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SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 11/11/18 Anaheim Ducks Dallas Stars 1114888 What we learned from the Ducks’ 5-1 loss to Minnesota 1114922 Lack of depth, unfamiliarity spell trouble for Stars in loss to NHL-best Predators Arizona Coyotes 1114923 Stars finally set to celebrate Jason Spezza's 1,000th NHL 1114889 Arizona Coyotes go scoreless on 39 shots in loss to game on home ice Penguins 1114924 Stars coach wanted team to emulate ‘The Patriot Way.’ 1114890 Tocchet ‘not scared of the heat’: Coyotes’ evolution a Did it succeed vs. West’s best? product of his resolve 1114925 Stars 20/20: It stung in OT, but young defense helps Stars grab unexpected point 1114891 Hats off to Pastrnak in Bruins’ rout of Maple Leafs Red Wings 1114892 Cassidy wants Forsbacka Karlsson to turn it loose 1114926 Surging stop Hurricanes with rally, 4-3 1114893 Rask’s leave of absence reads like a mystery novel SO win 1114894 Bruins renew rivalry with Maple Leafs 1114927 Game thread: Red Wings knock off Hurricanes in SO, 4-3 1114895 Kings, Blackhawks made coaches John Stevens, Joel 1114928 'We know how to bounce back': Red Wings rally to third Quenneville scapegoats straight victory 1114896 Bruins notebook: More physicality needed 1114929 Athanasiou's sharpened focus pleases Red Wings coach 1114897 Hats off to David Pastrnak, Bruins in 5-1 win over Maple Blashill Leafs 1114930 Anthony Mantha steps up as Red Wings come back to win 1114898 Opportunity knocks for young Bruin in shootout 1114899 NHL notes: Spiraling Senators a mess 1114931 Red Wings' Andreas Athanasiou displaying consistent 1114900 Bruins pregame notes: B's and Maple Leafs battle it out in engagement rivalry game 1114901 McAvoy skates for the second day in a row as he recovers Oilers from concussion 1114932 Stage is set for Edmonton Oilers to show who they really are 1114933 Edmonton Oilers send Puljujarvi and Yamamoto down. 1114902 Sabres Notebook: Sam Reinhart 'dominant,' leads Finally. third-period charge 1114934 Oilers assign Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto to AHL 1114903 Inside the NHL: says Alexander Mogilny 1114935 JONES: Glass more than half full, tank is empty for should get Hall call Edmonton Oilers 1114904 Sabres built bonds with each other and the past, and it’s 1114936 Oilers’ trade options: Dealing from strength has finally showing in the results become a possibility Calgary Flames 1114905 Rittich earns shutout in Flames victory over Kings 1114937 Barkov scores winner, Panthers beat Islanders 4-2 1114938 Florida Panthers honor the late Bill Torrey before game against Islanders 1114906 Red Wings rally, beat Canes in shootout 4-3 1114939 Aleksander Barkov's third-period helps Panthers edge Islanders, extend winning streak 1114940 Red-hot Mike Hoffman chases Pavel Bure as visits 1114907 'Frustrated' Duncan Keith knows staying positive is the Panthers necessary for scuffling Blackhawks 1114908 Jeremy Colliton still looking for 1st win as Blackhawks lose 7th straight, 4-0 to Flyers 1114941 Kings still stuck in their rut 1114909 Getting to know Jeremy Colliton: 'Legend' in Sweden gets 1114942 Kings see changes in philosophy and approach under chance to return Blackhawks to glory days interim coach Willie Desjardins 1114910 Blackhawks' Patrick Kane likely to keep racking up loads 1114943 Kings shut out for this time this season by Flames of ice time 1114944 Kings’ forward Tanner Pearson struggling, but optimistic 1114911 Frustrated Blackhawks battling confidence issues after 4-0 1114945 RAPID REACTION (FEAT. KRISTEN ANDERSON): loss to Flyers FLAMES 1, KINGS 0 1114912 Frustration level growing for Chicago Blackhawks 1114946 DESJARDINS WANTS PLAYERS TO “BUY INTO” SHIFT 1114913 Rozner: Chicago Blackhawks' maintain goal is playoffs LENGTH REDUCTION now 1114914 Seriously, it's time for the Blackhawks to figure out their Minnesota Wild power play 1114947 Long road trip revealing plenty about Wild 1114915 Four takeaways: Blackhawks shut out in Philly for seventh 1114948 Wild-Blues preview straight loss 1114949 DJ Matt Dumba is keeper of the aux cord in Wild locker 1114916 The Wraparound: Blackhawks’ refusal to acknowledge room harsh reality puts Jeremy Colliton, fans in a tough spot 1114917 How the Avs’ latest defeat further emphasizes what’s gone wrong during 5-game losing streak 1114918 Rangers 5, Blue Jackets 4, SO | Jackets storm back but lose on Vesey's shootout goal 1114919 Blue Jackets 2, 1 | Five takeaways 1114920 Making sense of Anthony Duclair’s third-period benching and what it means for Blue Jackets’ third line 1114921 Present tense: Sergei Bobrovsky is starting to find his groove for Blue Jackets Canadiens 1114950 Wound is still fresh for Max Pacioretty and the Canadiens 1114989 shines, Penguins right ship with shutout of 1114951 In the Habs' Room: 'It's always nice when you beat your Coyotes old team,' Tatar crows after scoring winner 1114990 Penguins honor National Flag Foundation as part of 1114952 About last night ... Canadiens rally to take Vegas 5-4 Veterans Day celebration 1114953 Canadiens put on a lively show to edge flashy Vegas 1114991 Lack of job security could provide spark for Penguins Golden Knights 1114992 Penguins' Dominik Simon sees no silver lining in losing 1114954 Canadiens come back to edge Vegas 5-4 streak 1114955 Canadiens Game Day: Habs refuse to give up and beat 1114993 Casey DeSmith gets another start as Penguins try to end Golden Knights 5-4 losing streak 1114956 Vegas Golden Knights at Canadiens: Five things you 1114995 Casey DeSmith, 'on top of his game,' shuts out Coyotes to should know halt Penguins' skid 1114957 For the love of the CH: A play in three acts starring 1114996 'Difference-maker' Crosby sets tone for Penguins in 4-0 Plekanec, Price and Pacioretty win over Arizona 1114958 Cracking the win: Jesperi Kotkaniemi continues to improve 1114997 Penguins to start Casey DeSmith over for a every shift second straight game 1114998 Why the Penguins have Jack Johnson on their top Nashville Predators defense pair 1114959 Saturday's recap: Predators 5, Stars 4 (OT) 1114999 Discussion – Coyotes at Penguins 1114960 Preds activate Viktor Arvidsson from IR, but he leaves in third period of win over Stars San Jose Sharks 1114961 Predators: Jalen Ramsey, a big fan of PK Subban, takes 1115000 Sharks zero in on defensive issues ahead of tough in first NHL game in Nashville six-game homestand 1115001 Tomas Hertl hopeful to return from head injury for Sharks- Flames on Sunday 1114962 Devils' Martin Brodeur introduced at Hall of Fame game 1115002 Sharks' upcoming six-game homestand comes at critical, 1114963 Martin Brodeur as the NJ Devils saw him: The leadership, challenging time the saves, the mustache 1115003 Sharks critical of defensive effort after shutout loss to 1114964 Martin Brodeur still remembers the play that broke his Blues heart St Louis Blues 1115004 Yeo's not telling, but Johnson in line for another start 1114965 Islanders fall to Panthers as losing streak hits three 1115005 Preview: Blues vs. Wild 1114966 Isles, Barzal fall short in 4-2 loss to Panthers 1115006 Blues hope second time's the charm against Minnesota 1114967 Panthers honor Torrey before game vs. Islanders 1115007 Schenn doubtful for Wild 1114968 Colliton left good impression on Islanders teammates Tampa Bay Lightning 1115008 How the Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1114969 Rangers Edge Panthers in Shootout 1115009 Lightning blows third-period lead, falls to Senators 1114970 David Quinn sets expectations for slumping Brendan 1115010 Diana C. Nearhos’ takeaways from the Lightning-Senators Smith game 1114971 Rangers find way to win back-and-forth game in shootout 1115011 Lightning journal: Different game preparation when teams 1114972 Collapse versus Red Wings is serving as Rangers’ meet twice in one week wake-up call 1115012 Lightning pregame: What to know about the Ottawa 1114973 Martin Brodeur still remembers the play that broke his Senators heart 1115013 Rookie Mathieu Joseph shines, but lead slips away for 1114974 Rangers rebound with shootout win against Jackets Lightning in tough third period 1114975 Smith pays price for costly mistake Friday 1114976 With steady improvement, Rangers defenseman Tony Maple Leafs DeAngelo earns more playing time 1115014 Pastrnak scores 3, Bruins trounce Maple Leafs 5-1 1115015 Game : Maple Leafs can’t handle Boston Bruins’ Ottawa Senators big guns 1114977 Warren game report: Tkachuk parks in front of Vasilevskiy, 1115016 Maple Leafs’ defence getting the job done sparks Senators to comeback win 1115017 Leafs' strong road run to start season ends in Boston 1114978 Game Day: Ottawa Senators at Florida Panthers 1115018 SIMMONS: Leafs' play takes pressure off Dubas in 1114979 Rookie Mathieu Joseph shines, but lead slips away for Nylander negotiations Lightning in tough third period 1115019 The hard lessons Garret Sparks is learning about being the Leafs backup 1115020 Leafs Report Cards: Game 17 at Boston 1114981 Flyers’ resurgence has been fueled by Sean Couturier, top 1115021 Tulloch: The value of the stretch pass and how the Leafs line performance can better utilize it 1114982 Flyers and Claude Giroux stay hot in win over Blackhawks 1115022 A hero from Toronto’s first win and the First 1114983 Flyers don’t let lead slip this time World War story you have never heard 1114984 Flyers, Blackhawks honor Ray Emery with No. 29 on helmets 1114985 Flyers 4, Blackhawks 0: Crucial homestand continues with another win 1114986 Flyers vs. Blackhawks: Live stream, storylines, game time and more 1114987 Flyers prospect WATCH: it’s a goalie carousel with Phantoms, too 1114988 Flyers vs. Blackhawks: Game 17 preview Canucks 1115038 Canucks Post Game: Horvat ‘robbed,’ Goldobin challenged, Jake’s take, Guddy giddy-up, Boeser missed 1115039 Sabres 4, Canucks 3 (SO): Understudies stole the show before the script changed 1115040 Ben Kuzma: Boeser diagnosed with adductor muscles irritation, out week-to-week 1115041 The Athletties: EP’s stolen destiny, Roussel rises, how the Canucks score and another case for Shotgun Jake 1115042 Elias Pettersson is an unreal talent, but Gretzky comparisons are unfair to everyone involved Vegas Golden Knights 1115023 Golden Knights’ Malcolm Subban might start vs. former club 1115024 Tomas Tatar haunts Golden Knights in Canadiens’ 5-4 win 1115025 Midseason NHL coaching changes not always bad 1115026 GAME DAY: Golden Knights meet Canadiens in Max Pacioretty’s return 1115027 Canadiens beat Golden Knights to spoil Pacioretty's return Washington Capitals 1115028 Capitals’ John Carlson returns to practice, could play vs. Coyotes 1115029 Power play, Sergei Bobrovsky shine as Blue Jackets beat Capitals 1115030 Could we see the return of the Ovechkin, Backstrom, Oshie line against the Arizona Coyotes? 1115031 Jonas Siegenthaler did not disappoint in his NHL debut with the Capitals 1115032 Capitals' kill still finding its way after 2-1 loss to Columbus 1115033 4 reasons the Caps lost to the Blue Jackets Websites 1115043 Sportsnet.ca / Pastrnak dines out on Maple Leafs: ‘I love beating Toronto’ 1115044 Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens' Tomas Tatar steals show in Pacioretty's return to Montreal 1115045 Sportsnet.ca / Max Pacioretty denies he ever asked Canadiens, Bergevin to trade him 1115046 Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs dismantle Devils for first back-to-back home win 1115047 Sportsnet.ca / Quick Shifts: Meet the NHL's All–Healthy Scratch Team 1115048 Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs beginning to test trade market for William Nylander 1115049 Sportsnet.ca / Penguins considering changes, have received calls on Sprong 1115050 Sportsnet.ca / Joel Quenneville ready, willing to coach again as early as this season 1115051 Sportsnet.ca / Is Max Pacioretty's slow start a case of bad luck? 1115052 Sportsnet.ca / Five absurd, unsustainable stats from NHL's opening month 1115053 TSN.CA / Leafs fail to contain Bruins' top line in first road loss Jets 1115034 Jets Kulikov out of lineup for at least a month 1115035 GAME DAY: Five keys to Jets vs Devils 1115036 Jets power play has blossomed: Multiple options makes it tough to defend 1115037 Kulikov out at least four weeks: Upper-body injury sidelines Jets’ D

SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1114888 Anaheim Ducks

What we learned from the Ducks’ 5-1 loss to Minnesota

By MIKE COPPINGER

NOV 10, 2018 | 1:30 PM

What we learned from the Ducks’ 5-1 loss to Minnesota

The Ducks are right back where they were before they showed signs of turning the season around. They were completely flat Friday at Honda Center in a 5-1 defeat to the Minnesota Wild, and it's clear that frustrations are mounting in the locker room. Here's what we learned:

The defense, one of the club's strengths over the past five seasons, was a mess.

Numerous unforced errors. Turnovers galore. It's puzzling to see a blueline that features so many talented players falter so badly.

For some reason, coach Randy Carlyle hasn't reunited his two best pairs from a season ago: Hampus Lindholm-Josh Manson and Cam Fowler- Brandon Montour. Luke Schenn, signed as a free agent over the offseason, committed a turnover that led to the Wild's first goal less than three minutes into the game.

The veteran is clearly no upgrade over Kevin Bieksa and Francois Beauchemin, both of whom struggled at times and are no longer with the club.

The Ducks need answers, and fast.

"We didn’t seem to make a tape-to-tape pass, we didn’t seem to be able to execute, we didn’t get inside on anybody or win any of the one-on-one battles we’ve been winning our share of over the last little while," Carlyle said. "We were just a flat hockey club."

John Gibson can't bail the team out every night, and the constant losing seems to be getting to the .

He's been stellar this season, and most games that's been enough to at least give the Ducks a chance.

That's why the Ducks handed Gibson an eight-year, $52.1-million extension over the offseason. But each night, he's being peppered with a stunning amount of shots and odd-man rushes.

He faced 43 shots against the Wild and was beaten five times. At one point, he uncharacteristically lost his cool and threw Eric Fehr in a headlock.

"That's a sign of frustration," Carlyle said. "Those are the natural things, when you get amped up and you're playing games, and you're a pro athlete there are times when things like this happen you want to flush and flush right away."

With nine losses in the Ducks’ last 11 games, is general manager Bob Murray considering a change behind the bench?

He wasn't in attendance Friday, but on a scouting trip, so he wasn't able to address the burning question.

He's fired Carlyle once before, after just 24 games in 2011. The Kings already relieved John Stevens of his duties last week. At this point, Carlyle's hot seat is sizzling.

"We're all open for criticism when games like this happen," the coach said. "That's all part of pro sports, everybody shares in the responsibility, and it's our responsibility as a coaching staff to lay a game plan out that we feel gives us a chance for success."

LA Times: LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114889 Arizona Coyotes

Arizona Coyotes go scoreless on 39 shots in loss to Penguins

Staff Report BY |

NOVEMBER 10, 2018 AT 7:52 PM

UPDATED: NOVEMBER 10, 2018 AT 9:22 PM

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist, Casey DeSmith stopped 39 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-0 on Saturday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

The losing streak was Pittsburgh’s longest since it lost five in a row from Dec. 11-19, 2015, which included the first four games under coach Mike Sullivan. The Penguins haven’t lost six straight since 2006. Pittsburgh also ended a four-game home losing streak and continued a six-game points streak against Arizona.

DeSmith had his second shutout of the season and third of his career. DeSmith, signed by Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent in July 2017, has allowed five goals in his last six appearances. Starter Matt Murray served as the backup for the second straight game. He has one win in five home starts.

Crosby scored his eighth goal, and Dominik Simon also had a goal and an assist. Patric Hornqvist scored his fifth, and Brian Dumoulin had his first goal in 22 games for Pittsburgh.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 28 shots for the Coyotes. They lost their third straight game after winning the previous five. Arizona hasn’t won in Pittsburgh since March 25, 2014.

Crosby broke a scoreless deadlock at 6:42 of the second period. Crosby, streaking down the right side, lifted a backhander from a sharp angle over the shoulder of a standing Kuemper.

Simon extended the lead 1:52 later when he redirected a Bryan Rust pass behind Kuemper from the top of the crease.

Hornqvist made it a 3-0 game with 15.3 seconds to play in the second period. Hornqvist one-timed a behind-the-net feed from Simon over Kuemper’s blocker.

NOTES: The Penguins have won seven of their last nine against Arizona. Phil Kessel has a 10-game point streak against Arizona with points in 13 of 16 career meetings. D Ilya Lyubushkin replaced D Alex Goligoski in the Coyotes’ lineup, who is out with a lower-body injury. Penguins’ F Derick Brassard (lower body) missed his seventh straight game. F Garrett Wilson and D Juuso Riikola played in place of D Jamie Oleksiak and F Daniel Sprong, who were scratched for Pittsburgh. F Josh Archibald played for F Richard Panik, while D Dakota Mermis also sat for Arizona.

Arizona Sports LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114890 Arizona Coyotes He doesn’t put that down my throat. We have some projections, which I like, but he understands the way I like to coach.

“We might be different in personality but at the end of the day, if you Tocchet ‘not scared of the heat’: Coyotes’ evolution a product of his check the boxes, we’re the same in a lot of different things; probably a lot resolve more things than are different. He’s an engaging guy, he’s funny and we laugh a lot. Just because he has a different demeanor it doesn’t mean we’re opposites.” By Craig Morgan While Tocchet admits he got emotional last fall, Chayka said he never Nov 10, 2018 sensed that Tocchet was “freaking out” as the losses piled up.

“One of his gifts is his passion; his intensity and desire to win — and that’s why he has won,” Chayka said. “I think emotions help fuel our PITTSBURGH – Last fall, when the Coyotes were stumbling to historic group. lows with an 0-10-1 record, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan offered first-year Arizona coach a solicited piece of advice. “I never had any concerns about his resolve for doing the right thing and continuing to grow our group. As far as our conversations, it was always, “Just staying with it and sticking with his convictions and being the voice ‘Where are we at? What are we trying to do to accomplish our goals and of reason,” Sullivan said Friday, a day before the Penguins hosted the are there any adjustments we can make to get there?’” Coyotes at PPG Paints Arena. “(Tocchet) has been around the game a long time but I think sometimes coaches get emotional, too, because The coaching profession is anything but secure. Four of the five coaches they care and they want their teams to win.” who have won Stanley Cups since 2010 (Boston’s Claude Julien, Los Angeles’ Darryl Sutter, Washington’s Barry Trotz and Chicago’s Joel Tocchet admits he wore his emotions on his sleeve when the Coyotes Quenneville) no longer have those jobs, with Sullivan the only holdover. plummeted out of playoff contention with a disastrous October in 2017. While outsiders speculated that Tocchet might be in trouble when the He strayed from the communicating style that had helped earn him the Coyotes opened this season 1-4, he said it was never anything more job, instead focusing on details beyond his control such as injuries to his than a faint specter in the back of his mind. starting goalie, his backups’ struggles, injuries to his blue line and the team’s historically difficult travel schedule. “Of course you’re aware of it, but I will never coach out of fear,” he said. “You coach the way you believe will win. Talking to his most recent mentor helped ease Tocchet’s mind. “If you’re in a place a long time, maybe people get tired of each other. I “He would text me periodically with really good stuff and then the more don’t know why some coaches can’t last and get fired, but then they go basic stuff,” said Tocchet, who spent three years as an assistant in someplace else and they’re still great coaches. All I know is you have to Pittsburgh under Sullivan. “He told me, ‘Trust yourself. Trust the process. build great relationships with players. You try to be honest. Some players Keep pushing them. You’re a good coach.’ Obviously, it helps a lot when may not like you and that’s fine if you have a difference of opinion, but if you get your buddies supporting you and it helps to hear it from ‘Sully’ you have a relationship, you have a better chance to be successful than because he’s a really good coach with two Cups. somebody who is not as open or just kind of tells them what they want “It was hard to trust the process, no question, but I wasn’t going to they want to hear and then their actions don’t back what they said. change how we were going to play.” “For me, getting a four-year deal was very important and I’m very As the Coyotes prepared to take the ice in Pittsburgh on Saturday — thankful that they committed to me for that long. I’m not saying you’re almost one year after they last arrived here with a 2-12-2 record — guaranteed four years but that helps me believe we’re on the same path Tocchet was seeing some payoff for his patience. The Coyotes aren’t and same page for what we’re trying to do here. If players are being threatening deep playoff runs just yet, and Tocchet has maintained developed and you see progress with them and in your relationship with perspective by telling reporters, “We’re not ordering any rings around them, the results will follow and management and ownership will support here,” but the team’s 7-6-1 record, its improved suppression, its elite you on that.” goals-against average, its mind-boggling penalty kill, and its plus-7 goal Sullivan is already seeing that sort of progress in the Coyotes, who differential are signs that the worst parts of the transition may be behind entered Saturday’s game with as many points (15) as the Penguins. him, even if the autumn injury bug has resurfaced in goal and on the blue line. “He’s done a great job with his team and obviously they’re reaping some of the benefits this year,” Sullivan said. “When you practice hard and you implement a system and you win a game and then another game and you practice hard and win again, it’s a Chayka went a step further. great feeling because you see guys buy in,” Tocchet said. “When you lose, there’s more questions. ‘Why are we doing this? Why are we “Bringing ‘Toc’ in is one of the decisions I’m most proud of so far,” he traveling today?’ It doesn’t directly come to me but you hear the said. “I have full faith in his coaching ability, his technical ability, and his whispers. ability to relate to people. I’ve seen him evolve and grow and make adjustments along the path of being the coach. I’m really excited about “I think I’m a good coach and I think I have the qualities to be a winner. I the future with him and I believe in him a lot.” won as a player. I’ve won in other systems. I’ve been in the fire and I’m not scared of the fire. I’m not scared of the heat. I’m not scared of making decisions. I’m sure there will be some big decisions coming up in my The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 career but I welcome that. I can’t wait for that because that means you’re in the fire where every game means something and that’s where we want to get to around here.”

Tocchet doesn’t talk to Sullivan as much as he did last season. A season’s worth of experience has eased his reliance on his former boss, but so has the emergence of another counterbalance: Coyotes president of hockey operations John Chayka. At first glance, they seem like an odd couple. Chayka is the dispassionate analytical mind; Tocchet the frenetic competitor. Tocchet didn’t know much about Chayka when he interviewed for the job. Now they eat meals together, chat on the phone and in person.

“John is always calm,” Tocchet said, laughing. “I get mad, I fly off the handle and he’ll sit there and listen quietly. He’s not egging me on. He’ll just say, ‘OK.’ He calms me down. I think it’s a great relationship. I’m not fluffing stuff here. He’s been great for me. I know people on the outside will say, ‘ guy, 29, young guy,’ but I don’t even think about that. 1114891 Boston Bruins Pastrnak has four multiple-goal games this year, tying him with Alex Ovechkin and Auston Matthews for the league lead. He had four all of last season (his career best is seven, in 2016-17).

Hats off to Pastrnak in Bruins’ rout of Maple Leafs “He’s had years where he’s come in really hot scoring goals and tapered off,” Marchand said. “The confidence level he has right now, the way he’s shooting the puck, I don’t think it’s going to. By Matt Porter “He’s going to be the future of the franchise. To play that way, it pushes everyone else to be even better.”

After a no-show on Thursday, the Bruins arrived a bit late to their date The Bruins made it 5-1 when Joakim Nordstrom snuffed out a defensive- with the Maple Leafs. zone chance, chipped past the defense to David Krejci, and scored his third of the year after accepting Krejci’s trailing feed. But they sure showed up to the rink, and when they did, their top line was marching front and center. Pastrnak had long since put the Leafs to bed.

David Pastrnak, who entered the night in a five-way tie for the league “It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I love playing against Toronto.” lead in goals and ended it standing alone (15), scored his second hat trick of the season and fourth of his career in a 5-1 win over Toronto.

Two of his goals were off Brad Marchand setups, one of those on the Boston Globe LOADED: 11.11.2018 power play. The other Pasta dish was served up by Patrice Bergeron, who scored the opening goal of a game that, for most of the first period, the Leafs might have thought they would win going away.

After an early hiccup, Boston’s top line dominated: nine points, and an erasure of superstar signee John Tavares’s line at 5-on-5. The rest of the roster followed. It was exactly the recipe coach Bruce Cassidy wanted after an 8-5 loss to Vancouver on Thursday, during which most everything went sour.

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“We’ve got a lot of character in the room,” Cassidy said, his team 9-5-2 after the bounce-back. “I figured we would.”

TD Garden continues to be a house of horrors for the Leafs, last seen here blowing three leads in a Game 7. Unlike that first-round series last April, when they erased a 3-1 series lead, there would be no Toronto comeback.

“One of those games obviously you’re ready for,” Bergeron said.

Jaroslav Halak, after being yanked Thursday against the Canucks, reported for duty first. He withstood a barrage in the opening frame — the Leafs outshot the Bruins, 20-6 — and finished with 40 saves.

The Bruins couldn’t get much of anything going in the first period. Other than a lead.

Until Bergeron scored 16:12 in, Toronto whipped the Bruins up and down the ice. They pelted Halak. Boston managed two shots for the first 10 minutes of the period. Aside from an eye-opening rush by defenseman John Moore, in which he beat three Leafs on his way to the net, barely a peep from the B’s.

But Pastrnak manhandled Morgan Rielly in the corner and wheeled around the net, slipping a shot underneath Ron Hainsey’s coverage. Bergeron, outworking Rielly in front, tipped it short-side past Toronto netminder Garret Sparks.

What followed over the final two periods from those in Black-and-Gold: better transition, harder skating, and more of the Grade-A stuff from the No. 1 line.

“They show it on and off the ice,” Halak said. “They proved it tonight. They’re the leaders of this team.”

On the 2-0 tally, Bergeron motored around Hainsey and sent the puck cross-crease to Pastrnak, who snap-slapped it past Sparks from the circle 5:46 into the second. With defenseman Martin Marincin in the box for holding, Bergeron and Marchand volleyed east-west while Pastrnak cut to the post. He jammed home Marchand’s feed at 10:34 for a 3-0 lead, the Bruins’ first three-goal edge since Oct. 25 against Philadelphia.

The hats flew for Pastrnak soon after two events of note: Halak stuffed Tavares on a doorstep one-timer — the one even strength chance the superstar had, and Halak was big — and Moore absorbed a double- minor’s worth of Kasperi Kapanen’s stick. Marchand tossed it across the sheet to No. 88, who scored with ease.

“They are making passes fifty, sixty feet and one-timing them,” Sparks said. “You don’t go up against lines like that very often. There aren’t a lot of lines like that in the NHL.” 1114892 Boston Bruins “I’m hoping everything’s going to be OK,” he said.

“I don’t know what happened to Tuuks, but I think he’s going to come back strong. He’s going to be back soon, hopefully. But right now I’ve got Cassidy wants Forsbacka Karlsson to turn it loose a chance to come up.”

Sending a message

By Matt Porter Fourth-liner Noel Acciari, stuck on 0-0—0, isn’t expected to score much. But in games such as Thursday’s 8-5 loss to Vancouver, Acciari was one of the players charged with changing the direction, via body contact and “Different positions but same place in their career,” Bruins coach Bruce energy. “The shoe should have been on the other foot the other night,” Cassidy said before Saturday night’s 5-1 victory over the Maple Leafs at Cassidy said, explaining why he scratched Acciari for the first time this TD Garden. “You’ve had a little taste here. It’s time to get out and play, year, after 15 games. “We should be initiating contact. They should be be assertive, and play to your strengths. Grizz did it. He made a chasing us around the ice. That falls on certain physical players. It’s a difference.” message to the group, and he falls into that group.” . . . Urho Vaakanainen and McAvoy, out as they recover from concussions, and Grzelcyk, after a two-game stint with the Bruins in December 2016, had Miller (hand) skated in the morning with skills coach Kim Brandvold. his chance last season. He went from a spare part to a regular, playing in Vaakanainen said he’s “doing pretty good” since his Oct. 23 injury, and 61 games, and 11 more in the postseason, forming an effective third pair had no opinion on whether the one-game suspension for Ottawa’s Mark with KevanMiller. Grzelcyk has been steady this season, earning second- Borowiecki was fair. “I don’t really care,” said Vaakanainen, who took an unit power-play time with Charlie McAvoy out. elbow to the chops as he went for a loose puck in the crease. “Not my Cassidy asked Grzelcyk to pull aside his BU buddy Saturday morning, business.” and relate his story in a way a coach could not.

Message received. Forsbacka Karlsson, whose other NHL game was in Boston Globe LOADED: 11.11.2018 the regular-season finale in April 2017, centered the third line Saturday between Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork. He logged 11:19 of ice time, nearly setting up a Jake DeBrusk goal with a slick cross-ice dish, and earned another go Sunday against Vegas.

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“He skates well enough. Thinks the game well enough. He has NHL skills,” Cassidy said. “It’s just a matter of, play the game.”

Forsbacka Karlsson, 1-3—4 in nine games with AHL Providence, was drafted (45th overall, 2015) to be part of the next wave of centers behind Patrice Bergeron (33) and David Krejci (32). He could be a quality third- line pivot now, if he can handle the load of NHL-caliber checking.

“He was better than I’ve ever seen him in that area,” Cassidy said. “Hopefully tomorrow he gets a little confidence from it and he’s ready to translate it again.”

Bergeron, one of the best faceoff men in the league for years, doesn’t give away his secrets. So he wasn’t saying what officials told him after the first period, when he was kicked out of the dot four times. “When you find out,” he said, “you let me know.”

Cassidy said he asked for clarification on what he called “a repeating issue when we play the . . . . I was wondering if there was an influence from an outside factor.”

In the first period, linemate Brad Marchand took as many draws as Bergeron (four), and won half. The , in the dressing room after, was excited about his performance. Both his wins came against his old Team Canada buddy, John Tavares.

“I was snapping ’em back,” he joked, later admitting it was a “crapshoot.”

Big day for Vladar

Friday was the best day of Dan Vladar’s life. “So far,” the 21-year-old said.

Needing a temporary replacement for Tuukka Rask (personal leave), general manager Don Sweeney traveled to Providence Friday night and saw Vladar stop 27 shots against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Sweeney then approached the reed-like prospect (6 feet 5 inches, 185 pounds) and told him he was heading north.

“Made my day,” Vladar said. “This is a day I was thinking of when I started playing hockey, and it came this weekend. I’m pretty excited about it. I can’t wait to see the game.”

Sitting on the bench on Saturday night was the closest he’s ever been to regular-season NHL action — when he was recalled for both playoff series last season, he wore a suit and sat in the press box. Jaroslav Halak got the start.

Vladar (2-3-1, 2.52 GAA, .909 save percentage in Providence) said he had no idea Rask was taking a leave until he “saw something on Twitter” before Friday’s game. 1114893 Boston Bruins Sweeney also said Friday Rask did not exit due to a health issue. That would lead us to believe that Rask, 31, is sound of upper body and lower body, which are the only two areas of health the detail-oriented Bruins Rask’s leave of absence reads like a mystery novel pinpoint with the media these days.

Granted, that ain’t much. If the Bruins were astronomers, they’d look to the heavens and rate the stars as bright and dim and likely not By Kevin Paul Dupont differentiate them from the smattering of planets, asteroids and comets that whoosh every now and then. Like the Milky Way, injuries are a

complicated thing. Best not be specific. We don’t know what’s up with Tuukka Rask. Let’s just say that right off Rask, off to another spotty start this season (4-4, 3.05 GAA, .901 save the hop here. Not even a quarter of the way through the 2018-19 season, percentage), was uncharacteristically flippant following his relief the Bruins announced Friday that the workhorse Finnish goaltender, with appearance in Thursday night’s 8-5 dumpster fire with the Canucks. 413 minutes logged on seven NHL game sheets thus far, had been granted an indefinite LOA (Leave of Absence). Rask was only called into action after Halak gave up five to the Canucks, and he ended up facing 14 shots and yielding three goals in his 25:07. No Tuukka. No clue. He was about as effective as Halak, which wasn’t saying much, and No No. 1 tender in Black-and-Gold with 66 games to go after Saturday Boston’s 18 skaters remained tepid throughout, which was saying even night’s 5-1 dismissal of the Leafs at the Garden that included 40 saves by less. Bad night for everyone, front to back. Jaro Halak (now 5-1-2). “I was just trying to keep it under 10,” Rask said, soon after the dismayed Suddenly, the uneven start to a new season just got a whole lot more Black-and-Gold fandom raced to get away from the building for fear that complicated for the stick-carrying members of the Spoked-B. So they might catch whatever contagion was in the air. complicated, in fact, that now we don’t know what exactly is complicating Keep it under 10. OK, a little humor can go a long way on a bad night. it, or what’s going on inside Rask’s head, or other body part(s) or Rask’s years on the job here allow him a Falstaff moment. elsewhere in his life away from the 200-by-85-foot arena where we all judge every shot that comes his way. But then . . .

Right now, Rask is the riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Oh, “It was just one of those games,” he added, going just that bit too far, and Halak is in net, with a side order of 21-year-old Dan Vladar (career “where there wasn’t a whole lot of action on either end — no shots and, NHL minutes: zero), who was called up Saturday morning to watch you know, all of a sudden it’s 5-3, 8-5, whatever. So yeah, weird game. intently from the end of the Boston bench. But that’s entertainment, and we’re just providing it.”

The most recent sports headlines delivered to your inbox every morning. Whoa now. Stop the skittering puck right there.

Not exactly the Rask-Halak brickwall tandem many of us (hand up here) I know, it’s the new NHL, and the culture in the stands, on the ice, in the envisioned prior to the dawn of a new season, is it? dressing room, the concession stands and the pro shop isn’t what it was in the 1970s and ’80s. Which can be interpreted as good, bad and, hey “He’s OK,” reported one of Rask’s longtime pals on Saturday. bro, who gives a rat’s backside? How do we read that? Anyway we like. But the line going forward on But your faithful puck chronicler can promise you, back in the day (clear Rask for the indefinite future remains ?.?? goals against and .??? save the lawn, kids, because gramps just rocketed out of the La-Z-Boy), the pct. And ?-?-? overall. B’s front office of the ’70s and ‘80s would have gone total apespit over Whatever condition Rask’s condition is in will remain speculative until he their No. 1 goaltender sounding, let us say, so laissez-faire, after the returns to work or has something to say otherwise, be it here or back Canucks came in and played 60 minutes of Whac-A-Mole with the Black- home in Savonlinna, Finland. General Manager Don Sweeney made it and-Gold. sound as if it will be a short furlough when he said Friday that Rask’s To be clear, in the eyes of product integrity (the charge of the B’s front time away will last “the next few days.” office) there was nothing remotely deemed “entertainment” in the The Bruins, following Sunday’s visit here by the magical mystery tour humiliating loss to Vancouver. Vegas Golden Knights, head out Tuesday for a long roadie through In fact, mid-80s, GM Harry Sinden would have met Rask prior to the next Denver, Dallas, Glendale (Ariz.) and Detroit. So “the next few days” away day’s workout and informed him he had been placed on an LOA. No could mean Rask is on that charter flight out of Hanscom Tuesday request required. Nothing to grant. Rask would have been told to take a afternoon. Or it could he remains hors de who knows what, and Halak few days off, dwell on his $7 million-a-year salary, and get back on the will be force-fed a diet of Avs, Stars, Coyotes and Red Wings. job after clearing his head. Halak was sharp in delivering his fifth win of the season. He was at his Is any of that connected to what happened Friday? No telling. At least not best early in the first when the Leafs rolled up a total nine shots during yet. We may know in the next day or two. But, like injuries, we may never their first power play, Boston’s penalty killers unable to relieve the know. pressure. This we know for sure. The Bruins need Rask, the goalie who was light’s “We kept it out of the net,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “So mission out last season for the better part of three months when he went 20 accomplished — even though it didn’t look good. He made some good games without a regulation loss (18-0-2). They need him more this saves, Jaro, it wasn’t exactly the way we liked, but . . . ” season, in fact, because the Bruins offense seems to have disappeared “They came out really good,” added Brad Marchand, “and Hally kept us in a brown LA haze. in it.” Are you being entertained, Bruins fans? Cassidy said he figures he’ll come back again with Halak Sunday night against Vegas. Boston Globe LOADED: 11.11.2018 “I don’t believe it will be an issue,” he said.

Halak, 33, has been down the back-to-back road more than once. Sunday will be his 460th regular-season game. He didn’t sound worried about the workload.

“Same routine,” he said, asked how he’ll prepare. “Get some rest . . . get a good pregame meal and then play a game. It’s going to be a tough night. [Vegas] has a good team. It will be a different challenge and we have to be ready.” 1114894 Boston Bruins Not long ago, Cassidy noted, a player in Acciari’s role might find the other team’s tough guy for a tango, to try to swing momentum. “That doesn’t happen much anymore,” Cassidy said. “It’s more the physical Bruins renew rivalry with Maple Leafs part. It’s a message to the group, and he falls into that group.”

Grzelcyk and Forsbacka Karlsson share an alma mater (Boston University), and the Bruins hope a similar path to success. By Matt Porter “Different positions but same place in their career,” Cassidy said. “You’ve had a little taste here. It’s time to get out and play, be assertive, and play to your strengths.” What to know as the Bruins (8-5-2) get their first look at the Maple Leafs (11-5-0) at TD Garden. Jaroslav Halak and Garret Sparks are the Grzelcyk, after a two-game stint with the Bruins in December 2016, had goalies. Puck drop is 7 p.m.: his chance last season. He went from a spare part to a regular, playing in 61 games, and 11 more in the postseason, forming an effective third pair The Bruins are in the grinder, on the front end of a back-to-back, and the with Miller. Grzelcyk has been steady this season, earning second middle of a three-in-four. The schedule doesn’t matter when Toronto is in power-play time with McAvoy out. town. The Leafs haven’t blown down here since erasing the Bruins’ 3-1 first-round lead, then losing a Game 7 lead three times. “Grizz did it,” Cassidy said. “He made a difference. He was in our lineup every night, and his game continues to grow.” Any carryover angst from April? Forsbacka Karlsson, who played in the regular-season finale in April “I hope so,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I hope they’re juiced up to play 2017, was set to center the third line Saturday, between Heinen and us. They probably have a bone to pick, the way it ended here in Game 7. Bjork. In his second career outing, the Bruins weren’t expecting him to be Our guys should be ready to go. I think last year you started to see a fully comfortable and confident. They’d like to see the beginnings of a budding rivalry, with good young talent on each team.” Grzelcyk-like rise. The Leafs, 6-1 winners at home over New Jersey on Friday night, should “You can do this. Use your feet. Separate. You’ve got a good hockey IQ. have no problem getting up for Boston. Don’t be reckless but be assertive,” Cassidy said. “And eventually it The most recent sports headlines delivered to your inbox every morning. came. That’s what we want out of JFK.

“When you’re on the losing end, it’s always a little more bitter,” Brad “We’re not asking Grizz to go out and lead our team in hits. We don’t Marchand said. “When we lost to Ottawa a couple years ago, we were expect JFK to lead our team in hits. Win your share of pucks. Kill the play pretty upset. when it’s your turn to kill the play. Attack when it’s your turn.”

“It’s always fun to play Toronto . . . The history we’ve had with Toronto, Forsbacka Karlsson, 1-3—4 in nine games with AHL Providence, was not just last year but over the last couple decades, it’s really amplified the drafted (45th overall, 2015) to be part of the next wave of centers behind games we’ve played with them.” Bergeron (33) and Krejci (32). Forsbacka Karlsson has the skills and the speed to be a good third-line pivot now, if he can handle the load of NHL- Expected lineup for the Bruins: caliber checking.

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak “Who knows if it’ll work out, right?” Cassidy said. “It’s a bit of an unknown with JFK. We hope he’s ready for it. This is kind of where he was pegged Joakim Nordstrom-David Krejci-Jake DeBrusk a couple years ago to come in, behind Bergy and Krech, give us some Danton Heinen-Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson-Anders Bjork 200-foot play, make some plays, hopefully have a bit of offense and defense. We’ve got to give him a bit of time to get up to speed, but by the Chris Wagner-Sean Kuraly-David Backes same token, opportunity knocks and you need to be there, ready to answer.” Zdeno Chara-Brandon Carlo The reconfigured third line will be an interesting chemistry experiment. Torey Krug-John Moore It’s all kids, and none of them are big talkers. At whatever volume, Matt Grzelcyk-Steven Kampfer Heinen (23), Bjork (22), and Forsbacka Karlsson (22) will have to make each other heard. Jaroslav Halak “It’s all on our shoulders to help each other on the ice,” Heinen said. “We Dan Vladar should all raise our voices a little bit.”

Scratched: Noel Acciari Friday was the best day of Vladar’s life.

Injured reserve: Charlie McAvoy, Urho Vaakanainen, Kevan Miller “So far,” the 21-year-old said.

Personal leave: Tuukka Rask Needing a temporary replacement for Tuukka Rask (personal leave), Who’s hot: DeBrusk, who had two goals Thursday, had two in Game 7 general manager Don Sweeney traveled to Providence Friday night and against the Leafs last April. He was buzzing Thursday against saw Vladar stop 27 shots against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Sweeney then Vancouver, after a meeting with the coaching staff. Cassidy said they approached the reed-like prospect (6 feet 5 inches, 185 pounds) and told reinforced his preparation habits, making sure the 22-year-old winger him he was heading north. was coming to the rink ready each day. “Made my day,” Vladar said. “This is a day I was thinking of when I Who’s cold: Acciari, who was scratched and replaced by Backes on the started playing hockey, and it came this weekend. I’m pretty excited fourth line. about it. I can’t wait to see the game.”

Acciari, stuck on 0-0—0, isn’t expected to score much. But in games It’s the closest he’s ever been to NHL action — when he was recalled for such as Thursday’s 8-5 loss to Vancouver, Acciari was one of the players both playoff series last season, he wore a suit and sat in the press box — charged with changing the tide, via body contact and energy. but if all goes well for the big club, he’ll be staying on the bench Saturday. “The shoe should have been on the other foot the other night,” Cassidy said. “We should be initiating contact. They should be chasing us around “Jaro’s starting,” Cassidy said. “Hopefully finishing.” the ice. That falls on certain physical players.” Cassidy didn’t rule out Vladar starting against the Golden Knights, It’s not all on Acciari, but someone had to sit with Forsbacka Karlsson depending on how Halak felt. He also noted Thursday’s surprise off night entering the lineup. Acciari was scratched against the Leafs after playing for Halak, which saw him yanked, wasn’t owing to a lack of energy. a game-low 8:11 against the Canucks. Cassidy wanted to see how Vladar (2-3-1, 2.52 GAA, .909 save percentage in Providence) said he Saturday went before committing to his lineup for Sunday against Vegas. had no idea Rask was taking a leave until he “saw something on Twitter” before Friday’s game. “I’m hoping everything’s going to be OK,” he said.

“I don’t know what happened to Tuuks, but I think he’s going to come back strong. He’s going to be back soon, hopefully. But right now I’ve got a chance to come up.”

By the way: At home in Prague, Vladar pronounces his name “VLAD- ASH,” but says most people here pronounce it “VLAD-ar.” He’s OK with either.

Vaakanainen and McAvoy, out as they recover from concussions, skated in the morning with skills coach Kim Brandvold. Miller (hand) was with them.

Vaakanainen, on the ice four times since his Oct. 23 concussion, said it has been a steady progression back. “I think I’ve been doing pretty good,” he said. “Taking it day by day.”

He also had no opinion on whether the one-game suspension for Ottawa’s Mark Borowiecki was fair.

“I don’t really care,” said Vaakanainen, who took an elbow to the chops

Marchand on Rask: “Tuuks is part of our family. We’re behind him and we support him and we’ll see him back soon.”

Boston Globe LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114895 Boston Bruins Panarin to Columbus because of cap concerns — has 42 percent of the $79.5 million cap tied up in four players — forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, and defensemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Kings, Blackhawks made coaches John Stevens, Joel Quenneville Problem is, Kane is the only one really delivering on the dollar. The rest, scapegoats even the once-great Toews, too often look like guys who’ve been through too much of a grind for too long.

Keep in mind: As of Friday morning, the four-pack of Kane, Toews, By Kevin Paul Dupont Seabrook, and Keith had combined for (playoffs included) 4,179 games. High odometers. High sticker prices.

None of those four can be traded without permission. Seabrook has John Stevens and Joel Quenneville, the latter of whom coached the another five seasons remaining at $6.875 million per, while the others all Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup championships (2010, ’13, and ’15), have another four to go — Kane and Toews each at $10.5 million per were given the heave-ho this past week from behind their respective and Keith at $5.538 million. Kane (29) is the only one under age 30. benches. Quenneville, 60, has the luxury of going home and relaxing, with this year A direct connection? Nothing beyond the fact that both Stevens’s Kings and next remaining on his deal at $6 million per. No doubt he can use the and Quenneville’s Blackhawks opened with an underwhelming first downtime after 10-plus seasons in Chicago, following 11 seasons as month, dealing with rosters their front offices failed to upgrade head coach in St. Louis and Colorado — all with but a one-year break substantially, or even adequately, over the summer. between the Blues and Avalanche gigs. It’s that latter point that best connects them. The goods just weren’t The Indian Heads are now under the charge of Jeremy Colliton, a there, and the next general manager who volunteers to beat the coach to onetime Islanders prospect who just last season became bench boss for the door will be the first GM to volunteer to beat the coach to the door. the Blackhawks at their AHL Rockford franchise and marched the The Kings figured Ilya Kovalchuk, for whom they outbid (three years, IceHogs to the semis. A new day in Chicago, with Kid $18.75 million) the Bruins and others in the offseason, would be the fix Colliton (33) taking over as the NHL’s youngest coach this season. With for an aging core to get immediately back in the hunt. Curious decision his current roster, both he and the job could grow old fast. by team bosses Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille, given that most of the GOOD OLD DAYS league is emphasizing youth and speed in NHL 2018-19, and the 35- year-old Kovalchuk, just back from the Triple A KHL, is 6-8 years beyond Terry Crisp, his name twice on the Cup with the Flyers (1974 and ’75), his prime. spent two seasons playing with the Bruins’ top minor league affiliate in Oklahoma City, where he was coached his first year by player/coach To give him his props, however, Kovalchuk entered the weekend with a Harry Sinden and then Murray Davidson, who took over as the Blazers’ 5-9—14 line in 15 games. That made him No. 1 on the Kings’ scoring list. bench boss when Sinden moved on to Boston to start the 1966-67 It also underscored their No. 1 problem: lack of offense across the board. season. Kovalchuk’s 14 points ranked him T-58 in league scoring as of Friday morning. Now 75, Crisp, a longtime broadcaster with the Nashville Predators, recently recalled his close scrape during one training camp scrimmage The most recent sports headlines delivered to your inbox every morning. when the Bruins had hard-hitting Leo Boivin on the backline. Headed into Saturday night’s game against the Flames, Jeff Carter was “They wanted to see who could handle it, who could survive,” said Crisp, the only other Kings forward in double digits (4-6—10). The Kings stood recalling that scrimmages were routine decision-making tools in those dead last in the overall standings (5-9-1), and no surprise, dead last in days. “I’m a brand-new rookie, coming through, looking over my shoulder goals (33). Once was the time , center on the famed Triple for the puck, and here comes Freight Train Boivin. I see him coming and Crown Line, nearly potted 33 in the first month of the season. I’m thinking, ‘I’m bleepin’ dead . . . I’m dead!’ ” New coach Willie Desjardins, with ex-Bruins forward Marco Sturm Boivin, who finished with 1,110 games and untold thousands of bone- alongside, immediately began preaching the “we must win now” mantra, rattling hits, let the rookie pass without a scratch. hoping to shake the lethargy from a veteran group, like many of the Blackhawks, that knows success — Cup wins in 2012 and ‘14. “He turns to me and says, ‘Kid, you’re allowed one, and that’s yours,’ ” recalled Crisp, breathing a sigh of relief more than a half-century later. But urgency alone won’t rejuvenate a long-in-the-tooth roster, one being “My life flashed before my eyes. Thank you, Mr. Boivin! Thank you, Mr. supported by backup goaltender Jack Campbell while No. 1 Jonathan Boivin!” Quick recovers from surgery to repair knee cartilage. Of far greater urgency is the Kings’ need to add youth and scoring touch, commodities The two best guys in the Boston room, recalled Crisp, were Doug Mohns not to be found among their list of available prospects. and Murray Oliver.

Such blatant need would make the Kings prime candidates to join a “The ones you remember are the ones who are nice to you,” Crisp said. bidding war for the Blue Jackets’ Artemi Panarin, particularly because of “And with no reason to be nice to you . . . because you weren’t a name his desire to land in a big city with a robust Russian community. But two and you weren’t a star. I remember Ronnie Schock, Gary Dornhoefer problems: 1. The Blue Jackets appear steadfast in waiting until the (later a Flyers teammate), and another young guy, Don Awrey . . . and February trade deadline to wheel Panarin (5-11—16 as of Friday after one practice, Mohns and Oliver say to us, ‘Fellas, hurry up and get morning) and 2. Unlike the prospect-heavy Bruins, the Kings don’t have showered, you’re coming with us.’ ” the assets to get in the game even if the Jackets were to decide now is the time to make a deal. Schock and Dornhoefer brought the boys home, recalled Crisp, where their wives had prepared dinner. However, the Kings do have the glitz and glasnost of LA. Those bright lights and enough money (eight years at $10 million per?) could be “Unheard of,” said Crisp. “I mean, that’s gotta be 1963, and that still enough for the Kings to entice Panarin into agreeing to a contract sticks in my mind. Guys being nice to you, that’s what sticks with you. extension, thus providing the platform for the Kings to hand over real The jerks, they stick with you, too, for different reasons . . . but those assets in a swap. But again, what assets? If they had them, Desjardins guys didn’t have to do that.” already would be reaching for them in his “win now” tool kit. In Oklahoma City, recalled Crisp, all the Blazers players lived in the same The Blackhawks, who missed the postseason last spring for the first time apartment building. On one warm Sunday afternoon, he recalled, they all in 10 years, hired on the following as their summer facelift: Cam Ward gathered around the swimming pool, enjoying a few beers and bragging (goalie); Brandon Manning (defenseman), and Chris Kunitz (forward). about their prowess from high school days. Rather than provide the stats here, let’s just say they’re as uninspiring as “You know,” said Crisp, “stuff like, ‘I can run the 100-yard dash in 3.4 their names. Not quite what the doctor ordered for the same kind of seconds!’ and blah, blah, blah. It was guys like [Jean-Paul] Parise, John rehab that was needed in LA. Arbour, and a few of the young guys, and Gerry Cheevers.” The Blackhawks have spent the better part of their revival in a tug of war with the salary cap. GM Stan Bowman — forced, by the way, to deal Crisp raised both eyebrows when Cheevers said he could make tracks , just out with his new coffee table book, “Bobby: My Life in with the best of ’em. Pictures,” is headed to a familiar spot — the operating room — later this month. The knees are fine (Orr: “A little stiff, but not bad”), but a recent “Now Cheevers, come on,” said Crisp. “I’m looking at him . . . and he trip to watch his grand-nephew play ball hockey left No. 4 flat on the says, ‘I’ll show you, let’s go out to the parking lot.’ So out we go. We pace ground, tripped up by some wires he hadn’t seen around a doormat. Dr. off maybe four telephone poles, maybe 100 yards total, and say, OK Peter Asnis, one of the Bruins’ team physicians, will patch up Orr’s guys, start to bet. Guys are betting on Parise. Guys are betting on rotator cuff and biceps tendon . . . Bay State homeboy , Dornhoefer. Probably about six guys total in the race, Cheesie’s one of now in his fifth year behind the Nashville bench, grew up in Franklin, with ’em.” the Channel 38 broadcasts of Bruins games the center of his sporting Crisp, not running, wasn’t about to place his dough on the stout Blazers world. “It started with [Ken] Hodge, Orr, and [Phil] Esposito, and [John] puck-stopper. McKenzie, [Wayne] Cashman, and [Terry] O’Reilly,’’ Laviolette recalled during the Bruins’ recent stop in Nashville. “I mean, that’s what we did, “I figure he’s good for a heart attack,” said Crisp. “And I’m walking along right? We had three channels on our TV set, and then 38 and 56. Not a beside him, and I say, ‘Cheesie, you sure you want to do this?’ And all he lot of options. For a kid in Massachusetts, watching hockey on TV, that says is, ‘Don’t bet against me . . . just don’t bet against me.’ ” was it. You watched the Bruins.” . . . All 31 NHL coaches remained on their jobs throughout 2017-18, an NHL record. Though there were some Crisp acted as the starter. Cheevers promptly pulled out front and quick dismissals, including Alain Vigneault with the Rangers. In 2016-17, finished first by 3 or 4 yards. His boyhood lacrosse training as a forward the Panthers fired Gerard Gallant (doing fine now in Vegas) after 22 back in St. Catharines, , paid off in the clutch. games and the Islanders shooed out Jack Capuano (now associate “I couldn’t believe it,’ said Crisp. “And Cheesie says, ‘Crispy, 100 yards I coach with the Panthers) after 42 games . . . Willie O’Ree, the ex-Bruins can fly . . . 101 I’m toast.’ ” winger who’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Monday night, scored his final NHL goal in what turned out to be his final NHL game, a 4-3 win ETC. over Chicago. It was March 19, 1961, in what was also the club’s final game of the season — the second of eight straight seasons the Bruins Nylander, Leafs still in standoff failed to qualify for the playoffs . . . Joel Quenneville was sacked by the The Maple Leafs’ William Nylander has until Dec. 1 to sign a contract Blackhawks along with two assistant coaches who also once wore the with Toronto before becoming ineligible to play the NHL until next Whale tail: Ulf Samuelsson and Kevin Dineen . . . Had the Flames not season. dealt for Hamilton over the summer, they might have been able to entice the Leafs into a Nylander deal for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm. But The Maple Leafs’ William Nylander has until Dec. 1 to sign a contract those assets are Flames now and the Hurricanes don’t have the goods to with Toronto before becoming ineligible to play the NHL until next engage in serious trade talks with the Leafs . . . Riley Nash, such a good season. fit for the Bruins the past two seasons, can barely fog a pane of plexiglass (0-2—2 in 15 games) with Columbus. He has two more years The William Nylander rumor mill continues to churn in Toronto, where the remaining at $2.75 million per. If the Bruins could find a way to trim that Maple Leafs, even without injured star forward Auston Matthews, back by, say, $750,000 a year, he might be a good target to bring back continue to press for the top spot in the overall standings. as the No. 3 pivot . . . Slightly more than two weeks away (Nov. 29) from Nylander, the Leafs’ brilliant 22-year-old center, remains in a contract Rick Middleton’s No. 16 making it to the Garden rafters. For you young- standoff, unwilling to sign a second contract with the Blue and White. The uns not fortunate enough to see him play, it’s worth a skip over to Leafs have to cut similar “second” deals next summer with a bunch of YouTube for a look at his work. Craftsman. their kids, most notably Matthews, and now have only until Dec. 1 to tidy up business with Nylander. If he doesn’t have an NHL deal in place by then, Nylander (61 points each of the last two seasons) is ineligible to Boston Globe LOADED: 11.11.2018 play anywhere in the Original 31 until the 2019-20 season.

The Rangers would love him, particularly if they are intent on continuing their roster purge of just about anyone over the age of 25. Ditto for the Wild and Hurricanes.

The Bruins, searching for an answer at No. 3 center, would welcome Nylander, particularly with their top two pivots, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, now members of the over-30 men’s league.

But hard to imagine the Leafs dealing with a division rival. And just as if the Bruins could engage the Blue Jackets in a Artemi Panarin swap, it would mean surrendering prime young talent (among the likes of Jake DeBrusk, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, et al) to slap a spoked-B on ex-Bruin Michael Nylander’s kid.

The Leafs, meanwhile, are awash in cap space, slightly in excess of $15 million. They could accommodate Nylander easily, but they’d have to do it with an eye on payouts next summer for the likes of Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen, and Matthews among their entry-level kids. They’ll also be on the hook for restricted free agent defenseman Jake Gardiner, likey headed to the $6 million-a-year range.

Toronto management has tried to convince Nylander to reduce his salary demands — rumored at upward of $8 million a year — in hopes of selling him on remaining a vital piece of a long-term success story.

Thus far, the narrative hasn’t worked, possibly because he’s well aware other teams out there will pay him.

All of this should sound very familiar to Bruins fans, who watched then- GM Peter Chiarelli fail to sign Phil Kessel as a second-contract RFA in the summer of 2009. Kessel rightly sized up his market value, and ultimately forced a trade to . . . drum roll, please . . . the Leafs. Chiarelli picked up a pair of first-rounders (Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton) in the swap, and Kessel promptly signed a new deal worth $27 million over five years. 1114896 Boston Bruins The expectation is that Jaroslav Halak will play the second game of the weekend back-to-back against the Golden Knights, but nothing has been ruled out.

Bruins notebook: More physicality needed “It could be Vlader,” said Cassidy. “We’ll see how Jaro feels. Danny was really good in Providence (Friday night), had a good camp. That’s a decision we’ll make later.” Marisa Ingemi

Saturday, November 10, 2018 Boston Herald LOADED: 11.11.2018

With the clock running down on the Bruins 8-5 loss to the Canucks on Thursday night, defenseman Torey Krug instigated a fight with Vancouver’s Darren Archibald and was given a misconduct.

At 5-foot-9, Krug isn’t the ideal player for that situation, but at the least, somebody stood up for a big hit on Joakim Nordstrom.

The Bruins don’t necessarily need to be inciting more fisticuffs, but a stronger physical presence might be in order. That was the message yesterday when coach Bruce Cassidy sat down Noel Acciari.

“The shoe should have been on the other foot the other night. We should be initiating contact, they should be chasing us around the ice,” said Cassidy. “That falls on certain physical players, and he falls into that category. Do we put that on him? No, but we are tonight.”

With 22-year-old Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson centering the third line on last night against the Maple Leafs, it allowed room for David Backes to slide down to the fourth unit with Chris Wagner and Sean Kuraly.

The Bruins’ 20.4 hits per game heading into last night rank 20th in the league, but that’s not always a bad thing; hit numbers can sometimes indicate chasing the puck instead of having possession.

But with a couple instances of it being the likes of Krug or Brad Marchand being the ones to stand up and throw their weight and incite fights, there’s some value to role players stepping in those situations.

“We like how Backes, Kuraly, Wagner gives us an identity line,” said Cassidy. “With Noel out, you still have that flavor. I liked JFK (Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson) in the games in China, he played with (Jake) DeBrusk and (Ryan) Donato and younger players and he seemed to be more comfortable.”

Nothing went right from defense to goaltending to missing on scoring chances at times against the Canucks, but the lack of physicality when needed was a mental note for the coaching staff.

The Bruins have had players in and out of the lineup at times this season, and Cassidy said he thinks it worked as far as motivating the team. Last night, it was Acciari’s turn to sit, but the message was clear; physical players are expected to be on the giving, not receiving, end of things.

“We do expect some of those physical players, especially in games like the other night where it’s not going our way, to change the tide,” said Cassidy. “In today’s NHL, it’s usually with physicality.”

Second line better

While the top line continues to dominate the offensive presence on the scoresheet, the Bruins second line has slowly built some momentum. DeBrusk scored twice on Thursday, and the line is starting to feel itself gelling.

“We want to build on the offensive success, but also not forget that we have to go hard in our D-zone.” said David Krejci.

Unlike earlier games in the season, the Bruins have kept the group together for an extended period of time, and it’s seemed to work. Krejci has felt a comfort level with Nordstrom on his right wing, an area that’s been a difficult hole to fill.

“I really like playing with him, he’s a really smart player,” said Krejci. “He makes plays, he’s fast. He seems to always be in the right spot, offensively, defensively. He’s been good.”

Vlader gets call

The Bruins recalled goalie Dan Vlader from AHL Providence to fill in as the backup while Tuukka Rask is on his leave of absence. 1114897 Boston Bruins “I felt good today, it was the first time in a while I felt good,” Pastrnak said. “I don’t know, physically I felt better. I don’t know what I did differently. Dinner maybe, a good breakfast, said a few swear words and Hats off to David Pastrnak, Bruins in 5-1 win over Maple Leafs went to bed.”

Marisa Ingemi Boston Herald LOADED: 11.11.2018

Sunday, November 11, 2018

While the Bruins continue to seek secondary scoring, the first line keeps trying to prove they have nothing to worry about.

David Pastrnak picked up a hat trick with an assist, Patrice Bergeron contributed a goal and two helpers, and Brad Marchand had two assists as the Bruins skated past the Maple Leafs, 5-1, last night at the Garden. The B’s handed Toronto its first road loss of the season.

“I think as a line we had a great bounce back game,” Pastrnak said. “Lately we weren’t getting many opportunities in 5-on-5 so it was great to be back. We were happy with our game today. We talked before the game that we had to be better than what we showed the past couple of games.”

It was Pastrnak’s second hat trick this season, and the fourth of his career. It also was the Bruins’ third hat trick in eight games on home ice this season.

“He’s stronger on the puck,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Before he would try his one-on-one moves and get pushed off the puck. I don’t think he had the strength to stay on the battle. … It’s just physical maturity. He’s a little more willing to hang around the front of the net.”

It was the Bruins’ fourth game with at least five goals, and came on the heels of an 8-5 loss to Vancouver on Thursday night. Cassidy said following that contest that five goals should be enough to win. Last night, it was.

After struggling through the first period, Pastrnak’s first goal at the end of the opening frame seemed to invigorate the offense.

The Maple Leafs dominated the opening frame, forcing Jaroslav Halak to make 20 saves in a period for the eighth time in his career and the second time this season. Toronto generated 29 chances while the Bruins had just 10, and six shots on net.

All the shots didn’t matter though, except the one to find the net.

Pastrnak beat Leafs defender Morgan Rielly and fired from the goal line, where Bergeron tipped it past Garrett Sparks for the 1-0 lead with 3:48 to go in the first.

From there, the Bruins forwards tilted the ice toward their offensive zone.

“No matter what the situation was, we stuck to it,” Bergeron said. “We kept going forward. I thought it was a great effort.”

Following a tremendous cross-ice pass from Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson to create an opportunity, the Bruins started finding their shooting momentum. Bergeron replicated a similar pass from the other side of the ice, connecting with Pastrnak, whose powerful blast made it 2-0 at the 14:14 mark of the second.

Pastrnak struck again with 9:26 left in the second on the power play, taking a pass from Marchand on the opposite goal line to make it 3-0 Bruins.

Toronto got on the board with 30 seconds left in the second, on the Leafs’ 30th shot of the game. As a Brandon Carlo roughing penalty expired, John Tavares was open on the right circle and fired it past Halak.

John Moore drew a high sticking call with 8:32 left in the game that gave the Bruins the man advantage for four minutes. Pastrnak scored his 15th goal of the season, and third of the game, with 14:40 gone in the third, near the end of the power play.

Less than 30 seconds later, Joakim Nordstrom got in on the action in front of the net off a David Krejci caused turnover.

Pastrnak’s three goals boosted him to eight goals in his last eight games against the Maple Leafs. 1114898 Boston Bruins

Boston Herald LOADED: 11.11.2018

Opportunity knocks for young Bruin

Marisa Ingemi

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Having new, young players is not unfamiliar territory for the Bruins. They’ve continued to bring in new talent from the minors, college and juniors the past two seasons, and it’s no different with the arrival of Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson.

The only difference might be, there’s a blueprint.

“I feel like JFK is a bit where Matt Grzelcyk was,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “Different position, but same place in their career. You’ve had a little taste here, it’s time to go out and play and be assertive and play to your strengths. Grz did it, and he made a difference for us in our lineup every night and his game continues to grow.”

Forsbacka Karlsson and Grzelcyk had one season of overlap together at Boston University in 2015-2016, when the defender was a senior captain and JFK was a freshman. This time around, Grzelcyk once again is a bit more senior, though he’s still a young player in the NHL in his own right.

Since being sent to AHL Providence after training camp, Forsbacka Karlsson has had a mixed bag of results with a goal and three assists. He had a strong opening weekend before fading a bit and going without a point in three straight games.

He had a chance to make the team out of camp as they pondered their options with the third line center role. A little over a month into the season, it hasn’t been resolved, so JFK is getting his chance.

“This is kind of where we had him pegged a couple years ago,” said Cassidy. “Come in behind (Patrice Bergeron) and (David Krejci), give us some 200-foot-play, make some plays. Hopefully have a role in offense and defense.”

There’s some comfort level for Forsbacka Karlsson as well, having skated before with Danton Heinen, who was on his left side last night against the Leags.

“He’s a very cerebral player, very smart,” said Heinen. “A guy who can make plays, so it should be fun.”

On his other side was Anders Bjork, making for a line with the average age of 22.3 years old. The Bruins youth has been on display the past couple of years, but they haven’t always put it all together with the same unit.

The way the lineup shaked out on Saturday though, with Cassidy wanting David Backes to play with a more physical group on the fourth line, it provided an opportunity for the younger trio to skate together.

“Danton played with him a little in training camp,” said Cassidy. “Now they get on the same page as quick as possible. The easiest way to do that, the message is to do your own job and probably end up on the same page if you’re in the system together.”

Forsbacka Karlsson, dating back to when he played for the Terriers, has always been described as a 200-foot-player, strong defensively, on the penalty kill, and with faceoffs. He’s also a playmaker, posting 17 assists with Providence a season ago.

For a team that’s been focused on improving the details of its younger players, he might have a role to play if he can stay consistently in the lineup.

“Just go out there and do the things the coaches ask you to do,” said David Krejci. “It’s up to you. He’s a good player, he’s been here a couple years and knows what it takes.”

Like his former college teammate Grzelcyk, Forsbacka Karlsson is getting an early season shot to show he belongs in the NHL lineup. If he seizes the opportunity in similar fashion remains to be seen, but if he did, it would add some much-needed consistency to Cassidy’s group.

“Opportunity knocks, and he should be there ready to answer.” 1114899 Boston Bruins One of the truly good guys in the sport will receive his just honors when Willie O’Ree will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as builder on Monday night in Toronto along with Martin Brodeur, Martin St. Louis, Alexander NHL notes: Spiraling Senators a mess Yakushev, Jayna Hefford and Gary Bettman.

O’Ree, of course, broke the color barrier in he NHL with the Bruins in 1958, but it’s his work for the league over the last 20 years in diversifying Steve Conroy the game.

Saturday, November 10, 2018 “I’m excited. Overwhelmed,” said O’Ree in a recent visit to Boston at the dedication of a street hockey rink in his name. “When I got the initial call

from the Hall, I was in my hometown in San Diego and Lanny McDonald A long time has passed since Boston has seen a team in any sport as and John Davidson called me. I spoke with Lanny on the phone. I said laughably dysfunctional as the Ottawa Senators. There were the chicken- ‘Lanny, what’s going on?’ He sad ‘Well, I’ve got some news for you.’ He and-beer Red Sox of 2011, but that team nearly won its division before said ‘How you feeling?’ I said ‘I’ll be feeling a lot better if the news is imploding on arrogance and gluttony. You probably have to go back to good.’ But he said, yeah, you’re going to be inducted and at that point I the pre-Bill Parcells Patriots to find a team that was as comically inept as was at a loss for words. the Senators appear right now. “I had set two goals for myself when I was 14. To play professional Every time you think they’ve hit rock bottom, the Sens just keep digging. hockey, and to one day play in the NHL. Well I accomplished those. But I A goal away from the Stanley Cup Finals less than two years ago, the never dreamed I’d be going into the Hall, and it’s due to the work that I’ve Sens have spiraled downward in spectacular fashion. It started with the been doing over the 20 years with the Hockey is for Everyone program. ill-fated trade that brought Matt Duchene to town in a three-way deal that I’m honored and thrilled.” saw Kyle Turris go to Nashville and their first round pick to Colorado. Safe decisions Then came the bizarre Erik Karlsson-Mike Hoffman cyber-beef that involved those players’ significant others and precipitated both players’ The Department of Player Safety has made some questionable decisions trades out of town, for pennies on the dollar. recently in the last couple of years, but I’d say it had a pretty good week.

The latest embarrassment came last week with the surfacing of a video First there was the Milan Lucic-Matheiu Joseph incident. Lucic, angered from an Uber driver in Arizona that had several Sens, including Duchene, over a Joseph’s dangerous but unpenalized hit on Oilers defenseman putting some of their internal beefs with the coaching staff out in the Kris Russell, first whacked the Lightning defenseman on the back of the open. The main target was assistant coach Marty Raymond and his work legs and, when Joseph didn’t acknowledge that, Lucic chased him half on Ottawa’s penalty kill. It was nothing short of cringe-inducing. the length of the rink before blasting him in the corner. But after Lucic jumped on Joseph, he pulled his punches, instead just giving the kid At least with this latest fiasco, the Sens players are receiving at least what amounted to a lecture, menacing though it may have been. Lucic some deserved sympathy around the league for being victimized by an got a double minor and 10-minute misconduct. underhanded driver, including from the Bruins’ dressing room. There were, of course, the howls for Lucic to be suspended, but the 14 “Obviously, it’s something they didn’t expect and I don’t think anyone minutes he received was both just and enough. In his younger days, should expect to be taped in that situation,” said Jake DeBrusk. “There’s Lucic might have started swinging away once he got on top of Joseph but players that vent all the time. There are some guys who, if they had he didn’t. He did receive a hearing and a $10,000 fine. A suspension everything they said recorded, they wouldn’t still be in the league. It wasn’t necessary, and it correctly was not administered. happens naturally in the workplace, whether you’re playing hockey or just someone working a regular job. I think it’s something that probably Then there was Evgeni Malkin. Late in the Penguins’ 2-1 loss to the shouldn’t have come out. I don’t know what that Uber driver got out of it, Capitals on Wednesday, Malkin carried the puck into the offensive zone but I hope he has to pay a lot of money to those guys.” and just after he gave up the puck, he raised his shoulder ever so slightly and hit T.J. Oshie in the head. Though it looked like there might have Grousing among the players happens all the time. been some bad intent, there was plenty of plausible deniability on “I don’t know what the device looked like that recorded it, but it’s not Malkin’s part. He could have simply been bracing for the hit. The lunging uncommon to be discussing things,” said David Backes. “I’d say it’s Oshie probably would have hit his head even if Malkin hadn’t raised the usually done more in private, discussing what’s going on at the rink. shoulder. While the tone may have been one of pointing fingers, I think those would Malkin got kicked out of the game, but wasn’t suspended. The expulsion agree it’s an opportunity to fix something that’s broken and try to to get from the contest was plenty, especially when you consider it may have better. The fact that it’s released, it does look really bad. It’s obviously cost the Pens the game. And to boot, Oshie was well enough to return something you don’t want out there. But I’d say discussing team and score the game-winner. concepts in the interest of getting better is not unusual. There’s just maybe a little better time and place for it.” On the road again

As much as the Sens players were victimized, those bells that went off in The B’s this week embark on a four-game, four-time zone road trip that the video cannot be unrung. The most damning part of it was that most of has them zigzagging from Denver to Dallas to Arizona and finally Detroit the griping came from Duchene, who is supposed to be a leader on the on Thanksgiving Eve. team, and he’s telling young players like Colin White, Thomas Chabot and Alex Formenton he hasn’t “listened in three weeks.” Maybe he’s If you can stay up for the 10 p.m. start on Wednesday, the matchup will going for an easy laugh and it’s all part of the bonding process, but it pit two of the best lines in the game today, the Brad Marchand-Patrice certainly doesn’t reflect well. Duchene is a pending UFA this summer and Bergeron-David Pastrnak unit going against Gabriel Landeskog-Nathan it will be fascinating to see what happens there. MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche’s top line notched a combined 64 points in 15 games going into the weekend’s games while The Sens still have talent and, with no first round pick, there is no the B’s first unit, cooling off a bit lately, had 55 in 15 contests. incentive for them to lose. They might as well try to sneak into the playoffs, as unlikely as that looks right now. But when the firesale does happen, I’m hounding Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion for Mark Stone if I’m Don Boston Herald LOADED: 11.11.2018 Sweeney. Stone, a pending UFA, has both the skill and competitiveness that any contender would desire. He showed it when, in the Sens’ first game after the video debacle, Stone notched a five-point night in a rout of the Devils. He’d fit very nicely on David Krejci’s right wing.

It’s understandable that Artemi Panarin is 1A on most Bruins’ wish list, but Stone would be a decent 1B.

O’Ree gets his due 1114900 Boston Bruins

Bruins pregame notes: B's and Maple Leafs battle it out in rivalry game

Marisa Ingemi

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Divisional games have a little extra meaning, whether it be chasing the standings or in emotional value.

Against the Maple Leafs, who the Bruins defeated in seven games in the first round of the playoffs a season ago, head coach Bruce Cassidy is hoping it brings even more fuel to the team.

“I hope so,” said Cassidy. “I hope they’re juiced up to play us and they probably have a bone to pick with the way it ended here in Game 7, and our guys should be ready to go.”

The Maple Leafs come into Boston in second in the Atlantic Division and four points ahead of the Bruins, though the home team does have one game in hand.

Following an 8-5 stinker against the Canucks a couple of nights ago, it might be the energy-starting game the Bruins need.

“I think it will be a good game, Toronto is a rivalry,” said Danton Heinen. “Obviously a high powered offense. So try to be hard on them.”

The Bruins went 1-3 against the Leafs in the regular season last year before the playoff success, which came off the heels of going 0-4 against their budding rival in 2016-2017.

Before that, the Bruins spent much of the millenium dominating a Leafs organization finding its footing.

Toronto now boasts John Tavares, a player the Bruins coveted in the offseason. He and Mitch Marner, along with defender Morgan Reilly, have carried a Toronto offense missing some key pieces.

The Leafs have scored in every way possible, with one of the most lethal power plays in the league and success on the even strength.

The Bruins have done a nice job responding to losses all season, losing two in a row only twice during their mid-October trip. It’s another opportunity to bounce back and gain points from a divisional foe.

“It’s always fun to play Toronto,” said Brad Marchand. “Hockey Night in Canada, it’s always fun to play on that. It’ll be a good game. They’re obviously a very talented team, they’re going to be very competitive, they always play hard. The system that they have is tough to play against.”

Noel Acciari will sit out against Toronto while David Backes slides to the wing on the fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner.

Anders Bjork will stay in the lineup and play on the right side for Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson with Heinen staying on the left.

“It won’t be anything long term,” said Cassidy. “We just chose Noel tonight. We’ll see how it plays out and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

The Maple Leafs have won three in a row, including a 6-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at home last night. They’ve also defeated Pittsburgh 5-0 during that stretch.

Auston Matthews and William Nylander are both out for the Maple Leafs. Nylander is still holding out due to his contract status, while Matthews is on injured reserve with a left shoulder injury since the end of October.

Toronto’s 57 goals are the second most in the NHL and 44 goals at even strength are tied for the most in the league. At a 27.27 percentage, the Leafs have the league’s fifth best power play, and their penalty kill comes in fourth at 84.78 percent.

The Maple Leafs 6.1 penalty minutes per game are the fewest in the NHL by an entire minute.

Boston Herald LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114901 Boston Bruins

McAvoy skates for the second day in a row as he recovers from concussion

By Joe Haggerty

November 10, 2018 12:37 PM

BRIGHTON, Mass – There’s finally some good news on the Charlie McAvoy front as the second-year defenseman has skated for a couple of days in a row after missing three-plus weeks with concussion symptoms.

McAvoy hasn’t played since an Oct. 18 road loss to Edmonton where he complained of concussion symptoms after the game. Bruins GM Don Sweeney confirmed that diagnosis while the team still seems unsure of exactly when the head injury happened.

McAvoy, 20, skated once briefly two weeks ago, skated again briefly on Friday and then worked pre-morning skate with skating guru Kim Branvold on Saturday at Warrior Ice Arena along with fellow injured Bruins Kevan Miller and Urho Vaakanainen.

“Charlie’s timeline is such that he had some similar issues in and around training camp, but definitively had a conversation coming out of the Edmonton game that he had concussion symptoms. At that point, we sent Charlie home and he’s been in the concussion protocol since then,” said Sweeney. “He’s been progressing, but until we have definitive answers on things we’re going to allow our medical staff to form the correct diagnosis. We’re at the stage where there’s no timeline, but obviously, he’s back on the ice and making progress. We’ll continue to see where that goes.”

McAvoy will miss his ninth and tenth games of the season this weekend when the Bruins face the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights in back-to- back home games, but it will be interesting to see if he takes a West Coast trip with the team next week. That would be a pretty good indication that McAvoy is nearing a return while working his way back into game shape, but he’s still got a few hurdles to surpass in the concussion protocol.

With McAvoy, Vaakanainen and Miller still out and Noel Acciari a healthy scratch for Saturday night vs. the Leafs, here are the projected line combos and D-pairings:

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114902 Buffalo Sabres defenseman through 17 games this season. They didn’t get one goal from that group through 27 games last season.

Sabres complete improbable comeback, beat Canucks in shootout Sabres Notebook: Sam Reinhart 'dominant,' leads third-period charge With Eichel and Reinhart out, Kyle Okposo led all Sabres forwards in the first period in ice time with 7:13 and set up Beaulieu's goal at 4:43.

By Lance Lysowski Housley told reporters that the staff will have to monitor Eichel's injury.

Published Sat, Nov 10, 2018 | Updated Sat, Nov 10, 2018 "Just a lower body bang, bump and bruise," he said. "We'll have to evaluate that."

Sam Reinhart was in the locker room at KeyBank Center being tended to Prior to faceoff, the Sabres added to their arsenal of draft picks by trading by the team's medical staff while 17 of his Sabres teammates fended off defenseman Taylor Fedun to the Stars for a conditional seventh-round one of the hottest teams in the NHL. draft pick in 2020.

Reinhart wasn't alone, either. Center Jack Eichel also was not available Fedun, 30, played in nine games for Rochester this season and often in the first period and part of the second for what coach Phil Housley later was a healthy scratch on a crowded blue line. He had a plus-5 rating in called a lower-body injury. With both out, the Sabres were left with only 45 games for the Amerks in 2017-18. 10 forwards against the Vancouver Canucks.

Despite the improbable odds, Buffalo held a one-goal advantage until Buffalo News LOADED: 11.11.2018 both returned and later overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring twice in the final 2:27 of regulation before winning 4-3 in a shootout.

As fate would have it, Reinhart was the man in the middle of the comeback. The Sabres winger had the primary assist on Jeff Skinner's goal to cut the deficit to one and tied the score by capitalizing on a rebound in front of the net with only 1:47 left.

"We had a lot of guys step up," Eichel said afterwards. "It was a weird game in terms of juggling things, but I thought [Reinhart] played awesome. I think this is one of the best games I’ve seen him play. I thought he was dominant."

Reinhart's only shot came on the tying goal, when defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen's shot from the right circle bounced off Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom and right to Reinhart.

The 23-year-old winger quickly shot it into the open net for his second goal of the season. However, he was a force in the corners upon returning and was relentless on the forecheck. With Reinhart and Eichel out, Housley juggled his lines, moving Johan Larsson to center the top pairing.

Sabres 4, Canucks 3 (SO)

That also disrupted the third line of Reinhart, center Evan Rodrigues and winger Vladimir Sobotka. That group had a plus-2 rating in the Sabres' 6- 5 overtime win Thursday in Montreal, as Reinhart and Rodrigues assisted on both of Sobotka's goals.

Reinhart's absence rendered the other two ineffective. Though Ristolainen deserves credit for keeping the possession alive, Reinhart won a battle behind the net before setting up Skinner for a goal.

Reinhart then beat his defender down the ice on the tying goal.

"It's mostly a read coming on the ice late where Risto has the rush by himself and I'm trying to find a soft area," Reinhart said. "For whatever reason, those pucks haven't been finding me, but it was nice for one to find my stick there."

Eichel's shootout goal was his first in 10 career attempts, and it was followed by Carter Hutton's save on Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson. Yet, Sabres winger Casey Mittelstadt was the hero with a dizzying deke to fool Markstrom for the go-ahead shootout goal.

“Yeah, I knew what I was going to do," Mittelstadt said. "That’s been my favorite move for a while, so yeah, I knew what I was going to do going into it. It was good to get that extra point there.”

This was only the second time this season Pettersson hasn't scored in a game in which he played. The former fifth overall draft pick scored in each of his first 10 career games, but he has been held scoreless in two straight.

He broke his stick on a one-timer attempt during the overtime power play and finished with only one shot on goal. Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, his former Swedish teammate at the World Junior Championships, had two ugly turnovers, but he did assist on the tying goal with an outlet pass to Ristolainen to start the rush.

Remember all that talk about needing more offense from defensemen? Well, Nathan Beaulieu’s first-period goal was the Sabres' eighth from a 1114903 Buffalo Sabres "He was a really nice guy," Brodeur said. "I've seen him a couple times in Florida after he retired with Ilya Kovalchuk and I had actually forgotten he's not in. I'm sure Alex eventually will get in."

Inside the NHL: Martin Brodeur says Alexander Mogilny should get Hall Mike Harrington: Boo him all you want, but Bettman deserves his Hall call call Yakushev recalls drubbing by '76 Sabres

Yakushev, the burly winger of the 1972 Soviet all-star squad from the By Mike Harrington Summit Series with Team Canada, is still massive at age 71. He was Published Sat, Nov 10, 2018 | Updated Sat, Nov 10, 2018 standing with his interpreter when this corner approached Friday and introductions were made.

"Buffalo!" Yakushev said with a big smile and waving his index finger TORONTO – Martin Brodeur got his ring Friday and repeatedly in my direction. He knew the subject was obvious. will earn his formal induction Monday night. Great moment for him and his family, certainly one that was fully expected. The longtime New Perhaps you never heard of it or are too young to remember, but one of Jersey goaltender would like to see it repeated someday for a former the Sabres' most momentous days in their early franchise history came Stanley Cup-winning teammate who continues to be one of the more on a Sunday afternoon in Memorial Auditorium on Jan. 4, 1976. It was an notable omissions from the Hall. exhibition game against the Soviet Wings and Yakushev was their star. By now, he was well-known as an Olympian and as the leading goal You might have heard of the name: Alexander Mogilny. scorer for the Soviets in '72.

Mogilny won a Cup with the Devils in 2000 at age 31 after being acquired The Russians were in town for a couple of days after a 7-4 win in at the trade deadline from Vancouver and had 43 goals for them the next Pittsburgh. They watched the Sabres blunder through a 9-6 loss to the year when they lost in Game 7 of the Cup final at Colorado. He continued Los Angeles Kings on New Year's Night in the Aud. They were more to score the next two years in Toronto. worried about their game on Jan. 7 game in Chicago.

And all this, of course, was long after his halcyon days in Buffalo, when Big mistake. The Sabres won, 12-6, stunning a worldwide television he hit 30 goals in four straight seasons and broke the stat bank with his audience by handing the Russians their worst defensive beating ever in 76-goal campaign in 1992-93 – a figure that will likely stand for decades international competition. It's a record that still stands. as the franchise record. "I remember the game very well," Yakushev said through the interpreter. "He's a guy that's worthy of being in the Hall of Fame and I think one day "We saw the game before, Buffalo vs. Los Angeles. Your team was really he will get to the Hall," Brodeur said when asked about Mogilny by The bad. They were all crouched on the ice and we were very relaxed. We Buffalo News at Friday's ring ceremony in the Esso Great Hall. "Alex was were thinking, 'We're going to beat them easily.' We were going to have a a great teammate. He was not like a lot of the Russian guys. He really very good day." wanted to come to America and be playing in the U.S. He was almost a scratch golfer and really became almost a typical American guy, just with Didn't happen. The Sabres outshot the Russians, 46-21, and 10 players a Russian name." scored, with Rick Martin and Danny Gare collecting two goals apiece. It was 4-2 after the first period and 9-4 after the second. Mogilny's numbers on their own are impressive – 473 goals and 1,032 points in 990 games – but his resume goes much deeper. He has a "We were smashed by your team," Yakushev said. "They were really legacy component to his career that many current Hall members don't tough. They played very well. It was very surprising the game went that remotely come close to. way. There were four games that year and the only game we lost was in Buffalo." You can easily make a case that Mogilny helped change the face of the game forever when he became the first player to defect from Russia and The Sabres played the next night in the Montreal Forum. In the wake of come to North America to play in the NHL in 1989. the victory, Canadiens fans broke decorum when Buffalo came on the ice for warmups. The crowd rose into a standing ovation – for the visiting With Sabres GM Gerry Meehan and scouting director Don Luce taking team. the lead, the Sabres worked their clandestine meeting with Mogilny in and brought him to North America to open a path for many Xs and Os: Eichel to Skinner Russians to join the league. What's a key to Jack Eichel's fast chemistry with Jeff Skinner on the And then, of course, Mogilny became a star on his own. We will never Sabres' top line these days? It's Skinner's ability to find the soft spots in forget the wondrous games he put up with Pat LaFontaine, many of the offensive zone that Eichel likes to look for his wingers, and Eichel's which came during the incredible '92-93 season that saw Mogilny pile up personal preference for a lot of the off-wing work that can cause trouble the goals and LaFontaine finish with 148 points – both setting franchise for opposing defenses. records that seem unreachable now. Mogilny also spent time in 1993-94 Eichel, a right-hand shot, works the left side of the offensive zone and as the Sabres' captain, a first for a Russian player in the NHL. Skinner can fly through the slot or even the right circle to collect his "Alexander Mogilny was one of the greatest Russian players. Definitely," passes and create scoring chances. Hall inductee Alexander Yakushev said Friday. "He didn't play that much "When I have it in the 'O' zone working it in the cycle, there's usually in Russia and moved to Buffalo so early in his life but he was a great some set spots I like to have him in," Eichel said. "I'm a guy that likes to player. He deserves to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is spend a lot of time on that off-side wing, that left wall in the O-zone. And one of the best players of all time." with 'Skins' being a lefty, it's really good. I think I've found him a few Why is Mogilny not in the Hall? Has to be the numbers. He doesn't have times in the slot there. I just want to keep working on it. The more times 500 goals, largely because of three injury-plagued seasons in Vancouver he can find the slot and I can find him, it's better." and missing the 2004-05 campaign due to the lockout, and sits only 53rd Joel Quenneville won three Stanley Cups in Chicago but it's clear the overall. But Paul Kariya only had 402 goals and 989 points in a career front office was waiting to pounce at any sign of trouble this year. After a that was also filled with injuries and he made the Hall. Without winning a 6-2-1 start, an 0-4-1 slide was the window team president John Cup. McDonough and GM Stan Bowman needed to make the jaw-dropping The Hall is coming around with impact of players to the game as a whole, coaching change they pulled off last week that sent the NHL's second all- rather than selecting on just brute stats (think Dino Ciccarelli). This year's time winningest coach packing. long-overdue induction of Willie O'Ree, the game's first black player, is a If there was any doubt the Hawks were in rebuild mode – even with the prime example of that. Mogilny could benefit someday from a similar line likes of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent of thinking. Seabrook still on the roster – it was put to rest with the promotion of 33- With Dale Hawerchuk, Phil Housley and Dave Andreychuk now all year-old Jeremy Colliton from Rockford of the AHL. honored members, Mogilny stands as the biggest current omission Those close to the scene in Chicago say the tension was palpable among former Buffalo players. between Quenneville and Bowman, all the way back to a a year after the first Cup title in 2010. Bowman foisted Kenmore native Barry Smith on to • Rivals come together: The Capitals announced that the 50/50 winner at Quenneville's staff to help the power play and the coach was never Wednesday's game against the Penguins, whom they identified only as a happy with the move. season ticket holder, waived the $38,570 prize with the direction that the team's foundation donate it to the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh. The Smith was inducted last month into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of money will benefit victims and families of those impacted by the Oct. 27 Fame. He is a close confidante of the legendary , Stan's mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue. Great gesture. father and now a Hawks consultant. The Bowmans got Smith back on the bench as an assistant to help Colliton as part of the housecleaning.

Of course, Quenneville didn't trade Artemi Panarin or Niklas Hjalmarsson Buffalo News LOADED: 11.11.2018 or Philip Danault, among others. He didn't dump high draft picks at the deadline for the likes of Antoine Vermette or Andrew Ladd. Bowman did. But as usually happens in these cases, the coach takes the fall when the GM doesn't get the job done.

Also in the Recent Cup Winner Drama Dept: Penguins GM threw down the warnings to his team on his bi-weekly radio show Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

"What I’m seeing I don’t like. Nobody likes it. We’re trying to figure out what’s gone wrong here," Rutherford said. "I’d like to say we have an answer for it. We don’t right now. We’re watching it really close. Certainly if this continues, in short order, we’re going to have to make some changes.”

The Penguins have been particularly poor at home, where three straight games in PPG Paints Arena were losses to the Islanders (6-3), Maple Leafs (5-0) and Devils (5-1). That's a 16-4 count heading into Saturday's visit by Arizona. The Sabres are in Pittsburgh Nov. 19.

"We’re not playing with any energy or determination,” Rutherford said. “We’re just trying to get through the games. These other teams are coming and outworking us. They deserve to beat us. In some of these games, they probably deserve to beat us worse than the score indicates."

The Penguins entered the weekend as one of eight NHL teams with more points on the road than at home but only the Leafs and Flyers had a bigger disparity. When Rutherford spoke, they were 4-1-2 away from home and just 2-4-1 at PPG – where they were 30-9-2 last year and 57- 17-8 during their 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup seasons.

Home of the Braves

Allow me to briefly return to a point that has been belabored in this space and other spots before but still bears repeating: When you go to Montreal's Bell Centre and look to the rafters, the history is overwhelming. All those retired numbers of legends and all those "Coupe Stanley" banners. And right next to them is a powder blue Montreal Expos banner.

It lists the years of the city's late baseball franchise (1969-2004) as well as the numbers of its four legends: The 10 of Andre Dawson and Rusty Staub, the 8 of Gary Carter and the 30 of Tim Raines. It's a small tribute and it's perfect.

If the sacred rafters of the Bell Centre can do that, why in the world can't we have a Buffalo Braves banner honoring, say, Bob McAdoo, Jack Ramsay, Randy Smith and Ernie D up top in KeyBank Center? Former Sabres president Ted Black and the Pegulas have long been total deaf- ears on this point, which has been made by fans and media time after time.

Maybe the Pegulas will surprise us next year during the Sabres' 50th anniversary season – which would also be the Braves' 50th. My hopes are still up for it. We have sponsors banners in our rafters instead of what should be there. Sponsors don't belong there. A bad idea from Black that should have been wiped away a long time ago.

Around the boards

• Thursday's overtime loss to the Sabres marked four straight games of 4+ goals against Montreal goalie . It was one of those nights for both Price and Linus Ullmark, who got pulled after 40 minutes. Price's bad night never stopped and Rasmus Ristolainen's short-side slapper that won it in OT is simply a save that has to be made with the game on the line. Folks in Montreal have no idea what's wrong with Price.

• Memo to all bosses and co-workers: I don't discuss any of you with random ride-share drivers on any of these Sabres road trips. The same, of course, can't be said for the Ottawa Senators. Good luck to them moving forward after the secretly taped video of players ripping assistant coach Marty Raymond in a Phoenix Uber van surfaced last week. Good luck patching up those relationships. 1114904 Buffalo Sabres to talk to you about what it’s like to win here because I want these guys to know what it means to wear the jersey and the logo.’

“I thought that was pretty cool by him. He’s trying to embrace the Sabres built bonds with each other and the past, and it’s showing in the tradition, what it’s about, because a lot of these young kids don’t know. results How would they know? They’re all great kids and great players, but they weren’t born or around when we played.

By John Vogl “Like any organization that is going to be a winner, you have to understand your roots and the builders and how it started.” Nov 10, 2018 The message that the Sabres were bigger than any current group of players resonated.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The wreckage was so scattered and widespread that it “There’s a lot of proud history that we have being a Sabre,” alternate was hard to know where to start. captain Kyle Okposo says. “We want to make sure that everybody is honoring the people who came before us and the culture that they tried to Should the Sabres deal with the embarrassment of being a perennial build here. We want to get back to that, get back to really that pride of loser? Or should they fix the anger issues? Lack of pride was an obvious being a Sabre. problem. So, too, was stubbornness. “That’s what we’re trying to build is something that people can At the root of all of those was absence of trust. There was no team in remember.” Buffalo, just a fractured group of guys. About the only thing they did together was dismantle the bond with the community, one that had been They’re off to a solid start. In just 17 games, Jeff Skinner has 12 goals built over 40-plus years. and Eichel has 15 assists, conjuring a connection not seen since Pat LaFontaine and Alexander Mogilny. So during the offseason, the Sabres made a point to create trust. Players called and met with each other. Coach Phil Housley visited players and After years of folding at the first sign of adversity, the Sabres are alumni. General manager Jason Botterill brought in new guys and talked overcoming the odds. The 4-3 shootout win over Vancouver was just the with the holdovers. seventh time in franchise history that Buffalo has erased a multi-goal deficit in the final five minutes. Slowly, a bond formed. When the Sabres went to the West Coast for 10 days and learned they could beat established teams, the trust grew. “We’ve got a lot young faces in here and a lot of new faces, but I think When Buffalo rallied from two goals down in the final three minutes our resilience so far early on in the year has really been a characteristic Saturday to beat Vancouver, the cheering fans saw the growth firsthand. of this team,” left wing Conor Sheary said. “We know that guys are going to step up in big moments.” It wasn’t easy and certainly didn’t happen overnight, but the Sabres are a team again. Simply put, they trust each other.

“There’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes that no one will ever “It’s a good feeling to have that belief,” Skinner said. see, understand or take credit for,” alternate captain Zach Bogosian said. “We’ve done it together as a group, everyone involved from Botts to the The longtime Sabres will testify to that. coaching staff to the training staff to the players. Everyone in here wants “When you have tough years – some of us, like me, five tough years – to make this a fun place to play.” you learn,” defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen said. “It takes time to No one needs reminding that it’s been a long time coming. The only thing change. We just put the work in to try to step forward and change.” that matters is it’s here. Change is happening. The Sabres don’t just look different; they feel “Yeah, there’s been tough times,” right wing Jason Pominville said. different. “Times are going to change.” “Our start solves a lot of it,” center Johan Larsson said. “Having a good The organization that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011 is in the top start, everyone kind of feels good. I think also everyone came in half of the NHL. The Sabres are 6-2-2 in their past 10 games, improving prepared and a little pissed off from years past. It was frustrating, for to 9-6-2 overall. When they unlaced their skates Saturday, they were in sure. third place in the Atlantic Division. “But that’s over.”

“We’re starting to believe in each other,” captain Jack Eichel said. “The It’s only been 17 games. There are still 65 remaining, spread out over resiliency in this group and that ‘never out of it’ attitude, the ability to five months. Skepticism can easily be forgiven. continue to fight, it’s been tremendous, and it’s throughout the whole locker room.” Just know that there’s none in the dressing room. The Sabres insist they’ve changed. There’s a bond now, a trust. They believe they can win, That includes the locker-room walls. Though the Sabres did plenty and they believe in each other. behind the scenes, one thing they did in the open was embrace the past. “It is different,” Bogosian said. “We try not to dwell too much on the past, The organization has framed historical photos above each locker stall. but you learn from it. We have.” There’s Gilbert Perreault and Mike Foligno celebrating Perreault’s 500th goal. There’s Danny Gare in his goal-scoring glory and Dominik Hasek making a save. There’s Chris Drury and his intense stare, and Rob Ray crushing an opponent. The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018

Through the past seven seasons, fringe players, one-year contracts and losing became commonplace. It was easy to forget that being a Sabre mattered. The photos are a reminder that things were good here once and can be good again.

“A lot of guys put a lot of time and effort into this organization to bring it where it was and had a lot of great success,” Housley said. “They should realize that the guys that bled for this jersey are important.”

In case pictures weren’t enough, there were training-camp videos and in- person visits.

“When we had the alumni golf tournament, Phil grabbed me and says, ‘Danny, will you come in and do something for me on video?’” Gare recalled. “I said, ‘Sure. What do you need?’ He said, ‘Well, I’d really like 1114905 Calgary Flames 9:18. He made a left-toe save on Dustin Brown immediately after the penalty expired.

“You know what? You have to have mental toughness and stay with it,” Rittich earns shutout in Flames victory over Kings Peters said of Rittich and the low traffic he faced. “I thought he did a real good job and was real composed. He’s gotten himself off to a good start for his season overall and tonight was another example of that.” Kristen Anderson, Postmedia It’s almost enough to wonder if the Flames would go back to Rittich for November 11, 2018 12:33 AM MST the second half of the back-to-back Sunday at San Jose, despite the original plan to give each goaltender a start.

Peters confirmed that, indeed, Mike Smith, who was in net for a 3-2 loss LOS ANGELES — A few years ago, Chad Johnson, in appreciation of his at Anaheim on Wednesday, will be in net against the Sharks. The 36- first shutout with the Calgary Flames, treated his defencemen with a nice year-old 5-5-1 with a 3.66 goals-against average and .872 save bottle of wine. percentage. It was a classy gesture from the former netminder — a celebration but With Bill Peters under the weather, associate coach Geoff Ward gave his also a token of gratitude for the men in front of him who helped him perspective on the L.A. Kings prior to Saturday’s clash and how a provide a clean slate on his record. coaching change early on in a season can impact a club. David Rittich, however, no less appreciative of the men who helped him “You get that honeymoon period where you’re going to play hard hit a career milestone with his first shutout, a 1- because you feel badly for the fact you let the other guy down,” explained 0 Flames victory and a 21-save performance from the 26-year-old Czech. Ward, who was tasked with a pre-game media availability at the team’s “I don’t have that big contract so … ” Rittich said with a grin. “Not sure if I hotel in downtown L.A. “Or you have a weight lifted off your shoulders can buy something.” because you have a new opportunity. I think, for a little while, you have that period where you can just play freely and can play with not a lot of Truth be told, it’s the Flames that are really getting the most out of his pressure. Then, as the coach gets his feel for the team and the team gets one-year deal worth US$800,000. They improved to 10-6-1 and are a the feel for the coach, things start to evolve. point behind the Vancouver Canucks (10-6-2) for the Pacific Division lead, bouncing back from Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. “I would say they’re in that honeymoon period. The last couple games we’ve watched, they’ve played really well.” At Staples Center on Saturday, Rittich improved to 5-1-0 with a 1.91 goals-against average and .935 save percentage and while it was an odd Kings GM Rob Blake made the coaching change a week ago, firing the game with intermittent action from the Kings, he got the job done. well-liked John Stevens and hiring Willie Desjardins, making him the second Kings’ coach in 19 months. “I mean, I got a shutout but I didn’t (do) too much because our team played pretty good,” he said. “We cleared the zone pretty fast so I have Prior to Saturday’s game, the Kings beat the struggling Anaheim Ducks to say thank-you to our locker-room because they played pretty good. I 4-1 on Tuesday and lost 3-1 to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday — the don’t know. We played a really good game (Saturday).” first two games under the watch of Desjardins.

Travis Hamonic’s first-period point shot stood as the team’s lone goal **** and, after shutting down Ilya Kovalchuk all night and staying involved Mark Jankowski scored his first goal of the 2018-19 National Hockey offensively with five shots on net, donned the team’s Calgary Police League season in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Ducks, a short-handed Service cowboy hat of the game for the in-house man of the match. shot on a two-on-one with Elias Lindholm. “I thought he was real good defensively and the most noticeable guy He could have passed. He thought about passing. either way on either team,” said Flames head coach Bill Peters. “He found a way to be involved in the game, big-time. I thought Hammer was But this being his second year in the NHL and gaining confidence with real good.” each passing day, the 24-year-old centre didn’t panic, assessed the situation properly and shot the puck over Ducks goalie Ryan Miller. There were plenty of other efforts that didn’t show up on the scoresheet. Garnet Hathaway’s physical play, his screen on Hamonic’s goal as well “I looked over and their ‘D’ did a good job of taking the pass away and as the roughing penalty he drew from Kyle Clifford with 11:26 remaining leaving the goalie to the shooter,” Jankowski said. “I was just trying to in the third. make a high-percentage play and shoot it on net … but I read it.

Sam Bennett’s jam in front of Jack Campbell’s net. “It felt good to get that one, but it would have been nicer if we got the win. It felt like a weight off the shoulders though, for sure.” The play of Calgary’s third line (Bennett, Derek Ryan and Michael Frolik) in general. Interestingly, the goal came almost a year after his first NHL goal; a memorable one which was assisted by (short-lived Flame) Jaromir Jagr But Rittich was the clear standout. and went off Jankowski’s pants. He was solid early in the third period when Adrian Kempe delivered a Back then, Jankowski — and Jagr — had been the talk of the town and wrist shot and Trevor Lewis sent a backhand his way on the rebound. was a go-to favourite of the media, who had spent the entire 2017-18 Both shots were saved. campaign telling Jankowski’s story of persistence to become an everyday He was steady as Elias Lindholm’s hooking penalty expired midway NHL player. through the final 20 minutes and he turned aside a breakaway This year, as a staple on the team’s bottom-six forwards and a regular opportunity on Tanner Pearson with Hamonic draped all over him on the face in the team’s lineup, Jankowski has been quietly trying to improve backcheck. his game on a daily basis out of the spotlight of the media. He also stopped a slapshot on Juuso Valimaki’s holding penalty with 5:59 That, it would seem, has been reserved for other hot topics such as remaining. newcomers Elias Lindholm, James Neal, Noah Hanifin, the Flames’ Rittich also stayed smart in the final 44.4 after the Kings had a face-off in current goaltending situation and general performance. There’s also Calgary’s end and the Flames managed to burn off the clock. rookies Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki, who are the shiny new objects and have been the go-to storylines this season. In the second frame, he had his best sequence of the period with eight minutes remaining when he repelled a slapper from Drew Doughty and “It’s funny looking at some of the other younger guys that are having the then kicked out a save in front during a scrum. same treatment,” Jankowski said with a chuckle. “I was that guy last year. But you know it’s going to happen. It’s a little less pressure, I Rittich made one blocker save in the first period and faced zero shots on guess.” the Kings’ lone powerplay of the frame while Ryan was off for holding at And it gives him a chance to focus on his own game without distraction. “I want to be a good 200-foot player and good in the ‘D’ zone, but also create some offence,” he said. “I want to have some good shifts, some good heavy shifts, and grind the puck down low and create some offence as well.”

The Flames scratched D Dalton Prout, D Michael Stone and RW Anthony Peluso … Saturday was the first of four clashes this season between the Flames and Kings this season.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114906 Carolina Hurricanes Until that point, the Canes had played well. Brind’Amour has found a fourth line to his liking with Clark Bishop centering McGinn and Phil Di Giuseppe -- Bishop and Di Giuseppe recently recalled from the Charlotte Red Wings rally, beat Canes in shootout 4-3 Checkers of the AHL. McGinn’s goal came off the forecheck, after the puck glanced off the leg of Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser and McGinn buried the shot. BY CHIP ALEXANDER Ferland’s goal came off perfect timing with Aho on the power play, Aho [email protected] finding Ferland in the slot and Ferland tipped the puck past Bernier for his eighth goal of the season. November 10, 2018 09:57 PM Some hustling play in the offensive zone by Teravainen first freed up Aho for a point-blank shot that Bernier stopped. But Hamilton roared in to backhand the puck past Bernier. RALEIGH

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour sounded a bit wary Saturday in talking about his team’s six-game homestand. News Observer LOADED: 11.11.2018 “We seemed to have had these over the years, right about this time of the year, and for whatever reason haven’t done enough with it,” he said after the Canes’ morning skate. Winning the first game is critical, Brind’Amour said, noting, “You get one and then it sets up . If you don’t, you’re chasing that part of it.” The Canes did not get the first one against the Detroit Red Wings, who rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period and then won 4-3 in a shootout decided by Frans Nielsen’s goal. Canes goalie Scott Darling made two spectacular post-to-post saves in overtime to give Carolina a chance to win the shootout at PNC Arena. Anthony Mantha scored a pair of goals about three minutes apart in the third period to pull the Wings even at 3-3 and eventually force overtime. “I’ve got to make a save there in the third period,” Darling said.. “It’s a tough one to lose.” The Wings have won six of their past seven games overall, and now have won 17 of their past 19 shootouts. Goalie Jonathan Bernier, who had 49 saves, faced Jaccob Slavin, Brock McGinn and Sebastian Aho in the shootout, denying all three. Nielsen, up second for the Wings, scored and now has 23 career game-deciding goals in shootouts. Until the Wings (7-8-2) made their push in third the Canes (7-7-3) were putting together a solid team game. Darling was making keys saves at key times. All four lines had contributed. The defensemen were active. The Canes had the edge in special teams. “I didn’t like our third period at all,” Brind’Amour said. “We took our foot off the gas and it cost us. The mental challenge of rising up every shift is what we’re going to have to learn. We still take a breath. And we’re not good enough to take breaths. We’re just not. “That’s the mental toughness part. These lessons hurt but at some point I think we’ll get it.” Andreas Athanasiou, a dynamic offensive player, gave the Wings a 1-0 lead in the first with a heavy one-timer. But McGinn tied it for the Canes in the first, Micheal Ferland’s power-play goal gave Carolina the lead in the second period and defenseman Dougie Hamilton made it 3-1 with three minutes left in the second. Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen both had assists on the Ferland and Hamilton goals -- Aho’s 16 assists rank among the NHL leaders. The Canes outshot the Wing 52-32 as center Lucas Wallmark had a career-high eight and linemates Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Martinook five each. “We had so many chances to win that game,” Aho said. For the eighth time this season, the Canes faced the opponent’s backup goalie as Bernier was in net for the Wings, who rallied to beat the New York Rangers in overtime on Friday. The Canes topped the Wings 3-1 on Oct. 22 in Detroit, but Brind’Amour noted they were a better, more polished team that came into PNC Arena. Both teams looked to push the pace, even with the Wings playing on back-to-back nights. Trailing 3-1 in the third, the Wings first killed off an Mantha penalty, then made it 3-2 as Mantha, fresh out of the penalty box, scored. The Wings kept pressuring, as Mantha again scored at 9:02 of the third, following up his own rebound. 1114907 Chicago Blackhawks

'Frustrated' Duncan Keith knows staying positive is necessary for scuffling Blackhawks

Jimmy Greenfield

Duncan Keith has made mistakes before, he’ll make them again, and he’s not going to dwell on them. No matter how ugly or costly they are. During the first period of Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Flyers, Keith inexplicably passed the puck out from behind his net and right to Flyers center Claude Grioux, who accepted the gift and scored a few seconds later. The Blackhawks never recovered as they lost their seventh game in a row. “Mistakes are going to happen,” Keith said. “I don’t plan on making mistakes like that and I can be better in that regard. But when things start going downhill, we’ve got to weather the storm a little bit and be confident that we just rely on our habits and things like that just to get through.” Keith is in his 14th NHL season and has been through worse. As a rookie in 2005-06, the Hawks finished 26-43-13 and endured a 10-game losing streak. “It’s hard not to get frustrated,” Keith admitted. “I think the biggest thing (is) staying positive and for myself, especially, I can do a better job of that and help us get out of here, get out of the losing streak.” Not so fast: Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton hasn’t forgotten his former players back in Rockford, where he was the head coach until just a few days ago. But he won’t be pushing for an influx of IceHogs anytime soon. The depth players on the Hawks’ current roster will get a chance to make an impression on their new coach. “We have to see what they have and see how they’re going to adjust,” Colliton said. “We’re not reinventing the wheel here, but a big thing we’re going to talk about is play with joy, play free, be aggressive, push the pace, be skating. And we’ll see how the guys react to that and then things will become more clear.” One-timers: Brandon Saad was a late scratch because of a right arm injury suffered in practice on Friday. Colliton did not know if he would be available Monday against the Hurricanes. … The Flyers and Hawks wore a No. 29 decal on their helmets as a tribute to Ray Emery, who died in a drowning accident in July at the age of 35. Emery played the majority of his career with the Flyers and was a member of the Hawks’ 2013 Stanley Cup champions.

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114908 Chicago Blackhawks

Jeremy Colliton still looking for 1st win as Blackhawks lose 7th straight, 4-0 to Flyers

Jimmy Greenfield

A coaching change already has been executed, the players can’t be fired, and it’s been made crystal clear that the general manager isn’t going anywhere. With 65 games left in the season, these are your Blackhawks. Like it or not. There wasn’t much to like once again Saturday afternoon. The Hawks dropped their seventh straight game, a 4-0 loss to the Flyers afternoon at Wells Fargo Center. The Hawks are 0-2 since firing Joel Quenneville as coach and have lost 15 straight regular-season games in Philadelphia. Their last win there came on Nov. 9, 1996, before current Hawks Henri Jokiharju, Alex DeBrincat and Alexandre Fortin were born. “Right now, obviously, it’s a heck of a slide,” captain Jonathan Toews said. “The pucks didn’t go in. We’ll take the positives and keep moving forward, keep digging, step in the right direction.” There have been positives in every game of the losing streak but not nearly enough, and they always seem to be followed by costly mistakes and long stretches of getting outplayed. The Hawks out-shot the Flyers 12-3 to open the game only to fall behind 1-0 when a Duncan Keith turnover ended up on the stick of Claude Giroux in front of the Hawks’ net. His backhander beat Corey Crawford with 5 minutes, 4 seconds left in the first period. “The other team scores, let’s not get down,” Keith said. “Or we make one mistake and let’s not compound that mistake into three or four other ones. We did a lot of good things in the first and later on in the third, but it’s those (other) stretches of time where we can be better.” Crawford has lost five straight starts, but this one wasn’t on him. He made several big saves during the second period despite the Flyers adding to their lead on Sean Couturier’s first goal of the game. Couturier’s second, in the third period, bounced off the skate of ex-Flyer Brandon Manning, who was playing his first game in Philadelphia since signing with the Hawks in the offseason. The Hawks had only one shot on goal over the next 11 minutes of play after initially falling behind. “Shouldn't matter what happens in the game,” Crawford said. “Shouldn’t change the way you play. You got to play the same way the whole game whether we score or they score.” But it hasn’t been that way for the Hawks much of the season, and new coach Jeremy Colliton needs to figure out why. He also has to make sure the team remains positive. “Yeah, that is a challenge right now,” Colliton said. “I just got here, so this is only Game 2 for me. But they’ve been going through this now for a while, so that’s one thing I have to manage and that was kind of the message after the game: ‘Guys, we’re not that far away.’ “I know it feels like we are because of the score, but I don’t think that was a 4-0 game. We just have to do a better job of surviving when we're not in control of the game. And we didn't do that.”

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114909 Chicago Blackhawks “The guys were a little bit shocked,” Hermodsson said. “The day after, they had the best practice ever.”

Brent Thompson was Colliton’s final coach with the Bridgeport Sound Getting to know Jeremy Colliton: 'Legend' in Sweden gets chance to Tigers, the Islanders’ affiliate for which he return Blackhawks to glory days played 326 games from 2005 to 2012 and remains the career scoring leader with 203 points (77 goals, 126 assists). Jimmy Greenfield The way Thompson described him, Colliton sounds like a coach’s dream. “Hard-nosed, 200-foot player,” Thompson said. “He had a nice touch around the net. He was very, very reliable in his own end. Really good The same 20 or so elderly fans of Swedish hockey team Mora IK would penalty killer and a net-front presence on the power play.” sit in the stands, day after day, watching as recently hired Canadian coach Jeremy Colliton ran practices for their hometown club. One day, Colliton and teammate Casey Cizikas overslept and were late to the team bus for a road trip. It was out of character for Colliton, who What they didn’t realize was Colliton had been watching them too. was team captain. Colliton approached the man who hired him, team President Peter “I’ll remember it till the day I die,” Thompson said. “They came down Hermodsson, and asked him to set up a meeting with the hard-core fans. together. (Jeremy) walked on the bus, he looked at me and goes, ‘It’s my fault.’ I go, ‘You know what that means: You’re not playing next game.’ “He went in for three hours sitting with these supporters,” Hermodsson Then they just walked to the bus and it was over.” said. “He talked to them and they questioned him and talked about systems. After that, it didn’t matter if we lose, they always protected him What Thompson didn’t know until years later was that Colliton wasn’t the in the stands. They said, ‘He knows what he does.’ That’s amazing to only one at fault. He just decided to take the hit on his own. see.” “That was something that stood out,” Thompson said. “That he’s a The Chicago area has considerably more hard-core Blackhawks fans, so character guy. That he cared about the people around him.” Colliton might not be able to sit in the stands eating cake and drinking coffee with all of them. But they will be watching their new coach with an Hawks director of minor-league affiliations Mark Bernard remembers equally discerning eye. Colliton first coming to the team’s attention when general manager Stan Bowman was on a scouting trip to Sweden a few years ago. Whether the 33-year-old Colliton, whom the Hawks hired as their 38th head coach this week after they fired future Hall of Famer Joel During a conversation with director of European scouting Mats Hallin, Quenneville, can win over Hawks fans remains to be seen. Bowman asked who were the best young coaching prospects in the European leagues. Hallin told him, according to Bernard: “It’s kind of Raised in Blackie, Alberta, about an hour south of Calgary, Colliton funny. The best young coach here is actually a North American from moved away from home at 15, as many young players do, to pursue a Calgary, Alberta.” life in hockey. He had enough talent as a center for the Islanders to select him in the second round, 58th overall, in the 2003 draft — six Bowman socked away that piece of information, and when the Hawks spots after the Hawks took a goalie named Corey Crawford. decided to make a coaching change with the AHL Rockford IceHogs last year, they interviewed Colliton. Colliton made his NHL debut a little more than two years later on Nov. 23, 2005. He was 20. “Jeremy blew us away,” Bernard said. “We knew right after we met with him, he checked all the boxes.” There would be only 56 more NHL games for Colliton, whose career was cut short by a series of concussions. The final one came in 2013, just When Colliton arrived in Rockford, he was introduced to IceHogs three games into his first season playing for Mora IK, for which he had assistant coach Sheldon Brookbank, a former Hawks player. It turned out been named captain just a couple of weeks after joining the team. they had played against each other in the NHL. The club was struggling that year, and Hermodsson decided to make a “We realized neither of us made a big enough impact to remember each coaching change. He had seen enough of the way Colliton prepared for other,” Brookbank quipped. games, treated everyone in the organization and commanded the respect Colliton, Brookbank and another assistant, Derek King, took over a of his teammates to know this was the person he wanted. But there was young IceHogs team and led it to the conference finals. It wasn’t quite the one hurdle to overcome. same as earning a spot in Sweden’s top league, but it was another case “My problem was not to believe in Jeremy,” Hermodsson said. “My of surpassing expectations. problem was to convince the board and the sponsors to bring him in. “The first thing that comes to mind is he’s very prepared,” Brookbank That was my toughest job. But after three or four weeks, everyone was said. “Not many things go unnoticed as far as the game, how it’s being convinced.” played, what we’re doing. He’s always looking for the next thing, looking The word that most frequently comes up in conversations about Colliton for what can make the team better — what’s our problem or causing us — perhaps besides “young” — is “calm.” No matter the situation, whether problems out there. He always seems like he’s watching other games, it’s a winning streak or losing streak, Colliton is said to keep his cool watching other teams, reading articles, on top of things trying to learn under pressure. That is, if he’s feeling any pressure at all. more every day. He has a real passion for the game.” During Colliton's final season with Mora IK in 2016-17, he surprisingly 'He's a great man': New Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton received helped the low-budget team — its entire payroll is $700,000, according to congratulatory text from Joel Quenneville » Hermodsson — jump from the second tier to Sweden’s top league. Hawks forward Andreas Martinsen played for Colliton at Rockford last “Even in that moment, he was so calm,” Hermodsson said. “He said: ‘I’m season and appreciated how he got to know each player individually. so happy for the guys. They so much deserve this. They’ve been working “I don’t need too much guidance,” Martinsen said. “I kind of like to be so hard.’ It was never about him. Never. He became a legend for kept to myself and do my thing. He found out how to handle me last year, everyone here.” and I had a really good year down there and so did our team. He finds Colliton occasionally would make his displeasure known but not when out what kind of guy you are and how to get you motivated.” you might expect. Once, after Mora IK won its eighth straight game, Colliton is not the kind of coach who likes to play mind games with Colliton addressed the players as if they were on an eight-game losing players. When he makes a decision, he explains it. streak. “Sometimes things don’t go your way and you don’t know why,” said “Everyone (on the team) is really happy,” forward Mathias Brome Hawks forward Alexandre Fortin, who played for Colliton on the IceHogs recalled. “He was really pissed off. We win the game but he was still last season. “The thing with Jeremy is if something goes bad, you’re not pissed. I think he did it because he wants us to stay on the ground.” going to sit there and don’t know what you have to do. He’s going to talk Hermodsson remembers that moment as well. He asked Colliton why he to you.” reacted that way when the team was winning. Colliton told him: “They IceHogs forward Jacob Nilsson, who also played three seasons under had become a little bit too big-headed and a little bit lazy. They started Colliton for Mora IK, recalls losing ice time after making what Colliton felt cheating on the ice. So now we have to get back to the things that make was a selfish choice. us good.” And did it work? “I took a stupid penalty because I said something to the referee,” Nilsson said. “Next game he came to me and said: ‘You don’t play the first 20 minutes. When you took the stupid penalty, you put yourself first over the team. And we don’t do that.’ ” Bernard remembers Colliton making a choice away from the ice that helped transform the IceHogs. “Early last year, I think it was still just coming out of training camp,” Bernard said, “he said to me: ‘I want to run something by you. When we lose a game, usually there’s no music on, the TVs aren’t on. I’d like to make sure the TVs are on and the music’s on. Not loud, not like a party or anything. I have to start setting the mood right then and there for the next morning. I have to set the atmosphere.’ And I said, ‘Absolutely, I love it.’ “That went a long way with our young players. Sometimes after a loss it’s very easy for a young player to come in thinking they’re going to get in trouble. Now all of a sudden the TV’s on, music’s on low, they’re doing their workouts. They came in the next day with a positive attitude and ready to work. That was a noticeable difference right off the bat.” The Hawks would like Colliton to make a noticeable difference in Chicago as well. Hermodsson thinks he will. “Totally right man,” he said. “I said three years ago (Colliton) was going to have a job in the NHL as a head coach. It was a little bit earlier than I expected.”

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Blackhawks' Patrick Kane likely to keep racking up loads of ice time

By Steve Greenberg @SLGreenberg

PHILADELPHIA — A big topic heading into the Blackhawks’ 4-0 defeat here Saturday: Just how extensively is new coach Jeremy Colliton going to use Patrick Kane? Kane logged 27 minutes, 43 seconds of ice time Thursday in a 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes in Colliton’s debut. That was the second-highest regular-season total of the 12th-year winger’s career. Against the Flyers, Kane followed up with 24:33 of ice time — his second-most in a regular- season non-overtime game since last January. Kane double-shifted on the power play in both games, not that it helped against the Flyers and their struggling penalty-kill unit, which came into the weekend ranked 30th in the league. The Hawks took the collar in four man-advantage opportunities. Expect Colliton to keep running Kane — who came in tied with Alex Ovechkin for the league lead in goals, with 12 — out there as long as the superstar can handle it. “If he’s fresh, yeah, why wouldn’t we?” Colliton said. “He can do special things with the puck. It’s our job to put him in a position to get the most out of him. As long as he’s feeling good and [we] feel like he looks like he’s fresh, then he’ll be getting a lot of minutes.” The Hawks and Flyers wore “29” on their helmets in honor of late goalie Ray Emery, who died in a swimming accident last summer. Emery’s image was displayed on the scoreboard over center ice during a touching video tribute. Emery played the last four seasons — two each — of his NHL career in Chicago (2011-12 and 2012-13) and Philadelphia (2013-14 and 2014- 15). That includes a memorable second campaign with the Hawks, when he was 17-1 with a 1.94 ERA. The Hawks were without Marcus Kruger (left leg injury) and, in a surprise, Brandon Saad (right arm injury). Saad was hurt during Friday’s practice in Chicago. The Hawks didn’t announce that he was out of the lineup until shortly before the start of the game. According to Colliton, Saad could be back in the lineup Monday against the Hurricanes. Go for Ward? Colliton wouldn’t say if Corey Crawford or Cam Ward will be in goal against the Hurricanes, though it seems a natural time to give the latter a chance. It’s a homecoming for Ward, who spent 13 seasons in Raleigh, North Carolina, before signing with the Hawks. Ward hasn’t played since giving up four goals in a Nov. 1 loss at Edmonton.

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Frustrated Blackhawks battling confidence issues after 4-0 loss to Flyers

By Steve Greenberg @SLGreenberg

PHILADELPHIA — Indignity? The Blackhawks know all about it. It was on full display in Saturday’s 4-0 defeat against the Flyers. Pick a goal, any goal. Philly’s first was scored by star Claude Giroux, who took advantage of an awful giveaway by defenseman Duncan Keith deep in the zone and beat -Corey Crawford with a backhand shot late in a first period the Hawks had dominated. Sean Couturier plowed over Keith to get the puck at the blue line as a second-period Hawks power play ended, then easily fought off Chris Kunitz’s feckless attempt to stop his momentum as he skated in on Crawford and scored for a 2-0 lead. Goal No. 3? It merely went in — Couturier’s second — off the skate of former longtime Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning, who joined the Hawks in July as a free agent and, well, let’s just say he has yet to distinguish himself with his new team. Flyers center Sean Couturier converts another Blackhawks giveaway into a goal. (AP/Chris Szagola) By the time Nolan Patrick finished things with an empty-netter — after he deked Keith and left the veteran splayed on the ice in shame — the Hawks might as well have been waving a white flag. That’s an 0-6-1 hole the Hawks have fallen into in their last seven games, folks. That’s 64 goals allowed on the season, easily the most in the Western Conference. That’s last place in the Central Division and an ugly 0-for-2 — the Hawks having fallen behind 4-0 in each game — since icon Joel Quenneville was fired and replaced by the youngest coach in the NHL, 33-year-old Jeremy Colliton, who has about a -million things to prove and has yet to begin checking boxes. “I thought we were right in it until 3-0,” Colliton said. “We score one at any point, and we can probably get some energy out of it and make it a game.” Here’s an incredible nugget: The Hawks are 0-14-1 in Philly in regular- season games since 1996. How does that happen to an organization that had such stellar teams during that time? Probably just one of those strange coincidences. But there’s nothing coincidental about the Hawks’ losing streak. They are playing poorly, making killer mistakes, bringing uneven effort and emotion. They are, frankly, getting what they deserve. It’s hardly a matter of bad breaks, and they know it better than anybody. “There’s a little bit more than that,” Crawford said. “We’ve just got to keep battling, I think. Play a little bit harder. I need to find a way to come up with some big stops. I don’t know. It’s pretty frustrating.” Captain Jonathan Toews contends that the players are together, that strengthening communication and the bonds in the locker room has been emphasized since the start of the season. There are other problems, though. “I don’t think we’re the most confident group in the history of the game, that’s for sure,” Keith said. “But confidence comes by scoring some goals and working hard and winning games.” And about that one “F” word used by Crawford: “It’s hard not to get frustrated,” Keith agreed. “That’s the biggest thing, staying positive. For myself, especially, I can do a better job of that and help us get out of the losing streak.” Colliton aims to do his part, too, of course. His message to his team after another loss? “Guys, we’re not that far away,” he said. “I know it feels like we are because of the score, but I don’t think that was a 4-0 game.” Let’s be real: It was plenty bad enough.

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114912 Chicago Blackhawks "It's hard not to get frustrated," Keith said. "That's the biggest thing is staying positive, for myself especially. I can do a better job of that to help us get out of this losing streak." Frustration level growing for Chicago Blackhawks They'd better end it soon, too, or the playoffs will be nothing but a pipe dream. John Dietz "These things are still in our control," Colliton said. "We can fix them. We've just got to hurry up." Updated 11/10/2018 7:55 PM

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 As frustrated as Jeremy Colliton was about falling to 0-2 as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks after a 4-0 loss Saturday in Philadelphia, he realizes there's a bigger issue at hand. And that's the frustration level of a team that has been outscored 30-12 during a losing streak that has now reached seven games. "(Keeping them positive) is a challenge right now because I just got here," Colliton told reporters. "This is only Game 2 for me, but they've been going through this now for a while. "That's one thing that I have to manage, and that was the message after the game. 'Guys, we're not that far away. I know it feels like we are because of the score, but I don't think that was a 4-0 game.' " As opposed to Colliton's first game -- when Carolina took a 4-0 lead in less than 22 minutes Thursday -- the Hawks (6-8-3) came out buzzing in Philly. • Duncan Keith fed Alex DeBrincat for a good chance 43 seconds in. • John Hayden created a turnover at 2:44 that led to multiple good looks. • Jonathan Toews drove hard to the net and tried muscling a shot past goalie Brian Elliott at 3:42. • Brent Seabrook took a pass from DeBrincat, made a nifty move around a Shayne Gostisbehere and ripped a shot that Elliott turned away at 10:42. • Elliott then faced a barrage of shots in less than two minutes from Jan Rutta, Alexandre Fortin, David Kampf, Dominik Kahun and Erik Gustafsson. At that point, the Hawks were totally controlling the action and outshooting the Flyers 11-3. Then Duncan Keith made a gaffe that changed the entire complexion of the game. With two Flyers closing in, Keith grabbed the puck deep in the Flyers' zone and blindly sent the puck right to Claude Giroux, who easily beat Corey Crawford with a backhanded shot at 14:56. "We played a really good first period there, and obviously I made a bad play turning it over and it ends up right back in our net," Keith said. "Mistakes are going to happen. "I mean, I don't plan on making mistakes like that and I can be better in that regard. But when things start going downhill we've got to weather the storm a little bit." Colliton, Crawford and Jonathan Toews all echoed Keith's thoughts. The Hawks simply cannot allow one goal to demoralize them. "It shouldn't change the way you play," said Crawford, who made 21 saves. "You've got to play the same way the whole game whether we score or they score. We played well (and) had a great first period. "They scored first, but so what? That's going to happen sometimes. You've got to keep going." But they didn't. The Flyers went up 2-0 at 9:12 of the second period on a goal by Sean Couturier that came just as a Hawks power play was ending. Couturier scored again early in the third, and Nolan Patrick added an empty-netter for a Philly team that is 5-0-1 in its last six games. Elliott made 33 saves in recording the 38th shutout of his career. "Whenever you put a donut up on the scoreboard you feel good, but I felt 'on' ", Elliott said. "I felt like I was seeing pucks and stuff was hitting me. That's all you can ask for as a goalie." The Hawks have not won a regular-season game in Philadelphia since Nov. 9, 1996, going 0-14-1. They were without Brandon Saad, who suffered a leg injury Friday at practice. 1114913 Chicago Blackhawks "We're not gonna make dramatic changes in the way we play, but I know in talking to Jeremy there are gonna be a few areas where he wants to make some adjustments to give our team a better chance to be in Rozner: Chicago Blackhawks' maintain goal is playoffs now games." That's not going to happen over the course of a few practices, and it might not be easy with veterans who are set in their ways after three Barry Rozner titles under one coach, and more than a decade of experience in the NHL.

"The special teams, we tried a lot of different things. It wasn't lack of As the days have passed since the stunning firing of Joel Quenneville, effort, but it hasn't worked," Bowman said. "So Jeremy, we have to give some elements of the past, present and future have started to come into him some time to implement some new strategies. Over the next couple focus. weeks, we hope to see some improvement in those areas. It will take time to find out if Jeremy Colliton can coach, though he doesn't "We're trying to improve this year because we think there's a lot of have much to work with on defense and his best Chicago Blackhawks hockey left and our goal is the playoffs." players are getting older by the shift. After 17 games, the season is not over, but the Hawks are in last place He certainly looks the part and his answers to difficult questions are -- again after a 4-0 loss Saturday in Philadelphia. thus far -- on point, but the impression is that he's a puppet for GM Stan Bowman. They will know by the time they play the Winter Classic on New Year's Day in South Bend whether they're really in the hunt for a playoff spot. If true that's simply the way sports work today, young coaches -- or managers in baseball -- instructed on how to create a lineup and how to The trade deadline is Feb. 25 and it could give the Hawks an opportunity manage a game. to reboot. Teams that are close to winning would love to have players who have been through the wars and won Cups, though getting other Of greater concern among the fan base is the proxy behind the bench teams to take all the money and getting players to give up no-trade standing next to him, Barry Smith, a longtime Scotty Bowman ally, and it clauses won't be easy. would have only been fair to allow Colliton to name his own staff. Until then, the new coach deserves an opportunity to work some magic. Perhaps, that will occur after this season. He'll need several tricks up his sleeve to get it done. In the meantime, Stan Bowman didn't sound like he believed Colliton's presence was merely as conductor of the Bowman orchestra when he joined NHL Network radio Thursday afternoon. Daily Herald Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 Asked if he saw any trades on the horizon, Bowman said, "We're not close to a trade at the moment. We want Jeremy to have a chance to work with this group for a little bit and see what we have. "He knows the team well from watching us play, but he doesn't know it up close, so I want to give him a chance. "You don't want to change too many things at one time because he's got to see what he observes, maybe something that we could use to enhance our team." Sounds like Bowman is interested in what the coach thinks of the team he inherited. It shouldn't take him long to see what Hawks fans have witnessed since the last Stanley Cup in 2015. The defense is a disaster, the forwards don't help enough, the offense is limited -- especially if Artem Anisimov is a No. 2 center -- and with a bottom six that's offers nothing. The Hawks appeared shockingly slow against a bad Carolina team Thursday night, which you could attribute to the Quenneville hangover, and pretty much the same Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. The Hawks look like just another aging team stuck with a bunch of big contracts, needing to rebuild but continuing to hang on to the notion that they can compete. It doesn't look like it thus far, but Bowman is easily annoyed by the idea that they might have to move on from this group. "I've never been one to believe in the whole concept of winning windows," Bowman said, continuing with a theme he brought forth over the summer. "We want to win every year. Maybe it's not in the cards every year, but that doesn't mean you're not trying. "It's not like only certain teams are in a window. That whole narrative, I don't know who started it, but I don't believe it's accurate. "Look at last year. Las Vegas made it to the Final. Was it their window last year or did they play really well? "We're trying to play well because we want to get our team headed back in the right direction. We want to win. We know what it feels like to hold that Cup. "It starts with putting yourself in a position to make the playoffs, so that's what we're doing." And that was the reason for firing Quenneville now, the hope of making the playoffs this year under a coach Bowman believes has the skills to make that happen. "We have to improve if we want to have a chance," Bowman said. "We have really left our goalies out to dry too many times, whether it's odd- man chances or end-zone play. We have to be better in that area. 1114914 Chicago Blackhawks

Seriously, it's time for the Blackhawks to figure out their power play

By Charlie Roumeliotis November 10, 2018 5:25 PM

PHILADELPHIA — The Blackhawks' power play has been a hot discussion for far too long now. They opened the season with a 1-3-1 format, tried loading up one unit, then tried balancing two, and nothing has worked. They have seemingly tried everything. And maybe that's the problem. During Saturday's broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago, passionately addressed the power play concerns and said the Blackhawks need to simplify it to the core — "old-fashioned meat and potatoes" — by developing a shoot-first mentality, which could help open up the passing lanes they've been trying to force that aren't there to begin with. Get bodies to the net and shoot. Start there. Forget about everything else for now. After another 0-for-4 performance in a 4-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers for their seventh straight defeat, the Blackhawks' power play slipped to dead last with a 12.5 percent success rate. It's even more concerning when you factor in that, going into Saturday's matchup, the Flyers had the NHL's worst penalty kill percentage (61.9) at home this season and the Blackhawks still couldn't find a way to get it done. Not only are they failing to score goals with the man advantage, but the Blackhawks are giving their opponents momentum by being completely unproductive during those opportunities. While it technically went down as an even-strength goal on the scoresheet, Sean Couturier jumped on a turnover at the blue line while his team was shorthanded and scored on a breakaway as the penalty expired to put the Flyers in front 2-0 in the second period. That can't happen. To Jeremy Colliton's credit, he has taken complete control of the power play since he arrived and has made it a priority to work on it during practices, including entries. Heck, 15 minutes before the morning skate of his NHL head coaching debut on Thursday he had the whole team out there working on it because time is limited and it's an important part of the team's game if they want success. "That's a big question," Colliton said after his second practice with the Blackhawks. "What we're doing is we're getting together as groups and we're discussing it, throwing ideas around. I have some ideas, the staff as a group, we have ideas, watching clips of some teams that are successful. They need reps. ... I think that'll help. And we'll go from there. As a group, you've got to feel confident in your options. You've got to feel like, 'Hey, this is going to work.' So that's what we're trying to build." One of the changes Colliton has immediately made is keeping Patrick Kane out for both units and giving him the freedom to decide if or when he wants to come off. "If he's fresh, yeah, why wouldn't we?" Colliton said. "He can do special things with the puck. It's our job to put him in a position to get the most out of him. It's an option for us. As long as he's feeling good and obviously we've got to feel like he looks like he's fresh, then he'll be getting a lot of minutes." Another idea would be to park John Hayden in front of the net because he feeds off that kind of energy. He may not be the most offensively- gifted player, but he has that willingness to battle in front of the net and make goalies uncomfortable. Put players in that position who want to be there. Perhaps their fortunes will change with more reps under Colliton, who deserves time to help get it right. But it's time for the Blackhawks as a group to get back to the basis and start doing the simple things right or else they'll never make any progress.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114915 Chicago Blackhawks Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 Four takeaways: Blackhawks shut out in Philly for seventh straight loss

By Charlie Roumeliotis November 10, 2018 3:55 PM

PHILADELPHIA — Here are four takeaways from the Blackhawks' 4-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, which is the 15th straight defeat (0-14-1) in the regular season for Chicago in Philadelphia since Nov. 9, 1996: 1. Self-inflicted wounds For the second game in a row, the Blackhawks didn't do themselves any favors in getting behind after one period. They outshot the Flyers 12-4 out of the gates, but a defensive zone turnover by Duncan Keith gifted Claude Giroux the first goal at the 14:56 mark and it changed the feeling of the game. "I think we played a really good first period," Keith said. "Obviously I made a bad play there, turned it over and it ends up right back in our net. Mistakes are going to happen. I don't plan on making mistakes like that and I can be better in that regard. But when things start going downhill, we've got to weather the storm a little bit and be confident that we just rely on our habits and things like that just to get through. "The other team scores, let's not get down. Or we make one mistake, let's not compound that mistake into three or four other ones. We did a lot of good things in the first and later on in the third, but it's those stretches of time where we can be better." 2. Weathering the storm There were stretches where the Blackhawks looked like the better team, such as in the first 15 minutes and the third period when they had 10 scoring chances at even strength to Philadelphia's one. But they didn't capitalize on their opportunities and didn't do a great job at preventing the Flyers from doing so on theirs. If it wasn't for Corey Crawford in the second period, the Blackhawks could've easily found themselves down three or four goals before the first TV timeout. An unfortunate break by Brandon Manning, who knocked it into his own net, put the Blackhawks down 3-0 at the 4:16 mark of the third period and that turned out to be the back-breaker. "That is a challenge right now," coach Jeremy Colliton said of keeping the players positive during their seven-game losing streak. "I just got here, so this is only Game 2 for me. But they've been going through this now for a while, so that's one thing I have to manage and that was kind of the message after the game: 'Guys, we're not that far away, I know it feels like we are because of the score but I don't think that was a 4-0 game.' "We just have to do a better job of surviving when we're not in control of the game and we didn't do that [today], and we've got to get more out of the moments where we're controlling it and I think we will. Part of that is staying positive, sticking together and continuing to play the right way." 3. Injuries thin out lineup even more Marcus Kruger did not play because of a left leg injury he suffered on Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes, which was to be expected. But the Blackhawks were dealt with another blow after it was announced minutes before warmups that Brandon Saad would not play because of a right arm injury. He sustained the injury at practice on Friday and it's unclear whether he'll be available in Carolina on Monday. 4. Colliton's message to young guys Before the game, Colliton was asked a question about his younger players and how to get the most out of them. His message was simple, but a powerful one. "It's OK to make a mistake," Colliton said. "We can live with that. And you know what, one might end up in the back of the net. But what we need to build here is, if you play with the right intentions and you work for the team and you play for the team, then you get some rope. Of course, you've got to perform, but we want them to play free, we want them to play with joy. Then it's easier to be a good player." 1114916 Chicago Blackhawks the era of “Trust The Process.” The firing of Quenneville, regrettable as it was, offered the Blackhawks an opportunity to buy themselves some time. The Wraparound: Blackhawks’ refusal to acknowledge harsh reality puts And that’s all they need: time. Adam Boqvist is coming. Nicolas Beaudin Jeremy Colliton, fans in a tough spot and Ian Mitchell, too. There’s a good chance at least one or two of those, if not all three, will join Henri Jokiharju to form a formidable blue line for years to come. And if that takes a year or two, Kane and Toews will still By Mark Lazerus be high-end players. Alex DeBrincat and (hopefully) Nick Schmaltz will be in their primes. We’ve seen plenty of stay elite in their Nov 10, 2018 mid-to-late 30s, so Crawford can still be a big piece. And the Blackhawks likely will have another high draft pick in 2019 to bolster the roster further.

The way out of this mess is by clearing out some veterans and some Perhaps the Blackhawks’ biggest mistake in this seismic week in salary, and acquiring young assets and draft picks. Stars or no stars, franchise history wasn’t the firing of Joel Quenneville, but the defiant tone that’s a rebuild, whether you want to call it that or not. they struck at the press conference later that day. This is not a hopeless situation. It’s not a great situation, but it’s not a Whether you think Quenneville was the primary problem with this team hopeless situation. But it’s one that’s made far more difficult — for the — hint: he wasn’t — you can certainly make a case that the Blackhawks players, for Colliton, for the fans — by the organization’s stubborn refusal needed to do something, anything, to try to shake things up. And in to simply acknowledge it. sports, that usually means the head coach loses their job, even when 2. There are times when even Kane can’t believe he’s being sent over that head coach is the best and most successful in franchise history. the boards yet again. Not that it ever stopped him from jumping on the And we can argue all day long about whether the Blackhawks should ice. have given Quenneville the dignified exit he deserved and Jeremy “I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I’ve turned a shift down,” he Colliton the training camp he needed by just negotiating a mutual split said with a chuckle. “Even if I’m gassed. I might pause for a second and over the summer, if they were just going to axe him at the first sign of might tell one of the other wingers to take the first winger or the guy I’m trouble — hint: they should have — but here we are. supposed to take. But I don’t think I’ve ever said no to it.” The hard truth is, there’s not a coach in the world — in this era, nor any Quenneville never hesitated with Kane. Chasing a lead in the third era — that could make this roster into a Stanley Cup contender. It’s too period? Double-shift Kane. Momentum building in the offensive zone in a top-heavy, too shoddy defensively, too poorly constructed to have a tight game? Double-shift Kane. Momentum turning the wrong way in a realistic chance. Could Corey Crawford, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews tight game? Double-shift Kane. Power play needs a boost? Double-shift and Alex DeBrincat carry a team into a wild-card spot by sheer force of Kane. Quenneville had unending trust in his most gifted offensive player, will and talent? Yes. Still can, even. Could the Blackhawks reasonably knowing that he was always in peak physical shape, and had the veteran expect anything beyond that? No. savvy to conserve energy while on the ice without sacrificing his play. So team president John McDonough and general manager Stan Even in the middle of games, Quenneville always gave Kane the option Bowman did Colliton no favors by insisting this is a playoff team — with of staying out longer than other forwards. Colliton sitting right there, no less. It’s been a part of Kane’s repertoire for years. He played a whopping 11 “I wouldn’t label it as a rebuilding,” McDonough said. “I would reference it shifts in the third period at Minnesota last month, plus two more in more as a remodeling. You still have Hall of Fame players. My overtime. He played 11 shifts again in the third period in Columbus while expectations are that this is a playoff team. And if you get in, anything the Blackhawks clung to a one-goal lead, and eventually scored two late can happen. So that is the phase that we are in right now. You never goals to put the game away. Of Kane’s first nine goals this season, seven know whether to call it a rebuild or a remodel. We want to win. We want came in the third period or overtime. When the stakes get higher and the to re-win. We want our building filled and we want our fans to see an time gets later, he only seems to get better. exciting brand of hockey. Sometimes, as painful as it is, you need a fresh “It’s fun,” Kane said. “It’s always fun coming back to the bench after a start.” shift and hearing your name called up for the next shift to go out. It’s But this isn’t a fresh start. This is the opposite. This is throwing a 33-year- exciting. I like it, it gets me into the game, too. I’ve actually been trying to old coach with one year of North American coaching experience into one figure out how to get that excitement and energy into my game in the first of the most scrutinized markets in the league and telling him he has to and second period, because there’s some crazy stats where I’ve got way win. Now. With a roster the second-winningest coach in league history more goals this year in the third period than any other period.” wasn’t winning with. I had this conversation with Kane in Calgary last week, the morning of A roster that has now lost seven straight games following Saturday’s 4-0 Quenneville’s last game as the Blackhawks’ coach. So there was some defeat in Philadelphia. intrigue as to whether Colliton would use Kane the same way, if Kane would have the same kind of leeway with his own ice time. And yet… Yeah. Looks like it. “I believe in this roster,” McDonough said at that press conference, later adding, “We’ve had an incredible 10-year run. But that’s over. That’s In Colliton’s debut Thursday at the United Center, Kane played a behind us. We don’t care about that. We’re worried right now about the borderline ridiculous 27 minutes, 43 seconds — a career high for a 2018-19 season.” regular-season game. For comparison’s sake, Kane played 28:31 in Game 1 of the first round of the 2014 — a game You can understand why he said that. No owner, president, GM, coach, that went into triple-overtime. Saturday against the Flyers, he played player or fan ever wants to openly admit that winning isn’t realistic, that a 24:33, just 27 seconds fewer than Duncan Keith. season is all but a lost cause barely a month in. You don’t sell season tickets and parking passes and $11 beers and Winter Classic jerseys and Kane played a season-high 12 shifts in the third period against Carolina, sponsorships by saying everything is awful. But those comments were five of which lasted longer than a minute. He even had a three-minute met with derisive laughter and outright anger among Blackhawks fans, shift in the first period as he played all two minutes of a power play who can see what management refuses to admit: that, at best, this is a following a shift and a TV timeout. He again played an entire two-minute team in transition. power play in the second period against the Flyers. That press conference was an opportunity for the Blackhawks to hit the Kane doesn’t necessarily have total free reign to do whatever he wants, reset button. To level with their fans. To say, “Look, we know Colliton said, but the young coach is not going to hesitate to lean on his expectations are sky-high in Chicago, that we’ve set an incredibly high superstar when necessary. standard in the past decade. We have those same expectations, too. But “We’ll manage (his minutes) together,” Colliton said. “Part of it (Thursday) the reality is we have work to do in order to get back to that point. The was that we lost (Marcus Kruger to a leg injury), so that opened up an reality is, we need your patience.” opportunity for him to play a little bit more. And we were behind, so we That’s not to say the Blackhawks should openly tank, and hope Jack wanted to try and get him out there as much as we can. And the Hughes can resurrect the franchise next year. But fans are smart these timeouts, the way it kind of fell, it helped. He probably wouldn’t have days. They can handle losing if they know it’s part of a larger plan. Most played as much (but) the timeouts came at very good times for us. … I Blackhawks fans are also either Cubs fans or White Sox fans. The Cubs wouldn’t expect him to be at 27 (minutes) again, but he looked pretty embraced a tear-down and a rebuild and won a World Series. The Sox comfortable, pretty fresh, even at the end of the game on Thursday.” are trying to do the same. And the fan bases were all-in on both. This is 3. Brandon Saad missed Saturday’s game with a right-arm injury suffered 5. Jokiharju spent the past two months doing something that’s very in Friday’s practice, and the timing couldn’t have been worse. Not only difficult as a 19-year-old — he earned Quenneville’s trust. But the were the Blackhawks carrying a six-game losing streak and a stunning Blackhawks’ rookie defenseman isn’t worried at all about having to start coaching change into Philadelphia, Saad was playing his best hockey of from scratch with Colliton. the season, and maybe his best hockey since returning to Chicago last year. “No, I just do my own thing, you know?” Jokiharju said. “I don’t think I need to prove anything to coaches or that kind of stuff. I just need to After a dreadful first eight games in which Saad had no goals two assists, prove it to myself and my teammates and that’s the biggest thing. Just and was nearly scratched by Quenneville, the 26-year-old winger was play as good as I can and do my own things.” finally starting to look like his old self again. In the second period against the Hurricanes on Thursday night, Saad corralled the puck behind the Jokiharju is a known commodity for Colliton, however. He coached Caroina net, held off a defender with one arm as he drove his way into Jokiharju at the Traverse City prospect tournament before the season, the slot, turned and fired a shot over Scott Darling’s shoulder that was and worked with him at prospect camp before that. And Colliton has kept tipped in by David Kampf. an eye on the Blackhawks all season, even as he focused on Rockford. It was vintage Saad. Not only that, it was vintage Marian Hossa, the “I saw quite a bit,” Colliton said. “Even if I couldn’t watch it live, often I’d player Saad has always emulated, and whom the Blackhawks look after the fact at the game. Maybe not the whole game, but critical desperately need him to be more like. parts just to get a good feel. So I think I know the group pretty well from the outside. But I think it’s another thing once you start dealing with them “He’s a good guy to look up to,” Saad said. “He was fun to play with, and in person. And so that’s the big adjustment. I feel like I know what it looks anything you can take out of his game is a positive.” like from up top, but when you’re on the bench it’s a different thing.” Before his two-goal breakthrough against Anaheim on Oct. 23, Saad was Jokiharju leads the Blackhawks in even-strength ice time per game, averaging just 6.3 shots on goal per 60 minutes at even strength. Since entering Saturday’s game at 19:38 per game. Against Carolina, he then, he’s up to 7.5. Before the Ducks game, he had a 52.36-percent played 23:18, more than everybody but Kane. The next step for the Corsi. Since then, he’s at 54.88 percent. Before that game, the rookie is seeing more special-teams time. Quenneville used him Blackhawks and their opponents each scored three goals with Saad on sparingly on the power play and the penalty kill (he played a lot of both in the ice. Since then, the Blackhawks are outscoring opponents 7-4 with Calgary last Saturday when Keith was ejected two minutes into the him on the ice. And based on the eye test, he’s been far more active and game), but Jokiharju hopes to work his way into all situations under involved in the play. Colliton. “I’ve been feeling better,” Saad said. “I think it’s just playing with pace “We’ll talk a little more later about that,” Jokiharju said. “I just have to play and confidence and getting around the net. When I take pucks to the net, good before we have that kind of conversation. But of course, I want to I’m going to lug guys to the net and create chances. And if they don’t go play power play and PK. I want to be a big part of the team all the time. in, my teammates are there to help me out. I’ve been feeling pretty good, Let’s just take it step by step and not take too big of a bite.” but it’s tough to feel good about yourself when we’re losing games like this.” 6. Jokiharju’s preternatural confidence is well documented at this point, but it’s still remarkable to see how casually he brushes off things that Of course, that begs the question, why wasn’t he playing like this from keep other rookies up at night. I asked him if he expected to hit the Day 1? dreaded rookie wall at some point, and he laughed. “I don’t know,” he said. “I felt like I made some good plays (earlier in the “No, I know I’m in good shape and worked hard during the summer,” he season), but maybe it was puck luck or it was just holding on to it a little said. “I know I can take it all year. I just want to build up all the time and bit longer, maybe trying to do too much rather than just simplifying and get better all the time I don’t want to stop. Yeah, it’s a lot of games. But it taking it myself. It’s tough to stipulate and pick out little things. I’m feeling feels good.” good right now and I just want to keep that going.” The NHL grind is unlike any other, but Jokiharju is better equipped to Colliton hasn’t ruled Saad out for Monday’s game at Carolina, but is handle it than, say, a rookie coming out of college, or straight out of unsure whether he’ll be able to play. Europe, where the seasons aren’t nearly as long. Counting the playoffs, he played 75 games in Portland last year and 82 games the year before. 4. You’d never know it by the final score, but the Blackhawks had one of their best periods in weeks to open Saturday’s game in Philadelphia. A 7. Believe it or not, Jokiharu hasn’t yet met his Finnish counterpart at the little less than 15 minutes in, the Blackhawks had a 12-3 edge in shots on United Center, Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen. The two figure to be goal and, while they weren’t generating many Grade-A scoring chances, cornerstone pieces in Chicago for years to come. they were all over the Flyers and were giving up nothing. “Not yet,” he said. “But hopefully, I will meet him. Yeah, we’ll probably Then Keith turned the puck over in his own end, leading directly to a meet up sooner or later.” Claude Giroux goal, and the game changed completely. The Flyers had 12 of the next 13 shots on goal and the Blackhawks gave up odd-man 8. Colliton has been keeping close tabs on Rockford, and not just rush after odd-man rush to open the second period. Throughout this because those are his players down there. Sometime in the near future losing streak — particularly in Western Canada — the Blackhawks have — either because of injury or performance — he’ll have to dip into the been pointing out how well they’ve played in stretches of each game. It’s Blackhawks’ prospect pool to improve the big team. the sign of a team that’s sorely lacking confidence that every goal-against But if you’re holding your breath for a Dylan Sikura or Gustav Forsling seems to deflate them so badly. call-up, don’t. Colliton wants to give the current roster a fair look before “Well, I don’t think we’re the most confident group in the history of the he starts calling for any dramatic changes. game, that’s for sure,” Keith said. “But confidence comes by scoring “I do, yeah,” he said. “We have to see what they have, and see how some goals and working hard and winning games.” they’re going to adjust. We’re not reinventing the wheel here, but a big Said Toews: “We can do better after we give up goals, or momentum thing we’re going to talk about is play with joy, play free, be aggressive, swings the other way. We’ve just got to stay patient, stay with it and try to push the pace, be skating. And we’ll see how the guys react to that, and simplify and limit our mistakes.” then things will become more clear.” Stopping that snowball effect after giving up a goal is Colliton’s first order 9. Derek King earned his first victory as the interim head coach of the of business. IceHogs on Friday night, beating the Milwaukee Admirals 2-1. The IceHogs have played a similar style to the Blackhawks for years now, in “We’d like to get to the point where that doesn’t bother us, where we can order to simplify the transition to the NHL for call-ups throughout the just keep going and believe that over 60 minutes, we’ll get through,” year. As Colliton tweaks the Blackhawks’ system — most notably from a Colliton said. “Second period, I didn’t love our response.” zone to man-to-man in the defensive zone — so will King in Rockford. Colliton reiterated what he said after the Carolina game, that all the But Colliton again cautioned that he’s not drastically overhauling the mistakes are correctable. And as he implements his system and his style system that worked so well for Quenneville for the better part of a and his personality, Colliton wants to focus on the process because that’s decade. “what will yield long-term results. But he knows time is of the essence, because if this streak continues much longer, the season is going to “It won’t be so different from how we have played there,” he said. “It’s not spiral out of control. a different system. We were able to push the details down there while being close to how they played up here. I think the D-zone is really the “We can fix them,” he said. “We’ve just got to hurry up.” only thing, but we were a little more man-on-man there (in Rockford) anyway. So I don’t think it’s going to be an adjustment. It’s not like I had to talk to Derek and say, ‘Hey listen, we’re changing these things.’ No. That won’t be the case.” 10. I’ll try to leave you with a hopeful note, from the captain. “The guys are staying up,” Toews said. “We’re pretty optimistic considering the losing streak we’re on right now.”

The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114917 Colorado Avalanche that’s the third-most in the league. The Avs are also averaging 11.6 penalty minutes per game and that’s also No. 3 in the NHL.

Bednar has watched his team continue to rack up penalties as they’ve How the Avs’ latest defeat further emphasizes what’s gone wrong during allowed opponents to average 4.2 power-play opportunities against them 5-game losing streak over the last five games. The Avalanche have surrendered seven power- play goals when they’ve been shorthanded on 21 occasions. By Ryan S. Clark It comes out to a conversion rate of 33 percent. Nov 10, 2018 Again. There’s the goals and when they’re being scored. Minnesota scored to take a 2-1 lead. Calgary’s lone power-play goal was the first of five unanswered. Vancouver has two of them and the second WINNIPEG — Silence as they walked into the dressing room. Even more was the game-winner in overtime. Nashville’s curbed Colorado’s attempt silence within the dressing room. There was some eventual chatter, but at a comeback and pushed the lead to 3-1 in a 4-1 victory. all of it was geared toward either explaining what went wrong or figuring out a way to try and fix those mistakes. Winnipeg took a 1-0 lead from a power-play goal and essentially put the game out of reach with its second tally increasing the lead to 4-2. Perhaps the most notable talking point Friday was how familiar themes continued to stay alive throughout the Avalanche’s 5-2 loss to the Jets at The Avalanche’s woes also extend to their power play. Also ranked ninth Bell MTS Place. The Avs have now dropped five consecutive games, yet on the one-man advantage, Bednar has watched his team perform below their last four contests have highlighted certain themes that continue to expectations in that category lately. present themselves. Colorado has converted on 17.6 percent of the 19 power-play chances it “Obviously, it sucks to be losing, but we still come to rink excited to play has received over the last five games, but finished 0-for-4 against hockey,” Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov said. “I don’t think any Winnipeg. guy in this room is putting their heads down or anything at all. It’s a tough “Special teams is a difference maker for them tonight,” Bednar said. “Two stretch for our team, but that’s what good teams do: It’s getting out of this power-play goals and great bang-bang plays. Hard plays, tough to position and try to win some hockey games.” defend plays and then our power play came up empty. Quick. Name the last time the Avalanche held a lead going into the Winnipeg’s captain was already on a hot streak entering Friday by second period. It was an Oct. 27 contest against the Wild at the Xcel recording at least one point in his last eight games. Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Oddly enough, that would be a game the Avs lost and it was the first defeat in their current slide. He finished October with seven points over his last six games. Wheeler opened November with five points in the first two games of the month. Since then, the Avalanche have failed to score a goal or even take a lead following the opening frame. They’ve been outscored 5-0 in the first The 6-foot-5 power forward had a career-high five points versus the period over their last three games. Avalanche alone. He played a part in creating both first-period goals before getting two more helpers and then an empty-net goal late in the “It’s always hard to start the games and be down like one to two goals,” third period. Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov said. “It does not matter even if you are down one or two goals. We have enough skill on this team to “I think that first goal was pretty lucky. The second goal was a bad angle score five (goals) and then win hockey games.” shot,” Zadorov said while revisiting Wheeler’s five-point night. “Then the power-play goal, (Patrik) Laine had a good goal there and that fourth, it Colorado was able to climb out of a one-goal hole against Vancouver by was 2-on-1 and (Patrik Nemeth) almost intercepted that puck. pulling into a 4-4 draw by the end of the second before falling in a thrilling 7-6 overtime loss last Friday at Rogers Arena. “I don’t think (Wheeler) had a crazy good game. He was there and everything was going in.” The same cannot be said for Colorado’s most recent contests against Nashville and Winnipeg. What Wheeler achieved was not an isolated incident. Nashville’s 2-0 lead provided the foundation needed for a 4-1 win earlier He’s become the latest skater who has either been extremely in the week at Pepsi Center. Winnipeg would eventually follow a similar instrumental or simply outright doomed the Avalanche. path. Goals from Kyle Connor and Mark Schiefele allowed the Jets to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Flames defenseman Mark Giordano and winger Matthew Tkachuk each finished with three points when they played the Avalanche. Giordano had Here’s where it gets tricky. The Avalanche have struggled to launch a the goal that gave Calgary a 5-4 lead while Tkachuk created his team’s high volume of attempts in the first period in two of their last three games. first goal and the last two that secured the win. But they’ve also kept their opponents to low totals in those same contests. Then there’s what Canucks duo Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson did to the Avalanche. Boeser, who finished with four points, had two goals They had six shots against the Canucks, but held them to eight. Yet that put the Canucks ahead at various times in the game. Both goals against the Predators, they had 10 shots, but allowed 18 attempts on net. were set up by Pettersson, who finished with five points. He scored the game-tying goal with less than a minute left in the third period while As for what happened versus the Jets? The Avalanche kept the Jets to getting the primary assist on the eventual overtime winner. just eight shots. Predators forward Colton Sissons opened the season with a goal and an Problem was the Avalanche only had four shots themselves. assist against the Rangers, but only mustered one point — an assist — “First 10 minutes, we were really good,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar over his next 13 games. Against the Avalanche, however, he scored a said. “Getting above pucks. Didn’t give up anything. I think the shots at hat trick. Eight of Sissons’ 26 career goals have come against the Avs the time they scored were 5-4 halfway through the first period. That was and that’s the most he’s enjoyed against any single team. all going good. Turned the puck over a couple times. Got a couple big “I think he’s the leader of that Winnipeg team,” Varlamov said looking saves from Varly. Turned it over one too many times, it ends up in the back on Wheeler. “He’s a great captain and he’s doing what he’s back of the net. I thought we were still going fine, but then we allowed the supposed to do. He’s leading that team.” power-play goal.

“It’s tough to say just a bad first period. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but we gotta manage the puck a little bit better than that. Get harder The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 on it in some high-traffic areas. How the Avalanche performed on the penalty kill in October is one of the primary reasons why they still possess one of the Top 10 units in the NHL. For now. There was an undercurrent of concern earlier this season when it came to how frequently the penalty kill was being deployed on a nightly basis. Officials have assessed the Avalanche with 73 penalties this season and 1114918 Columbus Blue Jackets

Rangers 5, Blue Jackets 4, SO | Jackets storm back but lose on Vesey's shootout goal

Adam Jardy The Columbus Dispatch @AdamJardy Nov 10, 2018 at 11:11 PM

The New York Rangers didn’t find much in the way of shots or significant scoring opportunities Saturday night at Nationwide Arena. It didn’t stop them from leaving town with an extra point at the expense of the Blue Jackets. Despite doubling up their opponent in shots and controlling the ice for nearly the duration of overtime, the Jackets lost 5-4 in a five-round shootout in front of a capacity crowd of 18,384 that was in full voice for much of the night. >>Join our Columbus Blue Jackets Fans Facebook group for the latest news, updates and to join in on the conversation. Jimmy Vesey’s goal provided the 3-2 shootout edge and came after Anthony Duclair and Oliver Bjorkstrand came up empty on successive shootout chances for the Jackets “I like what we did for a number of minutes,” coach John Tortorella said. “We put in a ton of good minutes. We’re going to just keep on working, try to work on staying above the puck, making right decisions at their blue line.” The shootout was the first of the season for the Jackets, who trailed 3-1 before the midway point of the second period before erupting for three successive goals to take the lead. They tied the score at 3 with goals 32 seconds apart, first on a Pierre-Luc Dubois deflection of a Seth Jones one-timer from the blue line and then on a Boone Jenner feed to Nick Foligno near the crease at 12:21. Alexander Wennberg gave the Jackets their first lead with his first goal of the season, and it came with Dubois in the penalty box for hooking. Jones nabbed an attempted Rangers entry pass right at their blue line, reversed direction and fed Wennberg on the left wing for the go-ahead goal. The Rangers answered at 19:07 when Vesey knocked a puck bouncing between David Savard’s legs past goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to tie the score for a third time. “It was big momentum shifts going both ways,” Foligno said of the second period. “We find a way to battle right back, and Wenny scores an awesome goal to make it 4-3. It’s just too bad they come back to tie it right before the period’s over.” The mood was one of some disappointment during the second intermission, Jones said, but it didn’t carry over into the third period. The Jackets outshot the Rangers 11-2 in the period and then 4-1 in overtime but couldn’t find a winner. “We had our chances to score,” Jones said. “A decent overall game, I’d say.” Tortorella went with Korpisalo in net and rested Sergei Bobrovsky, who in his last two games had stopped 60 of 62 shots (.968) in wins against Dallas and Washington. The Jackets will travel to play the Dallas Stars on Monday. Forward Cam Atkinson returned to the lineup, too, after missing a game Friday against the Washington Capitals because of illness. Atkinson scored the first goal of the game for the Jackets.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114919 Columbus Blue Jackets “He’s fine in his game,” Tortorella said. “He was outstanding in the first period and played well right through the game. But the first period, although we were (up) 1-0, we could be down 4-1. We were so sloppy.” Blue Jackets 2, Washington Capitals 1 | Five takeaways The Jackets’ first goal was scored by Oliver Bjorkstrand, who was likely going to be scratched a second straight game had Cam Atkinson not gotten sick. Brian Hedger The Columbus Dispatch @BrianHedger Atkinson’s illness prevented him from playing, which opened a spot for Nov 10, 2018 at 6:00 AM Bjorkstrand to return to the lineup. He slotted into the mix up front in Atkinson’s spot at right wing on the top line, playing with center Pierre- Luc Dubois and left wing Artemi Panarin. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- They’re going to feel this one in the morning. Bjorkstrand logged 14:50, had the goal and finished with five shots on goal, after being scratched Tuesday against Dallas. In fact, judging by the looks on some of the Blue Jackets’ faces Friday at – where they grinded out an impressive 2-1 victory Prior to the game, Tortorella mentioned before the game that he’d like to against the defending Stanley Cup champions – they felt it right then in see Bjorkstrand put more shots on goal during power plays – something the moments that followed the final horn. he’d struggled to do enough in the first 14 games. Yes, it was only one regular-season game. Yes, it was only the 16th of “I’m happy that it went in,” Bjorkstrand said of his shot, which was setup 82 regular-season games on the schedule. Yes, last season is over and by Nick Foligno’s great drop pass into the slot. “It’s one of those you the Blue Jackets are tired of talking about the bitter sting of their six- need to put in the net, so it was nice I didn’t miss that.” game loss in the first round to the Washington Capitals in April. Anthony Duclair continues to be a bit of an enigma for the Blue Jackets. >>Join our Columbus Blue Jackets Fans Facebook group for the latest news, updates and to join in on the conversation. On the one hand, his elite skills are in a class of very few NHL players. That’s why he’s still on the No. 1 power-play unit, scoring his seventh All of that considered, though, the answer is no – this was not just any goal and fourth power-play goal of the season Friday night. old two-point win. Not after watching Sergei Bobrovsky make numerous great saves to keep the Capitals from scoring, not after watching the Blue His ice time, however, is beginning to vanish a bit during 5-on-5 play. Jackets help him out – hurling their bodies in front of pucks time and time Duclair played just 9:30 and Tortorella said it could drop even further if again. Duclair doesn’t play consistently better without the puck. No, this one meant more to the Blue Jackets than they’ll admit, and the “I have given him some ice time, but I’ve taken some away lately here,” proof was in the drained expressions on their faces afterward – not to Tortorella said. “He can check. These players can check when they want mention the welts some of them likely carried back to Columbus. to. It’s just, ‘Are they determined enough?’ That’s the question with Duke and it certainly hasn’t been answered (to) me. He’s a terrific kid, very “The blocking of shots,” coach John Tortorella said in his postgame press coachable, but I can see where there are some, ‘ifs,’ as far as how he’s conference, answering a question about the Jackets’ penalty-killers going played with other teams.” 4 for 5 against the NHL’s top power-play team. “We made adjustments on how to kill. So many teams are trying to do so many things against Tortorella said it’s the responsibility of the Jackets’ coaching staff to instill this power play. I thought we did a really good job ... it’s a little bit of hard better habits in Duclair – whose goal was another jaw-dropper, scored work, a little bit of (guts) blocking shots, and at the end it was terrific by from a bad angle on the short side by flipping the puck into the upper (Boone Jenner), as far as what he did there.” portion of the net. What did Jenner do, exactly? “We think the upside here is worth it, so we’re going to give it a try here,” Tortorella said. “But it’s a two-way street.” Oh, he just laid his entire body flat on the ice as Washington’s Matt Niskanen wound up for a one-time clapper from above the circles. Down Foligno is typecast in the NHL as a , grinding forward who can score a couple of skaters because of a penalty and the Capitals sending goalie you a few goals, set up a couple and will bring the “sandpaper” to a game Braden Holtby to the bench, Jenner made sure the puck didn’t get with a blue-collar playing style. through to the net. Those aren’t inaccurate descriptors of him, but he lets his hands and It skipped off his body like a rock skipping through water at a high rate of vision tell a different story every so often. Foligno’s setup feed to speed, zipping high over the net with 31 seconds left. That’s not your Bjorkstrand on the first goal of the game was a head-turner by any typical regular-season block. measure. That’s desperation, the kind normally found in the playoffs. Getting to a loose puck in a traffic jam that formed in front of the net, he somehow spotted Bjorkstrand left along inside the right face-off circle. “It’s just a mentality,” said Jenner, eschewing the bridgework in his upper Foligno sent out a backhand reverse pass that slid past a Capitals front teeth to cut the perfect picture of a hockey player. “We want to take defenseman and traveled across the slot to Bjorkstrand. care of that aspect of the game and lay it out there for our teammates and for Bob, obviously. You see how hard he played for us and how Bjorkstrand’s goal gave Foligno his fifth assist and 10th point, which puts many big saves he had, so for us to get in front of a couple shots and him on pace to surpass the 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) he had in 72 help out … it’s the least we could do.” games last season. He’s currently on pace to finish with 52 points on 26 goals and 26 assists. Here are four more takeaways from an exciting night in the nation’s capital: Bobrovsky mentions “the process,” quite a bit when he’s asked about his Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 11.11.2018 goaltending performances, whether they’re pedestrian or like this one. The process, he says. The process, the process, the process. After watching the Jackets’ star turn away shot after shot by the Capitals, it looks like the process is at a point where he’s back in top gear. Bobrovsky wasn’t sharp in training camp, wasn’t sharp in the preseason and wasn’t sharp in the first few weeks of the regular season either. He’s razor-sharp now, after openly complaining about the NHL’s new form-fitting chest protectors leaving too many areas exposed and admitting in the preseason that he’s “human,” when it comes to the matter of his uncertain future in Columbus beyond this season. Those concerns are fading in the rearview mirror now, and they get smaller with each game like this one. The process is working again and the Blue Jackets are happy about it. 1114920 Columbus Blue Jackets Columbus represents Duclair’s fourth NHL stop in the last five years so it’s not as though the 23-year-old is unfamiliar with struggling to satisfy expectations. His talent is easily recognized, but his work ethic has been Making sense of Anthony Duclair’s third-period benching and what it questioned on occasion. means for Blue Jackets’ third line Duclair had ample suitors in the offseason and chose the Blue Jackets in part based on the recommendations of Vincent Lecavalier, the brother of Duclair’s agent. Lecavalier played under Tortorella in Tampa and the By Tom Reed passionate player and coach had some spirited clashes over the years. Nov 11, 2018 They also won a Stanley Cup together in 2004. Lecavalier thought Tortorella’s hard-driving approach would help bring out the best in Duclair. The early results on the scoresheet have been COLUMBUS, — Basketball and football coaches are notorious for encouraging, but the coach wants a more well-rounded player, one trying to ice opponents prior to critical late-game free throws and field- willing to compete in all facets of the game. goal attempts. “Do I want to turn him into a checker — no,” Tortorella said prior to In an unusual and inadvertent way, John Tortorella did it to one of his Saturday’s game. “But he has to understand there’s some responsibility own players Saturday night in the Blue Jackets’ 5-4 shootout loss to the there.” Rangers at Nationwide Arena. Duclair did not speak with reporters following the loss, but he’ll likely The coach didn’t call timeout before Anthony Duclair attempted his shot address Tortorella’s comments Monday in Dallas. For now, the benching in the fourth round of the skills competition. But the speedy winger is just a blip on what otherwise has been a productive start to the season. already had been placed in hockey’s version of timeout, having been benched for all but 40 seconds of the third period and overtime. Several team leaders said Saturday night Duclair is still learning what it takes to play for their coach. In other words, Duclair — the team’s co-leader in goals and leader in power-play goals— was not in the flow of the game when Rangers “The unfortunate part is I don’t think Torts knows him well enough yet,” netminder Alexandar Georgiev denied his shootout bid. New York winger captain Nick Foligno said. “He’s got to do all the little things to earn his Jimmy Vesey won it in the fifth round. trust. He’s like anyone. I remember when Torts came here (in 2015). It was a clean slate for all of us. It didn’t matter if you were a veteran guy or “I was thinking about that when he went out there,” defenseman Seth a young guy, it was how you were playing and all the little things you did Jones said of Duclair trying to score after having sat for so long. “I don’t to gain his trust to be put out there in big situations. (Duclair) knows he’s think it affects your skill, but not having touched the puck for awhile could an important player for us . . . It’s just learning what’s expected.” affect your ability, maybe.” Duclair scored the game-winning goal in Washington on the power play The demanding Tortorella is willing to potentially sacrifice a point in the despite earning just 1:18 of even-strength ice time in the third period. standings to make a larger one in the dressing room. Although he appreciates Duclair’s ability to create offense, he’s been unhappy with his “It could be any of us on any given night,” Jones said. “Everyone starts recent play away from the puck. from scratch with (Tortorella). If you don’t do the right things on every shift — you’re gonna make mistakes and he understands that and he’s “He’s got to check,” Tortorella said. “He’s got to learn to check.” been better with that — but at the same time you have to play the right way and within the team concept. It sucks right now that it’s Duke The coach expressed disappointment with his entire third line of Duclair, because he’s been big in getting our power play going and bringing some Alexander Wennberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand, but it was the newcomer’s creativity to our offense.” ice time that was most drastically impacted. Duclair played a team-low 5:40 — he’s been averaging 14:01 —even as his coach afforded him The next step is seeing where Tortorella deploys Duclair in the lineup — the opportunity to be a shootout hero. is he made a healthy scratch Monday? — and how the player responds. “I can’t play them as a line,” Tortorella said. “I can’t play Wennberg’s line It says something the coach afforded Duclair a shot at redemption in the together because they just get scored on. They don’t check.” shootout. There were plenty of storylines in a highly entertaining game played “With Duke, I hadn’t played him at all and we talked about it as coaches before a sellout crowd of 18,384 fans. The Blue Jackets were the better (whether to use him in the shootout), but you know what, he’s a talent team for long stretches of a divisional matchup that saw them outshoot that way,” Tortorella said. “So we have to give him a chance.” the Rangers, 38-19. The Blue Jackets won’t practice Sunday before flying to Dallas. It They scored a power-play and short-handed goal. They received points wouldn’t be surprising to see Tortorella tweak his bottom two lines. and quality minutes from their top two lines. Meanwhile, Jones contributed three assists. The top unit of Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson is playing well. Those players combined for two goals and two assists But the Jackets committed two glaring turnovers that led to odd-man-rush against the Rangers. The second line of Foligno, Boone Jenner and Josh goals and several defensive-zone breakdowns that also proved costly. Anderson also continues to produce. Foligno finished a beautiful feed Over the course of an 82-game schedule, all teams have such nights. from Jenner to tie Saturday’s game at 3-3. Especially when their backup goalie, in this case Joonas Korpisalo, can’t deliver enough big saves. Perhaps, the coach opts to rearrange his third and fourth lines to balance skill and snarl. Fourth liner Riley Nash, another offseason acquisition, “We were playing good, we just made some huge mistakes with has yet to score, registering just a pair of assists. turnovers,” the coach said. In fairness, Duclair wasn’t directly responsible for any of the Rangers’ Among the more pressing issues confronting Tortorella is how to remedy goals. Bjorkstrand committed a turnover on the game’s first goal and problems with his third line, whose members were on the ice for three Wennberg was blown off the puck behind the Blue Jackets’ net on the 3- goals against. It’s a light line that features wingers not known for grit or 1 goal. attention to defensive detail. In the past week, the coach has made it clear, however, he’s looking for Bjorkstrand was a healthy scratch against the Stars on Tuesday before more out of Duclair than just goals. The much-traveled winger decided to scoring a power-play goal Friday in the 2-1 win over the Capitals. sign with the Blue Jackets knowing Tortorella’s reputation. Wennberg’s uneven play has been a concern throughout the young season, and the center didn’t tally his first goal until Saturday with the It was reinforced Saturday night as Duclair waited and waited and waited Blue Jackets killing a penalty. for another chance to prove his worth. Duclair, who’s playing for an NHL minimum $650,000, has been a bright Analytically speaking spot with seven goals, including four on the power play. He scored on the man advantage against the Stars and Capitals. The Athletic’s hockey data dynamo Alison Lukan provided these insights into the Blue Jackets’ loss: Yet anyone who knows Tortorella’s history understands he expects accountability to the team without exception. Every player on the Blue • Let’s start where we always do by asking if the Jackets deserved to win Jackets’ roster can share stories about having ice time reduced and effort tonight’s game? According to Corsica.hockey, Columbus had an challenged at some point. expected goal total of 3.02 while New York’s was 1.71. Both teams exceeded expectations, but the margin was much closer than it should have been. Why? While the Jackets controlled shot share (60.64%) and scoring chances (60%), they didn’t have the advantage when it came to high-danger attempts (47.06%). Even though the home team had a commanding 21-8 shot attempt advantage in the third period alone, only one Jackets’ attempt was high- danger. Looking at play in net, Georgiev was 1.4-percent below expectations, while Korpisalo ended the night 12.7-percent below where his performance should have been. • Anderson had a monster night. He had 19:10 of ice time in even strength play primarily against the top line of Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and Vladislav Namestnikov. When No. 77 was on the ice, his team got a whopping 83.33-percent of all shot attempts, 76.92-percent of all scoring chances and 75-percent of high-danger attempts. Those are team-leading numbers in all three categories (Nick Foligno matched the performance in scoring chances and high-danger attempts). • The Wennberg, Duclair, Bjorkstrand line is certainly a curious case at the moment. In Saturday’s game, we know they didn’t have much ice time, but it bears mention that the majority of the time they did play came against the Rangers’ second line of Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, and Lias Andersson. Here’s how each member of the line performed when on the ice: Bjorkstrand helped get a lot of shots going the Jackets way (72.22- percent, second best on the team), but just 25-percent of all high-danger attempts. Wennberg, who had the most ice time of the three (9:10 at even strength), drove 66.67 percent of shot attempts in favor of the home team, placing him fifth overall. He had a slight edge up in high-danger attempts at 33.33%. It was Duclair who struggled the most with just 41.67-percent of all shot attempts and he too had 25-percent of high-danger attempts like Bjorkstrand. Tortorella wants to see this group check more, and that is valid, but it would seem they could also be better served by not just creating attempts, but driving for quality chances and high-danger attempts, in particular.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114921 Columbus Blue Jackets If there’s any value in looking back, it’s that the Capitals are proof a perennial postseason underachiever can change its legacy by staying in the moment. They broke free from the shackles of past failures just when Present tense: Sergei Bobrovsky is starting to find his groove for Blue it appeared they would be imprisoned by them again. Jackets Not long ago, Holtby was a Vezina winner who many thought couldn’t get it done in the crucible of springtime hockey. He didn’t even start the first two games of the opening-round series against the Blue Jackets. By Tom Reed It’s why Bobrovsky is just trying to mute the outside noise and work out Nov 10, 2018 the kinks in his play. The last few starts are encouraging. “It’s a long season, and it’s a process,” he said. “You go on the rink, you practice and work hard and try to get better every day. You just try to be WASHINGTON — Sergei Bobrovsky cannot alter his past performances consistent and try to work hard and play as best as you can to give a in the playoffs or predict his future with the Blue Jackets beyond this chance for team to win the game.” season. It helps when your power play is fueling momentum and not siphoning it So much talk regarding the two-time Vezina Trophy winner focuses on away. Bobrovsky’s lone loss in his past four starts came in Los Angeles what’s either behind him or on the horizon. Those topics are as last weekend as the Kings struck for a pair of third-period, shorthanded controllable to him as rebounds from an Alex Ovechkin left-circle goals on the same Blue Jackets’ power play. They entered this week screamer. having failed to convert on their previous 21 attempts before going 1-of-3 against the Stars and 2-of-3 against the Capitals. All Bobrovsky can do is concern himself with the present. And for the first time since arriving at training camp, the present is a good place for him “When they start scoring a couple goals, no matter what type of goals and his team. they are, they loosen up their hands and they just feel better about it,” Tortorella said. “Special teams is very important. We’ve kept our head Building on the momentum of recent starts, the goaltender was above water with our special teams really struggling. If we can get them spectacular in turning aside 33 shots Friday to lead the Blue Jackets to a going fairly consistently and stay within our concept we could get to that taut 2-1 victory over the Capitals. Bobrovsky followed a terrific outing road of consistency.” Tuesday in which he made 27 saves versus the Stars with a more impressive performance against the defending Stanley Cup champions The Blue Jackets’ penalty killers were just as important. The Capitals’ — an opponent that eliminated the Blue Jackets in the opening round of top-ranked power play — sans injured John Carlson — went last season’s playoffs. 1-of-5 on the night. Columbus won 4-of-7 draws shorthanded to relieve pressure and Bobrovsky made five saves, including one off a Lars Eller In three of his past four starts, Bobrovsky has limited foes to one goal in deflection with 21 seconds remaining. helping put some distance between himself and his poor first month of the season. It was an October that included a national report about his “They got very dangerous power play, and I thought guys step up when alleged unhappiness and the uncertainty surrounding his pending free we was on penalty kill,” Bobrovsky said. “They did a great job. They agency. It was an October that included backup Joonas Korpisalo didn’t allow them to get in the zone, and then they play smart. They play starting five times and three in a row to end the month. solid.” The Blue Jackets owe it to themselves to see what they have in The goaltender was asked whether the game had a “playoff feel.” He Korpisalo. The club is at its best, however, when Bobrovsky plays the turned aside the question the way he did so many shots Friday night. way he did against the Sharks, Stars and Capitals. “Not really, to be honest — it’s a new season,” said Bobrovsky, who “He’s finding his game,” John Tortorella said. “He was outstanding in the lowered his goals against average to 2.90 and raised his save first period (Friday) and played well right through the game.” percentage to .909. “It all start again. It’s just very tough and very good opponent and it’s so nice to get two points.” The Blue Jackets’ resurgent power play netted two goals, one each from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Anthony Duclair. They also received a strong Korpisalo probably gets the start against the Rangers on Saturday in showing from the Nick Foligno-Boone Jenner-Josh Anderson line, which Nationwide Arena. He figures to get ample work as the season unfurls. drew the third-period power play leading to Duclair’s winner at 5:09. But Friday night in Washington was a good reminder the Blue Jackets The penalty killers were excellent despite allowing a second-period goal will go as far as Bobrovsky takes them. The goalie can’t do anything on a Matt Niskanen rocket, and the visitors blocked 19 shots. A key block about repairing his postseason image without first getting his team to the came from Jenner in the final minute with the Capitals on the power play playoffs again. and Braden Holtby off for an extra attacker. Notebook But the night belonged to Bobrovsky, who steadied the Blue Jackets every time they looked ready to wobble. There was little wasted motion • Cam Atkinson missed Friday’s game due to illness. Tortorella hopes the or opportunity. His outrageous right pad save on a Nicklas Backstrom winger will be available for Saturday’s home contest. redirect early in the second period was vintage Bob, anticipating the play before it happened. • Bjorkstrand, a healthy scratch against the Stars, returned to the lineup and supplied a first-period goal — just his second of the season. The “He wins us the game,” Foligno said. “I’m not knocking the guys, but I Dane went from out of the lineup to playing on the top line with Pierre- thought we sat back and respected that team a little too much and when Luc Dubois and Artemi Panarin. you do that they have so much skill. There’s almost an arrogance with how good they are. The comfort level that they have. Bob was there to “I saw him harder on the puck,” Tortorella said. “He did some good stymie every one of them. He’s been outstanding, and a big reason why things, so Cam comes back in hopefully tomorrow. I have to make a we have won these last two games.” decision on does (Bjorkstrand) stay in. Who comes out? That’s something I’ll decide as we have our meetings tomorrow during the day.” The game was the first meeting of the season between the Metro Division rivals who produced the NHL’s most enthralling first-round • Duclair said he hurt his shoulder in the third period — briefly sending playoff series in April. Four games went to overtime. The Blue Jackets him to the locker room after his goal — but he returned to finish the were a couple of goal posts and a fluky goal away from taking a game. He has seven goals on the season, tying him for the team lead commanding 3-0 series lead. with Anderson. The Capitals roared back to win the final four matches, adding to the • Defenseman David Savard blocked seven shots. tortured playoff history of Bobrovsky and his team. If they win that series • Brandon Dubinsky had an excellent night on the dots, winning 11 of 14 who knows how far the Blue Jackets advance. Maybe their franchise faceoffs. goalie signs a big-money extension and his future in Columbus is secure. Analytically speaking Bobrovsky wasn’t interested in revisiting the past after Friday’s win. The Capitals have hung their banner and Ovechkin has his Stanley Cup ring. The Athletic’s hockey data dynamo Alison Lukan provided these insights into the Blue Jackets’ win: “The last season, it’s already behind us,” Bobrovsky said. “We live in the present, and (there’s) another season ahead of us. We have to compete • Did the Jackets deserve to win tonight’s game? The short answer is and have to win the games.” yes. The long answer is yes, because, while the two teams ran fairly even in five-on-five shot attempts and scoring chances, Columbus had the edge (56 percent) on high-danger attempts. Translated to how many goals the Jackets should have had? According to Corsica.hockey, the score should have been 3.84 to 2.26 in the Jackets’ favor. • Both goaltenders were huge factors in keeping the actual final lower than expected. Bobrovsky was excellent with a save percentage 4.3 percent higher than expected. On the other end of the ice, Holtby exceeded his expected save percentage by 5.2. • Bjorkstrand made the most of his opportunity. Of course, he had the power-play goal, but at even strength, Bjorkstrand — in 12:52 of ice time — ran third among all Jackets players in shot attempt plus-minus (plus- 5), and he was second only to Panarin in scoring chance plus-minus (plus-4). When it came to high-danger attempts, Bjorkstrand created the biggest differential in the Jackets’ favor, ending the night at plus-4 (83.33 percent). Finally, at an individual level, among all skaters from both teams, Bjorkstrand had the second-best individual expected goal total of the game (.78). • From a line-matching perspective, it was a strong night for the line of Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and Josh Anderson. Playing primarily against Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin and Dmitrij Jaskin for just more than seven minutes in five-on-five play, the Jackets trio had a shot differential of plus-9 over Kuznetsov and plus-10 over Ovechkin. Overall, the Washington captain was held to his team having just 30.3 percent of all shot attempts when he was on the ice. • How big was that first Columbus power-play goal that came late in the first period? The Capitals had otherwise controlled play at five-on-five. The Jackets mustered just 28.57 percent of all shot attempts and 29.63 percent of scoring chances in the opening frame.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114922 Dallas Stars period to even the score at 3 and then the late comeback -- perhaps best showcased Dallas’ shooting disparity again.

Opponents have out-shot the Stars in six of the last seven games. Dallas Lack of depth, unfamiliarity spell trouble for Stars in loss to NHL-best trailed Nashville 34 shots to 24. In that stretch, opponents have 61 more Predators shots than the Stars, and Dallas has surpassed 30 shots in only one outing -- a 37-32 advantage to beat defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals last weekend. Callie Caplan Recognizing Spezza: In a pregame ceremony, the Stars recognized Spezza for playing 1,000 NHL games, a milestone he reached last week in Montreal. Just before facing the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon, the Stars’ defense, which has been depleted by injuries, restocked with AHL The center received a silver stick -- the customary gift given to players call-ups and then depleted again, took another hit: the team announced when they hit 1,000 games -- a Rolex watch and an engraved crystal. defenseman Roman Polak would miss the game with an illness. Stars owner Tom Gaglardi will also treat Spezza to a dinner with Cowboys greats Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Jay Novacek and Daryl A game after losing John Klingberg at least four weeks to an injury that Johnston. required surgery, with defensemen Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches) and Connor Carrick (foot) also on injured reserve, and with a Spezza’s parents, wife and four daughters joined him on the ice during host of newcomers filling out the roster, the Stars used their 10th the ceremony, and congratulatory videos from players across the NHL defenseman this season. played on the jumbotron during breaks throughout the game. Against the Predators, a team tied for the NHL’s best record at 12-3 and averaging 3.4 goals a game, the lack of depth and unfamiliarity could spell trouble, right? Dallas Morning News LOADED: 11.11.2018 For most of three periods, it didn’t. Then Nashville scored in the final minute of regulation and again midway through a five-minute overtime to hand the Stars a 5-4 home loss. Players and first-year coach Jim Montgomery said the Stars’ makeshift defensive lineup showed positive signs against the Western Conference- leading Predators. But losing two leads in the third period left them lamenting the opportunity to gain with two points, instead of one, in the Central Division clash. “It would’ve been a real feel-good moment for us to win the game,” Jason Spezza said. “That’s one of the best teams in the league. We played with them. Probably should’ve won [today], and that should springboard us knowing that with the injuries we have we can still compete every night and be good. In Klingberg’s absence, the Stars expected to rely more in rookie Miro Heiskanen and Julius Honka, and they did. The duo led the team with 29:26 and 17:49 in ice time, respectively. While Honka, who’s played in the Stars’ last 14 games after starting the season as a healthy scratch, had a lapse that led to a Nashville goal 12 seconds into the second period that tied the game at 1, he responded with an assist to Tyler Seguin for a 2-1 lead about seven minutes later. The Stars didn’t - or maybe they couldn’t -- shield their recent arrivals from expansive roles, either. Defenseman Ben Gleason, who was in his car driving from Cedar Park about 15 minutes after his phone rang at 7:30 a.m. Saturday to summon him for his NHL debut, played 18 minutes and assisted wing Denis Gurianov on a third-period goal to give the Stars’ a 4-3 lead with 11 minutes remaining. Gurianov’s first career point on that score came a game after he his NHL debut Thursday in a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks. Defenseman Joel Hanley also logged 18 minutes after moving up from AHL affiliate Texas on Friday. “It’s playing in the NHL,” Gleason said. “It’s a thing you’re dreaming of when you're a kid, so it’s definitely something everybody’s thought about, and I was excited to have one today.” Despite new faces across the ice, the Stars continued their penalty kill success, nixing four of Nashville’s five power plays. While Nashville’s league-worst man-up unit entered the game converting at 13 percent, Roman Josi netted the last past Ben Bishop with 42.5 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 4. Nashville then denied a Dallas power play that carried over into the sudden-death overtime, Mattias Ekholm scored the game-winner 2:27 into the extra period, and the injury-riddled Stars skated off the ice in front of their sellout American Airlines Center crowd with a third loss in the last four games. “You can tell that we were young. On the back end, we weren’t as crisp,” Montgomery said. “But I like the fight. I thought a lot of the defensemen played really well for us [today], and it’s just too bad that we couldn’t hold onto the lead.” Shooting disparity continues: That the Stars’ loss featured two quick Predators scoring bursts -- two goals in the first two minutes of the third 1114923 Dallas Stars

Stars finally set to celebrate Jason Spezza's 1,000th NHL game on home ice

Matthew DeFranks

FRISCO -- For one last time, the Stars and Jason Spezza will celebrate him playing 1,000 NHL games, this time Saturday afternoon when Dallas hosts Nashville. Spezza hit the milestone last week in Montreal, as the Stars were amid a six-game East coast road trip, delaying a ceremony in front of the home crowd at the American Airlines Center. Spezza will be presented with the customary silver stick given to players when they hit 1,000 games. Spezza has already celebrated the accomplishment with the team (they went to dinner in Montreal together), to reporters (he answered plenty of questions in Montreal about the milestone), and with opposing fans (Canadiens fans gave Spezza a standing ovation when the team recognized the feat on the video board). But he hasn't done so in front of the home crowd. "I love it here in Dallas," Spezza said. "It's been great. It's become home for my kids. They go to school here and we know the people in our community. It's a place we really enjoy being in." Spezza is in his fifth season with Dallas after being traded from Ottawa. He enters Saturday with 76 goals and 135 assists, ranking 40th in franchise history with 211 points. This year, he has 10 points in 16 games as he tries to rebound from a career-worst year last season. When he was traded to the Stars in the summer of 2014, Spezza had just one year remaining on his deal, about to hit the free agent market. But four months after his arrival in Texas, Spezza signed a four-year, $30 million contract that expires at the end of this season, in part because of life for his wife and now four kids. "Wherever I got traded to, we were going to have to be comfortable with the school system and that's why I didn't want to sign before I got here and played," Spezza said. "So I played a few months, got comfortable and then I signed an extension. That was a big priority for life outside of hockey. The biggest [hockey] priority was just being comfortable with the organization." Spezza was the 326th NHL player to reach 1,000 games and 214th forward. "It'll be nice to kind of put the bow on the whole 1,000 games and get it to come and go," Spezza said. "I got a lot of people in town, so it's nice to have them come to. It's a chance for everybody to be together. After the weekend, it'll be nice to get back to playing, too."

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114924 Dallas Stars Honka also chipped in on offense. The d-man pulled off a brilliant fake pass at the blue line, skated down the right side of the right circle and threaded a cross-crease pass through traffic that Tyler Seguin slammed Stars coach wanted team to emulate ‘The Patriot Way.’ Did it succeed home to give the Stars a 2-1 lead in the second period. vs. West’s best? Defensively, the unit did a solid job of getting sticks in lanes, clearing out (as Montgomery says) the blue-paint areas and killing penalties (the Stars killed four out of five man-down situations). BY PETER DAWSON The forwards deserved credit, too, for helping the younger players adjust [email protected] to the dramatically increased ice time on short notice. November 10, 2018 05:40 PM “We didn’t run as many set plays with those guys on the ice,” Spezza said. “You want (them) to make hard plays and let the game come to them. I think they both got more comfortable as they game went on. On the surface, comparing the 2018 Dallas Stars to the New England “That’s kind of how we’re going to have to play now here for a little bit Patriots might seem a touch outlandish. with the injures. We need to simplify our game and fight to the end.” But when head coach Jim Montgomery said his team needed to emulate Five of the six players logged 17 minutes of ice time or more. Heiskanen the NFL’s model franchise, he did it in a very specific way. played nearly 30. Following his team’s 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday The players and Montgomery knew there’s plenty of work to be done. night, Montgomery said he wanted the younger players to adopt the next- man-up mantra so often preached by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Turnovers and a lack of accountability in front of the net resulted in Nashville scoring two goals in the first two minutes of the third period. His players, particularly the young call-ups embraced that challenge, The Predators also overwhelmed the Stars after pulling goalie Juuse despite suffering a 5-4 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators at the Soros, to the point that they tied the game at four goals each with under American Airlines Center Saturday afternoon. a minute left. “They (the young players) battled and played hard,” said Stars center “You could tell we were young on the back end and we weren’t as crisp Jason Spezza, who was honored by teammates and players around the on a lot of things, but I liked the fight,” Montgomery said. “I thought a lot league before and during his 1,000th career NHL game. “It would’ve of the defensemen played really well for us tonight. It’s just too bad we been a feel-good moment for us to win the game. That’s one of the best couldn’t hold on to the lead.” teams in the league and we played with them and probably should’ve won tonight.” “That should spring board us, knowing that, with the injuries that we can Star-Telegram LOADED: 11.11.2018 still compete every night and be good.” Those injuries have forced the Stars to play short-handed in some form or another for much of this young season. Saturday, the Stars were without defensemen Marc Methot (lower-body), John Klingberg (upper-body), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic (headaches) and Roman Polak (illness). Montgomery was also without the services of fowards such Alexander Radulov (lower-body), Martin Hanzal (recovering from back surgery). Defenseman Roman Pollak also missed Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators, the best team in the Western Conference standings, due to illness. Klingberg remains second on the team in points with 13 (5 goals, 8 assists), but reports indicate he is expected to miss at least three weeks. But their replacements filled-in admirably. You’d be forgiven if you found yourself heading to the Google machine to find some of these names. These were the d-pairings on the lineup card: Esa Lindell-Julius Honka Dillon Heatherington-Miro Heiskanen Joel Hanley-Benjamin Gleason This season, those players have only participated in 45 games, collectively. In total, the unit has only combined to play a tot of . If you take out Lindell, that number drops all the way down to 120. Gleason’s journey to the league happened fast. The Stars were so impressed with his performance during the 2018 NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City and his free agent tryout last summer, that they eventually signed him to three-year entry-level contract. At 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Gleason got the call to drive up from the Austin area. He even notched his first career assist assist on the team’s fourth goal, a deflection by Denis Gurianov. “Playing in the NHL is something you dream about when you’re a kid,” Gleason said. “I knew. A goal is a goal and an assist is an assist. I was glad he scored I was glad to be a part of it.” 1114925 Dallas Stars looked like Gleason had scored the goal, but he pointed at Gurianov during the celebration, indicating he knew it had been deflected.

After not being able to feel his legs in warmups, Gleason somehow Stars 20/20: It stung in OT, but young defense helps Stars grab oozed confidence in his first NHL game. Later in the third period, during a unexpected point four-on-four situation, he danced in for a chance that was stopped by Juuse Saros. Later in the period, Gleason spun around a Predators player at the offensive blue line and was tripped. It probably should have By Sean Shapiro been a penalty. Nov 10, 2018 He was on the ice late in the third period, and he got shifts in overtime. He earned the trust of Montgomery and assistant coach Rick Bowness.

“I don’t know Ben that well, but you can tell he’s always believed in DALLAS — Mattias Ekholm scored in overtime and the Nashville himself,” Montgomery said. “There is no way someone is gonna come in Predators beat the Dallas Stars 5-4 on Saturday afternoon. and make the plays and the head-up decisions he made unless you are a confident young man. It’s a good lesson for everybody — play to your Tyler Pitlick, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, and Denis Gurianov scored for strengths.” the Stars. Ben Bishop made 29 saves on 34 shots. “He’s a good player,” Gurianov said of Gleason. “Good in the D-zone, 1. The Stars defense started to adjust to life without John Klingberg on he’s playing good … he’s like attack D. He has a lot of aspects, like he’s Saturday after the all-star defenseman had hand surgery Friday, which playing smart. He can see the ice as well, he’s good guy. He’s a good will keep him out for at least four weeks, according to Jim Montgomery. player.” It’s the toughest injury in a series of rough ones on the defensive end for I spoke with Texas Stars coach Derek Laxdal on Saturday morning Dallas. Here are the Stars’ current defensive injuries on the before Gleason was recalled. In Texas, he’s put the rookie on the first organizational depth chart: power-play unit and given him more opportunities because of his “scary John Klingberg — hand, out at least four weeks after surgery. skill with the puck.” Stephen Johns — post-traumatic headaches, unknown timeline, hasn’t He showed off that skill on the biggest stage against Nashville. practiced since Sunday. When asked to sum up the full experience, Gleason said, “It’s been pretty Marc Methot — knee, might be available Monday. Practiced Friday, but crazy,” and said he hopefully packed enough to last a few days. had to leave ice early. 5. It was the full Honka experience in the second period. Connor Carrick — ankle, hasn’t skated in a week, likely at least a week On the first shift of the middle stanza, he had a horrendous turnover that out once he starts practicing again. led directly to a goal for Ryan Hartman. Gavin Bayreuther — knee, has started practicing with the AHL team in He made up for it six minutes later when he walked a Predators forward, Cedar Park and could return to the Texas lineup this weekend. carried the puck down and slipped a pass through to Seguin for a 2-1 Reese Scarlett — ACL surgery, done for the season. lead. 2. Making matters worse, Roman Polak was sick Saturday, meaning the Unfortunately for Honka, he was on the ice again when the Predators Stars had to recall Ben Gleason from the AHL. scored 17 seconds into the third period. Gleason started this season as tryout invite by the Stars to the Traverse For Honka, it’s all about making the rewards outweigh the risks. It’s the City Prospects Tournament. He had a strong showing at the tournament reason Klingberg is such an effective NHL defenseman — for each and was offered an NHL contract with Dallas. Two months later, he made mistake in his own zone, there are four or five plays offensively that make his NHL debut as the Stars rolled out a defense that may be the most him one of the better players at his position. inexperienced group to play an NHL game for any team this season. That’s what Honka tried to do Saturday. And based off his usage — he Esa Lindell was the grizzled veteran of the group, with 173 career games was surpassed by Hanley and Gleason in time on ice — the coaching heading into Saturday. The rest of the defenders had combined with 119, staff seems to think the risks outweighed any potential rewards in crunch with most of that number belonging to Julius Honka. time against Nashville. For more fun with numbers, the Stars’ daily cap hit on defense Saturday 6. Hanley was the first new addition to the NHL group Saturday and was $6,019,165. The Predators defense had a daily cap hit of made his season debut after starting the season in the AHL. $20,600,000, including $9 million going to P.K. Subban. Hanley was one of the final cuts from NHL training camp alongside 3. Even with the built-in excuses and a considerably lesser roster on Bayreuther and has been a big-minute defenseman for the AHL team, paper, the Stars salvaged a point and were 43 seconds away from taking killing penalties and running the second power-play unit. them both against the best team in the Western Conference. He was the only remaining call-up option with NHL experience. Saturday The ending will leave a bit of a sour taste; overtime always does that. So was his 23rd career NHL game, and he played five NHL games last does the fact the Stars were up 3-1 entering the third period. season with the Arizona Coyotes. But when you consider the lineups and the situations — when Nashville Hanley acquitted himself well. There isn’t much flash to his game, but tied the score at 3-3, a young team was supposed to crumble — it ends he’s a reliable NHL-AHL tweener defender who can step up in a situation up looking like a pretty good point for the Stars. like this. When you are hit this hard by injuries, you want a player like Hanley, and it’s why the Stars signed him this summer. “I liked the fight,” Montgomery said. “It’s just too bad that we couldn’t hold on to the lead.” 7. Heiskanen was 34 seconds away from becoming the fourth teenager in NHL history to play 30 minutes in a regular-season game. 4. Gleason woke up Saturday preparing to play in the AHL for the Texas Stars against the San Antonio Rampage. The 19-year-old had a game-high 29 minutes, 26 seconds of ice time and did well in his first game as the new de facto No. 1 defender. But he got the call around 7:30 a.m. from Stars assistant general manager Scott White that he needed to head up I-35 to Dallas right “I thought he was really good,” Montgomery said. “We’re asking a lot.” away. So the 20-year-old took a quick shower, packed a bag, and drove 8. Here was the overall usage for the Stars defensemen in the game: north with Texas Stars assistant equipment manager Julio Romero. 1. Heiskanen 29:26 “It’s funny, when he arrived I went and said hi to him and he had a smile ear to ear,” Montgomery said. “You know what, it was good reminder, 2. Lindell 26:42 especially the guys that played, it makes you think back to your first game and how exciting that day was for you. And I think it gave the team 3. Hanley 18:56 a lot of energy.” 4. Gleason 18:13 He then played 18 minutes, 13 seconds and had the assist on Gurianov’s goal that made it 4-3 when his blast from the point was tipped. Initially, it 5. Honka 17:49 6. Heatherington 10:30 9. If we try to read the tea leaves and make a prediction, you could make Trevor Daley, John Tavares, Zdeno Chara, Ben Bishop, Don Cherry, a case that Heatherington will be the player headed back to the AHL if Steve Ott, Jordan Spieth and Bobby Orr. Polak is healthy for Monday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. 19. Former Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen was in attendance Saturday, and We’ll see what happens, but Hanley and Gleason certainly gave the his son, Mikko, was the pregame stick Kid. Stars’ decision-makers something to think about. Lehtonen is still a free agent and has not officially retired from the NHL. 10. The rash of injuries on defense also led to trade Saturday. The Stars snagged Taylor Fedun from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a During the third period, Lehtonen was shown on the videoboard and got conditional seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft. a nice ovation from the crowd. The condition is that Buffalo receives the pick only if Fedun plays 25 20. Here is how the Stars did when it came to the process: combined NHL games between the regular season and playoffs. You Win 56 percent of faceoffs: Passed. The Stars won 57 percent. would think that wouldn’t come to fruition, but with the Stars’ injuries so far you can’t rule anything out. Zero undisciplined penalties: Failed. Bad offensive zone penalty by Jamie Benn in the second period. Not a good slash by Esa Lindell in the Fedun’s acquisition is more of a depth move to help solidify Texas after third period that gave Nashville the chance to tie the score at 6-on-4. losing so many players to the NHL club. The 30-year-old has played 46 career NHL games and hadn’t played much for the Rochester Americans Three or fewer odd-man rushes: Failed. because of an influx of defensemen in Buffalo’s system. Win net-front battle: Passed. Fedun will likely make his Texas debut tomorrow in San Antonio. In the meantime, the Texas Stars had big opportunities open up for John Win special teams: Failed. It’s one of those situations where they didn’t Nyberg and Niklas Hansson on Saturday. lose, but they didn’t win the special-teams battle, either. Taking too many penalties also hurt this effort. 11. For the Stars to win on a night like this they needed a slightly better version of Ben Bishop. In particular, I’m looking at the first Nashville goal, 12 seconds into the The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 second period. That’s a moment where the team has weathered the storm and somehow came out leading after 20 minutes. Yes, it’s not a good turnover by Honka, but it’s a save the Stars needed and it could have been a boost for the young group in front of Bishop. 12. Dallas rolled out this lineup Saturday: Devin Shore – Tyler Seguin – Valeri Nichushkin Jamie Benn – Jason Spezza – Denis Gurianov Blake Comeau – Radek Faksa – Tyler Pitlick Mattias Janmark – Jason Dickinson – Gemel Smith Esa Lindell – Julius Honka Dillon Heatherington – Miro Heiskanen Joel Hanley – Ben Gleason 13. Nashville tied the score on the power play with 43 seconds remaining during a six-on-four. But overall, Nashville’s power play is horrendous, which is really the only flaw you can find with the Predators. Just imagine if they actually start clicking consistently with the man advantage. 14. The Predators were the better team out of the gate in each of the three periods, including goals in the first 20 seconds of the second and third periods. That’s a teachable moment for this coaching staff. 15. It was fitting that Spezza scored in a game where he was honored for reaching 1,000 games played in his career. Spezza hammered home a power-play goal after three-fifths of the second unit generated pressure, created rebounds, and opportunity presented itself for Spezza to fire a shot past a bewildered Juuse Saros. 16. The Stars should have been losing after the first period but took a 1-0 lead on this goal by Tyler Pitlick. It was a nice exchange between Pitlick and Faksa before the goal and a perfect screen by Blake Comeau. 17. Spezza was honored before the game after he reached the 1,000- game mark last week. Spezza and his family were on the ice for a ceremony when he was presented with gifts from his teammates and the organization. Spezza was given a Rolex watch by his teammates, was presented with the traditional silver stick that is based off a model Spezza used in his career. Players receive that stick for reaching 1,000 games, an etched crystal, and Stars owner Tom Gaglardi set up a dinner for Spezza with Troy Aikman, Emmit Smith, Jay Novacek and Daryl Johnston. Spezza happens to be a big Dallas Cowboys fan. 18. During the game, congratulatory video messages were shown from Taylor Hall, Sidney Crosby, Cody Eakin, Shawn Horcoff, Luc Robitaille, 1114926 Detroit Red Wings

Surging Detroit Red Wings stop Hurricanes with rally, 4-3 SO win

Helene St. James

10:11 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2018

RALEIGH, N.C. — This time, the Detroit Red Wings at least held a lead before they fell into a hole.

In what has become a recent trend, the Wings faced a two-goal deficit Saturday at PNC Arena after a poor second period against the Carolina Hurricanes. That marked the third straight time the Wings had to find a way to score twice to get themselves back into a game.

Anthony Mantha emerged from a slump to play the third-period hero, scoring twice. Mantha had a great chance denied by Scott Darling in overtime. Frans Nielsen scored to secure a 4-3 shootout victory, extending the Wings’ winning streak to three straight games and six wins in seven games.

Athanasiou strikes again

How much did the Wings miss Andreas Athanasiou and Nielsen during the four games they were injured? The evidence piles up: Athanasiou scored for the second time in as many games since returning Friday, striking at 8:04 of the first period. Sliding into the right circle, he lifted his stick and one-timed a pass from Nick Jensen to put the Wings up 1-0. Nielsen, who likewise returned Friday, fed the puck to Jensen. It was Nielsen’s sixth assist in his past six games. Nielsen also had one of the shots on net, angling a puck that Darling deflected.

The Hurricanes, who entered the game averaging an NHL-best 41.1 shots per game, tied the game with 3:20 to play when Brock McGinn pounced on a loose puck that had hit Danny DeKeyser down low. That was one of 14 shots the Hurricanes had in the first period. The Wings also had 14.

Penalty problems

A night after the Wings fell behind 2-0 to the N.Y. Rangers while Jacob de la Rose rued a double high-stick call in the penally box, the Wings got themselves in trouble in the second period. They killed off a holding penalty to Justin Abdelkader, but came up short while Michael Rasmussen sat for slashing. Sebastian Aho fired a shot that Micheal Ferland redirected in the slot to beat Bernier stick side, at 8:35. The penalty killing disrupted flow and the Wings didn’t have much attack going the first half of the second period, while the Hurricanes had a solid stretch of offensive zone time. They made it 3-1 with 2:59 to go in the second period when Dougie Hamilton got to Aho’s rebound before Mike Green. Shots after 40 minutes were 37-21 in Carolina’s favor.

Mantha overdue

Martin Frk put a shot on net from the slot early in the third period as the Wings tried for another rally. Mantha took a boarding penalty at 3:51, forcing a third straight penalty kill. Mantha came out of the box and finally made an impact on a game, getting the puck from Athanasiou and lifting a shot from the left circle glove side on Darling. It was only Mantha’s fourth goal of the season, and his first in five games. He followed up three minutes later to make it 3-3. Bernier made a clutch save on Aho late in the game to keep the score tied. Trevor Daley took a hooking penalty with 3:22 to go in regulation to put the Wings shorthanded for a fourth time. Bernier made 49 saves in regulation to 25 by Darling.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114927 Detroit Red Wings

Game thread: Red Wings knock off Hurricanes in SO, 4-3

Staff Writer

9:54 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2018

Detroit Red Wings (6-8-2, 14 points) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (7-7-2, 16 points)

When: 7 p.m. tonight.

Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C.

TV: Fox Sports Detroit.

Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1; other radio affiliates).

BOX SCORE

Another shot: The Wings lost, 3-1, when the teams met Oct. 22 in Detroit. The Hurricanes directed 39 shots on net that night – shooting is part of their prime directive, and they lead the NHL with a 41.1 per-game average. The Wings, though, come into this game with the confidence of a two-game winning streak and having won five of their last six games.

Sizing up the opponent: The Hurricanes just snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory at Chicago. They score an average of 2.69 goals per game and allow an average of 3.00. Their special teams are among the worst in the NHL – both the power play (13.8 percent) and the penalty kill (70.9 percent) rank 28th. Sebastian Aho leads the team with 18 points and Micheal Ferland with seven goals. Former Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek is 3-3-2 with a .880 save percentage and 2.75 goals-against average. Andrei Svechnikov, the second overall pick in the 2018 draft and brother of Wings prospect Evgeny Svechnikov, has four goals and two assists.

Winged wheel WATCH: Jacob de la Rose (upper body) left after the second period of Friday’s game and is not expected to be available against Carolina, according to coach Jeff Blashill. … Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (lower body) and forward Thomas Vanek (knee) remain out.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114928 Detroit Red Wings The Wings’ chances looked grim through 40 minutes but Mantha’s heroics in the third spurred another resilient and productive evening.

“We’re playing pretty good,” Mantha said. “We had a tough start to the 'We know how to bounce back': Red Wings rally to third straight victory year but things are falling into place right now.”

Detroit News LOADED: 11.11.2018 Ted Kulfan

11:35 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2018

Raleigh, N.C. — The Red Wings had Carolina right where the Wings wanted them after two periods Saturday, trailing by two goals.

And, again, the formula worked successfully.

Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal in the shootout to give the Wings a 4- 3 victory, the Wings’ third consecutive come from behind victory, and sixth win in the last seven games (7-8-2 16 points) overall.

Carolina outshot the Red Wings, 52-32, making for a busy but successful evening for Wings goaltender Jonathan Bernier, whose 49 saves were a career high.

Bernier was perfect in the shootout, stopping all three Hurricanes (7-7-3, 17 points) shots to cap the Wings' comeback.

“It’s not the way you want to win, but it shows a lot of character,” Bernier said. “We didn’t play our game tonight, they had more jump than we did. But in the third (period) we came out and got big goals and in overtime you never know what can happen.”

Anthony Mantha scored two third-period goals, the tying goal following his own rebound at 10 minutes,17 seconds, giving him five goals for the season.

“We just know how to bounce back,” Mantha said. “The second period wasn’t great tonight, but we figured it out, put pucks behind their defense and put pressure on them. We’re a fast team when we play quick and that’s a key.”

In overtime, Carolina goalie Scott Darling made two incredible saves on Dylan Larkin and Mantha on consecutive shots to keep the game tied.

Nielsen then scored the lone goal in the skills competition.

“We’re playing with the confidence, we know we can do it,” said Nielsen of the belief the Wings now have when trailing. “We’re definitely not playing our best hockey, be we are finding ways and we’ll take that right now.”

The Wings have been able to rally these last three games largely because of the goaltending.

Jimmy Howard definitely saved the Wings Friday against the New York Rangers, and Bernier was just as stellar against Carolina.

“The important thing is, when your goalie keeps you within reach and that’s been a few games, the last game and tonight where we weren’t good enough, and our goalie kept it within reach, it allows you to come back,” coach Jeff Blashill said.

Andreas Athanasiou opened the game’s scoring with his sixth goal, second in two nights, but Carolina answered with the next three goals.

The Hurricanes dominated the second period, outshooting the Wings 19- 7 and snapping a 1-1 tie.

“You have to get pucks out, sometimes you have to just pound it out because they come forward so well,” Blashill said. “We got away from it (in the second) and it looked like some guys, sometimes when you’re tired you lose your brain a little bit, but we regrouped and got better.”

Michael Ferland scored his eighth goal, on the power play, redirecting a pass from Sebastian Aho past Bernier at 8:35.

The Hurricanes extended the lead to 3-1 toward the end of the period. Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton scored on a sweeping a backhander over a pair of Wings bodies in front during a scramble. Hamilton’s third goal came at 17:01.

Athanasiou opened the scoring with a blistering one-timer from the dot, teed up by Nick Jensen, that got through Darling at 8:04 of the first period. 1114929 Detroit Red Wings

Athanasiou's sharpened focus pleases Red Wings coach Blashill

Ted Kulfan

8:05 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2018

Detroit — One positive early development, as the Red Wings' regular season crawls to the quarter point of the schedule?

The play of forward Andreas Athanasiou.

An enigma in his first two seasons with the Red Wings, a young player who frustrated coaches and fans alike, is becoming a player coach Jeff Blashill can count on.

The latest bright spot concerning Athanasiou was scoring the tying goal Friday against the New York Rangers, then setting up Dylan Larkin in overtime for the exciting winner.

That gave Athanasiou five goals and three assists in 12 games — Athanasiou returned Friday after missing four games with an upper body injury — and continued a focused attention to playing since the start of training camp.

“I would just say that from the first day of camp, he’s been engaged and done the things that it takes to be a real good hockey player,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “His habits have been real good in practice and he’s done a real good job for us.”

Athanasiou missed the start of last season in a contract stalemate and had difficulty finding his stride during the season.

Signed in the off-season to a 2-year contract worth $6 million ($3 million per season), Athanasiou arrived in camp on time and has been dedicated to hockey.

Returning to the lineup with linemate Frans Nielsen Friday was exciting for both.

“It’s definitely a good feeling to be back playing again,” Athanasiou said. “Fransy’s happy to be back (too). It’s good for both of us to get started earlier.

“Definitely feels good (to produce offensively), especially when it’s a goal that we need late in the game. It’s something that I really enjoy doing, trying to get the boys back in when we’re down and fortunate enough it worked out there.”

Consistent Howard

Goaltender Jimmy Howard continued his mastery of the Rangers, and his stellar regular season, with another starring role against the Rangers.

Howard reached the .500 mark with Friday’s victory (5-5-2) and is nearing the .920 mark in save percentage (.918), a benchmark these days for starring goaltending.

“Jimmy was excellent,” Blashill said. “What really good goaltending does is allows you to hang in there throughout the game when you’re not playing your best hockey and that’s what happened (Friday).

“We were allowed to hang in when we certainly weren’t playing our best hockey. Jimmy has been excellent all year.”

Ice chips

Forward Jacob de la Rose (lower body) wasn’t available Saturday, and Blashill is classifying him as day-to-day. Wade Megan took de la Rose’s spot in the lineup.

… Former Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek was out with a lower body injury and is day-to-day. He has a 3-3-2 record, 2.76 goals-against average, and .880 save percentage this season in Carolina.

Detroit News LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114930 Detroit Red Wings

Anthony Mantha steps up as Red Wings come back to win in shootout

November 10, 2018 at 10:40 PM

Staff Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Anthony Mantha scored twice and Frans Nielsen netted the deciding goal in the shootout as the Detroit Red Wings rallied to a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

Andreas Athanasiou also scored for the Red Wings, who came back from a two-goal deficit for the third straight game and have won six of their last seven.

Brock McGinn, Micheal Ferland, Dougie Hamilton scored for Carolina, who squandered a 3-1, third-period lead. The Hurricanes have won once in their last seven games. Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen led the Hurricanes with two assists each.

The Hurricanes built a 52-32 advantage in shots, but Detroit goalie Jonathan Bernier stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout.

The Hurricanes got two acrobatic saves from goalie Scott Darling in overtime and failed to capitalize on a power play in the final 15 seconds of OT.

Mantha scored two quick goals at 6:04 and 9:02 of the third period to rally Detroit.

On the tying goal, Mantha got out in transition but Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce blocked his first shot. The puck bounced right back to Mantha, who scored on his next shot.

Ferland broke a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal at 8:35 in the second period. Ferland redirected a centering pass from Aho to beat Bernier.

Bernier made a difficult save on Andrei Svechnikov five minutes later to keep it a one-goal game, but the Hurricanes were relentless.

Aho had an odd-angle chance from Bernier's left and the puck bounced free to Hamilton on the right. He swatted in the rebound with a backhand for the 3-1 advantage at 17:01 in the second period.

Detroit led 1-0 at 8:04 in the first period on Athanasiou's sixth goal in eight games. He squared up in the left circle and scored off a pass from Nick Jensen past Darling.

McGinn converted a Haydn Fleury rebound into a goal at 16:40 in the first period to tie the game at 1-1.

NOTES: McGinn, Jacoob Slavin and Aho failed to score in the shootout for Carolina. Detroit's Dylan Larkin was also stopped.

UP NEXT

Red Wings: Return home to face the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday.

Hurricanes: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday

Michigan Live LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114931 Detroit Red Wings showing up in big moments and he's winning battles for us. He's a key player here."

Michigan Live LOADED: 11.11.2018 Red Wings' Andreas Athanasiou displaying consistent engagement

November 10, 2018 at 6:05 AM

Ansar Khan

DETROIT - Andreas Athanasiou scored the game-tying goal on an electrifying play with two minutes remaining in regulation. Then he made a slick pass to Dylan Larkin for the winning goal with 5.1 seconds to play in overtime.

Those are the plays difference-makers make. Athanasiou has what it takes to be a difference-maker - elite speed and finishing ability.

So far this season, he's also shown something that has been lacking during his career - consistent competitiveness. That's good for the Red Wings moving forward.

"From the first day of camp I think he's been engaged and done the things that it takes to be a real good hockey player," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said following Friday's 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers at . "His habits have been real good in practice and he's done a real good job for us."

Athanasiou returned after missing four games with a leg injury. He has five goals and eight points in 12 games and said he's confident he can produce with opportunity.

"I know those chances are going to come, so it's just playing hard when I get out there and capitalizing on those chances," Athanasiou said.

Andreas Athanasiou steps up big for Red Wings

His first great chance against the Rangers came when his building momentum but running out of time. Justin Abdelkader put the Red Wings on the scoreboard at 1:46 of the third period after New York had scored twice in a 40-second span late in the second period with Jacob de la Rose serving a double-minor for high-sticking.

Athanasiou raced up the ice, took a pass from Frans Nielsen just inside the blue line, blew past a defender who hooked him and deposited a backhand shot past goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to tie the game.

"I had of a lot of speed coming in and I knew I kind of had the lane to cut in, so I was getting ready to cut and I got hooked there a little bit," Athanasiou said. "I was lucky enough to get the puck back and I kind of faked Lundqvist out. I was lucky enough to get it in."

Red Wings' Dylan Larkin describes his OT goal

Then, seconds away from a shootout, Athanasiou made a nice backhand pass past Kevin Shattenkirk to Larkin, who chipped it in to cap the stirring comeback, giving the Red Wings (6-8-2) their fifth victory in the past six games.

"There wasn't much time left and (Mike Green) went back for the puck and it was bouncing," Larkin said. "A little bit of an errant pass but Andreas did a great job bringing it down. After he brought it down, I saw the lane to the net and I knew he was going to get it to me, so I just tried to put myself on the far side of the net and I knew Lundqvist, it was tough for him to slide over. It was all AA, made a great play bringing the puck down and great pass. I just had to tap it in there."

Said Athanasiou: "Anytime you get two players who can really push the pace at a high speed, it's definitely a good feeling being out there with someone who is going to be up in the rush with you. It's a lot of fun playing with him."

Red Wings' Jeff Blashill talks Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou

That's what difference-makers do, Blashill said. Larkin has established himself as one of those players with his consistent compete level, a motor that doesn't stop.

Can Athanasiou do likewise? He sure has the ability.

"His first 3-4 years here, and ever since I've known him, my first development camp with him, I could see that speed and playmaking ability," Larkin said. "I think with experience, now he's a gamer and he's 1114932 Edmonton Oilers McLellan is more focused on the one-on-one puck battles that they lost too many of in Florida. That is ultimately what the game boils down to on it’s most basic level: two guys competing for a puck.

Stage is set for Edmonton Oilers to show who they really are “You have to have the puck to prevent goals and you have to have the puck to score goals,” said McLellan. “We didn’t have the puck very much in Florida. It started in the face off-circle. We were a little loose there and Robert Tychkowski didn’t compete at the level I thought we could. Then it went from a one- foot area to four feet, to 10 feet and pretty soon they’ve got the puck and

we’re chasing all night. It’s only the 17th game, but after three straight losses the Edmonton “Of our 16 games we’ve had a couple where we’ve been disappointed in Oilers find themselves at a fork in the road of their season. that and the Florida game was one of them. Let’s see what we can do They either get back to being the team they were in October, finding Sunday night to rectify that.” ways to win with different players rising up to make a difference every Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 11.11.2018 night, or they let this slump take root and risk reverting back to the underachieving team they were last year.

After getting off to a great start in a year in which they have a lot of proving to do, the Oilers added a little doubt to the equation on their recent 1-3 road trip.

They beat Detroit to go 8-4-1, lost a couple of reasonably well-played games in Washington and Tampa Bay, then laid an egg in Florida, where they were outshot 19-4 in the second period of a 4-1 loss to the last place team in the league.

Fatigue? Momentary lapse of interest? Just one of those nights that happens to every team in the NHL a few times a year?

Perhaps.

But if it’s as simple as that, and their three-game losing streak isn’t the symptom of a bigger and more serious affliction, Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche is a good time to prove it. They don’t need three losses in a row turning into four or five and the season falling back into doubt.

“We want to get back in the win column, three games here is enough,” said defenceman Oscar Klefbom. “We want to be one of those consistent teams where if you lose a game or two you get back on the winning streak quickly.”

The Oilers worked very hard to put together that 7-2-1 stretch in October, not only surviving the toughest part of their season, but using it to gain positive momentum. Letting it get away like this would be hard to swallow.

“You never want to lose three in a row,” said centre Ryan Nugent- Hopkins. “We can’t let it be four in a row, we know that. Good teams don’t let that happen. We have respond well on Sunday.

“Last time we were at home we did a pretty good job of establishing ourselves, making it tough for other teams to come in. We want to make sure that we carry that on.”

Nobody on the Oilers is content with how their last road trip went — coming home 8-7-1 when they were 8-4-1 with three games to go — is a real downer. But nobody is thinking “here we go again,” either.

“We’ve been playing some good hockey, we’ve been doing a lot of good things,” said Klefbom, who believes that if it weren’t for a few All-World saves by Roberto Luongo and Andrei Vasilevskiy, a couple of those games could have possibly gone the other way. “We just have to find a way to find the net in those types of games. We still have positive energy within the group.”

Still, they’ve only scored five goals in their last three games (and given up 13) so, once again, lack of production is an issue. But it’s not THE issue.

“When you look at just the goal total itself you’re thinking ‘Geez they’re not creating anything,” said McLellan. “In the last three games of the road trip I thought we created numerous opportunities.

“Sometimes the goalie has your number, sometimes you don’t quite bear down or other factor come into play. But the fact that we did create is still a real positive for us, especially on the power play.

“I thought our power play looked dangerous in the games that we lost. We have to be careful that we’re not drilling down too much on that part of the game because the chances were there.” 1114933 Edmonton Oilers “We still have to sit down. I can’t even tell you who’s playing Sunday night yet. We’ve got to look at some injuries, where players are at health wise. Practice is one thing because we can control it, but going through a Edmonton Oilers send Puljujarvi and Yamamoto down. Finally. game situation where guys are competing at a different level is another.”

So somebody in Edmonton’s top six, even though they practised Sunday, is a little iffy? Robert Tychkowski “All of our top six guys are banged up, just like everybody else’s, because they play so many minutes and they played some taxing games. But banged up and injured are two different things.” The Edmonton Oilers finally admitted that Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto aren’t quite ready for prime time yet. Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 11.11.2018 The way they went about it was kind of greasy — the Oilers made no mention of their demotions during a post-practice media availability Saturday morning, then issued a release and snuck the two out of town a few hours later — but sending Puljujarvi and Yamamoto to the minors is ultimately the best thing for them.

Like returning Evan Bouchard to Junior a couple of weeks ago, it never hurts to give a young player more time to develop at a lower level.

And that’s what both of them need. Badly. The NHL is not a developmental league. It is a place for finished products, or players who aren’t far off but are making steady progress, who can make their teams better. Puljujarvi and Yamamoto didn’t fall into either category.

They were struggling, bleeding confidence and in no way helping the Oilers win games. Between them, they combined for two goals and one assist in 33 man games.

For a couple of players who are being earmarked for top six roles one day, that’s not even close to where, or who, they need to be.

Between them they’d been healthy scratched nine times and it was becoming obvious that they would be better served by taking on more minutes and more responsibilities in Bakersfield.

Asked a few hours before the demotion was made official whether Puljujarvi would be better off in the AHL, McLellan hinted he wasn’t seeing much from him and that a move was being considered.

“We want a confident set of players and if he can’t gain that confidence or that traction here, then maybe the best answer is somewhere else,” he said. “Those decisions will be made as we go forward.”

Three hours later, as it turned out.

In addition to the chorus of people who thought he should be sent down, there were those who believe Puljujarvi is simply a victim of neglect, that the only reason he struggled offensively is that McLellan wouldn’t play him in the top six.

This is not an original argument. It dates back to the days of Nail Yakupov and Rob Schremp before him. According to the vocal minority, both of those players were exceptional talents capable of scoring 30 goals if only given a chance, but were being kept down because their coaches didn’t want to see them succeed.

That’s a hard one to swallow. Coaches and players want to win more than fans do, so if McLellan or any of his team leaders, who see Puljujarvi close up in games and in practices every day, thought he would make the Oilers better by playing with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, he’d be there.

Fact is, Puljujarvi has all the raw talent in the world but he doesn’t think the game at a high enough level yet. And Yamamoto, like almost every player ever drafted, simply needs some seasoning in the minors.

Sending them down doesn’t mean these two kids are failing, it means they are finally being given the best chance to succeed.

Line dance

It could be a nice show of firepower and force when the Colorado Avalanche and Oilers meet Sunday.

Colorado has the hottest line in hockey with Nate MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, while Edmonton can counter with McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and whoever else they slot into the right wing spot.

Seeing the two lines go head to head would be great fun, but McLellan says he isn’t sure what formation his team will take. In a rather cryptic answer to whether or not he’ll go power-vs-power, McLellan offered this: 1114934 Edmonton Oilers

Oilers assign Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto to AHL

Trevor Robb

November 10, 2018 3:23 PM MST

The Edmonton Oilers announced Saturday afternoon they have assigned forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto to their AHL-affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

Puljujarvi was drafted fourth overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. In 11 games this season he has recorded just one goal.

Yamamoto was selected 22nd overall by the Oilers in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. In 12 games this season, he has recorded one goal and one assist.

The Oilers will take on the Colorado Avalanche Sunday at Rogers Place. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114935 Edmonton Oilers four games in four different cities — three of them in four days — catching four flights and checking in and out of hotels.

So, hold it. Time out. Just a minute. JONES: Glass more than half full, tank is empty for Edmonton Oilers Consider what they have accomplished.

The Oilers have survived the toughest part of their suicide schedule. They’ve just finished up a stretch of eight games in 13 days and are tied in road games played, at 10, for the most in the league.

This, of course, is where the fickle fan figures the sky is falling and that Remember what the theme for the dream was back when the season the Edmonton Oilers have begun their drop of doom to a 12th season of started last year. the last 13 out of the playoffs. 1. Don’t drown bobbing for hockey pucks by Halloween like last year.

Dive! Dive! Dive! 2. Don’t fall out of contention like a bunch of WKRP turkeys on American The Oilers have returned home on a three-game losing streak. Thanksgiving like most of those other years.

This is where the aforementioned fickle follower needs to take a large Well, so far so good despite how bad the Oilers looked in the last three lungful of cold Alberta air, suck on some ice cubes and jump into a cold games and the impending first game back from a road trip. lake, if not Cold Lake itself. Sunday, the date where history proves that the majority of The glass isn’t half empty. teams in a playoff position end up in the playoffs at the end of the season, is Nov. 25. It’s more than half full. That’s only seven games away — Colorado (H), Montreal (H), Calgary It’s their tank that’s empty. (A), Vegas (H), San Jose (A), Anaheim (A) and Los Angeles (A).

What we’re dealing with here is an exhausted hockey team that has If they make it through to Grey Cup with a winning record, they’ll have 16 finally and realistically run out of gas. games left in the calendar year, 11 of them at home, and with only one set of back-to-back game involved. Find me an Oiler fan back in the off-season that wouldn’t have been giddy with glee with the team being 8-7-1 at the 16-game mark of the Compared to the 16 games they’ve just endured and the schedule season — especially after they lost to New Jersey in Goteborg and to the they’ve just survived, that looks like easy sledding. Bruins in Boston to start the season — and I’ll show you a fan that resides in a residence where the walls are padded. So, relax, Oilers fans. Have more than half a glass of wine.

When the Oilers charter flight landed at Edmonton International Airport, Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 11.11.2018 they’d logged 34,861 kilometres of air travel so far this regular season.

They’d played four fewer games in Rogers Place than on the road and had already played away games against seven of the 16 teams in the Eastern Conference. Their next game in the Eastern time zone isn’t until Feb. 2 in Philadelphia. And they’re still a week away from playing their first game against a team in their own division.

Of their first 16 games, the Oilers have already played two against the defending Stanley Cup champions and two against the President Trophy winners, splitting both. Eleven of those 16 were against teams that had 100-plus points in the standings last year.

Yes, you figured that after predictable back-to-back “scheduled losses” in Washington and Tampa Bay, they’d slide down to Sunrise, Fla., and collect a win over the 31st place Panthers in their first game following their two-game trip to Helsinki to play the .

What was obvious from the start of the second period on in Florida was that the fuel gage hit ‘E’. If there were anybody sitting in them, you could say it was visible from the seats.

It was visible to the naked eye on a 5.8-inch i-Phone screen back in Edmonton that their legs were heavy, that they had no jump at all left in them and couldn’t win the shortest of the little races to the puck.

This was especially true of top pairing defencemen Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson (averaging 25:54 and 21:23 ice time respectively) and even Connor McDavid (averaging 22:39).

Yes, you probably figured the Oilers would head home at 9-6-1 and you’d go to Sunday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche relatively unconcerned about the old first-game-back-from-a-road-trip syndrome.

But, no, they lost 4-1.

It’s one game that far too many fans have managed to get their shorts in a knot about. It’s like the population of metro Edmonton is now 1,321,426 Chicken Littles.

And I love the social media haters who say the Oilers are a bunch of millionaires who spent Wednesday at the beach and have no reason to lose to a 31st place team.

Well, that 31st place team had played four fewer games and had six days to recover from their nine-hour direct sleeper-chair flight from Finland. While they were home sleeping in their own beds, the Oilers were playing 1114936 Edmonton Oilers the second pair as a right-side defender (numbers also indicate challenges). Garrison and Gravel serve as extra players, No. 7 types, but a left-defence depth chart of Klefbom-Nurse-Russell is satisfactory Oilers’ trade options: Dealing from strength has finally become a assuming the team could add a second pair right defender to run possibility between Adam Larsson and Matt Benning.

The AHL group

Allan Mitchell This is where things get interesting. At some point this season, the Oilers will likely have to make a decision involving the recall of a young Nov 10, 2018 33 defensive prospect. Ethan Bear received his first NHL call in March, playing 18 games in 2017-18 when the season was running out. It might

happen just that way again this year, but there are signs two lefty blue The Edmonton Oilers arrived home from their four-game road trip with an are pushing for NHL employment. Edmonton doesn’t have to bring either interesting array of issues. The overplayed “heart of the order” group, man to the NHL this winter, but it’s clear they are going to get noticed which includes Connor McDavid and Oscar Klefbom, were no doubt based on results. Here are the five-on-five goal differentials for the left- looking for some downtime. The right side of the roster formed cracks handed defencemen in Bakersfield so far this season, via prospect- and holes on the trip and might need some tweaking over the weekend. stats.com: It’s possible Jesse Puljujarvi and/or Kailer Yamamoto find their way south Caleb Jones 9-6 (+3) (60.00) to Bakersfield and the AHL Condors; we might see a recall or two from the same place. Ryan Stanton 7-5 (+2) (58.33)

Puljujarvi is a lightning rod for fans, who worry they’re about to witness William Lagesson 9-7 (+2) (56.25) another high draft pick sent away for pennies on the dollar. Oilers fans have seen the organization offload high picks in recent years — including Keegan Lowe 9-7 (+2) (56.25) No. 1 overall selection Nail Yakupov (who is now playing in the KHL). It’s Kevin Gravel 2-3 (-1) (40.00) a difficult situation for fans, players and organization, with no universally acceptable solution in sight. It’s early in the year, and the top four names are basically having the same success, but it’s interesting to see how well Jones and Lagesson One thing that is getting lost in all the angst and excitement: Now, for the are performing this fall. What’s more, the two men are flourishing first time in many years, the Edmonton Oilers have an area of strength offensively, with Jones (10, 1-7-8) leading the defencemen in points and across the pro roster. It means Peter Chiarelli has enough players in Lagesson (9, 1-5-6) not far behind. Edmonton and Bakersfield to deal an excess asset to address weakness. These men might not move the needle yet, but they could come into play What does it all mean? as an asset between now and the trade deadline. Trading from strength to address weakness is preferable to dealing a struggling winger from the It means they’re close. It means the Edmonton Oilers might be able to 2016 draft for a meager return. cobble together a group of assets in areas where they have enough depth to consider themselves flush even with one player out. It means Where is that spot on the roster, the newfound area of strength playing in the team might be able to buy time for Puljujarvi (and Yamamoto) by the NHL and AHL? Left defence. There’s a lot to choose from in various acquiring a bridge winger who can offer them cover until the kids are shapes, sizes, abilities and price points. ready.

The NHL group At some point this winter, a scoring right winger or a second pairing right- handed defenceman is going to come on the market. Edmonton will be Oscar Klefbom is averaging 25:54 a night for the Oilers this season and able to offer William Lagesson and a pick, or Caleb Jones and a is on a fantastic contract ($4.167 million per year through summer 2023), sweetener, in exchange for a useful veteran being offered around the representing one of the extreme value deals on the roster. The young league. Those kinds of events and transactions happen all the time. The Swedish blue should be considered part of the inner circle of Oilers roster difference now? Edmonton’s package of assets might well be good players — an untouchable. Klefbom’s possession number (five-on-five enough to get the deal done without compromising left defence Corsi for percentage, via NaturalStatTrick) is 55 percent, and the five-on- irreparably. five goal differential is 13-9. Perhaps more exciting for fans long term: The continued development of Darnell Nurse is averaging 22:20 a night so far in 2018-19, and he is on a Jones and Lagesson over the winter could give management some bridge deal ($3.2 million) that runs this season and next. Nurse is one of quality options come summertime. If the organization deems Jones or four Oilers defencemen who average two minutes a night on the penalty Lagesson worthy of third-pairing work in 2019-20 with Edmonton, it might kill, and he is considered (based on what we know) to be a central figure shake loose Kris Russell for a trade to one of his listed clubs. It could on defence for many years to come. also give the Oilers some Andrej Sekera insurance, something the team These two men represent the heart of left defence, for now and through didn’t have this fall. the next, say, five seasons. We can argue about where each man should It’s been a long time getting back to this point, but the Oilers are here. be on the depth chart, but the presence of each means the position is in Finally. good hands through 2023. This season, Klefbom and Nurse are playing more than 48 minutes a game combined, a large percentage of each The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 game’s available minutes.

Kris Russell plays on the right side but is another lefty on the NHL roster. He’s an interesting player to watch in the coming months, as his no- movement clause adjusts in the summer of 2019. Cap-Friendly tells us he’ll submit a 10-team trade list and it’s possible Edmonton will offload him in the offseason. Currently, Russell is averaging 20:19 a night and leads Oilers defencemen in ice time shorthanded this year. Although opinions on Russell vary wildly, most observers agree he is an NHL defenceman who can efficiently play third pairing left side.

The rest of the NHL group are depth players like Jason Garrison and Kevin Gravel, with injured Andrej Sekera also on the roster (IR) and apparently working his way back (I don’t think Sekera plays again, but we’ll see).

Edmonton’s current lefty group (NHL division) should be strong enough to get this team into the playoffs in 2018-19. Challenges include overplaying Nurse (reflected in these numbers) and playing Russell on 1114937 Florida Panthers

Barkov scores winner, Panthers beat Islanders 4-2

Staff Writer

November 10, 2018 11:17 PM

SUNRISE

Troy Brouwer, Mike Hoffman and Denis Malgin also scored for the Panthers, who won their third straight. Roberto Luongo made 29 saves for his third straight win after missing nearly a month with a knee injury.

Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal scored goals for New York, which has lost three in a row after winning its previous five. Robin Lehner stopped 27 shots.

Brouwer recorded an empty-net goal with less than a second remaining.

The Panthers went ahead 3-2 on a 4-on-3 power play at 4:43 of the third period whAleksander Barkov scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Islanders 4-2 on Saturday night.en Barkov’s shot from the left circle beat Lehner.

Nelson put the Islanders ahead 2-1 on his wrist shot from the slot at 8:10 of the second.

Florida tied the game on Hoffman’s goal with 45 seconds left in the second. Hoffman backhanded a pass from behind the net that deflected off the skate of defenseman Ryan Pulock into the net, extending Hoffman’s points streak to 11 games.

The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on Malgin’s goal. Jared McCann passed from behind the net out to Malgin, who pushed the puck past Lehner at 6:18 of the first. The goal was Malgin’s first of the season.

The Islanders tied it just over a minute later when Barzal flipped a backhanded shot past Luongo on a breakaway. Nelson leads the Islanders with eight goals.

Miami Herald LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114938 Florida Panthers Miami Herald LOADED: 11.11.2018

Florida Panthers honor the late Bill Torrey before game against Islanders

JORDAN MCPHERSON

November 10, 2018 05:08 PM

Florida Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad always relished the opportunity to talk with Bill Torrey.

No matter the circumstance, Bjugstad said, Torrey’s infectious positive persona and vast knowledge of the game made it tough to leave the conversation without a smile and a newfound nugget of information or two.

“Win or lose, he always kind of had that energy that it’s a fun game that we’re playing. He always made you feel like you were special,” Bjugstad said. “It didn’t matter who you were.”

That made Torrey’s death in May at the age of 83 in his West Palm Beach home even harder to fathom for the Panthers organization.

Torrey, known for his vintage bow tie and sense of humor in addition to his mark on the NHL, left a lasting imprint on the Panthers organization he helped create 25 years ago.

And at the BB&T Center on Saturday night, before the Panthers played the New York Islanders, they honored the man who helped start the franchise, with Torrey’s four sons taking center ice and doing an honorary puck drop.

“He’s a missed guy around our dressing room,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said.” You can learn a lot from a guy like that.”

Torrey is the third person to be honored during the Panthers’ “Legacy Saturdays” series this season. The team honored goaltender Roberto Luongo on Oct. 13 for becoming the third goaltender in NHL history to play 1,000 career games. On Oct. 20, the Panthers celebrated former captain Ed Jovanovski.

It’s only fitting that the Panthers chose Saturday’s game against the Islanders to honor Torrey as considering his connection to both teams.

Before Torrey made his way to South Florida, he oversaw the up-and- coming Islanders franchise and turned it into arguably the greatest dynasty to come through the NHL ranks. As general manager, he was the franchise’s first employee in 1972. The Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983, at one point won 19 consecutive playoff series and had 14 winning seasons in a row from 1975 to 1988. He earned the nickname “The Architect.”

Five years later, Torrey became the president and general manager of the Florida Panthers, an expansion franchise that brought the sport of hockey to South Florida. It only took three years before the Panthers made their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

“He had a lot of insight, a lot of knowledge, a lot of good stories,” Bjugstad, in his sixth year with the Panthers, said. “Just to have a guy like that to have around the room, he’s been such a big part around hockey in South Florida. He had a great life and did great things.”

Torrey retired from his post as president and GM in 2001 but has worked as a special advisor to current general manager Dale Tallon.

In 2010, the Panthers honored Torrey by retiring the No. 93, symbolic of the year the year the franchise was founded. It’s one of two numbers retired by the Panthres. The other is No. 37 for H. Wayne Huizenga, the Panthers’ original owner.

“He was a guy who was always in my office after a game,” Boughner said. “It was nice to sort of bounce some things off of him. He had a very calming effect. He obviously had been around for a long time. He’s seen everything. He was a good mentor for me. He was somebody that I enjoyed being around.”

In addition to the pregame ceremony, the Panthers are also selling Torrey legacy T-shirts during the game Saturday, with all proceeds going to the Florida Panthers Foundation. The Islanders are wearing bow-tie decals on their helmets as well. 1114939 Florida Panthers

Aleksander Barkov's third-period goal helps Panthers edge Islanders, extend winning streak

Paul Gereffi

Aleksander Barkov scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Islanders 4-2 on Saturday night.

Troy Brouwer, Mike Hoffman and Denis Malgin also scored for the Panthers, who won their third straight. Roberto Luongo made 29 saves for his third straight win after missing nearly a month with a knee injury.

Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal scored goals for New York, which has lost three in a row after winning its previous five. Robin Lehner stopped 27 shots.

Brouwer recorded an empty-net goal with less than a second remaining.

The Panthers went ahead 3-2 on a 4-on-3 power play at 4:43 of the third period when Barkov's shot from the left circle beat Lehner.

Nelson put the Islanders ahead 2-1 on his wrist shot from the slot at 8:10 of the second.

Florida tied the game on Hoffman's goal with 45 seconds left in the second. Hoffman backhanded a pass from behind the net that deflected off the skate of defenseman Ryan Pulock into the net, extending Hoffman's points streak to 11 games.

The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on Malgin's goal. Jared McCann passed from behind the net out to Malgin, who pushed the puck past Lehner at 6:18 of the first. The goal was Malgin's first of the season.

The Islanders tied it just over a minute later when Barzal flipped a backhanded shot past Luongo on a breakaway. Nelson leads the Islanders with eight goals.

NOTES: The Panthers hosted Bill Torrey Tribute Night for the late Hall of Famer. Torrey, who died in May 2018, was the general manager of the Islanders from their inception in 1972 through 1992, a run that included four Stanley Cups. He then was president of the expansion Panthers from 1993-2001. Panthers forward Evgenii Dadonov's assist on Hoffman's goal was his 100th NHL point and extended his points streak to 10 games. Islanders D Pulock and C Barzal each played in his 100th NHL game.

UP NEXT: Panthers host the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114940 Florida Panthers The Panthers have never had two players riding such long streaks simultaneously in their 25 seasons.

“They are definitely a threat 5-on-5 but also on the power play because of Red-hot Mike Hoffman chases Pavel Bure as Ottawa visits the Panthers their speed and their hockey sense,” Boughner said. “They have great passing ability and it has really helped our lineup … we have a little more depth, a little more balance.” George Richards As for facing the Sens after a tumultuous season — and offseason — Nov 10, 2018 Hoffman doesn’t seem to hold any ill will toward his former organization.

There won’t be much of a crowd at BB&T Center on Sunday as Ottawa is traditionally one of Florida’s worst draws of the season. SUNRISE, Fla. — Sometimes it takes the new guy a little while to fit in. Things should have a different feel for Hoffman the following week when It appears Mike Hoffman is feeling a lot more comfortable these days. the Panthers play in Ottawa on Nov. 19 for the first time since the trade. On Saturday night, Hoffman became just the second member of the Hoffman just hopes his scoring streak is still going during his visit to Panthers to score a point in 11 consecutive games as he scored the Kanata. game-tying goal in an eventual 4-2 win over the Islanders at BB&T Center. “It will be special to go back to the city that brought me into the league,’’ he said. “I spent a lot of time there, and any time you play your former Although Hoffman didn’t hit the scoresheet in Florida’s first two games, team it’s fun. It’s a hockey game and you want to win them and perhaps he has been on it since as the former Ottawa winger has seven goals score a few goals if you can.” and 12 points in his past 11. Luongo keeps going The two assists he had Thursday marked his only multi-point game of the run. Roberto Luongo was back in net for the Panthers on Saturday night and made 29 saves against the Islanders. Hoffman can only hope to keep things going and hit 12 games Sunday when his former teammates visit Sunrise. Luongo missed a month after injuring his right knee in the second period of the opener at Tampa Bay on Oct. 6 but has made three consecutive The Senators traded Hoffman to San Jose this past summer in the wake starts since returning in Finland on Nov. 2. of the Erik Karlsson controversy, only to see the Sharks flip him to the Panthers for draft picks hours later. That run should end Sunday with James Reimer the likely starter against Ottawa. Reimer hasn’t started since giving up three goals in a 4-2 loss to “This will be the first time I‘m back playing my former team so, of course, Winnipeg on Nov. 1. it’s special,” said Hoffman, who is chasing Pavel Bure’s franchise record of scoring in 14 consecutive games. “But I’m looking at it as another “(Luongo) has been making timely saves seemingly every time we have game. I just want to get on the ice and battle against my former needed one,” Vincent Trocheck said. “We could be down early, or be tied teammates and it is a game I am looking forward to.” up, or even lose momentum and he has made those saves for us. He keeps us in it and turns the tide for us.” Florida general manager Dale Tallon said Saturday he thought it would take Hoffman a little time to acclimate himself to the Panthers. Torrey honored

As Hoffman noted, there are a lot fewer media members to deal with that The Panthers celebrated the life of team founder Bill Torrey on Saturday he was accustomed to in the Canadian capital. “I’m not complaining as the Islanders made their first trip to Sunrise since his death in May. about that,” he said with a smile. Torrey was the first employee of the expansion Islanders in 1972 and Hoffman doesn’t get recognized when he’s out on the town in South built the Panthers when they came into the league in 1993. Florida as he certainly would in Ottawa, allowing him to “fly under the radar” a lot more. Torrey’s four sons dropped the ceremonial first puck Saturday wearing red sweaters with No. 93 on them. The Panthers retired that number in “This has been an adjustment for him, but I really think he’s playing like I Torrey’s honor in 2010. knew he could for us,” Tallon said. “He has good speed, good skill. We just needed to find the right situation for him to be successful. He has Many members of the front office, support staff and media wore bow ties always had the ability to shoot to score. We’re real happy with his in Torrey’s memory. Torrey died at his home in West Palm Beach on May development.” 2. He was 83.

Coach Bob Boughner credits Hoffman’s ability to learn Florida’s system “He’s a missed guy,” Boughner said, “and he’s really missed around quickly for his rise to the Panthers’ top line. here.”

Hoffman was slotted onto Florida’s second line when he was acquired, Road, again but Boughner ended up moving him throughout the lineup — even having The Panthers wrap up their abbreviated homestand — yet longest of the Hoffman play some fourth-line minutes. season — Sunday as they will have played three home games in a span As Hoffman played better defensively, however, his responsibility of four days. increased. Following Sunday’s game against the Sens, the Panthers will embark on Hoffman started on the top line with Sasha Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov another lengthy trip, a 12-day jaunt that will take them to Philadelphia, in the second game against Winnipeg in Finland and the three look Columbus, New York, Ottawa, Tampa and Carolina. extremely comfortable together. Although the Panthers are used to playing home games during the Saturday, Hoffman got behind the net, took a pass from Dadonov and holidays, Thanksgiving will be on the road this season. fired an odd-angled shot that found a way past Robin Lehner. Barkov Florida plays at Tampa Bay on Nov. 21 then will fly to Raleigh and play likes what he has seen. Carolina on Black Friday.

“Hoffman and Dadonov, man, those guys are weapons,” Barkov said. “Listen, the schedule is set up like that for us every year,” Luongo said. “They score, help us win games, and I need to keep feeding them. “We get a lot of home games at the end of the season and we need to Hoffman has been good defensively and he makes plays. He’s more than use that to our advantage. what we expected him to be.” “I think being on the road a lot is good for us, we get to build the Since Boughner paired them up, the trio has combined for five goals and camaraderie of this team by spending time on the road. We want to finish nine points. strong [Sunday] and hit the road on a high note.” Dadonov, by the way, has scored a point in his past 10 games, marking just the fifth time that has been done in franchise history. — For the first time this season, the Panthers have won three consecutive games. The Panthers also failed to give up a power play goal in back-to-back games for the first time.

“We’re learning from past mistakes and we are getting better,” Boughner said.

“The thing that sticks out to me, tonight, is we were not at our best … good teams find ways to win. You’re not going to be at the top of your game every night, but you need to find those two points when you’re not.”

The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114941 Los Angeles Kings putting up some points and feeling good about myself and getting it going again.”

The longer he struggles, the longer the Kings will struggle, no matter Kings still stuck in their rut who’s coaching.

Doughty said Saturday morning he had seen more flexibility in HELENE ELLIOTT Desjardins’ structure than in Stevens’ game plans and that practices have been “a little more flowy” under Desjardins. “I think he’s just more NOV 10, 2018 | 11:00 PM about competing. Not that Johnny wasn’t,” Doughty said. “They were all about competing, too, but they were more about Xs and O’s whereas

he’s giving us. … Not that he’s not about Xs and O’s but he’s more just Kings still stuck in their rut about the mood to play, the confidence to play, to try and get some swagger back. Compete as hard as you possibly can. He doesn’t want us Maybe it wasn’t John Stevens’ fault the Kings sat at the bottom of the to be robots. He wants us to think the game. He wants us to think of all NHL standings when he was fired last Sunday. the options we have.”

Maybe it wasn’t Stevens’ fault they lacked passion, a shortcoming that Their only option now is to find their hunger quickly or risk the roster general manager Rob Blake cited as crucial when he let Stevens go and being shaken up or broken up. That might be inevitable, anyway. installed Willie Desjardins as the interim coach for the rest of the season. LA Times: LOADED: 11.11.2018 Maybe the problem was — and still is — that the Kings have become a rudderless team that can’t finish and can’t maintain the speedier tempo that’s required to succeed in the NHL. Those flaws are beyond the power of a new coach to fix.

Winger Ilya Kovalchuk, 35, was the Kings’ best player Saturday night in their 1-0 loss to the Calgary Flames at a sometimes silent and much- less-than-full Staples Center. That says a lot about Kovalchuk’s desire to have an impact in the NHL after a five-year absence. It doesn’t say much about his teammates’ determination to turn around a dismal start. In being shut out for the first time this season the Desjardins-led Kings looked as uninspired and disjointed as the Stevens-led Kings, and that’s not a good look.

The Kings’ second loss in Desjardins’ three games behind the bench was sealed in the first period. Calgary defenseman Travis Hamonic, helped by teammates who kept the puck in the zone, took a shot from just above the right circle that appeared to be deflected before it got past a screened Jack Campbell at 2:26. Dustin Brown forced backup Flames goaltender David Rittich to make a save with his left pad at 11:17 of the first period and Tanner Pearson got behind the defense during a third-period power play to force Rittich to make a point-blank save but the Kings otherwise allowed Rittich, a 26-year-old Czech with 29 games’ previous NHL experience, to look like a reincarnation of Georges Vezina, , and Terry Sawchuk rolled into one.

Rittich made 21 saves as the Flames improved to 10-6-1 and the Kings fell to 5-10-1. Campbell, who inherited the starting job when Jonathan Quick suffered a knee injury that required surgery, was again solid in making 35 saves.

As for that passion that Stevens couldn’t generate, the Kings are still looking for it. Or else they’re hiding it well. Team captain Anze Kopitar, asked after the morning skate on Saturday if players were still hungry to win, said they are. “Definitely. The hunger never left,” he said. “We realize that with the team and the character and the personnel that we have here it’s certainly doable, so we’re hungry.”

His assurance aside, that didn’t feel true on Saturday.

Desjardins faces a tough task. He spoke Saturday morning of wanting to shorten players’ shifts and trim the playing time of both Kopitar and Drew Doughty so he can roll four lines and three defense pairs and keep everyone fresh enough to play at a brisk pace, but the temptation will be strong to give both of those players heavy minutes. Kopitar didn’t sound like he’s a fan of short shifts.

“Obviously he wants us to play the up-tempo style. It’s not that Johnny didn’t want to, it’s just a little bit different. I think,” Kopitar said in comparing Stevens and Desjardins. “Willie is big on shift lengths so sometimes he’s pulling us off when we’re on the ice for about 25 seconds. It’s not the greatest thing in the world sometimes. It’s just the time of the game, the position where the faceoff is, all kind of comes into consideration. I think he’s done a good job coming in.”

Kopitar recorded career-best marks of 35 goals and 92 points last season but has only four goals and six points in 15 games. He hasn’t scored a power-play goal and he has no game-winning goals, after sharing the team lead in that category last season with six. He smiled when it was suggested he has been struggling a little bit. “It’s not a little bit,” he said. “Certainly not the start that I wanted but there’s still some hockey left to be played. I feel good physically. Now it’s just getting to 1114942 Los Angeles Kings Desjardins might have trouble resisting the temptation to play Doughty and Kopitar as much if not more because both are such key players, and Kopitar is so valuable defensively as well as offensively. Desjardins will Kings see changes in philosophy and approach under interim coach have to figure that out. Willie Desjardins “You always have to win with your big players so those guys are key, but it’s my job to give them energy so that they can play in the third period,” he said. “It’s not fair to ask them to do something if I’ve played them so HELENE ELLIOTT they have no energy left. I have to be smart about how I manage their time.” NOV 10, 2018 | 1:50 PM LA Times: LOADED: 11.11.2018

Kings see changes in philosophy and approach under interim coach Willie Desjardins

Willie Desjardins’ tenure as the Kings’ interim coach has consisted of only two games, but players said Saturday they can already see differences in his approach and philosophy compared to those of former coach John Stevens.

“Obviously he wants us to play the up-tempo style. It’s not that Johnny didn’t want to, it’s just a little bit different, I think,” center Anze Kopitar said after the team conducted a morning skate in El Segundo in advance of Saturday night’s game against the Calgary Flames at Staples Center.

“Willie is big on shift lengths, so sometimes he’s pulling us off when we’re on the ice for about 25 seconds. It’s not the greatest thing in the world sometimes. It’s just the time of the game, the position where the faceoff is, all kind of comes into consideration. I think he’s done a good job coming in. Just kind of grasp it as he goes, and I think we’re improving.”

Defenseman Drew Doughty said he has seen more of an emotional component in Desjardins’ structure.

“I think he’s just more about competing. Not that Johnny wasn’t,” Doughty said. “They were all about competing, too, but they were more about Xs and O’s whereas he’s giving us.… Not that he’s not about Xs and O’s but he’s more just about the mood to play, the confidence to play, to try and get some swagger back. Compete as hard as you possibly can. He doesn’t want us to be robots. He wants us to think the game. He wants us to think of all the options we have.

“Yeah, we want to kind of have one that we’re all on the same page of doing, but he realizes there are other options and other plays in the game that can make it not happen. He’s giving us a lot of options with that. I think the practice has been a little different. A little more flowy. I think that’s a good thing.”

After a 4-8-1 start and splitting their first two games under Desjardins, improving their confidence could be helpful.

“We’re not winning games. We’re in last place, I believe. So definitely we need a little confidence boost,” Doughty said of the Kings’ bottom-ranked standing in the Western Conference and the NHL overall with 11 points. “We need to pick it up. We need to start getting on a roll. I think we got a little of the confidence back this week but we can have more of it and keep it going.”

Desjardins said Saturday he’s determined to cut the length of players’ shifts by about 10 seconds to slightly more than 40 seconds per shift.

“If you look at teams’ regular-season shifts and then look at their playoff shifts, their playoff shifts are always shorter,” he said, “and that’s because the intensity of the game goes up. And I think we have to bring our playoff game right now. I think we have to get our shifts shorter and I think that’s something our guys have to buy into, to be successful.”

He also said he’d like to cut Kopitar’s average ice time per game, which stood at a career-high 22 minutes and 36 seconds, and trim Doughty’s average ice time, which stood at a league-leading 26:58 before Saturday’s action.

“Drew’s a really good defenseman. I think I want to make sure Drew has energy at the end of the game and at the end of the season as well. It’s important,” Desjardins said. “But at the same time we have to win games now. So that’s a tough one. I would think if Drew’s between 22 to 25 minutes a night, that’s probably where he’ll end up playing.

“The way Drew plays, he’s smart. He can play more minutes. You see some of the top guys around 27, 28 minutes. If he plays 25 minutes a night I think that’s great for us.” 1114943 Los Angeles Kings right face-off circle and it appeared Campbell was screened out by Calgary’s Garnet Hathaway.

“Jack’s giving us a chance every night,” Kopitar said. Kings shut out for this time this season by Flames Campbell is the No. 1 guy right now as Jonathan Quick recovers from knee surgery. He entered with a goals-against-average of 2.46 in 12 ROBERT MORALES games.

November 10, 2018 at 10:41 PM As for Rittich, the 26-year-old earned the first shutout in his 30th NHL game.

“It’s a great milestone in my career,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s the first of LOS ANGELES – One thing a struggling team with a recent coaching many.” change needs is movement in a positive direction. The Kings won their first game under interim coach Willie Desjardins, and lost their second. This was Salute to Service Night, a day ahead of Veterans Day. Among other things, more than 600 military families were invited to the game One could call that a two-game push. through the Seats for Soldiers campaign.

That got the Kings to Saturday, when they hosted one of their rivals – the The Kings have one game left on this season-high seven-game Calgary Flames – at Staples Center. Success in this game would figure homestand. That will take place Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. against the to go a long way in revitalizing a team that has so far failed in so many Toronto Maple Leafs. areas. Orange County Register: LOADED: 11.11.2018 Unfortunately for the Kings, one part of their game in which they have been very poor – scoring – bit them big-time as the Flames made a goal by Travis Hamonic 2:26 into the game stand up on their way to a 1-0 victory over the Kings before 18,230.

That gives the Kings (5-10-1, 11 points) a 1-2-0 record under Desjardins.

The Flames (10-6-1, 21 points) have won five of their past six games.

The Kings were shut out for the first time this season. They entered averaging a league-low 2.20 goals per game.

Anze Kopitar, who led the Kings with a career-high 92 points this past season, has only six here in 2018-19. As he sat at his locker afterward, frustration was written all over his face.

“Right now, I don’t have the answer,” he said, when asked why the team is having difficulty generating offense. “I mean, if we did, we’d probably correct it. So keep plugging away.

“There were some chances again, we didn’t capitalize and we’ve gotta keep on working. That’s all there is to it.”

The Kings were out-shot 36-21, 13-4 in the second period. They had three power-play opportunities, including two almost back-to-back starting from the 11-minute mark of the third period. They mustered very little, though Tanner Pearson was turned away from point-blank range by Calgary goalie David Rittich on the first one.

The Kings entered the game with one of the worst power-play percentages in the league at 15.7 percent.

Forward Alex Iafallo, who has eight points this season, also was asked to discuss his team’s lack of offense.

“It’s tough, you know?” he said. “After a loss like that, I feel like we’ve just gotta work harder; we’re not working hard enough. We’ve gotta play as a team, too. Obviously, we haven’t been creating a lot of offense.

“We’re getting some shots, but not the shots that we want. So we need to get that passion back, that hunger, to get to the soft areas and keep making plays.”

When the Kings fired coach John Stevens on Nov. 4 and replaced him with Desjardins, general manager Rob Blake said the team needed to get back its passion and compete-level. He said he believed Desjardins was the man for that job.

But the Kings at times looked flat in this one. Desjardins gave his team a review in this regard.

“I thought we played pretty good 10 minutes of the first, not a great second – not as good in the second, anyway,” he said. “I didn’t think anybody gave up, though. I thought the guys played hard throughout the game.

“It all comes down to, if we catch one on the power-play, then we’re back in it. That’s an area that we’re going to have to look at adjusting, making some adjustments on it. We haven’t touched it yet, but now’s the time to probably move it around a little bit.”

The loss spoiled a fine effort by Kings goalie Jack Campbell. He was terrific in making 35 saves. On the goal by Hamonic, it came from the 1114944 Los Angeles Kings The Kings finish their seven-game homestand Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference with 22 points before Saturday.

Kings’ forward Tanner Pearson struggling, but optimistic The Kings will then hit the road for games Friday at Chicago, Nov. 17 at Nashville and Nov. 19 at St. Louis.

ROBERT MORALES Orange County Register: LOADED: 11.11.2018

November 10, 2018 at 8:58 PM

LOS ANGELES – Kings interim coach Willie Desjardins talked Friday about how the team needs others besides its stars to be, as he put it, “heavy, hard players.”

Forward Tanner Pearson is one of those secondary players. He had 15 goals to go with 25 assists a season ago. This season, after 15 games heading into Saturday’s against Calgary, he had one measly assist.

At 26 and in his sixth season, Pearson’s stock should be rising. It’s not at the moment. He knows it.

“It’s obviously been kind of tough,” he said. “But I think I kind of hit a low point maybe like six games into the year there and I had to look at everything and, you know, there’s only one way up from there.”

Pearson’s assist came in the first game of the season in a 3-2 overtime loss to San Jose on Oct. 5. But he believes his play is improving.

“So I think recently my game’s kind of pointed up, but there are still things that I can do better,” Pearson said. “And I feel like I’m getting more chances than I have the first three, four games, which is obviously a plus. One’s bound to go in if I just keep on generating stuff.”

Pearson had been a full-time player for three seasons before this one. He had 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points in 2015-16, 24 goals and 20 assists (44 points) in ’16-’17 and 40 points he in ’17-’18.

Desjardins, the head coach at Vancouver from 2014-17, remembers watching an even more youthful Pearson not long ago.

“… He came in and was playing so well as a young player,” Desjardins said. “I don’t think he’s playing quite as well now.”

So much of the game is in a player’s head, Desjardins suggested, and it’s tough to be in the right frame of mind during hard times.

“Confidence is so important in our game,” he said. “If you lose confidence, you just become a totally different player. And the other thing, too, is passion. Like I’ve always said, you can’t tell where a team’s at or a player’s at if they’re not playing with passion.

“So maybe when you’re not doing as well, maybe you lose a little passion for the game and you find it tougher. So I don’t think he’s playing his best right now, but he has had an upside in him, so our job is to try to get him back to that spot.”

Pearson was really looking forward to getting that burden off his shoulders with a goal. When he gets it, he wants to keep it going.

“Yeah, I think even when you get one, you can’t look at it as just one,” he said. “I think you get that one and move on and try to get the next one.”

Desjardins had only coached the Kings two games before Saturday. Pearson played 11:26 in Tuesday’s win over Anaheim and just 10:48 in Thursday’s loss to Minnesota. They are his two lowest time-on-ice numbers of the season.

He had two shots on goal in each game.

Derek Forbort, on Desjardins

Desjardins will be with the Kings for a week today since taking over for the fired John Stevens. When asked, defenseman Derek Forbort talked about the atmosphere of the practices under the new guy.

“I think just like, he runs a lot more drills, but they’re all like way quicker, so I guess in that sense there’s a little more energy,” Forbort said.

There’s also the passion.

“He’s pretty high-spirited and pretty talkative and he’s kind of laughing out there,” Forbort said.

Upcoming 1114945 Los Angeles Kings Yeah, even myself. I feel like there’s a lot of hesitation, even in the D- zone. We can’t have hesitation. We’ve just got to trust each other that we’re going to make that play and be able to make that play. We know RAPID REACTION (FEAT. KRISTEN ANDERSON): FLAMES 1, KINGS we can make those plays, we just have got to be mentally prepared 0 every shift and gain momentum. Every shift and every period.

Iafallo, on if the hesitation is coming from wanting to do the right thing and the pressure the team feels right now: JON ROSEN I know we feel a lot of pressure obviously this season, but at the end of NOVEMBER 10, 2018 the day we’ve just got to relax and keep it simple and making sure that we’re just working hard every shift and battling for each other. We’ve got

to come back on Monday and make sure we’re battling. Post-game Quotes Iafallo, on if it feels like two steps forward, one step back: Willie Desjardins, on the team’s compete level in the loss: Yeah, definitely. We talked about it a lot. Saw positive stuff after that last The start of the game, I thought [Calgary] started pretty hard. I thought win so we’ve got to stay positive, but at the same time we’ve got to learn we played pretty good 10 minutes into the first. Not a great second – not from our mistakes and be hungry and prepared every shift. as good in the second, anyways. I don’t think anybody gave up, though. I Iafallo, on if there is much difference between the offense strategies of thought the guys played hard throughout the game. You know, it all Stevens and Desjardins: comes down to if we catch one on the power play, then we’re back in it. That’s an area that we’re going to have to look at adjusting, making some Pretty much same systems. But at the end of the day, it’s up to us. We’ve adjustments on it. We haven’t touched it yet, but now’s the time to got to be hungry for the puck and get to those soft areas and cycles that probably move it around a little bit. we were doing last year. Get back to that and working for each other– that’s the main aspect. Desjardins, on Los Angeles’ scoring challenges: Post-game Notes I think it’s always been a solid defensive team. I think that’s the way they’ve always won, so I think some of their top guys think a little bit more –With the loss, Los Angeles fell to 97-113-30 all-time against the Calgary defensively. I look at guys on the other side – Gaudreau, Monahan – franchise, a record that includes a home mark of 59-47-13. These teams they’re always thinking offense. Our guys probably think a little bit more have three games remaining: November 30 and March 25 at Scotiabank defensively. Saying that, I think we have to create some systems that are Saddledome, and April 1 at Staples Center. going to get guys more involved, and we’ve got to force ourselves to get up ice and play more aggressive and play more offensive. [Reporter: Are –With the loss, the Kings fell to 1-5-1 against the Western Conference, 1- you willing to sacrifice a little bit defensively?] We have to. We’re not 1-1 against the Pacific Division, 1-2-1 in one-goal games, 1-8-1 when creating enough right now. It’s funny, you score two on the power play their opponent scores first, 1-7-1 when trailing after the first period, 0-10- and you’ve had a good night. Not bad, anyways. You don’t, and well, 0 when trailing after the second period and 3-5-1 when outshot by their we’ve got to find other ways to do it. Right now, we do. We want to be opponent. more of an aggressive team. I think all our guys know that we’ve had our –The Kings were shut out for the first time this season. Since Jake opportunities, and we haven’t capitalized on ‘em. I guess that’s part of Muzzin’s goal 4:42 into Thursday’s game, Devan Dubnyk and David the good thing, that we’re doing other things well, but we have to find Rittich have combined to hold them scoreless over a consecutive 115:18. ways to create more offense. The shutout was the first of Rittich’s career. The last time Los Angeles Anze Kopitar, on why the team is having such a hard time generating was shut out was the 3-0 loss to New Jersey at Staples Center on March offense: 17.

I don’t have the answer. I think if we did we’d probably correct it. So keep –By stopping 35 of 36 shots in 59:01 of action, Jack Campbell is now 2- plugging away and we had some chances again and didn’t capitalize and 3-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage in you know it’s just, you’ve got to keep on working, that’s all there is to it. November (237:41 / 111 shots / 103 saves).

Kopitar, on keeping Calgary to one goal: –The Kings attempted 56 shots (21 on goal, 15 blocked, 20 missed). The Flames attempted 61 shots (36 on goal, 13 blocked, 12 missed). Travis We’re not giving up much, but you can’t win with scoring one or two. Hamonic and Michael Frolik led all skaters with five shots on goal, while You’ve got to get to the three mark to have obviously a lot better chance. Kyle Clifford and Dustin Brown tied with a team-high three shots.

Kopitar, on Campbell’s performance and the team not being able to do –Los Angeles won 31-of-55 faceoffs (56%). Adrian Kempe won 2-of-3, more for him: Michael Amadio won 4-of-6, Anze Kopitar won 12-of-20, Alex Iafallo won 0-of-3, Trevor Lewis won 1-of-1, Nate Thompson won 1-of-5 and Jeff Jack’s given us a chance every night. I mean that’s what you want from Carter won 11-of-17. your goalie and it’s disappointing we can’t back it up. LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 11.11.2018 Tyler Toffoli, on Campbell making some great saves:

Soupy played great again. We definitely had our chances to score, but obviously just couldn’t capitalize tonight.

Toffoli, on what wasn’t clicking tonight in terms of puck possession:

We had our opportunities. They’re a good hockey team and they had their chances and obviously scored on the one, but obviously we’re going to come back and try and get better when we come back to the rink.

Alex Iafallo, on not being able to produce offensively:

It’s tough, you know, after a loss like that I feel like we’ve just got to work harder. We’re just not working hard enough. We’ve got to play as a team too. Obviously we haven’t been creating a lot of offense and we’re getting some shots, but not shots we want. So we need to get that passion back, that hunger to get to the soft areas and keep making plays. We kind of got away from making those cycle plays to where we got momentum every shift, rolling into every shift. That goes a long way and that rolls into periods and then games. We’ve just got to, we’ve got to pick it up here.

Iafallo, on if he sees a lack of assertion when making plays in the zone: 1114946 Los Angeles Kings Average shift length, 2018-19 LA Kings:

Drew Doughty – 0:53

DESJARDINS WANTS PLAYERS TO “BUY INTO” SHIFT LENGTH Ilya Kovalchuk – 0:51 REDUCTION Anze Kopitar – 0:50

Jeff Carter – 0:47 JON ROSEN Dustin Brown – 0:47 NOVEMBER 10, 2018 Dion Phaneuf – 0:46

Jaret Anderson-Dolan – 0:46 COACHING Alec Martinez – 0:46 Anze Kopitar, by one method of measurement, is a model of consistency. Dating back to his second season, all the way back in 2007-08, he has Jake Muzzin – 0:46 averaged 49, 50, 51, 51, 51, 49, 49, 50, 50, 50, 51 and 50 seconds per Michael Amadio – 0:46 shift. Paul LaDue – 0:45 But despite that regularity, there have been recent calls for him to shed a few seconds whenever available in the name of preservation. John Sheldon Rempal – 0:45 Stevens spoke about this several times last season, and on Saturday Alex Iafallo – 0:45 morning, Willie Desjardins also issued the call. Tyler Toffoli – 0:45 “If you look at teams’ regular season shifts, and then you look at their playoff shifts, their playoff shifts are always shorter, and that’s because Derek Forbort – 0:44 the intensity of the game goes up, and I think we have to bring our playoff game right now,” Desjardins said. “I think we have to get our shifts Oscar Fantenberg – 0:42 shorter, and I think that’s something that our guys have to buy into to be Trevor Lewis – 0:42 successful.” Kyle Clifford – 0:41 Kopitar averaged 47 seconds per shift on Thursday against Minnesota, a rate that actually spiked late when he remained on for roughly 90 Sean Walker – 0:41 seconds of a power play while the team trailed by one in the third period. Tanner Pearson – 0:40 “It was interesting,” Desjardins said. “Going into the third period [Thursday], him and Carter both were sitting pretty good. They were Nate Thompson – 0:40 sitting at 13 minutes last game, but then they played a lot in the third Austin Wagner – 0:39 period, and two of them occurred because we had a long power play, so they had lots of time on those two power plays. But I think for both of Adrian Kempe – 0:38 those guys, if they’re sitting around 19-to-21 minutes, you’re probably pretty good with them. There are some night when you’ve got to go Matt Luff – 0:36 higher, but I think those are pretty good minutes.” Longest average NHL shift lengths since 2011-12 (min. 41 GP):

Ideally, Desjardins would like to see shifts come down by “about” 10 Erik Karlsson (2015-16) – 1:04 seconds, which means occasionally pulling players off the ice after a quick whistle, based on where the ensuing faceoff will take place. This Erik Karlsson (2014-15) – 1:01 sometimes helps limit the shift length of players like Adrian Kempe, who has the shortest shift lengths among team regulars with an average of 38 Ryan Suter (2017-18) – 0:59 seconds. He averaged 41 seconds on Thursday. Nate Thompson and Francois Beauchemin (2011-12) – 0:59 Tanner Pearson are averaging 40 seconds per shift; Thompson averaged 34 seconds on Thursday, Pearson 38. Alex Ovechkin (2012-13) – 0:59

At the other end of the spectrum is Drew Doughty, who’s averaging 53 Ilya Kovalchuk (2011-12) – 0:59 seconds per shift. Kris Letang (2011-12) – 0:59 “Drew’s a really good defenseman, and I think I want to make sure Drew has energy at the end of games and at the end of the season as well – Jack Johnson (2012-13) – 0:58 it’s important. But at the same time, we have to win games now, so that’s Nick Leddy (2016-17) – 0:58 a tough one, and that’s true for all our players. I would think if Drew’s between 22-to-25 minutes a night, I think that’s probably where he’ll end Cam Fowler (2017-18) – 0:58 up playing. … Some nights, the way Drew plays, too, he’s smart, he can Evgeni Malkin (2011-12) – 0:58 play more minutes, and you see some of the top guys around 27, 28 minutes. Jack Johnson (2013-14) – 0:58

Desjardins said that it’ll be beneficial if Doughty plays 25 minutes per LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 11.11.2018 night, but that might not happen often. The Kings are a low-scoring team that won’t pull away from a lot of teams, which means they’re going to be heavily reliant on impact players for a longer stretch of game span and might not have the freedom to roll lines and place caps on its stars.

Doughty’s averaging 26:58 thus far, a six-second raise from last season. His high is a 29-minute average in 2014-15.

“One thing that’s important is that those guys know that I count on them,” Desjardins said. “I can’t come in and all of a sudden think that they think that they’re not. They’re important for us to win, and I’ve got to use them in a lot of key situations so they know that. And it is true – you always have to win with your big players, so those guys are key. But it’s my job to give them energy so that they can play in the third period. It’s not fair to ask them to do something if I’ve played ‘em so they have no energy yet. I have to be smart at how I manage their time.” 1114947 Minnesota Wild “We’re getting contributions up and down the lineup,” center Eric Fehr said. “We’re playing a hard game. We’re hard on pucks. We’re physical. We’re not making it easy on teams, that’s for sure.” Long road trip revealing plenty about Wild And the Wild seems to be enjoying the process as much as the result. Being on the road this much has given players more time to bond with By Sarah McLellan each other, in the locker room and away from the rink, and there’s an upbeat mood around the group. NOVEMBER 10, 2018 — 11:38PM “The best teams have a lot of camaraderie and are really close, and I feel we have a close group,” Zucker said. “Whether I go to eat with Ryan Suter or Jordan Greenway, we’re having fun and we feel we can get ST. LOUIS – Since it spanned October and November, a string of seven along really well.” in a row on the road — the most consecutive in franchise history — likely fell too early on the calendar to define the Wild’s season. That vibe, combined with the production on the ice, has made this business trip a resounding success. But the stretch certainly would be telling, revealing more about the team’s identity and its potential. But it can become even more significant if it ends up as being just a preview of what’s to come for the Wild. And on the brink of the finale of this trek, Sunday afternoon in St. Louis against the Blues, more than a few insights have emerged, but one is “We gotta keep our foot on the pedal,” Zucker said, “and play well and particularly clear. keep pushing.” The Wild is a competitive bunch that has developed a knack for winning. “When they’re on top of their game,” coach Bruce Boudreau said, “they’re Star Tribune LOADED: 11.11.2018 a hard team to play against.” After sealing a winning record on this road swing by dispatching the Ducks 5-1 Friday, an outcome that improved it to 4-2 during the seven- game challenge and 10-4-2 overall, the Wild ranked second in the Western Conference and fourth in the NHL. Only the Lightning (25) and Predators (24) boasted a better point total than the Wild’s 22. It also sat second in the Central Division, three points up on the Jets and Stars, five ahead of the Avalanche and seven in front of the Blues and Blackhawks. Overall, the Wild won nine of its past 11 games. Much can change with 66 games to go, but what fueled the team’s recent prowess on the road could continue to be a catalyst. Its offensive leaders set the tone. Winger Mikael Granlund leads the group in goals (nine) and points (17) after four goals and eight assists through the first six road games of this test — including two goals and an assist against the Ducks. His reunion with winger Jason Zucker and center Eric Staal has been a fruitful one, with Zucker ending a seven-game drought Friday with his fifth goal of the season. The line of Zach Parise, captain Mikko Koivu and Nino Niederreiter is another one recently reassembled after starting the season together, and it, too, has clicked. Niederreiter shook off his scoring funk, securing his first goal in 28 games in a 3-1 win over the Kings on Thursday; Parise has three goals on this road segment, while Koivu has accrued five assists. “At the beginning of the year, it wasn’t working because they weren’t ready,” Boudreau said. “A couple older guys, it takes their legs a little bit longer. But now you can see them starting to generate some good energy.” There’s also been no shortage of secondary scoring, from the bottom six and the defense. Rookie Jordan Greenway chipped in his second NHL goal Friday, his fourth point since he rejoined the team at the outset of this road stretch following a stint in the minors. “My confidence is going up every game,” Greenway said. The blue line has been especially active, chipping in seven goals in the past six games and racking up 17 points during that span. Jonas Brodin’s partnership with Jared Spurgeon was the latest to shine, as the duo combined for four points against the Ducks while each finished a plus-4 — a career high for Brodin. “We’re starting to get to know each other a little better on the ice,” Brodin said. Add in steady goaltending from Devan Dubnyk and Alex Stalock, a tandem that has surrendered just one goal three times during these past six road games, and the Wild has been able to rally when falling behind — to the tune of 7-3-1 this season when giving up the first goal — or pull away after scoring first, which it did Friday for just the fifth time. 1114948 Minnesota Wild

Wild-Blues preview

NOVEMBER 10, 2018 — 7:54PM 2 p.m. at St. Louis • FSN, 100.3-FM SARAH MCLELLAN

Blues next for team in transit Preview: This is the last stop on the Wild’s seven-game road swing. After a 4-2 showing so far, the team has improved to 5-4 on the road overall. Since falling to the Wild 5-1 last Saturday, the Blues have won two straight. Most recently they blanked the Sharks 4-0 Friday at home. Players to WATCH: Goalie Chad Johnson made 33 saves in shutting out San Jose. Center Ryan O’Reilly has 16 points during a career-high nine- game point streak. Winger Alexander Steen has three points in his past two games. Numbers: Winger Mikael Granlund has 198 career assists. He has a team-leading eight points in the past six games. Johnson has given up one goal on 72 shots in his past two starts. St. Louis has won four of its past five games. Injuries: Wild F Matt Hendricks is dealing with bumps and bruises. Blues F Brayden Schenn (oblique strain) and D Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) are out. SARAH MCLELLAN

Star Tribune LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114949 Minnesota Wild Typically, the pregame routine starts when Dumba arrives at the rink around 4:30 p.m. He puts on his playlist, which serves as background noise for the next couple of hours until the team takes the ice for DJ Matt Dumba is keeper of the aux cord in Wild locker room warmups. “That’s all him,” Nino Niederreiter said. “That’s his time to shine.” By DANE MIZUTANI Still, Eric Staal made it clear that some of the veterans have some input. PUBLISHED: November 10, 2018 at 4:15 pm “He has gotten some firm talking-to’s about what he can play and what he can’t play,” Staal said with a laugh. “He knows.” UPDATED: November 10, 2018 at 5:23 PM It’s a huge playlist, and like any true DJ out there, Dumba constantly adds to it by mixing in a variety of songs that cater to everyone. ST. LOUIS — Any time the bass drops in the Wild locker room, resident “You need to switch it up,” Dumba said. “It sucks when someone beats disc jockey Matt Dumba should be required to pour one out for Devin the (expletive) out of a song. That’s not good for anyone.” Setoguchi. It’s clear Dumba takes his job seriously, and it’s a good thing he does, After all, the man who teammates affectionately referred to simply as because others would rather stay away from the aux cord altogether. “Seto” throughout his NHL career was an OG DJ on Kellogg and West Seventh. “It’s a tough job,” Dubnyk said. “I’ve learned it’s better to stay out of it. I don’t feel like having everyone complaining to me. He does a good job Nearly a decade ago, he was none too pleased with the outdated sound with it.” system in the locker room. It hadn’t been replaced since the Xcel Energy Center opened in 2000 and that was starting affect the pregame vibe. “I remember Seto was like, ‘Screw it. I’ll pay for it,’ ” assistant equipment Pioneer Press LOADED: 11.11.2018 manager Rick Bronwell said. “He told me to go out and do some research and figure out the best option. “There were a bunch of other guys that ended up putting in some money. It was definitely Seto’s baby, though. He wanted something better that would help fire the guys up.” After scouring stores throughout the Twin Cities, Bronwell found a good deal at Audio Perfection in Richfield. He purchased four speakers, a center channel and, most importantly, a subwoofer. “That was the key to the whole operation,” Bronwell said. “It just makes everything sound so much better.” While different faces have skated in and out of the locker room since then, the sound system has remained a constant. And the current roster is maximizing its potential with DJ defenseman Matt Dumba usually serving as the man in charge of the auxiliary cord. “Yeah,” Dumba said with a smirk. “It’s usually me. I’m trying to get some more help. I need more guys to step up with their Apple Music login.” It isn’t always Dumba, though, as pretty much anyone on the team can take control of the music if they feel like it. That explains why just about anything or anybody — Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Tom Petty, Alanis Morissette, Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean — could blare from the locker room. Sometimes all in the same week. “It always so random,” forward Marcus Foligno said. “There are some practice mornings it’ll be Matt Hendricks with some of his old-school rock or something like that. We get on him pretty quick about it.” Never one to back down, Hendricks stood up for his taste in music, as outdated as it might be to some of the younger guys on the team. “That’s the problem with a locker room,” Hendricks said. “You’ve got so many different genres of music to be played. It’s pretty much impossible to keep everyone happy. I’d say whoever is playing their music probably has the worst job on the team.” Whether it’s a bass-heavy banger, a hipster acoustic riff or a timeless ballad, someone always has something to say about what’s playing at the time. “You’re never going to keep everyone happy,” said goalie Devan Dubnyk, who sits right next to the receiver. “It doesn’t matter what kind of music is playing. There are always at least a few guys that aren’t going to be a fan.” There are also a few guys who have lost their aux cord privileges. “They know who they are,” Dumba said without mentioning names. “We just make sure none of the rookies like Jordan Greenway touch it,” Foligno chimed in. “It’s pretty much fair game for everyone else.” There are some unwritten rules, particularly on game days. “On practice days, the boys can have whatever they want,” Dumba said. “On game days, they know it’s all me.” 1114950 had a couple of runs in the playoffs that I’ll always remember and I have nothing but positives.

“The page is turned,” he added. Wound is still fresh for Max Pacioretty and the Canadiens But as one of only 30 men to wear the “C” for the Canadiens, Pacioretty will never be erased from the Habs’ history books. In the alumni lounge STU COWAN, at the Bell Centre there are portraits of all the former captains, including a new one of Pacioretty that he saw for the first time Saturday morning. Updated: November 10, 2018 “It means a lot to me,” he said. “My grandmother’s from Montreal. We take a lot of pride in our family being from here and I take a lot of pride in the success that I’ve had here. That means more, I think, to my family as They say time heals all wounds, but the relationship between the a whole than to myself, personally. To be able to have my picture up Canadiens and former captain Max Pacioretty are still pretty fresh. there with those guys, you know it’s not just what I achieved, I think it’s what my family achieved and the sacrifices that they made for me as Pacioretty played his first game at the Bell Centre on Saturday night well. So it’s very special for me.” since being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 10. Pacioretty insisted he never wanted to leave Montreal and Canadiens What’s been the biggest adjustment to his new life in Vegas? owner/president Geoff Molson and GM Marc Bergevin both said he asked for a trade. “The biggest change is not forgetting my sunglasses when I leave the house,” Pacioretty said with a smile. It got ugly. The wound might not be healed — and maybe it never will — but No matter who said what, the reality is the Canadiens didn’t want Pacioretty isn’t in pain. Pacioretty back.

The Canadiens played a pre-game video tribute to Pacioretty on the giant screen and he skated around nervously as it started, then smiled at Montreal Gazette LOADED: 11.11.2018 something one of his teammates said from the bench before taking a nervous-looking drink of water. The TV coverage showed a split screen with Pacioretty on the ice and Bergevin looking down expressionless from his private loge. The fans gave Pacioretty a short standing ovation that probably would have lasted longer if the bright game lights hadn’t been turned on so quickly to get the game started. It certainly looked like the Canadiens didn’t want it to last too long. Like I said, the wound is still fresh on both sides.

A  ovation from the fans welcoming Max Pacioretty back to Montreal tonight pic.twitter.com/2XopeT3LzR— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 11, 2018 At the end of the night, it was Bergevin who was celebrating after the Canadiens beat the Golden Knights 5-4 — fighting back from a 2-0 first- period deficit — and managed to keep Pacioretty off the scoresheet despite his game-high nine shots. Pacioretty was also minus-2. “You could tell he was working hard, he was competing,” the Canadiens Andrew Shaw said. Pacioretty said he enjoyed the video tribute and the fan reaction. “I really appreciate the support that I got,” he said. “I’ve always had a great relationship with the fans and the city in general, so it really meant a lot to me. “I felt good out there,” he added. “I just wanted to win bad.” The buildup for this game started Tuesday in Toronto when Pacioretty returned to the Golden Knights’ lineup in a 3-1 loss to the Maple Leafs after missing four games with an upper-body injury and he was already getting asked about his Montreal homecoming. The questions continued Thursday when Vegas beat the Senators 5-3 in Ottawa. “I’ve had my fair share of challenges with distractions for 10 years, so it’s minor compared to that,” Pacioretty said after Saturday’s morning skate. “But, yeah, it is different than the lifestyle that I’m used to for the last month and a half. … As soon as I started to feel better and knew that this was going to be a reality, I kind of got myself ready for coming back to Canada and facing those questions. No different from the last 10 years, like I said.” But it is different now for Pacioretty, both on and off the ice. “My life is very different,” he said. “Not to say something’s better than the other. But I’m really in a good place and I’m very, very happy. The organization in Vegas I guess was blessed with a clean slate two years ago. They put the right people on the job to make life easier on the players and they got all the right people to do so. It’s a first-class organization that really takes care of its players and they’ve made life on me very easy and that makes you want to go out and get results for them. “I had 10 great years (in Montreal). The memories, both on the ice and off the ice … there’s no secret I lived here for 12 months out of the year and my family was invested in the city, in the community, with charities and the Montreal General Hospital. We did a lot of good things here. We 1114951 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Gazette LOADED: 11.11.2018

In the Habs' Room: 'It's always nice when you beat your old team,' Tatar crows after scoring winner

PAT HICKEY Updated: November 10, 2018

Tomas Tatar wasn’t in Las Vegas long enough to forge any strong bonds, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t take extra satisfaction in the Canadiens’ 5-4 win over the Golden Knights on Saturday at the Bell Centre. “It’s always nice when you beat your old team,” said Tatar, who provided the winning goal at 12:17 of the third period. The Golden Knights acquired Tatar at the trading deadline last season, but he had difficulty finding ice on an established lineup that would reach the Stanley Cup final. He was traded to the Canadiens as part of the package for Max Pacioretty. Prospect Nick Suzuki was identified as the key player in the deal that also gave Montreal a second-round draft choice, but Tatar is hitting his stride after a slow start. He has four goals in the past three games and seven for the season to go along with eight assists. He was looking for an assist when he scored what he described as a “lucky goal” for the winner. “I was trying to pass the puck to Phil (Danault) and it found its way in,” Tatar said. Pacioretty didn’t have as much success against his former team, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. He had nine of the Golden Knights’ 38 shots on goal, but failed to earn a point. He’s stuck on two goals through 13 games. Andrew Shaw scored two goals and had a chance to wear the rodent-fur trimmed Game of Thrones cape as the game’s first star. Both of his goals were the result of going to the net and feasting on loose pucks. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Canadiens, who have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference at 9-5-3. “It’s only a few games I’ve felt I’ve been doing what I need to do so it’s something I got to stay on and keep competing and doing,” Shaw said. “But it feels pretty good.” Pacioretty’s return and the buzz created by the Golden Knights and their Stanley Cup run last season produced only the third sellout in 10 games at the Bell Centre, and Shaw described the energy in the building as “absolutely amazing.” “It’s pretty cool, it’s fun,” Shaw said when asked about being named the first star. “You go out there and feel the energy even after the game and doing the interviews, it’s pretty surreal.” Rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi continues to make strides. He set up Charles Hudon for a goal and scored once himself, going to the net and converting a set-up from Artturi Lehkonen. Hudon was cutting to the net when Kotkaniemi set him up. Hudon faked a forehand shot and then went to his backhand. “I was worried that Flower (Vegas goaltender Marc-André Fleury) was going to poke me,” Hudon said. “He alway tries to poke me, but he didn’t.” Coach Claude Julien said it wasn’t a perfect game, but he liked the way his team bounced back from 0-2 and 3-4 deficits. The return of David Schlemko made it possible for Julien to spread the workload for his defencemen and workhorse Jeff Petry was limited to 20:03. Mike Reilly and Jordie Benn had more ice time and Schlemko checked in at an even 20 minutes in his first appearance of the season after recovering from a knee injury. “For a guy who hasn’t played, he did a great job,” Julien said. “He’s a smart player, he sees the ice well and doesn’t panic.” “I felt it,” Schlemko said when told about his ice time. “My conditioning is pretty good after being bag-skated for a few weeks, but it’s not the same as game condition.”

1114952 Montreal Canadiens

About last night ... Canadiens rally to take Vegas 5-4

MIKE BOONE Updated: November 10, 2018

This team … The Canadiens played a horrible first period on home ice. Outshot 15-4 by Las Vegas and outscored 2-0. Not to put too fine a point on it, the home team — riding their first two- game losing streak of the season — spent the first 20 minutes sucking hard. If this were last season’s team, game over. Vegas would have romped. Max Pacioretty would have bagged a hat trick. Marc-André Fleury would have pitched a shutout. Ryan Reaves would have pounded the stuffing out of somebody in a red jersey. And the Canadiens would have limped off to their Western Canada road trip trailing a lot of doubts and the steadily swelling suspicion that this season’s team reminds fans of last season’s team. A Comment from Curly Howie, on the Liveblog, summed up the early anxiety: The fantasy of October is turning into the dark, harsh reality of November. But a funny thing happened on the way to despair. Charles Hudon beat Fleury to get the Canadiens on the board six minutes into the second period. Andrew Shaw scored the first of his two goals 65 seconds later. And just like that, we had a hockey game that in no way resembled what we saw a year ago. Mike Bossy, on the TVA Sports postgame show, said the attitude of the Canadiens had changed from the team we saw a year ago. “The character of the Canadiens changed with the new players who are here,” the Hall of Fame sniper added. “We’ve said since the beginning of the season, it’s a much better team without Pacioretty and Galchenyuk.” Can’t dispute that … although Pacioretty — honoured in a classy pre- game video — had a brilliant homecoming that included nine shots on goal. Into the second period, the dear departed captain was outshooting the Canadiens. But that dominance didn’t last. The Canadiens found their skating game. Jonathan Drouin played brilliantly, as did Tomas Tatar (called a “hockey warrior” by Claude Julien in his postgame press conference), Artturi Lehkonen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Andrew Shaw, Max Domi and, on the back end, Jeff Petry, David Schlemko … well, everyone on D except Jordie Benn. Eleven names on the scoresheet … including Kenny Agostino. And Antti Niemi made key saves … which begs the question: Who starts in nets for the Canadiens on Tuesday night in Edmonton?

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Canadiens put on a lively show to edge flashy Vegas Golden Knights

PAT HICKEY, Updated: November 10, 2018

It’s not always pretty, but it is entertaining when the Canadiens win a game this season. Their seesaw battle against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night was a perfect example as the Montreal came from behind on two occasions to post a 5-4 victory. Tomas Tatar provided the winning margin when scored from close range at 12:17 of the third period. It was his seventh goal of the season and his fourth in three games. Andrew Shaw scored two goals, including a tying goal at 9:20 of the third period. It was a typical Shaw goal as he went to the net and scored on the rebound of a shot by Max Domi. This was a wide-open game between two teams that like to punish the opponent with their speed. The Golden Knights had a comfortable 38-26 margin in shots, but Antti Niemi, who got the nod over a struggling Carey Price, made 34 saves to run his season recored to 4-1-0. There were a dozen times last season when the Canadiens gave up two goals inside of a minute, and it happened again late in the first period. While the Golden Knights enjoyed a huge advantage in terms of shots on goal, it was 0-0 when Mike Reilly was sent off for tripping at 16:29. Vegas opened the scoring on a goal by defenceman Brad Hunt at 17:40. Hunt faked a shot from the right faceoff circle and when Niemi dipped his shoulder, Hunt tucked a wrist shot under the crossbar. Fifth-seven seconds later, Jonathan Marchessault was credited with a goal he never saw. The pride of Cap Rouge had his back to the net as he battled for position in front of the net and Reilly Smith’s shot from the corner went off the back of his skate. The Canadiens came out strong in the second period and they needed 66 seconds to produce the two goals that tied the score and they took their first lead before the midway point of the period. Rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi played the major role in the comeback. He set Charles Hudon for Montreal’s first goal that came when Hudon faked a forehand and then beat Marc-André Fleury with a backhander. Kotkaniemi gave Montreal a 3-2 lead when he went to the front of the net and converted Artturi Lehkonen’s pass from behind the net. In between those goals, Shaw netted a tying goal off a battle in front. Jonathan Drouin fanned on a shot from the slot, but Shaw scored when he gave the puck a forceful nudge. Alex Tuch scored before the period was out to tie the score at 3-3 and the Vegas power play paid dividends when William Karlsson scored early in the third period to put Vegas ahead 4-3. The bounces went against the Canadiens on this goal as Niemi made the save on a shot from Tomas Hyka, only to have the puck carom off Matthew Peca’s skate and end up in the net. The Canadiens treated Max Pacioretty better than they did when they ran him out of town on the eve of the team’s annual charity tournament. The team offered a video tribute to the former captain prior to the game and the crowd greeted him warmly.

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Canadiens come back to edge Vegas 5-4

MIKE BOONE Updated: November 10, 2018

A Saturday night classic! Sloppy but fun. Tomas Tatar played a brilliant game against his former team and scored the winner, 12 minutes into the third period of a crazy, back-and-forth game A fluky goal, in off Matthew Peca, put Vegas ahead on a power play, 3:27 into the third period. Six minutes later, Andrew Shaw tipped one past Marc-André Fleury to tie it. Poor D by Jordie Benn resulted in Alex Tuch’s goal late in the second period to break the home team’s momentum and tie the game at 3-3. The Canadiens came alive with two goals in 65 seconds, six minutes into the second period. After Charles Hudon got the home team on the board, Andrew Shaw’s tap-in tied it up at 2-2. Three minutes later, brilliant work by Artturi Lehkonen fed Jesperi Kotkaniemi for the go-ahead goal. After a nice tribute to Max Pacioretty on the scoreboard, Las Vegas dominated the first period, and Brad Hunt scored on a power play almost 18 minutes in. Less than a minute later, Jonathan Marchessault batted one from in close and it was 2-0. Shots through were 38-27 for the team that lost.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114955 Montreal Canadiens At the Canadiens golf tournament four years ago at Laval-sur-le-lac, the club brought out the four members of the new leadership group following the departure of captain Brian Gionta to the Buffalo Sabres as a free Canadiens Game Day: Habs refuse to give up and beat Golden Knights agent. 5-4 There would be no captain for the 2014-15 season, but four players would wear an “A” on their sweaters as alternate captains: Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban and Pacioretty. STU COWAN, Four years later, they are all gone from the Canadiens. Plekanec was the Updated: November 10, 2018 last to depart on Friday when he mutually agreed with the Canadiens to go on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his one-year, US$3.5-million contract. Canadiens Game Day is a new feature this season in which we will follow Pacioretty was traded to Las Vegas just before the start of training camp the Habs during every home game from the morning skate in Brossard this season, while Subban is in his third season with the Nashville through the post-game interviews at the Bell Centre, updating throughout Predators after being traded for Shea Weber and Markov is in his second the day with all the news, notes, quotes and opinion you’re looking for: season with Kazan Ak-Bars in the KHL. The first period of Saturday night’s game between the Canadiens and After Vegas’s morning skate Saturday at the Bell Centre, Pacioretty said Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre must have resulted in some bad he has unplugged himself from what’s going on with the Canadiens and flashbacks to last season for Montreal fans. only learned about Plekanec from some Montreal friends he spent time with Friday on what was an day off in the city for the Golden Knights The Golden Knights totally dominated the Canadiens during the first 20 following their 5-3 win over the Senators Thursday night in Ottawa. minutes, outshooting them 15-4 and taking a 2-0 lead. “I couldn’t believe it,” Pacioretty said about Plekanec. “It’s crazy to think But one thing about this new-look Canadiens team: they don’t give up. that none of us are still here from the guys that were around three or four On this night, they fought back, scoring the first three goals of the second years ago. period and eventually beating the Golden Knights 5-4. “It was really nice to see him play his 1,000th game and to get Andrew Shaw scored twice for the Canadiens and was named the recognized as a guy who was able to play 1,000 games in this game’s first star, while Charles Hudon, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Tomas organization,” Pacioretty added about his former teammate. “It’s very Tatar — with the winner at 12:17 of the third period — added singles. difficult and he always did it with class. He was always a professional that Brad Hunt, Jonathan Marchessault, Alex Tuch and William Karlsson showed up no matter what the situation was and put in the work to help scored for the Golden Knights. himself be prepared and help his teammates be prepared. I reached out to him late last night when I did find out and I’m very happy for him Antti Niemi, starting in goal for the Canadiens in place of the struggling because I think he’s in a very good spot. From what guys were saying, Carey Price, stopped 34 of 38 shots to improve his record to 4-1-0. Niemi he might be willing to go back home (to the Czech Republic) and enjoy kept the Canadiens in the game during the first period. The shots were time with his family and that would be good as well.” 14-4 when Hunt opened the scoring at 17:40 of the first period on a power play. Plekanec said Friday that he’d like to continue his playing career in the Czech Republic. Marc-André Fleury faced 27 shots in the Vegas net. A familiar spot for Pacioretty this morning  Former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty, playing his first game against pic.twitter.com/fBEPAhf7bC— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) his old team as a member of the Golden Knights, was held off the November 10, 2018 scoresheet despite having a game-high nine shots and was minus-2 in 20:46 of ice time. Slow start for Pacioretty The Canadiens showed a video tribute to Pacioretty on the scoreboard Pacioretty is off to a slow start in Vegas with two goals and no assists in before the game started and he received a short standing ovation from his first 13 games. He missed four games with an upper-body injury the Bell Centre fans. before returning to the lineup this week for games in Toronto and Ottawa. “I really wanted to win,” Pacioretty said. “I obviously always appreciate Pacioretty admitted it felt a little weird skating onto the Bell Centre ice for the support that I get from the fans here.” Saturday’s morning skate. He added about the game: “It seemed like the story of our year so far, “Not as weird as I thought,” he said. “When you go through, I guess, mine in particular. It just seemed to not go in and it seemed all the experiences like that (waiting to be traded), a whole summer of kind of opportunities against are going in.” waiting around and then it happens. It was weird being out there, but also a bit comfortable being on that ice. I’m used to practising out there, so The Canadiens improved their record to 9-5-3, while the Golden Knights just with a different jersey is a bit different. But it’s good to be back. fell to 7-9-1. “I’ve never even seen the visitors’ locker room,” Pacioretty added. “So to Never give up see that for the first time was strange. But at the end of the day it’s Remember the old “No Excuses” sign that used to hang in the another hockey game, another opportunity for our team to win and battle Canadiens’ locker room? back a little bit and that’s what I’m looking forward to.” They could put up a new one now: “Never give up.” When asked what the fan reaction at the Bell Centre might be toward him Saturday night, Pacioretty said: “I’m not nervous. I have a great “I just think we’re buying into the systems, we’re competing,” Shaw said relationship with the city and the fans and I saw that yesterday being out after the game while wearing the Game of Thrones cape given to the and about as I was my whole life here in Montreal. I enjoyed the city Canadiens’ player of the game. “We’re winning our one-on-one battles yesterday and saw a lot of friends and got a lot of well wishes and nice and then we’re skating. We’re doing a lot of skating … we’re frustrating words from the people that I ran into in the street. So, yeah, it was nice to teams. see.” “We didn’t have the start we wanted and we needed to have a better Former #Habs captain Max Pacioretty meets with media after second period and that’s what we did.” ⁦@GoldenKnights⁩ morning skate at Bell Centre #HabsIO pic.twitter.com/DcCF4HfPHd— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) November Coach Claude Julien wasn’t happy when he spoke to his players during 10, 2018 the first intermission. Schlemko makes season debut for Habs “He let us know he wasn’t happy,” Shaw said. “Things we needed to change, things we needed to do. We went out there and we fought and Defenceman David Schlemko made his season debut for the Canadiens we competed and we got ourselves back in the game.” after recovering from a knee injury suffered during the pre-season. Xavier Ouellet was scratched for the first time this season to make room for Schlemko in the lineup. Changing of the guard “We’re hoping he’s going to bring a little bit of what he brought to us in training camp before the injury,” coach Claude Julien said before the game. “I thought he was really good, he was in great shape. He moves the puck well. He has good vision out there, he sees the ice well. At the same time he’s got a good stick to defend. He’s a guy that’s got experience and we can certainly use that right now as well on the back end. We’re hoping that he’s going to be back to at least close to what he was before the injury because we liked his game at that point.” Schlemko had a good game, logging 20:00 of ice time and was plus-2. Vu ce matin #Habs pic.twitter.com/nu7G9DOczF— puck&bière tablette (@puck_biere) November 10, 2018 Return to Bell centre for Gallant The Bell Centre is also a familiar place to Vegas Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant, who was an assistant coach for the Canadiens under Michel Therrien during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons before leaving to become head coach of the Florida Panthers. During his first year as head coach of the Golden Knights last season, Gallant led them to a 51-24-7 record as an expansion team before advancing to the Stanley Cup final, where they lost to the Washington Capitals in five games. “He’s a tremendous coach and an even better human being,” Pacioretty said about Gallant. “He’s a big reason why I’m in Vegas. A big reason why this team is what it is, why guys want to play here, why they had success last year. I really, really enjoy playing for him.” Media waiting to get in @GoldenKnights locker room at Bell Centre after morning skate #Habs #HabsIO pic.twitter.com/UKR9zJMseL— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) November 10, 2018 What’s next? The Canadiens will have the day off Sunday before flying to Western Canada on Monday for games against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night (9 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio), the Calgary Flames on Thursday night (9 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio) and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (7 p.m., CBC, SN1, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio). Last season, the Canadiens went 2-1-0 on their Western Canada trip, beating the Canucks 7-4 and the Flames 3-2 before losing 4-1 to the Oilers.

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Vegas Golden Knights at Canadiens: Five things you should know

PAT HICKEY, Updated: November 10, 2018

Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Golden Knights game Saturday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, TSN- 690 Sports): The matchup: The Canadiens may have lost to the Sabres on Thursday, but the one point they earned for taking the game to overtime was enough to move them into third place in the Atlantic Division with 19 points from an 8-5-3 record. The loss to Buffalo marked the first time this season the Canadiens have lost consecutive games. After making a surprise appearance in the Stanley Cup final in their inaugural season, the Golden Knights are off to a so-so start. They are 7-8-1 after winning in Ottawa on Thursday and are only two points out of a playoff spot. Price will ride the pine: Carey Price, who is coming off an embarrassing 6-5 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, will serve as the backup while Antti Niemi makes his fifth start of the season. Coach Claude Julien consulted with goaltending coach Stéphane Waite and decided it might be a good idea for Price to watch as he struggles to find his game. Price has a 5-4-3 record but, of more concern, he has given up at least four goals in each of his past four starts and his goals-against average has ballooned to 3.07. Pacioretty returns: This has been one of most anticipated games of the season since the Canadiens traded captain and perennial 30-goal scorer Max Pacioretty to the Golden Knights in return for Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki and a second-round draft choice. While Tatar has proven to be a valuable addition — he has six goals, including three in the last two games — Pacioretty has struggled. He missed four games with an upper- body injury and has only two goals in 12 games. Fans usually jeer former Canadiens on their return, but Pacioretty deserves a few cheers for past accomplishments. Max drives the engine: Max Domi continues to spark the Canadiens’ offence. He’s not only tied with Brendan Gallagher for the team lead in goals (nine), but he is making the other players on the ice more productive. Against the Sabres, he put on his playmaking helmet and he collected three assists with two of those helpers coming on highlight-reel passes to set up Jonathan Drouin and Tatar as they drove the net. Domi is the team’s leading scorer (19 points) and he has picked up at least one point in 13 of the Canadiens’ 16 games. The other guys: Jonathan Marchessault leads the Golden Knights in goals (seven) and points (14). The only other Vegas player with double- digit points is William Karlsson with 11 points, including three goals. A lack of offence has been the major problem for the Golden Knights. Vegas ranks 29th in offence with an average of 2.38 goals a game and their power play, which ranks No. 24 in the NHL, has been scoring at a 15.1-per-cent rate. Look for Marc-André Fleury to start in goal. The veteran has a 7-6-1 record with a 2.51 GAA. Fleury has a lifetime record of 22-12-3 against Montreal.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114957 Montreal Canadiens He says six or seven teams called him right away, including a call from his former teammate Jaroslav Spacek, who is an assistant coach in Plzen. Playing for Sparta in Prague is another option, but playing for his For the love of the CH: A play in three acts starring Plekanec, Price and former team in Kladno isn’t really in the cards right now because they are Pacioretty in the second division of the Czech league and he wants to play in the top division. Regardless, what was clear is that Plekanec has moved on and is at peace with what happened and how it ended here. By Arpon Basu “I’m good with it,” Plekanec said. “It’s the right decision; they have a fun team and it’s a great room in there. I’m actually glad it happened now Nov 10, 2018 instead of later so I don’t have to rush over there. There’s a deadline in January for transfers and all that so I’m glad it happened now so I can go

back home and play.” Tomas Plekanec sat there, sitting next to the man who had put an end to With that, Plekanec decided it might be a good time to take off. Reporters his time in a Montreal Canadiens uniform, and answered questions on a were coming out of the Canadiens’ room and that’s not something he subject he didn’t want to be forced to address at the moment. needs. He was upset, visibly so, describing how he addressed his Canadiens “Take care,” he said. teammates before they jumped on the ice for practice Friday. Marc Bergevin was visibly upset as well, forced to do something he didn’t want Then he slipped out toward the exit to the players’ parking garage, to do either, but something that was necessary. leaving the Bell Centre for perhaps the last time, or at the very least for a long time. Bergevin wants to go with speed and youth, that is his stated mantra for how the Canadiens will be built from now on, and the seamless Plekanec’s departure means Carey Price is now the longest-serving adjustment of Max Domi at the centre position and the unexpected ability member of the Canadiens. of Jesperi Kotkaniemi to play centre at the NHL level after playing wing in Finland last season forced him to make this difficult decision. Price watched the game against Vegas with a baseball cap on, sitting at the end of the Canadiens bench. Kotkaniemi and Domi proved it Saturday with each of them notching two points in a 5-4 win against the Vegas Golden Knights. Matthew Peca has It wasn’t that long ago that Price was part of a group of three players who been slow to get going, but he played another strong game Saturday — shared the same love for that logo as Plekanec, a trio that appeared to aside from pushing a puck into his own net to give Vegas a 4-3 lead early represent the Canadiens’ window to end their Stanley Cup drought. in the third period. With Phillip Danault centering the Canadiens’ most important line, playing the role Plekanec filled so admirably for so many It was Price, P.K. and Pacioretty. Price is the only one that remains, the years, it is clear there wasn’t room in the lineup for him. one the Canadiens hope to create a new window around. As for playing a mentoring role while getting spot duty in the lineup, P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty were each traded away under murky David Schlemko was coming back from injury, Nikita Scherbak will be circumstances, a perceived rift with the organization at the heart of each coming back from a conditioning stint in Laval in a few days, and trade. But the Canadiens are locked into Price like they have never been Bergevin needed Plekanec’s roster spot. Simple as that. locked into a player before. He has an eight-year, $84 million contract, an iron-clad no movement clause — in case that contract didn’t serve that So his contract was terminated. purpose already — and the undying faith of Bergevin that he can one day lead the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup. “I’m happy with what I accomplished here,” Plekanec said Friday, “and I can leave happy.” In his previous game against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, Price made a routine save and received a Bronx cheer from the Bell Centre As he said those words, Plekanec couldn’t sound less happy. His voice, fans. It wasn’t the first time it’s happened. His personal life has been the as it has a tendency of doing when speaking to a large crowd, trailed off subject of rampant rumours, his play has been scrutinized like perhaps as the words left his lips, so that when he said the word “happy” for the no other player in the NHL, and yet Price is still here and wants to be second time it was barely louder than a whisper. here and wants to succeed here. But faced with reality, Plekanec made one final sacrifice for the team he It’s easy to say the money is the reason Price is still here, but he loves, passing up close to $2 million of his salary this season by agreeing probably could have gotten similar money on the open market. He chose to have his contract terminated. Plekanec could have stuck to his guns not to test that market and stay here instead, because he loves it here, and demanded the money owed to him, but then he risked being put on despite everything. regular waivers and either picked up by another team — which he wanted no part of — or being sent to the AHL. Either way, it would mean But there he was Saturday, wearing that baseball cap. playing his final game in North America in a jersey other than the one he has worn with so much pride for so long. He wanted no part of that. “It’s all about being strong upstairs, like I said last night,” Price said Friday. “Getting my mental game in order, because I feel like my “I always wanted to retire a Montreal Canadien,” he said. technical aspect of the game is always pretty sound. I’m not in any panic mode. I’m just going to try and work it out. We’ve got a great team here Plekanec watched Saturday’s game from a box with Bergevin, and at the that’s going to support me through it and we’ll get out of it right away.” first TV timeout the Canadiens showed him on screen and thanked him for his 17 years in the organization. The Bell Centre rose and gave him a Moments after saying those words and being evasive as to whether he standing ovation as Plekanec awkwardly acknowledged it, waiting for it to would face Vegas, Claude Julien confirmed Price would sit and he was end. Because it was done during a stoppage in play, it had a finish line, a going to start Antti Niemi and give Price an opportunity to take a step finite period of time Plekanec could go through something he dreads. The back and figure out whatever it is that is preventing him from being as limelight has always given him a rash. good as everyone expects him to be. After the game, Plekanec was standing in a corner outside the “I think Carey can take a step back and then really regain his confidence Canadiens’ dressing room speaking to Joel Armia, who has been his and his focus,” Julien said Friday. teammate for about two months. Trying to keep a low profile, Plekanec admitted his final send-off from the Canadiens suited him just fine. No big The Canadiens need Price to find it. The entire plan for this retool or ceremony, no pomp and circumstance, just a brief standing ovation whatever you want to call it is based on it. Price knows it, Julien knows it, during a stoppage in play spent waiting desperately for the faceoff to put Bergevin certainly knows it. an end to it. When asked Friday to address Plekanec’s departure, Price suddenly “That was good,” Plekanec said. “It was short; three seconds and spoke of when he will go through the same thing. It just came out of him, finished. Perfect for me.” unprovoked, but in the context of what he is going through right now, it was pretty telling. On Friday, Plekanec said he would like to be remembered in Montreal as someone who played for the logo on the front of his jersey, that CH. But “It’s not an easy situation to be in, saying goodbye,” Price said. “It’s going the pain that was clear in his voice during that press conference had to be difficult for myself at some point. It’s a long time being dedicated to disappeared by Saturday night. Acceptance had set in as he prepares to this sport, and saying goodbye is not easy.” head back to the Czech Republic in a few days to explore some of the Price will not be saying goodbye anytime soon because he chose to be offers he’s received to play there, something he hopes to do for a couple here, to probably end his career here. But that career has reached a of years. tipping point, one where the sample size of Price being less than an average NHL goalie and far from a superstar goalie is becoming made, and we’ve moved on. Now we’ve got a guy by the name of Tatar increasingly difficult to ignore. that’s come from that organization that continues to produce for us. I call him a warrior in the way that he comes to play, he plays hard every As the final buzzer sounded Saturday, Price left the bench, made a game. You know what to expect from him. He’s a hockey warrior, and beeline for Niemi and smacked him on the ass about five times. Niemi is he’s got a great attitude, so he’s been a good addition to our team.” bailing him out right now, giving him time to find whatever it is he is looking for so he can be comfortable in the net. It was impossible not to That word, attitude, dominated the summer in Montreal. It was cited by recognize that as Price celebrated a win he should have been a central Bergevin as the primary reason why things went south so quickly last part of. season, and it was so difficult not to see his insistence on that word as being an indictment of his captain. No one will ever be sure who triggered Pacioretty’s departure from the Canadiens; no one, that is, except for Bergevin and Pacioretty himself. It’s no less difficult to see it otherwise now. Bergevin and Geoff Molson insist Pacioretty asked to be traded. Pacioretty doubled down on his assertion that he did no such thing in a sit down with Christine Simpson of Sportsnet on Saturday. The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 Pacioretty once had that same logo Plekanec and Price love so much tattooed on his own heart. But at some point last season, that changed. Why or how it changed is less relevant now; all that is important is that it changed. Pacioretty felt blamed for what happened here last season. He had a bad season, yes, but repeated on multiple occasions that he felt like solely shouldering the blame for the disaster of last season was unfair. No one really publicly laid that blame solely on him, so maybe it happened in private, and maybe that was why the Canadiens had the impression he wanted to be traded. We’ll probably never know. Pacioretty stood by the boards and watched as the Canadiens presented a video montage of his time in Montreal, and he received a standing ovation from the fans as he raised his stick in salute to those fans that he professed his love for on many occasions. Then he went out and outshot the Canadiens 5-4 in the first period. He finished the game with nine shots on goal. He was everywhere creating opportunities, but nothing went in for him. His Golden Knights fell to 7-9-1 on the season and he is stuck on two goals and no assists in 13 games, or 19 goals and 20 assists in his last 76 games going back to the start of last season. “Seems like the story of our year so far, mine in particular; it just seemed to not go in and it seems like all the opportunities against are going in,” Pacioretty said after the game. “The good news is, minus the second period and the hiccups that we had, if we keep going like that it’s going to eventually break wide open for us.” Pacioretty has to be sick of saying things like that, sick of using the word “if” to describe the performance of his team and himself. He did it so often last season as he had to lead a team through a losing season for the second time in three years as the Canadiens captain, a position that means you can’t hide from the questions that come with losing, questions that can wear on you and beat you down. Except Pacioretty doesn’t need to do that in Vegas, and whether he wanted to leave Montreal or not it is hard not to see the move as the best thing that could have happened to him when he says things like this. “So far,” Pacioretty said when asked if Saturday was a reflection of his season. “I don’t have to talk about it a lot, that’s the good thing. Just tonight. I’ll worry about the next (game) now.” On this night, of all nights, Nick Suzuki scored two goals in a 4-0 win for the Owen Sound Attack to give him 15 goals in 17 games played this season. It was a second straight two-goal game for the big prize prospect that came back to the Canadiens in the Pacioretty trade. And Tomas Tatar, the forgotten man in that trade, the one who was seemingly a salary dump for Vegas, scored the game-winning goal in the third period for the Canadiens to sink his former team, doing what Pacioretty so desperately wanted to do himself. “Tonight was special,” Pacioretty said. “For myself, I really wanted to win. Obviously I always appreciate the support I get from the fans here. I’ll remember that for a while.” Tatar was happy to play a determining role in beating his former team, as brief as his time in Vegas was, because every professional athlete revels in proving people wrong. Tatar got that opportunity Saturday and Pacioretty didn’t. In describing the player that left and the one he now has, Claude Julien perhaps inadvertently showed what the main difference is in the player he now has, and by extension the team Pacioretty left behind. “I felt he deserved it,” Julien said when asked about Pacioretty’s video tribute and ovation. “I appreciated our players standing up afterward and banging their sticks on the boards. They showed a lot of respect for Max and for us. There’s no reason not to clap and appreciate the video for what he’s done here, for this organization. There’s a decision that was 1114958 Montreal Canadiens Defensive woes were to be expected this season. The Canadiens allowing an unhealthy amount of quality chances is not a surprise. What is surprising is that their offence has managed to outscore those Cracking the win: Jesperi Kotkaniemi continues to improve every shift defensive mistakes on most nights. The Canadiens have scored more 5-on-5 goals (42) than any other team in the league, and have done so without their captain, Shea Weber. By Marc Dumont There will be stretches this season when the offence dries up and the Nov 10, 2018 defensive mistakes will become that much more evident. But for the time being, the offence has allowed both the defence, and the goaltenders, to take a deep breath despite their relatively weak performances lately. The Canadiens got off to a very slow start against the Golden Knights, but as has been the case often this season they reacted to the adversity in a positive fashion, scoring five times over the final 40 minutes to win 5- The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 4. After a well-deserved standing ovation for former captain Max Pacioretty to start the game, it was only fitting that Tomas Tatar scored the game- winning goal for the Canadiens. Standout – Jesperi Kotkaniemi Kotkaniemi’s first point of the night started with a very soft pass by Colin Miller in the neutral zone that was easily intercepted by Victor Mete. Beyond the mistake by the Vegas defenceman, Kotkaniemi’s positioning and vision are what led to the goal. First off, he’s the main reason why Miller made the bad pass, as he shut down the intended passing lane in the neutral zone, forcing Miller to readjust and try again. As soon as he sees Mete is going to intercept the puck, he adjusts his trajectory to transition quickly through the neutral zone. He immediately spots Charles Hudon on his left side and slows down while entering the offensive zone to give his winger time to get behind the defence. It was yet another veteran play by the youngest player in the NHL. Standout – Artturi Lehkonen Lehkonen hasn’t scored much since his rookie season. He’s shooting the puck less than ever, but the good news is that he’s still creating lots of chances. His playmaking has improved significantly this season, and he’s winning a lot of key puck battles, as evidenced by his hard work prior to the Kotkaniemi goal. It’s just 17 games into the season, and he’s only two assists away from matching his career high. Standout – Andrew Shaw He’s now scored three goals in two games since his promotion to the Max Domi line and is doing a great job at making me look silly for questioning Claude Julien’s judgment. He matches Domi’s up-tempo style of play quite well, does a good job creating havoc in front of opposing goalies, and, for now, seems to have reined in his discipline issues. Standout – Key passes Here’s why Jeff Petry is so important to the Montreal Canadiens: It’s not a play that will show up on the scoresheet, but it’s essential to the Canadiens’ quick transition through the neutral zone. Very few NHL defencemen can match Petry’s ability to create controlled exits. Underperformer – Dance moves on defence It’s not the first time the opposition scored while Karl Alzner was busy practicing his breakdancing moves. To be completely fair, his positioning after recovering from a fall behind the net was pretty good, at least initially, as it prevented Brad Hunt from quickly scoring. However, he followed it up by spinning himself out of position, something he’s done time and again with the Canadiens. It’s time to put a life-sized cutout of Hal Gill in the locker room with the caption: “You must be this Gill to lie down on the ice while on the penalty kill.” Underperformer – Jordie Benn on the first pair Jordie Benn is a good defenceman if used properly. But the proper usage does not involve playing on the first pair. He’s shown us that he can contribute in a positive manner when deployed on the third pair. Though that leads us to the question — who does belong on that first pairing with Petry? At the moment, Julien doesn’t exactly have an abundance of options. Final Word 1114959 Nashville Predators

Saturday's recap: Predators 5, Stars 4 (OT)

Paul Skrbina, Published 3:58 p.m. CT Nov. 10, 2018 Updated 5:04 p.m. CT Nov. 10, 2018

DALLAS — Mattias Ekholm scored the game-winner with 2:33 left in overtime Saturday to give the Predators the first and only lead they needed in a 5-4 victory against the Stars. The win was the team's eighth straight on the road to start this season, extending their franchise record. Roman Josi's power-play goal with 42.5 seconds left in the third tied the score and held up to force overtime, which began with Ekholm in the penalty box and the Stars with a 4-on-3 advantage. Viktor Arvidsson returned to the ice for the Predators after missing three games with a lower-body injury. He left the ice late in the third period after crashing into the boards. Juuse Saros returned to the net for the Predators after watching Pekka Rinne play the last three games. Ryan Hartman's goal 12 seconds into the second tied the score 1-1. Ryan Johansen beat Ben Bishop 17 seconds into the third to pull the Predators to within one. Yannick Weber's score 1:34 later tied the score 3-3. Bignumber: 8-for-59. Predators on the power play this season, which puts them at 13.6 percent. Rostermoves: Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok missed Saturday's game with a lower-body injury. He participated in warmups. He has three goals and two assists this season. Quotable: "We’re not happy with the way it’s going right now. It’s something we want to change as soon as possible." — Josi on Predators' power play Next: At Ducks, 9 p.m. Monday at Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif. TV/radio: Fox Sports Tennessee/102.5-FM.

Tennessean LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114960 Nashville Predators

Preds activate Viktor Arvidsson from IR, but he leaves in third period of win over Stars

Paul Skrbina, Published 11:10 a.m. CT Nov. 10, 2018 Updated 4:50 p.m. CT Nov. 10, 2018

DALLAS — Day-to-day turned into 10 days for Viktor Arvidsson. The Predators forward was activated from injured reserve Saturday before the team's 5-4, overtime victory against the Stars. He left the ice after crashing hard into the boards in the third period, though. Arvidsson had missed three games with a lower-body injury. He was placed on IR on Monday, retroactive to Oct. 30. He participated in the team's morning skate Nov. 1 in Tampa, Fla., but was a scratch for that 4- 1 victory. He also missed the Predators' 1-0 victory against the Bruins on Saturday and their 4-1 win over the Avalanche on Wednesday. Arvidsson practiced with the team Friday at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. His eight goals are second-most on the team. During his absence, Predators coach Peter Laviolette used three players — Kyle Turris, Kevin Fiala and Ryan Hartman — in his place on the top line with Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg.

Tennessean LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114961 Nashville Predators After receiving some shooting tips from Bissonnette and Subban, Ramsey conceded he didn't "know if I can make the NHL with only six months of training" but said he had a better chance than Bissonette. Predators: Jalen Ramsey, a big fan of PK Subban, takes in first NHL game in Nashville Tennessean LOADED: 11.11.2018

Paul Skrbina, Published 8:00 a.m. CT Nov. 10, 2018 Updated 3:04 p.m. CT Nov. 10, 2018

DALLAS — Jalen Ramsey moved a step closer to the NHL last week. Or at least his wardrobe did. The Jaguars All-Pro cornerback, who graduated from Brentwood Academy and grew up in Smyrna, sported a Predators sweater with his name and number 20 on the back while attending his first NHL game Nov. 3 when the Preds defeated the Bruins 1-0. Ramsey, if you remember, said during a summer interview with ESPN that he could be ready to play in the NHL with six months of training. 6 months for @JalenRamsey to make it to the NHL? Probably not. 6 months for Ramsey to become better than @BizNasty2point0? That's another story... Check out Episode 1 of NHL First Timer, where Paul Bissonnette gives new hockey fans a once-in-a-lifetime gameday experience! pic.twitter.com/rc7A76Gyfb — NHL (@NHL) November 9, 2018 His proclamation drew sighs and amusement across the league, in particular from Predators defenseman P.K. Subban. The two finally met when they exchanged signed jerseys after Ramsey took in a Predators game at Bridgestone Arena with former player Paul Bissonnette for the first episode of "The NHL First-Timer," a five-part series that introduces newcomers to the sport. Subban said he and Ramsey didn't have much time to chat after the game. "That was the first time I got to meet him," Subban said. "I'm sure I'll see him again, whether it's during the season or the offseason." Predators general manager David Poile had a message for Ramsey (and Bissonnette) when they crossed paths during the first intermission that day. When the @ & @nfl collide! Much respect @subbanator | Tell coach I cant make it to practice today lol pic.twitter.com/9ai7Kt1Lox — Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) November 5, 2018 "I'll see you both at practice tomorrow," the Predators general manager told the two in the video. "We'll be there," Ramsey joked. Ramsey has taken the jabs thrown his way in jest. There even was a video posted of him calling a sporting goods store looking for hockey equipment. “I wanted to come in and get some gear so I can start training. Do y’all have hockey gear?” — @jalenramsey Hey @PKSubban1, he’s been taking notes… get ready. Twentyland Is UNINTERRUPTED. pic.twitter.com/RYI4OuCToJ — UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) September 20, 2018 Ramsey was showered with some boos when he was introduced and shown on the big screen at Bridgestone. He called the Bruins' Brad Marchand the "Jalen Ramsey of hockey" and partook in the traditional "You suck" chant at the arena after the Predators scored a goal. He also signed autographs for fans and revealed that Subban and Ryan Johansen are his favorite players. After Ramsey had taken in the game live for a period from the stands, Bissonette asked him whether he thought he still could be ready to play in six months and offered to help him learn to skate. "You're gonna have to get the skating down," Bissonette said. "I know. That's the hardest part," Ramsey said. 1114962 New Jersey Devils

Devils' Martin Brodeur introduced at Hall of Fame game

Updated November 10, 2018 at 6:19 AM; Posted November 10, 2018 at 6:10 AM By Chris Ryan

TORONTO -- Martin Brodeur called everything about his Hall of Fame weekend overwhelming. And that was just day one. The legendary Devils goalie tried to soak in everything he could Friday, when Brodeur was introduced at the Hockey Hall of Fame and Scotiabank Arena prior to the Hall of Fame game, where the Devils lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-1. Brodeur received his Hall of Fame ring early in the day before participating in a pregame ceremony at the rink. Between all the people he talked to on Friday and the months leading up to his induction, the goalie said he's still realizing what an exclusive group he's joining. "I'm the 36th goalie. There's a little over over 100 players that are still alive and part of the Hall of Fame," Brodeur said. "It's a small group, and it's definitely a great honor to be here, and with my ad being so close to the hockey world, I got to meet a lot of these guys. I was fortunate to play with a lot guys that were in the Hall of Fame." Brodeur will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on Monday. He will also hit the ice one more time as during the Hall of Fame's alumni game on Sunday, where former teammates Scott Stevens, and Ken Daneyko will also play. As kid growing up, Brodeur said he always dreamed of playing in the NHL or winning a Stanley Cup, but getting to the Hall of Fame would have been a surreal thought. "It's just a situation I never thought I was going be in," Brodeur said. "To be in the Hall of Fame is pretty crazy, just to think about that. so far it's been great. Getting to meet the inductees, and tonight we got to meet a lot of the Hall of Famers themselves. It's been great."

Star Ledger LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114963 New Jersey Devils and he’d jump back there out of the crease and grab it. When the puck is going behind the net all of the sudden you’re like, ‘What’s going on here?’” Martin Brodeur as the NJ Devils saw him: The leadership, the saves, the BALANCE: NJ Devils' balance Hall of Fame Game festivities with game mustache preparation ANALYSIS: 3 takeaways from Devils' loss to Maple Leafs Abbey Mastracco It was almost like having another defenseman on the ice. The advantage Published 8:55 a.m. ET Nov. 10, 2018 was so great that other teams had to game plan for it and it forced them to alter their course when it came to getting the puck in the offensive Updated 12:53 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2018 zone. And then, of course, came the trapezoid. Brodeur was so good that the league put rules in place to limit his skills. TORONTO, Ontario — It’s an enduring image of arguably one of the greatest goalies in hockey history. “The bottom line is this: They changed the rule because of Marty Brodeur,” said former Devils’ forward Jim Dowd. “That’s how good he A skinny kid in giant goalie pads and the faintest hint of a blonde was.” mustache. The facial hair practically screamed of a teenager experimenting with being an adult for the first time as if trying on maturity Jim Dowd, the second New Jersey High School hockey player to reach for size. the NHL, made his debut right alongside Brodeur against the Bruins in 1992. The two then played a full season in Utica together. While Dowd It may not be the image that hockey fans conjure when they think of certainly noticed the puck handling and the athletic ability, the one thing Martin Brodeur, the winningest goalie in NHL history, a three-time he saw from the get-go is still the same thing he sees when he sees Stanley Cup champion, a four-time Vezina recipient and nine-time All- Brodeur today: He’s happiest when he’s at the rink. Star. But for his friend and former Devils’ teammate Ken Daneyko, the mustache is an image he’ll never forget. “The kid just loved playing hockey,” Dowd said. “He never missed a practice. He just loved showing up at the rink every day with a smile on “I’ll always remember him coming in with a cheesy mustache,” the his face. It was fun for him, it was the furthest thing from a job." former defenseman said, laughing. “He was called up to play against the Bruins back in the early '90s. And he won. And then that’s what it was all Brodeur wasn’t some sort of fierce killer on the ice. His hero might have about.” been Patrick Roy as a kid but he was an anti-Roy as a player. Roy was combative and combustible. He sparred with coaches, smashed video It was March 26, 1992, when Marty beat the Boston Bruins with a little equipment and nearly broke down a plexiglass wall while screaming at mustache magic. But the facial hair soon disappeared and a Hall of then-Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau in his head coaching debut. Fame goaltender soon emerged. Brodeur was on the other end of the spectrum. He didn’t require the Brodeur was the master of reinvention, staying relevant through three starting pitcher treatment before a game. Instead, he joked with his different NHL eras, always able to recognize how the game changed and teammates, chugged sodas in between periods and shook off bad goals, how to adapt to the changes. The Montreal-born netminder, who played even if the goals weren’t the result of his own miscues. all but seven of his 1,259 games with the Devils, was innovative, personable and above all, supremely confident. In this January 13, 2013, Martin Brodeur sits in the It takes some serious confidence to negotiate with Lou Lamoriello, yet “He never ever blamed anybody for any goals against,” Dowd said. Brodeur did exactly that, choosing to go without an agent through much “He’d pat you on the back if you made a mistake. ‘Just forget about it.’ He of his NHL career. It should come as no surprise, considering he bucked was very calm and collected. You never heard him screaming and yelling conventional trends on the ice as well, playing the puck like a or anything like that and going nuts.” defenseman and using a more standup-style of play as opposed to the butterfly technique in net. But even later in his career he was able to Brodeur got into a playoff game at the end of that 1992 season but his integrate some butterfly aspects, showing just how much of a versatile real arrival came in 1994 when he won the Calder Trophy as the league’s athlete he really was between the pipes. top rookie. He followed that up by backstopping the Devils to a sweep of the Detroit Red Wings for the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 1995. “He was totally unique with how he played goal,” said Devils’ forward Travis Zajac, who played with Brodeur for eight seasons. “I think it was “I remember looking at his face and I can remember looking at it clearly, his athletic ability and his reaction, those are things he relied on more him jumping in those big pads with the exuberance and the excitement,” than anything rather than positioning or structure. It was being able to Daneyko said. “For a young goaltender to win a Cup so early and be so read and react to plays. You see him make these great saves that dominant, that’s special.” goalies maybe can’t make nowadays because he was able to react.” It was then that Brodeur truly established himself as one of the elite This weekend, Brodeur will become the 14th former New Jersey Devil to goalies in the game. be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, solidifying Brodeur’s status in New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur reacts after Devils’ history and hockey history. Marty, the leader Marty, the phenom The wins built up and he began to eclipse his frenemy, Roy. Behind Roy, Daneyko had already been in the league for nearly a decade when the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Devils in the 2001 Stanley Cup Brodeur was called up from the Major-Junior Hockey League as Playoffs but Brodeur saw his name etched on the Cup twice more when an emergency goalie when Chris Terreri and Craig Billington went down the Devils won in 2000 and 2003. The teams were anchored by Daneyko with injuries. Win and you’re in with your team and when Brodeur and and his defense partner Scott Niedermayer and defenseman Scott that sweet ‘stache defeated Boston on Day 1, he knew the 20-year-old Stevens, both of whom are now in the Hall of Fame. was something special already. There was a staunch defense in front of the goaltender but Daneyko still “You could see right away that he had a confidence about him, no credits Brodeur for carrying those teams to championships by keeping question,” Daneyko said. “He looked like a baby, like everyone does them in close games. coming in as a 19- or 20-year-old, but he played like a man right away.” New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur gets his cheek What stood out to Daneyko, and virtually everyone else who has ever seen Brodeur play, was the puck handling. “Usually great goaltenders play on great teams,” he said. “And he’s a big part of it, he was the biggest part of it, but he made the big save at Brodeur began his youth hockey career in Quebec as a forward. At 7 the right time.” years old, he decided to play goalie simply because it sounded fun. Many of us played sports at age 7 and didn't retain any of the skills. Seven Even after that cast of characters retired and Brodeur was playing behind seems far too young to develop or retain the puck maneuvering skills young guys like Greene, Zajac, Adam Henrique and Ilya Kovalchuk, he necessary to play forward or even defense. remained at the top of his game. There’s no question the game had changed on the ice but he was able to adapt by studying shooters But Brodeur isn't just anyone. fastidiously. “He was just magical back there,” Devils’ captain Andy Greene said. “There would be little plays when people would try to cycle behind the net As if what he did on the ice wasn’t important enough, he remained a leader in the locker room and again carried the Devils through an emotional 2012 postseason all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. “Off the top of my head, we didn’t have too many guys in there who had won,” Greene said. “Maybe a couple guys who had been that far in the playoffs but when you have a couple of guys who had been that far in the playoffs, that’s literally been through every kind of playoff series you could imagine — winning and losing — you lean on a guy with that experience.” Marty, the hockey icon While Brodeur was making a name for himself in New Jersey, out on Long Island there was a young goalie looking for a star to emulate. Being from Farmingville, he was an Islanders fan, of course, but the Islanders couldn’t keep one around long enough for him to latch onto. But Brodeur? He was always in the net and always on TV. That young goalie was Keith Kinkaid. “He was just a constant,” Kinkaid said. “I used to like his style, I would try and adopt it into my game by using any part of my body and any talent you have, any surprise attack. He had the poke checks and all of those crazy saves, the windmills and he did whatever it took stop the puck. That’s kind of what I try to do.” Kinkaid doesn’t quite remember when it was that he started following Brodeur, probably because he’s “taken a lot of pucks to the head,” but fans of the franchise can thank their former goaltender for their current one. A visit from Brodeur helped Kinkaid decide to leave Union College and sign with the Devils. “When I was first thinking about leaving college Lou brought us in, me and my dad to the last game of the season,” Kinkaid said. “After the game, we got called up to the office and in came Marty with a stick and Marty gave it to me and I got to meet him. I still have that stick in my childhood room.” New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur drops to the Throughout the course of his career, Brodeur won Stanley Cups, Olympic gold medals, world championships. He won 691 games, 140 more than Roy, he logged 125 shutouts and played 200 more games than any other goalie. He was unlike any other goalie who had come before him and there may never be another like him. For all of those reasons and more, Martin Brodeur is forever enshrined in Toronto as a member of the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame class. “He carried himself with great, elite confidence,” Daneyko said. “And certainly, his style was different and unique, but you still had to do it on the ice. There are a lot of unique athletes and elite players, it doesn’t make them hall-of-famers.”

Bergen Record LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114964 New Jersey Devils Q: The one guy you would have loved to test your skills against on a penalty shot or breakaway.

A: Probably (Islanders Hall of Famer) Michael Bossy. He’s a guy, such a Martin Brodeur still remembers the play that broke his heart natural goal-scorer, his career got got cut short a little bit, but he was a guy that was really dominant offensively. Him and , these two guys are guys that I wish I could have played against. By Steve Serby Q: How do you think you would have done against either one of them?

A: I don’t know (laugh). I probably would have stopped them if you ask Steve Serby chats with Devils legendary goalie Martin Brodeur, who will me (laugh). be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday: Q: One memorable save? Q: Who are the people you need to thank for making the Hall of Fame? A: Yeah, there’s a couple of them (chuckle). There’s one in the Olympics A: There’s a lot of people out there that they’re a big reason why I’m on in the gold-medal game in the third period — I made a save going to be standing there on Monday night. In my professional career, with my right pad on the goal line, the game was 3-2 at the time, and we having Lou (Lamoriello) as a general manager, (as took the puck from that save and made it 4-2 and almost clinched the head coach), my goalie coaches, but I think at the end of the day, it starts gold medal for ourselves, so that’s one thing that comes to mind. with your family. My parents, my sons and sisters and all that, some of the coaches that I had in minor hockey and throughout my growth years. Q: Your rivalry with Henrik Lundqvist. There’s a lot of people to thank, and I’ll just try to do my best to thank A: You get the respect from the other guy, but obviously our fans are so everybody. into it that people think we hate each other because of that. For me, the Q: If you were going to build the perfect goaltender, what part of Marty biggest rivalry was obviously with (former Ranger) Mike Richter than Brodeur would you take? Lundqvist, that’s for sure. A: (Chuckle) Probably the poise and the calmness in the net, and Q: Who were some of the other goaltenders you enjoyed competing obviously my stickhandling ability. against? Q: Your goaltending style. A: Probably the guy I enjoyed the most was Dominik Hasek. He was such a good goalie. He was so kind of all over the place with his style. A: Probably hybrid. I was able to do a little bit of everything. I was not He’s won I think five or six Vezinas. Patrick Roy was another guy, but I really predictable, so I was able to get in some shooters’ heads once in a didn’t get to play that many games against him. while, because they weren’t sure if I was going to not poke-check or poke-check or not dive to them or stand up or do the butterfly. So I was Q: Did you take different pieces from different goalies over the years? able to do a little bit of everything. Probably not great at everything, but A: I think that’s one of the things that helped me be a hybrid goalie. good enough. Whatever was working for a goalie, I was really intrigued, so I would go Q: Could you tell by the look on their face that you were getting in their back to the drawing board with my goalie coach. Sometimes it was good, heads? sometimes I said, “Ah, forget about this, this is not working for me.” A: Yeah, sometimes I knew they would have some good looks to shoot Q: Did you play any position other than goaltender? and they would just bail and make passes. I’d be like, “Wow, that means A: I played the forward until I was about 8 years old. I switched to goalie that they don’t have confidence that they can beat me from there.” later on. That’s probably why I got my offensive skill as a goalie (laugh). Q: Was there ever a point when your confidence was shaken just a little Q: Did you fall in love right away with playing it? bit? A: Yeah, I liked it. What I really liked was I was on the ice for the whole A: Oh, yeah, for sure. It happens a lot in a season, there’s ups and game (chuckle). You’re always in the action, and be a part of it. As I grew downs and everything. There’s times that you feel that the puck is as up older, it got more obvious that that’s what I wanted to do. small as an Advil coming at you. Other days it looks like a beach ball. Just lucky that you feel better more often than feel bad about my game. Q: What was it like hoisting the Cup for the first time? Martin Brodeur A: It’s a dream come true. When you’re a kid you always played to win a Stanley Cup in the streets or on the outdoor rinks, and when you do it for Martin BrodeurPaul J. Bereswill real, it’s a pretty cool moment, it’s something that I’m always going to Q: How do you explain your longevity? remember. I was able to win three of them, but if they would have told me, “Well, that’s it for you,’’ I think I would have been satisfied with that A: That’s pretty simple. I think it’s the love of the game, you don’t play for one. that long not liking what you do. I loved my job. I loved playing the game of hockey. I loved the team aspect of it. I think the accountability, and I Q: What did you feel like after winning the second and third one? think the adrenaline that the games bring to you is something at the end I A: 2000, when we finally won our second one, I think it was really had a hard time coping not to let go. I just wanted to continue as long as I rewarding to be able to do it all together again with some of the guys that could. I was good enough and healthy to be able to play in my early 40s. were still on that ’95 team. And 2003, we made some tweaks to our I definitely pushed the envelope … and really enjoyed what I did. team, got some older players, guys like Turner Stevenson, Jim Q: Your mentality in the net. McKenzie, Joe Nieuwemdyk, to our team, so it became something a little different, especially for the guys that never won a Cup, and when as a A: I was playing in the moment. Not much bothered me — bad goals, team you’re able to deliver for them, it’s really rewarding. good saves or anything — my emotions would never really take over my personality or my game. People felt comfortable when I was in net Q: Stephane Matteau? because I felt that I was in control. … I didn’t show anybody I was A: He’s the guy that broke our hearts (Matteau’s series-clinching goal for nervous or all that stuff. the Rangers in the second overtime of Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Q: You never had any sleepless nights? Conference final prevented the Devils from reaching the Stanley Cup Final). A: Not really. A bad game didn’t really bother me. I knew I was going to be able to get back in the net right away. My performance didn’t really Q: What were those playoff atmospheres like at the Garden? matter the amount of games that I played. That’s the support I had with A: MSG’s probably one of the funnest places to play in the playoffs, New Jersey. especially for us because everybody hated us so much. It was intense. Q: You can pick the brain of any goaltender in NHL history. Even in 2012, when we beat the Rangers (in the conference final), the people were really into it also. The rivalry games are the best games to A: Probably Ken Dryden. I’ve talked to him a little bit, never really in play. depth about the position, but I have a lot of respect for him that’s won multiple Stanley Cups on really good teams. A bit like me, I think Q: Devils fans? sometimes he got overshadowed in Montreal, but he was a helluva A: Really loyal. I came back four years after I retired. Now I work for goalie and he’s one guy that it would be really a treat to talk to. them, a lot of the people that I saw my first game, or our first Stanley Cup, are still there. And their kids and all that. When you play for them, A: It was fun just to get to meet some of the players and some of the they really care about you. It’s been a treat for me to be able to play all managers. A week when I didn’t have school the next day he would bring my career in front of these guys. me and give me a camera and just put me on a stool right on the glass and he says, “Just go ahead, have fun, take pictures.” It was always fun Q: Which one of the three goals that you scored was your favorite? the next day to be able to spend some time with my dad and go through A: My first one. The only one I really scored, the other ones I got credited getting the film developed and look what kind of pictures I took. for the goals, so … Q: Your mother was not a Canadiens fan. Q: Tell me about that first one. A: We were fortunate, she was a stay-at-home mom, my dad was really A: It was in the playoffs against Montreal. Kind of dumped in from the red busy working in media like you probably can attest to all over the place. line, we were up 4-2 at the time and they decided to pull their goalie, so I It’s funny, she was from Quebec City so her dear Nordiques were the was able to grab the puck behind my net and spin around and I saw that main team for her, so every Saturday night when they played against all the players decided to take the boards away from me, so the ice was each other, we had a big rivalry with my mom all the time. wide open, so I just put a little mustard on that puck and it went all the Q: What will it be like playing with your son Sunday in Toronto? way to the end and scored. A: We’re going to play a Legends game on Sunday, and my son Q: What is it like walking past a statue of yourself (outside the Prudential Anthony’s going to play my first 30 minutes and I’ll play the second 30 Center)? minutes, so it’ll be nice to be on the ice with him. I have an 8-year-old at A: (Laugh) You never expect something like that to happen to you, to home, so I think he’s starting to realize what I’ve accomplished in my have a statue. I don’t really walk often by it, but when I do I’m always career. When I was still playing, he didn’t really realize what was going amazed by it. on. So now I think he’s taking everything in a little bit. It’s been awesome just to see him interact with me about these things. Q: Does it look like you? Q: Does he play hockey? A: Yeah, it does look like me. The guy did a good job (laugh). A: Oh, yeah. He’s a forward, but he’ll become a goalie, trust me. Q: What would you say you’re most proud of? Q: That’s a lot of pressure to follow in his dad’s footsteps. A: Winning all these Stanley Cups have been great. On a personal level, I think the most wins (691) as a goaltender is one of my achievements A: That’s OK (chuckle). that I’m the most proud of. Q: What advice would you give him? Q: What do you hope your legacy will be? A: Have fun. Make sure you work really, really hard and enjoy yourself. A: Just the fact that people are talking about me as one of the best Q: Favorite childhood memories? goalies in the world at one point, it’s exciting for me. Now I’m going into the Hockey Hall of Fame, just a great honor for me. A couple of years A: Every Christmas we went to my parents’ cottage. My big brother would ago we did The Top 100 Players that ever played in the NHL and I was bring his buddies around, and we would play hockey games in the part of it. I was lucky enough to be able to make an impact. This driveway. I still remember every Christmas, I would wake them up, they generation can kinda look back and talk about me a little bit. were probably having a few drinks or whatever and I’m sure they didn’t want someone 7, 8 years old waking them and (saying), “Let’s go play Q: A lot of people consider you The Greatest Of All Time — what do you outside,” when it was minus-40 Celsius. think? Q: When you started playing in the NHL, what kind of career did you A: You know what? A lot of goalies are considered like that. Definitely it’s imagine? hard to say that about yourself, but it is what it is. A: Not the one I had, that’s for sure. You just go out there and then you Q: Favorite teammates? get greedy. You get a little of success and next thing you know, you A: Obviously (Ken) Daneyko, (Scott) Stevens and (Scott) Niedermayer. believe that you belong, and you just feed off that energy, and you wake It’s not every day that you have three defenseman that you’ve played for up 15 years later and you’re still in the league, and you got the most over 10 years together. No wonder we were able to have good chemistry wins, and you’re like, “Wow, what just happened here?” I put my head together. These three guys are definitely going to be part of the guys I down, I wanted to have fun, I wanted to win. will mention. Q: Did you set goals for yourself when you started? Q: Lou Lamoriello? A: Not really. I just wanted to be in the NHL. It’s a dream come true to be A: He’s the one that built this franchise, the one that put me in the net. He part of an NHL team, to be a regular in the NHL, to live the life, to make was able to draft me. He’s a guy that did everything in his power for us to the money and do all that stuff. For me it was just to be able to say that I be successful. Wasn’t afraid, never asked anybody to make decisions, he had a place to play hockey and I was wanted where I was. did it for the best of the team all the time. You couldn’t ask for a better Q: What made you a Hall of Famer, in your eyes? GM to play for my whole life. A: My love for the game, and my work ethic. I didn’t take any shortcuts Q: The Brodeur Rule (a rule that put restrictions on a goalie handling the for my success, that’s for sure. puck). Q: What drove you? A: I didn’t mind the rule. I know it prevented me to do what I’ve worked so hard, and next thing you know, one day it was over. My big issue with A: Winning. To have that feeling after a game or after a season that that was my defenseman was getting hit more because I couldn’t really you’re able to stand on top of the mountain. help them out, digging pucks out of the corners for them and all that. It was for everybody. I didn’t feel that I was targeted for it. A lot of people Q: Do you think you might cry on Monday night? thought so. But for me it didn’t really matter. A: It’ll be emotional. … I hope not, but we’ll see. … I’m sure my buddies Q: Sum up what your father (Denis) meant to you? have bets on them (laugh), so we’ll see if I can make some money off of that one. A: My dad, because he was part of sports, being a photographer for the Expos and the Montreal Canadiens, so I always had a really good insight with what being a professional athlete was all about, so I think I’ve New York Post LOADED: 11.11.2018 learned a lot from him through the years growing up, at the dinner table him and talking about his job. I’m the youngest of five, so big brothers and big sisters were there to take care of me also. … My dad played in the Olympics, winning their goal medal as a goalie for Team Canada. He’s a guy that played baseball all of his life. Working for the Expos and working for the Canadiens for him was something that he loved to do. Regardless of what I wanted to do, he always had my back on everything. He provided real well for us. Q: What were memories at the Montreal Forum with your father like? 1114965 New York Islanders

Islanders fall to Panthers as losing streak hits three

By Associated Press November 10, 2018 | 10:14pm Updated November 11, 2018 | 12:09am

SUNRISE, Fla. — That five-game Islanders winning streak now seems like a long time ago. The Islanders got goals from Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal on Saturday night, but they were not enough to overcome the Panthers, who recorded a 4-2 victory. The Isles have now lost three straight after winning their previous five. “Tonight, we were in a pretty good spot on the road, tied, just go out there and win a period and win a game,” said Nelson, who leads the Islanders with eight goals. “We weren’t able to do it. We want to stop it now and get going.” Coach Barry Trotz agreed. “We were up 2-1, then gave up a late goal, then 2-2,’’ he said. “They get the power-play goal and all of a sudden you’re chasing them. We really couldn’t generate much after that goal.” Aleksander Barkov scored the go-ahead goal for Florida in the third period, and Troy Brouwer, Mike Hoffman and Denis Malgin also scored for the Panthers, who won their third straight. Roberto Luongo made 29 saves for Florida. Robin Lehner stopped 27 shots in the Islanders net. Brouwer recorded an empty-net goal with less than a second remaining. The Panthers went ahead 3-2 on a 4-on-3 power play at 4:43 of the third period when Barkov’s shot from the left circle beat Lehner. Nelson put the Islanders ahead 2-1 at 8:10 of the second, but Florida tied the game on Hoffman’s goal with 45 seconds left in the period. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on Malgin’s goal at 6:18. The Isles tied it just over a minute later when Barzal flipped a backhanded shot past Luongo on a breakaway. The Panthers hosted Bill Torrey Tribute Night for the late Hall of Famer who was GM of the Islanders dynasty and later president of the expansion Panthers.

New York Post LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114966 New York Islanders

Isles, Barzal fall short in 4-2 loss to Panthers

Andrew Gross

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Islanders’ power play is struggling to produce. And it’s costing them. “It’s one of those games where you look back on it and we kind of let it slip again,” Anders Lee said. “That’s what makes this frustrating.” The Islanders — who went 0-for-4 with the man advantage and are in a 1-for-19 rut in their last five games — lost to the Panthers, 4-2, on Saturday night at BB&T Center for their third straight defeat. Mathew Barzal scored a goal but fell one point shy of becoming the 11th player in the last 25 seasons to compile 100 points in his first 100 NHL games. Robin Lehner made 27 saves for the Islanders (8-6-2) and Roberto Luongo stopped 29 shots for the Panthers (5-5-3), who have won three straight since their No. 1 goalie returned from a lower-body injury suffered in the season opener. “I think it’s small things,” defenseman Ryan Pulock said of the Islanders’ struggles. “It’s just little mistakes here and there have kind of cost us, and we’ve paid for it.” Aleksander Barkov’s four-on-three power-play goal at 4:43 of the third period — Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech lost the puck at the opposing blue line with the teams skating four-on- four and was called for interference as he tried to recover — gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead. Troy Brouwer added an empty-netter. The Islanders again struggled in the second period, as they did in Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Lightning, though Brock Nelson’s team-high eighth goal did give them a 2-1 lead at 8:10. But the Panthers tied the score at 2 with 45.1 seconds left in the second period. The Islanders iced the puck and lost the defensive zone faceoff, and Mike Hoffman — who scored the overtime winner in the Panthers’ 3- 2 comeback win at Barclays Center on Oct. 24 — banked in a shot off Pulock’s left skate. “The next game is big because we want to stop it now and keep going the way we were playing when we were winning five straight games,” Nelson said of Tuesday’s game against the Canucks at Barclays Center. The lack of power-play success is starting to sap momentum during games. “If you have a lot of them and if it doesn’t go very well, you lose a little bit of momentum,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “We’ve got to get that right. We’re getting two five-on-five goals each night. If we get another one and get to three, we’re going to win some games.” Barzal had tied the score at 1 by lifting a backhander past Luongo after Lee sprung him at the opposing blue line for a breakaway. The 21-year-old won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year with 22 goals and 63 assists. He has two goals and 12 assists as a sophomore. On Saturday, he was moved between top-line wings Lee and Josh Bailey, the spot former captain John Tavares vacated when he signed a seven-year, $77-million deal with the Maple Leafs. “It’s just been a fun ride the last year and a bit,” Barzal said. “It went by quick. There’s ups and downs being the first 100 games, getting used to the speed and the size of these guys up here. I’m just trying to adapt and keep playing my game.” Notes & quotes: Defenseman Luca Sbisa and left wing Ross Johnston remained the healthy scratches . . . Left wing Matt Martin (upper body/day to day) missed his fourth straight game.

Andrew Gross

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114967 New York Islanders

Panthers honor Torrey before game vs. Islanders

Andrew Gross

SUNRISE, Fla. – The late Bill Torrey may have identified himself more with the Panthers once he joined the organization as president in 1993, but he never stopped watching the Islanders. “He’d been with the Panthers for 25 years, he wanted to see hockey succeed here so badly,” the Hall of Fame NHL executive’s son, Rich Torrey, told Newsday. “Out of the side of his eye, the whole time here, he always watched the Islanders. The surroundings of how he ended up leaving them were painful. I don’t know if he ever really got over it.” The Panthers honored Bill Torrey, who passed away at his West Palm Beach, Florida home on May 3 at age 83, with a simple yet tasteful pre- ceremony prior to Saturday night’s match with the Islanders at BB&T Center as part of their Legacy Saturdays series. The Islanders wore a bow tie sticker on the backs of their helmets to honor their former general manager and his signature neckwear. The Islanders, who raised a banner for Torrey as “The Architect” and with a bow tie on Jan. 13, 2001, will also hold a tribute for Torrey later this season once they resume playing games at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum. “My brother Willie had talked to (president/general manager) Lou Lamoriello about that,” said Rich Torrey, 59, who lives in Shoreham. “He was saying my dad had no connection to the Barclays Center.” The Panthers had already raised a banner for Torrey on Oct. 23, 2010. Rich Torrey and his three brothers, William, Peter and Arthur, were on the ice for Saturday’s ceremonial puck drop and a tribute video was shown ending with “Thank You Mr. Torrey, 1934-2018.” In all, 19 members of Torrey’s family were in attendance. “It’s a little surreal,” Rich Torrey said. “It’s the first time we have all been at BB&T Center since he passed.” After leaving his first job as an NHL GM with the now-defunct California Golden Seals and their flamboyant owner, Charles O. Finley, in 1971, Torrey was the expansion Islanders’ first employee and stayed with the organization for four Stanley Cups through 1992, when he was forced out by new ownership. He then helped build a second expansion club in the Panthers as team president from 1993-2001, including a trip to the Stanley Cup final in 1996. “He’s the builder,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “He knows how to put teams together.” “Bill was a very quiet individual,” said MSG analyst Butch Goring, acquired by Torrey from the Kings in 1980 as the final piece to the Islanders’ championship puzzle. “Usually, once a year, he’d come in and rattle the sabers a little bit because the team was playing .500 hockey and everybody would get the message that, OK, it’s time to get a little more serious.” Goring was the Islanders coach when the organization raised Torrey’s banner. Rich Torrey was riding around with his dad on the ice. “It was a funny ceremony,” Rich Torrey said. “For whatever reason, they had him ride around the ice in a car. He wasn’t going to do it unless his sons sat in the car with him. I was like, ‘Oh, wow, you’re getting the car.’ He said, ‘No.’ I don’t know what the car thing was about. But it was very meaningful to see him get his due there. His name and teeth were cut there.”

Andrew Gross

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114968 New York Islanders home but we obviously have the same friends and we’re working out in the summer. He’s become more of a legend in Finland. He’s been playing for a long time and everybody looks up to him. It’s great to play Colliton left good impression on Islanders teammates with him.” STARTING OFF By Andrew Gross The Islanders had the same 15-game record this season as last. A look at the past nine seasons

Season First 15 Games Record Postseason Jeremy Colliton protected his rookie roommate on the first road trip of his professional career. 2018-19 8-5-2 TBD It was just one example of why Colliton’s teammates in the Islanders’ 2017-18 8-5-2 35-37-10 Miss organization always pegged him as a future coach. 2016-17 5-7-3 41-29-12 Miss It was early in the 2011-12 AHL season and Colliton, then Bridgeport’s 2015-16 7-5-3 45-27-10 Won first round captain, and Casey Cizikas, a fourth-round pick battling to get to the NHL, had overslept and were five minutes late for the team bus. 2014-15 10-5-0 47-28-7 Lost first round “He looked at me and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take this one, I’ll tell the 2013-14 6-6-3 34-37-11 Miss coaches it’s my fault,’” Cizikas recalled. “It just showed what kind of guy he is. He’s a good guy to have around the room.” 2012-13 6-8-1 24-17-7 Lost first round Flash forward to Tuesday and Cizikas, 27, admitted it was still weird to 2011-12 4-8-3 34-37-11 Miss hear the Blackhawks had promoted his old roommate to be the NHL’s 2010-11 4-9-2 30-39-13 Miss youngest coach at age 33, replacing three-time Stanley Cup-winner Joel Quenneville. 2009-10 5-5-5 34-37-11 Miss “I said, ‘There’s no way,’” Cizikas said. “It turned out to be him. He’s a smart guy. He’s got a really high hockey IQ. He’s worked hard. He’s a smooth talker. He always knew what to say. He knew how to talk to the Andrew Gross guys and I think that’s a big part of where he is now.”

Islanders teammate Josh Bailey, 29, also played with Colliton, albeit Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.11.2018 briefly as linemates in Bridgeport. “I was happy for him,” Bailey said. “It doesn’t surprise me he’s found his way up the ladder real quick. He can really see the game. I think everyone knew he’d make a good coach.” Bailey and Cizikas do have some experience with a former teammate becoming a coach, having played for Doug Weight the past two seasons. The Islanders play the Blackhawks twice this season, at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on Jan. 3 and at Chicago on Jan. 22. "LITTLE WARRIOR" Kaelyn McCandless spent this week with her family in Orlando, Florida, enjoying both Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, though her father, Tom, said a side trip to Tampa to see the Islanders face the Lightning on Saturday couldn’t be carved out. But her family plans to bring the 10-year-old from Lindenhurst to Barclays Center on Tuesday night to see the Islanders host the Canucks. Most likely, Kaelyn will be wearing the home blue jersey signed by the Islanders players and presented to her when she visited the team’s practice facility in East Meadow on Nov. 2. She was diagnosed two years ago with Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare form of brain cancer, and the organization wanted to do something for her. “We’re regular guys that play hockey and get put in the spotlight for a little bit,” said captain Anders Lee, whose second Kancer Jam in February raised more than $110,000 for pediatric cancer research. “For us to put a smile on somebody just by hanging out and talking with Kaelyn, she’s a big Islanders’ fan. She’s a little warrior who’s going through a lot of stuff right now. “She was a little shy at first, she was meeting a bunch of tall guys in hockey equipment with skates on,” Lee added. “But she’s friendly and we gave her a jersey and made her put it on. She’s a fan and a special kid. You can tell she’s really strong.” FINNISH BONDS Center Valtteri Filppula skated over to Leo Komarov during a break in Friday’s practice in Sunrise, Florida, and squirted some water into the hockey pants of his unsuspecting linemate. The two then shared a quick chat and a laugh. No doubt, in Finnish. Filppula, 34, of Vantaa, Finland and Komarov, 31, an Estonian who was raised in Nykarleby, Finland, and is a duel Russian-Finnish citizen, have proven to be solid third-line and special teams additions to the Islanders this season. “We’re Finns so we’re similar,” Komarov said. “It’s a small country and we know each other well. I wouldn’t say we’re close to each other at 1114969 New York Rangers

Rangers Edge Panthers in Shootout

By The Associated Press Nov. 10, 2018

Jimmy Vesey scored in the fifth round of the shootout to lift the Rangers over the host Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-4, on Saturday night. Vesey beat goalie Joonas Korpisalo after the Blue Jackets’ Oliver Bjorkstrand was stopped by Alexander Georgiev to give the Rangers their fifth win in six games, bringing their record to 5-0-1. The score remained tied at 4-4 through the third period despite an 11-2 shot advantage by Columbus and a scoreless five-minute overtime period. The Blue Jackets outshot the Rangers, 38-19, for the game. Kevin Shattenkirk and Mika Zibanejad also scored in the shootout for the Rangers. Artemi Panarin and Anthony Duclair each had a goal for the Blue Jackets. Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich each had a goal and an assist in regulation, and Zibanejad and Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers. Georgiov stopped 34 shots. Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and assist for Columbus, and Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg and Nick Foligno also scored. Seth Jones had three assists. Korpisalo finished with 15 saves. Zibanejad scored the opening goal on a 2-on-1 rush 5 minutes 54 seconds into the game. Columbus tied it late in the first when Dubois threaded a pass into Atkinson, who tipped it in for a power-play goal. Another odd-man rush allowed Buchnevich to beat Korpisalo and give the Rangers the lead in the second period. Kreider tapped in his team- leading eighth goal of the season off a pass from Kevin Hayes later in the second to push the Rangers’ lead to 3-1. The Blue Jackets tied the score again in the second with two goals in a 32-second span. Dubois got credit for redirecting a one-timer by Jones, and Foligno tipped in the second from the door step on a rush. Wennberg got his first of the season, a short-handed tally off the post to put the Blue Jackets ahead. But the Columbus lead did not last long. Vesey capped the scoring in the busy second period to knot the score once more at the second intermission. PANTHERS 4, ISLANDERS 2 Aleksander Barkov scored the go-ahead goal in the third period as the Florida Panthers beat the visiting Islanders. Troy Brouwer, Mike Hoffman and Denis Malgin also scored for the Panthers, who won their third straight. Roberto Luongo made 29 saves for his third consecutive victory after missing nearly a month with a knee injury. Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal scored for the Islanders, who have lost three in a row after winning their previous five. Robin Lehner had 27 saves.

New York Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114970 New York Rangers

David Quinn sets expectations for slumping Brendan Smith

By Brett Cyrgalis November 11, 2018 | 1:47am

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was already a short leash for Brendan Smith. But another difficult performance Friday night in Detroit hardly helped. So the veteran defenseman was made a healthy scratch for the second leg of this road back-to-back, a 5-4 shootout win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. It was the first time this season head coach David Quinn scratched Smith after the two had talked about his slipping game before Friday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Red Wings in Detroit. “Listen, he’s a really good player. Got off to a great start. He’s hit a little bit of a rough patch,” Quinn said. “We’ve got defensemen — as I’ve talked about — we feel confident with all eight. Sometimes it’s not an indictment on their play as much as the fact that we have other guys doing a good job and want to get guys in. That’s just the situation we’re in. “Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to sit and watch, recollect yourself and get going again. Just press the restart button. I fully expect him to come back and be the player he’s capable of being.” The 29-year-old Smith, who signed a four-year, $17.4 million deal in the summer of 2017 with an annual salary-cap hit of $4.35 million, spent last year’s final two months with AHL Hartford after clearing waivers. He did start this season in good shape and with more jump in his game, but his ghastly turnover early in the third period that led to Detroit’s first goal was a sign of his disintegrating game. Replacing Smith was lefty-shot Fredrik Claesson, who had been out with a lower-body injury since getting hurt on Oct. 17 in Washington. Claesson played a steady 17:12 paired mostly with Kevin Shattenkirk. Quinn delivered on his pregame guarantee that rookie Lias Andersson would play more than the 6:23 of total ice time he got in Detroit. The coach moved the 20-year-old Swede to the right wing on a line with Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes, and Andersson finished the game with 15:22. Winger Cody McLeod returned to the lineup after he had been a healthy scratch on Friday night, replacing Vinni Lettieri. Before that, McLeod had played eight straight. Quinn put McLeod back on the left side of a line with rookie Filip Chytil — with Ryan Spooner on the right — and they didn’t get off the bench for the final seven minutes of regulation. Surprisingly, Spooner did get a long shift in the 3-on-3 overtime, and was the team’s third shooter in the skills competition, failing to score. Quinn sounded hopeful Mats Zuccarello could re-enter the lineup for Monday night’s Garden match against the Canucks after he missed this two-game trip with a groin strain.

New York Post LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114971 New York Rangers the third period and the overtime. Then Zibanejad and Kevin Shattenkirk scored in the skills competition, setting the stage for Vesey’s winner.

It was wild, but it worked out. And now this streaking team gets to go Rangers find way to win back-and-forth game in shootout home for Monday night’s Garden match against the Canucks hoping to keep it going rather than licking their wounds. By Brett Cyrgalis “No rest for the weary,” Quinn said. November 10, 2018 | 10:29pm Updated November 11, 2018 | 12:22am New York Post LOADED: 11.11.2018

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s amazing how the demeanor changes with the result of a skills competition. The hope for the Rangers is that it doesn’t create a delusion. Yet for a moment, it was all happiness yet again around the Blueshirts, who managed to take a wild 5-4 shootout victory against the Blue Jackets on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena. Forget blowing the 3-1 lead they held midway through the second. Instead, the focus was narrowed on Jimmy Vesey sneaking one by Columbus backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo in the fifth round of the shootout that cemented the good feeling. “It’s obviously a lot nicer standing here after a game like this,” Mika Zibanejad said, “with a win instead of a loss.” Just the night before in Detroit, Zibanejad and his mates were trying to explain away how they blew a 2-0 third-period lead and ended up losing, 3-2 in overtime. It was a gut-wrenching defeat that ended a four-game winning streak. But now, the Rangers (8-7-2) are just a team that is 5-0-1 in their past six, going to 4-0 in the shootout and streaking under first-year head coach David Quinn as they continue what was supposed to be a season of rebuilding. Instead, they have muddied the waters with this run, at least convincing themselves that they can keep it up and make a push inside a soft middle of the Eastern Conference. “Sometime you have a good nights and sometimes you don’t,” Quinn said. “I thought we managed to get two points.” Modal TriggerAlexandar Georgiev makes a save on Oliver Bjorkstrand during the Rangers' shootout win. Alexandar Georgiev makes a save on Oliver Bjorkstrand during the Rangers’ shootout win.AP Quinn went with backup Alexandar Georgiev in nets, and he stood tall in the third period when he turned aside all 11 shots he faced from John Tortorella’s Blue Jackets (9-6-2), while the Rangers managed just two shots on goal over the final 20 minutes of regulation. Georgiev then had to stop Artemi Panarin twice in the 3-on-3 overtime, and then again in the shootout, denying 3-of-5 Columbus shooters to get the extra point. “I’m just glad to hear that [my teammates] trust me,” said Georgiev, who is now 2-0 in the shootout and 3-1 in his four starts this season. “I’m just playing my game and they’re doing a great job, so it’s a whole team effort.” It was also a team effort when the Rangers crumbled for a stretch of 4:14 in the second period. Up 3-1 on goals from Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and Chris Kreider, the tide turned when a long Seth Jones shot was deflected in by Pierre-Luc Dubois at 11:49. Just 32 seconds later, Nick Foligno tied it on an odd-man rush, followed soon thereafter by a shorthanded goal from Alexander Wennberg to give Columbus a 4-3 lead. Quinn called a timeout, and the young Rangers actually did manage to settle down. “Even though we give up the three goals to [make it] 4-3, during that process, we wanted to calm down, take a few deep breaths and get back to it,” Zibanejad said. “Obviously we brought that on ourselves, some mistakes, some bad reads. We knew when we were playing the way we did for the most part of the game, we were fine. We have to find a way to get back to that.” It happened when Kevin Hayes continued playing the best hockey of his career, making his second dazzling primary assist of the night, spinning to feed Vesey in front to tie it, 4-4, with just 53 seconds left in the second period. “No,” Quinn said, “you can’t overstate how important that goal was.” That goal essentially got the Rangers back on solid ground, and it allowed them to limit the Blue Jackets’ high-danger scoring chances in 1114972 New York Rangers

Collapse versus Red Wings is serving as Rangers’ wake-up call

By Brett Cyrgalis November 10, 2018 | 6:25PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Confidence can be a fickle mistress, especially for a largely inexperienced team in the NHL. That is what the Rangers are learning in this tumultuous three-week stretch that started by losing four of five, was then followed by a four- game winning streak, which ended abruptly by blowing a two-goal, third- period lead in Detroit on Friday night, eventually losing 3-2 in overtime. It was a drastic wake-up call for a team that thought it had figured out how to win. Now, the Rangers were just hoping to put that collapse behind them with the second leg of this road back-to-back against the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. “Obviously it’s been better. But we want to keep growing,” alternate captain Mika Zibanejad said after the game in Detroit. “We’re not happy. We’re not satisfied with where we are right now. We’re happy with the strides we’ve taken, but this is obviously not our end goal. We have a lot more hockey to play. This is another lesson.” The lessons have come aplenty for first-year coach David Quinn, who was about as upset as he has been all year in Detroit. He spoke about how the Rangers “wilted” in the third period and how they “cheated the game.” He also got animated when it was brought up that the game-tying goal from Andreas Athanasiou — which might have looked offside from certain angles, but was never challenged at the behest of Rangers video man Jerry Dineen — looked a lot like the game-tying goal from the Kings on Oct. 28. When asked how he would balance that anger with trying to teach his young squad, Quinn took a moment before answering. “I’ll be a lot less angry [Saturday] when we talk to them,” Quinn said. There has been some tough love from Quinn early on in his first go- around as a NHL head coach, which was in stark contrast to his predecessor, Alain Vigneault. But that is just what the front office wanted when the Rangers publicly declared a rebuild, fired Vigneault and hired Quinn out of Boston University in hopes of accelerating the development of their young players. It sure looked to be getting on the right track when they managed to reel off four in a row, starting with two shootout wins against San Jose and Anaheim to end a long, four-game road trip. In both of those games — along with the one preceding it in Los Angeles — they allowed goals late in regulation. So when Athanasiou scored with 2:02 remaining in regulation to tie it, 2-2, on Friday night, it was the fourth straight road game that happened. The frustration was mounting and boiled over when Dylan Larkin won it with 5.1 seconds remaining in the 3-on-3 overtime. “I think we felt good about the way we [defended a lead] a few times, and that might be the first time we had a two-goal lead going into the third and we just need to play with more confidence with the puck, have it a little more,” alternate captain Marc Staal said. “Kind of chucking it all over the place, letting them have it. That’s not how you defend a two-goal lead, especially when you’re in their rink, they start getting momentum and you let the crowd get into it. You have to be able to weather that.” Losses like that are really not that shocking for a team that had very little external expectations coming into the season. But that does not mean the expectations aren’t higher inside the locker room, where the confidence has been difficult to maintain. “Tight games every night,” goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. “We’ve been winning a lot of games lately, tight games. So you can focus on that, too. But if you want to just look at the losses, yeah, we lost a couple close ones, but we also won a couple close ones. It’s going to happen.”

New York Post LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114973 New York Rangers Q: The one guy you would have loved to test your skills against on a penalty shot or breakaway.

A: Probably (Islanders Hall of Famer) Michael Bossy. He’s a guy, such a Martin Brodeur still remembers the play that broke his heart natural goal-scorer, his career got got cut short a little bit, but he was a guy that was really dominant offensively. Him and Guy Lafleur, these two guys are guys that I wish I could have played against. By Steve Serby Q: How do you think you would have done against either one of them?

A: I don’t know (laugh). I probably would have stopped them if you ask Steve Serby chats with Devils legendary goalie Martin Brodeur, who will me (laugh). be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday: Q: One memorable save? Q: Who are the people you need to thank for making the Hall of Fame? A: Yeah, there’s a couple of them (chuckle). There’s one in the Olympics A: There’s a lot of people out there that they’re a big reason why I’m on Brett Hull in the gold-medal game in the third period — I made a save going to be standing there on Monday night. In my professional career, with my right pad on the goal line, the game was 3-2 at the time, and we having Lou (Lamoriello) as a general manager, Jacques Lemaire (as took the puck from that save and made it 4-2 and almost clinched the head coach), my goalie coaches, but I think at the end of the day, it starts gold medal for ourselves, so that’s one thing that comes to mind. with your family. My parents, my sons and sisters and all that, some of the coaches that I had in minor hockey and throughout my growth years. Q: Your rivalry with Henrik Lundqvist. There’s a lot of people to thank, and I’ll just try to do my best to thank A: You get the respect from the other guy, but obviously our fans are so everybody. into it that people think we hate each other because of that. For me, the Q: If you were going to build the perfect goaltender, what part of Marty biggest rivalry was obviously with (former Ranger) Mike Richter than Brodeur would you take? Lundqvist, that’s for sure. A: (Chuckle) Probably the poise and the calmness in the net, and Q: Who were some of the other goaltenders you enjoyed competing obviously my stickhandling ability. against? Q: Your goaltending style. A: Probably the guy I enjoyed the most was Dominik Hasek. He was such a good goalie. He was so kind of all over the place with his style. A: Probably hybrid. I was able to do a little bit of everything. I was not He’s won I think five or six Vezinas. Patrick Roy was another guy, but I really predictable, so I was able to get in some shooters’ heads once in a didn’t get to play that many games against him. while, because they weren’t sure if I was going to not poke-check or poke-check or not dive to them or stand up or do the butterfly. So I was Q: Did you take different pieces from different goalies over the years? able to do a little bit of everything. Probably not great at everything, but A: I think that’s one of the things that helped me be a hybrid goalie. good enough. Whatever was working for a goalie, I was really intrigued, so I would go Q: Could you tell by the look on their face that you were getting in their back to the drawing board with my goalie coach. Sometimes it was good, heads? sometimes I said, “Ah, forget about this, this is not working for me.” A: Yeah, sometimes I knew they would have some good looks to shoot Q: Did you play any position other than goaltender? and they would just bail and make passes. I’d be like, “Wow, that means A: I played the forward until I was about 8 years old. I switched to goalie that they don’t have confidence that they can beat me from there.” later on. That’s probably why I got my offensive skill as a goalie (laugh). Q: Was there ever a point when your confidence was shaken just a little Q: Did you fall in love right away with playing it? bit? A: Yeah, I liked it. What I really liked was I was on the ice for the whole A: Oh, yeah, for sure. It happens a lot in a season, there’s ups and game (chuckle). You’re always in the action, and be a part of it. As I grew downs and everything. There’s times that you feel that the puck is as up older, it got more obvious that that’s what I wanted to do. small as an Advil coming at you. Other days it looks like a beach ball. Just lucky that you feel better more often than feel bad about my game. Q: What was it like hoisting the Cup for the first time? Modal TriggerMartin Brodeur A: It’s a dream come true. When you’re a kid you always played to win a Stanley Cup in the streets or on the outdoor rinks, and when you do it for Martin BrodeurPaul J. Bereswill real, it’s a pretty cool moment, it’s something that I’m always going to Q: How do you explain your longevity? remember. I was able to win three of them, but if they would have told me, “Well, that’s it for you,’’ I think I would have been satisfied with that A: That’s pretty simple. I think it’s the love of the game, you don’t play for one. that long not liking what you do. I loved my job. I loved playing the game of hockey. I loved the team aspect of it. I think the accountability, and I Q: What did you feel like after winning the second and third one? think the adrenaline that the games bring to you is something at the end I A: 2000, when we finally won our second one, I think it was really had a hard time coping not to let go. I just wanted to continue as long as I rewarding to be able to do it all together again with some of the guys that could. I was good enough and healthy to be able to play in my early 40s. were still on that ’95 team. And 2003, we made some tweaks to our I definitely pushed the envelope … and really enjoyed what I did. team, got some older players, guys like Turner Stevenson, Jim Q: Your mentality in the net. McKenzie, Joe Nieuwemdyk, to our team, so it became something a little different, especially for the guys that never won a Cup, and when as a A: I was playing in the moment. Not much bothered me — bad goals, team you’re able to deliver for them, it’s really rewarding. good saves or anything — my emotions would never really take over my personality or my game. People felt comfortable when I was in net Q: Stephane Matteau? because I felt that I was in control. … I didn’t show anybody I was A: He’s the guy that broke our hearts (Matteau’s series-clinching goal for nervous or all that stuff. the Rangers in the second overtime of Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Q: You never had any sleepless nights? Conference final prevented the Devils from reaching the Stanley Cup Final). A: Not really. A bad game didn’t really bother me. I knew I was going to be able to get back in the net right away. My performance didn’t really Q: What were those playoff atmospheres like at the Garden? matter the amount of games that I played. That’s the support I had with A: MSG’s probably one of the funnest places to play in the playoffs, New Jersey. especially for us because everybody hated us so much. It was intense. Q: You can pick the brain of any goaltender in NHL history. Even in 2012, when we beat the Rangers (in the conference final), the people were really into it also. The rivalry games are the best games to A: Probably Ken Dryden. I’ve talked to him a little bit, never really in play. depth about the position, but I have a lot of respect for him that’s won multiple Stanley Cups on really good teams. A bit like me, I think Q: Devils fans? sometimes he got overshadowed in Montreal, but he was a helluva A: Really loyal. I came back four years after I retired. Now I work for goalie and he’s one guy that it would be really a treat to talk to. them, a lot of the people that I saw my first game, or our first Stanley Cup, are still there. And their kids and all that. When you play for them, A: It was fun just to get to meet some of the players and some of the they really care about you. It’s been a treat for me to be able to play all managers. A week when I didn’t have school the next day he would bring my career in front of these guys. me and give me a camera and just put me on a stool right on the glass and he says, “Just go ahead, have fun, take pictures.” It was always fun Q: Which one of the three goals that you scored was your favorite? the next day to be able to spend some time with my dad and go through A: My first one. The only one I really scored, the other ones I got credited getting the film developed and look what kind of pictures I took. for the goals, so … Q: Your mother was not a Canadiens fan. Q: Tell me about that first one. A: We were fortunate, she was a stay-at-home mom, my dad was really A: It was in the playoffs against Montreal. Kind of dumped in from the red busy working in media like you probably can attest to all over the place. line, we were up 4-2 at the time and they decided to pull their goalie, so I It’s funny, she was from Quebec City so her dear Nordiques were the was able to grab the puck behind my net and spin around and I saw that main team for her, so every Saturday night when they played against all the players decided to take the boards away from me, so the ice was each other, we had a big rivalry with my mom all the time. wide open, so I just put a little mustard on that puck and it went all the Q: What will it be like playing with your son Sunday in Toronto? way to the end and scored. A: We’re going to play a Legends game on Sunday, and my son Q: What is it like walking past a statue of yourself (outside the Prudential Anthony’s going to play my first 30 minutes and I’ll play the second 30 Center)? minutes, so it’ll be nice to be on the ice with him. I have an 8-year-old at A: (Laugh) You never expect something like that to happen to you, to home, so I think he’s starting to realize what I’ve accomplished in my have a statue. I don’t really walk often by it, but when I do I’m always career. When I was still playing, he didn’t really realize what was going amazed by it. on. So now I think he’s taking everything in a little bit. It’s been awesome just to see him interact with me about these things. Q: Does it look like you? Q: Does he play hockey? A: Yeah, it does look like me. The guy did a good job (laugh). A: Oh, yeah. He’s a forward, but he’ll become a goalie, trust me. Q: What would you say you’re most proud of? Q: That’s a lot of pressure to follow in his dad’s footsteps. A: Winning all these Stanley Cups have been great. On a personal level, I think the most wins (691) as a goaltender is one of my achievements A: That’s OK (chuckle). that I’m the most proud of. Q: What advice would you give him? Q: What do you hope your legacy will be? A: Have fun. Make sure you work really, really hard and enjoy yourself. A: Just the fact that people are talking about me as one of the best Q: Favorite childhood memories? goalies in the world at one point, it’s exciting for me. Now I’m going into the Hockey Hall of Fame, just a great honor for me. A couple of years A: Every Christmas we went to my parents’ cottage. My big brother would ago we did The Top 100 Players that ever played in the NHL and I was bring his buddies around, and we would play hockey games in the part of it. I was lucky enough to be able to make an impact. This driveway. I still remember every Christmas, I would wake them up, they generation can kinda look back and talk about me a little bit. were probably having a few drinks or whatever and I’m sure they didn’t want someone 7, 8 years old waking them and (saying), “Let’s go play Q: A lot of people consider you The Greatest Of All Time — what do you outside,” when it was minus-40 Celsius. think? Q: When you started playing in the NHL, what kind of career did you A: You know what? A lot of goalies are considered like that. Definitely it’s imagine? hard to say that about yourself, but it is what it is. A: Not the one I had, that’s for sure. You just go out there and then you Q: Favorite teammates? get greedy. You get a little of success and next thing you know, you A: Obviously (Ken) Daneyko, (Scott) Stevens and (Scott) Niedermayer. believe that you belong, and you just feed off that energy, and you wake It’s not every day that you have three defenseman that you’ve played for up 15 years later and you’re still in the league, and you got the most over 10 years together. No wonder we were able to have good chemistry wins, and you’re like, “Wow, what just happened here?” I put my head together. These three guys are definitely going to be part of the guys I down, I wanted to have fun, I wanted to win. will mention. Q: Did you set goals for yourself when you started? Q: Lou Lamoriello? A: Not really. I just wanted to be in the NHL. It’s a dream come true to be A: He’s the one that built this franchise, the one that put me in the net. He part of an NHL team, to be a regular in the NHL, to live the life, to make was able to draft me. He’s a guy that did everything in his power for us to the money and do all that stuff. For me it was just to be able to say that I be successful. Wasn’t afraid, never asked anybody to make decisions, he had a place to play hockey and I was wanted where I was. did it for the best of the team all the time. You couldn’t ask for a better Q: What made you a Hall of Famer, in your eyes? GM to play for my whole life. A: My love for the game, and my work ethic. I didn’t take any shortcuts Q: The Brodeur Rule (a rule that put restrictions on a goalie handling the for my success, that’s for sure. puck). Q: What drove you? A: I didn’t mind the rule. I know it prevented me to do what I’ve worked so hard, and next thing you know, one day it was over. My big issue with A: Winning. To have that feeling after a game or after a season that that was my defenseman was getting hit more because I couldn’t really you’re able to stand on top of the mountain. help them out, digging pucks out of the corners for them and all that. It was for everybody. I didn’t feel that I was targeted for it. A lot of people Q: Do you think you might cry on Monday night? thought so. But for me it didn’t really matter. A: It’ll be emotional. … I hope not, but we’ll see. … I’m sure my buddies Q: Sum up what your father (Denis) meant to you? have bets on them (laugh), so we’ll see if I can make some money off of that one. A: My dad, because he was part of sports, being a photographer for the Expos and the Montreal Canadiens, so I always had a really good insight with what being a professional athlete was all about, so I think I’ve New York Post LOADED: 11.11.2018 learned a lot from him through the years growing up, at the dinner table him and talking about his job. I’m the youngest of five, so big brothers and big sisters were there to take care of me also. … My dad played in the Olympics, winning their goal medal as a goalie for Team Canada. He’s a guy that played baseball all of his life. Working for the Expos and working for the Canadiens for him was something that he loved to do. Regardless of what I wanted to do, he always had my back on everything. He provided real well for us. Q: What were memories at the Montreal Forum with your father like? 1114974 New York Rangers

Rangers rebound with shootout win against Jackets

Colin Stephenson

COLUMBUS, Ohio — OK, so maybe the Rangers haven’t quite figured out 100 percent how to shut teams down and close games out when they have a lead. But what they do seem to be learning this season is that even when they surrender a lead, all is not lost. They still have the ability to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and come back to win in a shootout. Jimmy Vesey, whose goal in the final minute of the second period tied it and ultimately forced the overtime, ended up scoring the winner in the fifth round of the shootout Saturday night as the Rangers beat the Blue Jackets, 5-4, to earn three of a possible four points in this weekend trip to Detroit and Columbus. The win extended the Rangers’ points streak to six games (5-0-1) and lifted them above .500 at 8-7-2. It also was their fourth shootout win in four tries this season. “I think it just shows a lot of mental strength that we have,’’ defenseman Neal Pionk said. “We’ve been through it before, and I think we’re learning from it, growing from it.” Vesey was a key figure in the Rangers’ comeback. After goals by Pavel Buchnevich (from a Vesey assist on a two-on-one) and Chris Kreider gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead at the 8:30 mark of the second period, the Blue Jackets quickly tied it on goals by Pierre-Luc Dubois at 11:49 and Nick Foligno at 12:21. Rangers coach David Quinn called timeout after that, but Columbus scored a shorthanded goal by Alexander Wennberg at 16:03 of the period to take its first lead. The Rangers fought back to tie it with 53 seconds left on a goal by Vesey, who jammed in a feed from behind the net from Kevin Hayes. That made it 4-4 after two periods. “You can’t overstate how important that goal was,’’ Quinn said. “It really reset the game for us and gave us a little bit of a good feeling going into the locker room between the second and third. But give [the Blue Jackets] credit, they played real hard in the third. They made a big push, they had some great chances, Georgie [Alexandar Georgiev] stood tall and we got two valuable road points.’’ Backup goalie Georgiev, who started in place of Henrik Lundqvist, made 34 saves in regulation plus overtime and another three saves in the shootout in five tries. He was especially big in the third period, when the Rangers were outshot 11-2 but still managed to get the game into overtime. With both teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back, strange things figured to happen, and some crazy hockey did, in fact, ensue. For the second consecutive night, the Rangers blew a two-goal lead, having coughed up a 2-0 advantage after two periods Friday in their 3-2 overtime loss to Detroit. On Saturday, the Rangers were without their usual leadoff man in the shootout, Mats Zuccarello, who missed the two- game trip with a groin strain. Mika Zibanejad and Kevin Shattenkirk, who usually go second and third, each moved up one spot and each scored. But Cam Atkinson and Dubois scored for Columbus around a weak effort by Artemi Panarin. Rangers forward Ryan Spooner, who played on the fourth line and didn’t see much ice time in the third period or overtime, was foiled by Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, and the shootout went into a fourth, then fifth round. Georgiev stopped the next two shooters and Hayes was stopped by Korpisalo before Vesey won it.

Colin Stephenson

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114975 New York Rangers

Smith pays price for costly mistake Friday

Colin Stephenson

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After his giveaway Friday that handed the Red Wings their first goal in Detroit’s 3-2 overtime win over the Rangers, Brendan Smith paid the price when he was scratched from the lineup against Columbus on Saturday. It was the first game Smith has sat out this season. He was replaced by Fredrik Claesson, who was activated off injured reserve after missing nine games with an upper-body injury. Smith, who was in the midst of a rebound season after being waived and sent to the minors last year, had the puck stripped from him by Detroit’s Gustav Nyquist as he tried to skate out from behind his own net with the Rangers holding a 2-0 lead early in the third period. Nyquist fed a net- crashing Justin Abdelkader for a tap-in goal at 1:46 of the period that shifted the game’s momentum. “I thought we let the first goal affect us,’’ Quinn said. “That was their sixth scoring chance of the game, and they had 10 after that. So I think giving up that goal kind of hurt us a little bit mentally. It’s a challenge we’ve got to continue to fight through.’’ Smith had played in each of the first 16 games, registering a goal and two assists, plus 27 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of minus-5. “Listen, he’s a really good player,’’ Quinn said. “He got off to a great start, [but] I think he’s hit a little bit of a rough patch . . . Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to sit and watch and recollect yourself and get going again, press the restart button. I fully expect him to come back and be the player he’s capable of being.’’ Blue notes The Rangers’ Salute to Our Troops Night is on Monday, when they will host the Vancouver Canucks. Players will wear camouflage jerseys in warmups that will be autographed and sold to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project . . . F Cody McLeod was back in the lineup, with Vinni Lettieri out.

Colin Stephenson

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114976 New York Rangers 0, Shattenkirk having scored in each. Kind of skews the Rangers’ 8-7-2 record, built on a 5-0-1 run here. That recent record hasn’t been as good, technically, as it looks. Not nearly. With steady improvement, Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo earns 3) During OT, which was slower than most OTs, DeAngelo made a more playing time smart, aggressive play on Cam Atkinson to regain possession for the Rangers when it looked like they might be headed for trouble. By Rick Carpiniello #NYR BOUNCE BACK BEHIND @19VESEY'S WINNER IN THE SHOOTOUT! PIC.TWITTER.COM/X8GKM4GH3P Nov 10, 2018 — MSG NETWORKS (@MSGNETWORKS) NOVEMBER 11, 2018

4) Daily Zucc-O-Meter: N/A. Did not make the trip with a groin strain. I I must admit, I’m feeling a lot different about Tony DeAngelo now, and it wonder, when he comes back on Monday, if Vinni Lettieri might be has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with him. headed to Hartford now that Lias Andersson is here and playing (more than 15 minutes Saturday). It’s still a very small sample size, but I think the young defenseman might have turned a corner. Might have earned himself a job, and playing time, 5) Pavel Buchnevich and Vlad Namestnikov both made really good and – it’s very early, too early to say – an NHL career. drives to the net early. Then, after Zibanejad’s hit at the defensive blue line created a turnover and started a rush, Buchnevich broke 2-on-1, toe- In the last seven games since he got a chance to get back into the lineup dragged around the snow-angeling defenseman Markus Nutivaara, and due to injuries, DeAngelo’s game has steadily improved. I thought he set up Zibanejad for a dunk charging to the right post. 1-0. was one of the best Rangers in a haphazard 5-4 shootout win over the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Saturday. TOE DRAG ALERT. TOE DRAG ALERT! PIC.TWITTER.COM/EVMEBJHLPT The 23-year-old is doing so well with the puck – passing it, skating with it, shooting it — that you live with his shortcomings defensively. But he’s — NHL (@NHL) NOVEMBER 11, 2018 also getting so much better defensively every time out, it seems. Not perfect by any means back there. But he’s a better defender than Kevin 6) Claesson returned from an upper-body injury and lit up ex-Ranger Shattenkirk. Better than Brendan Smith, who earned himself a seat Anthony Duclair on his first shift. With all that I said about DeAngelo’s Saturday in Columbus with his two performances against Montreal and small sample size, Claesson might be the Rangers’ best defender, in Detroit. DeAngelo is arguably playing better than Brady Skjei and Marc terms of actually defending, in a small sample size. That’s not a much a Staal, especially Staal lately. compliment to Claesson as it is an indictment of the others. And, again, I love that little bit of rat in him. 7) DeAngelo deftly deflected a Columbus chance into the corner, then drew a penalty on big Josh Anderson for a hit from behind. In the third period, he rocked Riley Nash with a hit. When Nash turned to confront him, DeAngelo’s gloves came off in no time (reminded me of 8) Former Ranger Brandon Dubinsky found himself wide open in front of Dan Cloutier talking about his ejector button). DeAngelo did really well in Georgiev and actually deflected a shot into his own leg, then yanked the the fight, too. Good for him. loose rebound wide, with DeAngelo out of position and Skjei unaware of Dubinsky. Imagine saying this three weeks ago … the Rangers were going to miss having DeAngelo on the ice for five minutes while he served his penalty. 9) On a Columbus power play, with Andersson in the box, the Rangers And despite his time in the box, DeAngelo played 21:44, second most on three times had opportunities to clear, and all three failed to get out of the the team. zone, until they were exhausted. Atkinson went to the net behind Staal and redirected Pierre-Luc Dubois’ goal-mouth pass past Georgiev with By the way, with an assist in the game (he should have had another one, 34 seconds remaining in the first. Too easy. 1-1. but got cheated by the home scorers), DeAngelo was just a goal shy of the Hat Trick (goal, assist, fight). 10) Staal, IMO, strays much too far from the net on the kill, and it has cost the Rangers often lately. The game against Montreal, when he was Trivia: The last Rangers defenseman to get the ? sound in his positioning, and tough, was one of his best. There were a Brian Leetch, Oct. 30, 1988, when he tangled with Pittsburgh’s Rod few before that which weren’t so good. The last couple haven’t been Buskas in the mayhem that ensued after David Shaw slashed Mario good at all. Lemieux. (Credit to the great Rangers stat man Michael Rappaport). .@18DUBOIS TO @CAMATKINSON13 TO TIE THE GAME. TEMPERS ARE BOILING OVER THERE. #NYR PIC.TWITTER.COM/SBGNNI1KES PIC.TWITTER.COM/RZMSIL8HQD — NHL GIFS (@NHLGIFS) NOVEMBER 11, 2018 — MSG NETWORKS (@MSGNETWORKS) NOVEMBER 11, 2018 11) Early second, Alexander Wennberg found DeAngelo and Skjei flat- You know what else? Good job by coach David Quinn, whose hand was footed again – and again, the Rangers were too passive in the neutral forced to keep DeAngelo because of waivers. He kept him, worked with zone – but Georgiev bailed them out with a shoulder save on him, coached him, taught him, encouraged him. Quinn said he was Wennberg’s break-in. Then Duclair sped away from Skjei, who was seeing progress in practices. Wanted to see more. And he was seeing forced to take a penalty. That kill was much more efficient and effective more, but just not enough. He wanted to see DeAngelo play a less risky than the first for the Rangers. game, and he has. 12) Two good defensive-zone plays by DeAngelo – the second a swipe When the two injuries to Adam McQuaid and Fredrik Claesson hit, off a Blue Jacket’s stick and up ice to Vesey – started a 2-on-1. Vesey DeAngelo had to play, and, boy, has he responded. That it was Smith made an awkward-looking, backward diagonal pass, but Buchnevich who sat Saturday when Claesson got healthy and not DeAngelo tells you found a way to one-time it from 35 feet or so past Korpisalo. 2-1. a lot about how he’s played, and a lot about how Quinn feels about his play. 13) DeAngelo went up ice and stayed there, working the back of the net and tossing a pass to Kevin Hayes, who typically went pass-first. Only And Smith’s play. this time his pass was perfect, to Chris Kreider for a gimme at the right post. 3-1. Smith earned and received his night in (I’m borrowing this from reader Michael S. and keeping it) the Quinn Bin. How much do I love that? Kreider now has eight goals. And from a distance, you’d have to say that’s a pretty good start. Thoughts: 14) Those two goals came 1:33 apart. In the previous three games, the 1) This was another mess for a lot of the 65 minutes of play, the Rangers Rangers had scored two goals within a minute in each game. going up 3-1, falling behind 4-3, tying it late in the second period, getting almost nothing in the third (outshot 11-2), surviving the overtime, then But Columbus did better than that. After a Neal Pionk turnover at the red winning a five-inning shootout on goals by Kevin Shattenkirk (+3 in line, and once more, Staal chasing the puck much too much. He went regulation), Mika Zibanejad and Jimmy Vesey. after Panarin, all the way around the back of the net, then out toward the point, leaving two players against Pionk in front. Hayes was late there 2) And Alexandar Georgiev won the battle of backup goalies over Joonas and didn’t tie up Dubois, who deflected Seth Jones’ shot. 3-2. Korpisalo with a heroic third period, overtime and shootout, in which he stopped, multiple times including the skills competition, future Ranger 15) Uncontested Goal of the Night (still without a sponsor): Another Artemi Panarin. (I kid). Georgiev is 2-0 in shootouts, and the Rangers 4- turnover and 32 seconds later, Columbus had tied it at 3-3 on Nick Foligno’s (wide-open behind Skjei and DeAngelo) redirection of Boone Jenner’s pass. 16) Timeout Rangers. It didn’t help. The Rangers got a power play, and after Kreider just missed on a defection, Pionk got no support but made a terrible pass that was picked off by Jones at the red line. Jones sent it to Wennberg for a short-handed break and a 4-3 lead. So fragile, these Rangers appear at times. They really struggle with opponents’ surges. 17) After the power play expired, Hayes dropped his shoulder and drove to the net, got in a tad too deep to shoot, and dropped a pass to Vesey, who fired it past Korpisalo with 53 seconds left in the second. 4-4. 18) So in a scrum after a whistle in the third, Jenner threw a few punches to Buchnevich’s face. Foligno jumped in and tossed three or four more. Buchnevich snuck in about four. Maybe more on each side. No penalties. Play on. 19) Quinn’s got a bit of the coach on the other bench, John Tortorella, in him. The good parts. I told him that. He liked it. 20) Duclair. What’s this, team No. 4 in five seasons? He played 5:40 and was minus-3. 21) Here’s what I don’t get: Jenner was working over Pionk in the corner, two good crosschecks to the back. Those microphones behind the nets pick up the on-ice conversations in today’s quieter arenas. You could clearly hear the referee twice yell to Jenner to watch the stick in the back. Twice. So, when did it become the ref’s job to issue warnings instead of penalties? 22) Speaking of … @ScoutingTheRefs noted that the Rangers were 1-10 last season with the two fine men in stripes working Saturday’s game — Graham Skilliter and Kelly Sutherland. 23) My story about that popular, fun-loving 1978-79 Rangers team, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, should be up on The Athletic this week. My Three Rangers Stars: 1. Tony DeAngelo. 2. Pavel Buchnevich. 3. Jimmy Vesey.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114977 Ottawa Senators On top of that, a couple of other notable statistics were staring them in the face: the Lightning led the NHL in goals scored, while the Senators led the league in goals allowed. Warren game report: Tkachuk parks in front of Vasilevskiy, sparks The Senators jumped out early. Senators to comeback win Duchene began the scoring on the first shot, tucking the puck past Vasilevskiy on a wraparound effort 4:58 into the game. Ken Warren Only 2:23 later, Bobby Ryan cashed in, taking advantage of big rebound November 10, 2018 11:24 PM EST off a Cody Ceci shot. Three shots. Two goals. 2-0 Ottawa. TAMPA — Brady Tkachuk introduced himself to Tampa Bay Lightning Ever so gradually, though, the Lightning worked their way back into the all-star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy on Saturday night. game. Joseph’s first goal of the game, a bank shot off Thomas Chabot’s skate, slipped behind Anderson to make it 2-1. Maybe not with words. Certainly with actions. Hold on a sec you're telling me @Senators outshot @TBLightning and “That’s what I pride myself on, is being around the net — that’s where a won ? I can get used to this. #GoSensGo lot of goals are from,” the 19-year-old Ottawa Senators rookie said after playing a major role in an impressive 6-4 comeback win over the — LilShizammy (@LilShizammy) November 11, 2018 Lightning. “I just want to be around there, cause havoc down there, too, The Lightning gained momentum that lasted through the second period, and tried to get into (Vasilevskiy’s) kitchen a little bit.” but the Senators had an answer for that. It worked. “We need everyone in here going to win games,” said Duchene. “That The Senators rallied with a four-goal third period against a Lightning includes our young guys, and our young guys were outstanding.” squad that had previously been 8-1-1 when leading after two periods. PUTTING CHABOT ON ICE: The career-high 28 minutes 49 seconds of Tkachuk cued the rally, scoring 50 seconds into the third. Tkachuk then ice time that Chabot played in Thursday’s 5-3 loss to the Vegas Golden assisted on fellow rookie Colin White’s power-play goal that tied the Knights led to questions about his high-water marks as a junior. game 4-4. According to Chabot, while playing for the Saint John Sea Dogs against the Shawinigan Cataractes in a 2016-17 Quebec Major Junior Hockey Ryan Dzingel scored the go-ahead goal and Mark Stone capped the League contest, he hit the 45-minute mark. Yes, that’s 45 of the 65 comeback with a power-play goal with 12 seconds remaining. minutes. “Yeah, that was a good one. We won in a shootout,” Chabot recalled. It was a similar story — only in reverse — to what happened when the clubs met at the Canadian Tire Centre last Sunday and the Lightning OVERTIME MEMORIES: Then there was that 45-minute effort in the rallied for an overtime victory. 2017 world junior championship final, when Chabot and his Canadian teammates lost 5-4 to the , also in a shootout after a full “We were due for a comeback eventually,” said Tkachuk. “So why not overtime period was played. White played a major role for the winning tonight against a Stanley Cup contender?” side that night. “I remember us beating him,” White said. “He slew-footed me. I got him back. It was a fun game. Now, we’re besties, we’re Tkachuk, who returned to the lineup from his leg injury on Thursday, has roommates, but I think I got the better hand of him that day.” scored four goals and four assists in only six games. NOT ALL ABOUT NUMBERS: While White isn’t in Chabot’s ballpark in Brady’s face! That guy is life!  terms of playing time with the Senators, it’s his defence as much as his — ScandiZamboni (@ScandiZamboni) November 11, 2018 offence that allow Senators head coach Guy Boucher to trust him more. White’s backchecking has saved at least a couple of goals in the past Saturday’s victory marked only the second road win of the season for the week. “For me, it’s just about a 200-foot game,” said White, whose all- Senators, who are immediately back in action Sunday against the Florida round game while he was at Boston College drew comparisons to the Panthers. Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron. “If I make a mistake in either the (defensive) zone or the (offensive) zone, I try to move on, keep watching video and The loaded Lightning were in ideal position to bury the Senators. Thanks see what I can gain from that.” White had a goal and an assist and to a three-goal second period, the Lightning turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 played 18:49 against the Lightning. edge. A BREAK FOR ANDERSON: Heading into Saturday’s game, Boucher For all the talk about the offence of the Senators’ defence, it was the said the plan was still to start backup netminder Mike McKenna against Lightning’s defence that helped flip the momentum. the Florida Panthers on Sunday. McKenna has played in two games, Victor Hedman, returning to the lineup after missing seven games due to yielding six goals on 37 shots. “We’re planning for McKenna (Sunday) an undisclosed upper-body injury, tied the game 2-2 on a power play, and after that there’s no plan,” Boucher said Saturday. “It really is about ripping a shot between Craig Anderson’s legs. how (Anderson) feels. We’re giving him all the rest we can. He’s a gamer. He’s not going to cry about not practising and just playing games, That was followed by Braydon Coburn’s knuckleball from the blueline, so, in that respect, I don’t think we have an issue.”… While the Senators which floated over and through several bodies before finding the top of sent goalie Mike Condon down to the American Hockey League so he the net. could play and rebuild his confidence, his debut with the Belleville Senators didn’t go well on Friday. He allowed six goals on 23 shots, but Ottawa Senators Defeat Tampa Bay Lightning 6-4 won 7-6. https://t.co/Jx0yqWrnhk BATHERSON, WOLANIN SHINE: The good news for the Senators out of — Silver Seven (@silversevensens) November 11, 2018 Belleville’s victory on Friday was the offensive bursts from winger Drake Batherson and defenceman Christian Wolanin. Batherson scored one On the ropes, the Senators were backing up as rookie Mathieu Joseph goal and five assists, making him the first AHL player in almost three ripped a shot from the slot over Anderson to make it 4-2. It was his seasons with a six-point game. Wolanin had one goal and four assists. second of the night. PRIDE OF TAMPA: With former Lightning great Martin St. Louis being Before Joseph played the Senators last Sunday in Ottawa, he had yet to officially inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend, current Tampa Bay score in the big leagues. After getting his first at the Canadian Tire players couldn’t say enough about his career. “It was just his dedication Centre in a come-from-behind 4-3 OT win, he now has four goals and is to the game and he was a such a good teacher for me,” said Hedman. clearly rolling with confidence. “He wanted to be on a different level. He wanted to be the best there is The odds were certainly not in the Senators’ favour before Saturday’s and that rubbed off on me.” game. SURVIVING THE LAND OF GIANTS: Boucher coached St. Louis during Since winning their first road game of the year against Toronto, the his tenure with the Lightning from 2010 to 2013. He rained praise on the Senators had lost their next five. The last time they were away from 5-7 sparkplug for steamrolling his way to domination in the clutch-and- home, they were humiliated 9-2 by Buffalo. grab late 1990s. “People forget now how amazing it was because now it’s an age where it would suit him even more, (with) the smaller player, the faster player, the skilled player able to evolve because the rules have changed,” Boucher said. “What he did, just making the NHL with his size and doing what he has done, it’s absolutely mind boggling, it really is.” ANDREI THE GIANT: It’s way, way, way too early to think about end of season National Hockey League awards, but Vasilevskiy has been the class of the crease. Just like St. Louis, the road to glory for Vasilevskiy started with a ridiculous commitment. “The way he works off the ice and at practice is second to none,” Lightning winger Ryan Callahan said. “I remember (goalie coach) Frantz Jean telling him, ‘You’ve got to go home once in a while.’ He was the first guy at the rink and the trainers were getting upset because they had to wash the (equipment) and he was still out there.” Over time, Callahan says, Vasilevskiy has learned to channel his emotions. “I’ve seen him handle that pressure a lot better as the years have gone on. He’s so much more composed than when he broke into the league, when dealing with losses or dealing with a bad goal.” For all that, the Senators found some late holes to turn what looked like a sure defeat to a sudden victory. STATE OF THE UNION: The official Florida motto is “In God We Trust,” and it’s often referred to as “The Sunshine State.” Anyone else think “The Vote Recount State” works? Ottawa Sun LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114978 Ottawa Senators Jonathan Huberdeau-Vincent Trocheck-Frank Vatrano Denis Malgin-Jared McCann-Nick Bjugstad Game Day: Ottawa Senators at Florida Panthers Troy Brouwer-Juho Lammikko-Colton Sceviour Defence Ken Warren Michael Matheson-Aaron Ekblad November 10, 2018 6:56 PM EST Keith Yandle-Alex Petrovic Bogdan Kiselevich-Mackenzie Weegar SENATORS AT PANTHERS Goalies 5 p.m., BB&T Center. TV: TSN5, Radio: TSN 1200-FM, Unique 94.5-FM Roberto Luongo Five Keys To The Game: James Reimer No. 1: Victory could belong to the team that handles fatigue better. The Sick Bay Panthers hosted the Islanders on Saturday, while the Senators flew from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast following Saturday’s game at Jamie McGinn, Mark Pysyk, Derek Mackenzie Tampa. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 11.11.2018 No. 2: Give Mike McKenna a little help. With Craig Anderson finally getting a break from being in the Senators’ net, the new backup goaltender will be asked to hold the fort. If he gets the same lack of defensive support he received in a 9-2 loss to Buffalo on Nov. 3, the Senators have little hope. No. 3: Offence from defence: From Thomas Chabot to Max Lajoie to Dylan DeMelo, the Senators’ blueliners have impressed with their ability to contribute on a routine basis. Ottawa’s defencemen had a combined 16 goals before facing Tampa Bay. No. 4: Looking for a winning streak: After stumbling out of the gate, the Panthers are trying to climb back into the Atlantic Division pack. Before facing the Islanders, they had won two consecutive games for the first time this season. No. 5: Addressing the penalty killing: It’s a broken record, of course. But until the Senators clean up their league-worst shorthanded performance, they’re vulnerable to being beaten by any number of skilled players. Like Ottawa, Florida has struggled badly while a man short. The Big Matchup Mikkel Boedker versus Mike Hoffman: Players are traded all the time, but the end of Hoffman’s time in Ottawa was anything but routine due to the off-ice drama. Despite Florida’s struggles, Hoffman has had a good start in his new home. Boedker, who came to the Senators from San Jose as Hoffman’s de facto replacement, went into Saturday’s game without a goal in nine games. Special Teams Senators: PP 26.0 (6th) PK 67.3 (31st) Panthers: PP 20.4 (15th) PK 70.7 (29th) Senators Game Day Lines Brady Tkachuk-Colin White-Mark Stone Ryan Dzingel-Matt Duchene-Mikkel Boedker Magnus Paajarvi-Chris Tierney-Bobby Ryan Max McCormick-Nick Paul-Tom Pyatt Defence Thomas Chabot-Dylan DeMelo Max Lajoie-Cody Ceci Mark Borowiecki-Christian Jaros Chris Wideman Goalies Mike McKenna Craig Anderson Sick Bay Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Zack Smith, Ben Harpur, Clarke MacArthur, Marian Gaborik Panthers Game Day Lines Evgeny Dadonov-Aleksander Barkov-Mike Hoffman 1114979 Ottawa Senators Tampa Bay has been spectacular on the road — 5-1-1 in the first month of the season — and now they have four straight games coming up away from home. They start Tuesday in Buffalo, then go to Pittsburgh and Rookie Mathieu Joseph shines, but lead slips away for Lightning in tough Philadelphia and Nashville before returning home for five straight. third period Despite the loss, the Lightning are the top scoring team in the league at 3.65 goals per game, but they had been seventh in goals allowed before giving up six Saturday. That came with a top defenseman, veteran Anton Greg Auman Stralman, sidelined with injury, though Cooper was optimistic he wouldn’t miss more than a week. To continue setting the pace atop the Atlantic Division, they’ll need to finish better than they did against Ottawa. TAMPA, Fla. — Promising rookie Mathieu Joseph continues to surge — “It was kind of a perfect storm against us,” Cooper said. “Everything they scoring another two goals Saturday night — but he also learned that the shot went in … all of a sudden, it’s a tie game … then all of a sudden tiniest mistake can snowball into serious trouble as the Tampa Bay we’re chasing them. It happens. This (Lightning) team does a heck of a Lightning gave up four goals in the third period in a surprising 6-4 loss to job closing out a lot of games. Tonight, unfortunately, we didn’t.” the Ottawa Senators at Amalie Arena. The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 Saturday’s game had followed a peculiar if familiar storyline for Tampa Bay, giving up two goals in the first eight minutes, only to charge back for a 4-2 lead entering the final period. Just as the Lightning seemed in control, Ottawa got within a goal, and then Joseph flipped the puck over the glass, earning a delay-of-game penalty. Four seconds later, the Senators had tied the game, and the momentum was theirs the rest of the way. “It’s a tough loss. We had control of this game the whole time,” Joseph said after the Lightning saw their four-game winning streak come to an end. “One after the other went in, and I took a penalty there, threw it into the stands, changed the momentum of the game. It’s something I can’t do in a 4-3 game. It’s a bad play by me, and they made us pay. And then after that, we couldn’t recover.” It was a loss that went against expectations — the Senators (7-7-3) were just 1-4-1 on the road coming in, while the Lightning (12-3-1) were 7-2 at home before Saturday’s loss. Ottawa got two power-play goals in the final period against a Tampa Bay penalty kill that had been the second best in the NHL, killing off 90 percent of opposing man advantages entering the night. Tampa Bay had allowed eight goals total in its four-game win streak coming in, so a defensive lapse was the last thing you would have expected on a night where defenseman Victor Hedman returned after missing seven games due to injury. Hedman scored a goal to tie the game in the second, but he didn’t seem too worried about the game getting away. “It’s how it goes sometimes. You can’t win them all,” Hedman said. “It’s one of those things, with a two-goal lead at home, closing out an opponent is what you have to do. We’ll learn from it.” One week earlier, the Lightning had escaped against the same Ottawa team on the road, getting a goal in the final minute to force overtime, then another tally 14 seconds into the extra period for an unlikely win. Tampa Bay had given up the first goal in six of its 12 wins coming in, including a 2-0 deficit in that first Senators game. Saturday, too, looked to be a come-from-behind success story when Joseph’s second goal made it 4-2 in the second. Joseph has had quite a week. After making the opening roster as a 21- year-old rookie, he didn’t score in his first 13 games. But he got his first goal at Ottawa, added another Thursday against the Islanders, then broke out for two Saturday. The first saw him take the puck down the left side, behind the goal and around, then wristing a shot off defenseman Thomas Chabot for the Lightning’s first goal. He got an assist on another goal in the second, and his second goal was also impressive, firing a shot past Craig Anderson. MATHIEU JOSEPH FIRES THE WRISTER OFF CHABOT AND INTO THE NET!#GOBOLTS PIC.TWITTER.COM/HUA1VFVJOX — HOCKEY DAILY 365 (@HOCKEYDAILY365) NOVEMBER 11, 2018 Cooper said the way Joseph was playing, even when his shots weren’t going in the net, gave him enough confidence as a coach that he isn’t surprised to see the scoring coming as it has. In the last four games, Joseph has twice as many goals as his closest teammate, with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde all having two goals in the same span. “My thing with that is if you’re doing all the right things and you’re getting chances and chances and chances, eventually they’re going to go in,” Cooper said. “So there are probably plays he made that should have gone in the net but didn’t, and all of a sudden, plays that maybe don’t go in the net do. That’s just the way it works. He got rewarded tonight. I’m a big believer that if you keep putting yourself in the right position, good things are going to happen.” 1114981 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers’ resurgence has been fueled by Sean Couturier, top line performance

Sam Carchidi

After missing most of training camp because of a knee injury and getting off to a slow start this season, Sean Couturier is beginning to resemble the player who had a breakthrough year in 2017-18 with 31 goals and 76 points. Couturier, the Flyers' top-line center, has eight points — four goals, four assists, and a plus-6 rating — in the last six games. The Flyers, not-too-coincidentally, are 5-0-1 in that span and have catapulted into second place in the . "I'm feeling better. I think I'm sharper on little details," Couturier said after his three-point performance Saturday helped the Flyers whip Chicago, 4- 0. "My game is getting better, better timing, better chemistry with my linemates. I just have to build on that." Last week, Claude Giroux, who has been on a blistering streak himself, said it takes a mature team to play great every night. Couturier agreed with his captain. "I think so. Confidence helps right now," said Couturier, who had just three points in the first 11 games. "Everything is going well. Guys are battling hard, we're recovering pucks. Guys aren't afraid to make plays and that's huge when you have that confidence and make plays. I think earlier in the year guys were trying to make plays and weren't battling enough, where if you screwed up we weren't recovering pucks. Now guys are battling hard to get those pucks back. We're making it tougher to play against." During the Flyers' six-game points streak, Couturier and linemates Giroux (11 points, plus-8 in that span) and Travis Konecny (three points, plus-6) have combined for 22 points and a plus-20 rating. That surge has helped the Flyers recover from a 4-7 start. "They've played pretty good hockey," coach Dave Hakstol said of his top unit. "….Now we're seeing Coots play with a lot of confidence. He fought through a time where nothing was coming easy, but he fought through that. You're seeing some chemistry there and a lot of real good, hard play. When they play real sound, solid hockey, give themselves an opportunity to play in the offensive zone, they're really effective. The transition, the plays off the rush, those are going to come. Those will come naturally." Up next is Tuesday's matchup against Florida, the Flyers' third game in a five-game homestand, which his their longest of the season. "As soon as you rest on your laurels, that's when things go bad, so it's just a constant reminder in the locker room that we've got to bring it every shift, every period," said goalie Brian "Moose" Elliott after recording his first shutout of the season and lowering his goals-against average to 2.67 while raising his save percentage to .909. In his last five games, Elliott has a 1.32 GAA and a .952 save percentage. Breakaways Giroux has 22 points, putting him in a tie for third in the NHL before Sunday's games. Over the last two seasons, he has 124 points in his last 99 games ….Nolan Patrick has seven points in the Flyers six-game points streak…..The Flyers didn't allow a power-play goal Saturday for the first time in their last 10 games. "Better execution," defenseman Robert Hagg said. "We talk about the small details all the time, but you have to go out and do it."….Hagg leads the Flyers with a plus-10 rating, followed by defenseman Christian Folin at plus-9….Entering Sunday, the Flyers were 28th out of 31 teams on the power play (13.8 percent success rate) and 30th on the penalty kill (70.5 percent). Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114982 Philadelphia Flyers "He is our leader," Couturier said. "It is his team, and he seems to be on a mission and playing some good hockey, making plays, battling hard, scoring some goals, and that is what you want for your captain, and it just Flyers and Claude Giroux stay hot in win over Blackhawks pushed everyone to battle that much a harder." "Battle" is used often to describe Giroux. Marc Narducci "What I really love about him is the battle level in tight areas, small area battles, the ability to come up with pucks and then make a play with it," coach Dave Hakstol said. "The rest of it is pretty obvious, and I think that anybody that's watching can see what he can do out there. I love the Both the Flyers and team captain Claude Giroux are having their most compete and the battle level." successful runs of the young NHL season. Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 11.11.2018 The events are clearly related. With Giroux supplying a goal and two assists, the Flyers extended their points streak to six games with Saturday's 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers (9-7-1) are 5-0-1 in their last six games and 2-0 on this five- game homestand. In the streak, Giroux has four goals and seven assists and is a plus-8. In 17 games overall, he has seven goals and 15 assists. #Flyers coach Dave Hakstol talks about the play of goalie Brian Elliott, who earned the team’s first shutout in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Chicago. pic.twitter.com/3OfkJ8XxmY — Marc Narducci (@sjnard) November 10, 2018 "When everybody is playing well, the job becomes a lot easier, and TK and Coots are playing very well, so we are trying to have good chemistry and keep going," Giroux said, referring to linemates Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier. Against the Blackhawks, Couturier had two goals and an assist, and, like Giroux, was a plus-4, tying a career-high for both players. Konecny was scoreless but was a plus-2. Giroux also moved to No. 4 on the Flyers' all-time scoring list with 699 points, passing Rick MacLeish's 697. "It is a great honor," said Giroux after his 50th career three-point game. "There have been a lot of good players who played here, and to be able to be in that group is really special." The Flyers earned their first shutout of the season, with goalie Brian Elliott making 33 saves. "Whenever you put a donut on the scoreboard, you feel good," Elliott said. "I felt on, and I was seeing pucks, and stuff was hitting me, and that is all you can ask for as a goalie." Giroux got the Flyers on the board when he scored with 5 minutes, 4 seconds left in the first period. Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith made an errant pass from behind his goal that Giroux intercepted and backhanded past goalie Corey Crawford. It was the sixth straight game the Flyers have scored the first goal. The Flyers made Crawford work in the second period. He stopped Wayne Simmons on a rebound and made saves on breakaways by Konecny and Scott Laughton . Chicago's Nick Schmaltz hit the left post on the Blackhawks' best chance in the second period. Not to take anything away from the Flyers, but this version of the Blackhawks differs greatly from the 2010, 2013, and 2015 Stanley Cup champions. Chicago (6-8-3) fired long-time coach Joel Quenneville on Tuesday and replaced him with AHL coach Jeremy Colliton. The new coach has his work cut out for him. The Flyers made it 2-0 with 10:48 left in the second period on a great effort by Couturier. He took a pass from Giroux near center ice, and Keith, a two-time Norris Trophy winner who was down on the ice, unsuccessfully swiped at the puck, allowing Couturier to skate in on goal. Fending off winger Chris Kunitz, Couturier, from an extreme left angle, shoved the puck inside the right post. Couturier made it 3-0 by scoring his seventh goal with 15:44 left. Giroux took a pass from rushing defenseman Ivan Provorov and fed Couturier, who skated in on goal. Crawford made a save, but the puck went off the skate of former Flyer Brandon Manning and into the goal. Nolan Patrick ended the scoring with an empty-net goal. The Flyers are flying high, and Giroux, has been the catalyst. 1114983 Philadelphia Flyers But Giroux made the next one count, getting an unassisted goal on a nice steal and score at 14:56.

Giroux finished the day with three points, moving him past Rick MacLeish Flyers don’t let lead slip this time for fourth place on the Flyers’ all-time points list at 699. In the third, Couturier scored again when his shot across the crease hit Wayne Fish ex-Flyer defenseman Brandon Manning’s skate and slid toward the goal line. Manning tried to sweep the puck away but basically shot it into his Nov 10, 2018 at 6:07 PM own net. That pretty much locked it up for the Flyers, who now are in close pursuit of the Metro Division lead. PHILADELPHIA — This time the Flyers didn’t mess around with a 2-0 lead. Coach Dave Hakstol likes what he sees. Unlike Thursday night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes, in which they “We’re playing hard and when you get results, it’s always a little bit gave up a 2-0 lead and had to scramble to finally win 5-4 in overtime, this easier,″ he said. time the Flyers kept the pressure on. Short shots Result: A 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, running their streak of games with a point to six (5-0-1) on Saturday. The shutout allowed the Flyers to end their streak of games giving up a power-play goal at 9. The team record is 12 (done four times, most Beating the Blackhawks in a regular-season game at the Wells Fargo recently 1993-94). ... It was Toyota Military Appreciation Day. One of the Center is nothing new for the Flyers. honorees was U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Gerry Parrmore from Langhorne. ... Nolan Patrick added an empty-net goal with 1:01 to play. In fact, Saturday’s verdict ran the Flyers’ winning streak over the Blackhawks at WFC to 15 games, dating back to Nov. 9, 1996. That’s the Burlington County Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 longest home active streak by the Flyers against an opponent. Of course, the Blackhawks are a mess right now. They are 0-6-1 in their last seven games and early this past week fired three-time Stanley Cup champion coach Joel Quenneville. Claude Giroux scored a goal in the first period and Sean Couturier added goals in the second and third for the Flyers, who continue to move up the Metropolitan Division standings. Philadelphia is 2-0 at the start of this five-game homestand after a 3-0-1 road trip. Goaltender Brian Elliott started his first game in the past four and recorded the shutout, his first of the season and 38th of his NHL career. Elliott said the other day that a 2-0 lead is the worst you can have in hockey, implying teams that have one often suffer a letdown, sometimes with dire consequences. The Flyers apparently learned their lesson from the Arizona game. “Making it a 3-0 lead (on Couturier’s second goal) was big,” Elliott pointed out. “There were a couple big plays defensively that led to it. That’s been the story the past couple games — make a couple plays, block a couple shots and then you go the other way. We did that today.″ Both Giroux and Couturier finished the game plus-4. Like Elliott, Giroux believes it was pivotal to stay focused after the Flyers took the 2-0 lead. “They’re a very dangerous team offensively,” Giroux said. “It was very important for us to be responsible defensively and make sure we make the right play. “I think as a team, we played great with five guys on the ice there, everybody’s on the same page and it just makes everybody’s job a lot easier. Couturier’s first goal at 9:12 of the second was one of the most spectacular of the season for the Flyers. The play began with the Flyers still shorthanded by way of a penalty to Oskar Lindblom at 7:12. Couturier took control in the defensive zone, shook off one check, skated into the Chicago zone and bounced off another before deking his way past goalie Corey Crawford. The Wells Fargo Center crowd jumped to its feet and went wild as Couturier raised his stick and skated away. Clearly, this was more like the Couturier of last season, when he set career records for goals, assists and points. He credits the team’s recent turnaround for some his success. “Everything’s going well, guys are battling hard,” he said. “We’re recovering pucks, guys aren’t afraid to make plays. That’s huge, when you have that confidence to make plays. “Earlier in the year, guys were trying to make plays, if you screwed up, we weren’t recovering pucks. Now guys are battling hard to get those pucks back. We’re making it tough to play against.” The Flyers didn’t exactly get off to a rocket start in this game. They had only three shots through the first 14 minutes. 1114984 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers, Blackhawks honor Ray Emery with No. 29 on helmets

Jordan Hall November 10, 2018 5:15 PM

The Flyers stayed hot at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday by shutting out the Blackhawks, 4-0. They also did a beautiful job honoring Ray Emery. The Flyers and Blackhawks wore the No. 29 on their helmets to remember Emery, who died on July 15 at the age of 35. All of our players are wearing #29 today in memory of Ray Emery. pic.twitter.com/rIzLpJUS94 — Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) November 10, 2018 Flyers and #Blackhawks both paying tribute to Ray Emery today. pic.twitter.com/8MfhliM1u6 — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 10, 2018 Emery played for both clubs during his 11-year career and won a Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2013, while helping the Flyers get to the Final in 2010. "Ray was an outstanding teammate and an extremely gifted goaltender," Flyers president Paul Holmgren said in July. "He had exceptional athleticism, was a fierce competitor and battled in every game he played with the Flyers. "His performances through the 2009-10 season were a very big part of the team's success in making the playoffs and reaching the Stanley Cup Final. Ray's talent, work ethic and determination helped him enjoy a successful 11-year NHL career." Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114985 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers 4, Blackhawks 0: Crucial homestand continues with another win

John Boruk November 10, 2018 3:35 PM

Still winless in the regular season since 1996. That’s how the Blackhawks left the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon after the Flyers handled Chicago with ease in a 4-0 shutout. The Flyers have now won 15 straight regular-season home games over the Blackhawks. The longest current streak belongs to the Penguins, who have ripped off 17 straight wins over the Jets/Thrashers. Which former Norris Trophy defenseman did the Flyers exploit and how well has Brian Elliott played lately? Here are my observations from the Wells Fargo Center: • Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith had an absolutely brutal turnover in the defensive zone that led to Claude Giroux’s first-period goal. Keith blindly backhanded a pass from behind the goal line, which Giroux intercepted and beat Corey Crawford's five-hole. It was a brutal game for Keith, who also misplayed the puck that led to the Flyers' second goal. • The Flyers had a yucky, sloppy first 10 minutes and didn’t look ready for the 1 p.m. start. They had some poor stick handling and Shayne Gostisbehere had a terrible giveaway, while the Flyers couldn’t navigate their way through the neutral zone and were thankful they didn’t cough up the first goal of the game. • Chicago came into this game tied with Ottawa for having allowed four or more goals 10 times already this season. In the first six minutes of the second period, the Flyers attacked the Blackhawks' porous defense with some prime scoring opportunities. It was their best push of the game to that point as they put the first seven shots on net in the second period. • How could you not admire the effort of Sean Couturier as time expired on the Blackhawks' power play? It was vintage Couturier, who used his size and his positioning shielding Chris Kunitz from the puck. It’s an area of Couturier’s game he probably doesn’t get enough credit for as he had also drawn a penalty on Kunitz. That’s points in five of Couturier’s last six games. Couturier finished with two goals for his 10th career multi-goal game. • Referee Corey Syvret, brother of former Flyers defenseman Danny Syvret, officiated his first Flyers game and just his seventh NHL game. There’s been plenty of criticism surrounding the current crop of officials and how they may not be prepared for the speed of the NHL, but Syvret and veteran Dan O’Rourke called a solid game, not over-officiating while making the obvious calls. • I’m impressed with the manner in which Christian Folin continues to handle himself. Folin has been remarkably steady since some early- season slips and stumbles and turnover-prone plays. Against the Blackhawks, Folin’s positioning and stick play were solid in separating players from pucks. With that said, I don’t see an opportunity for Andrew MacDonald to work his way back into the lineup anytime soon as the current pairs continue to work well together. • You don’t really notice Elliott because he doesn’t have that top 10 eye- popping save to his game. Everything Elliott has done recently has been so steady and he was locked in through the 60 minutes. Elliott was the primary reason why the Flyers' PK snapped a nine-game streak of allowing a power-play goal. Elliott now has a shutout streak of over 125 minutes with his last goal allowed to Ilya Kovalchuk on Nov. 1 in Los Angeles. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114986 Philadelphia Flyers Goalies Brian Elliott Flyers vs. Blackhawks: Live stream, storylines, game time and more Calvin Pickard Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 Jordan Hall November 10, 2018 7:30 AM

The Flyers (8-7-1) will look to keep rolling Saturday afternoon when they host the Blackhawks (6-7-3) in Game 2 of their five-game homestand. Let's look at the essentials: • When: 1 p.m. ET with Flyers Pregame Live at 12:30 p.m. • Where: Wells Fargo Center • Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia • Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app • Following a 4-7-0 start that felt way worse than how the actual record looks, the Flyers have gone 4-0-1 over their last five games. Since Oct. 30, they're tied for second in the NHL with nine points and 21 goals, behind only the Lightning at 10 points and 26 markers. It's early, but the Flyers have weathered the storm. They're just two points behind the Metropolitan Division-leading Blue Jackets and play seven of their next 10 games at home. Oh, and big free-agent acquisition James van Riemsdyk (lower-body injury) could be returning next week. • A few vital players have gotten going for the Flyers: Sean Couturier and Shayne Gostisbehere. Over this five-game stretch, Couturier (two goals, three assists) and Gostisbehere (two goals, three assists) have five points apiece and are each a plus-2. Couturier has one multi-point game thus far after owning six of them at this point last season. But he's looking more and more like his all-around self, playing a lot of hard minutes and making things happen in his first- line center role. Gostisbehere has posted back-to-back multi-point games after having just one in his first 14 contests. In the Flyers' eight wins this season, the elusive blueliner has two goals and six assists, while in the eight losses, he has just one point and a minus-6 mark. • The Blackhawks make their first trip to Philadelphia without Joel Quenneville as their bench boss since Oct. 30, 2006. The three-time Stanley Cup winning head coach was fired Tuesday. Last season, Chicago missed the playoffs for the first time in his tenure. This season, the Blackhawks were off to a 6-6-3 start before dismissing Quenneville — a somewhat popular name in Philly right now (see story). Overall, Chicago, now led by Jeremy Colliton, has lost six straight, a stretch in which it has been outscored 26-12. The Blackhawks still have a guy named Patrick Kane, who is tied for the league lead in goals (12). He will likely receive a warm welcome from Flyers fans. • Brian Elliott should be in net Saturday and he's played well over his last six games (five starts), going 4-2-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. Projected lineup Forwards Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Travis Konecny Oskar Lindblom-Nolan Patrick-Jakub Voracek Dale Weise-Jordan Weal-Wayne Simmonds Scott Laughton-Jori Lehtera-Nicolas Aube-Kubel Defensemen Ivan Provorov-Robert Hagg Shayne Gostisbehere-Christian Folin Travis Sanheim-Radko Gudas 1114987 Philadelphia Flyers The skinny: He was one of the big surprises in training camp, outlasting the highly-touted Phil Myers at the end, and has continued his solid play in the first month of the Phantoms’ season. Hextall mentioned him again Flyers prospect WATCH: it’s a goalie carousel with Phantoms, too the other day when asked who the top performers have been in Lehigh Valley. He is certainly on the short list for call ups depending on what the Flyers were missing in their lineup. Dave Isaac Androckitis’ take: “A borderline 6/7 defender to begin his rookie season a year ago, an inconsistent Friedman certainly went through his growing 12:52 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2018 pains in the first half of last season. But after Christmas time last year, Friedman noted he began to find his way and play ‘Mark Friedman

hockey.’ The Flyers started out with too many goalies. Then not enough. No, wait, “Now in his second year of pro hockey, he's taken on a larger role and too many again. has become a regular on both special teams units. He's continuing to Depending on the severity of Michal Neuvirth’s never-ending injury on improve his all-around game, and the increased workload should only any given day, the Flyers have three goalies and the Lehigh Valley help him hone his craft.” Phantoms have three as well. Everyone asked about the situation uses Carter Hart the same term: “not ideal.” Carter Hart, goalie, Lehigh Valley Phantoms There’s only two nets in practice and sharing them isn’t always as easy as splitting time for the two guys that aren’t starting the next game. Age: 20 Especially at the American Hockey League level this is somewhat of an issue because the Flyers want phenom prospect Carter Hart to get as Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 181 pounds much action as possible, within reason of course. So far this season, game minutes have been mostly split between Hart and Alex Lyon. Acquired: 2016 second-round pick (48th overall) Anthony Stolarz, it seems, has become an extra piece. He has played This season: 7 games, 3.50 goals-against average, .883 save only two games, the most recent almost a month ago, on Oct. 13. After percentage back-to-back meniscus surgeries claimed pretty much all of last season, The skinny: Is he ready? How about now? he needs to play and the Flyers may soon have to entertain the option of loaning him to another AHL team just to get him some game action. Now? “We manage. Everyone understands,” Lyon said the other day. “I’m in my Clearly Hart is the most important prospect for the next season or two. third year now so I kind of have an idea, not that I need to work less hard, He was the best performer in training camp, but Hextall recently hit on but I understand the process and what I need to get ready. the head the biggest adjustment Hart has had to make: living on his own. His good buddy and former billet, Parker Fowlds, isn’t cooking and “My first year — and Carter’s going through that right now — where cleaning for him anymore. Hart has all the tools, most importantly you’re just trying to adjust to the level, the shots. You’ve got to work a between his ears, but it may not happen this season. little bit harder, whether it’s stress related. It’s worked. We’ve managed it. In college you always have three goalies. It’s not too bad.” Androckitis’ take: “It's going to be incredibly hard for Flyers/Phantoms fans & media alike to be patient and let him adjust to the pro game, but The Flyers have had three for most of the season. Lyon was the third that's what is needed. It's especially tough for a rookie netminder to jump earlier this week when he was recalled to back up Cal Pickard when right in at the AHL level in October. It's not exactly the prettiest hockey — Brian Elliott got hit in the head. new guys on the team (rookies and veterans alike) learning the systems Of course, the Phantoms want to win and they took a big step last year etc. — and there tends to be a lot of breakdowns. Not easy on a young making it to the conference final against the Toronto Marlies. The AHL is goalie trying to pick up the speed and skill of the game at the pro level. still a development league, however, and the player whose development “Hart is progressing & looking more comfortable with every passing is most important to the Flyers’ long-term future is Hart’s. game. In a recent interview, Hart said he's definitely tracking the puck “Talking to Brady (Robinson, the team’s goalie development coach) up better and starting to get more comfortable, mentioning even the little there, the things that they work on, the kid learns quick,” general things like handling the puck and fighting through screens.” manager Ron Hextall said. “He’s gonna be fine. He’s a young guy. He’s Connor Bunnaman 20 years old. Has he played his best? No, he hasn’t, but it’s his first year pro, the first year living on his own. People forget about that stuff. It’s not Connor Bunnaman, forward, Lehigh Valley Phantoms as easy as people think. It’s not just playing hockey. It’s a whole lifestyle. You’re moving to the other coast. It’s all new. He’s transitioning right Age: 20 now.” Height/weight: 6-foot-1, 207 pounds It's no secret that Hart may be the missing piece to the Flyers becoming Acquired: 2016 fourth-round pick (109th overall) a perennial force in the Eastern Conference. Early in this season they’ve found other issues to work through as well, but the spotlight is on Hart This season: 7 games, 1 goal, 1 assist even with the Phantoms. The skinny: It’s always interesting to see how a player’s role changes “We joke about that,” Lyon said. “Obviously he’s pegged as a guy who’s once he turns pro. Nearly everyone who plays professional hockey was a supposed to come in and really help the organization. Everybody top scorer on his junior team and Bunnaman was fourth and third on the understands that. We have a good laugh about it. It takes time and in the Kitchener Rangers the last two seasons in scoring, he won’t be doing same breath, I think that I’ve gotten better by practicing with him. He’s an that for the Phantoms. excellent goalie. Once you get over that initial hump of training camp where you hear a lot of that stuff, but it’s been good lately.” Androckitis’ take: “Through 12 games, the rookie has found himself in a rotation among some of the bottom-six guys for playing time, serving his With so much interest in the team’s prospect group, the Courier-Post will fifth game as a healthy scratch in Phantoms' 8-2 win over Springfield check in on the promising young players each week. Here’s the latest Friday night. When in the lineup, he's been used mostly in a progress report with insights from Tony Androckitis of checking/energy line kind of role and has had no issues battling along the InsideAHLHockey.com. boards for pucks or adjusting to things at the pro level in limited reps.” * all statistics through Friday, November 9. Mike Vecchione Mark Friedman Mike Vecchione, center, Lehigh Valley Phantoms Mark Friedman, defenseman, Lehigh Valley Phantoms Age: 25 Age: 22 Height/weight: 5-foot-10, 194 pounds Height/weight: 5-foot-11, 185 pounds Acquired: signed as free agent from Union College on March 31, 2017 Acquired: 2014 third-round pick (86th overall) This season: 12 games, 4 goals, 3 assists This season: 12 games, 1 goal, 7 assists The skinny: It’s hard to believe now that there was a bidding war for Vecchione when he was a Hobey Baker finalist two springs ago. He hasn’t shown enough even at the AHL level to suggest that he is knocking on the door of being an NHLer or be getting a relatively high paycheck to be in that spot. Especially at the age of 25, the Flyers likely have expected more of him by now. Androckitis’ take: “Among the early cuts at camp this fall, head coach Scott Gordon said Vecchione is an offensively minded player and he needs to be able produce offensively and consistently this season like he did to start the year in his rookie season last fall. Some time on and off the injury list midway through last year after a hot start did him no favors, and Vecchione himself added that he was learning systems and still adjusting to the daily grind at the pro level as the season wore along as well. “Gone are Martel-Vecchione-Aube Kubel days. Now anchored between Carsen Twarynski and Chris Conner on most nights, Vecchione is beginning to gain chemistry with his linemates to the tune of four points (2G-2A) in his last three games.” Courier-Post LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114988 Philadelphia Flyers 50-Corey Crawford (30-Cam Ward) Flyers vs. Blackhawks: Game 17 preview Injuries/suspensions C Marcus Kruger – left leg injury, day-to-day Dave Isaac D Connor Murphy – back injury, out indefinitely 7:00 a.m. ET Nov. 10, 2018 Courier-Post LOADED: 11.11.2018

Not without some fireworks, the Flyers managed a win at home Thursday and will try to do it again against the Chicago Blackhawks. Tonight: Flyers vs. Chicago Blackhawks Site: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pa. Time: 1 p.m. TV/Radio: NBCSP, 97.5 FM Records: Flyers 8-7-1 | Blackhawks 6-7-3 Last game: Flyers beat ARI 5-4 in OT on Thu. | Blackhawks lost 4-3 to CAR on Thu. Bovada odds: Flyers -1.5 | O/U 6.0 Jeremy Colliton is the new man behind the bench for the Chicago Blackhawks, succeeding Joel Quenneville and his three Stanley Cups. While that means the players are now under the gun, it doesn’t mean they’re vulnerable. FLYERS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards 28-Claude Giroux, 14-Sean Couturier, 11-Travis Konecny 23-Oskar Lindblom, 19-Nolan Patrick, 93-Jake Voracek 22-Dale Weise, 40-Jordan Weal, 17-Wayne Simmonds 21-Scott Laughton, 15-Jori Lehterä, 62-Nicolas Aube-Kubel Defense 9-Ivan Provorov & 8-Robert Hägg 53-Shayne Gostisbehere & 26-Christian Folin 6-Travis Sanheim & 3-Radko Gudas Goalie 37-Brian Elliott (33-Calvin Pickard) Injuries/suspensions G Michal Neuvirth – injured reserve, lower-body injury LW James van Riemsdyk – right knee injury, out one week F Corban Knight – collarbone surgery, out four months LW Michael Raffl – left ankle injury, out until late-November D Samuel Morin – surgery to repair torn ACL, injured reserve F Pascal Laberge – hip surgery, season opening injured reserve BLACKHAWKS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards 12-Alex DeBrincat, 19-Jonathan Toews, 24-Dominik Kahun 8-Nick Schmaltz, 15-Artem Anisimov, 88-Patrick Kane 20-Brandon Saad, 64-David Kampf, 84-Alexandre Fortin 14-Chris Kunitz, 40-John Hayden, 29-Andreas Martinsen Defense 2-Duncan Keith & 28-Henri Jokiharju 56-Erik Gustafsson & 7-Brent Seabrook 23-Brandon Manning & 44-Jan Rutta Goalie 1114989 Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby shines, Penguins right ship with shutout of Coyotes

JONATHAN BOMBULIE Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, 9:52 p.m.

With a five-game losing streak hanging over them like a black cloud, the Pittsburgh Penguins tried a new strategy Saturday night that can be summed up in three words. More Sidney Crosby. It couldn’t have worked much better. A double-shifting Crosby was on the ice for three second-period goals with three different sets of wingers as the Penguins ended their skid with a 4-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes at PPG Paints Arena. It was their first home win since Oct. 11. “When you’re in the situation we’ve been in, it’s, ‘Next guy up. Let’s go over there and make something happen,’ ” Crosby said. “If we all have that mentality, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing with. We’re going to create things.” Coach Mike Sullivan said his plan coming into the game wasn’t simply to run Crosby until the wheels fell off. It was to spot him in certain situations that might prove advantageous. He succeeded in that aim. Crosby’s ice time of 16 minutes, 54 seconds was actually his second-lowest total of the season. It’s just he was in the right place at the right time over and over again. “We’re trying to put our offensive guys in the best possible positions that we can,” Sullivan said. “With Sid in particular, because his fitness level is as high as it is, it gives us the opportunity to maybe lean on him a little bit more.” The Penguins’ first goal came with Crosby centering Phil Kessel and . Kessel sprung Crosby up the right wing for a brilliant backhander past goalie Darcy Kuemper. The second came with Crosby centering Bryan Rust and Dominik Simon. Rust made a pass from the left faceoff circle to Simon at the top of the crease for a redirection. The third came at the tail end of a power play with Crosby between Simon and Patric Hornqvist. Simon gathered a puck behind the goal and fed Hornqvist at the right hash marks. By the time the Penguins made it 4-0 in the third period, Crosby was repeating himself. He was on the ice with Guentzel and Kessel again for Brian Dumoulin’s goal on a three-on-two. “It’s nice to get the first one, the first couple, and not have to chase the game,” Crosby said. “I think it was a good win.” Bonus Crosby shifts aside, the Penguins used another somewhat unusual strategy to try to end the losing streak. Sullivan started DeSmith for the second straight game. Matt Murray remains the team’s No. 1 goaltender for the present and future, but DeSmith has fared better this season and was coming off a strong, 20-save showing in Washington on Thursday night. DeSmith was outstanding when the Penguins faltered Saturday, making 39 saves for his third career shutout. Most notably, he went post to post to absorb a Vinny Hinostroza shot on a two-on-one with the Coyotes seeking a 1-1 tie in the second period. “It’s the statement win that everybody wanted and everybody needed to kind of feel good and turn that ship around a little bit,” DeSmith said. Beyond the heroics of Crosby and DeSmith, the Penguins won thanks to a mostly mistake-free approach. They were conservative in their decision making, with defensemen rarely pinching and forwards eschewing risky plays. Crosby said that was due to both a respect for the speed of the Coyotes and a mentality that developed during the losing streak. “For any team in the situation we were in, it felt like we made a mistake and it ended up in our net,” Crosby said. “This should build confidence.” Tribune Review LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114990 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins honor National Flag Foundation as part of Veterans Day celebration

Jonathan Bombulie Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, 7:24 p.m.

A video message from the Pittsburgh-based National Flag Foundation was part of a full celebration of Veterans Day as the Pittsburgh Penguins played host to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena. The message, narrated by sports broadcaster Jim Nantz, was part of a pregame ceremony that included presentation of the colors by the United States Marine Corps color guard and the national anthem performed by the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Cadet Chorus. The National Flag Foundation, celebrating its 50th anniversary, is an organization with the goal of promoting “a deeper appreciation of our nation’s founding principles and its first and principle emblem.” It is headquartered at Koppers Tower, which is illuminated red, white and blue for the holiday weekend. The pregame salute was one of many Veterans Day activities at the arena. The Penguins welcomed 15 veterans to their locker room after morning skate, presenting each with a customized jersey. “Sometimes we take for granted in this country the liberties that we’re afforded, and these people defend it every day,” coach Mike Sullivan said afterwards. “We just have so much respect for the sacrifices that not only they make, but their families as well.” Players wore camouflage warmup jerseys, which will be auctioned off to benefit the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania. The auction can be found at PENSJERSEY.givesmart.com. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have charity suites where they welcome guests for every home game. On this occasion, tickets were donated to the Veterans Leadership Program and members of the 171st Air Refueling Wing. The Penguins kept a symbolic “Seat of Honor” in Section 116 empty in memory of fallen soldiers. A display of items from the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum was set up on the concourse. It included uniforms from World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the post-911 war on terrorism. During the game, the team planned to recognize two veterans from World War II for their service and present a ceremonial deed to a veteran who received a mortgage-free house from the Military Warriors Support Foundation’s Homes4WoundedHeroes program. Tribune Review LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114991 Pittsburgh Penguins

Lack of job security could provide spark for Penguins

Jonathan Bombulie Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, 12:51 p.m.

With very few exceptions, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be playing for their spots in the lineup when they host the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night. Between significant personnel changes coach Mike Sullivan has made over the past week, the call-ups of Zach Aston-Reese and Garrett Wilson from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and general manager Jim Rutherford’s scathing assessment of his team’s start on his radio show, that has been made clear to them. Most Penguins players know they could be in a less-prominent spot in the lineup, out of the lineup entirely or traded to another team unless significant, rapid, long-lasting improvements are made. Will that pervasive feeling of job insecurity lead to better performance on the ice? Coach Mike Sullivan stopped short of saying competition for roster spots is a prerequisite for winning hockey after morning skate Saturday. He did say competitive fire is required, though, wherever it comes from. “Let’s make sure we bring a certain level of urgency, a certain compete level, an attention to detail out there that helps us be at our best,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s what’s been absent with any level of consistency or the consistency that we need in order to win games consistently in this league. “Our players are well aware of the expectation that’s within our dressing room. There’s no higher expectation than we have of ourselves. We understand it, but as I said to our players, we believe in this group. We believe in the players that we have. We have great people. We have really good players. Now it’s up to all of us to make sure we just bring the right attitude, the right approach every day.” Winger Jake Guentzel said he thinks the current environment could very well lead to improved performance from the Penguins. “We can use it for a spark,” he said. “We know we haven’t been that good. We know we can be better. We know what we have in this locker room.” Tribune Review LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114992 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins' Dominik Simon sees no silver lining in losing streak

Jonathan Bombulie Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, 12:48 p.m.

The list of Pittsburgh Penguins players who have turned in subpar performances during the team’s current losing streak is long. The list of players performing at or above expectations over the past five games is very short, perhaps nonexistent. If it does exist, though, Dominik Simon is on it. Only three players on the team have scored more than one goal during the losing streak. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Simon have two. Only two players have a positive plus-minus rating during the skid. Simon is a plus-1 and Jake Guentzel is a plus-2. This is not reason for Simon to celebrate. “I don’t think I’ve put up a lot of numbers in those games,” Simon said. “It doesn’t feel good. When you win, everything seems easier, lighter, better. You’re just trying to do your best every shift you’re out there. If we play hard and do everything we can, I think we’ll be on the good side.” Guentzel, meanwhile, has been in the interesting position of switching from playing on a line with Crosby to playing on a line with Phil Kessel. That was one of the many personnel changes coach Mike Sullivan has made in the past week. “They’re really good players with the puck and can make a lot of plays,” Guentzel said. “Obviously you like playing with both of them, but up and down our lineup, we’ve got great players, so you’re always playing with good players.” Tribune Review LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114993 Pittsburgh Penguins

Casey DeSmith gets another start as Penguins try to end losing streak

Jonathan Bombulie Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, 12:06 p.m.

Trying to snap a five-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Penguins will turn to backup goalie Casey DeSmith for the second straight game Saturday night against the Arizona Coyotes at PPG Paints Arena. Using only current form as a guide, it wasn’t a difficult decision for coach Mike Sullivan. DeSmith’s .929 save percentage ranks seventh-best in the league among goalies who have made at least five starts. He’s coming off a strong, 20-save performance in a 2-1 loss at Washington on Wednesday night. “When you look at Casey’s overall body of work here in the early part of the season, he’s been very strong,” Sullivan said. Murray’s .886 save percentage, meanwhile, is eighth-worst in the league among goalies who have started at least five games. Murray stopped 78- of-93 shots (.839) while starting the first four games of the team’s active losing streak. Sullivan said starting DeSmith in Washington and against Arizona has given Murray time to work on his game with goalie coach Mike Buckley. “By no means do we discount Matt’s contributions here,” Sullivan said. “We know Matt’s going to be a huge part of this team moving forward. We’ve got two capable goalies at this point. We’re trying to manage the decisions in the short term, but also, we’re trying to keep the big picture in mind.” Based on personnel groupings, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak and winger Daniel Sprong will be the odd men out of the Penguins lineup. Oleksiak is the team’s second-leading defenseman scorer with four goals and eight points in 13 games this season, but he’s been on the ice for five of the seven even-strength goals the Penguins have allowed over the past three games. Sprong will miss his second straight game amidst reports that he may be traded. Tribune Review LOADED: 11.11.2018 1114995 Pittsburgh Penguins Early in the third period, with the game under control, DeSmith kicked out a point-blank one-timer by Michael Grabner after the Penguins lost track of the Coyotes winger. DeSmith turned aside 10 more shots in the final Casey DeSmith, 'on top of his game,' shuts out Coyotes to halt Penguins' period for his second shutout of the season. skid “This was a team shutout. This was a team win,” he said. “Everyone needed this.” MATT VENSEL As he took off his leg pads after the game, DeSmith flashed a grin while telling a reporter he was hoping for one more shot late in the game so he NOV 10, 2018 11:05 PM could get his save total to 40. So, yeah, he’s feeling it right now. Want to know the biggest difference between Casey DeSmith and Matt “As long as I keep playing well and keep playing my game and getting Murray right now, the reason why the Penguins think DeSmith – for the results, confidence just keeps building,” DeSmith said. “I happen to have moment – is their best option? some [confidence] right now.” Look no further than the late stages of the second period, when Evgeni In his six starts this season, DeSmith is now 3-1-2 while allowing a stingy Malkin attempted a mindless cross-rink pass in their zone that was 1.65 goals per game with a .948 save percentage that would rank among picked off by Arizona Coyotes winger Clayton Keller, who went in all the best in the NHL. alone on DeSmith with a chance to make it a one-goal game. “He was phenomenal. He was on top of his game. He has been the last DeSmith denied Keller and also got a chunk of Brad Richardson’s quick couple games,” said defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who got his first goal centering attempt toward a teammate who was standing alone in front of the season Saturday. “He makes those big, timely saves for us. He and staring at a vacant net. keeps playing like that, we’re going to win a lot of games.” Moments later, after another extended Penguins rally led by Sidney Post Gazette LOADED: 11.11.2018 Crosby, Dominik Simon dished a pretty pass to Patric Hornqvist, who hammered it home to make it 3-0. Zach Aston-Reese congratulates Casey DeSmith after Saturday's 4-0 win over Arizona. Maybe Saturday’s 4-0 win ends up being a different outcome if DeSmith doesn’t bail out Malkin and his mates there. But as has usually been the case early this season, he did. “When you get a big save like that, you feel like you’ve dodged one,” Crosby said. Murray, meanwhile, has too often gotten tagged on plays like that in his nine starts. Keller’s sudden breakaway was a high-quality chance that probably goes in a third of the time. So, in a vacuum, it would be hard to blame any goalie for giving up a goal there. But Murray hasn’t been making timely saves like that this season, other than his three starts during their perfect Canadian road trip last month, when he made about 30 of them. Since the Penguins came back across the border, Murray has allowed at least four goals in three of four starts. He got pulled from two of those games, both of them here at PPG Paints Arena. As a result, the two-time Cup-winner’s goals against average ballooned to 3.87 and his .886 save percentage was 36th among qualifiers entering Saturday. So, after DeSmith was again reliable in Wednesday’s last-minute 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan gave DeSmith a second straight start. “That always feels good, to get a vote of confidence like that where you kind of get a chance right away to bounce back and be there for the guys,” the 27-year-old goalie said. “I know everyone played so well that game, so giving up one in the last minute like that was heart-breaking for everybody, especially me. So tonight felt good for that reason.” Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby celebrates his goal in the second period against the Coyotes Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018 at PPG Paints Arena. In addition to praising DeSmith when asked before the game about that decision, Sullivan said that this has “also given Matt an opportunity to spend some time with [Mike Buckley], our goalie coach, to work on some areas of his game that we think will help him improve.” Sullivan added that Murray is “going to be a huge part of this team moving forward.” And Crosby made a point to say after the game that “we’re confident in both guys.” But right now, as the Penguins try to get rolling again, DeSmith is their best option. While his size – he’s 6 foot – and playing style lead to more frenzied scrambles than when the bigger, more robotic Murray is in between the pipes, DeSmith still plays with poise. He stopped a dozen shots in a scoreless first period and got some help early in the second when rookie defenseman Juuso Riikola made a skate save while DeSmith was down in the crease. DeSmith made 16 saves in that period, none bigger than the one on Keller. 1114996 Pittsburgh Penguins blocked three shots, created scoring chances for his linemates and skated with plenty of purpose.

Crosby had the look of a guy who was sick and tired of seeing his 'Difference-maker' Crosby sets tone for Penguins in 4-0 win over Arizona Stanley Cup-caliber hockey team stumble. “You could see from the beginning, he was creating chances, shooting JASON MACKEY and scoring,” Simon said. “It’s great to play with a guy like that. He creates so many chances for you. Your line feels better. Everything feels NOV 10, 2018 9:45 PM better.” The Penguins (7-5-3) improved to 5-0-1 in their past six games against the Coyotes. By winning at home, the Penguins avoided their first five- They tried pretty much everything. game losing streak in their building since the 2008-09 season. Splitting up the power plays. That Crosby saw some shifts with Kessel should provide some intrigue moving forward. Previously, Sullivan has shown little interest in playing Treating line combinations like the nightly lottery. the two together, but that seems to be changing. Holding hard practices, productive meetings, even the general manager The Penguins also are entering an interesting place with DeSmith, who putting his entire team on blast. has a 1.65 goals-against average and .948 save percentage in the six Zach Aston-Reese congratulates Casey DeSmith after Saturday's 4-0 games he has started thus far. win over Arizona. At this point, how do you not stick with DeSmith for a game Tuesday In the end, the solution to the Penguins’ problems was under their nose night in New Jersey? the whole time: Play Sidney Crosby with a couple of different wingers, in “His body of work in this early part of the season has been very strong,” multiple roles, and let him set an example his teammates couldn’t help Sullivan said. “[Saturday] he continued that.” but follow. Another element from the game Saturday the Penguins will want The Penguins utilized that strategy and, in the process, snapped their repeated is the work of Rust, who delivered a gorgeous pass on Simon’s five-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory Saturday against the Arizona goal. Coyotes at PPG Paints Arena. Rust drew a penalty, tallied that assist and was the type of disruptive Crosby tallied a goal and an assist and played an integral role in two force the Penguins have grown to appreciate. After a slow start, Rust is others — all while rotating through a couple of different sets of linemates hoping this game serves as a springboard for him. and playing an inspired brand of hockey. “This was a confidence-builder,” Rust said. “This is one for me that I can “He led by example,” Bryan Rust said. “That’s what great leaders do build on. when their team needs a boost. I think we all just followed suit.” “I haven’t necessarily had the start I wanted, but I think this is a game I Meanwhile, Casey DeSmith made a second consecutive start in goal — can look back on and see it positively and just try to build from it.” only the second time he has done that with Matt Murray healthy — and pitched a 39-save shutout, his second clean sheet of the season. The Penguins feel the same way about their overall game, which was markedly better Wednesday in Washington and continued against the “He was phenomenal,” said Brian Dumoulin, who picked up his first goal Coyotes. of the season to make it 4-0 midway through the third period. With that five-game losing streak now in the rearview mirror, the DeSmith certainly was very good — more on that in a bit — but there Penguins finally can turn the page. They have their captain to thank. was no touching Crosby on this night. “He’s an elite player,” Sullivan said. “He makes the players around him Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018 better. He was a difference-maker [Saturday] in this game.” at PPG Paints Arena. Post Gazette LOADED: 11.11.2018 Jordan Oesterle had little chance on Dominik Simon’s second-period tally, one of three for the Penguins in the middle frame. It was vintage wall work from Crosby, who protected the puck and waited for something to open, tugging the Coyotes defenseman around the ice like he was on a leash. “I thought Sid was terrific,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He was hanging onto pucks. He was playing the game that we’ve also grown accustomed to watching.” With a few different people, too, which is what made this game unique. Crosby — who was on the ice for all four goals — started the game on a line with Simon and Bryan Rust but helped the Penguins score with three different sets of linemates. At 6:42 of the second period, when Crosby scored on a ridiculous backhand that has somehow become routine at this point, he was getting a rare shift with Jake Guentzel and Phil Kessel. Simon and Rust flanked him on the second goal, then Patric Hornqvist converted from the right circle with Crosby and Simon at the other two forward spots when the Penguins made it 3-0. It was Crosby, Guentzel and Kessel on the ice for Dumoulin’s tally. “When you’re in the situation that we’ve been in, it’s just next guy up,” Crosby said. “Go over [the boards] and make something happen. If we all have that mentality, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing with. We’re going to create things and we’re going to create momentum.” But it wasn’t just the fact that Crosby turned this game into his own personal corner bar, with visitors rotating in and out depending on different situations and matchups. In 16:54 — Crosby played just 4:25 in the third period, when the game was out of hand — the Penguins captain won a slew of puck battles, 1114997 Pittsburgh Penguins The Penguins will continue their Veterans Day celebration at Saturday's home game.

During pregame warmups, the Penguins will wear commemorative Penguins to start Casey DeSmith over Matt Murray for a second straight camouflage jerseys. They will later be autographed by the players then game auctioned off online this week, with the proceeds benefiting the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania. MATT VENSEL Other steps to honor veterans at PPG Paints Arena will include a Veterans Day-themed opening video, the U.S. Marine Corps color guard NOV 10, 2018 12:21 PM presenting the American flag and members of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Cadet Chorus performing the National Anthem.

Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have also donated their charity suites to The Penguins will stick with Casey DeSmith between the pipes as they various veterans. look to snap their losing streak Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes at PPG Paints Arena. “Anytime you have an opportunity to give a positive experience to people that sacrificed so much for all of us, [which] sometimes we take for Coach Mike Sullivan said the decision to give him a second straight start granted in this country the liberties that we’re afforded and these people was twofold. defended every day. ...” Sullivan said. “We just have so much respect for the sacrifices that not only they make, but their families as well.” “When you look at Casey’s overall body of work here in the early part of the season, it’s been very strong,” he said. “It’s also given Matt [Murray] Derick Brassard injury update an opportunity to spend some time with [Mike Buckley], our goalie coach, to work on some areas of his game that we think will help him improve. Derick Brassard will miss his seventh straight game with a lower-body But by no means do we discount Matt’s contributions here.” injury. But Sullivan said the center responded favorably after first skating again before Friday’s practice. Murray’s contributions this season have been inconsistent at best. He was excellent during the team’s perfect road trip through Canada. But in “He’s making progress and he’s skating,” Sullivan said. “He will skate three of his four starts since, Murray allowed at least four goals. He was again [Saturday].” twice pulled from lopsided losses at PPG Paints Arena. Post Gazette LOADED: 11.11.2018 Currently, Jack Johnson is playing on the Penguins top defense pair with Kris Letang. DeSmith, meanwhile, was solid again in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss in Washington, stopping 20 of 21 shots before Capitals winger T.J. Oshie scored the game-winner with 74 seconds left. It was the Penguins’ fifth loss in a row. Entering Saturday’s game, DeSmith has a 2.22 goals against average in eight games, five of them starts. Murray’s has ballooned to 3.87. DeSmith has posted a .929 save percentage, ranking in the top 10 in the league. Murray’s sits at .886, 36th among qualifiers. Sullivan made sure to say Saturday morning that the struggling Murray, despite backing up DeSmith twice in a row, is “going to be a huge part of this team moving forward.” “We’ve got two capable goalies at this point,” Sullivan said. “So we’re trying to manage the decisions in the short term but we’re also trying to keep the big picture in mind.” Jamie Oleksiak to sit Saturday? Jamie Oleksiak, who is second among Penguins defensemen with eight points, appears to be the odd man out on the blue line Saturday. During Friday’s practice, he was the one rotating in with the three pairings. Then he lingered on the ice at the end of Saturday’s morning skate. If Oleksiak is indeed out against the Coyotes, rookie Juuso Riikola will return to the lineup. There have been a few frustrating moments for Mike Sullivan and the Penguins this season. Up front, the Penguins are sticking with the same dozen forwards they deployed in Washington, including recent call-ups Zach Aston-Reese and Garrett Wilson. Daniel Sprong, who is on the trade block, will again be a healthy scratch. The lines should remain the same, too, with Jake Guentzel and Phil Kessel on the third line. Guentzel said that playing with Kessel instead of Sidney Crosby isn’t all that different. “They’re really good players with the puck and they can make a lot of plays,” said Guentzel, who hasn’t scored since Oct. 25. “So you obviously like playing with [either] of them.” Penguins honor veterans After Saturday's morning skate, Sullivan and seven Penguins players, including Kessel and Guentzel, presented personalized home jerseys to 15 veterans outside the locker room. “It means a lot to our players and myself personally,” Sullivan said a few minutes later. “To give them an opportunity to interact with our team and present them with a Penguins jersey, and give them an opportunity to experience what it is to be in our dressing room, I know it’s a big thrill for them. But certainly it’s a really big thrill for us as well.” 1114998 Pittsburgh Penguins second pair will likely be Brian Dumoulin and Chad Ruhwedel, the third Olli Maatta and Juuso Riikola.

Riikola is the closest thing they have among that group — it’s likely Why the Penguins have Jack Johnson on their top defense pair Maatta’s skating would become a problem — and he’s played just seven NHL games. Jason Mackey The same as his coaches, Rutherford remains perfectly fine with the work Johnson has done — even if others might disagree. And playing Nov 10, 2018 him on the top pair is something that could easily stick is helps balance things out. 1:30 PM “It’s about finding the right fit,” Rutherford said. “At this point, [playing Johnson on the top pair] may be the best way to go to balance out our defense.” Jack Johnson is expected to spend a third consecutive game on the Penguins’ top defense pair Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes at PPG Post Gazette LOADED: 11.11.2018 Paints Arena. While there’s been no shortage of fans and analysts who’ve criticized the move to sign Johnson — a 31-year-old coming off his worst NHL season — to a five-year deal worth $16.25, the Penguins seem to feel differently. They’ve been mostly happy with Johnson’s play, and they easily could keep him next to Kris Letang for the foreseeable future. “That’s when he’s played his best,” Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday. “He played extremely well there.” Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018 at PPG Paints Arena. There’s at least some validity to what Rutherford is selling, although don’t expect many Penguins fans at this point to buy it. Over the past two games, Johnson has produced a shot share of 57.1 percent during five-on-five play, according naturalstattrick.com. That’s significantly better than Johnson’s 2018-19 season mark of 47.6, and he’s not been on the ice for a five-on-five goal-against. Johnson’s scoring-chance and high-danger chance percentages have also gone up. With Letang, Johnson has helped the Penguins to a five-on-five scoring- chance percentage of 60.0 compared to a season mark of 51.2. His high- danger chances have risen to 56.3 percent from 45.4. For those who hate those kind of numbers, know this: Playing next to Letang, from a statistical perspective, has been an improvement on Johnson’s season as a whole. Really his entire career, although a two- game sample size is obviously not large enough. It also stands to reason that those numbers are naturally going to be higher because we’re talking about playing next to Letang, who has some of the best shot- and scoring-chance-related numbers on the Penguins. Meanwhile, detractors have no problem pointing out Johnson’s flaws. He’s a minus-116 since making his NHL debut in 2006-07, worst among all NHL defensemen. This season, Johnson is a minus-7, last among Penguins blueliners and second-worst on the team (Riley Sheahan, minus-8). Johnson’s five-on-five goal (minus-98) and shot (minus-836) differentials among defensemen who’ve played at least 10,000 minutes since 2007 — as far back as Corsica.ca will go — are also dead last, and he hasn’t been on the ice when a five-on-five has been scored in six games. The question to ask, then, is this: Does any of that matter to the Penguins? Perhaps not, at least judging by their actions of using Johnson — who has a goal differential of minus-8 this season, sixth-worst among defenseman who’ve played at least 200 minutes — on the top pair. Or maybe they’re looking at a completely different set of numbers, which is possible given how NHL teams take pride in mining their own statistical data. For those on the outside, putting Johnson on the top pair does seem like a strange move, and maybe it is. But it’s more of a move made to try and achieve balance than anything else. Brian Dumoulin remains one of their best defenseman — a solid No. 2 if Letang keeps playing the way he’s been — and they’re spreading their assets. The problem becomes filling that spot next to Letang. On Saturday against Arizona, Jamie Oleksiak — who’s tied for the team lead in goals by a defenseman with four — will be a healthy scratch. The 1114999 Pittsburgh Penguins Short-handed scoring hasn’t been alien to the Penguins either considering they’ve already allowed three such goals in only 14 games. Last season, they yielded a league-low three in 82 games. Discussion – Coyotes at Penguins What has led to an uptick in allowing short-handed offense for the Penguins’ sputtering power play? Seth Rorabaugh “Probably our execution,” said Sidney Crosby. “If you make plays that aren’t there or force things, you’re giving teams a chance to go the other Nov 10, 2018 68 way. And I think just our mentality going out there. We’ve got to have a work ethic that’s there. If it’s there, our skill will take over. Sometimes, you can rely on your skill and hope that it kind of happens. When that happens, you give up chances going the other way.” A preview of the Coyotes. Sullivan suggested attention to detail, or a lack thereof, which has led to When and where: 7 p.m., EST, Consol Energy Center PPG Paints Arena the Penguins’ overall malfunctions during their five-game losing streak, TV: ATT Sportsnet. have played a role in being susceptible to opposing short-handed offense. Record: 7-6-1, 15 points. The Coyotes are in sixth place in the Norris Pacific Division. “When we have our top unit together – and obviously there’s four forwards on the ice and one defenseman – if there’s a puck battle on the Leading Scorer: Center Clayton Keller, 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists). half walls, there needs to be a reload on the opposite side so that we get someone above the puck and above people so we don’t expose Last Game: 5-4 overtime road loss to the Flyers, Thursday. Defenseman ourselves,” Sullivan said. “I think we’ve been vulnerable to some of that. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and right winger Michael Grabner each had a goal Some of it is just puck management, making sure that we protect pucks and an assist for the Coyotes. and we don’t make high-risk plays even though we’re on the power play. Last Game against the Penguins: 4-2 home loss, Dec. 16. Goaltender Even though we have a man advantage, we still have to have some Antti Raanta made 29 saves for the Coyotes. conscious defensively with the puck and even without the puck when we don’t have it when we’re on the power play. I don’t think it’s been any one The last time the Penguins played the Coyotes, this happened: thing that’s been the cause of that. It’s been a handful of things.” Probable goaltenders: Casey DeSmith (2-1-2, 2.22 GAA, .929 SV%, 1 As Sullivan noted, the team’s top power-play group is composed of four SO) for the Penguins. Darcy Kuemper (2-2-1, 2.61 GAA, .917 SV%, 0 forwards (Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin) as SO) for the Coyotes. well as one defenseman (Kris Letang). That unit has been on the ice for all three short-handed goals the Penguins have allowed this season. Injuries: For the Penguins, center Derick Brassard (undisclosed) and defenseman Justin Schultz (left leg) are on injured reserve. For the Letang suggested it’s a byproduct of scoring being up overall, regardless Coyotes, defenseman Alex Goligoski (undisclosed) is out. Centers Dave of the scenario, league-wide. The NHL has seen goal per game surge to Bolland (back), Christian Dvorak (pectoral), defenseman Jakob Chychrun 6.22 this season, up from 5.94 last season. (knee), right winger Marian Hossa (skin infection) and Raantta (undisclosed) are on injured reserve. “One was bad luck,” Letang said. “It hit a skate and bounced into our net. And another, the game was already a blowout. I don’t know. It happens. Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins had an optional The Coyotes have scored nine them. That means there’s a lot of other morning skate. Consider this a guess at their lines and pairings based on teams that have allowed short-handed goals. It happens. Sometimes Friday’s practice: teams are sniffing for goals. It is what it is. It’s part of the game.” The Coyotes had an optional skate. Consider this a guess at their lines • Malkin defended his play which led to his ejection from Wednesday’s 2- and pairings based on Thursday’s game: 1 road loss to the Capitals. Malkin was given a match penalty after striking Capitals right winger T.J. Oshie in the head with his right Pregame notes: shoulder. • As is usually the case, this game between the free-spending Penguins “I’m happy that’s he’s back,” Malkin said. “It’s not an injury for him. The and the economically-limited Coyotes presents a lopsided mismatch on game is so fast. I have (the) puck. I pass to Sid, and I see he’s (Oshie) special teams. coming. … My elbow (was) not high. My shoulder was (in) good position. With a handful of former Trophy winners on the power play, the I know he’s coming to me. I maybe a little bit turned my shoulder but I’m Penguins usually present an ample challenge for any opponent’s penalty not trying (to) target his head. I’m just like (trying to) protect myself. It’s a killers, especially for a squad like the Coyotes who seem to be in a little bit bad luck. He’s coming to me. I just have (the) puck. I’m not perpetual rebuilding project. moving my elbow so high. I’m not jumping. Just a little bit bad luck I think. I understand Washington is not happy. But the league called me The scales are tipped in a different direction this time, however. yesterday, and they said no suspension.” It’s the Coyotes’ dangerous penalty kill which has scored an astounding The NHL declined to pursue supplemental discipline for Malkin. nine short-handed goals in only 14 games this season, tops in the league. In contrast, the Devils led the NHL with 12 short-handed goals in • Garrett Wilson achieved a watershed moment when he made his 82 games last season. While it’s difficult to envision the Coyotes Penguins’ debut Wednesday. He’s still waiting for another more maintaining this rate of penalty killing offense, they are on pace for 52 significant milestone. short-handed goals this season, a mark which would obliterate the 1983- His first career goal. 84 Oilers’ record of 36 in 80 games. Recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Tuesday, Wilson, a veteran of The bulk of the damage has been done by right winger Michael Grabner, 35 NHL contests, nearly scored during the third period on a breakaway a long-time Penguins nemesis, and center Brad Richardson. Each player off a pass from Kessel. Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby denied his leads the league with three short-handed goals apiece. shot with a blocker save. “We’re making some good reads and getting some breaks too,” said “I probably could have given it a leg pump,” said Wilson. “It’s easy to say head coach Rick Tocchet. “Guys are doing a nice job. The team has kind now. I just wanted to get a good shot on net, and usually low blocker is of gravitated toward it. We were struggling to score some goals, and it old faithful there. But it didn’t work for me there. He read it pretty good.” kind of got us some juice as we were scoring some short-handed goals. You never anticipate that pace, but just overall, the philosophy of killing a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer with 11 points (six goals, five penalty has been good so far.” assists) in 11 games at the time of his recall, Wilson understands the differences between first-line duties in the AHL and his role as a fourth- Regardless of what total the Coyotes end up with, their fast start with liner in the NHL. regards to short-handed scoring has been remarkable. “The fourth line, your main goal is to create energy and play in the “It really is,” Mike Sullivan said following Thursday’s practice in opponent’s end and wear them down,” Wilson said. “I thought, for the Cranberry. “That was one of the things we talked to our power play today most part, our line did that. We were able to create a few good looks about was making sure we have a heightened awareness when we’re on there. We’ve just got to find a way to put in the back of the net.” the ice. They’ve got a lot of team speed. That could be a part of it. But that’s a lot of short-handed goals.” Wednesday, Wilson logged 6:20 of ice time on nine shifts and had two shots on three attempts. He also drew a penalty in the second period. Brassard skated in Cranberry Thursday for the first time since being injured Oct. 2. He is expected to skate this afternoon as well at PPG Paints Arena. • Keller has played in 99 career games. • The referees are Jon McIsaac and Steve Kozari. The linesmen are Steve Miller and Trent Knorr. The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115000 San Jose Sharks

Sharks zero in on defensive issues ahead of tough six-game homestand

Chelena Goldman November 10, 2018 6:45 PM

SAN JOSE — After a quick trip through the Central Division, the Sharks are gearing up to play six games on home ice. San Jose has spent 10 of the first 17 games of the season on the road, including a long five-game stint at the start of October and a back-to-back just this past week. The upcoming homestand will be the longest of the season. “It’s always nice playing at home,” forward Tomas Hertl said, before adding: “We have to be ready, because the teams that are coming, they play really good hockey. They score a lot of goals.” He’s absolutely right. The Sharks host a tough crop of teams over the next two weeks, and four of them -– the Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Calgary Flames — are in the NHL's top 10 in goals scored. That’s not exactly ideal for a team that’s unhappy with its defensive effort in back-to-back road losses. Instead of putting too much emphasis on the incoming competition, however, the Sharks are zeroing in on where they need to improve. “We have a lot of things to fix in our game,” winger Joonas Donskoi said. “That’s what we’re really concentrating on.” Unsurprisingly, the lackluster defensive effort from Friday’s loss in St. Louis still was the big topic of conversation at Saturday’s practice back in the South Bay. With the travel in the rearview mirror, the Sharks are trying to take advantage of being back home as they improve their game, getting in the work they weren't able to on the quick roadie. “Sometimes when you’re playing a lot of games in a small amount of time, like we do with the back-to-back, you don’t really get a lot of time talk about [issues] or have a full team practice to work on it,” defenseman Brenden Dillon explained. Dillon agreed that the poor defense in Friday’s loss to the Blues was something the whole team was responsible for, and that the skaters in front of San Jose’s net aren’t doing enough to help their goalies. “That shouldn’t be just one player, one goalie, one pair of D,” Dillon said. “I think it’s a five-man unit that’s going to be able to affect [the game] positively.” Cutting down on giving the opposition grade-A chances is the first and foremost focus. “The amount of odd-man rushes, whether that’s two-on-ones, breakaways … that’s just not us,” Dillon continued. It’s a side of the Sharks they surely don’t want making an appearance Sunday when the Flames visit. While Calgary has won just five of its last 10 — just like San Jose -– the Flames' veterans have found an early season scoring groove, and are regularly scoring three or more goals per night. They’ve also mastered the late-game push, like when they scored five third-period goals against the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 1 and rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win 6-5. Nevertheless, the Sharks’ plan is to keep the focus on what they need to do better, and not what the visiting teams on this six-game homestand are necessarily doing. “This is something want to take pride in, playing at home,” Dillon said. “I think even the last couple of games, like the Minnesota game, we got the two points but we could’ve played better in certain areas. I think that’s just focusing on things that make us successful, more so than what other teams are doing to us.” Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115001 San Jose Sharks

Tomas Hertl hopeful to return from head injury for Sharks-Flames on Sunday

Chelena Goldman November 10, 2018 3:12 PM

SAN JOSE -- Tomas Hertl told the media after Saturday he feels a lot better after missing three games with a head injury, and is hopeful he will return to game action Sunday evening when the Sharks host the Calgary Flames. “I should be fine, ready to play,” he said, adding he just has to go through just a bit more testing before he can see any game action. The Czech forward has been practicing with the Sharks while being sidelined, although Saturday was the first time we’ve seen him take line rushes with the rest of the team. He filed onto a familiar line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier, a combination that has contributed to a lot of the team’s goal-scoring through the start of the season. Hertl said he hasn’t had any setbacks since taking a shoulder to the head in last weekend’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, but added that he doesn’t want to rush back and not be completely healthy. “If you play a lot of minutes, you have to be ready,” he said. “You have to be 100 percent, and hopefully I am.” Needless to say, Hertl’s anxious to rejoin the team and help them turn things around. Hertl accompanied the Sharks on their two-game roadie to Dallas and St. Louis and had a front row seat to watch his team lose both contests. Hertl echoed what his teammates said after their 4-0 loss to the Blues – the Sharks have to play a more defensively sound game, whether they’re playing on offense or on the blue line. “We’re giving up too many (chances),” Hertl said. “The last few years, we’ve had the best defensive team. We’d give up one, two goals. Now, every period we’re giving up great chances.” The 24-year-old winger has 14 points in 14 games played so far this season. He tallied an assist on Meier’s first-period goal last Saturday against the Flyers before being taken out of the game. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115002 San Jose Sharks Still, the Sharks aren't limiting dangerous chances lately, nor are they keeping them out of their own net. If they can't tighten up defensively, an already critical, challenging homestand looks even more daunting. Sharks' upcoming six-game homestand comes at critical, challenging Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 time

Marcus White November 10, 2018 11:19 AM

The Sharks' two-game road trip ended without a win Friday, and they will return to SAP Center on Sunday at a critical juncture in their season. Sunday’s game against the Calgary Flames marks the start of a season- long, six-game homestand that concludes a day after Thanksgiving. The end date matters because Thanksgiving is an important benchmark for the playoffs. Entering last season, nearly 78 percent of the teams that held a playoff spot on Thanksgiving qualified for the postseason in the salary-cap era. Last year -- the first in which the league had 31 teams -- 11 of 16 teams who were in position on turkey day ended up making the playoffs. It’s not a guarantee either way, but the odds are in favor of the teams who hold a playoff spot. When they’re playing is important, but it’s who the Sharks host on the homestand that will make the next six games particularly important for their season. The Flames, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks will visit SAP Center over the next two weeks. Only the Blues are currently on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, just two points back of the struggling Oilers for the final Wild Card spot with two games in hand. As of this writing, the Sharks will face: Two of the NHL’s top three teams by record (Predators, Maple Leafs) Three Pacific Division rivals (Flames, Oilers, Canucks) A team who just beat them, 4-0 (Blues) Of course, the season is barely a month old, which means standings positions can change by the day. What makes this upcoming stretch challenging for the Sharks is that their opponents, largely, are good at what’s recently ailed San Jose. The Sharks allowed at least three goals in each of their last nine games, beginning with an Oct. 23 win in Nashville. San Jose has given up 31 total goals, and 29 at even strength during that time. All but one of those was a five-on-five goal, and the Sharks allowed a litany of quality chances. All the stats to follow come courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Corsica Hockey. From Oct. 23 until now, only four teams allowed five-on-five, high-danger chances at a higher rate than the Sharks (13.49 per hour), and seven have conceded expected goals at a higher rate (2.7 per hour) as of this writing. San Jose also allowed high-danger goals at the league’s highest rate (2.56 per hour) during that time. That brings us to the Sharks’ next six opponents. They will host six teams that, over the same stretch, either: A) generated high-danger chances at a high rate, B) converted on high-danger chances at a high rate, or C) all of the above, as the table below demonstrates. 5v5 Ranks Since Oct. 23 Team HDCF/60 (Rank) xGF/60 HDGF/60 HDSH% Flames 13.34 (7) 2.71 (10) 1.11 (22) 13.21 (26) Predators 8.95 (28) 2.15 (21) 1.9 (7) 25 (4) Maple Leafs 13.63 (5) 2.74 (7) 1.61 (11) 18 (11) Blues 10.92 (18) 2.28 (19) 2.35 (2) 26.83 (2) Oilers 13.65 (3) 2.8 (6) 1.56 (14) 15 (20) Canucks 10.74 (20) 2.1 (23) 1.6 (12) 18.87 (9) Shooting percentages can be volatile early in the season, especially when dealing with an already reduced sample size by looking only at high-danger chances. So, it’s possible -- if not likely -- some of these teams won’t be as prolific by the time the Sharks host them, especially later in the homestand. 1115003 San Jose Sharks

Sharks critical of defensive effort after shutout loss to Blues

Chelena Goldman November 09, 2018 9:50 PM

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski summed up the team’s effort Friday night in just a few words. “No excuses. We need to be better. Bottom line.” It was perhaps the best way to describe San Jose’s two-game road trip through the Central Division. After a comeback fell short in a loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday, the Sharks were shut out 4-0 by the St. Louis Blues a day later. The Sharks never really found their game, the captain continued, and he said that was the story for the entire trip. “We did a lot of things out of character,” Pavelski told reporters in St. Louis. “We’re a better team then what we’ve shown the last two games.” “Obviously we gave Dallas and St. Louis a lot of chances around our net, and that’s something we’re not known for,” Sharks winger Evander Kane added. “Then offensively we get shut out, and that’s unacceptable as well.” When the Sharks have struggled like this in the young season, some have speculated that the ongoing adjustment to new players on the team could be a reason for San Jose’s woes. Center Logan Couture didn’t agree with that assessment when the media asked him about it on Friday night. “We’re 17 games in, that’s almost a quarter of a season,” he said. “You can use that excuse for one or two, maybe even three. Can’t use it for 17. So, we’ve got to figure it out.” Perhaps the most glaring factor in the loss to the Blues was the Sharks’ difficulties on defense. San Jose spent a good portion of the contest pinned in its own zone, and St. Louis was able to capitalize and get the best of Aaron Dell, who put up a valiant effort between the pipes against a swarming Blues lineup. When asked about the defense itself, Pavelski told the media the whole team was responsible for the missteps. “That’s not [just] on our defense,” he said. “That’s not just on our forwards. It’s a collective group.” So, what’s a team supposed to do to not be on their heels on a nightly basis? Kane pointed out that the Sharks still need to be more physical, particularly on the defensive end. While San Jose matched the Blues in blocked shots and hits – unlike the last few games – the Sharks still need to be harder on their opponents. “I think we’re too much ‘one hand on the stick and reaching,’” he explained. “We’ve got to get into our checks a little bit harder, all five guys in the d-zone, and that will shut teams down a little quicker.” “It starts with effort,” Couture said bluntly. “That’s the first thing. You’ve got to not want to give up chances when you’re out on the ice. You’ve got to take pride in defending. And we’re simply not doing that.” Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115004 St Louis Blues Thomas played 15 minutes 41 seconds against San Jose, a season high by nearly 4 ½ minutes. Despite several quality chances against the Sharks, the 19-year-old rookie remains without a goal in the NHL. Even Yeo's not telling, but Johnson in line for another start so, Yeo called it his best game of the season. “He earned the extra ice time,” Yeo said. “We put him in some extra situations. ... Every game, he’s gonna find a way to make some plays. Jim Thomas He’s got great vision, protects it really well “Really digging in on the defensive side of things last night. And his work ethic with and without the puck, that was at a new level. So I’m anxious Make way everybody for Chad Johnson. It’s only the second week of to see if he can do it again tomorrow.” November and already we’re witnessing the sight of a Blues backup goalie stealing starts from Jake Allen. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 11.11.2018 “I want to be careful because I don’t want to say something that sounds like Jake is not doing the job,” coach Mike Yeo said following Friday’s 4-0 win over San Jose. “We’ve played two solid games in front of Chad and he’s played very well.” Boy has he. On Tuesday, Johnson stopped 38 of 39 shots in a 4-1 victory over Carolina. He was even better Friday against San Jose. Facing more prime scoring chances against the Sharks, Johnson stopped all 33 shots in a 4-0 Blues victory. “He’s a true pro,” said forward Alexander Steen. “He’s always ready to go and he’s a very calm netminder. He goes from post to post. He’s always big, he always tries to get a piece. He’s been terrific for us.” Since Carolina’s Jacob Slavin scored with 26 seconds left in the first period Tuesday, Johnson has stopped 58 consecutive shots on goal. “He’s played real strong for us,” Yeo said. “At key moments he’s making a big save for us and allows us to continue to get back to find our game — to regain some momentum, to grab a lead, whatever it is, you need those saves.” Yeo almost never reveals his starting goalie until the day of the game, and Saturday was no different. “We’ll announce that tomorrow,” Yeo said smiling, following the team’s practice at the IceZone in Hazelwood. But it will be shocking if it’s not Johnson in Sunday’s 2 p.m. contest against the Minnesota Wild at Enterprise Center. Yeo was reminded of the hockey axiom that if a goalie logs a shutout, he’s back in the lineup the next game. But Yeo didn’t budge. “It’s typically been my rule, but we’ll wait till tomorrow,” Yeo said. SCHENN UPDATE Looks like the Blues will be without one of their top players for the third consecutive game Sunday. Brayden Schenn, sidelined with what’s believed to be an oblique muscle injury, at least took a step forward by getting in some work during Saturday’s practice. He even took part in 3-on-3 scrimmage drills, which feature contact. “I would say that he’s doubtful for tomorrow, but encouraging that he’s getting closer,” Yeo said. “He looked good in practice today. I talked to him afterward. We just have to make sure we’re smart.” Schenn, who had career highs in goals (28) and assists (42) last season — his first with the Blues — has three goals and six assists in 12 games this season. “I skated (Friday) by myself really,” Schenn said. “Today I skated with the team — a step in the right direction.” LINES UNCHANGED With Schenn probably sidelined again, and based on Saturday’s practice, it looks like the Blues’ forward lines and defensive pairings will be unchanged against Minnesota. At forward, that means lines of Jaden Schwartz-Ryan O’Reilly-Vladimir Tarasenko; Robby Fabbri-Robert Thomas-David Perron; Steen-Tyler Bozak-Nikita Soshnikov; and Zach Sanford-Ivan Barabashev-Oskar Sundqvist. The pairings on defense: Carl Gunnarsson-Alex Pietrangelo; Vince Dunn-Colton Parayko; Joel Edmundson-Jordan Schmaltz. That would leave Schenn, Pat Maroon and Jay Bouwmeester as scratches. NO DOUBTING THOMAS 1115005 St Louis Blues

Preview: Blues vs. Wild

Jim Thomas

When/Where • 2 p.m. Sunday, Enterprise Center TV/Radio • Fox Sports Midwest, KMOX (1120 AM) About the Wild • One of the hottest teams in the NHL, Friday’s 5-1 victory in Anaheim pushed Minnesota’s record to 10-4-2; the Wild have won four of their last five and nine of their last 11. Devan Dubnyk, who was in goal against St. Louis eight days ago in a 5-1 Minnesota romp, is expected to start again Sunday. He ranked third in the league in goals-against average (2.15), and among goalies with more than three games played was 10th in save percentage (.932) entering Saturday’s games. After scoring twice against Anaheim, Mikael Granlund leads the Wild in scoring with nine goals and eight assists. A balanced attack also features Zach Parise (six goals), and Eric Staal, Jason Zucker and Matt Dumba with five apiece. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115006 St Louis Blues So far it hasn’t mattered. Minnesota plays like a team that has been together for a while and knows what to expect from each other. Their top players are all producing, and their goaltending has been top-flight. Blues hope second time's the charm against Minnesota Meanwhile, the Blues (6-5-3) believe they’re slowly rounding into form. “Definitely we’re seeing our game headed in the right direction, and I Jim Thomas think maybe we’re finally realizing what it takes to win,” Dunn said. Two strong games in goal by Chad Johnson have certainly helped, but it looks like the overall defensive play has improved in terms of positioning, In a season of 82 games, it’s prudent to move on to the next game decison-making, physical play, puck clearance — you name it. mentally. Don’t dwell on what just happened — good or bad. “For me when I look at it, the bigger thing I think is that the work ethic But it’s been difficult for the Blues to forget about that 5-1 embarrassment away from the puck was really strong (against San Jose),” Yeo said. “Our to Minnesota on Nov. 3, partly because the teams are playing again eight battle level was strong. We were physical, and that’s what we have to days later in a 2 p.m. contest Sunday at Enterprise Center. make sure we bring night after night.” The Wild have been more than a thorn in the side lately. A two-by-four A victory Sunday against Minnesota ends the Blues’ homestand at 5-2. A across the forehead is a more apt description of what it’s felt like to play loss makes it 4-3. The math says it’s only a one-game difference, but the Minnesota lately. Prior to that 5-1 shellacking, the Blues lost 8-3 to Blues realize the difference between 5-2 and 4-3 is substantial in their Minnesota in their last meeting of last season. ongoing effort to make Enterprise a tough venue for visitors. That’s 13-4 over the past two games. In a league of parity, well, that’s not “It’s huge,” O’Reilly said. “I don’t think we care here what we’ve done in parity. the last little bit. We have to keep re-inventing ourselves every day. Today in practice (it was) getting ready, getting quicker, getting better. New to the team this season, center Ryan O’Reilly only has that 5-1 game in his memory bank. And yeah, it’s still stuck in his head. “It’s all about this game. This next game is the only one that matters. We’re not thinking about the road that’s coming up or our last game. It’s “Absolutely,” he said. “That game was very frustrating, especially a just one game at a time and it’s a big one for us.” division opponent. It’s a team I don’t like. I want to beat them.” St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 11.11.2018 Following Saturday’s practice at the IceZone in Hazelwood, coach Mike Yeo said the team won’t Watch video from that game, or break it down. Why not? “We weren’t there,” Yeo said. “We weren’t involved in the game. And so they handed it to us.” To make sure that doesn’t happen again, the Blues must be ready from the opening faceoff. Ready to match the energy and tenaciousness that Minnesota brings to the ice. Off to one of their best starts in franchise history, the Wild (10-4-2) play like a team that knows its identity, knows its game, and knows how to get there. “They’re a really good structured team,” defenseman Vince Dunn said. “They’re very good top to bottom. They have a pretty veteran lineup and they play the right way every game and every shift. “So I think it’s just making sure that we do the same thing. Match their intensity, and we have to make sure that we’re working just as hard as they do, if not harder. I think it’s just making sure that we don’t let it slip for a little bit. And if we maybe have a bad shift, we gotta make sure that those guys coming out next clean it up for us.” There was a lot to clean up eight days ago. Minnesota scored two goals in the first 5 ½ minutes of play, kept the Blues bottled up in the neutral zone and their own end, and by game’s end had outshot St. Louis 45-16. The Blues had a measly nine shots on goal through two periods. “They’re obviously a shoot-first team,” center Oskar Sundqvist said. “So we have to be on our toes and be in shooting lanes. They’re a hard- working team. I think last game we played ’em, they outworked us and out-competed us. We weren’t good enough. “So I think tomorrow’s gonna be a different game. We’re gonna have to compete with them and win our one-on-one battles. It’s gonna be a tough game. It’s gonna be a lot of hard work. Maybe not too many nice plays. More like grinding.” While the Blues conclude a mammoth seven-game homestand Sunday, this is the final game of a franchise-record seven-game road trip for the Wild. Like the Blues, the Wild have won four of their last five. “This is a team that’s playing very well right now,” Yeo said of the Wild. “They’re very deep. I think a lot of people were ready to write them off at the start of the year, but their veteran players are playing very, very well for them. “I’ve said it before, that their players that were young players are now in their prime. And they’ve got a couple young players that have come in and really solidified things for them. They’re playing still a very strong, smart, solid game. They’ve been showing that they’re one of the top teams in the league right now.” After being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight season, general manager Chuck Fletcher was ousted last April. But in contrast to the Blues, the Wild made no major offseason moves to bolster their roster. 1115007 St Louis Blues

Schenn doubtful for Wild

Jim Thomas

Looks like the Blues will be without one of their top players for the third consecutive game Sunday against the Minnesota Wild. Brayden Schenn, sidelined with what's believed to be an oblique muscle injury, at least took a step forward by getting in some work during Saturday's practice at the IceZone in Hazelwood. "I would say that he's doubtful for tomorrow, but encouraging that he's getting closer," coach Mike Yeo said. "He looked good in practice today. I talked to him afterward. We just have to make sure we're smart." Schenn, who had career highs in goals (28) and assists (42) last season _ his first seasib with the Blues _ has three goals and six assists in 12 games this season. "I skated (Friday) by myself really," Schenn said. "Today I skated with the team _ a step in the right direction." Schenn even took part in some 3-on-3 scrimmage work Saturday, drills that feature contact. JOHNSON AGAIN? Yeo almost never announces his starting goalie until the day of the game, and Saturday was no exception. "We'll announce that tomorrow," Yeo said smiling. But it will be shocking if it's not Chad Johnson, who has allowed only one goal in his last two starts and has stopped 58 consecutive shots. He stopped 33 shots in Friday's 4-0 triumph over San Jose. And isn't it a hockey axiom that if the goalie pitches a shutout, he's back in the lineup the next game? "It's typically been my rule," Yeo said. "But we'll wait till tomorrow." LINES UNCHANGED The Blues lined up in practice the same way they did Friday against the Sharks: Forwards Schwartz-O'Reilly-Tarasenko Fabbri-Thomas-Perron Steen-Bozak-Soshnikov Sanford-Barbashev-Sundqvist Defensemen Gunnarsson-Pietrangelo Dunn-Parayko Edmundson-Schmaltz That made the extras Pat Maroon, Jay Bouwmeester and Schenn. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115008 Tampa Bay Lightning

How the Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning

Diana Nearhos November 10, 2018 at 11:27 PM

The Lightning came back from a two-goal deficit, then gave up a two-goal deficit and lost to Ottawa by two goals on Saturday. Final: Senators 6, Lightning 4 Ryan Dzingel placed a shot perfectly over Andrei Vasilevskiy's shoulder to put Ottawa on top midway through the final period. It was Ottawa's third goal in 10 minutes. Brady Tkachuk's goal 50 seconds into the period was really a Lightning own goal. The play devolved in the crease and bounced off Tkachuk's skate, then in an attempt to get the puck away from the goal line, Dan Girardi hit the puck off Vasilevskiy. Colin White scored at 8:41. Bobby Ryan ripped a shot from center point and White tipped it past Vasilevskiy. The Senators added one more for good measure as Mark Stone scored a power-play goal with 11.5 seconds left. Let’s talk #TBLightning with @dianacnearhos and @_NickKelly https://t.co/YVHXOJx6OQ — TampaBayTimesSports (@TBTimes_Sports) November 11, 2018 Second period: Lightning 4, Senators 2 Victor Hedman is back in the lineup. Which defenseman do you expect to score the go-ahead goal? Hedman may have scored (and demonstrated just why he makes a Lightning team that wasn't struggling without him that much better), but it was Braydon Coburn who gave Tampa Bay the lead. Coburn first. He wristed a shot that looked more like a shot-pass (aiming to generate a rebound) from the point that found its way through traffic and past goaltender Craig Anderson to put the Lightning on top midway through the second period. Hedman tied the game up in the period's opening minute with a power- play goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy sent the puck up to him and Hedman skated through three Senators to beat Anderson five-hole. Mathieu Joseph added an insurance goal in his first career multi-goal game. He roofed one from the slot with 5:28 left in the period. First period: Senators 2, Lightning 1 The good news is the Lightning have demonstrated it can dig itself out of a two-goal deficit. The bad news is it has to do it again. The Lightning came back from down two goals against Ottawa on Sunday and New Jersey before that, but it didn't want to do it against the Senators on Saturday. That was the point coach Jon Cooper made at morning skate, but it's the position the team finds itself in once again. The Lightning didn't start poorly, but it was Senators center Matt Duchene who struck. He picked up the puck behind the net and made his way to the right post and tucked the puck under Andrei Vasilevskiy's glove at 4:58. Less than three minutes later, Bobby Ryan made a nice play to get a shot off as he went to the ice and the Senators were up 2-0. In keeping of the theme of following Sunday's patterns, Joseph scored shortly there after. The rookie, who scored his first NHL goal against Ottawa on Sunday, now has three goals in four games. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115009 Tampa Bay Lightning "Bottom line is, you have a 4-2 lead going into the third and you liked how you're comfortable with how you're playing," Cooper said, "so it's a tough one to swallow." Lightning blows third-period lead, falls to Senators Senators 2-0-4–6 Lightning 1-3-0–4 Nick Kelly First Period—1, Ottawa, Duchene 6 (White), 4:58. 2, Ottawa, Ryan 5 November 10, 2018 at 11:26 PM (Ceci), 7:21. 3, Tampa Bay, Joseph 3 (Coburn, Sergachev), 8:49. Penalties—Tierney, OTT, (hooking), 10:38; Martel, TB, (slashing), 17:13.

Second Period—4, Tampa Bay, Hedman 3 (Vasilevskiy), 0:39 (pp). 5, TAMPA — This time against the Senators, the Lightning didn't have to Tampa Bay, Coburn 3 (Joseph, Killorn), 9:15. 6, Tampa Bay, Joseph 4 play catch-up for most of the game. (Cirelli, Killorn), 14:32. Penalties—Jaros, OTT, (hooking), 0:22; Hedman, TB, (tripping), 3:55; McCormick, OTT, (slashing), 11:04. This time, the Lightning actually held a lead. 4-2, to be exact. Third Period—7, Ottawa, Tkachuk 4, 0:50. 8, Ottawa, White 6 (Ryan, But this time, the Lightning was on the other end of a third-period Tkachuk), 8:41 (pp). 9, Ottawa, Dzingel 8 (Duchene), 10:30. 10, Ottawa, comeback. Stone 7 (Ryan, Duchene), 19:48 (pp). Penalties—Joseph, TB, (delay of game), 8:37; Hedman, TB, (tripping), 19:24. Shots on Goal—Ottawa 13- After Tampa Bay rallied to defeat the Senators in Ottawa last Sunday, 8-13—34. Tampa Bay 11-12-5—28. Power-play opportunities—Ottawa 2 Ottawa scored four third-period goals to come from behind and defeat of 4; Tampa Bay 1 of 3. Goalies—Ottawa, Anderson 7-5-3 (28 shots-24 the Lightning 6-4 on Saturday at Amalie Arena. saves). Tampa Bay, Vasilevskiy 9-3-1 (34-28). A—19,092 (19,092). T— "It's a tough pill to swallow, but it was just kind of a perfect storm against 2:34. Referees—Frederick L'Ecuyer, Brad Watson. Linesmen—Jonny us," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. Murray, Pierre Racicot. The storm started with Brady Tkachuk. Fifty seconds into the third period, Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 he put the puck on net, and as it trickled toward the goal line, Lightning defenseman Dan Girardi accidentally knocked it in as he tried to clear it. The tying goal came from Colin White, who scored a power-play goal three seconds in after Mathieu Joseph went to the box for delay of game. "That's something I can't do in 4-3 games," Joseph said. "That's a bad play by me. They made us pay. After that, we just couldn't recover." About two minutes after the power-play goal, Ryan Dzingel gave the Senators the lead back at 5-4. Another power-play goal from Mark Stone with 11 seconds left in the game cemented the comeback and the victory. "The one thing we wanted was 60 minutes of compete regardless of the score," Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said. The first 20 minutes from Ottawa also were strong. In what seemed like an attempt to put together a rerun of Sunday's first period, Ottawa jumped out to another 2-0 lead. Similar to Sunday, the period started with an Ottawa goal about five minutes in. In Ottawa, Bobby Ryan filled that role. In Tampa, Matt Duchene took up the responsibility of scoring that first goal as he scored his sixth of the season off a wraparound 4:58 in. Ryan scored the second goal Saturday. Unlike Sunday, the Lightning didn't wait until the second period to score. And this time, Joseph didn't wait until the third period to score. After scoring his first career NHL goal in Ottawa on Sunday, Joseph scored his third goal this week with 11:11 left in the first period to bring the Lightning within 2-1. Then came the Lightning's flurry of goals in the second period. Thirty-nine seconds into the period, Victor Hedman skated past two defensemen to score a five-hole power-play goal that tied the score at 2. It came in Hedman's first game back after missing the previous seven games with an upper-body injury. "I felt the legs were good, find an opening and a little luck on the shot," Hedman said. "It's a good feeling (to be back)." The scoring proved contagious for the defensemen. Defenseman Brayden Coburn gave Tampa Bay the lead with 10:45 left in the second with a rocket from the blue line. Joseph registered an assist on Coburn's third goal of the season. Then Joseph scored his own second-period goal to give the Lightning a 4-2 lead with 5:28 left. It marked Joseph's first multigoal game of his career. But it didn't mean nearly as much, as the Lightning squandered that lead after the second intermission. "(The Senators) were hungry to play well in the third period," Joseph said. "I think we have to be careful of that in the next four games." Those four games will come on the road as the Lightning heads to Buffalo, then Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Nashville. And it will do so with a bad taste from a bad finish to a homestand. 1115010 Tampa Bay Lightning

Diana C. Nearhos’ takeaways from the Lightning-Senators game

Diana Nearhos November 10, 2018

Mathieu Joseph popped the top and he just can't stop. The rookie forward, who went without a goal in his first 13 NHL games, has scored in three of his past four games. And Saturday was his first multipoint game, with two goals and an assist. Bruce Berg lived it up as the Thunder Kid. The 10-year old Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning player led the flag bearers onto the ice before player introductions and got into the moment. Not only did he pump the light-up stick, he pulled out some classic celebrations, like going to a knee and riding the stick. Senators coach Guy Boucher, who spent two-plus seasons leading the Lightning and took Tampa Bay within one win of the Stanley Cup final in 2011 before being fired in 2013, caught up with some of the longer- serving media and team staff members during morning skate. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115011 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning journal: Different game preparation when teams meet twice in one week

Diana Nearhos November 10, 2018 at 10:31 PM

TAMPA — The Lightning and the Senators had an easy time pulling video to review before Saturday's game at Amalie Arena; their previous meeting was only seven days prior. Lighting C J.T. Miller liked that the Lightning was able to see what worked and didn't work for them in Sunday's 4-3 overtime win in Ottawa, not just what worked against the Senators for other teams that have different tools and play a different system. "We know what to expect," he said before the Lightning's 6-4 loss at Amalie Arena. "It's kind of like the playoffs. When you see that team a lot, you know what to expect, and it's a matter of execution and having a willingness to start the game the right way and be prepared." Senators C Matt Duchene said the situation was easier on both teams, so maybe not an advantage for one or the other. Miller was focused on the Lightning. "It should be easier for us," he said. "We know what works, and we know what doesn't work. It's black and white." Focusing too much on the previous game can be a trap, however. You can't let yourself prepare for the game that was played, rather than the one upcoming. "The reality is you can't be lazy. You have to review everything over again the way you did for the first time," Senators coach Guy Boucher said. "Look at the game plan you had — what worked, what didn't work. Also, expect that they're going to make some changes also." One major adjustment for Ottawa was D Victor Hedman returning to the Lightning lineup. Last season's Norris Trophy winner was out with an upper-body injury for last week's meeting. Duchene quickly pointed to that difference. Hedman scored in the second period to tie the score at 2. Boucher said a team has to have a Plan A, B and C, but it often turns to Plan D once the game starts. Lightning coach Jon Cooper said his team should have learned from the previous matchup that "we have to start on time." The Lightning trailed 2- 0 after the first period in that game. Saturday, it trailed 2-0 after the game's first 7:21 and 2-1 after the first. First game for Martel Hedman wasn't the only addition to the Lightning lineup. F Danick Martel made his Lightning debut with F Adam Erne out with an upper-body injury. Erne is considered day-to-day. Tampa Bay claimed Martel off waivers from the Flyers in September but had not been able to work him into the lineup. Martel spent the past three years with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, with a high of 40 points in 59 games last year. He played four NHL games last year for Philadelphia without a point. Also, D Anton Stralman is also day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115012 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning pregame: What to know about the Ottawa Senators

Diana Nearhos November 10, 2018

For the second time in seven days, the Lightning are preparing to take on the Senators. On Sunday, Brayden Point scored with 27 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and Yanni Gourde scored 14 seconds into overtime for a 4-3 win. Since then, both teams have played every other day. The Senators beat New Jersey (7-3) and lost to Vegas (5-3), both at home; and are now in the first half of a back-to-back. The Lightning beat Edmonton (5-2) and the Islanders (4-2). Good news for the Lightning: Victor Hedman is back in the lineup. Last year's Norris Trophy winner missed seven games since taking an awkward tumble into the boards against Vegas. He has skated with the team for a few days and is ready to go against the Senators. Here's what Lightning coach Jon Cooper had to say at morning skate: "(We need) to start on time. Last time we were there and they jumped out early and we had to chase the game the whole night. Barring a little heroics from Pointer at the end, that would have worked out differently." "Our PK has to be a little bit better. A couple of their goals made it look easy." "(Thomas) Chabot has 17 assists already. It's a little bit of his coming out party this year. You don't get to watch the juniors so much, but he was a star in the world juniors when he played and Ottawa has done a great job bringing him a long. He the power play. They're young back there, but they have a group that if you let them off the hook, they'll make you pay." Senators coach Guy Boucher: "If you give them time and space, in general, you're done. They have so much talent. They have so much speed. Every line can score. They have what probably no one has in the league with so much depth and talent. We're aware of that. We have to make sure we have the numbers above to be able to take care of their rushing." Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115013 Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay has been spectacular on the road — 5-1-1 in the first month of the season — and now they have four straight games coming up away from home. They start Tuesday in Buffalo, then go to Pittsburgh and Rookie Mathieu Joseph shines, but lead slips away for Lightning in tough Philadelphia and Nashville before returning home for five straight. third period Despite the loss, the Lightning are the top scoring team in the league at 3.65 goals per game, but they had been seventh in goals allowed before giving up six Saturday. That came with a top defenseman, veteran Anton Greg Auman Stralman, sidelined with injury, though Cooper was optimistic he wouldn’t miss more than a week. To continue setting the pace atop the Atlantic

Division, they’ll need to finish better than they did against Ottawa. TAMPA, Fla. — Promising rookie Mathieu Joseph continues to surge — “It was kind of a perfect storm against us,” Cooper said. “Everything they scoring another two goals Saturday night — but he also learned that the shot went in … all of a sudden, it’s a tie game … then all of a sudden tiniest mistake can snowball into serious trouble as the Tampa Bay we’re chasing them. It happens. This (Lightning) team does a heck of a Lightning gave up four goals in the third period in a surprising 6-4 loss to job closing out a lot of games. Tonight, unfortunately, we didn’t.” the Ottawa Senators at Amalie Arena. What did you think of this story? Saturday’s game had followed a peculiar if familiar storyline for Tampa Bay, giving up two goals in the first eight minutes, only to charge back for MEH a 4-2 lead entering the final period. Just as the Lightning seemed in control, Ottawa got within a goal, and then Joseph flipped the puck over SOLID the glass, earning a delay-of-game penalty. Four seconds later, the AWESOME Senators had tied the game, and the momentum was theirs the rest of the way. The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018

“It’s a tough loss. We had control of this game the whole time,” Joseph said after the Lightning saw their four-game winning streak come to an end. “One after the other went in, and I took a penalty there, threw it into the stands, changed the momentum of the game. It’s something I can’t do in a 4-3 game. It’s a bad play by me, and they made us pay. And then after that, we couldn’t recover.”

It was a loss that went against expectations — the Senators (7-7-3) were just 1-4-1 on the road coming in, while the Lightning (12-3-1) were 7-2 at home before Saturday’s loss. Ottawa got two power-play goals in the final period against a Tampa Bay penalty kill that had been the second best in the NHL, killing off 90 percent of opposing man advantages entering the night.

Tampa Bay had allowed eight goals total in its four-game win streak coming in, so a defensive lapse was the last thing you would have expected on a night where defenseman Victor Hedman returned after missing seven games due to injury. Hedman scored a goal to tie the game in the second, but he didn’t seem too worried about the game getting away.

“It’s how it goes sometimes. You can’t win them all,” Hedman said. “It’s one of those things, with a two-goal lead at home, closing out an opponent is what you have to do. We’ll learn from it.”

One week earlier, the Lightning had escaped against the same Ottawa team on the road, getting a goal in the final minute to force overtime, then another tally 14 seconds into the extra period for an unlikely win. Tampa Bay had given up the first goal in six of its 12 wins coming in, including a 2-0 deficit in that first Senators game. Saturday, too, looked to be a come-from-behind success story when Joseph’s second goal made it 4-2 in the second.

Joseph has had quite a week. After making the opening roster as a 21- year-old rookie, he didn’t score in his first 13 games. But he got his first goal at Ottawa, added another Thursday against the Islanders, then broke out for two Saturday. The first saw him take the puck down the left side, behind the goal and around, then wristing a shot off defenseman Thomas Chabot for the Lightning’s first goal. He got an assist on another goal in the second, and his second goal was also impressive, firing a shot past Craig Anderson.

Cooper said the way Joseph was playing, even when his shots weren’t going in the net, gave him enough confidence as a coach that he isn’t surprised to see the scoring coming as it has. In the last four games, Joseph has twice as many goals as his closest teammate, with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde all having two goals in the same span.

“My thing with that is if you’re doing all the right things and you’re getting chances and chances and chances, eventually they’re going to go in,” Cooper said. “So there are probably plays he made that should have gone in the net but didn’t, and all of a sudden, plays that maybe don’t go in the net do. That’s just the way it works. He got rewarded tonight. I’m a big believer that if you keep putting yourself in the right position, good things are going to happen.” 1115014 Toronto Maple Leafs

Pastrnak scores 3, Bruins trounce Maple Leafs 5-1

Staff Writer

David Pastrnak had three goals and an assist to lead the Boston Bruins to a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Patrice Bergeron had a goal and two assists, Joakim Nordstrom also scored and Brad Marchand had two assists as the Bruins ended the Maple Leafs’ three-game winning streak and handed Toronto its first road loss of the season. Jaroslav Halak stopped 40 shots. John Tavares scored the only goal for Toronto, and Garret Sparks finished with 29 saves. Pastrnak’s second hat trick of the season gave him the NHL scoring lead with 15 goals after he entered in a four-way tie for the most. After assisting on Bergeron’s goal late in the first period, Pastrnak scored twice in the second and completed got his third of the night with a one- timer from the left circle with 5:56 left to play. Nordstrom scored again for Boston just 26 seconds later to seal it for the Bruins, who won the first meeting of the rivals after going 1-3 against the Maple Leafs last season. Halak got the start in the Bruins’ first game since the club granted a leave of absence to Tuukka Rask for undisclosed personal reasons. Halak stopped all 20 shots he faced in the first period, keeping the Bruins in it despite a slow start. After Pastrnak set up Bergeron for the first goal of the game, Bergeron returned the favour 5:46 into the second with a pass from behind the net for a one-timer from the left circle to give Boston a 2-0 lead. Pastrnak made it 3-0 on a power-play goal 10:24 into the second, tipping in a shot by Marchand after a cross-ice pass from Bergeron with 36 seconds left on a hooking penalty on Toronto’s Martin Marincin. Tavares scored for Toronto with 30 seconds left in the second period. NOTES: Halak was pulled Thursday against Vancouver after allowing five goals on 19 shots. … The Leafs allowed their most goals since a 3-1 loss to Calgary on Oct. 29. … With Rask unavailable, the Bruins called up G Dan Vladar from AHL Providence on an emergency basis. … Bergeron’s goal in the first was the 298th of his career. Globe And Mail LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115015 Toronto Maple Leafs

Game Centre: Maple Leafs can’t handle Boston Bruins’ big guns

MARK ZWOLINSKI Sat., Nov. 10, 2018 I f this was a measuring stick for the Maple Leafs, they didn’t measure up. The Leafs lost in their first game back in Boston since a Game 7 loss to the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs last spring. They got a so-so performance from Garret Sparks in a 5-1 loss at TD Garden, but didn’t support him well defensively. As a result, Boston scored twice in the second and third periods, sending the Leafs to their first road loss in seven away games this season. The Leafs’ Nazem Kadri battles for the puck against Boston’s Torey Krug during first-period play Saturday night in Boston. Offensive stars: David Pastrnak notched a hat trick and now has an NHL- leading 15 goals, while linemate Patrice Bergerron had a goal and had a great pass to set up Pastrnak’s goal. The Pastrnak-Bergeron-Marchand line has scored 29 of Boston’s 48 goals. They put up a pair of power play goals, and accounted for nine points overall Saturday night. Defensive stars: Toronto turned in an excellent first period defensively, shutting off space in the neutral zone and limiting the Bruins to just five shots (20-6 edge for Leafs in shots after one period). Toronto, though, lost that edge in the second. Their defenceman, which were stellar in the first period, allowed the Bruins’ big line far too much room to operate, and they paid a steep price for it. Boston responded in the second with a 16- 10 edge in shots, but where outshot 41-34 overall. “It’s a 60 minute game,” Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “It’s important to have a good start. I thought we did that, and then we really didn’t follow that up.” Turning point: Pastrnak’s powerplay goal midway through the second period put Boston up 3-0, and put the game out of reach for the Leafs. Talking point: Mitch Marner is nothing short of amazing with the puck but has found the going tough over the past two games. He has one assist over that span — the set-up on Tavares goal Saturday night. He now has a goal and three assists in five November games so far. Takeaways: Right now, the Leafs, for all the good work they’ve shown so far this season, have yet to show they can compete with the Bruins. Toronto forced a Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs last spring, and owned the puck possession metrics in the first period Saturday (65 per cent). But Boston took over the game in the second period, beating Toronto in key puck battles. The result was a pair of second-period goals for the Bruins, who made the usually swift Leafs look slow … Sparks was playing in his first game in 26 days. He wasn’t rusty; in fact, he had some great saves, especially on a close-in chance in the second period, where Pastrnak almost had his hat trick goal. But Sparks does appear to have trouble tracking the puck in traffic, that was apparent on a pair of Bruins’ powerplays in the second period. He was also playing too deep in his goal on three goals. In addition, Boston began shooting the puck from anywhere in the second. They sprayed 16 shots at Sparks in the second. In all fairness to the Leaf goalie, though, the Leafs’ defence simply lost track of the very dangerous Pastrnak, allowing him free space in high danger areas on both his goals. And then there was this: Sparks said he’d never seen anything like Pastrnak’s first goal: “The hardest shot I’ve ever seen,” Sparks told reporters in Boston. They said it: “William Nylander is on the block.” — The Hockey Night in Canada panel claims the Leafs are asking teams what they would offer in a trade for Nylander, whose contract holdout shows no signs of movement. The two sides must come to a deal by Dec. 1 or Nylander loses the season. Up next: The Leafs visit the L.A. Kings Tuesday to kick off a three-game Western road swing. LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115016 Toronto Maple Leafs According to NHL Stats, he is the seventh defenceman in team history to post at least 20 points through his first 16 games of the season, and the sixth defenceman to score at least seven goals over the same span. Maple Leafs’ defence getting the job done Rielly, being mentioned in talk regarding early Norris Trophy candidates, deflects talk about his personal stats. But he’s also a staunch defender. MARK ZWOLINSKI Time will tell how consistent the Maple Leafs’ defence can be and whether they are, as Rielly believes, battle worthy for the playoffs. Sat., Nov. 10, 2018 Toronto Star LOADED: 11.11.2018

When Morgan Rielly took the ceremonial faceoff at the Hall of Fame Game Friday at Scotiabank Arena, it marked a proud moment for the Maple Leafs’ top defenceman. It also underlined what has been a high water mark for Leafs defenceman in general, especially over the past two weeks. Heading into play Saturday, Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen was tied for the NHL lead in wins (9), while posting a stellar .962 save percentage over his past five starts. Led by Rielly, Toronto’s blue line corps has enjoyed a spell of solid play while tackling its biggest nemesis — shots against. Toronto’s shots against totals have been at or near the top of the league for the past two seasons. No. 1 goalie Freddie Andersen has faced more shots than any NHL goalie over that time period. This season, however, Andersen is seeing roughly 2-3 shots less per game; Toronto has still given up 414 shots against — fifth-highest in the NHL — but Andersen was able to emerge from October with an above .900 save percentage. That’s the first time he’s cleared the opening month of the season at that mark in three seasons in Toronto. Heading into play Saturday, Andersen was tied for the NHL lead in wins (9), while posting a stellar .962 save percentage over his past five starts. Andersen has been crediting his success in large part to his defence, which has been clearing shot lanes so he can follow the puck better, and boxing out opposition forwards. And there have been less high-percentage chances of late, which has allowed Andersen to make key saves and not have to worry about rebounds as much. Leafs coach Mike Babcock said earlier this week that in the past two five- game segments, the scoring chances against them have been at their lowest since the coach took over three seasons ago. For a blue line that continues to be scrutinized for its lack of size and toughness, the fact the team is riding along in second place in the Atlantic Division with the second-highest win total in the NHL (11) reflects improvement. “It was great, the first period was unbelievable. I think we limited their chances to barely any, actually,” Andersen said of his team’s defensive effort in a 6-1 win over the New Jersey Devils Friday at Scotiabank Arena. “Obviously, they came out a little bit harder in the second and third chasing the game, but I thought we did a good job.” For Andersen, above-average shots against numbers will likely continue to be a fact of life; Toronto was outshot in each of its last three games — all wins — and has been outshot in eight of its first 16 games. Yet the team’s overall defensive performance has helped Andersen excel under the pressure. For instance, in terms of high0danger chances against, Toronto has limited the opposition to single digit chances in five of its last six games. That reflects better zone coverage by the entire team, better back- checking by the forwards and better breakouts. It has also allowed for better offence from the blue line: Travis Dermott is plus-65 in 5-on-5 shot differential (meaning he’s on the ice for 65 more shots for than against). That’s the eighth-highest differential among Eastern Conference defenceman, and the highest on the Leafs. Igor Ozhiganov owns a 58.7 mark in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage when the Leafs are leading; that’s first among NHL rookie defenceman with 10 or more games played. Rielly, meanwhile, is enjoying his best start to a season. He picked up a goal and an assist against the Devils, giving him six multi-point games this season. 1115017 Toronto Maple Leafs Sparks had not played since Oct. 15. There’s the likelihood he will be in goal in Anaheim on Friday, the second of back-to-back games. Despite looking shaky, he said he did not feel bad in the crease. Leafs' strong road run to start season ends in Boston “It’s a new challenge, sitting long times between starts,” Sparks said. “It’s almost like you really forget that feeling of being in the net. You try to say that practice is your game, but you just can’t recreate game play, so if I Terry Koshan get another opportunity I’m going to look to do a little bit more with it. November 11, 2018 4:00 AM EST “It’s a daily process to get closer and closer to where I want to be. I don’t think that anybody hits their peak in November, right?”

Said coach Mike Babcock of Sparks’ performance: “Well, I mean, I don’t BOSTON — Those Beantown ghosts haven’t been exorcised just yet. know. I haven’t looked at the tape so I can’t really tell you. The bottom line is you win together and lose together.” And really, they won’t be until the Maple Leafs eliminate the Boston Bruins in the playoffs one spring. BUILDING MEMORIES The Leafs, with goaltender Garret Sparks making his third start of 2018- The Leafs don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on the Game 7 loss against 19, were strong early at TD Garden on Saturday night but eventually the Bruins — and the manner in which it happened — but they don’t deny were overwhelmed by Patrice Bergeron and company, losing 5-1 to the learning that was gained from such an experience. suffer their first road loss of the season. Toronto had a one-goal lead entering the third period on the night of April For Sparks, facing the line of Bergeron between David Pastrnak and 25 but fell apart in the final 20 minutes, losing 7-4 to head into the Brad Marchand was an eye-opener. The trio had nine points, paced by summer with a big heap of bitterness. Pastrnak’s hat trick. “You can’t really put a value on what it’s like to play in a playoff series like “I think the immediate, obvious thing is their chemistry and how they look that, but I think when you come back to camp the next year, you’re all a for each other across the zone,” Sparks said. “It’s not like they’re looking bit more mature, a bit more experienced and you learn a lot from those to set each other up 10 feet away, they’re making passes 50, 60 feet and playoff games,” Rielly said. “Just confidence and more comfortable. I one-timing them. think that those experiences really go a long way. “It’s just a different look. There’s not a whole lot of lines like that in the “There is not really one thing you can take away from it when it comes to NHL and it was an interesting experience going up against them. I know playing the game, it’s more the experience of travelling, playing road what I have to do next time if I want to get the best of them.” playoff games — losing a road playoff game is brutal. You learn the importance of Games 1 and 2 (when the Leafs were not good). Lots can In the Leafs’ first appearance in the arena since the Game 7 debacle this be learned, but it’s not one particular thing. It’s the overall experience past April, Sparks finished with 29 saves. The Leafs had 41 shots on itself.” Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak, pressed into carrying the load with Tuukka Rask on personal leave, but only John Tavares scored. The Leafs goal Centre Nazem Kadri’s thinking was in a similar vein. came with 30 seconds remaining in the second period after Boston had a 3-0 lead. “Playing in Game 7s, especially Game 7s on the road, are very challenging,” Kadri said. “I think it’s part of the maturation process, With 19 points (10 goals and nine assists) in 17 games, Tavares is on especially with the young guys in our dressing room, anybody really, it pace for 48 goals and 92 points. Both would be career highs. gives you that sense of urgency and understanding what it takes to move forward in a playoff series. Starting a four-game trip, Toronto failed in its attempt to win its first seven road games for the second time in team history. “(Game 7) still stings a little bit, but it’s not something that we’re looking for any sort of revenge.” The only time it happened was in 1940-41, and it should come as no surprise that the first Toronto road loss that season came in Boston by a For Rielly, the months that have passed have made it easier to put the 5-2 score on Dec. 17. So yes, the Bruins have been breaking the Leafs’ loss at the hands of the Bruins in clearer perspective. hearts forever. “At the time it sucks, it’s about the worst feeling you can get when your With the Leafs gathering themselves in the dressing room during the year ends,” Rielly said. “We learned a lot from it, but I think it’s now time second-period intermission, Elliotte Friedman reported on Hockey Night that we put it behind us and we focus on the future more than the past in Canada that Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas has told interested playoff series. teams to indicate what players they would offer — and to indicate which players they would not be willing to trade — for unsigned winger William “When March and April come, we want to be ready and more prepared Nylander. than we were last year and we earn a spot where we feel like we can (have playoff success). Through the team’s media relations staff, Dubas declined to comment on Nylander and was not made available to reporters. “I think you have to take it in stride. Teams that are winning now and have won the past few years, have all gone through these things. It’s With the Dec. 1 deadline to sign Nylander now inside three weeks, it’s tough at the time because you want to win, but these are the things that prudent for Dubas to seriously explore all avenues that involve the have to happen in order to learn these lessons, but you want to get them restricted free agent. This is keeping in mind the Leafs’ first desire is to out of the way early and start winning.” re-sign Nylander, but it’s the responsibility of Dubas to have contingency plans in place if it becomes clear that will not be possible. Babcock usually doesn’t consume himself with looking in the rearview mirror, and falling to the Bruins in the post-season is no different. The Leafs have been getting by quite fine without Nylander, but without both the injured Auston Matthews and Nylander in the lineup, are 3-3-0. “Any time you lose in the playoffs, you walk through all the things you shoulda, coulda, woulda done, and how you would like to be different,” Before Tavares scored to end Halak’s shutout bid, the Bruins got a pair Babcock said. “Nothing you can do about it, though. We got a whole year of goals in the second period from Pastrnak, one at even-strength and to try to get ourselves in a playoff position to have another opportunity. one on the power play. “What is very clear about the NHL is we all look like we’re the same and Bergeron assisted on both goals, and with his first goal in the first period, then when the playoffs start, you are playing a really good opponent right has 62 points in 65 career games against Toronto. away.” The Leafs were unable to build off the Tavares goal in the third, as POINT SHOTS Pastrnak scored on a power play and Joakim Nordstrom got Boston’s fifth goal 26 seconds later. The Leafs were scheduled to stay overnight in Boston and fly to Los Angeles on Sunday, with a practice on Monday before taking on the The Leafs had 20 shots on goal in the first period — their most in any Kings on Tuesday night at the Staples Center to start the California period this season — and held the Bruins to six shots on goal. Bergeron portion of the trip. The state usually has not been a source of good scored the only goal in the opening 20 minutes. results for the Leafs, and in its three trips with Babcock as coach, Toronto is 2-6-1. Both wins — one last season and one in 2015-16 — “It’s a 60-minute game,” defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “It’s important came in Anaheim. Expect the Leafs to recall a forward, likely Trevor to have a good start, I thought we did that, and then we didn’t really Moore, in the next 24 hours … Bergeron might not garner the same kind follow up.” of attraction as players as electrifying as Connor McDavid or Matthews, but ask any NHL player about difficult opponents and Bergeron will be part of the answer. “He does it right every shift,” Leafs forward Zach Hyman said. “He wins faceoffs. His line has the puck all the time. He just does it right. He’s relentless.” … Marchand on the Leafs/Bruins rivalry: “That was a good series (in April). There’s always feelings left over when you go through a series like that. The history we have with Toronto, not just last year but over the past couple decades, it has really amplified the games we play against them.” … Kudos to Gary Bettman for the growth of the NHL in some non-traditional hockey markets and expanding the league’s revenue stream during his time as commissioner. Is there an outstanding reason, however, for Bettman to go into the Hall of Fame while he remains on the job? Why not wait until his reign is done so it can be evaluated properly and fully before deciding whether he is worthy of Hall status? For some, forgetting that Bettman’s rule has included several work stoppages will take a long time. FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED Appreciation for Andersen Few move around the crease as well as Frederik Andersen, and Garret Sparks is no exception. Sparks appeared to be fighting the puck at times, though the Bruins’ top line can make goalies do that. No answer Patrice Bergeron has made a habit of beating up on the Leafs, and though Toronto knows what’s coming, the Bruins’ top forward and his linemates were unstoppable. Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand combined for nine points. Better than the score? To say the Leafs were bad and didn’t have much chance of winning would be selling them short. Yes, the Leafs tailed off after the first period, but when the game ended, had 43 shot attempts in 5-on-5 play, the same number the Bruins had. Both clubs had 14 in the third period. Duo dominated While the John Tavares line managed to keep pace with the Bergeron line in shot attempts at even-strength, the defence pair of Morgan Rielly and Ron Hainsey struggled against the trio. “They played well,” Rielly said. “They’re tough to match up against. They’re good.” Give it up Coach Mike Babcock was bothered simply by the loss, but once he watches the game film should have a better appreciation for some of the things the Leafs managed to do well. The Leafs hounded the Bruins into 16 giveaways (while committing eight) and had 15 takeaways to the Bruins’ nine. Toronto Sun LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115018 Toronto Maple Leafs Marlies … True story: Zach Hyman once scored 42 goals for the junior Hamilton Red Wings …Thought Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers was going to be superb. It wasn’t. But you can’t watch football that was more SIMMONS: Leafs' play takes pressure off Dubas in Nylander negotiations fun than Drew Brees vs. Jared Goff, the Saints vs. the Rams. I want more of that.

SCENE AND HEARD Steve Simmons What the Vegas Golden Knights have discovered in their second season, November 10, 2018 9:18 PM EST as they’ve crash back to earth, is just how valuable a defenceman Nate Schmidt is. They have not been able to adequately replace his minutes or his leadership as he sits out a dubious 20-game suspension … Another reason to hate social media: Cancer victim Brian Boyle scores Kyle Dubas has three weeks to sign William Nylander before losing him three goals on Hockey Fights Cancer Night and the next day all anyone for the season and the consensus around the NHL seems to be he is is talking about are the Ottawa Senators and their Uber ride … Who is under very little pressure to get a deal done. Nylander getting his advice from – Le’Veon Bell? … The Blue Jays want According to former general managers and team executives polled, the J.A. Happ back. The Yankees want him back. At least three other teams Maple Leafs record thus far provides Dubas, the first year general have interest. Nice to see a good man get all kinds of attention this off manager, with a shield he wouldn’t otherwise be afforded if the team was season … Cliff’s son, Chuck Fletcher, got fired in Minnesota but left struggling. behind 18 players who are good enough to have the surprising Wild as the NHL’s fourth best team. Makes you wonder: Is Bruce Boudreau the “Put it this way,” said a longtime executive, “if the Leafs were one game greatest regular season coach ever? … Incredible to see what under .500 instead of six games over, he would be feeling differently sophomore Thomas Chabot is doing on the Ottawa defence, leading the about this and so would the vibe around him and the team. When you’re NHL in back-end scoring … Don’t know what was worse: Firing Marc in that seat, the pressure in the game is all about winning. They have a Trestman in the middle of the night. Firing him by phone while he was damn good team without Nylander.” sitting on the team bus. Or firing him and instructing him not to meet with his players or coaches that same morning. And no thanks for winning “When I was a general manager, I’d make a list every day of all the that Grey Cup a year ago. things I’d have to do,” said a former GM. “And at the end of the day, you’d get through some of it, and you’d add some things to the list, and it AND ANOTHER THING just keeps going like that. The job is so big. There is so much work to do. You never complete the list. The Nylander is just one thing of many After hitting eight home runs in seven games in late August, Kendrys things he’s working on daily.” Morales finished the Blue Jays season by hitting .169 with no home runs and just four RBIs … The assumption of those asked is that the Leafs will sign Nylander before Dec. 1 and no one put any emphasis on Dubas’ inexperience as a factor is approaching some heady numbers and heady names: in negotiations. “He wouldn’t have the job if he couldn’t do it,” said Going into Saturday night, Marleau was three goals behind , another former GM. “I think Nylander is too smart to lose an NHL season, six away from Rocket Richard on the all-time list. Yep, that Rocket but I’ve been wrong about this before.” Richard … There isn’t always a need to quantify the end of a career with a Hall of Fame debate. Joe Mauer had a marvellous run with the THIS AND THAT Minnesota Twins. Fifteen seasons, four times in the post-season, six all- star games, a career batting average of .306. He may never get to Michael Nylander played for seven NHL teams, three AHL teams, 12 Cooperstown. Doesn’t mean he didn’t have a superb career … The different European teams in his career. He was a career pain in the butt highest scoring defencemen, per game, in history: Bobby Orr followed by for managers he played for … The growing success of Mitch Marner has Paul Coffey, Denis Potvin, and Al MacInnis. The surprise in not been lost on the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes picked Dylan Strome sixth spot: Paul Reinhart, father of Sam, Griffin and Max, whose career ahead of Marner in the 2015 NHL draft. Marner is outscoring Strome was cut short due to back troubles … Remember the story about the U.S. 149-13 in the league. Since the draft error, the Coyotes have quietly Olympic hockey team tearing up the Canadian flag at the 2002 Winter pushed out well known veteran scouts Tim Bernhardt and Jeff Twohey, Olympics? Well, Hall of Famer Jayna Hefford is convinced it never who were central to the selecting of Strome … Central Scouting, by the happened. “Cammi Granato told me it didn’t happen,” said Hefford. “If way, listed both Strome and Lawson Crouse ahead of Marner in their someone like Cammi Granato says it, I believe it.” … Dougie Hamilton is final ratings that season. Both now play for the Coyotes. Listed first on his third NHL team, third team wondering why he isn’t better … Happy among Europeans that year: Colorado star Mikko Rantanen, who is birthday to (24), Ken Holland (63), Shawn Green (46), holding the NHL scoring lead in trust until Connor McDavid laps him and Zach Ertz (28), Larry Parrish (65), Mike Zeisberger (56) and Victor Cruz everyone else in the field … It’s early, but based on the first month or so (33) … And hey, whatever became of Erik Karlsson? of the NHL season, Frederik Andersen is in the Vezina Trophy conversation … Joel Quenneville will next coach in the NHL when he Doing the math on the Jays wants to, with one dumb proviso: He needs to get permission from the Blackhawks, who fired him, to talk to interested teams. That’s a rule the There is nothing wrong with the amount of money the Blue Jays spent in NHL needs to change. You can’t fire someone and still control their future payroll last season, contrary to what super agent Scott Boras may … Mike Babcock figures Quenneville will spend the next while skiing in contend. They spent more than $150 million US on player salaries. Colorado … Where have we heard this before? Time is running out on Where they failed, essentially, was in lack of performance from the paid Randy Carlyle as coach of the Anaheim Ducks. players, including the Boras client, Aaron Sanchez. HEAR AND THERE If you break it down piece by piece, the Jays had almost $62 million in wasted dollars in Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson, Life in the Eastern Conference just got more complicated for the 12-1 although the Tulowitzki money would be covered by insurance. That Raptors, with Jimmy Butler on his way to Philadelphia … One of the figure includes the $2.7 million the Jays sent to Cleveland in the great strengths of the San Antonio Spurs’ run of title and contention was Donaldson trade. consistently finding terrific players from non-advantageous draft positions. You can say the Raptors have done the same now with the Then you look to the top of the pitching rotation, where Sanchez, Marcus contributions of 27th pick (2016), Pascal Siakam; 23rd pick (2017) OG Stroman and Marco Estrada were paid approximately $22 million. Anunoby and the college free agent, Fred VanVleet (2016). If you did Stroman and Sanchez did nothing between injuries and Estrada never those drafts over again, Siakam and Anunoby would be Top 10 picks and really found his form. VanVleet not far behind that. That’s quality work by Masai Ujiri and staff That’s $84 million spent on paper with almost nothing to show for it. If … Wednesday night, Dwane Casey returns to the Scotiabank Arena with you then add in the $11 million for Kendrys Morales, the $4 million for the Detroit Pistons. No doubt he will get a giant reception, as he Yangervis Solarte, there’s another $15 million tossed away on players deserves. But also no doubt, what a great first impression Nick Nurse who don’t help you win. has made as an NBA coach … This is new: Kawhi Leonard took the day off Saturday for the Raptors. Or so it seemed … Combined, the MLSE That’s basically $100 million gone, including the cash Jays sent to teams — the Leafs and Raptors — were 33-6 heading into Saturday Boston to pay for Steve Pearce and next to no value for any of it (except, night’s NHL game in Boston. That has never happened before … I’ve of course, a Red Sox World Series). been hearing most of my professional life about a CFL team in Halifax. I just never believed it would happen — until now … My pick for CFL most A lot of the wasted dollars are circumstantial or contracts Mark Shapiro outstanding player: Hamilton quarterback Jeremiah Masoli … Please, and Ross Atkins inherited. The Jays ended the season with the 11th someone get Sheldon Keefe a goalie. His guys have had goals against highest payroll in baseball and finished 13th overall in attendance. averages of 3.99 and 5.31 and save percentages below .860 with the The problem wasn’t how much they spent, it’s whom they spent it on, and what kind of production they end up getting for their money – which is basically your money. The end of an era Sunday could be Wally Buono’s last game as a coach. Or maybe next Sunday. Or maybe Grey Cup Sunday. We do know this much: The end of a spectacular time for a rather spectacular person is coming to an end. Buono started as a linebacker and a on the in 1972. How long ago was it, really? His first coach was the legendary . He played for the Als before was an ordinary superstar and after became the starting quarterback. His second coach, also a legend, happened to be . Buono wasn’t a great player, just a solid Canadian contributor who made teams better. And then he began coaching and it was there he became a star. He went to Calgary when the Stampeders were both a football and financial disaster. He shaped the program beginning in 1990 to the model franchise it remains today. He coached the Stamps for 13 seasons and has been B.C. Lions coach for 12 years in all. There is no other CFL staple like him, no dependable rock of influence and success to compare him with. He will be missed. Missed by all those he made better. About the Senators’ ban… When I started covering the Calgary Flames in 1980, we travelled commercially with the team, stayed in the same hotels, rode the same buses, often drank in the same bars or ate in the same restaurants. The more you were around the team, hanging in airports, waiting for flights or luggage, the more you heard about what was going on. Real or imagined. Who was happy and who wasn’t? Who liked the coach and who didn’t? Which players the coach cared for and which ones he didn’t? And when it wasn’t players or coaches, when just the reporters went out, we would complain about our newspapers, our editors, fellow writers, hockey players or people we didn’t care for: It was and is human nature. There was no social media then to have any of this filmed or recorded, the way the Ottawa Senators players got trapped talking about their team while talking an Uber ride. They did nothing different than most of us have done. They spoke their minds in what they believed was private conversation. Hockey boys being boys. The amazing postscript: the Senators banned a reporter from their charter flight once the story was published in the Ottawa papers. That’s not really the amazing part. What’s remarkable is this: In this day and age, why would any team allow reporters on their charter? And who made that decision? Toronto Sun LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115019 Toronto Maple Leafs The start in Boston was his first in almost four weeks. He’ll get another one Friday night in Anaheim and another one after that just over a week

later when the Leafs host the Flyers on Nov. 24. The hard lessons Garret Sparks is learning about being the Leafs backup His next start after that though probably won’t come for another month. The Leafs won’t play back-to-back again until Dec. 22-23, with another set to follow just before the new year. Jonas Siegel Those are the breaks for the Leafs backup. Nov 10, 2018 5 Curtis McElhinney, Sparks’ predecessor in the role, handled those long layoffs quite well over two seasons with the Leafs. McElhinney pitched a .935 save percentage in his 15 starts last season and delivered a .914 BOSTON — Garret Sparks had never seen a blast as hard as the one clip in 14 appearances a year before that after the Leafs scooped him off David Pastrnak fired by him to kick off a hat trick for the Bruins on waivers from Columbus. It was his smooth performance in the role that Saturday night. earned him serious trust from Babcock and made it possible (if not “Knocked himself silly one-timing it,” Sparks said afterward. improbable and illogical) that the Leafs might keep him over Sparks when the dust settled at training camp earlier this fall. Not only is Sparks learning what it takes to beat back attempts from some of the scariest scorers in the league, but do it while starting The Leafs wisely opted for the younger model with upside, the one who sporadically as the backup to Frederik Andersen. led the minor league team to a Calder Cup and captured AHL goalie of the year. And McElhinney, who was lost to Carolina on waivers, has The backup job in Toronto isn’t like a lot of similar gigs in the NHL. struggled for the Hurricanes. He stopped 31-of-32 shots in his debut, but Under Mike Babcock, the Leafs No. 2 is basically destined to play only on then dipped below .900, in terms of save percentage, in each of his the second night of back-to-back sets — until, that is, the Leafs have a following four starts. firm grip on a playoff spot and playoff seed. Only Edmonton’s Cam Talbot He has an .884 save percentage on the year. started more games over the previous two seasons than Andersen and were it not for a knee injury to the Leafs No. 1 in the second week of the Calvin Pickard, Sparks’ backup with the Marlies last season, has also regular season, Sparks would have been starting only his second game failed to keep the puck out with any regularity in Philadelphia. He’s given of the season in Boston and not, as was the actual case, his third. up 21 goals on only 155 shots for an .865 save percentage.

“That’s his job, right,” Babcock said of the long layoffs Sparks can expect Sparks says he’s found a routine that works for him in preparing for the between starts. “He knows what his job is and this is his opportunity.” rare opportunities he’ll get with the Leafs. But he insists that it’s “a daily process to get closer and closer to where I want to be. I don’t think that Sparks didn’t make good on this particular opportunity. He got hit for five anybody hits their peak in November. It’s just work. It’s just an goals on 34 shots against the Bruins and now holds an unsavoury .879 opportunity to work harder.” save percentage in his first three starts as Andersen’s understudy. He’s still just figuring it out though, how to go from being the guy who was He’s got a lot riding on these infrequent opportunities to start. jumping into the crease regularly for the Marlies to the second fiddle who Big picture is the chance to establish a foundation as an NHL goaltender might play once every few weeks for the Leafs. and one whose contract is up at the end of the season (RFA). More “It’s a new challenge, sitting long times between starts,” Sparks said. “It’s important in the near-term is building some trust with the Leafs coach. almost like you really forget that feeling of being in the net. You try to say Babcock had that in McElhinney and from every indication during camp, that practice is your game, but you just can’t re-create game-play. he probably would have preferred to have the 35-year-old around again for that idea of reliability. Sparks can get to that point with Babcock, but “Obviously if I get another opportunity I’m going to look to do a little bit he can do it only by stopping the puck when he gets his chances to play. more with it.” He didn’t do that in his season debut at home in Chicago. Six pucks Sparks didn’t think rust was an issue against the Bruins though. He felt whizzed by that night with friends and family on hand at United Center, well enough. It’s more about getting used to the whole routine of it all. Of but the Leafs still managed to beat the Blackhawks by potting seven. Just playing once and then having only practice for weeks and weeks to fine- over a week later, with Andersen out, he halted 33-of-34 shots more tune things. Sparks is on the ice most days well before practice with impressively in a comfortable win over the Kings. And then came the Andersen and Leafs goalie coach Steve Briere and he often lingers for a Bruins and mostly just their wicked top line of Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron good while after the session ends, fielding as many shots as his new (but and Brad Marchand. mostly familiar) teammates want to throw his way. Bergeron got the first of the five. He got inside positioning on Morgan Games of rebound sometimes last as long as 40 minutes after practice. Rielly and then wisely redirected a pass from Pastrnak. Then it was A HANDFUL OF LEAFS LINGER FOR A SHOOTING GAME LONG Pastrnak who one-timed a Bergeron pass from the other side of the ice, (MAYBE 40 MINUTES!) AFTER THE END OF SUNDAY PRACTICE: knocking himself silly, as Sparks said, from the force of his efforts (see below). He deposited some change on his next goal on a setup from AUSTON MATTHEWS – AGE 21 Marchand and then finished off the hat trick like a pro on yet another helper from Marchand. MITCH MARNER – AGE 21 Sparks could really only be faulted for the fifth marker to Joakim KASPERI KAPANEN – AGE 22 Nordstrom. But he also didn’t make the difficult saves either on some of CONNOR BROWN – AGE 24 those aforementioned chances, which he’ll have to do to find success at this level. GARRET SPARKS – AGE 25 It was more the passes that the Bruins top trio made that took Sparks by AND YOUNGSTER PATRICK MARLEAU, WHO TURNED 39 LAST surprise, not the shots. How crisp they were. How they seemed to MONTH. PIC.TWITTER.COM/TIPYUXFHOA develop slowly from patience of the Bruins stars. How Pastrnak, Bergeron and Marchand found opportunities for one another from 50-60 — JONAS SIEGEL (@JONASSIEGEL) OCTOBER 21, 2018 feet away. They didn’t pass like that in the minors. Sparks says he’s been pleased with how the work has gone at practice “It was an interesting experience going up against them,” Sparks said. and has chosen a very Babcock-like approach to handling the long stretches between games. The kind of experience you get from playing and not from, well, practice. That being said, Sparks has an array of powerful shooters to face at “You can use it to sharpen your game or you can use it to just sit there practice each day with the Leafs and Babcock noted before Saturday’s and wait for the next start,” he said. “I think I’ve been doing a lot of good game that Sparks seemed to be improving as a result. “You know, at the work in practice and stuff. I don’t know if it translated tonight, but overall I start, when you first come from the American League, no matter how didn’t feel like I was bad in there at all tonight.” good you think you are or you are, the puck just goes in. … But as time goes on you get used to the shooters and now you start to get your confidence back …”

That may come for Sparks, who cuts a much different personality in the dressing room from the older, quieter McElhinney. Most days, he’s bouncing around the room with energy and enthusiasm, chatting up teammates from across the room and Andersen in the next stall over. As he points out, many of his current teammates were also teammates in one way or another along the way of his eight years with the organization.

“Jake Gardiner was on my first rookie tournament team in 2011,” Sparks said, while others like Travis Dermott, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson were teammates with the Marlies. “It’s not like I don’t know these guys. It’s just that I’ve been with different parts of the organization working on my game.”

There were nights like Saturday, he said, anywhere you went, at any given level. From Estero, Florida, of the ECHL to Utica of the AHL. None, he said, were cake walks.

It was all part of the journey to getting better.

“You think your career is over for a second and then you just get back to work,” Sparks said.

As for adjusting to being the Leafs backup, Sparks said the hardest part was simply not being used to it. “But you can use it as a challenge and you can use it to make you better. So that’s what I intend to do.”

The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115020 Toronto Maple Leafs but you still have to give the man credit for getting seven pucks through traffic and on net — it’s not an easy thing to do.

Leafs Report Cards: Game 17 at Boston 䈏䈏䈏

Mitch Marner – 1 ridiculous assist (and not much else)

Ian Tulloch If not for his gorgeous assist a few seconds after the power play ended, Marner probably would have found himself with a much worse grade Nov 10, 2018 tonight. He didn’t look as dangerous in transition tonight, but this assist is enough to bump him up to the 3-Star club, in my opinion.

Andreas Johnsson – Looking more like the Andreas Johnsson we all “If you’re ever wondering who’s in charge of the Leafs report cards on a know and love specific night, just grade how exciting the game was on a scale from 1-to- 10. If it’s below a three, it means it’s me, Dom. Anything else apparently Johnsson’s looked a lot quicker and more dynamic over the past few goes to Ian.” games. It didn’t result in many dangerous chances tonight for his line, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him lately. — Dom earlier this week Josh Leivo – Animal on the forecheck It appears as though my luck with report cards has finally come to an end, so let’s try our best to make it through these together as we Leivo was doing an excellent job of winning puck battles in the offensive evaluate one of Toronto’s sloppier games of the season. zone. It didn’t result in great shot metrics for the left winger (getting outshot and out-chanced at even strength), but I thought he was doing One or two words to describe how the team looked his part tonight. Underwhelming — Toronto followed up a solid first period with one of its 䈏䈏 worst 20-minute stretches of play in the second period, then managed to get outplayed in the third period (despite being down by multiple goals, Nazem Kadri – Although he didn’t look as dangerous as usual tonight, when score effects typically help the losing team get back in the game). It Kadri managed to chip in by drawing a penalty and helping his team wasn’t pretty. outshoot the opposition when he was on the ice (I’m really reaching for compliments here). Gotta hear both sides Jake Gardiner – I usually find myself talking about the phenomenal plays Glass half-full: The Leafs were on a second half of a back-to-back that Gardiner made during a game along with his inexplicably poor against one of the better teams in the league. decision or two that made people yell at their TVs. This was an oddly Glass half-empty: They were a defensive tire fire for the final two-thirds of boring night for him (not as many game-changing plays with the puck, the game. positively or negatively), which a lot of fans are probably happy about, but I’d like to see him make a bigger impact on the game than he did Player Reports tonight.

䈏䈏䈏䈏䈏 Morgan Rielly – Rielly’s strengths were pretty clear tonight (he was moving the puck well, leading the team in controlled zone exits and Best player on the ice: David Pastrnak — 3 goals, 2 of them when he controlled zone entries). His shortcomings were also on display, as he was wide open. allowed quite a few dangerous passes in the offensive zone, most I’m sorry. I know this is mean, but if we’re being honest, no one really notably Bergeron’s cross-ice pass to Pastrnak for a goal. I still think the stood out for Toronto tonight. Pastrnak was clearly the best player on the pros outweigh the cons with Rielly, but he’s definitely not the greatest ice, so I’m giving him the award — also because he reminds me how player in the league defensively. much I miss William Nylander. Connor Brown – I’ve been pretty critical of Brown this season for not Toronto’s best player on the ice: Timothy Liljegren doing much offensively, but tonight was one of those nights for him (generating one shot on net in over 15 minutes of ice time). For what it’s If we’re talking about Toronto’s best player tonight, he was playing at worth, though, you could say the same thing about a lot of Leafs tonight. Coca-Cola Coliseum. Liljegren had a multi-point night and a few jaw- dropping plays in transition. Do yourself a favour and watch both of these Tyler Ennis – A few games ago, I was convinced that Ennis’ days in the clips (it’ll make you feel better about those Leafs that we both just NHL were numbered, but he’s looked pretty impressive over the past watched). couple games. He’s using his speed to create plays in transition, and we’re seeing more flashes of the high-end skill he had in Buffalo. Tonight NOT A BAD PERIOD FOR LILJEGREN. definitely wasn’t his greatest game, but it was definitely NHL-quality. PIC.TWITTER.COM/FK5WXDUKJL Travis Dermott – I love Travis Dermott more than I love bacon, but — KEVIN PAPETTI (@KPAPETTI) NOVEMBER 11, 2018 sometimes I overcook my bacon and it doesn’t taste as good. Dermott looked a bit overcooked tonight (not making as many great plays out of All right. Now that I’ve got most of my sass out of the way, let’s move the DZ as we’re used to), but he’s still bacon and I love him. Sorry, what onto the actual #analysis. were we talking about?

䈏䈏䈏䈏 Zach Hyman – Zach Hyman is an excellent player without the puck. Kasperi Kapanen – 13.3 minutes (that’s it?), 2 shots, lots of clean zone Zach Hyman is a terrible player with the puck. Tonight, we saw a bit of exits and zone entries both aspects, but I thought it was a decent game for him, all things considered. Kapanen was one of the few players making plays tonight at even strength (and I know that because he definitely didn’t get any power-play Par Lindholm – If you told me Par Lindholm didn’t play tonight, I opportunities). Yes, that game made me sassy, but I’m not going to let genuinely might have believed you. That’s not necessarily a bad thing that take away from how well Kapanen played. He was dynamic in (playing a responsible 200-foot game can lead to that a lot of the time), transition, making tons of plays off the rush and setting up John Tavares but he wasn’t doing much to influence the game offensively. with a beautiful cross-ice feed for what should have been a goal in the 䈏 third period. Worst player on the ice: Ron Hainsey – This award could really go to John Tavares – 18.1 minutes, 7 shots, 1 goal almost anyone tonight, but I decided to go with the player who couldn’t In a game in which not many players could generate anything, Tavares move the puck at even strength and got eaten alive on the penalty kill. managed to get seven pucks on net. Now, they weren’t the highest- Did they even play tonight or am I blind? quality chances (he managed only 0.61 expected goals on those shots), Patrick Marleau – I try to track things that lead to positive events during games (passes out of the DZ with possession, zone entries into the OZ with possession, and passes to the slot). Patrick Marleau literally didn’t show up on my sheet, and I didn’t really notice him during the game, leading me to question if he actually played tonight.

Garret Sparks – He wasn’t getting much help tonight (with a lot of his goals allowed coming off of cross-ice passes), but it’s hard to give a goaltender a grade higher than this when he allows five goals.

Nikita Zaitsev – I stopped tracking zone exits towards the end of the third period, but I counted exactly zero passes out of the zone with possession for Zaitsev at even strength. This has been a common theme this season, and it’s a big part of the reason why the Leafs spend so much time in the defensive zone when he’s on the ice. The team somehow had positive shot metrics when he was on the ice, but watching the game closely, I’m not convinced that Zaitsev had a lot to do with it.

Martin Marincin – As I’m a dying member of the Martin Marincin Is #ActuallyGood cult, tonight was not a great night for me. He didn’t make any major blunders with the puck, but he also didn’t do too much to help drive play in the right direction. Throw in the fact that he took a penalty and dragged Dermott’s possession numbers down into the negatives, and I decided that he could join the majority of his teammates in the 1 Star club tonight.

Frederik Gauthier – Remember when that idiot, Ian Graph, wrote about how great of a year Gauthier was having? Needless to say … he’s an idiot.

THE MOMENT @REGRESSIAN BECAME IAN GRAPH FOREVER. PIC.TWITTER.COM/YN10PO7S33

— SCOTT WHEELER (@SCOTTCWHEELER) NOVEMBER 5, 2018

Most important GIF of the night

AS REQUESTED BY @SAMGAULIN, HERE'S THAT SEQUENCE FROM KAPANEN THAT RESULTED IN HIM DRAWING THE PENALTY AGAINST BOSTON. PIC.TWITTER.COM/XAYOOX42K7

— THE LEAFS IN MY OPINION (@THELEAFSIMO) NOVEMBER 11, 2018

On a night that was filled with frustration, swearing, and yelling at the TV, this gave me a good laugh.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115021 Toronto Maple Leafs stretch pass results in a loose puck in the neutral zone, which tends to be a bit of a mess.

Despite its unpopularity among Leafs fans, the numbers indicate that the Tulloch: The value of the stretch pass and how the Leafs can better stretch pass is more of a low-risk, high-reward type of play. Does this utilize it mean that we’ve all been wrong about Toronto’s breakout?

Well, I think it’s a bit more multi-layered than that. One thing we have to Ian Tulloch remember is that stretch passes lead to more icings (ie. Tuesday night against Vegas). When you combine that with the fact that it’s a much Nov 10, 2018 lower percentage play than a short pass up the ice, I think it’s reasonable to conclude that a team who aggressively pursues stretch passes will

spend a bit more time in their defensive zone (giving up more shots), The Leafs’ breakout has been a hot topic for a while now. Many fans even though it will help the team generate more scoring chances. have grown frustrated with the team’s reliance on flip-outs and stretch This would help explain how Toronto was able to significantly outchance passes over the past year, reaching a fever pitch Tuesday night after the opposition last season (finishing 6th in scoring chance differential) Vegas hemmed Toronto in their own end for the majority of the second despite their underwhelming shot metrics (14th in controlling shot and third periods. Considering the emphasis on puck possession in the attempts, 19th in unblocked shots, and 22nd in shots on goal). Their modern game, a lot of us have been wondering: is Toronto’s breakout aggressive breakout strategy resulted in less puck possession, but it strategy flawed? helped them generate more dangerous scoring opportunities. The numbers There’s actually been some interesting research indicating that scoring Let’s start with what we know. Erik Tulsky’s groundbreaking research chances are a better predictor of future goals than shot attempts (Corsi), taught us that NHL teams generate twice as much offence off of a with most of the predictive value coming on offence. With that being said, controlled zone entry (carry-in) compared to an uncontrolled entry (dump- I don’t think it’s ideal for a team as talented as Toronto to get outshot at in). A few years later, Alex Novet’s work demonstrated that getting the even strength, which has been the case again this season. puck out of the defensive zone with possession is more likely to lead to a When we compare this year’s scoring chance and shot metrics to the controlled entry, which is what makes it so concerning that Toronto 2017-18 Leafs, we’re seeing a similar pattern. The team consistently gets ranked dead last in this area in 2017-18, according to Corey Sznajder’s fewer pucks on net than their opponents, but they keep finding ways to tracking project. generate more chances from the slot. One of the biggest reasons for their poor ranking was because of how On the one hand, this is a good thing – it indicates that the team has often the Leafs attempted stretch passes, which are naturally a lower been able to drive shot quality extremely well. On the other hand, history percentage play compared to shorter passes out of the zone. Another has taught us the importance of shot quantity (outshooting the factor is how poorly Toronto executed these plays; the team had the opposition), which is an area where the Leafs have been struggling over lowest completion percentage on stretch passes last season despite the last year, especially when it comes to getting pucks through traffic leading the league in stretch pass attempts. (FF%) and on net (SF%). This is an image from Mike Kelly’s article on the topic, which we’re going I think there’s a way Toronto can clean up their breakouts that will allow to unpack in detail. Before we do, though, let’s think about that graphic. them keep generating scoring chances at a high rate, while improving How can a professional sports team keep reverting back to a strategy their overall shot metrics. In order to break it down, though, we’ll need to that they’re clearly not very good at? This is obviously an example of a head to the video room. team not playing to their strengths, right? The video I think this is partly true (which we’ll break down later in the “video” section), but the other aspect we have to consider is the enormous payoff To help explain the importance of “spacing” on the breakout, I’m going to of a successful stretch pass; it’s a much bigger inefficiency than a lot of make a cross-sports reference. I’ve always found that using concepts people realize. from other sports can help give us a more nuanced understanding of the game, so let’s take a look at football and How It Affects the Toronto Last season, the Maple Leafs generated 162 scoring chances off of Maple Leafs™. stretch passes, while only giving up 19 against within 10 seconds of the stretch pass attempt. That’s 8.5 times more offence they were generating Two years ago, the LA Rams had the worst offence in the NFL. They than the other team off of these plays, while the league average rate is a responded by hiring 30-year-old offensive guru, Sean McVay, as their 9:1 ratio. When you look at goals that resulted from stretch pass head coach in 2017. In his first season, McVay was able to turn the team attempts, Toronto actually finished last season with a 14:1 ratio. around, finishing the year with one of the best offences in football, a playoff berth, not to mention Coach of the Year honours. Part of what It sounds like the risk of a stretch pass is well worth the reward. It’s made his offence so hard to stop was its unpredictability; the team did natural for a costly goal resulting from such a play to stick out in our such a good job of balancing the threat of short plays (ie. runs and minds (ie. Jake Gardiner in Game 7 against Boston), but the numbers screen passes) with big plays downfield (“go long”). indicate that it leads to significantly more positive outcomes (ie. Jake Gardiner all of those other times). If you committed to taking away their deep passes, it opened up space underneath for the Rams’ best playmaker, Todd Gurley. Gardiner is pretty much the microcosm of Toronto’s breakout, leading the league in stretch pass attempts last season. Sometimes he makes If you committed to taking away their short plays, it opened up space decisions that will drive you crazy, but at the end of the day, his team downfield for the home-run. comes out well ahead when he’s on the ice. Breakouts in hockey work the same way when you think about it. To help As frustrating as it can be to see a team (and a player) rely so heavily on fit our analogy, modern NHL systems are much more worried about short a low-percentage play, I think we tend to forget just how valuable a plays, which is why most teams are running an aggressive forecheck successful stretch pass is. When it works, it really works. these days to take away space from opponents on the breakout. Much like in football, this opens up room for big plays behind the defenders. BETTER LOOK, VIA THE LEAFS, OF JAKE GARDINER'S RIDICULOUS STRETCH PASS TO SPRING WILLIAM BABCOCK ON FLIP PASSES: "THE LEAGUE IS UP SO TIGHT ON NYLANDER.PIC.TWITTER.COM/RNYVZVF7YW YOU NOW. EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT ENTRIES AND STUFF LIKE THAT. THREE-QUARTERS OF THE TIME THERE'S NO ENTRY — FAIZAL KHAMISA (@SNFAIZALKHAMISA) FEBRUARY 6, 2018 BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ON TOP OF YOU SO HARD, THE SPACE IS On the other hand, when it fails, it’s not nearly as much of a risk. When BEHIND PEOPLE." you break down the footage of failed stretch pass attempts, the opposing — MARK MASTERS (@MARKHMASTERS) NOVEMBER 7, 2018 team rarely comes right back to generate a dangerous chance (since the team who passed the puck typically has two or three players back in Mike Babcock’s not wrong; teams have become much more aggressive position to defend an opposing rush). Most of the time, an incomplete in how they defend the breakout. In attempt to counteract this, he’s telling his wingers to “go long,” which forces the defencemen to back up and and William Nylander, assuming he re-signs). I’d love to see the team skate with them. This stretches the ice vertically, opening up a lot more make more slip passes to these players in the defensive end considering space on the breakout. The problem is that the Leafs haven’t been taking how much attention players like Kasperi Kapanen draw when they fly out advantage of the space that it creates underneath. of the zone.

To help explain what I mean, let’s separate Toronto’s breakout into three This is a perfect example of everything I’ve been talking about. Nikita different scenarios: Zaitsev makes a beautiful slip pass to Kadri underneath (who has plenty of space to work with because of how scared Pittsburgh’s defencemen Against a forecheck are of Toronto’s wingers). Kadri then realizes that Kapanen has a step on Against a neutral zone trap his man and flips it into open space for the breakaway. Even though the play didn’t result in a goal, it was flawless execution. Following a DZ faceoff win If the Leafs can do a better job taking advantage of the space underneath Against a forecheck on their breakouts (much like the LA Rams did with their balanced attack), I think it would go a long way towards improving their shot Before we address some of the issues with the Leafs’ flip-outs when metrics. I’d advise them to keep launching stretch passes when their under pressure, I think it’s important to note that these plays can blow a wingers are in open space (considering how much of a game-changer game wide open when they’re executed properly. those plays can be), but if the deep play up the ice isn’t there, take what This is a great read by Matthews. As he circles around his net, he sees the defence gives you and make that slip pass to your centre. Kapanen bolting up the ice and flips it to an area where the speedy Against a neutral zone trap winger can chase it down for the breakaway. One of the biggest criticisms of the stretch pass is using it against a team Even when the flip-out doesn’t work out, there are still times where you that’s set up in a neutral zone trap, since they’re presumably much more can see what the player was thinking. “ready” for it than when their team is on top of you in the offensive zone. Toronto’s centre in the middle of the DZ (Par Lindholm) is covered by the While this is definitely true (it’s much harder to catch opponent off guard time Gardiner receives the puck, so he launches it up ice to get his in this situation), Babcock-coached teams tend to find a way to make it wingers in a two-on-two situation. It actually leads to a 3-on-2 rush when happen. Lindholm jumps up into the play, but the Leafs end up losing the puck as Justin Abdelkader is an interesting player. He played a similar role to they try to enter the offensive zone with a saucer pass. Hyman in Babcock’s last few years in Detroit, playing alongside Pavel Even though it didn’t work in this situation, I’d argue that it was still a Datsyuk and . He did all those little things that coaches smart play. There was a good chance of creating an odd-man rush up love (winning puck battles, going hard to the net, playing a responsible, the ice and there was very limited risk (the worst-case scenario is a 200-foot game), but one thing you probably didn’t realize was that he neutral zone turnover with three players back). opened up a lot of space for his two skilled linemates by stretching the defence vertically. The issues that I’ve had with Toronto’s flip-outs is that a lot of them serve no purpose. It was painful going through the tape and seeing plays like Whether or not you consider this a trap or a forecheck doesn’t really this: matter to me, it’s the spacing that I want to focus on. Having a deep threat like that is going to force defences to back up when they see you Despite having a passing option underneath to Mitch Marner in space, flying out of the zone, which helps give your skilled players more room in Ron Hainsey panics and sends the puck down for an icing. He’s made a the DZ to skate the puck out. lot of plays like that this season, but I’m not going to put you through the misery of watching them all today. Instead, I want to focus on how the In case I haven’t made it clear, I love the idea of stretching the defence. It team is often deviating from the purpose of the flip pass (remember, the opens up space all over the ice, giving you so many options to attack the goal is to stretch the ice vertically and get your speedy forwards the puck opponent in transition. One thing you have to make sure, though, is that in space). you have a forward swinging low on the breakout for support as a short pass option (like the Rams do with Gurley). In football, it is called a To prove that we’re not picking on Hainsey, here’s a clip of Toronto’s “checkdown” receiver – the guy you can pass it to if your deep threats best defenceman making a similar play; flipping the puck out for the sake are covered. of getting it out. There have been quite a few times this year where the Leafs don’t have I have absolutely no problem with the team flipping the puck up the ice a forward back for puck support, which puts the defenceman in a pretty when they have wingers flying out of the zone with speed. The issue is precarious situation. when the Leafs flip it out to no one, needlessly conceding puck possession. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS IS EMBARRASSING. PIC.TWITTER.COM/M7KPPZ7QWF The reason I included Vegas’ counterattack in the video is because I think it’s a perfect contrast to the Rielly play. Every component of the — IAN GRAPH (@IANGRAPH) OCTOBER 22, 2018 Vegas breakout in this clip serves a purpose. One winger spreads the ice The Leafs have three forwards on the wrong side of centre here, giving vertically by waiting at the far blue line (forcing the Leafs’ defencemen to Hainsey no “checkdown” option. Now, should he have reversed it to his stay back and keep an eye on him). This opens up space underneath for partner instead of handing the puck to the other team? Absolutely, but if William Karlsson, who receives a breakout pass in the middle of the ice his only option on the breakout is to give Rielly the puck and hope for the and then walks in for the clean zone entry. best, that’s a problem. This is a great example of what I’d like to see Toronto do more often: If you want to have success moving the puck up the ice, you need to give take advantage of the space underneath. Much like we talked about with your defencemen multiple passing options. That’s not going to happen if the LA Rams, if you have dangerous deep threats (like Toronto’s speedy you have three forwards blowing the zone – you need at least one to wingers bolting up the ice), the defence has to respect them, which will swing low in the defensive zone. open up space underneath. This legitimately made me laugh when it happened, with Rielly shouting Part of what made the Rams’ offence so dominant was their ability to get out what a lot of Leaf fans have been thinking over the past year – come the ball to their best playmaker, Gurley, with tons of space to operate. back for support! The Leafs should be able to do the same thing with dynamic puck carriers like Marner. Now, there are going to be times when both teams are changing and the puck support won’t be there right away. In times like these, I’d like to see The left winger (Zach Hyman) flying out of the zone is what forces the the Leafs’ defencemen be more aggressive and take advantage of the defenders to back up. Then you have Tavares and Rielly jumping up into open ice in front of them. the play as passing options that the defence has to respect. This gives Marner the space he needs to make magic happen. HERE IS THE PLAY. SUCH A GREAT READ. PIC.TWITTER.COM/VJCS2UHWAD With a healthy lineup, the Leafs have plenty of other forwards who can make plays like these in transition (Matthews, Tavares, Nazem Kadri, — NICK DESOUZA (@NICKDESOUZA_) OCTOBER 30, 2018 There are so many times when you’ll see the Leafs’ defencemen stand threat of the long-bomb with some higher percentage plays underneath. still and wait for their forwards to come back in these situations, but if the If the team can eliminate some of their unnecessary flip-outs and do a space is there, take it! better job of taking what the defence gives them, it’s going to make them much more difficult to gameplan against in transition. A lot of Toronto’s breakout issues come down not taking what the defence gives them. For example, Hainsey and Zaitsev have a bad habit The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 of forcing the puck to a stationary target at the far blueline when they have open teammates much closer to them.

This leads to the question concerning whether Toronto’s breakout struggles are a product of the system or personnel. I think the answer is probably “both.” It would obviously help if the team had a top-4 RD who could move the puck, but it’s worth noting that Hainsey had decent zone exit numbers when he played in Carolina’s system (which is known for its structure). He’s been downright terrible in that regard since joining the Leafs, which suggests that the team effects are playing a big factor.

We’ve established that stretch passes can be incredibly valuable, but for players like Hainsey and Zaitsev, I don’t think it’s an ideal use of their skillset. As solid as they are in the defensive zone without the puck, they’re not very good at completing long passes up the ice. Rather than trying to force passes that they have trouble completing, I think that they’d be better served using the space that’s available underneath.

Following a DZ faceoff win

This last section is a smaller portion of the game, but it’s a fascinating one. Tyler Dellow’s done some great work breaking down the Leafs’ poor shot metrics following a defensive zone faceoff win, an area where the team is still well below average.

Although this looks pretty grim from a Leafs’ perspective, I’m wondering what the scoring chances would look like on these shifts. Given what we’ve learned about stretch passes (the 9:1 scoring chance ratio), I’d suspect that the Leafs are generating a lot more scoring opportunities off of these plays than their shot metrics (Corsi) might suggest.

Like we established earlier, when the stretch pass works, it’s fantastic. The question that most fans have is whether or not the pros outweigh the cons. For example, here’s what happened halfway through the second period against Vegas on Tuesday night.

Toronto ran this set play a few times in a row to no avail, frustrating a lot of Leafs fans in the process. In the midst of our anger, what a lot of us tend to forget is that this play actually resulted in a breakaway less than a minute prior to those back-to-back failures.

It’s tough to determine how many odd-man rushes are worth the number of icings and giveaways this play results in, but it’s definitely something to think about. The one thing I love about this play is that it pushes the opposing defencemen back and essentially gives you a 3-on-3 in the defensive zone. What I hate about it is that they never seem to take advantage of all that space.

They blindly launch it up the ice. Every. Single. Time.

Pause the video at the four-second mark and check out how wide open Rielly is at the hashmarks. If Hainsey sauces the puck in front of him, he has tons of room to skate out of the zone (maybe even starting a 4-on-3 rush). Instead, Hainsey habitually grabs the puck and flips it out to … nobody. It’s one of the more bizarre plays you’ll see at the NHL level and it happens surprisingly often.

To echo what we’ve been saying in the other sections, the Leafs need to do a better job taking advantage of the space that’s available underneath. Having the threat of the long bomb is great, but if the defence backs off and gives you a 3-on-3 in the defensive zone, why not use it to get your playmakers in space?

Take-home points

We’ve gone through a lot of video and numbers to make it this far, so I thought I would make life easier for everyone and quickly conclude what we’ve talked about today:

Stretch passes are much more valuable than we realize

Wingers blowing the zone opens up tons of space on the breakout (both vertically up the ice and underneath for the short pass)

To take full advantage of that space, you need make the defence respect both your deep and short passing options (like the LA Rams)

As much as Leafs fans hate the stretch pass, it certainly has value in the modern game. The trick moving forward for Toronto is to balance the 1115022 Toronto Maple Leafs “Davidson stepped into the National League and immediately proceeded to make the experienced campaigners look foolish,” wrote

in the Globe. “His wrists were made of ‘iron,’ he was a brilliant stick- A hero from Toronto’s first Stanley Cup win and the First World War story handler, he could skate with the best of them, he could check, and he you have never heard could score. He was the ideal player, and, in my estimation, he was all alone.”

He was not above criticism, though. Late in that 1913–14 season — and Nov 10, 2018 despite the fact Davidson was scoring almost two points a game — Harper wrote there were “widely circulated rumours about breaks from Matthew Walthert training and sobriety by Scotty and his young Blue Shirt teammates.”

Still, Toronto beat Montreal and their legendary goaltender Georges Of the 35 Canadian soldiers who died on the Western Front on June 16, Vezina in a two-game NHA tie-breaker series to win the Cup, with 1915, seven were from the 2nd Battalion: One was a farmer from Davidson scoring the winning goal. Edmonton, another was a civil servant from Smiths Falls, Ont., and Next up were the Pacific Coast champion Victoria Aristocrats in the best- another was a hard-punching, high-scoring winger who led Toronto to its of-five Stanley Cup challenge series. Davidson scored once in a 5-2 win very first Stanley Cup title. to open the series, but according to the Toronto Sunday World, he was Allan (Scotty) Davidson was considered one of the best players of his used sparingly and “had another off-night.” era, scoring 23 goals in 20 games in that championship season with the The reason soon became apparent. Before Game 2, the Globe reported Toronto Hockey Club and clinching the Cup in March 1914. Davidson was sick with the flu and had, in fact, defied his doctor’s orders When war broke out, five months later, Davidson cast his playing career to take the ice in the previous match. His temperature soared to 104 aside to enlist. He trained at Valcartier, in Quebec, shipping out across degrees, and forced him to sit out the second game, which Toronto won the Atlantic Ocean for a difficult winter in England before finally landing in (although he did sneak into the Arena to watch). Davidson was healthy France in February 1915. enough to return to the ice for Game 3, where he took three major penalties and left with the Stanley Cup, following a 2-1 win. Davidson survived the Second Battle of Ypres, where the Canadians helped hold the Allied line against a German chlorine gas attack. But two By the end of March, Davidson was back in Kingston, where he worked months later, he was dead, killed in action at Givenchy, near the not-yet- as a machinist with the Kingston Foundry Company. famous Vimy Ridge. “I do remember a story about them having — I don’t know if this makes “He crawled up to within a few feet of their trenches and hurled bomb sense — but they had the Stanley Cup sitting on their mantelpiece,” his after bomb in the midst of the Huns,” George Taylor Richardson, a friend grandnephew said. “It seems kind of funny that somebody would actually and former teammate, wrote to their old hockey coach in a letter the have it in their possession at their house.” Calgary Daily Herald published on Dec. 9, 1915. A brief item in the Daily Standard reported Davidson would “remain in the “Two of his companions retreated, but Davidson refused to do so until he city for the rest of the summer and will in all probability sign up with the had gotten rid of his bombs. Finally he was discovered, surrounded and Torontos again next fall.” ordered to surrender. Scotty refused and crashed his last hand grenade The spinning wheel of history had other plans. against the body of a German officer, blowing him to pieces. We found Scotty’s body the next morning, riddled with bullets and jabbed with Britain declared war on Germany on Aug. 4, following the latter’s invasion bayonets.” of Belgium. The news was met with excitement in Kingston, where a throng gathered around the Daily Standard office to read the latest news The letter was later published in other papers, and the details have been bulletins. According to the paper, “a perfect pandemonium of patriotism repeated and embellished for a century. Former Prime Minister Stephen broke loose” as the crowd cheered and sang “Rule Britannia” and “The Harper made reference to Davidson in his book, “A Great Game,” writing Maple Leaf Forever.” the young star had been killed “reputedly after refusing to retreat during a battle.” Canada, as a British dominion, was now also at war.

But as Canadians prepare to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of A week later, Davidson — who served in the pre-war militia with the First World War, reflecting on countless stories of heroism and Kingston’s 14th Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment (PWOR) — reported sacrifice, they should know there is a problem with the story of for duty and volunteered to serve overseas. While the men of the 14th Davidson’s death: It’s not true. waited for mobilization orders, they performed guard duty at Fort Henry and other important sites around the city. If you haven’t heard of Scotty Davidson, you’re not alone. Pieces of his legacy still exist in old newspapers, a faded personnel file and a name Orders finally arrived on Aug. 21, that 80 men selected from the PWOR chiseled in limestone on the Vimy Memorial. More is preserved in would leave the following afternoon for the new army training camp at fragmented family lore, and also at the Hockey Hall of Fame, where he Valcartier, north of Quebec City. was inducted posthumously, alongside the likes of and Joe Malone, two other early stars whose accomplishments still echo “Fear God, honor your King, and boys, you cannot fail in your duty,” through the game. Colonel T.D.R. Hemming, PWOR commanding officer, told his men, per the Daily Standard, as they prepared to depart after a morning of tearful But very little has been written about his too-short life, which ended three goodbyes. The officers were gifted Colt revolvers, while the men each months after his 24th birthday, just as he should have been entering the received a gold English sovereign worth $5 (about $110 today) and a prime of his playing career. pocket knife.

Davidson already held a measure of regional notoriety before he landed The group of soldiers marched to the train station accompanied by the in Toronto, having led his hometown to a pair of PWOR band. Locals lined the streets: Some cheering, some trying to Ontario Hockey Association titles. He also played for Portsmouth, a team steal one last glimpse of a son, brother or husband. A few men slipped based near his family home by the penitentiary, in the Kingston Senior their new coins to family members on the station platform just before the League, where, according to , “it was considered an train pulled away. Davidson had another gift with him, a Great Dane uneventful night, indeed, when several riots did not occur.” puppy, which, the Daily Standard noted, was, “the original war dog of Europe.” “He was a brawler and used his elbows a lot,” said Al Stevenson, Davidson’s grandnephew. “And a pretty heavy drinker, too. He played to After a month of paperwork and training and more paperwork at win.” Valcartier, the PWOR men, now part of the 2nd Battalion, boarded the S.S. Cassandra at Quebec City. A 12-year-old, single-funneled The young forward, with his square jaw and handsome flourish of light- steamship constructed in Greenock, Scotland, the Cassandra would be brown hair, was skilled — he finished fourth in NHA scoring in his final their home for the next month as they joined a convoy of 31 other troop season — but he was also at home when the game turned rough. ships for the crossing to England. On board, Davidson put his fists to good use in a boxing tournament and, letter sent by a fellow Kingstonian saying Davidson was recommended though he won the semifinal match, he injured his hand and could not for the Distinguished Conduct Medal (second in precedence only to the fight in the championship bout. Victoria Cross) for holding an entire trench against a German attack with two other soldiers. As they steamed down the St. Lawrence past Rimouski on Sept. 27, Private Alfred Baggs recorded in his diary that soldiers on the But the relatively slow pace of communications in 1915 could lead to Cassandra’s deck could see the northern lights dancing overhead. For confusion and misunderstandings. On June 21, a brief notice was many, it would be one of their last memories of Canada. published in the Toronto Telegram saying that Davidson was dead. When word arrived in Kingston, the Daily Standard wired the Telegram Toronto badly missed its captain. According to the Ottawa Evening asking for details. The reply stated that the paper had received a cable Journal, Davidson’s absence turned “the Torontos from a championship saying Davidson had been killed, but without his initials or battalion: team to a second rate sextette.” “Possibly not he.”

The Blueshirts won just eight of their 20 games that season, finishing Of course, Davidson’s parents were in denial. There was no official fourth in the NHA. confirmation — though even the official casualty lists were sometimes Meanwhile, the First Contingent arrived in England, but faced a long wrong — and they had just received a letter from their son and heard he winter of training before making the final leg of the journey to France. Life was to be decorated for gallantry on the battlefield. on the cold, wet and muddy Salisbury Plain, while ostensibly good Now, all of a sudden, he was dead? preparation for the Western Front, was hard on morale. And then, on June 23, more hope. The Daily Standard published a letter “Some of the boys have bad colds, and many more will get them, if we do from Private Charles Tenney saying, “I am bunking with Alan Davidson, not soon move into the huts,” wrote Daniel Douglass, a 2nd Battalion the famous hockey player. He has done great work as a bomb thrower man from Oshawa, in a letter published in Bowmanville’s Canadian and is recommended for the D.C.M. or V.C. He certainly should get Statesman. “We came if necessary, to die for our country, but not of either. He and two more bombers were all that reached the German colds — we could have done that at home with very little trouble.” trench and blew them out of it and held it until the battalion came up and Davidson, with his athlete’s physique, was chosen as a scout during the occupied it. He is one of the best soldiers in the contingent.” training in England, although he would later be selected as a bomb His parents were helpless, at the mercy of the military bureaucracy and thrower, advancing as close as possible to enemy trenches to hurl the fog of war. There was no one to call, no one to ask about their son. grenades inside. The only thing to do was pray that the next knock at their door was not a Describing his role in a letter to friends that was published in the Toronto messenger of death. Daily Star, Davidson listed all the equipment he had to carry, including a On June 25, the dreaded confirmation came. Richardson cabled his special bomb harness, plus the heavy English boots, and lamented, “A family’s firm in Kingston: “Regret to advise that Allan Davidson and Thos. fat chance to get out of any German’s way have I!” Connolly both killed in action…”

The Canadians finally made it to France in February 1915 and then His uncle broke the news to Davidson’s mother. Belgium, where, on April 22, they were in the lines in the Ypres Salient when the Germans unleashed a chlorine gas attack. While many around Davidson’s personnel file makes it very clear what happened to him. A them fled, the Canadians held their ground, suffering more than 6,000 handwritten note from Aug. 11, 1915 states he “was killed instantly by a casualties. The 2nd Battalion alone had 541 men killed or wounded, shell falling in the trench. He was practically blown to pieces.” although Davidson was not among them. So that letter from Richardson — the one so often repeated where The men needed time behind the lines to relax and decompress from the Davidson died after refusing to surrender — that was just written to incredible strain of battle; their units needed reinforcements if they were console a grieving family with one last inspiring story about a lost son, to fight again. While the men rested, replacements were found among right? the units training in England and quickly brought across the Channel to fortify the ranks. No.

Soon, the 1st Division moved south, back into France, and suffered a On July 10, the Daily Standard published a letter Richardson had written further 2,605 casualties in a futile assault at Festubert, though the 2nd to Davidson’s mother just a week after her son’s death and long before Battalion was not heavily implicated. Their next test was to come nearby the erroneous one to James Sutherland: “Allan was instantly killed by a at Givenchy where, after a period of rest at Essars, they headed back shell which killed three of his companions at the same time. He was into the trenches on June 11. buried just in the rear of our trench, which was about fifty yards distant from the German line, and a cross bearing his name and Regiment was The battalion’s first couple days back in the lines were uneventful. erected over his grave.” Although the 2nd was not leading the upcoming attack, that did not mean they were free from danger. No one anywhere near the front line was — Several other letters from soldiers who knew the true story were also ever. published in papers from Ottawa to Kingston to Edmonton. Which leaves us with two questions: Why did Richardson write the second letter, with a As the men waited for the battle, they attended to the usual routine, story he knew wasn’t true? And why was the inaccurate story of including trench maintenance, weapons cleaning, eating and, if they had Davidson’s death repeated so often when the truth had already been a few moments to spare, perhaps writing a letter home. Over tins of bully published? beef, they would have discussed the same things soldiers on campaign have talked about since the dawn of civilization: home, women, The second question is easier to answer: The heroic story was repeated complaints about food and the latest war rumours. because it was the better story. A Hollywood ending for a real-life action hero. But Davidson’s heroism came from how he lived — giving up a The 1st Battalion attacked the German lines alongside a larger British comfortable life to serve his country — not from how he died. force on the evening of June 15 after the detonation of a large mine that killed both Germans and Canadians. Bombers from the 2nd Battalion and As for Richardson’s motivation in writing the second letter, we can only two platoons from the 3rd supported the attack from the new mine crater, speculate. He was killed seven months later in Belgium, so he never had according to the Official History of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. a chance to come back to Canada and clear up the record.

“Fighting was fast and furious this time in, under continuous shell fire,” Maybe Richardson did not know that his letter to Davidson’s mother had wrote Howard Curtis of the 2nd, a painter from Peterborough, Ont., in a been published. When he wrote to Sutherland, he may have been letter to his sister. “Perhaps I was lucky to get out of it when I was seeking to portray a noble death for their mutual friend, perhaps even wounded … It’s a game of chance living in this land of war — whole in hoping that Sutherland would disseminate that story. We must also body one minute and the next in a thousand pieces.” consider the possibility that Richardson heard the no-surrender story well after Davidson’s death and believed it. It’s unlikely, given his status as an On June 19, a letter from Davidson arrived at the family home in officer and the number of people who seemed aware of the real Portsmouth, per the Daily Standard. It mentioned that he had been part circumstances, but it is possible. of the attack at Festubert, attached to the 10th Battalion, but gave few other details. He was being modest, as the same article outlined another Either way, Davidson’s parents knew the truth, even if it was lost over And while the children played, Arthur would sit quietly on a bench under time. a willow tree, smoking and staring out at the lake.

“The 1st contingent had lost its best man when that shell burst and I lost Surrounded by family, but alone with his thoughts, listening to the waves the best ‘pal’ I ever had or could have,” Davidson’s bunkmate, Private and the children’s laughter. Maybe remembering his own childhood by Tenney, wrote in a letter published by the Daily Standard on July 8. the water in Kingston or the war or his brother, who never came back “They may send more men in thousands from Canada, but I fear we’ll from it, but mostly just trying to forget. never see Davidson’s place taken by any of them. I know every man in the 2nd Battalion has the same belief.” The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018

Arthur Davidson was the baby of the family, just 20 months younger than his brother, Scotty. Suddenly, like so many Canadians left behind during those four awful years of war, he had to figure out how to grieve.

“I think when he lost his brother, I think they were quite close and I think it just affected him,” said Stevenson, Arthur’s grandson.

Seven months after Scotty was killed, Arthur returned to Kingston from Chatham, Ont. where he worked at the Merchants’ Bank. Two-hundred and eight days after his brother was killed in action, Arthur signed his attestation paper to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

He shipped to England in April 1917 and, after some additional training at Shorncliffe, was assigned to the Princess Pat’s. On Aug. 25, he joined his unit in Lens, France, as the Battle of Hill 70 ended.

Along with the Somme, Passchendaele has become synonymous with the horrors of the First World War, and with good reason. Endless mud, tangled barbed wire, thousands upon thousands of dead for minimal gains… Passchendaele had it all.

In fact, Scotty and the 2nd Battalion had their first taste of battle in the Ypres Salient back in April 1915. Now, two and a half years later, Arthur and the PPCLI were fighting over almost exactly the same ground. A fresh crop of soldiers approaching the same gates of hell.

The Third Battle of Ypres had already been raging for nearly three months by the time the Patricia’s arrived in the ruined Belgian city on October 24. Three months, with perhaps half a million dead and wounded on either side of no man’s land. The Canadian Corps was called in to mount a final assault to take Passchendaele village and the high ground around it.

Late on October 29, three days after the Canadians’ first attack, the PPCLI began moving into forward positions for an assault early the next morning. “Several casualties in Assembly trenches,” the battalion War Diary recounts matter-of-factly.

Arthur Davidson was one of those casualties.

He was shot through the left leg, but survived. Like Howard Curtis at Givenchy, perhaps he was even lucky to have been shot when he was, as nearly one of every six Patricia’s who went over the top on Oct. 30 was killed. After stays at hospitals in France, Wales and England, Arthur returned home in 1919.

Back in Kingston, he tried to forget about the war that had taken his brother and left both his body and mind wounded. Perhaps he was also frustrated or angry that, after a year and a half of training, he had been shot before ever participating in a battle.

Either way, he was suffering from what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

One day Arthur went out in the backyard of the family home and started digging. He threw his army uniform into the hole and shoveled the dirt back over it, trying to bury some unwanted memories with it. He developed a stutter, yet had a successful career in Windsor, working his way up through the accounting department at Ford. He also golfed, curled and sailed, leading an active social life with his wife, Orma, who he married in 1921.

But what his grandchildren remember most about him is the silence. And the smoke.

“Honest to God, the guy hardly ever said a word,” Stevenson said.

“I guess he had an awkwardness and a discomfort with the speech impediment, so he wasn’t one to strike up a conversation,” said Al’s brother, Ian. “You always had to go to him.”

When they were young, Al, Ian and their sister Christine often visited their grandparents’ summer home on Lake St. Clair. The house would be full of smoke from Arthur’s ever-present pipe and Export “A”s, and the kids would spend their days at the beach. 1115023 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights’ Malcolm Subban might start vs. former club

By David Schoen / Las Vegas Review-Journal

MONTREAL — Malcolm Subban’s lone career start in Boston was one to forget. He might get another chance Sunday. The Golden Knights face the Bruins at 4 p.m. at TD Garden in the second game of a back-to-back, and the backup goaltender could start against his former team. “I’m not sure if I’m playing, but if I am, I’m just going to take it like any other game,” Subban said Saturday after the Knights’ 5-4 loss to the Canadiens. “That’s kind of my focus, just to go in there and have a good game if I’m playing.” Subban was drafted by Boston in the first round (No. 24 overall) in 2012 and made two appearances for the club. One of those came Oct. 25, 2016, against Minnesota, when Subban was pulled midway through the second period after allowing three goals on 16 shots. Subban was placed on waivers by the Bruins before the start of last season and claimed by the Knights. He went 13-4-2 with a 2.68 goals- against average and .910 save percentage. In three appearances this season, including two starts, Subban is 0-2 with a 2.84 goals against. “Obviously every step you take along the way there’s a lot of people that help you and teach you lessons,” Subban said. “They helped mold me into the person I am today, and obviously I’m in Vegas now and continuing to grow as a person and a player. Nothing but great things to say.” Gotta wear shades Knights forward Max Pacioretty was the center of attention during the morning skate, with about three dozen reporters in attendance and cameras following his every move. Pacioretty spent 10 seasons in Montreal and was the team’s captain before being traded in September. For 10 minutes, he answered a wide range of questions, including what has been the biggest adjustment living in Las Vegas. “The biggest change is not forgetting my sunglasses when I leave the house,” Pacioretty said. Defenseman Deryk Engelland rejoined the team after missing the past two games for personal reasons. Engelland was a healthy scratch against the Canadiens, and Gallant indicated at the morning skate that he was reluctant to change his lineup as long as the Knights are playing well. “He’s ready to go back,” Gallant said. “Obviously, it was his young fella’s illness, that’s why he went back home. He’s fine, he’s healthy.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115024 Vegas Golden Knights

Tomas Tatar haunts Golden Knights in Canadiens’ 5-4 win

By David Schoen / Las Vegas Review-Journal

MONTREAL — The storyline from Saturday’s matchup at Bell Centre centered on a player motivated to face his former team. Oh, and Max Pacioretty returned to Montreal, too. Tomas Tatar scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:43 remaining in the third period in a cruel bit of irony, sending the Golden Knights to a deflating 5- 4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night at Bell Centre. “We worked hard for 20 minutes. It was unbelievable. It was no contest,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “And then you get away from it in the second period, they get three goals in the first 10 minutes. It’s about work ethic. It’s about working hard and competing hard, and we haven’t done it enough consistently.” Pacioretty spent 10 seasons with the Canadiens, including the past three as captain, before being traded to the Knights on Sept. 9. He was honored with a video tribute before the opening faceoff and received a loud ovation from the announced crowd of 21,302. But Tatar, who was part of that blockbuster deal for Pacioretty, ended up as the hero. After the Knights were unable to break out of their own zone, Tatar pounced on a loose puck and made a move around defenseman Shea Theodore, who dived to try to recover. Tatar backhanded a pass in the direction of teammate Phillip Danault, but the puck went off Theodore and slid through the legs of Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Tatar has seven goals and 15 points in 17 games with the Canadiens. He managed four goals and two assists in 20 games with the Knights after being acquired at the trade deadline in February for three draft picks. “It felt good, for sure,” Tatar said. “I was extremely motivated to beat my old teammates, and it will always be a special game against them, for sure.” William Karlsson had a goal and two assists for the Knights. Defenseman Brad Hunt added a goal and an assist. The Knights caught a break early in the third period to retake the lead at 4-3. Karlsson’s drive from the left wing was stopped by goaltender Antti Niemi, but the rebound went off Montreal’s Matthew Peca and trickled over the goal line at 3:27. “It was a very lucky bounce, and I was thinking maybe this is our game,” Karlsson said. “It’s little stuff. They’re very good when they’re counterattacking, a fast team, and they made the most of our mistakes.” But the Knights were unable to hold the lead. Andrew Shaw pounced on a rebound with 10:40 remaining for his second goal. “It seems like the story of our year so far, mine in particular,” Pacioretty said. “Just seemed to not go in, and all the opportunities against are going in. The good news is, minus the second-period hiccups that we’ve had, if we keep going like that, it’s going to eventually break wide open for us.” The Knights continued their recent trend of starting fast and led 2-0 after the first period. Brad Hunt scored on a power play off a nice feed from Karlsson with 2:20 left. Jonathan Marchessault was credited with his team-high eighth goal 57 seconds later when Reilly Smith’s pass deflected in off his linemate. But Montreal responded in the second period with three goals in a span of 3:53 before Alex Tuch collected his own rebound and beat Niemi to tie the score 3-3 with 5:26 remaining in the second period. “We have a 2-0 lead. We worked hard in the first period, and we just can’t limit the bleeding,” Marchessault said. “We don’t have a full effort. We always fall asleep. We don’t have 20 guys every night, always just a couple. You don’t win with just a couple guys.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115025 Vegas Golden Knights

Midseason NHL coaching changes not always bad

By Ben Gotz / Las Vegas Review-Journal

Change starts on the bench for struggling NHL teams. The scuffling Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks made coaching changes this past week in an attempt to spark players who don’t seem to be skating with much life. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the front office playbook, and it’s used for one simple reason: Sometimes it works. “A lot of times it’s just a change,” Kings interim coach Willie Desjardins told reporters Monday, a day after replacing the fired John Stevens. “Sometimes when you get going, it’s the same thing day after day. So I don’t think it’s any disrespect to John or anybody that’s been here. I think sometimes it’s just a change and guys get excited again.” There were no midseason coaching changes last season for the first time since 1966-67, but now teams are back to their old ways. Stevens was fired after being swept by the Golden Knights in the playoffs last season and starting this season 4-8-1. The Blackhawks fired longtime coach Joel Quenneville on Tuesday 15 games into his 11th season with the team, a tenure that included nine playoff appearances and three Stanley Cups. The dismissals came early — Stevens’ firing was the NHL’s quickest since 2015 — but that doesn’t mean either team is looking to tank the rest of the way. Teams have made 16 midseason coaching changes in the previous five years, and seven still made the playoffs. One of them went all the way, as the Pittsburgh Penguins replaced Mike Johnston with Mike Sullivan on Dec. 12, 2015, and won the Stanley Cup. That’s not to say the Kings or Blackhawks are destined for greatness, but it’s not time to count them out, either. “I don’t really have answers on a lot of things right now,” Blackhawks star Patrick Kane told reporters Tuesday. “Just one of those things where you’ll have to wait for time to tell you what it is. A lot of us have had the same coach for 10 years, so it’s definitely something new for us, but at the same time, you try to be a professional and keep an open mind to what the organization is doing.” Thin ice Quenneville’s firing makes Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper, who was hired March 25, 2013, the longest-tenured coach in the NHL with his current team. Cooper’s stint in Tampa Bay is an outlier compared to the longest- serving coaches in the other three major pro sports leagues. Gregg Popovich is in his 23rd season with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, Bill Belichick is in his 19th season with the NFL’s New England Patriots, and Bruce Bochy just completed his 12th season managing MLB’s San Francisco Giants. Gritty 2020? The Philadelphia Flyers’ orange, furry mascot, Gritty, has seen his notoriety extend into politics. The Flyers said on their videoboard Thursday that Gritty received write-in votes in 46 states during Tuesday’s midterm elections. Notably, he received 14 votes for various offices in Camden County in New Jersey, including two for sheriff. Just wait until 2020. Sheriff Gritty is change we can all get behind.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115026 Vegas Golden Knights

GAME DAY: Golden Knights meet Canadiens in Max Pacioretty’s return

By David Schoen / Las Vegas Review-Journal

MONTREAL — Forward Max Pacioretty makes his return to Bell Centre when the Golden Knights meet the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Opening faceoff is 4 p.m. Pacific time, and the game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. Pacioretty spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Canadiens and was the team’s captain before he was traded to the Knights on Sept. 9 in exchange for forward Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki and a second-round pick in 2019. “I definitely want to have fun playing in this building with another jersey. A lot of great memories here for 10 years,” Pacioretty said after morning skate. “But it’s an important game for our team. We’re coming off a big win and a couple really good games. “We feel this trip could be a bit of a turning point for our year and that’s what we’re looking to do. And tonight’s a valuable game so I’ve got to treat it as that, more so than being emotional or taking too much in.” Coach Gerard Gallant said he expects to use the same lineup from Thursday’s 5-3 victory at Ottawa, with Marc-Andre Fleury starting in net. Defenseman Deryk Engelland rejoined the team Saturday and was on the ice at morning skate, but is not expected to play. Engelland missed the past two games for personal reasons. “At the end of the day, it’s another hockey game, another opportunity for our team to win and battle back a little bit, and that’s what I’m looking forward to,” Pacioretty said. The Canadiens have lost two straight and will start backup goaltender Antti Niemi in place of former Vezina Trophy winner Carey Price, who has struggled in his 12 appearances. Niemi was shelled in his previous start against the Knights on Feb. 17 at T-Mobile Arena, allowing three goals on six shots before getting yanked 9:51 into the first period. He is 3-1 with a 3.13 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. Max Domi leads the Canadiens with nine goals and 19 points, and Tatar is second on the club with 14 points (six goals, eight assists). “I thought the last few games we’ve played real well,” Gallant said. “Hopefully we’ll play a good, solid game tonight.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115027 Vegas Golden Knights

Canadiens beat Golden Knights to spoil Pacioretty's return

Staff Report By Associated Press Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018 | 8:27 p.m.

MONTREAL — Andrew Shaw scored twice, Tomas Tatar had the go- ahead goal and the Montreal Canadiens rallied to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 on Saturday night, spoiling Max Pacioretty's homecoming. Charles Hudon and Jesperi Kotkaniemi also scored to help the Canadiens snap a two-game skid and improve to 9-5-3. Max Domi had two assists to extend his points streak to six games, and Antti Niemi made 34 saves. Former Canadiens captain Pacioretty was kept off the scoresheet despite taking nine shots on goal in his first game at the Bell Centre as a visiting player. Pacioretty was dealt to the Golden Knights in the offseason in return for Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki and a second-round draft pick. The 29-year-old was given a standing ovation following a video tribute prior to puck drop. Brad Hunt, Jonathan Marchessault, Alex Tuch and William Karlsson scored for Vegas, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 shots. Tatar scored the winner at 12:17 when his cross-crease pass to Phillip Danault deflected off Shea Theodore's stick and in. Shaw tied it at 3 at 9:26 of the third, swatting a bouncing puck over the pad of an outstretched Fleury.

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115028 Washington Capitals

Capitals’ John Carlson returns to practice, could play vs. Coyotes

By Isabelle Khurshudyan November 10 at 2:30 PM

After missing Friday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with an undisclosed lower-body injury, Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson returned to practice Saturday and it seems likely he will play Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes. Carlson leads the team in ice time with 26 minutes per game, playing on both the top power play and the penalty kill. Carlson said his injury happened in the Capitals' game Wednesday against Pittsburgh, when he played more than 28 minutes and assisted on the game-winning goal. When asked if he’ll play Sunday, Carlson said, “I don’t know.” “I’m just trying to do the right thing and feel the best at this point and do what’s right for myself and the team,” Carlson said. “That was really a positive sign for him to skate [Saturday],” Coach Todd Reirden said. “We’ll see how he responds the rest of the day and [Sunday] morning. I hope to have him back [Sunday] night. We don’t want to put him in a situation where he can make anything worse, so he’s got to be real close to 100 percent if he’s going to be back in for us.” Carlson has five goals and 13 assists in 14 games and is on track for the same high level of production he had last season, when he led all NHL defensemen in scoring with 68 points (15 goals, 53 assists). He is expected to be on a pairing with Dmitry Orlov, and Matt Niskanen will play with left-shot Michal Kempny, leaving a third pairing of Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey. Veteran Brooks Orpik is on long-term injured reserve with an undisclosed lower-body injury, and he is not eligible to play again until Nov. 21. Top center Evgeny Kuznetsov was absent from Saturday’s practice; Reirden said Kuznetsov was excused for a family matter. Reirden expects Kuznetsov, who has six goals and 14 assists in 15 games, to play against Arizona, but even if Kuznetsov is in the lineup, he and captain Alex Ovechkin might be split for the first time all season. Ovechkin skated beside center Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie, a trio that was one of the league’s best two years ago. While the Capitals haven’t allowed an even-strength goal in two games, they have also scored just one. “We’ve obviously played together in the past,” Oshie said. “Not quite finding what we want to in the lineup, so I think anything’s possible for [Sunday].” Said Reirden: “We’re going to evaluate the lineup for sure once we know that Kuzy will be able to rejoin us. We were just looking at some different things [Saturday], and once we know that for certain, we’ll make some adjustments accordingly.”

Washington Post LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115029 Washington Capitals

Power play, Sergei Bobrovsky shine as Blue Jackets beat Capitals

By Stephen Whyno - Associated Press Friday, November 9, 2018

The Columbus Blue Jackets are finally starting to feel confident on the power play, and that could be dangerous for the rest of the NHL. Columbus’ league-worst power play scored twice and Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves in a 2-1 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals on Friday night. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in his return to the lineup and Anthony Duclair had his seventh goal of the season for the Blue Jackets, who have three power-play goals during their two-game winning streak. “We’re working as a five-man unit,” said Duclair, who scored from a sharp angle to tie Artemi Panarin for the team lead with seven goals. “We know the type of skill of talent we have on both units, and if we just put the work into it, I think they’re going to start going in.” The Blue Jackets entered the night 7 of 59 on the power play, an 11.9 percent conversion rate that was last among the league’s 31 teams. After his penalty kill went 4 for 5 against Washington, coach John Tortorella pointed out Columbus has kept its head above water with shaky special teams and could finally develop some consistency if those units round into form. Bobrovsky is certainly there. The 2013 and 2017 Vezina Trophy winner was far more dialed in Friday than during the first round last spring against the Capitals when Columbus blew a 2-0 series lead. The Russian goaltender who can be a free agent after the season was at his best early in making 15 first-period saves and then late on two third- period penalty kills that helped the Blue Jackets win in regulation and take over sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division. “I felt pretty good again,” said Bobrovsky, who faced 34 shots and never looked out of a play. “I know that the Washington is a really good team, and if you relax too, too much they’re going to score a goal right away. So, you have to respect them and compete against them. It’s so much fun to beat them.” Captain Nick Foligno thought the Blue Jackets respected the Capitals too much, sitting back and leaning on Bobrovsky to win them the game. He allowed only a power-play goal to Matt Niskanen, who was wide open when he blasted home a shot from the point. Washington’s Braden Holtby, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2016, was on top of his game in stopping 34 of the 36 shots he faced. The Capitals‘ two-game winning streak came to an end, but they haven’t allowed an even-strength goal in their past three. “Right now, we just can’t seem to kill a penalty,” Niskanen said. “In a tight game, that hurts.” Bjorkstrand rewarded Tortorella for putting him on the top line and the power play in place of right wing Cam Atkinson, who missed the game with an illness. Niskanen scored his goal from the point on Washington’s top power-play unit in place of defenseman John Carlson, who’s listed as day-to-day with lower-body injury. NOTES: Referee Brad Meier left in the first period after losing an edge and appearing to twist his right knee. Meier needed help getting off the ice, and the NHL said he had a lower-body injury. The game finished with three officials. … Capitals D Jonas Siegenthaler made his NHL debut, taking Carlson’s spot in the lineup. … Washington placed D Brooks Orpik on long-term injured reserve. He’ll miss at least the next five games. … Linda Laughlin, who is battling serous uterine cancer, dropped a puck along with husband and former Capitals forward Craig Laughlin during a ceremonial faceoff on Hockey Fights Cancer night.

Washington Times LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115030 Washington Capitals

Could we see the return of the Ovechkin, Backstrom, Oshie line against the Arizona Coyotes?

By J.J. Regan November 10, 2018 3:12 PM

ARLINGTON, Va.—With the Caps still searching for a solution for their top line with Tom Wilson suspended, head coach Todd Reirden could turn to an old standard. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie skated together as a line at practice Saturday setting up a potential reunion for the trio in Sunday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. It should be noted that Evgeny Kuznetsov was absent from practice Saturday due to a family matter. Reirden said after practice that he expects him back for the game which would obviously mean further changes to the lines are coming. When a top-line player is expected to be out only briefly, however, we typically see a scratch put in his spot in the lineup as a placeholder of sorts. We do not typically see the coaches shuffled the entire lineup for what is expected to be only a one-day absence. Instead of Travis Boyd or Nic Dowd plugging into the top line, we saw a different line altogether. Reirden also made it sound as if an Ovechkin, Backstrom, Oshie line is at least a possibility for Sunday’s game. When asked if he would stick with that top line for the game, Reirden said, “We're going to evaluate the lineup tomorrow once we know for sure that [Kuznetsov] will be able to rejoin us. Just looking at some different things today. Once we know that for certain, we'll make some adjustments accordingly. We'll talk about it this afternoon and I'll have more for you tomorrow.” Washington’s offense enjoyed a hot start to the season, but that was greatly inflated due a power play that now ranks as the second best unit in the league at 32.7-percent. The Caps currently rank fourth in offense with 3.47 goals per game, but that ranking falls all the way to 18th in five- on-five goals as the Caps have managed only 31 in 15 games. Kuznetsov has yet to score a goal at even strength this season with all six of his tallies coming on the power play. Eleven of his 20 points have come on the man advantage as have 10 of Ovechkin’s 18 points. One of the problems for the top line has been the constant shuffle at right wing. Wilson’s 20-game suspension has forced Reirden to shuffle his offensive lines to replace him on the top line. He has yet to find a suitable replacement for Wilson despite experimenting with several players including Brett Connolly, Chandler Stephenson, Jakub Vrana, Devante Smith-Pelly and Dmitrij Jaskin. If you can’t find the a good match at wing, then perhaps the best solution is to move Ovechkin back with a line that has proven to be productive in the past, a line that includes a right wing in Oshie who knows what he has to provide when on the ice with Ovechkin to maximize that line’s success. “Whoever's on the right side just has to work hard,” Oshie said. “Work hard, be on the forecheck and just find ways to get these guys the puck and create space whether that's winning battles on the forecheck, winning puck battles, getting pucks out of your end, or simply just going to the net and bringing the guy with you. When these guys have space they're going to make plays.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115031 Washington Capitals

Jonas Siegenthaler did not disappoint in his NHL debut with the Capitals

By J.J. Regan November 10, 2018 7:00 AM

CAPITAL ONE ARENA – Jonas Siegenthaler got the typical rookie welcome to the NHL. He led the team out of the tunnel for warmups, but his teammates held back as he took the ice by himself and waited as he took a lap on the empty ice. It is the traditional prank before a player’s first NHL game and Siegenthaler knew it was coming. The real nerves hit soon after. “For sure when the National Anthem was going on,” Siegenthaler said. “It was a pretty nice feeling, kind of got goosebumps. That was just unreal.” Siegenthaler may have been treated like a rookie and he may have felt like a rookie, but when the puck dropped in Friday’s game between the Caps and Columbus Blue Jackets, all of that went away. “I knew it was going to be a tough test for him and I thought he handled himself pretty well tonight,” head coach Todd Reirden said. With both John Carlson and Brooks Orpik out with injury, three of the Caps’ six defensemen on Friday had less than 100 games of NHL experience. With such an inexperienced blue line, there was no room for the typical sheltering of the rookie. “I thought he looked great,” Madison Bowey said. “He's a very poised defenseman who's a big guy down low, tough to go against. He's great defending and I thought he did just that today. He put himself in a great spot and he did a lot of great things.” Siegenthaler logged the least amount of ice time among the blue liners with 12:13, but those were not sheltered minutes by any stretch as only 37.5-percent of his starts came in the offensive zone. He even logged a shift on the penalty kill. He was paired alongside Bowey for a majority of the game, which normally would present matchup problems for the Caps. You do not want the opposition to take advantage of such a young and inexperienced tandem. The possession numbers were not strong (28.6- percent Corsi For), but considering they were used in a defensive role and the majority of their zone starts came in the defensive zone, those type of numbers are to be expected. “They handled themselves well,” Braden Holtby said. “They didn't panic and just tried to play their games so it was good.” Siegenthaler did not look physically intimidated in his first NHL game, using every inch of his 6-foot 2-inch, 218-pound as he showed the type of physical style he plays with. He traded hits with Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson making sure he gave the veteran as good as he got. “I got elbowed in my face,” Siegenthaler said. “Didn't feel really good, but he's a big strong guy and I'm not a fighter so I've got to watch out who I whack.” The Caps may have lost Friday’s game, but it was not because of Siegenthaler – who was not on the ice for either of the Blue Jackets’ goals – or the work of the third pairing. In fact, the Caps had a strong showing defensively at even strength as they did not allow any goals five- on-five. Washington lost because it gave up two power play goals to a Columbus team that had the worst power play in the NHL heading into Friday’s game. Reirden showed a lot of trust in Siegenthaler in his very first game in the NHL and the rookie defenseman showed that trust was well placed. “Five-on-five for the most part we did some decent things to shut them down and keep them off the scoreboard,” Reirden said. “So we'll evaluate and continue to push those guys forward in their development.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115032 Washington Capitals

Capitals' penalty kill still finding its way after 2-1 loss to Columbus

By Brian McNally November 10, 2018 12:34 AM

CAPITAL ONE ARENA —Matt Niskanen was in perfect position to bail out Capitals goalie Braden Holtby on a penalty kill in the third period of a tie game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. A puck went wide, struck the end boards and caromed out to the opposite post. Holtby couldn't get there, but a sliding Niskanen did. Only one problem: he didn't have a stick. So it goes for the Caps on the penalty kill, which did them in against the Blue Jackets. Anthony Duclair was there to lift the puck past Holtby in a 2-1 win. This is not a new trend 15 games into the 2018-19 season for the defending Stanley Cup champs. “We are trying to do things a little bit differently, but I don’t think that’s what it is. That’s actually helping us,” Niskanen said. “We have taken a little bit more of an aggressive approach. We’ve disrupted a lot of plays up ice. On entries, I think we’re doing a good job there. We’re not spending a ton of time in-zone. It’s the broken plays that are turning into a really good chance and then just burying us.” The Capitals allowed two power-play goals to the team that ranked 31st on the power play entering the night. Washington has now given up 15 power-play goals in 54 times short-handed. That’s a brutal 72.2 percent, which is 27th overall. There have been personnel changes with that unit. Jay Beagle now plies his trade with the Vancouver Canucks. Tom Wilson has five games left on a 20-game suspension. Those were two of Washington's best penalty killers last season. Their absence shows. “We’re trying to figure it out," Holtby said. "It’s one of the areas where we’ve had some big changes. Tonight we got beat on plays we pre- scouted and knew about it. We can clean it up a bit. It’ll come. You’ve got to be patient. The guys on our PK are a proud group. Sooner or later the bounces will go our way.” Friday, with defensemen John Carlson and Brooks Orpik out of the lineup with injuries, Washington relied on established defensemen like Niskanen (3:36 short-handed ice time), Dmitry Orlov (2:31) and Michal Kempny (1:44), but also had to turn to young players like Madison Bowey (1:17) and even rookie Jonas Siegenthaler (:38) to fill in the gaps. That’s not ideal. The forward group was relatively stable with Chandler Stephenson (2:16), Lars Eller (2:26), Nicklas Backstrom (1:48) and T.J. Oshie (1:58) carrying the load. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored Columbus' first power-play goal at 17:16 of the first period to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. Duclair's goal came at 5:09 of the third period. “As we’re getting closer to 20 games you get to have a true analysis of what things are going on,” Caps coach Todd Reirden said. “Got some young guys killing penalties tonight, some young defensemen. It’s definitely a work in progress. Trying to find the right combinations that work for us. Putting guys in situations where they’re either going to take advantage of those opportunities when they’re getting those reps or they’re not going to. That’s where we’re at with [Wilson] out of the lineup.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115033 Washington Capitals

4 reasons the Caps lost to the Blue Jackets

By J.J. Regan November 09, 2018 9:47 PM

CAPITAL ONE ARENA – Meeting for the first time since their playoff matchup and locked in a goalie duel, the Washington Capitals blinked first in the third period Friday and fell 2-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Here are four reasons the Caps lost: The Bob The Caps defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday despite being largely outplayed by the Penguins because of a stellar effort in net by Braden Holtby. On Friday, Washington found itself on the wrong end of a hot goalie as they could not seem to figure out the reigning Vezina winner Sergey Bobrovsky. Despite a dominant first period effort in which the Caps fired 15 shots on goal, they came away with nothing on the scoreboard as Bobrovsky turned all 15 shots aside. Washington was at its best in that opening frame. The fact that Bobrovsky was able to stand tall was the biggest reason the Caps walked away with the loss. For the night, Washington managed to get 34 shots on goal, but only one past Bobrovsky. A first-period penalty Washington came out with a dominant effort in the first period in which they had 30 shot attempts to Columbus’ 16 and also outshot the Blue Jackets 15-9. So of the Caps trailed 1-0 by the end of the first. Wait, what? Bobrovsky was brilliant in the first period, but a bad penalty from the Caps spoiled what was a strong period for Washington. Evgeny Kuznetsov held up Brandon Dubinsky when he was on the forecheck against Jonas Siegenthaler. A Columbus power play that entered Friday’s game as the worst in the NHL (11.9-percent) scored on its first opportunity. Nick Foligno drew in all four of the Caps’ penalty killers and delivered a backhanded, no-look pass through the legs to a wide open Oliver Bjorkstrand who had plenty of ice to work with and plenty of net to shoot on. A third-period penalty The Caps and Blue Jackets found themselves in a 1-1 draw entering the third period and the Caps blinked first as Dmitry Orlov took a roughing penalty against Boone Jenner. Columbus cashed in when a pass from Artemi Panarin bounced off the backboards and out to Anthony Duclair who fired it into the net despite shooting from no angle. Did I mention the Blue Jackets have the worst power play in the league? Despite their troubles with the extra man, Columbus’ power play still got the better of Washington’s 25th ranked penalty kill with two goals on three opportunities. Two missed opportunities on the power play late in the third period Columbus looked poised to suffocate Washington’s offense for the remainder of the third and take home the 2-1 win until Pierre-Luc Dubois was caught holding the stick of Michal Kempny with just seven minutes remaining in the game. David Savard was also caught hooking Jakub Vrana with 43 seconds left on the board. Putting the league’s best power play on the ice in a one-goal game twice is not an ideal situation, but the Caps failed to produce when they needed it most. Washington could not pierce Bobrovsky on either opportunity and had to settle for only one goal on the night.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115034 Winnipeg Jets

Jets defenceman Kulikov out of lineup for at least a month

By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 11/10/2018 2:54 PM

The injury bug has finally bitten the Winnipeg Jets. Veteran defenceman Dmitry Kulikov is expected to miss at least a month of action after suffering an upper-body injury in Friday night's 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Kulikov took a hit from Gabriel Bourque late in the first period and immediately began favouring his arm and shoulder, heading straight to the locker room and not returning. Coach Paul Maurice confirmed the diagnosis following Saturday's practice at Bell MTS Iceplex. "He's out at least a month, and maybe longer than that. That would be the first open window. Probably the next time I give you an update will be four weeks from now," said Maurice. It's a tough break for Kulikov, who had off-season back surgery and had been in and out of the lineup so far this season as he tried to work his way back to form. Kulikov was very noticeable off the hop against the Avalanche, throwing a couple big hits prior to going down. He had one assist in six games. "That was his best period of hockey. He was playing great. Physical, moving the puck, skating. Pretty unfortunate. It's a little challenge for him now. He felt that before his injury last year, he really liked his game, and it was long-term. This one is tough for him to handle," said Maurice. The injury opens the door for Joe Morrow to remain in the lineup. Morrow and Kulikov had been rotating being healthy scratches in recent games. "You feel bad for situations like that. It’s just disheartening to see someone work so hard and come back, you want to play hard and start contributing to the team and be part of what’s going on here again. I think you kind of go overboard and you try a little too hard and put yourself in a vulnerable position. Myself, I’ve done that before and I understand how it works," Morrow said Saturday. "It’s tough, it’s part of the sport. He was right on the brink, he just worked so hard and it’s a major surgery to have in the offseason. Even to be able to come back at all and play after that is insanely impressive. So you feel bad when you catch a bad break like that and get injured again." The Jets are also expected to call up a defenceman from the Moose in time for Sunday's game against the New Jersey Devils (6 p.m. at Bell MTS Place). Tucker Poolman and Sami Niku would be the two most likely candidates. The Moose were hosting the Grand Rapids Griffins in AHL action Saturday night, and Maurice said a decision would be made following that game. "I think this organization has done a very good job in recruiting guys and being able to stack the depth of a team. Anybody that wants to come play and can jump into any spot in the lineup at any given time is going to do well. I think that’s what they kind of pride themselves on," said Morrow. Winnipeg had avoided any significant injuries so far this year through the first 15 games, in which they've gone 9-5.1. Only Dustin Byfuglien missed a pair of contests with a minor ailment. Connor Hellebuyck will make his 13th start of the season against the Devils as they try to build off their impressive performance against Colorado. "I thought we worked hard, we played fast. We got on their D, got pucks to the net. And that’s the game we want to play. Defensively I thought we played good. Obviously there’s still a lot of things to improve. But it’s going to be like that the whole season. So it’s definitely a step forward," said Nikolaj Ehlers, who scored the game-winning goal early in the third period. New Jersey (6-7-1) is coming off a 6-1 loss Friday night in Toronto.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 11.11.2018 1115035 Winnipeg Jets

GAME DAY: Five keys to Jets vs Devils

Ken Wiebe

THE BIG MATCHUP Nikolaj Ehlers vs Kyle Palmieri Following a 26-game goal-less drought that stretched back to last April, Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers has three goals in his past six games and has been using his speed effectively on the top line with Mark Scheifele and . Palmieri leads the Devils with 10 goals, but has only three goals and five points in 13 career games against the Jets. 5 keys to the game Leading the charge Jets captain Blake Wheeler is coming off the first five-point game of his NHL career and he’s also riding a nine-game point streak. During the streak, he’s produced two goals and 16 points, moving him to three goals and 21 points in 15 games this season. Moving on up Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien was a physical force in Friday’s game, finishing with six hits, several of them of the bone-crushing variety. Byfuglien also chipped in an assist to extend his personal point streak to five games. Watch the MVP After putting up a career-high 39 goals and 93 points in 76 games last season to earn the Hart Trophy, Devils left-winger Taylor Hall is off to another strong start this season – averaging a point per game (three goals, 15 points in 14 games) while averaging 19:38 of ice times. With 48 shots on goal, Hall’s shooting % is well below his career average, but he has six goals and 18 points in 13 career games against the Jets. Who is No. 1? The exploits of the Jets power play have been well documented. With two more goals with the man-advantage in Friday’s win over the Colorado Avalanche, the Jets moved into top spot in the NHL in power- play efficiency. The Jets have scored at least one goal in 11 consecutive games on the power play and have gone 16 for 46 this season so far. has scored four of those goals during the past three games and six of them. The rebound After giving up three power-play goals against the Florida Panthers in Finland last Friday, the Jets penalty killers were a perfect four-for-four against the Avalanche. The Devils have a dangerous power play, so discipline is something the Jets will have high on their list of priorities. Two of the four minors on Friday were taken in the offensive zone and that’s an area the Jets are looking to tighten up.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 11.11.2018 1115036 Winnipeg Jets But the reason was simple. At that stage of his young career, Laine was too static, simply waiting to unload his powerful one-timer whenever he could. Jets power play has blossomed: Multiple options makes it tough to defend Last season Laine scored 20 goals on the power play and he’s already up to seven this season with the man-advantage and the growth in that part of his game is obvious. Ken Wiebe Friday’s goal was a prime example, as Laine worked his way down low and got himself in position to unleash his shot after Wheeler feathered a perfect path across the ice and over three sticks. It has become the ultimate pick your poison situation. “When you’re younger and playing amateur hockey, you can stand in one When the Winnipeg Jets top power play unit steps onto the ice with the spot and if you get the puck in the right hole, you’re going to beat man-advantage, every team around the league knows that things run goaltenders,” said Maurice. “(Laine is) a real smart offensive guy and to through Blake Wheeler along the right-wing boards. be a shooter like that, you have to learn how to find your hole. In a couple of years, he’s learned when to be high. He was really high (on the left- But because of Wheeler’s elite-level passing ability, it’s difficult to put the wing circle) early (in his career). He sat really high in that hole and didn’t required amount of pressure on the Jets captain. move and now he’s got a comfort level of kind of having a much bigger range on that side of the ice, he’ll get down to the goal line if he needs Among the options available to Wheeler include three right-handed to.” shooters, Mark Scheifele in the high slot, Patrik Laine on the left wing and Dustin Byfuglien at the top of the umbrella. As smooth as the Jets have looked on the power play of late, they believe there’s another level they can reach. And if an opponent cheats toward any of those three options, Kyle Connor is available down low or in front, looking for space for himself or “We’re pretty hot on the power play,” Laine conceded. “It’s been a good others. level, but there are still a lot of things we can improve for how we can be even better than that.” “It’s fun to be a part of. We’ve just got so many options,” said Connor, who has scored four of his seven goals with the man-advantage. “We’re not scoring all of our goals from one spot. (Scheifele) has got (three), (Laine) has a bunch over there and you know what he can do. Winnipeg Sun LOADED 11.11.2018 (Byfuglien’s) will come too, he’s got a good shot. If they take away one option, we’ve got so many (others). It’s just so lethal.” The Jets (9-5-1) host the New Jersey Devils on Sunday as they continue a four-game homestand. Thanks to a stretch of scoring at least a goal in 11 consecutive games (including 14-for-36 during the streak), the Jets moved into sole possession of first place in the NHL through 15 contests, operating at 34.8 % efficiency. Fifteen of the 16 goals with the man-advantage have been produced by the top unit – with Friday’s goals coming a combined 15 seconds into the respective power plays. Some nights, members of the second unit wonder when it’s going to be their turn. “No, you’re happy for the team. Obviously you want to get some PP time in, you want to improve on your own power play,” said Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers. “But when these guys go out and score in the first 30 seconds, first 10 seconds sometimes, it’s pretty incredible. It’s exciting our power play is going the way we want to, we’re moving the puck fast. Both power plays. We’re getting pucks to the net, we’re getting our chances, that’s something we need to keep doing.” Jets assistant coach Jamie Kompon runs the power play and was responsible for the Jets implementing some of the principles used by the Washington Capitals. Moving Wheeler to the right-wing boards on his strong side has led to a dramatic improvement for the Jets power play. Wheeler already has 12 power-play assists this season and his ability to create open seams is impressive. “It doesn’t matter if everybody is open if you can’t pass the puck, but (Wheeler) certainly can and he’ll find you if you’re open,” said Laine. “I try to read off (Wheeler) and try to find a seam. With a lot of teams, the seam is there, but there are teams that are shading on me. But I still need to go somewhere where it’s good for our team and that somebody else will be open. So I’ve got to find some room for myself as well and when I get the puck, I’ve got to shoot it.” Until Wheeler iced Friday’s 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche with an empty-net goal, he had assisted on the previous nine goals scored by the Jets. A Hall of Famer named holds the NHL record for assists on consecutive goals, at 10, a number he reached twice during his illustrious career. That’s some pretty impressive company for Wheeler to be keeping. It’s interesting to think that during Laine’s rookie season in 2016-17, there was an uproar among the fan base that the Finnish sniper was banished to the second unit. 1115037 Winnipeg Jets

Kulikov out at least four weeks: Upper-body injury sidelines Jets’ D

Ken Wiebe

The hits just keep on coming for Dmitry Kulikov. In a game where the Winnipeg Jets defenceman probably played his best period of the new season, Kulikov sustained an upper-body injury falling to the ice after being on the receiving end of a hit from Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Bourque late in the first period on Friday. Jets head coach Paul Maurice said on Saturday that Kulikov, who was favouring his left arm/wrist when he left the ice late in the first period, would be on the shelf for at least a month. “He’s out at least a month, and maybe longer than that,” said Maurice. “That would be the first open window. Probably the next time I give you and update will be four weeks from now. “Pretty unfortunate. It’s a little challenge for him now. He felt that before his injury last year, he really liked his game, and it was long-term. This one is tough for him to handle.” Kulikov, who has suited up in only six games this season, had back surgery in the summer and appeared to be rounding into form before this latest setback. Maurice said the Jets plan to recall a blue-liner on Sunday, but gave no indication whether it would be Tucker Poolman or Sami Niku that joins the team. “I only lean, I don’t make the call,” said Maurice. “I’m not leaning toward anybody yet.” Jets defenceman Joe Morrow has appeared in 11 of 15 games this season and admits it’s been tough to get back to the level he was playing at when he filled in during the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. “It’s just sporadic ice play,” said Morrow. “You know, with penalties and stuff not playing special teams, it’s kind of a mental battle. Just sitting on the bench and waiting for your next shift is difficult in and of itself. But to be able to stay engaged in the game and be ready to go every shift, regardless of what time it comes at, is pretty difficult. I definitely give props to guys that can do that well and stay focused in the game. Because it’s not the easiest thing in the world. “I wouldn’t say anybody ever gets good at handling it. Obviously you want to play every single game and want to be contributing to winning every single night. Especially on a team like this.”

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 11.11.2018 1115038 Vancouver Canucks The big blue-liner has been telling anybody within earshot that he has been feeling better, skating better and more confident with making sharp breakout passes and jumping up into the play. Canucks Post Game: Horvat ‘robbed,’ Goldobin challenged, Jake’s take, Gudbranson jumped up into the play in the second period and ripped a Guddy giddy-up, Boeser missed wrist shot from the high slot off the post. And then in the third period, his seeing-eye wrist shot got by a maze, including the outreached stick of Horvat, to find the high short side to give the Canucks a two-goal Ben Kuzma cushion. “It got tipped in front of the net,” he said. “I just got it by the first guy and see what happens. I feel like I’m skating better, finding holes and getting BUFFALO —Points to ponder after another one got away from the up in the rush. That’s the way I expect to play, but there are some things Canucks, as they had some passengers in a 4-3 shootout loss to the in the D-zone that I need to clean up.” Sabres on Saturday afternoon that overshadowed some strong efforts and proved the club misses the injured Brock Boeser on the power play: And the Canucks can’t keep blowing two-goal leads like they did Saturday and Tuesday in Detroit. It could have got everything rolling earlier and maybe sparked a different outcome. “You need to close it out, it’s that simple,” stressed Gudbranson. “That definitely burns, but we’ve got to use it to our advantage and not let it On an odd afternoon where Bo Horvat looked to have it going early with happen again. They were pressing and found some holes. Their top line a wrist shot that forced Carter Hutton to make a good glove save, the is creative, you give them space and they’re going to take a mile.” Canucks centre came back with a better move and better shot that will make the highlight reels. Travis Green referenced Brock Boeser with an 0-for-3 performance by the power play that should have put the game away in overtime. With the Canucks down 1-0 in the first period, Erik Gudbranson rang a shot off the post on a spirited rush before Horvat looked like he was Boeser suffered a groin injury Oct. 18 in Winnipeg and had been trying to going to pot the equalizer. He took a cross-ice feed at speed and play through discomfort, hasn’t played on this six-game trip and won’t be hesitated for a moment to get Hutton moving. The stopper then somehow for some time. got his glove on the shot as he dove across the crease as he was falling backward. “He saw a specialist and got some irritation is his adductors and he’ll be out for the rest of the road trip,” said Green. “We’re going to call it week- “It was pretty incredible,” said Horvat. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to-week. He’s working out and he’s going to be fine.” robbed that hard in a long time and sometimes you have to tip your hat. The puck was rolling and I wanted to settle it down as quick as I could. Green called it “good news” because the NHL club — and Boeser — now know what has caused the 2017-18 Calder Trophy finalist to sit out “When you’re in tight like that, you’ve got to try and get it up. I thought I games Oct. 24 and 25 in Las Vegas and Arizona before playing four made the right play getting it up if he had his pad over there, and more. And that’s where Boeser aggravated what was thought to be a unfortunately I put it right in his glove.” groin ailment following an encouraging four-point (2-2) outing on Nov. 2 against Colorado at Rogers. And Horvat then watched the Canucks blow their second two-goal lead of this six-game trip. However, Boeser had soreness following that game, didn’t practise the next day at UBC on only took a brief pre-practice twirl in Detroit on Nov. 5 “It’s dangerous,” he said. “You’ve got to keep pressing and keep it in their and called it a day and didn’t skate again. end.” An adductor muscle strain is an acute injury to the groin muscles on the Nikolay Goldobin hasn’t scored since the season opener, but there’s medial aspect (inside) of the thigh. Although several different muscles reason to believe the Russian winger might be finding some mojo with can be injured, the most common are the adductor longus, medius and Jake Virtanen and Elias Pettersson. magnus, and the gracilis. Goldobin played one of his best periods of the season with two good The adductor longus muscle belongs to a group of the hip adductor scoring chances in the opening frame — including a quick-release wrister muscles and is located in the inner part of the thigh. The function is to from a sharp angle — and also had a takeaway. He then missed the net control the movement inwards and to the sides of the thigh bone. with two second-period shots but also had two gaffes.

He failed to keep the puck at the offensive blue-line as his line applied pressure and tried a tricky cross-ice, breakout pass that was picked off Vancouver Province: LOADED: 11.11.2018 for a Sabres chance. But the goals have to start coming. “He’s got to find a way,” said Green. “There are times when we harp on certain parts of his game, but he does bring an offensive side. But you can’t just keep talking about offence, you’ve got to put some numbers on the board. It’s up to him if he gets the results or not.” It was a shot across the bow of a guy who is now better without the puck than he is with it. “I feel like he’s getting to pucks quicker and holding on longer,” said Virtanen. “He’s not throwing it away. He’s finding us and not shying away from stuff, which is good to see. Some guys have to play more direct, like me, to get pucks in and use my speed to get behind. But Goldy has that skill set where he can pull up and find late guys and take pucks to the net.” Virtanen’s goals in consecutive games shouldn’t be shocking because he had three shots in the first period Saturday and had it going early with Goldobin. On a strong rush late in the second period, Virtanen raced down the left side and got enough space on Zach Bogosian to send a backhander along the ice to the far-side post. The goal was better than the dribbler looked because Virtanen dove the net, instead of going around it. It has been a marked improvement in the winger’s game. “I like to go wide and take it to the net, but I just tried to go off the pad for someone (else) coming in and went far side,” said Virtanen. “So you’ll take those any day. I feel confident out there, but I can’t take my foot off the pedal. I have more in my toolbox.” Defenceman Erik Gudbranson celebrates his goal in the third period with the Canucks bench. 1115039 Vancouver Canucks “You need to close it out, it’s that simple,” stressed Gudbranson. “That definitely burns, but we’ve got to use it to our advantage and not let it happen again. They were pressing and found some holes. Their top line Sabres 4, Canucks 3 (SO): Understudies stole the show before the script is creative, you give them space and they’re going to take a mile.” changed Goldobin has not scored since the season opener, but there’s reason to believe the Russian winger might be finding some mojo with Virtanen and Pettersson. Ben Kuzma Goldobin played one of the best periods of the season with two good scoring chances in the opening frame — including a quick-release wrister from a sharp angle — and also had a takeaway. He then missed the net BUFFALO — Matinee movies can often disappoint. with two second-period shots but also had two gaffes. You’re looking for something special and often don’t see nearly enough, He failed to keep the puck at the offensive blue-line as his line applied especially when there are names of note on the marquee. pressure and tried a tricky cross-ice, breakout pass that was picked off for a Sabres chance. But the goals have to start coming. On Saturday afternoon, there was more anticipation about a building lake-effect blizzard that was supposed to blanket the area than what “He’s got to find a way,” said Green. “There are times when we harp on Swedish rookies and first-round draft picks Elias Pettersson and Rasmus certain parts of his game, but he does bring an offensive side. But you Dahlin were able to produce. They didn’t quite play like lead actors. can’t just keep talking about offence, you’ve got to put some numbers on the board. It’s up to him if he gets the results or not.” Pettersson was held in check and held pointless for just the third time in his first 12 NHL games, but there was a plot twist that helped the It takes extra effort to get to the net and not just hang around in the high Vancouver Canucks on the third stop of their six-game road trip. It’s slot. because the understudies not only showed up, they stole the show. Eriksson was coming off a two-goal effort Thursday in Boston where he Loui Eriksson scored his fourth goal in as many games. Jake Virtanen got down low to shovel home a rebound and tip a point shot. On ignited another social media goal celebration with his seventh of the Saturday, he took a Markus Granlund feed from behind the net late in the season as the Canucks erased a 1-0 deficit in 70 seconds late in the first period and as he was being driven to the ice by Jake McCabe, he second period. And Erik Gudbranson collected his sixth point in the last roofed the puck while falling to the ice. five games — and his second goal in as many games — to build a 3-1 cushion early in the third period. Showing that kind of jam to hang in while being belted is going to go a long way on the ice and in the room. That should have been it. Turn out the lights. Everybody go home.

After all, goalie Jacob Markstrom made a quick post-to-post move to thwart Jeff Skinner in the third period before stopping Evan Rodrigues on Vancouver Province: LOADED: 11.11.2018 the short-handed breakaway. But he then gave up a goal to Skinner and then a big rebound to Sam Reinhart made this movie run longer. “It wasn’t a great game. I thought it was a bit sloppy by both teams,” said Canucks coach Travis Green. “It was a sleepy game and a bit of a mucker for a while, then two power plays in overtime (and a Pettersson broken stick). We miss (Brock) Boeser there for sure with his shot and having a right-shot option there. We had our chances to put it away. “We had some decent efforts and some guys who just weren’t good. When we have three, four or five not playing well, we have to shorten our bench.” Here’s what we learned as Nikolay Goldobin hit the post in overtime before the Sabres “woke” and “got lit” and won it 4-3 in a shootout at the KeyBank Center: Jake’s best take is to the net Virtanen goals in consecutive games shouldn’t be shocking because he had three shots in the first period Saturday and had it going early with linemate Nikolay Goldobin. And on a strong rush late in the second period, Virtanen raced down the left side and got enough space on Zach Bogosian to send a backhander along the ice to the far-side post. The goal was better than the dribbler looked because Virtanen dove the net, instead of going around it. It has been a marked improvement in the winger’s game. “I like to go wide and take it to the net, but I just tried to go off the pad for someone (else) coming in and went far side,” said Virtanen. “So you’ll take those any day. I feel confident out there, but I can’t take my foot off the pedal. I have more in my tool box.” The big blue-liner has been telling anybody within earshot that he’s feeling better, skating better and is more confident with making sharp breakout passes and jumping up into the play. Gudbranson jumped up into the play in the second period and ripped a wrist shot from the high slot off the post. And then in the third period, his seeing-eye wrist shot got by a maze, including the outreached stick of Bo Horvat, to find the high short side to give the Canucks a two-goal cushion. “It got tipped in front of the net,” he said. “I just got it by the first guy and see what happens. I feel like I’m skating better, finding holes and getting up in the rush. That’s the way I expect to play, but there are some things in the D-zone that I need to clean up.” And the Canucks can’t keep blowing two-goal leads like they did Saturday and Tuesday in Detroit. 1115040 Vancouver Canucks

Ben Kuzma: Boeser diagnosed with adductor muscles irritation, out week-to-week

Ben Kuzma

BUFFALO — Brock Boeser now knows exactly what he’s dealing with. The Vancouver Canucks’ right-winger, who suffered a groin injury Oct. 18 in Winnipeg and had been trying to play through discomfort, hasn’t played on this six-game road trip and won’t be playing for some time. “He saw a specialist and got some irritation in his adductors (muscles) and he’ll be out for the rest of the road trip,” coach Travis Green said Saturday, before the Canucks dropped a 4-3 shootout decision to the Buffalo Sabres. “We’re going to call it week-to-week. He’s working out and he’s going to be fine.” Green labelled it “good news” because the NHL club — and Boeser — now know what caused the 2017-18 Calder Trophy finalist to sit out games Oct. 24 and 25 in Las Vegas and Arizona before playing four more. And that’s when Boeser aggravated what was thought to be a groin ailment following an encouraging four-point (2-2) outing Nov. 2 against Colorado at Rogers Arena. However, Boeser had soreness following that game, didn’t practise the next day at UBC and only took a brief pre-practice twirl in Detroit on Nov. 5; he hasn’t been on the ice since. An adductor muscle strain is an acute injury to the groin muscles on the medial aspect (inside) of the thigh. Although several different muscles can be injured, the most common are the adductor longus, medius and magnus, and the gracilis muscle. The adductor longus belongs to a group of hip adductor muscles and is located in the inner part of the thigh. The function is to control the movement inward and to the sides of the thigh bone. Bo Horvat seconded Green’s view in that at least there can be a plan for full recovery because the ailment has been properly assessed. “To know he’s been lingering with pain, and to get an answer now, it’s a little bit more satisfying that we know something is wrong and let it heal and come back stronger,” said the Canucks’ centre. “I’ve never had it. You get sore groins all the time, but if Brock could play, he’d play.” Those who don’t get a full summer of off-season training can be susceptible to strains early in the NHL season. Boeser’s rookie season ended March 5 with a back injury and he wasn’t up to full skating speed — and completely over a bothersome wrist — until July when he competed and dominated the Minnesota-based Da Beauty League. “I’ve been lucky enough to have full summers of training and it is tough when you don’t have a full summer to get your full strength,” added Horvat. “And when you come back into the heat of things, you have to take that into consideration. It’s going to suck to lose him, but we have to find a way to win without him.” Boeser added eight pounds in the off-season and there was speculation it might have contributed to a slow start and just one goal in his first five games. “It’s more weight and I didn’t do anything differently,” Boeser said before the regular season started. “Same training and same amount of skating that I did last year. “I didn’t even weigh myself until the end of summer and realized I was up seven or eight pounds. I thought that was pretty impressive.”

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115041 Vancouver Canucks This is what he was talking about, an ill-timed centring pass which was easily picked off.

ROUSSEL: “That sucks. We’re up by f’n two goals. I just made a bad The Athletties: EP’s stolen destiny, Roussel rises, how the Canucks play in the middle. score and another case for Shotgun Jake “It didn’t cost us right away. But we were forced to stay in the zone and everyone got tired. By Jason Botchford “And they scored.” Nov 10, 2018 Too bad, because other than this, Roussel had some game, earning his way into the top six just as Schaller evaporated before our eyes. BEST STOLEN DESTINY His tip pass which nearly forced the curtain down on the Sabres was a work of art. Sometimes it can feel like things happen for a reason. ROUSSEL: “It was bouncing. Brock Boeser is hurt and in his place Jake Virtanen rises. “It didn’t set. I was reaching for it. I couldn’t get a stick on it. Shotgun plays more than 20 minutes for the first time in his career, draws a penalty, leads the game with six shots and scores yet another goal “We had a lot of chances to put it 4-1 and 5-1. which leaves a swelling number of Canucks fans inhaling large quantities “Their goalie was lucky. of beverages for breakfast. “It sucks. Jake Virtanen has never had this much fun playing in the NHL: we’ve never got this much enjoyment watching him; and his coach has never “It’s disappointing. We should have won that game. trusted him with this much ice. “We let a point just go by. I hope it’s not going to hurt us in the long run.” His is a blossoming story about redemption, work and relationships. “We have to keep the focus for 60 and this was a good lesson for us.” It’s also one which would not have have been told, at least not yet, if not for an unwanted twist. MOST BREATHLESS MOMENT Something similar should have happened in Buffalo today. No, no and no. I do not want to see this again. And again. The Canucks wilted giving up a two-goal lead in the final two minutes. It was another accidentally on purpose cheap shot on EP. But a blown game set us up for what should have been the winner of the GREEN: “I think their feet got tangled up.” year. (I doubt Green will think that on the replay). There is so much you haven’t seen from Vancouver’s resident Space “By no means do I think it was a dirty play. I don’t know if the player Alien. meant it.” There are many plays, skills and moves he executed in Sweden which he (Jury is out) hasn’t yet had the opportunity to showcase in the NHL. “It may have been coincidental.” There would have been one today if not for Jeff Skinner who ripped it from our memories before it had the chance to embed. Funny, but many “coincidental” plays keep happening to Sir Dekes. It would have been among the most talked about goals of the entire Actually, it’s not funny at all. season, an eruption of dekes which should have culminated in the greatest goal scored in the past decade, give or take 9.5 years. BEST PASS Think about it this way, it didn’t quite work and the Canucks dressing This would have started a five-alarm fire if Goldy’s stick didn’t crumble in room was still slack-jawed. his mitts. VIRTANEN: “Oh, it was just nasty. It’s hard to blame him. His stick broke. It happens. It would happen to EP later in overtime. “If there’s no trip there, that’s an empty net for him. But damn, no one has been gifted more sauce from the Prince of “I felt like he had it. He had that move planned in his head and he did it. Dekeness but they invariably go straight to Goldy’s pile of missed chances which is landfill-sized at this point. “He would have had it on his stick. Hutton was completely out of his net. Green pulled Goldy off the Rush Line early and dropped a little frustration “But he was tripped.” into his postgame comments. The trip saved the game for the Sabres so this isn’t quite Kris Russell GREEN: “He has to find a way. who robbed us of a beautiful Sedin moment at the end of their wondrous careers for no explicable reason. “I think we all know, his game is an offensive game. But, damn, close. “There are times we harp on him about certain parts of his game. What could have been. “He does bring an offensive side to it but you can’t just keep talking about offence, eventually you have to put some numbers on the board. VIRTANEN: “I see it all the time in practice, but it’s still insane to see in a game because I don’t think I’d ever try it. Or anyone else would on our “That’s up to him now whether he gets the results or not.” team. And JD backs it up with this claim: “He always comes up with something new so it’s pretty cool.” This “low danger” shot rattled off Hutton’s head and nearly went in. BIGGEST FRUSTRATION Virtanen has a clean lane and also all kinds of time to pick a corner. This should have been Antoine Roussel’s breakout game. He had two assists and nearly put the game away with the prettiest give-and-go tap He drives into the shot and he can snipe. pass of the weekend. You take this shot all day. But crumpled in a yoga poses on the locker room floor post-game, he This is why I was wondering if JD was watching the game. was kicking himself for one mistake which permitted the Sabres to sustain pressure. This may not count as a high danger area, but f me, this was a nice play and a really good shot with a better than 10 per cent chance of scoring. It was that pressure which led to Buffalo’s second goal in what turned into a 4-3 shootout win. That play alone should get you more than 0.10 expected goals “I made a bad play,” Roussel said. BEST THING TO PONDER @mcletch Does any player get their game nitpicked quite like JV? Beat it, @botchford #ShotgunJake BEST EXCHANGE 88 Earlier in the day, Virtanen jumped into a scrum when we were 8:37 PM - Nov 10, 2018 interviewing Hutton, who has worn more turtlenecks this trip than I’ve seen in my life. See iain mcletchie's other Tweets Before JV18 could ask a question of Turtleneck Hutton, I said: Twitter Ads info and privacy “This guy has six goals this year, is it a fluke?” SLOWEST SHOTGUN Turtleneck Hutton: “You know what? He says he’s nasty. This is amazing if by amazing I mean the longest shotgun in the history of shotguns. “He’s a goal scorer and he’s a nasty one. BEST PERCENTAGE “That’s what he says.” Canucks playoff odds before Saturday’s loss in OT. Big laughs all around. Did you believe? BEST SHIFT Do you? The Rush Line did have several dominant shifts during what was not a spectacular Pettersson game. BEST ODE EP has been better and when is he on, if this line is a thing it is going to If you’re against JV playing with EP, you’re against fun. go off. Georgia Twiss JV18: “I have a lot of fun playing with those guys. @georgiatwiss “They are really easy for me to play with. An Ode to "The Rush Line" “We were spending a lot of time in their end and creating opportunities. Virtanen is fast, “I felt like we were a good trio. Goldy can pass, “They have a good IQ and move around the ice smoothly. Petey has dekes, “They’re not like Hank and Danny who I think take some time to get used Oh, they're so sweet! to. They leave us in awe, “I feel like I know how Petey and Goldy play. It took me a shift or two and then I felt I was good with them.” With the things that we saw; BEST SAVE Boeser has an adductor tear which is more commonly known as … a groin strain. HORVAT: “The puck was rolling and I wanted to settle it down. The adductor muscles are on the inner side of the thigh and when they’re “I got it off as quick as I could. torn, it’s a groin pull. “When you’re in tight like that, you have to get it up.” If the stories I’ve read about Steph Curry are accurate, he suffered (He now thinks a low shot would have scored). something similar Thursday. “Coulda, woulda shoulda now that I’ve seen it. Because Curry is one of the very best basketball players in the world, there’s been lots on the topic in the past few days. “I thought I made the right play.” The Warriors pulled Curry from the game he suffered the injury in and BEST QUOTE are vowing to be overly patient with him. HORVAT: “It was a pretty incredible save. I don’t think I’ve been robbed There’s a local connection here as Rick Celebrini is GSW’s director of that hard in a long time. sports medicine and he left the Canucks to take this job. “Sometimes you have to … TIP YOUR HAT.” Treatment varies by case, and some of these are considered day-to-day so it’s not unheard of to try to play through it for weeks like Boeser did. 10:04 PM - Nov 10, 2018 He did lead all Canucks forwards in ice time on Halloween and then Twitter Ads info and privacy suffered a setback two days later against Colorado. See Dakota Dunlop's other Tweets The injury explains lots, including why his shot doesn’t look right. Twitter Ads info and privacy From a pro I trust: WORST FUTURE “It makes sense why his shot velocity would be down, too. This kid is going to grow up, go to McGill. “A lot of these injuries are seen in change of direction, twisting and He’ll be chilling in his dorm. cutting situations. JV will score. He’ll grab a large soda, maybe a shake. He’ll take a “It’s why groin strains are ridiculously high in soccer.” massive rip on it. His buds will be like “What the hell are you doing?” Boeser said he suffered the injury in Pittsburgh on Oct. 16. It’s more than He’ll say “shotgunning for Jake.” three weeks ago now. He’ll really believe this is a shotgun. He’ll be ostracized for the next three The general recovery time is 2-3 weeks. years. Boeser is out for the road trip which would mean he’s next available Don’t be this dad. potentially on Nov. 17 for the home game against Montreal. Don’t be an inclusionists. That would be two weeks between games. Stay true to shotgun purists. But if he’s healed by then, the Canucks are likely going to want him to skate with the team 2-3 times before playing. Embedded video iain mcletchie The Canucks play in San Jose on the 23rd and L.A. on the 24th. Either of People are free to do as they wish and choose the comps they believe to those games would give him a full three weeks between games which be most relevant. seems the best guess right now given the information we have. Please, have fun with it. BIGGEST TROLL That said, there’s something you need to know. This is straight from ESPN. Fair warning here, fan bases have tried this before and boy oh boy has it How dare you, P. Daddy. backfired in the past. The Athletties were absorbed in Europe at a place of worship which is As “Is This Bob” would say — be safe out there. believed to be the actual Church of Pettersson. I’d hate to see you set yourself up for future Oilers and Leafs fans to BEST CAMPAIGN come back and dunk on you. The Rush Line — which really is any combo with both JV18 and EP on it Living up to Gretzky comparisons is ridiculously unfair, even for players — was finally pieced together and in that moment it marked one of The like The Prince of Dekeness himself. Athletties greatest successes, one which traces back more than six weeks and all the way to Shorty who was the first person I heard to say BEST REASONS Virtanen playing with Pettersson had the potential to be a nice idea. With an eight-goal explosion in Boston, the Canucks vaulted to first For all of those who worked on the file, a tip of the hat to you. overall in the NHL in … goals scored. Many subscribers wanted to know now, what’s next? Wait, what? We wanted to get something going on Antoine Roussel, who is a better Among the nice surprises to the start of the season, this news was loud player than Tim Schaller and really it’s not close. enough to make the Vegas pregame siren show sound like a library’s quiet hour. The Canucks haven’t achieved adequate grades for their performance in free agency. So how did it happen? I’d argue they are a better team with Gaudette in the lineup than they are There’s a complex and layered answer about systems and defence and with him in the minors and Beagle back centring a fourth line. exit strategies. But Roussel has a chance to help change the paradigm a tad. There’s also an easy, simplistic one. Roussel has a noisy game. He’s passionate, loud and willing to engage Pettersson, duh. in shenanigans. Both, of course, are related. He’ll always get lots of attention for rattling cages, trolling opponents, If Green is being truthful, the Sedins were never going to be a perfect fit running his mouth and driving his body into, well, lots of things. for his system. I honestly believe it played into their decision to retire. Really, he plays and acts like a merry shit disturber. Green has emphasized, since the day he arrived, the need for this team But there is more to him. Roussel has been out there doing work but it to play faster to generate offence. was getting lost when he’s playing with Motte and Granlund. Rush chances are what is allowing the Canucks to do it. You saw some of it today when he took out Dahlin, stripped the puck and EP is an important piece of this puzzle, the one Green has been trying to perfectly set up Motte in what was probably the best scoring chance of piece together. the game for anyone. “To score on the rush, you have to have skill,” Green said. “And Boy Genius was tracking recent games for micro-stats and he mentioned structure. You need both. It’s a combination We practice it a lot. this: “Our players are grasping it. It’s easy just to say ‘Score on the rush.’ “Granlund, needs to start burying his opportunities. “But you need someone who can shoot it, and put it in the net. “He had four Grade-A scoring chances preceded by shot assists in Boston. “You need someone who is brave enough to go to the net and go hard to the net, with speed and tenacity. “No other Canuck had more than one.” “Every part of your game is connected. Your breakouts are connected to Much of that was because of Roussel. your rush. Your backcheck is connected to your breakout. There were so many goals in Boston it got buried but this on-the-fly chip “And your forecheck is connected to your D-zone coverage in some pass to Granlund was so great. ways.” He set up Motte and it was Grade-A stuff right here, pulling the defender Well, the Canucks goal-scoring success is connected directly to exiting with him deep into a corner. their zone, creating turnovers and getting chances on the rush. Imagine this with Horvat collapsing down the middle of the ice. “For sure there’s a difference this year,” Stecher said. And there was this pass across the slot. “The breakout structure is different. Our centres are doing a better job of I’m sure Boy Genius is putting together something on Roussel because getting low for us. he’s been telling me for some time he should be getting top six minutes. “It doesn’t just help the D-man, it helps the winger too by giving him I’m ready to campaign for Roussel and the fact this stick check led to the another option. JV goal is only partly why. “I know we try to play fast, but sometimes we were getting too far ahead HORVAT: “He always plays hard and he’s vocal out there. of the play and it can limit your options. “He’s playing so well right now. He’s making shit happen.” “Having our centre get low and slow has helped.” Preach. This play against Detroit led directly to a goal and you can see where EP got the puck and started the transition. BEST FAIR WARNING

It’s all fun and games until the GM starts comparing our local Space Alien to The Great One. The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 The comp was once considered both courageous or hilarious. It continues to spread across the Lower Mainland and that won’t stop after it was validated by the man who runs the franchise. 1115042 Vancouver Canucks There’s a lot that can happen in a sample that small. Or nothing at all. It’s why analysts won’t generally rely on samples of fewer than about 25 games for any predictive metrics, and that applies for in-season Elias Pettersson is an unreal talent, but Gretzky comparisons are unfair conclusions, never mind those that stretch for a player’s entire career. to everyone involved Pettersson has obviously done a lot in these 11 games, so let’s try to contextualize it so we have some idea of how the remaining 66 of the season might go. Two numbers immediately jump out as cause for By JD Burke concern for the long-term projection of Pettersson’s offence this season. The first one is his 34.48 shooting per cent; William Karlsson led the Nov 10, 2018 league last season right around 25 per cent. The next one is Pettersson’s PDO (combined on-ice shooting and save percentage as a proxy for

luck) of 107.43; any number north of 100 is indicative of a player on the The Canucks get the short end of the stick so often when it comes to receiving end of good luck. scheduling that one could hardly blame you if your response to the The obvious rebuttal to that is that Pettersson isn’t a league average rescheduling of today’s game for 10 a.m. made you grind your teeth to shooter; that Pettersson drives on-ice percentages for the better. He powder and mutter obscenities directed at the NHL’s head office. won’t convert on that high a ratio of his shots, but it’ll be above league It sucks. Nobody wants to be up that early on a Saturday. And even average. There might be some truth to that. Give me a large enough worse, it feels like a maneuver to keep the Canucks off of Hockey Night body of work, and I’m definitely going to be on board. in Canada and out of the spotlight. Those bastards in Toronto always find That doesn’t change the fact that those numbers are obscenely high. a way, and so on. Steven Stamkos has been the golden standard of shot quality and Would you be more sympathetic though if I told you that it’s going down volume for the last decade (though age is handing that mantle to Patrik like this to make sure Elias Pettersson (and Rasmus Dahlin, too) plays in Laine) and he’s a career 16.6 per cent shooter. That’s the ceiling. prime time in his native Sweden? You should be. Another, perhaps more substantial point, is that Pettersson is creating his Think about the way that these last four-plus seasons have gone. Could own luck by getting to the most dangerous parts of the ice for a shooter. you have imagined this summer that the NHL would flex the Canucks into That’s a point that Berkshire makes in his comments on Pettersson. The prime time anywhere? You hid teams like the Canucks of those years — shot chart backs that up, to a certain extent. force them into the attic when you have company over. All this reminds me about the conversation that followed William Karlsson Everything has changed with Elias Pettersson though. The Canucks are as he scored his 43 goals last season. One article by Sin Bin, in winning hockey games again (for now), but more importantly, they’ve particular, came to mind. In that article, they argue that Karlsson’s become appointment viewing. shooting percentage doesn’t have to regress because a significant portion of his goals came on good looks where the percentages should Sweden deserves to see this almost as much as Vancouver. Hell, I want be more favourable for the shooter. everyone glued to their screen when Pettersson takes the ice. He’s not a generational player — not while Connor McDavid is taking shifts. But he It bears mentioning that there’s a certain amount of luck involved with can be the type of player that helps defines a generation of hockey for being in those positions where one’s percentages will increase, period. Sweden in much the same way he likely will for Vancouver. The potential Some players have a knack for being in the right place at the right time, is there. And everyone is going to want to say they were there to see it but to expect anyone to have this preternatural ability to always hit the from day one. right parts on the ice at the right moments to this extent for a prolonged period seems like a fool’s errand. That potential is worth celebrating. It really, truly is. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. By that same token, it’s also time we pump the brakes a In case anyone is wondering, Karlsson has three goals this year and is bit. converting on 10 per cent of his shots this season. It seems like every passing day invites another more esteemed voice in This isn’t to say Pettersson is akin to Karlsson. That seems as absurd a the hockey community to the fore comparing Pettersson to Wayne stance as the one I’m advocating against in this very article. It’s that we Gretzky. Hell, you can count Canucks general manager Jim Benning need to exercise a certain degree of caution when it comes to projecting among those to stoke that fire. One Sportsnet analyst, Andrew Berkshire, Pettersson’s future. crunched the numbers and found that Pettersson’s shot location should The Canucks don’t need Pettersson to be Gretzky or anything close to it. result in a 26.7 shooting per cent — that mark would be the highest Those players come once a decade if that. And holding him to that single-season total in the Behind the Net era (from 2007-08 and still example is unfair to everyone involved. It might become an obstacle on going strong) of hockey. the path to other astounding heights. Kevin Bieksa has a point. It’s unfair When the going is good, commentary like this is great. This is what you to the poor kid. want to hear if you’re a Canucks fan. But what happens when Pettersson hits a snag? Because that’s bound to happen to Pettersson at some point. What happens if Pettersson’s shooting percentage falls back down The Athletic LOADED: 11.11.2018 to earth and he’s just a No. 1 centre instead of someone who occupies the same rarefied air as an Auston Matthews or McDavid-type player? The knives are going to come out. You know damn well that’s what’s going to happen. Good isn’t going to be good enough anymore. The line between disappointing and bad will vanish, and Pettersson is going to find himself stuck in that no-man’s land whether he belongs there or otherwise. Speaking to Sportsnet 650 earlier this week, former Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa shared similar concerns. “The thing is, Vancouver media loves to build a guy up really quick, and they also love to bring a guy down just as fast. I hope they treat this poor kid fairly.” No kidding. In Pettersson’s case, we’re talking about a player with 11 NHL games under his belt. Oh, they’ve been spectacular. Thus far, Pettersson has 17 points (10 goals and 7 assists) in those 11 games. When I checked on Monday, Pettersson had a primary point on 40 per cent of the Canucks goals from the games in which he played. It’s still just 11 games though. As much as I hate to be that guy, this is an incredibly small sample in the grand scheme of things. If Pettersson is just like Gretzky, as many so wantonly say, then that’s a 1,487-game career we’re talking about — somewhere in that range. So Pettersson is 0.7 per cent of the way through his career, theoretically. 1115043 Websites “It was good we got the first goal. Since then, we took over and didn’t give them much,” Pastrnak said on Hockey Night in Canada, after his second hat trick of this young season. Sportsnet.ca / Pastrnak dines out on Maple Leafs: ‘I love beating “I love beating Toronto.” Toronto’ In the wake of their nine-point explosion, the Bruins’ Marchand-Bergeron- Pastrnak trinity has accounted for nearly 60 per cent of all Bruins goals Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox this season. It all starts with the centreman, and more often than not, ends with Pasta dining out. November 10, 2018, 10:18 PM This was an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Bergeron’s three points give him 24 on the year and move him into a tie BOSTON – Nazem Kadri says he clung to the bitterness he felt watching with Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen atop the Art Ross race. the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-3 Game 7 lead blow up in third-period smoke in this same raucous barn, against this same ferocious front line, from “He wins face-offs. His line has the puck all the time,” Leafs winger Zach April 25 until June 7, when the Stanley Cup playoffs finally ended. Hyman said. “He’s relentless. That whole line’s relentless, and they just work. “Watching the last two teams, you just wanna be there so bad. It’s part of the competitiveness we all have. Every single year, you try to turn the “They’re one of the best lines in hockey, for sure. They’ve got three elite page and refresh and refocus,” Kadri said as he stepped foot back into players.” TD Garden, where two of his three invites to the dance have ended in Toronto’s elite duo, Tavares and Mitch Marner, connected for a slick goal swift, stunning defeat to the Boston Bruins. of their own in the final minute of the second period, but the Leafs’ un- “It still stings a little bit, but it’s not something that we’re looking for any killed penalties and Halak’s renaissance sealed the deal. sort of revenge.” Sparks’s five goals-against after sitting cold for 25 days, however, is a Sportsnet NOW gives you access to over 500 NHL games this season, sidebar worth watching. blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown “It’s a new challenge sitting long times between starts. It’s almost like you Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the entire 2019 Stanley really forget that feeling of being in the net. You try to say that practice is Cup Playoffs and more. your game, but you just can’t recreate gameplay,” Sparks admitted. Whether they were hunting for it or not, there was no revenge to be had “Playing Boston in Boston on a Saturday night, you really start to feel for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first meeting against their nemeses playoff vibes and the intensity. So it was an enjoyable night even if it since they reloaded with John Tavares. didn’t go entirely my way.” In a compelling, best-on-best matchup of star Atlantic Division forwards, The Leafs will get three more chances at their divisional adversary this the Bruins devoured the Maple Leafs 5-1, snuffing Toronto’s road season, and those four-point games will be crucial. winning streak at six. For Saturday underscored the importance of finishing ahead of the Athletes pride themselves on goldfish memories, the ability to flush Bruins in the standings. Coming to Boston not only means walking into a disappointment and focus on the now. They tout the power of the turned loud and hostile environment. page and the clean slate, and yet, ironically, the importance of experience and wisdom pulled from mistakes. It means trying to solve the best line in hockey. So, it should be expected that Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock would argue that those of us outside the sanctity of the dressing room are making too big a deal about Round 1’s Game 7 collapse. That he Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.11.2018 “never thought about it” during his pre-game nap in Boston. “Any time you lose in the playoffs, you walk through all the things you should’a could’a would’a done, and how you would like to be different,” Babcock said. “Nothing you can do about it, though.” If most NHL defence strategists are being honest, “nothing you can do about it” is also the correct answer to “How do you solve Boston’s top line?” During his free agency window, Tavares placed a phone call to Patrice Bergeron, his Team Canada mate, to learn what it would like to be a Bruin. “Mostly family stuff and like the living situation off the ice and stuff like that,” Bergeron recalled in an interview with WEEI.com Friday evening. “So he just had more questions than, like, me doing a sales pitch. It was him wanting to know more about it. “Basically, it wasn’t that much. I guess it wasn’t enough.” On Saturday, the Leafs’ early onslaught wasn’t enough to solve Jaroslav Halak. Boston’s backup-turned-starter turned away all 20(!) Maple Leafs shots he faced in the first period — a season high for Toronto — the Bruins’ dynamic trio cashed in on whatever opportunities it was afforded. First, it was Bergeron tipping a crisp David Pastrnak crease pass past Toronto’s seldom-used Garret Sparks. “They’re making passes 50, 60 feet and one-timing them, so it was just a different look,” Sparks said. “There’s not a lot of lines like that in the NHL.” Then, Pastrnak — who strolled in wearing an electric-rose, three-piece suit he’d had custom-made on the team’s China trip — sniped three beautiful goals, giving the 22-year-old winger 15 on the season and 27 in his past 33 regular-season games. (He also beat Frederik Andersen five times in last spring’s playoff series.) How slick is that? That projects to a 67-goal-season pace. 1115044 Websites A healthy Schlemko could really change the complexion of Montreal’s defence on the left side and help bridge the gap in general until right-shot defender and captain Shea Weber returns from his own knee injury. Max Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens' Tomas Tatar steals show in Pacioretty's return Domi, meanwhile, continues to be a one-man panacea for the Habs, to Montreal running his point streak to six games with two assists against the Knights. Both of those helpers came on goals by Shaw, who now has three tallies in two contests since joining Domi and Jonathan Drouin on the team’s most talented line. Ryan Dixon | @dixononsports Of course, even Shaw will tell you the skill isn’t evenly disturbed among November 11, 2018, 12:32 AM all three parties. “Get them the puck and get out of their way,” said Shaw, who banged in both of his goals from the blue paint, when asked about his approach on MONTREAL — Like everyone else at the Bell Centre, Claude Julien the trio. “Go to the net, because you know [you’re] playing with two watched the pre-game video dedicated to Max Pacioretty with great amazing hockey players, chances are the puck is going to end up there interest. at some point.” Pacioretty, now a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, was Julien’s In addition to Shaw, rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi found the net and also captain last year, but the Montreal Canadiens coach was only around for setup Charles Hudon for a beautiful goal during a second-period stretch about a year and a half of Pacioretty’s tenure with the club. As such, he in which Montreal turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead. It was Shaw who was legitimately interested to see some of the highlights on the big set the stage for Tatar’s game-decider with the strike that squared the screen that he didn’t personally witness. Julien said Pacioretty deserved affair 4-4 in the third period, as the Canadiens are really starting to show every bit of the ovation he received from the crowd and was happy to see an ability to find goals from up and down the lineup. his own players stand and bang sticks on the boards in appreciation of their old teammate. That wasn’t always the case when Pacioretty — who failed to find the net despite three great looks and nine total shots on Niemi — was counted At game’s end, though, they were all back to loving the new guy. on to carry so much of the offensive load in Montreal. Tomas Tatar, who was not the prized piece coming back in the That era is officially over now, though. And if the Canadiens can find a transaction that sent Pacioretty to the Knights, scored the game-winner in way to get their defensive house in order, the here and now is going to a back-and-forth 5-4 victory for the home team on Saturday night. Before get even better. the game, Pacioretty said he’s been able to turn the page and start fresh with Vegas. It’s safe to say the Habs are pretty cool with the next chapter, too. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.11.2018 “There’s a decision that was made and we moved on,” Julien said of the trade that was supposed to be all about getting prospect Nick Suzuki from Vegas just before training camp. “But now we’ve got a guy by the name of Tatar who’s come from that organization who continues to produce for us. I call him a warrior [because of] the way he comes to play. He’s a hockey warrior and he’s got a great attitude.” Especially when there’s a little extra something on the line. While all the focus was naturally on Pacioretty returning to the city he starred in for so many years, Tatar certainly had something to prove to the franchise that acquired him from Detroit at last year’s trade deadline, but opted to scratch him for most of the playoffs when he failed to blend in with the “Golden Misfits.” “I was extremely motivated to beat my old teammates,” he said with a grin. The fact Tatar sits second in team scoring with 15 points in 17 games seems like an out-of-the-blue development, likely because it’s easier to remember his recent struggles with Vegas rather than his steady production for a Red Wings team that was slipping into mediocrity and worse during his time in the Motor City. For the reasons Julien cited, though, Tatar has been a reliable top-six producer for the majority of his career. As such, maybe the bigger revelation — at least on this night — is the production Montreal got from easy-to-overlook Andrew Shaw and — even more critically — the steady play from defenceman David Schlemko, who you could almost forget even belonged to the club following another deal with Vegas in 2017. Making his season debut after being sidelined with a knee injury sustained late in training camp, Schlemko was a stabilizing presence on a defence that was beginning to really wobble in recent outings. While Vegas was still able to find the net four times against usual backup Antti Niemi — marking the third consecutive game the Habs have surrendered at least four goals — Schlemko looked like the poised blueliner he came advertised as when the Canadiens acquired him from the Golden Knights for a 2019 fifth-round pick shortly after Vegas plucked him from San Jose in the expansion draft. Schlemko was limited to just 37 games with Montreal last year, mostly due to a hand ailment, so the team and its coach really are just beginning to find out what he’s all about. “For a guy who was playing his first game in quite a while against a team that really skates and plays a fast game, I thought he did a great job,” said Julien, who trusted Schlemko enough to bump him up to the top pair with Jeff Petry and have him on the ice protecting a one-goal lead in the final minute of the contest. “I have to say that he, maybe, surprised me a little bit [by] how well he was prepared to play and how well he did in this game. He’s just a smart player, he sees the ice well, he doesn’t panic. It’s nice to see him back. We loved the way he showed up to camp and how he handled himself tonight.” 1115045 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Max Pacioretty denies he ever asked Canadiens, Bergevin to trade him

Mike Johnston | @MikeyJ_MMA November 10, 2018, 8:19 PM

Max Pacioretty disagrees with Marc Bergevin that he ever asked the Montreal Canadiens to trade him away. The soon-to-be-30-year-old was acquired by the Vegas Golden Knights in a September swap that sent Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round pick back the other way. One day after the trade was completed, the Canadiens general manager told reporters at the team’s annual golf tournament that Pacioretty requested to be moved. “Last season, there was a request,” Bergevin said at the time. “He asked for a trade. I will not go into detail. But that’s a fact, yes.” Pacioretty denied that in an exclusive interview with Sportsnet’s Christine Simpson prior to facing his former team for the first time. “I don’t agree with that,” Pacioretty said. “Heated conversations like that could get taken in different ways. I don’t believe that that’s what I said and I’ll just leave it at that.” Rumours that Pacioretty would be dealt swirled for months before a deal was finally made. Contract negotiations were part of the equation as well, which reportedly nixed a deal the Canadiens had with the Los Angeles Kings that would’ve sent the winger to Hollywood at the 2018 NHL Draft. The New Canaan, Conn., native eventually signed a four-year, $28- million contract extension with the Golden Knights. There was plenty of awkwardness in the lead-up to the trade, too, including an uncomfortable scene at Pacioretty’s summer charity golf tournament in August. “I knew there was a very likely chance I was going to get traded,” Pacioretty said of his interactions with Bergevin and Canadiens owner Geoff Molson at the event. “You try to not let it affect you. I’m a guy though, that’s very incapable of hiding things. [I’m a] pretty honest person where if something is bothering me, most people around me know, and maybe that led to that awkwardness.” Making everything worse was the fact the Canadiens struggled mightily on the ice in 2017-18 with Pacioretty registering 17 goals in 64 games, his lowest goals-per-game average since his sophomore season in which he scored just thrice in 52 games. “Last season was very frustrating. There’s no dancing around that,” Pacioretty explained. “I had a bad year. Just all around it seemed like the perfect storm of things to go wrong, go wrong at the wrong time, chemistry was a bit off. “It just didn’t work, and you know what? It’s happened to a lot of good teams in the past. These things happen. You can’t be perfect every day of your life.” Pacioretty did say the chemistry in the room “was great” and that he has a lot of respect for Canadiens fans who he thought always treated him well. He received a warm welcome and standing ovation Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Heading into his first game against the Canadiens, Pacioretty had struggled to produce, scoring just two goals and failing to register an assist through his first 12 regular-season appearances with the Golden Knights. He has also missed some games due to an upper-body injury.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115046 Websites performance that felt so routine, he commented on the lack of action at his end through the first 20 minutes.

Andersen’s save percentage over his past five starts is a sparkling .962, Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs dismantle Devils for first back-to-back home and his nine wins tie him for the league lead. win Cue the "Fred-die!" chants.

Morgan Rielly added to his own lead atop the Rocket Richard race Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox (Defencemen’s Division), by floating a muffin from the point that Kinkaid, November 9, 2018, 10:19 PM looking through layers of screening bodies, never saw fly past his shoulder. A little embarrassed such a weak shot found a hole, Rielly could be seen apologizing to Kinkaid afterward. TORONTO – The way things all fell apart last spring — in blame and Rielly, who’s never hit double digits in the goal column, already has anger and misery amidst three blown leads in a Game 7 — you wouldn’t seven before Remembrance Day. blame the Toronto Maple Leafs Friday if their mind was preoccupied with a revenge plot for Saturday at Boston’s TD Garden and a return to the "Morgan’s goal was a little bit telling of how the night went for us," scene of the crime. Andersen said. The Bruins are a staunch division rival and architect of the two most Attention, Cory Schneider: Feel free to come back and play like your agonizing Leafs collapses for a generation of fans. Despite a minor healthy best self any time soon. goaltending controversy, Boston is right back to its winning ways (8-5-2) The most critical name on the score sheet belonged to Johnsson, who and should be jockeying with Toronto for one of the Atlantic’s two home- recently copped to waning confidence and declining happiness. ice playoff spots yet again. "It’s hard mentally," Johnsson said. "Too often it’s not there." Coming into Friday night’s affair, a scant two points separated the Maple Leafs from the Bruins in the divisional standings, while a recent funk has Johnsson bolted to the crease and was rewarded with his first of the year slunk the New Jersey Devils to the Metropolitan basement. off a Jake Gardiner pass, and the relief that washed over the young Swede’s face was detectable from the nose-bleeders. Stream over 500 NHL games blackout-free, including the Flames, Oilers, Leafs and Canucks. Plus Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown "When you get one like that, it helps the confidence quite a bit, so good Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey and more. for him for playing a great game and flying around and getting a goal," Rielly said. "It’s not like he hasn’t been playing well; the puck just hasn’t Any temptation to glance past New Jersey, however, was resisted, both been going in, so I’d expect that to change." in coach Mike Babcock’s chosen starter — the dialed-in Frederik Andersen — and the execution of the 18 skaters in front of him. Then, just for giggles, Tyler Ennis scored unassisted in garbage time, and a goal-spoiled crowd booed when a presumed Marleau goal was The result? A 6-1 dismantling of the Devils, as witnessed by Martin wiped off the Jumbotron on account of a high stick. Brodeur and the rest of the honoured 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame Class, and back-to-back victories on home ice for the first time this season. Toronto had no issue with the touchdown but just missed on the conversion. "As soon as you look past someone, what happens to you? They come in and they just thump you. You don’t touch the puck. I think we’ve got that "The more we spread out the scoring, the better," Marleau said. lesson a couple of times this year already," Babcock said. For the first time all season, the Maple Leafs received tangible "The other thing about it is, I feel like we’ve pressed more at home. We contributions from each of its four lines — a jolt of positivity that should haven’t been as loose. Last game, we found a way to win the game serve them well on Friday’s late-night charter to Boston. [versus Vegas]. "Everyone got to play, everyone had some puck touches and, so, in the "We want to build off that and get some momentum going at home." end, you feel good," said Babcock, now free to turn his sights on Saturday’s date with revenge. No better way for Babcock’s bunch to do that than to get contributions up and down the lineup and turn in their soundest performance in this "Plus, we didn’t put too much stress on our team playing back-to-back. building since it was renamed the Scotiabank Arena. (Of course, a Now it gives us a better opportunity." lightweight opponent helps).

John Tavares opened the scoring midway through the first period on a gift of a feed from Ron Hainsey, and a team that struggled mightily to get Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.11.2018 on the board early has now scored first in three straight games and improves to 6-0-0 when drawing first blood. Toronto poured it on in the second frame, funneling pucks past New Jersey backup-turned-starter Keith Kinkaid in bunches. Entering the contest, the Leafs’ third line of Andreas Johnsson, Par Lindholm and Connor Brown had just three goals combined, and one of those was shoveled into an empty net. That trio has shown flashes of life since Auston Matthews went down with his shoulder injury on Oct. 27, and needed a mini explosion like the one they delivered against Jersey. "I feel like the hardest part is you have to be good every day, or you’re gonna get run over," Johnsson said. ""We can’t rely on [the top six] every game. We’ve got to step up and score a couple goals." After Nazem Kadri knocked down an airborne Patrick Marleau pass and beat Kinkaid high, Brown scored his second in two nights off a pretty Lindholm feed. "Brownie – any time you feel you’re a scorer and you don’t score, I think it probably eats you up a little bit. I thought the last two games their line has been real good," Babcock said. "It’s important those guys get going." Some grunt work by Blake Coleman led to a Travis Zajac rebound goal, giving the Devils’ third-line centre a quietly solid 11 points on the year — but that’s where Jersey’s pushback started and ended. Andersen, consistent as ever, stoned MVP Taylor Hall on a breakaway and flashed the leather on a Sami Vatanen slapper en route to a 38-save 1115047 Websites “I’d like to apologize to the Vegas fans for that trash celebration, though. I’ll do better. Just not a lot of enthusiasm. I think I’m running out of cellys. I’m not used to doing it so often. I’ll figure something out,” Reaves Sportsnet.ca / Quick Shifts: Meet the NHL's All–Healthy Scratch Team explained. “I had a couple in mind, and I think I got caught up in between two. I’ll do better next time.” Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox Reaves’ career-high 11:06 nightly ice time is more than three minutes November 10, 2018, 8:00 AM above his NHL average. Dude is making the most of it. 3B. A reminder to stop and smell the flowers… A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious 4. When I walked by Reaves hanging over the rafters, half in discussion and less so, and rolling four lines deep. and half watching the Toronto Maple Leafs practice Monday, I thought it odd that a rival player was checking out the next evening’s opponent — 1. The healthy scratch is many things to different people: a teaching tool, but also pretty harmless considering the Leafs and Knights will only play a punishment, a flare in the sky signaling a fading superstar, a slap in the each other twice before they meet in the 2019 Cup Final. face, a chance to get more use out of your game-day suit, a preview to a terminated career, a wake-up call. A couple minutes later, security asked Reaves to leave. He did. No biggie. Look at how Calgary’s Michael Frolik (seven goals) has responded. “Not allowed, apparently,” Reaves shrugged. “I was just talking to Less than six weeks into the 2018-19 NHL campaign, we’ve seen the someone.” hard bench used in a myriad of ways on a range of players — high draft picks and new free-agent acquisitions, the waiver-wire preview and the This rule falls under the purview of a gentleman’s agreement. disrespected vet. Morning skates are cool, and it would be rare not to see the opposing Even the mere threat of a healthy scratch (Kevin Fiala, Brandon Saad, brass or a few players taking a peek. Milan Lucic) can be used as a coaching poke. Practices? That’s a no-no. “Everyone handles it differently,” Bryan Rust told reporters recently. “But it’s rough. Really rough.” My pal Chris Johnston reminded me of that time Montreal coach Michel Therrien booted three Rangers staffers from snooping on the Habs’ 2. William Karlsson is a rare exception to the Vegas Golden Knights‘ practice between games 3 and 4 of the 2014 Eastern Conference final. pattern of extending its core players to deals between four and seven years, usually months in advance of their contracts ringing due (Marc- Coaches from both sides go over these types of guidelines in a Andre Fleury, Alex Tuch, Jonathan Marchessault, Max Pacioretty, conference call before each playoff series. Brayden McNabb). 5. The recently retired P.A. Parenteau’s last good showing was his year Coming off an uncharacteristic and virtually impossible to replicate 43- in Toronto, where he scored a team-best 20 goals during the lost Maple goal, 78-point campaign in which he led all NHL regulars with a 23.4 Leafs season of 2015-16 that led to some nice lottery odds and some shooting percentage, the Knights’ No. 1 centre has bet on himself with a rook named Auston Matthews. one-year, $5.25-million deal. Appearing on Good Show this week (listen below), Parenteau — who Reality slap: Karlsson is shooting at an 11.5 per cent clip and is now on butted heads with Therrien in Montreal — gave his take on Mike pace to finish with 15 goals in 2018-19. Think of the contractual impact if Babcock, a man renowned for his intensity. he finishes in that ballpark. “I’m not going to lie: He’s not the easiest to deal with on a daily basis, but “Going into the season and thinking realistically, it’s going to be tough to he gets the best out of you. And if you want to win, he’s the guy. I believe get 40 goals again. It’s really just Ovechkin and Laine who’s that in him,” Parenteau said. consistent,” Karlsson said during his second six-game drought this fall. “It’s tough for younger guys to have a coach that intense and on you “I tried not to put any goals before coming into the year, but I want to be a every day, but you learn from it.” guy that scores points and whatnot. That’s my mindset.” Natural offensive defenceman Morgan Rielly — who now leads all D-men Shooting percentages invariably regress. in goals — is the perfect example. Ten of the top 12 goal-getters all have shooting percentages exceeding “At first he didn’t play on the power play when I was there because they 20 per cent five weeks into 2018-19. Wonder-rookie Elias Pettersson is in wanted him to play defence first. Remember that?” Parenteau recalled. the Rocket Richard hunt thanks to his firing at 35.7 per cent. “I thought that was nuts. I was on the power play and was like, ‘Get this When the dust settled in 2017-18, of the NHL’s top 156 goal scorers last guy on the power play – now!’ Like, it was crazy. It looked weird at first; season, Karlsson was the only shooter with a success rate above 20 per no one understood it. But they had a plan for him, and I think it worked cent. out. He’s really good defensively now.” The 25-year-old will again be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights 6. Breaking news: The Maple Leafs have made a trade. on July 1, unless he and George McPhee come to terms on an extension In another sign of the Kyle Dubas regime thinking outside of traditional some time after Jan. 1. boxes, sources say the Maple Leafs are trading their annual fathers’ trip After finishing with a league-high plus-49 rating, Karlsson was sixth in for a mothers’ trip, to Florida in mid-December. Selke voting last season (and 10th for the Hart). Despite being a 43-goal Dad’s not mad. He’s just disappointed. comet, he figures he has a greater chance of winning an award for defensive prowess. We watched the Toronto fathers, all decked out in their sons’ sweaters, having an absolute blast during their –Boston vacay last “That’s for sure how I see myself too, trying to be good at both ends. Of winter. course, you’d like to be a 40-goal scorer every year. That’d be great,” he says. “It’s not that realistic. I just go in every year and try to be a two-guy The Maple Leafs are hardly the first to bring a dose of gender equality to and try to be important that way.” the annual AA roadie. Karlsson cut his golden locks this week. Perhaps the more streamlined Back in 2011, the Oilers’ mothers flew to Phoenix. version can get on the board. In February, the Devils, Hurricanes and Flames each traveled with their 3. Among the 150 players outscoring Karlsson this season is teammate moms, Calgary pulling off the fun-heist of the century by bringing the Ryan Reaves, whose four strikes already matches his 79-game total from parents to Vegas. (Not playing guilty enough, the Flames got shut out 4- last season. zip. Look, Ma, no goals.) The fourth-liner now skates on the power play and is out there 6-on-5 P.S. Read this Alex Prewitt piece on why Barry Trotz’s Predators started with the goalie pulled. the dads’ trip tradition 20 years ago. So unaccustomed to scoring in bunches, after potting one in Carolina last 7. As discussion of the next potential lockout picks up, Jason Spezza weekend, Reaves butchered a hybrid celebration: reflected on how he spent the lost season of 2004-05. The second-overall draftee was coming off his first full NHL campaign for “I don’t think Mitch will be sporting one anytime soon,” chirps Brown, Ottawa, in which he put up an impressive 22 goals and 55 points. Bigger through ginger whiskers. “I think I saw [Jake Gardiner] with one, but it things were expected, and suddenly he found himself back in was pretty pathetic.” Binghamton, the farm club he’d just graduated from. If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’. Both Brown and Kapanen copped to “Looking back it was probably the best thing that’s happened to me. growing head starts in October. When you’re getting sent down [in 2002-03] and you’re a top pick, it’s tough. You think you should be playing in the NHL,” he said. “Mine’s great. I love mine so far,” says Kapanen. “Before I haven’t been able to grow much facial hair and now I can, so might as well, right?” “When you’re down there and it’s the lockout and nobody’s playing in the NHL, and all I had to do was focus on getting better, my next year I came Of course, there is a fund-raising element here that coincides with out and I was leaps and bounds more confident with my game.” Hockey Fights Cancer Month. Spezza now describes his 117-point tear through the AHL as his “most Which brings us to Brian Boyle scoring his first hat trick one week after influential year.” Prior to the lockout, the youngster had been focusing so learning his cancer had gone into remission. hard on trying to please Sens coach Jacques Martin and stick in the You can’t write this stuff: lineup, his offensive skills eroded. “I was watching the game, he was unbelievable,” said former coach Thanks to Binghamton coach John Paddock’s diligence, Spezza’s Babcock. creativity flourished and the pressure lifted. “I lost my mom to cancer. Anybody who has been involved with cancer “Not a day went by when he wasn’t teaching me or yelling at me or knows when you get cancer, your whole family gets cancer. It scares the making me get better,” says Spezza, now a 1,000-gamer. “I came back crap out of you. And, not only does it scare you while it’s going on, even after that and I felt I was a No. 1 centre and confident about it.” when they tell you you’re cured, it scares you for the rest of your life. Spezza tells a great story of those junior Sens forwards — a group that Every time you don’t feel the same way, it’s a scary, scary thing. also included Antoine Vermette, Chris Kelly and Chris Neil — slacking on “I’m involved very closely with the children’s hospital, and the people over the back check so much that Paddock threw five defencemen over the there are spectacular, we’ve made lots of advancement in that area, and boards at once to make his point. you just pray to God nobody has to experience it.” 8. Sunday’s attendance in Ottawa was 11,364. Due to decreased need, 12. This weekend, the iconic Joe Bowen will receive the Foster Hewitt fewer buses are now being tasked with ushering fans to and from Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster at Canadian Tire Centre. Average attendance (14,214) ranks fifth-worst the Hockey Hall of Fame. Too deserving. league-wide and is on track for the team’s lowest figures of this century. I was thrilled to join Joe, hilarious booth partner Jim Ralph, plus a bunch In terms of percentage, only the Islanders (66.3%) and Hurricanes of other distinguished media types for a dinner in his honour last (68.8%) fill fewer seats than the Sens (74.2%). weekend in Pittsburgh. “It is hard to see the building not be full. I feel like we did a lot to fill those Most Torontonians have a Joe story or six. buildings up, and we took pride in it. It was a fun place to play, so I don’t like seeing it that way,” says Spezza, a former captain. And I’ll never forget covering the Centennial Classic from a press box too small to accommodate Joe in his own soundproof radio booth. “That’s a hockey town. It’ll rally back behind the team. Whatever the issues are, they’ll come around and figure it out.” So, out in the open, every reporter was treated to Bowen’s radio call at full throat while watching the action live. Best of both worlds. 9. Mark Lazerus wrote an excellent column on the lengthy cold war between a coach and his boss that eventually led to Stan Bowman’s “For my family and my generation growing up, the Leafs have always firing of Joel Quenneville in Chicago. (Bowman denied such friction correlated with Joe. He’s done a lot for this city, and he’s done a great during this week’s press conference.) job for many years at his job. I’ve got to know him over the past couple years, and he’s an even better guy, so it’s very well deserved,” says I immediately thought back to a comment Quenneville, a man of few Connor Brown, a red-haired Toronto native. public words, made about the Leafs when he made his annual trek through Toronto a year ago. “The ‘Holy Mackinaw!’ calls are his go-to, but when I scored that goal against Pit in my rookie season to put us in [the playoffs], he said “They’ve got some really good young players,” he said. “It gives us something about, ‘The little leprechaun has found a pot of gold!’ I thought something to think about.” that was pretty funny. He loves the Irish relations. That one sticks out.” A little subliminal jab at some roster composition, perhaps? That’s how Touched them all, Joe. people closer to the organization read it.

Also striking was the outpouring of support on social media for Coach Q from former players in the wake of his dismissal… Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.11.2018 10. The name that should stick out to casual fans perusing the Rocket Richard leader board is Timo Meier. He’s tied with Patrick Kane, David Pastrnak and Alex Ovechkin for tops with 12 goals. The 22-year-old San Jose Sharks winger has found the net more at even-strength (10 times) than all but Kane. He also has two OT winners. The Sharks took their time developing the top-10 pick properly, giving him an extra year in junior and a half season in the AHL before bringing him up for good. Last season, coach Peter DeBoer made a point of placing Meier on a line with the Joes (Pavelski and Thornton), his most trusted veterans. “They really do a lot of coaching when you stick a young guy there. They really help him out,” DeBoer explained. The coach noticed that Meier was “taking the shots he should take,” instead of deferring to the established stars on the ice. That can be an issue with young players. Now on Logan Couture’s wing, Meier has a legitimate chance to jump from a 20-goal guy to a 40-goal guy. 11. Free from the shackles of a facial-hair policy, the Maple Leafs — led by the lip dusters of Rielly, Connor Brown and Kasperi Kapnen — are embracing Movember. 1115048 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs beginning to test trade market for William Nylander

Mike Johnston | @MikeyJ_MMA November 10, 2018, 10:12 PM

Negotiations between the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander are reaching a breaking point and the next phase is beginning. The team is exploring the option of trading the 22-year-old forward, as the restricted free agent continues his contract standoff. “They’re at a point where they’re beginning to test the market,” Elliotte Friedman said Saturday during the Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “Word is that they have asked teams to inform them who teams or interested parties would not be willing to move and also to begin to preparing formal offers for the unsigned Toronto winger.” Friedman added that Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas declined to comment when asked if this was true. Nick Kypreos reported that he has heard the team’s priority remains to sign the eighth-overall pick from 2014 and that talks are ongoing. Kypreos added that some have suggested to him the Maple Leafs may be willing to give Nylander a contract similar to the six-year, $40-million deal David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins signed in 2017 but that no official offer has been made. A shorter bridge contract for Nylander is also among the options Dubas and his staff still have to consider. “We do believe that if the Leafs are going to make a short-term deal it might not come until the end of November in the last minute,” Kypreos said. “A lot of suggestions saying that number would have to be around $18 million for three years but right now still no traction.” Nylander must sign a contract before Dec. 1 otherwise he won’t be eligible to play in 2018-19. The Carolina Hurricanes and Los Angeles Kings are two of the teams reportedly interested in pursuing the talented Swede. In other Leafs news, Kypreos said there have “still been no meaningful contract negotiations with [Auston] Matthews or [Mitch] Marner, so it doesn’t appear to be a top priority just yet for Leafs.” Both Matthews and Marner are set to become restricted free agents following this season.

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Sportsnet.ca / Penguins considering changes, have received calls on Sprong

Mike Johnston | @MikeyJ_MMA November 10, 2018, 11:09 PM

The Pittsburgh Penguins snapped a first five-game losing streak Saturday night with a 4-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes, but that didn’t solve all of the team’s problems. General manager Jim Rutherford tore into his club earlier this week during an interview with Pittsburgh radio station 105.9 The X, saying roster changes could be around the corner if the team doesn’t turn things around and that the team has begun receiving calls from around the league. One player in particular who has received attention and one the Pens are willing to move on from is 21-year-old forward Daniel Sprong, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. The Penguins used a second-round pick to select the Dutch winger in 2015 but he has yet to establish himself as an everyday NHL player. Sprong has just four assists and a minus-4 rating in 12 games this season and nine total points in 38 career NHL games over the past four seasons. “We hoped Sprong would be in the top nine,” Rutherford said in the radio interview. “He hasn’t jumped ahead of anybody on the right side so he’s playing on the fourth line. It’s not ideal.” The team is looking for secondary scoring to supplement the consistent production it sees from star players Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang. “It’s almost like the guys come to the game and say, ‘Let’s just let the top guys do it. Let Sid and Geno and Phil and Letang carry us and we’ll just get through the game and move on to the next game,’ and forget about the work ethic it takes or forget about the role they play,” Rutherford added.

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Sportsnet.ca / Joel Quenneville ready, willing to coach again as early as this season

Mike Johnston | @MikeyJ_MMA November 11, 2018, 12:03 AM

Former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville might not be out of a job for too long. “He’s certainly ready and willing to coach again as early as this season,” Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos said Saturday during the Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “He’s going to enjoy his family time but when teams are ready to talk he’s ready to listen. Quenneville was fired by Chicago earlier this week after spending more than a decade with the team, winning three Stanley Cup championships along the way. There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to Quenneville. The 60-year-old had one year remaining on the three-year contract extension he inked in 2016 that paid him an average of $6 million per year, which made him the second-highest-paid coach in the NHL behind only Mike Babcock. “He will be very expensive,” Kypreos said. “Teams can offset this season and next season in their contract negotiations but you will have to add another three or possibly four years to a contract extension and that could run you anywhere between $15-20 million.” Kypreos added that Quenneville is not interested in taking over a team that is in the midst of or considering a rebuild, like the situation Babcock signed up for when he took over as bench boss with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015. “This is certainly a very difficult decision,” Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement when the team announced Quenneville’s firing. “But I believe it is in the best interests of the Blackhawks organization. We need to maximize each and every opportunity with our playoff goals in mind and create continued growth and development throughout our roster at the same time.”

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.11.2018 1115051 Websites chances per 20 minutes that are immediately preceded by a pass rank him 13th in the NHL, and his 1.07 of those that hit the net rank fifth.

Outside of a couple of players, the Golden Knights have been in the Sportsnet.ca / Is Max Pacioretty's slow start a case of bad luck? opposite situation that they experienced last season with very poor shooting luck, but the play on the ice has been brilliant. The same goes for Pacioretty, and eventually you have to think the good work put in will Andrew Berkshire pay dividends, even in a game as random as hockey. November 10, 2018, 10:04 AM For now though, Pacioretty returns to the team he used to captain, his home for a decade, scoring like an instead of a sniper. Perhaps there will be some extra motivation to turn the page on Hockey Night in Canada. After a long and drawn out divorce that didn’t end so amicably, the Montreal Canadiens were finally able to trade Max Pacioretty as training camp began in the 2018-19 season, and it appeared everyone was happy. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.11.2018 Pacioretty, for his part, seemed thrilled to be in Vegas, while the Canadiens got a great return in a top prospect in Nick Suzuki, a draft pick, and Tomas Tatar. Since then, though, it’s been a bit of a rough ride for Pacioretty. Tatar has experienced a career renaissance in Montreal. Part of the top line with Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher, Tatar is second on the Canadiens in points, putting up almost three primary points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, and sporting a ridiculous plus-13.44 per cent Corsi relative to teammates, according to Corsica. Playing with Gallagher is always a bonus, but Tatar has been great in his own right, showing that his struggles in Vegas were an anomaly, and if he was a throw-in for the trade for Vegas to dump salary, that it was clearly a mistake on their part. Pacioretty, meanwhile, has not been off to such a hot start with his new team, starting this season in much the same way he did last season. An injury early may have thrown him off, as well as his centre in Paul Stastny going down, but the fact remains he has just two points – both goals – in 12 games. Not to pick on Pacioretty, but his two goals has him behind such offensive luminaries as Ryan Reaves and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. That likely won’t last forever, as Pacioretty is simply too talented of a scorer, but as he returns to Montreal where he has done most of the scoring in his career, what’s going wrong? Isolating Pacioretty’s most standout skill, let’s look at how he fairs compared to the rest of the NHL’s forwards with 100 or more minutes played in shot attempts and scoring chances. With the axes set at the NHL’s averages for forwards, we can see pretty clearly that Pacioretty is still a premier shooter in the NHL, although he’s not in the elite of the elite so far this season, which he usually is in shot volume at the very least. While Pacioretty’s shot rate is only very good and not elite, the percentage of his shot attempts that are from the slot have risen from 39.5 per cent last season, to 56.5 per cent this season, so despite those struggles to score, Pacioretty has absolutely been putting in the work to get on the board. For a player who can score from a distance, producing more scoring chances per minute played than all but 17 other NHLers is a very good sign that he will begin to find success soon. With that said, one issue Pacioretty has had this season is that only four players in the NHL have had more of their scoring chances blocked by opponents than he has at 1.07 per 20 minutes. Between blocks and misses, only 53.8 per cent of Pacioretty’s scoring chances have been on net, tying him for 234th in the NHL there, and dropping him from 18th to 53rd in scoring chances on net. We know from past history that getting scoring chances at all is more predictive of future goal scoring than scoring chances on net, as misses and blocks can fluctuate wildly in small samples. That fluctuation can go part of the way towards explaining Pacioretty’s goal scoring troubles. The craziest part of this lack of point production for Pacioretty is that it’s not just his scoring that’s light, he doesn’t have an assist yet, and he’s been making some excellent passes. Pacioretty’s 1.34 successful passes to the slot per 20 minutes at 5-on-5 ranks him 81st in the NHL this season, top-line numbers for a player who isn’t a typically great playmaker. His 0.94 passes off the rush per 20 minutes ranks him 41st, and his 8.49 scoring chance-generating plays per 20 minutes locks him in at 34th in the NHL, tied with Auston Matthews. Those aren’t the numbers of a player playing poorly, and it’s not like his teammates are playing poorly either, as Pacioretty’s 1.48 scoring 1115052 Websites from Oct. 13–20, and added their most recent in a tilt against Colorado on Wednesday.

To put that in perspective, the Predators put up only 10 empty-net goals Sportsnet.ca / Five absurd, unsustainable stats from NHL's opening over the entirety of last season. They had just 11 through all of 2016-17. month You get the idea — through their first slate of games, Nashville appears to already be approaching that mark with just one month in the books. Sonny Sachdeva | @sachdevasonny The trend doesn’t figure to sway Nashville’s chances that much either way, particularly because you likely aren’t getting these goals unless November 10, 2018, 8:28 AM you’re already doing something right (opposing clubs aren’t emptying their net unless they’re already down and desperate) but it should still be interesting seeing how this one shakes out — and how much these extra goals help them in the long run. With the opening month of the 2018-19 campaign in the books, we’ve finally moved past the period of early-season silliness, of all those absurd 4. Canada taking over the Pacific Division at long last? numbers we just knew would level out eventually. This is exactly how we all saw the Pacific Division shaking out in Or not, apparently. November, right? As the calendar stretches into November, a fair few amount of clubs are With the opening month set and the sample size growing, the apparently still engaging in some statistical tomfoolery. That being the case, let’s mighty Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames sit atop their division as take a look at the most wild, unsustainable stats around the league at the they embark on the second month of the campaign. League-wide, moment: Vancouver and Calgary also rank higher than every club the Metropolitan Division, producer of the past three Stanley Cup champions. 1. Arizona has no time for your defensive-minded penalty kill Needless to say, the Canucks and Flames have exceeded expectations The Arizona Coyotes just don’t understand how killing penalties works, I by a mile so far, especially the former, as Elias Pettersson has emerged guess. Or, at the very least, they simply don’t appear to be down with the even more dominant than expected. method everyone else is working with. What are the chances this holds? Forty-five times this season, the Coyotes have found themselves shorthanded. In that span, they’ve managed to become the most stingy Well, with San Jose the team creeping right beneath the two — the same penalty-kill club in the league, allowing only four power-play goals- San Jose squad that boasts one of the best top lines in all of hockey and against. They’ve also, somehow, scored double that amount in those what could wind up being one of the most stacked blue lines in history — situations themselves, putting up eight short-handed goals against the the two division-toppers shouldn’t get too comfortable. four power-play tallies they’ve allowed. The last time two Canadian clubs topped the Western division that Michael Grabner and Brad Richardson lead this oddly prolific pack with housed Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton (currently the Pacific, three shorties each, while Derek Stepan (two) and Lawson Crouse (one) previously the Northwest) was back in 2011-12. Doing so again in 2018- round out the league-leading group. 19 seems unlikely given the compositions of the rosters involved — although, this year’s Pacific has been enough of a mess that it’s still up in You have to assume this one normalizes soon (there have been a few the air. gimmes, after all), but either way, the numbers are likely ending up somewhere pretty odd. The Devils led the league last year with 11 5. Hotsam Batcho trying to prove he’s the new Erik Karlsson shorthanded goals in total (10 at 4-on-5, one at 3-on-5). It’s near impossible to imagine Arizona not making up that three-goal gap over The escapades of the Uber Crew have taken over Ottawa headlines, their next 68 tilts — they potted two more last night, alone. stealing the spotlight from what is, without a doubt, the biggest story out of the nation’s capital at the moment. And, because this is just how the Coyotes PK does business, they also limited the opposing Flyers power-play units to a goose egg on four man- Ottawa has become accustomed to seeing one name hang around the advantage chances. Because why not. top end of the scoring charts all year long, a defenceman who routinely proved to be the club’s best in the other end of the rink as well. But with 2. Gabriel Landeskog wants to hang with Colorado’s high-flyers No. 65 gone and the Senators descending into a rebuilding mess, everyone in attendance is pretty sure this is the year that streak ends. The Avalanche offence has been reborn over the past couple seasons, with Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon blossoming into bona fide Thomas Chabot, it seems, is not. superstars on the top line. The latter Avs scorers posted a combined 181 points last season, with linemate Landeskog finishing more than 20 The 21-year-old affectionately known as ‘Hotsam Batcho’ has been all points below each of them with 62 on the season. sorts of hot so far this season. Case in point, here are all the players in the NHL who have more points than Chabot at the moment: It appears like the captain is intent on finishing a bit closer to his mates this time around. Through 16 games this season, Landeskog already has That’s it, that’s the end of the list. Every other elite scorer you can think of 11 goals and 18 points to his name. Still not enough to put him level with is currently producing less than the Senators wunderkind. Rantanen and MacKinnon — who’ve amassed 24 and 22, respectively — but enough to leave him on track for his best year yet, by far. Of course, key to consider is that 13 of Chabot’s 22 points have been secondary assists, so he’s not exactly carrying the team on his back. But, The 25-year-old only had 25 goals to his name in 2017-18, and his regardless, three more points and he’ll have already tied the career-high career high is just one higher than that total, from 2013-14. He’s already he set last season. nearly halfway there in just one month, with a whopping 67 games left to go. What are the chances that Karlsson or Brent Burns (or, more likely, both) don’t unseat the young Senators prince? Wafer thin, and downright Landeskog is a pretty sure bet to cool off — apologies to any Avalanche nonexistent given the two blue-line forces are now suiting up in the same fans who thought he might ride this pace all the way to a 60-goal effort — uniform. The plateau is coming, but for now, it’s Chabot’s world, and but even if his scoring pace drops off significantly, where might he wind we’re all just living in it. up?

Even if his goal-scoring pace (0.69 goals per game) were to be cut in half from this moment on, Landeskog would still net another 23 goals over Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.11.2018 those remaining 67 games, taking his end-of-season total to 34. 3. Nashville’s on the hunt for that empty-net Rocket Richard There may not be as inglorious a part of the game as the empty-net goal. Though potting one on a tender-less net isn’t the most thrilling of point- attaining methods, getting the extra tally and closing out games is an important part of piling up wins, nonetheless. The Predators need no reminding of that fact, as the club has somehow already managed an absurd eight empty-netters thus far this season. They even went four games straight with an empty-net goal potted daily 1115053 Websites No longer road warriors Only Toronto and Nashville had managed to stay undefeated on the road this season going into Saturday’s schedule, and now only the Predators TSN.CA / Leafs fail to contain Bruins' top line in first road loss are perfect away from home, while the Leafs drop to 6-1-0. When it came to playing away from Scotiabank Arena before Saturday, Kristen Shilton the Leafs weren’t just getting positive results; they were dominating the opposition. Before Boston, the biggest deficit Toronto had faced on the road was a 2-0 hole against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 7, and overall they had outscored opponents 32-17. In fact, the fewest goals The Maple Leafs couldn’t take advantage of a strong start on Saturday Toronto had produced so far in a road game was four, but after a rousing as their offence dried up in a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. With back-up first period effort they had little answer for how Boston took over from goalie Garret Sparks making just his third start of the season on the there with 66-per-cent possession in the second and 50-per-cent in the second night of a back-to-back for Toronto, the Leafs struggled to contain third. the Bruins’ top players and suffered their first defeat on the road as a result. Toronto now moves to 11-6-0 on the year. Yo-yoing special teams Takeaways The Leafs had successfully completed 14 straight kills, dating back to Nov. 1, when the Bruins went on their second power play of the game Bruins’ big line swallows up Leafs midway through the middle frame, and Pastrnak broke through with a score. The penalty killing unit that was out for Toronto was fatigued by Toronto couldn’t have drawn up a better start to the first period of the time of the goal, after good pressure by the Bruins throughout the Saturday’s game - except for the fact they had no goals to show for their power play made it impossible to get a change. They gave up another efforts by the end of the frame. Despite having played the night before at power play goal to Pastrnak in the third on a double-minor infraction to home in a 6-1 victory over New Jersey, Toronto looked like the more Kasperi Kapanen (high-sticking), to drop the kill to a mediocre 2-for-4 on rested team as it jumped all over the Bruins offensively with 66-per-cent the night. possession and a 20-6 shot margin over the game’s first 20 minutes. Toronto had also entered the game leading the NHL in goals scored on Meanwhile, the Leafs power play had been stalling of late as well, going the road with 5.33 per game, but with the Bruins’ containing them to the 0-for-5 in the team’s last two outings. The Leafs first man advantage outside, Toronto simply couldn’t score, and that would come back to bite chance in Boston resulted in nine shots on Halak, but still no goals. Their them later on. second power play didn’t officially produce a goal either, but it may as well have - Tavares’ marker came after the man advantage had Once the Patrice Bergeron line with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak expired, but it was set up entirely by the Leafs’ ongoing momentum from got rolling late in the opening frame though, the Leafs were on their heels that second power play when the Bruins’ penalty killers and Halak were in a big way. It was Bergeron striking first with a deflection past Garret worked over by a persistent Leafs’ group. Toronto’s power finished 0-for- Sparks on only the sixth Bruins’ shot of the game, marking the first time 3 but put 17 shots on goal over those opportunities, compared to 22 by the Leafs had given up the first goal in a game on the road since Oct. 13 the Left at even strength. in Washington.

Next it was Pastrnak who would victimize the Leafs repeatedly on his way to scoring a hat trick. He tallied the first goal when Bergeron sent a TSN.CA LOADED: 11.11.2018 no-look, cross-ice pass for him to bury top-shelf on Sparks (while falling to the ice at that), and then quickly after that on the power play, courtesy of another cross-crease pass from Bergeron. Pastrnak finished the job in the third period with another man advantage goal from the right circle. All told, the Bruins’ top line produced nine points, and dominated the Leafs in possession at 59-per-cent when they were on the ice. In response, the Leafs’ top line of John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman came up with Toronto’s only goal of the night, when Tavares potted his 10th of the season late in the second period. The whole thing was an unfortunate flashback of sorts for the Leafs, who saw that Bergeron trio put up 30 points over the course of a first-round playoff series last spring that Toronto lost in Game 7 on Bruins’ ice. Sparks struggles to keep up When Sparks took the crease in Boston on Saturday, it was the first time he had started a game for Toronto in 26 days, dating back to a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 15. Whether it was the potent Bruins’ top line or rust from a lack of game action, Sparks wasn’t sharp enough for the Leafs when they needed it. Sparks saw limited touches while the Leafs dominated possession in the first, but then gave up three goals on 14 shots, the first two coming off a soft deflection by Bergeron right in front of him and then to an off-balance Pastrnak in the circle. There wasn’t much Sparks could do on Pastrnak’s third goal from that same spot, this time while the Bruins were on a four-minute power play. But Sparks was late to react on the Bruins’ fifth goal, where Joakim Nordstrom capitalized on a defensive zone turnover by Morgan Rielly to go five-hole on an unobstructed Sparks. Mike Babcock has established a goalie routine the last two seasons where Frederik Andersen carries the load in net and his back-up plays infrequently, mostly on the second night of a back-to-back. That worked out well for Toronto when a seasoned, career-long back-up like Curtis McElhinney was behind Andersen for the last season-and-a-half. Sparks isn’t that. The 25-year-old may have posted a 2-0-0 record in his first two starts of the season, but one came three games into the season and the other was an unscheduled start a week later when Andersen was dealing with a knee injury. Babcock will have to decide whether Saturday’s 29-save performance with an .853 save percentage was a one-off for Sparks, or if an adjustment to the routine is in order.