck drops it Chicago Stadium suite that October night in 1993 when the Panthers doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the ice.” played their first game. Just as Huizenga always appreciated. That was the start of Huizenga bringing the magic carpet ride of sports to Sun Sentinel LOADED: 01.19.2018 much of South Florida. His Marlins were yet to throw their first pitch and the Dolphins were yet in his sports stable. It was before Huizenga, now 80, became an example of everything a big sports owner can be, both good and controversial. Friday night is a thanks for that, even if Huizenga’s health is expected to keep him away. His family will be represented. Current Panthers owner Vinnie Viola, long-time Panthers executive Bill Torrey and former Panthers stars John Vanbiesbrouck, Bill Lindsay and Ed Jovanovski will be there. Sometimes you don’t know the good old days were so good until they’re gone. So it was for the Panthers and for Huizenga looking back on that start. He didn’t know much about hockey, once asking, “How much does a puck weigh?” He knew talent and knew how to build an organization, though. He hired the best people. He spent smart money. The Panthers won that first night in Chicago and were a surprise out of the gate that first season, similar to Friday’s expansion opponent, Las Vegas, this year. By the third season, the magical season, the one where the Panthers made a run through a frozen spring all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, Huizenga was like the rest of South Florida. He was in love. “Look at this,’’ he said one night, pointing to the purse of his wife, Marti. A few plastic rats were stuffed inside, ready to be thrown on the ice in the manner that still resonates around this franchise. He did more. He won a World Series with the Marlins, though he never quite warmed to baseball, once calling a scored run “a transaction.” He got the BB&T Center built in Broward for the Panthers. He hired the best names for the Dolphins — Jimmy Johnson, Nick Saban, Bill Parcells — but the big wins never followed. His first love was business, of course. He built his teams with the same brains and bloodless brawn he used to take a staggering three businesses to the New York Stock Exchange – Waste Management, Blockbuster Video and AutoNation. George Steinbrenner once famously said owning the Yankees was like owning the Mona Lisa, and that once you owned the Mona Lisa you never sold it. Huizenga never felt that way. Most owners don’t. Huizenga not only would sell the Mona Lisa, if it came to that. He’d figure how to sell at the most opportune time of all. And on his terms. And those terms were forever changing. The Marlins were losing money despite winning the World Series? “I’ll lose $10 million next season, if you you take $10 million off your contracts, too,’’ he told Marlins players who tried to talk him into keeping the team together. His sale of the Marlins looks more understandable with time. No owner has managed make baseball work in South Florida. “The price just went up $70 million,’’ Huizenga told Steve Ross the morning after the Dolphins won their only game of the 2007 season. He sold the Dolphins and the stadium to Ross for $1.2 billion. It was a record price. It’s nearly doubled in value in Ross’s time, too. So good businessmen rubbing against good businessmen – that was Huizenga’s way. Joe Robbie started the Dolphins. Ted Arison brought the Heat. Huizenga made South Florida a complete sports region by bringing baseball and 1093760 Florida Panthers the season flanking Vincent Trocheck, but a combination of injuries (a concussion and an illness each caused him to miss five games) and performance (five goals in 32 games) pushed him down to the third line. As bye week ends, Panthers' climb up standings becomes tougher On Thursday, he skated with Trocheck and Connor Brickley. “I’m just trying to find an offensive spark for that line and get some more Matthew DeFranks scoring,” Boughner said. “Vrby’s definitely that guy. He’s a finisher and, given the opportunity, hopefully he can help us there.”

Here were Thursday’s practice lines and pairings: Florida Panthers players know where they stand in the Eastern Conference. It’s not because the coaching staff reminds them. They Jonathan Huberdeau – Aleksander Barkov – Evgenii Dadonov don’t, at least not on Thursday after the league-mandated bye week. It’s Connor Brickley – Vincent Trocheck – Radim Vrbata not because they check the standings daily. They don’t, though they check them occasionally. Jamie McGinn – Jared McCann – Nick Bjugstad But they want to be aware of the task in front of them, a tall one ahead of Micheal Haley, Derek MacKenzie, Denis Malgin, Colton Sceviour on the the Panthers’ game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night. fourth line. The club entered Thursday nine points out of the second wild-card spot and 12 points back of third place in the Atlantic Division. Should the Keith Yandle – Aaron Ekblad Panthers fall 10 points behind, it would mark a season-high for points out Mike Matheson – Mark Pysyk of a playoff spot. Ian McCoshen – Alexander Petrovic “For the most part, the players know where we’re at,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. “Instead of us going in there and talking about, ‘Hey, MacKenzie Weegar we got to do this and we’re this many points out,’ we’re talking about these next two games. We’re trying to keep it simple and small.” Sun Sentinel LOADED: 01.19.2018 It was inevitable that the Panthers would lose ground during their hiatus that began following Friday’s 4-2 loss to Calgary. Teams can’t collect points when they’re not playing. After the loss to the Flames, the Panthers stood six points back. That gap has widened. The Panthers have only played 43 games this season, which would tie for the fewest in the NHL entering Friday’s slate. When the Panthers finish their bye week on Friday, only one Eastern Conference team (Carolina) will still be on theirs. “You can’t control what other teams are doing other than when you’re playing them,” Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson said. “You can’t pay attention to it in that sense. But also, you really want to know where you stand in the rankings and know that you’re this many points out. At this moment, I think we’re eight (sic) points out with however many games in hand. “It is what it is, but at the same time, you need to realize that we can’t afford to take any nights off. In that sense, it’s important to be aware.” Thursday morning’s practice marked a return to normalcy for the team, working through a brisk 40-minute workout to regain their legs before facing former Panthers coach Gerard Gallant and a pair of ex-Florida forwards in Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith of Vegas. “There’s some guys huffing and puffing a bit,” Boughner said. “I think that five days away, I’m sure a few of these guys did their own kind of workouts at the gym or at home or whatever. You can tell they haven’t skated for a few days. The execution wasn’t bad.” Sateri time? Boughner floated the idea that backup goaltender Harri Sateri could start on Saturday in Nashville, the second half of the upcoming back-to-back. Sateri has never started a NHL game and has only played in one, finishing Jan. 2’s game in Minnesota. “We got total confidence in him and he might be the starter there in Nashville on Saturday night,” Boughner said. “Whatever goalie’s in, we just got to play well in front of him. We ask them to give us a chance.” Sateri made 13 saves on 14 Wild shots in his lone appearance in 23:07. The 28-year-old Finn has played in 141 AHL games and 132 KHL games. James Reimer has made 16 straight starts for the Panthers since Roberto Luongo’s lower-body injury on Dec. 4. Friday’s game will be 17. In that stretch, Reimer has posted a .924 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average. Prior to the bye week, Reimer’s longest break was a four-day Christmas break. He’s started two sets of back-to-backs. “There were certain guys [the bye week] was probably better for than some others,” Boughner said. “Definitely Reims needed it and I was happy with the way he looked today. We’re going to play it by ear and see how the game goes tomorrow night and make a decision on if he’s going to go in Nashville or not on Saturday.” ... For the first time in more than two months, Radim Vrbata returned to the Panthers’ second line during Thursday’s practice. He originally started 1093761 Florida Panthers

Preview: Golden Knights at Panthers, 7:30 p.m., Friday

Matthew DeFranks

Golden Knights at Panthers When/where: 7:30 p.m., BB&T Center, Sunrise. TV: Fox Sports Florida. Radio: 560-AM; 640-AM (Palm Beach) Scouting report: Friday will mark the return to Sunrise of former Panthers coach Gerard Gallant and ex-Florida forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith. Gallant was fired last season, Marchessault was lost in the expansion draft and Smith was traded to Vegas in the summer, with all three rebounding this season to lead the Golden Knights to the top of the Western Conference. Marchessault and Smith have combined for 77 points this season and Gallant appears to be the frontrunner for the Jack Adams Trophy that honors the league’s best coach. … This will be the first game after the Panthers’ bye week. Florida last played Jan. 12 in a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames. Top-line winger Evgenii Dadonov scored twice, snapping a 19-game goalless streak. … The Panthers will also honor original owner H. Wayne Huizenga by retiring No. 37 in a pregame ceremony on Friday night. Huizenga’s lucky number is 37 and was also the year he was born. … Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo (lower- body) is not expected back until early February. Sun Sentinel LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093762 Los Angeles Kings

Kings aren't a hit in loss to Penguins and extend skid to five games

Curtis Zupke

This was not the ripple effect the Kings sought. It was one fell swoop, er, one illegal hit against the one team they couldn’t put on the power play that doomed them Thursday. Dustin Brown’s hit on Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz resulted in a five-minute boarding major that the Penguins used to put the game away 3-1 and send the Kings to a season-high fifth straight loss in front of 18,230 fans at Staples Center. The reverberations were felt in the standings, too, because the Kings fell to ninth in the Western Conference, or out of the playoff picture for the first time this season. That’s based on a game in hand by the Colorado Avalanche, but it’s a minor detail in a bigger picture that is slipping from the Kings’ hands. “It’s been tough,” Brown said. “It’s frustrating to lose five straight, especially in the situation we were in … it’s one of those things where you have to realize where you are. It’s been hard. It’s been brutal here for us, frustrating. But … we’re still fighting for a spot.” Down 2-1 early in the third period, Brown sent Schultz into the boards while Schultz was knelt down with his back to Brown. Brown was ejected from the game and given a five-minute boarding major in which Patric Hornqvist scored his second goal of the game. The Kings made it more difficult with two more minor penalties, but the game was essentially swung on Brown’s penalty. “I’m going to close on him,” Brown said. “He stumbles, toe picks. I don’t drive through the wall or anything but I also close in on the play. At most it’s probably a two [minute penalty]. I hope he’s OK.” The play allowed Pittsburgh’s top-ranked power play ample opportunity against the Kings’ No. 1 penalty killing unit, and Hornqvist scored on a shot just inside the post past Jonathan Quick, who had a rather forgettable outing. Meanwhile the Kings got one goal — albeit a highlight score by Adrian Kempe — past Pittsburgh’s Casey DeSmith in DeSmith’s first NHL start. “We’re obviously pretty down on ourselves right now,” Drew Doughty said. “We want to turn it around as soon as we possibly can and that will start [Friday]. At times I thought we deserved better tonight and could have won that game.” Just when the Kings seemed poised to take the lead — they are the best third-period team in the NHL — the Penguins struck 26 seconds into the third on Evgeni Malkin’s faceoff win against Nick Shore and subsequent chip shot off a rebound to put the Kings in a 2-1 hole. Quick had little chance on the shot but he seemed to shake off another fluky start. For his second straight game, he allowed a blooper-type goal from the right side. This time it was Hornqvist with a shot from the right- side boards that appeared to glance off Derek Forbort’s stick before it snuck through Quick’s legs 43 seconds into the game. Quick allowed a similar goal to the Ducks’ Ondrej Kase on Saturday. The Kings get the Ducks again Friday in a tough turnaround. They don’t have time to pout. “If you’re not frustrated, there’s something wrong with you,” Brown said. “But we’re just trying to channel that frustration into positive energy that you can use to win games, because there’s going to be ups and downs, and you’ve got to find a way to dig yourself out.” Defenseman Jake Muzzin returned to the lineup after a three-game absence because of an upper-body injury and picked up an assist on Kempe’s 14th goal. LA Times: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093763 Los Angeles Kings

Penguins hand slumping Kings their 5th consecutive loss

By ROBERT MORALES | PUBLISHED: January 18, 2018 at 10:06 pm | UPDATED: January 18, 2018 at 11:35 PM

LOS ANGELES — When a hockey team is on a losing streak, the last thing it needs is to give up goals early in a period. That’s what happened to the Kings on Thursday. They gave up very early goals in the first and third periods, and were defeated 3-1 by the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins before a sellout crowd of 18,230 at Staples Center. It wasn’t long ago that the Kings were sitting pretty in the standings, leading the Pacific Division and the Western Conference in points. But things began to change in mid-December and now the Kings (24-16-5, 53 points) have lost five in a row and are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Patric Hornqvist scored his 14th and 15th goals for the Penguins (25-20- 3, 53 points). His first of the night came just 46 seconds into the game on a long shot goalie Jonathan Quick should stop every time. The Kings tied the score 1-1 on Adrian Kempe’s 14th goal of the season at 14:10 of the second period. But Evgeni Malkin scored his 21st just 26 seconds into the third for a 2-1 Penguins lead. “Well, the first one was tough,” Kings coach John Stevens said. “I mean, those type of goals don’t go in very often. I thought we got off to a really good start, so started chasing the game against a really good hockey team. It’s the funny thing about hockey, when you’re playing catch-up, it takes a lot of energy.” The Kings lost one of their best offensive players less than seven minutes into the third period when Dustin Brown was called for boarding Justin Schultz, who went down to the ice in a heap. The penalty was five minutes and Brown was also given a game misconduct. The Kings killed all but 1:20 of the power play, but Hornqvist scored his second of the night and 15th of the season at 10:21 for a 3-1 Penguins lead. Brown didn’t think he deserved the severity of the penalty. “I’m going to close on him, he stumbles, toe picks and I don’t drive him through the wall or anything,” Brown said. “But I also close in on the play. At most, it’s probably a two-(minute penalty), I think.” Brown acknowledged frustration is beginning to rear its head. “I mean, it’s definitely there,” he said. “If you’re not frustrated, there’s something wrong with you. But just trying to channel that frustration into positive energy you can use to win games.” Like Brown, defenseman Drew Doughty conceded this team is becoming increasingly bummed out about what’s been happening of late. “We’re obviously pretty down on ourselves right now,” he said. “We want to turn it around as soon as we possibly can and that’ll start tomorrow night.” The Kings play the Ducks on Friday night at Honda Center. Casey DeSmith made 28 saves for Pittsburgh in his first game since Dec. 9. He is backing up Tristan Jarry while Matt Murray is on personal leave following the death of his father. “I thought Case was terrific,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He made some big saves for us, especially in that first period to give us an opportunity to get our legs underneath us.” The Kings out-shot Pittsburgh 11-3 in the first period; the Penguins out- shot the Kings 31-29 for the game. Pittsburgh has won five of six, but was coming off a 5-3 loss to the Ducks on Wednesday. Quick made 28 saves. Orange County Register: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093764 Los Angeles Kings

Kings backup goalie Darcy Kuemper shines despite infrequent opportunities

By ROBERT MORALES | January 18, 2018 at 7:23 PM

EL SEGUNDO — Backup goaltender is not the most desirable job in the NHL. It can mean sitting for long periods of time, then being expected to perform well at a moment’s notice. Darcy Kuemper of the Kings knows as well as anyone how tough it is to practice hard, then watch from the bench as Jonathan Quick plays. Kuemper had not played in a month when he took the ice against San Jose on Monday afternoon at Staples Center. The Kings lost 4-1, but only three of the goals were charged to Kuemper because the fourth was on an empty-net tally with time winding down. Afterward, Coach John Stevens said not all of his players did their best work. But Kuemper was praised for playing well and keeping his team in the game. Still, it was only Kuemper’s 11th appearance in the Kings’ 44th game of the season. And by the way, he has a goals-against average of 2.21; Quick’s is 2.33. Kuemper is used to this. He played in only 18 games last season for Minnesota and has never played more than 31 during a career now in its sixth season. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. “Yeah, it’s a little bit harder than when you’re playing lots or keeping a regular routine; you kind of keep your rhythm,” he said. “So the challenge is on you when you don’t play for a stretch to do your best to keep that rhythm. “It comes down to practicing hard, treating the practices like games.” Stevens said recently that Kings goaltending coach Bill Ranford has done well to keep Kuemper sharp. Kuemper echoed that sentiment after Thursday’s morning skate ahead of the Kings’ game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins at Staples Center. “Billy did a great job, I think, of keeping me ready,” Kuemper said. “It made it a little bit easier to come off after a layoff.” Kuemper acknowledged it helps that Stevens applauded his play following Monday’s 29-save outing. “Yeah, it’s always nice hearing kind words, especially coming from your coach,” said the 6-foot-5 Kuemper, 27. “He’s the boss and just knowing that he has confidence in me gives me a lot of confidence to go out there and just play hard and do what I can to help the team win every night.” A FIGHTING CHANCE? When the Kings this week demoted defenseman Kurtis MacDermid to Ontario of the AHL, they suddenly didn’t have one of their toughest guys and meanest fighters. Since the Kings are playing the rival Ducks on Friday at Honda Center, not having MacDermid might not be a good thing. The teams have played three times this season, with each of the past two games featuring three fights. MacDermid, a 6-foot-5, 233-pounder, was in fights in both games. Stevens was asked about that Thursday. He referred to those embroiled in all those fights as “good, honest, tough guys and they just felt it necessary to establish some turf there.” But his biggest concern is how his team plays when the players aren’t throwing blows. “It’s most important that everybody plays hard between the whistles,” Stevens said. “To compete on the puck and to compete playing the game the right thing is the most important thing. We certainly don’t need somebody to fight to play that way.” Stevens intimated the main reason MacDermid was sent down was because he wasn’t getting enough minutes with the big club. He was averaging 11:36 of time on ice, lowest among team defensemen. Orange County Register: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093765 Los Angeles Kings Boll knows fighting is on the decline. The winger is well aware of the danger and injury factor that can come with dropping the gloves. Yet, as he sees it, friction is still inherent when teams battle for space on the ice Sparks and fists fly when the Kings and Ducks collide and there’s plenty of it when the Kings and Ducks meet. Sparks are going to fly.

As he noted, “There’s a long history between the two teams and that’s By ERIC STEPHENS | PUBLISHED: January 18, 2018 at 5:11 pm | part of it. You take care of business when you have to.” Fighting might UPDATED: January 18, 2018 at 7:48 PM not be Gary Bettman’s cup of tea but it can galvanize a team. “If you’re ever in the locker room during a game or after a game and you feel the guys really appreciate what you do in going out there, it makes ANAHEIM — For a moment, did we really know what was what in last you feel good,” Boll added. “It makes the whole team feel good. Guys week’s fever-pitched tilt between the Ducks and Kings? To paraphrase really come together when stuff like that happens. It brings guys Elton John, Saturday night really was all right for fighting. together.” Jared Boll vs. Kurtis MacDermid. Andy Andreoff vs. Kevin Bieksa. Nick Orange County Register: LOADED: 01.19.2018 Ritchie vs. Kyle Clifford. Those who are convinced that fighting is in sharp decline within the NHL – and it is – might have been scratching their heads at three bouts that each lasted longer than the four seconds that elapsed on the scoreboard. Those who still enjoy them in the sport were in pure bliss. The teams gather again for the second time in six days, with the venue changing to Honda Center for Friday night’s fourth slugfest between the rivals. The last two matchups have seen three fights break out in the opening period. Eventually some hockey was played and each team garnered a win. One would presume that messages have been sent and scores have been settled by now. But it isn’t necessarily about that. “For me, I can’t speak for other guys but it’s really not about personal things,” said Boll, the Ducks’ right wing and a longtime pugilist. “It’s more about the team and what we need to do to get ourselves ready. Stuff like that – obviously you don’t see it that much with three in a row. ”But you can see guys, you see Nicky get into a fight like that, you can just see he’s into the game. He’s in the whole game and plays a great game. Sometimes it gets guys going individually, and as a team.” Each time these teams meet, it is an old-school reminder of how hockey was played years ago, a decade ago, perhaps even decades. Rough stuff not only occurred, it was encouraged. And when it comes to the Kings and Ducks, they’re making it clear that this is now the NHL’s most physical rivalry. Adam Henrique is now indoctrinated. As he watched the three bouts in succession Saturday, the Ducks’ center had “flashbacks” of a March 2012 night at Madison Square Garden where, while a rookie with the New Jersey Devils, three fights with the New York Rangers commenced after the opening faceoff. “Those games, they always have a little extra,” Henrique said. “You circle them on the calendar. It’s that playoff-type atmosphere from the fans, on the ice. And it’s always ramped up to another level. It’s always something you got to be prepared for but it’s always the fun games to play in.” Henrique took it a step further. They’re “exactly what we live for” and they bring out an intensity that makes teams play harder and play better. “Those games always seem to bring it out in you,” he added. The Ducks feel that playing the Kings brings out of the best in them. Maybe the worst as well. Andrew Cogliano got in a rare fight with the Kings’ Oscar Fantenberg back on Nov. 25. And now the mild-mannered winger is coming back from a two-game suspension, the first disciplinary measure of his 11-year career. Cogliano’s decision to apply a high hit to Kings center Adrian Kempe resulted in the first NHL games he has ever missed, a streak of 830 that ended in shocking fashion via suspension. “It’s been a tough couple of days in terms of just different, obviously not playing,” Cogliano said. “It’s something I’m not used to. When you sit out, I think you realize how much you miss and how much the game means to you and how important it is. How much fun it is to play in this league and it’s a privilege. “I think you get a good idea of that, when I wasn’t playing.” But it is the physical style the Ducks and Kings subscribe to that sets the tone. With the Ducks seeking to move into playoff position and the Kings looking to keep theirs, Cogliano said the importance of gaining points only heightens the combative behavior. “It’s just a hard game,” Cogliano said. “It’s a tough, physical, emotional series we have with each other. But there’s definitely respect there because we’ve been playing a lot of (those) guys for a long time.” 1093766 Los Angeles Kings Right now, he is riding a five-game point streak (4-6=10) and a four-game goal-scoring streak. Both equal season-long runs for Kessel. His five- game point streak is already his fifth such run of the season. GAMEDAY PREVIEW: ALL-AMERICAN SHOWDOWN LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.19.2018

PUMPERNICHOLL JANUARY 18, 2018

GAME PREVIEW ICYMI: The LA Kings have not been winning games the past couple of weeks. But today is a new day. A glorious day, in fact. That’s because we get the All-American showdown that Kings fans need in these troubled times: Rest your hands on your hips if you’ve won the Stanley Cup twice. Tonight, the Kings will be facing-off against the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. “It’s a good challenge for us, and for us, it’s a good opponent to put our words into actions,” head coach John Stevens said after today’s morning skate. “We know we’ve got to play better defensively. We know we’ve got to be on the right side of pucks more, and Pittsburgh’s a team that forces you to do that.” Jake Muzzin is expected to return to the lineup, but the Kings don’t know who will be starting in net for the Penguins …yet. The Pittsburgh Penguins offer our deepest condolences to Matt Murray and his family on the passing of Matt’s father, James Murray, yesterday in Ontario. Matt is returning home from the west coast and will miss an indefinite period of time to be with his family. — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 17, 2018 <3 1) Thanks for the taco rec 2) I would probably still expect Jarry again tonight, but maybe DeSmith finally gets a start. No morning skate, so Sullivan will talk pregame (8 ET/5 PT). https://t.co/z9n2HoUBwJ — Sam Werner (@SWernerPG) January 18, 2018 …mmm… Holé Molé… Instead, we can focus on a showdown between two players who have been stepping up lately for their respective teams. Trevor Lewis (11-9=20) is one goal away from tying his career-high in goals (12) set last season. His 20 points are five shy of tying a career- high set in 2014-15 (9-16=25). His two game-winning goals this season are one away from tying his career high (2016-17) and his current three- game point streak (2-1=3) is also one game shy of tying a career-high. His four multi-point games tie the most he has had in a season (also 2010-11) and his shooting percentage (12.5%) is the highest in his career. Meanwhile, Kessel is putting together a career year in his third season in black and gold. He is coming off a weekend performance that saw him tally three points (1-2=3) against Detroit and two more (1-1=2) versus the New York Rangers. He had the winning goal in both contests. He was rewarded for his efforts by being named the NHL’s “Third Star of the Week.” Kessel also added a goal and an assist in last night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. Kessel’s goal on Sunday against the Rangers was the 700th point of his NHL career. He became the 27th American-born player all-time to reach that milestone. He and Chicago’s Patrick Kane are the only active Americans with 700 points. Kessel’s goal versus New York was his 20th tally of the year. It’s the 10th-straight year he has notched at least 20 goals. Keith Tkachuk and Kane are the only other Americans to score 20 or more goals in 10-straight years. 1093767 Los Angeles Kings

JAKE MUZZIN ACTIVATED FROM IR; EXPECTED TO PLAY TONIGHT

PUMPERNICHOLL JANUARY 18, 2018

INJURIESLINEUP CHANGESROSTER MOVES The LA Kings have activated defenseman Jake Muzzin from injured reserve, Kings Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake announced today. The 6-3, 213-pound native of Woodstock, Ontario appeared in 41 games earlier this season with the Kings, posting 23 points (3-20=23), a plus-9 rating and 28 penalty minutes. He missed three games due to an upper-body injury. Since Muzzin has scored three goals this season, let’s take a look back and rank them! LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093768 Los Angeles Kings opportunities. We’ve got a great goalie in Jon Quick. Our best offensive players are our most committed defensive players, and that’s always been the root of success here. STEVENS ON CARTER’S REHAB, TONIGHT’S MATCH-UP VERSUS On whether he pays much attention to the standings at this point of the PITTSBURGH, MORE season: You have to. It’s why we play. But, the one thing we talked about with our JON ROSEN JANUARY 18, 2018 group is there’s no sense in watching what teams are doing around you. You need to take care of yourself. You’re not getting into the playoffs with 53 points. We know that, so we’ve got to get points on the board. We don’t want to be in a situation where we need help somewhere else. We INJURIESPRACTICE QUOTES need help ourselves. Our two points are the most important two points. The standings are critical. Where you are in the standings is critical. It’s On Jeff Carter skating and his continued rehabilitation process: why we play the game. We want to be as high as we can in the division, It’s just functionality more than anything else. He’s been off for an but the most important spot in the standings is where the Los Angeles extended period of time. He’s come a long way in the healing process Kings are. [Reporter: I guess what I was getting at was the fact that and getting his mobility back, and clearly the next step is getting him on there’s a bunch of teams bunched together now in the west – does that the ice and skating motion, so it’s walking before you run here for him. get your attention as to how tight this race is going to be?] The only thing It’s an important step. He’s not skating every day, but he is skating now, that’s changed for me is we used to talk about four-point games in the and I think that’s a really good sign, and obviously it’s a step forward in division. I think they’re all four-point games in the conference now. It his recovery process. We’ll get that ramped up as we move along here, doesn’t matter. You play your conference teams three times, you play get him doing more and more stuff, but I think the fact that he is on the your division teams four teams, with the exception of Anaheim, who you ice is a good sign. play five. You’re still playing the Western Conference teams three times, and it’s a split – either one at home, two away, or vice versa, where the On how to foster consistency with everyone playing well collectively: division’s two-and-two. But to me, you want to finish top-three in the division. That’s where you want to finish. But the conference games, If you look at your team, I think any good team, you’ve got a core they’re not as important, but they’re pretty close. leadership group that’s going to lead the way, and we certainly have had that. A real key to a good team beyond your leadership group is having a LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.19.2018 really good secondary core where you’re not coming into the lineup wondering what you’re going to get. You know exactly what they are. Trevor Lewis, for instance, is a guy like that. Martinez is a guy like that where you knew exactly what you’re getting. There’s stability in how they play and they’re a really good secondary leadership group, and then the young guys come in and show that they can make a difference in the game. Sometimes it’s experience. You say, ‘well, experience sometimes is overrated.’ I’m not sure it is. I think experience is important. But it’s a process all teams go through. Teams at different points of the season where they play really well. They have dips in their game. I think with the group we have here, they’ve done a really good job no matter what’s going on of being honest with their game, looking at it and knowing we can be better, not being a temperamental athlete. Being honest that, ‘hey, we can do these things better, and we know how we need to play.’ Then you get to work at making it better. You see it, you do it, and then you go out and execute. On whether the team enjoys the challenge of snapping a losing streak against Pittsburgh: It’s a good challenge for us, and for us, it’s a good opponent to put our words into actions. We know we’ve got to play better defensively. We know we’ve got to be on the right side of pucks more, and Pittsburgh’s a team that forces you to do that. They play fast, they’ve got extremely dangerous offensive players. I think they lead the league – they’re first, second or third in every offensive category you can find, and if you make mistakes, they usually capitalize, and if you’re undisciplined, they make you play. It’s a really good opponent. The two-time Stanley Cup champions. They are the measuring stick in the league, and we’ve got to be on top of our game. But, regardless, if we’re not playing Pittsburgh, there’s no easy games in the league. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. You’ve got Anaheim tomorrow. You’ve got the Rangers coming in here. There’s all really good teams in the league, and we’re trying to put the focus on our team and make sure that our game’s in order regardless of who we’re playing. On the match-up between the top power play and the top penalty kill: Our best penalty kill tonight will be staying out of the box, clearly. I think they’ve scored 45 power play goals this year, and they get chances. Your goalie has to make saves. You have to be committed in lanes. You have to try and limit their time in the zone with faceoffs and doing the job on the rush now. Their power play rush game is very good. They scored two goals on the rush last night, so they can beat you in a lot of different ways and they’ve got two units that can be effective. So, we’ll focus on having really good fundamentals and a sense of urgency when we’re in that situation, but it’s clearly not a situation you want to put them on numerous times. On whether the approach will be to take care of the defensive end first, and everything else will follow: I think it’s been our philosophy for a long time here. Nothing’s changed this year. We’ve tried to improve certain areas of our games offensively, whether it be rush play or O-zone play, power play, your offensive game, your attack game. But, for us, if you’re going to win hockey games, you’ve got to keep the puck out of your net and you’ve got to limit 1093769 Los Angeles Kings He’s a bigger guy, can really skate, can add some speed to the line. You lose four in a row, you want to get a different look. Lewie played a lot of center. Thought he’s a responsible guy in the middle. Acutally I didn’t JANUARY 18 POSTGAME QUOTES: JOHN STEVENS mind it the way it was there. I thought Lewie was good in the middle. Adrian brought to the line what we thought he might.

Stevens, on whether Kempe earned another shot with the first line JESSI MCDONALD JANUARY 18, 2018 tomorrow: He’s playing tomorrow, yep. POSTGAME QUOTES Stevens, on what the approach is for tomorrow’s game against the Ducks: John Stevens, on the challenge of overcoming early goals like those in the first and third periods: Got to be ready to go. They’re a totally different animal than Pittsburgh. They’re a really tough defensive team. It’s a division game so we’ve Well, the first one was tough. I mean those types of goals don’t go in very really got to get ready here for it for sure. So, reload and get ready. often and I thought we got off to a really good start. So, started chasing the game against a really good hockey team and the funny thing about Stevens, on whether there’s any update on Carter: hockey is when you’re playing catch-up it takes a lot of energy. You know, it’s early in the hockey game so you try not to let it change the No. He’s status quo. He’s in rehab and starting to skate. outcome of the hockey game, but for whatever reason in hockey, when LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.19.2018 you’re down the ice is a little bit uphill. So I thought we got off to a good start, but certainly giving up an early goal is not the start you want. Stevens, on what the team learned after breaking their four-game losing streak earlier in the season: Well, I thought we took a step tonight honestly. I thought we played better. I thought we played the game the right way. Did better things tonight. Created some opportunities. Obviously penalty trouble in the third period got us in big trouble there. Some soft goals got us in trouble there and then I thought we allowed them to skate a little bit in the second period. So reinforce the team game there. We’re going to need everybody on the team to get us out of this. We’re going to need our leadership to take charge of the room and lead the way. Actually I thought they did a pretty good job of that tonight. Just can’t have any weak links in the chain here. Stevens, on whether he would give credit to Penguins goalie, Casey DeSmith: Played well. Yep, played well. I think we didn’t know a lot about him coming in other than his background. But kid played well, yeah. Stevens, on if they made DeSmith work hard enough: I thought we created some really good opportunities. I don’t think we executed well around the net. I thought there were a lot of loose pucks around the net, but I certainly thought we created quality shot attempts towards the net. We had some lateral plays that we didn’t execute, which I would’ve liked to see either hit the net or get to the net. But I actually think we mounted a pretty good offensive attack for most of the game. Stevens, on if he’s surprised that the team is on a five-game losing streak: Well, I don’t think you ever want to lose two in a row, let alone five in a row. So I’m not surprised by anything in the game. If you don’t play your best every night and have everybody going–the league’s too good–and you don’t win hockey games. So, discipline. Talked about their power play–top power play in the league. Can’t put them on the power play that much. In the end it didn’t give us a chance to get back in the hockey game. Stevens, on whether he expected a five-minute major to be called on Brown: I didn’t see. It was down the wall to be honest with you. I actually thought we were getting the power play because I didn’t see what happened. I just heard the reaction of the crowd. But quite honestly, I didn’t see it so I didn’t know what to expect. Stevens, on whether the desire to win caused a lack of discipline: I don’t know if I’d call that a lack of discipline. You know, Dustin Brown is about as honest as a player as there is in the game. So I think he saw the puck, he was starting there at the guy and I did see it after the fact. So I don’t think I’d ever call Dustin undisciplined. I think there’s been some undisciplined plays, but I thought the penalties were called. The situations were–you know, I thought the play deep in the offensive zone, I didn’t like the call. Did you like the call? [Reporter: I was actually referring to later in the game with some of the other calls and penalties.] Well, Kopi breaks his stick there. I wouldn’t call that a lack of discipline. I think he’s trying to get to the puck he ends up breaking the stick. Kopitar and Brown might be the two most disciplined guys, not only on our team, but in the league. So I don’t know if I would tag that undisciplined. I thought Tyler’s penalty was a bad call. Really bad call. Stevens, on what he thought of Kempe’s performance on the top line: 1093770 Los Angeles Kings Doughty, on whether it will be a tough turnaround to play the Ducks tomorrow night:

Oh we’ll be fine. We’ll be ready to go. People think that playing on the JANUARY 18 POSTGAME QUOTES: BROWN, DOUGHTY back-to-back is a disadvantage, but at times it’s not. You know, tonight we go home. We’ve already got another game to think about so we won’t dwell on this one. Just go to sleep, get up in the morning, go to the rink, JESSI MCDONALD JANUARY 18, 2018 and head over to Anaheim. So I think it’ll be an advantage for us not to think about the position we’re in and just think about the game ahead.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.19.2018 Dustin Brown, on if he thought the game misconduct for his hit on Justin Schultz was too severe: I’m going to close on him. He stumbles, toe picks. I don’t drive him into the wall or anything. Also, closing on the play, at the most it’s probably a two, I think. I mean, who knows because of the protocol and all that, but it’s one of those plays where I’m going to close and he’s in an unfortunate spot. Brown, on whether Schultz stumbled: Yeah, well he’s on his knees. I definitely hit him when he’s on his knees, but I’m also going, closing on him. He falls as I’m approaching him so it’s not like it’s one of those plays where it’s–I’m surprised it was a five, but I know he didn’t come back into the game either. Brown, on whether he was surprised at getting a game misconduct: I don’t know what that means really. I don’t know how all those rules work really. That I was out of the game. I’ve seen a lot worse. Brown, on if the team was playing their game up until that point: Well, in the second we could’ve been better. We obviously didn’t start the third the way we wanted to. We had really good looks. I thought we made them come through us, but we gave up a lot in the neutral zone and they have a lot of good players that can make a lot happen. If you give them time and space coming through the neutral zone, I think they had a couple really good looks and Quickie made some really big saves. But we’ve got to be better. Brown, on how frustrated the team is right now: It’s definitely there. If you’re not frustrated there’s something wrong with you. But just trying to channel that frustration into positive energy that you can use to win games because it’s going to be hard. There’s going to be ups and downs and you’ve got to find a way to dig yourself out. Brown, on how the team turned their losing streak around earlier in the season: It’s much the same. Like I said, I don’t know where we sit now. We were in second and we dropped down to eighth. Coming into tonight, I don’t know what happened around the league, where it goes. But you have to just remind yourself of that. You’re still in a good spot. You’re still in a playoff spot and it’s important for us to realize that. And kind of turn the corner. It’s been tough. It’s been frustrating. But you lose five straight, especially in the situation we’re in. But we’re not–we’re in the playoffs still. It’s one of those things where you have to realize where you are. It’s been hard. It’s been brutal for us. Frustrating, but at the end of the day we’re still fighting for a spot and these next 35 games, plenty of time. Drew Doughty, on whether frustration is starting to set in for the team: Yeah, you know we’re obviously pretty down on ourselves right now. You know, we want to turn it around as soon as we possibly can and that’ll start tomorrow night. At times I thought we deserved better tonight and could’ve won that game, but obviously we didn’t. And you know, there’s not things we need to blame it on. I think individually, we just all need to pick it up in here and we’ll come together and win a hockey game. Doughty, on whether killing the five minute major was almost to much to ask at that point in the third: Basically, yeah. Well, no. We can kill off a five-minute major no problem. It was the two penalties after that that, not that I agree or disagree with the calls, but those two calls after completely screwed us because we couldn’t get the puck back from them and create an offensive chance and have the opportunity to pull our goalie. Doughty, on whether the team played the way they wanted to in the first two periods: There’s times in the second that I felt like we didn’t play our game and they kind of took it to us. They had a maybe five minute span where they were in our zone for a long time–not that they were creating amazing chances or anything. I know Quickie made one really big save, but they were just hemming us in our zone and making us tired and when you don’t have the energy to go play in the offensive zone, you’re not going to have the energy to go score any goals. 1093771 Los Angeles Kings

GAME 45: LA KINGS VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

PUMPERNICHOLLJANUARY 18, 2018

GAME THREADS Pittsburgh Penguins 3, LA Kings 1 Final Radio Feed FUBO TV Stream NHL.com Preview Box Score Ice Tracker SOG: LAK – 29; PIT – 31 PP: LAK – 0/2; PIT – 1/5 First Period 1) PIT – Patric Hornqvist (14) (Carl Hagelin), 0:43 Second Period 2) LAK – Adrian Kempe (14) (Anze Kopitar, Jake Muzzin), 14:10 — HIGHLIGHT Third Period 3) PIT – Evgeni Malkin (21) (Olli Maatta, Justin Schultz), 0:26 4) PIT – Patric Hornqvist (15) PP (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin), 10:21 Los Angeles Kings (25-15-5) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (24-20-3) Thursday, January 18, 2018, 7:00 p.m. PT Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA Referees: #5 Chris Rooney, #47 Pierre Lambert Linesmen: #66 Darren Gibbs, #65 Pierre Racicot NBCSN, FUBO TV, KABC 790, I Heart Radio LAK starters: G Jonathan Quick, D Derek Forbort, D Drew Doughty, LW Adrian Kempe, C Anze Kopitar, RW Dustin Brown LAK scratches: C Andy Andreoff, C Torrey Mitchell, D Paul LaDue PIT starters: G Casey DeSmith, D Brian Dumoulin, D Kris Letang, LW Connor Sheary, C Sidney Crosby, RW Domink Simon PIT scratches: D Ian Cole, RW Daniel Sprong, G Matt Murray LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093772 Los Angeles Kings

FORMER-ISH PENGUIN JAKE MUZZIN ON FACING THE TEAM THAT DRAFTED HIM

PUMPERNICHOLL JANUARY 18, 2018

Jake Muzzin is not only returning to the LA Kings lineup, he’s also returning to face the first NHL team that took a chance on him. “I was never really there. I feel I made the right decision. I mean, [laughing] …it’s not like I had a decision, actually,” Muzzin said. With the 141st pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected an OHL defenseman who had only played 37 regular season games (out of 136 games) with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds over the course of two seasons. “I wasn’t good enough at the time. And I can honestly say that. I wasn’t ready for it. I appreciate them taking the chance on me, I just wasn’t ready at that time,” Muzzin said. Muzzin went unsigned. He re-entered the NHL Draft in 2009. This time, Muzzin went undrafted. “I’d gone to an NHL Camp in the summer, then a main camp at the start of the year [with the Nashville Predators], and I had nothing out of that,” Muzzin said. “Jacob Muzzin of the Nashville Predators poses for his official headshot for the 2009-2010 NHL season.” He ultimately returned to the Greyhounds for an overage season. “I was grateful for that year,” Muzzin said. “I worked hard that summer. I knew it was kind of my last kick at the can.” The hard work paid off as Muzzin took home the Max Kaminsky Trophy, given to the top defenseman in the OHL. At that point the rejuvenated Muzzin was a free agent, and he began fielding more and more interest from teams across the NHL. But two teams pursued the hardest. “I think we had around seven or eight teams, but the [Anaheim] Ducks and Kings were the two that were really interested,” Muzzin recalls. So what was the determining factor? “At the time Anaheim didn’t have a farm team, and I knew I wasn’t going to jump right into the NHL. I talked to my agent and my parents, and we thought that LA was a better fit at the time, so we chose LA,” Muzzin said. Oh, what could have been for so many teams… LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093773 Minnesota Wild Even though the Wild is last in Corsi percentage, shots aren’t getting to the net at as high a rate. The Wild is 18th in allowing shots on goal (32.1 per game). How the Wild stays in playoff hunt despite being last in Corsi As Boudreau said, “You can never get good enough until you’ve got a goals against of where Tampa’s is right now (2.5 per game). By Chris Hine Star Tribune JANUARY 18, 2018 — 4:57PM “There’s always things to strive for.” The Wild can strive for more offensive zone time, but at least their defense has kept them from freefalling. The statistic known as Corsi percentage has grabbed a hold of the hockey world the way a defenseman grabs an opposing forward who Chris Hine is the lead writer for North Score, the Star Tribune’s new pokes the goaltender after a whistle. sports analytics beat. Find his stories at startribune.com/northscore. Corsi percentage sounds more complicated than it is. It’s a measure of Star Tribune LOADED: 01.19.2018 overall shot attempts, helping answer: Does your team shoot more than your opponent? And: how often is your team on the offensive attack? More shots means more offensive zone time. Every shot counts the same, whether it’s saved, blocked or missed the net. The Wild is dead-last in this darling of the analytics community, with a 46.1 Corsi percent during 5-on-5 play, according to naturalstattrick.com. Of the combined 3,930 shot attempts during 5-on-5 counted in the Wild’s 46 games, 2,120 have come from their opponents. By comparison, top- ranked Carolina is at 53.7 percent and Tampa Bay, which visits St. Paul on Saturday to end Minnesota’s bye week, is third (52.8). “I think we give up too many chances for the most part,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. But fortunately for the Wild, while every shot counts the same in Corsi, not all hockey shots are created equal. North Score Analytics and the stories they tell Minnesota’s performance in another metric illustrates why it has been able to stay afloat in the Western Conference race despite injuries to key players, including goaltender Devan Dubnyk and winger Zach Parise. The Wild may be last in overall shot percentage, but it ranked eighth when it comes to high-danger Corsi percent (53.1 percent) entering Thursday’s games. The Wild may be giving up a lot of shots, but it is not allowing as many high-quality chances from the areas on the ice where most goals are scored — the front of the net and the slot, the area between the circles — as it is generating. And that’s no accident. It is a design of the defensive style the Wild plays when it is in its own zone. Last season, the first under Boudreau, the Wild followed a similar pattern — it was first in high-danger Corsi percent (56.2) and 20th in overall Corsi percent (49.3). “You just pack it in tight,” center Charlie Coyle said. “You give the point pass away, free pass up there and keep them to the outside. It’s hard to score, hard to play, when you can’t get on the inside and you get five guys tight.” So long as opponents are passing the puck around the perimeter and taking shots from the point, or near the blue line, the Wild won’t be that upset. Minnesota, tied for eighth in the Western Conference with 53 points, would rather stay packed in its zone coverage and prevent passes and bodies from getting into the high-danger areas, and shots from the point are easier for Dubnyk to stop. “If there’s a breakdown, we have layers and they have to go through multiple guys,” Coyle said. “It’s not just you get by one guy and get a pass to the net. Other guys are filling in and when you play tight that way, that helps.” Added winger Daniel Winnik: “You’d much rather give up those point shots as opposed to scoring area, or a lot of teams call it ‘in the house.’ It’s tough to get to the net now with teams boxing out.” Communication has to be effective so that as the puck moves, someone is covering each vulnerable area. That makes it hard for opponents and shots to travel through. “There are just so many bodies for that puck to get past,” Winnik said. “You even see an evolution in where the (defensemen) shoot from. A lot of times they … shoot from the corner of the blue line, where it used to be shots only came from the middle. But it’s just too hard to get through when (the puck) goes in the middle.” 1093774 Minnesota Wild September, played a series of games against top Olympic rival Canada and have been together since.

"It's a huge bonus and a huge advantage to be together all year," forward No-NHL 2018 Olympics makes for unique preparation strategies Meghan Duggan said. "(It's ) a difference from a world championship year, a non-Olympic year where we play with our pro teams and our club teams or college teams and get together for certain periods of time By STEPHEN WHYNO Associated Press JANUARY 18, 2018 whether it be for world championships or Four Nations Cup or training camp."

Canada's men's team took part in several Olympic tune-up tournaments When Brian Gionta last played in the Olympics in 2006, his final NHL for evaluation purposes. GM Sean Burke, who played in goal for Canada game before the break allowed him just three days to fly to Italy and get in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, is trying to make the most of this hybrid acclimated before suiting up for Team USA. schedule to put coach Willie Desjardins and his team in the best position to succeed. This time around, the semi-retired U.S. captain and his Olympic teammates will get four whole practice days before opening the "We've had a lot of time to not only evaluate our players but have them tournament against Slovenia on Feb. 14. together to do some team-building and we're going to get a good two- week training camp. I like the process," Burke said. "Our coaching staff "With the NHL setup, you fly over there, you have a small window to can really get down to working on our systems and having everything in practice in and then you're right into the games," Gionta said. "We've had place that they're comfortable with. That's a real nice luxury to have." the added benefit of being able to go over to the Deutschland Cup and be together for that week. A lot of the guys that were there are on the Star Tribune LOADED: 01.19.2018 team and have a good understanding of each other. But I think that's a nice change, I guess, from previous Olympics." Still, the U.S. lost all three games at that tournament in November and didn't score more than two goals in any of them. Preparation under a new coach, learning the nuances and habits of new teammates are certainly key, but every men's hockey team going to South Korea is in a much different situation from any previous Olympics. Before NHL players began participating in 1998, national teams were centralized and spent months together — much like women's teams do now. In contrast, the past five Olympics featured quick turnarounds when it came to training because so many players were also in the NHL, which decided this time around not to pause its 82-game regular season. However, no NHL didn't automatically translate into more practice time as the teams were put together. Almost everyone on an Olympic roster is playing professionally or in college, so there isn't much of an opportunity for training camps — though Canada, Russia and other countries are making the most of any time they have to get together. Russia's Kontinental Hockey League has its final games before the Olympic break Jan. 28, and other European leagues will release players shortly after that so they can prepare. Chock full of stars from the KHL, including former NHL players Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk, Russia should be the first to have its full team together and will play exhibition games in Moscow on Jan. 30 and Feb. 4. Canada is gathering as many players as possible in Latvia on Jan. 28 and will play two exhibition games there and one more in South Korea before the Olympics begin as it tries to win a third consecutive gold medal. "We have access to our players very early, and we're going to take advantage of that," said Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada's vice president of hockey operations and national teams. "We're actually going to simulate the first two games of the Olympics with the ice times and the game times and try to get used to that kind of quick turnaround from a 9 p.m. game and a day off and a noon game." Sweden, which has a handful of former NHL players and projected 2018 No. 1 draft pick Rasmus Dahlin , will gather in Seoul for four days of practice before facing Canada on Feb. 12. The Czech Republic will hold training camp in Prague from Jan. 29-Feb. 6 before practicing in Seoul and playing an exhibition game against Finland on Feb. 11, while the Swiss are scheduled to play Germany in Kloten, Switzerland, on Feb. 6 and Norway in Goyang, South Korea, five days later. USA Hockey general manager Jim Johannson said his team won't play any exhibition games with most U.S. players arriving in South Korea on Feb. 8. Johannson said the U.S. will practice Feb. 10-13 and get in a game-day skate Feb. 14, which coach Tony Granato feels will be enough preparation. "We've all been parts of multiple tournaments like this, so we're not unfamiliar with them," said Granato, who played 49 games with the U.S. national team prior to the 1988 Olympics and currently coaches at the University of Wisconsin. "A lot of the excitement and build-up leading up to it makes it that much better — you're going to get there, we're going to jump on the ice, we're going to practice and then a few days later we'll be center stage and ready to play." Seventeen of the 25 U.S. players were at the Deutschland Cup in November and won't be back on the ice together until nearly three months later. The U.S. women's team? They gathered in Florida in 1093775 Minnesota Wild

Veterans Nagy, Surovy to lead Slovakia at Olympics

Associated Press JANUARY 18, 2018 — 6:00AM

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Veteran forwards Ladislav Nagy and Tomas Surovy are the most experienced players on the Slovakia team for next month's Olympics in South Korea. The 38-year-old Nagy played 435 NHL games with St. Louis, Phoenix, Dallas and Los Angeles, scoring 115 goals and adding 196 assists. The 36-year-old Surovy spent three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. They both now play in the Slovak league, which contributed 10 players to the 25-man squad selected by coach Craig Ramsay. Most players (14) come from the league in neighboring Czech Republic, which together with Slovakia formed Czechoslovakia until 1993. Only one player, defenseman Michal Cajkovsky, plays in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League. Slovakia opens the Olympic tournament on Feb. 14 against Russia in a group that also includes the United States and Slovenia. Star Tribune LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093776 Montreal Canadiens "We need Mo not only to be good offensively but to be a good lockdown guy for us, playing against the best people and be a good star for us," said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. "He's an important guy on our team and Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly blossoming into offensive threat has to keep going." Globe And Mail LOADED: 01.19.2018 DAVID ALTER

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly knew he could be a better offensive player. In his final season with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League, Rielly collected 12 goals and 42 assists. His 54 points during the 2012-13 season were fifth-best among defenceman in the league third- best on his team. However, his flair for offence had not translated at the professional level. Until now. Heading into Thursday's game, Rielly had five goals and 26 assists in 46 games. His 31 points are just five shy of his career-high set during the 2015-16 season over a full 82-game schedule. "I think it's just confidence," Rielly said at practice this week. "I worked on some things in the off-season, but it was also about being really motivated over the summer to be better." Last April, the Leafs' season ended with a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Washington Capitals. Toronto had caught teams by surprise, given they were among the youngest teams in the league and had just come off a season in which they finished last (29-42-11, 69 pts). Rielly, having just completed his fourth season with the Leafs, anticipated that he would have to improve his game. Recording more points was one area where he could show improvement. "I wasn't all that happy with the offensive aspect of my game last year. I had more to give," Rielly said. This past summer, Rielly incorporated more skating into his off-season training. He also used the services of Leafs skills consultant Darryl Belfry, who has become the pre-eminent skills coach around the league. He has worked with some of the best NHL players, including Sidney Crosby, John Tavares and Patrick Kane. Unlike traditional skill development, Belfry reviews tape of players and pinpoints movement inefficiencies that once corrected, show improvement with immediate results. "When I created my system, I wanted to develop it in a way that can make a large impact on the player immediately," Belfry said in a 2014 interview. "I found myself doing more analyzing of the athlete to see what is it specifically that he needs, what is the next level?" In Rielly's case, there were tweaks to his positioning that have led to more point production. While in the opponent's zone, Rielly has seen tendencies of players and responded by staying closer to the boards resulting in more wins during puck battles. "We're talking a lot, and it's good to have a voice up there help you out," Rielly said of Belfry. Other factors have contributed to Rielly's success offensively. Twelve of his 31 points have come on the power play. He leads the team in average ice time with the man advantage at 2:20 per game. Last season, Rielly averaged just 0:58 of power-play time per game and recorded five points with the extra man. When Rielly was selected fifth overall by the Leafs at the 2012 draft, they hoped that he could one day become the team's No. 1 defenceman. Rielly has seen different coaches and general managers come and go since then, but the vision for him has never wavered. This summer, when Toronto made changes to their roster, the defence was left mostly intact, with the exception of signing veteran defenceman Ron Hainsey to a two-year, $6-million contract. It was the biggest vote of confidence for Rielly that they believe he is their No. 1 defenceman. "A lot of people look at guys like Drew Doughty (of the Los Angeles Kings) at 18 years old and think that's how you become a No. 1 defenceman, but for every one of those, there are a bunch who become No. 1 with a bit more time, and he's doing that," Hainsey said of Rielly. Although Rielly has taken significant strides offensively, it's the defensive side of his game that Toronto has come to depend on most. Given Toronto's recent struggles to score – they had just two goals in January heading into Thursday's game in Philadelphia – Rielly's ability to shut down the best players is still his strength. 1093777 Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens at Capitals: Five things you should know

Pat Hickey, Montreal GazettePAT HICKEY, MONTREAL GAZETTE

Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Capitals game at the TD Garden on Friday (7:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio): How low can you go? This week, coach Claude Julien was taking some comfort that the Canadiens had earned six of a possible eight points. After Wednesday’s 4-1 loss in Boston, Montreal has earned six of a possible 10 points, which doesn’t look bad until you look at the big picture. The Canadiens are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, which means they have earned six points out of a possible 20. The loss came in what might have been the Canadiens’ worst performance of what has been a disappointing season. The defeat dropped the Canadiens nine points out of the final wild-card position in the Eastern Conference. Drouin back in the middle: The Jonathan Drouin on the wing experiment was short-lived. Drouin and Alex Galchenyuk flanked Jacob de la Rose to begin the game, but Julien moved Drouin back to centre seven minutes into the second period and de la Rose was sent back to the fourth line. Drouin finished the game with two shots on goal and he continued to struggle in the faceoff circle. He won only one of his nine faceoffs for a winning percentage of 11.1 per cent, which leaves him at 39.9 per cent for the season. De la Rose wasn’t much better, winning three of his 10 draws. Back to Square 1: After putting 56 shots on net and scoring four goals against the loosey-goosey New York Islanders’ defence Monday, the Canadiens reverted to their early-season form and scored only once on 22 shots in Boston. As it was, Jakub Jerabek’s goal in the first minute was a bit of a fluke because his shot was off target, but bounced in off Zdeno Chara. The Canadiens had scored 12 goals in their three previous games but, going back to the big picture, Montreal has 19 goals in its last 10 games — an average of 1.9 goals a game. That’s below the season average of 2.53. The matchup: This is the second of three meetings between these teams this season and the Capitals have the edge after smoking the Canadiens 6-1 in Washington on Oct. 7. The Capitals went into Thursday’s night game in New Jersey in first place in the Metropolitan Division with a five- point edge over the Devils. Washington is in the middle of the pack in most statistical categories, but one of the keys to their success is an excellent record at the Capital One Arena where they are 18-6. The expansion Vegas Golden Knights are the only team in the NHL with a better home record at 18-2-2. Ovie leads the way: Coming off a disappointing season in which he scored “only” 33 goals, Alexander Ovechkin has his sights set on a seventh Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. He leads the league with 28, one more than Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. Goaltender Braden Holtby hasn’t shown the form he displayed two seasons ago when he won the Vézina Trophy. He has a 2.66 goals- against average and a .917 save percentage, but he has won 24 games to rank second behind’s Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (27). Former Canadien Lars Eller is on pace for a career season with nine goals and 21 points. Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093778 Montreal Canadiens

New Canadiens forward Logan Shaw arrives with penalty-kill pedigree

Pat Hickey

WASHINGTON — Logan Shaw isn’t the answer to the Canadiens’ black hole at centre. And the 25-year-old from Cape Breton isn’t going to go on a scoring rampage that propels the Canadiens into the playoffs. But Shaw would look good in the Canadiens’ lineup for Friday’s game against the Washington Capitals (7:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio) because his game is based on hard work, an element that was sadly missing in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Bruins in Boston. Shaw was acquired on waivers from the Anaheim Ducks this week after centremen Andrew Shaw and Phillip Danault were sidelined with injuries and when he was asked what he brings to his new team, he replied: “A work ethic. Every shift I’m out there, I’ll do my best to help the team win. I play a two-way game. I’ll dig in and play strong defensively and try to chip in offensively whenever I can.” The offensive opportunities have been few and far between. He has 10 goals and 15 assists in 150 NHL games with the Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks. He had two goals and six assists in 42 games this season with Anaheim. The key number here is 42. Shaw stayed in the Ducks’ lineup because he played gritty defence. The 6-foot-3, 210- pounder could have his biggest impact in Montreal on a penalty kill unit that ranks 26th in the NHL. “(The penalty kill) is one of the reasons I got to stay in the NHL for as long as I have so far,” said Shaw. “That was one of my roles in Anaheim. I played a lot on the penalty kill and I took a lot of pride in it when I was there.” Shaw is listed in the NHL statistics as a centre, but he has played most of his career as a winger. “I probably played centre for 20 or 30 games out of the 150 I have played in the NHL,” he explained. “I’ve tried to diversify my game a bit. I haven’t been great at taking faceoffs, but it’s something I’m working on. Normally, I’m more of a winger but its nice to be able to play all positions.” Shaw’s work ethic has a lot to do with growing up in Glace Bay, N.S., a town whose history dates to the 18h century, when its mines provided coal for the French fortress at Louisbourg. “You grow up and nothing’s really handed to you,” said Shaw. “You have to earn everything you get, nothing comes easy to you. It goes a long way. On the road I’ve travelled so far in my career nothing has ever been set in stone. Everywhere I go, I’m trying to work to stay in the lineup and that’s fine.” While many players in Atlantic Canada leave to further their hockey careers, Shaw is happy to have stayed close to home during his early years. He played minor hockey in Glace Bay and then travelled 30 minutes to Sydney to play junior hockey with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the QMJHL. “It was nice,” he said. “I knew everyone and we were all working hard to make each other better. I was never the best player on my junior team or my midget team, but everybody worked hard, everyone was held accountable.” Shaw said his close association with his hometown should result in some new fans for the Canadiens, including his parents. “When I was growing up, I was forced to be a Leafs fan,” said Shaw. “I think there’ll be some people changing (allegiances). I know they’ll be happy that I’m playing closer to home.” Shaw was traded to the Quebec Remparts during the 2011-12 season and he said his season and a half in Quebec will help him adjust to Montreal. He studied French in school, has a basic comprehension of the language and will work on speaking it more. “I got to live with two French families when I was in Quebec City and it was great to be around the culture,” said Shaw. “I think it’s a lot of fun. They love hockey and there’s a lot of passion in these cities. I’m looking forward to it.” Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093779 Montreal Canadiens · Jordie Benn: I think he ices the puck so often because he’s always tired. Benn played a team high 23:28. Jordie Benn! Remember, it was Bergevin who suggested prior to the season that Benn could be a top Melnick: The good, the bad and the ugly game 45, Montreal 1, Boston 4 pairing defenseman with Shea Weber. Aye-aye-aye. · Byron Froese: A fringe player like Froese simply cannot afford to be taking penalties, especially when they take place nearly 200 feet from his By Mitch Melnick own net. His trip on Backes behind the Boston net led to the Bruins third goal.

· Special Teams: That Marchand goal early in the third was the clincher. There’s something about quitting time in Boston. Maybe Logan Shaw will help the PK. He was part of a strong unit in Anaheim. But the real horror show was the Montreal power play, Last February 12, following a listless 4-0 loss to the Bruins, GM Marc especially when they had a two-man advantage for over a minute Bergevin fired Michel Therrien. midway through the game when the Bruins had a 2-1 lead. All five guys Last night was a similar score-doesn’t-begin-to-tell-the-story loss that stood around looking for somebody else to do something. It was one of should also result in serious ramifications. the truly low points of the season. And that’s saying something. But as bad as it looked (and felt) for Claude Julien, he’s not going THE UGLY anywhere. Except back to the drawing board to try to figure out yet · Max Pacioretty-Jonathan Drouin-Alex Galchenyuk: Once Pacioretty another way to plug a roster so full of holes it’s a wonder they haven’t yet gave the puck away deep in his own zone to help tie the game for Boston sunk to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. he disappeared. Drouin was noticeable because he ended up in the Or maybe the Habs new GPS system is on autopilot. Perhaps that’s crease behind Price when the Bruins took a 2-1 lead (actually it was where the $8 million went. Will it also lead them to a quality NHL centre? Drouin who put the Habs on a 5-on-3 after he cut through the middle and drew a slashing call before running into Rask. But other than that, THE GOOD nothing). Galchenyuk gets a bit more breathing room because on that shift he carried the puck into the Boston zone and set up an onrushing · Jakub Jerabek: Followed up his first two NHL points on Monday night Mete with a good pass but Mete, on his way to the Boston net, never saw with his first NHL goal, thanks to Zdeno Chara, just 30 seconds into the it. Moments later Galchenyuk again led a rush with De la Rose which he game. It was Jerabek himself who started the play as he made a smart likely thought would be a give and go inside the Boston blue line. He move carrying and keeping control of the puck in the neutral zone before gave the puck to his new centreman but De la Rose didn’t go anywhere, Paul Byron stripped it away from Chara inside Boston territory. Byron got dropping it instead to Boston’s talented rookie Jake DeBrusk. The play the puck to a quick moving Charles Hudon who made a strong play to get eventually turned into the winning goal by Ryan Spooner as the Habs it to Jerabek while Max Pacioretty made his way to the net. Jerabek’s defended with all the intensity of a 2 a.m. beer league game. By the shot, after some nifty work to move from his backhand to a shooting second period Drouin was back in the middle between Galchenyuk and position, appeared to glance in off Chara’s right leg. It was a perfect start . Late in the third, Julien moved Gallagher onto that to the game for the Habs. They won a puck battle. They moved it around. line. When asked after the game if his players had quit, Julien suggested They had a strong net front presence. And they had an early lead. But it was a question better suited for them. Let’s see what their response is about five minutes later the Bruins paid tribute to Julien with a video tomorrow night in Washington. montage on the scoreboard. That’s when his current team stopped playing. The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 · Carey Price: He was often defenceless. Especially on the goals. · Brendan Gallagher: No quit in this player. He was sprawling to block shots and even threw his body into Chara behind the Boston net in the third period in an effort to create some kind of energy that the Habs left at the Bell Centre. THE BAD · Jeff Petry: Bad time for his worst game of the season. Seemed more concerned about losing his stick than playing the game. Not sure where his head was last night but it wasn’t in the rink. While he seemed incapable of doing anything but standing around after he lost his stick behind the Canadiens’ net, David Pastrnak made his way from grappling with Petry to sneaking out to the other side where he was left wide open to finish off a three-way play with his linemates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Petry never recovered. He remained stationary on a critical Habs power play in the second period. His coverage on Marchand on the Bruins’ third period power play goal was softer than a roll of Charmin. Petry topped off his night late in the game when the Habs were almost inexplicably just a goal away from making it interesting. Price was pulled with 3:30 to play. So there was plenty of time to create some offence. But while carrying the puck inside his own zone, Petry misfired on an easy pass to Victor Mete, hitting the rookie in the skate instead of the stick. It bounced right to David Backes, whose pass to David Krejci just rubbed more salt in Julien’s open wound. · Jacob de la Rose: Not ready for prime time. · Artturi Lehkonen: Ninety seconds after the Habs opened the scoring, Lehkonen had a scoring chance from the high slot. At least he got a shot away. And it was on the net. In the second period, he led a 3-on-1 break but didn’t get off a shot. Or a pass. It was a royal muck up with the Habs trailing 2-1. In 29 games this season Lehkonen has two goals. He doesn’t have a point in his last 10 games. But he’s a really smart player who does a lot of…oh never mind. · Tomas Plekanec: One goal in his last 31 games. He too does not have a point in his last 10 games. The last time he scored a 5-on-5 goal was November 4th. But he’s a really smart player. · Charles Hudon: Nice play on the opening goal. But moments later he couldn’t beat Tuukka Rask from in close after a set up from behind the net by Pacioretty. In 42 games this season Hudon has four goals. His assist was his first point in seven games. 1093780 Montreal Canadiens followed closely by Ottawa, Calgary and Toronto, with Montreal and Edmonton at the rear. The Jets and Canucks are the only teams that don't have a prospect ranked lower than fourth relative to the other Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL teams' prospect teams, while Edmonton's best ranks at sixth-or-lower on all three lists. pools There also isn't as pronounced a gap between the top-two by this point as there is on the other list. All of Vesalainen, White, Evans and Dahlen are tightly grouped, while Kylington and Johnsson stand a cut above By Scott Wheeler Jones. Nearly every prospect on this list would rank ahead of Bear were they grouped together.

But there's more to the team's prospect pools than their best players. Over the course of the last three months, I have ranked every single How far their depth runs will play a huge factor in giving each Canadian prospect in each Canadian NHL team's pool, from the 31 the Leafs have team its best odds at hitting home runs on their proverbial lottery balls. at the high end to the 23 apiece the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames control. Here's a look at that next tier of high-end prospects for each team: In all, the seven rankings put 187 players into context within their own The first thing you'll notice is that there aren't any Oilers or Canadiens in organization, and sought to identify those who had legitimate NHL hopes, this group of 17. As good as Tyler Benson or Joni Ikonen are, they're still those each team missed on. a tier below the likes of Dube and Phillips. Given that neither team mitigated against that thin depth by having standout players at 1-3 in their The criteria was simple. The players had to be under-23, not playing in pool and there's real cause for concern about the state of Montreal and the NHL full-time (at the time of the ranking), and either drafted by the Edmonton's flow of young talent for the next few years. team or signed to an entry-level contract. Draft picks whose rights have expired, or players who were on AHL/ECHL deals, were excluded. After leading the way at the top of their pools, the Canucks also have three players in the top-six of the best of the rest and five of the top-11. In wrapping up the series, I wanted to put each of those pools in a After years of struggling, the Canucks have done a good job hitting on different context by examining them against one another. Which their high-end picks and that should help them turn things around and Canadian teams' prospect pool bodes most favourably for the future, and rebuild. which of the seven teams has done the poorest job drafting and developing its current farm system. The Flames aren't far behind either and matched the Canucks with five players on the best of the rest list, though three are at its end. Rather than placing the emphasis on the individual players by ranking each of the team's top prospects in one collective list to close out the The Leafs, the Jets and the Senators also each appear on the list series, I have opted to provide comparative context by matching each of multiple times, led by Travis Dermott. For context, each of Dermott, the team's top-three prospects into three separate lists, with a best of the Andersson, Gaudette and Demko would rank higher than Jones and rest to close things out. In doing so, we get a better understanding of how Bear on a complete list. each team's top young prospects match up against the rest. Below, is my final ranking of each of the seven teams' prospect pools: (Note: some players in the best of the rest ranking would actually finish higher on a complete list than a few of the players at No. 3 or even a That the Leafs and Jets, in particular, have managed to maintain strong couple of the No. 2s on some of these teams, but that's not the focus pools despite graduating such high-end talents in the last couple of here. If you want a comprehensive ranking of many of the individual seasons is perhaps most impressive. In Winnipeg, others, including prospects, check out Corey Pronman's mid-season top-50 drafted Mason Appleton, Eric Comrie, and Mikhail Berdin also factor into their prospects list. If you want more info on any/all of the players, my team ranking. Similarly, in Calgary, I have always been high on D'Artagnan rankings take a comprehensive look at each.) Joly and still believe Morgan Klimchuck can become an everyday NHL player. In Toronto, there is depth in numbers outside of the six players After contextualizing each team's depth against one another, you'll find a who made these lists, from Adam Brooks and Eemeli Rasanen to Yegor ranking of the pools against one another below. Korshkov and Dmytro Timashov. Off the top, there are a few things about each team's best prospect that With the Canucks, there's an element of “about time” to their pool's are worth mentioning. strength, but it is still a really impressive group given that players such as Petrus Palmu, Jonah Gadjovich and William Lockwood are also all The first is that the top-two prospects (Pettersson and Chabot) exist in a legitimate prospects. tier of their own. Chabot is one of the best defence prospects in hockey and Pettersson is in the process of having one of the greatest under-20 The Flames, to put it mildly, have a lot coming — particularly on defence seasons in the history of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). After that, — even if they don't have a Pettersson or a Chabot-level prospect after things tighten up. I have Liljegren alone at No. 3, but the gap between graduating Matthew Tkachuk and others. him and the next tier of Roslovic and Fox (who are close) is smaller than the gap between Chabot and Liljegren. Like Roslovic and Fox, To the Canadiens' credit, I have liked their selections of Cale Fleury and Yamamoto and Poehling are also close, but the former has more Josh Brook in recent memory. weapons and a higher ceiling. And despite having a strong top-five, I am not high on Ottawa's pool Among the No. 2s, you'll start to see some familiarity in the teams that (though I do think Maxime Lajoie has a lot more to give). Alex Formenton are represented at the top vis-a-vis each other. and Aaron Luchuk are fine prospects, but their ceilings will limit them if they ever make it to the NHL level full-time. Here, the gap starts to widen and the depth in some pools is exposed. Valimaki and Juolevi stand ahead of this pack (and deserve to be in the If you have any questions about the players or the rankings, leave them No. 1 tier) by a fairly pronounced margin, while Kapanen, Foley, below and I'll be happy to answer them. Scherbak and Brown are nearly interchangeable and Bear trails pretty The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 considerably. Here, the Oilers' depth is exposed. Part of this is just symptomatic of how many good young players Edmonton has on its NHL roster, including Jesse Puljujarvi, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse, but the same could be said of the Leafs, who've lost their three best prospects to the next level and the Jets (Patrik Laine, Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor). The Oilers need to do a better job of hanging onto their picks, acquiring others and drafting for skill beyond the top-10. As each pool digs deeper, that lack of depth in Edmonton is even more evident. The Oilers are well-positioned for years to come with their young core, but as McDavid and Draisaitl's lucrative deals kick in, the need for constant waves of controllable, affordable prospects will be paramount for them to stay successful and competitive. At No. 3, the trends become more evident. Were the pools defined by their best three players, Winnipeg and Vancouver would stand atop, 1093781 Montreal Canadiens A few weeks ago, on Jan. 3 to be precise, Julien mentioned publicly that he needed his best players to play better. It was calculated. He gathered those players in a meeting beforehand to tell them he was going to do Basu: Claude Julien has challenged his players like he never has before that, and in a sense, it worked. The Canadiens came out the next game and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in a shootout.

After the win, Pacioretty seemed stunned that we didn’t know Julien had By Arpon Basu Jan 18, 2018 gathered them together and told them they would be called out publicly. Julien had never mentioned to the media that he had done that, but it seemed obvious to Pacioretty. BOSTON – Most people have already written the Canadiens off. “Next time he says something like that,” Pacioretty said then, “assume he said it to us.” That’s because most people do not play or work for the Canadiens, so they can look at the standings, look at their record, look at their roster, Ok, so did Julien tell his team that he couldn’t – or wouldn’t – say and realize certain things that are obvious. whether his players have quit on the season? It was perhaps his most telling moment of the season, given that it was his first public display of But when you play or work for the Canadiens, it is ok to irrationally look at doubt about his own team, his own players. those same things and remain blind to what is obvious. It is ok to believe that it is indeed Santa Claus who comes down that chimney and leaves Then, he did it again. gifts under your tree on Christmas Eve, or that there is a fairy out there flying around the world leaving money under your pillow in exchange for “Again, part of our job is to make those guys believe,” Julien said, “but your nasty, discarded baby tooth. you often say you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force them to drink. Part of the responsibility belongs to them and part of it belongs to The Canadiens still having a chance to make the playoffs is a similarly us to make them believe.” ridiculous thing to believe. But when you are only midway through the season and you are the ones playing or coaching or managing that The ability to maintain that belief for the Canadiens is hanging by a season, logic can be your worst enemy. thread, if it is hanging at all, because it is akin to believing in fairy tales. Julien might as well be Tinkerbell at this point. What we witnessed Wednesday night in Boston, however, might very well have been that logic finally dawning on the Canadiens, finally “We realize where we are,” he said. “At the same time, just a few years creeping into their brains and providing the realization that this is indeed ago Ottawa went on a run with a goaltender by the name of Hammond. a lost cause. Sometimes if you believe, good things can happen, you know? But it’s got to start with the belief. If you don’t believe, you’re wasting your time. There is no other way to explain how the Canadiens played in a 4-1 loss But we have a group of guys that if they get together and believe in to the Boston Bruins, an effort so listless that the Bruins should be themselves, that chance is still there. ashamed that the score was not more lopsided. There were about 15 different moments in this game you could point to as an example of just “We believe. It’s up to them to believe as much as we do.” how inept the Canadiens were, whether it’s Jeff Petry standing paralyzed without his stick as his man David Pastrnak got up off the ice and moved The 2014-15 Ottawa Senators did indeed go 19-3-3 down the stretch on into a position to score the tying goal, or Brad Marchand beating Petry to the back of Andrew Hammond to squeak into the playoffs before getting the front of the Canadiens net for an easy scoring opportunity that never knocked out by the first-place Canadiens in the first round. But even that came because the Bruins didn’t recognize it, or David Schlemko simply Senators team was 18-18-9 after 45 games. The Canadiens are 18-21-6. handing the puck to Riley Nash in his own zone, or Noel Acciari being left And really, when you’re clinging to making history as a reference point for all alone in the slot but putting his shot high. your belief, that belief can’t really be all that strong. And that was all before the first intermission. But if Julien still believes, power to him. This was him taking a stand, and he appeared to throw down the gauntlet on his players after being “It seemed,” Max Pacioretty said, “like no one really wanted the puck.” embarrassed in a building where he presided over so much greatness. Great. “When you look at our team, we looked like a team that maybe didn’t believe and gave up easily and all that stuff,” he said. “But I go back “We can’t afford to have off nights, especially against a team that’s again, four, five games before that we didn’t look like that team. supposed to be our biggest rival,” Brendan Gallagher added. “We’re supposed to show up. We’ve always loved coming into this building and “So it’s up to us to – probably next game – decide which way we want to playing. Tonight that wasn’t the case. go here. Are we going to want to bounce back and play some better hockey than we did tonight, or are we just going to drag on?” “At no point in the game did we have the effort level we needed to win, and like I said, we got what we deserved.” Whether the Canadiens players believe or not is probably irrelevant at this point. What is important is knowing what type of players they have, a There’s some honesty in those words, but it’s nothing we haven’t heard team supposedly built on character actually showing some after it was before. In fact, we’ve heard it all too often this season. publicly questioned by their coach. What was different was the tone of Claude Julien’s comments, his That, in the grand scheme of things, is more important than any push thoughts, and how he separated his coaching staff from his players in towards the playoffs. We’ll see Friday night in Washington. describing how unacceptable the game was from the Canadiens point of view. The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 Forget Julien’s homecoming, even though that surely added to his disappointment and embarrassment, but this game, this week was so vital in maintaining that delusional hope the Canadiens had of saving their season. Yet they showed up in Boston and looked like they quit. When Julien was asked by Sportsnet’s Eric Engels afterwards if he thought that to be the case, if he thought some of his players have quit, Julien didn’t immediately say no. He didn’t get angry that the question was even asked. He didn’t get angry at all. This is not normal. This is what Julien did. “I think those are questions you guys need to ask the players, not the coach,” he said. “I can’t answer for them. It’s important for you guys to ask the right people, that’s part of your job. My job is to tell you that we weren’t good enough tonight and we need to be better, and I think that’s my responsibility. I need to get this team to play better, and no matter what they’re thinking they need to change their approach, if that’s the case.” Whoa. 1093782 Nashville Predators

Predators squeak by Arizona Coyotes in shootout for fourth consecutive win

Adam Vingan, USA TODAY NETWORK

Well, not every game can be riveting. The Predators' 3-2 shootout victory against the NHL-worst Arizona Coyotes, their fourth consecutive win, won't be remembered for its excitement. Nashville earned two points nonetheless, sliding into first place in the Central Division. Here are three observations from Thursday's victory: Johansen avoids injury The Predators avoided a potential injury scare when top center Ryan Johansen, who missed the third period of Tuesday’s victory against the Vegas Golden Knights after absorbing a high hit, played against the Coyotes on Thursday. The onus is on Johansen to elevate his offensive game with wingers Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson still on injured reserve. Johansen won nine of his 15 faceoffs Thursday, but wasn't impactful otherwise. He attempted one shot, which made it on net. With 26 points in 41 games, Johansen is struggling to justify his $8 million salary. He has much more to give. Offense needs a boost Nashville's goal production understandably has dipped without Forsberg, the team's co-leader in that category. Although the Predators are 5-1-1 since Forsberg suffered his upper-body injury, they've scored 14 total goals in those seven games. Thursday's game had a similar feel to the Predators' previous meeting with the Coyotes on Jan. 4. Despite a steady stream of shot attempts Thursday (though many were from the outer regions of the offensive zone), the Predators didn't crack Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta until forward Scott Hartnell nudged a puck past him on a semi-breakaway with 1:43 remaining in the second period. Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis, whose stretch pass positioned Hartnell for his goal, scored the overtime-forcing goal with under three minutes left. Rested Rinne In producing their goaltending plan, the Predators made sure to build in pockets of rest for starter Pekka Rinne. His recent workload has been light compared to his typical amount, making his first start Thursday since Jan. 9 — Nashville's final game before its five-day bye week — and sixth since Dec. 27. Rinne was sharp in a 27-save performance Thursday, denying three of the Coyotes' four shootout attempts. The Predators lately have emphasized improvement on defense, trying to lower their shots and scoring chances against. Tennessean LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093783 New Jersey Devils

New Jersey Devils vs. Washington Capitals: LIVE score updates and chat (1/18/18)

By Chris Ryan NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Taylor Hall, Keith Kinkaid, Marcus Johansson, Nico Hischier and the New Jersey Devils will aim to close the gap on first place in the Metropolitan Division when they host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Devils lost both prior meetings with the Capitals this season by 5-2 scores. Kinkaid will make his second straight start in net after illness forced Cory Schneider to miss Tuesday's 4-1 win overt the New York Islanders. Schneider will back up Kinkaid on Thursday. Here is everything you need to know about the game: What: New Jersey Devils (23-12-8) vs. Washington Capitals (28-14-3) When: 7:00 p.m. EST, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey TV: MSG+ Live stream: MSG GO Radio: WFAN/The One Jersey Network More to know: The Devils dropped both meetings with the Capitals this season by 5-2 finals, including their last meeting in Washington on Dec. 30. Fortunately for the Devils, the Capitals are playing their first game out of their five-day bye week, and they were unable to practice on Wednesday due to snow in New Jersey. The Devils have not beat the Capitals in New Jersey since the 2014 season, going winless in their last seven meetings at the Prudential Center. Their last win on home ice against the Caps was a 2-1 victory on April 4, 2014. 3 players Devils will lean on in 2nd half of season Star Ledger LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093784 New Jersey Devils

Why Keith Kinkaid will get 2nd straight start in goal for Devils

By Chris Ryan

Keith Kinkaid's performance on Tuesday made Thursday's decision easy for the Devils. Following his 4-1 win over the New York Islanders, where he played for a sick Cory Schneider, Kinkaid will start again on Thursday against the Washington Capitals at the Prudential Center in Newark. Schneider is feeling well enough to back up, and he said he would have started if needed, following a 24-hour stomach bug that sent him home early on Tuesday. Instead, he'll get more time to regain some energy. "We didn't really talk about it, but Keith played great last game and the team played well," Schneider said. "So if I had to play, I would play, and just fight through it and do whatever I could. But Keith looked great the other night and I'm sure they just want to make sure I get back to 100 percent." With Kinkaid back in net, he will make consecutive starts for the first time since October, when he made three straight starts while Schneider was injured for two games before missing a third for the birth of his daughter. Kinkaid snapped a personal three-start losing streak with his win on Tuesday, and he'll aim to replicate a performance where he saved all 25 shots he faced after giving up a goal on the first one he saw. "Not the first two minutes," Kinkaid said when asked what he liked about Tuesday's game. "I think after that I kind of focused and really wanted to stay engaged. It took a little to get into the game, but then as the game went on, felt pretty good. We were coming out full blast, and we were really giving it to them." The Devils controlled play for most of the night in their win over the Islanders. That victory snapped a six-game losing streak, and now the Devils are tasked with carrying that performance over. "As a team we want to build off Tuesday's game too," Kinkaid said. "Play with the same energy as we did. That will be a big test for us, and obviously Washington's got a strong team. They're ahead of us in the standings, but it's a big game for us." The Devils lost both previous meetings against the Capitals, with Washington taking 5-2 wins in both. While the Devils are locked in a tight playoff race with the Capitals leading the way atop the Metropolitan Division, coach John Hynes said the Devils must simply focus on finding their game against a team that dictated play the first two meetings. "We haven't really given them a game yet," Hynes said. "To me, it's not so much about all those other things. We're playing a team that's beaten us twice, 5-2. Last time we played them, they out-skated us and outcompeted us all over the rink. So I'd just like to make sue we show up tonight and put our best in hand." Star Ledger LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093785 New Jersey Devils "We talked about that. We have to play a full 60 minutes, and to me, it hasn’t been the third period," forward Marcus Johansson said. "It’s been the second period that hasn’t been our best. But we played good Devils' lines, pairings vs. Capitals (1/18/18) | Keith Kinkaid starts again throughout the whole game (Tuesday)." Devils relaunch Prudential Center site By Chris Ryan The Devils launched a redesigned website for the Prudential Center at prucenter.com.

The new design features "wayfinding" and concession guides for the The Devils will continue their five-game stretch against Metropolitan arena, content and photos for performing artists, plus offers and Division opponents when they host the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. on promotions. Thursday at the Prudential Center in Newark. Star Ledger LOADED: 01.19.2018 The Capitals won both previous meetings against the Devils this season by 5-2 final scores, and they lead the Devils by five points for first place in the standings. The Devils are coming off a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday, where they snapped a six-game losing streak. The Capitals will play their first game out of their five-day bye week. Here's how the Devils will line up on Thursday, plus notes and quotes heading into game No. 44. FORWARDS Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt Marcus Johansson - Travis Zajac - Miles Wood - Pavel Zacha - Kyle Palmieri Brian Gibbons - Brian Boyle - Stefan Noesen New Jersey Devils v New York Islanders DEFENSEMEN Andy Greene - Sami Vatanen John Moore - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy AP Photo | Frank Franklin II GOALIES Starter: Keith Kinkaid (12 GP, 6-3-2, 3.10 GAA, .901 Save Percentage) Backup: Cory Schneider Kinkaid will earn his second straight start after he won, 4-1, on Tuesday against the Islanders. Schneider, who missed Tuesday's game due to illness, is well enough to back up on Thursday. SCRATCHES Forwards: Jimmy Hayes (healthy), Blake Coleman (healthy) Defenseman: Steven Santini (healthy) On IR: D Mirco Mueller (broken clavicle, sent to AHL on conditioning assignment) How Devils' Jesper Bratt went from 6th-round pick to NHL in 1 season GAME NOTES Santini back, Appleby optioned The Devils recalled defenseman Steven Santini from Binghamton on Wednesday and reassigned goalie Ken Appleby to the AHL. Santini was sent down and Appleby was recalled when Schneider was sick for Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Islanders. Santini will be a healthy scratch on Thursday. Mueller sent to Binghamton Defenseman Mirco Mueller was reassigned to Binghamton on Thursday morning on a conditioning assignment as he continues his rehab from a broken clavicle. Mueller can stay in Binghamton for three games or six days (they play twice this weekend). Barring an approved extension on the assignment, the Devils will then bring Mueller back to the NHL, but they don't have to activate him from IR immediately. Building off Islanders win The Devils are coming off one of their best efforts in a long stretch when they beat the Islanders on Tuesday. That game behind a full-game performance, and the Devils will aim to put another one together against the Capitals, who are 2-0-0 against the Devils this season. 1093786 New Jersey Devils was paired up with center Jesper Boqvist. If that name sounds familiar, it's because the Devils later selected Boqvist with their second-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. How Devils' Jesper Bratt went from 6th-round pick to NHL in 1 season Castron said the two speedy forward jelled in that tournament, where they saw a new confidence and production level in Bratt. By Chris Ryan "I saw him in his league. He played fine, but not a big impact," Castron said. "When he played in his age group, it was kind of the first tryout for this year’s world junior team last February. They were excellent together, and Bratt just looked so confident out there." Picking in the sixth round of the NHL Draft can be a dart throw. Teams can take a late flyer on prospect in hopes of developing an NHL player. Getting Bratt over to North America Even if teams do find NHL talent, it typically takes time. After watching Bratt in February, the Devils started talked about what Jesper Bratt appears to be one of the rare exceptions on the NHL fast was best for his development and the current stage of his career. Bratt track. was still 18 years old after his season ended in Sweden, so he had the opportunity to play junior hockey within his own age group in 2017-18, Following one season playing pro hockey in Sweden after being the where Castron and the Devils hoped he could further his development. 162nd overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Bratt has become an NHL asset for the Devils, where the 19-year-old rookie is second on the team "One of the things we talked about: We drafted him as a small, skilled in scoring while playing on the top line. player, not to be a small, checking player over there playing with men," Castron said. "We thought if he came over here, he’d have a chance to So how did Bratt go from being a late pick to an NHL player so quickly? use his speed and skill to get that confidence and scoring touch back he just didn’t have playing with the men at this stage of his career." Draft Day YouTube Bratt sat in the seats at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo on June 25, 2016 — day 2 of the 2016 NHL Draft. The 5-10, 174-pound winger didn't know Signing Bratt what to expect going into the day. Following Bratt's 2016-17 season playing in Sweden, the Devils Bratt waited for several hours, with 131 players going off the board on approached him about signing a contract and moving over to the OHL to day 2 before his name was called. play junior hockey. Some turnover at AIK made the decision a little easier. “I had no clue where I’d get drafted. I was just sitting there," Bratt told NJ Advance Media. "I was at the combine, so I had a couple meetings. I had "I think it was after my season ended in Sweden. I didn’t really know what a meeting with New Jersey, and I really liked it but I had no clue New to play," Bratt said. "We changed our coach where I played last year. Jersey was going to pick me. I was just sitting there, waiting to hopefully Then the Devils came up. They wanted to sign me, so we started looking get picked. The funny thing was I didn’t know so much about New Jersey at that. It was a great opportunity for me. I saw this was a good step for when I got drafted. I waited a while." me to move here.” What the Devils saw Bratt's (very brief) experience in London Bratt was the eighth of nine players the Devils drafted during in 2016, Bratt was slated to play junior hockey for the London Knights in the OHL and they had eight of those picks on day 2. Paul Castron, the Devils' in his first season in North America. He went to camp with London for two director of amateur scouting, said Bratt was in a good spot on the team's weeks before coming down to training camp with the Devils. list heading into the draft, which could have led to him being taken a little earlier than the sixth round. That was all London saw of Bratt. But with the way the draft played out around them, the Devils still had a Bratt made a big splash in three games at the Prospects Challenge prior few players higher than Bratt in the fourth and fifth rounds. When he was to the Devils' training camp, and he grabbed a roster spot in the still there in the sixth, they grabbed him. preseason to solidify his NHL role for the 2017-18 season. "A lot of our guys had a lot of viewings and a lot of excitement when we "I joke with Mark Hunter, one of the owners in London. You never got him talked about him," Castron told NJ Advance Media. "He was on a good back," Castron said. "You had him for two weeks and developed him way spot on our list, and sometimes the way the list goes, where he was, he too quickly." probably could have been drafted higher, but there was a couple guys still on the board before him.” YouTube What Bratt knew about New Jersey Bratt's fast transition Bratt, a native of Sweden, didn't know a ton about the Devils, outside of In terms of career trajectory, things progressed at a rapid pace for Bratt. two players. Fellow countrymen Jacob Josefson and Adam Larsson. He went from never playing hockey full time in North America to playing Ironically, Larsson was traded three days after Bratt was picked. The on an NHL top line in just one year. Now that he's carved out a role trade sent Larsson to the Edmonton Oilers for forward Taylor Hall. That playing with Hall and 2017 No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier, Bratt still traded worked out well for Bratt, since he now shares a line with Hall on can't believe how quickly it happened. the Devils. Bratt hasn't missed a beat, either. He scored his first NHL goal in his first Bratt's 2016-17 season career game, scored two more goals in his second game, and he is second on the team with 11 goals, 18 assists and 29 points in 42 games. Following the draft, Bratt attended the Devils' summer prospect development camp before returning to Sweden to play for AIK in the “I maybe didn’t have my best year. I learned a lot last year, but it was not Allsvenskan — Sweden's second highest pro league. He didn't put up big my best hockey year," Bratt said. "So to go from that year, and you look numbers in the regular season, going for six goals and 16 assists in 46 now, I play with Hallsy and Nico, it’s gone pretty fast. But I knew I always games. Castron said that production had to do with his role on the had the ability to do it, but I think i’ve improved a lot during the whole Swedish club. time. Hallsy and Nico help me a lot to show my game, so we’ve helped each other.” "He was kind of on the third line. He’s still a kid, just 18 years old, he’s still playing with men," Castron said. "Just the way things roll, it was Only two sixth-round selections since the 2013 NHL Draft have more more, 'Don’t get scored on. We’ll count on these other guys to get us the NHL points than Bratt — Kevin Labanc of the San Jose Sharks and Alan goals.’ He didn’t play much power play, if any at all, and it was more of a Quine of the New York Islanders. survival thing. Don’t get scored on, do your job, get off the ice." Fitting in with NHL How Devils snapped losing streak vs. Islanders: 8 observations | Damon Bratt's success at the NHL level is part of a trend hockey has seen in Severson, Taylor Hall come up big recent years, where smaller players have been getting chances and So what swayed the Devils? making an impact. Alex Debrincat, the 39th overall pick of Bratt's Draft class by the Chicago Blackhawks, came into the Draft at just 5-7 and 165 Bratt didn't make Sweden's World Junior team in the year following his pounds. He also made the NHL for the 2017-18 season, where he has 14 draft, but in February of 2017, he was playing in a tournament in goals and 14 assists in 45 games for Chicago. Switzerland in preparation for a run at the 2018 team. It was there he “Size doesn’t matter as much any more," Castron said. "It’s how big is their heart, how big is the talent? Obviously you don’t want 20 5-8 guys, but you look at our team. (Brian) Gibbons is good and competitive. It’s a new game out there. It's all about putting pressure on the other team." Star Ledger LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093787 New Jersey Devils

Taylor Hall's OT goal lifts Devils past Capitals | Rapid reaction

By Chris Ryan

Taylor Hall scored the game-winning goal 34 seconds into overtime to lift the Devils to a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday at the Prudential Center in Newark. Hall poked a puck to himself in the neutral zone and finished on a breakaway for his 17th goal of the season. The game went to OT after the Capitals erased a two-goal Devils lead. Brett Connolly tied the score at 3-3 with 3:48 left in regulation, netting his second of the game when he fired a low shot through traffic in the slot. Bratt's fast path to NHL The Devils grabbed a two-goal lead in the second period on back-to-back goals by Andy Greene and forward Miles Wood. Greene put the Devils up 2-1 at 3:33 when a Taylor Hall shot deflected off the stick of Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen, finding Greene at the right post, where he chipped in his third goal of the season. Wood scored a breakaway goal at 10:55. After Nico Hischier won a defensive zone face-off for the Devils, defenseman Sami Vatanen flipped a puck up ice, which Wood chased down and finished for his 12th goal of the season. The Capitals answered 14 seconds after Wood's goal, with defenseman Dmitri Orlov blasting a shot in from the left circle at 11:09. The teams traded goals in the first period, with Drew Stafford opening the scoring for the Devils on a semi-breakaway at 8:01. He fended off a pair of trailing defenders before flipping in a backhander for his seventh goal of the season. Connolly tied it at 1-1 for the Capitals at 12:10 of the first when a shot bounced off Greene's skate and found Connolly for an easy finish inside the right circle. 100 assists for Vatanen Vatanen recorded the secondary assist on Greene's go-ahead goal in the second period, giving him 100 for his NHL career in his 300th game. He added assist No. 101 when he sprung Wood for his breakaway goal later in the second. Next up The Devils have four games remaining before the All-Star break, which runs from Friday, Jan. 26 through Monday, Jan. 29. They will alternate with two road games and two home games in that stretch. They will visit the Flyers in Philadelphia for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, followed by a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday when they play at home against the Detroit Red Wings and on the road against the Boston Bruins. They wrap up their pre-break play with a home game on Thursday, Jan. 25, against the Nashville Predators. 3 players Devils will lean on in 2nd half of season Star Ledger LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093788 New Jersey Devils

Devils Cory Schneider agrees with decision to start Keith Kinkaid

Andrew Gross, Jan. 18, 2018

NEWARK – Cory Schneider is feeling better after a bout with a stomach bug and believes he could have started if necessary. But the Devils’ No. 1 goalie certainly understands why Keith Kinkaid got the nod on Thursday night against the Capitals at Prudential Center, marking the backup’s first consecutive starts since Oct. 20-27 when Schneider was sidelined with a lower-body injury. “If I had to play, obviously I would and just fight through it but Keith played great the other night and I’m sure they wanted to make sure I’m back to 100 percent and not take chances,” Schneider said. “I understand.” Schneider, scheduled to start, was sent back to the team’s hotel because of illness after arriving for Tuesday’s morning skate at Barclays Center. Instead, Kinkaid made 25 saves in a 4-1 win over the Islanders for his first victory since Nov. 25. “I was racked for a bit, I couldn’t eat anything, no appetite,” Schneider said. “I feel better from that sense. I just need to get the energy back.” Schneider will very likely start Saturday afternoon’s game at Philadelphia. Trust factor Defenseman Sami Vatanen, acquired from the Ducks for Adam Henrique on Nov. 30, played in his 300th NHL regular-season game and he entered Thursday with a goal and five assists in his previous eight games, a sign he’s getting comfortable with his new team. “Of course, my confidence is getting up,” the 26-year-old from Finland said. “I’m playing a lot, you get to know the guys and they started to trust me more.” As for reaching his milestone 300th game, Vatanen said, “I hope it’s just a start. You want to play in the playoffs, that’s the main thing. You can see how many games you’ve got after the career.” Vatanen played 40 postseason games with the Ducks. Briefs Defenseman Mirco Mueller, still on long-term injured reserve after fracturing his left clavicle on Nov. 27, was assigned to Binghamton (AHL) for a conditioning stint that can last a maximum of three games or six days. Binghamton plays Friday and Saturday so Mueller may be available for the Devils’ game Monday night against the visiting Red Wings, though a roster spot would have to be opened to activate Mueller. …Forwards Blake Coleman and Jimmy Hayes and defenseman Steven Santini remained the healthy scratches. Bergen Record LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093789 New Jersey Devils them, they just outskated us and outcompeted us all over the rink. So I’d just like to make sure we show up tonight and put our best on the ice.”

The visiting Capitals won on Oct. 13 at Prudential Center – the Devils’ Mirco Mueller sent to Binghamton for conditioning stint first loss in their fourth game of the season – as Backstrom had a goal and three assists and Oshie scored twice. Andrew Gross, Jan. 18, 2018 The Devils also lost on Dec. 30 at Washington – the second game of their recent six-game slide – as Ovechkin had three assists for the Capitals. Devils coach John Hynes discusses preparation for the game against the Here are the different ways to follow The Record and NorthJersey.com’s Capitals. Andrew Gross/NorthJersey.com multi-media Devils’ coverage this season: Defenseman Mirco Mueller is ready to play. Bergen Record LOADED: 01.19.2018 He’s just not ready to play with the Devils yet. The Devils on Thursday re-assigned the 22-year-old defenseman, on long-term injured reserve after fracturing his left clavicle just 18 seconds into a 7-5 win at Chicago on Nov. 12, to Binghamton on a conditioning stint. New Jersey Devils center Brian Boyle, right, celebrates Per the conditions of the conditioning stint, Mueller can be with Binghamton for a maximum of three games or six days, though the Devils can apply for an extension for the conditioning stint. Binghamton is at Springfield on Friday and then hosts the Toronto Marlies on Saturday. Binghamton’s next game is then not until next Friday. The Devils’ game tonight against the Capitals (Faceoff: 7 p.m.; Television: MSG Plus; Radio: WFAN-101.9FM/660AM, digital One Jersey Network) will mark the 27th straight game Mueller has missed. Acquired from the Sharks in the offseason, Mueller has two assists in 13 games. He had participated in the Devils’ last three practices and Devils coach John Hynes has listed him as day to day. Hynes confirmed the Devils would have the same lineup tonight as they did for Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over the Islanders at Barclays Center, which snapped a season-high six-game winless streak (0-3-3). Devils (23-12-8) Taylor Hall-Nico Hischier-Jesper Bratt Marcus Johansson-Travis Zajac-Drew Stafford Miles Wood-Pavel Zacha-Kyle Palmieri Brian Gibbons-Brian Boyle-Stefan Noesen Andy Greene-Sami Vatanen John Moore-Damon Severson Will Butcher-Ben Lovejoy Keith Kinkaid (6-3-2-, 3.10 goals-against average, .901 save percentage) Capitals (28-14-3) Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Devante Smith-Pelly Jakub Vrana-Evgeny Kuznetsov- Brett Connolly-Lars Eller-T.J. Oshie Chandler Stephenson-Jay Beagle-Alex Chiasson Dmitry Orlov-Matt Niskanen Christian Djoos-John Carlson Brooks Orpik-Madison Bowey Braden Holtby (24-9-0, 2.66, .917) *** The second-place Devils are five points behind the first-place Capitals in the Metropolitan Division so I asked Hynes after today’s morning skate whether, even though the model is to only worry about what you can control, he wanted his players embracing being in the middle of a playoff race. “You know what I’d like them to embrace more?” Hynes said. “We’ve gotten beat 5-2 by this team twice and we haven’t really given them a game yet so, to me, it’s not so much about all those other future things. We’re playing a team that’s beat us twice 5-2. The last time we played 1093790 New Jersey Devils five assists over his last eight games, including a power-play assist Tuesday against the Islanders.

Vatanen is one assist shy of 100 for his career. Devils Daily Faceoff: Another shot at the Capitals Third period – Mueller, Mueller: Defenseman Mirco Mueller has missed 26 games since fracturing his left clavicle just 18 seconds into a 7-5 win Andrew Gross, Jan. 18, 2018 at Chicago on Nov. 12 and remains on injured reserve. But Mueller has participated in the Devils’ last three practices and Hynes has listed him as day to day. He very well could be ready to return to the Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid stepped in for an ailing Cory Schneider to lineup tonight. make 25 saves in a 4-1 win over the Islanders at Barclays Center on Tuesday night. Andrew Gross/NorthJersey.com However, the question is not only whether Mueller is ready but how the Devils fit him back into the lineup? NEWARK – The Devils remain in the thick of the Metropolitan Division playoff chase despite their recent season-high six-game winless streak. Steven Santini was re-assigned to Binghamton on Tuesday in order to create a roster spot for Appleby but it was only a paper transaction as They would bolster their position even further if they can do tonight what Santini never actually departed for Binghamton – he watched Tuesday’s they haven’t done yet this season: Beat the Capitals. game from the Barclays Center’s press box – and the 22-year-old from Mahopac, N.Y. was promptly recalled on Wednesday. The second-place Devils (23-12-8) face the first-place Capitals (28-14-3) at Prudential Center (Faceoff: 7 p.m.; Television: MSG Plus; Radio: Santini was going to be a healthy scratch for the second straight game WFAN-101.9FM/660AM, digital One Jersey Network) after snapping their on Tuesday and Damon Severson made a good argument for remaining 0-3-3 skid with a 4-1 win over the Islanders on Tuesday night at Barclays in the lineup with two goals. Center. To be fair, all six defensemen played well after Hynes challenged the The Capitals have won their first two of the four meetings between the group through the media before the game. divisional rivals this season, both by a 5-2 final. The visiting Capitals won on Oct. 13 at The Rock – the Devils’ first loss in their fourth game of the The Devils would also need to open a roster spot to activate Mueller. season – as Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and three assists and T.J. Right wing Jimmy Hayes has been a healthy scratch the past 11 games. Oshie scored twice. Bergen Record LOADED: 01.19.2018 The Devils also lost on Dec. 30 at Washington – the second game of their recent six-game slide – as Alex Ovechkin had three assists for the Capitals. Capitals' task against Devils just got tougher What the Devils get from rotating their alternate captains “Both games have been pretty similar in terms of them getting out to a lead, winning special teams and us never really feeling like we had control of the game,” Devils goalie Cory Schneider said after the loss in Washington. “That’s something we need to improve upon against this team, find a way to get a lead and beat these guys because they’re a good measuring stick for us.” Tonight is the fourth in a string of five straight Metropolitan Division games for the Devils, who are 1-1-1 so far in the stretch. The Capitals have won six of their last seven but are coming off their bye week and have not played since Friday’s 4-3 win at Carolina. The Capitals were originally scheduled to practice on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Prudential Center – the earliest time allowed for a team coming off its bye week per the Collective Bargaining Agreement – but travel delays from Washington because of the wintry weather for the team to cancel that practice. So today’s morning skate at 11:30 will have to suffice as preparation for tonight’s game for the Capitals. Here are three storylines for today: New Jersey Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid (1) stops First period – Cory or Keith? Schneider was initially supposed to make his fourth straight start on Tuesday but wound up not being able to dress for the game because of illness. Instead, Keith Kinkaid (6-3-2, 3.10 goals-against average, .901 save percentage) made 25 saves for his first win since Nov. 25 and Ken Appleby, 22, was recalled from Binghamton (AHL) for the game to back him up. But Appleby was re-assigned to Binghamton on Wednesday, indicating Schneider (17-9-6, 2.74, .915) is healthy enough to dress for tonight’s game. Schneider has allowed at least four goals in each of his last five starts. The Devils did not practice on Wednesday and, after Tuesday’s win, coach John Hynes did not rule out Kinkaid making a second straight start. “He makes a case for himself and now we have a difficult choice coming up,” Hynes said. Second period – Milestone, maybe two, for Vatanen: Defenseman Sami Vatanen is expected to play in his 20th game for the Devils since being acquired from the Ducks for Adam Henrique on Nov. 30. It would also be the 300th NHL game for the 26-year-old Vatanen, who has a goal and 1093791 New Jersey Devils 1. Yeah, about holding the lead and keeping the game from getting to overtime. Being able to clear the puck from the defensive zone would’ve gone a long way there. Devils 4, Capitals 3 (OT): Post-game observations Hynes described some of his team’s clearing efforts in crunch time as “soft.” Andrew Gross, Jan. 19, 2018 “We have to be able to handle that pressure well and make sure we’re firm with the puck,” Hynes said.

2. Asked Kinkaid what he was thinking when, 30 seconds into the game, John Hynes certainly hasn’t shied away from challenging his Devils’ team Brett Connolly, who would later score twice, took a wide-open slapper recently. from the slot. Kinkaid, of course, has allowed a goal either in the first minute or on the first shot in four of his starts this season. Before the Devils beat the Islanders, 4-1, at Barclays Center on Tuesday, Hynes, asked about his defensemen, said there was no, one really, who “You really want to know?” Kinkaid said, sort of under his voice. had grabbed a defined role and he was still looking more from the group as a whole. Then, “It’s good in a way to get a big save early and that helped me with my confidence the rest of the game,” Kinkaid said. “Sometimes you just The defense, starting with the defensemen but throughout the lineup, need to be there at key times of the game.” certainly played better on Tuesday. And that effort, for the most part, was there for the Devils 4-3 overtime win over the Capitals on Thursday night 3. Matt Niskanen’s blast loosened Kinkaid’s mask with 30 seconds to go at Prudential Center. and Kinkaid, who is adept at doing this, shook off the mask to get a stoppage. Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of “That’s why the helmet is there,” Kinkaid said. “It knocked off three Hynes evidently challenged the penalty kill unit before this one to do straps, which is a new (personal) record.” better against the Capitals, who had gone a combined 4 for 7 on the man advantage in winning the first two games between the teams this season, 4. Along with the defensive effort, it’s the so-called little details that build once in New Jersey (Oct. 13) and once in Washington (Dec. 30) and both to a win. Tonight, that was blocking 12 shots, Lovejoy blocked three. And by 5-2 scores. it was Brian Boyle stepping in to fight Tom Wilson, who is an absolute beast to fight, after Wilson knocked down Brian Gibbons with a heavy but The Devils penalty kill, led by John Moore (4:16), Andy Greene (6:06), legal check along the boards. Boyle wound up also getting two for Ben Lovejoy (5:44), Nico Hischier (3:11), Travis Zajac (2:52), Kyle instigating and a 10-minute misconduct. But it resonated with his Palmieri (2:20), Pavel Zacha (3:13), Brian Gibbons (6:55) and Sami teammates, just as was the case when captain Andy Greene, with his Vatanen (3:28) and, of course, Keith Kinkaid, who made five of his 16 first career fight in his 749th career game, took on fellow fight rookie saves with the Capitals’ on the power play, helped the Devils go 5 for 5 Brock Nelson on Tuesday. on the penalty kill tonight. “It shows the character of the team,” Miles Wood said. “That was a hard “Strong effort,” Hynes said. “It was a big difference in the game. It was hit that Gibby took. Brian didn’t think twice to go after Tom there. Tom’s a nice to see those guys step up. They were a huge part of the game.” tough kid. Seeing that out of Bri shows his character. We’re happy he’s on our team.” Overall, Hynes was very happy with the Devils’ commitment to defense. New Jersey Devils center Brian Boyle (11) and Washington But, listening to his post-game comments, they were also pretty damning as to what he thought of some of his players prior to this two-game 5. John Moore, Damon Severson, and Stefan Noesen were the other winning streak. Devils’ on the ice when Wilson leveled Gibbons and I’m pretty sure Wood would’ve loved to been out there so he could’ve gotten to Wilson. “We had some guys who maybe weren’t as committed as they needed to be,” Hynes said. “When the game called upon you to defend, we needed 6. Greene got his first goal in 27 games tonight and, coupled with his some guys to be more detailed and defend better. To a man the last two fight on Tuesday, if he gets an assist at Philadelphia on Saturday I’m still games we’ve done that. Now, we’ve made some mistakes but it hasn’t calling it a Gordie Howe hat trick for the Devils’ captain. been from a lack of commitment or from a lack of try, which was something we had to fix and rectify.” 7. A healthy Cory Schneider is the presumed starter for Saturday’s game at Philadelphia – well, presumed by me – but Hynes said Kinkaid is That’s a little alarming – no? – since the Devils’ team identity this season making a push for more playing time. has been built on a hard-working effort with everybody bought into the team system. Having to fix and rectify a “lack of commitment” or a “lack “He’s making a real strong case for himself again to get the opportunity to of try” defensively is something that shouldn’t be occurring at this time of play more than he has,” Hynes said. “You have to have two goalies that the season. can help you win.” “Our urgency on both sides of the puck,” Taylor Hall – who scored the With back to back games against the visiting Red Wings and at Boston winner 34 seconds into overtime – said when asked what he liked about on Monday and Tuesday, Kinkaid should be back in net soon. the last two games. “I think you’re seeing that extra couple of percent on Against both the Islanders and Capitals, he was a little more aggressive defense that’s really allowing us to turn pucks over and play in transition. in cutting down angles and handling backdoor plays, though he got beat If we can play in transition, we’re going to catch teams on their heels and once like that tonight. create chances that way. It’s weird to say but we’re going to get our offense by playing well defensively and creating turnovers. New Jersey Devils' John Moore, left, Sami Vatanen, “For our penalty kill to come up huge in that game repeatedly shows a lot 8. Sami Vatanen’s recent play is staring to make a lot more sense of his of character for those guys,” Hall added. acquisition from the Ducks for Adam Henrique on Nov. 30. So the second-place Devils (24-12-8) moved within four points of the Vatanen, playing in his 300th NHL regular season game, had three first-place Capitals (28-14-4) in the Metropolitan Division, though that assists, including the 100th of his career, and now has a goal and eight would’ve been three points had the Devils been able to hold their two- assists over his last nine games. goal lead. But Dmitry Orlov scored 14 seconds after Miles Wood gave the Devils a 3-1 lead on a breakaway at 10:55 of the second period and “Sami is really settling,” Hynes said. “His puck movement has been good. Brett Connolly, with his second goal, tied the game at 3 at 16:12 of the He was moving the puck when he first got here. His decisions now are third period. smart. He’s making plays at the right times and not forcing plays.” “I thought we had the game in control,” Hall said. “To let it go to 9. Practice on Friday at noon in Newark. See you then. overtime…it’s great to get the win but for us to take the next step as a Bergen Record LOADED: 01.19.2018 group, it’s being able to finish off those games and don’t even let Washington get a point in that game. For 55 minutes we played the way we wanted to. It’s just having confidence we can play that whole way, right to the end.” Here are some post-game observations: 1093792 New Jersey Devils

Devils beat Capitals 4-3 on Taylor Hall's OT winner

Andrew Gross, Jan. 18, 2018

NEWARK – To show they can be a legitimate contender in the Metropolitan Division, the Devils needed to show they can play with the Capitals. “Washington has been such a strong team for so many years now that you almost respect them too much,” Taylor Hall said. “It’s time, as a group, we stop worrying about the other team and just come out and play our game.” Hall got free for a partial breakaway 34 seconds into overtime to lift the Devils, who had blown a two-goal, second-period lead, to a 4-3 win over the Capitals on Thursday night at Prudential Center. The Capitals, coming off their bye week, had only the benefit of a morning skate as preparation after their planned practice on Wednesday was canceled because of weather-related delays in their travel to New Jersey. “The first two times we played them, we didn’t play well at all, they really took it to us,” said captain Andy Greene, who gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 3:33 of the second period at the right post off Hall’s feed. “We came in tonight with a little bit on our side with them on their bye week. It was important for us to set the tone of the game and I think we did a good job.” The second-place Devils (24-12-8) moved within four points of the first- place Capitals (28-14-4), though the Capitals, who had won the first two games against the Devils this season by 5-2 scores, still have an 8-0-2 streak against them. Sami Vatanen, playing in his 300th NHL regular-season game, had three assists and now has 102 for his career and Keith Kinkaid made 16 saves for the Devils, who were 5 for 5 on the penalty kill after the Capitals went a combined 4 for 7 on the power play in the teams’ first two games this season. Braden Holtby stopped 28 shots for the Capitals, who were outshot 27-13 in five-on-five play. Kinkaid was starting consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 20-27 after making 25 saves in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Islanders at Barclays Center with Cory Schneider unable to dress because of a stomach illness. Schneider served as Kinkaid’s backup on Thursday. The common thread between the Devils’ two victories was a strong defensive effort after coach John Hynes publicly challenged the defensemen before the Islanders’ game. “We had some guys who maybe weren’t as committed as they need to be,” Hynes said. “To a man the last two games, we’ve done that. Now, we’ve made some mistakes but it hasn’t been from a lack of commitment or from a lack of try, which was something we had to fix and rectify.” Miles Wood’s breakaway gave the Devils a 3-1 lead at 10:55 of the second period but defenseman Dmitry Orlov’s slap shot from the left circle cut the Capitals’ deficit to 3-2 just 14 seconds later. Brett Connolly, taking Evgeny Kuznetsov’s feed for his second goal of the game, tied the game at 3 at 16:12 of the third period. Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid earns his second straight victory in a 4-3 overtime win over the Capitals on Thursday night at Prudential Center. Andrew Gross/NorthJersey.com “Letting one up late is not the best but I was determined to just keep them off the board from that moment on,” said Kinkaid, who stopped the Capitals’ next two shots in regulation, including taking Matt Niskanen’s blast off his mask with 30 seconds to go. The Devils were without Brian Boyle for a long stretch when the center stood up to the Capitals’ Tom Wilson at 8:33 of the second period after Wilson had leveled Brian Gibbons. Boyle wound up with two minutes for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct into addition to his fighting major. Bergen Record LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093793 New Jersey Devils Appleby with Schneider unavailable – and for the Devils to show they can compete with the Capitals, they need a similar performance.

That means not allowing odd-man rushes or weak-side chances – Game 44 Live Blog: Devils top Capitals, 4-3, in OT something the Capitals gleefully took advantage of during the teams’ last game at Washington with tic-tac-toe passing sequences. Andrew Gross, Jan. 18, 2018 2. This will be Johansson’s third regular-season game against his former team since the offseason trade and fourth if you include a preseason game. The Devils get another chance tonight to show they can compete with the “I think it’s always going to be a little bit special,” Johansson said. “I was Capitals – they’re 0 for 2 so far in that category this season – and Keith there for a long time. I have a lot of really good friends so it’s always Kinkaid gets a chance to build upon a solid start, the first time the backup going to be a little bit special so I’m excited for tonight.” goalie will get back to back games since October. 3. What will Taylor Hall do tonight? The Devils’ All-Star has a five-game The second-place Devils face the first-place Capitals at Prudential Center point streak that includes four goals and five assists. (Faceoff: 7 p.m.; Television: MSG Plus; Radio: WFAN-101.9FM/660AM, digital One Jersey Network) trailing by five points in the standings and 4. What will Lars Eller do tonight? The Capitals center has a four-game having played two fewer games. goal streak. The Capitals are coming off their bye week and had a full team morning 5. Keep an eye on the Devils’ presumed third line of Pavel Zacha skate at The Rock. Originally, they were supposed to practice in Newark centering Miles Wood and Kyle Palmieri. Zacha and Wood have been on Wednesday at 4 p.m. but their flight from Washington kept getting two of the Devils’ more consistent players of late. pushed back as a result of the wintery weather. The Capitals wound up “It seems right now, Zacha, Wood, you put (Drew) Stafford with them, it’s not arriving at their New Jersey hotel until after 7 p.m. a good line,” Hynes said. “You put (Stefan) Noesen with them, it’s a good “Yeah,” ex-Capital Marcus Johansson said when asked whether the line. You put Palmieri with them, it’s a good line. I think it’s a credit to Devils might be able to take advantage of that. “But we can’t expect them Zacha and Wood and the way they’ve played. not to come out and play good. They’re a really good team. You never “We’ve needed to see more from Kyle but, at the same time, I think some know what kind of reaction you’re going to get after a bye week. They people get up in arms about it,” Hynes added. “I don’t see Zacha as a might come out and be well rested and ready to go. We have to be ready third-line and I don’t see Travis (Zajac) as a second line. I think we have from the start. We have to play for a 60 minutes, like we did last game, to four good lines.” give ourselves a good chance. We haven’t played our best against them the last few games and we have to do that tonight.” 6. Defenseman Sami Vatanen, playing in his 300th NHL regular-season game, has a goal and five assists over his last eight games and needs The Devils snapped a season-high six-game winless streak (0-3-3) with a one assist to reach 100 for his career. 4-1 win over the Islanders at Barclays Center on Tuesday night as Kinkaid, starting with Cory Schneider unable to dress because of a Devils (23-12-8) stomach bug, made 25 saves. Taylor Hall-Nico Hischier-Jesper Bratt The Devils have lost their first two of their four games against the Capitals this season, each by a 5-2 final. Marcus Johansson-Travis Zajac-Drew Stafford The visiting Capitals won on Oct. 13 at The Rock – the Devils’ first loss in Miles Wood-Pavel Zacha-Kyle Palmieri their fourth game of the season – as Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and Brian Gibbons-Brian Boyle-Stefan Noesen three assists and T.J. Oshie scored twice. The Devils also lost on Dec. 30 at Washington – the second game of their recent six-game slide – as Andy Greene-Sami Vatanen Alex Ovechkin had three assists for the Capitals. John Moore-Damon Severson Tonight is the fourth in a string of five straight Metropolitan Division games for the Devils, who are 1-1-1 so far in the stretch. Will Butcher-Ben Lovejoy The Capitals have won six of their last seven but have not played since Keith Kinkaid (6-3-2-, 3.10 goals-against average, .901 save percentage) Friday’s 4-3 win at Carolina. Capitals (28-14-3) The Devils have lost five straight to the Capitals – all in regulation – Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Devante Smith-Pelly dating to Dec. 29, 2016 at Washington when Kinkaid – on the fathers’ trip – when Kinkaid made 43 saves in a brilliant performance. Jakub Vrana-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson Of course, the Capitals came to New Jersey and won two nights later, 6- Brett Connolly-Lars Eller-T.J. Oshie 2, as Kinkaid stopped just 20 shots. Chandler Stephenson-Jay Beagle-Alex Chiasson New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson (28) competes Dmitry Orlov-Matt Niskanen Kinkaid last played consecutive games when he relieved Cory Schneider, who exited with a lower-body injury, for the third period of a 5-4 overtime Christian Djoos-John Carlson win at Ottawa on Oct. 19, then started a 3-0 loss to the visiting Sharks Brooks Orpik-Madison Bowey the next night and also a 5-4 shootout win over the visiting Senators on Oct. 27 with Schneider still sidelined. Braden Holtby (24-9-0, 2.66, .917) “It’ll be good to build off Tuesday’s game,” Kinkaid said. “I think, as a Devils starters: Kinkaid, Greene-Vatanen, Hall-Hischier-Bratt team, we want to build off Tuesday’s game and come out with same energy and play the same game we did. It’ll be a big test for us. Devils scratches: Steven Santini, Blake Coleman, Jimmy Hayes Obviously Washington is a strong team ahead of us in the standings. Capitals starters: Holtby, Orlov-Niskanen, Ovechkin-Backstrom-Smith- “I think it’ll be a good test,” Kinkaid added. “Not only for me but for the Pelly team. We want, obviously, to get to the playoffs this year. Part of that is playing big games each and every day. I think it’s a big test for us and I Capitals scratches: Taylor Chorney, Andre Burakovsky think we’re ready for it.” First period: Kinkaid makes the first save and it was a good one. Oshie, Here’s what to watch for tonight: on the right boards, finds Connolly wide – cannot emphasize how wide open he is – open. Connolly takes a quick slap but Kinkaid gets a glove 1. One of the best things about Tuesday’s win over the Islanders was the on and holds on. Kinkaid will probably have to make more saves, with strong performance the Devils got from their six defensemen, especially Caps holding a 2-0 shot advantage, as Vatanen flips back over the back after coach John Hynes called out his defensemen via the media before glass for a delay of game at 2:12. Two shots on the power play, the game and said none were playing well enough consistently. including Kinkaid getting in front of and not allowing a rebound on Ovechkin’s one-time blast from his usual spot high in the left circle, and Hynes is going with the same six tonight – meaning Steven Santini the Devils kill it off. Upon killing it off, Zacha, on the rush at 4:23, gets remains a healthy scratch (though, technically, he had been re-assigned the Devils first shot. At 7:11, Devils now up on shots 5-4. Make that 6-4 to Binghamton (AHL) on Tuesday to open a roster spot for goalie Ken and a 1-0 lead as Johansson, in the Devils’ zone springs Stafford to split the defense and go in for a breakaway backhander at 8:01. That’s Stafford’s second goal in three games after being a healthy scratch for seven games. He had a meaningless power-play goal in the final seconds of a 5-3 loss to the visiting Flyers on Saturday. Shots are 7-4 for the Devils at 11:06. The Caps tie it at 1 at 12:10 as Oshie, holding the puck near the left point, sends it to the near post, where Eller is battling Butcher for position. The puck scoots from there across the crease to a wide-open Connolly, who easily pops it in with Kinkaid not having time to slide over. Eller gets the primary assist but it looked like it deflected off Butcher’s skate. Devils, up on shots 10-5, get their first power play at 18:31 with Beagle off for a defensive-zone trip on Stafford, who’s having a strong first period. Shots are 12-5 after one and the Capitals definitely, and understandably, showed signs of rust in the first period. I’d expect them to be much crisper in the second. Second period: The Devils take a 2-1 lead at 3:33 as Hall, on the left boards, gets it low toward Hischier, but the puck deflects across the crease to Greene at the right post, who pokes it in for his third goal of the season. Greene is playing his 750th career game. In No. 749, he dropped the gloves with the Islanders Brock Nelson, as both got their first career fighting majors. An assist on Saturday at Philadelphia and I’ll count that as a Gordie Howe hat trick for Greene. Hall, with the primary assist, extends his point streak to six games (four goals, six assists). Vatanen, with the secondary assist, now has 100 in his career as he plays game No. 300. Severson trips Wilson at 3:46 but the Devils kill it off without allowing a shot. At 6:30, the Devils are up on shots 16-5, or 4-0 this period. At 8:33, Wilson just levels Gibbons along the left boards in the neutral zone. Didn’t necessarily think it was a dirty hit, just a big hit on a much smaller player. Boyle immediately steps in and Wilson, a more accomplished fighter, bests him as they drop the gloves. Both get five for fighting but Boyle also gets two for instigating (Capitals power play) and a 10-minute misconduct. Boyle heads directly to the Devils’ room with the 17 penalty minutes. The Devils kill off the power play and Vatanen and Hischier spring Wood for a breakaway and a 3-1 lead at 10:55. But, off the faceoff, the Capitals get it right back as Orlov connects on a slap shot from the left circle to cut the Devils’ lead to 3-2 at 11:09. At 14:26, the Devils are up on shots 22-9 as Ovechkin heads to the penalty box for slashing Hall in the Capitals’ zone. Caps kill it off as the Devils get two power play shots and then the Capitals head to the power play at Zajac holds Stephenson at 16:37 as he tries to push the puck up the ice. Meanwhile, Schneider briefly heads to the Devils’ room after getting hit in the face by Orpik’s stick while sitting on the bench. Kinkaid with a nice save stuffing Beagle’s attempt at the crease with his pad with 38.7 seconds left. Devils up on shots 25-11. Hischier and Wood both have four shots. Devils have won 29 of 45 faceoffs (64 percent). Zajac has won 10 of 12. Third period: Four of the Capitals’ 11 shots thus far have come on the power play. So the Devils are outshooting the Caps 21-7 in five on five play. Orlov with a good stick to stop Hall on an early rush up the left side. Kinkaid turns aside ex-teammate Smith-Pelly from close range at 4:40. Kinkaid covers at 6:46 and that’s his 12th save of the game. Boyle is available again for the Devils. Zajac called for interference on Wilson in the Devils’ zone at 8:09 and Kinkaid starts the penalty kill with a good kick save on Ovechkin. Devils penalty kill now 5 for 5. The Devils get their second power play at 11:47 as Chiasson trips Butcher in the offensive zone. Hischier to Boyle in front on the power play but that chance is broken up at the last moment. Connolly, with his second goal of the game, takes Kuznetsov’s feed and beats Kinkaid to tie the game at 3 at 16:12. Niskanen takes a high shot that hits Kinkaid’s mask with 29.6 seconds to go. Kinkaid shakes off the loose mask to get the stoppage, a common move for him. Teams head to OT tied at 3 as Devils can’t hold a two-goal lead. Devils are up on shots 31-19. Overtime: Hall swoops in, grabs a loose puck and heads to the crease for the winner just 34 seconds into the extra period. Devils outshot the Capitals 32-19, including 27-13 at even strength. Bergen Record LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093794 New York Islanders

Islanders can't overcome Patrice Bergeron's hat trick in 5-2 loss to Bruins

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Patrice Bergeron scored three goals to lead Boston to a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night, giving the Bruins at least a point for the 15th consecutive game. Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists as Boston improved to 11-0-4 since its last regulation loss Dec. 14 against Washington — its best stretch since going 15-0-1 from March 2-30, 2014. Ryan Spooner had a goal and an assist, and Anton Khudobin stopped 22 shots. Jordan Eberle and John Tavares scored for New York, which has dropped seven of 10 — with each of the losses coming in regulation. Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves while facing fewer than 35 shots for the first time in his last 11 games. Bergeron completed his third career hat trick — just 12 days after a four- goal, five-point night at home against Carolina — when he took a pass from Marchand, spun and fired the puck in from the left circle at 3:45 of the third period. It was his 19th goal of the season. Tavares pulled the Islanders within two with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining with his 25th goal. Marchand capped the scoring with his 20th with just over a minute to go. Boston won for the second straight night after giving up the first goal of the game in the first period. The Bruins did the same thing in a 4-1 win at home against Montreal on Wednesday night. In this one, they took control with two goals in the second period and sealed it with two more in the third. Spooner put Boston ahead 2-1 near the midpoint of the second. Off a faceoff in the Islanders' zone to Halak's left, Spooner backhanded the puck past the goalie for his seventh at 9:47. Just 15 seconds after New York's Anders Lee was sent off for tripping, Bergeron extended the Bruins' lead to 3-1. After Torey Krug's initial shot went off Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech's leg, Bergeron got the puck on the right side and beat Halak for his 18th of the season with 6:11 left in the middle period. Krug got his 200th career assist. Eberle got the Islanders on the scoreboard 7:35 into the game. Mathew Barzal intercepted Brandon Carlo's pass in the Bruins' zone and passed to a streaking Eberle, who beat Khudobin from the inside edge of the right circle for his 15th. Barzal got his 32nd assist and 47th point — both tops among all NHL rookies. The Bruins tied it with 6:19 left in the first when Bergeron took a pass from Marchand and fired it past Halak from the inside edge of the right circle. NOTES: Barzal has eight assists and 11 points in his last five games. ... Islanders F Josh Bailey, headed to his first All-Star game, returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury. He had an assist on Tavares' goal. ... New York dropped to 16-3-0 in games it scored first, losing for the second straight game after taking the early lead. ... The Bruins swept the three-game season series, also winning 3- 1 at home on Dec. 9 and 5-1 in New York on Jan. 2. ... Boston has won seven straight on the Islanders' home ice since a 3-1 loss at Nassau Coliseum on Nov. 2, 2013. That includes five visits to Barclays Center, the Islanders' home since the start of the 2015-16 season. ... Bergeron has nine goals and 14 points in his last eight games. ... Marchand, the Bruins' leader in goals, assists and points, has five goals and nine assists in his last seven games. UP NEXT Bruins: At Montreal on Saturday to wrap a two-game trip. Islanders: At Chicago on Saturday to open a three-game road trip heading into the All-Star break. New York Daily News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093795 New York Islanders

Islanders get one of their All Stars back at crucial time

By Alex Squadron January 18, 2018 | 5:08PM

Islanders fans, breathe a sigh of relief. Josh Bailey is back. After missing the last four games with a lower-body injury, the Isles dynamic winger is set to rejoin the top line Thursday night alongside John Tavares and Anders Lee against the Bruins at Barclays Center. Bailey — second on the team in points (50) and fifth in the entire NHL in assists (38) — will also return to the top power-play unit. “It’s never fun missing games,” he said. “You’re always chomping at the bit to get back. I’m excited that it didn’t end up being too long.” So too is coach Doug Weight, who has had to make several adjustments to compensate for an onslaught of injuries throughout the season. “[Bailey], amongst other guys, has been a really big loss. It’s been noticeable,” he said. “It will be good to see him back out there.” Bailey had to exit early in a 4-0 loss Jan. 5 to the Penguins. He apparently considered returning to action that evening, but ultimately thought it wiser not to rush back. “Glad I didn’t because it might have been worse,” he explained. The Bruins have soared to third place in the Eastern Conference during their 14-game point streak.AP And with several squads jockeying for playoff positions, the Islanders need Bailey for every game possible. They managed to go 3-1 in his absence and entered Thursday sixth in an extremely competitive Metropolitan division, but the Bruins, currently on a league-best 14-game point streak, pose a major challenge. “There were some good things and obviously some things we’d like to improve on,” said Bailey, when asked what he noticed observing his team while out. “We were able to put a few wins together which is the most important thing. Doesn’t always matter how you get it done.” Weight praised Bailey for his determination to get back, as the 28-year- old cancelled a vacation he had planned for the bye week (Jan. 8-13) and instead used the time to get healthy. He has been skating “pretty hard” for the last three or four days, so while some rust is to be expected, Bailey should have his wind and strength basically where it needs to be, according to Weight. Bailey’s teammates recognize the importance of his return, which stabilizes the lineup from top to bottom. “It’s huge,” defenseman Thomas Hickey said. “It slots people back together, it puts that line back together and that’s important, and it makes our depth that much better when you can add a first line player back in your lineup.” “It slots guys into more comfortable roles, better roles, and I think makes your team play better,” Weight added. In his 10th year with the Islanders, Bailey is having his best season yet, on pace to set new career-highs across the board. He was playing superb hockey just before sustaining the injury, being named the NHL’s second star for the month of December with 22 points in 15 outings. Later this month, the veteran will appear in his first All-Star game. As both his former teammate and now coach, Weight has had a good view of Bailey’s growth. He pointed to several potential reasons for the recent explosion, whether it be extra work and focus, added confidence, or “it just happened to be his time.” Whatever sparked it, the Islanders are glad to have it back. New York Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093796 New York Islanders

Josh Bailey picks up right where he left off in Islanders return

By Alex Squadron January 19, 2018 | 12:29am

After missing the previous four games with a lower-body injury, All-Star winger Josh Bailey rejoined the top line alongside John Tavares and Anders Lee in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Bruins at Barclays Center. Bailey — second on the team in points (50) and fifth in the NHL in assists (38) entering the game — also returned to the top power-play unit. “Bails, amongst other guys, has been a really big loss. It’s been noticeable,” coach Doug Weight said at the morning skate. “It’ll be good to see him back in the lineup.” Bailey logged 21:46 of ice time and assisted on a late goal by Tavares. “I felt good,” Bailey said. “I wasn’t out too long fortunately. Any time you’re out a little bit, you’re trying to get back as quickly as you can.” Weight praised Bailey’s determination to return quickly, as the 28-year- old cancelled a vacation he had planned for last week’s bye week and instead used the time to get healthy. “Bails, amongst other guys, has been a really big loss. It’s been noticeable,” Weight said Wednesday morning. “It’ll be good to see him back in the lineup.” Weight was looking for improvements on defense in Thursday’s matchup, as the Islanders had surrendered an average of 44.2 shots over their previous five games. “There is no reason to give up the amount of shots we’ve given up,” Weight said. “You can’t give up that many shots.” During the week, the Islander worked on a couple tactics to limit the amount of time opponents are spending in the defensive zone, according to veteran Thomas Hickey. They showed some progress in the defeat, mainly in an opening period that saw the Bruins take only seven shots. Boston finished with 34. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk (lower body) and forwards Andrew Ladd (upper body) and Casey Cizikas (upper body) did not play. Cizikas participated in the team’s morning skate for the first time since suffering his injury Saturday. “Not ready, but skating well,” Weight said. “Those upper-body injuries, we’ll take them over the lower anytime. He can get out there and keep his wind up.” “As desperate as things are, you have to push it, but you have to make sure he’s going to be healthy when he plays.” Weight provided no timetables for their returns, but said Ladd is probably “the slowest coming back.” New York Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093797 New York Islanders

Islanders fall again, swept by Bruins

By Alex Squadron January 18, 2018 | 10:04pm | Updated

The Islanders had a golden chance to get a small measure of revenge Thursday night. And they failed to take advantage of it, falling to the red-hot Bruins, 5-2, at Barclays Center. Boston (26-10-8) completed its season sweep of the Islanders (23-20-4), winning all three meetings by a combined score of 13-4. The Bruins, who got a hat trick from Patrice Bergeron, are riding a league-best 15-game point streak and remain the only Eastern team the Isles have not beaten at Barclays Center, dating to the start of the 2015- 16 campaign. With the Bruins having played the Canadiens on Wednesday and the Islanders seemingly getting a boost from the return of All-Star winger Josh Bailey, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for a change of fortune. Instead the Islander let an encouraging start go to waste and have now dropped two in a row before heading on the road, where they are just 10- 13-1 on the season. Dazzling rookie Matthew Barzal (48 points) helped provide an early spark, threading the needle on a beautiful feed to Jordan Eberle, who finished the job with his 15th goal of the season at the 7:35 mark of the opening period. The Bruins returned the favor six minutes later, as the 32-year-old Bergeron got his productive night started by firing one past Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak to make it 1-1. Though things went downhill from the Islanders from there, with the Bruins seizing a 3-1 advantage in the second period on goals from Ryan Spooner and Bergeron (on the power play), coach Doug Weight said he was impressed with his team’s effort up until the final frame, when the frustration mounted. “The first two periods were excellent,” he said. “We were physical, we had some really good things we did [Wednesday at practice] and the guys bought in. We lost our way a bit [in the third].” Several players echoed their coach’s sentiments about the importance of staying composed when adversity strikes. After getting on the board first, the Islanders allowed the Bruins to score four straight goals. “We felt like the first period was pretty good,” said Bailey, who played his first game since Jan. 5. “We’re playing good teams. If the roles were reversed, we’d be the ones pushing back in the second like they did. So, it’s just finding a way to weather those storms a little bit better.” Bergeron iced the game in the third, jamming one in the back of the net to finish his hat trick. Captain John Tavares, with an assists from Bailey, tried to breathe a little life into the Islanders with a late goal, his 25th of the season, but it was too little too late. Marchand scored on an open net to bring make it 5-2. With the playoff race heating up, and the Islanders still right in the thick of it, Weight was not completely discouraged by the defeat. He emphasized his players must build on the positive things they did and put together “60-minute” efforts. “You need to work in this league every shift. The teams that have 60 points and 55 points right now work nine out of 10 shifts in the right way, and we’re doing seven and a half right now,” Weight said. “And it’s a fine line. I’m telling you, we need people to buy in on a 60-minute basis. It’s hard with different lines and different people going in, but you have to do it.” New York Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093798 New York Islanders

Islanders start strong but fall to Bruins on Patrice Bergeron’s hat trick

By Arthur Staple

There are no shortcuts for the Islanders right now, no ways for them to get around a solid, rolling team like the Bruins. They did get Josh Bailey back on Thursday, but with a battered lineup that still was missing five regulars — and with a team that has leaked goals all season long — they had to be strong all game. They were good in the first period, but a couple of unlucky bounces in the second sent the Islanders reeling. The 5-2 loss at Barclays Center was their third to the Bruins in the last 40 days and left the Isles 3-7-0 in their last 10 games, still staring up at the Eastern Conference playoff picture. “To give ourselves a chance, we have to play the right way the whole game,’’ Ryan Pulock said. “We got away from that in the second and it cost us.” The Bruins, who haven’t lost in regulation in their last 15 games (11-0-4), had played the night before and looked like it through the first period. The Islanders had Boston penned in its own end for long stretches and Jordan Eberle got the Isles on the board at 7:35, converting a nice feed from Mathew Barzal after Brandon Carlo whiffed on a short pass. Even after Patrice Bergeron tied it at 13:41 following an Islanders turnover in the neutral zone, Doug Weight liked where his team was after 20 minutes. He liked where they were through the second period, too. That middle period has been brutal for the Islanders the last three weeks. “The first two periods were excellent,” Weight said. “You’re in one. [But] there’s a little bit of fragileness, we’re young out there, and it gets to be 3- 1 . . . ” How it got to be 3-1 was frustrating for Weight and his team. Rookie Tanner Fritz beat David Krejci on a defensive-zone draw, but the puck bounced over Jason Chimera’s stick, off Pulock and down to Ryan Spooner, whose quick backhand eluded Jaroslav Halak to give the Bruins the lead. On the lone Bruins power play of the night, Adam Pelech blocked Torey Krug’s slapper and the puck bounced twice to Bergeron, who whipped it over Halak. That last goal made it a 20-7 margin for Isles opponents in the second period in the last nine games. “They get a couple quick ones and you feel like you’re chasing the game,” Bailey said. “Sometimes those things happen.” What can’t happen and what left Weight a little disappointed was the third. The Islanders had both their power plays in the opening seven minutes of the period, but all those did was take the life out of the team and Barclays Center — at least until Bergeron completed his hat trick at 3:45, drawing a dozen or so hats from the visitor-friendly crowd of 11,803. John Tavares scored his 25th off Bailey’s feed at 14:24, but Boston’s Brad Marchand scored with 1:01 left. The Islanders managed only five shots on goal in the third and just five attempts at even strength against what should have been a tired Bruins team. “You need to work in this league, every shift,” Weight said. “The teams that have 60, 55 points, they’re working hard nine out of 10 shifts. We’re at 7 ½ right now and it’s costing us.” Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093799 New York Islanders

Injured Islanders Johnny Boychuk, Andrew Ladd skate again but remain out

By Arthur Staple

Josh Bailey’s return was the big plus for Thursday, but there were further good signs for some of the Islanders’ injured. Johnny Boychuk and Andrew Ladd skated before the team’s morning skate, the second straight day on the ice for both. Boychuk (lower body) missed his 10th straight game and Ladd (upper) missed his fifth straight. Casey Cizikas, who was injured against the Rangers and said by Doug Weight to be “out a while,” also was on the ice Thursday morning. His extended stay, long after any skaters in Thursday’s lineup had left the rink, indicated that Cizikas is working on conditioning and not really close to a return. But it still was encouraging. “Not ready, but skating well,” Weight said. “Those upper-body injuries, we’ll take them over the lower anytime. He can get out there and keep his wind up, but he’s not ready yet. As desperate as things are, you have to push it, but you have to make sure he’s gonna be healthy when he plays.” Nikolay Kulemin, out since Nov. 7 with a shoulder injury that required surgery, also did some on-ice work for a second straight day. He is weeks away from a return but able to get some of his skating wind back while his shoulder heals. “He’s aggressively pursuing to get back,” Weight said. “Still a long way away, but it certainly is good. I think things like that open your eyes. Kulie is a valuable player on our team and it brings us stability, so we miss him, but he’s definitely on a good track.” FRITZ IN, QUINE OUT Tanner Fritz returned to the lineup after sitting out Tuesday’s loss to the Devils, with Alan Quine a healthy scratch. Quine had been filling Bailey’s spot on the top line during Bailey’s four-game absence. Fritz took Cizikas’ spot between Jason Chimera and Cal Clutterbuck, as he did in Montreal on Monday. Shane Prince, who left Tuesday’s game after the second period following a big collision, was in Thursday’s lineup. Dennis Seidenberg, who dressed as the seventh defenseman on Tuesday, was scratched with Bailey returning. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093800 New York Rangers

Rick Nash scores twice as Rangers hold on to beat Sabres, 4-3

JUSTIN TASCH

A goal-scorer might be driven crazy wondering why pucks aren’t finding the net even when chances are there. That had been the quandary of Rick Nash, who is more often than not making positive contributions even during scoring droughts. Once those droughts are over though, there’s no deep analysis. “You never question it,” Nash says. Not now, not when he scored twice Thursday for the second straight game and assisted on Pavel Buchnevich’s winner in the Rangers’ 4-3 win over the Sabres in which the Blueshirts (24-17-5) blew one-goal leads in each period. Before Nash scored twice against Philadelphia on Tuesday, he hadn’t scored in 12 games and had just two goals in his last 25 matches. Normally one of the team’s most effective forwards and consistently an imposing force with the puck on his stick, there’s little Nash would change about his game. “That’s been the frustrating part of this year is, you look at the chance sheet every night and you have three or four ‘A’ chances, and pucks just weren’t going in,” Nash said. “Then you get a game like (Thursday) where you get two chances and they both go in. Rick Nash shoots and scores against Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner. “What I’ve been telling myself is just stick with it. Keep getting on the inside and keep helping the team, whether it’s PK, defensively bringing energy. I know I’m supposed to score goals, but if you’re not scoring, you’ve got to bring something to the table.” A Nash surge can only be positive for the Rangers, even if it doesn’t always translate to wins. For if the Rangers hit the skids again and try to sell their pending unrestricted free agents, Nash’s trade value can only increase. His first goal came on a breakaway just 1:24 into the game and he made it 3-2 at 6:49 of the third. Buchnevich, who snapped a 13-game goal-less drought of his own, assisted on both of Nash’s goals as those two and Mika Zibanejad have formed a strong trio. The Rangers were shorthanded due to a Brendan Smith delay of game penalty when the Sabres tied the game later in the third. Henrik Lundqvist makes a save during the first period of the Rangers’ 4-3 win. But whereas previously such an error has sapped their confidence, the Rangers responded quickly with Buchnevich’s goal coming 1:03 later. Henrik Lundqvist (34 saves) finished it all off by making an impressive glove save with 3.8 seconds remaining on a six-on-four slap shot with a screen in front. “Sometimes we might’ve let frustration kick in where a mistake or a goal against kind of tenses up our play,” Ryan McDonagh said. “Since the bye break there we’ve talked about making sure we stay aggressive and assertive, even when it doesn’t go right sometimes.” After scoring 15 goals in their previous nine games, the Rangers now have nine in their last two games, four of them by Nash. “It’s good for him, but it’s especially good for our team,” Alain Vigneault said. “We need the wins.” KEVIN SENT Kevin Hayes (leg contusion) missed his third straight game but is set to practice Friday and could return Saturday in Denver. Marc Staal (hip flexor) missed his first game of the season and was ruled out the next two games. New York Daily News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093801 New York Rangers

Rangers will be without key defenseman to start road trip

By Larry Brooks January 19, 2018 | 12:35am

Marc Staal has been ruled out of the weekend back-to-back in Colorado on Saturday afternoon and Los Angeles on Sunday night that kicks off the Blueshirts’ four-game western swing leading into the All-Star break. As such, the Rangers will be obligated to summon a defenseman from the AHL Wolf Pack to serve as a spare in case one of the top six goes down before Staal, who left Tuesday’s victory over the Flyers after the first period with a hip-pointer, is fit for duty. The team can’t take the chance of being caught short if illness or injury strikes. Lefty John Gilmour and righties Neal Pionk, Tony DeAngelo and Ryan Sproul are among the candidates for promotion. The left-right factor is not critical in the decision, as Rangers’ lefties Nick Holden and Brendan Smith are both able to play both sides. Indeed, Smith, who has played his off-side for most of his tenure in New York, was on the left for Thursday night’s 4-3 Garden win over the Sabres on the $11 million third pair with Kevin Shattenkirk. Steven Kampfer took Staal’s spot in the lineup and played on Brady Skjei’s right side on the second pair. Kevin Hayes’ status for the weekend remained uncertain in the aftermath of the center having missed his third straight game with a leg contusion he sustained in Las Vegas on Jan. 7 in the Blueshirts’ final game before their bye week. Hayes was able to play in the Jan. 13 contest against the Islanders, but has been sidelined since. “Kevin skated this morning and we’ll have to see how he responds,” Vigneault said. “He’d have to practice Friday in order to play Saturday.” Vigneault allowed that in hindsight it had probably been a mistake to allow Hayes to play against the Islanders. “When you look at it that way afterward,” the coach said. “But he felt good, the docs felt it was all right. When you look back, maybe we should have given him some extra time, but it’s easy to say after the fact. He was good to go and he was medically cleared.” The Blueshirts would likely also recall a forward for the weekend if Hayes is unable to practice Friday. Boo Nieves, who was dispatched to Hartford on Monday following a 28-game Broadway run, exchanged places with Peter Holland. If not Nieves, then wingers Cole Schneider and Scott Kosmachuk are candidates. The Rangers, who had moved up to second in the NHL in penalty killing at 84.6 percent, yielded two Buffalo power-play goals while down four times. It was the first time the Blueshirts had allowed more than one power-play goal since the second game of the season when they surrendered three to the Maple Leafs. New York Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093802 New York Rangers “I hope they come in bunches,” said the alternate captain. “Sometimes you get five or six opportunities a night and don’t score and other times you get two chances and put both in. It’s funny how the game works.” Rick Nash ignores trade talk and dominates again in Rangers win Just as funny as the Rangers having their best chance to make the playoffs with Nash in the lineup while having their best chance to rebuild the organization by trading him. By Larry Brooks January 18, 2018 | 10:41pm Catch-61.

New York Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 This is the conundrum facing general manager Jeff Gorton as the Feb. 26 trade deadline approaches: The more productive that Rick Nash is, the more substantial chance the Rangers have to make the playoffs. But at the same time, the more productive he is, the more substantial a package the Rangers can acquire in exchange for No. 61 as a high-end rental property. “Catch-22,” Nash said to The Post after his second consecutive two-goal game helped elevate the Blueshirts to Thursday’s 4-3 victory over the Sabres at the Garden. “That’s certainly the reality of it, I understand that, but I can honestly say I’m so focused on my game and helping the Rangers that I don’t think about it. “I can control my performance. I can’t control what decisions the front office might make. I have a family and two kids in preschool, so it’s not something you want to really think about even though you might have to, but it’s what we all signed up for. “At the end of the day, it’s a business and management has to do what’s best for the organization. I’ve said before, I love it here and I want to be here. My focus is on helping the Rangers win and helping the young guys here progress.” If the Sabres believe pending free agent Evander Kane can bring back a package featuring a first-rounder, a prospect and a roster player, then Nash should be worth at least that, if not more. Kane was a bit player, if that, in this one while Nash not only scored twice, but triggered the sequence on which Pavel Buchnevich broke a 3- 3 tie for the winner at 16:02 of the third period by pickpocketing the puck off Sam Reinhart as the Sabres tried to exit the zone. Pavel Buchnevich (89) celebrates his game-winning goal with Rick Nash.Charles Wenzelberg The tap-in from the crease by Buchnevich — his first in 14 games — off a centering feed from Mika Zibanejad came just 63 seconds after Buffalo had tied the score on a Rasmus Ristolainen power-play goal. It marked the third time the Sabres had erased a one-goal deficit. Yet the Rangers, who had been playing such fragile hockey for almost a month, did not waver. They pressed the issue and were rewarded for it. “I think, obviously, in games past, we’ve kind of tensed up when we’ve given up a goal like that or lost a lead like that,” Ryan McDonagh said. “But I think we had good focus on the bench and just wanted to stay aggressive and be in the right position to focus on our battles and focus on our defensive structure. “That allowed us to continue to play assertive, play in the offensive zone and create some looks.” This one was hardly a “Masterpiece Theatre” episode. Play for the most part was ragged and uninspired. Passes went into skates more often than onto tape. The Sabres, playing their first game in seven days, had an excuse. The Rangers, well, they are consumed these days with tightening up in their own end. Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding in turning aside 34-of-37 shots, never more so when he lunged to make a sensational grab of Ristolainen’s 55- foot rocket from the top through a screen with 3.8 seconds remaining and the Sabres — who were on the power play and with their goalie pulled — owning two extra attackers. “I saw it when it left his stick and I kind of had to read where it was going to end up,” Lundqvist said. “I thought that was the toughest part about this game — same as when we played them outdoors [in the Winter Classic] — in they were getting pucks through from the blue line and it was just hard to pick them up. “A lot of times you just have to try to read where it’s going to end up. It’s going through a lot of people so you just have to hope for the best.” Nash, at his wheeling best, has put together back-to-back two-goal games after somehow scoring twice in the previous 25 games despite a plethora of golden opportunities. 1093803 New York Rangers

Rangers found their optimal blueprint in Flyers win

By Larry Brooks January 18, 2018 | 8:16PM

You’ve heard it from Alain Vigneault whenever the Rangers have run into rough patches this season, including this past weekend when the coach used one of his favorite expressions between discouraging defeats to the Islanders and Penguins in which his team surrendered 12 goals on 84 shots. “We’re going to have to simplify our game,” the coach has said much more than once. Before a match Thursday at the Garden against the Sabres, Vigneault explained what he means by that. “It’s making sure we have numbers back,” the coach said. “It’s making sure on the backcheck and in our zone when we have the chance to outnumber our opponents. “And when we have the puck, north-south is better than east-west because there’s less chance of a turnover and when you do turn it over, it’s a lot easier to defend than when it’s east-west, you can’t gap up and you give up too much time and space.” Quite simply, then, the Rangers played the part to near perfection in a 5- 1 victory Tuesday over the Flyers that stanched both the bleeding and the three-game losing streak that had temporarily left the club on the outside looking in on the playoffs. The Blueshirts did well getting the puck in deep and producing an effective forecheck when the opportunity presented itself. When it wasn’t, the Rangers clogged the neutral zone in what appeared 1-1-3 and 1-4 traps that frustrated Philly and prevented the odd-man rushes and glorious scoring chances that had become commonplace over the last month. “It’s a five-man game for sure,” said Brady Skjei, who was one of the club’s five defensemen after Marc Staal left the match with a hip pointer following the first period Tuesday. “You see forwards backchecking and getting sticks on pucks. “Those guys can stay above the forwards in the offensive zone and have good sticks and help out on the back pressure, it makes our job a lot easier. The forwards did a great job of doing that.” The Rangers surrendered 26 shots, the first time they had allowed fewer than 30 since limiting the Devils to 28 on Dec. 9. They blocked 17 tries. And even though analytical measures such as “high-danger shots” taken off official scoresheets do not differentiate between shots from, say 15 feet, Henrik Lundqvist certainly does. “It makes a big difference when you face shooters under pressure,” Lundqvist said. “They’re not coming in and looking at you without any back-pressure because [our forwards] are too far away. We were there all the time. It’s harder for them to get really good shots when they feel that pressure. “You start in your own end and take care of business there. Your breakouts are better, your speed and timing are better. We’ve been talking about it for a while and I think it clicked [against the Flyers].” The Rangers also unveiled new line combinations in that one, including a Michael Grabner-Peter Holland-Jesper Fast fourth unit that was effective in a checking role. But for all the changes in the sport over the years, there remains one constant. That is, the game essentially always can be distilled to a one- on-one competition. Not only have the Rangers been too loose in a structure that lately had resembled a house of cards, they have been wanting in the 50-50 plays that are so often determinative. “We talk about keeping it simple every night,” said Rick Nash, whose two goals broke a 12-game drought and equaled his output for the previous 25 contests. “We’ve been making it hard on ourselves. “The focus has to be on winning your one-on-one battles. That’s the mentality we need. We were going into the corners and coming away with the puck in our one-on-ones. That was a huge difference.” New York Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093804 New York Rangers

Rick Nash again scores twice as Rangers edge Sabres at MSG

By Steve Zipay

Pavel Buchnevich scored the go-ahead goal with 3:58 left in the third period — his first goal in 13 games — to give the Rangers a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. Rick Nash, who scored twice for the second straight game, forced a turnover and Mika Zibanejad fed Buchnevich from behind the net for a tap-in to break the third tie of the game. “It’s hard,” Nash said of Buchnevich, 21, whose goal was his 12th. “It seems like in your second year, the honeymoon stage is over and the excitement is over. He had a great start to the season, he was unbelievable, and he’s figuring it out. The thing with him is, he could be a star in this league. He’s got all the tools.” The Nash-Zibanejad-Buchnevich line produced seven points. “We’re feeling each other out,” Nash said. “You play with so many different combinations, it’s tough to find chemistry, but I think [coach Alain Vigneault] did an awesome job putting us three together.” Mats Zuccarello took a hooking penalty with 39 seconds left, but Henrik Lundqvist (34 saves) made a huge glove stop on a screened shot from defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen with five seconds left to preserve the win. “All I saw was when it left his stick, I had to [make a] read,” Lundqvist said. “[Buffalo] stayed alive and moved the puck well on the power play. It kept them in the game.” The Sabres scored twice on the power play. Asked what he saw from the Zibanejad line, Lundqvist said: “Confidence. They move the puck really well and the timing is there right now. Also, when they get the opportunity, they take advantage. A lot of that is confidence.” Nash in particular is on a roll. He was near the right post when Sabres goalie Robin Lehner (30 saves) stopped a deflection but couldn’t control the rebound. Nash scooped up the puck and tucked it behind Lehner for his 13th goal and a 3-2 lead at 6:49 of the third. With 6:17 left, Brendan Smith was called for a delay-of-game penalty. Lundqvist fought through a screen for one save, but Ristolainen scored with 5:01 to play for Buffalo’s second power-play goal and a 3-3 tie. The Rangers opened the scoring at 1:24 of the first period. Buchnevich poked the puck up ice and Nash sped past defenseman Jake McCabe for a breakaway. His rising wrister zipped over Lehner’s glove for a 1-0 lead. At one point, the Rangers led 8-1 in shots, but the Sabres, coming off their bye week, eventually found their legs and started making plays. With Smith off for tripping, former Islander Kyle Okposo scored from in front to tie it at 18:41. J.T. Miller’s 20-foot shot over Lehner’s glove midway through the second made it 2-1 Rangers, but the Sabres responded with a softie. Justin Falk’s wrister from the point went through Brady Skjei and under Lundqvist to tie it at 2 at 17:10. The Rangers hadn’t won two in a row since a three-game streak from Dec. 15-19. “We had a good first period, they [responded] in the second,’’ Vigneault said, “but in the third, we played to win.” Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093805 New York Rangers

Marc Staal sits out for first time this season with hip flexor issue

By Steve Zipay

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal did not play against the Sabres on Thursday night because of a hip flexor issue and also will miss the first two games of the four-city western swing, coach Alain Vigneault said. Center Kevin Hayes (leg bruise) is a question mark. Staal, who was injured during the 5-1 win over the Flyers on Tuesday, has not skated since, and Vigneault ruled him out for Friday’s practice. “I know definitely that Marc will not skate tomorrow, so he definitely will not play on the weekend [Saturday in Colorado and Sunday in Los Angeles],” he said. The durable defenseman and alternate captain had played in all 45 games this season, as had J.T. Miller, Kevin Shattenkirk, Rick Nash, Jimmy Vesey, Brady Skjei and Michael Grabner. Staal is a plus-8 and has a goal and seven assists. He leads the Rangers in shorthanded ice time (137:46) and is eighth in the NHL in that category. Steven Kampfer stepped into the lineup Thursday. The Rangers, who have only six healthy blueliners, likely will call up a spare from Hartford for at least the start of the trip. Hayes re-injured his leg in the 7-2 loss to the Islanders and missed his third straight game. “He skated this morning; we’ll see how he responds tonight,” Vigneault said. “He would have to practice tomorrow in order to play Saturday. If we feel he can practice and play, we shouldn’t need to call anybody up, but if Hayes is doubtful, then we’re going to need an extra [forward] just in case.” Before the Islanders game, Vigneault said Hayes “felt good, the docs felt he was all right, he played, but couldn’t get through. So looking back on it, maybe we should have given him a little bit of extra time, but it’s easy to say after the fact. When a player says I’m good to go and medically he’s cleared, usually a player goes.” Hayes scored his 10th goal and had seven shots in 16:53 against the Islanders. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093806 New York Rangers I think Rick Nash. He doesn’t say a lot, but he is always doing things behind the scenes.

What is your favorite TV show? Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey talks to Long Island kids I would have to say “Game of Thrones.” You guys are probably not old enough to watch that yet. By Ellie Brantuk, Henry Carbonell, Thomas Fargione and Amber Do you like being recognized? McDonald I do, especially young guys like you when you have my shirt on. But as I said, I am a quiet guy, so I like to be below the radar too. We interviewed New York Rangers left winger Jimmy Vesey after a Do you like the new rules being enforced in the NHL? It seems that goal recent team practice at their Westchester training arena. scoring is up. What made you decide to become a hockey player? In preseason, they were strict, but it looks like they have lightened them Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to play it. I thought to myself, “Why up, and it has been pretty good so far. not, I want to keep playing and keep doing it as long as I can.” I think I What is your favorite book you have read? got on skates around age 4, and I got on my first team around age 5 or 6. My dad played hockey, so me and my brother, since we were young, we I think I have to go with the “Harry Potter” series. I read all of those books have always loved hockey. when I was younger, like three or four times each. So are you a follower or a rule breaker? Do you like the Yankees or the Red Sox? I was always a rule follower. I don’t think it is in my DNA to be a rule I am not the biggest baseball fan, but growing up my dad liked the Red breaker. Sox, so I will have to say the Red Sox, too. What made you decide to stay in school for four years instead of playing What do you do before a game? hockey at an earlier age? We like to play soccer. Every day before a game, I do the same thing. I I was a rule follower in school, and I took school seriously. I went to put my equipment on the same way every game, from the bottom up. Harvard, and I thought, “Why not complete my education?” So when I stop playing hockey, I would always have that to fall back on. Does your uniform No. 26 have a special meaning for you? How did you feel when you got on the ice in your first game? I used to wear No. 19 my whole life, but when I got here, that number was taken. I wore No. 26 for USA one time. I like it because it is my birth Sign upBy clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. date. It was a dream come true for me. I always wanted to play in the NHL, Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.19.2018 and it finally came last year, and it was just awesome. I had my whole family come to see it. Who was your favorite hockey player when you were growing up? I am from Boston, so Joe Thornton. He is actually still playing for the San Jose Sharks. He wore No. 19, and I wore No. 19 until I got here. When you are not playing hockey, what are some of the things you like to do? I like to golf a lot, and I did it a lot this past summer. What is it like playing at Madison Square Garden? It is pretty awesome. It is one of the most famous arenas in the world. There is a lot of history there, and I still get the chills when they play the national anthem. It’s big. How does it feel to be a celebrity? I don’t think of myself as a celebrity. I still look at myself as a kid. I got recognized a couple of times, and it is nice, but I am a quiet guy, so I am still surprised. What are your goals for the season? I think as a team, we want to win the Stanley Cup. Last year we could have gone further, but it is a new year this year, so we still have that same goal. What was your favorite subject in school? I was a history guy. I love to learn about history, and I took a lot of history classes in college. Why did you select the Rangers over all the other teams you could have gone to? I thought it was good place for me because I could come in and play right away. It is pretty close to home, so my parents can get on the train and come and see me or see me play when I go to Boston. It is good to see them, but I am also a little bit away from them so I don’t have to deal with them that much. Who are your best friends on the team? I have two of them, my two roommates [Kevin Hayes and Brady Skjei]. We live together and spend a lot of time together. We go to dinner every night. Who is the biggest practical joker on the team? 1093807 Ottawa Senators The Senators didn’t test Hutton often, but he needed to be sharp in the opening moments when Ottawa had some jump.

Mark Borowiecki, out of the lineup since Nov. 19 due to a concussion, Second-period meltdown costly to Senators in loss to Blues announced his presence with authority — smacking Patrik Berglund into the end boards two minutes in. Ken WarrenK “I was just trying to get back in the saddle there, doing what I do best,” said the defenceman.

Borowiecki was also involved in a second-period fight with Chris Same old, same old. Thorburn and acknowledged that the Blues’ Kyle Brodziak bit his finger during a scrum. The Ottawa Senators returned from their week-long bye on Thursday by offering their Canadian Tire Centre fans something they saw far too often “He did, but it’s not a big deal,” said Borowiecki. “We were laughing about in the first half of the season — a second-period meltdown. it after. I was over-selling it a little bit.” The St. Louis Blues overpowered the Senators in the middle of the game, Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 01.19.2018 taking away the game en route to a 4-1 victory. Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden Schenn and Alex Steen (into an empty net) scored for the Blues, who had 37 shots on goal. Bobby Ryan, with 19 goals and 14 assists in 27 career games against the Blues, scored the lone Senators goal against St. Louis netminder Carter Hutton. “This is a disease,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said of the re- occurrence of the second-period problems. “We stop shooting. We get perimeter play. We get east-west play. We get complicated plays. When you don’t have a shooter’s mentality, you can’t create momentum. So, it’s a disease we’ve got to get rid of.” Much of the enthusiasm stemming from the Senators’ 3-1-1 record before the break has disappeared in the face of the latest effort. The biggest worry for the Senators going in was how they would handle the first period after being away from game action for a week. Turns out, they handled that just fine. The problem was — and where have we seen this before? — the second-period collapse. For the season, the Senators have now been outscored by a ridiculous 65-36 margin in the middle stanza. In the second period Thursday, the Blues outscored the Senators 3-1 and held a 19-6 edge in shots. Tarasenko broke the ice 6:13 into the second, deflecting Robert Bortuzzo’s shot past Senators goaltender Craig Anderson after Johnny Oduya lost a battle for the puck down low. Pietrangelo took advantage of a huge Anderson rebound to pad the lead to 2-0 and Brayden Schenn slipped a shot between the legs of the Sens goaltender to make it 3-0 with 3:07 left in the period. The only highlight was the Ryan goal 28 seconds after Schenn’s goal. “It’s frustrating,” said Anderson. “We all want to play better in the second, but that’s kind of the way the game went and we put ourselves in that hole.” Anderson shook his head when asked about why it’s happening over and over and over again. “It’s just one of those things that, when you lose the momentum, it’s tough to get it back.” Battling back against the Blues is almost an impossible task, given the fact they possess arguably the best defence in the NHL. Trying to enter the Blues blue line is like trying to penetrate a giant fence. They are now 21-0-1 when leading after two periods. The Senators have rallied for victory only four times after facing a deficit to start the third period. Taken all together, there was a whole lot of deja vu associated with the defeat. The loss also pushes Senators general manager Pierre Dorion one step closer towards making significant changes. The puck dropped about two hours after Dorion’s state of the union address, where he said he wasn’t ready to give up on a playoff berth just yet. He is realistic, recognizing that unless the club makes up major ground in a hurry — it entered the game seven teams and 12 points out of a post- season spot — it will be time to think about the future. The Blues, on the other hand, have plans to make noise in the playoffs. They came out of their bye week by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 2- 1 in overtime, on Tuesday, ending a three-game losing streak and cementing their hold on third spot in the Central Division. 1093808 Ottawa Senators guys. It was like a pro team.”… The one sad note for Pang is that Greg Coram, his goaltending partner on the 1984 team, died last year. “He was an awesome, awesome teammate,” Pang said. Warrenspiece: Borowiecki's farm week, Chaplik's surprise, Pang goes KID ROCK CONTROVERSY back in time and why Kid Rock? The NHL is tone deaf in bringing political hot potato Kid Rock in to play during the intermission at the All-Star Game in Tampa. Kid Rock KEN WARREN surrounds himself in a Confederate flag and has been outspoken in his criticism of Colin Kaepernick’s anthem protests. In October, Tampa winger J.T. Brown raised his right fist during anthems to support Kaepernick, later saying, “there’s some issues that we have to talk Most Ottawa Senators players spent the bye week soaking up the sun. about.” Interestingly, Brown was plucked off waivers by Anaheim last week. Defenceman spent his by moving manure. Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 01.19.2018 Clearly, getting away from it all means different things to different people. Borowiecki’s wife, Tara, is part of a horse jumping circuit, spending January and February based on a farm in Wellington, Fla. With so many chores to be done, Borowiecki was only too happy to spend his days away from the rink working on the farm, in the barn, or wherever else he was needed. “She has been doing it for a few years,” Borowiecki said before making his long-awaited return to the Senators line-up Thursday against the St. Louis Blues. “We both love animals. We want to have a farm when we’re done. But they put me to work, man.” EARLY TO RISE, EARLY TO BED What went into a typical day on the farm? “We would wake up about 7 a.m. every day, cook breakfast, take the dogs out and go over to the barn,” Borowiecki said. “I’m no expert, but my jobs in the morning were to change the water buckets, scrub them out, fill them up and spread the manure. I tried to help out with some of the heavy lifting. “We were asleep by 10 p.m. every day. I don’t like lying on the beach or anything and I love the animals. There are a couple of donkeys on that farm, and the horses, the dogs. Honestly, it’s a lot of fun.” When asked if he rides horses, Borowiecki said, “No. I don’t know, contractually, if I’m even allowed … So, Pierre (Dorion), no, I haven’t been on a horse.” THE BUS TO BELLEVILLE AND BACK Filip Chlapik was playing for Belleville against Syracuse Wednesday when he was pulled out of the game after the first period. He knew then that he was coming to Ottawa to take the spot of injured centre Jean- Gabriel Pageau against St. Louis Thursday, right? Guess again. “I didn’t feel well (Wednesday) morning, so I thought they just pulled me out because they wanted me to be healthy for the next (Belleville) game,” Chlapik said. “It was after the game that they told me I had been called up.”… The original idea called for rookie defenceman Thomas Chabot to return to Belleville during the bye week, because the Senators wanted him to continue to play games. Yet due to bye week roster rules and the Senators’ injury situation (including the fact Bobby Ryan was on the injury list), Chabot was considered part of the Senators’ 20-man roster heading into the break and couldn’t be sent back. “We planned for him to go back and play some games,” said Senators coach Guy Boucher. “It’s not ideal for him to be sitting at home during that time, so that’s where we were at.” Chabot didn’t go home. He went to Florida. Unlike Borowiecki, though, he didn’t spend his down time on a farm. CLAESSON TAKES A SEAT AGAIN With Borowiecki (concussion) and Johnny Oduya (middle body) returning to the lineup following their injuries, Freddy Claesson was the healthy scratch again. There is intrigue about whether Oduya could be traded before he hits the 41-game mark, when a $250,000 bonus kicks in. After playing against St. Louis, Oduya’s game count is now at 38. GREAT MEMORIES FOR PANG Former 67’s star goaltender Darren Pang, who now works as St. Louis Blues colour commentator for Fox Sports Midwest, was officially honoured Wednesday as one of the 50 greatest players in 67’s history. “I was incredibly humbled by it and I just keep thinking back to the same guy, and that’s Brian Kilrea,” he said … Pang says some of the most spirited workouts involving the 1984 Memorial Cup team involved ball hockey games before practice, where he played as a forward. “We would get into scraps and arguments and they were highly competitive. We would have guys swearing at one another, slashing and whacking and hacking and (Adam) Creighton yelling at Darcy Roy and Brad Shaw yelling at somebody and Kilrea would come down from his office and yell at us. That’s what kind of team we were, a really competitive group of 1093809 Ottawa Senators

Senators plan to keep captain Erik Karlsson

BRUCE GARRIOCH

Pierre Dorion didn’t issue a guarantee on Thursday night. But the Ottawa Senators general manager served notice he will do everything in his power to keep captain Erik Karlsson in the fold. While it came with the cautionary reminder that “even Wayne Gretzky” got traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings, Dorion told reporters before facing the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre that the club will try to sign Karlsson in the off- season. Dorion is listening on every player, but the reality is Karlsson isn’t going anywhere. “Our first priority with Erik is to sign him. He’s a special player,” Dorion said. “Last time we spoke I think I told you Wayne Gretzky got traded. If a team makes an offer you can’t turn down, you listen. “Our first priority is to sign Erik Karlsson and Erik Karlsson to be a Senator for life.” As the Senators prepare for the NHL draft in June, Dorion said one of his priorities will be scouting. He was in Halifax on Wednesday night to watch top prospect Filip Zadina, a winger who had a strong effort at the world junior championships with the Czech Republic. Dorion, who has a background as a scout, will spend a lot of time in rinks. “Scouting is my background. It’s something I enjoy,” said Dorion. “I’m going to make a big effort. I can help this organization when I scout — especially if we pick in the top 10. “That’s something I’m going to be doing. I plan to go to Europe in a few weeks to watch some possible free agents and some possible guys in the top 10. I plan to go to some NHL games, but I think this team can sort itself out with this coaching staff and I’m going to be a bit more on the road and a little less present here.” But Dorion said he also has to prepare for the trade deadline on Feb. 26. “If we lose the next 10, the path we’re going down is very easy. If we win the next 10, I think we have a chance to be in the playoffs,” said Dorion. “There’s a lot of hockey left and these next six weeks will determine where we are. “At the trade deadline it won’t be, ‘Hmm, we’re buyers, we’re sellers’. It will be one way or the other.” A decision on the future of defenceman Thomas Chabot will be made soon. The Senators haven’t decided if he needs more time with the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, but that is coming soon. Dorion joked if the Senators scored a victory over the Blues, Chabot would stay for the rest of the year. But the Sens still want time to evaluate him. Winger Jean-Gabriel Pageau didn’t suit up against the Blues and the Senators are hopeful he’ll be back sometime next week. Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093810 Ottawa Senators Dorion said he accepted full responsibility for the Senators’ position and management had spent a lot of time evaluating the club in the past two weeks. GM Pierre Dorion says has a plan in place and he's not ready to give up “It starts with me as the head of hockey operations,” Dorion said. “The on the Senators management has to get the players, give them to the coaches, the coaches have to coach the players, but, at the same time, the players have to perform. Bruce Garrioch “When you’re in 29th place, even though we’ve played the least amount of games, you have to look at everything. Trust me. When we had the scouts in, they have a very different perspective than the coaches.” Pierre Dorion’s phone has been ringing off the hook for seven weeks. Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 01.19.2018 That doesn’t mean he’s ready to make changes … yet. Addressing the media before Thursday’s home game against the St. Louis Blues, the Ottawa Senators general manager said he knew the odds were long, but he still wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on the National Hockey League playoffs. Back from scouting department meetings in Florida last week, Dorion said the Senators had mapped out several possibilities for what direction to take depending on what happens before the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 26. “We have a plan in place and we have multiple plans in place depending on where this hockey team goes and the direction we need to go to,” Dorion said. “We know we’re in a tough position right now. “For us to make the playoffs, there’s a huge challenge in front of us. This team has done it before and this team can do it again. If you look at the last four years, the average to make the playoffs is (95) points. We need 57 points. We’re not happy where we sit, but I really like what Mark Stone said: ‘Now is not the time to quit.’” There have been plenty of phone calls from interested teams. It’s believed forwards Mike Hoffman, Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau have received a lot of attention, while a few teams have called about defenceman Cody Ceci. Other NHL general managers know Ottawa is in a difficult position. “Contrary to what has been said out there, I haven’t shopped anyone,” Dorion said. “People are in the position we were in last year, where we were looking to add, and a lot of people are phoning. I still believe in this team, but, at a certain point, if we see we’re not in the playoffs, we’re going to look at every option possible. “We have good players on this team, and that’s why a lot of people are phoning.” The Senators have time before they have to make any decisions and, as Postmedia reported last weekend, there’s no need for Dorion to rush. The prices other teams are willing to pay will only increase as the deadline draws closer. “Six weeks away from the trade deadline, we can still be patient, and we will be,” Dorion said. “There’s not going to be any rash, impulsive decisions made. “We’re just going to stay the course and we need 57 points to make the playoffs and we’ve got 40 games left. We’re the one team that has played the least amount of hockey and we’ve got a lot of hockey left in front of us. I’m encouraged with the hockey we’ve played in the new year and I’m encouraged because I know those guys believe we can get to the playoffs.” Dorion said he had talked with owner Eugene Melnyk about the path the club would take in the coming days, but there was no discussion about moving players just to shed salary. “I’ve had discussions with Mr. Melnyk about multiple plans. I haven’t been given that direction (to move money) at all,” Dorion said. The Senators are trying to measure exactly what has gone wrong this season because this is essentially the same group that got within one goal of the 2017 Stanley Cup final before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in double overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final. “Last year, we got better as the season went on and we had a pretty good start,” Dorion said. “At times, you have to look at what’s happened and you have to analyze what’s happened. Sometimes a few things affect the big picture. “For us, we still feel we have a very good hockey team. We have to be realistic and, if we’re not going to make the playoffs, we’re going to have to make changes. When I got this job, I believed this was a playoff team, and, at the start of the year, I felt this was a playoff team. If we don’t do it, changes need to be made.” 1093811 Ottawa Senators

What's in a name? The Blues' Vince Dunn is on top of the hockey world

Ken Warren

St. Louis Blues 21-year-old rookie defenceman Vince Dunn has dealt with the namesake mix-up for years. For the record, he has never met or ever played against the other Vince Dunn, a 22-year-old Ottawa Senators farmhand with a checkered past. “Yeah, a lot of people get me confused with him,” the Blues’ Vince Dunn said before Thursday’s game against the Senators. “A lot of people tweet at me because I hear he’s a little bit of a crazy guy. I take a little bit of heat at my end. I’ve never met the guy. He played in the (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) growing up, so I never played against him. But I’ve heard some things.” The Senators’ Vince Dunn, a feisty winger from Gatineau with a long history of suspensions in the QMJHL, was drafted by Ottawa 158th overall in 2013. He’s currently playing with Brampton of the ECHL in the final year of his entry-level contract. The Blues’ Vince Dunn said his phone hadn’t stopped buzzing since he scored a game-winning goal in overtime against the Maple Leafs, the team he had cheered for as a child, in his hometown on Tuesday. “I’m fortunate to have fans, friends and family who are coming here (to Canadian Tire Centre) to watch,” he said. “It’s a pretty crazy feeling scoring that one. You dream about playing (at Air Canada Centre) as a kid, but you don’t dream about scoring the overtime winner, so I was pretty fortunate for that one to go in.” Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093812 Ottawa Senators

Chlapik in, Pageau out as Senators prepare for the St. Louis Blues

KEN WARREN

Filip Chlapik will replace the injured Jean-Gabriel Pageau in the Ottawa Senators lineup for Thursday night’s home game against the St. Louis Blues. Pageau received an upper-body injury in the Senators’ 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 10, the last game before the club’s bye week in the schedule. While Pageau skated briefly during practice Wednesday night, he wasn’t on the ice for Thursday’s morning skate. Senators head coach Guy Boucher also said it was unlikely Pageau would be ready for Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs. Chlapik, who has been on a yo-yo between the Senators and Belleville of the American Hockey League for the past few weeks, has two assists in seven games with Ottawa. On defence, Mark Borowiecki will return after being out of the lineup since Nov. 19 with a concussion. He will start Thursday’s contest paired with rookie Thomas Chabot. Freddy Claesson will be the healthy scratch on defence. Craig Anderson will start in goal against the Blues, who are coming off a 2-1 overtime win against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093813 Ottawa Senators Dorion said he accepted full responsibility for the Senators’ position and management had spent a lot of time evaluating the club in the past two weeks. GM Pierre Dorion says has a plan in place and he's not ready to give up “It starts with me as the head of hockey operations,” Dorion said. “The on the Senators management has to get the players, give them to the coaches, the coaches have to coach the players, but, at the same time, the players have to perform. Bruce Garrioch “When you’re in 29th place, even though we’ve played the least amount of games, you have to look at everything. Trust me. When we had the scouts in, they have a very different perspective than the coaches.” Pierre Dorion’s phone has been ringing off the hook for seven weeks. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.19.2018 That doesn’t mean he’s ready to make changes … yet. Addressing the media before Thursday’s home game against the St. Louis Blues, the Ottawa Senators general manager said he knew the odds were long, but he still wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on the National Hockey League playoffs. Back from scouting department meetings in Florida last week, Dorion said the Senators had mapped out several possibilities for what direction to take depending on what happens before the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 26. “We have a plan in place and we have multiple plans in place depending on where this hockey team goes and the direction we need to go to,” Dorion said. “We know we’re in a tough position right now. “For us to make the playoffs, there’s a huge challenge in front of us. This team has done it before and this team can do it again. If you look at the last four years, the average to make the playoffs is (95) points. We need 57 points. We’re not happy where we sit, but I really like what Mark Stone said: ‘Now is not the time to quit.’” There have been plenty of phone calls from interested teams. It’s believed forwards Mike Hoffman, Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau have received a lot of attention, while a few teams have called about defenceman Cody Ceci. Other NHL general managers know Ottawa is in a difficult position. “Contrary to what has been said out there, I haven’t shopped anyone,” Dorion said. “People are in the position we were in last year, where we were looking to add, and a lot of people are phoning. I still believe in this team, but, at a certain point, if we see we’re not in the playoffs, we’re going to look at every option possible. “We have good players on this team, and that’s why a lot of people are phoning.” The Senators have time before they have to make any decisions and, as Postmedia reported last weekend, there’s no need for Dorion to rush. The prices other teams are willing to pay will only increase as the deadline draws closer. “Six weeks away from the trade deadline, we can still be patient, and we will be,” Dorion said. “There’s not going to be any rash, impulsive decisions made. “We’re just going to stay the course and we need 57 points to make the playoffs and we’ve got 40 games left. We’re the one team that has played the least amount of hockey and we’ve got a lot of hockey left in front of us. I’m encouraged with the hockey we’ve played in the new year and I’m encouraged because I know those guys believe we can get to the playoffs.” Dorion said he had talked with owner Eugene Melnyk about the path the club would take in the coming days, but there was no discussion about moving players just to shed salary. “I’ve had discussions with Mr. Melnyk about multiple plans. I haven’t been given that direction (to move money) at all,” Dorion said. The Senators are trying to measure exactly what has gone wrong this season because this is essentially the same group that got within one goal of the 2017 Stanley Cup final before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in double overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final. “Last year, we got better as the season went on and we had a pretty good start,” Dorion said. “At times, you have to look at what’s happened and you have to analyze what’s happened. Sometimes a few things affect the big picture. “For us, we still feel we have a very good hockey team. We have to be realistic and, if we’re not going to make the playoffs, we’re going to have to make changes. When I got this job, I believed this was a playoff team, and, at the start of the year, I felt this was a playoff team. If we don’t do it, changes need to be made.” 1093814 Ottawa Senators

What's in a name? The Blues' Vince Dunn is on top of the hockey world

Ken Warren

St. Louis Blues 21-year-old rookie defenceman Vince Dunn has dealt with the namesake mix-up for years. For the record, he has never met or ever played against the other Vince Dunn, a 22-year-old Ottawa Senators farmhand with a checkered past. “Yeah, a lot of people get me confused with him,” the Blues’ Vince Dunn said before Thursday’s game against the Senators. “A lot of people tweet at me because I hear he’s a little bit of a crazy guy. I take a little bit of heat at my end. I’ve never met the guy. He played in the (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) growing up, so I never played against him. But I’ve heard some things.” Vince Dunn of Gatineau is now playing with the Senators’ ECHL affiliate in Brampton. The Senators’ Vince Dunn, a feisty winger from Gatineau with a long history of suspensions in the QMJHL, was drafted by Ottawa 158th overall in 2013. He’s currently playing with Brampton of the ECHL in the final year of his entry-level contract. The Blues’ Vince Dunn said his phone hadn’t stopped buzzing since he scored a game-winning goal in overtime against the Maple Leafs, the team he had cheered for as a child, in his hometown on Tuesday. “I’m fortunate to have fans, friends and family who are coming here (to Canadian Tire Centre) to watch,” he said. “It’s a pretty crazy feeling scoring that one. You dream about playing (at Air Canada Centre) as a kid, but you don’t dream about scoring the overtime winner, so I was pretty fortunate for that one to go in.” Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093815 Ottawa Senators

Chlapik in, Pageau out as Senators prepare for the St. Louis Blues

Ken Warren

Filip Chlapik will replace the injured Jean-Gabriel Pageau in the Ottawa Senators lineup for Thursday night’s home game against the St. Louis Blues. Pageau received an upper-body injury in the Senators’ 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 10, the last game before the club’s bye week in the schedule. While Pageau skated briefly during practice Wednesday night, he wasn’t on the ice for Thursday’s morning skate. Senators head coach Guy Boucher also said it was unlikely Pageau would be ready for Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs. Chlapik, who has been on a yo-yo between the Senators and Belleville of the American Hockey League for the past few weeks, has two assists in seven games with Ottawa. On defence, Mark Borowiecki will return after being out of the lineup since Nov. 19 with a concussion. He will start Thursday’s contest paired with rookie Thomas Chabot. Freddy Claesson will be the healthy scratch on defence. Craig Anderson will start in goal against the Blues, who are coming off a 2-1 overtime win against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093816 Ottawa Senators sometimes how we play as far as giving up quality scoring chances, which we have done more this year.”

He's not wrong about giving up more quality chances this year, but that Five takeaways from Senators GM Pierre Dorion's presser doesn't explain away just how bad Craig Anderson and Mike Condon have been. Their play is the main reason the Senators are where they are. By James Gordon Dorion talked about how many points the Senators would need to get into the playoffs. How much better would their goaltending need to be to make it? I looked back at the team save percentages of all the playoff Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion is back from the team's teams since the wild card system was implemented. winter scouting meetings, and on Thursday night he met with the media in the capital. Here's what I found: You may not have loved all his answers (and judging by the social media The average team save percentage for qualifying squads was .914; reaction while Dorion spoke, a lot of people didn't), but credit to him for stepping up and facing some of the many questions surrounding his Less than 20 per cent of the teams that qualified had a team save team. percentage lower than .910; He was honest in some areas and coy in others, but at least a picture is The qualifying squad with the lowest team save percentage was the starting to form of how the rest of the Senators' season might unfold. 2014-15 New York Islanders at .903; Let's go through it all and see if we can read in between the lines a little Of the 12 teams with save percentages lower than .910, six were bit. Here are five takeaways from Dorion's latest presser. bounced in the first round and three more bowed out in the second. They're not giving up … yet The Senators are currently sitting at .894 as a team (this includes empty- net goals). If they continued to allow shots at their current rate, they'd “We know we're in a tough position right now. For us to make the need to stop shots at a rate of .912 the rest of the way just to get to the playoffs, it's going to be a huge challenge in front of us,” Dorion said. minimum playoff threshold of .903 since the wild card system began. “This team's done it before, I think this team can do it again. That would represent a sudden, massive turnaround for two sub-.900 goalies. “Right now, if you look at the last four years, the average to make the last (playoff spot) was 95.5 (points) – the last team to qualify,” he continued. “I think since the new year, Craig has been really good, for the most part, “For us to do it, we need 57 points. We need to go – very simple – 28-11- except for that one game, but overall, we have faith in both guys and we 1, 27-10-3, 26-9-5, or 25-8-7 … we can keep on doing that exercise.” have faith in Marcus Hogberg one day taking over for those two guys,” said Dorion. Let's do one more exercise for kicks. Anderson has been better in January at .911, but that's still below the If the Senators were to gather 57 points in 40 games, they'd be doing so league average and he hasn't shown the ability to sustain good play over at a pace of 1.425 per game. With a little over half the season in the long periods of time this season. Mike Condon put up a .765 in one books, can you guess how many teams have accumulated points that abbreviated January appearance. quickly? When is trade time? The answer is one: the Tampa Bay Lightning. With all due respect to the Senators, they aren't Tampa Bay Lightning. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy's By the sounds of it, opposing general managers are circling like sharks. save percentage is a full 30 points higher than that of either of Ottawa's goalies. “Contrary to what has been said out there, I haven't shopped anyone,” Dorion said. “A lot of people are phoning…” Tampa also has six players with more than 13 goals this season. Ottawa has … one. The general manager insisted that the Senators can still afford to be patient given that the trade deadline is six weeks away. He also said he'd But the wild card! presented several plans to Eugene Melnyk based on how the Senators perform in the near future, but that he hadn't been given any direction “We're not going to fool anyone and tell you we are happy where we sit,” from ownership yet. Dorion said. “But I really like what Mark Stone said the last few days – now is not the time to quit. Not one of the players in that dressing room Melnyk recently threatened to cut payroll if the team doesn't sell more has asked me for a trade, and I honestly believe that they still feel they tickets. Given the Senators' financial constraints, if it becomes (even can make the playoffs.” more) clear that they aren't going to make the playoffs, you have to believe Melnyk will demand that expenses be pared back. Listen, now is not the time to “quit” in the most negative sense of the word. Fans still have tickets, there's still a show to put on, there's still The Senators shouldn't deal good players just to cut payroll, which was pride among players. As my The Athletic colleague Craig Custance noted what was rumoured to be happening when Mike Hoffman's name was in his excellent piece on the Winnipeg Jets' rebuild today, players hate being floated. the word “tank.” Nobody is suggesting they go out and try to lose. What they should do, however, is move some of the supporting cast and But in an organizational sense, it certainly is time to quit on this season see what they have in their youngsters. and maximize the value of the assets they've decided are expendable. The more teams that fill roster needs ahead of the trade deadline, the Again, the longer the Senators wait, the weaker their position will fewer potential buyers there are to potentially overpay Ottawa for its become. It behoves Dorion to go out and start making some calls instead players. of just accepting them. Yes, as Dorion pointed out, the Senators are 12 points back with five Chabot's future still up in the air games in hand on the team in the final wild-card spot. The problem is, Dorion was asked if the team's plan was to keep Thomas Chabot in the that isn't the only team to worry about. There are six others in front of the NHL. Senators, and they're also vying for that spot. “If we win tonight we might keep him here for the year,” he responded. Our Dom Luszczyszyn has the Senators at a two per cent probability of making the playoffs. They don't need more time to figure out how this This sounds like a case of Dorion trying to be funny, but he certainly season is going to play out. didn't give anything approaching a vote of confidence to his young defencemen. In fact, had the Senators not suffered injuries right before Because goalies the break and been short roster players, Chabot would have been back Dorion was asked about his goaltending, and he deflected. What else in Belleville last week. can he do? As I wrote here recently, he's in an extremely tight spot: he Had that scenario unfolded and Chabot had then been recalled, it would has two guys locked up long-term with no obvious escape hatches. have been fine. He should be playing as many games as possible. Had “Every player hits bumps in the road, sometimes it's the goalies, it's a bit he gone down and not been called back up with a healthy Mark more magnified,” Dorion said. “This year, I think it's not about their play, Borowiecki back? Indefensible. but sometimes being the last line, it sometimes gets exposed more, and Chabot is a 52.68 per cent Corsi player, second on the team behind Erik Karlsson. When they play together, Karlsson and Chabot are over 60 per cent (ridiculous). He's a weapon on the first or second power-play unit and has nine points in 23 games despite only averaging a shade over 15 minutes of ice time per game (also indefensible). The Senators didn't win, but if Chabot is sent down this point, it'll be pandemonium in the fan base. He is arguably the team's second-best defenceman. It'll be extremely interesting to see how Guy Boucher handles Chabot moving forward. The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093817 Philadelphia Flyers linemates John LeClair and Mikael Renberg during Thursday’s ceremonies.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.19.2018 Tyrell Goulbourne back in Flyers' lineup; Legion of Doom will be reunited by Sam Carchidi, STAFF WRITER

After sitting out a game as a healthy scratch, feisty winger Tyrell Goulbourne will return to the Flyers’ lineup Thursday night against Toronto. Eric Lindros’ No. 88 will be retired in 7 p.m. ceremonies at the Wells Fargo Center. The teams will have a pre-game skate after the ceremonies, and the puck will drop at 8:08 p.m. Goulbourne will be on a line with center Scott Laughton and winger Jori Lehtera. The Flyers are 3-0 in games Goulbourne has played, though he has been used sparingly. “He’s played really well for us; he’s a young guy who brings energy and a little bit of excitement to our lineup,” coach Dave Hakstol said after Thursday’s morning skate at the Wells Fargo Center. Goulbourne took his one-game benching in stride. “It’s part of the job with my role and the way I play and being a young guy,” he said. “It’s going to happen, and you just have to stay focused. I have to prepare the same way for every night.” With his speed and physicality, Goulbourne has done a good job on the forecheck in his limited playing time. “I think the more games he plays, the more comfortable he’ll get,” Laughton said. Young Flyers revere Lindros The Flyers are excited about the Lindros ceremony. “It’s going to be really cool and I think it will even be a good atmosphere for warm-ups,” Laughton said. “I think it’s exciting for all of us to see a guy we all watched growing up and see his number go up in the rafters. Just to see him around the room this morning and yesterday was pretty special for all our guys. “It was pretty cool for me to play in Oshawa, where his number is retired, and then come here and see it go up,” said Laughton, who played junior hockey there, as did Lindros from 1989-90 to 1991-92. Goulbourne said he “didn’t watch a ton of hockey” growing up in Edmonton. “My fondest memory of him was always picking him in the NHL (video game) when I was growing up,” he said with a smile. “That was a go-to back in the day.” Right winger Wayne Simmonds recalled his favorite Lindros moment. “We were playing in Toronto seven years ago, my first year in Philly, and he came out on the ice for us [at practice],” Simmonds said. “That was the first time I got a chance to meet him, so I thought that was pretty special. We had no clue [he would be there]. He just kind of showed up in the dressing room and all of a sudden he was on the ice with us at the morning skate. It was pretty awesome. He’s an awesome guy. He came to our practice rink yesterday and talked to all the boys and was here this morning. He’s been awesome to us.” As for the game, Simmonds said “we’re going to have all the ceremonies and the Leafs are going to want to come and squash our parade. We’re going to have to play good hockey, especially after the way we played against the Rangers the other night.” The Flyers were trounced in New York, 5-1, and their four-game winning streak was stopped. The Rangers ended a three-game losing skid. The Leafs will be trying to do the same thing Thursday. Breakaways Michal Neuvirth will make just his 10th start of the season and is expected to face Toronto’s Frederik Andersen. … Taylor Leier, Travis Sanheim, and Dale Weise will be healthy scratches. … Lindros will become the sixth Flyer to have his number retired, joining Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Barber, Barry Ashbee, and Mark Howe. … Lindros was scheduled to skate with his kids at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday afternoon. … Lindros will be reunited with his Legion of Doom 1093818 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers-Maple Leafs preview: Philly trying to sweep season series by Sam Carchidi,

Maple Leafs (25-17-4) at Flyers (20-16-8) Flyers try to bounce back; Neuvirth expected to get rare start WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday. WHERE: Wells Fargo Center. BROADCAST & STREAMING: NBCSP, NBCSports.com/live, 93.3 FM SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE: @BroadStBull and @samdonnellon on Twitter. KEY PLAYERS: Another game, another team trying to end a three-game losing streak when they face the Flyers. The Rangers did just that on Tuesday, whipping the visiting Flyers, 5-1. Now Toronto will try to get back on track. The Leafs have just two victories in their last eight games (2-3-3) and have dropped three straight. With a win, the Flyers would sweep the season series with Toronto for just the second time in the last 20 years. Toronto, 1-4 in its last five games against Eastern Conference opponents, has gotten 19 goals from Auston Matthews and former Flyer James van Riemsdyk. Patrick Marleau, 38, who is in his first year with the Maple Leafs after a sensational career with San Jose, has chipped in with 15 goals. Goalie Frederik Anderson is 22-13-3 with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Michal Neuvirth is expected to make a rare start for the Flyers, who are 4-0 in their last four games against teams with a winning record. Neuvirth, who has made just nine starts during an injury-plagued season, is 3-5-1 with a 2.39 GAA and .923 save percentage. All-star left winger Claude Giroux (54 points), Jake Voracek (53 points), and Sean Couturier (career-high 25 goals) are among the NHL leaders. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has nine goals and 32 points in 40 games. THINGS TO KNOW: Eric Lindros’ No. 88 will be retired in ceremonies that begin at 7 p.m. On Friday, Lindros will be reunited with Legion of Doom teammates John LeClair and Mikael Renberg as they play on a Flyers alumni team in an outdoor matchup against former Hershey Bears. The game will be played at Hersheypark Stadium…..Wayne Simmonds has a five-game point streak……On Tuesday, the Leafs allowed a goal with 57 seconds left, then lost in overtime to St. Louis, 2- 1…..Toronto just finished a 2-2-2 homestand. HEAD TO HEAD: The Flyers lead the overall series, 96-57-22-4, including a pair of 4-2 wins this season. This is the final regular-season meeting between the teams in 2017-18, COMING FLYERS GAMES: Saturday: 1 p.m. vs. New Jersey. Sunday: 12:30 p.m. at Washington. Tuesday: 7:30 p.m. at Detroit. Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093819 Philadelphia Flyers The Flyers wore No. 88 patches on their jerseys to salute Lindros. The former center’s number was everywhere — on the boards, on the ice, on banners that hung from the arena’s top level and virtually everywhere in Flyers rally late, stun Maple Leafs, 3-2, in OT behind Sean Couturier's the concourse. clutch goal “We’re going to have all the ceremonies and the Leafs are going to want to come in and squash our parade,” Simmonds said before the game. “We’re going to have to play good hockey, especially after the way we by Sam Carchidi, STAFF WRITER played against the Rangers the other night.” Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.19.2018 The Flyers appeared to be ruining the feel-good atmosphere created by a stirring pregame ceremony Thursday night in which Eric Lindros’ No. 88 was retired. But after 40 quiet minutes, they erased a 2-0 deficit with an unlikely comeback at the reverberating Wells Fargo Center. Flyers 3, Maple Leafs 2. Eighteen seconds into overtime, Sean Couturier scored from the left circle after taking a pass from Travis Konecny, enabling the Flyers to sweep all three games with Toronto this season. It marked the second time in the last 20 years that the Flyers swept the season series from the Maple Leafs. “The guys stuck together and came back hard in the third,” said Couturier, whose team had been 1-12-2 when trailing after two periods. Michal Neuvirth, who made 29 saves and played brilliantly, also had an assist on the winning goal. “He kept us in the game,” right winger Wayne Simmonds said. Couturier scored his 11th goal in the last 12 games after Neuvirth made a key save on Auston Matthews’ point-blank wrist shot down the other end. Rookie Nolan Patrick got the Flyers to within 2-1, scoring his first goal in 25 games with 18:27 left in the third. Patrick scored after stripping the puck from Mitch Marner behind the net and whipping a shot past Frederik Andersen. “That pushed us in the right direction,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “It’s a huge come-from-behind win,” Patrick said after the Flyers bounced back from a 5-1 loss Tuesday to the New York Rangers. “It was a pretty special night with the Lindros retirement jersey, too. It was a fun night.” A little over a minute after Patrick’s third goal of the season, Simmonds tied it, finishing off a two-on-one shorthanded rush with Val Filppula. It was just the Flyers’ second shorthanded goal of the season. With 2:50 left in regulation, Neuvirth made a sensational sprawling save to rob Toronto’s Patrick Marleau and keep the game tied, 2-2. Neuvirth stopped 29 of 31 shots. “Neuvy stole the show, in my opinion,” Hakstol said. Before the game, the arena was louder than at any Flyers game this season as Lindros’ No. 88 was raised to the rafters. But the crowd was quiet in the first two periods as the Leafs built a 2-0 lead. Connor Brown, a usual fourth-liner who played on the top line, and Frederik Gauthier scored 28 seconds apart in the second period to give the Leafs a 2-0 edge heading into the third period. After Shayne Gostisbehere (eight shots) lost the puck at the offensive blue line, Brown scored on a breakaway as his shot trickled through Neuvirth’s legs with 7:03 left in the second. Brown grew up near Scott Laughton and is best friends with the Flyers’ center. Twenty-eight seconds later, Gauthier scored his first goal in his seven games this season, knocking in a rebound. When Toronto’s William Nylander entered the zone on the left wing before the goal was scored, Gauthier may have been offside in the middle of the ice. Replays were inconclusive, and Hakstol – fearing a penalty if he was wrong – decided not to challenge it. Neuvirth was supposed to be part of a goalie platoon, but because of injuries and Brian Elliott’s strong play, he hasn’t played much this season. Thursday was just his 10th start, but, based on his strong play lately, he may get more action in the season’s second half. “Obviously, it was tough giving up two quick goals, but I survived it and regrouped after the second, so I was coming into the third with a clear mind,” Neuvirth said. 1093820 Philadelphia Flyers “I woke up this morning with a text from Mark Howe,” Lindros said. “You couldn’t start the day any better.”

Lindros later said his teammates “pushed me to be better” and were a Eric Lindros gets emotional reception from fans as No. 88 is retired major reason for his success. Breakaways by Sam Carchidi, STAFF WRITER During his speech, Lindros thanked the fans and his family and said LeClair deserved to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. … Lindros’ family and his Legion of Doom teammates, LeClair and Mikael Renberg, About six hours before his iconic No. 88 was raised to the rafters in front attended the ceremony…Scrappy winger Tyrell Goulbourne returned to of an ear-splitting sellout crowd Thursday, Eric Lindros grabbed the tiny the Flyers’ lineup and Taylor Leier was a healthy scratch. … Goalie hands of his 3-year-old son, Carl, and they skated around the Wells Michal Neuvirth made a rare start. Brian Elliott had started 18 of the Fargo Center ice. previous 19 games. The Flyers’ arena, which had No. 88 T-shirts on the seats for the fans Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.19.2018 who would arrive later, was empty, but the moment will be forever etched in the elder Lindros’ mind. Father and son. In the House That Eric Built. The place where he revitalized the franchise and laid the foundation for his Hall of Fame career. “We went out for 15, 20 minutes after the Leafs got off the ice,” Lindros said of his morning skate with his young son. “You just never know when you’re going to have a chance to do something like that with your kid. Carl’s at an age now where he’s starting to grasp hockey and understands what’s going on.” Considering the circumstances, Lindros said he’ll “never have a chance like that ever again. That moment is pure.” After the skate, Lindros, 44, said his son “came home – and he normally doesn’t nap – and he slept the entire afternoon with his Flyers jersey on. That’s the coolest part. He’s fired up” about the Flyers and the ceremony. Skating with his son on such a momentous day and night. Being reunited with teammates and longtime club officials. Receiving a slew of standing ovations during the emotional ceremony before the Flyers played the Maple Leafs. “It’s unbelievable. … You feel lucky,” said Lindros, choking up in a news conference before the ceremony. “This is one of those days you take [and cherish] for the rest of your life.” Lindros combined speed, talent, and size (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) and was the ultimate power forward. Despite having his career interrupted by multiple concussions, he had 659 points, including 290 goals, in 486 games with the Flyers. He averaged a franchise record 1.36 points per game during his eight seasons in Philadelphia. “To say Eric was a game-changer, doesn’t do it justice,” , the Flyers’ club president, said in a heartfelt speech during the on-ice ceremony. Holmgren later said to Lindros: “You are back where you belong … and this time, it’s forever.” Lindros’ number went up to the rafters and, ironically, was hung next to Bobby Clarke’s No. 16. Clarke, the Flyers great who led the team to a pair of Stanley Cup titles as a player, was the general manager when he and Lindros had a very public spat that centered on the way the team handled the big center’s medical issues. Lindros was asked whether, when he was dealt to the New York Rangers in 2001, he ever imagined his number would be retired by the Flyers. “No. You?” he asked a reporter, drawing laughs. “Yeah, what happened was difficult and frustrating.” With the help of Holmgren, who was then the team’s GM, Lindros and Clarke patched up their frosty relationship before the Winter Classic alumni game at Citizens Bank Park in 2011. Clarke attended Thursday’s ceremonies. Lindros saluted Clarke for the moves he made — especially the 1995 trade that brought John LeClair and Eric Desjardins to the Flyers — and said he appreciated that the influential Clarke went to bat for him to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame. “It was special,” he said. Lindros paused. “We disagreed on some things,” he said about their old feud. “But when it came down to hockey and if winning is it, I can’t question Bob and his desire” to try to build a champion. Besides Clarke and Lindros, Bernie Parent (No. 1), Mark Howe (2), Barry Ashbee (4), and Bill Barber (7) have had their numbers retired. 1093821 Philadelphia Flyers With 11 goals, 24 points and a plus-8 over 41 games, Aube-Kubel, said Degler, “is probably the most improved player who was on the roster the whole last season.’’ Still just 21, the 2014 second-round pick has Flyers' future takes another step forward with three promising prospects developed into a durable, heavy-bodied forechecker with some offensive skills – particularly a sneaky and accurate shot. He’s already exceeded his goal and point totals from a season ago. by Sam Donnellon, STAFF WRITER Wade Allison has 15 goals and 15 assists over 21 games in his sophomore season at Western Michigan University. Picked late in the second round of the 2016 draft, the power forward is also a plus-8 for the Broncos, currently ranked 11th in the USHO polls. Any Flyers prospects report should contain three names at the top: Oskar Lindblom, because many expected him already to be here; Morgan Frost, “He’s an elite player,’’ said Western Michigan head coach Andy Murray, the player obtained with the draft pick obtained by the St. Louis Blues in the former Flyers assistant and head coach of the L.A. Kings and St. the Brayden Schenn trade, and who is making that deal look more Louis Blues. At 6-2, 210, with two seasons of juniors already on his palatable by the game, as he tears it up in the OHL; and 19-year-old resume and an edge that fits the pro game well, the 20-year-old Allison is Carter Hart because, well, he’s a really good goalie who just excelled in considered by some scouts as pro ready. the high-pressure, no-room-for-mistakes World Junior Championships, and emerged with a gold medal around his neck. Drafted by the Flyers in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, Tanner Laczynski is another college player to keep an eye on. Just named the After a slow start that he acknowledged in December was influenced by Big Ten second star of the week following a five-point weekend against his failure to make the Flyers (as expected), Lindblom, 21, has rallied to Penn State, the Ohio State sophomore is having a breakout season, become the Phantoms’ second leading scorer with 27 points. among the nation’s leaders in points with 23 assists and 34 points. He has five goals and nine assists over his last eight games for the “He’s taken his play to a higher level with the plays that he’s making with Buckeyes, currently ranked sixth in the nation. the puck, largely through his efforts with the coverage that’s on him,” Phantoms coach Scott Gordon told the Allentown Morning Call recently. Isaac Ratcliffe, the 6-6 forward taken by the Flyers in the second round of last June’s draft, has 21 goals and 36 points for the Guelph Storm of the Amid a three-game pointless streak, Lindblom had a point in 14 of his OHL. He is also minus-13, one of nine players on the Storm who are previous 20 games before that (18 points). minus-9 or worse. “Heavy body, really tough to knock off the puck,’’ said Steve Degler, who Still 18 and in his second year of juniors, he will have to improve on that. broadcasts Lehigh Valley games. “He’s probably their most consistent player.’’ Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.19.2018 The and Canadian Hockey League Player of the Month for December, Frost has 27 goals and 44 assists over 42 games, already exceeding his numbers over 62 games the previous season. Click on to any OHL highlight package involving his first-place Saulte St. Marie Greyhounds and you are likely to see a deft move, slick pass or precise shot. He finds open space. He is constantly in a scoring position. But what invariably excites Flyers general manager Ron Hextall is the steady development of his 200-foot game. He was a minus-6 in his first season as a 16-year-old. He was plus-15 last season. This year? How about a plus-50! The Greyhounds, Wayne Gretzky’s old team, are 37-3-3 this season. Still just 18, Frost has been favorably compared to Claude Giroux and Simon Gagne at this juncture of each player’s career. Because he will be just 19 and still ineligible to play in the AHL next season, Frost must either make the Flyers out of camp or be returned to the Soo for a final season. Doubt they would mind. Morgan Frost playing for his current team, the Sault Set. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Handout After surviving a nationwide media blitz following Canada’s 3-1 gold- medal victory over Sweden, Hart is back with his junior team, the Everett Silvertips. Meanwhile, 6-7 Samuel Morin, whom some projected to make the Flyers, has played in two of the Phantoms’ recent games after being out of the lineup since Dec.7 with what was described, tongue-in-cheek, as a “body injury” by Gordon. Before playing in the middle game of a three-game set against Hershey over the weekend, the defenseman had missed 11 straight games. Also beset by injuries this season, Philippe Myers scored his third goal in a 4-1 loss to Wilkes-Barre Wednesday night. More important, it was his 10th game in a row after being hobbled for much of the season with a groin injury. “Very impressive to watch him skate, as big as he is,’’ Degler said of the 6-5 defenseman, who will turn 21 on Jan. 25. “He is getting more and more confident as his game reps go up. It’s easy to see why the Flyers like him.’’ Danick Martel, who earned a brief promotion to the Flyers with a hot start, suffered a broken jaw after a blow to the head during Saturday night’s Phantoms game in Hershey. Colby Williams, the Bears defenseman who delivered the blow, received a three-game suspension – and an immediate takedown by Lehigh Valley teammate Nicolas Aube- Kubel. Martel had surgery on the jaw Sunday and will miss his first AHL all-star game as a result; Lindblom was chosen to replace him. Playing for Reading at this time a season ago, Martel has 17 goals and nine assists in what has been a breakout season for him. 1093822 Philadelphia Flyers Lindros admits he left the Flyers under “less than ideal circumstances,” but, “my wife, Kina, and Paul Holmgren, both in their own ways, taught me to move on, to put in past any differences of opinion or hurt feelings. McCaffery: In retiring Eric Lindros’ No. 88, Flyers stayed true to “It’s time to put it behind.” themselves So, it’s behind. Eric Lindros has his rightful spot in Flyers lore, not just in the franchise Hall of Fame, but on the luxury level, with Clarke, Parent, By Jack McCaffery, Delaware County Daily Times Howe, Ashbee, Barber and Ed Snider. “It’s truly an honor,” he said. More, he will make sure his three children, Carl Pierre and twins Sophie and Ryan, understand the meaning. “We PHILADELPHIA >> Nolan Patrick met Eric Lindros, and looked him up will do our best,” he said, “to share the history and the heritage of the and down. The legend, he knew. The man, he realized, would match. Flyers organization.” “Even when you see him now, his hands are massive,” he said. “He is a Lindros will spread the legacy of the Flyers. big guy. He was a talented player and I wish I could have watched him play more. The Flyers will celebrate the legend of Lindros. “He’s obviously getting his number retired for a reason.” “Know you are back where you belong,” Holmgren, the team president, a Flyers legend himself, told Lindros. “And this time, it is forever.” Lindros had his No. 88 retired by the Flyers Thursday, and there were reasons. He is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was one of the great The gap in the Flyers history has been closed. They could not have Flyers captains. He was a gold medalist in the Olympics. He was an NHL afforded to leave it open. MVP. He led the Flyers into the Stanley Cup Finals. But there was one Burlington County Times LOADED: 01.19.2018 reason more than the rest. It was because the Flyers are at their best when they are integrating their past, their present and, in some cases, their future. Patrick is 19, the second overall pick in the last draft. Some night, and that night would be decades away, he could have such a ceremony in his honor. Maybe not. But he has franchise-defining talent, or so the scouts hint. Either way, he would be reminded Thursday that there is something that makes the Flyers different. It’s not championships. It’s a deep, deep pride in an organization, even if it rarely does win championships. That’s not easy. But the Flyers make it look that way. “You kind of learn that right when you get here,” Patrick said. “The culture has been the same for a long time, everyone says. And obviously, there has been some great history in this organization. So it is pretty cool to be a part of it.” Patrick was a part of it Thursday. So was Bernie Parent, who is 53 years older. Shayne Gostisbehere was a part of it, as was Bobby Clarke. Wayne Simmonds was part of it, and, for him, it all felt right. “We were playing in Toronto, maybe seven years ago, my first year in Philly,” Simmonds said. “And Eric came out on the ice with us for the morning skate. That was the first time I had a chance to meet him. So that was kind of special. We had no clue he was going to do it. He just kind of showed up in the dressing room and all of a sudden he was on the ice with us. So that was pretty cool.” There was a time when Lindros reconnecting with the Flyers would have seemed unlikely. Injuries and how they may or may not have been diagnosed, contracts and how they may or may not have been interpreted, playoff results and how they may or may not have reflected Lindros’ contributions were in dispute. The Lindros family felt one way, the Flyers another. It was business. It was personal. It was unnecessary. Then, Lindros had no idea he would ever have his uniform number pulled to the rafters beside those of Parent, Clarke, Bill Barber, Barry Ashbee and Mark Howe. “No,” he said. “Did you?” Ahhhh … yeah, actually. It may have taken time. But the Flyers were destined to fill that unsightly gap in the row of flags. Lindros, who rebooted the Flyers’ legendary physical style, earned and deserved that honor. But more, the Flyers needed that honor. For if they had allowed some clumsy internal dispute to deny it, they would not have been punishing Lindros. They would have been scarring their own souls. “We’ve always taken a lot of pride,” Clarke said, “that players play here are a part of us.” The players are a part of the Flyers, and the Flyers are a part of the players. And even if that yielded only yielded two Stanley Cups in their first 50 seasons, it did yield eight trips to the finals, the Super Bowl of hockey. The players made the history. But on some level, this history helped make the players. No one better reflected that than Lindros. “He did it every which way,” Simmonds said. “He powered through you. He stickhandled around you. And if you wanted to drop the gloves, he’d drop the gloves and beat the crap out of you. So he was a special player and obviously that’s why he is having his number retired.” 1093823 Philadelphia Flyers Goulbourne, a rookie known for his on-ice zest, had played sparingly in three games. He logged 3:11 of ice time Thursday, playing six shifts.

The Flyers have been encouraged by the consistency of rookie Flyers notebook: Eric Lindros not satisfied with progress of concussion defenseman Robert Hagg. research “He has just really been a very, very consistent player with what he does,” Hakstol said. “And he has been able to bring that game to us. He’s By Jack McCaffery, Delaware County Daily Times a young player and he has logged some heavy minutes and some important minutes for us, and he has gone through some of the ups and downs like every young player does. But his peaks and valleys have been pretty even and he’s been able to maintain a real good level of play PHILADELPHIA >> In more ways than one, Eric Lindros’ Flyers career for us.” gave him a headache. In 45 games, Hagg has a goal and an assist. By Thursday, when his number 88 was retired by the Flyers in a tasteful ceremony before a 3-2 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, The New Jersey Devils will visit the Wells Fargo Center Saturday some of that stress had fully vanished. Finally, he and his family and the afternoon at 1. Flyers organization were at peace. Burlington County Times LOADED: 01.19.2018 It will take a long time, however, before Lindros is satisfied that enough is being done to shield athletes from the kind of concussions that ultimately put limits on his Hall of Fame career. “No, we’re nowhere near,” he said. “We’re nowhere near, and a lot of that stems from the research. It’s a tough one. It’s a tough one to go about. I’m not so sure the research is occurring and getting the most out of it. Are we sharing our results on time? Are we sharing them fully? Are we expressing some situations where our outcomes were poor? Well, let’s share those just the same as any wins, so people don’t have to duplicate them. “Finds are hard to come by. If people worked together, that would be a really big step. But it’s never really happened in the research world. It’s going to take some time to change that culture.” As far as the Flyers’ culture, Lindros was delighted to watch his retired- number banner rise to the rafters. “Are you kidding?” Lindros said. “I mean, look at some of the names that are up there already. I woke up this morning with a text from Mark Howe; my day couldn’t have started any better. It’s great. You’ve got Bob (Clarke) up there and Bernie (Parent) who’s always got a great spirit. Barry Ashbee, Billy Barber. It’s a real thrill, truly a special honor.” The Flyers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win when Sean Couturier scored 18 seconds into overtime from Travis Konecny and Michal Neuvirth. “We didn’t change our game plan, even if we were down,” said Couturier, who scored his 26th goal of the season. “We came back. That was a huge win.” The Flyers weren’t officially claiming as much, but there was a sense that they did not recover well from their recent bye week. After a victory in New Jersey Saturday, they were thumped, 5-1, by the Rangers Tuesday in Madison Square Garden. “We had a quick day of practice, the game in Jersey and then another whole day off,” Dave Hakstol said. “It’s not the rhythm you would like to be in at this time of year. But at the same time, those are the quirks in the schedule that you have to deal with, that everybody has to deal with. We didn’t play well in New York against the Rangers. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. Those are two points that are gone. You don’t get another chance at those.” Wayne Simmonds was confident the Flyers would recover from the New York defeat. “We are in the thick of a playoff run,” he said. “For us, it is: Learn from the negatives and move forward. We want to be one-and-done with losses.” Even on the most positive of nights involving Lindros’ association with the Flyers, there was a distinct chance Thursday that when his parents, Carl and Bonnie, were introduced, the 19,860 fans might react negatively. Both were at the front of the long-ago battle between the Flyers and the Lindros family. But realizing the potential for a negative reaction, public address announcer Lou Nolan was quick to point out that the two would be accompanied to the ice by John LeClair and Mikael Renberg. The cheers for the wings on the legendary Legion of Doom line, which was centered by Lindros, muffled any growling. Hakstol reinserted Tyrell Goulbourne into the lineup Thursday. Goulbourne did not play against the Rangers Monday. “He’s played very well for us,” Hakstol said. “He is a young guy that brings energy and adds a little bit of excitement to our lineup. He’s done a very good job for us in his limited time here.” 1093824 Philadelphia Flyers • The Flyers worked a power play in the final two minutes of the opening period as Hyman tripped up Gostisbehere unnecessarily. “Ghost” unleashed a slap shot early that handcuffed Simmonds, who was looking Flyers go from running on E to comeback for 'Big E' for a shot where he could extend his hands a little bit more. Gostisbehere also had a prime opportunity as he broke in underneath the Leafs’ coverage for a quality scoring chance. By John Boruk | NBC Sports Philadelphia January 18, 2018 10:40 PM • The Flyers continued to play with fire as they gave Toronto a shorthanded opportunity. Overall, it was a pretty good first period for the Flyers, who have struggled to score in the first 20 minutes with just five goals over their last 11 games. On a night when a sold-out Wells Fargo Center crowd celebrated “Big E,” the Flyers responded with an equally big ‘W’ by beating the Toronto • Interestingly, Dave Hakstol had Lehtera as one of his penalty-killers. Maple Leafs, 3-2, in overtime to sweep the three-game regular-season Lehtera, who’s not exactly fleet of foot, had a chance to jump on a loose series. puck and clear the zone, but simply couldn’t get there quick enough. Overall, the Flyers’ PK did a solid job of pressuring the Leafs from the top Sean Couturier scored his 26th goal just 18 seconds into the extra of the circle to the blue line, not allowing them to setup and ultimately no session on a feed from Travis Konecny. shots on goal. The Flyers trailed, 2-0, after the first two periods, but erased that deficit in • If you enjoy the defensive part of the game, then you would have loved the first 3:25 of the third period. watching Couturier battle with Matthews. Couturier refused to give Nolan Patrick opened the scoring in the third with his third goal of the Matthews any room to maneuver with the puck. The Matthews line was season. clicking earlier this season when the Flyers faced the Leafs in Toronto, but not so much in mid-January. Wayne Simmonds scored his 16th goal of the season and the second shorthanded goal for the Flyers this season, which tied the game at 2-2. • There was a very good save sequence from Neuvirth around the 12- Simmonds now has a point in six straight games (four goals, two assists). minute mark of the second period as the Leafs had several whacks right around the crease area. Neuvirth stood his ground, looked calm and Michal Neuvirth stopped 29 of 31 shots as the Flyers’ backup netminder maintained his positioning for any rebounds. has now won his last two starts. • The Flyers came up empty with two of their best scoring opportunities • The Leafs snapped a scoreless tie in the second period when Shayne from the high-danger area in the span of a minute. First, Konecny missed Gostisbehere attempted to keep the puck in the offensive zone. wide of the net, and then later, Jordan Weal’s shot was blocked by Leafs Gostisbehere missed it completely, and with Ivan Provorov already defenseman Gardiner. For Konecny, that’s a shot he has to bury. pinching, only Couturier was back at the blue line. Couturier couldn’t catch Connor Brown, who broke in all alone on Neuvirth and beat him Lineups, pairings and scratches through the five-hole for a 1-0 Toronto lead. “Ghost” has to make sure Forwards that puck doesn’t squirt past him. Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Travis Konecny • Just 28 seconds later, the Flyers surrendered another goal on a fluky play as Jake Gardiner harmlessly shot the puck on net from the left Michael Raffl-Valtteri Filppula-Jakub Voracek circle. Neuvirth made the initial stop, but the puck popped up straight in the air. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Robert Hagg couldn’t prevent Jordan Weal-Nolan Patrick-Wayne Simmonds Frederik Gauthier from getting a shot off. Neuvirth either lost track of it or the puck was tipped on the way to the net, but it put the Flyers down 2-0. Tyrell Goulbourne-Scott Laughton-Jori Lehtera • The Flyers finally came to life when Patrick scored perhaps his most Defenseman impressive goal of the season. After his initial shot from a sharp angle Ivan Provorov-Shayne Gostisbehere was turned aside and bounced behind the net, Patrick tenaciously chased down Mitch Marner, stripped the puck and turned to fire a shot Robert Hagg-Andrew MacDonald that caught Frederik Andersen by surprise. Patrick continues to improve his play and show more jump in the offensive zone. He had a strong first Brandon Manning-Radko Gudas period and followed it up with a goal. Goalies Nolan Patrick with the effort goal as he scores for the first time in 25 Michal Neuvirth games. Brian Elliott Presented by @SkiJFBB. pic.twitter.com/Bha6uCa78Y Scratches: Forwards Taylor Leier (healthy) and Dale Weise (healthy), — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 19, 2018 and defenseman Travis Sanheim (healthy). • Neuvirth made the save of the game off a 2-on-1 when Patrick Marleau Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 had a wide-open net. Neuvirth went post to post and was able to extend his right pad just enough to kick away Marleau’s shot. Late in the third. Tie game. WHAT A SAVE! pic.twitter.com/Rf8N0BxljX — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 19, 2018 • The Jori Lehtera interference penalty was absolutely ridiculous. The referees allowed both teams to play without much officiating and then whistled Lehtera for a penalty they had no business calling. • It was a tight-checking game in the opening five minutes. The only sustained pressure came from the Leafs’ top line of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Zach Hyman. The Flyers had a good look when Claude Giroux was able to feed Provorov, who came into the high slot untouched. However, Provorov’s one-timer hit Andersen in the chest. • There was a great save from Neuvirth that started after Jakub Voracek was caught stick handling too much just inside the Leafs’ blue line. That led to a 2-on-1 rush with James van Riemsdyk leading the rush up the left side. Neuvirth did a fantastic job of anticipating the pass to Tyler Bozak, who was cutting down the middle of the ice. 1093825 Philadelphia Flyers

Watch Eric Lindros' heartfelt speech

By Jordan Hall | NBC Sports Philadelphia January 18, 2018 9:30 PM

As the Flyers honored Eric Lindros on Thursday night, raising his iconic No. 88 to the Wells Fargo Center rafters, Paul Holmgren delivered a fitting salute to "Big E." "You are back where you belong," the Flyers' president said during the pregame festivities. "This time, it's forever." The crowd erupted before giving way to Lindros. Just hours before his jersey retirement ceremony, the hockey Hall of Famer was taken aback by the calm before the storm. "I just walked the concourse and this morning I went for a stroll to see all the shirts in the seats, it’s unbelievable," Lindros said. "This is one of those days that you take for the rest of your life. It's a special moment and you really feel lucky." Then, Lindros was in awe when he took the podium. "Wow, ha ha!" Lindros said as the fans roared. "This is crazy. Thank you, so much." Lindros thanked his family, the organization and, of course, the fans. Here was the touching finish to his speech, which you can watch in its entirety in the video above, along with the jersey being hoisted above the ice. Flyers players are lucky to play in a city where the fans truly know the game of hockey, appreciate the little things and are of course rowdy, but also show heart. Like you showed the night that Mario Lemieux returned from his battle with cancer — a standing ovation, very classy and I won't forget it. It's no secret that when I left Philadelphia, it was under less-than-ideal circumstances. I believe I'm here today, hockey aside, because of two people: my wife, Kina, and Paul Holmgren. Both, in their own ways, have taught me to move on, put in the past any differences of opinion, any hard feelings. It was time to remember the great moments I experienced here in Philadelphia, the friendships I have built in this great city and the respect I have for the fans of this team. Just the 6th player of 600 to get his jersey retired.

What an honor for #88⃣ .⃣ pic.twitter.com/GoDF3ZETMe — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 19, 2018 88...One of a kind pic.twitter.com/VenU9umpI4 — John Boruk (@johnborukNBCS) January 19, 2018 In the rafters forever. pic.twitter.com/kFdK4H5BlL — Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 19, 2018 Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093826 Philadelphia Flyers true and absolutely be the case for us. It’s a busy schedule both in the short-term and the long term in the next 11-plus weeks of regular season. There’s a lot of hockey to be played.” Flyers vs. Maple Leafs: 3 things to watch in Game 45 2. Patrick's line Dave Hakstol said he thought Nolan Patrick's unit with Jordan Weal and Dave Isaac, @davegisaac Published 7:00 a.m. ET Jan. 18, 2018 Wayne Simmonds was the Flyers' best against the Rangers Tuesday night.

"I think a good thing our line’s been doing is we’ve been backchecking Tonight: Flyers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs really well and we’ve actually been getting a lot of turnovers near the top of the offensive zone blue line and turn it into offensive opportunities," Site: Wells Fargo Center / Philadelphia, Pa. Simmonds said. "That comes with checking. It’s not always in your own zone. Obviously when you are in your zone you have to buckle down and Time: 7:00 p.m. make sure you’re doing the right things but you can prevent it even TV/Radio: NBCSP/93.3 FM before you get into the neutral zone." Records: Maple Leafs 25-17-4; Flyers 20-16-8 3. Goalie matchup PROSPECT WATCH: Tanner Laczynski could be a late-round hit Michal Neuvirth appears to have earned a start for only the second time since returning from an injury on Dec. 28. It will be his 18th career game FLYERS PROJECTED LINEUP against Toronto, which matches Florida for the most times he's faced any opponent. In the first 17, he has a 9-5-1 record with a 2.84 goals-against Forwards average and .902 save percentage. 28-Claude Giroux, 14-Sean Couturier, 11-Travis Konecny Frederik Andersen will likely be between the pipes for Toronto. In eight 12-Michael Raffl, 51-Valtteri Filppula, 93-Jake Voracek games against the Flyers, he is 6-2-0 with a 2.84 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. 40-Jordan Weal, 19-Nolan Patrick,17-Wayne Simmonds Courier-Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 20-Taylor Leier, 21-Scott Laughton, 15-Jori Lehtera Defensemen 9-Ivan Provorov & 53-Shayne Gostisbehere 8-Robert Hagg & 47-Andrew MacDonald 23-Brandon Manning & 3-Radko Gudas Goalie 30-Michal Neuvirth Injuries/Suspensions none MAPLE LEAFS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards 11-Zach Hyman, 34-Auston Matthews, 29-William Nylander 12-Patrick Marleau, 43-Nazem Kadri, 47-Leo Komarov 25-James van Riemsdyk, 42-Tyler Bozak, 16-Mitch Marner 15-Matt Martin, Trevor Moore, 28-Connor Brown Defensemen 44-Morgan Rielly & 2-Ron Hainsey 51-Jake Gardiner & 8-Connor Carrick 23-Travis Dermott & 46-Roman Polak Goalie 31-Frederik Andersen Injuries/Suspensions D Nikita Zaitsev — out two weeks, foot injury RW Nikita Soshnikov — injured reserve, lower-body injury LW Joffrey Lupul — long-term injured reserve, unfit to play THREE THINGS TO WATCH 1. Neuvirth's sharpness Consistency has been hard to find for Michal Neuvirth in part because an injury took him out of the equation for nine games and in part because Brian Elliott was playing well. Now Elliott is struggling and Neuvirth has a chance. “We went through the long stretch with Neuvy injured and coming back off of that he’s gotten into limited action,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “But after his last game (he stopped all but one of the Buffalo Sabres’ 31 shots Jan. 7) he was back to the level we need him to be at. I said it all along…I said we’re going to need both guys. That’s absolutely gonna be 1093827 Philadelphia Flyers No challenge On the second Toronto goal the Flyers thought for a long while about challenging for offside. It sure looked to be the case, but the rule has Flyers 5 takeaways: Michal Neuvirth stars in comeback win been a topic of conversation recently and whether a skate should have to be on the ice or just cross a plane like the goalline in football. Dave Isaac, Jan. 19, 2018 Gauthier, the goal scorer, seemed to have his right foot in the air and hovering above the line. Hakstol opted not to challenge, knowing that if he lost it the team would be penalized due to a new rule this season. The Flyers were burned by the rule early in the season in Nashville and it PHILADELPHIA — There wasn’t much more Michal Neuvirth could have ended up costing them the game. done to propel the Flyers to victory. pic.twitter.com/tRPZC4khd5 He was even credited with an assist on the game-winning goal in overtime. — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 19, 2018 The Flyers needed goaltending with Brian Elliott getting worn down and If the review were called like goalie interference, in which there’s no Neuvirth was humongous with 29 saves to give the Flyers a 3-2 penalty for an incorrect challenge, Hakstol said he probably would have comeback overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. done it. “Three, at least, 10-bell saves by Neuvy,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “I “I think it’s offside,” the coach said. “I just don’t know if there’s enough don’t think that’s lost on anybody in the building and for sure not in our there clearly to overturn the call. We had just given up two quick ones. I dressing room. He was tremendous.” felt like our team was playing pretty well and I just didn’t want to put us in a situation where you flip a coin as to whether or not you’re gonna have Even when the Flyers were down two quick goals in the span of 28 to go kill a two-minute minor.” seconds — a breakaway from Connor Brown and a quick shot from Frederik Gauthier — Neuvirth kept the Flyers in it. Penalty kill adjustments? They didn’t respond until the third, giving them only their second victory Simmonds scored the tying goal less than two minutes after Patrick got of the season when trailing after two periods. on the board. “So huge,” Neuvirth said of his confidence. “Came down 2-0. When we He took a feed from Valtteri Filppula and buried his 16th goal of the tied it, it was like, ‘OK, it’s 0-0. You’ve got to be at your best right now.’ I season and first shorthanded. It has been a theme from the Flyers in was just focusing on the next shot. Just happy the way the guys recent games. Sean Couturier, who scored the overtime winner 18 responded in the third.” seconds in, had an odd-man rush with Giroux earlier in the game. Elliott played in 34 of the Flyers’ first 41 games. He hasn’t appeared in Tuesday against the Rangers Giroux was stopped on a 2-on-1 more than 50 in the last six seasons. They’ll need Neuvirth in the second shorthanded also. It seems like the Flyers are pressuring more half of the season and he did his job Tuesday, likely earning himself a aggressively on the penalty kill, but they say that's not the biggest factor. start Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. “I think we’ve just been more responsible, everyone doing their job, In the past, the Flyers have used Neuvirth against some of the quicker trusting each other,” Simmonds said. “That’s huge. When you don’t trust teams because he’s very agile and moved post to post faster than Steve each other, I think that’s when you kind of get the breakdowns. We gotta Mason. He’s also quicker than Elliott and was tested in that regard in the continue doing that. The guys have been doing a good job. Just keep first period on a couple odd-man rushes. doing that.” No save was bigger than with two minutes and change left when Patrick Fun with numbers Marleau had a one-timer on a 2-on-1 and Neuvirth robbed him with a right-pad save. • Couturier’s goal was his 12th in his last 11 games. Simmonds joked that they’re called him “Rocket” because he’s red hot and everyone is feeding We need to report a robbery by @mneuvirth30. him the puck because he doesn’t seem to miss. pic.twitter.com/WoUxc5BEB1 • Tyrell Goulbourne, who Hakstol lauded at the morning skate for bringing — NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) January 19, 2018 energy, played only 3:11. He had two shifts in the second period, the last one being the Gauthier goal, and none in the third. He figured he would have to deal with some odd-man rushes against a fast Toronto team. • Toronto has now lost four straight games, all by one goal. The Flyers desperately needed the comeback to keep pace in the division after the “I kind of expected what I saw in New York (in cleanup duty against the Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets and Devils all Rangers),” Neuvirth said. “A fast game and we gave up one breakaway won Thursday night. and they scored a goal. So that’s not good, but the two points…huge.” Courier-Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 Here are four more takeaways from Thursday night’s game… Patrick’s progression For the last couple games, the line of Jordan Weal, Nolan Patrick and Wayne Simmonds has been playing well. Everyone had been sharing in the positive play and it continued Thursday, but for the first time in a while Patrick stood out and it happened before he scored his first goal in 25 games. He cleanly stripped Mitch Marner of the puck and in one fell swoop turned and scored on Frederik Andersen. “I was slumping for a while there,” Patrick said. “I tried to forget how many games it was without a goal and just play. I thought I was playing some good hockey lately. I thought my linemates were both great tonight. No one got negative when we got down two goals so it was big for our team.” The rookie said he didn’t think his abdominal surgery last June had caused his skating to come back slower than normal. That was the case for both Claude Giroux and Shayne Gostisbehere last season. He says he’s just feeling more acclimated to the NHL. “I think it’s confidence,” Patrick said. “My body’s feeling really good. I think I’ve been focusing on supporting the puck better and playing faster. I know my linemates will find me if I’m coming through the middle with speed. That’s something I tried to focus on tonight.” 1093828 Philadelphia Flyers

What Flyers see in Jori Lehtera, the exception to NHL’s prototype

Dave Isaac Jan. 18, 2018

PHILADELPHIA — Players who don’t come over to the NHL until later in their 20s often find they need to make an adjustment to stay. Jori Lehtera’s was that he wasn’t going to be a point producer. In Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League he was nearly a point-per-game player and in the NHL he peaked early with 44 points in 75 games in his first season with the St. Louis Blues. “The last couple years I’ve been starting to take pride in winning battles, putting pucks in the smart spots and doing that kind of stuff,” he said. “It’s more when you get older and look to hockey in another way…seven years ago I wouldn’t have been able to do that.” Lehtera hasn’t scored more than 10 goals since his first season, perhaps a reason the Blues were so eager to trade him to Philadelphia at the draft along with two first-round draft picks for Brayden Schenn. At age 30, it’s unlikely he finally finds a scoring touch. The Flyers have still found value in him and it rarely translates onto the scoresheet. He is among their best forwards in battling along the boards for possession of the puck. Thursday night against Toronto was Lehtera’s fifth consecutive game, his longest stretch since playing a dozen straight from Oct. 19 to Nov. 14. “He’s a really reliable player that thinks the game well,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “He’s reliable and real heavy on pucks. That goes unnoticed. He creates turnovers defensively with his intelligence and his stick. Offensively, he creates possession with very good little plays. Heavy plays on the forecheck. All kinds of small area plays.” If scoring were expanded to a third assist, Lehtera would be credited as more of a playmaker. His ability to create open space for teammates is stronger than his passing skill and certainly his shot. He won’t win a foot race for the puck, but might stick his rear end into a defender and be able to dish the puck to a teammate trailing the play. “It’s been really fun to play with him, to be honest,” center Scott Laughton said. “To be in the offensive zone, he creates stuff off the cycle and makes little five-foot plays. He sees the ice really well. He’s a really well- liked guy in the room too, which helps. I’ve really enjoyed it.” And clearly Hakstol values him despite the fact that, “his game isn’t based on having that fifth gear.” He has seen playing time over rookies Taylor Leier and Tyrell Goulbourne and the coach points to Lehtera’s defensive play as a reason why. According to hockey-reference.com, Lehtera had started in his defensive zone 51.3 percent of his shifts which is the highest in his career. Lehtera has seen time on the penalty kill as well as the power play, where he was also the net-front presence for the Blues. The special teams minutes have helped him too. Often times the players who only go out at even strength struggle with the inconsistency of when they’re on the ice. The NHL has changed in such a way that speed is valued over size and Lehtera has survived despite being the exception to the rule. “When the goals and assists and points and those kinds of thing happen, they happen and you’re gonna get more self-confidence,” Lehtera said, “but for now I’m kind of happy how I’m playing without the points, winning battles and playing smart.” Loose Pucks Goulbourne returned to the lineup for the Flyers after sitting out Tuesday’s game against the Rangers. He replaced Leier, who was one of few Flyers to play well in that game. … The game time was delayed more than an hour Thursday night for the ceremony honoring Eric Lindros. His No. 88 was retired by the Flyers and now hangs in the rafters of Wells Fargo Center. … Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, son of ex-Flyer Kjell and possible first-round pick in this summer’s draft, committed to playing at the University of Western Michigan. Mattias’ brother Lukas already plays there. Courier-Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093829 Pittsburgh Penguins

Former 1st-rounder Jamie Oleksiak quietly showing pedigree with Penguins

JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, 7:00 p.m.

A month ago Friday, Jamie Oleksiak was traded from the Dallas Stars to the Penguins for a fourth-round draft pick. During the short time since, his reputation has undergone a radical transformation. The 6-foot-7 defenseman known as the Big Rig has gone from flashpoint figure who symbolized years of failure in Big D to a perfectly complementary piece quietly helping the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions get their season back on track. It's a testament to the power of expectations. The Stars picked Oleksiak 14th overall in the 2011 draft, right in the middle of a stretch of five consecutive non-playoff seasons. Two years before, they took forward Scott Glennie eighth overall. The year after that, they took goalie Jack Campbell 11th. Neither panned out. Oleksiak's name got lumped in with a group of players who were used as an example of how poorly the Stars had drafted and developed since they last lifted the Stanley Cup in 1999. Fans who valued analytics decried his shot-attempt stats. Fans who trusted their eyes fretted over his decisions with the puck. New coach Ken Hitchcock played him at forward for a game. The cry to bench Oleksiak in favor of prospect Julius Honka grew louder. Finally, on Dec. 19, the deal was made. “I know we had a lot of people in our hockey (operations) department that were real excited to get Jamie when we got him and I think we can see why,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He's a good, solid defenseman that we think has a lot more upside.” Oleksiak hasn't magically morphed into a Norris Trophy candidate since joining the Penguins, but he has been more than solid, especially given his role as a third-pair defensemen. In the realm of advanced statistics, he has a 53.4 shot-attempt percentage with the Penguins, better than the 49.5 he amassed in parts of six seasons in Dallas. The Penguins have been outscored 8-7 when he has been on the ice at even strength, but his rates of shots against and goals against per 60 minutes are tops among the team's regular defensemen. More traditional statistics paint an even rosier picture. In 12 games with the Penguins, he has two goals, two assists and two fighting majors. Both goals came in memorable victories this month, a 5-1 rivalry blowout at Philadelphia and a 6-5 overtime barn burner with Boston. Oleksiak gave credit for his surging play to the overall improvement the Penguins have made to their team game since the turn of the calendar. They're 5-2 this month heading into a matchup with the Los Angeles Kings late Wednesday night. “I think just as a group we've kind of come together and put in the work day by day,” Oleksiak said. “I can't pinpoint one specific moment. As a team, through the rocky times, we've used that to kind of gain some chemistry. It's good to build that character through the lows. We're riding a high right now, but we can't get too high. We have to stick to what's getting us wins.” Even more than the team's resurgence, though, Oleksiak might be benefiting from an adjustment of expectations. Is he playing well enough to justify his draft position seven years ago? What do the Penguins care? They only gave up a fourth-round pick to get him. “He's a big, strong kid,” Sullivan said. “He's a good skater for his size. He's got a bomb of a shot, and he can make an outlet pass. For a big man, he's got pretty good stick skills. “I think he's getting more and more comfortable with how we're trying to play the game. His confidence, I think, is getting higher and that always helps a player. We really like what we've seen from Jamie to this point.” Tribune Review LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093830 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins bounce back with road win over Kings

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, 12:57 a.m.

LOS ANGELES — Patric Hornqvist scored two goals, and Evgeni Malkin got the tiebreaking goal early in the third period of the Penguins' fifth win in six games, 3-1 over the slumping Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. Casey DeSmith stopped 28 shots to earn his first NHL victory in his third career appearance. Malkin had a goal and an assist as the Penguins bounced back from a loss in Anaheim one night earlier with a solid effort at Staples Center in the second stop of the back-to-back Stanley Cup champs' three-game California trip. Hornqvist scored in the opening minute and got another during a five- minute power play midway through the third after Dustin Brown got a game misconduct penalty for sending a kneeling Justin Schultz into the boards near the Kings' bench. Schultz stayed down for a long moment before skating off gingerly. Adrian Kempe scored, and Jonathan Quick made 28 saves for the Kings, who have lost five straight for the first time this season. The Kings took two minor penalties while trailing in the final minutes, eliciting boos from the sellout crowd. DeSmith was solid in his first game since Dec. 9 for the Penguins, although the Kings didn't test him strenuously. The AHL All-Star selection is filling in as Tristan Jarry's backup while Matt Murray is on indefinite leave after his father's death. Hornqvist put the Penguins ahead just 43 seconds after the opening faceoff when his shot deflected off Kings defenseman Derek Forbort and somehow beat Quick from long range. Hornqvist has three goals in three games after a nine-game goal drought. The Kings woke up and played two solid periods after that. Kempe finally evened it with his 14th goal of the season late in the second on a breakaway set up by captain Anze Kopitar. But Malkin put the Penguins ahead 26 seconds into the third period, swatting home his 21st goal from the slot moments after winning a faceoff. The former league MVP's goal was his seventh in six games. Jean-Sebastien Dea made his season debut for the Penguins, playing in just his second career NHL game. The Penguins scratched Daniel Sprong to make room in the lineup for Dea, who had nine points in his last 10 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Dea made his NHL debut last April in the Penguins' regular-season finale. He was a practice player during the Penguins' run to their second straight title. The Penguins visit the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night. Tribune Review LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093831 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins turn to Casey DeSmith in goal

JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, 8:44 p.m.

Rookie goalie Casey DeSmith will make his first NHL start when the Penguins play the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. DeSmith made two relief appearances earlier this season, stopping 20 of the 24 shots he faced. Tristan Jarry got the night off after starting the team's previous five games. He stopped 28 of 32 shots in a 5-3 loss in Anaheim on Wednesday night. Starter Matt Murray is on an indefinite leave after the death of his father Tuesday. DeSmith, 26, is an undrafted third-year pro out of the University of New Hampshire. He's an AHL all-star this season, going 12-5-1 with a .915 save percentage for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Tribune Review LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093832 Pittsburgh Penguins He’s one of the sport’s few figures with a chance of drawing casual fans — the kind who might identify Connor McDavid as a member of the European Ryder Cup squad — which means the league likely would Dave Molinari: How are NHL All-Stars chosen? In some cases, the eyes have felt hard-pressed to justify allowing Crosby to spend All-Star have it. weekend on a beach somewhere. Regardless of how the numbers added up. DAVE MOLINARI Post Gazette LOADED: 01.19.2018

Sidney Crosby is on just about every short list of the world’s finest hockey players. Right at the top of many, for that matter. But does that mean he was an All-Star during the first three months of the 2017-18 season? That depends on what one believes an All-Star should be. There’s no questioning Crosby’s credentials as an elite talent. It’s tough to argue with a matching set of Conn Smythe trophies as Most Valuable Player in the playoffs, two scoring titles and a pair of Hart trophies as regular-season MVP, among numerous other individual achievements. And, oh yeah, captaining three Stanley Cup champions. But even though Crosby is assured a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame someday — he could have begun crafting his acceptance speech years ago — should he have been a lock for a spot on the Metropolitan Division roster for the NHL’s All-Star weekend Jan. 27-28 in Tampa? Probably not, based solely on the numbers from the first three months of the season. On the day the balance of the four divisional rosters, as chosen by the league’s Hockey Operations department, was announced — the captain of each club had been picked earlier, by fan voting — Crosby was tied for 17th in scoring, with 43 points. That left him six spots behind teammate Phil Kessel, who had 47 points and was widely regarded as the Penguins’ most effective player to that point, and well back of Philadelphia’s Jakub Voracek, who was tied for sixth in the league with 51. Neither of those two made it onto the 11-man Metropolitan roster. Crosby will be joined in Tampa by Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who possesses Norris Trophy-caliber skills, but who was, to put it charitably, inconsistent through the first half of the season. When the rosters were announced, Letang’s plus-minus rating of minus- 13 was the second-worst among the 27 skaters who had dressed for the Penguins, and the 10th-worst among all NHL defensemen. By comparison, Washington’s John Carlson was minus-2 and the second-leading scorer among NHL defensemen, with 34 points. He won’t be in the All-Star Game. Mind you, Letang’s plus-minus wasn’t even close to the worst among defensemen selected as All-Stars. That distinction belonged to Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson, whose minus-34 [yes, that was his plus-minus, not the predicted high temperature in Winnipeg] wasn’t sufficiently bloated to keep him off the Pacific Division squad. And since that number wasn’t bad enough to get Ekman-Larsson the weekend off, it’s logical that Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson [minus-16 when the rosters were announced] is getting an all-expenses-paid trip to Tampa, too. Now, filling out the All-Star rosters can be challenging, in part because every team must have at least one representative and players must compete for the division in which their franchise is based. Get past those details and the most important criterion for getting into the game, at least when the league is doing the choosing, might be a player’s ability to lure TV viewers. Selling tickets for All-Star games never is a problem — heck, host teams routinely use them to spur season-ticket sales — but attracting eyeballs is. Letang, Karlsson and Ekman-Larsson are well-known by people who follow the game, and understandably so, given their career achievements. They surely will get some folks to tune in. Crosby takes that concept to another level. 1093833 Pittsburgh Penguins Post Gazette LOADED: 01.19.2018

Tristan Jarry might be cooling off from his excellent December

SAM WERNER

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Being an NHL goalie can often be a pretty thankless task. Take Tristan Jarry’s night Wednesday, for instance. Jarry would be the first to admit he wasn’t perfect in the Penguins’ 5-3 loss to the Ducks, a start that, in terms of goals allowed, tied for the second-worst of his young NHL career. But his teammates didn’t exactly do much to help him out, either. Jarry was excellent early and held strong late, as the Penguins tried to rally back in the third, but gave up four goals in a second period that saw him facing a barrage of odd-man rushes from the Ducks. “He was fine,” Mike Sullivan said. “He made some big saves for us. He’s competing hard in there, he’s battling and that’s all you can ask of him. Some of the goals we gave up [Wednesday] were very high-quality chances. We’ve got to limit those.” Sidney Crosby was tied for 17th in scoring when All-Star rosters were announced. Dave Molinari: How are NHL All-Stars chosen? In some cases, the eyes have it. Like Sullivan said, “fine” is probably the best word to described Jarry’s performance against the Ducks. He wasn’t one of the main reasons the Penguins lost the game, but he also didn’t make any game-changing, momentum-swinging saves in the second period to bail out his teammates. The first goal Jarry allowed came on a wide-open deflection by Rickard Rakell. On the second, he lost track of the puck on an Adam Henrique wraparound and got caught up with Jake Guentzel on the other side of the net. “I think me and Jake just got a little tangled up,” Jarry said. “I ended up losing my stick and my blocker was caught in between them. I was just trying to get over as quick as I could and I just couldn’t get over.” The next two Ducks goals came on breakaways, something Jarry just doesn’t have a ton of experience facing at the NHL level. The amount of skill guys have when they’re coming in alone could be one of the biggest jumps from the minors to the pros, and something that might take a bit more time adjusting to. Matt Murray, remember, was 0-2 in shootouts last year, and had some trouble in that area. This year, he’s 2-0 and seems to be getting better at it. “I just try and be as patient as possible,” Jarry said of his mindset when he sees a guy coming in alone. “Just try and wait him out, have him make the first move and go for it after that. Push as hard as you can.” A Coulson C-130 Air Tanker turns in to make a drop on a hillside near Toro Canyon Road in Carpinteria, Calif., Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Sam Werner Penguins on the warm West Coast, battling travel fatigue It also seems like Jarry might just be cooling down a bit after his red-hot stretch in late December. After a five-game run of stopping pucks at a .958 rate, his save percentage has dipped to .890 over the last four. But the Penguins don’t have too much of a choice right now. Jarry will be the guy in net (perhaps spelled by Casey DeSmith) until Murray returns from dealing with the death of his father. Jarry has shown he’s perfectly capable of winning games when the team in front of him is playing well, so if the Penguins can avoid putting him in the situations he was in too often Wednesday night, they’ll probably be fine. “I think you just have to have the mindset to take it one shot at a time,” Jarry said. “I think that’s a big thing for me, that’s a big think that [goaltending coach] Mike [Buckley] and I talk about, just one shot at a time. I think it’s something you have to try and focus on.” 1093834 Pittsburgh Penguins 3. Nice game from Jake Guentzel tonight, building off a strong performance against the Ducks in which he snapped a nine-game goal drought. He didn’t get on the board tonight, but he was all over the ice for Justin Schultz: Dustin Brown had 'plenty of time' to avoid hit most of the game. He had some good shots on net, and set up Riley Sheahan for a glorious chance in the third period. A dangerous Guentzel would go a long way for the Penguins down the stretch here. SAM WERNER Post Gazette LOADED: 01.19.2018

LOS ANGELES — The Penguins were happy to come away from their trip to Staples Center with a 3-1 win Thursday night, but they might be even more relieved to come away with a healthy Justin Schultz. Kings forward Dustin Brown hit Schultz into the boards from behind early in the third period, causing Schultz to miss the rest of the game. Brown was given a five-minute boarding major — which resulted in Patric Hornqvist’s insurance goal — and a game misconduct. Schultz went down to his knees to try and play the puck a few seconds before getting hit, and didn’t see it coming. “I fell, I’m facing the wall and then all of a sudden my face gets driven into the dasher there,” Schultz said. “I don’t know why. There was plenty of time to not do that.” Brown saw it differently. “I’m going to close on him and he stumbles, toe picks,” Brown said, according to the quote sheet distributed by the Kings. “I don’t drive him through the wall or anything, but I also close in on the play. At the most it’s probably a two[-minute penalty], I think.” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan didn’t comment on the hit, but did say he was relieved Schultz was OK. “The hit is what it is,” Sullivan said. “We’re really thrilled that Schultzy seems like he’s going to be OK. He’s an important guy for us. He’s a great puck-mover, he helps us generate offense from the back end in so many ways. He’s just a real important guy for us back there. Hopefully he’s going to be OK.” A few other thoughts… 1. Daniel Sprong was a healthy scratch for the Penguins tonight after being benched for the entire third period in Anaheim Wednesday. Sullivan said after Thursday’s game that the decision to insert Jean- Sebastien Dea into the lineup for Sprong stemmed from the fact that they wanted to move Jake Guentzel back to wing, and thus needed another center. “It’s something that we’ve been talking about since we put Jake in the middle, is that something that we like?” Sullivan said. “I think it’s obvious that our preference is to have Jake on the wing. But that was the main reason for it, and obviously that forces a lineup decision.” OK, that obviously makes sense, but it doesn’t explain why Sprong didn’t see the ice for the final 25 minutes of the game against the Ducks, and it’s hard to believe the two are unrelated. Here’s what Sullivan said after that game: “I was just trying to go with the guys I thought were going. We watch the game. The guys that are playing hard, the guys that are making something happen are going to get an opportunity to play. We used the guys in the third period that we thought were going, we tweaked the lines a little bit. I thought it gave us a little bit of juice. Those are just decisions that coaches make game-to-game.” Reading between the lines, it seems pretty clear Sullivan is trying to send a message to Sprong whose only NHL points this year have come in that one electric game against the Islanders. Sprong has prodigious talent, obviously, but I think Sullivan probably wants to see a little bit more consistent energy out of him before he nails down a permanent spot in the lineup. 2. The Penguins shuffled up most of their lines tonight, but they kept the Hagelin-Malkin-Hornqvist trio together. It seems like they may have stumbled upon something there, even though it’s not exactly a prototypical Malkin line. But that’s a little bit of what Sullivan likes about it. “Geno’s just a dangerous threat every time he’s on the ice,” Sullivan said. “He’s such a prolific goal-scorer. I think it encourages him a little bit to shoot the puck more. When he’s not playing, say, with a guy like Phil, who he looks to get the puck to, Geno becomes the scoring threat. That, I think, encourages Geno to shoot it.” It also helps when Hagelin is playing as well as he has been lately. He had another assist Thursday, giving him a point in five consecutive games now. 1093835 Pittsburgh Penguins “We’re starting to find our game,” defenseman Olli Maatta said. “I think the first period wasn’t good, but the second and third we responded pretty well. It’s a big win. It’s a tough building to play in.” Casey DeSmith wins first NHL start as Penguins beat Kings, 3-1 Should be even tougher when it’s your first NHL start, right? Apparently not. SAM WERNER “Super thrilling to play in L.A., that’s quite a team to have out there,” DeSmith said. “To get a win against a quality opponent like that in an away barn, that’s pretty special.” LOS ANGELES — Casey DeSmith had to wait a while to get his first Sam Werner: NHL start. Post Gazette LOADED: 01.19.2018 It didn’t take him very long to get his first NHL win. DeSmith stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced as the Penguins beat the Kings, 3-1, Thursday night. “Really thrilled and a little bit shocked,” DeSmith said with a grin after the game. Patric Hornqvist scored twice and Evgeni Malkin netted the winner early in the third as the Penguins got their fifth win in the last six games. DeSmith found out late Wednesday night that he would get the nod instead of Tristan Jarry as the Penguins faced the second half of a back- to-back following their 5-3 loss in Anaheim. Jarry had started both legs of the Penguins’ last two back-to-backs, but Mike Sullivan opted to go with DeSmith this time. “I slept great,” DeSmith said. “Even this afternoon I slept great. I don’t know, maybe I was more relaxed than I thought I would be.” DeSmith had played in two games before Thursday, coming on in relief in a pair of losses earlier this season. He came on when the Penguins trailed 4-0 in Winnipeg Oct. 29, and when they were down 3-0 against Toronto Dec. 9. He has spent a considerable amount of time with the team, though, serving as the backup for 15 games. “That comfortability level goes a long way,” DeSmith said. “You show up, nobody quite knows who you are. They know you from training camp, but they’re like, ‘I don’t know if this guy’s any good.’ Hopefully the time against them in practice and in those two games here, they’re like, ‘All right, this guy’s not so bad.’ I think that goes a long way, too.” Still, even though he may have slept well the night before, when the puck dropped at Staples Center Thursday night, it was hard to keep the nerves out completely. “When the puck hits the ice, it’s like, ‘Wow, all right, this is happening,’” DeSmith said. The Penguins didn’t exactly let him ease into the game, either. Hornqvist gave them a 1-0 lead 43 seconds in, but the rest of the first period was pretty much all Kings. They outshot the Penguins 11-3 in the first 20 minutes, but DeSmith stopped all of them. “He was our best player out there,” Hornqvist said. “In the first period, we didn’t play our best game, but he stood up tall for us.” DeSmith, specifically, pointed to a point-blank stop on Dustin Brown while the Penguins were on the penalty kill early in the first as a big confidence boost for him. “That killed any nerves that I had, and definitely boosts the confidence level for sure,” he said. “If they jump out early, first five minutes, pop one in, nobody’s confidence really goes up. I think getting that save was huge.” The only blemish on DeSmith’s record Thursday was a breakaway goal from Adrian Kempe late in the second, but he didn’t even sweat that too much. “Getting beat on a breakaway isn’t too confidence-killing,” he said. “It was a good goal, I’d like to have it back, obviously, but people are going to score in this league. Forwards are good.” The tie score didn’t last very long after the second intermission, either. Malkin scored 26 seconds into the third, and Hornqvist added his second of the night to provide some insurance with just less than 10 minutes left. The win gives the Penguins a nice bounce back after their 5-3 loss to the Ducks the night before. While they probably weren’t thrilled to give up another breakaway goal — a problem that cost them the game against Anaheim — the victory against the Kings allows them to keep the positive momentum they’ve built this January rolling. 1093836 Pittsburgh Penguins “I thought last night, they were playing. When we went into the third period, as we always do, we’re looking for the guys that are going. The guys that are going are going to get on the ice, and that line was going.” Goaltender Casey DeSmith to get his first NHL start for the Penguins Post Gazette LOADED: 01.19.2018

SAM WERNER

LOS ANGELES — Being in the NHL probably isn’t all that new for Casey DeSmith at this point. He’s on his fourth big-league stint this season, with 15 games under his belt as the Penguins’ backup goalie. But he’ll finally get his first NHL start in goal when the Penguins take on the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night. DeSmith has played in two games so far this season, both times in relief after games had gotten out of hand. In those games, the most recent of which was Dec. 9 against Toronto, he has stopped 20 of 24 shots in 80:05 of action. Coach Mike Sullivan said he didn’t have any particular message for DeSmith before the game, other than to “just to be himself out there.” “He’s had a taste of it, he’s played in a handful of periods and he’s had a taste of the NHL,” Sullivan said. “He’s had a real good run in Wilkes- Barre, he’s one of the best goalies in the American League and we believe in him. He’s a very competitive goalie, he’s athletic, and we believe that he can help us win games. That’s why he’s here.” DeSmith, 26, is actually older than the two goalies ahead of him in the Penguins’ system. He played three years in college at New Hampshire before joining the Wheeling Nailers in 2015. He split time with Tristan Jarry in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season, going 21-5-1 with a 2.01 goals against average and .926 save percentage. In 19 AHL games this year, DeSmith is 12-5-1 with a 2.53 goals against average and .915 save percentage. Sullivan said it’s always nice to see a guy who was a bit unheralded as a prospect crack into the NHL. “I think we’ve had a fair amount of those guys, and I think that’s important to helping our organization stay competitive long term,” Sullivan said. “I think the internal competition that we have within our organization at all the positions has been critical to the success that we’ve enjoyed over the past couple of seasons.” Better in back-to-backs Given the way the Penguins played in the second halves of back-to- backs over the first month of the season, it would’ve been hard for them to get worse in those scenarios. They went 0-4 in the first four such games, outscored by a combined 29- 6. But rather than just pull themselves back up to respectability, the Penguins have actually been quite good in those situations since early November. They’re 4-0-2 in their past six second legs of back-to-backs. Sullivan said he and the coaching staff didn’t change their approach, but just reinforced the mental side of those games. “I think it’s just the mindset,” Sullivan said. “That’s what we talk about with our guys all the time. It’s a mental toughness to not look for excuses and just go out and play the game. If there’s instances when we get a little bit tired, if you get an extended shift, then you’ve got to make sure that you fight through those circumstances. That’s when the mental toughness comes in, and working together, but for me it always starts with a mindset.” Fourth line drawing praise and minutes The fourth line of Tom Kuhnhackl, Riley Sheahan and has been a bit of a revelation since it was put together in early January. Against the Ducks Wednesday night, Sullivan even had enough faith to put them out late in the game when the Penguins were chasing the lead. The trio got the first shift after the Jake Guentzel’s goal with 5:54 remaining to cut the deficit to one. Even in a scenario in which they needed a goal, Sullivan liked what his fourth line was bringing him. “We thought they had a strong game,” Sullivan said. “First and foremost, I think they’re a heavy line. They’re big, they’re big bodies. When you play against teams that have size, that’s the type of game that they have an opportunity to thrive in.” 1093837 San Jose Sharks “It was just a numbers thing,” Couture said. “You’re happy when a good guy like that gets a chance, and plays well, and makes the most of his opportunity.” Three things to know: former-Sharks forward is playing a key role in Avs’ 2. Nathan MacKinnon makes an early case for Hart Trophy turnaround season consideration. If the Avalanche manage to stick around in the playoff race, MacKinnon By PAUL GACKLE | January 18, 2018 at 2:23 PM will make a serious run at the Hart Trophy. The 2013-14 Calder Trophy winner is emerging as one of the NHL’s top forwards in his fifth season, tied for second in scoring (54 points), ranking DENVER — After being a casualty of shifting times in San Jose last third in game-winning goals (6) and 11th in overall goals (11). season, Matt Nieto is finding the right match for his skillset with the resurgent Colorado Avalanche. MacKinnon, 22, has led the charge during the Avalanche’s seven-game winning streak, scoring in each win while racking up 14 points. The former-Sharks forward is playing a key role in the Avalanche’s unexpected turnaround this season, performing a shutdown role on the “He’s unbelievable,” Nieto said. “Every night, he’s getting a couple points team’s second line after getting waived by San Jose last January. Nieto or making plays where he’s wowing the crowd. He’s definitely the most- will be tasked with slowing down the Timo Meier-Joe Thornton-Joe explosive guy I’ve ever played with. He can hit his full stride in just one Pavelski line Thursday night as the Avalanche (24-16-3) look to extend crossover.” their longest-winning streak in 12 years to eight games at home against 3. DeBoer won’t tweak his approach against MacKinnon’s line. the Sharks (24-13-6). DeBoer isn’t going to tweak his approach against what might be the The Long Beach-native is contemplating whether he’ll take the Nazem Western Conference’s most-dangerous line. Kadri approach to defending Thornton by tugging on his beard. The key to beating the Avalanche is slowing down the line of MacKinnon, “I’ll have to try to get in his head somehow,” Nieto said with a chuckle. Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, who’ve scored 51 of the team’s “It’s going to be a lot of fun playing against these guys. I saw a bunch of 141 goals (36.2 percent). But DeBoer, who rarely matches up his lines, is them (Wednesday). I’m still really good friends with a lot of them.” going to continue rolling 12 forwards Thursday, accepting whatever After reaching the Stanley Cup Final with the Sharks in 2015-16, Nieto matchup he gets against the Avalanche’s top line on the road. found himself fighting for his job last winter. The Sharks are in the “If we get a line stuck out there against MacKinnon’s line, we’ll have to process of rebuilding on the fly, which requires the integration of younger get the job done,” the Sharks coach said. “We’ll probably look for some players into the lineup. As prospects, such as Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier defensive matchups more than forwards, but even that, you’re on the and Marcus Sorensen, bubbled up through the pipeline last winter, Nieto road. You don’t have that luxury. found himself on the outside, unable to crack the Sharks 12-man forward group. “One thing about our group is we’re comfortable that if guys get out there, they can play against whoever it is.” The Sharks eventually waived Nieto on Jan. 4, 2017 and he got claimed by the last team that anyone would have wanted to play for at the time, San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.19.2018 the Avalanche, who held the NHL’s worst record at 12-26-1. “When we moved him along we had a ton of depth and we had some young guys that we had in the pipeline that we wanted to see,” head coach Pete DeBoer said. “If he’s still with us, maybe he doesn’t get this opportunity, so that’s what waivers and 23-man rosters are built for. If you’re not getting a chance with one team, you can get this type of opportunity.” But early in the season, Nieto wasn’t getting much of an opportunity in Colorado either, serving as a healthy scratch in five of the team’s first eight games. Then, everything came together when head coach Jared Bednar put him on a line with Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau in a game against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 24. Nieto, 25, scored a hattrick that night and the line has stayed together ever since, serving as the Avalanche’s checking trio. The line is contributing on the scoresheet, as well, combining to score 25 goals. “They’ve really bought into their role,” Bednar said, describing the effectiveness of the Nieto-Soberberg-Comeau group. “We’ve given them a specific role of being a shutdown checking line and they’ve taken that to a really high level.” Logan Couture, who played a shutdown role on a line with Nieto under Todd McLellan, isn’t surprised that his former-teammate is emerging as a backbone of the offensively-minded Avalanche’s defensive game. “He’s a smart player. He knows where to go defensively, he’s above the puck,” Couture said. “He’s not overly physical, he’s not a big guy, but he’s got such a good stick. He disrupts a lot of plays.” Nieto, who’s chipped in offensively with eight goals, as well, is also finding success in Colorado because his skillset fits well with the team’s up-tempo brand of hockey. Whereas the Sharks are a forechecking possession team, the Avalanche play more of an Eastern Conference style of game, getting out on the rush and using their speed in transition, which highlights the 5-foot-11 forward’s best asset, his legs. “We play a fast-paced style here,” Nieto said. “We’ve got a young team and we’re learning every day. Right now, we’ve figured out what it takes to win.” While the Sharks understand business nature of hockey, the team is pleased to see that Nieto is finding a home on a squad that’s just two points out of a playoff spot midway through the season. 1093838 San Jose Sharks In 18 appearances this year, the Sharks backup goalie has recorded a 2.12 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. He made 61 saves on 63 shots when he received back-to-back starts for the first time Is Jones healthy? Is he still the Sharks best option in goal? in his career while Jones was injured. At this point, Dell is clearly the more reliable option in goal, but DeBoer sidestepped a question about whether he’ll increase his backup’s By PAUL GACKLE | PUBLISHED: January 18, 2018 at 8:40 pm | workload if Jones continues to struggle. UPDATED: January 18, 2018 at 11:21 PM “Dell’s going to play more anyway just because of our schedule. He has to,” the Sharks coach said. DENVER — Martin Jones’ post-injury struggles continued in Denver The Sharks are in the midst of playing six games in nine nights. They Thursday night, raising questions about whether he’s fully healthy and have 14 games scheduled for the month of February and 15 games in still the Sharks best option in goal. March. Jones surrendered goals on three-consecutive shots in the first period of Despite Jones’ early struggles Thursday, the Sharks battled back to the Sharks 5-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche (25-16-3), putting his make it a game in the third period. team into an early hole that it couldn’t climb out of despite a late charge. Timo Meier got the Sharks on the board at 9:44 of the second, Vlasic cut The Sharks goalie could be seen walking out of his team’s locker room the lead in half just 29 seconds into the third and Joe Thornton made it 4- after the loss with a noticeable limp. Jones was walking out of the arena 3 at 4:53 of the final frame, extending his goal streak to four games. with his weight predominantly on his left leg, suggesting that he’s nursing a lower-body ailment on his right side. The beards putting in work! #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/HPFDQ0OYkB It wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Jones is still fighting through an injury — San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 19, 2018 he suffered in the third period of a game on Nov. 25 that caused him to Despite the loss, alternate captain Logan Couture is pleased that his miss one start. squad showed so much fight after trailing 4-0 in their third game in four Jones appeared to have a suffered lower-body injury that night. At one nights against a scorching-hot team that extended its winning streak to point, head athletic trainer Ray Tufts came onto the ice and helped Jones eight games. stretch out his legs, but head coach Pete DeBoer said later in the week “Pete came in and said after the second, get one early, get a second one that his goalie had suffered an injury to his back. in the next 10 minutes and we’ll be right back in it. That’s what we did,” Jones recorded a .930 save percentage in 17 appearances before he he said. “When he says it, and we go out and do it, the belief starts to suffered the injury. His save percentage is just .886 in 13 appearances grow.” since he returned from the injury on Dec. 2. Ironically, Nieto iced the game against his former squad by scoring his Like our Sharks Facebook page for more San Jose Sharks news, ninth at 16:46, giving the Avalanche a 5-3 lead. commentary and conversation. San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.19.2018 The 28-year-old netminder dismissed the suggestion that he’s battling an injury Thursday, suggesting the discrepancy between his save percentage before and after Dec. 2 is merely a coincidence. DeBoer offered a stronger rebuke of the connection between Jones’ numbers over the last six weeks and his injury. He pointed out that Jones stopped 35 of 36 shots in a win over the Los Angeles Kings Monday. “He was our best player a night ago in L.A., so I wouldn’t call it a funk,” the Sharks coach said. “You guys like to grab little pictures of things that work for the story you’re writing. It’s (13) games. You can go back six games and write whatever you want. He’s having a great year for us.” At least one thing is clear, Jones didn’t have a great night in Denver Thursday as the Sharks (24-14-6) three-game winning streak came to an end. The Sharks goalie allowed Avs’ sniper Nathan McKinnon to extend his scoring streak to eight games at 7:03 of the first, letting the puck slip through his five hole as he was being screened on the shot by defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Less than a minute later, Jones let McKinnon score his second of the game, getting beat on a one-timer from the left circle to the far post on an Avalanche power play. Carl Soderberg scored on the Avalanche’s next shot, finding daylight between Jones and the near post from the doorstep after he received a below-the-goalline pass from former-Shark Matt Nieto. Jones also surrendered a goal on the first shot he faced in the second, a redirection from Mikko Rantanen. Jones finished the game with 17 saves on 22 shots. In addition to Thursday’s nightmarish start, Jones gave up four or more goals in six-consecutive starts during the month of December. He got pulled from a game against the Dallas Stars on New Year’s Eve after surrendering four goals on 22 shots in 40 minutes of work and he got the hook after just 13:48 Saturday night, coughing up three goals on six shots. As Jones struggles to regain his pre-injury form, Aaron Dell continues to rise up to every challenge he faces. He saved a point for his team Tuesday, making 15 saves on 16 shots in the third period after the Arizona Coyotes grabbed the momentum and stormed the Sharks in waves. He earned the Sharks an extra point in the shootout by stopping all three of the shooters he faced. 1093839 San Jose Sharks

Sharks fall to streaking Colorado

By Pat Graham Updated 11:06 pm, Thursday, January 18, 2018

DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche looked unstoppable early and shaky down the stretch in nearly blowing a big lead. Bottom line: The streak is alive. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice during a 58-second span in the first period, Matt Nieto added a late insurance goal and the Avalanche won their eighth straight by holding off the Sharks 5-3 on Thursday night. Carl Soderberg also scored, and Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists for the Avs, who’ve won eight in a row for the first time since the 2005-06 season. It’s tied for the third longest streak in franchise history. Even more, Colorado has not trailed during the stretch and has outscored teams by a 34-13 margin. “We are earning what we get right now,” MacKinnon said. “We are playing some good hockey and we are a good team. “We know we aren’t going to win every game — we could lose two or three in a row. But this is a good foundation for us to realize how we are going to win. We’re not just lucky, winning eight straight. There is a reason why. So when some adversity comes in, we can look back on this.” What looked like a cakewalk turned into anything but with Colorado nearly squandering a 4-0 advantage. The Sharks sliced the deficit to a goal when Joe Thornton scored early in the third period. Nieto sealed the win with a goal against his former team with 3:14 remaining. The Sharks pulled goaltender Martin Jones for around three minutes, but couldn’t score. Timo Meier and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also had goals for San Jose. Jonathan Bernier stopped 45 shots to run his winning streak to a career- best seven games. He’s playing with starter Semyon Varlamov sidelined by a lower-body injury. Bernier made a big save on a power play in the third period, when he just stuck out his left pad to thwart Tomas Hertl , who had several opportunities to tie the game. “I should score like five goals. The goalie owned me today,” Hertl said. “It’s a little bit on me, because the chances were there. I should put it in. They should be goals.” Still, the Sharks showed some late spunk, which pleased their head coach. “You don’t get points in the standings for that, but we’ve got a group that doesn’t lay down in those situations,” Peter DeBoer said. “We take a lot of pride in that.” Pat Graham is an Associated Press writer. San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093840 San Jose Sharks

Sharks face surprisingly tough test in Avalanche

By Marcus White January 18, 2018 12:11 PM

On a night when Eric Lindros is getting his number retired, who would have thought one of the NHL's best games involves a team that was the worst a season ago, and another features a team that didn't even exist last year? Okay, most of the hockey world's eyes will be glued to tonight's Golden Knights-Lightning tilt in Tampa, which surely felt just as weird to write as it did for you to read. But Sharks-Avalanche could have that game beat, and not just because Long Beach native Matt Nieto will play against his former team. No, the Sharks and Avalanche just happen to be two of the hottest teams in the league. San Jose has won three in a row, and along with Nashville, holds the league's third-longest active winning streak. Colorado, meanwhile, has won seven in a row, and along with Calgary, holds the league's longest streak. The Avalanche have not lost in 2018, and since their streak began on Dec. 29, have scored the third-most goals and allowed the fewest. With starter Semyon Varlamov out with a groin strain, backup netminder Jonathan Bernier has stopped all but seven of the shots he's seen, good for a .962 save percentage. Nathan Mackinnon has emerged as an under-the-radar Hart Trophy candidate, or at least he would have been under-the-radar if seemingly the entire hockey world hadn't made the same observation. He's no longer a dark horse, though, and may be the frontrunner if Colorado is even sniffing the postseason at the end of the year. After all, the Avalanche were far closer to the 1992-93 Sharks than Colorado's glory days last season, losing the ninth-most games in a single season in NHL history. Entering Thursday, the Avalanche are just two points out of the final wild card spot. To further drive home just how remarkable the turnaround's been, the Avalanche already have three more points than last season. In 39 fewer games. Colorado may not be as good as they've been over the last seven games, when they've also led the league in PDO, the sum of save percentage and shooting percentage often used as a shorthand for luck. But during the stretch, the Avalanche are also a positive puck possession team when adjusting for score and venue, according to Natural Stat Trick, and eighth in adjusted corsi-for percentage during the win streak, per Corsica Hockey. The Sharks, too, have been playing much better than before the bye. Two of the wins on their three-game streak have come against the cellar- dwelling Coyotes, though, and they needed overtime and a shootout to beat them. The Avalanche will then represent the toughest test for the Sharks following the week off, and a potentially thorny end to their three-game road trip. Who would have thought? Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093841 St Louis Blues

Gordo: Forwards remain scarce in NHL marketplace

By Jeff Gordon St. Louis Post-Dispatch 4 hrs ago

Yes, the Blues could use another scorer, even with Jaden Schwartz getting closer to active duty. Yes, the Ottawa Senators could put multiple forwards up for bidding — including Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Zack Smith, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Ryan Dzingel. Yes, the Blues are in Ottawa today so there could be some up-close examination of assets from both sides. But the market remains tilted, with more teams looking to add than to subtract. The Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres are in "sell" mode, for sure, and the Senators figure to make a few moves as they fade from the playoff race as well. Season 2, Ep. 16 -- Post-Dispatch Blues beat reporter Tom Timmermann joined Jeff Gordon to discuss the continuing success of goaltender Carter… And the list of teams looking for help is long. The Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins are on it, along with the San Jose Sharks, Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks from the Western Conference, and the Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils from the East. At the moment there may be more defensemen available than forwards. The Sharks are trying to move Paul Martin, and Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets has asked out. "It's never good to let things fester, hold everything in," Johnson explained to NHL.com. The Red Wings surely will offer impending free agent Mike Green around the league and the Senators could shop both Cody Cecil and Dion Phaneuf. Earlier this season, the Penguins offered former Blue Ian Cole around the league. The Rangers could move extraneous defender Nick Holden. After investing large dollars in former Blue Kevin Shattenkirk, could the Rangers deal Ryan McDonagh? That seems unlikely, but then so did the Derek Stepan trade. The Canucks could part with Ben Hutton, who has played himself out of the lineup in recent weeks. Then again, Vancouver GM Jim Benning went out of his way to squelch that speculation. All this potential defenseman commerce isn't helpful for the Blues, who are building a nice surplus on the blue line to deal from at some point. The trade deadline is Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. CST, and a lot could change between now and then. Stay tuned. AROUND THE RINKS The big prize in the trade market could be winger Evander Kane, who is racing toward free agency. Buffalo wants the usual price for a high-end rental: a first-round pick, a top prospect and conditional pick if he re-ups with that team. The Blues don't have a first-round pick in '18 to offer, so they are likely disqualified. ... The Penguins are looking for another center, and some experts see Mark Letestu of the Edmonton Oilers as a possible target. ... Jeff Carter is skating again, so the Los Angeles Kings could add a 30-goal scorer at the trade deadline. He is recovering from a nasty laceration. ... After that 2-1 loss to the Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock took some more heat about his knack for spreading his offense across four lines rather than load up a super line or two. ... Would the Montreal Canadiens really trade winger Max Pacioretty? Now that would be a blockbuster. If the Blues were in a different place with their salary cap, that could be the sort of player that could pry one of their top forward prospects away from GM Doug Armstrong. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093842 St Louis Blues "I think there's some parts that can still pick up a little bit, but again, for the first game coming out of the break I was pleased with the effort that we got." Hutton in goal, Dunn on defense vs. Ottawa The Blues' healthy scratches at forward tonight will once again be Oskar Sundqvist and Scottie Upshall. By Jim Thomas 4 hrs ago BRING ON THE SENATORS With the exception of a lopsided 8-2 setback to Chicago on Jan. 9, the Senators were playing well prior to their bye week, with victories over OTTAWA, Ont. • It's Carter Hutton on Thursday against the Ottawa Tampa Bay, San Jose, and Toronto in early January. Senators as Blues coach Mike Yeo continues to ride the hot hand in goal. "These guys have been scoring a lot of goals," Yeo said. "An awful lot of "He played a real strong game last game, and deserves to get back in goals and if you throw away that Chicago game, you look at their game the net today and keep her going," Yeo said following Thursday's against Tampa, you look at their game against San Jose and against morning skate at Canadian Tire Centre. Toronto, this looks like the team that we all saw last year." Yeo also said that defenseman Vince Dunn, who scored the game- That is, the team that reached the Eastern Conference finals. winning goal in overtime Tuesday against Toronto is back in the lineup. Dunn played against Toronto because veteran Jay Bouwmeester was a "I know this is gonna be a very aggressive team," Yeo said. "They're late arrival due to the birth of his third child. gonna pressure us very hard in the offensive zone. Their forecheck pressure's gonna be hard. Their pressure to the net's gonna be hard, and Season 2, Ep. 16 -- Post-Dispatch Blues beat reporter Tom Timmermann we're gonna have to be real strong with the puck in order to execute, in joined Jeff Gordon to discuss the continuing success of goaltender order to create some offense here tonight." Carter… Mark Stone leads the Senators with 18 goals, followed by Ryan Dzingel Against Ottawa, however, Bouwmeester is back in the lineup and Carl (13), Derick Brassard (12) and Mike Hoffman (11). Gunnarsson will sit. Defenseman Mark Borowiecki, who led the NHL in hits last season, Yeo also said that the forward lines will remain the same against the returns for the Senators tonight after a long absence due to a Senators, something that hasn't happened in a while. concussion. It will be his first action since Nov. 19. The team held an optional skate Thursday with 15 players participating. THURSDAY'S LINEUP For Hutton, it will be his sixth start in the past eight games for the Blues, Forwards and he is 4-0-1 in the previous five games in that stretch. Barbashev-Stastny-Tarasenko "Excited. Obviously it'll be a challenge," Hutton said. "They're coming off the break refreshed and they gotta good hockey team. . . .It's always fun Jaskin-Schenn-Steen getting another start in Canada." Sobotka-Berglund-Thompson For Hutton, it's not just another start in his home country, it marks Paajarvi-Brodiak-Thorburn another start in his home province. He's from Thunder Bay, Ontario. His father was in attendance for Tuesday's 2-1 OT win against the Maple Defense (*) Leafs, a game in which Hutton stopped 30 of 31 shots. Bouwmeester-Pietrangelo Hutton, who is 9-3-1 for the season, leads all NHL goalies in save percentage (.942) and goals-against average (1.78) among those with at Edmundson-Parayko least 15 games played. Dunn-Bortuzzo DUNN FOR GUNNARSSON Goalie Dunn had missed five games prior to his triumphant return against the Hutton Maple Leafs, four of them because of a flu-like illness that had him on injured reserve for a week. (*) _ Projected defensive pairings. For Gunnarsson, who at plus-13 trails only Brayden Schenn and Vladimir St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 Tarasenko (plus-17 apiece) among the Blues, it will be his first time out of lineup as a healthy scratch since Nov. 29 against Anaheim _ a period of 23 games. He did miss the Dec. 21 game at Edmonton over that period with an upper-body injury. Dunn hasn't seen a ton of action in 3-on-3 overtime this season. He had gotten OT ice time in five of the Blues' previous nine overtime games this season, but none since Dec. 10 against Buffalo prior to Tuesday. "His play through the course of the game gave him that opportunity," Yeo said. "It was a no-brainer on our part. He doesn't have a lot of experience in the 3-on-3 overtime, but you can see with his skill set and his skating ability that he is the type of player that you want on the ice in a 3-on-3 situation. "Obviously with young kids, they're gonna have to earn that opportunity and he did that. He played a strong game. Right from the drop of the puck we were all pleased for him that, No. 1, he got the opportunity to play in Toronto which was special for him. But obviously when he plays like that he's a big addition to our group." SAME LINES Perhaps the most surprising development Thursday was the fact that Yeo is not changing the lines he used against Toronto. In the 17 games since the Jaden Schwartz foot injury, it marks only the third time he has used the same forward lines in back-to-back games. He has yet to use the same lines for three consecutive games since the Schwartz injury. "I think that we generated enough to score more than we did in that (Toronto) game," Yeo said. "I liked a lot of the areas of our game. 1093843 St Louis Blues

Blues notebook: Rare line continuity against Senators

By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 5 hrs ago

OTTAWA • There was something strangely familiar about the Blues Thursday against the Ottawa Senators. Familiar as in no line changes. That’s right, none. In the 17 previous games since the Jaden Schwartz’s foot injury, coach Mike Yeo has changed lines at a dizzying pace. In 13 of those 17 games at least one line opened a game together for the first time . But against the Senators, Yeo opened with the same lines used Tuesday in Toronto. It marked only the third time he has gone with the same forward lines in successive games since Schwartz’s injury. “I think that we generated enough to score more than we did in that (Toronto) game,” Yeo said. “I liked a lot of the areas of our game. I think there’s some parts that can still pick up a little bit, but again, for the first game coming out of the break I was pleased with the effort .” The Blues had 42 shots against the Maple Leafs, tied for their third- highest total of the season. So Yeo came out with the same lineup in Ottawa up-front: • Ivan Barbashev-Paul Stastny-Vladimir Tarasenko • Dimitrij Jaskin-Brayden Schenn-Alexander Steen • Vladimir Sobotka-Patrik Berglund-Tage Thompson • Magnus Paajarvi-Kyle Brodziak-. Oskar Sundqvist and — for only the second time all season — Scottie Upshall were healthy scratches among forwards. BARBASHEV’S FIRST It all began here for Ivan Barbashev in the NHL, at least in the goal- scoring sense. The Blues’ 22-year-old forward scored his first NHL goal against the Senator here last season, in a 6-0 Blues victory . He’s had an interesting ride, to say the least, since then. Barbashev found himself on the Blues’ top line to open the 2016-17 playoffs. But after an unimpressive preseason, Barbashev has had two stints with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League , although the latest stint — during the team’s recently-concluded bye week — was strictly for tune-up purposes. “It wasn’t a surprise,” Barbashev said. “I’m still 22 and I’ve only played 18 games here (with the Blues), so I know I was gonna go down to play some more games. It was absolutely fine for me.” Thursday marked the fourth game in a row he had started on a line with Stastny and Tarasenko, and he likes the continuity. “It’s nice,” he said. “When you’re playing (together) for a little while you just get to know them a little more.” DUNN FOR GUNNARSSON Vince Dunn had missed five games prior to his return against the Maple Leafs, four of them because of a flu-like illness that had him on IR for a week. But he was back Thursday against Ottawa — hard to keep him out after scoring the game-winner in overtime, right? With Dunn and new papa Jay Bouwmeester suiting up, that meant Carl Gunnarsson was a healthy scratch. For Gunnarsson, who at plus-13 trailed only Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko (plus-17 apiece) entering Thursday’s game, it was his first time out of the lineup as a healthy scratch since Nov. 29 against Anaheim — a period of 23 games. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093844 St Louis Blues “I try not to play the score too much,” goalie Carter Hutton said, earning his second victory on this trip. “We get one and I try to re-set. When I was a little younger I used to get a little more emotional and pumped up. This Blues get offense clicking in win over Senators way, I just try to stay level-headed and keep battling.” Ottawa did manage a Bobby Ryan goal on a shot from the right point through a maze of traffic at the 17:21 mark of the second, but the By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 5 hrs ago damage had been done by the Blues. “The (Ryan) goal, it hits (Dmitrij) Jaskin’s stick and goes over my shoulder,” Hutton said. “It’s just one of those ones that we would’ve liked OTTAWA • It had been 18 games since the Blues scored three goals in to get out. But a little deflection — it happens with pucks on net.” one period. Hutton stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced, but by his own admission And 31 games since Alex Pietrangelo found the net. said: “There wasn’t really a ton of real Grade A chances. I thought our D did a really good job.” As for big scorers Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn? Well, they hadn’t scored in the same game since Dec. 10 against Buffalo. Yes, the same “D” that had allowed 17 goals in going 0-2-1 just before the break. All those forces coalesced in the second period Thursday, sparking the Blues to a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Yes, there were still power play issues. But on this night, it didn’t even matter that the Blues couldn’t capitalize on a 5-on-3 power play for 1:18 “You look at the goal scorers, the guys who got on the scoresheet for us to open the third period. tonight,” coach Mike Yeo said. “Obviously that’s a pretty good indication that our leaders were ready to lead the way. I thought we had everybody The Blues did have some late work to do, killing off a Colton Parayko going tonight.” tripping penalty called at 15:32 of the third. Prior to their bye week, the Blues had been on a 1-5-1 skid away from “A big penalty kill at the end there,” Hutton said. “They get one there and Scottrade Center. But maybe things will be different post-bye. They there’s still three, four minutes left to definitely push.” return home from Canada’s capital city after going 2-0 in the province of Ontario this week, and with renewed optimism for a strong second-half But Steen removed any suspense from the evening with an empty-net playoff push. goal with 1:18 to play as the Blues improved to 21-0-1 when leading after two periods. It was Steen’s eighth goal of the season and second empty- The Blues are now 5-0-1 in their last six trips to the Canadian Tire Centre netter of the campaign. — they rarely spring a flat in this building. At 28-17-3, they now have their next three games in St. Louis prior to the all-star break, starting with the St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. After an uneventful first period, things got going in a big way for the Blues in the second period — one that was about as good as any played by the team this season. “Sometimes it takes you a little bit longer to find your game,” Yeo said. “The second period, we found a way to get to the offensive zone, spent some time there. And I really like the way that we were checking pucks back. You’re gonna lose pucks but I think we did a really good job of getting ’em back quickly, and a couple of those led directly to goals.” Ottawa, now 15-19-9 for the season, entered the game at minus-27 as a team in the second period, allowing 62 goals while scoring only 35. It became minus-28 when Vladimir Tarasenko deflected in a shot from the right point by Robert Bortuzzo at the 6:13 mark of the period. It gave Tarasenko a team-leading 20 goals this season, marking the fifth year in a row he has scored at least 20. Perhaps it was Chris Thorburn who get everyone’s adrenaline going just 30 seconds earlier when he got involved in a fight with Ottawa agitator Mark Borowiecki. It was Thorburn’s fifth fight of the season and his second in as many games. In any event, the Blues kept scoring, with Pietrangelo getting his eighth goal of the season on his 28th birthday, cleaning up on a loose puck after a blistering slap shot by Tage Thompson. “I kind of saw it come off the pad there (of Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson),” Pietrangelo said. “I’ll take that bounce — right on my tape.” That goal at the 12:51 mark was Pietrangelo’s first since way back on Nov. 9 against Arizona. “It was nice to get back on the board about 4,000 shots later,” Pietrangelo joked. “I think we felt it coming that someone on the back end was gonna score. ... Five-on-five we’ve really been jumping in the last two games here.” After a long dry spell by the entire defensive corps, Pietrangelo’s goal made it five goals in the past five games by Blue defensemen. The Blues padded their lead to 3-0 just four minutes later when Schenn got into the act, ending his goal-less streak at 11 games. (Schenn did have a shootout goal Jan. 2 against New Jersey, which doesn’t count in the stats.) His 18th goal of the season came on a backhand following a great setup pass from Alexander Steen, which followed an Ottawa turnover. That 3-0 lead at the 16:53 mark of the second marked the first time since the Blues’ 6-1 victory over Detroit on Dec. 9 — the game in which Jaden Schwartz suffered his broken foot — that the team has enjoyed as much as a three-goal lead in a game. 1093845 St Louis Blues Pietrangelo, playing on his 28th birthday, extended the lead, putting in a long rebound of a shot by Tage Thompson for an unassisted goal. It was Pietrangelo's first goal since Nov. 9 against Arizona,a span of 27 games. Blues score three in second period on way to 4-1 win over Ottawa That goal also meant Blues' defensemen have scored in five straight games; Pietrangelo follows in the footsteps of Vince Dunn, Colton Parayko, Carl Gunnarsson and Parayko. By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch 8 hrs ago Then Schenn, who had gone 11 games without a goal, scored his 18th of the season, holding off an Ottawa defenseman to backhand a pass from Alexander Steen in to make it 3-0. OTTAWA – The Blues went two for two on their trip to Ontario, getting Ottawa quickly answered, with Bobby Ryan scoring from outside past a goal No. 20 from Vladimir Tarasenko and a goal from Alex Pietrangelo on screened Carter Hutton 28 seconds later to make it 3-1. his 28th birthday in a 4-1 win over the Senators on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre. A collection of penalties at the end of the period means the Blues will have a five-on-three advantage for 1:17 at the start of the third period. The Blues also got a goal from Brayden Schenn, his 18th, an empty-net Not that that's a good thing; the Blues have yet to score in six five-on- goal from Alexander Steen with 1:18 to play and another solid three situations this season. Five of them have been at least 57 seconds performance from Carter Hutton in goal, who has won five of his past six long. starts. And there was another old standby: The Blues had 77 seconds of a two-man advantage at the start of the third period and couldn't score. FIRST PERIOD UPDATE After losing three in a row before their bye week, the Blues came back OTTAWA – The Blues were held scoreless in the first period for the with consecutive wins and now have four straight at home, starting on fourth time in the past five games but they returned the favor to the Saturday against Arizona. Ottawa Senators and the teams are even at 0-0 after one period on Thursday. "I think it was important (to get off to a good start)," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "We had an emotional win, a big comeback win (against The Blues had a power play, but for the 27th time in their past 28, they Toronto), it was important to get off to good start and if you look at our didn't score. They had just one shot on goal and didn't generate much in goalscorers, it's obviously a good indication that our leaders were ready the way of excitement. to lead way. We had everyone going tonight. Each team had seven shots on goal in a period in which neither team "There's a lot to like about this game. If you had to describe what Blues really got to its offense. Seven different players had one shot on goal for hockey looks like, that would be a good example." the Blues. The Blues got three of their four goals in the second period, the first time Carter Hutton is starting in goal for the Blues as coach Mike Yeo is they had scored three goals in one period since Dec. 9 in Detroit, the sticking with the goalie that's winning. Ottawa had one breakaway but game in which Jaden Schwartz got hurt. shot wide. In his past six starts, Hutton has allowed one goal in the first period; the Blues have scored three. Tarasenko broke open a scoreless game by tipping in a shot by Robert Bortuzzo with 13:47 to go in the second period. It's the fifth straight St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.19.2018 season – out of five full seasons he's played – in which Tarasenko has scored 20 goals in a season. It was his third goal in four games and he has six points in four games. Tarasenko is the ninth player in Blues history to have 20 or more goals in five straight seasons. Pietrangelo extended the lead, putting in an imperfect clearance by Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson of a shot by Tage Thompson for an unassisted goal. It was Pietrangelo's first goal since Nov. 9 against Arizona,a span of 27 games. That goal also meant Blues' defensemen have scored in five straight games; Pietrangelo follows in the footsteps of Vince Dunn, Colton Parayko, Carl Gunnarsson and Parayko. Then Schenn, who had gone 11 games without a goal, scored his 18th of the season, holding off an Ottawa defenseman to backhand a pass from Steen in to make it 3-0. Schenn and Steen each finished with a goal and an assist. Ottawa quickly answered, with Bobby Ryan scoring from outside past a screened Hutton 28 seconds later to make it 3-1. Hutton faced only 21 shots in the win, while the Blues had 37 shots on goal. In his past six starts, the Blues are 5-0-1 with a 1.78 GAA and a .935 save percentage. The Blues had a chance to extend their lead with 77 seconds of five-on- three time at the start of the third period, but the Blues didn't even get a shot on goal during that span. The Blues are now 0-7 with a two-man advantage this season, and six of those power plays have been 57 seconds or more. Four have been more than a minute. The Blues are one of nine teams in the league not to have a five-on-three goal this season. Paul Stastny had his 24th assist of the season and has nine points in seven games in January. SECOND PERIOD UPDATE OTTAWA – Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 20th goal of the season, the Blues two All-Stars, Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden Schenn, scored 4:02 apart as the Blues dominated the second period and opened up a 3-1 lead over the Senators after 40 minutes at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday. The Blues outshot Ottawa 19-6 in the period. Tarasenko broke open a scoreless game by tipping in a shot by Robert Bortuzzo with 13:47 to go in the period. It's the fifth straight season – out of five complete seasons he's played – in which Tarasenko has scored 20 goals in a season. It was his third goal in four games and he has six points in four games. 1093846 Tampa Bay Lightning

Life is good for Jonathan Marchessault.

Thursday, Jan 18, 2018 Joe Smith

The former Lightning forward is thriving for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, which recently signed the undrafted forward to a six-year, $30 million deal. Marchessault's wife is expecting their third child, a son, in April. But Marchessault, 27, admits his brief time in Tampa Bay (2014-16) is a big reason why he's got to this point in his career. "It started here," Marchessault said before facing the Lightning Thursday. "I was just trying to find my way as a hockey player in the NHL and they gave me a chance. I couldn't be more happy for sure." The Lightning acquired Marchessault from Columbus in 2014, the wing even appearing in the Eastern Conference Final that year for Tampa Bay against the Rangers. After being one of the last cuts at 2015 training camp – and clearing waivers – Marchessault had a breakout season (seven goals, 18 assists in 45 games). The Lightning wanted to re-sign Marchessault as an unrestricted free agent that summer, offering him a similar two-year, one-way deal as Florida. But the Panthers promised more playing time. "It was a similar offer," Marchessault said. "It was just a question of playing games. I was at the time in my career when I just needed to be in the lineup and if I was there, I'd make the most of it. Florida was telling me I could play on the third, fourth line to start and Tampa couldn't say that. "It was a tough decision to go away for sure." It is crazy to think where Marchessault was just over two years ago, living in a downtown Tampa hotel with his wife and two young children. The couple would put their young son in bed, then sleep on the sofa bed with their daughter. Marchessault said they just made it work. "Just stick with it, stay positive," Marchessault said. "And good things happen." More from morning skate: Former Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison, taken by Vegas in the June expansion draft, was called up by the Golden Knights but won't play tonight. Garrison, who has spent most of this season with AHL Chicago, said it's just a pleasure to still be playing. Garrison, 33, said of all AHL cities, Chicago isn't a bad place to play, and he realizes the first-place Golden Knights have a really good team. Garrison spent the previous three seasons in Tampa Bay, admittedly surprised he got taken in the expansion draft. "You never know in this league – it can go either way for you at certain times," said Garrison, who has played just four games this season. "You just try to continue to move forward and put a smile on your face. Because it goes by quick." The Lightning will start Andrei Vasilevskiy tonight, with Marc Andre Fleury going for Vegas… Looks like Tampa Bay will go 12/6, with Cory Conacher back in and Andrej Sustr out as the seventh defenseman. The Lightning stuck with the same lines (Kunitz-Stamkos-Kucherov/Palat- Point-Johnson/Gourde-Namestnikov-Killorn/Conacher-Paquette- Callahan. Mikhail Sergachev ran point on the first power play with Anton Stralman leading the second. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093847 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning’s Cory Conacher hopes ‘simple’ leads to more ice time

By Roger Mooney | Times Staff Writer Published: January 18, 2018Updated: January 18, 2018 at 01:06 PM

The loss of wing J.T. Brown to Anaheim will be a gain for some Lightning forwards in terms of ice time. Whether that player is currently with the team or still at AHL Syracuse has yet to be determined. Center Cory Conacher, a healthy scratch in the Lightning's past three games, will try to take advantage of any opportunity that might come his way, beginning tonight when the Lightning returns from the five-day bye week against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights. "For sure," Conacher said after the morning skate. But Conacher (three goals, three assists in 17 games) understands Brown was placed on waivers last Saturday in an effort to create roster flexibility so GM Steve Yzerman can bring up some of the Crunch's top performers. "I can't get too comfortable," Conacher said. "Obviously, there's guys battling down there in Syracuse for spots up here as well. So I just got to try and just play the same way. Take each day the same way. Come to practice ready to play and try to build chemistry with the guys I'm with. So, we'll see. If I'm in the lineup tonight I'll be giving it my all and doing whatever it takes to help my team win." Lightning coach Jon Cooper said it was tough see Brown leave the organization. "Those are always tough. Especially J.T. has been with us a while," Cooper said. "As I said to him, you look at kind of the footprint of this team has made over the last couple years, especially our run to the Stanley Cup Final, and everybody thinks of the triplets and Stammer (Steve Stamkos), Fil (Valtteri Filppula) and Killer (Alex Killorn). But we really don't go anywhere without (Ryan) Callahan, Ceddy (Cedric Paquette) and Brownie. "You think about how they just shut down lines all the way through our playoff run and how big they were for us. That's why it is sad to see guys go because it's just a little bit of turning the page on somebody that's been with you and you've had success with. He's a standup kid. I've got a lot of time for J.T. Brown and thanked him for everything he's done for us and wish him all the best. And that's one thing about the way the system is set up, This is a chance for him to go somewhere else and do some good. The only thing about these, I'm glad if these guys leave, they go to the West so we don't have to see them." Back to Conacher, whose last name carries weight among longtime hockey fans. Those guys battling down in Syracuse include left wing Adam Erne (12 goals/26 points in 39 games), center Matthew Peca (31 points in 40 games), left wing Alex Volkov (11 goals/24 points in 39 games) and center Carter Verhaeghe (8 goals/25 points in 27 games). The Lightning did not bring up anyone from Syracuse for tonight's game, which bodes well for Conacher. The key to earning more time, he said, is to not press, to not try too hard. "I just want to be hard on the forecheck, create turnovers and be simple in the D-zone," he said. "I just have to play simple. I think I just have to try and shot the puck a little more. I got in this league by shooting the puck, putting pucks on net and create offensive chances that way." Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093848 Tampa Bay Lightning And Gasparilla’s Lykes said there is a "possibility that pirates show up on skates and wreak havoc on Amalie Arena" during events leading up to the big game. EVENTS ‘Piratically speaking,’ NHL thrilled to don Gasparilla garb for All- The sports commission and the Tampa Bay Lightning have been Star Game pressing the NHL for years to bring Tampa a signature hockey event such as an all-star weekend or an outdoor game. By Paul Guzzo | Published: January 18, 2018Updated: January 18, 2018 So in January 2017, as more than 60,000 tourists poured into Tampa for at 09:44 AM the College Football Playoff National Championship, the NHL sent executives here for a site visit to grade the area on how well it handled a big sports event. TAMPA — Jose Gaspar, mythical pirate, meet Lord Stanley of Preston. "They saw how we set up, so the league had a good comfort level," Higgins said. Hang out, get to know one another, have as much fun as possible during the wrinkle in time that makes possible what will likely be a one-time-only What impressed the NHL most, Higgins said: How the Tampa Riverwalk encounter. now connects downtown venues and hotels. Next weekend, the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates and the National Hockey Still, it appeared the Winter Olympics would replace the All-Star Game as League All-Star Game share the spotlight in downtown Tampa — the first the annual break in NHL season play, as it has the past five times that time the game with its Friday through Sunday activities has overlapped once-every-four-years international games were held. with an event as big as Gasparilla. Then in April 2017, the NHL announced it would not send players to "This is a huge deal," said Christopher Lykes, captain of festival sponsor South Korea for the Feb. 9-25 Olympics. The 2018 All-Star game was the Krewe of Gasparilla. "And maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity." back on and needed a venue. The soonest the All-Star Game returns to Tampa would be 2038, said "Normally, you’d have 12 to 18 months to prepare," said Bill Wickett, Steve Mayer, NHL executive vice president. executive vice president for communications with Amalie Arena. "We’d have half of that." "As you know, there are a lot of teams and new buildings and things like that," Meyer said. "The All-Star Game is naturally moved around." Tampa was the NHL’s first choice, Wickett added, the Gasparilla parade and its estimated 300,000 partiers notwithstanding. Not to mention that the two events are scheduled based on different considerations. The All-Star Game was last held in Tampa on Jan. 24, "They knew Tampa could do it," Wickett said. 1999 — a year when the Gasparilla parade was staged two weeks later on Feb. 6. Still, before Tampa said yes, stakeholders had to be consulted. What’s more, had the NHL decided to send its players to the Winter The Krewe of Gasparilla, which started the parade in 1904, said yes Olympics in South Korea, there wouldn’t even have been an All-Star immediately, eager for the exposure. Game this year. "It is an awesome opportunity to take a hidden jewel with Gasparilla that But overlapping as they are in 2018, organizers have been meeting for doesn’t have a lot of national familiarity and expose it to a new audience," months to create synergy between the events. Higgins said. "We don’t want to infringe on their event and they don’t want to infringe City of Tampa and Hillsborough County authorities felt confident the on ours," Mayer said. "Yet we want to complement each other." region could pull off two events simultaneously, Higgins said, because of its experience hosting the 2009 Super Bowl, the 2012 Republican A fresh new #NHLAllStar look on South Howard. ??#GoBolts National Convention and the 2017 college football championship. pic.twitter.com/rHR3bUNPkB In the end, the question came down to hotel rooms. — Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 16, 2018 About one-third of All-Star Game attendees are coming from out of town, Any time a hockey decision-maker had an idea for merging themes, the Higgins said, so the NHL needed a guarantee of at least 1,700 rooms in krewe would answer, "Not a problem, let’s just make sure it’s done the downtown and the Westshore areas. Hotels stepped up with more piratically," said Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports than 2,600 rooms. Commission, which helped land the game for Amalie Arena. Next came meetings to make sure the NHL and Gasparilla events didn’t "The NHL lit up the first time they heard that and probably found a way to get in the way of one another. Little conflict was identified. use the phrase ‘piratically’ 47 times in the rest of the meetings." The Krewe of Gasparilla laid claim to downtown roads in the parade In reality, Jose Gaspar and Lord Stanley would never have met. vicinity and Curtis Hixon Park. The NHL was fine with that. For starters, the pirate was most likely a fictional character. But even if he Major events will indeed overlap on Saturday: The NHL Fan Festival were flesh and blood, legend has him dying in 1821 when his ship was outside Amalie Arena from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday; the Gasparilla sunk off the shores of Gasparilla Island along Charlotte and Lee flotilla invasion from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., ending at the Tampa counties. Convention Center; and the parade along Bayshore Boulevard from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., ending at Curtis Hixon Park and featuring Lord Stanley, Frederick Arthur Stanley, was the real governor general of entertainment along the Riverwalk throughout the day and into the night. Canada and created the cup that’s named for him as a way to unify teams engaged in the sport. He was born in London in 1841 — 20 years But the NHL and Gasparilla sponsors envision different crowds will turn after the purported pirate passed away. out for each set of events. The league’s All-Star Skills Competition inside Amalie Arena doesn’t start until 7 p.m. Saturday. Still, they will meet symbolically in Tampa. Even the traffic is something downtown has experienced before, planners When the pirate ship José Gasparilla docks at the Tampa Convention said. Center to kick off the parade Saturday, Jan. 27, it will carry the iconic Stanley Cup championship trophy and the trophy’s NHL custodians — During the past three years, on Gasparilla Saturday, the arena has sold dressed as swashbucklers. out for events — twice for Lightning games and once for a concert, Wickett said. If anything, he said, traffic may be lighter than then because Other examples of convergence: a third of those attending Saturday’s Skill’s Competition will be from out of town and walking from nearby hotels. The parade’s grand marshal will be former Tampa Bay Lightning All-Star Vincent Lecavalier. "Will it take longer to get to Amalie than on a normal Saturday? Absolutely," Higgins said. "Will it take longer than a normal Gasparilla Rather than tossing foam cannonballs into the parade crowds as is Saturday? We don’t anticipate that. It may be a little better." tradition, the Krewe of Gasparilla will throw soft hockey pucks. Still, the NHL All-Star Game website includes a note that "traffic will be The NHL says it incorporated the pirate theme into the All-Star Game extremely heavy" and advising guests coming downtown Saturday to do logo with "subtle border treatments inspired by the decoratively carved so prior to 11 a.m. The note includes a link to alternative transportation tailboards found along the bow that tie back to Tampa Bay’s annual options. Gasparilla Festival." With Gasparilla a Saturday-only celebration, the NHL will own downtown on Sunday, when the puck is set to drop at 3:30 p.m. for the nationally broadcast namesake game featuring a 3-on-3 tournament among All-Star teams representing the league’s four divisions. The NHL and Gasparilla are even sharing resources. A stage and concert equipment being used for an All-Star weekend concert at Curtis Hixon Park on Friday night will then be used by Gasparilla for live bands there on Saturday. Tampa expects to benefit economically from the dual event weekend. The Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission reports last year’s NHL All-Star weekend generated more than $20 million in visitor tourism. Gasparilla and its Children’s Parade held a week prior typically combine to bring in around the same amount. Still, don’t expect the two to double that amount, said Patrick Harrison, chief marketing officer of Visit Tampa Bay, the local tourism agency. "There will be crossover traffic," Harrison said. But based on hotel estimates, the economic impact should outpace a normal Gasparilla weekend, he said. "It will be very hard to get a hotel room anywhere in the Tampa Bay region." Last year on Gasparilla day, county hotel occupancy was 87.8 percent. Projections call for a number above 90 percent this year, said Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay. If all goes well, even if the NHL All-Star game and Gasparilla never overlap again, other major events could be scheduled on the same weekend as the parade in the future. "We have a short list of events, sports and entertainment, that could happen over this time frame," Higgins said. He would not elaborate. What about the NFL Super Bowl, scheduled for this time of year in 2021 at Raymond James Stadium? "I would never say never," Gasparilla’s Lykes said. When pro football’s championship game was held in Tampa in 2001, the Gasparilla parade was rescheduled a week earlier to overlap with Super Bowl weekend for the added exposure. An estimated 750,000 people attended the parade that year and a traffic consultant who had worked eight Super Bowls said he had never seen anything like it, "except for Bangkok, Thailand." The area has proved it can handle the traffic better now than in 2001, Lykes said. The Super Bowl returned to Tampa in 2009, but without the double bill of Gasparilla. Visit Tampa Bay’s Corrada suggests living in the present, not the future. "This is going to be a great mix of visitors and locals coming together to cheer another marquee event in Hillsborough County and a great 100- year tradition," Corrada said. "It will be a great weekend." Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093849 Tampa Bay Lightning "If you lose to a better team that night when you give it you’re all, you tip your cap," Stralman said. "But when you beat yourself like (Thursday), it’s unacceptable." Lightning falls to Golden Knights Golden Knights 2 1 1 4 Lightning 0 1 0 1 Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer Published: January 18, 2018Updated: First Period—1, Vegas, Neal 19 (Engelland, Perron), 0:56. 2, Vegas, January 19, 2018 at 12:04 AM Schmidt 3 (Haula, McNabb), 16:03. Penalties—None. Second Period—3, Tampa Bay, Palat 8 (Stamkos, Kucherov), 10:18 (pp). TAMPA — The door to the Lightning dressing room remained closed a 4, Vegas, Perron 10 (Engelland, Theodore), 17:43. Penalties—Karlsson, little longer than usual Thursday night, and that wasn’t surprising. VGK, (tripping), 9:04; Gourde, TB, (hooking), 14:00. After the kind of performance displayed in its 4-1 loss to the expansion Third Period—5, Vegas, Karlsson 24 (Marchessault), 0:18. Penalties— Golden Knights, this had players-only meeting written all over it. No Dotchin, TB, (slashing), 3:29; Bellemare, VGK, (interference), 9:42; specifics were given about what was discussed. Karlsson, VGK, (tripping), 11:23; Dotchin, TB, (roughing), 19:34; Lindberg, VGK, (roughing), 19:34; Tuch, VGK, (roughing), 19:34; "None of your business," Anton Stralman said. Paquette, TB, (roughing), 19:34. Shots on Goal—Vegas 8-11-11—30. Tampa Bay 12-9-8—29. Power-play opportunities—Vegas 0 of 2; Tampa But what players did say after the doors were open was telling about Bay 1 of 3. Goalies—Vegas, Fleury 10-3-2 (29 shots-28 saves). Tampa what’s behind this recent funk, the Lightning having lost four of its past Bay, Vasilevskiy 27-8-2 (30-26). six. More Information "It all starts with how we work," Stralman said. "And we’re not a good team when we don’t work. And (Thursday) was one of those nights we Up next didn’t show. at Wild, 9 Saturday, St. Paul, Minn. "(Vegas) is as good team, but I don’t think they did anything remarkable out there. They played simple, and we just didn’t put up a fight. And that’s TV/radio: Fox Sports Sun; 970-AM on us." Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.19.2018 The Lightning (31-11-3) is still in a good position, the best team in the East, though its Atlantic Division lead on surging second-place Boston is shrinking, down to five points with the Bruins holding a game in hand. "By no means is there panic in this room," captain Steven Stamkos said. "Absolutely not." But Stamkos said that starting with himself, the team needs to give a more "passionate performance" in its end. The defensive issues that had crept into the Lightning’s game before its bye week, even with now-hurt Victor Hedman in the lineup, continued to show up Thursday, Tampa Bay’s first game back from its bye. Coach Jon Cooper said the Lightning played hard, not smart, and forgot about its own net. Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov were minus-3. "As a leader, I have to be a lot better, set an example," Stamkos said. Stralman was minus-2. And this won’t get any easier with Hedman — who suffered a lower-body injury Jan. 11 against the Flames, the last game before the bye — out three to six weeks. "Just attention to detail. It’s thinking of the right net," Stamkos said. "This group, we know when we’re on our game, taking care of our own end, we’re not having to rely on (goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy) to make 10-bell saves." Vasilevskiy, an All-Star and Vezina Trophy candidate, is starting to look human. He has allowed 19 total goals in his past four starts. Though you can’t pin this loss on Vasilevskiy, he didn’t seem to be seeing the puck as well as he usually does. Those team warts Vasilevskiy has covered up for portions of this season are in the open, Thursday the sellout crowd of 19,092 at Amalie Arena (and a TV audience) to see. General manager Steve Yzerman had said this period without Hedman would be key to see how much he’d have to address his blue line at the trade deadline. And this wasn’t a good start. Rookie Mikhail Sergachev, who needs to play a bigger role, had a few lapses, including getting caught in the neutral zone on Vegas’ third goal. Even Stralman, the team’s steadiest defenseman left, was uncharacteristically beaten on a nifty toe-drag goal by David Perron. The Lightning’s struggles in the faceoff circle loomed large, with Vegas scoring two of its goals off draws. Tampa Bay entered Thursday ranked 30th in the league in the circle, something it might have to address by the deadline. The Lightning was fine in the offensive zone and created its share of chances. Ondrej Palat scored a power-play goal midway through the second to cut the Golden Knights’ lead to 2-1. Tampa Bay seemed to gather some momentum, with Stamkos nearly setting up Kucherov off a rush. Then, moments later, Perron scored off a Vegas rush, and it seemed to take the air out of the Tampa Bay bench. But there wasn’t enough push by the Lightning in the third period, and that was the theme in the dressing room. 1093850 Tampa Bay Lightning

Joe Smith’s takeaways from Thursday’s Lightning-Golden Knights game

Joe Smith, Published: January 18, 2018Updated: January 18, 2018 at 09:54 PM

Thought the bye week was a much-needed break for Andrei Vasilevskiy. And though you can’t pin Thursday’s loss on the goalie, he still gave up at least four goals for the fourth straight start (19 overall). Tampa Bay is used to Vasilevskiy’s brilliance bailing it out. The All-Star didn’t seem to see the puck well Thursday. Don’t look now, but the Bruins are creeping up on the Lightning in the division. Boston is 11-0-4 in its past 15 games, including Thursday’s win against the Islanders, and it’s within five points of Tampa Bay (with a game in hand). The Bruins are the Lightning’s biggest threat in the East, in my opinion, with three meetings left. Anyone who still thinks Vegas is a fluke isn’t watching. The Golden Knights are one of the best teams in the league, with a deep, relentless four-line forward group and a Stanley Cup-winning goalie in net. Wouldn’t be surprised if Vegas or Nashville represents the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup final. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093851 Tampa Bay Lightning • Cool moment with four former Lightning All-Stars — Brian Bradley, Pavel Kubina, Freddy Modin and Dino Ciccarelli — taking part in the ceremonial puck drop. Lightning journal: Cory Conacher ready to take advantage of J.T. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.19.2018 Brown’s departure

By Roger Mooney | Times Staff Writer Published: January 18, 2018Updated: January 19, 2018 at 12:11 AM

TAMPA — The loss of wing J.T. Brown to Anaheim will be a gain for some Lightning forwards in terms of ice time. Whether those players are currently with the team or still at AHL Syracuse has yet to be determined. For now, C Cory Conacher will try to take advantage of any opportunity that might come his way. He played in Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Golden Knights after being a healthy scratch the previous three games. He played 12:12 and didn’t have a point, but his plus-minus was even. He had one shot and two blocks. But Conacher (three goals, three assists in 18 games) understands that Brown was placed on waivers Saturday to create roster flexibility so GM Steve Yzerman can bring up some of the Crunch’s top performers. "I can’t get too comfortable," Conacher said. "Obviously, there’s guys batting down there in Syracuse for spots up here as well. So I just got to try and just play the same way. Take each day the same way. Come to practice ready to play and try to build chemistry with the guys I’m with." The Lightning did not call up anyone for the Vegas game, which bodes well for Conacher. The key to earning more time, he said, is to not press, to not try too hard. "I just want to be hard on the forecheck, create turnovers and be simple in the D-zone," he said. "I just have to play simple. I think I just have to try and shoot the puck a little more. I got in this league by shooting the puck, putting pucks on net and creating offensive chances that way." ‘Started here’ Life is good for Jonathan Marchessault. The former Lightning forward is thriving with the expansion Golden Knights, who recently signed the undrafted forward to a six-year, $30 million deal. And Marchessault’s wife is expecting their third child, a son, in April. Marchessault, 27, said that his brief time in Tampa Bay (2014-16) is a big reason he has gotten to this point in his career. "It started here," Marchessault said. "I was just trying to find my way as a hockey player in the NHL, and they gave me a chance. I couldn’t be more happy, for sure." After being one of the Lightning’s last cuts at 2015 training camp — and clearing waivers — Marchessault had a breakout season with seven goals and 18 assists in 45 games. The Lightning wanted to re-sign him as an unrestricted free agent in summer 2016, offering him a two-year, one-way deal similar to one he got from the Panthers. But the Panthers promised more playing time. "I was at the time in my career when I just needed to be in the lineup, and if I was there, I’d make the most of it," Marchessault said. "Florida was telling me I could play on the third, fourth line to start, and Tampa couldn’t say that. "It was a tough decision to go away, for sure." Marchessault led the Panthers in goals last season with 30 and was third on the team with 51 points, but Florida left him unprotected for June’s expansion draft, where Vegas took him. He had an assist against the Lightning to increase his team-leading point total to 42. He is third on the team in goals (16). Slap shots • Rookie D Mikhail Sergachev took injured Victor Hedman’s spot on the top power-play unit and drew assignments with Vegas’ top line. But Sergachev said he’ll only get the minutes he "deserves." • Good to see former Lightning D Jason Garrison back in the NHL. Garrison, taken by Vegas in June’s expansion draft, was called up by the Golden Knights but didn’t play Thursday. The 33-year-old has spent most of this season in the AHL but said "you just try to continue to move forward and put a smile on your face." 1093852 Toronto Maple Leafs games in January heading into Thursday’s game in Philadelphia — Rielly’s ability to shut down the best players is still his strength.

“We need Mo not only to be good offensively but to be a good lockdown Morgan Rielly emerging as offensive threat from Leafs’ blueline guy for us, playing against the best people and be a good star for us,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. “He’s an important guy on our team and has to keep going.” By DAVID ALTERThe Canadian Press Note to readers: This is a corrected version of an earlier story. The Maple Thu., Jan. 18, 2018 Leafs scored 10 goals in January before Thursday night’s game in Philadelphia, not two as previously stated.

Toronto Star LOADED: 01.19.2018 Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly knew he could be a better offensive player. In his final season with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League, Rielly collected 12 goals and 42 assists. His 54 points during the 2012-13 season were fifth-best among defenceman in the league third- best on his team. However, his flair for offence had not translated at the professional level. Until now. Heading into Thursday’s game, Rielly had five goals and 26 assists in 46 games. His 31 points are just five shy of his career-high set during the 2015-16 season over a full 82-game schedule. “I think it’s just confidence,” Rielly said at practice this week. “I worked on some things in the off-season, but it was also about being really motivated over the summer to be better.” Last April, the Leafs’ season ended with a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Washington Capitals. Toronto had caught teams by surprise, given they were among the youngest teams in the league and had just come off a season in which they finished last (29-42-11, 69 pts.). Rielly, having just completed his fourth season with the Leafs, anticipated that he would have to improve his game. Recording more points was one area where he could show improvement. “I wasn’t all that happy with the offensive aspect of my game last year. I had more to give,” Rielly said. This past summer, Rielly incorporated more skating into his off-season training. He also used the services of Leafs skills consultant Darryl Belfry, who has become the pre-eminent skills coach around the league. He has worked with some of the best NHL players, including Sidney Crosby, John Tavares and Patrick Kane. Unlike traditional skill development, Belfry reviews tape of players and pinpoints movement inefficiencies that once corrected, show improvement with immediate results. “When I created my system, I wanted to develop it in a way that can make a large impact on the player immediately,” Belfry said in a 2014 interview. “I found myself doing more analyzing of the athlete to see what is it specifically that he needs, what is the next level?” In Rielly’s case, there were tweaks to his positioning that have led to more point production. While in the opponent’s zone, Rielly has seen tendencies of players and responded by staying closer to the boards resulting in more wins during puck battles. “We’re talking a lot, and it’s good to have a voice up there help you out,” Rielly said of Belfry. Other factors have contributed to Rielly’s success offensively. Twelve of his 31 points have come on the power play. He leads the team in average ice time with the man advantage at 2:20 per game. Last season, Rielly averaged just 0:58 of power-play time per game and recorded five points with the extra man. When Rielly was selected fifth overall by the Leafs at the 2012 draft, they hoped that he could one day become the team’s No. 1 defenceman. Rielly has seen different coaches and general managers come and go since then, but the vision for him has never wavered. This summer, when Toronto made changes to their roster, the defence was left mostly intact, with the exception of signing veteran defenceman Ron Hainsey to a two-year, $6-million contract. It was the biggest vote of confidence for Rielly that they believe he is their No. 1 defenceman. “A lot of people look at guys like Drew Doughty (of the Los Angeles Kings) at 18 years old and think that’s how you become a No. 1 defenceman, but for every one of those, there are a bunch who become No. 1 with a bit more time, and he’s doing that,” Hainsey said of Rielly. Although Rielly has taken significant strides offensively, it’s the defensive side of his game that Toronto has come to depend on most. Given Toronto’s recent struggles to score — they had just 10 goals over six 1093853 Toronto Maple Leafs Andersen, who stopped 34 of 37 shots, seemed particularly perturbed by it all. Speaking of the goal that tied it 2-2 — a two-on-one wherein Rielly, the last man back on a botched power play, slid helplessly along the ice Leafs fall to Flyers in OT as Simmonds one-timed home a short-handed laser — Andersen called out that entire power-play unit for its work, or lack thereof. (Rielly, it ought to be noted, appeared to hurt his left arm or shoulder in a net-front tangle and played short minutes in the third.) By DAVE FESCHUK “I think a lot of guys on the bench (were) pretty frustrated not being on Thu., Jan. 18, 2018 the power play and seeing that kind of effort,” Andersen said. The offending parties of which Andersen spoke were, in no particular order, Marner, van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak. Andersen PHILADELPHIA—Flyers forward Nolan Patrick scored the first goal of said the Maple Leafs’ big advantage in the Atlantic Division standings — the third-period comeback after he stripped Mitch Marner of the puck on where they’ve maintained their stranglehold on a playoff spot even with Toronto’s doorstep. Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds scored the second their recent struggles — can’t be an excuse for such lapses. after Morgan Rielly misplayed a two-on-one. “We’re pretty comfortable (in the standings), but that can’t be any reason On a night when untimely gaffes came back to bite the Maple Leafs, it for not playing the right way,” Andersen said. “We’ve got to be ready was only fitting that Jake Gardiner and William Nylander looked when it comes past (next week’s all-star break). It’s going to be tougher defensively confused as Flyers forward Sean Couturier scored the for everyone, teams trying to catch us, and we can’t slide like this.” overtime capper to a 3-2 Flyers victory. The Leafs have been specializing in key brain cramps of late. Toronto’s fourth straight defeat — their Toronto Star LOADED: 01.19.2018 seventh in nine games — certainly had its share. And at least one Maple Leaf — goaltender Frederik Andersen — has seen just about enough. “I think we’ve got to look each other in the eyes here, and determine where we want to go from here,” said Andersen. “I don’t think we’re tired. I think it’s a lack of effort at certain points. We’ve got to figure this out if we want to play meaningful hockey later. “We’ve got to figure out who wants to commit to playing for the team . . . We’ve got to have a different attitude.” For a lot of Thursday night — Eric Lindros sweater-retirement night at the Wells Fargo Center — the Leafs put on an impressive enough road show. Take Connor Brown, for instance. The 24-year-old Leafs winger has always been a study in the maximization of opportunity. He’s the 13th- round OHL draft pick who once put up a 128-point OHL season. He’s the sixth-round NHL pick who, for most of this season, has been skating with the fourth line. And yet, his outsized numbers continue to suggest he’d be worthy of a larger role. On Thursday, Brown got one. As is his way, he also made the most of it. Promoted to Auston Matthews’ line, Brown scored on his first shift with the Leafs’ top unit, beating Michal Neuvirth — who was hard to beat all night — on a second-period breakaway to give the Leafs their first goal. It was Brown’s second goal in as many games. And it punctuated a run of impressive play that had head coach Mike Babcock taking notice in the lead-up to Thursday’s matchup. “Any time a guy like that plays like (Brown is playing), he’s sending a message to everyone else at the same time. He wants more ice time. He wants their job,” Babcock said. “So I think that’s a good message for our team.” Said Babcock of Brown after the game: “I thought he was ultra- competitive. I thought he was helping us.” Brown’s goal gave him 12 on the year, 10 of which have come at even strength. Only Matthews, Patrick Marleau and James van Riemsdyk have more even-strength goals for the Maple Leafs this season. Only one forward who’s played at least 40 of Toronto’s 47 games has averaged less even-strength ice time per game — 11:27 a night heading into Thursday. Philadelphia Flyers celebrate after scoring the game-winning goal during overtime. Twenty-eight seconds after Brown’s goal, Frederik Gauthier scored his first of the season to make it 2-0. But the two-goal bulge didn’t last long enough. Thursday marked Toronto’s sixth straight one-goal game. It was also their third game in four in which they saw a third-period lead morph into an overtime loss thanks to less-than-optimal execution of relatively basic fundamentals. Babcock acknowledged that the sudden rash of blown advantages “gets in your head.” “There’s no reason to let things get in your head,” Babcock said. “We’re going through a spell. We’re not as good as we can be. Let’s find a way to dig out . . . We’ve got to get our head right. But I thought we had lots of good things going today. We had a pretty good game. Looked like we were really coming out of it. And then we’re right back to where we were.” 1093854 Toronto Maple Leafs “I think it’s wrong to speculate. You play with the rules you’re given,” Lindros said. “I’m glad that things have progressed. I’m glad that (concussion) awareness has truly picked up. I just wish there was more Time heals all wounds for Lindros in Philly research we could rely upon for change . . . (Concussions) will occur. It’s inevitable. I think overall the league has done well. I just really hope they would involve themselves on the research side of things. By DAVE FESCHUK “We’re nowhere near where we need to be. A lot of it stems from the (lack of) research dollars.” Thu., Jan. 18, 2018 On Thursday, Lindros gave a speech that would have seemed unfathomable not too many years ago, paying tribute to Legion of Doom linemates Mikael Renberg and John LeClair — the latter of whom Lindros PHILADELPHIA—When Eric Lindros and the Philadelphia Flyers parted said “belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame” — along with a long list of ways in a fog of acrimony back in 2001, it would have been an outlandish former coaches and teammates. Lindros also spent time crediting Flyers scene to conjure: Lindros’s No. 88 raised to the rafters in the Flyers’ president Paul Holmgren with helping mend the once-massive rift home rink. between No. 88 and the franchise of his prime. Thursday’s peace offering But such was Thursday’s hell-frozen-over moment on Broad Street. On a also included a Rolex, presented to Lindros after Holmgren pointed out night that saw every seat draped in a commemorative No. 88 T-shirt that in the half-century-plus of Flyers history, “only a few names come to complete with the captain’s “C” once stripped from Lindros’s sweater, mind immediately . . . and Eric Lindros is one of those names.” Lindros was asked at an accompanying press conference if he could “You’re back where you belong,” Holmgren said. “And this time, it’s have imagined such a production when he left Philadelphia in 2001. The forever.” man they called the Big E laughed a little. Toronto Star LOADED: 01.19.2018 “No,” Lindros said. “You?” Uh, no. Don’t forget that Lindros was only traded to the New York Rangers after sitting out the 2000-01 season dealing with post- concussion symptoms and demanding to be dealt to the Maple Leafs. So the whole thing, held in the lead-up to a Flyers-Maple Leafs game, was hard to fathom. The massive on-ice projections that made Thursday’s ceremony a stunning production read “88 Forever.” But Lindros, though he was hockey’s biggest star at the height of his considerable powers, was only around these parts for a relatively short time. The MVP of the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, Lindros played 486 games for the Flyers, which ranks 37th on the franchise’s all-time list. To put that in perspective, current Philly captain Claude Giroux was playing in his 701st game for the Flyers in Thursday’s post-ceremony tilt, and Giroux only turned 30 last week. Lindros, 44, peaked in his age-22 season with a 47-goal, 115-point campaign. After that he played parts of just four more seasons for the Flyers, missing an average of about 28 games a season to a series of injuries, including concussions. (His brief turn with the Maple Leafs, wherein he managed 11 goals and 22 points in 33 games in 2005-06, was waylaid by a wrist injury.) All that said, nobody in attendance at Wells Fargo Center seemed to mind the sight of Lindros’s number being hoisted alongside Philadelphia immortals Bernie Parent (1), Mark Howe (2), Barry Ashbee (4), Bill Barber (7) and Bobby Clarke (16). Lindros, standing before a massive centre-ice rendering of his No. 88, was bathed in lengthy standing ovation. “(This is) one of those days you take for the rest of your life — the special moments,” Lindros said. “It’s just an extremely special moment where you feel lucky. You really feel lucky.” For years Lindros and Clarke, the latter the club’s general manager during Lindros’s playing days, were embroiled in a bitter feud. After Lindros criticized the team’s medical staff for misdiagnosing his injuries around 2000, Clarke stripped Lindros of his captaincy. Fed up and rocked by a series of head injuries, he sat out that full season demanding he be dealt. Their mutual dislike simmered for years. Still, no matter their feelings — and Lindros said Thursday he was looking forward to seeing Clarke, who was said to be in attendance — it was Clarke who publicly made the case for Lindros’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, which finally came in 2016. “We disagreed on some things, there’s no doubt,” Lindros said, speaking of Clarke. “But when it came down to hockey, and if winning is it, I can’t question Bob and his desire to do what he could in all cases to win.” Lindros’s love of the game has never been questioned, either. He spoke of how he still plays in a couple of weekly shinny games near his Toronto home. And on Thursday, after the Maple Leafs concluded an optional morning skate, Lindros spent 15 or 20 minutes on the ice, taking what he called “a little twirl” with 3-year-old son Carl Pierre, one of the three children he shares with his wife Kina. “You just never know when you’re going to have another chance to do that with your kid,” Lindros said. “Carl’s at an age now when he’s starting to grasp hockey . . . That’s the coolest part. He’s fired up . . . You’ll never have a chance like that ever again.” Lindros was asked how he might fare in today’s game, where predatory hits — like the bit of Scott Stevens viciousness that ended Lindros’s last game as a Flyer in 2000 — are no longer deemed legal. 1093855 Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.19.2018

Leafs fall in overtime to Flyers, have lost four in a row

Terry Koshan

PHILADELPHIA — Frederik Andersen issued a challenge late on Thursday night. We’ll find out soon enough whether his Maple Leafs teammates listened to their goaltender. An angry but matter-of-fact Andersen came out verbally swinging after the Leafs lost by a goal for the fourth consecutive game, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers. The loss at Wells Fargo Center came after the Leafs built a 2-0 lead in the second period, only to fritter it away in the third. “We have to figure out who wants to commit to playing for the team,” Andersen said. “We’ve got to look at the attitude. We played well enough for two periods, but we’ve got to find a way to keep the foot on the gas the whole game. We can’t be satisfied with two periods.” Goals by Nolan Patrick and Wayne Simmonds — the Simmonds goal was shorthanded — early in the third period tied the game after Connor Brown and Frederik Gauthier scored 28 seconds apart in the second period. “I think a lot of guys on the bench too, (would be) pretty frustrated to not be on the power play and seeing that kind of effort (on the Simmonds goal, which came on an odd-man rush),” Andersen said. “I think we have to look each other in the eyes and determine where we want to go from here. “I don’t think we’re tired. I think it’s lack of effort at certain points and it can’t happen. We have to figure this out if we want to play any meaningful hockey later.” On a night the Flyers honoured Eric Lindros with the retirement of his iconic No. 88, the Leafs, who next play in Ottawa on Saturday night, lost for the seventh time in nine games. The winning goal at 18 seconds came off the stick of Sean Couturier, who snapped the puck past Andersen after a pass from Travis Konecny. Neither Jake Gardiner nor William Nylander looked sharp on the play. With under three minutes remaining, Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth made a terrific save on Patrick Marleau. The pre-game ceremony for Lindros pushed the start of the game back an hour, and the Leafs stayed in the dressing room, though the Toronto coaching staff watched from the bench. The Flyers players and coaching were present for the banner raising, watching and applauding as Lindros spoke at centre ice. The feeling that the Leafs would go to the second intermission tied 0-0 for the second time in as many games was growing until Brown scored on a breakaway as his shot got through Neuvirth at 12:57 for a 1-0 Leafs lead, the chance coming after Shayne Gostisbehere overskated the puck. It came as Brown was playing his first shift with Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman after coach Mike Babcock did some line juggling. The move dropped Nylander to the fourth line with Frederik Gauthier and Matt Martin. “I just didn’t like what was happening,” Babcock said. “I thought that (Matthews) line was getting dominated. “I thought (Brown) was ultra-competitive and I thought he was helping us. I thought the Goat had a good game for us too. What we tried to do was get the players who were playing the hardest in the right spots to help us and that is what we did.” Babcock said Morgan Rielly, who fell awkwardly near the end of the second period but returned, will be checked out on Friday and his health determined afterward. Of the fourth loss in a row, Babcock said: “There is no reason to let things get in your head. We’re going through a spell where we are not as good as we can be. We should all walk out of here feeling terrible but we will get through that. We are in a great spot in the league, we like our team, let’s play the best we can.” 1093856 Toronto Maple Leafs

Babcock's advice to Marner: Forget and move on

Terry Koshan Published:January 18, 2018 Updated:January 18, 2018 11:46 PM EST

PHILADELPHIA — Mitch Marner hopes Mike Babcock was right. The Leafs forward was stripped of the puck by Nolan Patrick in the third period on Thursday night, resulting directly in a goal by the Flyers rookie. It got the Flyers off the mat. That came after Marner lost his man in overtime two nights earlier, leading to the winning goal for the St. Louis Blues. “I had something similar happen this year, and the next day Babs called me in and told me a pretty good line,” Marner said. “One of the best defencemen he got to coach was (Nicklas) Lidstrom and (Babcock) said when he would occasionally make a mistake and throw it up the middle, he wouldn’t think about it, he’d just go out and play the next shift. That’s what I try to do. “(The Patrick goal) is on me, my responsibility, but the game’s over now. There’s nothing I can do about it.” Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093857 Toronto Maple Leafs Starting for Philadelphia will be backup goalie Michal Neuvirth, who is 9- 5-1 versus the Leafs with a .902 save percentage and a 2.84 goals- against average. Maple Leafs' Kadri calls assist dry spell 'very unlucky' as Leafs try to end Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.19.2018 three-game losing streak

Terry Koshan January 18, 2018 Updated:January 18, 2018 1:30 PM EST

PHILADELPHIA — When Nazem Kadri glances at his stats line and sees no assists in his past 20 games, what comes to mind for the Maple Leafs centre? Is Kadri bewildered? Disappointed? Frustrated? Kadri, who has not been credited with an assist since a road game on Nov. 24 against Carolina, went a different way on Thursday morning at the Wells Fargo Center. “Very unlucky,” Kadri said. “I think I’ve had lots of opportunities to get in those positions and to set up my linemates for scoring chances and to score myself. “It just hasn’t been dropping for us. We’re playing with the puck, we’ve been playing up against these all-star calibre lines and we’re still finding ways to create offence and generate offensive scoring chances. Sometimes you’re not scoring, but you are going to change the momentum of the game and I think sometimes we have been able to do that.” Before the Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers meet on Thursday night, the Flyers will retire Eric Lindros’ No. 88 in a pre-game ceremony. “The ceremony for Eric will be something our guys will be looking forward to being part of, seeing a player like him and his jersey go up in the rafters,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “Our guys know how dominant he was in his era and what type of player he was. “(Lindros) was a player who was dominant in all phases of the game. There has not been, maybe nobody like him in the history of the NHL, in terms of the physical and skill package that he had.” Kadri’s dry spell — he also has just one goal in his past 17 games — has bubbled to the surface in the past couple of weeks, as the Leafs have lost six of eight going into Thursday night. Included in that are three consecutive losses in which the margin has been one goal. Though many think Connor Brown should be getting more ice time at even-strength at the expense of Leo Komarov, Leafs coach Mike Babcock continued to shoot that notion down. “Why don’t you canvas the top nine and see who wants to give (the ice time) up?” Babcock said. “You know what I mean? My wife can tell me what’s wrong but in our business you have to find a way to figure out what’s right. “So who am I taking (out)? I think Brownie is playing on our power play, playing a regular shift and playing well for us and penalty killing for us. I think he does a pretty good job. I think he was one of our players last game. “Any time a guy like that plays like that, he is sending a message to everyone else at the same time, how he wants more ice time, he wants their job. I think that is a good message for our team.” Just not enough, apparently, to unseat Komarov on the line with Kadri and Patrick Marleau. Meanwhile, though it appeared at practice on Wednesday that Dominic Moore would return to the lineup after six games as a healthy scratch, the veteran centre was one of four Leafs on the ice for an optional morning skate. Moore’s participation in the optional leads to the assumption that Frederik Gauthier will remain in the lineup as the Leafs’ fourth-line centre. Gauthier has played in the past six games, recording no points while skating an average of eight minutes 17 seconds a game. Frederik Andersen, 6-2-0 against the Flyers in his career with a .916 save percentage and a 2.84 goals-against average, will be in the Leafs net. 1093858 Toronto Maple Leafs Lindros wasn’t a dirty player, although he received his fair share of dirty hits, which ultimately curtailed his career. Now that he’s retired, most players know him as the big man with the big smile and the even bigger The hands were the window to Eric Lindros' hockey soul handshake. “He’s just like a big teddy bear,” Leafs forward Nazem Kadri said. “He’s so nice. But when I’d watch highlights, he’d have a little bit of a mean Michael Traikos streak to him too. I think he defined the game and created that position of a big forward. January 18, 2018 5:18 PM EST “He was ultimately the first one to come in and do what he did, and unfortunately it had to end quicker than it had to.” PHILADELPHIA — It’s his hands that the players couldn’t stop talking National Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 about. They were soft enough to deke around a defenceman and hard enough to knock out even the most block-headed of opponents. But it was the sheer size of them that awes other players. They were like a pair of calloused oven mitts with the crushing power of lobster claws. “His hands are massive,” Philadelphia Flyers rookie centre Nolan Patrick said. “His forearms are like this, you know,” said Flyers centre Scott Laughton, pushing his arms together to make one. “And then you shake his hand and it’s like, ‘Thanks, my hand’s broken now.’” To most of today’s NHLers, who only know Eric Lindros through old video, the former Flyers great was a freak of nature. He didn’t seem real. No one in hockey could be that big. And if they were, there’s no way they could skate or stickhandle or score goals like Lindros did over his 15-year career. He was six-foot-four and 240 pounds in his prime — comparable to an NFL linebacker. He was also fast and skilled with the puck, a goal-scorer in an ’s body. And he was mean, the type of player who went around as though he had an outstanding beef with everyone in an opposing jersey. “He’s kind of like a Ryan Reaves on steroids, with hands like Mitch Marner,” the 23-year-old Laughton said, laughing. “I was younger, but I still remember just how dominant he was. I actually remember the stick he used to use, a black Bauer with three pieces of tape in the middle.” It was a one-of-a-kind tape job for a one of a kind player. Lindros didn’t just score 865 points in 760 games, he also racked up 1,398 penalty minutes and fought everyone from Matt Barnaby and Jeff Beaukeboom to Scott Stevens and Marty McSorley. It’s not a stretch to suggest that there wasn’t anyone like him when he entered the league in 1992 and that there hasn’t been another like him since he hung up the skates in 2007. With his No. 88 jersey officially retired by the Flyers on Thursday, there will never be. “He did it every which way,” Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds said. “He could power through you, stickhandle around you and if you wanted to drop your gloves, he’d drop the gloves and beat the crap out of you. He was a special player and obviously that’s why he’s having his number retired.” “He was synonymous with the Flyers,” said Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk, who grew up across the river in New Jersey and spent the first three years of his career in Philadelphia. “Just the style of game he played fit in perfectly with the organization and what they were looking for.” Patrick Marleau, who is 38 years old, is one of the few who was also playing during Lindros’ prime years. His favourite memory of the Big E — “favourite” might not be the word — was when Marleau was a rookie with the San Jose Sharks and Lindros went through the roster like a runaway freight train. “I think in my first year he might have knocked two guys out of our side,” Marleau said. “One with an elbow and one with a fight. It was pretty impressive. I mean, you just knew you were in for a battle each and every night. Especially against him. Not only would he beat you up physically, he would beat you up on the scoreboard too.” There are skilled players in today’s NHL who deliver hits and occasionally drop the gloves and fight. But when asked if Alex Ovechkin or Jamie Benn reminds him of how Lindros was as a player, Marleau said sort of, but not really. “A couple of those guys can do it when they get a little mad,” he said. “But I think what made Eric so good was he was doing it on a nightly basis. He was playing nasty, being mean and scoring goals.” 1093859 Toronto Maple Leafs For 15 months, Lindros sat out of the lineup, with he and the Flyers trading barbs over the severity of his concussions and the treatment he was receiving. Finally, he was traded to the New York Rangers, where he 'It's forever': Lindros takes place among Philly icons as No. 88 retired by spent another three years before moving on to Toronto and then Dallas Flyers and then retiring in 2007. It wasn’t until the 2012 Winter Classic, when Holmgren extended an invitation for him to play in an alumni game, that Lindros returned to Michael Traikos Philadelphia. January 18, 2018 10:39 PM EST “We started talking and things started to build up and the blocks started to fall into place,” said Lindros. “Paul’s a special guy. And here we are.”

As Holmgren had said, now it’s forever — a message that Lindros took to PHILADELPHIA — The Big E was big-time grateful. heart. “It’s unbelievable,” said an emotional Eric Lindros, moments before his This week was about reconnecting with the city where he began his No. 88 was raised to the rafters at Wells Fargo Center and officially career and where he enjoyed the best years of his hockey life. On retired by the Philadelphia Flyers. Thursday, he woke up to a text message from Mark Howe — “The day couldn’t have started any better,” he said — and then took his wife, Kina, “These are one of those days that you can take for the rest of your life. and three-year-old son, Carl-Pierre, for a skate at Wells Fargo Center. Just extremely special moments where you feel lucky. You really feel lucky.” “You just never know when you’re ever going to have a chance to do that again with your kid. And Carl’s at an age now where he’s starting to Lucky is a curious word for a player who was largely without luck during grasp hockey and what’s going on. A great time. He came home and he the latter part of a career that was slowed down and eventually cut short normally doesn’t nap and he slept the entire afternoon with his Flyers by concussions. And yet, despite only playing 13 seasons — eight of jersey on. That’s the coolest part. He’s fired up. those in Philadelphia — few players made as big an impact as the 6-foot- 4 and 230-pound Lindros. “I’m very blessed to have played in Philadelphia.” For that, there was no need for luck. LEGION OF DOOM NOT LOVED BY ALL “To say Eric was a game-changer doesn’t do him justice,” said Flyers For most hockey fans, it was one of the greatest nicknames of all time. president Paul Holmgren. “Never was there a player with his unique But not everyone was a fan of the Legion of Doom. blend of size, skill, toughness, grit and determination.” “My grandmother didn’t like it,” said Mikael Renberg. “She thought it During eight years in Philadelphia, he scored 290 goals and 659 points in sounded too evil.” just 486 games. He reached the 40-goal mark four times, won a Hart Trophy as league MVP and led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup final in Most opponents would probably agree. 1997. The line of Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Renberg struck fear in More than that, he redefined the power forward position — a one-man whomever they played against. A blend of size — the 6-foot-3 and 215- wrecking ball who hit, fought and scored with the best of them. pounds, Renberg was the smallest of the three — skill and speed, the trio combined for 121 goals and 255 points in their first full season together. Simply put, he was a monster who put up monster numbers. On Thursday, he received a similarly fitting honour, joining five other Flyers “The thing is, when we are at the top of our game we knew that if we had greats — Barry Ashbee, Bill Barber, Bobby Clarke, Mark Howe and a faceoff in the offensive zone we were going to create a scoring Bernie Parent — to have their numbers retired. chance,” said Renberg. “That was a good feeling. And, of course, it was Eric getting me and John going.” “Are you kidding,” Lindros said of having his number retired. “Look at the names that are up there already … It’s a real thrill. It’s a truly special According to Lindros, it all started in practice. honour.” “I got to the point where if we were going to do these drills, let’s make Lindros, who had his wife, three kids and parents on the ice with him on sure at the end of it we score,” said Lindros. “If you’re going to shoot it, Thursday, also invited Legion of Doom linemates John LeClair and than really shoot it.” Mikael Renberg to be part of the ceremony. “Eric was a real catalyst for that,” said LeClair. “He got on us if we “I think Johnny belongs in the Hall of Fame,” said Lindros. weren’t burying the puck or we didn’t execute properly. I credit him a lot for that.” “It was tremendous what he did for my game,” said LeClair, who had three straight 50-goal seasons followed by back-to-back 40-goal seasons National Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 in his first five full seasons alongside Lindros. “When you have someone that powerful and with that presence on the ice, he’s going to have a lot of attention obviously. You just get open and he’s such a great passer that he would find you. He had all the tools. I’m living proof that he’s a great passer.” “What people don’t talk so much about was Eric had really good hockey sense,” said Renberg, who enjoyed his best years with Lindros. “He was big and he could skate, shoot and handle the puck, but he was so wise with it, too. Every time I played with him, you had to keep your stick on the ice. It was not like playing with any normal centreman.” Nine players currently wear No. 88 in the NHL, including Chicago’s Patrick Kane, San Jose’s Brent Burns and Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. But, from now on, the number is off-limits in Philadelphia. “When we raise your number in a few moments, know that you are back where you belong,” said Holmgren. “But now it’s forever.” Indeed, few — including Lindros and the city of Philadelphia — could have imagined this moment have occurring 16 years ago when Lindros and the Flyers parted ways in a very public and very nasty divorce. “No, you?” he asked back, adding that he and Clarke, the team’s GM at the time, have mended their relationship. “What happened was no doubt difficult and frustrating.” 1093860 Toronto Maple Leafs “It just comes down to those small mistakes,” said van Riemsdyk. “Obviously as the year goes on, the margin for error gets that much

smaller. We just need to make sure we're playing within our structure and Frederik Andersen calls out Leafs teammates as frustration boils over system and go from there.”

Andersen, on the other hand, stressed urgency even with the comfortable 12-point gap the Leafs currently have on the Red Wings for By Joshua Kloke 5 hours ago the final playoff spot in the division. Andersen stopped 34 shots on the evening.

“We're sitting pretty good, I think we've got it pretty comfortable, but that PHILADELPHIA — For a moment, it almost looked like the Leafs had can't be any reason for not playing the right way. We've got to be ready cleaned up the mess they’d made of the previous few weeks, in which when it comes to past the [all-star] break here. It's going to be a lot they struggled to generate scoring chances in an effort to play a more tougher with teams trying to catch us. We can't slide like this.” defensive style for a playoff run. Two goals in 28 seconds in the second period to take a 2-0 lead, coupled with a strong first period, had the Leafs Now, the feel-good story that the Leafs have largely been for the last looking relatively robust, even showing shades of the high-flying outfit season-and-a-half is entering strange new territory, with the first that took the league by storm last season. suggestion that this team is splintering. These Leafs were never going to be the Leafs of last season. That much is to be expected when a team Then, the elevator began its descent from the penthouse to the largely built upon rookies evolves with more experience. But with the basement. You could be mistaken in thinking the Leafs hit the basement Leafs past the halfway mark of the season, their inability to find a happy when they gave up a 2-on-1 with the man advantage and Wayne medium between the high-octane outfit they were last season with a Simmonds put the tying goal past Frederik Andersen. Andersen shook more playoff-ready team they're trying to be has never been more his head in obvious frustration and Mitch Marner slapped the puck blatantly obvious. against the boards, equally frustrated. “You come into a year like this where last year we had a lot more I guess But when Andersen assessed the Leafs performance after a 3-2 overtime unknowns as far as of guys who hasn't played any games in the year yet loss — their fourth defeat in a row and third OT loss in that span — it was and hadn't had a taste of it and now they have a full year under their easy to get a sense of what the basement truly feels like for the Leafs belt,” said van Riemsdyk. “We know what guys are capable of and we right now. came together nicely as a team last year. Obviously every year's a little “We’ve got to regroup,” said Andersen. “We’ve got to figure out who bit different but you're just trying to find the right, I don't know if chemistry wants to commit to playing for the team.” is the right word, but just getting things firing on all cylinders. And as the year goes on, that usually gets better and better.” There was obvious anger in Andersen’s tone, the kind unheard for some time from a Leaf. But he didn’t stop there. Brown pushes for more ice time

“We’re not tired,” said Andersen. “I think it’s a lack of effort at certain It was a simple question that brought a complicated answer: Is there a points. It certainly can’t happen. We got to figure this out if we want to way for Babcock to give Connor Brown more even strength minutes? play any meaningful hockey later. We have to figure this out.” Brown, after all, had 10 goals entering Thursday night’s game against the Flyers but had the second lowest even strength ice time among regular Through the anger comes the bluntest assessment from someone on the Leafs forwards. Leafs as to why they’re currently mired in the funk they are. They have not won in regulation since Dec. 28, a 7-4 win over the Arizona Coyotes. And Babcock, speaking before the game, had his thoughts on the matter. What’s obvious is that coach Mike Babcock has the Leafs trying to “So why don’t you canvas the top nine and see who wants to give him master a style of play remarkably different from the dynamic, high-flying that? You know what I mean? My wife can tell me what’s wrong, but in brand of hockey which fans quickly gravitated to last season. our business, you’ve got to find a way to figure out what’s right. Do you Babcock understood why the Leafs dressing room would be as angry as know what I mean by that? So who am I taking out?” it appeared post-game. Brown made his case with his second goal in as many games, as he “It should be, shouldn't it?” said Babcock. opened the scoring midway through the second period with yet another breakaway goal. And it was even strength, no less. Still, he refuted the notion that the Leafs were displaying a fragile state of mind in close games. Babcock called Brown “ultra-competitive.”

“I don't see that. We saw the one go in and then we're on the power play Brown would go on to log 10:50 of even-strength ice time, with only Matt and have a chance to get one right back – we have a pretty good power Martin and Frederik Gauthier logging less even-strength time than him. play, pretty good ranking in the league – and it goes in. Then I think at The Goat gets his goal that point you're saying, 'Oh my God.' I thought we got ourselves in a good spot to win the game in overtime and [Matthews] and [Nylander] are After Dominic Moore practised on the fourth line on Wednesday, it looked in right away. To me both 2-on-1s we didn't play real good, didn't give our as if Gauthier would be coming out of the lineup. Instead, Moore was a goalie a good opportunity.” healthy scratch for the seventh straight game and Gauthier scored his first goal of the season on Thursday. Now mired in their longest losing streak of the season, it’s worth wondering if the Leafs can see the bigger purpose in trying to tighten up “You work for your place in the line up every night,” said Gauthier. “Every for the playoffs, or if trying to change who these Leafs are as a team has time you’re in the lineup you try and help your team as much as you can caused some players, in Andersen's assessment, to not all be on the and go from there.” same page. The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 “I think we've got to look each other in the eyes here and determine where we want to go from here,” said Andersen.

Leo Komarov, for one, can see the forest for the trees.

“I think we’ve got some good games under us and we’ve had some good plays, too,” said Leo Komarov. “We just need to stay in control the whole game. We play good for 55 minutes and then something happens with the five (minutes). I mean, we’re doing pretty good so far. We’ve got four losses but we just need to look at the details and just keep going. It’s small mistakes that are easy to get rid of.”

James van Riemsdyk echoed a similar sentiment before the game. 1093861 Toronto Maple Leafs constant waves of controllable, affordable prospects will be paramount for them to stay successful and competitive.

At No. 3, the trends become more evident. Were the pools defined by Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL teams' prospect their best three players, Winnipeg and Vancouver would stand atop, pools followed closely by Ottawa, Calgary and Toronto, with Montreal and Edmonton at the rear. The Jets and Canucks are the only teams that don't have a prospect ranked lower than fourth relative to the other By Scott Wheeler 19 hours ago teams, while Edmonton's best ranks at sixth-or-lower on all three lists.

There also isn't as pronounced a gap between the top-two by this point as there is on the other list. All of Vesalainen, White, Evans and Dahlen Over the course of the last three months, I have ranked every single are tightly grouped, while Kylington and Johnsson stand a cut above prospect in each Canadian NHL team's pool, from the 31 the Leafs have Jones. Nearly every prospect on this list would rank ahead of Bear were at the high end to the 23 apiece the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames they grouped together. control. But there's more to the team's prospect pools than their best players. In all, the seven rankings put 187 players into context within their own How far their depth runs will play a huge factor in giving each Canadian organization, and sought to identify those who had legitimate NHL hopes, team its best odds at hitting home runs on their proverbial lottery balls. those each team missed on. Here's a look at that next tier of high-end prospects for each team: The criteria was simple. The players had to be under-23, not playing in the NHL full-time (at the time of the ranking), and either drafted by the The first thing you'll notice is that there aren't any Oilers or Canadiens in team or signed to an entry-level contract. Draft picks whose rights have this group of 17. As good as Tyler Benson or Joni Ikonen are, they're still expired, or players who were on AHL/ECHL deals, were excluded. a tier below the likes of Dube and Phillips. Given that neither team mitigated against that thin depth by having standout players at 1-3 in their In wrapping up the series, I wanted to put each of those pools in a pool and there's real cause for concern about the state of Montreal and different context by examining them against one another. Which Edmonton's flow of young talent for the next few years. Canadian teams' prospect pool bodes most favourably for the future, and which of the seven teams has done the poorest job drafting and After leading the way at the top of their pools, the Canucks also have developing its current farm system. three players in the top-six of the best of the rest and five of the top-11. After years of struggling, the Canucks have done a good job hitting on Rather than placing the emphasis on the individual players by ranking their high-end picks and that should help them turn things around and each of the team's top prospects in one collective list to close out the rebuild. series, I have opted to provide comparative context by matching each of the team's top-three prospects into three separate lists, with a best of the The Flames aren't far behind either and matched the Canucks with five rest to close things out. In doing so, we get a better understanding of how players on the best of the rest list, though three are at its end. each team's top young prospects match up against the rest. The Leafs, the Jets and the Senators also each appear on the list (Note: some players in the best of the rest ranking would actually finish multiple times, led by Travis Dermott. For context, each of Dermott, higher on a complete list than a few of the players at No. 3 or even a Andersson, Gaudette and Demko would rank higher than Jones and couple of the No. 2s on some of these teams, but that's not the focus Bear on a complete list. here. If you want a comprehensive ranking of many of the individual prospects, check out Corey Pronman's mid-season top-50 drafted Below, is my final ranking of each of the seven teams' prospect pools: prospects list. If you want more info on any/all of the players, my team That the Leafs and Jets, in particular, have managed to maintain strong rankings take a comprehensive look at each.) pools despite graduating such high-end talents in the last couple of After contextualizing each team's depth against one another, you'll find a seasons is perhaps most impressive. In Winnipeg, others, including ranking of the pools against one another below. Mason Appleton, Eric Comrie, and Mikhail Berdin also factor into their ranking. Similarly, in Calgary, I have always been high on D'Artagnan Off the top, there are a few things about each team's best prospect that Joly and still believe Morgan Klimchuck can become an everyday NHL are worth mentioning. player. In Toronto, there is depth in numbers outside of the six players who made these lists, from Adam Brooks and Eemeli Rasanen to Yegor The first is that the top-two prospects (Pettersson and Chabot) exist in a Korshkov and Dmytro Timashov. tier of their own. Chabot is one of the best defence prospects in hockey and Pettersson is in the process of having one of the greatest under-20 With the Canucks, there's an element of “about time” to their pool's seasons in the history of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). After that, strength, but it is still a really impressive group given that players such as things tighten up. I have Liljegren alone at No. 3, but the gap between Petrus Palmu, Jonah Gadjovich and William Lockwood are also all him and the next tier of Roslovic and Fox (who are close) is smaller than legitimate prospects. the gap between Chabot and Liljegren. Like Roslovic and Fox, Yamamoto and Poehling are also close, but the former has more The Flames, to put it mildly, have a lot coming — particularly on defence weapons and a higher ceiling. — even if they don't have a Pettersson or a Chabot-level prospect after graduating Matthew Tkachuk and others. Among the No. 2s, you'll start to see some familiarity in the teams that are represented at the top vis-a-vis each other. To the Canadiens' credit, I have liked their selections of Cale Fleury and Josh Brook in recent memory. Here, the gap starts to widen and the depth in some pools is exposed. Valimaki and Juolevi stand ahead of this pack (and deserve to be in the And despite having a strong top-five, I am not high on Ottawa's pool No. 1 tier) by a fairly pronounced margin, while Kapanen, Foley, (though I do think Maxime Lajoie has a lot more to give). Alex Formenton Scherbak and Brown are nearly interchangeable and Bear trails pretty and Aaron Luchuk are fine prospects, but their ceilings will limit them if considerably. they ever make it to the NHL level full-time.

Here, the Oilers' depth is exposed. Part of this is just symptomatic of how If you have any questions about the players or the rankings, leave them many good young players Edmonton has on its NHL roster, including below and I'll be happy to answer them. Jesse Puljujarvi, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse, but The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 the same could be said of the Leafs, who've lost their three best prospects to the next level and the Jets (Patrik Laine, Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor). The Oilers need to do a better job of hanging onto their picks, acquiring others and drafting for skill beyond the top-10.

As each pool digs deeper, that lack of depth in Edmonton is even more evident. The Oilers are well-positioned for years to come with their young core, but as McDavid and Draisaitl's lucrative deals kick in, the need for 1093862 Toronto Maple Leafs JK: Countries are naming their Olympic men's hockey rosters now. You went four years ago. What don't we see about what it's like to go to the

Olympics? Q&A with James van Riemsdyk on missing out on the Olympics, Bozak JVR: In terms of the Olympics, it's cool playing hockey but it's so much as a father and memories of Phaneuf bigger than that. You see all these different countries and different sports. And it's what people have been training their whole lives for, or at least particularly for the last four years, so just to be a part of that is By Joshua Kloke 22 hours ago pretty special. To be around all these amazing athletes in the same venue is pretty cool to be a part of.

JK: Are you still going to watch the tournament? James van Riemsdyk has always been the model of dependability with the Leafs in terms of on-ice production. But even by his standards, van LK: Oh yeah, I'll still watch it. I have some people I know on most of the Riemsdyk is having a career year. He's currently on pace for 34 goals, teams there so I'll be checking in and watch. You still have a lot of pride which would exceed the high of 30 goals he registered in 2013-14. There and wanting to do the US do well. have been times when he's kept his line, with Tyler Bozak and Mitch Marner, afloat with a 54.73 per cent Corsi For% (5-on-5 Score and JK: We've spoken before about tennis. Are you watching the Australian Venue Adjusted), the highest total for any Leaf with at least 200 minutes Open at all? played. JVR: I haven't watched much of it yet. But I saw the disappointment for Still, van Riemsdyk shrugs when asked if there's been a secret to his (Milos) Raonic. You feel for him, coming off an injury. It can be really strong season so far. tough. He'll bounce back and he's still got a few good years in him though. “You just try to have the same approach every single day and go from there,” he said, seated in his dressing room stall after Leafs practice on JK: If you could have any tennis player coach you for a week who would Wednesday. “When you have that consistency, you allow yourself to be it be? more consistent in a game.” JVR: Roger Federer, for sure. If the Leafs are to have success in the second half of the regular season JK: Why? and into the playoffs, they'll continue to rely on that consistency. Van Riemsdyk's production has rarely dipped since he arrived in Toronto in JVR: His longevity, his peak as far as when he was at his best, just the 2012 in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. Ahead of a return to way he carries himself on and off the court is impressive to see. Philadelphia, The Athletic's Joshua Kloke (JK) checked in with the 28- year-old van Riemsdyk (JVR) to talk about returning to play his old team JK: Recently we saw you pull your trademark between the legs shot in Philadelphia, his Olympic experience, how he's seen a longtime close to the net twice in a row. When did you first start using that move? linemate evolve as a person and more. JVR: When I started playing with the (US National Development Team Joshua Kloke: When did you get over the weirdness of going back to play Program) I started tweaking with it. It became more frequent when I in Philadelphia? started playing more in the net front. Because back then, I wasn't just a net front guy. When I got here, I became a net front guy. In those James van Riemsdyk: It probably took the first couple times at least. Still situations, you're just trying to find a good angle and a lot of times you're going back there, you get those feelings of nostalgia. I was obviously just trying to get it to the back side of the net. pretty young, we had some successful teams and it's close to home. There's lots of different emotions that go into it. It's always going to be a JK: Mechanically, is it something you've had to purposefully work on special place for me to play. As far as the jitters on the ice, I think that's throughout your career? definitely passed. The first couple times back though, I definitely felt it. JVR: Yeah, you're always horsing around with stuff out there on the ice. JK: Did you do anything to get over those jitters? It's not just for flash. It adds a lot of purpose and practicality behind it too.

JVR: Just go play. That's all you can do. Just try to not overcomplicate it JK: Do you think goalies are figuring it out? and realize that it's just another game. JVR: I don't think it's really the kind of play that's meant to be figured out JK: Throughout your time here, you've had a lot of the same linemates, or not. You never really see a goalie save it clean. I'm just trying to create particularly Tyler Bozak and now Mitch Marner. What have you learned a rebound or something like that. It's just a tool to have in your toolbox to about those two players off the ice? keep people off balance. The one against Ottawa was a way different situation than I'd try to do it in. It was a weird play in general. JVR: With (Tyler Bozak), it's cool to see how things have changed over the years. Now he has a son. The evolution of that has been funny to JK: Have you tried to teach any of your teammates the move? see. Obviously when you're single, you spend a lot more time away from JVR: No, most guys are skilled enough that they can pull that off. the rink together. But now when everyone gets girlfriends, it's always an interesting dynamic. As far as his personality, he's always good at JK: You're playing in Ottawa on Saturday. I've been speaking with a few keeping things light and keeping things good in the room. I've become players – Morgan Rielly, Leo Komarov – about Dion Phaneuf and the very good friends with him over the years so it's been great to see the impact he had on this team. What do you remember about him? success that he's had both on the ice and happiness in his own personal life. JVR: I think he was one of the best teammates I've ever played with. Right when I got traded, probably about 35 seconds later, I got a call And as far as (Mitch Marner), it's that youthful enthusiasm and doing from him. That was nice, for him to welcome me right away. He's the type something that we all love to do, playing hockey. But you can tell he of person that people gravitate towards and want to be around. He's a wears those emotions on his sleeve and it's fun to be around because of fun person. In his time here, he definitely took a lot of heat. But you never all that excitement he brings to the table. It's funny how things shift pretty once heard him ever complain. He's a great person, great leader and I quickly. I remember being in the same shoes as him and playing with a was happy to be able to play with him. guy like him, and seeing the things that, maybe the guys my age saw with a younger guy back then. JK: You're pretty fanatical about your fitness regime. Is there a downside to it? JK: Has Bozak become parental at all around Marner? JVR: No, not one. Well, maybe missing out on some things away from JVR: I don't know. It's funny to see that evolution and how it's switched the rink. overnight and we're in these mentor roles to some degree. That's the good thing about hockey culture: When I came in, guys kept me in line. JK: Like what? Most guys are fine and there's little things that need to be adjusted but JVR: There's more hours I spend taking care of my body and maybe what gets passed along is how you should be acting, how you should missing on going out for certain dinners and things but it's all worth it to carry yourself. And in certain moments, you should pass those things be the best you're going to be. along. The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093863 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights end two-game skid with 4-1 win at Lightning

By Steve Carp January 18, 2018 - 7:24 PM Updated January 18, 2018 - 9:04 PM

TAMPA, Fla. — Sequels rarely live up to the original and Thursday’s rematch between the Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning hardly resembled the Dec. 19 thriller at T-Mobile Arena. The Knights held off the Lightning 4-3 that night. Things were more lopsided the second time around as the Knights dominated from start to finish and handled the NHL’s best team with ease, posting a 4-1 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 19,092 at Amalie Arena. “I thought the pace was a lot better the last time we played them,” said Knights coach Gerard Gallant, whose team had lost two straight. “But they were coming off their break and they weren’t as sharp as they usually are. We found a way to score some goals and we made some good plays. Overall, it’s a huge win for us after losing two in a row.” The Knights regained their scoring touch, as four different players had goals. James Neal, Nate Schmidt, David Perron and William Karlsson scored as the Knights bounced back from a 1-0 loss Tuesday at Nashville. The victory gave the Knights a sweep of their season series with the Lightning, which was playing their first game off a week-long bye in what was a battle of the NHL’s two top teams. “I thought we were good in Nashville in the third period and we carried it over to (Thursday),” said Neal, who scored his 19th of the year 56 seconds into the game. “It was a good test, and we were very good all night.” A second-period power-play goal by Ondrej Palat kept the Lightning from being shut out. The goal ended the Knights’ streak of successful penalty kills at 25, but it was the only one Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury let get by him as he stopped 28 shots. “It was a big win,” said Fleury, who along with Neal and Gallant will be back here next weekend representing the Knights in the NHL All-Star game. “They’re one of, if not the best team in the league and I thought we played a complete game. Getting that early goal helped everyone relax and it gave us confidence.” The Lightning have lost two straight and four of their last six. They played without All-Star defenseman Victor Hedman, who is out 3-6 weeks with a knee injury. But coach Jon Cooper wasn’t making excuses. “We’ve been a pretty good defensive team, but it’s been a little frustrating here the last little bit,” Cooper said. “It stems a little bit to a team that’s used to scoring goals. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to score. But you’ve heard me say this for five years — It’s what you keep out of the net, not what you put into the net.” The goals the Knights scored were all timely. Neal’s in the first minute. Schmidt’s late in the first period which made it 2-0. Perron’s late in the second period to make it 3-1 and Karlsson’s, his team-leading 24th, just 18 seconds into the third period to add to the cushion. It kept the momentum on the Knights’ side and they’ll look to carry that over into Friday’s game against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida. “They were all big given when they took place,” Schmidt said. “You never want to give a team like that any life, and we were able to prevent that.” Gallant said a 5-on-3 penalty kill by his team midway through the third period was also big, even if the two-man advantage lasted just 20 seconds. “If they score on either the 5-on-3 or the 5-on-4, they’re right back in it,” Gallant said. “I thought the guys did an excellent job killing it off, and it gave us the momentum back.”

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Former Thunder star Todd Richards impressed with Golden Knights

By Steve Carp Las January 18, 2018 - 4:04 PM

TAMPA, Fla. — Todd Richards never looked at himself as a pioneer. But he played a part in laying the foundation for pro hockey in Las Vegas. Richards, an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was an original member of the Las Vegas Thunder, which played from 1993 to 1999 in the International Hockey League. Back then, he could only dream that one day Las Vegas would be an NHL city. “I think it’s great,” Richards said of the Golden Knights prior to Thursday’s game at Amalie Arena. “I remember with the Thunder we had great crowds at the Thomas & Mack, and the fans were great to us. But nobody was thinking of Vegas as an NHL city back then.” Richards, a defenseman, played two seasons with the Thunder and loved his time in Las Vegas. “I brought my boat to Lake Mead and I’d hang out with Clint Malarchuk at his ranch where he had emus and we’d ride horses,” Richards said. “We had a really good team that first year, and I’ve got nothing but great memories of my time with the Thunder.” Celebrating O’Ree Thursday marked the 60th anniversary of Willie O’Ree becoming the first black player to compete in an NHL game. O’Ree, a forward, played for the Boston Bruins against the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum on Jan. 18, 1958. “I got to meet him while I was with the Bruins organization, and he was a very impressive guy,” goaltender Malcolm Subban said of O’Ree, who is 82 and works for the NHL as its director of youth development. “My father told us stories about him when we were kids and how important he was to the game.” Center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who met O’Ree when Bellemare was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, said he’s proud of the work O’Ree has done to promote the game and thinks O’Ree would be proud of what the Knights are trying to do to get kids involved with hockey. SHORT DESCRIPTION (Las Vegas Review-Journal)SHORT DESCRIPTION (Las Vegas Review-Journal) “I like how we’re trying to get into all the communities in Las Vegas and give kids a chance to try hockey,” Bellemare said. “It’s an expensive game to play, but with the ‘Learn to Play’ program and other programs, we’re seeing kids who want to play.” No action on Carrier The league decided not to pursue action against Will Carrier for his hit on Nashville’s Ryan Johansen on Tuesday. Carrier leveled Johansen with a heavy check against the boards late in the second period. Johansen left the game and did not return. Carrier was not penalized. Three storylines 1. Gallant’s return. Gerard Gallant was fired by the Panthers in November 2016. On Friday, he returns to Sunrise, where he’s still beloved by Florida fans. Expect a warm welcome for the coach of the Golden Knights. 2. Back to work. The Panthers return to the ice for the first time since Jan. 12, and they have lost four of their past five. They are allowing more than three goals a game and could be in for a long night, as the Knights look to get their offense cranked up. 3. Containing Huberdeau. Panthers center Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team with 44 points (16 goals, 28 assists). He is an excellent playmaker. The Knights did a good job against him in the first meeting Dec. 17, keeping Huberdeau off the scoresheet and limiting him to one shot attempt.

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Live Blog: Golden Knights face Lightning in battle between NHL’s top teams

By Jesse Granger Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 | 3:30 p.m.

It’s still too early to call it a possible Stanley Cup Finals preview, but today in Tampa Bay, the Golden Knights and Lightning will face off in a matchup between the top two teams in the NHL. Vegas has lost two straight since returning from the bye and will be trying to avoid matching its season-long losing streak of three today. That won’t be easy, as the Lightning own the second-best home record in the NHL (17-4-1) behind only the Golden Knights. Third-line forward Cody Eakin will be returning to the lineup for the Golden Knights after sitting out Tuesday night’s game in Nashville with an undisclosed injury, head coach Gerard Gallant said. Eakin’s presence on the defensive end will be important against the electric Lightning offensive attack. Tampa Bay leads the NHL with 3.6 goals per game, led by Nikita Kucherov, who leads the league in points with 27 goals and 33 assists. Equally dangerous is centerman Steven Stamkos, who is ninth in the league in points with 17 goals and 35 assists. Marc-Andre Fleury will be starting in goal for the Golden Knights. He has lost three of his last four starts, including a 1-0 loss Tuesday in Nashville. Fleury stopped 35 of 38 shots by the Lightning in the first meeting between the teams on Dec. 19. The Golden Knights won that game 4-3 in Las Vegas, thanks to a goal by Shea Theodore with 2.3 seconds remaining. Across from Fleury, starting in net for the Lightning will be Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has also lost three of his last four starts. Vasilevskiy hasn’t played since Jan. 11 due to Tampa Bay’s bye but has surrendered four or more goals in each of his last three starts. Prediction : Tampa Bay 5, Golden Knights 2 Season record for predictions: 25-14 Puck drops: 4:30 p.m. Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink Prism 1760) Betting line: Golden Knights plus-145, Total 6 minus-120 to the under Golden Knights (29-11-3) (11-9-1 away) Coach: Gerard Gallant Goal leader: William Karlsson (23) Assist leader: Jonathan Marchessault and David Perron (25) Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (9-3-2, 1.77 goals against average) Tampa Bay Lightning (31-10-3) (17-4-1 home) Coach: Jon Cooper Goal leader: Nikita Kucherov (27) Assist leader: Steven Stamkos (35) Expected goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy (27-7-2, 2.18 goals against average) Golden Knights game day roster Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Ryan Carpenter, William Carrier, Cody Eakin, Erik Haula, William Karlsson, Brendan Leipsic, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, David Perron, Reilly Smith and Alex Tuch. Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Brad Hunt, Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore. Goalies (2): Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban

1093866 Vegas Golden Knights Pre game It’s still too early to call it a possible Stanley Cup Finals preview, but today in Tampa Bay, the Golden Knights and Lightning will face off in a Golden Knights sweep season series with 4-1 win over Lightning matchup between the top two teams in the NHL. Vegas has lost two straight since returning from the bye and will be trying By Jesse Granger to avoid matching its season-long losing streak of three today. That won’t be easy, as the Lightning own the second-best home record in the NHL Published Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 | 3:30 p.m. (17-4-1) behind only the Golden Knights. Updated Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 | 7:15 p.m. Third-line forward Cody Eakin will be returning to the lineup for the Golden Knights after sitting out Tuesday night’s game in Nashville with an undisclosed injury, head coach Gerard Gallant said. For the first time in franchise history, the Golden Knights have completed Eakin’s presence on the defensive end will be important against the a regular-season sweep over a team, and it was against the league- electric Lightning offensive attack. Tampa Bay leads the NHL with 3.6 leading Tampa Bay Lightning. goals per game, led by Nikita Kucherov, who leads the league in points with 27 goals and 33 assists. Vegas handed Tampa Bay only its fifth regulation loss at home this season Thursday night with a dominant 4-1 victory. Equally dangerous is centerman Steven Stamkos, who is ninth in the league in points with 17 goals and 35 assists. The Golden Knights’ second line of James Neal, David Perron and Erik Haula were on the ice for three goals, including James Neal’s 19th goal Marc-Andre Fleury will be starting in goal for the Golden Knights. He has of the season only 56 seconds into the game. lost three of his last four starts, including a 1-0 loss Tuesday in Nashville. Nate Schmidt scored on an assist from Haula and Brayden McNabb to Fleury stopped 35 of 38 shots by the Lightning in the first meeting extend the lead to 2-0 after one period. between the teams on Dec. 19. The Golden Knights won that game 4-3 in Las Vegas, thanks to a goal by Shea Theodore with 2.3 seconds Tampa Bay would pull within a goal when Ondrej Palat scored a power remaining. play goal in the second period, but Perron answered with a wrist shot that beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 3-1. Across from Fleury, starting in net for the Lightning will be Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has also lost three of his last four starts. Vasilevskiy William Karlsson scored his team-high 24th goal of the season only 18 hasn’t played since Jan. 11 due to Tampa Bay’s bye but has surrendered seconds into the third period to put the Golden Knights up 4-1 and ice the four or more goals in each of his last three starts. game. Prediction : Tampa Bay 5, Golden Knights 2 Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27-of-28 shots to earn his second victory over the Lightning this season. He was also in net for the Golden Knights’ Season record for predictions: 25-14 4-3 win on Dec. 19 in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights are the first team in the NHL to beat Tampa Bay twice this season. Puck drops: 4:30 p.m. The win snapped a two-game losing streak, and the Golden Knights will Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay be back on the ice again tomorrow night for another road tilt against the Florida Panthers. Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM Golden Knights lead Lightning 3-1 after two periods TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink Prism 1760) The Golden Knights have outplayed the NHL’s top team for 40 minutes, Betting line: Golden Knights plus-145, Total 6 minus-120 to the under and carries a 3-1 lead into the final period in Tampa Bay. Golden Knights (29-11-3) (11-9-1 away) The Lightning cut Vegas’ lead to 2-1 midway through the second period Coach: Gerard Gallant with a power play goal by Ondrej Palat. He was the beneficiary of spectacular puck movement by Tampa Bay with a man advantage. Goal leader: William Karlsson (23) Superstars Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos got the assists on the Assist leader: Jonathan Marchessault and David Perron (25) goal for their 34th and 36th of the season. Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (9-3-2, 1.77 goals against average) The Lightning nearly tied the game when Stamkos fed a cross-ice pass to Kucherov, who one-timed it towards the bottom corner of the Golden Tampa Bay Lightning (31-10-3) (17-4-1 home) Knights’ net, but Marc-Andre Fleury sprawled across the crease and got Coach: Jon Cooper his pad on the puck. Goal leader: Nikita Kucherov (27) Seconds later, David Perron deked through the Lightning defense and fired a wrist shot past Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to Assist leader: Steven Stamkos (35) restore the Golden Knights’ two-goal lead. It was the third goal of the night while the Golden Knights' second line, made up of Perron, James Expected goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy (27-7-2, 2.18 goals against average) Neal and Erik Haula, was on the ice. Golden Knights game day roster Golden Knights lead Lightning 2-0 after one period Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Ryan Carpenter, William The Golden Knights stormed out to a quick 2-0 lead over the Lightning Carrier, Cody Eakin, Erik Haula, William Karlsson, Brendan Leipsic, Thursday night in Tampa Bay. Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, David Perron, Reilly Smith and Alex Tuch. Vegas got on the board in the first minute when Deryk Engelland ripped a shot from near the blue line and James Neal deflected the puck past Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Brad Hunt, Brayden McNabb, Colin Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. It was Neal’s 19th goal of the season Miller, Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore. and the assist was Engelland’s 100th point of his nine-year NHL career. Goalies (2): Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban Nate Schmidt gave the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead with 3:57 left in the first

period when he beat Vasilevskiy with a slap shot from the point. Schmidt’s one-timer was set up by a pass from Brayden McNabb, who LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 01.19.2018 notched his seventh assist of the season. The Lightning got their share of chances in the opening stanza, outshooting the Golden Knights 12-8, but Marc-Andre Fleury was a brick wall in net. Fleury stopped all 12 shots including a glove save on the NHL’s scoring-leader Nikita Kucherov. Vegas is 18-1-0 this season when scoring first and 12-3-0 when leading after the first period. 1093867 Vegas Golden Knights 2 1994 Florida Panthers +0.0 0.00 3 1968 Philadelphia Flyers -0.1 -0.15 Vegas Has The Best Expansion Team In The History Of Pro Sports, And 4 1968 St. Louis Blues -0.2 -0.36 It’s Not Close 5 1994 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim -0.3 -0.37 By Neil Paine 6 1968 Pittsburgh Penguins -0.3 -0.54 7 1973 Atlanta Flames -0.6 -0.58 The Vegas Golden Knights are only halfway through their inaugural 8 1968 Los Angeles Kings -0.3 -0.62 season, and they’ve already redefined what anyone thought was possible for an NHL expansion franchise. Against all odds, the Knights are 9 1971 Vancouver Canucks -0.9 -0.77 currently 29-10-3 with 61 points, good for the best record in the Western 10 1971 Buffalo Sabres -1.0 -0.85 Conference — and only 4 points shy of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the best record in the entire league. It’s enough to make the Knights Full-season statistics are used for all teams except Vegas. hockey’s greatest debut team ever, hands down. SOURCE: HOCKEY-REFERENCE.COM But that’s not all: Vegas is also lapping the field of expansion teams across every major pro sport. Even after adjusting for the way records The Florida Panthers used to be the model for a successful NHL are distributed in other sports, no other brand-new club in modern history expansion team. Florida was more than merely competitive in 1993-94 — came close to doing what the Knights have done so far. Expansion it finished one win shy of a .500 record and scored exactly as many goals teams just aren’t supposed to have this kind of success this early. as it allowed. Then, with the good core of talent they had picked up in the expansion draft, the Panthers made the Stanley Cup final three seasons Constructed as a Frankenstein’s monster of unwanted parts from the rest into the franchise’s existence. Before Vegas came along, that was the of the league, a new club is usually very bad indeed. In a franchise’s first gold standard for brand-new clubs: solid in the first year, outright good season, merely being “competitive” — code for losing but keeping things within a couple seasons. But the Knights’ debut has flipped those close most nights — is an admirable goal. And going into this season, expectations on their head. there were plenty of people who had trouble seeing the Knights even reaching that modest level of success. Most outlets picked Vegas to (Yes, it should be noted that the 1967-68 St. Louis Blues made the Cup finish either last or next-to-last in the Pacific Division. final in their first season. But that was solely because the NHL dropped all six of its new teams into the same division, the winner of which had to That was a reasonable expectation based on the past performance of make the final. Every team in the new West division, which housed all the first-year clubs. Our own analysis found that Vegas had dredged more expansion clubs, had a negative goal differential during the regular talent out of the expansion-draft pool than normal — but that was just season, but someone had to win it — and the Blues were that team. supposed to mean the Knights would exceed historical expectations. It They were also swept by the mighty Montreal Canadiens when they didn’t mean we thought they’d make the playoffs, much less that they’d played for the Cup.)2 contend for the Stanley Cup. Vegas’s season becomes even more impressive when you compare its So far this season, however, Vegas has picked up 73 percent of the z-scores to those of the top expansion teams from other sports. No maximum number of points in its games and outscored its opponents by modern MLB expansion club finished a season any better than the 70- 0.7 goals per game. To compare those marks across NHL seasons, we win 1961 Los Angeles Angels; no debut NBA team ever topped the 33 converted them to z-scores, or the number of standard deviations they wins of the 1967 Chicago Bulls; no NFL expansion team could beat the sat above or below league average. (This helps us account for changes 7-9 Carolina Panthers from 1995. Hockey does tend to see its teams’ in the league’s spread of talent over time and allows us to make records more tightly bunched than in such sports as football and comparisons between different sports — which will come in handy later.) basketball, but even after adjusting for that with our z-scores, the Golden In both categories, Vegas’s z-scores are easily the top marks for an NHL Knights’ current season blows away any would-be challenger from the expansion team since the league blew up the Original Six and added six NFL, NBA or MLB since the early 1960s: new teams in 1967-68:1 Vegas beats other sports’ expansion teams, too Vegas is destroying its NHL expansion competitors How the Vegas Golden Knights stack up against top expansion teams in Best z-scores (standard deviations relative to average) for point each league by z-score* of winning percentage, 1961-2018 percentage and goals per game differential, NHL expansion teams (1968-2018) Vegas vs. MLB expansion teams SCORE DIFFERENTIAL WIN PERCENTAGE Point percentage YEAR TEAM VALUE Z-SCORE VALUE Z-SCORE YEAR TEAM POINT % – Z-SCORE 2018 Vegas Golden Knights +0.7 +1.3 72.6% 1 2018 Vegas Golden Knights 72.6 % +1.7 +1.73 1961 Los Angeles Angels -0.3 -0.3 43.5 -0.7 2 1994 Florida Panthers 49.4 -0.06 1969 Kansas City Royals -0.6 -0.8 42.6 -0.8 3 1968 Philadelphia Flyers 49.3 -0.08 1962 Houston Colt .45’s -0.8 -1.0 40.0 -1.0 4 1968 Los Angeles Kings 48.7 -0.16 1969 Seattle Pilots -1.0 -1.3 39.5 -1.1 5 1968 St. Louis Blues 47.3 -0.32 1993 Colorado Rockies -1.3 -2.1 41.4 -1.2 6 1968 Minnesota North Stars 46.6 -0.40 Vegas vs. NBA expansion teams SCORE DIFFERENTIAL WIN PERCENTAGE 7 1968 Pittsburgh Penguins 45.3 -0.57 YEAR TEAM VALUE Z-SCORE VALUE Z-SCORE 8 1973 Atlanta Flames 41.7 -0.57 2018 Vegas Golden Knights +0.7 +1.3 72.6% 9 1971 Buffalo Sabres 40.4 -0.65 +1.7 10 1994 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 42.3 1967 Chicago Bulls -3.7 -0.7 40.7 -0.5 -0.76 1971 Portland Trail Blazers -4.5 -0.9 35.4 -1.0 Goal differential 1969 Milwaukee Bucks -5.1 -1.1 32.9 -1.1 YEAR TEAM GPG DIFF. – Z-SCORE 1968 Seattle SuperSonics -6.5 -1.3 28.0 -1.3 1 2018 Vegas Golden Knights +0.7 +1.28 1990 Minnesota Timberwolves -4.2 -0.9 26.8 -1.3 Vegas vs. NFL expansion teams SCORE DIFFERENTIAL WIN PERCENTAGE YEAR TEAM VALUE Z-SCORE VALUE Z-SCORE 2018 Vegas Golden Knights +0.7 +1.3 72.6% +1.7 1995 Carolina Panthers -2.3 -0.4 43.8 -0.4 1968 Cincinnati Bengals -8.1 -0.8 21.4 -1.1 1967 New Orleans Saints -10.4 -1.2 21.4 -1.3 1961 Minnesota Vikings -8.7 -0.9 21.4 -1.3 1966 Miami Dolphins -10.6 -1.2 21.4 -1.4 *Z-score is the number of standard deviations above/below average, relative to the overall league that season. SOURCES: BASEBALL-REFERENCE.COM, BASKETBALL- REFERENCE.COM, PRO-FOOTBALL-REFERENCE.COM One thing that jumps out is that many NHL expansion teams had better z-scores than the best expansion teams in the other sports. But why is it so much easier to build a strong NHL expansion team (relative to the league) than in the other Big Four North American sports? I don’t have a great explanation. Hockey is the sport with the least reliable individual stats — while scouts’ eye tests can be swayed by recency and other biases — so it may be that the caliber of players left available in the expansion draft is higher than in other sports. Or perhaps the outsize value of goaltending means one good pick between the pipes is enough to carry a team of talent- strapped skaters to respectability. Or maybe good coaching deserves more credit than it sometimes gets around the league. Whatever the reason, expansion teams have done better on ice in general, even before Vegas started to blow the doors off the league. We know that, in the NHL, it takes a lot of games to tell who’s good and who’s bad — which is why even a hot half-season can turn cold overnight. For Vegas, the heat has been generated by MVP-candidate seasons from the likes of William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault and a near Vezina-worthy performance from Marc-Andre Fleury — all players who were considered expendable as recently as seven months ago. Peeking under the hood, the Knights’ ratio of shots taken to shots allowed at even-strength is nothing special, even after adjusting for score effects and other factors. And let’s face it: Few teams can sustain this pace for an entire season: Of the 24 teams with at least 60 points in their first 42 games since 2005-06,3 only one (last year’s Capitals) had a second-half point percentage as good as it did in the first half of the season. So it would be logical to assume that a second-half regression could be lurking around the corner for the Golden Knights. But the advanced stats don’t suggest that Vegas has been particularly lucky. In terms of expected goals (which measures where a team’s chances come from in addition to their volume), the Knights have the ninth-best ratio in the league. Regression or no regression, various projection systems consider the Knights all but a lock to make the playoffs, which would make Vegas the first expansion team to claim that honor since the 1968 season’s standings guaranteed that four new clubs would qualify. Even the in-town sportsbooks are paying attention to the possibility of playoff action in the desert: The Knights are currently tied for the second-best Stanley Cup odds of any team in the league. For an expansion team, all of this seemed unthinkable going into the season. New franchises aren’t supposed to be instant contenders. They’re supposed to struggle, to require years of building before achieving this kind of success. Vegas clearly doesn’t care about any of that. And now we have an entirely new yardstick with which to compare every other expansion club that comes along in the future, no matter the sport.

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093868 Washington Capitals

Capitals rookie Madison Bowey honors NHL pioneer Willie O’Ree by wearing No. 22

By Jesse Dougherty January 18 at 3:30 PM

NEWARK, N.J. — Madison Bowey always wore No. 22 on the baseball field growing up, but it was taken whenever he joined a new hockey team. That was the case as the defenseman turned himself into an NHL prospect, and joined the Capitals’ system as a second-round pick in the 2013. The number was taken again as he proved himself in the American Hockey League. But then No. 22 was available when he was called up to the Capitals’ roster at the start of this season, and the 22-year-old will be especially proud to wear it when he takes the ice against the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Thursday night. “It’s pretty special to be in the NHL and playing my first NHL year on the 60th anniversary of Willie O’Ree,” Bowey said Thursday. “There’s a lot of significance behind that, and obviously he’s a very special person.” Thursday marks exactly 60 years since Willie O’Ree became the NHL’s first black player, breaking the league’s color barrier with the Boston Bruins in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. Bowey, who is biracial with a black father, wears No. 22 in O’Ree’s honor (and, of lesser importance, because Bowey was born on April 22). As Bowey was growing up, his dad taught him about O’Ree and the challenges the New Brunswick native faced while integrating the sport. Bowey is now midway through his rookie season with the Capitals and is one of roughly 30 black players currently in the NHL. Also in that group is Devante Smith-Pelly, who is in his first year with the Capitals and skating on the team’s top line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Smith- Pelly played 18 games in New Jersey during the 2015-16 season, and will look to help the Capitals (28-14-3) keep a comfortable lead over the second-place Devils (23-12-8) in the Metropolitan Division. “It’s amazing obviously, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him,” Smith- Pelly said Thursday when asked to reflect on O’Ree. “Just reading up on all the things he had to go through to be there and even when he got there, it’s pretty amazing. I’m happy he’s being recognized and obviously he’s a guy, like I said, I wouldn’t be here, Bowey wouldn’t be here, a lot of guys wouldn’t be here.” Bowey is still acclimating himself to the NHL, but he has found a foothold in the Capitals’ lineup alongside veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik. He has 10 assists and has yet to score a goal in 37 games, but there is another thing he would like to check off his list in the coming months. He would like to meet the 83-year-old O’Ree, who was honored in Boston last night before the Bruins took on the Canadiens. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh declared Jan. 18, 2018 “Willie O’Ree Day.” There is so much Bowey wants to know. “Obviously I would just thank him,” Bowey said. “I have a lot of questions for him on what it was like to play back in the day, because I know it wasn’t easy. I would just be all ears and listen to what he had to say.”

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Andre Burakovsky a healthy scratch again when Capitals face Devils

By Jesse Dougherty January 18 at 2:04 PM

Andre Burakovsky, who missed the two games before the Capitals’ now- passed bye week because illness, will be a healthy scratch when Washington faces the New Jersey Devils. The 22-year-old winger was expected to be a reliable top-six forward coming into the season, but has since bounced around Coach Barry Trotz’s lineup and missed time because of injury and a few healthy scratches. Trotz indicated Thursday morning that Burakovsky, who rotated into the Capitals’ fourth line during their morning skate, is a healthy scratch because of the time he missed before the five-day break. The Capitals were also unable to practice Wednesday because of travel delays, which means Thursday was Burakovsky’s first time on the ice in more than a week. “He’s been on break for quite a while now,” Trotz said. “So to give him the best chance to be successful, get a good skate today and I expect him to go in tomorrow for someone and let’s get him rolling in the right direction. “He was going to be in in the Carolina games but he got sick, so now he’s a week-plus without being on the ice. So I just think this is his best chance to get back after having a little bit of the flu.” Here is how the Capitals are expected to look against the Devils: Forwards Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Devante Smith-Pelly Jakub Vrana-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson Brett Connolly-Lars Eller-T.J. Oshie Chandler Stephenson-Jay Beagle-Alex Chiasson Scratched: Andre Burakovsky Defensemen Dmitry Orlov-Matt Niskanen Christian Djoos-John Carlson Brooks Orpik-Madison Bowey Scratched: Taylor Chorney Goaltenders Braden Holtby (starter) Philipp Grubauer

Washington Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093870 Washington Capitals That balance escaped the Capitals until Connolly knotted the score with 3:48 left in the third period. That goal, Connolly’s 12th of the season, came off a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov and was not with Connolly’s Capitals make their point, but fall to Devils in overtime third-line mates. It resurrected the Capitals, nonetheless, until Hall found himself on the Devils’ third breakaway of the night at the start of three-on- three overtime. By Jesse Dougherty This one, like the others, ended with a goal. Unlike the others, the Capitals had no chance to answer it. January 18 at 10:06 PM “We came out with a point from here,” Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom said. “We’ll take that, and then we’ll move on tomorrow. New game tomorrow. Just have to move on.” NEWARK — If there was doubt that the Capitals would be fully functioning after five days away from the ice, a third-period rally Thursday night against New Jersey temporarily buried it. Washington Post LOADED: 01.19.2018 Washington trailed by two before forcing overtime, but the comeback fell short just 34 seconds into the extra period when Devils forward Taylor Hall shook loose and beat Braden Holtby to hand the Capitals a 4-3 loss at Prudential Center. The Capitals’ 19 shots on goal tied their third-lowest total of the season, they did not score on five power plays, and the Devils’ three breakaway goals proved too much to overcome. The Capitals got two goals from Brett Connolly, including the game-tying score late in the third, but had to settle for the one point overtime provided. The loss slims the Capitals’ Metropolitan Division lead over the second-place Devils to four points. “It wasn’t an ideal situation,” said Holtby, pointing to the time off that led into the game. “We got a point. We scored some goals, scored three. I think at the end of the game, I need to find a way to make a couple saves.” Holtby, while taking a share of the blame, added that it’s tough for a goalie to find a rhythm after almost a week away from the ice. But the rust was widespread from puck drop to final horn. [Analysis: It’s easy for Braden Holtby to rack up wins with the Capitals. It’s also extremely hard.] The Capitals’ break, a lifetime for guys who practically live on ice from September to the spring, included the NHL-mandated bye week plus a missed day of practice after weather delayed their Wednesday travel. Such layoffs have not been kind to the Capitals the past two seasons: Last year they dropped back-to-back games after their bye week, and this year they have been generally lethargic with three or more days of rest. With that in mind, Capitals Coach Barry Trotz turned Thursday’s morning skate into a practice of sorts. The players skated extra to wake their legs and lungs and even scrimmaged for a few minutes before returning to the team hotel. Yet in a lot of ways, the trend seeped into another game. In the first, a flubbed pass by Dmitry Orlov led to a breakaway goal for Drew Stafford. The score came eight minutes in, and the Capitals put just five shots on goal in the period. But one of them found the net as Connolly buried a deflection from T.J. Oshie on the weak side. That continued a searing stretch for the Capitals’ third line of Connolly, center Lars Eller and Oshie. Since they were united four games ago, they have scored five goals and given up none at even strength. That was largely because of a four-game goal streak for Eller, which ended Thursday, but the line’s recent success could help solidify the team’s bottom-six forwards in the coming weeks. [Andre Burakovsky a healthy scratch again when Capitals face Devils] With Andre Burakovsky a healthy scratch against the Devils, Trotz said there is a lot of competition for time on the third and fourth lines. Trotz added that he expects Burakovsky to rejoin the lineup against the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Friday. Connolly and fourth-line winger Alex Chiasson have cycled in and out of the lineup, but Connolly gave Trotz another reason to avoid breaking his current line up for the time being. “The thing with [Connolly] is that he has so much more detail in his game now than he did a couple years ago,” Trotz said. “You want to see the evolution of a player, keep growing and evolving. He’s doing that. He’s earning ice time.” Yet the Capitals still struggled to generate scoring chances as the game moved into the second. Twice in that period, the Capitals went a full power play without registering a shot on goal. That allowed defenseman Andy Greene and forward Miles Wood, on a breakaway, to give the Devils a two-goal lead. But it lasted just 14 seconds before the Capitals’ first even-strength chance of the period rocketed off Orlov’s stick and into the net. Orlov’s slap-shot goal was his sixth of the season and balanced the Capitals after a slow start to the second. 1093871 Washington Capitals Use the comment section below to discuss the game action with other Capitals fans.

For all the latest Caps coverage, follow Capitals Insider Tarik El-Bashir, Game 46: Capitals at Devils Date, Time, How to Watch, Game Thread Capitals correspondent JJ Regan and the NBC Sports Capitals account on Twitter. Be sure check out our Capitals page and NBC Sports Washington's Facebook page. By J.J. Regan

January 18, 2018 6:00 AM Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018

What: Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils Where: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. When: 7:00 p.m. ET How to WATCH: Capitals-Devils will be broadcast on NBC Sports Washington (Channel Finder) Live Stream: You can watch the Capitals-Devils game on NBC Sports Washington's live stream page. You can also stream the game online with no cable TV subscription on fuboTV (try for free!). WHEN IS THE CAPITALS-DEVILS GAME? The Capitals (28-14-3) take on the Devils (23-12-8) Thursday, January 18 at 7:00 p.m. ET in Newark. WHAT CHANNEL IS THE CAPITALS-DEVILS GAME ON? The Capitals-Devils game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Washington. Coverage kicks off with Capitals FaceOff at 6:00 p.m. followed by Caps GameTime at 6:30 p.m. Stay with NBC Sports Washington for Caps Extra following the game, Caps Overtime at 10:00 p.m. and Caps in 30 at 11:00 p.m. for all your postgame coverage. (NBC Sports Washington channel Finder) 6:00 p.m. — Caps FaceOff 6:30 p.m. — Caps GameTime 7:00 p.m. — Capitals at Devils 9:30 p.m. — Caps Extra 10:00 p.m. — Caps Overtime 11:00 p.m. — Caps in 30 WHERE CAN I STREAM THE CAPITALS-DEVILS GAME? The Capitals-Devils game, as well as Caps GameTime and Caps Extra, is available to stream live here through NBC Sports Washington's live stream page and is available to authenticated NBC Sports Washington subscribers on desktops, tablets, mobile devices and connected TVs anywhere in the United States. The game is also available to stream, along with all the pregame and postgame shows, on fuboTV (try for free). WHAT ARE THE PROJECTED LINES FOR CAPITALS-DEVILS? Here are the projected lines for Capitals-Devils: Forwards Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - Devante Smith-Pelly Jakub Vrana - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Tom Wilson Brett Connolly - Lars Eller - T.J. Oshie Chandler Stephenson - Jay Beagle - Alex Chiasson Defensemen Dmitry Orlov - Matt Niskanen Christian Djoos - John Carlson Brooks Orpik - Madison Bowey Braden Holtby starts with Philipp Grubauer as backup Scratches: Andre Burakovsky, Taylor Chorney CAPITALS-DEVILS OPEN THREAD 1093872 Washington Capitals

4 reasons the Caps lost to the Devils

By J.J. Regan January 18, 2018 10:26 PM

The Capitals returned from the bye week and battled back from a 3-1 deficit to earn a well-deserved point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. Here are the reasons why Washington finished the game on the losing end. Getting behind the defense Three of New Jersey's four goals came on breakaways. Marcus Johansson launched Drew Stafford on a break after a bad pass from Devante Smith-Pelly was misplayed by Dmitry Orlov at the blue line. Sami Vatanen took the puck off a Devils' faceoff win and saw Miles Wood had a step on the defense. Vatanen flipped the puck over everyone's heads into open space creating a footrace that he knew Wood would win for the breakaway. The game very fittingly ended on another breakaway in overtime. The Caps lost not one, but two board battles as Vatanen tipped the puck past Dmitry Orlov on the boards up to Hall who then tipped the puck past Evgeny Kuznetsov to set himself up for the break. More on that later. Holding their fire Not getting enough shots has been a problem for the Caps. They rank dead last in the NHL in shots on goal per game. It's something we have talked about before. So how did they look out of the break? Just as bad. This game lasted 60:34 with 60 regulation minutes and 34 seconds in overtime. In that time, Washington managed just 19 shots on goal. New Jersey had 32. That's just not good enough. If you go one step farther and look at total shot attempts, the Caps were still outshot badly 56-44. Power play The power play was an absolute mess in this game. Tom Wilson drew three penalties and Washington had five total power plays and they were unable to score on any of them. They looked completely out of sync, especially on zone entries. Yes, the Capitals are returning from a bye week. They were scheduled to practice on Wednesday in New Jersey, but travel delays forced them to cancel. A certain amount of rust is to be expected. But they are too good to be a middle of the pack power play team and they are way, way too good to play as badly as they played Thursday. Two failed board battles We have already touched on the overtime winner that was set up by two tips off the boards. You can watch the play here. Vatanen originally tipped the puck past Orlov who took a weird angle in his approach. It looked like he could have beaten Vatanen to the puck, but seemed to pull back. Perhaps he thought the puck was moving faster and would get to him before Vatanen could get there. Once the puck was past him, it was a race between Kuznetsov and Hall. Hall was going full speed, but similarly to Orlov, Kuznetsov seemed to pull back a bit allowing Hall to beat him to it. Either Orlov or Kuznetsov should have been able to slow the play at the very least by challenging the puck. For whatever reason, they misjudged the play and it resulted in the loss.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093873 Washington Capitals

3 stars of the game: Caps fight back to earn a point, but fall in overtime

By J.J. Regan January 18, 2018 9:45 PM

The Caps' return from the bye did not go quite according to plan as Washington fell 4-3 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils. Both teams battled to a 1-1 tie through 20 minutes, but New Jersey took a two-goal lead in the second period. Dmitry Orlov pulled the Caps within one late in the second just 14 seconds after the Devils took the 3-1 lead. Brett Connolly then tied the game with under four minutes remaining in the third with his second goal of the night thus guaranteeing a point for both teams. Ultimately, the Caps would be handed the defeat in overtime as Taylor Hall scored just 34 seconds into the extra session. Here are the three stars of the game. 1. Brett Connolly: He did it again. Just before the bye it was Connolly who tied the game against the Carolina Hurricanes late in the third before Jay Beagle won on the buzzer-beater. This time, Connolly tied the game in New Jersey with less than four minutes remaining. He found a soft spot in the defense in the high-slot and Evgeny Kuznetsov was able to find him from behind the goal line. Connolly may have whiffed on the shot as it stayed on the ice, but it got the job done, sliding through Keith Kinkaid and into the net. It was Connolly's second goal of the night as he also had Washington's first goal. This is the second two-goal game of Connolly's career. 2. Sami Vatanen: The Devils took control in the second period with two goals and Vatanen assisted on both of them. He first created a turnover in the defensive zone and the resulting rush ended with a goal for Andy Greene. Later in the period, the puck came to Vatanen on a faceoff. He saw Miles Wood could split the defense so he flipped the puck up in the air over the head of the defense creating a foot race. Wood won that race and scored on the breakaway. Vatanen earned a third assist in overtime as he tipped the puck past Dmitry Orlov on the wall up to Hall who tipped the puck past Evgeny Kuznetsov and took it all the way for the game-winner. 3. Tom Wilson: The Caps had five power plays on the night and Wilson drew three of them. First he was sent flying when Damon Severson stuck out his leg to prevent the streaking Wilson from getting by him in the defensive zone and chasing the puck. Later in the second period, Wilson delivered a thunderous, but legal hit to Brian Gibbons and Brian Boyle took issue with it. Wilson was all too happy to drop the gloves in response, but Boyle received the extra two minutes for instigating. Finally in the third, Travis Zajac interfered with Wilson as he knocked him into the New Jersey net with enough force to send the net off its moorings. Wilson ended up seeing time on the top line in the third period.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093874 Winnipeg Jets The Jets still have a dozen games left within the division, and those contests will take on extreme importance. The St. Louis Blues have the most left in the Central with 15, while Dallas has the fewest with just nine. Call it the Central nervous system -- Jets may be in first but division foes But Winnipeg faces a big challenge in who they have left on their are closing fast schedule. The Jets still have 21 games remaining against teams currently sitting in a playoff spot. Only Chicago, at 22, has more. The Minnesota Wild have 21, the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche each By: Mike McIntyre have 20, while Nashville and St. Louis have the fewest with 19 and 17, respectively.

Hold on to your hats, folks — this race is likely going right down to the Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban trips up Winnipeg Jets wire. centre Mark Scheifele during their game in December. The Jets are battling the Preds for top spot in the ultra-competetive Central Division of the Western Conference. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.19.2018 The Winnipeg Jets return from their bye week today — and not a moment too soon. Because the footsteps they were hearing behind them prior to going their separate ways last weekend have grown into a full- blown stampede. Just nine points separated first (Jets) from last (Chicago Blackhawks) in the ultra-competitive Central Division heading into Thursday night's action, which is by far the closest margin of the four divisions. Sure, Winnipeg continued to occupy top spot in the division by the slimmest of margins (although the Nashville Predators could have overtaken them with a win against the lowly Arizona Coyotes Thursday night). But they are also just six points ahead of the Minnesota Wild, who wouldn't even have an invite to Lord Stanley's annual spring fling if the season ended today. Not exactly much breathing room there. Which is why the Jets will need to take flight immediately as they begin a stretch of four games in six days Saturday afternoon in Calgary against the Flames, followed by a quick home date Sunday night against the Vancouver Canucks and then two tough road games next Tuesday and Thursday in San Jose and Anaheim, respectively. There's just so little margin for error, and they'll need to quickly find a way to snap out of the funk that saw them drop two straight games to division rivals heading into the break. An extended slump could end up being extremely costly and undo so much of the good work from earlier in the season. Jets head coach Paul Maurice and his staff spent the past several days going over video from their first 46 games of the season and trying to identify some areas they can improve upon heading into the final 36. No doubt their findings will be much of the focus of today's practice before the team boards a flight to Alberta. The Free Press spent some time Thursday analyzing the task ahead for the Jets. You may want to sit down for this. By every measure, the Central is the most powerful division in the NHL. Just getting in the top three, and the automatic playoff berth that comes with it, is a major task. Finishing fourth or fifth in the division is playing with fire, because there's no guarantee that will get you one of the two wild-card spots. Those could both end up going to Pacific teams, who have the luxury of a few lesser-light teams they can beat up on. Not so in the Central, where every team appears to be a force. Consider that all seven squads are at least five games over the NHL's version of .500 (wins versus regulation losses), with the not-so-lowly Blackhawks currently sitting last in the division with a 22-17-6 record. Only the Metropolitan is in the same boat, with the Carolina Hurricanes trailing the pack at 20-17-8. The Pacific has three sub-.500 teams, while the Atlantic has a whopping five. Overall, Central teams are a combined 67 games over .500. The Metropolitan is next at 53 games over. Pacific teams are 28 games over, while Atlantic teams are 23 games over. Goal differential really tells the tale in a dramatic way. The seven Central teams have a combined plus-102 goal differential, with every team being on the positive side. No other division can make such a claim. Metropolitan teams are second-best at minus 11. Pacific teams are minus 41, and Atlantic teams are minus 50. Winnipeg does have one advantage over the teams chasing them in that they still have 21 games remaining at Bell MTS Place, where they boast the league's second-best home record. That's tied with Nashville for the most home dates left in the division. Every other team has either 17, 18 or 19 home games left. Winnipeg's 15 remaining road games are the fewest in the Central, with everyone else having between 18 and 22. 1093875 Winnipeg Jets Ben Chiarot: (no grade, not enough games): He was certainly decent at times with a few bumps along the way while filling in on the third pair. He gets a C-. Jets players meeting expectations in mid-season report card Has not met expectations Bryan Little (C): Since the latter part of last season we haven’t seen the Scott Campbell all-around excellence this longtime favourite has shown in the past. His C repeats here. Posted: 01/18/2018 3:17 PM Steve Mason: (C) A poor beginning to the season, infrequent starts and injuries have made this a tough season. He drops to C-. Rookie Kyle Connor sits third in Jets goals with 15 and earned another Shawn Matthias (D): He’s only played eight games in the 25 since my B+. last report — he stays a D. With the Winnipeg Jets currently enjoying their NHL-mandated break, I Exceeded expectations thought I’d revisit my pre-season expectations of each player and see whether they’ve met or exceeded those beliefs. Connor Hellebuyck (A+): Starting as the backup goalie, he stole some wins early while the Jets were getting their game together and has been, I originally did this after the Jets passed the quarter point of the season for the most part, very good. His play has dropped a bit because he was and I’ll put that grade next to their name and see whether it needs to be Superman early — no penalty on his grade for that. A+ changed at this point. Kyle Connor (B+): The rookie sits third in Jets goals with 15 (tied with I’m moving some from their "expectations" group as well. Scheifele) after starting the season with the Manitoba Moose. Much improved at winning puck battles, he still can struggle in the defensive My comments contain their new grade, and take into consideration their zone, but he’s earned another B+. special teams and even strength play. Skaters had to play in half the games (23) to make this list. Brandon Tanev (C): He grew from a player who didn’t understand the NHL game last year to using his speed to create havoc in a good way Met expectations this season. Injury interrupted this but he gets a solid C. Blake Wheeler (A): I’ve bumped him to A+. He moved to centre into Mark (C-): He’s sitting at a good 52.2% Corsi and has Scheifele’s spot and has done a terrific job considering how hard that is contributed 11 points. Playing with Perreault helped bump his numbers for most players. He sits among the league leaders in points and assists. up, but he’s been an on-ice contributor. I still have serious concerns with his speed as players raise their game for the playoff drive. He stays C-. Mark Scheifele (A): He repeats his A as he has excelled when in the lineup, although his torrid early point pace had tailed off somewhat before The rest of the players didn’t play the required games. his injury. Only Mason dropped in the grades, and that’s indicative of the Jets much Mathieu Perreault (no initial grade, not enough games): He’s at a 62- improved five-on-five play since my first report card. point pace after carrying the fourth line into uncharted territory and then rejoining the top six group. He gets an A. Chosen ninth overall by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and first overall by the WHA’s Houston Aeros in 1977, Scott Campbell has now been drafted by Patrik Laine (B+): He’s only 19 and has a team-leading 20 goals. The the Winnipeg Free Press to play a new style of game. other areas of his game fluctuate as he continues to learn how to embarrass his opponents in new ways. His grade stays B+. Nikolaj Ehlers (B-): He was in the "not met expectations" group in the last Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.19.2018 report card but moves here. He’s second in team goals (19) and has been absolutely electric when his feet are moving. He moves to B+. Adam Lowry (B-): He’s getting very good at playing tough minutes: don’t underestimate how much losing Lowry to injury hurts the club, even though he’s not at Scheifele’s level. He gets a bump to B. Andrew Copp (C+): The versatile forward has been very effective whether playing on Lowry’s wing or subbing in at centre in his absence. He moves up to B-. Joel Armia (C-): He jumps to a C+ with a boost to the third line. Has the ability to make jaw-dropping plays but overall results keep him here. Josh Morrissey (B-): He’s stepped into the number one pairing role and continues to grow his game despite facing the toughest tests. He gets bumped to a B. Jacob Trouba (B-): I’m giving him a B, too. He and Morrissey are tied at the hip right now. They have some similar qualities as well as things they do better than the other, but Jets fans can feel great about what the future holds for this pairing. Dustin Byfuglien (B-): Injuries have knocked him out for a dozen games this season. Watching old habits creep into his game once in a while doesn’t change his B-. He’s a big factor on many nights. Tyler Myers (C+): He’s at a 40-point pace while on one of the power play units. He was fine when he moved up the lineup with Toby Enstrom and Byfuglien out but is still plagued by odd decisions when skating with the puck. He keeps his C+. Dmitry Kulikov (C): He was OK when moved to the second pairing with Myers and has been a solid third pairing defenceman. Quietly moves up to C+. Toby Enstrom (B-): I mentioned his previous season’s injuries as a concern in the first report and he went on to suffer one. I don’t downgrade for that — I’ll just move him from the exceeded-expectations list. 1093876 Winnipeg Jets “I have regular conversations with my ownership, with my group there,” Cheveldayoff said. “We’ve been on the same page since day one.”

2. You’d better not miss in the first round (and lottery luck helps, too) Get to know a rebuild: What the Red Wings can learn from the Winnipeg Jets While in Atlanta, the Thrashers' first round was riddled with pretty high profile misses, starting with the No. 1 overall pick and first pick in franchise history, Patrik Stefan. They took a goalie No. 2 overall (Kari Craig Custance Lehtonen) in 2002, something that just doesn’t happen anymore in drafts. Sprinkle in some Boris Valabiks and Alex Bourrets and it’s easy to see why Cheveldayoff didn’t have a ton to work with when he arrived.

If there’s anyone in the league who knows what it feels like to go through Since the move to Winnipeg, the Jets have used their first-round picks to an extended rebuilding process, it’s Winnipeg’s Bryan Little. He was select the following: Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey, Nik drafted in 2006 with the No. 12 overall pick by the Atlanta Thrashers, part Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic, Patrik Laine and Kristian Vesalainen. of a group of guys like Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane who were the That’s pretty darn good. latest wave of another round of rebuilding by the floundering franchise. “They’re great players but there are also good kids in the room,” Little Then Little patiently waited out Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff’s plan said. after the franchise moved north, as the forward signed a five-year contract in 2013 and re-upped with a six-year deal in September. Along When they drafted them, they were smart in the development. An elite the way, he’s only seen the playoffs once – putting up three points in four player like Laine, who joined the organization courtesy of lottery luck, games. arrived immediately. A project like Scheifele went right back to junior.

That’s a full decade worth of patience and it wasn’t always easy, even “(Scheifele) never came on to the regular scene of the Jets for two years. when there eventually became a clear vision of how things might look. We sent him back to junior for two years to develop,” Cheveldayoff said. “Then when he came on to the scene, he was a rookie and those things “It doesn’t make it any easier at the time,” Little told The Athletic. “You take time. want to make the playoffs every year. You want to be good every year. Especially as you’re getting older, it’s ‘How much longer am I going to be 3. Free agency can be used to augment the core during a rebuild playing?’ There’s a lot of unknowns. You want to win now. It’s in the The typical rebuild blueprint includes moving out veterans, acquiring draft summers where you reflect: ‘We have a good team. We’re going to have picks and, when the time comes, adding veterans in free agency. The a good team. Just stick with it.’” Jets did that on some level this offseason in adding Steve Mason along And finally, FINALLY, he’s getting a reward. His Jets look like they’re for with Dmitry Kulikov before a season in which they expected to contend. real. Built properly and with a firm foundation, Winnipeg is as good as But they also used free agency along the way to sign Mathieu Perreault any team in the Western Conference. in 2014. He was a 26-year-old free agent coming off a bit of a breakout They’ve arrived in large part behind the patience and plan enacted by season with the Ducks. He wasn’t an aging star but instead a younger Cheveldayoff, who was brought in to turn around the franchise in 2011 player who looked like he was figuring out his place in the league. Since when it moved to Winnipeg. While his predecessors in the organization then, he’s registered 153 points in 232 games with the Jets. This season, rushed draft picks to the NHL well before they were ready, he preached he's averaging 0.76 points per game, the best production of his career. patience. While his predecessors in the organization made trades for The Jets weren’t overly aggressive in free agency during their rebuild but short-term gains at the cost of long-term progress, he patiently sat tight – picked their spots. even as criticism for his conservative plan gathered steam around him. And when they had bad contracts on the books, they patiently waited “I’m a realist,” Cheveldayoff told The Athletic. “You have to look at this them out. Something the Red Wings are currently doing. It’s not always job through a realistic lens. You can’t hope your way through something.” pretty or pleasant.

It’s been nearly seven years, not the quick turn fans normally hope for “For a couple years we had some contracts that we knew we weren’t when envisioning a rebuild, but the Jets are there. And because of that going to renew,” Cheveldayoff said. “Until those contracts were over, you patience, they are building in a way that should last. had them. They’re in your group. It is what it is. Certainly you have some hiccups along the way. You make some decisions that you have to live You wouldn’t blame Little if he had moments when he thought it might with.” never happen. He had to watch as other players in his draft year like Jonathan Toews, Brad Marchand and Phil Kessel won Stanley Cups. It 4. Don’t tear the entire thing down wasn't easy. At this point, it’s probably safe to say a franchise like Buffalo might have “I felt like, when we moved to Winnipeg, the mindset of the organization been a little too aggressive in the tear down process. There’s a was a little bit different,” Little said. “They were more serious about it. The temptation to get every possible asset for every possible veteran, and the first couple years was frustrating because we were in the same spot as Jets didn’t do that. In fact, Little still cringes when the word tank is used in Atlanta. But they’ve done a great job drafting.” his company.

There’s a lot to learn here for a team like the Detroit Red Wings and “I hate that word, tank,” Little said. “Fans throw that around. No NHL others in the midst of a rebuilding process. With help from Cheveldayoff, team tanks. No professional athlete is going to go out there and throw a here are lessons from the Jets' rebuild: game or tank to get better prospects or get higher up in the draft. That’s just nonsense.” 1. It’s not a fast process Now, while players certainly aren’t tanking, that’s not to say management If the various approaches around the league have taught us anything, it's isn’t. But the Jets kept a group of veterans around from Atlanta that there’s more than one way to approach a rebuild. New Jersey GM throughout the process. They could have sold on Little at one point. Ray Shero has wheeled and dealed his way to a faster timeline (with a Wheeler would have provided a nice return. There was a trade deadline large dose of lottery luck). Cheveldayoff has taken about as conservative when Cheveldayoff approached defenseman Dustin Byfuglien about an approach as a GM can take. moving him or keeping him around long term and saw a veteran eager to finish the process. “There’s no quick cure. There really isn’t,” Cheveldayoff said in explaining his approach. “With the cap, with parity, with the youth of the game, most “I sat with Buff a couple years ago when he did his extension and said, teams are embracing that.” ‘Buff, you’re 10 days days or whatever away from the trade deadline here, (potentially) going wherever you want to go as UFA at the He had the advantage of a new market that supported the team summertime. Why do you want to stay?’” Cheveldayoff said. “He said, throughout the process. He also had complete buy-in from ownership, an ‘It’s the young guys. I like them. I think there’s a real group of guys.’” important distinction.

The Jets never wavered. It was draft and develop and, eventually, we’ll get there. Scheifele and Laine are the elite young talent, but it’s that layer of veterans surrounding them – like Blake Wheeler, Byfuglien and Little – who have stuck it out since Atlanta to provide support.

Ultimately, if this team is going to achieve great things, it’s going to be the elite talent that gets them there. Acquiring that talent takes time, luck, some losing and patience.

“It’s taken awhile,” Little said, “but it’s paying off now.”

The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093877 Winnipeg Jets constant waves of controllable, affordable prospects will be paramount for them to stay successful and competitive.

At No. 3, the trends become more evident. Were the pools defined by Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL teams' prospect their best three players, Winnipeg and Vancouver would stand atop, pools followed closely by Ottawa, Calgary and Toronto, with Montreal and Edmonton at the rear. The Jets and Canucks are the only teams that don't have a prospect ranked lower than fourth relative to the other By Scott Wheeler teams, while Edmonton's best ranks at sixth-or-lower on all three lists.

There also isn't as pronounced a gap between the top-two by this point as there is on the other list. All of Vesalainen, White, Evans and Dahlen Over the course of the last three months, I have ranked every single are tightly grouped, while Kylington and Johnsson stand a cut above prospect in each Canadian NHL team's pool, from the 31 the Leafs have Jones. Nearly every prospect on this list would rank ahead of Bear were at the high end to the 23 apiece the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames they grouped together. control. But there's more to the team's prospect pools than their best players. In all, the seven rankings put 187 players into context within their own How far their depth runs will play a huge factor in giving each Canadian organization, and sought to identify those who had legitimate NHL hopes, team its best odds at hitting home runs on their proverbial lottery balls. those each team missed on. Here's a look at that next tier of high-end prospects for each team: The criteria was simple. The players had to be under-23, not playing in the NHL full-time (at the time of the ranking), and either drafted by the The first thing you'll notice is that there aren't any Oilers or Canadiens in team or signed to an entry-level contract. Draft picks whose rights have this group of 17. As good as Tyler Benson or Joni Ikonen are, they're still expired, or players who were on AHL/ECHL deals, were excluded. a tier below the likes of Dube and Phillips. Given that neither team mitigated against that thin depth by having standout players at 1-3 in their In wrapping up the series, I wanted to put each of those pools in a pool and there's real cause for concern about the state of Montreal and different context by examining them against one another. Which Edmonton's flow of young talent for the next few years. Canadian teams' prospect pool bodes most favourably for the future, and which of the seven teams has done the poorest job drafting and After leading the way at the top of their pools, the Canucks also have developing its current farm system. three players in the top-six of the best of the rest and five of the top-11. After years of struggling, the Canucks have done a good job hitting on Rather than placing the emphasis on the individual players by ranking their high-end picks and that should help them turn things around and each of the team's top prospects in one collective list to close out the rebuild. series, I have opted to provide comparative context by matching each of the team's top-three prospects into three separate lists, with a best of the The Flames aren't far behind either and matched the Canucks with five rest to close things out. In doing so, we get a better understanding of how players on the best of the rest list, though three are at its end. each team's top young prospects match up against the rest. The Leafs, the Jets and the Senators also each appear on the list (Note: some players in the best of the rest ranking would actually finish multiple times, led by Travis Dermott. For context, each of Dermott, higher on a complete list than a few of the players at No. 3 or even a Andersson, Gaudette and Demko would rank higher than Jones and couple of the No. 2s on some of these teams, but that's not the focus Bear on a complete list. here. If you want a comprehensive ranking of many of the individual prospects, check out Corey Pronman's mid-season top-50 drafted Below, is my final ranking of each of the seven teams' prospect pools: prospects list. If you want more info on any/all of the players, my team That the Leafs and Jets, in particular, have managed to maintain strong rankings take a comprehensive look at each.) pools despite graduating such high-end talents in the last couple of After contextualizing each team's depth against one another, you'll find a seasons is perhaps most impressive. In Winnipeg, others, including ranking of the pools against one another below. Mason Appleton, Eric Comrie, and Mikhail Berdin also factor into their ranking. Similarly, in Calgary, I have always been high on D'Artagnan Off the top, there are a few things about each team's best prospect that Joly and still believe Morgan Klimchuck can become an everyday NHL are worth mentioning. player. In Toronto, there is depth in numbers outside of the six players who made these lists, from Adam Brooks and Eemeli Rasanen to Yegor The first is that the top-two prospects (Pettersson and Chabot) exist in a Korshkov and Dmytro Timashov. tier of their own. Chabot is one of the best defence prospects in hockey and Pettersson is in the process of having one of the greatest under-20 With the Canucks, there's an element of “about time” to their pool's seasons in the history of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). After that, strength, but it is still a really impressive group given that players such as things tighten up. I have Liljegren alone at No. 3, but the gap between Petrus Palmu, Jonah Gadjovich and William Lockwood are also all him and the next tier of Roslovic and Fox (who are close) is smaller than legitimate prospects. the gap between Chabot and Liljegren. Like Roslovic and Fox, Yamamoto and Poehling are also close, but the former has more The Flames, to put it mildly, have a lot coming — particularly on defence weapons and a higher ceiling. — even if they don't have a Pettersson or a Chabot-level prospect after graduating Matthew Tkachuk and others. Among the No. 2s, you'll start to see some familiarity in the teams that are represented at the top vis-a-vis each other. To the Canadiens' credit, I have liked their selections of Cale Fleury and Josh Brook in recent memory. Here, the gap starts to widen and the depth in some pools is exposed. Valimaki and Juolevi stand ahead of this pack (and deserve to be in the And despite having a strong top-five, I am not high on Ottawa's pool No. 1 tier) by a fairly pronounced margin, while Kapanen, Foley, (though I do think Maxime Lajoie has a lot more to give). Alex Formenton Scherbak and Brown are nearly interchangeable and Bear trails pretty and Aaron Luchuk are fine prospects, but their ceilings will limit them if considerably. they ever make it to the NHL level full-time.

Here, the Oilers' depth is exposed. Part of this is just symptomatic of how If you have any questions about the players or the rankings, leave them many good young players Edmonton has on its NHL roster, including below and I'll be happy to answer them. Jesse Puljujarvi, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse, but the same could be said of the Leafs, who've lost their three best prospects to the next level and the Jets (Patrik Laine, Josh Morrissey, The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor). The Oilers need to do a better job of hanging onto their picks, acquiring others and drafting for skill beyond the top-10.

As each pool digs deeper, that lack of depth in Edmonton is even more evident. The Oilers are well-positioned for years to come with their young core, but as McDavid and Draisaitl's lucrative deals kick in, the need for 1093878 Vancouver Canucks and it’s a pretty one, but Barzal makes players around him better. He’s already had two five-point games and with the way the Islanders play no one would be surprised if he has more. His 47 points in his first 46 games Botchford: Boeser vs. Barzal a Calder conundrum led all rookies, and he’s been among the league leaders in even strength points-per-hour. In short, he’s been great and given his situation there’s no reason to think he can’t keep it up during the season’s final two months. Jason Botchford The skinny: The way it’s going, Barzal could lead rookies in points by 15 January 18, 2018 or more. If that happens, he’s going to win. January 18, 2018 4:46 PM PST Rookie blueliner Charlie McAvoy (above) has made an impact on the Boston Bruins’ top defensive pairing with captain Zdeno Chara.

The case for: Boeser and Barzal have been getting all the hype, but don’t So you think Brock Boeser can win the Calder. sleep on McAvoy. He’s playing nearly 24 minutes a game on the Bruins’ It won’t be easy, even if he’s in the midst of one of the greatest rookie top defensive pairing and has made his partner, 40-year-old Zdeno seasons in franchise history. Chara, a far more effective player. McAvoy was 11th among defencemen in even strength shot attempt differential (54.93 per cent). Boeser finds himself chilling during the team’s bye week with 22 goals — he’s 22-18-40 in 42 games. Right now, 30 goals seems not only The skinny: As the season goes on you can expect more people to build attainable but probable. And as far as rookies go, this is rarified air. a case for McAvoy using underlying data. Boeser and Barzal could split the more traditional voters, while McAvoy is sure to get some new media Including the two players who did it last year, only 12 rookies have love. scored 30 in a season since 1996. Just five of them, however, have won the Calder Trophy, bestowed upon the NHL’s rookie of the year. Tampa Bay Lightning’s Mikhail Sergachev leads all rookie defencemen with eight goals to go along with his 26 points … and that’s averaging Since the last time a Canuck won it — Pavel Bure in 1991-92 — the less than 16 minutes of ice time per game. award has mostly been a points competition. Sixteen forwards have won the Calder since Bure, and only once did the winner not at least have a share of the lead in rookie points. That was Chris Drury, way back in The case for: The way it looks right now, Sergachev and McAvoy are the 1998-99. front-runners for the third Calder finalist spot, behind Boeser and Barzal. Essentially, more points means more votes. Sergachev leads all rookie defencemen with eight goals to go along with his 26 points. Most impressively, he’s doing it while averaging fewer than That’s threatening to be a massive roadblock for Boeser’s chances, 16 minutes a game in ice time. because Mathew Barzal has been a points machine with the New York Islanders (16-31-47 in 46 games heading into Thursday night action) and The skinny: No rookie defenceman has hit 50 points in a season since he’s on one of the highest scoring teams in the NHL. He’s played more 1993. Sergachev has a shot to do it, especially if his ice time increases in games, is averaging more ice time and is cradled on a team loaded with the second half of the season. players who can create offensive fireworks.

Boeser’s team, meanwhile, has scored the fewest goals in the NHL since Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.19.2018 2015, and is again near the bottom of the league in goals-per-game. It should make what Boeser’s doing even more special, but I doubt the voters will see it that way. This is especially problematic for things like secondary assists, as before Thursday’s Islanders game hosting Boston Barzal had 15 of them and Boeser nine. That’s a six-point difference and Barzal had a seven-point lead in points Thursday. But things change, and sometimes in a hurry. Remember when Clayton Keller was everyone’s Calder favourite? Here we look at the leading candidates: Brock Boeser has been more than the Canucks could have hoped for when they picked him 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft — seven picks behind the New Islanders’ selection of Mathew Barzal — putting up 22 goals and 40 points in 42 games. Brock Boeser has been more than the Canucks could have hoped for when they picked him 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft â” seven picks behind the New Islandersâ™ selection of Mathew Barzal â” putting up 22 goals and 40 points in 42 games. Jeff Vinnick / NHLI via Getty Images Brock Boeser, forward, Vancouver Canucks The case for: He has been among the league leaders in goals-scored- per-hour all season, and ranked third Thursday. When his centre Bo Horvat was injured, Boeser actually got more effective just as many were counting him out. He went on a run of eight goals in 10 games. From Nov. 15 to Thursday, he scored 17 goals, good enough to have a share of the league lead. Most importantly, he’s done all of this on a mediocre team ravaged by injuries, and one that ranks 26th in offence. The skinny: If Boeser gets to 35 goals for the Canucks, it’s going to be tough not to vote for him. Coquitlam’s Mathew Barzal has been a human highlight machine during this, his rookie NHL season, and stands as the most obvious challenger — and perhaps even front-runner — in the Calder Trophy challenge for Canuck Brock Boeser. The case for: For one, he’s electric. The Coquitlam native’s highlights are among the best in hockey. Talk all you want about his supporting cast, 1093879 Vancouver Canucks What Green is demanding from them, and all of his players, requires a lot of work, but he likes to distill it down to one word: details.

“When you talk about details, that can be a little bit of vague. There’s a How the Canucks strive to coach and build tough in today's NHL lot that goes into details — it’s your team game, your team structure. When you get late in games, the heat gets turned on. Guys are skating hard, pushing to score, pushing to defend. We need to play a really By Israel Fehr strong two-way game. We want to be aggressive — and when I say aggressive a lot of people think that means trying to score — an aggressive game is defending aggressively,” said Green. Travis Green had his work cut out for him when he took over as head “Defending isn’t just D-zone coverage. Defending starts with your first coach of the Vancouver Canucks in the off-season. Green, a first-time two strides out of the offensive zone. Your first two strides to a loose NHL coach, was inheriting a team had finished in the bottom three in the puck in the offensive zone, so your defenceman can keep a puck in the NHL standings the past two seasons. zone, you as a forward have taken two strides to get above and not a half-a-second late. That’s playing an aggressive, strong, two-way game. His first season behind the bench in Vancouver has predictably proven to As games go on, as seasons go on, every minute, every inch, counts for be a challenge at times, especially of late as injuries have piled up and more.” losses have followed, but Green has been trying to find positives from even the most dispiriting performances. In the instances when he hasn’t When president Trevor Linden addressed the media for a mid-season been impressed with how the Canucks have played, though, Green State of The Union earlier this month, which came in the midst of a hasn’t been shy about calling his team soft. pronounced losing skid, he pointed out that two teams that had just beat Vancouver — the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings — were a From the outside, calling a team soft is seen as a pejorative, plain and tough matchup because of the heavy and physical nature of their rosters. simple. But toughness is among the most nebulous terms in hockey, and Green has a direct meaning behind his message. It presents an interesting conundrum for the Canucks. What approach do they take to building their team, when their division rivals are more often “When you say your team is soft some people might take it as they’re not than not dominating them with their size? trying,” he said. “Part of it is (having) a heavy stick, winning puck battles. For me, a lot of times, it’s getting to battles, getting to hard areas. In this “I think Travis has said it himself, it’s a style of play. Whether you’re 5- league, the players are so good. If you’re just kind of there, you can be a foot-9 or 6-foot-5, it’s how competitive you are, and how you battle and half-second late, you can be a quarter-second late, if you’re on the mark compete. That speaks to the type of drafting you do. I don’t think you add and you’re hungry and you really want to win, you get there.” one guy that brings ‘toughness’ and all of sudden you become a more competitive team. Competitiveness is within your players,” said Linden. A few Canucks players shared with The Athletic what they can do to play “Our makeup right now is one where (teams like the Kings and Ducks) tough and how the coaching staff helps them both in-game and in are challenging. We need to get better in that area. I think we need to preparation, but how does it apply from a philosophical perspective? draft players and find players that have that characteristic. It doesn’t Green arrived in Vancouver after four years as the head coach of the happen overnight.” Canucks’ AHL affiliate team, the . He promised his team It’s also easier said than done. would play a fast, aggressive style, a departure from the rather conservative approach employed by former coach Willie Desjardins. As we’ve covered here extensively, Erik Gudbranson was acquired in large part to provide that physical presence on the blueline. But his time It sounded somewhat cliche — it’s a platitude uttered at most introductory in Vancouver has been marred by injury, and when he has played, he press conferences for incoming head coaches in hockey, as well as hasn’t inspired confidence that he can handle the role of a modern day basketball and football — but there appears to be merit to Green’s top-four defenceman. pledge. Now, adding more physicality on the back end wouldn’t hurt. It’s why Early on this season, when the Canucks were exceeding expectations, Nikita Tryamkin remains an intriguing prospect when picturing the they managed to strike a balance between being defensively responsible Canucks’ defence of the future, despite having returned to the KHL at the and having an aesthetically pleasing offence. The hockey they were end of last season, because of his big body and blossoming skating and playing was generally low-event, but they were passing the eye test in passing skills. terms of on-ice excitement. Prioritizing getting tougher in the traditional sense, however, is not their That wasn’t by accident, either, according to The Athletic columnist Justin answer. Bourne. What Green is preaching is for each individual player to embrace those Bourne, who worked as the Toronto Marlies’ video coach for two seasons aforementioned details and stay true to their roles, as outlined in this while Green was coaching Utica, had high praise for Green during a piece. conversation on Craig Custance’s The Full 60 podcast, based on his observations of the Canucks coach’s game-planning abilities: “I like a lot of things about our team. I’m anxious to get us back to healthy, I liked how we started the season. I liked the buy-in from our “Travis Green was awesome. He took a team that was next to talentless group to play a fast game. I think you can play a fast game and not be and, god, they were tough to play. Every night they just were always in the fastest skater, I think our team has shown that,” said Green. “There’s the right spots. It’s partially maybe the roster he had, they had to play a a process to building a winning team and I think we’ve taken steps from very defensive style and they did, and they battled and they competed. where we were at the beginning of the year. We’ve had some setbacks You talk to those guys and they all loved playing for him,” said Bourne. here with our game, we're not going to deny that. We haven’t been “That’s really strange, that’s a tough combo. Usually when you have a winning hockey games. team that’s that sort of diligent and hard-working it’s because someone “I think what you find in this league is top top teams, teams that are like John Tortorella is yelling at them and they’re afraid of him. He has a really, really good, when they get injuries they keep themselves afloat. manner in which his teams have success and still like him. It’s pretty There’s a lot of teams that if they lose top players, they’re going to impressive,” he continued. struggle. We’re in that mid-tier, where it’s a battle. It’s a battle every night The Canucks’ results have turned recently, but Bourne’s insight speaks for our team when we’re healthy and we have to be on top of our game. to how Green connects with his players and gets them to buy in. He is We have to play really well for our team to win.” already garnering a reputation as one of the most dedicated line– and The goal in Vancouver is no different than in any of the other 30 NHL zone-matchers in the NHL and he tends to deploy lines and players markets: to become a contender that’s in the playoffs every year and can based on particular roles. consistently make a run for the Stanley Cup. That’s come at the expense of playing time for young players like Jake To get there, the front office will have to continue to compile depth at all Virtanen and Nikolay Goldobin, which isn’t necessarily what fans of a positions through the draft, creating internal competition throughout the team that hasn’t won much in recent years want to see. Fans are organization. Whether general manager Jim Benning, who’s in the final understandably drawn to their skillsets — Virtanen’s speed and puck- year of his contract, will continue to oversee the operation remains to be carrying ability, while Goldobin’s on-puck instincts in the offensive zone seen. are attention-grabbing — but Green is taking a long-term view. The roster is going to change, there’s no doubt about that, but as far as For Virtanen and Goldobin to become legitimate top-six NHL forwards, the immediate future is concerned, Green is going to keep pushing they are going to have to build on their current tools. forward with the players he has at his disposal, instilling his vision for the right, tough way to play the game. How many players from this current team will still be here to help the Canucks break through is hard to pinpoint — realistically, the number could be fairly low. Green’s drive is to find players who are committed to the cause and willing to work to excel. “There’s a reason that Stanley Cup playoff games, you can feel the energy in the game. You can feel how hyped up, how fast, how hard, how heavy it is, and to do that over the course of the playoffs, it’s not easy, your body takes a toll,” said Green. “Guys want to win, they play hard. You hope as a coach that your team really loves winning and playing with passion. When you love playing and you’ve got passion, your compete level is usually pretty high.”

The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093880 Websites bad cops in the team hierarchy — hatched a scheme in 2010, endorsed by Clarke, to bring Lindros out of his then-three-year retirement to play again in Philadelphia. The Athletic / No. 88 goes to the rafters: How Eric Lindros and the Flyers It was an offer Lindros rejected for reasons of health, not bitterness. found peace That thaw was the forerunner of an invitation to participate in a morning skate with the team in Toronto, a return to Philly in an alumni game at Citizens Bank Park that preceded the Winter Classic in 2012, and co- Jan 18, 2018 induction with longtime linemate John LeClair into the Flyers Hall of Fame in 2014. By Jay Greenberg A fair estimation was that at least 50 percent of the Flyers fans had blamed Lindros, not the team, for the break-up. As a visiting player, he had been booed heavily. But with he and LeClair on the red carpet, there Time heals, just as, presumably have the multitudes of NHL players once was nothing but warmth in the building. All the polarization that flattened by Eric Lindros. surrounded him in the game, starting with his rejection of drafts of both a He once picked up and threw Florida’s Stu Barnes aside on the way to a junior team and the NHL Quebec Nordiques, was gone. Clarke, now a goal, brushed off the great and powerful Mark Messier en route to the senior advisor out of the day-to-day operation of the club, has empty net to complete a playoff hat trick, brought a nasty six-game war encouraged every step in bringing Lindros back to the organization and against Tampa Bay to a winning and vengeful conclusion by beating will be in attendance Thursday night. series-long irritant Igor Ulanov to a pulp, and won an Ali vs. Frazier Team Chairman and founder Ed Snider’s anger with the Lindros family confrontation against the toughest enforcer in the league, . was harder to crack. But he approved Lindros’ Flyers Hall induction But even at 6-foot-4, 229 pounds, the most prodigious combination of and, after that ceremony confided to Holmgren that it had been the right skill and power hockey ever has known, couldn’t steamroll over the thing to do. It is doubtful Holmgren is disrespecting the wishes of Snider, gaping wounds left upon he and the Flyers management in perhaps the who died of bladder cancer in April 2016, by putting Lindros in the most ugliest and most painful divorces between a star and his team in exulted place a Flyer can be. professional sports history. “I hope Mr. Snider would have seen it that way,” says Holmgren. “And I All that could heal that level of trauma was time and conciliation. Both believe he would have. have worked wonders that on Thursday night probably will be more worth “You can’t argue with the kind of player Eric was and his impact on the celebrating than even Lindros’ Hall of Fame career. league and the Flyers. “ No. 88 goes to the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center, an arena that was With Clarke, Lindros is one of only two Hart Trophy (MVP) winners in built during the nineties at least in part on the promise of what Lindros Flyers history. could do to restore the Flyers’ glory. Up, up, up the number will be raised; almost as high as the expectations generated by a teenage freak In 486 regular season games with Philadelphia, he amassed 659 points, of nature who commanded the highest salary in the NHL before he a 1.36 points-per-game average, superior to that of all but four players in played a game and by the Flyers’ massive expenditure – six players, two NHL history. In an era in which scoring was starting to decline, he was number one picks, and $15 million — to obtain him. the fifth-fastest player ever to achieve 500 points, the sixth-quickest to 200 goals and had 57 points in 53 playoff games. The man-child’s ceiling seemed limitless. In the disappointing end, that had something to do with Lindros, who played eight years in “Teams were drafting to play against him,” says LeClair, who combined Philadelphia, three for the hated Rangers and finished up with single with Lindros to give the Flyers their most lethal one-two combination seasons in Dallas and his native Toronto, winding up without a home in since Clarke and Barber. “Eric was dominant for five years.” retirement. Lindros scored 85 goals in 126 games in his first two seasons for sub- The relationship with the Flyers began to fray in the Lindros family’s .500 Flyers teams stripped down by the trade to acquire him. The next belief that an organization that had spent hugely to obtain him was not year, by which time LeClair and Eric Desjardins arrived and playoff always supportive. It careened through general manager Bob Clarke’s participation resumed after a five-year drought, Lindros joined Wayne public accusations that the parents’ constant meddling was putting their Gretzky as only the second player since 1927 to win a Hart Trophy by the son above the team. The damage became irreversible when Lindros third year of their careers. That spring, he carried the Flyers to the himself criticized the team’s medical and training staff for not diagnosing Eastern Conference final and two years later to the Stanley Cup final. concussion symptoms that he simultaneously acknowledged he didn’t report. The Big E used his long reach to shield a puck that he could deliver off either the forehand or the backhand with a touch that belied his power. While that controversy raged in 2000, the Flyers won two playoff rounds “He created room for everybody,” said Hall of Famer Mark Recchi, who without Lindros and were on the verge of a third when he was medically scored a Flyers-record 123 points as Lindros’ linemate in 1992-93, before cleared. Team members felt compelled to have a vote on whether to being traded to Montreal for LeClair and Desjardins. bring him back and approval was far from unanimous, but Lindros returned only to suffer his fifth concussion by a devastating open-ice “It was so hard to take the puck from him. But a larger part of our shoulder check to the head by New Jersey’s Scott Stevens in Game 7 of success together was from give-and-goes. In addition to everything else, the Eastern Conference final. Eric was a great passer.” Rejecting a not-completely sincere offer of an extension by the Flyers, If the results of the deal with Quebec — transplanted to Colorado, the Lindros sat out an entire year waiting for his symptoms to subside. He Avalanche won two Cups around Peter Forsberg, the key prospect was then traded to the Rangers, the only team that would satisfy the obtained in the Philadelphia trade — are arguable, the organization’s Flyers with a player package. Although Lindros had a 37-goal season in logic in making the huge transaction remains unassailable. Having won New York, he acknowledges the Stevens hit had resulted in a fear of two Cups with three-time MVP Clarke, then losing their next four finals going over the middle. Lindros suffered two more concussions with the appearances to teams led by Guy Lafleur, Bryan Trottier and Gretzky, Rangers before orthopedic setbacks ended his career at age 34, leaving the Flyers wanted the best player in the league again. his resume short of the Stanley Cup that the most hyped hockey prospect in history had been almost mandated to bring. And they had him, only too briefly, much to everyone’s disappointment, especially Lindros’. He has moved past that by now. Nevertheless, following a six-year wait, Lindros became a Hall of Famer in 2016, mostly because of the statistical evidence of his dominance, but “You know what, I got a chance to play a lot of good hockey in also because Clarke, the man largely responsible for making Lindros’ Philadelphia,” Lindros told reporters at the Flyers’ practice facility place in Philadelphia untenable, nevertheless argued as a member of Wednesday morning. As he did in his Hockey Hall of Fame induction, The Hall’s selection committee for No. 88’s election. Lindros thanked the fans for their passion and this time praised Holmgren for being “fantastic.” Having retired the numbers of all their previous Hall members who played either all, or their best, years in Philadelphia – Clarke, Bernie “Let’s move on and be positive,” Lindros said. Parent, Bill Barber and Mark Howe – a snub of Lindros by the Flyers As he told this author in The Flyers at 50, “Many teams weren’t in the would have been conspicuous. But the organization is not bestowing Ray Bourque or Chris Chelios talks (when players of that caliber became this honor begrudgingly. available for trade or in free agency). Sometimes it happened, sometimes The ice began to melt when Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren — it didn’t, but at least there was an effort by the Flyers. now the team president and in Lindros’ eyes the good cop amidst all the “I just wish I would have been a lot healthier. But I’m not the only guy who that ever happened to. That’s the way it was for me so I’m not going to look back and be upset or disappointed or frustrated because there’s nothing to be gained by that, there really isn’t. I really worked hard to rid my mind of anything negative. “If I had it to do over again, I would have dialed back the hitting about 25 percent. But I don’t care to go into the what-ifs. I’m just going to think of some real good teams that had chances to win. I’m grateful for that.” Happily married with three children, playing hockey finally for the fun that was saddled by stress in his teen years, and active in concussion education, Lindros, 44, never has been at greater peace. All that water under a washed-out rainbow bridge notwithstanding, it is nice to see the Flyers have come to peace with him, too. “I think Eric had to answer to a lot of other things that weren’t always taken into account,” says LeClair. “Like being the next face of the league. He was still the best player in it.” And also, after Clarke, probably ranking with Bernie Parent as the most impactful player in Flyers history. “Eric is in the Hall of Fame,” said Holmgren. “He was just voted into the top 100 players of all time. “This fits into with what we have done for all the other guys hanging from the rafters. He certainly qualifies. We’re excited to do this.”

The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093881 Websites As of December 29, 2017, Bennett has put up 79 points in 196 regular season games, or 0.403 points per game. In his fourth (third full) season and at 21 years of old, Bennett is no longer a rookie with miles of The Athletic / What's the best case scenario for Sam Bennett? A development ahead. Most top end players are approaching their peak at Bayesian Analysis 21, particularly if they have already been in the league for a few seasons. While 196 games is not a lot of data, it’s not nothing either. What does it say about Bennett and where he’s likely to go from here? By: Ganesh Murdeshwar The starting point of our analysis is Bennett’s points per game distribution, namely: Warning – this article contains mathematical concepts and theories! *Numbers Note – In statistical terms, this is roughly a Poisson distribution (“roughly”, because it glosses over differences in TOI per game as well When the Calgary Flames took Sam Bennett fourth overall in the 2014 as the occasional overtime games). Poisson distributions are useful for draft, he was the highest draft choice ever made by the franchise. modeling scoring in hockey, and despite the shortcomings noted, for the Bennett put up 91 points in 57 games for the in his purposes of this analysis, it should work well. draft season, resulting in his being named the top North American prospect by NHL Central Scouting. Bayesian analysis starts here by taking Bennett’s points per game history (as shown in the chart above) and giving us a probability estimate of his It seemed to be a terrific get for the Flames, who looked to have picked a “true” points per game level. potential first line centre. But unlike other young Flames prospects like Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and Matthew Tkachuk, Bennett has To make sure the process is clear, as well as to really highlight Bennett’s struggled to emerge as a difference maker through his first two-and-a- progress over his career, we’re going to look at the progression of this half seasons in the NHL. After going pointless in his first 15 games this Bayesian estimate for each year of Bennett’s career. The full career season, it became a question of just what kind of NHLer Bennett is going number is going to be our best estimate – based on the results Bennett to be. has put up so far – of what Bennett really “is” and therefore what we might reasonably expect to see going forward. The situation Great expectations The tale since that draft has not been storybook. Bennett injured his shoulder in Flames training camp (something he admitted had bothered The first step is in determining something called the prior – the him for a long time), resulting in surgery and a five-month hiatus during a reasonable range of expectations we have of this player in the absence critical development year. of any NHL level information. In Bennett’s case, what might we have thought was a reasonable range of NHL expectations? Post-surgery, Bennett was recalled to the Flames to play the final regular season game and playoffs. His subsequent one-in-one and four-in-11 First, we’d want to recognize that high drafted forwards do have lofty point totals were respectable numbers for a rookie straight out of the expectations for scoring. Most forwards drafted in the three-to-five area in OHL. Since then, it would be fair to say Bennett has struggled to find his the draft produce 0.4 to 0.7 points per game in the first few years post- spot in the NHL, let alone live up to his rarefied draft position. Of late, a draft. Some become point producing superstars, while a small number of move to left wing on the club’s third line seems to have reignited his others fizzle. scoring. The last point is important – it means that any draft pick, even a very high So what do we make of Sam Bennett now? Is he a destined to be a pick, has a wide range of outcomes, so that width has to be reflected in middle rotation LW, or can he still become that high-end scorer the the prior. Embrace the uncertainty. Flames hoped to get at fourth overall? For someone like Bennett, with “top prospect” and “possible first overall” Bayes weighs in in his pre-draft resume, that pushes the expectations up. A good prior, then, would have a wide range of outcomes, but a high midpoint. For this analysis, we’re going to use an approach that is in its infancy in hockey: Bayesian statistics. (Read more background information about (*Numbers Note – After some discussion, for this analysis, we settled on Bayesian statistics in Appendix 1) a Gamma (3, scale=1/3) distribution. This meets the “wide but high” criteria. Gamma distributions are commonly used as priors when While textbooks have been written about the benefits of a Bayesian modeling Poisson distributions.) approach, we’ll emphasize three factors: The process used here is standard Bayesian inference — we start with a Bayesian statistics are often able to produce useful outputs even with prior distribution, then use observed data to update that distribution. The fairly small sample sizes. outcome is a “posterior distribution,” which forms the basis for our analysis. (The specific inference engine for this analysis was PyMC2). Rather than attempting to give precise answers, Bayesian statistics embrace uncertainty by giving a probability distribution as the “answer.” After running the Bayesian inference process, which uses a fun process called Markov Chain Monte Carlo to produce the posterior distribution, The interpretation of Bayesian statistics is highly intuitive. A probability in the random sample version of our particular prior distribution looks like Bayesian terms means exactly what you think it means. Contrast this, for this: example, with “p values” in traditional statistics. Even scientists who use statistical tests and p values on a regular basis can have a difficult time We’ll use this format of chart throughout. The key information captured in explaining what they mean. this chart: I believe the future of modern statistics (not just hockey) is Bayesian. The overall distribution tells us how likely it is that we get any specific outcome. Notice the wide range and extremely high ceiling, reflective of With that in mind, our goal here will be to use a Bayesian approach to our broad range of possible outcomes. assess Bennett’s career to date, meaning we want to determine a range of probabilities as to who Bennett really is, and what we can reasonably The number in the middle of the black bar (with the yellow dotted line expect from him in the future. This is of particular interest to the Flames above it) is the median — the point at which numbers higher and lower as they construct their roster and decide what to do with Bennett in the are equally likely. This is, in effect, the “best guess” outcome. If we’re future — be it trading him for a return or signing him to his next contract. forced to produce a single number, this is the one. This distribution has Bennett most likely coming in at just shy of one point per game – lofty In order to run a statistical analysis, we need as a starting point, well … a expectations indeed. statistic. The choice, in this case, will be the venerable points per game (PPG). The ends of the black bar represent something commonly referred to in Bayesian analysis as a “95 per cent credible interval” (comparable to a Although this is a somewhat crude statistic in that it does not account for traditional confidence interval but with a more intuitive interpretation). TOI or special teams usage, it is useful nonetheless when specifically These are the endpoints of the range outside of which results are very used to compare high-end attackers. The assumption being that those unlikely. We can see that for this prior it ranges from 0.1 to 2.1 points per players are expected to garner lots of TOI and lots of power-play time by game. Basically, our lofty expectations are being tempered by accepting virtue of their role. For that reason, it's common to see comparisons like that, before we’ve seen him play an NHL game, we could be looking at Crosby/McDavid or Taylor/Tyler made using points per game. Most NHL anywhere from a fourth line bust to the greatest player of all time. forwards also must produce some level of offence in the NHL in order to be considered useful. The most important point to take away from this chart is the chart itself. First look at Sam A critical aspect of a Bayesian “answer” to anything is that you don’t get Bennett’s scoring and possession continued to drop, including a 15-game an answer — you get a range of answers. The more data you have, the pointless streak. Nervous times for both management and fans. tighter the range of answers. But always a range. This is the real world after all — predicting the future and assessing the past is never a precise The situation changed quite a bit when Bennett was moved from centre matter. to left wing. His numbers immediately and drastically improved, from cardiac flatline to almost a point per game. This perhaps doesn’t come as Another key point is that many people new to Bayesianism get hung up a surprise, as Bennett’s best numbers so far have generally come as a on the prior. Don’t. The key is to make sure the prior reasonably reflects winger, including his four-goal outburst. The question of him moving to the knowledge you have of a player. And when in doubt, wider (less wing has been a topic discussed at length by Flames fans and bloggers. certain) is better. As they say, “let the data speak.” Nothing is worse than false certainty, as it defeats the very purpose of Bayesianism. The season (and resulting career to date) numbers now produce a point per game distribution that looks like this: In Appendix 2, we’ll show you what the result looks like with a different prior. Here’s what it looks like if you put all four of the distributions on the same chart. After three seasons of steady decline, the move to wing finally has Season 1 Bennett's progression moving in the right direction. In 2014, Sam Bennett played one game and scored one point. Now it How far will it go from here? The Bayes distribution suggests a top end of might seem silly to look at those results after just one game, but it about .499 points per game, or about 41 points a season — roughly actually helps highlight the nature of Bayesian updating. Despite having second line territory. played just one game, the set of probabilities generated by this process of Bayesian inference now looks like this: Will the move to wing allow Bennett to exceed that? Remember that our inquiry includes a season and change of play at centre, which may act to Just one data point, but a few “weird” things have happened: weaken our estimate of his abilities given how much he struggled in that position. The 95 per cent credible interval has actually widened, reflective of our one game sample size. The top end of the interval has moved up, Will the Flames keep him at wing? Glen Gulutzan’s comments suggest reflective of a good early result. the Flames still see Bennett as a centre in the long term, but his struggles as a pivot and his improvement on the left side suggest he’s On the other hand, the mean has actually moved down a tiny amount, likely better served staying on the flank in the NHL. despite Bennett scoring at a point per game pace. That reflects both the wider range of the distribution, but also the fact that the heart of this Time will tell. approach uses random number (hence, Monte Carlo) sampling, so these kind of small variations are quite common. Conclusions The real takeaway is to note one of the truly interesting and useful The key takeaways from this modeling process: aspects of the Bayesian approach. Despite such little-observed data, and The use of Bayesian statistics as a modeling and prediction approach though uncertainty is (rightfully) high, as long as the prior is reasonable produces a range of outcomes with probabilities (a distribution) rather the output will also be reasonable. than a single answer. Season 2 After running the Bayesian inference process on Bennett’s career to Fast forward a year, the first real season of Bennett’s NHL career, and date, Bennett’s current range puts him at roughly a useful second line arguably it was an OK (but not great) one. The talent was on display on forward, at least in terms of producing points. Which is not an entirely occasion, but the results were not quite as good as hoped. Nonetheless, bad or unexpected outcome for a Top 5 draft pick, though it likely comes 36 points in 77 games for 0.468 points per game is not a bad result for a as something of a disappointment to some Flames fans and decision first year. makers, given Bennett’s scouting reviews and trajectory when he was picked fourth overall. Here’s how Bayesian inference incorporates the results up to that point: The direction of Bennett’s career progress was not encouraging until Quite the change. Despite starting with an expectation that captured a early in this season, but the move to wing has been a positive so far. wide range of outcomes and a very high ceiling, these results are suggesting something much more modest. A mean of 0.480 points per Ideally, this kind of analysis will help the Flames assess the value of game and a 95 per cent credible range of 0.339 to 0.641 suggests that Bennett as an asset moving forward, be it in terms of re-negotiating his Bennett being a complete bust is unlikely – but it’s fairly certain he’s not next contract and/or as a potential trade chip. the next Wayne Gretzky either. These results are right in line with a One thing to bear in mind is that this is a statistical assessment of typical forward picked in the Nos. 3 to 5 spots. Bennett’s results to date, from which we’re inferring his future. But let’s *Numbers Note – The x-axis label on this chart reads “value of lambda.” remember it is an estimate, not fait accompli. Bennett’s fate will be Lambda, in this case, is simply the parameter the inference is modeling determined by his own efforts, plus a few things beyond his control (like … in other words, points per game. Density (y-axis) is the standard quality of linemates and ice time). interpretation of density for probability distributions – essentially, the Appendix 1 – A brief history of Bayes shape and values of the curve show the relative likelihood of any given value, while the total probability (the area under curve) sums to 1.0. Bayesian statistics are named after the Reverend Bayes, who purportedly was using them to prove the existence of God. In reality, Season 3 most of the work behind this approach is from famed mathematician Bennett's sophomore year was not a good one. He took a significant step Pierre-Simon Laplace. backward by most accounts, including both his scoring (26 points in 81 While older than the widely used frequentist approach, Bayesian games) and his possession (dropping to a negative CorsiRel of -2.5, after statistics require significant computing power to be useful, and so have being +0.9 in his rookie season). been for many years relegated to the academic curiosity pile. Unsurprisingly, his updated distribution for scoring took a nosedive as That changed with the application of Bayesian statistics during the well: second World War when analysts using the Bayesian approach were Sitting at a range of .306 to .503 points per game and a midpoint of able to draw more accurate conclusions in military intelligence 0.401, the Bayesian expectation for Bennett has weakened considerably, applications than those using traditional methods. projecting him as more of a second/third line forward rather than a The real change came in 1997, when Bayesian inference software legitimate top line guy. (WinBUGS) became widely available, addressing the computational Something else to note: as more data on Bennett comes into the challenges that had previously prevented its use. equation, the distribution becomes narrower and taller. The range is still Given their power, intuitiveness, and flexibility, Bayesian statistics will be wide, but we're becoming more confident in the range of outcomes a big part of the future of statistics. through this process. Appendix 2 – A different prior Season 4/career to date As noted earlier, many of those new to Bayesianism get hung up on the The season so far has been an interesting one for Bennett. Starting the prior. The rule of thumb I have found useful is to set a prior such that, year at his usual position at centre, the unpleasant trend of the previous before seeing any data at all, the credible interval fairly reflects what you year remained intact. Despite continuing to flash high levels of talent, know of the situation. Fairly meaning both the “reasonable” outcome as well as the uncertainty. The fastest way to get in trouble with Bayesianism is to set too confident a prior. Doing so will mean your inference output – your results – will assert the prior even long after a hefty volume of conflicting data has been ingested. Don’t do it! Let the data speak! The analysis above used a Gamma(3) prior, which is a modestly informed prior. To see how a different prior affects the results, here are the first season and career to date distributions using a very different prior. Uninformed (uniform) prior U(0,3) A uniform prior gives equal probability to every value within in its range, which in this case I’ve mad from 0 points per game to3 points per game. This type of prior gives a wide range of outcomes but with absolutely no preference for any particular outcome – every outcome is treated as equally likely. It asserts that we literally knew nothing about Sam Bennett when he joined the league! If we chart it, the distribution is just a flat line from 0 to 3. Here’s what happens to that flat line after Sam’s first game: With only 1 data point, the distribution here is very different from the distribution we saw when using the Gamma prior. This is exactly the nature of Bayesian inference. The lower the volume of observed data, the more influence the prior has on the posterior. Now take a look at Sam’s career-to-date result: This posterior is almost identical to the output we got from the Gamma prior. Regardless of which prior we started with, by the time we have 196 games worth of data, the data is dominating. This is a process called “swamping the prior”. The data now speaks, loudly. And that’s exactly what we want.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093882 Websites followed closely by Ottawa, Calgary and Toronto, with Montreal and Edmonton at the rear. The Jets and Canucks are the only teams that don't have a prospect ranked lower than fourth relative to the other The Athletic / Wheeler: A comparative ranking of the Canadian NHL teams, while Edmonton's best ranks at sixth-or-lower on all three lists. teams' prospect pools There also isn't as pronounced a gap between the top-two by this point as there is on the other list. All of Vesalainen, White, Evans and Dahlen are tightly grouped, while Kylington and Johnsson stand a cut above By Scott Wheeler Jones. Nearly every prospect on this list would rank ahead of Bear were they grouped together.

But there's more to the team's prospect pools than their best players. Over the course of the last three months, I have ranked every single How far their depth runs will play a huge factor in giving each Canadian prospect in each Canadian NHL team's pool, from the 31 the Leafs have team its best odds at hitting home runs on their proverbial lottery balls. at the high end to the 23 apiece the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames control. Here's a look at that next tier of high-end prospects for each team: In all, the seven rankings put 187 players into context within their own The first thing you'll notice is that there aren't any Oilers or Canadiens in organization, and sought to identify those who had legitimate NHL hopes, this group of 17. As good as Tyler Benson or Joni Ikonen are, they're still those each team missed on. a tier below the likes of Dube and Phillips. Given that neither team mitigated against that thin depth by having standout players at 1-3 in their The criteria was simple. The players had to be under-23, not playing in pool and there's real cause for concern about the state of Montreal and the NHL full-time (at the time of the ranking), and either drafted by the Edmonton's flow of young talent for the next few years. team or signed to an entry-level contract. Draft picks whose rights have expired, or players who were on AHL/ECHL deals, were excluded. After leading the way at the top of their pools, the Canucks also have three players in the top-six of the best of the rest and five of the top-11. In wrapping up the series, I wanted to put each of those pools in a After years of struggling, the Canucks have done a good job hitting on different context by examining them against one another. Which their high-end picks and that should help them turn things around and Canadian teams' prospect pool bodes most favourably for the future, and rebuild. which of the seven teams has done the poorest job drafting and developing its current farm system. The Flames aren't far behind either and matched the Canucks with five players on the best of the rest list, though three are at its end. Rather than placing the emphasis on the individual players by ranking each of the team's top prospects in one collective list to close out the The Leafs, the Jets and the Senators also each appear on the list series, I have opted to provide comparative context by matching each of multiple times, led by Travis Dermott. For context, each of Dermott, the team's top-three prospects into three separate lists, with a best of the Andersson, Gaudette and Demko would rank higher than Jones and rest to close things out. In doing so, we get a better understanding of how Bear on a complete list. each team's top young prospects match up against the rest. Below, is my final ranking of each of the seven teams' prospect pools: (Note: some players in the best of the rest ranking would actually finish higher on a complete list than a few of the players at No. 3 or even a That the Leafs and Jets, in particular, have managed to maintain strong couple of the No. 2s on some of these teams, but that's not the focus pools despite graduating such high-end talents in the last couple of here. If you want a comprehensive ranking of many of the individual seasons is perhaps most impressive. In Winnipeg, others, including prospects, check out Corey Pronman's mid-season top-50 drafted Mason Appleton, Eric Comrie, and Mikhail Berdin also factor into their prospects list. If you want more info on any/all of the players, my team ranking. Similarly, in Calgary, I have always been high on D'Artagnan rankings take a comprehensive look at each.) Joly and still believe Morgan Klimchuck can become an everyday NHL player. In Toronto, there is depth in numbers outside of the six players After contextualizing each team's depth against one another, you'll find a who made these lists, from Adam Brooks and Eemeli Rasanen to Yegor ranking of the pools against one another below. Korshkov and Dmytro Timashov. Off the top, there are a few things about each team's best prospect that With the Canucks, there's an element of “about time” to their pool's are worth mentioning. strength, but it is still a really impressive group given that players such as Petrus Palmu, Jonah Gadjovich and William Lockwood are also all The first is that the top-two prospects (Pettersson and Chabot) exist in a legitimate prospects. tier of their own. Chabot is one of the best defence prospects in hockey and Pettersson is in the process of having one of the greatest under-20 The Flames, to put it mildly, have a lot coming — particularly on defence seasons in the history of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). After that, — even if they don't have a Pettersson or a Chabot-level prospect after things tighten up. I have Liljegren alone at No. 3, but the gap between graduating Matthew Tkachuk and others. him and the next tier of Roslovic and Fox (who are close) is smaller than the gap between Chabot and Liljegren. Like Roslovic and Fox, To the Canadiens' credit, I have liked their selections of Cale Fleury and Yamamoto and Poehling are also close, but the former has more Josh Brook in recent memory. weapons and a higher ceiling. And despite having a strong top-five, I am not high on Ottawa's pool Among the No. 2s, you'll start to see some familiarity in the teams that (though I do think Maxime Lajoie has a lot more to give). Alex Formenton are represented at the top vis-a-vis each other. and Aaron Luchuk are fine prospects, but their ceilings will limit them if they ever make it to the NHL level full-time. Here, the gap starts to widen and the depth in some pools is exposed. Valimaki and Juolevi stand ahead of this pack (and deserve to be in the If you have any questions about the players or the rankings, leave them No. 1 tier) by a fairly pronounced margin, while Kapanen, Foley, below and I'll be happy to answer them. Scherbak and Brown are nearly interchangeable and Bear trails pretty considerably. The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 Here, the Oilers' depth is exposed. Part of this is just symptomatic of how many good young players Edmonton has on its NHL roster, including Jesse Puljujarvi, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse, but the same could be said of the Leafs, who've lost their three best prospects to the next level and the Jets (Patrik Laine, Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor). The Oilers need to do a better job of hanging onto their picks, acquiring others and drafting for skill beyond the top-10. As each pool digs deeper, that lack of depth in Edmonton is even more evident. The Oilers are well-positioned for years to come with their young core, but as McDavid and Draisaitl's lucrative deals kick in, the need for constant waves of controllable, affordable prospects will be paramount for them to stay successful and competitive. At No. 3, the trends become more evident. Were the pools defined by their best three players, Winnipeg and Vancouver would stand atop, 1093883 Websites So, in the case of someone like Thomas Chabot, a high-end prospect, it's not remotely surprising that he's in the NHL right now. Players like Jakub Zboril, Noah Juulsen, Jeremy Roy, Nicolas Meloche, Matthew Spencer, The Athletic / Dellow: When do defencemen make it? Brendan Guhle, Jeremy Lauzon and Rasmus Andersson are, to a certain extent, on the clock at this point. Travis Dermott, who's made the leap to the Maple Leafs this year, has a late birthdate, which pushed him from the 2014 draft into the 2015 draft. He's at the point where he should be By Tyler Dellow able to make the leap to the NHL if he's trending toward being a top four defenceman. 18 hours ago This isn't absolute, of course. Some players end up blocked on teams

with a particularly deep defence corps, something that happened to Shea If you follow hockey long enough, you learn that defencemen are Theodore, blocked by the Ducks' deep group and then Vegas' cornering something of an area of mystery. They're harder to draft successfully. of the defence market. CHL guys who become top four tend to make the There are hoary old sayings about defencemen taking longer to develop NHL fairly quickly though. This might be the situation in Calgary at the and needing 300 games and all of that. You sometimes see players who moment. turn out to be good defencemen given away for nothing or next to If you look at the top four defencemen this year who took the CHL path nothing. Other times you see teams sign guys to big contracts and then and arrived after 21, it's hard to say that any of them are huge difference almost immediately conclude that they've made a huge mistake. It's a makers. The list includes Francois Beauchemin, Justin Falk, David strange position. Savard, Trevor Daley, Jake Muzzin, Karl Alzner, Calvin de Haan, Johnny As I went through the Canadian teams after 41 games, I was struck by Boychuk, Joel Edmundson, Jake Dotchin, Brayden McNabb, Deryk how often questions relating to young defencemen popped up. Engelland and Dustin Byfuglien. I suppose that Byfuglien could be Vancouver has players like Ben Hutton and Troy Stecher and Olli debated along with Beauchemin at his peak, perhaps, but other than that, Juolevi. Calgary's got young defencemen knocking on the door in there aren't really players you build a defence around in there. Stockton. Toronto's trying to figure out what they have with Travis The players on the NCAA path who turn into top four defenders tend to Dermott. Ottawa is faced with a decision on paying Cody Ceci, with some come along a little more slowly with the biggest group of them appearing indication that he doesn't have quite the same value around the league at age 22. This makes sense — it allows for three years of college plus a that he once had, and have Thomas Chabot knocking on the door. year in the AHL or four years of college and some games in the AHL. I have a somewhat cynical take on the whole “It takes 300 games to With that said, one wonders a little bit if those players always needed the know what you have with a defenceman” theory. To me, that's an time that they took. Of the seven NCAA defencemen who entered the excellent way to just kick the can on your past decisions down the road. NHL at 21, five of them instantly took on large roles: Brett Pesce, Jaccob The longer you can put off reckoning with them, the harder it is for the Slavin, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jake Gardiner and Matt Niskanen. Nine work you've done to be evaluated. There's also a bit of a dynamic players entered at 22 — this included Duncan Keith (whose age 21 whereby making calls earlier can look very bad for a general manager if it season was lost to Lockout II), Ryan McDonagh, Colton Parayko and turns out that the call that was made was the wrong one. It's one thing to Mike Matheson. About two-thirds of the players who entered the NHL make a bad draft pick. Happens to everyone. It's another to trade away from the NCAA path at younger than 21 took on large roles right away. someone who turns into a high-end player. That doesn't happen to everyone. In other words, I'm not sure that the delay we see on the NCAA players is due to them being lesser as a group. Rather, there are structural barriers If you think that all general managers have the same overriding goal — that prevent teams from looking at them in the NHL more quickly and “Continue being a general manager” — then rules of thumb that limit the deciding that they're ready. You can't call a player up from the NCAA and possibility of looking bad because you traded away a high-end then send him down if it doesn't work out. defenceman are useful. Europe is similar. Fourteen top four defencemen took the European path So when do we start to get a sense as to whether a guy will be a and entered the NHL at 21 or younger. It's a fairly glittery list (at least by difference maker? conventional hockey wisdom standards), including Hampus Lindholm, By definition, there are 124 top four defencemen in the NHL. Obviously, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Zdeno Chara, Rasmus Ristolainen, Adam not all of those are good top four defencemen but we'll work with that Larsson, Oscar Klefbom, Roman Josi, Anton Stralman, Victor Hedman group. I've got an approach to classifying defence pairs which lets me and Alex Edler. European defencemen entering the league at 22 or later pull out the four players on each team who've played the biggest top four are a much less impressive group: John Klingberg and Mattias Ekholm roles this season. Obsessives can find that list here. are stars but it's otherwise more of a group of journeymen top four types — the Johnny Oduyas of the world. Undoubtedly, there will be a name or two you disagree with in there. Alex Biega in Vancouver sticks out for me. He sort of sneaks in by virtue of the Again, there are structural impediments that prevent Europeans from muddled state of Vancouver's defence and it's close enough that another getting a shot at the NHL earlier in their career. They have to decide to few games and it will be someone else. So does Kurtis MacDermid in make the move over to North America and there are pressures from the Los Angeles. That's not really the point though — the point is to produce European clubs to stay and develop there. There's likely a bit of an a reasonable estimate of the 124 guys filling top four roles this year. If a unwillingness to come to North America while they think it's probable that few them are off, it won't change the conclusion. they'll spend significant time in the AHL. Of those 124 defencemen, the age breakdown when they first played at Undrafted players are the real oddball group, of course. As efficient as least half their team's games in a season is as follows. the NHL is at finding talent, occasionally players do slip through the cracks. It's a pretty small group, 13 of the 124 top four defencemen in the So here's the starting point. Just over half of the league's top four NHL this year. There are three or four guys who've been big difference defencemen this year first played at least half a season by the time that makers in that group — Andy Greene, Chris Tanev, Mark Giordano and they're 21. About 80 per cent have done it by the time they're 23. Nate Schmidt — but it's not a particularly strong group. It does happen but it's the sort of thing that a team can grind away at and never have It's important to keep in mind though: there are basically four paths into happen. It's nowhere near the norm. the NHL. Drafted from the CHL path, drafted from the NCAA path, drafted from the European path or undrafted. If you look at people who So that's part of the equation. The guys who are top four defencemen, as were on the various paths and are top four defencemen this year first a rule, tend to move through quickly and I'd argue that they'd seem to become NHLers, you see some real differences. move through even more quickly if there weren't structural barriers that reduced the likelihood of European and NCAA defencemen transitioning (A brief technical note on how I assigned paths. If a player wasn't drafted, to the NHL in-season. So when I look at prospects like Vili Saarjarvi, a 20 he's classed as undrafted. Otherwise, I assigned paths based on where a year old Red Wings prospect who took the CHL route and has split his player ended his age 17 season. For players in Europe, that's season between the AHL and ECHL. ..well, I'm skeptical that he's an straightforward. For North Americans, if they had maintained their NCAA NHL defenceman next year. And if he's not an NHL defenceman next eligibility, they were assigned to the NCAA path, even if they ultimately year history tells us that he's trying to buck the odds from that point went a different way.) forward as far as becoming a top four NHL defenceman. So you can see that for the players on the CHL path, they tend to That's only part of the equation though. If guys are making it to the NHL establish themselves as NHLers awfully quickly. About 50 per cent of this but taking a few hundred games before you can really tell what they are, year's top four defencemen who followed the CHL path were in the NHL well, maybe there's some truth to this line of thinking. I'm still not sure by the end of their age 20 season. Nearly 75 per cent of them were there that I buy this. I've graphed two values for defencemen who played at by the end of their age 21 season. least 50 games while 21 or younger between 2010-11 and 2016-17: their Corsi% relative to their team and their team's Corsi% when they're off the they've traded a future star. It might make more sense to trade him than it ice. does to pay him. (As long time wonks will be aware, the thinking with defencemen is that Thomas Chabot is the next big thing in Ottawa. He's been heavily their 5-on-5 value is largely tied up in their ability to influence possession. sheltered this year, both in terms of competition and zone starts. The This isn't the whole story but it's a starting point. Corsi% is a measure of possession numbers are ok, I guess, but 20 odd games in, I'm not blown that, albeit one with confounding factors.) away. We'll see how his career develops. It's hard not to notice that there are a lot of players on whom numbers The critical point, from my perspective, is that the hockey world (or, at and non-numbers people can agree who appear towards the top of the least, the hockey media) seem generous in terms of their timelines for graph. Zach Werenski, PK Subban, Drew Doughty, Hampus Lindholm, defencemen. Subject to some structural barriers, good ones makes it Victor Hedman, Dougie Hamilton and Alex Pietrangelo…they were all quickly. For the Canadian teams sitting on young defencemen that I've playing on respectable possession teams and doing well with it. Non- referenced, they'll know sooner than later whether they can play. If numbers people would generally agree that they're pretty good. Andersson, Kylington, Dermott, Chabot et al. get to 22 or so and it's still not clear that they can be difference-making defencemen, well, as a On the flip side, a lot of the guys who are at or below the line were high Hockey Man once said: “If you have to ask the question…” draft picks who kind of sputtered. Rasmus Ristolainen still isn't moving the needle, years into his career. Luca Sbisa's gotten a lot of opportunity Note: After I published this, Micah McCurdy of hockeyviz.com accused in the NHL without ever really seizing it. John Moore is a busted draft me of plagiarising work done by Colleague Nandakumar that was pick. Jonas Brodin has disappointed. Cody Ceci has apparently gotten to published in September of 2017. the point where there isn't a lot of trade interest in him. Colleague Nandakumar's fine piece on Samuel Morin and defencemen The point of this isn't to say “Just look at the Corsi%” but, rather, to point can be found here. I have no recollection of having read it at the time, nor out that you can start to pull guys apart from a fairly young age and that a did it cross my mind while I wrote this piece. It seems I did read it when it lot of guys who'd be regarded as the cream of the crop seemed to rise to came out, as I sent out a tweet promoting/praising it when it was the top from a fairly young age. published in September of 2017. I'll be the first to acknowledge that there is important information not The question of when a prospect ceases to be a prospect is one that's contained in this graph. For example, Michael Del Zotto and Jaccob been of interest to me for some time. While much of the work I've done Slavin had similar relative possession numbers at the same age. Slavin on the topic is either on my old site or private, I refer anyone concerned was doing it against fairly average competition for a first pair guy while to this mailbag from July of 2017 in which I took a look at the problem Del Zotto was doing it against bottom end NHL forwards. As we've since from a different angle and came to the same conclusions that I came to seen, Del Zotto struggles in bigger roles. Slavin's taken on a bigger role in this piece: and done well. Seeing that list of names probably doesn't have quite the impact that it Partners are obviously a huge thing as well. Olli Maatta looks fairly good should have because we've kind of all mentally accepted the fact that by this simple metric but we know that he played a lot with Matt Niskanen those players were busted high draft picks. If we look at 21-year-old early in his career. Maatta has kind of fizzled since Niskanen left defencemen who played at least 40 games in the AHL this past season, Pittsburgh. Niskanen is a fringe Norris Trophy candidate in Washington. there are lots of names who aren't yet perceived as busts. Ivan Provorov's been tied to Andrew MacDonald for much of his career, which won't help. The list includes Julius Honka (14th overall, 2014), Samuel Morin (11, 2013), Robert Hagg (41, 2013), Mirco Mueller (18, 2013), Chris Bigras Even if you don't know to, say, a moral certainty that a guy is or isn't (32, 2013), Carl Dahlstrom (51, 2013), Ian McCoshen (31, 2013), Alex going to be a useful top four defenceman until he's 300 games into his Lintuniemi (60, 2014) and Julius Bergman (46, 2014). career, which puts him at 24 or 25, a big part of a general manager's job is managing risk. Holding on to young defencemen who haven't yet If history's any guide, the future for these guys doesn't realistically involve shown that they're stars comes with a price – other teams will frequently top-four status in the NHL. pay a lot in order to get them. A team that chooses not to accept a So I'm looking for guys who can get through the AHL and into the NHL significant offer has made a bet that keeping the player will produce a pretty quickly. Once they're there, if they're going to be top end guys, greater return than cashing him in. I would bet than an omniscient being they tend to be able to drive possession pretty quickly. The hope that would notice a lot of trade offers for struggling young defencemen that players will develop into top-end defencemen seems to last a lot longer would have been better than keeping the player. around the league than the evidence suggests that it should. To circle back to the Canadian teams, which started all of this. In Today's piece was a discussion of this issue from different perspective – Vancouver, they've got Ben Hutton and Troy Stecher. When I reviewed this time I looked backwards from the top four defencemen of today the Canucks after 41 games, I got some pushback for suggesting that rather than looking at defencemen who were in the AHL at the same age. they're light on young defencemen. Neither Hutton (25 in April) or Some examples of using similar approaches to these problems from Stecher (24 in April) have really established themselves as top four work I did in 2012 or 2013 can be found on my Twitter timeline for those defencemen. What's the realistic ceiling at this point? Low-end top four interested. guys? At best? As a rule, I believe that citation of previous work that is informing what As for Juolevi, the data above about when top four guys enter the NHL you're doing is important, both in fairness to people who've done work suggests that he should start pushing for a spot awfully quickly. One that you've built upon and as a service to readers who may be interested thing that I do think is pretty much inarguable when you look at data like in the topic. In the present case, I don't particularly think that I was this is that the ceiling comes down early and quickly. If he can't make a building on Colleague Nandakumar's work – I've been researching this strong push in training camp next year, it probably doesn't bode well for topic for more than half a decade – but to the extent I was influenced by his chances of being a really good top pairing defenceman. what she'd done without realizing it, she has my apologies for not citing In Calgary, the question I have is how they get Andersson (in his age 21 her initially. season) and Oliver Kylington (age 20 season) some looks in the NHL. The right side, in particular, is a problem in Calgary in terms of spots, with Dougie Hamilton, Travis Hamonic and Michael Stone signed to long- The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 term deals. There are two spots open in Calgary's defence next season as things stand, although Brett Kulak will probably be extended. As I've shown, Andersson and Kylington are at the age where players make the jump. If either of them is going to be a good NHL player, it will probably be soon. The Flames have to find a way to provide them with some opportunity. As far as Toronto goes, Travis Dermott seems to be right on schedule. He should be able to push on the door of the top four now if he's going to be good. Ottawa's the really interesting case to me. The Senators have more big decisions over the next 18 months than any team in the NHL. They start this year, with Cody Ceci needing a new contract. Ceci's young but he's at the point where Ottawa can safely trade him without worrying that 1093884 Websites While in Atlanta, the Thrashers' first round was riddled with pretty high profile misses, starting with the No. 1 overall pick and first pick in franchise history, Patrik Stefan. They took a goalie No. 2 overall (Kari The Athletic / Get to know a rebuild: What the Red Wings can learn from Lehtonen) in 2002, something that just doesn’t happen anymore in drafts. the Winnipeg Jets Sprinkle in some Boris Valabiks and Alex Bourrets and it’s easy to see why Cheveldayoff didn’t have a ton to work with when he arrived.

Since the move to Winnipeg, the Jets have used their first-round picks to Craig Custance select the following: Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey, Nik Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic, Patrik Laine and Kristian Vesalainen. That’s pretty darn good. If there’s anyone in the league who knows what it feels like to go through “They’re great players but there are also good kids in the room,” Little an extended rebuilding process, it’s Winnipeg’s Bryan Little. He was said. drafted in 2006 with the No. 12 overall pick by the Atlanta Thrashers, part of a group of guys like Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane who were the When they drafted them, they were smart in the development. An elite latest wave of another round of rebuilding by the floundering franchise. player like Laine, who joined the organization courtesy of lottery luck, arrived immediately. A project like Scheifele went right back to junior. Then Little patiently waited out Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff’s plan after the franchise moved north, as the forward signed a five-year “(Scheifele) never came on to the regular scene of the Jets for two years. contract in 2013 and re-upped with a six-year deal in September. Along We sent him back to junior for two years to develop,” Cheveldayoff said. the way, he’s only seen the playoffs once – putting up three points in four “Then when he came on to the scene, he was a rookie and those things games. take time. That’s a full decade worth of patience and it wasn’t always easy, even 3. Free agency can be used to augment the core during a rebuild when there eventually became a clear vision of how things might look. The typical rebuild blueprint includes moving out veterans, acquiring draft “It doesn’t make it any easier at the time,” Little told The Athletic. “You picks and, when the time comes, adding veterans in free agency. The want to make the playoffs every year. You want to be good every year. Jets did that on some level this offseason in adding Steve Mason along Especially as you’re getting older, it’s ‘How much longer am I going to be with Dmitry Kulikov before a season in which they expected to contend. playing?’ There’s a lot of unknowns. You want to win now. It’s in the summers where you reflect: ‘We have a good team. We’re going to have But they also used free agency along the way to sign Mathieu Perreault a good team. Just stick with it.’” in 2014. He was a 26-year-old free agent coming off a bit of a breakout season with the Ducks. He wasn’t an aging star but instead a younger And finally, FINALLY, he’s getting a reward. His Jets look like they’re for player who looked like he was figuring out his place in the league. Since real. Built properly and with a firm foundation, Winnipeg is as good as then, he’s registered 153 points in 232 games with the Jets. This season, any team in the Western Conference. he's averaging 0.76 points per game, the best production of his career. The Jets weren’t overly aggressive in free agency during their rebuild but They’ve arrived in large part behind the patience and plan enacted by picked their spots. Cheveldayoff, who was brought in to turn around the franchise in 2011 when it moved to Winnipeg. While his predecessors in the organization And when they had bad contracts on the books, they patiently waited rushed draft picks to the NHL well before they were ready, he preached them out. Something the Red Wings are currently doing. It’s not always patience. While his predecessors in the organization made trades for pretty or pleasant. short-term gains at the cost of long-term progress, he patiently sat tight – even as criticism for his conservative plan gathered steam around him. “For a couple years we had some contracts that we knew we weren’t going to renew,” Cheveldayoff said. “Until those contracts were over, you “I’m a realist,” Cheveldayoff told The Athletic. “You have to look at this had them. They’re in your group. It is what it is. Certainly you have some job through a realistic lens. You can’t hope your way through something.” hiccups along the way. You make some decisions that you have to live with.” It’s been nearly seven years, not the quick turn fans normally hope for when envisioning a rebuild, but the Jets are there. And because of that 4. Don’t tear the entire thing down patience, they are building in a way that should last. At this point, it’s probably safe to say a franchise like Buffalo might have You wouldn’t blame Little if he had moments when he thought it might been a little too aggressive in the tear down process. There’s a never happen. He had to watch as other players in his draft year like temptation to get every possible asset for every possible veteran, and the Jonathan Toews, Brad Marchand and Phil Kessel won Stanley Cups. It Jets didn’t do that. In fact, Little still cringes when the word tank is used in wasn't easy. his company. “I felt like, when we moved to Winnipeg, the mindset of the organization “I hate that word, tank,” Little said. “Fans throw that around. No NHL was a little bit different,” Little said. “They were more serious about it. The team tanks. No professional athlete is going to go out there and throw a first couple years was frustrating because we were in the same spot as game or tank to get better prospects or get higher up in the draft. That’s Atlanta. But they’ve done a great job drafting.” just nonsense.” There’s a lot to learn here for a team like the Detroit Red Wings and Now, while players certainly aren’t tanking, that’s not to say management others in the midst of a rebuilding process. With help from Cheveldayoff, isn’t. But the Jets kept a group of veterans around from Atlanta here are lessons from the Jets' rebuild: throughout the process. They could have sold on Little at one point. Wheeler would have provided a nice return. There was a trade deadline 1. It’s not a fast process when Cheveldayoff approached defenseman Dustin Byfuglien about moving him or keeping him around long term and saw a veteran eager to If the various approaches around the league have taught us anything, it's finish the process. that there’s more than one way to approach a rebuild. New Jersey GM Ray Shero has wheeled and dealed his way to a faster timeline (with a “I sat with Buff a couple years ago when he did his extension and said, large dose of lottery luck). Cheveldayoff has taken about as conservative ‘Buff, you’re 10 days days or whatever away from the trade deadline an approach as a GM can take. here, (potentially) going wherever you want to go as UFA at the summertime. Why do you want to stay?’” Cheveldayoff said. “He said, “There’s no quick cure. There really isn’t,” Cheveldayoff said in explaining ‘It’s the young guys. I like them. I think there’s a real group of guys.’” his approach. “With the cap, with parity, with the youth of the game, most teams are embracing that.” Scheifele and Laine are the elite young talent, but it’s that layer of veterans surrounding them – like Blake Wheeler, Byfuglien and Little – He had the advantage of a new market that supported the team who have stuck it out since Atlanta to provide support. throughout the process. He also had complete buy-in from ownership, an important distinction. Ultimately, if this team is going to achieve great things, it’s going to be the elite talent that gets them there. Acquiring that talent takes time, luck, The Jets never wavered. It was draft and develop and, eventually, we’ll some losing and patience. get there. “It’s taken awhile,” Little said, “but it’s paying off now.” “I have regular conversations with my ownership, with my group there,” Cheveldayoff said. “We’ve been on the same page since day one.” 2. You’d better not miss in the first round (and lottery luck helps, too) The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093885 Websites Both the Stars and Red Wings got a glimpse of what that can still look like from Spezza, who deftly tipped a John Klingberg shot for a goal and converted a gorgeous pass from Alexander Radulov for another. The Athletic / Custance: The impact of Spezza's benching and why it's “Where he’s good is when he gets down low, he’s dangerous again,” Nill not a problem unique to the Stars said. “He just has to figure out how to get there.” The flare-up with Spezza isn’t unique to the Dallas Stars. It’s hard to find By Craig Custance an NHL roster that doesn’t have an aging player with a high salary that is figuring out how to make an impact in an evolving league. Chicago dealt Jan 17, 2018 with it recently with Brent Seabrook. Ottawa is dealing with it in Bobby Ryan, who still has four years remaining on a contract that pays him $7.25 million annually. The contract for Milan Lucic in Edmonton is aging quicker than GM Peter Chiarelli would probably prefer. How these teams It didn’t have the feel of a postgame interview focused on a guy who just navigate this issue could ultimately determine their big picture success scored two goals in helping his team win back-to-back games on the this season and beyond. road. It was much more somber, right down to the way it was conducted. It’s a complex problem. These players are often popular, well-respected Jason Spezza sat at a dressing room stall in the visitors room at Little guys in the dressing room. That’s certainly the case with Spezza. Caesars Arena, with reporters sitting next to him on either side. A camera person crouched in front of him. A few more gathered around the fringes. After he was scratched, every teammate made a point of reaching out to him, to show their support. Spezza, for the first time in his career, was a healthy scratch on Monday against the Boston Bruins — $7.5 million in annual salary and more than “It really means a lot. It shows that the guys respect you and know I want 800 in career points sidelined because of a coach’s decision. to play,” Spezza said. “It didn’t go unnoticed. Every guy tried to pick me up. Every guy tried to encourage me. That’s something, I think, that stuff And, it wasn’t easy. goes a long way.” Not for the player. That makes a decision like Hitchcock’s a risky one. For instance, “I was unhappy about it,” Spezza said after the Stars beat the Red Wings Klingberg is having a fantastic year. He’s a big reason behind the Stars' 4-2 on Tuesday night. “I didn’t like the decision but you have to get surge up the standings. He also credits Spezza for a lot of his success, through that.” explaining that Spezza mentored him immediately after he arrived in the NHL. Not for the coach. They play different positions but similar games. They like to have the “It’s a tough business,” Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. “I’ve got to do puck. They like to make plays with the puck. So Spezza pulls Klingberg what I’ve got to do. No matter how I do it, my job is to get 100 percent out aside and shows him a few tricks he’s picked up over the years. They of every player. That’s my job. I have to find a way to do it. When they look for each other on the ice. There’s a trust and bond that has been play, I have to get 100 percent … that’s coaching up. You have to do built together. that. If you’re going to be successful in the National Hockey League, you’ve got to coach people up. You have to use everything at your Hitchcock knows that. There’s a fine line as a coach when a decision like disposal. It’s not fun doing it.” this is made. The hope is you may spark the play of a talented veteran. The risk is that teammates don’t understand the reason behind it. Neither Spezza or Hitchcock would share any details about the focus of the conversations that surrounded the benching. But Hitchcock has been The joke in Dallas during Hitchcock’s first tenure with the Stars used to around a bit. This isn’t his first public altercation with a skilled player and be that nobody united the team quite like Hitchcock. They all hated him. the friction tends to be centered around a few things. That is, until they raised a Cup together. Hitchcock is a coach who believes the most successful teams are those It’s a delicate thing. For one night, the Stars received a payoff. Spezza filled with players making second and third efforts. To Hitchcock, hockey conceded that he was playing more aggressively. Hitchcock also gave is a game of sacrifice. Sometimes that sacrifice comes in the form of a him time on the first power play. There’s a give and take while this team relentless backcheck when the temptation is to coast. Sometimes it finds its way together. comes in physically playing with abandon while engaging the opposition and competing for the puck. “You’ve got to have respect for that veteran player. You have to hope you see change,” Hitchcock said. “This is always the last alternative. You If you want to frustrate Hitchcock as a player, play a careful game. It’ll hope it’s a starting off point and so far it looks like it is.” drive him crazy and it won't be tolerated all that long.

Stars GM Jim Nill sat and watched the veteran center he acquired and re-signed to a big deal from the spacious visiting management suite at The Athletic LOADED: 01.19.2018 Little Caesars Arena, a suite that must have felt so different from the countless games he was crammed into Joe Louis Arena while with the Red Wings organization. While Hitchcock probably didn’t mind the extra attention being paid to Spezza, a motivating byproduct of making a prominent player a healthy scratch, Nill downplayed it. It’s how he’s wired — calm, introspective and careful to protect the people around him. “I know people are going to make a big story out of it. He’s struggling, he’s been struggling a little bit. I think he’s a little bit frustrated,” Nill told The Athletic. “It’s not a big deal.” This isn’t a new issue in Dallas. There have been multiple meetings between Spezza and the coaches. There have been numerous film sessions. Nill has been in constant communication with the big center. That was the one thing Hitchcock would reveal after the game: You don’t scratch a player of Spezza’s caliber on a whim. This is a last resort. For Spezza to be an impact player on a playoff contender, both coach and GM want to see evolution in his game. “The game has changed,” Nill said. “The days of where he can stickhandle through the neutral zone are gone. There are 10 players in the neutral zone, everybody is backchecking. He knows that … that’s where the frustration has been — how can he be effective in different areas of the game?” 1093886 Websites Next up came Tuesday’s game against St. Louis, where he held the Blues off the scoreboard for 59 minutes and then had the defensive coverage break down in front of him during a 5-on-6 situation. He had no Sportsnet.ca / Andersen’s harsh criticism exactly what Maple Leafs chance on the tying goal and the Leafs lost in overtime. needed to hear Then they arrived in Philadelphia and did it all again. “You do it a second time and now, suddenly, it gets in your head,” said Chris Johnston coach Mike Babcock. “There’s no reason to let things get to your head. We’re going through a spell where we’re not as good as we can be, let’s January 18, 2018, 11:04 PM find a way to dig out. That’s what we’ve got to do tomorrow. “We’ve got to get our head right and compete.” PHILADELPHIA – My goodness the Toronto Maple Leafs have needed It’s one thing when those comments come from the coach and quite this. another when they’re made by a guy you’re battling beside. Strong words, tough talk, something – anything – to snap them to The Leafs are a team without a captain and, quite frankly, haven’t really attention. A little fire from an unlikely place. needed one these last few seasons. But the stakes are a little different in 2017-18 than they’ve been before and something needed to be said They have kind of been cruising through this season of heightened during this swoon. expectations, playing well enough to sit comfortably in a playoff spot but a few notches below their potential. There’s been no urgency, and Andersen was unequivocal in his assessment of where they’re at. It all perhaps a little complacency, and after yet another blown third-period comes down to a lack of execution and mental errors in his mind. The lead and a fourth straight loss, Frederik Andersen had finally seen sort of thing that can be corrected through self-reflection and stronger enough. focus. “We’ve got to regroup,” he said. “We’ve got to figure out who wants to “I don’t think we’re tired,” he said. “I think it’s lack of effort at certain commit to playing for the team.” points and it can’t happen. We’ve got to figure this out if we want to play any meaningful hockey later. We’ve got to figure it out.” That was just how the soft-spoken goaltender started his scrum with reporters following Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia There should be an interesting atmosphere when they take the ice for Flyers. His words grew stronger from there. practice in Ottawa on Friday afternoon. They need to change something with 35 regular-season games still to play. What irked him most was how they’d taken a well-earned 2-0 lead at the second intermission and somehow turned it into a 2-2 tie within minutes. “We’re sitting pretty good,” said Andersen. “I think we’ve got it pretty First Mitch Marner was stripped of the puck at the side of his own net for comfortable. There can’t be any reason for not playing the right way a Nolan Patrick goal, then Toronto’s ice-cold No. 1 power-play unit because we’ve got to be ready when it comes to past the all-star break allowed Wayne Simmonds to get in on a short-handed 2-on-1 rush with here. Valtteri Filppula. “It’s going to be a lot tougher for everyone, [with] teams trying to catch us The way that second goal materialized left the Andersen fuming. His and we can’t stop at this.” teammates turned the puck over in the high slot at the other end of the ice and didn’t have any numbers back in support. On Saturday night we’ll find out who was listening to him. “Yeah [I was frustrated],” said the Dane. “I think a lot of guys on the bench, too, are pretty frustrated not being on the power play and seeing Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.19.2018 that kind of effort. I think we’ve got to look each other in the eyes here and determine where we want to go from here.” Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada Celebrating heroes of the game, Sportsnet and Scotiabank unite to bring a 4-day hockey festival to Corner Brook, NL and a 12-hour national NHL broadcast to Canadian fans coast to coast. Celebrate #HockeyDay There was clearly an implication that not everyone is showing the same level of commitment here. Without naming names, he was pointing a finger at teammates. No one is in a better position to do so given how Andersen has taken his game to another level this season – posting a .922 save percentage despite facing nearly 100 more shots than any other goaltender in the NHL. Had he given them just average goaltending this season, there’s no way the Leafs would be sitting with a 25-17-5 record right now and a 12-point cushion for third place in the Atlantic Division. “He’s been the backbone for us,” said teammate Nazem Kadri, when told of Andersen’s post-game comments. “I don’t think anyone wants to go into the third period up a couple goals and lose. I can understand his frustration, but we’re all in the same boat.” 31 Thoughts: The Podcast Sportsnet's newest podcast is a weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news in the world. New episodes every Wednesday. The last stretch of games has been particularly tough on the guy manning the crease. Andersen was less than five minutes from registering a shutout against Columbus on Jan. 8 – only to see the Blue Jackets score two late goals and hand Toronto a 3-2 overtime loss. Two nights later, he gave up the losing goal to Ottawa with three minutes left in regulation after teammate Morgan Rielly made an ill-advised pinch to allow an odd-man rush. 1093887 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Don Cherry on Eric Lindros: He was the best player in the league

Sportsnet Staff January 18, 2018, 7:13 PM

Don Cherry remembers watching a young Eric Lindros dominate in the OHL while playing for the Oshawa Generals. So it was no surprise to the broadcaster that No. 88 carried on such play when he arrived in the NHL. “For five years he was the best player in the league,” Cherry said during Prime Time Sports Thursday evening on Sportsnet 590 The FAN. “He was absolutely a monster.” Lindros will have his number retired and raised to the rafters on Thursday evening in Philadelphia, prior to the Flyers’ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The London, Ont., native spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Flyers, before stints with the New York Rangers, Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars. The oft-injured centre finished with 372 goals and 865 points in 760 games across 13 seasons. From the 1993-94 season to the 1998-99 campaign, Lindros appeared in six all-star games and took home a Hart Trophy while accumulating a whopping 525 points in 370 games.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093888 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs’ Andersen sounds off on team after latest loss

Michael Hoad January 18, 2018, 11:56 PM

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen didn’t mince his words after his team’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers Thursday. Holding a 2-0 advantage after two periods, Toronto couldn’t seal the deal in what has become an all-too familiar pattern for the club during a four- game slide. Fed up with losing, Andersen wasn’t afraid to call out his club post-game. “We’ve got to figure out who wants to commit to playing for the team,” Andersen told reporters. “We have to come with a different attitude. We played well enough for two periods and we’ve got to find a way to keep the foot on the gas the whole game.” The Leafs are firmly entrenched in the NHL playoff picture, sitting comfortably in third place in the Atlantic Division, but Andersen thinks it’s time they take a hard look in the mirror and nip their problems in the bud. “We’ve got to look at each other in the eyes here and determine where we want to go from here. I don’t think we’re tired; I think it’s lack of effort at certain points and that’s something that can’t happen,” Andersen said. “We’ve got to figure this out if we want to play any meaningful hockey later. “We’re sitting pretty good, but there can’t be any reason for not playing the right way.” Toronto hasn’t earned a regulation victory since Dec. 28 against the lowly Arizona Coyotes and its next chance to get back in the win column will come Saturday in a road game against the Ottawa Senators.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093889 Websites Lindros had made it clear he wouldn’t report and didn’t. And he was willing to suffer the consequences.

Back then, the OHL didn’t allow its teams to trade first-round selections, Sportsnet.ca / Lindros saga to get its unlikely happy ending in but because it was a player of Lindros’ magnitude they changed their Philadelphia bylaws. Eventually, he was traded to the Oshawa Generals, who would win the Memorial Cup that season. Scott Morrison As it turned out, the deal worked out for the Greyhounds as well. They soon became league and then Memorial Cup champions in 1992-93, the January 18, 2018, 10:33 AM same season Lindros arrived in the NHL. Of course, that was the end of another Lindros saga. There once was a really good player, who was so good in fact that he Lindros, naturally, was the obvious first pick in the 1991 NHL entry draft, eventually became captain and the face of the franchise. but did not want to play for the Quebec Nordiques, who owned that pick. It was less about the culture and the city as it was about co-owner Marcel He became one of the very best players in franchise history. One of the Aubut and whether they could maximize Lindros’ marketing potential in best in the game. Hockey life was really good. that market. But then things started to go horribly wrong. There was feuding with the Lindros refused to report, giving birth to L’Affaire Lindros. For some, he owner and general manager. His leadership was questioned. His was applauded for taking a stand, for exercising his rights, however captaincy was removed. The relationship between the player and the unpopular that may have been in traditional hockey circles. In the eyes of team crumbled. It became unfixable. Ultimately, the ending was not others, he was a rebel and villain. good. Whatever the case, he was again willing to suffer the consequences. The great player, the former captain, moved on. It was ugly. For the Lindros played for four different Canadian teams that season: in the longest time there was an estrangement between the player and the Canada Cup, the World Junior Championship, the 1992 Olympic Games team and that was just fine with both sides. and 13 games with the Generals. All the while, the Nordiques tried to convince him to change his mind even offering a whopping 10-year, $55- “I don’t care if I talk to him for the rest of my life,” the general manager million contract. once said. “It won’t kill me.” Finally, at the 1992 draft in Montreal, the Nordiques decided there was Seemingly, the ‘twain would never meet and that was just fine with both no other option than to make a trade. But, of course, that would not be sides. But after several years apart, time and circumstance offered easy, either and it was through no fault of Lindros. perspective. There was some healing. Fences began to get repaired. Aubut traded Lindros to two teams – the Flyers and the New York They hadn’t talked for a long time, but one day the team reached out, Rangers – on the same day, hours apart. The NHL had to appoint labour realizing how important and significant the player was to its past, the lawyer Larry Bertuzzi to determine to which team Lindros should go. player realizing how important the team had been to him. They connected and agreed it was time to move on, to look ahead, to be Both trade offers were good, but that wasn’t the issue. After 11 days of better. A large chunk of that past, they agreed, had been good, really investigation Bertuzzi determined that Aubut had first reached a deal with good. the Flyers late owner Ed Snider and general manager Russ Farwell. Sound familiar? Lindros was just glad to see the saga over and very happy to become a Flyer. The player could have been Dave Keon, arguably the greatest Toronto Maple Leaf ever, who was a key player in the franchise’s last Stanley “Bags are packed,” he said. “I’m just happy to get out of there (Quebec).” Cup win, who went on to become their captain. But for a variety of reasons, eventually a huge wedge was driven between him and the At age 19, life really began for The Next One. Expectations that were organization, one that took decades to repair. already huge, became even bigger. He became the highest-paid player in the game. He was expected to turnaround the franchise. He was There was finally a thawing, an appearance here, an appearance there, supposed to bring the Stanley Cup to Broad Street. As it evolved, the and finally there was true peace, a reattachment emotionally and Rangers survived nicely and won the Stanley Cup in 1994. The physically a year ago, when Keon’s and several other Leafs greats’ Nordiques, who Aubut sold, moved to Colorado and won the Stanley Cup numbers were retired and raised to the rafters. in 1996 and again in 2001. A similar narrative has unfolded in Philadelphia with Eric Lindros, whose Meantime, Lindros was everything the Flyers had hoped for, though not a No. 88 will be retired and raised to the rafters Thursday evening. champion. He became the foundation to help them build a new arena. He soon transformed the fortunes of the team on the ice. He was a dominant As the old joke goes, not that many years ago, the Flyers and their fans player for five seasons, winning the Hart Trophy in his third year, in which would have agreed to No. 88 being raised to the rafters… but only if the Flyers also advanced to the Eastern Conference Final. Lindros was wearing it at the time! He became the best player in the league. That’s how bad the ending was in Philadelphia between Lindros and the Flyers. In 1997, the Flyers got to the Stanley Cup Final, but were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. And that might be when, if the not the first, then But those days are seemingly done and the final chapter in one of the certainly one of the first sizeable cracks in the relationship between the most dramatic chapters in, certainly recent hockey history, is about to be player and the team was seen. There were whispers, not-so-subtle authored with a happy ending. inferences, during the Final that Lindros didn’t play as well as he could From an early age, Lindros was pegged to become The Next One. To have. The loss stung on many levels. take the torch from the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. And Long-time Philadelphia hockey writer Jay Greenberg once said that, for in so many ways he did, just not for long enough mostly because of whatever reasons, Lindros always seemed to get judged more for what injuries. he didn’t do, than what he did. He had the rare combination of great size, toughness and amazing skill. After that, injuries started to impact his time with the Flyers, concussions He was the prototypical power forward. And he eventually became the especially, and questions were raised by the family over the medical best player in the league during his time with the Flyers. attention Lindros received. Clarke stopped talking to his star player. It Despite how good Lindros was, however, throughout his hockey career was the beginning of the end in Philadelphia, which finally arrived in the he always seemed to be a polarizing figure. summer of 2001, when Lindros was traded to the New York Rangers. It started in junior hockey, when as a 16-year-old sensation he was easily He was glad to be leaving, but was still upset about what had led to the the consensus first overall selection in the 1989 Ontario Hockey League unravelling of the relationship. Even after he retired, Lindros and the draft. That year, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds had the first pick, but Flyers remained estranged. It wasn’t until August, 2011, however, that they were told by the Lindros family, because of educational concerns the mending started. Then Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren and that the Northern Ontario city was too far from his Toronto home, to reached out to Lindros to see if he would play in an alumni game at the not select him. Of course, they did. Winter Classic in January, 2012. Looking back at Eric Lindros' legendary NHL career The Flyers and Lindros hadn’t talked in a long time, but that’s when they first talked about mending fences and moving forward. And so they did. The alumni experience and the welcome from the team and the fans were both great. A couple of years later, in 2014, Lindros was inducted into the Flyers Wall of Fame, and then the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016. When he was inducted into the Hall, Lindros credited his wife, Kina, and his three young children, with providing him perspective, saying he had never been happier. You have to think that on Thursday night, when he receives yet another great honour, when No. 88 rises to the rafters in Philadelphia, there will be even more closure for Lindros and the Flyers. The final chapter in an incredible story.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093890 Websites percentage in a clear backup role. He makes $4 million against the cap this season and will be an RFA at the end of it, so at least there’s no obligation for Chicago beyond that. Sportsnet.ca / 8 goalies to potentially replace injured Blackhawk Corey Howard, meanwhile, has gone the other way and resurrected his career Crawford to take hold of the starter’s job again. He doesn’t have a shutout yet this season, and carries an average .914 save percentage. The concern would be his high-danger save percentage, which is an indicator of his Rory Boylen true performance level. Over the past three years combined, Howard has the 62nd-best HDSV% at .776. January 18, 2018, 3:36 PM Calvin Pickard/Garret Sparks, Toronto Maple Leafs

Since both of these goalies are currently in the AHL, there is a certain With 50 points through 45 games, the Chicago Blackhawks are 12th in degree of risk to acquire either one for a No. 1 NHL job. But both Pickard the Western Conference and three points out of a playoff spot. It’s not a and Sparks are currently in the top six in AHL save percentage and GAA. place we’ve become accustomed to them being in and now there is The question here would be what the price of a trade would be, as the concern the team’s MVP to this point may miss the rest of the season. Leafs would be happy to maintain their goaltending depth and aren’t in a position where they have to do something yet. Chicago also doesn’t Initial reports were that Crawford was dealing with vertigo-like symptoms, really have an overly attractive and expendable trade option on defence but during an appearance on Sportsnet 590’s Prime Time Sports with which to entice the Leafs. Wednesday night, senior advisor to the Blackhawks Scotty Bowman suggested Crawford could be dealing with post-concussion syndrome. Both Marlies goalies are in their mid-20s, while Pickard is an RFA at season’s end and Sparks still has another year under contract before he

hits RFA status. Sparks hasn’t had NHL exposure in the past two years, I just spoke with Scotty Bowman and he said he was "guessing," not while Pickard posted a .904 save percentage last season when he had to sharing inside info. "I think he got a concussion," he said. "I have no fill in for an injured Semyon Varlamov and play 50 games. There would confirmation that it is." be nothing certain in acquiring either. Crawford has been one of the NHL’s best goalies this season with a .929 Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average for a Hawks team that Celebrating heroes of the game, Sportsnet and Scotiabank unite to bring allows the ninth-most shots against per game (32.6). Anton Forsberg and a 4-day hockey festival to Corner Brook, NL and a 12-hour national NHL 32-year-old NHL first-timer Jeff Glass have taken over and led Chicago broadcast to Canadian fans coast to coast. to a 6-4-1 record since Crawford last played on Dec. 23. The two have a combined 2.64 GAA in that time, but with just 31 NHL games played Celebrate #HockeyDay between them, will the Hawks look to add a more experienced No. 1 for the stretch drive? Jeff Glass/Anton Forsberg, Chicago Blackhawks There is no one available who will replace everything lost with Crawford. Considering their lack of available trade assets and the fact Crawford still But here are some goalie options GM Stan Bowman could look at for a may be able to make it back in time for the playoffs, the best course for playoff push: the Blackhawks may just be to stay the course. The two have similar numbers and if the Hawks proceed with Glass and Forsberg, coach Joel Robin Lehner, Buffalo Sabres Quenneville would undoubtedly be going with the hot hand instead of riding a No. 1. The good thing about Lehner as far as contracts go, is that there’s no commitment to him after this season when he’ll become a UFA. At that If this is the route the Hawks take, they would instead need to target time, the Hawks could flip him in trade again and if he plays well in defencemen to bolster a thinning blue line. If the goalies available for Chicago, Lehner’s value may even rise by then. trade are too expensive by contract or acquisition cost, or just too risky, Bowman could do his current goaltending fill-ins a huge favour by In the two seasons prior to this one, Lehner posted save percentages bringing in defencemen who would help lighten their heavy workload. over .920 while facing a substantial workload behind a weak Sabres team. This season he’s taken a step back to a .910 percentage, although he was great in December in stopping 324 of 349 shots. Lehner can be a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character, so he’s not exactly the definition of a Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.19.2018 safe and sturdy add. And since Lehner has a $4-million cap hit this season, the Hawks would need to put Crawford on LTIR before they could pick him up. Tape II Tape Ryan Dixon and Rory Boylen go deep on pucks with a mix of facts and fun, leaning on a varied group of hockey voices to give their take on the country’s most beloved game. There’s no doubt this has been a nightmare season for the Coyotes, but you have to wonder if they would have been any better had Raanta been healthy. The 28-year-old has a .915 save percentage in 24 games and has been fairly consistent when he is active. His contract situation may fit best with the Hawks’ predicament, as Raanta makes just $1 million and will become a UFA at season’s end, when he can sniff out another No. 1 job. He’s also a former Blackhawk, having been signed by the team in 2013 and going on to play 29 games for them in two seasons. Raanta was set to break out as the next backup-turned-starter story to follow the recent graduations of Cam Talbot and Scott Darling, and could prove his value on a competitive team in Chicago. Arizona Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta (32) makes a save against Toronto Maple Leafs Zach Hyman (11). (Nathan Denette/CP) Petr Mrazek/Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings In this Wings duo you’ll find a very risky pickup, and one slightly less so. Just two years ago Mrazek posted a .921 save percentage and was set to become Detroit’s long-term No. 1 to take over for Howard who is eight years his senior. But it all came crashing down with a terrible 2016-17, after which he went unprotected and unclaimed in the NHL Expansion Draft, and Mrazek has been even worse this season with an .894 save 1093891 Websites Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.19.2018

Sportsnet.ca / Jack Johnson talks trade request, family: ‘I have nothing to hide’

Luke Fox January 18, 2018, 12:21 PM

Jack Johnson did not duck away from the leaked news that he has requested a trade away from the Columbus Blue Jackets. “It’s never good to let things fester, hold everything in,” Johnson told reporters in Columbus Wednesday, confirming Aaron Portzline’s report that he has asked management to deal him. “I’ve been holding a lot of things in for many years here. Yeah, it’s out. I own it. I have nothing to hide. That’s the situation. “I hope people can understand that it’s a situation where you’re just trying to do what’s best for your family — me, my wife and kids. I think any husband or father can relate to that.” At the player’s request, Johnson met one-on-one with head coach John Tortorella, who has also worked with his alternate captain on Team USA, to clear the air. “He won’t lie. He’s a stand-up man,” Tortorella told reporters. “He didn’t come out and say, ‘I want to be traded.’ It was just, ‘I think some stuff’s probably going to start coming out along the way [to the trade deadline]. I want to talk to you face-to-face. I love it here. I want to improve as a player. I want it to work here, but I also have to think about my family.’ “I don’t blame him for that. I don’t … and I really respect him for his honesty.” The honest truth is that Johnson is 31 years old. He’s a third-overall draft pick who’s in the 12th season of his NHL career and has relatively little to show for his efforts financially. Johnson claimed bankruptcy in 2014 after following poor investment guidance from his mom and dad. Johnson is earning $4,357,143 this season, after which he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. Extension talks with Columbus hit a standstill, so Johnson wants to join a team with which he can ink a rich, long-term extension. The defenceman would’ve rather kept his wish quiet but said his teammates have been supportive and he is focused, as always, on helping the Jackets win. “I walked in today and nothing’s changed,” Johnson said. “I think all my teammates understand the situation my parents put me in is not a desirable one, and it’s definitely not a good one.” From the club’s standpoint, Columbus, which is looking for forward help during its playoff race, may be selling low on Johnson. The market features several other left-shot defencemen — Ian Cole, Paul Martin, Ryan McDonagh, Niklas Hjalmarsson — and Johnson’s numbers have shrunk. Johnson has two goals and five assists through 46 games. His possession metrics sit below 50 per cent, his ice time (19:24) is the lowest of his career, and his plus/minus (-5) has dropped 28 points from the career-best +23 he posted in 2016-17. Surely, the fact he needs a job for 2018-19 has impacted his play. “I would like to think it hasn’t, but it’s something I think about and talk about with my wife all the time,” Johnson said. “Who knows? It’s a big part of my life. This is my livelihood, my job, and how I’m going to take care of my family. So, to answer that question, I don’t know, but I try my best to come in here every day and play hockey. This locker room and that sheet of ice is my sanctuary.” Johnson has spent chunks of the season down on the Blue Jackets’ third pairing but has been elevated to the second unit alongside veteran David Savard for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars. “Jack loves it here. His family loves it here,” Tortorella said. “So if we get him playing better, and maybe win some games, who knows where it all goes here?” The trade deadline is Feb. 26.

1093892 Websites “I think a lot of guys on the bench, too, (are) pretty frustrated not being on the power play and seeing that kind of effort,” Andersen said. “I don’t think we’re tired. I think it’s a lack of effort at certain points. It certainly TSN.CA / Andersen delivers fragile Leafs a wake-up call can’t happen. We got to figure this out if we want to play any meaningful hockey later. We have to figure this out.”

Mitch Marner took the blame for his second bogey in as many games. He By Frank Seravalli was stripped by rookie Nolan Patrick at the goal line on Philadelphia’s first goal.

“I’m not happy about it,” Marner said. “It sucks. Freddie has played PHILADELPHIA — Enough, Frederik Andersen said. unbelievable every night for us. I’ve got to be better about it. It’s on me. It’s time to rethink and be ready to play.” The Maple Leafs’ true MVP had seen one odd-man rush, one turnover, one miscue too many to let it slide any longer. Babcock said the Leafs “should all walk out of here feeling terrible.” But he wanted to quickly turn the page, reminding “we’re in a great spot in For weeks, the Maple Leafs were in spin cycle mode, talking about the league, we like our team, let’s play the best we can.” ‘process’ while overtime losses piled up and somehow served to only pad Toronto’s cushy playoff position. No reason to worry, really, without any The “good cop” routine wasn’t working on this night. Babcock didn’t need true threat in the standings. to use the stick, because Andersen brought the hammer. You can bet his strong words grabbed the attention of every Maple Leaf, coming from But after four straight losses, the latest in which the Leafs blew a two- one of the few vets who has actually been there, a Game 7 on the goal third period lead, it was time for real talk. precipice of the Stanley Cup Final. No more sugarcoating. About time. Andersen simply said after Thursday night’s 3-2 overtime setback to the “We’re sitting pretty good. We got it pretty comfortable,” Andersen said. Philadelphia Flyers what everyone watching the Leafs has been thinking: “But there can’t be any reason for not playing the right way, because we the last month and a half is more than just a rough patch of ice during the have to be ready for when it comes to past the All-Star break here, dog days of the season. because it’s going to be tougher for everyone. Teams are going to catch “We’ve got to regroup. We’ve got to figure out who wants to commit to us and we can’t slide like this.” playing for the team,” Andersen said. “We’ve got to have a different

attitude … I think we’ve got to look each other in the eyes here and determine where we want to go from here.” TSN.CA LOADED: 01.19.2018 Selke Trophy candidate Sean Couturier scored 18 seconds into overtime to complete the comeback for the Flyers on a night Philadelphia raised Hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros’ No. 88 to the rafters. These Maple Leafs are a fragile bunch right now, a sentiment coach Mike Babcock did not deny, even as he tried to gently massage the message at a critical juncture in the season. His team hasn’t won in regulation since Dec. 28. The Leafs have dropped seven of their last nine. They’re a long way from catching Boston for home-ice advantage in the playoffs after the Bruins were at one point on pace in December to finish 18 points behind them. “There’s no reason to let things go to your head,” Babcock said. “We’re going through a spell here. We’re not as good as we can be. Let’s find a way to dig out. That’s what we’ve got to do tomorrow. We’ve got to get our head right.” Even Babcock’s magic touch wasn’t enough against the Flyers. Babcock heard the noise, as the voices in the self-proclaimed centre of the hockey universe grew louder, clamouring for a lineup shakeup, for line changes, for fourth-liner Connor Brown to see more minutes He relented halfway through Thursday night when he flipped Brown with William Nylander. Boom. The swap worked instantly – an almost uncanny result that you could practically hear Leafs Nation saying “See!” from 350 miles away. “I just didn’t like what was happening,” Babcock said. Brown opened the scoring with his 12th goal of the season on a breakaway. It was his 10th even-strength goal of the season despite playing fewer minutes than any Maple Leafs regular other than Matt Martin. Just 28 seconds later, Frederik Gauthier netted his first, with Nylander as his linemate. Those contributions were exactly what the Maple Leafs needed on a night that Auston Matthews was held off the scoresheet for a season- high fourth straight game and Nazem Kadri pushed his slide without a point to a career-worst 20 of the last 21 games. Then the wheels fell off again. The dagger was Wayne Simmonds’ game- tying, short-handed goal off a 2-on-1 rush created by an offensive zone turnover with little support. Babcock said when the Maple Leafs’ fourth short-handed goal-against of the season hit the back of the net, his thought was: “Oh my god.” “It looked like we were really coming out of it and then we’re right back to where we were,” Babcock said. Andersen said he was frustrated to stare down yet another odd-man rush, but he wasn’t the only one. 1093893 Websites The Kadri line hasn't seemed right of late and some would like to see Brown take the place of Leo Komarov, who has just one goal in 20 games. TSN.CA / Big night for the Big E "When Leo gets those chances and doesn’t score, we got to believe it’s going to go in [eventually based on] shooting percentage," Babcock noted. By Mark Masters Komarov's shooting percentage this season is 5.6, which is down from his career average of 10.9. TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes Kadri believes what Komarov brings to the line sometimes gets from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Leafs and overlooked. Philadelphia Flyers held an optional skates at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday morning. "He’s not super flashy, but he’s going to get the puck in, he’s a great forechecker and he’ll get you pucks back," Kadri said. "He’s smart. He’s Eric Lindros will have his No. 88 raised to the rafters tonight in very sound positionally. I think he’s one of the best penalty killers in the Philadelphia during a 30-minute pre-game ceremony that will kick off at 7 league. He’s got a great stick. He’s got a lot of PK minutes for us and p.m. killed off a lot of penalties that we needed to give ourselves a chance to win." "He did it every which way," said Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds. "He'd power through you, he'd stickhandle around you and if you wanted to Kadri believes he's playing best hockey of the season amid scoring drop the gloves, he'd drop the gloves and beat the crap out of you. He drought was a special player and that's why he's having his number retired." Despite being held to just one goal in his last 17 games, Maple Leafs Leafs, Flyers share favourite stories about 'Teddy Bear' Lindros centre Nazem Kadri believes that he is playing his best hockey of the season. Hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros' number 88 will be retired tonight in Philadelphia. Both the Maple Leafs and Flyers shared their favourite Mitch Marner is looking for a bounce-back performance after his overtime stories about the imposing centre and how he played the game. gamble on Tuesday backfired. The shifty winger made a bad read allowing Blues defenceman Vince Dunn to get a two-on-one rush and Nazem Kadri has had the chance to meet the former Flyers captain on score the winner. several occasions. While Lindros was an imposing figure on the ice, Kadri was struck by how warm and welcoming he was off it. Babcock had some tough words for the young winger in the immediate aftermath of the loss saying Marner got caught cheating for offence. So, "He's just like a big teddy bear. He's just so nice," said Kadri, who like what sort of response is he looking for tonight? Lindros is a native of London, Ont. "Then you watch highlights and he had a mean streak to him. He defined the game and created that position "When you don't win, any time there's mistake I think you talk about it of that big forward. He was the first one to come in and do what he did. more," Babcock said Thursday morning. "If you make a mistake and you He's an unbelievable guy, a great mentor, role model, professional and a win, you don't talk about it as much. It was just earlier [Morgan Rielly] very genuine and generous guy." made mistakes. No one is trying to make mistakes. Mitch isn't trying to make mistakes; he's trying to help our team win. I think he's actually had Each seat at the Wells Fargo Center has a No. 88 shirt draped over it a pretty good run here of late so what's important for him is not to dwell ahead of the festivities. The ceremony will feature speeches by Flyers on it. There's no sense carrying the weight of the world. You made a president Paul Holmgren and Lindros. mistake; it's over with and let's get back at ‘er." "It's unbelievable," Lindros said in a pre-game news conference. "This is Leafs Ice chips: How will Marner respond to OT error? one of those days that you take for the rest of your life. Just extremely special moments where you feel lucky. You really feel lucky." Mike Babcock didn't hold back his criticism of Mitch Marner's overtime error, saying Marner simply cannot cheat for offence in that situation. After the Leafs wrapped up their skate, Lindros got the chance to take Babcock doesn't want Marner dwelling on the mistake and wants him to the ice with his three-year-old son, Carl, for about 20 minutes. get back at it tonight. Mark Masters has more. "You just never know when you're ever going to have another chance to The Flyers won both previous games against the Leafs this season, do something like that with your kid and Carl's at an age now where he's triumphing 4-2 on Dec. 12 in Philadelphia and 4-2 on Oct. 28 in Toronto. starting to grasp hockey and understand what's going on," Lindros said. "He came home, and he normally doesn't nap, and he slept the entire "We've done a good job of putting pressure on their D," Simmonds afternoon with his Flyer jersey on and was right out. That's the coolest explained. "They're a really, really good team in transition so you don't part. He's fired up." turn pucks over in the neutral zone and try to get them deep and grind their D down. When you're successful against the Leafs, that's the way Warm-up for the teams will happen after the tribute, with puck drop you have to play." scheduled, appropriately, for 8:08 pm. James van Riemsdyk said there's a specific area of the game his team Why did it take so long for the Flyers to retire 88? wants to clean up tonight. With the Flyers set to retire Eric Lindros' number 88, TSN Senior Hockey "If I remember correctly they got a couple goals off face-offs so we have Reporter and Philadelphia native Frank Seravalli explains why it took so to be dialled in off that," he said. long for this night to come and wonders what kind of reception Lindros' parents will receive if introduced. Connor Brown has 11 goals this season despite playing mostly in a Dominic Moore, Josh Leivo and Andreas Borgman stayed out at the fourth-line role. And even though Toronto has struggled to score of late morning skate and are expected to be scratched tonight. (10 goals in the last six games) the versatile winger has continued to skate alongside Matt Martin and Frederik Gauthier. Projected lineup for Thursday's game: Mike Babcock bristled when asked if, in a perfect world, he would want to Forwards get Brown more minutes. Hyman-Matthews-Nylander "Why don’t you canvass the top nine and see who wants to give him Marleau-Kadri-Komarov that," the coach said flatly. "I mean, my wife can tell me what’s wrong, but in our business you got to figure out a way to find what’s right.” van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Marner Brown is averaging 11:27 of even strength ice time per game, which Martin-Gauthier-Brown ranks 10th among all Leafs forwards. Defence "Brownie is playing on our power play, playing a regular shift and penalty killing for us," Babcock noted. "So, I think he does a pretty good job. I Rielly-Hainsey thought he was one of our best players last game and any time a guy like Gardiner-Carrick that plays like he has, he's sending a message to everybody else at the same time, right? He wants more ice time, he wants their job. I think Dermott-Polak that's a good message for our team." Andersen starts

TSN.CA LOADED: 01.19.2018 1093894 Websites “I think that whole line hasn’t been effective offensively, but in the chances, they’ve been effective as of late,” Babcock said. “Naz scores a ton of his goals in the middle on the power play, that’s where he’s got to TSN.CA / Leafs’ Kadri not sweating career-worst skid do it. When they get those chances and don’t score, we’ve got to believe it’s going to go in based on shooting percentage.”

By Frank Seravalli TSN.CA LOADED: 01.19.2018

PHILADELPHIA — Nazem Kadri gave his head a shake. Two words came to mind when thinking of the worst slump of his career. “Very unlucky,” Kadri said. Kadri has just one point in his last 17 games dating back to Dec. 2. It’s been 20 straight games without an assist, a seemingly impossible statistic for a guy consistently centering 15-goal scorer Patrick Marleau. His only point in 2018 – a goal – went in off his foot against San Jose on Jan. 4. He’s never seen anything close to this since becoming a full-time NHL player in 2013. “Luck has to be involved,” Kadri said. “This is something that doesn’t happen every year. It’s very unlucky.” What’s even more difficult to figure is that before he went cold, Kadri was on one of the best runs of his career. He collected 12 points in the 12 games directly before the skid, netting seven goals and five assists in a run that spanned most of November. Those seven goals were scored on 22 shots – a ridiculous 31 per cent conversion rate. Kadri has just one goal while averaging three shots per game over the last 17 for a 2 per cent clip. Through the first third of the season, Kadri piled up 23 points in 27 games. He was on pace to set a new career-best with 70 points. Now, he’s tracking to finish 10 points below last year’s career high of 61. Where did it all go? Kadri, 27, is earning $4.5 million and playing 16 minutes a night to produce. There has to be more to it than simply the Hockey Gods have giveth then taketh. Kadri just doesn’t see it that way – or at least he doesn’t have a better explanation. “At the start of the year, you find yourself getting some puck luck,” Kadri said. “It all comes back in the end. We’ve got to stay patient and continue what we’ve been doing. “I think I’ve had lots of opportunities to get in those positions, to set up my linemates to score or score myself. It just hasn’t been dropping for us.” In fact, Kadri somehow doesn’t seem to be sweating the skid at all. “For us, I honestly think that through the course of the season, this is some of the better hockey I’ve been playing,” Kadri said. “Even though offensively it hasn’t been going my way, I feel like the all-around game has been there.” It sounds hard to believe, looking at the stat line, but his coach agreed. “To tell you the truth, I thought Naz’s line was great last game,” Mike Babcock said. “Did you see the other guys they were playing against? That set us up to win the game.” Except, the Maple Leafs didn’t win. They dropped their third straight, each by one goal, and Toronto is a middling 8-8-3 since Kadri went cold. “Our line, especially through the course of the last five or 10 games, we’ve gone up against some All-Star-calibre players,” Kadri said. “We’ve been able to keep them off the scoresheet, so that gives us a chance to stay in the game and win the game. “We’re playing with the puck. Sometimes you’re not scoring, but you’re going to change the momentum of the game.” To be fair, the Kadri line has matched up against a who’s who of NHL talent in the last six games alone: Vladimir Tarasenko, Mark Stone, Artemi Panarin, Brock Boeser, Joe Pavelski and the best line in hockey in Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov. Boeser was the only one to score against Kadri’s line at 5-on-5. By and large, they’ve also been on the plus side of the possession numbers, aside from a few clunkers. That’s all well and good. But the Leafs can’t be a contender without a second line that scores. Babcock is betting the numbers will balance out eventually. 1093895 Websites For Zaitsev, this isn’t the company you want to keep. He’s certainly not paid because of his offensive skills, and if he and his linemates have trouble exiting the zone with frequency, you start to wonder about how TSN.CA / An icing analysis of the Maple Leafs much value he’s providing in certain areas of the ice. One concluding note: Toronto’s Icing% at aggregate is around 48 per cent. This makes some sense, as they are a shot-neutral team (50 per By Travis Yost cent) that is leading more than trailing in games. But it also highlights a possible underlying issue with their declining shot rates. A clean transition game is what drives shots, scoring chances, and goal scoring. Right now, I’m not sure Toronto has that figured out. Hockey, like most sports, is a game about pressure. The teams that regularly apply pressure can force opponents into mistakes. The teams that deal poorly with pressure usually end up in the draft lottery. TSN.CA LOADED: 01.19.2018 There are a few ways to measure the ability to apply or deal with pressure. One way we have looked at this in the past deals with multi- shot shifts. That analysis, though at the team level, looked at how frequently teams were able to enter and sustain pressure in the offensive zone. Not surprisingly, the teams that were more successful at holding the offensive zone were also generally more successful on the goal- scoring front. Another way to look at this is through icing data. The NHL play-by-play records icing events, but few sites have this data available for public consumption. I find that interesting because icing events are regular and can lead to painful shifts, with tired units trying to stave off goal-scoring threats. I also find it interesting because forcing or being forced into an icing isn’t random. More talented skaters tend to force more icing events, and less talented skaters tend to be victimized by their own icing of the puck. Remember Christian Fischer’s goal against Toronto from a few weeks ago? If you watch the NHL.com highlight video, you see a pretty boilerplate marker – offensive zone draw win, puck cycled back to the top, and a player scoring off of a rebound opportunity seconds later. What you don’t see, though, is what preceded this goal. The shift actually started 5-on-5. Toronto iced the puck, and was forced to leave the same five-man unit on the ice. Toronto lost the ensuing draw and Dominic Moore immediately took a hooking penalty. And since Toronto isn’t exactly flush with elite penalty killers, it meant Ron Hainsey had to play more than two minutes on consecutive shifts. It’s the little things that add up. Toronto is a particularly interesting case study for an icing analysis. Offensively, they are fantastic – a quick-skating unit that can forecheck like hell when they are on their game. Defensively, they are a mess. Head coach Mike Babcock doesn’t really seem to have one pairing that he genuinely trusts in all game states, and the team at aggregate has already given up 133 goals (20th in the NHL). That made me curious about how Toronto skaters measured up in an icing analysis. Which players more frequently drove opponents into tough consecutive shifts? Which players were the ones regularly bottled up in the defensive zone? The below scatter plot shows just that. Anyone to the right of the diagonal dotted line is a player who has a higher Icing%, or alternatively, a player who generates more icings than takes them. Anyone to the left of the line is a player who sees his line ice the puck more than the opposition. Embedded Image There are a couple of notable items here. First, the best regular payers by Icing% are forward Zach Hyman and defenceman Ron Hainsey (Moore also grades well here, but keep in mind he has played on a limited basis). Hyman is particularly interesting because he has earned a reputation as a ferocious forechecker and the type of player who can force opposing skaters into uncomfortable situations. On Hainsey: I have a theory that one five-man unit in Toronto is exceptional at applying pressure. If you focus on the horizontal axis only, you’ll note that the aforementioned Hainsey, Patrick Marleau, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, and Morgan Rielly all grade out comfortably above the team average. This five-man unit plays together quite regularly – Marleau, Kadri and Komarov have spent about 300 minutes together, and Hainsey-Rielly more than 600 minutes together. It’s something to keep an eye out for when this group is on the ice in the future for sure. There are two sides to the story in Toronto though. No player has a worse Icing% than centre Tyler Bozak, though four other players (Andreas Borgman, Nikita Zaitsev, Mitch Marner, and Jake Gardiner) are all below 45 per cent. None of these guys, save maybe Zaitsev, are known for their defensive prowess. And this is where they are being victimized – their icing against rates are substantially higher than team average. 1093896 Websites But no matter how you look at the changed Stars, the key is Bishop. He brought stability and consistency to the Stars’ net. The Stars have been among the worst in team save percentage for the past few seasons. USA TODAY / Coach Ken Hitchcock has Stars thinking defense and Bishop’s .916 is above average. dreaming big “It took a while,” Nill said. “(Bishop) likes to handle the puck, and at first the defensemen didn’t know where to stand. Where should he be leaving pucks? When should he be making plays? That took a good six weeks.” Kevin Allen Today in the Central, the Colorado Avalanche are on pace to register 97 Published 4:20 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2018 points and they are not in a playoff position. That’s why Bishop is crucial. Updated 4:43 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2018 “The big thing about Ben is that he makes the big saves when needed,” Nill said. “That’s where he has made the biggest difference.”

Two quality teams from the Central Division won't qualify for the playoffs and the Dallas Stars are playing as if they won’t be one of them. USA TODAY LOADED: 01.19.2018 With a 10-4-2 mark since Dec. 11, the Stars have moved into a playoff spot and within four points of the division lead. In those 16 games, the Stars surrendered two or fewer goals 10 times, a major improvement from last season when they ranked second to last in goals-against average. “We are playing better team defense,” Stars general manager Jim Nill told USA TODAY Sports. “We are just playing smarter hockey.” Nill made an offseason commitment to transforming the Stars, now 26- 17-3, into a team that is harder to play against. He hired veteran coach Ken Hitchcock, who has a history of training relentless defensive teams, after Dallas missed the playoffs. He also brought in 6-7 goalie Ben Bishop, shutdown defenseman Marc Methot and big-bodied center Martin Hanzal, a hard-nosed player who has always committed to defense first.

The net result: The Stars rank 11th in the NHL with a 2.72 goals-against average (compared with 3.17 last season). “You have to give credit to Ken and his coaching staff,” Nill said. “They’ve put structure in place, and now the players understand they will get rewarded for playing this way.” There has been an adjustment period to the new style of play as the team was 9-9-1 on Nov. 16. Slowly, players came to believe Hitchcock’s style is the best way to make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive Central. “What they are starting to understand is that if we play the right way, playing respectfully without the puck, we are going to get just as many scoring chances,” Nill said. Dallas’ defensive emphasis has not stunted offensive growth. The Stars’ scoring average of 2.98 goals per game is higher than last season’s 2.71 — at a time when they were more carefree with the puck. Four Stars are among the league’s top 30 scorers, including John Klingberg, the NHL’s highest-scoring defenseman with 43 points. “(Hitchcock) preaches, 'Stick with what I’m trying to do and get rewarded,' ” Nill said. “Early on, it was a tough message because we weren’t having success. We were playing the right way and not getting any points.” Because persistent defensive focus is tedious work, players haven’t always enjoyed Hitchcock’s coaching style. But Nill said Hitchcock has changed because the game isn’t the same game he coached in the 1990s. “Our relationship has been great,” Nill said. “He’s black and white. Very honest. If he sees something that he needs, or if he doesn’t agree with what my direction is, we talk about it. We are very open. And he’s had great communication with players. That’s the No. 1 priority for coaches these days. He is willing to change.” It hasn’t come together perfectly. Methot has been out eight weeks with a knee injury and Hanzal has been bothered by injuries all season. “Hanzal doesn’t get a lot of fanfare but when he’s been in the lineup, it’s amazing how he changes our team,” Nill said. “He does everything right. “ The added bonus of Hanzal is he has been the perfect role model for 24- year-old Radek Faksa, who has some similarity to Hanzal. “He’s a big, heavy body. He can skate,” Nill said. “He has watched how Hanzal does things and he’s taken his game to another level because off that.” Faksa has 21 points in 45 games. Nill says the defensemen are the team’s “unsung heroes.” They’ve all tightened up their coverage.