SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 03/10/19 Anaheim Ducks Chicago Blackhawks 1135122 Ducks rookie Max Jones relieved after first NHL 1135157 Blackhawks keep their slim playoff hopes alive with a huge 2-1 victory over wild-card rival Stars 1135158 'We're not that far away:' Blackhawks need steady play to 1135123 Scratchin' and clawin' Coyotes defeat Kings, wrap pivotal carry them through tough times homestand with a bang 1135159 Blackhawks deliver defensive gem, keep playoff hopes 1135124 Why the potential of a playoff berth is important to the alive with win over Stars Arizona Coyotes 1135160 Blackhawks notes: Desperate playoff chase hinges on 1135125 Michael Grabner, Christian Dvorak show no rust in Corey Crawford Coyotes win 1135161 Despite struggles, Chicago Blackhawks goalie Crawford 1135126 Scratchin’ and clawin’ Coyotes beat LA to win 6 of 7 on not about to doubt himself homestand 1135162 Four takeaways: Blackhawks tighten up on defense to get 1135127 NHL Western Conference Wild Card tracker: Coyotes revenge on Stars making playoff push 1135163 The Wraparound: Blackhawks believing, playing like 1135128 The game before the game: Sewer Ball puts Coyotes in they’re still in the playoff chase competitive state of mind Colorado Avalanche 1135164 Avalanche dominates Buffalo Sabres in first game without 1135129 David Krejci’s goal with 45 seconds left rallies Bruins Gabe Landeskog 1135130 Lee Stempniak’s patience is rewarded by Bruins 1135165 5 Takeaways: Avs shutout Sabres behind strong 1135131 Is putting himself in harm’s way? performances from Grubauer, MacKinnon 1135132 Five things to know before the Bruins take on the Senators 1135166 MacKinnon activates superstar mode in leading Avs to 1135133 Bruins notebook: Lee Stempniak finally gets his shot victory 1135134 Bruins score late again to beat Senators, extend streak 1135167 Avs-Sabres grades: Smoke show 1135135 NHL Notes: Analytics help guide Bruins in trade decisions 1135168 MacKinnon Grubauer lead Avs to 3-0 win over Sabres 1135136 Bruins pregame notes: B’s look for undefeated homestand 1135137 B's win again on 19-game point streak: "It's not luck if you Columbus Blue Jackets keep finding ways to win over and over again" 1135169 Victory puts needed charge in Blue Jackets' playoff hopes 1135138 Talking Points from the B's 3-2 win over the Sens 1135170 Settling in takes time for Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel 1135139 David Krejci, Bruins make history with (another) late 1135171 Blue Jackets 4, Penguins 1 | Sweet success for Jackets game-winning goal 1135173 How a Saturday morning adjustment paid big dividends in 1135140 Highlights from Bruins' 3-2 win over Senators Blue Jackets’ streak-busting win 1135141 Bruins looking for Heinen to shoot more on top line 1135174 With so much at stake, Blue Jackets exact a measure of 1135142 Bruins provide injury updates on DeBrusk, Pastrnak, revenge vs. Pens Johannson, Millier 1135143 Bruins injuries open up a top-six look for veteran Lee Dallas Stars Stempniak 1135175 Stars 2019 playoff tracker: Where Dallas sits in the 1135144 The best under-the-radar free-agent signing in the league? Western Conference standings (updated daily) 1135176 Stars notebook: Forward Radek Faksa returns to lineup; Buffalo Sabres Dallas doesn't draw a in loss to Chicago 1135145 Nylander extends goal streak in Amerks' win at 1135177 On magnificent night for Khudobin, Stars can't solve Binghamton Blackhawks' off-brand style of hockey 1135146 In battle of big hits, Jack Eichel offers some rare Sabres 1135178 Stars 20/20: Khudobin keeps it close, but Blackhawks’ pushback rush ends Dallas win streak 1135147 Sabres Notebook: Offense takes the afternoon off 1135148 The Wraparound: Avalanche 3, Sabres 0 Detroit Red Wings 1135149 Quick Sabres update: Dahlin with Ristolainen today, 1135179 Detroit Red Wings unable to keep up with NHL's best, lose Landeskog out for Avs to Tampa Bay 1135150 Inside the NHL: 'Scoreboard Wars' is one area Sabres can 1135180 Detroit Red Wings want Filip Zadina 'to look dangerous make a move on offensively' 1135151 Mike Harrington's NHL Power Rankings 1135181 Spirit of Hockeytown glows at Ted Lindsay viewing. And it 1135152 Having a winning blueprint is one thing, but following it was stunning proves tough for Sabres 1135182 Detroit Red Wings lose to Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2 1135183 Red Wings fall behind early, can't overcome league- leading Lightning 1135153 Flames Notes: Bennett back after scary hit 1135184 Red Wings hopeful Filip Zadina can pattern game after 1135154 Game Day: Golden Knights at Flames — 5 storylines Tampa Bay star Nikita Kucherov 1135155 Flames' top line aims to be better 1135185 Lightning overpower Red Wings, 3-2 1135156 Carolina Hurricanes sweep series, beating Preds 1135186 Oilers make it close, but lose 3-2 to the Leafs 5-3 1135187 Oil Spills: Oilers' Zack Kassian adds more scoring punch 1135188 Maple Leafs simply have too many weapons for Edmonton Oilers 1135189 Anthony Stolarz held the fort for Edmonton Oilers with Koskinen calling in sick 1135190 JONES: Edmonton Oilers miss out on opportunity to close playoff gap 1135191 Too little, too late as Edmonton Oilers lose to Maple Leafs 1135192 Edmonton Oilers Game Day: Beware of exploding Leafs Florida Panthers 1135193 Preview: Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers, 5 p.m., 1135230 Flyers blast Islanders, 5-2, and move to within 5 points of Sunday playoff spot 1135194 Passion, pride, jobs: Here’s what the disappointed 1135231 Flyers raising prices on most tickets for 2019-20 season Panthers will be playing for with 14 games left 1135232 Jake Voracek, Nolan Patrick get green light for game at Islanders 1135233 Flyers 5, Islanders 2: Another lopsided win helps playoff 1135195 Kings' Carl Grundstrom scores his first career NHL goal in chase 4-2 loss to Coyotes 1135234 Flyers at Islanders: Live stream, storylines, game time and 1135196 Dvorak, Grabner keep Coyotes howling with a win over more Kings 1135235 Flyers 5 takeaways: ‘We’re confident right now. We feel 1135197 Bound by the game: The hockey-loving Brodzinskis rally like we can play against anyone.’ around each other 1135236 Flyers prospect WATCH: Unlikely suitors of top-end 1135198 FINAL – ONTARIO 5, TUCSON 2 college free agents 1135199 MARCH 9 RAPID REACTION (FEAT. JOHN HOVEN): 1135237 Flyers at Islanders: Game 68 preview, line combinations, COYOTES 4, KINGS 2 broadcast info 1135200 GAME 68: LOS ANGELES AT ARIZONA 1135201 PROJECTED LINEUPS; WAGNER AT LEAST A WEEK OUT; CLAGUE HURT; YOUNG D 1135238 Despite Matt Murray’s strong performance, Penguins fall 1135202 PREVIEW – ONTARIO @ TUCSON, 3/9 to Blue Jackets 1135203 GRUNDSTROM RECALLED; WILL DEBUT AT ARIZONA 1135239 Penguins sign high-scoring draft pick Justin Almeida ALONGSIDE KEMPE, TOFFOLI 1135240 For Penguins, schedule gets no easier after back-to-back 1135204 GOOD MORNING, GLENDALE set with Columbus 1135241 Penguins aim to use shot blocking as a tool, not a crutch, Montreal Canadiens down the stretch 1135205 In the Habs' Room: 'When they scored that sixth goal, we 1135242 Blue Jackets turn to goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for important fell apart,' Julien says matchup with Penguins 1135206 Rested Price no match for Anaheim Ducks as Habs suffer 1135243 Penguins waste 'really good' game from Matt Murray in 8-2 shellacking loss 1135207 Melnick’s GBU: The Canadiens make another bad 1135244 Blocking shots a tricky — but important — topic for B-movie in California, will the sequel be Goodbye to the Penguins Playoff 1135245 Coach Mike Sullivan ‘not sure where I’m at’ with Penguins’ 1135208 The Canadiens can ill afford errors in foresight, if they give-it-away power play want to avoid being judged in hindsight San Jose Sharks Nashville Predators 1135246 Takeaways: Timo Meier makes his country proud in 1135209 Nino Niederreiter scores twice to help Hurricanes top Sharks win Predators 1135247 Labanc lifts Sharks past Blues in OT 1135210 Predators pay tribute to Scott Hartnell on 'Scott Hartnell 1135248 Kevin Labanc scores in OT, Sharks beat Blues 3-2 Night' 1135249 Sharks’ fight to first in Western Conference standings not 1135211 Predators forward Filip Forsberg 'day-to-day' with upper- easy nor done body injury 1135250 Sharks takeaways: What we learned in 3-2 overtime win 1135212 Is Juuse Saros making a case to start more for Predators, vs. Blues in matinee maybe even in the postseason? 1135251 Sharks vs Blues watch guide: Projected lines and defensive pairs 1135252 Surging, shorthanded Sharks take over first place, but 1135213 Devils blow 2-0 lead in 4-2 loss to Rangers best might be yet to come 1135214 Rangers snap skid with win over rival Devils 1135215 NHL should honor Red Wings great by renaming Conn St Louis Blues Smythe trophy 1135253 Blues' Berube still deflecting praise for team's success 1135254 Blues come up short in overtime against Sharks New York Islanders 1135255 After another solid start, could Jake Allen be grabbing the 1135216 Islanders spoil special night with awful loss to Flyers Blues’ net back? 1135217 Islanders: Johnny Boychuk victim of a ‘dirty hit’ to the head 1135218 Islanders deliver clunker on Bill Torrey night in ugly loss to Tampa Bay Lightning Flyers 1135256 Nikita Kucherov scores to set a new Lightning single 1135219 Islanders stumble and fall to Flyers on Bill Torrey Night season points record 1135220 Bill Torrey's sons celebrate his life and the Islanders 1135257 Lightning clinch spot in 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 1135221 Islanders angry at Flyers' Jakub Voracek after hit to 1135258 Lightning pregame: Three players out of lineup with Johnny Boychuk's head injuries as Tampa Bay faces Red Wings 1135222 Rangers snap skid with win over rival Devils 1135259 Leafs hold on to defeat Oilers 3-2 in Edmonton 1135223 Rangers still don’t know when they’ll have their first-round 1135260 Kadri’s return restores centre of Leafs’ universe pick 1135261 Leafs head home with win after near-meltdown in 1135224 Libor Hajek’s big moment was ruined by an even bigger hit Edmonton 1135225 Kevin Shattenkirk steps it up as Rangers top Devils to 1135262 For Leafs, unlike Habs, more records were made to be snap skid broken 1135226 Kevin Shattenkirk is fighting for his Rangers life 1135263 Maple Leafs build early lead, hold on to beat Oilers 1135227 Libor Hajek scores his first NHL goal as Rangers snap 1135264 Who’s been the Maple Leafs’ MVP this season? 6-game losing streak. 1135265 Leafs Report Cards — Game 68 at Edmonton 1135228 David Quinn sets down path for younger Rangers by 1135266 Tulloch: Why Trevor Moore is more valuable to the Leafs pushing the veterans to play better than you might think Ottawa Senators 1135229 GARRIOCH GAME REPORT: Crawford not a happy coach after Sens lose on late Bruins goal 1135281 Canucks Post Game: Free parking passes, more hard lessons, more scoring woes 1135282 Golden Knights 6, Canucks 2: Plenty of free parking in crease leads to lopsided loss 1135283 Ben Kuzma: The Hughes Watch intensifies for Canucks as his college season ends 1135284 Ed Willes: Boeser, Pettersson battle mental monsters of increased pressure, slump 1135285 UPDATED: Canucks Game Day: Virtanen could help redemption incentive against Fleury 1135286 The Athletties: Vancouver vs. HNIC, rebuild reassessment and a Gilly thing Vegas Golden Knights 1135267 Hageman's kick caps wild finish as Fleet rally past Stallions 1135268 Golden Knights in holding pattern for KHL star Nikita Gusev 1135269 NHL’s playoff format builds division rivalries 1135270 Marc-Andre Fleury incident stirs memories of ex-Las Vegas Thunder goalie 1135271 Golden Knights face Canucks to begin back-to-back games 1135272 How Mark Stone’s $76 million contract could affect signing William Karlsson this offseason Washington Capitals 1135273 This year’s Capitals are starting to look a lot like last year’s Capitals 1135274 Holtby, Capitals blank Devils for 6th straight win 1135275 Braden Holtby ties Olie Kolzig after Caps blank Devils for sixth win in a row Websites 1135287 Sportsnet.ca / Oilers get up-close look at depth they crave in loss to superior Leafs 1135288 Sportsnet.ca / Leafs adopting playoff mentality, accepting reality of tough road ahead 1135289 Sportsnet.ca / Canucks' failure to evolve defensively exposed against faster, smarter Knights 1135290 Sportsnet.ca / Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson says new GM search will be long process 1135291 Sportsnet.ca / NHL, NHLPA have continued to meet to find solution to escrow issue 1135292 Sportsnet.ca / Quinn Hughes expected to sign with Canucks this week 1135293 Sportsnet.ca / Quick Shifts: Maple Leafs’ Rasmus Sandin excelling ‘beyond his years’ 1135294 Sportsnet.ca / Stanley Cup Playoff Push: Columbus turns back to Bobrovsky for huge game 1135295 Sportsnet.ca / Assessing Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner's market value 1135296 TSN.CA / Andersen returns to form in Leafs' win over Oilers 1135297 TSN.CA / Canucks vs Golden Knights gameday preview 1135276 Laine hopes Jets stall Ovie's offence 1135277 Lowry not planning on changing his game after suspension 1135278 JETS GAMEDAY: Five keys to Jets vs Capitals 1135279 Laine relishing role: Jets forward dishing, scoring, etc 1135280 Lowry leaves suspension behind him: Jets centre knows he can’t change his game

SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1135122 Anaheim Ducks TERRY SIZZLES

With a career-high three assists in the Ducks’ 5-4 loss Wednesday to the St. Louis Blues and one goal and two assists in their victory Friday over Ducks rookie Max Jones relieved after first NHL goal the Canadiens, Terry became the first Ducks rookie to record back-to- back three-point games.

By Elliott Teaford | [email protected]

Orange County Register Orange County Register: LOADED: 03.10.2019

PUBLISHED: March 9, 2019 at 4:07 pm | UPDATED: March 9, 2019 at 4:07 PM

ANAHEIM — Max Jones accepted a pass from Ducks teammate Josh Manson in their own end of the ice Friday at Honda Center. Jones skated the puck out of trouble and into the neutral zone as the final seconds ticked down. He picked up speed and then shouldered his way past an opponent.

Jones, a 21-year-old left wing, raced into the attacking zone, shifted the puck one way and then another before unleashing a shot that beat Carey Price and hit the back of the net with 11 seconds remaining in the Ducks’ 8-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Jones’ momentum took him into the left corner of the rink. He raised his arms in triumph and looked toward the heavens as what remained of a non-sellout crowd of 16,580 erupted with a sustained roar that signified something greater than the scoring of an eighth goal in a blowout victory.

In fact, it was Jones’ first NHL goal and it had been a long time coming.

Jones reacted with a sense of relief mixed with celebration. The fans reacted with a surprising sense of appreciation for what he had been going through, the missed chances and foiled opportunities piling up to a great height as the games passed without a goal to call his own.

Jones’ first goal came on his final shift of his 17th game, and it could have not happened just as easily. After all, the Ducks were ahead 7-2 when he picked up the puck and there were only a few seconds remaining. He could have just as easily shot the puck into the corner and let the clock run out.

“It just happened so fast,” he said. “I knew the period was running down and I had my last chance to take it. I decided to go with it and see what I could do. So much pressure was on my shoulders just from trying to get that first one.”

Jones’ older brother, Mitch, who plays with Cincinnati in the ECHL, tried to ease the pressure. So did his father, Brad, who played 148 games during a six-year career with the Kings, Winnipeg Jets and Philadelphia Flyers, and his mother, Mary Bailey, an NCAA champion diver at Michigan.

Mitch Jones sent Max a text late Thursday, urging him to hang in there.

“I was going through a real hard time there,” Max Jones said. “It’s not easy trying to get that first one, especially since the games are limited and the season’s coming down to an end. They really kept me cool. … My family was really behind me, calling me and making sure I was all right.”

Jones explained that he went through similar struggles while in the junior- level Ontario Hockey League and with the San Diego Gulls of the before finally breaking through with his first goal. This was all the more difficult because it was in the NHL, the best league in hockey.

“The amount of chances I had was ridiculous,” he said. “I almost wanted to send a tweet out and try to be funny. But I was just, like, ‘I need to stay focused right now.’ It was actually ridiculous the number of chances I had. It was unbelievable. To finally get that one, it’s a sigh of relief.

“The crowd was pretty loud for an eighth goal. They knew it was my first one.”

RITCHIE FINED

The NHL fined Nick Ritchie $4,121.86 for cross-checking the Canadiens’ Christian Folin in the first period Friday, the maximum allowable. Ritchie was given a minor penalty for roughing at 14:04, after knocking Folin to the ice following an exchange between Folin and Troy Terry of the Ducks. 1135123 Arizona Coyotes over the past several games. And each of those players has evidently found his respective stride.

Grabner’s first goal of the night came while short-handed, which gave the Scratchin' and clawin' Coyotes defeat Kings, wrap pivotal homestand Coyotes a 2-0 lead in the first period on Saturday. Grabner, who missed with a bang 41 games due to injury, has more short-handed goals than any other player in the NHL this season.

Richard Morin Grabner scored again in the third period on a breakaway — yet another trademark look for him — to give the Coyotes another two-goal lead en Arizona Republic route to a 4-2 victory. Saturday was Grabner’s second game back from injury. Published 9:04 p.m. MT March 9, 2019 | Updated 12:38 a.m. MT March 10, 2019 Dvorak scored the Coyotes’ first of the night when he redirected a shot from Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun on the power play. Dvorak,

who prior to Saturday had played in just five games this season, scored Prior to the Coyotes’ bout with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, it was again at 10:28 of the third period for his second goal of the game and this clear that the favorite “scratchin’ and clawin’” moniker of head coach Rick season. Tocchet had caught fire. “Big moments from two big guys,” Tocchet said. The Coyotes were selling T-shirts with the catchphrase printed on the And although Demers has not scored in his three games post-injury, front at Saturday’s game. And it made sense that, after a 4-2 win over the there has been visible progression in is involvement from both an Kings, several players sported the shirts during their postgame interviews offensive and defensive standpoint on the ice. Demers has been skating with reporters. on a pair with Jordan Oesterle. Attempting to trace back just when Tocchet coined the phrase is a “They put in a lot of hours (with rehab). This is why they did it, for the difficult task, but it’s become a rallying cry for this group. hope of being a part of something. I give them a lot of credit. It means a “It was no Picasso tonight,” Tocchet said after Saturday’s game. “I don’t lot to our team.” think we were that great but we grinded it out.”

The Coyotes didn’t post their best performance but it was enough to beat Arizona Republic LOADED: 03.10.2019 the Kings, who occupy last place in the Pacific Division. With the win, the Coyotes capped a seven-game homestand with wins in six of those seven games. They have won eight of nine overall and eight of their past 10 at home.

“We want people to come out and support us and we accomplished a two-week run of (getting) fans to start believing in us,” Tocchet said of this club, which drew 14,976 fans to Glendale on Saturday. “Guys are sticking to it. … Last year, we might have lost this game. But these are games you have to have, and we grinded it out.”

The Coyotes (73 points) will travel to Chicago on Sunday just one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They have a game in hand on the Minnesota Wild (74 points), who currently occupy that spot. The Wild will visit the Pacific-leading San Jose Sharks on Monday while the Coyotes face off with the Blackhawks.

“We can’t rest,” Tocchet said. “There’s 14 games and that’s a lot of games left — a ton of games. You just cannot rest for one minute. You have to bounce back after a bad period and you have to bounce back after a bad loss. You have to stay humble after a win. Those are the things that good teams do and we’ve had those traits lately.”

The Coyotes entered this season-long homestand with a lackluster 11- 14-3 record at Gila River Arena, a mark far too low for a team vying for playoff position. After Saturday’s win, they had upped it to a more respectable 17-5-3 mark.

“Honestly it started with that first win,” said Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski, referencing the 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 24. “We talked amongst ourselves saying that, at minimum, we probably needed five of the seven games. We just needed to establish good hockey and we were able to do that and put ourselves in a great spot.”

In addition to eight road games, the Coyotes have six home contests left on the 2018-19 calendar. If they hope to leapfrog teams in the standings, the Coyotes will need to maintain their success on the road this season while continuing to ride their current momentum on home ice.

“I like that we’ve gone some guys scratchin’ and clawin’,” Tocchet said back in January. “We’ve got a bunch of injuries, but it shows if you work hard and do the right things, good things can happen.

“But there’s a long way to go.”

Back on track

All four of the Coyotes’ goals on Saturday came from players who returned to the club from long-term injuries on the homestand. Forwards Christian Dvorak and Michael Grabner each potted two goals apiece.

Including defenseman Jason Demers (knee), the Coyotes welcomed back Dvorak (torn pectoral) and Grabner (eye) from long-term absences 1135124 Arizona Coyotes to the ‘white out,’ where so many people came out and supported this team. You’re starting to see that again. My phone is constantly buzzing with people reaching out after every game. You sense how much support Why the potential of a playoff berth is important to the Arizona Coyotes there is in this community, which has always been great to us.”

Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet agreed with the importance of proving something to the fanbase. Richard Morin, Arizona Republic “You especially want the fans to believe in what we’re doing,” Tocchet Published 4:10 p.m. MT March 9, 2019 | Updated 4:16 p.m. MT March 9, said. “We asked them last year through some tough times to stick with 2019 us. I think the fans are coming out and getting louder and louder. I think they understand that this team works hard. We’re starting to get results

now, but things change quick. We’re not a rollercoaster team and we In today’s sports landscape, the idea of a team squeaking into a playoff understand where we’re at, but it’s nice to have a lot of fans cheering.” spot only to get bounced in the first round is an against-the-grain thought. Not only would a playoff berth be an opportunity for the Coyotes to show Teams across all four major North American sports have increasingly tangible growth to their fans, but it presents an opportunity for the club’s adopted an all-or-nothing approach when it comes to building a winner. youthful core of players to gain valuable experience in high-leverage Essentially, the idea is that if you’re not a championship contender you situations. might as well free-fall to the bottom in order to secure better draft “It’s big for the development of a player,” Tocchet said. “I’m a situational position. guy, and with 3-6 minutes left in game and it’s 2-2, you’re out there in So why then do the Coyotes feel that a playoff run is so important — defensive-zone coverage and you have to focus and know where to be at regardless of how far they make it? all times. It’s a little different than playing in an exhibition game or an October game. “It’s all very important,” Coyotes President and CEO Ahron Cohen said of engaging in a playoff run. “We talk a lot about a mosaic of positivity and “One mistake can cost you a spot in the standings. Still, saying that, you spreading a positive attitude throughout the entire community. Everything don’t want to put too much pressure on a guy. These types or reps in matters — and our slogan right now is, ‘Every game matters,’ as we these types of games is going to increase all these guys’ developments make this push.” going forward.”

Entering play Saturday, the Coyotes were just three points behind the But the Coyotes are in the business of more than just growing their team Minnesota Wild (with two games in hand) for the second wild-card spot in on the ice. Cohen understands the importance of the organization the Western Conference. The Coyotes had also won six of their past growing its brand to better present itself in a variety of ways. seven games and seven of their past nine at home. Despite an Coyotes owner Andrew Barroway continues to search for creative extraordinary amount of adversity, the Coyotes have still managed to ownership solutions that could see the introduction of a new minority or play their best hockey when it has mattered most. majority owner at some point in the future. While the Coyotes insist that “Everyone wants to win a Stanley Cup but not everyone wants to go all discussions are predicated on keeping the team in Arizona, having an through the process it takes to get there,” Coyotes President of Hockey organization succeeding on and off the ice certainly helps matters. Operations and General Manager John Chayka said. “If you were going “All this really helps us come together toward making real progress,” to tell me at the beginning of the year that this would be the result, I Cohen said. “One thing we talk about as a staff is that every single day would have taken that and been happy with that. Now, it’s obviously we want to be better than the day before. We want to show improvement happened in an unorthodox way but in some ways it’s even better. A lot moving forward, and over the last year that’s exactly what we’ve been of guys have had to battle adversity or step up in roles they otherwise doing. We’re up in all of our key metrics, we’re winning and we’re wouldn’t have had. achieving all of our core pillars. “We’ve learned a lot about a lot of different players, and over this last “These are things we want to continue to grow with. It’s something we’re stretch we’re going to learn even more. … I think it’s a great step for our encouraged by, but we’re never satisfied. We’re certainly proud of the organization. I’m hopeful our guys step up, have a good run and enjoy it, work we’ve done this season. We’re going to keep on fighting.” too.” The Coyotes aren’t worried about a first-round playoff exit or even just But even if the Coyotes can find a way into the playoffs, they would not missing out by a few points. To the Coyotes, there are countless more be considered top-tier contenders for the Stanley Cup. It’s not meant as a positives that could come out of this playoff race than if the team were to slight to the Coyotes, who have earned a league-wide reputation of being fold on this season. a tough team to play against, but it would be difficult for the Coyotes to navigate stronger opponents and the lack of a home-ice advantage “If we’re able to take that next step and get into the playoffs, it helps through multiple playoff rounds. everything,” Cohen said. “It helps from a business standpoint, it helps in building new fans as well as relevancy in the market and outside the Such a situation would be handled by some teams in a way that differs market as well. It helps us in the form of recruiting talent. It helps with from how the Coyotes view it. Contrary to some, the Coyotes feel as everything.” though there are more positives to a playoff run and/or potential first- round exit than throwing in the towel for a guaranteed lottery pick.

“I think it’s the next step for our group,” Chayka said of the playoff run. “If Arizona Republic LOADED: 03.10.2019 we thought that we lacked talent and good, young players that are developing, then it would be a different story. We think we have a lot of those players on our roster today, as well as down in Tucson and in our pipeline elsewhere. We’ve had 18 picks in the last two years and now it’s time to take that next step with a playoff drive.

“Through these experiences is how you build up a championship pedigree. Our guys are going through that, and it’s a good opportunity to understand what it takes. It all helps the growth process.”

Since taking over general-manager duties in 2016, Chayka has been tasked with picking up the pieces and continuing the rebuilt initiated by former GM Don Maloney. The Coyotes haven’t made the playoffs since the 2011-12 season, and the team is feeling hungry to get back there.

“I think, anytime you make the playoffs, there is certainly an excitement around the entire town and a buzz around the team,” Cohen said. “People loving winning and it’s been a great experience. You think back 1135125 Arizona Coyotes

Arizona Sports LOADED: 03.10.2019

Michael Grabner, Christian Dvorak show no rust in Coyotes win

BY MATT LAYMAN

MARCH 9, 2019 AT 10:34 PM

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Michael Grabner missed 41 games. Christian Dvorak didn’t make his season debut until Feb. 26.

Grabner didn’t want to want to be a liability to his team as he rejoined the group late in a playoff push. Head coach Rick Tocchet, when talking about players returning from injury, said, “We have to find out who can play and play a playoff style the quickest.”

It looks like Grabner and Dvorak didn’t take long to shake off the rust.

Grabner and Dvorak each scored twice on Saturday in the Coyotes’ 4-2 win over the Kings, accounting for all of the team’s goals and showing that the adjustment to get back to NHL speed has been minimal, at most. Even Dvorak, who scored a not-too-shabby two goals, could’ve scored more as he was on the doorstep for multiple scoring chances through the game.

“[Grabner] just came out of a rocket on that breakaway. The stride and scoring that goal, that was big,” Tocchet said. “That was a big goal.

“‘Dvo,’ a couple of goals for us, hasn’t played in nine months, we’re asking a lot from the kid and he gets two goals for us tonight. Big moments from two of the guys. We need those moments from those guys — big moments — and they came through.”

One of Grabner’s goals was shorthanded, giving him five for the season, which is a Coyotes record. But he did so in just 27 games, making it all the more amazing that he leads the NHL in that category. His 82-game pace would be 15 shorthanded goals, which would best Mario Lemieux for the most in a season in NHL history (13).

“We’ll take those goals, but the biggest thing is to kill off the two minutes and get the momentum on our side,” Grabner said. “But we’ll definitely take the goals when they come.”

Grabner led all Coyotes forwards in time on ice on Thursday, his first game back, with 17:40 played. He played 14:29 on Saturday with 1:22 on the penalty kill and 1:00 on the power play.

“I got some power play time out there,” Grabner said. “That’s a first in like 10 years” (Grabner has two points on the power play going back 2013).

Grabner had missed 41 games because of a gruesome eye injury that he suffered on Dec. 1.

“We had kind of a day off yesterday, and 2:30 in the afternoon we were still here, we were ready to leave, the coaches, and ‘Grabs’ is in the weight room doing his stuff,” Tocchet said. “It just goes to show the type of guy he is.”

Dvorak, meanwhile, played 18:26 — the second-most of all Coyotes forwards behind Clayton Keller — and had 4:17 of time on the power play (the Coyotes went 1-for-4 on the PP, thanks to Dvorak). It was Dvorak’s sixth game back.

“It’s getting better,” Dvorak said of his game Saturday. “Obviously it’s a little bit of a work in progress, but I feel like I’m improving every game and it’s just nice to help the team win.”

Their return to the lineup — along with that of Jason Demers, who debuted on Tuesday against Anaheim — make for a deeper, healthier Coyotes roster that has been decimated by injuries all season. Starting goaltender Antti Raanta and top-six centers Nick Schmaltz and Derek Stepan remained sidelined.

“It’s just a credit to them, right? A lot of hours. The trainers did a great job with these guys,” Tocchet said. “They’re here at 7 a.m., they’re skating by themselves, they’ve been doing it for three, four, five, six months. This is why they did it, right? For the hope of being part of something and they’re a piece of what we’re doing right now. I give them a lot of credit.”

Dvorak now has two goals and an assist in six games on the season. Grabner has eight goals and five assists in 27 games. 1135126 Arizona Coyotes He provided a big boost to the Coyotes to end their 6-1-0 homestand. Arizona entered the seven-game stretch with a losing home record of 11- 14-3.

Scratchin’ and clawin’ Coyotes beat LA to win 6 of 7 on homestand “I think honestly it started with that first [game],” defenseman Alex Goligoski said. “That first one was big and we kind of talked amongst ourselves. At the minimum we probably needed five of them, five of the BY MATT LAYMAN seven, and we just needed to establish good hockey and we were able to do that and put ourselves in a great spot.” MARCH 9, 2019 AT 10:11 PM Now, it’s time to take the winning ways on the road. UPDATED: MARCH 9, 2019 AT 10:24 PM “We’re playing good hockey,” Goligoski said. “We’re in every game, we’re

closing games out, we’re getting great goaltending, we’re getting good, GLENDALE, Ariz. — In case you’ve missed it, the Arizona Coyotes have solid D, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be confident.” adopted a new mantra of late: “Scratchin’ and clawin’.” Next, Arizona will face Chicago and St. Louis on the road in a back-to- Scratch and claw they have. In a Western Conference that has been flat back on Monday and Tuesday. Then, they’ll come back home for two for most of the season, seemingly everyone has played their best hockey against Anaheim and Edmonton. recently as the playoff push intensifies. The Coyotes have kept up with “We knew it was a huge homestand for us,” Dvorak said. “We had to the race. treat every game like a playoff game and that’s huge. You get 12 out of In a seven-game homestand that ended Saturday in a 4-2 win over the 14 points, but we can’t get too high here. We’ve got to take that on the Los Angeles Kings, the Coyotes won six games, with the lone loss road now.” coming to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. That loss ended a six-game win streak for Arizona, which has now won 11 of its last 14. Arizona Sports LOADED: 03.10.2019 “I asked the players two weeks ago — we talked about the importance of, first of all, we want people to come out and support us, and I think we accomplished a two-week run here of fans starting to believe in us with all the injuries and stuff like that,” head coach Rick Tocchet said. “And guys are sticking to it.”

The Coyotes were outshot 36-32 on Saturday as Darcy Kuemper — who played all of the goaltending minutes for Arizona on the homestand — made 34 saves and improved to 22-15-5 on the season. He is now 9-1-0 in his last 10 starts.

Arizona nearly gave the game away Saturday, taking a 2-1 lead into the third period before LA would tie it. The Coyotes, of course, tacked on two more for the win.

“It was no Picasso tonight, I don’t think we were that great tonight, but we grinded it out,” Tocchet said. “Last year, we might have lost those games, but this is a game that you’re going to have and we grinded it out.”

But the team has played some of its better hockey recently, including picking up wins against playoff-bound Winnipeg and Calgary. The Flames have had the Coyotes’ number all season, but Arizona got an important win against them on Thursday.

They picked the right time to get hot.

With their win on Saturday, the Coyotes are now in third in the Western Conference wild card race, one point behind the Minnesota Wild, on whom Arizona has a game in hand.

Let's go.

“I don’t want us to put our chests out,” Tocchet said. “I want us to be confident, I don’t mind a little bit of a swagger, but we can’t rest. We can’t pat ourselves on the back. Hey, we gave ourselves a chance to get back in this race, and actually we control our own destiny, believe it or not. But we can’t rest.”

The Coyotes have 14 games remaining in the regular season.

“There’s 14 games. That’s a lot of games left. A ton of games,” Tocchet said. “You just can not rest for one minute. You have to bounce back after a bad period, you have to bounce back after a bad loss and you’ve got to stay humble after a win.”

Bounce back they did as Arizona lost to Anaheim on Tuesday but came back with a big win over then-first-place Calgary on Thursday. Then on Saturday, Christian Dvorak and Michael Grabner — who both recently came back from long absences due to injury — each scored two goals in the win over the Kings. One of Grabner’s goals was shorthanded.

“It’s a playoff atmosphere out there for us, like we’ve got to win every game, that’s how we look at it and it’s been a lot of fun,” Grabner said.

Grabner’s shorthanded goal gave him the NHL lead with five on the season and the Coyotes’ record for most in a season, doing so in only 26 games. An 82-game pace would be 15 for a season, which would be an NHL record. 1135127 Arizona Coyotes

NHL Western Conference Wild Card tracker: Coyotes making playoff push

Staff Report BY ARIZONA SPORTS

MARCH 9, 2019 AT 9:13 PM

UPDATED: MARCH 9, 2019 AT 10:45 PM

The Arizona Coyotes are in the hunt for the playoffs.

Their best chance at it will be via the Western Conference Wild Card race, which includes a group of teams that have stuck fairly close together in the standings for quite a while. The race was wide open even well after the new year.

The top two teams will earn Wild Card spots in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, so the Coyotes must finish second or better to qualify.

Arizona Sports LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135128 Arizona Coyotes “I’m the No. 1-ranked player,” he said with mock bravado. “I have probably averaged the most wins over the last four years in the organization.

The game before the game: Sewer Ball puts Coyotes in competitive state “My strategy is banking everything off the wall and trying to put guys in of mind the worst positions possible that I can; create the most awkward shots that they don’t want to play but they have to. Those kinds of shots are my MO.” By Craig Morgan So, Richardson is the opposite of a good teammate? Mar 9, 2019 “Exactly,” he said. “You’re trying to do everything you can just to be a horrible person.”

When you walk off the Gila River Arena press elevator at event level, you Seniority plays a role in players’ position within the circle. Christian have two options to reach the Coyotes locker room once you round the Fischer has been stationed in the same corner since he arrived late in corner and pass the media lounge. If you turn right, you’ll wind past the the 2016-17 season. two Zambonis, past a dumpster that can pollute the entire level if the air currents are wrong, past the visiting team’s locker room and past the “The dungeon,” Fischer said. “I don’t remember if I just took that position BMW Lounge. or if it was given to me. When I came in this year, I was thinking, ‘All right, I’m a second- or third-year guy. Maybe I can get out of there.’ If you turn left instead, there are fewer sights to see until you reach a pair Before a preseason game I tried getting out and I got put right back in of metal doors that grant you access to the space outside Arizona’s there by the older guys, namely No. 15 (Richardson). He’s the biggest locker room, the training rooms, the equipment rooms and the team’s fan of me being in that corner. gym. “It’s definitely not a level playing field. It’s all about seniority. There are If you arrive early enough on game days – say an hour before warmups – different positions and I am in, hands down, the worst one. There are two you can pause at those doors and catch a glimpse of a game played in walls, an exit sign and a door frame behind me. Whenever anyone is in hockey arenas all over the world, at virtually every level. Most hockey trouble they know, just hit it as hard as you can into that corner and fans have a working knowledge of this game that combines elements of you’re good. Somebody is going to get out over there and that’s exactly soccer, hacky sack, dodgeball and racquetball. what Brad Richardson does. When he’s angry, he throws a high ball into the corner, it hits eight walls and I get out.” “We call it Two Touch,” Coyotes center Brad Richardson said. “Some guys call it Sewer Ball. That’s more my style.” Seniority also plays a role in who decides controversial calls.

None of the Coyotes players can trace the origins of the game. Kevin “I’m kind of the commish — self-appointed,” Richardson said. “Someone Connauton played it in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Fort has to be the voice of reason and I think I do a fairly decent job. Plus, I’m Saskatchewan Traders and Spruce Grove Saints. He played it in college the oldest guy so I have the most say. at Western Michigan and in the with the Vancouver Giants. Nick Cousins played it in the Ontario Junior Hockey “Usually, if guys can’t figure out a call, we do rock, paper, scissors to League with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Christian Fischer played it decide. Whoever loses is out, but sometimes guys won’t do it because with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and the American Hockey League’s they don’t agree with the call so I have to step in.” . While other NHL teams play the game, the rules are not universal.

Two Touch isn’t unique to North America, however. Oliver Ekman- “If a new guy joins, then it becomes a new game, we start over, Larsson and Niklas Hjalmarsson played it in . everybody is back in,” Cousins said. “When I was in Philly, if there were “We played for as long as I can remember,” Hjalmarsson said. more than three people out then a new guy couldn’t join until the game was over. So here, there’s lots of new games because everybody has Richard Panik played it while he was a member of the Slovakian national their own pregame routine so they come in at different times.” team. The odd dimensions and objects on the playing surface also create “Only one touch, though,” he quipped. “Europeans are more skilled with complications. the ball.” “Where we play, there’s all these wires and cables up top and the ball The game is simple in structure. Players stand in a rough circle, some in can get stuck there,” Cousins said. “If the ball gets stuck in the ceiling the middle of it, some on the perimeter, and kick a ball to each other. then everybody is back in. It’s called dead ball. If it happens, we have a You’re allowed two touches, no more, and there is no body contact long, taped poker to get the ball out of there. It’s only purpose is to get allowed. You can use other body parts for ball touches, but you cannot the ball out of the rafters.” use your hands, which gives rise to the notion that this game is somehow related more to soccer than anything else. Most Coyotes, even Richardson, agree that the European players are the best as a group. Panik can also identify the worst players. “We call it soccer because the ball is from soccer,” Connauton deadpanned when challenged on this. “We’re not going to call it tennis or “That’s (Darcy) Kuemper for sure,” he said, laughing. “He’s all over the volleyball. We don’t use a volleyball.” place. Fisch is there, too, right with Kells (Clayton Keller), but Fisch is in the worst spot in the game. It’s tough for him.” Fair enough. Panik played soccer as a kid, but he said he honed his skills even before The playing court is a hallway outside the Coyotes training facilities. It he started playing. has an exceedingly high ceiling with rafters, pipes and cables above. It has doorways, angled walls, exit signs and other edges. All of that comes “When I was like six years old, I’d be at my grandma’s and grandpa’s,” he into play in the game’s simple approach. said. “I was so bored so I spent my time kicking a ball around. I was so bad the first time. I couldn’t do five hops so I kept trying and trying and “The guy who touches the ball last before it hits the ground is out,” eventually I got good control of the ball.” Connauton explained. “It’s a process of elimination. While Hjalmarsson and Ekman-Larsson don’t play as much as they used “You’re not allowed to step out of the way unless it is booted at you really to earlier in the season, Panik is still a regular and the consensus No. 1 hard. If you kick it hard at a guy and you miss him then you’re going to be challenger to Richardson’s alleged supremacy. out, but you want to put guys in bad positions where they need the control to get the ball up once and get it back into play. You’re not “I’ll give the European guys credit,” Richardson said. “Panik is good. working with each other. You’re working against each other.” Hammer is good. O is good. The only thing about them is they don’t have that kind of grease to their game like I do. They play it pretty straight up Nobody does the latter better than Richardson. and I’ll do anything. I‘ll bang it off any wall to try to get someone out. They’re skilled but they don’t have a killer instinct.” Depending on the source, Richardson may also rely on another advantage.

“Richie finds a way but there’s always a little controversy around his game,” Connauton said. “He likes to bully guys on controversial calls and he seems to come out on the winning end of it because he outranks you a little bit. When Doaner (Shane Doan) was around he was the same kind of way: questionable skill set, but he found a way to win. I’m not going to directly call him a cheater, but he was a kind of a cheater.”

There have been a handful of injuries related to Two Touch over the years with different teams, but none in Arizona that the Coyotes can recall. There are no objections to the game from the coaching or training staffs.

“It’s not super taxing on the body so I think it’s a good warm-up,” Connauton said. “It’s a good way to keep the mood light, fun and upbeat before the game. We get cheering pretty loud and it gets real competitive.”

Cousins said the Coyotes’ games are the most lively he has seen.

“We have about 15 guys that play so it can be a big game,” he said. “With past teams, there were like five to seven guys that played so this is the most I have ever seen, which is good because it gets all the boys going; keeps the boys loose before the game.”

Richardson agreed.

“You’re moving, you’re doing different things and guys love playing it,’ he said. “We have a lot of laughs and it’s a lot of fun. When I get to the rink, I kind of look forward to playing it.”

Richardson also likes the results — however he achieves them.

“That’s sports,” he said with a grin. “You bend the rules and do anything to win, but I am definitely a hell of a player.”

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135129 Boston Bruins Tangled with Ottawa defenseman Ben Harpur in front, he reached his stick across Harpur’s body — and behind his own — to tap Krug’s point shot toward goal. It trickled far side past Anderson at 8:47, the 11th goal David Krejci’s goal with 45 seconds left rallies Bruins in a career year for the Walpole man (11-6—17). He also earned a measure of revenge for his buddy Kuraly, who broke his nose (and had to wear a fishbowl face shield for a month) when he caught a Harpur uppercut in Ottawa in early December. By Matt Porter The goal was more hard-hat stuff for Wagner, a laborer by trade. But he MARCH 10, 2019 has shown an artist’s touch here and there, and his strong work earned him top-line duty with Marchand and Bergeron following the goal.

Slightly off-kilter on Saturday, the Bruins kept trying, hoping, waiting for “The way he’s dancing out out there,” Marchand said, “it’s a lot of fun to something good to happen. watch. He’s playing really good hockey right now. He’s hard on the puck, he gets to the net, he’s making good plays, he’s dangling everybody. As they’ve come to believe: until proven otherwise, it will. “He got demoted tonight. It was fun to play with him for a little bit.” Chris Wagner tied Saturday’s game against the Senators with a muck-it- up deflection midway through the third, and David Krejci’s tip of a Danton Wagner wasn’t hearing that. Heinen wrister with 45 seconds left gave the Bruins their second last- “I was trying not to screw up,” he said. “It’s an honor to play with them.” minute win in as many games. When Pastrnak returns to the lineup, such a reward may not be “Boston 3, Ottawa 2” was the title of Saturday’s chapter in a remarkable available. But especially in a long, grinding season, Cassidy felt the move second-half run, but the story was of puck luck, coaching moves, and opened eyes. grinders having their moment in the sun. “It’s a good message for the rest of the group,” he said. “I mean, who The Bruins (42-17-9) are now 15-0-4 in their last 19 games. They have doesn’t want to play with those two? I’d put my stuff on and go out and the 12th-longest points streak in NHL history, and the franchise’s longest play with them if I could. since a 23-gamer in 1940-41. “Danton’s gone a good job, but maybe throw a bone to someone else. It They are also unbeaten in their last 10 home games (10-0-0), the last six keeps guys emotionally invested in these type of games, late in the year, of which came on a homestand that ended Saturday. Coach Bruce that sometimes you’re not as focused.” Cassidy is happy to be able to breathe, his club four points (93) ahead of Toronto (89) for second place in the Atlantic, and home-ice advantage in Cassidy also promoted David Backes, who had his legs moving and was their impending first-round series. crafty with the puck, to Krejci’s right wing, with Heinen on the left. Krejci’s wingers at the start, Peter Cehlarik and newcomer Lee Stempniak, saw “We’re paid to win,” he said, “we’re doing a lot of that lately, so that’s their minutes cut. Cehlarik skated 10:00, while Stempniak, in his first NHL comforting. Now I’m worried about Sid Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin and game since last April, saw 7:46. the next challenge.” The bench-shortening paid off. Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh, which is trying to stave off Carolina and Columbus for third place in the Metro, will be a stiff challenge, especially In the final minute of the evening, Heinen danced from the wing to open on a back-to-back. But at present, the Bruins’ resiliency knows few ice in the slot, and Krejci parked himself in front. matches. Shot, tip, goal, win. Just another night with the league’s most fortunate They outshot the Senators, dead last in the NHL, by a 31-19 margin. team . . . and one of its best. They had beaten Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson four times through two periods, but it was 1-1 on the scoreboard. “It just seems like now every game is close. It could go either way, but we’re finding a way to win. Give credit to the guys for doing that,” Cassidy They hit iron three times in the second, but scored once. Torey Krug said. “It’s not lucky when you find ways to win, over and over again.” dented the crossbar with a slapper. Noel Acciari and Patrice Bergeron later did the same. The belief remained.

“We’re seeing a lot of good things right now,” Brad Marchand said. “Even Boston Globe LOADED: 03.10.2019 when we’re not playing our best hockey.”

After a scoreless first period, Noel Acciari drew a holding call at 9:04 of the second, the product of another lunchpail shift from the fourth line. Marchand hailed the Sean Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner trio as “one of our best lines, if not our best line since mid-November.”

Better, Marchand said, than even he, Bergeron, and whomever is filling in for the injured David Pastrnak.

“Their line right now is 1A,” Marchand said of the trenchmen trio. “We’re 1B.”

On the Acciari-created PP, Anderson (28 saves) turned aside power-play bullets from Krug, Marchand, and Bergeron before Krug put it on Marchand’s tape. He snapped his 28th of the year past Anderson at 10:11.

The Senators erased the lead less than a minute later, thanks to a heavy forecheck by local favorite Brady Tkachuk. His buzzing below the goal line produced a turnover, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau found room upstairs at 11:08 past a screened Tuukka Rask (17 saves).

More of Tkachuk’s buzzing produced a 2-1 goal, 2:46 into the third. The short-time BU Terrier forechecked through the neutral zone to create a Chris Tierney chance on the rush. Rask controlled a rebound too close to the slot, and after Tierney knocked down Krug’s clearing attempt, a crashing Tkachuk potted the go-ahead gift.

The crowd anxious and quiet, Wagner put the energy back in the building. 1135130 Boston Bruins David Pastrnak, MIA the last 12 after thumb surgery, will skate at home while the Bruins are on the road. Defenseman Kevan Miller has been off skates of late. He’s been out six games with an undisclosed upper body Lee Stempniak’s patience is rewarded by Bruins injury after blocking a shot on the team’s Western swing last month.

Stempniak becomes at least the 13th winger Krejci has centered, owing largely to injuries and the team’s ongoing search for consistent help. By Matt Porter “Every conversation this year has been, ‘When I’m on, put whoever you MARCH 9, 2019 want there,’ ” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He’s accepted that, acknowledged that. We appreciate that . . . He’s done a good job. Terrific

job, really.” Some 11 months after suiting up for career game No. 909, Lee Shot selection Stempniak finally got to No. 910. Cassidy wants Danton Heinen to look for his shot a little more, even “It’s exciting,” said the veteran winger, recalled by the Bruins for though he has All-Star-caliber linemates in Patrice Bergeron and Brad Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators. “It’s something I’ve Marchand. Heinen extended his goal drought to 11 games, fourth-longest worked really hard for, something I take a lot of pride in achieving.” among Bruins forwards (Nordstrom, 23; Sean Kuraly, 18; David Backes, Thankful as he was, his season debut was uneventful. He skated a team- 17). low 7 minutes 46 seconds, passed over in the third period as the Bruins “Right now it looks like it’s there and it closes on him in a hurry,” Cassidy were hunting a tying goal in an eventual 3-2 win. said. “I think what happens is when you play with those two guys, unless Stempniak, who turned 36 on Feb. 4, rode with center David Krejci and you’re sure you want to shoot it, you’re probably holding onto it to try to left wing Joakim Nordstrom. It was a plum reward for a winger who spent get it to them, and then your opportunity is lost.” the whole year hoping for that exact chance. Confident in Coyle “Hopefully I don’t slow him down,” said Stempniak, who didn’t take a shot Does a lack of Charlie Coyle production (0-0—0 in his first seven as a in the game. “He’s been playing really well. As a winger, someone who Bruin) concern Cassidy? likes to shoot the puck, you couldn’t ask for a better guy to play with.” “It’s not like he’s on this dry spell where he hasn’t created anything,” the Stempniak, who had 469 points in his first 909 NHL games, has played coach said, noting that Coyle’s steady three-zone play as a No. 3 center for 10 teams, including Boston (19 games three seasons ago, following a has “stabilized our lineup,” and taken pressure off Krejci and Bergeron. 2016 trade deadline move). His most recent NHL game was last April 7 in Carolina (3-6—9 in 37 games that year). He recorded 6 points in four “I don’t have any complaints,” Cassidy said. “Obviously we’ll need games on a preseason tryout with the Bruins, but was not offered a secondary offense from him at some point. And like a lot of things that’s contract. happened lately, I’m sure it will show up when we need it.”

“Deep down I believed I could really play,” he said. “Last year was a Goalie workload really tough year for me. I played my first game in the middle of January, and I was injured a lot, so I didn’t skate. I was on the bike. I just felt like I The goalie workload for the final 14 games, Cassidy said, is about 60-40 wasn’t myself as a player. I had a great summer of training, feel like I had in Tuukka Rask’s favor . . . Jaroslav Halak is due to start Sunday in a good training camp, and at least showed to myself that I could play.” Pittsburgh . . . Noel Acciari shed the full face shield Saturday, meaning Boston’s Fishbowl Line is once again swimming freely. They’ve He spent most of the year training at Warrior Ice Arena, as per an combined for 20 goals and 42 points, and the trio of Acciari, Chris agreement with general manager Don Sweeney, staying sharp without Wagner, and Kuraly winning its matchup nearly every night has been a getting in the way. He was the only one there without a contract, as the critical part of this club’s second-half charge. It is one of the league’s best Bruins gave Krejci a rotating cast of wingers, young and old. “fourth” lines: clean, honest, hardworking, physical. Minus fights (Wagner, 3; Kuraly, 2; Acciari, 1) the trio has combined for 80 penalty He had choices. One NHL team, which he declined to name, regularly minutes . . . Defenseman John Moore played in his 500th game . . . checked in with his agent, Pat Morris, hoping to add the journeyman for Patrons on Causeway Street have been happy of late. The Bruins (14-0- the stretch run. Stempniak might have put on another team’s sweater, 4 in their previous 18) were unbeaten in their last nine home games. and earned his way into everyday role. What would a perfect 6-0-0 homestand, capped by a win over the But that would have meant leaving Boston, where he and his family — he moribund Senators, mean to the team? “It means we’re playing well, it and his wife have 5-year-old twin girls and a 2-year-old son — have lived means we’re finding ways to win, it means we’re staying ahead of since he graduated from Dartmouth in 2005. He also had little interest in Toronto,” Cassidy said. “Go out on the road, you’d like to feel good about ditching a squad with an increasingly rosy playoff outlook. your game. That’s probably it.”

Before the Bruins offered a one-year, league-minimum deal ($650,000) on Feb. 24, Stempniak admits he considered his options more strongly. Boston Globe LOADED: 03.10.2019 But here he is, after skating seven games with AHL Providence (2-3—5), at long last.

“It’s a team that’s capable of winning a Stanley Cup,” he said. “As a player, especially one who hasn’t won and is getting older, it’s an exciting team to join.”

Help on the way

After Saturday, the Bruins have seven of their next eight on the road. They may get a few wingers back.

Marcus Johansson, who missed his second game with a lung contusion, will be evaluated Tuesday and could play later next week. Rather than send him to Winnipeg for a Thursday one-off, it appears more likely Johansson could return next Saturday at home against Columbus, the team’s only home game in this stretch.

Jake DeBrusk (foot) did not skate Saturday, so he’s unlikely to play in Pittsburgh on Sunday. If he doesn’t join the team in the Steel City, he could rejoin the team at Tuesday’s morning skate in Columbus. DeBrusk has missed two games. 1135131 Boston Bruins wanted out of Backes. “He’s getting to the net and winning pucks and maybe it’s snowballing a bit for him.”

Great. Perfect. Even with his challenged speed, Backes has the brains Is David Backes putting himself in harm’s way? and guile to find his way on to the scoresheet.

But here is the worry, particularly for a guy we saw exit the playoffs last By Kevin Paul Dupont season when getting delivered full steam to the concussion woodpile by Tampa Bay’s J.T Miller: Concussions are brain injuries. Eventually, they MARCH 9, 2019 catch up. In the worst cases, they catch up and turn into voracious, unremitting wood chippers of the mind, body, and soul.

Rick Nash figured it out over the summer, after incurring his last knock in The conversation around David Backes and his new, aggressive a Boston uniform, and called it quits. Not everyone is afforded, or can approach to his playing role got somewhat carried away in recent days. afford, that choice. Backes is among the fortunate to have money, and By Thursday morning, less than 48 hours after his reinvigorated right now time and health, on his side. pugnacity was noted here following his fight Tuesday with Carolina’s So, I asked Backes postgame on Tuesday if he worried about the Micheal Ferland, rumors all but had UFC representatives circling potential consequences of fighting. He is nothing if not a sincere, smart, Causeway Street to secure Battleship Backes42 to a long-term deal reasoned guy. Does he worry about himself? inside the Octagon. Fire the depth charges!!! “My wife probably does, but I think that can’t be a thought in your head So, a little perspective, along with what I think is appropriate concern for when you are out playing in the NHL,” he said. “She might worry about a guy who has said in the past that he needs most of his 10 digits to me driving over 65 miles an hour on the Pike, and potential car accidents count the concussions he’s incurred over the length of his playing career. or whatever else that could come. But I think the game . . . you look at Neither Backes nor Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Tuesday night that the stats and you’re not as prone to concussions actually from fighting as the veteran winger had recast himself as a brawler or goon. The fight you are from whiplash and side hits or shoulders to the face.” with Ferland was his third in four games — appropriately characterized Backes squares that as his “calculated decision.” However, assuming as a record or anomaly — for the former Blues who will turn 35 in he’s right about fighting being the lesser of the game’s evils, it doesn’t May. acknowledge that a guy with zero, 10 or 20 lifetime concussions is but The uptick in his, shall we say, activity is self-evident. He has struggled one punch to the jaw away from his first, 11th or 21st brain injury. Backes mightily to put points on the board this season (55 games/15 points). is somewhere in the middle of that scale. He’s not happy about it. He’s proud. Above all, he wants to keep a spot in In a game chock full of dangers, as he duly noted, I think Backes is only the lineup, which was among the key points he made following his tussle kidding himself with his calculation. In a game that has fashioned speed with Ferland. and pulverizing hits into crack cocaine for both player and spectator, a “It’s a calculated decision,” he told me, when I asked him if he worries 34-year-old guy with a long concussion rap sheet has his speedometer about his concussion history and how that meets with dropping the pegged at 65 miles an hour and car aimed at the Jersey barrier. Right gloves. “If I’m going to stay a part of this team, and stay a part of a now, this is a good guy with a bad punch and a worse ending just waiting winning team . . . that’s maybe going to be part of my role and I’m OK to happen. with it. Sticking up for each other is a staple of what we do here.” In his four years as the Bruins’ captain, 1973-77, John Bucyk led by Cassidy, when I asked if he worried about Backes in fights, said, “Uh . . . inclusivity. Anyone who wore the Spoked-B, whether rookie, role player I do . . . I worry about . . . listen, they’re human beings first, right?” or superstar, was made to feel everyone had an equal share in the whole. Backes and Cassidy met on the club’s recent long western swing and the two had a discussion about his fit in the lineup. Over a six-game stretch That spirit, Bucyk recalled the other day, came from the two seasons he in early February, Cassidy chose (key word here: chose ) not to dress spent on the Red Wings roster with Ted Lindsay among the most Backes for three games (Rangers, Avalanche, Kings), hardly the role that powerful voices in the Winged Wheel lineup. The legendary Lindsay died Backes or the Bruins envisioned when he signed his five-year, $30 this past week at the age of 93. million free agent deal in the summer of 2016. His scratch in Philly Jan. “He was the type of player who would protect all the young rookies,” 16 was the first DND of his career. recalled Bucyk, who played in Detroit for two seasons, 1955-57, prior to Out of that meeting on the road, it was clear to both that a more active, being dealt to the Bruins. “Oh, he was just unbelievable. He taught me a physical level of engagement could lead to fewer DNDs. And voila, once lot. I’d watch him, because we were both left wingers, but I wasn’t a back in Boston, the 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pound Backes squared off in hacker like he was — he was pretty tough; not afraid to swing the stick or games vs. San Jose, Tampa Bay, and then the Hurricanes. go after you. But I had a lot of respect for him. A terrific person. And I’ll tell you, I was thrilled to be a part of the team when he played.” No mystery here, folks. While he is not chasing prey around the cage, he is doing whatever he can to “play a role” and that role isn’t rubbing out Lindsay, best known for his exploits as part of the famed Red Wing the spots from silverware and wine glasses. He may not be looking for “Production Line” with Sid Abel and Gordie Howe, left a distinct fights, but he is actively aware of points of engagement, opportunities to thumbprint on the NHL far beyond his playing résumé, including: tip over the china cabinets and smash plates. ■ In tandem with Canadiens great Doug Harvey and others, founded the As your faithful puck chronicler, a part of me finds that admirable. He NHL Players’ Association in 1957. The initial agreement guaranteed a tried ardently over the summer, through weight loss and targeted training, minimum wage of $7,000 (roughly 1 percent of today’s minimum), along to pick up his foot speed, to remain relevant in the new-age game of with pension guarantees. Both players paid the price for their vision and laser hockey. His effort was earnest, his leaner physique obvious. But unwavering support of organized labor, with Lindsay dealt immediately to whatever speed he gained, if any, was not discernible. In part due to Chicago and Harvey eventually shipped to the Rangers. injury — yet another concussion suffered Oct. 18 in Edmonton — he put ■ Started the tradition of hoisting the Stanley Cup and parading it around up but a lone assist through the club’s first 22 games. the arena for everyone to see on the night of the clinching game. The best of Backes, the now-almost-35 version, is what we saw in ■ Boycotted his own induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, Thursday’s win over the Panthers. He was repeatedly present around the irked over the fact that women and family members were not invited to net. He picked up an assist on the David Krejci goal that cut the attend the ceremony. Previously a “men’s only” event, the Hall changed Panthers’ lead to 2-1. He was Sasquatch-like in setting the net-front its practices the following year. screen when Matt Grzelcyk stepped into the one-timer and tied it, 3-3, in the final minute. Only 5 feet 8 inches and 165 pounds, the fearless “Terrible Ted” was a ferocious checker and scorer, leading the league in 1949-50 with 78 “I think maybe the physicality from recent games has brought out the points. He entered the league at age 19 in 1944, the back end of the truculence in his game,” Cassidy said when I asked if that’s what he World War II years, and became a fixture in a heralded lineup that won the Cup four times (1950, ’52, ’54 and ’55). “He was strong, very strong,” recalled Bucyk. “And in great condition. He million. Currently, three high-end July 1 RFA forwards remain unsigned worked and worked on his conditioning. But I had the most respect for as their entry-level deals expire: Mikko Rantanen (Colorado), Brayden him because he always looked after the younger players, the kids that Point (Tampa Bay), and Mitch Marner (Toronto). All three are likely come came up. That was my model. He’d been a captain and did that, to terms with their current clubs. But if the Bruins could land one of them respected, so I tried to do the same thing here — look after the for two firsts and a second, who’s your pick? The choice here would be newcomers and make sure they feel a part of the team.” Marner, even at a cost of three first-rounders. But then comes the issue of signing him. Now on target to finish as the Leafs’ top scorer for a Lindsay reached the 25-goal plateau in eight seasons and finished his second straight season, Marner likely will command upward of $10 career with 851 points in 1,068 games. He officially retired in 1965 after million a season, if not more . . . Hall of Famer Denis Potvin, in Boston ending a four-year retirement to make a one-year reunion tour with the with the Panthers broadcast team this past week, still winces at the Red Wings. But he was essentially finished in the spring of 1960 after memory of a Jocelyn Guevremont shot that nailed him just above the three seasons as a placed refugee in Chicago. The spring of 1960 was right ear one night when his Islanders visited Vancouver. “Cracked my also the time the great Maurice “Rocket” Richard last suited up for the helmet,” said Potvin, 65, proud of his old bucket, which was designed to Canadiens. spread the impact of the blow across the top of the helmet. “I remember “He started the union, and that’s what got him in trouble in Detroit,” the doc looking at it, and saying, ‘You know that coulda killed you.’ No recalled Bucyk. “He took the blame for it and got traded just after it. I was doubt he was right. Even with a different helmet I might have been dead.” there two years with him. I don’t say I played. I didn’t get much ice time. I . . . Massachusetts has yet to legalize gambling on professional sports. only scored 11 goals in two years, but I learned a lot there with the But one sure sign it’s coming, ultimately to the Garden, Fenway, and Wings, watching Gordie and Teddy.” Gillette: the riches collected in New Jersey in the month of January. On sports bets of $385 million, New Jersey bookmakers pocketed $18.8 Bucyk was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981, surrounded by friends million, the latter figure surpassing the $14.6 million Vegas bookmakers and family. skimmed off of $497 million in wagers. Per gambling.com, that’s the first time anyone in North America out-Vegased Vegas on sports bets. When ETC. it comes to fruition here, I hope they take bets on whether there’s a stop GMs in favor of new helmet rule in play during the first minute of Bruins games. Lead-pipe cinch.

NHL general managers held their annual March confab/hugfest in Boca Raton, Fla., this past week and voted in favor of a rule change for next Boston Globe LOADED: 03.10.2019 season that would mandate a player to make his way immediately to his bench if he were to lose his helmet during play.

If he refuses to get off the ice, the player would be tagged with a two- minute minor — similar to the standard governing playing with a broken stick.

The rule change, which must be rubber-stamped by the league’s competition committee and the Board of Governors, makes sense from a safety aspect. Without the bucket attached, players are more vulnerable to getting nicked with sticks, pucks, and elbows and run a greater risk of suffering a head injury.

However, one important point of caution, one that was on clear display Tuesday night at the Garden. With the Hurricanes pressing in the offensive zone, an under-pressure Zdeno Chara reached back and peeled off the helmet of a forechecking Nino Niederreiter. Under current rules, Niederreiter stayed with the play along the rear wall and later regained ownership of the helmet.

Next season, if the new rule is implemented, a defenseman in identical circumstances would know one way to relieve pressure would be to flip the forward’s lid. Next season, the attacker would be forced to leave, or suffer the consequences of a minor penalty. Either way, at a minimum, the offensive pressure was reduced and likely negated.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Before checking off on flipped lids, the Lords of the Boards might have to put there heads together on this one.

Gabrielle: Better safe than sorry

Bruins forward prospect Jesse Gabrielle, the 105th pick in the 2015 draft, says he has shut it down for the season after suffering three concussions dating to his September training camp with AHL Providence. The other two came in the ECHL, one with Atlanta and the final one with Wichita, all of them over a span of 3½ months.

He told the Hartley Can Scan, a podcast highlighting the Prince George Cougars, his former junior team, that he might have three other concussions during his junior days. “Be safe about it,” he said during the show. “Don’t risk your brain. You only have one.”

Gabrielle showed some promising pop during his junior career, potting 75 goals in his two years with Prince George. The Bruins assigned him directly to AHL Providence for this year, then quickly dropped him to the “E.” He has a year remaining on his entry-level deal.

Loose pucks

The Bruins netted two first-round picks (Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton) and a second (Jared Knight) from Toronto in 2009 when they felt Phil Kessel’s “second” contract demands were too high. He then immediately signed a five-year extension with the Maple Leafs that paid him $27 1135132 Boston Bruins

Five things to know before the Bruins take on the Senators

By Matt Porter

MARCH 9, 2019

Five things to know before the Bruins (41-17-9) host the sell-’em-off Senators (23-39-9): A bit of breaking news first:

■ Lee Stempniak is back, recalled by the Bruins on Saturday morning. Injuries on the wing have helped the 36-year-old get another shot at the NHL. After his preseason tryout expired, Stempniak practiced with the Bruins (without compensation) for most of the season, before signing an AHL tryout last month. That earned him a stint with Providence (2-3--5 in seven games). Stempniak, whose next NHL game will be No. 910 of his career, played in 37 last year in Carolina (3-6--9).

■ Boston and its 18-game point streak hosts an Ottawa club that has sold off, well, everyone and is dead last in the league. If you’ve not seen the tweet thread by Twitter user ryanclassic that details the Sens’ downfall since losing in Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final, it’s a banger. The Bruins, meanwhile, are 15 points behind Presidents’ Trophy leader Tampa with 15 games to go. Unlikely they catch the Bolts, but it’s possible.

■ The Bruins will be missing three of their four top wingers: Jake DeBrusk (foot), Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) and David Pastrnak (thumb). The Senators have traded all of last year’s top six scorers. A low-scoring affair ahead? Tuukka Rask or Jaroslav Halak will be ready; the other will start Sunday in Pittsburgh. Craig Anderson or Anders Nilsson will go for Ottawa.

■ Patrons on Causeway St. have been happy of late. The B’s (14-0-4 in their last 18) are unbeaten in their last nine home games. After Saturday, they play seven of their next eight on the road, the only home return March 16 against Columbus.

■ They might not always have secondary scoring — though it’s hard to fairly criticize that lately, given Matt Grzelcyk’s game-tying rocket on Thursday, and the way Noel Acciari, Chris Wagner, Sean Kuraly and others are getting to the net. That line winning its matchup nearly every night has been a critical part of this club’s second-half charge. It is one of the league’s best “fourth” lines: clean, honest, hardworking, physical. Minus fights (Wagner, 3; Kuraly, 2; Acciari, 1) the trio has combined for 80 penalty minutes. Call them The Fishbowl Line (TFL), for obvious reasons (Kuraly spent most of January in a full shield, and Acciari currently wears one). Also, a TFL is exactly the type of play that linebacker-like line would produce on a football field (If I’m coach, I’m putting Acciari at Mike, Kuraly at Sam, and Wagner at Will). That said, Kuraly hasn’t scored in 19 games. He’s due.

Boston Globe LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135133 Boston Bruins — which includes one more back-to-back — will lean 60-40 in favor of Rask.

Bruins notebook: Lee Stempniak finally gets his shot Boston Herald LOADED: 03.10.2019

By MARISA INGEMI | [email protected] | Boston Herald

March 9, 2019 at 11:41 PM

Having played for 10 NHL franchises, tied for the second-most in the history of the league, making a season debut with a new team isn’t new for Lee Stempniak.

The veteran winger has played for the Bruins before, but this time around is a bit different. Instead of joining a new team in the midst of their season following a mid-season trade, he’ll be thrust into game action in the middle of a playoff race after just a handful of games in the AHL.

Yet he feels plenty of familiarity with a Bruins squad that’s taken him in like a teammate despite not actually being a part of the team all season.

“It’s been a really strange year in the sense that I felt like I had a good training camp … obviously it’s a good team, it didn’t work out,” Stempniak said. “I think we both decided to stick around and skate and see what happened. It went on probably longer than I anticipated.”

Stempniak has skated with the Bruins for most of the season, practicing at Warrior Ice Arena and partaking in team drills. He hasn’t officially been a Bruin, but instead on a professional tryout agreement.

Once he officially was signed and sent to Providence, the makings were there for him to work his way into helping out the NHL team if called upon.

That call came with Jake DeBrusk injured, dealing with a lower-body issue, and a plethora of top-six wingers banged up for the short-term.

Stempniak might not be in the Bruins’ long-term plans, with all three dinged-up Bruins wingers on the way back in the next couple of weeks, but the 36-year-old has hopes to prove he still belongs in the league.

“Deep down, I just wanted an opportunity and that was a big reason why I went down to Providence, to show that I could play and get that timing and be ready if the opportunity came,” he said. “I’m really excited right now and grateful for the opportunity.”

He joins a Bruins team that has used several different winger options in the top six, and is David Krejci‘s 13th different winger this season overall.

The Bruins have adjusted to whatever has come their way so far, and entered Saturday on an 18-game-point streak.

It’s not a bad situation for Stempniak to enter.

“It’s an exciting team to join, points in 18 straight games and a team that’s capable of winning the Stanley Cup,” he said. “As a player, especially one that hasn’t won, and is getting older, it’s a really exciting team to join.”

Injury update

DeBrusk might make the trip to Pittsburgh even though he likely won’t play after he didn’t skate Saturday. Seen with a boot on his left foot, he should be able to play in one of the last two games of the road trip.

“Jake’s the (only) one I’m not sure on,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He didn’t skate today, he’s not playing tonight, not tomorrow, unless there’s something miraculous. He may travel because he’s the closest to returning to the lineup to my understanding. I don’t know if he is, but if there is anybody, it would be him.”

David Pastrnak will skate Monday as he continues to progress from thumb surgery at the start of February. Neither he, nor injured defenseman Kevan Miller, will make the trip.

Marcus Johansson will be re-evaluated Tuesday, a week after suffering a lung contusion and being held overnight at the hospital from taking a hit against the Hurricanes.

Jaroslav Halak will start in Pittsburgh with Tuukka Rask having gotten the nod for Saturday against the Sens. Cassidy said the remaining 14 games 1135134 Boston Bruins played well. Most of our games are a grind. They’re close games and we’re comfortable.”

The Bruins outshot Ottawa 30-19. Rask finished with 17 saves, and Bruins score late again to beat Senators, extend streak extended his unbeaten streak since Dec. 29.

With six wins at home behind them, the Bruins embark for another road By MARISA INGEMI | [email protected] | Boston Herald trip feeling good about the way they’re playing.

PUBLISHED: March 9, 2019 at 9:38 pm | UPDATED: March 9, 2019 at “Give credit to the guys for doing that,” Cassidy said. “It’s not luck when 11:33 PM you’re finding ways to win over and over again. We’ve got some good players in the room stepping up at the right time. It’s the sign of a good team, and we need it.”

Given the previous two results, any spectator expecting another Bruins comeback in the third period could hardly be blamed. Boston Herald LOADED: 03.10.2019 Of course, in the same fashion they had the two games previous, the Bruins came through.

With 44.7 seconds left, the Bruins sunk the Senators Saturday night at the Garden to extend their point streak to 19 games and sweep the homestand with a 3-2 win.

David Krejci tipped home a shot by Danton Heinen, who didn’t even start the night on that line. He skated with Krejci and David Backes, after having been on the top unit for much of the past month-plus in the absence of David Pastrnak.

“We got inside, got goals at the top of the crease, you just have to do that in hockey when it’s not going in the other way,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We did. It just seems like now every game’s close, it could go either way and we’re just finding a way to win.”

Krejci started the night with Lee Stempniak, making his season debut, and Joakim Nordstrom. While they struggled to generate offense for the game, Cassidy switched things up in the third period, and the line shuffling worked.

Chris Wagner, who scored the game-tying goal with just over half the period to play, was bumped up to the top line, which shifted Heinen down.

The 22-year-old winger has struggled at times to score following his 40- plus point year a season ago, but came through with the shot that led to Krejci’s deflection to propel the Bruins to what has become the norm: a late, come-from-behind win to stay ahead of Toronto in the Atlantic.

Before that, Wagner’s game-tying goal was another sign of depth scoring that has awoken late in the season.

“I was trying not to screw up,” Wagner said. “I made a couple of good plays on the wall … Just shuffling things around, trying to make things work.”

Much like the previous two games as well, the Bruins — or their opponent — didn’t come out exactly swinging.

On their third power play of the game, the Bruins struck. Torey Krug connected with a wide-open Brad Marchand in the right circle, and he blasted his 28th tally of the year with 9:49 to go in the frame.

The lead was short-lived. Jean-Gabriel Pageau wristed a shot from the top of the slot, and Tuukka Rask was screened by his own defender. Pageau found twine to tie it 1-1 with 8:52 left in the period.

Ottawa jumped ahead 2-1 less than three minutes into the third. Krug bobbled a rebound off Rask’s pad, depositing it right on the stick of Brady Tkachuk. The 19-year-old Senator buried it for the first Ottawa lead.

In the same dramatic pattern the Bruins have followed in the second half of their homestand, they tied things back up quickly. Wagner, already well beyond his career-high in goals, knotted it up 2-2 with 11:13 left in regulation.

Wagner, positioned just above the hashmarks, got a stick on an elevated shot from Krug that trickled past Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson.

Heinen whipped around and shot from the high slot with 44.7 seconds left, the game-winner being tipped in by Krejci in front.

It’s the second time in as many games the Bruins won on a goal with less than a minute left in regulation.

“Some people look at this game and it’s like, well they should have won by three or four goals because it’s Ottawa,” Cassidy said. “But Ottawa’s 1135135 Boston Bruins On Thursday, known as International Women’s Day, the NHL and NHLPA created a “Female Hockey Advisory Committee.”

Aside from an outdated use of the terminology “female” instead of what NHL Notes: Analytics help guide Bruins in trade decisions would be a more acceptable place to use “women’s hockey,” it’s a concept that, if the NHL keeps with it, could be beneficial.

By MARISA INGEMI | [email protected] | Boston Herald The NHL’s dedication to growing women’s hockey has been questioned, with commissioner Gary Bettman openly awaiting what he considers the March 9, 2019 at 4:00 PM inevitable demise of the two pro women’s hockey leagues (the NWHL and CWHL) to capitalize on the potential profits that exist in the women’s

game. The Bruins have been notorious for their line combination changes all But, that the league is seeking the advice of 11 women in hockey with season. different backgrounds — notably, NWHL player Kelsey Koelzer, former While plenty of that has to do with what’s been presented to them in the CWHL player Angela James, broadcaster AJ Mleczko Griswold, and way of injuries, there’s also a method to the madness. more — looks unarguably like, on the surface, a step in the right direction. Like the other 30 NHL teams, the Bruins have evolved from an analytical perspective. That involves not only when seeking a player through trade It was a heck of a week for Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. or free agency, but in finding ways to best use the assets already on the Yes, there was the goalie-staredown, which nearly led to everyone’s team and in the organization. favorite — a goalie fight. But instead of flinging fists, Fleury was busy “It’s an evolving field, and every team has integrated it,” said general making history. manager Don Sweeney. “At the pro and amateur level, it’s two very The Golden Knights goaltender earned the 437th regular-season win of different things. We are trying to do better forecasts, whether its line his NHL career to tie Jacques Plante for eighth place all-time in the NHL. combinations, projections of when players may be ready. It’s game to The win came right at the end of a career-high shutout streak of 200:41 game, utilization of players.” against the Flames, just the 67th time in NHL history a goalie had a While the Bruins have tried to find the right formula for their middle two shutout streak pass the 200 minute mark. lines this season, along with finding the right look and feel, analytics have been a part of the equation. Boston Herald LOADED: 03.10.2019 “It changes every day,” said Sweeney. “Coaches run their own side of things with what they see in their evaluations, independent of your scouts, and you’re merging all those things together to make decisions. The data will reinforce a lot of things they’re seeing or not seeing, where you might have a blindspot. It helps make decisions.”

It’s a far cry from even a decade ago where analytics wasn’t such a hot topic. Now, they’re used in almost everything, even when it’s a bit more difficult to get access to data when scouting at amateur or international levels.

At the NHL level, the advancement of data has helped teams project where a player might fit compared to where they came from — take, for example, the additions of Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle.

That’s not to say the data is the only thing the Bruins look at when deciding who might be the best fit.

“Finding a player coming to your team and where they fit is a very difficult thing to do,” said Sweeney. “Their usage there versus what you envision his usage is here. Those are tougher decisions to make, with a scout’s input, and it becomes invaluable. You don’t want to lose sight of that, they see the player play. You can’t necessarily judge how one team plays their style and how things are going to be different. It’s all merging.”

Player tracking is set to begin at the NHL level next season, which will change things even more. The Bruins, and the rest of the NHL, are already preparing for how that data might shape the way they present their roster.

“When player tracking comes on board, it will certainly move the needle,” said Sweeney. “You talk about lines of data now compared to what we could have, that will change dramatically, and teams are trying to position themselves to be able to incorporate that.”

Ever since suffering a concussion in his first NHL game on October 23, Urho Vaakanainen has been working on readying himself for a future NHL return.

With a World Juniors title under his belt, he’s continued to improve in AHL Providence.

Last weekend, he scored his first two goals of the season, a marker of the progress he’s made on the offensive side.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “It was good to get that first goal…. I had a long break there, I had a good start to the season before the concussion. I had a good World Juniors. I don’t know how my game’s evolved, I think I’ve played pretty well to use my skating, shoot more and use my offensive game more. I’ve showed my offense a little more.”

NHL starts “Female Hockey Advisory Board” 1135136 Boston Bruins

Bruins pregame notes: B’s look for undefeated homestand

By MARISA INGEMI | [email protected] | Boston Herald

March 9, 2019 at 12:25 PM

After winning four of five and getting points in each contest on their extended road trip, the Bruins came back to TD Garden and thus far have taken care of business.

They have a chance to sweep the six-game homestand with the Senators in town tonight. The past two contests saw the Bruins now 18- game point streak in jeopardy; they trailed 2-0 in the past two games against the Hurricanes and Panthers, only to come back.

Against the Panthers on Thursday night was in dramatic fashion, with Matt Grzelcuk tying the game with 36 seconds remaining and Patrice Bergeron netting the game-winner with just under seven ticks on the clock.

Ottawa has, by all means, mailed in the rest of their campaign. They traded their three top forward scorers and are in the midst of a deep rebuild.

The Bruins handled the Sens with ease their first two meetings and toppled them in overtime in their last meeting in December.

While things have gone south in Ottawa, the Bruins — albeit with some injury issues back at the forefront — have soared, with their point streak as they’ve continued to establish an identity.

“It means we’re playing well, we’re finding ways to win,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “It means we’re staying ahead of Toronto. You go out on the road, you like to feel good about your game.”

With this six-game stretch ended after tonight, the Bruins final 14 games include 10 on the road. They’ll be away from TD Garden — where they play just four more times — for seven of their next eight contests.

It’s a good time for the Bruins to be playing well as they position themselves for home ice in the first round, with a date with the Leafs seeming increasingly likely.

It’s games like against the Senators, a potential trap game, where they have the opportunity to keep racking up the points if they play well.

Game notes

With their second-to-last back-to-back on the slate, the Bruins will go with Tuukka Rask at home before Jaroslav Halak in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Lee Stempniak will make his season debut in place of Jake DeBrusk, out with a lower-body injury. He might travel with the team to their upcoming road trip, but won’t play tomorrow.

Stempniak will skate with David Krejci and Joakim Nordstrom on the second line. They sent Karson Kuhlman back to Providence after Thursday night’s win over the Panthers.

About the Senators

The Senators (23-39-6) have lost nine of their last 10, most recently a 4-2 loss against the Islanders on Thursday night.

Ottawa has allowed the most goals in the NHL with 254, and the most at even strength at 210. They’ve also faced a league-high 2,453 shots against.

After firing head coach Guy Boucher, the Senators have gone with Marc Crawford behind the bench the last four contests.

Defender Thomas Chabot leads the Sens with 48 points after the team traded away Mark Stone and Matt Duchene. Rookie Brady Tkachuk paces the goal-scoring with 15 tallies, with the departure of 22-goal man Ryan Dzingel to Columbus at the trade deadline.

Boston Herald LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135137 Boston Bruins

B's win again on 19-game point streak: "It's not luck if you keep finding ways to win over and over again"

By Joe Haggerty

March 10, 2019 12:28 AM

BOSTON – The Bruins once again found a way to win, and they did again with some last minute flair for the dramatic.

The B’s took points in their 19th straight game with a 3-2 come-from- behind win over the Ottawa Senators, with David Krejci scoring the game-winner with 44.7 seconds remaining on the clock in the third period. It is the second-longest point streak in franchise history, behind a 23-game point streak from the 1940-41 edition of the Black and Gold, and it also includes a current six-game win streak where the Bruins rolled through their homestand.

The Bruins are playing with a bit of fire having come from behind in each of their last three wins, including less-than-stellar games against non- playoff teams in Florida and Ottawa, but they’re also still making plays when it matters most. Some may say it’s coming down to lucky bounces in the third period right now, but every good hockey team makes their own luck while putting together extended point streak.

Make no mistake about it, the Bruins are a very good hockey team right now.

In a game where the Bruins had three players hit posts or crossbars in the opening 40 minutes of the game, it didn’t feel like it was going to Boston’s night in the early going. But the Bruins got goals from Chris Wagner and Krejci in the third period, after Brad Marchand got things going with a power play strike in the second period.

It was offense from three different B’s sources, combined with pretty good defense and goaltending, and that’s a lasting formula to win hockey games.

“It just seems like every game now is close, could go either way, and we’re finding a way to win. Give credit to the guys for doing that. It’s not luck when you find ways to win over and over again, so obviously, we’ve got some good players in the room [that are] stepping up at the right time,” said Bruce Cassidy. “It’s a sign of a good team because we need it. Some people look at this game, it’s like well they should’ve won by three, four goals because it’s Ottawa, but Ottawa’s played well. Most of our games are a grind. They’re close games, and we’re comfortable in them.”

The Bruins continue to enjoy a four point cushion over the Maple Leafs for the second spot in the Atlantic Division, and sit 15 points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the best record in the NHL. It’s clear that the B’s aren’t going to catch Tampa for the best record in the NHL, but they continue to tighten their grip on home ice in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with each gathered point during their winning stretch.

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Talking Points from the B's 3-2 win over the Sens

By Joe Haggerty

March 09, 2019 11:25 PM

Here are my Talking Points from the Bruins' win over the Senators . . .

GOLD STAR: Danton Heinen has struggled through long portions of this season, and just Saturday afternoon he was being implored to shoot the puck more at the net by his head coach. So it must have been sweet for the young winger to throw a puck at the net from the slot that David Krejci was able to put a tip in on redirect past Craig Anderson for a game- winning goal in the final minute of the third period. Heinen finished with the assist in 18:17 of ice time with three shot attempts, a hit and a takeaway, and showed some much-needed confidence and decisiveness with the puck on the game-winning play. Hopefully being part of that game-winning play can spark something in Heinen’s game to get him to go on a bit of an offensive spree.

BLACK EYE: Local kid Colin White is having a pretty big rookie season for the Senators, but the former Boston College standout didn’t do much in front of his friends and family at TD Garden. White finished with just a single shot on net, and was just 1-for-4 in the face-off circle in 17:23 of ice time. White wasn’t really much of an offensive presence and certainly didn’t do much in any other categories to be a factor in the game as well. There will be other days for White and surely he’ll have one of those big games at his hometown NHL rink one of these days, but it wasn’t meant to be on Saturday night for the talented youngster.

TURNING POINT: It looked like it wasn’t going to be the Bruins night when Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug and Noel Acciari all hit posts and crossbars in the first 40 minutes of the game, and the Bruins had given up a goal in the minute after they had scored the initial goal in the second period. But for the third straight game, the Bruins pulled things together in the third period, scoring a pair of goals and winning the game in dramatic fashion with a winning score with less than a minute to go in the game. Interestingly both teams managed just five shots on net in the final period, but the Bruins capitalized on those few chances that they had.

HONORABLE MENTION: Chris Wagner continues to put together a strong season for the Bruins, as he scored his career-best 11th goal of the season, and did it in pretty rugged fashion. The fourth-line winger won a battle for position with Ben Harpur for a shot in front of the net, and Wagner was then able to put a stick on Torey Krug’s point shot that ended up tying the game for the Bruins in the third period. In all, Wagner finished with the goal, a plus-1 rating, two shots on net and two hits in an energetic 13:57 of ice time. Credit Wagner for continuing to step up his game in the second half of the season, and really helping to lead the B’s fourth line with his aggressiveness and production.

BY THE NUMBERS: 11 – the combined number of shot attempts (6) and hits (5) for Brandon Carlo in an extremely active game where he was providing offense and physicality in 20:33 of ice time.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “It’s not luck when you find ways to win over and over again, so obviously, we’ve got some good players in the room [that are] stepping up at the right time. It’s a sign of a good team because we need it.” –Bruce Cassidy, on the Bruins pulling out another comeback win to make the 19th consecutive game with a point.

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David Krejci, Bruins make history with (another) late game-winning goal

By Darren Hartwell

March 09, 2019 11:00 PM

The hottest team in the NHL also happens to have a flair for the dramatic.

The Boston Bruins extended their point streak to 19 games Saturday night by edging the Ottawa Senators 3-2 at TD Garden.

A win over the lowly Senators is nothing to write home about, but how they won certainly is: With 44.7 seconds remaining in regulation, David Krejci tipped in a Danton Heinen wrist shot to tally what proved to be the game-winning goal.

If you'll recall, the Bruins also scored in the final minute Thursday night (twice, in fact) to stun the Florida Panthers, meaning they've potted the game-winner with under 60 seconds to play in two straight games.

You guessed it: That's a franchise first.

Boston hasn't lost in regulation since Jan. 19, but it's not exactly blowing teams out of the water: Six of the Bruins' last eight games have been decided by a single goal.

Then again, the B's won all but one of those games, which is a testament to their resolve under pressure -- and their ability to keep one of the longest point streaks in NHL history alive.

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Highlights from Bruins' 3-2 win over Senators

By NBC Sports Boston Staff

March 09, 2019 9:03 PM

FINAL SCORE: Bruins 3, Senators 2

IN BRIEF: The Bruins spotted Ottawa two iffy goals with questionable play in front, but won it in the third period anyways, first with Chris Wagner tying it at 2 and then David Krejci winning it with 44 seconds to go after tipping home a Danton Heinen shot, as Boston ran its historic points streak up to 19 games.

You just can’t make it up for the Bruins, as they take points in their 19th straight by scoring a game-winning goal with just 44.7 seconds to play. This time it was David Krejci tipping home a Danton Heinen shot from the slot after the B’s had tied things up in the third period, and now the Bruins are riding a six game winning streak in addition to the point streak. The point streak, by the way, is now the second-longest in Bruins franchise history, and now trails only a 23-game point streak achieved during the 1940-41 season by the Black and Gold. They just keep winning games and piling up points, and now they’re doing it in dramatic fashion.

Just when it was starting to feel like it wasn't going to be the Bruins night. Noel Acciari, Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron all hit posts or crossbars in the first two periods, and the Bruins managed only a single goal in 26 shots on net through the first 40 minutes of the game. Piece of evidence No. 2 that the Bruins were looking like they were going to lose this game: They did that thing where they give up a goal a minute after they scored, and thereby completely give up the momentum that they’d built up after Brad Marchand scored on a power play goal

It was a pretty good first few periods from Lee Stempniak -- not exactly world-beating, but pretty solid nonetheless in his first NHL game in almost a year. All it takes is one play for a skilled guy like that to make something happen and get on the scoreboard, so let’s see what happens with him. It’s true that a mark on the score sheet would have even been better, but he’s made more of an impact than most of the other young guys that have played in that spot.

Another three shots on net and six shot attempts overall in the first two periods for Brandon Carlo, who is really amping up the shooting over the last few games amidst his coach jokingly calling him Brent Burns. If Carlo could continue to really get shots through from the point then that’s a legitimate area where he could grow his offensive with a pretty big, booming shot from the point. It’s clearly his best offensive weapon and it’s a good thing he’s trying to use it more.

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Bruins looking for Heinen to shoot more on top line

By Joe Haggerty

March 09, 2019 5:02 PM

BOSTON – Danton Heinen has always been more of a playmaker than a shooter no matter what line he’s played on.

There are times when he’ll go a couple of games without even a single shot on net, and the big shot totals don’t happen very often in games. So, it’s probably not surprising that Heinen only has a single shot on net in the first three games in March for the Bruins and that he’s become a little tentative shooting the puck while skating on a high-powered line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

It’s a phenomenon that Bruce Cassidy has seen before and it’s been obvious on a few occasions where the young winger has passed up open shots to move the puck to his superstar linemates.

“Right now it looks like it’s there and then it closes on him in a hurry. It’s just that little bit of separation to get it off, or he just needs to get that mindset that you’ve got to get [the shot] off quickly. I think what happens when you play with [Bergeron and Marchand] is that unless you’re sure that you want to shoot it, you’re holding onto it and trying to get it to them. Then your opportunity is lost. That’s the real drawback of playing with these really high-end guys. We’ve seen it with the young guys playing with [David] Krejci that they just want to get the puck to him first.

“He’s not really a shot-first guy anyway. So, that’s part of it as well. He wants to make a play before he shoots it and that’s worked out well for him for the most part. Hopefully, they do find him in the slot and that’s a good way to get him going near the net. That’s what got him going last time. He got to the front of the net and he got a couple, and all of a sudden he started getting confident.”

Heinen still has points in five of his past eight games and has definitely picked up the offensive slack a bit, but there’s absolutely a feeling he should be picking up some goals rather than the six assists he’s posted in the past eight games. When he was scoring upon first getting paired with No. 63 and No. 37 in early February, he was getting to the front of the net and cashing in using the extra room afforded him playing on that top line.

It’s something Heinen really needs to start doing again with Jake DeBrusk, David Pastrnak and Marcus Johansson all down and out with injuries, and the Bruins in need of the secondary scoring that he can provide.

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Bruins provide injury updates on DeBrusk, Pastrnak, Johannson, Millier

By NBC Sports Boston Staff

March 09, 2019 11:58 AM

Despite being on an 18-game points streak, the Boston Bruins are banged-up at the moment. They have a number of players that haven't been available in recent games, and their injury list seems to keep getting longer.

Ahead of a two-game slate this weekend, the Bruins released some important updates about their injured players on their official Twitter account.

There had been some speculation that DeBrusk's injury wasn't major, but him missing the weekend's games would make sense. In fact, the first indication that DeBrusk wouldn't be available against the Ottawa Senators came when the Bruins called up long-time NHL forward Lee Stempniak from Providence on an emergency basis on Saturday. Stempniak will make his season debut tonight against Ottawa.

Though DeBrusk may travel with the Bruins as they begin their three- game road trip on Sunday against Pittsburgh, David Pastrnak, Marcus Johansson, and defenseman Kevan Miller all will not. That means that trio will be out for at least the next four games, as the Bruins don't return to Boston until March 16 after their game against the Senators.

In the interim, the Bruins will continue to cobble together lines in the absence of their three wingers and defenseman. Stempniak debuts on the second line with David Krejci and Joakim Nordstrom. Peter Cehlarik, Charlie Coyle and David Backes make up the third line and Miller will be spelled by John Moore. The Bruins have shown an ability to band together to overcome injuries so far this season, and they will try to keep their points streak alive against the Senators.

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Bruins injuries open up a top-six look for veteran Lee Stempniak

By Joe Haggerty

March 09, 2019 9:59 AM

BRIGHTON, Mass – Lee Stempniak waited patiently for his chance to play with the

Bruins all season while skating with the team on a tryout basis. He opted not to play in Europe or for another AHL team other than Providence. Now, the veteran winger is going to get rewarded.

Stempniak will play for the Black and Gold tonight against the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden after officially signing with the team at the NHL trade deadline.

It hasn’t been an easy road for the former Dartmouth standout, 36, who was coming off an injury-plagued season with Carolina last season and no real NHL guarantees until the Bruins finally took a chance on him at midseason.

“It’s more excitement. It’s something I worked really hard for and I take a lot of pride in achieving,” said Stempniak. “Hopefully, I play well and help the team win, and earn some more ice time as well. It’s certainly rewarding for the work that I’ve put in and I’m appreciative of the opportunity. It’s an exciting team to join with points in 18 straight games, and a chance to win the Stanley Cup. As a player that hasn’t won [a Cup] and is getting older, it’s a really exciting team to join.”

He's getting a look ostensibly because David Pastrnak, Marcus Johansson and now Jake DeBrusk are all injured and out for the game tonight, but it’s also an effort to get the veteran sharp ahead of Boston’s playoff run. Stempniak was very good while knocking the rust off in Providence with a couple of goals and five points in seven games with the P-Bruins and now he’ll jump into top-six duty in the NHL.

“He’s going to play with Krejci. He’s got some ability to make plays. He might see some time on the second power play,” said Bruce Cassidy. “Hopefully the pace is okay for him coming from that level. He only played three weekends down there [in Providence], so there may still be some catch-up. But we’ll see.”

Stempniak skated on the right wing with David Krejci and Joakim Nordstrom at the morning skate Saturday at Warrior Ice Arena and that’s where he’ll play against the Senators while getting a chance to provide some offense for the B’s. Stempniak is obviously no stranger to the Black and Gold after posting three goals and 10 points in 19 games for the Bruins when he was a trade deadline acquisition back in 2015-16. He admitted that his offseason home in Boston made this a uniquely good situation for him.

“It’s been a really strange year in the sense that I had a really good training camp, and it’s obviously a very good team and it just didn’t work out [for making the roster],” said Stempniak, who just two seasons ago had 16 goals and 40 points in 82 games with Carolina. “I think we both decided for me to stick around and skate, and see what happened. It went on maybe longer than I had anticipated, but deep down I just wanted an opportunity.

“Part of it was that I live here and it was easy. If I was going to be away from my wife and three kids then that would have been different. Deep down I still believe I can really play.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135144 Boston Bruins Sometimes there’s ways to send messages. Sometimes they get them. Sometimes they don’t.”

Marchand was in the box, serving a roughing penalty, when Wagner, The best under-the-radar free-agent signing in the league? paired with Bergeron up front, tied the score at 8:47 of the third. During four-on-four play, Torey Krug controlled the puck at the left point. Meanwhile, Wagner set up in front of the net to do battle with Ben By Fluto Shinzawa Harpur.

Mar 9, 2019 The Ottawa defenseman has six inches and 24 pounds on Wagner. Yet the feisty forward shook off Harpur enough to stretch his stick out to the

side and redirect Krug’s floater past Craig Anderson. At 19:15, David A conventional cluster of well-known finishers occupies the same Krejci scored the winner. neighborhood on the stat sheet when it comes to expected goals. “I think he was over the top of me for a little bit there,” Wagner said of According to Evolving Hockey, Alex Ovechkin (0.91 expected goals per Harpur. “Then I saw Torey kind of look at me. I kind of knew he was 60 minutes of five-on-five play), Max Pacioretty (0.9 iXG/60), Johnny going to shoot it. I was just trying to get my stick free. I was turning Gaudreau (0.88 iXG/60) and Tyler Seguin (0.86 iXG/60) can all be around to see if there was a rebound. But it dribbled in.” counted on to put pucks in nets at a similarly elite rate based on variables Wagner’s goal was more proof of how he’s compressed high-event such as shot distance, type and quality. action into his depth role. He does not get the offensive looks of his top- Chris Wagner (0.92 iXG/60) is better than all of them. line teammates. In five-on-five situations, Wagner has an offensive zone start percentage of 36.1 percent, according to Natural Stat Trick. In Wagner has the 27th-highest iXG/60 rate of the 217 forwards who, comparison, Pastrnak’s O-zone start percentage is 68.7 percent. entering Saturday’s game, had logged 700 or more even-strength minutes this season. But Wagner has applied his speed and tenacity to express more offense out of his skill set than ever before. He’s averaging 11:44 of even- The biggest difference between Wagner and his closest cohort? The strength ice time per game. Cassidy has looked to Wagner for 1:26 of number of zeroes in his paycheck. shorthanded ice time per game, killing mostly alongside Joakim Nordstrom. Wagner has been credited with 218 hits, most on the team According to CapFriendly, Ovechkin earns $9,538,462 annually. and eighth-highest in the league. Pacioretty ($7 million annually starting next season), Gaudreau ($6.75 million) and Seguin ($9.85 million annually starting next year) are not He does not take easy shifts. But they are meaningful and valued. In digging in their couches for coins, either. many ways, Wagner is delivering literal and figurative bang for the buck.

Wagner, meanwhile, is in the first season of a two-year, $2.5 million contract he signed on July 1. It may be the shrewdest free-agent signing in the league. The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019

Wagner provided more data to support this hypothesis in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Ottawa at TD Garden by scoring his 11th goal (all at even strength), adding to his career-high total, as the Bruins stretched their point streak to 19 games.

The Walpole native has been a fixture on the fourth line, most recently skating with Sean Kuraly and Noel Acciari. But in Saturday’s third period, Bruce Cassidy promoted Wagner to skate on one of the NHL’s most comfortable lines: shotgun with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

Wagner liked the feel of the ride.

“I was trying not to screw up,” Wagner said. “I didn’t really make a couple of good plays on the wall. But it’s an honor to play with them. Just shuffling things around, trying to make things work. That’s awesome.”

Danton Heinen had been the most recent temp to fill in for David Pastrnak. But with the Bruins misfiring for two-thirds of the game against the down-and-out Senators, Cassidy shook up his lineup. He wanted net presence for his first line. Wagner was the beneficiary.

“Danton wasn’t necessarily bad, but that line was a little off,” Cassidy said of his No. 1 trio. “So we gave them a guy to go to the net. I just thought we had to start doing a little more of that — get to the top of the crease. Wags will definitely do that. The second part of it is he’s played well, Wags. He’s earned some extra minutes. So he got them. It’s a good message to the rest of the group. Who doesn’t want to play with those two? I’d put my stuff on and go out and play with them if I could.”

In some ways, it was a curious move. The Bruins, 19-0-4 in their past 19 games, are cruising toward the playoffs. They play again Sunday in Pittsburgh. Cassidy did not need to shorten his lineup to three lines in the third period against the worst team in the league.

But Cassidy was sending a message. Charlie Coyle took just two shifts in the third. Peter Cehlarik and Lee Stempniak took only one each.

“I just thought a few guys weren’t competing hard enough offensively with the puck to get inside,” Cassidy said. “You get behind a goal, then sometimes guys — rolling them out there, keeping them in the game, shortening your bench is the way to go. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Tonight, I’m not going to say that was the reason why we scored goals. But that’s the reason why we did cut it down a bit. We want to be able to use four lines every night. We play again tomorrow. 1135145 Buffalo Sabres

Nylander extends goal streak in Amerks' win at Binghamton

By Staff

Published Sat, Mar 9, 2019|Updated Sat, Mar 9, 2019

Alexander Nylander scored a goal for the fourth straight game and Victor Olofsson and Taylor Leier each scored a pair for the Rochester Americans Saturday night in a 5-3 victory over the Binghamton Devils before 4,318 at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.

Leier scored his first of the game and Nylander, the 21-year-old winger tallied on the power play to get the Amerks off in front in the opening period.

Binghamton tied it in the second on goals by Nikita Popugaev and Marian Studenic but Olofsson scored his 22nd and 23rd of the season to put the Amerks in front to stay before the middle period was over.

Sam Kurker made it 4-3 with a goal for the Devils at 6:44 of the third, but that was it for Binghamton.

Leier, who has scored seven goals for Rochester after coming from the Philadelphia Flyers organization in a trade last month for Justin Bailey, got an empty-net score with 36 seconds left.

The Amerks will be home against Binghamton at 3:05 p.m. Sunday to complete their three-games-in-three-days weekend.

Rochester (37-18-5, 79 points) remains in second place in the North Division of the American Hockey League one point behind Syracuse (37- 17-6). The Crunch lost to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton, 4-3, in overtime on Saturday night to maintain their edge over the Amerks.

The Amerks are 1-5 against Binghamton on the season with three more games remaining between the teams in the AHL regular season. Rochester will be home to Utica on Wednesday night before a two-game road series on Friday and Saturday at Charlotte.

Buffalo News LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135146 Buffalo Sabres Marco Scandella charged over, grabbed Zadorov by the face and pulled him down. Sam Reinhart came flying in throwing punches in the pile and Jeff Skinner sprinted toward the fray as well but was cut off by Avs In battle of big hits, Jack Eichel offers some rare Sabres pushback winger Mikko Rantanen, so Skinner engaged him briefly to earn a roughing call.

"I'm trying to get over there as fast as I can," Reinhart said. "The whistle By Mike Harrington clearly goes. Trying to get as many shots in on him as I can at that point.

Published Sat, Mar 9, 2019|Updated Sat, Mar 9, 2019 "I really didn't like the hit," Skinner said. "Everyone on the ice didn't like the hit and there was a little bit of a scrum."

Housley didn't want to go into any deep discussion about the Sabres' DENVER — Jack Eichel took a big hit and gave one back Saturday. He physicality or lack thereof. But this really started in earnest with the 1-0 was still dishing out in the dressing room after the game, too. loss Jan. 30 in Dallas, as the Stars worked over Dahlin quite a bit. Oddly The word has been out on the Buffalo Sabres for several weeks. Take enough, Dallas comes to town Tuesday for the Sabres' next game. them physically. Work Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin, in particular, to grind Buffalo has to be better than it was in this one. There was no pushback the Sabres down. There's not going to be a whole lot of response. Who generated by the Zadorov-Eichel hit. The Sabres had nine shots on goal on this roster, especially among the forwards, has that kind of grit and in the first 53 minutes of play and were outshot for the game, 43-18, in sandpaper in their game? one of their most moribund offensive showings of the season. In the aftermath of Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists for Colorado, which Pepsi Center, it's clear that Eichel is getting fed up with his team's played its first game without injured captain and 33-goal scorer Gabriel passive nature. The dressing room doors were closed a few minutes Landeskog. longer than normal and when they were open, Eichel was sitting and waiting for the media to get a few things off his chest. "For sure it's frustrating, everyone should be frustrated," Reinhart said. "Everyone should be a little embarrassed at this point." After taking a high, late drilling into the boards from Colorado defenseman Nikita Zadorov in the first period, Eichel clobbered Avs The Sabres fell to 30-29-9 overall and 2-8-2 in the last 12 games. Asked center Carl Soderberg with an illegal check to the head late in the second if there has to be an appeal to personal pride over what's left over a now- period. It's conceivable Eichel could be facing his first career hearing with lost season, Reinhart didn't dispute the thought. the NHL's Department of Player Safety. "You start talking there's 14-15 games left, it drags out in a hurry when Replays appeared to show Eichel "picking" Soderberg's head on the play things don't go your way," Reinhart said. "As narrow as you can keep in the neutral zone with just less than 5 1/2 minutes left in the second your focus, just do what you can on any given day. As soon as you start period. It's not unlike the play that resulted in a two-game suspension last viewing it as 14 games left, efforts like this add up in a hurry." month for Edmonton star Connor McDavid against New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy. Sobering thought, indeed.

"You've just got to play physical," Eichel said. "I mean, it's a physical game, right? That's it. That's all it is. Finish your checks. Other teams like Buffalo News LOADED: 03.10.2019 to do it to us. I don't see why we don't do it back. Everyone can finish a check and make it hard on the other team."

Sabres coach Phil Housley didn't think Eichel would get any look from the league on his hit.

Sabres hope to keep their secondary scoring moving in matchup with Avalanche FRI, MAR 8, 2019

"I'm not concerned at all," Housley said. "The first call against Zadorov, the whistle goes and it's a hit to the head and we only come out with a two-minute power play."

The Avalanche, of course, had their opinion as well.

"He comes from across the rink and all he gets was his head," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of Eichel. The officials "are watching it live and some guys may be looking in the opposite direction. But now that I look at it, it's a bad hit. It's all head."

Eichel pleaded innocence on his hit.

"I thought he was just reaching. I don't know. I'd have to look at it, to be honest with you," Eichel said. "I'm trying to protect myself. It's a physical game. I think he's going to deliver a hit to me.

"It seems like they were taking runs a little bit at times. If I'm going to be at the forefront of it, I might as well push back a little bit. I've got to protect myself."

Eichel was aggravated by the hit he took along the boards from Zadorov, which was clearly after a whistle for offsides. Zadorov, the former Buffalo first-round draft pick traded here for Ryan O'Reilly in 2015, got plenty of head too and even punctuated it by ripping off Eichel's helmet.

"He hits me after they (bleeping), excuse my language, blow the whistle," a disgusted Eichel said. "That’s whatever."

The closest player to Zadorov was Casey Nelson, who did his best Paul Gaustad impression by skating to Zadorov, standing in front of him and not doing much else. Credit, however, to the rest of the Sabres on the ice. 1135147 Buffalo Sabres Dahlin was burned badly on Nathan MacKinnon's second-period goal that opened the scoring and finished at minus-2 as he was on the ice for Gabriel Bourque's empty-net goal.

Sabres Notebook: Offense takes the afternoon off Ristolainen was minus-1 to drop his NHL-worst rating to minus-34. He is minus-12 over his last seven games.

By Mike Harrington The Sabres scratched winger Tage Thompson and defenseman Matt Hunwick. Casey Mittelstadt spent most of the game at left wing for the Published Sat, Mar 9, 2019|Updated Sat, Mar 9, 2019 first time this year, playing just 10:32 and collecting one shot on goal. It was his lowest ice time since Jan. 3.

Mikko Rantanen's third-period goal was his 30th of the season, giving the DENVER — Scoring hasn't been a problem for the Buffalo Sabres in Avalanche a trio of 30-goal scorers in the same season for the first time recent games. But then came Saturday afternoon in Pepsi Center. since their 1995-96 Stanley Cup team. That club had four, led by Joe The Sabres endured their third shutout of the season in a 3-0 loss to the Sakic's 51-goal season. Colorado Avalanche, and this was a complete no-show at the offensive MacKinnon's second-period goal was his 35th of the season and his end. three-point game gave him 87 points, allowing him to take over the team The Sabres were outshot, 43-18, but most of their pressure came in scoring lead from Rantenan (30-56-86). Injured captain Gabriel garbage time, with seven shots on goal coming over the final 2:20 after Landeskog has 33 goals this season. goalie Carter Hutton was pulled for an extra attacker. The Avalanche doubled Buffalo in shot attempts, 76-38. Buffalo News LOADED: 03.10.2019 Buffalo had a paltry seven shots on goal over the first 44 1/2 minutes of the game, and three of those came from defensemen. The club record for fewest shots is 10, and the Sabres didn't reach that until there was 6:41 left on a routine Jack Eichel drive from just inside center ice.

At that point, the count was an eye-popping 36-9 for the Avalanche.

"Obviously you try to make adjustments, find ways to get in," said winger Jeff Skinner. "We didn't do a good enough job creating the forecheck."

"All they did was pressure us and we didn't execute," said coach Phil Housley. "Whether it was a breakout or set breakout, we couldn't gain zones, and it turns right back on us and they look like they were playing a fast game."

Colorado backup goalie Philipp Grubauer entered the game with a 3.20 goals-against average and .897 save percentage on the season, but the Sabres made it easy on him until the final flurries.

Grubauer continued his career dominance against Buffalo from his days in Washington, improving to 5-1-2 against the Sabres — with a 1.15 goals-against average and .957 save percentage. He's given up just 10 goals in nine career appearances against the Sabres.

Grubauer's best save came on a Sam Reinhart breakaway in the first period, as Reinhart broke loose coming out of the penalty box and took a Zemgus Girgensons feed up the middle. Grubauer stayed with Reinhart's deke and made a skate save.

"I think if I just hold on to it another half a foot, it's a wide-open net," said Reinhart, who hasn't scored in six games. "It's frustrating when things don't go in when it's been a couple games. At that point, you just need to relax, settle myself down and get back to it."

The Sabres entered this game averaging 3.28 goals over their previous seven and with at least 30 shots on goal for 11 straight games, so a no- show like this was unexpected. But Reinhart said he sensed there were too many one-and-done possessions the last couple games and the team has to work harder at maintaining the offensive zone cycles.

No one is more frustrated right now than Skinner, who has been stuck on 36 goals for 11 games. He had no shots on goal Saturday for the first time since Dec. 8.

"It's part of my job to produce and obviously this last little stretch I haven't done a good enough job and we haven't been getting results," said Skinner, referring to Buffalo's 2-7-2 mark in the 11 games. "That's not a good combo I think.

"You try and find ways to get out of it. Maybe spend more time in the O- zone, but also more time around their net to get a greasy one and get off this slide."

The Sabres shifted defense partners, putting Rasmus Dahlin with Rasmus Ristolainen and Marco Scandella with Casey Nelson. They kept Zach Bogosian with Brandon Montour.

Bogosian led the club in ice time at 24 minutes, 15 seconds. Ristolainen was at 23:10, Montour 23:01 and Dahlin 21:14. Scandella (14:17) and Nelson (13:21) were held to third-pair minutes. 1135148 Buffalo Sabres

The Wraparound: Avalanche 3, Sabres 0

By Mike Harrington

Published Sat, Mar 9, 2019|Updated Sat, Mar 9, 2019

DENVER — Zzzzzz.

Not much of note took place Saturday in Pepsi Center.

The Buffalo Sabres lost another road game, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Colorado Avalanche. They had seven shots on goal through two periods and the final count was 43-18.

That pretty much shows how competitive the Sabres were in this one. Colorado goalie Philipp Grubauer didn't have much to do for his shutout at all until the final five minutes, when the Sabres finally forged some offensive pressure.

Colorado opened the scoring at 3:14 of the second period. All-Star center Nathan MacKinnon capitalized on a turnover by Rasmus Dahlin at the Buffalo blue line, went around the 18-year-old and burned Carter Hutton with a laser to the top corner to put the Avs in front for keeps.

Mikko Rantanen's power-play goal at 10:13 of the third period, a screened shot from the right circle, put the game away. Gabriel Bourque hit an empty net with 1:10 left.

The Sabres fell to 0-3-1 in their last four games and 2-8-2 in their last 12. On the road, Buffalo is 0-7-2 in its last nine games and 3-15-4 in its last 22.

First period: Neither team scored in the opening 20 minutes as the Avalanche had 11 of the game's first 13 shots on goal and the count finished at 12-4.

Big hit: The game took a more sinister tone with 9:48 left in the first as Colorado defenseman and former Sabre Nikita Zadorov blasted Jack Eichel along the boards with a high hit that was also late and came after the whistle. Zadorov got a roughing call and Eichel was uninjured.

Casey Nelson was the first Sabres player to the scene but did not do much of anything to Zadorov. However, Marco Scandella and Sam Reinhart were quick to aid their captain and Jeff Skinner got engaged with Rantanen while trying to make his way there as well. Skinner and Rantanen also got roughing penalties.

Eichel's response: The Buffalo captain was nailed with a checking to the head minor as he clipped Colorado's Carl Soderberg at 14:48 of the second period. It would be no surprise if he hears from the NHL's Department of Player Safety for the infraction.

Best chance: Reinhart was foiled by Grubauer on a breakaway after coming out of the box following a holding penalty at 15:23 of the first period.

Offense hasn't been sleepy: The Sabres had 23 goals over their previous seven games, averaging 3.29 per contest. And they had at least 30 shots on goal for 11 straight games entering Saturday.

Next: The Sabres flew home immediately after the game and will take Sunday off. Their next two games are at home, Tuesday against Dallas and Thursday against Pittsburgh. It will be interesting to see if the NHL sits Eichel for one or both of them.

Buffalo News LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135149 Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo News LOADED: 03.10.2019

Quick Sabres update: Dahlin with Ristolainen today, Landeskog out for Avs

By Mike Harrington

Published Sat, Mar 9, 2019|Updated Sat, Mar 9, 2019

DENVER — A quick shuffling of the defense pairs is on the docket today as the Buffalo Sabres play a 3 p.m. game against the Colorado Avalanche in Pepsi Center. As usual, it's on MSG and WGR Radio.

With the Sabres facing two of the NHL's top seven scorers in Colorado winger Mikko Rantanen (85 points) and center Nathan MacKinnon (84), they will be pairing Rasmus Dahlin with Rasmus Ristolainen on their top pair today.

In his pregame briefing, coach Phil Housley said Marco Scandella will move alongside Casey Nelson after spending the last few games with Ristolainen while the pair of Zach Bogosian and Brandon Montour will stay intact. Matt Hunwick and Tage Thompson will be scratches.

The Avalanche are facing a major loss today as captain Gabriel Landeskog (36-33-69) is out with an upper-body injury, believed to be to his shoulder, suffered in Thursday's 4-0 loss in Dallas when he collided with goalie Ben Bishop. Landeskog is likely to be out 4-6 weeks, so his season could be over if the Avs don't make the playoffs.

While the Sabres' playoff hopes are basically gone with the team 10 points out of an Eastern Conference wild-card, this is a huge game for Colorado. The Avs are just four points back of Minnesota in the West and holding a game in hand.

"Sometimes when somebody comes out of the lineup, the desperation becomes even more apparent. We understand that," Housley said. "They've tried to spread their lines around a little bit to find some balance so we really have to be aware when MacKinnon and Rantanen are on the ice. … They like to play with speed, attack, bring their 'D' to get involved in the rush. Our rush coverage has to be good today.

The Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen line has been one of the NHL's best this season but the remaining two members of the trio may be broken up today. In practice Friday, MacKinnon skated with Derick Brassard and former Sabres prospect J.T. Compher while Rantanen was with Carl Soderberg and Colin Wilson.

The series: Colorado posted a 6-1 victory over Buffalo Oct. 11 in KeyBank Center and a Sabres win today will give the teams a split of the season series for the fourth straight year. The Sabres won here last year, 4-2, and it snapped a six-game losing streak in Denver that dated to 2005. Buffalo is just 3-9-4 overall in its last 16 meetings with the Avs since 2007.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 of 31 shots in the October win in Buffalo, improving to 7-2-1, 2.30/.922 in 10 career games against the Sabres but Philipp Grubauer is getting the start today and has been dominant against Buffalo, going 4-1-2, 1.30/.954 against the Sabres

Carter Hutton, who made 41 saves Thursday in Chicago, will start today for the Sabres.

Something to note after 60 minutes today: The Sabres are 11-9 past regulation this year, including a 7-6 mark in overtime goals -- while the Avalanche are just 3-12 and are 2-11 when a goal is scored at 3 on 3. As you would expect, that's the worst record in the NHL as no other team in the league has dropped more than eight games in the five-minute session.

So if this one is tied, the strategy is going to have to be attack, attack and attack some more. And late in regulation, the Sabres might be a tad more conservative to simply get the game to OT and then take their chances there.

"We're not going to get that matchup we want to start out so we're going to have to plan accordingly," said Housley, referring to the Avs having the last change at home. "We're definitely going to have to be aware when MacKinnon is out there. He's incredibly fast and he creates. You try to match up with the speed element of the game." 1135150 Buffalo Sabres On Stone and Skinner

Action: Mark Stone signs his extension with Vegas for eight years and $76 million or $9.5 million per season if you're scoring at home. Reaction: Inside the NHL: 'Scoreboard Wars' is one area Sabres can make a move Jeff Skinner and his agent have to be happy. Skinner is having his fourth on 30-goal season while Stone has never had one.

Now, Skinner isn't likely to get Stone money in part because Stone is a By Mike Harrington better points producer and a much better defender who is Selke Trophy material. But you have to believe Stone's number is certainly going to be Published Sat, Mar 9, 2019|Updated Sat, Mar 9, 2019 an added talking point as Skinner's representatives continue to chat with Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill.

It continues to be this corner's view that Skinner and the Sabres will DENVER -- The Sabres played here Saturday under the watchful eyes of reach a deal without much acrimony, with the final figure coming in at the Pepsi Center's massive scoreboard. Installed in 2013, it remains one somewhere between $68-$72 million. of the behemoths of the league at 27 feet high by 48 feet long and was the first answer to Tampa Bay's 28-by-50 display that was erected in Perhaps Skinner could get a little more in free agency but he won't be 2012 and has long been the league's gold standard. playing two hours from home or on Jack Eichel's wing. Looking elsewhere simply doesn't seem to be on his agenda. As the Sabres ponder a laundry list of upgrades to KeyBank Center with the arena falling way behind its 1990s counterparts, replacing the current The Gospel of Hitch HD video board could be one quick way to generate some goodwill among patrons rightfully complaining about broken and dirty seats and It will be a sad day for notebooks and microphones across North America mediocre, overpriced concessions. when Ken Hitchcock retires for good from NHL coaching. There is nothing in this league like a good 10-minute chatter session with the man Scoreboard Wars are heating up in the NHL and the Sabres would do everyone calls "Hitch." well to join the party since their video display dates to 2007. The team is well aware of its needs around the arena, including on the technological We've heard Phil Housley talk about the Sabres "checking detail" or lack end, but remains mired in study and funding mode while other cities are thereof all season. When Hitchcock was in town with the Oilers last moving forward. week, he strongly backed up Housley's assertion that it might be the most important aspect of a team's game. (And, of course, the upheaval on the executive levels of Pegula Sports and Entertainment in the last 10 months isn't helping either as deposed "All the teams that are playoff teams check really well. They're just bigwigs like Russ Brandon and Bruce Popko were heavily involved in the relentless on it," Hitchcock said. "You look especially out West in the potential upgrades of both the arena and Ralph Wilson Stadium.) Pacific Division, those teams doing really well check us to death and then let their skill take over. We're starting to learn what type of focus is So Buffalo waits. Meanwhile, the arenas in Philadelphia and Washington needed for that, the consistent performance, second and third effort that were also born in the '90s are in the midst of major renovation work necessary for that." and will be taking their video displays to the latest level of technology next season. And while Sabres fans -- and perhaps certain media members -- are tired of hearing it, Hitchcock said an organization's patience is a major piece of What's next for Buffalo's aging KeyBank Center? the puzzle.

Philly's Wells Fargo Center will be installing what's billed as the world's "We're growing, Buffalo is growing. You feel like you've grabbed it and first Kinetic 4K center-hung board in time for the Flyers' and 76ers' 2019- then it leaves you for a little while. You're trying to get to that aspect of 20 campaigns. The $15 million project is part of a three-year, $250 your game," he said. "You look at all the good teams, they win all the million transformation of the facility that will be completed next season in games where they're tied for long stretches. The game is tied and then a building that opened in 1996 – the same year KeyBank Center opened. they end up winning it but they're in control of the game because the other team is getting nothing and eventually you crack and break. What's unique is that the board is not just a standard fixed screen hanging from the ceiling. It will have what's billed as unprecendented "That's what we're trying to teach our guys is just to be patient. Being tied ability to transform into a larger extended size measuring 28-by-62 as 1-1 halfway through the hockey game is a good thing, not something you well as smaller size and will be complemented by 5-by-67 moving trusses should be nervous about." that will also feature electronic displays and slide above or below the main board. Lindsay tributes all over

Wells Fargo Center to Introduce the World’s First Kinetic 4K Center-Hung Teams spent all week paying tribute to late Detroit legend Ted Lindsay, Scoreboard. who died Monday at age 93. "Ted 7" was painted on the boards at all corners of the league's 31 rinks through the weekend. It was interesting In Washington, Monumental Sports & Entertainment -- the Pegula to hear how players were cognizant of Lindsay's contributions in helping Sports-like arm that operates the Capitals and Wizards -- has spent to found the NHLPA in 1957. nearly $60 million for things like replacing every seat and upgrading concessions (hint-hint). Its scoreboard, also dating to 2007, is going 4K The Ted Lindsay Award is given to the most outstanding player as voted as well and will feature a 360-degree screen rather than two large upon by the players and Edmonton's Connor McDavid said it was an displays on the sides of the ice/court and two smaller ones on the end. honor to meet Lindsay upon receiving the award in 2017.

It will also include a retractable LED ring at the bottom to enhance "We all grew up playing this game, loving this game and you want to see viewing for those essentially underneath it who sit by the glass or the how the game got to where it is today," McDavid said when he was in court. An added twist is that the building will also be installing the first town last week. "He's obviously someone who played a huge role in it “SkyRing” display in an indoor arena, a 9,000 square foot LED board that starting the PA and giving the players a voice. It's pretty special what he's will wrap around the roof line above the 400 level. It's similar to the done for the players." circular board at the top of Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Around the boards

In recent years, massive new boards have been installed in places like *Yes, Bruins play-by-play man Jack Edwards is one of the worst homers Toronto, Winnipeg, Montreal, St. Louis, Minnesota, Arizona, Florida, New in the league and might be a very acquired taste. But there's no denying Jersey and Anaheim in addition to the giant screens marking the new he comes up with the verbiage while making the calls of big moments. arenas in Edmonton, Vegas and Detroit. To wit, here's how he wrapped his call of David Krejci's overtime goal It's time here. More than time. A shiny new scoreboard won't fix all that Tuesday night against Carolina, which was in town wearing its green ails with KeyBank Center -- on the ice or off. And it won't be a great Hartford Whalers throwback jerseys: "The Bruins come from two down, addition if the Sabres just use it to continue to "oversponsor" every fend off Carolina and strip the Whale of its blubber. Burn 'em." element of the game like they do now. But you have to keep up with other cities. Fans demand it. OK, it's obnoxious. But pretty original, too. Especially at the spur of the moment.

*Speaking of the Bruins, they beat the Panthers, 4-3, Thursday night as defenseman Matt Grzelcyk scored the tying goal with 37 seconds left in regulation and Patrice Bergeron got the winner with 7 seconds left. It marked just the 10th time in NHL history a team got the tying and winning goals in the final minute of regulation and the first time anyone has done it since Ottawa stunned Columbus on Oct. 22, 2011.

*The Devils might have opened the worst road trip of the year for any team in the league with Friday's 3-0 loss in Washington. They played Saturday in New York against the Rangers before heading West: Tuesday in Calgary, Wednesday in Edmonton, Friday in Vancouver and the capper on March 17 in Colorado.

Ten days out of town when you're fighting to stay out of 15th place in the East is bad enough. But when New Jersey finally returns home for games on March 19 and 21, who are the opponents? Washington and Boston. Yeesh.

Buffalo News LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135151 Buffalo Sabres 26. Vancouver Canucks. Will quickly sign and play D Quinn Hughes when Michigan is ousted from NCAA contention. (25)

27. Anaheim Ducks. Four straight strong games, with three wins and Mike Harrington's NHL Power Rankings last-second loss to Blues. (27)

28. New Jersey Devils. Started six-game roadie with shutout loss in By Mike Harrington Washington. (28)

Published Sat, Mar 9, 2019|Updated Sat, Mar 9, 2019 29. Detroit Red Wings. Tributes pour in for Ted Lindsay. RIP. (29)

30. Los Angeles Kings. Held to one goal in back-to-back home losses. (30) Through Friday's games. Last week's rankings in parentheses. 31. Ottawa Senators. Nice rookie year for Tkachuk with 15 goals and 34 1. Tampa Bay Lightning. Remarkable current paces are 62 wins, 128 points. (31) points and 317 goals. (1) Story topics: NHL Power Rankings 2. Boston Bruins. Dramatic two-goal rally in final minute stuns Panthers, extends point streak to 18 games. (3)

3. Calgary Flames. Eight of next 10 at home, starting with visit from Buffalo News LOADED: 03.10.2019 Vegas on Sunday. (2)

4. San Jose Sharks. Despite nagging groin issue, Karlsson is "100 percent" he'll be ready for playoffs. (4)

5. Washington Capitals. Finally climbed over Isles to take lead in Metro. (6)

6. Toronto Maple Leafs. Were 32-0-0 when leading after two periods until OT loss in Vancouver. (7)

7. New York Islanders. Lehner listed as day-to-day after goalmouth collision. (5)

8. Winnipeg Jets. Still looking to win Central and catch Flames in West. (8)

9. Nashville Predators. Certainly want five points in this week's three- game California trip. (9)

10. Pittsburgh Penguins. Even if out for a day or two, don't seem to be in trouble in playoff race. (15)

11. Vegas Golden Knights. It's a Stone-cold lock at eight years, $76 million. (12)

12. Montreal Canadiens. Bad time of the season for an 8-2 loss in Anaheim. (10)

13. Carolina Hurricanes. Niederreiter posts franchise-record minus-6 in 8-1 loss to Jets. (11)

14. St. Louis Blues. O'Reilly gets to career highs in assists (40) and points (66), and has plenty of time to add. (14)

15. Columbus Blue Jackets. Four goals, 1-3 record in first four games of March. (13)

16. Dallas Stars. Have huge game in playoff race Tuesday night in Buffalo. (16)

17. Minnesota Wild. Weird team, weird roadie: Blanked Bolts, pummeled by Panthers. (17)

18. Arizona Coyotes. An 8-2 record over 10 games is capped by Kuemper shutout of Flames. (21)

19. Philadelphia Flyers. Justin Bailey keeps riding the Allentown-to-Philly shuttle. (18)

20. Colorado Avalanche. Landeskog injury could be death knell to playoff hopes. (20)

21. Florida Panthers. Barkov cools Wild with franchise-record five assists. (23)

22. Buffalo Sabres. A stunningly meaningless March as playoff deficit hits double digits. (19)

23. Edmonton Oilers. McDavid joins Sharks' Thornton as only active players with three straight 60-assist seasons. (26)

24. Chicago Blackhawks. Even with four-goal night against him, Crawford improves to 10-0 against Sabres. (22)

25. New York Rangers. Early returns good on former Buffalo draft pick Lemieux, acquired in Hayes trade. (24) 1135152 BuffaloSabres game. After a 6-2 loss at home to the New York Rangers, Housley said his team played soft.

Against Colorado, things took a nastier turn when former Sabre Nikita Having a winning blueprint is one thing, but following it proves tough for Zadorov hit Eichel after the whistle for an offside call and hit him up high. Sabres Reinhart and Skinner, who was hit from behind by Rantanen as the scrum developed immediately, responded while Eichel got up incredulous at how late the hit came. By Joe Yerdon “Just got to play physical, I mean, it’s a physical game, right,” Eichel Mar 9, 2019 said. “That’s it, that’s all it is. Finish your checks. Other teams like to do it to us, I don’t see why we don’t do it back. You know? Everyone can finish

a check and make it hard on the other team. DENVER — Going back to training camp, one of the teams the Buffalo “I mean, he hits me after they fucking blow, excuse my language, they Sabres wanted to use as a blueprint for how to get back to the playoffs blow the whistle, but that’s whatever.” sooner than later was the Colorado Avalanche. Last season, they went from being one of the worst teams in the NHL to reaching the NHL In the second period, Eichel responded with his own physicality when he playoffs. This year’s Sabres team hasn’t copied that playbook, and on caught Carl Soderberg in the head with a check. Eichel was given a Saturday the Avalanche delivered another humbling lesson that climbing minor penalty but could be looking at further punishment from the league. out of the basement doesn’t always happen overnight. “I thought he was just reaching, I don’t know, I’ve got to look at it, to be When the Avalanche jumped into the playoff picture last season, they did honest with you,” Eichel said. “I’m trying to protect myself, it’s a physical it thanks to an MVP-level performance from Nathan MacKinnon. He had game. I think he’s going to deliver a hit to me. You know, it seems like 97 points (39 goals, 58 assists) and finished second to New Jersey’s they were maybe taking runs a little bit at times. If I’m going to be the Taylor Hall in voting for the Hart Trophy. Fittingly, the Devils were the forefront of it, I might as well push back a little bit. I’ve got to protect other team the Sabres sought to emulate this season in their quest to myself.” push for the postseason. We know how ugly things have been since the seemingly forever-ago win This season, the Sabres have gotten great performances from Jack streak ended. We know they’re inconsistent. We know they show Eichel, Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart, but the Avalanche rolled with glimpses of what could’ve been virtually every game. Saturday was a MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen growing together as one of the NHL’s study in everything that can go wrong, and can go badly, can and did dynamic duos. Colorado also had Gabriel Landeskog playing the heavy happen. With 14 games left in the season, the evaluation period for who and scoring in big moments last season, as well as getting 57 points from will stay and who will go has likely been underway for a while. If there are defenseman Tyson Barrie and a solid 43-point rookie season from more efforts like this one, the list of who will go will only grow. forward Alex Kerfoot. Overall, the Avalanche had 14 players who scored 20 or more points.

The Sabres have 10 players with 20-plus points, with Zach Bogosian The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 (who has 17) close to making it 11. Consistent goal scoring has been an issue this season for Buffalo, and a good reason for that is a low shooting percentage. At 5-on-5, they’re 22nd in the NHL with a 7.59 shot percentage. They’re shooting the puck well enough (10th in shots on goal for at 5-on-5; 19th in attempts), but they’re not going in.

By contrast, last season Colorado was seventh in the NHL in shooting percentage at 5-on-5 at 8.26 percent (according to NaturalStatTrick.com) and were last in shots on goal for and 29th out of 31 in shots attempted.

On Saturday, the Sabres had nine shots on goal until they were credited with two more shots with about 6:30 left to play in the third. They finished the game with 18 shots on goal, 13 of which came at 5-on-5. They lost 3- 0 and are winless in four straight and have six points in the past 12 games (2-8-2).

“It wasn’t our best (game),” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. “Just the start of the game, all they did was pressure us, and we didn’t execute and whether it was a breakout or a set breakout we couldn’t gain zones and it turns right back on us and they look like they’re playing a fast game, but it was more about what we weren’t doing.”

Last season, the Avalanche also got tremendous goaltending from the tandem of Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier. Varlamov’s .920 overall save percentage (.933 at 5-on-5) led the way, but Bernier held things together in a backup role with a .913 (.930 at 5-on-5). The tandem was third-best in the NHL with a .932 save percentage, behind Nashville and Anaheim at 5-on-5.

Comparatively, the Sabres’ duo of Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark is 13th best in the league with a .919 save percentage at 5-on-5. At all strengths, Hutton edges Ullmark, .912 to .907. Against the Avs on Saturday, goaltending was the least of their problems as Hutton delivered a 40-save effort in defeat.

“I think that Hutts played great for us, and we hung him out to dry,” Skinner said. “We have to bear down and play better and spend more time in the offensive end.”

To rub salt in the wound, Saturday’s game highlighted an issue that’s come up already this season in how the Sabres respond to overly physical play. In a 1-0 road loss to the Stars after the All-Star break, the Sabres upped the physical play to set a tone that held up throughout the 1135153 Calgary Flames BACK DOWN

Curtis Lazar is heading back to the Stockton Heat.

Flames Notes: Bennett back after scary hit The Flames announced that they were sending the 24-year-old back down to their AHL affiliate late on Saturday morning.

Lazar had been called up by the team in mid-February, although he didn’t Daniel Austin get any game action in his stint with the club – he was also reassigned March 9, 2019 6:16 PM MDT and recalled on deadline day in a paper-only transaction to ensure he was eligible for the AHL playoffs.

After Saturday’s practice, Peters said the Flames would be calling up Sporting a red mark on his eyeball but otherwise no worse for wear, Sam another forward from the Heat, but at that particular point in time he Bennett was out on the ice with his Calgary Flames teammates for wasn’t sure who that player would be. practice on Saturday morning. “We’re going to bring a forward up, we’ll talk about that here right now,” There had been reasons to wonder if the Flames forward might be Peters said. “(The Heat) played last night, (we will) make sure sidelined for an extended period over the past couple of days. everybody’s healthy … We’ll discuss that and figure it out and then (GM Brad Treliving) will bring us up to speed on who’s been playing well down Bennett left Thursday’s game against the Coyotes in the third period after there.” taking a hit from Arizona defenceman Jordan Oesterle, and it was easy to fear Bennett was seriously injured.

The 22-year-old’s head appeared to hit the boards hard and he didn’t Calgary Sun: LOADED: 03.10.2019 return to the ice for the final five minutes of play.

After Saturday’s practice at WinSport, however, Bennett said he’d avoided anything too serious, although it took him a little while after the hit to be sure.

Any contact to the eye is going to be worrisome, after all, and Bennett essentially went eyeball-first into the boards.

“Yeah, I’m good now,” Bennett said. “At first, I wasn’t sure. I had my eye go right into the (top of the boards) on the hit from behind, but no side effects now, so I’ll be good to go tomorrow.”

The Flames expect Bennett in the lineup for Sunday night’s big Pacific Division tilt with the Vegas Golden Knights (7:30 p.m., Scotiabank Saddledome, SportsnetOne, Sportsnet 960 The Fan), and he skated with his usual linemates, Mark Jankowski and Austin Czarnik, during Saturday’s practice.

“He went in a little funny, a little hard there,” said Flames head coach Bill Peters. “We’ll make sure he’s good. It was good to see him out there today, I think he’s going to be OK and as long as there’s no problems (after Saturday’s practice) he’ll play tomorrow.”

FAMILIAR LINES, PAIRINGS

The Flames largely practised with the same lines and defensive pairings we’ve seen for most of the past couple of months on Saturday afternoon.

Peters had experimented with switching things up a little bit prior to their two-game road trip earlier this week.

But on Saturday, with the exception of Oscar Fantenberg – acquired at the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Kings – joining Rasmus Andersson on the third defensive pairing in place of Oliver Kylington, the lines and pairings were largely familiar.

“We moved some stuff around and we wanted to do that at this point in the year,” Peters said. “But I think our best combinations are the combinations we had out there today.”

ON THE WAY BACK

It sounds as if James Neal may be available sooner rather than later.

The 31-year-old has been out of action since leaving the Flames’ game against the Florida Panthers on Feb. 14 with a lower-body injury.

Neal didn’t practise with the team on Saturday afternoon, but Peters hinted that he might be nearing a return.

As for when that might be, it doesn’t sound like a return is imminent, but Neal should be back in the lineup in the next couple of weeks.

“He’s getting closer,” Peters said. “He was here today, skated yesterday, will skate again tomorrow, but he’s got a little ways to go but I expect he’ll be ready before the playoffs start.”

It’s worth noting that while Neal has picked up only 15 points in 55 games this season, his production had picked up in the week prior to his injury, and he’d put up three points in four games prior to the matchup with the Panthers. 1135154 Calgary Flames

Game Day: Golden Knights at Flames — 5 storylines

Daniel Austin

March 9, 2019 5:27 PM MDT

THE BIG MATCHUP

Golden Knights G Malcolm Subban vs. Flames’ top line

The Flames need goals, and that starts with the top line. Nobody is doubting that Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm remain dangerous players – seriously, nobody’s questioning that – but their production has slowed down recently. With Marc-Andre Fleury starting Saturday against the Canucks, it will likely be Malcolm Subban in net for the Golden Knights at the Saddledome. Subban has allowed eight goals in his last two games, so his performance could be a determining factor here.

FIVE STORYLINES FOR THE GAME

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

The Flames enter Sunday’s game in unfamiliar territory. After the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues in overtime on Saturday afternoon, the Flames have been pushed down to second place in the Pacific Division – one point behind the Sharks. That means that as of right now, the Golden Knights and Flames would be going head-to-head in the first round of the playoffs. The Knights have won two of the teams’ three matchups so far this season, although the Flames’ were on the winning end of a 7-2 blowout back in November.

HEATED

As if the potential of a playoff matchup in a couple of weeks wasn’t enough, there’s some additional tension brewing between these two teams. When they faced off on Wednesday in Vegas, the Golden Knights came away with a 2-1 win, but the highlight that went viral was a confrontation between Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk and Fleury, who seemed seconds away from skating down ice to fight Flames goalie David Rittich. In other words, there’s bad blood between these teams.

GET ON THE BOARD

The Flames have had a tonne of trouble finding the back of the net recently. They scored only once on this week’s two-game swing through Vegas and Arizona, and head coach Bill Peters is going back to his team’s tried-and-tested line combinations for Sunday’s game. They’ve scored more than two goals in a game only once in their last eight outings, and getting the offence going is going to be critical for the Flames to reclaim first in the Pacific Division.

GETTING GOING

For months leading up to the trade deadline, Mark Stone was the big name that Flames fans dreamed about their team acquiring. He didn’t end up in Calgary, though, and was instead dealt by the Ottawa Senators to the Golden Knights. In five games with his new team, Stone has managed only two assists, but if he gets going, it’s going to make the Knights very, very dangerous heading into the playoffs.

IN NET

With Fleury starting in net for the Knights on Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks, Subban will likely get the start in net on Sunday. In 10 games this season, Subban is 4-6-0 with a .907 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average. For the Flames, Mike Smith appeared to be the frontrunner to start at Saturday’s practice, although that could change. Both Smith and David Rittich had strong outings on the Flames’ road trip this week.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135155 Calgary Flames If that’s going to happen, though, the Flames are going to need their biggest stars to start producing again.

“We’re getting looks — we’re getting chances,” Gaudreau said. “We went Flames' top line aims to be better through that stretch in December, January and a little bit of February where everything was going in for us, and it’s a tough league.

Daniel Austin “It’s not easy to score in this league, and there’s some good teams out there, so it’s difficult at times and you’ve just got to push through it.”

“We have to be better.” Calgary Sun: LOADED: 03.10.2019 When he was asked to assess the play of the Calgary Flames’ first line on Saturday afternoon, centre Sean Monahan couldn’t have been much more straightforward.

He didn’t try to make any excuses and didn’t really accept the idea that he or linemates Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm are victims of bad puck-luck.

Sure, they’re probably due a good bounce or two, but in Monahan’s mind, the Flames’ top line simply needs to find a way to start producing on both ends of the ice.

“We’ve got to be better,” Monahan said. “Our all-round game, when you’re playing well defensively and you’re playing a full 200-foot game, that’s when our line is at our best, and I think we have more to show.

“We have another gear we need to get to. I feel we were at a high level throughout maybe 50 games throughout the year and kind of slowed down here, so we’ve got to step that back up and get to our full potential.”

Now, it’s worth noting that the Flames’ top line hasn’t seen its production dry up entirely recently and none of their teammates or coaches are complaining about their contributions.

But their pace has slowed since the NHL all-star break.

In the 51 games heading into this year’s annual all-star festivities, Gaudreau had 73 points. In the 17 games since, he’s got 11. That’s an average of 1.43 points per game before the break and 0.65 points per game after.

Monahan, meanwhile, had 61 points in those 51 games and also has 11 points in the 17 games since — an average of 1.19 points per game before the break and 0.65 after — while Lindholm has 14 points in the post-all-star stretch and had 58 points in the 51 games prior, meaning he averaged 1.14 points per game before and 0.82 after.

So what exactly is going on?

There are ebbs and flows in any season, of course, and even superstars have stretches during which they’re not quite as hot as everyone expects them to be. Maybe it’s just a matter of continuing to grind and the tides will eventually turn.

Flames head coach Bill Peters has also explained again and again that NHL teams tighten up defensively as the playoffs get closer, too, so goals become harder to come by, and it’s probably inevitable that most players see their points-per-game slow down a little bit towards the tail- end of the season.

Peters — who has replaced Lindholm on the top line with Matthew Tkachuk on several occasions recently — also believes that the goals are going to start coming sooner rather than later for his top-line.

“I think they’re due, and they know it,” Peters said Saturday from WinSport, where the Flames practised. “They’re going to dig in, and they want to provide offence, and we’ll give them the opportunity to do that.”

The Flames need their top three to start producing, although the team needs to start getting more offence from just about everybody.

While they remained first in the Western Conference heading into Saturday’s action, they scored only once on this week’s two-game road trip that took them through Vegas and Arizona and have scored more than two goals in a game only once in their last eight tilts.

Four of those eight games did end up in wins, though, so it’s not exactly like the sky — or roof — is falling at the Saddledome.

Proving that they can win tight, low-scoring games is obviously a positive for the Flames as they enter their final 14 games of the regular season and start preparing for what they hope will be a long playoff run. 1135156 Carolina Hurricanes Then Martinook beat Saros with a wrister at 6:38 to pad the lead for Carolina.

Carolina Hurricanes sweep season series, beating Preds 5-3 News Observer LOADED: 03.10.2019

BY TERESA M. WALKER AP SPORTS WRITER MARCH 09, 2019 11:53 PM

NASHVILLE, TENN. The Carolina Hurricanes knew they had to shake off an ugly performance to keep pace in the playoff chase, and the schedule gave them a quick chance to do just that. The Hurricanes didn't waste the opportunity. Nino Niederreiter scored twice in the first period and the Hurricanes held off the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Saturday night to sweep the season series. Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist and Justin Williams and Jordan Martinook also scored. The Hurricanes snapped a two-game skid that included an 8-1 loss to Winnipeg on Friday night and jumped a spot to third in the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference pushing Pittsburgh down to the first wild card. "We knew what kind of a stage that we're in right now," Niederreiter said. "We're all fighting for a playoff spot. I think we're in a good position, so we made sure we can't lose like that like last night 8-1. We had to make sure we bounce back and that's what we did." Teuvo Teravainen had two assists, and goalie Petr Mrazek improved to 8-0-0 against Nashville after making 31 saves. "It's been the story of the year," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We're a battling team. We're working hard, but we're making mistakes just like everyone else. We need big saves at key times, and that's what we've been getting." Mikael Granlund, Brian Boyle and Craig Smith scored for the Predators. Nashville coach Peter Laviolette pulled goalie Juuse Saros with about 2:33 left, and Granlund scored with 2:28 left right in front with officials waving it off both on the ice and after an initial review for interference by Boyle who collided with Mrazek. The Predators challenged and won for Granlund's first goal since being acquired at the trade deadline. Aho sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 19.3 seconds left. The Predators played without Filip Forsberg, day to day with a lower- body injury. Granlund replaced Forsberg on the top line with Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen. Nashville also was coming off its first three-day break since the team's mandated break immediately after the All-Star Game in late January. Carolina also had to travel after losing to Winnipeg. That didn't stop the Hurricanes from jumping on the Predators early, outshooting them 16-8 and grabbing a 2-0 lead after the first period. "We played it right from the onset, and we atoned from a dismal performance last night," Williams said. The Predators got into penalty trouble early and often starting with Smith just 30 seconds into the game. Then they wound up giving the Hurricanes a 5-on-3 for 95 seconds with back-to-back tripping penalties on Matt Irwin and captain Roman Josi. Saros, starting for Pekka Rinne, made seven saves during the penalty kill to keep it scoreless. Niederreiter put Carolina up 1-0 at 14:29 with a wrister from the left circle that went top shelf over Saros' glove. Nashville took its fourth penalty for too many men on the ice during a power play, and Niederreiter made it 2- 0 with a second left tipping in Teravainen's shot from the slot on the man advantage for his 11th goal in 22 games with the Hurricanes. Nashville finished with five penalties and gave up two power plays. Laviolette said the too many men penalty while on the power play should not happen. "We know our changes, and we need to execute it," Laviolette said. "That's an opportunity for us to get into the game and it slipped away. Smith got Nashville on the board at 2:52 of the second, beating Mrazek's blocker with a slap shot from the top of the right circle. Williams scored Carolina's second power-play goal 55 seconds into the third. Boyle answered quickly scoring at 2:35 to pull Nashville within 3-2. 1135157 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks keep their slim playoff hopes alive with a huge 2-1 victory over wild-card rival Stars

Jimmy Greenfield

It's too early to know if the Blackhawks are playing spoiler or positioning themselves for one more run at a playoff berth. But the way they played Saturday, it's clear they have fight left in them. Alex DeBrincat and David Kampf scored first-period goals and Corey Crawford made 26 saves to give the Hawks a 2-1 victory over the Stars at American Airlines Center in one of their best all-around games of the season. The Hawks outshot the Stars 39-27 and didn't commit a penalty while moving within seven points of the final Western Conference wild-card spot currently held by the Wild, who were idle. The Hawks, who have 14 games remaining, have a game in hand on the Wild. The Stars hold the first wild-card spot but are just one point ahead of the Wild and are by no means postseason locks. DeBrincat’s goal, his 37th, with 36 seconds left in the first, was the game- winner. Patrick Kane had an assist on the goal to move within three of his second career 100-point season. Earlier, Kampf scored his fourth of the season and first in 32 games dating to Nov. 24 while on a 2-on-1 break with Chris Kunitz. The pair put together a sweet give-and-go before Kampf sent a shot past goalie Anton Khudobin to make it 1-0. Crawford gave up the tying goal to Alexander Radulov a little over a minute later but he had a strong first period, making a point-blank save on Jason Dickinson and later stopping a Tyler Seguin tip-in attempt with a quick move to his left. The Hawks nearly padded their lead late in the second when Kane’s blind, backhanded pass to Dominik Kahun in the slot seemed to find him with an open net, but Khudobin managed to make the save. The Stars committed the only three penalties — both for delay of game — including one with 4:33 left in the third. DeBrincat nearly put the Hawks up 3-1 on the power play, but his wrist shot from the slot hit the post.

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135158 Chicago Blackhawks

'We're not that far away:' Blackhawks need steady play to carry them through tough times

Jimmy Greenfield

Do the same things every day and you’ll likely be bored to tears. Do the same things — the right things — every time you play a game in the NHL and you’ll have a coach crying tears of joy. Barely a day has gone by this season in which Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton hasn’t preached to his players the value of being consistent and finding a way to play a 60-minute game. They had it when they last visited the Stars on Dec. 20 — a 5-2 Hawks victory — and were hoping to bring it again Saturday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Part of what’s lacking is due to having 12 players currently on their roster who are 24 or younger. That doesn’t include 19-year-old Henri Jokiharju, who played 38 games with the Hawks earlier this season before being sent to Rockford. But to Colliton, consistency doesn’t just come about from having a lot of NHL games in the rearview mirror. “It does come with experience, but sometimes young players come in and they have that already,” Colliton said. “As a team, it’s not the same guys every night who have a slip-up. It’s spread around the whole group. That’s where we’re at.” Players can't know certain details until they’ve been in the NHL for a while. When Alex DeBrincat came to training camp last season trying to break in as a 19-year-old, he was coming off three straight seasons in juniors in which he scored more than 100 points. DeBrincat went on to have a pretty strong rookie season with 24 goals and 28 assists but had growing pains, to be sure. “There's a lot of one-on-one things that maybe you can do in junior that you can’t do in this league,” DeBrincat said. “Defensemen are just too good. Just got to be aware of who’s around you and (that) it’s a lot quicker from junior to the NHL, so you got to get the timing down. “It was stuff like you think you might have a little time, and then you just get smoked. Or you think you don’t have time and you throw it away. It’s just getting a feel for everything.” Defenseman Carl Dahlstrom has played in three leagues over the last few seasons: the , AHL and NHL. At each level he found new things to learn and new coaches demanding consistency. The pattern has been the same: Dahlstrom makes too many mistakes the first year, and then cuts down on them the second. “Every time you go up to a new level, it takes a little time to adjust,” Dahlstrom said. “When I came up in Sweden playing in the elite league, (my) coach told me the same thing. You got to be consistent here. That's the big thing. And the next year they're really happy with me. “Then I came over to Rockford and I remember my first season. They’re like, ‘Yeah, you got to be a little bit more consistent.' Then last year they were really happy how consistent I was. This year it’s kind of the same thing. It’s a bit of an adjustment period for probably everyone. It takes a little time.” The Hawks don’t have a lot of time left, at least not this season. But next season all their players — young and old — will need need to be better, smarter and more consistent. “If we want to be a top team, if we want to be an elite team, then every single guy needs to take care of those little details away from the puck,” Colliton said. “(If we do that), we’re not that far away from being a tough team to beat.”

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135159 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks deliver defensive gem, keep playoff hopes alive with win over Stars

By Jason Lieser

DALLAS — This was a big one for the Blackhawks. With time running out on their playoff hopes, they showed up Saturday. They looked every bit as good as the wild-card-leading Stars and took them down 2-1 at American Airlines Arena with an effort that would’ve been good enough to compete with anyone. It wasn’t particularly artistic other than some deft passing on the Hawks’ two goals in the first period, but it was the gritty, workmanlike game coach Jeremy Colliton has called for since he took the job. “We answered the bell tonight,” he said. “We needed to win. Pretty encouraging that we got the kind of effort we did. We competed really hard, and I thought up and down the lineup we made a lot of team decisions. Happy for the guys.” And it gave them life in the playoff race. The Hawks moved to seven points behind the Wild for the second wild- card spot and get another chance at a team ahead of them when they host the Coyotes on Monday. They remain a long shot with only 14 games left. They seemed to grasp those stakes in Dallas. This was the Hawks’ most impressive victory in a month, and, as an aside, it must make Colliton crazy knowing his team has the capacity to play this well, but so often doesn’t. “It made you crazy before — now it’s just, ‘OK. That’s good. Now we’ve gotta move on to the next one,’ ” he said. “It’s probably wasted energy to worry about what’s happened in the past.” The Hawks made their 2-1 lead in the first period last the rest of the night and fought off two minutes of the Stars going empty net to end the game. Most of the season, this team couldn’t be trusted to keep an opponent scoreless the last 53 minutes of a game. It was the first game since Feb. 14 that the Hawks held a team to two goals or fewer and the 16th time in 68 games this season. They are second in the NHL in goals since their mid-December turnaround but have also given up the most goals in that span. “It’s rewarding because it shows we can win another way,” Colliton said. “We know we can win scoring goals, but it’s hard to do that as the season goes along and against really good teams. You’re not gonna get five or six on the top teams. They’re stingy, and the games will tighten up.” The Hawks outshot the Stars 39-27, committed no penalties and got exceptional goaltending from Corey Crawford. They allowed only five shots on goal in the third period. Crawford stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced in by far his best game since returning from a concussion. “That was a fun game to play in,” Crawford said. “Everyone was sharp and working hard and making the right plays. That was a great team effort. That could’ve been one of our best ones. We need that from here on out. It was a good one, and we’ve gotta keep it going.” The Hawks closed the first period with Patrick Kane feeding Alex DeBrincat for a breakaway that ended with DeBrincat beating Anton Khudobin stick-side for his 37th goal. They also scored on a crisp two-on- one in which Chris Kunitz set up David Kampf. DeBrincat nearly sealed the victory with about three minutes left, but his shot caromed off the left post. A disappointment like that could’ve lulled the Hawks into a late letdown, but they didn’t buckle. For one night, they looked like a team that could pull off the run they’ll need to get in the playoffs. The question is: How many times can they do it? “We’re still in it, and we need more games at this level or better,” Colliton said. “Then we’ll see what happens.”

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Blackhawks notes: Desperate playoff chase hinges on Corey Crawford

By Jason Lieser

DALLAS — Even though Corey Crawford still is working his way back to peak form after a long absence, there’s no one Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton trusts more in net for a big game. The Hawks need a furious finish to have a chance in the wild-card race and believe Crawford has progressed in his first two weeks back from a concussion. “His track record speaks for itself,” Colliton said of the two-time Stanley Cup winner. “If we’re going to go on a run here, he’s going to be the guy. I think he’s feeling better every day. I thought he looked really good in practice.” It was expected that Crawford would need a few games to get going, but the Hawks can’t afford a prolonged transition at this point. He had an .865 save percentage and allowed 13 goals in his first three starts, two of which were victories. Crawford stopped 26 of 27 shots Saturday in the Hawks’ 2-1 victory against the Stars in his best performance since returning. He saved the game by breaking up a two-on-one rush with 3:31 left by slapping the puck away. Colliton has little choice but to count on Crawford. Cam Ward, who started 27 games, is out at least another week because of a knee injury. Ward had a .908 save percentage in his last 10 games. The Hawks recalled rookie Collin Delia from Rockford on Tuesday to be Crawford’s backup. He has had an encouraging season overall but allowed 13 goals and had an .831 save percentage in three starts — he was pulled eight minutes into one of those — before being sent down last month. The Hawks have issues, but offense isn’t one of them. They were No. 8 in the NHL in scoring heading into the game against the Stars and had three of the league’s top 26 goal-scorers. Patrick Kane (40), Alex DeBrincat (37) and Jonathan Toews (29) are having potentially the best seasons of their careers, and their 106 goals make them the highest-scoring trio in the league. The Lightning are next at 104 from Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos. The Hawks also have the league’s top foursome with Brandon Saad chipping in 21. “We know we’re gonna score goals; we’re not worried about that,” Colliton said. “But when you go on the ice, let’s make sure that we’re ready to defend, ready to compete, because we can create offense out of that. “That’s one thing our team really does well is create offense out of transition, so we want our guys to go on the ice with the mindset that, ‘We’re ready to defend,’ and if we do that, then we’re gonna be harder to beat.” The Hawks were last in the league with 3.78 goals allowed and 11.3 high-danger scoring chances against per game. They were second-worst with an average of 35 shots on goal allowed. Caggiula out Winger Drake Caggiula, who had been playing on the top line, remains in the concussion protocol and missed his fourth consecutive game. He did not travel to Dallas. Caggiula suffered a concussion when Ducks winger Rickard Rakell smashed him face-first into the boards Feb. 27. Rakell was ejected, but a league spokesperson said the play was reviewed, and the NHL decided against a fine or suspension.

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135161 Chicago Blackhawks Said Crawford: "You can't really look at one thing and say, 'Oh, yeah. (It's) defense.' Or 'Oh, (it's) the goalies.' It's a team game.

"Forwards have to come back and help out too. They've got to backcheck Despite struggles, Chicago Blackhawks goalie Crawford not about to and take late guys. They've got to be in the right positions and block doubt himself shots. You're not going to get low goals against with just goalies." Crawford then pointed to the Islanders as a great example. One season John Dietz after allowing the most goals in the league, they are No. 1 this season at 2.36 per game and firmly ensconced in a playoff spot.

"And their team hasn't changed," Crawford said. "They got (goalie Robin) Perhaps the most important trait of any elite goalie is to have a short Lehner, but it really hasn't changed that much. ... memory. "As a whole we're just in higher-scoring games. I mean we're scoring a Every time a puck gets past them, they flush it and forget it. ton. … That's as best as you can put it. Maybe if we tighten up a little bit more, who knows? Maybe it goes in our favor. Done. Over. Make the next save. "But I don't think we're playing bad at all. Our game is good and we've This has always been the way that the Blackhawks' Corey Crawford has just got to find extra. I mean (against Buffalo) we did our job. They came operated, but one had to wonder if doubt was creeping into his mind after back and got some goals, but we stuck with it. allowing a combined 10 goals to Los Angeles last Saturday and Buffalo on Thursday. "This team has confidence to score goals, so I'm not too worried. Just keep working hard and I feel confident." "No. Not at all. Not at all," said a reflective and composed Crawford inside MB Ice Arena after practice Friday. "Looking at positive things and The future just looking forward. We got the win (against the Sabres) and that's what matters. Just working hard to get better -- that's all." Those who want to put Crawford out to pasture and tell him he should retire should pause and take a deep breath. As stated earlier, this man Crawford started in Dallas on Saturday and allowed just 1 goal on 27 might be the biggest reason the Hawks celebrated two of their three shots in the Hawks' 2-1 victory. It was his fourth start since missing over Stanley Cup titles this decade. two months with a concussion. He deserves every opportunity to prove to teammates, coaches, fans and David Kampf and Alex DeBrincat scored for the 29-30-9 Hawks, who are -- most importantly to himself -- that he still has what it takes to be an 7 points behind Minnesota and 8 behind Dallas in the chase for the final effective NHL goalie. two wild-card spots. DeBrincat now has 37 goals. Crawford definitely showed glimpses of his old self at Dallas on Saturday, Still upbeat especially when he deflected a point-blank blast by Jason Dickinson to keep the game tied at 1-1 in the first period. The fact that Crawford's attitude remains positive -- despite posting by far the worst of his career -- has to be encouraging to his coaches and He also turned away tough shots by Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and teammates because they obviously know what he's capable of at his Alexander Radulov in about a 2½-minute span late in the second with the best. Hawks nursing a 2-1 lead. We all do. The Hawks' defense came to play as well, blocking 21 shots, 7 by Connor Murphy alone. We saw Crawford lead the Hawks to Stanley Cup titles in 2013 and 2015, and nearly another one in 2014. His rock-solid play continued the next Now we'll see if Crawford can use this performance as a bit of a 2½ seasons as he went 83-45-11 and posted the fifth-best save springboard going forward. percentage in the league over that time at .923. "The reality is he has had a lot of time off and hasn't played much in the His resume was beginning to look Hall of Fame worthy -- and still might last two years," coach Jeremy Colliton said Friday. "But the best thing for to some -- but there is reason to be concerned by his play of late. him to do is keep playing. He could get better as he goes. Shots he'd normally save are getting by. He's very rusty in how he plays "(He's) made some saves for us -- no question -- in all the games he's the puck behind the net. And against the Sabres, he twice forgot to played since he's come back. We have to help him a little more, too. BANG, BANG, BANG his stick on the ice as power plays were coming to an end. "But his high level is very high, so the quicker we get him there the better." Have the concussions and everything that came with them -- the time off, the constant rehabbing, the painful and debilitating headaches -- robbed Crawford of what he used to be? Daily Herald Times LOADED: 03.10.2019 It's impossible to know for sure, but even a half-second of hesitation or loss in reaction time can mean everything when you're trying to stop the best in the world. "I don't think I'm there yet," Crawford said when asked if he's seeing the puck as well as he used to. "But I'm trying to feel better every day and compete. I mean there's real no answer. I am where I am right now, and I've just got to work to (get) to where my game was." Little help, please? It's obviously more than a little unfair to shine the spotlight on Crawford's numbers on the goaltender himself. There's plenty of blame to go around. Remember, just three years ago the Hawks trotted out a D corps that included Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Michal Rozsival and Erik Gustafsson. Plus, they had tenacious backchecking forwards like Marian Hossa, Andrew Shaw, Andrew Desjardins and -- obviously Jonathan Toews. Now the D corps consists of a 35-year-old Keith, a 33-year-old Seabrook, Connor Murphy, Gustafsson and a few kids. Gustav Forsling, Slater Koekkoek and Carl Dahlstrom have a combined 251 games of NHL experience. Also don't forget that a 19-year-old Henri Jokiharju, who should probably be here in a top-four role right now, is being asked to grow his game in Rockford. 1135162 Chicago Blackhawks

Four takeaways: Blackhawks tighten up on defense to get revenge on Stars

By Charlie Roumeliotis March 09, 2019 10:00 PM

Here are four takeaways from the Blackhawks' 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Saturday: 1. Team defense and revenge Two weekends ago, the Blackhawks had a prime opportunity to play themselves inside the playoff picture with games against Colorado and Dallas. They outplayed both of them, but didn't get the result. On Saturday, they did. The Blackhawks recorded 77 shot attempts (39 on goal) and allowed only 27 shots on goal, including just five in the third period when they were hanging onto a one-goal lead. Corey Crawford stopped all but one of them for a save percentage of .963. It's only the 10th time this season the Blackhawks held an opponent to 27 shots or fewer in a game. And it was also the first time since Dec. 21 that the Blackhawks held an opponent to one goal or fewer, a span of 30 games. A great team road win. 2. Fourth line turns in another strong performance Jeremy Colliton liked what the fourth line of David Kampf, Marcus Kruger and Chris Kunitz brought to the table on Thursday in a 5-4 shootout win over the Buffalo Sabres. He must've loved what they did two nights later. The trio connected for the first goal of the game, which was an important one considering the Blackhawks fell behind in their last meeting. Kampf scored a goal, Kunitz had a primary assist, seven shot attempts (a season-high five on goal), two hits and a takeaway while Kruger had a shot on goal and a takeaway. It's exactly what the Blackhawks are looking for out of their fourth line. 3. Secondary scoring starting to come The Blackhawks have been trying to roll a consistent four-line rotation all season long, but have found themselves relying heavily on their top horses because their bottom-six hasn't been as effective. But they're starting to get it. In the past four games, here's which Blackhawks have gotten in the goal column: Artem Anisimov (2), Alex DeBrincat, Erik Gustafsson, Kampf, Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Brendan Perlini (3) and Dylan Strome. That's eight different Blackhawks, three of which are defensemen. You'll notice Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews aren't on there. The Blackhawks are obviously at their best when they're producing, and now it's about putting it all together and getting contributions from everyone at the same time to see what the ceiling could be. 4. The Cat closing in on 40 goals After going goalless in his previous three games, DeBrincat got back on the scoresheet for his 37th goal of the season. He's now three goals away from 40 on the season with 14 games left. Only three players have reached the 40-goal mark so far this season: Alex Ovechkin (46), Leon Draisaitl (41) and Kane (40). It's not hard to envision DeBrincat joining that club, which is hard to believe he could get there in his second NHL season.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135163 Chicago Blackhawks The Blackhawks’ Corsi-for rate of 73.42 per 60 minutes was their fourth highest of the season. The other three came in either October or November. The Wraparound: Blackhawks believing, playing like they’re still in the “We answered the bell tonight,” Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. playoff chase “It was a big game for us. We needed to win. Pretty encouraging that we got the kind of effort we did. We competed really hard, and I thought up and down the lineup we made a lot of team decisions. Happy for the By Scott Powers guys.” Mar 9, 2019 Don’t think of the Blackhawks’ defense as fixed. For one, it was one game. For two, the Blackhawks still gave up a lot of quality chances Saturday. As well as the Blackhawks played defensively, DALLAS — A couple minutes before landing Saturday night I turned off they still allowed 19 high-danger chances. airplane mode on my phone, and a message came through. The Stars are a team that can create those great looks, but it’s obviously It was my hockey partner Mark Lazerus. He was wondering if I was going something that has plagued the Blackhawks this season and in recent to make it to the Blackhawks-Stars game on time after having multiple ones too. It has to be their greatest concern going forward. They just give flights canceled and another delayed from Denver. Considering the plane up way too many high-quality chances. The Blackhawks are last in the was still in the air, I didn’t like my chances. league with a rate of 13.99 high-danger chance against per 60 minutes in 5-on-5 play. They’re also last with a rate of 30.84 scoring chances I told him probably not, but I also wasn’t too worried. When was the last against per 60 minutes. time a Blackhawks game was decided early? My guess was the Blackhawks would either go up or down 2-0 early, then either rally or I honestly don’t know if that’s going to change much next season. The concede two goals, and I would just have to get to American Airlines Blackhawks’ biggest weakness is their defense, and that group probably Center for whatever happened next. isn’t going to be altered a whole lot. I can’t foresee Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook or Connor Murphy going anywhere. I think Erik Gustafsson will I got to the press box with about seven minutes remaining in the opening be around, considering what he’s done offensively and his low cap hit. period. I had missed two goals. (I did see one on my phone in the cab.) You would think Henri Jokiharju rejoins the NHL club to begin next The score was tied 1-1. I would have bet at that point there’d be another season. That leaves you with one defenseman, and that could be either five goals coming. Carl Dahlstrom, Gustav Forsling, Slater Koekkoek, Adam Boqvist, Ian Of course, I would have been wrong. The Blackhawks and Stars, two of Mitchell, Nicolas Beaudin or someone else. the more potent offensive teams, would score just one more goal, and it Regardless of who the final few defensemen are, I don’t think the would come later in that first period as Patrick Kane freed Alex DeBrincat defensive results are going to be altered much. There are limitations for a breakaway and DeBrincat put home his 37th of the season at 19:24. there. The Dahlstrom-Murphy shutdown pairing finds ways to get by, but For 40 minutes and 36 seconds, no other goal would be scored. it’s not always easy or pretty. Gustafsson was back on the top pairing At least, I did arrive in time to see the goal that mattered. Sunday, and he can still be an adventure in the defensive zone. Keith’s ice time should probably be reduced over the coming years to maximize The Blackhawks have been a gambler’s dream lately. If you bet the over his game. It was interesting Colliton played Seabrook 13:13 of 5-on-5 ice on most Blackhawks’ game these days, you were probably walking away time Saturday. There was a drastic difference between the first two with some money. pairings and Seabrook and Forsling as the third pairing. Before Saturday, the Blackhawks had played in 16 consecutive games So, what should the Blackhawks do? I almost think their best path to that had a goal total of seven or more. Going back even further, 23 of success may be to load up further offensively and try to be the highest- their last 24 games had included at least seven goals. scoring team possible. You look at the Toronto Maple Leafs. They give up a large number of scoring chances and they succeed. The Saturday’s game was the first to include fewer than four goals for the first Washington Capitals give up a lot of high-danger chances and find ways time since Dec. 21 against the Colorado Avalanche. That was also the to win. last time the Blackhawks held an opponent to one goal. They allowed more than one goal in 29 consecutive games. The Blackhawks are going to have money this offseason, and, yes, it would make sense to use it to upgrade their defense, but that’s easier This game might have meant something. said than done because a defenseman or two probably has to be dealt to It might not have. add on. So, why not add another top-6 forward and maybe another top-9 forward and become even more offensively dangerous? Shoot, one of It probably won’t. The standings indicate it’s likely too late. those young defenseman prospects might even be perfect to make the Blackhawks even more run and gun and fun. But the Blackhawks thought Saturday’s game mattered. They’re clinging to whatever playoff hope they can and will continue to until the math says We’re talking small sample sizes, but the lines of DeBrincat — Dylan otherwise. Strome — Brendan Perlini and Chris Kunitz — David Kampf — Marcus Kruger have looked solid the last few games. With that mentality, they went into Dallas believing they were playing in a must-win game. Considering that the Stars are still playing for something Perlini has really come on as of late, and that’s probably huge for his and the game was on the road, what the Blackhawks did Saturday was future with the Blackhawks. If he can factor into a top-9 spot, that’s one impressive. more option the Blackhawks have. Since returning to the lineup four games ago, he’s had a 59.60 Corsi percentage and been on the ice for “I thought it was a pretty hard-fought battle,” DeBrincat said. “It was a four goals for and two against. He had a 62.07 Corsi percentage and was close game obviously, playoff mentality for us. Those are two points we right around a couple great chances Saturday. definitely needed. We tried to be solid in the D zone and not let them score. Obviously, we did a good job and (Corey) Crow played pretty well. Chris Kunitz had a few chances against the Stars. (Jerome Miron / USA He stopped some Grade A chances. That’s great for us and good to get Today) the two points.” Kunitz and Kruger are likely playing their last games as Blackhawks, so Corey Crawford held the Stars to one goal Saturday. (Jerome Miron / their line is less about the future, but it has been effective the last few USA Today) games. It was on the ice for 10 shots on goal for and four against versus the Stars. It also went up largely against the Stars’ top line. What stood out the most to me was how the Blackhawks won the Corsi battle and won the game. You’d be surprised how rare that has been for Kampf could be a key piece for the Blackhawks for many years. He has a them this season. Since the Christmas break, a span of 29 games, the lot of the skills that made Kruger so important in those Cup runs. In Blackhawks have had a Corsi percentage greater than 50 percent and Evolving-Hockey’s model, Kampf has the lowest rate of expected goals won only three times. On Saturday, the Blackhawks had a 53.6 Corsi against per 60 minutes on the Blackhawks. Kruger is second. It would percentage and had 67 shot attempts for and 58 against in 5-on-5 play, help if Kampf improved his faceoff number. Faceoffs aren’t everything, according to Natural Stat Trick. but he was 2-of-10 on Saturday and is at 44.9 percent for the season. If he’s going to be a top penalty killer, you’d like that number to be higher. The Stars had a greater share of shots in the third period, which is expected with them playing from behind, but the Blackhawks also limited Kunitz hasn’t been the player he nor the Blackhawks hoped he would be their chances. The Stars had 16 shot attempts in 5-on-5 play in the this season. But Saturday, he finally played a big role. period and just five of them were on net. It was arguably his best game of the season. He set up Kampf’s goal, had seven shot attempts and five shots on goal and played 11:53, which was just the fourth time he played more than 10 minutes since November. He also came up big defensively throughout the game. I plan to write more about Kunitz in the coming weeks because this is probably his last season, but his performance Saturday was worth noting. I know he hasn’t been a fan favorite this season, but he’s another guy who is loved by his teammates. “He’s got a lot of experience,” DeBrincat said after the game. “When he’s in not in the lineup, he’s still giving some pointers to everyone. He’s obviously a great team guy. I think that’s why he’s played so long and has so much success. That’s a guy we definitely want to keep on our team. He’s a guy that motivates us every night.” Kunitz was named the No. 1 star Saturday. I’m pretty sure that hasn’t happened all season. Quick takes: Dylan Sikura looked more comfortable than John Hayden on that top line. Sikura helped create some chances, but he also factored into the Stars’ lone goal. Colliton sat Sikura at times and double-shifted Kane in his place. That was arguably one of Corey Crawford’s best games in a long time. He finished with 26 saves on 27 shots. It was the first time he held an opponent to fewer than three goals in his last 14 starts. It hasn’t been talked about much, but the Blackhawks need Crawford to get back to form if they’re going to get back into the playoffs next season. The Blackhawks are mathematically still in the playoff race. Through 68 games, they have 67 points. The Minnesota Wild are in the final wild-card spot with 74 points through 69 games. They’re followed by the Arizona Coyotes (73 points through 68 games) and Colorado Avalanche (72 points through 69 games). Monday’s game against the Coyotes is another must-win one if the Blackhawks want to keep their dream alive. A few more interesting numbers from Saturday: Murphy had seven blocked shots and Toews won 13-of-25 faceoffs while the rest of the Blackhawks were 8-of-31 from the dot. Finally, this didn’t result in a goal, but it was a pretty nice give-and-go play between Kane and Dominik Kahun. Kahun isn’t Artemi Panarin, but he has some Panarin-like traits that work well with Kane.

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Avalanche dominates Buffalo Sabres in first game without Gabe Landeskog

By MIKE CHAMBERS | [email protected] | The Denver Post PUBLISHED: March 9, 2019 at 4:55 pm | UPDATED: March 9, 2019 at 6:00 PM

Producing shots Saturday was no problem, and preventing them seemed similarly as easy. The Avalanche, minus all-star left wing and team captain Gabe Landeskog, put together one of its most complete game of the season before a sellout crowd of 18,052 at the Pepsi Center. In Landeskog’s first absence of the season, Colorado’s two other all-stars picked up the slack in a 3-0 triumph over the Buffalo Sabres. Star forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each scored and goalie Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves as the Avalanche remained in the Western Conference playoff hunt, now two points behind the Minnesota Wild for the final wild-card spot. Landeskog missed his first game after suffering an upper-body injury Thursday at Dallas. He is projected to miss 4-to-6 weeks, which would be the rest of the regular season. The Avs, who have 13 remaining games, outshot the Sabres 26-7 through two periods and 30-8 early in the third period before Rantanen scored a 4-on-3 power-play goal to double the lead. MacKinnon, who gave Colorado a 1-0 advantage with an unassisted goal 3:14 into the second period, assisted on Rantanen’s goal for his 25th multiple-point game of the season. He also assisted on Gabriel Bourque’s empty-net goal with 1:10 to play. “We’re a better team with Landy, obviously. It doesn’t need to be said,” MacKinnon said. “But it’s good that everyone stepped up. The problem with that is, we can’t forget that he’s not in the lineup. We need to have the same effort to try to fill that void. We can’t fill a 33-goal scorer and 80- something points. That’s elite in this league to be a point-per-game player or above. We can’t forget that it’s a huge loss for us.” Said Grubauer: “We did a lot of things right. I don’t think they had too many scoring chances other than the one breakaway in the first period. If we keep playing the way we played today it’s going to be really hard for teams. Obviously, a lot of great stuff today.” Rantanen’s goal was his 30th, joining MacKinnon (35) and Landeskog (33) as Colorado’s first trio of 30-goal scorers since the club’s inaugural season of 1995-96, when Joe Sakic had 51, Claude Lemieux 39, Valeri Kamensky 38 and Peter Forsberg 30. “We’re proud of it. It’s a good accomplishment for us,” MacKinnon said of becoming the Avalanche’s second trio of 30-goal scorers . “We want to be part of the solution, with new guys coming in and all that. We need to continue producing and winning. It’s a new era here. When Joe retired it was a tough 10 years, I think. I feel like now, we’ve drafted some good players and we’re only getting better.” The Avalanche is just one of two NHL teams with three 30-goal scorers. League-leading Tampa Bay has Brayden Point (37), Steven Stamkos (34) and Nikita Kucherov (31). The Avalanche continues its four-game homestand Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils visit the Pepsi Center on Friday and March 17, respectively, before Colorado plays the Wild in St. Paul, Minn., on Feb. 19. Footnotes. The Avs tied a season-low three-shots allowed in the second period. They also limited the New York Rangers to three shots in the first period Dec. 4. … The Avalanche finished 2-0 against Buffalo, outscoring the Sabres a combined 9-1. … Colorado is on a season-best three-game winning streak at home and is 5-0-1 in its last six at the Pepsi Center. … The Avs are 15-9-6 against the Eastern Conference.

Denver Post: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135165 Colorado Avalanche

5 Takeaways: Avs shutout Sabres behind strong performances from Grubauer, MacKinnon

By DJ Stanec March 9, 2019

Coming off of a tough loss, the Colorado Avalanche looked to respond Saturday afternoon against the visiting Buffalo Sabres. The Avalanche did exactly that, shutting out the Sabres, 3-0. With team captain Gabriel Landeskog out with an upper-body injury, Colorado needed its other top players to step up. Nathan MacKinnon was that guy as he led the Avalanche with three points, including an extremely difficult goal to get the party started. MacKinnon intercepted a pass in the neutral zone–got knocked down, but maintained possession–before stepping around the defender and roofing a wrist shot for Colorado’s first goal of the game. Colorado’s strong defensive play allowed the club to take a 1-0 lead into the final frame. In the third, Mikko Rantanen provided an insurance goal and the Avs added an empty-net goal as well in Philip Grubauer’s second shutout win on the season. What did we learn from this game? 1. No Landeskog? No problem. Okay, maybe a little problem but Colorado needed other players to step up in the absence of the veteran leader. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen led that charge with four points between the duo. Other players stepped up as well, like Carl Soderberg and Matt Calvert, who both ate minutes on the penalty kill in Landeskog’s absence. Tyson Jost and Derick Brassard also played a valuable role in forcing the issue on the forecheck as well. 2. Grubauer continued to look solid in net. While it seemed like he was only challenged once, on a breakaway, every shot he faced was handled perfectly. Grubauer didn’t give up any large rebounds, saw the puck through screens and also played the puck well when needed. He is showing that he just needed a little time to get used to his new surroundings and might give Varlamov a run for starting goalie down the stretch. 3. Colorado’s defense played much better than the Dallas game. The Avalanche blueline only allowed seven shots on goal through the first two frames and finished the game only allowing 18 shots total on net. Colorado also finished with 11 blocked shots, keeping the Sabres attackers at bay. 4. Tyson Barrie wears the “A” in Landeskog’s absence and proves why he is a leader for this team. Coach Bednar said, “The reason I gave him the letter is because he’s been engaged lately.” Barrie continued to look strong finishing the game with an assist, four shots on goal, and two blocked shots in 21:39 of ice time. 5. The playoffs aren’t out of sight yet. Somehow, this team is finding ways to hang on to the thought that they will be making the playoffs. Still, only 2 points out of the final wild-card spot, Colorado needs some help from Central Division rival, Chicago Blackhawks, who face off against the Dallas Stars Saturday evening. The Avalanche are 3 points behind the Stars, before the Central division matchup. Colorado returns to action Monday night at home against the Carolina Hurricanes. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM MST from the Pepsi Center. milehighsports.com LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135166 Colorado Avalanche Mikko Rantanen scored Colorado’s second goal of the game, giving him 30 on the season. It’s the second time in Avalanche history they have three 30-goal scorers. The first time came in the 1995-96 season when MacKinnon activates superstar mode in leading Avs to victory the Avs had four players hit the mark (Sakic, Forsberg, Lemieux, Kamensky).

There were three empty-net opportunities in the first couple of periods. BY AJ HAEFELE Carl Soderberg shut down Buffalo’s chance on their first PP with a stick lift and clear, Colin Wilson accidentally denied Tyson Barrie as they both MARCH 9, 2019 fought for MacKinnon’s centering pass, and Zach Bogosian lifted a stick on another opportunity. It was mostly good defense involved that

somehow saw three would-be goals not get scored. When you go on the road and have a virtual no-show against a division J.T. Compher is having a strong season overall but I’ve quite liked him rival whom you’re competing for a playoff spot with, it’s hard to have any lately. He was out there again flying around today and looking like a guy kind of response that makes you feel like it was just one game. That’s who belongs in this team’s top six next season. especially true when that road game costs you your captain, third-leading scorer, and most versatile two-way forward. Since being traded to Pittsburgh and then Florida, Derick Brassard has largely been asked to be a complementary player. Even in his time in And yet in the Avalanche’s first game without Gabriel Landeskog, they Colorado, he hasn’t been asked to be the main guy. Today, he got completely shut down the visiting Buffalo Sabres. With the game still in slotted next to MacKinnon and he responded by turning into a one-man question halfway through the third period, the Avalanche had given up firing squad. If that’s how he’s going to respond, he just might stick there just eight shots on goal. They ended up giving up just 18 all game as for a few games. Philipp Grubauer recorded his second shutout of the season in a 3-0 win. In fact, it took a very late flurry for the Sabres to outshoot the Brassard- “It was nice,” Nathan MacKinnon said of their defensive effort. “They MacKinnon-Compher line. The final total was 18 for Buffalo, 13 for the didn’t have their best game obviously but we did a really good job of MacKinnon line. Yikes. being committed. We wanted a really good start, everyone was ready to go. It was good, yeah. We had a good defensive start. They didn’t have Speaking of yikes, Rasmus Dahlin had one of those days where you’re many shots and it was kind of a tight game early, but we managed to get reminded he’s still just a teenager. He’s had a very good rookie season a couple.” and belongs in the Calder conversation but today he was on the other end of MacKinnon dismissing him for the game’s first goal. MacKinnon starred yet again as the absence of Landeskog forced the lines to get mixed up again and head coach Jared Bednar found the right Philipp Grubauer obviously wasn’t called upon much in his 18-save combination on that top line as Derick Brassard and J.T. Compher joined shutout but his save on Sam Reinhart’s breakaway in the first period with MacKinnon in a dominant effort. MacKinnon got the scoring off to a start the game still lacking a goal was huge. If Buffalo scores there, who early in the second period when he intercepted a pass, took a cross- knows how sideways this game ultimately goes. Instead, Grubauer shut check in the back from Jack Eichel, got up and danced Rasmus Dahlin the door and here we are. before beating Carter Hutton glove-side with a wrister, his 35th goal of the season. Speaking of Grubauer, it looks like the extended time off really did him some good. He looks refreshed and confident in net once again. He has “Dahlin kind of let up when I was on my knees,” MacKinnon said. “I don’t given up just two goals on the 79 shots he’s faced in his last three starts. know what he thought I was going to do with it but it was nice to get He has two shutouts in that time. The workload hasn’t been tremendous around him. The scouting report said high glove again so I just shot it overall as he faced just 18 shots today and 23 in his last start but he’s there.” very much trending in the right direction. Given the uncertainty of the goaltender position going into this summer, a strong finish to the season This was the second time in three games MacKinnon referred to a from Grubauer would go a long way to assuaging some of those fears. scouting report saying high on the glove side was the weakness to look to exploit. The last one was against Detroit and former Avs goaltender MacKinnon’s three-point afternoon moved him to 87 points on the Jonathan Bernier, who MacKinnon beat in that spot for the overtime season. It really goes to show what a special year he had last year that winner against the Red Wings earlier in the week. he’s still ten points behind that total but just five games from matching the 74 he played in last season. He could still catch that pace, of course, but “When it’s there, I like to shoot there anyway,” MacKinnon said with a looking at it really made me realize I might have taken last year’s chuckle. “I enjoy it when I can and it’s a good option.” performance for granted. The play was a turning point in the game as the clash of superstars was It took 42 games but Gabriel Bourque got his first goal of the season. I’ve won by MacKinnon, who went against both of Buffalo’s best in Eichel and said a lot of negative things about his game this year but I’m genuinely Dahlin, the stud defenseman selected first overall in last summer’s draft. happy for him. He’s a guy who works hard and maximizes his talent “I managed to get up a little bit. Like I said, [Dahlin] probably got caught every day and seeing him get a little reward in a trying season for him is by surprise a little bit,” MacKinnon said. “Usually, when guys are on their nice. He’s a good dude who deserves good things. knees they’ll just throw [the puck] but I saw some separation and took Personally, I will be very curious to see if Jack Eichel faces any discipline advantage of it.” from the league on his hit to the head of Carl Soderberg. Because While it was the first game for the Avs without Landeskog, it won’t be the Soderberg appeared totally fine, I’d be surprised if anything came of it but last as he will be out for the rest of the regular season at the very least. I agree with Bednar, who said postgame the hit was “all head.” I can Colorado has just 13 games remaining on their schedule. understand officials missing the severity of it live but with slowed down looks, the league office would not be in the wrong to give Eichel’s hit a “It’s just one game,” MacKinnon said. “We’re a better game with Landy, long look. obviously, and that doesn’t need to be said but it’s good that everyone stepped up. The problem with that is we can’t forget he’s not in the lineup and we need to have the same effort to fill that void. We can’t fill that 35- BSN DENVER LOADED: 03.10.2019 goal scorer who was on pace for 80-plus points. That’s elite in this league to be a point-per-game player or above it. For him to go down is a huge loss for us.” How the Avs mitigate that loss will be the key factor in determining if they manage to make the playoffs again this year. The win today put them two points behind Minnesota, who has also played 69 games, and three points behind Dallas, who has a less-nice 67 games played. For now, Colorado also jumped Arizona but the Coyotes play the LA Kings tonight, a game everyone in Colorado will be rooting for the Kings for a number of reasons. It may just have been one game, but it was a hell of an effort. Colorado is going to need a lot more like it to get where they want to be. Takeaways from the game 1135167 Colorado Avalanche Patrik Nemeth (B+) – Ibid. Philipp Grubauer (A) – I mean, he could have played the game in a recliner, but don’t forget about that breakaway save on Sam Reinhart Avs-Sabres grades: Smoke show when it was a scoreless game. It was his second shutout in the last three starts. Does he maybe get the next start, against Carolina? He was awesome against the Bunch of Jerks in Carolina earlier this year. BY ADRIAN DATER

MARCH 9, 2019 BSN DENVER LOADED: 03.10.2019

Mikko Rantanen (A) – I thought Mikko was excellent. That was a classic wait-him-out Mikko patience goal there in the third, on the PP. Mikko made Carter Hutton commit with his patience, then went top cookies. He became the third Avs player to hit the 30-goal mark, the first time that’s happened since 1995-96 (Forsberg, Sakic, Lemieux). Nathan MacKinnon (X) – Such a great goal he scored. Go back and watch it. He gets cross-checked from behind by Jack Eichel, gets back on his feet, still with possession of the puck, goes around a defender at the blue line and beats Carter Hutton top shelf from 30 feet. Might have been his best goal of the year. Also assisted on Mikko’s goal and on the empty-netter. He gets the fourth X grade I’ve ever given out – a game so good it was filthy. Derick Brassard (A-) – I thought Brasser was real good in his first game on a line, at left wing, with MacK. Had the puck a lot and he wasn’t shy in shooting it. Good defensively too. This is why the Avs got him at the deadline. He set a great screen on Rantanen’s goal that made it 2-0. That’s what he does. He goes to the net. Carl Soderberg (A-) – Too bad he took a dirty hit from Jack Eichel, a blindside hit to the head that might earn the Sabres captain a suspension. Good thing was, he got back up and played like Carl does – hard and tough and at both ends. J.T. Compher (A-) – He played a pain-in-the-arse game, always getting into it with some Sabre. I thought that helped get Sabres forwards off their game a bit. When you’re thinking more about getting even with a guy instead of playing hockey, you’ve already lost. Alexander Kerfoot (B+) – He made some nice passes today and skated well. Had a good day in the faceoff dot too. He needs to score some goals down the stretch, though, to take some heat off the top guys, especially with Landy out. Matt Calvert (B+) – Good game for Calvy. He was just tough around the net and on the forecheck. Gabriel Bourque (A) – He scored! He scored! Hey, an empty-netter, but the man scored. His first of the season, in his 42nd game. Sven Andrighetto (A-) – Like a lot of Avs, had excellent puck-possession numbers (9 Corsi for, 1 against). Yeah, it would be nice if he could find the scoring touch again, but baby steps. Colin Wilson (B) – Strong Corsi numbers, but not much when it came to offensive chances, etc. Andrew Agozzino (B) – Kind of the same thing I just said about Wilson. Only played 7:52 though. He did fine considering. Tyson Jost (B) – He kicked a puck backward that led to a breakaway the other way. Fortunately for him, he was bailed out by Grubauer. It was a bad pass by Sam Girard before the kick, but Jost needs to be smarter there. Otherwise, he was good. Nikita Zadorov (A) – Had monster Corsi numbers (23 for, 9 against). He single-handedly turned the game into a chippy affair with a big hit on Jack Eichel in the first period. It was a late hit, for sure, but it changed the complexion of the game in a good way for the Avs I think. Well, but here’s the thing: that might earn him a suspension too. We’ll see. Erik Johnson (A) – Just like I advocated in a column yesterday, EJ played a much more offensive game, jumping into the play a lot more than before. He had four shots on goal, the most he’s had in a game since Feb. 12. Sam Girard (A-) – Strong game I thought, even though he passed up a couple of good scoring chances for the extra pass. Tyson Barrie (A-) – A frustrating day for him personally in a sense, getting robbed a couple times on chances. But his Corsi was 22-8. Strong game. Ian Cole (B+) – Mostly solid game by a veteran D-man. He was part of an Avs core that gave Buffalo next to nothing today. 1135168 Colorado Avalanche LOADED: 03.10.2019 MacKinnon Grubauer lead Avs to 3-0 win over Sabres

Staff Report March 09, 2019 09:08 PM

DENVER (AP) - Nathan MacKinnon bounced up from a big check to score a nifty goal. That helped the Colorado Avalanche bounce back from the blow of losing their captain. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Philipp Grubauer stopped 18 shots for his second shutout of the season and the playoff-chasing Avalanche beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-0 on Saturday. Mikko Rantanen scored on the power play and Gabriel Bourque added a full-length, empty-net goal as the Avalanche played without captain Gabriel Landeskog, who's sidelined four-to-six weeks due to an upper- body injury. Colorado sits two points behind Minnesota for the final wild- card spot with 13 games remaining. "It's good that everyone stepped up," MacKinnon said. "We have to have this same effort to try and fill that void." MacKinnon made it 1-0 early in the second period when he was knocked down by a check in the back by Jack Eichel near center ice. MacKinnon quickly scrambled to his skates with the puck, glided past defenseman Rasmus Dahlin at the blue line and lined a shot over the glove of Carter Hutton. It was MacKinnon's 35th goal of the season. "A great shot," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We've seen it before and hopefully we see it a lot more." The Sabres dropped their fourth straight on coach Phil Housley's 55th birthday. Hutton turned back 40 shots in a game that was filled with plenty of minor skirmishes once the whistle sounded. "We are counting on our goaltender too much," Housley said. "He bailed us out too much." Rantanen's 30th goal of the season gave Colorado a 2-0 lead midway through the third and Bourque added his first goal of the season to wrap up the win. Grubauer made 11 of his saves in the third period as Colorado outshot the Sabres by a 43-18 margin. "If we keep playing the way we played today it's going to be really hard for teams," Grubauer said. "A lot of great stuff today." Eichel was frequently at the center of the action, drawing a penalty for an illegal check to the head on Carl Soderberg in the second period. That after Eichel was on the receiving end of a big check in the opening period. Eichel was skating along the boards when hard-hitting Colorado defenseman Nikita Zadorov hit Eichel in the shoulder area and knocked off Eichel's helmet. Buffalo players raced to the defense of their young center. Several players were sent to the penalty box for roughing, including Zadorov, who was drafted by Buffalo in 2013 before being dealt to Colorado two years later. "He hits me after they (expletive), excuse my language, they blow the whistle," Eichel said. "Whatever. ... They were more desperate than we were." Near the end of a scoreless first period, Sam Reinhart had a breakaway after he flew out of the penalty box following his elapsed penalty. He was stopped by the left pad of a sprawling Grubauer. "The key save for me," Bednar said. "That's something we have to have this time of the year. You need better than average goaltending and we got it today." The Avalanche were missing a big chunk of their offense in the absence of Landeskog, who was hurt Thursday at Dallas when he collided with Stars goaltender Ben Bishop. Landeskog has 33 goals this season. "Start to finish, that might have been our best game all year," defenseman Erik Johnson said. NOTES: Sabres D Jake McCabe (upper body) missed a third straight game. ... Colorado D Tyson Barrie recorded his 40th assist of the season. ... Colorado beat Buffalo 6-1 on Oct. 11. ...The only other Avalanche team to feature three 30-goal scorers was the 1995-96 club, which had four: Joe Sakic (51), Claude Lemieux (39), Valeri Kamensky (38) and Peter Forsberg (30). 1135169 Columbus Blue Jackets

Victory puts needed charge in Blue Jackets' playoff hopes

Michael Arace Posted Mar 9, 2019 at 11:39 PM Updated Mar 9, 2019 at 11:40 PM

The Blue Jackets beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. There, it has been written in your lifetime. OK, that’s a bit hyperbolic — but, golly, it has been a long time. The last time the Jackets posted a regular-season victory over the Penguins was Feb. 17, 2017. The last regular-season game the Jackets won in regulation against the Penguins was on Dec. 17, 2016. Remember that 7-1 romp just before Christmas? The streaks ended Saturday night in Nationwide Arena, where the Jackets drew away to a 4-1 victory before an electrified, sellout crowd. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky played like he doesn’t need a sports psychologist. Everyone knows about Bobrovsky’s playoff problems. They started with the Penguins in 2014. They continued with the Penguins in 2017. On Saturday night, Bob outdueled Matt Murray — one of the hottest goalies in the league over the past three months. He can say anything he wants about his process and his focus, but this game had to ease a particular pain buried deep in his hippocampus. “Statistics live in the past,” Bobrovsky said. “You go out there and you create history.” Yes, he was feeling it. Cam Atkinson had two goals, one unassisted and short-handed, the other an empty-netter. Two of the new guys — Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel — neatly set up the killer goal by Oliver Bjorkstrand. It put the Jackets up by two late in the third period and allowed the home fans, if not the usual contingent of Penguins fans on hand, to breathe. And to roar. The Jackets needed this for so many reasons. They are two games over .500 (and are maintaining a negative goal differential) at home this season. They are a game over .500 in this calendar year. They are 3-4 since the trade deadline, when they made deals that were supposed to jolt them with offense and deepen their defense. It has been depressing to the hard-core fans who thought the Jackets were a playoff lock before the deadline — and were stoked when general manager Jarmo Kekalainen went “all in” at the deadline. They’ve been filling Nationwide, hankering for some home cooking. They finally got a taste, against the hated Penguins. “I have so many things to worry about, I can’t get worried about the crowd,” Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “But I thought they were a big part of it. I thought they really gave us some juice. ... “You’re damn right. I think we’ve had a lot of situations where the crowd’s there and we’ve laid a lot of eggs this season. I’m glad. I think they helped us and I hope we returned it the right way for them. Because it’s a long time coming where we’ve had opportunities like this a number of times this year and we basically, uh, didn’t get the job done. I have other words for it, but I’ll leave it at that.” The playoff race is so tight among the teams fighting for a place among the top three in the Metropolitan Division, and for the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference, that the Jackets have just as good a shot as their closest competitors. Beating the Penguins, at home, injected some more hope. Are the Carolina Hurricanes better than the Jackets? Are the Montreal Canadiens, who had a tenuous hold on the No. 2 wild card heading into the weekend? If the Jackets have been mediocre for quite a spell here, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they could be out-mediocred by the Canes, Canadiens and maybe even the Islanders. In fact, it’s not a bad bet. The odds improved Saturday night. Who knows? Maybe the Jackets get hot. They are certainly due.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135170 Columbus Blue Jackets “We’re playing Pittsburgh tonight and you guys (media) can talk about the record. It doesn’t matter what the record was before. We never talk about it.” — Tortorella on the Penguins’ eight-game winning streak Settling in takes time for Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel against the Jackets before the game Saturday.

By Brian Hedger Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 03.10.2019 The Columbus Dispatch @BrianHedger Saturday Posted Mar 9, 2019 at 10:16 PM Updated Mar 9, 2019 at 10:16 PM

It has been two weeks since the Blue Jackets made a splash with trades to get Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel from the Ottawa Senators. It hasn’t been an easy transition for either, including a choppy flight from Ottawa that included a white-knuckle landing in Buffalo, New York, to clear customs. It’s been turbulent in other ways as the former Senators assimilate to life with the Blue Jackets. “You think it would be easy,” said Dzingel, who played for Ohio State. “You have it set up (in your mind) that you’re going to get traded and you know a couple weeks in advance, but it’s not (easy). It’s a new city, living in a hotel, you have family trying to get down to see you. Everything’s weird.” He means literally everything — from a new system to new roles and new teammates to living out of a hotel. “You’re trying to get all your stuff out of your old place (in Ottawa), wearing the same socks every day ... not really, but it’s a little bit different lifestyle,” Dzingel said. “You just have to get used to it.” It’s the first trade for Dzingel, 26, who is playing his fourth NHL season. Everything about the process is new. Duchene, 28, experienced life after a trade last season, when the Colorado Avalanche dealt him to Ottawa on Nov. 5, 2017. “Every team has different styles and systems, but at the end of the day, hockey’s hockey,” Duchene said. “For me last year, when I got traded to Ottawa, it took a little while for my teammates to get acquainted with me and vice-versa. It’s coming every game (here).” Time is the issue. The Blue Jackets have just 14 games left after playing the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, and they’re locked in a tight race for a playoff spot. Duchene went into the game with only three points in seven games as a Blue Jacket (one goal, two assists), and Dzingel had two assists in six games. “I’m getting there,” Duchene said, when asked if he’s feeling more comfortable. “Once pucks start to go in for me and my linemates it’ll feel even better, but sometimes you’ve got to work through that. It’s kind of the first little slump I’ve gone through this year, but I’ve been through it before.” Dzingel is also feeling more at ease. “The first couple games were weird,” he said. “At first, I came in here just trying not to step on anyone’s toes and make sure everyone’s OK, but you’ve got to put the pedal down and play your game, too. It’s definitely been a learning lesson for me in my first trade.” Upon further review Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella didn’t challenge the Penguins’ second goal for potential offside Thursday at PPG Paints Arena because neither he nor video coach Dan Singleton could find the puck in midair as it crossed the blue line. Two days after the Jackets’ 3-0 loss, he had a more definitive take. “I thought (Penguins goalie Matt Murray) played very well at certain times in the game, as (Joonas Korpisalo) did with us,” he said, before addressing the goal by Pittsburgh’s Nick Bjugstad. “The second goal’s offside, too.” Bob’s back After getting an unexpected night off Thursday in Pittsburgh, Sergei Bobrovsky returned to the Jackets’ net Saturday. Korpisalo handled the backup role and Keith Kinkaid was a healthy scratch. Quotable 1135171 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets 4, Penguins 1 | Sweet success for Jackets

By Brian Hedger The Columbus Dispatch @BrianHedger Posted Mar 9, 2019 at 9:49 PM Updated Mar 9, 2019 at 11:41 PM

They’d had enough of it. Oh, sure, the Blue Jackets clung to their claim that an eight-game losing streak against the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t mean anything to them, but their actions betrayed their words Saturday night at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets, who ended the skid with a 4-1 victory, put everything they had into their final crack at the Penguins this season — outhitting them 22-13, outshooting them 33-29 and finally outscoring them for the first time since Feb. 17, 2017. “Statistics live in the past, you know?” said Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who made some great stops among his 28 saves to overcome a personal struggle against the Penguins. “So, you go out there and you create the history, actually. That’s it.” This time, the Blue Jackets (38-27-3) created some happier history, for themselves and their fans nestled amongst Penguins fans inside the sold-out arena. They gave the local backers something to crow about, for once, moving back into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with an impressive effort from start to finish. The Jackets took it to the Penguins and didn’t let up until the final horn, getting two goals from Cam Atkinson and one each from Boone Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Bobrovsky, who was healthy scratch Thursday in the Penguins’ 3-0 victory at PPG Paints Arena, was a major factor, helping the Jackets go 3 of 3 killing penalties and allowing just one goal, by Zach Aston-Reese 6:39 into the second period. His teammates, meanwhile, played like the team most assumed they could be after adding four players before the Feb. 25 trade deadline. The Jackets were aggressive and physical, making assertive reads all game. They helped Bobrovsky with some heady plays in front of their net and made life difficult for Penguins goaltender Matt Murray (29 saves), who made three fantastic stops against Jenner in the first (lunging stick save), Markus Nutivaara in the second (desperate blocker stop) and Josh Anderson in the third (sprawling right pad denial). Jenner got one past him 2:31 into the game, though, 11 seconds after getting out of the penalty box, taking a pass from Anderson and burying a wrist shot past Murray for his 12th goal and Anderson’s 100th career point. It was the start of an exciting period, which had a mix of pushing, shoving, hard hitting and scoring chances — almost all in favor of the Blue Jackets. A Penguins power play in the second led to Atkinson’s first goal, and he scored the second one into an empty net to seal it, 2:12 after Bjorkstrand’s goal off a great pass from Ryan Dzingel. “We play like that, we’re a dangerous team and it can’t be a one and done,” said Atkinson, who set a career-highs with his fourth short-handed goal and 38th overall. “It’s exciting. Our fans are amazing, especially when we play the right way. And we owed it to them, especially against Pittsburgh.”

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135172 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets 4, Penguins 1 | Sweet success for Jackets

By Brian Hedger The Columbus Dispatch @BrianHedger Posted Mar 9, 2019 at 9:49 PM Updated Mar 9, 2019 at 11:41 PM

They’d had enough of it. Oh, sure, the Blue Jackets clung to their claim that an eight-game losing streak against the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t mean anything to them, but their actions betrayed their words Saturday night at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets, who ended the skid with a 4-1 victory, put everything they had into their final crack at the Penguins this season — outhitting them 22-13, outshooting them 33-29 and finally outscoring them for the first time since Feb. 17, 2017. “Statistics live in the past, you know?” said Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who made some great stops among his 28 saves to overcome a personal struggle against the Penguins. “So, you go out there and you create the history, actually. That’s it.” This time, the Blue Jackets (38-27-3) created some happier history, for themselves and their fans nestled amongst Penguins fans inside the sold-out arena. They gave the local backers something to crow about, for once, moving back into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with an impressive effort from start to finish. The Jackets took it to the Penguins and didn’t let up until the final horn, getting two goals from Cam Atkinson and one each from Boone Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Bobrovsky, who was healthy scratch Thursday in the Penguins’ 3-0 victory at PPG Paints Arena, was a major factor, helping the Jackets go 3 of 3 killing penalties and allowing just one goal, by Zach Aston-Reese 6:39 into the second period. His teammates, meanwhile, played like the team most assumed they could be after adding four players before the Feb. 25 trade deadline. The Jackets were aggressive and physical, making assertive reads all game. They helped Bobrovsky with some heady plays in front of their net and made life difficult for Penguins goaltender Matt Murray (29 saves), who made three fantastic stops against Jenner in the first (lunging stick save), Markus Nutivaara in the second (desperate blocker stop) and Josh Anderson in the third (sprawling right pad denial). Jenner got one past him 2:31 into the game, though, 11 seconds after getting out of the penalty box, taking a pass from Anderson and burying a wrist shot past Murray for his 12th goal and Anderson’s 100th career point. It was the start of an exciting period, which had a mix of pushing, shoving, hard hitting and scoring chances — almost all in favor of the Blue Jackets. A Penguins power play in the second led to Atkinson’s first goal, and he scored the second one into an empty net to seal it, 2:12 after Bjorkstrand’s goal off a great pass from Ryan Dzingel. “We play like that, we’re a dangerous team and it can’t be a one and done,” said Atkinson, who set a career-highs with his fourth short-handed goal and 38th overall. “It’s exciting. Our fans are amazing, especially when we play the right way. And we owed it to them, especially against Pittsburgh.”

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135173 Columbus Blue Jackets players changed the angle on shots. Sometimes, they moved laterally and either shot or passed the puck to an open teammate.

“They are a good team at blocking shots,” said Cam Atkinson, who How a Saturday morning adjustment paid big dividends in Blue Jackets’ scored a pair of goals. “You make a fake and walk around, and it’s streak-busting win amazing what it opens up.” In the second period, Atkinson was in the high slot and thought about By Tom Reed shooting. Instead, he drifted to his right as Evgeni Malkin plopped to the ice. Atkinson whipped the puck to Pierre-Luc Dubois, who fed it to Mar 9, 2019 Markus Nutivaara cutting to the net. Murray made a spectacular stop to rob the Finnish defenseman. COLUMBUS — Streaking into the attacking zone, Ryan Dzingel In the third period, a similar fake led to a power play as Penguins winger accepted a pass in the high slot from Matt Duchene and resisted his first Jake Guentzel was boxed for interference. impulse. “I thought we did a better job (of holding onto pucks),” Tortorella said, on The Blue Jackets winger wanted to shoot the puck. Load up the musket a night Pittsburgh finished with 10 blocks. with 3:02 remaining in a one-goal game and fire it from the top of the circles. The biggest payoff came on the Bjorkstrand clincher. Many fans in the sellout crowd expected a shot. So did Zach Trotman — Nutivaara did a marvelous job keeping the puck in the zone at the left the only Penguins defender between Dzingel and goaltender Matt point after Trotman attempted to clear it along the wall. The puck popped Murray. in the air and Duchene, who arguably played his best game with the Blue Jackets, gloved it to the ice and spotted Dzingel barreling into the zone. Hockey is an endless series of split-second decisions. The Blue Jackets winger had to make a big one at winning time. In that instant, Dzingel “I was going to shoot right away and (Trotman) went down to block it,” remembered a point of emphasis from Saturday morning’s meeting with Dzingel said. “I’ve been getting blocked a lot so I just tried to walk around John Tortorella and the coaching staff. him.” The subject was the Penguins’ penchant for blocking shots. They had On Thursday, Trotman took a puck to the face and barely missed a shift blocked 24 on Thursday in Pittsburgh’s 3-0 win against the Blue Jackets while recovering. Two nights later, the Penguins defenseman got his at PPG Paints Arena. ankles broken on Dzingel’s fake. Trotman stumbled and fell. “I had that in the back of my head, and luckily it worked out,” Dzingel In the NBA, such a clip goes viral. said. Once past the fallen Trotman, Dzingel still had a decision to make. Shoot The winger froze the Penguins defenseman, who had started to crouch the puck at Murray, who made a handful of tremendous saves, or pass it down, before stepping around him and feathering the puck to a wide- to Bjorkstrand. If the pass had failed to connect, the sound of a groaning, open Oliver Bjorkstrand, parked a few feet in front of the right post. second-guessing crowd would have been louder than a cannon blast. Murray had to respect Dzingel’s prime shooting position and was But the feed was true and the Danish winger tapped it home for his 14th helpless to defend Bjorkstrand’s tap-in goal. goal of the season to complete a perfect play. A nervy one-goal lead was replaced by a 3-1 advantage en route to a “That pretty much ended it,” Duchene said. “It was nice to get that one vital 4-1 victory in front of 19,146 fans. The win thrust the Blue Jackets before (the Penguins) pulled their goalie and not have to white knuckle it back into a playoff spot and snapped an eight-game losing skid to the to the end. It was a great play by Zing when he found Bjorky backdoor.” Penguins. It was a play that started with a great pinch from Nutivaara. It was a “That’s a really good play by Zinger at the end to (set up) a pretty finishing move that started with a productive Saturday morning meeting. important goal for us,” Tortorella said.

Adjustments. Sports fans are inundated with the word during the broadcasts of sporting events. New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 is considered the master of halftime adjustments in football. Steve Kerr makes terrific tweaks for his dynastic Golden State Warriors in basketball. They happen in hockey, too, but given the speed and free-flowing nature of the sport, they are sometimes more difficult to execute. There just aren’t many set plays other than faceoffs. But when the Blue Jackets arrived for morning skate, Tortorella addressed the bevy of blocked shots from Thursday’s matchup. The Penguins rank eighth in the NHL in blocks, averaging 15.25 per game. The selfless, painful sacrifice served them well in their recent back-to- back Stanley Cup triumphs. Blue Jackets fans should recall how effective Pittsburgh was early in the 2017 opening-round series when so many potential scoring chances caromed off Penguins’ shin pads and body parts. “They always have layers,” Tortorella said. “I know the coach over there. He’s always going to have layers blocking shots.” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was a longtime Tortorella assistant. With the Rangers, they turned shot-blocking into a black-and-blue art form in the 2012 playoffs. Poor Dan Girardi probably still has bruises from the second-round series against the Capitals seven years ago. Coaches often use video clips to illustrate their points in meetings. That was unnecessary Saturday morning. The Blue Jackets understood what Tortorella was saying without visuals. Comprehending it in a meeting is one thing. Executing it on the ice in the heat of a playoff race is entirely different. But on multiple occasions Saturday night, the Blue Jackets demonstrated restraint in key moments. They held onto pucks for an extra second as Penguins dropped to the ice anticipating shots. Sometimes, Columbus 1135174 Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matt Murray. Jenner beat Murray to his stick side for a 1-0 lead at 2:31.

The Jackets took a 2-0 lead on the kind of break that usually befalls the With so much at stake, Blue Jackets exact a measure of revenge vs. Penguins in these games. Phil Kessel, skating the puck up the ice on the Pens power play, simply tripped over his own two skates, allowing the puck to dribble ahead of him. By Aaron Portzline Atkinson gathered it, skated past the pile of Kessel and beat Murray for a 2-0 lead only 2:17 into the second. Mar 9, 2019 The Blue Jackets may be most excited about the 3-1 goal, scored by Bjorkstrand with 3:01 remaining. Not only was it a dagger for the Penguins, but it involved two of the club’s recently added players. COLUMBUS, Ohio — The phrase “must-win game” gets thrown around like parade candy this time of year. There’s less than a month remaining After a strong keep-in at the blue line by Markus Nutivaara, Matt in the 2018-19 regular season, and the NHL standings change Duchene gathered the puck on the left side half-wall and waited for dramatically from one day to the next. Every win a party, every loss a options. He fed Ryan Dzingel coming through the slot, and Dzingel funeral. weaved his way around a Penguins defender to set up Bjorkstrand on the doorstep. Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh was truly not a must-win game for the Blue Jackets, but it started to have a similar feel when you “We played better with the puck,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella considered all that was at stake. said. “Made more plays. The Blue Jackets hadn’t played well for a couple of weeks. GM Jarmo “You can see … still a number of guys are looking to get involved. But Kekalainen added significant players at the NHL trade deadline, but it two new guys … they want to be a part of this. They want to join in. almost seemed as if the team’s identity and confidence — not just its That’s a big goal by that line.” draft picks — were sent packing. The Blue Jackets needed a win. They needed two points. A win over the Penguins was important because the Blue Jackets were suddenly looking up to see the two wild-card teams in the Eastern But earning a win over Pittsburgh made it feel like more than two points, Conference. But it also mattered because the Blue Jackets hadn’t beaten even though Blue Jackets players and coaches (well, Tortorella) routinely Pittsburgh in more than two years. acted as if ending the eight-game losing streak was meaningless. The Blue Jackets finally brought it all together — their energy level, Jenner: “Didn’t even think about it, not gonna lie.” forechecking, strong goaltending and offensive confidence. Before Tortorella: “It’s a mental hurdle for you guys (in the media). You guys talk 19,147, the largest crowd in Nationwide Arena this season, the Blue about it all the time. I’m not trying to be a smartass. I really think … I Jackets beat the Penguins 4-1. don’t think they really think about that much. I know … you could see it “We’ve been building toward this,” Blue Jackets center Matt Duchene growing. It’s a really good game when these two teams play in either said. “We knew we needed to win this one. This was an absolute must- building. I don’t think that team gets wrapped up in it either, as far as how win, no doubt about it. many wins they have against us, whatever it is. When the puck is dropped, it’s two competitive teams that are developing that stuff, playing “(Beating Pittsburgh) is a little hurdle we had to get over. I felt like both some good games against one another.” games (including Tuesday’s 3-0 loss) we could have won against them. Tonight I felt like we were the better team from start to finish, and when Notebook we needed Bob (goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky) he was there and played Bobrovsky had been 1-7-3 with an .880 save percentage and 3.89 goals- great. Hopefully, something like this kickstarts us.” against average vs. Pittsburgh dating to April 4, 2017. Those numbers So ended an eight-game losing streak by the Blue Jackets against the include the first-round playoff series in 2017-18. Penguins, one that dated to Feb. 17, 2017. Here’s Bobrovsky: “Personally, I didn’t think about how many, what’s the Boone Jenner scored the all-important first goal, Cam Atkinson had two streak, how are the statistics in the past. … every game is a new game. I goals (short-handed and empty-net) and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored a prepare myself for the one game at a time, and that’s it. I didn’t think much-needed insurance goal late in the third. about last time we played them, didn’t try to watch the tape (to see) what they do. I tried to keep my mind clean and just try to compete against But it was Bobrovsky, whose struggles have mirrored (caused?) his these guys today.” club’s struggles against Pittsburgh in recent seasons, who was the revelation. He made 28 saves and looked perfectly composed against a Here’s Tortorella on Bobrovsky: “Bob has told me he’s mentally good. club that had beaten him in 10 of his last 11 outings. He’s physically good. Even if I played him in Pittsburgh, he’s good. I thought he looked … not a lot of extra movement. I don’t know a hell of a “It doesn’t really matter actually what’s been in the past,” Bobrovsky said. lot about goaltending. But I know the goalies I’ve had … and when I think “It doesn’t matter what the score was last time we played, stuff like that. It they look confident. Pittsburgh’s always around that net. Bob fought to doesn’t really matter. see the puck and made some saves that were harder saves than they looked like after he finished his business. He did a really good job. I “Statistics live in the past. You are to go out there and create the history.” thought he was really confident in how he played. He’s set. He’s set. He was a big part of it tonight.” The Blue Jackets set a physical tone early in the game, nearly sparking a line brawl five minutes into the game when Pierre-Luc Dubois brushed Bobrovsky, who is now 12-8-5 all-time vs. Pittsburgh, was given a night past Pittsburgh’s Patric Hornqvist, and Hornqvist responded by trying to off Thursday when the Penguins won 3-0 in Pittsburgh. Not just a night fight Dubois. as the backup, but an off night. He sat in the press box and watched the game while Keith Kinkaid served as Joonas Korpisalo’s backup. What followed was a telling scene for how the Blue Jackets approached this game: Artemi Panarin jumped in front of Hornqvist and gave him a Yes, Bobrovsky was very good. But Penguins goaltender Matt Murray, series of face washes before they were separated. who finished with 29 saves, was exceptional. “He had some unbelievable saves,” Bobrovsky said. “Like three, maybe four (unbelievable) saves.” “We played the right way for the first time in a little bit,” said Atkinson, Murray robbed Jenner of a second goal by making a paddle save in front who now has 38 goals. “It shows how well we can play, and we have to of an open net during the first period. He also went left to right so quickly continue to do that. in the second period that Markus Nutivaara, alone in front of the net, “We were connected, forechecking hard. We had two guys in there couldn’t believe he’d somehow brushed aside the puck. Nutivaara’s left battling, creating turnovers and hitting and playing the right way. We hand started up in celebration before he saw the puck at this feet beside were in the right spots.” the net. Jenner took a slashing penalty only 20 seconds into the game, but the Atkinson, with 38 goals, is now tied for the third-most single-season goals Blue Jackets killed the penalty with ease and took a 1-0 lead when in franchise history. Rick Nash had 38 in 2007-08. Nash also had 41 in Jenner stepped out of the box and into an offensive rush. 2003-04 and 40 in 2008-09. Anderson had two Penguins on him as he entered the attack zone, but Atkinson’s first goal was short-handed, his fourth of the season and 12th managed to get the puck over to Jenner for a clean look on Penguins of his career. Only Nash — him again — has more short-handed goals for the Blue Jackets (14). Jenner’s goal at 2:31 of the first period ended the Blue Jackets’ goal drought at 126 minutes, 39 seconds. The Jackets hadn’t scored since the first minute (52 seconds) of a 2-1 shootout win in New Jersey on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets got a beastly performance from their “identity line,” with Jenner, Nick Foligno and Josh Anderson setting a tone right from the start of the game. Anderson finished with seven shots on goal and seven hits to lead the way. Jenner had the 1-0 goal with assists from Anderson and Foligno. Panarin was slashed in the first period by Pittsburgh’s Zach Aston- Reese, drawing a penalty. Panarin continued to play, but he was spotted on the bench getting a numbing agent applied to his hand. The Blue Jackets had been 3-7-1 during sold-out games in Nationwide Arena this season, or 3-10-1 if you go back through the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring. The three previous wins were vs. Toronto, Ottawa and San Jose … not exactly on the list of most-hated opponents (yet). Here’s Tortorella, who has made clear his disappointment in this stat all season: “I don’t get too wrapped up in it. I can’t. I have too many other things to worry about. I can’t worry about the crowd. I thought they were a big part of it tonight. I thought they really gave us some juice. We’ve had situations where the crowd is there and we have laid a lot of eggs this year. I think they helped us, and I hope we returned it the right way for them. It’s a long time coming where we’ve had opportunities like this a number of times and we (pause) didn’t get the job done … I have other words for it.” The Blue Jackets’ penalty kill was perfect once again: 3 for 3, and scored a short-handed goal. When the Jackets acquired Ryan Dzingel at the trade deadline, his ability to kill penalties was mentioned as one of his strengths. So far, though, he’s seen limited time on the kill — 0:00 Saturday night — as he gets acclimated to the Blue Jackets’ hyper- aggressive style. Three of Duchene’s first nine games with the Blue Jackets have been against the Penguins. He’s gotten a quick taste of what the rivalry is about. “Tonight was fun,” he said. “There was a ton of energy in the building. In Pittsburgh, it was obviously a good crowd. Tonight I felt like our fans were outstanding for us. There’s obviously a good bunch of Pittsburgh fans in the building, so it creates a rivalry in the crowd. It was fun to play out there tonight.” Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist matched a career-low with a minus-4 rating, something he’d done only once before in his 704-game career. Analytically speaking The Athletic’s hockey data dynamo Alison Lukan provided these insights into the Blue Jackets’ loss: The Jackets came out strong in the first period, dipped a bit in the second, but then rebounded for another strong 20 minutes in the third to earn the win over Pittsburgh. On the whole, Columbus gained the edge in shot attempts (51.12 percent), scoring chances (51.77 percent) and high- danger attempts (56.09 percent) according to naturalstattrick.com. While the Jackets owned the offensive battles from a volume perspective, the Penguins had more quality looks. The expected goal total, according to Moneypuck.com, was 3.47 to 2.39 in favor of Pittsburgh. But Bobrovsky was a difference-maker. In 60 minutes of play, Bobrovsky’s save percentage was 3.73 above expectations given the shots he faced. That means he saved the equivalent of 1.53 goals against. It was a monster of a game for Atkinson. Not only did he score twice, but he led the team in shot share (66.67 percent) and scoring chances (70 percent). He also generated the best individual chances of the night. The All-Star had nine shot attempts, seven on target, and totaled 32.73 percent of the team’s quality chances.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135175 Dallas Stars

Stars 2019 playoff tracker: Where Dallas sits in the Western Conference standings (updated daily)

Staff Report By SportsDayDFW.com

The Stars need to finish in the top three of the Central Division or in the top two in the wild-card race to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. ROW -- regulation and overtime wins -- is the first tiebreaker for teams deadlocked in points with equal games played. Teams play 82 games. Here's the latest look at where the team sits in the standings. Central Division Wildcard Odds Making the playoffs: 81.1 percent (as of 3/9) Winning the Stanley Cup: 1.0 percent Odds via sportsclubstats.com. Sign up for our FREE Stars newsletter! Dallas' last 10 games Mar. 9 -- Loss, 2-1 to Chicago (Home) Mar. 7 -- Win, 4-0 over Colorado (Home) Mar. 5 -- Win, 1-0 over NY Rangers (Home) Mar. 2 -- Win, 4-1 over St. Louis (Away) Feb. 28 -- Win, 4-3 (OT) over Los Angeles (Away) Feb. 26 -- Loss, 4-1 to Las Vegas (Away) Feb. 24 -- Win, 4-3 over Chicago (Away) Feb. 23 -- Loss, 3-0 to Carolina (Home) Feb. 21 -- Win, 5-2 over St. Louis (Home) Feb. 19 -- Loss, 5-3 to Nashville (Home) Record: 6-4-0 Stars games this week (Mar. 10-16) Tuesday (3/12) at Buffalo (30-29-9) Record vs. Buffalo this season: 1-0 Thursday (3/14) at Minnesota (33-28-8) Record vs. Minnesota this season: 2-1 Friday (3/15) vs. Vegas (38-26-5) Record vs. Vegas this season: 0-2

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135176 Dallas Stars league and trailing by a goal. But according to Natural Stat Trick, Dallas created 10 scoring chances at 5-on-5 in the period, four more than Chicago's six. Stars notebook: Forward Radek Faksa returns to lineup; Dallas doesn't In the first two periods, Chicago held a 24-23 edge in scoring chances, draw a penalty in loss to Chicago and a 29-22 advantage in shots on goal. "We need to play better for the first 40," Stars forward Andrew Cogliano Matthew DeFranks said. "I think we got to give ourselves a better chance to win at this time of the year. I thought we had a decent push in the third, but that's going Contact Matthew DeFranks on Twitter: @MDeFranks to happen when you're down, right? It's more about the first 40. I don't think we were good enough for a team that's in our position and how we've been playing lately." Forward Radek Faksa returned to the Stars lineup during Saturday -- The Stars entered Saturday night with a chance for a perfect night's 2-1 loss to Chicago after a brief one-game absence with a neck homestand, having already beaten the Rangers and Avalanche earlier injury. Faksa was a game-time decision after participating in morning this week. The Stars hadn't swept a homestand of longer than two games skate and warmup. all season, despite their 21-10-2 record at the American Airlines Center. Faksa centered a line with wingers Andrew Cogliano and Blake Comeau. They primarily drew Chicago's line of Dominik Kahun, Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane. Dallas Morning News LOADED: 03.10.2019 "He was going to push himself here this morning, so we were going to check on that," Montgomery said before the game. "Everything looks like he will be a player, but again, we're being cautious." Prior to missing Thursday's victory over Colorado, Faksa was one of five Stars to play in every game this season. Faksa's injury was the result of a hit into the boards by Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad. As Faksa re-entered the Stars lineup, Valeri Nichushkin exited. Nichushkin hadn't been a healthy scratch in the last five games -- partly due to injury, partly due to his effectiveness defensively and shorthanded -- but joined Julius Honka and Jamie Oleksiak as healthy scratches Saturday night. Nichushkin has not scored a goal in his 48 games played this season. Montgomery moved rookie Joel L'Esperance from center to wing with Jamie Benn and Jason Dickinson. L'Esperance was with the Stars under an emergency recall and could have easily been sent down to AHL affiliate Texas when Faksa was healthy. Instead, the team chose to use one of its four post-trade deadline recalls to keep L'Esperance in the NHL. "I guess the best way to describe him is our entire staff finds him a hockey player," Montgomery said. "His details are good. He's hard in hard areas, net-front and blue lines. And he seems to always come up with pucks. That's because he has a good nose and his hockey sense is really good positionally." Break for Bishop: Despite shutouts in consecutive games, goaltender Ben Bishop did not start against the Blackhawks on Saturday night. Instead, Montgomery went with Anton Khudobin. After practice on Friday afternoon, Montgomery said he was leaning towards Khudobin despite Bishop's hot streak. "I don't think we can do that (ride Bishop) because Dobby's played so well," Montgomery said. "Dobby's won his last two games. Dobby hasn't gotten a lot of home starts. Dobby played great against Chicago. Chicago is not a dump-in team, so leaning towards playing Dobby against Chicago, and having Bish on the road." The rotation of goalies has been one of the strengths of the Stars this season, allowing both Bishop and Khudobin to stay fresh into the regular season's final month. Bishop started the three previous games before Saturday night, and only twice this season has started more consecutively. Powerless: Saturday was the second time this season the Stars did not go on the power play, unable to draw a penalty against the Blackhawks. Dallas also did not have a power play Dec. 13 at San Jose. "I think if you draw penalties, you play more with possession and you tire out the other team," defenseman John Klingberg said. "I think they did a pretty good job taking the puck out of our hands today. I feel like we rimmed or dumped a lot of pucks and then we were chasing it. We didn't get enough possession time. The few scoring chances we had came off possession. We have to be able to generate more possession time and grinding down low." The game effectively ended on a Stars penalty, when Jamie Benn was called for interference with 17 seconds left after he cross checked Connor Murphy in front of the Chicago net. Dallas' penalty kill went 3-for-3. Assessing the third period: The Stars only had five shots on goal during the third period, despite facing one of the worst defensive teams in the 1135177 Dallas Stars But that doesn't lessen the feeling that two points slipped away from Dallas on Saturday night.

"We didn't have the commitment," Montgomery said. "We weren't On magnificent night for Khudobin, Stars can't solve Blackhawks' off- together in our puck pressure. When I mean together, you didn't see five brand style of hockey guys-- puck was in the neutral zone, you didn't see five guys in the neutral zone. Our defensemen are at the top of the circles, forwards are not coming back hard. That doesn't stop and allow us to go back at pucks By , Sports Reporter Contact Matthew DeFranks on Twitter: like we did when we were in Chicago." @MDeFranks

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 03.10.2019 Characterized by odd-man rushes and transition offense, an absence of consistent goaltending and a middling record, the Chicago Blackhawks play hockey a little differently. Their brand is unique and uncommon, and on Saturday night, it handed the Stars a 2-1 loss. Chicago scored twice on the rush on Saturday night, negating a terrific performance from Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin and snapping Dallas' four-game winning streak. The Stars could have matched a season-high by winning their fifth straight game. Dallas is four points behind St. Louis for third place in the Central Division. They have a one-point lead on Minnesota for the first wild card spot, and a two-point lead on Arizona for a playoff spot. "We didn't have tons of energy," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "The first period wasn't bad. The second period, that's where I kind of thought the game got away from us. They outskated us, they kind of skated us into the ground. Third period, we were smarter, but we still couldn't generate. We didn't have enough oomph in us tonight." Alexander Radulov scored again Saturday night after his first career hat trick against Colorado on Thursday night. Khudobin made 37 saves in defeat, but denied the Blackhawks on post-to-post saves often, including a magnificent save on Dominik Kahun at the end of the second period. David Kampf and Alex DeBrincat scored for the Blackhawks, and both goals came in transition. "I thought they did a pretty good job of stretching the zone and it seemed like our forecheck, we couldn't really keep pucks in," Stars forward Andrew Cogliano said. "They were doing a good job of rimming pucks by us. It's tough for our D to stay up. It's tough to really create a sustained forecheck. I thought they played a pretty good game at doing that and they were effective at it for most of the night." Kampf led a 2-on-1 rush with Chris Kunitz in the first period after a Stars turnover at the blue line left Roman Polak as the only defenseman to prevent a goal. Kampf slid a pass to Kunitz. Kunitz returned it. Kampf beat Khudobin five-hole. On DeBrincat's goal, it started with Tyler Seguin's blocked shot, allowing the Blackhawks to get out in transition. Patrick Kane led DeBrincat across the blue line with a pass, allowing him to separate from a trailing John Klingberg and beat Khudobin blocker side. It gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead with 36 seconds left in the first period. It's all part of the plan for the Blackhawks, who often cheat for offense in hopes of creating an odd-man rush. "Very unique, very different," Montgomery said before the game. "Very organized with the puck, and I think if you're just watching it, it looks like they're just playing hockey. But they're doing it with a purpose, and there's a lot of speed and a lot of support to the puck when the puck goes north or east-west. And defensively, it's a different style of play than what you typically see in the NHL." In the first meeting between the two teams, the Blackhawks jumped out in transition early and often and scored five goals in a game that the Stars otherwise controlled. According to Natural Stat Trick, Dallas had more scoring chances and more high-danger ones that night but still lost. Saturday night played out similarly. "They're always carrying their speed," Montgomery said. "You don't see a lot of hits. They're always carrying their speed. They're okay if you beat them, like if you hold on to the puck, they're okay, but they have somebody else coming right behind that person. It's just a different way that isn't typical. It's more of a European style. Even the way they play with the puck, I term it very much like the Russians." The Stars won't have to worry much about this style as they hunt down a playoff spot. Dallas plays Chicago only once more the rest of the season, and other teams haven't replicated Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton's style. Against Minnesota or Colorado, they won't have to worry about it. 1135178 Dallas Stars Later in the period, Alex Debrincat got loose on a feed from Patrick Kane and scored his 37th goal of the season to make it 2-1.

6. What’s it like playing against Chicago’s attack from a goaltender’s Stars 20/20: Khudobin keeps it close, but Blackhawks’ rush ends Dallas perspective? win streak “Some of the chances they create, sometimes it felt like we just being like a tale, going just behind somebody instead of just picking up the guys,” By Sean Shapiro Khudobin said. “They play a pretty skilled game and if we’re facing a team like this, then we have to play skilled defense.” Mar 9, 2019 7. On the other end of the ice, Corey Crawford had a rather easy 26-save night. The Dallas Stars’ four-game win streak was snapped in a 2-1 setback He did have a timely poke check on Miro Heiskanen in the third period, against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. but overall the goalie didn’t have to do too much work with the Stars failing to generate quality offensive opportunities. Alexander Radulov scored the lone goal for the Stars, who were wrapping up a three-game homestand. One thing of note for the goalie, I thought he might get pulled by the concussion spotter in the second period after a collision with his own 1. This isn’t how the Stars wanted the winning streak to come to an end. defenseman. The goalie was a bit slow to get up and seemed a bit off for a couple of minutes, and for someone with his concussion history that After winning four in a row and five of six, the Stars looked like they were might have been a sign he should have at least been checked out. zapped of all energy against the Blackhawks. 8. The Stars’ lone offensive bright spot came when Radulov scored in the It was a problem throughout the game and the Stars never really got first period. going, but it was most noticeable in the third period. Roope Hintz did a nice job winning the battle on the left side of the ice Trailing by one goal in a very winnable game during the stretch run to the before the puck made its way to Tyler Seguin, who found Radulov in front playoffs, the Stars had only five shots on goal and only one in in the final of the net with a bit of a shot-pass that the Russian was able to corral 13 minutes of regulation. and work around Crawford for his fourth goal in the past two games. That’s not a good formula for winning hockey. At the time of this writing, Hintz hadn’t received a secondary assist on the 2. Anton Khudobin was tremendous. play. A Blackhawks player may have touched the puck before it got to Seguin, but I’m surprised that Hintz didn’t get official statistical credit for The goalie faced high-quantity and high-quality chances throughout the his work to set up the goal. game. He turned away 37 of 39 shots, was only beaten on a pair of rushes in the third period and routinely created moments that could have 9. For the second time this season, the Stars didn’t have a power play in been sparks for the Stars. the game. That’s unfortunately been a somewhat common theme for the goalie this It’s a slight microcosm of one issue that has plagued the Stars all season. Somehow with how well he’s played, he has an under-.500 season: They don’t do enough to draw penalties. record at 13-14-3 after Saturday. “Yeah, I mean, we try and I think if you draw penalties, you play with 3. Khudobin had quite a few saves for the highlight reel, but I think I’d more possession and you tire out the other team,” Klingberg said. “I think end up picking his stop on Dominik Kahun late in the second period as they did a pretty good job taking the puck out of our hands today and feel his best. like we rimmed or dumped a lot of pucks and then we were chasing it and we didn’t get enough possession time.” 4. Throughout the season the Stars have excelled at defending against the rush. 10. Chicago didn’t draw any penalties, either, but the Blackhawks were gifted three power plays by the Stars. But things are different when the Stars play the Blackhawks, who play a high-risk, potentially high-reward style that looks to creates rush Dallas had a pair of delay-of-game penalties, which were partially bad opportunities. It’s a style that is fun to watch for the casual fan. The luck, and with 17 seconds remaining, Jamie Benn cross-checked a Blackhawks create quite a bit, but they also let up many grade-A Blackhawks player in front of the net and was called for interference. opportunities as well. It was a bad penalty by Benn, who delivered a rather textbook cross- The Chicago approach was a point of discussion at the morning skate. check into the back of Connor Murphy. “Very unique, very different; very organized with the puck, and I think if 11. Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen have been paired together the past you’re just watching it, it looks like they’re just playing hockey but they’re couple of games and it’s created a potentially dynamic top pairing moving doing it with a purpose and there’s a lot of speed and there’s a lot of the puck. support to the puck when the puck goes north or east-west,” Stars coach The downside, however, is that the second pair takes a hit when it comes Jim Montgomery said. “Defensively, it’s a different style of play than what to their ability to get the puck out with possession and through the neutral you typically see in the NHL. zone. “They’re always carrying their speed. You don’t see a lot of hits, so Roman Polak and Esa Lindell can work well together in certain situations, they’re always carrying their speed. They’re OK if you beat them, like if but I’m still of the mindset that the Stars are a better overall team if you hold onto the puck, they’re OK because they have somebody else Heiskanen and Klingberg are on separate pairs. When those two are coming right behind that person. It’s just a different way that isn’t typical. split, the Stars have close to 45 minutes per night of having an elite-level It’s more of a European style, like even the way they play with the puck. I puck mover on the ice at the blue line. term it very much like the Russians.” 12. The Stars began the game with this lineup as Radek Faksa returned On Saturday, as they had in the prior meeting in Dallas, the Blackhawks after missing one game with a neck injury. were up and running and attacking on the fly. Roope Hintz – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov “We didn’t have the same commitment, we weren’t together in our puck pressure and what I mean together is you didn’t see five guys — puck Andrew Cogliano – Radek Faksa – Blake Comeau was in the neutral zone, you didn’t see five guys in the neutral zone,” Montgomery said. “Our defensemen are at the top of the circles, forwards Jamie Benn – Jason Dickinson – Joel L’Esperance are not coming back hard so that doesn’t allow us to stop and go back at pucks like we did when we were in Chicago (on Feb. 24), which led to a Mattias Janmark – Jason Spezza – Brett Ritchie lot of odd-man rushes for us.” Miro Heiskanen – John Klingberg 5. That’s what happened on both goals in the first period. Esa Lindell – Roman Polak Chicago opened the scoring on a two-on-one rush for David Kampf and Taylor Fedun – Ben Lovejoy Chris Kunitz, where Roman Polak wasn’t able to thwart the odd-man chance. Khudobin nearly made the save, but the puck just trickled through as he went from right to left. 13. With Faksa healthy, the Stars had a decision to make on L’Esperance since he had been recalled under emergency conditions and they officially entered Saturday with 13 healthy forwards. The Stars decided they were better with L’Esperance in the lineup, electing to scratch Valeri Nichushkin instead of sending the rookie forward to the AHL. The Stars now have three non-emergency recalls remaining for the duration of the regular season. Overall, it’s a great sign for L’Esperance, who is doing his best to solidify an NHL roster spot for both the end of this season and the 2019-20 campaign. 14. Montgomery expanded a bit more on what L’Esperance has shown in his time on the NHL roster. “I guess the best way to describe him is our entire staff finds him a hockey player,” Montgomery said. “His details are good, he’s hard in hard areas, net fronts and blue lines, and he seems to always come up with pucks and that’s because he has a good nose and his hockey sense is really good positionally.” 15. Heiskanen had a couple of shifts where he looked like a rookie defenseman. That’s been slightly more common this season, likely a side effect of the 19-year-old logging massive minutes and playing more games than he ever has in the world’s best league. 16. It’s hard to believe Kunitz had only 11 minutes, 52 seconds of ice time. The forward was a force in the game whenever he was on the ice. 17. It’s a special week for Lovejoy, who has his family with him in Texas for the first time since getting traded to Dallas before the deadline. Lovejoy’s wife and two daughters flew from New Jersey to Texas on Friday and will spend the next three weeks in Dallas. Lovejoy’s oldest daughter is in preschool, which made it easier to plan a trip like this. Had his kids been older, spending much time in Texas would have a difficult logistically, especially with Lovejoy’s future as an unrestricted free agent this summer. 18. In a move that works out well for both sides, the Stars signed Justin Dowling to a two-year, two-way contract extension Saturday. Dowling will make $750,000 in the NHL and $375,000 on the AHL portion of his contract. I believe it’s the largest contract the Stars have ever given on the AHL portion of a two-way contract. While Dowling gets well-compensated for his role as AHL leader and potential swing call-up to the NHL, the Stars keep a player in the system who is a key cog for the Texas Stars and has helped build a winning environment for the Stars’ prospects in Cedar Park. 19. After the game, the Stars shook the hand of referee Brad Watson, who is retiring after this season and was working his final game in Dallas. “Those guys are working hard, too, so it’s a big congratulations for Brad and it’s only the right thing to do to congratulate him,” Cogliano said. “It’s a lot of years, so wish him nothing but the best.” Watson is 57 and in his 23rd NHL season. 20. Here is how the Stars did when it came to Montgomery’s process: Win 56 percent of faceoffs: Passed. The Stars won 63 percent of the draws. Zero undisciplined penalties: Failed. Benn’s penalty at the end was unwise. Three or fewer odd-man rushes: Failed. Win net-front battle: Failed. Win special teams: Passed. It wasn’t much of a win, but it was a win nonetheless.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019

1135179 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings unable to keep up with NHL's best, lose to Tampa Bay

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press

Published 9:56 p.m. ET March 9, 2019

TAMPA, Fla. — The Detroit Red Wings managed to keep it close as they took on the best team in the NHL.

Facing off against the playoff-clinched Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at Amalie Arena, the Wings fell behind early but didn’t collapse. The Wings lost for the 14th straight time to the Lightning, but the 3-2 final will at least help the Wings’ draft lottery odds.

Thomas Vanek pulled the Wings within a goal late in the second period when he tipped Niklas Kronwall shot. Jonathan Bernier stoned Yannick Gourde twice during a Tampa Bay’s third power play, that was among several stellar saves Bernier made in the third period. Anthony Mantha took a pass from Kronwall and used Vanek as a screen to make it 3-2 with 56 seconds to play in regulation.

Nikita Kucherov scored twice to reach 110 points on the season.

Lightning score early

The Wings fell behind three minutes into the game when Ryan McDonagh fired a shot from the blue line through traffic. The goal horn sounded again a few minutes later but officials immediately waved off the goal, and video review showed Victor Hedman’s shot never crossed the goal line. Video replays of the goal that made it 2-0 showed a stunning lapse in judgment as Kucherov was left wide open in front of the net, leading to his 32nd goal of the season. Both Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley were tied up behind the goal line, and Andreas Athanasiou did not cover Kucherov.

Zadina watch

Filip Zadina made his sixth appearance of the season, playing on a line with Frans Nielsen and Vanek and also on Nielsen’s power play unit. Zadina forced two saves from Louis Domingue on wrist shots in the second period, and looked confident skating with the puck during the second power play, making a play to get the puck to Nielsen. Zadina got the Wings their third power play when he drew a high-sticking call on Mathieu Joseph. Zadina earned his first NHL assist when he had a hand in Vanek’s power play goal

Vanek strikes

Vanek netted his 13th goal of the season with one second left on the Wings’ fifth power play. Vanek was to the right of Tampa’s net when Niklas Kronwall fired a shot from the blue line, and Vanek managed to tip the puck to pull the Wings within 2-1, with four seconds left in the second period. It was Vanek’s 47th career point (29 goals, 18 assists) in 48 career games against the Lightning. It was also his third point in three games since returning from a sore hip.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135180 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings want Filip Zadina 'to look dangerous offensively'

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press

Published 3:06 p.m. ET March 9, 2019

TAMPA, Fla. — The Detroit Red Wings love him for his shot, but there’s dimension to what Filip Zadina brings.

It took two games for him to start looking more like a threat to score, to start showing off his quick release. But Zadina has made plays, too, a sign he’s already figuring out how to translate his assets to the NHL level.

“I would say 100 percent I feel pretty good, I feel confident in my head, and that’s why I’ve played way better than I played the first game,” Zadina said after Saturday’s morning skate. “I feel great with the puck, confident, and I want to create chances for my teammates.”

Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena was to be Zadina’s sixth since being called up Feb. 23. Coach Jeff Blashill complimented Zadina’s growth over the first five games, especially how dangerous Zadina looked the previous three. Zadina scored his first NHL goal Tuesday at Colorado.

“That to me is the biggest thing — I want him to look dangerous offensively,” Blashill said. “I think he’s a a pretty complete player for a young, young guy — he stops on pucks, blocks shots, plays pretty good D. I wanted to make sure he’s real confident with the puck and I think as he’s gone through this, he’s gotten more and more confident making plays, finding ways to create space. I think it’s positive steps in the right direction. It’s certainly good for our organization.”

The Wings selected Zadina, 19, at sixth overall in the 2018 draft, thrilled he’d fallen to them. They see him having potential to become a dynamic scorer. Zadina tries to model his game after Lightning star winger Nikita Kucherov. Zadina is not a fast skater, but he’s wily with the way he darts around down low, and while the Wings want him to shoot the puck, he can distribute it, too.

“Some wingers are just pure shooters,” Blashill said. “They just wait for a centerman to give them the puck. Some wingers control the play like a centerman. I think Filip is somewhere in-between there where he looks like a guy who not only has a real good shot but can control the puck enough and make enough plays.

“A lot of that comes from confidence. But some of it is just a learning process and learning how to create space. He’s not super fast, and he’s not super big, so he has to create space with his mind and he has to create space with his edges. He’s real quick in cut-backs and that and I think he’s done a good job of learning how to create that space.”

This is a small audition for Zadina, as he’ll be limited to nine games to avoid triggering the first year of his entry-level contract. He’s looked at home playing with Andreas Athanasiou, as well as with Thomas Vanek. Vanek has the added benefit of being a former highly touted draft pick himself (fifth overall, 2003), he’s a big believer in communication, and he’s able to speak to Zadina in his native Czech.

“He does a lot, he tries to help me on the bench, on the ice, off the ice,” Zadina said. “He’s a good guy so it’s huge for me to play with him.”

Ideally Zadina returns to Grand Rapids and shows signs of dominating at the AHL level, indicating he may be ready to push for a full-time job with the Wings as soon as next season. He has a great attitude about him — there’s no sense of entitlement — and has done a good job heeding what the Wings have asked of him since being sent to the minors after exhibition season.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135181 Detroit Red Wings The current players and coaches wore dark suits, which was somehow fitting.

“Ted Lindsay, if he were at this event, he would wear a shirt and tie — Spirit of Hockeytown glows at Ted Lindsay viewing. And it was stunning out of respect,” former Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson said. “I just talked to his daughter. She said, ‘Our dad would wear a shirt and tie to the bathroom if he thought it was important enough.’ ” Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press The players stopped and looked at tables filled with trophies. Published 7:13 p.m. ET March 8, 2019 | Updated 9:53 a.m. ET March 9, 2019 One of the tables held the Ted Lindsay Award, formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, which is awarded annually to the NHL's most outstanding player, as voted on by the players.

A solemn red light glowed inside Little Caesars Arena on Friday morning, And that’s probably all you need to know about Terrible Ted. like someone had cut through the heart of Hockeytown, as the entire Detroit Red Wings team and coaching staff walked slowly down a red He was a living legend who was always around. carpet toward Ted Lindsay’s casket. This moment was the essence of the Wings, the essence of Hockeytown.

There was a display of red roses in front of the casket — from the Ilitch The current group of players learning from past greatness. family, the franchise owners — during a public memorial visitation, honoring Lindsay, who died Monday at age 93. “I can’t say enough how Ted carried himself and his presence around our hockey team and our organization, it’s something very special,” former “We are celebrating an icon,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said. Red Wing Kris Draper said. “But I also think it’s not only what the players do on the ice — and that’s the most important —- but it’s what they do off the ice. How they lead One year, Wings coach Jeff Blashill was getting ready for training camp. their life. How they give back. That’s what Ted did. He gave back.” “What are you doing?” Lindsay asked. Red and white banners hung above the casket, creating the perfect backdrop and tribute to one of the greatest players in team history. The “Mr. Lindsay, we are getting ready for training camp,” Blashill said. “We banner that was raised when Lindsay’s number was retired was are getting our message ready." positioned directly above the casket. The banner itself was brought out of “He said, ‘Coach, you just tell them, if they go into the corner with another retirement, special for this moment, after it had been used in Joe Louis guy, and if they don’t come out with the puck, they are a horse-(crap) Arena. And that banner was sandwiched between four Stanley Cup hockey player.’ And I thought that was awesome. It was true in 1950 and banners that Lindsay played a role in winning for the Wings. it’s true today. And that was my first message to our team.’ "

To the current players, Lindsay was not some forgotten star in the history Mourners visit the casket of former Detroit Red Wings player Ted books. Lindsay at a public viewing, Friday, March 8, 2019, in Detroit. Lindsay Lindsay was the guy who was working out in the weight room, well past pioneered the first NHL hockey players' union despite intense opposition his 80th birthday. from team management, began the tradition of taking the Stanley Cup closer to fans by skating it around the ice and refused to attend his own He was a man of courage and conviction, who played a major role in Hall of Fame induction ceremony because only men were allowed. forming the players union. Lindsay died Monday at the age of 93.

Mourners visit the casket of former Detroit Red Wings player Ted Lindsay At the far end of the receiving line, there were several tables that at a public viewing, Friday, March 8, 2019, in Detroit. honored Lindsay's charity work. He was a force in the community, and those are important lessons for these young Wings. He was the guy who would walk around the dressing room and greet players by their full name. “Today is a celebration of an incredible life,” Holland said. “Just as important, off the ice. What he meant to this game, to this sport, to this “Myself, it wouldn’t be Nik; it would be Niklas,” Niklas Kronwall said. “And city. The respect that he gave and got. The passion he had for the sport, he took the time to talk to each player. It didn’t matter if you were Nicklas the passion. He was a fierce competitor. Great role for so many people.” Lidstrom, or someone barely playing. He made everyone feel great about themselves.” This was an important moment for this young hockey team. It is how the spirit of Hockeytown gets passed from one generation to the next. Lindsay, a Hall of Famer, was the guy who would call Henrik Zetterberg on the phone to talk about the team. You could feel it.

Always on the landline, never his cell. You could see it.

“Over the years, we got closer and closer,” Zetterberg said. “I think he As the players passed the casket, in the red glow. meant a lot, just coming in the locker room, too. He was so involved in the team. He always knew what was going on. If you needed a confidence boost, he was there for you.” Detroit Free Press LOADED: 03.10.2019 Zetterberg, who retired in September, became emotional talking about Lindsay.

“We are celebrating a legend, a true gentlemen, and he will be missed,” Zetterberg said.

When Zetterberg had surgery on his back, Lindsay was one of the first to call him.

“He called my wife and asked how Henrik is,” Zetterberg said. “She said, ‘He wasn’t really woken up, so I don’t really know.’ ”

About 20 of Lindsay’s family members lined up near the casket and greeted everyone who visited. As the players and coaches paid respects to the family, it wasn’t a quick, empty greeting. There were long conversations.

“I thought it was a great time, this morning, to get a chance to be up close and meet his family and pay our respects,” Kronwall said. “The legacy he leaves behind is amazing.” 1135182 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings lose to Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2

Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press

Published 9:51 a.m. ET March 9, 2019 | Updated 9:48 p.m. ET March 9, 2019

Detroit Red Wings (24-33-10, 58 points) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (51-13- 4, 106 points)

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla.

TV: Fox Sports Detroit.

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

Game notes: Two teams going in opposite directions. The Wings are nearing the worst record in the NHL while the Lightning, which still get input from Steve Yzerman, are the highest scoring team in the league with the best record. No Dylan Larkin or Mike Green tonight, making the long odds for points even longer.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135183 Detroit Red Wings An apparent Steven Stamkos goal in the third period was erased by video review, as Tampa was offside.

But Kucherov made it 3-1 with a quick shot at 13:53 of the third period, Red Wings fall behind early, can't overcome league-leading Lightning effectively ending any potential Wings rally.

For Kucherov, the two goals gave him 33 goals and 110 points — Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News establishing a new single-season point mark in Lightning history.

Published 9:57 p.m. ET March 9, 2019 | Updated 11:18 p.m. ET March 9, “He’s a superstar,” Blashill said. “Even on a night where he doesn’t play 2019 his best, he’s dangerous as can be. He’s a guy, if you want to be a great player, that’s a great measuring stick. He’s one of the best in the league.”

Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) and Detroit Red Wings left wing Justin Abdelkader (8) fight during the first period. Detroit News LOADED: 03.10.2019

Tampa, Fla. — A lot of the young players on the Red Wings had an opportunity Saturday to measure themselves at this point in this career against the best team in the NHL.

What they found playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning is that they’re still a ways from being even with them.

The Lightning took an early lead, then kept the Wings at bay, winning 3- 2.

It was the Lightning's 14th consecutive regular season victory over the Red Wings, dating to February 2016.

“It’s really frustrating,” said forward Anthony Mantha, who scored a late goal, talking about the losing streak against the Lightning. “It started pretty much the whole time I’ve been here. It stinks we can’t win against these guys.

“I don’t know what it is. (Goaltender Jonathan) Bernier played an unbelievable game, he probably saved four or five goals against. We couldn’t build anything offensively, we didn’t grind in their zone like we wanted.”

The Wings (24-34-10) lost their ninth of the last 10 games (1-6-3).

Mantha sored with 56 seconds left, cutting the lead to 3-2. Thomas Vanek scored on a deflection with 3.1 seconds left in the second period, cutting Tampa's lead to 2-1. Filip Zadina earned his first NHL assist on the Vanek goal.

Nikita Kucherov, the league's leading-scorer, had two goals and Ryan McDonagh had the other for the Lightning (52-13-4).

“It’s a great measuring stick, it’s the best team in the league, obviously some of their best players are some of the best players in the league at their positions,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “We didn’t rise to the occasion tonight. Not even close. Too many guys weren’t skating. You have to skate yourself out of pressure to get open. We self-induced mistakes.

“Their pressure was hard, but we did a poor job handling it. A lot of our guys, especially our young guy, they want to be elite players in this league. Well, we had a chance to see them first hand. We have another chance next week (the Wings host Tampa Thursday).”

The Wings’ power play was 1-for-5 and the unit mising Dylan Larkin (neck strain) – keyed by Andreas Athanasiou and Mantha – particularly struggled.

“I just know they got a chance to rise to the occasion and the unit wasn’t good enough,” Blashill said. “Dylan is a big piece of our team but everybody loses players. The other night a lot of guys on that unit were excellent, tonight not so much.”

Kucherov and McDonagh staked Tampa to a 2-0 first-period lead, putting the Wings in an undesirable hole.

Bernier made 31 saves and was at his best in the third period, making big saves on Yan Gourde and Anthony Cirelli near the net, keeping it a one-goal deficit.

“I didn’t feel good right off the bat,” Bernier said. “I battled hard mentally, just kind of got myself back in the game and (beginning in the second period) my game was much better for sure. I was reading better, not as aggressive, and making better reads.

“Some nights you just don’t feel great and you have to battle through. It just seemed like it was a tough one for me to start with.” 1135184 Detroit Red Wings Blashill has seen progress in Bowey as his time with the Wings has increased.

“He’s gotten better every game,” Blashill said. “He’s moved in the right Red Wings hopeful Filip Zadina can pattern game after Tampa Bay star direction; part of that is familiarity. In how we play, getting more Nikita Kucherov comfortable, and part of that is just confidence.

“He hadn’t played a ton and now he’s playing a little more.”

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News Ice chips

Published 2:18 p.m. ET March 9, 2019 | Updated 2:18 p.m. ET March 9, The same lineup that played against the Rangers likely will play against 2019 Tampa Bay, as Blashill said everyone was available and there were no injury issues.

Tampa, Fla. — Nikita Kucherov is leading the NHL in scoring, is a top …The Lightning came into Saturday’s game with the NHL’s best record candidate to win the league’s most valuable player award, and is (51-13-4), along having the top-ranked power play (29 percent) and considered a player you can build a franchise around. penalty kill (85.6 percent).

So, if Filip Zadina becomes half the player the Kucherov is, the Red “It speaks to why their record is where it is,” Blashill said of the having the Wings will be more than pleased. NHL’s best special teams. “When you’re real good in each one of those areas, you’re going to have a great record, and they certainly (do). It’s a Some scouting analysts, before last June’s draft, made the case that great challenge for us.” Kucherov was a comparable for the young Zadina. Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning play host to Zadina and the Red Wings on Saturday night. Detroit News LOADED: 03.10.2019 A wing like Kucherov, Patrick Kane (Chicago) and Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary) is the newer type of wing in the NHL who can control the game with the puck on his stick, and is almost like a second center on the ice.

Zadina has shown some of that playmaking ability. But coach Jeff Blashill sees Zadina as a cross between that type of wing, and the more traditional winger who waits for a playmaking center to get him the puck and can unleash a powerful shot.

“There’s a lot of different types of wingers,” Blashill said. “There are guys who are scoring wingers who need a center to constantly get them the puck to score, and then there’s been an influx of wingers, like Patrick Kane, Kucherov, Johnny Gaudreau, who almost control the game like a center. They have the puck on the stick a bunch and control the game like a center.

“I don’t know if he’s (Zadina) to that level of controlling the game and having the puck on the stick the whole time, but I’m hoping he’s somewhere in between just a pure scoring winger and guy who can control the puck and can make plays and have an effect that a real good center would have.

“Kucherov’s hockey smarts are as good as anybody’s in the league. He knows how to find areas and has unreal patience and poise. If he (Zadina) becomes anywhere near the player Kucherov is, we’d have a heck of a player.”

Zadina was playing in his sixth game Saturday, so he has three more games before he’ll be returned to Grand Rapids to avoid using one year of his entry-level contract.

Blashill has been pleased with the progress he’s seen from Zadina at the NHL level.

“Game by game over the last three games he’s looked more dangerous,” Blashill said. “That’s the biggest thing for me; I want him to look dangerous offensively.

“He’s a pretty complete player for a young, young guy.”

Making progress

Defenseman Madison Bowey likely will get a good opportunity to show his abilities now that Mike Green (virus) is done for the season.

Bowey, acquired in the deal that sent defenseman Nick Jensen to Washington at the trade deadline, has played four games, including earning his first assist in the victory Thursday over the New York Rangers.

“It felt good,” Bowey said of getting the first point. “The coolest thing was that it was involved in a big win. That was my first one with the guys (a victory), so it was definitely great.

“It’s obviously tough when you have such a great defenseman like that go down in this part of the season. For myself and Fil (Filip Hronek), it’s a chance to step up and get us a chance to show what we can do.” 1135185 Detroit Red Wings

Lightning overpower Red Wings, 3-2

By ERIK ERLENDSSON Associated Press

Mar 9, 2019 Updated 5 hrs ago Comments

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored twice while breaking Tampa Bay's single-season record for points, leading the Lightning to a 3-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

Ryan McDonagh also scored for NHL-leading Tampa Bay, which has won 14 consecutive regular-season games against Detroit. Louis Domingue stopped 22 shots.

Thomas Vanek and Anthony Mantha scored for Detroit, which fell to 1-6- 3 in the past 10 games. Jonathan Bernier finished with 30 saves.

Macomb Daily LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135186 Edmonton Oilers

WATCH: Oilers make it close, but lose 3-2 to the Leafs

SHAUGHN BUTTS, EDMONTON JOURNAL

Updated: March 9, 2019

The Oilers put the pressure on the Maple Leafs in the dying minutes of the third period at Rogers Place in Edmonton, but it was not enough.

Trailing 3-0 with three minutes to play in the third period, Ryan Nugent- Hopkins spoiled the shutout for Leafs goalie , and then less than a minute later Oscar Klefbom closed the gap to a goal with 53 seconds left on the clock.

The mostly blue-and-white fan base was on their feet hoping the clock would run out to seal the win, and with 29 seconds remained Andersen robbed Zack Kassian in the slot to send the Leafs fans home with a smile.

Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135187 Edmonton Oilers

Oil Spills: Oilers' Zack Kassian adds more scoring punch

CRAIG ELLINGSON

Updated: March 9, 2019

Forward Zack Kassian has been scoring regularly for the Edmonton Oilers late in the NHL season and has done so whether he’s playing in a third- or fourth-line energy role or on the top lines alongside the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135188 Edmonton Oilers

Maple Leafs simply have too many weapons for Edmonton Oilers

Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal

March 9, 2019 9:40 PM MDT

Auston Matthews no points.

Mitch Marner nary a sniff.

But John Tavares is in on all three Toronto goals.

To say, the Maple Leafs have a little more offensive juice than Edmonton Oilers is as obvious as Ken Hitchcock’s weight-loss on that Keto diet. His team is somewhat more starved for goals than Leafs.

Nobody could knock their sweat equity in the 3-2 loss Saturday — they were good to the last drop — but Toronto simply has more weapons. Plus, the Oilers power play, one of their strengths this year, No. 12 in the NHL, let them down, especially on a five-on-three in the third.

“Their depth is up there, top notch … that’s why their so high-up in the standings,” said Oilers goalie Anthony Stolarz, who saw Tavares slip one past him to make it 2-0 in the second, his shot tweaking the knob of the goalie’s stick and tumbling over his pad and in.

“They make so many plays, their D’s always in the rush (Jake Muzzin, third goal). They throw pucks at the net, hoping for rebounds and their guys are always in the right place (to get after them).

“They’re deep, five players everywhere. We have to learn from it…we played a really good team. They come to work every day and have a lot of skating legs,” said Oilers defenceman Oscar Klefbom, who made it 3-2 with 53 seconds left, 46 seconds after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had finally beaten Frederik Andersen.

“We played good but in the end it wasn’t good enough. We can’t expect to win a game when down 3-0.”

The power play (6:46, five shots, no goals) let them down, too.

“You have to be dialled in, especially at this time of year,” said Klefbom.

Hitchcock thought his team was very iffy there.

“We didn’t do enough up top, we’re not creating enough anxiety at the top of the zone. We don’t turn and face the goalie enough. Right now we’ve hit the wall, we’re kind of one and done,” he said. “We have to get way more activity at the net.”

ON THE BENCH: Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl, who moved over to play wing with Connor McDavid when Oilers fell behind early, extended his point streak to 13 games with two late assists. He had six shots on Andersen and five wide … Kris Russell had a whopping nine blocked shots, including one early when he lost his stick in a wild scramble … And, yes, Tobias Rieder’s goal drought is now 54 games and 75 shots … Andrej Sekera played 17:24, the second most minutes in the 10 games he’s played since his Bakersfield rehab stint. His partner Matt Benning had only played seven minutes in the first 40 but finished at 11:49 … Leafs winger Patrick Marleau has a storied history against the Oilers. He had his first NHL game against them on Oct. 1, 1997. He played game 1,100 against them too and got his 100th and 400th career assist in Oiler games as well … Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly scored on his 25th birthday. He led Leafs with six shots.

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135189 Edmonton Oilers North American Hockey League. He was a second-round draft pick of the Flyers out of that league, then played major junior in London with Leafs winger Mitch Marner and Max Domi of the Montreal Canadiens.

Anthony Stolarz held the fort for Edmonton Oilers with Koskinen calling in “My brother played too and said, ‘if you want to make it, you have to sick leave home.’ It’s turned out.”

Milan Lucic, bothered by a sore hip for several weeks, missed his first- Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal ever Oilers game. He had played all 82 in the previous two seasons. He’s been remarkably durable for a banger with lots of work along the boards, March 9, 2019 9:33 PM MDT missing just 10 games in the past two years. Ty Rattie got in for Lucic.

Anthony Stolarz was good but Frederik Andersen was a shade better. Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 03.10.2019 Still, if the Edmonton Oilers backup couldn’t get his team two points, he proved a point. He doesn’t have to sit on the bench with a ball cap every night watching Mikko Koskinen. He deserves to play, not cheerlead, getting the call Saturday against Toronto Maple Leafs on national TV, when the starter called in sick.

If you were handing out grades give Stolarz a solid B-plus, but Andersen probably gets an A-minus. He wasn’t The Great Dane but was the top dog in the 3-2 win.

Stolarz had the flu earlier in the week and U of Alberta’s Kenny Cameron manned one of the nets for practice, then Koskinen caught the bug after getting the day off from practice Friday. A germ assist from one goalie to another? Who knows?

“You look down at the other end and Freddie’s making save after save (two huge ones on Leon Drasaitl one-timers) and you’re trying to match that and his compete. You feel the energy from the crowd,” said Stolarz, who had no chance on Morgan Rielly’s screened 55-footer with John Tavares waving his stick in his face after the shot hit Kyle Brodziak on the shinpad, and then Tavares bolting into the the clear and Jake Muzzin coming in late to squeeze one past his toe.

“The two best players were both goalies and probably (Morgan) Rielly,” said Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock after watching the Leafs pour 40 shots at Stolarz and the Oilers 33 at Andersen with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Oscar Klefbom scoring in the last 81 seconds.

“Stolarz was really competitive, big (bigger than his six-foot-six) in the net and made huge saves early (Tavares, Patrick Marleau and Nazem Kadri). Moving forward this is another good sign for us. He looks like a guy who can help us win a couple of games if needed.”

Stolarz, who came to the Oilers three weeks ago from Philadelphia for Cam Talbot, had only played 35 minutes as an Oiler, coming in in relief for Koskinen in Toronto in the 6-2 Leafs blowout. He was expecting to watch Koskinen play his 14th straight game, until he rolled over in bed Saturday morning.

“Woke up to a text from Schwartzie (goalie coach Dustin Schwartz). I was able to get out for a little skate in the morning with Dustin, who can really shoot it, and some of the scratches,” said Stolarz. “I’m no stranger to getting thrown in. I had some instances in Philly that topped this one with Neuvy (Michal Neuvirth) collapsing. As a back-up you have to adapt to working hard in the practices and getting your reps in then. My first year in Philly I was up for 50 games and didn’t play. Life of a goalie waiting for your name to get called.”

Stolarz has to play 10 games of at least 30 minutes or he’s an unrestricted free-agent July 1. But he’s not worrying about that.

“Trying to get points in a (playoff) race, you stick with the hot hand,” said Stolarz, who was prepared to watch after the trade, maybe because nothing’s come easy to him.

“Hopefully, I proved to staff and management if Mikko needs a rest I can spell him.”

He’s had to prove his worth since he was a teenager back in New Jersey. He was the first Jersey-born goalie to make the NHL, now Anaheim’s Kevin Boyle has joined him. It’s a source of pride.

“Yeah, I grew up a huge Martin Brodeur fan. I grabbed the reins and ran with it,” he said.

He’s a late-bloomer for sure.

“I think I was cut from three teams in a league in New Jersey,” said Stolarz, who had to hike to Corpus Cristi, Texas to play junior in the 1135190 Edmonton Oilers But in the end you had to write that the difference was goaltending, not because of Stolarz but because of goaltender Frederik Andersen.

Until Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored with 1:39 to go and Connor McDavid JONES: Edmonton Oilers miss out on opportunity to close playoff gap fed Oscar Klefbom with 52.2 seconds to go, Andersen had a shutout going.

Terry Jones The Toronto twine-minder was brilliant, especially on a late third period five-on-three situation. March 9, 2019 9:29 PM MDT “The two best payers were probably the goalies,” said Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock.

Analyze it all you want. That’s what it keeps coming down to. Like “The competition was rich. I thought we hung in there really well. It was a Saturday evening. great game to evaluate on — what you have now and what you have going forward.” On the night the clocks were to spring forward, the Oilers had high hopes of doing the same. Instead, it was fall back. In the end, especially at this time of year, a loss is a loss is a loss.

Presented with opportunity to produce their first five-game winning streak in almost two seasons and move within five points of the final wildcard playoff position, the hockey Gods threw another banana peel down in Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 03.10.2019 front of them.

Just as the Oilers were looking like the hockey club their fans had envisioned at the start of the season, these Good Old Charlie Browns stepped up to kick the ball and Lucy Van Pelt pulled it away at the last second again.

Actually it appeared to happen about two and a half hours before game- time when the just Christened ‘Real Deal’ netminder, Mikko Koskinen, reported in sick.

Koskinen was listed as the official back-up goalie but spent the game in the dressing room, possibly sitting on the toilet.

So it was Anthony Stolarz, the future free agent and designated sitter for the remainder of the season, who suddenly had an opportunity to audition for his future.

Stolarz, one of the record seven on the roster of the Philadelphia Flyers this season, was the goaltender Edmonton chose to take back in the trade to clear salary cap room by ending Cam Talbot the other way at the deadline.

Stolarz came with a clause that gave the Oilers an opportunity to keep him from becoming a free agent if he played 10 games here before the end of the season. Obviously, they had no intention of playing him at all the way Koskinen was playing.

But his opportunity was against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the same team that chased Koskinen for their only regulation loss in the previous nine, an embarrassing, humiliating 6-2 drubbing a week ago in Toronto.

With four wins to follow and taking a 6-1-2 record from their last two games, Oilers fans had managed to rejuvenate themselves and went to Rogers Place having had a fill-up for their thimble full of hope.

The night before, after scoring a shocking 3-0 win over the league’s top team in the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Minnesota Wild team currently in possession of the final wildcard playoff position in the Western Conference, collapsed and lost 6-2 to the out-of-the-playoffs Florida Panthers.

Until Saturday, the Oilers hadn’t been able to make a move in what we were calling the Turtle Derby most of the deep freeze winter that finally broke Saturday.

All of a sudden, however, all the turtles had found their wheels.

Going into games last night the teams chasing Wildcard playoff spots had top-of-the-tables records in their last 10 games: Dallas (6-4), Minnesota (6-2-2), Colorado (6-3-1) and Arizona (8-2). So Edmonton (6- 2-2) didn’t make a dent.

But with the Minnesota loss in Florida the Oilers had a chance to move within five points should they be able to rise and seize their moment against the team Connor McDavid grew up cheering.

Stolarz did his part in rising to the moment.

He stopped 15 of 16 in the first period and 26 of 28 after the first two and what turned out to be 37 of 40 on the night in which the Leafs led 3-0.

In the end, it was a thrilling come-from-behind attempt to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. 1135191 Edmonton Oilers closer than it appeared, but Andersen might have been Toronto’s best player. That 33-13-4 record and .923 save percentage is no accident.

CASE CLOSED Too little, too late as Edmonton Oilers lose to Maple Leafs With Auston Matthews still not having broken the 70-point barrier in the NHL, the “best player in the world” debate has finally cooled to nothing. Robert Tychkowski This isn’t to take anything away from Matthews, who is one of the better shooters in the league, but he is not on the same tier yet as Connor March 9, 2019 9:27 PM MDT McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane or Nikita Kucherov.

THIS AND THAT

When word came down that an unproven, rust covered goalie with six Draisaitl extended his consecutive-game points streak to 13 games with career wins was starting against a team that just pistol whipped his assist on the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal at 18:21 of the third … Zack Edmonton 6-2, Oilers fans were bracing for the worst. Kassian saw his consecutive game goal-scoring streak snapped at four, although he had a great look with 30 seconds left in the game … The In the end, the night didn’t go as badly as it could have, but with time Oilers have a five-on-three power play for 37 seconds in the third but running out in the playoff chase, there can be no consolation in a briefly- couldn’t convert. They finished 0-for-4 on the power play. dramatic 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It was a wild finish that saw Edmonton turn 3-0 into 3-2 with two goals in the final 99 seconds, but that would be as close as they got to a much- Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 03.10.2019 needed upset.

“They’re a good hockey team, they’re solid all over, they’re obviously skilled,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said of the Leafs. “They just come at you in waves. I thought our goalie was good, held us in, and gave us at least a little bit of a chance.”

With Mikko Koskinen fighting the flu, backup Anthony Stolarz did what he could in the 21st appearance of his NHL career. He had a strong, 37- save effort, but there isn’t much a goalie can do when his team doesn’t score until 18:21 of the third period.

“The two best players for me were both goalies,” said Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock. “They’re a deep team and competition is rich, so unless you were on top of your game every shift, you got exposed.”

At the other end of the ice, Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen made sure his team wouldn’t be falling victim to any sort of Cinderella story with a 31- save performance.

His shutout bid ended on a goal from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with 1:39 left, and things really got hairy when Oscar Klefbom scored again with 52.2 to play in regulation.

Edmonton couldn’t find the equalizer, but the Leafs were definitely reeling.

“I could see the fear in their eyes, they were scared there at the end,” said Klefbom. “It was a great finish, but it was a little bit too late. We obviously can’t expect to win a game when it’s 3-0 late in the third.

“But it’s nice to get some goals and get some energy and finish off strong.”

Koskinen had started 12 straight games for Edmonton while Stolarz played exactly 35:10 (mop up duty in that 6-2 loss to Toronto) since the Oilers acquired him from Philadelphia on Feb. 16.

He looked a little rusty and understandably nervous in the early going, but did an admirable job out of the gate, keeping it to 1-0 Toronto after a 16-shot first period. Edmonton almost got out of it 0-0, but a Morgan Rielly floater with three seconds left in a power play at 19:46 gave Toronto the lead.

“He was big for us, we wouldn’t have had an opportunity to be in this game without some of the saves he made,” said defenceman Darnell Nurse. “For him not knowing if he was going to play and then coming out and playing the way he did is huge for us.”

John Tavares made it 2-0 after 40 and Jake Muzzin made it 3-0 early in the third and that was that.

The Oilers pulled it together in a big way after the Toronto spanking, going on to win their next four games over Ottawa, Buffalo, Columbus and Vancouver. This was the first misstep in their late-season charge.

It drops them to 6-2-2 in the last 10.

LOCKED IN

The Oilers had a lot of good looks, including a couple of patented Leon Draisaitl one-timers from the dot, but Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen was a big reason Toronto was never really in trouble. This game was actually 1135192 Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers Game Day: Beware of exploding Leafs

Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal

March 9, 2019 5:02 PM MDT

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH:

1. Teams that can wheel and deal

When the Oilers play teams that can skate and score, they have enormous trouble. San Jose has put up two seven-goal games against them. Tampa had five and six goals in two wins. The Leafs had six when they met 10 days ago. The Oilers routinely can play against their calibre of opposition and keep the score down — Vancouver, Ottawa, Buffalo, Dallas — but teams like the Leafs can explode in a hurry and they had four goals in the first eight minutes of the second period in Toronto the last time out.

2, Overworked Leafs defence

With Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott out for a long while, Mike Babcock is working his top four to the bone — Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev — with minimal time for his bottom pairing of ex-Oilers defenceman Martin Marincin on the penalty kill, and either Justin Holl or Igor Ozhiganov. Hainsey is 37 and playing 20 minutes a night. With a two-pronged attack of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, this figures to be a bigger problem than going against Bo Horvat and Elias Petterson in Vancouver earlier this week.

3. Kassian’s hot hand

Oilers winger Zack Kassian has scored in four straight games and has 10 goals in the last 22, going back two months. So much for the banger, dump-it-in guy. Only McDavid and Draisaitl have done better this season with five-game streaks, and they did it once. Kassian’s career high is 14 goals in 2013-14 and he has 12 now, all but one of them coming on even-strength. He has one short-hander in there. He never sees power- play time. Every dog has its day, but the days for Kassian have lasted quite a while.

4. Marner or Matthews?

With Auston Matthews’ $11.6 million-a-year deal kicking in next year, how much will Mitch Marner be looking for? Everybody talks about Matthews being the Leafs’ big gun, but it’s been Marner this year. The right-winger, as clever as Patrick Kane, has 82 points (20 even-strength goals) in 67 games, and he’s plus-25. Matthews, meanwhile, is minus-1 and he has 60 points in 53 games. Can’t imagine Marner, who has 212 points in 226 Leafs games, will be asking for a dime less than Matthews in a new deal this summer. Nor should he.

5. Koskinen outplaying Andersen

This is a yardstick game for Mikko Koskinen, who got the hook after four goals in Toronto, three of which he had no chance on. Freddie Anderson was better, especially early when the Oilers outplayed Toronto in the first 20 minutes. Koskinen, who has started every game since Talbot was traded, has only lost two regulation games, with a .926 save percentage in that time. He faced 37 shots against Vancouver but the Canucks don’t have the shooters Toronto does. If the Leafs get that many, he’ll have his hands full.

BIG MATCHUP:

John Tavares and/or Nazem Kadri vs. Connor McDavid

The Leafs may tag-team the Oilers captain. Last time in Toronto, Tavares was all over McDavid, limiting him to one assist but Kadri, back from a concussion, usually draws the McDavid assignment. He’s more the Ryan Kesler, pain-in-the-butt checker and he’s done a nice job in the past doing his best to rub McDavid the wrong way. Expect McDavid, who has nine points in six career games against the Leafs, to be all over the place on different lines because the Oilers have last change a home.

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135193 Florida Panthers

Preview: Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers, 5 p.m., Sunday

Brett Shweky

South Florida Sun Sentinel

Preview: Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers

When/where: 5 p.m., Sunday/BB&T Center, Sunrise

TV: Fox Sports Florida; Radio: 560-AM, 640-AM (Palm Beach)

Scouting report: With Florida’s dim playoffs hopes almost extinct, the Panthers finally ended their six-game losing streak after defeating the Minnesota Wild, 6-2, on Friday night at the BB&T Center. … Aleksander Barkov set a franchise record with five assists during the game to bring his season total to 46. … Florida is nine points behind Montreal for the final wild-card spot as of Friday with the team set to host Detroit on Sunday. … Detroit enters the matchup fresh of an outing with Tampa Bay after playing in their first of three consecutive road games. … Through Friday’s games, the Red Wings place in the bottom two of the Eastern Conference. … During the teams’ last contest on Dec. 31, the Panthers won in a shootout, 4-3, to take a 2-1 advantage in the season series against the Red Wings.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135194 Florida Panthers There also are future jobs on the line and some personal milestones that can be reached in the final weeks of this season.

Friday night, captain Sasha Barkov set a franchise record with five Passion, pride, jobs: Here’s what the disappointed Panthers will be assists in a game. He also came within a fraction of a second of playing for with 14 games left recording his 30th goal of the season for the first time in his career when his last-second shot went after the horn came off the board at the end of the second period. By George Richards Barkov will get No. 30 soon enough (perhaps even Sunday when Detroit Mar 9, 2019 visits Sunrise) giving the Panthers a pair of 30-goal scorers for just the second time in their 25 years.

Mike Hoffman, already posting a career high in goals and a point away SUNRISE, Fla. — The flight back to Fort Lauderdale ran late, just from tying the 61 he had two seasons ago, hit the plateau for the first another insult to a night in which the Panthers’ extremely small playoff time in Vegas last month. Olli Jokinen and Nathan Horton both hit 30 hopes were all but extinguished. goals for Florida in 2006-07. Nothing special happened on the plane ride south from Boston although, “Coming here, we had two choices: Forget about the last game and just after Florida blew a 3-2 lead in the final minute of regulation and lost 4-3 play as hard as we can this game or feel sorry about ourselves,” Barkov to the Bruins, players said it was pretty quiet. said Friday night. Who knew, then, what kind of energy the Panthers would come out with “I think we played our butts off and deserved the win. … When Friday against the visiting Minnesota Wild? everybody’s on the same page and plays hard and do the same things, “Last night,” Mike Matheson said, “was one of the most frustrating nights we get rewarded.” of my whole career. It has been like that a lot lately.” Defenseman Mike Matheson (left) celebrates his goal with teammates. Added coach Bob Boughner: “That felt like the worst one of the year.” Matheson scored two goals Friday for just the third time in his three-plus seasons with the Panthers. (Steve Mitchell / USA Today) Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau warned his team the Panthers would come out hard in trying to erase the disappointment, not only from the Aside from Barkov and Hoffman, other players are having career lost game the night before but of an entire season, and he was correct. seasons offensively.

The Panthers came out skating with passion and played as complete a This could end up being one of the most impressive offensive seasons in first period as they have all season, scoring four times (well, only three franchise history. counted after Boudreau won his offside challenge) and rolling to a 6-2 Not only will the Panthers have a pair of 30-goal guys, but at least five victory. will have hit the 20-goal mark. That has only happened once before when It was a feel-good night for a Florida team that has had too few of them Jaromir Jagr, Huberdeau, Barkov, Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith did this season. The Panthers looked good — real good — and gave a tease so in leading the Panthers to their last playoff birth in 2016. None of the at what could have been. five eclipsed 30 goals, however.

“It was a great response and I was a little worried about it, to be honest,” Florida could also have three defensemen hit 10 goals with at least 15 Boughner said afterward. “Everything went well. It could have been real assists for the first time in franchise history. easy to come in and feel sorry for ourselves and be down and pout a little Right now, Aaron Ekblad is there (12-18, 30) with Keith Yandle (9-45, 54) bit. But we didn’t do that and that tells you a lot about what’s inside that and Matheson (7-16, 23) closing in. room.” Last year, Ekblad and Matheson became the first Florida defensemen to The Panthers snapped their six-game winless streak Friday night and have at least 10 goals and 15 assists in the same season. Yandle was there was a sense of relief yet little celebration. two goals off from joining them. This season is over for the Panthers — probably has been for some time On the flip side of Florida’s offense is its lack of defense. Yes, the — and another long offseason is in the near future. Panthers are 10th in the league in scoring (3.16 goals per game), but For a team with high expectations and the hope of something special they’re also tied with Detroit for 29th in goals allowed (3.34). happening this season when it began in Tampa back in October, Matheson leads all NHL players with 111 turnovers (Yandle led the disappointment is a word that is floated around a lot. It has been since league with 129 last year), with Ekblad (96) and Yandle (90) among the that first month when the team opened with just two victories in 11 league’s bottom seven. games. Florida’s two starting goalies — Roberto Luongo and James Reimer — According to moneypuck.com, the Panthers came into Saturday with less both have close to career highs in goals-against (both over three) and than a 1 percent chance of making the postseason. To reach the 97 career lows in save percentage. points it took to make the playoffs in the East last year, Florida (with 70 points) needs to go 13-0-1 the rest of the way. “This is our job and we all have self-pride,” said Matheson, who scored two goals Friday for just the third time in his three-plus seasons with the “I have been saying it all year that the team effort is going to win games, Panthers. “You can hang your head or you can realize that you’re a and we wish it would be like this every night,” said Jonathan Huberdeau, professional athlete and the reason you got here is because of a lot of who had a goal and two assists in the victory over the Wild. self-motivation. “I feel good for our team and we just need to keep this going. Obviously “There’s no reason to stop doing that because things are rough. It is easy it’s not fun playing without a playoff chance. We know how far out we are, to find excuses … but it’s important to turn the page and play for your but we’re not mathematically out of it. teammates, know you can face the adversity together. If it doesn’t help “It’s tough, but this is our job. We’re going to keep working until the end us this year, it will next year.” of the season. If we’re not in the playoffs, I’ll keep working hard and we’ll As far as jobs go, several young players from AHL Springfield are getting see what happens. We need a better start to the season. We always say some good NHL experience and getting a leg up on training camp battles it and don’t do it. We have to do it on the ice.” next September. The Panthers are going to make changes throughout the hockey side of Defensemen Josh Brown and Ian McCoshen have fought for a spot in their business this offseason, perhaps to their coaching staff and most the lineup, as has rookie center Henrik Borgstrom. definitely to the roster. Jayce Hawryluk and Dryden Hunt are also finding playing time in these So with 14 games left, what do the Panthers have left to play for? final weeks after spending a big chunk of their season in the minors. There is pride, of course. Boughner said they have done enough to prove they are deserving of the playing time they will now get in the final weeks. “It’s great experience. It’s the future of our organization,’’ he said. “We’re in a situation with injuries, trades and everything else that we need these guys. They’re going to have their ups and their down games, all young guys do that, but they’re going to be better for it in the future.”

Panthers goaltender Sam Montembeault takes a breather during the second period. Montembeault made his second NHL start and earned his first victory with 25 saves. (Steve Mitchell / USA Today)

One player few thought we would see starting games for the Panthers this season is 22-year-old goalie Sam Montembeault.

Montembeault started the year as the fourth goalie in the system, but with Micheal Hutchinson faltering in his October stint and being traded, Montembeault has played his way into the Florida goalie rotation.

On Friday, Montembeault made his second NHL start and this one ended up much better than the first as he earned his first victory with 25 saves.

Luongo, who received the victorious rugby ball after Florida’s previous win Feb. 25 at Colorado, tossed it over to Montembeault in the postgame locker room.

“It means a lot,” Montembeault said. “Like I always say, he’s a future Hall of Famer. He’s one of the best goalies of all-time, so it means a lot to get it from him.”

Montembeault was thought to be headed back to the minors once Reimer was healthy enough to play, but the plan has changed.

The Panthers fully recalled Montembeault — he had been on an emergency waiver — and plan on carrying three goalies through the end of the season.

The two goalies who are playing the best, the team says, will be in the lineup on any given night. Boughner said Montembeault is going to get more starts in these final 14.

Friday, Reimer backed up Montembeault with Luongo being scratched and given the full night off. Luongo had started seven of the past eight games.

With Florida looking to find a new starting goalie for next season, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that this is a tryout of sorts for Montembeault.

The Panthers wanted to give him a few more years of development, but perhaps the timeline has been sped up.

Montembeault says he is not looking too far ahead.

“Obviously, at the beginning of the year I was the fourth goalie, so it feels really good to be here with these guys and have the chance to play some games,” Montembeault said. “I’m just taking it day by day, seeing how things go.’’

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135195 Los Angeles Kings Kale Clague returned home and will be evaluated Monday for a lower- body injury, according to general manager Rob Blake. The defenseman prospect left Friday’s game when he blocked a shot for the Reign.

Kings' Carl Grundstrom scores his first career NHL goal in 4-2 loss to Coyotes LA Times: LOADED: 03.10.2019

By CURTIS ZUPKE

MAR 09, 2019 | 9:25 PM

GLENDALE, ARIZ.

Carl Grundstrom was a long way from Umea, Sweden, when he raised his arms in giddy triumph.

The Kings’ new prospect began his hockey career there, and his journey took him from Toronto to Southern California and Arizona, where his dream came true with a goal in his NHL debut Saturday. Grundstrom didn’t have to think long when asked how long he thought about the moment.

“Since I was 5,” Grundstrom said. “Maybe.”

Grundstrom’s first career goal was the talk of the night for the Kings in an otherwise forgettable 4-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. The Kings lost for the 13th time in 14 games and remain well positioned for the No. 1 pick in the draft.

But this is a time to evaluate current pieces such as Grundstrom, whose boyish, 21-year-old face goes against a hard, power-forward game mixed with speed. His goal happened when he took the puck off his skate and tapped it in from the crease after Derek Forbort’s shot in the second period.

Grundstrom later had a takeaway at center ice to set up another scoring chance. , who got the Kings’ other goal on an impressive drive to the net, has seen it before, having played with countryman Grundstrom for the well-known Swedish club team MODO.

“It was good for him,” Kempe said. “I think we’ve got some good chemistry. He got the first one, and he worked hard for it all game. He was really good on the forecheck. He played simple and hard and that’s what we need from him.

“It’s not very many that score in their first game. He’s been playing well in the minors, too, and he’s a good goal scorer.”

Grundstrom didn’t know he would make his debut until Friday in Tucson, when coach Mike Stothers told him he wouldn’t play that night because he was being recalled. On Saturday morning, Grundstrom went through a game day with the Kings.

“It was a little different than the AHL,” Grundstrom said. “A little nicer hotel, a better meal. [But] it wasn’t that. I tried to play my best game and try to be me out there.”

Coach Willie Desjardins played Grundstrom more than 13 minutes, on a line with Kempe and Tyler Toffoli, and will look to further integrate the former second-round draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Grundstrom was acquired in the trade for Jake Muzzin and is known as an agitating presence with skilled nuance to his game.

“It’s not just the big things you see,” Desjardins said. “He does a lot of really small things well, too, that sometimes go unnoticed. It’s good. He fit right in.”

Grundstrom’s goal pulled the Kings to 2-2 as they reversed the game back in their favor until Christian Dvorak’s second goal of the game midway through the third period.

The Kings outshot the Coyotes 17-8 in the final 20 minutes. They also allowed a power-play goal to Dvorak and a short-handed goal to Michael Grabner in the first period. Grabner made it 4-2 with a breakaway goal, off a steal of Ilya Kovalchuk’s pass.

“I thought our third period was good,” Desjardins said. “Guys played hard, and they could have had a better fate.”

Jack Campbell made 28 saves, with 14 in the second period to keep it 2- 1.

Clague hurt 1135196 Los Angeles Kings and I think we figured that out a little bit. Now we have to go on the road and play the same way and build off this homestand.”

Dvorak, Grabner keep Coyotes howling with a win over Kings Orange County Register: LOADED: 03.10.2019

Staff Report By The Associated Press |

PUBLISHED: March 9, 2019 at 9:36 pm | UPDATED: March 9, 2019 at 9:37 PM

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Before Arizona’s seven-game homestand began, several players spoke about winning five to get back into the playoff race.

The surging Coyotes have even exceeded those expectations.

Christian Dvorak and Michael Grabner each scored two goals and Darcy Kuemper made 33 saves to win for the ninth time in 10 starts to lead the Coyotes past the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Saturday night.

Dvorak’s second goal broke a 2-2 tie midway through the third period and Grabner scored on a breakaway with four minutes remaining as the Coyotes won for the eighth time in nine games while setting a franchise record with their first 6-1 homestand.

“We knew it was a huge homestand for us,” Dvorak said. “We had to treat every game like a playoff game. It is huge to get 12 out of 14 points. But we can’t be too high. We have to take that on the road now.”

The Coyotes, pushing for their first playoff appearance since 2012, are one point behind Minnesota for the final Western Conference wild-card berth with a game in hand.

“It’s a playoff atmosphere out there for us,” Grabner said. “We have to win every game. That’s how we look at it. And it’s been a lot of fun.”

Dvorak and Grabner scored about two minutes apart in the first period, showing no rust after extended down time. Dvorak missed the first five months of the season after surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle before being activated in late February, and Grabner was playing his second game after missing 41 with an eye injury.

“A lot of hours,” Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said of the recovery process. “They are here at 7 am. They are skating by themselves. They’ve been doing it for three, four, five months.

“And this is why they did it, right, for the hope of being part of something. They are a piece of what we are doing right now. I give them a lot of credit.”

Adrian Kempe and Carl Grundstrom both scored and Drew Doughty had two assists for the Kings, who have lost 13 of 14.

The 21-year-old Grundstrom tied the game at 2 with his first NHL goal at 3:44 of the third period. Grundstrom, promoted from the American Hockey League on Saturday, was acquired from Toronto in the trade for Jake Muzzin on Jan. 28.

“It was good to see him get rewarded,” Kings coach Willie Desjardins said. “He does do quite a few things, and it is not just the big things. He does a lot of really small things that sometimes go unnoticed. He fit right in.”

Dvorak tipped in a slap shot by Jakob Chychrun from the left point on a power play to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 7:23 of the first period. Dvorak underwent surgery for a torn pectoral muscle early in the season and had his first goal in six games since being activated. He had 15 goals in each of his first two seasons.

Grabner’s fifth short-handed of the season gave the Coyotes a 2-0 lead two minutes later.

“We’ll take those goals, but the biggest thing is to kill off those two minutes and get the momentum on our side,” Grabner said.

Kempe used his speed to score late in the first period to make it 2-1, beating a Coyotes defender along the boards and skating in on Kuemper.

“Once they tied it up, we started to push a little more and take over the game and play our game,” Grabner said. “The struggles were at home, 1135197 Los Angeles Kings Does Bryce play tomorrow?

“I told him that Bryce plays three games this week and you can see him play twice,” Mike said. “He said, ‘That is awesome.’ Bound by the game: The hockey-loving Brodzinskis rally around each other “Jonny said to me, ‘I haven’t seen him play high school hockey.’ Then it hit me that he’s been in California for four years.”

The long injury layoff allowed Jonny to go home during the NHL All-Star By Lisa Dillman break to see his youngest brother play.

Mar 9, 2019 Said Jonny: “It was a breath of fresh air. I skate with him in the summer. Every day we’re up at 7 a.m., skating at 8 every day. But I haven’t seen him play in a couple of years, and I was blown away by how he’s grown Mike Brodzinski didn’t wait five months — five months and five days, if over the last couple of years. It’s crazy. anyone was counting — to take in a significant and hard-fought family moment from a distant seat. “He’s taller than me now, bigger than me. He’s the baby — 6-1, 210.”

So Brodzinski, proudly clad in Kings garb, found a way to get closer to The “baby” played in the Minnesota State High School hockey the action at Amalie Arena even though the first-place Tampa Bay tournament this week, an event that really should be designated a Lightning were the hot ticket in town. He and a friend moved down and statewide holiday. On Thursday, Bryce Brodzinski scored the first goal in grabbed seats about eight rows behind the bench and managed to stay, Blaine’s 4-2 victory against White Bear Lake in the Class 2A quarterfinals surprisingly, in the prime location. at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. A day later, the Bengals lost 4-3 to Eden Prairie in the semifinals. Saturday, Blaine won the third-place game Once an intrepid hockey dad, always an intrepid hockey dad. against St. Thomas Academy 5-1, and Bryce had three assists.

After all, it was son Jonny’s first game of the season for the Kings, the Bryce is scheduled to return to Omaha to rejoin the Lancers for the USHL first outing since he suffered a shoulder injury in Vancouver while taking stretch run. Before that, there is a luncheon Sunday as he is one of 10 a hit from then-Canucks defenseman Michael Del Zotto in a preseason finalists for the state’s Mr. Hockey Award, selected by a panel of NHL game in September, an injury that required surgery and months of scouts. rehabilitation. “I’d say he is the front-runner,” Jonny said. Mike’s doggedness was rewarded in the third period when Brendan Leipsic found Jonny in the slot between the circles and Brodzinski There is a long list of notable Mr. Hockey winners, including former unleashed his trademark quick release and scored. NHLer Paul Martin (2000) and Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh (2007). Two winners have come from Blaine High in the past decade — Dad didn’t hold back in the midst of Lightning fever. Nick Bjugstad of the Pittsburgh Penguins, a teammate and linemate of Jonny’s, in 2010, and Riley Tufte, a Dallas Stars draft choice, in 2016. “When he scored, I just jumped up,” Brodzinski said. “I jumped right up in the lion’s den. Everyone around me was wearing blue. Bryce played in Omaha this past fall but returned to Blaine because he wanted to help his team reach the state high school tournament and win “A guy five rows behind us said, ‘Aw, sit down, asshole.’ I was wearing all Mr. Hockey, and he felt a deep sense of personal responsibility to his my Kings stuff. I said, ‘Whatever, I can cheer. It’s my kid.’ coach, Chris Carroll. “All of a sudden, they were like, ‘Oh, my god, that’s your kid?’ I was like, Heading into the state tournament, Bryce had 35 goals and 49 assists for ‘Yeah, I don’t care if you guys win, it’s his first game back in five Blaine. He has committed to the University of Minnesota, following older months.’” brother Michael’s path. Jonny went to St. Cloud State University, and That was an acceptable explanation. Easton, 22, is finishing his sophomore season with the Huskies.

“They’re the best team in the NHL right now, so for him to do that was Mike gets a kick out the fact two sons followed in his footsteps to St. pretty cool to see,” Mike said. “I must have got 30 high-fives after that.” Cloud State and another did to Minnesota. Mike played at the University of Minnesota, then transferred to St. Cloud State and was the captain In a lost season — full of many lows — there have been few moments for under legendary coach Herb Brooks in 1986-87. the last-place Kings to embrace. This was one of them, and it happened to occur Feb. 25, hours after the stress and uncertainty of the trade Even then, Brooks was an unrelenting force. deadline had passed. “I don’t think mellow and Herbie have ever been mentioned (together),” Brodzinski scoring in his first game back since surgery helped set the Mike said. “I can’t watch the movie ‘Miracle.’ I cried through the whole emotional tone, and the Kings managed to leave Tampa with a hard- thing because he basically did the same stuff to us.” fought point, losing 4-3 in a shootout. There was something of a bittersweet feeling of watching his youngest Brodzinski’s father wasn’t the only family member to escape the son complete his final week of high school hockey. Still, with four sons, Minnesota winter for a brief respite in Florida. Mother Kathy was at the the Brodzinskis can anticipate the writing of many new chapters. game, as were his uncle and family friends. His 23-year-old brother, Jonny, 25, has less than a quarter of the season to show the Kings what Michael, who plays defense for the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, he can do in what is essentially a larger NHL audition because he will be had a day off and was able to join the band of supporters. an unrestricted free agent this summer. He has one goal and one assist “It was kind of a roller-coaster year, getting hurt right away,” Brodzinski in six games. said. “It was definitely tough, but I wanted to pick up right from where I Bryce, 18, should have his moment in the spotlight in June at the NHL left off. I worked really hard these last couple of months, and I feel great. Draft in Vancouver. A steady parade of NHL scouts have made their way “I was trying to bring a little bit of energy to these guys. They’ve battled to his games with Omaha and with Blaine this season and have noted his through a big, long season, and I’ve been sitting on the couch all year.” improvement.

He added, joking: “Saved my legs up.” “Bryce’s game is actually quite similar to Jonny, which is different than Easton and different than Michael,” said Minnesota-based Kings amateur When the phone rings in a hockey household, it could mean almost scout Tony Gasparini. “They actually look alike when you watch them anything — a call from Jonny, Michael, Easton or Bryce. “With four boys, with their gear on. They do look alike. They’re both 6-foot, 6-1, wide- your days never slow down,” Mike said. bodied wingers.

One day in January, Mike’s phone went off and it was Jonny calling from “The greatest asset of any Brodzinski — all four of them — to be honest the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Jonny had a question with you is that they have a weapon in regard to their release, their shot. about his travel arrangements. And one more about the Blaine High You can see that they’ve spent a lot of time shooting a lot of pucks.” School hockey schedule.

Hey, Dad, are you picking me up at the airport? Greg Rajanen of NHL Central Scouting said Bryce Brodzinski is a likely mid-round pick and could possibly slide into the third round at the draft in Vancouver.

“When I saw him early this year with Omaha of the USHL, that program really helped his game and he was moving the puck so much better,” Rajanen said. “Sometimes when you are with older players, and they demand you play the game the right way. That really rubbed off on Bryce and really added to his game.

“He’s always been a shooter, can shoot the puck and score. Now when you add the passing game to his repertoire, he’s that much better.

“Bryce is one of those players, if you test him for speed, his speed is pretty good. But if you throw a puck out there and say, who is going to get it first, he’s usually the guy that gets there.

“We call it competitive speed. When there is a chance to score, his speed elevates. He and Jonny are similar that way.”

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135198 Los Angeles Kings rolling when you get more minutes. I’m all for getting more ice time, I’m used to that from juniors, so it’s nice to get that up here and it was nice to get two wins this weekend. It was good getting Devo back in the lineup FINAL – ONTARIO 5, TUCSON 2 too. He had a really good goal for us today. He’s been a really good guy off the ice, so it’s good for him to get back in the lineup and get that goal for us.

ZACH DOOLEY Mike Stothers on his team’s compete, as it relates to Cal Petersen’s quote from yesterday MARCH 9, 2019 There’s absolutely nobody [that’s throwing in the towel]. I mean, they’re

all working their tails off and they have all year. You can’t look at the wins The Ontario Reign made it six wins from their last eight games as they and losses necessarily…we’ve only had a couple of real clunkers where got scoring from throughout their lineup in a 5-2 win over the Tucson I’ve been disappointed in the outcome. Not the score per say, but maybe Roadrunners, completing the weekend sweep in Arizona. fatigue had set in and maybe it caught up to us or whatever. There’s a good group of guys in there, they work hard and they care and I think Ontario got goals from five different players and points from 12 as they that’s the most important part, they care. They care for each other, they skated to a three-goal win, powered by four second-period tallies. The don’t want to let each other down. Despite the fact that, you look at us in Reign got strong goaltending for the second straight night, as Peter the standings and it’s an uphill battle, teams come in and think that Budaj stopped 33 of the 35 shots he faced in the victory, winning his third maybe we’re going to be an easy mark, we don’t approach it that way. consecutive decision. There’s a certain way you need to play, whether you’re winning or losing. You play with structure, you play with discipline, you play with pride. Play After a scoreless opening period, the Reign scored three times in a span like you love the game and if you don’t, then get out of the game. of 3:31 to open up a three-goal advantage in the second period. Defenseman Austin Strand opened the scoring with a shot from the right- On Mikey Eyssimont, who scored tonight hand circle, his first goal since February 15, to get the visitors on the board. Forwards Mike Amadio and Mikey Eyssimont tallied later in the He does [have a good offensive skillset] and Mikey’s still feeling his way period to extend the lead to three, as Amadio extended his goal streak to out. He’s a young kid, you come in and you think it’s going to be easy three games and his point streak to six games. and it’s not and it’s been reflective in his play. He’s had a hard time getting on a line or getting ice time at certain points, but I think the After Tucson opened their account later in the period, the Reign process is working in his favor. Everything that he’s learning and going responded exactly 60 seconds later as forward Sheldon Rempal scored through this year is only going to make him a better pro. for the second straight night, potting his 15th goal of the season. The Roadrunners capped off a high-octane middle stanza with a goal from On his younger defensemen stepping into larger roles down the stretch Brayden Burke, who scored for the second time this weekend as well. Well, they’re getting more minutes out of necessity. It’s incredible what’s Tucked inside that hectic half-hour stretch was another goal in Arizona, going on. We’ve gotten some guys up with the Kings, Kale blocks a shot that of Carl Grundstrom, who tallied his first career NHL goal. Read more last night and ends up getting hurt and the guys went in and they did a on Grundstrom’s debut HERE. great job. Tonight, you see how much they care, because they watch their teammate last night get hurt blocking a shot but nobody shied away Reign winger Jamie Devane scored the lone goal of the third period, from it again tonight, there’s guy out there blocking a ton of them again. finishing off a nice passing play that was started by forwards Philippe That’s what it’s all about. That’s when you know you’ve got good people Maillet and Brett Sutter. Budaj and the Reign’s defensive effort took and that’s when you know you’re headed in the right direction to get back things from there, closing out the three-goal victory. in the win column on a regular basis.

The Reign now head to Colorado, as they look to continue a strong run of On Carl Grundstrom making his NHL debut and scoring his first NHL goal recent form. After a travel day tomorrow, and a practice day on Monday, with the Kings Ontario will play against the Eagles on Tuesday and Wednesday evening in Loveland, CO on both nights. Oh, we’re all thrilled for him. It’s awesome. Again, it’s a good example of our guys going up, getting an opportunity and contributing. That’s what Post-Game Quotes the American Hockey League is all about, we’re trying to get guys ready to play in the NHL and good on those guys for putting in the time and the Austin Strand on getting back in the goal column, especially in a win work and being willing to be coached and taught. His natural skill and It was awesome. It was really nice, especially because I feel like I haven’t ability takes over, he’s a heck of an athlete. That might’ve been his first, been helping offensively as much as I should be lately. It was good to get but it’s not going to be his last NHL goal, I can tell you that. that one. I’ve been getting a lot of reinforcements from the coaching staff, to just keep shooting, and less stickhandling, more shooting and being [simpler] in the o-zone and d-zone as well. LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.10.2019 On what he saw on his goal

I was going to just one-time it right away, but I saw [their defender] was in the lane pretty well, so then I faked the one timer. I was going to try and go wide, but it looked like he had a pretty good angle on me still, so I just threw it on net and sometimes not the hardest shots go in. Out of all the shots I feel like I’ve had, it’s nice to get one that could go through and go in the net.

On an opportunity for him with several other defensemen injured or up in the NHL

I feel like, for sure, that’s the key to the situation. There’s just a lot of opportunity for our whole backend with those three guys up and I feel like we’re doing a really good job with that, only allowing two goals today. We’re getting a lot of help from Buuds and Cal and I’m really impressed to see how well the backend is doing, you love to see it.

On whether he and the other young defensemen take it upon themselves to carry more of the load down the stretch

With those three guys up with the Kings, there’s definitely more ice time down here for us. Now, with Claguer going out too, it’s just more opportunity for us to get more minutes and I feel like it’s easier to get 1135199 Los Angeles Kings Kempe, on what introducing new guys does for the chemistry of the team:

I think it’s a good experience for them and we need our younger guys, MARCH 9 RAPID REACTION (FEAT. JOHN HOVEN): COYOTES 4, including me, to push older guys to get better every day, starting at KINGS 2 practice and in games as well. We’ve had a lot of young guys this year, and we’ve been doing a pretty good job, so we’ve got to keep pushing for the rest of the year. JESSI MCDONALD Carl Grundstrom, on how it feels scoring a goal in his first NHL game: MARCH 9, 2019 Unbelievable, of course…It was unbelievable, a real good feeling.

Grundstrom, on how long he has been dreaming about scoring his first Rapid Reaction, feat. John Hoven NHL goal:

Post-game Quotes Since I was five, maybe.

Willie Desjardins, on Carl Grundstrom’s debut: Grundstrom, on how Mike Stothers told him he was getting called up:

It was good to see him get rewarded. I thought he played well. Just the He just said that I wasn’t going to play. I got a little surprised of course, goal, I thought he made some smart plays, I thought he battled hard, I so then they said that the Kings called me up so that was a great feeling, thought he was physical, so lots of good things. [Reporter: Does he have of course. that element to his game – it seems like he has battle and some skill and speed. Is that a nice mix to see in a young player?] Yeah, it is. He does Grundstrom, on his read on his goal: do quite a few things, and it’s not just the big things you see He does a I just stayed in front of the net and picked up a rebound and put it in the lot of really small things well too that sometimes go unnoticed, so it was empty net, so nothing special like that. A goal is a goal, I guess. good. He fit right in. [Reporter: What’s the process on ad ay like today where you have an optional skate and go right at it. Who does he speak Grundstrom, on whether he had a “welcome to the NHL” moment at any with and how do you get him as caught up as possible?] He talked both point today: with Marco and Dave Lowry. Like, both guys talked to him just a little bit on different parts of the game that we do. We’ll integrate him a little bit It was like, of course it’s a little different from the AHL. A little nicer hotel more as we go along as well. [Reporter: Did you talk to Stothers at all just and better meals and stuff like that and so, but otherwise than that I tried to get any read on him or any sort of info on him?] I didn’t talk to him, but to play my best game and tried to play, be me out there. we had talked to him previous to that just on things. I’d talked to Kempe, Grundstrom, on how much it helped to have Kempe centering his line: who’d played with him. I had a pretty good read on what he could do. [Reporter: Stutts is really impressed with the physical aspect of his game I think so. I think we played together before, maybe not on the same line, and the power forward element and not just his speed. Was that but on the same team at least. So, yeah, of course that helps a lot. something you were looking to take advantage of here?] We knew he Post-game Notes was a good two-way player. He’s probebd that at a couple different levels. He proved when he was back in Sweden that he could score. He –With the loss, Los Angeles fell to 90-103-36 all-time against the Arizona hasn’t scored as much over here in the pro game, but he does have that franchise, a record that includes a road mark of 40-56-19. The Kings are element as well. Whenebver you go to the net, you’re going to get 1-2-0 against the Coyotes this season with one game remaining, April 2 chances. at Gila River Arena.

Desjardins, on whether Arizona’s two third period goals going against the –With the loss, Los Angeles fell to 15-18-4 against the Western run of play was surprising: Conference, 8-9-2 against the Pacific Division, 3-12 in two-goal games, 7-32-6 when the opponent scores the first goal, 3-22-3 when trailing after I don’t know, I thought we’d played a good third period. The first was one period, 1-30-2 when trailing after two periods and 9-14-2 when probably the worst, we got better as the game went on, and I thought our outshooting their opponent. third period was good. Guys played hard. We could’ve had a better fate. –The Kings have allowed at least three goals in eight consecutive games Desjardins, on whether Jonathan Quick will start in Anaheim on Sunday: and 13 of the last 14. Yeah. He’ll be in and he’ll be ready to go. –In his NHL debut, Carl Grundstrom appeared in 13:03 and logged one Adrian Kempe, on Carl Grundstrom making his NHL debut: goal, a plus-one rating, one shot on goal, five shot attempts and one hit. He became the 19th player in Los Angeles history to score a goal in his .. He did a good job and a solid first game and hopefully he can keep NHL debut and the first since Tanner Pearson did so on November 14, going that way. 2013 at the New York Islanders.

Kempe, on whether he and Grundstrom had ever played on the same –By going 6-1-0, Arizona won six home games in a single home stand for line: the first time in Coyotes history.

We played on the same line, at least in playoffs, when we were under 20. –Since moving to Staples Center in 1999-2000, the Kings’ lowest point So, I’ve been playing with him before, so I kind of know him. total for a full season was 68 points in 2006-07. To exceed that, they Kempe, on what parts of Grundstrom’s game will work well with the team: would need to earn 13 points from the remaining 14 games.

Obviously, like I said, I think he’s got a lot of skill. He plays really hard. –Alec Martinez led the team with 23:21 of ice time. You could see it tonight, he plays heavy on the forecheck and got a lot of –The only two Los Angeles skaters to fail to register a shot on goal were pucks back and turned a lot of pucks over on our advantage and that’s Alex Iafallo and Jeff Carter. Both finished with one missed shot. what we need him for and he’s doing good so far. Hopefully it will keep going that way. –The Kings attempted 71 shots (35 on goal, 17 blocked, 19 missed). The Coyotes attempted 60 shots (32 on goal, 14 blocked, 16 missed). Kempe, on Grundstrom scoring in his first game at the NHL level: Clayton Keller finished with a game-high five shots on goal, while Drew That was awesome. Obviously, first game and there’s not very many that Doughty, Trevor Lewis and Matt Roy tied with a team-high four shots. guys that score in their a first game and he’s been playing well in the Roy led all skaters with 11 shot attempts. minors too, and we knew he was a goal-scorer, so I was happy for him. –Los Angeles won 33-of-63 faceoffs (52%). Adrian Kempe won 6-of-13, Kempe, on the team pushing back to start the third period: Anze Kopitar won 10-of-19, Trevor Lewis won 4-of-8, Tyler Toffoli won 1- of-3 and Jeff Carter won 12-of-20. I think we had good chances. It was a tight game and they ended up getting two goals late in the third, so obviously a tough bounce and we just have got to regroup and go on forward to the next game. The Kings are scheduled to report to Toyota Sports Center Sunday morning for a brief team meeting before departing for the game in Anaheim.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135200 Los Angeles Kings

GAME 68: LOS ANGELES AT ARIZONA

JESSI MCDONALD

MARCH 9, 2019

GAME THREADS

Arizona Coyotes 4, Los Angeles Kings 2

SOG: LAK – 35; ARI – 32

PP: LAK – 0/1; ARI – 1/4

First Period

ARI PPG – Christian Dvorak (1) (Jakob Chychrun, Clayton Keller); 7:23

ARI SHG – Michael Grabner (7) (Oliver Ekman-Larsson); 9:30

LAK – Adrian Kempe (11) (Drew Doughty); 14:48

Second Period

No scoring

Third Period

LAK – Carl Grundstrom (1) (Derek Forbort, Drew Doughty); 3:44

ARI – Christian Dvorak (2) (Alex Goligoski, Clayton Keller); 10:28

ARI – Michael Grabner (8) (unassisted); 15:34

Los Angeles Kings (24-35-8) vs Arizona Coyotes (33-29-5)

Saturday, March 9, 2019, 5:00 p.m. PT

Gila River Arena, Glendale, AZ

Referees: #18 Tom Chmielewski, #30 Kendrick Nicholson

Linesmen: #92 Mark Shewchyk, #93 Brian Murphy

Fox Sports West, FOX Sports GO, LA Kings Audio Network

LAK starters: G Jack Campbell, D Derek Forbort, D Drew Doughty, LW Tyler Toffoli, C Adrian Kempe, RW Carl Grundstrom

LAK scratches: D Kurtis MacDermid, D Sean Walker, F Austin Wagner

ARI starters: G Darcy Kuemper, D Jordan Oesterle, D Jason Demers, LW Lawson Crouse, C Mario Kempe, RW Josh Archibald

ARI scratches: D Kevin Connauton, D Ilya Lyubushkin, F Conor Garland, F Derek Stepan

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135201 Los Angeles Kings “If I look at Roy, he’s come a long ways. He defends pretty well. We’ve put him in tough situations defending. He skates well, so I like that,” Desjardins said. “You look at Walker, he has certain upside to his game. I PROJECTED LINEUPS; WAGNER AT LEAST A WEEK OUT; CLAGUE think there are certain maybe tendencies he has to break a little bit, and HURT; YOUNG D those always take a little bit of time. But both guys have come in and work hard.”

There are significant challenges for NHL rookies and how they adapt and JON ROSEN respond to the NHL rhythm after the excitement of their first call-up dissipates. MARCH 9, 2019 “The first part is just finding out what the NHL’s about, and then it’s you

adjusting to it and growing,” Desjardins said. “I think they’re in the initial INSIDERS. A good afternoon to you from the banks of the mighty Gila. phase still where they’re still finding out what it’s about a little bit, like the The LA Kings held an optional skate in Glendale, and while there weren’t day-to-day, when you play back-to-backs, when you come in and play any line rushes, this forward group is projected: heavy teams, when you’re banged up. So, I think they’re still learning it, and then it’s going to come ‘what do you want to do with it?’” Iafallo-Kopitar-Brown –That’s it for now, Insiders. I’ll share a Rosen Report during the LA Kings Leipsic-Carter-Kovalchuk Live pre-game show introducing several high-profile NCAA free agents who are drawing interest around the league. I got to speak with a pair of Grundstrom-Kempe-Toffoli them during one of my recent broadcasting assignments and look Clifford-Lewis-Brodzinski forward to breaking down their games and skill sets. Tonight’s officials are referees Tom Chmielewski and Kendrick Nicholson and linesmen Notes! Brian Murphy and Mark Shewchyk. Let’s talk soon.

–The vitals: There was some movement yesterday in the defensive pairings, so I’m not confident that the same blue line that took the ice Thursday against St. Louis will do so today in Glendale. It’s possible that LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.10.2019 Paul LaDue could re-enter the lineup, but that’s not a stone-cold lock. I wasn’t at today’s skate, but Jack Campbell was the first goalie off the ice per those on the scene and will be projected to start versus Arizona, against whom he is 1-0-1 with a 2.40 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. More on Carl Grundstrom’s recall is available here.

–Their vitals: It’s Darce. That’s “Darce,” as in “rhymes with sparse.” You may remember that Darcy Kuemper has been quite good against Los Angeles in his career, going 3-3-2 with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. He’s been an excellent story for an injury- pummeled Coyotes team that hasn’t gotten a minute out of Antti Raanta (IR / lower-body) since November 27. Arizona will also be without Nick Schmaltz, Derek Stepan and Kyle Capobiano, all of whom are on injured reserve with lower-body injuries. Per Alan Robinson of NHL.com, the Coyotes are expected to line up with forward groups of Panik-Dvorak- Keller, Grabner-Richardson-Hinostroza, Galchenyuk-Cousins-Fischer and Crouse-Kempe-Archibald with defensive pairings of Ekman-Larsson- Hjalmarsson, Chychrun-Goligoski and Oesterle-Demers. The Coyotes have won seven of eight, boast the second-best penalty kill in the league and have 13 shorthanded goals, the second most in the league. They’ve lost 328 man-games to injury; the Kings have lost 233.

Willie Desjardins praised Arizona’s youthful energy and speed as well as their veterans. He’s particularly fond of Oliver Ekman-Larsson as well as Brad Richardson, an underrated leadership figure during his Los Angeles tenure and a versatile forward under Desjardins in Vancouver. “I think you look at a guy like Brad Richardson, maybe he’s a third or fourth line guy, but he’s a great guy, he’s a good leader, he always shows up on teams and finds ways to win,” he said. His former Los Angeles teammates would agree.

–Austin Wagner’s return isn’t “imminent” – more like “on the semi-distant horizon.” The winger, sidelined for the last two games with a lower-body injury suffered March 2 against Chicago, skated yesterday at Toyota Sports Center in a track suit and helmet. “He’s probably more than a week out, I think,” Desjardins said. “Maybe close to a week, but when you’re not skating [ED: -in gear?] right now, you’ve got to be skating to be close, and he’s not that close.” It was shared yesterday, but to repeat, he’s no longer on crutches.

–Per hockey operations: Kale Clague, who didn’t return after blocking a shot last night, has flown back to Los Angeles for evaluation. The Reign’s road trip continues tonight in Tucson before they fly to Colorado for a Tuesday-Wednesday set in Loveland, just outside of Ft. Collins.

Clague has seven goals and 29 points in 52 games during his 20-year- old rookie season. He’s also a minus-20, but that’s more of an effect of him playing a wide role on a team with a minus-42 goal differential. When players like Sean Walker and Matt Roy have been in Ontario, they’ve pushed Clague down to the second pair, where he’s played his best hockey.

–Speaking of the young D, there were some evaluations this morning. 1135202 Los Angeles Kings

PREVIEW – ONTARIO @ TUCSON, 3/9

ZACH DOOLEY

MARCH 9, 2019

GAME PREVIEWONTARIO REIGNUNCATEGORIZED

WHO: Ontario Reign (20-26-5-2) @ Tucson Raodrunners (25-21-5-2)

WHAT: AHL REGULAR SEASON GAME

WHEN: Saturday, March 9, @ 6:05 PM

WHERE: Tucson Convention Center, Tucson, AZ

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Reign and Roadrunners faceoff for the final time this season in Arizona, with just one final meeting to come in Ontario. The Reign currently hold a 3-2-1 record against the Roadrunners on the season, with Tucson holding an 8-7 advantage in points. Ontario evened its record to 1-1-1 in Arizona on the season with yesterday’s win, earning their fourth victory all-time in Tucson. The Reign took a partial morning skate today. Peter Budaj was the first goaltender off for Ontario, while Kale Clague, who was injured in last night’s win, did not participate.

Trying something new with tonight’s game preview……going video style, hope you enjoy!

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135203 Los Angeles Kings It’s tough to come over right away, and we both came over onto really good teams. It’s obviously really tough to play in the playoffs. It’s another level when you get up here, but I think it’s a good experience before GRUNDSTROM RECALLED; WILL DEBUT AT ARIZONA ALONGSIDE coming into the NHL. He had a good playoff run in the minors. Just get KEMPE, TOFFOLI more experience, I think, and it’ll help you before you come up here and make your debut, for sure.

JON ROSEN LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.10.2019 MARCH 9, 2019

As we’d expected yesterday, Carl Grundstrom has officially been recalled from AHL-Ontario. Acquired as part of the return in Jake Muzzin’s trade to Toronto on January 28, Grundstrom, a 2016 second round draft pick, has 16 goals and 39 points in 55 games between the Marlies and Reign.

“If you look at his track record, he’s a high-end player,” Willie Desjardins said. “He plays both ways. In pro he’s been more of a two-way guy, but coming through he was a scorer, so I think he has lots to his game.”

Grundstrom played with Adrian Kempe for a pair of MODO’s junior teams in the 2013-14 season as well as Sweden’s World Juniors team in 2016 – his first year at the tournament and Kempe’s second. They’ll play on a line with Tyler Toffoli in tonight’s game at Arizona (5:00 p.m. PT / FOX Sports West / FOX Sports app / LA Kings Audio Network).

“Yeah, of course [our familiarity] helps a lot,” said Grundstrom, who will wear #38. “It feels good that I know a couple guys here on the team.”

Naturally, if you are from Örnsköldsvik or surrounding environs (or, really, if you’re simply Swedish), Peter Forsberg is your favorite player. I am yet to see an exception. Grundstrom grew up idolizing Forsberg and recently played in his golf tournament in Örnsköldsvik. Both Kempe and Grundstrom played for Forsberg while he was MODO’s assistant general manager.

Grundstrom also played for Mike Stothers, who has been known to provide memorable well-wishing to those who’ve come through the team’s system and are on the verge of their NHL debuts. “Last thing I said to Merschy was, ‘I don’t want to see you back,’” he said to Michael Mersch before his December, 2015 NHL debut.

Mersch, of course, had played under Stothers for years and won a Calder Cup under him in Manchester. Grundstrom’s elevation to the parent club didn’t follow the same type of crescendo. “No, nothing special, actually,” Grundstrom said. “He just wished me good luck and hoped that it’ll go well for me.”

Known as a north-south player with good speed and finishing ability who forechecks well and is capable of winning battles, Grundstrom has – well, let’s just let his former teammate provide the scouting report.

“He has a lot of speed,” Kempe said. “He plays hard, he’s good with the puck. I think he has a heavy game and forecheck, he’s a really good goal scorer as well. In the Swedish league he had almost 20 goals a couple seasons ago, and that’s pretty hard when you’re 18 or 19 years old.”

Kempe also noted that he hadn’t played with Grundstrom in recent years, but that the skill set should still hold true. As a coachable player with a good constitution, he’ll be expected to keep the same approach during his late-season NHL exposure.

“I think the biggest thing, wherever you go or whatever the change is, is do what you do,” Desjardins said. “The reason you got there is because of the things you’re doing, and just because you go to a new level, to me it’s like going into the playoffs. Don’t change what you were doing to get there, and I think that would be the mindset for him.”

Kempe was able to do that after joining Manchester during the club’s 2015 Calder Cup run, a span in which he scored eight times in 17 games. Grundstrom, a 2018 Calder Cup champion with the Marlies, who defeated the Texas Stars at home in Game 7, will now look to transfer his play from last year’s tournament, which resulted in eight goals and 14 points over 20 games, into the .

“Obviously I was very happy [to learn I would be recalled],” he said. “It’s been a dream since I was a kid, so it feels really good.”

Adrian Kempe, on what Grundstrom can take away from his Calder Cup success: 1135204 Los Angeles Kings

GOOD MORNING, GLENDALE

JON ROSEN

MARCH 9, 2019

Good morning, Glendale, and good morning, Insiders.

Aye, we are here in the desert, but if there’s no Munters View, are we really here at all?

Blessed be Schedulor. It took four years, but we finally snuck in the best possible return travel arrangement on the schedule for a night game. Arizona reverted to 6:00 p.m. games for most of their Saturday dates this year, which, selfishly speaking, is just delightful. For those of us fortunate to travel on the team charter, we’re home exceptionally early on these nights. Like, when the game begins an hour (or an hour and a half) earlier than most games on Pacific Time, and we gain an hour during a 55-minute flight home, several of us walk through our front doors up to 90 minutes earlier than we do for home games.

The latest arrivals usually follow Western Canada trips. Those are two- and-a-half-to-three hour flights – Pacific Division travel! – that also require passport control and either give us back one hour, or, when we return from Vancouver, do not provide that extra hour at all. These airports also often require deicing, and the drive to the Edmonton airport tacks on approximately 33 extra minutes of travel. (We know; we’ve measured this many times.) Even when we fly back from the East Coast, the team usually arrives earlier than when arriving from Edmonton.

Of course, we set the clocks forward tonight and will end up losing that hour anyway, and Arizona will be back on Pacific Time when we visit in two weeks, but hey, tonight’s arrangement is still better than losing the hour after a 7:00 or 7:30 start.

Here’s our approach into PHX. It was cut a little long to show Arizona State University and a sliver of Sun Devil Stadium.

The team just got off the ice for a morning skate. More to come on a busy Saturday, Insiders, including Carl Grundstrom’s NHL debut. Let’s talk soon.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135205 Montreal Canadiens

In the Habs' Room: 'When they scored that sixth goal, we fell apart,' Julien says

PAT HICKEY, MONTREAL GAZETTE Updated: March 9, 2019

ANAHEIM — Claude Julien had a plan for the final two games of the Canadiens’ California road trip. He would feed backup goaltender Antti Niemi to the Sharks on Thursday and hope that he could steal a point or two against his former team. Then, he would go all-in with a well-rested Carey Price in Friday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, who are playing for nothing but pride. Julien and the Canadiens came up empty om both counts. After losing 5- 2 in San Jose, the Canadiens were trounced 8-2 in Anaheim. “Tonight was one of those nights when we dug ourselves a hole,” said Julien. “There was a big gap between our defence and our forwards and (the Ducks) had a lot of room through the neutral zone. They’re good around the net and they took advantage of those opportunities. “We had lots of shots and chances but we couldn’t finish,” added Julien. “To me, it was a fairly even game but when they scored that sixth goal, we fell apart and gave them a few more.” For the record, that sixth goal was scored at 14:08 of the third period, and the Canadiens fell apart long before that. The game followed the same script as the San Jose game, with the home team taking a 2-0 lead, the Canadiens closing the gap to one goal at 2-1 and 3-2 and then falling flat. Price wasn’t very good, but neither were his teammates. “Every time we got the momentum and scored a goal, they scored on the next shift or the shift after,” said captain Shea Weber, who provided one of the few bright spots when he scored a rare power-play goal. “We have to do a better job on those shifts after we score. “We did a good job in spurts but we had mental lapses and we were leaving our goalie out to dry,” added Weber. “Overall it was okay but we gave up Grade-A chances, where guys were all alone, we left guys in the slot, chances you don’t want to give up. Those are the chances we want to limit.” This was the third game in four nights for the Canadiens, who have played seven of their last eight games on the road. They completed that stretch with a 3-5 record. Julien didn’t want to make it an excuse, but he did anyway. “This it what we have and we have to deal with it,” he said. “Athletes are in great shape (but) that’s not to say it isn’t hard on them. The biggest thing right now is the last couple of weeks, we’ve been on the road. I think it’s a kind of caught up with us. We made a pit stop at home to play Pittsburgh and those kind of trips are hard on you.” The Canadiens are off until Tuesday when they play the Detroit Red Wing at the Bell Centre. They then face a tough road test against the Islanders before finishing the week against Chicago at home. It was a critical loss because the Canadiens are in a four-way fight for the final three playoff spots and a win would have put them in the first wild- card spot. Instead, they are tied in points with Carolina, which was thumped by Winnipeg 8-1 Friday. The Hurricanes have an edge because they have played two fewer games. Columbus is two points back with two games in hand. “There was a lot urgency but we fell behind early,” said Brendan Gallagher. “We can’t dwell on it, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves We have games in to play and we have points in hand. The reality of the situation is this one was disappointing. We’d like to leave this road trip with more than two points but, as a group, we have to find a way to move on.”

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135206 Montreal Canadiens

Rested Price no match for Anaheim Ducks as Habs suffer 8-2 shellacking

PAT HICKEY, MONTREAL GAZETTE Updated: March 9, 2019

ANAHEIM — This was supposed to be a guaranteed win with the well- rested Carey Price in goal, but Price looked as ordinary as his teammates in a 8-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday at Honda Centre. Coach Claude Julien fed backup goalie Antti Niemi to the Sharks on Thursday night so Price would be rested for this game, but his No. 1 goaltender gave up five goals on the first 21 shots he faced. The loss gave the Canadiens a 1-2 record on their three-game California swing. It was also a setback in their push for a payoff spot. The Canadiens return home holding the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but they are only two points ahead of a Columbus Blue Jackets team that has played three fewer games. For the second night in a row, the Canadiens fell into a 2-0 hole and never came back. The NHL’s worst power play had an opportunity early in the first period. They tested John Gibson with three shots, but failed to score. Shortly after returning to full strength, the Ducks opened the scoring when Daniel Sprong beat Carey Price with a shot to the far top corner on the goalie’s blocker side. Sprong had another chance later in the period when Jeff Petry coughed up the puck trying to clear the Montreal zone and Price had to make a stop on the breakaway Another failed Montreal power play was followed by the first of two goals by Adam Henrique. He was allowed to come out of the corner unchallenged and and slipped the puck beyond Price’s reach at 17:17. The Canadiens got that one back 30 seconds later when Paul Byron buried the rebound after Gibson stopped Andrew Shaw on a backhander. Anaheim finished the first period with a two-minute advantage for 1:38 after Brendan Gallagher went off for tripping and Jordie Benn was assessed a double minor for high-sticking Troy Terry. The Ducks failed to get a shot while playing 5-on-3, but Devin Shore restored Anaheim’s two- goal lead when he scored during Benn’s second penalty. Montreal cut the lead to one goal for a second time when Shea Weber scored a power-play goal — only the second in 13 games for Montreal — but Terry scored 62 seconds later for a 4-2 lead and Corey Perry, one of the few thoroughbreds in the Anaheim lineup, beat Price through the five- hole for a 5-2 lead before the period ended. Rickard Rakell, Henrique and Max Jones added goals late in the third period. Jones scored with six seconds left for his first NHL goal. The Montreal power play went 1-for-5, but they might have scored another power play goal if the periods were a shade longer. Paul Byron had a power-play effort wiped out because it came a second after the second period ended Julien had to do some line-juggling after Tomas Tatar was scratched with the flu. Jonathan Drouin moved to one of the top lines with Brendan Gallagher and Phillip Danault, while Jesperi Kotkaniemi returned to the lineup after two games as a healthy scratch. The Finn centred the third line with Jordan Weal and Artturi Lehkonen on his wings.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135207 Montreal Canadiens Cops in one of those silent movies from the 1920s before Rickard Rakell beat him to make it 6-2.

We also didn’t need to see a clearly out-of-focus Price falling down on his Melnick’s GBU: The Canadiens make another bad B-movie in California, way back to his net after misconnecting on a pass to Victor Mete, who will the sequel be Goodbye to the Playoffs? felt the onrushing Terry and seemed to back-pedal as the rookie jumped on the puck and fed it to Henrique, who buried his second goal of the night to make it 7-2. By Mitch Melnick As bad as Price was last season, he never allowed more than six goals Mar 9, 2019 in a game. But there was still time for one more, like when you thought you had seen the last victims in Zodiac but it wasn’t quite done. So how’d the Great Goaltending Assignment schedule work out? Was it really a worst-case scenario? Rookie defenceman Max Jones victimized Price with a wrist shot from the middle of the ice with just 15 seconds to play in the game for his first Say it ain’t so Jo. NHL goal. He celebrated with arms raised, not flexing towards each other, in the same corner of the rink that Sprong had started the Isn’t it strange that the Canadiens weren’t put off at all in San Jose when onslaught just over two hours earlier. their backup goaltender had an early case of the shakes, like an over- caffeinated problem drinker trying to light his first cigarette of the day? To By now you could have steamed some broccoli on Price’s mask. their credit, they did not pick up on any of that negative Niemi energy Thursday night, but instead just kept pushing and competing until the Benn bookended the night by offering token resistance as Jones skated game was over. by him. The beleaguered veteran might as well have been waving goodbye to California. Yet, on Friday night in Anaheim, in front of their number one guy who happens to be chasing a Hall of Fame ghost, they clearly quit, rolling We’ll find out soon enough if it was also a farewell to the season. over to a physically imposing Ducks team the way your dog does when you give it that “WTF are you doing?” look. THE GOOD Maybe, like Carey Price and Paul Byron recently and Tomas Tatar in • Shea Weber: He’s been set up often of late but is hitting goalies in the Anaheim, the Habs are running on flu-bug empty. Maybe because they middle of the net or shooting wide. So midway through the game and on did work so hard the night before in an attempt to win a game they the power play, he kept his big shot along the ice. It was the 200th goal should have, they were zapped after 30 minutes or perhaps even earlier. of his 14-year career. Or maybe it’s just as simple as the chunk of kryptonite that follows them • Paul Byron: Finally had some jump again. all over the state of California. • Jordan Weal: The Habs are spending a lot of time in the offensive zone They weren’t bailed out by their goalie, but there was no fight in the dog when he’s on the ice. either. That was in plain sight early on when Nick Ritchie battered Nate THE BAD Thompson (on a pick that sent Thompson to the dressing room as per the NHL’s concussion protocol) and later Christian Folin in earning • Road trip: Some will remember the worst loss of the season in himself a pair of penalties. What he did to Folin – a cross-check to the Anaheim. I’ll remember the night before in San Jose when the Habs took neck – was in response to an innocuous Folin open-ice hit that sent advantage of a physically weakened Sharks team and outplayed them. talented rookie Troy Terry to the ice. Ritchie’s response was brutal, yet Claude Julien and his staff did a terrific job preparing them for the match- effective. Nobody went near him, and who the heck fears the Montreal up in practice on Wednesday. But then they decided to start their backup power play anyway? And to add insult to injury, shortly after he stepped goalie. And what should have been a Mission: Accomplished moment onto the ice after serving his second penalty Ritchie got the puck to (four points) with a game to spare, turned into a must win in what is Terry, who fed Adam Henrique, who found the front of the Montreal net always a difficult back end of the California trip, no matter what the Ducks had turned into a no-fly zone. He stepped around Price to give Anaheim look like at any given time. Instead of rising to the challenge on the ice in a 2-0 lead. Anaheim, they melted into it. The only saving grace was Carolina got spanked badly too, on home ice, by Winnipeg. Montreal is hanging on to Even though the Habs got one back 30 seconds later thanks to Byron the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but surrounded by teams and Ducks’ goalie John Gibson, who was kicking out rebounds all night, above (Carolina) and behind (Columbus) that both hold two games in the Habs were in trouble again in the final minute of the period when hand. It’s getting tighter than a pair of skinny jeans. Jordie Benn joined Brendan Gallagher in the penalty box after Benn’s stick carved up Terry’s mouth in a scene that could have been lifted out • Power play: Weber’s milestone goal was on the power play. Whoop- of Slap Shot. dee-do. They were blanked on five other chances. Yeah, they got more shots on goal (10), mostly because Weal and Phillip Danault were It was a critical stage of the game and perhaps season for Montreal. winning faceoffs to keep the puck in the Anaheim zone. But two failed They almost got through it but with about 45 seconds to go before power plays early in the game, with Ritchie in the penalty box for both, returning to even strength, Corey Perry skated into a sprawled-on-his- led directly to goals by Sprong and Henrique. It’s the negative stomach Price who never had control of the original shot by Ritchie momentum-swing thing. In their last 13 games, the Montreal power play before it slid to a poorly covered Devin Shore. has two goals in 32 opportunities. It got progressively worse from there even as a Shea Weber made it a 3- THE UGLY 2 game. Because for one of the very rare times this season, the 2019 Habs looked very much like the 2018 Habs when, about a minute later, • Joel Armia: Had to start somewhere so let’s do it alphabetically. their defensive zone coverage – including Weber – turned as soft and Relegated to the fourth line and away from his fellow Finns, Armia looked loose as a post-parade dump on St. Patrick’s Day (sorry). Terry was able disinterested and disengaged. Almost like he was moping. His horrible to stand unmolested as Cam Fowler set him up for a redirect, and what pass from inside the Montreal blue line to Thompson in the neutral zone might have been an historic 600th NHL game for Price was deteriorating forced a turnover that resulted in Sprong’s opening goal. A clear lack of rapidly. focus. His linemates, Thompson and Dale Weise, were not much better. What we saw play out in the third period was a bunch of guys who just • Jordie Benn: Horrendous night. Worst game of the season and one of wanted to go home. his worst in a Montreal jersey. I can’t recall another Montreal left-shot defenceman who is so clearly better playing the right side than his The ridiculously bad line change that resulted in a 5-on-2 break and natural side the way Benn is. Like night and day. Or in Benn’s case Anaheim’s fifth goal by Perry, who had time to read a list of all of the Friday night, he looked like he might have been sleepwalking in a opponents he has slashed in his career before finding room between different time zone somewhere between night and day. Price’s pads, was an embarrassment. Still, it was not the most embarrassing moment of the night. Andrew Shaw was coasting on the • Jonathan Drouin: Almost every time I saw Drouin near the puck I was “back-check”, while taking time to adjust his elbow pad as Perry was reminded of the Supertramp song “Take The Long Way Home”. putting a stick hex on Price. There was still another period to play. • Brendan Gallagher: Yes, him too. He looked gassed before the game At that point I thought we’d see Niemi again. was even 30 minutes old. We would have been spared the sight of Price being left defenseless. • Jesperi Kotkaniemi: Back in the lineup after spending two games in the Though he had five guys in front him, they looked more like the Keystone press box, Kotaniemi had one strong shift when he drew a penalty but otherwise didn’t do a whole lot. Had numerous touches on the power play but he appeared hesitant, again refusing to shoot the puck. There were times on the forecheck when he seemed to pick up another gear, as if he was telling (forcing) himself to get his feet moving. Remains scoreless on the road this season, or only slightly worse than the power play. • Artturi Lehkonen: So much for possibly putting a mini-scoring streak together after snapping his 29-game goal drought the night before. That’s what goal scorers often do. • Carey Price: Something was up early when he was surprised by the strength and accuracy of the Sprong wrist shot. Price clearly took note of Sprong’s celebration (I don’t know how to describe it other than to say he waves both arms towards each other. Anybody know the back story?) because when he later stopped Sprong on a breakaway, Price used the stoppage in play to mock what Sprong had done on his goal. If it was a one-sided game it’s amusing. But maybe that was an early indicator of a lack of complete focus that was needed if Montreal had any chance to survive. The last time Price allowed eight goals in a game he was beaten by the Bruins in Boston on Feb. 8, 2011. Two months later, after securing the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Habs – largely because of the play of Price – stretched the Bruins to overtime in Game 7 before bowing out on a Nathan Horton goal. It was the beginning of Boston’s ride to the Stanley Cup and subsequent parade celebration, the first since 1972. Eight years later, when Price looks up in the standings (after calming down or, “chilling out”) he sees the Tampa Bay Lightning as an even more imposing possible first round match up. Or he sees nothing at all. Saddle up. The Cowboy is in the homestretch. But the track is awful muddy.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135208 Montreal Canadiens fighting an invasive flu bug, with Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski the two high profile cases, but others also playing at less than 100 percent. The Canadiens had arrived in San Jose two nights earlier, held a practice The Canadiens can ill afford errors in foresight, if they want to avoid there, were settled and as rested as they could possibly be. Yes, the being judged in hindsight Sharks are a far better team than the Ducks, but they were vulnerable, and the Canadiens pounced on them only to be done in by poor goaltending and a serious lack of finish. By Arpon Basu By starting Niemi instead of Price, Julien sent the message that the priority was to get the win in Anaheim. Mar 9, 2019 “I thought we did a good job,” Victor Mete said after the 5-2 loss in San Jose on Thursday. “I mean, the score wasn’t in our favour but we’ve got to put this one behind us and focus on Anaheim tomorrow.” ANAHEIM — First off, let’s begin by saying this was not easy. This was not just about the dreaded California trip. This was a two-week exercise That was the last question Mete answered, and each of his answers in something that is routinely done in the NBA, but is unheard of in the ended with that same line, to focus on Anaheim. Players often say this NHL: load management. after a loss, that they need to shift their focus to the next game, but it is rarely hammered home as hard as Mete did after that loss. The term load management has become a fancy way for NBA teams to say they are resting guys, managing their season-long load by giving Then, after the 8-2 drubbing in Anaheim, Brendan Gallagher said this: them strategic games off. This is something NHL teams almost never do, “We put a lot of urgency on this game and didn’t come out…This one’s not on purpose anyway, unless they’re lying about certain illnesses and obviously disappointing. We would have liked to be leaving this road trip minor injuries, which I don’t feel is the case. The NHL’s version of load with more points than two. But as a group we need to find a way to management is giving someone a day off practice. Maybe two. But correct the mistakes we made and move on.” missing a game to rest if you’re healthy is something that almost never happens. When Price was sick on Monday and forced to miss the Canadiens’ practice in El Segundo, Julien was asked if Price will face the Kings This was the challenge facing Claude Julien over the past two weeks as assuming he was healthy on Tuesday. his Canadiens left Montreal on Feb. 22 to travel to Toronto for a game on Feb. 23, a game where the Canadiens could pull to within one point of “Yes, if he’s healthy enough, then absolutely,” Julien responded. “He’s the Maple Leafs with a win in regulation time. Remember that? If it our No. 1 goalie.” seems so long ago, it’s because it was. Ok, well then wouldn’t it stand to reason you play your No. 1 goalie From the time the Canadiens’ charter left Montreal on Feb. 22 to the time against the best team you will face on the road trip? Especially when they will return from this three-game swing through California sometime your No. 2 goalie has struggled as mightily as Niemi has this season? Saturday, they will have spent two out of 15 nights sleeping in their own beds, with one of those nights coming after a game in New York and a Again, it’s hindsight, but the decision to start Price behind a tired, travel- flight home late on March 1. They’ve been home for approximately 36 weary team in Anaheim instead of one that was fresh and motivated to hours in two weeks and played eight games in 14 days, one of them at face a real contender in San Jose was only one of a few curious the Bell Centre and three of them in the Pacific time zone. decisions Julien made in California, and it’s hard not to think most of them were based in what we talked about at the start. Load So, that’s not easy. Clearly. management. The Canadiens entered the final game of that gruesome stretch with a 3- It’s just hard to do load management right when you’ve never really done 4-0 record, entering Anaheim with a chance to finish it at .500, which it before. would have to be relatively satisfactory given the circumstances. They also had a chance to finish the California portion of that stretch with four Jesperi Kotkaniemi out of six points, a winning record, something they hadn’t done in this At practice in El Segundo on Monday, Julien had Kotkaniemi skating on a state in nine years. The success of the whole trip — both the California line with Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia, with Jordan Weal rotating in at portion and the extended one — was resting on this one game against a centre. The big news there, of course, was Drouin being placed on a line Ducks team that can’t score goals and sat 27th in the overall standings. with Kotkaniemi for the first time since the second game of the regular Then the Canadiens went out and played as if they had slept in their own season. beds twice in two weeks and lost to the Ducks 8-2. “If we put them together,” Julien said, “it’s because we think there’s a Was it foreseeable? You bet it was. possibility there.” “Either way it doesn’t matter,” Julien said after the beat down when asked Then Julien said something telling, considering Drouin was essentially that very question, whether this performance was foreseeable. “This is being demoted to the third line. what we have and we have to deal with it. As far as athletes are “When Jonathan is on his game he can do a lot of things, he can make concerned, you’re in great shape. That’s not to say it’s not hard on them. those around him better,” he said. “That’s what we’re counting on this “The biggest thing right now is that I think the last couple of weeks we’ve trip.” been on the road. I think it’s cumulative of all that stuff and it kind of Kotkaniemi spoke after practice of how the familiarity on his line with caught up with us a little bit. We made a pit stop at home against Armia and Paul Byron was starting to get results, how they were learning Pittsburgh and then packed again and left. So those aren’t easy, those to find each other without really thinking about it. When asked if he kinds of trips eventually, it catches up. Hopefully we get a little bit of rest thought Drouin would be on his left wing the next day, Kotkaniemi’s here and get ready for Tuesday and get back on track.” response is somewhat sad, again, in hindsight. So Julien knew this, that much is clear. But this is what makes the “I hope so,” he said. decision to start Antti Niemi against his former team in San Jose one night earlier so puzzling. Yes, Carey Price had started 15 straight games. Not only did Kotkaniemi not have Drouin on his left wing against the He needed a rest. But giving him that rest in Anaheim one night later Kings, he wasn’t in the lineup at all. Then he was scratched the next would have allowed him to have four days off in a row before the game, with Julien citing fatigue as the reason behind it. Or load Canadiens’ next game Tuesday, and it would have given the Canadiens management. their best chance of winning in San Jose. Meanwhile, Drouin was on a line with Weal and Armia the next two Even within the context of just the California portion of this extended time games before finishing the trip on a line with Phillip Danault and Brendan away from home, the Ducks game would be the Canadiens’ third in four Gallagher. nights, the second of a back-to-back with travel, playing in the Pacific time zone. Just that would suggest they would have no legs in Anaheim Drouin’s stat line for the trip? Zero goals, zero assists, four shots on goal playing a team that was rested and waiting for them. and a minus-3, though, to be fair, Weal did score the game-winner in L.A. So maybe Drouin made him better. Or maybe not. Adding the context of the team’s previous week prior to coming to California made it only more predictable. So now, by lacking some Kotkaniemi got back in the lineup against the Ducks after Tomas Tatar foresight, Julien will be judged in hindsight. came down with the flu. It’s unclear whether or not Kotkaniemi would have played if Tatar were healthy, but he definitely did not show the The Canadiens had a jump in San Jose, facing a team missing two of its renewed energy Julien said he was hoping to give him by resting him. biggest stars in Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane, and a team also Instead, he looked rusty and more tired than he looked before he sat. Brett Kulak Over the first two games of the trip, Kulak played 21:07 against the Kings and 18:29 against the Sharks. Then, against the Ducks, Kulak didn’t play, allowing Mike Reilly to get back in the lineup after a five-game absence. Julien could have easily taken Christian Folin out, dropped Kulak back with Jordie Benn – a pairing that was working very well for a while – and put Reilly back to the left of Jeff Petry. Instead, it was Kulak who came out, someone who was playing well, presumably in the name of load management. Folin was on the ice for the first three Ducks goals on Friday, one of which came on the power play, and he and Benn finished the night a minus-3. And Reilly had to get back up to speed in a hurry in a game the Canadiens “had put a lot of urgency on.” “You’re just trying to come in and pick up where I left off before I got scratched,” Reilly said. Easier said than done. Julien has a favourite saying. He uses it a lot when he doesn’t want to answer a question about one of his decisions, like a mid-game line change that sparked the team or a specific matchup he exploited. It goes like this. “It’s called coaching.” The same, however, can be said when decisions backfire on you. It’s a perfect saying in that sense, because it works both ways. So now what? The Canadiens get to rest, and it’s something they sorely need. As we said at the beginning, there was nothing easy about this stretch of games and it forced Julien into some lineup decisions that are somewhat rare this time of year, when most teams battling for a playoff spot generally ride the same group of players that have earned their way into the lineup for these crucial games. But by the time the Canadiens play again when they host the Red Wings on Tuesday, their playoff positioning will become much clearer because every team they are competing with — Pittsburgh, Carolina and Columbus — will have played the two games in hand each team has on Montreal. It’s very possible the Canadiens will be out of a playoff spot by then, and losing both the San Jose and Anaheim games will really sting if that’s the case. But it is not quite so dire, and it is very premature to look ahead to the murderer’s row of teams the Canadiens finish the season against: at Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, at Washington and Toronto. Before getting there, the Canadiens don’t have that difficult a schedule and have games in Carolina and Columbus, so ample opportunities to help themselves and make those final four games less relevant. And again, it is worth remembering that the fact the Canadiens are playing relevant games in March at all is something worth commending, no matter how dire things may feel right now. Thankfully, Byron is always around to remind us of that. “Our destiny is in our hands; it’s up to us to grasp it,” Byron said prior to facing the Kings at the beginning of the trip in California. “Our team is in a great position, we’ve put ourselves in a great spot this year. I know a lot of people didn’t think we’d be fighting for a playoff spot this late in the year, so it’s up to us to take advantage of that, have fun with that and realize the opportunity we have in our hands right now.” That opportunity still exists, it is still there for them to grasp. It’s just gotten much more difficult.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135209 Nashville Predators

Nino Niederreiter scores twice to help Hurricanes top Predators

Paul Skrbina, Nashville Tennessean Published 9:39 p.m. CT March 9, 2019 | Updated 10:21 p.m. CT March 9, 2019

The Predators didn't see the humor in their comedy of first-period errors Saturday night. They committed four penalties in the first 20 minutes, saving their worst for last when they were called for too many men on the ice during a power play with 2 minutes, 29 seconds remaining in the period. That eventually turned into a power play for the Hurricanes — and Nino Niderreiter's second goal of the period with 31 seconds left. The Predators also found themselves with four forwards on the ice during one penalty kill in what turned out to be a 5-3 loss at Bridgestone Arena. Predators goalie Juuse Saros made seven shorthanded saves during the first three penalty kills and continued to try to make a case that perhaps he should start more. The Predators improved in the second period. Craig Smith scored his 18th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1 just 2:52 in. But Justin Williams pushed Carolina's lead to 3-1 with a goal 55 seconds into the third. A minute, 50 seconds later, Brian Boyle sliced it to 3-2, his fourth goal since joining the Predators. Jordan Martinook answered at 6:38, though, when he sneaked the puck past Saros to make it 4-2. Mikael Granlund scored his first goal since joining the Predators with 2:25 left. Though the puck clearly crossed the line, Boyle was called for goalie interference and the goal, which never was called on the ice, didn't count. Until it did. The Predators challenged the call, which was overturned, and the deficit was cut to 4-3. Big number: 6. Consecutive victories by the Hurricanes against the Predators. Big name: Predators forward Filip Forsberg, who missed two days of practice but skated Saturday morning, missed the game with an upper body injury. He is listed as day-to-day. Big game: Teuvo Teravainen had two assists for the Hurricanes. Records: The Predators fell to 39-26-5, while the Hurricanes moved to 37-24-7. Notable: The Predators honored Scott Hartnell on Saturday night. And Predators coach Peter Laviolette waxed poetic about the former forward's hair. Quotable: "They're an angry team after their game (8-1 loss Friday) night. They’ve been one of the top teams in the league the last couple of months. Now they're angry. That’s always a concern for me." 1 Laviolette on the Hurricanes.

Tennessean LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135210 Nashville Predators Simmonds, Hartnell said, wears more than Hartnell's old number on his sleeves and back.

"He wears his emotion on the sleeve when he plays, just like I did," Predators pay tribute to Scott Hartnell on 'Scott Hartnell Night' Hartnell said. "We were stallmates … so every little beef he had we talked it out. Kinda had to talk him off the ledge a couple times cause he wanted to go out there and hurt somebody. Paul Skrbina, Nashville Tennessean "He’s a great pro. He’s played the game the right way." Published 7:10 p.m. CT March 9, 2019 | Updated 8:34 p.m. CT March 9, 2019 Hartnell was honored earlier this season by the Flyers when the Predators played in Philadelphia.

Predators coach Peter Laviolette practically broke into poetic verses Saturday morning while describing Scott Hartnell's hair. Tennessean LOADED: 03.10.2019 "He’s up there," Laviolette said Saturday morning when asked where Hartnell's 'dos ranked on his list. "I've seen it all over the place too -- I've seen it long. I've seen it curly. I think he straightened it a couple of times. Had it really short. "He's got some magic he can make with that hair." The two shared a hearty embrace moments earlier outside the Predators locker room at Bridgestone Arena, where Hartnell was honored Saturday on "Scott Hartnell Night." Laviolette, who coached Hartnell in both Philadelphia and for Hartnell's last NHL season last year in Nashville, has the retired forward high on many lists. Known as "Bird Dog," Hartnell played 17 seasons in the NHL -- the first six and last one with the Predators, who picked him sixth overall in the 2000 draft. He debuted with them when he was 18, the youngest player to play for the team in franchise history. He spent seven seasons with the Flyers and two with the Blue Jackets. READY OR NOT? Is Juuse Saros making a case to start more for Predators, maybe even in the postseason? He had 106 of his 327 career goals with the Predators, along with 129 of 380 assists in 498 of his 1,249 career games. "Everybody is really excited to see 'Hartsy," Laviolette said. "He's one of those players that's so easy to like. "To be able to work with a guy like that -- great person, great player. It's really great we're taking a minute to honor a guy like that." Hartnell, 36, decided last summer to retire after he stopped working out for a couple of weeks. "Kinda looked in the mirror one day ... It wasn’t there," he said. "My heart wasn't into it." Hartnell's heart didn't have much time to miss hockey. Eight or nine days after the Predators were eliminated by the Jets in the second round of playoffs last season, Hartnell's wife gave birth to their first child, Wesley. "I've been around almost every day with him. Watching him grow … that’s been a plus in my retirement," Hartnell said. Hartnell, who announced his retirement Oct. 1, said he misses the pregame soccer matches, dinners on the road with the guys and pregame warmups when he didn't wear a helmet -- so he could show off his flow. But he said he's embraced life after hockey. He's a studio analyst for NHL Network now, and said he enjoys sharing his knowledge of the sport. He dropped the ceremonial first puck Saturday, was given a video tribute and received a rousing round of applause. Hartnell is familiar with many Predators of this season, including newcomer Wayne Simmonds, who was acquired from the Flyers on trade-deadline day for Ryan Hartman and a draft pick. Hartnell said Simmonds dialed his number two minutes after the deadline Feb. 25 and asked for his number 17. "He goes, 'I just got traded to Nashville, I think,'" Hartnell said. "I said, 'What do you mean you think?' "I was so happy for him. He was so fired up. ... He said, 'Would you mind if I wore 17. I said, 'Of course not. It's all yours. I wouldn’t want anyone else to wear it.'" 1135211 Nashville Predators

Predators forward Filip Forsberg 'day-to-day' with upper-body injury

Paul Skrbina, Nashville Tennessean Published 11:42 a.m. CT March 9, 2019 | Updated 8:20 p.m. CT March 9, 2019

Filip Forsberg spent Thursday and Friday off the ice, in an effort to be ready to go on the ice Saturday against the Hurricanes. The Predators forward did not practice the last two days for what coach Peter Laviolette called "maintenance" days, but he was on the ice Saturday during the team's morning skate at Bridgestone Arena. He was not, however, on the ice Saturday night. He is "day-to-day" with an upper-body injury, the team said. Forsberg missed 19 games earlier this season with an upper body injury. He said Saturday morning he expected to play Saturday night. "That’s the plan," he said. "Two days of no practice. Today, I felt good. "Everyone's going through stuff at this time of the year. It's just been two good days here trying to get ready." The Hurricanes have defeated the Predators five consecutive times, so the Predators could have used Forsberg, who has 22 goals and 19 assists in 52 games this season.

Tennessean LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135212 Nashville Predators "Confidence is one of those things people always talk about. You can't just grab it. You have to somehow earn it and build it. To me, it always comes from practices, then you have a strong game and off you go Is Juuse Saros making a case to start more for Predators, maybe even in again. It sometimes affects me, affects my confidence and the way I see the postseason? myself." Quotable Saros: "Some games bounces go our way; some games not. I feel like I've been playing better. You can’t get too satisfied. I've been Paul Skrbina, Nashville Tennessean feeling well when I get a chance to go in the net. At the same time, I want to prove I can be an elite guy in this league. Published 7:00 a.m. CT March 9, 2019 | Updated 1:59 p.m. CT March 9, 2019 "You understand the situation. Be patient about it. I accept the role." The advanced argument If not for a winter storm, Pekka Rinne's streak might be longer. Not all shots — or saves — are created equally. It was the snow, man. Saros has faced an average of about three more shots per 60 minutes than Rinne since Jan. 1, according to naturalstattrick.com. Rinne's arrival to Nashville during the regular season in 2008, when goalies Chris Mason and Dan Ellis were struggling, was delayed by Here's a deeper look at some more advanced metrics that compares the weather. two since Jan. 1, going into Saturday's game against the Hurricanes. But Ellis went on a hot streak soon after and Rinne appeared in just one 29.1: Percentage of high-danger shot attempts faced by Rinne regular-season game. 26: Percentage of high-danger attempts faced by Saros On April 20 of that year, Ellis started in goal for the team's 3-0 loss to the Red Wings in Game 6 of the Western Conference quarterfinals — the But Saros has been saving those attempts at a higher rate — 90 percent last time anyone other than Rinne has been the starting goalie for a (90 of 100), which is first in the league in that span among goalies who Predators postseason game. have played at least 400 minutes, compared to 81.4 percent for Rinne. Rinne has been the Predators' starting goalie in each of the team's last Saros' 10 high-danger goals against are tied for second-fewest in the 83 playoff games since, 43 of which they've won. His first was April 16, league, while Rinne's 29 tied him for eighth-most allowed. 2010. Saros also has a 7.92 goals saved above average during that span. The likelihood of that more-than-3,200-day streak ending this postseason Rinne is at minus-1.04, meaning he has performed below average. seems far-fetched on the surface. What does it all mean? But a deeper look at Rinne's numbers, in comparison to those of backup Nothing, perhaps. Or something. Juuse Saros, suggests the idea isn't so inconceivable. Rinne has repeated that he wants to be the starter for as long as Father First things first Time allows. He's also said on more than one occasion that he's fine with Rinne signed a two-year contract extension on Nov. 3, his 36th birthday. backing up Saros if Father Time — or Predators coach Peter Laviolette He wants to finish his career with the Predators. When his career ends, — insists. he will almost certainly be the first Predators player to have his number Rinne and Saros, who will be a restricted free agent after the 2020-21 retired. He knows one day he might very well be a backup. season, are close off the ice. Saros lived in Rinne's house during his first His pay will go from $7 million per year to $5 million for each of the next training camp. two seasons. But there is a friendly rivalry between the two. He's been pulled from just eight playoff games. Saros has relieved him in Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74) deflects a shot by Blues left wing six of those. Jaden Schwartz (17) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena Two of those instances occurred during a three-game span in the second Sunday Feb. 10, 2019 in Nashville, Tenn. round last season against the Jets, when he was pulled three times in "It pushes me, too," Rinne said. "Even though we are good friends, seven games. there's always competition. It’s a healthy competition. We both push each The basic argument other. It makes us better Rinne, last season's Vezina Trophy winner, has struggled of late, "It's in your head that, no matter what, the whole team has the same especially in 2019. A deeper dive into some metrics — advanced and mindset. It doesn’t matter which one of us plays. I have 110 percent basic — support that. confidence when Juuse is on the ice, especially the latter part of the season. He's been lights-out." With the playoffs starting in about a month, here's a look at some numbers going into Saturday's game against the Hurricanes. Lights on 9-7-2: Rinne's record since Jan. 1 Saros said nothing in particular has made the light bulb go on for him. 7-3-1: Saros' record in the same time span He approaches practices and games as he always has. 15-10-1: Rinne's record before the New Year The numbers, he notices them — whether they're good, bad or average. 8-5-1: Saros' record in the same span He just doesn't put too much stock into them. .903: Rinne's save percentage since Jan. 1, when he's stopped 485 of The 23-year-old is in his third full season. He's happy with his 537 shots development and learning from Rinne. .938: Saros' save percentage since Jan. 1, when he's stopped 360 of 384 He also wants to play. attempts "Try to keep myself as even as I can," he said. "It also helps when you .920: Rinne's save percentage before Jan. 1, when he stopped 705 of get a little more games here and there, get a little more rhythm. I don't 766 attempts have many games in this league, so every game is a learning process for me. I also want results." .894: Saro's percentage before Jan. 1, when he saved 329 of 368 "You can practice as much as you want, but games are always so 2.96: Rinne's goals-against average since Jan. 1 different. That’s where most of the development happens." 2.08: Saros' goals-against average since Jan. 1 Laviolette has kept his word about playing Saros more — he's appeared in a career-high 27 games and was tied for his career best in starts with Quotable Rinne: "I'd like to say I just try to stay even keeled. But you 23 going into Saturday. can't deny it affects you. This is our livelihood. You take it very seriously. When you're not playing well it takes a toll on you. Should it be deemed necessary this postseason, Saros might set a career-high for playoff games started. His next will be his first. He's already started making his argument. If he continues to play at or near his current level, Laviolette and the Predators might have another decision to make.

Tennessean LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135213 New Jersey Devils Notes The Rangers are up 3-0 in the season series. The two area rivals will meet one more time this season on the other side of the river at Devils blow 2-0 lead in 4-2 loss to Rangers Prudential Center. ... New Jersey’s road record dropped to 8-23-3. … Prior to the game, the Devils called up forwards Brandon Gignac and Eric Tangradi from Binghamton of the American Hockey League. For Abbey Mastracco, NHL writer Tangradi, it was his first NHL action since 2016 and the NHL debut for Gignac. The two took the places of Stefan Noesen and John Published 9:51 p.m. ET March 9, 2019 | Updated 10:47 p.m. ET March 9, Quenneville, who were both out with upper-body injuries. It was a blow to 2019 two players fighting for roster spots next season. Noesen returned on Wednesday after a lengthy absence with a lower-body injury and

Quenneville played Friday in Washington, his first game back after NEW YORK — Since John Hynes came aboard the Devils never missing four. dropped a game in regulation when leading after the second period.

That streak ended on Saturday at Madison Square Garden when the Bergen Record LOADED: 03.10.2019 Devils blew a 2-0 lead in a 4-2 loss to the Rangers, their sixth straight (0- 5-1). Damon Severson and Blake Coleman scored for the Devils and Cory Schneider made 37 saves. Ryan Strome scored twice for New York, including the empty-net goal with 9.6 seconds left to drop the dagger on the Devils. Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves. Mar 9, 2019; New York, NY, USA; The New York Rangers celebrate after a goal against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Madison Square Garden. “I thought Schneider was fantastic, we were a team that came out and battled hard and played hard,” Hynes said. “As the game wore on, the biggest issue wasn’t a lack of battle. We just didn’t manage some of the pressure well.” The night started off well for the Devils, who were playing the second game of a back-to-back set just 24 hours removed from a road loss to the Washington Capitals. It was a night of milestones with Michael McLeod recording his first NHL point with an assist on Severson’s goal and Travis Zajac recording his 500th on Coleman’s goal. After only scoring once in their last three games, the Devils opened up to a 2-0 lead but they couldn’t hold on to it. The Devils had been so bad on the power play in recent games they worked themselves into an 0-for-25 funk. But Coleman snapped that streak when he tipped in Butcher’s point shot with 11 seconds left in the first period. Zajac set up Butcher for the 2-0 goal, going low-to-high with a pass from the circle for his 500th career point. Kenny Agostino dropped off a pass for Severson at the point and he slapped one past Henrik Lundqvist at 16:26 to put New Jersey on the board. McLeod was credited with the secondary assist. Mar 9, 2019; New York, NY, USA; New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson (28) celebrates with left wing Kenny Agostino (17) after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden. But McLeod was outmaneuvered in the second period, losing positioning on Strome in front of the net. Strome was able to deflect Kevin Shattenkirk’s shot past Schneider using his skate, cutting the New Jersey lead in half at 18:22, closing a lopsided period in which the Rangers outshot the Devils 14-2. “We were killing a little bit too much. We had too many penalties there,” captain Andy Greene said. “And then we weren’t very good on faceoffs. And that’s not on the center, that’s on all of us out there for those 50-50 pucks. We’ve got to make sure we’re jumping on them because when they start with the puck they get momentum off of it and we start spending more time in the defensive zone.” The Devils killed off all five power play opportunities they gave the Rangers but killing off them all off proved taxing and the Rangers picked up right where they left off in the third period, with Libor Hajek tying the game with his first NHL goal just 1:29 into the period. But the moment was shortlived for Hajek, as the forward would later leave the game with what the team said is a separated shoulder. Schneider bailed the Devils out in the third with a few big saves when defensive coverage was spotty at best but he couldn't get a read on Vladislav Namestnikov’s one-timer from the left circle at 13:25. Namestnikov put the Rangers ahead for good with his 10th of the season. New Jersey’s young players are learning how to protect a lead and after blowing this one there may be several lessons to take. "We continue to fight and battle and play for each other hard," Greene said. "If we can play just as hard as we play in the D-zone in the offensive zone I think it will be huge for us." 1135214 New Jersey Devils

Rangers snap skid with win over rival Devils

Staff Report THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | MAR 09, 2019 | 10:20 PM

No matter where they are in the standings, the New York Rangers were just happy to finally get a win. Vladislav Namestnikov snapped a tie in the third period, and the Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Saturday night to stop a six-game slide. "We've got 14 games to go and you can feel it in that locker room, winning feels way better than losing." Rangers coach David Quinn said. "Obviously our situation is what it is, but we want to win hockey games." New York (28-28-12) hadn't won since beating New Jersey in their previous meeting on Feb. 23. It is well off the pace in the wild-card race in the Eastern Conference. Ryan Strome had two goals and an assist for the Rangers, and Libor Hajek scored his first NHL goal. Namestnikov also had two assists, and Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves. Quinn said after the game that Hajek has a separated shoulder. He didn't have a timeline for his return. Damon Severson and Blake Coleman scored first-period goals for New Jersey, which has lost six in a row. Cory Schneider made 37 saves. "Yeah, it's frustrating," Schneider said. "Being up 2-0 after one, having a lead going into the third to lose in regulation is tough. My job is to be one better and I wasn't able to." The Devils carried a 2-1 lead into the third, but Hajek got a cross-ice pass from Strome and wristed a shot past Schneider on the glove side at 1:29. Namestnikov then made it 3-2 when he scored his 10th of the season at 13:25 off a pass from Mika Zibanejad. Strome added an empty-netter. "It's positive that we finally closed a game out," Namestnikov said. "I thought we deserved better in those overtime losses against Washington and Tampa, but hockey goes that way sometimes and I'm just we got the two points tonight." Trailing 2-0 after the first, the Rangers controlled play for most of the second and got on the board late in the period. Kevin Shattenkirk's shot from just inside the blue line was deflected by Strome, who scored his 12th at 18:22. The Rangers outshot the Devils 14-2 for the period, but Schneider was sharp for New Jersey. "I thought the whole second period we were really good," Strome said. "We did a good job in the second of our pushback. We weren't great in the first. We had a good second period and kind of took the game over." The Devils got off to a fast start. First, Severson's shot from the right point got past Lundqvist for his 10th of the season 16:26 into the first. Then New Jersey ended its lengthy power-play drought when Coleman deflected Will Butcher's shot for his 19th of the season at 19:49. The Devils had come up empty on their previous 25 power plays.

New York Daily News LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135215 New Jersey Devils And the NHLPA should make it its business to effect a change. Who do you have for the 2020 Doug Harvey?

Devils general manager Ray Shero this week told The Athletic’s Craig NHL should honor Red Wings great by renaming Conn Smythe trophy Custance that he never for a moment considered trading Taylor Hall at the deadline, which is mighty big of him considering the reigning Hart Trophy winner — admit it, you don’t have a clue who the MVP award is By Larry Brooks named after, do you, which of course makes perfect sense — has been sidelined with a knee issue since late December and apparently recently March 9, 2019 | 9:02PM underwent an arthroscopy. Hall has one season remaining on his contract. Absent an extension, he will become a free agent in 2020. If the winger does not commit to This clearly will not be a priority for the NHLPA as it approaches summer staying in New Jersey by the entry draft, Shero will have no choice but to collective bargaining talks with the league in advance of September’s deal him. mutual opt-outs. There are, after all, serious economic and systemic issues to negotiate. Isn’t that right, Scott Malkin? But one way for the union to honor the memory of the great Ted Lindsay The Lightning entered Saturday with a 15-point lead over the Flames for and its own history is to insist on changing the name of the playoff MVP the NHL’s best overall record and were on pace to shatter the 11-point award. This most certainly should be part of the Players Association’s margin established by the 2005-06 Red Wings and the 2015-16 Capitals ancillary quality-of-life agenda. as the largest of the cap era. You will recognize that neither Detroit nor Washington won the Cup those seasons. It is time to remove the name of Conn Smythe — the tyrannical Maple Leafs owner who did everything in his considerable power to undercut The largest all-time margin between first- and second-overall is 27 points the formation of the players’ association in the mid-1950s and emerged (131-104), established by the Red Wings over the Avalanche in 1995-96. as one of the most villainous figures in the early labor fight for players’ Of course, Colorado defeated Detroit in the six-game bloodbath Western rights — from the trophy. finals that year. Past time. The honor was never his. But the largest discrepancy on a points-per-game basis of the modern era (considered to begin with the 1944-45 introduction of the red line) The PA already has an award in Lindsay’s name. Renamed in 2010 after was established by the 1955-56 Canadiens, who finished 24 points (100- previously having been known as the Lester Pearson Award at its 76) ahead of the Red Wings over a 70-game schedule, equating to .34 inception in 1970-71, the Ted Lindsay Award goes to the NHL’s most per. And yes, Montreal won its first of five straight Cups that year. outstanding player as voted by his peers. Jean Ratelle won it in 1971-72, and Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06 when he was robbed of the Hart. Brendan Smith remembers Ted Lindsay as 'magnificent man' New York Post LOADED: 03.10.2019 So why not name the playoff MVP award for Doug Harvey, the fabled six- time Cup winning Montreal defenseman who preceded Bobby Orr as the blue-line standard, and who was one of the handful of pioneers who joined with Lindsay and risked his livelihood in the ’50s trying to create a players’ association? We reflexively attribute courage to players who mix it up in the corners, compete on the walls and go the front of the net. But the players in the ’50s who attempted to build the PA truly were profiles in courage. There were six teams in the league, around 100 players, who could be sent to the minors on a moment’s notice, who were locked into contracts with reserve clauses that bound them to their respective organizations for life, who lacked pension plans. NHL players did what they were told, took whatever contracts they were offered, or they no longer were NHL players. Lindsay was exiled to the Blackhawks, a run-down operation, in 1957. Harvey was sent to the Rangers in 1961, hardly a destination location in those days, where as player-coach in 1961-62 he won his seventh and final Norris and took the Blueshirts to the playoffs for the only time in an eight-year stretch starting in 1959. Jim Thomson of the Maple Leafs, a two-time second-team all-star defenseman, was also dispatched to Chicago. By the way, the union might want to look into getting the name of James Norris, who owned the Red Wings and also had substantial ownership interest in the Blackhawks and Rangers, off of the best defenseman award, too. The hardly funny joke of the day was that “NHL” meant the Norris House League. The story of the fight for players’ rights is told in remarkable fashion by authors David Cruise and Allison Griffiths in their book, “Net Worth,” that was later turned into the best hockey movie ever made. It can be streamed on Amazon Prime. (“Net Worth is to “Slap Shot” as “Eight Men Out” is to “Major League.”) Lindsay, who died Monday at age 93, was one of the NHL’s greatest players, a seven-time first-team all-star, who combined with Gordie Howe and Sid Abel to form “The Production Line,” one of the league’s most celebrated forward units. The Red Wings finished first in the six-team league seven straight seasons from 1948-49 through 1954-55 while winning the Cup four times. And yet, “Mr. Norris” and “Mr. Smythe” conspired (if not in the legal sense) to have Lindsay banished to Chicago. Why on earth would the NHL player judged to be the MVP of the playoffs raise a trophy carrying the dastardly Toronto owner’s name? He shouldn’t, simple as that. 1135216 New York Islanders As Boychuk was leaving the ice, he motioned at Voracek. "He's getting off the ice and pointing at me like it's Wrestlemania," Voracek said. "Give me a break. We'll see what happens next game." Islanders spoil special night with awful loss to Flyers The Islanders honored their late Hall of Fame general manager Bill Torrey before the start of the game. Members of Torrey's family were on Staff Report hand for a ceremonial puck drop and a tribute video was played in his honor. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Torrey died on May 2, 2018, at his home in South Florida at the age of MAR 09, 2019 | 10:40 PM 83. He developed the Islanders into a dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-83. With the season coming down to the wire, the Philadelphia Flyers know that wins over division-leading teams such as the Islanders are not easy to come by. New York Daily News LOADED: 03.10.2019 Well, now they've got two over New York in the last six days. James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist, helping the Flyers to a 5- 2 win over the Islanders on Saturday night. Ryan Hartman, Sean Couturier, Nolan Patrick and Travis Konecny also scored for Philadelphia, which had a three-goal second period. Brian Elliott made 25 saves for his 10th victory of the season. Elliott's performance was also bolstered by the 16 blocked shots the Flyers recorded. "I thought our guys really played well defensively," Flyers coach Scott Gordon said. "The game that we played here last week I think we got lucky in the second period a few times, but tonight this was probably one of our better defensive games. . With the exception of the last two plays at the net at the end of the game there, we had guys that were able to stop them from getting shots off." The win helped Philadelphia inch closer to the final wild-card spot. They are seven points behind Pittsburgh and five behind Columbus and Montreal for one of two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, which includes wins over the Islanders and Penguins. "We were really good defensively," Jakub Voracek said about the Flyers' effort. "We didn't give up much. We eliminated their speed through the neutral zone." Scott Mayfield and Nick Leddy scored for New York, and Thomas Greiss made 10 saves but gave up all five of the Flyers' goals in 39:56 of action. Christopher Gibson made his first appearance since Dec. 6 in relief of Greiss in the third period and stopped 10 shots. The Islanders remained two points behind Washington for the Metropolitan Division lead. New York has struggled in its last five games, going 2-3-0 since defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 on Feb. 28. New York's only two wins came against the struggling Ottawa Senators. The Islanders host Columbus on Monday night. "It's not something we're taking lightly," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "When there's a rough patch and we're coming in here talking a little bit too much about the streak. We just have to find a way to regroup tomorrow. We have a huge (game) on Monday. "This one is obviously awful. It stinks." Van Riemsdyk scored with 3.1 seconds left in the first period to break a 1-1 tie. The Flyers forward was left alone in front of the net to clean up a puck that was initially stopped by Greiss. Philadelphia extended its lead to 3-1 at the 1:34 mark of the second period. Couturier fired a hard shot from the top of the left faceoff circle for his 28th goal of the season. The Flyers made it 4-1 when Patrick scored at 5:35 of the second. Konecny's goal at 17:26 put Philadelphia up 5-1. Leddy scored to cut the Flyers' lead to 5-2 with 3:32 remaining in the game. Mayfield gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at the 6:30 mark of the first period after his shot was deflected into the net by the stick of Corban Knight. The goal was Mayfield's first since Nov. 18 against Dallas. The Flyers evened the score on Hartman's goal at 15:20 of the first. Ivan Provorov threw the puck at the net and Hartman was able to push the rebound by Greiss. Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk left early after being hit up high by Voracek. Boychuk was attended to on the ice for several minutes by a team trainer before going to the dressing room. 1135217 New York Islanders

Islanders: Johnny Boychuk victim of a ‘dirty hit’ to the head

By Brett Cyrgalis March 10, 2019 | 3:45am

It was hard to tell who was more upset — Johnny Boychuk, who was forced to leave the ice following a headshot from Jakub Voracek, or his teammates afterward when they got to voice their displeasure. “It’s a dirty hit, no question,” Casey Cizikas said after the Islanders lost to the Flyers, 5-2, on Saturday night at the Coliseum. Boychuk took the shot at 5:41 of the third period, with his team down, 5- 1. The puck was in the corner and he went to hit Voracek, who not only braced for the collision, but then threw his back at Boychuk and caught him in the head. Boychuk went to the ice in a heap and was writhing in pain. When he finally got up, he was yelling and pointing towards Voracek in the penalty box. Voracek got a five-minute interference major, which, under rule 56.5, comes with a game misconduct that the officials did not apply. “When a major penalty is imposed under this rule for a foul resulting in an injury of an opponent, a game misconduct shall be imposed,” the rule reads. Apparently the crew, led by Frederick L’Ecuyer, believed that handing out the misconduct was at their discretion — or at least that’s what they told Islanders coach Barry Trotz — and they didn’t deem the hit bad enough to do so. One thing the play definitely resulted in was Boychuk going into league- mandated concussion protocol, if not needing an evaluation for a shoulder or collarbone injury. Trotz only gave his status as “day-to-day.” Matt Martin returned to the lineup after a four-game absence due to a flare-up in the left elbow injury that has bothered the winger since early in the season. Martin aggravated the injury at some point during the Maple Leafs game on Feb. 28. He got 12:59 of ice time on a line with Cizikas and Leo Komarov. Goalie Robin Lehner had still not begun skating and Trotz continued to call him “day-to-day.” Lehner had taken a head shot from the Senators’ Brady Tkachuk on Tuesday that forced him out of the game, and he presumably went through concussion protocol. Cal Clutterbuck returned to the ice for Saturday’s morning skate, but the rugged winger missed his third straight game after he had taken a puck to the head while sitting on the bench this past Sunday. The puck hit Clutterbuck behind the right ear. Veterans Thomas Hickey and Andrew Ladd were healthy scratches again, which was the sixth straight for the defenseman and second straight for winger, respectively. Both players just returned from long- term injuries, and found that their lineup spots had been solidified by other players in their absence. “That’s sort of the rub of it: You have to make sure that you’re so good that there’s no way possible I can take you out,” Trotz said.

New York Post LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135218 New York Islanders New York Post LOADED: 03.10.2019 Islanders deliver clunker on Bill Torrey night in ugly loss to Flyers

By Brett Cyrgalis March 9, 2019 | 9:57pm | Updated

The feeling from the Islanders alumni in the suite was already soured over the way the current team had played the first period. It’s not hard to imagine what it was like once the game ended. The current Islanders ruined Bill Torrey Appreciation Night when they got shellacked by the Flyers, 5-2, Saturday night at the Coliseum. The group of 21 former players who came in from all over the world to pay respects to the legendary general manager who died in May were treated to one of the worst games the Islanders have played during this three-week depression, and the trend is growing with concern. “It’s adversity,” coach Barry Trotz said, wearing a bowtie — Torrey’s signature — as was the rest of the staff. “The biggest thing that you can do when it’s not really going your way is pull together, not pull apart.” That would be necessary if the Islanders (39-22-7) don’t want to disintegrate into rubble, with no more games against the lowly Senators left on the schedule after they swept an ugly home-and-home this past week. And the Flyers (33-27-8) are playing well and fighting for their postseason lives, but this is the type of competition the Islanders should be ready for every night. No doubt Torrey would have been apoplectic about an effort like this, one that was colored with more ugliness as defenseman Johnny Boychuk took a head shot from Jakub Voracek early in the third period and didn’t return. “This was obviously is awful, it stinks, it sucks,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “We have to stick together in this room like we did after Johnny went down, and find a way to build off it.” Anders Lee argues with an official during the second period. Lee is a direct descendant from the type of alumni who were up in the box, including the franchise’s first captain in Eddie Westfall, followed by Clark Gillies and Pat Flatley. This is a revival in the time of the Islanders’ tight-knit group of former players being embraced by the franchise, spearheaded by new owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky, the latter in the suite acting as a de facto emcee. “This night is a great recognition of Bill’s life and what he’s meant to the Islanders,” Ledecky told The Post. “That ethos of our tradition and our history, this night is the manifestation of that by having Torrey night, by having alums from around the world back, and the fact that the alums want to reconnect with the team.” Flatley remembered a time not too far in the past when ownership was neither embracing the team’s history nor engaging the former players, and the franchise was floundering. But that has changed with nights like Saturday, which was a big party for them that was soured by how much they care about the current team. “The alumni was always close in helping each other on our own, but there was a disconnect with the team for a little while,” Flatley said. “Now the connection is full-on and back. Now we’re connecting with the team, which feels great. Everybody is so excited about it and proud of it.” So are the current players, starting with Lee. “Every day we get to throw that jersey on, it’s the same thing for us — we take a lot of pride in that,” Lee said. “It’s a special thing to not only be in the NHL, but to be in an area with a franchise that has a lot of traditions and a lot of good memories.” The hope after this one will be to forget it. Thomas Greiss was pulled to start the third period after allowing five goals on 15 shots and his team down, 5-1. The defensive structure was atrocious, followed in kind by the puck management and the competitiveness in 1-on-1 battles. It could have been a nice night for the alumni and for the franchise, but it was spoiled by the current team, which is struggling to put an end to this slippage in play that could eventually put their postseason drive in jeopardy. “I wish I was playing,” Flatley said, “let’s leave it at that.” They could’ve used him. 1135219 New York Islanders

Islanders stumble and fall to Flyers on Bill Torrey Night

By Andrew Gross [email protected] @AGrossNewsday Updated March 10, 2019 1:30 AM

It may not be panic time yet, but the Islanders should be seriously fretting about their play. They were consistently slow getting back defensively. They left too much room around their crease. They got no help from their 0-for-3 power play. And it led to a 5-2 loss to the Flyers on Saturday before a sellout crowd of 13,917 on Bill Torrey Appreciation Night at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum, with plenty of alumni on hand to honor the bow-tied architect of the Islanders’ dynasty days. “It’s adversity,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “We have another level of effort, commitment, all those intangible things. The answer is nowhere but our room. There’s no help from the outside. We weren’t good enough.” It continued an alarming series of incomplete performances in the playoff push for the Islanders (39-22-7), who are two points behind the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division but are in a 4-5-1 rut that includes a 4-1 loss to the Flyers at the Coliseum last Sunday. Thomas Greiss was pulled after allowing five goals on 15 shots in two periods. Brian Elliott made 25 saves for the Flyers (33-27-8). “It happens,” Leo Komarov said. “It’s been a long season. We’re not really happy with what’s going on right now. We know we have a good team. I wouldn’t say we should be worried about anything. We just need to step up and play the same way we’ve been playing.” The Islanders did show some pushback after losing defenseman Johnny Boychuk at 5:41 of the third period. Jakub Voracek, bracing for a hit, got Boychuk with a shoulder to his head and was given a five-minute interference penalty. With Boychuk still prone on the ice, Josh Bailey confronted Voracek, and defenseman Scott Mayfield and then Komarov went after Voracek later in the period. The Islanders were coming off a home-and-home sweep of the NHL- worst Senators, though neither was a complete effort. The Islanders blew a two-goal lead in the third period of Tuesday’s 5-4 shootout win at the Coliseum and sagged in the second period of a 4-2 win at Ottawa on Thursday. Their last full effort was an emotional 6-1 win over the Maple Leafs in John Tavares’ return to the Coliseum on Feb. 28. “It’s not something we’re taking lightly,” captain Anders Lee said. “It is a rough patch. This one’s obviously awful. It stinks. But we have 14, 15 games left here to figure it out. And we’ll stick together in this room like we did when Johnny went down.” The Flyers scored three goals in the second period after a defensive breakdown led to James van Riemsdyk’s goal off the rush with 3.1 seconds left in the first period for a 2-1 lead. Sean Couturier made it 3-1 with a one-timer at 1:34 of the second as the Flyers beat the Islanders up ice. Nolan Patrick, behind rookie defenseman Devon Toews — he and Boychuk were on for three goals against — knocked in a rebound to make it 4-1 at 5:35, and Trotz used his timeout to angrily voice his displeasure. The Islanders, tentative about shooting except for defenseman Ryan Pulock, could not convert on a five-on-three power play that lasted 94 seconds, and Travis Konecny made it 5-1 at 17:26 off another rush. Mayfield scored his first goal in 48 games for a 1-0 lead at 6:30 of the first period, with Mathew Barzal notching his 100th career assist on the play. But Ryan Hartman, at the crease, tied it at 1-1 at 15:20 of the first. Barzal got a second assist on Nick Leddy’s goal to make it 5-2 at 16:28 of the third period.

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By Neil Best @sportswatch Updated March 10, 2019 1:33 AM

Artie Torrey called it “the memory of a lifetime for us.” He meant the ceremonial first puck he and his three brothers dropped at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night, when the Islanders honored his late father, Bill, “The Architect” of their early 1980s dynasty. But really, the memory of a lifetime was a lifetime ago, when the franchise that Torrey built pretty much from scratch won four Stanley Cups, all while based at the Coliseum. And this was one last time to pay tribute to Torrey, who died at 83 last May, three years after his coach, Al Arbour, died at 82. “For us, this is the punctuation; this is the end,” another of Torrey’s sons, Pete, said as the family watched the early stages of a loss to the Flyers from a suite. “There’s no more banners.” He did not mean the Islanders will not win another championship, perhaps even before they leave for a new arena near Belmont Park. He meant that there will be no more banners, or public memorials, for their father. Three of the brothers, Will, Rich and Artie, still live on Long Island. They would love to see new banners. “It’s closing one chapter for us, certainly, with our dad now being passed away,” Artie said, “but there’s a new chapter that begins. We’re so excited for the team, and hopefully with Belmont, that will become a new home that will be as successful as the old one.” It helps that the guy currently in charge happens to be the only one who can challenge Torrey for status as the most successful hockey executive in New York-area history. “If there is anyone that I know that sees building teams and what it takes to win in this league [like Torrey], it is Lou [Lamoriello],” Artie said. “Lou and my dad were kindred spirits in that regard. It’s so fitting Lou would be here. I can tell how seriously he believes in bringing things back to the [old] competitiveness. Barry Trotz, too.” The Torrey brothers also thanked co-owner Jon Ledecky for his ongoing commitment to the alumni. Many of them attended a dinner in Torrey’s memory on Friday night, swapping stories from the old days. Many were back again Saturday, watching from a suite, and were introduced on the video board during a break. The highlight for the brothers was the pregame ceremony, for which they wore Islanders sweaters with the numbers 80, 81, 82 and 83 on the back to recognize the four Stanley Cups won under Torrey. Many others in the building wore bow ties in honor of Torrey’s signature look, including Trotz and his staff. Best of all, Torrey received a warm ovation from the fans, many of them not old enough to remember the last of the Islanders’ Cups. “Echoes of days gone by,” Artie said. “It was the memory of a lifetime to see everyone and to hear this building the way we know it can sound.” Rich Torrey pointed out where their father used to sit, although the exact location was lost in the recent renovation, and said he wished everyone could “click our heels” and find a way to return to the Coliseum on a permanent basis. That is not happening, which adds to the poignancy of remembrances such as Saturday night’s. Honoring the greats is great, but what really matters now is coming up with something new so that come the early 2030s, there will be more to celebrate in the new arena than 50th anniversaries from the old one. “It’s just so nice to be back here where he made it all happen,” Will said. “We’re saying goodbye in one respect. But you can’t forget about a team that won 19 consecutive playoff series and four Stanley Cups. I’m just so proud of my father. We’re very lucky.” 1135221 New York Islanders

Islanders angry at Flyers' Jakub Voracek after hit to Johnny Boychuk's head

By Andrew Gross [email protected] @AGrossNewsday Updated March 10, 2019 3:42 AM

Opinion was split over party lines. The Islanders were furious about Jakub Voracek’s third-period hit that knocked defenseman Johnny Boychuk out of Saturday night’s 5-2 loss to the Flyers at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum. The Flyers thought it was an overreaction that Josh Bailey, then Scott Mayfield, then Leo Komarov went after Voracek. “It’s a 5-1 hockey game, he lunges back,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “You’ve got a guy that plays his whole career hard and clean. Just completely unnecessary.” Voracek, whose shoulder appeared to make contact with Boychuk’s head, was given a five-minute interference major. “There was contact at the head,” said coach Barry Trotz, who did not have an update on Boychuk. “We’re trying to get that out of the game. We were asking about why Voracek wasn’t thrown out. The player is injured. The referees said they have an option if it’s sort of accidental.” Boychuk, who left pointing and screaming at Voracek, had gone to check him. “I tried to protect myself,” Voracek said. “I thought the puck was closer to me and it’s a tough hit, but he’s skating off the ice and he’s pointing at me like it’s WrestleMania. Like come on, it’s a hockey game.” Lehner still out Goalie Robin Lehner missed his second game after suffering an apparent head injury in a collision with Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk on Tuesday night. Trotz said there is “no timeframe” for his return. “He hasn’t skated yet,” he said. Martin returns to action Matt Martin returned to the lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury as the invaluable fourth line nears complete health. Martin had three hits in 12:59. Right wing Cal Clutterbuck was sidelined for the third game with an upper-body injury but participated in the morning skate, his first time skating with teammates since exiting last Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Flyers. Center Casey Cizikas is fully recovered from the stomach virus that affected much of the team. “They’re better when you get the sum of all three of those parts together,” Trotz said. “When you’re missing a piece or two to it, the identity of that line goes away a little bit.” Ross Johnston was used in Martin’s spot in his absence, scoring his first goal of the season, while Leo Komarov remained in Clutterbuck’s normal spot on Saturday night. Martin has lost 13 games total to injury in his first season back with the Islanders after being re-acquired from the Maple Leafs. “It always stinks for sure,” he said. “As an athlete, you never like missing games. You never like admitting you’re hurt and you can’t play.”

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135222 New York Rangers

Rangers snap skid with win over rival Devils

Staff Report THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | MAR 09, 2019 | 10:20 PM

No matter where they are in the standings, the New York Rangers were just happy to finally get a win. Vladislav Namestnikov snapped a tie in the third period, and the Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Saturday night to stop a six-game slide. "We've got 14 games to go and you can feel it in that locker room, winning feels way better than losing." Rangers coach David Quinn said. "Obviously our situation is what it is, but we want to win hockey games." New York (28-28-12) hadn't won since beating New Jersey in their previous meeting on Feb. 23. It is well off the pace in the wild-card race in the Eastern Conference. Ryan Strome had two goals and an assist for the Rangers, and Libor Hajek scored his first NHL goal. Namestnikov also had two assists, and Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves. Quinn said after the game that Hajek has a separated shoulder. He didn't have a timeline for his return. Damon Severson and Blake Coleman scored first-period goals for New Jersey, which has lost six in a row. Cory Schneider made 37 saves. "Yeah, it's frustrating," Schneider said. "Being up 2-0 after one, having a lead going into the third to lose in regulation is tough. My job is to be one better and I wasn't able to." The Devils carried a 2-1 lead into the third, but Hajek got a cross-ice pass from Strome and wristed a shot past Schneider on the glove side at 1:29. Namestnikov then made it 3-2 when he scored his 10th of the season at 13:25 off a pass from Mika Zibanejad. Strome added an empty-netter. "It's positive that we finally closed a game out," Namestnikov said. "I thought we deserved better in those overtime losses against Washington and Tampa, but hockey goes that way sometimes and I'm just we got the two points tonight." Trailing 2-0 after the first, the Rangers controlled play for most of the second and got on the board late in the period. Kevin Shattenkirk's shot from just inside the blue line was deflected by Strome, who scored his 12th at 18:22. The Rangers outshot the Devils 14-2 for the period, but Schneider was sharp for New Jersey. "I thought the whole second period we were really good," Strome said. "We did a good job in the second of our pushback. We weren't great in the first. We had a good second period and kind of took the game over." The Devils got off to a fast start. First, Severson's shot from the right point got past Lundqvist for his 10th of the season 16:26 into the first. Then New Jersey ended its lengthy power-play drought when Coleman deflected Will Butcher's shot for his 19th of the season at 19:49. The Devils had come up empty on their previous 25 power plays.

New York Daily News LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135223 New York Rangers

Rangers still don’t know when they’ll have their first-round pick

By Larry Brooks March 10, 2019 | 3:31am

The Rangers are continuing to work on bringing Vitali Kravtsov to New York so the 2018 first-rounder can spend time around the team and acclimate himself to NHL surroundings, but it is no sure thing that will happen, according to individuals with knowledge of the situation. Though Kravtsov’s KHL team, Traktor Chelyabinsk, was eliminated from the playoffs last Monday, the 19-year-old’s contract does not expire until April 30. But even if a release can be arranged, the Rangers won’t sign him to an entry-level deal beginning with this season, for that would automatically burn the first year of a three-year contract. An ATO (Amateur Try Out) that would allow the ninth-overall selection to play for the AHL Wolf Pack apparently is highly unlikely. Kravtsov, who recorded 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 50 games and had an outstanding World Junior Tournament, is a candidate to be added to Russia’s World Championship squad. Meanwhile, of Russians and the World Junior Tournament, it was time for Pavel Buchnevich to pay up. And that is what the winger did on Saturday wearing assistant coach Greg Brown’s Team USA jersey with No. 17 on its back throughout Saturday’s morning skate. “I lost a bet on the World Junior semifinal,” Buchnevich said, referring to the Yanks’ 2-1 victory over his homeland’s team on Jan. 4 in Vancouver. “I don’t want to wear this uniform ever again.” New Englander David Quinn, Brown’s teammate on the 1986 US World Junior squad, seemed to take great delight in the scene. “Beautiful. Beautiful,” the chuckling coach said when asked what he made of it “[Buchnevich was] not happy. Not happy.” Asked what had taken so long, Buchnevich said that Brown did not have a jersey on hand until now. This was not a game-used one, but rather store (or internet) bought. “Brownie had to dig deep for that one,” Quinn said. “He delivered on his bet.” Buchnevich had played his most assertive hockey of the year recently while he has played primarily on left wing, a position he had no taste for early in the season when Quinn wanted to shift him from the right. The winger told The Post that he’s been getting more touches on the left. “That’s a far cry from my conversation with him in November, that’s for sure,” the coach said. “You would have thought I was asking him to play badminton instead of moving him to left wing.” Marc Staal, recuperating from the flu, was held out of the lineup. Staal had played 89 straight games, last missing a match on Feb. 18, 2018. Connor Brickley, suffering from the flu, did not play. Fredrik Claesson was the healthy scratch on defense. Brendan Smith played his second straight on the blue line and paired with Tony DeAngelo. Henrik Lundqvist earned just his second victory in his past 10 starts (2-5- 3) since Feb. 2, though the goaltender has posted a .914 save percentage and 2.89 GAA over that stretch. The victory was the first for the Blueshirts since they defeated the Devils 5-2 on Feb. 23. “The biggest challenge for us is not to get frustrated. It was great to see that we didn’t. It’s important for us to be rewarded,” Lundqvist said. “There are a lot of games I think we deserved to win and didn’t, but this game there’s no doubt we deserved the two points. “If you’re in almost every game, it’s not going to come down to skill every time, it’s going to come down to will.” Ryan Strome scored twice, once into the empty net, with Vladislav Namestnikov and Hajek filling out the scoresheet. Blueshirts outshot the Devils 41-24, 31-12 over the final 40 minutes. Chris Kreider, who started on the fourth line, had a strong game and was elevated back into a top-six role by the start of the third period.

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Libor Hajek’s big moment was ruined by an even bigger hit

By Larry Brooks March 10, 2019 | 3:01am

Oh, man, what a way to put a damper on a celebration. Because just over seven minutes after Libor Hajek recorded his first NHL goal in his fifth game by beating Cory Schneider from the left circle at 1:29 of the third period at the Garden on Saturday night, the defenseman was hammered into the rear boards by Blake Coleman at 8:47 and left the match with what was diagnosed as a left shoulder separation. “We’ll know more [after a full examination] about what the timeline is going to be,” David Quinn said after the Rangers’ 4-2 victory over New Jersey that snapped a six-game losing streak (0-2-4). “And what it looks like what his recovery is going to be.” Hajek has been a revelation since his Feb. 28 promotion from AHL Hartford, where he had struggled through his first pro season. The 21- year-old has been poised and polished while using his skating ability to gain good ice and recover from errors. He has shown a surprising flair in the offensive zone — he took the puck to the net from the left corner at 6:10 of the third — that was not on display during his 58-game stint (no goals, five assists) with the Wolf Pack. And now this.

New York Post LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135225 New York Rangers No one wants a buyout. Shattenkirk came as a free agent with the best of intentions and with a needed skill set. He still has those intentions but the Rangers need more from him. It’s not about the next month. It’s about the Kevin Shattenkirk steps it up as Rangers top Devils to snap skid rest of Shattenkirk’s tenure on Broadway.

By Larry Brooks New York Post LOADED: 03.10.2019 March 9, 2019 | 10:03pm | Updated

If you’re wondering whether these final 14 games have meaning for the Rangers, check on Kevin Shattenkirk, the defenseman who is essentially fighting to save his career in New York. Too dramatic a scenario? Not really, for if the 30-year-old defenseman does not markedly improve his play this final month, management will have no other choice than to seriously consider a buyout of No. 22’s contract halfway through its four-year term. Nobody wants that. Shattenkirk had a strong night in Saturday’s 4-2 Garden victory over the bottom-dwelling, injury-decimated Devils after having been a healthy scratch in Detroit on Thursday. No. 22 was decisive and involved in 18:59 of ice while paired primarily with Brady Skjei and matched against New Jersey’s top line centered by Travis Zajac. It was Shattenkirk’s wrister from the top deflected in by Ryan Strome at 18:22 of the second that began the Blueshirts’ rally from 2-0 down after the first period. It is what both the team and No. 22 needed after his second healthy scratch and the first since the fourth game of the season. “He and I had conversations leading up to it so he wasn’t surprised,” David Quinn said. “[He took it] very well. Very well. “We had a long talk not only about right now, but about what he’s going to have to continue to do moving forward in his career, as most guys as they hit 30 are going to have to do, especially in this NHL. The NHL these guys are playing in now isn’t the NHL that it was two years ago. He’s fully understanding of that.” Shattenkirk has become too methodical in a league that has become addicted to speed. That applies to his work on the power-play point and at full strength. He recognizes that. “There are definitely areas I can improve upon, especially on the power play,” Shattenkirk, whose season has featured too few peaks and too many valleys, told The Post. “I need to make faster decisions. And for me, the power play acts as a catalyst for my whole game, when I feel good there, it’s a huge boost for me.” This is an intelligent man who has crafted a notable nine-year career. But Shattenkirk’s game seems to have been badly damaged by the knee injury he suffered during his 2017 training camp. So understanding what needs to be done is one thing. Being able to do it another. That’s the challenge. “He’s got to break some old habits. Speed it up,” Quinn said. “We showed him some of his St. Louis power play stuff and how different he looks on the power play there than here. The pace of his play was quicker. Hopefully seeing that will put him in a little bit different mindset but one of things we talked about was not only does that have to happen on the power play but at five-on-five.” The Rangers aren’t blessed with a world of organizational depth on the right side of the blue line, though Tony DeAngelo is emerging as a legit puck-mover and offensive (alternate meaning) linchpin on the back end and Neal Pionk has merged well with Libor Hajek through a teeny sample size. “I know what I have to do,” Shattenkirk said. “I know how I have to play.” Still, Shattenkirk will not only have to earn his time the remainder of the season but convince the front office he will add value moving forward to a rebuild operation. A buyout following this year would not be ideal, but neither is the prospect of Shattenkirk becoming a perpetual candidate to be scratched. Little is tougher on a coach than having to sit a veteran with his resume. And you can quadruple the degree of difficulty when the coach and player have a longstanding, pre-existing friendship. The defenseman carries a cap hit of $6.65 million for each of the next two seasons. A Shattenkirk buyout would carry a cap hit of $1,483,333 for next season, $6,083,333 for 2020-21 and $1,433,333 for each of the following two seasons. The Rangers are already obligated to carry $5,336,111 of dead space ($900,000 retained on Ryan Spooner, $825,000 on Matt Beleskey in the AHL and $3,611,111 on Dan Girardi’s buyout) next season, but a total of only $1,111,111 in 2020-21 on Girardi. 1135226 New York Rangers No one wants this. Shattenkirk came as a free agent with the best of intentions. He still has those intentions but the Rangers need more from him. It’s not about the next month. It’s about the rest of Shattenkirk’s Kevin Shattenkirk is fighting for his Rangers life tenure on Broadway.

By Larry Brooks New York Post LOADED: 03.10.2019 March 9, 2019 | 7:01PM

If you’re wondering whether these final 15 games have meaning for the Rangers, check on Kevin Shattenkirk, the defenseman who is essentially fighting to save his career in New York. Too dramatic a scenario? Not really, for if the 30-year-old defenseman does not markedly improve his play this final month, management will have no other choice than to seriously consider a buyout of No. 22’s contract halfway through its four-year term. Nobody wants that. Shattenkirk was reinstated for Saturday night’s Garden match against the bottom-dwelling, injury-decimated Devils after sitting out Thursday’s 3-2 shootout defeat in Detroit as a healthy scratch. It marked the second time this season, and first since Oct. 11, the fourth game of the year, that the New Rochelle native watched in street clothes. “He and I had had conversations leading up to it so he wasn’t surprised,” coach David Quinn said before the match. “[He took it] very well. Very well. “We had a long talk not only about right now, but about what he’s going to have to continue to do moving forward in his career, as most guys as they hit 30 are going to have to do, especially in this NHL. The NHL these guys are playing in now isn’t the NHL that it was two years ago. He’s fully understanding of that.” Kevin Shattenkirk Shattenkirk has become too methodical in a league that has become addicted to speed. That applies to his work on the power play point and at full strength. He recognizes that. “There are definitely areas I can improve upon, especially on the power play,” Shattenkirk, whose season has featured too few peaks and too many valleys, told The Post. “I need to make faster decisions. And for me, the power play acts as a catalyst for my whole game, when I feel good there, it’s a huge boost for me.” This is an intelligent man who has crafted a notable nine-year career. But Shattenkirk’s game seems to have been badly damaged by the knee injury he suffered during his 2017 training camp. So understanding what needs to be done is one thing. Being able to do it another. That’s the challenge. “He’s got to break some old habits. Speed it up,” Quinn said. “We showed him some of his St. Louis power play stuff and how different he looks on the power play there than here. The pace of his play was quicker. Hopefully seeing that will put him in a little bit different mindset but one of things we talked about was not only does that have to happen on the power play but at five-on-five.” The Rangers aren’t blessed with a world of organizational depth on the right side of the blue line, though Tony DeAngelo is emerging as a legit puck-mover and offensive (alternate meaning) linchpin on the back end and Neal Pionk has merged well with Libor Hajek through a teeny sample size. “I know what I have to do,” Shattenkirk said. “I know how I have to play.” Still, Shattenkirk will not only have to earn his time the remainder of the season, but convince the front office that he will add value moving forward to a rebuild operation. A buyout following this year would not be ideal, but neither is the prospect of Shattenkirk becoming a perpetual candidate to be scratched. Little is tougher on a coach than having to sit a veteran with No. 22’s résumé. And you can quadruple the degree of difficulty when the coach and player have a longstanding, pre-existing friendship. The defenseman carries a cap hit of $6.65 million for each of the next two seasons. A Shattenkirk buyout that would have to come between June 1 and 15 (a shorter, summer post-arbitration period exists, but waiting would provide no advantage to either party) would carry a cap hit of $1,483,333 for next season, $6,083,333 for 2020-21 and $1,433,333 for each of the two seasons following that. 1135227 New York Rangers

Libor Hajek scores his first NHL goal as Rangers snap 6-game losing streak.

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinASteph Updated March 10, 2019 1:28 AM

Sometimes, when there really isn’t much at stake, it can be hard for a team to get up for a game. And judging by the way the Rangers played on the road during the week, it sure looked as if they’ve known for a while that the playoffs are all but out of reach and were having trouble getting pumped up. Coach David Quinn talked about how the team’s play had slipped, about how the Rangers weren’t as dialed in against Dallas and Detroit as they had been the week before. Those had been tight games that resulted in overtime or shootout losses against top teams Washington and Tampa Bay. But on Saturday night, the Rangers managed to overcome a sluggish start to beat the Devils, 4-2, at the Garden. They scored the last four goals, with Ryan Strome getting the first one and the last one (empty net to ice it). The victory ended a six-game losing streak and improved the Rangers to 28-28-12. “We’ve got 14 games to go, and you can feel it in that locker room: Winning feels way better than losing,’’ Quinn said. “Our situation is what it is, but we want to win hockey games, and I thought over the last two games, it slipped a little bit. I thought we got back to it tonight.” In between the goals by Strome were goals by Libor Hajek, the 21-year- old rookie defenseman called up from AHL Hartford five games ago, and Vladislav Namestnikov. Hajek’s first NHL goal tied the score at 2 early in the third period. Namestnikov’s 10th goal, at 13:25, ended up being the game-winner. But all was not great news for the Rangers. Hajek left the game midway through the third period after taking a hit from the Devils’ Blake Coleman that had him favoring his left shoulder. Quinn said it appeared as though he suffered a separated shoulder. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who was scratched in Thursday’s 3-2 shootout loss in Detroit, returned to the lineup, taking the place of Marc Staal, who missed a game for the first time this season while getting over the flu. Shattenkirk helped get the Rangers on the board late in the second period when he fired a shot that was deflected in by Strome. Shattenkirk played 18:59 and was a plus-1 with the one assist. Shattenkirk, Chris Kreider, Brady Skjei, Mika Zibanejad and some of the other veterans drew praise afterward from Quinn. Quinn said before the game that he had talked to Shattenkirk about the need to step up his game. “He and I had had conversations leading up to [his being scratched], so he wasn’t surprised,’’ Quinn said. “And we had a long talk, not only about right now but what he’s going to have to continue to do . . . in his career, as most guys who hit 30 have to do, especially in this NHL. The NHL that these guys are playing in now isn’t the NHL that it was two years ago. He’s fully understanding of that.’’ Searching for a spark, Quinn juggled his forward lines, dropping Kreider to the fourth line. By late in the second period, he moved him up to the second line, with Strome and Jesper Fast. Kreider was a physical force all night and made a nice play to set up Hajek’s goal.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135228 New York Rangers “It’s a special situation, something I’ve never experienced in my career,” Lundqvist said. “I think you have to remind everybody that every game matters, that every play matters. That’s how we’re going to grow as a David Quinn sets down path for younger Rangers by pushing the team and as players. You’ve just got to continue to push everybody here. veterans to play better We’re in pretty much every game. If you’re in almost every game, it’s not going to come down to skill every time. It’s going to come down to will. And if we want it badly enough, we’re going to win more, I think. And find reasons why that’s important for us. I think that’s going to be important By Rick Carpiniello moving down the stretch here. I think that’s probably the message for the young guys, too. Keep going.” Mar 9, 2019 Kreider and Shattenkirk did keep going – granted, against the Devils’

junior-varsity team with barely enough healthy bodies to play a game. NEW YORK – We’ve talked extensively about the Baby Rangers and He had three thumping hits in the first period and two whacks in how David Quinn has coached them – how he has cajoled and succession at a puck on a second-period power play. I was thinking that encouraged and individually taught all these young players as they are he’d get promoted early in the game, that starting on the fourth line, after added to the scene in which the Rangers reside. he sat out a lot of the third period in Detroit, would be enough of a He has used the whip and the back pat. He has taken away ice time – message. often sitting out players for a game or, if needed, two — and rewarded In the third, Kreider replaced Vesey on a line with Strome and Jesper players with ice time and promotions within games. Fast, and early in the period, Kreider set up Libor Hajek’s first NHL goal – The focus of those tactics has been, and will continue to be, on the a wrister from the top of the left circle up under the crossbar behind youngsters. goalie Cory Schneider to tie the score at 2-2. Hajek grabbed his head in disbelief before his teammates arrived to celebrate, and Fast fetched the But Quinn has continued to step on the pedal with his veteran players, puck. too, and the importance of that cannot be ignored. For Quinn’s kids to learn to compete, and eventually to win, and to be professionals, and to But Hajek left the game with a left shoulder separation in the middle of be consistent in their preparation and their effort and their attention to the third after a crunching hit from Blake Coleman. There is not yet a detail, Quinn’s veterans must display all of those qualities. timetable for his return, but there’s less than a month left in the season. So he has yet to taste a victory in five impressive NHL games. And if they don’t, he has shown them the tough love, too. The latest examples have been his old Boston University buddy Kevin Shattenkirk, Late in the game, during a change, Kreider ended up on the ice with who sat out a game in Detroit on Thursday, and alternate captain Chris Zibanejad, who found him in the high slot for a shot that sailed wide and Kreider, who was benched for stretches of the third in Detroit and loudly off the end boards. demoted to the fourth line (with Lias Andersson and Boo Nieves) to start Shattenkirk promised early in the season that he would not be a Saturday’s comeback 4-2 win over depleted New Jersey that snapped a teacher’s pet. And he sure has not been. His time as a Ranger has been six-game losing streak (0-2-4). It continued with Jimmy Vesey, who was pretty much a disaster, from the knee injury that wrecked his first year to stepped over by Kreider in the third period when it became evident that his pace of play in his second year. With Shattenkirk, his offense has to Kreider’s motor was running Saturday. more than offset his defense, and so far it hasn’t. And Tony DeAngelo Quinn needs these guys to be shining examples as he builds a new has overtaken him as the Rangers’ best power-play point man. identity with so many new players. He needs the young Rangers to have But Shattenkirk helped get the Rangers on the board late in the second a player or players to watch, as they had last season with Rick Nash period with a wrister that was deflected by Strome in front, cutting the (who was in attendance Saturday) and this season with Mats Zuccarello. Devils’ lead to 2-1. “It’s huge because our young guys, I think, take their cue from the older In the third, Shattenkirk had a chance to snap a 2-2 tie, from Zibanejad, players,” Quinn said. but was stopped by Schneider. Kreider was among the team’s bright spots the first 60 games of the I don’t think a Shattenkirk buyout is imminent. Nor do I think it’s a good season, for a while he was on pace to score 40 goals. And he shined idea this coming summer — much more palatable next summer, with one when the Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Zuccarello line was lighting it up. His year left. The Rangers have the cap space to live with his contract and previous couple of games before Saturday? Not so much. Quinn had Brendan Smith’s contract (and Marc Staal’s contract) one more year said that his team’s “attention” had slipped the last two. And that may before deciding whom to buy out in the summer of 2020. have been the case with Kreider, he allowed. But these are the guys who need to head the charge of the kids, the “Maybe,” Quinn said. “It’s the peaks and valleys of a hockey season. Baby Rangers, who aren’t going anywhere but can’t just go away, and Eighty-two games, you’re going to have those peaks and valleys. He had who still have so much for which to play in the final 14 games. It starts his skating legs tonight and was very involved. Very, very noticeable.” with the next four out West. Quinn singled out Kreider and Shattenkirk as those veterans who did “For sure, there’s a carryover from game to game, and I think how we eventually come through as the Rangers wiped out a 2-0 deficit that finish this season is going to carry over into next year,” Quinn said. “I stood until 1:38 remained in the second period. He added the names of know it’s a different level, but we went through a similar thing when I was Brady Skjei, Ryan Strome (two goals), and of course Zibanejad. He didn’t at BU in my first year. We had won eight games and the last week we have to mention Henrik Lundqvist, who got his first win as a 37-year-old, had a two-game series with Northeastern and they needed one point to his first since Feb. 19 and only his second since Jan. 31, when he had get into the national tournament … and we swept them. I really think that won four in a row. helped us big-time going into the next season. That stuff carries over. Lundqvist, fully invested in this rebuild, sounds the bugle loudest, and And the next year we were playing for the national title. Now, obviously most regularly, about the importance of winning – even at the cost of we were able to get Jack Eichel, and that always helps.” He laughed at draft lottery position. this, then added, “But I also thought the mentality and the characteristics that we built (carried over). Lundqvist was using the second period, down 2-0, almost as a metaphor for coming back from losses. “We need to do that this year. We need to continue to build our identity and our characteristics. And I think we’ve done that this year. I think our “You’ve got to reset and find reasons for why this game means guys have battled. There’s never been quit in our guys. Just go back to something to us and it’s important, and you’ve got to push yourself,” that Washington game in Washington 10 days ago, when we battled Lundqvist said. “You can’t get stuck in what just happened. I think that back from two two-goal deficits. Those are things that don’t just happen. I was the key going into the second period. think they’re learned qualities and characteristics. I think our guys are learning them, and I think they’re doing a good job with that.” “Moving forward here, we’ve got to take every game as an important game for us to grow as a group, for a lot of these young players to get So Quinn will continue to step on the gas, with his youngsters and with better. We can’t just go out and play and see what happens. We’ve got to his oldsters, until the lights go out on April 6. have a determination, and I think that helps, too, when you get rewarded for the great work we did tonight.” Thoughts I asked him the importance of having the “older” guys lead the way. 1) Tank-O-Thon: Rangers hadn’t won since the trade deadline — since they beat the Devils on the weekend prior to the sell-off, when the bubble-wrapping of Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes and Adam McQuaid began. They lost ground to the Canucks, the Kings, the Oilers, the Devils, the Senators and the Sabres in the upside-down standings. 2) The Rangers’ penalty kill had been so good lately, and they faced an early kill of a Strome offensive-zone penalty. Lundqvist had to make three saves. After the Rangers wasted yet another power play, Drew Stafford hit a post behind Lundqvist. Then another Rangers power play, and Schneider made two saves on Zibanejad, but no screens, no tips, no rebounds. Really too easy. 3) And as soon as the penalty ended, with three Rangers surrounding one Devil in front, Damon Severson sent a point shot that appeared to deflect off Hajek and through Lundqvist. 1-0. 4) During a 4-on-4 late in the period, Hajek took a penalty. On the power play, Butcher fired a 55-footer that was deflected home by Blake Coleman – left all alone, by design, right at the paint with 10.1 seconds left. 2-0. 5) Schneider opened the second with point-blank saves on Strome, then on snake-bitten (eaten? swallowed?) Brett Howden as the Rangers took over the game. 6) The Rangers’ next power play was a teeny bit better than the previous ones. Kreider had two attempts in close. And Vladislav Namestnikov was plowed from behind, a textbook cross-check by Blake Pietila. But as you know if you’ve been reading, cross-checking has been removed from the rule book by NHL referees. It’s still in the book. Just not called anymore. Just like the instigator penalty. 7) A bit later, Pietila was called for running over Lundqvist. On the power play, Kreider redirected one wide of the empty side on a lead pass from Zibanejad, which may have been tipped away by Severson. 8) Strome’s deflection cut it to 2-1. It was his 11th goal as a Ranger – third on the team since the trade from Edmonton for Ryan Spooner. 9) After Hajek tied it, Schneider faced an onslaught, but Lundqvist was also tested with the occasional counter by the Devils. 10) With Hajek injured in the locker room, Skjei leaped to keep the puck in the offensive zone and got it to Zibanejad, who put it on a tee for Namesnikov in the high slot for a slapper past Schneider. 3-2. 11) On the Rangers’ fifth power play, Filip Chytil found himself all alone in front, tried to go between his own legs and lost control before he could get a shot on Schneider. So they’re 0 for 20 over the past six games. 12) Strome finished it off with an empty netter, his 13th goal of the season, 12th as a Ranger. 13) Good Tony, Bad Tony: The bad is now not habitual, and it’s actually acceptable because it comes when DeAngelo takes risks – which is what you want him doing. But he’s safe most of the time when he needs to be. Good Tony. 14) Quinn Bin: Kreider sat for stretches of the third period Thursday. Started on the fourth line with Andersson and Nieves. Shattenkirk escaped the Bin after one game. Freddy Claesson did not. Marc Staal, still recovering from the flu, sat out for the first time all season, and Connor Brickley was out sick, too. 15) The return of the Daily Nash-O-Meter: Very cool video and ceremonial puck drop honoring retired ex-Ranger Rick Nash. That trade sure helped along the Rangers rebuild – a first-rounder (K’Andre Miller), plus defense prospect Ryan Lindgren, Spooner (flipped for Strome), a seventh-rounder this year, and Matt Beleskey’s contract. One of Jeff Gorton’s better deals.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135229 Ottawa Senators up a one-timer to beat Anderson glove side on the 20th shot he faced in the game.

The Senators have to start thinking of next year. GARRIOCH GAME REPORT: Crawford not a happy coach after Sens lose on late Bruins goal “We have 13 games left and that’s going to be our main focus to try to finish the year strong,” said Pageau. “We have to try to prove we have character and we can still fight for every game and every day. There’s a Bruce Garrioch lot of character in this room and I won’t be surprised that every one will show up every day.” March 9, 2019 10:54 PM EDT The Senators are now playing out the string.

“I’m pretty sure we were eliminated a while ago, but mathematics …,” BOSTON — It was another disappointing night in what’s been a said Anderson. “We made the (coaching) change because we weren’t disastrous season for the Ottawa Senators. growing as a group, but we’re starting to grow as a group.” No, they didn’t go down without a fight Saturday night, but the Senators Ottawa Senators are such a tease  Now you see a point, now you can start counting the days to end of the regular season after they were don’t. #Sens #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/hzzlHSpyk8 officially eliminated from the playoffs with 13 games left after a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins Saturday night at TD — 613 Sports (@613_sports) March 10, 2019 Garden. BOBBY RYAN DOING FINE David Krejci scored the winner at 19:15 of the third period to extend the There was a frightening moment late in the club’s 4-2 loss to the Bruins’ point streak to 19 straight games (15-0-4) and handed the Islanders on Thursday when winger Bobby Ryan appeared to suffer Senators their third straight loss. another hand injury. Coach Marc Crawford was seething and couldn’t hide his anger. While he left in the third period and initially returned after a slash The streak continues. involving Leo Komarov, Ryan didn’t finish the game. He was on the ice for practice Friday and indicated Saturday everything was fine. David Krejci scored the go-ahead goal with 44.7 seconds left in regulation as the @NHLBruins swept their six-game homestand, Given his history with finger injuries, there was good reason for concern. improved to 10-0-0 in their last 10 outings at TD Garden and extended “I feel pretty good. It wasn’t a finger, which was nice, and that’s a change their overall point streak to 19 contests (15-0-4). #NHLStats for me,” Ryan said with a chuckle before facing the Bruins. “Outside of pic.twitter.com/BHvmGnSXVO that, I just couldn’t get it to calm down right away. After sleeping on it — NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 10, 2019 twice, with a couple of practices, it feels pretty good.” “We’re really disappointed in the result and we’re disappointed in the way Ryan said initially he wasn’t comfortable and that’s why he left. that we lost,” said an upset Crawford. “We’ve got to learn lessons from “The weird thing was there was no swelling or anything,” he added. “You this. In order to win, it’s usually always about a series of habits, and on just try to describe what kind of pain you’re getting and go with the the final goal we missed two assignments, we had a poor change and doctors from there. Once we realized that nothing was damaged, that those things can’t happen. was a good thing. “It’s not that they’re lucky or they’re fortunate, we beat ourselves tonight “It was just a matter of if I could play through it. I can at this point, but it’s at the end of the game. If this team is to grow, it will grow when it stops just a matter of coming right back was too quick a turnaround.” making those fundamental mistakes. Our guys played their tails off, they really did, and there’s a lot things we can take that are positive. The reaction when Ryan initially suffered the injury was probably the same everywhere: Uh-oh, we’ve seen this before. “But, the negative is the biggest negative, and the negative is we ended up beating ourselves and that has to stop.” “Nobody says that to themselves more than me and nobody gets more frustrated by it and thinking, ‘Here we go again,’ ” Ryan said. “I did know Goaltender Craig Anderson, looking for his first win since Dec. 17, had a right away that it wasn’t a finger and I knew it wasn’t broken. standout effort for the Senators while Brady Tkachuk had a two-point night and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also chipped in against goalie Tuukka “I felt that pain and it wasn’t that. No problems since then, just a little Rask. It was Chris Wagner and Brad Marchand who scored the Boston discomfort and I can live with that.” goals. MAKING AN IMPACT Not long after Tkachuk’s 16th of the season had given the Senators a 2-1 lead when he was alone in front of the net to beat Rask at 2:26, the Chris Kelly was back in familiar territory Saturday night, but this was the Bruins tied it up when Wagner beat Anderson with redirect at 8:47. Good first time he had a chance to look at his former Boston teammates from teams always find a way and the Senators knew this wouldn’t be easy. his new perch behind the club’s bench. “It definitely stings a bit,” said Tkachuk. “I thought we had a good game, Promoted to the role of assistant coach on Crawford’s staff after Guy but it’s just unfortunate. It’s something we can learn from.” Boucher was fired on March 1, Kelly, 38, won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011, and he’s settling nicely into his new post with the The last 3 games or so has seen Brady Tkachuk take it to another level – Senators. been an absolute force every shift. Imagine his game in a year or two. While he was working the club’s player development department after — Daniel Slater (@dslatertv) March 10, 2019 retiring at the end of last season, Kelly is knowledgable about the game and he hasn’t been afraid to offer tips since he’s taken over. Anderson, who had a little help with the Bruins hitting three posts in the period, was on his game and that’s a big reason why the Senators were “He’s been good,” Ryan said. “Some of us have played with him so we tied 1-1 after being outshot 26-14 by Boston. know his demeanour and the way he sees the game especially having played shifts with him during a season with him. “I thought we probably deserved a better fate and I thought we played a pretty solid game overall. It’s just attention to details at the end,” said “I think with him not being too far removed from the playing the world, Anderson, who made 28 saves. “They find a way to stick with it and he’s able to relate a little more. Just some of the little things he’s said they’ve been doing that the eight years I’ve been in Ottawa.” back there on the bench resonate a little bit differently because you know he’s seeing what he probably could still be doing. While the Senators fell behind, give them credit for battling back to tie it up 1-1 with 8:52 left in the second. Pageau’s third of the season came on “It’s a different feel for us. You guys know him, he’s sarcastic and he’s a shot from the slot that beat Rask glove side and, given the fact the got a really good calming effect. I think we’ve missed that at the front end Senators were being outplayed, it was a miracle the club was still in this of the bench. We’re really excited to have him back. At least I am, I’ve one. bounced a few things off him the last couple of games and he’s always got an answer.” With Magnus Paajarvi in the box for hooking, Marchand broke the scoreless tie on the power play at 10:11. The Bruins had been putting on READY FOR THE WORLD tremendous pressure in the Ottawa zone and Marchand was able to tee You’ll start hearing a lot about the world championships, which will be held from May 10-26 in Slovakia. There will be no shortage of Senators given the opportunity to play there and it will be up to each them individually to decide if they want to extend their season. One strong possibility is centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was at the tournament last year with Canada. He’s open to going if he’s invited. “I’m trying to focus on the end of the year,” said Pageau, who returned in January from surgery on a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in camp. “I came back mid-season and I’m just trying to get better and get my game back to 100 per cent and trying to be the best I can to help the team. “If it happens after the season, it’s something I really liked to do last year. I didn’t leave with a medal and it would be fun to have the chance again. “It would be something to think about if they asked. I’ve only played half a season so my energy level is pretty good.” Forwards Brady Tkachuk and Colin White are good candidates to be invited by Team USA while Anders Nilsson and Magnus Paajarvi would get considered by Sweden. Mikkel Boedker will likely represent Denmark. THE LAST WORDS The club went back to Anderson Saturday and the two goalies have rotated the job since Crawford took over. That’s partially because the club is trying to make a decision on Nilsson, a UFA. “They’re both going to play,” said Crawford. “We can go two in a row with guys, but it won’t be a situation coming down the stretch where we’re going to go with one guy for six or seven games. I’m not afraid to have some accountability and have guys rewarded for games because that’s the way it should be. Having said that, we’re going to play both goalies down the stretch.” … There is no real update on the status of goaltender Mike Condon and his return from a hip injury. He hasn’t played since he suited up for Belleville in early November, but has been skating in Ottawa. “He has been working at the rink and I see him with our athletic therapists all the time,” Crawford said. “He’s been on the ice, I think he had a little bit of setback, and he removed himself from the ice for about a week. But I think he’s hoping that he keeps progressing and I think his target is to be ready to be an option for them (in Belleville).” The club’s AHL affiliate has a good chance to make the playoffs and Condon is on their roster for the post- season. There’s no guarantee he’ll play this season though. FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED 1. Familiar territory for Colin White and Brady Tkachuk The club’s top two prospects enjoyed the chance to come back to Boston to play in front of family and friends. Both had plenty in the stands for this one while White and Tkachuk also played college hockey here. 2. Nice rest for Rask early The Senators had a tough time generating anything on Tuukka Rask to start this night and it was a pretty quiet first period. The Senators went 8:04 without even registering a shot on Rask. Seriously. 3. Unhappy in Beantown The good fans of the Bruins weren’t the least bit pleased with a tripping call on Charlie McAvoy in the first. The call came along the boards and there were jeers when a replay indicated Brian Gibbons looked like he fell. 4. Looking for a replacement It’s hard to replace a legend, but the Bruins have tried several different singers after Rene Rancourt’s retirement. Todd Angilly sang the anthems Saturday night and he gets two thumbs up. 5. Duclair makes the trip While there was some question whether Anthony Duclair would be able to suit up Saturday, he was in the lineup. A decision on whether Christian Jaros joins the team in Philadelphia will be made Sunday. He has a hamstring injury. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135230 Philadelphia Flyers “I tried to protect myself and, to be honest, maybe the puck was a little further [ahead] than I thought,” Voracek said.

As Boychuk went off the ice, he had words for Voracek, who was sitting Flyers blast Islanders, 5-2, and move to within 5 points of playoff spot in the penalty box. “He’s pointing at me like it’s WrestleMania or something,” Voracek said. Sam Carchidi, “Come on, it’s a hockey game. This is a guy who was sucker-punching 19-year-old Nolan Patrick last year at the end of the game, and he’s going to do that. Give me a break.” UNIONDALE, N.Y. – The Flyers know they have to overcome Breakaways astronomical odds. They know that no team in NHL history has ever qualified for the playoffs when it faced a 16-point deficit at any point in a Provorov is a combined plus-8 in his last two games against the Isles. ... season. Carter Hart, sidelined by an ankle injury, may make his first start since Feb. 21 on Monday, when the Flyers host Ottawa. Interim coach Scott Which is why the Flyers have had tunnel vision and haven’t looked too Gordon said Hart is healthy. … Andrew MacDonald was a healthy far ahead. scratch. … Before Saturday’s game, the Islanders honored the late Bill Torrey, the former GM who was the architect of their four straight Stanley “We just focus on the next game,” left winger James van Riemsdyk said. Cup championships from 1980 to 1983. His four sons dropped the “It’s easier that way.” ceremonial first puck. It was easy Saturday night as the Flyers defeated the New York Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 03.10.2019 Islanders at boo-happy Nassau Coliseum, 5-2, and inched to within five points of a playoff spot with 14 games left. Van Riemsdyk gave the Flyers the lead for good in the dying seconds of the first period, and Jake Voracek (two assists) and Nolan Patrick (goal) boosted the lineup while returning from injuries. “I felt rested,” said Voracek, who had a few Isles take runs at him late in the game after he was assessed a five-minute interference penalty. Nolan Patrick fights with the Islanders' Adam Pelech for control of the puck during the Flyers' win on Saturday. Brian “Moose” Elliott (25 saves), Travis Sanheim (two assists, plus-4), and Ivan Provorov (plus-4) also played key roles for the Flyers, who won for the second time at Nassau since last Sunday, when they whipped the Islanders, 4-1. The Flyers scored a total of nine goals in the last two games against the Isles, who took the league’s stingiest defense (2.36 goals per game) into Saturday. “I think we’re just playing fast. ... That’s something we’re focusing on,” Patrick said after the Flyers went to 17-4-2 in their last 23 games. “We’re confident now. We feel like we can play against anyone.” "We were really good defensively; we didn’t give up much, and we eliminated their speed through the neutral zone,” Voracek said. Sean Couturier (28th goal) and Patrick (13th) scored 4 minutes, 1 second apart early in the second period to extend the Flyers’ lead to 4-1. Voracek missed the previous two games with an apparent knee injury; Patrick missed nearly two full games with a head injury. Shortly after Patrick’s goal, the Flyers killed off a five-on-three that lasted 1:34. Elliott, who made key stops on Adam Pelech and Anthony Beauvillier when the Flyers had a 3-1 lead, made four saves during those power plays, and one shot hit the post. The Islanders managed just one shot while they had a two-man advantage. “Guys sacrificed their bodies” to block shots, right winger Ryan Hartman said of the penalty kill. Travis Konecny made it 5-1 when he scored from the left circle with 2:34 remaining in the second. The three-on-one break was started by a defensive gem by Scott Laughton down the other end. Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss, who began the night fourth in the NHL in both save percentage (.928) and goals-against average (2.22), allowed five goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Christopher Gibson to start the third period. Van Riemsdyk and Hartman scored goals late in the first period to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead, wiping out a fluky Islanders tally that deflected off the visitors’ Corban Knight. Van Riemsdyk scored on a backhanded rebound of a shot taken by Voracek, giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead with 3.1 seconds to go in the first. It was his 20th goal and 14th in his last 25 games. Hartman’s 11th goal this season and first as a Flyer knotted the score at 1-all with 4:40 left in the first. The goal, set up by Provorov’s rush through traffic, was scored on Hartman’s own rebound. With 14:19 left in the game, Isles defenseman Johnny Boychuk ran into a braced Voracek and appeared to injure his shoulder as he went down to the ice. 1135231 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers raising prices on most tickets for 2019-20 season

Sam Carchidi,

The Flyers are raising prices on most of their tickets for the 2019-20 season. Season-ticket holders were the first to find out, learning about the increases in letters sent to them this week. About 2,400 of the 19,600 seats will not have a price increase, according to a Flyers spokesman, who added that about 10,000 of the seats will have an increase of $3 or less per game. The highest increase — as much as 89 percent, pushing some tickets to $240 — will be absorbed by fans purchasing tickets to 641 seats in the lower bowl. Those fans will have access to the new Center City Club, and they will have unlimited food, wine and beer included in the price. The Center City Club is part of an ongoing $250 million renovation project at the Wells Fargo Center. If you remove the 641 prime seats from the equation, the rest of the arena will see an average 10 percent increase in ticket prices, the spokesman said. A 44-year-old Ridley Park man has two of those 641 seats — and they have been in the family since the Flyers’ second season in 1968-69 at the Spectrum. The fan, who asked to remain anonymous because he is negotiating with the Flyers to allow him to have his seats “grandfathered” at a lower price, said his family has had seats four rows from the ice at the Spectrum and Wells Fargo Center for 50 years. “We’re absolutely devastated,” he said of the price increase, which will hike each ticket from $142 to $240. “These are the tickets my maternal grandparents had and passed down in the family. We go to watch the hockey games and don’t need all these amenities on a silver platter.” The Flyers spokesman said he understood the emotional ties some fans have to being in the same seats for a long period. “Some people have been in these seats for a lot of years and they feel like it’s their house and they have tough decisions to make [about renewing them],” he said. Fans who currently pay $142 can opt out of the new “Center City Club” seats and purchase similar seats for $155 apiece at center ice in rows 2 through 10, the spokesman said. Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135232 Philadelphia Flyers “Patty and Jake, those were two huge losses,″ coach Scott Gordon said. “It’s great to get them both back.

“Your whole makeup of your lines (without them) is disrupted. There’s a Jake Voracek, Nolan Patrick get green light for game at Islanders trickle-down effect on every line when you take two guys off. We’re a better team with those two guys in the lineup. It just helps the players feel better about going into a game knowing that they’re there.″ Wayne Fish Patrick, who was hit in the head by Cal Clutterbuck’s shot in last Mar 8, 2019 at 1:33 PM Sunday’s game, sounded like he’s ready to go. “I felt good,″ Patrick said. “Just going to get back in there tomorrow. We were short-staffed last game (5-3 loss to Washington), so it’s nice to get VOORHEES — There was more suspense than a daytime TV soap everyone back in.″ opera, at least for those outside the Flyers’ locker room. Watching the scoreboard Was Jake Voracek going to make an appearance at Friday morning’s practice, a sure sign he was good to go for Saturday’s game at the New If the Flyers win their next two games (including Ottawa on Monday) and York Islanders? get some help from other teams, they can draw to within three points of a playoff spot. All of the Flyers were on the ice and when Voracek finally stuck his head out of the doorway and strode to the bench, the players tapped their Gudas said the players will be keeping an eye on tonight’s Montreal- sticks in appreciation. Anaheim game because of its importance in the standings. Because they were happy to see Jake? “This time of the season, there’s only 15 games left,″ he said. “Every game means pretty much everything. I think we have to focus on “No,″ said teammate and Czech countryman Radko Gudas with a grin, ourselves mainly. But we’re going to watch this (Montreal) game to see “because we wanted to get practice started.″ how it ends up.″ Well, regardless of that reception, the Flyers are happy to get Voracek Flyers loan Bailey to Phantoms back, as well as first-line center Nolan Patrick. The Flyers loaned forward Justin Bailey to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, It would seem like the biggest advantage to having Voracek back is the their AHL affiliate. reunion of the second line, which features Sean Couturier and Oskar Lindblom. Burlington County Times LOADED: 03.10.2019 That unit has been the hottest for much of the 16-4-2 run which has carried the Flyers back into playoff contention over the past two months. “I’m good to go right now,″ said Voracek, who hit the ice for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury (he took a shot in an awkward spot) in a 6-3 win at New Jersey last Friday. “It was just time I needed to get back to where I was before or at least to 80 percent. A couple days off helped.″ In a way, the 30-year-old Voracek might be able to use the week off to recharge the batteries. “When I came off the bye week (late January), I think I was re-energized again,″ Voracek said. “When you’re going every other day and you’re not winning as much as you would like to, it can be tough on you. “We went away (after the All-Star break), got some rest and I felt great since then. Hopefully it (this break) has the same (effect) as the bye week.″ The Flyers need that second line clicking to have any real success. Voracek had an ironman streak of 242 games stopped by this injury. He’s played through some tough injuries over the past few years, showing that he’s a true warrior. Claude Giroux now takes over the team lead in that department at 231 games in a row. Voracek had a long streak — 286 games to be exact, tied for third- longest in team history — stopped in late February of the 2015-16 season by a broken left foot. “I feel like every time we talked about it, I get hurt,″ Voracek said with a laugh. “Obviously it’s something you want to play in every game you can. And there are some bumps and bruises during the season that you can find a way to go through. “Unfortunately there are times when you just can’t. This was a time I couldn’t go. It was disappointing because like when we talked three years ago, right before that injury, it’s something I take seriously and I want to take part in as many games as I can.″ Gudas knows how much Voracek’s return means to the Flyers. “He’s one of our best players, so it’s always good to see him back on the ice,″ Gudas said. “He plays a key role, he’s been our best player throughout the whole year, him and ‘G’ (Giroux). “Getting him back is huge for us. ... The power play gets a boost. It’s fun to watch him.″ As for Patrick, he’s been given the green light from the concussion experts, so it’s back to work for him as well. 1135233 Philadelphia Flyers • I don’t see how the Islanders make it out of the first round of the playoffs. In fact, I’ll contend the Flyers would provide a stronger first- round opponent than the Isles would. Flyers 5, Islanders 2: Another lopsided win helps playoff chase Impressively, four of the Flyers' first five goals came in transition as New York had gaping holes and awful gaps in its defense. John Boruk Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.10.2019 March 09, 2019 9:42 PM

Once again, the Flyers brought a buzz saw into Nassau. Five different players scored as the Flyers closed to within five points of the second wild card after beating the Islanders, 5-2, Saturday night for their second win over New York in six days (see standings). Here are my observations: • In his first game back from missing two games with an injury, Jakub Voracek had a very eventful first period, mostly positive. He was physical on the backcheck in separating Mathew Barzal from the puck. Voracek was also assessed a five-minute major for interference early in the third period, only because Johnny Boychuk was seriously injured on the play (see story). However, Voracek overextended his shift in the first period, throwing a puck into the middle of the ice, creating a turnover with the Flyers' fourth line on the ice. The Islanders scored a goal on a redirected shot as a result of Voracek’s turnover. But Voracek’s strength comes in the form of puck possession, driving hard into the offensive zone, and on two different occasions it led to Flyers goals. The first one came in the final seconds of the first period, which allowed James van Riemsdyk's rebound goal in front of the crease. Classic JVR. He beats the buzzer to put the Flyers up 2-1 at the end of the first | @skiJFBB pic.twitter.com/zsb0qNV311 — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 10, 2019 Voracek’s second assist teed up Sean Couturier’s one-time shot and goal. For Voracek, he has eight assists in his last five games. Voracek with the pass, Coots with the snipe! pic.twitter.com/aGYB7BKOvH — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 10, 2019 • The early gauge on newcomer Ryan Hartman is that he’s wildly inconsistent. He’s shown a physical presence, but doesn’t deliver with every shift. He’s been out of position defensively at times, but his biggest liability has been a high frequency for the penalty box. He was whistled for a completely unnecessary tripping penalty, but his first goal with the Flyers was a strong, hard-driving play that the Flyers need to see more of. HARTMAN! His first goal as a Flyers ties it up! pic.twitter.com/OA2ew3IlcN — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 10, 2019 • Don’t you love karma? Remember when the whistle blew early, disallowing a goal in that critical game against the Penguins? Well, the Islanders now know that feeling as a potential 5-on-3 goal was not to be with a premature whistle. It was the Islanders' real chance at getting back into the game down 4-1 at that point. • Brian Elliott was splendid in a good bounce-back game following a bad performance against the Capitals. It will be interesting moving forward to see who gets the start against Ottawa, which despite its record, has been playing its opponents tough lately. Doesn’t sound like interim head coach Scott Gordon will turn to Carter Hart for that game. • How about these numbers: The Flyers shot 60 percent in the second period with three goals on just five shots on net. And the Flyers now have three or more goals in seven straight games, their longest such streak of the season. They’re averaging 4.3 goals in that span. 1135234 Philadelphia Flyers Ivan Provorov-Travis Sanheim Robert Hagg-Radko Gudas Flyers at Islanders: Live stream, storylines, game time and more Shayne Gostisbehere-Philippe Myers Goalies John Boruk Brian Elliott March 09, 2019 9:15 AM Cam Talbot/Carter Hart Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.10.2019 It’s another weekend on Long Island. The Flyers (32-27-8, 72 points) try to close the gap in their pursuit of a playoff spot as they take on the New York Islanders (39-21-7, 85 points) for the second time in six days. The Flyers have more road wins against the Islanders than any other NHL team (29-10-1) dating back to the 2002-03 season. Let's take a look at Saturday's essentials: • When: 7 p.m. ET with Flyers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m. • Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum • Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia • Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app • The Flyers have a winning record against every division outside of the Metropolitan, with a mark of 8-10-2. This game against the Islanders is the fifth game out of seven straight they’ll play within their division. They’re 2-2-0 in the first four games of this seven-game Metro stretch. Since Jan. 5, the Flyers have a power play and a penalty kill both ranked in the top 10. The PP ranks sixth with a success rate of 24.0 percent and the PK comes in at 10th, at 83.1 percent. • Does winning faceoffs really matter? The Flyers lead the NHL in faceoff percentage at 55.4 percent. However, they’ve lost all five games this season when winning 69 percent or more faceoffs, including their most recent game against the Washington Capitals. • Claude Giroux brings a season-high six-game point streak into Saturday’s game against the Islanders. Giroux is averaging nearly two points a game during the streak, with three goals and eight assists to go along with a plus-11 rating. Interim head coach Scott Gordon believes the move back to wing has helped free up Giroux’s offensive game. Sometimes to be successful, to maximize a player, you have to have the right components on a line with the other personnel, and I’m not really sure we really have that with ‘G’ at center. I just felt like he had to do a lot of the heavy lifting and I think that’s a lot to ask. If he’s playing with different guys, maybe it’s different as a center. - Gordon • Coming off his shortest outing of the season, Brian Elliott will start for the sixth time in the last seven games. He was pulled just 4:18 into the second period after allowing four goals in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Capitals. • Jakub Voracek is expected to return to the Flyers' lineup after missing the past two games with a lower-body injury. Voracek is riding a four- game point streak that has seen him total nine points (three goals, six assists) in that span. • The Islanders knocked off the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, giving head coach Barry Trotz his 800th career victory. Trotz became the fourth coach in NHL history to win that many games, joining Scotty Bowman (1,244), Joel Quenneville (890) and Ken Hitchcock (842). • The Flyers and Islanders wrap up their four-game regular-season series Saturday, March 23, at the Wells Fargo Center. Projected lineup Forwards James van Riemsdyk-Nolan Patrick-Claude Giroux Oskar Lindblom-Sean Couturier-Jakub Voracek Michael Raffl-Scott Laughton-Travis Konecny Phil Varone-Corban Knight-Ryan Hartman Defensemen 1135235 Philadelphia Flyers Patrick last year at the end of the game. He’s gonna do that? Jeez, gimme a break.”

Scott Mayfield took a run at Voracek after the penalty had expired and he Flyers 5 takeaways: ‘We’re confident right now. We feel like we can play returned to the ice and then Leo Komarov tried to tango with him later on against anyone.’ in the game as well. Was Voracek surprised he was asked to fight multiple times? Dave Isaac “I don’t know. Matt Martin wanted to fight me so I gladly escaped that 10:57 p.m. ET March 9, 2019 one,” Voracek said. “We’ll see what happens next game. Like I said, it’s a heated game. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. It’s hockey. I fought with Bailey, or tried to fight him, then Mayfield came at me too. It’s a good team there. They stick together. Their guy got hurt and they stick up for UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Scott Gordon didn’t watch Friday night. Last time him. That’s what happens in hockey.” he did, it was bad luck. No scoreboard watching for him. Hartman finds the net “Kept track of the scores, though,” the interim coach said. When Ryan Hartman arrived in the Wayne Simmonds trade, the Flyers The most important one was 8-2, a drubbing of the Montreal Canadiens thought he’d bring the grit they lost with Simmonds. Everyone used that at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks. That one helped Gordon’s Flyers word, even Hartman himself. “Grit” can mean a lot of things like his first and opened the door for a big couple of days. game in Philly when he dropped Rasmus Dahlin like a bad habit or like he showed Saturday night when he tied the game 1-1. Next came the hard part, the part the Flyers have control over, and they delivered. For the second time in a week they beat the second-place Ivan Provorov came flying in down the left wing and passed to Hartman. New York Islanders out at the old Nassau Coliseum. This one was a 5-2 His shot went off defender Devon Toews and he put the blocked shot win, the Flyers’ fifth win in their last seven games. That cut the playoff behind goalie Thomas Greiss for his first tally with the Flyers. Persistence deficit to five points behind Montreal and the Columbus Blue Jackets. on the puck counts as “grit” too, and the Flyers could use more of it. If the Flyers beat the lowly Ottawa Senators Monday, it could be three. “It was nice to get it out of the way and to tie up the game,” Hartman said. “They had a little momentum going at that point and it was nice to tie it “We’ve had a lot of belief for a while,” said Nolan Patrick, who had a goal up.” in his first game back from injury. “It’s easy to play when every game’s a big game. Personally, those are my favorite games to play in. I think His first as a Flyer! Congrats, @RHartzy18! #PHIvsNYI | everyone’s pulling their weight really well.” #LetsGoFlyerspic.twitter.com/HZ9YZLE2YF The Islanders allow just over 30 shots per game this season on average — Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 10, 2019 and an NHL-low 2.40 goals-against per game. In the last week, the Flyers have found a way past the best defensive team in the league and Grit can also mean sacrifice and in the second period when the Flyers put nine goals in the net on 51 shots. were killing a penalty and Brian Elliott was out of position, Hartman got behind his goalie and hugged the post. It looked like he made a save on “I think we’re just playing fast, trying to get in and out of our zone quick Mathew Barzal. and stay on the move,” Patrick said. “That’s something we’ve been focusing on. We’re confident right now. We feel like we can play against “No, it hit the post, luckily,” Hartman said. “It looked like he was kind of anyone.” aiming for my head there. I’m lucky it hit the post I guess.” The Flyers have also seemingly beaten the Islanders at their own game. Second period kill Between the two games six days apart, the Flyers held the Islanders to Sometimes gritty players don’t pick their spots correctly and that 57 shots and few of them quality on Saturday. According to happened in the second period when Hartman tripped up Matt Martin and NaturalStatTrick.com, the Flyers allowed 20 high-danger chances last shortly thereafter Sean Couturier was whistled for high-sticking Nick Sunday and only six Saturday night. Leddy even though he never made contact. For 1:34 the Flyers had to kill a two-man advantage. With them being up 4-1 at the time it was pretty “I think we were really good defensively. We didn’t give up much and we much the Islanders’ best shot at staging a comeback. eliminated their speed through the neutral zone,” said Jake Voracek, who had two assists in his return from an injury that kept him out of the lineup New York managed one shot on goal before the second penalty was for a pair of games. “Those were the biggest points.” called, one during the 5-on-3 and two more after the first penalty had expired. “The game that we played here last week, I thought we got lucky in the second period a few times but tonight this was one of our better “I mean there wasn’t too much action,” said Elliott, who made 25 saves in defensive efforts as far as keeping everything to the perimeter when they the win. “We did a good job of pressuring them when we needed to. I did get inside,” Gordon said. “With the exception of the last two plays at think they were looking for a perfect play and we were in good position all the net at the end of the game there, we had guys that were able to stop the time on that one.” them from getting shots off.” “They had possession of the puck,” said Provorov, who was a plus-4 and Here are four more takeaways from Saturday night’s game… killed all of the 5-on-3. “I thought we did a really good job of not giving them good shot opportunities and keeping them to the outside. Moose ‘WrestleMania’ made a few saves and we sacrificed and blocked some shots and didn’t let them score.” There’s going to be some bulletin-board material for the next meeting between these two teams in a couple weeks. In the third period, Voracek Changes move Giroux to RW saw Johnny Boychuk coming down the wall and braced for a hit thinking he was going to get drilled. Instead he put the Islanders defenseman on The returns of Voracek and Patrick meant the Flyers had to shift lines. the ice, needing assistance to get off as he held his left shoulder. Again. And this time Claude Giroux was on the right side, the first position he played when he broke into the league. The right-handed shot Jake Voracek injures Johnny Boychuk with a hit. Boychuk tells him "I will forward had been playing mostly left wing since last season but also get you" pic.twitter.com/YDhon3hUxs taking the majority of the faceoffs. Patrick and Giroux each took nine. The Flyers’ captain also was double shifted a lot with Voracek and — Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) March 10, 2019 Couturier, as has been the case recently. Voracek was given a five-minute major for interference and several Giroux continues to be a Swiss Army Knife for the Flyers as personnel Islanders took a run at him once he came out of the box. has changed over the years. “The explanation I got was if I hit him in the head it would be a game “We don’t have a lot of right wingers,” Gordon said. “We have more left (misconduct). I don’t know why I got five,” Voracek said. “I tried to protect wingers and so it’s kind of hard. It’s one thing to take a guy and put him myself. To be honest, maybe the puck was a little further than I thought. I on his off-side and he has success but it’s a lot easier to take a guy thought the puck was closer to me and obviously it’s a tough hit but he’s who’s been playing the off-side and put him on his natural side. Just skating off the ice, he’s pointing at me like, I don’t know, like it’s trying to find the right combinations. I think Claude is a versatile guy. He’s 'WrestleMania' or something. Like, come on, it’s a hockey game. Jesus had a lot of shifts with Oskar and Coots with him playing the right side Christ. He’s the guy that was sucker-punching a 19-year-old Nolan and it doesn’t seem to have affected him.” Courier-Post LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135236 Philadelphia Flyers “If anything, I think part of the educational process for him will be to shoot the puck more when he has opportunity. Sometimes he’s trying to make ESPN or make a highlight-reel play or make a pass to somebody or do Flyers prospect WATCH: Unlikely suitors of top-end college free agents something a little crazy in terms of his ability to beat a guy or put the puck between his legs or toe drags.”

Jay O’Brien, center/right wing, Providence College (Hockey East) Dave Isaac Age: 19 9:55 a.m. ET March 9, 2019 Height/weight: 6-feet, 174 pounds

Acquired: first-round pick in 2018 (19th overall) Clarkson's Nico Sturm is one of the top players in this college free agent class. In years past, the Flyers may have been one of the top suitors. This season: 25 games, 2 goals, 3 assists In a time not that long ago, this upcoming week would be an important The skinny: It’s been a rough freshman season for O’Brien, whose one for the Flyers in building their prospect base for the following season. season has been riddled with injuries and hits to the head. He missed a The regular season of college hockey is over and teams that either didn’t lot of time early in the season and was hit again Thursday against Boston qualify for their conference playoffs or were bounced in the first round will College in the first period. He returned and played through the second start getting calls about their free agent-eligible players. period but was held out in the third as a precaution according to reports. O’Brien showed enough to make the World Junior squad but didn’t get a Back when then-general manager Paul Holmgren ran out of high-end big role with the team and his development path will definitely take a little draft picks acquiring Chris Pronger, then again a few years later trying to longer because he wasn’t able to accomplish much this season. replace him, the Flyers would be very interested in college free agents. These days, the prospect cupboard is stocked and even those whose Corbett’s take: “He really hasn’t been healthy. I think if you graded him rights they own may not end up getting contracts. with more of an ‘incomplete’ he’d probably be the first one to say that, that it’s been really incomplete for him this year. Injury-wise, it’s just been The spotlight this week will be on players like Princeton’s Max kind of a snakebit year for him. He hasn’t been able to get any kind of Véronneau, Clarkson’s Nico Sturm, Ohio State’s Mason Jobst and groove or continuity with his game and that’s hurt him. It’s funny, I think Michigan State’s Taro Hirose, who leads the nation in scoring. For the Providence is a very dangerous team and a team that, Nate (Leaman) first time in a while, the Flyers may not have much space for any of them has done a great job with that program and I think once again they’re and even if they are interested, the lack of opportunity may scare those geared up this time of year. Second half of the year they’re 5-0 against players off. the other three teams that are likely to get home ice. It’s funny because Jack Dugan (a freshman from Pittsburgh) his expectations were pretty Between an expected expensive run in free agency in July, junior players high also but I think Dugan has exceeded expectations and O’Brien has Morgan Frost, Isaac Ratcliffe, Matthew Strome and Maksim Sushko all been well below them but for circumstances beyond his control.” expected to start their entry-level contracts next season and a couple of their own college players like Tanner Laczynski and Wade Allison Noah Cates, left wing, University of Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC) expected to turn pro, spots in the NHL and AHL are almost all spoken for already. Age: 20 The biggest home run the Flyers hit in college free agency was Matt Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 185 pounds Read, who had two 20-goal seasons with the Flyers and had 11 goals in Acquired: fifth-round pick in 2017 (137th overall) the lockout-shortened 2013 season. Late bloomers like Read end up getting an opportunity a little later than most because they’ve had more This season: 31 games, 9 goals, 12 assists time to develop. The skinny: Having the experience of staying an extra year in the USHL, While the Flyers may not be interested in those nearing the finish line as Cates is a little more developed and one year older than most freshmen. free agents this season, they have a few more college players in the He’s seeing the payoff as he’s proven himself to take a big role with the pipeline. defending national champions. He’s moved up the lineup from a third- liner to a top-liner and this week was named the rookie of the week in his With so much interest in the team’s prospect group, the Courier-Post will conference. His full season in the USHL was a little inconsistent, former check in on the promising young players each week. Here’s the latest Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said last season, which was unlike progress report with insights from Bernie Corbett, a national college Cates’ resume to that point. Some familiarity playing with his brother, hockey analyst on SiriusXM Radio and broadcaster at Boston University Jackson, may have helped him put more pieces together. He’s had a for 34 years. much more consistent season effort-wise and it’s starting to show in his * all statistics through Friday, March 8. statistics. Joel Farabee, right wing, Boston University (Hockey East) Corbett’s take: “It makes a world of difference to have that opportunity (of playing in World Juniors and being an older freshman). I think you’re Age: 19 seeing it, you’re absolutely seeing it. This is far from an exact science. When I talk to people, they’re not as familiar with college hockey and the Height/weight: 6-foot-1, 170 pounds dynamic. You start to tell them, ‘Guys can be 18 and routinely playing against 23 and 24-year-olds.’ Acquired: first-round pick in 2018 (14th overall) “You look at a guy like him and his background, he had a couple of years This season: 33 games, 13 goals, 18 assists in the USHL and obviously that’s become a real solid proving ground. If The skinny: Ever since returning from the World Junior Championship, you can make it there on your way to Division I hockey, it’s not the route Farabee has been stellar for the Terriers. The freshman has 11 points in for everybody but it’s a pretty popular one. He’s been a contributor and his last 10 games entering Saturday’s regular-season finale against he’s been a complimentary piece on a team that’s pretty deep. That Maine. He came out flying to start the season but couldn’t finish on many helps as far as a guy you’re not hoping for too much out of.” chances. Recently, he has. While Farabee told the Courier-Post in Courier-Post LOADED: 03.10.2019 January he’d be open to going pro after this season, the Flyers want to see him stay for his sophomore season. Corbett’s take: “I think he had that learning curve and the way he played the second half has been very impactful. His skillset has certainly risen right to the top. I think he’s absolutely as dangerous every time he’s on the ice now. He’s really highly skilled. His hands are just…I mean you put him at the absolute top of the scale in terms of his hands and his ability to make plays, his ability to create plays out of nothing sometimes. He got an absolute highlight-reel goal last Saturday against Merrimack. Go online and watch that. It’s like an ESPN play of the day. Joel Farabee, ladies and gentlemen! Wow. #GoBUpic.twitter.com/qeeAol3ebX — BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) March 3, 2019 1135237 Philadelphia Flyers G Linus Soderstrom – shoulder surgery, out indefinitely Courier-Post LOADED: 03.10.2019 Flyers at Islanders: Game 68 preview, line combinations, broadcast info

Dave Isaac 7:00 a.m. ET March 9, 2019

The Flyers make their second trip to Long Island in a week. Tonight: Flyers vs. New York Islanders Site: NYCB Live at Nassau Coliseum / Uniondale, N.Y. Time: 7 p.m. TV/Radio: NBCSP, 97.5 FM Records: Flyers 32-27-8 | Islanders 39-21-7 Last game: Flyers lost 5-3 to WSH on Wed. | Islanders beat OTT 4-2 on Thu. Bovada odds: Flyers +1.5 | O/U 6.5 FLYERS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards 23-Oskar Lindblom, 14-Sean Couturier, 93-Jake Voracek 25-James van Riemsdyk, 19-Nolan Patrick, 28-Claude Giroux 12-Michael Raffl, 21-Scott Laughton, 11-Travis Konecny 44-Phil Varone, 10-Corban Knight, 38-Ryan Hartman Defense 9-Ivan Provorov & 6-Travis Sanheim 8-Robert Hägg& 3-Radko Gudas 53-Shayne Gostisbehere & 61-Phil Myers Goalie 37-Brian Elliott (33-Cam Talbot) Injuries/suspensions C Nolan Patrick – head laceration, questionable G Carter Hart – ankle injury, day-to-day G Michal Neuvirth – lower-body injury, injured reserve ISLANDERS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards 27-Anders Lee, 29-Brock Nelson, 12-Josh Bailey 18-Anthony Beauvilluer, 13-Mathew Barzal, 28-Michael Dal Colle 14-Tom Kuhnhackl, 51-Valtteri Filppula, 7-Jordan Eberle 32-Ross Johnston, 53-Casey Cizikas, 47-Leo Komarov Defense 2-Nick Leddy & 55-Johnny Boychuk 3-Adam Pelech & 6-Ryan Pulock 25-Devon Toews & 24-Scott Mayfield Goalie 1-Thomas Greiss (33-Christopher Gibson) Injuries/suspensions G Robin Lehner – concussion, questionable RW Cal Clutterbuck – head injury, questionable LW Matt Martin – upper-body injury, questionable 1135238 Pittsburgh Penguins Tribune Review LOADED: 03.10.2019

Despite Matt Murray’s strong performance, Penguins fall to Blue Jackets

Jonathan Bombulie Friday, March 8, 2019 1:30 a.m

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Faced with the prospect of falling six points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins in the standings, the Columbus Blue Jackets were forced into the role of a cornered animal Saturday night. Not even a spectacular performance from goalie Matt Murray could keep them from claiming their prey. Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson scored to stake the Blue Jackets to a two-goal lead, and despite a handful of highlight-reel saves from Murray, they secured a 4-1 victory over the Penguins at Nationwide Arena. The Penguins remain in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference race, but they’re only two points ahead of the Blue Jackets. The Penguins saw a streak of six straight games with at least one point in the standings (4- 0-2) and eight straight victories over Columbus come to an end. “Everyone in the room kind of feels for (Murray) because he played unbelievable, and we weren’t able to capitalize on some chances,” winger Zach Aston-Reese said. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint what did in the Penguins. They were outplayed dramatically in the first 10 minutes of the first period, and they gave up their league-leading 14th short-handed goal early in the second. Given Columbus’ precarious position in the standings, the Penguins knew they would face an inspired forecheck and aggressive attack in front of a hostile crowd in the opening moments of the game. They still couldn’t handle it. The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead less than three minutes in. After a failed Justin Schultz pinch, Josh Anderson knocked down a bouncing puck in the neutral zone and fed Jenner for a goal off the rush. It would have been 2-0 about three minutes later had it not been for Murray’s first five-star save of the game, a lunging stop with the blade of his stick on a backdoor chance by Jenner. “They came out flying. They were finishing every check, and the crowd’s into it. You can’t even really hear yourself think,” Aston-Reese said. “It’s almost like a suffocating feeling. We just weren’t able to make plays under that kind of pressure.” The Blue Jackets scored short-handed less than three minutes into the second to take a 2-0 lead. Most of the short-handed goals the Penguins allowed this season came as the result of a turnover on an overly ambitious pass or a casual backchecking effort. Not this one. This time, Phil Kessel simply wiped out while attempting to play a Schultz drop pass. Atkinson skated the other way and beat Murray stick side. The problem wasn’t Kessel falling down, coach Mike Sullivan said. It was the general discombobulation that led to the gaffe. “We have to be better at the details,” Sullivan said. “When you talk about power-play breakouts, it’s about cooperative play. It’s timing.” The Penguins got within one thanks to an Aston-Reese goal off an Evgeni Malkin feed and a turnover forced by Kessel. They stayed in the game thanks to Murray. He counted a second improbable backdoor save on a surefire Markus Nutivaara goal in the third period among his 29 stops. Murray wasn’t completely thrilled with his performance. “I wouldn’t say I was in the zone,” he said. “I made some pretty bad reads, honestly, which is why I had to kind of get desperate on some of them. You’re a little lucky, too.” His teammates disagreed. “He’s great,” Malkin said. “A couple huge saves. Both goalies played well, but we’re lucky we have Murray on our team. The last week, too, he’s played unbelievable. We need to help him a little bit, because sometimes, we lose players in the ‘D’ zone. We (give) them great chances to score. Play a little bit tight in the ‘D’ zone, and we’ll be fine.” 1135239 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins sign high-scoring draft pick Justin Almeida

JONATHAN BOMBULIE Saturday, March 9, 2019 6:39 p.m

TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. The Pittsburgh Penguins got a draft pick under contract Saturday, signing 2018 fifth-rounder Justin Almeida to a three-year entry level contract that kicks in next season. A 5-foot-11, 165-pound center, the 20-year-old Almeida is having an outstanding season for the Moose Jaw Warriors, ranking fourth in the Western Hockey League in scoring with 28 goals and 97 points in 59 games. “He’s a solid point producer,” assistant general manager Bill Guerin said earlier this season. “Undersized guy, but super smart and super skilled.” Tribune Review LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135240 Pittsburgh Penguins

For Penguins, schedule gets no easier after back-to-back set with Columbus

JONATHAN BOMBULIE Saturday, March 9, 2019 1:43 p.m

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A physical home-and-home series with the Columbus Blue Jackets that will wrap up Saturday night is just the beginning of the most difficult stretch of schedule the Pittsburgh Penguins will deal with in the last quarter of the season. On Sunday night, they’ll play the tail end of a back-to-back at home against the Boston Bruins, a team that was 14-0-4 in its last 18 games coming into a Saturday night matchup with Ottawa. The Bruins haven’t lost in regulation since Jan. 19. An always intense matchup with the Washington Capitals follows on Tuesday. All told, the Penguins are in the middle of a stretch of eight games in 13 days. Forward Jared McCann said the packed schedule over the span of two weeks is probably more physically grueling than two games in a 24-hour span. “The back-to-back, you almost feel better the second game,” McCann said. “You feel like you’re still in it from the first one.” Captain Sidney Crosby said it’s a fact of life in the NHL. “Sometimes you don’t even feel it when you’re in,” he said. “It’s more after you get out of it, it’s something you start to feel a little more. But I think every team has to deal with that this time of year. March is always a heavy month for a lot of teams. Everyone’s in the same position there. You just gotta go one at a time. You can’t get caught looking at that stretch as a whole. You’ve got to worry about the one you have in front of you.” Tribune Review LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135241 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins aim to use shot blocking as a tool, not a crutch, down the stretch

JONATHAN BOMBULIE Saturday, March 9, 2019 1:30 p.m

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella had no problem pinpointing the one area of the game that gave his team the most trouble in a 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. Shot blocking. The Penguins held a 24-12 advantage in blocked shots in the game. “Faking shots, changing the angle … it depends on the situation, but we’ve got to be cognizant of getting 24, 25 shots blocked of trying to make a little bit of an adjustment,” Tortorella said. In general, the Penguins consider Tortorella’s comments a compliment. That’s what successful teams do at this time of year. “The pace picks up the second half of the year, especially with the amount of games left now,” defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. “It can be that shot that gets through that ends up making or breaking that game, and for certain teams, their season. I guess, subconsciously, the will to make sure that shot doesn’t get through gets higher.” The Penguins are eighth in the league in blocked shots this season, averaging 15.3 per game, but coach Mike Sullivan said it’s not something he necessarily emphasizes as a coaching point. “I wouldn’t characterize us as a quote-unquote shot-blocking team, but having said that, part of solid defense is sometimes you’ve got to get in a shot lane and deny the puck getting to the net,” Sullivan said. Jack Johnson agreed. The last thing Penguins defensemen want to do, he said, is play goalie. “I certainly hope that not’s the only thing that we do. I think it’s just part of it,” Johnson said. “They’re a team that’s trying to shoot from everywhere and shoot everything. If you take away time and space and you’re in shot lanes, a lot of times, it’ll just hit you. We’re trying to defend well, and that’s part of it. Whether it goes off your stick or your shinpads or whatever, it’s part of playing defense.” Tribune Review LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135242 Pittsburgh Penguins

Blue Jackets turn to goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for important matchup with Penguins

JONATHAN BOMBULIE Saturday, March 9, 2019 12:58 p.m

The Pittsburgh Penguins have won eight straight meetings with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Over the past two seasons, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is 0-2-3 with an .882 save percentage of the Penguins. Columbus coach John Tortorella said he will pay neither of those facts any mind as his team prepares to host the Penguins on Saturday night. Bobrovsky will start in net, which is the only lineup change Tortorella has planned after the Penguins beat the Blue Jackets, 3-0, Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. It’s a critical game in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Penguins are in the third place in the Metropolitan Division, four points up on Columbus, which is in ninth place in the conference, on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. “We’re playing Pittsburgh tonight, and you guys can talk about the record,” Tortorella said. “We’re playing Pittsburgh. It’s a very important game for both teams. It doesn’t matter what the record was before. We never talk about it.” “We look at tape as far as some of the things we did good, some of the things we need to correct. When you do play another team twice, as we’re doing back-to-back here, we did spend a little more time on maybe some of their tendencies, as we do in playoffs. That’s one thing that changed a little bit, but other than that, once we drop the puck, we’re going to play our game and try to get the two points.” The Penguins are planning no lineup changes. Matt Murray will make his seventh straight start in net for the Penguins. Dominik Simon was on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel at morning skate, which is where he finished Thursday’s game. Jared McCann was on the third line with Nick Bjugstad and Patric Hornqvist. Tribune Review LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135243 Pittsburgh Penguins As a result, the Penguins finished with just seven high-danger chances — half as many as they’ve had in each of the past two games.

“I think we’re capable of more,” Sullivan said. Penguins waste 'really good' game from Matt Murray in loss The game did have a playoff feel — Columbus’ crowd was amped early and stayed that way — and it featured Playoff Murray, too. JASON MACKEY Even though he wound up allowing three goals on 32 shots, the MAR 9, 2019 10:11 PM Penguins goaltender was nothing short of electric. “I thought he was really good,” Sullivan said. COLUMBUS, Ohio — Matt Murray stood on his head. Phil Kessel Murray padded his career highlight-reel by robbing Jenner with the blade couldn’t stand on his skates. Add the two together, and you get a decent of his stick in the first period, then used the inside of his blocker to deny picture of the Penguins’ 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Markus Nutivaara in the second. Saturday at Nationwide Arena. Later in the period, after a chance from Pierre-Luc Dubois, Murray One that, despite the five goals that were scored, actually featured a challenged a Grade A, follow-up opportunity from Artemi Panarin, who solid goaltending battle between Murray and Sergei Bobrovsky, whose doesn’t exactly stink at scoring goals. recent history against the Penguins was akin to the Washington Murray mostly sandbagged his performance afterward, saying he “made Generals. some pretty bad reads” and “got a little lucky, too.” He’d have better luck The Penguins lost a game their goaltender seemed intent on willing them selling oceanfront property in Brentwood than he would getting anyone to to win, and how they did that should prove instructive over the final 14 believe that. games of the season. Provided, of course, they can fix some of these It was a superb performance — “Murray played amazing yet again,” issues. Jared McCann said. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get the win for him.” — “We’re lucky we have Murray on our team,” Evgeni Malkin said. “He’s especially when you look at how the team played in front of him at key played unbelievable, but we need to help him a little bit. times. Matt Murray has beaten the Blue Jackets twice this season, posting a On Jenner’s goal, McCann helped Brian Dumoulin pressure the puck .958 save percentage. carrier and lost track of Jenner, while nobody came within a stick length of Oliver Bjorkstrand before he potted a Ryan Dzingel pass for the Blue “Sometimes we lose players in the defensive zone. We give them great Jackets’ third tally. chances to score. If we play a little bit tighter in the D zone, we’ll be fine.” Both plays were perfect examples of what Malkin talked about: losing That’s a start anyway, which was missing for the Penguins in this one. guys in the D zone. The Penguins have actually started well for much of this season, but the Blue Jackets clobbered them early. If the Penguins fix that, if they get the power play going again, if they generate more five-on-five, if they get off to a better start … if they even In a literal sense, as Josh Anderson hit Jack Johnson and Dominik do two of those things, they should be fine. Simon a few seconds after the puck dropped. Then in a more figurative sense when Boone Jenner snatched the game’s momentum like a loaf of Because goaltending — easily the biggest and most important factor now marble rye, his goal at 2:31 staking Columbus to a 1-0 lead. and in the playoffs — was not even close to a concern on this night. “I thought after the first 10-15 minutes, we kinda got our legs going,” said “We’re trying to control what we can,” Sullivan said. “As I said to the guys Zach Aston-Reese, who scored the Penguins’ only goal. “We had more after the game, we didn’t get the result. We’ve got to put it behind us and of a game for ourselves. That first 10 minutes we kind of shot ourselves be ready for the next one. That’s the mindset we have to have. We’re in the foot.” playoff mode already. That’s just the way it’s gonna be.” That’s not what happened to Kessel in the second period, although it What it means might’ve made the short-handed goal the Penguins allowed a little more The loss snapped the Penguins’ winning streak at three, their run of understandable. dominance over the Blue Jackets at eight. After taking a drop pass from … well, no. Kessel never actually took a The Penguins (36-23-9) now have 81 points and sit in the first wild-card drop pass from Justin Schultz because he tripped, on nothing, and Cam spot, two points ahead of Columbus and a regulation win back of Atkinson buried one from the left circle to make it 2-0. Carolina in the tiebreaker for third place in the Metropolitan Division. It was the NHL-worst 14th short-handed goal the Penguins have allowed The Islanders are four points ahead in second place, the Capitals six in this season. first. Penguins goaltender Matt Murray makes a glove save on Blue Jackets Post Gazette LOADED: 03.10.2019 center Matt Duchene on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at PPG Paints Arena. Matt Vensel These seven numbers help explain the Penguins' recent surge And easily the ugliest. “I’m not sure where I’m at yet,” coach Mike Sullivan said when asked where he’s at with all those shorties. “I don’t think we’ve given up those types of chances in a while. But I’m not sure where I’m at.” The goal wasn’t the only eyesore for the power play on this night. On the Penguins’ first power play, they had more giveaways (3) than shots on goal (0). They also got a gift when David Savard was called for interference, producing a 4-on-3, but the Penguins couldn’t score given 45 seconds on a bunch of open ice. But at least the Penguins had a few chances there. On their third power play, they again had more giveaways (2) than shots on goal (1). “It’s a huge part of our game,” Malkin said. “If we play [the power play] better, we have a great chance to win.” Five-on-five was no picnic, either. The Penguins attempted six such shots in the opening period and were slogging along through the first third of the middle period, totaling just seven. Fortunately for them, they did start to generate more, but it came in fits and starts. 1135244 Pittsburgh Penguins Letang and Olli Maatta skated with skills development coach Ty Hennes in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Sullivan said.

Letang missed a sixth consecutive game with an upper-body injury. Blocking shots a tricky — but important — topic for Penguins Amazingly, the Penguins were 4-1 in those first five games with just nine goals-against. JASON MACKEY Although Letang rejoined the team for two days this past week while wearing a non-contact sweater, Sullivan said the defenseman going back MAR 9, 2019 6:47 PM to individual work wasn’t a setback. It’s likely tied to the fact that Letang was sick Thursday, the Penguins didn’t practice Friday, and Letang could get more accomplished at home COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mike Sullivan does not consider the Penguins a than here. “shot-blocking team.” Sunday’s starter However, one would have to figure that the coach — on most days, anyway— doesn’t think his players are stupid. With Matt Murray getting the starting nod Saturday, it’ll be interesting to see what Sullivan does Sunday. Which brings us to the idea of Sullivan’s players hurling their bodies in front of pucks, how effectively they do that and what the results could or The Penguins’ opponent, the Boston Bruins, are the hottest team in should be. hockey, the result of an 18-game point streak (14-0-4) before their game Saturday. The Penguins may not prioritize shot-blocking the way other teams do, but they do find considerable success when doing it, the latest example Casey DeSmith, meanwhile, hasn’t played in a game since Feb. 21, and being Thursday’s 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets when they he’s dropped five of his past seven decisions with a 4.12 goals-against blocked 24 shots, a number they’ve exceeded on only four other average and .884 save percentage. occasions in 2018-19. To his credit, DeSmith has fared much better at home (.922 save Of the 16 times that the Penguins have blocked 20 or more shots in a percentage) than on the road (.901) this season. game this season, they have — perhaps as no surprise — won 12 of those games. So, it doesn’t hurt. Almeida signs “I wouldn’t characterize us as a ‘shot-blocking team.’ ” Sullivan said after The Penguins announced Saturday that they signed forward Justin Saturday’s morning skate. “Having said that, part of solid defense is Almeida to a three-year, entry-level contract that will begin when he turns sometimes you have to get in a shot lane and deny the puck getting to pro next season. the net.” Almeida, a fifth-round (129th overall) draft choice in 2018, has been Ideally, Sullivan said, he’d like his team to play to its other strengths; putting up a lot of points in the Western Hockey League. mobility and stick-detail were two he cited as part of his answer on the Playing 59 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors, the 20-year-old Almeida topic. — who’s undersized at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds — leads the league in “If we can put pressure on the puck and try to create loose pucks and assists (68) and ranks fourth in points (95). confrontations or stalled plays, then we’ve got an opportunity to use our A year ago, Almeida had 43 goals, 55 assists and 98 points in 72 games. quickness to win puck battles,” Sullivan said. Post Gazette LOADED: 03.10.2019 But if a team is intent on attempting a lot of shots — as the Blue Jackets and other teams have done against the Penguins — then Sullivan’s players would be remiss to not do something to stop those pucks from getting through. “If the play goes low to high, you have to get in a shot lane; you’ve got to try and discourage the puck from getting to the scoring area,” Sullivan said. “It’s the hardest area on the rink to defend. “The more we can deny the puck there, the better opportunity we have at keeping it out of our net.” If you’re curious, before Saturday’s game Jack Johnson led all Penguins players with 124 blocked shots this season, a total that ranked 21st league-wide. Although it had only been five games, Zach Trotman had the highest average (2.4). Olli Maatta (2.0), Kris Letang (1.7) and Brian Dumoulin (1.7) were tops among regulars. Power up The Penguins power play has enjoyed an uptick of late. It had goals in four straight before Saturday, going five for 13 during that stretch. Those on the power play aren’t doing anything drastically different, Sidney Crosby said, but the production has been good to see. “We want to make sure we’re consistent there,” Crosby said Saturday morning. “That’s a big part of games — finding a way to produce there.” One curious note with the power play, though, is that the Penguins had yet to score five-on-three this season. They’re one of eight teams that could say that. In seven opportunities totaling 6:37 (the ninth-most time), including one Thursday, the Penguins had failed to put the puck in the back of the net. It’s weird to see from a power play that was one of the league’s best in decades last season. “There’s no great explanation,” Crosby said. “Last game we had some great looks. For whatever reason, it hasn’t gone in. Those are big moments in the game. You score five-on-three, it’s a big difference. We have to find a way to capitalize in that situation.” Letang progressing 1135245 Pittsburgh Penguins The first lousy power play merely prevented them from taking an early lead on the road against a struggling — if not reeling — foe. The second lousy power play necessitated a comeback attempt that was unlikely Coach Mike Sullivan ‘not sure where I’m at’ with Penguins’ give-it-away given the limited 5-on-5 chances that would be allowed by either the power play Penguins or Blue Jackets in a game that looked playoff-quality in terms of closed-off ice and intensity.

No club has allowed more than 18 shorthanded goals in a season during Rob Rossi the salary-cap era. The Penguins are on pace to surrender 17. So, yeah, we’re saying there’s a chance. COLUMBUS, Ohio — Another shorthanded goal against. Number 14 on Sullivan has at times appeared equally bewildered and beleaguered by the season, if you’re counting. Not that you’d need to count. the power play’s unique skill for turning possible prosperity into danger and doom. He has threatened changes to the top unit, sometimes made At this point — 68 games into a regular season that finds the Penguins those changes, and on a couple of occasions stepped directly to the line fighting for their Stanley Cup playoffs lives — who among the team of publicly begging his most gifted offensive playmakers — when doesn’t know that number above all and any others? everybody is healthy, the Penguins regularly deploy Malkin, Kessel, captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang on the ice as part of So, while a 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena their top power-play unit — to consider the cost of taking high-risk on Saturday night might not be completely on their give-it-away power chances while working with an advantage. play, the Penguins probably can shake off the defeat itself easier than they can shake the sense that this penchant for going sideways on Has it worked? advantage opportunities will at some point sink their season. “I don’t think we’ve given up those type of chances in a while,” Sullivan “I’m not sure where I’m at yet,” coach Mike Sullivan said regarding a said Saturday night. “But I’m not sure where I’m at.” power play that has gone from leading the NHL in percentage last season to pacing it in shorthanded goals allowed this season. He agreed a physical error — and not a mental lapse by Kessel — led to Atkinson’s shorthanded goal. He then argued, and not for the first time on Added center Evgeni Malkin: “Our power play has (to) help the team win the season (not by a long shot), that the Penguins “have to be better at the game. … Of course we’re mad.” the details.” As well they should be based upon Saturday night. “When you talk about power-play breakouts, it’s about cooperative play, timing,” Sullivan said. “Then it boils down to execution. The latest shorthanded goal surrendered by the Penguins placed them in a hole from which they never could climb. It essentially prevented them “It’s execution and attention to detail. When we get away from that, we’re from sweeping four games from the Blue Jackets, with whom they are not as good.” jostling for postseason qualification in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. Despite receiving the fourth-fewest power plays (182), the Penguins have allowed shorthanded goals at a 7.6 percent rate. Startling. The shorthanded goal also wasted a wonderful performance from goalie Matt Murray, whose stick denial of Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner Perhaps Sullivan can take comfort from a leader such as Malkin — no while diving across the crease in the first period was a candidate for his slouch to power-play mistakes on the season — basically echoing his best save of the season — until, that is, a sprawling blocker-denial of coach’s thoughts when it comes to this particular issue, which is the Columbus defenseman Markus Nutivaara in the second period. biggest non-injury issue facing these Penguins. Sullivan astutely described Murray’s effort Saturday night as “We need better breakouts and to play together on breakouts,” Malkin “outstanding,” noting his goalie’s many “ten-bell chances” — four by this said. “Teams pressure us so hard. We need (to) want (to) support if our count — that “kept (the Penguins) in it.” Murray, though, spoke far less guy has the puck. We need support. It’s support.” effusively of his 29 saves. Indeed it is. “I wouldn’t say I was in the zone,” he said. “I made some pretty bad reads, actually. Got lucky a lot.” And it supports a popular theory about these Penguins: They’re tough to beat if they don’t beat themselves. That’s Murray for you: hardest on himself after he passes the eye tests of others. If the Penguins are fortunate, their two-time Cup-winning goalie But they do beat themselves. Too often. will be beating himself up similarly for the next few months. Usually on the power play. Murray has posted a 2.32 goals-goals average and .930 save percentage It happened again Saturday night. in 26 games dating to Dec. 15. Despite a few hiccups on the road recently (late regulation and overtime goals allowed at Philadelphia and Around the boards Buffalo), Murray has played over that span to a 2.34 GAA and .925 SV% — consistent to the level of his three-month turnaround. Malkin’s assist on winger Zach Aston-Reese’s goal against the Blue Jackets pulled him within two of 1,000 for his career. … Crosby’s six- “We’re lucky we have Murray,” Malkin said Saturday night. “The last game goal streak was snapped. It was the second-longest of his career. week or two he (has) played unbelievable.” … Kessel’s 314 consecutive games with the Penguins rank second in franchise history. … Letang (neck) did not accompany the Penguins to Or … Murray has played exactly according to how the Penguins planned Columbus and instead worked with skating and skills development coach when betting their present and future on him after the 2016 and 2017 Ty Hennes in Pittsburgh. Sullivan said Letang has not had a setback, but Cup runs. rather has not been with the team because he is sick. Letang has not “Unbelievable” would fairly describe the Penguins’ power play, however. played since Feb. 23. Not in a good way — or even a slightly encouraging way — either. The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 Winger Phil Kessel’s inability to stay on his skates contributed to the turnover that set up the shorthanded goal by Blue Jackets winger Cam Atkinson early in the second period Saturday night. Malkin, who was on the ice as part of the Penguins’ top power-play unit, theorized an issue with Kessel’s skates that resulted in the fall. “Bad luck,” Malkin said. “He loses control. What can you do?” Fair enough. Still, the sequences prior to Kessel’s lost control of the puck, drop-passed to him by defenseman Justin Schultz, were hardly from the teachings of Power Play 101. While not quite as egregious as sloppy spots on power plays from earlier on the season, the Penguins’ second 5-on-4 advantage Saturday night resembled their first one from early in the first period. In a word: lousy. 1135246 San Jose Sharks The Sharks needed the power forward to step up his game with Kane, who’s scored 16 goals in 23 games since Jan. 1, on the shelf.

“It’s tough every time you see a player like that hurt,” Meier said. “It gives Takeaways: Timo Meier makes his country proud in Sharks win me an opportunity to play some more minutes, so I’m just trying to take The Sharks completed their homestand with a perfect 4-0 record. advantage of that and help the team in whatever way I can.” Meier tied the game at 16:23 of the first by skating through the slot and burying a seam pass from Thornton. He scored his 26th with just 27 Paul Gackle seconds left in the frame, beating Jake Allen with a nifty forehand-to- backhand move after Logan Couture found him in the slot by zipping a March 9, 2019 at 6:31 PM backhanded pass through two Blues defenders. The clock doesn't stop and neither does Timo. SAN JOSE — Kevin Labanc celebrated his 200th NHL game the right 1:42PM is also #TimoTime! pic.twitter.com/5N7uVxb5J2 way: scoring an overtime winner that propelled the Sharks into first place in the Western Conference. — San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) March 9, 2019 By completing their four-game homestand with a perfect record, the With a two-goal game, Meier set a new single-season record for goals Sharks leapfrogged the Calgary Flames in the Pacific Division standings, scored by a Swiss-born player. erasing a seven-point deficit in just nine days. In the process, Joe Thornton moved into a tie with Stan Mikita for 14th place on the NHL’s “I didn’t even know that,” Meier said. “Obviously, it’s nice to set all-time scoring list by potting his 1,467th career point with an assist on something like that. It’s good for the development of hockey in the Sharks first goal. Switzerland. But overall, I’m just happy to get that win.” With just 14 games left on the schedule, the Sharks are giving 3. Sharks third period performance throughout the homestand is themselves a shot to earn home-ice advantage in the Western encouraging for playoffs. Conference playoffs, drawing a wild card team in the opening round The Sharks performance in the third periods of their last three games is instead of facing the Vegas Golden Knights and Vezina Trophy candidate another encouraging sign heading toward the playoffs. Marc-André Fleury. In the playoffs, so many games are decided by late goals and the Sharks “Feels good,” Logan Couture said. “We’ve come a long way. Not too long are showing a propensity for finishing strong in tight games. ago, December, we were going through some tough times as a team and we were’t anywhere near the top of the conference.” CHA-CHING! pic.twitter.com/YqTcrXyDVI Here’s what we learned in the Sharks 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis — San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) March 9, 2019 Blues: On Sunday, the Sharks scored three times in the third period to clinch a 1. Sharks regain playoff identity in perfect homestand win in a game that was 2-2 at the second intermission. Four days later, they turned a 3-2 second period lead over the Montreal Canadiens into a The Sharks winning streak is even more impressive considering that they 5-2 win, holding a 10-9 shot advantage in the final frame after getting posted top grades on their homestand in the face of significant adversity. walloped by a 30-15 edge over the game’s first 40 minutes. They In addition to losing Erik Karlsson to a re-tweaked groin injury, the Sharks continued the trend on Saturday, outshooting the Blues 15-4 in the third made due without Evander Kane, who missed the entire homestand with before Labanc delivered the heroics in overtime. an undisclosed ailment, while Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski both played at less than 100 percent, battling through flu bugs. “We’ve asked them to dig deep in the third. We’ve been in a couple situations in the third where the game could have gone either way,” Regardless, the Sharks got the job done by rolling the style of game DeBoer said. “We found a little more in the tank, another level. that’s emblematic of playoff hockey against a of quartet of teams hungry Considering what some of the guys have been dealing with, it’s been for points with the second season fast approaching. impressive.” The Sharks held the high-flying offenses of the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 03.10.2019 the Chicago Blackhawks to just 25 and 30 shots in wins on March 1 and March 3. On Thursday, they found a way to squeak out two points against the Montreal Canadiens on a night where they clearly lacked their best stuff. The most remarkable performance came on Saturday when the Sharks beat the NHL’s wins leader since Jan. 1 (21) by holding it to just 19 shots, five in the third period and overtime. The defensive effort came in the wake of a stretch in February where the Sharks dropped games to the Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals, failing to adjust their style of play when those defensive-minded teams took the ice away from their high-octane offense. With the rediscovery of that blue collar identity, it isn’t surprising that Martin Jones posted a .920 save percentage over the course of the homestand, benefitting from the stinginess in front of him. The Sharks made it easy on Jones, surrendering just two high-danger scoring chances to the Blues (Natural Stat Trick) on Saturday as he made 17 saves on 19 shots. “It was a playoff-type game out there,” DeBoer said. “There wasn’t a lot of room. Both teams defended hard, played hard. There was a real edginess to the game as far as the battles went. It was a hard-fought game.” 2. Timo Meier fills Kane’s skates, makes his country proud. You hear it at least 50 times during the course of an 82-game season: when someone goes down, it’s an opportunity for someone else to step up. Meier paid tribute to one of hockey’s most-embedded clichés during the homestand, scoring five goals in four games after collecting just three in a 31-game span between Dec. 16 and Feb. 26. Good timing. 1135247 San Jose Sharks

Labanc lifts Sharks past Blues in OT The Sharks moved into first place in the Pacific Division on Saturday.

Paul Gackle March 9, 2019 at 6:30 PM

SAN JOSE — Kevin Labanc scored with 1:39 left in overtime, propelling the Sharks into first place in the Pacific Division. Labanc scored the decisive goal in a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday by burying a seam pass from Logan Couture, allowing the Sharks to complete their four-game homestand at SAP Center with a perfect record. Martin Jones made 18 saves to secure the win that catapulted the Sharks past the Calgary Flames by a single point in the Pacific Division standings. The Sharks carried a 2-1 lead into the first intermission thanks to a two- goal opening frame from Timo Meier. After the Blues opened the scoring with a power play goal at 10:35 of the first, Meier scored a pair of goals less than three minutes apart, recording his fifth two-goal game of the season. Meier scored his first on the power play at 16:23, just the third goal that the Blues penalty kill had surrendered in 32 shorthanded chances. The Sharks forward buried a pass from Joe Thornton as he skated through the slot, giving him goals in four straight games. With the primary assist, Thornton picked up his 1,467th career point, tying Stan Mikita for 14th place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. He recorded his 26th goal with just 26.7 seconds left in the first stanza, beating Jake Allen with a forehand-to-backhand move after Couture found him alone in front by zipping a backhanded pass through two defenders. With the tally, Meier set a single-season NHL record for most goals by a Swiss-born player. The Blues tied the game by scoring a power play goal with just 2.1 seconds left in the middle period. After Barclay Goodrow intercepted Brayden Schenn’s cross-ice pass in front, the Blues forward swooped in and brushed the puck off his stick, sliding it into the Sharks net in the process. Labanc suited up for his 200th NHL game. The Sharks will return to action on Monday, kicking off a quick two-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild. San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135248 San Jose Sharks UP NEXT Blues: Host Arizona on Tuesday night. Kevin Labanc scores in OT, Sharks beat Blues 3-2 Sharks: At Minnesota on Monday night. San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 03.10.2019 Gideon Rubin 5:20 pm PST, Saturday, March 9, 2019

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks were feeling a playoff vibe, and Kevin Labanc fed off it. Labanc scored at 3:21 of overtime, Timo Meier had two goals and San Jose beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Saturday to take the Western Conference lead. Labanc scored his 12th goal off assists from Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. "You're fighting for every inch of ice," Labanc said. "It was relentless. They had a couple chances, we had a couple chances. It was a really even game, I'd say. It was a lot of fun to play in. We're going to be expecting the last 13, 14 games to be like this, so we got to be ready. Just start getting ready for that playoff-like hockey." Meier extended his goals streak to four games to help San Jose win its fourth straight and move a point ahead of the idle Pacific Division rival Calgary. The Sharks are 13-3-1 in their last 17 games. "It feels good," Couture about. "It means that we've come a long way. Not too long ago, it was December there, we were going through some tough times as a team and we weren't anywhere near the top of the conference. It means that we've found our game and we've played up to our capabilities." The 23-year-old Labanc had his eighth career game-winner. "I thought it was a playoff type game out there. I thought there wasn't a lot of room," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "I thought both teams defended hard, played hard. There was a real edginess to the game as far as the battles went and things like that. It was a hard-fought game." Brayden Schenn and Pat Maroon scored for the Blues. St. Louis lost for the third time in five games after going 13-1-1 in its previous 15. The Blues tied it at 2 with 2.1 seconds left in the second period on Schenn's power-play goal. "It was nice to get one right at the end of the period," Blues goalie Jake Allen said. "It sort of gives you some momentum going into the third and obviously creates a different mindset in locker room right after the second intermission. We're not chasing the game anymore, we're right there and one more goal and we're up. It was a great goal by (Schenn)." St. Louis scored midway through the first period on Maroon's power-play goal. San Jose took a 2-1 lead on Meier's 25th and 26th goals in the last four minutes of the first period. Meier tied it with a power play goal at 16:23 of the first period and put the Sharks ahead with 27 seconds left. The 22-year-old Meier set the single-season goals scored record for a Swiss-born player. Martin Jones had 17 saves for San Jose. Blues goalie Jake Allen had 30 saves in a rare second straight start after getting the shutout in a 4-0 win against Los Angeles on Thursday night. Allen has played behind rookie standout Jordan Binnington most of the season. Allen made several tough saves, including stopping a Marcus Sorensen breakaway late in the game. "He was excellent," Blues interim coach Craig Berube said. "We got a little loose there at the end of the third and he stopped a couple of big scoring opportunities to get us a point." NOTES: St. Louis F Vladimir Tarasenko was out with an upper body injury. His status is day to day. ... Jaden Schwartz moved up to the first line to take Tarasenko's spot and Zach Sanford came off the bench to take Schwartz's spot on the third line.. ... Sharks F Evander Kane (mid- body injury) and All-Star D Erik Karlsson (groin) both missed their fourth straight games. ... Labanc played in his 200th career game. ... Sharks C Joe Thornton moved into a tie with Stan Mikita for 14th on the all-time points list (1,467). 1135249 San Jose Sharks

Sharks’ fight to first in Western Conference standings not easy nor done

Chelena Goldman March 09, 2019 4:31 PM

SAN JOSE — To say the Sharks battled to overtake first place in the Western Conference on Saturday probably is a bit of an understatement. San Jose had to get past a tough-as-nails St. Louis Blues squad that put together a tight-checking game at SAP Center, all led by an out-of-his- mind goaltending effort from Jake Allen. If you didn’t know any better, you might’ve thought San Jose's 3-2 win over St. Louis was a playoff game. “You’re fighting for every inch of ice. It was relentless,” Sharks winger Kevin Labanc said after the game. “They had a couple chances, we had a couple chances. It was a really even game, I’d say. It was a lot of fun to play in.” No surprise Labanc called the game “fun”. He did, after all, tally the game-winning goal in overtime — just what the Sharks (41-19-8, 90 points) needed to surpass the Calgary Flames (41-20-7, 89 points) in the standings. The win also completed San Jose’s sweep of a four-game homestand, which Joe Pavelski pointed to as a boost to the team’s climb in the standings. “We’ve caught a little stretch where we’ve been at home winning some games and Calgary’s been dropping a couple,” the captain said of the Sharks’ Pacific Division rivals, who have lost four consecutive games. But taking over first place in the conference isn’t just about besting the Flames. Just a few months ago, San Jose had a four-game losing streak of its own and met with general manager Doug Wilson. It isn’t lost on the Sharks how much they’ve improved since the beginning of the season. “It means that we’ve come a long way,” Logan Couture said. “Not too long ago, we were going through some tough times as a team. We weren’t anywhere near the top of the conference. It means that we’ve found our game and played up to our capabilities.” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer agreed. “I like where our game is at heading into the last portion of the season,” he said. “It’s been a long road for us.” Now, San Jose has to continue playing that way. With 14 games remaining in the regular season and the race for playoff positioning still incredibly tight, the Sharks have to keep pushing. “We know that (Calgary’s) game will come around,” Pavelski said. “It’s just about playing hard every night and trying to put those points in our column.” The Sharks can't enjoy the win for long. They'll hit the road for a back-to- back against the Winnipeg Jets (Monday) and the Minnesota Wild (Tuesday). Yet that doesn't mean they can't enjoy it at all. “It’s only one point. We still have a lot of work to do,” Labanc said, before adding: “But it’s definitely nice knowing you’re at the top of the conference.” Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135250 San Jose Sharks

Sharks takeaways: What we learned in 3-2 overtime win vs. Blues in matinee

Chelena Goldman March 09, 2019 3:43 PM

SAN JOSE – Coach Peter DeBoer said the Sharks' matchup with the St. Louis Blues would test his team – and boy, he wasn’t kidding. San Jose went back-and-forth with St. Louis in a fast-paced contest Saturday afternoon, and it came right down to the wire. In the end, Kevin Labanc played the hero by tallying the game-winner in overtime to lift the Sharks to a 3-2 victory. Here are three takeaways from the matinee: Blues goaltending at the forefront DeBoer told the media before Saturday’s contest one of the Sharks’ biggest challenges was going to be breaking through the Blues’ goaltending. “They're playing with that confidence great goaltending gives you,” he said. “It's a good test for us." San Jose had to grind to get the puck past Jake Allen, who made colossal saves throughout the game – including a few notable stops in the final minutes of the third period as the Sharks tried to break a 2-2 tie. Ultimately, they stepped up to the challenge of getting past a hot netminder. On that same note … Credit to third-period play You really do have to hand it to the Sharks. They’ve been turning on the jets late in the games on their current homestand, despite the fact they’ve been missing key players due to injury and a chunk of the team suffered from the flu. San Jose heavily outshot St. Louis in the third period on Saturday, holding the visitors to just two shots on goal for the majority of the frame. The Sharks' efforts in the final minutes of regulation were particularly impressive, as they continued to pepper Allen with chances. For a team that expects to go deep into the playoffs, this is a trend they’ll want to continue. Timo time, times two The Swiss forward is back to that dominant level he reached at the beginning of the season. He scored both of San Jose’s regulation goals in the first period – one on the power play, and the other after catching a sweet back-handed pass from Logan Couture. Meier was gunning for that third goal for the rest of the game, only to be stymied by a clearly in-the-zone Allen. While he still hasn’t tallied his first career NHL hat trick, Meier is heating back up at just the right time. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135251 San Jose Sharks

Sharks vs Blues watch guide: Projected lines and defensive pairs

Chelena Goldman March 09, 2019 8:02 AM

SAN JOSE -- The Sharks have the opportunity on Saturday afternoon to complete a perfect homestand and take over first place. First, they’ll have to get past the St. Louis Blues. Team Teal enters the matinee matchup still trying to get their team healthy. Despite defeating the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, members of the team are still fighting off the flu, mainly captain Joe Pavelski and Norris Trophy hopeful Brent Burns. Winger Evander Kane practiced during the week although an undisclosed injury continues to keep him out of the gameday lineup. Erik Karlsson remains out of the lineup and could potentially be out for the duration of the regular season. The Blues visit San Jose having won their last two contests. They currently sit in third place in the Central Division standings, five points behind the Nashville Predators. This is the third time the Sharks and Blues will play each other this season, having already split the season series at a game apiece. In 100 total contests between the franchises, San Jose holds a 41-50-2-7 record. Sharks projected lines and pairs: Timo Meier – Logan Couture – Joe Pavelski Joonas Donskoi – Tomas Hertl – Kevin Labanc Marcus Sorensen – Joe Thornton – Gustav Nyquist Micheal Haley – Barclay Goodrow – Melker Karlsson Radim Simek – Brent Burns Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Tim Heed Brenden Dillon – Justin Braun Martin Jones – projected starter Aaron Dell Blues projected lines and pairs: Brayden Schenn – Ryan O’Reilly – Jaden Schwartz Patrick Maroon – Tyler Bozak – Robert Thomas Zach Sanford – Oskar Sundqvist – Alex Steen Mackenzie Maceachern – Ivan Barbashev – Sammy Blais Joel Edmundson – Alex Pietrangelo Jay Bouwmeester – Colton Parayko Vince Dunn – Robert Bortuzzo Jake Allen – projected starter Jordan Binnington Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135252 San Jose Sharks 41-19-8 now, behind only Tampa Bay and Boston in the overall league standings.

“Feels good,” said Logan Couture, who had a pair of assists Saturday Surging, shorthanded Sharks take over first place, but best might be yet afternoon, including setting up Kevin Labanc for the overtime winner. to come “(Being in first place) means that we’ve come a long way. Not too long ago, I think it was December there, we were going through some tough times as a team, and we were’t anywhere near the top of the conference. Kevin Kurz Means that we’ve found our game, and played up to our capabilities.” Mar 9, 2019 8 CHA-CHING! PIC.TWITTER.COM/YQTCRXYDVI — SAN JOSE SHARKS (@SANJOSESHARKS) MARCH 9, 2019 For the first time since he limped up the bench and down the visitors DeBoer said: “I think it’s been a long road for us from where we started to tunnel at Boston’s TD Garden after the second period of a Sharks-Bruins now, and some of the stuff we’ve dealt with. It’s good. Whether it lasts for game on Feb. 26, Erik Karlsson offered some clarity on his injury a night, or a couple nights … more importantly, I like where our game is situation and his immediate future Friday, moments after posing for the at heading into the last portion of the season here.” annual team photo at SAP Center. Not only were the Sharks without Karlsson for the entire homestand, but The bottom line is that while he won’t return to the active lineup “any time Evander Kane was also out for all four games. He missed the first three soon,” he emphasized that he’ll be good to go for Game 1 of the first games with what was termed as a “mid-body” injury, and after missing round of the Stanley Cup playoffs during the second week of April. Friday’s team photo and practice for personal reasons, he was unavailable for the Blues game Saturday. DeBoer was unsure if Kane “Oh, yeah, 100 percent,” Karlsson said, when asked how certain he was would accompany the team to Minnesota on Sunday, where the Sharks that he would be ready for the start of the Sharks’ upcoming playoff run. open a brief two-game road trip Monday. “I should (have) no issues with that. It’s just whether I can get in a few games before, which would (be) nice, but if that’s not the case, that’s not But just like they’ve overcome the Karlsson loss, the Sharks have been the case. We haven’t really set a timetable on it, but should definitely be able to win games despite not having the 27-goal, 51-point Kane in the ready for playoffs.” lineup. Karlsson took responsibility for the odd set of circumstances in Boston, Timo Meier has been the biggest reason Kane’s absence hasn’t been when he surprisingly suited up the day after Sharks general manager felt. Doug Wilson expressed that the team was going to be extra cautious with the two-time Norris Trophy winner. Not only did Karlsson hurt Meier posted the first two Sharks goals against the Blues, including a himself again, but he also tried to come back in the second period gorgeous backhand flip from in tight on goalie Jake Allen in the second despite clearly not being right. period. Meier scored in each of the four games of the successful homestand, with five total. He has 26 on the season, putting a difficult 17- “That was me” who made the decision to re-enter that Bruins game, game goal drought in November and December far behind him. Karlsson said. “It didn’t feel great, but again, it was one of those games where I didn’t want to leave in the fashion that I did. Tried to come back, Kane’s absence “gives me an opportunity to maybe play some more couldn’t really do much. Aggravated it again fairly easy. Then it was a no- minutes, so I’m trying to take advantage of that and just help the team in brainer to step off.” whatever way I can,” Meier said. As is often the case when it comes to injuries and the Sharks, there is The Swiss forward eclipsed 20 minutes in a game for just the third time some ambiguity as to just what Karlsson is dealing with now. According this season against the Blues, with 20:06 total ice time. to the defenseman, the injury that has kept him out for four consecutive “He keeps adding layers to his game. A couple big moments for us games is “different” and “something that you can’t play through” when tonight,” DeBoer said. “I thought he had good legs, and he was one of compared with the groin strain that had him sidelined from Jan. 19 to the guys I thought was really going. We actually double-shifted him a few Feb. 16. times to keep him going, because I think he felt good.” He even went so far as to say that the events in Boston might have been Playoff hockey, of course, is sure to bring further adversity. That’s why a blessing in disguise. the Sharks went out and acquired Gus Nyquist despite having a stacked “In hindsight, it might have been a good thing that it happened now, when forward group. They know they’ll need at least 14 or 15 forwards if we have more time to figure everything out,” Karlsson said. “Again, we’ve they’re going to be playing hockey for another three months. got to take as much time as we need to make sure I can be good to go In that sense, their recent success is exceptionally encouraging. The for at least a couple of months. … Whether the second (injury) was Sharks surely know how important first place in their division is, as it’s a caused from the first one, I don’t know.” good bet they’d like to avoid playing Vegas in the first round. The Sharks Whatever it is, the current injury is still groin-related. are now 23-5-5 at home this season, too, so getting home ice for at least the first three rounds would be preferable. “I think they’re all related, everything that’s gone on,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said of Karlsson’s injury, which also prevented him from finishing Even without Karlsson, and now Kane, there’s no reason to believe they a game in Columbus on Feb. 23. “It’s not like it’s anything new, I think it’s can’t keep on rolling. all interrelated from the first time he did it. He’s in a good place. He And when Karlsson, in particular, returns, they might be even better than strengthening it, he feels good about it. We have a plan. I don’t think they were when he and the team were at their best. there’s any doubt in anyone’s mind he’s going to be back 100 percent. It’s just when.” “I think the silver lining in the whole thing for me, really, is the timing of it, just because we saw what he’s capable of doing for a good two months,” There’s no real debate that the best hockey the Sharks have played this DeBoer said Friday. “We saw his impact on our team. We saw the level season came with a fully healthy and effective Karlsson. In the 22 games he can play at. We saw his integration into the team, where it became from Dec. 2 to when Karlsson first sustained a groin strain on Jan. 16, seamless. So, he’s done that. We’ve passed that hurdle. Now, it’s just the Sharks went 15-4-1. Karlsson was the leading scorer during that getting him healthy again.” span with 28 points (one goal, 27 assists), despite missing two games because of a suspension. The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 But as a team, the Sharks have been just fine without him, too. Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win over St. Louis was their fourth straight, all at home, pushing their record to an impressive 12-3-1 when Karlsson isn’t in the lineup. The recent surge has the Sharks in sole possession of first place in the Western Conference for the first time this season, one point ahead of Calgary, which was idle Saturday. (The Flames host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.) The Sharks are a drastically different team since getting whacked in Ottawa by the lowly Senators on Dec. 1, a 6-2 loss that was the low point of the season. The Sharks have gone from 12-10-5 after that defeat to 1135253 St Louis Blues San Jose was missing two of its stars Saturday: Evander Kane (personal reasons) and Erik Karlsson (groin).

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 03.10.2019 Blues' Berube still deflecting praise for team's success

Jim Thomas

SAN JOSE, CALIF. • As the Blues head down the stretch of the 2018-19 season, with just 14 games to play, they are somewhere no one thought they’d be two months ago — zeroing in on a playoff berth. The Blues didn’t quite get the result they wanted Saturday, losing 3-2 in overtime to San Jose. But they were minus leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko, who was out with an upper-body injury, and playing for the third time in four days. If nothing else, getting five out of six points on a three-game California trip is another example that interim coach Craig Berube wants the “interim” taken off his job description. The Blues are 29-16-4 since Berube took over for Mike Yeo following a 2-0 loss to the Kings on Nov. 19. The 29 wins shared fourth in the NHL entering Saturday’s game. The Blues’ 62 points after Saturday’s overtime loss puts them in the NHL’s top eight during that stretch. That’s pretty good hockey. Maybe even better than pretty good. But Berube isn’t one to pat himself on the back when it comes to his role in getting the Blues back on track this season. “I don’t really give myself credit,” Berube said. “This is a good group of guys. They got a lot of pride. We weren’t in a good spot and they fought their way out of it. That’s basically how it works. They fought their way out of it and started to play together as a team.” When asked if a fresh voice sometimes can help a struggling team, Berube once again put the emphasis on the players. “All I know is that the leaders on this team obviously did a good job of pulling this team together and getting it on the right track,” he said. But Ryan O’Reilly, the team’s leading scorer and only All-Star this season, knows better. Berube deserves at least some of the credit, right? “Oh gosh, yeah,” O’Reilly said. “He made a huge impact.” And according to O’Reilly, it’s more a matter of approach than simply Xs and Os with Berube. “He just wants everyone to play hard,” O’Reilly said. “Play hard and play heavy. When you do that it’s funny how the system kind of takes care of itself and things start to go your way, bounces. So obviously him instilling that and knowing mistakes are gonna happen — but be hard on pucks. Most often you’re gonna get the good bounces when you work hard.” FATHER and SON In a season hampered by injury and illness, is just two points shy of 600 for his career. His father, Thomas, finished his career with 817 points, so the Steens are about to become only the fourth father-son act to top 600 points apiece. You’ve probably heard of the others: Gordie and Mark Howe; Bobby and Brett Hull; and Peter and . SANFORD BACK After watching as a healthy scratch the past two games, Zach Sanford was back in the lineup due to Tarasenko’s injury. The stats might not necessarily show it, but Sanford was much more effective than he’d been in recent games. He played 16 minutes 4 seconds against the Sharks, with two shots on goal and two hits. “He competed hard, I thought he moved well,” Berube said. “He was aggressive. We’ve been talking with him about being more aggressive and using his body more and making harder puck plays. And I thought that line was good.” He played on the third line with Steen and Oskar Sundqvist, with Jaden Schwartz moving up to the first line to replace Tarasenko. BLUENOTES In Tarasenko’s absence, Schwartz wore the “A” Saturday as alternate captain. Besides Tarasenko as an injury scratch, Robby Fabbri and Michael Del Zotto were healthy scratches for the Blues. 1135254 St Louis Blues What made the play was Schenn’s presence of mind to crash the net after his attempted pass to Bozak.

“Power play, you gotta get to the front of the net,” Schenn said. Blues come up short in overtime against Sharks When it came to killer goals at the end of a period, the skate was on the other foot with 27 seconds left in the first. That’s when San Jose’s Timo Jim Thomas Meier was left all alone in front of the St. Louis net, deked to Allen’s right and then came back with a backhander the other way.

It was Meier’s second goal of the period and 26th goal of the season, SAN JOSE, CALIF. • No Blues team has won all three games on a giving San Jose a 2-1 lead. Meier’s first goal came 3 minutes 10 seconds California trip by beating Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose since the earlier with Joel Edmundson in the penalty box for holding the stick. 2006-07 season. But it was the Blues who took a 1-0 lead on Maroon’s fifth goal of the Entering Saturday’s game at SAP Center, they had gone 11 trips to the season, ending a 24-game drought. Not unlike the Robert Thomas game- Golden State without hitting the trifecta. After a sluggish start against the tying goal Wednesday late in the third period in Anaheim, Colton Parayko high-flying San Jose Sharks, the Blues came oh-so-close to pulling it off. fired the puck off the end boards and it bounced back in front of the net. Maroon was there to jam the puck past Jones for a power-play score at But Kevin Labanc’s backdoor goal with 1 minute 39 seconds left in the 10:35 mark. overtime gave the Sharks a 3-2 victory. “I was just tracking it down, got a little puck luck and found it, and put the At 41-19-8, and 90 points, the Sharks moved ahead of idle Calgary and puck in the net,” Maroon said. into the Pacific Division lead. They also have the overall lead in the Western Conference. As for the Blues, now 36-25-7, they remain in third “It’s nice to get one. Obviously it’s been a tough year for me struggling place in the Central Division and came home from California with five of a scoring.” possible six points. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 03.10.2019 Not perfect. But certainly not shabby. Playing without the injured Vladimir Tarasenko, who interim coach Craig Berube said suffered an upper-body injury Thursday in Los Angeles, the Blues got goals from Pat Maroon and Brayden Schenn. And to use Berube’s description, they also received “excellent” goaltending from Jake Allen. “It’s a tough road trip,” Schenn said. “Even though LA and Anaheim, they’re not where they want to be in the standings, they’re still tough teams to play against. They’re big, heavy teams and it’s never easy coming into this (San Jose) building. “So five out of six points, we’ll take it. Anything can happen in overtime. We played hard — we found a way to get one point.” Berube hinted after the 4-0 victory over the Kings with Allen in goal that he might come back with him again on Saturday. So it was only a mild surprise when that turned out to be the case. It was Allen’s first start in a scenario other than a set of back-to-back games since Jan. 17 against Boston. He was up to the task, stopping 30 of 33 San Jose shots, making one goal-saving play after another against a potent San Jose lineup that ranks second in the league in scoring at 3.63 goals per game and includes five 20-goal scorers. (One of them, Evander Kane, was out of the lineup for personal reasons.) “My job is just to save the puck,” Allen said. “It was a tiring third period, no question. They poured it on, but it was fun. It was a good challenge for me and for our group. I thought we responded really well.” The Sharks sent 15 shots at Allen in the third, and not many were routine saves. One was a sliding pad save — skates first — from right to left to rob Labanc of what looked like a sure goal. “He was excellent,” Berube said. “We got a little loose there at the end of the third and he stopped a couple big scoring opportunities. That’s big to get us a point.” That may have been the first time all season Berube has used the word “excellent” to describe a goalie’s performance after a game. “Solid” has been his operative description all season after a good performance. Allen’s work aside, the Blues probably don’t leave San Jose with a point without some late-period magic. For the second time in as many games, they scored in the waning moments of the second period. On Thursday, it was Ryan O’Reilly with 1.1 seconds left in the second period to give the Blues a 3-0 lead against Los Angeles. On Saturday at the Shark Tank, Schenn scored with three seconds left in the second period to tie the game at 2-2. The Blues were on the power play, with Tomas Hertl off for hooking Alex Pietrangelo, but the clock was running down when Schenn attempted to make a cross-crease pass to Tyler Bozak. San Jose’s Barclay Goodrow broke up the pass, but Schenn was trailing on the play, and basically swatted it off the stick of Goodrow and into the net past Sharks goalie Martin Jones. It went down as an unassisted goal, but in essence it was Schenn passing to ... Schenn. “Bozy did a great job by attacking the blue line,” Schenn said. “He kind of drove two guys to him. I tried to get it to him back door. I put it on the guy’s tape (Goodrow) and was able to put a quick (whack) on it.” 1135255 St Louis Blues “It was a weird play,” he said. “I was in front of the guy and he made a nice pass backdoor. I was just trying to get as much as I could over there. I think he thought I was covering high and he shot low, and I got a After another solid start, could Jake Allen be grabbing the Blues’ net piece of it.” back? A BETTER LOOK AT ALLEN'S STICK SAVE ON LABANC … PIC.TWITTER.COM/LQAD7CAUF5 Jeremy Rutherford — CRISTIANO SIMONETTA (@CMS_74_) MARCH 9, 2019 Mar 9, 2019 It was as if Allen was feeding off each save he was making, and topping it with one better. After being unable to solve a breakaway scoring chance earlier in the season, he turned away Sorensen on one with 3:06 left in regulation to keep the score 2-2. SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jake Allen seemed stumped, but had to have known. Look how calm and cool Allen appeared as he anticipated the shot from Sorensen, which hit his pads and died in front of the crease, allowing In the visiting locker room at the SAP Center on Saturday, after he teammate Oskar Sundqvist to scoop up the loose puck and skate away. helped the Blues secure a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to San Jose, I This was the confident side of the goalie we haven’t seen a lot. asked him if he remembers when his last appearance was at Enterprise Center. ALLEN JUST STOPPED SORENSEN ON A BREAKAWAY. PIC.TWITTER.COM/GDJGRGMIHM “Uh, I don’t know,” Allen said. — CRISTIANO SIMONETTA (@CMS_74_) MARCH 9, 2019 The last time Allen played a minute of a game on home ice was Jan. 8 in a 3-1 loss to Dallas. San Jose had 15 shots in the third period, the most shot attempts Allen had seen in the last 14 periods he had played. The Sharks hit the post “I didn’t even realize that,” he said. with under a minute left in the period, but Allen and the Blues survived the period, earning a point when the game went to overtime. That’s right, Allen’s last eight appearances, including Saturday’s game against the Sharks, have come on the road. The reason was twofold: No. “It was a tiring third period, no question,” Allen said. “They poured it on, 1, he’s been much better on the road this season — a .925 save but it was fun. It was a good challenge for me and for our group. I thought percentage compared to .878; and No. 2, rookie Jordan Binnington had a we responded really well.” month for the record books. “He was excellent,” Berube said. “We got a little loose there at the end of Most likely aware, but now officially aware, Allen responded, “Maybe I’ll the third, and he stopped a couple scoring opportunities to get us a get another (home game) before the season is over.” point.” Could it come Tuesday, when the Blues host the Arizona Coyotes? Allen gave up the game-winning goal to Labanc in OT, when San Jose got fresh skaters on the ice against the weary Blues, but it didn’t reflect It might seem like blaspheme for Allen to get a third straight start on the goalie’s day. because Binnington leads the NHL with a 1.80 goals-against average and ranks third with a .929 save percentage, and does have a 21-save “He made a lot of good saves tonight,” Schenn said. “Not only tonight, shutout against the Coyotes this season. He has allowed seven goals on (but) in LA as well.” 47 shots in his past two games, but perhaps a five-day layoff after making 20 starts in 58 days is what he needs to get back on track. The two performances — in LA and San Jose — came in March, a month in which Allen is now 30-8-5 with a .924 save percentage in his career. So indeed it could be Binnington’s assignment Tuesday, but with the way The save percentage is the highest of any month in his career, and the Allen has played lately — 2-1-2 with two shutouts and a .940 save 30 wins are tied for the most with his November total. percentage in his last five appearances — another appearance isn’t out of the realm of possibility. “It’s just desperate hockey (in March),” Allen said. “It’s just fun, whether you’re chasing a playoff spot down or you’re in the playoffs. The whole “(Blues coach Craig Berube) has been great with me … he’s been honest year is a big deal, but I think when you get into the end of February and with me,” Allen told The Athletic. “If I was in his shoes, I would have been March, the temperature rises. It’s a fun time of year for me.” rolling ‘Binner’ the same way. When a guy is on fire like that, it’s tough to take him out of the net. For me, it was just trying to stay focused as much Will it continue to be a fun time for Allen? as I can. I really tried to step up my game and just be ready every day. I knew I’d get my chance again.” I asked him if he still believed there was time for him to grab the Blues’ net back. He answered confidently before becoming a little more After Allen’s third shutout of the season in Los Angeles on Thursday, diplomatic. when he made 28 saves in a 4-0 Blues victory, Berube went back with him Saturday against San Jose. It was the first time the veteran had “Oh yeah,” Allen said. “I knew I would get another opportunity. (But) we made back-to-back starts since Jan. 3-5. need both of us. I need ‘Binner’ to play well for me, and he needs me to play well for him. We still have 14 tough games left and we’re going to “I thought he played a heck of a game in LA, a shutout,” Berube said. “He need both guys, like we have the last couple of years. I’m just trying to did a good job in LA there, and we decided to go back with him.” make the most of my chance.” Allen admitted it was meaningful to him to be back in the net just two Schenn believes Allen has. days later. In his previous six starts, he had gone stretches of five, 23, six, eight, seven and six days between appearances. “I think the start to the season maybe wasn’t what he wanted, but I think that speaks for everyone on this team overall — we all weren’t very “Yeah, it was nice,” Allen said. “It’s usually been a week between starts good,” Schenn said. “I think the past three-quarters of the season, he’s for me. It’s always nice to have a couple in a day and a half just to sort of been very good. Obviously, Binner has played really well, but Jake has get the feel back.” done what it takes to put in the work, be ready for his chance and he’s making the most of it right now.” The Blues surrendered two goals to San Jose’s Timo Meier in the first period Saturday, including one on the power play. But Allen was terrific in Berube wouldn’t commit to whether Allen would be in the conversation the final 40 minutes, denying Meier of a hat-trick midway through the for more starts, and likewise was vague Saturday when asked what second period. issues Binnington may be experiencing. The rookie has allowed three or more goals in three of his last five starts after doing so just once in his MEIER IS ROBBED OF THE HAT TRICK BY ALLEN'S GLOVE. first 15 starts. PIC.TWITTER.COM/XCT9O61OMX “I think, like I said a month ago or more, that we’re going to need both — CRISTIANO SIMONETTA (@CMS_74_) MARCH 9, 2019 goalies,” Berube said. “It’s just a heavy schedule … game after game, back-to-backs. We need both guys, and (Allen) is doing his job.” In the third period, after Brayden Schenn’s 13th goal of the season had tied the score 2-2, Allen made a huge save on San Jose’s Kevin Labanc In regard to anything bothering Binnington, “not so much really,” Berube five minutes into the frame. Marcus Sorensen set up Labanc with a said. “There’s always things that (Blues goalie coach David Alexander) is backhand pass, but Allen slid over, double-stacked his pads and made talking to them about, what they can do better and work on … just normal the stop with his stick. stuff.” Binnington could get the next start, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if it were Allen, and if it’s Allen and he plays well, could he be laying the groundwork to be the Blues’ No. 1 netminder in the playoffs? He has 22 postseason appearances (19 starts) and a record of 9-10 with a 2.10 GAA and a .922 save percentage, while Binnington has no experience. Allen is just focused on Tuesday, when he hopes to start against Arizona for the first time in two months at Enterprise Center. “Yeah, obviously I’ll say that, but we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I’ll be ready whenever I get back in there.” The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135256 Tampa Bay Lightning

Nikita Kucherov scores to set a new Lightning single season points record Kucherov’s two-goal game gives him 110 points, passing Vincent Lecavalier for the franchise record.

Diana C. Nearhos

TAMPA—Nikita Kucherov celebrated his goal was a massive scream. Behind him, Victor Hedman made sure to collect the puck. That goal was the game-winner in the 3-1 win over Detroit, but that’s not why it made history. With that goal, Kucherov notched his 109th point of the year. He passed Vincent Lecavalier for the highest-scoring single season of any Lightning player ever. That’s a puck you keep. “Kuch is an unbelievable player,” Lecavalier said in a statement provided by the team. “He is so dominant and talented that it is no wonder he broke my Lightning record for most points in a season. I’d like to personally congratulate Nikita for the accomplishment and wish him and the team further success as they approach the playoffs.” The goal was a rocket at point-blank range. Hedman dug the puck out from the boards behind the net and passed to Brayden Point, who sent it to Kucherov in the slot. Kucherov fired the puck off the post, then crossbar, before it landed in the net. .@86Kucherov makes history for most points in a single season in @TBLightning history with 109. pic.twitter.com/en4spJbbcZ — NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) March 10, 2019 Kucherov added a second goal late in the game for good measure, another rocket, this time from the outside of the right circle. The Lightning may say the team isn’t paying attention to regular-season records, and it certainly does have bigger goals in mind, but that doesn’t mean players and coaches aren’t aware of those records as they come. Players are especially aware of their teammates’ accomplishments. Kucherov is having the kind of year few players have ever seen a teammate have. “I’m at a loss for words trying to describe him as a player,” Hedman said to in-arena reporter Caley Chelios after the first period. The Lightning announced Kucherov’s accomplishment with a video a few minutes after the goal. As fans caught on to the magnitude of this particular record, they rose in a standing ovation. Players, even those on the ice awaiting the face off, tapped their sticks in appreciation. "Players, their dreams are to play in the NHL,” coach Jon Cooper said. “To come in and be able to set records, he passed an icon in Vinny and there's no doubt it means something.” Kucherov also passed the 108 points Connor McDavid led the league with last year. He is on pace for 130 points, which would tie four other NHL players, including Wayne Gretzky (1993-94) and Phil Esposito (1972-73). Kucherov isn’t exactly coming for Gretzky’s NHL record of 215 points (1985-86), but he’s on his way to the best season this century. Joe Thornton has that mark currently with 125 points in 2005-06. “Welcome to the 100-point club,” said Esposito, the Lightning founder who maxed out at 152 points in 1970-71. “He got 100 points last year, and he’s playing better this year, and this is a better team this year. I’m glad he got 110.” He would love to see Kucherov get to 120 with 13 games left in the regular season. Kucherov isn’t one to say much about his accomplishments. He said this is special to him and thanked his teammates for their help along the way. Mostly, Kucherov lets his play, and celebrations, do the talking. His teammates, however, are quick with the praise. “He’s a pretty incredible player,” Ryan McDonagh said. “At intermission we said ‘why stop now.’ Sure enough, he goes out there and scores another. That’s the kind of player he’s been all season, always wanting more.” Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135257 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning clinch spot in 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs It’s the fifth time in six seasons that the Lightning have made it to the playoffs.

Mari Faiello

TAMPA – After losing a playoff berth opportunity Thursday night with a 3- 0 shutout against the Minnesota Wild, many Lightning fans were happy to see a playoff berth upon waking up Saturday morning to the news of Montréal’s regulation loss at Anaheim. The Lightning have officially secured a spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s the fifth time in six seasons (dating back to the 2013-14 season) that the Lightning have earned a playoff berth. With the playoff clinch, Tampa Bay makes history once again as one of the fastest teams to get a playoff berth since 2005-06. It tied the 2008-09 San Jose Sharks, who also clinched a spot in 68 games. The only team that has clinched a playoff berth in fewer than 68 games dating to 2005- 06 is the 2009-10 Washington Capitals (67 games). “It’s hard to describe,” coach Jon Cooper said Saturday morning after the morning skate. “You wake today and see the little “x” by your name, it’s something that you work all year for, but it’s no time to sit back.” Cooper said there is still so much more the team has to do with the remaining 14 games left in the regular season, but knowing the team is officially in is a comforting feeling. “We have to make sure we keep pressing forward here,” he said, “so we don’t skip a beat coming into mid-April.” And his team agrees. “It’s a good accomplishment,” Steven Stamkos said. “That’s your goal at the beginning of the season, to give yourself a chance to go into the playoffs and that’s where anything can happen.” Stamkos has seen both sides of the post-season, making it all the way to the Staley Cup finals and missing the playoffs altogether. Neither experience, however, have accomplished the ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup. “We’re far from accomplishing what we want to do,” he said. “We want to just continue to get better.” Stamkos isn’t alone in those sentiments either. “A clinch is great, but there’s still a lot more work to be done,” Tyler Johnson said. With 14 games left in the season, both of them know that their team will be seeing all kinds of emotions from their opponents fighting for a spot of their own in the playoffs. “We have to find a way,” Stamkos said. “I think we’re all experienced enough as a group to know you can’t just flip a switch or press a button come playoffs time. We need to be playing well and that’s what we’re hoping to accomplish.” Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135258 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning pregame: Three players out of lineup with injuries as Tampa Bay faces Red Wings The Lightning enter the contest without defensemen Dan Girardi and Anton Strålman and forward Adam Erne.

Mari Faiello

TAMPA – For the first time this season three players will be sitting out of a game with injuries. Prior to tonight’s matchup only two players at a time have sat out of games with injuries. Dan Girardi, Anton Strålman and Adam Erne did not participate in Saturday’s morning skate with the rest of the team. Jan Rutta was recalled yesterday evening for tonight’s contest against Detroit. Whether he’ll stay on the roster for the road trip next week has yet to be determined. However, coach Jon Cooper did say Girardi (lower-body injury), Strålman (lower-body injury) and Erne (upper-body injury) will be on the trip next week after this morning’s practice. Given the injuries, it is expected that Rutta will make his Lightning debut tonight pairing up with one of the remaining five defensemen on tonight’s lineup. With Girardi and Strålman out of the lineup, the defensive pairings are expected to shift tonight. Mikhail Sergachev was practicing on the same defensemen line as Victor Hedman this morning. Rutta was skating with Braydon Coburn (who normally partners up with Sergachev on the third defensemen pairing) during practice. Jan Rutta is out on the ice for this morning’s skate pic.twitter.com/dHEzTLzeqr — Mari Faiello (@faiello_mari) March 9, 2019 Rutta said he got the call to fly down yesterday afternoon around lunchtime. “It’s great to be here and it’s a great organization,” he said. “The team’s doing really well, so I’m really happy I’m here right now and we’ll see how things go.” Rutta said he’s been using the ice time at Syracuse to help build his confidence. He added the coaches there are really demanding but that helps with player development. With Erne out of the lineup tonight, Ryan Callahan is expected to fill his spot on the fourth line. Yanni Gourde practiced with the fourth line this morning in Erne’s place, moving Mathieu Joseph to the third line with Anthony Cirelli and J.T. Miller up to the first line with Steven Stamkos. Louis Domingue was the first goaltender off the ice this morning following practice so it is expected he will be the starter tonight against the Red Wings going head-to-head against Jonathan Bernier. The Lightning enter the contest on a 13-game win-streak against Detroit. But the team isn’t keeping tabs on streaks of any kind at the moment. “I think it’s just taking one game at a time,” Tyler Johnson said. “We don’t really focus on streaks, whether it’s winning or losing, and we’re just focused on the task at hand and I think that’s benefited us throughout the year.” Morning lines: Ondřej Palát-Steven Stamkos-J.T. Miller Tyler Johnson-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov Alex Killorn-Anthony Cirelli-Mathieu Joseph Yanni Gourde-Cedric Paquette-Ryan Callahan Defensive pairings: Victor Hedman-Mikhail Sergachev Ryan McDonagh- Erik Černák Braydon Coburn-Jan Rutta Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135259 Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs hold on to defeat Oilers 3-2 in Edmonton

SHANE JONES MARCH 9, 2019

John Tavares had a goal and two assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs held on for a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin also scored while Frederik Andersen made 33 saves for the Maple Leafs (42-21-5), who have gone 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Oscar Kelfbom responded for the Oilers (30- 31-7) who had a four-game winning streak halted. Anthony Stolarz stopped 37 shots in defeat. Stolarz was a surprise starter when it was announced Mikko Koskinen wouldn’t dress due to an illness. It took the Maple Leafs 16 first-period shots before they got one past Stolarz, scoring on a Rielly point shot on the power play with just 14 seconds left in the opening frame. Andersen came up big when called upon in the first half of the game, making a couple of huge saves on Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl. Toronto took a 2-0 lead at 12:28 of the second when Tavares shrugged off a defender and made a nice move before chipping his 38th of the season over Stolarz. The Leafs added to their lead three minutes into the third when William Nylander made a great feed across the ice to allow Muzzin to score. Edmonton broke Andersen’s shutout bid with 1:39 left with the goalie pulled on a goal by Nugent-Hopkins. Draisaitl got an assist to extend his points streak to 13 games, the longest active streak in the NHL. The Oilers got another goal with Stolarz on the bench when Connor McDavid set up a pinching Klefbom with just 53 seconds remaining, but Edmonton couldn’t complete the comeback. Both teams next play on Monday with the Oilers remaining home to host the New York Rangers and the Maple Leafs heading back to Toronto to face Tampa Bay. Notes: It was the second and final meeting between the two teams. Toronto won the first game 6-2 at home back on Feb. 27 Stolarz was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia for netminder Cam Talbot on Feb. 16 Oilers forward Milan Lucic was a late scratch with an injury, the first game he has missed since signing with Edmonton three years ago Leafs centre Nazem Kadri returned to the lineup after missing the past eight games with a concussion. Globe And Mail LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135260 Toronto Maple Leafs their previous meeting on Feb. 27) we gave up two breakaways because we were just one step off, and they’ve got speed and tenacity in the middle of the ice, and when you’ve got that, that’s like gold in the league Kadri’s return restores centre of Leafs’ universe now.” Of all the hockey truisms, having great centres beats just about everything. Working backwards to Babcock’s last Cup, the list is stellar: BRUCE ARTHUR Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov with Washington, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin with Pittsburgh, Jonathan Toews with Sat., March 9, 2019 Chicago, L.A.’s Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter. Oh, and Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci with the Bruins. Which, in Toronto, should ring a bell.

Kadri used to be the guy the Leafs sicced on McDavid, to drive him nuts; EDMONTON—In Nazem Kadri’s first game back, he didn’t get the tough Kadri’s game-winner against Edmonton in 2016, where he stripped the stuff. He rarely saw 40-goal man Leon Draisaitl; Connor McDavid was, Oilers superstar in overtime and scored, was a career highlight. He for the most part, a rumour. No, those guys saw Toronto’s first two talked about wanting to get the game’s best players. centres, John Tavares and Auston Matthews. The biggest fish swam with the biggest fish. And when he was suspended for three games after Game 1 of Toronto’s playoff series against Boston last season, that absence was one of the As the Leafs enter the real stretch, their centres are back together, and if what-ifs when it was over. you don’t have centres in hockey the centre cannot hold. It’s the most enduring truism in hockey: Pittsburgh won a Cup with Ron Hainsey as Now, Kadri isn’t as integral anymore. He’s the longest-tenured Leaf; he’s their No. 1 defenceman, after the glory days of Drew Doughty and Zdeno one of the best third-line centres in hockey. But he’s something else, too. Chara and Duncan Keith. Chicago had already won a title with the As much as anything, Nazem Kadri being a luxury is a measure of how forgettable Antti Niemi crouching near the net. far this team has come. Leaf John Tavares chips his 38th goal of the season, tying a career high, Toronto Star LOADED: 03.10.2019 past Oilers goalie Anthony Stolarz in the second period. Stolarz was a surprise starter in Edmonton. But centres matter, and the Leafs are deep enough that Kadri, so important a year ago, has become a veritable luxury: the third-line centre on a team that’s as top-heavy as it is deep. “They’re just, they’re a good hockey team, they are solid all over, they never make mistakes, obviously skilled, they just come at you in waves,” said Oilers star Connor McDavid. “So they’re a good team.” “He’s a great player, he understands what great teams are,” said Kadri, in his first game back after missing eight games with a concussion. “Shows a lot of respect coming from him. That’s the type of team we want to be.” On this night, the Leafs were the better team, despite a 90-second hiccup at the end. The Matthews line was territorially dominant: 13 shot attempts for and one against at five-on-five in the first, Matthews was at 25 and 10 for the night, and played most of his time against McDavid. “I thought Matthews’ line was really strong, played a lot against the McDavid group and did a real good job,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. Tavares totalled three points: a second-period goal and two assists, and has tied his career high with 38 goals and 14 games left to go. “I just want to keep trying to improve my game, all parts of the ice,” said Tavares. “I believe in myself, and playing with pretty good players all through the lineup … you’re going to get great opportunities, and trying to be as prepared as I can be for ’em. And never be satisfied.” And Kadri, who scored 30 goals in each of the last two seasons and has 15 this year, fit in. He shifted William Nylander to the wing, and pushed the Leafs a little closer to what they’re supposed to be. “It was a long time coming; it was just nice being around the guys,” said Kadri, who had an assist on Morgan Rielly’s game-opening goal. On Tavares, he said, “great is an understatement.” Centres are the thing. If you are an Oilers fan, the one thing you can tell yourself — other than the idea that nothing matters and the sun will one day explode — is that you have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. And if you had a single winger that wasn’t a sack of flour, you wouldn’t have to play at least two of them together more than McDavid plays with anybody else. As for the Leafs, Kadri is still a defensive dynamo and a valuable insurance policy in case of injury, and the one Leaf who can probably trash-talk Brad Marchand without getting smoked. But he’s less the straw that is stirring the drink than he was, because that’s where they are so strong. “They’re so good at first-option passing, at having numbers back on the puck, they’re so good at that, you’ve got to put them in uncomfortable positions,” said Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock. “And I would say, if we played them more, we would feel more comfortable, but their talent level and their skill level, especially when you’re strong in the middle of the ice, that’s always uncomfortable to play against. “And that’s what they are: They’re awesome in the middle of the ice, so they make you uncomfortable. You feel like you’re one step away from being on the wrong side of the puck. I mean, even in the first period (of 1135261 Toronto Maple Leafs The takeaway: Toronto should beat Edmonton, but hey, since the last time they played Tampa Bay on Jan 17, the Leafs have lost to Florida, Arizona, Detroit (in overtime), the Rangers, Arizona again, St. Louis, Leafs head home with win after near-meltdown in Edmonton Washington, the Islanders, and Vancouver in OT. That’s three playoff teams, six non-playoff teams, and four of the worst teams in hockey. Really, games like these can’t be taken for granted. Down the stretch, Toronto has six games against playoff teams, and eight against non- BRUCE ARTHUR playoff squads. Crucifying the no-hopers seems like a prerequisite if you want to finish ahead of the Bruins. Sat., March 9, 2019 Up next: Home to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night. Hey, a

real game. EDMONTON—It’s a long time, 58 minutes, but 100 seconds can feel Toronto Star LOADED: 03.10.2019 longer. The Toronto Maple Leafs could have been forgiven for taking the Edmonton Oilers lightly in their second matchup in two weeks; Edmonton was short a starting goalie, and also much in the way of competent wingers. The last time they played, the Leafs needed about 18 minutes of real work to breeze to a win. And with two minutes left Toronto led 3-0, and with 53 seconds left it was 3-2 and everyone was running around like their condo was on fire. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got one, Oscar Klefbom got one — both assisted by Connor McDavid — and Zack Kassian had a hell of a chance. John Tavares celebrated with Zach Hyman, left, after scoring the Leafs’ second goal in Edmonton. Tavares was in on all the Leafs’ scoring in a 3- 2 victory to wrap up a 2-1-0 road trip through Western Canada. The Leafs held on, 3-2, and kept pace with the streaking Boston Bruins. Fourteen games to go. “Other than the last couple minutes, we played a really good road game,” said Leaf John Tavares, who had a goal and two assists. “Besides the last minute and a half, I think we played essentially a pretty perfect road game,” said centre Nazem Kadri, back after eight missed games with a concussion. “We took away their speed, which is how they’re most effective. (We were) pretty responsible with the puck and took advantage of our chances. I think we performed pretty well tonight.” “Obviously, I’d like to have the last two minutes back,” said coach Mike Babcock. “We couldn’t figure out where to stand at the end, but that’ll do it.” It was a funny game. Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen was the juice in their recent burst of decent play, and he was absent. And after a blown lead in Vancouver two nights earlier, the Leafs pushed more or less all night long. Auston Matthews shoved against McDavid’s line all night, and Tavares was a load, and Kadri was back. Morgan Rielly scored his 18th goal, tops among NHL defencemen, on his 25th birthday. If he didn’t feel older before the final two minutes, he probably does now. Then the ceiling wobbled. The Oilers came close, right to the end. It was like the Leafs started thinking that their last Western road trip of the year was just about done, and began to think about the flight home. Suddenly, it was a fire drill. Well, the Leafs left cheerful after some unexpectedly heavy breathing. Edmonton could have closed the gap on a brief two-man advantage in the third, but they mostly missed the net. And then they nearly closed a three-goal gap in 100 seconds. It must be very dispiriting being an Oiler. Meanwhile, when all the parts work, the Leafs are pretty good. Of course, the Bruins won, too. Emergency goalie: The Oilers were also short Milan Lucic, who missed his first game in Edmonton with a hip issue. But more, Koskinen had the flu. “He’s in the building, but (Anthony) Stolarz is going to be the starting goalie,” said Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock. “The emergency backup’s in the building, too. So, if we run into a problem we’ve got two guys who are in the lounge now.” He was asked, is it Kenny Cameron, who had played three games with an .868 save percentage for the University of Alberta this season, and has started nine games in three years there? “I have no idea,” said Hitchcock. “He wears green and gold, that’s all I know.” It was Stolarz’s first start since Feb. 12. How many goals would it have required for the Oilers to break the goalie glass in case of emergency? Eight? 10? If Carey Price can be left in goal for eight in Anaheim, you figured Stolarz was staying in there unless he got hurt, or decided to quit hockey. Never mind: Remember when Babcock said Wednesday that Frederik Andersen would start 56 games or something? Eh. “I misspoke,” said Babcock. “No one misquoted me, just so you understand that. So when I asked the question about the math, the math was wrong. This is on me. Whatever number it is, we got the schedule all laid out. I feel that he’s going to get to be around that — 60. But who knows? The 56 is on me. How’s that?” He had basically brought up 56 unprompted. It was a little strange. 1135262 Toronto Maple Leafs And heading into Saturday, Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov was on pace to win the Art Ross Trophy with something in the neighbourhood of 130 points. If the nascent offensive boom continues, who knows? For Leafs, unlike Habs, more records were made to be broken Rick Vaive/Dave Andreychuk 54-goal seasons Reachable, likely DAVE FESCHUK Rick Vaive: 54-goal season Sat., March 9, 2019 Given Auston Matthews went into Saturday without a goal in five straight games, it’s easy to forget how he began this season, reeling off 10 goals and 16 points in the opening seven games. Back then it was easy As Canadiens goaltender Carey Price spent this past week on the brink enough to imagine Matthews steamrolling the team high set by Vaive and of surpassing Jacques Plante for Montreal’s franchise record for career Andreychuk (the latter scoring 29 of those 54 with the Sabres in 1992- wins, the impending accomplishment seemed vast in more ways than 93). But things happened. Matthews missed 14 games with a shoulder one. injury. Linemates were inconsistent. Even when healthy, coach Mike Babcock insisted Matthews needed to more consistently rev his “engine.” It’s taken Price the bulk of 13 NHL seasons, many of them as the Still, given Matthews’ gift for finding holes in goalies, it’s difficult to consensus No. 1 puck stopper on the planet, to find himself neck and imagine he won’t eventually power through this vaunted number. neck with Plante at 314 victories. And if it was worth pointing out that Price partly achieved the feat thanks to the stat-padding advantages of Darryl Sittler’s 10 points in one game overtimes and shootouts — and that Plante surely would have turned many of his 107 career ties into two points if presented with the same Untouchable, certainly opportunities — it was still a feat to celebrate. Given Montreal’s status as Darryl Sittler: 10 points in a single game the century-old gold standard of NHL franchises, the passing of such milestones can’t be tossed off as an everyday thing. They’re getting One of the many amazing things about Sittler’s peerless night at Maple tougher and tougher to come by. Leaf Gardens in February of 1976 is this: Not only is it the greatest individual achievement in franchise history; not only has nobody matched Mats Sundin becomes the Toronto Maple Leaf's all-time goal and point this level of one-night output before or since. Nobody has even been to leader, passing Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler on both records. the brink. While there’ve been many eight-point games in NHL history — “This is the last great Canadiens record you will ever see,” Michael Mario Lemieux had three if you include the playoffs — Sittler’s not just Farber, the Hockey Hall of Fame writer, posited in a video essay on TSN. the only man to reach 10 points. He’s the only one to reach nine. Unless they switch to soccer nets, this one will rest in peace in perpetuity. Farber’s point, and it’s a good one, is that many of the other significant high-water marks on Montreal’s rolls seem too distant to be realistic Mats Sundin’s 987 career points targets for members of today’s roster. Reachable, eventually Luckily for fans of the newly resurgent Maple Leafs, the same can’t be Mats Sundin: 987 points as a Leaf said for plenty of Toronto’s franchise records. While the Leafs share a parallel history to their ancient rivals, comparing the career paths of their Do the math. Marner, if he finishes out the season on the 100-point pace respective greats is a matter of apples and oranges. he was on heading into Saturday, will have compiled about 230 points in his three seasons as a Maple Leaf, an average of about 76 points a Take, as just one example, the franchise career goals leaders. Montreal’s season. Sundin averaged about 76 points during his 13-year run in is the immortal Rocket Richard, for whom the league’s annual goal- Toronto. And Marner is starting far younger while playing with a better scoring award is named. Toronto’s is Mats Sundin. Richard scored 545 linemate in John Tavares than Sundin could ever boast. Marner, of career goals. Sundin scored 420. A Maple Leaf bent on franchise course, isn’t the only current Maple Leaf who could take a run at the immortality has a 125-goal head start on his Montreal-based mark. Matthews is a candidate and, unlike Marner, under contract contemporary. beyond this season. In other words, Price’s may be the last great Canadiens record you’ll ever Franchise record for empty-net goals in a season see. But if all goes well, the current generation of Toronto-based NHLers may give credible chase to many Maple Leafs records to come. With that Reachable, definitely in mind, let’s take a quick tour through a smattering of Maple Leafs team marks — from the reachable to the untouchable and those located in Call this the Coach’s Favourite Award. Only Babcock’s most trusted between. forwards see the ice with the opposing goalie on the bench. Last year, Patrick Marleau usurped Bill Derlago’s 34-year-old Leafs record with five Ian Turnbull’s 79 points as a Maple Leafs defenceman empty-net markers. Zach Hyman had already matched Marleau’s mark heading into Saturday. But Hyman best not get comfortable. Marner, Reachable, imminently recently lauded by Babcock as the 200-foot reincarnation of three-time Ian Turnbull: 79 points from blue line in 1976-77 Selke Trophy winner Pavel Datsyuk, had four empty-netters. Garbage time has never been so interesting. A while back Turnbull, now age 65 and running the IT department of a car dealership in the Los Angeles area, predicted Morgan Rielly would George Armstrong’s plus-48 break his 42-year-old mark this season. Weeks later, Rielly remains in Reachable, by Ron Hainsey prime position to make it happen. Sitting at 64 points heading into Saturday’s game in Edmonton, Rielly needs to average about a point a George Armstrong: plus 48 in 1961-62 game to tie Turnbull. If that’s hardly an easy feat, at least Rielly’s not trying to beat, say, the Boston record in the same category. Between Speaking of Babcock’s favourites, the 37-year-old Hainsey is often Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque, a Bruins blue-liner has done better than 79 maligned for being as outmoded as the statistic in which he leads the points in 16 separate seasons. league. Hainsey was a plus-37 before Saturday (which might have something to do with playing alongside the plus-31 Rielly). That means Doug Gilmour’s 127-point season Hainsey was on pace for a plus-45 season. So a late push could get him past the standard set by the legendary captain of the 1960s dynasty. Untouchable, probably Tie Domi’s 2,265 career penalty minutes Doug Gilmour: 127-point season. Untouchable, undoubtedly Forget the relative merits of current Maple Leafs and consider this: The last NHLer to score 127 points in a season was Jaromir Jagr in 1998-99. Tie Domi: 2,265 career penalty minutes as a Leaf In the scoring-depleted, goaltender-dominated years since, such outbursts haven’t seemed possible. Sidney Crosby in his prime managed On five separate occasions during Domi’s time with the Maple Leafs, he a career-best 120 points in 2006-07. So even if Mitch Marner is currently drew 30 or more penalty minutes in a single game. Only one Maple Leaf on pace to lead the team with a 100-point season — and even if Marner on today’s roster has drawn more than 31 all season. That’d be Zach has room for improvement at age 21 — it’s easy enough to talk yourself Hyman, who’s on pace for 69 minutes in penalties by season’s end. At into believing Gilmour’s mark will be safe for the ages. Then again, that rate he’d only need to play 31 more seasons to catch Domi’s scoring is up this season, with teams combining for an average of six franchise standard for sin-bin residency. goals a game for the first time since 2005-06. Save percentage is down. Turk Broda’s 302 wins Reachable, realistically Turk Broda: 302 wins in Leafs’ net With 32 wins so far, let’s assume Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen matches his franchise record for a season with 38. That would give Andersen 109 wins as a Maple Leaf at age 28. He’d need 193 more to pull even with the great Broda, whose No. 1 hangs in the rafters at Scotiabank Arena. That’d be doable if Andersen averaged even a modest 33 wins over the coming six seasons. If that doesn’t seem daunting, consider Broda made his Toronto debut in 1936, when the season ran 48 games. And consider ties. Before overtime and shootouts, Broda registered 102 of them. So like Price’s passing of Plante, Andersen besting Broda would require an asterisk. When you play for a club that’s been around more than 100 years, mind you, some would say setting any franchise record is worthy of an exclamation point, too. Toronto Star LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135263 Toronto Maple Leafs Andersen is going to get plenty of attention among Vezina Trophy voters (the NHL’s general managers) and one major factor is his ability to think one shot ahead and get in proper position. Maple Leafs build early lead, hold on to beat Oilers The Leafs had strong fan support in Calgary and Vancouver earlier in the week, and it was no different in the capital of Alberta, as blue Toronto sweaters were prominent throughout the building. Terry Koshan Cheers of “Let’s go Oilers!” were answered by “Go Leafs go!” and March 9, 2019 11:53 PM EDT Andersen’s name was chanted more than once. Leafs coach Mike Babcock took a playful poke at Rielly, who is in the running for the Norris Trophy, on the latter’s birthday. EDMONTON – Two points for the team and a goal for Morgan Rielly on his 25th birthday? “I was mentioning it to him – he is getting to be a bit of an old guy,” Babcock said. “You’re in the league at 18 years old and it goes in a hurry, Piece of cake. but Mo is a guy who has turned himself into a high-end player, one of the best players on the back for sure.” Rielly opened the scoring on his big day and the Maple Leafs owned the Edmonton Oilers for much of the evening, beating Connor McDavid’s KADRI’S RETURN club 3-2 on Saturday night at Rogers Place to put a bow on the trip through Western Canada. With Kadri back in the lineup, Babcock has each forward at his disposal, a luxury that he would like to have, obviously, for the final four weeks of “It’s always a little bit more special when it’s at the end of a road trip and the regular season and into the playoffs. you have an opportunity to cap it off in a good way,” Rielly said. “We can travel home (on Sunday) and have a good feeling on the plane, and Trevor Moore and Nic Petan were scratched, and though we likely will that’s important.” see both again in the coming weeks, Babcock wants to settle on his lines well before the post-season gets underway. Did Rielly feel any more older, perhaps a whole year, after the Oilers scored twice in the final two minutes? “He is a good hockey player – real good on the power play, is good at even-strength,” Babcock said, referring to Kadri. “He’s mean, does not “Yeah, exactly,” Rielly said with a chuckle. mind getting in on the forecheck, gives us much more depth down the middle and gives us a better defensive hockey club. All in all, just gives The Oilers rallied when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Oscar Klefbom scored us more depth and a better team.” 46 seconds apart, with Klefbom’s goal coming at 19:07. Both Edmonton goals were scored with goalie Anthony Stolarz on the bench in favour of Kadri provides an element of grit that the Leafs don’t have in abundance an extra skater. up front. His offensive production has fallen off this season, as he won’t get close to the 32 goals he has scored in back-to-back seasons, but With under 30 seconds to play, Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen, his there’s some room for him to be the kind of on-the-edge player he has usual strong self all night, made a point-blank save on Zack Kassian. been in the past. The deeper Leafs were stronger than the Oilers from the opening faceoff, And for the time being, Babcock doesn’t have much of an appetite for though Edmonton lost for just the second time in regulation in nine putting Nylander back on Matthews’ right side. games. Both losses were against Toronto. And though we expect that to happen some time before the playoffs start, “They’re a good hockey team,” McDavid said. “Solid all over, never make Babcock won’t yet commit to that with 14 games remaining. a mistake, come at you in waves.” “Well, the big thing for (Nylander) and for all of us is just compete at a High praise from a superstar. high level individually, and then collectively we will have a chance to “That’s quite the compliment,” said Leafs centre Nazem Kadri, who make the decision on who should play with who,” Babcock said. “Right returned after missing eight games as he recovered from a concussion. now, I’m happy with that line with Matthews. I think they can play better, “He’s a great player. He understands what great teams are, what great but I like their line.” players are, so shows a lot of respect coming from him. That’s the type of Tyler Ennis, meanwhile entered the game with 12 goals in 41 games in a team we want to be, a difficult team to play against.” limited role, and his effort and attitude has made Babcock a fan after John Tavares had three points, including his 38th goal to tie his career signing a one-year contract with Toronto last summer. high, and Andersen made 31 saves as the Leafs won for the sixth time in “It’s continually growing,” Ennis said of his confidence. “I think it was a eight games. Andersen improved to 11-0-1 against Edmonton in his year for me to get that offence back and I think there is still room for career and the Leafs won for the eight time in their past 11 visits. improvement in areas that I can get better at. That just comes with Jake Muzzin, on a terrific feed from William Nylander, scored early in the playing well, the chemistry with my linemates, getting those looks and third period for the winning goal. putting the pucks in the net.” The Leafs finished their three-game trip with five of a possible six points. Maple Leafs’ Andreas Johnsson (left) is checked by Oilers’ Connor Next is a date with the top club in the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning, as McDavid during first-period action in Edmonton on Saturday, March 9, Steven Stamkos and company will be at Scotiabank Arena on Monday 2019. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press) night when the Leafs start a three-game home stand. HITCHCOCK’S MUSINGS There was no ground to be gained on the Boston Bruins, who remain Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock loves a fine challenge, and probably wouldn’t four points up on the Leafs in the Atlantic Division. Boston, which has 93 have been bothered with facing the Leafs more than twice this season. points to the Leafs’ 89, beat Ottawa 3-2 on Saturday. “If you’re going to beat Toronto, you’re going to have to put them in “I know they have gone (19) games with (at least) one point,” Tavares situations where they can’t transition the puck,” Hitchcock said before the said, referring to the Bruins’ 15-0-4 record. “It gets talked about a lot. It’s game. “They’re so good at first-option passing, at having numbers back kind of hard to ignore these days with the way the information travels. on the puck, they’re so good at that, you’ve got to put them in They are playing some great hockey.” uncomfortable positions. Auston Matthews played well against McDavid at even-strength, often “And I would say, if we played them more, we would feel more helping to limit McDavid’s options. comfortable, but their talent level and their skill level, especially when The Oilers started Stolarz after No. 1 goalie Mikko Koskinen came down you’re strong in the middle of the ice, that’s always uncomfortable to play with an illness. against. By no means was Andersen being peppered, but with a couple of similar “And that’s what they are: They’re awesome in the middle of the ice, so saves, he had Leon Draisaitl skating away in frustration. they make you uncomfortable. You feel like you’re one step away from being on the wrong side of the puck. I mean, even in the first period (of a On two occasions in the second period, Draisaitl was looking at an open 6-2 loss against the Leafs on Feb. 27 in Toronto), we gave up two net off a one-timer until Andersen, calm as ever, read the play perfectly breakaways because we were just one step off. and slid across the crease to stop the shots. “They’ve got speed and tenacity in the middle of the ice, and when you’ve got that, that’s like gold in the league now.” LOOSE LEAFS The Leafs’ schedule this coming week includes home games against Tampa Bay, Chicago and Philadelphia, followed by a game in Ottawa. For the Bruins, it’s a three-game trip through Pittsburgh, Columbus and Winnipeg before playing the Blue Jackets at home. The Bruins, who have a road record of 15-10-6, play seven of their next eight on the road Milan Lucic hasn’t provided much offence for the Oilers, but durability? Yes. Lucic, who has 17 points in 67 games, missed his first game in three seasons with Edmonton. Lucic was forced to the sideline with a hip injury and was replaced in the lineup by Ty Rattie Patrick Marleau on what he sees in Nylander: “I think he has been getting better. He is focusing on those little-area battles and getting shots off and things like that. He has been working hard in practice and doing well in games, so it’s only going to take a bounce here and there and the confidence level will sky-rocket.” FIVE TAKEAWAYS Auston on Connor: Auston Matthews’ line didn’t record a point, but its play against Connor McDavid’s group was what mattered most. The Leafs had 12 shot attempts to seven against when Matthews and McDavid were on the ice at the same time during five-on-five play. “I thought Matthews’ line was really strong,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “Played a lot against the McDavid group and did a real good job.” Attempting success: Not only did Morgan Rielly score, he and Matthews represented trouble for most of the evening, leading the Leafs in shot attempts with 10 each. Rielly had six shots on goal to lead Toronto, and that also tied his personal high this season. Mitch Marner and John Tavares each had five shots on goal, while Matthews and Jake Muzzin had four each. The Leafs’ best players were their best players. Don’t sleep on Zaitsev: Nikita Zaitsev had an assist – just his seventh of the season and 10th point – and was key in many areas. The defenceman led all Toronto players in ice time at 25 minutes 15 seconds (his third-highest total of the season), including more than five minutes while shorthanded as the Leafs killed off all four Oilers power plays. Zaitsev finished the game a shade over 62% in possession. Shorten the bench: Though the Leafs had a comfortable lead early in the third period after Muzzin scored, Babcock didn’t disperse the ice time evenly, riding his top two lines and top four defencemen. Among the bottom-six forwards, the highest ice time was the 13 minutes 18 seconds played by Patrick Marleau, while neither Martin Marincin nor Igor Ozhiganov played more than 13 minutes on the blue line. McDavid’s contributions: As sharp as Matthews and the defence pair of Rielly and Ron Hainsey were against McDavid, the Oilers superstar assisted on both Oilers goals in the final two minutes of the game. McDavid, a few times, used his quickness to turn nothing into scoring chances and wound up with four shots on goal. Toronto Sun LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135264 Toronto Maple Leafs nearly 10 minutes that Rielly — with help from the Matthews line — faced McDavid. Gardiner might be a better skater, but Rielly is a more wily

offensive player, always seeking out and usually finding opportunities for Who’s been the Maple Leafs’ MVP this season? himself and teammates. “Mo’s a guy who’s turned himself into a high, high, high-end player in the league — one of the best players on (defence) for sure,” Mike Babcock said after the 3-2 win in Edmonton. “He’s good offensively and defensively, but he also has an elite drive- Jonas Siegel train and can play all night and he brings it every day.” Mar 9, 2019 Marner is just a little more crucial to the offence, though, and just gets the edge for team MVP at this point.

EDMONTON — This was one of those nights when any number of Leafs 3. Frederik Andersen could well have been the story and biggest factor in victory. Another contender with a very fair claim to topping this list. Andersen was Frederik Andersen with 31 impressive saves? Sure. Morgan Rielly with brilliant again against the Oilers, stopping two wicked Leon Draisaitl one- another goal and shutdown effort of Connor McDavid (who added two timers and a dangerous attempt by Zack Kassian in the waning moments late assists)? Certainly. John Tavares with three points, five shots, and a of regulation that would’ve improbably brought Edmonton all the way 12-of-18 night on the draw? Yup. Even Auston Matthews, who didn’t hit back from a 3-0 deficit. “I thought Fred was real strong,” Babcock said the score-sheet, but was studly opposite McDavid while firing 10 afterward. Andersen has made big-time stops like that all season. He’s attempts at the net. got the best 5-on-5 save percentage of any regular starter in the league (min. 1,500 minutes), and an overall mark of .924 that’s right there in the Which brings to mind a simple, but interesting question: Who’s been the top 5 (and also, potentially, a career-high). And he’s done it while facing Leafs’ most valuable player this season? more shots than anyone.

1. Mitch Marner All that said, the Leafs are winning most nights because they can Marner didn’t have a point in Edmonton, ending a five-game stretch in outscore just about anyone. They’ve scored five goals or more 25 times, which he mustered 11 points with three, yes three, three-point games. or more than a third of the time so far and second behind Tampa. How He’s got 10 of those this season. The Leafs are a top-5 team in the different would their record look with only an average starter? Garret standings largely because of their wildly potent offence, and Marner is Sparks has gone a respectable 7-5-1 with a lowly .902 save percentage. the biggest driver of that attack, a magician most nights with the puck. None of that discounts the year he’s had. Andersen should even get a His longest stretch without a point all season is three games. He’s been nod for the Vezina Trophy, and might, with a strong finish, beat out held off the scoreboard in consecutive games only three times. And he Andrei Vasilevskiy, the leading contender, to win it. No Leaf has needs only one more point to equal Mats Sundin for the most points (83) managed that in the modern era. Andersen has been important, no by a Leaf in 20 years. Only two players have more 5-on-5 assists so far: doubt, just a little less important to what the Leafs have done than either Nikita Kucherov and Sidney Crosby. Nobody has more primary 5-on-5 Marner or Rielly. assists; Marner has four more than Crosby and eight more than 4. John Tavares Kucherov. Marner is only the fourth Leaf forward ever to put up 58 assists in a season — joining Doug Gilmour, Darryl Sittler, and Vincent Tavares was one of the more productive players in the league over his Damphousse — and the first since Gilmour 25 years ago. nine years with the Islanders, but he’s never had a year quite like this. In addition to the 38 goals, which matched a high from his sixth NHL It’s not a coincidence that Tavares equaled a career-high — with his 38th season, the 28-year-old has also set career-highs with 28 5-on-5 goals, goal Saturday — with 14 games still left in the season. Marner has set up which leads the league, and 52 5-on-5 points, which ranks behind only 22 of those goals, or almost 60 percent. He’s got a chance of becoming a Kucherov, Patrick Kane, and Crosby. Oh, and he’s got a 54.6 percent win first-time 30-goal man, too, slipping past a career-high earlier this month. rate in the circle that’s also tops in his career. Tavares says he’s not And that’s just the offensive stuff. Marner has become an ace penalty necessarily the type to set statistical goals each season, “but you want to killer, and he’s an energetic little bugger playing defence — and his line, be an elite player and you gotta be consistent.” And man, has he been with Tavares and Zach Hyman, is almost always taking the toughest consistent. Tavares has gone more than three games without scoring matchups for Mike Babcock. Forget about Leafs MVP, Marner has a only three times this season. He’s scored at least once in 31 of the Leafs’ case to finish in the top-5 for the Hart Trophy. And he’s only 21 — just 68 games, including a strong drive to the net in Edmonton. He’s been the getting started, really. perfect finisher to play with a creator like Marner and grinder like Hyman.

2. Morgan Rielly Tavares has also taken over from Nazem Kadri as Babcock’s primary There’s an argument to be made that Rielly has been more important to matchup centre and he’s done it well, with the Leafs still grabbing 53 the Leafs than even Marner. He plays the most minutes, checks the percent of the shot attempts and 55 percent of scoring chances when slickest opponents alongside a soon-to-be 38-year-old Ron Hainsey, he’s on the ice. That’s freed Matthews, when the Leafs have home-ice, to runs the top power-play unit, capably kills penalties and creates tons of face weaker competition, one of the many benefits of adding Tavares to scoring opportunities for that big-time attack with surgical rushes up the the mix on a seven-year deal last summer. ice. Rielly floated his 18th goal of the season — tops among NHL “It’s because he just does it right every day,” Babcock said of Tavares. defenders — past emergency starter Anthony Stolarz on his 25th “That’s why it’s important for our young people to be around him, just to birthday in Edmonton. It was only the second goal he’s scored on the see how he prepares, and how he works, and how diligent he is, and how power play, with the other 16 coming at even-strength — another league- hard he competes, and in the end you’re rewarded.” leading mark at his position. His 47 even-strength points? Yep, league leader. Rielly is on pace for 78 points, which would fall one point shy of 5. Auston Matthews Ian Turnbull’s single-season record by a Leafs defenceman. Rielly might Matthews would’ve been the pick here to finish as not only the Leafs be having the most well-rounded season of any defenceman in the MVP this season, but a viable candidate for the Hart, Art Ross and league this season, with apologies to Mark Giordano and perhaps John Rocket Richard trophies. It’s been a weird season though for the 21-year- Carlson. He has a real shot at winning the first Norris Trophy in Leafs old, not bad certainly, just not overly dominant as much as was probably history. “On the ice, it’s been spectacular,” Andersen said of Rielly’s sixth expected. Missing a month with a shoulder injury didn’t help. And maybe NHL season. And off the ice, the Leafs’ No. 1 goalie added: “He’s been a without that absence, and the resulting challenge in coming back from it, leader on our team and a loud voice in our locker room. It’s pretty cool to Matthews would already have 40 goals and find himself wrestling with see how great he’s become over just the last three years I’ve been with Marner for control of the team scoring lead and be threatening perhaps him.” for some of those awards. He’s producing at a still-ridiculous 82-game Could the Leafs plug Jake Gardiner into the same minutes as Rielly and pace of 46 goals and 91 points. get the same results? Maybe. Maybe not. Rielly has the thick build to That being said, Matthews hasn’t always run over the competition when it handle heavier top lines — thicker than Gardiner certainly — and he’s looks like he should. It’s that “engine” Babcock talked about right before quick enough to keep pace with the faster ones, including McDavid and Matthews signed his five-year, $58 million extension. More nights like the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on Saturday night. The Leafs won almost 70 one he had against McDavid would change that tune. And yet, Matthews percent of the shot attempts and 76 percent of the scoring chances in the ranks fourth league-wide in goals per 60 minutes and 12th in points per 60. He’s still been really potent. He’s also only 21 and still figuring things out in his third NHL season. It feels like there’s more there to give and when he finds it, well, rankings like this will be topped with his name more often than not.

*Stats and research courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Hockey Reference

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135265 Toronto Maple Leafs occasions (both of which were one-timers off of a cross-ice pass) and managed to shut the door on a few McDavid chances. He might not have

been perfect, but it was still a great night for the Vezina candidate (who Leafs Report Cards — Game 68 at Edmonton should be getting significantly more buzz for that award, by the way).

Jake Muzzin — 22:44, 1 goal, 4 shots on goal, +4 scoring chance differential Ian Tulloch Muzzin was making smart pinches in all three zones throughout the Mar 9, 2019 course of this game. Whether it was a keep-in at the OZ blue line, closing the gap in the neutral zone or separating an opposing player from the

puck in the defensive zone, he was finding ways to regain and maintain Well … that was interesting. puck possession. He also had a few key defensive plays (blocking a McDavid scoring chance and breaking up a few seam passes on the In a game the Leafs controlled for well over 58 minutes, we were one penalty kill). When you throw in his beautiful goal off of a William bounce away from heading to overtime. Toronto managed to hang on in Nylander saucer pass, this was a well-rounded game for Muzzin, who a the dying seconds with a 3-2 victory over Edmonton, but it certainly lot of fans suspect might be hurt at the moment. If that’s true, it makes his wasn’t pretty down the stretch. As everyone in Leafs Nation takes a big performance tonight even more impressive. sigh of relief, let’s step back and break things down rationally. Ron Hainsey — 22:55, + 13 shot differential, +6 scoring chance How did the team look? differential against tough competition

Five-on-five — 䈏䈏䈏䈏 Would you look at that … back-to-back five-star performances for Ron Hainsey (and they’ve been well earned in my opinion). Much like last The Leafs did a great job of shutting down Connor McDavid in this one game, he was going up against extremely tough competition in most of (for the first 58 minutes of the game), keeping him to the outside and not his shifts (the McDavid-Draisaitl line) and managed to come out on top. getting caught for odd-man rushes against the fastest player in the Despite his notorious lack of foot speed, he did an excellent job league. When No. 97 was off the ice, Toronto was dominant, spending positioning himself in transition to prevent getting burned off the rush. He most of its shifts in the offensive zone due to solid puck movement and a was making smart plays up the ice, didn’t turn the puck over and helped lack of turnovers in transition. It wasn’t the prettiest game (especially in kill off a few crucial penalties in the third period. He’s stepped up big time the last few minutes), but it was one the coaching staff will be happy with. in the past couple of games with Toronto missing two of their best Power play — 䈏 defencemen, so credit where credit’s due: He’s been filling the role Mike Babcock thinks he’s capable of. The first unit was struggling to move the puck well in the offensive zone, with Nazem Kadri looking like his timing was a bit off since returning from Morgan Rielly — 1 goal, 6 shots on goal, +18 shot differential, +12 his concussion. What’s more worrisome is the second unit (which scoring chance differential (also against tough competition) remained the same since last game) was a disaster on its entries, failing You can take most of what I said about Hainsey and apply it to Rielly, but to gain the zone even once. I have the former ranked higher because of the expectations factor (we’re not used to seeing this type of performance from a player who turns 38 in Penalty kill — 䈏䈏䈏䈏 two weeks). On the other hand, Rielly (who just turned 25 today) is a There were a few crucial penalty kills in this game, most notably the five- player we’ve grown accustomed to taking over games. He wasn’t on-three in the third period. Toronto’s three players on the ice (Zach dominant offensively tonight (I’d argue that his knuckle-puck goal on the Hyman, Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev) did a great job at preventing power play was more of a fluke than anything), but any time you can dangerous passes through the middle of the ice, forcing Edmonton to rely come out well ahead while hard-matched to McDavid and Draisaitl, you on shots from the perimeter. Leon Draisaitl probably should have scored certainly deserve a lot of credit. a power-play goal earlier in the game (when McDavid fed him a one- timer at the right dot), but Frederik Andersen shut the door. It’s one of the 䈏䈏䈏䈏 oldest sayings in the book, but sometimes your goaltender has to be your Nikita Zaitsev — 25:15 (whoa), +5 shot differential, +3 scoring chance best penalty killer. differential, solid work on the penalty kill

Five-on-six — ★★ (Negative two stars) TFW YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT GIVING RON HAINSEY *AND* NIKITA ZAITSEV 5 STARS… PIC.TWITTER.COM/HGUCY081UE I don’t usually write about this, but the Leafs gave up two goals in the last minute, followed by a partial breakaway to Zach Kassian — it was very — IAN TULLOCH (@IANGRAPH) MARCH 10, 2019 Game 7™-esque. Considering how strongly the team played defensively this evening and how well they’ve defended leads this season, I’m not After debating with myself for a while on this one, I decided to give quite sure how to explain the near collapse at the end of the game. Zaitsev four stars. I thought he got off to an atrocious start (failing to break the puck out on numerous occasions), followed it up with an Image from MoneyPuck.com incredible second and third period (in which he was moving the puck Keep in mind that score effects and an extended five-on-three played a well, winning puck battles, doing a tremendous job on the penalty kill), big role in that third period. but failed to take away the passing lane on Edmonton’s second goal with a minute remaining. It’s difficult to know how much to weight all of that, Player reports especially considering Matthews left him on an island on the Oscar Klefbom goal. 䈏䈏䈏䈏䈏 This is definitely more of an art than a science. Best player on the ice: John Tavares — 18:29, 1 goal, 2 assists, 6 scoring chances, 5 shots on goal Auston Matthews — 18:50, 9 scoring chances, 4 shots on goal, +15 shot differential, +6 scoring chance differential I know Leafs fans have been told they aren’t allowed to cheer for their players, but it’s worth pointing out that after all the scrutiny and Speaking of which, if this were a “science,” I would feel compelled to give expectations that came with the Tavares signing this summer, he’s found Matthews five stars. His line was dominant at even strength, and he a way to surpass expectations. After another multi-point night, he’s on generated a crazy amount of scoring chances. With that being said, I pace for a career high in goals (46) and points (92) despite playing the didn’t think he was making much of an impact in transition (it was more fewest minutes per game since his rookie season. Kasperi Kapanen who was driving play up the ice with puck possession on that line). He also got exposed pretty badly in the defensive zone on Frederik Andersen — Stopped 31 of 33 shots (.939 save percentage) Edmonton’s second goal, which might be worth a one-star deduction in This was looking like an easy BPOTI decision up until the last few itself considering how poor his defensive effort was on that play. minutes when the Leafs decided to give everyone 2013 flashbacks, but I This grade might come across as too harsh considering how well he still think Andersen deserves a five-star grade for some of the highlight- performed, but I think it speaks to how highly I think of him as a player reel saves he made in this game. He robbed Draisaitl on multiple (this would easily be a five-star night for 99 percent of NHL players, but I take away space in the neutral zone. I definitely wouldn’t say that it was a consider Matthews to be a borderline generational talent). I’d like to see “pretty” game for him, but I thought he was effective. him take over the game a bit more in all three zones before giving him a five-star grade, but it’s possible I’m Russian Judge™-ing this one. Andreas Johnsson — Neutral zone play-driver

Tyler Ennis — 7:35 on an island Johnsson was making a few nice plays up the ice in transition, although it didn’t lead to much offence for him individually. I thought he was doing a It felt like he was playing by himself on the fourth line, with neither of his solid job of making plays in the neutral zone, though, which helped his linemates providing much support in transition or offence. Despite this team regain and maintain puck possession when he was on the ice. lack of help, Ennis was doing an excellent job of creating space for himself using his edge-work and puck skills. There were a few flashes Igor Ozhiganov — Not bad for a 6D when he looked like Buffalo Tyler Ennis, but he could have used a little Going up against Edmonton’s bottom six isn’t exactly the most difficult Moore help from his teammates. job in the NHL, but I thought Ozhiganov was making a few smart plays Zach Hyman — 17:47, 1 assist, +8 scoring chance differential under pressure to help get the puck going in the right direction. He wasn’t as solid defensively as his partner, but he didn’t get burned and the team There were a few times when Hyman shovelled the puck to the net out of managed to come out well ahead while he was on the ice. You’re fine instinct and almost got rewarded with an assist (once to Tavares on a with that kind of performance from a number-six defenceman. jam-play in the first period, and later to Matthews following a penalty kill). Later in the game he did get rewarded with one after a nice pass to 䈏䈏 spring Tavares on a partial breakaway. Hyman was also a huge factor on Patrick Marleau — I thought Marleau made a few solid plays in the the penalty kill, springing the Leafs on a shorthanded two-on-one earlier defensive zone tonight with his active stick, but he wasn’t much of a in the game, and locking things down defensively on the five-on-three in factor offensively. The biggest issue is that he wasn’t helping his line get the third period. This was a solid 200-foot performance for the checking up the ice with possession (the only Leafs forward who failed to make forward. one controlled zone entry or zone exit), which has been a concern all Mitch Marner — 19:23, 4 scoring chances, 5 shots on goal, 3 controlled season. zone entries (2nd on team), 5 controlled zone exits (1st on team) Frederik Gauthier — Other than winning a key faceoff on the penalty kill, Marner was definitely the Leafs’ best player in transition tonight, moving this wasn’t Gauthier’s most noticeable game. He made a few solid plays the puck from the defensive zone to the offensive zone with consistency. along the boards but wasn’t much of a factor offensively or in transition. He wasn’t as dynamic as usual when he got into the offensive zone, but Connor Brown — Much like Gauthier’s, Brown’s value appeared to come he was still generating some quality chances. It’s hard to believe he on the penalty kill tonight. Neither player was providing much help to didn’t pick up a point tonight (especially considering Tavares picked up Ennis at even strength this evening. three), but sometimes the box score doesn’t tell you everything about a game — in fact, I would argue often. Worst player on the ice: Kasperi Kapanen — This is a weird grade because I thought Kapanen was phenomenal in transition tonight Mike Babcock — Questionable lineup decisions, but excellent game-plan (leading the Leafs in controlled zone entries), but his decision-making in execution the offensive zone really held the team back. There were multiple After writing about Trevor Moore earlier today, I wasn’t the biggest fan of occasions where he had an opportunity to feather a saucer pass into the seeing him scratched (nor was I a fan of the Kadri-Nylander slot, but opted for a low-percentage shot from the outside, or waited too combination), but I also have to give the coaching staff credit for devising long before the passing lane closed. I’ve written about this issue before; a game plan to take away McDavid despite missing two of their best Kapanen needs to find a way to make the most of his game-breaking defencemen. The line combinations could certainly use some tinkering, speed, otherwise it’s going to cost his team quality scoring chances like it and the second unit power play needs some serious work, but overall, I did tonight. came away impressed with how well coached the Leafs looked in this Game Score game. Most important GIF of the night 䈏䈏䈏 FINALLY, THE LEAFS HAVE THEIR INSURANCE GOAL. GREAT Nazem Kadri — Rough on the power play, solid at even strength INDIVIDUAL EFFORT FROM TAVARES TO THE NET BEFORE As I alluded to earlier, Kadri’s timing looked a bit off with Toronto’s first SCORING. 2-0 LEAFS. #LEAFSFOREVER power-play unit (failing to make those quick little passes under pressure PIC.TWITTER.COM/MYJMK7SMGP as the “bumper” in the middle), but he was the most effective player on — MAPLE LEAFS HOTSTOVE (@LEAFSNEWS) MARCH 10, 2019 his line at even strength. He made a few nice little passes up the ice and was doing a great job of creating space for himself with shifty little stops Forget about the Tavares dangle, that clip had a successful Nikita and starts in the offensive zone. Considering this was his first game back Zaitsev stretch pass and Zach Hyman zone entry (with possession). I’m from a concussion, you have to be impressed with his performance. not sure what’s happening anymore, but I like it.

William Nylander — What a pass Final thoughts from the game

This was lining up to be a two-star evening for Nylander (he wasn’t After almost blowing a three-goal lead in the Leaf-iest way possible, making much happen in transition like he usually does), but then this Toronto came away with the victory in what was actually a solid happened. performance when you break everything down. This wasn’t their toughest opponent (especially when McDavid and Draisaitl were off the ice), but GREAT PLAY FROM EVERYONE HERE. SOLID MOVE FROM the team showed it could play a well-structured game and lock things TAVARES TO FEED NYLANDER WHO THEN SETS UP MUZZIN'S down defensively … for 58 minutes. TALLY. 3-0 LEAFS. #LEAFSFOREVER PIC.TWITTER.COM/ROIFP3L7YK Final grade: 58/60

— MAPLE LEAFS HOTSTOVE (@LEAFSNEWS) MARCH 10, 2019 The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019

When someone makes that kind of special play, I feel obligated to bump them up a grade, which is why Nylander finds himself in the three-star club tonight.

Martin Marincin — 12:43 when he actually looked pretty solid

Although he wasn’t facing the toughest competition, Marincin looked good in this one. He was making smart pinches in the offensive zone to keep the puck alive, made a few smart slap-passes from the point, which led to dangerous scoring chances, and was using his 35-foot-long stick to 1135266 Toronto Maple Leafs like motor on the forecheck and backcheck, making him a pain in the neck to play against.

Just check out number 42’s work on this shift. Tulloch: Why Trevor Moore is more valuable to the Leafs than you might think It’s the type of “heavy hockey” Babcock is looking for from his players in the modern game. This doesn’t mean out-hitting your opponents or

literally being heavy (Moore is only 182 pounds); it comes down to Ian Tulloch aggressively taking away space in all three zones, winning puck battles and using your “keister” to maintain puck possession on the cycle. Mar 9, 2019 — JAMES MIRTLE (@MIRTLE) FEBRUARY 26, 2019

These characteristics (winning puck battles, taking away space with your The Leafs’ fourth line has looked noticeably different since the addition of speed, getting in on the forecheck and backcheck) are a large part of the Trevor Moore, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Much like Andreas reason Tampa Bay dominated Boston in the playoffs last season, and Johnsson’s emergence at the NHL level last season, this could be a sign they’re areas Toronto will need to improve if it wants to get past either of things to come for the speedy 23-year-old. team this spring. With that being said, adding a player like Moore to the lineup has made a big difference in those areas — on the fourth line at It may have gone unnoticed, but Toronto’s most common fourth line had least. actually been struggling over the past few months. With Par Lindholm at left wing and Frederik Gauthier at centre, the team was consistently For example, watch how much space he takes away defensively in this getting hemmed in its own end despite facing weaker competition. clip.

Now, this wasn’t killing the Leafs (since the fourth line was getting only In the span of 25 seconds, he strips the puck-carrier on the backcheck, about eight minutes of even-strength ice time per game), but in a sport forces a dump-in on a separate backcheck, and closes the gap to take where one bounce can determine the outcome of a playoff series, you away a shooting lane in the defensive zone (even getting a piece of the want to take every opportunity you can to shift the odds in your favour. shot, which allows his goaltender to make an easy save). This is the kind This is where Moore comes in. of work Babcock and company are looking for from Toronto’s forwards; not just the speed to make dynamic plays up the ice but also the motor to Data from Natural Stat Trick take away space when you don’t have the puck. With Moore in the lineup, Toronto’s fourth line has been outshooting and Moore excels in this department, which is a big reason Babcock has significantly out-chancing the opposition. This is a far cry from the become such a quick fan of him — not to mention his keister. performance without him, where the team was having difficulty moving the puck up the ice and generating zone time with consistency, often Transition getting hemmed in its own end against opposing fourth lines. This is an area that’s actually pretty easy to quantify with zone exit and As much as I’ve loved Nic Petan over the past few years, the way I saw zone entry numbers, but unfortunately, we don’t have much manually Toronto’s deal for him at the trade deadline was Lindholm-for-Moore. tracked data on Moore yet in the public sphere. With that being said, he’s Moving on from an ineffective fourth-liner in Lindholm forced the Leafs to been a standout in the games I’ve tracked so far this season (leading his call up Moore, who had been dominating play at the AHL level. line in controlled exits and entries), so let’s break down why he’s done so Personally, I would argue that he shouldn’t have been sent down in the well in this department. first place, but it’s nice to see that he’s earned a late-season call-up with the big club. It appears that he’s in a four-man rotation with Tyler Ennis, We’ve established the fact that he’s a great skater, but unlike players Petan, and Gauthier for a spot on the fourth line, but I think it’s only a such as Patrick Marleau or Connor Brown, Moore has been able to use matter of time before he solidifies himself as a full-time Leaf. his speed to advance the puck up the ice with possession.

As I alluded to in the lede, this situation reminds me a lot of Johnsson’s Ennis’ goal at the end of that clip is a complete fluke, but the play leading call-up towards the end of 2017-18. At the time, Toronto’s fourth line had up to it is an excellent example of Moore’s transition game. He picks up also been struggling to drive possession all season. After the ascension the puck low in the defensive zone, where teams will often have time to of the Marlies’ best player, though, that weakness turned into a strength step up on a winger and force a dump-out, but Moore’s acceleration thanks to the dynamic 23-year-old winger. Now we’ll have to wait and forces Noah Hanifin to back off and concede the clean zone exit. see if he can force his way onto the playoff roster, potentially over one of After that, Moore is able to blow by him off the rush and sneak by the Babcock’s favourite defensive wingers who logs heavy PK minutes. body check after gaining the zone, which gives him space to cut to the Sound familiar? middle and create a dangerous scoring opportunity by passing it to Ennis in the slot (which is another one of Moore’s strengths that we’ll talk about Now, these are obviously small samples (Moore’s current pace probably in a minute). isn’t sustainable considering his sky-high on-ice shooting percentage). It’s also worth noting that Johnsson has a longer track record of elite The ability to transition the puck from defence to offence is one of the point production at every level, but I find the comparison interesting. most important aspects of driving results in the modern game. It’s the There’s a similar trend in regard to a speedster getting called up late in reason Connor McDavid is the best player on the planet; it’s why I think the season, making a significant impact, and looking like he could be part William Nylander has been playing well over the past month; and it helps of the bigger picture moving forward. explain why Marleau has been a drag on possession since joining the Leafs last season. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Mike Babcock-coached team follow this approach. Two years ago, Kasperi Kapanen was called up to help The quickest way to read that is the fact that Marleau was in the 60th bring some more speed and skill to Toronto’s fourth line, which worked percentile at generating clean zone entries (per 60 minutes) in 2016-17 out pretty well. Another great example is Darren Helm, who spent 2007- but has fallen to the 21st percentile since signing with Toronto. I’ve made 09 with Detroit’s farm team but was called up in time for the playoffs in the argument that if you took the names off the back of the jerseys, back-to-back seasons (making it to the Stanley Cup final in both years). Moore has had a bigger impact on the game than Marleau at even strength. If we’re stripping away biases and looking at each player’s on- Moore shares similar traits with all of these players, which I thought ice impact, I think there’s a strong case to be made that the eye test and would be fun to break down with some video analysis. Let’s start with my the numbers both back up that claim. favourite part of his game. Passing ability Puck pursuit When I was preparing for this article, I didn’t think I would have a section One thing that’s been consistent with Moore at every level is his ability to detailing Moore’s offensive impact (since his strengths tend to be in chase down loose pucks. If you’ve watched him play, you know he has transition and puck pursuit), but after breaking down the tape, I found excellent foot speed, but not every player in the NHL is willing to put on myself marvelling at a few of the passes he was able to make in the the afterburners to hound puck-carriers (e.g., Alex Ovechkin). This is offensive zone. what separates him from your typical speedster; he has a Zach Hyman- This isn’t to say that he’s an elite playmaker by any means, but he has a upside those players do. He’s tenacious on the backcheck, effective in knack for making clever little passes off the rush. transition, and a smart little passer in the offensive zone, but realistically, I’d imagine we’re looking at a complementary middle-six forward (with a You’ll see a lot of players fire a shot in this situation, but Moore has the ceiling somewhere in the 40-point range). awareness to get the puck back to Ennis in space (for what could have been his fourth goal of the evening). That’s nothing to scoff at. When you look at Toronto’s cap situation, players like that are going to be crucial to their success over the next few Here’s another example of Moore making a smart little pass under years. With all the money that’s going to be allocated to Auston pressure when most forwards would have opted for the low-percentage Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and company, the Leafs need shot. cost-efficient options to play in their top nine, especially at left wing.

When you’re passing to players like Gauthier, you tend not to get In my opinion, that’s exactly what they have in Trevor Moore. rewarded for your great passes, which is why I like the idea of an Ennis- Petan-Moore line. Good things tend to happen when you play skilled Image from Cap Friendly players together. Considering everything I’ve said about him in this article, that’s going to Giving “the 5’9 line” more rope might be an argument for another day, so look like one heck of a bargain in a year or two. I’m of the opinion that let’s get back on topic. Moore clearly has a bit of playmaking talent, Moore could effectively fill the “Hyman role” on a line with Tavares- which I think is an underrated component of his game. He doesn’t Marner or Matthews-Nylander in 2019-20 or 2020-21, which would help generate shots at a high volume, but with his ability to make smart inflate his point totals (and trade value) to the extent that they could flip passes in the offensive zone, I could see him providing more value than him at the end of that contract for the next Trevor Moore. we might expect if he was moved up the lineup. In the salary cap era, you need to have a revolving door of cheap, young Penalty killing talent to maintain success. Moore looks like the next player in that mold for Toronto. As most of my readers will know, I love trying to quantify things whenever I can. I always prefer having some kind of objective data to help back up The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 my claims, but unfortunately, I don’t really have much to work with here. Moore hasn’t killed many penalties at the NHL level, and I don’t have access to his four-on-five shot metrics at the AHL level.

It’s time to call in some backup! I’m going to defer to The Athletic’s Marlies reporter, Scott Wheeler, when it comes to Moore’s penalty killing ability.

“Moore was used sparsely on the Marlies penalty kill in 2016-2017 (his rookie season). Then in early November of 2017-2018, they began to use him on the second unit, and he became more of a regular option for them (though still not a staple). This season , he finally took on a full-time role and was a major factor in 2018-19 before he got called up.

He leads all Marlies with four shorthanded points this season (despite playing in just 46 games due to time spent with the Leafs). The PK is a natural fit for him because A) He’s one of the most gifted players in the organization at lifting pucks off of carriers and B) He has the speed to close on shooters or push tempo back the other way. Plus, he just flat out works hard.”

This tends to fit with everything we’ve been saying about Moore so far. He’s a puck-hound on the backcheck, has an active stick, and is great at using his speed to take away space in all three zones. Those tend to be qualities of trustworthy penalty killers (e.g., Hyman and Brown), which is why I believe Moore could provide some value to the Leafs when they’re shorthanded.

I have only one video clip of Moore killing penalties this year since it’s been such a rare occasion. With the help of Nikita Zaitsev, he was able to strip the puck along the boards and send it down for an icing.

This is obviously just one shift, and I’m not one to over-analyze small samples. With that being said, I think it’s clear that Moore has the tools to kill penalties at the NHL level. When the team presumably moves on from Brown this offseason for salary purposes, I could see Moore getting a lot more minutes in that department.

I was also wondering if Wheeler thought Moore had a chance to see some PP2 action as early as next season (considering how many moving parts there could be this offseason), but that doesn’t appear to be very likely, in his opinion.

“I don’t think he’s much of a fit for PP2, at least not if you want PP2 to be more effective than it has been this year. If the Leafs intend to stack PP1, then Moore could play the role Ennis has just fine. But he’s not the kind of passer who can play the point or the wall and he doesn’t have a heavy shot to be a major factor in the slot.”

Realistically, if we’re forecasting Moore’s impact on special teams, it’s more likely to come on the penalty kill.

So, what is Trevor Moore?

We don’t want to shoehorn a player 13 games into his NHL career (just look at the progress Kapanen and Johnsson have made since their debuts), but I think it’s fair to say he doesn’t have quite the offensive 1135267 Vegas Golden Knights But Hageman and the Fleet got the last laugh. “I think it says we’re a well-rounded team,” Hageman said of the win. “If the offense is down, the defense steps up. And when our defense has Hageman's kick caps wild finish as Fleet rally past Stallions been down, the offense steps up. And special teams, we always have to be ready. But it says a lot about the character of our team. Everyone picks each other up.” By Jeff Goldberg / The Alliance

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 03.10.2019 SAN DIEGO -- Fleet quarterback Mike Bercovici says he’s always been one to watch the flight of the ball on a game-winning field-goal attempt. He has to see it go through. On Saturday night, however, after Bercovici and his teammates had been whipsawed through an almost impossible series of events in the final five minutes, the quarterback who made the final big play on a night filled with them simply couldn’t watch. But the 20,823 who watched this game at SDCCU Stadium were locked in on Fleet kicker Donny Hageman as he put his 44-yard attempt with no time left into the sky. And the deafening roar that followed told Bercovici all he needed to know. In a game where the Fleet defense bailed out the offense, then the offense returned the favor, it was Hageman and the field-goal team that bailed everyone out, making good on the kick for a 27-25 walk-off win over the Salt Lake Stallions. “That’s why you play football,” Bercovici said. “The defense did an unbelievable job all night. And then it was our time to get the ball down the field. There’s no better way to win a football game than that.” For the sake of frail hearts, there are probably better ways. The Fleet (3- 2) had raced to a 24-11 lead on Kameron Kelly’s Alliance-record third interception of the game -- and first pick-six of his career -- with 9:26 left. But the Stallions (1-4) staged an improbable rally, scoring two touchdowns in the final 4:02 -- the latter with 51 seconds left -- to close within one point. Then Josh Woodrum connected with Kenny Bell on the two-point conversion and Salt Lake led 25-24. But the stunned Fleet gathered themselves and connected on the biggest play of the night, with Bercovici hitting wide receiver Dontez Ford on a 45-yard pass to the Salt Lake 30-yard line with 35 seconds left to give the Fleet new life. “I was just happy Berco put it there,” said Ford, who caught three passes for 94 yards. “He put it right where it needed to be, to give me a chance and give us a chance to win that game. You couldn’t ask for anything more than that.” Hageman, the former San Diego State kicker once named most clutch by the Mountain West Conference, had his back turned to the field when Ford slid out of bounds right near him. “I was about to kick in the net and I heard the crowd erupt and I’m like, ‘Oh (my), what happened,’ ” Hageman said. “And I look back and they’re right next to me and I’m like, ‘Oh boy, here we go.’ From that point on, it’s just locking in, like it’s any other kick. I’m just happy to come through for my team. It was a really good feeling.” Hageman, who is now 11-for-13 on field-goal attempts after making 3 of 4 on Saturday, said he actually mishit his kick, but had enough power behind it to sail it safely through the uprights. “I didn’t hit it perfect,” said Hageman, who was signed by the Fleet just three days before the season opener. “It came off a little bit left, it was a little thick off the inside of my foot. Luckily, I hit it pretty solid. It’s an unreal feeling, something every kicker dreams of. As a kicker, that’s why we play this game.” The Fleet trailed 8-6 at the half, a deficit that could have been much larger if not for Kelly’s first two interceptions, both in the red zone in the second quarter. And though Bercovici, in his first start since Week 1, set a Fleet record with 304 passing yards, the offense stagnated in the third quarter as the Stallions increased to an 11-6 lead. But with 3:06 left in the third, the Fleet’s defense asserted itself. Frank Ginda forced a fumble by running back Terrell Newby and Jordan Martin scooped up the ball and ran for a 41-yard touchdown to give the Fleet a 12-11 lead. Then on the next series, Damontre Moore registered a sack- fumble recovery on the Stallions' 18-yard line and Bercovici followed with a touchdown pass to Ben Johnson on the next play for an 18-11 lead. Then Kelly snared his pick-six and the game seemed over with the Fleet up 24-11 with 9:26 to play. But Joel Bouagnon scored on a 4-yard run with 4:02 left to make it 24-17 before Woodrum’s 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Nick Truesdell set up the go-ahead two-point play. 1135268 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights in holding pattern for KHL star Nikita Gusev

By David Schoen / Las Vegas Review-Journal

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Nikita Gusev watch is delayed for at least another week and a half. The Russian scoring sensation helped his team advance in the Kontinental Hockey League playoffs last week, delaying the possibility he could sign with the Golden Knights. Gusev scored in SKA St. Petersburg’s Game 6 victory over Spartak Moscow on Friday that clinched their conference quarterfinal series. SKA faces Lokomotiv in a best-of-seven conference semifinal that could end as early as March 19. Gusev’s contract expires after the KHL season, and he is eligible to sign with the Knights at that point. The 26-year-old forward previously indicated he is interested in playing in North America, and the Knights own his rights because of an expansion draft trade with Tampa Bay. The KHL’s playoffs extend into late April, while the Knights finish the regular season April 6. Gusev is required to sign an entry-level contract should he agree to a deal with the Knights. He would be eligible for the playoffs if he signed before the end of the regular season. Gusev was the KHL’s MVP in 2017-18 and led the league in scoring with 82 points this season. His 65 assists topped the previous league record of 60 set by Alexander Radulov in 2010-11. He helped Russia win the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, totaling 12 points in six games. Knights coach Gerard Gallant was not concerned with goaltender Marc- Andre Fleury’s workload after he made his league-leading 58th start against Vancouver on Saturday. Fleury is on pace for 69 starts, which would be a career high. It’s unclear who will start in the second game of the back-to-back Sunday at Calgary. The Knights don’t play again until Friday at Dallas, giving Fleury plenty of time off. “He’s the one who tells us. He feels real good,” Gallant said after the morning skate. “Obviously, you don’t want to play him — what do we have, (13) left? He’ll get his amount of games that he needs to play to remain sharp, but we’ll give him an opportunity (to rest) for sure.” True to your school Defenseman Nate Schmidt did not participate in the Knights’ optional skate at Rogers Arena and spent a portion of his morning glued to an internet stream of the Minnesota state high school hockey tournament. Schmidt’s former high school, St. Cloud Cathedral, won its first Class 1A championship with a 5-2 victory over Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin. “The closest I got was the semifinals, so this is special to see a group of guys gain immortality in high school hockey,” Schmidt said. “They will remember this for the rest of their lives. There’s not a day that goes by that I wouldn’t love to go back and try it again.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135269 Vegas Golden Knights

NHL’s playoff format builds division rivalries

By Ben Gotz / Las Vegas Review-Journal

Divisional matchups take on extra meaning late in the NHL season. The league’s playoff format ensures division foes match up in the early rounds of the postseason, which builds rivalries at the expense of a balanced bracket. That means teams can use this time of year to send messages even if they can’t move up in the standings. “When you play division opponents at the end of the season, like we’re doing right now, it does have a little bit of added intensity,” Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith said. “You never know, but you could play that team somewhere down the line in the playoffs. It’s always nice to leave a mark.” Each division’s top three teams are placed on the same quarter of the playoff bracket, meaning only one can advance to the conference finals. Competitive divisions, such as the Pacific and Atlantic, thus set their teams up for disappointment. Three of the Western Conference’s top five teams, pointswise, are in the Pacific, and the top three teams in the East are in the Atlantic. The format’s upshot is the hostility it creates in the early rounds since opponents usually have a shared history. And the intensity it brings to the final games of the regular season since teams are aware of which opponents they might see in the playoffs. “I think it’s great,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “I’ve got no issue with that.” The NHL’s general managers met from Monday to Wednesday in Boca Raton, Florida, and moved forward with a few potential minor rule changes. The items included a rule that would penalize players who don’t leave the ice right away after their helmets fall off, and one that lets a team starting a power play select which side of the ice it wants the first faceoff. The proposed changes must be approved by the competition committee and board of governors in June. “The skill of our players and what takes place on the ice every night is just fantastic,” commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday. “But we don’t take anything for granted. That’s the reason we have these meetings. Hockey operations is watching and reviewing every game as it’s being played looking for trends, looking for potential issues. The three days we have with this group is a very good time for reflection.” Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay died Monday at age 93. The legendary left winger for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks left a large legacy as an 11-time All-Star, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and pioneer for the NHL’s first players’ union. “Terrible Ted” finished his career with 379 goals and 472 assists in 1,068 games. “Ted was unbelievable,” said Gallant, who got to know Lindsay during his nine seasons playing for the Red Wings. “Just a great man, a great person. I read a bunch of quotes about (how) as good as he was on the ice, he was a better person off (of it), and that’s exactly true.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135270 Vegas Golden Knights Cup Series veteran and fellow Las Vegan Kurt Busch spoke highly of Gafforini for the segment. “He set the tone on how to show up, how to prep a car and how to race clean,” said the 2017 Daytona 500 winner. Marc-Andre Fleury incident stirs memories of ex-Las Vegas Thunder On his Twitter account Friday, Associated Press sports columnist Tim goalie Dahlberg of Las Vegas posted a photo of Joe Frazier walking to a neutral corner after dropping Muhammad Ali with a left hook — that most resounding of left hooks — on March 8, 1971. By Ron Kantowski / Las Vegas Review-Journal “I usually don’t celebrate 48th anniversaries of anything,” Dahlberg wrote of the first of three iconic Ali-Frazier bouts. Social media was ablaze the other night when Golden Knights goalie “For this fight, I’ll make an exception.” Marc-Andre Fleury acted as if he might engage Calgary Flames counterpart David Rittich in goaltender fisticuffs at T-Mobile Arena. It’s a good thing Twitter wasn’t around during Clint Malarchuk’s day with LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 03.10.2019 the Las Vegas Thunder of the old International Hockey League. The “Cowboy Goalie” might have broken the internet. One night, Malarchuk skated the length of the ice to fight fellow goalie Troy Gamble of the Houston Aeros. On another, he did the same to punch out the lights of San Diego Gulls netminder Allan Bester. In a playoff game. I’ve got your Game 7 handshake right here. I never saw Clint Malarchuk fight a horse. But I’m sure it has happened. And more than once. He lives on a ranch outside of Reno, where he is an equine dentist and an equine chiropractor. Those Malarchuk fights were classic. During the one with Gamble, the former Vancouver Canucks goalie used his blocker glove like a waffle iron. Malarchuk hardly flinched, earning praise on social media at a much later date when the video was uploaded for posterity sake. “Best goalie fight,” one fan wrote. “Too many look like lobsters mating.” The interview Malarchuk did afterward was just as memorable. He was wearing a John Deere cap, state trooper sunglasses and a sleeveless undershirt. Rodeo ropes were hanging on the wall. Malarchuk broke down the fight video as if it were the Zapruder film. Never one to bear a grudge, Clint Malarchuk and Troy Gamble probably would see things differently today. Gamble’s son, Garrett, was killed in Afghanistan in 2010 while serving with the U.S. Marines. Malarchuk is an advocate and fundraiser for USA Warriors, a sled hockey team comprised of soldiers with physical disabilities. Ted Lindsay 1925-2019 My only encounter with Ted Lindsay was on a red carpet at Wynn Las Vegas before the 2012 NHL Awards show. I am thankful for that, given his nickname when he played hockey was “Terrible Ted” and that he often referred to his stick as the “ol’ equalizer.” Joining Gordie Howe and Sid Abel on Detroit’s famous “Production Line,” Lindsay won four Stanley Cups and was considered one of the game’s greatest players. But the paparazzi on the red carpet didn’t seem to know him. Most were gathered around the actor Vince Vaughn, and Terrible Ted — he was a kind soul off the ice — stood by his lonesome, looking somewhat perplexed. “In our day, the celebration with the Stanley Cup was when they presented it at center ice,” said the hockey Hall of Famer who was 93 when he died Monday. “The parade was when you took it from center ice to the dressing room. Then if you were lucky enough to win it again the next year, that’s the next time you saw it.” NASCAR race resonates Final TV numbers for last week’s NASCAR Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway were better than the overnights. The 3.1 rating was up 8 percent over 2018’s 2.9. It was the first NASCAR Cup Series race of 2019 to see a ratings bump over last year. The race featured the debut of NASCAR’s new high downforce package designed to promote closer racing. Defending series champion Joey Logano held off Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski at the finish line for the victory in front of an estimated crowd of 55,000. A new feature of Fox’s NASCAR broadcasts is honoring short-track specialists representing that week’s host city during a segment called “Short Track Boss.” Scott Gafforini, winner of 67 races and six track championships at the LVMS Bullring, was feted during last week’s Pennzoil 400. 1135271 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights face Canucks to begin back-to-back games

By David Schoen / Las Vegas Review-Journal

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Golden Knights begin a back-to- back in western Canada on Saturday when they play the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Opening faceoff is 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. This is the second meeting in six days between the clubs. The Knights (37-26-5, 79 points) easily defeated Vancouver 3-0 on March 3 as part of their current five-game win streak. Nine players recorded a point for the Knights, and they outshot Vancouver 48-19, the second-most shots the Canucks have allowed this season. “We know they’re going to be a lot better,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “They had a tough game against us in our building and they had a tough road trip, so we know it’s going to be a lot better team that’s playing us in Vancouver, for sure.” Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will start the front end of the back-to-back ahead of Sunday’s game at Calgary. Fleury continues to lead the NHL in victories (33) and games started (57). In his past four starts, he is 4-0 with a 0.50 goals-against average, .982 save percentage and two shutouts. Fleury has stopped 109 of the past 111 shots he’s faced. Defenseman Shea Theodore tallied his 11th goal in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over Calgary and has a four-game points streak. Center William Karlsson has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past three games. The Knights are 10 points behind Calgary and nine back of second-place San Jose in the Pacific Division with 14 games remaining. Vancouver (28-31-9, 65 points) has drifted nine points behind Minnesota for the second wild card in the Western Conference and is playing its third game in four days. The Canucks ended a three-game losing skid with a 3-2 overtime win over Toronto on Wednesday and is coming off a 3-2 loss at Edmonton on Thursday. Vancouver has dropped seven of its past 10 games (3-5-2). Center Elias Pettersson leads Vancouver with 57 points in 57 games and is three points shy of matching Pavel Bure and Ivan Hlinka for most points in a season by a rookie in franchise history. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom (24-19-8, 2.70 GAA, .915 SP) was announced as the starter for the Canucks. Speedy winger Jake Virtanen (rib fracture) was activated from injured reserve and will make his first appearance since Feb. 13. “Definitely they’re going to be ready for us at home. We’ve got to be ready,” left wing Jonathan Marchessault said. “We’ve got to be sharp on the road. We have no show to give over there. We’ve got to go there and just play the right way like we’ve been doing the past five games.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135272 Vegas Golden Knights While this option might be best for the Golden Knights’ short-term cap problems, it wouldn’t be ideal to cut Karlsson’s pay the season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. How Mark Stone’s $76 million contract could affect signing William 2. Another short-term deal Karlsson this offseason There is also the possibility the two sides come to an agreement on a short-term deal outside of arbitration like they did last season. In the sake By Jesse Granger of keeping a good relationship with Karlsson, it would likely be at or slightly above his current salary of $5.25 million. Mar 9, 2019 3. Long-term deal

This is obviously the most desirable outcome for the team and Karlsson. Friday afternoon the Golden Knights locked newly acquired winger Mark He would likely be seeking a deal between $5.5 million and $6 million per Stone up through the 2026-27 season with an eight-year contract worth season. $76 million. Here are some comparable contracts signed over the last few His average annual value of $9.5 million is by far the largest in Vegas’ offseasons, just for context: franchise history and presses the Golden Knights against the salary cap entering the offseason. J.T. Miller signed with Tampa Bay for five years, $5.25 million per season after 34, 56, 58 and 40 points in his last four seasons at center for the What does it mean for impending restricted free agent William Karlsson? Lightning. Alex Wennberg signed for six years, $4.9 million per season after 40- and 59-point seasons for Columbus. Other comparables (albeit “This doesn’t affect us at all,” general manager George McPhee said. at winger) are Jason Zucker, who signed for five years at $5.5 million per “We will have flexibility to do things. I’m not interested in being hamstrung season after 23-, 47- and 64-point seasons with the Wild; and Tyler on anything, and we won’t be. At least that’s what (team capologist Johnson, who signed for seven years at $5 million per season after 72-, Andrew Lugerner) tells me.” 38- and 45-point seasons for Tampa Bay. Sources tell The Athletic that neither side has spoken, and they don’t Karlsson has one 78-point season in Vegas and is on pace to finish with plan to until the season ends. 52 this year. The Stone deal puts the Golden Knights at an $82,375,000 projected cap A long-term deal would provide Karlsson with the biggest payday of his hit for next season, which is only $625,000 under the projected 2019-20 career and financial stability. It would provide the Golden Knights with a salary cap of $83 million. That paints a dire picture, with four impending cheaper contract, as Karlsson’s price will skyrocket if he reaches unrestricted free agents and three restricted free agents, but a deeper unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2020. look at the numbers shows it’s not as bad as it might seem. But, it won’t be easy to work out unless the team makes several moves Vegas is still harboring the $5.25 million salary of David Clarkson’s to open up the cap space. McPhee doesn’t seem too concerned. contract, which they took in the expansion draft. That number drops off the salary cap when he is placed on long-term injured reserve, where “We wouldn’t do anything that would hamstring us going forward,” he’s sat the last two seasons. McPhee said after acquiring Stone on Feb. 25. “We have a good group of forwards. We have a solid defense with good, young defensemen coming That lowers Vegas’ total cap hit to $77.125 million, giving McPhee $5.875 along. We’re in a good place. We’ve worked really hard over the last year million in cap space to work with. That’s still not a whole lot, considering and a half trying to get people under contract, on the right deals, and what he has to accomplish. we’ll be able to do other things going forward as necessary.” UFAs: What are those “other things”? Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (2018-19 salary of $1.45M) Vegas could move on from a few contracts, most notably Cody Eakin or Ryan Reaves, both of whom are being paid above their current Ryan Carpenter (2018-19 salary of $650,000) production and projected role going forward. Brandon Pirri (2018-19 salary of $650,000) With Erik Haula returning to the lineup it could push Eakin down to the Deryk Engelland (2018-19 salary of $1.5M) fourth-line center. He is due $3.85 million in the last year of his deal next season, which is much higher than market value for an 11-12-minute-per- RFAs: game player. William Karlsson (2018-19 salary of $5.25M) McPhee could move Eakin’s salary, and re-sign Bellemare for around $1 million, which would save Vegas nearly $3 million in salary-cap space. If Tomas Nosek (2018-19 salary of $962,500) McPhee traded Reaves it would save an additional $2.775 million, which Malcolm Subban (2918-19 salary of $650,000) makes signing Karlsson long term a much more realistic proposition. McPhee will offer Nosek and Subban their qualifying offers of $1 million The challenge is finding teams willing to take on those contracts. It and $715,000, which will take up less than $2 million total. That leaves shouldn’t be too much of an obstacle, considering both expire after next him with $4.16 million in cap space to sign Karlsson and fill four other season. roster spots. Another option, which would be much more attractive to potential suitors Karlsson’s qualifying offer alone will be $4.75 million, and he won’t around the league, is moving on from Colin Miller, who is due to make accept that. There are three realistic options when it comes to Karlsson’s $3.875 million for the next three years. Miller has value as a right-handed contract: shot who contributes on the power play. It would hurt losing him, but Vegas could fill that role with 20-year-old prospect Nic Hague, who would 1. Arbitration be on an extremely affordable entry-level contract. Karlsson nearly entered arbitration last offseason, but McPhee and his Either way, McPhee and his staff are going to be busy this offseason. agent Michael Deutsch came to an agreement on a one-year, $5.25 million bridge deal just hours before the hearing. He will likely file for arbitration again this summer after declining his initial qualifying offer. The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 Karlsson’s stats have dropped from his career season a year ago. His goal total went from 43 to only 19, and his league-leading plus-minus rating of plus-49 has plummeted to minus-5. Having said that, Karlsson has still been a very good top-line center and is contributing in every phase of the game from even strength to power play and penalty kill. His awarded contract out of arbitration would likely be close to the $5.25 million he is making this season, perhaps slightly lower due to his drop in goals. 1135273 Washington Capitals “I don’t think we can just flip a switch when Game 1 of the playoffs starts,” forward Brett Connolly said. “You want to be going into the playoffs feeling good about your game and confident. There’s definitely a This year’s Capitals are starting to look a lot like last year’s Capitals mental side of it now where we did get over that hump last year and we can realize that we do have a team that can ultimately do it because you get that belief that you can.” By Isabelle Khurshudyan March 9 at 4:14 PM Washington Post LOADED: 03.10.2019

As Todd Reirden prepared for his first NHL head-coaching gig and the especially unusual situation he was stepping into, he researched defending champions in other sports and how they had handled the following season. He found no perfect blueprint. He probably couldn’t have predicted that his Washington Capitals would turn into virtually the same team that ended up hoisting the Stanley Cup last year. Through 68 games, the Capitals have a nearly identical record (40-21-7) to what they had at this point last season (38-23-7), and their power play and penalty kill are similar, too. And Washington again is getting hot after the trade deadline, on a six-game winning streak since new acquisitions Carl Hagelin and Nick Jensen both joined the lineup. But five of those victories came against teams out of the playoff race; the Capitals will be tested more in their final 14 games of the regular season, 10 of which are against clubs poised for the postseason. The Capitals probably didn’t plan to take the same path in their ambitions for repeating as champions, but they are looking increasingly comfortable the closer they get to the playoffs. “It doesn’t feel the exact same, really,” forward T.J. Oshie said. “Last year, there was still a lot of what-ifs. This year, we’re going in with a little more confidence in our game, in our ability of what we have to do to win games, to go deep in the playoffs. Every year is a little bit different. Obviously, you can look at the stats and the records and stuff like that, but the one thing that is the same is how well everyone is getting on board right now.” Around this time last season, the Capitals made some systematic tweaks, particularly in their defensive-zone structure, and that ultimately fostered the tight-checking, suffocating style that won the Stanley Cup. Those changes are still in place, so even as the team slumped halfway through this campaign, there were no wholesale changes. Adding a speedy and aggressive forechecking forward in Hagelin and another puck-moving defenseman in Jensen has helped the Capitals in the same way acquiring blue-liner Michal Kempny did last season: They’re able to move the puck out of their own end more expediently to spend more time in the offensive zone. But Washington also is playing more diligently within its system, not quite to the level it did last postseason but trending in that direction. “After the trading deadline, I think we talked a lot in the locker room that this is the team who’s going to do it and move forward,” center Nicklas Backstrom said. “I felt like after that we really stepped up and everyone is playing into our system. We’ve been playing a lot better, too. Moving forward here, we want to be a hard team to play against, and it starts now.” Reirden has been pleased that the Capitals are not allowing their opponents as much easy transition offense by managing the puck better of late, not forcing as many plays through the neutral zone. In the offensive zone, Washington is hanging on to the puck more, extending shifts to wear down the opposite bench. “Now when they do get a turnover against us, they’re just trying to get the red line and change,” Reirden said. It’s encouraging that the bottom-six forwards corps, uninspiring for most of the season, has been leading the way for puck possession, what Reirden calls “grind shifts” because they tire the other team and allow the Capitals to deploy one of their top two lines against a fatigued unit. “I think we’re playing smart,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “That’s the most important thing. If you see all of the games, like, if we have a bad start, we try to not rush it. We try to play the system, what we believe works. I think it’s a good thing.” The Capitals have the hardest strength of schedule to finish the regular season. They’re in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 87 points, though the New York Islanders are just two points back and have played one fewer game. If Washington maintains its place in the standings, it would claim its fourth consecutive division title. But just like last year, it’s more concerned with continuing to ramp up for the playoffs, where maybe that will play out identically, too. 1135274 Washington Capitals

Holtby, Capitals blank Devils for 6th straight win

By The Associated Press - Associated Press Friday, March 8, 2019

WASHINGTON — Andre Burakovsky and Nicklas Backstrom scored, Braden Holtby stopped 25 shots and the Washington Capitals extended their winning streak to six games with an ugly 3-0 victory over the last- place New Jersey Devils on Friday night. Burakovsky ran his goal streak to three games after he wasn’t traded at the deadline. With his 35th career shutout, Holtby tied Olie Kolzig for the most in franchise history. New Jersey sent out a patchwork lineup with many players who started the season in the minors. Mackenzie Blackwood did his best to keep the Devils in the game by making 33 saves. The Devils went 0 for 6 on the power play to drop to 0 for their last 24 and lost their fifth game in a row. Lars Eller sealed it with an empty-netter. The Capitals return to home ice Sunday to play the Winnipeg Jets.

Washington Times LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135275 Washington Capitals

Braden Holtby ties Olie Kolzig after Caps blank Devils for sixth win in a row

By Brian McNally March 09, 2019 6:00 AM

WASHINGTON – It was the last thing Braden Holtby thought about as the final seconds ticked off the clock in another Capitals’ win. An ugly game against an undermanned team featured penalty after penalty and Holtby was a big reason that an early 1-0 lead held up for almost 60 minutes against the New Jersey Devils. In the end, that meant he tied Olie Kolzig’s franchise record for career shutouts at 35. “I just found out about it,” teammate Nicklas Backstrom said a few minutes after coming off the ice following the eventual 3-0 victory. “We’ll let him know about.” Holtby made 25 saves, six of them on six different Devils power plays. It made for a stressful night where Washington couldn’t convert on its five man-advantage chances, including a 5-on-3 in the first period for almost a full two minutes. One mistake, and New Jersey would be back in it after a goal by Andre Burakovsky 2:40 into the game. “It's shutouts. They've obviously been a little harder to get the last couple years,” Holtby said. “But it's cool. It's cool to be part of an organization for long enough to be able to do that.” Holtby, of course, accomplished in 407 games what took Kolzig 711 games. That will probably come up when Kolzig, who still works for the organization, reaches out to congratulate Holtby. Backstrom said there’s no doubt that Holtby is going to have that record all to himself soon. He has started seven of the past eight games for Washington and stopped 188 of the last 202 shots on goal (.931 save percentage) as he finds his game with the Stanley Cup playoffs just a month away now. And with six wins in a row, Holtby and the Capitals are back alone in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 87 points. They again passed the New York Islanders (85) and gained ground on the Pittsburgh Penguins (81) and the Carolina Hurricanes (79), who lost on Friday. If the season ended today – and there are still 14 games to go – Washington would host the Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That can and will change multiple times over the final weeks of the season. Too much time left to think about that. But a fourth straight division title would be nice. Holtby has the Capitals pointed that way. “You can easily look in his direction for the success we've had,” coach Todd Reirden said. “It's come in a number of different areas, but in this particular case he's been outstanding. Tonight was just another example of it. Other areas we've made some improvements in, obviously power play, penalty kill, some of those areas have been a lot strong for us and overall our team commitment, team game has been closer to where they need to be. But at the end of the day it comes back to No. 70.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135276 Winnipeg Jets to still watch him be in his prime, but with the seasoning and maturity of playing the team game now. He’s a great leader in that respect," Maurice said. Laine hopes Jets stall Ovie's offence "So the question is, how can you not come up with an answer for it? You’ve seen that shot, it’s not like he’s hiding it. And we’re trying to put our two to three guys in the shooting lane and the goaltender, and it just By: Mike McIntyre doesn’t seem to be working. He’s clearly special. There’s Hall of Fame players, and then there’s also special players. And he’s one of them." Posted: 03/9/2019 6:55 PM | Last Modified: 03/9/2019 10:18 PM | Updates | Comments: 0 Laine admitted there’s plenty he can learn from studying Ovechkin, but his biggest priority right now is trying to get another big win for a Jets team that leads the Central Division with a 40-23-4 record, one point up on Nashville with two games in hand. They’ll face a Washington club that WASHINGTON — The stage is set once again for Alexander Ovechkin to was won six straight games. have another milestone moment on home ice against the Winnipeg Jets. But the man who grew up idolizing the Russian superstar hopes he and "Just try to play the same way. It’s going to be a similar game (to his teammates can steal the show — not to mention two points — from Carolina), but just against a better team. Obviously, they have a lot of the defending Stanley Cup champions tonight. skill up front and just an overall solid team. And they’re rolling now. They’re really hot, so it’s going to be a tough game. But we’ve got to play Ovechkin needs one more point to attain 1,200 for his incredible career. well and we’ve got to play our game for 60 and hopefully finish the road He’ll be looking for it as his team hosts the Jets at Capital One Arena (6 trip with a win," Laine said. p.m. CT). It was almost one year ago to the very day that Ovechkin had a huge night against Winnipeg, scoring his 600th career goal in front of a raucous hometown crowd. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 03.10.2019 "It’s awesome to see that one of my biggest idols is doing that well and, hopefully, he’s not going to do that well (tonight). It’s been fun to watch, and obviously 46 goals already, that’s pretty incredible. I think he’s probably going to get another 50-goal season again," Patrick Laine said following his team’s practice on Saturday. Winnipeg is 2-1-0 on this four-game eastern road trip and will try to finish it up on a winning note before heading home for three straight games this week against tough teams — San Jose, Boston and Calgary. Laine, who has 29 goals and 16 assists this season, has seemingly found a home lately on the top line with Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. He’s played a much more noticeable, well-rounded game and has made no shortage of superb passes to the red-hot Wheeler, who has seven goals and eight assists in his past eight games. "I feel good. Obviously, getting more ice time, so it helps. All the time you’re kind of in the rhythm, so it’s easier to play, and playing with those two, it’s pretty easy. I just try to read what they’re doing and just try to bring something I can do to the table and hopefully make those two even better," said Laine, who has four goals and five assists in his last eight games. "Just work hard. I think that’s kind of the key. There’s always going to be times when you’re not scoring, but still, that’s not the full game. There’s obviously those small things that we need to do well as a team that everybody in this locker room appreciates." Laine laughed at the thought he’s become the set-up man and Wheeler the finisher, when it’s typically been the other way around. "Yeah, he’s been hot lately, and that’s awesome. He wasn’t scoring too many goals earlier this season, so it’s awesome to see him getting rewarded on that section as well. And it’s fun to get a couple assists every now and then," Laine said. There will always be comparisons between the 33-year-old Ovechkin and the 20-year-old Laine because of their lethal shots. But Jets head coach Paul Maurice said he’s starting to see some of the good habits emerge in Laine’s game that it took Ovechkin a few seasons to figure out. "Since he’s been moved with Mark and Blake, he’s got a whole other piece to his game that we were really (hoping for). I believe Patty is going to be a power forward. It’s different than Alex, obviously, there’s a speed difference. But Patty’s 6-5, 220 pounds and he’s 20 years old. He’s going to become a very powerful man down low," Maurice said Saturday. "What happens is you get these guys come in with this extreme talent, and you kind of expect it to bleed into all parts of the game, they should be able to do everything well. Well, nobody does at 18, 19 and 20. It takes time for them to build their game. We’re really, really happy where Patty is in the back half of the season. He went through a stretch where he wasn’t scoring, but the points aren’t what’s important now. He’s fitting in on a line and, like Alex Ovechkin, you get one of two sets of people out against you. Either the best scorers that team has, and they go head-to- head, or the best checkers. Your lot in life is not easy when you’re putting up those kind of numbers against the other team’s best." Maurice said any player should look to emulate Ovechkin in terms of his consistency. He’s never scored less than 33 goals in a full season, and is on track for the eighth 50-goal season in his career. "You still have to marvel at that extreme skill and the points that he’s put up and the run of goals he’s been on. So you got a legend, right? You get 1135277 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 03.10.2019

Lowry not planning on changing his game after suspension

By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 03/9/2019 6:21 PM | Last Modified: 03/9/2019 10:19 PM | Updates | Comments: 0

WASHINGTON — Adam Lowry often plays a big, mean game that makes life miserable for opponents. But the powerful Winnipeg Jets shutdown centre admits it burns a bit to think some might consider him a dirty player. Just finishing a two-game suspension, for high-sticking Nashville’s Filip Forsberg, Lowry said he isn’t about to adjust his on-ice approach. "You’ve got to accept the suspension and take responsibility for it, but not necessarily agree with it. And I can’t let it change my game. I’ve got to play hard and play responsible, two-way hockey and still try and contribute to this team," Lowry said following his return to action Friday night in Raleigh. With his time in NHL jail over, Lowry had to overcome one more obstacle in the form of a nasty virus, but slotted back into his familiar spot on the third line, chipping in his ninth goal of the season as the Jets rolled to an 8-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. To be clear, he doesn’t think the punishment fit the crime. "I don’t agree with the length of the suspension," Lowry said in his first interview since the incident and subsequent ruling by the league’s department of player safety. "I’ve got to be more careful with my stick. It’s a reckless play. I’m glad Filip wasn’t hurt or anything. Any time somebody gets clipped in the face, it’s dangerous. But I think when the stick swings around like that, if it’s intentional, there’s going to be a little more damage than him getting up and coming back on that power play." Lowry admitted video of the play might have looked bad — he essentially swings his stick into Forsberg’s face — but said he was off-balance after taking a hit seconds earlier. "You see that the stick comes down slowly. I feel like I’m looking past Forsberg, I’m not looking at him. He hits me and it’s not even a hard check. I have no reason to be upset at that point and I tried to convey that. He gives me a bump and I lose my balance. You see my arm move a little bit and I stumble a little bit, and by the time I regain my balance, my stick is already parallel to him," Lowry said. "I use a long stick and I can’t stop it. I’m happy he’s OK. Obviously, we have a good rivalry. You want to play them hard and you want to play them fair. You don’t want to see anyone injured. The biggest thing out of this was that Filip was OK." Lowry was previously suspended in November 2014 for boarding Buffalo’s Patrick Kaleta. "I try and be as physical as I can, when I can, and I try not to put my team into too many detrimental situations. I know I’ve been suspended one time before, but it was five years ago. You live and you learn. That’s been the only hit that has kind of been questionable. You want to keep the players that you’re playing against safe," Lowry said. "Everyone is a good person, and you don’t want to hurt anyone or jeopardize their career or their well-being. You want to play hard, but you want to play fair as well." Lowry skated between Brandon Tanev and Bryan Little, while moved down to the so-called fourth-line and scored a pair of goals Friday on a trio with Mathieu Perreault and Jack Roslovic. That gives head coach Paul Maurice the kind of forward flexibility which makes his team deep and dangerous. "Well, (Lowry’s return) was good as the individual, an important part of our penalty kill, but also what it does to the structure of our group. Andrew Copp’s line doesn’t have to be viewed as a fourth line, there’s skill on that line. There’s a bit of a hybrid with Andrew in the middle, it’s a real strong defensive line and there’s lots of skill there. We’ve been able to run it twice, Nashville at home and then (Friday) night. We’ve looked good with it," Maurice said Saturday as his team practised at Capital One Arena in Washington.

1135278 Winnipeg Jets

JETS GAMEDAY: Five keys to Jets vs Capitals

Ken Wiebe

THE BIG MATCHUP Blake Wheeler vs Alex Ovechkin With both of these teams sitting atop their respective divisions, it’s no surprise the captains are leading the way. Wheeler is riding a four-game goal streak and an eight-game point streak (seven goals, 15 points), while Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals (46), is closing in on an eighth 50- goal season and is one point away from hitting 1,200 for his career. The Great Eight has dominated against the Jets, racking up 47 goals and 91 points in 64 lifetime games. 5 keys to the game Two hot teams The Jets have won three of their past four games – including an 8-1 beatdown of the Carolina Hurricanes – to move back to the top of the Central Division standings, but the Capitals have been even hotter, winning six in a row to widen their lead atop the Metropolitan Division. There has been no real Stanley Cup hangover for the Capitals and head coach Todd Reirden is doing a nice job of helping his team remain motivated during their title defence. Chemistry coming The Jets newly-constructed second line of Kevin Hayes between Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor is beginning to find its stride. The trio produced three goals and six points on Friday, scoring a pair of even-strength markers, while Connor added an assist at four-on-four and a goal on the power play. Hayes is up to two goals and five points in five games since he was acquired from the New York Rangers. Spreading the wealth As the Jets erupted for eight goals, 15 out of the 18 skaters recorded at least a point and five players recorded a multi-point night. The Jets scored a power play goal, added another during four-on-four action and had another six at five-on-five. The bottom-six forwards got in on the action as Andrew Copp scored twice to get to nine goals on the season and Adam Lowry added his ninth of the campaign on a nifty redirection. Defenceman Ben Chiarot scored his fifth goal of the season, which represents a career-high for the pending unrestricted free agent. Don’t forget about Wilson The Capitals have a number of skilled weapons at their disposal, including feisty right-winger Tom Wilson. Not only is Wilson a devastating hitter, he’s on pace for a career season. Despite missing 15 games due to a suspension, he’s got 19 goals and 34 points in 49 games. Some folks scoffed at the extension he signed last summer, but he’s proving his worth once again on the top unit with Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. No dropoff Capitals defenceman John Carlson also cashed in during free agency, signing an eight-year extension worth $64 million. After putting up a career-high 15 goals and 68 points last season, Carlson has 10 goals and 59 points in 67 games, with 28 of those points coming on the power play. Carlson has two goals and 13 points in 29 career games against the Jets.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 03.10.2019 1135279 Winnipeg Jets “So you’ve got a legend, right, you get to still watch him be in his prime but with the seasoning and maturity of playing the team game now. He’s a great leader in that respect.” Laine relishing role: Jets forward dishing, scoring, etc As for Laine, he’s elevated his game and it’s up to him to keep showing Maurice that he belongs on the top line during the stretch run and ultimately, into the post-season. Ken Wiebe “As a microcosm, take a look at (Laine’s) year this year. Now, since he’s been moved with Mark and Blake, he’s got a whole other piece to his game that we were really hopeful (of),” said Maurice. “I believe (Laine) is WASHINGTON – To call it a role reversal would be an exaggeration, but going to be a power forward. It’s different than Alex obviously, there’s a Patrik Laine is certainly rounding out his repertoire. speed difference. But (Laine) is 6-foot-5, 220 (pounds) and he’s 20 years old. He’s going to become a very powerful man down low. For sure, what And we’re not just talking about the smooth passes he’s made of late to happens is you get these guys come in with this extreme talent and you Jets captain and new linemates Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele kind of expect it to bleed into all parts of the game, they should be able to either. do everything well. As Wheeler is riding a four game goal streak and eight-game point “Well nobody does at 18, 19 and 20. It takes time for them to build their streak, Laine has been a dishing machine and fit in well since his game. We’re really; really happy where (Laine) is in the back half of the promotion to the top line. season. He went through a stretch where he wasn’t scoring, but the Aside from his offensive production, Laine has been showing signs of the points aren’t what is important now.” power forward game Jets head coach Paul Maurice has referenced on The points are an obvious bonus, but it’s the style of game Laine is several occasions. playing that has defined this recent stretch. “Yeah, always learning through experiences, especially those times when you’re not scoring, when the puck is not going into the net – and that’s what I do best,” said Laine, who has 29 goals and 45 points in 67 games Winnipeg Sun LOADED 03.10.2019 this season. “It’s always tough, but then you start thinking about all of the other things more. And what can I do better? And how can I get more chances and still play good defence? Playing good defence is going to win you championships, I know that. “You can win a lot of games by good offence, but in the long run, you’re going to win more with good defence and that’s what my mindset has been as well. To honestly improve my offensive skills, but at the same time, play good defence because that’s our specialty and that’s the way we’re going to win.” The Jets wrap up a four-game road trip on Sunday against the Washington Capitals, who have won six consecutive games. Whenever the Jets and Capitals get together, there is often a massive amount of attention paid to Laine and Ovechkin. The fact Ovechkin was Laine’s idol growing up is a dated storyline, but there’s a much more pertinent one as the two players get set for the second and final meeting of the regular season between these two clubs. Much like Ovechkin had to do as a young player, Laine is improving his play without the puck and showing he can handle the responsibility that comes along with playing top-line minutes. “It’s always a challenge every night to play against the other team’s best – their best defencemen and their top lines,” said Laine. “And it’s awesome that I got that chance to show I can play against the best players from the other team. We’ve done a really good job with it. Obviously, there are bad nights and there are good nights, but overall we’ve had more of those good nights.” That’s an understatement. Laine was quick to praise Ovechkin for once again leading the Rocket Richard race and for being on the verge of the eighth 50-goal season of his career. “No, I think he’s speeding up. It’s awesome to see that one of my biggest idols is doing that well. It’s been fun to watch and obviously 46 goals already, that’s pretty incredible,” said Laine. “He’s been pretty solid every year. Obviously, there are some more quiet years, like my first year, when he scored (33) or something that. But overall, he’s been scoring a lot of goals every year and putting up a lot of points. There’s a lot I can probably learn. But we’re still two different players. Everybody is unique and everybody has their own skills that they’re really good at. Our comparison is we have good shots and like to score goals. We’re still two different players.” Ovechkin’s game has the polish that comes with 1,070 NHL games, plus an additional 121 Stanley Cup playoff contests – complete with the highs and lows that culminated with a championship and Conn Smythe award last spring. “Certainly over his time, the maturity that comes into a game. So his all- around game is night and day, as it is with most young players that come in,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “And you still have to marvel at that extreme skill and the points that he’s put up and the run of goals he’s been on. 1135280 Winnipeg Jets

Lowry leaves suspension behind him: Jets centre knows he can’t change his game

Ken Wiebe

WASHINGTON – Adam Lowry contends that the punishment didn’t fit the crime. The Winnipeg Jets centre was given a two-game suspension for high- sticking Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg in a game last Friday. “I don’t agree with the length of the suspension,” Lowry said after returning to the lineup in Friday’s 8-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. “If you’re going to put that in the same category as (Radko) Gudas, that’s their decision. If you’re saying it’s worse than (Evgeni) Malkin’s, it’s their decision again. I’ve got to be more careful with my stick. It’s a reckless play. I’m glad (Forsberg) wasn’t hurt or anything. Anytime somebody gets clipped in the face, it’s dangerous. But I think when the stick swings around like that, if it’s intentional, there’s going to be a little more damage than him getting up and coming back on that power play. “You’ve got to accept the suspension and take responsibility for it, but not necessarily agree with it. And I can’t let it change my game. I’ve got to play hard and play responsible, two-way hockey and still try and contribute to this team.” Lowry shared part of the defence he used during his phone hearing with the department of player safety. “You see the stick comes down slowly. I feel like I’m looking past Forsberg, I’m not looking at him. He hits me and it’s not even a hard check. I have no reason to be upset at that point and I tried to convey that,” said Lowry. “He gives me a bump and I lose my balance. You see my arm move a little bit and I stumble a little bit and by the time I regain my balance, my stick is already parallel to him. I use a long stick and I can’t stop it. Obviously, we have a good rivalry. You want to play them hard and you want to play them fair. You don’t want to see anyone injured.” Lowry takes pride on being a clean player and he’s been suspended just once in his career, back in 2013 when he received one game for a check from behind on Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta. “I try to be as physical as I can, when I can and I try not to put my team into too many detrimental situations,” said Lowry. “I know I’ve been suspended one time before, but it was five years ago. You live and you learn. You want to keep the players that you’re playing against safe. Everyone is a good person in this league and you don’t want to hurt anyone or jeopardize their career or their well-being. You want to play hard, but you want to play fair as well.” Lowry was battling a flu bug on Friday, but he scored his ninth goal of the season and finished with 15:38 of ice time. The Jets close out a four-game road trip on Sunday against the Washington Capitals.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 03.10.2019 1135281 Vancouver Canucks and we couldn’t tie them up. We were underwater a little bit. What separates them from other teams is they’ve got really good players throughout their lineup.” Canucks Post Game: Free parking passes, more hard lessons, more The Golden Knights scored in the opening two minutes and had a three- scoring woes goal cushion before nine minutes elapsed. When the Canucks couldn’t escape their own zone on Mark Stone’s opening goal, gave Alex Tuch two chances to score on one shift, and then couldn’t handle Tomas Ben Kuzma Nosek down low to start the Cody Eakin scoring sequence, it was telling. So was an untouched Nosek tipping a point shot and Paul Stastny walking around Alex Edler before slipping home a five-hole effort to Points to ponder after the Canucks were manhandled in the first period, chase Markstrom from the crease in favour of Thatcher Demko after dug a three-goal hole before nine minutes elapsed and were no match allowing five goals on 16 shots. for the playoff-ready Golden Knights in a 6-2 drubbing Saturday: “You try to be focused and dialled in, but it seemed like every other puck It’s hard to find parking in downtown Vancouver. Especially free parking. found a way into the net and that can’t happen,” said Markstrom. “I tried to stay as calm as I could (after being pulled), and it’s embarrassing. There was plenty at Rogers Arena. Being down 5-1 after one period, that can’t happen at home.” The Golden Knights easily motored through the slot and parked The always-jovial, hard-to-rattle stopper entered the night first in wins themselves in front of Jacob Markstrom. They were there to finish off (32) and shutouts (8). So, with Horvat on the first power-play unit and passing plays when the Canucks couldn’t clear the zone. They were Jake Virtanen on the second — the winger returned after missing 10 there for rebounds, deflections and second chances on the same shift. games with two fractured ribs from a Ryan Getzlaf collision on Feb. 13 — They looked like a Stanley Cup contender honing its game with a sixth- taking away Fleury’s eyes and camping in his crease at even strength straight victory. and the power play was going to make a difference. The Canucks weren’t obliterated on the shot clock, but they often looked It didn’t. The Canucks didn’t even draw a penalty until late in the third a lot like they did in that Vegas no-show last week. They were period, which said something of an unwillingness to drive harder to the overmatched, overwhelmed and their lack of scoring beyond The Big net and stay there. Three in Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson was exposed once again. It took a Brock Boeser deflection of an Alex Biega point shot to beat Fleury before Horvat wired one between the goalie’s arm and body. “We definitely didn’t get off to a great start,” said Bo Horvat, who scored his career-high 24th goal and won 10 of 16 draws (63 per cent). “We “When you’ve got Fleury in there, you know you can beat any team on can’t give a good team that many opportunities, they’re going to any given night,” said Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant. “He’s a capitalize on them. We had to be stronger out front and they were great goalie and we knew that when we got him in the expansion draft. winning the battles. He won three Stanley Cups and is calm and cool. He plays his game every night and gives our team a lot of confidence.” “We’ve beaten good teams but tonight we just couldn’t get it done. It’s their work ethic. They win battles all over the ice and they’re relentless Imagine adding the trio of Max Pacioretty, Stastny and Stone to an and move pucks pretty quick. For us to match that intensity level, it’s already formidable Cup finalist roster? They’re the second Vegas line good for us to see it from all four of their lines — that’s the team we’ve and would be a first alignment on most clubs. And that’s the trickle-down got to be.” effect of getting something from everybody. It’s why the Golden Knights are poised for another postseason run and why the Canucks will need to One that doesn’t let the opposition get out of its own end. add a bonafide scorer in the offseason. “It goes back to their work ethic and they’re quick on pucks,” added Tuch, Eakin and Nosek formed the third line and they accounted for three Horvat. “For us to have that intensity level in the defensive zone away of the first four goals and have 42 goals this season. The Canucks’ third from the puck to close gaps quick has got to be a key for us next game.” line of Tanner Pearson, Adam Gaudette and Nikolay Goldobin has 22. And next week. And next month. And next season. “We didn’t defend as a five-man unit,” said defenceman Alex Biega. “Our “Every time we had a good shift, they came back stronger and got a goal best offence is usually good defence and we didn’t have it. That’s right away,” said winger Antoine Roussel, who picked up an assist to probably the best team we’ve faced for some time and maybe the year. establish a career-high 30 points. “It’s tough. They worked and then just We have to get back to the way we played against Toronto. coasted the last 45 minutes. We can’t be throwing the puck away.” “We’re not going to win with the power play or one individual to squeeze Travis Green tried to set the right retaliatory mood. Maybe he knew out games. We weren’t tough enough on their skilled guys down low.” something. Some signs of life in dynamic duo The Canucks coach talked about how he didn’t sleep Friday night in Boeser and Elias Pettersson have had their respective games examined anticipation of how his charges would avenge the last meeting with the more than a busy doctor in a crowded waiting room. There are no Golden Knights, because they didn’t have their A, B or C game in Sin personal playgrounds in the second half of the season and it has been an City. They were simply bad. eye-opener for both players. He said his club thrives on challenges and with wins over heavyweights However, there were some encouraging signs Saturday. like Tampa, Boston, Toronto, Calgary and Vegas, there’s something to be said for that occasional ability to punch above their weight class. Pettersson, who has now gone 10 games without a goal, forced Fleury to make a sprawling toe save to thwart a forehand move on a first-period “We’re going to learn something about our group tonight,” he predicted. breakaway. But he also failed to register a shot. It’s a great challenge. We didn’t step to the plate and were embarrassed in Las Vegas. We’re playing a team trying to win a Stanley Cup and I Boeser ended an eight-game scoring drought with the first-period expect us to play better.” deflection and looked more dangerous with seven shots and nine attempts. And his deflected goal was by design because when you’re not He didn’t expect this. scoring you have to look for other ways to find the scoresheet. The Canucks had their moments, but after every goal, the Golden “When things aren’t going your way, you’ve got to make sure you win Knights cranked it up another notch and responded a minute later. That’s those little battles,” he said. “It’s been focus of mine to win more of those the mark of a good team and an average and transitioning one that’s still and be stronger on pucks. So it’s nice to get one.” learning some tough lessons.

“That’s the tough part, added Horvat. “We were making a push and playing pretty good at some points, but we get a goal and they take the Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.10.2019 wind right out of our sails again.” On Saturday, Green learned holes keep getting punched in the plodding play behind the blue line. “We were better than we were in Vegas, but we couldn’t contain them in the first period,” he said. “They were stronger on the puck around our net 1135282 Vancouver Canucks Imagine adding the trio of Max Pacioretty, Stastny and Stone to an already formidable Cup finalist roster? They’re the second Vegas line and would be a first alignment on most clubs. And that’s the trickle-down Golden Knights 6, Canucks 2: Plenty of free parking in crease leads to effect of getting something from everybody. It’s why the Golden Knights lopsided loss are poised for another postseason run and why the Canucks will need to add a bonafide scorer in the offseason.

Tuch, Eakin and Nosek form the third line, and they accounted for three Ben Kuzma of the first four goals and have combined for 42 goals this season. The Canucks’ third line of Tanner Pearson, Adam Gaudette and Nikolay Goldobin has 22. It’s hard to find parking in downtown Vancouver. Especially free parking. Signs of hope in dynamic duo? There was plenty at Rogers Arena on Saturday night. Boeser and Pettersson have had their respective games examined more than a busy doctor in a crowded waiting room. There are no personal The Vegas Golden Knights easily motored through the slot and parked playgrounds in the second half of the season and it has been an eye- themselves in front of Jacob Markstrom. They were there to finish off opener for both players. passing plays when the Canucks couldn’t clear the zone. They were there for rebounds, deflections and second chances on the same shift. However, there were some encouraging signs Saturday. They looked like a Stanley Cup contender honing its game with a sixth straight victory. Pettersson, who has now gone 10 games without a goal, forced Fleury to make a sprawling toe save to thwart a forehand move on a first-period The Canucks weren’t obliterated on the shot clock, but they often looked breakaway. But he also failed to register a shot. Boeser ended an eight- a lot like they did in that Vegas no-show last week. They were game scoring drought with the first-period deflection and looked more overmatched, overwhelmed and their lack of scoring beyond The Big dangerous with seven shots and nine attempts. Three in Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson was exposed once again. Here’s what we learned as the Canucks were clubbed 6-2 and have won Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.10.2019 just four of their last 17 games to extinguish those flickering flames of false wild-card playoff hope: Travis Green tried to set the right retaliatory mood. Maybe he knew something. The Canucks coach talked about how he didn’t sleep Friday night in anticipation of how his charges would avenge the last meeting with the Golden Knights because they didn’t have their A, B or C game in Sin City. They were simply bad. He said his club thrives on beating the big boys, and with wins over heavyweights like Tampa, Boston, Toronto, Calgary and Vegas, there’s something to be said for that occasional ability to punch above their weight class. “We’re going to learn something about our group tonight,” he predicted. “It’s a great challenge. We didn’t step to the plate and were embarrassed in Las Vegas. We’re playing a team trying to win a Stanley Cup and I expect us to play better.” He didn’t expect this. On Saturday, he learned holes keep getting punched in the plodding play behind the blue line. The Golden Knights scored in the opening two minutes and had a three-goal cushion before nine minutes elapsed. When the Canucks couldn’t escape their own zone on Mark Stone’s opening goal, gave Alex Tuch two chances to score on one shift and then couldn’t handle Tomas Nosek down low to start the Cody Eakin scoring sequence, it was telling. So was an untouched Nosek tipping a point shot home and Paul Stastny walking around Alex Edler before slipping home a five-hole effort, chasing Jacob Markstrom from the crease in favour of Thatcher Demko after the starter allowed five goals on 16 shots. The plan was to make it a hard night for Marc Andre-Fleury. The always-jovial, hard-to-rattle stopper entered the night first in wins (32) and shutouts (8). So, with Horvat on the first power-play unit and Jake Virtanen on the second — the winger returned after missing 10 games with two fractured ribs from a Ryan Getzlaf collision on Feb. 13 — taking away Fleury’s eyes and camping in his crease at even strength and the power play was going to make a difference. It didn’t. The Canucks didn’t even draw a penalty until late in the third period, which said something of an unwillingness to drive harder to the net and stay there. It took a Boeser deflection of an Alex Biega point shot to beat Fleury, before Horvat wired one between the goalie’s arm and body for his career-high 24th goal. “When you’ve got Fleury in there, you know you can beat any team on any given night,” said Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant. “He’s a great goalie and we knew that when we got him in the expansion draft. He won three Stanley Cups and is calm and cool. He plays his game every night and gives our team a lot of confidence.” Our line is better than your line 1135283 Vancouver Canucks the-leagues, and that’s what happens and you just have to take it and play your game.”

Hughes will burn the first year of his entry-level contract when he plays Ben Kuzma: The Hughes Watch intensifies for Canucks as his college his first game. And he can only play 10 games the remainder of this season ends season so he doesn’t have to be protected for the Seattle expansion draft in 2021. If he exceeds 10 games, he would be a third-year player by 2021 and need to be included on the protected list. Ben Kuzma Hughes has absorbed shots about his size but the league has transitioned to skill over size. It’s why he wasn’t just blowing smoke about his ability to make an instant NHL impact. Here’s how he responded to a There are several direct flights Sunday from Minneapolis to Vancouver. query about handling being in the NHL crosshairs and making that eventual miscue: Quinn Hughes could be on one of them. “The biggest thing I learned is once you make a mistake, don’t let it The heavily hyped Canucks prospect saw his college career end define you,” he said. “Brian Burke said when you give one (goal) up, go Saturday as the University of Michigan Wolverines fell 4-1 to the host and get one. Once you make a mistake there’s no way to get it back. Minnesota Golden Gophers and were swept in the best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal series. “The worst thing I’ve seen happen to players is that you make a mistake and you fall apart — which is just unacceptable. I don’t make a lot of Hughes suffered a bruised foot blocking a shot Friday in the third period mistakes as it is, but if I do, that’s my mentality. And with the way the of a 3-2 overtime setback. After X-rays revealed no structural damage, game is going and being played, everybody needs one or two guys who he played Saturday to erase doubts that his transition from the NCAA to can do what I can do. the NHL could be delayed by a prolonged ailment. “I can really help a team. I feel very confident in my abilities and I’ve It means Hughes could soon be signed, sealed and delivered and make taken the size question out of the mix.” his debut as early as Wednesday against the New York Rangers at Rogers Arena. The Canucks also host the New Jersey Devils on Friday. In the interim, general manager Jim Benning has confirm the 5-10, 175- pound Hughes will do the expected and is ready to take his fleet-footed, Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.10.2019 puck-moving game to another level. “We’ll get right on it,” said the GM, who planned to reach out Saturday. “We wanted him to concentrate on the weekend and his team, and we’ll contact the adviser and family and see what their intentions are and go from there.” Hughes, who had 33 points (5-28) in 30 games this season, was the seventh-overall selection in the 2018 NHL draft. The diminutive defenceman packs an eye-popping array of wizardry and bravado to back the belief that he has an NHL-ready game. So, why wait? Whether being comfortable with the U.S. entry at the world championship in 2018 as the event’s youngest player at age 18, competing in two world junior tournaments, a rich family hockey lineage or simply dominating the game at the collegiate level, the 19-year-old Orlando, Fla., native has drawn rave reviews and comparisons. “I played against him at the worlds and he was great,” Canucks centre Bo Horvat recalled Saturday of that 2018 event where Hughes played 10 games and looked poised. “It’s just his play with the puck and his skating ability — the playmaking speaks for itself. “He’s a smaller guy, but his skating will take over. There are a lot of smaller defencemen in the NHL who can move the puck and get away from checks. I think he’s going to be one of those guys.” There is also something special when a fresh-faced kid arrives on the scene with a low-panic threshold and high-end talent. Adam Gaudette and Brock Boeser know that March feeling. Gaudette, a Hobey Baker Award winner as top Division 1 player last season, left Northeastern University to sign his entry-level deal, and five NHL games at the end of the 2017-18 season gave the centre a leg up on this season. Boeser made a more dramatic transition two years ago when he left North Dakota when his club was eliminated from NCAA title contention. He scored in his debut in his home state of Minnesota and would collect four goals in nine games at the end of the 2016-17 NHL season. “That first game, I was running all on adrenaline — I was pretty gassed,” Boeser recalled Saturday. “I’m sure he (Hughes) will have a lot of adrenaline, too, but it’s something you really need to enjoy and we’ll obviously welcome him with open arms. We’re excited. “You have to make sure you play simple at first and make quick decisions. If you hang on to the puck, that’s when you can get exposed and cause turnovers. “To just get here and get those games in, it really taught me a lot. Right away, it was that these guys are so much stronger and faster and the battles are harder.” It was the same story for Gaudette. He got caught in the crosshairs on a few occasions and is better for his brief rite of passage. It forced him to work harder on his skating and strength last summer. “It’s good to get your feet in the water that quick and then come back ready to go,” said Gaudette. “It’s an exciting time. I got some welcome-to- 1135284 Vancouver Canucks “I see defence as the start of offence,” he says. “If you don’t get the puck you can’t play offence. I want to be a good defensive guy because defence wins games.” Ed Willes: Boeser, Pettersson battle mental monsters of increased Besides, he knows the alternative isn’t an option. pressure, slump “If I get frustrated it just gets worse for me,” he says. “I want to be better but if I get frustrated it will just bite me in the (buttocks).” Ed Willes Now, we wouldn’t be having this conversation if the Canucks’ power play hadn’t dried up like a prune. Over the last 10 games, the Canucks’ PP is 2-for-30. I mean, pitchers hit for a higher average. It would also help ease It would help ease the pressure on The Glimmer Twins if the Canucks the pressure on The Glimmer Twins if the Canucks had a reliable had a reliable secondary scoring source which, you may be aware, they secondary scoring source — which, you may be aware, they don’t. don’t. So they go into each game, knowing they’re going to be facing the other As the wise, old head of the partnership — he just turned 22 after all — team’s best and knowing the team needs their production. Brock Boeser makes sure he talks with Elias Pettersson about this strange, unfamiliar world the pair now inhabit. It doesn’t seem fair for ones so young but, as Boeser says, this is the NHL and there’s no such thing as fair. There are only wins and losses, In this world, the early goals and points the two young NHL rock stars goals and assists, and you have to figure out a way to get on the right piled up so easily have dried up. The games, in general, are now played side of those categories. at a higher level physically and emotionally and the opposition, specifically, have focused their defensive effort on stopping Boeser and “I think I’ve had a little more experience and we talk about that stuff,” Pettersson. Boeser said. “We want to make sure we have the right mindset. Goals aren’t easy to come by this time of year and we need to make sure we’re Throw in a Canucks team that has four wins in its last 16 games while focused on the details. The chances will come.” tumbling out of the playoff race and these are times that can try the soul of a young man. Maybe not fast enough for some, but they will come. Just ask Boeser. “It’s tough,” he said before the Canucks’ game against the Vegas Golden Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.10.2019 Knights on Saturday at Rogers Arena. “We’re still young and we’re learning as we go.” But here’s the thing: Boeser and Pettersson have both been touched by the hockey gods in different ways, but they share a self-awareness that is found in the DNA of all great players. Professional sports is about a lot of things but, mostly, it’s a process of constant adjustment and readjustment, and both players know they’re in the teeth of the first big adjustment of their NHL careers. That doesn’t make it easier but it’s the first step in survival and, ultimately, triumph. “I didn’t get to play any games this time last year (because of a back injury that ended his season in early March), and it’s a whole different intensity level,” Boeser said. “I mean, you see it each and every game; how hard the battles are and how much everyone wants to win. “Sometimes it’s hard but it’s a hard league. It’s the NHL. You have to make sure you don’t get frustrated because if frustration takes over it can become a monster.” And it will devour everything in its path. If you just looked at the back of Boeser’s and Pettersson’s hockey cards, you’d see totals that belong to two of the game’s brightest young stars and ask: What’s the problem here? Boeser’s scoring line reads 22-25-46 in 56 games. Pettersson’s is 26-31- 57 in 58 games which, advanced analytics tells us, is just under a point- per-game clip. But within those numbers lies another story. Against the Golden Knights, Boeser got off the schneid, scoring his first goal in nine games, one of the few bright spots in a depressing 6-2 loss for the Canucks. Pettersson, meanwhile, saw his goal-less streak stretched to 10 games. A month ago, Pettersson’s electric rookie campaign was drawing direct comparisons to the inaugural seasons of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Now, he’s still the runaway front-runner for the Calder Memorial Trophy but the rookie is also dealing with the first mini-slump of his NHL career. “They’re putting more focus on me than they did at the beginning of the season, and lately I haven’t played my best,” Pettersson said. “It’s a long season and there are ups and downs. I don’t think I’ve had bad games but I know I can play better.” Like his linemate Boeser, Pettersson is aware the challenges facing him are now as much mental as physical. And like Boeser, he knows he can’t give in to the monster. That battle is ongoing, but one of the encouraging signs with Pettersson has been his commitment to defence and shift-in, shift-out consistency. The slender Swede takes pride in his defensive game and while his production has slowed, he was a plus-10 before Saturday’s game on a team with a minus-26 goal differential. His fancy stats remain impressive. 1135285 Vancouver Canucks prime-time playmaker, but the centre can’t pass up scoring chances to look for a linemate. He needs to score to restore confidence in the tighter-checking second half. UPDATED: Canucks Game Day: Virtanen could help redemption Boeser had three shots and seven attempts against the Oilers, but hasn’t incentive against Fleury scored in eight games and has but two goals in his last dozen. He needs to understand that offence comes from good defence and he can’t be lax in that area. Ben Kuzma 5. Keep on letting Leivo loose

Vegas sports a second line that would be a first line on a lot of clubs. THE BIG MATCHUP Paul Stastny, Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone were all playing elsewhere last season and so was Josh Leivo. The redemption vs. the red-hots The Canucks winger had six shots and eight attempts Thursday and For the second time in four days, the Canucks won’t have to search for whether he’s playing the left or right side, the restricted free agent is motivation. looking like a good get in the December swap for Michael Carcone. He has nine goals in 36 games with the Canucks — a 21-goal pace over a First, it was finding resolve to rally and beat the surging Maple Leafs in full season — and is quick enough, good on the walls and plays in traffic. overtime Wednesday to end a three-game skid. On Saturday, it will be avenging what coach Travis Green called the worst performance in the last two years — a 3-0 setback in Vegas last Sunday in which the no- show Canucks were embarrassed and outshot 48-19. To overcome a Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.10.2019 red-hot club that has reeled off five straight wins and looks primed for the playoffs will be tough for the 65-point Canucks. On Friday, they were nine points behind Minnesota, which holds the final Western Conference wild-card spot, and they have to leapfrog four clubs just to get there. If that isn’t enough incentive, playing consistently better to surpass the 73 points the 26th-place Canucks managed last season — they needed a 6-2-2 spurt to get to that total — won’t be a sure thing with playoff-seeded Vegas, Dallas, Calgary, San Jose, Nashville and St. Louis included in the remaining slate of 14 games. FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME 1. Virtanen could help get to Fleury Jake Virtanen returns after missing 10 games with two ribs fractures from a crunching Ryan Getzlaf check on Feb. 13 at Anaheim and will be on the second power-play unit tonight with Adam Gaudette, Nikolay Goldobin, Tanner Pearson and Troy Stecher. Virtanen will need to establish a down-low presence to take away the eyes of Marc Andre- Fleury. The Golden Knights starter leads the NHL in wins (32) and shutouts (8) and is 10th in goals-against average (2.49). “It’s going to be a fun job for me to be in front there and we’ve got to really make it hard on him tonight and make sure we get bodies in front,” said Virtanen. “But it has to be all night, it just can’t be on the power play. We have to make it happen 5-on-5 because he’s probably going to be in the Hall of Fame.” Said Vegas coach Gerard Gallant: “When you have Fleury back there, you know you can beat anybody on any given night.” 2. Stop the self-inflicted wounds A 3-2 loss in Edmonton on Thursday exposed what has been a sore point all season — self-inflicted wounds. The Canucks dug a three-goal hole with a series of miscues that allowed Alex Chiasson, Zack Kassian and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to score easy goals. The struggling Derrick Pouliot was stripped off the puck behind the net by Sam Gagner to allow an untouched Chiasson to open scoring. Tyler Motte had a back-checking edge on Kassian but was shoved aside to allow the winger to tap in a Connor McDavid feed. And Nugent- Hopkins was left alone in the slot by a trailing Loui Eriksson to make it 3- 0 in the first minute of the second period. The Canucks have fallen behind in eight of their last 10 games and are 13-12-9 in one-goal games this season. 3. Give Markstrom much more help Jacob Markstrom will need more than run support tonight. The beleaguered starter is easily the club’s most valuable player for consistently demonstrating improved physical and mental sharpness — especially since December when he started the month with six straight starts to fuel a .915 save percentage. But he can’t be facing a shooting gallery with a free-fly zone in the slot. The Canucks had but 12 shot blocks Thursday because they were chasing the Oilers. Edmonton had 25 because getting into shooting position to block shots and not chasing the game was a priority. 4. Selfish Pettersson, more Boeser bite Elias Pettersson had three shots and seven attempts Thursday. This is progress for the Calder Trophy favourite, who hasn’t scored in nine games and has but one goal in his last 13. He prides himself on being a 1135286 Vancouver Canucks “These games are hard, It was hard to swallow when (we realized we were out of the playoff race).

“It sure was for me. The Athletties: Vancouver vs. HNIC, rebuild reassessment and a Gilly thing “You are in the chase. You’re battling so hard all season and then it’s … “We have to do it for ourselves now, for your teammates and your friends. You want to be proud of yourselves in the end.” By Jason Botchford BIGGEST DIFFERENCE Mar 10, 2019 On Vegas…

ROUSSEL: “They’re so deep. BEST OPENING “They have Cody Eakin on their third line and he would play on our first If he still watches hockey, Trevor Linden is telling someone tonight he line. was right. “They’ve picked up some good players.” Linden was the man hired to fix the Canucks in 2014 and if you’re trying to make sense of everything that went down tonight, it’s as good a place BEST SCOUTING REPORT as any to start. On Vegas… Despite what you heard from a tone-deaf Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, the city of Vancouver was thirsting back then for a proper, full- BIEGA: “They were all over us. on, strip-it-down Canucks rebuild. “You look at Marchessault and Reilly Smith and they work their asses off The city is still waiting. every single shift. It would be funny to hear media suggest Van’s fan base, whose rallying “They’re so fast and quick. When there are loose pucks, they are on cry has been “trade for picks,” is impatient if it wasn’t so misinformed. them so fast and it makes you frustrated. You want to know why fans are mad? “There are a lot of skilled top two lines in the NHL and there are some who will take shortcuts and cheat for offence but not these guys. It’s not impatience. “I can’t recall one of the times we’ve played them that I remember one of It took until 2017 for Linden to say the word “rebuild,” something which their top six forwards cheating.” reads outrageous looking back. BEST PLAY Sit back and think about it for a moment. It took the Canucks three years to say the word “rebuild.” Horvat pointed out the Canucks actually did play well at points and this rush goal he produced with Roussel is as good as it got. It was so ludicrous Gary Bettman actually mocked Canucks management for it in one of his visits to this city. BEST MENTALITY When Bettman is harder on management than the national NHL media, The Canucks will try to get out of this by simplifying the message. you have problems. Or, as I like to call them, enablers. Just win a period, the first one on Wednesday. I’m sure, given a chance, there’s a lot Linden would have done differently Just win a shift. if he could go back in time. HORVAT: “We’re trying to make too many home run plays right now. But, at least, he was prepared to make things right this summer when he reported to team owners that the Canucks still had to bottom out before “We have to work the puck in the offensive zone and keep it there by they would be prepared to start a climb to contention. cycling. I appreciate why that was hard to hear for the Aquilinis. “We have to keep it simple early and try and score the first goal, that would be a good change. Linden was in his fifth offseason and the realization it was going to take him a few more to piece together a good team was likely met with less “The biggest thing I notice in my game is that I can get caught trying to enthusiasm than a Blackberry ad. be everything. Still, that “tough love” was probably the realest thing that’s been said in “I’m trying to score goals. I’m trying to be a shutdown guy. I’m trying to do Rogers Arena in years. it all. Jim-John, and not the fans, said otherwise. The sides were split. The “And when you do that, it usually starts to go the opposite way for you.” owners went with Jim-John. Sure you can spend an intermission ripping Edler and hey, I’m not going And here we all are, forced to admit Linden was the one who had it right to tell you you’re wrong. in the end. He was soft and slow in several sequences and three of them led to first Because if you want to know what it takes to win, and I mean really win in period Vegas goals. the NHL, it was presented to you this evening in a three-period flex by the Vegas Golden Knights. None was more alarming than the third Vegas goal. Vegas went to the Stanley Cup final and has since added Max But I do find it odd that in the same HNIC intermission injuries were Pacioretty, Mark Stone and Paul Stastny. presented as the main reason the Canucks are where they are in the standings. The Canucks, meanwhile, and I’m just going to rough this out, still need a great top defensive pairing, two great top-six forwards and a really good It’s odd, because Edler is by far the best player they were without during third-line centre to compete. the current slide. A fourth line that can contribute wouldn’t hurt. Now, he’s back and held up as a poster player for another poor performance against Vegas? National broadcasters can line up all the excuses they want but Mike Gillis was criticized more in 2011, when the Canucks had the best team People can count up all the cap space the Canucks have out of the in hockey, than the current regime has been questioned on national TV in lineup, but the reality is their best players have played. five years combined. Since things fell off the rails, the Canucks have been without Edler, who Something doesn’t sit right about that. is good, Tanev who is a shadow of what he used to be. Virtanen, who hasn’t shown he’s more than average yet, Sutter, who was getting BEST REASON outscored by a 2-1 ratio, and Baertschi, who is pretty much an average top-six winger. ROUSSEL: “There’s been some games lately where we’re down early and it’s like ‘fuck, here we go again.’ Their five best players, Boeser, Pettersson, Horvat, Stecher and He loves the Hockey Man brand like few I’ve ever come across. Markstrom, have been healthy for this entire run. Oh, and he loves to troll which I can respect. I know the Canucks have had another year of bad injury “luck” but it’s not why they haven’t been a good team this season. He’s famously labelled this space a “cesspool” and has regularly taken passive-aggressive shots at a successful, ticketed event that we hosted I know they traded Gudbranson but it’s not why they haven’t been in January, which, by the way, was about the most fun I had working this winning lately. season. You know why this is happening? He even propped up his own radio show and claimed it’s actually free: All of the players who have been added to the team in the Benning era His radio show is not, in fact, “free.” who weren’t drafted have a collective WAR rating of 0.9. There are ads that carve up a huge chunk of every hour (and we don’t Let that marinate for a minute or three. have those in the cesspool) and his sponsors are, in part, how he gets paid. That group of veterans the team has signed or traded for hasn’t added one win. Here’s the thing about being an asshole, however, if you take shots, you are going to get hit back. When Linden was hired he was told to find the best scout he could to manage this team. Because A&W is so concerned about what we charge here, I became really concerned about his advertisers. It was about repairing the draft problem, which is the long game. It wasn’t about a quick fix. Are they getting their money’s worth? Benning wasn’t involved in cap management or contract negotiations in The best way to tell that, I’m guessing, is from his ratings and this line of Boston, he’s a scout. logic led to me to digging up his winter book which I compared to the Boat Capn to see what the gap was between these two. But he did pitch the idea the Canucks could be turned around quickly. The key demographic for sports radio advertising is males aged 25-54. BEST EL-OH-EL This seems rather significant and important because Vancouver may not “HNIC talking about how they’re upset that Gudbranson got traded and be a Hockey Man town after all. how they’re missing his pushback tonight. Looks like there’s work to be done for A&W here. “Especially with Quinn Hughes coming” Godspeed. Let’s be honest, Kipper may be compromised. Oh and the Boat Capn is now going to strut, isn’t he? BEST POSITIVITY BEST SPECULATION Marky has been the man all year. I had a couple of people out of Arizona tell me they know of employees BIGGEST HAT TIP there who have been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements recently. Another win for the cesspool. There are several things it could mean but essentially it would mean this: BEST LIFE MOVES FAST Something is very likely up in that town. The imagery I had after reading this of Farhan in an Edler jersey shouting There are many possible reasons why some are being asked to sign from rooftops that No. 23 is a legit top-pairing D-man who needs to be re- NDAs. signed soon to a lucrative, long-term extension almost made my night. There is one reason which interests me, and by proxy, the city of Makes me remember this great moment from last year. Vancouver. BEST STAT Let’s call this source a business expert: “Basically, if they’re asking As someone was suggesting to me recently, there may not be a better people to sign NDAs, then there’s something going on that they don’t representative of the Canucks issues the last four years and the resulting want public and they need assistance on. Stockholm syndrom than Tyler Motte. “That something could be a few things. It could be due diligence on new Or, Charlie Hustle. owners, debt refinance, arena negotiations and relocation.” Charlie Hustle had a small but vocal fan group who claimed last year he The Coyotes relocation rumours peaked in December after the NHL was a sneaky good Canucks acquisition. (Hi, Ripley). board of governors voted to move Arizona to the Central Division the same year Seattle arrives and is added to the Pacific Division. This season, even Brough got caught up in the Charlie Hustle hype. The dots were connected to Houston until Coyotes higher ups addressed But here we are with a month left and there are 383 NHL skaters who the issues and announced the NHL’s priority was to keep the team in have played at least 700 5-on-5 minutes. Arizona. Motte is fifth worst in goals scored percentage. But if this somehow changes and the team is moved in the not-too distant future, you would immediately wonder what it would mean for the future He’s sixth worst in controlling unblocked shot attempts. of John Chayka. And he’s fifth worst in scoring chance differential. There is a theory making the rounds the Canucks are taking serious stock of their management situation and what to do next because of how This doesn’t seem good. important this offseason is for the future. But damn, he does hustle. He does skate fast. There is nearly $30 million in cap space for next season and the Canucks And because of that, he has a lot of people saying he’s an effective aren’t good enough to withstand more financial misses. bottom-six forward. They can’t tether themselves to more bad contracts. He just gets awful results. The same logic would apply to the Coyotes if they are relocated. Like, this is really bad. Moving to a new city would be a moment big enough for the Coyotes to As someone said to me: consider a change to their hockey operations. “Cluelessly skating hard doesn’t mean anything if you never have the Enter Gilly. puck.” For me, a team like the Coyotes would make more sense than most for You had to know when we first found out a guy who spent significant air Gilly to step in. time in Toronto propping up the Nonis regime was here that there’d be If he’s coming back to the NHL, it’s to run a team at the top as a friction between A&W and The Athletic Vancouver. president. The Coyotes do have pieces to build around but I’m not sure if that happened what it would mean for Chayka. But if any of this is on point, it’s probably not the best time to admit you don’t know the CBA. Near the top of any list should be signing poorly thought out long-term contracts which reasonably intelligent people could point out were a bad idea the moment they were signed. Cap space has become such a powerful commodity in the NHL, something Vegas used to exploit the system on its way to building a contender. Using cap space to acquire assets has been totally ignored by the Canucks. The other trap the Canucks fell into was trading picks and prospects, who had a chance to help during the team’s real window, for veterans. It was never a sound plan because the veterans were never likely going to help the team when it had a chance to win. But the issue has become more problematic because so many of the vets the Canucks have brought in just aren’t, and haven’t been, good.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135287 Websites Edmonton flies in over the line, takes a rip on goal, and then the puck is on its way out just as fast.

The Oilers might have rescued this with a sharper power play, but alas, it Sportsnet.ca / Oilers get up-close look at depth they crave in loss to went 0-for-4, including 37 seconds of 5-on-3 time. superior Leafs “I don’t think we get enough from the top,” said Hitchcock of his power- play alignment. “So I think we’re going to have to look at that dynamic. Mark Spector | @sportsnetspec We don’t make them turn and face their goalie enough.” March 9, 2019, 11:22 PM Until the end of the game, of course, when the Leafs were patting Frederik Andersen on the head after another win.

These two teams have played six periods against each other in the past EDMONTON — We always say it, because it is always true: The players 10 days. Edmonton won one of them, and collected a couple of goals in know. garbage time Saturday. The players always know first where another player fits in their midst. If The Oilers, with this roster, can’t compete with a team as deep and good he is a high draft pick who isn’t ready, or if he’s a solid pro whose skills as Toronto. are underrated. They know first, and they know best — no matter what the management, the media or some agent tries to tell you. Nobody knows that more than the players, we promise you that. And they know when they’ve just played a team that is their superior. Just listen to Connor McDavid, asked about the Toronto Maple Leafs Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.10.2019 after losing twice to them in 10 days. “They are a GOOD hockey team,” he began. “They are solid all over. They are obviously skilled and they just come at you in waves. Our goalie was good — he held us in and gave us a little bit of a chance.” But McDavid knows. So do all the Edmonton Oilers. “We played a good team,” said Oscar Klefbom. “They are… five players everywhere. We played a really good team.” The Oilers held Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner off the score sheet Saturday night, in a game Toronto led 3-0 until a late Oilers push made the final 3-2. Kasperi Kapanen didn’t manage a point, nor did Patrick Marleau. Toronto, however, has this guy named John Tavares, whom you may have heard of. He had a goal and two assists, and was named the game’s first star on a night where the score was not really indicative of the flow of play. “Probably other than the last couple of minutes, we played a really good road game,” Tavares said. “We didn’t get rewarded as much as I think we could have.” No, this could have been far more lopsided than it was, and there isn’t anyone involved in this eternal Oilers project who doesn’t look at the Maple Leafs and realize the breadth of the chasm that exists between the two rosters. This was Toronto’s bottom six on Saturday: Kadri between Marleau and William Nylander, and a fourth line of Frederik Gauthier, Tyler Ennis (12 goals) and Connor Brown, a 23-point winger whom the Oilers made a pitch for at the recent trade deadline. And this was Edmonton’s bottom six: Colby Cave between Jujhar Khaira and Josh Currie, a trio that has combined for seven goals and 64 AHL games played this season. The fourth line had Kyle Brodziak (eight points) between Ty Rattie (11 points) and Tobias Rieder, who has played 54 NHL games this season and not scored a single goal. Toronto’s top two lines are a bear, but with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Edmonton can at least compete. It is the depth of talent that tips this matchup in Toronto’s favour, and becomes the nut that the new general manager will have to crack. “It’s a great game to evaluate on,” admitted Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock, who is well aware of every point we’ve made in this column thus far. “It tells you what you’ve got now and what you’ve got moving forward. And when you’ve got a team that can play at that tempo, especially through the middle of the ice, any mistakes get exposed. Any time that you decide on the ice to rest, you get exposed. And I thought we hung in there really well. “But man, from an evaluation standpoint, this was really a rich hockey game. The two best players, for me, were both goalies, and then probably (Morgan) Rielly after that. They’re a deep team and the competition’s rich, so unless you were on top of your game every shift, you got exposed.” The Oilers never fell out of this one, the way they had the previous Wednesday in a 6-2 loss at Toronto. But as the evening wore on, the disparity became obvious and undeniable. Toronto pushes offensively, generating second and third chances that — in their totality — break down an opposing team and goaltender. 1135288 Websites “Obviously, I’d like to have the last two minutes back,” he said. Toronto was still full value, though. Sportsnet.ca / Leafs adopting playoff mentality, accepting reality of tough “They’re just …,” said McDavid. “They’re a good hockey team, they are road ahead solid all over, they never make mistakes, obviously skilled, they just come at you in waves.

“So they’re a good team.” Chris Johnston | @reporterchris The Leafs are starting to develop the swagger of one, too. March 10, 2019, 12:15 AM Even with the hiccup in Vancouver — where they blew a third-period lead for the first time all season and lost 3-2 in overtime — they’re starting to EDMONTON — This was as complete a road victory as the Toronto develop some urgency. Boston never loses. Maple Leafs have managed all season, the scrambly last two minutes They know what’s coming. inside Rogers Place included. “I think if you look at the way our goalie’s playing, you look at the way Their stars shone and Connor McDavid was largely kept in check and the [Tavares is] playing, you know, I think you can really tell that there’s guys two points moved them up to fourth overall in the NHL standings. And that are at that point where it’s playoffs and we’re trying to amp it up,” yet… those points actually increased Toronto’s odds of a first-round said defenceman Morgan Rielly. “I think that’s good. I think that’s what matchup with the No. 2-ranked Boston Bruins, who are riding a scorching we need. 15-0-4 run and on pace for another 112-point season. “So, yeah, I mean we’re almost there.” “Yeah, it’s odd,” said John Tavares. “It’s odd.”

Strange times, indeed. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.10.2019 The Leafs, Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning have every reason to rue a divisional playoff format that will see at least two of them eliminated by the end of the second round. It has made even a 2-0-1 swing through Western Canada feel ho-hum with a month to go in the season because the only thing the Leafs are playing for is home-ice advantage. And there isn’t even consensus inside the dressing room on how important that really is, with Auston Matthews saying: “I think that’s maybe in the back of our minds, but I don’t think it’s too much of a main focus for us.” All they have, really, is the process. The concept Kyle Dubas built his season-opening address around when he spoke to players on the opening night of training camp in Niagara-on- the-Lake. This victory in Edmonton ticked all of the boxes for a team unable to find much motivation from the Atlantic Division standings. It saw Matthews control 69 per cent of the adjusted shot attempts in a head-to-head matchup with McDavid and featured a goal and two assists for Tavares, plus a strong showing from Nazem Kadri in his return from a concussion. Frederik Andersen was strong in goal. They killed all three penalties. “I thought we controlled the puck, were heavy on the cycle, did lots of really good things,” said coach Mike Babcock. “I think we played essentially a pretty perfect road game,” added Kadri, who hadn’t played since Feb. 19. “Took away their speed, which is how they’re most effective. It was pretty responsible with the puck and took advantage of our chances.” The Leafs owned 60.2 per cent of even-strength shot attempts overall — their fourth-strongest showing in 68 games this season and the best in a game played away from Scotiabank Arena. (Although, to be fair, this was basically another home-away-from-home game, with boisterous chants of “Freddie! Freddie!” for Andersen. Let the record show: The Leafs brand is alive and well in Western Canada). Understandably, the Toronto players are viewing everything through the prism of where it leaves them for the upcoming playoffs. That is where this season will ultimately be measured. Tavares, who has already matched a career-high with his 38th goal, is looking forward to his fourth spring of playoff hockey and notes that you’re never going to feel better than you do right now, in these final days of the stretch run and through the opening round. “It’s a long grind to get to where you want to get to,” he said. The grind will begin with Boston. They’re making more peace with that reality with each passing day. “You’re going to have to beat some of the best teams in the league and play against some of the best players in the world and there’s going to be tough matchups,” said Tavares. “It’s odd, but it is what it is.” Andersen was on the verge of a shutout before Edmonton pulled its goalie and scored twice with the 6-and-5 advantage. Zack Kassian nearly tied it, too, providing a brief shot of mayem that sent Babcock straight to the video room. 1135289 Websites The Golden Knights may be the best team in the NHL at the moment. They are 6-0 since the trade-deadline acquisition of Mark Stone from Ottawa, and last year’s stunning Cup finalists shouldn’t surprise anyone Sportsnet.ca / Canucks' failure to evolve defensively exposed against in May if they win the Western Conference again. faster, smarter Knights But the Knights are hardly outliers in the way they play. They’re quick and direct and attack with speed and power, backed by an active defence. The Canucks, however, have struggled to exit their zone Iain MacIntyre | @imacSportsnet against a lot of teams this season. March 10, 2019, 3:01 AM Lately, they’ve been especially poor at the start of games, seemingly unable to make a pass under pressure. Shifts get extended in the Vancouver zone and goals ensue. Shots were 11-2 for Vegas halfway through the first. It was 3-0 after 8 ½ minutes. VANCOUVER — His team humiliated in Las Vegas six days earlier, Vancouver Canuck coach Travis Green said before Saturday’s rematch The Knights’ first five goals, including Stone’s first for his new team, were against the Golden Knights that he expected his players to be much scored from inside the hashmarks as the Canucks were unable to either better. move or box out Knights forwards. “We’re going to learn something about ourselves tonight,” Green Hughes, who is five-foot-10, should help the puck retrieval and puck predicted. movement, and may occasionally simply skate the puck out of trouble. He’ll help the power play. But he alone isn’t going to give the Canucks a Well, they did. defence they can win with. They learned in the wake of their dismantlement last Sunday that “For me, honestly it’s our starts,” veteran centre Jay Beagle said of the humiliation is even worse on home ice for the Canucks, who once again problems. “I don’t think our starts haven’t been good in… I don’t know were the second-fastest, second-strongest, second-smartest team — how long. And that’s on everybody. We leave our goalie out to dry at the luckily, the field was limited to two — in another beatdown, this time 6-2, start and if he stands on his head and keeps us in it, all of a sudden we by the Vegas Golden Knights. get going. But we can’t play like that.” It would have been better were the Canucks an expansion team four Starting goalie Jacob Markstrom went from standing on his head last years ago because their rebuild since then still has them light years Sunday in a 45-save, 3-0 loss to falling on his face on Saturday. For the behind the second-season Knights, who in a span of six days outscored first time in 52 games during his breakthrough season as a No. 1, Vancouver 9-2 and outshot them 81-50. Markstrom was hooked after allowing five goals on 16 shots. Those totals would have been even more lopsided, but Vegas got bored Alex Tuch led the Knights with a goal and two assists, and all four Vegas Saturday after building a 5-1 lead in the game’s first 14 minutes. lines got on the scoresheet. Horvat and Brock Boeser scored for the “We knew they were going to come hard,” Canuck Bo Horvat said. “At Canucks, who are 1-4-1 in their last six games and have plummeted from the same time, we weren’t ready for them… right off the get-go. Once the playoff race by going 4-10-3 the last five weeks. they made it 3-0, we started to have a little pushback, but we have to “To lose the way that we did is unacceptable,” Beagle said. “The group start right at the drop of the puck. knows that. Going forward, this is the time of year where you grow as a “They win battles all over the rink, they’re relentless, and they move team. We’re obviously in a lot of adversity right now. But to be where we pucks pretty quick. That’s the team we’ve got to be.” want to be as a group in the future — next year, the year after — you have to know what it takes to win at this time of year.” The Canucks, whose failure to evolve and improve on defence like they have up front was starkly exposed by the Knights, hadn’t surrendered They’re learning how little it takes to lose. five goals in the first period at Rogers Arena since March 8, 2004 — the night Todd Bertuzzi wrecked two careers when he attacked the Colorado Avalanche’s Steve Moore. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.10.2019 Fortunately, no one was physically injured on Saturday, although it may take the Canucks a while to get over the psychological damage inflicted by the vastly-superior Knights. Vancouver hopes to challenge for a playoff spot next season. Vegas hopes to win a Stanley Cup this one. The abyss that separates the two teams was again most evident inside the Canucks’ blueline. “In Vegas, we just knew we didn’t have an effort whatsoever,” defenceman Alex Biega, elevated to a top-four role by injuries, said. “In spurts, I think we played well tonight. But at the end of the day, they were just all over us again. “In front of the net, we have to have better sticks and we have to defend better. The breakdowns? You can look at the video any way you want, but at the end of the day it’s really working and skating. They skate hard and they work hard and they get to those loose pucks. We have to find a way to get to those loose pucks and win those battles.” Quinn Hughes, the University of Michigan dynamo drafted seventh- overall last June, is expected to turn pro this week and travel to Vancouver to begin his National Hockey League career. But the imminent arrival of another potential cornerstone player raises a couple of questions: What, exactly, will the reeling Canucks be bringing him into? And, how much more will Vancouver need next season beyond Hughes to build a defence capable of getting the puck out of its own zone against fast, powerful teams? The defence the Canucks iced on Saturday, albeit missing injured regulars Ben Hutton and Chris Tanev, could have as many as four players who aren’t NHL regulars next season. We understand defending is a five-man strategy. But the acquisition of the puck by forwards is made difficult when the blueline group so often looks overmatched on speed, size and net-front presence. 1135290 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson says new GM search will be long process

Sportsnet Staff | @Sportsnet March 9, 2019, 10:02 PM

Bob Nicholson, the Edmonton Oilers CEO, is in no rush to hire a new, full-time general manager for his team. After relieving Peter Chiarelli of his duties in January, Nicholson seems content to take his time with the process. “The best way to put it is that Bob Nicholson is still in information- gathering mode,” said Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston during the ‘Headlines’ segment of Hockey Night in Canada. “Down at the general managers meetings he had some lengthy conversations with various people in hockey and it sounds like, if anything, his list is growing instead of shrinking at this point in terms of potential candidates.” Among the list of applicants Nicholson could be mulling over is Keith Gretzky, the man he currently has at the helm of the Oilers on an interim basis. Gretzky has appeared to impress so far and figures to be a big piece of Edmonton’s future. “I think the organization is very comfortable with where they’re at with interim GM Keith Gretzky,” said Johnston. “Don’t be surprised if this goes on for some period of time while they work through all the various things that have to happen before they make a full-time hire.” Added Elliotte Friedman about Gretzky: “I think he will be part of this process and I think the organization does consider him to be a very valuable piece of where they’re going.” And in case there was any fear that Nicholson might decide to jump ship while the Oilers once again go through a period of transition, have no fear about that, Friedman says — he’s dedicated to righting things in Edmonton. “There were some rumblings that he was going to potentially move on, maybe look for another position within international hockey,” said Friedman. “He said that that’s not the message he wants to send. He believes this is an important time to be part of the organization and that he wants to be part of the solution. He’s not looking to go anywhere.”

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135291 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / NHL, NHLPA have continued to meet to find solution to escrow issue

Sportsnet Staff | @Sportsnet March 9, 2019, 11:04 PM

Though focus has now shifted to the post-season on the ice, off it representatives from the league and the Players’ Association have met privately to try to find a solution to an issue that will always be a point of contention in collective bargaining agreement discussions: Escrow. “The NHL and the NHLPA have continued to meet quietly in small groups, and I understand that they are really trying to grind to see if they can try to find a solution for the escrow issue,” said Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman during the ‘Headlines’ segment of Hockey Night in Canada Saturday. “I think everybody realizes that’s the No. 1 thing that has to get worked on here and other things can fall into place. I understand they are having serious discussions at ways to handle this.” Just as a quick reminder, escrow is, in essence when applied to the NHL, a portion of a player’s salary that gets deducted from each paycheque and then put into a fund that can’t be touched until the end of the season, when the league knows what its revenue for the year was and can then calculate how much escrow can be handed out to the players and how much teams get. This is an extremely contentious issue for the players as it can feel like an additional league tax on them, as there have been cases where that money that gets withheld actually ends up in lost salary. This current escrow system was put in place to create a 50-50 split in hockey-related revenue between the teams and the players, but also, sometimes, at the cost of lost salary for the players. The current CBA isn’t scheduled to expire until after the 2020-21 season, but both the NHL (Sept. 1) and NHLPA (Sept. 19) can choose to opt out of it this year, meaning getting ahead on negotiations so as to avoid a potential lockout is still very important business.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135292 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Quinn Hughes expected to sign with Canucks this week

Sportsnet Staff | @Sportsnet March 9, 2019, 9:44 PM

The Vancouver Canucks’ promising youth movement is about to see another dazzling name added to the mix. With 20-year-old phenom Elias Pettersson already dominating the 2018- 19 campaign in Canucks colours, after seeing Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser do the same in recent years, the next highly-touted prospect to join the fray will be defender Quinn Hughes. “University of Michigan was eliminated today from their Big Ten playoffs, which paves the way for Quinn Hughes, Vancouver’s first-round pick in 2018, to join the hockey club as early as this week,” Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos said Saturday during the ‘Headlines’ segment of Hockey Night in Canada. “Look for Quinn Hughes to sign a three-year deal where the first year will be burned by the end of this season.” The 19-year-old blueliner has been turning heads since being drafted seventh overall by Vancouver in 2018. He’s already amassed five goals and 33 points in 31 games for Michigan so far this season, after posting 29 points through 37 games last season. Hughes also earned a gold medal with the U.S. national team at the 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship, posting five points through seven games, before claiming two bronze medals with Team USA in 2018, as well as a world juniors silver in 2019. While it appears Hughes is on the cusp of making his NHL debut for Vancouver, it appears his contributions for the big club will be limited, so as to avoid risking his inclusion in the impending expansion draft. “There’s talk of, if he plays 10 games this season, it would make him eligible for the Seattle expansion draft in 2021. And barring a late unexpected playoff push, I don’t think Vancouver will let that happen,” Kypreos said. The Canucks faithful held their breath Friday when news broke that Hughes was injured during one of Michigan’s final games of the season. It’s unclear whether or not that could throw a wrench into the Canucks’ plans of getting their star defensive prospect into the lineup. “Could he play as early as Wednesday? That’s a possibility,” said Kypreos. “But he did block a shot the other night on his ankle, which could jeopardize that start.” The Canucks currently sit nine points out of a playoff spot, with 14 games left to play in 2018-19.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135293 Websites moved out of a Toronto hotel and into a downtown apartment, and he’s been able to lean on countrymate and D partner Timothy Liljegren for tips on and off the ice. (Sandin’s parents also made two visits to Canada this Sportsnet.ca / Quick Shifts: Maple Leafs’ Rasmus Sandin excelling season.) ‘beyond his years’ Sandin loves "everything" about his new city, particularly following the Blue Jays and Raptors, and lights up talking about watching the Golden State Warriors take on the Raps from a suite this winter. Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox "I’m more professional in how I take care of myself on and off the ice. March 9, 2019, 8:23 AM Just do everything tougher, quicker, harder. You have to do it because you’re playing against men this year," Sandin says.

"It’s fine. It’s a bigger challenge, obviously, because they’re bigger guys, A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious quicker guys, but I don’t think it’s overwhelming at all." and less so, and rolling four lines deep. Toronto won’t rush a good thing, and Sandin is precisely that. 1. Rasmus Sandin had never endured one significant injury, much less two. 2. Braden Holtby played 66 games for Washington in 2015-16 and 63 games in 2016-17. The Capitals won two Presidents’ trophies and zero The Toronto Maple Leafs 2018 first-round pick’s pro career got off to a Stanley Cups those seasons. rocky start this fall. Then, in 2017-18, Holtby’s workload dropped to 54 appearances. He was He’d impressed NHL coach Mike Babcock in pre-season, to the point fresh and fantastic during the post-season, backstopping his franchise to where the teenager earned himself a nickname. "Oh, the Sandman its only championship. there? CEO of the Sandman Hotels," Babcock smiled. With Toronto’s heavily used Frederik Andersen on my mind, I asked But then he got his thumb stuck in the sweater of an opponent he was Caps coach Todd Reirden how big of a deal it was to monitor Holtby’s trying to push away, box out, and the digit twisted backwards, delaying minutes last year. his AHL debut. "That was a huge part of our success. [Then backup] Philipp Grubauer Once he was healthy enough to play, he looked fantastic for an 18-year- did a phenomenal job for us," Reirden said. "Looking back on the impact old defenceman battling grownups and earned an early spot on Phil had by coming in and winning games was something we knew we Sweden’s world junior entry — and suffered another injury, to his elbow, had to replace. I think Pheonix [Copley, the Capitals’ current backup] has hyperextending his arm. come in and done a good job, but to your point, it’s very important we continue to manage his games." "I hadn’t been through that before," Sandin told me of this season’s health trials, which made him unavailable for Sweden’s elimination game. Even though Copley hasn’t performed as well as Grubauer did last "Playing world juniors has always been a dream. It’s huge back home." season, Holtby is once again on track to make fewer than 60 appearances (58). The plan for Andersen, meanwhile, is a third Sportsnet NOW gives you access to over 500 NHL games this season, consecutive campaign of 60-plus starts. blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the entire 2019 Stanley The lifters of the past four Cups, we’ll remind you, needed starts from Cup Playoffs and more. both their netminders to reach the summit. Among the NHL’s upper echelon, the Lightning, Bruins, Islanders and Flames — for different Sandin turned 19 this week, and he scored a sweet overtime game- reasons — have excelled at not exhausting their No. 1. winner to celebrate. "It becomes a really long year, and if you ride one goalie for too long, it’s He’d like to return to the worlds next winter, but that decision — like the something that, in particular, our team hasn’t had success with in prior one to make him a Marlie, instead of keeping him in the OHL or letting years here in Washington. Not many other teams have had if you look at him skate pro back home with Rogle — is up to the franchise in whom he the prior Stanley Cup winners. A lot of teams have had a mix of two has entrusted his future. goaltenders. Look at Pittsburgh and how they did it [with Matt Murray and "It’s pretty special, to be honest. I’ve never been with an organization this Marc-Andre Fleury]. So it’s important how you manage that, especially big before. It’s great for me as a young player to have all this on my side with a guy who can have such a huge impact like Braden Holtby." when working on all the small-area things I need to do," Sandin says. Or Frederik Andersen. "I’m just trying to listen to everyone. I mean, I’m the youngest one on the 3. In a related story, Leafs coach Mike Babcock retracted his suggestion team." that backup Garret Sparks might see an uptick in starts down the stretch. The youngest, sure, but also the one GM Kyle Dubas refused to trade A segment of Toronto’s fans and critics have called for an upgrade at the away for a defenceman that could help the Leafs contend immediately. No. 2 goalie position, but GM Kyle Dubas, who rode Sparks to an AHL Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe saw aspects right away, especially title, re-signed the seventh-rounder to a one-year deal worth $750,000 for defensively, in Sandin’s game that most junior players never grasp. The 2019-20. way he used his five-foot-11, 183-pound frame stood out. Sparks’s numbers in Andersen’s relief are fine: 7-5-1, .902 save "He’s not the biggest or strongest guy, but positionally he puts himself in percentage, one shutout. really good spots, his angles are really good, and he’s competitive," I like the deal. Keefe says. Sparks is only 25. He can get better, and he’s dedicated. We’ve watched "He gets involved physically. He uses what he has extremely well. That him stick around long after the practice whistle has blown to help the same sense helps him with the puck as well. He preserves space very Leafs’ shooters put in extra work. well so he can skate out of tricky situations very well. He plays calm. There’s a poise and confidence well beyond his years." The past few Canada Days have brought a mad game of musical chairs for a free-agent backup. Why not beat the rush and limit the risk? Why Keefe has seen injuries damage a rookie’s psyche, particularly if he’s not stick with the guy you know and have developed? never had a setback. Dubas needs to save every penny he can to squeeze Mitch Marner (and In Sandin’s case, however, the missed games have been a blessing in Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson) under the cap. disguise. Had he been at full health, Sandin would be grinding through three or four games a week; off-days would be needed for rest. A decent young backup who loves being a Leaf for less than $1 million? Sign ’em up. Being out of the lineup may have hurt the Marlies’ in the win-loss column, but it’s permitted the Leafs’ development squad to drill down on skills and 4. Seeing Vancouver’s Josh Leivo score a key goal Wednesday against skating and improve Sandin’s situational play. his former team brought to mind a conversation with Sparks months back, when Leivo was still a Leaf. "He’s not only coming back healthy but a better version of himself," Keefe explains. I asked the goaltender which shooter impresses him in practice. His answer wasn’t the one I was expecting. The first-year pro already has 14 points in 30 games. Used to living by himself because he’s done so since age 15 in Sweden, Sandin recently "Josh Leivo. I don’t know if it’s technique or just raw skill. Release? 10. I sat down with John Matisz this week for his Puck Pursuit podcast, Instinct? I don’t know what you call it, but it’s just really hard to pick up," and we chatted about who we think we’ll see squeeze into the East and Sparks said. "It’s not always about velocity or hardness. Sometimes it’s West wild cards and how Erik Karlsson’s free agency might shake out. I about placement and ability to get it off in tight spaces. also explain some of my theories heading into awards season. "Placement, speed, release, amount of time it’s on his stick, angle he’s Like Gerard Gallant at this time last March, Barry Trotz looks like a Jack shooting from in relation to his body — all those things make it Adams lock. He’s moulded a bad team into a good one. But I find this deceptive." award tends to undervalue the coach guiding a good team to greatness. That’s Jon Cooper. After all those healthy scratches, good on Leivo for burning his old team in the only game he got to play them in the year he was traded away. 11. Good on the NHL Alumni Association for being progressive enough to partner with NEEKA Health Canada and start investigating the efficacy 5. What percentage of this year’s memorable coach-press meetings have of cannabinoids as a treatment for post-concussion neurological featured John Tortorella? Fifty? More? diseases in former NHLers. "Get rid of the shootout," Tortorella pleaded this week, speaking my Roughly 100 ex-players have enrolled in this unprecedented study, set to mind, and maybe yours too. "Just play the 3-on-3 until a team dies." begin this summer and wrap up in the summer of 2020. If the results are I want to see the Blue Jackets get it together and make the playoffs and positive, why wouldn’t the NFL’s alumni follow suit? embark on a run for two reasons that have nothing to do with Artemi "NHL alumni gave everything they had during their careers, but the Panarin’s dangles: (1) So more general managers embrace the bold physical consequences after they hang up their skates can be move and push all-in like Jarmo Kekalainen did, and (2) so we get more devastating for both players and their loved ones for the rest of their big-stage Torts quotes. lives," NHLAA executive director Glenn Healy said. 6. New Leaf Nic Petan has a good sense of humour. "This study offers alumni the promise of help and hope, and we are After scoring in his Toronto debut last Saturday versus Buffalo, the five- excited to participate in what could become a true game-changer in foot-nine forward suggested to the scrum’s cameramen that they might allowing these professional athletes to finish strong." wish to angle their lens downward. And he caught himself from cussing It’s one thing to pursue money in damages; it’s another to start searching on national TV when explaining how a player of his stature could body for a solution. the gangly Rasmus Ristolainen. 12. Trying to remember if I’ve watched this clip a million times or a zillion "I just stuck out my as—uh, hip," Petan caught himself. times… By way of his game-winning one-timer that night, Petan gave all the credit to fourth-line mate Trevor Moore and his own vocal chords. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.10.2019 "I was just yelling super, super loud. When we got to the bench, he said, ‘Good yell.’ And it was a phenomenal pass," Petan said. "I didn’t think much. I just smacked it, and it went in." John Tavares on the new kid’s insta-impact: "Anytime anyone comes to a new environment, you’re trying to settle in and find your way. It’s good to get rewarded, to get some good feeling and some positivity. To get a big goal like that goes a long way." Petan was a stud for Canada during the 2015 world junior championships, scoring a hat trick en route to a gold medal at Scotiabank Arena. "Memory lane," he smiled. 7. Ted Lindsay was before my time, and there are many wonderful pieces about the man already out there to read. I met him, briefly, at the 2015 NHL Awards. I was working the red carpet for Sportsnet and tasked with shooting some Instagram clips. The way modern players, two generations removed, revered the man — small in stature, gigantic in presence — was striking. A cool moment when I caught an honoured P.K. Subban meeting Mr. Lindsay. Rest in peace: 8. Big week for Brad Marchand, social-media maven. First, Marchand won Twitter by chiming in on Mitch Marner’s next contract in what Dubas called "a master troll job." A virtual face lick, without the hepatitis risk of course. Marner (RW) should be lining up head-to-head opposite Marchand (LW) when the Bruins and Leafs battle in Round 1 of the playoffs. Might as well get a head start on the mind games. Then Marchand launched a new Instagram account to the tune of 38,000 immediate followers and began firing chirps back at Torey Krug. "If you are looking for good entertainment," Marchand writes, "be sure to follow." What makes Marchand a lovable villain is that he can be self- deprecating, too: 9. If Marner’s next contract doesn’t meet Marchand’s projections, he can supplement it with some nice freelance work. This week, Marner became the first Canadian athlete to have his face featured on his own signature Red Bull can. (He chugs the stuff for a second-intermission boost.) Marner’s campaign with Intact Insurance has also been extended, with a second run of ad spots and a promotion from intern to "head of reassurance." (The Patrick Marleau cameo is a nice touch.) 1135294 Websites games in hand of Montreal, the team they’re chasing, but they also have one of the toughest finishing schedules in the league. After Pittsburgh, Columbus plays the Islanders, Bruins (twice), Carolina and Calgary in Sportsnet.ca / Stanley Cup Playoff Push: Columbus turns back to their next five games. Bobrovsky for huge game WESTERN CONFERENCE If the regular season ended today… Rory Boylen | @RoryBoylen (P1) Calgary vs. (WC2) Minnesota March 9, 2019, 1:24 PM (P2) San Jose vs. (P3) Vegas (C1) Winnipeg vs. (WC1) Dallas It’s a 12-game slate Saturday chock full of implications that will shape the (C2) Nashville vs. (C3) St. Louis playoff picture over the next week. Team of interest: Arizona Coyotes Among the East’s top storylines are Columbus turning back to Sergei Bobrovsky for the biggest game of their season, Carolina looking to Don’t look now but with a win, at home, against the lowly Los Angeles recover from a terrible loss Friday, and Boston hoping to extend their Kings Saturday Arizona would move to within one point of Minnesota for point streak to 19 games. the second wild card spot, and still have a game in hand. With eight wins in their past 10 games, the Coyotes’ defence and strong goaltending has In the West, we’re keeping an eye on Arizona and, to a lesser extent, helped them stick around. Darcy Kuemper, acquired in a 2018 deadline Edmonton as they cling to playoff hopes over these last stages of the trade from Los Angeles, has been a great find — he’s allowed more than regular season, while a big injury to another bubble team has put them in three goals in a game just once in the past month. Even further, looking a precarious position. at opponents’ points percentage the rest of the way, the Coyotes have Here is your playoff outlook heading into Hockey Night in Canada one of the five easiest schedules remaining. Saturday: Here’s what the Western Conference standings look like today: Ryan Dixon and Rory Boylen go deep on pucks with a mix of facts and What’d I miss: The Colorado Avalanche suffered a huge blow with the fun, leaning on a varied group of hockey voices to give their take on the news captain Gabriel Landeskog will be out the next four-to-six weeks country’s most beloved game. following a collision with Dallas’ Ben Bishop Thursday night. With lack of EASTERN CONFERENCE scoring depth already a crucial flaw with the roster, they’ll now be without their second-highest goal scorer (33). With this news, more of the If the regular season ended today… spotlight will be on trade deadline pickup Derick Brassard, who has a goal and an assist in six games as an Av. (A1) Tampa Bay vs. (WC2) Montreal Fun fact: Ben Bishop is making a late push for the Vezina Trophy and is (A2) Boston vs. (A3) Toronto currently running with a 144:20 shutout streak. But unfortunately, unless something goes horribly wrong, we won’t see him try and extend that (M1) Washington vs. (WC1) Carolina Saturday night. On one hand it’s a bit of a curious choice to start Anton (M2) NY Islanders vs. (M3) Pittsburgh Khudobin with Bishop playing so stellar and with Dallas’ next game not coming until Tuesday night. But head coach Jim Montgomery has split Team of interest: Carolina Hurricanes his goalies fairly evenly, which is what’s really hurting Bishop’s Vezina case. And though Khudobin has been steady and strong through most of No, not because of the storm surge — the Canes play on the road the season, he has allowed 20 goals in his past six appearances. Saturday. We’re interested in how they respond to their worst loss of the season Friday night. The Hurricanes were listless and, dare we say, You could make an argument that these are the two best teams in the reminiscent of the team we’ve come to know over the past nine playoff- Central and Pacific divisions right now and that the possibility exists less seasons. The Winnipeg Jets, who themselves were coming off a Saturday’s game is a Western Conference final preview. And while one-sided defeat to Tampa Bay, had a 3-0 lead before the first period neither of these teams will miss the playoffs, there are still post-season was even half over and cruised to an 8-1 win with backup Laurent implications here. Brossoit in net. Tonight, the Hurricanes play the Central’s other big hitter in Nashville. The last time they met, Carolina chased both of Nashville’s The Sharks are now just one point back of the suddenly snake-bitten goalies en route to a big win. Calgary Flames, and since they’re idle tonight, San Jose could take over the division lead with a win. St. Louis, meantime, currently has two Here’s what the Eastern Conference standings look like today: games in hand of Nashville, which sits five points ahead of them for second place in the Central and home-ice advantage in the first round. What’d I miss? The idle Tampa Bay Lightning became the second-fastest The Blues are looking to cap off a perfect California road trip, while the team to clinch a playoff spot in the salary cap era, getting the ‘x’ in game Sharks are aiming to complete a perfect four-game homestand. No. 68, tying the 2008-09 San Jose Sharks. Only the 2009-10 Washington Capitals clinched faster (67). Perhaps a bad omen for the Lightning: neither of the Sharks or Caps advanced past the first round in those seasons. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.10.2019 Fun fact: We know the Boston Bruins are in the midst of a wild run of success, earning a point in 18-straight games — the second-longest run in team history, equaling an identical stretch accomplished last season. But in their most recent win, a 4-3 decision over Florida, the Bruins became just the 10th team in NHL history to win a game in regulation after trailing in the last minute of play. In a rematch of Thursday’s 3-0 Pens win, the Blue Jackets are just a little more desperate this time. Head coach John Tortorella made the controversial decision to start Joonas Korpisalo in the last meeting and didn’t even dress Sergei Bobrovsky, who watched from the press box. The Blue Jackets still haven’t beat the Penguins in a regular season game since February of 2019 and now face their chief rivals while sitting two points out of the playoffs. Tortorella decided to turn back to Bobrovsky for Saturday’s key showdown, but that choice comes with its own conerning trend. The Columbus netminder has lost 10 of his past 11 games versus the Penguins with a 3.38 GAA and .880 save percentage. Goaltending was not the problem in Thursday’s loss — that continues to be the dried-up offence. The Blue Jackets have just 10 goals in six post-trade deadline games and just one primary assist between their two biggest acquisitions, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Columbus may have two 1135295 Websites What’s impressive to me about Marner is that he’s vastly increased his shooting rate from the slot over previous seasons, but at even strength he isn’t the game-breaking playmaker that he is on the power play, he’s Sportsnet.ca / Assessing Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner's market just very good. value It’s important to note that Marner is younger than all these other wingers who recently signed long-term deals, and it’s entirely fair to expect him to take further steps in his development at just 21-years-old, especially Andrew Berkshire considering the vast improvements he’s made to his game on the defensive side in the last calendar year, however when looking at March 9, 2019, 11:06 AM potential contracts, you also have to consider that all these players, save Pastrnak, had fewer restricted free-agent years left when they signed, so

their salaries should be higher. In the midst of a blistering hot streak with 11 points in his last five games, Taxes are a complication that the Leafs have to face compared to the Mitch Marner is back on pace for 100 points this season if he plays every Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights, but looking at the game, after a stretch that started in February where he was “cold” with a contract as percentage of the cap at the time of the contract kicking in, dismal… nine points in 13 games. the rumoured numbers for Marner start to look a little crazy. Nine points in 13 games is a 59-point pace, not far off from the 69 he put Salary Cap Hit Percentage at start of contract up last season or the 61 he put up before, and the fact that it was seen as a cold streak for Marner should illustrate how much the goalposts of Even at $10M per season, Marner would be the highest cap percentage expectations have moved for the soon-to-be 22-year-old Maple Leafs of any recent elite winger to sign a contract, and at $12M, it would be the forward. seventh-highest contract signed by cap percentage that currently exists in the NHL according to cap friendly; comparable to Sidney Crosby and Marner’s spectacular season has come at the perfect time for him and Evgeni Malkin. his agent, with an impending contract battle with the Leafs looming this summer. After Toronto managed to sign William Nylander and Auston The Auston Matthews contract certainly changes the landscape for Matthews, Marner is the last major piece they need to get under contract players coming off of entry level deals, and I get why many fans believe to keep this core intact, and the speculation has been all over the place. Marner is the superior player even if it’s clearly not the case. Let’s put this in context a little bit though. Since last season, there has been a $10M per season number floated around concerning Marner, with Bruins forward Brad Marchand recently This season Marner is creating just over seven scoring chances for his trolling the Leafs on twitter suggesting Marner should get as much as teammates per 20 minutes at 5-vs-5, that’s very good, but it ranks 48th in $12M. the NHL among forwards. Matthews ranks 18th with 8.28, and John Tavares ranks 15th with 8.33. Marner is clearly a top-line player, and a Ironic, considering Marchand is on one of the most team-friendly deals of fantastic power-play quarterback, but at even strength he’s closer to a any star player in the league. mid-tier first liner. That isn’t bad, but teams who pay elite player money Marner is having a great season, but even a $10M cap hit would be an for power-play production can get burned. unprecedented number for a winger not named Alex Ovechkin or Patrick Marner is a great hockey player, but based on his accomplishments, his Kane, with the highest-paid winger in the NHL outside of those two this underlying numbers, the good luck he’s been fortunate enough to have season being Corey Perry at $8.625M. Nikita Kucherov and Mark Stone this season with one of the NHL’s best centres, and his contemporaries, are coming up next year at equal cap hits of $9.5M in a salary cap the rumoured numbers circulating for his next contract strike me as expected to be around $83M. completely unrealistic. Marner is a phenomenal talent, coming into this season I had him ranked as the eighth-best right wing in the game, and he’ll certainly move up that list after this season, however I think the Leafs will be a lot more hesitant Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.10.2019 to commit a salary that large to Marner than most people suspect. That doesn’t mean I think there’s any chance at all that a trade is made, only that this contract negotiation shouldn’t be easy. For back-to-back seasons now Marner has been one of the best goal- drivers on the power play in the NHL, so I don’t have any hesitancy in saying his production there is to be expected and will probably continue, but at even strength, there are a few… let’s not even say red flags, there are some yellow flags. Sportsnet NOW gives you access to over 500 NHL games this season, blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the entire 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and more. This season Marner has the eighth-highest 5-vs-5 PDO in the NHL among players with 500 or more minutes played, fourth highest among forwards, and most of the reason for that is a sky-high 12.05 per cent on- ice shooting percentage, which is the second highest number in the NHL for forwards behind only Alex Ovechkin. While Marner has exhibited some ability to impact on-ice shooting percentage, during his first two seasons he averaged a 9.29 per cent on- ice shooting percentage, way below what he’s posted this season. So while Marner has certainly made improvements to his game this season, playing with Tavares and the puck bouncing his way have been big influences on going from 2.1 points per 60 minutes at 5-vs-5 over his first two NHL seasons to 3.1 this season, the third-best mark in the league. Comparing Marner to his contemporaries on the wing, you get names like Nikita Kucherov, David Pastrnak, Johnny Gaudreau, and Mark Stone. So how does Marner compare to those players in terms of the underlying plays that create goals at even strength? Mitch Marner’s 5-vs-5 Offence vs. Contemporaries Overall, Marner compares pretty well to this group, he creates more chances for his teammates than Pastrnak, who is more of a finisher on the NHL’s best line, is about equal to Stone, but trails Kucherov and Gaudreau. 1135296 Websites creating some second chance opportunities. But Andersen stood tall and calmly sent play back the other way, bringing another chorus of “Fred- die” chants that have followed him throughout this Western Canada TSN.CA / Andersen returns to form in Leafs' win over Oilers swing. Toronto’s goalie was great on the third period kill that would help define its victory as well, being aggressive on his attack and closing posts in Kristen Shilton tight. Like the rest of the Leafs, he looked relatively unbeatable until the final minutes, when Nugent-Hopkins and Klefbom sliced through him with ease and made Andersen look suddenly shaky. The Edmonton Oilers nearly overcame a three-goal third period deficit In a bend-don’t-break situation for Toronto, Andersen made the last two against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, but Toronto held their hosts off for saves he needed to deliver at the final buzzer. He finished with 31 saves a 3-2 victory that completed a season sweep of the Oilers. The Leafs got and a .939 save percentage in his 104th win as a Leaf, taking possession goals from Morgan Rielly, John Tavares and Jake Muzzin in the victory of sixth place on the franchise's all-time wins by a goaltender list. that ended a three-game road trip through Western Canada with five of a possible six points for Toronto. The team now moves to 42-21-5 on the One of the Leafs’ most important forward groups hasn’t been playing as season, still four points back of the Boston Bruins for second place in the well of late, and Auston Matthews, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Atlantic Division. Johnsson have faced plenty of questions as to why. The Maple Leafs capped off their annual three-game swing through On the ice Saturday, that trio tried to put into action what Matthews said Western Canada with a solid win over the Oilers, bookending a trip that on Friday would create a more winning formula - stop being one and started with a resounding 6-2 win over Calgary, and then dipped with a done in the offensive zone, use their speed to advantage and be stronger blown two-goal lead and subsequent 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver on the cycle. Canucks in between. For much of the game against Edmonton, Matthews’ group did just that. But to come away with at least a point in every game on the road trip, They were the Leafs’ best line in the first period, looking shot out of a Toronto focused on getting off to a good start against the Oilers and, cannon as they attacked Stolarz with 13 shots attempts at even strength, when recurring lapses threatened to derail victory in the third, the Leafs all while being matched up primarily against McDavid’s line with Nugent- managed this time to avoid a collapse. Hopkins and Zack Kassian. Toronto was also able to welcome Nazem Kadri back for the tilt in Matthews was the driver of his line, going into the tough areas of the ice, Edmonton too, after he had been sidelined since Feb. 19 with a winning puck battles, and getting to the front of the net looking for tips. concussion. Mike Babcock adjusted to his return by moving William But as he so relentlessly searched for a goal, Stolarz was there to stone Nylander from centre back to the wing on Kadri’s line, bumping Connor him from in front and on wraparound chances. Brown to the fourth line, and removing Trevor Moore out of the lineup all together. In the end, Matthews and company left the game with six combined shots on goal and without any points, extending Matthews’ and Kapanen’s Both the Leafs and Oilers are known to thrive in transition, but there goalless streaks to six games and Johnsson’s to five. But they did wasn’t much room through the neutral zone on Saturday for either side to produce a team-high 68 per cent possession, and held McDavid’s line to work with in a first period that was almost goalless to the end. no points at even strength. Trading chances on Frederik Andersen and Anthony Stolarz yielded They were out for Klefbom’s goal, a 6-on-5 strike that McDavid assisted nothing until the final seconds of the opening frame, when Rielly gave the on, but for the most part, Matthews’ unit did a fine job challenging the Leafs a 1-0 lead with a blast from the point snaking high and over top of Oilers’ top line, even if they were stymied again on the scoresheet in the Stolarz just as Toronto’s second power play of the game was winding process. down. In the Leafs’ last two games, four of their combined five goals have come The Leafs maintained that score while the second period unfurled from defencemen (two from Rielly, one each from Ron Hainsey and uneventfully, right up until Tavares got Stolarz to bite on a fake shot and Muzzin). And throughout Saturday’s game, Toronto’s blueliners were a then put the puck over the goaltender to extend the Leafs’ lead to 2-0. major part of the team’s offensive push. That was Tavares’ 38th goal of the season, scored in his 68th game of Rielly, who happened to be celebrating his 25th birthday on Saturday, the year, and matching his previous career-high in goals after 82 games swung momentum Toronto’s way with his timely late-period goal, the in 2014-15. He finished Saturday's game with three points (goal, two Vancouver native’s second goal in as many games and 18th of the assists). season. It also extended Rielly’s point streak to four games, his longest stretch with at least a point since mid-December. Toronto then survived a push by the Oilers early in the third period long enough to turn the tide back in their favor. Tavares got loose near the The defenceman also showed off his playmaking skills against Edmonton blue line and snuck a puck to Nylander, who hopped into the Edmonton, like jumping into the rush and perfectly reading Patrick rush with Jake Muzzin and fed the defenceman for a shortside strike to Marleau headed towards the net with an expertly-placed pass. If not for a make it 3-0 Toronto. great save by Stolarz, Rielly would have had his second point of the game, but the play itself was exactly what Rielly’s been able to produce The Leafs faced a tough challenge when both Rielly and Muzzin were as this season has gone on, using his smarts and skill to up the ante for sent to the box midway through the third, giving Edmonton a 5-on-3 Toronto offensively. power play for 37 seconds, but Toronto killed it off and were still ahead by three until less than two minutes remained in regulation. While Rielly has been the Leafs’ best defenceman all season, Muzzin has had a difficult time finding a groove with Toronto since being traded That’s when the Leafs became inexplicably sloppy, giving up quick goals there in late January. In Edmonton, though, Muzzin looked more at ease, to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Oscar Klefbom and suddenly holding on and played one of his best games in weeks. desperately for two points. Toronto made it across the finish line thanks to a couple timely finishing saves from Andersen to head home with five Even before he finished off a fantastic set of passes by Tavares and of a possible six points from out west. Nylander to score his second goal of the season for Toronto, Muzzin was playing well in the defensive zone, executing plays and showing more Andersen didn’t get the ending he (or the Leafs) wanted on Wednesday confidence. in Vancouver, blowing a two-goal third period lead and then ceding the overtime game-winner to lose a crucial road point. With Jake Gardiner (back) and Travis Dermott (shoulder) still out for weeks, the Leafs’ blueline has to continuing striving for consistency and With two days off in between to reset, Andersen was back on form cohesion, two things that looked more and more intact in Saturday’s win. against the Oilers, with a tight, efficient showing to backstop Toronto to his 33rd win of the season, tied for most by a goalie in the NHL. The last strong game Toronto had on the power play was its first meeting of the season against Edmonton, at Scotiabank Arena on Feb. 27. The For the second straight outing, Andersen was perfect through two Leafs went 3-for-5 on the man advantage in that outing, a major factor in periods in Edmonton, turning aside all 19 shots he faced. The Oilers’ big the 6-2 victory. guns didn’t go easy on Toronto’s goalie though, with both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl challenging Andersen with sharp-angle shots In the four games after that, Toronto went 1-for-8 on the power play, he had to juggle. looking towards Saturday as the night to get that number back on track. Andersen made a series of scrambling saves late in the second period The Leafs top power play unit had scored twice in its previous seven that started with a hard shot from McDavid ricocheting off the goalie and games, once when Nylander scored against the Oilers last month. That group found the marker it was looking for on their second try of the first period, when Rielly sent a long shot through traffic and past Stolarz. It was a goal the Leafs needed not only to get them rolling in Saturday’s game, but turn the middling power play back in the right direction. Toronto had been goalless with the extra man in five of their previous eight games with at least one power-play try, and consistency has been a struggle all season. And special teams ended up being a major difference-maker in the game - Toronto finished 1-for-2 on the power play, while Edmonton went 0-for-4 with the extra man in a game decided by a single score.

TSN.CA LOADED: 03.10.2019 1135297 Websites Tonight marks the conclusion of the four-game regular season series between these teams. Vegas is 2-0-1 against Vancouver, while the Canucks are 1-2 in their head to head showdowns. Max Pacioretty has TSN.CA / Canucks vs Golden Knights gameday preview four goals in the three games while Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser each have a pair of goals. Vegas is 3-0 at Rogers Arena since joining the league last season and 6-0-1 in the franchise’s seven games against the Canucks. Jeff Paterson

TSN.CA LOADED: 03.10.2019 VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks (28-31-9) open a three-game homestand when they host the Vegas Golden Knights (37-26-5) tonight at Rogers Arena. The Canucks return to action following a 3-2 loss in Edmonton on Thursday. Jay Beagle and Alex Edler had the Vancouver goals, while Thatcher Demko made 31 saves in his third start of the season. Edler appeared in his 800th National Hockey League game and scored for the second night in a row after netting the overtime winner in a 3-2 victory over Toronto on Wednesday night. Starting with last Sunday’s 3-0 loss in Vegas, the Canucks have dug themselves too many early holes lately. They were down 3-0 to the Golden Knights, they trailed Toronto 2-0 and fell behind 3-0 in Edmonton. The Canucks have surrendered the game’s first goal in eight of their last 10 outings and a league-high 42 times in 68 games this season. The Canucks are 19-5-2 when they open the scoring, but 9-26-7 when allowing their opponents to score first. After watching from the bench Thursday, Jacob Markstrom returns to the Canucks net tonight. He made 28 saves in goal and added his second assist of the season against the Leafs on Thursday. With the result, Markstrom set a new career high with his 24th win of the season. The victory also moved him into a tie for fifth with Gary Smith on the franchise all-time wins list with 72. Brock Boeser had a couple of assists on Thursday, but has gone eight games without scoring. Elias Pettersson picked up his first point in five games with a helper against the Oilers. However, the Canucks scoring leader – and NHL’s top rookie point producer – has gone nine games without a goal and has just one in his last 13. Despite a slowdown in his production, Pettersson still has a 20-point lead over Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin in the NHL rookie scoring race. With 57 points on the season, Pettersson needs just three more to tie the Canucks rookie scoring record shared by Pavel Bure and Ivan Hlinka. Trevor Linden had 59 points in his first season in the NHL. The Canucks will welcome Jake Virtanen back to the line-up. The big winger missed 10 games after breaking two ribs in a collision with Ryan Getzlaf in Anaheim on Feb. 13. Virtanen is fifth on the team with 12 goals. Markus Granlund comes out of the line-up to make room for Virtanen. Chris Tanev was also injured in Anaheim. The veteran defenceman took part in this morning’s skate with his team, but will not play tonight. The Canucks will go with the same six defencemen they have used for the past two games. The Golden Knights arrive in town on a five-game win streak having given up just one goal in their past three outings. They beat Calgary 2-1 on home ice on Wednesday after blanking the Canucks and Anaheim. Defencemen Shea Theodore and Deryk Engelland had the Vegas goals against the Flames while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33 of 34 shots. Fleury has been the busiest goalie in the league this season. He leads the NHL with 57 starts (and appearances), 33 wins and eight shutouts. He will get the start tonight and may get a night off tomorrow when Vegas visits Calgary. Shea Theodore rides a four-game point streak into action tonight, one goal and four assists during that time. William Karlsson has four points in his three-game streak. The Knights' current win streak coincides with the arrival of Mark Stone at the NHL trade deadline late last month. The winger’s new eight-year, $76 million contract extension was finalized yesterday. In five games with his new team, Stone has yet to score, but has a pair of assists and 18 shots on goal. While Vegas is one of the top teams in the league on home ice (21-10-4), the Knights are 16-16-1 on the road. Last year, they finished 22-14-5 away from T-Mobile Arena. With 14 games remaining on their schedule, the Golden Knights appear to be locked into a third place finish in the Pacific Division. They are 10 points behind Calgary and nine back of San Jose, and are eight ahead of fourth place Arizona.