SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 1/9/2019 Anaheim Ducks Colorado Avalanche 1103578 Up next for the Ducks: Wednesday vs. Ottawa 1103616 Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog scores twice in 7-4 1103579 Ducks hope Rickard Rakell will ‘just be Ricky’ when he loss to Jets returns to lineup 1103617 Avalanche revisit familiar follies in falling to Jets 1103580 Burning Ducks questions: Will Randy Carlyle make it the 1103618 Avs-Jets grades: Gruesome Grubauer rest of the year? Is another trade coming? Columbus Blue Jackets Arizona Coyotes 1103619 Lightning 4, Blue Jackets 0 | Jackets still can't solve 1103581 Schmaltz played just 17 games following trade from Lightning Blackhawks 1103620 John Tortorella likes what he's seen from Eric Robinson 1103582 Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz to miss rest of season with 1103621 Competitive friends Nikita Kucherov and Artemi Panarin lower-body injury break down each other’s games Boston Bruins Dallas Stars 1103583 Bruins are stringing together a healthy winning streak 1103622 Stars coach Jim Montgomery again disappointed with 1103584 Tuukka Rask sharp as Bruins win fifth in a row team after win: 'We don't come out and take games' 1103585 Tuukka Rask will be in net as the Bruins go for their fifth 1103623 After some early-season misfortune, Stars center Tyler win in a row Seguin knew the pucks would eventually start going in t 1103586 Bruins blank Wild for fifth straight win 1103624 Joel Quenneville among coaches Jim Montgomery 1103587 Surging John Moore makes B’s lineup choices even reaches out to for help in first NHL season tougher 1103625 'A good matchup for him': Defenseman Connor Carrick 1103588 Bruins notebook: Zdeno Chara looks like his old self back in Stars' lineup after 3 games as healthy scratch 1103589 Things are coming together for the B's in five game win 1103626 Stars 20/20: Seguin scores twice, helps Stars survive streak another third-period disappearance 1103590 Talking points from Bruins' 4-0 win over Wild 1103591 Highlights from Bruins' 4-0 win over Wild Detroit Red Wings 1103592 Bruins in a winning streak but 'not satisfied with what's 1103627 Why this forward is an 'X-factor' for the Detroit Red Wings been happening' 1103628 Detroit Red Wings end home stand with loss to Montreal 1103593 Bruins' Charlie McAvoy appears close to return 1103629 Why this Detroit Red Wings rookie is doing better in his 1103594 Making of a Logo: The Bruins Bring Back the Bear second stint 1103630 Trump's shutdown speech won't stop the damage to his Buffalo Sabres base 1103595 Mike Harrington: Okposo's tough nights continue 1103631 Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens: Live updates, 1103596 Council: Send parking complaints to commissioner, not us scoring 1103597 The Wraparound: Sabres 5, Devils 1 1103632 'It stinks': Red Wings end home stand on a sour note 1103598 Sabres Notebook: Drew Stafford returns to Buffalo after 1103633 P.K. Subban reaches out after Metro Detroit youth hockey 800-game milestone player faces alleged racial abuse 1103599 Sabres vs. Devils: Five Things to Know 1103634 Red Wings' Filip Hronek making a statement to remain in 1103600 Report: Sabres place center Scott Wilson on waivers the NHL 1103601 Sabres' Jack Eichel out, Sam Reinhart in lineup vs. Devils 1103635 Red Wings get pair from Andreas Athanasiou but lose to 1103602 Stimson: How we can measure Phil Housley’s Canadiens performance at midseason 1103636 Filip Zadina defends play at World Juniors, moves forward 1103637 Red Wings’ Filip Hronek takes positive steps for future Calgary Flames 1103638 ‘It’s a new day’: Where Filip Zadina goes next, with a test 1103603 Game Day: Avalanche at Flames now in front of him 1103604 Phillips heating up with Flames’ AHL affiliate 1103605 Flames’ Backlund has fond memories of Edmonton Oilers welcome-to-the-bigs 1103639 Sharks both lucky and good in laying a beating on 1103606 Flames’ Fantastic Four piling up points like 1995-96 Edmonton Oilers Penguins 1103640 Nugent-Hopkins becomes 22nd Oiler to hit 500 games 1103641 Game Day: Edmonton Oilers want the joy of six Carolina Hurricanes 1103642 Edmonton Oilers still trying to put an end to their mood 1103607 Canes finally beat Islanders for fifth straight win swings 1103608 PNC Arena has had $4 billion economic impact on Wake 1103643 Lowetide: Oilers midseason report card, brought to you by County, Centennial Authority says the letter ‘F’ 1103609 Q&A: Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon talks narratives, red jerseys, drafting defensemen and perspective Florida Panthers 1103644 Panthers struggle, fall further behind after loss to Chicago Blackhawks Penguins 1103610 5 reasons the Blackhawks have improved under Jeremy 1103645 Roberto Luongo gives up four early goals as Panthers fall Colliton over the last 15 games to Penguins 1103611 Here's the deal: Blackhawks' Collin Delia isn't backing 1103646 Penguins kick Panthers into second half with more down from anybody questions and high-profile benchings 1103612 Coyotes' Nick Schmaltz will miss rest of 2018-19 season with knee injury 1103613 Strome's comfort level with Hawks improves thanks to the 'Cat' 1103614 Ex-Blackhawks center Nick Schmaltz will miss rest of season with a knee injury 1103615 Henri Jokiharju gets exactly what Blackhawks wanted out of 2019 World Juniors experience Los Angeles Kings NHL 1103647 What we learned from the Kings’ 3-1 loss to the San Jose 1103688 Summer coaching changes paying major dividends across Sharks NHL 1103648 Thomas Middleditch of ‘Silicon Valley’ on Kings fandom, 1103689 Subban to teen facing racial abuse: Keep pushing forward his ideal hockey movie role 1103649 WAKING UP WITH THE KINGS: JANUARY 8 Ottawa Senators 1103690 Senators’ Matt Duchene stays home, joining Anderson Minnesota Wild and Chabot on sidelines 1103650 Eric Staal frustrated as scoring slump continues in Wild's 1103691 Newest Senator Darren Archibald going through loss to Bruins introductions again 1103651 Joel Eriksson Ek recalled by Wild after Eric Fehr hurt 1103692 Warren’s Piece: Ducks problems are polar opposite to 1103652 Wild-Boston game recap Senators problems 1103653 Rask stops 24 shots, Bruins shut out Wild 4-0 1103693 Game Day: Ottawa Senators vs. Anaheim Ducks 1103654 Wild loses road trip finale 4-0 in Boston 1103694 What the lack of contract talks with Matt Duchene says 1103655 Wild vying to sweep road trip in finale vs. Bruins about the Senators organization 1103656 Wild fall flat in Boston, lose 4-0 to Bruins 1103657 Wild have noticed Joel Eriksson Ek’s offensive production Philadelphia Flyers in Iowa 1103695 Flyers' spiral continues as they fall to Capitals, 5-3, for 8th 1103658 Travel woes, elevator drama, fluky goals and a predictable straight defeat Wild thud in Boston 1103696 Flyers' offensive problems stem from a lack of execution, not Scott Gordon’s system Montreal Canadiens 1103697 Flyers-Blues observations: Time for change, but no quick 1103659 In the Habs' Room: Happy Detroit homecoming for Jeff fix Petry 1103698 Unlucky No. 7: A quick look at the Flyers and the other 1103660 About last night ... Canadiens edge Wings 3-2 teams that have gone through seven goalies 1103661 Jeff Petry scores winning goal as Canadiens move back 1103699 Mistakes costly as Flyers’ winless streak reaches 8 into playoff spot 1103700 Mike McKenna makes history by becoming 7th Flyer 1103662 Canadiens at Red Wings: Five things you should know goalie this season 1103663 How Google helped Jeff Petry go from a nightmarish 1103701 Capitals 5, Flyers 3: No. 7 goalie Mike McKenna can't performance to a near flawless one prevent 8th straight loss 1103664 Cracking the win: There is no column for style points in the 1103702 What Flyers fans should know about the Washington standings Capitals 1103665 Melnick’s GBU: A bad night, an errant puck and a 1103703 Flyers 5 takeaways: Losing streak hits 8 in Washington catastrophe averted 1103704 Should Carter Hart be shielded from Flyers’ losing environment? Nashville Predators 1103705 Flyers at Capitals: Game 43 preview, line combos, 1103666 Predators mailbag: How close is P.K. Subban to 100 broadcast info percent, roster maneuvers, numbers and more 1103706 From Cates to St. Ivany: How the Flyers’ 7 prospects fared 1103667 Pekka Rinne, Predators shut out Maple Leafs in Toronto at the World Junior Championship 1103707 Blues 3, Flyers 0: 10 things we learned from a losing New Jersey Devils streak reaching 7 1103668 New Jersey Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres: LIVE score updates and chat (1/8/19) Pittsburgh Penguins 1103669 3 takeaways from NJ Devils' New Year's road trip 1103708 Penguins score 2 short-handed goals, down Panthers 1103670 Devils doomed by dismal 2nd period dooms in loss to 1103709 Kevin Gorman: With Steelers' season over, spotlight Sabres shines on Penguins 1103671 Does Kyle Palmieri deserve an All-Star nod? His Devils 1103710 Penguins' Zach Aston-Reese, 24, mixes well with Matt teammates weigh in Cullen, 42 1103672 How they line up: NJ Devils won't face Sabres' Jack Eichel 1103711 In most boring video ever, deadpan NHL players reveal 1103673 Devils blitzed in second period in ugly loss to Sabres favorite cliches 1103712 Matt Murray gets call in net for Penguins vs. Panthers New York Islanders 1103713 Tim Benz: Penguins must avoid turning into what Steelers 1103674 Islanders' streak ends at six with loss to Hurricanes have become 1103675 Devon Toews already becoming key contributor for 1103714 Bryan Rust's speed continues to create chances, and he Islanders cashed in two more Tuesday 1103676 Islanders’ winning streak comes to an end 1103715 Zach Aston-Reese, Patric Hornqvist injured in feisty, 1103677 Islanders' loss just demonstrates how hard it is to maintain physical Penguins win a streak 1103716 Matt Murray shines in won over Panthers, but Mike 1103678 Islanders' Matt Martin records PSA to fight heroin crisis Sullivan says Penguins are capable of more 1103679 Islanders activate Valtteri Filppula, send Josh Ho-Sang to 1103717 Penguins keeping an eye on red-hot Matt Murray's Bridgeport workload 1103680 Islanders' win streak ends at six on two late goals by 1103718 20 Penguins Thoughts: Level of 'urgency' different this Hurricanes year for Jim Rutherford 1103719 Penguins kick Panthers into second half with more New York Rangers questions and high-profile benchings 1103681 Reeling Rangers fall to Golden Knights for fourth straight 1103720 Discussion – Panthers at Penguins loss 1103682 Rangers fall to Golden Knights to complete winless road trip 1103683 Trade deadline is ‘pink elephant’ that looms over Rangers 1103684 No deal for Rangers, who fold in Vegas 1103685 Brendan Smith back to being scratched for Rangers 1103686 Despite Rangers' recent blowout losses, Henrik Lundqvist still hopeful they'll make playoffs 1103687 Tony DeAngelo gets back on the ice, but does little to solidify his role with Rangers San Jose Sharks Washington Capitals 1103721 Takeaways: the Sharks are better off without Vlasic right 1103755 Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (illness) a game-time now decision vs. Flyers 1103722 Erik Karlsson enters rare territory as Sharks top Oilers 1103756 Vrana's three points power Capitals over Flyers 1103723 Sharks overwhelm Oilers 7-2 — win streak reaches 4 1103757 Jake Vrana delivers another breakout performance in games Caps's 5-3 win vs Flyers 1103724 Sharks takeaways: What we learned in dominant 7-2 win 1103758 Illness to Backstrom could see Eller reprise starring playoff over Oilers role vs. Flyers 1103725 NHL rumors: Erik Karlsson, Sharks will talk extension after 1103759 What Caps fans should know about the Flyers, according All-Star Game to a Flyers insider 1103726 Sharks vs. Oilers watch guide: Projected lines and 1103760 The tale of a fan wanting a tattoo of a Stanley Cup defensive pairs champion getting a tattoo 1103727 Sharks roll four lines to third straight win, and at just the right time Websites 1103728 Tomas Hertl’s play at center, Erik Karlsson’s historic 1103769 The Athletic / Early projections for Team Canada’s 2020 streak keying Sharks’ surge World Cup of Hockey roster 1103770 The Athletic / Down Goes Brown: What’s the best team St Louis Blues you can build in 2021-22 using existing contracts? 1103729 Blues' Steen likely to miss rest of month 1103771 The Athletic / NHL Power Rankings: What to watch for in 1103730 Blues again dodge prosperity with loss to Stars the second half 1103731 Blues struggles continue at Enterprise Center in a 3-1 loss 1103772 Sportsnet.ca / Takeaways: Jekyll and Hyde Oilers turn in to Dallas listless effort vs. Sharks 1103732 Can Monday's performance jolt Blues' Tarasenko into 1103773 Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens Takeaways: Jeff Petry gets being himself again? redemption 1103733 Steen will miss at least 2 weeks with shoulder injury 1103774 Sportsnet.ca / Mike Babcock imploring Maple Leafs to play 'heavier' Tampa Bay Lightning 1103775 Sportsnet.ca / Winnipeg Jets first half report: Jets among 1103734 Ryan Callahan misses Blue Jackets game with upper- favourites to win it all body injury; Coburn returns 1103776 Sportsnet.ca / Coyotes centre Nick Schmaltz done for 1103735 Coach Marty? John Tortorella likes the idea season with knee injury 1103736 Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy to replace Carey Price in 1103777 Sportsnet.ca / Canucks hoping other forwards will thrive All-Star Game without Pettersson 1103737 John Tortorella: A couple bad runs good for season 1103738 Lightning, Andrei Vasilevskiy bounce back with shutout Winnipeg Jets 1103739 Competitive friends Nikita Kucherov and Artemi Panarin 1103761 Avalanche buried by Jets' depth in 7-4 shootout break down each other’s games 1103762 Scoring talent keeping Jets aloft despite defensive leaks 1103763 Laine struggling to meet lofty expectations Toronto Maple Leafs 1103764 Jets have to shut down high-flying line or risk triggering 1103740 Maple Leafs can afford to go slow with Frederik Andersen Avalanche tonight | The Star 1103765 Wheeler’s four points leads the charge in Jets’ win over 1103741 Leafs’ second-half worries include goaltending and grit | the Avalanche The Star 1103766 Crucial weeks ahead for Jets, Cheveldayoff 1103742 P.K. Subban has helped NHL players break free of the 1103767 Marquee lines set to square off for Jets, Avs game’s restraints | The Star SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1103743 At the midway point of the season, let’s look at the NHL’s award front-runners | The Star 1103744 Female hockey official feels thwarted in desire to work AJHL games 1103746 Nylander, struggling since returning to Leafs, has to find work ethic to make improvements 1103747 ULTIMATE LEAFS FAN: A ferry nice way to watch hockey Vancouver Canucks 1103768 Ben Kuzma: Demko’s toughest challenge was concussion from friendly fire Vegas Golden Knights 1103748 Knights extend winning streak with 4-2 win over the Rangers 1103749 Knights reshuffle as Reilly Smith goes on injured reserve 1103750 GAME DAY: Reilly Smith to miss Knights’ game vs. Rangers 1103751 Golden Edge mailbag: On Max Pacioretty, NHL roster rules 1103752 Reaves returns to fighting form as Golden Knights drop Rangers 1103753 Behind the scenes of Max Pacioretty’s race to the birth of his child 1103754 Perhaps No Free Doughnuts, But Golden Knights Rack Up Another Win with Pirri Goal, Tough Guy Reaves Fight 1103578 Anaheim Ducks

Up next for the Ducks: Wednesday vs. Ottawa

By LOS ANGELES TIMES STAFF

Up next for the Ducks: Wednesday vs. Ottawa

When: 7 p.m. PST Wednesday

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 830.

Update: The Ducks’ eight-game winless streak (0-6-2) has dropped them to ninth and out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. They will play an Ottawa team that is last in the league in points (35) and is 1-8-1 in its last 10 games. The Senators play the Kings at Staples Center on Thursday.

LA Times: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103579 Anaheim Ducks in the Ducks’ dressing room for the first time since he suffered a sprained knee. It’s uncertain when Eaves might play again or when Miller might skate again.

Ducks hope Rickard Rakell will ‘just be Ricky’ when he returns to lineup Plus, right wing Corey Perry continues to be sidelined after undergoing knee surgery Sept. 26.

By ELLIOTT TEAFORD Orange County Register: LOADED: 01.09.2019

ANAHEIM — One possible solution to the Ducks’ scoring woes and their losing streak skated on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Daniel Sprong during Tuesday’s practice at Honda Center. It remained to be seen how much Rickard Rakell could give the Ducks after sitting out for 13 games because of a sprained ankle.

It’s safe to say they could use anything and everything he has to offer as they attempt to avoid making franchise history on Wednesday when they host the Ottawa Senators. The Ducks are mired in the third eight-game losing streak in the franchise’s 25-year history, their first since 2005-06.

Ottawa also has lost eight consecutive, so something’s got to give.

The Ducks’ troubles are numerous, but nothing stands out as much as their inability to score sufficiently during their 0-6-2 skid. They have been shut out twice, including 4-0 by the lackluster Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, and held to two goals or less in five other games.

Rakell wasn’t exactly lighting it up when he went down and out of the lineup after the Ducks’ victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 5, their fifth consecutive win. He did have five goals and 20 points in 30 games, though, and that sort of production has been missed while he’s been sidelined.

Sign up for Home Turf and get exclusive stories every SoCal sports fan must read, sent daily. Subscribe here.

After all, the Ducks are 4-7-2 since he was hurt.

“He’s a gifted offensive player,” Coach Randy Carlyle said. “Ricky’s got some dynamics to him through the neutral ice with the puck. He can take on people one-on-one. He has a history of scoring. Hopefully, he can make a contribution to help the Getzlaf combo. Him and ‘Getzy’ have been together for a long time and they’ve provided some real solid offense for our team.

“That’s really what we’re looking for, just be Ricky.”

WHAT TO EXPECT?

The pressure to make an immediate impact could be intense for a player returning to the lineup after an extended layoff because of an injury. Defenseman Cam Fowler went through the process Sunday, his first game after sitting out for 23 because of fractures to his orbital, cheek and jaw bones.

Fowler was scoreless, did not record a shot on goal and was on the ice for two of the Oilers’ goals while playing 22:01 on Sunday. He played on the power-play and penalty-killing units and he didn’t look out of place in his first game since a puck struck him in the face Nov. 12.

“Some of the things, for me, that I look at for my game were there,” Fowler said. “It’s going to take a little bit of time. The main thing was I was ready for the speed of the game. I was physically prepared for that. The rest will come.”

Fowler said his injury was a distant memory once he stepped onto the ice Sunday.

“If you’re not 100 percent ready, mentally and physically, you shouldn’t be out there,” he said. “I knew if I was going to be playing and I was going to try and help the team, I had to be 100 percent committed to that, and I definitely was.”

WHO’S NEXT?

Fowler’s return and Rakell’s impending return coupled with defenseman Korbinian Holzer’s season debut Sunday with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL after undergoing offseason wrist surgery mean the Ducks are almost healthy for the first time this season.

Almost, but not quite.

Right wing Patrick Eaves (broken rib) skated with his teammates again Tuesday, and goaltender Ryan Miller’s equipment made an appearance 1103580 Anaheim Ducks Having seen their record suddenly plummet from 19-11-5 to 19-17-7, the Ducks will host Ottawa on Wednesday. The immediate question is not only will they win, but will they snap out of their funk against the porous Burning Ducks questions: Will Randy Carlyle make it the rest of the year? Senators? But as colleague Lisa Dillman did in looking at the Kings, this Is another trade coming? is also a good time to address some pertinent questions to involve Murray, his coach and his players as the second half of the season moves into full swing.

By Eric Stephens Jan 8, 2019 Will Carlyle make it to end of the season?

An eight-game losing streak usually raises speculation about a tenured coach and the natural suggestion is that he may be on shaky ground. ANAHEIM, Calif. – Bob Murray became the fifth person in the history of Especially if the coach that’s under the glare has already endured a the National Hockey League to play in 1,000 games and then manage seven-game winless spell earlier in the season. that many in an executive position when his Ducks hosted Edmonton on Sunday. The others to have achieved that rare feat are well-known: Wins in 11 of 13 games and a move up the Pacific Division standings Bobby Clarke, Bob Gainey, Bob Pulford and Doug Wilson. appeared to remove Carlyle from the hot seat, though Murray publicly insisted that it was never warm to begin with. But that has been followed Taking over the general manager reins from Brian Burke in the fall of by an 0-6-2 skein that’s dropped them back out of playoff position. As the 2008, Murray has reshaped the Ducks around Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Ducks were on their way to losing Sunday, Kevin Weekes – the former Perry – the only two players that have been with the Ducks throughout goalie-turned-NHL Network analyst – created a stir when he tweeted that his 10 seasons – and presided over eight teams that have reached the he was hearing of a “potential coaching change in the future.” Stanley Cup playoffs. The last six have qualified for the tournament and only Pittsburgh has a longer active postseason streak. EYES ON @ANAHEIMDUCKS . DOWN 4-0 TO THE @EDMONTONOILERS. SHOULD THEY LOSE TONIGHT,IT WILL BE The Ducks have been competitive for the bulk of that run. His teams THEIR 8TH STRAIGHT LOSS. HEARING THERE COULD BE A have topped 100 points for each of the past five seasons. But there was POTENTIAL COACHING CHANGE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. @NHL nothing to celebrate Sunday when it came to watching his current squad. @NHLNETWORK . Edmonton hung a 4-0 defeat on them in a dreadful homestand that’s — KEVIN WEEKES (@KEVINWEEKES) JANUARY 7, 2019 another loss or two from becoming disastrous, with Cam Talbot pitching a 39-save shutout on a team that has made quite a few goalies look like Murray responded to an inquiry on Carlyle’s status by The Athletic with Vezina Trophy winners. The Ducks have lost eight straight games, a an emphatic denial. Carlyle gave no hint to a tenuous situation, saying lowlight that’s only been reached two other times in their 25-year history. that “we’ll come to work” on Monday during his postgame interview. And They’re 0-2-2 in a six-game stretch at Honda Center that was supposed he was back on the ice the next day as expected, running a spirited to put their challenging season back in order. practice with battle drills.

Just 11 goals have been scored during the eight losses and four of those Murray has fired Carlyle before. But Carlyle was brought back into the came in one game. But the lack of offense is nothing new for a team NHL fold by the GM, being a regular attendee of Ducks home games and that’s next-to-last in the league. Sunday’s defining moment of their doing scouting after Toronto cut him loose. The expectation is that he’ll inadequate finishing ability came during garbage time when Ryan Kesler have a job within the organization whenever his time as coach this go- (four goals and none since Nov. 6) had Talbot beat with a shot but hit the around is done. post and Brian Gibbons (no goals in 32 games) had his follow-up try for his first score with Anaheim snatched away by the netminder. But is that time now? Cogliano was in his first season with Anaheim when Murray parted with Carlyle as the Ducks were struck in the throes “There’s been frustration has been developing,” Ducks coach Randy of a horrific run where they won only two of 17 games. The feeling then Carlyle said. “It’s very, very evident in our group. Frustration of not was that Getzlaf and Perry were weary of the hard-driving Carlyle, while putting the puck in the net. When you have glorious opportunities time Bobby Ryan and the coach were at odds. A complete no-show in a after time and it hits the shaft of a stick. Or it hits the post. Or it’s Sunday home loss to Toronto was a sign that Carlyle had lost the room wavering on the goal line and doesn’t go across. Well, at some point if and the ax fell days later, ironically after a win over Montreal. Bruce you continue to work, those things are going to turn in your favor. And Boudreau was already being pursued after Washington fired him that that’s what we have to stick with.” same weekend.

Josh Manson sees teammates putting pressure on themselves but As he thought back, Cogliano does not see a parallel between what’s reasoned that goalies can’t always deliver the “10-bell save” if they going on with his team now than what happened then. continually create scoring chances. He is of the conviction that the Ducks are a tight-knit group and not splintering into different directions. “It felt like there was stuff that was overlapped from when I came (that summer),” he said. “This year, to be honest, it feels like a lot of guys are “If anything, we’re pulling together,” the defenseman said. trying to figure out internally what to do better. That’s what it feels like. At the end of the day, the team hasn’t changed how we’ve played and how Getzlaf said eight straight defeats shows they’re lacking in answers at the we’ve been successful. moment but that they can be found in practice and within their room. “I don’t know what else we can shake up,” Getzlaf added. “We’ve changed Asked directly if he feels Carlyle’s message is still being heard in the lines. We’ve changed defense. Everything. But we’re in this situation.” room, Cogliano said, “Yeah. For sure.” The term the coach has used repeatedly, whether in the public or with the players behind closed doors, It has become mental for them. But they insist their lack of execution isn’t is that they must be “blue collar” with their play. for a lack of trying. “It’s being heard because when we do it, we’re good,” the winger “The compete is there,” said Andrew Cogliano, another frustrated veteran continued. “And when we play and we have good games and we play that is bothered with having only two goals to his name. “I think when you against a team like Tampa like that, when we play teams like Pittsburgh look at other teams that play us, they don’t like playing us that much. and play like that, you see yourself match up against them. The issue Right? But I’m going to speak for myself. I know I’m not looking any with us is the consistency. And how are we going to find that? That’s further than me at this point. And I think a lot of guys are doing the same what we’re trying to find. thing. We’ve been together for a while here. A lot of guys have. And I think we’ve experienced winning. When we don’t, I think there’s always a “But a lot of teams are as well. I think that’s our main point now. Getting sense of, ‘What the hell is going on?’ But you have a passionate team to that point where every night we know what we’re going to get.” here that’s been that for a long time. And we don’t want things to kind of end here in terms of that. Carlyle has this season remaining on his contract, with a team-held option for another year. Some parts of the fan base have wanted him “There’s a lot of pride here and we’re used to winning. And I feel like gone yesterday. Murray’s quick denial and his preference to exhaust all what’s happening now with our team is we’re trying to piece things other options first makes it a good bet that his hand-picked choice to together, in terms of guys are trying to find their game. Internally trying to come back and replace Boudreau will still be the one to solve their be at their best to contribute and to win.” problems and straighten them out. At least until it is time to clean out the lockers. or two extra high-round draft picks is enticing and valuable currency for a team in transition. And there could be an opening created for a talented If there is no coaching change, does Murray have to shake up the team youngster that’s listed in the next section. in another manner? A trade? Should they bring up one of the kids for an offensive spark? The problem with that is the time for the player-for-player impact deals to address roster issues within the season is nearing an end and the next Troy Terry is tearing it up in San Diego. Isac Lundestrom is back in window for trades will be closer to the Feb. 25 deadline. And that is Sweden for the balance of the SHL season after playing in the world when, for the most part, contenders are bulking up for the postseason juniors and Max Comtois will play one more season in the QMJHL. But and willing to part with future assets rather than roster regulars. Or teams Max Jones is starting to emerge as a goal scorer for the Gulls, while Sam try to move players not in their long-term plans. Steel is finding his way as a pro.

Murray isn’t averse to making an in-season trade. But Sami Vatanen-for- Could one of them help the Ducks? Could Terry, who leads all AHL Adam Henrique came at the end of November. Three years ago, Carl rookies with 35 points, bring his regained confidence and 15 goals with Hagelin-for-David Perron went down in the middle of January. And if you him up Interstate 5 and give a scoring-challenged roster an extra hand look beyond Anaheim, the Seth Jones-for-Ryan Johansen blockbuster that can create his shot, put it on net and get it past the goal line on between Nashville and Columbus just celebrated its three-year occasion? anniversary on Sunday. Sounds like an easy call. But the Gulls have run off an 11-game point Besides, the Ducks’ boss already dipped back into his deep well of streak with nine wins to propel them up the Pacific Division standings. defensemen and parted with Marcus Pettersson to get a potential young Terry is cooking, with multi-point efforts in four of his last five contests goal scorer in Daniel Sprong. Obviously, that was no blockbuster. But and 17 points over his last 14 games. you must have everything lined up to pull off something on the Jones-for- Johansen level. As much as it might be tempting to bring him or Jones up, there is no sense in doing so. The two need to play big minutes and there aren’t top- Does it make sense to part with big-minute defensemen Brandon six spots to plug either into with the Ducks. Jones has yet to make his Montour or Manson (his limited no-trade clause kicks in July 1) for a NHL debut, while Terry didn’t fare well in his first cup of coffee when young high-end point producer? Or even think about parting with handed a first-line role out of training camp. Why drop them into a losing Hampus Lindholm? Their deals are more digestible by coveting teams situation and heap pressure on them to produce during a playoff push? than Cam Fowler’s pricier eight-year NTC-contained extension that has now kicked in. And in any scenario, all you are doing is creating another TROY TERRY! big hole on your blueline and the Ducks know how tough that was to fill ANOTHER PPG FOR HIS SEVENTH OF THE SEASON! HE NUTMEGS last spring. THE NET MINDER TO MAKE IT 3-0 WITH UNDER A MINUTE LEFT IN The other roster player that might draw the most interest in teams – two- THE FIRST PERIOD! #LETSGOGULLS time 30-goal scorer Rickard Rakell that’s also under club control for a PIC.TWITTER.COM/E3ZP9L5XWU while – would only mean removing one of the few truly skilled offensive — SAN DIEGO GULLS (@SDGULLSAHL) NOVEMBER 22, 2018 players they do have. The return would have to be someone that could be better than him. Maybe even younger than the 25-year-old Rakell. Now is it possible that they make an appearance this season? Sure. If there is an injury to one of the prominent wingers and a call-up has to be Dealing a veteran would send a strong message to the dressing room made out of necessity. Or if the Ducks have fallen out of the race and the that mediocrity won’t be tolerated. But at what cost? Immediate help is playoffs are no longer in sight, unless San Diego is pushing toward a great, but their long game still has to be played. Calder Cup berth. What will happen to Jakob Silfverberg? The fact is the kids likely wouldn’t make the kind of difference that would Silfverberg, 28, is in the final year of a contract that’s paying him $3.75 turn Anaheim into a top Cup contender and are better served to play out million per season. He is also at the age where he’ll want his next deal to a successful developmental year and prepare to compete for roster spots be substantial, whether in length or dollar figure or both. As a potential in 2019-20. Now if they’re still playing in May and the Gulls are finished, unrestricted free agent, you can bet that the two-way forward is at least then bring them in as Black Aces and keep them available if duty calls. seeking a decent raise in terms of average annual value. Can they still salvage this season? And if it was a situation where the Ducks had sizable salary cap space, It may depend upon what you deem is a successful year. If the definition they’d likely find a way to keep a top-nine forward that can play up and of success is a Stanley Cup and nothing less, then don’t get your hopes down the lineup while giving them proven defensive acumen. But they’ve up. The fact is the Ducks have trended downward during Carlyle’s three got a lot of money already committed for the next two seasons and there seasons in his return and there isn’t much beyond John Gibson going on already isn’t a ton of cap room for 2019-20. More importantly, there’s a Conn Smythe run to carry this team through playoff rounds. nothing big coming off the books until 2021. That is if they make the postseason at all. But that’s still very possible. There is also this: Murray, who’s long been judicious in spending big This may be the weakest crop of contenders for the two Wild Card berths money on free agents but has handed out a few iffy contracts of his own, that the West has had since the current division-based playoff format was struggled with keeping potential UFA Matt Beleskey for the 2015 playoff instituted in 2014. Minnesota moved past Anaheim into the second Wild run when the winger was having a career season. Beleskey’s overtime Card, but qualifiers have had better than the Wild’s current .549 winning goal won Game 5 of the Western Conference final against Chicago but percentage. (Ironically, the Wild Card team with the worst win percentage that was it for the Ducks in their would-be Cup run and Murray watched in the current format was Minnesota in 2016. It qualified with just 87 him sign with Boston, not getting anything in return when he had the points and a .531 mark). chance. Others in Edmonton, Vancouver or even first Wild Card spot holder Can he stomach another scenario of keeping a UFA and seeing him Dallas do not make a fearful lot. Teams have made recent playoffs with a leave without getting any future assets? That’s not something Silfverberg negative goal differential. Ottawa did in 2017 and got all the way to Game has to ponder over. He has spent six of his seven NHL seasons in 7 of the Eastern Conference final. Detroit and Philadelphia qualified in Anaheim and become a core player. But he has also watched many 2016. Detroit also in 2014. teammates get extended. And other teams have qualified without scorching the net. The Kings had “Yeah, I’ve been here,” Silfverberg said. “It’s been quite a fun time. It’s the 26th-ranked offense in 2014. They also allowed the fewest goals in out of my reach. All I can do is make sure I try to perform every night. If the NHL and ended up passing around the Cup. they want me, they want me. And if they don’t, I’m sure they’ll hopefully find someone that wants me. We’ll see what happens. I can’t put too The Ducks don’t put as much emphasis on their place in the standings as much emphasis on it. So, I can’t really do much about it.” they once did. They’re also no longer at the heights they once were. There was the ugly four-and-out last spring. Maybe making the playoffs Also factor in this: Silfverberg and his expiring deal is easily more wasn’t the best thing for them in the bigger picture. Maybe sitting this one moveable than Perry or Patrick Eaves, who still have term left on their out is better for the long run. contracts. Injuries have curtailed their effectiveness. The thought of one Except the players inside the locker room don’t think that way. And the revenue from extra home dates still matter to NHL owners.

“The bottom line is we’re still in a position to make the playoffs,” Cogliano said. “As much as it’s been an eight-game losing streak and there’s things that need to be fixed, we’re still there. That’s the silver lining in all of it and there’s time to get it going and get it right.

“At the end of the day, everyone wants to score. Everyone wants to contribute. But it’s about winning. And it’s about making the playoffs and it’s about getting ourselves in that position. I think we need to keep that in mind for now.”

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103581 Arizona Coyotes

Schmaltz played just 17 games following trade from Blackhawks

Richard Morin, Jan. 8, 2019

Arizona Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz will be out for the rest of the 2018- 19 season after suffering a lower-body injury, the team announced on Tuesday.

Schmaltz was previously listed as “week-to-week.” He has not played since Dec. 30.

His season ends after playing just 17 games with the Coyotes following his trade from the Chicago Blackhawks for forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini. Since the trade, the 22-year-old scored five goals with nine assists for 14 points, seven of those points on the power play.

INJURY UPDATE: #Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz will be sidelined for the remainder of the season because of a lower-body injury.

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) January 8, 2019

This adds to the growing list of injuries the Coyotes have had to deal with this season. Among those currently unable to play are center Christian Dvorak, who has not been in a game yet. Defenseman Jason Demers and goaltender Antti Raanta are out indefinitely. Michael Grabner is out with an eye injury and Kevin Connauton remains day-to-day with a lower- body injury.

The Coyotes play at Vancouver Thursday.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103582 Arizona Coyotes

Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz to miss rest of season with lower-body injury

BY MATT LAYMAN | JANUARY 8, 2019 AT 12:37 PM

Arizona Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz will be out for the rest of the 2018- 19 season after suffering a lower-body injury, the team announced on Tuesday.

Schmaltz was previously listed as “week-to-week” and has not played since Dec. 30 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

His season ends after just 40 games — only 17 of those with the Coyotes — as the 22-year-old was traded to Arizona by the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini. In his 17 games since the trade, he scored five goals with nine assists for 14 points, seven of those points on the power play.

This latest blow only adds to a growing list of injuries the Coyotes have had to deal with this season. Center Christian Dvorak has not played a game yet, defenseman Jason Demers and goaltender Antti Raanta are out indefinitely, Michael Grabner has missed time with an eye injury and Kevin Connauton is still day-to-day with a lower-body injury. That’s without mentioning other players who are no longer injured but have missed time this season.

In the Coyotes’ last game on Sunday, the absence of Schmaltz prompted a lineup that had Derek Stepan, Brad Richardson, Nick Cousins and Mario Kempe as the team’s four centers. That has been the case since Schmaltz first went down.

“Listen, and I can say ‘What ifs,’ and all that stuff, but when we were healthy, we were playing well,” head coach Rick Tocchet said on Friday. “And then obviously this rash of injuries and then all of a sudden, people get played in different positions and stuff like that.”

“Now, we got — we’re overplaying some people. It is what it is. You’ve got to take your lumps and you’ve got to be battle-tested. It is what it is. You’ve got to come with energy.”

Arizona Sports LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103583 Boston Bruins power play in that six-game span. Now? Rick Nash hasn’t played this year, so they’re trying to find a third man for Krejci and DeBrusk, with David Backes the latest to get the call. Riley Nash is cliff-diving in Bruins are stringing together a healthy winning streak Columbus (1-3—4 in 40 games), so Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (Boston University) was centering an all-scholastic third line with Ryan Donato (Harvard) and Danton Heinen (Denver) . . . The Brad Marchand- Bergeron-David Pastrnak first line, and the buzzsaw line of Sean Kuraly- By Matt Porter Noel Acciari-Wagner remained intact.

The Bruins’ Ryan Donato goes airborne courtesy of Minnesota's Nick In October, when Tuukka Rask didn’t have a handle on his game, he Seeler in the second period. spent a moment reflecting, during an off-day, on how he might spend his Studnicka on move post-career days. He confided to a dressing room visitor that while he hadn’t given it a lot of thought, he planned to get away from hockey when Bruins prospect Jack Studnicka is a Niagara Ice Dog. Studnicka, he hangs up the pads. returned to OHL Oshawa after he was cut from Bruins camp, was dealt from that club to Niagara, along with Vancouver blue line prospect Matt Rask may go the way of his former netmate Tim Thomas, said to be Brassard, in exchange for Lleyton Moore and six OHL draft picks (three somewhere in the American West. He may return to Finland, never to be upcoming second-rounders, three third-rounders). Studnicka, who posted seen again by this hockey-hungry city. But that is a long way off. a 1-3—4 line for Canada in five World Junior Championship games, was “It’s 250 wins, 250 more to go I guess,” Rask said jokingly Tuesday, after at 12-22—34 in 30 games for Oshawa, his second year as captain. earning career win No. 250 in Boston’s 4-0 win over Minnesota at TD “In Jack, we are adding the most complete player in the OHL,” Niagara Garden. The 31-year-old netminder made 24 saves for his first shutout general manager Joey Burke said of the Bruins’ 2017 second-rounder since last March 17, and the 42nd of his career. (53rd overall) in a news release. “[He] does absolutely everything at an “No, I’ve been lucky enough to be part of good teams and that’s pretty elite level.” much what it comes down to, I think,” Rask said. “Yeah, been fortunate to Krug on fire play here, so, happy.” Torey Krug’s first-period assist gave him 15 points in his last 15 games (4 Rask, whose tumultuous first three months of the season included a goals, 11 assists) and five assists in his last five games . . . McAvoy three-game personal leave in mid-November, has mostly excelled since (foot) took the ice before the optional morning skate. He is likely to then. He has allowed more than three goals in one of his last 14 starts practice Wednesday, and if he takes live contact in that practice, he following the layoff, with a .930 save percentage in that span. Overall, could play Thursday against the Capitals at TD Garden. If not, Saturday Rask (12-8-2) and his .920 save percentage rank ninth among goalies at Toronto could be his date of return . . . Defenseman Steven Kampfer who have made 20 or more starts. sat for the sixth game in a row. Kampfer, Lee Stempniak, and rookie The most recent sports headlines delivered to your inbox every morning. center Colby Cave did extended work on the Warrior sheet Tuesday morning, with skating coach Kim Brandvold and backup netminder Halak. “Results have been happening, so that’s good,” he said. “Yeah. I’ve felt good since November. Boston Globe LOADED: 01.09.2019

“We’ve played great. Our team defense in the past few games, at least, has been very good. It shows on the scoreboard. The last two games, I don’t think there’s too many odd-man rushes at all. I think we’re eliminating the offense of the opposing team very well and then getting rewarded at the other end, so that’s a great sign — the way we want to play.”

With Rask taking four of the last five turns, coach Bruce Cassidy said he was leaning toward Jaroslav Halak (13-6-2, NHL-best .927) against the Capitals on Thursday. Another reason for that: Rask struggled in the season-opening, 7-0 loss at Washington, and Halak offered a different look.

Minnesota's Mikael Granlund sails over the Bruins’ Matt Grzelcyk during the third period.

In his two-plus years here, Cassidy has seen Rask go on runs. Typically sharper in second halves, the Finn put together streaks last year of 17-0- 2 (Dec. 7-Feb. 6) and 10-0-1 (Feb. 27-March 31). The 4-0-0 heater he’s on now is his longest unbeaten spell since then.

His coach, at times, has been less than pleased with the No. 1 netminder he inherited. But to his eye, Rask is looking like a No. 1 again.

“Tuukka’s now earning, I don’t want to say [earning] the net back, because I don’t think that’s the appropriate term, but [earning] more starts,” Cassidy said. “So we’ll see how he runs with it.”

A new (fast) start

Boston has busted the troubling trend of slow starts. Before scoring first against Buffalo on Saturday (Chris Wagner), the Bruins had a four-game stretch in which the other team struck before them. Before a four-game run last month (Montreal-Anaheim-Nashville-Carolina) when they were scoring first (3-1-0), the Bruins stumbled through another four-game run in which the opponent punched first (1-3-0). “We’re establishing roles, getting chemistry,” Patrice Bergeron said before Tuesday’s puck drop. “Our starts have been an issue a few times, and we’ve worked on that.” . . . The club’s most recent winning streak of five or more: a six-gamer from last Feb. 27-March 10, when they ran up an aggregate 30-19 score, mostly without Bergeron (broken foot) and Charlie McAvoy (knee sprain). They had Rick Nash and Jake DeBrusk on David Krejci’s wings, and Riley Nash playing well as the No. 3 center. They scored 10 times on the 1103584 Boston Bruins valve. The defenseman set up Bergeron for a point shot that caromed off the end boards.

Marchand, battling in front, turned to chase it. But the star winger, whose Tuukka Rask sharp as Bruins win fifth in a row reactions are quicker than most, hit the brakes, turned and flicked the rebound home at 11:29.

By Matt Porter After Staal tripped Rask on his next shift, turning a Wild power play into a 4 on 4, the Bruins struck once they went on the man-up. Jake DeBrusk scored the greasiest goal of his young career at 19:15 of the first.

Rested and ready, the Bruins won their fifth in a row Tuesday night, Bergeron threw the puck on net from the right point, and DeBrusk, rolling through a visiting Minnesota club that didn’t have much in the tank. standing at the right side of the cage, saw it coming in toward his chest. A 4-0 dispatching of the Wild at TD Garden was one of Boston’s more Not wanting to hit it with a high stick, he let it bounce above the Spoked- straightforward wins of the season. B on his chest and past a puzzled Stalock.

Boston (25-14-4), which had two days off, enjoyed watching the Wild “I didn’t know how to react,” DeBrusk said. “Usually I have pretty good squeeze off a 1-0 victory in Montreal the night before, and felt for them celebrations.” when they reportedly landed in Boston at 3 a.m. The Bruins welcomed them by pumping three first-period goals past Minnesota backup Alex The Marchand-Bergeron connection struck for a PPG in the second, Stalock and added a fourth 6:24 into the second period, making sure when Marchand circled high in the offensive zone and skipped it off his Minnesota (21-18-3) stayed on the mat for a 60-minute snooze. centerman’s skate. Bergeron redirected the puck from the slot without a kicking motion at 6:24. It gave him a 5-7—12 line in eight games since Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledged it was a “tough one for missing 16 games because of a rib injury. Minny,” which had played four road games in a six-day span, and six of its previous eight away from the Twin Cities. “We’ve been on the other It was a snoozer from there. The Wild outshot Boston, 12-5, in the side of it.” second period, but they finished with 24 shots.

Cassidy’s club, to its credit, didn’t let up. Washington, the defending Stanley Cup champion, beat Philadelphia at home Tuesday and comes to Boston on Thursday, ready to deliver a Three-point nights by Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand (1-2—3 wake-up call. each), two assists each from defensemen John Moore and Torey Krug, and Danton Heinen’s first goal in four weeks were more than enough to Boston Globe LOADED: 01.09.2019 give Tuukka Rask (24 saves) his first shutout of the season. The Bruins were blocking shots until the end.

The most recent sports headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.

“He was under control all night. I thought we did a good job keeping everything clear, for the most part,” Cassidy said. “He was just clean, like the group in front of him.”

Rask has had busier nights. His teammates played in Minnesota’s zone for much of the contest, but midway through the first, Wild center Eric Staal got behind the defensive pair of Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller and broke in. Miller muscled him off, and Rask gloved a backhand bid. That was Minnesota’s best chance until midway through the second, when Rask looked behind him after getting his pads on a tipped shot.

“Past couple weeks, we’re playing tight as a unit. Defending and attacking. We’re smart,” said Rask, who earned his first shutout since last March 17 against Tampa. “The past few games, we’ve been funneling pucks to the net more with some traffic, and today it paid off big time. That’s a great sign. That’s how you’ve got to play come springtime.”

Rask, who has saved 119 of 124 shots in his last four games (4-0-0), earned his 42nd career shutout and 250th win.

It was a cross-conference game without much fussing and no fighting, though Chris Wagner and his tone-setting linemates got in a few hits early, and for Minnesota, 6-foot-6-inch Boston University product Jordan Greenway was ready to run into anyone he saw. A few bumps the rest of the way, but nothing that raised the hair on anyone’s neck.

The Wild power play, missing injured defenseman Matt Dumba (out until March), entered the game in a 1-for-20 funk. They extended that by going 0 for 3, failing to register a shot on the man-advantage.

Boston, which outshot Minnesota, 15-6, in the first period, killed a pair of penalties and scored a power-play goal in the first 20 minutes. By the end of the night, they were 2 for 2 on the PP and 3 for 3 on the penalty kill, extending a PK streak to 15 of 15.

The Bruins scored three times in the first period by activating their back end. Grzelcyk had a couple quality rushes, showing his considerable speed, and the Moore-Krug tandem was dangerous all evening.

After a D-to-D pass from Krug, Moore served up a flat disk for Heinen to tip home at 5:23 of the first. Heinen’s fifth goal of the year was his first since Dec. 11.

They made it 2-0 six minutes later, when a pinching Moore took the puck and the body along the wall. Bergeron, adding a layer of forechecking support, moved to the middle of the blue line and offered Moore a safety 1103585 Boston Bruins ■ Charlie McAvoy (foot) skated before the optional morning skate. He is likely to practice Wednesday, and if he takes live contact in that practice, he could play Thursday against the Capitals at TD Garden.

Tuukka Rask will be in net as the Bruins go for their fifth win in a row ■ Defenseman Steven Kampfer sits for the sixth game in a row. He, PTO Emeritus Lee Stempniak, and Cave did extended work on the Warrior sheet with skating coach Kim Brandvold and backup goalie Jaro By Matt Porter Halak.

The lineup

The Bruins (24-14-4), hunting a fifth consecutive win, host the middling Forward lines Minnesota Wild (21-17-3) at TD Garden on Tuesday. What to know before a 7 p.m. puck drop: Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak

The hot hand Jake DeBrusk-David Krejci-David Backes

Boston’s starter in goal is Tuukka Rask, who has won three times in this Sean Kuraly-Noel Acciari-Chris Wagner four-game streak. He has stopped 93 of 98 shots. Rask, typically sharper Ryan Donato-Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson-Danton Heinen in second halves, put together streaks last year of 17-0-2 (Dec. 7-Feb. 6) and 10-0-1 (Feb. 27-March 31). Defense pairs

Minnesota holds the West’s second wild-card spot. Bruce Boudreau’s Zdeno Chara-Brandon Carlo club won, 1-0, in Montreal Monday, the result of a Habs turnover and a Mikael Granlund goal in the third period. Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves Torey Krug-John Moore for the shutout, and will likely be wearing a ballcap at TD Garden as Matt Grzelcyk-Kevan Miller backup Alex Stalock gets the start. Goal Man up Tuukka Rask Minnesota’s struggling power play went 0 for 3 at Montreal, and could find it tough against a Bruins penalty kill that is humming along. Jaro Halak

Since going 4 for 4 on the power play against Montreal Dec. 11, Studnicka on the move Minnesota is 1 for 20. Boston had a run from Nov. 23 through Dec. 4 in Bruins prospect Jack Studnicka is a Niagara Ice Dog. Studnicka, which it allowed five power-play goals in 19 PK situations, but has returned to OHL Oshawa after he was cut from Bruins camp, was dealt climbed out of that hole. Beginning Dec. 6, it has killed 34 of 38, and has from that club to Niagara, along with Vancouver blue line prospect Matt not surrendered a man-up goal in its last 12 chances. Brassard, in exchange for Lleyton Moore and six draft picks (three The most recent sports headlines delivered to your inbox every morning. upcoming second-rounders, three third-rounders).

Searching for 60 Studnicka, who posted a 1-3—4 line for Canada in five World Junior Championship games, was at 12-22—34 in 30 games for Oshawa, his Bruce Cassidy’s club has won four in a row for the first time since Oct. 4- second year as captain. 13. Is he happy with the way they’re playing? “In Jack, we are adding the most complete player in the OHL,” Niagara “For the most part,” he said, pointing to a 6-4 win over Calgary last general manager Joey Burke said in a press release, of the Bruins’ 2017 Thursday that was “sloppy all around. We beat a good team, but it wasn’t second-rounder (53rd overall). ideal for a coach. Guys getting behind us, puck management, giving up a shorty early.” “[He] does absolutely everything at an elite level — be it with or away from the puck, he is an every-situation player, and a guy who I genuinely Against Chicago in the Winter Classic, the Bruins sagged in the second believe you can win a championship with. period. “He is a player who will excel when the grind of playoff hockey kicks in, The closest the Bruins have come to stringing together 60-minute games: and off the ice is as high-character as they come.” the pre-Christmas run against Montreal, Anaheim, and Nashville (aggregate score: 12-3). Studnicka thanked Oshawa on social media, calling the Generals a first- class organization. “It takes time,” Cassidy said. “We’re still working through it, like a lot of teams. But the object is to win, and we’re doing that.” Boston Globe LOADED: 01.09.2019

Chara in control

Zdeno Chara, now six games back after his five-week knee injury, is getting closer to where he was. He’s still regaining his timing with the puck, on retrievals, in tight areas, with enemy forecheckers bearing down.

But he sure looked good against Calgary, when he threw the puck behind his back, off the boards, to keep possession below the offensive goal line. Cassidy hadn’t seen a big man do that before coaching Big Z.

“He’ll do it every once in a while,” Cassidy said of Chara’s activation. “Last year he had a couple forays into the offensive zone. It’s fun to watch when they work, and they generally do.

“He’s not up there all the time. He’s pretty smart about when to. He doesn’t want to turn over a puck 200 feet from his net. That’s a long way to recover.”

Lineup the same

■ Cassidy said he will keep the same lines and pairs for the second game in a row, which means David Backes on the second line, and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson centering the de facto fourth line in place of fellow rookie Colby Cave. 1103586 Boston Bruins teammates made sure that happened, jumping in front of pucks in the waning minutes to ensure the shutout, which was also Rask’s 250th career victory.

Bruins blank Wild for fifth straight win “Yeah, 250 wins,” he mused with a grin, adding “250 more to go, I guess.”

By STEVE CONROY When you’re hot, you’re hot

Boston Herald LOADED: 01.09.2019

The NHL schedule-makers giveth and taketh away during an 82-game slate. Last night, it was the Bruins’ turn to be handed a tailwind and they didn’t fight it, using the friendly breeze at their backs to sail to a 4-0 victory over the legless Minnesota Wild at the Garden.

Give the B’s credit. They saw their opening and they took it, popping home three goals in the first period and cruising to the two points.

Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand notched a goal and two assists each and Tuukka Rask recorded his fourth straight win and first shutout since last March 17 in Tampa.

The B’s caught the Wild on the second half of a back-to-back, backup goalie Alex Stalock was between the pipes and they were coming off a tough 1-0 win in Montreal after which they arrived at their Boston hotel at 3 a.m. With those advantageous conditions, the B’s stretched their win streak to a season-high five with the drama-free victory. By game’s end, the Garden was more than half-empty and coach Bruce Cassidy had pretty much given his top line the third period off.

“The guys are aware of the schedule. That was a tough one for Minny. We’ve been on the other side of it at times where you’re going from city to city, play a tough game the night before,” said Cassidy. “We got some breaks in front of the net but I think we earned them. We got to the front of the net. They’re a defensive slot-coverage team, very good there, so you have to get to the top of the crease. A few went our way, but by the same token, we were able to get there and get pucks there.”

While Cassidy said he’s leaning toward giving Jaroslav Halak the start tomorrow against the Capitals, Rask (24 saves) appears to be settling into the groove he found this time last year when he went 21 starts without a regulation loss (19-0-2).

“We’ve played a great game. I think our team defense the last few games has been very good and I think it shows on the scoreboard and with the two points,” Rask said. “The last two games, I don’t think there have been too many odd-man rushes at all. They’ve eliminated the offense of the opposing team very well and then we’ve been rewarded at the other end, so that’s a good sign.”

Danton Heinen got the B’s on the board at 5:23 while snapping an 11- game goal-less streak. With his back to Stalock, he made a nice redirection of a John Moore (two assists) shot, notching his fifth of the season.

Then the first line got in on the action. Operating at the middle of the blue line, Bergeron whipped what looked like an intentionally wide shot/pass that hit the end boards and bounced out front. Marchand made a great effort to twist his body so he could catch the puck on his forehand, then was able to pop it past Stalock at 11:29 for his 16th goal and fourth in as many games.

The B’s made it 3-0 on a late power play when it appeared Bergeron took aim at the spoked “B” on the chest of Jake DeBrusk, who was standing at the right side of the net. The puck bounced off DeBrusk and into the net for his 14th goal of the year. DeBrusk, known for his exuberant goal celebrations, could only stand there with a sheepish smile and accept the glove taps from his teammates.

“It was a weird one,” said DeBrusk. “It’s something I’ve never done before so I didn’t actually know how to react. Usually I have a pretty good celebration but at the same time it was one of those surprising things where it just goes off your chest and it ends up in the net.”

The Wild made the faintest of pushes early in the second period but, once Zach Parise was called for tripping the B’s put them to bed early.

On the power play, Marchand took the puck for a ride around the offensive zone until he banked it off Bergeron’s skate for the alternate captain’s 14th of the year and a commanding 4-0 lead at 6:24.

There was still over a half-hour of hockey to play, but the only point of interest left was whether Rask would nail down the clean sheet. His 1103587 Boston Bruins

Surging John Moore makes B’s lineup choices even tougher

By MARISA INGEMI

With Charlie McAvoy’s impending return, the Bruins have a difficult decision to make on the blue line. But given all of the team’s defensemen have missed games at various points this season (12 have been used so far), it should be grateful to be in this healthy position.

Essentially, it’s a good problem to have.

For the defenseman who gets left out, however, it’s not a good problem.

Likely, that decision will be between John Moore and Matt Grzelcyk. Moore made a strong effort to help his cause Tuesday night, recording two assists in a 4-0 shutout of the Wild, his first multi-point effort of the season.

“Coming to a new team with a new structure and new teammates, I think it takes a little while. It took a little longer than I hoped,” Moore said. “I think I’m developing a lot of chemistry with Torey (Krug) and getting a good feel for it on the ice.”

McAvoy likely will return Thursday against the Capitals or Saturday in Toronto, He has steadily progressed from a lower-body injury suffered Dec. 23 in Carolina while blocking a shot.

Grzelcyk got a chance early in the season while Krug was injured, and aside from his own health issues during the course of the season, he’s been a constant in the lineup. In the past couple of weeks, he’s earned time on the penalty kill as well.

A couple hiccups the past few games, however, paired with Moore’s recent strong performances have made it a closer call.

“There were some adjustments for him,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He was more of a man-to-man player in (New) Jersey with more layers. Certainly there’s times we want him to use his foot speed to close, and we’ll give him the freedom to do that. But there’s also times there’s reads to make and pass people off, especially around the net. That was a bit of an adjustment period for him early on.”

Part of Moore’s resurgence comes from playing with Krug. Moore is a strong skater and has no issue moving the puck up the ice, but with a true puck-mover like Krug, it makes the job a bit simpler.

“I think he and Torey have a good partnership,” Cassidy said. “(Moore is) on the off side and they seem to have partnered well…. That’s important, that you feel comfortable with your partner. The time in the system has helped him. Tonight he was more active on the blue line, getting his shot through. It doesn’t have to be a bullet, but if you get it through the first layer around the front of the net, you get rewarded if you do that on a regular basis.”

Moore’s two assists were his third points in the past three games, and fourth in his past six after he went eight straight without finding the score sheet. That reflects his latest allegiance with Krug.

Once McAvoy is back, the entire defensive unit changes. He could play back with Zdeno Chara, which leaves Brandon Carlo to go play with Krug, a previously successful partnership.

Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller have also shown flashes, so it’s going to be difficult, regardless.

If Moore is the odd man out, at the least he’s making it a bit harder to take him off the ice.

Boston Herald LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103588 Boston Bruins we’ll get, the more chemistry we’ll get and hopefully it will continue to grow.”

The line put the B’s on their way against the Wild, with Heinen scoring Bruins notebook: Zdeno Chara looks like his old self the first goal of the game on a pretty redirection.

Hands-on approach

By STEVE CONROY John Moore is usually the first one on the ice for practice and morning skates and brings a stick with a shortened blade along to help him with his puck skills. The first couple of games back for Zdeno Chara were a little tough to watch as the big man struggled to catch up to the speed of the game. But “In the summers, I do it with the guys I skate with. It’s like a warm-up for it looks like he’s getting close to full speed. our hands and the smaller blade forces you to be really active with your upper body,” Moore said. “I don’t think I was blessed with hands like His 21:32 of ice time against the Sabres on Saturday was the most he’d (David Pastrnak) or some of these guys, so it’s something I try and work seen in the five games since his return after missing nearly six weeks on every day.” . . . with an MCL injury. He even made a nice dangle deep in the offensive zone, playing the puck off he boards to himself before setting up Chris Charlie McAvoy (foot), who last played in December 23 in Carolina, Wagner for a good scoring opportunity. He added to the workload in skated prior to the team’s optional morning skateTuesday and Cassidy Tuesday’s 4-0 win against the Wild with 22:35 of icetime. said he expects the defenseman to join the team’s practice on Wednesday. “Some games you feel good and you may not play well as a team and everyone kind of looks out of sync. I felt the last game, we played better. Center Jack Studnicka, one of the B’s top junior prospects, was traded Calgary, we gave up a lot of breakaways and a lot of odd number from Oshawa to Niagara of the Ontario Hockey League. situations,” Chara said. “Those first few games, for sure, you’re looking Boston Herald LOADED: 01.09.2019 for the timing. It’s like I’ve said many times, it’s hard to practice on your own. You can be well conditioned, you can be strong, you can feel good. But just the timing and reaction aspect of the game, that’s what you lose the most, for myself, being out six weeks. But as the games went on, the Winter Classic, then Calgary and Buffalo, I felt fine.”

Coach Bruce Cassidy is pleased with the captain’s progress but still thinks he’s got a little ways to go before getting back to where he was before the injury occurred in November. And what Chara may be missing now can only be bolstered by repetitions in game play.

“He’s getting closer. I think just the timing of making plays on pucks, going back on pucks, tight area plays with pucks, they’re hard to replicate in practice,” Cassidy said. “No one’s getting under you as hard as they would in a game or finishing you as hard so I think that’s the biggest area of adjustment. The speed of the game in practice, guys coming down on you one-on-one, 2-on-2, all that stuff. But puck battles are the toughest thing, so each game will make him that much better.”

As for being 100 percent, well, there’s no such thing at this time of year.

“I don’t think many of guys are 100 percent right now. Maybe if you ask after the bye week, those nine days, but I think everybody plays with some aches or discomfort,” Chara said.

He may not be 100 percent, but the move in the offensive zone was pretty impressive for a 41-year-old who stands 6-foot-9 and weighs 265 pounds. Like everybody else, Cassidy got a kick out of it.

“He’ll do it every once in a while. I remember last year he had a couple of forays into the offensive zone and, hey, it’s fun to watch when they work, and they generally do,” the coach said. “He’s not up there all the time. He’s pretty smart about when to do it. He doesn’t want to turn over the puck 200 feet from his net, that’s a long way to recover, so it’s pretty good with figuring out what he can get away with.”

Kids stick together

The Underclassmen Line of Ryan Donato, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Danton Heinen earned another look against the Wild and with one more home game coming up against the Capitals tomorrow, the group could have a chance to grow together a bit. The line didn’t score against Buffalo but had some good shifts and produced a couple of legitimate scoring chances. Donato had five shots on net.

“I think we earned (another opportunity),” Donato said. “We’re getting chances. It’s just a matter of time before they start going. You can only hit so many posts, you can only have so many highlight reel saves made on you, so I think once they start going in, they’ll come often.”

The three played several games together in mid-December and demonstrated a comfort level with each other.

“I think we always had it. You have chemistry with certain guys and I think us three together, it’s nice to have that,” Donato said. “I think we know each other’s tendencies, we’re all younger guys, we all played college hockey, we know each other’s styles. We know where we are on the ice and I think the more that we play together, the more comfortable 1103589 Boston Bruins weaknesses that the team persevered through in the first half of the season.

There wasn’t much of the extraordinary going on with the Bruins Things are coming together for the B's in five game win streak dispatching a tired Wild group on Tuesday night, but the five game winning streak wrapped around the Winter Classic has been pretty impressive for Boston. Now it’s a matter of continuing to build on a great By Joe Haggerty January 09, 2019 12:44 AM start to the second half of the season, and seeing just how deeply the Bruins can take a group that’s just now figuring out how to win after

paying all kinds of dues in the first half of the season. BOSTON -- The Bruins are finally starting to resemble the team Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 everybody knew they could be at the beginning of the season.

Finally armed with an NHL roster that’s close to full health and a team that can now focus on consistent line combinations and defensemen pairings, the Bruins have won five games in a row after efficiently dispatching the Minnesota Wild, 4-0, at TD Garden on Tuesday night. The shutout win over the Wild was arguably the easiest one over the five- game winning stretch, with the B’s taking advantage of a Minnesota outfit that was fatigued after playing in Montreal on Monday night.

But give credit where it’s due: The Bruins scored three goals in the first period to completely take the starch out of the Wild, and then locked down the defensive clamps by allowing only a couple of good scoring chances over the entire 60-minute game. It’s about par for the course for the Black and Gold over the last few games, as the B’s have scored 19 goals in five games (3.8 goals per game) and allowed just nine goals over that same time span.

It’s the kind of two-way hockey that certainly will lead to winning streaks now, and the Bruins hope fill be a team identity formula for playoff success come April, May and June.

“[The] past couple weeks -- it’s not about trading chances, you know. I think we’re just playing tight as a unit, you know? Like defending and then attacking smart and the past few games I think we’ve been funneling pucks to the net more with some traffic, and today especially it paid off big time,” said Tuukka Rask. “That’s a great sign because that’s how you’ve got to play come the springtime.

“The time and space is going to be limited and there’s not going to be shootouts going both ways, so you have to be resilient with the puck and kind of get traffic in front of that net and fight for those goals. So, that’s a great sign that we can do that.”

BRUINS 4, WILD 0

Talking Points: Plenty of high marks all around

Highlights from Bruins' 4-0 win

So what’s the reason for all of this sudden success for a team that was scraping out wins in one-goal games just a month ago?

Clearly it’s the return to health of nearly the entire roster, with Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron back healthy after missing significant time, along with other important pieces like Kevan Miller, Jake DeBrusk and Brandon Carlo. The continuity is allowing Bruce Cassidy to develop consistent forward trios and D-pairs, and give those players time to work on their chemistry and ability to generate offense. It’s also giving the B’s a chance to craft a team identity based on the Perfection Line, arguably the NHL’s best goaltending tandem, a vital second-line piece in Jake DeBrusk (who scored his 14th goal of the season Tuesday) and a fourth line of Noel Acciari, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner that’s really coming into their own.

MORE BRUINS COVERAGE

Hagg Bag: Still looking for ways to improve Bruins' roster

“A big part of [the winning streak] is that we don’t need to change our lines around a lot. When you’re able to play with a group for an extended period of time you get that chemistry that we have kind of been looking for,” said Brad Marchand, who scored a goal and had three points in the win over Minnesota. “It’s a lot easier to be confident in your game and kind of read off of one another. Yeah, a big part of it is having our group back so hopefully we can stay healthy for a while.”

Slap a strong and diversified D-men corps together with those pieces, and the Bruins have themselves a winning hockey games with the tacit knowledge that the hockey club will get better ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Now it’s quite frankly about adding to the group that’s powered up for a five game Bruins winning streak and addressing some of the 1103590 Boston Bruins

Talking points from Bruins' 4-0 win over Wild

By Joe Haggerty January 08, 2019 11:11 PM

Here are my talking points from a dominant night for the Bruins at TD Garden:

GOLD STAR: Patrice Bergeron only played 12:13 of ice time in Tuesday night’s win over the Wild, but still managed to pile up a goal, three points and six shot attempts while winning 8-of-16 face-offs. Bergeron scored his goal in the second period, but he was at his best in the first when he fired a couple of long range shots that turned into goals for Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk. The Marchand goal was a Bergeron blast from the high point that bounced off the end boards, and No. 63 make a great play to cut back to the net and somehow get a shot off while changing direction on the fly. The DeBrusk goal was a Bergeron shot from just inside the blue line that bounced off the second-year winger’s chest and then ended up in the net. After making a few plays in the first, Bergeron and the Bruins were on cruise control for the rest of the game.

BLACK EYE: If Charlie Coyle is trying to audition for the Bruins, he’s not exactly lighting it up for Bruins management. A shot on net, a minus-1 and 5-of-12 in the face-off circle in 15:32 of ice time for the Weymouth hockey star, who has been mentioned pretty prominently on the trade block over the last few months. He’s a pretty good player, but nights like tonight seem a little too commonplace with the B’s in need of somebody that can come in and be a difference-maker. Maybe they end up with each other in the end because it makes the most sense of any deals out there, but I really think the B’s should be setting their sights a little higher.

TURNING POINT: It was the Bruins jumping on the board less than six minutes into the first period with Danton Heinen redirecting a John Moore point blast. The goal got the Bruins going while watching the struggling Heinen win a battle in front of the net, and it also deflated and disheartened a Wild bunch that was already looking for a reason to quit after playing in Montreal on Monday night. The Bruins followed with two more goals in a first period where they outshot the Wild 15-6 and that was pretty much it for a Minnesota team that looked like they wanted to hop on the jet and go home. Credit the B’s for sweeping the leg early and keeping the Wild from doing pretty much anything.

BRUINS 4, WILD 0

Highlights from Bruins' shutout of Minnesota

HONORABLE MENTION: Give it to Tuukka Rask for the 24-save shutout where he really wasn’t tested at all aside from an Eric Staal partial breakaway in the first period that he effectively snuffed out with his glove hand. It was the 42nd shutout of Rask’s career and the 250th victory of his career as well, as an otherwise nondescript victory over Minnesota in a Tuesday night in January will end up holding plenty of significance for the Bruins goaltender. Rask’s save percentage on the season is now all the way up to .920 and he’s once again going through a dominant stretch in the middle of the season. It will be interesting to see if he can keep this going a few months from now, but for now the B’s will gladly ride it while playing good defense in front of him.

BY THE NUMBERS: 1 – the first Bruins shutout of the Wild in 23 games between the two NHL franchises. Nashville and Vegas remain the only two teams that the Bruins have never shut out in their franchise history.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “The past couple weeks -- it’s not about trading chances, you know. I think we’re just playing tight as a unit. Like defending and then attacking smart and the past few games I think we’ve been funneling pucks to the net more with some traffic, and today especially it paid off big time. That’s a great sign because that’s how you’ve got to play come the springtime.” –Tuukka Rask, on the play of the B’s over the last few weeks amidst a five-game win streak.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103591 Boston Bruins Elite escape tactics.@Bmarch63 | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/WYnB1f1gvM

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 9, 2019 Highlights from Bruins' 4-0 win over Wild HEINEN GETS THE TIP-IN

No. 5 ⃣ for 43.@DHeinz43 | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/mwhmtkmeqw By NBC Sports Boston Staff January 08, 2019 9:19 PM — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 9, 2019

UP NEXT FINAL SCORE: Bruins 4, Wild 0 THURSDAY: vs. Washington, 7 p.m. (NESN) FROM HAGGERTY SATURDAY: at Toronto, 7 p.m. (NESN) If Charlie Coyle is trying to audition for the Bruins, he’s not exactly lighting it up for Bruins management. A shot on net, a minus-1 and 5-of- MONDAY: vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network) 12 in the face-off circle in 15:32 of ice time for the pride of Weymouth, who has been mentioned pretty prominently on the trade block over the Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 last few months. He’s a pretty good player, but nights like tonight seem a little too commonplace to fit the B’s, who are in need of somebody that can come in and be a difference-maker. Maybe they end up with each other in the end because it makes the most sense of any deals out there, but I really think the B’s should be setting their sights a little higher.

A goal, three points and six shot attempts for Patrice Bergeron, who also had a total of 12:14 of ice time in what certainly looked like a clear attempt to rest the franchise center a little bit given how much he’s played since coming back from injury. These are the benefits of a four- goal cushion very early in a game and the best way to get some rest for a workhorse player like Bergeron, who has been going at it pretty hard for the Black and Gold since coming from an injury.

It was just a full-out team effort for the Bruins in jumping out to a four- goal lead and outshooting the Wild 20-18 through the first two periods. Four forwards from three different lines scored goals, the B’s power play got it going toward the end of the first period, and the active defense was making things happen in a couple of the cases. All four goals were also scored by forwards going to the front of the net and it really feels like the B’s offense is operating at close to full efficiency right now. Credit the forwards for doing the dirty work, and the defensemen for activating and pushing, so that the pressure has been squarely on a Minnesota club with no skating legs tonight.

Bruins defenseman John Moore notched a pair of assists on each of the first two Bruins goals, which gives him his first multi-point effort in a B’s uniform. Moore has never been a huge points guy, but if he can push the offense a little bit and step up in certain situations, it could go a long way toward making the B’s even more dangerous as an offensive group. Once even the stay-at-home guys are stepping up to pinch and become extra attackers, the Bruins really could punish opponents with long possessions in the offensive zone.

Just 4:59 of ice time for Ryan Donato through two periods, as the kid line of Danton Heinen, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Donato hasn’t played much in this game despite a commanding lead for the Minnesota Wild. At least JFK and Heinen have played a couple more shifts with some special teams work thrown in there for good measure. As it is Donato doesn’t have a shot on net and really has once again faded to the background a little bit as a potential offensive force at the NHL level.

BOX SCORE

BRUINS RECORD: 25-14-4 (54 points), 3rd in Atlantic Division

BERGY’S DEFLECTION MAKES IT 4-0

Sometimes the bounces just go your way.#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/PMwQUBTUxm

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 9, 2019

LET DEBRUSK GET SOMETHING OFF HIS CHEST . . .

.@JDebrusk bringing new meaning to the term "logo snipe"#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/23ggAJBW4m

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 9, 2019

"Did I do that?"@JDebrusk | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/Ct4SY3Ju6h

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 9, 2019

MARCHAND MAKES IT 2-0 1103592 Boston Bruins

Bruins in a winning streak but 'not satisfied with what's been happening'

By Joe Haggerty January 08, 2019 3:45 PM

BRIGHTON, Mass. -- The Bruins have, for the most part, gotten healthy over the last few weeks. And, not so coincidentally, they're once again winning and climbing up the standings.

Sure, Charlie McAvoy is still out (though he may be close to a return) and Joakim Nordstrom will be sidelined for at least a few more weeks. But the rest of the roster is pretty much healthy and playing, and as a result the B's have won four in a row and seven of their last nine, including their come-from-behind victory at the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.

The Bruins are scoring again, too. They've averaged 3.75 goals per game during the four-game winning streak and 3.55 in the nine-game stretch, which started with a 4-0 shellacking of the Canadiens in Montreal on Dec. 17.

Right now the B's have sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Division behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs and are tied for fourth overall in Eastern Conference. They're only four points behind the Leafs with a trip to Toronto set for this weekend.

Clearly it’s a time when the Bruins need to accumulate points and enjoy some success while the going is good. But it’s also a period where they don’t want to get too ahead of themselves.

“[We've] obviously been going well,” said Patrice Bergeron, but he added, “it’s about improving, just keep getting better and meeting the goals that we’re setting for ourselves as a team, whether that is defensively or offensively.

“We just need to keep chipping away at that. We are going good, but there are obviously some areas where we can be even better. Having the guys back [healthy] gives some stability to our lines and our D-pairings and whatnot, and it helps guys get established with their roles and gaining some chemistry with their linemates. That being said, I think our focus has been playing better and keeping improving, and I think we’re doing that. We’re not satisfied with what’s been happening.”

It’s probably not a very good idea to get satisfied in the middle of the regular season for a team still fighting its way upward in the playoff standings, so that’s a good attitude to hold. Now it’s a matter of proving it on Tuesday night against a non-conference opponent (the Minnesota Wild) that’s given them a lot of problems at home over the years.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103593 Boston Bruins

Bruins' Charlie McAvoy appears close to return

By Joe Haggerty January 08, 2019 1:42 PM

BRIGHTON -- Charlie McAvoy skated on his own for the second day in a row ahead of Bruins practice and continues to be on track for an imminent return from a foot injury suffered blocking a shot in the final game before the Christmas break.

The second-year defenseman will have to get through a full practice with the team before a timetable for a potential return can be determined, but the B's practice on Wednesday and it's possible McAvoy could be back as soon as later this week. It's progress for a player who’s already missed 25 games this season due to injuries.

The Tuesday pre-practice skate was a fairly rigorous one and it looked like McAvoy was certainly feeling better, so that's all good news.

“Our next practice [on Wednesday] would be a pretty good determiner because then the contact comes in," said coach Bruce Cassidy. "And then you’re a little more alive [in game conditions] than in a pregame skate."

Tuukka Rask will be the starting goaltender against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, and it looked like Colby Cave and Steve Kampfer will once again be the healthy scratches up front.

Here are the B’s projected line combos and D-pairings based on Monday’s practice and Tuesday’s optional morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak

DeBrusk-Krejci-Backes

Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner

Heinen-JFK-Donato

-----

Chara-Carlo

Grzelcyk-Miller

Krug-Moore

----

Rask

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103594 Boston Bruins

Making of a Logo: The Bruins Bring Back the Bear

By NBC Sports Boston Video January 08, 2019

A logo choice can tie the past to the present. In 1976 the Bruins bring the bear back to their sweaters, this time in an accent role.

A Bruin head is featured on the yoke, with the dawn of another great Boston defenseman on the horizon. In 1979 Ray Bourque is picked 8th by the Bruins. He goes on to win five Norris Trophies.

But Bourque begins his career donning the number of another franchise great, Phil Esposito. It’s not until the day of Espo’s number retirement ceremony that a plan is hatched.

Bourque skates to center ice and removes his sweater, revealing his new number: 77.

He tells Esposito: “This should’ve never been anybody’s but yours.” In this moment, with the Bruin looking on from his shoulder, Ray Bourque makes a connection with a legend of the past.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103595 Buffalo Sabres back to that, I'm just not going to be very good at my job. So I don't really look at it like that too much

"You still want to be elite. You want to do things to produce and play at a Mike Harrington: Okposo's tough nights continue high level so you have to find ways to actively push for that. Otherwise, you're going to stay stagnant and you're just not going to score."

Mike Harrington | Published Tue, Jan 8, 2019 Okposo's ice-time and shot numbers are up the last five games. He's had 11 shots on goal and twice cracked 14 minutes after playing just 10:08 and 10:53, respectively, the last two games before Christmas.

The Sabres scored five goals Tuesday night without Jack Eichel in the "As long as I'm in this league, I still feel I can play at a high level and you lineup. Kyle Okposo didn't have any. It's been that way most of the can never be satisfied with what you're doing," he said. "My numbers are season. down and my ice time was down for quite a while. That's never easy but you just have to expect more of yourself. Your mentality has to be about Okposo was far from a zero on this night, however. He started the game making them put you on the ice." with Johan Larsson and C.J. Smith, dominated three New Jersey players in the neutral zone on the night's first shift to get the puck headed toward "He's a professional," Larsson said. "Sometimes it goes against you. He's the offensive end and Smith nearly potted his first NHL goal. Okposo sticking with it. He's contributing and he's a good leader." later assisted when Smith did, in fact, get that goal early in the second period. Coach Phil Housley has said ad nauseum his team needs to get to the net more. Okposo is one of those guys he's referring to. At 6 feet and 220 "We talked about what kind of line we are," Larsson said after the 5-1 pounds, it should be a requisite part of his game. But Okposo has been victory that bedeviled New Jersey. "We've got to be heavy on pucks and on the outside far too much. that's how we're going to create chances. We may not get too much on the rush. It will be more grind and win battles and he did a real good job You wonder where this is headed. There's four more years of this of that tonight." contract. Four more. The Sabres aren't going to buy it out because that would land Okposo on their cap until 2027. Even if Buffalo kept half the Coaches and teammates notice that kind of play. The scoresheet does money, what team would trade for him right now? not. You get limited savings on the cap by sending Okposo to the minors and With that in mind, here's where Okposo stands while playing in all 43 the Sabres would not do that because they would a) not embarass one of games: He has six goals and 11 assists for 17 points, with three goals at their alternate captains or b) take up any ice time from the Amerks. even strength and three on the power play. He has a minus-six rating and a 47.8 Corsi rating. He has one goal in his last 25 games, one goal Through 18 games, Okposo had five goals and five assists. Then and one assist in his last 18 games, and two goals in his last 29 games. everything just plain stopped. He's not scoring, nor is he setting up anything. Now a brief pause for the fairness doctrines: Okposo's 77.3 Corsi rating Tuesday night was his best game of the season, as he was on the ice for "The puck has been dying on my stick too many times as far as offense 17 shots for and only five against. And his plus-minus is hugely improved goes," he said. "I have to be aggressive, get it moving and make that from last year's hideous minus-34 that was the worst in the NHL among play, no matter what it is. I want to score. I'm trying to get to the net and forwards. find ways. It feels like I haven't been there enough.

But those offensive figures? Those are not pretty for anybody. And when "You have to keep shooting, have to go volume with it. You have to trust you're talking about a guy who has a seven-year, $42-million free agent it's going to go in. Opportunities present themselves when you go contract, they're hard to fathom. volume."

Okposo knows that, too. He's not hiding from anything. Barring an epic The Sabres are in a bad spot. Okposo is in a worse one. There's still time hot streak, he's not scoring 25 or 30 goals this year. The way he's going for him to get things rolling. But his clock is ticking. right now, he's going to be lucky to get to 10. Buffalo News LOADED: 01.09.2019 "If I end up with, say, eight goals this year, that would be pretty tough," he said. "I went through a stretch at the beginning of the season where I scored a few (tallying three straight games in October). I know I can do it. I haven't had very many stretches the whole year where I haven't gotten opportunities. That's a good sign but I need to keep finding different ways to do it."

He sure does. The Sabres have a very rough situation at hand here. This is an alternate captain, a respected figure in the dressing room. When former GM Tim Murray signed him on July 1, 2016, this was the consolation prize to not getting Steven Stamkos. Folks around the game blanched at seven years even more than the $6 million annual price tag for someone with three 20-goal seasons on his resume, and three others that ended at 18 or 19.

That's what you pay in free agency. The Sabres were willing to do it and Okposo was willing to leave John Tavares' side for it. So far, he's turned into Matt Moulson Lite.

Of course, there's deeper things going on. Everyone remembers the difficult summer of 2017. A concussion and reaction to medication landed Okposo in the hospital. There were months of hard days and nights. Emotional trauma. Doubts about life itself, let alone resuming a hockey career.

Okposo was enthusiastic when this season started because he got in a real summer of training after being unable to train last year. The impact has been minimal.

"It's tough to look at the numbers. I'm pretty aware. I know exactly where I am," he said. "Of course there's a bigger picture that I'm going to be more aware of than most people for sure. At the same time, if I always go 1103596 Buffalo Sabres

Council: Send parking complaints to commissioner, not us

Deidre Williams | Published Tue, Jan 8, 2019

If drivers still have concerns, complaints or are confused by Buffalo's new parking policy, Common Council members say don't call them, call the Brown administration, which originated the plan.

“This parking plan has already been confusing enough, I don’t want the public to think that they have two different groups working on this from City Hall,” said Council President Darius G. Pridgen, adding that Parking Commissioner Kevin Helfer "has committed to this Council" to talk and meet directly with people.

The Brown administration presented the parking plan last month to the Common Council, which unanimously approved it with the condition that Helfer report back to the Council by April with a review.

“If people want to talk to the person who is going to bring back to the Council in April a plan, they should go to the commissioner of parking directly, so that their concerns be heard now, so by the time it comes back to the Council in April, we will know that people are heard,” Pridgen said. Those who do call Council members with concerns will be referred to the parking department.

Once the administration comes back with any revisions in April, Pridgen said, “We then begin a process of it going to committee and people can then talk about what the commissioner has brought.”

Rather than calling his office, Helfer said emailing him at khelfer@city- buffalo.com is the “best way” to keep track of correspondences about the new plan.

“So nobody says, ‘I called you. You didn’t respond.’ I hate when that happens, but an email has an electronic (trail)," Helfer said.

But whether people call or email, he or someone on his staff will get back to people and try to address their concerns, Helfer said.

“Everybody will get an answer within 48 to 72 hours,” he said.

The city's new policy called for reduced free parking and higher rates in and around downtown. But some complained that the new policy adds parking zones where the only way to park is through the Buffalo Roam app available only on smartphones. Helfer said last Friday that the city is looking at other options “for the small percentage who do not have a smartphone.”

Following public outcry and an online petition opposing the new parking plan, Pridgen and Mayor Byron W. Brown agreed last week to return to some free parking on weeknights and Saturdays. Metered parking during those times would be in effect only for major events downtown, such as games and concerts at KeyBank Center, Canalside, Shea’s Performing Arts Center and Sahlen Field.

Those changes were adopted during Tuesday's Council meeting.

The new event parking with a $2 fee was in place from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday for the Buffalo Sabres game at KeyBank Center.

The new parking spaces are “pay by cell” only by using the Buffalo Roam app at Buffaloroamapp.com.

The city rolled out the new policy with changes for last Thursday’s Sabres game at the arena in anticipation that the Council would adopt the changes.

City officials said of the approximately 115 new on-street parking spots in and around the arena, including the Canalside area, 103 were used during Thursday’s game.

For Saturday night’s Bandits game at the arena, 115 spots were used, city officials said.

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103597 Buffalo Sabres who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player last season, missed his seventh consecutive game with a lower-body injury. New Jersey also was without center Marcus Johansson and goalie Cory The Wraparound: Sabres 5, Devils 1 Schneider.

Streak continues: Eichel and Reinhart have not missed the same regular- season game since Eichel was drafted second overall by the Sabres in Lance Lysowski | Published Tue, Jan 8, 2019 2015.

Next: The Sabres are scheduled to return to practice Wednesday in preparation for a Friday night game in Raleigh, N.C., against the Carolina The crowd's roar began with under a minute remaining in the second Hurricanes. period and did not quiet until the Buffalo Sabres left the ice for intermission Tuesday night in KeyBank Center. Buffalo News LOADED: 01.09.2019 Following an angst-filled month of inconsistent hockey, the Sabres had just erupted for five goals in the second period despite playing without Jack Eichel for a third consecutive game.

They didn't slow down in the third period, either, and held on for a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils to keep pace in the Atlantic Division.

It was the Sabres' first five-goal period since they had five in the third of a 5-1 win over Carolina in Nov. 28, 2009. With the victory, the Sabres improved to 23-14-6 with 52 points and are two wins away from matching last season's total.

Five different players scored — including defensemen Lawrence Pilut and Jake McCabe — and 14 different players recorded one point in the second period. Carter Hutton made 20 saves, and Buffalo finished with 33 shots on goal.

Jeff Skinner's 29th goal of the season tied the score early in the second period. C.J. Smith and Casey Mittelstadt also scored for Buffalo. Blake Coleman had the only goal for New Jersey, which led 1-0 after the first period and fell to 16-19-7 with the loss.

Sabres Notebook: Drew Stafford returns to Buffalo after 800-game milestone

Opening salvo: The Devils took a 1-0 lead 1:28 into the first period when Miles Wood passed to the front of the net, where Coleman directed the puck past Hutton.

Opening statement: Aside from the one-goal deficit, the Sabres played an outstanding first period. They outshot the Devils, 11-4, had 13 more shot attempts and won 16 of 23 faceoffs.

A breakthrough: The Sabres scored five second-period goals on 15 shots, including their second shorthanded goal of the season.

Milestones: Smith and Pilut each scored their first career NHL goals in the second period. Smith, playing in his fourth game since being recalled from Rochester, scored 4:14 into the period when his shot snuck below Keith Kinkaid's right arm and barely crossed the goal line. Pilut's wrist shot from the right point made it 5-1.

It was the sixth time in franchise history that two Sabres recorded their first NHL goals in the same game.

30-goal plateau: Skinner scored from below the left faceoff dot when his wrist shot went off the crossbar and in at 1:29 into the second period. Skinner is one goal away from becoming the Sabres' first 30-goal scorer since Jason Pominville in 2011-12.

Growing pains: Mittelstadt's sixth goal of the season and his second in 20 games made it 3-1 at 10:42 into the second period when he skated around Devils defenseman Damon Severson and poked his own rebound past Kinkaid.

Penalty kill: The Sabres' penalty kill improved to 41-for-45 over the past 16 games by not allowing a power-play goal against the Devils.

Lineup: Winger Remi Elie was a late scratch with Sam Reinhart able to play. Additionally, Nathan Beaulieu and Matt Hunwick were healthy scratches.

Changes: In a surprising move, coach Phil Housley moved Reinhart to the second line with Rodrigues and Conor Sheary. Skinner remained on the top line, skating with Vladimir Sobotka and Tage Thompson.

Also, Rasmus Dahlin, a left-handed defenseman, was moved back to the left side and paired with Zach Bogosian.

Injuries: Sabres winger Zemgus Girgensons returned to the lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury. Devils winger Taylor Hall, 1103598 Buffalo Sabres Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Tuesday the Sabres placed center Scott Wilson on waivers. Wilson, 26, has yet to play this season after breaking his ankle during a practice in late September.

Sabres Notebook: Drew Stafford returns to Buffalo after 800-game Wilson is unlikely to be claimed by another team since he has not played milestone a regular-season game since April and had only 14 points with a minus- 20 rating in 69 games last season.

Lance Lysowski | Published Tue, Jan 8, 2019 The Sabres want Wilson to play more than a few conditioning assignment games with Rochester, and he can join the Amerks if he goes unclaimed.

Drew Stafford admitted he was a naive rookie when the Buffalo Sabres Cincinnati Cyclones coach Matt Thomas will serve as the Western lost to the Ottawa Senators in the 2006-07 Eastern Conference Finals. Conference's coach for the ECHL All-Star Game on Monday, Jan. 21, in Toledo. He was selected because the Cyclones have the conference's Stafford, then a 21-year-old winger, had two goals among four points in highest winning percentage at .735 with a 23-7-4 record. the playoffs and thought the Sabres would reach the conference final every year. Thomas was hired in August to replace former coach Matt Macdonald, who left to become an assistant coach with the Grand Rapids Griffins of "It just doesn't work out that way and before you know it, the years go by the AHL. and you're still kind of chasing after it," Stafford, now 33, said in his New Jersey Devils practice jersey Tuesday before he faced the Sabres in The Buffalo Sabres Foundation will host its second mega raffle Sunday, KeyBank Center. Feb. 17, in the Lexus Club at KeyBank Center, featuring prizes that include autographed items, team experiences and tickets. Stafford, a first-round draft pick of the Sabres in 2004, could not help but look back on those early years over the past week. Stafford played in his Doors open at 1 p.m. with the first raffle spin at 2 p.m. Sabres alumni will 800th career NHL game Friday in Arizona and scored the shootout be on hand for the event, which will include 15 raffle rounds with three to winner for New Jersey. four spins per round and a grand finale.

Though he entered his matchup with the Sabres averaging a career-low Raffle tickets will range from $2-5 and the $25 admission cost covers ice time of 10:23 per game, Stafford, like some of his former teammates lunch. Tables of 10 can be reserved with all proceeds benefiting the in Buffalo, has been able to adapt. Buffalo Sabres Foundation. Fans can purchase tickets or reserve tables online at Sabres.com/megaraffle. "It flies by, really," Stafford, who played parts of nine seasons with Sabres, said of his milestone. "It’s one of those things where you kind of Buffalo News LOADED: 01.09.2019 take a step back and I guess reflect on a few things. It’s one of those things it reminds you how much of a privilege it is to play in the league and every day it’s an honor to be here. Try not to take it for granted because it goes by fast."

Stafford has appeared in only 18 games this season because of injury and healthy scratches. Entering Tuesday, he had scored one goal – not including the shootout winner – with two assists and a plus-3 rating in his previous four games.

His reliable play on the fourth line helped the Devils enter Tuesday with four wins in their previous six games.

When Stafford joined the Sabres from Rochester in October 2006, he was a young player thrust into a dressing room dotted with proven veterans. Now, he and two teammates on that 2006-07 Sabres team are passionate leaders on their respective teams.

Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek, who now plays for Detroit, were 24 and 23 years old, respectively, when the Sabres reached the conference final in Stafford's rookie season. Pominville and Vanek surpassed 1,000 NHL games this season and, like Stafford, are being asked to fill different roles.

Stafford has spent much of this season on the fourth line and is learning how to make an impact despite spending long stretches of the game on the bench.

"Anything you have to do to stay relevant and you have to adapt as the career goes on if you want to stay in the league, and stay with this group, because we have such a good group in here," Stafford said.

Stafford had eight goals among 15 points in 59 games to help the Devils reach the playoffs last season. His average ice time of 13:52 was his lowest since 2007-08 with the Sabres.

Stafford made three playoff appearances with the Sabres – he averaged 20:01 in seven games in 2010-11 – but has not reached the conference finals since his first season.

He was expected to skate on the fourth line with Brian Boyle and Brett Seney against the Sabres on Tuesday night. Stafford, who was traded to Winnipeg in February 2015 after three 20-goal seasons with Buffalo, is an unrestricted free agent at season's end.

Stafford does not plan to stop chasing the Cup.

"Play as long as you can – until they tell you not to play anymore," Stafford said. "That’s pretty much it. I’m grateful for the opportunity to come back here." 1103599 Buffalo Sabres goals). ... But New Jersey locks things down with the lead after two – 13- 0-3 this season and 87-0-14 since the start of the 2015-16 season. ... Both teams are strong on penalty kill, with New Jersey second in the Sabres vs. Devils: Five Things to Know league at 85.2 percent and Buffalo fifth at 83.6.

Spying a familiar name on that fourth line. https://t.co/tJS6aq0VU2

Mike Harrington — Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) January 8, 2019

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.09.2019

Without Jack Eichel and maybe without Sam Reinhart, the Buffalo Sabres host the New Jersey Devils Tuesday night in KeyBank Center.

The Sabres are 2-5-1 in their last eight games and just 5-8-4 since their 10-game winning streak ended on Nov. 29. And now Eichel's upper-body injury and Reinhart's illness has them in danger of playing a game without two of their top three scorers.

"Your mindset can't change no matter who is in your lineup," winger Kyle Okposo said today. "You're trying to win a game and to do that, we need to get more consistency back. Play a good game, play a bad game, a couple good games here or there. I don't like the way it's gone the last month or so. We're not playing bad entire games. It's a period here or there and that shows we can clean it up."

Here are Five Things to Know about tonight's game:

1. Jack isn't back but Sam is close to saying I am (ready): Eichel took the morning skate but wasn't on a line and will sit out his third straight game tonight. Coach Phil Housley said the Sabres are taking a cautious approach, and it would seem the goal for Eichel is Friday night's game in Carolina.

Reinhart said he feels better and Housley said the winger is a game-time decision. Reinhart also skated this morning and was not on a line but did do some power-play work. Zemgus Girgensons (upper body) is going to play after missing four games. Nathan Beaulieu and Matt Hunwick will be healthy scratches.

Sabres' Jack Eichel out, Sam Reinhart game-time decision vs. Devils

Defensive pairings different from Boston, too:

Pilut-Ristolainen

Scandella-McCabe

Dahlin-Bogosian

— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) January 8, 2019

2. Bedeviled by New Jersey: Much like the Florida Panthers, this is another opponent that has given the Sabres major trouble in recent seasons. The Sabres are just 2-8-2 against the Devils in their last 12 meetings – and 0-5-1 in the last six at home. The last Buffalo win in KeyBank Center was a 3-2 shootout decision on April 1, 2014. New Jersey has scored 18 goals in the last five games against the Sabres.

This is the Devils' only trip to Buffalo this season; the Sabres play at the Prudential Center in Newark on Feb. 17 and March 25. New Jersey is playing without two major cogs in reigning Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall (lower body) and Marcus Johansson (upper body)

3. In the nets: Carter Hutton returns as the starter for Buffalo after Linus Ullmark split the last two games. It will be Hutton's first start of the New Year after a difficult December that saw him go 1-5-2/2.61/.917. In November, Hutton was 8-3-0/2.38/.923. The Devils are going with starter Keith Kinkaid, who is 13-11-6/3.00/.900 in 31 games.

4. Devils connections: Former Sabres winger Drew Stafford, now 33, played his 800th career game Friday at Arizona. Now playing on the fourth line, Stafford has two goals and three assists in 17 games. Stafford returned for his second season in New Jersey after signing a one-year tryout agreement in the fall for $810,000. He had 145 goals and 322 points in 563 games with the Sabres from 2006-2015, when he was sent to Winnipeg in the Evander Kane trade. Another former Sabres winger, Mike Grier, is in his first year as a New Jersey assistant coach.

5. By the numbers: Sabres winger Jeff Skinner enters tonight's game with 28 goals, two behind Washington's Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead. The Caps host Philadelphia tonight. Kyle Palmeri leads the Devils in goals (20) and points (36). ... The Devils have very little comeback ability, as they are 1-12-2 when trailing after one period and 2-15-2 when trailing after two. New Jersey is also 2-7 in overtime (1-5 in game-winning 1103600 Buffalo Sabres

Report: Sabres place center Scott Wilson on waivers

Lance Lysowski | Published Tue, Jan 8, 2019

Scott Wilson will have to wait at least a little while longer to return to the Buffalo Sabres' lineup.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Tuesday afternoon that Wilson, who has yet to play this season after breaking his ankle during a late September practice, was placed on waivers by the Sabres.

Wilson was expected to be cleared for game action this week, but he would require a conditioning assignment. The team is likely confident the 26-year-old will clear waivers, which would allow him to begin playing games with Rochester.

Wilson resumed practicing with the Sabres, but he has not played in an NHL regular-season game since April 7, 2018. He scored six goals among 14 points with a minus-20 rating in 69 games between Pittsburgh, Detroit and Buffalo last season.

The Sabres' roster is crowded with eight healthy defensemen, and it's unlikely Wilson would unseat any forward given the length of his absence. Winger Zemgus Girgensons will be activated from injured reserve in time for Tuesday's game against New Jersey, and defenseman Casey Nelson is also likely to return in the coming weeks.

Winger Remi Elie has only one point in 14 games with the Sabres since being claimed off waivers from Dallas, but he would likely be lost on waivers since the Stars would have first rights to claim him. Elie was a second-round draft pick of Dallas in 2013 and appeared in 72 games with the Stars.

The Sabres can also ill-afford to lose a game-ready forward since Eichel is out for at least one more game. Another roster move will be needed to activate Eichel, who is likely to be moved to injured reserve with Girgensons back.

Buffalo General Manager Jason Botterill and his staff likely thought Wilson would need more than a brief conditioning stint to rejoin the Sabres. Choosing to send Wilson on a conditioning assignment first could make it more likely that another team would claim him.

Any team can put in a claim for Wilson, but he would need to placed back on waivers if they attempt to send him to the AHL for any reason other than a conditioning assignment and the Sabres would have first rights.

Wilson won two Stanley Cup rings with the Penguins, scoring three goals among six assists in the 2016-17 playoffs. He is under contract through next season with an annual cap hit of $1.05 million.

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103601 Buffalo Sabres

Sabres' Jack Eichel out, Sam Reinhart in lineup vs. Devils

Lance Lysowski | Published Tue, Jan 8, 2019

Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel missed a third consecutive game Tuesday night, but Sam Reinhart was in the lineup against the New Jersey Devils at KeyBank Center.

Eichel participated in the morning skate but was ruled out with an upper- body injury. Reinhart, meanwhile, was a game-time decision after missing practice the previous two days with an illness.

It would have been the first time since Eichel was drafted second overall in 2015 that he and Reinhart missed the same game. With Eichel out, Reinhart skated on the Sabres' second line with Evan Rodrigues and Conor Sheary.

"[Eichel] had a good skate yesterday for part of the practice, today a good skate," Housley said. "We're just being cautious with that, but he will not be playing tonight."

The Sabres (22-14-6) have gone 1-1 without Eichel the past two games. The captain and star center returned to practice Monday in HarborCenter, though he was not on the ice for the first 20 minutes.

Eichel told reporters afterward he was encouraged by his progress but added he was "not in a rush" to return. An All-Star selection for a second consecutive season, Eichel has 15 goals among a team-high 49 points in 40 games this season.

In his absence, Rodrigues has received the most playing time as the top- line center. Casey Mittelstadt was given the opportunity to skate with Reinhart and Jeff Skinner in the third period of the 2-1 loss in Boston on Saturday.

Skinner remained on the first line with Vladimir Sobotka and Tage Thompson during the morning skate and against the Devils.

Reinhart has 40 points, including a career-high 31 assists, in 42 games. He is on pace for 18 goals and 62 assists, the latter of which would more than double his previous career high.

"The good news I feel really good today and back to my normal self," Reinhart said following the morning skate. "I’m excited about the possibility of getting into another game tonight."

Eichel, on the other hand, has participated in less than two full practices since he left in the first period of a 3-1 home loss to the New York Islanders on Dec. 31. He only helped with the Sabres' penalty kill during Tuesday's morning skate.

The Sabres, who are clinging to the second wild-card spot entering tonight's game, have a difficult schedule ahead. They play in Carolina on Friday, followed by a home game against Tampa Bay on Saturday before a three-game trip to Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103602 Buffalo Sabres So, there are tactical choices they need to refine on the penalty kill, something I’ll dig into in another piece. It’s fair to say that this isn’t necessarily Housley’s fault, but at the end of the day the unit has to be Stimson: How we can measure Phil Housley’s performance at midseason working or the head coach should take more control of the plan.

It’s important not to be fooled by the Sabres’ sixth-best PK percentage, as it’s almost entirely the result of unsustainable goaltending. The Sabres By Ryan Stimson Jan 8, 2019 have a save percentage of 0.914 when down a player, which is among the best in the league. Historical averages tell us that should come down

anywhere from 10 to 20 percentage points. League average currently is On Nov. 27, the Sabres were coming off a 3-2 win over San Jose to .904, which is a bit higher than the historical .870 t0 .880 range. improve their winning streak to 10. With their team atop the Eastern Considering the volume and quality of chances the Sabres yield, this Conference, Sabres fans were thinking of playoff tickets with home ice. could turn quite ugly in a hurry. The good times were back. Overall, there appear to be two sides to the Sabres’ special teams That seems like a lifetime ago. spectrum, so let’s give Housley an average grade in this area. I’d say he and Payne have done a great job on the PP and more goals are on the The Sabres have gone 5-8-4 since then, a 71-point pace over a full way. I’d also argue he needs to work with Smith a bit more on the PK. season, with four of those wins coming in regulation. They have managed to squander all the points they’ve banked and now find Roster optimization themselves in a fight for one of the final two wild card spots. Everyone This is where things get a bit ugly. This is entirely on Housley and I’d knows you need some luck to win 10 straight, but many fans wondered argue he hasn’t been up to the task in this area. Let’s have a quick look just how good this team really was. When a team goes on a streak like at the team’s rolling expected goal difference per 60 minutes, courtesy of that it tends to alter perception and expectation. Sean Tierney and Corsica. Similarly enough, when a team’s results go the other way as they have You can say that the Sabres don’t have the depth a team ideally wants, since the end of November, it’s normal for fans to go from elation and but a coach has to maximize his team’s output based on the talent hope to anger and pessimism. What can be improved upon? I’ll spend available to him. According to Sean’s chart, the Sabres were an average some time digging into the roster again during the All-Star break, but to slightly-above average team in xG differential in the early part of the today I want spend some time on the coaches — Phil Housley, Davis season. Then, on Nov. 17, the team’s rate difference plummeted and Payne, and Steve Smith. All data in this piece is from EvolvingHockey really hasn’t recovered. What happened? unless specified otherwise. Nov. 17 was the team’s 20th game of the year. Looking at the above How can we measure a coach’s impact? In a since-deleted post from fall chart from Micah Blake McCurdy and his site, HockeyViz, we can see 2016 prior to his hiring by Kroenke Sports, Dawson Sprigings used a how Housley is configuring his lines throughout the season. Just before coaching variable (simply who was the coach of each team) in his that 20-game mark, Housley reunited the Jeff Skinner-Jack Eichel-Sam regression model on his way to building his WAR model. Sprigings found Reinhart line. Since then, the team’s overall performance has fallen off a that the coach was a stronger variable in terms of the coefficient cliff. produced by the regression than a player’s quality of teammates, which is often touted as one of the most important factors in evaluating player That line has 273 minutes at 5v5 together and, according to performance. Coaching matters. NaturalStatTrick, only produces a 48.7 percent shot share. If that’s the best they can do and the rest of the team suffers without them (46.2 But what specifically are the coaches responsible for? To me, it comes percent shot share with none of those three players on the ice), then down to two things most of all: special teams and lineup optimization. 5v5 Housley must retool the lines. play is important, but is generally on the talent at the highest level of the game, especially considering so many teams play similar styles and But what’s the best way to do that? Sean Tierney has created a lineup systems. tool to allow folks to play around with the impacts of swapping out linemates and promoting others up the lineup. The player values are from Special teams EvolvingWild’s WAR metric for each player and determines the net On most NHL teams, the head coach will task an assistant with running overall impact on the team if you move a specific player up or down a the power play and another with the penalty kill. Davis Payne runs the lineup to reallocate ice time. It’s a way to see if a coach is getting the power play for the Sabres and Steve Smith handles the penalty kill. most value from the minutes they have to assign. Housley certainly has input into these aspects of the team’s performance. I played around with it a few times and this is one of the best options According to EvolvingHockey, the Sabres have the sixth-best power play currently available for the team. in terms of expected goals for per 60 minutes. They also have the sixth- worst penalty kill in terms of expected goals against per 60 minutes. This There’s not a whole lot to do with the forwards other than split up the top is consistent with my findings on the Sabres’ tactical approaches at both line and see where they can balance out the team. The lack of depth is ends of the ice. quickly laid clear for all to see. The big changes would have to be on the back end in ensuring Pilut and Dahlin get maximum top-4 minutes the Payne has done a good job on the power play and the unit is rest of the season. underperforming when it comes to expected goals, by almost half a goal per 60 minutes. This is one of the reasons for the team’s below-average I wrote this on opening night way back in October and stand by it. The conversion rate, but not the only one. quickest way to sink the season is to load up the top line with Eichel – Skinner – Reinhart and simply hope someone steps up behind them. The This is a chart from the excellent Meghan Hall on Twitter. It shows the Sabres don’t have that kind of depth. Also, Dahlin should be on the first Sabres create about as much volume shooting as anyone else in the pair and Pilut should be on the second in order to help stabilize Rasmus league. They lag slightly behind Toronto in this area. Their scoring isn’t Ristolainen. on par with the Leafs or many other teams, but the Sabres are only shooting 11 percent on the power play, well below the league average of I find it inexcusable for coaches at this level to not optimize their lineups 14.5 percent. More scoring will come for the Sabres with the player as that should be the bare minimum expected of them. To me, loading up advantage. I’ll dig into more areas where this can be improved upon a top line and playing musical chairs behind them isn’t a sign of a clear soon. plan – it’s the simplest option available and isn’t considering what it does to the rest of the team. Steve Smith came from Carolina to run the penalty kill and his success there was referenced as a reason for his hire. As I wrote early in the Should he stay or should he go? season, based on how passive the team was and has continued to be during the forechecking phase, I think it raises the question of talent It’s a strange question to ask during the season, but many folks are versus coaching impact as the reason behind his success in Carolina. considering it. After all, Carolina sits as the second-best penalty killing unit by expected GOOD EVENING. IF THE SABRES MISS THE PLAYOFFS THEY goals against per 60 minutes. SHOULD CONSIDER CHANGING COACH. THE HEAD START WAS HUGE, AND THERE’S NO REASON TO MISS GIVEN HOW THEY WERE CARRIED TO A HUGE LEAD BY THEIR TOP LINE AND GOOD GOALTENDING.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

— JEREMY WHITE (@JEREMYWGR) JANUARY 1, 2019

I'VE BEEN SEEING SOME OF THE "FIRE HOUSLEY" CHATTER ON HERE IN THE LAST WEEK OR SO. DO SABRES FANS THINK HE NEEDS TO GO IF THEY DON'T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS? I MAY WRITE ABOUT THIS.

— RYAN STIMSON (@RK_STIMP) JANUARY 2, 2019

This isn’t a shot against Jeremy or anything. I put the poll out there and a third of voters agreed with him for the most part. I think teams should always be looking to get better in every position throughout the organization, and that doesn’t simply apply to players. With someone like Joel Quenneville available and Housley underwhelming as a whole, is that a phone call that should be made?

I can see the argument for it. I would hope Housley sees the need to evaluate the team’s lines and pairings and stats to optimize their performance. I would hope that Jason Nightingale and whomever else the Sabres employ on the analytics front are presenting this type of report to the coaching staff. There are many ways the team can improve from within before any changes are made to the roster or staff. I haven’t seen much evidence the Sabres are doing that right now. I will dig into the special teams and 5v5 play again in the near future, but from a high- level viewpoint, Housley is about average to slightly below average right now in the areas he has most control over.

Conclusions

I think how Housley performs over the final 40 games will be huge. This isn’t about making or missing the playoffs, but how he can maximize the special teams and lineup with what he has. You can’t put all of this on him because Jason Botterill still has a lot of work to do with this roster. He could help Housley by moving pieces like Marco Scandella and Vladimir Sobotka to bring in better players, or simply evaluating players in Rochester. There’s only so much you can do at once, but if Housley’s strategies for lineup optimization and special teams play is average at best now, why should we trust him with a more talented roster? Will he continue to make mistakes? Or will the talent level simply make his decisions look better?

To be clear, I don’t think you can fire the coach on his own at the moment, but the seat gets hot if he continues to scratch obviously-good players like Pilut and refuses to balance out the roster or improve the penalty kill. Even if Housley improves and passes through the latter half of the season with flying colors, you have to wonder if they can get better with a coach like Quenneville. He may not be a popular choice, but I do think they should at least gauge Quenneville’s interest if Housley refuses to change.

I don’t think the Sabres make a move for the sake of doing it, but addition by subtraction would even be beneficial to Housley at this point. I want to see Viktor Oloffson, Rasmus Asplund, C.J. Smith (thankfully he’s in Buffalo now), and Brendan Guhle more than I want to see Sobotka, Tage Thompson, and Scandella. The playoffs would be nice, but the Sabres have a better chance of making them this year and in subsequent seasons with a better process of optimizing their team.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103603 Calgary Flames LEFT WING CENTRE RIGHT WING

Johnny Gaudreau Sean Monahan Elias Lindholm

Game Day: Avalanche at Flames Matthew Tkachuk Mikael Backlund Sam Bennett

Michael Frolik Mark Jankowski James Neal

Kristen Anderson, Postmedia Garnet Hathaway Derek Ryan Austin Czarnik

DEFENCE PAIRINGS

COLORADO AVALANCHE (20-15-8) at CALGARY FLAMES (27-13-4) Mark Giordano TJ Brodie

7:30 p.m., Scotiabank Saddledome Noah Hanifin Travis Hamonic

TV: Sportsnet West; Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan Oliver Kylington R. Andersson

THE BIG MATCHUP GOALIES

Flames Big Three vs. Avs Big Three David Rittich

This clash of the titans definitely will be worth watching. It also will add Mike Smith fuel to the debate over which trio is, indeed, the best in the National Hockey League. Calgary’s red-hot line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean AVALANCHE GAMEDAY LINES Monahan, and Elias Lindholm combined for seven goals and 12 assists LEFT WING CENTRE RIGHT WING on the Flames’ four-game road trip to kick off 2019. Meanwhile, Colorado’s terrifying threesome has been tearing up the NHL scoring Gabriel Landeskog Nathan MacKinnon Mikko Rantanen race this year with Mikko Rantanen (19 goals and 46 assists for 65 Tyson Jost Alexander Kerfoot JT Compher points) and Nathan MacKinnon (25 goals and 38 assists for 63 points) sitting No. 2 and No. 4, respectively (prior to Tuesday’s action). Gabriel Matthew Nieto Carl Soderberg Matt Calvert Landeskog is no slouch, either, with 25 goals and 22 assists for 47 points (20th in NHL scoring). Best of luck to the netminders … it isn’t going to Gabriel Bourque Sheldon Dries Logan O’Connor be easy. DEFENCE PAIRINGS FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME Samuel Girard Erik Johnson Captain’s log Ian Cole Tyson Barrie With his assist on Johnny Gaudreau’s third-period goal on Monday in Ryan Graves Patrik Nemeth Chicago, Flames captain Mark Giordano notched his 300th NHL career assist. Time flies by, apparently, because he is three games away from GOALIES his 800th NHL contest. Next, he’ll be chasing Al MacInnis, who logged 803 appearances which is the third-most in Flames’ history. Giordano, Philipp Grubauer 35, currently sits 11th in franchise scoring with 418 points, nearing closer Pavel Francouz to Jim Peplinski’s 424 points as a Flame, which sits 10th in the record books. Giordano is also near Joe Nieuwendyk’s 302 career assists with SICK BAY the Flames, which ranks fifth. FLAMES: D Michael Stone (blood clot), D Juuso Valimaki (ankle) Back in the Saddle(dome) AVALANCHE: G Semyon Varlamov (lower body), F Colin Wilson After a four-game junket through Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia and (shoulder), F Vladislav Kamenev (shoulder surgery), D Nikita Zadorov Chicago, the Flames are home for six of their next seven games. Their (lower body), D Mark Barberio (upper body) record at the Saddledome is 12-4-4, but they haven’t skated once at home in 2019. They will need to continue to make their barn a difficult SPECIAL TEAMS place to play, especially with the focus in the second half turning towards FLAMES: PP 21.0% (T-13th), PK 78.1% (T-21st) the 2019 NHL post-season. AVS: PP 26.8% (5th), PK 77.2% (T-25th) The last time they met Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.09.2019 It was a wild one, but the Flames came out on top, a 6-5 win at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Nov. 1. The Flames scored five unanswered goals in the third period to get the job done after falling behind 4-1 at the end of the second period. They also beat the Avalanche 3-2 in overtime at Colorado on Oct. 13, with Johnny Gaudreau providing the overtime heroics.

About the Avs

The Avalanche snapped a six-game losing skid on Friday with a 6-1 win over the New York Rangers. Colorado began a five-game Canadian road trip Tuesday with a game against the Winnipeg Jets. After the game in Calgary on Wednesday, the Avalanche will play against Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. The back-to-back is the seventh for the Avalanche this season. In the previous six, Colorado was 3-2-1 in both the first and second games.

This ’n’ that

At 15-9-0 in enemy territory, the Flames have the best road record of any team in NHL’s Western Conference … Heading into play Tuesday, the Flames and Avalanche were tied for most power-play opportunities in the NHL (157 apiece) … The Flames still lead the league with 14 short- handed goals … And (prior to Tuesday) only one team had more wins than Calgary: The NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning (32-8-2).

FLAMES GAMEDAY LINES 1103604 Calgary Flames Phillips and Gawdin make sure to watch every Flames game on their apartment’s TV when they are able to. They follow the team’s success and track lineup moves and injuries as it could, potentially, impact the Phillips heating up with Flames’ AHL affiliate Stockton Heat roster and their dressing room.

So, now that the results are there, common sense would suggest an NHL prospect would be antsy at this stage. That Phillips believes he deserves Kristen Anderson, Postmedia his shot; a call-up at the NHL level, perhaps.

Yet Phillips understands he needs to be patient.

The set-up was ideal for a playoff series showdown. “It’s an interesting mental aspect in the AHL because guys are going up and coming back down,” he said. “I think if you can just focus on getting An NHL 19 Xbox playoff series showdown. better every day, as cliche as that is, it’s very helpful. At the same time, But Calgary Flames prospects and roommates Matthew Phillips and realizing I’m in the development stage and knowing that if I make a Glenn Gawdin were not competing for the video-game version of the mistake — and you want to limit your mistakes as possible — you just Stanley Cup. No, the stakes were much higher. want to figure out how to learn from that. As the results come, it’s more encouraging that you’re getting better and what you’re doing is paying On the line was a chance at permanently residing in their Stockton, Calif., off. apartment’s master bedroom. “It’s important to be calm and ride the wave … and definitely try to learn So, the layout, you see, was crucial. and talk to the coaches as much as possible.”

“Our couches … it couldn’t have looked any worse,” Phillips said with a Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.09.2019 chuckle. “Like, if we were showing off our apartment, it would have been horrendous. We had it right in front of the TV so we could play our X-Box all close. It definitely didn’t look like a show home. If my parents came down or his girlfriend, they would just shake their heads. It was pretty funny.”

Until Gawdin moved into the bigger bedroom.

Hey, rules are rules.

“I usually can beat him, but he swept me,” Phillips said with a chuckle.

Truth be told, Phillips and Gawdin are both in the same boat this season: transitioning their games from the Western Hockey League to the American Hockey League. Phillips, 20, skated for the Victoria Royals last year and scored 112 points (48 goals and 64 assists in 71 regular season games) while Gawdin, 21, tore up the ‘Dub with 125 points (56 goals and 69 assists in 67 games).

It’s a jump that is not always easy on-ice. Off-ice changes (read: learning how to organize furniture) can be challenging, too.

“We’re both as clueless as the other one,” Phillips quipped. “We’ve learned a lot in the last four or so months.”

In Phillips’s case, it’s taken time and production — the kind of production the Calgary native had been accustomed to in junior — did not come easy at the start of the 2018-19 campaign with the Flames’ top affiliate.

In his first 10 games, the five-foot-seven, 155-lb. right winger only had a goal and one assist.

“It just really wasn’t really clicking,” Phillips admitted. “It honestly took until November to really understand what consistently works and what doesn’t and how I can be successful.

“Obviously as an offensive guy, it’s encouraging when you see the puck going in a couple of times. But being comfortable with the puck and really settling in and being confident, it’s good.”

That kind of confidence has translated into six goals and 10 assists in his last 13 games. Currently riding an eight-game point streak, Phillips has five goals and nine assists. In the last four games that he’s been on a line with Curtis Lazar and Kerby Rychel, he has scored twice and has five assists.

“It’s nice, lately, to see some results,” he said. “There was definitely some ups and downs but it was definitely a challenging first part of the year.”

Now, thanks to Flames’ performance specialist Matt Brown, video work with the Stockton coaches and practice, he’s thinking less and trusting his instincts more.

“I’m not worrying much or overthinking the game,” added Phillips, who was Calgary’s sixth-round pick (166th overall) in the 2016 National Hockey League draft. “I find, personally, I don’t play as well if I’m doing that. So, I’m just confident in my ability … that’s kind of when I’m playing my best when I’m focused and calm and confident in what I can do.

“It’s hard to gain confidence when you’re not having the results.” 1103605 Calgary Flames Now 29 and with an ‘A’ stitched on his jersey as an alternate captain, he is creeping toward the 600-game plateau at the highest level.

Just like that. Flames’ Backlund has fond memories of welcome-to-the-bigs There is not a lot of time to reminisce in Backlund’s biz but he holds fond memories of that welcome-to-the-bigs moment that is now a decade in Wes Gilbertson his rearview mirror.

He also participated in the Flames’ skills competition before heading to Kelowna, the change of scenery he needed after a frustrating fall with The plan was that Mikael Backlund would simply pit-stop at the Vasteras in Sweden’s second-tier pro loop. Saddledome as he played the waiting game. “I realized when the world juniors started that, ‘Wow, it’s actually 10 years The teenage prospect never imagined he would be suiting up for his first since I played in that tournament my second time,’ ” Backlund said NHL game. recently. “It has flown by. It’s crazy how it feels like yesterday but it doesn’t at the same time. It’s been decade since Backlund — now the longest-serving forward for the Calgary Flames — unexpectedly logged his big-league debut during “Ten years … Still some good memories.” a dizzying week that also included a loss in the gold-medal showdown at the world junior tournament and ultimately an assignment to spend the Now in the first winter of a six-year, US$32.1-million contract extension, remainder of the winter with the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna he’ll be around the Saddledome for a long while yet. Rockets. “There have been some ups and downs during my time in Calgary, some “After world juniors, I was told to go to Calgary, just trying to get the injuries, and I’m just proud that I’ve been sticking with it and sticking in paperwork and all that done so I could go to play in Kelowna,” Backlund this league,” Backlund said. “That’s not easy to do, and I’m very proud of recalled. “The next day, I was told to go the rink and I just sat there in the that.” lounge, hanging out. And all of a sudden, (Todd) Bertuzzi had some bad Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.09.2019 groins, so they were like, ‘Hey, you’re going to play tonight.’

“I was really shocked, but also just really excited. I had heard rumblings that Bertuzzi was hurt, but I didn’t think I was going to get picked to play. But then more and more, I hoped for it.

“It was a cool thing to get that game, just out of the blue.”

Back then, a 19-year-old Backlund was a blue-chip prospect for a franchise in the midst of a seemingly endless search to find a playmaking pivot to skate alongside sharpshooter Jarome Iginla.

While he’s become a fixture on the second power-play unit and a frequent chipper-inner on offence, he is now most valuable to the Flames in his role as a shutdown centre.

With the Avalanche paying a visit Wednesday to the Saddledome (7:30 p.m., Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), that is sure to mean a matchup against Colorado’s terrifying trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog.

It was on the night of Jan. 8, 2009, that the Flames’ faithful glimpsed Backlund in game action for the first time.

Three nights earlier, on the Monday of that week, he and his Team Sweden pals had been digesting the disappointment of a 5-1 loss to John Tavares, P.K. Subban and the host Canadians in the world-junior finale in Ottawa.

Fast-forward to the Thursday, and the wide-eyed up-and-comer — a first- round selection in the 2007 NHL Draft — was in relax-mode when he received word from general manager Darryl Sutter around noon that he’d be gearing up for a home date against the New York Islanders.

He had lunch with some of the regulars.

He did his darnedest to drift off for a nap afterward.

Wearing No. 60 that evening and flanked by wing-men Curtis Glencross and David Moss, Backlund registered 10:44 of icetime. He was credited with one shot on net, one takeaway and swiped just two of seven at the faceoff dot.

The Flames, on the strength of a three-point performance by Daymond Langkow, notched a 5-2 victory.

“I remember hitting the post, first shift,” Backlund said. “Right after my first O-zone faceoff, I hit the post right away. And I remember just having fun, thinking to myself, ‘This is pretty cool.’

“I was still star-struck with all the guys on my team, but I felt good on the ice. I remember I felt comfortable out there, and I thought I had a good game.”

It was upwards of a year before Backlund — after a WHL championship run with the Rockets and some seasoning at AHL Abbotsford — would wear the Flaming C for a second time. 1103606 Calgary Flames

Flames’ Fantastic Four piling up points like 1995-96 Penguins

Wes Gilbertson

They have been a Fantastic Four for the Calgary Flames.

They now find themselves in elite company.

With Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk both joining the club during Monday’s 4-3 road victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago, the Flames already have four forwards with 50-plus points on the season.

Superstar winger Johnny Gaudreau and his sharpshooting centre, Sean Monahan, have also soared past that mark.

It’s been more than two decades since a foursome of NHL teammates piled up 50 points apiece through 45 dates or less on their schedule. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1995-96, when Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Jaromir Jagr and Tomas Sandstrom achieved that feat on behalf of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Lemieux? Jagr? It’s never a bad thing when you’re being mentioned in the same breath as those guys.

Heading into Wednesday’s clash with the Colorado Avalanche at the Saddledome (7:30 p.m., Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), Gaudreau is riding a five-game goal-scoring spree and is making a case as a Hart Trophy candidate with 64 points in 44 spins so far.

Monahan, who has assists in five straight and also ripped a crucial man- advantage marker against the Blackhawks, has totalled 54 scoresheet mentions.

Their linemate Lindholm and power-play pal Tkachuk have 50 points each, a new career-high for both gents.

Not to be forgotten, captain Mark Giordano has already chipped in 40 points from the blue-line.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103607 Carolina Hurricanes McKegg, who centered the third line Tuesday, has two goals and two assists in three games since being called up from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Canes finally beat Islanders for fifth straight win The Islanders (23-14-4) believed they had tied the score 2-2 early in the second on a Jordan Eberle shot from the slot. But Brind’Amour was quickly informed by video coaches Chris Huffine and L.J. Scarpace that BY CHIP ALEXANDER the Isles’ Val Filppula was offside on the zone entry and made the challenge, which was upheld on review. No goal.

“They radioed in, ‘It was offside, offside,’” Brind’Amour sad. “It was. You For the first time this season, the Carolina Hurricanes have won five could see clear as day. We got real fortunate there and got a little better straight games, and the fifth came against a team they hadn’t been able as the game went on.” to solve until Tuesday. The Islanders did tie it 2-2 at 4:50 of the third when defenseman Devon The Canes finally found a way to beat the New York Islanders and goalie Toews scored on a shot through traffic from the point. Thomas Greiss, winning 4-3 at refurbished Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. The Isles had beaten the Canes three times this season, “We buckled down when we had to,” Brind’Amour said. with Greiss in net for all three, and had won their past six games overall. News Observer LOADED: 01.09.2019 The run of 10 points allowed Carolina (20-17-5) to ease up in the Eastern Conference standings, leaving the Canes six points out of a wild-card playoff position. Asked about his team’s confidence level, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said, “Winning breeds that, just like losing, It’s really hard to get out of either one. You obviously want to keep that winning one going. “We’re just finding ways to win right now without playing our best. That’s really the key and that’s a good sign. We know we can get better.” Here’s what it took for the Canes to win: -- A power-play goal by defenseman Jaccob Slavin with 1:07 left in regulation that gave Carolina a 4-2 lead. -- A goal by captain Justin Williams, who first stewed in the penalty box after being called for hooking, then bounced out of the box to flip a backhander past Greiss to make it 3-2 with 2:42 left in the third. -- A goal by center Greg McKegg with six seconds left in the first period, then the primary assist on the Williams goal with a sharp, cross-ice feed. -- Saku Maenalanen’s first NHL goal, which tied the score 1-1 in the first. -- A successful coach’s challenge by Brind’Amour that wiped out an Islanders goal in the second. Add in another quality start by goalie Curtis McElhinney, who had 28 saves, and aggressive penalty killing and the Canes had a nice road victory to savor heading to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning on Thursday. “Good teams have to find a way to win and pick each other up and we did that,” Brind’Amour said. Frank Franklin II AP Carolina had two penalties in the second period, then the call against Williams with 4:57 left in regulation, but did not allow the Islanders to convert. A careless penalty against the Isles’ Leo Komarov, who cross-checked Brock McGinn into the boards with 2:05 remaining in the third, allowed Slavin to score what would be the game-winner. The Canes made things interesting in the final 67 seconds, however. The Isles’ Brock Nelson, who had two goals and an assist, scored eight seconds after Slavin and the Canes twice iced the puck after Greiss was pulled for an extra attacker. On the second icing, the Canes’ Sebastian Aho missed an empty net. That resulted in one final draw in the Canes zone that was won by the Islanders, and Aho and McGinn both had to block shots by Josh Bailey in the final seconds. Maenalenen, recalled Jan. 1 from Charlotte, scored his first after some strong forechecking by his line. Warren Foegele dumped the puck in and was first in, Victor Rask got a piece of the puck -- Rask finishing with two assists in the game -- and Maenalanen pawed it down, then backhanded it past Greiss. Frank Franklin II AP McKegg’s goal came on another bang-bang play in front of Greiss as Micheal Ferland centered the puck and McKegg had the puck go off him and then an Islanders defenseman for a 2-1 lead after one. “Kegger might have been one of our best forwards,” Brind’Amour said. “Every time I threw him out there he was noticeable.” 1103608 Carolina Hurricanes

PNC Arena has had $4 billion economic impact on Wake County, Centennial Authority says

BY CHIP ALEXANDER

RALEIGH-When PNC Arena turns 20 later this year, it’s estimated the facility will have had a $4 billion economic impact for Wake County since its opening in October 1999. In 2018, the estimated economic impact for the county was about $262 million from the arena. Those were two of the financial figures included in the Centennial Authority’s response to a request for information for hospitality projects by Wake County. The authority, an appointed body, is the arena landlord and is seeking enhancements to the facility that could cost an estimated $200 million to $300 million. The authority is seeking the enhancement funds for: New hospitality spaces on the south end of the arena facing Carter- Finley Stadium that would have a rooftop bar and restaurant as its centerpiece. New club and concession spaces in the arena that the authority says will help “showcase the region’s food and beverage culture” while providing additional revenue streams. New office and meeting spaces on the north end of the arena for staff offices and the “anticipated growth of Carolina Hurricanes operations and management.” Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho, who had two goals and two assists, says beating the Boston Bruins 5-3 on "Whalers Night" at PNC Arena on Dec. 23, 2018 was a big confidence-builder for the team. The Hurricanes’ lease with the authority ends in 2024, and the authority report said there were “ongoing discussions” with the Hurricanes on lease term options. N.C. State uses the arena for its men’s basketball games and commencement exercises, and the arena has hosted NCAA basketball regionals, concerts and family events. The financial request for the enhancement and expansion needs approval from Wake County and the City of Raleigh, with the money being provided through the city and county Interlocal Agreement, which is funded by the hospitality industry’s hotel/motel and prepared-food tax. “The time has come to make PNC Arena more versatile and competitive so we can continue building on the success of the first 20 years,” the authority request said. Or as executive director Jeff Merritt said Tuesday to authority members, “We need to make sure it fits the 21st Century model of an arena. ... While we’ve done a great job of keeping up the infrastructure and guts and skeleton of the arena, we need to pump adrenaline into the building.” Recent enhancements, requested by Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, include the installation of a 3D projection system and theatrical lighting. Plans call for a new scoreboard to be installed before next season. The authority’s economic impact study was done by John Connaughton, a UNC Charlotte economist at the university’s Belk College of Business. Connaughton’s study indicated 46 percent of those attending PNC Arena events are from outside Wake County and that the arena generates about 142,000 hotel rooms each year, with hotel expenditures of $14 million a year. It’s estimated $6 million is spent at Wake County restaurants. The authority, in the request, said if enhancement funds are approved this spring, the project could be completed by the summer of 2022. News Observer LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103609 Carolina Hurricanes hard everybody tries and cares about each other. I have certain kinds of people I want to associate with, a certain kind of work ethic and morality and I think we’ve got that. And in general, the sport has that — that is the Q&A: Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon talks narratives, red jerseys, quality of the human beings that participate in this sport. I’ve enjoyed drafting defensemen and perspective that, and the emotional connection, having something to care about every day.

Carolina owner Tom Dundon likes what he sees in coach Rod By Sara Civian Jan 8, 2019 Brind’Amour despite a few more losses than he’d prefer. “I’m extremely happy with what we’re building, what Rod’s doing and what it means to be a Hurricane,” he said. (James Guillory / USA Today) Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon takes exception to some of the persisting How do you strike a balance between being a hands-on leader and narratives surrounding his team. letting the hockey experts do their thing? And how is this different from running another business? Of course, there’s the one where he barged in 362 days ago and started some sort of “my way or the highway” regime. I try to ask a lot of questions and push people. I don’t want to tell people what to do in the sense of draft this player, play this guy, cut this guy but “This idea that I’m just going to come in and do it my way, it’s a little what I want is everyone to have an opinion — no one has a monopoly on strange to me,” he told The Athletic in a one-on-one interview. “If I what we do. Whether it’s system, lines, minutes, (Brind’Amour) gets to thought I knew more about hockey than (head coach) Rod Brind’Amour, make the final decision. I’m never going to tell him (otherwise), but I that would be crazy. I don’t think I’d get to the position I am in life if I went might show him info and say, “Hey, look at this.” around ignoring everyone else.” I think that’s our job — provide resources and ask questions and He addressed some other narratives, red jerseys on the road, drafting hopefully as an organization everyone feels empowered to have an defensemen and more in our ~exclusive~ Q&A. opinion. I don’t think I do anything that differently, and it’s a little strange First of all, how do you convince teams to let the Hurricanes wear their to me the idea of trying to be disruptive. I think we’re just trying to have red jerseys on the road? the best structure in place to make the best decisions. I don’t tell them who to draft but I get to have one of many voices and make sure We just ask, say something like “Hey, we’d like to wear our red jerseys, everyone’s opinion gets heard. what do you think?” and sometimes the other teams want to switch it up and show their fans their away jerseys. It’s not really a big deal. Rod and I know each other, he knows I’m going to have an opinion. If I thought I knew more than him, that would be crazy. At the same time, How would you assess the season so far? he’s a human being, the job is to push everyone. The things we identified as what we wanted to improve on — intensity This idea that I ignore anyone and do it my way? I don’t think I get to the and effort — Roddy’s done a great job at. I think we play the right way position I am in life if I went around ignoring everyone else. I do get to every day. So for that part, I couldn’t be happier. have an opinion, though. I think results-wise we’re all disappointed, right? We expected to have Another thing, we’ve got to continue to push the balance where the won more games, so the results probably haven’t matched up to our hockey side gets a lot of value from the analytics side. There are quality of play and that’s just the way it is. So that’s disappointing, but at obviously some limitations with analytics in hockey but Eric Tulsky (VP of the same time, I’m extremely happy with what we’re building, what Rod’s Hockey Management and Strategy) is an absolute asset. When we doing and what it means to be a Hurricane. I know it can seem like the disagree on something I’m almost always wrong, and I don’t believe for a same old Hurricanes, but there are new players, new coach, (a lot of) second that I know more about hockey than anyone that works for us at new. I think everybody’s pretty confident in the future, if you look at the all. But I know how to create a structure, and that’s how it’s the same as quality of the AHL team, plus all of our young players, some of the any other business. I want to create a structure where everyone can underlying analytics and culturally, what Rod has taken care of. have an opinion and push each other. Having said that, everybody’s good in the NHL and the margin of error is You’ve said before that it’s a challenge having a non-downtown arena. Is really small. I think we’ll continue to improve, but at the same time, I that something you see yourself continuing to work around or are there know today’s what matters. It feels like we should have a handful more plans to change it? wins, and we’ve done what we needed to do, now hopefully we get some results. A week ago a playoff chance was laughable, now (riding a four- Our biggest focus right now is to put ourselves in a position to succeed in game win streak) we’ve got these games before the break to see where Raleigh. We’re at a point where we’re working to figure out all of the we’re at and that’s just hockey. options, then exploring all the different options to see what’s best. Other than our record, I’m not sure what else you would want to change (Editor’s note: More to come from me on what those options are) — if we win three or four more games the narrative is different, and no You took some flak for saying the Canes “won’t be drafting defense in the one would be shocked if we win six in a row here or if we go .500 — (I first round as long as you’re here”, but come on, have you seen this understand) we’re really hard to evaluate. team? Do you think that comment is getting taken out of context or blown You’ve mentioned a few times now how much you hate losing, how do out of proportion? you put that in perspective with knowing how important it is for this team We’ve got (Adam) Fox and (Jake) Bean. Then (Brett) Pesce and to win right now, and how individual Hurricanes losses just seem more (Jaccob) Slavin are in their 20s, Haydn Fleury is 22, Dougie Hamilton is frustrating than an average loss? 25, Justin Faulk is 27, (Calvin) de Haan is in his prime years and can I don’t, that’s the problem for me. play Top 4. But we’re doing things that lead to really good results. We have to be You see how much defense this team has picked up over the years. To careful because we can’t change the past, there’s nothing we can do say we aren’t drafting for it in early rounds doesn’t mean we don’t think about it. My job is to make sure the past has nothing to do with how we it’s important — we traded for Dougie, right? handle today and tomorrow — that’s the challenge right now. You want to I promise we won’t be taking defense in the first two rounds this year. I be winning right now because of the (playoff drought), but we need to don’t think that’s controversial given where we are as an organization. identify reasons we’re not getting results and fix those, not just make The word “never” is probably too strong, but it’s pretty close to never. changes for the sake of change. The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 We’re in a pretty good spot, we have a good path, we fixed a lot of things. You’re talking three or four more games won in a row we feel different. We have to be very careful not to let short-term results like that affect our long-term plans. You have to be careful letting the bounces manage the business. Every time you lose you want to do something. Sometimes you win and maybe you’re overconfident, you lose and you’re too low. It’s definitely the challenge of this job. What have you enjoyed most about owning the Hurricanes? I think the quality of people — between Rod (Brind’Amour) and Don (Waddell), and the players and the staff as a culture, as a sport, how 1103610 Chicago Blackhawks Delia and Ward have each started five games in Corey Crawford’s absence. Colliton has taken some flak for not starting Delia more, but being cautious with a rookie goalie when you have a veteran playing well 5 reasons the Blackhawks have improved under Jeremy Colliton over the seems to have been a wise choice. last 15 games 5. The power play woke up. The power play went 3-for-37 during Colliton’s first 15 games. The last 15 Jimmy Greenfield games it has gone 12-for-48, including 10-for-30 in the last 10. Finally, it’s working. It took some time for Colliton to find the combination of Kane, Toews, DeBrincat, Dylan Strome and Erik Gustafsson, but that A big thank you to the Blackhawks for firing Joel Quenneville 15 games should be the power play for the time being. into the season. Chicago Tribune LOADED: 01.09.2019 Not for the firing but for the 15 games. It provides a good number from which to assess Jeremy Colliton. We looked back last month at Colliton’s first 15 games, which couldn’t have gone much worse and ended with a 3-10-2 record. These last 15 games — which concluded after Monday’s 4-3 loss to the Flames — have gone decidedly better. The Hawks went 7-6-2. and while they haven’t exactly turned their season around, they have been far more fun to watch. Here are five reasons. 1. Colliton is winning over the locker room. This isn’t at all to suggest the players had initially rejected Colliton. But transitioning from Quenneville, who ran a different system and communicated in a much different way, was a shock that took time to recover from. Colliton is open and never wants a player to leave a game or practice without knowing why a decision was made. On Saturday, Colliton spent a good 10 minutes in deep conversation with Brendan Perlini toward the end of practice. Colliton was letting Perlini know what he can do to improve and get more ice time. “We have those conversations with everyone,” Colliton said. “Sometimes they’re on the ice, sometimes they’re in the dressing room.” Those conversations make a difference and are key to how Colliton feels he has improved as a coach. “Just getting more comfortable with the group, learning them, learning how to handle each guy,” Colliton said. “I’m going to try to get better at that as I get to know them and we build a relationship with each guy.” 2. Patrick Kane is feeling it. Kane is in a stretch in which it feels as if he’s going to create offense every time he touches the puck. Whether it’s a magical backhand like he had against the Flames or zipping passes to Alex DeBrincat or Dylan Strome, Kane is carrying the Hawks offense. He has had at least two points in seven of the Hawks’ last 15 games and scored 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) overall during that stretch. Compare that to the first 15 games under Colliton when Kane had 13 points (two goals, 11 assists). Not bad for most players but Kane could do better, and of late he has been spectacular. 3. The lines finally have been consistent. Colliton tried so many different line combinations in the early going you never knew who would end up out there each game. But starting Dec. 18 against the Predators, things started to solidify and it has paid off. For the first time all season, the Hawks have had three lines that have been working most games. Brandon Saad, Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kahun have been a solid top line while Kane has been a force on the second line with Dylan Strome and Artem Anisimov. DeBrincat was moved to the third line, and while he probably is not getting enough ice time, he is producing and opponents have a lot more to worry about. The defensive pairings also have been consistent but that hasn’t solved an ongoing problem. The Hawks allowed 508 shots on goal in Colliton's first 15 games. Over the last 15 — when they've won four more games — they’ve allowed 555 shots on goal. Which brings us to ... 4. Collin Delia and Cam Ward. Delia has been nothing less than brilliant each and every game since being called up from the IceHogs. Ward has been very good at times but hasn’t been in the same league as Delia, who has stopped 197 of 208 shots in his five starts. That’s nearly 40 saves per game for a .947 save percentage and it’s even better than the AHL-leading .933 save percentage he had with the IceHogs. 1103611 Chicago Blackhawks

Here's the deal: Blackhawks' Collin Delia isn't backing down from anybody

Steve Greenberg

Blackhawks goalie Collin Delia had no time to blink, let alone think. In a flash, one of the NHL’s emerging superstars was on him like a mongoose on a wounded snake. The Flames’ Johnny Gaudreau came in alone on Delia and squeezed a shot through the five-hole to give the Flames a 3-2 lead in a game they’d win 4-3 on Monday. It was the first loss in regulation for Delia, whose numbers through five starts — a 3-1-1 record, 2.19 goals-against average and .947 save percentage — still are mighty impressive. But would he ever like to have that chance against Gaudreau back. ‘‘I just didn’t get my knees down hard enough,’’ he said. ‘‘Obviously, give him credit. It was a good shot. But I feel like that’s a save I can make, and it just slips through barely.’’ Other challenges are easier to see coming for the 24-year-old, who was promoted from the Hawks’ American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford after veteran Corey Crawford suffered a concussion a week before Christmas. One is the ongoing competition for playing time with Cam Ward, who has underwhelmed in his first season with the Hawks. Another is the unknown of what might happen to Delia if and when Crawford returns this season. Then again, it might be as simple as this: Delia is locking down the No. 1 job for the time being. That has a nice ring to it, as far as he’s concerned. ‘‘I think every goalie wants to play as much as possible,’’ he said. Despite Gaudreau’s go-ahead goal in the third period — which came off a bad line change on a night the Hawks did Delia no favors —Delia is a perfect 5-for-5 in terms of the eyeball test. He twice has been superb against the Avalanche, and he stood tall despite facing inordinately high numbers of shots — 98 in all — from the Wild and Islanders. And stopping 39 of 42 shots against the red-hot Flames, who added a late empty-netter, hardly requires an apology. ‘‘He’s been rock-solid for us back there,’’ Hawks star Patrick Kane said. Coach Jeremy Colliton isn’t ready to commit to Delia beyond acknowledging that his inclination is to go with the hot hand. ‘‘I feel pretty good about him,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘He’s been everything we’ve asked with the opportunities he’s received. We still don’t want to overplay him. We want to allow him to keep [up] his level. But he’s doing a great job in there.’’ These are fun times for a player who was undrafted out of Merrimack College, a Hockey East non-power that doesn’t exactly boast a who’s who of alumni in the NHL. But there isn’t any ‘‘aw, shucks’’ in Delia. He wants to play. He wants the pressure. He isn’t the least bit afraid of what’s coming. ‘‘I just want to battle, you know?’’ he said. ‘‘That’s my M.O. From start to finish, I want to make sure I battle all the way and give the guys a chance to win. It’s really a pretty simple recipe.’’ NOTE: The Hawks have moved up from last in the NHL on the power play to 24th with a 10-for-30 stretch in their last 10 games. Is this really the same team that began the season in an impossibly bad 12-for-105 rut? ‘‘We’ve got good players,’’ coach Jeremy Colliton said. ‘‘They’re moving the puck clean and flat. And I feel like when they go over the boards, they feel like they can make a difference in the game.’ Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103612 Chicago Blackhawks

Coyotes' Nick Schmaltz will miss rest of 2018-19 season with knee injury

Madeline Kenney

Coyotes forward Nick Schmaltz will miss the rest of the 2018-19 season due to a knee injury, the team announced Tuesday. INJURY UPDATE: #Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz will be sidelined for the remainder of the season because of a lower-body injury. — Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) January 8, 2019 Schmaltz had been on injured reserve with a lower-body injury since Jan. 3. He last appeared in the team’s 5-1 loss to the Golden Knights just before the turn of the calendar. This is the second big blow to the Coyotes’ roster this season. They’re already without starting goalie Antti Raanta, who is sidelined indefinitely as he underwent surgery in December for a lower-body injury. Schmaltz, 22, appeared to be on the upswing since he was traded to the Coyotes from the Blackhawks for forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini. In 17 games, he notched 14 points (five goals, nine assists). Before that, Schmaltz only had 11 points in 23 games. Schmaltz has scored 34 goals and posted 71 assists over the last two- plus seasons. He will be a restricted free agent this offseason. Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103613 Chicago Blackhawks "He's adjusted really nicely in a short amount of time," Bowman said, "and I get excited thinking, 'Imagine where he'll be in a year when he understands the way we play and hopefully we can make some strides in Strome's comfort level with Hawks improves thanks to the 'Cat' his physical development.'" Strome said he's not worried about next off-season yet, but if he needs a nudge to stay, all he has to do is look at DeBrincat for inspiration. Instead John Dietz of going home to Michigan, DeBrincat trained with Paul Goodman and -- even after an impressive 28-goal rookie campaign -- has taken his game to another level this season. hello So there's that. Practice is over. But there's also the fact that -- assuming DeBrincat sticks around again -- Strome will have somebody to hang with all summer while enjoying all One by one the Blackhawks enter the dressing room and walk to their Chicago has to offer. stalls. "I feel comfortable and I feel like I'm hungry," Strome said, "and I want to There's almost always one exception to this daily routine at MB Ice Arena prove to people that I can (play) like that third overall pick. I'm trying to do or the United Center -- and that's when Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome whatever I can to be a good player and produce and help this team win. stroll in together and sit side by side. "It's been a lot of fun so far." These two 21-year-old whippersnappers hit it off immediately when they roomed together with the same Billet family while lighting up the OHL Daily Herald Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 with the Erie Otters from 2014 to 2017. And it's clear to anyone who's paying attention things haven't changed one bit since. Best buds then and now. Almost to a fault. "Still spending a lot of time together," says DeBrincat, adding with a wry smile: "Maybe too much time." Says Strome, who is also chuckling: "He asks me to hang out all the time. I have to say no sometimes." Strome was taken third overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, and DeBrincat went to the Hawks the following year. The odds of them ever playing on the same NHL team seemed remote, but here they are, reunited thanks to General Manager Stan Bowman shipping Nick Schmaltz to the Coyotes for Strome and Brendan Perlini Nov. 25. Arizona GM John Chayka's impatience with his two young forwards prompted him to make the deal before -- as he put it -- "the assets expired." Now, though, it looks like a fresh start has lit a fire under Strome with no expiration date in sight. In 21 games since the trade, he has 7 goals and 7 assists. He had 3 goals and 3 assists in 20 games with Arizona. DeBrincat's presence has definitely helped ease Strome's transition. "I was telling my parents that when I was home for Christmas," said Strome, who lives in the same building as DeBrincat and hitches a ride to games and practices with his friend. "It made everything so much easier, just having that familiar face." The assumption when Strome came to Chicago was he would skate on DeBrincat's line. That hasn't been the case over the past 10 games, though, as coach Jeremy Colliton has elected to put Strome between Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov. It has by no means been the perfect combination, as opponents are outchancing the Hawks 69-49 in 5-on-5 play, according to naturalstattrick.com. The Hawks are 6-3-1 over that stretch and this line has outscored opponents 5-4 -- including Strome's game-winner Sunday at Pittsburgh. "The thing I like about Strome is he thinks the game so well," Colliton said. "If he gets the puck with any time, he usually makes a play. "I think that's a nice fit with those two. And you see that Kaner's willing to give the puck to him, so then you want to play guys like that with him." Bowman nearly echoed those thoughts in an interview about two weeks ago. "When the (trade) discussions started to pick up and I got a chance to go watch him play, I was impressed with his hockey instincts and his offensive creativity," Bowman said. "(Either) you have it or you don't. ... He kind of sees plays develop like the elite offensive players do. "It's like they're kind of thinking a step ahead of the other team." Bowman is understandably thrilled with Strome's progress and hopes his young forward strongly considers staying in Chicago to train this off- season. 1103614 Chicago Blackhawks

Ex-Blackhawks center Nick Schmaltz will miss rest of season with a knee injury

By Slavko Bekovic January 08, 2019 1:59 PM

Rough news for ol' friend Nick Schmaltz. Schmaltz, who was traded from the Blackhawks to Arizona in late November, will miss the rest of the year with a "lower body" injury: INJURY UPDATE: #Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz will be sidelined for the remainder of the season because of a lower-body injury. — Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) January 8, 2019 More specifically, Schmaltz is being shut down with a knee injury: Source: Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz (knee) will miss the rest of the season. Unreal run of bad luck for this team. — Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) January 8, 2019 The center had been playing better for the Coyotes, notching 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 17 games since the trade. Comparatively, Schmaltz only put up 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) in 23 games for Chicago. Fans may look at this trade as a “win” for the Blackhawks now for multiple reasons, but it still could be beneficial for both sides long-term. First and foremost, there was plenty of speculation about the type of salary figure Schmaltz was going to command as a restricted free-agent after this season. If anything, 25 points in 40 games this season might knock his value down even further – thus helping the Coyotes keep him at a much more reasonable cap hit. And still, Schmaltz is just 22 years old and has the physical tools to be a top point-producer in the NHL. The prevailing sentiment around Schmaltz is that he would put up more points if he would just shoot the puck more. In 17 games with the Coyotes, Schmaltz had one or zero shots on goal in seven of them, and only had more than three shots in one game. On the other side of things, Dylan Strome has had a bit of a renaissance with the Blackhawks, posting 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in 21 games since the trade. By comparison, Strome had only 16 points in 48 career games with the Coyotes. Perhaps most importantly, he’s helped rejuvenate Patrick Kane. Many around the Blackhawks were puzzled when head coach Jeremy Colliton shuffled the lines to have both Strome and Artem Anisimov – a pair of centers – on the same line with Kane. But it had worked wonders. Per frozenpool.com, Kane and Strome have been on the same line in nearly 63% of even-strength situations since the trade of Schmaltz. In the 21 games since that trade, Kane has exploded for 11 goals and 18 assists. Time will tell if this trade really turns out to be a “win” for either the Coyotes or the Blackhawks, but for the time being, the Blackhawks have to be pretty happy with the way Dylan Strome’s game is trending. Schmaltz has been on Injured Reserve since January 3rd, last appearing for Arizona in a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103615 Chicago Blackhawks

Henri Jokiharju gets exactly what Blackhawks wanted out of 2019 World Juniors experience

By Charlie Roumeliotis January 08, 2019 12:00 PM

When the Blackhawks loaned Henri Jokiharju to Finland for the 2019 World Juniors, they were hoping it would serve as an important step in his development. He would eat big minutes, play in all situations and be a leader both on and off the ice as a 19-year-old in a high-pressure tournament. And that’s exactly what happened. Jokiharju was one of the best players for Finland, scoring two goals, adding three assists and averaging 22:32 of ice time per game, which ranked second on the team. He helped lead his country to a gold medal victory over USA, assisting on the game-winning goal with 1:12 left in regulation. At the end of the tournament, he was named one of the three best players for Finland voted on by the coaches. "It was awesome," Jokiharju said. "It was some ups and downs with the team, but we just figured out how to win the right games. ... A couple days ago it didn’t feel that big, but the players now in Finland and Finnish country is going crazy so it’s awesome seeing. You feel it more right now, a couple days after, and it’s a huge thing for Finland." Said Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton: "It's exactly what we were hoping for when we sent him. Played huge minutes, went half the game, it's a high-pressure situation, he's playing for his country and he come through. Even just talking to him [Monday] morning, he's [got] great energy, really excited and just happy for him." Initially, it was probably difficult for Jokiharju to leave the Blackhawks because he worked so hard to earn a spot playing on the top pairing with Duncan Keith. But those feelings quickly changed once he realized the opportunity that was in front of him. "It’s the NHL over here, you want to play in the NHL," Jokiharju said. "But when I headed on the plane over there I was getting more excited and it was fun. Memories for a lifetime." Back with the Blackhawks, Jokiharju figures to draw back into the lineup on Wednesday, although it's unclear where exactly he'll slot back in with eight defensemen on the roster. To some degree he has already become a permanent fixture on the blue line, but his ice time has fluctuated under Colliton, so he's still getting adjusted to that. Perhaps his World Juniors experience could serve as a springboard for the second half and reaffirming that he belongs in a top-four role, even though his confidence has never been an issue. "It’s big for my confidence," Jokiharju said of the World Juniors. "I think everyone on that team — I was talking with some younger guys over there, I was like, 'Come on, it’s your draft year, come on.' Everyone was happy. Big confidence boost for everyone, for me, as well." Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103616 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog scores twice in 7-4 loss to Jets

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — All that Winnipeg firepower was on full display Tuesday night. Blake Wheeler had a goal and three assists as the Jets scored on 33 percent of their shots in a 7-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Mathieu Perreault, Kyle Connor, Bryan Little, Andrew Copp, Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba also scored for Winnipeg, which converted three of four power-play opportunities. Trouba, Scheifele and Tyler Myers each had two assists. “I think we like what we can do offensively,” Wheeler said. “So there’s going to be nights where we pour it on and their goalie plays well. And there’s going to be nights where we get a few and make the most of our chances.” Gabriel Landeskog scored twice and set a career high with his 27th goal for Colorado. Carl Soderberg had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Graves also scored. Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie each contributed two assists. Connor Hellebuyck made 37 saves for the Jets, who have won two straight and improved to 3-3 in their last six games. “That was pretty fun,” Scheifele said about the wide-open game. “I’m sure the fans loved it. I’m good with it.” Philipp Grubauer stopped 14 shots for Colorado, which ended a six- game skid with a 6-1 win over the Rangers on Friday. The Jets scored three times on the power play and once short-handed to lead 4-3 after the second period. They led 4-1 early in the second, but the Avalanche scored twice late in the period. “We always say we have good character, but (we don’t) really care right now,” Colorado forward Mikko Rantanen said. “It’s two points that we care about. It’s nice to have a good character, but if you can’t win, it’s tough. So we just have to focus on winning.” Copp scored at 3:59 of the third and Scheifele made it 6-3 after Wheeler intercepted a pass and sent the puck to him on a breakaway. Scheifele’s shot hit Grubauer, the puck flew up and Scheifele swatted it into the net at 11:12 for his 23rd of the season. Landeskog scored with just more than three minutes remaining. Trouba scored into an empty net on the power play with 1:06 left. “We have to stay positive, even if we’ve been losing a lot,” Soderberg said. “It’s still a new game tomorrow and I think we played pretty good. Take that with us and battle even harder tomorrow.” NOTES: MacKinnon extended his point streak to seven games (four goals, six assists). … Barrie is on a five-game point streak, with one goal and seven assists. UP NEXT Avalanche: Continue their five-game trip to Canada in Calgary on Wednesday night. Jets: Play at Minnesota on Thursday night. Denver Post: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103617 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche revisit familiar follies in falling to Jets

AJ Haefele

You know when you're having one of those days where you oversleep your alarm, then get out of bed and stub your toe on the door on your way to the bathroom and then take a shower and find out your roommates used all the hot water and you're just incredibly over that particular day even though you've not been awake for an hour yet? That was the Avalanche in December. But you put your head down and try to get through that fiasco of a morning and look for the positives along the way. You find a quarter on the sidewalk, heads up even, on your walk into work. You have an actual enjoyable conversation with a coworker you normally dread interacting with. The sun peaks out from behind the clouds and you're starting to feel a little better about the current state of your universe. Then you leave work and get to your car and find your tires slashed and someone left a stack of dad jokes on the passenger seat to rub salt in the wound while you waited for AAA to help out. That was the Avalanche tonight. Beating the Rangers on Saturday night brought plenty of positives in a sea of negativity. Then the Avs rolled their way into Winnipeg and should have taken two points. They outplayed the Jets throughout the contest but little mistakes and atrocious goaltending sabotaged one of the team's better all-around efforts in weeks. They outplayed the Jets at even strength by a wide margin and despite being down 4-1, mounted another spirited comeback. We've seen them come back from being down 4-1 against Arizona, San Jose, and now tonight against Winnipeg to at least make the game interesting. And they have a grand total of zero points in all of those games. Another common thread? Philipp Grubauer started each and got absolutely lit up. Coach Jared Bednar decided to just let Grubauer wear tonight's performance because they have a back-to-back instead of burning a fresh Semyon Varlamov chasing two points in a game they had a three-goal deficit. The Avs had an outrageous 41-21 advantage in shots on goal tonight and somehow lost 7-4. Unacceptable. The moral of a moral victory is that it’s really no victory at all. Tonight, the Avalanche missed another opportunity to gain ground in the standings. For a team that was second in the West a month ago, Colorado is now clinging to a playoff berth by the fingernails. It's gut check time in the Avalanche locker room. BSN DENVER LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103618 Colorado Avalanche BSN DENVER LOADED: 01.09.2019

Avs-Jets grades: Gruesome Grubauer

Adrian Dater

The Avalanche went to Winnipeg and lost again to the Jets, keeping intact their last victory there coming in the Grover Cleveland Administration. Let’s break the game down individually: Gabe Landeskog (A+) – Two goals, four shots on goal, won 9-of-10 faceoffs, great puck-possession numbers. He was certainly not the reason the Avs lost tonight. Should have had a hat trick, it not for the damn goal posts. Nathan MacKinnon (B+) – Two assists, four shots on net, 21 Corsi events for, 12 against. Not the reason the Avs lost tonight. Also victimized by the damn posts. Mikko Rantanen (B) – Not the reason they lost either, but just an OK night for the Funny Finn Phenom. He was engaged and did some really skillful things, but the results weren’t quite there for him individually. J.T. Compher (C) – No points, only two of the Avs’ 41 shots on goal. He’s one of the guys the Avs depend on to chip in offensively occasionally, but it didn’t happen tonight. Tyson Jost (D) – Only played 12 minutes, didn’t contribute offensively and took a penalty that led to one of Winnipeg’s two power-play goals. He’s gotta be more consistent. Alexander Kerfoot (C-) – No points, lost four of five faceoffs. But hey, he was a plus-1. Matt Calvert (B) – Perfectly respectable effort, with an assist and four shots on net. He’s been part of a PK unit that’s given up a lot of goals lately, but I think the onus was a bit more on the goaltender tonight. Carl Soderberg (B+) – A goal and assist for Carl, plus four penalty minutes and not great numbers in the faceoff dot (2-for-9). Not his fault they lost tonight though. Matt Nieto (B) – Great puck-possession numbers (21-6 Corsi) and three shots on net. Just, nothing to show for it offensively. Not his fault they lost though. Sheldon Dries (C) – On the ice for two Winnipeg goals, despite playing only nine minutes. But he blocked four shots. Sven Andrighetto (C-) – Just can’t seem to be even a semi-consistent offensive contributor this year. Just didn’t notice him much. He did get three shots on goal. Logan O’Connor (D) – Hasn’t made much of a noticeable impact to much of anything yet. Hard to expect that from a guy playing only 5-8 minutes a night, but he’s got to find a way to make some kind of difference out there once in a while. Erik Johnson (B+) – Had the puck on his stick a lot tonight, added an assist, was involved in much of the action. Not his fault they lost tonight. Sam Girard (C+) – Another perfectly respectable game, but one in which you kind of went “I think he’s capable of so much more.” He also had negative puck-possession numbers. Avs need a big game from him somehow. Tyson Barrie (A) – Two assists, six shots on goal, great puck-possession numbers. Certainly not the reason they lost tonight. Ian Cole (B-) – I thought he was a little slow in reacting on the first couple of Winnipeg goals, but overall his numbers were pretty good and he wasn’t the reason why they lost tonight. Patrik Nemeth (C+) – Puck-possession numbers suggested a very good game (19-7 Corsi), but I thought he was overall just OK. Puck bounced between his skates just prior to one goal. Ryan Graves (B+) – Scored his second goal in as many games, plus blocked a couple of shots. Only played 11 minutes. Give him more ice time! Philipp Grubauer (F) – Yeah, he pretty much was the reason they lost. He faced only 20 shots in the game, and allowed six goals. He just hasn’t been able to string a couple good games together for quite a while now. His saves percentage is .895, with a 3.29 goals-against average. 1103619 Columbus Blue Jackets

Lightning 4, Blue Jackets 0 | Jackets still can't solve Lightning

Brian Hedger

TAMPA, Fla. — Halfway through, the best way to take stock of this Blue Jackets team is through a split view. One the one hand, judging solely by performance, they’ve ridden a roller coaster. Using coach John Tortorella’s words Tuesday morning, hours before a 4-0 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning, they have been “up and down like a toilet seat.” They have been to dizzying heights after some games and depressing lows after others, but that bathroom-throne analogy — while descriptive — doesn’t provide the whole picture. The Jackets have also been one of the most consistent teams in the NHL when it comes to winning and stacking points, which Tortorella refers to as “F.A.W.” for “Find A Way.” >>Join our Columbus Blue Jackets Fans Facebook group for the latest news, updates and to join in on the conversation. They haven’t lost three straight games yet, are still 8-3-1 in the past 12 games despite losing for a fifth time to the Lightning — dating to last season — and remain in the thick of a vacuum-packed race atop the Metropolitan Division. They have 51 points through the first 42 games, which still has them seated in third place, a point ahead of the New York Islanders — who lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Tuesday. “We’re right in the middle of things, so I give our team credit,” Tortorella said. “Through our inconsistencies, we have found ways to win games.” They just haven’t figured out the Lightning, despite dominating parts of the game — including the vast majority of the second period. Tampa Bay won by scoring with two quick spurts and then letting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (31 saves) do the rest for his second shutout of the season. The Lightning got two goals in 44 seconds late in the first period, scored by Mathieu Joseph and Brayden Point, and added goals less than two minutes apart to start the third by Nikita Kucherov and Point. Tampa Bay got right back to winning after having a remarkable streak of stacking points in 16 straight games end with a 15-0-1 record Saturday at San Jose. “We know (Vasilevskiy’s) a really good goalie, we know they’re a really good team,” Tortorella said of the Lightning, which pushed its point total to 68. “We’ve got to figure out a way to score goals. I’m disappointed for our team, because I thought we did a lot of really good things. (We) certainly didn’t play a complete game, but the second period was key for us. I thought we were outstanding and we come away empty.” The story of that period was Vasilevskiy, who made 17 of his saves to preserve a 2-0 lead, including a highlight save with his right pad to turn away a one-timer by Artemi Panarin from the right circle. It was that kind of night for the Blue Jackets, who had the loss compounded by injuries that knocked two-thirds of the fourth line out of the game. Brandon Dubinsky played just one shift in the second period and left because of a lower-body injury, and Markus Hannikainen missed the third because of an upper-body injury. Next will be the Nashville Predators at home Thursday, followed by a trip to play the Metro-leading Washington Capitals on Saturday. “We’ve got to move on, move forward,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “We have a tough week ahead of us here, with Nashville and Washington coming up, so we’ve got to start playing a little better.” Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103620 Columbus Blue Jackets

John Tortorella likes what he's seen from Eric Robinson

Brian Hedger

TAMPA, Fla. — A year ago, Eric Robinson was a senior at Princeton with a “C” on his jersey. He had drawn interest from NHL teams, who later sought his signature on a contract, but Robinson didn’t know where he’d wind up or how long it might take to someday become an NHL regular. “That was always the goal,” said Robinson, who made his season debut for the Blue Jackets on Saturday at the Florida Panthers. “I knew I wanted to try to play after (college) and I had some interest, so it was definitely in the back of my mind. I was trying to stay focused at school, trying to win there, but it’s definitely in the back of your mind that, ‘This is what I want to do for a living.’” >>Join our Columbus Blue Jackets Fans Facebook group for the latest news, updates and to join in on the conversation. There are still a number of mile markers on the highway between that stage and where he is now, but the 23-year-old power forward has successfully merged into the professional ranks with his foot solidly on the accelerator. After making his NHL debut in the Jackets’ regular-season finale last year, Robinson has approached this season with confidence and intensity — traits he showed while spending the bulk of his offseason training at Nationwide Arena. After starting the season with 10 goals and 19 points with Cleveland in the American Hockey League, Robinson caught Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella’s attention — in a good way — in just one NHL game. “Played good,” Tortorella said of Robinson’s performance against Florida. “Big body, great speed, did some really good things on the wall, made some good plays (and) wasn’t intimidated. He’s an interesting one to me.” It was enough to earn another game Tuesday, when the Blue Jackets concluded a three-game trip against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tortorella was eager to watch him play again and Robinson was eager to oblige. “You try your best to tell yourself it’s just another hockey game and tell yourself that you’re here for a reason and you belong,” he said. “I heard from a few people, ‘Just play like you have been in Cleveland and you’ll be fine,’ so that’s kind of what (I’m) trying to focus on.” More tinkering Looking to end an 0-for-24 power-play drought in the previous 11 games, the Jackets put in more work on the man-advantage units at the morning skate. Only one switch was made to the lineup, but it was significant. Zach Werenski and Seth Jones flip-flopped roles, with Werenski moving to the point on the top unit and Jones handling the same role with the second group. Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103621 Columbus Blue Jackets Panarin said Kucherov’s shot is similar in terms of having a quick release and that there are no extra movements. It’s on and off his stick really fast.

“Biggest respect because he uses his best qualities to his advantage Competitive friends Nikita Kucherov and Artemi Panarin break down without too much unnecessary stuff,” Panarin said. each other’s games Did Panarin pick up anything from Kucherov over the summer?

“We were practicing this shot over the summer together that he told me By Joe Smith Jan 8, 2019 about,” Panarin said. “But I won’t say what it was so it’ll be a surprise to goalies.” TAMPA, Fla. — When Artemi Panarin delivered his signature playoff Passing/playmaking performance in April, his friend Nikita Kucherov made sure to watch. Kucherov is known for being deceptive in the way he plays, finding ways It was an off-day for Kucherov and the Lightning during their first-round to get lost in the offensive zone despite opponents trying to track him. playoff series against New Jersey. Panarin was dazzling for Columbus in Part of this is due to Kucherov’s off-the-charts hockey IQ, which we 3-2, double-overtime loss to the eventual Cup-champion Capitals. detailed last week. Kucherov, a train stop away from New York City, stayed back at the Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde said Panarin and Kucherov are Lightning’s Jersey City hotel to watch his friend Panarin tear it up. similar in that way, how they think and read the game. After both Panarin’s highlight-reel assist and goal, Kucherov would “Those guys have world-class hockey sense, anticipation. They see the comment in a Russian text exchange with agent Dan Milstein, who game on a different level,” Lalonde said. “Today’s NHL, it’s a positive in represents both stars. After Panarin’s double-dangle on Capitals that it really sets up well for those skilled players, the vision, making defenseman Jay Beagle, Kucherov quipped it didn’t even look human. plays and the coaching staff allowing those guys to make plays. (Coach “Unbelievable,” Kucherov said. Jon Cooper) does a great job managing that. He knows he’s got a world- class player and world-class thinker, and he gives him some rope to do It inspired Kucherov, who put the Lightning on his back the following that. I see that in both of these players.” night, racking up two goals and an assist in a 3-1 victory over the Devils. This slick one-time setup by Kucherov for Stamkos is an example of him “He’s a top player in the league, definitely,” Kucherov said of Panarin. anticipating and thinking a play ahead. “He brings so much offense to any team he plays on. He’s got an unbelievable skill set. He helped (Blackhawks star Patrick) Kane improve Both Bowman and NBC analyst Brian Boucher said Kucherov is the his game. Right now, on Columbus, he makes everybody better. Panarin better playmaker of the two and is more often the one that carries the brings so much offense.” puck. But Panarin has shown his creativity with his slick setups, including banking this one off the end boards to Pierre-Luc Dubois for the finish. It was also during the playoffs where the idea was hatched for Kucherov and Panarin to train together in Tampa last summer, where the following “He sees the ice. He’s unpredictable how he can make plays,” Kucherov infamous tweet was sent out from Clearwater Beach. said of Panarin. “He’s always improvising on the ice. Always wanting to create something. He looks for the open guy. He just makes everybody VASY AND I SHOWING @9ARTEMI HOW GOOD IT IS TO PLAY IN better. Plays that he makes that everybody sees, they can probably learn TAMPA PIC.TWITTER.COM/I1SWJGWINZ from him. That’s what makes him such a great player, being around him, good players can learn from him.” — NIKITA KUCHEROV (@86KUCHEROV) AUGUST 23, 2018 What did Kucherov learn from Panarin? They’re also similar in their Panarin will be a highly sought-after unrestricted free agent this silence. offseason. “I don’t want to say anything,” Kucherov said, smiling. And Kucherov, 25, and Panarin, 27, will be reunited Tuesday when the Lightning host the Blue Jackets at Amalie Arena. With the two star How can you defend them? wingers facing off, The Athletic asked them to break down each other’s games and what they’ve learned from each other. Veteran Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh, thanks to his years with the Rangers, has plenty of experience trying to shut down both Kucherov The admiration is indeed mutual. and Panarin. Kucherov is currently the league’s leading scorer with 69 points in 42 games, averaging nearly a point per game in his career. “I like the way (Kucherov) makes passes,” Panarin said through Panarin’s numbers are similar with 278 points in 282 career games. interpreter Vlad Spektor. “He makes excellent, timely passes and shots and uses his best qualities.” So, good luck stopping them. The beginnings “No. 1, it’s tough to be physical on those guys,” McDonagh said. “It’s tough to line them up and get in position to be physical to play the body. Both Kucherov and Panarin had humble beginnings growing up in So you have to be good with your gap and close to take away passing Russia, as colleague Aaron Portzline and I have detailed. angles or get a stick on their shot. They were also both a bit overlooked when it came to the NHL draft. “Both are very good off the rush, deceptive shots, unselfish players that Panarin went undrafted in 2010 before getting signed by the Blackhawks. like to share the puck. So, it’s a tough combination.” Kucherov went 58th overall in 2011 and recently became the first player in his draft class to reach the 400-point milestone. Personality “I think teams were reluctant to draft players from Russia for a couple In Kucherov and Panarin’s last meeting on New Year’s Eve 2017 in years,” said Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, now an advisor with the Columbus, the Lightning star got the better of his buddy. Blackhawks. “Both guys ended up being steals.” Kucherov had a goal and an assist in a 5-0 victory over the Blue Jackets. The shot Panarin was a minus-1. But in postgame chats with his clients, Milstein couldn’t tell who had won and who had lost. What strikes Bowman about both Kucherov and Panarin is their unique ability to pull off one-timers off long passes. You see this often on “Panarin was more relaxed than Kucherov,” Milstein said. “Panarin called Kucherov’s power-play goals, which are regularly set up by cross-ice me after the game, and said, ‘No matter what, I’m doing better than your feeds from Steven Stamkos or Victor Hedman. buddy Kuch.’ Even though Kucherov had just won 5-0 and had points, he wasn’t satisfied.” “They both have terrific one-timers,” Bowman said. “Their one-timers, they can shoot off the pass. You have to be really good on timing, and They both watch their diets carefully. In fact, Milstein notes Kucherov that’s one of their big similarities. Many do one-timers, but if the puck is didn’t even have a drink or dessert at a celebratory dinner for his eight- moving across at a distance with a little bit on it, that’s a special art on year, $76 million extension signed in July. The next morning, Kucherov timing.” was back on the ice in Clearwater for his individual workouts. What strikes Kucherov about Panarin is his accuracy and quick release: “They’re both dialed in, both great professionals. The difference is Kucherov would rather stay in town and work on himself and practice and “Quick shot. Good technique. Unpredictable,” said Kucherov. “In this shoot, 24/7, 365. Where Panarin does that (too), he’s still more of an league, anybody can shoot. But he’s got really good accuracy. That’s outgoing guy than Kuch. what he’s all about. Accuracy and a quick shot, quick release. “Once you get to know Kuch, he’s got a great personality, great guy. When we all go out, we’re laughing at crazy jokes on anything other than hockey.” The future Kucherov is locked into Tampa Bay long term, with his eight-year extension not kicking in until next season. Panarin’s future is a lot less certain. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer and could draw similar interest to John Tavares before he signed with the Maple Leafs last July. Milstein is scheduled to meet with the Blue Jackets brass during the late-January All-Star break. Columbus is in playoff contention and Panarin appears happy, so he could at least finish the season there. But there’s a reason our Craig Custance has Panarin No. 1 on his list of the top 20 players who could be moved before the deadline. As Portzline wrote last summer, does Panarin want to spend the next eight years in Columbus? It’s hard to imagine the Lightning fitting Panarin into their salary cap, especially with their challenging crunch coming this summer and RFA Brayden Point still needing to be signed. As much as Kucherov drew attention for his playful beach tweet with Panarin on what it’s like to play in Tampa, it’s probably a pipe dream. “I’d definitely (like to play with Panarin),” Kucherov said. “But he plays for another team. Whatever happens, happens. But we’ve got a good team, so I’m not complaining.” Said Panarin: “I think internationally we’ll play more than once (going forward) for the Russian national team. Other than that? We will see.” The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103622 Dallas Stars Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.09.2019

Stars coach Jim Montgomery again disappointed with team after win: 'We don't come out and take games'

Matthew DeFranks

ST. LOUIS -- The wins can't disguise everything. Despite a 3-1 win over St. Louis on Tuesday night, Stars coach Jim Montgomery was again disappointed in Dallas' third period. The Stars managed just two shots in the final 20 minutes while protecting a two- goal lead, and counted on goaltender Ben Bishop to make 12 saves on St. Louis shots. The Blues attempted 23 shots in the third period. The Stars attempted 10. The Blues had 12 scoring chances in the third period, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Stars had four. "Whether we've lost or we've won, our third periods, we don't come out and take games," Montgomery said. "He hope to win, we don't play to win. We just got to get tougher, physically, mentally so that we can make the right plays. They're on a back-to-back. We shouldn't give up three scoring chances. We gave up like 12." Stars players echoed their coach. Tyler Seguin: "Third period, we'd still like to obviously improve. But those are details that are going to keep getting better." John Klingberg: "That's not good enough. We talked about it before we went out there in the third period that we have to keep playing how we want with the system. We going to have to be better playing with the lead. At the same time, we do hunt it down and get the two points on the road. But it's not good enough, we have to be better in the third period." Alexander Radulov: "The third period, that's not the hockey we want to play. We were up 3-1, but they had a lot of chances at the end. We got to clean that up and be better." The Stars are one of the worst third-period teams in the league. They've given up 49 third-period goals, the sixth-most in the NHL. They've been outshot 498-358 this season, an average of 3.18 per game. The issue has baffled Montgomery and his staff. Before Tuesday's third period, Montgomery challenged his team. Afterward, he said he didn't know what else to try. "Before the third period, I said if we play the right way, we're on the right puck, we pressure, we pursue, we play together, we shouldn't give up more than five shots," Montgomery said. "The Blues were on a back-to- back. That didn't work, so got to try something else. "I don't know. I just don't. We've tried a lot of different things, nothing's worked so far. But we're just going to keep pushing. The staff's going to keep on them. We've got to change our mentality. That's the bottom line." Montgomery also didn't think it was an issue of the Stars playing to the score instead of playing to their game. He pointed to a 5-2 loss to Chicago as evidence that the Stars don't need to be leading in order to submit a lackluster third period. "No, can't say that," Montgomery said. "When we were behind against Chicago, we didn't give a push. It's just our group's mentality and we're all trying to change it. No one's happy with it, players, coaches. But we're stuck in the mud." Tuesday was the second time in five days Montgomery was displeased with parts of his team's performance after a win. Following an overtime win over Washington on Friday, Montgomery said his team can become too complacent with success. In the division: Of the Stars' remaining 38 games, 16 of them are against Central Division opponents. Tuesday was the first of four meetings with St. Louis, a schedule quirk that matched the two division rivals for the first time in January. The rest of the season, the longest the Stars go without playing a division foe is four games "We knew our schedule," Seguin said. "Probably from game 10, we were talking [about how] our second 41 games were all divisional opponents, pretty much. We've known this has been coming." After Tuesday's win, the Stars are in third place in the Central Division, two points ahead of Colorado. Dallas is 23-17-4 with 50 points. 1103623 Dallas Stars Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.09.2019

After some early-season misfortune, Stars center Tyler Seguin knew the pucks would eventually start going in the net

Matthew DeFranks

ST. LOUIS -- Moments after the puck squeezed through the smallest of holes, through the sliver of questionably available space between Blues goaltender Jake Allen and the goalpost, the stick snapped. It was Tyler Seguin who'd beaten Allen for his second goal of the night, and the maligned St. Louis netminder responded by whacking his stick against the frame. The scene unfolded in the second period of the Stars' 3-1 win over the Blues on Tuesday night, and was reminiscent of Sunday in Winnipeg, when Stars goaltender Ben Bishop snapped his stick after a late goal. Only for Seguin this season, it hadn't been commonplace. He'd been stoned by goaltenders, and his career-low shooting percentage reflected that. He'd been beaten by the frame, and his league-leading 11 posts and crossbars reflected that. He'd been scolded publicly, and Stars CEO Jim Lites' criticism two Fridays ago reflected that. But things are looking back to normal for the Stars' top-line center, an elite sniper and potentially a Star for the rest of the career thanks to an eight-year extension signed in September. Tuesday night's two-goal showing was his third multigoal game in Dallas' last four games. “All the, I don’t even want to talk about it, puck luck, crossbars, all that stuff, it’s part of the game,” Seguin said. “I knew things were going to start going in and I didn’t know when. I wanted to keep shooting. Right now, they’re going in.” Seguin is tied with captain Jamie Benn for the team lead with 17 goals. With two assists Tuesday night, Alexander Radulov passed Seguin for the team lead with 25 assists. In the city in which he grew up, Bishop made 26 saves to quiet the Blues. But Tuesday -- and the last two weeks -- have belonged to Seguin. Before Lites' comments, which ripped Seguin and Benn for their "terrible" play, their effort and their overall production relative to their salaries, Seguin was on pace for a 24-goal season. It would have been his worst season since the Stars traded for him in 2013. Lites said Seguin was playing too much on the periphery, avoiding the dirty areas where goals are scored. Coach Jim Montgomery wanted Seguin to play more between the dots. Since then, Seguin has six goals on 25 shots on goal. He has not hit a post. His shooting success has jumped from 7.6 percent to 10 percent. There still may be more positive regression on the way, with Seguin's career shooting percent at 11.1. Only once since he joined the Stars has he finished a season below that. Seguin said he tries to focus on the process, but it can sometimes be difficult. "When you're on a 12-game goalless streak, no, it's a little bit tougher," Seguin said. "But when you're back and not thinking about much and just focusing on little details and never the results, I did that pretty much the whole year last year. It's taken a while to find that again. It's going better now." In the season's first three months, Seguin's underlying numbers were still strong. He was among the league leaders in shots on goal. His scoring chance figures were around his career-norms. Despite his lack of results, Seguin still made the Stars a better team when he was on the ice. Seguin is vital to the Stars aspirations to be a Stanley Cup contender. He -- along with Benn -- has been one of the NHL's best scorers. Benn, Seguin and Radulov can be one of the league's best lines, and they have been at times this season. When they are going, they can mask the dearth of depth scoring that resides on the Stars roster. When they are not going, they morph from elite to merely average, and the rest of the roster slides similarly. "He's finishing," Montgomery said. "It's good to get him on a roll, because scoring's been a problem for us and he's our best natural scorer." "Keep going, not think about it," Seguin said. "Keep that confidence and that fire. Focusing on the process." 1103624 Dallas Stars

Joel Quenneville among coaches Jim Montgomery reaches out to for help in first NHL season

Matthew DeFranks

Almost 15 years ago, Joel Quenneville helped Jim Montgomery get his start in coaching. Now, with Montgomery the Stars coach and Quenneville waiting for his next job offer, the three-time Stanley Cup champion is still helping the rookie head coach. Montgomery has reached out to Quenneville multiple times this season to pick his brain, as he did when Ken Hitchcock was an advisor with the Stars or as he did to former college coaches like Dave Hakstol and John Hynes. "Depends on what I want," Montgomery said on what he tries to gain from talks with Quenneville. "Like how'd he deal with Patrick Kane? Kane's a little bit similar to maybe Seggy or Rads. How he got them to buy in, stuff like that. That's an example. Also, the balance of rest and practice and how much video they did. Everything like that. "I talk to Todd McClellan, too. I talk to John Stevens. They're all close friends on mine and they're all let go. It's a crappy situation for them, but they're great minds in the game and great people that I look up to." In the mid-2000s, Quenneville suggested Montgomery try finding a job as a player-assistant coach, just as he'd done earlier in his career. So Montgomery ended up with the Missouri River Otters in the United Hockey League. "No one was returning calls, and the River Otters had a team," Montgomery said. "They called me and said 'Would you be [interested]?' I was like 'Yeah, I may as well play.' Because I didn't have enough time to maybe hit the coaching circuit well enough, and it worked out really well for me." Montgomery said he spent the last eight offseasons of his career training in St. Louis, where he also started his NHL career. He played 67 games in 1993-94 for the Blues, scoring six goals and adding 14 assists. He was traded to Montreal in Aug, 1994 for Guy Carbonneau. "You're breaking into the best league and it was a great city," Montgomery said. "Very vibrant, fans are fantastic. And then we had [general manager] Ron Caron up in the box and he's more animated than any player on the ice." -- Montgomery had a unique opportunity Monday night to scout his next two opponents -- at the same time. St. Louis visited Philadelphia on Monday night, a matchup between Dallas' opponent Tuesday and Thursday nights. The Blues won, 3-0. Montgomery said the prescout was done before the game, but he still used it as an opportunity to pick apart the Blues from his hotel room. "Yeah, I'm watching the game to see if they're doing anything different that we haven't already seen," Montgomery said. "Whether it be faceoff plays, power play breakouts, neutral zone counters. They're a good hockey team. Their d-corps moves the puck really well. They got a group of forwards that can make plays." Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103625 Dallas Stars Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.09.2019

'A good matchup for him': Defenseman Connor Carrick back in Stars' lineup after 3 games as healthy scratch

Matthew DeFranks

ST. LOUIS -- Stars defenseman Connor Carrick will return to the Dallas lineup on Tuesday night against the Blues, replacing Julius Honka on the third defensive pairing alongside Taylor Fedun. Carrick was a healthy scratch the last three games after finally returning from injury against Montreal on Dec. 31. Carrick missed 29 games with a foot injury, but only played 6:42 against the Canadiens because the Stars coaching staff felt he looked rusty. "We think it's a good matchup for him," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "He's in better shape, he's had three or four really good practices and skates here. St. Louis, hard forechecking team and big and heavy, so we just thought he was a better matchup." Carrick was on the ice for the first Montreal goal of the night in an eventual 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens. Brett Kulak's pass deflected off Carrick's skate and towards Danault in the slot, who buried it past Ben Bishop. Carrick only received five shifts after the goal against. "I thought on the goal against, the power pause, I could have been two feet left and I was two feet right," Carrick said. "Honestly, my route there is to make sure it doesn't get on the short side. Kid did a really good job, banked off my heel and Bish. Bounces happen. "In general as a player, my job is to earn more ice time so it's a truer read on how I'm feeling. It's a difficult game at those minutes, and I think I've been through enough of this, I've gotten pretty good at it in terms of being in, being out." Carrick got used to the routine of being in the lineup one game and out of it the next last year in Toronto. He played only 47 games for the Maple Leafs last season (competing for playing time with current Stars defenseman Roman Polak) and was nearly put on waivers before the Stars traded for him before the season started. Dallas sent a conditional seventh-round pick to Toronto for Carrick. Should he play at least 50 games, it becomes a sixth-round pick. "That's the challenge as a player is to present yourself as a trustworthy guy for the defense coach to put out, so he's not getting heat from the head coach," Carrick said. "Stuff runs downhill in hockey, so the easier I can make it to put me on the ice worry-free, the more ice time I'm going to get. Then you start unwinding your shoulders a bit as a player and get that feel that everybody's after." -- Montgomery altered the lines slightly ahead of Tuesday's game, removing Brett Ritchie, moving Blake Comeau to right wing on the fourth line and placing Valeri Nichushkin on Radek Faksa's left wing. Here's the expected lineup: Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov Valeri Nichushkin - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick Devin Shore - Jason Spezza - Erik Condra Mattias Janmark - Roope Hintz - Blake Comeau Esa Lindell - John Klingberg Miro Heiskanen - Roman Polak Connor Carrick - Taylor Fedun Ben Bishop Anton Khudobin When asked whether it was tough to split up Faksa's line with Pitlick and Comeau on the wings, Montgomery said "yes and no." They played five of the last six games together. "I really liked Comeau on the right side and him and Janmark were playing really well with Dickie," Montgomery said. "With Val with Faksa and Pitter, I think it gives us two lines that we can roll out and they can play against anybody." 1103626 Dallas Stars JOHN KLINGBERG AND ALEXANDER RADULOV PLAY CATCH WITH EACH OTHER AND KLINGBERG SPANKS ONE HOME FROM NEAR THE BLUE LINE AND PUTS IT PAST ALLEN ON THE 5-ON-3 FOR HIS Stars 20/20: Seguin scores twice, helps Stars survive another third- FIRST SINCE COMING BACK FROM INJURY. period disappearance STL 0 DAL 2 PIC.TWITTER.COM/JMGCDEC65U — DYLAN NADWODNY (@DNADDERS) JANUARY 9, 2019 By Sean Shapiro Jan 8, 2019 7. It was Klingberg’s first goal since returning from injury and his first tally since Oct. 23. ST. LOUIS, Missouri — Tyler Seguin scored twice, John Klingberg While it had been a while since Klingberg had scored. His impact has scored his first goal since October, and Ben Bishop made 26 saves as been rather noticeable since his return from injury. the Dallas Stars beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Tuesday. With Klingberg back in his comfort zone, the Dallas power play has 1. The Stars have a third-period problem. converted in six straight games and the man advantage is converting at a 40 percent rate (6-for-15) during that span. And it reared its ugly head in a victory on Tuesday. Leading 3-1 heading into the final frame, the Stars showed little to no interest in adding to their “We’re building on something there,” Klingberg said. “We can do some lead. stuff better, I think too. But obviously, I think we’re finding each other right now and building confidence in special teams.” To steal a soccer term, they parked the bus, went into a bunker and hoped and prayed the bunker would hold. The Blues outshot the Stars 8. Seguin’s second goal, which made it 3-0, was not a good one for 12-2 in the final stanza. Allen. The Stars didn’t play to win in the third. They just kind of skated around in JAKE ALLEN WANTS THIS ONE BACK. their own defensive end and iced the puck because NHL rules require a PIC.TWITTER.COM/LHE6I9UNUK team to at least show up for 60 minutes to get a win in the standings. — DYLAN NADWODNY (@DNADDERS) JANUARY 9, 2019 2. In total, the Stars have been outshot 498-to-358 in third periods this This was a rough night for the Blues goalie, who allowed three goals on season. 17 shots. That’s not a trait of a winning team, and it makes the Stars’ recent run in 9. Allen almost let up another weak one in the second period after a the standings (four wins in their last six games), feel a bit like fool’s gold. stick-handling mishap, but recovered in time to make a toe save on Erik 3. “We hope to win, we don’t play to win. And we’ve just got to get Condra’s shot. tougher — physically, mentally — so that we can make the right plays,” It was 3-1 at the time and that’s the type of goal that really would have Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. “They’re on a back-to-back, we erased any resemblance of hope for a third-period St. Louis comeback. shouldn’t give up more than three scoring chances; we gave up, like, 12.” 10. The first period was dreadfully boring. So how do you fix it? The teams combined for nine shots, the Stars didn’t have a shot until the According to Montgomery, the Stars have tried a little bit of everything. 10:25 into the period, and St. Louis looked absolutely lifeless on two Here is what he tried during the second intermission on Tuesday. power plays. “I said if we play the right way, we’re on the right puck, we pressure, we Aside from Seguin’s goal that made it 1-0, nothing really happened. pursue, we play together, we shouldn’t give up more than five shots. Blues are on a back-to-back,” Montgomery said. “That didn’t work so I 11. Esa Lindell made the save of the game in the third period, helping the got to try something else next time.” Stars hold a two-goal lead when they were standing around watching the Blues play hockey. Does any fix come to mind? BEN BISHOP WAS SHARP TONIGHT, BUT ESA LINDELL MAY HAVE “I don’t know. I just don’t. We’ve tried a lot of different things, nothing’s HAD THE SAVE OF THE GAME. #GOSTARS worked so far. But we’re just going to keep pushing and the staff’s going PIC.TWITTER.COM/72TXLDSZ7O to keep on them,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got to change our mentality, that’s the bottom line.” — DALLAS STARS (@DALLASSTARS) JANUARY 9, 2019 4. Here is the good news: the Stars won a game they were supposed to It was an extremely busy night for Lindell, who played 27 minutes, 5 win, even if the process was ugly. seconds. He had three different shifts of two minutes or longer. The Blues are not a good hockey team right now, and as stated prior, 12. The Stars started out with this lineup: they were tired after playing in Philadelphia and flying home late Monday night. Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov This was a game that would have been inexcusable to lose. Valeri Nichushkin – Radek Faksa – Tyler Pitlick 5. Seguin scored twice for the third time in the past four games. Devin Shore – Jason Spezza – Erik Condra The timing is incredibly convenient if you want to give credit to Stars CEO Mattias Janmark – Roope Hintz – Blake Comeau Jim Lites’ public rip job. Esa Lindell – John Klingberg You can give Lites credit if you want. But in reality, this just a goal-scorer Miro Heiskanen – Roman Polak seeing the law of averages work back in his favor. The goals Seguin scored on Tuesday weren’t much different from the chances he had Connor Carrick – Taylor Fedun earlier this season, and his shooting percentage is approaching his career norm. 13. Carrick was back in the lineup after sitting the past three games as a healthy scratch. “You want to call it puck luck, crossbars, it’s part of the game and I knew it,” Seguin said. “I knew things were going to start going in and I didn’t Carrick returned from injury on Dec. 31 against the Montreal Canadiens know when, and I just wanted to keep shooting and right now they’re but struggled and had limited shifts, as he only played 6 minutes, 42 going in.” seconds in that loss. He was also on the ice for the Stars’ first goal- against in the loss, taking a read in the wrong direction that led to an 6. The Stars’ power-play allowed them to take control of the game in the opening for Montreal. second period. Carrick had a rough start against St. Louis and took two penalties in the With Dallas already on the power play, Klingberg drew a slashing penalty first five minutes. He didn’t play much as the game progressed and from Zach Sanford, setting up a 5-on-3 for 85 seconds. played five seconds more (6:47) than he did in the game against Montreal. It paid off for Dallas when Klingberg beat Allen with a point shot on a feed from Alexander Radulov. 14. Montgomery initially split up the Faksa line in an attempt to create a bit more defensive balance in the lineup. “I really like Comeau on the right side. He and Janmark were playing really well with (Jason Dickinson) and I think — with Val, Faksa, and Pitter — It gives us two lines that we can roll out and they can play against anybody.” 15. Each time Bishop returns to St. Louis he has a decent contingent of friends and family in attendance. The Stars goalie grew up in St. Louis and most of his extended family members still live either in the city or in the suburbs. “I don’t really have to track down tickets, everyone does that themselves,” Bishop said on Tuesday morning. “It’s always fun to come back here and play and see family. Always a good trip.” Bishop started his career with the Blues and spent four years in the organization before being traded to the Ottawa Senators. 16. Bishop’s father, also named Ben Bishop, owns a restaurant named Bishop’s Post in nearby Chesterfield, Missouri. I asked Bishop for a quick review of the restaurant. “Good food, a little bit of everything, you’ll find something you like on the menu for sure,” Bishop said. “It’s got a great patio, probably the best patio in St. Louis. In the summer we probably eat there at least once a week and hang out on the patio.” 17. As for his play on the ice, Bishop made the difference in the third period as he won in his hometown. A backhander by David Perron which led to a goal was the lone mistake in an otherwise stellar performance. The Stars are practicing in St. Louis on Wednesday before flying to Philadelphia, meaning Bishop will have a chance to celebrate with friends and family Tuesday night. 18. Spezza put on a clinic in the faceoff circle and won 13 of the 16 draws he took against St. Louis. It was a night where two of the NHL’s best faceoff men went head-to- head, and Spezza got the best of Blues center Ryan O’Reilly. 19. The Stars iced the puck 13 times on Tuesday. Just imagine what would have happened if they didn’t win 10 of the defensive zone faceoffs immediately after draws. 20. Here is how the Stars did in the various elements of Montgomery’s Process: Win 56 percent of faceoffs: Passed. The Stars won 60 percent. Zero undisciplined penalties: Failed. Three or fewer odd-man rushes: Passed. Win net-front battle: Failed. The third period dropped this from a pass to a fail. Win special teams: Passed. The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019

1103627 Detroit Red Wings “He was engaged and on it,” Blashill said. “His preseason was outstanding for the most part. I just think he’s done a good job of taking steps in the right direction. He’s been a good player but he’s established Why this forward is an 'X-factor' for the Detroit Red Wings himself as a consistently good player for our hockey team.”

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.09.2019

Published 12:18 a.m. ET Jan. 9, 2019

Amid a frustrating, challenging season, Andreas Athanasiou beckons as a beacon of a better future.

Athanasiou is well on pace for a career year with the Detroit Red Wings, his 17 goals already one more than he scored last season and just one shy of his personal best. He recorded his third two-goal game of the season Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena as the Wings fell 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens.

That gave Athanasiou six goals in his last seven games. He is second on the team in goals and third with 27 points. His production does not reflect how well he played in October, when he was generating chances regularly even as the points weren’t coming.

“His daily approach in practice has been very good,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “His engagement and work ethic from day one has been very good and I think with that, when he does that on a consistent basis, he’s a real good player and that shows up in games.

“I think how you approach every day ultimately tells how you are going to play, and he’s done a good job with that.”

That reflects maturity on Athanasiou’s part. He’s too talented a forward to go through quiet stretches like he did as recently as last season, when he went without a goal for stretches of 15 games and 13 games.

This season he has not gone more than three games in a row without a point, and that dates to October, when the Wings struggled to mask injuries.

“You’re seeing more of him doing it on a nightly basis,” veteran Niklas Kronwall said. “In the past, in his early years in the league, it was more bits and pieces. He is doing it on a more consistent basis and that’s really paying off.

“You talk guys with an X-factor, he’s a guy that can score a goal out of nowhere. The way he skates, he is going to get opportunities just because of how talented he is.”

Athanasiou’s performance brightened a night that capped a disappointing home stand that saw the Wings in position to win every game but only manage to go 1-3-1. Now they’re on the road five of their next six games.

“You just have to stick with it, stick with it,” Kronwall said. “Keep grinding. Everything starts with hard work and trying to do it right every day.”

More: Why this Detroit Red Wings rookie is doing better in his second stint

Athanasiou is certainly doing his part. He said during camp he’d be consistent if the minutes were, and has followed through on that. He’s averaging 16:25 minutes per game, up from the 15:19 he averaged last season, and is a mainstay on the power play.

“I just try to play hard every night, bring my game and do what I have to do to be ready,” Athanasiou said. “I just go out there and play my game.”

Teammates have gotten used to seeing Athanasiou blaze off with the puck.

“It seems like just out of nowhere he can make something happen and he can put it in the back of the net,” Jimmy Howard said. “He’s very talented - he’s got great hands, a great shot. For someone that sees him on a daily basis, it’s no surprise. I just think he’s using his speed to his advantage and his shiftiness out there, he’s finding ways to get open. He’s using his speed to get in behind defenses and he’s getting rewarded for it.”

Athanasiou, 24, is cementing himself as a driving force of the rebuilding process, something that was in doubt last season when he held out in a contract dispute. He came into this season with a two-year, $6 million contract and looked motivated from the start of training camp. 1103628 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings end home stand with loss to Montreal

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press

Published 10:19 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 11:24 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019

Their home stand ended as it began: with the Detroit Red Wings in position to win but coming up short.

They completed a five-game stretch at Little Caesars Arena with a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday. Former teammate Tomas Tatar set up two of the goals.

Andreas Athanasiou had a terrific performance, scoring twice to reach six goals in his last seven games and 17 on the season, one more than the output he had last season in 71 games. Jimmy Howard had a less than stellar night, but on the upside the power play finally flickered to life after flatlining the past couple weeks.

The Wings pressed hard in the third period for a rally, but finished the home stand that began New Year’s Eve 1-3-1.

Even first

The Wings did a good job gaining the offensive zone and testing Antti Niemi, throwing pucks on net and trying for rebounds. A penalty on former Habs forward Jacob de la Rose, who the Wings picked off waivers Oct. 17, saw the Wings do such a good job Howard didn’t even have to make a save. A Wings power play at 13:30 had good puck movement and ended with Dennis Cholowski banging a puck off the cross bar. The Wings wrapped the first period up with another solid penalty kill and nine shots on goal, to eight from the Habs.

Athanasiou strikes

Less than two minutes into the second period, the Wings found themselves down by two goals. First Brendan Gallagher scored at the 30-second mark, bulling his way to the net and managing to swipe in Tatar’s shot even as Gallagher was falling. There was a lot of traffic around the net on that goal, but on the second, Joel Armia pounced on a loose puck and ripped a shot that Howard should have had. The Wings pushed back right away, and were rewarded when Athanasiou had the puck in the right circle and looked like he was going to pass only to roof a shot that made it 2-1.

Athanasoiu scored again at 4:58 of the third period, during the Wings’ fourth power play, when he one-timed a pass from Anthony Mantha.

About that power play

The Wings came into the game 1-for-20 on man advantages through the previous eight games. They had two power plays in the second period, both with the score at 2-1. On the first, the Wings didn’t have much until Filip Hronek got a shot through near the end. Tyler Bertuzzi was hit by a shot while playing in front of the net, went to the bench in pain, but was good to go for the second power play. The first minute of that one — the Wings’ third of the game, was disgraceful, as the unit manned by Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek, Niklas Kronwall and Cholowski struggled to even get the puck into the offensive zone. Mantha managed a short wrist shot on Niemi, but it wasn’t a good power play overall.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103629 Detroit Red Wings

Why this Detroit Red Wings rookie is doing better in his second stint

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press

Published 2:06 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019

Playing shorthanded and with a short memory has helped Detroit Red Wings rookie Filip Hronek regain his confidence.

Hronek is in his second stint with the Wings, recalled in mid-December to offset injuries. A dozen games in, he has had more good stretches than poor ones, showing off his offensive skills and earning trust in his own zone. That’s in contrast to when he was sent down six games into the season after making the team opening night because four of the Wings’ veteran defensemen were injured.

“I feel more comfortable,” Hronek said Tuesday morning as he prepared for the evening game against Montreal at Little Caesars Arena. “I get my confidence back in Grand Rapids. I started to feel better there and then I came here and I was trying to keep it going.”

Hronek, 21, scored his third goal of the season Sunday, and assisted on two goals the prior game. With Danny DeKeyser and Trevor Daley both injured, Hronek has helped fill in on penalty kills, and that’s a big boost to a young defenseman.

“I think it helps a tremendous amount because even if he hasn’t played that much, no one knows if he can play it or not,” veteran Niklas Kronwall said. “Now he gets a chance to play it and that just grows his own repertoire a lot wider, and shows that he can handle all those things. Not just be solid in your own zone, but he can play very good on the PK, as well.

“When he went down, he went to work on his game and ever since he got called back, I think he’s looked right at home.”

Hronek rejoined the Wings on Dec. 14, after Mike Green (foot) was injured. Coach Jeff Blashill said Green could be back Saturday at Minnesota; DeKeyser (hand) is a possibility for the Jan. 15 game against Anaheim; Daley (foot) is out through January.

That has provided opportunity for Hronek. One of the keys to his improvement has been learning to shake off bad outings, like when he was on the ice for four of the Dallas Stars’ goals Dec. 29.

“I thought the Dallas game was a big step for him, because he can be hard on himself and it was a bad game, no hiding from it,” Blashill said. “He was able to have a very short memory and move onto the next game, and that’s a very important attribute for an athlete. You want to learn, you want to be self-accountable, but you can’t let it get you down. He’s done a real good job, he’s played very well since that Dallas game.”

The Wings weren’t able to mask having to play four rookies on the back end when the season began, and only Dennis Cholowski stuck around as the veterans returned. It was best for Hronek to go back to the Grand Rapids Griffins, where last season he recorded 11 goals and 28 assists in 67 games, his first year of pro hockey.

Hronek ran one of the Griffins’ power plays last season, and added penalty killing responsibilities this season.

“He got confidence from going down, getting his game in order, so that when he came back, he was in a better spot than he was to start the year,” Blashill said. “He’s a little bit of a slow starter — that’s his words, not mine — and it’s a hard league to be a slow starter in when you’re trying to make a team. I thought early when he was with us, he made some big mistakes, and it went in our net. Since he’s been back, he’s managed his game much better. He’s taken what’s given. He’s created offense when offensive opportunities were there, but he’s been excellent defensively, he’s moved the puck out of our zone, and he’s shown real strength.”

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103630 Detroit Red Wings

Trump's shutdown speech won't stop the damage to his base

Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press

Published 3:23 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 12:50 a.m. ET Jan. 9, 2019

President Donald Trump is in a no-win situation as he prepares to address the nation Tuesday evening in the midst of a government shutdown. Trump promised his base a border wall, and failure to get one will enrage his supporters. So he must stick to his guns and demand the funding for the wall that is at the center of the shutdown. But the longer Trump sticks to his guns, the more he harms his base.

That's because the red states that constitute the core of Trump's support are the greatest beneficiaries of federal largess. In a recent column, Robert Reich referenced a study by the Rockefeller Institute for Government that tracked how much states sent to Washington and how much they got back in 2015. He wrote: "Mississippi received $2.13 for every tax dollar that its inhabitants sent to Washington. West Virginia received $2.07, Kentucky: $1.90 and South Carolina $1.71."

So the longer the shutdown lasts, the greater the financial impact on the red states that make up Trump's base.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103631 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens: Live updates, scoring

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press Published 5:53 a.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 7:48 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019

Detroit Red Wings (16-21-7, 39 points) vs. Montreal Canadiens (22-15-5, 49 points)

Game notes:

Finishing touch: The Red Wings finish up a five-game home stand hoping to do a better job finishing. They’ve started well the past four games, but have only one victory. “I’ve been fine with the starts,” coach Jeff Blashill said Tuesday morning. “Overall, I’ve been happy with the way we’ve played. We haven’t done a good enough job of winning games that are close in this stretch. Really, that’s what it’s come down to more than anything else. I think our record could easily be a lot better. But, with that said, it’s not, so we have to find a way here to put ourselves in position to win, that’s the number one thing, and two, to make the plays it takes to win.” … The power play remains a sore point, as the Wings are 1-for-20 through the past eight games.

Sizing up the opponent: The Canadiens average three goals-per-game and allow an average of 3.09. Their power play (12.8 percent) ranks 31st in the NHL and their penalty kill (78.3 percent) ranks 19th. Max Domi leads the team with 24 assists and 38 points and Brendan Gallagher with 15 goals. Former Wings forward Tomas Tatar has a team-high four power-play goals among 14 goals total, and 31 points.

Winged wheel WATCH: Jimmy Howard is slated to start. Based on the morning skate, the lines are Dylan Larkin with Tyler Bertuzzi and Gustav Nyquist, Frans Nielsen with Thomas Vanek and Anthony Mantha, Luke Glendening with Andreas Athanasiou and Darren Helm, and Jacob de la Rose with Justin Abdelader and Christoffer Ehn. … Forward Michael Rasmussen (lower body) and defensemen Mike Green (foot/ankle), Trevor Daley (foot) and Danny DeKeyser (hand) are out.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103632 Detroit Red Wings Montreal had regained a two-goal lead just 19 seconds into the third period on a goal by Jeff Petry (Orchard Lake St. Mary/Michigan State), set up by Tomas Tatar’s second assist of the game.

'It stinks': Red Wings end home stand on a sour note It was the second consecutive poor start to a period for the Wings in this game.

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News Montreal opened the scoring in the second period just 30 seconds into the frame. Published 10:23 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 12:14 a.m. ET Jan. 9, 2019 Tatar carried the puck in the zone, was stopped by Howard, but batted the puck to Brendan Gallagher, who knocked the puck past Howard while falling to the ice.

Detroit — The Red Wings were pointing at this five-game home stand as The Canadiens extended the lead just 66 seconds later, with Joel Armia an opportunity to right themselves a bit. scoring his fourth goal of the season.

But, no such luck. Detroit lost its third of those five games at Little “A couple of slow starts in the second and third and that’s the ballgame,” Caesars Arena on Tuesday, falling 3-2 to Montreal and continuing a Howard said. “It definitely stinks, we had a chance on this home stand to rough stretch in the schedule. make up some ground and we didn’t do it. Now, we put ourselves in a hole and we have to keep digging ourselves to get out of it.” The Canadiens scored twice in a span of 1 minute, 6 seconds early in the second period, then scored again just 19 seconds into the third while goalie Antti Niemi stopped 30 shots as the Wings continued reeling. Detroit News LOADED: 01.09.2019 “We gave away three easy goals,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We shoot ourselves in the foot, we have to work like dogs to get our goals, and we give away three easy ones.

“It’s hard to score every night. You can’t give away goals.”

It’s getting to the point in the schedule where the playoffs are obviously becoming a distant memory, and soon it could be improving draft pick odds.

In terms of that, the Wings are doing a good job of piling on the losses.

Along with a 1-3-1 home stand, the Wings (16-22-7, 39 points) have only won twice in the last 14 games (2-9-3). And it's not getting easier, with some difficult road games against Western Conference teams coming up in the schedule.

Coach Jeff Blashill talks about the key reason for the Red Wings' 3-2 loss to the Canadiens on Tuesday. Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News

“We haven’t found a way to win,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “But in saying that, we have to stick with it. Everything starts with hard work and doing it right every day. We’ll get out of this.”

Beating the Canadiens hasn’t been all that easy for the Wings, either, over the last few years. With Tuesday’s loss, Montreal has won seven of the last 11 games against the Wings (2-7-2), winning this game despite having lost the night before at home against Minnesota.

Tuesday’s loss was typical of the entire home stand, as the Wings were often close — and often lost.

“We were in every game but you have to find a way to win them,” Blashill said. “This one, to me, Washington (who the Wings lost to Sunday) won the Stanley Cup, they’re a very good hockey team. This team (Montreal) is a good team, but there’s no way on a back-to-back that we shouldn’t find a way to win a hockey game.

“It’s not good enough. We need to be better than that. Frustrating is a good word. Now, frustration is a waste of time. We have to find a way to win, and wins breed confidence.”

Andreas Athanasiou scored both Wings goals, giving him 17 for the season and six in the last seven games.

Athanasiou’s second goal cut the Montreal lead to 3-2 at 4:58 of the third period, one-timing a feed from Anthony Mantha past Niemi.

“Pucks are bouncing the right way,” Athanasiou said of his hot streak. “Just keep working hard and generating those opportunities and try to make the most of them when they come.”

Red Wings' Andreas Athanasiou talks about his recent goal-scoring binge after recording two goals in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Canadiens. Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News

The Wings pulled goaltender Jimmy Howard (22 saves) with over a minute left in the game but failed to generate a quality scoring chance against Niemi. 1103633 Detroit Red Wings Early Tuesday, the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association and its parent, USA Hockey, said they were not aware of Ty Cornett's complaints or what his father says he has experienced.

P.K. Subban reaches out after Metro Detroit youth hockey player faces By the end of the day, however, both said they were learning some of the alleged racial abuse details and are poised to begin a review.

USA Hockey, coincidentally, is investigating allegations of racist invective Gregg Krupa, The Detroit News recently uttered during a tournament in western Pennsylvania.

Published 8:07 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 8:19 p.m. ET Jan. 8, Subban also reached out to a young black player from Maryland, who 2019 might have participated in the tournament.

“I haven’t heard anything about it, and I haven’t seen any report come through our Safe Sport Program,” MAHA president George Atkinson said Matthew Cornett says his son Ty, a 13-year-old hockey player, has of Ty Cornett’s situation. “We have a zero tolerance." watched the video “about a thousand times.” “Technically, if that happened, an official should have given the kid a When the NHL All-Star P.K. Subban heard from the father of one of match penalty, if that was the case,” Atkinson said. “And, they could Cornett’s teammates on the Plymouth Sting that Ty, who is black, has suspend him indefinitely, pending any hearings.” encountered a lot of racial harassment playing hockey, Subban made a video. Cornett said he is beginning to work with the Plymouth Hockey Association, for which his son plays, to approach the MAHA. Subban made it Friday, standing behind the bench in Little Caesars Arena before the game between Predators and the Red Wings. “I don’t want to name the local team yet that did it because, well, there’s about four bad kids on the team and about 12 good ones,” Cornett said. “Ty, this is P.K. Subban, here, with the Nashville Predators,” said Subban, who also is black. “I heard a little bit about you, and what you’re “We’re contacting MAHA with the head of the association, and instead of going through. suspending people, I think the refs and the coaches involved need to go to sensitivity training. “I can tell you this, right now, that as long as you’re still breathing in this world you’ve got to believe in yourself and let nobody tell you what you “So, hopefully, they are dealing with it that way.” can and can’t do, especially it’s because of the color of your skin.” In the spring, playing in a tournament in Chelsea against a team from When Ty saw the video, his father said, “I don’t think anything could have Indiana, Cornett said the harassment grew pitched. affected him the way that it did. “My son, he’s pretty much average sized. But, he hits like a Mack truck. It “He went to his game that night and he gave me the biggest hug and he usually makes the kids angry, and they look for ways to start chipping said, ‘Dad, I’m going to score a goal for you.’ away at him.

“He’s like a new kid!” “And, every time he would line up in front of their bench, they would beat their chests. And I watched them doing that and the coach would smile Cornett’s father said that since 2010, but especially in the last two years, about it, smirk about it.” his son has faced myriad instances of intolerance, the sort of baldly ignorant notions about people of African descent that seem beyond Players from the Indiana team followed Ty and, according to his father, belief. said, “Hey, monkey, stick to basketball.”

“My kids are all adopted,” said Matthew Cornett, of Wayne. “We adopted After some other racist comments, the opposing coaches yelled at each them through the foster system here, in Michigan. other. But there were no official sanctions.

“And, my wife and I are white. So, this is uncharted territory for us. In Dearborn this year, in a tournament against a team from Pennsylvania, a father of an opposing player called Ty a monkey, Cornett said. “That is why P.K. Subban meant so much to him. “And then, he played his former team this year, and that’s when it got “He was saying stuff in the video that I’ve said a million times to him,” really bad,” Cornett said. Cornett said. “But it’s different because P.K.’s been through it. Ty repeatedly heard a common racial slur, he said. “My son always says, 'Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Dad.’ But I know it’s not the same. “It’s unreal,” Cornett said. “It’s gotten out of hand, the past two years.

“And, I’ve always said that to him, like, I’ll never walk in your shoes. I’ll “Unfortunately, my son got used to it this year. When he was first called never know how bad it’s going to hurt. the N-word a few years ago at the age of 10 by a Canadian team, he had a breakdown on the ice and he went after a kid. “I’ve always told my son, if it gets to be too much, we’ll find something else. But, he says he loves hockey and that’s all he wants to play.” “In three years, it’s become so commonplace that it starting not to bother him. It’s starting to chip away at him.” But, the racial hostility and invective has increased, Cornett said. Teammates have stood up for Ty, his father said, including one who got “lt’s gotten so bad, I almost pulled him out myself. But, he begged me not tossed from a game for doing so. to. “Ty’s best friend on the team is the goalie, Billy. The goalie went to his “The first year, it happened once,” the father said. “The second year, it father and he just started crying and said, ‘I can’t take it. I go out there happened more. The third year, it’s happened so much he’s stopped and I hear all this stuff they say to Ty and I just can’t do it anymore. We telling us about it when it happens.” have to do something.’

Subban sought to address the ignorance in the video. “And, that’s when the dad contacted the NHL and contacted P.K. Subban.” “You know, in this world, some things happen that we don’t really understand. That’s OK. We don’t have to understand," he said. "All we need to do is understand our self, believe in our self and keep trying and pushing forward. Detroit News LOADED: 01.09.2019

“So, I just want to tell you that when you’re playing hockey, you play because you love the game and you want to play,” Subban continued. “Don’t let nobody take that away from you. All right, Ty?” 1103634 Detroit Red Wings Tuesday’s game against Montreal marked another return of forward Tomas Tatar back to Detroit, and this one was much enjoyable than the last time.

Red Wings' Filip Hronek making a statement to remain in the NHL Late last season, when Tatar returned as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, he’d just been dealt at the trade deadline and was trying to find his way into their lineup. Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News It never happened, as Tatar became a healthy scratch while Vegas made Published 2:04 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 2:56 p.m. ET Jan. 8, its unexpected run through the playoffs. 2019 Traded to Montreal before training camp, Tatar has found a home with the Canadiens, with 31 points (14 goals) and a plus-8 rating.

Detroit — The way he’s playing and competing, you have to think young “I’m really happy Tats has had a real good year,” Blashill said. “It didn’t defenseman Filip Hronek is telling the Red Wings he doesn’t need to go his way in Vegas. It’s one of those things you get on a team late and return to Grand Rapids. sometimes they’ve got their spots filled.

The big buildings and bright lights of the NHL, that’s where Hronek wants “Tats is a real good player, he’s been a real good NHL player for a to stay. number of years. He’s a great person and competitor, and he wants the moment.” Hronek, who didn't look ready when he was in the lineup because of a slew of injuries when the regular season started, looks more comfortable Injury update this time around. The Wings might have Green (lower body) this weekend. “Is he making a statement?” asked coach Jeff Blashill, of Hronek. “Every time you play, you got a chance to make a statement, one way or Green last played December 11, but has been skating for the last week another. He’s had a number of good statements.” and Blashill said a return Saturday in Minnesota is a possibility.

Hronek, 21, entered Tuesday’s game with seven points (three goals, four DeKeyser (hand) is expected to see a specialist by Wednesday. assists) in 18 games with the Wings, and a minus-6 rating, while playing “We’ll have a better idea of where he’s at and can push it more,” said almost 19 minutes per game (18:48). Blashill of DeKeyser, who has been out since December 4 in an injury- Hronek had three points in the last two games, and has played over 20 marred season. minutes in three of the last four games. Blashill did say the January 15 game against Anaheim “is potentially in The coaching staff appears to have growing confidence in Hronek, and play” for DeKeyser. he’s responding with the some of the better play of his young career. Michael Rasmussen (lower body) missed his second consecutive game And that better play has come after a particularly tough night on Tuesday, and Blashill wasn’t sure if Rasmussen would be ready for this December 29, when Hronek was a glaring minus-3 with noticeable weekend’s back-to-back in Winnipeg (Friday) and Minnesota (Saturday). defensive mistakes that led to goals against. “He still has some pain,” Blashill said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a long “The Dallas game was a big step for him,” said Blashill, talking about thing, but we’re using this time to reset and getting him pain free.” Hronek’s development. “He can be hard on himself and he had a bad game, no question, no hiding from it. He was able to move on to the next game, and that’s a very important attribute for an athlete. Detroit News LOADED: 01.09.2019

“You want to be self accountable, but you don’t want to be down from it.”

“He’s out there on a consistent basis in the last number of games against the best players lots of times. He’s played real well. He had one really bad game in Dallas, but what I like about it is he came back from that game and has been good ever since.”

Balshill talked about the importance of leaving a forgettable game like the one in Dallas, in the past.

“Something him and I talked about was making sure you put it behind you, have a short memory,” Blashill said. “He’s done a real good job of that.”

Hronek's immediate future is a bit murky once injured defensemen Mike Green and Danny DeKeyser return, along with Trevor Daley, who looks to be another several weeks out.

There's a possibility someone like Daley, or maybe Nick Jensen, could be dealt before the February 25 trade deadline, which could potentially create a full-time spot for Hronek.

But all that remains to be seen.

In his short pro career, Hronek has been a bit of a slow starter, which this season proved costly in that he began the year with the Red Wings, rather Grand Rapids.

With four veteran defensemen out because of injuries, and four rookies beginning the season on the Wings’ defense, Hronek’s slow start stood out.

But Hronek, mostly, looks like a different player this time around.

“It’s a hard league to be a slow starter,” Blashill said. “He made some big mistakes and they went in our net. Since he’s been back, he’s managed his game much better.” 1103635 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings get pair from Andreas Athanasiou but lose to Canadiens

Updated 6:54 AM; Posted 3:09 AM

By Ansar Khan | [email protected] [email protected]

DETROIT – The Montreal Canadiens and goaltender Antti Niemi continue to cause trouble for the Detroit Red Wings.

Niemi made 30 saves Tuesday to lead the Canadiens to a 3-2 victory at Little Caesars Arena.

Montreal has won seven in a row against the Red Wings, outscoring them 37-16. Niemi improved to 17-3-3 lifetime vs. Detroit, with most of that damage done as a San Jose Shark.

The Red Wings (16-22-7) capped a disappointing 1-3-1 homestand, in which they played some good hockey but found ways to lose. The Canadiens are 23-16-5.

Andreas Athanasiou scored both goals for the Red Wings, giving him 17 in 39 games this season. He scored 16 goals in 71 games in 2017-18. He is one short of his career-high total from 2016-17.

Jeff Petry scored what proved to be the winning goal 19 seconds into the third period, firing a wrist shot past Jimmy Howard from the edge of the faceoff circle to put the Canadiens ahead 3-1.

Athanasiou answered at 4:58 on the power play, converting a pass from Anthony Mantha.

The Red Wings had another power-play opportunity midway through the third period but couldn’t convert.

After a scoreless first period, the Canadiens outscored the Red Wings 2- 1 in the second.

Athanasiou cut the deficit to 2-1 at 6:39. He fired in a wrist shot on a two- on-one with Darren Helm after the Canadiens turned over the puck while attempting to skate it out of their zone.’

The Canadiens struck quickly at the start of the period, scoring twice in a span of 1:06.

Brendan Gallagher fired in a shot from the slot at the 30-second mark during a scramble after Howard was unable to smother the puck and the play was kept alive.

Joel Armia made it 2-0 at 1:36 by snapping in a wrist shot from between the faceoff circles.

Michigan Live LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103636 Detroit Red Wings "In the end you could be a better player because you faced adversity. I think a lot of times adversity helps you.”

Filip Zadina defends play at World Juniors, moves forward Michigan Live LOADED: 01.09.2019

Updated Jan 8, 9:37 PM; Posted Jan 8, 9:37 PM

By Peter J. Wallner | [email protected] [email protected]

GRAND RAPIDS - The stats don’t lie, so Filip Zadina did not have success at the World Juniors. But the 19-year-old prized forward returned to the Grand Rapids Griffins' practice Tuesday pleased with his overall effort and ready for the second half of the AHL season.

Zadina, the sixth overall pick in last year's NHL draft, collected just one assist for the Czech Republic over five games, far below his stats the previous year when he tied for the tournament lead with seven goals.

"You're just trying to do your best and you just can’t score and you just keep going," Zadina said. "I was just trying to keep going and I was like, 'OK, I haven’t scored in this game and so I'll try and score in my next one.' You know, it's hockey. It happens sometimes."

Czech Republic eliminated in quarterfinals at U-20 tournament.

Zadina enjoyed the familiarity of many former teammates from the Czech Republic, but a return to the under-20 level also was a challenge.

"It was kind of tough to go back and play like junior hockey. You know, I played like 27 games here (in Grand Rapids) so it was kind of different," he said.

“It wasn’t like a wake-up call or something,” Zadina added. “I was just playing my best. I didn’t play bad. I played well. I just couldn’t score. That’s it. Obviously, I want to be better every single game, every single day. It’s not going to stop me or something.”

Back on the ice with the Griffins, Zadina was paired at practice with veterans in captain Matthew Ford and Wade Megan, who just returned from a month with the Red Wings.

"He just has to continue to work on his game," Megan said. "You're going to have good games and bad games and good stretches and bad. As long as he continues to work and better his game and move forward, he'll be alright. You can't pay attention to what's going on outside the rink."

Asked about Zadina's skill set, Megan chuckled.

"It amazing to me how skilled he is and how good the young players are nowadays," Megan said. "I'm looking forward to playing with him (on the same line)."

The Griffins are at Milwaukee on Wednesday and then host Belleville on Friday and Saturday.

Zadina has 17 points (9-8-17) in 27 games with the Griffins.

Griffins coach Ben Simon spent a couple minutes speaking one-on-one with Zadina on the ice after practice.

"I just told him, we're just closing the page on his junior career and now it's time to focus on doing the little things here that are going to turn him into a good pro," Simon said. "And, the sooner he can start doing that consistently the sooner he can get out of this league.

"But, again, it's not going to be show up and play. He's got to do the little things and pay the price and make sure he puts in the time to get better every day."

In Detroit, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill responded Monday to queries about Zadina's play.

"Ben Simon I know will have already sat down with him and said, ‘This is life. What are you going to do? Are you going to work? Are you going to keep getting better? Are you going to keep getting better at the little details? That tournament is over,'" Blashill said.

"… The thing I hear from Ben Simon all the time, from Shawn Horcoff, from Ken Holland, is that this kid works. And if he works and he wants it, you got to be mentally tough and he’ll stay mentally tough and he’ll be fine. 1103637 Detroit Red Wings “He still has some pain,” Blashill said. “I don’t think it’ll be a long thing, but we’re using this time to kind of reset and get him pain-free. Whether he’s ready for the weekend I don’t have that answer, but I don’t expect it Red Wings’ Filip Hronek takes positive steps for future longer than that.”

Updated Jan 8, 6:12 PM; Posted Jan 8, 6:12 PM Michigan Live LOADED: 01.09.2019

By Ansar Khan | [email protected] [email protected]

DETROIT – Filip Hronek’s offensive ability was apparent when he crashed the net and redirected a pass from Dylan Larkin past Braden Holtby Sunday against Washington.

The Detroit Red Wings believe in his skills, which is why he’s manning the point on one of the power play units.

Hronek needs to be more trustworthy defensively, and he has taken steps in that direction in his second stint with the club.

“Fil is really hard on himself, which can be a good thing, but it can also be a negative sometimes when you put too much pressure on yourself,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “Ever since he got called back, I think he’s looked right at home. For quite a few games, he’s going up against the other team’s top line and he’s holding his own and doing great and even chipping in offensively.”

Hronek appeared in the Red Wings’ first six games of the season, due to injuries to several regulars, and was recalled from the Grand Rapids Griffins in mid-December after Mike Green was sidelined.

Hronek has played 18 NHL games. The Red Wings have lost 16 of them (2-11-5). It has been a learning experience that way, but the club’s third pick in 2016 (53rd overall) has shown positive signs for the future.

“He got some PK reps in (Grand Rapids), so that will give him more confidence as he plays on the PK up here,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “It’s a hard league to learn something new in. Not to say that he’d never killed in his life, but more the type of kills on (smaller) North American ice is different.

“I think (he has) confidence from going down, getting his game in order so that when he came back, he was in a better spot than he was to start the year. I think historically he’s a little bit of a slow starter. That’s his words, not mine. It’s a hard league to be a slow starter in when you’re trying to make a team. I thought early when he was with us, he made some big mistakes and they went in our net. Since he’s been back, I think he’s managed his game much better. He’s taken what’s given. He’s created offense when offensive opportunities were there, but he’s been excellent defensively. He’s moved the puck out of our zone and he’s shown real strength. He’s done a good job in this second stint back.”

Blashill likes the way Hronek has rebounded from a bad performance in Dallas on Dec. 29.

“I thought the Dallas game was a big step for him, because he can be hard on himself,” Blashill said. “It was a bad game, no hiding from it, and he was able to have a very short memory and move on to the next game. That’s a very important attribute for an athlete. You certainly want to learn from it, you want to be self-accountable, but you can’t let it get you down, and he’s done a real good job.”

Hronek has three goals and four assists in 18 games heading into tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).

He said he feels more comfortable.

“I get my confidence back in Grand Rapids and I started to feel better there and then I came here and was trying to keep it going,” Hronek said. “I didn’t play PK that much last year. It’s getting bigger my ice time in GR this year because I was playing penalty kill and I was working on it.”

Green, DeKeyser closer

Green (foot) and Danny DeKeyser (hand) continue to skate, with their return on the horizon.

Blashill said Green probably won’t play Friday at Winnipeg but might dress at Minnesota Saturday. DeKeyser could return as early as next Tuesday at home against Anaheim.

Michael Rasmussen (lower-body injury) isn’t far away either. 1103638 Detroit Red Wings Only thing was, that trio didn’t actually play together much. Necas and Kaut spent much of the tournament together, with the Czechs trying to spread out their scoring by putting Zadina on the second line.

‘It’s a new day’: Where Filip Zadina goes next, with a test now in front of Reflecting on the tournament Sunday, Blashill said Zadina is “a guy that him probably needs to play with a real good centerman, and I think he gets exponentially better. And you could say, ‘Well, everybody does.’ Well, no they don’t. Some guys get just a little bit better. I think he gets By Max Bultman exponentially better.”

Jan 8, 2019 Horcoff, for one, shared that assessment.

“I think it was the first or second game, they played together in the third period and it was crazy how dominant they were as a line, (when) those As Filip Zadina returns to the Grand Rapids Griffins Tuesday, following a two (Zadina and Necas) and Kaut played together,” Horcoff said. “And World Junior tournament that didn’t live up to anyone’s hopes, Griffins that’s exactly it. He’s a shooter, he’s a scorer and he’s a guy that does coach Ben Simon will have a simple message for him. really well with a good, playmaking center. And for most of that Since he was chosen sixth overall in June’s NHL Draft, Zadina has been tournament he didn’t really have that there.” followed by anticipation and questions of “would he” or “wouldn’t he.” He had his chances regardless, and when you add in the frustration the Would he make the Red Wings? Would he have to go back to Halifax of Red Wings saw setting in as the tournament wore on, it’s understandable the QMJHL, or would he be allowed to play with the AHL Griffins? Would why alarm bells aren’t going off for the team. he depart, regardless, for the World Junior Championships at midseason? But that doesn’t mean the issues are completely negated. It’s not a given they’ll simply evaporate upon his return to the AHL. “Now that that’s over, he’s kind of closing the chapter on his amateur junior career,” Simon said by phone Monday. “Like, he can’t go back Fighting through the issues and finding his game will create work for there, so now it’s time to move on. Let’s focus on being a good pro, and Zadina, both mentally and physically. There are no more hard deadlines developing here and putting yourself in the conversation to be called up for him — no questions of whether he’ll be staying or going anywhere. to Detroit.” His next step, after Grand Rapids, is Detroit. But it’s going to be up to him to get himself there, regardless of any lingering disappointment. With the team coming off a road swing in Pennsylvania, Zadina has been resting in the wake of a tournament at which he posted just one point in “It’s not necessarily a bad thing for him to go through,” Horcoff said. “I five games, a year after scoring a goal per game on the same stage. The don’t think he’s a guy that’s had to face too much adversity in his life Griffins didn’t see a need to rush him along, preferring to give him time to before in terms of hockey. He’s always been kind of successful and rest his body and clear his head, but now his second half will begin in scored goals, and that’s what you kind of see him going through right earnest — just not necessarily the way the Red Wings would have now. Not just in that tournament, but in the AHL. It’s not the same preferred it to. anymore. He’s not going to score one-to-three goals every single night. So he’s going through a little bit of that and he’s learning that it’s a Back in early December, when it was first confirmed Zadina would attend different mindset at the pro game and there’s different things you need to the world’s premier international junior hockey tournament, Detroit coach focus on, and when you’re not scoring you have to be doing certain Jeff Blashill said he thought it would be great for Zadina, giving him the things in order to still be contributing to the lineup every night.” chance to “go to play for Czech and be the man.” There was nothing, he said, like the confidence that could be gained from producing offensively Rounding out his game is likely to be a key challenge for Zadina upon his and controlling the game. return.

That was the plan — for Zadina to go to the tournament, develop, Simon himself has played in two World Junior tournaments, in 1997 and produce and return in full stride. But it’s rarely that simple. 1998, so he’s well aware of what Zadina’s facing in terms of re- acclimation. He didn’t get much of a break or the chance to go home for “Obviously he didn’t have the tournament that he would have liked to,” the holidays, and so even while Zadina obviously wanted to go to the said Red Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff, who was tournament, there is some fatigue that comes with that. among the team’s brass in attendance at the tournament. “I think last year, having the success that he did, I think he thought he was going to Plus, in transitioning back up, there will likely be a reminder that those old go in there and it was just naturally going to happen again. But it’s not an junior habits won’t fly in Grand Rapids. easy tournament. It’s the best players in the world. “We just have to make sure, two things,” Simon said. “A. He’s not trying “But at the same time, it is a short-term tournament. We’re happy with to do that here, and B., if it doesn’t go as smoothly as we hope, that he’s where Z’s at. I think he’s come a long way since the start of the season in not getting too discouraged in himself. We’ve gotta make sure that he’s just the growth of his overall game. He’s like a lot of other high-scoring 18 staying positive and make sure that he’s playing with confidence. year olds, when they turn pro: There’s other aspects of the game that they have to learn. The defensive side of it, the physical (side) — pro “And that’s half the battle with 99 percent of players here is confidence, hockey, there’s so much to do with compete and winning one-on-one so if he’s playing with confidence — he has to understand that that’s over battles that you don’t even get exposed to until you actually turn pro. And and done with, and we’re moving on. He didn’t have the World Junior that’s kind of what Z’s going through right now. But no, I’m not worried tournament that I think he wanted to have, but it’s a new day here. We’re one bit. I still believe in him.” moving on. Hopefully he’s on to bigger, better things, and that starts by playing his way out of this league.” The message there is clear. The Red Wings aren’t pressing the panic button over the tournament, especially not when Zadina had been That’s where the work begins, and much of it may be outside his comfort playing some of his better hockey for the Griffins just before it. Horcoff zone. Zadina is a goal scorer above all, but he will need to work on his said he’d measure Zadina’s play much more based on what he does in defensive responsibility nonetheless. The best teams’ scorers don’t need Grand Rapids than on what he did in one international tournament. to be “protected” from facing certain lines. Simon says Zadina “sees the game through a different light,” so there’s certainly the challenge of But still, there are challenges awaiting him. Simon, for example, was getting him with the right center offensively, but Zadina can still do made aware that some of Zadina’s old junior hockey habits had himself a lot of favors with what he alone can control — whether it be resurfaced during the tournament, particularly when it came to trying to puck management, stopping and starting or even just shift length. do too much by himself. That, in reality, is probably understandable. The Czech team went into the tournament with high expectations, owing He only recently turned 19 and is facing a new challenge here, and the largely to Zadina and fellow former first-round picks Martin Necas and organization seems to understand that. They were happy with where his Martin Kaut. With three high-level prospects playing in the AHL, there play was before he left for the tournament, and they’re hopeful he’ll pick was a high bar. right back up there. But it’d be impossible to deny that a very real test now sits in front of him. So while the Red Wings’ fan base looks for the return of the Filip Zadina of old, perhaps the better question is how well, and how soon, he can transform himself into the Zadina of the future.

“It’s going to be both a test for him mentally and physically, moving forward, and he’s the type of kid that this is going to be a welcome test for both sides,” Simon said. “I think he’s more than capable of doing well in this league, and I think he’s more than capable of helping this team get to where it needs to be.”

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103639 Edmonton Oilers The Oilers were down 3-1 after 10 shots Tuesday after falling behind 3-0 on eight shots two games earlier in LA. This wasn’t due to not being ready, though. One came on a fluke that banked in off Caleb Jones’ Sharks both lucky and good in laying a beating on Edmonton Oilers skate and another came on a penalty shot. You can’t hang Cam Talbot for them. Still, these starts are killing them… Defenceman Alex Petrovic left the game in the second period after a hit in the Edmonton corner that seemed to impact his head. Robert Tychkowski Sharks defenceman Erik Karlsson moved another rung up the NHL’s

historical ladder Tuesday when he became just the fifth defenceman to SAN JOSE — They always say it’s better to be lucky than good, but post at least one assist in 14 straight appearances. He had a three-point when you’re both, against an opponent that’s lacking on both fronts, the night against the Oilers. results aren’t pretty. He joins some very illustrious company in Paul Coffey (17), Brian Leetch In fact, they were pretty ugly Tuesday night in San Jose. (15), Phil Housley (14) and Bobby Orr (14).

The Edmonton Oilers watched in disbelief as three goals bounced in off As it stands, the the Sharks could actually finish the season with two of skates Tuesday in crushing 7-2 loss to a Sharks team 14 points ahead defencemen leading their team in scoring. Brent Burns is first with 49 of them in the standings. points and Karlsson is third with 40, two points back of Logan Couture.

It was equal parts comical and grim as San Jose banked goals in off of “Those two guys make you play for little mistakes,” Hitchcock said. “They Caleb Jones, Adam Larsson and Evander Kane in the whitewash, which can thread pucks through people and around people better than comes just five games after San Jose beat them 7-4 in Edmonton. anybody. Those two guys are dynamic and when they’re out there very second shift it’s a hard go. They have too much firepower, they can jump “There were some strange goals, three or four deflections,” said head all over you.” coach Ken Hitchcock, who wasn’t going to hang this loss on misfortune. “When your best players are minus (Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl REST IN PIECES were each minus three), you’re going to have a tough time winning A lot tends to be made about how difficult it is to play back-to-back games. They were attacking our net. This is two games in a row where games in the NHL, but Hitchcock says the disadvantage is highly over- they’ve just owned the red zone in front of our net. rated. “They knocked us right out of the box. They’re a damn good team, a The Oilers are only 4-4 this year against teams playing their second team that’s really on the move right now. They’ve owned critical ice game in as many nights after a lopsided loss to the Sharks, who played against us in the last two games.” Monday night against LA. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who finished plus one in a 7-2 loss, says “I think the only time the rested club has the advantage is in the first 10 Edmonton got what it deserved. minutes,” said Hitchcock. “It works the opposite of what people think. You “We’re definitely not blaming that game on the bounces by any means,” get no advantage later on. Players get their second wind and away they he said. “It was the way we needed to respond to the bad bounces and go. As the game goes on the team that played back to back gets better we didn’t do near a good enough job at that. It’s disappointing.” and better.”

This wasn’t entirely like the 4-0 loss to Los Angeles earlier in the trip. The Oilers tried to fight back a couple of times, but they were simply up Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 01.09.2019 against a vastly superior team that was also getting every possible break.

“I don’t like to give anybody credit for being a better team, but in the winning areas they played better than we did,” said Hitchcock. “We looked at four of the first five goals and all the plays started in their end. They all came off scoring chances we missed and within 10 seconds they ended up in our net.”

Edmonton finishes the road trip 2-2.

The San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames and Las Vegas Knights have made it perfectly clear: All the Pacific Division playoff spots are taken.

Sold out.

With an 10-point cushion over the rest of the Pacific Division challengers, it looks like Edmonton, Vancouver and Anaheim will have to fight for one of the remaining two wildcard spots with Minnesota and Colorado.

GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!

Milan Lucic scored for the Oilers!

Not much more needs to be said than that. The most chronicled and frustrating slump in franchise history lasted 42 games, since he scored on opening night in Sweden. Since then it was just a continuation of the drought that saw him score once in the final 46 games last year.

“I just hope that it doesn’t take another 40 games to get another one,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of chances and sometimes it just takes one like that.”

Goofy turn of events after San Jose’s fourth goal. Ken Hitchcock wanted to make a goalie change, but with no room on the bench, the backup sits outside the dressing room on the other side of the rink. Koskinen got the word, hustled to the far gate and tried to get on the ice, but the referee said it was too late, he had to wait for the next whistle.

So he’s standing there at the glass, all six-foot-10 of him on skates, watching the play and waiting for a whistle.

Within seconds an usher comes up and tells him to sit down because people in the seats behind him can’t see. 1103640 Edmonton Oilers

Nugent-Hopkins becomes 22nd Oiler to hit 500 games

Robert Tychkowski

SAN JOSE — At 25 years of age, you wouldn’t think that Ryan Nugent- Hopkins would be the longest active serving member of the Edmonton Oilers, but it’s not even close.

The first overall pick from the 2011 draft played his 500th game for the Oilers Tuesday night in San Jose, moving into 22nd place on the Oilers all-time list.

Nugent-Hopkins joined the team a year after Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle arrived in 2010, but with their subsequent trades he moved up into the elder statesman role last season. With all the changes during the course of three rebuilds, Nugent-Hopkins is way ahead of the any current Oilers, with Leon Draisaitl second at 312 and Oscar Klefbom third at 286.

Nugent-Hopkins is also climbing up the organization’s list in all the offensive categories. He’s 13th in assists (218), 15th in goals (133) and 15th in points (351).

Last season he was Edmonton’s nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for the player who best exemplifies leadership and community involvement.

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103641 Edmonton Oilers

Game Day: Edmonton Oilers want the joy of six

Robert Tychkowski

TRIPPING BIG TIME

After losing five straight games at home, the Oilers are in a position to take six of eight points from this Pacific Division road trip with a win over the San Jose Sharks. That’s a big IF, of course, because the Sharks are one of the best teams in the league and the Oilers are still trying to figure things out, but at the very least Edmonton will come home from this with a .500 record.

KILL ‘EM ALL

The Oilers’ penalty-killing units got off to a slow start this season but they have been picking up speed lately. They haven’t allowed a power-play goal in six games (13 chances) and threw in a shorthanded goal for good measure Sunday in Anaheim. The Sharks will put those numbers to the test with a very strong power play of their own.

BACK 2 BACK

The Oilers will be catching San Jose on the second of back-to-back games after they played Monday against the Los Angeles Kings. This is supposed to be an advantage, but it hasn’t seemed to matter much, this season. Edmonton is only 4-3 against teams that have played the night before and just beat Anaheim after losing the night before in LA.

LAST TIME

San Jose put a beating on Edmonton when they met at Rogers Place on Dec. 29. The Sharks outshot Edmonton 14-4 through the first 12 minutes of the second period en route to a 7-4 decision. It was 7-2 before Edmonton scored a couple of goals late in the third period. Edmonton posted a 4-3 win in late November, the day Ken Hitchcock took over as head coach.

NETFLUX

It’s not so much a goaltending controversy as it is two goalies alternating between hot and cold. When Cam Talbot had his struggles out of the gate, Mikko Koskinen came and saved the day. Now Koskinen is leaking a little, pulled in two of his last four starts, and Talbot is coming off a shutout. Who do you start in San Jose?

MATCH UP

Jesse Puljujarvi vs Joonas Donskoi

This isn’t anyone’s idea of a marquee matchup, but that’s kind of the point. The Sharks are a team that can score from three lines deep (they have 11 players with six or more goals, the Oilers have four) so if Edmonton is going to come of this with a win they need that kind of support, too.

Connor McDavid and the top end of the lineup usually come out ahead against their guys, so it’s up the supporting cast to hold up their end of the deal. With a goal in his last outing, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as his centre, Puljujarvi should be feeling confident about his ability to generate offence.

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103642 Edmonton Oilers What will we see against San Jose? You don’t know with this team and that’s the problem.

Alex Chiasson, who spent last season on a Stanley Cup champion in Edmonton Oilers still trying to put an end to their mood swings Washington, is never one to mince words when it comes to the state of the union. He says the fluctuation can be remedied by just sharpening their focus — being ready before the puck is even dropped is how Robert Tychkowski winning teams make their money.

“These game are so important down the stretch, we have to find a way to make sure we’re prepared,” he said. “I don’t think it has anything to do SAN JOSE, Calif. — It’s a vicious cycle and one of the main reasons why with effort, it’s just preparation. the Edmonton Oilers missed the playoffs in 11 of the last 12 years. “When you’re playing against a team in your division, those are big Aside from some of the obvious holes in their roster, the Oilers’ points. Every guy has to take better pride in what they do on the ice, motivation has been a lingering issue during this long and winding myself included.” rebuild.

You can set you watch by this team. Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 01.09.2019 They win a game or two and start looking like they are on their way to better days.

Then, just as everyone starts singing their praises, they get complacent and start looking like a team that might never win again.

Then, when everyone jumps on them for a brutal effort, they respond with a performance worthy of a playoff team.

The first three games of this Pacific Division road trip are a perfect microcosm of the last 12 years. After being dumped all over because they lost five in a row at home, they open the trip with a hard-fought win in Arizona.

Great game, guys! Big character win.

Three days later they mail it in in a 4-0, 16-shot loss in Los Angeles.

You suck!

One night later they romp to a 4-0 victory in Anaheim.

All teams go through ups and downs during the course of a season, and the weaknesses in Edmonton’s roster can’t be ignored, but the mood swings on this team would take up three chapters in a psychology text book.

“It’s frustrating to have one good game and fall back down again,” said Leon Draisaitl. “That’s something we have to fix.”

Head coach Ken Hitchcock has only seen it for 22 games and he is already flabbergasted how a team that can be so gritty and resilient when it wants to be can be so flat and lifeless a day or two later.

Seeing his team go through the motions in such an important game in Los Angeles (the Oilers were four points out of a playoff spot) was enough to make the normally upbeat and positive Hitchcock finally erupt.

He roasted the players for their lack of effort and commitment in his brief but pointed post-game media scrum, saying that too often it takes an embarrassing defeat to get them properly motivated, and that once they meet with just the slightest measure of success they get complacent again.

The players know he’s right and addressed the issue before the win in Anaheim.

“Everyone felt like Saturday was a rock bottom for us,” said centre Kyle Brodziak. “We had enough time to talk about it and try and get it behind us.

“To be able to come out with a response like we did against Anaheim was a good feeling. It’s something everyone should be proud of.”

Zack Kassian says the swings are certainly something they need to work on. But confidence and consistency go hand in hand and finding both of them can sometimes turn into a catch-22.

“Like Hitch said, when things aren’t going right for us in games we seem to kind of back off, get quiet and not work through things,” said Kassian. “If we get down by a goal or two, we don’t tend to work through things with second and third efforts.

“But when things are going good, they go good. We just need to find a way that when things aren’t going well for us to grind through and play simple hockey and wait for our bounces.” 1103643 Edmonton Oilers capable wingers. He is 1.87 per 60 at even strength with McDavid, 53.95 Corsi-for in the discipline. Nuge’s numbers without McDavid are 40.48 Corsi but his scoring without 97 this year is 2.11 per 60, exceptional Lowetide: Oilers midseason report card, brought to you by the letter ‘F’ considering his linemates. Nuge has scored nine points in 190 minutes with Jesse Puljuajrvi, five points in 83 minutes with Jujhar Khaira. I believe one of the things we’ll see in the season’s second half is that line (Khaira-Nuge-Puljujarvi) together. Corsica.hockey has them scoring four By Allan Mitchell goals (while allowing four) in just over 60 minutes together. Jan 8, 2019 Jujhar Khaira: B+. My reasonable expectations prediction (62, 7-10-17) for Khaira is mostly covered already (38, 2-11-13) and he’s delivered in a lot of areas. His even-strength scoring (1.81 per 60 this year, up from The Edmonton Oilers arrive at Game 43 with a record of 20-19-3, 43 1.44 last season) ranks fifth among Oilers forwards. He’s also filled in at points and a goal differential of -14 (117-131). The team lost a coach, centre after the Ryan Strome trade. That isn’t his strong suit but he is the suffered some injuries and made a dozen transactions during the best available option. Khaira is also a part of the regular penalty-killing season’s first half. rotation and has some good numbers compared to his teammates over the last couple of seasons. On a playoff team, he’s a bottom-six forward, One thing remained true: Edmonton is exceptional with Connor McDavid but there have been times when Khaira played up and had good results on the ice (48-41 goal differential at even strength) and a lock for the (specifically with Nugent-Hopkins). lottery with the captain at rest (39-58). If this issue were new, it would be reasonable to discuss a timeline to close the gap. Alas, this problem has Ty Rattie: C. I’m not sure this is a fair mark, as Rattie has played well reached back almost a decade, around the time Edmonton began when in the lineup. However, he was expected to carry an offensive load drafting No. 1 overall annually. The roster is top heavy; the gap between (my reasonable expectations pegged him for 51, 9-18-27, .529) and good and poor the hockey equivalent of the Grand Canyon. Incredibly, through injury and coaching change it hasn’t happened (26, 2-5-7 .269) there appears to be no relief in sight. It is unacceptable, using the words yet. When playing with McDavid (even-strength points per 60: 2.07) of head coach Ken Hitchcock. And yet, the song remains the same. Rattie shows ability, but Chiasson ate his lunch and that spot isn’t available to him under new head coach Ken Hitchcock. There’s another The Numbers half season to go, Rattie remains on the roster. He’ll need some luck to Record: 20-19-3 get another chance on a skill line but the opening is there, and in my opinion, he’s played well enough to earn the shot. Even Strength CF%: 48.72 Drake Caggiula: D. Traded to the Chicago Blackhawks just before mid- Even Strength GF%: 46.77 season, his scoring numbers (29, 7-4-11) stood out from a most unimpressive group of forwards beyond the ‘big four’ of McDavid, PP: 26 (NHL average: 26) Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Chiasson. When he was traded, there was PK: 28 (NHL average: 26) a lot of outrage over dealing one of the team’s leading goal-scorers, but that’s a reflection of the overall roster as opposed to Caggiula having The forwards established himself as a scorer. One item that does deserve a mention: Connor McDavid: A+. During the reasonable expectations series, I improvement in possession, but his with or without you re: McDavid projected McDavid’s 2018-19 season (82, 50-70-120) to produce 1.46 shows a possession number just over 45 percent when playing away points-per-game. So far, he’s delivering with 41, 24-38-62 (1.512). His from the captain. points-per-6o at even strength year over year is down slightly (3.36 this Jesse Puljujarvi: D. Disappointment is the word, but for me, the year, 3.52 last season) while his time on ice in the same discipline is up organization’s handling of this player is the main issue. He struggled over one minute per game (all numbers via NaturalStatTrick). There are under Todd McLellan (one goal his only point in 122 minutes before things about his game that one could quibble over (positioning and being sent to Bakersfield) and was finding his range (four points in four recognizing danger in time), but his continued excellence in an games) when new coach Hitchcock convinced Peter Chiarelli to bring impossible situation raises him to the best available score. Frankly, if I him back to the NHL. In the 20 games since his recall, Puljujarvi is 3-2-5 could give him a higher one, I would do it. at even strength (1.24 points-per-60) and used mostly in a third-line role. Leon Draisaitl: A. His box stats (23-29-52 in 42 games) are exceptional Slow progress, but it is there. If this young man beats the odds and the and he’s on track for a career season. The even-strength numbers (3.00, serpentine development timeline, full credit to him, with a possible assist up from 2.74 in even-strength points-per-60 last season) shine like a from new coach Hitchcock. It’s something to watch in the season’s diamond while playing time (up almost two minutes to 17:09) has surely second half. reached the point where he is less than optimal effectiveness. Draisaitl’s Zack Kassian: F. In his best Edmonton season (2016-17), Kassian totals with McDavid (even strength: points per 60: 3.77, 56.45 percent played an aggressive fourth-line role and the result was a successful trio goal share) and without the captain (even strength: 1.85 points per 60, (goal differential at even strength 37-33). Last season (22-33) the bottom 43.48 percent goal share) are drastic, but his scoring totals away from fell out and this year (15-23) the fourth line is hurting the Oilers in a big the No. 1 line are noteworthy based on available wingers. Plenty of way. Added to costly and unnecessary penalties and a lack of offence criticism about Draisaitl, who does lack the attention to detail as a young (two goals and five points all season) Kassian receives a failing grade in centre displayed by men who emerge as impact two-way players, but it’s the first half of the campaign. One positive: Hitchcock likes him and is important to recognize his substantial offensive contributions for a using Kassian in a feature role. He is a candidate for a turnaround popgun team. second half based on recent usage.

Alex Chiasson: A. Under the heading “Godsend” comes Chiasson, Kyle Brodziak: F. A harsh grade but Brodziak’s first half-season back in whose 31.4 percent shooting percentage is both incredible and Edmonton has been a lot about underperforming. At even strength his unsustainable. No matter, his first half (33, 16-4-20) came at a time when goal differential (11-23) is ghastly and his penalty killing performance has the team couldn’t find a winger who could shoot straight. He is most also been subpar. Brodziak’s speed is also a major issue, especially productive with Draisaitl (Chiasson is 7-2-9 in 300 minutes with the big since Chiarelli traded Strome (forcing Brodziak up the depth chart). The man) and he’s a staple in the top six this season. Although fans best part of his season may have been the publicity received when (correctly) point to Oscar Klefbom’s injury as a major factor, Chiasson’s Hitchcock arrived. He dubbed the Lucic-Brodziak-Kassian trio the absence also took a toll. Expecting anything close to Chiasson’s first half “Identity Line” in what is surely the most awkward name for a line in in the final 40 would be insane, and he could be dealt at the deadline if recent NHL history. Edmonton needs Brodziak to be much better in the the price is right. That said, it’s obvious he had a major impact on the second half of the season. His shorthanded marker in Game 42 is a team and is worthy of this mark. hopeful sign.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: A-. Nugent-Hopkins scoring numbers (42, 14-24- Milan Lucic: F. I wrote about Lucic in the offseason, suggesting the Oilers 38) place him on a trajectory to pass his career-best by Game 61 in could no longer play him on a skill line. His game has now eroded to the 2018-19. His even-strength points-per-60 is down (2.40 to 2.00 this year) point where his spot in the lineup is probably at risk. His offence over and his possession number (Corsi-for at even strength 47.06) is a three seasons (even strength per 60 by year: 1.27, 1.43, 0.61) is falling at concern but part of that comes from playing on a team with a dire lack of a shocking rate, and his impact on NHL games is almost entirely negative. For those who recall Lucic during his splendid Boston Bruins Darnell Nurse: C-. Nurse’s offence has spiked this year, he’s on pace to career, this is a difficult season. For the organization, it’s a devastating finish with 35-plus points and scored the first power-play goal of his lack of production from a six-million-dollar player. The one thing that career during the first half of the year. The possession numbers have Lucic fans can point to? The big man is one of two forwards (Rattie is taken a tumble (Corsi-for at even strength under 47 percent, goal share the other) with a 5-on-5 goal differential above 49 percent while playing under 44 percent), with some theorizing the new offensive (power play) without McDavid. That could be one reason Hitchcock continues to role impacting his attention to defensive detail. There’s probably some employ the veteran winger (the other being his status as a nuclear truth to it, along with Nurse being asked to play a more prominent role deterrent). when Klefbom was hurt. He remains excellent at transporting the puck, but his passing remains a frustrating part of his game. If Nurse learns the Tobias Rieder: F. Rieder is well known to Oilers fans (he famously art of the pass, he’ll be a star in the NHL. He turns 24 in February. scored two shorthanded goals against Edmonton in the same shift) but Nurse’s even-strength shot share without McDavid is 46.96. he has been a disappointment this season. He wasn’t expected to deliver big offence (projected 80, 15-16-31 .388) but his power outage (no goals, Matt Benning: D. Reading the tea leaves and observing usage, my guess seven assists in 29 games .250) is well short of the mark. He has played is Benning is on the outskirts of the roster. Based on the numbers, he about half of his even strength minutes with Draisaitl (167 minutes) and should be safely inside the top three pairings. His shot share and goal has just four assists. His penalty-killing prowess has not yet made itself share at even strength are 49.79 and 51.06, respectively, both solid to evident this season. excellent numbers on this year’s team. In a way, he is the opposite of Russell: Benning may not look fabulous doing the job, but the results, Ryan Spooner: F. One of the major disappointments in the season’s first based on math, are excellent compared to other defencemen on the half was the disastrous trade of Strome for Spooner. Although he has roster. I believe there’s a real chance he is traded in the coming days. been an effective complementary offensive piece in the past, Spooner’s Benning’s even-strength shot share without McDavid is 45.95. 20 games with the Oilers have been a major drag on the team. His 2.78 points-per-60 at even strength a year ago has given way to 0.97 in his Kevin Gravel: D. Gravel is a shutdown defenceman, meaning most of his time with the Oilers. One of several players who are strong buyout value will come via keeping the puck away from Edmonton’s net. So far options for this team. this year, he has been successful compared to his own teammates. Gravel’s “Corsi Rel” ranks fifth among all Oilers blue, third among The rest: Edmonton has used the Bakersfield Condors pipeline liberally regulars. His possession numbers are hovering between 48 and 49 this season. Kailer Yamamoto has played 13 games with the team, percent at even strength, and he is seeing more action than the normal scoring his first NHL goal and showing both his potential and lack of AHL recall because of injuries. experience. Ryan Strome was offensively challenged but gave the team solid penalty killing, a faceoff winner and some structure on the third line. The rest: The Oilers have employed many defencemen for 10 or fewer He was dealt after 20 games. Cooper Marody, Valentin Zykov (claimed games this season. Evan Bouchard began the year with the big club, on and then lost to waivers), Joe Gambardella and Patrick Russell have showing impressive potential in seven games. Chris Wideman spent five spent time in the NHL during the season’s first half without distinguishing games with the team, and a bunch more being a healthy scratch after his themselves. acquisition from the Ottawa Senators. Alexander Petrovic was acquired recently, his early performances suggest Benning should be playing Defence ahead of him but the coaching staff wants the brawn. It’s early days, so Oscar Klefbom: A. If there was any doubt in terms of his value to the no strong opinions can be expressed based on sample size (66 minutes). team, Klefbom’s untimely injury put it to rest. Edmonton’s record since his Jason Garrison played 17 games, possibly the final games of his NHL injury (3-7-1) is a stark contrast from the team’s showing when 77 was in career. He has 555 NHL games through age 34 and if feet of clay rob the lineup (17-12-2). The numbers are strong offensively, in possession him of another minute in the NHL, he’s gotten everything possible from and goal share. Klefbom and Adam Larsson formed the team’s top his ability. Brandon Manning has played just three games since he was pairing and managed a 52 percent possession number (Corsi-for 5-on-5) acquired, impossible to make any claims based on 38 minutes at even and a goal differential of 15-17. Edmonton’s season currently rests on strength. surviving until Klefbom returns. His importance to this organization is Goaltenders clear. Klefbom’s even-strength shot share without McDavid is 49.51, an excellent number. Mikko Koskinen: B. Although his performances of late caused a slight correction in his midseason mark, there’s no doubt newcomer Koskinen Adam Larsson: B. It’s been a difficult run for Larsson without Klefbom, as was vital to any success enjoyed by the Oilers through early January. the change in partners requires more puck-moving from the rugged blue. During the reasonable expectations series, I projected him to play 21 His play away from Klefbom mostly involves being paired with Darnell games and post a 2.97 goals-against and a .902 save percentage. These Nurse, while playing against the tough opposition. The Nurse-Larsson are pedestrian numbers. Koskinen was ridiculous for much of the first pairing has played 205 minutes at 5-on-5, with a 47 percent Corsi and a half, finally landing with 22 games, a 2.64 goals-against and a .915 save 38 percent goal share. Hitchcock has changed it up recently, moving percentage. To say he exceeded expectations falls short of capturing the Caleb Jones (43 minutes, 2-1 goals) in an effort to share the heavy load moment. He was one step beyond. Whatever happens from the midpoint with Klefbom absent. Overall, Larsson’s possession number at even of the season, Koskinen is one of a very few men on the team worthy of strength remains over 50 percent and his goal share is 47 percent. being discussed as the Oilers’ MVP. Larsson’s even-strength shot share without McDavid is 48.19, impressive considering quality of competition and his prominent minutes. Cam Talbot: D. It’s a strange mark to deliver in light of a fabulous performance Sunday night in Anaheim, but it points out just how difficult Kris Russell: B. Easily the most divisive player on the roster, Russell’s the first half has been for Edmonton’s starter, and how important he’ll be game lives on the fault line of “saw him good” eye tests and “math” as to Edmonton through season’s end. I projected Talbot to finish with 65 provided by possession numbers. Russell’s even strength Corsi (46.26) games, 2.55 goals-against and a .915 save percentage — practically and Fenwick (48.31) are below 50, but goal share in the discipline identical to the numbers Koskinen delivered in the first half. For Talbot, (55.56) is the best number since his time with the Calgary Flames. He’s his 23 games, 3.08 goals-against and .899 save percentage represent on the right side of the score and that has value, with math suggesting a his low ebb as an NHL goalie. He is 31, and that’s an age where erosion market correction is on the way. Through midseason, Russell’s on-ice does begin to set in, but in my opinion, he has a lot of hockey left and results are unmistakably good. Russell’s even-strength shot share has the ability to help drag the Oilers into the postseason. I believe without McDavid is 47.85. Hitchcock is correct in expressing both goalies will be important, but Caleb Jones: B. For the midseason update, I’m writing mostly about Talbot knows the road ahead. He’s vital to the 2018-19 team. players who have dressed for 15 or more games. In the case of Jones, it Coaching and management would be reckless to omit him from the discussion, as his impact on the team in 10 games towers over many roster veterans. He has played 180 Todd McLellan: D. The assumption is a fired coach gets an F, but part of minutes at even strength, with possession numbers at or near 50 the blame for his firing (in my opinion) pertains to roster construction. percent. He’s moving up the depth chart with abandon and showing a McLellan’s faults (young players tended to struggle under his direction, range of skills that suggest he’ll land a prominent role with the team, he could get stubborn on players and use them in roles that were not possibly as soon as right now. He looks like a home run for the amateur strengths) may well have been enough to release him, but there’s more scouts, the AHL development coaches and for the Edmonton Oilers. to his story than McLellan’s inability to get the McDavid Oilers into the Sample size alert. playoffs consistently. Ken Hitchcock: A. If only because of pure entertainment value, Hitchcock’s hiring has been a breath of fresh air. Good times or bad, he has a credibility that sticks with him even during periods when he is clearly riffing hyperbole in giant buckets. If Klefbom had remained healthy, perhaps we would be talking about both Alberta teams pushing to the top of the Pacific Division. As it is, very difficult to be critical of the coach who has this roster just outside the playoffs midseason.

Peter Chiarelli: F. One of the things I try to do is take all of the vitriol and emotion out of the discussion and look at the facts of the matter. Peter Chiarelli had a fabulous summer, grabbing Mikko Koskinen and Alex Chiasson for just over $3-million. He also had an extreme lack of cap because of his own actions in previous seasons, and that is also a fact. There are five “F” marks among the roster players in the season’s first half, and those five men are responsible for more than $14-million in cap dollars this season. All five are Chiarelli hires. His recent defensive pickups signal several moves leading up to the deadline in my opinion. Making the playoffs clearly has great importance. The roster holes are many. Several have been issues since the general manager arrived in 2015.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103644 Florida Panthers He was not the only big-name player that earned a seat on the bench. Jonathan Huberdeau and Mike Hoffman finished the game off the ice.

“The thing that disappoints me the most is our depth guys, our young Panthers struggle, fall further behind after loss to Penguins guys, they played their asses off,” said Bougher. “The guys you depend on on a nightly basis that get paid the big bucks didn’t.”

BY ADAM GRETZ “I was going to play the guys that wanted to play and the guys that were ready to play.” JANUARY 08, 2019 10:25 PM Ekblad scored the Panthers’ only goal late in the second period when he ripped a shot from the blue line. The play had to withstand a Pittsburgh coach’s challenge, and it capped of what was an eventful night for the PITTSBURGH defenseman. Along with getting beat at the blue line on the Penguins’ It was one of those nights where everything that could have possibly second goal, Ekblad thought he scored another goal earlier in the game gone wrong for the Panthers ended up going wrong. only to have it overturned on an offsides challenge by the Penguins.

Starting goalie Roberto Luongo was benched halfway through the game, the power-play unit gave up two more short-handed goals, and they Miami Herald LOADED: 01.09.2019 could not figure out a way to solve Pittsburgh Penguins starting goalie Matt Murray until it was too late.

When you put it all together it added up to a 5-1 loss to extend their current losing streak to three games, leaving the Panthers nine points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

You could tell very early it was just not going to be a positive night for Luongo — or the Panthers as a team — when he surrendered two goals on the first three shots he faced.

Just 1:29 into the first period Penguins winger Tanner Pearson soared down the right side uncontested and ripped a shot that went through Luongo’s five-hole for the first goal of the game. Not even two minutes later, Bryan Rust scored his first of two goals on the night when he finished a slick backhand play that began with Jake Guentzel dancing around Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad at the blue line to set him up alone in front of the net.

From there, the Panthers spent the rest of the night trying to play catch- up. No matter what they tried to do, or how many shots they put on net, or how many opportunities they created, they were never really able to get close.

Part of that was due to the fact that Murray was sensational in the Pittsburgh net and shut down almost everything he faced, including a couple of highlight-reel saves in the second period. The best of the bunch may have been his stop on a between-the-legs effort by a wide open Aleksander Barkovas he streaked down the center of the ice.

Another part of it was due to some self-inflicted mistakes at bad times.

After successfully killing off a pair of penalties and starting to gain a territorial edge over the Penguins, it looked like the Panthers might be able to start clawing their way back into the game. A couple of power plays in the first eight minutes of the second period highlighted this opportunity. But it was then that one of their season-long issues made another poorly timed appearance: A pair of sloppy power plays resulted in short-handed goals for Rust and Riley Sheahan.

Sheahan’s tally at 8:56 was the ninth short-handed goal the Panthers have allowed this season in only their 41st game, tying them for the most in the NHL.

“Give their goalie credit, he played well,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said after the game. “Ours didn’t.

“You have two shorthanded goals and it is unacceptable. We won the draw on the one, we go down for a breakout, get it picked off and it’s in the back of your net. Next one it’s the same thing. Those guys have been good all year on the power play and tonight when we need them the most, we’re in a playoff push, you have two or three guys that are just out to lunch.”

They only allowed five during the entire 2017-18 season.

It also ended

Luongo’s night after allowing four goals on 16 shots, continuing what has been a tough stretch for the veteran goalie.

With Tuesday’s loss he has now dropped four of his past five decisions, a stretch that has seen him record a save percentage of only .850.

For the season, his save percentage is down to .892, which would be by far the lowest mark of his career. 1103645 Florida Panthers

Roberto Luongo gives up four early goals as Panthers fall to Penguins

Will Graves

Matt Murray stopped 36 shots to remain unbeaten since his return from a lower-body injury, Riley Sheahan and Bryan Rust scored short-handed goals in the second period and the Pittsburgh Penguins stopped the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Tuesday night.

Murray improved to 8-0 with a 1.24 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage in his last eight starts for Pittsburgh, which has won nine of 10. Rust finished with two goals to push his season total to 11. Tanner Pearson picked up his sixth and Sidney Crosby added his 20th for the Penguins, who beat the Panthers at home for the seventh straight time.

Aaron Ekblad collected his ninth of the season for Florida and the 62nd of his career to set a new franchise record for goals by a defenseman. The Panthers dominated play for long stretches only to be turned away repeatedly by Murray. Pittsburgh counterpunched expertly against Roberto Luongo, who finished with 12 saves on 16 shots before being pulled after Sheahan's unassisted score 8:56 into the second period.

The Penguins saw their season-high eight-game winning streak end Sunday night against Chicago but wasted little time getting back on track.

Pearson took a slick pass off the boards by Marcus Pettersson and raced down the right side before slipping the puck between Luongo's legs 1:29 into the game. Rust doubled the lead 94 seconds later, collecting a feed from Jake Guentzel in front of the Florida net and deking by Luongo before tumbling into the net.

The Panthers did their best to retaliate thanks in part to some sloppy play in the defensive end by the Penguins. Yet the 24-year-old Murray — who struggled with both injuries and inconsistent play during the opening two months of the season — kept Pittsburgh's advantage intact with occasionally spectacular play. He stopped a short-handed breakaway by Colton Sceviour near the end of a busy first period in which Murray faced 15 shots.

While Pittsburgh's electric power play looked listless, the penalty killers made up for it. Matt Cullen and Rust broke in 2-on-2, a sequence that ended with Cullen hitting Rust in front of the net and Rust beating Luongo to make it 3-0 just 3:04 into the second. Sheahan pushed it to 4-0 less than six minutes later when he stripped the puck from Florida's Keith Yandle, skated high into the Florida zone and whipped a wrist shot from the slot over Luongo's glove.

Ekblad appeared to get Florida on the board moments later, but his one- timer was overturned on replay after Pittsburgh successfully challenged that the Panthers entered the offensive zone offsides. The 22-year-old's point shot with 44 seconds left in the second did count, pushing him past Robert Svehla for the most career goals by a Florida defenseman.

It just wasn't nearly enough on a night the Panthers couldn't seem to get a read on Murray.

NOTES: The last time the Penguins had multiple short-handed goals in a game was on March 29, 2016 against Buffalo. Florida fell to 9-11-2 on the road. Pittsburgh F Patric Hornqvist left in the first period and did not return after getting hit with a puck. Crosby has 20 goals in 12 straight seasons, tying a franchise record set held by team owner and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. Both teams went 0 for 4 on the power play.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103646 Florida Panthers And they haven’t for some time. Goaltending has been a problem but so, too, has been Florida’s all-out assault. It just hasn’t been there.

For the seventh consecutive game and ninth time in the past 10, Florida Penguins kick Panthers into second half with more questions and high- gave up the first goal. profile benchings In four of the past six games, the Panthers have watched opponents take a 2-0 lead in the first period.

By George Richards Florida has fought back from those deficits in recent weeks, true. But it Jan 8, 2019 has not lately as the loss Tuesday was its third in a row.

The Panthers are winless in 2019.

PITTSBURGH — The Panthers reached the midway point of their Tuesday, Boughner had seen enough. season Tuesday night and, contrary to public belief, are not After the game, general manager Dale Tallon said he had no problem mathematically eliminated from the NHL playoffs just yet. with the move.

They only happen to look like a team in the final week of a long season. “There needs to be some accountability out there,” Tallon said as he There are 41 more games to go. walked toward the team locker room. “We need our best players to play like it. We can’t keep being down 2-0 every night. We’re going to fix this.” Before Florida kicked off its biggest road trip of the season Tuesday, players talked about how they needed to play, how they needed to come Boughner is running out of ideas to light a fire under his team. Benching out and take control of the game — dictate flow, get a lead — and start three of his best players in a game that was already out of hand may or feeling good about themselves once again. may not do the trick.

As has been the case a lot lately, things unraveled from the beginning. A Huberdeau turnover led to the first shorthanded goal in the second; Yandle the second. For the first time, however, it ended with four of his highest-paid players on the bench. “There was no message, but I know the third goal was my fault,” Huberdeau said. “That’s about it. But there was no message. Maybe we’ll Coach Bob Boughner sat All-Star Keith Yandle, Jonathan Huberdeau, talk tomorrow. Mistakes happen. I looked bad on that goal and I’m not Mike Hoffman and goalie Roberto Luongo after the Penguins made it 4-0 happy with myself. I still think I should have had the chance to come on their second shorthanded goal of the second period. back, battle through and help the team.”

The four took a spot on the bench midway through the second and didn’t Bogdan Kiselevich and Denis Malgin, who routinely get scratched from see the ice again. the lineup, played their biggest minutes of the season in the absence of the stars. Great seats, crummy performance; the Penguins eased to a 5-1 win. Boughner said they deserved to play. Besides, he had to do something. “They weren’t ready to play,” Boughner said in clipped tones afterward. “They didn’t execute. They cost us a couple of goals. They didn’t work “We’re playing the Pittsburgh Penguins,” Boughner said. “The thing that hard enough. All of the above. … disappoints me the most is our young guys, our depth guys, played their asses off. The guys you depend on, on a nightly basis who get paid the “Those guys have been good on the power play all year. But when we big money, did not. I was going to play the guys who wanted to play. … needed them the most, in the middle of a playoff push, we have two or Plain and simple.” three guys out to lunch.” Penguins center Sidney Crosby celebrates with the bench after his goal Florida has been talking about quick starts for weeks, but sloppy plays in the third period made the score 5-1. (Charles LeClaire / USA Today) early have ended up in the back of the net. Right now, talk of the playoffs — Florida is 10 points back of the last spot Tuesday, it was a turnover by Mike Matheson — his 67th this season — in the Eastern Conference — is going to be put on hold around these which got the Penguins going as Tanner Pearson beat Luongo 89 parts. seconds into the game. Soon enough, it was 2-0. When the deficit is double-digits, even with a few games in their back Moments into the second, the Penguins scored the first of two pocket, it’s better just not to bring it up. shorthanded goals in the period — yes, two shorthanded goals in a single period — to make it 4-0. Remember last season, the one with the terrible start but fantastic run at the end that made everyone get excited about the Panthers again? “Give their goalie (Matt Murray) credit, he played really well,” Boughner said. “Ours didn’t. We had two shorthanded goals and that is That team, as everybody knows, finished one point out of the playoffs. unacceptable.” It was seven points back of the final spot in the Eastern Conference Luongo was taken out of the game again, only this time he was joined by going into the second half of their season. This team is three points three other high-profile Panthers. behind that one.

He didn’t seem in the mood for any company. Unless Florida turns its fortunes around, stops turning the puck over, starts finding some goaltending, starts playing with real urgency at the Luongo has been pulled in three of his past six games and has given up start of games, this season might just be over. 21 goals on 140 shots since Dec. 20. Didn’t it just start? “It’s a mental thing right now and I don’t have any words to describe it,” Luongo told The Athletic after the game. One up, one down

“This is all in my head. I’m thinking too much out there and obviously, my Chris Wideman’s stay with the Panthers did not last long. Wideman came confidence is not very high. I’m working hard in practice, feeling good but to the Panthers in a trade with Edmonton on Dec. 30 and played in his it’s not translating right now. It’s disappointing to let my teammates down first game Saturday night. every night. It has been a battle. I just need to get out of it.” By Sunday, he found himself on waivers. Monday, he was assigned to When asked if his team was desperate before the game started, captain Florida’s AHL team in Springfield, Mass. Sasha Barkov did not sound convincing at all. The Panthers brought back Ian McCoshen, a more defensive-minded “We can be, we’re all talking about it and we need to be so,” Barkov said. player, which Boughner said the Panthers need.

The Panthers certainly did not look like a team hungry for every single Boughner even said he would like to see the Panthers address that need point, one ready to start a long and important road trip on the right side of moving forward. the ledger. “That is a need of ours, for sure,” Boughner said. “We have some good parts there, but time to time, we get exposed especially against the high- end teams. Whether it’s now, at the (trade) deadline or in the summer, that’s something I personally see as one of our biggest needs.”

McCoshen, Matheson’s teammate at Boston College, played in 41 games with the Panthers over the previous two seasons.

He did not play Tuesday but is expected to draw into the lineup during the Alberta swing. which starts Thursday at Edmonton.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103647 Los Angeles Kings

What we learned from the Kings’ 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks

By CURTIS ZUPKE

JAN 08, 2019 | 8:00 AM

The gap between the Kings and the San Jose Sharks in the standings grew to 18 points Monday night. It didn’t appear to be that big of a disparity for much of the night.

The Kings had a good start, got another steady game from Jack Campbell and a solid showing from Drew Doughty and Derek Forbort on the back end. The scoring opportunities were there but never came to fruition in a 3-1 loss at SAP Center.

It was a typical Kings-Sharks close matchup that, in the end, reflected where both teams are just past the halfway point of the season.

Here’s what we learned:

Tyler Toffoli looked lost

The winger has generally muddled through a down season offensively, and he made at least two poor plays late in the game Monday. His pass to keep the puck in the zone from near the blue line did not connect, and he elected to pass into Jeff Carter’s feet with the puck on his stick in the slot.

Though there’s ample blame for underachievement on the Kings, Toffoli’s seven goals through 44 games grows more noticeable, and Monday was even more puzzling after he scored last Saturday.

Coach Willie Desjardins stuck with the same lineup as the previous game, which meant that rookie Matt Luff sat out again.

Desjardins said before the game that Luff should be an NHL regular but “he’s just seemed to have lost it a little bit lately” and needs to work harder.

“But, he’s an NHL player,” Desjardins said. “He just has to get himself back going like he can go.”

Luff shouldn’t be this complicated. A big part of the remainder of the Kings’ season is the need to grow and develop their younger players, some of whom, like Luff, have shown the offense the team needs.

In other words, perhaps Luff should not be lost.

The numbers are difficult to ignore: Jones is 11-3-3 in 17 regular-season games against his former team. His performance Monday was typically steady, maybe even a quiet-like 22 saves, although his stop on Adrian Kempe in the third period was big.

Jones even collected his first assist in 222 games with San Jose, on Tomas Hertl’s goal. He had two assists in his 34-game Kings tenure.

LA Times: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103648 Los Angeles Kings I remember that (1993) series between the Kings and Canucks. That’s one me and my family watched.

One of the guys, Greg Adams, he’s from Nelson, my hometown. They Thomas Middleditch of ‘Silicon Valley’ on Kings fandom, his ideal hockey called him Mr. Overtime. They had a parade for him. They haven’t had a movie role parade for me.

If you were ever to play a hockey player in a movie, who would you want By Lisa Dillman to play?

Jan 8, 2019 Who is the skinniest, most dorkiest hockey player, currently in the NHL? Maybe they will do “Goon 3” and call the right guy.

Speaking of hockey movies, have you seen “Slap Shot” and what do you LOS ANGELES – They turned back the clock with a 1990s ‘Throwback think of it? Night,’ at Staples Center, a fun promotion which helped spice up a January game between two struggling teams in the Pacific Division, the I like it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to badmouth “Slap Shot.” I do Kings and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. think “Goon” is a very good hockey movie. It’s so funny. It really is. “Goon 2,” not so much. Of course, a strict early 90s reconstruction would have meant having the game at the Forum (unrealistic) and resulted in a high-scoring affair, like How long have you been a Kings fan and have you met any of the an 8-7 game (also unrealistic). My non-hockey highlight (musical players? category) on this throwback night was hearing a few bits of the 1995 When I moved to Los Angeles. I have the philosophy that I don’t have to song, “Lump,” by The Presidents of the United States of America. root for the first team I rooted for. If I’m going to live in Los Angeles for This WAS a throwback night, a brief reminder of the fun times. The the rest of my life, it’s going to be my home. I’m want to root for the home Kings’ 4-0 win against the Oilers, however, pulled them out of the team. Western Conference cellar, not back in control of the old Smythe Same way if I had to move to Phoenix. I guess I’d be a Coyotes fan. Division. We just met Luc (Robitaille) and Mr. Wayne Gretzky tonight. We The Kings’ promotional game was just as strong. They’ve been unveiling mentioned that I was going to go on as this character and Gretzky said, a series of ‘Celebrity Guests of Honor‘ this season to varying degrees of ‘Good luck.’ reception. If you think athletes are treated harshly (or overhyped) on social media, that’s nothing compared to the treatment often faced by I got told good luck by Wayne Gretzky. I’ll take it. entertainers. How much were you around hockey in Chicago? Emmy nominated actor/comedian Thomas Middleditch of HBO’s “Silicon Valley,” the celebrity guest on Saturday, was part of the Fox Sports West A friend I went to high school with was dating a Chicago Blackhawks broadcast. He plays Pied Piper founder Richard Hendricks on the HBO player and I remember three of them came up to my nonsense show, which has been on for five seasons. apartment. It was so small. We all drank beers. My other roommates were trembling, ‘That’s so-and-so from the Chicago Blackhawks.’ Middleditch had an inspired turn on the set with Patrick O’Neal, Derek Armstrong and Jarret Stoll. It was Middleditch’s idea to be on the panel, I was like, ‘More Millers anyone? Anyone want to play Dr. Mario?’ pregame, as a fictional character, broadcaster Tony Babcock. How do you handle the downside of criticism on social media? The ugly Tony Babcock, to O’Neal: “It’s true. The legend is real. I met you at side of it surfaced this past week, primarily on Instagram, when Anaheim Patrick Roy’s bachelor party. We were upside down doing the keg- Ducks prospect Maxime Comtois missed a penalty shot against Finland stander.” in the World Junior Championships.

Stoll: I haven’t seen you in a while. I hosted a golf tournament in There’s been various elements throughout the history of social media Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where I’m from. You came a couple of years that have taught us it can be weaponized and my only suggestion is you there. … My buddy, you were golfing together, and he got a hole-in-one can unsubscribe. You can log off. You can mute and it goes away. My and the next thing I know you’re actually getting the ball out of the hole favorite comeback when someone is being a dick … and you’re naked running around the green. We can use that word in The Athletic.

Babcock: It’s the similar theme in all my life. I tend to get a little nude with OK, a real son of a bitch. I’ll go, ‘Hey man you sound cool. Let’s hang out a bunch of attitude by the end of the evening. next time you’re in L.A. You’ve got a real chill vibe.’ A. They don’t expect O’Neal: Tell me about your dad. He’s a legend and you had to fill in for a response and that usually throws them. B. With negativity like that him. I think the fans would like to know. Is everything OK between you they’re hoping to get a negative response so you lock horns. Don’t give guys now? them the satisfaction.

Babcock: Everything is more or less OK. I’m searching for the thing that As Michelle Obama says, ‘They go low. We go high.’ we all are searching for, is father’s approval. It is elusive. More elusive Finally, what kind of an NHL owner would Gavin Belson, the head of than the blue whale. Hooli in “Silicon Valley” be?

It could have been a spirited improvisational skit. In fact, one of A shrewd one. He’s got the savviness to make a winning team, I bet. I Middleditch’s early career breaks – before moving to Los Angeles and would be less confident of putting a hockey team in the hands of Richard long before “Silicon Valley” fame – came with The Second City in Hendricks. Chicago. He’s got too much heart. He’d say, ‘I can’t trade him. I love him.’ In addition to “Silicon Valley,“ Middleditch will be in “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” in May. Between his duties as Tony Babcock, Middleditch was kind enough to break character long enough for a quick question The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 and answer session with The Athletic.

So were you more Don Cherry or Ron MacLean tonight on the panel?

Growing up in the heart of British Columbia, were you a Vancouver Canucks fan?

I was just saying that I grew up kind of not really liking hockey. I was a drama kid, and the hockey players and the drama kids weren’t the best of friends. 1103649 Los Angeles Kings

WAKING UP WITH THE KINGS: JANUARY 8

JON ROSEN

JANUARY 8, 2019

GAME STORY

A 2-1 Kings-Sharks game in the third period, you say? Just as Saturday’s Edmonton game at Staples Center was the latest carbon copy of a franchised script, so was Los Angeles’ 3-1 loss in San Jose on Monday night, a typically low-scoring game between the familiar rivals and one in which the visitors could’ve forged a better result by managing their chances a little better. There were two three-on-two rushes in an excellent first 10 minutes that the Kings did not generate shots on, as well as a seeming deference to offer one pass too many at an important juncture or two. Things do look easier from upstairs. But on the other end, the Sharks took advantage of key moments to generate significant momentum swings that the Kings, like all Silicon Valley opponents since 1993, found difficult to stem. Also representative of the series and tendencies is San Jose’s excellent work this decade to stay out of the penalty box. Since 2010-11 they’ve ranked fourth in the league with 3.05 minor penalties per game, and on Monday night they weren’t whistled for any infractions, a strong execution of a game plan against a team that ranks last in the league with 2.23 goals per game. Could a penalty have been called on San Jose? I don’t know; Dion Phaneuf wasn’t whistled for his engagements, so I’m not sure Barclay Goodrow’s going to draw a whistle for an inadvertent high stick after he’d been shoved to the ice. Maybe there was an iffy line change against the Sharks as well, but really, this was an honest, uncontroversial win. If a bot was able to write a play-by-play account of January 7, 2019 Kings-Sharks, this was the most probable outcome.

Brandon Magnus/NHLI

And that’s not to say the Kings have been playing poorly. Their game, despite some rough efforts against Vegas and Tampa Bay, and even in some recent wins, has overall been on an upward trajectory. Monday’s performance was a fiercely resistant effort in a rival’s building. They’ve won six of 10 but remain in the cellar as both Chicago and St. Louis have picked up wins as late, while Eastern teams Detroit, Philadelphia and Ottawa have hit the skids. It is still worth it in the long run to earn the greatest likelihood of selecting first or second overall, but it’s also equally important to continue to mold and develop young players that can then contribute meaningful minutes once the team is ready to put its best foot forward competitively once again. Recent returns from those younger players has been encouraging but mixed. Matt Luff sat for the second consecutive game as he’s been pressed back into his end and has dealt with defensive zone turnovers despite his offensive production; this happens with young players. Nights in which Austin Wagner reaches 10 minutes have been infrequent, but he’s shown a good willingness to forecheck and make hits in addition to his elite speed. Sean Walker is earning big minutes and, like the others, has shown both an aptitude with the puck and indications that there’s still more work to do without it. These players will ultimately earn more minutes as their roles expand after the trade deadline. It’s understandable that it would be best to avoid putting these players into situations in which they’re not made to succeed – and there were a few of them on the road against a deep and balanced San Jose attack – but we’re about at that point where perhaps some of the reins may be loosened a little bit. Maybe Wagner, who scored 21 shorthanded goals in 282 WHL games, could earn the right to wedge his way into some depth penalty killing detail. It’s also important, too, to build a culture in which players earn the right to expand their roles and aren’t just laid out a welcome mat simply because they’re young and seemingly next in line. There’s a balance there, along with a third dimension in which winning, the ultimate arbiter of success, is also important towards building confidence and facilitating development.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103650 Minnesota Wild Star Tribune LOADED: 01.09.2019 Eric Staal frustrated as scoring slump continues in Wild's loss to Bruins

By Sarah McLellan JANUARY 8, 2019 — 10:29PM

BOSTON – The puck disappeared in goalie Tuukka Rask’s glove but if it didn’t – if the shot center Eric Staal heaved at the net off the rush instead sailed into the net – maybe that would have been the spark the weary Wild needed to keep pace with the rested Bruins. But that boost never came, and the Wild sagged to a 4-0 loss Tuesday at TD Garden – a dud at the end of an otherwise productive four-game road trip that pocketed six out of a possible eight points for the team. “We got behind, got behind early and I think that made it difficult for us to get going,” Staal said. “I had that look early to get some momentum and some energy, and it isn’t falling. It’s frustrating, but you gotta stick with it and find a way.” While this swing through the Eastern Conference revealed plenty of positives for the Wild, one of the downsides was the offensive woes for usual scorers like Staal. He and wingers Jason Zucker and Nino Niederreiter went scoreless on the trip, the only members of the top-nine forward group to not contribute at least a goal. “It’s definitely not for a lack of trying,” Zucker said. “But like I’ve said before, working hard is not good enough. We’ve got to find a way to do it. We’ve got to find a way to be leaders on the team and score goals like we’re supposed to be doing, and right now we’re not doing that.” Staal hasn’t scored since the first game post-holiday break, a 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago Dec.27, but he’s been around the puck lately – earning looks that make it seem like he’s close to busting out of this slump. “It’s frustrating because I’m generating a lot of chances, and I feel like I’m generating a lot – as much or more as I have in the last few years being here,” he said. “It’s just right now they’re not going in. I have to stick with it and try not to let it creep into other parts of my game because it can be difficult.” Coach Bruce Boudreau thought Staal was moving well against the Bruins and had a few opportunities to deliver. He’s confident the veteran will be able to work his way out of this rut. “He’s gone through this before, in my tenure anyway,” Boudreau said. “And he’s bounced right back out. I think it was last year or the year before he had a real long streak of not scoring, and then all of a sudden he picked it up. I assume he’s going to do that as well again.” Boudreau was also keeping an eye on center Joel Eriksson Ek, who made his return to the Wild’s lineup with center Eric Fehr sidelined after hitting his head on the Wild’s bench in Monday’s game. Eriksson Ek played 13 minutes, 16 seconds and was on the ice for two of the Bruins’ goals, one of which came on the power play. “I’m 21 years old,” said Eriksson Ek, who left for Boston at 4 a.m. Tuesday after getting recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League, traveling through Detroit to meet up with the team. “Still have to learn a lot every day and work hard.” The power play is also a work in progress amid a 1-for-23 stretch. “Something the last four, five games has been really off, and we have to work at it,” Boudreau said. “We have to get back to the basics on it, that’s for sure.” This slide coincides with defenseman Matt Dumba’s absence to recover from surgery that fixed a ruptured right pectoralis muscle, but Boudreau doesn’t believe the two are correlated. “There’s two power-play units out there, and he’s one guy," he explained. "As well as he’s been on the power play this season, I’m not sitting there saying, ‘Dumba’s the only reason that the power play hasn’t gone well.’” After a busy finish to the road trip, the Wild won’t have much time to regroup. It’ll be off Wednesday before hosting its Central Division rival, the Winnipeg Jets, Thursday at Xcel Energy Center. 1103651 Minnesota Wild “He’s going to score you 20-25, and hopefully he gets 40-plus assists,” Boudreau said. “That’s what he is. He reads plays really well, but he’s a pass-first guy and not a shoot-first guy.” Joel Eriksson Ek recalled by Wild after Eric Fehr hurt Star Tribune LOADED: 01.09.2019 By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune JANUARY 9, 2019 — 12:18AM

BOSTON – Center Eric Fehr was sidelined for the Wild’s road trip finale Tuesday against the Bruins at TD Garden, but the team isn’t expecting Fehr to be out long-term after he smacked his head on the top of the boards in front of the Wild’s bench the previous game. “He’s just sore,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “But he’s fine.” Fehr went down less than three minutes into the 1-0 win over the Canadiens on Monday in Montreal after absorbing a late shoulder check from winger Kenny Agostino that sent Fehr crashing into the boards. He was slow to get up and eventually left the ice with a towel pressed to his head. The Wild finished the game with only 11 forwards, but it was back to full strength Tuesday. Joel Eriksson Ek replaced Fehr at center on the fourth line after being recalled from the American Hockey League earlier in the day. Eriksson Ek was assigned to Iowa on Dec. 28 to rebuild his confidence in the offensive zone after managing just a goal and four points through 27 games this season with the Wild. Had Fehr not gotten injured, it’s likely Eriksson Ek still would be on assignment in the minors and it’s unclear if the 21-year-old is back with the Wild for good. But after tallying four goals and six points amid 20 shots during five games, it certainly looks as if Eriksson Ek fulfilled the mission of the stint; two of his goals were power-play markers, and he also had two game- winners. “He’s an NHL player to start,” Boudreau said. “We were just hoping that he would find some offense down there. Seems he did. He’s coming up, and he’s not being put in a position to be a great offensive player being on the fourth line. But we just want him to get confident in doing that because we know he can play.” With defenseman Matt Dumba, who’s out after undergoing surgery to fix a ruptured right pectoralis muscle, on injured reserve, the team didn’t need to make a corresponding move to open a roster spot for Eriksson Ek. But it did also send defenseman Ryan Murphy to Iowa since the Wild planned to keep Nate Prosser in the lineup and didn’t need an extra option on the blue line. Murphy played two games with the team after getting called up Jan. 1; Boudreau mentioned the Wild might add another defenseman before its next game Thursday at home against the Winnipeg Jets. After backstopping the Wild to eight wins that included just one goal- against, netminder Devan Dubnyk finally secured his first shutout of the season Monday and joined elite company in the process. The effort was the 30th shutout of Dubnyk’s career, and he became one of just 66 goalies in NHL history to reach that milestone. Since being acquired by the Wild Jan. 15, 2015, Dubnyk leads all NHL goaltenders with 21 regular-season shutouts. “It’s nice to get it,” he said. “It’s kind of weird that it’s been this long. There’s been probably four or five games that I felt like it was going to be and never happened. “So it’s nice. Shutouts are always nice to get. Winning’s important, and they’re extra special when it’s 1-0 because you really needed it to be a shutout.” Mikael Granlund stopped a 15-game goalless drought Monday with his 12th tally of the season and just his second in a 24-game span. “Obviously, you always want to score but I never consider myself a big goal scorer,” Granlund said. “You just try to play the game and play hard and try to make plays and create some offense.” Granlund’s 13.5 shooting percentage is second best on the Wild, but his 89 shots are fifth. 1103652 Minnesota Wild

Wild-Boston game recap

JANUARY 8, 2019 — 10:19PM

GAME RECAP STAR TRIBUNE'S THREE STARS 1. Patrice Bergeron, Bruins: The center scored and set up two others. 2. Brad Marchand, Bruins: The winger chipped in a goal and two assists. 3. Tuukka Rask, Bruins: The goaltender made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season. BY THE NUMBERS 0 Shots on three Wild power plays. 2 Power-play goals by Boston in two tries. 3 First-period goals by the Bruins.

SARAH MCLELLAN Star Tribune LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103653 Minnesota Wild

Rask stops 24 shots, Bruins shut out Wild 4-0

By DOUG ALDEN Associated Press JANUARY 8, 2019 — 10:35PM

BOSTON — Tuukka Rask was happy to share the credit after his first shutout of the season. The veteran goalie stopped 24 shots for his 250th career win as the Boston Bruins beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Tuesday night. "Our team defense the past few games has been very good and I think it shows on the scoreboard and in the points," Rask said. "We're eliminating the offense of the opposing team very well and then getting rewarded at the other end. That's a great sign." Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand each had a goal and two assists. Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk also scored as Boston won its season- high fifth straight game. John Moore and Torey Krug had two assists apiece. Alex Stalock finished with 23 saves for Minnesota. The Wild, who played Monday night in Montreal, managed just six shots in the first period and never recovered after Boston took a 2-0 lead on goals by Heinen and Marchand. "You could tell that there was a little bit of fatigue," Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. "They had a good game plan. They came out right after us." Rask earned his first shutout since blanking Tampa Bay on the road last March 17. He wasn't tested often, but did come up with a big glove save on Eric Staal with 5:42 left in the first. After stopping 12 more shots in the second period, Rask faced only seven from the weary Wild in the third and completed his 42nd career shutout. Rask needs three wins to break Cecil "Tiny" Thompson's club record of 252. "I've been lucky enough to be part of good teams," Rask said. "That's pretty much what it comes down to, I think. I've been fortunate to play here." Boston jumped on Minnesota early and never let the Wild get much going offensively. Heinen tipped in Moore's shot from the point 5:23 into the game and Marchand scored from nearly the same spot on a rebound off the end boards after a shot by Bergeron with 8:31 left in the period. DeBrusk added a power-play goal with 45 seconds left in the first when the puck bounced off his chest. The assists went to Bergeron and Marchand, who combined again for Boston's next goal. Minnesota's Zach Parise was called for tripping 6:05 into the second and the Bruins scored just 19 seconds into the power play when a shot by Marchand glanced off Bergeron's skate into the net. Bergeron was credited with the goal, while Marchand and Krug both picked up their second assist of the night. "Sometimes the puck luck comes in cycles and we'll take it," Bergeron said. "We got the bounces, but I thought we played really strong — especially early in the game. We were on the puck and creating our chances." The Wild, playing the second night of back-to-back games, wrapped up a 3-1 road trip. "We're not going to make excuses. We've played some good teams," Staal said. "When you get behind against a solid team like the Bruins, it's going to be a tough night. We just didn't have enough momentum to carry us through." NOTES: Boston D Charlie McAvoy missed his sixth straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Stalock got the start for Devan Dubnyk, who made 32 saves Monday night at Montreal for his first shutout of the season. Dubnyk will represent the Wild at the All-Star Game for the third time in four seasons. ... The Wild fell to 8-4 in Boston.

Star Tribune LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103654 Minnesota Wild Star Tribune LOADED: 01.09.2019

Wild loses road trip finale 4-0 in Boston

By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune JANUARY 9, 2019 — 12:58AM

BOSTON – It was the outcome expected of a road-weary bunch tripping into an early hole against a rested and rolling juggernaut. Looking very much like it was completing a back-to-back at the conclusion of a four-game trip that spanned nearly a week, the Wild ran into the buzz saw that was the Bruins and limped to a 4-0 letdown Tuesday in front of 17,565 at TD Garden that nixed the team’s three- game win streak. But with six points from three victories already in tow, this detour through the Eastern Conference was still a success — and perhaps the turning point the Wild needs to continue its climb up the standings, as the group finished the trek and opened the second half of the season in the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. VideoVideo (00:29): Coach Bruce Boudreau discusses the 4-0 loss to the Bruins. “It’s always tough to think about that immediately after a game,” center Eric Staal said. “Obviously, you’re disappointed with the result tonight. But we did have some good wins and some good hockey, and we gotta take that with us as we go home.” Although the last impression left by the finale didn’t reflect well on the Wild, it looked like the anomaly of the bunch. In pulling out 4-3 decisions over the Maple Leafs and Senators before upending the Canadiens 1-0 Monday, the Wild relied on opportunistic scoring, timely saves and a perseverance reminiscent of its triumphs earlier in the season when it assembled wins like puzzle pieces. “I don’t think we gave up a lot,” Staal said. “We were difficult to play against, all the stuff we know we can do we were doing.” But the Wild skated like the knockoff version of that get-up against the Bruins, who cruised to their fifth straight victory amid three first-period goals. At 5 minutes, 23 seconds, winger Danton Heinen deflected a John Moore shot past backup goalie Alex Stalock. Top-line winger Brad Marchand doubled Boston’s lead 6:06 later when he buried a bounce off the end boards and, with 45 seconds left in the frame, the Bruins converted on the power play — a floater by center Patrice Bergeron that hit winger Jake DeBrusk’s chest and tumbled behind Stalock. “When you’re a tired team,” coach Bruce Boudreau said, “sometimes you don’t have the energy to come back.” Another redirect on the Bruins’ second and final power play, this one off Bergeron’s stick 6:24 into the second, capped off the scoring. Stalock, who was making his first start since Dec. 6, posted 23 saves; Tuukka Rask had 24. The Wild, blanked on its three power-play chances, failed to register a shot and remained stuck in a 1-for-23 funk. “Our power play was about as bad as we’ve had it all year,” winger Jason Zucker said. Aside from that blemish, the road swing also highlighted the scoring struggles of Staal, Zucker and Nino Niederreiter, all goalless on the trip. “I’m counted on to contribute offensively and be a difference maker here,” Staal said. “Right now it’s not going in but back to work and stick with the compete, and it’ll come.” That should be the focus of the entire team. VideoVideo (00:52): Sarah McLellan recaps the 4-0 loss to the Bruins in her Wild wrap-up. While this stretch was fruitful, its impact will only matter if it’s the start of similar showings. “We finally got ourselves back in the race here,” Boudreau said. “We gotta push forward here. That’s what you gotta do.”

1103655 Minnesota Wild

Wild vying to sweep road trip in finale vs. Bruins

By Sarah McLellan JANUARY 8, 2019 — 6:52AM

BOSTON – With three wins already in tow, this is undoubtedly a successful road trip for the Wild. But the team has a chance to make it even more meaningful if it closes it out with a fourth straight victory when it takes on the Bruins Tuesday in Boston. The Wild extended its win streak to three games Monday in Montreal when it held on for a 1-0 decision after securing a third-period goal from winger Mikael Granlund. “I hope they think that if they got a lead in the third that they can shut it down,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “That’s what confidence does for you. It’s always different every game, but that’s what we’ve had to do for three straight games. Hopefully it can continue one more time.” What the Wild’s lineup will look like to face the Bruins is unclear. Center Eric Fehr left Monday’s game early in the first period after he smacked his head on the boards in front of the Wild’s bench following a late shoulder check from the Canadiens’ Kenny Agostino. Boudreau did not have an update on Fehr after the game, and the Wild did not skate Tuesday morning in Boston. Backup goalie Alex Stalock is primed to get the start after No.1 Devan Dubnyk posted a 32-save shutout Monday. This would be Stalock’s first start since Dec.6, although he has made two relief appearances since that game. Stalock is 0-0-1 with a .946 save percentage and 1.52 goals-against average in two career contests against Boston. “Looking forward to it,” Stalock said.

Star Tribune LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103656 Minnesota Wild the end boards like a Super Ball right to Marchand, who had an easy putback with Stalock sprawled out of position.

He suffered worse with 45 seconds remaining in the period. Bergeron Wild fall flat in Boston, lose 4-0 to Bruins floated a shot toward the net that ricocheted off Jake DeBrusk’s chest and past a flummoxed Stalock, and the rout was on. By BRIAN MURPHY | [email protected] | Pioneer Press Bergeron padded his stats with a second-period power-play goal at 6:24. This time Marchand flipped the puck toward the net, and it bounced off PUBLISHED: January 8, 2019 at 8:49 pm | UPDATED: January 8, 2019 Bergeron’s leg past a diving Stalock. at 10:03 PM The backup goaltender stared in disbelief at the ice and then the video board, trying to figure out where it all went wrong. BOSTON — The Wild did not check into their Boston hotel until 3 a.m. Back at Aéroports de Montreal. Tuesday after spending two hours on the tarmac in Montreal because of a faulty baggage conveyor belt. They never made it to TD Garden. Pioneer Press LOADED: 01.09.2019 The surging Bruins exploited a tired and overwhelmed opponent like a good team should, swatting aside the Wild 4-0 on home ice. Ultimately the Wild completed a successful four-game trip through the Eastern Conference, securing six of eight possible eight points to pull back into the second Western Conference wild-card position. But they had nothing left to give Tuesday, yielding three first-period goals to dig their own grave. “You could tell there was a little bit of fatigue, and they had a good game plan,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “They came out right after us and when they scored the first couple goals, when you’re a tired team sometimes you don’t have the energy to come back.” Playing without penalty-killing stalwart Eric Fehr, the Wild’s vaunted unit surrendered two power-play goals for the first time in six games and just the second time this season. Meanwhile, the impact of Matt Dumba’s absence has had a stark effect on their power play. Minnesota failed to register a shot in its three man advantages. Including two periods against Calgary on Dec. 15, the game in which Dumba was injured, the Wild are 1 for 23 on the power play. “He is absent, but there’s two power-play units out there and he’s one guy,” said Boudreau. “As well as he’s been on the power play this season, I’m not sitting there saying Dumba’s the only reason that the power play hasn’t gone well.” The task would have been daunting for Minnesota without its travel hazards. The Bruins have lost only five games at home all season. Their 16 home wins are second behind league No. 1 Tampa Bay, which has 17. The Wild’s 8-3 all-time record in Beantown entering play offered a glimmer of hope. But it was clear from the opening faceoff they did not have the stamina or engagement level to keep pace with the speedy Bruins, who mercifully took their foot off the accelerator to win their fifth straight while improving to 11-4 in their past 15 games. “It’s an easy excuse, but I don’t think that’s any excuse we should be using,” said Jason Zucker. “They had more jump than us to start the game. They capitalized on their few chances. Our power play was about as bad as we’ve had all year.” Mikael Granlund snapped a 15-game goalless skid by bagging the game- winner in Monday night’s win over Montreal, but the Wild were blanked after scoring identical 4-3 victories over Toronto and Ottawa to start the trip. Zucker has one goal in 14 games. Eric Staal has not scored in 11. Nino Niederreiter is a ghost. “Working hard is not good enough,” Zucker said. “We’ve got to find a way to be leaders on the team and score goals like we’re supposed to be doing, and right now we’re not doing that.” Pity Alex Stalock. He gets his first start since Dec. 6 and is victimized by three deflections and lively end boards. It was his job to eat 40-plus minutes of misery with starter Devan Dubnyk enjoying a rare night off. “I actually felt pretty good,” Stalock said. “It’s just a bounce here or there and it’s a different game. Overall, square to pucks. Shots I saw I stopped, and it felt good. They had some deflections. We’ll work on that this week and get back to work.” Dan Heinen started the Boston onslaught at 5:23 with a nifty redirect of John Moore’s point shot. Brian Marchand doubled the lead at 11:29, thanks to some home-ice advantage boards. Patrice Bergeron’s shot sailed wide but bounced off 1103657 Minnesota Wild Seeler on the Wild’s penalty-killing: “We’re doing a really good job on the PK. Guys are selling out blocking shots and doing what we need to do to be successful on the PK, so that helps a lot.” Wild have noticed Joel Eriksson Ek’s offensive production in Iowa Pioneer Press LOADED: 01.09.2019 By BRIAN MURPHY | [email protected] | Pioneer Press PUBLISHED: January 8, 2019 at 5:35 pm | UPDATED: January 8, 2019 at 6:01 PM

BOSTON — The original plan was for Joel Eriksson Ek to spend more time in the minors rebuilding his game and confidence, but the NHL refugee returned to the Wild on Tuesday much sooner than expected. Ek was in the lineup against the Boston Bruins in place of fourth-line center Eric Fehr, who left Monday’s 1-0 victory over Montreal early in the first period after being checked face-first into the boards by Canadiens winger Kenny Agostino. Coach Bruce Boudreau said before the game that Fehr was “just sore, but he’s fine” and not expected to be sidelined long term. “I don’t know any different and I haven’t been told it’s any different, so I assume it’s day to day,” Boudreau said. Fehr is a key penalty killer on the NHL’s third-best unit, so the Wild are going to feel his absence. They managed to kill off three Montreal power plays in his absence. “He brings a lot of stability,” said Marcus Foligno, the other forward among the four top penalty killers. “He’s helped me out a lot, too. This is where we need guys to step up, especially me, to be better on the PK.” Ek was demoted to the Wild’s American Hockey League team in Iowa on Dec. 28 and made an immediate impact, scoring four goals among six points with 20 shots during a five-game point streak that included two power-play markers and a pair of game-winning goals. “He’s their best player,” Boudreau said. “He’s an NHL player to start. We were just hoping he would find some offense down there. Seems he did. “He’s coming up and he’s not being put into position to be a great offensive player on the fourth line. We just want to him to get confidence. We know he can play.” Ek had only one goal and three assists in 27 games with Minnesota before he was demoted. The Wild are being patient with their 2015 first- round (20th overall) draft pick. Only 21, he already has logged 117 NHL games. Charlie Coyle switched to center the same time Ek was demoted, and he has found a productive home on the No. 1 line with Zach Parise and Luke Kunin. “We feel he’s a top-9 player and we want him to be a top-9 player,” Boudreau said of Ek. “The plan was probably to keep him down there a while, but if he comes up here and does great … we like what Charlie’s doing in the middle, and we don’t want to change that, either.” With six healthy defensemen, the Wild decided to reassign Ryan Murphy to Iowa. He was called up Jan. 1 and played two games while Nick Seeler was out with a lower-body injury. KUNIN RISING Kunin continues to elevate his game since being promoted from the minors in mid-December. He skated a career-high 16 minutes, 43 seconds against the Canadiens. Kunin has had four assists in his past five games entering play Tuesday. He was plus-3 in Saturday’s win at Ottawa. Also just 21, Kunin has rebounded strongly from a torn ACL that ended his rookie season last March. The 6-foot, 195-pound forward is a right-wing compliment to Parise’s forechecking prowess on the left side. “I think we all play that hard-nosed, straight-line game,” said Kunin, Minnesota’s 2016 first-round draft pick. “I try to play fast all the time. Get in on the forecheck, finish my checks. I think I’ve been doing that. And the rest of my game follows that.” “I think it’ll come,” he said. “I like what I’m doing. I’m getting chances. The rest will come.” HE SAID IT 1103658 Minnesota Wild team that played the night before, especially a team at the end of a long road trip.

Come out hard, score a few goals early, and typically those tired teams Travel woes, elevator drama, fluky goals and a predictable Wild thud in with home base in the near future don’t have the capacity to conjure up Boston the legs and energy to push back. The Bruins struck three times in the first period and the Wild had one foot By Michael Russo on their airplane. “You could tell there was a little bit of fatigue, and they had a good game plan,” Boudreau said. “They came out right after us and when they BOSTON — Well, unfortunately for the Wild, the most exciting thing that scored the first couple goals, when you’re a tired team sometimes you happened to them Tuesday in the land of continuous pro sports don’t have the energy to come back.” championships was one of their former players getting stuck in an elevator at the team hotel. Countless Wild players looked to have heavy legs and sapped energy. They relegated themselves to chipping pucks any time they crossed the Ryan Carter, the Wild’s entertaining contributor on the team’s social- red line. Chipping and chasing is OK, if you actually do the chasing part. media platforms and a Fox Sports North analyst, went to a local gym to play some hoops with some of his new colleagues. The Wild didn’t have the speed or vivacity to chase the puck down on this night. After the ex-Wild forward got up to his room, he realized he accidentally had possession of his room key from the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal, not On the other side of the 200 feet of ice, they were too loose in their own Boston. So Carter went down to the front desk, got a new key, got back end, and it sure didn’t help that Boston’s top line of Brad Marchand, in an elevator and the next two hours of agony, boredom, fright, sweat Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak was four steps faster than any Wild and a strained bladder was pretty much live-tweeted and Instagrammed player. on his dueling accounts. Seriously, this line had its way with the Wild the first 30 minutes of the The elevator shook. Something sounded like it fell on the roof of the car. game. The elevator dropped, and then it came to a halt and got stuck high It almost became comical the way each forward would pass up Grade-A above the lobby level. scoring chances only to create a better Grade-A scoring chance. Poor Finally, his long ordeal came to an end when workers crashed through Stalock was a sacrificial lamb and looked like a pin cushion. the ceiling well after the team left for its game against the Boston Bruins. It also didn’t help that the Bruins got all the puck luck. Dust fell on top of Carter and covered the floor, but the workers dropped down a ladder and Carter climbed his way on top, into the elevator shaft The four Bruins goals came courtesy of a redirection off Danton Heinen’s and finally into “freedom.” stick, a redirection off Jake DeBrusk’s chest, a redirection off Bergeron’s skate and a perfect carom off the end wall for an easy goal by Marchand. By the end of this night though, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau probably wished a couple of his own players got stuck in that elevator. It also didn’t help that the Wild’s power play was downright hideous. The Wild, feeling so good about themselves after winning three Against the NHL’s third-ranked penalty kill, the Bruins went 2 for 2 on two consecutive games in eastern Canada, suffered a very predictable end- shots in 78 seconds of power-play time. of-road-trip clunker against the Bruins by a 4-0 score. The Wild? They were TD Garden no-shows. How about 0 for 3 with zero shots on goal in 5:26 of power-play time. “Yeah, bad breaks today all around for the Wild,” deadpanned goalie Alex Stalock, who before starting his first game since Dec. 6 actually “Our power play was about as bad as we’ve had it all year,” Zucker said. FaceTimed Carter from the back of the cab with teammate Matt “I don’t know if we had possession in the zone one time.” Hendricks. “I was worried about Carts. I’ve overheated in an elevator. It’s Since power-play sniper Matt Dumba ruptured his right pec, the Wild’s pretty scary.” power play is 1 for 22 in 10 games plus the two periods he didn’t play Carter got through it with his typical sense of humor and is probably against the Calgary Flames. owed about a million Marriott points for his trouble. Still, Boudreau said the Wild cannot use Dumba’s absence as an excuse, “That’s, that’s a tough day,” Carter’s buddy and former teammate, Jason or it will be a long, long second half. Zucker, said after the Wild had a very tough night. “Something the last four, five games has been really off, and we have to The Wild may have looked and played like a team that played a tough work at it,” said Boudreau, who used rookie Luke Kunin on the power road game the night before and arrived at their hotel at 3 a.m. because play for the first time. “We have to get back to the basics on it, that’s for they actually did play a tough road game the night before and arrived at sure. their hotel at 3 a.m. “But there’s two power-play units out there and (Dumba’s) one guy. As The Wild were severely delayed out of Montreal for multiple reasons: well as he’s been on the power play this season, I’m not sitting there snow and maybe the fact both they and the Canadiens showed up to the saying Dumba’s the only reason that the power play hasn’t gone well.” airport at the exact same time for travel to road games Tuesday night. The Wild returned to Minnesota after the game and will take a planned The Canadiens, shockingly, got their equipment loaded first and went off day off Wednesday to reenergize and hope playing with bricks in their on their merry way to Detroit. The Wild’s gear and equipment got on skates Tuesday doesn’t have lasting effects. second in part because of an apparent conveyer belt issue. Thursday night when the Winnipeg Jets come to St. Paul, it’ll start a So, they departed Montreal three hours after their shutout win. stretch of eight games in 14 nights for the Wild leading into the All-Star Still, the Wild started this season 4-0 in the second of back-to-backs and break. have dealt with tough travel before. The Wild did a solid job on this road trip climbing back into the Western These are professionals, so nobody in their locker room was pinning their Conference’s playoff picture. flatness on tiredness. They know they can’t ruin what they just achieved. “I mean, it’s an easy excuse, but I don’t think that’s any excuse we “For us, I think we can look at that and say, ‘You know what, we’ve got should be using. They had more jump than us to start the game. They eight games’ and not save anything,” Zucker said. “Put it all out there. capitalized on their few chances,” Zucker said. We’re going to have eight days of nothing to relax, see family and “We’re not making excuses,” veteran Eric Staal added. “Everyone deals recover. So, for the time being, I think we need to buckle up and play with travel. Everyone deals with the schedule. We got behind, got behind these eight games hard and have no excuses at the end of it.” early and I think that made it difficult for us to get going.” Zucker, Staal, Niederreiter struggling And that frankly is fact. Staal has one goal in the past 11 games and couldn’t bury a breakaway The Bruins — who have won five straight games, 11 of their past 15 and in the first period that would have cut a two-goal deficit in half. Zucker are 16-5 at home — devised up the exact recipe you want to against a has one goal in the past 14 games. Nino Niederreiter has no goals in the past 11 games. Mikael Granlund scored his first goal in 16 games the night before in Montreal. This just isn’t good enough and the players know it. “It’s definitely not for a lack of trying,” Zucker said. “Working hard is not good enough. We’ve got to find a way to do it. We’ve got to find a way to be leaders on the team and score goals like we’re supposed to be doing and right now we’re not doing that.” Staal is very frustrated. “It’s frustrating because I’m generating a lot of chances, and I feel like I’m generating a lot — as much or more as I have in the last few years being here,” Staal said. “It’s just right now they’re not going in. I have to stick with it and try not to let it creep into other parts of my game because it can be difficult. I’m counted on to contribute offensively and be a difference-maker here. Right now it’s not going in but back to work and stick with the compete and it’ll come.” Staal is also worried because he knows if the Wild fall out of the playoff hunt, he would be possible trade bait before the Feb. 25 trade deadline. “I thought he had some legs tonight,” Boudreau said. “I thought he had a couple good chances, but he’s gone through this before in my tenure anyway. And he’s bounced right back out. I think it was last year or the year before he had a real long streak of not scoring and then all of a sudden he picked it up. I assume he’s going to do that as well again.” Eriksson Ek returns, but for how long? With Eric Fehr out with an upper-body injury (Boudreau says he’s “sore,” but the injury isn’t considered long-term), Joel Eriksson Ek was recalled from Iowa after scoring four goals and two assists in five games. He left for the airport in Des Moines at 4 a.m. Tuesday and flew to Boston via Detroit, so he, too, was tired. He had no shots on goal and was beaten to the net, then lost his balance and separation on his coverage before the Bruins’ first goal. On playing in Iowa, Eriksson Ek said, “I was playing, playing a lot, playing real big minutes with really good players, playing power play, PK, everything like that. It was good.” He said he was not upset when he was sent down: “I’m still young. I’m 21 years old. Still have to learn a lot every day and work hard and play for being better.” Some could debate his Iowa success as this is what happens when he plays in a top-six role with power-play time. Others could assert that maybe the AHL is more his level at this point in his career. Eriksson Ek, who possibly could return to Iowa once Fehr is healthy, did have some candid thoughts on the big club after the game. He said, “I think we have to play more with the puck, don’t just chip it and get it deep all the time. We have to try to make plays to score some goals because I think this team needs to handle the puck a little bit better and be in the breakouts a little cleaner so we can come with speed together.” Also, offensively, Eriksson Ek said, “Sometimes I think everyone wants to score so bad, everyone just goes to the net and there’s no room even for the puck to get through. There’s no plays even to be made. Sometimes I think we need to get one guy higher to open up shooting lanes.” … Ryan Murphy was sent back to Iowa before the game, but with only six healthy defensemen on the roster, the Wild will clearly have to recall Murphy or another defenseman soon.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019

1103660 Montreal Canadiens

In the Habs' Room: Happy Detroit homecoming for Jeff Petry

PAT HICKEY, MONTREAL GAZETTE Updated: January 8, 2019

DETROIT — Dan Petry is a local hero, a pitcher who helped the Detroit Tigers win the World Series in 1984 but he was playing the proud father role Tuesday night as he watched his son, Jeff, score the winning goal in the Canadiens’ 3-2 win over the Red Wings. “I know he’s scored some goals against the Red Wings in Montreal, but this is the first one he’s scored here,” the elder Petry said. “And I had a chance to see him win a game here. They didn’t win any games (here) when he was with Edmonton.” The game was a turnaround from Monday night for Jeff Petry, whose turnover led to Mikael Granlund’s goal to give the Minnesota Wild a 1-0 win at the Bell Centre. Dan Petry said he wasn’t worried about Jeff being affected by the mistake. “He’s always been one to let things go,” the elder Petry said. “The one thing that did worry me was the travel.” The Canadiens’ departure from Montreal after the Minnesota game was delayed by a snowstorm in Montreal and the team didn’t arrive at its downtown hotel until 3:30 am. Dan Petry said one of the advantages of playing back-to-back games is the ability to get back on track. “It’s like in baseball, a hitter can strike out four times in a game and there’s always tomorrow,” he said. “It’s different for a starting pitcher. You have to wait five days and then you’re facing the Yankees.” Jeff Petry said scoring his first goal in Detroit was special, and the fact that it was the game-winner made it even more so. “I grew up playing for Little Caesars and rooting for the Red Wings so it’s always special coming back and being able to play in front of family and friends,” Petry said. Petry scored at the 19-second mark of the third period to put Montreal up 3-1. “My first instinct was to shoot right away but I saw that I had some room and I moved in a little closer before I shot,” Petry said. It was also a homecoming for Tomas Tatar, who picked up his second assist of the night on Petry’s goal. Tatar began his NHL career in Detroit and said he always enjoyed playing in the city. Defenceman Shea Weber played despite a swollen cheek, the result of being hit by a puck Monday night. He went through the warmup with a full cage, but abandoned it when the game started. “I didn’t feel comfortable wearing it,” said Weber, who logged 24:08 of ice time. He blocked a couple of shots and had a hit. “The biggest problem has been eating because I can’t open my mouth, but I felt okay out there,” Weber said. “You knew he wasn’t going to wear the cage and you knew he was going to have a big game,” said Brendan Gallagher, who opened the scoring with his 16th goal of the season. For his second start in a row, backup goalie Antti Niemi held the opposition to two goals. He said his winning performance in Dallas on New Year’s Eve has boosted his confidence. The Red Wings have billed Detroit as Hockeytown, but the move to Little Caesars Arena last season hasn’t been enough to produce sellouts for a team that is on the wane. There were pockets of empty seats throughout the arena and the announced crowd size of 18,898 appeared to be wishful thinking. The seats in the lower bowl are red — what else?— but they have been covered with black because the sea of empty red seats didn’t show up well on television during Red Wings and NBA Pistons games. There are plans to replace the seats with permanent black seats in the lower bowl.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103660 Montreal Canadiens

About last night ... Canadiens edge Wings 3-2

MIKE BOONE Updated: January 8, 2019

The Canadiens needed a W, and they got one. It wasn’t easy. The third period was a vintage nail biter, but the Canadiens survived. Two heroes: • Coming off his last start – a super-human 45-save win on New Year’s eve in Dallas – Antti Niemi was merely excellent in Detroit. Carey Price’s understudy made 30 saves, and Niemi was a wall when he had to be, as Detroit cranked up the final-period pressure. • Jeff Petry, whose brain-dead giveaway produced the only goal of the Canadiens’ loss to Minnesota Monday night, converted a Tomas Tatar feed for the winning goal. Playing in his home state with his World Series hero father Dan in the crowd, Petry played a solid game. And he had to, because Mike Reilly, Petry’s D partner, had another nervous night. Many Canadiens looked shaky in the defensive zone as Detroit cranked up the pressure against a tired team. Like the Canadiens, Minnesota had a late departure out of Montreal Monday night. And their fatigue had to be a factor in the Wild’s 4-0 loss in Boston. The Red Wings aren’t the Bruins. I’m watching L’Antichambre, and my man François Gagnon is pointing out an interesting stat: 11 of the Canadiens’ last 12 wins have come against teams that are not currently in playoff positions. These are games the Canadiens have to win if they’re going to stay in the chase for a Wildcard berth … which they regained courtesy of Carolina, who beat the Islanders Tuesday night. “It’s not easy to win the second game of a back-to-back in this league, especially on the road,” Brendan Gallagher said in a segment telecast during L’Antichambre. “So we’ll take it.” Claude Julien concurred. “It wasn’t easy,” the coach said in his postgame press scrum. “Detroit played a good game. They’ve played well lately. “They’re fast, young and better rested than we were.” It was important, the coach said, to play “intelligent hockey” – which the Canadiens did, for the most part. I ascribe their five minor penalties – to two for Detroit – more to fatigue than to brain cramps. The Canadiens were tired. And the puck takes funny bounces. But Niemi was heroic. And Petry gained redemption. “That’s sports,” Julien said of his defenceman’s turnaround. “You forget quickly and bounce back.” After three games in four nights, the Canadiens get a break before visiting the Blues in St. Louis Thursday night. Worrisome stat: Of the 16 NHL teams currently holding down playoff positions, the only one with a negative goal differential is … Go look it up.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103661 Montreal Canadiens

Jeff Petry scores winning goal as Canadiens move back into playoff spot

PAT HICKEY, MONTREAL GAZETTE Updated: January 8, 2019

DETROIT — Coach Claude Julien says goals are harder to score as teams move into the second half of the season, but the Canadiens broke out of a two-game slump as they defeated the struggling Detroit Red Wings 3-2 Monday night at Little Caesars Arena. The victory moved the Canadiens back into a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but their position can best be described as tenuous. Montreal holds the second wild-card spot with 51 points. They moved one point ahead of the New York Islanders, who dropped a 4-2 decision to Carolina, but the Islanders are in an advantageous position because they have played three fewer games. Defenceman Jeff Petry, who was the goat Monday night when his turnover led to the lone goal in the Minnesota Wild’s 1-0 win over the Canadiens, scored 19 seconds into the third period to give the Canadiens a 3-1 lead. Petry’s ninth goal of the season became the game-winner when Andreas Athanasiou scored on a power play for his second goal of the night and his 17th of the season. Former Red Wing Tomas Tatar picked up his second assist on the Petry goal. The Canadiens scored twice in the first two minutes of the second period to grab a 2-0 lead. Montreal had gone 108:43 without a goal when Brendan Gallagher scored his team-leading 16th at the 30-second mark. This was a trademark Gallagher goal as he stationed himself in front of the net and scored on the rebound of a shot by Tatar. Joel Armia, who was promoted to the top line to help Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin break out of their doldrums, upped the count at 1:46 when he beat Jimmy Howard on the glove side with a shot from the faceoff circle. Domi and Jordie Benn picked up the assists. Antti Niemi made the start on the tail end of the back-to-back set and he was solid. He lost his shutout when Athanasiou scored at 6:49 of the second period to cut the Montreal lead to a single goal. Niemi made 30 saves to boost his season record to 7-4-1. Shea Weber, who was struck in the face by a puck and left Monday’s game against Minnesota after the first period, warmed up with a full cage, but he took it off for the game. If Weber was feeling any discomfort, it wasn’t reflected in his play. He fell just short of his customary ice time of 25 minutes and he was involved at both ends of the ice. It was another dismal night for the Montreal power play, which went 0-for- 2 and is 0-for-11 over the past five games. Detroit went 1-for-5 with the extra man. The Canadiens made several lineup changes, starting in goal, where Niemi replaced Carey Price. Matthew Peca and Charles Hudon joined Kenny Agostino on the fourth line, with Nicolas Deslauriers and Michael Chaput getting the night off. Hudon returned to the lineup after seven games as a healthy scratch. He has dressed for only two games since Nov. 27.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103662 Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens at Red Wings: Five things you should know

PAT HICKEY, MONTREAL GAZETTE Updated: January 8, 2019

Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Red Wings game at Little Caesars Arena Tuesday (7:30 p.m. TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio). The matchup: The Canadiens are coming off a loss to the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre Monday and they might be hankering to get back on the road where they have a better record than they do at home. The loss to the Wild left them outside the playoff picture after winning only one game on their three-game homestand. The Red Wings went a quarter of a century without missing the playoffs, winning the Stanley Cup three times in that span. But Detroit is in danger of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Red Wings are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games and are currently 11 points out of a wild-card spot. Price or Niemi? This is the second half of a back-to-back set and the Canadiens are on the road. That would signal another start for backup goaltender Antti Niemi. But don’t be surprised if Carey Price gets put in instead. He played well Monday and he has played back-to-back games on two occasions last month. The Red Wings have been trying to find a replacement for Jimmy Howard for several seasons but the 34-year-old is still their best bet. Detroit tried Petr Mrazek and this season they brought in Jonathan Bernier. Howard has an 11-11-5 record with a 2.78 goal- against average and a .917 save percentage. Bernier, who signed a three-year contract, is 5-10-2 with a 3.67 GAA and an .892 save percentage. Homecoming for Tatar: This game brings Tomas Tatar back to where his NHL career began. Detroit drafted Tatar in the second round in 2009 and he played parts of seven seasons with the Red Wings before he was traded to Vegas at the deadline last season. Things didn’t work out with the Golden Knights, who had an established lineup, but general manager Marc Bergevin said Monday that Tatar was a major addition to the Canadiens after he came over in a trade for Max Pacioretty. He’s on pace for a career season with 14 goals and 14 assists. Power play continues to struggle: The Canadiens moved up to 30th in power-play efficiency — it may be more accurate to say Columbus dropped down to the bottom — before Monday’s game against Minnesota, but they are back on the bottom after going 0-for-3. The Canadiens actually looked as if they knew what they were doing on one of their advantages as they fired four shots on goal. But they didn’t score and they are 0-for-9 in their last four games and are under 13 per cent for the season. The other guys: Dylan Larkin is the centrepiece of the Red Wings’ rebuilding efforts and the 22-year-old leads the team with 18 goals and 41 points. Larkin, a local product who is in his fourth season after leaving the University of Michigan following his freshman year, has already topped his goal production from last season, when he had 16, and is on pace to surpass the 23 he scored in his rookie season. Gustav Nyquist is next with 36 points, including 10 goals. Andreas Athanasiou has 15 goals while Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha have each scored 10.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103663 Montreal Canadiens supporting the attack and finishing the night with a plus-2 next to his name instead of the glaring dash-1 from the night before.

“He’s been awesome for us all year,” Brendan Gallagher said. “We’ve all How Google helped Jeff Petry go from a nightmarish performance to a played this game long enough where you’re going to have to deal with near flawless one mistakes being made. It’s not always the funnest, but you just kind of block it out and put it behind you. I thought he was awesome tonight. He did what he’s done for us all season long. He’s been a horse for us. You By Arpon Basu put him on the ice and you know that you’re probably going to have a pretty good shift.” Jan 8, 2019 So how did Petry learn to park? Where did he find the mental techniques to put his failures behind him and focus on the next task at hand, maintaining his confidence and trust in his own abilities? What were the DETROIT – The Canadiens dressing room opened to the media Tuesday different things he worked on? Where did he go to find those different night, and Jeff Petry was nowhere to be found. things? He was showering, looking forward to seeing his family and friends who “Some time on Google, actually,” Petry said. had just watched him score in his hometown for the first time in his career, a goal that proved to be the difference in a 3-2 Canadiens win What? against the Detroit Red Wings that snapped a modest two-game losing streak. “Yeah.” This is only worth mentioning because of how it stood in stark contrast to Petry was almost embarrassed to admit it, but he once needed so much where Petry was when the doors to the Canadiens dressing room help parking he turned to the source most everyone turns to when they opened one night earlier. He was at his stall, waiting to face the need an answer to something. inevitable questions that would come after his awful turnover in his own zone led directly to the only goal of the game in a 1-0 loss at home to the “I just Googled ‘mental toughness’ and kind of found a few quotes, a Minnesota Wild. couple of Michael Jordan quotes and things like that,” Petry said. The questions he faced Monday night in Montreal were far less pleasant The Internet can truly be a wonderful place. than the ones he would eventually face 24 hours later in Detroit, but he But to be fair, that was not the lone source of his learning because it’s a was eager to do it at the Bell Centre. He felt obligated. It was his process that continues to this day. Even this season, with Petry well on responsibility because he felt he was responsible for the loss. his way to a second straight career year offensively with nine goals and That’s commendable, but really, it is something every player should do. 30 points in 44 games, he has been on the ice for 68 of the 133 goals the Not every player does, but they should. So there’s no reason to put Petry Canadiens have allowed and is the only defenceman on the team who is up on some kind of pedestal just because he decided to face the music a minus player. But Petry doesn’t let those moments bring him down, and answer the tough questions after a tough night at the office, but it is building on the work he did on Google with some help from a the contrast with what happened one night later that says a lot about professional. what Petry is all about. “Our sports psych, he kind of gave me a few at the beginning of this “Yeah,” Petry said Tuesday when asked if he made it a point to stick year,” Petry said. “He kind of put it in the baseball perspective; if you’re a around and answer questions the previous night. “Usually I try to be one .300 hitter you’re a really good hitter, and that’s failing 70 per cent of the of the first guys out (of the room), but you’ve got to own up and live up to time. What my dad always said, when he gave up a home run, what was the mistake.” his approach? Again, this does not make Petry a hero. But what led him from the “It was to park it because there’s another guy that’s trying to hit a home disaster of Monday night to what happened Tuesday night is what is run up there.” important here. Petry needed to do what athletes always say they must Scoring the game-winning goal the very next night is one way of parking do following an error so egregious it keeps them up at night. He needed it, but Petry showed other examples of it. This was just one of them, but it to park it. was a big one. A little under three minutes after Andreas Athanasiou’s Parking it means putting that mistake in a place in your mind, leaving it second goal of the game cut the Canadiens’ lead to 3-2, the Red Wings there and walking away from it. Playing another game so soon helped in were buzzing in the Canadiens end looking for the tying goal. The puck that process, because Petry didn’t have time to mull it over for very long popped loose to the right of Antti Niemi near his crease, but the problem before focusing on another task. But there was still a process he needed was that Niemi was on his left post, out of position. Tyler Bertuzzi had a to go through, and it is one he has been working on and honing for direct line to that puck and pay dirt, but Petry got in his way, sealing him basically his entire life. from the puck before clearing it away from danger, a play captured in the photo above. As the son of a professional athlete – former Detroit Tigers pitcher Dan Petry, a beloved figure here for his role in the 1984 World Series win – It wasn’t nearly as glamorous as the top corner wrist shot that gave the Petry has been learning from a young age how to recover from failure by Canadiens a 3-1 lead 19 seconds into the third period, but it was just as watching his father do it. important, and it came at the same end of the ice where Petry’s mistake cost his team so dearly 24 hours earlier at almost the exact same But when his own career as a professional athlete began with the moment of the game – Mikael Granlund scored at 6:48 of the third period Edmonton Oilers, parking it was not something that came naturally to Monday, Bertuzzi nearly scored at 7:49 of the third period Tuesday. Petry. And in those years, with the Oilers doing a lot more losing than winning, he had many occasions when parking it was necessary. Over his final two seasons with the Oilers in 2013-14 and 2014-15, Petry was The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 on the ice for 95 goals for and 167 against in 139 games. Not all of those goals were his fault, obviously, but that’s a ton of goals to fish out of your own net, which was one of the factors that led the Oilers to trade Petry to the Canadiens at the 2015 trade deadline. Parking had to become one of Petry’s primary skills if he was going to survive. “Earlier in my career it was tough,” Petry said. “I would kind of dwell on things and it would be kind of a snowball effect. I just kind of worked on different things. My approach now is just to kind of replay it in my head, but just change what I would do differently. Like last night, I would probably either skate (around) the net or use the boards. “It’s easier for me to do that than to just constantly think about that play. So once I do that, it’s kind of done.” Petry now parks so well he was back in uniform 24 hours after that mistake against the Wild and played close to a flawless game. He wasn’t perfect, but he was his best self; skating the puck away from trouble, 1103664 Montreal Canadiens It may have been an ugly win, but let’s face it, that’s usually a lot better than losing pretty, and right now the Canadiens need as many wins as possible, ugly or not. Cracking the win: There is no column for style points in the standings The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 By Marc Dumont Jan 8, 2019

The Canadiens opened and closed the game by looking like a team that arrived at their Detroit hotel shortly before 4 a.m., but amid their exhaustion they did just enough to hang on to a 3-2 victory over the Red Wings. Let’s get the usual analysis out of the way early: the power play was terrible and the penalty kill allowed yet another goal. And though this was a rare game in which the Canadiens did not control the majority of the 5-on-5 shots (46 per cent), they did a good job limiting the high-danger chances. Gallagherian goal This is a tale of a classic Brendan Gallagher goal in three pictures. Picture No. 1: A wild Gallagher appears! Picture No. 2: There’s no way he’s going to score, he’s covered by at least four Red Wings… Picture No. 3: … well, then. It may not have been pretty, but the Canadiens needed an influx of ugly goals given their recent scoring drought. It’s worth noting that without Tomas Tatar’s smart defensive positioning in the neutral zone, the play would have never ended up in the Red Wings zone. It was one of many strong plays from Tatar against his former team. Quick transition Speaking of things the Canadiens desperately needed, they were much better in transition against the Red Wings compared to their pitiful effort against the Wild on Monday night, which resulted in eight high-danger chances and a key second-period goal. Redemption song Yesterday’s scapegoat is today’s hero, as Jeff Petry redeemed himself following his horrible giveaway against the Wild to score the game- winning goal against the Red Wings. A stick tap goes out to Tatar’s work in the offensive zone, as he attracted two defenders, giving Petry ample time to pick his spot and beat Jimmy Howard for his ninth goal of the season. For what it’s worth, Petry is now just three points behind forwards Jonathan Drouin and Tatar for second overall in team scoring. Too many cooks in the kitchen Now that the Canadiens secured the win, we can laugh at the comedy of errors that led to the first Red Wings goal. And while I’m the first person to sound the alarm when it comes to a lack of support from forwards in the defensive zone, this is clearly not the answer. The Canadiens deployed a Timbits strategy, which involves every player fighting for the puck, regardless of who is controlling it. And just like Timbits games at the intermission, the defensive side of the game was optional. Niemi bounceback Antti Niemi allowed fewer than three goals for the second time this season, making 30 saves in the process. He held the fort in the third period when the Red Wings were pressing for the tie. Final Word This isn’t the type of game that coaches will look back upon fondly, despite the Canadiens earning two points, but it is the type of win that can go a long way in the playoff race. Regardless of the Canadiens playing the second game of a back-to-back which included travel, they simply could not afford to drop a game against a lowly team like the Red Wings. With the victory, the Canadiens are back in a playoff spot, though the New York Islanders are still just one point back with three games in hand. 1103665 Montreal Canadiens snapped in half. Then, with the clock ticking away, Drouin found Domi but his shot along the ice was stopped by Dubnyk’s pad.

That was it. Melnick’s GBU: A bad night, an errant puck and a catastrophe averted The Habs always struggle to score against Dubnyk. With his first shutout of the season the veteran goalie improved his career numbers against By Mitch Melnick Montreal to 9-1-1 with a goals against average of 1.90 and a save percentage of .939. The Habs are, in fact, Dubnyk’s favorite opponent. Jan 8, 2019 But other than a few accurate Petry shots from inside the blue line, and a rare missed chance from close range by Paul Byron, the Habs were as menacing as the family dog staring out the window while waiting for the car to pull up after a day-long road trip. Following up on Saturday’s post-game comments from their coach, the Montreal Canadiens – with perhaps one notable exception – did not play Montreal’s home record dropped to 11-9-2. Or, to put it the old-fashioned a “soft” game. But it sure was a strange one. way, they’ve lost as many games at the Bell Centre as they’ve won. Kenny Agostino, perhaps with Claude Julien’s muttered “soft” still in his Just when you thought it was going to get worse, Julien was able to turn head, delivered a late hit to Eric Fehr after the Minnesota winger got rid a negative into a positive by pointing out the X-rays on Weber’s of the puck in front of his own bench. Fehr lost his balance and fell face cheekbone revealed no fractures. first into the top of the boards. He had to leave the game and Agostino had to drop his gloves after being challenged immediately by That’s not a strong winter breeze you’re feeling downtown. It’s a defenceman Nick Seeler, who was on his first-ever shift at the Bell collective exhale. Centre. In addition to a rare major penalty for interference (the first in Montreal since Chara on Pacioretty in 2011?) Agostino was also hit with THE GOOD a game misconduct. Just 2:28 into the game both teams were already • Carey Price: Another encouraging night but not even a shutout might down a player. have been enough to win this game. Max Domi took a puck to his chin that drew blood, but that was just the • PK Unit: A perfect night against a top-10 powerplay. undercard. • Marc Bergevin: I don’t mean to suggest he was yukking it up during his Shea Weber was knocked woozy, almost out on his feet, when a Mikael pre-game meet-the-media session, but the contrast to where he and his Granlund wrist shot found his face. By the time he made it back to the team were a year ago could be seen in his, at times, playful nature. Like bench, in obvious distress with his head down, it felt like the Habs’ when he weighed in on Price and his nagging injury (“inflammation” or season was about to fall apart. There wasn’t anybody around who wasn’t “irritation”?) that will in fact keep the Habs’ goalie at home during the All- thinking about Noah Juulsen and the facial fracture that he suffered after Star break. He also made it clear that he likely won’t be in the rental a similar play in November that knocked him out of action and helped business at the trade deadline. And was justifiably proud of the derail his NHL season. performance of his top prospects, especially Ryan Poehling and Minnesota’s game picked up steam in the second period, almost on cue Alexander Romanov, at the just-completed World Junior Hockey after they realized that Weber wasn’t around. His night ended after less Championships in Vancouver/Victoria. At this time a year ago Bergevin than eight minutes of ice time. Now the Habs were down two men. But already knew his team was in deep trouble. Perhaps he was too. When more ominous was the wait while expecting to hear the worst on the the season mercifully came to an end in early April, he told us he was Weber injury. looking for an attitude adjustment. And that ultimately the lost season was on him. “It’s my responsibility to fix it. And I will fix it,” is how he put it Early in the second period, immediately after another awful powerplay during an intense conversation with us on TSN 690. It’s been an resulting from a Granlund hook with just 36 seconds left in the first impressive clean-up job of the mess he helped create. He’s still at it, with period, Carey Price was assessed a delay of game penalty for playing David Schlemko the second veteran defenceman that Bergevin acquired with the puck outside the trapezoid. Price went far to his right towards the to be placed on waivers this season (he cleared and has been sent to corner of the rink as Minnesota finished off the penalty kill by icing the Laval). Another move he made, getting Brett Kulak from Calgary, is the puck. It took a weird bounce and he had to straddle the goal line to come prime reason Schlemko is out of the picture. Before wrapping up the up with it cleanly. It’s a penalty, but we’ve all seen the zebras put blinders session Bergevin was asked about his biggest concern moving forward. on when it’s as innocuous as the play made by Price without a Minnesota “Injuries” was his response. Two hours later, Weber took a puck to the player anywhere in sight. face. Early in the third, Mike Reilly barreled into Devan Dubnyk. The Habs THE BAD claimed he was pushed from behind. A goalie interference penalty was called, just part of a thoroughly frustrating night for Julien who let loose • Jeff Petry: “It was a fairly sloppy game overall”, said Wild coach Bruce after the game with measured but blistering criticism of referees Eric Boudreau after the game, “. . . the best pass was the one they (Petry) Furlatt and Justin St Pierre. gave (Granlund).” It wasn’t the first major turnover by Petry or from a Montreal player inside their own zone. But Price couldn’t bail out his On Reilly’s first full shift after coming out of the box, Petry tried to send teammate on the play, as he had done for two periods-plus, because him the kind of blind backhand pass you’d expect to see later this month Petry just made matters worse. As Granlund patiently carried the puck to at the All Star game in San Jose, not during the third period of a his left, Petry went to the front of his net where Jordan Greenway was set scoreless tie with the Habs chasing a playoff spot. up as a screen. But he just stood there and blocked Price from tracking Granlund while the Minnesota winger ended up with a free shot at a near After Granlund’s gift-wrapped goal, and a couple of brilliant saves from empty net to score his first goal in 16 games. in-close by Price on Nino Niederreiter that kept it a one-goal game, the Habs couldn’t generate any offence. The Wild used the same formula we • Jonathan Drouin: Appears to be going through another one of his saw from Nashville on Saturday. It seemed like Montreal was going to disinterested phases. Sometimes, like when he tries to stickhandle need a break to tie the game. And then they got one handed to them, through three opponents at the blue line, Drouin unwisely tries to do too even though Julien was understandably angry about it after the game. much by himself. Hey, at least he’s trying. But tossing the puck away because he’s about to get hit, as he did in the dying moments of the With less than five minutes to play, Domi was behind the Minnesota net game as his team pressed for the equalizer, is simply unacceptable. It’s and took a Greg Pateryn forearm smash to the head. There was no call. as if the continuing ineffectiveness of the power play, of which Drouin We’ve seen enough of Domi to know that he won’t back down and will go was supposed to be a key element, is rubbing off on the rest of his game. right after an opponent who tries to take advantage of him. As he followed the play back up the ice he slashed at Pateryn, who then tripped • Victor Mete: Mete and his four defence mates did an all right job him. Instead of a Montreal “powerplay” Furlatt decided to call a penalty considering the early loss of Weber, but when the Habs are struggling to on both players. create offence they need Mete to do his rover act and carry the puck down low. We didn’t see it. We’re still waiting to see his first NHL goal. After a night of being bottled up, the Habs got some extra breathing Which brings us to . . . room. But nothing happened. Unless you count a rush by Jonathan Drouin. who skated through the Minnesota zone and all the way around THE UGLY their net only to pass the puck to nobody as it cleared the zone. • Goal scoring droughts: Domi has gone 13 games and almost a full Once Price was pulled with two minutes to play the Habs had two decent month since his last goal, in Chicago on Dec. 9. It’s been an overall chances to tie the game. Petry leaned into a one-timer, but his stick power outage for Domi, Drouin and Byron since Christmas. Domi has three assists, Drouin two goals and an assist and Byron just one assist in the six games since the holiday break. So Julien flipped Byron and Joel Armia but it did little to ignite the stagnant offence. Brendan Gallagher has gone eight games without a goal. The longest stretch he went through last season was six games. For all of the good things he does on the ice, the fact remains that Jesperi Kotkaniemi is struggling to score. He’s now without a goal in 10 games and has scored just once in his last 26. His almost constant winger – Artturi Lehkonen – is in another one of his funks with just one goal in his last 11 games. Michael Chaput is still looking for his first goal as a Hab (22 games) while Agostino, who clearly possesses some offensive ability has one point (a goal) in his last 10 games. Maybe, facing a young, quick team in Detroit, we’ll see the return of Matthew Peca and Charles Hudon instead of Chaput and Nicolas Deslauriers. Maybe they could create some kind of spark on a fourth line that is not counted on to produce but should be capable of generating more than they do. And right now, the Habs need something to jump- start the offence. It sure isn’t the powerplay. Another mostly hapless looking 0-for-3 and the unit is scoreless in their last 24 opportunities at the Bell Centre. They’re so desperate they finally turned to Lehkonen, who found himself as the trigger man on the right side of a first period chance when Jonas Brodin fired the puck over the glass. The Habs had plenty of possession time but “Lehkonen” and “potent one-timer” go together like “social media” and “civility”.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103666 Nashville Predators My guess would be Rinaldo.

Predators mailbag: How close is P.K. Subban to 100 percent, roster Tennessean LOADED: 01.09.2019 maneuvers, numbers and more

Paul Skrbina, Nashville Tennessean Published 4:59 p.m. CT Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 5:07 p.m. CT Jan. 8, 2019

CHICAGO — The mailbag holiday hiatus is over. We're a little past the halfway point of the regular season, and the Predators have managed to find themselves in first place despite a steady diet of injuries. They head into their game Wednesday against the Blackhawks (7 p.m., NBC SN) with 55 points and some familiar faces such as Filip Forsberg, P.K. Subban and Viktor Arvidsson back in the mix. They're also coming off an impressive 4-0 win against the Maple Leafs as their season-long six-game road trip continues. The Predators' are on a 4-0-1 run, which began with the "Mom Game" on New Year's Eve in Washington, D.C. I'd say 76.76 percent. Don't mean to go all Peter Laviolette on you, but as the Predators coach would say, "Every player is different" when it comes to recovery. Unlike Forsberg and Arviddson, who had "upper-body" (i.e. hand) injuries that allowed them to skate a lot sooner, Subban's lower-body ailment didn't permit that. The defenseman has two goals since his return, and he's also made some really bad plays that led to goals. But instead of guessing, I'll let Subban answer for you. "You don’t realize how good a shape you’re in before you get injured," he said Friday. "After you come back, the game is fast. Just trying to get my timing and feel comfortable. "Usually you get to that second period and you’re settled in. It seems like when I get to the second and third period, I’m tired. I have to keep working on that." Hockey players don't wear sweaters anymore. I'm past that whole stupid thing. And I'm with Blagr on this one: Some numbers just aren't terribly pleasing to the eye on some uniforms. I'm in favor of every matching double-digit number, save for 00 and 11. Twenty-three is iconic and transcends all sports, of course, because of Michael Jordan. Rocco Grimaldi wears it in his honor. Thirty-six, though, is a weird hockey number to me. Feels like it belongs on a backup goalie. Or no one. I don't know how defensive Rinaldo is about his number, but I'm not going to ask him, or Reaves for that matter. As I've said before in this space, speculation and rumor aren't part of my game. But for the sake of this exercise and your question, we'll play along a little bit. Wayne Simmonds seems to be a popular candidate to come to Nashville. The 30-year-old Flyers right winger brings grit and depth and will be a free agent after this season. But the Predators don't have much to give up (are they going to trade Eeli Tolvanen?). Is Poile willing to deal more draft picks (which won't be that high)? What kind of names and numbers work with the salary cap? Right now, nobody. Miikka Salomaki was put on injured reserve to make room for Forsberg. But decisions will have to be made eventually, assuming current Predators don't keeping getting hurt. The return of Kyle Turris, Salomaki or Yannick Weber will again put the Predators in position to have to make a decision. The answer a couple of weeks ago would have been either Grimaldi, Rinaldo or Frederick Gaudreau. Think it's safe to take Grimaldi off that list. He's fresh off a career-best four-game point streak and just plain has proved he deserves to be with the Preddators. Gaudreau also has been solid for his role. 1103667 Nashville Predators Andersen has practiced twice in recent days. ... Despite his prolonged absence, Forsberg's 14 goals are still tied with Craig Smith for Nashville's team lead heading into Monday. Pekka Rinne, Predators shut out Maple Leafs in Toronto Tennessean LOADED: 01.09.2019 Staff Report Published 9:08 p.m. CT Jan. 7, 2019

TORONTO (AP) — Pekka Rinne made 18 saves for his third shutout of the season and the 54th of his career as the Nashville Predators defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 Monday night. Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist, and Mattias Ekholm, P.K. Subban and Colton Sissons scored for Nashville. Michael Hutchinson stopped 28 shots for the Maple Leafs, who hit the post three times and had a goal called back for offside. The Maple Leafs were coming off one of their most complete performances of the season in Saturday's 5-0 shutout of Vancouver, but have lost three of their last four after a five-game winning streak. The Predators were playing for the third in in four nights. They opened their season-long six-game trip with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday — a performance that head coach Peter Laviolette described as "awful" — and then beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday. Rinne is now tied with Marc-Andre Fleury, Bernie Parent and Ed Giacomin for 21st on the all-time shutout list. After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Predators went ahead at 4:08 of the second period when Ekholm's shot from the point, through traffic, beat Hutchinson for his fifth of the season. Hutchinson was making his third consecutive start with No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen and backup Garret Sparks out injured. Ekholm has 29 points in 43 games. His career best was 35 points in 2015-16. Toronto appeared to tie the game 43 seconds later when Auston Matthews connected on a no-look pass from Andreas Johnsson. But the goal was called back after the Predators correctly challenged that William Nylander was just ahead of the play. After Rinne stopped Johnsson in front, Subban made it 2-0 with his fourth goal at 13:11. The Predators won an offensive zone faceoff before the Nashville defenseman, who was playing his seventh game back after missing 19 with an upper-body injury, ripped a one-timer that deflected off Nylander's stick at the point and sailed past Hutchinson. Subban, a Toronto native whose parents were on hand at Scotiabank Arena, dropped to one knee and pumped his fist in celebration at center ice, before being congratulated by teammates. Rinne stopped Mitch Marner late in the period as Toronto managed just 14 shots through 40 minutes. Nashville, which came in having won three of its last four on the heels of a six-game skid, got a power play early in the third. The best chance came on a partial breakaway by Toronto center Frederik Gauthier, who shot over the Predators' goal. Toronto got its third opportunity with the man advantage later in the period, but Matthews hit the post for the second time with Rinne out of position. Hutchinson kept his team in it with a glove save on Viktor Arvidsson with six minute left in regulation, but lost control of a rebound and Sissons scored his eighth with 2:37 left in regulation. Fiala added his eighth goal with 37.3 seconds left. Matthews blasted a shot off the post for the game's first real chance before Filip Forsberg, who returned to the Nashville lineup after missing 17 games with a hand injury, forced a good stop by Hutchinson at the other end. With just two goals over his last nine games coming into Monday, Kasperi Kapanen hit the post off a nice feed from Connor Brown on an odd-man rush later in the period. NOTES Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said before the game he doesn't know when Andersen (groin) or Sparks (concussion) will return to action. 1103668 New Jersey Devils

New Jersey Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres: LIVE score updates and chat (1/8/19)

Posted January 8, 2019 at 7:00 PM By Chris Ryan [email protected] NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Nico Hischier, Damon Severson, Travis Zajac, Miles Wood and the New Jersey Devils will wrap up a four-game road trip when they play the Buffalo Sabres for the first time this season at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Keith Kinkaid will make another start in goal while Mackenzie Blackwood remains out. Blackwood did skate with the team on Tuesday morning. Devils' lines vs. Sabres Join NJ.com's live chat in the comment section, and follow along with live updates in the box above.

Star Ledger LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103669 New Jersey Devils The defensemen weren’t either The blue line crew had a rough go at things against Buffalo. Devils captain Andy Greene didn’t necessarily agree that the goalies had been 3 takeaways from NJ Devils' New Year's road trip set up for success. “Not really,” Greene said. “You give up five like we did, that’s not giving Abbey Mastracco, NHL writer your goalie a good chance. It’s tough, we’ve got to make sure we’re taking away backsides and letting Keith be able to stay focused to the Published 11:34 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 11:40 p.m. ET Jan. 8, shooters. When you don’t do that, they’re second-guessing us and we’re 2019 second-guessing them.”

BUFFALO – The Devils ended a four-game road trip with a thud. You Bergen Record LOADED: 01.09.2019 might have even heard it all the way down in New Jersey. Despite opening up with a 1-0 lead against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night, they fell about as flat as they could have and lost 5-1 to end a four-game road trip. Coach John Hynes said they were outworked in every facet of the game. Players said the effort level wasn’t nearly where it needed to be. It was disappointing considering how they played the rest of the trip and how they had been playing when they embarked on their first trip of 2019. The Devils felt like they were finally gaining ground right before the new year, having won three straight. They did some good things on this road trip but they came away with few results, picking up only two points in four games (1-3-0). New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes watches play during the first period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. “That’s kind of been the challenge of our team,” coach John Hynes said. “We go 3-0 right before we go on the road trip, then we don’t have the best game against Dallas, play well against Arizona and pick up some points, then we don’t get them (in Vegas) and we don’t have a good game tonight. That’s been our challenge with our team. That’s something we’ve got to continue to work at.” Here are three takeaways from New Jersey’s four-game road trip against the Sabres, the Dallas Stars, Arizona Coyotes and the Vegas Golden Knights. The inconsistencies are inconsistent It’s not just that the Devils are inconsistent from game to game, it’s that they’re inconsistent from period to period. They can’t seem to string together wins because they can’t string together three solid periods of play. “Tonight was a lot different. Tonight was not a good performance in any facet of the game, so that’s a lot different than what happened in Vegas and what happened in Arizona,” Hynes said Tuesday. “So our job now is (figuring out) why that happened. Why did that happen? That’s something that we’ll discuss and talk about to make sure we’re better on Thursday.” The only thing they’ve been consistent with recently is their poor play in the second period. Even there, they don’t seem to have an answer. “Not right now,” defenseman Ben Lovejoy said. “It’s a lot of things. It’s winning battles, it’s making plays when we have pucks on our sticks. We didn’t do nearly enough of both and they completely outplayed us because of it.” The goaltending wasn’t great Buffalo Sabres left wing C.J. Smith (49) scores his first NHL goal against New Jersey Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid (1) during the second period at KeyBank Center. Hynes does not seem happy with the play of goalie Keith Kinkaid. Although the goalie was solid in a relief effort in Arizona after Mackenzie Blackwood went down with an injury, the coach declined to give an assessment of his performance in Vegas saying he wanted to rewatch the film. In Buffalo, when asked if the skaters were giving Kinkaid a chance to win, Hynes did not hesitate to say yes, they are. Kinkaid has allowed 10 goals over the last three games (two starts) and his grasp on the No. 1 spot seems tenuous at best. Blackwood’s lower- body injury does not appear to be serious. He was on the ice for the morning skate on Tuesday, splitting time in the net with Cam Johnson, who is up from Binghamton of the American Hockey League, and he told NorthJersey.com that he was feeling “a lot better” than he was in Vegas. The noticeable limp he had over the weekend appears to be gone. But like always, the blame cannot be fully placed on the goalies. 1103670 New Jersey Devils The Devils’ road record dropped to 5-15-3. … The last time the Sabres scored five times in one period against the Devils, the franchise was still in Colorado as the Rockies and current New Jersey broadcaster Chico Devils doomed by dismal 2nd period dooms in loss to Sabres Resch was the goalie (December 9, 1981). … Five goals allowed in one period was a season-worst for the Devils. … Mackenzie Blackwood was scratched with a lower-body injury for the second straight game. Cam Johnson served as Kinkaid’s backup once again. … The Devils also Abbey Mastracco, NHL writer scratched defensemen Mirco Mueller and Egor Yakovlev. Published 9:40 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 11:08 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 Bergen Record LOADED: 01.09.2019

BUFFALO – When the Devils hit the road for this New Year's road trip, they were trending in the right direction. They failed to carry that trend over into 2019, going 1-3-0 on their four- game road trip. A combination of bad goaltending and even worse play in front of the goaltender was just as ineffective as it sounds and resulted in the Devils dropping the final game of the trip 5-1 to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night. "If you look at every aspect – the speed, the puck management, the puck battles – it wasn’t good enough to give ourselves a chance to win the game," coach John Hynes said. Keith Kinkaid made 28 saves and the Devils were outshot 33-21. To put it bluntly, the Devils were outworked, which is not ideal for a team that needs to outwork opponents to win. "The whole effort was not good enough," Devils' defenseman Ben Lovejoy said. "We were outplayed with regards to execution." Blake Coleman scored just 1:28 into play to give the Devils a 1-0 lead, but the ice quickly tilted in the direction of the Sabres and it didn’t tilt back. New Jersey held down the fort in the first period going into the intermission with the lead but it wasn’t long before it was erased in the second period. Jeff Skinner netted the equalizer 1:39 into the second period and things quickly unraveled from there. Skinner’s goal was the first of five unanswered second-period goals for the Sabres. The Devils had little offensive zone time and their best chance to score, a power play late in the period, only resulted in a shorthanded goal. New Jersey has been outscored 51-42 in second-period play this season and allowed at least three goals in the same period for the sixth time this season. Even more troubling, all six of those games have come on the road. The Devils were struggling to close out games at the start of the season, losing games in the third period. Now, they’re digging holes too deep to climb out of in the second. It was a poor second period that doomed the Devils against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. “It seems different but feels the same every time,” Devils captain Andy Greene said of the second-period struggles. “It felt like we weren’t winning enough battles and we weren’t coming clean out of our zone. We were icing it, we were not winning the board battles, the defensemen weren’t making good enough plays up there and we were just chasing it.” Less than three minutes later, C.J. Smith scored his first NHL goal when he ripped a shot through the legs of defenseman Steven Santini and the puck trickled past Kinkaid. Sami Vatanen tried to sweep the puck out but it was clear even before the replays that it had crossed the line. Buffalo Sabres left wing C.J. Smith (49) scores his first NHL goal against New Jersey Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid (1) during the second period at KeyBank Center. Casey Mittelstadt became a first-time NHL goal scorer as well when he caught his own rebound and hammered it past Kinkaid at 10:42 to make it 3-1. The Devils had a power play at 14:29 but couldn’t capitalize. Instead, it was Jake McCabe who capitalized for the Sabres, finishing off a cross- ice feed from Evan Rodrigues for a shorthanded goal at the 16:00 mark. Just 1:45 later, Lawrence Pilut joined the same club as Smith and Mittelstadt when he ripped a shot through traffic to make it 5-1. "We could look at this nine different ways but we weren't good enough in any facet of the game," Hynes said. "We all know what it is. It's not good enough. We've got to fix it and make sure we're better on Thursday." Notes 1103671 New Jersey Devils Fan votes can be a popularity contest and the Devils are hoping the popularity of the Jersey native will get him a trip to the Bay Area.

“He’s been huge for us this season,” Bratt said. “For sure he deserves it. Does Kyle Palmieri deserve an All-Star nod? His Devils teammates He works really hard every day and I think it would be fun to see him in weigh in the All-Star Game."

Abbey Mastracco, North Jersey Record Bergen Record LOADED: 01.09.2019 Published 1:42 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019

BUFFALO — He’s got a shot that can beat a goalie clean, he’s fast, hard on pucks and has the ability to carry a team in crunch time. The Devils’ forward is off to the hottest start of his career through the first half of the season with 20 goals and 16 assists. So, why wasn’t Kyle Palmieri named an All-Star? It’s been a busy week for the road-weary Devils. The initial All-Star teams were revealed the day before coach John Hynes received a multi-year contract extension and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood went down with an injury. That was two cities ago in Glendale, Arizona, so no one really discussed whether Palmieri was snubbed or not. It matters little since he’s the Devils’ representative in the fan vote, a feature MLB has utilized for years with the All-Star game but is new to the NHL this season. So there’s a chance Palmieri could find himself in San Jose at the end of the month, along with forward Taylor Hall, and he’s happy just to be included. New Jersey Devils right wing Kyle Palmieri (21) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Ottawa Senators during the first period at Prudential Center. “I was a little surprised,” he said Tuesday at KeyBank Center, after the Devils’ morning skate. “It’s a pretty big honor to be up there with the other guys in this Last Man In vote. There’s a lot of good players. It’s a pretty cool thing to be up there for the vote.” It's not even a question for the Devils. “He’s been pretty solid this year consistently being able to produce and consistently being able to play the right way,” Hynes said. “It’s really important for us to have two guys who have an opportunity to go to the All-Star Game, it’s great for our team, it’s great for our players, it’s great for the organization. I certainly think that if you look at Kyle’s body of work this year, he deserves the opportunity.” You could make the argument that Palmieri has been just as important to the team as Hall this season. He may not have the emotional effect on the team as Hall but he’s become an important leader in his ninth NHL season and his fourth with the Devils. Palmieri opened the season with seven goals and eight points in five games, scoring twice in each of the first three. His production never really tailed off. In a season in which inconsistencies have defined the Devils, Palmieri has been remarkably consistent. He hasn’t gone more than four games without recording a point and he’s made an impact nightly. “He’s really taken the next step in his game,” Hynes said. “The consistency he’s been able to play with has been impressive.” When the power play wasn’t clicking, it was Palmieri and Hall who flipped around to jumpstart the extra-man unit. When Hall went down, it was Palmieri who anchored the top line and the top power-play unit. He always finds a way to the net and finds a way to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Oct 25, 2018; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils right wing Kyle Palmieri (21) celebrates after a goal against Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74) during the first period at Prudential Center. “He’s a hard player to play against,” linemate Jesper Bratt said. “He’s winning a lot of battles and he’s strong on the puck. He can hang on to it for a long time so we can get some long offensive shifts. He’s really skilled and opening space for his teammates. He’s a great offensive threat.” The All-Star game isn’t just about offense but if you’re breaking down the final vote contender from the Metropolitan Division, Palmieri has the gaudiest offensive numbers. He’s scored more goals than any other candidate and has more points than everyone except Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang (37 points). 1103672 New Jersey Devils

How they line up: NJ Devils won't face Sabres' Jack Eichel

Abbey Mastracco, NHL writer Published 11:59 a.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 | Updated 1:30 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019

BUFFALO -- Good morning from Western New York. Sadly, I got in too late to get wings and watch Clemson stomp on Alabama last night. Remind me to make up for it at lunch. The Devils take on the upstart Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center in the fourth and final game of their New Years road trip. This hasn’t been a bad trip necessarily, but like many games this season, they have little to show for it. New Jersey is 1-2-0 with a shootout win, their first of the season, in Arizona, but a couple bad periods did them in against Dallas and Vegas. Jan 4, 2019; Glendale, AZ, USA; New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes looks on during the first period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Goalie Cam Johnson is still with the NHL club which means Mackenzie Blackwood is still out with a lower-body injury. The Devils could have given him a bus ticket back to Binghamton to return him to the American Hockey League club but instead, they sent forward John Quenneville back and recalled Egor Yakovlev in a paper transaction. Blackwood did get on the ice in the morning skate, sharing the net with his former Binghamton teammate Johnson, but the Devils will hold him out for precautionary reasons. Back in New Jersey, forward Marcus Johansson (upper-body) and goalie Cory Schneider continue to skate on their own but Schneider has not yet faced shots. Hall (lower-body) is expected to start skating soon. Forward Joey Anderson, who had surgery to repair a broken ankle in November, is working out on his own but not yet skating. This tilt lacks some star power with Taylor Hall still injured and Jack Eichel also out. Regardless, it’s still a big two points for the Devils.

Bergen Record LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103673 New Jersey Devils

Devils blitzed in second period in ugly loss to Sabres

Staff Report By Associated Press January 8, 2019 | 10:10pm | Updated

BUFFALO — Jeff Skinner got his 29th goal of the season and the Buffalo Sabres scored five times in the second period on their way to a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. C.J. Smith, Casey Mittelstadt, Jake McCabe and Lawrence Pilut also scored for Buffalo, which improved to 23-14-6. Carter Hutton made 20 saves. It was a welcome turn of events for the Sabres, who have struggled with secondary scoring this season. “I really liked the way our group played,” coach Phil Housley said. “It was a total team effort.” Blake Coleman scored for the Devils, and Keith Kinkaid made 28 saves. “We could talk about nine different ways where we weren’t good enough in any facet of the game,” coach John Hynes said. “We all know what it is and it’s not good enough and we’ve got to fix it.” The Sabres stormed ahead in the second, starting with two goals on their first two shots of the period. Keith Kinkaid allows a goal to Jeff Skinner (not pictured). The first came at 1:39 by Skinner. Buffalo’s leading scorer raced down the left wing around defenseman Ben Lovejoy and fired a high shot to the far corner. Minutes later, Smith raced down the right side of the ice and scored his first career goal with a similar strike at 4:14. Kinkaid got a piece of Smith’s shot but it had just enough to trickle over the goal line before defenseman Sami Vatanen attempted to clear the puck away. “He attacked the game,” Housley said of Smith. “I just liked how he was poised, he was composed. He found a way to get that one by Kinkaid and it was a big goal.” Mittelstadt made it 3-1 with 9:18 remaining in the second, snapping a 10- game goal drought. After splitting the Devils defense, the 20-year-old’s backhand shot was stopped but his follow-up went in for his sixth goal of the season. McCabe made it 4-1 on a short-handed goal with four minutes left in the period. The defenseman finished a 2-on-1 rush after a patient pass from Evan Rodrigues. Pilut capped the second-period flurry with his first career goal with 2:15 to go on a long shot through traffic. Coleman opened the scoring on a deflection 1:28 into the game for his 13th goal. “We’ve got to figure this out,” captain Andy Greene said. “It’s been way too long. It’s on us in here to stick together and play for each other and play hard for each other. That’s the best thing we can do and go from there. We get a little bit of traction here and there and then all of a sudden we have a game like today.” Buffalo outshot the Devils 33-21.

New York Post LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103674 New York Islanders

Islanders' streak ends at six with loss to Hurricanes

Staff Report THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | JAN 08, 2019 | 10:30 PM

Justin Williams, a three-time Stanley Cup winner, has scored many big goals. The puck found his stick after he left the penalty box in the third period Tuesday night, and the veteran forward scored another to lift Carolina to a fifth-straight win. Williams got his 299th career goal at 17:18 of the third and the Hurricanes beat the Islanders 4-3 on Tuesday night to snap New York's six-game winning streak. His 10th goal of the season made it 3-2. The 37-year-old forward flipped a backhand past goaltender Thomas Greiss with an assist from Greg McKegg. "I was hoping they would kill off the penalty and they did. Then I got a great pass, the top side opened up and it turns out to be the game- winning goal," Williams said. "That team makes you earn everything. We got it done." Jaccob Slavin made it 4-2 for the Hurricanes with a power-play goal at 18:53 before Brock Nelson scored his second of the game for the Islanders at 19:01. Curtis McElhinney made 28 saves for Carolina, which also got goals from Saku Maenalanen and McKegg. The Islanders were coming off a three-goal comeback win over St. Louis on Saturday following an overtime home win over Chicago last Thursday. The loss left their coach Barry Trotz frustrated about his team's lack of execution. Trotz was perturbed the Islanders gave up McKegg's goal with only six seconds left in the first as well as Williams' tally on a broken play in the Islanders' zone. "I thought we just mismanaged the game," Trotz said. "There are certain moments where you have to execute what is in the best interest of the group. We didn't do that. That's a good way to lose hockey games. That one or two points we could have had, we just threw them away." Rookie defenseman Devon Toews tied it early in the third period for the Islanders. It was his second goal since being recalled from AHL Bridgeport. Nelson opened the scoring 13:42 into the first period, but Carolina tied it when rookie Maenalanen scored his first goal at 15:10. The 24-year-old Maenalanen played his fifth career game after signing with Carolina last May as a free agent. He previously played for Karpat of the Finnish League. "Saku had a good game. He's been a huge boost," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We are finding ways to win right now and we know we can be better." McKegg put the Hurricanes ahead with six seconds left in the first, knocking a loose puck past Greiss in the crease for his second goal of the season. "I just tried to get to the net. It was a lucky bounce and it ended up going in," McKegg said. Jordan Eberle appeared to tie it for the Islanders early in the second period, but Valterri Filppula was ruled offside before the goal. McElhinney also made a sprawling save on Ryan Pulock alone in the slot in the waning seconds of the middle period. Lee echoed his coach regarding the missed opportunity to snare at least a point. The Islanders will try to make amends with an upcoming home- and-home series against the Rangers starting on Thursday. "We should have played better and smarter," Lee said. "We have to reset and get ready to go in a couple of days."

New York Daily News LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103675 New York Islanders

Devon Toews already becoming key contributor for Islanders

By Brett Cyrgalis January 8, 2019 | 11:46PM

The waiting game had lasted a few years now, but it has finally come to an end. And after all that, it seems to have been worth it. The Islanders have defenseman Devon Toews up with the big club and playing like the projected top-four blueliner the organization was hoping for before he went down with a shoulder injury in the middle of last season. It helped that the 24-year-old came up just before Christmas and began his career on a six-game winning streak — while the team was in the midst of winning nine-of-10 — before the 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes at the Coliseum on Tuesday night. “I feel really good. Like, really good,” Toews told The Post on Tuesday morning, having started the season with AHL Bridgeport presumably only to make sure that he was physically able to handle a big workload and that his terrific training camp wasn’t just a fluke. “I thought before I went down with the shoulder injury, it was nagging me a bit, but I felt like I was playing some of my best hockey,” Toews said. “The offseason was huge for that, just getting my shoulder healthy and ready to go. Training camp, I felt awesome. They make their decisions, and I support their decisions. And yeah, I felt like I was playing really good hockey down there and contributing and developing.” Coach Barry Trotz said Toews likely deserved to make the Islanders out of training camp, but because of a glut of one-way contracts for defensemen, the prudent route was the one the team chose. But when Thomas Hickey went down with a concussion Dec. 17, that made the promotion more viable. And when it seemed like Hickey was going to be out for a while, that’s when Toews got the call. He made his NHL debut Dec. 23 in Dallas and hasn’t looked back. He scored his second career goal against the Hurricanes, tying it 2-2 in the third period after he wheeled around the back of the net for a wraparound chance that was stopped before converting on a long snap-shot that was deflected by a Carolina defender on the way in. But the early highlight would still be the overtime winner against the Blackhawks on Thursday, with the fact that Trotz even had him out for the three-on-three extra time a testament to the coach’s immediate trust. “I knew he was a good skater and his ability to move the puck and transport it and all that,” Trotz said when asked if anything about Toews’ game has surprised him. “Probably the poise; the poise in small areas, where some guys feel crowded, if you will. They get the puck and they whack it. He seems to have the poise in small areas, which is pretty beneficial, when you can make those small plays and understand how much pressure is around you. That part is probably what surprised me the most, the poise.” The Islanders were able to draft the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder in the fourth round (No. 108 overall) in 2014 after his freshman year at Quinnipiac. The native of Abbotsford, British Columbia, stayed in school through the 2015-16 season and then joined the Sound Tigers for the start of 2016- 17. He immediately impressed. During the Islanders tumultuous season of 2017-18, Toews was able to play just 30 games before getting hurt and then-general manager Garth Snow was quick to cite the injury as a reason for his team’s woes. But now that Lou Lamoriello and Trotz have taken over, the Islanders are finally reaping the benefits. “I don’t think there’s any pressure on me to perform or do certain things,” Toews said. “I just try to do what I do, and help the team win. Injuries are unfortunate, but they’re part of the game. I feel so much better off of it now. The Islanders drafted me and gave me a chance when I was a 19- year-old draftee. I appreciate them for that, and their loyalty to me so far. I’m just trying to help them win games at this point.” Mercurial winger Josh Ho-Sang was sent back to Bridgeport on Tuesday afternoon after a 10-game cameo when he put up one goal and one assist while averaging 14:31 of ice time per game. Center Valterri Filppula was activated off IR after he had missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury.

New York Post LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103676 New York Islanders

Islanders’ winning streak comes to an end

Staff Report By Associated Press January 8, 2019 | 10:22pm | Updated

Justin Williams scored late in the third period and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Islanders 4-3 on Tuesday night at the Nassau Coliseum to snap New York’s six-game winning streak. Williams scored his 10th goal of the season 15 seconds after leaving the penalty box to make it 3-2 with 17:18 left. The 37-year-old flipped a backhand past goaltender Thomas Greiss with an assist from Greg McKegg. It was his 299th career goal. “I was hoping they would kill off the penalty and they did. Then I got a great pass, the top side opened up and it turns out to be the game- winning goal,” Williams said. “That team makes you earn everything. We got it done.” Jaccob Slavin made it 4-2 with a power-play goal at 18:53 before Brock Nelson scored his second of the game for the Islanders at 19:01. The Hurricanes held on to win their fifth straight. Curtis McElhinney made 28 saves for Carolina, which also got goals from Saku Maenalanen and McKegg. The Islanders were coming off a three-goal comeback win over St. Louis on Saturday following an overtime home win over Chicago last Thursday. The loss left their coach Barry Trotz frustrated about his team’s lack of execution. Trotz was perturbed the Islanders gave up McKegg’s goal with only six seconds left in the first as well as Williams’ tally on a broken play in the Islanders’ zone. “I thought we just mismanaged the game,” Trotz said. “There are certain moments where you have to execute what is in the best interest of the group. We didn’t do that. That’s a good way to lose hockey games. That one or two points we could have had, we just threw them away.” Rookie defenseman Devon Toews tied it early in the third period for New York. It was his second goal since being recalled from AHL Bridgeport. Nelson opened the scoring 13:42 into the first period, but Carolina tied it when rookie Maenalanen scored his first goal at 15:10. The 24-year-old Maenalanen played his fifth career game after signing with Carolina last May as a free agent. He previously played for Karpat of the Finnish League. McKegg put the Hurricanes ahead with six seconds left in the first, knocking a loose puck past Greiss in the crease for his second goal of the season. “I just tried to get to the net. It was a lucky bounce and it ended up going in,” McKegg said. Jordan Eberle appeared to tie it for the Islanders early in the second period, but Valterri Filppula was ruled offside before the goal. McElhinney also made a sprawling save on Ryan Pulock alone in the slot in the waning seconds of the middle period. Lee echoed his coach regarding the missed opportunity to snare at least a point. The Islanders will try to make amends with an upcoming home- and-home series against the Rangers starting on Thursday. “We should have played better and smarter,” Lee said. “We have to reset and get ready to go in a couple of days.”

New York Post LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103677 New York Islanders

Islanders' loss just demonstrates how hard it is to maintain a streak

By Mark Herrmann @markpherrmann Updated January 9, 2019 12:01 AM

This tells you how hard it is to win seven games in a row during the course of one season: Not only were no current Islanders around the team the last time it happened here, only seven of those in uniform Tuesday night had been born. So, this was a big deal that they were chasing when they played the Hurricanes Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum. They came pretty close, too, wiping out a two-goal deficit in the third period before losing, 4-3. Tough thing, these seven-game streaks. Also tough is making the playoffs in the National Hockey League, where the regular season is meaningful enough that nobody dares give star players regular “rest days” on game nights. With 41 games, exactly a half-season, to go, the Islanders are in playoff territory. And they again juiced up the Coliseum, where they are 3-1-1. Also, they have put themselves in position to do some serious out-of- town scoreboard-watching, which is a huge step forward. Just not a seventh-heaven kind of leap. “We had won in a couple different ways, like good goaltending. So, it was a good streak,” said Brock Nelson, who had two goals and an assist. “We snuck one away in St. Louis. You have to find ways to win at different times, in different fashions. We let this one slip away.” Barry Trotz, blunt at the coach’s lectern, said: “We played well enough to win, we definitely played poor enough to lose. There’s a fine line between winning and losing.” It was a vastly different world back on Jan. 16, 1990, the last time the Islanders were shooting for a single-season seven-game winning streak. Instead of Trotz, it still was the time of Trots (Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier played that night, after having missed 12 games with a broken rib). The Islanders won that night at the Coliseum, and won two more on the road to move into first place. The deciding goal in win No. 7 was scored by Randy Wood, whose son, Miles, now plays for the Devils. The style was wide open, with the Canucks launching 51 shots at goalie Glenn Healy, who stopped all of them. “I think the players ought to hug him, kiss him and carry him on the plane,” coach Al Arbour said, as quoted in the game story by this reporter, then a rookie beat writer. Nowhere was the disparity between then and now more obvious, though, than in the standings. The 1989-90 Islanders made the playoffs despite having finished seven games under .500 (they squeaked past the Penguins at the very last moment when the latter club lost the season finale on an overtime goal by Buffalo’s Uwe Krupp). Those were the days when the NHL was drawing coast-to-coast, border- to-border ridicule for its playoff situation. Almost everybody got in — 16 of the league’s 21 teams, and you had to be pretty bad to miss. Not so now. With 31 teams in the circuit and still only 16 spots available, reaching the postseason is a beast. Have a bad week and you can be cooked. “What I’ve learned in this league,” Trotz said, “is not to have bad weeks. Parity is huge.” “Parity” is not necessarily a compliment. You could read it as a shortage of elite teams, or an overabundance of mediocre ones. In any case, the regular season is tough, and interesting. No way can a coach hold out one or more of his top players just for the heck of it, the way they do it in the NBA. Losing a point or two on Jan. 8 could ruin April. Then again, it was a solid six-win spurt. “We had guys out of the lineup, we had guys back in. We won different ways,” said Jordan Eberle, who entered the world four months after the 1990 streak. Half a season left means lots of grinding, but plenty of chances to stay relevant and exciting, maybe even win seven in a row.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103678 New York Islanders

Islanders' Matt Martin records PSA to fight heroin crisis

By Andrew Gross [email protected] @AGrossNewsday Updated January 8, 2019 8:49 PM

One of the key components to fight what Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas described as a “heroin crisis” on Long Island is awareness of the issue. So, her office reaching out to the Islanders for help resulted in fan favorite Matt Martin recording a public service announcement currently airing on the MSG Networks as well as on WRHU, which broadcasts the team’s games. “The Islanders organization is taking this very seriously,” Singas said before Tuesday night’s game against the Hurricanes at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum. Singas brought approximately 12 Nassau County middle- and high- schoolers to the game, with the Islanders providing the tickets as she works on her three-prong approach to fighting the heroin problem in the area. “We thought getting the awareness out there was important,” Singas said of involving the Islanders and Martin. “It’s multi-faceted. One is enforcement and prosecution. Two is the outreach efforts. Three is treatment.” During the 30-second PSA, also available on YouTube, Martin notes, “Hockey can hurt. But no amount of pain can compare to the heartbreak of losing a loved one to addiction. In 2016, 195 lives were lost due to drug overdoses in Nassau County. In 2017, that number was 184.” In 2015, Singas’ office set up funding for the New Hope center in Freeport and she said 2,000 people have been treated there so far with an average stay of 10 days after coming from an emergency room. “We are facing a heroin crisis in Nassau County, as in the country,” Singas said.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103679 New York Islanders

Islanders activate Valtteri Filppula, send Josh Ho-Sang to Bridgeport

By Andrew Gross [email protected] @AGrossNewsday Updated January 8, 2019 11:00 PM

Valtteri Filppula’s return to the Islanders’ lineup resulted in Josh Ho- Sang’s latest departure to Bridgeport (AHL). The Islanders activated Filppula off injured reserve for Tuesday night’s 4- 3 loss to the Hurricanes at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum after the third- line center and key penalty killer missed two games with an upper-body injury. Ho-Sang, who spent time on both the top line and the third line, had one goal and one assist in 10 games after being recalled from Bridgeport. “We need more production than that,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “Some of the details in his game (slipped) say in the last five games. We had a few talks. He didn’t clean it up. He’ll work on it in Bridgeport. Every time they come up, they get better and better.” Ho-Sang the 28th overall pick in 2014, now has seven goals and 17 assists in 53 NHL games. His latest demotion meant rookie Michael Dal Colle remained in the lineup for the fifth game, turning in a strong 11:41 with Trotz calling him one of the team’s more consistent players. No. 600 Fourth-line left wing Matt Martin logged 12:32 with five hits in his 600th NHL regular-season game, saying it was a “milestone for sure ... hopefully I still have a bunch more in the tank.” Martin, 29, made his NHL debut with two assists in the Islanders’ 4-3 shootout win over the Predators, then coached by Trotz, on Feb. 9, 2010. “I always joke I had a whole bottle of Tums,” Martin said. “You never really know how long you’re going to be in the league. But I remember the first one like it was yesterday.” Isles files The Islanders are now 3-1-1 at the Coliseum . . . Forwards Ross Johnston and Tom Kuhnhackl and defenseman Luca Sbisa were the healthy scratches.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103680 New York Islanders

Islanders' win streak ends at six on two late goals by Hurricanes

By Andrew Gross [email protected] @AGrossNewsday Updated January 8, 2019 10:53 PM

The Islanders were better but not good enough to steal a second straight game, this time done in by poor decisions with the puck and a power play that could not produce. Their season-high six-game winning streak ended with a 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday night at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum, denying them a chance for their longest single-season winning streak since they won nine straight from Dec. 31, 1989-Jan. 19, 1990. “I thought we just mismanaged the game,” said coach Barry Trotz, particularly displeased with Mathew Barzal trying to skate through three defenders and instead coughing up the puck in the Islanders zone. That led to Greg McKegg’s banked shot off defenseman Adam Pelech’s skate to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead with 6.0 seconds left in the first period. “It wasn’t our best,” defenseman Johnny Boychuk added. “We were having a good first period but mismanaging the puck with 15 seconds left and they scored that goal and then we’re playing from behind. We still need to get a lot more investment through the whole team.” The Islanders (23-14-4) went 0-for-3 on the power play and Justin Williams, coming out of the penalty box, put the Hurricanes ahead 3-2 at 17:18 of the third period. Jaccob Slavin’s power-play goal at 18:53 pushed it to 4-2 before Brock Nelson scored his second goal of the game with 58.2 seconds remaining. Thomas Greiss, starting because he’d already beaten the Hurricanes three times despite Robin Lehner having won a career-high seven straight, made 20 saves while Carolina’s Curtis McElhinney stopped 28 shots. “You can come out of that first period 1-1 but, instead, you come in 2-1 down and it’s deflating giving up a goal late,” Nelson said. “We did some good things but not enough to win and you can’t rely on an off-game and just getting some bounces. You’re not going to win many games like that.” The Islanders were coming off Saturday night’s 4-3 win at St. Louis. But they needed three, third-period goals to get that victory and Trotz said the sub-par performance was both a “red flag” and a “wake-up call.” Or it should have been. “That’s a cardinal sin, a few seconds left in a period and to try and take on three guys and it ends up in the back of your net,” Trotz said. “There are certain events, certain moments in a game where you have to execute where it’s in the best interest of the group and the time and the score and the situation and we didn’t do that today. That’s a good way to lose hockey games. “It’s going to be a tight race,” Trotz added. “That one or two points we could’ve had today, we threw them away.” The loss dropped the Islanders one point behind the Canadiens for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. Rookie defenseman Devon Toews, with his second NHL goal, tied the game at 2 at 4:50 of the third period on a blue-line shot off captain Anders Lee’s feed and through Nelson’s screen. After falling behind in their previous two games, the Islanders took a 1-0 lead on the Hurricanes as Nelson, at the left point, intercepted defenseman Justin Faulk’s soft clearing attempt off the boards and skated in to beat McElhinney through his pads at 13:42 of the first period. The Hurricanes tied the game at 1 as Saku Maenalanen, with his first NHL goal, got to the crease at 15:10 of the first period. Jordan Eberle’s apparent equalizer at 2:26 of the second period was overturned because Valtteri Filppula was offside.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103681 New York Rangers

Reeling Rangers fall to Golden Knights for fourth straight loss

Staff Report THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | JAN 09, 2019 | 1:25 AM

Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Rangers 4-2 on Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory. Fleury, who leads the NHL with 25 wins and 39 starts this season, has 429 career victories and is eight shy of tying Jacques Plante for eighth place. Cody Eakin, Brandon Pirri, Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan Carpenter scored for the Golden Knights, who once again moved into a first-place tie with Calgary in the Western Conference. Both teams have 58 points. The Golden Knights, who improved to 15-3-3 at home, are 19-4-3 overall since Nov. 18, when Nate Schmidt returned to the team after serving a 20-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. Vegas owns the NHL's longest active home point streak (10-0-2) since Nov. 23, matching the 12-game home point streak it accomplished last season. Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast scored for the Rangers. Backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots but has allowed nine goals in his last two starts. New York has been outscored 22-5 during a four-game losing streak. Though the Rangers have earned at least one point in 10 of their past 13 games against Western Conference opponents, the last three games of their four-game skid came on the road at Colorado, Arizona and Vegas. Vegas opened the scoring when Alex Tuch chipped a pass backward to Eakin, who flew through the neutral zone and beat Georgiev on a breakaway for his 13th goal of the season. Tuch extended his point streak to seven games (two goals, six assists) and leads Vegas with 34 points. The Golden Knights extended the lead to 2-0 when Max Pacioretty's slap shot from the circle trickled through Georgiev's pads, clanked off the post and landed in perfect position for Pirri to tap it in. Pirri, recalled on Monday, has seven goals in eight games for Vegas. Pirri's power-play goal snapped Vegas' 0-for-17 slump with the man advantage, a drought that spanned seven games. After Deryk Engelland swatted the puck from Fleury's crease, Marchessault picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated in on a breakaway to beat Georgiev top shelf and give the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead late in the second period. The Rangers ruined Fleury's bid for a seventh shutout this season, and 55th of his career, when they executed a rush perfectly for a backdoor one-timer by Zibanejad to make it 3-1 with 8:17 left. The goal snapped Fleury's scoreless streak at 134:46. Fleury has 68 career shutouts overall — 54 in the regular season and 14 in the playoffs — and the team he has the most against is the Rangers (seven). Carpenter had an empty-net goal before Fast scored with 23 seconds remaining.

New York Daily News LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103682 New York Rangers New York Post LOADED: 01.09.2019

Rangers fall to Golden Knights to complete winless road trip

By Brett Cyrgalis January 9, 2019 | 1:24am | Updated

The Rangers won’t go so far as to explicitly say it — and probably never will — but it sure seems like we have reached the moral victories phase of this rebuilding season. Sure, they took a step forward. But if it was a step forward to record their fourth loss in a row, a 4-2 defeat to the Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, then that’s just a reminder of how deep they had gotten over this gruesome western road trip. “We didn’t quit, but hey, we want to win hockey games,” coach David Quinn told reporters. “There’s no silver lining.” The Rangers (17-18-7) have had a tough time since Thanksgiving, going 5-10-5 during that stretch with this past week being when the bottom fell out. While losing these four games by a combined score of 22-5, they had lost discipline and structure, and most alarming, they had lost their competitive edge. That returned in part for this one, but not surprisingly, it wasn’t enough to surpass a good Golden Knights (27-15-4) team playing in front of their raucous crowd. “We did a lot of better things tonight, but it’s just tough sledding right now,” Chris Kreider said on MSG. “You knew it was going to happen before it got better. But we did a lot of things well tonight as opposed to the last few games. That’s the only way you can turn things around, with hard work and committing to the details that win hockey games. “It was better tonight, but not good enough against a good team on the road.” Adam McQuaid fights Vegas' Ryan Reaves during the third period. All of the good efforts through the opening 40 minutes only got the Rangers a 3-0 deficit going into the third period. But that’s when they woke up a bit, starting with Adam McQuaid getting into a big-time heavyweight bout with Ryan Reaves. Mika Zibanejad then scored at 11:43 to cut the deficit to 3-1, but with goalie Alexandar Georgiev on the bench for the extra attacker, Ryan Carpenter got an empty-netter at 18:40 to seal it before a late goal from Jesper Fast changed only the final score, not the outcome. “Someone referenced the ketchup bottle between periods,” Kreider said. “You hit the ketchup bottle over and over, it comes out all at once. It was Henrik, I think. So that’s a good analogy.” A good microcosm of what’s happening is the aforementioned Henrik Lundqvist, who backed up Georgeiv for the second time on this trip. Actually, Georgiev has played in all of the four games in 2019, with Lundqvist getting pulled from his previous two starts at home against the Penguins on Jan. 2 and in Arizona this past Sunday. And Georgiev gave his team a chance in making 27 saves, but they just never tested his counterpart, Marc-Andre Fleury, nearly enough. “One of the things we have to do more of is shoot pucks,” Quinn said, his team getting outshot in the first period, 13-5, when they held most of the play but went down 1-0 on a goal from Cody Eakin at 16:02. Defenseman Tony DeAngelo, playing in his first game back after being a scratch for the previous three straight and six of the past eight, took exception to a hit from Max Pacioretty early in the game that forced him to miss the rest of the first period. When he returned, he went after the former Montreal captain and got called for the retaliatory boarding as well as a 10-minute misconduct for trying to start a fight with any willing combatant (of which there was none). Vegas, of course, got a power-play goal from former Ranger Brandon Pirri, and then was able to make it 3-0 on a breakaway goal from Jonathan Marchessault just before the end of the second. Now the Rangers return to New York for a home-and-home with the Islanders, beginning Thursday at the Garden. No moral victories waiting in that one. “Any time you play a rival, it gives it more juice,” Quinn said. “But we’ve certainly got to get out of this rut we’re in.”

1103683 New York Rangers New York Post LOADED: 01.09.2019

Trade deadline is ‘pink elephant’ that looms over Rangers

By Brett Cyrgalis January 9, 2019 | 12:14am

Right now, there is enough on David Quinn’s plate that it doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Rangers coach to start dealing with issues that are not imminent. But soon enough, the “pink elephant,” as he called it, will have to be addressed. That would be the approaching Feb. 25 trade deadline, which has cast a pall over Quinn’s first season behind the Rangers bench. It looms incredibly large, as general manager Jeff Gorton is going to keep his word to the fans and continue this rebuild in earnest by looking for the best way to make his team good — in the future, not right now in some fantastical push for a meaningless wild-card spot that will only hurt it in the draft lottery. That was reiterated by owner James Dolan, who made an appearance in Las Vegas for Monday’s practice before the Blueshirts were set to take on the Golden Knights on Tuesday night, attempting to stop a three- game losing streak that saw them outscored 18-3. “I’m very happy with how the organization is organizing itself around development,” Dolan said. “We’re staying the course.” So Quinn was left with a dressing room of professionals who are fully aware of the situation. They know their already-overmatched team is going to be further depleted in just about six weeks, but Quinn hasn’t felt the need to bring it up to them just yet. “I don’t think as a team standpoint, we have to address it,” Quinn said. “We have to focus on the next day and the next practice and the next game. That’s all we have to do.” Of course, that’s far easier said than done. For one, Mats Zuccarello knows the likelihood of him being shipped out as a rental is almost a given. The 31-year-old Norwegian is on the final year of his contract that carries a $4.5 million salary-cap hit, so he should be a rather attractive piece for a club gunning for the Stanley Cup. The diminutive fan favorite has already come to terms with that fact, and he has admitted to it affecting his on-ice performance. “The last few weeks I have been too emotional about it,” Zuccarello told The Post’s Larry Brooks after a 5-0 thumping from the Coyotes in Arizona on Sunday afternoon. “It’s a tough situation, but it’s also no excuse for me. It is what it is. I know that.” Being able to keep his team even-keeled during this stretch is going to be very difficult for a first-time NHL head coach. Quinn said he has spoken to Zuccarello specifically about the situation, and yet couldn’t temper the emotional downturn. “I’ve talked to Zucc periodically about the pink elephant in the room and what everybody writes,” Quinn said. “He and I have had conversations regarding his situations. It’s been well-documented.” Kevin Hayes is another player with a lot on his mind, although it seems to be affecting his play for the better. Hayes, 26, was in the midst of his best season before a nagging upper-body injury was set to keep him out of the third straight game on Tuesday night. But he has raised his value to the point that a fair trade might not become available to Gorton, and might never become more attractive than signing him to a long-term extension. That extension could have been signed as early as Jan. 1, but there is no rush from either side. If Gorton gets his doors blown off by an offer, he might have to take it — and if the first two games of this three-game Western swing were any indication of what life will be like without Hayes, then it is going to be a very bleak time for this group playing out the string. Either way, at some point, the Rangers will have to deal with the inevitable changes. And as the days go by and that date gets closer, the chatter around the team will get louder and more frequent. That is both inside and outside the locker room. Now may not be the best time for Quinn to address that. But the time is coming, sooner rather than later.

1103684 New York Rangers

No deal for Rangers, who fold in Vegas

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinASteph Updated January 9, 2019 1:38 AM

LAS VEGAS – Before the finale of his team’s three-game Western road trip Tuesday night, Rangers coach David Quinn said his team had lost its mojo. Trying to get it back against the streaking Vegas Golden Knights was always going to be a tough task. They may not have gotten all of that mojo back against Vegas, but though they flew home following their 4-2 loss winless on the trip, the Rangers just may have rediscovered some confidence in their game as they prepare for their upcoming home-and-home against the rival Islanders. “We had much more of a take-charge attitude,’’ Quinn said of his team’s showing against Vegas. “There was no feeling sorry for ourselves, and we certainly had much more of the approach that we’re going to need, if we’re going to have success. We’ve got to build on it. We’re going to get home tonight, gotta rest up, and quick turnaround Thursday night against the Islanders.‘’ The Rangers lost all three games — in Colorado, Arizona and Vegas — and in fact have lost four in a row and have been outscored, 22-5 over that span. They have fallen below the NHL version of .500, and are now 17-18-7, good for 41 points, through 42 games. But after having been drilled by the lowly Arizona Coyotes, 5-0, on Sunday, the Rangers put up much more of a fight against the Knights, who won their seventh in a row and improved to 27-15-4 on the season. The Rangers skated with speed and managed to keep the Knights off the scoreboard until Marc Staal made a mistake by going for a puck in the neutral zone that he was never going to get to. Alex Tuch chipped the puck past Staal and set up Cody Eakin for a breakaway that he converted for his 13th goal of the season, at 16:02 of the first period. Vegas added two goals in the second period, the first coming on a power play with Tony DeAngelo in the box for boarding, when Brandon Pirri dunked a rebound off the goalpost behind goaltender Alex Georgiev for his seventh goal of the season, in his eighth game, at 7:06. DeAngelo, who had been driven into the boards from behind by Vegas’ Max Pacioretty and missed the final 11 minutes of the first period, retaliated and got called for the penalty. He was also given a 10-minute misconduct penalty on the play. Jonathan Marchessault made it 3-0 when he finished a breakaway that resulted from a missed shot by Staal that ricocheted off the back boards and sent Marchessault on his way. Mika Zibanejad finally got the Rangers a consolation goal, driving the net and tapping in a pass from Mats Zuccarello behind Marc Andre Fleury (27 saves) for his 12th goal of the season, pulling the Rangers within 3-1 at 11:43. The goal was Zibanejad’s first point in five games, since he had a career-high four assists in the 4-3 win over Nashville on Dec. 29. It was his first goal since Dec. 16, in the 4-3 overtime loss to Vegas at the Garden. Chris Kreider said the Rangers didn’t seem as discouraged and down after falling into an early hole, and even after giving up the power-play goal to go down by two. They played with energy the entire game, he said, and the shots finally fell for them in the third period. “Someone referenced to a ketchup bottle in between periods — you hit the ketchup bottle over and over, it comes out all at once,’’ Kreider said. “It’s a good analogy. But at the same time, we’ve got to shoot more pucks.’’ Ryan Carpenter scored an empty-net goal with 1:20 left, but Jesper Fast scored a second for the Rangers with 24.1 seconds left, and all that was left was that long plane ride home.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103685 New York Rangers

Brendan Smith back to being scratched for Rangers

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinASteph Updated January 8, 2019 10:02 PM

LAS VEGAS – After three games out and one game in, Brendan Smith was back out of the Rangers’ lineup Tuesday night against the Golden Knights. Tony DeAngelo, who had been scratched the previous three games, and six of the last eight, stepped into his spot. Freddie Claesson was the other defenseman sitting out. “It’s tough,’’ Smith said being in and out of the lineup. “I’ve never had to do it before, where I’m in and out quite a bit. But I think I’m taking it in stride. I’m just trying to be positive, keep trying to help the team out, and when I get in there, try to play my best hockey. We’ve kind of got a little bit of a rotation here, so I’ve gotta keep playing hard and keep trying to help the team win.’’ Coach David Quinn has said all season the Rangers believe they have eight defensemen who can play. The depth came in handy when first Claesson, then Adam McQuaid, and finally Kevin Shattenkirk suffered injuries that kept them out for an extended period, but with all eight healthy now, two have to sit out every night. The way things have evolved, five of the eight – Marc Staal, Neal Pionk, Brady Skjei, McQuaid and Shattenkirk_ have been in the lineup every night, while Smith, Claesson and DeAngelo take turns as the sixth defenseman. Quinn, though, said that is not what is happening. “No, I know it seems that way now, but that’s not how I look at it,’’ he said. “That’s kind of the way it’s been over the last, probably, three weeks, but that could change in the next week or two.’’ Hayes still out. Kevin Hayes missed his third straight game because of an upper- body injury he suffered on Dec. 14 that has been nagging him ever since. Hayes has not skated since his last game, Dec. 27 vs. Pittsburgh… LW Jimmy Vesey was set to appear in his 200th career game.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103686 New York Rangers

Despite Rangers' recent blowout losses, Henrik Lundqvist still hopeful they'll make playoffs

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinASteph Updated January 8, 2019 8:11 PM

LAS VEGAS — With 41 games played and 41 left on the schedule before Tuesday’s faceoff against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Rangers were roughly where they were projected to be this season by most accounts. But Henrik Lundqvist still believes his team is capable of better. He has to. “We just have to continue believing that we’re a good team and we have to work hard,’’ the 36-year-old goaltender said after a strenuous on-ice workout at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday morning. “I think we are where a lot of people expected us to be (a record of 17-17-7, for 41 points) and, realistically, maybe where we should be. “But that being said, I think we should aim to get higher. We should aim to get in [the playoffs]. That should be our goal.’’ The playoffs may seem like a pipe dream after the Rangers lost three straight games — by an aggregate score of 18-3 — before playing the Golden Knights, , who were 26-15-4 (56 points) coming in. Lundqvist started two of the games in the losing streak. He allowed 11 goals, on 50 shots, over 81:18 in those two games and was pulled from both. The 11 goals inflated his goals-against average over 3.00 (it was 3.04 Tuesday) and his save percentage dropped to .909. He took heart, though, in that the Rangers had won two road games before the losing streak and were feeling good about themselves before last Wednesday’s 7-2 loss to Pittsburgh. And while he said that loss “set us back a little bit,’’ he remains hopeful things can turn back positive just as quickly as they turned negative. “We just need to correct a few things,’’ he said. Madison Square Garden executive chairman and chief executive officer James Dolan, who visited practice Monday and said he would stick around to watch Tuesday’s game, heaped praise on Lundqvist in an interview Monday with the two traveling beat writers who cover the team. Dolan said Lundqvist had proven this season he can still “carry a team,’’ and said the Rangers still can dream about making the playoffs because Lundqvist has kept them in the race. He added that the difference between the rebuilding Rangers and the rebuilding Knicks (who entered Tuesday’s game against Golden State with a 10-30 record) is that “the Knicks don’t have a Henrik.’’ Lundqvist said he appreciated Dolan’s words. “He’s always been very supportive, I think, since I got here,’’ Lundqvist said of Dolan. “But at the same time, you know — everybody knows, in here — when we win, it’s 20 guys; it’s not one guy, or two guys.’’ Lundqvist always has thrived with a heavy workload, but given the way things have gone the past week, he was asked if he thought he might benefit from a little more rest in the second half. “I think it’s all depending on the situation,’’ he said after a pause. “How the games are played, how I play. There’s a lot of things you have to put into consideration when you decide to play or not to play. That’s why you should never focus on the number (of games). You need to look at what’s going on — how the team’s doing; how you’re doing. “So, I can’t say more or less,’’ he said. “It’s more, just, earn your ice time, and you take it game by game.’’

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103687 New York Rangers I do wonder if that puts DeAngelo right back in the Quinn Bin and releases lefty Fredrik Claesson for the Garden game against the Islanders Thursday. Tony DeAngelo gets back on the ice, but does little to solidify his role DeAngelo sure did some good things in the third, particularly, when the with Rangers Rangers were forced to open it up and take some chances – right in DeAngelo’s wheelhouse. The kid can skate, can move the puck, can shoot it, and he fired one on which Fleury made arguably his best save of By Rick Carpiniello the game. Jan 8, 2019 So it was that kind of night again for the 23-year-old, who is too young to write off, but old enough to probably know better than he does.

Does he have a future here? Has that determination been made? Will he Good Tony. Bad Tony. get a chance to decide it himself? We don’t know. Nobody’s been tougher on Tony DeAngelo than me. We do know that he very likely would have spent time in Hartford this season if he didn’t require waivers to go there, and that probably would At the same time, I have seen the progress from last year to this, I have have been better for his development than sitting out so much in New seen the hints that there’s a player in there, and have also seen the York. The Rangers felt, early in the season, a young right-hander with things he does that cause his coaches to shake their heads … and to put skill and an $863,333 cap hit would be claimed. At this point, with all the him in street clothes. game’s he’s sat – and scouts have seen the ones he’s played – you I also tend to agree with the DeAngelo fans, to some degree, that it’s wonder if anybody would claim him, or if he’d still be better off going time to fish or cut bait with the young righty, to figure out if he really is in down to play. the Rangers’ plans, or if he could play himself into those plans, or out of But if there was ever a chance to give him a chance, this is probably it. those plans. If that decision, the latter one, hasn’t been made yet. Not sure he’ll get it though. Then, we suspect, one more shot could be DeAngelo finally got out of the Quinn Bin Tuesday in Vegas, a 4-2 loss coming when the Rangers (almost certainly) trade righty defenseman that stretched the Rangers’ losing streak to four, all in regulation. Adam McQuaid at the deadline. We’ll see. DeAngelo got a chance to play after being scratched for the last three Thoughts: games, six of the last eight and a total of 16 on the season. 1) Going into the third period down 3-0, the Rangers, over their last 10 And, yeah, we got the mixed bag of DeAngelo tricks – glimpses of the periods, had been outscored 21-3. They finally broke their own shutout skill he possesses, more of that nasty edge with which he plays (which I streak just short of two full games in the third period. Hard to believe the applaud), and also the questionable, if not numbing decisions. Rangers still haven’t caught the eight teams ahead of them in the Draft Lottery Sweepstakes. DeAngelo replaced Brendan Smith, who was scratched by coach David Quinn for three straight, watched the fragile Rangers shoot themselves in 2) I thought, for sure, the Rangers’ effort and compete levels were a lot the skate with penalties, got back into a game and immediately took a better than they had been in the last four games (one stolen win in St. ridiculous penalty … getting himself stapled to the bench. Louis, and three losses). There are, nor should there be, no moral victories or participation trophies for that. And their skill level and work in At this point, DeAngelo is not worse than Smith has been. Or worse than the offensive zone are still not enough. Kevin Shattenkirk has been, quite honestly, though Shattenkirk has some currency in the bank and a lot of history with Quinn. 3) Quinn wanted a more aggressive forecheck, and it worked early on against a streaking Vegas team, which has won seven in a row and At this point, too, there’s no hope of building up Smith’s trade value climbed to third place in the overall league standings. I think I told you where he’d be an asset at the Feb. 25 deadline, and probably not much that when I spoke with Quinn before training camp, he said he wanted chance at all that Shattenkirk could be dealt either. the Rangers to be “hard to play against. When the game ends, we want the other team to go, ‘Ooof, we don’t want to play them again.’” When I So now, until he proves he can’t do it – again, unless that decision has mentioned that sounded like the expansion team that went to the Stanley already been made – DeAngelo should get some opportunity here. Cup Final last season, he agreed that that was the model. The Rangers Unless, too, he blew that opportunity Tuesday. certainly are not there at this point. Maybe this hurts his chances too: If DeAngelo and Shattenkirk play, the 4) Now, remember, the Rangers are a pretty fragile bunch, and the early Rangers have four righties on defense. Also one of them might have to DeAngelo penalty could have injured them. But they killed it, quite kill a penalty here or there, and you certainly don’t want that. I think it was cleanly, with the pair of Jesper Fast and Ryan Strome doing a lot of the a mistake, right off the hop, to pair Shattenkirk and DeAngelo together. work. Even if they were both playing well enough, they’re too much alike. 5) Chris Kreider with a chance to shoot it in the middle of the period, from So what could go wrong with that twosome? Well, we found out quickly. an angle, tried to force a pass to Mika Zibanejad. Didn’t work. Shattenkirk was in on the rush, down the slot in the offensive zone, and DeAngelo took a gamble trying to keep a bouncing puck in the zone. He 6) Minutes after the Pacioretty hit on DeAngelo, Brayden McNabb cross- didn’t, and Max Pacioretty broke away. DeAngelo hooked him and checked Strome from behind and into the boards. Play on. Kreider got Alexandar Georgiev stopped him, but then the Rangers had to kill away with one, very similar, in the second. DeAngelo’s penalty, another early one, a potential deflator. They killed it. 7) Alexandar Georgiev, playing in his third in a row – two of those out of DeAngelo then did what he does much better, with a keep-in and a low the bullpen — made a big stop on Nick Holden. Remember him? shot through a Filip Chytil screen, and the Rangers nearly got one as the puck lay outside goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s crease. Chytil may have 8) Shattenkirk, now rotating with five defensemen because of DeAngelo’s tipped it. injury, pinched and didn’t get to the puck. Marc Staal gambled going for the puck in the neutral zone, and Cody Eakin was sprung, by Alex Tuck, It looked, at times, like DeAngelo and Shattenkirk were undecided on on a breakaway behind Jimmy Vesey. 1-0. which one of them was playing left D. 9) Zibanejad quickly had a chance, faked a shot and lost the puck. That A little later in the first, DeAngelo was driven into the boards from behind was followed by a little fire drill when Neal Pionk lost his stick and went to by Max Pacioretty and limped directly to the trainers’ room, slamming his get it, leaving Jonathan Marchessault with a chance that Georgiev helmet down on the way. He didn’t return until the start of the second stopped. Then another, with ex-Ranger Oscar Lindberg getting a wide- period. So the Rangers, playing their third game of a trip, were down to open chance stopped. Yikes. The Rangers looked like they were in five defensemen. Until he came back. survival mode until the first-period buzzer. Shot attempts 20-9, Vegas, in the first, 13-5 on goal. But in the second, DeAngelo boarded William Karlsson, a play very similar, if not exactly the same, to Pacioretty’s hit on DeAngelo earlier. 10) The Rangers went more than four minutes in the second without a DeAngelo was whistled for a penalty, and in the ensuing scrum, he went shot, too, then Chytil was stopped by Fleury, after Fleury’s turnover to after Pacioretty, earning himself a 10-minute misconduct – the last thing Mats Zuccarello. the Rangers needed – 12 minutes more of five defensemen — and certainly an undisciplined additional penalty. 11) Then, all of a sudden, boarding was a penalty again. DeAngelo boarded decked Karlsson from behind and was called for it, then went over to Pacioretty, who had injured him in the first … and got the additional 10-minute misconduct. 12) Of course the Rangers didn’t kill it. Even against a power play that had been awful lately (zero PPGs in the previous six games). Pacioretty’s shot went through Georgiev’s legs and clanged the far post, but Brandon Pirri was there to clean up the rebound. 2-0. 13) You remember Pirri, right? The Rangers signed him from Florida because he’s a shooter and they had too many passers. Well, he was good here for a while, then he stopped scoring and it was bye-bye. Vegas claimed him and he has seven goals in eight games. Shooter. 14) The Rangers, by the way, just don’t draw penalties because of the soft way they play offensively, and because they don’t have the puck a lot. Sixteen power plays in the last eight games coming in. Yup, 16. They had five in a six-game stretch Nov. 29-Dec. 10 … which was pretty much the start of this downward snowball. It’s also why they had three goals in the last three games. 15) Mid-second, Zibanejad took down Karlsson. Uh-oh. But the Rangers survived that, too. Though you got the feeling that two was going to be plenty for the Golden Knights on this night. And, you know, they already had two. 16) With four minutes left in the second, Brett Howden stole the puck behind the net and came out for a stuff attempt that Fleury kicked out. Kid is so snake-bitten now. Pavel Buchnevich set up Cody McLeod for a redirection that Fleury stopped, and Nieves sent McLeod in for another chance. … And you kind of wonder, why aren’t Zibanejad, Kreider, Zuccarello, those types of forwards, getting such chances? 17) So … Staal missed the net with Shattenkirk in deep. Marchessault took the long carom and had a breakaway behind Vlad Namestnikov. He whipped a shot past Georgiev. 3-0. Very early third, John Merrill hit the crossbar behind Georgiev. 18) McQuaid stepped to the plate and fought Ryan Reaves, who apparently was looking for retribution for an earlier big, loud hit by McQuaid that left Pacioretty with a bloody mouth. Tough matchup for McQuaid, who landed one, maybe two, then got pummeled. But his trade value probably went up. Another scrum followed and the Rangers finally got a power play. Didn’t do much with it. 19) Pacioretty hit another post in the middle of the third, then came together with DeAngelo at the goalmouth again. Zibanejad drove to the net and drew a penalty to McNabb. Quinn had to start the power play with his second unit, and the second unit got pucks and traffic to the net and forced Fleury to do some work (that was Howden, Strome, Vesey, Chytil and Pionk) Then the first unit did squat, until the power play ended … 20) Daily Zucc-O-Meter: … just back at even strength, Shattenkirk sent Zibanejad away with a good outlet pass. Zibanejad carried up the ice, dished to Kreider, who fed Zuccarello. Zibanejad then stopped Zuccarello’s pass with his skate and beat Fleury. 3-1. (Zuccarello had another game with zero shots on goal). 21) As the commish once said, “New York, your long wait is over!” Zibanejad’s goal was the first Rangers goal since the third period in Denver, a shutout streak of 119:20. Zibanejad’s first point in five games. First goal in 10 games. Remember that four-assist night he had at Nashville? Those were his only points in the previous eight games. How could that possibly be? 22) DeAngelo had a chance to make it a one-goal game with 3:24 left, but Fleury flashed the glove and made his shot disappear. Ryan Carpenter closed it out with an empty-netter before Jesper Fast converted a garbage-time rebound. 4-2. 23) Next up: A home-and-home with the Islanders. So back-to-back Game 7s. Not what you want in the first-game-back-from-a-road-trip thing. 24) Not to rub this in again, but how in holy hell did Florida fire Gerard Gallant?

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103688 NHL “He’s trying to set a tone of accountability here,” Gorton said. “I think he’s been consistent to who he is, and his philosophy is if guys aren’t doing the job, then I’ve got to put guys in that are going to do it.” Summer coaching changes paying major dividends across NHL Consistency and familiarity have helped Brind’Amour with the Hurricanes, who lack scoring punch and have a league-worst nine-year playoff drought. The players respect his legendary work ethic. Originally published January 8, 2019 at 11:13 pm Updated January 9, 2019 at 2:36 am “When he says it, you know he’s done it and it makes you want to do it, too,” defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk said. “When he talks, he By STEPHEN WHYNO commands the room and I think he’s a guy you really like to play for.” JOHNNY HOCKEY It wasn’t the 15-hour flight to China for training camp that had general No player in the NHL is hotter right now than Gaudreau , who’s earning manager Brad Treliving’s head spinning. every bit of his “Johnny Hockey” nickname. His 16 goals and 35 points in 18 games are the most in the league since Dec. 1 and inside the It was the pace of Bill Peters’ first practice as coach of the Calgary organization show the progression of the 25-year-old into an all-around Flames. superstar. “I was tired watching it,” Treliving said. “There’s a maturity to his game,” Treliving said. “He’s had a real defensive consciousness this year. Not that he hadn’t in the past, but Peters has lost no time in helping the Flames improve and reach first when he doesn’t have (the puck), he’s tracking to get it back.” place in the Pacific Division during his first season. In fact, the six teams that hired a new coach over the summer are all doing well — certainly TIGHT METRO when compared to the five that have dumped coaches already the season. Those clubs are a combined 47-57-11 since making those The top four teams in the Metropolitan Division — the Capitals, moves. Penguins, Blue Jackets and Islanders — were separated by just four points through Monday. That could mean a Trotz vs. Reirden showdown Peters and Todd Reirden, who took over the defending Stanley Cup in the first round, Washington-Pittsburgh again or any combination of champion Washington Capitals from Barry Trotz, will coach in the All-Star first-round matchups among teams that look evenly matched. Game on Jan. 26 with their teams leading their respective divisions at the halfway mark. “It’s a challenge and it forces you to be on your game all the time,” Reirden said. Trotz’s New York Islanders and Jim Montgomery’s Dallas Stars are in playoff positions, while the New York Rangers are overachieving under BANGED-UP PREDATORS David Quinn and the Carolina Hurricanes are taking steps forward after Rod Brind’Amour replaced Peters as coach. Nashville has dealt with major injuries to several key players. Defenseman P.K. Subban missed 19 games before Christmas, winger For Reirden and Brind’Amour, the challenge was moving up from a role Viktor Arvidsson missed 24 of 25 and winger Filip Forsberg missed 17 in as a longtime assistant. Capitals and Hurricanes players say the a row before returning Monday. Nashville endured a six-game losing transitions have been smooth because each coach hasn’t altered his streak in December but has somehow thrived amid injuries in the stacked approach. Central Division. “(Reirden is) a completely different person, different personality, different “There’s no sense crying about it,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’ve style and I think he’s stuck to who he is,” Capitals defenseman John got to win hockey games.” Carlson said. “What’s helped him is just staying true to what we all expect out of him.” GAME OF THE WEEK With almost the same roster back, Washington was expected to make The Boston Bruins visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on “Hockey Night in the playoffs and take a good shot at repeating. Expectations were fuzzier Canada” Saturday in what could be an Atlantic Division first-round playoff for the Flames, Islanders and Stars. preview. Calgary had alternated making and missing the playoffs under coaches LEADERS (through Monday) Bob Hartley and Glen Gulutzan before Peters took over. The Flames’ 58 Goals: Alex Ovechkin (Washington), 30; Assists: Nikita Kucherov (Tampa points have them atop the Western Conference and trailing only the Bay), 49; Points: Kucherov, 69; Ice time: Drew Doughty (Los Angeles), powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning in the overall NHL standings, a big 26:38; Wins: Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas), 24; Goals-against average: testament to Peters’ puck-hounding style and straightforward Robin Lehner (Islanders), 2.18; Save percentage: Jack Campbell (Los communication. Angeles), .930. “He’s a great coach,” star winger Johnny Gaudreau said. “He knows how to win. It doesn’t matter if you’re top line, bottom line, if you’re not playing well you’re not going to be on the ice. He’s not going put you over the Seattle Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 bench there. He expects a lot out of his players and it’s been great playing for him this year.” Trotz has had a similar impact with the Islanders, bringing much-needed structure to a team that missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and lost point-a-game center John Tavares to Toronto in free agency. Veteran GM Lou Lamoriello said with any coaching change three or four players get better and three or four get worse; he thinks Trotz has gotten the most out of a team far different than what he had in Washington. “He’s extremely detailed, very consistent in his approach as far as planning, execution, system and delivery,” Lamoriello said of Trotz. “He has an outstanding delivery to the players as far as no highs, no lows and holds them accountable to what is being asked of them.” In Dallas, top-line center Tyler Seguin said Montgomery has done a good job of giving players rest, sometimes opting for video work instead of practice. Despite an uproar over pointed comments made by CEO Jim Lites about the performance of Seguin and captain Jamie Benn, the Stars hold a wild-card spot in Montgomery’s first NHL season after five years at the University of Denver. Quinn spent five seasons at Boston University before GM Jeff Gorton hired him to coach the Rangers, and the returns on that decision are already positive. His job isn’t to get New York into the playoffs right away but rather instill good habits. He is also occasionally scratching players young and old to set a standard for quality of play. 1103689 NHL

Subban to teen facing racial abuse: Keep pushing forward

Originally published January 8, 2019 at 1:25 pm Updated January 8, 2019 at 6:17 PM Staff Report By The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Nashville Predators star P.K. Subban has reached out to a teenage hockey player facing racial abuse. The defenseman recorded a video and texted it to Ty Cornett, a 13-year- old Detroit-area hockey player last week. His father, Matthew Cornett, shared the video , which was recorded in Detroit during the Predators’ visit to the city last week, on Reddit. “I can tell you this right now that as long as you’re still breathing in this world, you’ve got to believe in yourself and let nobody tell you what you can and can’t do, especially if it’s because of the color of your skin,” said Subban, who is black and was born in Toronto and previously starred with the Montreal Canadiens. “In this world, some things happen that we don’t really understand. That’s OK. We don’t have to understand them. All we need to do is understand ourselves, believe in ourselves keep trying and keep pushing forward. “I just want to tell you that when you’re playing hockey, you play because you love the game and you want to play. Let nobody take that away from you.” Matthew Cornett says Ty had asked for a Subban Canadiens jersey when he was 6 and wears the same No. 76 as the player. “This year has been tough,” he wrote. “My son is very aggressive and loud, so that brings out the trash talk. I have no problem with trash talking at all (part of the sport), but the racist talk needs to stop. Between the N- word being thrown at him over and over, being called monkey by players and parents, having an entire team beat their chests and act like gorillas whenever he touched the puck.

Seattle Times LOADED: 01.09.2019

1103690 Ottawa Senators be a tight, controlled game. We’re both in that funk and you tend to play on the safe side a bit, but sometimes safe is death and you don’t want to be the guy that makes the mistake and gives up the big play that turns Senators’ Matt Duchene stays home, joining Anderson and Chabot on into a goal. sidelines “There will be a little bit of that, but the pace is certainly going to be fast.” The question becomes whether the Senators have enough quality bodies Ken Warren to stick with a Ducks squad that is hovering on the cusp of a playoff spot. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.09.2019 ANAHEIM — Bobby Ryan is back after suffering a hand injury Sunday, but the reeling Ottawa Senators will still be severely shorthanded here on Wednesday when they meet the Anaheim Ducks. No. 1 centre Matt Duchene didn’t make the three-game California road trip in order to be at the side of his wife, Ashley, as they await the arrival of their first child. Duchene joins top goaltender Craig Anderson (concussion) and star defenceman Thomas Chabot (shoulder) on the sidelines against the Ducks. Coincidentally, both the Senators and Ducks enter the contest having lost eight consecutive games. “Those are big shoes to fill,” said Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who on Tuesday practised in Duchene’s former spot between Ryan and Ryan Dzingel. “He’s not here with us, for good reasons. Family comes first and he’s trying to start a little family and we’re just praying for him that everything goes well.” Pageau only returned to the lineup in Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, after missing the first half of the season with a torn Achilles. Just in case the pressure of trying to end the longest Senators losing streak since 1997 wasn’t enough, Pageau is suddenly thrust into an environment in which he’ll be asked to take on additional minutes in crucial situations. “It gives a chance for guys like me and some younger guys to have a bigger role,” he said. “For me to get my timing back, I’m pretty lucky to get the opportunity to play with them.” While the Senators will likely be without the three pivotal players for the entire west coast trek — they move on to Los Angeles on Thursday and San Jose on Saturday — the Ducks lineup will be bolstered by the additions of formerly injured forward Rickard Rackell and defenceman Cam Fowler. Something has to give in the battle of the teams with the ugly losing streaks, but the Ducks are certainly more loaded at this point. Given the circumstances, Senators coach Guy Boucher was doing his best to spin the situation in the best possible light. At least the sun was shining brightly on Tuesday. “I would rather look at this in that next week, all three (Duchene, Chabot and Anderson) are probably going to be available, as a positive thing that’s ahead,” Boucher said. “And right now, we have to look at what we can do without those guys and not ask some guys not to replace those guys, but be themselves and be the best they can be in the small details of the game to give ourselves a chance.” Anders Nilsson will try to fill the colossal void in net left by Anderson’s absence. Nilsson was shaky in his Senators debut, losing 4-3 to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. He also picked up the loss on Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes, coming into the game in relief of starter Marcus Hogberg. Nilsson, who joined the Senators in a trade from Vancouver last week, has lost his past 11 decisions. He hasn’t won since Oct. 17. “It has been a few good days here to get to know the guys better, to get familiar with all the stuff, (my new) teammates and coaches and how things work,” he said. “Personally, I feel it’s almost good that we’re on a road trip right now, so I have a chance to go out to dinner with the guys.” Nilsson says there is a challenge in readjusting after being traded, but “that’s not an excuse.” Ryan, who spent the first six seasons of his career with Anaheim, expects the Ducks to do everything possible to take control of the game in the opening minutes. The big challenge for the injury-plagued Senators is to not buckle against a hungry Ducks squad that has scored only 11 times during their eight-game slide. “With them being at home, you can expect a real good early pressure,” he said. “Generally, with Anaheim, you expect that anyway. It’s going to 1103691 Ottawa Senators

Newest Senator Darren Archibald going through introductions again

Ken Warren

ANAHEIM — Only five days ago, Darren Archibald introduced himself to a new teammates with Belleville in the American Hockey League. On Monday, the newest Ottawa Senator went through that process again, doing whatever he could to put names to faces during a six-hour flight to California after being recalled to Ottawa from Belleville. “It’s bad enough to have to meet a bunch of the guys in Belleville and then to have another 20 new faces to meet when you get a here a couple of days later,” said Archibald, who came to the Senators in the swap that also brought goaltender Anders Nilsson. “It is a lot to take in, but it’s really exciting at the same time.” Archibald, who had been with the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate in Utica at the time of the trade, likely won’t play against the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday. He was the odd man out among forwards during practice Tuesday. “I’m just trying to get my feet wet here,” he said. “There’s a lot to take in on the first day, system wise, it’s a lot different to what I’m used to. I’m just coming in here and working hard.” Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103692 Ottawa Senators take a 14-game streak into Saturday’s game in San Jose against the Senators.

IS ANOTHER NORRIS TROPHY POSSIBLE? Warren’s Piece: Ducks problems are polar opposite to Senators problems Overall, Karlsson has three goals and 35 assists, currently tied with injured Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot for fifth in scoring among NHL defencemen. It’s entirely possible Karlsson could vault all the way Ken Warren back to the top of the scoring race. He’s only nine points behind teammate Brent Burns.

It’s a stretch given his slow start to the season, but if Karlsson continues ANAHEIM — Randy Carlyle’s voice of frustration could be heard high up to pile up points, he will at least receive some consideration to win his in the seats at the Honda Centre early Tuesday afternoon. third Norris Trophy as top NHL defenceman. “This isn’t fudgin’ summer hockey,” the Anaheim Ducks coach said as his JUST LIKE HOFFMAN players didn’t complete a practice drill anywhere close to his satisfaction. Except, of course, that Carlyle didn’t say “fudgin’. ” Interestingly, Mike Hoffman, who was also traded from the Senators in the summer, also set a franchise-record point-scoring streak with the The Ducks have eyes on being legitimate Stanley Cup contenders and, Florida Panthers earlier this season, going 17 consecutive games with at only a few weeks back, they were in relatively sound position following an least one point. impressive 9-1-0 run. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.09.2019 All of that, however, has turned on its head as the Ducks’ sticks have suddenly gone cold. Just like the Ottawa Senators, they’ve lost eight consecutive games — a franchise record — and haven’t tasted victory since Dec. 17. WHERE ARE THE GOALS? Not all losing streaks are created equal. Unlike the Senators, whose problems are rooted in having their own net filled with pucks, the Ducks have managed to score only 11 goals in eight games. Part of that is due to injuries, including the knee injury that felled Corey Perry in training camp. But the way Carlyle was talking on Tuesday, it was also about not paying the price in the old-school fashion — going hard and then harder to the net for ugly goals. “Yes, we had a lot of shots,” Carlyle said of the 39 put on net in a 4-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. “But, again, their goaltender, (Cam) Talbot, got to see a lot of them. They had 24 blocked shots, we had 21 missed shots. We didn’t play a poor hockey game, but we didn’t create enough traffic, enough junk.” You will get no disagreement from Jakob Silfverberg, the one-time Senators prospect who was traded to the Ducks in the Bobby Ryan swap six years ago. “We were just not getting the second shot opportunities, the greasy goals to get us going,” said Silfverberg. HELPING GIBSON What’s particularly frustrating for the Ducks is that workhorse goaltender John Gibson has been lights-out, night after night. Gibson is near the top of the league in just about every major statistical category — including boasting a measly 2.60 goals-against average and a lofty .923 save percentage — but isn’t being supported offensively. “Any time you get great goaltending, you want to bring back something to those guys,” said Silfverberg. IN PRAISE OF JAROS Senators coach Guy Boucher is doing his best these days to talk up the rebuilding effort, to put as much emphasis as possible on his youth core. In that regard, defenceman Christian Jaros came up time and again as Boucher discussed the potential that lies ahead. “We know the situation we’re in,” he said. “It’s a rebuild that we’re in, with key injuries that have been tough for us. At the same time, it has given some guys room to grow. You look at Jaros. He was out best defenceman last game. That’s big. You wouldn’t have said that before the year started.” With Thomas Chabot out of the lineup, Jaros is seeing time on the power play. KARLSSON HEATING UP Remember that slow start by former Senators captain Erik Karlsson in San Jose? Forget about it. Karlsson is on the type of roll that Senators fans are all too familiar with, in the midst of a Sharks franchise-record 13- game point scoring streak. Beginning on Dec. 7, Karlsson has scored one goal and 21 assists. If he picks up a point on Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights, he’ll 1103693 Ottawa Senators Kiefer Sherwood-Carter Rowney-Brian Gibbons Andrew Cogliano-Ryan Kesler-Jakob Silfverberg Game Day: Ottawa Senators vs. Anaheim Ducks Adam Henrique-Nick Ritchie-Ondrej Kase Defencemen Ken Warren Jacob Larsson-Ben Street Cam Fowler-Josh Manson Ottawa Senators at Anaheim Ducks Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Montour Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET, Honda Center Goalies TV: TSN5, RDS. John Gibson Radio: TSN 1200 AM, Unique 94.5 FM. Chad Johnson Five Keys To The Game Sick Bay Hoping for something positive Corey Perry, Patrick Eaves, Ryan Miller Something has to give. In the misery loves company department, both THE KEY MATCHUP the Senators and Ducks have lost eight consecutive games. Jean-Gabriel Pageau vs. Ryan Getzlaf: So much for easing Pageau back Overcoming the absence of Duchene into the Senators’ lineup. Having played only one game since returning from his Achilles injury, Pageau steps into Matt Duchene’s spot in the With centre Matt Duchene at home awaiting the arrival of a baby, the lineup, with Bobby Ryan and Ryan Dzingel on his wings. Pageau will Senators offence takes a hit. Duchene has six goals and two assists in likely see plenty of ice time against Getzlaf, the Ducks captain. Like the his past eight games. rest of the team, Getzlaf has struggled offensively, but the return of Needing the big save winger Rickard Rakell from injury could provide a spark. Ever since Craig Anderson was sidelined by a concussion, a stream of Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.09.2019 Senators goaltenders — Mike McKenna, Marcus Hogberg and Anders Nilsson — have been unable to put a Band-Aid over the miscues in front of them. Nilsson will start against the Ducks. Defensive awareness In keeping with the Senators goaltending issues is the fact that teammates continue to cough up the puck. The largely inexperienced defence corps is showing its youth. Anger as a positive force Rather than turning the frustration of constant losing inwards, the Senators must channel their disappointment into a 60-minute effort. There haven’t been many games where they have been solid from start to finish. Special Teams Senators: PP 21.4 (12th), PK 73.8 (31st) Ducks: PP 14.9 (28th), PK 80.5 (13th) Rosters Senators Forwards Brady Tkachuk-Colin White-Mark Stone Ryan Dzingel-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Bobby Ryan Rudolfs Balcers-Chris Tierney-Mikkel Boedker Nick Paul-Zack Smith-Magnus Paajarvi Defencemen Max Lajoie-Cody Ceci Ben Harpur-Dylan DeMelo Mark Borowiecki-Christian Jaros Goalies Anders Nilsson Marcus Hogberg Sick Bay Craig Anderson, Thomas Chabot, Justin Falk, Marian Gaborik, Matt Duchene (personal) Ducks Forwards Rickard Rakell-Ryan Getzlaf-Daniel Sprong 1103694 Ottawa Senators concerns that Karlsson would balk at staying here long-term because of the continued presence of Eugene Melnyk weren’t well hidden.

Poor underlying metrics painted the picture of a team that was enjoying What the lack of contract talks with Matt Duchene says about the better results than they deserved. Senators organization Through the first 13 games of that season:

Rk By Graeme Nichols Jan 8, 2019 Record 6-2-5

CF% 45.62 30th When the calendar flipped to 2019, it was only a matter of time before the contract negotiations of Ottawa’s major impending unrestricted free FF% 48.59 21st agents turned into a national news item. SF% 49.46 15th Through the first three months of the season, there seemed to be an emphasis placed on the improved dynamics of the dressing room and on GF% 50.82 14th the outstanding performance of young players like Thomas Chabot, SCF% 47.43 25th Brady Tkachuk and Colin White. Sh% 9.66 9th The Senators did a fantastic job of channeling and shaping this positive narrative, but fans have always been mindful of the free agency situation Sv% 90.85 25th looming on the horizon that would ultimately need to be dealt with. Thanks to the glaring shortcomings on the roster (defence) and the Until there was some kind of resolution on the Mark Stone or Matt uncertainty presented by the contracts to the team’s best players, the red Duchene contract fronts, it felt like whatever kind of positive gains the flags against making this kind of franchise-altering deal were very, very Senators could make on or off the ice would eventually take a backseat real. to whatever negative publicity would come out of these contract negotiations. With five weeks remaining until the trade deadline, there is still time for the Senators to come to an agreement with their respective UFAs and Although there were a few positive pieces of information indicating that Duchene will allegedly sit down with his representatives in California the Senators were progressing in talks with Matt Duchene back in during the team’s west coast road trip. November, those talks have reportedly hit a snag. Given the team’s underwhelming performance and possibility that their During Saturday night’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Chris competitive window will likely not overlap with Duchene and Stone’s Johnston reported during the ‘Headlines’ segment that talks between the remaining prime years, no one could blame either player for wanting to Ottawa Senators and Duchene have “cooled off”. explore their options because the Senators are apparently exploring their own. “Well, the clock ticks toward Feb. 25th and the NHL trade deadline. And as it does so, it’s quite interesting that the talks between the Ottawa Elliott Friedman reported on Calgary’s Sportsnet 960 that the team’s Senators and Matt Duchene, their pending unrestricted free agent, scouts are doing their due diligence. appear to have cooled off. There doesn’t appear to be anything of substance here in recent times – no talks immediately scheduled in the “The one thing I have heard about Ottawa is that they are scouting like weeks ahead. Why this is interesting is because Ottawa has struggled crazy,’ Friedman said. “Their guys are traveling. They don’t have the having lost seven straight. Pierre Dorion, the general manager, obviously biggest staff, but those guys are really running around because if they doesn’t want to place any sort of deadline on when he needs an answer have to pull the trigger, they’ve got be prepared.” on Matt Duchene’s intentions and whether he’ll sign an extension. But, The Senators have to be prepared and inevitably, if the team has to clearly, as this slides along here, guys, we are looking at him as a move these two important pieces, they can sell it the same way they did potential target in that the trade deadline period and someone that the with the Erik Karlsson trade: under the disguise of the rebuild. Senators are going to have to make a decision on. I don’t get the sense from Duchene’s side that they’re in any rush to make that kind of Marketing the moves as a rebuild sells hope for the future and allows decision.” fans to become invested in the returning presumably young and emerging talent. And even if it makes sense for the 31st ranked Senators The Senators have had the opportunity to negotiate with Duchene since to put their soon to be 28-year-old centre on the trade block rather than July 1, but with the Feb. 25 trade deadline just weeks away, they are lock him to an extension, the perception isn’t so much that the team is running out of racetrack to come to terms on a deal. interested in stockpiling young assets, it’s that the decision to rebuild is When Dorion discussed the Erik Karlsson trade on TSN 1200 in fuelled principally by a desire to cut costs to the player budget. September, he explained that he understood the need for a deal based As devastating as an inability or unwillingness to give players like Stone on the lack of discussion between him and Karlsson’s representatives. and Duchene the lockout-proof bonus laden deals that comparable “All we can tell you is that under Bryan Murray, I was very fortunate to do players have signed recently is, it will be worse if the players decide to a lot of contract negotiations,” Dorion said. “As general manager, I’ve move on due to a lack of confidence in the organization’s ability to done a lot of contract negotiations. When there’s so little talk when you’re develop a winner. trying to negotiate with a player, you know that you’re not going to get a And if that happens, it is sheer organizational incompetence. contract done.” The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 It remains to be seen whether the lack of dialogue will force Dorion’s hand, but between that and the possibility of an injury, the general manager has put himself in a difficult spot of his own volition. When the Senators acquired Duchene, they did so knowing full well of the contractual predicament that they not only faced with him, but with the limited controllable years belonging to Karlsson and Stone. Karlsson, Stone and Duchene were only under team control through the 2018-19 season, so it put a tremendous amount of pressure on the organization to keep this trio together. Now there’s a good chance that the Senators could lose all three. Ownership deserves blame for following through on its threats to cut payroll last December at the NHL 100 Classic. Management and the hockey operations department deserves a ton of blame for failing to put their finger on the pulse of Karlsson’s intentions. In a vacuum, the trade was defensible, but no one needed revisionist history to understand the very real concerns at the time of the deal. The 1103695 Philadelphia Flyers found Voracek, who ripped a one-timer from the high slot past Pheonix Copley, the latest backup goalie to beat the Flyers.

In the first period, the Flyers' passing was much crisper and the Flyers' spiral continues as they fall to Capitals, 5-3, for 8th straight defeat forecheck more active than in Monday’s listless 3-0 home loss to St. Louis. They had an 11-4 shots advantage in the opening period. by Sam Carchidi, “In the first, we had a great answer to their first goal, and I thought we had some momentum, and the second period got us again‚” said defenseman Radko Gudas, who had four hits, including a jarring check on Nic Dowd that triggered Gudas’ fight with Devante Smith-Pelly. “We WASHINGTON -- The Flyers set an NHL record Tuesday night at Capital can’t just be throwing pucks away. It’s really frustrating.” One Arena. Carter Hart, who has a 2.68 goals-against average and .909 save The bad news: It was an unwanted record -- seven goalies used in a percentage in seven starts, is expected to return to the nets Thursday team’s first 43 games. against visiting Dallas. The worse news: The new goalie, the well-traveled Mike McKenna, Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.09.2019 couldn’t stop the Flyers' spiral as they lost their eighth straight, falling to the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, 5-3, at Capital One Arena. McKenna, 35, played decently as he became the seventh Flyers goalie to perform this season. The St. Louis native stopped 21 of 25 shots and allowed one bad goal as the Flyers fell to 0-6-2 in their last eight games. The longest winless streak in franchise history is 12 straight (0-8-4) in 1999. “He made some big saves and bailed us out,” center Sean Couturier said. “It just sucks that we gave up some easy chances against him, like that breakaway goal -- a stupid play from me and G [Claude Giroux that led to the chance]. Those are the kind of mistakes that are kind of haunting us right now. We’re forcing things and it’s not going our way.” Washington’s T.J. Oshie and Jakub Vrana (two goals, assist) scored a little over two minutes apart in the second period, turning a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead. Oshie scored on a deflection. Vrana outraced Couturier and beat McKenna on a breakaway. “I didn’t think we gave up a lot, but what we gave up was wrong. It shouldn’t happen,” interim coach Scott Gordon said. “We gave up enough of those wrong plays that they were able to cash in.” Vrana made it 4-1 on McKenna’s misplay, firing a pass from the goal line that caromed off the goalie’s pads and into the net while the Caps were on a power play. The Caps outscored the Flyers, 3-0, in the middle period. “The second period, we just stopped skating,” Flyers winger Jake Voracek said. “You play 40 minutes, you’re not going to win many games.” The Flyers have been outscored by a 15-1 second-period margin during their eight-game losing streak. With their goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Wayne Simmonds scored his 200th goal as a Flyer, cutting the deficit to 4-2 with 3:27 left in regulation, and Giroux made it 4-3 with 6.7 seconds left. Oshie added an empty-net goal with 2.1 seconds to go. The Flyers outshot the Caps by 40-26, dominated the faceoff circle by winning 70 percent of the draws, and had a 23-15 advantage in hits. But when the outcome was still in doubt, the offense struggled to finish. Again. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot,” Couturier said. Only three other teams in NHL history have ever used seven goalies in a season. No team has ever used eight. “I felt like myself. You just try to get your bearings a little bit and sort things out, but hockey is hockey,” McKenna said. “It definitely wasn’t my best game.” McKenna especially didn’t like Vrana’s pass that turned into a bad-angle goal, giving the Caps a 4-1 lead. “I went to rotate back to get to the backdoor shot, and the pass went right through my crease and I turned it right into my own net, off the bottom of my pad," he said. “I didn’t get rotated quick enough there. I scored on myself.” The Caps scored on their first shot after a defensive breakdown gave them a two-on-one. Tom Wilson got behind defenseman Ivan Provorov and converted a goal-mouth pass from Vrana, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead with 15:39 left in the first. A little more than five minutes later, the Flyers answered. Oskar Lindblom intercepted Michal Kempny’s pass, sped into the offensive zone and 1103696 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers' offensive problems stem from a lack of execution, not Scott Gordon’s system by Sam Carchidi,

WASHINGTON -- Adapting to interim coach Scott Gordon’s new system hasn’t been the main reason the Flyers entered Tuesday with just seven goals in the last six games, most players said. Gordon agreed. “There’s a lot of things going on in a lot of heads," Gordon said before the Flyers faced the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals on Tuesday. "Sometimes it’s your own personal success and failures. Sometimes it can be contracts. Sometimes it can be who you’re playing with on any given night. It’s not so much about systems because that’s the one thing I did when I came in -- I didn’t want to overload them with a bunch of changes.” In other words, a lack of execution has been the main cause for just four even-strength goals in their last six games before Tuesday. On the other side of the puck, Gordon said he made “a couple tweaks in the defensive zone, and we’ve been doing well with that. ... Our defensive-zone coverage has been [good]. Our biggest failure has been of the rush. That’s an area we need to get better at.” McKenna in nets Mike McKenna, 35, made his Flyers debut Tuesday, and he has been on the roster of nine NHL teams, including two (Florida and Vancouver) for which he never played a game. McKenna has played games with Tampa Bay, New Jersey, Columbus, Arizona, Dallas, Ottawa, and the Flyers. Entering the night, McKenna had played in 34 NHL games since being drafted by Nashville in 2002, and he had a 7-16-3 record, a 3.58 goals- against average, and an .892 save percentage. Gordon said he didn’t want to play 20-year-old rookie Carter Hart three games in four nights, which is why he turned to McKenna. Penalty-kill improvement The Flyers' penalty kill, which was at the bottom of the league earlier this season, has made major strides in the last six weeks. Entering Tuesday, the PK had killed 83.3 percent of its penalties in the last 20 games, placing it 10th in the NHL in that span. Breakaways Washington’s Alex Ovechkin had 30 goals entering Monday’s game, which was more than the combined total (27) of Michael Raffl (two), Nolan Patrick (five), Scott Laughton (seven), Oskar Lindblom (four), James van Riemsdyk (six), and Jordan Weal (three). ... Weal was a scratch, and Phil Varone came back into the lineup. ... Lindblom began the night goal-less in his last 26 games, and Patrick was goal-less in 21 straight. ... Travis Sanheim played more than 20 minutes in two of his first 31 games this season but averaged 21:42 of ice time in his next 11 games. ... Not aware a mic was live, Flyers broadcasters Jim Jackson and Keith Jones had their negative (supposedly) off-air comments about the team and some players picked up in a Scandinavian feed Monday. The comments took on a life of their own on Twitter. Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103697 Philadelphia Flyers The Flyers lost their seventh straight game Monday, and only two have been losses in overtime. That means only two points, a descent toward the basement of the NHL, and talk of tanking once again to position for Flyers-Blues observations: Time for change, but no quick fix top prospect Jack Hughes. That’s especially so given the torrid schedule before their Jan. 20 bye week. The Flyers have six games before then, and there are so many by Sam Donnellon, problems for Gordon to fix, beginning with confidence. This should actually be encouraging if you are already in tank mode. But if you own tickets to any remaining home game, it kind of stinks. The Flyers were blanked by the St. Louis Blues, 3-0, Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Here are five takeaways: Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.09.2019 New coach starting to sound like old coach Scott Gordon will never be confused with Dave Hakstol. His answers to questions often offer more than what was asked, but as the explanations for breakdowns begin to mount, so does the repetitiveness of those answers. So it was a little eerie to hear the interim coach praise another obscure goaltender’s effort, this time St. Louis’s Jordan Binnington, as he detailed the roots of another Flyers loss. ``We seem to get every goaltender’s best,’’ Gordon said. ``Now is that because the goalies for the other teams are playing that much better against us, or is it because we’re not doing enough things as far as creating traffic.’’ Neither, at least to me. The Flyers, almost to a man (we’ll get to the exception later), are so deep into their heads that the natural skill set each used to reach this level has been put on a two-second pause. Close-range shots miss the net by feet, not inches. Passes routinely made and caught instead go wide or over sticks. Doubt leads to tentativeness and a lack of aggression. ``I think we turned down some shots there,’’ Wayne Simmonds said afterward. ``And a goalie’s first start, you want to shoot and keep going — pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure on him. We didn’t do that.’’ Carter Hart: the irony of it all Hart has already had the dreaded off night in the NHL that was supposed to carve at his confidence, the reason for the reluctance to push him into the league with minimal AHL exposure. He bounced right back from that start in Carolina, and has been the lone beacon of hope that the Flyers can at least return to a level of respectability in the final three months of this season. ``He’s tough mentally,’’ Simmonds said. ``You can tell that. He gives up a goal, he’s right back in there, makes the next big save for us. Gives us a chance every single night he’s played for us. We’ve got to take it upon us, guys playing in front of him, to be better for him.’’ Confidence game ``There’s no jam to our game,’’ Scott Laughton said. ``We’re one and done every time we get in the zone.’’ That wasn’t as true in their close losses as it was in Monday’s clunker, but if this streak has been marked by anything, it is that. There have been countless pucks kicked right out into the slot by these backup goalies, with no Flyer even in sight. The Flyers earned only one power play against St. Louis, a team that ranks 19th in penalty minutes. ``We’ve had a minimum amount of power plays since I’ve been here,’’ Gordon said. ``We haven’t had a lot of opportunities. We had the one tonight, and it was only for 30 seconds. Usually if you’re outworking the team, there becomes some desperation. You put them in a situation where they feel they need to take a penalty, and we certainly didn’t do enough of that tonight.’’ Time for change Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher was out of town for what is described as scouting issues, which gives you an idea where his efforts are being directed. No one has said it yet, but it seems clear that the playoffs he and those who hired him thought still to be obtainable are not. Which should mean a steady stream of players stockpiled down at Lehigh Valley heading this way over the next three months, starting with Philippe Myers, who appeared poised to make this team until a late blip in camp. Sam Morin is also expected to begin rehabbing soon. Nicolas Aube- Kubel, Mikhail Vorobyev, Mark Friedman, Carson Twarynski, and Mike Vecchione all should be given looks, if for no other reason than to use them as ``assets’’ in future deals. No quick fix 1103698 Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.09.2019

Unlucky No. 7: A quick look at the Flyers and the other teams that have gone through seven goalies by Nick Tricome,

The Flyers’ long run of goalie issues have been at their worst this season. With Mike McKenna’s start in Washington on Tuesday, he became the seventh goaltender to play for the Flyers in the 2018-19 campaign, tying an NHL record reached by just three other teams (the 2007-08 Los Angeles Kings, the 2002-03 St. Louis Blues and the 1989-90 Quebec Nordiques). It’s not exactly a record you want attached to your club’s name, especially when the Flyers reached it just over halfway through the season. It isn’t one that bodes well for playoff hopes either, as the 2002- 2003 Blues are the only ones to have made postseason despite their instability in goal. Injuries, quick-fix waiver claims and call-ups and the sooner-than- expected arrival of Carter Hart have led the Flyers to this point. Here’s how they compare to the other three teams that had to use just as many goalies... 2018-2019 Philadelphia Flyers 15-22-6 (36 points), 8th in Metropolitan Division The Flyers' goaltending statistics following Tuesday's loss to Washington. PHILLY.COM The Flyers' goaltending statistics following Tuesday's loss to Washington. Of note... The Flyers have allowed the third most goals in the NHL (155) following Tuesday’s loss. 2007-2008 Los Angeles Kings 32-43-7 (71 points), 5th in Pacific Division, missed playoffs The Los Angeles Kings' goaltending statistics for the 2007-08 season. PHILLY.COM The Los Angeles Kings' goaltending statistics for the 2007-08 season. Of note... Jonathan Quick, at 21 years old, made his debut in an 8-2 win over Buffalo on Dec. 6, 2007. He stopped 15 of 17 shots, but would only appear in two more games for the 2007-08 campaign. He started in half the Kings' games the next season and emerged as their full-time starter going forward. Los Angeles gave up 263 goals, the third most in the NHL for the year. 2002-2003 St. Louis Blues 41-24-11-6 (99 points), 2nd in Central Division, made playoffs (lost first round to Vancouver in seven games) The St. Louis Blues' goaltending statistics for the 2002-03 season. PHILLY.COM The St. Louis Blues' goaltending statistics for the 2002-03 season. 1989-90 Quebec Nordiques 12-61-7 (31 points), 5th in Adams Division, missed playoffs The Quebec Nordiques' goaltending statistics for the 1989-90 season. PHILLY.COM / PHILLY.COM The Quebec Nordiques' goaltending statistics for the 1989-90 season. Of note... Quebec allowed 407 goals that season, the most in the NHL. Flyers interim coach Scott Gordon played 10 of his 23 NHL games for the Nordiques that season. He has a career .830 save percentage and a 5.60 goals against average. 1103699 Philadelphia Flyers “We just had a brutal second period,″ he acknowledged. “I think over the last few years, even this year, we were good in the second period. And now we’re just getting steamrolled. I don’t know why. Mistakes costly as Flyers’ winless streak reaches 8 “We’re getting outplayed in the second period. We were a good second period team the first 20 games, now we’re getting blown out of the building.″ By Wayne Fish / www.flyingfishhockey.com Wayne Simmonds scored in the closing minutes to close the deficit to two goals, then Claude Giroux scored with 6.7 seconds to play. But it wasn’t enough as Olshie scored with 2.1 seconds to play into an empty WASHINGTON — Here’s what happens when bad teams do bad things: Flyers’ net. The puck winds up in the back of their net. Once again, the lack of a consistent push on an opponent’s net made it Proof of this was on display at the Capital One Arena on Tuesday night in easy for the goaltender to stop Philadelphia’s sporadic offense. the nation’s capital. As previously mentioned, Gordon thinks the Flyers might be a bit The Flyers made periodic mistakes against the defending Stanley Cup distracted and that can’t happen. champion Capitals and nearly all of them proved costly. “There’s a lot of things going on in a lot of heads,″ Gordon said. Typifying this mess was a botched handoff play between Sean Couturier “Sometimes it’s their own personal successes and failures. Sometimes it and Claude Giroux in the second period. can be contracts, sometimes it can be who you are playing with on any given night. Couturier made too soft a pass at the defending blue line, Jakub Vrana intercepted and raced the length of the ice to score his first of two goals “To me, it’s not so much about systems. That’s one thing I didn’t want to in the game, handing the Capitals a 3-1 lead on the way to a 5-3 defeat do when I came here, I didn’t want to overload them with a bunch of of Philadelphia. changes. We haven’t been getting scored on off defensive coverages. Our biggest failure has been off the rush. That’s an area we need to get That loss extended the Flyers’ winless streak to eight games (0-6-2). better at.″ They have not won a game since defeating the New York Rangers two days before Christmas. After the game, Gordon talked about that awful second period. The Flyers’ team record for longest winless streak is 12 (0-8-4) set back “Up until the second goal, I didn’t think we gave up a lot but what we in 1999. gave up was wrong,″ he said. “It shouldn’t happen. We gave up enough of those wrong plays that they were able to cash in.″ Last year the Flyers endured a 10-game (0-5-5) winless streak but still managed to make the playoffs. Burlington County Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 Defenseman Radko Gudas said this current streak might be worse because in last year’s streak, at least the Flyers were generating some points. “Last year we had a 10-game losing streak but I don’t think it was as bad as it is right now,″ he said. “It’s going to take a lot to get out of it, for sure. “We have to be managing the pucks better. We can’t just be throwing the pucks away. It costs us goals. It’s really frustrating.″ Before the game, coach Scott Gordon said the Flyers might be overthinking the whole situation during games, worrying about things like contracts and personal stats. Couturier said he isn’t concerned about off-ice matters but maybe some people are. “We’re forcing things now and it’s not going our way,″ he said. “I can’t talk for other guys. It seems like every night we have some guys off, we don’t have everyone going at the same time. “We need to start looking at ourselves in the mirror and show up to the rink ready to play and do your own responsibility and do whatever you can to help the team win. Maybe some guys are thinking about it (contracts, personal stats). But we have to think team first for sure.″ The Flyers managed to hold the Capitals to a 1-1 tie in the first period, mainly because they allowed only four shots on newly acquired (off waivers) goalie Mike McKenna. Tom Wilson’s goal at 4:21 gave Washington a 1-0 lead but Jake Voracek responded with a goal at 9:28 to tie the score. On the play, defenseman Michal Kempny’s ill-advised cross-ice pass was picked off by Oskar Lindblom. He set up Voracek for a shot past goaltender Pheonix Copley. It was a much different story in the second period as the Capitals scored three unanswered goals, including the pair by Vrana. T.J. Oshie scored at 9:19 to make it 2-1 Washington. Oshie stood in the slot and tipped Lars Eller’s shot past McKenna. After the first Vrana goal at 11:22, he struck again at 15:55. This time, his shot from just along the goal line found its way through McKenna’s pads and the outcome was essentially decided. “It wasn’t my best game, I don’t think,″ McKenna said. On the fourth goal, he added: “I just didn’t get rotated quick enough. The shot hit my pad. I scored on myself.″ The Flyers have been plagued by bad second periods in recent games and Voracek doesn’t have an explanation. 1103700 Philadelphia Flyers

Mike McKenna makes history by becoming 7th Flyer goalie this season

By Wayne Fish / www.flyingfishhockey.com

WASHINGTON — It’s not exactly the sort of history the Flyers were hoping to make but circumstances dictated otherwise. Mike McKenna drew the start in goal for the Flyers in Tuesday night’s game against Washington, making him the seventh goaltender to suit up for Philadelphia this season. That’s the most the franchise has ever dressed and it comes in just the 43rd game of the season. Plus, it’s the ninth NHL team McKenna has been affiliated with in a journeyman career. Coach Scott Gordon indicated he wanted to give McKenna (who was claimed off waivers last Friday) some work, plus rookie Carter Hart had played Monday night in a 3-0 loss to St. Louis at the Wells Fargo Center. “Three games in four days and the way the schedule sets up from here to the (All-Star) break,″ said Gordon, mindful that Hart had also played in Thursday night’s loss to Carolina. “It’s every other day. When you look for an opportunity, this is probably it.″ Gordon was asked for a scouting report on McKenna, who had played in 10 games this season with a 1-4-1 record and 3.96 goals-against average. “He competes and he battles,″ Gordon said. “I think when you play for as long as he has, that’s something that people appreciate ... that you bring you practice every day. “Obviously, it’s a great opportunity for him. We just have to go out and play well in front of him.″ Gordon held a lengthy pre-game meeting to go over some things, trying to straighten out what went wrong in the St. Louis game. “We talked about expectations and where we failed in the game last night,″ he said. “For me, it wasn’t a game about Xs and Os. They made their share of turnovers; we just didn’t do enough with our play away from the puck. “All those areas that don’t show up on the stat sheet. When you play well, you seem to that more consistently.″ Gudas having best year While the Flyers have been spiraling downward, defenseman Radko Gudas remains a model of consistency. Entering the game, Gudas led the team in plus-minus (plus-6). He’s also been a good mentor for youngsters like Robert Hagg, Travis Sanheim and even Samuel Morin, who’s on the mend from ACL surgery. Gudas said he’s made a more concerted effort to stay out of trouble (he was suspended in each of the past two seasons) and had only 10 penalty minutes in the first 20 games of this campaign. “The last two years I’ve been suspended,″ he said before the Capitals game at Capital One Arena. “I didn’t enjoy that time and the team needed me. I didn’t want to be in those shoes again. “I didn’t change anything training-wise last summer but I tried to get my head more in the game than I did last year. We’re not doing well as a team right now but I’m trying to be the best that I can for the team.″ Gudas has been paired with Shayne Gostisbehere of late but also worked with the other aforementioned youngsters. He leads by example. His positioning this season has been excellent. That’s part of the plus-6. “For me, I don’t want to be the guy that gets scored on,″ he said. “For me, getting scored on is one of the worst things, one of the worst feelings you can get. “I’m trying to work my butt off defensively. I don’t want to say those (young) guys are looking up to me, but I have to be that veteran presence. Calm the other guys down. If I can lead by example, I’ll be more than happy to help them out.″ Burlington County Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103701 Philadelphia Flyers

Capitals 5, Flyers 3: No. 7 goalie Mike McKenna can't prevent 8th straight loss

By John Boruk January 08, 2019

WASHINGTON — The tortuous feel of an eight-game losing streak now has some Capital punishment attached to it. With the Flyers facing the defending Stanley Cup champions for the first time this season, the Capitals proved too much Tuesday night in a 5-3 decision. The Flyers matched an NHL record by starting their seventh different goaltender. How did Mike McKenna fare in his Flyers debut? Here are my observations from Capital One Arena: • This was one of the more uptempo first periods the Flyers have played recently, outshooting the Capitals 20-8 in attempts. The one breakdown was how the Flyers allowed Jakub Vrana to rip down the left side before his lead pass to Tom Wilson led to an unstoppable goal. Perhaps underestimating Vrana’s speed, defenseman Travis Sanheim simply can’t get turned around like that, and Ivan Provorov allowed Wilson to slide underneath him. TOM WILSON SLAMS HOME JAKUB VRANA'S BEAUTIFUL DISH!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/eJr1GCYs5y — Hockey Daily (@HockeyDaily365) January 9, 2019 Since he was paired with Provorov, Sanheim has started strong but I feel his play, most notably his positioning, has dropped over his last six games in which he’s now a minus-7. I can’t help but wonder with the uptick in minutes, coupled with defending a top-two line, if Sanheim has allowed some bad habits to creep back into his game. • The Capitals' second line of Vrana-Lars Eller-T.J. Oshie was the line that gave the Flyers the most trouble, scoring Washington’s first two goals. To give you an idea of how deep the Caps are within their forwards, Eller would typically center Washington’s third line, but he was forced to move up with Nicklas Backstrom, Washington’s second-leading scorer, out with an injury. • The usually responsible Sean Couturier was caught in a very high-risk situation trying to leave the puck for Claude Giroux just inside the blue line when Vrana picked off the pass and, with his acceleration, there was no one capable of catching up to him. You would like a momentum save from McKenna, but given the speed Vrana brought on that breakaway, that was a tough stop to make. That’s been a big issue for the Flyers over the course of their losing streak is that their star players have been far from good. • I can give McKenna a pass on the first three Capitals goals, but Vrana’s second goal, the power-play goal, is inexcusable. That’s a sharp-angled shot that McKenna can’t let slide between his pads. It’s maddening to see the Flyers allow a power-play goal to a Washington team that had gone 1 for 31 over its last 10 games on the man advantage. Jakub Vrana has his third-career two-goal game after passing the puck into the net on the PP. It's his 14th goal of the season. 4-1 Caps. pic.twitter.com/fIMetlFcoh — Ian Oland (@ianoland) January 9, 2019 Overall, McKenna gave the Flyers an honest effort in his team debut on a night when they needed exceptional play against some of Washington’s quality scoring chances. • It’s hard to not take offense at how the physicality of hockey has evolved. Radko Gudas levels Capitals center Nic Dowd with a perfectly- timed hip check, and then he’s immediately confronted by Washington’s Devante Smith-Pelly, who dropped the gloves with Gudas over a legal, and well-executed hip check. Frankly, players just don’t want to get hit unnecessarily without taking offense. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103702 Philadelphia Flyers What hasn’t helped offensively is the team’s struggles on the power play. Washington has only one power-play goal on its last 31 opportunities.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 What Flyers fans should know about the Washington Capitals

By JJ Regan | NBC Sports Washington January 08, 2019

The Flyers have played 42 games, more than half the season, and have not yet played the defending Stanley Cup champions once. That will finally change Tuesday as the Flyers visit the Capitals. There has been no shortage of news out of Philadelphia this season with the firing of general manager Ron Hextall, the firing of head coach Dave Hakstol, a never-ending goalie carousel and the Flyers’ precipitous drop to last place in the Metropolitan Division. With everything that has gone on this season, Flyers fans may not have been able to turn their attention away from Philadelphia and may not know much about this year’s Caps team. With both teams renewing their acquaintance Tuesday, here are three things Flyers fans should know about the Capitals. 1. There’s a new man behind the bench Barry Trotz led Washington to its first Stanley Cup in 2018 but resigned soon after when he and the team could not come to an agreement over a contract extension. As a result, the Cup champions were handed over to associate coach Todd Reirden, whose only head coaching experience was in the AHL. Don’t expect to see a new-look Capitals team Tuesday, however. Schematically, Washington does not look too different except on the penalty kill, which has gotten more aggressive. Reirden has largely taken an “if it ain’t broke” approach to the season, so this team plays a similar style and has the same top three lines and top two defensive pairings from last year’s Cup run. Reiden’s first season will ultimately be judged by what he can do in the postseason, but the early returns look pretty good. The Caps sit in first place of the Metropolitan Division midway through the season despite a number of challenges Reirden has had to navigate including the dreaded Cup hangover, a lengthy suspension to Tom Wilson and a number of injuries. At no point this season has Reirden had his full lineup available to him and yet Washington is 25-12-4 through 41 games with a two-point lead and a game in hand over second-place Pittsburgh. 2. Wilson brings a lot more than just big hits Wilson has become one of the most polarizing players in the league. He is beloved in Washington, but outside of Caps’ country, he is reviled. If you think there’s nothing more to him than just big hits and controversy, however, you’re in for a rude awakening. Wilson has played in only 22 of Washington’s 41 games this season after missing 16 because of an early suspension and another three because of a concussion. Yet, he sits tied for second on the team with 12 goals. He is averaging 1.85 goals per 60 minutes, tying him with some top offensive players around the NHL such as David Pastrnak, Steven Stamkos and Cam Atkinson. That also puts him ahead of others such as Joe Pavelski (1.79), Johnny Gaudreau (1.73) and Connor McDavid (1.54). If he were a Flyer, Wilson would easily be leading the team. Sean Couturier and Wayne Simonds are currently tied for the top goals per 60 rate in Philadelphia at only 1.03. 3. The offense has suddenly gone cold The Flyers will be playing the second leg of a back-to-back Tuesday, meaning the team will have to choose between starting 20-year-old Carter Hart in net for the second time in as many nights or making Mike McKenna — claimed off waivers only Friday — the seventh goalie to play for it this season. Neither choice is ideal, especially when facing a team that boasts offensive superstars like Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The good news for the Flyers is that they may be catching Washington at a good time as the Caps’ top offensive playmakers have suddenly grown cold. Ovechkin still leads the league in goals with 30, but he has scored only once in the last nine games. Both Backstrom and Kuznetsov saw their last goal come on Dec. 2 and Kuznetsov has only one even-strength goal this season. T.J. Oshie has scored twice in the past 12 games, but you have to go all the way back to Nov. 13 for his last even-strength goal. 1103703 Philadelphia Flyers “Yeah, I went to rotate to get to the back-door shot and the pass went right through my crease,” McKenna said. “I turned it right into my own net. It went off the bottom of my pad. I just didn’t get rotated quick Flyers 5 takeaways: Losing streak hits 8 in Washington enough there. I don’t know if the pass was exactly where he wanted it to go but it was in the perfect spot that I caught it rotating trying to get to the back door and scored on myself.” Dave Isaac, NHL writer Published 11:30 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019 McKenna said that by nature of the goalie position he had to take on a more vocal role with his new teammates even though he doesn’t know all their nicknames yet. He wanted to make sure he understood what the team’s calls were so he could at least yell those to his new teammates. WASHINGTON — The thing about the Washington Generals was that they were supposed to be the punching bag. “I don’t think he was under a lot of duress,” Gordon said when asked to assess his new goalie. “Obviously they had a shift in the third period but It was a comedy of errors that turned their games into losses and nothing there wasn’t much in the third period. Second period there was obviously ever went their way. It was scripted. It was theater. some time spent in our zone, at least that one shift, but the quality of The Flyers weren’t supposed to be the punching bag. chances they had — and I don’t think they had a lot — they were some tough ones.” Since they’re feeling like one, everyone else looks like the Harlem Globetrotters. Tuesday night it was at least a team that could properly It’s all (well, at least mostly) in their head play the part, the reigning champion Capitals, who beat the Flyers 5-3. Monday night the Flyers looked flat-out lethargic against the lowly St. Put another tally in the loss column because the streak has hit eight. This Louis Blues. No one was happy with the effort, although they couched it one, however, did show way more signs of life than a listless loss to the by calling it “execution” instead. They didn’t have it and it was very St. Louis Blues Monday night. The frustrations remained despite a late evident on the ice. push in the third period. Gordon has now been on the job for three weeks and counting. He’s had “We’ve got to win the game. It’s not that hard,” Jake Voracek said. “I only four practices and hasn’t done much in terms of installing a new mean, it is hard right now for us but it has to end. We’ve just got to get on playbook. But he can tell that the problems are widespread. a roll. We need to stop it. When you play 40 minutes, you’re not gonna “I think the biggest thing is you’re looking at there’s a lot of things going win many games. I mean if you play 40 great and 20 good, maybe you on in a lot of heads,” he said before the game. “Sometimes it’s your own have a chance, but if you play 40 good and 20 absolutely brutal like we personal success and failures. Sometimes it can be contracts. did again, we have no chance.” Sometimes it can maybe be who you’re playing with on any given night “Obviously we put up a lot of shots tonight,” said interim coach Scott but to me it’s not so much about systems because that’s one thing I did Gordon. The Flyers put 40 shots on Pheonix Copley, their fifth-highest when I came here. I didn’t want to overload them with a bunch of total this season. “We didn’t give up a lot of shots (26). Right now, changes.” tonight’s biggest concern is the mistakes that we made were really bad Strange late play and you can’t expect your goaltender…let’s just say they had 13 or 14 Grade-A scoring chances, they can’t be of the quality. It’s one thing if the It sure looked like Tom Wilson scored an empty-net goal to make it 5-2 shots are coming from the top of the circle but if it’s a breakaway and if with 2:01 left in the game. Gordon challenged that the play was offside it’s a guy standing alone at the netfront, that’s an issue.” and he won that challenge. The end result was Shayne Gostisbehere in the penalty box because it was deemed that he hooked Wilson to make Once again, the Flyers go big with their miscues. him go offside. One in particular was at the Washington blue line when Sean Couturier Wayne Simmonds, who scored a goal late in the third to make it a 4-2 tried to hand off to Claude Giroux and instead Jakub Vrana got a stick on game, got tossed with a 10-minute misconduct after he was screaming at it and went the other way for a breakaway and his 13th goal of the the officials. season. “Well apparently (the referee’s) arm was up,” Gordon said. “I was told his That’s a play that usually has a pretty high success rate, but these days arm was up so once his arm goes up the penalty still happens. He gave everything that can go wrong for the Flyers does. me a correlation to a situation on a goal and a penalty. I think it would be “Stupid play from me and G and those are the kind of mistakes that are similar to — I’m guessing, I don’t know this for a fact — let’s suppose haunting us right now,” Couturier said. “We’re forcing things and it’s not Ghost did something like really bad, like he two-handed him and hurt the going our way. We just need to be better.” guy or whatever. Even though it’s offside, he’s gonna serve that penalty, right? So I don’t know if that’s what the correlation is. The penalty, it Here are four more takeaways from Tuesday night’s game… doesn’t logically make sense because technically the whistle should have blown before Ghost actually hooked him so that’s all I can tell you.” Second-period curse Courier-Post LOADED: 01.09.2019 During the course of this eight-game losing streak, the Flyers have been outscored a whopping 15-1 in the middle frame. For the season they have been outscored 54-29 in the second period and 54 is the third most goals given up in the second period by an NHL team. “Lately we just have a brutal second period for some kind of reason,” Voracek said. “I think over the last few years, even this year, we were very good in the second periods goalwise and now we’re just getting steamrolled over. I don’t know why. “We were in the games last year (during a 10-game losing streak). This year we absolutely are getting outplayed every second period. I don’t know why. It’s not right. Like I said, we were a good second-period team the first 20 games. All of a sudden we’re getting blown out of the building.” McKenna’s debut better than his stat line By Mike McKenna getting the nod in goal, the Flyers tied an NHL record in using seven goalies in a season. He only joined the team Friday when they claimed him off waivers and really didn’t get there until Saturday morning to meet everyone so he is definitely new to both the team and the situation. He stopped 21 of 25 shots he faced and the one he wanted back most was the fourth one, where Jakub Vrana attempted to pass to Alex Ovechkin on the power play and instead it went in the net. 1103704 Philadelphia Flyers

Should Carter Hart be shielded from Flyers’ losing environment?

Dave Isaac, NHL writer Published 6:27 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2019

WASHINGTON — There’s no place Carter Hart would rather be, which makes all the sense in the world. The 20-year-old goalie, like all 20-year- old hotshot prospects, wants to be in the big show. Considering the Flyers have had four goalies get hurt and they lost Cal Pickard on waivers, Hart’s time came earlier than expected in a season that looked so promising in September and quickly became disastrous. Of course, Hart doesn’t want to be in a losing situation and the Flyers don’t want him developing in a scenario where losing has become the norm. “I think he’s done well,” Wayne Simmonds said Monday night, struggling to find answers after the Flyers lost a seventh straight game. “He’s tough mentally. I think you can tell that with the way he plays. If he gives up a goal he’s right back in there and makes the next save. He gives us a chance every single night that he plays for us. We’ve got to take it upon ourselves, the guys who are playing in front of him to be better for him.” “A lot of these games where…one or two steps going our way…we’re not far off,” Hart pleaded. “I know it doesn’t look like that, but if you look at our most recent games, we’re not far off and there were games where we definitely deserved better fates and I think we just have to keep working it and stick to our game and just compete.” The question is how much longer Hart gets that chance. Both general manager Chuck Fletcher and interim coach Scott Gordon, who has been behind the bench for every one of Hart’s professional games, seemed reluctant to say that Hart should be in the NHL when the Flyers recalled him out of necessity on Dec. 17. Outside of one poor game where he allowed three goals on 10 shots on New Year’s Eve against the Carolina Hurricanes, Hart has answered the bell. In his first seven games, Hart had a .909 save percentage. Only Elliott, who had a .911 save percentage in 14 games, performed better. His mental strength, which the Flyers have lauded since selecting him in the second round of the 2016 draft, suggests that he can handle being on a team that lacks confidence and victories. “I think as long as he’s playing well, that shouldn’t bother him,” Gordon said. “Obviously I know he’s thrilled about the opportunity. Other than the Carolina game where he got pulled, he’s given us a chance to win and we just gotta do a better job of getting him some offense.” Fletcher has been trying to learn the franchise on the fly and hasn’t been physically with the team on a daily basis as things like scouting meetings and the World Junior Championship transpired. Hart’s immediate future must be on his short list of concerns, however. Now that he’s gotten his feet wet in the NHL, is Hart better served getting experience on a team that is so far out of playoff contention that they aren’t concerned with the number, or would he be better off back with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms trying to win an American Hockey League title? Tuesday, Hart got the day off after playing Monday and making 34 saves in a loss to the St. Louis Blues. Mike McKenna, whom the Flyers picked up off waivers Friday from the Vancouver Canucks, got the start against the defending champion Washington Capitals. “Three games in four days and then the way the way the schedule sets up from here to the break, it’s every other day,” Gordon explained. “When you look for an opportunity (to get Hart rest) this is probably it.” Hart will likely be back between the pipes Thursday against the Dallas Stars. Until the Flyers either acquire an eighth goalie this season or one of the three injured ones returns, it would appear as though Hart is the Flyers’ No. 1 guy. For now. “Yeah I feel comfortable in the net,” Hart said. “I think after my first couple games there I was able to settle in. It starts in practice and making sure that I’m coming to practice every day ready to work.” Courier-Post LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103705 Philadelphia Flyers Defense 6-Michal Kempny & 74-John Carlson Flyers at Capitals: Game 43 preview, line combos, broadcast info 9-Dmitry Orlov & 2-Matt Niskanen 44-Brooks Orpik & 34-Jonas Siegenthaler Dave Isaac, Jan. 8, 2019 Goalie 1-Pheonix Copley The Flyers make their first trip to visit the reigning champion Washington (70-Braden Holtby) Capitals this season. Injuries/suspensions Tonight: Flyers at Washington Capitals D Christian Djoos – left leg surgery, out indefinitely Site: Capital One Arena / Washington, D.C. Courier-Post LOADED: 01.09.2019 Time: 7:30 p.m. TV/Radio: NBCSN, 93.3 FM Records: Flyers 15-21-6 | Capitals 25-12-4 Last game: Flyers lost 3-0 to STL on Mon. | Capitals beat DET 3-2 on Sun. Bovada odds: Flyers +1/5 | O/U 6.0 Think the losing streak is starting to weigh on the Flyers? It hit seven Monday night in a 3-0 shutout at the hands of Jordan Binnington, making his first NHL start for the St. Louis Blues. Mental struggles are abound on a roster that should have been much better than dead last in the Metropolitan Division. “That was tough tonight,” Scott Laughton said after Monday's loss. “I don’t know. No jam to our game. We’re one-and-done every time we entered the zone. They were coming back at us and … I don’t know. It’s tough right now. I think when you lose this many games in a row it’s tough with our group’s confidence and stuff like that but that’s no excuse. You’ve got to get in and work and we gotta be better. “I think it’s an add-up of everything. It’s a build-up. They score the first goal and then start getting down and things like that. It can’t happen.” FLYERS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards 28-Claude Giroux, 14-Sean Couturier, 11-Travis Konecny 23-Oskar Lindblom, 19-Nolan Patrick, 93-Jake Voracek 25-James van Riemsdyk, 40-Jordan Weal, 17-Wayne Simmonds 12-Michael Raffl, 21-Scott Laughton, 22-Dale Weise Defense 9-Ivan Provorov & 6-Travis Sanheim 53-Shayne Gostisbehere & 3-Radko Gudas 8-Robert Hägg & 26-Christian Folin Goalie 56-Mike McKenna (79-Carter Hart) Injuries/suspensions G Brian Elliott – lower-body injury, out two to three weeks G Anthony Stolarz – lower-body injury, out one week D Andrew MacDonald – lower-body injury, injured reserve F Corban Knight – collarbone surgery, out until February D Samuel Morin – surgery to repair torn ACL, out until February F Pascal Laberge – hip surgery, season opening injured reserve CAPITALS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards 8-Alex Ovechkin, 92-Evgeny Kuznetsov, 43-Tom Wilson 13-Jakub Vrana, 19-Nicklas Backstrom, 77-T.J. Oshie 65-Andre Burakovsky, 20-Lars Eller, 10-Brett Connolly 18-Chandler Stephenson, 72-Travis Boyd, 25-Devante Smith-Pelly 1103706 Philadelphia Flyers It would have been hard this summer to imagine the Flyers’ 2017 fifth rounder would be a lock for the U.S. team by the time the tournament started. He had never played a game for his national team at any level, From Cates to St. Ivany: How the Flyers’ 7 prospects fared at the World and while he had a solid start to his NCAA career, he has not since stood Junior Championship out at the University of Minnesota Duluth. However, an exceptional pre- tournament camp not only secured his spot on the team, but Cates played the majority of the tournament in a top-six role. By Alexander Appleyard Jan 8, 2019 His solid defensive play, heavy forechecking and hockey IQ made him a big part of the team’s penalty kill — an area where he excelled throughout the tournament. Cates turned defense into offense regularly in almost every game, and matched up against other teams’ top players. In regard to watching future players, up until a few years ago, the World Junior Championship was a non-event for Flyers fans. Besides James In the first game against Slovakia, he made his presence known on a van Riemsdyk in 2009, no top prospects had represented the franchise at talented forward group, helping to create a goal with his play on the the landmark event for years. If the team sent multiple, lesser players, it cycle, in addition to his play on the PK and in his own zone.Against was seen as a good year. Kazakhstan, while not as noticeable as he was in the first game, Cates played well overall. The only blip in the tournament came against That all changed in 2014, when six Flyers prospects attended the event. Sweden. The Minnesotan looked out of sorts and had trouble effectively Since then, Philadelphia has sent at least three each year. In fact, over forechecking against a skilled, mobile Swedish defensive corps. Cates the last four world juniors, the Flyers have sent the most players three also made several mistakes in his own half of the ice while being times — seven in 2016, nine 2017 and seven at this year’s, which took pressured by Tre Kronor’s speedy wingers. place Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Canada. Once the tournament moved into the knockout stages, however, Cates While sending swaths of prospects to the biggest junior tournament on was among the team’s better players. Spending time alongside the earth is impressive in itself — and speaks volumes for the franchise’s player who will almost certainly go first overall this summer — Jack depth — it’s even more satisfying when those prospects perform well at Hughes — Cates went to the net often, excelled on the cycle game and the highest level. Let’s take a closer look at how the most recent group of did a fantastic job retrieving the puck. His role was not unlike that of the young Flyers fared. Flyers’ Michael Raffl on Claude Giroux’s wing in 2014-15, and Cates Samuel Ersson (G, Sweden): 4 games played, 3-1-0, .922 save played it as well as could be asked. He scored a beautiful goal in the percentage, 2.23 goals against average quarterfinal against the Czech Republic, harangued the Russian defense all game long in the semi-final and assisted on both U.S. goals in the Just a few months ago, the odds of Ersson being the Swedish starter in final. Cates almost scored, too, and gave one of the best American goal at the world juniors seemed minimal. While he was close to a lock performances in the last game. for the team, he had the incumbent WJC backup Olle Eriksson Ek and U- 18 WJC starter Adam Åhman (a selection for the Swedish senior team at Cates has a very good WJC, well above expectations. Going forward, the end of last season) ahead of him. However, an incredible start to his he’ll look to build on his performance against the best his age group has first professional season in Sweden’s second tier – the Allsvenskan – to offer in the NCAA. meant that by the time the pre-tournament games rolled around, he was Joel Farabee (LW, United States): 7 games played, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 in serious contention for the spot. He was helped by the fact that points, +2, 17:58 time on ice per game Eriksson Ek was suspended for the tournament’s first two games of due to conduct violations during last year’s final medal ceremony. After being one of the United States’ best players in both the 2017 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and last year’s U-18 world juniors, Farabee After winning the role outright in the pre-tournament camp, Ersson played being penciled in for a major role at this year’s tournament was no extremely well in the tournament’s first two games — enough to ensure surprise. It’s hard to argue that the Flyers’ prospect is not one of the most that he would retain the starting job after Eriksson-Ek returned. Errson’s talented players at his age for his nation and has excellent chemistry with technical ability and calm demeanor stood out, with the young goalie several teammates, some of whom he’s played with more than 100 times often making difficult saves look easy, as he was set so early for shots. over the last few seasons. His reads and reactions to plays were arguably the best of any net- minder there. The winger from just outside of Syracuse, N.Y., did not disappoint. While some players accumulated more points over the tournament, few on any Against Slovakia and Finland, Errson was simply dominant — unflustered team were as consistent in their play as Farabee. Across seven games, at all times, and only allowing the puck past him on three occasions. The Farabee virtually had no bad shifts, let alone bad games. It was not just lone goal against Finland was a shot from the edge of the paint from a his consistency that impressed onlookers. Few players among the elite cross-ice pass that Ersson did well to get a piece of as it trickled over the crop of U-20s represented in British Columbia showed the outstanding line. Both goals against Slovakia were difficult to stop — the first being a hockey IQ that Farabee did. What’s more: He showed it in all three top-shelf snipe, and the second his own player (Filip Sveningsson) zones. His relentless forechecking frustrated defensemen to no end by unexpectedly shot into his own net from the boards. cutting off angles and constantly pressuring them. With Farabee’s quick Against the U.S., Ersson was perfect for 50 minutes, making numerous release and high-end skill, opposition defensemen at times seemed like saves in what appeared to be heading toward an easy win. But poor they would’ve rather been on the bench than the ice, whether the winger defense and discipline from the team in front of him led to four had the puck or not. unanswered goals. Ersson probably would have liked the first one back, In the first game against Slovakia, Farabee was surprisingly used as he managed to get pieces on two of the four goals. But the other two sparingly, seeing little more than 13 minutes of ice on what seemed like a goals were a power play tap-in and a top-corner snipe after an Adam third line given the usage. Despite not getting on the scoreboard, Ginning giveaway. Some goalies would’ve let the collapse get into their Farabee was constantly in the mix, and showed coach Mike Hastings his heads, but Ersson rallied to make a few nice saves in overtime to help two-way value. For the remainder of the tournament, he did not see his team win. He rested for the final group game against the Kazakhs in much less than 17 minutes per game. Against Kazahkstan, he utilized his order to be ready for the quarterfinal against Switzerland. more expansive role to net a quick-fire hat trick in the first period, scoring The fact that Ersson was named Sweden’s player of the game in their 2- all three within seven minutes. The goals displayed his scoring repertoire 0 quarterfinal loss to the Swiss says everything. He stopped 33-of-35 — the first was an accurate wrister from the left-half boards, while the shots, including several absurd saves on breakaways and multiple second was a backhand from the slot after picking up a loose puck. The rebounds in close. Had Sweden made it further in the tournament, third goal was a nifty delay move one-on-one with the goalie before Ersson, who was named one of his nation’s three best players at the sliding the puck through his five-hole. world juniors, could’ve been in the running for goalie of the tournament. But his most memorable play of the tournament came against Sweden. Now back in the Allsvenskan, Ersson is looking to finish out the season With less than 30 seconds on the clock and down by a goal, Farabee strong. In his first game back, he helped snap his team’s five-game picked off an errant pass from Ginning, slowed down play until linemate losing streak with a fantastic 19-of-20 saves performance in a 3-1 win. If Ryan Poehling got space, and made a beautiful pass that was he can maintain his current .941 save percentage — which he has dispatched into the top corner to bring overtime. In the extra period, accrued over 18 games — through the season, it will be the highest in Farabee was the only man back on the winning goal, but could do little to league history. Not bad for a 19-year-old who, before this year, had never stop it on a two-on-one. started against grown men. In the next game, the final of the group against Finland, he set up the first Noah Cates (LW, United States): 7 games played, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 goal with a nice spin and pass in the neutral zone to kick-start the 4-1 points, +2, 15:34 time on ice per game win. But from that point onward, Farabee’s scoring dried up. Despite playing at least 17:28 in the three knockout games, he was unable to get on the scoreboard — even as one of the most dangerous players for his game and preserve Sweden’s ridiculous 48-game winning streak at the nation. Several great saves from net-minders and some poor execution group stage. from teammates meant his efforts did not show up in the box score, but Farabee was still vital in helping his team to the final. Then came a severe stomach bug that hospitalized members of the Swedish team before the final group game. Ginning was affected enough The Flyers have a surefire future NHLer in the talented Farabee. He and to be unavailable for the game against Kazakhstan. Sweden still easily Morgan Frost are arguably the only forwards not currently on the roster won without a quarter of the roster, but a combination of illness and the who have legitimate first-line upside. For an 18-year-old, Farabee’s game country chasing a game versus Switzerland meant that Ginning was is significantly well-rounded, and he’s already one of the best players on relegated to the No. 6 role. He played just more than nine minutes as his Boston University team. Next year, he’ll be back, and if previous form Sweden eventually crashed out of the tournament. is anything to go by, Farabee will be one of the most dangerous and talented players in the tournament. Outside of one play, Ginning had a quiet tournament. He will return to the Swedish Hockey League and his club Linköping looking to further expand Morgan Frost (C/LW, Canada): 5 games played, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 his role and improve his all-around game. points, +8, 14:44 time on ice per game Jay O’Brien (C/RW, United States): 4 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 Headed into pre-tournament action, it was preposterous that Frost was points, -2, 7:45 time on ice per game not considered an absolute lock to make the Canadian team. A legitimate argument can be made that, across the Canadian Hockey League since The Flyers’ 2018 first-rounder (No. 19 overall) has had a difficult start to the start of last season, the Flyers’ prospect has been the most impactful his NCAA career. Injuries have caused him to appear in only 10 games Canadian player. However, a middling summer camp and an unfair for Providence College, and O’Brien only managed to net two points in perception that he is “just” a skilled player meant the roster decision was that time. USA Hockey believed in O’Brien’s talent though, especially not as cut and dry as it should’ve been. Frost put the notion to bed in the after seeing him play well last year in seven games with the U.S. U-18 pre-tournament, and then carried his form into the world juniors. team. While he unable to light up the scoreboard then, O’Brien showed that his physical tool-set and skills were easily able to keep up with the Frost wasted no time in showing his talent. In Canada’s 14-0 destruction rest of the talented team. of the Danish national team, Frost had a hat trick and four points within 22 minutes. He added another assist for good measure in the third O’Brien’s spot on was always slated to be in the bottom six. Over the first period. Frost then had a solid game against the Swiss, before excelling three group games, the natural center played as a right winger on his against the Czechs with a goal and an assist, while constantly bringing team’s fourth line around 10 minutes per night. While he flashed an pressure to opposition defensemen. In the final group game against impressive mix of speed and skill — cycling the puck dangerously and Russia, Frost faced his first moment of adversity in the tournament, as he beating players one-on-one — O’Brien also displayed some was given a 10-minute misconduct on top of a two-minute penalty for a inconsistencies to his game. He was not always in great defensive check from behind. It was harsh, given the minimal contact that in the position, and contributed to a couple of goals against (even if he was not NHL may not have even garnered a penalty. Once back in the game, primarily responsible). Frost buzzed and created chances, but could not help Canada as the From that point forward, O’Brien simply got lost in the mix, ceding his team fell in a close-fought 2-1 loss. place on the team as the talented Hughes returned to the lineup. He Against Finland in the quarterfinals, Canada’s final game of the played only a couple of shifts against Finland in the final group game, tournament, Frost was once again one of his nation’s best players. He and did not see a minute of ice-time in the knockout stages as the U.S. was vital in helping his side go up 1-0 with a beautiful high-IQ play in the played just 12 forwards. neutral zone. He picked up the puck, pivoted and made a pin-point no- While the tournament may have seemed, at face value, discouraging for look pass to the far boards for linemate Barrett Hayton to speed into the a player that cost a first-round pick, there were positives. offensive zone, before defenseman Ian Mitchell dispatched the puck into Finland’s top corner. The Aurora, Ontario, native helped create a few Alongside some of the most proven natural talent the U.S. possesses in more nice chances both at even strength and on the power play, but his age group, O’Brien was one of the team’s more impressive players — Canada ended up losing, as Aleksi Heponiemi scored a lucky goal he skating up ice with the puck on his stick, slicing through the neutral zone knew little about with less than a minute left in the game. like a knife through butter and creating space with his cycle game once established in the offensive zone. He didn’t really do anything “wrong” to Finland won in overtime, while Frost – Canada’s top scorer in the deserve being relegated to the 13th forward spot, but as a skilled center tournament, and the player on the roster with the most overtime goals in who was moved to wing, O’Brien was not an ideal fit to play the fourth- the CHL over the last two seasons (4) – did not play a single shift after line role on a team already stacked with skilled players in the top nine. regulation. It was a strange choice from coach Tim Hunter, who also played Frost at wing with his Ontario Hockey League teammate Hayton It’s understandable that many Flyers fans are concerned that O’Brien as his center, despite Frost centering Hayton for the Sault Ste. Marie could be a bust — even worse, a bust taken with numerous highly ranked Greyhounds. players still on the board, who are impressing in their post-draft seasons. However, O’Brien’s talent is obvious to see, and the start of his season Arguably underutilized, Frost played out of position and was not on the has been heavily disrupted. Down the stretch of Providence’s season, he Canadian first power-play unit. Still, he managed to lead the entire should be able to pick up his game, now that he’s fully healthy, and prove tournament in points per game (1.6). He will now return to the OHL, to everyone that he was worthy of the pick used to select him. looking to approach the hallowed 2.0 PPG mark by the end of the season and put his name in MVP contention. In Frost, Flyers fans have a Jack St. Ivany (RHD, United States): 6 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, potentially special player on their hands, and he’s likely to bring his 0 points, -3, 6:33 time on ice per game blazing speed and skill to the NHL as soon as next year. The Flyers’ 2018 fourth-round pick was a surprise U.S. selection to begin Adam Ginning (LHD, Sweden): 4 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 the tournament. A stellar pre-tournament where St. Ivany outplayed points, +0, 14:46 time on ice per game Rangers third-rounder Joey Keane cemented his spot on the roster. It also helped to be a right-handed defenseman. To start the group phase The big defenseman from the shore of Sweden’s Lake Roxen is versus Slovakia, St. Ivany was slotted in the third pairing alongside generally pigeonholed as a “stay-at-home” defenseman. Despite that Mattias Samuelsson. The idea was for him to act as a puck-moving foil to moniker, he can skate and has a solid outlet pass. However, given the his hulking partner. other defensemen available to the Swedish national team at the tournament, his role was clear from the start. Of the seven defensemen He was, however, quickly relegated to the seventh defenseman spot Sweden selected for the world juniors, Ginning was the biggest, heaviest after some poor plays with the puck, giveaways and other mistakes. His and strongest, but had the lowest offensive output at the same ventures second game against Kazakhstan did not help his stock among the in his career. Ginning was chosen to be a go-to member of the penalty coaching staff either, as he was on ice for both Kazakh goals (the U.S. kill and the “shutdown” defenseman for the Tre Kronor. won 8-2). After that performance, St. Ivany saw just one shift next game against Sweden. The coaches were not to blame. St. Ivany lost whatever For the first two games (against Finland and Slovakia), Ginning did just trust they had in him over the first two games with his jittery play. that. Alongside 2018 first-round pick Nils Lundkvist, he played a responsible, composed game matched against top-six forwards and on A glimmer of hope came in the final group game against Finland. Top- the top penalty-kill unit. For most of the penultimate group game against four defenseman K’Andre Miller was sidelined with flu, so St. Ivany the U.S., Ginning also performed his role well, playing an average of stepped up into a bigger role, playing more than 14 minutes in a approximately 17 minutes a night. However, in the final minute of the commanding 4-1 win. He didn’t play terribly in the increased ice-time, but game a poor play-read and even worse execution brought on an awful was not good either. St. Ivany was partially to blame for the lone goal giveaway that led to the game-tying goal. Thankfully for Ginning’s sake, Finland tallied, as he was not able to effectively clear the players around star Swedish defenseman Adam Boqvist scored in overtime to rescue the the net on a point-shot that was tipped in. From that point foward, St. Ivany saw less than 10 minutes of combined playing time in the three knockout games. He didn’t manage to get a single shift in the final. While it was an extremely difficult tournament for the Yale defenseman, adversity finds all players throughout their careers. Now, St. Ivany must put it behind him, learn from playing with and against some of the best young talents and go back to the NCAA to continue his impressive freshman season. As Aristotle said, “One swallow does not a summer make.” Or, in other words: Just because the Californian defenseman played poorly in the world juniors does not change the fact that he’s a solid prospect with bottom-pairing NHL potential. The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103707 Philadelphia Flyers ability to blow opponents away with bursts of sheer skill. In spite of that, however — largely driven by awful save percentages and horrid special teams — the Flyers have continued to find ways to lose, and now sit in a Blues 3, Flyers 0: 10 things we learned from a losing streak reaching 7 standings position where a playoff berth is highly unlikely. The results haven’t been there, but the underlying process — at least at 5-on-5 — hasn’t been awful. Throughout the first half of the season, a By Charlie O'Connor Jan 8, 2019 feeling existed in the Flyers’ locker room that if they continued to largely outshoot and out-chance opponents, eventually, the wins would come. This season’s head coaches Dave Hakstol and Gordon have hammered that point home, and the players have seemed to largely accept it, even Monday night’s contest between the Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis after devastating defeats. Blues may have been close on the scoreboard for the majority of its run time. Unfortunately for the former, only its goalie ever seemed truly A problem can arise in these situations, though. Competitive human engaged over the course of what felt like one of the longest 60-minute beings can only hear for so long that they’re doing all of the right things hockey games Philadelphia fans have seen in 2018-19. and eventually they’ll be rewarded before they start to doubt whether they actually are doing the right things at all. When doubt creeps in, that’s The Flyers were never really in this one, falling behind 1-0 early in the when a bad season turns into an ugly one, when the foundation itself is second period and failing to deliver any viable pushback, eventually called into question. Watching last night’s game, such an end result bowing in defeat at home, 3-0. Brayden Schenn, Vladimir Tarasenko and seemed possible. David Perron lit the lamp for the Blues, while Jordan Binnington posted a 25-save shutout in his first ever NHL start. Carter Hart was the tough-luck On Monday, the Flyers were torched by every metric imaginable. A 44.71 loser in goal for Philadelphia, making 34 big saves. He received zero percent score-adjusted 5-on-5 Corsi, a 29.56 percent 5-on-5 xG, a 2.86- support from his offense, which was shut out for the fifth time this 1.09 deficit in all-situations xG — this was a thrashing. Laughton said season. The loss was the Flyers’ seventh straight, easily a season-high after the game that the recent run of losses has shaken this team. skid for the Orange and Black. “I think when you lose this many games in a row, it’s tough with this Note: This article will reference advanced hockey stats. If you’re looking team’s confidence and things like that,” Laughton said. “I think it’s an to better understand any of the referenced metrics, please read this add-up of everything – it’s a buildup.” It’s the closest thing to an primer, which explains the concepts behind them. admission that things could go completely off the rails as you’re going to hear. 1: No redeeming aspects of this one This could just be a one-off awful game, and the Flyers could return to After many of the Flyers’ recent losses, the mantra in the locker room — their solid-at-5v5 ways as soon as today. But while statistically inclined from the leadership down to the young players — has been a belief that Flyers fans hoping for better second-half outcomes may pin their hopes the underlying process was relatively sound, and that it was just a few ill- on the possibility of bounces starting to go the team’s way, it’s not timed breakdowns, hard-luck bounces or vindictive Hockey Gods that unthinkable to imagine a scenario where Philadelphia’s underlying turned a contest they felt should have ended in a win into yet another process dips to match the poor win/loss results, nullifying any benefit of devastating loss. better fortune. It’s human nature to start to doubt a process that isn’t There was no such sentiment in the wake of Monday’s defeat. producing tangible results. It’s not difficult to make a case that this was the Flyers’ worst game of the 3: Was this their worst offensive showing of the year? season. They’ve suffered through more lopsided defeats. But most of Just how ugly was this one? It was so much of a disaster that a strong those came with excuses — the goalie “didn’t have it,” the opponent was statistical case could be made it was Philadelphia’s worst offensive high-end, the team was dealing with legitimate coaching uncertainty. This performance in a season chock full of awful offensive performances. time, if anything, the circumstances were in Philadelphia’s favor. They Prior to last night’s game, they were shut out five times and held to one were at home. Hart was in top-form. They were facing a 25-year old goal on eight occasions, so it wasn’t going to be easy to reach a new goalie who had never before made an NHL start. They were battling a level of toothlessness on the attack. The Flyers may have done just that. team with nearly as poor of a standings record as the Flyers. And when Alex Steen left the game in the first period with an upper body injury, they Over an hour of game time, Philadelphia managed 19 regular scoring had the advantage of an opponent that could roll only 10 forwards (the chances (tied for second-fewest by the club in 2018-19) and five of the Blues dressed 11 to start the contest). high-danger variety (also tied for second-fewest) per the Natural Stat Trick definition. But a case can be made, via Corsica’s Expected Goal The stage was set for the Flyers to cruise. Instead, they fell flat on their metric, that Monday was the Flyers’ least dangerous offensive showing of face. the year. When they left the ice, they had produced a mere 1.09 worth of “We’ve got to go in and do a job, and tonight we didn’t do it at home, and xG, easily a season-low. For reference, in the 6-0 blowout against it’s embarrassing,” Scott Laughton said afterward. Puck battles simply Toronto just after Thanksgiving, which saw the team essentially pack it in could not be won, in any of the three zones. Icings due to poor passing after the first period, Philadelphia still racked up 1.56 Expected Goals. and desperation clears became commonplace. Creative passing in the They produced 1.63 in the depressing Oct. 25 showdown with the Bruins offensive zone was nonexistent. Through the first 40 minutes, the Flyers in Boston. They even found a way to come up with 1.42 xG during the mustered just two “high-danger” scoring chances per the Natural Stat embarrassing 6-1 loss to the New York Islanders two nights after the Trick definition, and neither was even a clean shot — they were Boston debacle. deflections of distance blasts, one by Sean Couturier and one by Oskar Yet on this night, against a team with a 16-19-4 record, the Flyers barely Lindblom. That’s not going to get the job done, nor will drawing a single produced a single Expected Goal. It’s no accident that they proved penalty over 60 minutes and then nullifying the ensuing power play after unable to score an actual one. just 29 seconds. Searching for positives from the skaters on Monday night was a fruitless endeavor. 4: Hart actually quite good despite poor work of skaters Multiple players admitted after the game that the team lacked jump. “No Despite the fact that last night’s game proved close to unwatchable for jam to our game, (we were) one and done every time we got in the zone,” Flyers fans, they did receive one bit of enjoyment — the play of 20-year Laughton said. “I thought today we could have had a lot more energy,” old netminder Hart. Unlike the skaters in front of him, Hart did his job and Wayne Simmonds acknowledged this, even as he contended that did it well, making 34 saves of 36 shots (0.944 save percentage) and Monday’s effort problem was an isolated incident and not the allowing just two goals on 2.86 worth of Expected Goals. By the continuation of a trend. Head coach Scott Gordon simply focused on the numbers, this was Hart’s second-best game of his short NHL career, end on-ice result, rather than play amateur psychologist. “I will say this, it coming in behind only his Dec. 20 gem versus the Nashville Predators. was not our best effort as far as execution,” Gordon said. “We had a lot of guys that just didn’t seem to have it, especially handling the puck and The eye-test backed up the numbers. Hart’s save on Jaden Schwartz — making plays.” That’s for sure. while aided by the Blues forward not directing his shot to the far post as he should have — may have been the rookie’s best stop in a Flyers 2: Concern that these games become commonplace uniform, a true desperation lunge that ended with the puck being kept out of the net by the inside of his blocker pad. The frustrating part of the Flyers’ season thus far hasn’t even been the terrible results; it’s been the fact that the skaters have, in many ways, ROBBED BY HART! PIC.TWITTER.COM/CJVVRWOBMN shown signs of not being truly terrible even as losses have piled up. At 5- on-5, Philadelphia has legitimately driven play (52.22 percent adjusted — NHL GIFS (@NHLGIFS) JANUARY 8, 2019 xG entering Monday, seventh in the NHL) to a level they haven’t reached since 2011-12. They control games for long stretches, and have the Hart wasn’t perfect. He noted after the game that on St. Louis’ second most likely recipient of a pass) or pull back so he stays above the lowest goal, he underestimated the quickness of Vladimir Tarasenko’s wrist-shot St. Louis forward, in order to ensure they don’t have the advantage going release, an understandable mistake considering the quality of the sniper the other way. in question. But after seven appearances, Hart holds a 0.909 save percentage, perfectly acceptable for a rookie, and he’s only had one bad Instead, Giroux ends up in limbo — not aggressive enough to put any game (in Carolina). Hart absolutely looks like he belongs in the NHL. real pressure on the passer, but not conservative enough to ensure that Brayden Schenn doesn’t get the jump on him going the other way. The 5: Laughton line struggles mightily result was a 4-on-2 that St. Louis turned into a goal. After the game, Gordon acknowledged that a mistake must have been made on the The new-look fourth line of Michael Raffl, Laughton and Dale Weise was forecheck for that play to end up in a 4-on-2, but wasn’t sure of the guilty a revelation on Saturday, more than holding its own in a direct head-to- party. “To be honest with you, I didn’t watch what happened (on the head matchup with the Calgary Flames’ high-powered top trio led by forecheck leading up to the goal),” he said. “I knew we had a flat Johnny Gaudreau. As a result of their strong showing, it made sense forecheck. I can’t even tell you who was in and who wasn’t supposed to Gordon chose to lean upon them again on Monday. Unfortunately, they be in.” My guess is that when he does review the tape, he’ll recognize a proved unable to replicate the magic. rarity for the 2018-19 season: a Giroux error. Laughton spent 5:03 matched up against Brayden Schenn at 5-on-5, and 8: Konecny’s backchecking obvious in key situations the former Flyer and his linemates (Schwartz and Tarasenko) took apart Philadelphia’s Line 4. By keeping Laughton, Raffl and Weise on defense Konecny may have scored a goal on Saturday afternoon against the and nullifying their offensive zone forechecking game by breaking up Flames, but his best moment of the game came long before that, when pass attempts and winning puck battles, the Schenn line won the shot he bailed out teammate Ivan Provorov with a high-effort backcheck that attempts battle 9-1 over the Laughton line, and the shots on goal battle 7- nullified the defenseman’s turnover. It was the type of committed two-way 0. It was sheer dominance. play that Konecny’s NHL coaches have pushed him to provide since Day 1, and with the 21-year old’s offense in a bit of a slump, his actions There wasn’t a single player at fault; the three shared blame for the less- without the puck will go a long way toward keeping him in Gordon’s good than-stellar showing, one that saw the group post a 1-14 Corsi differential graces in the here and now. after two periods of play. But while all three are capable of playing better hockey than they showed on Monday, the loss also served as a reminder To start Monday’s game, Konecny seemed intent on keeping up his to Gordon and the Flyers as a whole that there’s a reason the trio is back-checking work. This time, it was a heads-up stick lift of Zach viewed as a fourth line. Challenging assignments can be granted to them Sanford that occurred after Konecny had originally blasted out of the in specific stylistic matchups that favor Laughton, Raffl and Weise, but defensive zone, assuming his linemates were about to engineer a turning the “tough minutes” role into one that becomes their job on a successful zone exit. nightly basis seems like a risk. Konecny isn’t even in the frame when the turnover occurs; he’s past his 6: Breaking down line matchups further own blue line by then. But rather than lag back in hopes that one of his teammates will regain control of the puck, he takes it upon himself to It’s possible — in fact, nearly certain, considering the way coaches retrieve it. Gordon surely took notice of that play, just as he loved the usually work — that on Tuesday night, Gordon will shake up his forward similar backcheck from the neutral zone on Saturday. combinations. Still, his deployment choices from Monday when it came to the Couturier, Nolan Patrick, Jordan Weal and Laughton lines shed some 9: Sanheim one of the few skaters who did not play poorly light on how he views the current group of 12 forwards that he dresses nightly. Below is a chart showcasing the percentage of total Time on Ice The on-ice metrics may not be kind to Sanheim — a 50 percent Corsi (at 5-on-5) that each Flyers center spent against every Blues center — it and a 33.68 percent by xG isn’t going to move the needle for anyone — tells us who each Philadelphia pivot tended to face most often. but the young defenseman was one of the few skaters who consistently made plays and stood out in a positive way. Player vs. 1C vs. 2C vs. 3C vs. 4C Sanheim, who continues to be used in a top-pair role at 5-on-5, led all Sean Couturier 29.76% 55.45% 7.98% 17.94% Flyers in scoring-chance creation with three, and ended up with two golden opportunities in the third period after activating down low in the Nolan Patrick 37.15% 28.14% 22.53% 33.20% offensive zone. He failed to finish on either chance, but on this night, just Jordan Weal 38.57% 10.71% 36.63% 32.27% generating a dangerous shot was enough to make him stand out. The rest of Sanheim’s game was solid if unspectacular, but given the low bar Scott Laughton 47.79% 32.75% 13.72% 15.29% that his teammates set, “passable and occasionally active in the offensive zone” was enough to make him one of Philadelphia’s only Based on this data, a few observations can be made. It confirms that the players who could be placed in the “he wasn’t terrible” bucket. Laughton line didn’t get sheltered in the manner of most fourth lines; instead, they faced either the Schenn or O’Reilly lines during 70 percent 10: Flyers now 29th in league, and the games keep coming of their minutes. Couturier, on the other hand, spent most of his ice time at 5-on-5 battling O’Reilly. As for the Patrick and Weal lines, neither With last night’s loss, Philadelphia dropped its seventh-straight game, received minutes as “tough” as Laughton’s group, but the line centered and unlike during the 10-game skid in 2017, the team isn’t picking up by Patrick (with Oskar Lindblom and Jakub Voracek on the wings) was tons of loser points to blunt the impact of the defeats. No, the Flyers are granted more time against top-six opponents than was the James van rapidly dropping further down the league standings as a result of Riemsdyk-Weal-Simmonds trio. At least on this night, that group was repeated regulation losses. They currently sit 30th in terms of raw points least trusted against top competition. (ahead of only Ottawa) and 29th when it comes to points percentage (above Ottawa and Los Angeles). 7: Schenn’s goal the result of failure at opposite end of ice The Flyers look like a team in desperate need of a reset, but the When asked why his team struggled so much to create offense on schedule only gifts them more games. They face off against the division- Monday, Gordon immediately mentioned a specific issue that bothered leading Washington Capitals on Tuesday, get a matchup with the Dallas him. “I felt we didn’t have any depth on our forecheck, as far as having a Stars on Thursday and then are back on Saturday for a matinee road third guy, at least top of the circle hashmark area,” Gordon said, noting contest versus the New Jersey Devils. Gordon isn’t going to get much that it was a topic of conversation between him and the players during practice time in order to make major structural changes — or even just to the second intermission. “As a result, I thought it was easy for them to stabilize the emotions of the locker room. break out of the zone.” Philadelphia plays six more games before they hit the bye week on Jan. While a recurring problem like this manifests itself best in one-and-done 20, and the combination of lots of games and an apparent tailspin makes offensive-zone possessions (Laughton called out the Flyers for the same it a legitimate question as to whether they’ll be able to pull out of this problem in his availability, as well), a toothless forecheck can have even swoon prior to the week off. If the Flyers end up with a high pick in June’s more dire consequences. That’s what happened on St. Louis’ first goal, a NHL Draft, there’s a good chance that we’ll point to this run of losses as result of a 4-on-2 transition rush. one of the biggest reasons why they finished the season so low in the standings. When the play begins, both Couturier and Travis Konecny are deep in the offensive zone after an extended shift on the attack — a by-product The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 of the pressure they attempted to create. No issues so far. But it’s the “third guy” — in this case, Claude Giroux — who ends up putting the Philadelphia defense in a tough spot. With the Blues in clear possession of the puck and looking to quickly move up ice, Giroux has to make a decision: Directly attack the puck carrier (or whoever he views as the 1103708 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins score 2 short-handed goals, down Panthers

JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, 9:51 p.m.

When they essentially gave up three power-play goals in a Sunday loss, the Pittsburgh Penguins penalty killers vowed they’d have a better performance the next time out. They sure made good on that promise Tuesday. Not only did the Penguins successfully kill all four penalties they took, Bryan Rust and Riley Sheahan scored short-handed goals, leading the team to a 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers at PPG Paints Arena. “I think we didn’t really do the job that we wanted to last game,” Rust said. “We were definitely looking to be a little bit better.” Matt Murray turned in another brilliant performance in net for the Penguins, making 36 saves to improve to 8-0 since returning from injury last month. He stopped at least three Grade-A short-handed scoring chances by the Panthers. “If you get a little bit better each and every day, I think it compounds. That’s how you’re going to improve,” Murray said. “That’s what I try to focus on, practice, game or morning skate. Just try to compete and get a little bit better every day.” Patric Hornqvist left in the first period after taking a puck to the face and did not return. Zach Aston-Reese played only one brief shift after catching Florida’s Colton Sceviour flush in the temple with a right hand in a third-period fight. Coach Mike Sullivan said both players still were being evaluated, but it was his sense Aston-Reese would be out “for a little bit.” The Penguins carried a 2-0 lead into the second period, just like they did Sunday night against Chicago. On that night, they took an offensive-zone penalty, gave up a power-play goal and eventually lost 5-3. This time, Dominik Simon took an offensive- zone hooking penalty, but the Penguins responded with two short- handed goals. On the first, Matt Cullen stickhandled through traffic up the left wing and found Rust skating down the slot with a step on his man. On the second, Sheahan stole a puck from Keith Yandle in the neutral zone, and with Aston-Reese driving the net, fired a shot past Roberto Luongo to make it 4-0. “I think anytime you can get some pressure up the ice and disrupt their breakout, it takes them out of their flow and it might give you a chance,” Rust said. “We got a couple real good ones tonight.” Short-handed goals aside, it’s hard to say the Penguins were the better team. The Panthers held a 37-31 edge in shots and 55-36 advantage in even-strength shot attempts. When the Penguins got chances on Luongo, who was pulled after stopping 12 of 16 shots, they finished ruthlessly. Less than two minutes in, Marcus Pettersson tracked down a loose puck along the right wall in the neutral zone and finessed a pass to Tanner Pearson, who scored on a shot from the wing. Less than two minutes after that, Jake Guentzel poked a puck between Aaron Ekblad’s skates to enter the offensive zone and hit Rust skating down the slot for a nifty backhand move. “I thought early in the game, we turned the puck over a lot,” Sullivan said. “There were glorious scoring chances on both sides. We were opportunistic on ours, and I thought Matt made some big saves for us.” Murray, meanwhile, built a wall the Panthers only cracked once. Most notably, in the second period, he lifted his left pad behind him to stop a short-handed Jared McCann chance at the right post. “We made him work again,” said captain Sidney Crosby, who added a third-period goal. “It’d be nice to have a few more games where you don’t give them that many Grade-A chances.” Tribune Review LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103709 Pittsburgh Penguins guys that were the leaders in this room, and it’s everything I thought it would be as far as the way things are dealt with in this room.

“This group definitely didn’t feel sorry for themselves. If anything, this Kevin Gorman: With Steelers' season over, spotlight shines on Penguins group got angry, got mad and had a definite reaction to the way things were going. We used our frustration and disappointment in a positive way. We didn’t let it consume us, didn’t let negativity creep into the room. KEVIN GORMAN | Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, 6:21 p.m. We weren’t pointing fingers. It starts with the leaders in the room leading the way.”

That’s the secret to winning championships, something the Steelers The season started slowly for their captain. They endured an uncommon should learn from the Penguins: Leadership starts at the top, allowing a losing streak that saw them slip out of the playoff picture. A former player talented team to overcome a slow start, a losing streak and any drama. created a stir by suggesting the coach’s message wasn’t getting through to two of the team’s high-profile players. It’s not about where the spotlight shines. Sound like another season of Pittsburgh Steelers drama? A team with tunnel vision is difficult to distract. While the Steelers were dominating headlines amid a dysfunctional Tribune Review LOADED: 01.09.2019 season, the Penguins were dealing with their own drama. Sidney Crosby didn’t score through the first six games, and Evgeni Malkin was in a funk for most of November and December. The Penguins lost nine of 10 games from Oct. 30 through Nov. 19, slipping into a tie with New Jersey for last place in the Eastern Conference after blowing a three-goal lead in an overtime loss to Buffalo. A funny thing happened after former Penguins winger Pascal Dupuis suggested some of their problems stemmed from a disconnect between Mike Sullivan and stars Malkin and Phil Kessel: The Penguins answered with an eight-game winning streak to move into second place in the Metropolitan Division. That the Steelers’ struggles overshadowed their own played no role, as far as the Penguins are concerned. “It doesn’t feel that way, so I’m not really concerned about what’s going on with other teams and how that affects us,” Crosby said. “I think there’s high expectations, regardless of how the Steelers are doing.” Forget the false equivalencies. It’s Stanley Cup-or-bust for the Penguins, just like it is Super Bowl-or-bust for the Steelers. Both teams have had their share of distractions and drama. They just have different ways of dealing with them. The Penguins did their best to put to rest my theory they benefit from the intense scrutiny of the Steelers, escaping the spotlight until January. “Every team is going to go through maybe some struggles throughout a season,” Penguins winger Jake Guentzel said. “The fans here are passionate in every sport we have. There’s going to be ups and downs, and fans aren’t going to be happy sometimes, but we’ve just got to stick with it and work to turn it around. … “Maybe it’s magnified when the Steelers are done, but I think we’re just trying to do our thing and stick to our plan and just go from there.” Truth is, the Penguins are placed under the NHL microscope in every city, as a team that won back-to-back Cup championships in 2016 and ’17. That’s especially true for Crosby, one of the game’s superstars and spokesmen. “There’s plenty of attention on the Pittsburgh Penguins, wherever we go,” said Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson, who previously played for the L.A. Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets. “Just because the Steelers’ season ended, it’s not like all of a sudden people are paying attention to us. No matter what city you’re going to, the NFL is the most popular sport. I don’t think that’s exclusive to Pittsburgh. “There’s a tremendous Penguins fan base here that I wasn’t even aware of coming in. Compared to other teams I’ve been on in the past, I’ve never been on a team that gets as much attention as this team does from Day 1. That’s been the most dramatic difference for me.” Maybe not, but the Penguins are now the only pro show in town, even as they are about to leave town for a five-game road trip followed by a one- week break before the All-Star Game. They will have the undivided attention of Pittsburgh mainstream sports fans for the rest of the season, and the city is thirsting for another taste of the playoffs. If that places pressure on the Penguins, well, they know how to handle it. They have learned to do something the Steelers have not, which is to not allow the distractions into their dressing room. The Steelers spent the season constantly answering questions about their drama, which only continued to create more. “When you’re in this room the outside noise doesn’t really matter because none of us pay attention to it,” Johnson said. “We all know the things we have to work through and get better at, and we have to work through it as the season goes along. It’s a cool experience. I knew the 1103710 Pittsburgh Penguins Pearson, who won a Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2014, was traded to the Penguins on Nov. 14. Almost immediately, he scored goals in three consecutive home games Nov. 19-24 after recording only one assist in Penguins' Zach Aston-Reese, 24, mixes well with Matt Cullen, 42 17 games this season with the Kings. Then, on Dec. 15 at PPG, he stole the puck from former Kings teammate and two-time Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty and scored an JERRY DIPAOLA | Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, 3:57 p.m. unassisted goal on a good friend, goalie Jonathan Quick. “I ran into Quickie after the game,” Pearson said. “He said a few choice words to me, all in good fun. There are the one-liners that never fail to amuse his younger teammates. “I made a lot of great friendships over the years there, friends that I’ll be Plus, the stories gathered over 21 NHL seasons that serve as a learning with for a lifetime, especially going through what we did. It means a lot.” tool for anyone in the Penguins locker room smart enough to pay attention. Asked if he’s adapted to his new surroundings, Pearson said, “You could have asked me that after a week and a half and I would have said, And, by the way, Matt Cullen still can get the job done on the ice at age ‘Yeah.’ When I came here, the guys were great. 42. “We went on the road right away, and I went to dinner with the guys “You watch him in the corners and the offensive zone,” linemate Zach every night, getting to know them, which made it a lot easier.” Aston-Reese said. “He’s such a good skater. He can cut back and draw guys to him and pitch the puck off.” Tribune Review LOADED: 01.09.2019 On a night when Penguins management paid tribute to the decade of the 1970s, Cullen — the only player on the team born in that decade — played in the 1,477th game for his eighth team. Coach Mike Sullivan said he appreciates Cullen’s contributions that go beyond his four goals, six assists and plus-3 in 31 games. “He’s a student of the game,” Sullivan said. “He’s a smart player. That’s one of the reasons he’s continuing to play and be as effective as he is at his age. He loves the game. His passion for the game on a day-to-day basis is contagious for our group. “He prides himself in helping some of this next generation, some of these younger players that we have. He really prides himself in trying to help those guys along the way become better players.” Aston-Reese is one of those players. Now spending the majority of his time on Cullen’s line, Aston-Reese has totaled six goals, five assists and a plus-7 since his recall from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Nov. 6. “It’s pretty awesome, actually,” Aston-Reese said of playing on a line with a center who’s 18 years older. “He’s always stirring the pot a little bit, trying to get the guys going. It’s nice to have that experience, that quiet confidence that he presents. “Whether we have a good shift or a bad shift, we’re always coming back to the bench talking about what we can do better, what works for us.” Aston-Reese finds touch Aston-Reese has turned into a recent point producer, getting points (two goals and two assists) in a four-game span between Dec. 29 and Jan. 4. He’s starting to regain the scoring touch that helped him lead the NCAA in goals (31) and points (63) with Northeastern in 2016-17. “I’ve been getting some nice bounces lately,” he said. “Sometimes it’s just as simple as putting the puck where the goalie isn’t. “They’re using me throughout the lineup in key situations, different situations in the game. So it’s been nice. Whether or not I’m on the scoresheet, I think I’ve been playing pretty good hockey.” Aston-Reese started the season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the final days of his recovery from the concussion and broken jaw he suffered in May when he took a hit from the Washington Capitals’ Tom Wilson in Game 3 of the Penguins’ second-round playoff series. Not only was hockey set aside by the injury, he went three months without eating solid food. Then, there was the mental aspect of returning to the ice and the risks of the game. “There’s always that fear in the back of your mind,” he said. “I felt that early on, definitely, a little bit in preseason. As you play more games and as you push it away, it’s human nature to adapt and overcome.” Goodbye, for a while Tuesday’s game against the Florida Panthers is the last at PPG Paints Arena until Jan. 28. The team leaves Wednesday for a five-game road trip to California, Arizona and Las Vegas before the All-Star break. Meanwhile, left wing Tanner Pearson gets another chance Saturday to confront his former teammates with the Los Angeles Kings. “It’s going to be weird (playing on the other team), spending so much time there the past six years,” he said. “It was pretty much, for sure, my second home. At the same time, it’s going to be cool to go back there.” 1103711 Pittsburgh Penguins

In most boring video ever, deadpan NHL players reveal favorite cliches

MATT ROSENBERG | Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, 2:06 p.m.

It's not secret that NHL players are absurdly cliche during their interviews. And they're not about to shy away from that. In a nearly three-minute video, a collection of NHL players including Marc-Andre Fleury, Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid and others were asked what their favorite cliches are. And trust us, they are well-aware of how boring they can be. There are no surprises here. It's as gloriously cliche-filled as you could expect. Like any locker-room scrum you've ever seen. You know the ones: • "Play our game." • "Got off to a slow start." • "Give them credit." • "It was a good team effort." • "Good teams find a way to win." 'Kept it simple.''Played our game.''Got pucks deep.' Players reveal their favorite cliche interview answers! pic.twitter.com/Mog4KI3jMt — NHL (@NHL) January 8, 2019 Shout out to Islanders captain Anders Lee, who not only dished on his favorite cliche but also was brutally honest about them. "Whoever the goalie is played awesome. Everyone kind of rolls through the lines," he said. "They're all cliche. All of them. The whole entire interview." Yeah, tell us about it. Tribune Review LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103712 Pittsburgh Penguins

Matt Murray gets call in net for Penguins vs. Panthers

JERRY DIPAOLA | Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, 12:09 p.m.

Mike Sullivan’s juggling act with his goaltenders will put Matt Murray back in goal Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena against the Florida Panthers. Murray, who is riding a career-long seven-game winning streak since returning Dec. 15 from a lower-body injury, got the night off Sunday in the Penguins’ 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. His save percentage in that stretch is a remarkable .962. But Sullivan used Casey DeSmith against the Blackhawks, with an eye toward the team’s heavy schedule this week that includes a cross- country flight Wednesday and games Friday and Saturday in Anaheim and Los Angeles. “That’s a heavy workload in a week for one guy,” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to manage the workload of both of these guys where they both have the ability to have success when they get in the net.” That can be tricky. The Penguins have won eight of nine games to climb into second place in the Eastern Conference, but they are only three points out of ninth. “We’re trying to make the best decisions to help our team win on a game- to-game basis,” Sullivan said. “We believe both of them at this point are doing that for us.” DeSmith, who is only 15 months beyond his NHL debut, has helped in that endeavor, lessening the effect of Murray’s absence while compiling a 9-4-1 record in his past 14 starts. “There is always that fine line,” Sullivan said. “We don’t want any one guy sitting too long because then it doesn’t put him in a real good position when he does get in the net to give us a legitimate chance to win and allow him to be at his best.” Tribune Review LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103713 Pittsburgh Penguins 2013. Malkin never sat out a whole year in a contract dispute. And Phil Kessel never exaggerated an injury to skip a game.

OK, maybe Kessel played through an injury too long to keep a Tim Benz: Penguins must avoid turning into what Steelers have become consecutive game streak going, but you get the point. Unlike what we've seen on the South Side, these guys never got TIM BENZ | Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019 unglued. "You've got to keep everything in perspective," coach Mike Sullivan said. "You've got to stay in the moment. You can't dwell in the past." What a bad Sunday. Blowing a lead. Playing down to the level of bad competition. Thirteen giveaways. You mean like not going AWOL for a week because your quarterback yelled at you? I'm not talking about the Steelers. I'm talking about the Penguins. "You're a team," Crosby said. "You rely on guys next to you. When it's For one night, it felt like Mike Tomlin's team had swapped its spikes for good or it's bad." the skates of Mike Sullivan's players. Sure. Unless the "guy next to you" is skipping practice before an The Penguins frittered away a 2-0 lead Sunday night, losing to Chicago elimination game, getting himself suspended for being baked or on a jet at PPG Paints Arena. The Blackhawks entered the game with just 15 ski in Miami while you are practicing along the Monongahela. wins, the lowest total in the Western Conference. Aside from the "Big 3" holdovers from 2009, a lot of these Penguins know Essentially, they are the Raiders of hockey this year. only last year's playoff loss to the Capitals as "bad times" in Pittsburgh. In terms of fan response, that was a "2" on a scale of 1-10. Fans were so Continuing the analogy, the Hawks have a mystical spell over the grateful for the Cup runs the previous two years, there was as much Penguins in the same way Oakland does over the Steelers. The Hawks applause after that series as there was scorn. have beaten the Pens 10 times in a row. They should've seen what things were like around here after the Bruins On the bright side, Casey DeSmith somehow kept Derek Carr and Jared swept through four games in that 2013 Eastern Conference Final. Cook off the score sheet. "You have to help each other. It's a team sport. You aren't a golfer out That loss to Chicago could easily be brushed off as "just a bad night." An there by yourself," Crosby said. over-correction. A rare retreat to some old bad habits the Penguins seemed to have kicked in recent weeks. Before puck drop Sunday, Novel concept. Maybe the Steelers who are currently golfing should keep Sullivan's troops had won eight in a row and nine of 11. that message in mind when they come back to Pittsburgh in the spring. That stretch went a long way toward erasing a sputtering start which saw Tribune Review LOADED: 01.09.2019 the club drop 15 of its first 25 to begin the year. Now, they sit just two points back of Washington for first place in the Metropolitan Division. Similar to their neighbors on the other side of the Point who started 1-2-1, the Penguins stopped the bleeding after a dreadful break out of the gate to find themselves in a great spot. Now we've come to the part of the story where Pittsburgh sports fans hope the similarities end. The Steelers got about two-thirds of the way through their schedule with a stellar 7-2-1 record and a first place slot in the AFC North. The Pens are a little beyond the halfway point of their 82-game schedule, winning 23 of 42 games and totaling 52 of a potential 84 points. Here's hoping they sustain their momentum a few months longer than the football Black and Gold, who ended up missing the postseason despite having a greater than 95 percent chance of making the playoffs going into Week 12. "It's a group that's been through it and understands what it takes over the course of 82 games," Penguins veteran forward Matt Cullen said. "Trusting that we'd find our game and get to where we need to be. "You'd like to start out of the gates and run it the whole season. But that's not easy to do. The important thing is we are building in the right direction." The Penguins know that Steelers comparison all too well. They lived it. The Steelers won a Super Bowl title in 2008 and have been constant contenders since, but they have not been good enough to win another championship. They've had gobs of talent along the way, good enough to never be under .500. Sadly for them, nothing coalesced to propel them to the promised land once more. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang can relate. After their first Stanley Cup win, the Pens spent the next six years wondering why a star-studded roster kept flaming out in the Eastern Conference playoffs against lesser-seeded teams. Sound familiar? Much like their football counterparts, those failures came with lots of hard times. Two fired coaches. One deposed general manager. Crosby's concussion. A nightly referendum on Marc-Andre Fleury. Strokes. Blood clots. Mumps. Trades by the bushel. It never got to the point where things unraveled, though. Crosby never sent tweets about looking ahead to the Kings before the Bruins series in 1103714 Pittsburgh Penguins “He’s playing with a lot of poise. Obviously, when the puck goes in, it really helps with his confidence. And so I think right now he's feeling it,” Sullivan said. “He’s playing extremely well.” Bryan Rust's speed continues to create chances, and he cashed in two Post Gazette LOADED: 01.09.2019 more Tuesday

Matt Vensel Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Asked to identify what first comes to mind when you hear the name Bryan Rust, chances are you would spit out is “speed.” Finishing ability? Probably not. In the opinion of Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, those two things are tied together. Rust’s puck pursuit has created a bunch of opportunities throughout the season. Mercifully, a couple of bounces finally went his way. He skillfully cashed in a few more opportunities, which boosted his confidence, which suddenly has him playing with a lot more poise. That’s how a guy who went 21 games without lighting the lamp before breaking through with a hat trick in Chicago has suddenly buried 10 goals the last four weeks. “His skating ability and his speed and his puck pursuit, that’s the foundation of his individual game,” Sullivan said. “That’s what he brings to any line that he’s on and that’s what helps him create the opportunities that either his linemates get or he gets. “And I think right now he’s using his foot speed as good as I’ve seen him in all of the years I’ve coached him here in Pittsburgh.” Those spinning wheels helped him pocket a pair of goals in Tuesday’s 5- 1 win. Rust scored his first goal as the Penguins blitzed the Florida Panthers early. After a Panthers giveaway in the neutral zone, Sidney Crosby quickly got the puck to Jake Guentzel. Rust, who had to rush out of the zone, made a U-turn then beat two Panthers to the net. Guentzel, another guy who is playing with a lot of confidence right now, slid a pass to Rust, who avoided a stick-lift then pulled the puck to his backhand to beat Roberto Luongo. That made it 2-0 just 3:03 into the game. “I've been a product of some real good plays,” said Rust, whose 11 goals are four shy of his career high. “Just trying to keep my feet moving and get to open space and guys are finding me.” His other goal fittingly came on the penalty kill, where before this scoring surge he arguably did his finest work. The Penguins tweaked their forecheck specifically for the Panthers, who entered the night with one of the league’s most efficient power plays. They set up in a 1-1-2 alignment in the shape of a T, with one forward in the middle and the other a few steps behind him. The first forechecking forward pressured the puck-carrier and forced play toward one side. The second forward then pinched to that side, too, trying to trap the Panthers on the wall. Their two defensemen waited near their blue line in case the puck got chipped through. On Rust’s second goal, which made it 3-0, he teamed up with Matt Cullen on the right wall to force another turnover in the neutral zone. The Penguins then played keep-away, with all four skaters touching the puck before Cullen set up a streaking Rust. This play set up almost identically to Rust’s first goal. But this time, the righty faked backhand then beat Luongo to the right post, sliding the puck between it and his outstretched leg pad. “I saw that he didn't get as good of a push as he wanted to,” said Rust, who got his 100th career point on the play. The Penguins scored another shorthanded goal after Riley Sheahan stripped Keith Yandle of the puck at Florida’s blue line then swerved back into the zone. Zach Aston-Reese bolted to the net to create traffic before Sheahan snapped a shot past Luongo, ending his night. “We defended up the ice really well and we disrupted their breakout,” Rust said of the Penguins penalty-killers. “And we caught them in some situations where we could take advantage.” In the case of Rust, he continues to take advantage of his opportunities. Sure, he still flubs his fair share. But his 10 recent goals have come on just 39 shots. 1103715 Pittsburgh Penguins

Zach Aston-Reese, Patric Hornqvist injured in feisty, physical Penguins win

Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Zach Aston-Reese, Patric Hornqvist injured in feisty, physical Penguins win The Penguins beat the Florida Panthers, 5-1, in a feisty, physical game at PPG Paints Arena that included a pair of fights. But Tuesday’s win appears to have come at a cost. Forward Zach Aston-Reese headed to the locker room during the third period after serving a five-minute major for fighting Colton Sceviour. Aston-Reese got the better of the Panthers forward in that bout, landing a couple of roundhouse punches with his right hand. Sceviour went looking for that fight not long after Aston-Reese sent Panthers forward Frank Vatrano tumbling with a high hit with his shoulder. Vatrano stayed down for a while and Aston-Reese was assessed a two-minute minor for interference. Just 21 seconds after Aston-Reese excited the penalty box following another successful Penguins penalty kill, he dropped the gloves with Sceviour. Once the ensuing five minutes in the box were up, Aston- Reese headed to the locker room and did not return. “He had a physical game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He was finishing checks and that's when Zach’s at his best. I think overall, we were just trying to play the game hard.” The Penguins also lost Patric Hornqvist, who has already missed games this season due to a concussion then another upper-body injury, for the night when he took a puck to the face during the first period. He went straight down the tunnel and did not return. “They’re both being evaluated right now,” Sullivan said. “My sense is that Zach might be out for a little bit, but I don't have anything definitive right now with either one of them.” Down Hornqvist and Aston-Reese, the Penguins finished the game with 10 forwards. Should one or both be unavailable Friday when the Penguins start their five-game West Coast road trip in Anaheim, Derek Grant will likely make his return to the lineup. The Penguins could also recall Garrett Wilson or another forward from the AHL. Defenseman Marcus Pettersson was the other Penguins players to drop the gloves Tuesday. He battled Panthers defenseman Bogdan Kiselevich. Kiselevich had his way with the lanky youngster. Post Gazette LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103716 Pittsburgh Penguins It should also matter that Sullivan, for the second time in four games, isn’t letting his players get away with celebrating a lopsided score because the team the Penguins were playing was bad. Matt Murray shines in won over Panthers, but Mike Sullivan says The coach wasn’t happy after a 7-2 loss last week in New York, and Penguins are capable of more that’s sort of how he saw this one, too. “I’m not sure we did,” Sullivan responded when asked what was different 5-7 minutes than the Chicago game. “We got some big saves from Matt [Tuesday]. That certainly helped us. It seems like when we get up goals early in a game, we don’t tend to play the game as tight as we need to.” Matt Murray shines in won over Panthers, but Mike Sullivan says So as the Penguins head west, they certainly have something to work on. Penguins are capable of more Although they’ll do it with plenty of stuff to feel good about. Minutes after the Penguins’ 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Sidney Crosby reaching 20 goals for the 12th time, tying Mario Lemieux Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena, Mike Sullivan and his coaching staff met for the franchise mark when it comes to 20-goal seasons. A two-assist to discuss the night’s events. night for Marcus Pettersson, who has helpers in four straight, tying his career-high. Rust’s speed and poise. The penalty kill, which has been And to figure out how to keep something like this from happening again. more aggressive of late. If you’re confused by this, don’t be. It really does make sense. But the biggest thing to be celebrated here is Murray — and it’s been that way since he’s come back. Sullivan and his players said they weren’t crazy about Tuesday’s win because they didn’t feel they played terribly well. Earlier this season, the Penguins lost games when they weren’t at their best because they didn’t have a goaltender capable of simply shoving However, they did pick up two points, got their ninth win in 10 tries and everyone else out of the way and barging his way to the front of the line. enjoyed a key home win before a lengthy road trip that takes them into They do now. the All-Star break. “I kind of thought it was an ugly game,” Rust said. “I thought there were a “I know we’re capable of a better game,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s what lot of chances both ways, a lot of real good chances. I think we have to we have to take from this one.” be happy that we came away with a good win. Murr bailed us out a lot. Fair enough, as both teams enjoyed plenty of scoring chances. Too We have to learn from that and try to get better.” much, it seemed, for Sullivan or any of his players. Around the boards “We definitely want to tighten up,” Crosby said. Sullivan said he no information on Patric Hornqvist, who took a puck up Tuesday’s win was actually an interesting contrast to Sunday, when the high in the first period and did not return. Zach Aston-Reese left after Penguins lost to the Blackhawks after grabbing an early lead, their fighting Sceviour in the third. While both are still being examined, Sullivan winning streak ending at eight. said, “My sense is that Zach might be out for a little bit.” Different story Tuesday. Jason Mackey: After Tanner Pearson and Bryan Rust gave the Penguins a two-goal Post Gazette LOADED: 01.09.2019 cushion just 3:03 in, the penalty kill shouldered a heavy load with two short-handed goals, their first two-shortie game since March 2016. More importantly, though, was the play of Matt Murray, who stopped 36 of 37 to improve to 8-0 since retuning from a lower-body injury, his goals- against average dropping to 1.24 and his save percentage rising to .963. “Just trying to compete and get a little bit better every day,” said Murray, who has the longest winning streak for a Penguins goalie since Marc- Andre Fleury ripped off nine in a row in 2012. Pinning this win to the penalty kill is fair. Rust and Riley Sheahan got ‘em. The two short-handed goals “were big momentum shifts,” Crosby said. Also a great night from Rust, who finished a terrific passing play from Jake Guentzel early, then did his best Mario Lemieux impression with the Penguins down a man. But do not, under any circumstance here, take for granted what Murray has done. “It was one of those games,” Crosby said, “and he played great again.” At key moments, too. Like when Colton Sceviour had a short-handed breakaway in the first. Or before that when Troy Brouwer enjoyed a terrific chance off an odd-man rush. In the second, Murray looked like a scorpion in kicking his left heel off the ground to thwart an attempt from Jared McCann and denied Aleksander Barkov, in all alone, later in the period. The goal Murray allowed wasn’t even his fault. McCann seemingly interfered with Murray on Aaron Ekblad’s point shot, but officials, perhaps not wanting to yank another goal away from Florida after overturning a potential Ekblad tally earlier following an offside review, let it go. “I was, yeah,” Murray said when asked whether he was surprised the goal stood. “But what are you going to do?” Probably what has become metronomic for him at this point: stop nearly every piece of vulcanized rubber that has come his way. He’s allowed one goal or none in five of those eight starts. It should matter that the penalty kill scored twice, although it’s probably not good when that unit is more of an offensive threat than the power play, which generated no shots on four chances totaling 6:49. 1103717 Pittsburgh Penguins Keeping a straight face The Penguins hold a ’70s theme night Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena, which meant that AT&T SportsNet reporter Dan Potash, of course, got Penguins keeping an eye on red-hot Matt Murray's workload into the spirit of the thing with an afro wig and fake chest hair. Earlier, Sullivan gave a playful answer after the morning skate when Matt Vensel asked how he is able to keep a straight face during his TV interviews with Potash when Potash is decked out in another goofy get-up.

“Sometimes that’s a challenge,” the coach said. “There was one recently Not too long ago, Mike Sullivan was concerned about playing Casey [that almost made him laugh] – I don’t know if it was the Batman one. He DeSmith too much. Now, with Matt Murray back and stopping pretty always comes up with something, doesn’t he? So it’s a challenge much everything, he must avoid playing DeSmith too little. sometimes to keep a straight face. I have to prepare myself before I go in.” After starting 11 of the team’s 13 games from Nov. 19 until Murray’s return to the starting lineup on Dec. 15, DeSmith, whose .924 save Speaking of the ’70s … percentage still ranks in the NHL’s top five, has appeared in just two games since Dec. 20, including Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Chicago Only one Penguins player, Matt Cullen, was born in that decade. The 42- Blackhawks. year-old plays on the fourth line with 24-year-old Zach Aston-Reese. Their locker room stalls are next to each other, too. Murray, meanwhile, started again Tuesday when the Penguins host the Florida Panthers at PPG Paints Arena for the sixth time in the team’s last Sullivan again raved about the impact Cullen has on the Penguins, eight games. In his previous seven starts, Murray was 7-0 since his especially Aston-Reese. return with a 1.27 goals against average, .962 save percentage and two “I think he can learn a lot from Matt,” Sullivan said, adding, “At his age, shutouts. Matt’s a guy that I think is a great role player for all of our players, not just So, yeah, it makes sense that Sullivan wants to keep pushing Murray our young guys. He takes care of himself off the ice. His fitness level is back out there. But he knows he needs to keep DeSmith in the mix so he excellent. He’s a great student of the game.” can continue providing sharp performances, too. Post Gazette LOADED: 01.09.2019 “Casey’s played extremely well,” he said. “So there’s always that fine line where we don’t want any one guy sitting for too long because then it doesn’t put him in a real good position when he does get in the net to actually give us a legitimate chance to win and allow him to be at his best.” The coach also said the Penguins want to be careful about not overworking Murray, who has not been durable since seizing the job from the since-departed Marc-Andre Fleury. His latest injury, this one somewhere below the belt, nagged him for a while before he sat out for four weeks. “Managing the workload is important for us to keep in mind,” said Sullivan, who pointed out that the Penguins have four games this week. “That’s a heavy workload for a week for one guy.” So while Murray was it net against the Panthers, DeSmith seems likely to get a start this weekend when the Penguins visit Anaheim and Los Angeles on back-to-back nights. Go to section Pearson eyes L.A. return Tanner Pearson is looking forward to returning to California on this upcoming West Coast road trip. He has not been back since the Los Angeles Kings traded him to the Penguins on Nov. 14. “I’ve got to go [to our house] and grab some stuff that was delivered,” he said. “Other than that, my wife and I rented a furnished place, so we pretty much packed the clothes, cars and got going.” The Penguins beat his old buddies on the Kings here last month, with Pearson scoring a beautiful goal against his former team. Still, he thinks it will be “pretty weird” to play them in L.A. “I think so because it was pretty much my second home for six years,” he said. “A lot of good memories, especially with the stuff that happened there, winning [a Stanley Cup] and whatnot. I made a lot of good friends – outside of hockey, too – that I may run into. I’ll try to have fun with it.” Penguins bracing for Barkov Sullivan had a lot of good things to say about the Panthers, whom he feels are deep, skilled and collectively on the larger side. He believes that youngster Aleksander Barkov, the 6-foot-3 and 213-pound Panthers center who has 16 goals and 42 points this season, is “an elite talent in this league.” While praising him, he pointed out that the Penguins are challenged by bigger forwards because other than Jamie Oleksiak, who was a healthy scratch Tuesday, they don’t have the size on the blue line to body up the Barkovs of the world. So, they must neutralize them in other ways. “Below the hashmarks, that’s where a guy as big and as strong as he is can present a challenge,” he said. “We don’t have the biggest, strongest defense corps or team. But we do have guys that are mobile, that have good sticks, that can use their anticipation and our strengths to try to defend.” 1103718 Pittsburgh Penguins But you could also argue that the Penguins are paying just 60 percent of Brassard’s salary — Vegas is paying the other $2 million — because they gave up a ton to get him: a 2018 first-round pick, top goaltending 20 Penguins Thoughts: Level of 'urgency' different this year for Jim prospect Filip Gustavsson, Ian Cole and Ryan Reaves. Rutherford Should the Penguins keep Brassard? One school of thought says they should; he’s played in big games, Jason Mackey produced, and it’s only a matter of time until he does the same here. But what if he doesn’t? What if not seeing top-six time continues to be an issue Brassard struggles to overcome? 1. Jim Rutherford remains open for business when it comes to trades, 4. If the Penguins do decide to move on from Brassard, there’s one per his usual, but the Penguins general manager made it clear Monday player in particular I think would be very interesting: Eric Staal from he does not feel the same urgency as he did last year to upgrade his Minnesota. third-line center position. There’s obviously no shortage of positive feelings that exist between In fact, over the past two or three weeks, Rutherford said, he’s actually Staal and Rutherford dating back to the decade the two spent with the been encouraged by Derick Brassard’s play, believing the player has Carolina Hurricanes. finally started to accept a role that he’s never really had before. Staal, 34, makes just $3.5 million, the same as Eller, and will be an “I don’t know exactly how to explain it,” Rutherford told the Pittsburgh unrestricted free agent after the season — meaning it’s essentially a Post-Gazette Monday while the Penguins practiced at UPMC Lemieux straight swap for Brassard. He’s a year removed from scoring 42 goals Sports Complex. “He’s a top-six player. Has been his whole career. and had 28 the season before that. There’s clearly been an adjustment here to his role. The problems are cost and whether Staal would actually be available. “Is it more of an acceptance of the role? Whatever it is, I’ve seen it for a Right now the Wild have won three in a row, occupy a playoff spot and few weeks now.” would obviously not want to trade Staal. But before that they dropped 11 of 15. If this current run doesn’t stick and they fall off, who knows? If it turns out that Rutherford is content with Brassard, that nixes what could potentially be the Penguins’ biggest move of the upcoming trade Also, Minnesota — or any acquiring team — would need to actually be deadline. Instead, they’d probably just ship out a defenseman and make interested in Brassard, although I’d imagine the Wild could probably give another subtle tweak or two. Brassard the regular top-six minutes that he misses. Standing pat would send a message to Brassard, current linemates It’s a long shot, sure, but it is one of several routes the Penguins could go Tanner Pearson and Phil Kessel, and coach Mike Sullivan, basically if they decide Brassard is not the guy. telling them, “Work it out.” 5. What about keeping Brassard, would that make sense? It would also chart a different path from last season — and that could be intentional. Once the Penguins found themselves during the second half, Given his pedigree, his previous history of playing with skilled players Rutherford pushing his chips to the middle of the table with that and what seemed to click for that line Sunday, I do want to see a little complicated Brassard deal, for myriad reasons, never really made the more. I’ve written in this space before I didn’t think it would work and was Penguins better. surprised by some of what we saw against the Blackhawks. “We had a bigger need last year than we have right now,” Rutherford Brassard had a couple of terrific chances, and Pearson said they graded said. “I don’t know where things will go on the trade front, but I don’t feel out extremely well when it came to the Penguins’ internal numbers. the same urgency as I felt last year to strengthen our center position, “We had a lot of chances,” Pearson said. “We had seven or eight which was a big need last year.” compared to just one against. Any time you do that, it’s usually a pretty None of this, of course, is final. There’s still plenty of hockey to be played good outcome for your line.” and decisions to be made. With that in mind, let’s examine this decision a I really liked the one-timer Brassard fired from the right circle for his goal. little more because it could turn out to be a big one. I also like that he was at least available and in the right spot for a couple 2. Before the Christmas break, Rutherford said he would be monitoring other opportunities, even if he booted them. Overall, it was probably the the Penguins’ third-line center spot, to ensure that Brassard is the right most cooperative play — borrowing a Sullivan term — we’ve seen from guy for the team. that group. Nick Bonino was that guy, but it didn’t make sense for the Penguins, with “I felt pretty good with the way we played,” Brassard said. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on their roster, to give Bonino, then 29, What I liked most, though, came in the morning. $16.4 million over four years the way that Nashville did. “We’re looking forward to being a little bit more dangerous offensively,” Filling that void took an extraordinarily long time, and some may argue Brassard said, making what almost sounded like a backhanded the Penguins are still searching for someone to fill Bonino’s role: playing guarantee. in all situations while being stout defensively, winning faceoffs and adding some offense; someone who’s completely comfortable in a non- If he’s going to be cocky about this whole thing — confident might be a top-six role; and someone who meshes with Phil Kessel, whom the better term — I don’t think that’s the worst thing. And maybe that’s what Penguins, most nights, would prefer to keep away from Crosby and Rutherford has seen: more ownership taken to make this work and Malkin to promote scoring depth. function as the player the Penguins thought they were getting. While Brassard has had his struggles here, including a pair of lower-body Go to section injuries that have seemingly had a pretty drastic effect, he has shown at least a few signs of life over the past couple weeks, including the best 6. I do think there’s some mental gymnastics that must be done with game yet for the Pearson-Brassard-Kessel line Sunday against Chicago. these three guys, as none of them are traditional third-line players. “We’re hopeful that that line potentially should be, could be very But the Penguins, because of Crosby and Malkin and what has typically dangerous with the players that are on it,” Sullivan said. “All three of them worked with them — Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel, for instance — there are very good offensively. They have great instincts. They’re all a little bit are only so many top-six jobs available for players who could probably different in the skill sets that they bring. But they have all the makings of have an easier time securing those minutes in other cities. being a very, very good line for us.” I approached Pearson with this idea, and he agreed. That it does take 3. The topic of Brassard and fit will be a thing around here until it’s not. some work to get over the fact that you’re on the third line, but there’s a pretty healthy reminder (perhaps the sum total of their salaries: $13.55 On one hand, Brassard is on pace for 16 goals and 29 points. That would million) that third-line duty here is different from that in other NHL actually be a better offensive year than what Bonino did for the Penguins markets. in 2015-16 (9-20–29 in 63 games). It’s even similar to what the Capitals got out of their third-line center, Lars Eller (18-20—38 in 81 games), last “Any time you look at the depth of our team, it’s pretty hard to take it as a season. That came on a $3.5 million contract, which is only $500,000 third-line kind of thing,” Pearson said. “Having four lines is huge. It evens higher than Brassard’s cost to the Penguins. out the minutes. … It’s been a good line. We just have to keep going.” 7. Back to the negative view here, though: Brassard’s underlying numbers were a hot mess before Sunday. In the previous five games, Brassard was on the ice for just 32.1 percent I’ve played on teams where shot attempts are talked about a lot in the of five-on-five shot attempts and 26.2 percent of scoring chances. room. It’s a priority to get pucks toward the net.” Those aren’t everything, I’ll agree, but they are something. Corsi, for those who might not know, is another way of saying five-on-five shot attempts. Since hockey doesn’t have time of possession like, say, 8. With the Penguins seemingly settling into some lines that afford them football, this is the best we can do, flawed as it may be. balance, it looks like Brassard’s role on this team will be to play with Pearson and Kessel and — they hope — produce goals and points. But Cullen is right; there are teams that prioritize winning the possession game. Shot attempts also get glamorized by agents looking to prove their There’s honestly nowhere else to go, aside from another team. Left wing clients’ value and coaches trying to play a certain way. with Crosby is out. And given what Rutherford said above, a trade seems like a last resort at this point. 14. The Penguins want to shoot the puck, of course, but not in the same way that teams such as the Carolina Hurricanes do. They take shots “We were involved,” Brassard said of Sunday’s game. “We were trying to from pretty much everywhere. Even if the first attempt is only so-so, their chip in. If we have four lines that can go, we’re going to be a more hope is that it’ll create a next-play opportunity. dangerous team. We’re just connecting. We’re on the same page. As a result, Carolina is averaging 36.6 shots on goal per game, which is “We’ll try to build on that game.” the highest mark of the post-lockout era. The Hurricanes are also just 19- 9. What does it say about your All-Star Game format that Kris Letang 17-5, so the effectiveness of that particular strategy remains to be seen. may not even be the biggest snub? League-wide, teams are averaging about two more shots on goal per It’s entirely possible that, barring the “Last Men In” vote, that six of the game than they did in 2015-16. top 15 scorers in the NHL will not represent their teams in San Jose, “It seems like teams just want to shoot it from everywhere and put pucks Calif. on net, even at bad angles and drive the net,” Olli Maatta said. That list includes Toronto’s Mitch Marner; Calgary’s Sean Monahan; “Sometimes we want to do it as well. That’s a smart play when you have Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point; Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl; and two more guys going to the net. You just want to put it on net, try to get a rebound Flames in Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm. out of it in a scramble. That’s the way the game is now.” Perhaps even more egregious, Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner, who’s No. 2 in 15. Where the Penguins fit here is interesting to me. goals, would have to win the vote to go. Letang, Point and Draisaitl fall They pride themselves on being a possession team, but that doesn’t into the same category. necessarily manifest itself in having a good Corsi or anything like that. Isn’t the idea to showcase offense and your best players? In the last three full seasons, the Penguins have attempted 11,553 shots "The new All-Star format has worked in many ways, but the one way it during five-on-five play, which is the eighth-most in the NHL. Their Corsi hasn’t worked is it takes away from a situation like this, where you have For percentage — I often refer to this as shot share because I think it’s more than one player who has earned the right to go there,” Rutherford easier to understand — is 51.7, which ranks fifth during that time. said. “As we know, the host team gets extra players and the Stanley Cup So, yes, the Penguins definitely want to attempt shots, but they also want team, which is totally understandable. I agree with it. But it does hurt to attempt shots that will result in shots on goal and, hopefully, scoring certain teams.” chances. 10. One of those could easily be the Penguins — if Capitals center In that same stretch, the Penguins lead the NHL in shots on goal at 6,504 Nicklas Backstrom winds up going ahead of Letang, who ranks third in and scoring chances — both five-on-five — at 5,585. goals (10) by a defenseman and sixth in points (37) while playing perhaps the best hockey of his career. “We focus more on hanging onto pucks and possessing the puck,” Cullen said. “I think it’s two different thought processes. However, the back end of this is Letang could probably use the rest. “The more we hang onto the puck in the offensive zone, the better And even if Letang does go, Rutherford thinks that the Penguins’ bye opportunities we’re going to get as the game goes along.” week — the five days immediately preceding the All-Star break — could help Crosby and potentially Letang. 16. But that only covers half the stat. The Penguins have still given up more shots than they’ve taken in 22 of 42 games thus far (52.4 percent), “The good thing this year is our bye week leads up to the All-Star Game,” yet they’ve managed to fare extremely well when that happens. Rutherford said. “So for a guy like Sid or Kris, they still get their break, then get back into the All-Star Game. I don’t think that the rest is as One of the reasons, at least lately, has been goaltending, with the strong necessary as it would be in other years.” play of Matt Murray since he came back from injury and Casey DeSmith before that. 11. As good as Letang was during Sullivan’s first year in 2015-16, I honestly think he may be even better now. “Our goalies have been great lately,” Maatta said. There’s the 20-goal pace. Several shutdown defensive performances The success rate when winning while getting outshot is also somewhat (Dec. 19 in Washington stands out). A seven-game point streak. Key new. The Penguins were 14-14-1 when that happened in 2017-18, 18- roles on special-teams units that both rank in the top-six. Advanced 13-3 in 2016-17 and 13-9-1 when it occurred 2015-16. numbers that rank among the best at his position. But the shot disparity has still been crazy, and it’s showing no signs of I asked Rutherford whether this is the best he’s seen Letang. stopping. “I don’t know because he’s played a lot of good hockey for us,” Teams are averaging 31.5 shots on goal per game this season through Rutherford said. “Clearly he’s at the top of his game now.” Sunday’s games, which is up from 29.7 in 2015-16, the year Sullivan took over. 12. There’s an interesting trend occurring with the Penguins this season, and it seemingly takes conventional wisdom and chucks it out the That season, just 13 teams averaged 30 or more shots on goal per window: They’ve actually fared better when they give up more shots on game. In 2018-19, that number was 22 after Sunday’s games. goal than they take. 17. But again, it’s not all about quantity. For the Penguins, it’s about They’re 6-7-3 when they have more shots than their opponent but 15-6-1 quality — and that has enabled them to stay competitive where they don’t when they get outshot. win the battle on the shot clock. On the surface, it might look strange — don’t more shots lead to more I really liked Sullivan’s answer on the topic and wanted to convey that in scoring opportunities? — but I spent some time this week drilling deeper its entirety. I had asked Sullivan how the Penguins have managed to fare into what this trend is all about. so well despite getting outshot so much: Go to section “I think you’ve got to drill down a little bit deeper than just look at the shot clock,” Sullivan said. “The shot clock is one statistic, but it can be 13. For one, it’s not just the Penguins. The emphasis on shot attempts deceiving. It doesn’t always tell the story. and shots on goal has been happening for a while now, and Matt Cullen has a pretty good idea how and when it started. “I will say that our team tends to be selective on when they shoot. We try to encourage our guys to shoot the puck more than we do. I wish we “The game has gone that way since the Corsi stat came into the forefront would, quite honestly. We have a team that it’s part of its DNA; we have years ago,” Cullen said. “All of a sudden teams started throwing shots. a lot of playmakers who are looking for that next play or that play that might be better than what they see. “As a coaching staff, coaching the offense, we always try to be very cautious that we don’t over-coach it or we try not to get in the way because we believe we have some guys who are difference-makers and see the game differently than most. That’s what makes them what they are. “We try to tread softly with how we coach the offense. We want to give them strategies and concepts so that we can work cooperatively and we can be somewhat predictable for one another. But part of what makes our team unique is our ability to go off the grid a little bit and act on their instincts.” 18. I tweeted this the other night, but Pascal Dupuis did not skip the honoring of the 2008-09 Stanley Cup team because of some issue with the organization. Things have been (mostly) smoothed over, but Dupuis did have a medical issue in his family and chose to stay home instead. Nothing more, nothing less. And from what I hear, the issue — which he wants to remain private — is trending upward. 19. One area where I think the Penguins have been a little more cautious with Murray since he returned from injury is letting him play with a clear head versus working on anything overly technical in his game. They’re not forgoing coaching, by any stretch; that would be impossible. But there seemingly has been a greater emphasis placed on just playing, getting back to the read-and-react stuff that made Murray so good earlier in his career. “Mike Buckley is as good as any goalie coach in the league,” Rutherford said. “He understands these players inside and out. I do think sometimes when there’s an area that any player, but especially a goalie, is working on, there’s a fine line to walk. How hard do you focus on it and push on it, where you’re focusing too much on that area and other areas are slipping? They always work through that.” 20. As more people have taken note of Crosby’s two-way play and (legitimate) candidacy for the Selke Trophy, there’s been more talk about the captain’s work on the penalty kill. His response to that line of questioning Monday made me laugh. I asked Crosby, who hasn’t consistently killed penalties since early in his career, whether there was any sort of adjustment required to get back on the PK. “It took probably a few shifts,” Crosby said. “It depends. The in-zone is different depending on who you play, trying to be aware of passing lanes and things like that. That’s still not completely comfortable yet. But as far as teams’ breakouts and things like that, there’s a lot of anticipation and reading plays and things, so that comes a little bit quicker.” Crosby, of course, said he would attend penalty kill meetings not because he was required but because “you learn a lot as far as what you can do on the power play when you’re involved in the PK and how teams try to defend certain things.” Sounds a little different than James Harrison and his recliner, no? And then making the necessary adjustments … oh, in a couple shifts. Jason Mackey: Post Gazette LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103719 Pittsburgh Penguins In four of the past six games, the Panthers have watched opponents take a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Florida has fought back from those deficits in recent weeks, true. But it Penguins kick Panthers into second half with more questions and high- has not lately as the loss Tuesday was its third in a row. profile benchings The Panthers are winless in 2019.

Tuesday, Boughner had seen enough. By George Richards Jan 8, 2019 After the game, general manager Dale Tallon said he had no problem with the move. PITTSBURGH — The Panthers reached the midway point of their “There needs to be some accountability out there,” Tallon said as he season Tuesday night and, contrary to public belief, are not walked toward the team locker room. “We need our best players to play mathematically eliminated from the NHL playoffs just yet. like it. We can’t keep being down 2-0 every night. We’re going to fix this.” They only happen to look like a team in the final week of a long season. Boughner is running out of ideas to light a fire under his team. Benching There are 41 more games to go. three of his best players in a game that was already out of hand may or may not do the trick. Before Florida kicked off its biggest road trip of the season Tuesday, players talked about how they needed to play, how they needed to come A Huberdeau turnover led to the first shorthanded goal in the second; out and take control of the game — dictate flow, get a lead — and start Yandle the second. feeling good about themselves once again. “There was no message, but I know the third goal was my fault,” As has been the case a lot lately, things unraveled from the beginning. Huberdeau said. “That’s about it. But there was no message. Maybe we’ll talk tomorrow. Mistakes happen. I looked bad on that goal and I’m not For the first time, however, it ended with four of his highest-paid players happy with myself. I still think I should have had the chance to come on the bench. back, battle through and help the team.” Coach Bob Boughner sat All-Star Keith Yandle, Jonathan Huberdeau, Bogdan Kiselevich and Denis Malgin, who routinely get scratched from Mike Hoffman and goalie Roberto Luongo after the Penguins made it 4-0 the lineup, played their biggest minutes of the season in the absence of on their second shorthanded goal of the second period. the stars. The four took a spot on the bench midway through the second and didn’t Boughner said they deserved to play. Besides, he had to do something. see the ice again. “We’re playing the Pittsburgh Penguins,” Boughner said. “The thing that Great seats, crummy performance; the Penguins eased to a 5-1 win. disappoints me the most is our young guys, our depth guys, played their asses off. The guys you depend on, on a nightly basis who get paid the “They weren’t ready to play,” Boughner said in clipped tones afterward. big money, did not. I was going to play the guys who wanted to play. … “They didn’t execute. They cost us a couple of goals. They didn’t work Plain and simple.” hard enough. All of the above. … Penguins center Sidney Crosby celebrates with the bench after his goal “Those guys have been good on the power play all year. But when we in the third period made the score 5-1. (Charles LeClaire / USA Today) needed them the most, in the middle of a playoff push, we have two or three guys out to lunch.” Right now, talk of the playoffs — Florida is 10 points back of the last spot in the Eastern Conference — is going to be put on hold around these Florida has been talking about quick starts for weeks, but sloppy plays parts. early have ended up in the back of the net. When the deficit is double-digits, even with a few games in their back Tuesday, it was a turnover by Mike Matheson — his 67th this season — pocket, it’s better just not to bring it up. which got the Penguins going as Tanner Pearson beat Luongo 89 seconds into the game. Soon enough, it was 2-0. Remember last season, the one with the terrible start but fantastic run at the end that made everyone get excited about the Panthers again? Moments into the second, the Penguins scored the first of two shorthanded goals in the period — yes, two shorthanded goals in a That team, as everybody knows, finished one point out of the playoffs. single period — to make it 4-0. It was seven points back of the final spot in the Eastern Conference “Give their goalie (Matt Murray) credit, he played really well,” Boughner going into the second half of their season. This team is three points said. “Ours didn’t. We had two shorthanded goals and that is behind that one. unacceptable.” Unless Florida turns its fortunes around, stops turning the puck over, Luongo was taken out of the game again, only this time he was joined by starts finding some goaltending, starts playing with real urgency at the three other high-profile Panthers. start of games, this season might just be over. He didn’t seem in the mood for any company. Didn’t it just start? Luongo has been pulled in three of his past six games and has given up One up, one down 21 goals on 140 shots since Dec. 20. Chris Wideman’s stay with the Panthers did not last long. Wideman came “It’s a mental thing right now and I don’t have any words to describe it,” to the Panthers in a trade with Edmonton on Dec. 30 and played in his Luongo told The Athletic after the game. first game Saturday night. “This is all in my head. I’m thinking too much out there and obviously, my By Sunday, he found himself on waivers. Monday, he was assigned to confidence is not very high. I’m working hard in practice, feeling good but Florida’s AHL team in Springfield, Mass. it’s not translating right now. It’s disappointing to let my teammates down every night. It has been a battle. I just need to get out of it.” The Panthers brought back Ian McCoshen, a more defensive-minded player, which Boughner said the Panthers need. When asked if his team was desperate before the game started, captain Sasha Barkov did not sound convincing at all. Boughner even said he would like to see the Panthers address that need moving forward. “We can be, we’re all talking about it and we need to be so,” Barkov said. “That is a need of ours, for sure,” Boughner said. “We have some good The Panthers certainly did not look like a team hungry for every single parts there, but time to time, we get exposed especially against the high- point, one ready to start a long and important road trip on the right side of end teams. Whether it’s now, at the (trade) deadline or in the summer, the ledger. that’s something I personally see as one of our biggest needs.” And they haven’t for some time. Goaltending has been a problem but so, McCoshen, Matheson’s teammate at Boston College, played in 41 too, has been Florida’s all-out assault. It just hasn’t been there. games with the Panthers over the previous two seasons. For the seventh consecutive game and ninth time in the past 10, Florida He did not play Tuesday but is expected to draw into the lineup during gave up the first goal. the Alberta swing. which starts Thursday at Edmonton. The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103720 Pittsburgh Penguins Bryan Rust is all of 26 years of age and has four seasons of NHL experience. So it’s a bit awkward to think of him as some vested veteran. But with two Stanley Cup rings and plenty of playoff experience, including Discussion – Panthers at Penguins quite a few high-profile goals, he has a more impressive resume than most NHLers.

If nothing else, he has the adulation of Zach Aston-Reese who had an By Seth Rorabaugh Jan 8, 2019 interesting comment on who he tries to emulate. “I always think about what the (coaching) staff says about Bryan Rust,” Aston-Reese said. “They call him the Swiss Army Knife. They can use When and where: 7 p.m., EST, Consol Energy Center PPG Paints Arena him up and down the lineup. I don’t think that’s a bad role to be in.” TV: KBL Fox Sports Pittsburgh Root Sports ATT Sportsnet • Kris Letang has a seven-game scoring streak. Record: 17-16-7, 41 points. The Panthers are sixth place in the • Rust has 98 career points. Southeast Atlantic Division • The Panthers have killed nine consecutive opposing power play Leading Scorer: Left winger Jonathan Huberdeau, 46 points (11 goals, opportunities. 35 assists) • Panthers defenseman Chris Wideman cleared waivers and was Last Game: 4-3 home loss to the Blue Jackets, Saturday. Defenseman assigned to Springfield of the AHL. Defenseman Ian McCoshen was Keith Yandle had two assists for the Panthers. recalled from Springfield. Last Game against the Penguins: 6-5 home win, Feb. 24. Right winger • The referees are Francois St. Laurent and Tom Chmielewski. The Evgenii Dadonov had a hat trick for the Panthers. linesmen are Tony Sericolo and Derek Amell. The last time the Penguins played the Panthers, this happened: Postgame notes Probable goaltenders: Matt Murray (11-5-1, 2.89 GAA, .913 SV%, 3 SO) Penguins center Zach Aston-Reese draws an interference penalty for for the Penguins. Roberto Luongo (8-8-1, 3.24 GAA, .896 SV%, 1 SO) for hitting Panthers center Frank Vatrano during the third period of the Panthers. Tuesday’s game at PPG Paints Arena. (Charles LeClaire-USA Today) Injuries: For the Penguins, Justin Schultz (left leg) is on injured reserve. Observations from the Penguins’ 5-1 win: For the Panthers, center Nick Bjugstad (neck) is questionable. Centers Derek McKenzie (shoulder), Vince Trocheck (ankle) and left winger Randomly speaking Jamie McGinn (back) are on injured reserve. • Aston-Reese and Patric Hornqvist each left the game early with Potential lines and pairs: The Penguins had an optional morning skate. apparent injuries. Hornqvist took a puck to the face at 12:12 of the first Consider this a guess based on Monday’s practice: period and left the ice immediately. Aston-Reese got into a fight with Panthers center Colton Sceviour at 5:49 of the third period. He returned The Panthers expected lines and pairs are: for one shift later in the period, but it lasted only eight seconds. Pregame notes Aston-Reese’s fight: The Penguins are quietly beginning to campaign for Sidney Crosby to Sullivan said he had no updates on either player but suggested Aston- garner consideration for the Frank J. Selke Trophy which goes “to the Reese’s injury could keep him sidelined for “a little while.” forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” • The Penguins got two short-handed goals, doubling their season total to Crosby’s defensive game at 5-on-5 has always been sharp as he four. The first was scored by Bryan Rust at 3:04 of the first period. The routinely lines up against the opposition’s top center. This season, his second was scored by Riley Sheahan at 8:56 of the second period: use on the penalty kill as of late has enhanced the focus on his defensive acumen. • During his ongoing eight-game winning streak, Matt Murray has a 1.24 goals against average, and a .963 save percentage. For the past month, Mike Sullivan has selectively deployed Crosby and Jake Guentzel on the penalty kill in the hopes of generating some kind of • Marcus Petterson had two assists and a fight. At 17:02 of the second short-handed offensive attack. period, Pettersson dropped the gloves with Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar: “It’s something that I did earlier on then not so much for a long period of time there,” Crosby said of his recent time on the penalty kill. “Sometimes It was Petterson’s second fight of the season and his career. games, they get into special teams battles where you’re not necessarily out there to kill a lot of penalties. It’s a big responsibility for whoever goes • Crosby reached the 20-goal mark for the 12th time of his career with a out to get those kills. Those situations are fun to be in.” score at 13:41 of the third period: Crosby’s short-handed ice time crested in 2008-09 when the Penguins Statistically speaking won the Stanley Cup under Dan Bylsma. He skated 57 seconds a game • The Panthers led in shots, 37-31. on the penalty kill that season. Then followed it up in 2009-10 with 53 seconds. • Crosby led the game with seven shots. After this concussion issues which sidelined him for parts of the 2010-11 • Center Frank Vatrano led the Panthers with five shots. and 2011-12 season, he was kind of all over the place under Bylsma and Mike Johnston. During Sullivan’s first two complete seasons of 2016-17 • Kris Letang led the game with 28:15 of ice time on 31 shifts. and 2017-18, Crosby’s short-handed ice time was almost non-existent. • Defenseman Aaron Ekblad led the Panthers with 24:29 of ice time on This season, it has ticked back up: 32 shifts. • Sullivan was asked about how he has rotated Murray and Casey • The Panthers had a 28-27 edge in faceoffs (51 percent). DeSmith as of late. • Crosby was 12 for 20 (60 percent). “Managing the workload is important for us to keep in mind moving • Panthers center Aleksander Barkov was 12 for 22 (55 percent). forward,” Sullivan said. “When you look at our schedule this week, we have four games this week … That’s a heavy workload in a week for one Historically speaking guy. So we’re trying to manage the workloads of both of these guys where they both have the ability to have success when they get in the • This was the 35th time in franchise history the Penguins have scored net. At the same time, we’re trying to make the best decisions to help our multiple short-handed goals in the same game. The previous one was a team win on a game-to-game basis. We believe both of them are doing 5-4 home win against the Sabres, March 29, 2016. that for us. Matt has had a really strong stretch of games here for us. • Rust (100 points) moved past Blair Chapman (99), Colby Armstrong Casey’s played extremely well. There’s always that fine line of we don’t (98) and German Titov (98) for 91st place on the franchise’s career want one guy sitting too long because then it doesn’t put him in a real scoring list. good position when he does get in the net to actually give us a legitimate chance to win and allow him to be at his best.” The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103721 San Jose Sharks appearances. If Karlsson picks up an assist against the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday, he’ll pass Orr and Housley while tying Leetch’s 15- game assists streak set during the 1991-92 season. Paul Coffey holds Takeaways: the Sharks are better off without Vlasic right now the record, grabbing assists in 17 straight games during the 1985-86 campaign.

“To be honest, it’s not really shocking to many of us,” Dillon said. “We’re By Paul Gackle lucky enough to see him every day at the practice rink, at the game rink, he’s just a special, special player.”

The three-point night, Karlsson’s second in as many days, also made him SAN JOSE — Pete DeBoer might need to start looking over his shoulder. the 13th defensemen to record points in 14 straight games. He’s collected 25 points over that span. Sick on the couch, the Sharks coach handed managerial duties over to his longtime bench-mate Steve Spott Tuesday and his team completed Karlsson earned secondary assists on Evander Kane’s opening goal at its homestand with a 3-0 record. 6:37 of the first and Joonas Donskoi’s second goal at 10:44 of the third. He also recorded the primary assist on Brent Burns’ eighth of the year on The Sharks also earned a win on Nov. 21, 2015 when DeBoer gave the a Sharks power play at 15:37 of the second. bench to Spott in Pittsburgh to deal with personal matters. If he isn’t careful, his good friend might just steal his job. “He’s really established his game in our structure,” Pavelski said. “We feel comfortable playing with him. He’s been a big piece to our success Kidding aside, the Sharks are firing on all cylinders right now, winning lately.” four straight and improving to 6-1 since the Christmas break. It might not matter who’s behind the bench when the team is clicking. 65 and 88. Just  right now. #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/P5ywB5DQi8 Here’s what we learned in the Sharks 7-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers — San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 9, 2019 at SAP Center: Speaking of ridiculous-offensive numbers, here’s a few more: With a goal 1. The Sharks are better off without Marc-Edouard Vlasic right now. and an assist, Burns has amassed 14 points in seven games. Kane Usually, when the Edmonton Oilers travel to Silicon Valley, it means that scored two more goals and picked up an assist, giving him 17 points in Connor McDavid is going to be seeing a lot of Marc-Edouard Vlasic. He 16 games. Donskoi scored two, giving him seven goals in six games. got a reprieve on Tuesday. 3. Kane closes the gap. Or did he? Last week, I wrote about the game within the game as the Sharks head With Vlasic and his longtime partner Justin Braun sidelined by injuries, into contract negotiations with Pavelski and Timo Meier this year. the Sharks threw a different look at McDavid. He’s probably hoping that The seven-year, $49 million deal that Kane signed last summer set a Vlasic and Braun are back in the lineup when the Sharks visit Edmonton benchmark that will certainly come up in contract talks this offseason. on Feb. 9. You can imagine that Pavelski and Meier’s agents will be making The Oilers captain spent most of his 16:28 of even strength ice time comparisons to Kane’s numbers when they sit down with general skating against the pairing of Erik Karlsson and Brenden Dillon and got manager Doug Wilson. held off the scoresheet, posting a minus-3 rating. In fact, McDavid didn’t Kane is helping Wilson’s budget headache by closing the gap in the record a single shot on goal in five-on-five situations. Sharks scoring race. The stingy-defensive performance sans the Vlasic-Braun pairing isn’t Expect the unexpected. #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/dfgZZz06Ro exactly a one-off. — San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 9, 2019 The Sharks limited a Tampa Bay Lightning squad that’s averaging 4.12 goals per game to just 20 shots on Saturday, snapping their 16-game Takeaways: Watch out, the Burns-Karlsson threat is coming to life point streak. On Monday, they held the Los Angeles Kings to just three high-danger scoring chances over the game’s final 40 minutes. With five tallies in four games, Kane tied Logan Couture for third on the team in goals Tuesday with 16 on the year. He now trails Meier, who A lot of factors are playing into the Sharks defensive frugality without hasn’t found the back of the net in 12 games, by only two goals. their top-shutdown pairing. Karlsson and Brent Burns are eating more ice time. Radim Simek, Tim Heed and Joakim Ryan are stepping up and Still, Kane will need to get some work done to lower Pavelski’s price tag. giving the team responsible minutes. The Sharks forwards are He still trails the captain by nine goals. contributing to a five-man game and the offense is keeping the puck in San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.09.2019 the zone. But it also turns out that Karlsson is quite a defender, as well. He can handle all of Vlasic’s responsibilities while giving the Sharks more offensive punch. “He’s as good in our end as he is in the offensive zone,” Spott said. With Karlsson in the lineup, do the Sharks still need to lean on Vlasic against the top offenses in the NHL? The recent sample, albeit small, suggests that the Sharks might be just fine without him and his team- worst minus-13 rating. Now, this isn’t to suggest that Vlasic is washed up or that the Sharks aren’t going to need him down the road, especially if Karlsson signs elsewhere in the offseason. Bets are that Vlasic will climb out of his slump and remind everyone why he’s considered an elite defenseman. That said, he might not be as valuable to the team in its current form as he was in the past. The Sharks have played three of their best defensive games of the season without him. “At the end of the night, (Vlasic) is a great defender,” Joe Pavelski said. “We’ll be happy when they come back. But guys are doing a tremendous job. It doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup. We have a formula for success.” 2. Karlsson joins elite company with historic point streak. Next up on Karlsson’s hit list: Bobby Orr, Phil Housley and Brian Leetch. Karlsson joined elite company Wednesday, becoming just the fifth defenseman in NHL history to record assists in 14 consecutive 1103722 San Jose Sharks

Erik Karlsson enters rare territory as Sharks top Oilers

By Paul Gackle | PUBLISHED: January 8, 2019

SAN JOSE — Next up on Erik Karlsson’s hit list: Bobby Orr, Phil Housley and Brian Leetch. Karlsson entered into rare territory Tuesday, recording three more assists as the Sharks beat the Edmonton Oilers 7-2 at SAP Center to earn their fourth straight win. In doing so, he became just the fifth defenseman in NHL history to record assists in 14 consecutive appearances. If Karlsson picks up an assist against the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday, he’ll pass Orr and Housley while tying Leetch’s 15-game assists streak set during the 1991-92 season. Paul Coffey holds the record, grabbing assists in 17 straight games during the 1985-86 campaign. The three-point night, Karlsson’s second in as many days, also made him the 13th defensemen to record points in 14 straight games. He’s collected 25 points over that span. Karlsson earned secondary assists on Evander Kane’s opening goal at 6:37 of the first and Joonas Donskoi’s second goal at 10:44 of the third. He also recorded the primary assist on Brent Burns’ eighth of the year on a Sharks power play at 15:37 of the second. Speaking of ridiculous-offensive numbers, here’s a few more: With a goal and an assist, Burns has amassed 14 points in seven games. Kane scored two more goals and picked up an assist, giving him five tallies in four games and 17 points in 16 outings. Donskoi scored two, giving him seven goals in six games. Marcus Sorensen scored the Sharks second goal at 12:57 of the first off a penalty shot and Joe Thornton recorded the sixth at 1:04 of the third. The Oilers produced a rare moment, as well: Milan Lucic scored a goal, his first since opening night. Alex Chiasson netted the Oilers other goal, punching in a pass from Connor McDavid with the extra man. The Sharks earned the win with head coach Pete DeBoer sidelined by illness. Assistant coach Steve Spott took over head coaching duties for his longtime bench-mate. Backup goalie Aaron Dell made 20 saves in a winning effort. The Sharks improved to 3-0 without Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun, who are both sidelined by injuries. The Sharks will return to action in Las Vegas Thursday for a bout with the Golden Knights. San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103723 San Jose Sharks

Sharks overwhelm Oilers 7-2 — win streak reaches 4 games

By Ross McKeon Updated 10:59 pm PST, Tuesday, January 8, 2019

The Sharks continued to rack up video-game numbers at the expense of Edmonton. San Jose won its fourth straight — and ran its record to 11-2-2 in the past 15 — with a 7-2 laugher over the disinterested and mistake-prone Oilers on Tuesday night at SAP Center. “This is the kind of team we know we can be,” Sharks forward Evander Kane said. “We just have to stay consistent.” Defenseman Brent Burns continued to pad his lead among the league’s blue-liners. With a goal and an assist, Burns has five multi-point games in his past eight outings. Speaking of scoring defenseman, Erik Karlsson chipped in three more assists to give him 25 points in his past 14 appearances. Karlsson had three assists in Monday night’s win over the Kings, too. “He’s really established his game in our structure,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “Everybody feels pretty comfortable playing with him. He’s been a big piece to our success.” Karlsson’s defense partner, Brenden Dillon, added, “It’s not really shocking to us. We’re lucky enough to see him every day. He’s just a special, special player. It’s amazing when you look around this locker room with the achievement some of these guys have. We’re just really happy for him and the way he’s playing.” Joonas Donskoi scored two goals, and with two more goals Tuesday and an assist, Kane shot to 16 goals on the season with five in four games and 17 points in 16 games. Maybe head coach Pete DeBoer should get sick more often. The fourth- year San Jose bench boss missed Tuesday’s game as he was under the weather. Assistants Steve Spott, Dave Barr and Rob Zettler combined to sub for DeBoer. “Obviously, we’re missing a couple key defenders,” Pavelski said of the injured Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun. “For us, it’s realizing our structure and the type of game we want to play. And guys have committed to it.” After a three-goal first, the Shark kept rolling in the second. Kane scored his second of the game, and it was almost as weird as his game-opening strike in the first. With inside position on Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse but his stick tied up, Kane angled his skate so Burns’ feed from the left circle caromed past Oilers goalie Cam Talbot at 6:32 for a 4-1 lead. The Oilers looked to get back into the game briefly when Milan Lucic redirected a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins feed past Sharks goalie Aaron Dell at 10:18 for his first goal in 41 games. But San Jose went on the power play and capitalized with Edmonton defenseman Kris Russell in the box for holding Marcus Sorensen as Burns sniped his eighth goal against relief goalie Mikko Koskinen at 15:37 for a 5-2 lead. San Jose struck first 6:37 after the opening face-off when Kane’s intended cross-ice pass to a pinching Karlsson instead ricocheted off the skate of Oilers defenseman Caleb Jones and past Talbot for a 1-0 lead. Sorensen scored his eighth by converting a penalty shot at 12:27. And after the Oilers cut the deficit in half, Donskoi scored his first of the night at 15:24 as the hosts regained their two-goal edge. “We got the start we wanted and kept it rolling,” Dillon said. San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103724 San Jose Sharks

Sharks takeaways: What we learned in dominant 7-2 win over Oilers

By Chelena Goldman January 08, 2019

SAN JOSE – If you watched any of the Sharks’ game against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, you never would have known this was a team playing the second night of a back-to-back, and their third game in four nights. The forward lines kept rolling, and goaltender Aaron Dell stood tall as San Jose defeated Edmonton yet again, by a score of 7-2. Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s game: San Jose advantage of different scoring opportunities It sounds overused and cliché to say a team has to find different ways to score if they’re going to win games. But, that’s exactly what the Sharks did on Tuesday. They took advantage of their power-play opportunities – thanks to a second-period marker from a red-hot Brent Burns – and got their second goal of the evening on a beautiful penalty shot from Marcus Sorensen. Heck, they even got a little puck luck thanks to three goals hitting the back of the net off deflections. If the Sharks are going to stay hot, they have to keep taking advantage of those different opportunities. The Third Line Stays Hot: Part 2 Really, what more can we say about these guys? Both Joonas Donskoi and Evander Kane had two goals on the evening. Donskoi now has seven goals in his last six games, and Kane has 17 points in a 16-game span. Tomas Hertl, clearly well-adjusted playing center, set up Kane’s game-opening tally and finished plus-3 on the evening. Additionally, Erik Karlsson seems to like setting this line up to score goals. He collected three more apples on Tuesday, two of which were on goals generated by that third line. Karlsson now has 25 points in his last 14 games. Aaron Dell had the start the Sharks needed from him The Sharks’ backup netminder needed a good start on Tuesday. After having a strong start to his 2018-19 campaign, Dell had a rough few outings -- including the New Year’s Eve loss to the Calgary Flames. He did just that, holding down the fort on the back end and even freezing Oilers superstar Connor McDavid a couple of times on Edmonton’s power play. Dell’s performance on Tuesday was a good endorsement for the Sharks’ goaltending on a whole. Martin Jones has cut down on the number of goals he’s given up over the last couple of games, and Dell complimented those starts with one of his own. If San Jose is going to continue being this competitive, it helps to have both goalies playing so well. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103725 San Jose Sharks

NHL rumors: Erik Karlsson, Sharks will talk extension after All-Star Game

By Marcus White January 08, 2019

Erik Karlsson is in the middle of his hottest stretch with the Sharks, and the team reportedly is keen to start discussing how to keep the defenseman in the Bay Area for a long time. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson and Karlsson's agent are expected to begin contract extension talks after the NHL All-Star Game, Pierre LeBrun reported Tuesday on TSN's "Insider Trading." "The two sides have kind of let things stand after the trade in September," LeBrun said. "They wanted him to get used to his new surroundings. My understanding is Don Meehan and Doug Wilson have chatted a bit this week to set up something for after the All-Star break. The two sides would reconvene after [the All-Star game on Jan. 26]." Karlsson is in the final year of a seven-year, $45.5 million deal that he signed with the Ottawa Senators ahead of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. The 28-year-old can become an unrestricted free agent after this season, and would be the best defenseman available on the market. He is eligible to sign an eight-year contract extension with San Jose after the trade deadline on Feb. 25, and he can only sign an eight-year extension with the Sharks. When San Jose first acquired Karlsson in a blockbuster trade in September, Wilson said the team made the deal in order to try to extend the two-time Norris Trophy winner. "You go and research the player, you research what he's looking for, and then if you have the things he's looking for, it minimizes that risk," Wilson told NBC Sports California at the time. "We look at Erik much like we looked at Evander [Kane in May], as a guy who fits now and in the future age-wise, style of game ... We're in the mode of trying to win right now, and I think that's something that's attractive to him. "You have to make it be a place the player wants to play, filling in all of the ingredients that they're looking for in their decision-making process. He's expressed that to us, that we are a place he'd like to be, and same thing [for] us back to him. We'd love him to be here long term." After scoring just seven points in his first 18 games, Karlsson has surged up the NHL's scoring charts. He has 22 points (one goal, 21 assists) in his last 13 games, and entered Tuesday tied for fifth in the NHL among defenseman in points (38). He was named to the Pacific Division's All- Star team, alongside teammates Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski, last week. During that stretch -- but don't call it a streak -- Karlsson's underlying numbers have been stellar, too. Good Lord. Erik Karlsson has 22 points (1 G, 21 A) during a 13-game point streak over the past month. 62.2 CF%, 58.1 SCF%, 64.7 GF% in that span. — Scott Cullen (@ByScottCullen) January 8, 2019 Assuming the salary cap remains flat, the Sharks will have just under $23 million in cap space to work with this offseason. Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is set to be the NHL's highest-paid blue-liner next season, when he enters the first year of an eight-year, $88 million extension he signed last summer. It's possible Karlsson would command more than Doughty on the open market. Forwards Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Joonas Donskoi and Marcus Sorensen all can become unrestricted free agents this summer, while winger Timo Meier is set to become a restricted free agent. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103726 San Jose Sharks

Sharks vs. Oilers watch guide: Projected lines and defensive pairs

By Chelena Goldman January 08, 2019

SAN JOSE – After starting off the new year with three straight victories, the Sharks look to make it four in a row as they wrap up a home back-to- back Tuesday night against the Edmonton Oilers. San Jose is coming off a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings – a game highlighted by San Jose’s strong finish. “We’ve played really well the last couple [of games] especially in the third period with leads,” starting goaltender Martin Jones said. “Pretty encouraging the way we’ve played, so hopefully we can just keep it rolling here.” Edmonton enters Tuesday’s game on the polar opposite end of the spectrum, having gone 3-7-0 in the last 10 contests thanks to a six-game losing streak. The Oilers' season continues to be uneven, as chunks of the team – with the exception of Connor McDavid and a few others – don’t appear motivated on a nightly basis. This is the third meeting of the season between the Sharks and the Oilers. San Jose routed Edmonton on Dec. 29 with a 7-4 victory, in Erik Karlsson's return to the lineup from a two-game suspension. The Sharks did not hold a full team practice on Tuesday and their starting goaltender has not been officially announced. Sharks projected lines and pairs Lukas Radil – Logan Couture – Timo Meier Marcus Sorensen – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski Evander Kane – Tomas Hertl – Joonas Donskoi Kevin Labanc – Barclay Goodrow – Melker Karlsson Radim Simek – Brent Burns Brenden Dillon – Erik Karlsson Joakim Ryan – Tim Heed Aaron Dell - starter Martin Jones Oilers projected lines and pairs Jujhar Khaira – Connor McDavid – Zack Kassian Milan Lucic – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jesse Puljujarvi Tobias Rieder – Leon Draisaitl – Alex Chiasson Ryan Spooner – Kyle Brodziak – Tye Rattie Caleb Jones – Adam Larsson Darnell Nurse – Kris Russell Kevin Gravel – Alex Petrovic Cam Talbot – confirmed starter Mikko Koskinen Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103727 San Jose Sharks

Sharks roll four lines to third straight win, and at just the right time

By Chelena Goldman January 07, 2019

SAN JOSE – When the Sharks were having trouble finding a winning formula at the start of the season, it seemed like coach Peter DeBoer was throwing his line combinations into the blender almost every night. Even when one combo had a good stretch of games, it could get broken up in an effort to give the whole forward attack a better complexion. But DeBoer hasn’t had to do as much shuffling thanks to the success San Jose began finding success in December. Moreover, we’re starting to see more consistency when it comes to multiple lines contributing. With the second half of the season underway and the competition within the division becoming tighter, there’s really no better time for the Sharks to find a four-line formula they can roll with on a nightly basis. “We go into every game wanting to keep the line combinations and roll four lines – and the players dictate whether we can,” DeBoer explained following the Sharks' 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. “I think these groups have played well enough that I’m going to try and have some patience, until you can’t have patience anymore.” It isn’t hard to see why he’d like to keep the current contingent together. Sure, that Tomas Hertl-centered line with Evander Kane and Joonas Donskoi has been on absolute fire of late. But each line has brought something to the table, particularly in the last two games against the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning and the Kings, respectively. “I think we’re starting to find our roles within the season here,” defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “I think we’ve done a good job and guys are stepping up at the right time. Guys are doing what they need to do to be successful out there within the group.” Netminder Martin Jones, who has a front-row seat to view how the rest of the team performs, agreed the Sharks have a good four-line effort in place at the moment. “That’s what you need to win in this league,” he said. “Every night you need all four lines going. When we have our guys going like that and we’re cycling the puck down low and spending a lot of time in the o-zone, we’re a tough team.” And boy, is this the time of year to become a tough team on a nightly basis. Room at the top of the Pacific Division standings has become more crowded as the Sharks are still within striking distance of the Calgary Flames, as well as the surging Vegas Golden Knights. With nearly half of the regular season schedule still to come and the stakes for each game being even higher than the last, the longer the Sharks can roll those four lines – and keep them together, for that matter – is a good thing. “As a team we’re starting to come together and it’s nice to see,” Karlsson said. “We’ve just got to try and find a way to keep it going for the remainder of the year.” Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103728 San Jose Sharks Kings on Monday, he made sure to send a message to defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who ran Meier and Donskoi in the first period.

“He does a lot of that heavy lifting for our group. It’s not easy to do,” Tomas Hertl’s play at center, Erik Karlsson’s historic streak keying DeBoer said after the Sharks’ 3-1 win over Los Angeles. “I think our guys Sharks’ surge appreciate that. He did settle (the Kings) down, they were starting to run around a little bit, and everything kind of settled down after that.” By Kevin Kurz Jan 9, 2019 Donskoi said: “He really has the physical side in his game, and he has the back of other guys, and that’s what we need.”

Of course, the Sharks haven’t been just a one-line team since Christmas. Shortly after the NHL’s Christmas break, Tomas Hertl was told by coach They’ve managed to post a whopping 36 goals over their last seven Pete DeBoer that he was going to get an extended look at the center games for an average of 5.14, and they’re getting contributions from up position. DeBoer liked what he had seen from Hertl in the middle in the and down the lineup. previous game before the break, when he scored a pair of goals in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 23, helping the Sharks Erik Karlsson, whose scoring streak is reaching historic levels, has led erase a third-period deficit and earn a point in the standings. the way. The two-time Norris Trophy winner posted another three assists Tuesday — the second straight game he’s done that — and has a Considering the Sharks’ biggest question mark coming into the season ridiculous 15 points (1g, 14a) in his last six games since he served a two- was their depth at center, perhaps the move wasn’t all that surprising. game suspension for a high hit on the Kings’ Austin Wagner. Still, Hertl hadn’t started more than four straight games in the middle during DeBoer’s tenure, and was a part of what had been the team’s best Karlsson has recorded at least one assist in 14 straight appearances, just line through the first 30-plus games of the season with Logan Couture the fifth blueliner in NHL history to do so. He’s just the 13th defenseman and Timo Meier. to post at least one point in 14 or more games, too. What was the message from the coach? ERIK KARLSSON BECAME THE 13TH DIFFERENT DEFENSEMAN IN NHL HISTORY – AND SIXTH SINCE 1990-91 – TO RECORD AT “Just he needs me right now as a centerman,” Hertl said. “I told him I’m LEAST ONE POINT IN 14 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE APPEARANCES ready for that.” WITHIN A SEASON. #NHLSTATS PIC.TWITTER.COM/BP7QITABLP Hertl wasn’t lying, as he’s risen to the occasion while helping to — NHL PUBLIC RELATIONS (@PR_NHL) JANUARY 9, 2019 rejuvenate wingers Joonas Donskoi and Evander Kane, both of whom were slumping previously. It has also been the Sharks’ most productive “He’s really established his game in our structure,” Pavelski said. line, with a combined 15 even-strength goals in the last seven games. “Everybody feels pretty comfortable playing with him because he makes those plays, and that outlet pass, and he’s got that speed to come out of The Sharks have won six of those seven, including Tuesday’s 7-2 our end with it. He’s been a big piece to our success lately.” pounding of the miserable Edmonton Oilers in which Donskoi and Kane each had two goals. Hertl assisted on Kane’s first score and now has 35 Kane said: “You just see the little plays that he makes, the poise with the points in 40 games, while each of the three ended the night with a plus-3 puck — especially in the neutral zone. It allows us to come through the rating. neutral zone with speed and possession. That creates good offensive chances, and it’s fun to play with (him).” “I think this is probably (Hertl’s) best stretch at center, so that’s good to see,” said Joe Pavelski, who was playing center previously before What was decidedly not fun was the last time the Sharks were in Vegas, returning to the wing of the Joe Thornton line with Marcus Sorensen after where they are headed Thursday for what should be a whale of a game. Christmas. “He’s just playing with confidence, and his linemates are The Golden Knights are just as hot as the Sharks are lately with seven going good. They’re playing with a lot of speed and holding on to pucks. straight wins, and laid a 6-0 pounding on them at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. All three of those guys hold on to pucks well. They’ve played well down 24 in a game in which DeBoer was ejected for arguing about Kane low and around the net. … That line’s been very key for us.” getting tossed earlier. Donskoi, who has seven goals since Christmas after posting just one in Further, the Sharks have their dads around this week, and they’ll all be his previous 16 games before the break, said: “Tomas is a really strong headed to Vegas for what could very well be another playoff preview. guy. He can stay on pucks in the offensive zone, and create room for me The Golden Knights ended the Sharks’ season in the second round of and Evander. I think it’s been clicking pretty good.” the Stanley Cup playoffs last May. DeBoer’s primary reason for the switch was to better match up against The Sharks (25-13-7) are in as good a place as they’ve been all season teams that feature depth at center. While the 34-year-old Pavelski’s to try and beat the team that has given them their biggest headaches in season so far has been a revelation, as the captain still leads the Sharks the past calendar year. with 25 goals, he’s probably not quite suited to play in the middle against “It’s good to go in with confidence. We know what we’re getting into in the top teams in the league. that building,” Spott said. “They’re extremely talented, they’re extremely The Oilers aren’t one of the top teams, as they lost for the eighth time in fast. That’s a hostile environment in that building.” their last 10 on Tuesday and are rapidly sinking. Still, they began the The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 game at SAP Center with Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl as their top three centers, which is a pretty darn good trio. It posed no problem for Hertl and the Sharks, who got a few bounces on their way to the win, but generally outplayed the Oilers for the majority of the night. That includes Kane, who has five goals and five assists for 10 points since Christmas. At one point, the 27-year-old had just three goals in a 25-game stretch from Oct. 11 to Dec. 5, but Kane is once again showing how important he can be to the Sharks on a nightly basis — as he was last season after he was acquired from Buffalo in late February for the stretch run. “He’s skating right now. He’s using his speed,” said assistant coach Steve Spott, filling in for an ill Pete DeBoer, who was unable to coach the Sharks on Tuesday night. “He’s driving the net, he’s going to those tough areas to score. I like the way our lines are set up right now. He seems to have good chemistry right now. He’s moving his feet, and that’s one of his great gifts.” Kane has also brought some snarl back to his game. In Calgary on Dec. 31 in perhaps the Sharks’ most emotional game of the season, Kane earned a roughing minor and a 10-minute misconduct in the final minute for getting into it with Flames agitator Matthew Tkachuk. Against the 1103729 St Louis Blues The Blues had only nine forwards available for eight minutes of the first period in Philadelphia, and they were two forwards down for more than two periods. No big deal, according to Berube. Blues' Steen likely to miss rest of month “I call the lines out,” he said. “Just rotate some guys in and out there. It worked really well. Our big guys, they like the ice time and they got a lot of it (Monday),” he said. Jim Thomas Schwartz (22:06), Perron (21:21) and Sundqvist (16:10) all logged season highs for ice time. Schenn’s 21:06 was his third-highest total of the season. With 20:30 of ice time, Tarasenko logged his first 20-minute The Blues were without alternate captain Alexander Steen on Tuesday game since before Thanksgiving (Nov. 21 at Nashville). against Dallas, and they probably won’t see him in the lineup again until February. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.09.2019 The veteran forward was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a left shoulder injury and will be evaluated in two weeks. Steen suffered the injury just nine minutes into Monday’s 3-0 Blues victory in Philadelphia. Steen was carrying the puck when Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas knocked him off his feet in a collision at center ice. Steen left the ice immediately and did not return to the game. “It’s a tough loss, for sure,” interim coach Craig Berube said. “Bozak, too, being out. Two veteran guys.” Bozak remains on the active roster but missed his second consecutive game Tuesday against Dallas with an upper-body injury. Between them, Steen and Bozak have played in 1,563 regular-season games with 376 goals. Steen, 34, already has missed eight games this season because of injury. He missed six games from Nov. 16 through Nov. 24 with an upper- body injury. He returned for two games and then missed two more contests with a concussion. Steen got off to a productive start, with six goals and five assists in his first 18 games. But since returning from the concussion, he has gone without a goal in 14 games, although he did have four assists and was plus-4 in that span. Because of the All-Star break and the Blues’ open dates following the break, Steen probably won’t play again until Feb. 2 in Columbus. After a dry spell in which he went pointless for 12 games, Bozak scored seven points (three goals, four assists) over a 10-game stretch before sitting out the Philadelphia game. LINE DANCING Minus Steen and Fabbri, the Blues had changes on three of their four lines against Dallas. Zach Sanford jumped up to the second line, joining Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron. Sanford had a lot of success on that line early in the season, scoring three goals and four assists during a five-game stretch from Oct. 20 (Toronto) through Nov. 1 (Vegas). He had the game-winner against Toronto. Fabbri, who has been a healthy scratch for two of the past five games since returning from a shoulder injury, was on the third line with Robert Thomas and Pat Maroon. Tuesday marked the first time those three opened a game on the same line. The fourth line consisted of Sammy Blais, Ivan Barbashev and Oskar Sundqvist. Blais was called up from San Antonio on Monday but didn’t join the team until Tuesday in St. Louis. Blais last played for the Blues on Dec. 1 against Arizona but had opened on a line with Barbashev and Sundqvist three times previously. The Blues’ top line was unchanged for Tuesday: Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko. DUNN SITS Berube went back to a 12-forward, six-defensemen lineup Tuesday, and the odd man out against the Dallas Stars was Vince Dunn. Dunn played only 10 minutes, 32 seconds Monday against Philadelphia, his second lowest ice time of the season. He did not play over the last 8:03 of the game. It was the third time Dunn has been a healthy scratch this season. He previously sat in Games 3 and 4 of the season against Calgary and Chicago under Mike Yeo. Dunn leads all Blues defensemen in scoring, with 17 points on three goals and 14 assists. ICE TIME FOR ALL 1103730 St Louis Blues the puck behind the net, skated in a big circle with the puck on his backhand and eventually got to the slot and shot it past Dallas goalie Ben Bishop. Blues again dodge prosperity with loss to Stars The Blues were active the rest of the period, with 11 shots on goal total but no more goals. In the third period, the Blues kept at it, outshooting Dallas 12-2 but, again, not scoring. Tom Timmermann “I think that we did have some good looks in the third and pushed,” Berube said, “but when you’re down, you’ve got to really push. Again, we had some good looks but didn’t capitalize on them.” There were two early power plays that didn’t produce goals or momentum, two penalties that led to a two-man disadvantage and a goal, “I just thought in the third we didn’t push hard enough down 3-1,” said another goal that seemed to have no business going in and a plethora of Perron, who has a point in eight straight games, matching his career shot attempts, all but one of which didn’t go in. high. “It doesn’t matter what happened, we gotta go and put everything out there. I know it’s back-to-back (games), but it just felt like we In other words, just another night for the Blues. should’ve just pushed way more. It’s disappointing.” The Blues lost to the Dallas Stars 3-1 to keep alive their run of being St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.09.2019 unable to build on any kind of success. The Blues have won 17 games this season, and 13 of them have been followed with a loss. Home has not helped. The team has lost five of its past seven games at Enterprise Center and is 5-9-1 in the past 15, which makes the fact that the team doesn’t have many home games left look positively reassuring. “We have to string some wins together,” said defenseman Joel Edmundson, who then set a bar that would seem low enough even for the Blues to clear. “We’ve got to go, get a couple in a row.” Two in a row would be a start, but even that has been an achievement for the Blues, who have done that four times in the first half of the season and have never gotten any farther. The game Tuesday was No. 41 for the Blues, officially the halfway mark of the season, and they have 38 points, which puts them on pace for 76. The Blues have some catching up to do. The Blues had 64 shot attempts as they continued to be very good at producing chances and not very good at producing goals. They had 27 shots on goal and 23 shots that were blocked and 14 more that were off target. They scored one goal for the third time in the past five home games. “We definitely generated some good opportunities,” defenseman Colton Parayko said, “but obviously you have to bear down on them.” “Yeah, again, a lot of good looks,” interim coach Craig Berube said, “but it’s kind of a theme with missing the net. I think we can be more desperate, too, around the net.” The Blues had some keys they were looking at in the game, and they missed on those, too: If they get an early power play, shoot every puck hoping to build momentum. They got two power plays in the first 5½ minutes and produced three shots on goal and no appreciable momentum. “Those two power plays, I thought we had good puck possession, good movement,” Berube said. “I think we need to pass the puck better on the power play there and the shots we took missed the net or got blocked.” They wanted to be disciplined. Instead, they took two penalties in the first 33 seconds of the second period, giving Dallas a two-man advantage for 1:35 that predictably produced a goal that put the Stars up 2-0. “Undisciplined to start the second period (with) two penalties,” Berube said. One was a kneeing call on Robert Bortuzzo, the other a slash by Zach Sanford. Did he like either of them? “Nope.” “When they got a power play, they took advantage of it,” Edmundson said. “That kind of killed us.” And then there was Dallas’ third goal, a shot from Tyler Seguin from a tough angle that somehow got past Jake Allen on the short side, even with Allen up against the post. After it went through, Allen slammed his stick against the post, breaking the blade. That goal was, over his past two games, the seventh he had allowed in 19 shots. “I think the Islander game and tonight,” Berube said, “he knows that he wants to be better.” But Allen was spectacular at other times, with the glove or his pads, and he produced maybe the night’s most amazing moment, when he went out to play a puck, got caught out of the net, had to scramble back and made a lunging kick with his toe to clear the puck just before he crossed the goal line. It was one of several impressive saves he made, but the goal that put the Blues down 3-0 made any thoughts of a comeback that much more remote. Berube said he didn’t consider pulling Allen after the third goal, and he called a timeout to settle things down. It worked. The Blues scored 23 seconds later on a goal that was pretty much all David Perron, as he got 1103731 St Louis Blues

Blues struggles continue at Enterprise Center in a 3-1 loss to Dallas

Jim Thomas

The Blues just can't figure it out at Enterprise Center this season. After spotting Dallas a 3-0 second-period lead Tuesday, St. Louis got a David Perron goal to close the gap and had plenty of chances in spurts over the second and third periods. But they couldn't get another shot past Dallas goalie Ben Bishop _ the former Blue _ and lost for the fifth time in their last seven home games. (Oddly enough, the Blues have won four of their last five on the road.) In any event, the win one, lose one (or two) trend continued against a physical, tight-checking Dallas team. The Blues fell to 17-20-4 on the season while their Central Division rivals improved to 23-17-4, getting two goals by Tyler Sequin. (Second period) Goals by John Klingberg and Tyler Sequin gave Dallas a 3-0 lead just over six minutes into the second period. But the Blues finally got on the board with David Perron's 15th goal of the season Tuesday at Enterprise Center to make it a 3-1 game after two. The Blues found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-on-3 power player after penalties against Robert Bortuzzo (kneeing) and Zach Sanford (slashing) in the opening minute of the second period. It was only the third time all season and the first time since Oct. 13 against Chicago that an opposing team had a 5-on-3 advantage against the Blues. St. Louis was within 25 seconds of killing one of the penalties when Klingberg scored his sixth goal of the season with a quick shot with plenty of traffic in front of Jake Allen. Seguin then scored his second goal of the night and his 17th of the season on a goal that had Allen slamming the post with his stick in anger. The shot slipped under Allen's armpit from a tight angle. Just 23 seconds after Seguin's score made it 3-0, Perron skated around from behind the Dallas net, circled around the right faceoff circle, and surprised Dallas goalie Ben Bishop _ the former Blue _ with a quick backhand. The goal extended Perron's point streak to eight games. (First Period) Tyler Seguin's 16th goal of the season, at the 11:27 mark of the first period, gave the visiting Dallas Stars a 1-0 after 20 minutes Tuesday at Enterprise Center. That made it five goals in just 20 shots by Blues opponents over the last four periods at Enterprise. The New York Islanders had four goals on just 14 shots in a 4-3 triumph over the Blues on Saturday. Dallas got its goal on only six shots in the first period Tuesday. But that was two more than the Blues, who generated good offensive zone presence at different times but managed only four shots on goal. (They had eight shots blocked and eight miss the net in the period.) The Blues couldn't convert on two power plays, running their streak of futility to four-for-42 with the man advantage since the beginning of December. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103732 St Louis Blues

Can Monday's performance jolt Blues' Tarasenko into being himself again?

Benjamin Hochman

Something happened in the Blues game Monday that hadn't happened since 1999. No, it wasn't Vladimir Tarasenko scoring a goal, though it sure feels like it, right? Of course, the big story Monday was goalie Jordan Binnington, who shut out Philadelphia — in Binnington's first career start. The last Blues' rookie to post a shutout in his first NHL start was Rich Parent in 1999. But Tarasenko did score for the first time in 19 days, and here's thinking that will be a jolt for No. 91. Why? Because check this out: Every single time Tarasenko has scored a goal this season, he's scored another either the next game — or in one case, in the same game. Now, he hasn't had that many goals overall – the former All-Star is at 12 for the season (tonight's game at Enterprise Center against Dallas is the Blues' 41st game, the midway point of the season). But check out these Tarasenko streaks: Oct. 6: Tarasenko scored in the first period … and then the third period at Chicago. This would be the only time he didn't score a goal in the game after he scored a goal. Oct. 25: Even though the Blues lost vs. Columbus, No. 91 did light the lamp. Sure enough, he scored two goals in the very next game, a 7-3 win against the Blackhawks. And, he scored in the game after that, too, netting a goal against Vegas in the Blues' win on Nov. 1. Nov. 24: He scored against the Jets, then the next game against the Red Wings … and then, he scored in his third-straight game against the Avalanche. If you recall, that was perhaps the biggest win of the season (now a dubious accomplishment) – the Blues' won on Ryan O'Reilly's overtime shorthanded goal. Dec. 18: He netted a goal in the win at Edmonton, and in the following game, he was the lone Blue to score in the loss at Vancouver. Last night: He scored on a beautiful pinpoint wrist shot, giving the Blues a 2-0, third-period lead. So he's got to score tonight, right? We'll see. It's been a weird year for No. 91, as I detailed in this column last week. But Monday's performance was about as good as we've seen from him in a while (looks like he's recovered from his illness, too). The line of Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Tarasenko was a treat to watch, playing fluid hockey, flying around the Flyers. In the first period, Tarasenko initiated the rare double-drop pass on a play that led to a good scoring chance … and then another. Other times during the game, the line kept the Philly players defending their own zone for long, frustrating stretches of time. And in the second period, it was No. 91 whose stick work and awareness led to the first goal of the game. Swooshing down the left wing in the Flyers' zone, Tarasenko whisked a pass across ice. Schenn cleverly used his stick to lift a defender's stick. That let the puck carry across ice to Schwartz. Jaden's point-blank shot was blocked ... but Schenn tapped in the rebound. The Blues have a lonnnnnng way to go if they're going to crack the playoffs. They probably won't crack the playoffs. But sometimes, you need nights against the Flyers of the world to get humming. And as we've seen this season, other teams have capitalized on games against the Blues of the world. It was reassuring to see Tarasenko and his line apply consistent pressure, especially on a night in which forward numbers were down (the Blues played with 11 forwards and then seven defensemen — and then forward Alexander Steen was injured in the first period). No. 91's line gobbled some minutes off the clock, playing quality, winning hockey. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103733 St Louis Blues defensemen. The Blues are 2-0 doing so under Berube, having beaten Washington 5-2 last week with the same personnel structure.

Even with the injury complications Monday, Berube said it won't Steen will miss at least 2 weeks with shoulder injury necessarily cause him to rethink going 11 and 7 in the future. "Not really," he said. "What if you lose a D and go down to five D? That's Jim Thomas just part of the game." CHEERS FOR BINNINGTON Veteran Blues forward Alexander Steen has been placed on injured Yes, the very loud cheers heard from the Blues locker room were for reserve with a left shoulder injury and will be evaluated in two weeks. Jordan Binnington after the rookie posted a 25-save shutout in his first Steen suffered the injury just nine minutes into Monday's 3-0 Blues NHL start against Philly. victory in Philadelphia. "I don't know if he got a 'star' or did some interviews, whatever, but he Steen was carrying the puck when Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas was the last guy coming in," Gunnarsson said. "So we were all sitting knocked him off his feet in a collision at center ice. Steen left the ice here, just waiting for him. It was pretty cool." immediately and did not return to the game. Compared to the very talkative Carter Hutton and Chad Johnson, Steen, 34, already has missed eight games this season due to injury. He Binnington is a veritable wallflower in the world of Blues backup goalies. missed six games from Nov. 16 through Nov. 24 with an upper-body "He blends right in," Gunnarsson said. "Like every rookie, kind of a little injury. He returned for two games and then missed two more contests bit on the quiet side. He's probably keeping some secrets from you guys with a concussion. (in the media). But he's vocal on the ice. He's talking." Steen got off to a productive start, with six goals and five assists in his As only the second goalie in Blues history to record a shutout in his first first 18 games. But since returning from the concussion, he has gone start, and just the 35th to do so in NHL history, there was a sense among without a goal in 14 games _ although he did have four assists and was the Blues and the Blues' traveling party that they had seen something plus-4 in that span. special. That was also due to the fact that it took Binnington more than Because of the all-star break and the Blues' bye period following the all- seven years from the day he was drafted to get his first start. star break, Steen likely won't play again until a Feb. 2 contest in "He's worked hard to get to this point and finally got rewarded," Schenn Columbus. said. LIGHT 3 FORWARDS? NO SWEAT Binnington's father and stepmother attended Monday's game, and he Ivan Barbashev limped off the ice and headed down the tunnel just eight was able to hook up with them briefly after the game before the team minutes into Monday's Blues game in Philadelphia. About one minute flight back to St. Louis. later, Steen did the same thing, leaving with his shoulder injury. BLUENOTES Now, factor in that interim coach Craig Berube chose to go with only 11 Schwartz remains stuck on three goals, but it isn't for a lack of trying. forwards to being with _ and the Blues had a manpower crisis up front, Over the past five games, he's had 46 attempts _ a total that includes down the equivalent of one full line at Wells Fargo Center. shots on goal, shots blocked, and misses. That's an average of more No big deal, according to Berube. than nine per game. Over his first 22 games this season, Schwartz had 86 attempts, or less than four per game. "I call the lines out," he said. "Just rotate some guys in and out there. It worked really well." • Perron's empty-net goal against the Flyers extended his points streak to seven games (three goals, seven assists). Ryan O'Reilly's two assists It helped, of course, that Barbashev returned after an eight-minute extended his points streak to six games (three goals, five assists). absence, which left the Blues light only two forwards for the rest of the game _ from the usual 12. • On a night when the Blues dressed an extra defenseman, Colton Parayko still logged 25:16 of ice time. No other Blues defenseman had "Our big guys, they like the ice time and they got a lot of it (Monday)," even 20 minutes, not even workhorse Alex Pietrangelo. Berube said. • The Blues have been among the NHL's top faceoff teams all season but That they did. they met their match in Philadelphia. St. Louis won only 39 percent of its faceoffs against a Flyers team that leads the league in faceoff success at Jaden Schwartz logged a season-high 22 minutes 6 seconds of ice time; 56.4 percent. David Perron's 21:21 also was a season high. Brayden Schenn's 21:06 was his third-highest total of the season. With 20:30 of ice time, Vladimir St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.09.2019 Tarasenko logged his first 20-minute game since before Thanksgiving (Nov. 21 at Nashville). All told, five Blues forwards logged 20 minutes-plus in the 3-0 victory over the Flyers. "A lot of ice time for everyone," Schenn said. "Can't complain. Try and catch your wind and get back out there." Even outside the Blues' top two lines, there were forwards getting more time than usual due to the manpower shortage. Fourth-line stalwart Oskar Sundqvist had a season-high 16:10. Sundqvist even got in for 35 seconds worth of power-play duty. He had only 30 seconds of power-play time _ total _ over the entire season prior to Monday, coming in dribbles over four games. And Zach Sanford's 15:07 was just one second off his season-high ice time of 15:08 Dec. 9 against Vancouver. "For the D, it didn't change much," defenseman Carl Gunnarsson said. "More on the forward side, it's probably a little tougher to change up the lines like that. "But I think we did a better job of keeping the rotation. I think everyone was going. I don't know if that's what you want, guys going down and all that. It makes it a little tougher but we managed to fight through that and have a good game." Monday marked the third time this season, and the second time under Berube, that the Blues have gone with 11 forwards and seven 1103734 Tampa Bay Lightning

Ryan Callahan misses Blue Jackets game with upper-body injury; Coburn returns

By Nick Kelly

TAMPA — Ryan Callahan missed Tuesday's game with an upper-body injury. The Lightning listed him as day-to-day. He skated during Tuesday morning's optional skate after missing Monday's practice for a body maintenance day. Coach Jon Cooper said after the game Callahan re-aggrevated something and he didn't expect him to be out long. Callahan missed the beginning of the season recovering from shoulder surgery and missed two games in December after his back seized up. Danick Martel replaced Callahan in the lineup. While Callahan left the lineup, defenseman Braydon Coburn returned. He missed Saturday's game against San Jose with an upper-body injury but was a full participant in practice Monday. The Lightning training staff wanted to see how Cobrun responded to practice, assistant coach Derek Lalonde said. Apparently well enough. He played while Erik Cernak took his turn to sit out a game. Lightning defensemen have taken turns as healthy scratches because they have seven healthy defensemen the team wants to have on the ice. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103735 Tampa Bay Lightning

Coach Marty? John Tortorella likes the idea Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella thinks Martin St. Louis would make a good NHL coach.

By Nick Kelly

TAMPA — If you ask Columbus coach John Tortorella, Martin St. Louis shouldn't be done working in the NHL. No, not as a player. Those days are done for the Hall-of-Famer. Tortorella sees him in a different role. "As far as a guy at this level, I think could be a really good coach," Tortorella said. This isn't as much a projection as it is a review and endorsement. Tortella has seen and heard Coach Marty firsthand. He has taken part in conversations with his current forward Cam Atkinson and St. Louis, whom Tortorella coached in Tampa Bay. Similar in stature, St. Louis has mentored and instructed Atkinson recently. "I think he can talk to Cam in a different way right now that could help him," Tortorella said. It certainly hasn't hurt Atkinson. He scored 24 goals and tallied 18 assists prior to Tuesday's game. And Tortorella can tell that St. Louis is enjoying the coaching and mentoring. Coach mode, he called it. Right now, that coach mode primarily means coaching his kids. But that could change, Tortorella said, if St. Louis' kids at some point decide they don't want Coach Marty behind their team's bench anymore. "That's a guy, Marty St. Louis that you have got to really look for," Tortorella said. "It will be interesting to see what happens." Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103736 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy to replace Carey Price in All-Star Game

By Nick Kelly

TAMPA — Andrei Vasilevskiy will need to cancel any All-Star break plans. He's going to be busier than expected. Vasilevskiy will fill the All-Star spot left by Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, the NHL announced Tuesday. It marks the second straight All-Star trip for the Lightning goaltender. The Canadiens announced Monday that Price will not participate in the All-Star Game, instead choosing to rest what Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin called a nagging injury. It would have been Price's sixth All-Star appearance. Vasilevskiy will join Lightning forwards Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov and coach Jon Cooper in San Jose. Brayden Point could also join them through the 'Last Men In' fan vote, which fans can vote at nhl.com/vote until 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 10. Vasilevskiy earned the nod with a 16-4-2 record this season. He has averaged 2.66 goals against with a .920 save percentage. He has put up these numbers despite missing a month with a left-foot fracture. Upon his return, Vasilevskiy faced second-place Toronto and made 48 of 49 saves. "I think he's made the case for himself with his record, statistics and how he's helped our team," Cooper said. "He's definitely worthy." Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103737 Tampa Bay Lightning

John Tortorella: A couple bad runs good for season His Blue Jackets went on a 17-game win streak in 2016-17, but bowed out in the first round that year.

By Nick Kelly

TAMPA — The Lightning returns to Amalie Arena on Tuesday for a game against the Blue Jackets after the Sharks snapped their 16-game point streak on Saturday. Where the Lightning goes from here remains to be seen. If you ask Columbus coach John Tortorella, he knows exactly how he would like the Lightning to respond. "I hope they get their (butts) kicked tonight," Tortorella said then smiled. Of course, that would help him and his Blue Jackets in the immediate future. Two consecutive losses, however, might not be a terrible thing for the Lightning, either, in the interest of their long term success. "For me, I think you need to go through some tough times during the regular season," Tortorella said. "How do you get out of it to get back to where you want to be? I think come playoff time, you are going to go through some momentum swings as you go through this. I don't think it's a bad thing to have some bad runs during the regular season." Tortorella speaks from experience. He led Columbus to the second- longest win streak in NHL history two years ago only to lose in the first round of the playoffs. Tortorella also won a Cup with the Lightning in 2004. "Your leadership group has to be tested on how to get out of some situations as you do start struggling," Tortorella said. Tortorella did not label the Lightning as a struggling team, though. Although the loss to the Sharks brought the point streak to an end, it still is only one loss. But eating some vegetables in the form of a few losses might be necessary if the Lightning wants the dessert that is a Stanley Cup. "I firmly believe during a long season, it can't all be good," Tortorella said. "You can't all feel good about yourselves through that 82 game schedule. It's probably not possible, first of all. Especially with all the parity in the league. I think it's important to go through some of those things because you can lean on that come playoff time." Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103738 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning, Andrei Vasilevskiy bounce back with shutout Lightning notches its second shutout of the season to beat Columbus 4-0

By Diana Nearhos

TAMPA—The Lightning wanted this one. After ending its point streak the last time out, Tampa Bay wanted a big response. After feeling it hadn't supported Andrei Vasilevskiy well enough, the Lightning wanted to set him up for a good game. Tampa Bay did both of those. The Lightning came out dominant against Columbus on Tuesday and for two periods at least, set Vasilevskiy up well. He took care of the middle frame on the way to 31 saves and his (and the team's) second shutout of the season. And this on the day he was named to the All-Star Game. "It's a pretty good feeling," Vasilevskiy said after the 4-0 win. "I didn't play that consistent after the injury and so it feels pretty good, especially for me." He's one to take the blame on himself for a bad game and doesn't especially give himself credit for a good one. But his teammates take care of both sides of that. "Before, we gave up a lot of goals and Vasy, we let him down," defenseman Mikhail Sergachev said. "We're obviously thinking about him." Ryan McDonagh agreed with Sergachev, saying both Vasilevskiy and Louis Domingue deserved more shutouts but hadn't gotten the support they needed in front of them. He said there was a focus on making sure Vasilevskiy could see the shots on Tuesday. "San Jose did a good job of having guys cross in front and taking away his eyes and pucks hitting bodies," McDonagh said, referring to Saturday's loss. "You just try to clear that lane. If you're not going to block the shot, at least clear the lane so he can see it. If he can see that puck, and track it, he's going to gobble it up and not create a rebound." Coach Jon Cooper is another who puts what Vasilevskiy called inconsistency more on the team in front of him. He pointed to the Philadelphia and Montreal games at the end of December, in which Vasilevskiy allowed five goals each, saying the team needed to be better defensively not so much its goalie. So while Vasilevskiy played a great game on Tuesday, the shutout had a lot to do with that team defense as well. Though, that defense let up in the second period. Columbus out-shot Tampa Bay 17-3 in the frame, and at one point the Lightning went 12:07 without a shot on net. Vasilevskiy stood strong and made a couple of great saves, the kind Cooper called 10-bell saves. That's just what Vasilevskiy does. "Competitiveness, work ethic, conditioning, all those things you never have to worry about that with Vasilevskiy," Cooper said. "He has been the rock behind us for a couple of years now. I never worry about that. As a coach, you worry about the guys ahead of him. They have been doing a really good job." Even after Monday's practice, there was a sense Tuesday would be a good game. Typically, the game after a streak ends can be a trap. And then the game after a West Coast trip can be a trap. Neither of those boded well for Tuesday, so the Lightning took a preemptive strike. Cooper and the coaches set the tone, asking for 30 minutes of hard work and they got a surprisingly high-energy group, more so than assistant Derek Lalonde expected going in. "There was a sense of urgency," Lalonde said. "Let's keep this thing going." That showed on the ice when the Lightning came out hot and finished hot. The players wanted to make a statement, wanted to, as Tyler Johnson said after the point streak ended, go out and start another one. That and they wanted to back up Vasilevskiy. Check, and check. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103739 Tampa Bay Lightning Panarin said Kucherov’s shot is similar in terms of having a quick release and that there are no extra movements. It’s on and off his stick really fast.

“Biggest respect because he uses his best qualities to his advantage Competitive friends Nikita Kucherov and Artemi Panarin break down without too much unnecessary stuff,” Panarin said. each other’s games Did Panarin pick up anything from Kucherov over the summer?

“We were practicing this shot over the summer together that he told me By Joe Smith Jan 8, 2019 about,” Panarin said. “But I won’t say what it was so it’ll be a surprise to goalies.” TAMPA, Fla. — When Artemi Panarin delivered his signature playoff Passing/playmaking performance in April, his friend Nikita Kucherov made sure to watch. Kucherov is known for being deceptive in the way he plays, finding ways It was an off-day for Kucherov and the Lightning during their first-round to get lost in the offensive zone despite opponents trying to track him. playoff series against New Jersey. Panarin was dazzling for Columbus in Part of this is due to Kucherov’s off-the-charts hockey IQ, which we 3-2, double-overtime loss to the eventual Cup-champion Capitals. detailed last week. Kucherov, a train stop away from New York City, stayed back at the Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde said Panarin and Kucherov are Lightning’s Jersey City hotel to watch his friend Panarin tear it up. similar in that way, how they think and read the game. After both Panarin’s highlight-reel assist and goal, Kucherov would “Those guys have world-class hockey sense, anticipation. They see the comment in a Russian text exchange with agent Dan Milstein, who game on a different level,” Lalonde said. “Today’s NHL, it’s a positive in represents both stars. After Panarin’s double-dangle on Capitals that it really sets up well for those skilled players, the vision, making defenseman Jay Beagle, Kucherov quipped it didn’t even look human. plays and the coaching staff allowing those guys to make plays. (Coach “Unbelievable,” Kucherov said. Jon Cooper) does a great job managing that. He knows he’s got a world- class player and world-class thinker, and he gives him some rope to do It inspired Kucherov, who put the Lightning on his back the following that. I see that in both of these players.” night, racking up two goals and an assist in a 3-1 victory over the Devils. This slick one-time setup by Kucherov for Stamkos is an example of him “He’s a top player in the league, definitely,” Kucherov said of Panarin. anticipating and thinking a play ahead. “He brings so much offense to any team he plays on. He’s got an unbelievable skill set. He helped (Blackhawks star Patrick) Kane improve Both Bowman and NBC analyst Brian Boucher said Kucherov is the his game. Right now, on Columbus, he makes everybody better. Panarin better playmaker of the two and is more often the one that carries the brings so much offense.” puck. But Panarin has shown his creativity with his slick setups, including banking this one off the end boards to Pierre-Luc Dubois for the finish. It was also during the playoffs where the idea was hatched for Kucherov and Panarin to train together in Tampa last summer, where the following “He sees the ice. He’s unpredictable how he can make plays,” Kucherov infamous tweet was sent out from Clearwater Beach. said of Panarin. “He’s always improvising on the ice. Always wanting to create something. He looks for the open guy. He just makes everybody VASY AND I SHOWING @9ARTEMI HOW GOOD IT IS TO PLAY IN better. Plays that he makes that everybody sees, they can probably learn TAMPA PIC.TWITTER.COM/I1SWJGWINZ from him. That’s what makes him such a great player, being around him, good players can learn from him.” — NIKITA KUCHEROV (@86KUCHEROV) AUGUST 23, 2018 What did Kucherov learn from Panarin? They’re also similar in their Panarin will be a highly sought-after unrestricted free agent this silence. offseason. “I don’t want to say anything,” Kucherov said, smiling. And Kucherov, 25, and Panarin, 27, will be reunited Tuesday when the Lightning host the Blue Jackets at Amalie Arena. With the two star How can you defend them? wingers facing off, The Athletic asked them to break down each other’s games and what they’ve learned from each other. Veteran Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh, thanks to his years with the Rangers, has plenty of experience trying to shut down both Kucherov The admiration is indeed mutual. and Panarin. Kucherov is currently the league’s leading scorer with 69 points in 42 games, averaging nearly a point per game in his career. “I like the way (Kucherov) makes passes,” Panarin said through Panarin’s numbers are similar with 278 points in 282 career games. interpreter Vlad Spektor. “He makes excellent, timely passes and shots and uses his best qualities.” So, good luck stopping them. The beginnings “No. 1, it’s tough to be physical on those guys,” McDonagh said. “It’s tough to line them up and get in position to be physical to play the body. Both Kucherov and Panarin had humble beginnings growing up in So you have to be good with your gap and close to take away passing Russia, as colleague Aaron Portzline and I have detailed. angles or get a stick on their shot. They were also both a bit overlooked when it came to the NHL draft. “Both are very good off the rush, deceptive shots, unselfish players that Panarin went undrafted in 2010 before getting signed by the Blackhawks. like to share the puck. So, it’s a tough combination.” Kucherov went 58th overall in 2011 and recently became the first player in his draft class to reach the 400-point milestone. Personality “I think teams were reluctant to draft players from Russia for a couple In Kucherov and Panarin’s last meeting on New Year’s Eve 2017 in years,” said Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, now an advisor with the Columbus, the Lightning star got the better of his buddy. Blackhawks. “Both guys ended up being steals.” Kucherov had a goal and an assist in a 5-0 victory over the Blue Jackets. The shot Panarin was a minus-1. But in postgame chats with his clients, Milstein couldn’t tell who had won and who had lost. What strikes Bowman about both Kucherov and Panarin is their unique ability to pull off one-timers off long passes. You see this often on “Panarin was more relaxed than Kucherov,” Milstein said. “Panarin called Kucherov’s power-play goals, which are regularly set up by cross-ice me after the game, and said, ‘No matter what, I’m doing better than your feeds from Steven Stamkos or Victor Hedman. buddy Kuch.’ Even though Kucherov had just won 5-0 and had points, he wasn’t satisfied.” “They both have terrific one-timers,” Bowman said. “Their one-timers, they can shoot off the pass. You have to be really good on timing, and They both watch their diets carefully. In fact, Milstein notes Kucherov that’s one of their big similarities. Many do one-timers, but if the puck is didn’t even have a drink or dessert at a celebratory dinner for his eight- moving across at a distance with a little bit on it, that’s a special art on year, $76 million extension signed in July. The next morning, Kucherov timing.” was back on the ice in Clearwater for his individual workouts. What strikes Kucherov about Panarin is his accuracy and quick release: “They’re both dialed in, both great professionals. The difference is Kucherov would rather stay in town and work on himself and practice and “Quick shot. Good technique. Unpredictable,” said Kucherov. “In this shoot, 24/7, 365. Where Panarin does that (too), he’s still more of an league, anybody can shoot. But he’s got really good accuracy. That’s outgoing guy than Kuch. what he’s all about. Accuracy and a quick shot, quick release. “Once you get to know Kuch, he’s got a great personality, great guy. When we all go out, we’re laughing at crazy jokes on anything other than hockey.” The future Kucherov is locked into Tampa Bay long term, with his eight-year extension not kicking in until next season. Panarin’s future is a lot less certain. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer and could draw similar interest to John Tavares before he signed with the Maple Leafs last July. Milstein is scheduled to meet with the Blue Jackets brass during the late-January All-Star break. Columbus is in playoff contention and Panarin appears happy, so he could at least finish the season there. But there’s a reason our Craig Custance has Panarin No. 1 on his list of the top 20 players who could be moved before the deadline. As Portzline wrote last summer, does Panarin want to spend the next eight years in Columbus? It’s hard to imagine the Lightning fitting Panarin into their salary cap, especially with their challenging crunch coming this summer and RFA Brayden Point still needing to be signed. As much as Kucherov drew attention for his playful beach tweet with Panarin on what it’s like to play in Tampa, it’s probably a pipe dream. “I’d definitely (like to play with Panarin),” Kucherov said. “But he plays for another team. Whatever happens, happens. But we’ve got a good team, so I’m not complaining.” Said Panarin: “I think internationally we’ll play more than once (going forward) for the Russian national team. Other than that? We will see.” Joe Smith can be reached at [email protected] Follow @JoeSmithTB. The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103740 Toronto Maple Leafs all, the Maple Leafs’ No. 1 was on pace for a workload nearly as onerous as that of his previous two years — Babcock offered another in a line of his philistine insights. Maple Leafs can afford to go slow with Frederik Andersen | The Star “I don’t believe that anyone’s tired at playoff time. I just don’t,” Babcock told reporters. By Dave Feschuk Ah, the mythical notion that the magical pursuit of the Stanley Cup makes one impervious to fatigue and overuse injuries. If it were true, of course, nobody in the NHL would need to engage in preventative weight-training regimens or eat an organic kale salad or forego the nightclub for a night When you consider Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock’s opinions on strapped into Normatech recovery leggings. Alas, it’s not true. And the workload of the most important Maple Leaf — and that’d be neither is the idea that today’s goaltenders ought to aspire to be Glenn goaltender Frederik Andersen — it’s worth remembering Babcock’s Hall, the legend of a different era who once started an unfathomable 502 opinions on other matters better left to educated experts. straight games. Even though Babcock is the $50 million (U.S.) supercoach of the world’s Consider the past six winners of the Stanley Cup. All six won the NHL’s most profitable hockey operation — and even though he’s done post-season tournament riding a No. 1 goaltender who’d played in fewer admirable work as an advocate for mental-health initiatives — there are than 60 games during the regular season. Last spring Braden Holtby and moments when he remains an unapologetic adherent to various beliefs the Washington Capitals finally made their chalice-hoisting run after born out of hockey’s dark ages. Holtby was limited to 54 regular-season starts thanks to a battle for the crease with Philipp Grubauer. In the three previous seasons that ended The Leafs’ No. 1 goalie, Frederik Andersen, is currently sidelined with a in disappointment, Holtby averaged a league-high 67 starts. There are groin injury. This may be a blessing in disguise, as any rest their starter goalie watchers who don’t think it was a coincidence. can get may prove beneficial for the Leafs come playoff time. Asked about the merits of pacing his No. 1, mind you, Babcock offered The Leafs’ No. 1 goalie, Frederik Andersen, is currently sidelined with a the coach’s counter-argument. groin injury. This may be a blessing in disguise, as any rest their starter can get may prove beneficial for the Leafs come playoff time. (Richard “It’s great if you can do it. You’ve got to make the playoffs, though. In a Lautens / Toronto Star) fantasy world, when you’re in control of everything, that’s wonderful. But most of us are crawling to get in the playoffs,” he said. When it comes to return-to-play protocols for injured Maple Leafs, he’s fond of derisively referring to the club’s sports-science staff as “the The Leafs, to be clear, aren’t crawling to get in the playoffs; they’re shoo- science project.” Speaking this week about the status of Zach Hyman, for ins. And even if beating out Boston for second place in the Atlantic is instance, Babcock said the winger had proclaimed himself ready to play important, it’s a minor point when stacked against concerns about and was simply awaiting his “get-out-of-jail-free card” from the medical Andersen’s health. Still, if Andersen plays less than 60 games this year it folks. What’s vital, career-sustaining injury rehab to players — and what won’t be because Babcock wished it. The big Dane is only now on pace amounts to a smart protection of assets for the franchise — is, to the to play in 59 games, thanks to his groin injury. coach, akin to prison. Or maybe that’s the way Babcock wants his athletes to view it. The quicker you’re sprung the better, never mind the Rather than pushing hard for a “get-out-of-jail-free card,” nobody but meddlesome, evidence-based opinions of the nerds in the lab coats. Babcock would be perturbed if Andersen stayed in the clink until he’s beyond rejuvenated for the stretch run. And if that aspect of Babcock’s persona seems harmless enough, remember that it was only a few years ago the coach insisted that if it Toronto Star LOADED: 01.09.2019 were up to him, concussed players would be left to decide if they were fit to compete. “Well, I think when a player says he’s OK to play and keeps playing, he’s OK to play,” Babcock said back in 2016. You look back at that quote, you think about how many wobbly athletes coaches like Babcock have encouraged to soldier on no matter the long- term consequences, and it makes you wonder. Consider the post-career nightmare currently being lived by of one of Babcock’s former players, ex-Red Wings forward Johan Franzen, who co-led the Detroit Red Wings with 13 playoff goals on their 2008 run to the Stanley Cup. Nicknamed “The Mule,” Franzen is said to have suffered at least four concussions during his playing days. Now, at age 39, he has spoken of a “very dark” existence in which he battles depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Last month he told a Swedish newspaper he struggles with his short-term memory, too. “It’s embarrassing,” he told the newspaper. “I can speak to one person and the next day I’ve forgotten his or her name.” Franzen’s story is a reminder that every player is, in the end, a metaphorical mule — ultimately rented, albeit at generally handsome prices, to provide a service that comes with costs. But even the strongest and hardiest of the Viking battlers is still just a human, hardly exempt from the reality of human frailty. Thankfully for all involved Andersen’s current situation isn’t remotely comparable to Franzen’s sad fate. The goaltender has been out six games with a groin injury. The Maple Leafs have gone 3-3 during his absence. And whether the goaltender will be ready for Thursday’s match in New Jersey is unknown. That the club would be wise to err on the side of caution, of course, seems obvious. Without Andersen’s long-term presence in the crease, after all, a team that’s on pace for the best regular-season point total in franchise history would be thrown into chaos. Making sure he’s healthy and sharp for the playoffs ought to be the franchise’s top priority, just as last season’s disappointment — when Andersen played in 66 games for the second straight season while facing more shots than any goaltender in the league, then noticeably faded in March and April — ought to be a cautionary tale. But when it was suggested to Babcock this week that Andersen’s injury might turn out to be a blessing in disguise — before he went down, after 1103741 Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs’ second-half worries include goaltending and grit | The Star

By Mark ZwolinskiSports Reporter

Monday night’s 4-0 home-ice loss to the Nashville Predators nudged the needle on the Maple Leafs’ worry meter in the wrong direction. Coach Mike Babcock said the battle-tested Predators played a consistent, heavy, patient game to wear down the home side, and the result reinforced some of the knocks against the blue and white throughout the first half of the season: that they don’t quite measure up against the NHL’s elite (one win in their last eight games against teams in playoff position) and still have holes to fill, specifically on defence. With the second half just underway, here’s a closer look at what the Leafs should be worried about — and areas where they shouldn’t: Worry about … GRIT: When Nick Foligno of the Columbus Blue Jackets said, following a game just before Christmas, that Toronto is vulnerable down low and “doesn’t like it” when the play gets rough, it was an honest assessment from a veteran player. The Leafs are at their best when they use their high-end speed to win battles and control possession, but a lack of grit contributed to early playoff exits the past two seasons. Consistent success is hard to come by when opponents know you’re vulnerable to a strong forecheck. POWER PLAY: After a hot start, the Leafs have slipped to eighth in the NHL with the man advantage — failing to score on the power play in 10 of their last 12 games. The first unit — John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly — is at a crossroads: Should they continue to lean on Marner and, to a lesser extent, Rielly? Or should they adjust, get the puck down low and set up more plays from behind the net? The Leafs have multiple weapons, but don’t necessarily have that one player with a game-breaking one-timer who could make the power play more dangerous. And if the first unit has become too predictable, maybe it’s time to insert William Nylander or super-swift Kasperi Kapanen. GOALTENDING: Frederik Andersen has played more minutes over the past two seasons than any other NHL goalie, and continues to recover from the first groin injury of his career. He worked hard in the off-season, changing up his conditioning plan to help meet the demands of a long campaign, and has never complained publicly about the heavy workload. It will be interesting to see how the Leafs manage his playing time the rest of the way, in hopes of avoiding another sluggish post-season. One bonus: Thanks in part to the all-star break, the Leafs have eight non- game days after a Jan. 23 date with the Capitals. Don’t worry about … SPEED: The Leafs are faster than the Predators or the Boston Bruins. The first-place Tampa Bay Lightning are among a handful of teams that can skate with them, but the Leafs dominated large portions of their last meeting with their speed. They’ve proven they can win if they stick to their game, even against opponents who play a more rugged style. What Babcock said about the Preds — patient, consistent, opportunistic — could go a long way for his own club. NYLANDER: With just one goal in 14 games after a long contract impasse, there’s pressure on the 22-year-old winger to produce. After Monday’s loss, Babcock said frankly that Nylander “needs to get better.” He’s still getting plenty of chances, though, and beating opposing defences to the puck with his speed like he did in back-to-back 61-point seasons. He has more than enough tools to turn it around soon. DEFENCE: The Leafs rank a respectable seventh in a telling stat that combines goals against, shots against, power-play goals and chances, and penalty-killing percentage. They also own the NHL’s second-best road record. The defence is doing something right. Toronto Star LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103742 Toronto Maple Leafs “It’s a great opportunity,” Subban said. “To work with NBC Sports, to represent the Preds, to be able to expose some of the great stuff about the city of Nashville. Should be exciting.” P.K. Subban has helped NHL players break free of the game’s restraints Predators coach Peter Laviolette said the team didn’t have an issue with | The Star Subban spreading his wings. “Players, when they get away from the rink, their time is their own time,” By Kevin McGran Laviolette said. “He’s not the first person to do something like this. As long as the focus stays at the rink, that’s what we worry about.

Subban said getting away from the game to do special projects is There might not be a bigger personality in hockey than P.K. Subban. probably a healthy choice. From the moment he joined the Montreal Canadiens in 2010, Subban was as dynamic, engaging and entertaining off the ice as much as he “Sometimes I think getting your mind off the game and doing other things was on. can make you even better. Everybody’s different. You have to find out what works for you. What works for me might not work for the next guy. It really wasn’t very “hockey,” a player talking about more than getting You have to work within yourself and know what’s going to provide you pucks deep and how it takes 20 guys to win. And some pointed to that with the amount of energy you need to do your job.” big personality as one of the reasons the Canadiens traded Subban, a Norris Trophy winner, to Nashville in 2016. Toronto Star LOADED: 01.09.2019 Maybe the old guard of hockey didn’t like the attention Subban drew. But fans ate it up. He is still a fan favourite. Now 29, Subban is seeing younger players following in his footsteps: They wear louder suits, joke a bit more, celebrate a goal because, well, it’s hard to score in the NHL and it’s fun when you do. “It’s probably that the league is just younger,” the Predators defenceman said Monday. “When I came into the league, there probably weren’t as many young players. It was still like more veteran players. I played with Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, Roman Hamrlik, Hal Gill, Mike Cammalleri, guys that had played in the league 10, 11, 12 years at the time. “It’s just different. Now it’s younger. With the way pop culture is today, it crosses over a lot into sports. When young players come into the league, they see how pop culture has affected the other sports, like the NBA and the NFL. They come in with more of an open mind.” Subban pointed to Leafs centre Auston Matthews as another growing personality. A few of his goal celebrations have drawn some ire from older players, but are really all in fun. Matthews wasn’t afraid to go on the let-loose podcast “Spittin’ Chiclets,” hosted by former NHL bad boy Paul Bissonnette. And he showed off his wardrobe in Sharp Magazine while also doing a spread GQ. “The NHL now is so diverse,” Subban said. “Auston Matthews from Arizona. The NHL hasn’t seen that. To have players like that come in can change things a little bit because he’s a player that has influence, and he’s got personality.” Subban has an ally in San Jose’s Evander Kane when it comes to encouraging others to show personality. “Kids don’t become fans of teams,” Kane told the Star last fall. “They become fans of players that they follow — Odell Beckham Jr. in the NFL. Kids are getting the same hair cut, not because they’re New York Giants fans but because they like Odell. “People tune in pre-game just to see what (NBA star) Russell Westbrook is going to walk into the arena looking like. He’s not going to wear a suit. He’s going to be wearing something crazy. It’s only going to help integrate fashion companies into the game. It will grow awareness, popularity, it will be good for the league, it will be good for the players. “It’s an entertainment business. There are a lot of different ways to showcase personality. Look at a guy like Brent Burns. You can see his personality through what he wears to the rink. You can see a tuxedo on with camouflage backpack and a tuque. Nobody else in the league does that. But that’s his personality.” As for Subban, he’s spreading his wings to television. He has appeared on Just for Laughs and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Now he’s getting his own show that will debut at the end of the month on NBCsports.com and YouTube. NBC hailed it as “a first-of-its-kind content partnership” to produce a television special for the all-star weekend as well as an original digital series. The special will feature several vignettes, with Subban interviewing some NHL stars and entertainers. The series will encompass his hockey career, his fashion choices and his daily life in the Music City. “P.K. is more than a hockey player, he’s a cultural explorer whose interests cross over into business, entertainment, and philanthropy,” said Sam Flood, executive producer with NBC Sports. 1103743 Toronto Maple Leafs The Norris: Will come down to the Leafs’ Morgan Rielly, Calgary’s Mark Giordano or Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks. If first impressions matter, Rielly could well become the first Leaf to be named the NHL’s top At the midway point of the season, let’s look at the NHL’s award front- defenceman. runners | The Star The Vezina: To someone named Andrei Vasilevskiy or Pekka Rinne. The Jack Adams: Jon Cooper has to get some credit for the Lightning’s By Kevin McGran success. Barry Trotz, too, if the Islanders make the playoffs. How about Ken Hitchcock if the Oilers make it?

The Selke: Put the names of Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and the Kings’ Jeff Skinner won’t win a post-season NHL award, but only because there Anze Kopitar in a hat and pick one. isn’t one that fits. The Calder: Elias Pettersson. The Buffalo Sabres winger could very well be the comeback player of the year, but the league doesn’t have such an award; he could be part of NOTES AND QUOTES best trade of the year; he might just be the reason Sabres GM Jason SHARKS HAVE BITE: Erik Karlsson has collected at least one Botterill wins executive of the year honours. assist/point in each of his last 13 appearances dating to Dec. 7 (one goal, It’s safe to say that Skinner individually, and the Buffalo Sabres as a 21 assists). The league lists it as a Sharks team record despite the fact whole, are among the biggest surprises at the halfway point of the NHL he missed two games in the midst of it due to suspension … The Sharks season. are 12-3-2 since they held a closed-door meeting with general manager Doug Wilson in Montreal Dec. 2. From the moment he was put on Jack Eichel’s wing Skinner took off, and so did the Sabres. Skinner, who’d never scored more than 37 goals in a STATS: Patrick Kane is the first player in Blackhawks’ history to begin his season, has 28 goals in 42 games and is second overall to Alex career with at least 30 assists in 12 consecutive seasons and the first Ovechkin’s 30. American-born player to do so. … Anaheim GM Bob Murray became the 32nd general manager in NHL history to reach the 1,000-game milestone “I don’t think the chemistry between him and Jack was to be expected,” and fifth to do so after also playing in 1,000 career NHL games, joining says former NHL goalie Martin Biron, now an analyst on Sabres games. Bobby Clarke, Bob Gainey, Bob Pulford and Doug Wilson. “But right from the first game, Jeff had a hat trick and you could tell there was something brewing.” FROM THE KHL: No team that finished first overall in the 10 years of the KHL has gone on to win the Gagarin Cup. So CSKA’s Kirill Kaprizov has The Sabres gave up prospect forward Cliff Pu and three draft picks to a New Year’s resolution. land a three-time 30-goal scorer who is just 26. He’s had issues, and he’s eclipsed 30 goals just three times in his first eight seasons as a Carolina “I know that the regular-season winner so far has never won the Gagarin Hurricane, and never in back-to-back seasons. Cup. This is nonsense, and the tradition must end!” the forward said in an interview with KHL.ru. CSKA Moscow is so far ahead in the standings But he seems reborn in Buffalo. they’ve already clinched a playoff berth. “It looks like he’s having so much fun again,” said Biron. “Where if you FROM THE CWHL: The Barenaked Ladies will perform the Canadian look at the last two years (in Carolina), you look at his body language, he anthem at the 2019 CWHL all-star game on Jan. 20 in Toronto at was arguing with the refs. Now he’s a different guy. There’s a noticeable Scotiabank Arena … All teams in the CWHL will start to wear patches difference in him this year and him the last few years, and he seems to from the NHL Players’ Association. The NHLPA presents the league’s be in a much better place.” most valuable player award. “The success of women’s hockey is vital to the growth of our game,” said Mathieu Schneider, the NHLPA special Hard to believe, but that place is Buffalo, where the Sabres were holding assistant to the executive director. down the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot as of Monday’s games. GOLDEN FINNS: Jussi Ahokas took over the Finnish national junior Out three games with an injury, Eichel has shown the form promised program midway through the 2017 tournament in Montreal when the when he went second overall in the 2015 draft, behind Connor McDavid. team was imploding and on its way to the unthinkable: the relegation round. Now Finland is back on top of junior hockey, having won gold for Skinner is much more of a leader now. the third time in six years, and for the first time on the smaller ice surface. But he won’t be in the Hart Trophy conversation that ought to be “It’s been a long journey and we had such a great bunch of guys and I dominated by Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov and Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen, think that’s the biggest thing,” Ahokas told IIHF.com. “We don’t think of who have owned the scoring race. Their biggest problem is that they ourselves as underdogs, never. But the big thing was for us to win in a have Hart-worthy candidates on their own team: Brayden Point and small rink, we haven’t done that before and now we’ve done that also. Steve Stamkos in Tampa, and Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado. That’s the big thing for Finnish hockey. I think we’re producing more better players than past.” The mere definition of the Hart Trophy — most valuable player to his team — sometimes trips the voters (members of the Professional Hockey SMALL ICE: Among his comments as the world junior tournament ended, Writers Association). IIHF president Rene Fasel suggested NHL-sized surfaces are the future of hockey. He said the IIHF will ask organizers of the 2022 Beijing Last year’s winner was Taylor Hall, and his New Jersey Devils now count Olympics to build smaller surfaces, and the 2022 IIHF world among the biggest disappointments this season. The Devils, who made championship in Finland will be played on the NHL standard ice surface. the playoffs on Hall’s scoring prowess, are well down the standings. “I think in the future, having the best league in the world playing on small ice, having the best players of the world playing on small ice, that’s the McDavid can rejoin the Hart conversation if he can somehow carry the question, why not play on small ice in the future?” Fasel said. “That frustrating Edmonton Oilers into the playoffs. Despite repeatedly stubbing should be our goal.” their collective toe, a wild-card berth remains within Edmonton’s reach. An energized McDavid, fifth in scoring heading into Tuesday’s action, can FROM THE OHL: When the major junior trade deadline was lifted, it was be the difference-maker. a who’s who of Team Canada’s world junior roster switching teams: Owen Tippett from Mississauga to Oshawa, MacKenzie Entwistle from The Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews was an early candidate for the Hart, Hamilton to Guelph, Jack Studnicka from Oshawa to Niagara; Leaf but his shoulder injury hurt his chances. It doesn’t help that he’s had a prospect defenceman Fedor Gordeev was sent from Flint to Guelph. parade of wingers on either side, while both John Tavares and Mitch Marner have at least equalled if not eclipsed Matthews’ contribution to Toronto Star LOADED: 01.09.2019 the team. And it’s never wise to overlook Sidney Crosby. In a year where the Penguins got off to a slow start, Pittsburgh appears playoff bound yet again. Speaking of getting overlooked: Johnny Gaudreau, the Flames’ sniper, deserves at least a mention. Here’s a look at how the other awards are shaping up at the halfway mark: 1103744 Toronto Maple Leafs She worked the Alberta Midget Hockey League playoffs in 2017-18 up to and including the semifinals.

In junior A hockey across Canada, there are four female linesman in Female hockey official feels thwarted in desire to work AJHL games Saskatchewan this season, Kaylah Krieger works lines in Manitoba, linesman Cydnie Rice became the first female official in B.C. in 2014 and Meghan Mallette referees New Brunswick Junior Hockey League games. By Donna SpencerThe Canadian Press Hockey Canada’s officials certification system includes six levels. The highest level women can currently achieve is Level 5, which became available to them in 2014. CALGARY—Cassandra Gregory’s talent as a hockey linesman was recognized when she was assigned to work the men’s final at a Gregory is a Level 3 working towards her next certification. There are prestigious annual midget triple-A tournament in Calgary on Jan. 1. currently Level 2 linesmen in the AJHL. The 23-year-old from Edmonton also was nominated by her region’s Edmonton’s George Hart, an AJHL referee, has worked junior B games referees committee to work lines in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with Gregory in the past. Hart started out in the AJHL as a linesman and this season. says Gregory has checked the right boxes to get a tryout. She was asked in August if she was available for exhibition games, “The path I took to get to the AJHL years ago, I worked the same hockey which would have made her the first female official in the AJHL. she did,” Hart said. “I’m not in that chair, but do I think she can do the games? Yeah, I definitely think so. “Everybody was ecstatic because we’ve finally broken the female barrier in the Alberta Junior Hockey League,” said former NHL linesman Mike “The attributes of a good linesman would be awareness and judgment. Cvik, who now volunteers as an officials supervisor in the province. Her awareness has always been pretty decent trying to pick good spots to go to after whistles and be preventative so the referee doesn’t have to “Saskatchewan has already done it, B.C. has done it, Manitoba has done call many penalties. it.” “Judgment-wise, she’s always been in position a lot of the time. She can But Gregory was informed she would not work those AJHL exhibition tell if one guy and another guy on opposite teams are maybe having a games. bad shift with each other. One didn’t like how he got hit and his first chance, he might try and go back at him if he can after a whistle. She said she was told by Hockey Alberta referee-in-chief Craig DeCoursey “this was all happening because I’m a female. And those “I know she communicates well with the players letting them know ‘OK were his exact words. They didn’t even try and hide it. guys, we’re done’ and trying to talk them out of doing worse.” “I honestly lost sleep over it for the first week and a half,” Gregory Gregory is five foot eight and 155 pounds. continued. “I would sleep maybe two hours a night and wake up absolutely upset. I do have aspirations to work at the highest level “It’s not how big and strong you are in breaking up a fight,” Cvik said. “It’s possible.” the technique you use when they’re done fighting. DeCoursey denied gender was the reason he gave to Gregory for the “You’re not going to go in there and stop them fighting. You go in when rejection of her nomination. they’ve stopped fighting.” “She expressed that to me. I tried to explain I didn’t believe that was the Former NHL referee Paul Stewart said at his December induction into the case,” DeCoursey said. “I feel like she went away not believing what I U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame that he would like to help women officiate in had to say. the NHL. “It has absolutely nothing to do with gender whatsoever.” But Gregory is worried she could pay a political price and get passed over for future assignments because she is speaking out about her But a referees committee member who spoke on the condition he not be situation. identified said “the resistance is coming because she’s a female and the extra hoops are being presented because of that.” “There is a good chance I will never work (in) the league when this comes out,” she said. “It could totally ruin my career on the female side The AJHL assigns referees to games, but Hockey Alberta is responsible too. for assigning linesmen, according to AJHL spokesperson Charla Flett. “But I’d rather stand up for it and have it change in the future.” “We’ve had female coaches go through our league, we’ve had female players go through the league and I think right now we’re at 11 of 16 Toronto Star LOADED: 01.09.2019 team trainers and athletic females are female, so it’s something we’re not shying from at all,” Flett said. “I understand where the question is coming from because we don’t have female officials right now. It isn’t something the league is opposed to.” Neither DeCoursey nor Curtis Nichols, who is both the AJHL’s supervisor of officials and Hockey Alberta’s manager of officiating, would say why Gregory was rejected or who made that decision. DeCoursey, Nichols and George McCorry, the AJHL’s vice-president of officiating, are the ultimate authorities on which officials get into the league. Hockey Alberta’s six regions nominate officials for the AJHL and assign linesmen to games when they’ve been approved. Nichols says roughly half a dozen referees and 10 linesman whose names are put forward by the zones each year don’t make the cut. “Every region nominates referees and linesmen. There are people that are pushing certain officials and there’s others that say people aren’t ready,” Nichols said. “There’s a multitude of reasons why they may be rejected. “We’re always looking for the best officials. It doesn’t matter at all, male or female.” Gregory calls both male and female hockey games, but works primarily men’s hockey as a linesman in midget triple-A, junior B and college leagues. 1103745 Toronto Maple Leafs “It’s a great opportunity,” Subban said. “To work with NBC Sports, to represent the Preds, to be able to expose some of the great stuff about the city of Nashville. Should be exciting.” P.K. Subban has helped NHL players break free of the game’s restraints Predators coach Peter Laviolette said the team didn’t have an issue with | The Star Subban spreading his wings. “Players, when they get away from the rink, their time is their own time,” By Kevin McGran Laviolette said. “He’s not the first person to do something like this. As long as the focus stays at the rink, that’s what we worry about.

Subban said getting away from the game to do special projects is There might not be a bigger personality in hockey than P.K. Subban. probably a healthy choice. From the moment he joined the Montreal Canadiens in 2010, Subban was as dynamic, engaging and entertaining off the ice as much as he “Sometimes I think getting your mind off the game and doing other things was on. can make you even better. Everybody’s different. You have to find out what works for you. What works for me might not work for the next guy. It really wasn’t very “hockey,” a player talking about more than getting You have to work within yourself and know what’s going to provide you pucks deep and how it takes 20 guys to win. And some pointed to that with the amount of energy you need to do your job.” big personality as one of the reasons the Canadiens traded Subban, a Norris Trophy winner, to Nashville in 2016. Toronto Star LOADED: 01.09.2019 Maybe the old guard of hockey didn’t like the attention Subban drew. But fans ate it up. He is still a fan favourite. Now 29, Subban is seeing younger players following in his footsteps: They wear louder suits, joke a bit more, celebrate a goal because, well, it’s hard to score in the NHL and it’s fun when you do. “It’s probably that the league is just younger,” the Predators defenceman said Monday. “When I came into the league, there probably weren’t as many young players. It was still like more veteran players. I played with Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, Roman Hamrlik, Hal Gill, Mike Cammalleri, guys that had played in the league 10, 11, 12 years at the time. “It’s just different. Now it’s younger. With the way pop culture is today, it crosses over a lot into sports. When young players come into the league, they see how pop culture has affected the other sports, like the NBA and the NFL. They come in with more of an open mind.” Subban pointed to Leafs centre Auston Matthews as another growing personality. A few of his goal celebrations have drawn some ire from older players, but are really all in fun. Matthews wasn’t afraid to go on the let-loose podcast “Spittin’ Chiclets,” hosted by former NHL bad boy Paul Bissonnette. And he showed off his wardrobe in Sharp Magazine while also doing a spread GQ. “The NHL now is so diverse,” Subban said. “Auston Matthews from Arizona. The NHL hasn’t seen that. To have players like that come in can change things a little bit because he’s a player that has influence, and he’s got personality.” Subban has an ally in San Jose’s Evander Kane when it comes to encouraging others to show personality. “Kids don’t become fans of teams,” Kane told the Star last fall. “They become fans of players that they follow — Odell Beckham Jr. in the NFL. Kids are getting the same hair cut, not because they’re New York Giants fans but because they like Odell. “People tune in pre-game just to see what (NBA star) Russell Westbrook is going to walk into the arena looking like. He’s not going to wear a suit. He’s going to be wearing something crazy. It’s only going to help integrate fashion companies into the game. It will grow awareness, popularity, it will be good for the league, it will be good for the players. “It’s an entertainment business. There are a lot of different ways to showcase personality. Look at a guy like Brent Burns. You can see his personality through what he wears to the rink. You can see a tuxedo on with camouflage backpack and a tuque. Nobody else in the league does that. But that’s his personality.” As for Subban, he’s spreading his wings to television. He has appeared on Just for Laughs and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Now he’s getting his own show that will debut at the end of the month on NBCsports.com and YouTube. NBC hailed it as “a first-of-its-kind content partnership” to produce a television special for the all-star weekend as well as an original digital series. The special will feature several vignettes, with Subban interviewing some NHL stars and entertainers. The series will encompass his hockey career, his fashion choices and his daily life in the Music City. “P.K. is more than a hockey player, he’s a cultural explorer whose interests cross over into business, entertainment, and philanthropy,” said Sam Flood, executive producer with NBC Sports. 1103746 Toronto Maple Leafs LOOSE LEAFS General manager Kyle Dubas reportedly is scouting in Russia this week with a possible eye on CSKA Moscow centre Sergei Andronov, who has Nylander, struggling since returning to Leafs, has to find work ethic to 11 points in 39 games in the KHL. The 29-year-old Andronov was drafted make improvements by the St. Louis Blues in the third round of the 2009 NHL draft and played in the American Hockey League from 2012-14 before returning home … With the Leafs taking a full day off on Tuesday, the club returned winger Terry Koshan Trevor Moore and goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo to the Marlies. Babcock indicated on Monday night that winger Zach Hyman, who has missed the past eight games with a sprained ankle, will be cleared to play in New Jersey against the Devils on Thursday, and the same could be true of William Nylander is in a rut. No. 1 goaltender Frederik Andersen, who has missed the past six games Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock has a fairly good idea of how Nylander, with a groin injury. We’ll have a clearer idea at practice on Wednesday … misfiring with three points in 14 games, can get out of it. Since scoring two goals on the road against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 13, Nazem Kadri has two goals in his past 24 games. Kadri has 99 The thought process falls into line with an adage Babcock likes to use shots on goal, and only two Leafs forwards — John Tavares with 157 when the Leafs as whole haven’t played well: Put your work before your and Marner with 119 — have more … Patrick Marleau has gone six skill. games without a point, his longest dry spell of the season … Connor Brown scored in back-to-back games early in November and has nothing “He’s got to get better,” Babcock said of Nylander after the Leafs lost 4-0 since, his no-goal streak now at 26 games … With the blanking at the against the Nashville Predators on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena. hands of the Predators, the Leafs were shut out for the second time in “All the details, all the compete, all that stuff has just got to keep getting four games and for the third time this season. In 2017-18, they were shut better. out just twice. The 18 shots on goal the Leafs had versus Nashville tied “He will the more he plays, but the urgency level has to be there, for for the third-fewest they have had in a game since Babcock took over in sure.” 2015. There shouldn’t have to be a verbal nudge for Nylander. The 22-year-old Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.09.2019 should have many sources of inspiration for performing well, not the least of which is the six-year, $45-million US contract he signed on Dec. 1. Nylander has the kind of skill that the majority of National Hockey League players would accept in a minute if given a choice. When he’s engaged, Nylander can dominate games; we’ve seen it happen the past two seasons, when Nylander recorded 61 points in each. Babcock has been down a similar road before with Nylander, dating to the latter’s initial audition with the Leafs late in the 2015-16 season. It’s not really something the coach has had to do with Auston Matthews; that Mitch Marner was relegated to fourth-line status at times in the past two seasons seems preposterous now. Nylander played 18 minutes 12 seconds against the Predators, his high for one game since returning, and had eight shot attempts. Nylander, though, has too much skill for there to be only glimpses of his capabilities. Enough time has passed since returning to the lineup on Dec. 6 that Nylander should be making a greater impact. JOHNSSON REBOUNDS Winger Andreas Johnsson has found a place of comfort after initial struggles. Johnsson has 16 points (seven goals and nine assists) in his past 19 games, the production coming after he had three points in his first 18 games and was a healthy scratch for five. “Sometimes I look back and laugh a little bit at how it was before, but that reminds me, too, of how hard I need to work every day and stay at the level of where I am now,” Johnsson said. “I’m in a comfortable zone where I feel like I can do a lot of things out on the ice and always look to improve, and I’m more happy with the performance in the last month than I was in the beginning of the season.” The expectation coming out of training camp was that Johnsson would use his play in the American Hockey League playoffs, when he was a catalyst in the Toronto Marlies’ Calder Cup title run and was named MVP, as a springboard into 2018-19 with the Leafs. That didn’t happen. “You can’t take any shifts off,” Johnsson said. “That’s the difference, is the skill level. “You get 10 games and playoffs last season (with the Leafs, as Johnsson did), but that’s more of a rush. You live in a bubble for one month and now you have to do it through a whole season and figure it out. There were adjustments.” Johnson will be a restricted free agent next summer, and though he acknowledged he thinks about his next contract from time to time, it’s not consuming him. “It pops up a little here and there but it’s not really affecting my play,” Johnsson said. “It’s okay to talk about it, but it’s not like I go around and think I need to do this and this to get this. It’s unnecessary thinking.” 1103747 Toronto Maple Leafs In Sunrise, the parking was $15, which I thought fair compared to Toronto, but the nice lot attendant went out of her way to try not to charge us at all, checking our tickets a couple of times to see if we were ULTIMATE LEAFS FAN: A ferry nice way to watch hockey among those qualified for a free spot. Before the pre-game skate, I noticed a Leaf sweater that had ‘Essel’ on the back (K missing) and another ‘Poni aro sky’ (k and v missing). There Mike Wilson had to be a good story here. “The dog ate the letters,” admitted Sam Bromberg, with brothers Evan and Max verifying his tale. “Grabbed the sweaters chewed off the letters, TAMPA BAY, Fla. — To the list of planes, trains and automobiles so far but we still had them. We’ve ordered new Auston Matthews’ sweaters, on the Ultimate Road Trip, I can now add a ferry boat to see the Leafs. but they haven’t arrived yet.” This unusual mode of hockey transport was thanks to good friend Mike Continuing around the hallways, we encountered a kosher food kiosk, but Shea, who put me up for this part of the club’s Sunshine State journey in no one in line. Curious why no one was buying, Deb discovered the St. Pete Beach. He often takes the Cross-Bay Ferry that docks two rabbi, who had to wait an hour after sundown, hadn’t yet arrived to bless blocks from Amalie Arena. My only trouble was trying to distinguish Leaf any food. Definitely a first in my travels. blue from Lightning blue among the sweaters on board, a nod to former Lightning GM Steve Yzerman’s preference that the Lightning use the Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.09.2019 blue hue he recalled so well from the many Detroit-Toronto Norris Division games. Al Ionson, from Collingwood, Ont., was one Leaf fan easy to ID, decked out in a bright red Molson Canadian sweatshirt. He’s in his 60s, but still gets very excited to see the Leafs play live as he did back in the Gardens era. Matt Krupski was attending his first Leaf game, hundreds of miles from his Edmonton home, a guest of sister Anne. She’s a Lightning supporter, who married into blue blood, retired husband Todd Haas, who is turning the whole family allegiance to the Leafs. Todd gets a bit emotional when they come to town, rekindling memories of watching games live with his dad. A next generation connection started that night as seven-month-old Jett Winder was at his first Toronto game, clutched by parents Garett and Christina and accompanied by proud grandparents John and Carol. Mike Wilson, far left, meets seven-month-old Jett Winder at his first Toronto game, in Tampa, with parents Garett and Christina and grandparents John and Carol. The Bolts beat us in a game with playoff tones, but by the time the ferry returned to St. Pete’s, unanimous opinion was the Leafs were the real deal. It should be noted this boat has a bar and a very busy one at that on the return trip. There is another big Toronto/Gardens connection in these parts. On my way to Sunrise for the second game of the trip against the Panthers, I broke up the four-hour drive across Alligator Alley to lunch in Sarasota with senior vice-president of the Red Wings Jim Devellano. He winters in the area and still scouts for Detroit. Jimmy grew up in Toronto, a frequent Gardens visitor in the ‘50s thanks to his parents’ season’s tickets. The game and the Gardens got in his blood and he not only became one of the game’s best scouts, but a large shareholder before the company went private in the 1990s. He just recently gave up his seats at the Scotiabank Arena. I also crossed paths with NHL Network analyst Rob Simpson, in the midst of his condensed road-trip feat, seeing 31 games in 31 nights. He began in the West and Tampa was No. 29. We’d meet two nights later to see the Panthers as he wrapped up his quest. We spoke of similar challenges: Sleeping on friends’ couches, sudden flight changes, killing time at airports, lack of sleep, eating on the run, the not-so-glamorous side of our respective journeys. Although he had two games left, I still had 50, home and away. Rob Simpson and Mike Wilson at the Leafs game in Tampa. (Supplied) As they’d promised me a few nights earlier when we met in snow- covered Carolina, pals Braydon Hoskins and Chris Brown from Barrie had made it to the warmth of Fort Lauderdale. I don’t hear too many Phil Kessel mentions when people tell me their favourite Leaf memory, but for Scott it was No. 81 going after big John Scott and slashing him. “Even though Scott could easily kick his butt,” laughed Hoskins. Deb joined me in Florida for the Panthers game and we noted the one constant at each arena so far is how hard they work to make the game a fan-friendly experience. A few years ago in Tampa, if you bought season’s seats, you’d receive a sweater, but further to that, the sweater had a micro chip that gave the holder discounts on all food, drinks and merchandise. The one stipulation was having to wear it to the game. Brilliant. 1103748 Vegas Golden Knights

Knights extend winning streak with 4-2 win over the Rangers

By David Schoen / Las Vegas Review-Journal

It’s a little bit like pointing out shoulder acne on a supermodel, but two issues still lingered during the Golden Knights’ season-long win streak. The Knights solved those problems Tuesday, and the result was a workmanlike 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers before an announced crowd of 18,249 at T-Mobile Arena. “I think we’re getting some chemistry, but the guys are playing hard and competing hard,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “We’ve been more energized, we’re forechecking well and have had good defensive zone coverage. I like the way our game is.” Brandon Pirri scored in the second period to snap an 0-for-17 drought with the man advantage. Marchessault notched his first goal since Dec. 22 to help the Knights win their seventh in a row, which is the longest active win streak in the NHL after the New York Islanders lost to Carolina on Tuesday. “When we play our game, we’re forechecking really well and not giving them time and space and we break pucks out of our own zone easy,” Pirri said. “That’s something we try to do, and I think there were breakdowns here and there and they had some possession in our zone. But for the most part I thought we played pretty well.” Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 27 saves, losing his shutout bid with 8:17 left when Mika Zibanejad finished off a 2-on-1 with Mats Zuccarello. The Knights extended the NHL’s longest active points streak to 10 games (8-0-2) and have collected points in 12 straight at home (10-0-2), matching their franchise record from Dec. 3, 2017, to Jan. 23, 2018. “I feel confident going in every night that we can win the game,” Fleury said. “The parity around the league is very good. There’s a lot of good teams, right? I always feel confident going in. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing.” Pirri, who was recalled from the American Hockey League on Monday, swooped in after Max Pacioretty’s shot bounced off the post and poked a loose puck past Rangers goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to put the Knights up 2-0 at 7:06 of the second. It was Pirri’s seventh goal in eight games and the Knights’ first on the power play since Dec. 23 against Los Angeles. “I don’t think we were executing the way we wanted to all night,” Pirri said. “You see, when we keep it kind of simple and throw a puck on net and we have bodies around there, good things happen.” Marchessault gave the Knights a 3-0 advantage with 1:07 left in the second after Fleury made back-to-back saves and the Rangers were caught up ice. Marchessault scooped up a loose puck in the neutral zone and beat Georgiev high on the breakaway for his 14th goal and first since Dec. 22 against Montreal. “It’s fun to get on the board,” Marchessault said. “I think it was a good team effort. Could have done a little better job I think defintely as a team. Those two goals could have been preventable. But at the end of the night we got the two points and it’s good.” The Rangers lost their fourth straight and have been outscored 22-5 in that stretch. Alex Tuch had the lone moment of brilliance in the first period for the Knights when he chipped a no-look, backhand pass to Cody Eakin, who was streaking through the neutral zone and found himself behind the Rangers’ defense. Eakin’s shot slipped under the Georgiev’s arm with 3:58 left in the period for his 13th goal.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103749 Vegas Golden Knights

Knights reshuffle as Reilly Smith goes on injured reserve

By Adam Hill / Las Vegas Review-Journal

Max Pacioretty was slotted into Reilly Smith’s usual spot on the Golden Knights’ top forward line for Tuesday night’s game against the New York Rangers. He’s expected to stay there for at least the next two games. Smith was listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, but was placed on injured reserve shortly before the puck dropped at T-Mobile Arena. He was injured Sunday and likely will miss Thursday’s home game against San Jose and Saturday’s game at Chicago, though the team has given no indication of the extent of his absence beyond this weekend. Coach Gerard Gallant downplayed the significance of Pacioretty’s placement on the first line. It allowed Brandon Pirri, who was recalled from the team’s American Hockey League Affiliate in Chicago, to rejoin the second line with Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch. Pirri delivered again, too, scoring in the second period to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. “We have two first lines,” Gallant said Tuesday morning. “It’s a different line. We’ve changed the lines so much in the last two or three weeks that I don’t even know what they are until I look at the board. You mix and match guys all the time so there’s no issue with that. (Max) is excited to play there and Pirri played really well with the other guys so I’m not concerned about that.” Jonathan Marchessault was just fine with the restructured unit. “We’re lucky on this team to be able to play with quality players every night,” he said. “Max is a great player. He’s been successful for so many years and we definitely need to take advantage of his strengths.” Possible spark? New blood on the top line could prove beneficial for Marchessault, who had been in a drought lately. Marchessault hadn’t scored a goal since Dec. 22 and had only two assists in seven games during that span, but found the net late in the second period. “It’s just the way it goes sometimes,” he said before the game. “You just have to keep working hard and keep doing the right things at the right time. I think we’re playing well defensively and if you get chances normally it’s going to come very soon. We keep finding a way to win every night, so that’s what matters. If we were losing games and I didn’t produce, it would be different.” All defenseman Nate Schmidt could do was laugh when asked about his pregame appearance on the scoreboard as he danced and sang along with Usher’s “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” during pregame warmups on Sunday. “Oh, did they catch me on the big screen?” he said. “That’s funny. I was just kind of feeling it.” Schmidt said it’s not that song in particular, but the entire warmup track played in the arena that gets him pumped to take the ice. “I do like Usher, but it can really be anything,” he said. “It just kind of depends where you’re at in the warmups and how you’re feeling. I love our warmup. Even if you’re a little sleepy or coming off a road trip or whatever, it will wake you right up. It’s awesome. It will get you fired up for the game.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103750 Vegas Golden Knights

GAME DAY: Reilly Smith to miss Knights’ game vs. Rangers

By David Schoen / Las Vegas Review-Journal

Right wing Reilly Smith will miss his first game of the season when the Golden Knights host the New York Rangers on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena. Opening faceoff is 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. The Knights (26-15-4, 56 points) have won a season-high six straight and earned points in nine consecutive games (7-0-2). They also are riding an 11-game point streak on home ice (9-0-2), one shy of their franchise record 12-game point streak from Dec. 3, 2017, to Jan. 23, 2018, last season. “I think it’s about us, how we play,” Knights forward Tomas Nosek said. “We just need to focus on our game, play our game, be good defensively and put some pressure on their (defense) and we’ll be good.” Smith left Sunday’s 3-2 victory over New Jersey in the third period and is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, according to coach Gerard Gallant. The only Knights who have appeared in every game this season are Karlsson, Marchessault and defensemen Brayden McNabb and Nick Holden. Smith has nine goals and 27 points in 45 games. Max Pacioretty took line rushes in Smith’s spot alongside William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault at Tuesday’s morning skate. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is projected to start against the Rangers and is 8-0-2 with three shutouts at home since Nov. 23. Karlsson is celebrating his 26th birthday. The Rangers (17-17-7, 41 points) are sixth in the Metropolitan Division and have dropped three straight, including Sunday’s 5-0 loss at Arizona. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was pulled against the Coyotes for the second straight game, and New York coach David Quinn announced after Monday’s practice that Alexandar Georgiev will start. “We’ve got to make sure we’re ready tonight,” Gallant said. “The Rangers are coming in struggling a little bit, obviously, the last three games. But they’re a dangerous team. They played us really well in New York and it was a good hockey game. I expect the same. “I expect them to work their tails off and be ready to play a good, hard game. It’s going to be a battle. There’s no easy games in this league.” Forward Kevin Hayes, who is second on the Rangers in scoring with 33 points, will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury. Leading scorer Mika Zibanejad has scored in every matchup against the Knights and produced 3-2-5 in the three games. He scored on a power play in New York’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Knights on Dec. 16.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103751 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Edge mailbag: On Max Pacioretty, NHL roster rules

By Ben Gotz / Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Golden Knights made plenty of roster moves in the past week so there’s plenty to discuss. Let’s get to it: Pacioretty probably isn’t thrilled he’s missed 13 games in his first season with the Knights but he’s been one of the team’s most productive players when on the ice. He’s recording 0.66 points per game, which ranks fifth on the team behind forward Alex Tuch (0.89) and forwards William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Paul Stastny (0.67). The 30-year-old is trending upward, too, because he’s totaled 19 points in his last 18 games entering Tuesday. He also scored game-winning goals Friday and Sunday, the latter coming in his first game since his wife Katia gave birth to their fourth son. “It was a great week for my family,” Pacioretty said. “My wife was a trouper battling in there.” All that after the former Montreal Canadiens captain struggled to adapt to his second team in 11 seasons and recorded two points in his first 14 games. Since then, he’s formed an impressive second-line trio with Tuch and center Paul Stastny. “I’ve played with Stastny in the past, so that helps,” Pacioretty said. “And him coming back from an injury as well makes it a little easier on me. I’m able to talk through it a little bit, and Tuchy’s been a guy that everyone’s had success with this year. You know, we’re playing well and we want to keep getting better from there.” “Would they move a player to IR for the flu? Might be a dumb question, just curious.” — @viperdmb (Twitter) The Knights placed forward William Carrier on injured reserve Monday after he missed Sunday’s game with an illness, which is allowed. The NHL’s collective bargaining agreement says players can be put on IR if they are “injured, disabled or ill.” Sick players just have to miss a minimum of seven days like any other player placed on IR. “Does the 30 day clock start over, or is it cumulative?” — @admancorb (Twitter) Brandon Pirri is currently waiver exempt, meaning he can be sent to the American Hockey League without being offered to the other 30 teams, because he hasn’t played 10 games or been on the roster for 30 days. That 30-day clock is cumulative too, so it didn’t restart when the Knights sent Pirri to the AHL on Friday and recalled him Monday. Tuesday was his 15th day with the Knights.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103752 Vegas Golden Knights

Reaves returns to fighting form as Golden Knights drop Rangers

By Justin Emerson

Ryan Reaves joked this week that one of his only regrets was that he might not get to fight in front of the home fans at T-Mobile Arena. He got his wish Tuesday, throwing down with defenseman Adam McQuaid as he and the Golden Knights beat up McQuaid and the New York Rangers, 4-2. “I’m sure they’ve been waiting for it too, but you can always hear the crowd, that’s for sure,” Reaves said. “I’m glad they were behind me on that one.” The fight started when McQuaid flattened Vegas forward Max Pacioretty, who hit the ice hard after the puck was away from him. Reaves hopped over the boards and he and McQuaid went to the dance floor. It was a heavyweight fight, with Reaves checking in at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds and McQuaid at 6-4, 210. The two squared off at center ice for 20 seconds, with McQuaid getting in an early strike before Reaves pounded him into submission. He scored himself 10-7 for the round. “To see (Reaves) step up and go in there for me, and to see him do so well in the fight, yeah, he’s a big boy,” Pacioretty said. “I wouldn’t want to take one of those and he did a great job.” It was Reaves’ third fight of the season and the Golden Knights’ fourth. It was the first by a Vegas player since Reaves went toe-to-toe with Ottawa’s Mark Borowiecki on Nov. 8. His teammates seemed to appreciate it. Jonathan Marchessault said the team wasn’t happy with McQuaid’s hit, and Brandon Pirri said he’s glad to have Reaves on his side. Pirri was in a fight of his own last week, playing Reaves’ role in the AHL when he took exception to San Antonio’s Sammy Blais' hit on Golden Knights 19-year-old prospect Erik Brannstrom. Though, Pirri conceded, “mine didn’t look like that” in regards to Reaves’ kerfuffle. It’s part of the hockey code, and no one on the Golden Knights bench was upset with trading five penalty minutes for the insurance of knowing their stars have their backs covered. “Nobody is going to come into our team and try and intimidate us, especially going after our top players,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “Guys are going to stand up for each other.” Reaves has the reputation of a fighter, a trend he has bucked in favor of scoring this year. He has a career-best eight goals on the year, and joked that he’s approaching a career milestone. “Back in the day I’m getting 14 (fights) a year, and I’m definitely not going to hit double-digits probably this year,” he said. “That’ll be the first time I had more goals than fights. “It’s a little easier on the hand, that’s for sure.”

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103753 Vegas Golden Knights “The emotions were great. I’d never felt higher,” Gallant said. “Obviously I was tired from the travel back and forth, back and forth, but it’s one of the best days of your life.” Behind the scenes of Max Pacioretty’s race to the birth of his child Gallant’s crazy scenario likely wouldn’t have been handled the same way in today’s NHL. By Jesse Granger “Yeah, you’re right, it probably wouldn’t happen nowadays,” Gallant said. “Back then we didn’t have 23 players all the time. I wanted to play the Jan 8, 2019 game. I saw the baby, made sure everyone was healthy and fine, so I wanted to go play the game.”

Bellemare, for example, skipped the Golden Knights’ January road trip to The Golden Knights’ dressing room was chaotic following their 3-2 win in Nashville and St. Louis last season to stay home with his wife, Hannah, Anaheim on Friday. for the birth of his first child. Players scrambling out of the team showers, hair still dripping wet as “Originally I was supposed to go on the road with the team, and we were they frantically dried themselves off as quickly as they could. The prepared for every situation of plane tickets — before the game, during equipment staff hastily stuffed the players’ sweat-drenched equipment the game and after the game,” Bellemare said. “The plan was that she into the grey bags and threw them onto carts ready to be driven to the was going to tell me, ‘Alright I’m going to the hospital in 10 hours from team bus. now so you better get your ass home.’” “Let’s get it going, boys, there’s a baby coming!” yelled director of team But the morning before the Golden Knights left for Nashville, Hannah services Rick “Bronco” Braunstein. went into labor. Minutes after scoring the game-winning goal to lift the Golden Knights “We decided I wasn’t going to go,” Bellemare said. “We have a good over the Ducks, forward Max Pacioretty rushed to his phone to see a text coaching staff and organization, so everyone came to me and told me from his wife, Katia, saying she had gone into labor around 4 p.m. that the most important thing is for me to be there for my wife, so it was really simple.” It was now past 10 p.m. and Pacioretty was in a race against time to get back to Las Vegas for the birth of his fourth baby boy. Leandre Lian was born the second day of the road trip, and luckily for Bellemare, the Golden Knights didn’t go back on the road for another 11 “That’s just the way the guys are,” Pacioretty told The Athletic. “They days. But when that time came it wasn’t easy for him. made sure that we hurried as fast as we could to get out of there. The staff, the players packing up the bus and the plane, and we were able to “Leaving was not fun,” Bellemare said. “We knew she had help with her make it back in time.” family there to help so that was all good, but the time goes so quick and it only happens once so you’d rather not be on the road for those Pacioretty’s teammates were not going to allow him to miss that moment moments. But that’s the way it is.” with his family. Bellemare said having a child transformed his entire outlook on life. “Family is the most important thing,” Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. “That’s his family, and we are all family together. A kid is the best thing “I’ve always been the guy who tried to come to the rink first, and take my that happens in your life, so as soon as we knew his wife was starting her time after,” he said. “Then suddenly, my first day when I came back to ‘game,’ we figured that she probably needed her winger. So we had to the rink after my son was born, I got through the door and the first thing I make sure he shows up.” thought of was ‘I have to hurry back to the house to see the kid.’ The team plane landed in Las Vegas and Braunstein had a driver waiting “The thought process changed. The most important thing just changed.” to rush Pacioretty to the hospital just in time for the birth of his fourth son, Michael Pacioretty, at 2 a.m. Golden Knights’ winger Ryan Carpenter was lucky enough that his wife, Alexis, gave birth to their son during the offseason last June, but he “Obviously I didn’t sleep that night, and I was in the hospital for most of shares the impact on life. the next day,” Pacioretty said. “I got home with my other kids around 7 p.m. and I was scrambling to get dinner in front of them because that’s “When you go home after a bad day at the rink, and your boy is just not my strong suit. So we ordered some food, then I put them to bed and laughing and smiling, it makes it easier to forget about it,” Carpenter said. fell right to sleep.” “It puts life in perspective. Even though we train our whole lives to play in the NHL, and we want to win so bad, sometimes you realize it’s not as He was up the next morning at 6:30 a.m. to go pick his wife and newborn important as you make it seem, and you can just relax and enjoy life a up from the hospital. Pacioretty dropped them off at home, then made a little bit more.” quick pit stop at the Golden Knights’ practice facility to grab breakfast before immediately heading to T-Mobile Arena for another game. The Golden Knights’ “Vegas Born” family continues to grow with Marc- Andre Fleury and his wife, Veronique, expecting their third child in March. Vegas hosted the New Jersey Devils at 1 p.m. that afternoon, and Pacioretty already has four and plans on adding to that. Pacioretty scored the game-winning goal. Again. Only one more to put a full five-man unit on the ice? It’s only the second time a Golden Knight has scored game-winning goals in back to back games, and the first since James Neal did it in the “You’re right,” Pacioretty said with a laugh. “Then we might even add a first two games in franchise history. goalie.” “They are understanding of my situation so I wasn’t feeling any anxiety or nerves, I just went out there and played,” Pacioretty said. “It’s been a great weekend for my family. My wife is a trooper for battling in there with The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 me on the road.” Having a child can be stressful. Doing it while playing an NHL schedule can significantly magnify that. On Jan. 26, 1990, when Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant was a 25- year-old winger for the Detroit Red Wings, he went through a similar scenario when his wife, Pamela, gave birth to his son Jason. Gallant flew with the Red Wings to Quebec City for a game against the Nordiques, but upon arrival he was alerted Pamela was going into labor, so he hopped on a flight back to Detroit. He made it back just in time, then after spending a few hours with Pamela and Jason, he accompanied Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch on his private jet to rejoin his teammates in Quebec City. Gallant scored a late empty net goal to seal the Red Wings’ 8-6 victory, and Gallant still has the puck to this day. 1103754 Vegas Golden Knights

Perhaps No Free Doughnuts, But Golden Knights Rack Up Another Win with Pirri Goal, Tough Guy Reaves Fight

January 8, 2019 By Alan Snel

Marc-Andre Fleury sat in front of his locker, the goaltender wearing a Golden Knights ball cap and that sly smile of his after he and the VGK racked up another win at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday night. This time, it was a 4-2 victory over the visiting New York Rangers. Leading the NHL in wins and minutes played, Fleury was at his jovial best, answering sports reporters’ questions with a quip or a joke. He mused that he was disappointed in losing the shutout and the dozen free Krispy Kreme doughnuts that go with every Golden Knights whitewash. You can hear Fleury’s aw-shucks, funny style here. Fleury’s shutouts this year have meant Krispy Kreme cranking out about $40,000 worth of free doughnuts per shutout, but the free publicity is sweet. In defeating the Rangers, the Golden Knights secured their seventh consecutive win, with VGK two-way centerman Cody Eakin scoring the first goal. The Knights would not trail in the game, which drew 18,249 to the friendly confines of the Big Ice House on the Strip. Eakin opened the scoring. The Golden Knights, after 20 home dates, were averaging 18,284 attendance per home game and more than 105 percent of capacity of the arena that officially sits 17,367 for VGK home games. The arena’s fan atmosphere — and loud noise — is credited with giving the Golden Knights a home ice advantage. After Tuesday’s game, the average attendance dropped by two to 18,282 after 21 home games.

LVSportsBiz.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103755 Washington Capitals

Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (illness) a game-time decision vs. Flyers

By Isabelle Khurshudyan January 8 at 12:08 PM

The Washington Capitals could be without top-six center Nicklas Backstrom on Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers; he’s considered a “game-time decision” after missing the morning skate with an illness. Backstrom hasn’t missed a game all season and has 10 goals with 34 assists in 41 games. “He wasn’t feeling that great yesterday and isn’t still, so we’ll see how he is tonight,” Coach Todd Reirden said. With Backstrom not on the ice Tuesday morning, center Lars Eller took Backstrom’s place centering a second line with Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie, and Travis Boyd was between Brett Connolly and Andre Burakovsky on the third line. If Backstrom doesn’t play, then Eller, who has six goals and 12 assists this season, will replace him on the top power-play unit, which has one goal in its past 30 looks. Eller’s no stranger to moving into the top-six forward corps, doing so in the postseason, when Backstrom missed three playoff games, and in November, when Evgeny Kuznetsov missed six games with a concussion. “He’s always seemed to rise to the occasion,” Reirden said. “He’s a huge reason why we were able to have the success we did last year with his ability to slide into that top spot, see some more time on that top power play. It’s one of the luxuries we have of having a third-line center that is as good as he is.” Though Kuznetsov has 36 points in 35 games, he doesn’t have a goal in 15 games, and six of his seven goals this season have come on the power play. Reirden said Kuznetsov’s play has been “up and down” since he returned to the lineup from a concussion on Nov. 30. “I don’t think he’s really gotten into the rhythm he was in to start the year,” Reirden said. “But he still makes high-end plays and creates a lot. . . . It’s a long year, and I think he’s still be able to generate some numbers, but I think with Kuzy, he’s such a special player that he’s got different expectations about him. I don’t think he’s really found the rhythm that he had prior to the injury, but I’m still hoping before the [all-star] break to really get him running these last few games.” Copley to start . . . again Backup goaltender Pheonix Copley has won nine of his 13 starts this season, exceeding all expectations in his first full NHL season. And because he’s acquitted himself so well, he’s getting more starts. He’ll be in net against the Flyers on Tuesday night, his fourth start in Washington’s past eight games. Copley has a 2.56 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. “He continues to earn opportunities,” Reirden said. “He’s put himself in this situation where it’s not just back-to-backs. The other times we’ve gone with him in this type of scenario, he’s played really well. The long- term goal of not wearing out [Braden] Holtby is an important one. Just think about, too, coming up on the All-Star Game and being a part of that for Braden as well — all that stuff factors in there. We’ll have Copley tonight and then plan on seeing Holtby the next two games.”

Washington Post LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103756 Washington Capitals Oshie added an empty-netter with two seconds to go — which turned out to be his 200th career goal.

Washington was without Nicklas Backstrom, who was scratched due to Vrana's three points power Capitals over Flyers an illness. The Capitals take a quick trip to play the Boston Bruins Thursday before By Adam Zielonka - The Washington Times hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets, a more competitive Metro Division foe than Philadelphia, Saturday night in Washington. Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Washington Times LOADED: 01.09.2019 The Philadelphia Flyers were on their seventh goaltender of the season, and before long, it showed. Jakub Vrana set up the Washington Capitals‘ first goal, then scored twice in the second period to lead them over the Flyers 5-3 Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. T.J. Oshie also scored twice, Tom Wilson had a goal and John Carlson added two assists for Washington. Pheonix Copley made a career-high 37 saves in his 10th win of the season. Philadelphia has dealt with some injuries and an overall history of incompetence in net. As a result, recent waiver claim Mike McKenna made his first start for the Flyers — making them the fourth team in NHL history to use seven goalies in a season. The Capitals exploited their defensive cracks, particularly with three goals in the second period. They have scored 61 of their goals this season in the middle frame, far and away their best offensive period. “We really were able to play a much faster game in the second period,” coach Todd Reirden said. “We really seemed to transition the puck better, and obviously the statistics follow along with where we’re at in our second period production. So that is important for us, and something we’ve got to continue to add in the first and the third, is when we play with that type of speed.” Washington improved to 26-12-4 and held onto the Metropolitan Division lead over Pittsburgh for the night. Reirden was asked whether it was standings-watching season yet. “Certainly you pay attention to what’s going on around the league, especially when you’re doing your scouting and everything like that,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s something that we put a huge emphasis on every day in our locker room. We talk about trying to get better. We talk about 20-game segments, areas to focus on.” Vrana set up the first goal when he received a defensive zone faceoff and pushed down the left side of the rink himself. His centering pass found Wilson waiting at the crease, and the right winger scored his 13th goal of the year. “The puck kind of bounced right in that spot and I just tried to take advantage of it — put the puck behind the D-man and try to outskate him,” Vrana said. “Tom drive the net real good there and (it was a) backdoor play.” Later in the first, Michal Kempny turned the puck over in the neutral zone, leading to a 2-on-1 Philadelphia breakaway and a Jakub Voracek goal to tie the game. The Capitals only mustered four shots on goal in the first period, not taking enough advantage of the 35-year-old McKenna. But Oshie put the Capitals back ahead 9:19 into the second period. He redirected an Eller wrister right past McKenna to the left pipe. After that, it was the Vrana show. He stole the puck from Sean Couturier, the Flyers’ top center, in Philadelphia’s zone and broke away for the remaining two-thirds of the rink to score. Then, on a power play, Vrana shot on McKenna at an oblique angle, and the goalie mishandled it near the five-hole and kicked it in behind him. The goals were Vrana’s 13th and 14th of the season, which tied and then surpassed his career high set a season ago as a rookie. The Czech is also Washington’s second-leading scorer now, behind only Alex Ovechkin’s league-high 30-goals. “Finding ways to use his speed is important,” Reirden said of Vrana, “and he was really a factor tonight by taking away time and space, forcing turnovers. A couple chances for him to get his third (goal) there, which would have been exciting for a young player. But it was a real strong game from him.” While playing 6-on-5 late in a defensive third period, Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux scored for Philadelphia, but the latter came with seven seconds left and it never felt like a real chance at a comeback. 1103757 Washington Capitals

Jake Vrana delivers another breakout performance in Caps's 5-3 win vs Flyers

By Brian McNally January 08, 2019 10:25 PM

Jakub Vrana scored two goals and had an assist as the Capitals began a new winning streak with a 5-3 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at Capital One Arena on Tuesday. T.J. Oshie had two goals also. Washington (26-12-4) remained in first place in the Metropolitan Division with the win and has 56 points. Here are five reasons why the Caps won: Vrana’s big night The 22-year-old winger has come into his own and it’s taking pressure off the Capitals’ star players. Jakub Vrana had two goals and an assist in the win. He has now set a career high in goals (14) just 42 games into the season. He has 24 points now and is three shy of the 27 he had last year. Most impressive? His first goal when he waited patiently at the blueline and then ripped off the Philadelphia defenseman. Vrana’s speed is something else. It’s not Connor McDavid. But he’s fast and he pulled away for what became a breakaway goal to give Washington a 3-1 lead. Oh – and his pass to a hard-charging Tom Wilson for the game’s first goal was a thing of beauty, too. A power-play goal. Finally Maybe the Caps didn’t absolutely need one to win. But they needed one for their own confidence. Since Dec. 15 Washington was 1-for-31 on the power play. They had dropped to 11thin the league. With the talent on this team they shouldn’t be struggling over 10 games like this. Vrana and the second power-play unit took care of that with his bad-angle shot off goalie Mike McKenna and in at 15:55 of the second period. That made it 4-1. Washington still only finished 1-for-4 on the man advantage, but it’s a start. Rising Pheonix There’s a reason Caps coach Todd Reirden keeps going to backup goalie Pheonix Copley. He keeps earning the net. If that helps starter Braden Holtby get some needed rest during the season, that’s all the better. Copley made 37 saves on 40 Philadelphia shots.It was his fifth start in the past 11 games. He is 4-0-1 and his save percentage is among the best in the league for a goalie with at least 10 starts. No Nick, no problem Nicklas Backstrom missed the game with an illness. Lars Eller simply did what he did last spring in the Stanley Cup playoffs when Backstrom was out with a broken finger for four games in the second and third rounds. Eller bumped up to the second line and had a dominant shift at even strength in the second period. He helped keep the puck pinned in the Flyers’ zone and finally ripped a point shot that teammate T.J. Oshie deflected home for a 2-1 lead. Penalty kill Slowly but surely Washington’s penalty kill is improving. There’s still a ways to go, but it managed to kill off all four Philadelphia power plays and is 28-for-31 since Dec. 21 (nine games). They’ll take what they can get. The Flyers had seven power-play shots.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103758 Washington Capitals

Illness to Backstrom could see Eller reprise starring playoff role vs. Flyers

By Brian McNally January 08, 2019 5:40 PM

The Capitals return home for their first game of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at Capital One Arena (7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Washington). Washington (25-12-4) snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday with a win against the Detroit Red Wings and remains in first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers (15-21-6) have lost seven in a row and are in last place. Here are some things to watch for in tonight’s rivalry game: 1. No Nick? An ill Nicklas Backstrom skipped the morning skate and is a game-time decision. Backstrom is second on the team with 44 points (10 goals, 34 assists). If he can’t go, Washington simply reverts to its Stanley Cup playoff lineup last spring when Backstrom had a broken finger. Lars Eller will move up to the second line with Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie. Eller would join the top power-play unit, too. Backstrom missed the final game of the second-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the first three games of the Eastern Conference Final against Tampa Bay. Eller had two goals and two assists as the second-line center before Backstrom returned for Game 4 against the Lightning. It is a role he usually thrives in. 2. Copley’s back The Capitals have grown increasingly confident with Pheonix Copley in net. He starts against the Flyers for Braden Holtby tonight. This will be Copley’s fifth start in his past 11 games. The bonus? That should help keep Holtby fresh. He struggled at times during the regular season last year and was limited to 54 starts, his fewest since 2013-14. But unlike last year, Holtby hasn’t struggled. The Caps needed former backup goalie Philipp Grubauer to play well during particularly rough stretches. Since Nov. 5, Holtby ranks third in even-strength save percentage (.938) and Copley is tied for fourth (.937). Together they are at .938 - best in the NHL over those 29 games. 3. Struggling Flyers It’s been a brutal season in Philadelphia. The Flyers already fired former coach Dave Hakstol on Dec. 17 and replaced him with assistant Scott Gordon. After a post-firing 3-1-1 bump to show signs of life, Philadelphia has cratered again with seven losses in a row, including 3-0 at home to the St. Louis Blues on Monday, and is in last place in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers have used seven goalies this season and had to turn to top prospect Carter Hart, a 20-year-old rookie. Tonight they don’t even have that option. Backup Mike McKenna likely starts on the second of a back-to-back. The 35-year-old journeyman has literally been on three teams in six days. He was traded by Ottawa to Vancouver on Jan. 2, released by the Canucks on Jan. 4 and picked up by Philadelphia. McKenna just saw the Caps on Dec. 22 in Ottawa. They beat him 4-0 with Copley getting his first career shutout. 4. Still no power Not having Backstrom wouldn’t help, but either way the Capitals simply must get their scuffling power play going. They went 0-for-4 in a close 3-2 win at Detroit on Sunday. Very good at even strength, Washington could make its life so much easier by getting the power play going. The Caps are 1-for-31 since Dec. 15 – a span of 10 games.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103759 Washington Capitals

What Caps fans should know about the Flyers, according to a Flyers insider

By Jordan Hall January 08, 2019 11:57 AM

Tuesday night marks the start of a four-game regular-season series between two teams headed in different directions going back to the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last season, the Capitals broke through and won their first title while the Flyers were bounced in the first round yet again. This season, the two have separated even more. Before Tuesday's puck drop (7:30 p.m. on NBCSN), here's a look at what Capitals fans should know about the 2018-19 Flyers: 1. Times have changed The Flyers are either severely underperforming or their core is simply on borrowed time before things start to come undone and a retool is performed by new general manager Chuck Fletcher. A team that was predicted to win 49 games and accumulate 105 points by USA TODAY Sports has been a major disappointment as it's 30th in the NHL standings with a 15-21-6 record and 36 points. Another slow start resulted in a massive shake-up. By Game 32 of the season, the Flyers had fired general manager Ron Hextall, assistant general manager Chris Pryor, head coach Dave Hakstol and assistant coach Gord Murphy. Upper management wanted more progress now and while the Flyers aren't Cup contenders, it's hard to believe where they stand considering the names on the roster like Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier, James van Riemsdyk, Wayne Simmonds, Travis Konecny, just to name a handful. 2. Goalies galore It's never sunny in Philadelphia when it comes to the goalie situation and this season has been case in point. The Flyers have played six goaltenders — yes, six — through 42 games and there's a good chance they'll utilize a seventh netminder soon in Mike McKenna. If/when that happens (it could be tonight), the Flyers will tie the NHL record for goalies used in a season, which has been done just three other times. The one positive has been 20-year-old Carter Hart, deemed the goalie of the future for the Flyers who was forced to the big club sooner than expected. The 2016 second-round pick has given the fan base hope and he's played better than his 2-4-1 record shows, putting up a 2.68 goals- against average and .909 save percentage. His advanced game matches his maturity and a moment like playing the defending champions won't be too big for him. Interestingly, Capitals goalie Braden Holtby is a player Hart has looked up to en route to the NHL. 3. Watch the captain One Flyer that hasn't slowed down is Giroux. Coming off a 102-point season at age 30, the team's leader is putting together another strong year with 46 points on 13 goals and 33 assists. Playing both center and wing, Giroux is capable of going off and carrying the Flyers. He has also been a point-per-game player in his career against the Capitals with 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists) in 37 lifetime matchups. If the opposition keeps Giroux in check, it should like its chances of beating the Flyers. He has 10 goals in 15 victories but just three markers in defeats.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103760 Washington Capitals with your teammates and being with your families, celebrating kind of the peak of why everybody plays the game. You can’t really prepare for that moment, just have fun with your teammates and family and celebrate.” The tale of a fan wanting a tattoo of a Stanley Cup champion getting a It is a moment that Duchaine within the next couple of month will have a tattoo permanent record of on his body. “This tattoo to me actually symbolizes the entire run, the team and all the By Chris Kuc fans,” Duchaine said. “Just the way they celebrated was incredible. They let us get on their level and they got on ours. That’s one of those things Jan 8, 2019 that is going to make me smile looking at it.” Oh, and since Connolly was wondering, where exactly does Duchaine plan to put the tattoo? Brett Connolly remembers sitting in the tattoo parlor, getting some fresh ink on his arm and having some pizza. “I’m thinking inside my left bicep similar to the place where he was getting his,” Duchaine said. “You know I’m going to have to reenact that It was the evening of June 9, 2018, two days after the Capitals captured photo. There will be pizza involved.” the franchise’s first championship, and Connolly and his teammates were in mid-celebration, having already been to a Nationals game when, as the way these things tend to go, someone suggested getting tattoos. The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 Looking a little ragged from the non-stop party, a bearded Connolly sat down, grabbed a slice of pizza and got a tattoo of the Mario Kart character Bowser on his left arm. By Tuesday, the original tweet zoomed past 1,200 retweets and grabbed the attention of Connolly. “I saw it on my mentions (Monday),” the winger said with a hearty laugh following Tuesday’s morning skate. “I’m curious to see where he would even put that on his body. Maybe I’ll reach out to him and we’ll see if he’s actually serious about it.” Oh, Duchaine is serious about it. “I am 100 percent going to do it,” said Duchaine, a 29-year-old graphic designer. “I was actually surprised to see he had a response. From having not met him, it sounded like typical ‘Conno.’” The idea for the tattoo was hatched at a gathering Duchaine and his wife, whom he met at a Capitals watch party, had to watch Sunday’s game against the Red Wings. “I had been sort of mulling over what I would get for a Stanley Cup tattoo for seven months now,” Duchaine said. “Since I’m a graphic designer, I was thinking, ‘what am I going to do? Am I making it myself or should I search for inspiration elsewhere and I finally said, ‘you know what? This picture is really cool.’” Duchaine debated whether to depict the Capitals’ entire day — the Nationals game, dinner in Georgetown and then the tattoo — but decided to just go with the moment featuring Connolly eating pizza. “What better reason than this is there to do something crazy like getting Brett Connolly tattooed on your body?” Duchaine said. But why switch from the goal of 10,000 retweets to 1,000? “Because I realized that 10,000 was pretty lofty and I wasn’t sure if I could actually do it,” Duchaine said. “A few people told me, ‘dude, that’s a really high number.’ “That coupled with the fact that I pretty much wanted to do it anyway. I guess Twitter provided that little push that I need to actually hold me to something like that. The crazy move was putting it on Twitter. I’m going to do everything else by the book.” “Obviously, we have great fans that are passionate about our team, especially with the way we went out last year,” Connolly said. “They’ve been so good for me the three years that I’ve been here. That’s a once- in-a-lifetime picture that got out there and we’ll see where it goes. But it’s pretty funny for sure.” Why Bowser? It commemorated the many hours the Capitals — especially Connolly and T.J. Oshie — spent playing Mario Kart during the playoffs. “Osh got Wario and I got a Bowser on my arm,” Connolly said. “I already have a bunch of tattoos so I kind of just blended it in with the other ones. A few of the guys got a Cup or whatever they were feeling at the moment. It was pretty funny. The people at the shop were good. “Holts (Braden Holtby) knows the owner there really well. We stopped in there and ordered some pizza to kind of get away from the crowd a little bit. We just chilled and had fun. It’s something we’ll never forget, just a good moment. “After winning a championship with a really good group we have where everybody gets along, it was a great day to celebrate with everybody,” Connolly added. “Those four days are something I’ll never forget, being 1103761 Winnipeg Jets "Those things just kind of come. You chip a puck up to Wheels and Wheels and Scheif make a great play. That's not really anything I did special. Same thing on the power play, so they come when they come. Avalanche buried by Jets' depth in 7-4 shootout Just make the play that's the correct play, don't try to do anything too much and they come when they come," Trouba said of the point production. By: Mike McIntyre He and partner Josh Morrissey saw plenty of the MacKinnon-Landeskog- Rantanen line, especially with Dustin Byfuglien out with a lower-body Posted: 01/8/2019 10:11 PM | Last Modified: 01/9/2019 12:19 AM injury. "They kind of have a different element than any other line. It's similar to play against Scheifs and Wheels in practice, where they can control the It was billed as a battle of two of the best lines in hockey — and both puck down low and they're hard to take the puck from on the boards. came to play in a big way. But in the end the Winnipeg Jets' depth proved They find each other very quickly. It doesn't take much space to get open superior to that of the Colorado Avalanche Tuesday night in a 7-4 victory and they get a shot off," said Trouba. at Bell MTS Place. "That's the closest line that I think I've played against that's close to what The Jets got goals from seven players and all four lines in nearly every Wheels and Scheif bring to the table, so getting to play against them in conceivable situation to win their second straight game over a divisional practice definitely helps you out in those situations." rival trying to catch them in the standings. Winnipeg improved to 27-13-2 on the season and moves back into first place in the Central Division, Some had worried about Winnipeg's recent scoring woes, which included one point ahead of the Nashville Predators. Colorado dropped to 20-15- scoring just seven goals over a five-game span prior to Sunday's 5-1 win 8, eight points back of the Jets. over the Dallas Stars. But scoring a dozen in the past two games should put any concerns to rest. Winnipeg scored three times while playing five-on-five, three times on the power play and once short-handed despite firing just 21 shots at "I don’t worry about any individual player scoring or not scoring," said Avalanche goatender Philipp Grubauer. Colorado peppered Jets Maurice. "My concern is the style of offence that we had. You get a game netminder Connor Hellebuyck with 41 shots. like (Tuesday) where there’s breakaways and short-handed goals and your power play clicks a bit... I liked our offensive game against Dallas "I guess we were opportunistic," said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. "I think better because I understood it. You can replicate that game. You can do we like what we can do offensively. So there’s gonna be nights where we that night after night. You may not score five but you can do that night pour it on and their goalie plays well. And there’s going to be nights after night. If it’s going to be an open game, we’re going to get our where we get a few (shots) and make the most of our chances." chances. But it’s not something you can count on in the Western Winnipeg's top line combined for eight points. Wheeler had a goal and Conference." three assists, Mark Scheifele had a goal and two helpers, and Kyle Translation: while Scheifele and his linemates may have enjoyed this Connor scored for a second straight game. wide-open affair, it's not the style the Jets should get used to seeing as "We love playing with each other and we had a few games there where they head into the second half of the regular season and push towards things weren’t going in for us, so it was nice to see a few go in," said the playoffs. Scheifele, who doesn't mind playing in what might be best described as high-event hockey. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.09.2019 "That was pretty fun. I’m sure the fans loved it. I’m good with it," he said. The big story was the Jets' secondary offence, which the Avalanche couldn't match. Third-liner Mathieu Perreault opened the scoring on a breakaway 3:05 into the game, second-line centre Bryan Little lit the lamp for a second straight game, fourth-line centre Andrew Copp scored early in the third and defenceman Jacob Trouba had an empty-net goal to go along with two assists. Defenceman Tyler Myers also had two helpers. "It’s big to see different goals from different guys. We look for that every night," said Scheifele. Colorado's top trio of Gabriel Landeskog (two goals), Nathan MacKinnon (two assists) and and Mikko Rantanen (one assist) combined for five points. Carl Soderberg and Ryan Graves had the other Avalanche goals. "There were lots of plays to be made at times that got made. Skilled players will do that. It kind of ebbed and flowed between a choppy transition game where the puck didn’t move particularly easily, and then it was just wide open," said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. The Jets struck for the first two goals, with Perreault and Connor connecting in the opening period. Landeskog got one back on the power play late in the period, but then Wheeler scored with the Jets short- handed and Little added a power-play goal early in the second for a 4-1 lead. Colorado came on strong, scoring twice in a 93-second span late in the period to make it 4-3. They began the final frame with a power play. Not only did the Jets kill it off, but Copp scored his third of the season a couple minutes later to restore some breathing room. That was a key change in momentum, according to Maurice. "That’s really important. You’re not feeling very good in your locker room between the second and third. It’s not the mistakes that change the momentum, it’s what you do after momentum has changed. I really believe that. They deserved to be 4-3 after two, (the Avalanche) capitalized on a couple of mistakes, but we came out right and put ourselves back in a strong position," said Maurice. Scheifele made it 6-3 midway through the third, but Landeskog brought the visitors back within two before Trouba iced it with the empty-netter, giving him five points in the last two games. 1103762 Winnipeg Jets I’m not saying that the Jets decided to become a worse defensive team, but last season they were a relatively tightly run ship, and while they scored a ton, most of that was due to the pure levels of talent they had, Scoring talent keeping Jets aloft despite defensive leaks because at even-strength their team identity wasn’t about creating a ton of chances, it was simply creating way more than they allowed.

Having players such as Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine, who don’t need By: Andrew Berkshire to be in great shooting position to score, made the Jets extra-dangerous, and playing a conservative style, they could still blow teams out. Posted: 01/8/2019 7:00 PM I believe this season they decided that they would open things up a bit, and combined with the loss of a quality defensive player in Tobias Enstrom, they got burned a little bit in the underlying numbers, but they’re We’re halfway through the 2018-19 season, and the Winnipeg Jets are so talented that they just continue to score their way out of trouble. about where everyone expected them to be; battling for the top spot in the Central Division with the Nashville Predators. I don’t think the Jets need to be as strong defensively as last season in order to be successful, but in the second half of the season, if they begin The Jets have games in hand on the Predators, and have made up some to struggle to win games for a stretch, don’t be surprised if they lock ground on their division rivals while Nashville was inundated with injuries things down tightly. over the second quarter of the season.

The Jets, meanwhile, are dealing with their own injury troubles with both Dustin Byfuglien and Nikolaj Ehlers on injury reserve; neither is expected Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.09.2019 back before the beginning of February at the earliest. Injuries are a part of the game that all teams battle through, and the Jets of last season were no different, losing Scheifele and Byfuglien for stretches only to rally and get even better in time for the playoffs. This season the Jets have been mostly healthy so far, and yet I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that they haven’t really clicked fully yet for long stretches. They’re a good team — there’s no doubt about that — but the clear Stanley Cup contenders of last season have yet to show up, despite the fact that the team is on pace for only six fewer points than last season’s stellar 114. Despite not having hit their peak, the Jets are doing some things correctly, and while they look a little less impressive on the surface than last year’s edition, maybe we’re missing something. Let’s compare the first half of this season to last season to see how much change there’s really been. In order to get the most detail possible, we’re going to separate offence and defence instead of just posting differentials, so we’ll look at the rates at which the Jets create and prevent scoring plays. Overall, there hasn’t been a huge amount of change for the Jets’ offence from last season to this season, as they’re still a team that thrives on passing plays. They are moving the puck laterally in the offensive zone with east-west passes slightly less often than they did last year, while making slightly more completed passes off the rush, which I think is mostly a big step forward for Ehlers. In terms of scoring chances, the Jets are shooting from better areas overall, getting closer to the net and their chances are a bit more dangerous. The forwards are less reliant on forechecking to get good scoring opportunities, creating a bit more off the rush and off the cycle, resulting in a slight increase in scoring chances, on the whole. While there are no big, drastic changes here, I think we can reasonably conclude that at even-strength, the Jets have been slightly more dangerous than they were last year, which could help to explain their strong place in the standings. On the other side of the puck, things look much less rosy, and while the Jets were one of the NHL’s premier teams defensively last season, that has not been the case thus far. In terms of preventing the opposition from moving the puck in their own zone, the Jets remain quite strong, with slight increases in passes to the slot and east-west passes allowed, and a slight decrease in passes off the rush. All together, they are still a top-10 team in pass suppression, which is the good news. The bad news is that the Jets have been far more porous in their shot coverage this year than in recent seasons, especially compared to last year. They’re allowing more scoring chances-against of every type, both in the inner slot or high-danger area and the high slot. Combine that information with the slight uptick in dangerous passes allowed, and it’s no wonder why Connor Hellebuyck’s save percentage has been such a disappointment for many this season. It’s also worth noting that the Jets are allowing about two fewer perimeter shots against per game, shots that can boost goalie numbers a bit, which further amplifies Hellebuyck’s perceived struggles on paper. Obviously, there were a few changes to the roster in the off-season, most of them very minor, but I’m just throwing an idea out there based on the numbers and how the Jets have played this season: I think some of this was a deliberate choice. 1103763 Winnipeg Jets It’s something every young player goes through, said Jets forward Mathieu Perreault. While Perreault and others have provided support and encouragement, there is a natural transition at play. And, in some ways, Laine struggling to meet lofty expectations it just needs time to play itself out. "He’s still a young player with a lot of offence to his game, so all he’s thinking about is scoring goals, which is fine," said Perreault. "As he gets By: Jeff Hamilton older he’s going to learn that the defensive part of the game is just as important. It sucks to defend and it takes a lot of work, so you have to dig Posted: 01/8/2019 6:09 PM | Last Modified: 01/8/2019 11:55 PM in and put in the work that needs to be done." Perreault isn’t surprised some fans want more from Laine. After all, he inched close to 40 goals, scoring 36, in his first season as an 18-year- Bryan Little knew the answer well before the question was finished. old, only to reach the milestone the following year, with 44. Laine, who is Then, just as the last words exited the reporter’s mouth, he jumped right almost on pace to hit 50 this year, is aware of the outside noise. But like in — helmet first. most professional athletes, that pressure pales in comparison to what he Are the expectations too high for Patrik Laine? expects from himself. "Absolutely. He’s one of those guys that if he doesn’t score in a few "I’m my worst enemy. I’m expecting myself to be the best player on the games, he’s really down on himself," the veteran Winnipeg Jets ice every night and obviously you can’t be," Laine said. "You just got to centreman said. "He feels like he should be scoring every night." stay focused and not lose your shit." For a team facing high expectations, both from inside the locker room Jets head coach Paul Maurice admitted he, too, often falls into the trap of and from fans that follow the Jets’ every move, perhaps no one is wanting too much from a young player still developing. Having a front- expected to do more than Laine. Little knows it and is quick to defend his row seat to what Laine has accomplished so far in his career, the coach teammate. is sometimes dazed by the special things his rising star can do. "He kind of put it on himself with how good he was and how much he "The (word) that popped into my head is 'intoxicated' by that shot," said scored right off the bat and now people expect multiple five-goal games, Maurice. "When he crosses the blue line and he's still four feet from the which is super unrealistic," said Little. "But that’s what people expect." top of the circle and you know he's going to shoot, I think there's a chance this thing's going in. How many guys in the league do you feel Laine, a 20-year-old winger with a deadly shot, has produced some of that way?" the franchise’s most jaw-dropping highlights. Moments like on Nov. 24 against the St. Louis Blues, when Laine scored five goals on five shots, He added: "Patty's scored so many goals from places most guys don't in what was his third hat trick in as many weeks. that you are lulled into an expectation possibly that he should score every time he touches the puck, and that's clearly not realistic." THE PATRIK LAINE FILE Maurice was careful not to admit that players with Laine’s scoring Age: 20 prowess are given more leniency in the defensive zone, but ask around and those politics exist. There is some give and take, of course, and Postion: RW, shoots R Maurice believes there will be a notable improvement as Laine continues Hometown: Tampere, Finland to develop under the tutelage of team leaders such as Scheifele and captain Blake Wheeler. Drafted: 2016, 1st round, 2nd overall, Winnipeg Jets "You're constantly working his game to get more out of him. Like a lot of (Season/games played/goals-assists-points/SH %/plus-minus/TOI) these kids that we've brought in, he's been able to produce while learning the game," said Maurice. 2016-17: 73GP/36-28–64/17.6/+7/17:55 "He's getting better. A much, much better five-on-five hockey player than 2017-18: 82GP/44-26–70/18.3/+8/16:29 he was a year ago at this time. And as he gets physically stronger, he'll 2018-19: 41GP/24-8–32/16.7/-11/17:31 be a little faster, the reads will come more natural to him and eventually more zone time. I don't know what his ceiling is. I wouldn't be foolish In 196 career NHL games, Laine has 104 goals. Only Alexander enough to put one on him at this age. Great player and he's going to get Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has scored more over the last 2.5 a lot better." seasons, with 112. Laine led the Jets in goals in each of his first two seasons in the NHL and his 24 goals in 41 games leads the team again, two more than Mark Scheifele. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.09.2019 Still, there are fans who have grown frustrated with the young winger. Not for his ability to fill the net, which has also dipped of late, with just one goal in his last nine games adding fuel to the frustration, but for what he lacks on the defensive side of the game. Laine is a team-worst minus-11, and has struggled in his own end. Despite his 6-5, 206-pound frame, there are times when he is easily muscled off the puck. It’s an area of the game Laine said he’s working hard to improve. Little was quick to vouch for his young teammate's dedication to the defensive zone, though Laine admitted it remains a work in progress. After all, it’s not only changing how you play the game, but how you view it, too. "Everybody would like to play offence all the time but that’s just not possible," Laine said. "You can win a lot of games with a good offence but you’re going to win championships with good defence." Laine saw first-hand the importance of a defence-first mindset while back home playing with Tappara Tampere of the men’s Finnish SM-liiga, where he played parts of two seasons before jumping to the NHL. In his first season with Tappara, in 2015-16, a majority of the team's focus centred on playing better defence. That commitment would lead to the franchise’s first championship in 13 years. "Defence is still the most important thing we need to do on the ice," Laine said. Still, there remains a part of Laine that views offence as a cure-all and he’s not shy to admit work on the defensive side requires more energy and focus. 1103764 Winnipeg Jets

Jets have to shut down high-flying line or risk triggering Avalanche tonight

By: Jeff Hamilton Posted: 01/8/2019 3:15 PM

The Winnipeg Jets wrap up a two-game homestand tonight against a familiar foe in the Colorado Avalanche. The Jets (26-13-2; 54 points) are second in the Central Division, six points up on the third-place Avalanche (20-14-8; 48 points). The Nashville Predators (26-15-3; 55 points) currently occupy the top spot, with a one-point edge on Winnipeg but have played three more games. Winnipeg is fresh off a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars Monday night, which was only its second win in the last five games. Jets coach Paul Maurice viewed the victory over the Stars as a step in the right direction, but cautioned that another strong outing will be needed against the Avalanche. Special attention will be given to Colorado’s impressive line of centre Nathan MacKinnon and wingers Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. The trio has combined for 69 goals this season, and together tallied eight points in a 6-1 win over the Rangers Friday. "It's just the extreme parts of that top line, that speed in the middle with MacKinnon. They all have great hands. You've got the grit and good veteran presence of Landeskog and, of course, the Rantanen fellow moves the puck just like Blake (Wheeler) does," Maurice said. "It's just so very similar to our Mark Scheifele line. The difference is Kyle Connor's got a little different kind of speed maybe than Landeskog does. Landeskog's a little bit heavier body, but they're very, very similar." The victory over the Rangers snapped a six-game losing streak for the Avalanche. Colorado has been streaky this year but hasn’t dropped off much in the standings because all teams in the Central have battled with their play at times. MacKinnon, who has 25 goals and 38 assists for 63 points in 42 games, noted a slight shift in the Central, adding every team has had their slumps this year. "I just don’t think it’s been as dominant as it used to be. When I first came into the league all seven teams were kind of in a playoff spot, or close to a playoff spot. It’s not weaker, just teams are in droughts and lower in the standings. It’s been different," he said. MacKinnon was unusually candid when addressing the Jets. He considers them among the best teams in the league and a major challenge for his club as they try to regain their footing. They’re currently 0-1 against Winnipeg, falling 5-2 at Bell MTS Place on Nov. 9. "They’re so deep. They don’t have a weakness and that’s why they went to the conference finals last year," he said. "They’re one of the best teams in the league. We’re not as good as Winnipeg, but we can beat anyone any night. They’re a proven team and it’s going to be tough for us tonight."

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.09.2019 1103765 Winnipeg Jets “The question is are you putting them back out on the ice because at some point you know their coach is going to go to a three-line rotation. And so instead of the fourth line coming out, you’ve got MacKinnon Wheeler’s four points leads the charge in Jets’ win over the Avalanche coming out and you can’t get caught doing that. I’m glad they got something; they worked hard to get it, too. They earned it, so it was good for them and their confidence.” Ken Wiebe LAINE CHATTER Offensively, Jets forward Patrik Laine has gone through a relatively quiet October and December and a ridiculous November. This had the makings of an early blowout, with the Winnipeg Jets scoring four times on their first 11 shots on goal. But with 24 goals at the midway point, there has been plenty of discussion about assessing the season of Laine so far. But a funny thing happened on the way to a one-sided victory for the Jets, the game got tight before things eventually stabilized. Where does head coach Paul Maurice stand on that issue? After building a three-goal lead in the second period with a pair of power- “He has made progress in all the areas we need a 20-year-old to get play markers and a shorthanded snipe, the Jets took their foot off the better at,” said Maurice. “He’s still shooting the puck a ton. He has had pedal momentarily, leaving the door open for the Colorado Avalanche to his stretches where he’s not scoring. He has had his stretches when he’s make things interesting. absolutely on fire. We’ll take that. So many 20-year-olds can’t produce like he does at times. You’re constantly working his game to get more out But after seeing the lead shrink to one goal, the Jets fourth line got a of him. Like a lot of these kids that we’ve brought in, he’s been able to marker from Andrew Copp to restore a two-goal cushion, ultimately produce while they’re learning the game. earning a 7-4 victory at Bell MTS Place. “So he’s getting better. A much, much better five-on-five hockey player “We like what we can do offensively. So there’s going to be nights where than he was a year ago at this time. And as he gets physically stronger, we pour it on and their goalie plays well. And there are going to be nights he’ll be a little faster, the reads will come more natural to him. Eventually where we get a few and make the most of our chances,” said Jets more zone time. I don’t know what his ceiling is. I wouldn’t be foolish captain Blake Wheeler, who had a goal and four points to lead the enough to put one on him at this age. Great player, he’s going to get a lot offensive charge. “I don’t really have a great explanation for that better.” question. I guess we were opportunistic tonight. Is that what we’re going with it?” Of course, there are things Laine can do better when it comes to his play away from the puck. The most important piece of the game for the Jets was that after the Avalanche made a strong push and put the heat on, the response in the It’s his shot, vision and offensive instincts that are always going to be his third period was a solid one. bread and butter. “We needed to regain control of the game,” said Copp. “We kind of lost it Because of Laine’s quick release and lethal shot, if he doesn’t score for a a little bit there. You can’t give a team like that — with all of their game or several, most folks are wondering what’s the matter. transition speed — any opportunity to use that. Are unrealistic expectations part of the issue? With the win, the Jets improve to 27-13-2 to move back into top spot in the Central Division with 56 points, while the Avalanche have dropped “Sure, but I’m guilty of that, too. We’re all, I’m trying to find the right word. seven of their past eight games and are eight points behind Winnipeg. The one that popped into my head is ‘intoxicated’ by that shot,” said Maurice. “I’m doing it, too. When he crosses the blue line and he’s still The shorthanded marker from Wheeler was a thing of beauty. four feet from the top of the circle and you know he’s going to shoot, I think there’s a chance this thing is going in. How many guys in the league Wheeler, who blocked a slapper with his left foot in the first period, was do you feel that way? If I was crossing the blue line you might as well just involved in a two-on-two rush with Mark Scheifele. go get a Coke, because it’s not happening for you, you’re not missing anything. And then he kind of wears that frustration: ‘I can’t believe it After using his speed to enter the offensive zone, Wheeler left a drop didn’t go in. I’m going to use some Finnish words to describe how my pass for Scheifele just inside the blue line and as both Avalanche play is.’ Would it be any different than when Connor McDavid winds it up defenders went to Scheifele, Wheeler went straight to the slot — where from the tops of the circles and even though there are five guys he’s got he accepted a perfect pass and blasted home a one-timer, making it a 3- to go through you think ‘Hey there’s a chance he could do it’ because 1 game at 3:22 of the second period. you’ve seen it. “We kind of crossed them up. Got them a little bit lost,” Wheeler said. “(Laine) has scored so many goals from places most guys don’t that you “(Scheifele) made a heck of a pass. I’m not going to miss those.” are lulled into an expectation possibly that he should score every time he Wheeler and Scheifele would connect again in the third period for an touches the puck, and that’s clearly not realistic.” insurance marker. THE GRADES In the defensive zone, Wheeler was quick to intercept a pass by Gabriel The arrival of the midway point of the season means that it’s time for the Landeskog and quickly sprung Scheifele for a breakaway. second instalment of the positional grades. Although Scheifele was initially stopped by Philipp Grubauer, Scheifele Let’s start in goal, where Connor Hellebuyck survived a few ups-and- batted the puck out of the air for his 23rd goal of the season. downs in the first quarter and stabilized his game, looking more like the Wheeler had a four-point night to pace the offensive attack. guy who was the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy. Mathieu Perreault (on a nifty backhand), Kyle Connor (on the power Although his numbers remain closer to league average than elite, there play), Bryan Little (on the power play) and Jacob Trouba (who had three have been some moments that suggest Hellebuyck could be poised for a points) also scored for the Jets. big second half. The Jets face the Minnesota Wild on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center Backup Laurent Brossoit has been the most pleasant surprise of the before returning home to face the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. season for the Jets, going 8-1-1 with a 2.11 goals-against average and .939 save percentage in his 10 appearances (nine starts). FOURTH LINE RESPONSE There were some questions coming into the season about whether the The Jets fourth line of Copp, Brendan Lemieux and Mason Appleton Jets had done enough to address the departure of Steve Mason, but were on the ice for the second Avalanche goal that started the Brossoit already has recorded as many wins as the Jets backups comeback, but the trio responded with the marker that restored a two- combined for all of last season. goal cushion early in the third period. Brossoit should finish with between 18 and 22 starts, which could help “It’s good for them because they were on the ice for the 4-2 goal and that keep Hellebuyck fresh down the stretch and into the post-season. was a big momentum-shifter, we felt. So they valued going back out and did it right,” said Maurice. “They had a shift at the end of the first period With Hellebuyck at a B-minus (but trending upward) and Brossoit at an A which was really good and it was the way we would like to play. Then (bordering on A-plus), that leaves the overall goalie grade at a B-plus. they gave one up in the second. They had gone a block of not playing. On the back end, defenceman Dustin Byfuglien was playing some of the They didn’t get out much. They gave up the goal. best hockey of his career before suffering an ankle injury, averaging nearly a point per game (29 points in 32 games) while providing sound Jets defenceman Tyler Myers had another strong evening, chipping in defenceman game and doling up some big hits when they present two assists to give him three points over the past two games, giving him themselves. 13 points in 42 games. Myers is enjoying the additional ice time he’s received with Dustin Byfuglien on the shelf with an ankle injury. The shutdown pairing of Josh Morrissey and Jacob Trouba continue to embrace their role and have increased their offensive production. New Colorado high Tyler Myers has elevated his game since early December, while Ben Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog scored a pair of goals to give him Chiarot and Dmitry Kulikov have been sound as well. a career-best 27 on the season — with nearly half a season left to play. Landeskog also rattled a pair of posts in the contest, finishing with four Let’s give the blue-liners a steady grade of B-plus as well. shots on goal and seven shot attempts. Up front, the Jets have been led by Mark Scheifele (50 points in 41 games) and captain Blake Wheeler (51 points in 41 games). Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.09.2019 The dynamic duo is providing plenty of offence while routinely playing against the opposition’s top line, so their impact has been obvious. There have been a few cool periods for Jets sniper Laine, but he scored 18 goals in the month of November, had 24 in 41 games and is still on pace to eclipse the 44 he had as a sophomore. Nikolaj Ehlers and Connor both hit double digits in goals, while several others are closing in on that number. Adam Lowry is anchoring the checking line and has bounced back nicely from an injury-plagued season, putting up seven goals and 12 points in 39 games — missing only two with an upper-body issue. B-plus is the proper grade for this positional group as well. As for coaches/management, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and the staff of Maurice are operating at an above-average level, let’s go with a B-plus. The Jets are strong on special teams, especially on the power play, which boasts the highest efficiency in the NHL on home ice and has been operating at nearly 30% overall for a good chunk of the campaign. There are nights when Maurice still needs to find more ice time for the fourth line, but he’s tried out different combinations in an effort to feature a more balanced attack. Until recently, in losing Ehlers and Byfuglien for an extended period of time, the Jets have been relatively healthy. But Cheveldayoff has provided the necessary depth in the organization to handle injuries, though the test obviously continues for the next month or so. However, as columnist Paul Friesen opines in his column, Cheveldayoff’s most important work is yet to come as the organization is likely looking to upgrade prior to the Feb. 25 NHL trade deadline. Is there another Paul Stastny deal out there? You can be sure Cheveldayoff will be making the necessary calls. When it comes to the overall grade for the Jets in the first half, it’s a tad complicated. Considering the expectations that come along with bringing back the bulk of the core pieces from a group that advanced to the Western Conference final, the results for the Jets probably warrant an A-minus — even if the way they’ve played might resemble a B-plus. FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED Leading the way The Jets dynamic duo of Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele were at their best on Tuesday, using their speed and creativity to combine for three goals and seven points. Kyle Connor chipped in a power-play marker to give the Jets top line eight points in total. About that drought After being held to one goal or fewer in five of seven games, the Jets have erupted for 12 goals during the past two games — with two of those scored into the empty net. The Jets have said repeatedly that they rarely, if ever, worry about their offence and this was another example of why. In a grove Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba had a goal and three points on Tuesday to go along with his two assists on Sunday to give him five points during the past 65 minutes. Trouba is up to four goals and 21 points in 42 games this season, solid numbers for a guy on the shutdown pairing. He and defence partner Josh Morrissey were fantastic defensively once again on Tuesday as well. More for Myers 1103766 Winnipeg Jets “If he can play at that speed, we’ve got a real fine defenceman there.” Maurice and Cheveldayoff will talk regularly between now and Feb. 25, and not just about who might be on the market and how he’d fit in with Crucial weeks ahead for Jets, Cheveldayoff the Jets. They’ll be talking about their own players, and what they’re becoming. Paul Friesen “Some of that would be, where do I think I’m going to give guys opportunities to play?” Maurice said. “Where’s the opportunity for some of these young guys to go? And how far do we think we can get them in If Job 1 for the Winnipeg Jets in the second half is to get their game that time?” playoff-ready, then Job 1-A is to find out what’s missing. What hole needs to be filled at the trade deadline. That’s what the first half of the second half will be all about. “You get into a team that’s top-16 fairly early, you think you’ve got a good Jets players shouldn’t automatically expect to see their roster bolstered enough team to make the playoffs, you’re always looking for those at next month’s trade deadline. places,” head coach Paul Maurice said before the Jets kicked off the Centre Bryan Little says that’s not a healthy game to play, now or when second half of their season on Tuesday. Feb. 25 approaches. Much breath has been expelled identifying which players need to crank it “You can’t be sitting at home looking at guys that might be available and up a notch from the first half, Patrik Laine at or near the top of those hoping that you get them,” Little said. “You’ve got to be comfortable with discussions. who you have in your room in case (nothing) happens and this is the But if the Jets want to duplicate and even surpass last spring’s success, team we have for the rest of the season. I don’t really think about it too the team MVP might have to be GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. much.” He did it last year. Can he do it again? But Little didn’t mind thinking back to last year’s playoff run, when a deadline deal for centre Paul Stastny bumped him down the lineup – and As it stands, the area that could most use an upgrade is once again at helped power the Jets to the Western final. centre. The one-two offensive punch needs a little more oomph. A stiff uppercut to complement the top line’s left hook. “If they think we need another piece like that, that’s up to them,” Little said. “He fit in so well right off the bat and gave us that veteran presence, The jabs and body blows supplied by the bottom-six are sufficient. They’d but a guy that can still play on a really high level. He really was the pack even more punch with the addition of Bryan Little, who could be perfect addition for us last year.” bumped down if the Jets acquire another centre (see Paul Stastny last season). In a perfect world, Little says, the Jets wouldn’t feel the need to bulk up. At first glance it seems a no-brainer the Jets will have to pull off a similar “You see it all the time, teams picking up guys at the deadline hoping that move on or before Feb. 25. might put them over the top and it doesn’t happen.” But Maurice raised another possibility on Tuesday. One that, if I read correctly between his lines, would have Jack Roslovic Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.09.2019 taking on that second-line centre role. “What makes us unusual is that some of these players are going to look different in a month or two months,” the coach said. “And that includes Jack Roslovic, but Kyle (Connor) as well, Patty (Laine) as well. Their curve at this point in their career is very sharp. You’re still trying to figure out where all these young guys are going to get to. And you want to make sure there’s room for them to get to that point.” In other words, the hole in Winnipeg’s lineup today might not be the hole in its lineup tomorrow. That’s an interesting dynamic to the deadline, and makes the weeks leading up to it worthy of close scrutiny. Injuries are always a factor, of course. But if the current lineup, minus Nik Ehlers until some time in February, stays intact, Roslovic is getting a prime opportunity to show he’s ready for a top-six role. If he passes the test, night after night, a tryout at centre would, presumably, follow. Laine and Connor have already earned permanent places on the top two lines, so Roslovic seems like the wild card here. There’s one other possibility: That Laine, Roslovic and Little, playing just their second game as a unit against the Avs on Tuesday, begin to hum along so nicely that adding another skilled forward won’t feel necessary. Or perhaps another combination begins to click after the return of Ehlers. The bottom line: The Jets need at least two dangerous offensive lines in the playoffs, so opponents can’t succeed by just shutting down one of them. The other deadline possibility is the addition of a left-side defenceman. That’s also an area the Jets could fill from within, the recent emergence of Dmitry Kulikov the main argument that improvement is coming. Plagued by back injuries in Buffalo two years ago and with the Jets last season, Kulikov might finally be ready to show what he can do. “When Dmitry gets to a certain level of speed, he can do an awful lot of things with the puck,” Maurice said. “We saw that against Dallas (on Sunday), especially. He was really, really good in that game. You can’t play fast with the injury he had … so now he gets healthy and gets back to speed. 1103767 Winnipeg Jets

Marquee lines set to square off for Jets, Avs

Paul Friesen

The Winnipeg Jets know exactly what they’re up against in tonight’s home game against the Colorado Avalanche. Head coach Paul Maurice says Colorado’s top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog reminds him a lot of his own No. 1 unit. “It’s just the extreme parts of that top line, that speed in the middle with MacKinnon,” Maurice said. “They all have great hands. You’ve got the grit and good veteran presence of Landeskog and of course the Rantanen fellow moves the puck just like Blake does. It’s just so very similar to our Mark Scheifele line. “The difference is Kyle (Connor) has got a little different kind of speed maybe than Landeskog does. Landeskog’s a little bit heavier body. But they’re very, very similar.” The Avs boast the No. 2 and No. 4 point-producers in the NHL, in Rantanen (65 points) and MacKinnon (63). Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele sit just outside the top-10 with 51 and 50 points, respectively. The lines are expected to go head-to-head this evening, a four-point swing in the Central Division at stake, along with bragging rights. “There’s the competition… you get a chance to play against two guys that are ahead of you in the points and you don’t want to give them any and you want to get a bunch,” Maurice said. “And you want to win the game.” Over in the Avs room, MacKinnon took the underdog role going into this one. “They’re deep, they don’t have a weakness,” he said of the Jets. “That’s why they went to the conference final last year. They’re one of the best teams in the league. We’re not as good as Winnipeg, but we can beat anybody any night.” The Jets are second in the Central, six points up on Colorado with a game in hand.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.09.2019 1103768 Vancouver Canucks “It was such an amazing experience and seeing my whole life ambition come to fruition,” he recalled. “I had chills during that game and I felt like I belonged.” Ben Kuzma: Demko’s toughest challenge was concussion from friendly Demko wasn’t having a great training camp at Whistler in September. He fire was beaten by scrimmage pucks getting through bodies and in two pre- season appearances he went 0-2 in 96:38 of ice time and allowed seven goals. His 4.35 GAA and .833 save percentage were a far cry from last Ben Kuzma season with the Comets. The second-round selection in the 2014 NHL Draft had a 2.44 GAA and .922 save percentage in the AHL regular season and a 2.69 GAA and .927 save percentage in the playoffs. Canucks goaltender missed nearly two months to get his health, game “I watched a lot of film from training camp to see some of the things to back in order. clean up and once you get your details dialed in, you can build up from there,” said Demko. “I’m a student of the game and also have my Thatcher Demko’s to-do list is extensive. notebook out.” Like his peers who have made the transition from the AHL to the NHL, Demko is also a student of life. He went back to Boston College last the Vancouver Canucks’ goaltender knows the process is far from summer to continue a fascination with psychology and human seamless. The game is quicker at this level. Shots come from every development. His parents also studied psychology. angle and carry more velocity, accuracy and creativity. Rebound recovery has to be sharp and sealing up the short side is always a “I’m just intrigued by the way people see the world,” said Demko. “It’s challenge for any stopper, including the 6-foot-4 Demko. something I do on the side to take my mind off the game. I also took a couple of sports-psychology classes along the way to pick up things and So is friendly fire. implement them.” How do you teach a goalie to avoid a shot to the mask that arrives in the OVERTIME: Centre Adam Gaudette has been recalled from the Comets. blink of an eye? How do you instinctively know what to do when In seven AHL games, the 2015 fifth-round NHL pick had seven points (4- vulcanized rubber suddenly whistles your way? 3). He has six points (2-4) in 31 NHL games this season. Elias It was a Sept. 23 practice shot by Brendan Leipsic that turned Demko’s Pettersson (knee) has been placed on injury reserve (IR) which is a methodical preparation to eventually become an NHL mainstay into a minimum seven-day absence, but his ailment is back-dated to Jan. 3 state of confusion. He was struck square in the cage and missed nearly versus Montreal. Josh Leivo (back spasms) didn’t practise Monday. The two months with post-concussion symptoms — including headaches, Canucks were off Tuesday and host Arizona on Thursday. dizziness and sensitivity to light — that no doctor or goalie coach could cure. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.09.2019 And as the 23-year-old San Diego native prepares to make his first NHL regular-season start this season — and the second of his career — after backup Anders Nilsson was traded to the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 2, he has to immerse himself in preparation and rationalize the concussion. “It was just a one-timer that caught me right between the eyes and I pretty much felt it (concussion) right away,” recalled Demko. “It was a situation where I was more worried about my health than anything and obviously it was poor timing with it happening during training camp. “Everyone heals at a different pace and it was something that I wanted to make sure I took my time with it and was ready to go. I was getting a little frustrated and wasn’t really able to pinpoint where the symptoms were coming from. I’ve been hit like that a ton of times.” It’s not like goalies can lobby teammates to avoid taking high shots in practice. Replicating game-like conditions means ensuring pace, plays and shots are at a rapid rate. Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Garret Sparks went into concussion protocol last Thursday after a William Nylander practice shot — a quick snapshot release from the slot off a cross-ice feed — caught the keeper in the mask just as he tried to turn away. “I can’t really tell these guys to not shoot at my head,” added Demko. “If they’re going to shoot there, I’m going to have to take them. You’ve got to stop the puck and if it’s coming at your head, you can’t get out of the way.” Masks are designed to deflect energy, but it’s often absorbed when a goalie is struck square or turns his head and the temple takes the brunt of the blow that can also produce a whiplash effect. “I’ve looked into a couple of things and there’s some science behind different technology,” Demko said of ongoing mask improvements. “But at the end of the day, nothing is going to be perfect.” Demko returned to the net Nov. 21 and made 19 saves for the Utica Comets in a 3-2 win over the Laval Rocket. He amassed an 8-5-0 record with a 2.58 goals-against average and .911 save percentage when the Canucks came calling last week. Demko’s only NHL regular-season start came during a whirlwind experience March 31 at Rogers Arena. It was preceded by a pre-game nap in Utica, N.Y., a Canucks phone call and a 2:30 a.m. arrival in Vancouver to replace Nilsson, who had the flu and Jacob Markstrom, who had played seven of the previous eight games. The end result was 26 saves in a wild 5-4 overtime matinee decision over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Demko heard pucks clang off two posts and a crossbar, and heard fans chanting “That-cher Dem-ko.” He was also beaten for three-straight goals in the third period. 1103769 Websites seasons and how there really isn’t anyone bursting on the scene, ready to take over when Marc-André Fleury, Braden Holtby and Carey Price eventually cede their spots on the team. Somebody either needs to be The Athletic / Early projections for Team Canada’s 2020 World Cup of developing in the system – or Matt Murray, the one shining Canadian Hockey roster light among the early 20-somethings in goal – needs to get his groove back (which he has of late).

Eventually, the Philadelphia Flyers’ Carter Hart may become that guy, By Eric Duhatschek but unlike the U.S. or Russia, which would be faced with hard choices when it comes to naming a starter, really, it pretty much falls to Fleury at Jan 8, 2019 this point. Fleury is leading the NHL in wins and while others have shown flashes of good form, he has been the most consistent Canadian

netminder by far this season. Holtby did get the better of him in last Right around this time last year, Dave King was preparing for his fourth year’s Stanley Cup final, proving he has the ability to make the key save turn behind the bench of Canada’s Olympic team. After taking the lead when it matters the most, so that puts him in the top three. And while coaching role for three consecutive Olympics between 1984 and 1992, Price has had his moments – good and bad – this season, his pedigree, King was an assistant in 2018 on Willie Desjardins’ staff. The team was and the way he played for Canada in Sochi, would put him on the roster being cobbled together mostly from Canadian pros playing in Europe and as well. Asia, supplemented by a few NHL minor leaguers. Maybe the only good news is that with all of Canada’s firepower up front, In the end, Canada came away from the 2018 Games with a hard-earned you don’t necessarily need your goaltender to steal a game for you very bronze medal and a renewed appreciation for what an international often. Other teams might tie their gold-medal hopes to riding a hot hockey tournament conducted without NHL pros looks like. goaltender. For Canada, it would likely be enough to play a steady game and just get the saves that any legitimate NHL goaltender generally Here’s the good news. In the hopes of averting a work stoppage in the makes. There was no debate in goal – we both picked the same three fall of 2019, the NHL and the players association will be getting together candidates. soon to see if they can find a way of keeping the labor peace until the current collective bargaining agreement officially expires in 2022. “I like Fleury, Holtby and Price – they’re the best three right now,” King said. “It’s almost automatic. For our international future in Canada, I’m One of the key elements of those talks will be to try and hammer out an hoping someone comes through the pipeline and actually starts to international playing calendar, beginning with a World Cup of Hockey in develop to the potential we think these kids have – because there’s not a 2020, which would be the next available opportunity to stage a best-on- guy now, a young goalie, who I think is the answer. Some guys like Hart, best tournament – but will only go forward if there is no labor strife on the it’s too soon to know because they’re just starting out. But right now, horizon. there’s a huge gap behind our top guys – and I’m worried about that for our future.” On the assumption that reasonable people can find a reasonable solution there, your helpful friends here at The Athletic are ready to help sort out On defense, Drew Doughty remains firmly entrenched in the top four but the potential rosters that teams could potentially assemble for the next there is room for a new generation of players. A couple older guys who World Cup. are drinking from the fountain of youth this season should compete for spots too. Mark Giordano is in the Norris Trophy conversation this Because of King’s vast international experience and his long affiliation season and was essentially ninth on the list for 2014. Giordano has good with Hockey Canada, we asked him to contribute his expertise to select a chemistry with TJ Brodie in Calgary, which means the adjustment to a Canadian roster. (Other projected teams will be rolled out later this partner like Kris Letang should be relatively simple. If they are performing week). as well a year from now as they are today, they would both be on the It didn’t take long to come to one important conclusion – there’ll be a team. significant changing of the guard from the 2014 Olympics and the 2016 Josh Morrissey is becoming an exceptional shutdown defenseman and World Cup teams. Shea Weber seems reborn in Montreal this year. Doughty would be a Time waits for no man, especially for 30-somethings in the new fast- natural complement to Morgan Rielly. That group of six would be hard to paced NHL. dispute at this stage. Giordano, Letang and Weber are all in their thirties, so there is no telling when the eventual drop-off in their respective games When we first mentioned this project to him, King immediately made an will occur, but all three are performing so well now it’s hard to imagine important distinction – that choosing a team that would play an event that decline is imminent. imminently (say next month) would be a lot different than selecting a roster for an event that’s 20 months out (as the World Cup would be). “Not just this season, but looking back on Giordano the past couple of seasons, this guy has been consistently good,” King said. “I had Josh Naturally, a handful of players would bridge the gap, beginning with the Morrissey at the world championships a couple of years ago and he was Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid. Sidney Crosby, a lynchpin of both just a young pup, but this guy’s got an edge and he’s a good player. I the last Olympic and World Cup teams, will be in the thick of things too really like Morgan Rielly. Doughty isn’t playing as well as he has in the despite being 33 in September 2020. But a surprising number of players past, but he’s a quality, quality defender.” who were mainstays on the 2014 Olympic team – from defencemen Duncan Keith and Jay Bouwmeester to forwards Jeff Carter, Corey The hardest decision is who gets the extra spot. A lot of that will depend Perry, Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis, Patrick Sharp and Chris Kunitz – have upon the development of Thomas Chabot, the Senators’ emerging star, aged out already, and others could join them on the outside looking in by who could be to the 2020 World Cup team what Doughty was to the 2010 the time 2020 roster selections are made. Olympic team – a young talent who was a factor in the outcome, even if he started out as a longshot to make team. The right side of the defence In examining the overall Canadian player pool by position, there is a features two high-risk options, PK Subban and Brent Burns, plus the genuine shortage of quality goaltending prospects coming through the underrated Ryan Ellis who has evolved into a two-way force with pipeline and parts of the defence corps may be in transition as well. By Nashville. He too is a right-handed shot and that’s an area of extreme contrast, there is a dazzling collection of candidates up front – players depth on the Canadian team. There is less depth on the left side. who can score and defend and win faceoffs and block shots and otherwise give whoever happens to be coaching the team untold options “Subban is a bit of a wild card, and Burns is the same way – I might not to roll out four fast, skilled lines. A ‘B’ version of Team Canada, at have those two guys on the same team on the right side,” King said. forward, would be a gold-medal contender in any World Cup or Olympics. “Subban likes to make a statement on the game – and I don’t think you can play that way (at this level). He’s a bit of a gambler.” King agreed to assist in the process of selecting a team and to provide his view, from ice level, on what it would be like to coach a team of this Up front is where it got complicated because no matter who you move on caliber. Just as with the real Team Canada, we arrived at an immediate or off the roster, the bottom line is half-a-dozen or more deserving consensus on about 90 percent of the preliminary roster, and then forwards end up on the outside looking in. tweaked the bottom end, while freely acknowledging that there really The Oilers have had a hard time finding the right players to click with weren’t a lot of bad choices to be made, only too many good ones. McDavid, but in the World Cup, where he played for Team North So, without further preamble, here is our projected 23-player roster for America, he demonstrated that he had some chemistry with Mark Team Canada 2020 and a brief explanation of how we arrived at our Scheifele. And while it might be tempting to put the Nova Scotia choices. neighbors — Nathan MacKinnon and Crosby — on a line together it makes far more sense to deploy MacKinnon, with his speed, on a line The biggest question mark is in goal, simply because so many of the with McDavid. Besides, Crosby demonstrated a lot of chemistry with current generation of quality Canadian netminders are having just so-so Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand in the 2016 World Cup and that unit would be a handful for any team to defend or score against. It gets more complicated as you move down the depth chart. Because most international tournaments require players to find their way in a hurry, it would make sense to deploy two Maple Leafs together – John Tavares and Mitch Marner. Tavares could swing to the wing potentially, but the left side of the third line seems like a logical place to play the NHL’s reigning MVP, Taylor Hall. Alternatively, you could swing Hall up onto McDavid’s line and drop MacKinnon down to play with Tavares and Marner. Both seem like great options. You could mix and match just about everybody that’s left over and cobble together multiple extraordinary fourth lines, but we’re putting together three of the best two-way players in the NHL – Jonathan Toews, who is having a quality year in Chicago, along with Brayden Point, who is in the midst of a breakout season for Tampa, plus Ryan O’Reilly, one of the most well-rounded forwards in the NHL. Beyond the first 12, you now have some seriously difficult choices to make for just one extra spot. I opted for Claude Giroux because of his ability to play center or the wing. There are half-a-dozen quality forwards that miss the cut here, and the hardest to leave off is arguably Steven Stamkos. But if you put him on, you need to take someone else off. King put Jamie Benn on his team ahead of Giroux though the case for Mathew Barzal, Benn, Stamkos, Sean Monahan, Jeff Skinner, Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and a handful of others is compelling. As a coach, the primary challenge of having so much depth at one position is dividing the ice time equitably among players who are all used to being the ice-time leaders on their NHL teams. But King said in his experience, the vast majority of players on these high-end teams willingly adapt to a different role. According to King, Marchand was a good example of that on the 2016 World Cup team when he focused on the defensive side of the game and penalty killing. “When a guy gets the honor of playing for Canada, and you have the knowledge in the back of your mind that ‘we’ve really got a shot at a gold medal here,’ I think the buy-in is terrific,” King said. “The players know. They’re always the first to know. They think, ‘I don’t care where I play, or how much I play. I just want to be on this team.’” In 2014 at the Olympics and in 2016 at the World Cup, Canada won with a brutally efficient brand of hockey that didn’t necessarily dazzle anyone. But hockey’s changed since then and if Canada’s strength is its forwards, maybe the next international team will play an all-out-attacking style, the way Team North America did at the World Cup. Wouldn’t that be fun to watch? “The strength of the team is at forward,” King said. “It’s not in goal. That’s probably the weakest area. The defense is a good group, but your forwards are exceptional. Point’s really a centerman, playing the wing. O’Reilly can play both. I had Point, Marner, O’Reilly and Scheifele at my last world championship and geez, they’re such good players. “Over the next three or four years, we have so many decisions up front. That will be the toughest part of the selection process.”

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103770 Websites Instead, we’ll hand the starting job to one of the few guys on the list who looks like he could be a bargain: Anaheim’s John Gibson at $6.4 million. He’s performing at a Vezina or even Hart Trophy level these days, and The Athletic / Down Goes Brown: What’s the best team you can build in while that doesn’t guarantee anything about how he’ll be playing in three 2021-22 using existing contracts? years (or even three weeks), we’ll take our chances. The other option here would have been Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck at $6.166 million. He was great last year but has looked pretty ordinary this By Sean McIndoe season. Hellebuyck should be fine, but I prefer Gibson enough to spend a few extra bucks. Ideally, we’d pick both guys, but $12.5 million will be Jan 8, 2019 too much to spend on goaltending, so we have to make a call here. For the backup spot, we’ll go with Ben Bishop at $4.917 million, mainly because he’s the cheapest option available. Do I feel good about this From time to time, readers will send me story ideas. Some are good, pick? No, I do not – he’ll be turning 35 in 2021-22, and he’s a big guy some not so much, but they’re always appreciated. Every now and then who’s had hip problems. There’s a good chance he’s not an effective someone will come up with something that is just the right mix of weird goaltender in three years’ time and we just wasted a big chunk of our cap and fun and it turns into something cool. on a guy who’ll be on LTIR or a buyout target. We’re two picks into this But by far, there’s one idea that gets suggested the most: What’s the thing and I’m already angry. best cap-compliant roster you could build using all of today’s contracts? But really, what other choice do we have? Carey Price at $10.5 million? It’s a neat idea, and we’ve seen it done well in other sports. But it never No thanks. Cory Schneider at $6 million? Not a chance. Marc-Andre quite works in the NHL, because you just wind up with a roster stacked Fleury at $7 million? Maybe, but he’ll turn 37 during the 2021-22 season. with entry-level deals. In an era where players (especially forwards) peak Jonathan Quick ($5.8 million) and Martin Jones ($5.75 million) are at so quickly, those first contracts often represent such outrageous bargains least worth considering, but we’re going to need every penny we can that they make the exercise too easy. Let me start with Auston Matthews, scrounge to fill out the rest of the roster. Mikko Rantanen, Patrik Laine, Elias Pettersson and Brayden Point all at That means it’s Gibson and Bishop, at a total cost of over $11 million. $900,000 or so, and I can stack the rest of the roster with pretty much That’s pricey. Let’s see if we can claw back some of that space on the whoever I want. Heck, give them all the bonuses too, they’re still dirt blueline. cheap. There’s no challenge to it. Cap space spent so far: $11.317 million on two players, an average of You could get around that by limiting how many entry-level deals you $5.66 million each. We have $78.683 million left for 18 roster spots, an could use. But today, let’s try something a little more challenging. We’re average of just over $4.37 million per player. going to see if we can make the best cap-compliant roster that we can by using just existing contracts. But instead of building that team for this Defensemen year, we’re going to try to do it for 2021-22. Since we’ve already overspent on goaltending, we’ll need to stay away Why 2021-22? The first reason is that it’s three years away, which means from the big-ticket defensemen. That means that we can’t even seriously we lose access to all of those entry-level deals. Matthews, Rantanen and consider guys like Drew Doughty at $11 million, P.K. Subban at $9 friends will all be on their second deals and making just slightly more million or Brent Burns at $8 million. In fact, we’re going to have a hard than they are right now and the Jack Hughes cohort isn’t in the league time going above $5.5 million on any of our six defensemen, which rules yet so we can’t use them either. Three years also has the benefit of not out 24 of the 58 players we have to choose from. being so far away that we’re just guessing about who’ll still be good by then. And there are more players than you’d think who already have Still, there’s some decent value available. Let’s start with a Norris contracts that reach into the 2021-22 season – 165 as of today according candidate in Blue Jackets’ stud Seth Jones at $5.4 million. That’s a to Cap Friendly, including many of the league’s best players. fantastic deal from a team perspective, and we’ll happily build our blueline around Jones. We’ll pair him with another bargain in Toronto’s The idea comes with a couple of hurdles. The first is that we’ll probably Morgan Rielly at $5 million; for all the talk of the Leafs pending cap have a new CBA by 2021-22, meaning there’s a chance that the cap crunch, that’s a steal of a contract for a guy who’s in this year’s Norris system or HRR split could work differently by then. And even if we conversation. That gives us a strong top pairing and we’re spending less assume that nothing important will change, we don’t actually know what on it than we are on our goaltenders. Things are looking up. the salary cap is going to be by then. We’ll start our second pairing with a guy who can give us some offense That second problem is easy enough to solve by just picking a number and man the powerplay: Dallas’s John Klingberg at $4.25 million. We’ll that seems reasonable. Let’s go with $90 million, which would represent pair him with a lefty who can focus on his own end while chipping in the an increase of just over $10 million from where we are right now. The cap occasional goal, in Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm at $3.75 million. went up $8.1 million over the last three years, so mix in a little inflation and $90 million seems about right for 2021-22. We’re already trying to squeeze cap room with Ekholm, but we run into another problem: even at $3.75 million, he still ranks 50th among the 58 That leaves us with 165 players to choose from and a $90 million cap to defensemen we have to choose from, so there isn’t much left if we want work with to put together a 2021-22 roster that fits under the cap and to go cheap on our third pair. The next guy on the list would be a 34- looks like a Cup contender. How hard could that be? Spoiler: Harder than year-old Jack Johnson, so that’s a hard no. It would be great to grab a you might think … relative bargain like Oscar Klefbom at $4.167 million or maybe even Shayne Gostisbehere at $4.5 million, and I was hoping to find room for (All salary information in this piece comes from CapFriendly.com. Also, Hampus Lindholm at $5.205 million. But if we do any of that, then the all values listed are a player’s cap hit; we don’t care about the actual situation at forward is going to look pretty dire. dollars due on the contract.) It gets to the point where we end up seriously considering a warm body Goaltenders like Scott Mayfield ($1.45 million) or Robert Bortuzzo ($1.375 million) just They say that you should build from the net out, so we’ll follow that to save some money for somewhere else in the lineup. But instead, I advice. But when we do, we run into our first problem almost think we can cobble together a decent third pair at a reasonable price by immediately. Of those 165 players signed through 2022, only nine are going with Columbus’s Markus Nutivaara at $2.7 million and Vegas’s goaltenders. And none of them look like major bargains. Brayden McNabb at $2.5 million. Yes, they’re both lefties, but luckily for us, Nutivaara can play on the right side. After all, we wouldn’t want this When you think about it, that makes sense. There’s more supply than exercise in time-travelling fantasy roster construction to be unrealistic. demand for goaltending these days, so teams aren’t making long-term commitments to guys unless they think they’re foundational pieces. Mix Cap space spent so far: $34.917 million on eight players, an average of in deals like Henrik Lundqvist, Frederik Andersen and Tuukka Rask that about $4.36 million each. We have $55.083 million left for 12 players, an all expire the year before our 2021-22 season, and it’s no surprise that average of just over $4.59 million each. We did manage to save some the pickings are slim. money on the blueline, but only a little. But it’s a problem for our roster because we’re going to be spending way Forwards more on goaltending than we’d like. Even if we went with the two most I have a confession. When I first started to put this team together, I had a inexpensive options we can find, Ben Bishop and Roberto Luongo, we’re basic plan in place for the forwards, and it went like this: Get Connor still paying over $10 million for a position where it’s often smart to go as McDavid. That’s it. Nice and simple. Figure out a way to fit McDavid’s cheap as possible. And even Luongo can’t realistically be a pick for three $12.5 million onto the roster, then do whatever it takes to build around years down the road since he’ll be 42 years old by then. him knowing I had the very best player in the world. After all, that’s how you’d do it in the real world. In a league where elite end of the 2021-22 season, including Barkov, Lindholm, Couturier and talent drives results, the very best young players don’t make anywhere (gulp) all six of our defensemen. near what they probably should. McDavid may be the highest-paid player in the league right now in terms of cap hit by a healthy margin, but he still In the real world, we’d probably get to work on trading Bishop to balance represents phenomenal value. Three years from now, when he’s just out the roster a little better. And we should save some money for a top- turning 25 and might already have four or five scoring titles? He’ll be an notch training staff, since you may have noticed that we don’t have any absolute steal. depth in case of injury. I was originally planning to include a spare forward and defenseman but, uh, I ran out of money. Tyranny, I tell you. The initial plan was to start with McDavid and then go bargain-hunting elsewhere to make the numbers work. Again, just like real life. If you’re Could you do any better? If so, let me know who you’d add and who lucky enough to have a McDavid or a Jack Eichel or a Nikita Kucherov, you’d cut to make room. In the meantime, I’ll be over here counting you pay them whatever you need to and then go cheap on the fourth line. pennies, cursing the cap and remembering how much I love those entry- But that’s where we run into yet another problem: There really isn’t any level deals. cheap depth available to us. There are 98 forwards signed through 2021- 22, and only one of them – the Islanders’ Ross Johnston – carries a cap hit of less than $2 million. Only two more are under $3 million. The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 That makes sense. Nobody is out here signing interchangeable depth guys to long-term deals. (OK, fine, nobody other than the Canucks.) But it makes it just about impossible for us to fit a big-ticket forward like McDavid on the roster. We just can’t make it work. So it’s on the Plan B. But while we can’t afford any of the top 20 or 25 contracts, we’ll still be willing to pay up for somewhat less expensive deals that represent irresistible value. That’s the case for our first three forwards: Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon at $6.3 million, Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele at $6.125 million, and Boston’s David Pastrnak at $6.66 million. Those are three of the most team-friendly contracts in the league and they let us build our first two lines around borderline Hart contenders. Not a bad start. We’ll fill out the first line by putting MacKinnon and Pastrnak with Jonathan Marchessault at $5 million on the left side. We also could have gone with Josh Bailey with the same price tag, but since we’re projecting into the future we’ll lean towards the slightly younger guy. Scheifele is the second-line center, and we’ll give him a pair of capable wingers in Calgary’s Elias Lindholm at $4.85 million and Anaheim Rickard Rakell at $3.789 million. As you can see, we’re already starting to get a bit thin; Lindholm’s having a great year, but we’re counting on Rakell to get back to something approaching his 30-goal form of recent years. The good news is that we can start the third line with what’s probably the last of the no-brainer contracts that we just have to have: Florida’s Aleksander Barkov at $5.9 million. A point-per-game Selke candidate who’ll have just turned 26? Sign us up. But we’re running out of money to give him much help on the wing, as we’ll go with Boone Jenner at $3.75 million and Paul Byron at $3.4 million. Neither of those guys are exactly cheap, and you might even be able to argue over whether Jenner is bringing much in the way of value to the table at all. But even at those prices they rank 88th and 92nd on our list the 98 forwards available to us, so we’re squeezing in what we can. We’ll build our fourth line around one more two-way center in Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier at $4.33 million; a difference of a few hundred thousand dollars means he beats out Vincent Trochek ($4.75 million), Nazem Kadri ($4.5 million) and the struggling Alexander Wennberg ($4.9 million) for the job. As his wingers, he’ll have to make due with just about the only forwards left that we can afford: New Jersey’s Miles Wood at $2.75 million, and Nashville’s Calle Jarnkrok at $2 million. We’ll need Jarnkrok to play out of position to make that work, but it was either him or Ross Johnston, so here we are. Cap space spent so far: After spending $54.857 million on 12 forwards for an average of $4.57 million each, we reach our grand total of $89.774 million. We’re cap compliant, with just over $200,000 left to spare. How’d we do? Here’s what the final roster looks like: That’s pretty good, right? We’ve got four solid lines, led by legitimate superstars in MacKinnon, Scheifele, Barkov and Pastrnak (who comes in as our highest-paid player), plus some useful pieces around them. The blueline is anchored by two Norris candidates and some solid specialists and we’ve got a Vezina threat in goal. Like I said, pretty good. Then again, this was basically an exercise in picking a fantasy team – you’d figure that “pretty good” is the bare minimum we should be aiming for. The whole thing turned out to be tougher than you’d probably expect. Those NHL GMs who are always crying about the tyranny of the salary cap may be on to something. Still, this looks like a roster that would absolutely contend for a Cup in year one. (At least for now – it will be fun to look back on this in three years and laugh at some of the players we thought would be good who saw their production nosedive.) And they’ll definitely be in a “win now” mode, since we’re losing a huge chunk of the roster to free agency at the 1103771 Websites given that cap hell is on its way soon, this season is a unique opportunity for Winnipeg to be great. — Murat Ates

4. Calgary Flames The Athletic / NHL Power Rankings: What to watch for in the second half Previous Ranking: 12

The biggest question facing the Flames? Goaltending. And not just going By Sarah Goldstein forward, as in next season (which also happens to be an issue), but Jan 8, 2019 going forward, as in next week. Backup-now-starter David Rittich suffered a lower-body injury just as his workload was being ramped up. Mike Smith’s resurrection, meanwhile, is something of an ongoing/never- ending project. — Scott Cruickshank It isn’t often that you get a few dozen people to agree on one thing. And in a league with as much parity as the NHL, agreeing on which team is With just a few exceptions, the team’s nominal No. 1 goalie, Mike Smith, the best is even more remarkable. has really struggled to return to the form he showed in the first half of last year, so one of three things needs to happen: 1. He needs to be better; That goes to show you how dominant the Tampa Bay Lightning look this 2. David Rittich’s strong play must continue; or 3. they’ll have to tip into season. No math needed. One hundred percent of voters put them in the the trade market to land a netminding insurance policy. — Eric No. 1 spot. Duhatschek But that doesn’t mean there is nothing left to watch for. After all, history 5. Washington Capitals shows that the front-runner rarely raises the Stanley Cup in June. Previous Ranking: 10 So what is The Athletic‘s NHL team watching for? The Capitals have to find a way to jump-start their normally lethal power Justin Bourne: The Lightning are up a whopping 10 points on the team play. The Capitals are 1-for-31 with a man advantage in their past nine with the league’s second-most points (Toronto), just 42 games into their contests. That is very uncharacteristic of the defending Stanley Cup season. So I have my eye toward how Jon Cooper manages the second champions, and they will need a potent power play down the stretch. — half. If they continue to pull away, could we see Tampa’s best players – Chris Kuc not just the goalie – get nights off? Could they tinker with new systems and lines, experimenting for inevitable postseason adjustments? How do 6. Nashville Predators they handle the expectations of being the clear favorite? In some cases, managing teams that good can be as hard as managing less talented Previous Ranking: 1 teams (as much as you’d always prefer the former). The Predators, depleted by serious injuries to key players for the past Sean McIndoe: I’m going to be watching league scoring rates. As we all two months, are on the mend. Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg and P.K. know, they’ve been up this year, although nobody seems completely sure Subban are back after lengthy absences. The Predators faced little why. It’s not a huge jump – we’re still talking about an extra goal every adversity on their way to the Presidents’ Trophy last season, so will few games at most – but it’s been enough to make everything feel more experiencing some turmoil this season make them a better team when it fun. But almost every season we see scoring rates dip in the second half counts? — Adam Vingan as the games get tighter and teams go into defensive mode late in 7. Vegas Golden Knights games to play for overtime and the loser point. Maybe this year is different, and we don’t see much of a drop. Or maybe we just look back Previous Ranking: 18 on the first half as a reminder of how entertaining this sport can be when the NHL is a 4-3 league instead of a 3-2 one. The Golden Knights appear to have finally hit their stride, with the best record in the Western Conference over the past 20 games. But Vegas is Dom Luszczyszyn: The East playoff race with Buffalo, Montreal and the still trying to develop chemistry between offseason editions Max Islanders all fighting for spots – all of whom weren’t expected to do much Pacioretty and Paul Stastny on the second line. Both missed time due to this season. Also, Carolina potentially regressing and finding a way into injury but are finally playing alongside one another. If those two — along the mix out of the hole they dug will be interesting. with the team’s points leader, Alex Tuch — can provide the team with a potent second line, Vegas could be in line for another long postseason. The Athletic invited all of its NHL writers to rank the teams from 1 to 31 — Jesse Granger and combined the results here. 8. Pittsburgh Penguins 1. Tampa Bay Lightning (100 percent of first-place votes) Previous Ranking: 19 Previous Ranking: 2 The Penguins are hoping the real Matt Murray is back. Murray is 7-0 The Lightning’s remarkable 16-game points streak was snapped since returning from a lower-body injury and has allowed only nine goals Saturday, but they appear the team to beat. Only issues are potential in that stretch. If the Penguins are getting this version of Murray for the injuries and their goals against (2.95, 16th in NHL), which is too high for a remainder of the season, they’ll be a concern for the rest of the East. — team with this caliber goaltending. There is really only one question left Josh Yohe with this team: Is this the year they take the final step from contender to champion? — Joe Smith 9. San Jose Sharks 2. Toronto Maple Leafs Previous Ranking: 11 Previous Ranking: 3 Will the Sharks get improved goaltending? They entered Saturday night’s action with the worst even strength save percentage in the league (.897), The health of Frederik Andersen. It’s that simple. His recent injury – and as both Martin Jones and Aaron Dell have been inconsistent. They’ll his health heading into the playoffs – will be the biggest single have to hope Jones has the kind of second half he did last season, when determining factor in the Leafs’ ability to go all the way. With him, they’re he was 16-10-2 with a .922 save percentage and 2.35 goals-against one of a handful of realistic Cup favorites. Without him, they aren’t. — average after January. — Kevin Kurz Scott Wheeler 10. Boston Bruins 3. Winnipeg Jets Previous Ranking: 9 Previous Ranking: 4 How will the Bruins improve their five-on-five scoring? Will they target a Will the defense hold up? No. 3 center or a No. 2 right wing? — Fluto Shinzawa With Dustin Byfuglien injured, Winnipeg is running all of Tyler Myers, Ben The Bruins are getting healthy and are starting to hit their stride. Boston Chiarot, Dmitry Kulikov and Joe Morrow in its top six. That’s not Stanley is getting contributions throughout the lineup, and both goalies are Cup caliber defense; and, if you’re into fancy stats, it has been much playing well. The biggest thing for the Bruins now is to get defenseman easier to get chances against Winnipeg this season than it was last Charlie McAvoy healthy. He’s expected to return to the lineup at some season. point in the coming week, so that will be a good sign for the team moving The reason this is so important? With contract extensions presumably on forward. — Joe McDonald the way for Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor, this team is about to get 11. Columbus Blue Jackets expensive in a hurry. The Jets are going to be good for a long time, but Previous Ranking: 7 Silfverberg, a fine two-way player whose a UFA on July 1. Silfverberg has been out of the mix when it comes to extensions handed out by the Will Artemi Panarin be traded at the Feb. 25 trade deadline? Or can the club. If a new deal isn’t in the works – and, especially, if they spiral Blue Jackets sign their star forward to a contract extension? Sitting third further out of playoff contention – as they move toward the Feb. 25 trade in the division and on pace for 100 points, the Blue Jackets have played deadline, the Ducks could fetch a decent return from a contending club pretty well despite the nightmare contract situation with Panarin and that could see him as a helpful piece to fill a hole within its top-nine Sergei Bobrovsky. — Aaron Portzline forward group as it prepares for a Stanley Cup run. — Eric Stephens 12. Buffalo Sabres 19. Carolina Hurricanes Previous Ranking: 6 Previous Ranking: 13 Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart are dynamic, forming one of Carolina wants to add scoring and also create a path for Adam Fox; the the best lines in the league. They’re good for a goal or two per game. Harvard defenseman still needs to sign. Multiple sources confirmed that The rest of the scoring lines range from struggling to invisible. Though the Hurricanes are open to trading Dougie Hamilton, not necessarily the minor-league team in Rochester is winning, no one is filling the net at because they’ve soured on him but because they’re trying to get the best a “call me up” rate. If Phil Housley can’t find combinations that work, GM possible offer for a defenseman not named Jaccob Slavin. It would be Jason Botterill will have to start looking elsewhere for help. Buffalo surprising if the Hurricanes don’t trade Hamilton, Justin Faulk or Brett believes it has a playoff team, but lack of goals could derail the Pesce at some point, although the best deal might not be until the draft. postseason hopes. — John Vogl — Craig Custance Scoring depth is by far the Sabres’ biggest issue. If they’re unable to get 20. Vancouver Canucks help for Eichel, Skinner and Reinhart, their fight to make the playoffs will be very hard. — Joe Yerdon Previous Ranking: 26 13. Colorado Avalanche The question in Vancouver remains the same as it was at the start of the season. But with Elias Pettersson’s sublime play as a rookie, the timeline Previous Ranking: 8 for an answer has been moved up. It’s all about identifying the pieces A six-game losing streak curbed the Avalanche’s early-season that will move forward with Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat as momentum and is starting to eat away at the equity they built in terms of the Canucks’ core. If they can do that while winning games and staying in overall record. It’s about finding consistency in all areas of the game. If some sort of playoff chase, even better. Special attention will be paid to the Avs do that, they should be fine. If not, it could make for an goaltender Thatcher Demko’s play down the stretch and whether Quinn interesting season. — Ryan S. Clark Hughes gets into a few games for the Canucks at the conclusion of his college season. — Israel Fehr 14. New York Islanders 21. Florida Panthers Previous Ranking: 17 Previous Ranking: 28 Can the Isles keep up their insane level of goaltending? Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss don’t exactly strike fear into any opposing hearts, but The Panthers had won six of eight coming into the New Year, but their they lead the NHL in save percentage almost halfway through the goaltending hasn’t been as strong as it traditionally has been. season. Didn’t see that one in the “Farmers’ Almanac.” — Arthur Staple Consistency here would be a big step forward. — George Richards 15. Montreal Canadiens 22. Edmonton Oilers Previous Ranking: 15 Previous Ranking: 22 Considering their special teams struggles, can the Canadiens stay Without question the biggest issue facing the Oilers is the continued enough in the black at 5-on-5 to finish ahead of teams like the Sabres employment of GM Peter Chiarelli. On the ice, it’s how the defense will and Islanders? — Marc Antoine Godin survive with Oscar Klefbom out and/or how the Oilers can possibly get secondary scoring out of this group, but both of those issues feed into A top pairing defenseman is the most glaring hole on the roster. While Chiarelli’s status. It’s hard to imagine him staying on if Edmonton misses going with a No. 2 defenseman by committee is fine in the regular the playoffs. — Jonathan Willis season, having an effective top matchup pairing becomes vitally important in the playoffs. Of course, teams don’t often trade top pairing Who is going to score goals for the Oilers other than Connor McDavid, guys, and if one does become available, it would probably be so cost Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Alex Chiasson? — Daniel prohibitive it would risk setting the Canadiens’ long-term building plan Nugent-Bowman back a bit. But that’s by far the biggest need for this team, and it’s not 23. New York Rangers even close. — Arpon Basu Previous Ranking: 16 16. Dallas Stars The Rangers have hit a fairly lengthy skid (following a 9-1-1 stretch in Previous Ranking: 14 November), which should have been expected. The question is now, how The Stars’ lack of depth scoring is the biggest issue. But if you ask the much worse will it get, especially with another trade deadline sell-off front office, it’s the play of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. The Stars have coming in February? And how many ping-pong balls can they created a distraction with public internal feuding, which could have gone accumulate? — Rick Carpiniello even more nuclear than it did. — Sean Shapiro 24. New Jersey Devils 17. Minnesota Wild Previous Ranking: 23 Previous Ranking: 5 Is Mackenzie Blackwood a potential long-term solution in net? He’s Climbing. The Wild have taken a nosedive since our last power rankings looked great in a tiny NHL sample size and is now dealing with a groin in November, losing 11 of 16 games before Saturday’s win. Now, they’re injury. Regardless of whether or not the Devils climb back into the playoff in a spot where they’ll have to string some wins together, something they chase, how Blackwood plays (not to mention Cory Schneider, once he haven’t done in seven weeks. They’re only two points behind last also returns from injury) could be the biggest storyline of the second half season’s pace, however. — Michael Russo of the season. — Corey Masisak 18. Anaheim Ducks 25. Arizona Coyotes Previous Ranking: 20 Previous Ranking: 27 Incredibly, the Ducks are still within the playoff picture in the Western Can they get enough bodies healthy to finish strong over the second half Conference despite a losing streak that’s now at eight games (0-6-2). and allow GM John Chayka a fair evaluation of what he has on this Consider that they also endured a seven-game drought in October. But scoring-challenged team? — Craig Morgan they have to decide whether they’re really a playoff team or not, and the 26. Chicago Blackhawks next month should help GM Bob Murray get a clearer idea of whether to be a buyer and augment a low-scoring lineup or look to sell off potentially Previous Ranking: 25 attractive pieces for future assets to aid in its current transition to a younger roster. The biggest piece would be right winger Jakob The Blackhawks need to begin preparing for next season. Part of that process is deciding which players you project to be part of next year’s team and which might be expendable. I’d be surprised if the Blackhawks didn’t sell off a few players before the trade deadline. — Scott Powers 27. Detroit Red Wings Previous Ranking: 21 Now that the Red Wings have fallen back down toward the league’s cellar, the biggest question facing them in the next two months will be who stays and who goes at the trade deadline. Despite their record, they should have multiple pieces that are intriguing to contenders, starting with forward Gustav Nyquist (having a career year) and goaltender Jimmy Howard. In the short term, though, we’ll see how well Detroit can survive a severely banged up blueline — a similar situation to the one that saw them lose their first seven games this season. Big minutes are coming for rookies Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek. — Max Bultman 28. St. Louis Blues Previous Ranking: 29 Get Vladimir Tarasenko going. He scored his 12th goal of the season in Philadelphia on Monday, but it was just his fourth point in his past 15 games. He is suffering through a career-low 7.8 shooting percentage. — Jeremy Rutherford 29. Philadelphia Flyers Previous Ranking: 24 What will the roster look like by the end of the season? The Flyers’ disappointing first half has made a playoff berth extremely unlikely, and new GM Chuck Fletcher has yet to really put his stamp on the club. Is he going to “shake up” the core of the team as the deadline approaches? — Charlie O’Connor 30. Los Angeles Kings Previous Ranking: 31 Which Kings are most likely to be traded? Who stays, and who goes? The end of the regular season used to be the most important day on the Kings’ schedule as it signaled the start of their playoff run. Now, the Feb. 25 trade deadline is the day to watch to see what GM Rob Blake will do with a team that has failed to meet expectations. — Lisa Dillman 31. Ottawa Senators Previous Ranking: 30 Will Mark Stone and Matt Duchene be signed to contract extensions or be traded at the trade deadline? I think Stone is the priority. If they can’t sign him, they’ll shift their sights to Duchene. Convincing one to sign would be an epic coup at this point. — Chris Stevenson

The Athletic LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103772 Websites The Oilers get Florida, Arizona, Buffalo, Vancouver (only road game), Calgary, Carolina and Detroit. Not that Edmonton can look down its nose at anyone, but a bunch of those teams will miss the playoffs this year, Sportsnet.ca / Takeaways: Jekyll and Hyde Oilers turn in listless effort vs. and that should smell like opportunity to the Oilers. Sharks Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.09.2019 Mark Spector | @sportsnetspec January 9, 2019, 1:38 AM

Battle level, goaltending, and zero support for Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Sometimes it’s one or two of those things that cost the Edmonton Oilers two points. On others, like Tuesday in San Jose, it’s the whole enchilada. A .500 team capped a .500 road trip with a listless, not-so-competitive loss at the Shark Tank, falling a full 14 points behind third-place San Jose in the Pacific. It’s safe to say Edmonton will be, at best, a wild-card team, with the second wild-card spot still well within the Oilers’ reach. How did they manage to lose a game like this in San Jose — the second straight game against the Oilers where San Jose has put up seven goals — just two days after shutting out the Anaheim Ducks? Well, let’s talk about that. Win One, Lose One It’s amazing how the same group of players can maintain this Jekyll and Hyde look, flying one night, then looking like they’d rather be anywhere but a hockey rink the next. For us, it’s a sign of two things: One, the team goes how McDavid goes. Far too seldom does the third and fourth line dictate the pace, or score enough to give McDavid a night off the scoresheet and still win. And secondly, goaltending. Cam Talbot didn’t have a chance behind this kind of effort, but he wasn’t good enough and was pulled. Just when it looked like he’d found his game, Talbot gave up four goals on 17 shots. In the end, he wasn’t the worst Oiler, but was nowhere near the best. Sportsnet NOW gives you access to over 500 NHL games this season, blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the entire 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and more. Goals Against Edmonton is allowing too many goals, as the seven-tally Sharks outburst puts the Oilers into the bottom third in the NHL in goals allowed (138). They’re struggling down low, as the Sharks owned the dirty area in front of the Edmonton goal all night long Tuesday. Newly-traded-for defenceman Alex Petrovic left the game with an injury in the second period, while the other D-man recently brought in, Brandon Manning, was not in the lineup for the second straight game. And it was a tough night for young Caleb Jones, who was minus-3 and had his first real rocky night in the NHL. Four years into his tenure as GM, Peter Chiarelli has improved his blue line perhaps not one iota. It was a weak point when he arrived, and still isn’t deep enough to deal with an injury or two. A weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news in the world with hosts Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. New episodes every Thursday. Lucic Scores! After scoring just two goals in the calendar year of 2018, and just two in 86 games overall, Milan Lucic buried a Nugent-Hopkins feed for his second of the season. He hadn’t scored since the Oilers’ season opener in Sweden, and the relief on Lucic’s face was obvious. Oh boy, could this club use a guy like Lucic to get productive. There isn’t a support player in this lineup with more scoring pedigree, but it’s fair to ask if that was from a former lifetime. His goal on Tuesday was Lucic’s first even-strength goal since March 5, 2018, a span of 59 games. The Good News From here until the all-star break, the Oilers couldn’t ask for a better schedule to get back into the playoff picture in the West. Six of their seven remaining games before the break are at home, against some opponents that you had better be able to beat if you consider yourself a playoff team. 1103773 Websites So you can imagine how Petry felt when the puck came to him in the slot of the offensive zone with no defender in sight on the first shift of the third period Tuesday. Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens Takeaways: Jeff Petry gets redemption He corralled it, picked up his head, chose his spot and nailed it for what turned out to be the game-winner. Eric Engels It was Petry’s ninth of the season, which put him just three goals away from the career-high he set over 82 games last year. It was also his 30th January 8, 2019, 11:23 PM point in his 44th game, which sets him on pace to shatter his career-high of 44 last year.

Tatar with the assist(s) With just over four minutes left in Tuesday’s game, with his Montreal Canadiens sitting on a one-goal lead, Brendan Gallagher stepped on the It was Tatar who set up Petry’s goal, just as he did Gallagher’s. ice with linemates Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar. He skated the width of the surface, wheeled into his right-wing position on the breakout, That’s five points this season in two games against the team he started received a pass, and got absolutely levelled by Detroit Red Wings his career with and played seven seasons for. defenceman Nick Kronwall. Tatar now has 33 points in 44 games since coming over in the We’re talking pancaked. September trade that sent former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights. But Gallagher hopped back up to his skates immediately. Then the puck was fired back into Montreal’s zone before it inevitably found him in the A regulation loss for the New York Islanders to the Carolina Hurricanes same position, and that’s when Kronwall caught him with another hit. Tuesday helped the Canadiens retake the second wild-card position in the Eastern Conference. Gallagher held his ground this time, he collected the puck, and he made sure to get it deep into Red Wings territory before finally heading off the The Islanders hold three games in hand on the Canadiens. The Buffalo ice. Sabres, who are one point up on Montreal, hold a game in hand, too. And the Boston Bruins, who are sitting three points ahead and in third It doesn’t sound like much, but the whole sequence is a perfect example place in the Atlantic, have one as well. of the kind of leadership he provides the Canadiens on a nightly basis. He will sacrifice himself to make plays all over the ice, no matter the score. It’s the stuff his game is made of, the stuff that had him considered Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.09.2019 one of the favourites to wear the captain’s ‘C’ before it was etched onto Shea Weber’s jersey at the beginning of the season. A weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news in the world with hosts Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. New episodes every Thursday. Gallagher showed it all game long but particularly on that sequence, and also on the one that saw him score a goal from his backside to put the Canadiens up 2-0 early in the second period, helping deliver a huge 3-2 win when his team needed it most. Montreal was facing a third consecutive loss on a night that saw Atlantic Division rivals Boston and Buffalo hold their ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race with wins. The Canadiens were in tough against a rested Detroit team, having reached their hotel in the city at 4:00 am — roughly six hours after losing a hard-fought game to the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre. It’s fair to say they’d have not won this game without Gallagher leading the way. There were other contributing factors, as well. Let’s get to them. Antti Niemi came up huge Niemi was particularly strong in Period 1, when the Canadiens looked like they were skating in quick sand. Niemi came up with nine saves and faced at least five quality scoring chances in the frame, surrendering no goals to keep the score 0-0 headed to intermission. In the second period, he made 11 stops and was beat only by a perfect shot from Andreas Athanasiou, who took advantage of a Tatar turnover to carry a two-on-one towards Niemi before freezing everyone on the play by looking pass the whole way. And in the third, Niemi saved another 10 shots and appeared in full control towards the end when Detroit tilted the ice towards Montreal’s zone. Athanasiou beat him on a Red Wings power play early in the frame, but he was sensational to close. Jeff Petry redeemed Petry was responsible for the only goal against in the loss to Minnesota Monday when he made a fancy play coming out from behind his own net and got caught turning over the puck to Wild forward Mikael Granlund. Petry tried to save the play by covering off Jordan Greenway, but he ended up pushing Greenway into Canadiens goaltender Carey Price while Granlund shimmied past the three of them and shoveled the puck into a wide open net. 1103774 Websites “At the halfway mark, teams are looking at the standings and seeing where they’re at. Teams are trying to solidify their spot and trying to get in,” Patrick Marleau says. Sportsnet.ca / Mike Babcock imploring Maple Leafs to play 'heavier' “That makes every game more intense.” The return of Andersen and club hit leader Hyman, who are both now Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox practising with the club and may dress as early as Thursday, should help. January 8, 2019, 9:01 AM “We’re not as good a hockey team without [Hyman],” Babcock says. “We’re not as heavy. We don’t forecheck as good. We don’t hang on to the puck in the O-zone. We’re not as good on the penalty kill.” TORONTO – The Mike Babcock who steps to the podium fresh off a win Sportsnet NOW gives you access to over 500 NHL games this season, over a bad team barely resembles the Mike Babcock who emerges after blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown a tough loss to a good one. Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the entire 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and more. When his Toronto Maple Leafs dismantled a tired .500 Vancouver Canucks squad Saturday, one trying to hang in a lopsided affair without Yes, the coach can be critical. That’s because he, like the hordes of their most dynamic player, Babcock was subdued and curt. He was patient fans, sees what might be if the Leafs can dig deeper, discover complimentary, sure, but far from effusive about his roster’s dominance another gear. and downplayed his brand-new goalie’s shutout on account of a lack of Grade-A stops. “I like lots of things about us. I like our people. I like how bad we want to be good. I like our leadership. I like our depth,” Babcock says. “I think Following defeats to a pair of tested, edgy Western Conference squads we’ve got to be a way heavier team. with elite goalies and deep defences, Minnesota on Thursday and Nashville on Monday, a more verbose Babcock struck a different tone, “We still think there’s lots of growth from within because we’re a young inspired by a chance to dish out lessons. group.” The teacher/preacher described last week’s 4-3 home loss to Minny, one Please, don’t misconstrue the need for heavy as a desire to trade for a in which Toronto blew two leads, as “a great game for our team because crash-and-bang forward or a sudden urge to climb into the top 10 in hits it’s what we’re susceptible to.” per game or a reason to bench-press Holsteins and chug raw eggs. Few can praise the enemy like Babcock, happy to Xerox and hand out “Being heavy isn’t getting on a scale and measuring yourself; it’s a state copies of the A+ paper to remind the B+ students what excellence looks of mind. I think we can do a better job there. And I think we can get better like. defensively so we can spend more time offensively and have the puck more. We got a lot of work to do,” Babcock says. “They jumped harder, they worked harder, they had checked the puck back, they spent lots of time [in the offensive zone] and put miles on our “It’s heavy on offence. It’s having the puck. It’s getting the puck back all D. They got to the net on us. I thought they did a really good job,” the time. It’s checking it back. It’s putting your work in front of your skill. Babcock said. It’s being determined offensively, not coming down, having a rush and being one-and-done. It’s multiple-shot shifts. He was similarly gushy about Nashville, minutes after getting thumped 4- 0 by the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners. “It’s having some jam.” “I thought we got a lesson from a veteran team here today,” Babcock Preach. said. “They just stayed patient and were right. They were heavy on the puck, heavy on their sticks, detailed, blocked shots, competed. I liked their game.” Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.09.2019 For all of the positive numbers we could spit out regarding a Maple Leafs club that is on track to break a franchise record for its most productive regular season — again — there is this: Ignore for a minute the Vancouvers and Floridas and New Jerseys — i.e., the teams a talent-flush group with Stanley Cup dreams should beat — and over the past month, Toronto has played six teams currently in a playoff position. The Leafs are just 1-5 in those tests and have been outscored 28-11. Half of those contests, including two in which Toronto was shutout 4-zip, were at home. “This was a real hockey game. That’s a real team over there,” Mitch Marner said in the wake of Monday’s loss to the Preds. “It’s something that, going forward, we’re going to need to be ready for these games and be ready to beat those teams.” Alarming? Maybe not quite. Stud starting goalie Frederik Andersen was either toiling through a minor groin ailment or sidelined for these games, top-six staple Zach Hyman (ankle) has also been absent for a stretch, and William Nylander apparently needs more warm-up time. Cause for pause? Definitely. Toronto will be favoured Thursday in New Jersey, especially with Taylor Hall banged up. More telling will be how the Leafs measure up against Boston Saturday and divisional leaders Tampa and Washington later this month. Those around this dressing room and others are convinced hockey’s thermostat gets cranked in deep winter, after the last of the Christmas turkey leftovers are devoured. Screws tighten. Space evaporates. Offence dries. Until we see evidence to the contrary, we’re not convinced this style suits these Leafs as currently constructed. 1103775 Websites The question for the Jets is: who is this year’s Stastny? The Jets will start facing a cap crunch next season when Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Jacob Trouba (if he’s not dealt this summer) will all return with new, Sportsnet.ca / Winnipeg Jets first half report: Jets among favourites to much bigger contracts. And Josh Morrissey is owed a new deal one year win it all later. So although Winnipeg is still on the younger side, the reality is tough decisions are ahead. Rory Boylen | @RoryBoylen Cheveldayoff has been quiet more often than not on the trade market, January 8, 2019, 1:12 PM but it’s time for him to be more aggressive to try and push this group to a championship. If they can add another second-line centre this year it’d be a huge win. The Winnipeg Jets finish 41 games just one point behind Nashville for On top of that, Winnipeg may also be interested in some experienced first place in the division with three games in hand. Their power play depth up front and for the third-pair on defence. Some of the kids such as scores on 28 per cent of its opportunities, making it the second-most Mason Appleton and Sami Niku are just about NHL-ready, but it may be dangerous unit in the league, and their collection of high-end talent is on more helpful to pick up a couple of semi-cheap players who have been pace for career years. there before. Whether you think Winnipeg is Canada’s best, second-best, or third-best Stream over 500 NHL games blackout-free, including the Flames, Oilers, Stanley Cup hope, it’s clear that is the expectation for this team. Here’s a Leafs and Canucks. Plus Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown look at the Winnipeg Jets through 41 games. Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey and more. Ryan Dixon and Rory Boylen go deep on pucks with a mix of facts and Things haven’t been as easy for Hellebuyck this season, but for fun, leaning on a varied group of hockey voices to give their take on the Winnipeg to have any chance at the Cup he needs to be in prime form. country’s most beloved game. In 2017-18 every month was a good one for Hellebuyck, with a .911 save THE GOOD percentage in February being the low point. This year he hits the halfway mark with a .910 save percentage that ranks 20th in the league, mostly There’s a lot to like about one of Canada’s three legitimate Stanley Cup due to a slow start by his standards. He has a .757 high danger save hopefuls. percentage that is nothing special at all — Hellebuyck has allowed the Let’s start from the top, where Mark Scheifele (50 points) and Blake third-most goals from this area of the ice league-wide. Wheeler (51 points) are on pace for career seasons. Wheeler, who really The good thing is that he’s gotten better as the season has gone along. stepped up as one of the NHL’s premier set up men in 2017-18 is His performance is something to watch in the second half. But make no alreasdy 66 per cent of the way to his assist total from last year and sits mistake — this team is very much one of the top favourites to win it all. only behind Nikita Kucherov and Mikko Rantanen league-wide. And his linemate, Scheifele, is a top-20 goal scorer on track for his first 40-goal season. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.09.2019 Some teams lack that strong secondary unit, but the Jets have one of the top snipers in the game on their second line. Patrik Laine has put together a slow start (just three goals in October) well behind him and is third in goals since Nov. 1 with 21, one behind both Jeff Skinner and Alex Ovechkin. After all the worry about his October struggles, Laine could very well hit 50 goals for the first time this season. Backup Laurent Brossoit was picked up over the summer with little attention, but he has been a big addition to the Jets. If Connor Hellebuyck is to be healthy and rested for the playoffs he can’t be playing 67 games as he did last season. The Jets couldn’t count on their backups in 2017-18, but Brossoit has already played 10 games with a .939 save percentage. That kind of performance should give Winnipeg more confidence to rest their starter more often than they had in the past. The mark of a great team, Winnipeg is remarkably consistent. Lucky to be mostly healthy to this point, the Jets have lost two in a row only twice — Nov. 21 and 23, and Dec. 27 and 29. Funny enough, in both instances the Jets lost to Calgary and Minnesota in sequence. Winnipeg has yet to lose three games in a row and hit the halfway mark winners of nine of their past 13. THE BAD With a 26-13-2 record that has them as the seventh-best team after 41 games, there’s not really a lot of bad to look at here. If there is one area that could use improvement, though, it’s five-on-five play. The Jets were a top-five offence in this category last season, but with 81 goals to this point they currently sit in the bottom half of the league as scoring goes up. But even this can be offset with some good news as they don’t give up a lot at five-on-five either. Winnipeg is still plus-two in goal differential, which is 13th-best in the league, but still well behind the likes of Toronto (plus-26), Washington (plus-25) and rival Nashville (plus-20). A key to turning this around will be adding more depth scoring. While the top two lines are elite, the offence falls off fairly rapidly after that. Mathieu Perreault’s 16 points are the most from a bottom-six player and only two others, Brandon Tanev (15) and Adam Lowry (12) have more than 10 points. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff finally shook his reputation as a deadline day observer and jumped head-first into the market last season by acquiring Paul Stastny after striking out on Derick Brassard a few days before. Stastny’s addition moved Bryan Little down to the third line and gave opponents a heck of a lot more to worry about. 1103776 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Coyotes centre Nick Schmaltz done for season with knee injury

Josh Beneteau | @jbenny15 January 8, 2019, 2:47 PM

The Arizona Coyotes have been hit with another major loss to injury, as centre Nick Schmaltz will miss the remainder of the season with what the team is calling a “lower-body injury.” Craig Morgan of The Athletic reports that Schmaltz has a knee injury. Forward Christian Dvorak (chest), defenceman Jason Demers (knee) and goalie Antti Raanta (lower-body) have all missed significant time with injuries and all remain out indefinitely. Schmaltz last played on Dec. 29, when he scored the game-winning goal against the Anaheim Ducks. The Coyotes acquired Schmaltz in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini at the end of November. Since the trade, the former first-round pick has been a valuable offensive option for the Coyotes, scoring five goals and 14 points in 17 games. In 23 games before the trade with the Blackhawks, he had two goals and 11 points.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.09.2019 1103777 Websites on our opportunities. If we weren’t getting opportunities, we’d be a little more worried.”

Winger Brock Boeser said: “When you’re not scoring goals like we have Sportsnet.ca / Canucks hoping other forwards will thrive without the last couple of games, that’s when you really need to get gritty and put Pettersson pucks to the net and get bodies there. Once you bang home a couple, others will start coming.” Iain MacIntyre | @imacSportsnet That’s the hope, which is what this season is really about for the Canucks. January 7, 2019, 8:18 PM “We’re not battling harder right now than we were in November, than we were the first game when we played Calgary (opening night),” Green said. “The culture that we want is that will to win is high every night. It’s VANCOUVER – Even injured, Elias Pettersson continues to perform not all of sudden, ‘Hey, we’re going to try harder because we’re closer to miracles as a Vancouver Canuck. .500 now.’ If you’re going to only play hard at certain times of the year, you’re not going to be very a successful team and you’re not going to On Monday, four days after his knee bent like a cartoon figure when he have a very successful culture. We’ve kept the pedal down from Day 1 was wrestled to the ice in Montreal, Pettersson jogged down some stairs and that’s the mindset that we want and the culture we want to build for on his way to a workout as the Canucks practised without him at the years to come.” University of B.C.

It looked like Pettersson, the NHL’s top rookie, would be out for weeks when he was trapped in Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s leg hold as the Canadien Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.09.2019 pulled him down last Thursday. Instead, the 20-year-old may miss only two or three games. The power of youth and flexibility. “If you’re going to sprain your knee, that’s probably the best-case scenario,” Canucks coach Travis Green told reporters. “He’s not going to be as long as we’ve seen other knee injuries in the past. “I’ve seen a lot of bad things over the years. I don’t really get too worried about it until I actually know. The fact that he skated off, I thought was a good sign. I was pressing for him to come back in the game. That’s how I think.” But Pettersson did not return for the final 34 minutes of the game, nor for the one two nights later in Toronto. Beaten 2-0 by the Canadiens and rolled 5-0 by the Maple Leafs, the Canucks have yet to generate a goal without Pettersson. Sportsnet NOW gives you access to over 500 NHL games this season, blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the entire 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and more. Even missing six games in October with a concussion, the Swede still leads the Canucks in scoring with 22 goals and 42 points in 38 games. His seven game-winning goals are tied for the lead in the NHL. In Vancouver’s last 10 wins, Pettersson has scored the deciding goal in six of them. But unless the Canucks can find a way to win 0-0, someone else will need to score Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes. Pettersson is expected to miss that game. Any mortal would. “We’re not going to rush him back,” Green said. “He’ll be back when he’s good and ready. “When you lose your most offensive guy, it’s going to take away a whole lot of your offence. (But) we’re not going to ask guys to do stuff that they’re not capable of. There’s no magic (formula) for scoring in this league. Off your breakouts, off your neutral-zone play, if you can score on the rush, it’s a good thing. And in the offensive zone, you’ve got to be hard, you’ve got to win puck battles, you’ve got to play quick.” After leading the NHL in games-played and road games, the Canucks finally have time to practise as they play only six games – all at Rogers Arena – in the next four weeks. So, on Monday, Green ran the team through a physical practice that featured a pile of battle drills. How else is a team supposed to score? “The last two games we’ve been shut out,” veteran centre Jay Beagle said. “We’re talking about it. Today, the emphasis was going to the net and just battling. Battling to get in greasy areas, that’s where you score those goals. Battling to get into those areas is not easy. It was a high- paced practice with a lot of battle drills. It’s a simple message.” There is a psychological element to losing your best offensive player. The Canucks went 3-3 without Pettersson in October but scored just 11 goals in regulation in those six games. They’ve fired 61 shots the last two games without scoring. Vancouver was also shut out in two of the last five games Pettersson played, so the offence was starting to struggle even before he was injured. The Canucks failed to score only twice in their first 38 games. “If the top scorer goes out on any team, it takes a toll and other guys would be pressing maybe too hard,” centre Bo Horvat said. “It does affect guys mentally. For us, we’ve just got to simplify our game and capitalize