Sport-Scan Daily Brief

SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 03/25/19 Anaheim Ducks Dallas Stars 1137396 Takeaways from the Kings’ 4-3 victory over Ducks 1137427 No moral victories: As playoff race heats up, metrics say Stars should be doing better Arizona Coyotes 1137428 Controlled chaos and endless preparation: Behind the 1137397 Arizona Coyotes fall to New York Islanders for fifth scenes with Fox Sports Southwest for a Stars broadcast consecutive loss 1137429 Shap Shots: Behind the Stars’ music choices with Tyler 1137398 Coyotes drop fifth straight game, remain out of wild card Seguin and Blake Comeau spot Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins 1137430 The Detroit Red Wings played a mature game in Vegas. 1137399 Johansson skates with Bruins on eve of Tampa test Why that matters 1137400 Bruins’ secondary scoring rewarded all around 1137431 Why Pistons' Tom Gores, other team owners want to buy 1137401 Bruins notebook: Kuhlman stepping up at right time Fox Sports networks 1137402 Zdeno Chara pays tribute to father in emotional Instagram 1137432 Big game leaves Red Wings' Anthony Mantha hungry for post after Bruins' win more 1137403 Recapping milestones Bruins hit with playoff-clinching win 1137433 Red Wings recall Dylan McIlrath, reassign Libor Sulak vs. Panthers 1137404 What we learned in the Bruins' 7-3 win over the Panthers Edmonton Oilers 1137405 A tough break: How Sean Kuraly’s injury upsets Bruce 1137434 Colby Cave and Joe Gambardella build late-season Cassidy’s plan vs. Toronto resumes with Edmonton Buffalo Sabres Florida Panthers 1137406 Sabres hope to finish strong before another long 1137435 Panthers furious after Chara hit left Barkov bloodied in offseason of reflection loss to Bruins 1137407 Sabres recall defenseman Lawrence Pilut as a precaution 1137436 Preview: Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m., Monday Calgary Flames 1137408 From pretender to contender, Flames have authored Los Angeles Kings impressive turnaround 1137437 Kyle Clifford shows his toughness by scoring first career 1137409 GameDay: Kings at Flames — 5 storylines power-play goal 1137410 Nickname game: Flames' fourth unit calling themselves 1137438 Takeaways from the Kings’ 4-3 victory over Ducks the DAG Line 1137439 Kings’ Kyle Clifford feels the power for first time in his career Car Hurricanes 1137440 MODERN DEFENDING AND THE MOBILE (AND 1137413 Whip Wild – Teravainen Tallies 3 Points OFFENSIVELY INCLINED) SEAN WALKER 1137441 WAKING UP WITH THE KINGS: MARCH 24 Carolina Hurricanes 1137442 AMADIO UP; ON THE ROAD AGAIN 1137411 Canes beat Canadiens in overtime on Svechnikov goal 1137412 ‘Turbo’ no Canes tough guy but the Finn is tough enough Minnesota Wild 1137443 Minnesota hosts conference foe Nashville Chicago Blackhawks 1137444 Wild-Nashville game preview 1137414 Duncan Keith's overtime goal gives Blackhawks 2-1 win 1137445 Wild rookies Donato, Greenway and Kunin learn together over Avalanche to keep playoff hopes alive 1137446 Message to Wild winger Kevin Fiala: ‘Sometimes the 1137415 Dominik Kahun's body of work has the Blackhawks simpler way is an awful lot better’ excited for what he can bring to the future 1137416 3 takeaways from the Blackhawks' 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens Avalanche, including a look at their odds at winning the 1137447 Svechnikov scores in overtime, Hurricanes beats NHL Canadiens 2-1 1137417 Defenseman Duncan Keith the Blackhawks' unlikely hero 1137448 Gallagher’s two goals push Canadiens to 7-4 defeat of in OT win over Avs Sabres 1137418 Blackhawks D Erik Gustafsson thinks it's 'kind of insane' 1137449 In the Habs' Room: 'Fatigue factor' led to loss against he's scored 16 goals Hurricanes 1137419 Back-to-back starts no big deal for Chicago Blackhawks' 1137450 About last night ... Carolina dominated, but Canadiens got Crawford a point 1137420 Chicago Blackhawks rally to stay close to Colorado 1137451 Hurricanes edge Canadiens in overtime after goaltending 1137421 Powers: With the team in a desperate spot, Blackhawks’ duel core proves it can turn up the intensity 1137452 Canadiens at Hurricanes: Five things you should know 1137453 Two vastly different franchises, seeking the same thing for Colorado Avalanche vastly different reasons, meet in vital game 1137422 Avalanche lose in OT to Blackhawks, but earn a point in 1137454 An overtime loss to the Hurricanes wraps up a great week wild-card chase for the Canadiens 1137423 Avs-Blackhawks player grades: Ugly but effective 1137455 Melnick’s GBU: On Max Domi, kismet and the power of 1137424 Grubauer steals a point in Chicago with continued returning to the scene of your greatest success brilliance Nashville Predators Columbus Blue Jackets 1137456 Predators' loss to Jets ends up being appointment with 1137425 Blue Jackets 5, Canucks 0 | Jackets gets 'must-win' disappointment victory 1137457 Prospect Rem Pitlick tries to take everything in a day after 1137426 Elvis Merzlikins says signing first NHL contract is just the signing with Predators beginning, hopes to earn new flock of fans in Col New Jersey Devils Vancouver Canucks 1137458 Takeaways: NJ Devils' Blake Coleman wants puck on his 1137508 Blue Jackets 5 Canucks 0: A night where the hosts got stick on power play exactly what they deserved 1137509 Canucks Post Game: Second-period crack, Schenn sticks New York Islanders up, Demko learns, Baertschi grateful 1137459 Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson back Robin Lehner as 1137511 Ben Kuzma: Tortorella plays psychologist to keep Blue Islanders beat Coyotes Jackets in playoff hunt 1137460 Barry Trotz begs Islanders fans: Don’t boo our power play 1137512 Canucks Game Day: Torts needs extra zip from point- 1137461 This is what ideal Islanders hockey looks like hungry Blue Jackets 1137462 Barry Trotz reaches coaching milestone in Islanders' win 1137463 Isles goalie Robin Lehner looks in rhythm again after Vegas Golden Knights back-to-back wins this weekend 1137496 Golden Knights focus on health, rest down the stretch 1137464 Islanders blank Coyotes as Lehner makes 31 saves for his fifth shutout of season Washington Capitals 1137497 With 35 saves, Braden Holtby leaves the Flyers feeling New York Rangers sick in the Capitals’ 3-1 win 1137465 What Chris Kreider injury likely means for Brendan 1137498 Holtby sharp as Capitals beat Flyers to end losing streak Lemieux 1137499 Holtby, Capitals stave off Flyers to complete season 1137466 The Rangers are finally seeing the other Pavel sweep Buchnevich 1137500 Capitals turn experimental as Stanley Cup playoffs 1137467 Brendan Lemieux doesn't see end of season as test approach 1137501 Capitals' significant others show off puppies, announce Ottawa Senators Homeward Trails donations 1137468 Craig Anderson's losing streak comes to an end 1137502 Capitals earn an ugly, but critical two points in slugfest with Philadelphia Philadelphia Flyers 1137503 Don Cherry calls Evgeny Kuznetsov a "jerk" for his bird 1137469 Flyers’ Jake Voracek on key late-season losses: ‘We celebration choked’ 1137470 Flyers fall to Capitals, get swept in season series for Websites second time in history 1137513 Sportsnet.ca / Takeaways: Canadiens earn valuable point 1137471 Claude Giroux’s season assessment already sounds like to cap off positive week postmortem 1137514 Sportsnet.ca / Inferno put exclamation mark on near- 1137472 Flyers’ playoff hopes all but over after loss to Caps perfect season with Clarkson Cup win 1137473 Parent: Voracek, Giroux and Flyers have that familiar 1137515 Sportsnet.ca / Schenn the only bright spot in Canucks' empty feeling again lacklustre effort vs. Blue Jackets 1137474 Why this year's Flyers team has been an analytics 1137516 Sportsnet.ca / Beyond Headlines: Is 'load management' nightmare feasible in NHL? 1137475 Capitals 3, Flyers 1: Swept by defending champs as 1137517 Sportsnet.ca / Why hockey is more than a pastime for 2018-19 run nearing end Enoch Cree Nation 1137476 Flyers at Capitals: Live stream, storylines, game time and 1137518 Sportsnet.ca / Shot Callers: Q&A with Clarence Iron, more NHL's first Cree play-by-play man 1137477 No Johnny Boychuk drama, but Jakub Voracek, Flyers 1137519 Sportsnet.ca / Leafs turn page on mini crisis with honest about their reality persistent effort against Rangers 1137478 Flyers 5 takeaways: ‘the harder we try, the deeper we get’ 1137520 Sportsnet.ca / Canucks taken to school by Flames as playoff hopes keep slipping Pittsburgh Penguins 1137521 TSN.CA / Leafs continue to work through scoring slump 1137479 Don’t look now, but Matt Murray has become a workhorse 1137522 TSN.CA / Maple Leafs looking on bright side again after close loss San Jose Sharks 1137523 TSN.CA / Game Day Preview: Canucks vs Blue Jackets 1137480 DeBoer explains why Sharks never considered a goalie trade at deadline Winnipeg Jets 1137481 Sharks need better goaltending with NHL playoffs just 1137504 Roaring arena keeps Jets 'wired' around corner 1137505 Laine's unselfish act a smooth move 1137482 Assessing the Sharks’ goaltending and blue line issues as 1137506 JETS SNAPS: Laine no longer one-trick pony, even if his their losing streak stretches to five games best trick has vanished 1137507 JETS GAME DAY: Centres in the spotlight when Jets, St Louis Blues Stars clash 1137483 Tarasenko back on his game against Tampa Bay 1137484 Preview: Blues vs. Vegas 1137485 Playoff time? Blues could clinch as early as Tuesday SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1137486 Hochman: Blues’ defense doesn’t rest under Van Ryn Tampa Bay Lightning 1137487 Brayden Point notches his first 40th goal season 1137488 What do the Lightning’s three losses have in common? Toronto Maple Leafs 1137489 Toronto Maple Leafs sign goaltender Joseph Woll to entry-level contract 1137490 Maple Leafs are finally starting to embrace the grind 1137491 The value of Leafs defenceman Ron Hainsey isn’t always found in the numbers 1137492 Monday NHL game preview: Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs 1137493 Game Day: Panthers at Maple Leafs 1137494 LEAF SNAPS: Waiting for the goal rush 1137495 Mirtle: Why the Maple Leafs will finish with a worse record than last year 1137396 Anaheim Ducks

Takeaways from the Kings’ 4-3 victory over Ducks

By CURTIS ZUPKE

MAR 24, 2019 | 11:20 AM

The Kings and Ducks kept adding Jengas to their latest wild, back-and- forth matchup, until the whole thing came crashing down to an end Saturday night.

Anze Kopitar scored the only goal in a shootout that also featured the silky hands of Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg and Adrian Kempe. But nothing makes sense in Kings-Ducks games, and this 4-3 Kings win followed suit.

Rakell dazzled with a buzzer-beating second-period goal. Kyle Clifford got the first power-play goal of his career. Jeff Carter continued to rise from the depths.

Both teams are headed for early summers, but at least they’re making it interesting.

Here’s what we learned:

The Kings didn’t get their morale destroyed. A common phrase in the era of former Kings coach John Stevens was to not let one incident in a game effect the rest of the game.

Stevens’ former pupils heeded his mantra when they did not let Rakell’s terrific score with 0.9 second remaining in the second period deflate them. They did fall behind 3-2 but rallied on Carl Grundstrom’s tap-in goal and prevailed on Kopitar’s shootout strike.

That mettle is good to see but it’s also too little, too late for the Kings. However, at least they’re showing it when it’s least expected, or required.

“I think the last couple of games we’ve been playing [with] mental toughness,” Clifford said. “We’re staying within ourselves. We’re not letting things that happen within the game effect the way we’re going to play. We’re just keeping it simple. When things go wrong, we push pack.”

Clifford can play on the power play. We can make that assessment based on the sample size of … one appearance? He was put on the second unit because Ilya Kovalchuk sat out by coach’s decision and Brendan Leipsic did not play because of injury, and Clifford promptly redirected Alec Martinez’s goal for his first power-play goal and power play point of his career.

“Nine years later,” Clifford said.

Clifford shrugged off being put on the unit. He’s a career fourth-line player who evolved his game this season to be more of a power forward. His nine goals are a career best. He doesn’t care how he gets them.

“It kind of goes with the same as [playing] five-on-five,” Clifford said. “Just be ready and know what you got to do out there.

“I don’t really put much thought into that. Everybody’s got their role on the team and I know what mine is. Whether it’s being in front of the net on the power play or playing hard forechecking, or just being a good team guy. I don’t really put a lot of thought into personal statistics.”

Rakell’s hands are still among the league’s best. His 14th goal might have been his best this season. Rakell chipped the puck up in the air and batted it into the net. It conjured up a play from a lacrosse player, or a tennis player.

The latter makes sense because Rakell played tennis and soccer growing up in Sweden. His late grandfather, Ake, was a table tennis player who won a bronze medal in men’s doubles in the 1959 world championships.

So maybe it’s in the genes.

“I just wanted to try to get a quick shot off, but the puck lifted off the ice and I just tried to bat it out of the air,” Rakell said. “It was nice to see that one go in.”

LA Times: LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137397 Arizona Coyotes Kuemper kept the Coyotes in the game with a series of excellent saves in the second period.

“That was a good defensive game. I thought we had good possession,” Arizona Coyotes fall to New York Islanders for fifth consecutive loss Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “We are just having a tough time Associated Press Published 3:01 p.m. MT March 24, 2019 | Updated scoring right now.” 5:25 p.m. MT March 24, 2019 Arizona Republic LOADED: 03.25.2019

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – The New York Islanders used a smothering defense and some timely scoring to move closer to a playoff berth.

Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored to back Robin Leh ner’s fifth shutout of the season as the Islanders beat the Arizona Coyotes 2-0 Sunday.

Lehner stopped 31 shots to help the Islanders win for the second time in two days and keep pace with first place Washington in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals, who beat Philadelphia 3-1 earlier Sunday, lead New York by one point with six games remaining for both teams, including a matchup at Washington in the season finale on April 6.

“Those are dangerous hockey games. We had chances to pull away and they hung around,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “We got it done.”

I know it all seems like doom and gloom for the #Coyotes right now, but if the Avalanche come out of tonight with no points (at Chicago), then Arizona is just one point out with an equal number of games played to Minnesota and Colorado.

— Richard Morin ⚾️ (@ramorin_azc) March 24, 2019

New York can clinch a spot in the postseason with a Columbus loss in regulation later Sunday and if the Islanders beat the Blue Jackets on the road Tuesday night.

Starting for the second straight day, Lehner had nine saves in the first period, and 11 each in the second and third to improve to 22-12-5 this season. The Islanders, who beat the Flyers 4-2 on Saturday, improved to 11-1-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The Islanders also lead the NHL with 10 shutouts. Lehner’s counterpart Thomas Greiss also has five shutouts this season.

“I feel like the majority of games we’ve won, we’ve gone into the third period 1-0, 2-1, low scores,” said Lehner, who signed with the Islanders as free agent last summer. “When we are playing our game, we have confidence. We play hard, wait for them to make mistakes and try to capitalize on it.”

Plus, the #Coyotes play successive games against Chicago, Colorado and Minnesota next week. I know their recent play doesn’t elicit much optimism, but they can very easily pull themselves back in this thing.

— Richard Morin ⚾️ (@ramorin_azc) March 24, 2019

With New York leading 1-0, defenseman Johnny Boychuk was called for slashing at 6:42 of the third but the Islanders completely smothered the Coyotes on the ensuing power play. At 8:47, the Islanders had their chance with the man advantage when Arizona defenseman Jason Demers was called for hooking.

Lehner then stopped former Islander Michael Grabner – who has a league-best six short-handed goals this season – on a breakaway.

“He’s good on breakaways. It happens pretty quick,” Lehner said. “It was nice that it hit my arm and they didn’t score.”

“Big goal by Nelly,” Trotz said. “It feels right the way we play. You don’t really worry about the score. We can frustrate teams. And the results sort of come.”

Eberle put the Islanders ahead 4:37 into the game when he tapped a rebound of Nick Leddy’s shot past Darcy Kuemper. It was Eberle’s 15th of the season, but just his second since Feb. 9.

“Any time you get an early lead, especially on a back-to-back, it’s huge,” Eberle said. “You have to match team’s desperation. I like the way that we played.”

Kuemper finished with 24 saves as the Coyotes lost their fifth straight (0- 3-2), and finished 0-3-1 on a four-game trip. Arizona hasn’t won since March 14 against Anaheim at home, where there will play four of their last six games as they try to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012. 1137398 Arizona Coyotes moving seven games behind former Islanders coach Al Arbour who is third on the all-time list. … The Islanders are 30-14-6 when the line of Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck all play. … The Islanders Coyotes drop fifth straight game, remain out of wild card spot scratched D Thomas Hickey, D Luca Sbisa, F Tom Kuhnhackl, F Michael Dal Colle, F Ross Johnston and injured F Valtteri Filppula. … Arizona scratched D Jakob Chychrun, D Kevin Connauton, F Nick Cousins. and F Conor Garland. … The Islanders won the previous meeting 3-1 on Dec. BY ASSOCIATED PRESS | MARCH 24, 2019 AT 3:05 PM 18 in Arizona. UPDATED: MARCH 24, 2019 AT 4:31 PM UP NEXT

Islanders: At Columbus on Tuesday night. UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — The New York Islanders used a smothering Coyotes: Host Chicago on Tuesday night. defense and some timely scoring to move closer to a playoff berth. Arizona Sports LOADED: 03.25.2019 Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored to back Robin Lehner’s fifth shutout of the season as the Islanders beat the Arizona Coyotes 2-0 Sunday.

“Those are dangerous hockey games. We had chances to pull away and they hung around,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “We got it done.”

New York can clinch a spot in the postseason with a Columbus loss in regulation later Sunday and if the Islanders beat the Blue Jackets on the road Tuesday night.

Lehner then stopped former Islander Michael Grabner — who has a league-best six short-handed goals this season — on a breakaway.

“He’s good on breakaways. It happens pretty quick,” Lehner said. “It was nice that it hit my arm and they didn’t score.”

“Big goal by Nelly,” Trotz said. “It feels right the way we play. You don’t really worry about the score. We can frustrate teams. And the results sort of come.”

Eberle put the Islanders ahead 4:37 into the game when he tapped a rebound of Nick Leddy’s shot past Darcy Kuemper. It was Eberle’s 15th of the season, but just his second since Feb. 9.

“Any time you get an early lead, especially on a back-to-back, it’s huge,” Eberle said. “You have to match team’s desperation. I like the way that we played.”

Kuemper kept the Coyotes in the game with a series of excellent saves in the second period.

“That was a good defensive game. I thought we had good possession,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “We are just having a tough time scoring right now.”

NOTES: The Islanders were 12-6-2 this season at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and are now 11-6-2 at Nassau Coliseum with two home games remaining. … New York’s Barry Trotz coached his 1,600th career game, 1137399 Boston Bruins Each needs to improve in certain areas to be worthy of regular status. Cassidy had post-practice talks with each on Sunday.

Kampfer, in the lineup the last six games after three months of healthy- Johansson skates with Bruins on eve of Tampa test scratch inactivity, scored a power play goal in Saturday’s 7-3 win over the Panthers, his former club. He starts and joins the rush effectively, but Cassidy wants the 30-year-old to defend better with his feet: Closing off By Matt Porter plays with his skating, and keeping a tighter gap between himself and onrushing forwards. GLOBE STAFF MARCH 24, 2019 After his first recall of nine games beginning Nov. 16, 23-year-old rookie

Clifton reined in his wild-horse game. Since returning, the right-shot has BRANDON, Fla. — Marcus Johansson was all smiles. He was happy to not only made a transition to the left side, but has been confident, be there, happy to skate with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk again, even competitive and steady — so much so that his Sunday chat was brief. happy to battle hungry-dog rookie Karson Kuhlman in end-of-practice “Kind of left him alone,” Cassidy said. “When guys are going well, you contact drills. kind of give them a pat on the back, and not get in their way.” “Just fun to be out there with the guys,” he said after a Sunday workout at Cassidy asked Moore, who was on the ice for all three Florida goals on the Tampa Ice Sports Forum. Saturday, to park that night and move on. The 28-year-old, the third-most Of course it was. Johansson, who has watched more games as a Bruin experienced defenseman on the roster, owns a high-level set of wheels (nine) than he has played (four), rejoined his teammates for the first time but remains shy of his ceiling in Boston. since a battering-ram hit by Carolina’s Micheal Ferland on March 5 sent “It would be about making the right play consistently,” Cassidy said, him to Massachusetts General Hospital for an overnight stay with a lung noting that Zdeno Chara, Krug and Grzelcyk are ahead of Moore as contusion. lefties in the lineup. “Having a little better stick defensively. I think he can The Swedish winger, a trade deadline acquisition from New Jersey for a kill more plays. He’s got the foot speed and the willingness, it’s just the second- and a fourth-round pick, could return Monday night against the on-time stick. Some guys naturally have it. Some guys have to work at it.” Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning. Coach Bruce Cassidy, always Boston Globe LOADED: 03.25.2019 cautiously optimistic with such matters, said he considers Johansson a “game-time decision.”

The newcomer, yet to score in his No. 90 Bruins sweater (12-15—27 in 48 games with New Jersey), produced an assist on a pretty passing play in his Feb. 26 debut against the Sharks. The line showed instant, and intriguing, chemistry, playmakers Krejci and Johansson meshing with the hard-driving, fleet-footed DeBrusk.

Johansson’s return to that line would bump Kuhlman, who practiced Sunday on the right side of Danton Heinen and Charlie Coyle, down a line — or out of the group entirely.

Chris Wagner, riding with Heinen-Coyle of late, took Sunday off to address a minor, undisclosed matter. He could be back in Monday’s lineup.

“He’ll be fine,” Cassidy said, catching himself before writing in Walpole Wags. “It was a cautionary thing with him. He should be ready to go.”

Tuukka Rask will start in net for Boston, which has outscored three opponents (the Islanders, plus the non-playoff Devils and Panthers), 17- 4, on this road trip.

The Bruins, trying to solidify their first-round, home-ice edge against the Leafs, are getting a somewhat-rested Lightning. Tampa was gassed when it lost, 4-1, in Boston on Feb. 28, its third game in four nights. The Bolts broke their seven-game winning streak Saturday on the road against a desperate St. Louis, going down, 3-0, in a 75-second span in the first period before losing, 4-3. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy surrendered four goals on 26 shots.

“Last time I thought we played them very well, so I’m sure they’ll have that in the back of their mind,” Cassidy said. “They’ve also clinched the top spot, so they may have other things that they’re worrying about. I can only worry about us. We want to keep playing well. I’m sure our guys will be excited to play, because it’s Tampa, and we’ve developed a nice rivalry with them.”

The playoffs begin April 10, two weeks from Wednesday. By then, the Bruins expect to have back two of their best defensive defensemen (Kevan Miller and Matt Grzelcyk) and their best puck-mover (Torey Krug).

While Grzelcyk (right arm) and Miller (upper body) skated with skills coach Kim Brandvold after practice, Krug (concussion) returned to practice and participated in everything but contact drills. He got stick taps from his teammates when he took to the ice. The Bruins plan to practice Tuesday, a day before hosting the Rangers at TD Garden. If Krug keeps progressing, logic dictates he could return Wednesday.

For the replacements, time is getting short.

Steven Kampfer, Connor Clifton, and John Moore are angling to be “next man up” come postseason. Each is versatile enough to play either side. 1137400 Boston Bruins

Bruins’ secondary scoring rewarded all around

By MARISA INGEMI | [email protected] | Boston Herald

March 24, 2019 at 6:00 PM

TAMPA, Fla. — For a team that’s relied so heavily on its best players, the Bruins ability to find the net from unlikely sources has been boosted in this latest stretch.

That was highlighted by Saturday’s win in Sunrise, where 12 players — including the goalie — registered a point against the Panthers. By the second period, all four forward lines had scored.

The Bruins aren’t totally healthy yet, and still won’t be on Monday night against the Lightning. They’ve still found ways to score through many different ways, even if they’re unlikely repeats.

“I think we talk about secondary scoring a lot, we have the three guys who do a lot of our offense, but this time of year you have to find secondary scoring,” said Steven Kampfer, who scored on the power play against the Panthers. “It’s good we have guys who can score up and down the lineup. It was good, it’s something we have to continue doing, playing with and without the puck and playing better every night.”

Kampfer on the man advantage wasn’t the only surprise scorer, with Noel Acciari netting the first goal of the game 2:23 in and Karson Kuhlman tallying his second career NHL goal. Connor Clifton even notched his first NHL point with a secondary assist, while Zdeno Chara blasted his 200th career goal on an assist from Danton Heinen.

Some of the newfound offense has to do with chemistry building in the forward lines as well; David Backes picked up back-to-back points for the second time this season with an assist on Saturday.

“Just three guys that have been looking for a spot to fit and guys that are willing to work hard, be tough to play against and be simple and predictable to each other,” said Backes. “The equation seems to work out in the end where we’re getting pucks in the corner, we’ve got enough ability and grind to get pucks back and stop and then find guys in the slot. Was able to find Noel, Noel was able to find me in the slot the game before.”

Backes skated with Acciari and Joakim Nordstrom, and that’s the line projected for Monday based on Sunday’s practice.

Nordstrom hasn’t seen as much offensive success in the second half of the season, with just a goal and two assists in his last 30 games. But he’s settled into a role, and his defensive ability has helped glue together an ever-changing bottom six.

“We’re all on the same page, starting with getting pucks off the forecheck and making chances from there,” said Nordstrom. “We’ve gotten a couple of bounces here our way. I’m playing with the same players for a couple games in a row, that obviously helps. Just getting that chemistry of knowing where things are going to be.”

Marcus Johansson might make a return on Monday, which would boost the top six forward. But in the interim, even with a short skid following their extended winning streak, the Bruins have found ways to score regardless.

Boston Herald LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137401 Boston Bruins

Bruins notebook: Kuhlman stepping up at right time

By MARISA INGEMI | [email protected] | Boston Herald

March 24, 2019 at 5:00 PM

TAMPA, Fla. — Next man up has been the mantra for the Bruins all season. Rookie Karson Kuhlman has embraced his limited role in his first season of pro hockey, and he’s made an impression in the opportunity he’s gotten.

The Minnesota-Duluth alum scored his second career NHL goal on Saturday night against the Panthers, capitalizing on a turnover and using his speed to create his own offense.

His confidence is starting to soar, and he’s made the most of his chance in the Bruins lineup.

“It’s been a bit of a roller coaster, but I’ve kind of gotten used to it now,” Kuhlman said. “It happened a couple of times earlier this year as well. It’s nice to come in here and get a win.”

Kuhlman was advertised as a fast skater with some offensive prowess to go along with his tenacity and battle level, and he’s lived up to that. His hockey IQ has also helped him keep getting looks when the Bruins have tried out several options in the midst of their injury-riddled season.

“I think in the first we passed up on a few shots,” said Kuhlman. “I had two that I passed up on. I was just looking to get a puck to the net there and was fortunate with it going in.”

With the entire lineup projected to be healthy for the postseason, Kuhlman might not see much (or any) playoff action. But if a spot opens up, he’s made it so he’s high on the list of calls to join the team.

“His goal was terrific,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “In the right spot defensively, which as a young guy, he does really well. It’s why he’s here, it’s one of the reasons. Then he attacked. Some other guys might have deferred and kicked the puck out, but he saw a lane and went for it… He has good energy, that’s what he has to do, he has to be first on pucks. That’s two goals in six games, that’s impressive.”

Johansson gets closer

If all goes well, Marcus Johansson should be back in the lineup Monday night against the Lightning. He skated with the team for the first time since suffering a lung contusion two weeks ago.

“It’s been a lot of things, but good,” he said. “Everyone’s been dealing with it really well and doing what we needed to do. It’s been a tough two weeks, mentally, but it’s been good. It’s never fun, but it’s been good.”

Johansson skated on a line with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk, right where he was slotted in before taking the hit against the Hurricanes that sidelined him. That slid Kuhlman down to the third group, with Danton Heinen and Charlie Coyle, who have generated some chemistry themselves.

Ups and downs

Chris Wagner missed practice Sunday with what Cassidy called a maintenance day, and said he assumed he would be ready to play Monday.

Torey Krug practiced with the team for the first time since suffering a concussion in Columbus. He skated in a gold non-contact sweater. He won’t play against the Lightning.

Kevan Miller (upper-body) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper-body) each skated late in the Bruins Sunday afternoon practice, but neither are ready for a return.

Boston Herald LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137402 Boston Bruins

Zdeno Chara pays tribute to father in emotional Instagram post after Bruins' win

By Nick Goss March 24, 2019 2:54 PM

Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara knows a lot of people have helped him become a future Hall of Fame player in the NHL.

His father is right at, or near the top of the list.

After Chara made history by scoring the 200th goal of his career in Boston's 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night, the B's defenseman took to Instagram to pay tribute to his dad and thank him for all the help he's provided.

Past few days has been overwhelming. First my birthday,then contract extension and last night clinching the play offs. As soon as I got to my locker I saw a text from my Father. My dad is an old school tough guy. He raised me with tough love and literally beat my ass at home and kick it in the gym.He showed me what hard work is and what it takes to get where you want to be. Never took it easy on me. I hated it then,but I am grateful for it,because hard work and discipline its part of who I am. I called him on the plane. To hear my Dad expressed his happiness and love felt good. He was bugging me about 200 for a while,so when I scored last it felt good cause that goal was for him. This is for you Dad.

Chara also signed a one-year contract extension Saturday to remain with the Bruins through the end of next season. The 42-year-old veteran remains one of the better defensemen in the league, and his value to the B's during even strength, the power play and penalty kill is immense. His leadership on and off the ice sets a great example for the entire team as well.

The Bruins clinched a playoff spot with Saturday's win. It will be their ninth playoff appearance in the 12 seasons since Chara came to Boston, and he's been the driving force of the team's success over that span.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137403 Boston Bruins

Recapping milestones Bruins hit with playoff-clinching win vs. Panthers

By Nick Goss March 24, 2019 10:46 AM

The Boston Bruins secured a Stanley Cup playoff berth with Saturday night's 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers, and they set, tied or extended a few milestones as a result.

Here's a recap of the notable Bruins milestones from the playoff-clinching victory.

--The Bruins will soon make their 72nd appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Only the Montreal Canadiens (83) have made more appearances.

--The Bruins will be the third team in NHL history to play in 100 best-of-7 playoff series.

--Boston improved its record to 46-20-9 for 101 points. It represents the Bruins' 23rd 100-point season in history, extending their own league record. The next closest teams are the Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers with 19 100-point seasons.

--The Bruins almost certainly will play the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens in Round 1. If that happens, it will be the seventh time in their last 10 playoff appearances that the Bruins have faced a Canadian team in the first round. Boston is 4-2 in the previous six matchups. There's about a 98% chance the Bruins will play the Leafs in Round 1 for the second consecutive year.

The Bruins cannot catch the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division, so their next goal is clinching home ice advantage in Round 1.

This is a very important objective for the B's given their success at TD Garden this season -- Boston owns a 28-7-3 home record. Home ice also proved to be a huge factor in the B's beating the Leafs in their 2013 and 2018 first-round playoff series, both of which ended with a Game 7 victory in Boston.

So, while the Bruins' first major objective of the regular season has been accomplished, there's still work to be done over the final seven games.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137404 Boston Bruins minutes of ice time. The reserve D-man has been ready to go since he got his recent shot and he deserves credit for that.

MINUS What we learned in the Bruins' 7-3 win over the Panthers *The Bruins were 25-for-65 in the face-off circle, which is under 40 percent success and pretty horrendous for the usually very-good B’s men By Joe Haggerty March 24, 2019 10:01 AM in the middle.

*Henrik Borgstrom was a minus-3, had zero shots on net and was 1-for-6 in the face-off circle while stinking up the joint in under 10 minutes of ice Here’s What We Learned in the Bruins 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers time. at the BB&T Center that clinched a playoff spot for the Black and Gold. *Two shots on net, three giveaways and a minus-3 rating for Jonathan 1) Zdeno Chara is finally beginning to show some signs of age at 42 Huberdeau, who certainly won’t be showing the film of this game to the years old, but with that age and experience come some pretty great NHL Awards voters when it comes time for Selke Trophy consideration. career accomplishments as well. Chara had a special day on Saturday as he signed a one-year contract extension for $2 million plus $1.75 Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 million in incentives that will give him another season in Black and Gold. Then he went out and played 25 plus minutes in a throwback performance while scoring his 200th career goal that puts him in rarified air with only 22 other D-men in the history of the NHL. It’s that kind of offensive production, longevity to go along with being the best shutdown D of his generation that has already punched his ticket to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Last night’s win in Florida that was pushed along by his offense and defensive work was just another reminder of how consistently excellent he’s been in a Bruins uniform since arriving, and how important Chara’s leadership, work ethic and talent have been to Boston consistently being a playoff team during his tenure with the team. It was nice to see Chara show some child-like enthusiasm after he scored as well along with some neat sentiments following the game that the goal was dedicated to his father. "I would like to dedicate this goal to my dad,” said Zdeno Chara to reporters in Florida. “He brought me to hockey and he was always very supportive...last few weeks he was joking about when I was gonna score." Early in his career with the Bruins, Chara was hesitant to share about his off-the-ice life and didn’t really talk all that much about his family. So it’s pretty great to see him sharing those kinds of things with fans, media and his teammates alike as he moves toward the end of a brilliant career with the Black and Gold.

2) Noel Acciari is stepping up his game at the right time of year. Acciari has slid back into his fourth line center spot with David Pastrnak’s return to the lineup, and on Saturday night he was centering David Backes and Joakim Nordstrom. Acciari scored his second goal of the road trip when he blasted home a centering pass from behind the net from David Backes in the first period, and then he dropped the gloves for an epic tilt with McKenzie Weegar in the second period. Acciari was channeling PJ Stock during the fight as he just kept throwing windmill left-handed punches in a big flurry until he finally dropped Weegar to the ice in a brawl that really energized the Black and Gold. Acciari finished an assist short of the Gordie Howe hat trick in what would have been a pretty cool thing for the fourth line grinder out of Rhode Island, but Acciari finished with the goal, a plus-1 rating and four shot attempts in 12 plus minutes of energy and physicality.

3) Connor Clifton has been very strong since coming up again to the Bruins from the AHL. On Saturday night he picked up his first point while assisting on the Noel Acciari goal that kicked off the scoring for the Bruins. He also topped 16 minutes of ice time, a plus-1 rating, four shots on net and a couple of blocked shots, and hasn’t looked out of place at all in the late season intensity of the regular season. Clearly Clifton probably doesn’t have a place in the B’s playoff lineup if everybody is healthy, but he’s playing well enough to earn consideration nonetheless given how strong he’s been at both ends of the ice along with a pretty strong workload. The 23-year-old was just as impressive in his first go- round with the Bruins as well, so it wouldn’t shock this humble hockey writer to see him in the B’s lineup should injuries hit at some point during the postseason.

PLUS

*Noel Acciari scored the B’s first goal, manned the middle for the fourth line and dropped the gloves for a memorably ferocious hockey fight with McKenzie Weeger. It’s been a good road trip for the Rhode Island kid.

*Zdeno Chara topped 25 minutes of ice time, scored the 200th goal of his NHL career and did all of that after signing a one-year extension with the Bruins on Saturday morning. That’s pretty good stuff for the 42-year-old.

*Steve Kampfer was actually really good for the Bruins with a goal and five shots on net while maximizing his performance in a little over 12 1137405 Boston Bruins 71.29 CA/60 rate. Cassidy may believe Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak would be better off handling the Tavares line.

Considering their respective paces of late, the Bruins are in good shape A tough break: How Sean Kuraly’s injury upsets Bruce Cassidy’s plan vs. to get the better of the Leafs in the first round. Kuraly’s injury, however, Toronto makes that less of a sure thing.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 By Fluto Shinzawa Mar 24, 2019 13

In his most recent incarnation, Sean Kuraly was the Bruins’ No. 4 left wing. From that perspective, there are forwards higher in the lineup that would be more significantly missed over the next month.

Kuraly, however, belongs to a unit whose sum is greater than its parts.

Kuraly is out for the rest of the regular season, courtesy of the puck that Steven Santini rocketed off his right hand on March 21. Not only that, the fourth-line grinder may have had the misfortune of having played his final game of 2018-19 if the Maple Leafs, the Bruins’ most likely opening opponent, have their way with them in April.

Kuraly would have been a significant corrective against that scenario taking place.

Kuraly, proud son of Dublin, Ohio, had been a mainstay on the American Beauty line. Despite their fourth-line status, Kuraly, Walpole’s Chris Wagner and Noel Acciari, raised in Johnston, R.I., had effectively become Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy’s second-choice trio.

During 5-on-5 play, only the exquisite unit of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak (421:22 of time together, according to Natural Stat Trick) had been deployed more often than the 401:55 totaled by the Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner group. The Bruins, who made fourth lines famous in their 2010-11 Stanley Cup run, had discovered the modern version of Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton.

At 5-on-5, the American Beauties have been outscored by a 14-8 margin. Yet they’ve earned Cassidy’s trust because he could play them against anybody. They have a 51.97 Corsi For rating. They’ve allowed 50.91 shot attempts per 60 minutes of play, a lower rate than the 52.26 CA/60 recorded by the top line of 63-37-88.

As such, Cassidy would have had no concern about matchups against Toronto’s units, especially Leafs coach Mike Babcock’s top threesome of Zach Hyman, John Tavares and Mitch Marner. Kuraly and Wagner skate well enough to keep pace with Hyman and Marner, who are instructed to blow the zone at every opportunity.

Acciari is not as fast as his wingmen. But he has the smarts and physicality to lean on Tavares until reinforcements arrive in the form of Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy, the shutdown pairing Cassidy will deploy against Toronto’s top line.

Because Cassidy trusts his fourth line, it would have given him a chance to give Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak a matchup breather, provided he chooses to keep No. 88 with his preferred playmates. The Bruins, currently seven points north of the Maple Leafs, are likely to have home- ice advantage. So when Babcock rolled out Hyman-Tavares-Marner for a faceoff, Cassidy could have countered with his fourth line and saved his top group for a less taxing matchup.

Kuraly’s injury, however, puts Cassidy into a spot he’d rather not occupy. Provided no other bodies fall before the first round, Cassidy has two choices for his fourth line. He could keep Acciari and Wagner together and replace Kuraly with Joakim Nordstrom. Or Cassidy could continue what he started in Saturday’s 7-3 beatdown of the Panthers: moving Wagner up to the third line and rolling a fourth line of Nordstrom, Acciari and David Backes.

The latter played well against Florida. Acciari scored his fifth goal with help from Backes. The line was on the ice for 8:13 of 5-on-5 action.

It’s unlikely, however, that Cassidy would be comfortable using the line against Tavares and Co. in April. Backes would not fare well in sprint-offs against Hyman and Marner. If Cassidy wants to use his fourth line as a matchup trio, the Nordstrom-Acciari-Wagner group would be better optimized for such services.

The trouble is that the three forwards have not spent much time together. They have on the ice for just 52:10. It is a limited sample size. But things have not gone well during that span: a lowly 39.22 CF% and a bloated 1137406 Buffalo Sabres mistakes, too. Not getting pucks out, losing blue lines and good teams make you pay. For us, the urgency has to be getting to the other team’s net and making it harder on other goalies."

Sabres hope to finish strong before another long offseason of reflection Still, Kyle Okposo doesn't buy the notion that a non-playoff team can build momentum toward the following season since change is inevitable. Players will be added and subtracted. Systems can change. A different By Lance Lysowski|Published Sun, Mar 24, 2019|Updated Sun, Mar 24, message is typically delivered during the offseason. The 31-year-old 2019 winger thinks the Sabres should play well, regardless if the playoffs are within reach.

No amount of success will absolve the Sabres of their historic fall, NEWARK, N.J. — Sam Reinhart dashed toward the blue line, braced for Okposo said. They are one of only two teams in NHL history to miss the Rasmus Dahlin's shot and fell to the ice when the puck struck him. playoffs in the same season in which they won 10 games in a row, and Dahlin quickly skated over to check on Reinhart, who stood up and no one is sure how they continue to make the same mistakes. skated to center ice before the Buffalo Sabres concluded a fast-paced For now, they intend to focus on the season's 13 days before a long practice Sunday in Prudential Center. Their playoff hopes ended with a 7- offseason of reflection. 4 loss in Montreal one night earlier, yet the Sabres feel there is much to play for over their final eight games, beginning Monday night against the "There has definitely been progress off the ice," Okposo said. "I think that New Jersey Devils. last year there was no way we would have been able to win 10 games in a row or have the start that we did. The first two and a half months of the The situation can be challenging for a team that had played for one season were really, really big steps. I don’t think we can forget that. singular goal since the onset of training camp. While they will eventually That’s not easy to do in this league. … We’re going to have to look in the reflect on the Sabres' collapse following a 10-game win streak, their offseason to see what we can do better. See why we seemed to run out motivation has shifted now that the franchise's playoff drought reached of steam in the second half of the year. There are going to be a lot of eight years. different conversations and a lot of reasoning to try to figure out what "You always have something to play for," Carter Hutton said. "It’s the happened." NHL. Truthfully, for me, I clawed and fought my whole career to make it Buffalo News LOADED: 03.25.2019 here, so every time you get a chance to play in the NHL, it’s an honor. You should never take it for granted. ... When you’re out of the playoffs it’s tricky but everyone is playing for a job. Everyone is playing for their life. That’s something guys need to be aware of for sure."

They also are trying to discover how their play rapidly deteriorated following a one-day stint atop the NHL standings. Since winning their 10th consecutive game Nov. 27, the Sabres are tied with the Ottawa Senators for the fewest points (35) while scoring the fifth-fewest goals and allowing the third most.

Additionally, the Sabres are just 11-21-5 away from KeyBank Center and have lost 11 straight, going 0-9-2 since their 5-4 win in Columbus on Jan. 29. Only two NHL teams have performed worse on the road: Ottawa (10- 27-2) and New Jersey (13-20-5).

The Sabres' collapse is dotted with troubling trends. They have allowed 93 second-period goals this season, which ranks 29th in the league, and their minus-29 differential in the period ranks 30th. They have not won back-to-back games since Dec. 13, and one goal against tends to snowball.

Coach Phil Housley wants to address their 5-on-5 struggles over the season's final two weeks. The Sabres have a negative-30 goal differential in those situations since the winning streak, compared to plus- 5 in their first 25 games. Entering Sunday's games, every team occupying a playoff spot had a positive goal differential at 5-on-5.

"It’s so important," Housley said. "If you look at every team that’s in playoff position right now, their 5-on-5 is on the plus side, so that’s what we need to focus on. The games we’ve had success we’ve been on the right side of that, and we haven’t had a lot of success, so those are some of the areas we need to focus on. What does that mean? That means playing well without the puck. When we don’t have it, we have to have an urgency without it."

Housley pointed to youth as a reason for the Sabres' ugly defensive performance Saturday in Montreal; however, many of their errors were committed by players with a wealth of NHL experience, including Reinhart and Jack Eichel. The team is allowing too many scoring chances, while making the opposing goalie's job easy.

Prior to practice Sunday, the Sabres' coaches illustrated that fact by showing players video of traffic in front of Hutton compared to that in front of Montreal's Carey Price. The difference was remarkable. Sabres rookie center Casey Mittelstadt could be a healthy scratch Monday, as Housley tries to reinforce the importance of defensive awareness, yet it's a team- wide issue.

"I think we just have to give up less," Hutton said. "We give up a lot of high-quality chances that end up in our net sometimes. Managing the emotions of the game. Lately we’ll play well, we give one up and all of a sudden it snowballs on us. We can’t seem to make those plays. It’s little 1137407 Buffalo Sabres And it’s not what you make, it’s what you leave on the table. Right now we’re leaving way too much. In Casey’s defense, it might be a good thing to just take a deep breath. He’s played a lot of hockey up to this point, so Sabres recall defenseman Lawrence Pilut as a precaution we’ll make that decision tomorrow."

Buffalo News LOADED: 03.25.2019

By Lance Lysowski|Published Sun, Mar 24, 2019|Updated Sun, Mar 24, 2019

NEWARK, N.J. -- With Zach Bogosian and Matt Hunwick both absent from practice Sunday in Prudential Center, the Buffalo Sabres recalled defenseman Lawrence Pilut from Rochester.

Pilut, a 23-year-old defenseman, joined the team as a precaution because Bogosian and Hunwick are dealing with injuries. However, it remains unclear if Pilut will be needed when the Sabres play the New Jersey Devils on Monday at 7 p.m.

Buffalo coach Phil Housley said Bogosian is expected to be available against the Devils, and Pilut's arrival was simply a precaution because Hunwick has missed three consecutive games with an upper-body injury.

"We’re sort of depleted with Matt Hunwick’s situation as well," Housley said following practice. "We felt we needed some insurance and those decisions will be made at game time tomorrow."

Bogosian has been dealing with a lower-body injury and regularly has sat out practice the last couple of weeks. He played 19 minutes, 18 seconds in Saturday's 7-4 loss at Montreal and is averaging 21 minutes, 38 seconds in 65 games this season.

The Sabres also are without defenseman Jake McCabe, whose season ended earlier this month because of an upper-body injury, and the team had only six available defensemen with Hunwick day-to-day. Pilut was a natural fit for a recall despite the Amerks trying to improve their playoff position.

Pilut had one goal with six assists and a minus-3 rating in 25 games for the Sabres earlier this season. He was sent down because of recurring defensive lapses, but the rookie was able to make an impact with the puck on his stick.

He has four goals and 22 assists in 28 games for the Amerks, with a plus-21 rating and .93 points per game ratio that both rank second among Rochester skaters. Still, Pilut has been displeased with his play since returning to Rochester.

"I think I had great consistency in the beginning of the season, and I went back and struggled a little bit," Pilut said. "I'm finding my way back slowly. I thought yesterday was a good game for me. That somehow gave me a little push."

Pilut was referring to his performance in the Amerks' 5-2 victory over the Toronto Marlies Saturday night, when he had four shots on goal and a plus-1 rating. Despite bouts of inconsistency, the Sabres had a 51.15 percent 5-on-5 shot differential with Pilut on the ice this season, which ranks second behind Rasmus Dahlin among the team's defensemen.

The Sabres signed Pilut to an entry-level contract in May and he was recalled by Buffalo after he was tied for the AHL lead with 22 points through 15 games with the Amerks. A left-shot defenseman, Pilut will be a restricted free agent after next season.

"I try to learn from the bad things and keep the good things in mind," Pilut said of his first stint with the Sabres. "I just want to keep working on my consistency out there and just try to play as good as I can. That's what I have on my mind right now."

Mittelstadt could sit

Sabres rookie center Casey Mittelstadt filled in on defense with Pilut a late arrival and could be a healthy scratch Monday against the Devils despite assisting on Sam Reinhart's first-period goal against Montreal.

Mittelstadt, 20, has 11 goals with 12 assists and a minus-15 rating in 70 games. While his skill has tantalized at times, his defensive awareness has remained inconsistent. Tage Thompson is expected to draw back into the lineup if Mittelstadt sits.

"I think Casey’s given us some really good games and sometimes in a player’s development it’s not a bad thing to take a step back," Housley said. "You look at our games, we’re giving up way too much right now. 1137408 Calgary Flames description. “We’re scoring a lot of goals as a team and anytime you do that, it reflects on individual play.”

Belief. From pretender to contender, Flames have authored impressive turnaround “No matter what game we’re in this year, we feel we can win,” summarized rising star and fan favourite Matthew Tkachuk.

A business-like approach, something that seems to start with the Wes Gilbertson straightforward skipper.

As Treliving pointed out, “It’s not just the games — you watch the Whatever happens next, the Calgary Flames have been a terrific practices, and we haven’t had a lot of bad ones. There will be some turnaround story this season. nights when the execution isn’t as good as others, but you never question the work and the effort part of it with this group.” This current cast has now notched 47 victories, the highest total for any Flames edition since that banner-raising bunch in 1988-89. Thanks to a And a stick-togetherness and behind-the-scenes chemistry that wasn’t a 3-1 triumph in Saturday’s salty showdown with the Canucks in sure-thing with so many summer changes. Vancouver, they zoomed past the century mark for only the fifth time in “You could notice that in China,” said right-winger Garnet Hathaway, franchise history. author of the game-winning goal in back-to-back outings. “You noticed “We talk all the time about being where your shoes are. That’s just the group of guys and how we meshed together. There was never a dull staying in the moment, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that,” moment, even over there, and I think we came together as a team. We reasoned Flames general manager Brad Treliving. “To win in this league, can laugh about some stuff that happened but, in the end, it brought us you need a lot of things. You need talent, you need hard work … But I closer. think our consistency has been a key thing for us. We haven’t had too “In pre-season, you never know how the regular season is going to go. many peaks and valleys. And when we haven’t been great, we’ve been But you find out the guys in the room and I think that’s what we were able to find a way to scratch out some points.” most excited about — we said, ‘Hey, we have a great group of guys. If Whether by scratching or by storming back, by scoring in bunches or we commit to how to play, it will go well.’ That’s kind of what happened.” sometimes by stifling the opposition, the Flames have piled up a lot of What happens next? points. Stay tuned. One-hundred and one, to be exact, and counting. There are still questions to be answered — Who is No. 1 in the Pacific The franchise standard of 117 is out of reach but with seven dates Division? Who is No. 1 in the crease? — and Treliving will continue to remaining, starting with Monday’s matchup with the lowly Los Angeles stress that stay-in-the-moment approach, but what is certain is these Kings at the Saddledome (7 p.m., Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Flames have established themselves as a legitimate Stanley Cup Fan), the second-best regular-season haul in local lore seems like a contender. certainty. After their early exit a year ago, that is quite an ascent. One year ago at this time, the Flames were in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, their playoff hopes squashed. “I think talking around the league, a lot of players on other teams that you know, that’s where you get the best feedback from,” Giordano said. “And Finishing with 84 points, they were rightfully labelled as a band of guys are saying that we’re tough to play against. We have to keep that underachievers. up.”

Not this crew. Calgary Sun: LOADED: 03.25.2019 Treliving retooled with several significant off-season tinkers — by hiring Bill Peters as head coach, by welcoming Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin in a savvy swap, by diving into the unrestricted free-agent market but also leaving enough opportunity to allow the emergence of guys like David Rittich, Rasmus Andersson and Andrew Mangiapane.

The results, by any measure, have been impressive.

The largest single-season improvement in the Flames’ history book is a 23-point leap from 1991-92 to the following campaign. These gents, with a six-point cushion atop the Pacific Division standings, are three wins shy of equalling that feat.

“I think it’s the mentality of the group,” said alternate captain and first-line centre Sean Monahan. “This is my sixth year here and going season after season not proving anything, not doing anything, it takes a toll on you. With the guys Tre brought in and the group we have, we have to get the job done and we have to do something. That’s our mindset.”

The job, of course, is far from finished.

The Flames last surpassed 100 points in 2005-06, Miikka Kiprusoff’s Vezina Trophy-winning campaign.

That squad, despite home-ice advantage, flunked out in the first playoff round.

This group will ultimately be graded on their spring showing, but what they’ve achieved so far is nothing to sneeze at.

Ask around, and the focal points will offer several different explanations for the script-flip.

Depth.

“Look at the amount of guys who are having great years … ” said captain Mark Giordano, a Norris Trophy frontrunner who certainly fits that 1137409 Calgary Flames Forwards

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Elias Lindholm

GameDay: Kings at Flames — 5 storylines Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik

James Neal – Mark Jankowski – Austin Czarnik

Wes Gilbertson Andrew Mangiapane – Derek Ryan – Garnet Hathaway

Defence

Los Angeles Kings (27-39-8) at Calgary Flames (47-21-7) TJ Brodie – Mark Giordano

7 p.m. MT, Saddledome, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan Noah Hanifin – Travis Hamonic

THE BIG MATCHUP Oscar Fantenberg – Rasmus Andersson

Flames D Mark Giordano vs. Kings D Drew Doughty Goaltenders

If Giordano has an opportunity to chat with Doughty, he might want to Mike Smith ask about mantle management. The Kings’ stalwart defenceman won the Norris Trophy in 2016. Giordano is the frontrunner to land that award this David Rittich season, and he has only strengthened his case with a seven-game point KINGS LINEUP streak during this stretch run. With an early strike in Saturday’s win over the Canucks in Vancouver, Giordano made history as only the third Forwards greybeard blue-liner to post a 70-point season at age 35 or older, joining Alex Iafallo – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Zubov in that exclusive club. He added two assists for good measure. With his team in rebuild-mode, it has been a Carl Grundstrom – Adrian Kempe – Tyler Toffoli miserable winter for Doughty. The 29-year-old workhorse is saddled with an ugly minus-30 rating, the second-worst mark in the league. Kyle Clifford – Jeff Carter – Trevor Lewis

Austin Wagner – Jonny Brodzinski

FIVE STORYLINES FOR THE GAME Defence

TRIPLE DIGITS! Derek Forbort – Drew Doughty

With Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Canucks, this current cast of Flames Alec Martinez – Matt Roy cruised past the 100-point plateau for just the fifth time in franchise Sean Walker – Kurtis MacDermid history. They also boosted their win total to 47, Calgary’s highest since the Stanley Cup-winning campaign of 1988-89. With three straight Ws, Paul LaDue the Flames have opened a six-point lead on the San Jose Sharks in the race for first seed in the Pacific Division. (The Kings did them a huge Goaltenders favour with Thursday’s upset of the Men in Teal.) Jonathan Quick UNSTOPPABLE FOURTH Jack Campbell The Flames’ fourth line certainly hasn’t looked like a checking unit of late, INJURIES with Derek Ryan, Garnet Hathaway and Andrew Mangiapane combining for four goals and 10 points over the past two spins. Hathaway has been Flames — LW Sam Bennett (upper body) hottest of all. The rugged right-winger has tallied twice, collected a pair of assists and racked up nine hits over that span. The 27-year-old Kings — LW Brendan Leipsic (lower body) Hathaway now has five game-winning goals on the season, including the SPECIAL TEAMS decisive denting in back-to-back battles. Power play HOLLYWOOD HARDSHIP Flames: 20.7% (52-for-251, 12th) Monday’s meeting at the Saddledome seems like a mismatch — the Flames, after all, have 20 more victories than their out-of-town guests — Kings: 15.9% (31-for-195, 27th) but the cellar-dwelling Kings are arriving on a positive note. Thanks to Saturday’s 4-3 shootout victory against the arch-rival Anaheim Ducks, Penalty kill they have won consecutive contests for the first time since a three-game Flames: 79.7% (T-19th) tear from Feb. 4-7. The Kings are pulling up the rear in the Western Conference standings with just 62 points. Kings: 75.3% (29th)

CRANKY KOVALCHUK Calgary Sun: LOADED: 03.25.2019

The Kings have lately been dressing 11 forwards and seven defencemen, a tough pill to swallow for summer signing Ilya Kovalchuk. The 35-year-old winger — returned from the KHL on a three-year, US$18.75-million deal — has been a healthy scratch for three of the past four dates and doesn’t sound like he would miss Willie Desjardins if the interim coach isn’t back next season. “After Willie came here, I don’t have a chance,” Kovalchuk told the L.A. Times and The Athletic.

THIS N’ THAT

Kings forward Dustin Brown is riding a four-game point streak … The Flames have triumphed in both tilts with the Kings so far this season. They will meet once again on April Fools’ Day at Staples Center … Flames defenceman Oscar Fantenberg, acquired from L.A. on deadline day in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick, will be facing his former teammates for the first time. Fantenberg has one assist and a plus-4 rating in 10 appearances with his new employer.

FLAMES LINEUP 1137410 Calgary Flames

Nickname game: Flames' fourth unit calling themselves the DAG Line

Wes Gilbertson

In a jubilant locker-room after Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena, a reporter suggested that it might be time for somebody to think of a nickname for the Calgary Flames’ suddenly- scorching fourth line.

Unless that trio — faceoff ace Derek Ryan, hard-nosed Garnet Hathaway and rookie speedster Andrew Mangiapane — already had a catchy moniker in mind?

“Maybe, just between the line, we might,” Hathaway grinned. “But we’ll keep that quiet for a bit.”

It stayed quiet for about 30 seconds.

The scribes and TV types shuffled over to chat with Mangiapane, who apparently didn’t receive the memo about this supposed-to-be-secret.

“Doc and Hath like the ‘DAG Line,’ ” Mangiapane revealed. “That’s their saying, so I guess it’s OK to me.”

It’s probably about time that we called them something other than the fourth line because they certainly haven’t looked that part in the past two twirls especially, combining for four goals and six assists as the Flames (47-21-7) have strengthened their grip on top spot in the Pacific Division race.

Hathaway is on a tear — two straight game-winners, two straight multi- point performances and two straight second-star nods.

Mangiapane has also buried in back-to-back outings, including a crucial insurance marker during the third period in Vancouver, while Ryan has racked up three assists over that span.

The key to their success?

You might not believe it …

“I think it starts with good communication,” Mangiapane said. “I’ve said it before but if I have a question, I can talk to Hath, I can talk to Doc, and we figure it out. We’re good buddies, I guess, on and off the ice. And we all sit beside each other on the plane, so we’re building chemistry like that, too.

“It’s me in the corner, and then you have Hath and Doc on the aisle. So we’re all there chirping each other.”

You can bet Mangiapane was getting an earful from his pals on Saturday’s return flight after he spilled the beans on the internal nickname.

Whether you call them the ‘DAG Line’ — a mash-up of Derek, Andrew and Garnet, of course — or prefer another handle, this combo has been a fourth to be reckoned with.

“They’re getting rewarded for the work they’re putting in,” praised Flames head coach Bill Peters after the victory in Vancouver. “That line has been real good. Now, the difference is they’re finishing off more plays than they did earlier in the year.”

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137411 Carolina Hurricanes “You could kind of feel it coming our way,” van Riemsdyk said, “and it did.”

News Observer LOADED: 03.25.2019 Canes beat Canadiens in overtime on Svechnikov goal

BY CHIP ALEXANDER

MARCH 24, 2019 09:55 PM

RALEIGH

The Carolina Hurricanes’ season is quickly turning from promising and exciting to special.

There’s no denying it now. The Canes are feeling it. They’re getting closer to what so many have wanted for so many years -- a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with all the postseason perks, tailgates and community goodwill that come with it.

They’re not there yet. But games like the one Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens make so much seem possible.

Trailing 1-0 with less than six minutes left in regulation, with Habs goalie Carey Price a rock in net, turning away every threat, the Canes found a way to win.

First, defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk tied the score with a shot from the point at 14:21 of the third.

Next, rookie Andrei Svechnikov won it in overtime, ripping a shot from the right circle through Price at 3:15 of the extra period.

With 91 points, the Canes (42-26-7) strengthened their hold on the first wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re three points head of the Canadiens (40-28-8), who are in the second wild-card position with 88 points, and have a game in hand on Montreal.

“A great ending, obviously,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Super exciting game. Overtime could have gone either way, they had some good chances, but obviously we got the win.”

“You love the confidence he has,” Brind’Amour said. “He feels it and he’s earned the right to be out there.”

With goals in his last two games, Svechnikov has 20 for the season. The No. 2 pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, the Russian has physically and mentally handled all the challenges and grind of playing in the NHL and now is playing his best hockey of the season.

“I’m super-confident right now,” Svechnikov said. “I’m just going out there and playing my game and just enjoying it.”

Svechnikov may enjoy this: he’s the youngest player in franchise history to score an overtime goal at 18 years and 363 days.

Not to overlooked was the hard work of Canes goalie Curtis McElhinney. He allowed a first-period goal to Paul Byron after a turnover in the Canes zone -- “A lucky bounce,” Brind’Amour called it -- but didn’t give up another in making 28 saves.

Price faced 40 shots, denying Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen on breakaways in the third period as the Habs looked to protect the 1-0 lead.

“He was phenomenal tonight,” McElhinney said. “Obviously he’s one of the best if not the best in the game in the last little while. He was on it tonight. I was just trying to keep pace with him.”

Van Riemsdyk’s goal was his third of the season and his first since Nov. 27 at Montreal. The puck appeared to glance off the leg of Habs defenseman Jordie Benn.

In the overtime, Jordan Staal outfought Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher for the puck in the neutral zone and got it ahead to Svechnikov. With Justin Faulk making it a two-on-one, Svechnikov kept the puck and fired a heavy shot through Price’s legs for his third game-winning goal of the season.

The Canes fell behind in the first and had just four shots in the second period, when they were badly outplayed. They were totally ineffective on three power plays in the game. But they kept pushing, kept competing. And won. 1137412 Carolina Hurricanes Gourde would receive a two-game suspension from the league. Staal has had two goals, returning in the Tampa Bay game to score and then scoring again against the Wild.

‘Turbo’ no Canes tough guy but the Finn is tough enough “It’s scary, especially since he’s had some issues,” Teravainen said of Staal. “You never want to see a man go down. It’s great to see he’s good.” BY CHIP ALEXANDER And Brind’Amour said it was good seeing Teravainen step in when MARCH 24, 2019 10:43 AM Svechnikov went down from the Donato hit.

“I don’t know that he knew what he was doing,” Brind’Amour said. “But the guys on this team play for each other. It’s one thing where I don’t RALEIGH necessarily think we want him doing that really, but to me it shows what Teuvo Teravainen agrees with the notion that the more physical he is in the mindset is.” games, the better he plays. News Observer LOADED: 03.25.2019 “Sometimes I really get into the game, am strong with the puck and in the battles, and that helps my game for sure,” he said Saturday.

Remember, we’re not talking Micheal Ferland size or tough-guy temperament. Teravainen is listed at 5-11 and 191 pounds and the only time the Carolina Hurricanes winger drops his gloves is between periods or after the game.

But Teravainen played with both skill and a little snarl Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. It was noticeable. So was his line as Teravainen, center Jordan Staal and rookie Andrei Svechnikov combined for three goals and three assists in a 5-1 win at PNC Arena.

Late in the game, when Svechnikov took a pop from the Wild’s Ryan Donato near the benches, it was Teravainen who stepped in, having a few words with Donato, defending his teammate.

The damage had long since been done by then, with Teravainen in the middle of much of it. In the second period, his give-and-go with defenseman Justin Faulk and a deft backhand pass set up Faulk for a shot. Staal and Svechnikov had gone to the front of the net, positioned like twin sentries, the puck going off Staal’s skate and past goalie Devan Dubnyk.

In the third, the Canes won a board battle in the Wild zone that ended with the puck on Teravainen’s stick in the right circle. He again pirouetted through traffic for a quick backhander to Svechnikov, who ripped a shot past Dubnyk for the rookie’s 19th goal -- all at even strength -- this season.

“Pretty impressive high-end plays,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He’s also taken his game to another level this year on the defensive side of things.”

With the Canes leading 4-1, Teravainen made a quick break in the neutral zone to pick off a pass by the Wild’s Greg Pateryn. He swept in on Dubnyk, who first tried to poke the puck away, unsuccessfully, then gave his paddle a hurl at Teravainen and the puck.

The goal was Teravainen’s 19th of the season and the Finn known as “Turbo” to his teammates now has 51 assists. Make it a three-point game -- Teravainen’s 21st multi-point game of the season, a team best -- and another two points for the Canes (41-26-7), who host the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.

“I feel like I played pretty good every shift,” Teravainen said. “I feel like I’ve played pretty strong and when I play with the confidence, that’s what usually happens.”

Being used on the penalty kill along with Sebastian Aho, a move Brind’Amour made in December, has given Teravainen a more aggressive demeanor on the ice. And Brind’Amour’s more recent decision to move Svechnikov to the Staal line has been a good one.

Teravainen said the game Saturday was their best as a line, and Svechnikov has benefited from Teravainen’s playmaking ability.

“They’ve been solid every game and I think it’s helped Andrei kind of get his feet under him, to play with those guys,” Brind’Amour said.

Teravainen, like the rest of the team, feared the worst Thursday when Staal took a hit to the head from Yanni Gourde of the Tampa Bay Lightning and left the game. Staal’s concussion problems have kept him out of a lot of games this season. 1137413 Car Hurricanes

Whip Wild – Teravainen Tallies 3 Points

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS MARCH 24TH, 2019

RALEIGH, N.C. — Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and two assists and the Carolina Hurricanes kept pace in the playoff race with a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

Jordan Staal, Brett Pesce, Andrei Svechnikov and Lucas Wallmark also scored for Carolina, which picked up its fifth win in seven games to keep its hold on the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. Petr Mrazek stopped 24 shots.

The Hurricanes, who own the NHL’s longest playoff drought at nine seasons, have a five-point cushion with eight games to play.

Eric Staal scored and Devyn Dubnyk made 28 saves for the Wild, who dropped out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with the loss and Colorado’s 4-2 win over Chicago. Minnesota played without leading scorer Zach Parise after he took a high stick to the face against Washington on Friday.

The Hurricanes outshot the Wild 34-25 and controlled the tempo from the outset.

The first period was scoreless only because Dubnyk kept it that way, making a string of string of highlight-reel saves_including stopping Svechnikov on a breakaway_to keep Carolina off the board.

But the Hurricanes finally broke through 3:06 into the second when Justin Faulk’s shot from the point hit Jordan Staal’s skate in front of the net and redirected through Dubnyk’s legs, and the floodgates opened.

Just over two minutes later, following a Wild turnover at centre ice, Justin Williams fed Pesce at the top of the left faceoff circle and Pesce finished with a wrister past Dubnyk’s glove into the upper-left corner to make it 2- 0.

Eric Staal got Minnesota on the board with a power-play goal midway through the second after Micheal Ferland received a double-minor for high-sticking, but Carolina put it away with three third-period goals.

Svechnikov took a nifty backhand pass from Teravainen in the slot and buried it in the opening minutes of the third to make it a two-goal game again, and Wallmark finished a one-timer from Ferland with 10:51 remaining to all but wrap up the victory.

Teravainen added the final punch when he stole the puck at centre ice and beat Dubnyk on a breakaway.

NOTES: Teravainen recorded his 50th assist of the season on Jordan Staal’s goal, and Sebastian Aho recorded his 50th assist on Pesce’s goal. They became the first Hurricanes teammates with 50 assists in the same season since Rod Brind’Amour and Ray Whitney in 2006-07. … Wild F Joel Eriksson Ek (lower-body injury) missed his sixth straight game. He is day to day. … Carolina improved to 10-3-1 in its last 14 games. … The Wild have won just three of their past 11 games.

UP NEXT

Wild: Host Nashville on Monday.

Hurricanes: Host Montreal on Sunday.olina Hurricanes

News Observer LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137414 Chicago Blackhawks

Duncan Keith's overtime goal gives Blackhawks 2-1 win over Avalanche to keep playoff hopes alive

Jimmy Greenfield

If you’re missing a kitchen sink, might want to check the United Center ice.

The Blackhawks threw everything they could at the Avalanche on Sunday night, from starting Corey Crawford in net in back-to-back games to loading up Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Alex DeBrincat on the same line to coming out with an urgency that wasn’t always there during a crushing three-game losing streak.

The result? The Hawks will live to see another day.

Duncan Keith raced from end to end to score in overtime, allowing the Hawks to beat the Avalanche 2-1 and stay within five points of the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

Keith shoved the puck into the net before crashing into Avalanche goalie Philipp Grubauer, who stopped 40 shots in the loss. The Hawks outshot the Avs 42-20.

“I don’t score too many overtime goals, but I think (Nathan) MacKinnon was coming in and I was just trying to not get embarrassed there because he’s a pretty good player,” Keith said. “He kind of fell and I had the jump on him and I was thinking maybe try to pull it to my backhand. But I saw that I wasn’t going to have enough room, so I just tried to slam it at the net as hard as I could.”

The Hawks tried their best to win in regulation and deny the Avalanche a point in the standings, outshooting them 15-3 and scoring the third period’s only goal.

With as much desperation as the Hawks showed, the Avalanche’s playoff chances are far more realistic after their 4-2 victory over the Blackhawks in Denver on Saturday gave them the lead for the final wild-card spot.

“This is huge,” Keith said. “It was pretty much a must-win game, especially after losing the last one against these guys. I thought we had a really good game tonight as a team. Obviously, nothing’s perfect, but finding a way to get those two points and taking it one game at a time we’ll enjoy it but move on knowing we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

For the second straight day, the Hawks did themselves in by committing two quick penalties to give the Avalanche a long five-on-three power play during a tie game. And for the second straight game, the Avalanche converted.

Thirty-one seconds after Marcus Kruger was called for holding, Toews was sent to the box for hooking Tyson Barrie.

The Hawks almost had the five-on-three killed off, but with 16 seconds remaining, Alexander Kerfoot unleashed a slap shot that Crawford never saw to make it 1-0.

Crawford has started plenty of back-to-back games during his career, including earlier this season, but this was the first time he has done it since returning from a concussion last month.

The Avalanche didn’t have many chances in the first period, but on their best one Crawford made a beautiful glove save after giving up a rebound to stop Northbrook native J.T. Compher from scoring his fourth goal in five games this season against the Hawks.

The Hawks offense has struggled mightily since scoring four goals in the first period against the Maple Leafs last week. They had only seven goals in their previous 10 periods entering Sunday’s game, and stretched that to 12 periods after a scoreless first and second.

Artem Ansimov broke through for the Hawks early in the third, deflecting in a Brent Seabrook shot from the point to score his first power-play goal of the season with one second left on the man advantage to make it 1-1.

“We have a big belief in our group,” Anisimov said. “And we just need to get it done.”

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137415 Chicago Blackhawks

Dominik Kahun's body of work has the Blackhawks excited for what he can bring to the future

Jimmy Greenfield

The final games of Dominik Kahun’s first NHL season are winding down and his body is hanging tough.

It’s no surprise that a 23-year-old with no injury history could handle the rigors of an 82-game season, but that doesn’t mean it hasn't taken its toll.

“I can feel it for sure that there’s something different,” Kahun said. “On my off days and when I’ve got time free I just try to recover and be ready for the next day. But for sure I can feel the difference between Europe (where) we got only 50 games and here we’ve got 82. That’s a big difference.”

Another difference for Kahun, who signed with the Hawks as a free agent last April, is that this very likely will be the first season he won't participate in any playoff games for the first time as a professional, dating to his 19-year-old rookie season in Germany’s top league.

The Hawks entered Sunday’s game against the Avalanche trailing them by six points for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Even with a victory, time is running out for the Hawks, who are far from alone in their pursuit of the Avs. To capture the final spot, the Hawks also would have to surpass the Coyotes and Wild. In addition, their 74 points had them tied with the Oilers and Canucks before the start of play Sunday.

Kahun is one of four Hawks to have played in all of their games this season — Alex DeBrincat, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews are the others — and he’s the only rookie who came into the season with no prior NHL experience to finish the season with the team. Henri Jokiharju and Luke Johnson are the other rookies who made the opening-day roster but both are now with the Rockford IceHogs.

Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton first saw Kahun during the Traverse City prospect tournament when Kahun still was getting acclimated to the smaller North American rinks and was not a sure thing to make the Hawks.

“I had no clue what we were getting,” said Colliton, who was then coaching the IceHogs. “His work ethic was like he had professional habits. To me that was a really good sign of his opportunity to play this year. I didn’t expect him to have as big an impact as he’s had. We’ve been able to play him on every line.

“He’s been on the power play, a little bit of (penalty kill), he’s been out in the last minute. Really happy with his first year here and hopefully he’s going to continue to get better.”

Kahun, who has 12 goals and 22 assists, hasn’t experienced falling into disfavor with Colliton or, before he was fired, with Joel Quenneville. He has been what the Hawks were hoping for from the beginning, starting with that first time he stepped on the ice in Traverse City.

“I like that the coach trusts me in those situations,” Kahun said. “I know I can play whatever position he needs me. I can play left, right, center. I just try to work hard as possible and try to earn my spot.”

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137416 Chicago Blackhawks So if you're at the United Center on Sunday, don't plan to leave early. It should come down to the final minute.

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 03.25.2019 3 takeaways from the Blackhawks' 4-2 loss to the Avalanche, including a look at their odds at winning the NHL draft lottery

Jimmy Greenfield

Even the most optimistic Blackhawks fan can put away their rabbit’s foot or lucky horseshoe until next season.

Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Avalanche pushed the Hawks six points behind the Avs for the final Western Conference wild-card spot, which is bad enough. But the Hawks are also five points behind the Wild and Coyotes.

The playoff push was fun but now it’s over. At least the Hawks won’t be mathematically eliminated for at least a few more games.

So if you want to hang onto that four-leaf clover for a few more days, go right ahead.

Here are three takeaways from Satuday’s game.

1. How low can they go?

Now that the Hawks have almost no chance to make the playoffs, we can turn our attention to where they're likely to draft this June.

The NHL's draft lottery is just 2 1/2 weeks away and the Hawks will have a chance at getting the top pick. They didn't "Lose for Hughes" but they'll have an opportunity to get American phenom Jack Hughes nonetheless.

The Hawks' 74 points have them tied with the Canucks and Oilers for the eighth-worst record in the league, but the Hawks "win" the tiebreakers so they are in the 10th position. This means they currently have a 3.5 percent chance of getting the top pick.

The lowest it would appear the Hawks can drop would be to fifth-worst overall, which would help their chances at winning the lottery, but not by much. The fifth-worst team only has an 8.5 percent chance at the top pick.

Before getting all upset that the Hawks haven't lost even more, bear this in mind: The team with the worst record in the league — currently the Senators but their pick is owned by the Avalanche — only has an 18.5 percent chance at the top pick.

2. David Kampf's high-sticking was the difference on Saturday.

The Hawks haven't been getting themselves into too much trouble taking penalties this season. Their problem has been killing the penalties they've taken.

The penalty kill will need to be fixed in the offseason but the fix this season — not taking penalties — wasn't an option on Saturday.

In the second period, Erik Gustafsson was called for holding and 29 seconds later Kampf's stick struck Tyson Barrie in the face, drawing blood and resulting in a four-minute double minor.

Being down two men for 1 minute, 31 seconds is a lot to ask for even the best penalty-kill unit, and for the Hawks it was too much to ask. Collin Wilson scored just under a minute into the two-man advantage to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead.

"I think we were in pretty good shape until the penalties there," coach Jeremy Colliton said. "In the second period they got a bunch of chances on, I don't know how many it was, six or seven in that stretch when you include the four-minute (double minor). But up until that point I think we were in pretty good shape."

3. The Hawks and Avalanche are very even.

With one more game to play in their season series, the Hawks and Avalanche have shown not much separates the teams.

It doesn't matter who is in goal or who might be out with an injury, the outcomes have been very close. The Hawks won a pair one-goal games over the Avalanche in Denver over eight days in December, including once in overtime.

The Avalanche have won the last two games, including Saturday's game, by two goals though they had an empty-netter in each game. 1137417 Chicago Blackhawks

Defenseman Duncan Keith the Blackhawks' unlikely hero in OT win over Avs

By Madeline Kenney@madkenney | email

Duncan Keith turned out to be the Blackhawks’ unlikely hero Sunday in overtime.

Keith carried the puck from his own end, beating Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon in the process, and lifted the Hawks to a 2-1 victory against Colorado at the United Center to keep their playoff hopes alive.

After falling onto his side, the 35-year-old defenseman jumped back onto his skates and celebrated by raising his arms above his head and screaming with his eyes wide open.

“I don’t score too many overtime goals, but MacKinnon was coming down, and I’m just trying to not get embarrassed there,” said Keith, who has scored only 17 game-winning goals in 14 seasons. “I just tried to slam it at the net as hard as I could. It hit the net, and luckily it went in.”

The Hawks knew how vital this weekend was for their playoff aspirations. So with the score tied in the third period, they were firing on all cylinders and outshot the Avalanche 15-3.

“I’m sure everyone knows that we would like them to not get any more points, but overall we just wanted to win the game,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “I really liked how we responded.

‘‘We found a different level, a lot of pressure on the puck, held the puck, forced them to play D-zone, defended really well, so a good performance.”

Goalie Corey Crawford, who was in net Saturday in Denver, had another outstanding game, stopping 19 of 20 shots.

“[Crawford has] always been one of our best players, if not our best player,” Keith said. “When Corey’s in net, we know there’s a chance we’re going to win. We know he’s going to make those big saves. He made them last night, and he made them again tonight.

‘‘There’s not too many easy ones that ever go in throughout the course of the season on him, so he was big for us tonight.”

The Avs’ lone goal by Alexander Kerfoot came when they had a two-man advantage in the second period. But forward Artem Anisimov made up for that goal with a power-play goal of his own.

Anisimov’s goal was a sigh of relief for the Hawks’ sputtering power play. After producing at a 40 percent clip for several weeks in December and January, the Hawks were 1-for-25 in the previous 11 games before his goal in the third period.

With the victory, the Hawks trail the Avalanche by five points for the second Western Conference wild-card spot. The Hawks are also three points behind the Coyotes and Wild with a game in hand.

Colliton admitted that it’s hard not to follow the standings when the race is this close.

“We’re aware, obviously,” Colliton said of the standings. “Everyone looks at the scores. But we’re in the position where we just have to focus on right here, right now. Focus on [the next] game, win one game, and the other stuff will take care of itself. We’ll at least give ourselves a chance.”

The Hawks have only seven games left over the next week and a half. They’re embarking on another trip out west and play the Coyotes on Tuesday in Arizona. Once they return, they have a brutal final leg to close out the season against the Jets, Blues, Stars and Predators.

“We’ve done a good job of winning some hockey games to have the privilege of playing in big games as we are now,” Colliton said. “We have to win a few more to stay in it.”

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137418 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks D Erik Gustafsson thinks it's 'kind of insane' he's scored 16 goals

By Madeline Kenney@madkenney | email

Blackhawks defenseman Erik Gustafsson viewed his two-year contract extension, which he signed last March, as his last shot at making it in the NHL.

With the weight of his $1.2 million cap hit on his shoulders this season, Gustafsson wanted to show fans and himself that he deserved it.

“Of course, I want to prove [I earned it this season],” Gustafsson said. “I also wanted to prove to myself that I can play in this league and I can play for this team here. . . . You see what people are saying, but it just goes in and out very quickly in my head. So it’s nothing I care about, but I wanted to prove to myself that I can play in this league.”

Well, he has done just that.

Entering the high-stakes game Sunday against the Avalanche at the United Center, Gustafsson was tied for second among NHL defensemen in goals (16) with the Flames’ Mark Giordano and the Penguins’ Kris Letang. They trailed only Maple Leafs blue-liner Morgan Rielly, who had 20.

If you would’ve told him a year ago he’d be where he’s at now, Gustafsson wouldn’t have believed it.

“Not goals; in points, maybe,” said Gustafsson, whose career-high three- game goal streak ended Sunday. “I haven’t scored many goals in my career. . . . Last year, I scored five goals. It was the most in my career, and that was pretty big for me, but now 16 is kind of insane.”

And Gustafsson isn’t done.

“I think I have more in me,” he said.

That’s exactly what coach Jeremy Colliton wants to hear as the Hawks embark on the last two weeks of the regular season.

“He’s playing well, coming through for us offensively,” Colliton said. “He’s one of those guys who can transition outside the D-zone and create those rush chances we kind of thrive off of, so hopefully it continues.”

With 53 points, Gustafsson — who only had 30 points over parts of two seasons before this season — leads Hawks defensemen in points and goals by a big margin. The next-highest-scoring D-men are Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, who have six and five goals, respectively. Keith is second in points with 37.

“I just felt like I’ve played more consistently and been better with the puck,” said Gustafsson, who was the 93rd overall pick in the 2012 draft. “I can still be better in my own zone, but I feel more confident in my own zone lately.”

Gustafsson said he hasn’t changed his game-day routine or done anything that would account for the uptick in scoring. Honestly, he can’t explain it.

“I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t changed anything,” Gustafsson said. “I just try to shoot as much as I can. . . . It’s just kind of assists have been there, but not goals. I don’t know what happened this year, but I’m not complaining. I’ll take that.”

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137419 Chicago Blackhawks

Back-to-back starts no big deal for Chicago Blackhawks' Crawford

John Dietz

With the Blackhawks needing to win almost all of their remaining games, nobody can take a night off.

And that includes goaltender Corey Crawford, who played Saturday afternoon in a 4-2 loss at Colorado and then again Sunday night in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Avs at the United Center.

It was the first time Crawford played in back-to-back games since Nov. 4- 5, 2017.

Goalies don't normally play on consecutive days, but Crawford made it seem like it was no big deal afterward.

"We recover pretty quickly," he said. "We're used to traveling and playing again. It was fine."

The only goal Crawford allowed came when Colorado had a two-man advantage in the second period.

"He's always been one of our best -- if not our best -- player," said defenseman Duncan Keith, who scored the game-winner 1:23 into overtime.

"He gives everybody confidence. When Corey's in the net we know that we're going to have a chance to win. He's going to make those big saves. He made them last night and he made them again tonight.

"There's not too many easy ones that ever go in through the course of the season on him."

Philipp Grubauer also started both games for Colorado. He stopped 40 shots Sunday and has allowed just 8 goals in his last seven games.

Hayden sits again:

John Hayden sat out an eighth straight game as a healthy scratch in the Hawks' 2-1 OT win over Colorado on Sunday.

"We've found a group we're pretty comfortable with," said coach Jeremy Colliton. "It's a decision you make every day. What's the best lineup to help us win?"

For now, Colliton believes that lineup includes a fourth line that consists of 39-year-old veteran Chris Kunitz, Marcus Kruger and David Kampf. Hayden (3 goals in 50 games) could replace Kunitz (3 goals in 50 games), but Colliton hasn't seen enough to make that move.

"He's made progress this year," Colliton said. "It's just right now we rate the other guys ahead of him."

A path to Hayden's return will only get more difficult if Drake Caggiula returns from a concussion that has cost him 11 games. Colliton said Caggiula may see if he can pass the concussion test today.

Slap shots:

Brent Seabrook recorded the 250th assist of his career on Artem Anisimov's third-period goal Sunday against Colorado. … Anisimov's goal was his 14th of the season and first on the power play. He is the third Hawks player to score at even strength, on the power play and short-handed this season (Brandon Saad, Jonathan Toews.)

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137420 Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks rally to stay close to Colorado

John Dietz

Duncan Keith clearly doesn't want this season to end.

Nor does Jonathan Toews.

Nor does Corey Crawford, Patrick Kane or Brent Seabrook.

All five Blackhawks veterans proved as much by coming through with some fine performances during an intense, hold-your-breath affair against Colorado on Sunday night at the United Center.

"It was fun to stand behind all those guys tonight," coach Jeremy Colliton said. "They really played hard."

Keith ended up in the hero's role when he stripped Nathan MacKinnon of the puck in the defensive zone then raced about 160 feet the other way and pounded a shot that went through Philipp Grubauer's legs 83 seconds into overtime. The 2-1 victory moved the Hawks to 33-32-10 and 5 points behind Colorado (34-29-13) in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Keith scored just 2 goals in 2018-19, but he has 6 this season -- all of them coming in the last 32 games.

"I was just trying not to get embarrassed there because (MacKinnon is) a pretty good player," Keith said of the Avs forward who has 37 goals and 55 assists. "He kind of fell and I had the jump on him.

"(On the goal,) I was thinking (of) maybe trying to pull it to my backhand and I saw I wasn't going to have enough room. Just tried to slam it at the net as hard as I could."

Artem Anisimov tied the game at 1-1 when he tipped in a Seabrook blast 1:44 into the third period.

The Hawks know every standings point is critical and they pushed hard down the stretch to try to get this victory in regulation. Grubauer was up to the task, however, as he made 39 saves overall and 14 in the final 20 minutes.

"That would have been really big to try and get a late one there and get 2 on them," Crawford said. "But we'll take the extra one and keep going.

"We're playing well. The third period was great. Didn't give them anything. … That was great hockey. We've got to bring that into next game."

Toews played like a man possessed. He jawed with officials on questionable calls or when he was thrown out of the faceoff circle. He pushed and shoved opponents all night. He also finished with 6 shots on goal, 2 takeaways and 3 blocked shots.

Kane (7 SOG, 12 total attempts) was re-energized as well and looked for new linemate Alex DeBrincat over and over again.

Seabrook, meanwhile, may have played his best game of the season. His rocket from the point helped get the Hawks on the board, and he also racked up 5 hits and blocked 5 shots.

And let's not forget Crawford, who made 19 saves and played on back- to-back nights for the first time since Nov. 4-5, 2017.

Now we'll see if everybody can bring this effort in Arizona on Tuesday in another must-win affair.

If they do, that flicker of playoff hope may grow just a little bit brighter.

"Enjoy (this), but move on and know we've still got our work cut out for us," Keith said. "Taking it one game at a time is a good way to approach it."

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137421 Chicago Blackhawks he wasn’t going to have enough room, so I just tried to slam at the net it as hard as I could. It hit the net and luckily it went in.”

And last but not least, there was Crawford. A day after keeping the Powers: With the team in a desperate spot, Blackhawks’ core proves it Blackhawks in the game in Colorado, he returned home, got back into can turn up the intensity the net and held the Avalanche to one goal on 20 shots. That lone goal was from a 5-on-3 power play too. Crawford might not have faced a lot of shots Sunday, but the Avalanche had some quality ones. He snatched a By Scott Powers Mar 24, 2019 Compher rebound attempt at point-blank range. He denied all four of MacKinnon’s shots on net.

It was par for the course as of late for Crawford. He’s stopped 178-of-185 Jonathan Toews got into it with the Colorado Avalanche’s Erik Johnson. shots for a .962 save percentage in 5-on-5 play over the past eight He got into it with J.T. Compher. games. In that span, he also has a .946 overall save percentage.

He got into with the officials. “All of them were good I thought, and it sets a tone for the team,” Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said of the team’s veterans. “We’re in He got into it with himself after taking a penalty. a spot where we’re desperate and you can respond in different ways to that and I really liked how we responded tonight. Whatever happens, it Toews was feisty. He was fired up about this and that and everything bodes well going forward that this is how we reacted to being in this else. He wasn’t going to let anyone stand in his way. The Blackhawks’ spot.” season was on the line, and he was out to do anything he could to save it. He certainly wasn’t going out peacefully. There were others who contributed to Sunday’s win. Anisimov scored a goal and won 9-of-12 faceoffs. Erik Gustafsson led the Blackhawks in ice Ultimately, Sunday’s 2-1 overtime win might not mean anything for the time and had a 72.22 Corsi percentage. David Kampf was bumped up to Blackhawks’ playoff hopes. A weekend sweep over the Avalanche would the third line and played some tough minutes late. Connor Murphy went have put them in the mix. A split wasn’t ideal, but it might have kept the up against the Avalanche’s top players and contained them. Alex door slightly open. But allowing the Avalanche three points out of the two DeBrincat helped Kane and Toews create. All those players were key, games probably seals the deal. The Blackhawks now trail the Avalanche especially in the third period when the Blackhawks dominated the game by five points with seven games to go. and had a 28-5 edge in shot attempts in 5-on-5 play. Even if Sunday’s win is for naught when it’s all said and done, it seemed But as good as they all were, it was the core that drove the Blackhawks’ important to see Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook win Sunday. They reminded you of the days when they could just out-will and Corey Crawford play as they did. They all left everything out on the teams. It was that type of effort that pushed them past the Anaheim ice to get that win. Those five players are still the backbone of that team, Ducks in 2015, the Detroit Red Wings in 2013 and the Vancouver and they all stepped up in a game they believed was vital. It’s fair to Canucks in 2010 in grueling series. It was what they did against the question whether some of them have lost a step a two as age and wear Philadelphia Flyers, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning to win and tear have added up, but there’s no doubt they still care a whole lot Stanley Cups. This team isn’t those teams, but the core’s determination about winning and losing. They proved that Sunday. was on point Sunday just as it was in the past. Let’s start with Toews. He didn’t end up with a goal or an assist, but he “This is huge,” Keith said. “I think it was pretty much a must-win game. filled every other stat column. He also was shut out from a point mainly Especially after losing the last one against these guys. I thought we because Philipp Grubauer is pretty much unbeatable right now. Grubauer played a really good game tonight as a team and obviously, nothing’s hasn’t allowed more than two goals in his last nine starts and has a .960 perfect but finding a way to get those two points, we’re taking it one save percentage in March. game at a time and enjoy it, move on and know we still have our work cut But back to Toews. He led the Blackhawks’ forwards with 22:38 of ice out for us. And taking that theme where we’re taking it one game at a time. He had nine shot attempts. He had six shots on goal. He had two time is a good way to approach it.” takeaways. He blocked three shots. He had a 65.85 Corsi percentage Whether the Blackhawks get a chance at the playoffs this season, that’s and was on the ice for 27 shot attempts for and 14 against in 5-on-5 play. beside the point. Let Sunday stand alone. Because on Sunday, Toews He won 16-of-29 faceoffs. and company brought it on a night where they needed to bring it. That’s Jonathan Toews was close to scoring a few times Sunday. (David Banks still something. / USA Today) The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 Patrick Kane also didn’t end up on the scoresheet, but it also wasn’t for a lack of trying. Kane attempted 12 shots. He put seven of them on net. He was on the ice for 30 shot attempts for and 15 against. He played just six seconds fewer than Toews.

Seabrook’s underlying numbers weren’t as spectacular. He was one of four Blackhawks who were on the ice for more shot attempts against than for. But in some of the biggest moments of Sunday’s game, Seabrook was clutch. It was his shot Artem Anisimov redirected for the Blackhawks’ first goal. When Gustav Forsling committed an unforced turnover coming out of the defensive zone late in the third period, it was Seabrook who tied up Matt Calvert’s stick from behind and denied a golden opportunity from the slot. Seabrook also put his body in the way of even more shots. He recorded a team-high five blocked shots.

Keith wasn’t far behind that number. He was second on the Blackhawks with four blocked shots. Keith played the second-most minutes among the team’s defensemen and finished at 21:44. He was on the ice for 23 shot attempts for and 13 against. In the overtime, it was Keith who was the difference. He first halted Nathan MacKinnon as MacKinnon came into the defensive zone with speed during the 3-on-3 session, and Keith flipped the switch the other way, carried the puck fast and hard to the net and jammed it past Grubauer.

“I don’t score too many overtime goals, but MacKinnon was coming down and I’m just trying to not get embarrassed there, because he’s a pretty good player, and he kind of fell and I had the jump on him,” Keith said. “And I was thinking he might try to poke it in my back end, but I saw that 1137422 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche lose in OT to Blackhawks, but earn a point in wild-card chase

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 24, 2019 at 9:45 PM

CHICAGO — Duncan Keith scored 1:23 into overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night.

The defenseman took a feed from Brandon Saad, bulled his way down left wing, shrugged off a check from Nathan MacKinnon and beat goaltender Phillipp Grubauer between the legs to snap the Blackhawks’ three-game losing streak. Chicago pulled within five points of Colorado for the second Western Conference wild card.

Artem Anisimov had a power-play goal for the Blackhawks, tying it 1-all early in the third period. Corey Crawford made 19 saves.

Alexander Kerfoot scored on a 5-on-3 power play for the Avalanche, who had won four straight.

Kerfoot opened the scoring with Colorado’s second 5-on-3 goal in two games. He deflected Tyson Barrie‘s slap shot past Crawford with 4:34 left in the second period while Marcus Kruger and Jonathan Toews were in the penalty box.

Chicago tied it on Anisimov’s goal 1:44 into the third. Anisimov moved to the slot after winning the faceoff from Carl Soderberg and deflected Brent Seabrook’s slap shot from the point past Grubauer. It was Chicago’s second power-play goal in 11 games.

The Avalanche controlled play early, with Sven Andrighetto hitting the post 65 seconds in, but the Blackhawks gradually took over. They forced Grubauer to make 40 stops, including a brilliant glove save on Toews with 3:26 remaining in regulation.

Colorado didn’t get a shot in overtime. The Avalanche controlled play for the first 50 seconds, but Chicago took control of the puck after a battle on the boards and it eventually came to Saad, who found Keith open on the left side.

NOTES: Colorado is 11-5-2 in its last 18 games. … Chicago is 9-7-1 in its past 17 after going 10-2 to climb into the playoff race. … Colorado LW Gabriel Landeskog (upper body) missed his eighth straight game. … Chicago C Drake Caggiula (concussion) missed his 11th consecutive game. … Chicago juggled its line combinations, putting a slumping Alex DeBrincat back with Toews and Patrick Kane.

Denver Post: LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137423 Colorado Avalanche higher of a grade than this. He needs to start beating goalies on actual shots to get to that next level offensively.

Alexander Kerfoot (C) – I’m not totally sure how to feel about Kerfoot’s Avs-Blackhawks player grades: Ugly but effective game. The goal was a deflection off his leg so he really just gets credit for standing there and getting hit but I did like some of the offense he helped generate. He also fumbled some pucks and turned them over BY AJ HAEFELE MARCH 24, 2019 7 MINS READ defensively, so that’s also a problem. He’s really been riding the wave lately of good, bad, and productive. He’s back near 40 points for the

second straight season. Andrew Agozzino (C+) –I mean no offense to him when I say this but I Nathan MacKinnon (D) – He played a ton. He’s clearly worn down. He just don’t seem to ever notice Agozzino doing anything. He barely plays has limited help, at least compared to what he’s been accustomed to and essentially nothing happens during his shifts so it could absolutely be most of this season. Defensively he was a mess. He turned pucks over at worse. It could be better, too, of course, but it could be worse. The stat an alarming rate and successfully defended himself when he allowed sheet said he had three shots on goal so I’m giving the plus for that. himself to be pinned by two players in overtime, creating a chance the Sven Andrighetto (B) – I thought Sven was one of the few Avs with juice other way. He also got baited and burned by Duncan Keith in OT and tonight. He hit the post early on and wasn’t shy about firing pucks to the there’s no excusing the poor work there. He also had four shots on goal, net. He was moving his feet well and when he combines his aggressive breaking Joe Sakic’s single-season record for shots in a season. He shooter’s mentality with his speed he presents a dangerous threat to notched an assist, his only point in the last four games despite putting 23 opposing teams. He was that guy tonight. shots on goal in that time. That overtime shift was just a bummer to watch. Tyson Barrie (D+) – Hard to give anyone on Colorado’s defense a very good grade tonight. They simply survived more than anything else. Barrie Patrik Nemeth (D+) – Somehow, Nemeth managed to be just negative did snag an assist on the only Avalanche goal and the PP again cashed one in the Corsi department tonight. That’s kind of spectacular given how in on a five on three opportunity. Those are huge and the Avs were 2/2 the third period went. He really just continues to hum along quietly over the weekend in those situations. without much notice but he is nowhere near the disaster the Avs have had on their third pairing in recent years. He’s just fine for this given role. Gabriel Bourque (C-) – For the second straight game, Bourque showed a little good as he drew a penalty and I thought was okay over tonight. The Carl Soderberg (D) – What a weird stat line for Soderberg to have a minus is because even in his limited minutes, the Avs trailed in scoring totally empty box score except…six hits? What? The scorer’s were sure chances 3-1. That can’t happen when you don’t even play six minutes of this was 34, right? Soderberg has been a lot of things in his Colorado even strength time. tenure but overly physical isn’t one of them. He understands how to use his impressive size but he’s never been a physicall dominant player. Derick Brassard (F) – I thought the penalty he was called for was a bit Tonight, he threw his weight around plenty but…that…was about it? The weak and was more of an optics call than a legitimate board but it ended Avs could really use some offense from him. Outside of his ENG in up being the PP Chicago scored on. Beyond that, I thought Brassard Dallas, he has just one assist in his last nine games. The Avs need more looked completely overmatched tonight. He wasn’t good in either game from Carl. this weekend. Colin Wilson (C) – I thought Wilson’s best work was in the neutral zone. Matt Calvert (C+) –Calvert was okay tonight. I thought he had his He’s always been a bit of a bloodhound when it comes hunting for pucks moments and he almost found himself on a breakaway but it sure looked and his puck retrieval work, especially along the walls, separates him as like his stick was held in the process. There was a ton of obstruction in an effective muck-and-grind type of player. He’s an interesting guy in the tonight’s game that went uncalled on both teams. It wasn’t a playoff scheme of things. I enjoy watching him when he’s solid, as he was game so much as it was mud wrestling. tonight.

Ian Cole (D+) – Cole got away with a blatant trip on Toews early in the Nikita Zadorov (D+) – This dude somehow broke even in Corsi! That’s game and made a couple of iffy plays with the puck. He was okay incredible given how the game shifted as it went on. I didn’t notice any defensively, too, and I liked his physicality again tonight. I just can’t give major puck gaffes like there were yesterday in Denver. I’ve enjoyed his anybody on defense great grades when they give up 40 shots in late-season burst and I can’t help but wonder if he’s starting to work his regulation, 32 at even strength. way towards a real paycheck, not just whatever the sides agree to when he inevitably heads to arbitation. His four hits led the defense. Neat. J.T. Compher (B-) – I really liked Compher’s game tonight as a whole. He had a couple of good offensive chances and he definitely still had his BSN DENVER LOADED: 03.25.2019 legs throughout the game. He was solid in a game where not many were, especially offensively in creating for others.

Samuel Girard (C) – Girard gets my highest grade of the defenders because I thought he was still moving well and trying to make something happen offensively. I was oh so hopeful he’d do something spectacular early in overtime when he started out with possession but it just wasn’t meant to be tonight.

Ryan Graves (INC) – There just can’t be much of a point to this. The forwards got run into the ground for four minutes of Graves? I just don’t know about this.

Philipp Grubauer (A+) –40 saves and another spectacular overall outing. He got the Avs the extra point with 14 saves in the third period when Colorado was outshot 15-3. He made several spectacular saves, especially on deflections. If the Avs make the postseason, tonight’s yeoman’s effort from Grubi will standout.

Erik Johnson (D) – Of all the D, I noticed EJ the least tonight. That’s both good and bad, I think. I felt like Colorado’s breakout was badly lacking in the third tonight and the defense’s inability to generate pressure exiting the zone was a big reason why. That’s not necessarily all on EJ, just something I thought was weak as a group.

Tyson Jost (C+) – He had three of Colorado’s seven shots on goals in the first period and came out flying. He sustained his pace throughout and was one of Colorado’s better forwards but his level dipped just enough after the first period that I wasn’t comfortable giving him much 1137424 Colorado Avalanche Let’s talk about the lineup and its consequences a bit here. The 11 F, 7 D lineup has served Colorado very well this past week. It’s allowed the Avalanche to mix and match forward lines and that was a definite Grubauer steals a point in Chicago with continued brilliance advantage when they were on the road in Minnesota and Dallas because it didn’t allow opposing coaches to do any kind of hard line-matching. It gave the Avs a little feather in their cap in creating tiny advantages in situations where they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. It also BY AJ HAEFELE MARCH 24, 2019 7 MINS READ allowed the six regular defensemen to get some rest and be fresher because they were resting an extra shift or two each period. It wasn’t much but it was something. When Colorado went through that mid-season slump, the entire point of it became to turn it around before it got too late in the year. Neither Because of the rhythm of the schedule, it was easy enough for guys to goaltender had stepped up and really played like a starting goaltender get rest and the additional minutes the forwards were taking on with the after essentially skipping December and January. Then it was as if the lineup juggling wasn’t causing an issue. But on the second night of a switch that had flipped off following Colorado’s win over Florida in the first back to back, it’s legitimate question as to why Graves played just 4:12 week of December was suddenly back on again. (!!) and Bednar chose not to insert the fresh legs of A.J. Greer, who was called up for tonight’s game in Chicago. Bednar knew his lineup was Semyon Varlamov played his tail off in February and looked like he was going to be taxed and instead of building in a couple of safeguards where going to earn back the job the Avs had been looking for reason to give to he could, he simply jammed his foot on the pedal and put it to the floor Philipp Grubauer. He’s a free agent this summer and it appeared as if until his team ran out of gas. Varlamov had begun to lockdown the job that he’s held so securely (for better or worse) for the majority of this decade. I give Bednar full marks for going with Grubauer and letting him stay in the exceptional rhythm that has produced such positive results. It would And then Grubauer shut out the Nashville Predators. Two starts later, he have been easy to play Varlamov given his history against Chicago and shut out the Buffalo Sabres. Two starts later, he shut out the New Jersey especially in the United Center, where Varlamov has enjoyed some of Devils, the first of five straight starts in which he backstopped the the most consistent success in his career. But I can’t help but wonder if Avalanche to four wins and one overtime loss. Nine of ten points he’ll be second guessing the way he deployed his lineup after seeing the immediately following being left for dead after a March 15 loss to the way it slammed into the wall and simply survived the third period. They Anaheim Ducks? got a point but the process in getting there absolutely deserves re- thinking. That’s how you put your stamp on a season and potentially win a job. In the ultimate sign of respect for just how hot Grubauer has played lately, That said, not everyone struggled mightily. The shot metrics aren’t going Jared Bednar decided to stick with him for two starts in the span of 48 to be good for anybody after a third period where Colorado got shelled hours. Fresh off a 31-save performance against Chicago last night, but several players stood out to me outside of Grubauer: Sven Grubauer upped his game as the team around him slowly fell apart Andrighetto, Tyson Jost, and Sam Girard. I think those three absolutely throughout the course of tonight’s rematch and made 40 stops on 42 came to play and Alex Kerfoot and J.T. Compher were two other shots on goal in the 2-1 loss. notables.

While the Avalanche lost another overtime game, the end result was It’s gone very quietly under the radar a bit here because other stories good enough to move Colorado two points ahead of both Arizona and have taken center stage (mainly Grubauer and the high-profile injuries) Minnesota for the final playoff spot and just one point behind Dallas for but Carl Soderberg has badly fallen off recently. He was such a huge key the first wild card spot. With six games remaining for all of Colorado, to their success during some of their struggles that it’s easy to give him a Arizona, and Minnesota, the Avalanche have set themselves up so the free pass now but it’s tough to see them floundering to create offense up two teams chasing them have to be at least one win better to force a front and he’s rarely part of it at even strength. tiebreaker situation. I just don’t think there’s a world where the Avalanche can justify re- Secondary scoring has been a hot topic for Colorado all season and with signing Derick Brassard. Colin Wilson, however, is certainly making a Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen both missing in action, the case to be under consideration for a long look at a much cheaper new defense has stepped into the void and helped procure the offense deal. If he’s not coming back to Colorado, he’s made a strong enough necessary to find the victory. Tonight, the offense completely dried up case to get a deal from another NHL team. His main problem in my eyes and it took another five on three power play to produce the only goal of is his health and availability is an important skill in and of itself. the night when Tyson Barrie’s shot hit Alex Kerfoot’s leg and went in. Thanks to the brilliance of Grubauer, it was enough to get Colorado a Colorado gets two days of rest before taking on Vegas and Arizona this single point. week at home. If they win both, they shift all of the pressure to the teams chasing them. They are must-win games as the Avalanche badly need to The game in Denver yesterday afternoon had all the flair and energy of a avoid letting Game 82 at San Jose have any real meaning. playoff game. Both teams traded scoring chances and showed flashes of why they are playoff contenders in the first place. Tonight’s affair was BSN DENVER LOADED: 03.25.2019 more of a reminder of why both teams have spent a significant portion of the season on the outside of the playoff race looking in. After two rocky periods, the Avalanche finally looked like a team that hit the wall. They simply couldn’t match Chicago’s energy.

When the game hit overtime, it should have been time for Nathan MacKinnon to step into the spotlight. Instead, he floundered and ended up on the wrong end of the game-winning goal when he casually defended Duncan Keith’s bullrush to the net that ended the game when he slipped the puck through Grubauer’s five-hole.

MacKinnon has played 94 minutes over the last four games and while the end results for the team have been fine, we saw the result of all those minutes on MacKinnon’s legs in overtime. He just didn’t have anything left.

Three points out of four in this weekend set was enough to push Chicago to the brink of realistic elimination and put Colorado in the driver’s seat for a postseason berth. At the end of the night, what is matters more than what might have been.

Takeaways from the game 1137425 Columbus Blue Jackets “Our mood hasn’t been bad,” Tortorella said. “I don’t think we’ve played bad hockey, other than that Edmonton game, so our mood’s been fine.”

It was noticeable against a Vancouver team that’s almost certainly Blue Jackets 5, Canucks 0 | Jackets gets 'must-win' victory heading for an early offseason and lost a tough game 24 hours earlier, in the same building, against the rival Calgary Flames.

Brian Hedger The Canucks came out strong, though, nearly scoring right way. The only reason they didn’t was Bobrovsky, who made 21 saves for his second shutout in his past three starts.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Josh Anderson looked like the cat that swallowed Bobrovsky missed the game in Edmonton with an upper-body injury, an a canary. issue he said was bothering him for a couple weeks, but was razor sharp against the Canucks (32-34-10). Before the question was even finished – asking if the Blue Jackets’ mindset was “must win” going into a 5-0 victory against the Vancouver Bobrovsky made four saves in the first 2:15 of the game to keep it 0-0, Canucks on Sunday night – their biggest and best forward the past including back-to-back stops in tight against Loui Eriksson on the game’s month had a small grin on his face. first shift. He also stonewalled a 2-on-1 rush for the Canucks during the Jackets’ first power play and continued making key saves all game. He also had a two-word answer ready to go. “He’s a special player, obviously, and he’s one of a kind too,” said Ryan “Must win,” said Anderson, who scored two goals and added an assist in Dzingel, who scored his second goal as a Blue Jacket despite being a three-point game. “We needed a win tonight. Obviously, you look at the removed in the first period for observation per the NHL’s concussion standings (and) every team’s winning – not really helping us out too protocols. “He’s our guy we need to perform to get us in and he definitely much, so, yeah, ‘must win.’” did that tonight.” It’s rare to hear an NHL player or coach agree to that term, “must win,” At the other end, Dzingel, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Oliver Bjorkstrand for any regular-season game, especially for a team that’s perched on the made life tough for Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko – scoring the playoff bubble with a couple weeks left. Jackets’ other three goals in the final two periods. They’re all “must win” games to coaches, of course, and right on cue, Dubois scored the first of two in the second period, giving the Blue coach John Tortorella didn’t disappoint. Jackets a 2-0 lead 56 seconds after the puck was dropped, and Dzingel “No, we don’t go ‘must,‘” he said. “I’m not going to disrespect the players. made it 3-0 at 6:02 with a backhand from the slot. I think they know the importance of each and every game here. To label Dubois’ goal ended a 13-game goal drought and was his first since Feb. it a ‘must,’ I just don’t like the words, ‘must,’ and ‘measuring stick.’ I just 23 against the San Jose Sharks – the day Dzingel was acquired in a don’t like using those words. I think the athletes know where they’re at. trade with the Ottawa Senators. Dzingel’s goal, set up by Anderson, was We found a way to win one.” his first since March 12 and 24th of the season. He might not like it – in fact, you can be sure he doesn’t – but there’s no Bjorkstrand made it 4-0 at 7:32 of the third, scoring his 16th goal for question Anderson’s assessment was spot on. This was a “must-win” insurance, and Anderson capped the scoring with his second of the game for the Blue Jackets, even if, technically speaking, they would’ve game just past the mid-way point of the period. had seven games remaining either way. “When (Dubois) scored his goal, then he started making plays, started The reason is simple. Even with the win, Columbus is still looking in from carrying the puck, beating people,” Tortorella said. “He just looked so the outside at the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference – two points much more confident. It’s a game that ... it’s in your head. It’s amazing back of the surging Montreal Canadiens. what happens if you gain some semblance of confidence.” After tightening their grip on the East’s second wild card with a win The opposite is also true. The Blue Jackets have taken some body blows Saturday – while the Blue Jackets had a team-bonding dinner in since the deadline, have had their nose bloodied and still have to fight Vancouver – the Canadiens added another point with an overtime loss their way off the ropes if they want into the postseason party. Sunday at the Carolina Hurricanes. They would’ve been fighting to get off the canvas had they not beaten the That game concluded as the Jackets and Canucks warmed up, so there Canucks, though. Instead, they won when they had to win and will fly was no mistaking the situation before puck-drop at Rogers Arena. home Monday knowing there’s another “must win” against the New York Columbus needed to win. Period. Islanders on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena. “Guys (were) watching in the warmups,” Anderson said. “They had the “We all know that and we’ve got to look forward to our next game,” scores over there, so we saw it go into overtime. And, of course, they get Anderson said. ”(We have to) start early in the game and get our game a three-point game. It is what it is.” going.” Ah, the dreaded three-point game. Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 03.25.2019 Two of those points went to the Hurricanes, who have a five-point lead on the Blue Jackets for the East’s first wild card. One went to Montreal.

All the Jackets can control, however, is what happens in their own games.

“That’s the way we have to treat every game from now on, as a ‘must- win,’ really,” said Anderson, who bookended the scoring with the game’s first and final goals. “This is the time of year where it’s fun hockey. We’re playing for something here.”

It looked like it, too, coming off a complete dud Thursday in Edmonton, when the Oilers delivered a punch in the gut by sweeping the two-game season series with a 4-1 win.

Other than pointing a finger at increased expectations elevated expectations following four trades before the trade deadline last month, the Jackets didn’t really have an explanation for what happened in that game.

They didn’t even talk about it, casting their focus instead on the game Sunday – which concluded a four-game trip that began with a 2-1 overtime loss last Saturday in Boston. 1137426 Columbus Blue Jackets Merzlikins cleared up a story that’s been circulating for a few years around the NHL, that he structured his contract in Lugano to expire when Bobrovsky’s deal in Columbus was ending. Bobrovsky will be an Elvis Merzlikins says signing first NHL contract is just the beginning, unrestricted free agent July 1. hopes to earn new flock of fans in Columbus Instead, Merzlikins said, Lugano insisted on him signing a three-year deal in 2016. He wanted a two-year deal.

By Aaron Portzline Mar 24, 2019 16 “I said to (Domenichelli), ‘I’m going to be ready in two years,’ ” Merzlikins said. “He was not laughing. He believed in me. He always believed in me. There were people who were laughing about myself.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Elvis Merzlikins was a star goaltender “He said to me, ‘Look, there is Bobrovsky who has a three-year deal with on the ice and a larger-than-life personality off the ice during his five-plus Columbus. After those three years, we’re going to go to Columbus and stellar seasons with HC Lugano in Switzerland’s National League. maybe you can have a shot. So it’s perfect timing to sign a three-year deal with Lugano.’ Then we did this.” How will his act play in Columbus? The Blue Jackets and their fans are about to find out. Merzlikins has never been short of confidence. So when asked whether he’s ready to play in the NHL — Blue Jackets management has said as “Of course they’re gonna meet me,” Merzlikins said, “and I’m, uhh … I’m such many times — his answer shouldn’t be surprising. not like a normal goalie.” “I think I was ready already last year for this level,” Merzlikins said. “My Merzlikins made his first comments Sunday after signing an entry-level last test was the last World Championships, especially the game against deal with the Blue Jackets on Wednesday. He’s meeting Monday with you guys, the Americans.” immigration officials in Bern, Switzerland, but he is expected to arrive in Columbus later in the week. The United States beat Merzlikins and Latvia 3-2 in overtime May 10, 2018, with Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson scoring the OT game- The 24-year-old Latvian covered a lot of ground in a 15-minute winner. Merzlikins’ counterpart was goaltender Kinkaid, who joined the teleconference with reporters in Rogers Arena — how signing his first Blue Jackets at the trade deadline. NHL deal is just the start of the dream, why he’s skipping the American Hockey League, the timing of his arrival in the NHL, and finding favor It was a huge personal test, Merzlikins said, and he measured himself with a new set of fans. against one U.S. player in particular. He finished with 30 saves.

He spun a few more yarns that were difficult to verify, such as the game “I knew that there was going to be (Patrick) Kane, and before I played last spring in the IIHF World Championships when he almost came to Kane I was preparing two months earlier, studying him, studying how blows with an opposing goaltender, who might or might not have been he’s playing the game, his good games and his bad games,” Merzlikins current Blue Jackets goalie Keith Kinkaid. (He said it was Kinkaid said. “I wanted to see how he’s playing and what are his main things, originally but then couldn’t be sure.) how smart he is. For me, it was the most important thing to not get score from him. I was all 60 minutes, and more with overtime, I was all the time Merzlikins’ entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets will be burned by on him, looking at him. signing and spending the remainder of the season in Columbus. The Blue Jackets don’t want four goaltenders on the ice for practice — they “After that game, I saw that I’m ready, that I can jump over there and try already have Sergei Bobrovsky, Joonas Korpisalo and Kinkaid on the the big hockey. I think I was ready already last year, but this year was roster — so much of Merzlikins’ time will be spent working with awesome. Now we’re going to see what’s going to happen and how.” goaltending coach Manny Legace. The only way Merzlikins will see playing time the rest of this season — or The Blue Jackets and Merzlikins’ agent, Hnat Domenichelli, have already in the Stanley Cup playoffs, should the Blue Jackets qualify — is if an had discussions about his follow-up contract, expected to be a one-way injury strikes one or more of the goaltenders already on the roster. NHL deal for one or two seasons. So his NHL career is only technically starting right now. The real stuff will “Of course it was amazing,” Merzlikins said of putting his name on an likely begin next season, when Merzlikins could challenge for the No. 1 NHL deal. “(It’s the) first part of the dream I’ve had since I was a kid. It’s job with the Blue Jackets. not like it’s a big deal, though. A new chapter is about to begin in his life, however. “A lot of guys can sign a contract. But the main thing, and what I want, is to see what kind of level I am and to prove to myself and my mom — she “I got respected from the city (of Lugano) from all seasons that have did huge sacrifices when I was a kid — that I can stay in the best league passed here, and I grew up here,” Merzlikins said. “So, fans really love in the world, not just show up there.” me because they saw me when I was even a kid.

The only way Merzlikins could have played in the AHL this season would “Like, everyone, even the guy who’s cleaning the rink or the guy from the have been by signing a tryout agreement, similar to what defenseman Zamboni, he knows me from when I was little kid, and I was all the time Zach Werenski signed three years ago, allowing him to finish the season making some bad stuff at the rink, and he was screaming at me, you with AHL Cleveland. know? This was like, really a huge family. To say goodbye to them was, like, kind of painful. But in doing so, Merzlikins would have pushed his entry-level contract to next season, and that would have pushed his one-way NHL deal — a “But I would love to have a really good relationship with Columbus fans. I guaranteed NHL salary, and most likely a secured spot on the Blue saw in the past, when I was there for development camp, I saw a couple Jackets’ roster — back another year. fans and they were awesome. I never had a chance to see them, how they are in the games, so it’s going to be fun to see that. “It’s not that I don’t want to go play in the AHL,” Merzlikins said. “I can’t judge the AHL league because I never played. It would be a good idea to “But otherwise, the people who I met there in America, I really like them play there, too, as well as the choice I did now, going to Columbus to because they are really lovely. It’s gonna be a cool experience and, practice and get the feeling of being in the NHL. yeah, can’t wait for that.”

“I know I’m going to practice with Manny (Legace). It’s awesome to Notebook spend the time with goalie coach in private. It’s the best practice you can • Bobrovsky will play versus Vancouver on Sunday. He said Saturday have, I think. You’re calm, you can study, you can learn more and much that he’d make the call regarding his nagging upper-body injury after better than the rush during practices. taking a morning skate.

“Then I’m going to see the city, the real life in the show. I want to see The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 what’s going to happen. Of course, I’m hoping now that the guys there (the Blue Jackets) are playing well and can get to playoffs and they can go as long as they can.” 1137427 Dallas Stars and playmaking ability that the six players on the ice, they should all have those capabilities."

Dowling does well: Forward Justin Dowling finished with one shot attempt No moral victories: As playoff race heats up, metrics say Stars should be and two hits in 14:04. He was recalled Saturday from AHL affiliate Texas. doing better He began on a line with Jamie Benn and Joel L'Esperance, but Jason Dickinson replaced L'Esperance midway through the second period.

Matthew DeFranks "I thought he was good," Montgomery said of Dowling.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 03.25.2019

Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Penguins dropped the Stars to 38-31-6 and conjured memories of last season's March slide out of the postseason.

Last year, the Stars lost eight straight games from March 11-28, including a stretch of four games in Canada. The Stars missed the playoffs by two points.

The Stars hold a playoff spot by three points over Arizona and Minnesota. They are six points behind St. Louis for third place in the Central Division. Dallas plays Monday at Winnipeg followed by a back-to- back in Calgary and Edmonton, and they finish the trip in Vancouver.

"I think we learned a lesson from the previous year," defenseman John Klingberg said. "Not just last year, but years before, too, we've been in this situation a lot of years here now. Our division, we know it's tight. Western Conference is tight, everyone is winning games this time of year. We've been winning a lot, but obviously 1-3-1 on the homestand is not what we wanted.

"Look at the flip side, we feel like we're playing pretty good. We just have to execute and create those momentums in the game where we score the goal and we can defend a lead. Right now, we're not scoring those goals, but it's going to come if we keep playing like this."

Coach Jim Montgomery has talked about how well his team has been playing recently, despite the results. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Stars have had more 5-on-5 scoring chances than their opponent in 10 of the last 11 games, including all five on the homestand.

But the Stars also rank last in the league with an 8.21 shooting percentage. League average is 9.5 percent.

"You can't really take moral victories at this point in the season," forward Andrew Cogliano said. "You need to get points, and the teams that do get points are the teams that make the playoffs. Did we play bad? Probably not, but obviously not good enough this time of the year."

According to Moneypuck's expected goals metric, the Stars have deserved to win more recent games. Expected goals is an advanced statistic that assigns goal values to shots based on their location on the ice.

Here is the Stars' just-completed homestand in expected goals in all situations:

March 15: Dallas 3.75, Vegas 2.46

March 17: Dallas 2.91, Vancouver 1.32

Tuesday: Dallas 3.34, Florida, 1.27

Thursday: Dallas 4.91, Colorado 3.32

Saturday: Dallas 3.44, Pittsburgh 2.94

Expected goals has its flaws -- it doesn't account for net-front screens or lateral movement of the puck -- but is generally a good indicator of how well a team is playing. The Stars just need to finish better.

"That's probably not what we wanted, but if you look at how we're playing, I feel like we are playing pretty good," Klingberg said. "I think we're on the same page. We just can't really execute offensively right now."

RELATED -- Controlled chaos and endless preparation: Behind the scenes with Fox Sports Southwest for a Stars broadcast

The Stars also wasted an opportunity late in Saturday's game with a power play while their goalie was pulled. Dallas chased the puck and couldn't find the equalizer.

"From what I saw, people were open," Montgomery said. "We're 6-on-4, and we rimmed the puck out of our own end. That's just a lack of poise 1137428 Dallas Stars and three Calder Cup Final games last summer. He hoped the rust wouldn't arrive, or that it'd be easy to shrug aside.

"I'd always thought when I left play-by-play for the job with the Stars that Controlled chaos and endless preparation: Behind the scenes with Fox if the opportunity ever came around, I have a decade-plus of experience Sports Southwest for a Stars broadcast and it would be like riding a bike," Bogorad said. "'I just hoped the bike wouldn't wrap around the telephone pole."

Matthew DeFranks Sunday, 10:30 a.m.: It's after morning skate at the American Airlines Center, and in the upper rows of Section 119, Leary and Reaugh conduct a meeting. The objective is to hammer out details about the night's show: What are the biggest storylines to include in the open? What video Inside the depths of the American Airlines Center, beyond the packages will be used? What about graphics? whitewashed hallways that line the tunnels or black-carpeted dressing room that houses the Stars, the heartbeat of the television broadcast It's a chance for the producer and color analyst to get on the same page beats. It's in the production truck -- parked underground adjacent to the and help construct the night's format. The format is a four-page guide flash of players' cars -- where the Fox Sports Southwest broadcast that lists everything the truck has prepared for the night's show: a originates. flashback package of past penalty shots against Dallas, Alexander Radulov's game-winning goal from December against Vancouver or in- The truck is a white-coated, technologically advanced cave. It's dimly-lit, game advertisement graphics from Shiner or Jack in the Box or Taco illuminated by the glow of 32 television monitors that display everything Bell. producer Mike Leary and director Mark "Vito" Vittorio need, and segmented into different spaces with varied responsibilities. The format is a starting point for the night ahead. The crew can't control what happens on the ice, but at least they know what's in their repertoire. There's the audio area, where Tim "Toast" Record mixes sound for the broadcast. There's the main area, where Leary, Vittorio and technical For Reaugh, it's a small fraction of what he does to equip himself for the director Kevin Lewis control the front row of buttons and switches and night's broadcast. Before he arrives at the rink for morning skate, he'll commands, and where Doug Foster and Carla Janeway create and look for information or brainstorm ideas. After skate, he'll go home to display graphics. There's the replay area, where four tape operators research more about the game. He allows himself an hour to eat and quickly recall replays and create packages. workout, but even then, he's thinking about the night's game.

It's a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds and directions that results in the "I don't know how guys do that, where they go for lunch and stuff like 2 1/2-hour broadcast repeated more than 80 times a season. It's what that. I just can't do it," Reaugh said. "Even when I'm working out, my happens behind the scenes while viewers listen to play-by-play mind's going a million miles an hour. I'm still coming up with different announcer Josh Bogorad and color analyst Daryl "Razor" Reaugh. ways of saying something or presenting something or what we should be talking about." Fox Sports allowed the Dallas Morning News to sit in on Sunday's broadcast of the Stars' shootout loss to Vancouver -- behind the pregame If Bogorad is looking for what is happening, Reaugh is looking for how show, in the truck, beside a camera operator, and in the booth. This is and why it's going on. He wants to explain and entertain, inform and the story of the broadcast and the people responsible for it. enthrall.

Saturday night: Bogorad's voice will become synonymous with much of Reaugh is in his 23rd season with the Stars and has helped the Dallas what the Stars accomplish. When there's a pivotal goal, there's broadcast become well-known throughout the league. Due in part to Bogorad's call. When there's a huge save, there's Bogorad's call. In the Reaugh's popularity, the Stars are one of just three NHL teams that few hours of game time when he's on television, Bogorad becomes the simulcast their television broadcast on the radio (the others are Buffalo narrator of the action on the ice. and Carolina).

But his preparation begins the night before. "The great thing about me as a producer is I have two guys up there that work really, really hard," Leary said. "People can argue that Razor might Bogorad looks for trends of note: if a player is on a hot or cold streak, be the hardest working guy in television. Probably is. He works really how he's producing relative to the rest of his career, intersecting hard at this. And Josh is right there with him, 1 and 1A." storylines if opposing players used to be teammates or are from similar areas. He funnels it all on to two legal-size, color-coordinated sheets -- Reaugh said: "It's a long, meandering way through this stuff. And then one for the Stars, and one for the opponent -- to lay them in front of him you get it all and you have no idea which part of it is going to actually during the broadcast. manifest itself in the game. You have no idea. You look at it at the end of the night and you're like 'I think I got two or six percent of what I had into He'll follow up the next day after morning skate, talking to players and the game.' And you shrug your shoulders." coaches to glean nuggets of information that may or may not make it onto the broadcast. He'll read the game notes and wander up to the Noon: Leary and the rest of the production crew arrive to the arena about broadcast booth in road cities to familiar himself with his surroundings. six hours before game time. With a 6 p.m. start against the Canucks, that Many things Bogorad writes down won't see airtime. means an early arrival at the arena.

It's a process Bogorad developed in his years calling minor-league Typically, Leary will arrive an hour earlier than the rest of the crew, which hockey games. He spent seven seasons with the now defunct Alaska means he can spend nearly 12 hours at the arena -- between morning Aces of the ECHL, and three seasons with the Corpus Christi IceRays in skate, pre-production and the broadcast -- for just one game. the now defunct CHL prior to joining the Stars as their radio then TV pregame and intermission host. Leary is in his third season in Dallas after spending more than a decade in Chicago producing Blackhawks and White Sox broadcasts. Television It was a step up from his college days, when he would call games for is in his blood, and Leary got his start at the same CBS affiliate in Arizona's club hockey team, while also hosting a show on the campus Hartford, Conn., that his grandfather was a master control operator at. He radio station, writing for the school newspaper and finishing second to worked on regional sports shows, and Big Ten broadcasts of basketball, call Arizona softball games. soccer and volleyball before producing professional sports.

(Bogorad couldn't even get into the booth for Arizona's club hockey Leary sits on the left side of the truck, handling the replays and broadcasts, initially. He asked to be the play-by-play announcer. They communicating with Bogorad and Reaugh, while Vittorio directs the had one. He asked to be the color analyst. They had one. So he offered camera operators, instructs Record on what type of audio to play and to be the rinkside reporter, which led to doing play-by-play down the line. tells Lewis when to switch camera angles or add effects.

"They said 'We don't have a rinkside reporting position,'" Bogorad said. "I But this early on a game day, it's still about getting ready. said 'You do now. I work for free and I'd like to do it.'") 1:51 p.m.: John Sponsler is an associate producer on the broadcast who This year is his first year doing play-by-play for Fox Sports, and Bogorad is one of four people responsible for not only cutting up replays almost had only called five games in the previous five years -- two NHL ones instantly but also readying flashback and other highlight elements. On this day, one of Sponsler's projects is to create a montage of past "It was literally just him and Matty, and my hand was shaking because of penalty shots against the Stars to be used in the open. In the previous nerves," Rea said. "I didn't want to suck in front of him because he's game, Anton Khudobin stopped Vegas' William Karlsson on a penalty done it for 15 years. If I'm tripping with just you two in the room, what am shot, continuing Dallas' historical success on penalty shots. I going to do when there's a camera and people around? So the mock shows were huge." Some of it is easy to find in the searchable database of video clips that Sponsler has created. He carries around hard drives with past clips, and Sunday's pregame show isn't a normal one for Rea and Severyn typically has at least three or four seasons worth of video on him. But this because it's St. Patrick's Day -- and Rea's birthday. They don festive package calls for a clip of a 2001 Mike Fisher penalty shot, and Sponsler green headwear for the occasion, Rea with a Cat in the Hat-style green has to wait for someone to bring the drive from the Stars headquarters in and white hat, and Severyn in a light green Santa hat. Frisco. Behind the two cameras on set is stage manager Ally Muntean, who During games, he's responsible for monitoring four different feeds and directs Rea and Severyn's eyes with a contraption cobbled out of a bike rewinding, pausing, replaying clips on two output feeds that can be taken light and a selfie stick. She points to where they should be looking, for the broadcast. Each tape guy has the same set up (16 total feeds, whether it's the main camera, the secondary camera with a tighter shot or eight outputs), but have distinctive names for their output feeds, often the screen that is displaying clips or graphics. named complementary items that can easily be recalled. Rea and Severyn's job is to tee up the game before handing it over to Sponsler is in charge of Red and Blue, while A and B, X and Y, and Gold Bogorad and Reaugh. They break down lineup changes and recent and Silver also exist. Each person knows who Leary is talking about trends. There's bound to be overlap between the pregame show and the simply by the feed he mentions. game broadcast, and on this night, they also discuss Elias Pettersson and Stars penalty shots. (Leary said some producers name the feeds more creatively by calling them Eggs and Bacon. In Chicago, the previous producer liked The show lasts until 5:56 p.m., and then the game broadcast takes over. Christmas so much that Red and Green were two of his options. In Dallas, Leary opted to keep the names the same as before he arrived 6 p.m.: This is Vittorio's time to shine. As the director, he's responsible for with Fox Sports Southwest. ordering the sounds, the angles, the transitions, the graphics and taking them from the 23 cameras he has use of to the one screen the audience "Why should I make audio, director, [technical director], four tape guys sees. change when I can just change?" Leary said. "I kept them the same because that's what they're used to.") To many, producing and directing may sounds similar, but Leary and Vittorio lay out a digestible analogy. 2:08 p.m.: Foster and Janeway are busy creating graphics for the night. They show starting goaltenders Khudobin and Jacob Markstrom, along "The producer is like the head coach," Vittorio said. "I'm like the with their stats. Every leaderboard that pops up in the bottom left-hand quarterback. The producer has the idea and has to determine when we're corner originates from Foster and Janeway. The flags with dates during going to get all our sponsored elements in. He has to determine where flashbacks, and the ribbons across the top of the screen after goals are the show's going to go. It's my job to get it there. It's my job to paint the also from them. picture of what's happening."

On this day, they are creating a full-screen image of the Canucks' Vittorio is in his 17th season of Stars hockey, having previously worked previous Calder Trophy contenders as the broadcast spotlights for in Anaheim when the Ducks were an expansion team. In the truck, Vancouver's Pettersson. he's in the middle of the front row, faced with a myriad of quartered screens that feed him the game in live action. He sets them up like the 2:35 p.m.: Leary leads a pre-production meeting during which the crew rink, with the angles to the left of the rink to his left and the same for the takes the individual elements they've been working on -- sound, video, ones on the right. graphics -- and puts it all together. It takes about 30 minutes to put together, and offers the first taste of production jargon that is Camera No. 1 is the game camera, responsible for following the action commonplace in the truck. broadly. Vittorio uses No. 2 and 3 for storytelling, with No. 2 often used as the first replay after a whistle and No. 3 functioning as an isolation Here's a sample of what Leary instructed: "Three, two, one. Roll it. camera on a specific player or area. Standby to roll X. Three, two, roll X. Bring font, animate. Ready to take black in three, two, one." Vittorio considers himself a very aggressive director, regularly cutting away from the game camera when the puck goes to the corner, or The directions were fairly simple in this instance: to play the clip from offering a view from the robo-cam behind the net on an offensive zone feed X, bring a graphic on the screen and then cut it. During the game, faceoff. It's a technique that's different from most other directors but the chatter sounds like a different language to the uninitiated. something Vittorio feels comfortable with after decades in the business.

5:30 p.m.: Brien Rea and Brent Severyn take their places on the 6:28 p.m.: Vancouver forward Tim Schaller scores his second goal of the Platinum Level of the American Airlines Center for the night's pregame night on Khudobin, setting off a cacophony of instructions inside the show. They sit behind a three-person desk typically occupied by two, a truck. Vittorio switches to five different camera angles immediately after blue and silver structure with monitors built into the desk to see the the goal -- to the Canucks celebration, reactions of Esa Lindell and Jason broadcast and enough space for copious notes, scripts and laptops. Rea Dickinson, a stunned Stars fan and Schaller returning to the Vancouver wears two earpieces so he can hear producer Matt Schliftman (stationed bench. at the studio in Las Colinas) through the buzz of the crowd and the music of pregame warmup. Leary checks out what replays angles are available. He chooses the robo-cam angle that shows the lead up to the play (from B), then the Unlike the game broadcast, the pregame show is scripted. Rea and slow-motion view from the other side of the rink (from Blue), then another Severyn prepare and execute with some knowledge dripping away, but look at the Vancouver celebration (from Red). most airing on the broadcast. It sounded like this: "Ready B. B, replay, fly. Standby blue, then red. For Rea, it's a new position. He spent 10 years in minor-league hockey Ready blue. And blue. Ready red. And red. Standby out." as a play-by-play announcer in CHL locales Lubbock, Austin, Odessa, Prescott and Denver before four years with the Texas Stars in the AHL. All in 45 seconds, and Foster makes sure the crew doesn't miss the next Severyn, meanwhile, is in his 15th season on television. faceoff.

So months before Sunday's broadcast, Rea, Severyn and Schliftman did 6:39 p.m.: Khudobin loses his right skate blade when it bangs against the four mock broadcasts during Stars preseason games. They rehearsed opposite post, setting off a sequence in which he smashed his stick on the first block of opening night broadcast and did the intermission reports the ice before dislodging the net to stop play. That gets Bororad curious, as the normally would. so he asks Reaugh, the former goaltender, a question.

It was a sigh of relief for Rea, who recalled an episode of nerves before "That ever happen to you?" Bogorad says. the season. "We didn't have skates like that back then," Reaugh answers. "Ours were made of muskox intestines and caribou leather. Steel." The exchange is part of what makes Reaugh great. 8:58 p.m.: The broadcast goes off the air, making way for the post-game show. In some ways, it's been an abnormal night: the first shootout of the Armed with a vocabulary that is peppered with animated words like season was previously foreign, and the night presented another penalty mastodonic and alacrity and oscillating and gelid and percolate instead of shot. more mundane ones like big or willingness or sway or cold or seep, Reaugh takes pride in his vocabulary. When he first entered In other ways, it was completely expected: each night brings something broadcasting, he watched other color analysts repeatedly describe plays different for Leary, Vittorio, Bogorad, Reaugh, Foster, Sponsler and Co. as simply good or great, sacrificing descriptiveness for blandness. "Having guys that work hard, and having the crew we have," Leary said, He wanted something unique, showmanship hidden syllable by syllable. "it's a dream situation. It really is." Reaugh reads books and jots down standout words. On Twitter, he follows only 265 accounts. Four of them tweet out words of the day, and Dallas Morning News LOADED: 03.25.2019 then there's also the Merriam-Webster dictionary account.

Words and phrases have become so synonymous with Reaugh that a Twitter search for #razorisms returns a plethora of his on-air quotes. Razorisms has its own Facebook page with nearly 1,300 followers.

It creates an interesting line for Bogorad to walk: be descriptive enough for the radio audience, but leave enough time for Reaugh to shine.

"Our broadcast is better when he has time to do what he does. It's a combination of teaching and entertaining and analyzing, so you don't want to cut him short," Bogorad said. "Overall, I try and give him ample opportunities to jump in when he wants to, and then try and suffocate a little bit of laughter if he says something really funny and still maintain my focus on what's coming."

7:06 p.m.: The second period starts, putting camera operator Dave Curliss back to work on the camera deck behind section 106. Curliss operates camera No. 3, the isolation camera, and has been given a forward from each of Dallas' lines to follow. On this night, it's Roope Hintz, Jamie Benn, Radek Faksa and Jason Spezza and their corresponding numbers are taped to the top of Curliss' Canon Digisuper 72 XS.

On the sides, Curliss attaches a roster for each team, and highlights the defensemen in green so when Vittorio asks for a shot of a defenseman, he knows which side of the bench (the one closest to their one goal) to look at. His right hand controls zooming and talking to the truck; his left, focusing. His headset feeds him both the broadcast from Bogorad and Reaugh, plus instructions from the truck.

For Curliss, Sunday's game is one of many sporting events he'll attend in any given year, and has since he started in the mid-90s. He also works camera No. 6 for Mavericks games (the corner hand held one) and the one in the third-base well during Rangers games.

Curliss' assignment changes on power plays, when he is no longer assigned to a single player, but rather to the slot, where a lot of action happens. It results in shots like this one.

8:36 p.m: After Taylor Fedun's game-tying goal, the truck begins to prep for a possible overtime period. The highlights they cut up before the game of Jamie Benn's overtime game-winner from years ago is of use now. Foster updates any graphics that need updating.

The game heads to overtime, and the Stars survive a penalty in the period to push the game to the first shootout of Dallas' season.

8:54 p.m.: The shootout starts, and Leary reminds his replay operators of the timing of the shootout: "Quick looks, guys."

Shootouts could be one of the most hectic times for a broadcast. The scoreboard in the top left corner is different, shooters are accompanied by graphics with their career shootout numbers. Plus, there are just 20 seconds (or less) between shots to squeeze in replays, which makes the use of slow-motion more difficult.

The crew is able to air two replays for five of the seven initial shootout total attempts, using a wide array of angles: from high above the ice, from the robo-cam above the net, from the side of the rink, from behind the shooter.

Doing so requires the help of all eight replay feeds (Blue and Red, A and B, X and Y, Gold and Silver), which Leary calls out the same way he did Schaller's goal: "Ready A, Silver. A. Ready Silver. Standby Silver, and go Silver. Standby out."

Josh Leivo's wrister past Khudobin ends the game and allows time for four replays of the game-winner, plus gives Foster time to update the Western Conference standings. Bogorad wraps up the game over highlights cut midgame, and just like that, it's over. 1137429 Dallas Stars Comeau didn’t want to discuss his musical stylings and turned down an interview on this subject. But when surveying his teammates, the general consensus was that Comeau’s greatest ability is to find a good mix of Shap Shots: Behind the Stars’ music choices with Tyler Seguin and genres and cater to all of the tastes within the locker room. Blake Comeau Winter Classic

‘Growing the game’ was an underlying explanation for why Dallas landed By Sean Shapiro Mar 24, 2019 the 2020 Winter Classic, and it was a topic of conversation when the Stars and the NHL held a press conference at the Cotton Bowl last week.

Yes, it’s a business venture first and had to make sense in that realm. I have to admit I’m not exactly a music aficionado when it comes to But for both the NHL and the Stars, getting the first southern Winter songs released in the last decade. Classic in the Cotton Bowl provides an opportunity to grow the sport at a youth level. While writing this story I’m listening to Boston’s self-titled 1976 debut album. The last concert I went to was a Bruce Springsteen show and the There is a large youth tournament in the works centered around Jan. 1, shelf in my office mostly showcases the work of Foreigner and Billy Joel. with teams coming from across the United States to play in the various community rinks the Stars have helped build across the Dallas-Fort When I go to the gym, I do listen to ’00s pop radio on my iPhone. That Worth metroplex. There is a belief that many of those participants and tends to include a collection of songs I remember from bars in college, their families will also buy tickets to the Winter Classic. but beyond that my music tastes need an update. “I think at its initial cut, it gets people who would otherwise not watch I therefore am the least qualified person to judge any music selection. hockey games to watch them,” said Don Fehr, the executive director of However, songs centered around the Stars have grabbed an odd the National Hockey League Players’ Association. “When you see it for stranglehold on my attention span in recent weeks. the first time there is a certain amount of people that want to go see. The This trend began when the Beatles became a common fixture in the trick is if you get someone into the arena and they really see it live, that’s Stars locker room after victories in late March. Jamie Benn was recently when people get hooked. The second thing is when you put the NHL on asked about the number of Beatles songs and simply said, “I have no the January 1 calendar in a place like this, that brings you a level of idea what you are talking about.” exposure you really wouldn’t get otherwise.”

The fascination continued during a Stars trip to Minnesota on Feb. 14. There have been outdoor games in non-traditional markets before; the When the teams took the ice for warm-ups something was missing; Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings played an outdoor game at instead of a thumping bass that we’ve all grown used to, players were Dodgers Stadium. But the Winter Classic holds more cache on a national greeted by a slower entry. I don’t know what the song was, but it felt off. level, drawing significant interest while Stadium Series games and other iterations often get lost on the calendar. This is a long-winded way of saying I was curious about who picked the music the Stars listen to. In-house DJ Michael Gruber controls the playlist “This has a prominence and specialness to it,” Fehr said. “It’s got a cache during games, but what about before and afterward? all of its own.”

Gruber used to pick the songs and mix during warmups, but during the There has been significant early interest in tickets for the event and both 2015-16 season Tyler Seguin asked if he could have a say in the pre- the Stars and the NHL seem confident that come Jan. 1, at least 70,000 game selections. It was a duty that Gruber gladly passed onto Seguin people will attend the event. The ambitious goal is 80,000. and the Stars center essentially outsources the responsibility to a pair of The fact that this particular venue would be utilized again on Jan. 1 is friends who are DJs: Dallas’ own Zillamatic as well as Dzeko, a Toronto- important. For decades the Cotton Bowl was appointment viewing on based artist Seguin went to high school with. New Year’s Day, and the Winter Classic provides a rare opportunity to “I usually flip between them and it keeps the boys happy,” Seguin said. celebrate that again for the first time since the bowl game of the same “I’d actually like to hear our volume louder in our own rink, it’s too low. It name moved to Arlington. drives me crazy, it has for six years, that they won’t turn it up more. I’d Based on conversations with people around the NHL, there is a feeling like that (to) go up.” that going with two first-time outdoor participants and the fascination of “The speaker setup is too loud for some of the fans,” Seguin added. “But hockey outdoors in Texas will help draw casual viewers. I say warmups is for us, the game is for the fans. Let us have warmups, Odds and ends so let it be louder. That’s the only complaint I’ve ever had about our rink.” – This is an obvious statement, but the Stars’ coming road trip is a huge Seguin said he’s not asking for the music to blast at Vegas levels (the one. Golden Knights have perhaps the loudest settings in the NHL) but turning it up a little in Dallas would be welcomed. With seven games remaining the Stars hold the first wild-card spot at 82 points. They are trailed closely by the Colorado Avalanche, who have 81 “If you are a player you like things loud,” Seguin said. “Not every game points with six games remaining. you are going to be completely woken up yet and a lot of times warmups are when you get focused and get going.” Before this recent and disappointing homestand the Stars had legitimate hopes of catching the St. Louis Blues or Nashville Predators for third Players across the locker room seem to agree; it’s not the song selection place in the Central Division. With that chance essentially gone, the focus that matters, but rather the amplitude and how it pumps life into a now turns to keeping their distance from the Minnesota Wild and Arizona building. Coyotes, who both sit just outside a playoff spot with 79 points and one “I don’t really listen to the words, but I like the way it sounds,” Radek more game played than the Stars. Faksa said. “It’s a good way to get going, right?” On paper the Stars are heavy favorites to make the postseason. The “I hear it and what not, but I don’t really get too involved with it,” Ben Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn projects the Stars have an 86-percent Bishop said. “I really can’t get caught up in it. I like music, but I don’t chance of making the playoffs, even after the 1-3-1 homestand. While know the names of artists or anything like that.” Stars fans may have a healthy fear of a collapse like last season’s, the dwindling time on the schedule makes it difficult for the Stars to actually Back in the locker room, Blake Comeau handles the auxiliary chord. On drop out of the playoffs unless Minnesota or Arizona really surge, which the rare occasion where the Stars have played music during practice, is asking quite a bit. Comeau has picked the songs that played over the Frisco speakers. – Jason Spezza’s name has been brought up quite a bit this week “(Comeau) is the best DJ I’ve ever played with,” Ben Lovejoy said. “And because of his healthy scratches and the comments from his coach that I’m not saying that because of my time here. I played with him in almost sound like the beginning of a eulogy to Spezza’s career. Pittsburgh, he’s got a reputation. He’s very good at it. I’m a huge 90s rap guy and he mixes that in enough that I am happy.” This has understandably been a tough situation for Spezza to swallow. His demeanor when walking through the press box as a healthy scratch was that of a player lost and somewhat embarrassed. When he addressed the media, the conversation was a short one.

The timing of Spezza’s apparent demotion essentially killed another story that I would have enjoyed working on. When the NHLPA conducted their annual poll, Spezza finished second in the category “Who would make the best NHL GM once they retire?”. He secured 4.8 percent of the vote behind Sidney Crosby’s 5.5 percent.

I asked Spezza about the results of the poll; he said it’s something that he wasn’t thinking about now, but that his placement in the voting was flattering. He also did mention he plans to at least remain involved in hockey when he is done playing, whenever that it, but that was the extent of the discussion.

When talking to both Spezza’s teammates and his opponents around the league, it’s pretty clear his opinion is well respected on most hockey matters. Spezza also pays more attention to the league than most others; he knows the underlying statistics and contracts, which might make his decline hurt even more. Spezza has never said so, but inside he is likely well aware of where his game has gone and how his output doesn’t match his contract number.

– With Boston University failing to make the NCAA tournament the Stars will turn their attention to Jake Oettinger in hopes they can get the goalie to turn pro either this spring or summer.

You can expect the Stars to use a similar playbook to the one employed when they signed Colton Point out of Colgate last summer. In an ideal world, they’d like to get Oettinger signed and get him some professional experience in the next couple weeks, but they are also willing to practice patience and sign the goalie in July. Point signed on July 1 after re- thinking his decision to return to Colgate for a Junior season.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137430 Detroit Red Wings “It’s great for our confidence,” Jimmy Howard said after making 28 saves. “We’ll enjoy this, then get ready for San Jose Monday. “

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 03.25.2019 The Detroit Red Wings played a mature game in Vegas. Why that matters

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press Published 7:44 a.m. ET March 24, 2019 | Updated 4:54 p.m. ET March 24, 2019

LAS VEGAS — The Detroit Red Wings put on a performance that resonated.

Feeding off the festive, fun atmosphere at T-Mobile Arena Saturday, the Wings looked like they belonged, even as their patchy lineup took on the Golden Knights, one of the best teams in the NHL and a Stanley Cup finalist last season. It was a testament to the Wings character that they played as well as they did even as two weeks stand between them and another long offseason. This game was what the Wings mean when they talk about their culture.

“You get the leadership that we have with our veteran guys,” Dylan Larkin said after setting up the overtime goal in the 3-2 victory. “It could have went the other way where we didn’t show up but that wasn’t the case at all. We were fired up to play. We did some serious preparation for this game and it feels good to get two points.”

It was the second victory on this trip, third in the last four games, but the Wings remain 29th in the standings. That’s good for their draft lottery odds. Their opponent on Monday, the Sharks, are another team jockeying for playoff positioning who play in another tough arena.

The Wings are 2-0 at T-Mobile Arena, thriving on the non-stop energy the place exudes.

“This building is so loud, by far the best building to play in in the NHL,” Larkin said. “They blast music and their in-game stuff is awesome. It felt like a playoff game. I thought it was the best game we played in a long time, maybe this season. They went up 2-1 on the shortie and our power play did what it has to do and went out and it was in the back of the net. It was a mature game from us and something that I think after this season we can look back on. They’re a darn good hockey team over there and we were the better team, I thought.”

The Wings had three newcomers up front (Taro Hirose, Ryan Kuffner, Matt Puempel). The defense is down to two veterans (Danny DeKeyser, Niklas Kronwall). But from first puck drop, the Wings impressed.

“Our competition level was excellent right from the get go,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “It says a lot about our group. We’ve continued to compete here even when we’re out of it. We’ve talked about that, having pride in ourselves and make sure we work and compete and build for a better future, and to do that, you have to show up every single night. We did an excellent job.

“They are certainly a real good team. It’s a great building. Honestly probably the best atmosphere in the league. It was a really good hockey game and we found a way to win it. Good for our guys.”

It was Mantha who finished what Larkin started in OT, scoring 19 seconds after Larkin drew Malcom Subban toward his right goalpost only to feed a backhand pass to Mantha.

“He didn’t have that shot so he tapped it back and it ended up right on my stick for an open net,” Mantha said. “It’s all credit to him.”

Credit Mantha more for his first goal, then: it came a minute after he’d turned the puck over during a power play and the Knights had made it 2- 1.

“He was a big-time player,” Blashill said. “He had the unfortunate turnover on the power play. I thought it was great he comes right back and scores and then scores the overtime goal. It was fitting given the game he had. He was moving his feet right from the very first drop of the puck. He was on his game. Him and I talked a little bit yesterday. He did a really good job coming out and playing the right way.”

The Wings played the right way as a team, starting every period well. There were no lulls. It was the 75th game of the season, coming at a time they could easily be going through the motions. It’s something they can look back on as proof of what they’re capable. 1137431 Detroit Red Wings Think of billionaire Ted Turner, who owned the Braves and Atlanta Hawks, airing games on TBS.

Sports fans of a certain age remember watching the Chicago Cubs on Why Pistons' Tom Gores, other team owners want to buy Fox Sports WGN when the Tribune Company owned both entities. networks Bloomberg reports Platinum had initially expressed interest in the Detroit network, while Liberty wanted the Atlanta channel. But Disney is Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press Published 6:00 a.m. ET March 24, 2019 determined to engineer a lump sale. Reportedly, the New York Yankees are expected to buy back the YES Network, which Fox acquired 80 percent of back in 2014.

Fox Sports has been part of the Detroit media landscape for more than What are the pitfalls? two decades. Bidders will determine the value. But Walt Disney Co.’s $71.3 billion purchase of Fox’s film and television assets, which became official on Wednesday and promises to reshape The investment group would have to negotiate terms with cable and the country’s media landscape, has set off a series of dominoes that satellite providers. Big Ten fans recall the Big Ten Network’s limited could impact who controls broadcasts of Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red carriage at its launch in 2007. Wings and Detroit Pistons games. Then there are the viewing habits of millennials, who are cutting the As part of the sale, Disney must sell off the Fox Sports stations to satisfy cable cord and going away from traditional TV habits in droves. anti-trust concerns, and several ownership groups are in the race to As the consumer has more and more choices, TV ratings are falling. acquire the available assets. Tainsky thinks those fears are overblown when it comes to sports rights. Pistons owner Tom Gores’ California-based private equity firm, Platinum Along with awards shows, sports rank as the most viewed television Equity, is reportedly part of an investment group bidding for Fox Sports programming. Detroit and the 21 other regional sports networks under the Fox umbrella. “It’s the most time-dependent of any kind of viewership,” Tainsky said. Bloomberg reports Platinum, Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad, and “The only other kind of programming in the category is things like awards media company Liberty Media are spearheading the venture. Fox shows. … The outcome is so pivotal to the draw of the event that once Business reports the bid could be $10 billion. the outcome is known a lot of the lure is gone.

The sale has brought bids from other private equity firms, Major League “Even though that share is declining, it’s still important and there’s still a Baseball, an investment group led by hip-hop pioneer Ice Cube and healthy amount of the population watching these kinds of shows.” others. Even with a consortium of owners, every sports team in the represented Platinum Equity has interest in the transaction, multiple sources have markets aren’t part of the pursuit. A prime example being the Ilitches confirmed, declining further comment. The sources cite the highly exploring their own TV network in the Detroit market. confidential process where the sharing of information is tightly controlled. That means other teams could be forced to negotiate deals with the A source said this is a Platinum deal — not a Gores acquisition. Platinum-Liberty group.

So why the interest from Gores, Pohlad and John C. Malone, chairman of “To the other owners, who aren’t getting a piece of that, if there’s a Liberty Media and owner of the Atlanta Braves? All while the Ilitch family sweetheart deal, that’s where the dynamics could get a little bit thorny,” explores forming its own network to air Red Wings and Tigers games? said Tainsky, who is the founding director of Wayne State’s sports and It’s all about control. entertainment management concentration.

“It makes sense because you are bringing a lot of the properties under Broadcasting games are also an expensive proposition, Detroit Mercy the same umbrella for efficiencies, but on the other hand there’s probably marketing professor Mike Bernacchi notes. For that reason, he is a reason why (Fox) is going in the opposite direction to get out of the skeptical the Ilitches will ever launch a stand-alone network for the Red production business,” Scott Tainsky, professor at Wayne State’s Mike Wings and Tigers. Such a venture would require an investment in Ilitch School of Business, said this week. television equipment, studios and talent.

How we got here That’s why buying an infrastructure already in place makes sense.

Fox Sports Detroit has been part of the local media landscape since the Viewers shouldn’t expect immediate changes. late 1990s, when the Pistons, Red Wings and Tigers left Pro-Am Sports Broadcast rights contracts remain in place until at least 2021, according System, which was owned at the time by Post Newsweek Stations. to a source. Previous reports say the Pistons are paid $25 million The catalyst for the latest movement was Fox’s decision to restructure annually for broadcasts; the Tigers receive $50 million. and focus on its TV network, news and national sports assets. Stay tuned.

The media company decided to sell 21st Century Fox, which houses its “We’re talking about billionaires spending money to control the outcome movie and television assets. The first reported negotiations were in and it makes good business sense,” Bernacchi said. “They sure as hell November 2017. know what they’re doing and they’re unlikely to make a serious misstep.

Fox’s regional sports networks were part of the sale. “When you’re dealing with the money from the people we’re talking Disney won a bidding war against Comcast, and Disney coveted the about, this is not chump change and they’re not chump spenders.” content because of it's expected launch of a video streaming network. Detroit Free Press LOADED: 03.25.2019 Disney, which owns ESPN, went into the deal knowing that from an anti- trust perspective, it won’t be able to own the Fox Sports channels.

The clock is running to complete the sale of The Sports Networks because the U.S. Department of Justice won’t allow the dominance of the sports broadcasting market. Bloomberg reports Disney will have three months to complete the sale.

Live sports content is among the most coveted assets in television from an advertising perspective because viewers watch live and don’t record to binge later.

This isn't new. 1137432 Detroit Red Wings “You see the smiles on our faces after this game and how happy and pumped we are about that,” defenseman Madison Bowey told reporters. “We’re a younger team and we’re building, and it’s just great to get these Big game leaves Red Wings' Anthony Mantha hungry for more wins against these great teams in the league.

“It shows that one day we can be here and be playing in the top with the top teams.” Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News Published 3:33 p.m. ET March 24, 2019 Ice chips

The Wings sent defenseman Libor Sulak (flu) back to Grand Rapids and Detroit – This hasn’t been the season Red Wings forward Anthony recalled defenseman Dylan McIlrath from the Griffins. Sulak was Mantha envisioned. promoted earlier in the week but wasn’t able to play because of his illness. You can bet Mantha was looking forward to a 30-goal season, reaching that milestone for the first time, and launching himself toward a new level … Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (lower body), who has missed the last in the NHL. five games, could be ready to go Monday in San Jose.

But he had a horrible start to this season, then injured his hand in a fight … That’s two trips into Vegas the last two seasons, and two victories for Dec. 2 – which kept Mantha out of 15 games just as he was turning his the Wings, who love the emotion and atmosphere in the Golden Knights’ season around – severely denting any hopes for a breakthrough season. rink.

On Saturday night, Mantha was able to put a positive spin on these “This is a great building,” Blashill said. “Honestly, probably the best dwindling days of the Wings’ season, scoring the tying and winning goals atmosphere in the league.” in a 3-2 overtime win over Vegas. Said Bowey, who played one of his best games as Red Wing Saturday: That gives Mantha 19 goals, with seven games remaining. While it’s very “It’s one-of-a-kind. Just how loud it is and the emotions. Everything is unlikely he’ll reach 30 goals, 20 is certainly attainable. going and it just takes a real good team to kind of slow down and communicate out there and work as one.” Mantha was asked if 20 goals is a satisfying plateau. Red Wings at Sharks “No, it’s not,” Mantha told reporters after Saturday night’s game. “I’ve had ups and down this year, but I had to focus a little more on the downs and Faceoff: 10:30 p.m. Monday, SAP Center, San Jose try to build off of that for next year – and try to be an even better player next year.” TV/radio: FSD/97.1 FM

Saturday’s two goals ended a six-game goal-scoring drought, and Outlook: The Sharks (43-23-9) are battling to maintain home-ice included a stretch in which Mantha had scored only one goal in 10 advantage, but remain hopeful of winning the Pacific Division. … The games. Wings get to catch up with former teammate LW Gustav Nyquist, who has six points (three goals, three assists) in 12 games with the Sharks. Things hadn’t been going right, and it was compounded for Mantha just a minute before he scored when Vegas forward Reilly Smith intercepted a Detroit News LOADED: 03.25.2019 Mantha pass and raced to bury a shorthanded goal.

But Mantha, who had played one of his best games of late, didn’t let the turnover affect him.

“He was excellent, he was a big-time player,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “He had the unfortunate turnover on the power play but it was great – he comes right back and scores and then scores the overtime goal.”

Blashill talked with Mantha briefly Friday and whatever message was delivered, it definitely stuck.

“He was moving his feet right from the very first drop of the puck,” Blashill said. “He was on his game for sure. Him and I talked a little bit (Friday) and he did a really good job coming out and playing the right way.”

Impressive win

Of the five games on this Red Wings road trip, Vegas seemed the most unlikely stop that the Wings would pick up a victory.

The Golden Knights had won 10 of 11 games and appeared to be rounding into the form that took them to the Stanley Cup Finals last season.

But the Wings were the better team for most of the game.

“Our competition level was excellent, right from the get-go,” Blashill said. “It says a lot about our group. We’ve continued to compete even when we are out of it.”

Despite not being in the playoff picture, the Wings have maintained an impressive work ethic.

“We’ve talked about that, having pride in ourselves and making sure we work and build for a better future,” Blashill said. “To do that you have to show up every night and we did an excellent job (Saturday).”

In the race for the worst record and best draft lottery odds, Ottawa (whose pick actually goes to Colorado from a previous trade) is at rock bottom with 58 points. Los Angeles (62), the Wings (64) and New Jersey (65) follow, with two full weeks left in the schedule.

But judging from the Wings’ effort these past few weeks, and particularly after the Vegas victory, nobody on this roster is thinking about tanking. 1137433 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings recall Dylan McIlrath, reassign Libor Sulak

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

Two years after joining the organization, Dylan McIlrath is poised to make his Detroit Red Wings debut.

The Red Wings on Sunday recalled McIlrath from the Grand Rapids Griffins and reassigned Libor Sulak, in a swap of defensemen.

McIlrath’s recall is under emergency conditions. He could be in the lineup Monday when the Red Wings visit the San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit). Sulak was recalled on Wednesday but unable to play in any games because he was sick.

McIlrath, 26, possesses a combination of size (6-5, 236) and toughness. The Red Wings acquired him on March 1, 2017, along with a third-round pick from the Florida Panthers for Thomas Vanek.

Skating has been the biggest issue preventing him from being recalled before.

McIlrath has appeared in 49 games this season for the Griffins, picking up a goal and eight assists, along with a plus-12 rating and 94 penalty minutes.

The 10th overall pick for the New York Rangers in 2010, McIlrath has appeared in 43 NHL games (three goals, two assists, 94 penalty minutes). He has played in 350 AHL games (21 goals, 52 assists, plus- 27, 756 penalty minutes).

Michigan Live LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137434 Edmonton Oilers On a team with very little depth scoring, Joe Gambardella has two primary assists in just over 60 minutes of NHL play. His 1.90 points-per- 60 at 5-on-5 shines like a diamond compared to the also-rans the Oilers Colby Cave and Joe Gambardella build late-season resumes with have been running through the roster over the last few months. Edmonton Gambardella’s numbers are even more impressive when you take away the late December recall playing time. His first look-see was a quick one, the most recent recall (five games, beginning March 16) are a revelation. By Allan Mitchell Mar 24, 2019 11 In 39:54 at 5-on-5, he has two assists (3.33 per 60).

In January, I ranked Gambardella as the Oilers No. 19 prospect. At the time I wrote, “Some of these older college men with speed find a way to Down 3-2 as the clock raced toward midnight for the Edmonton Oilers score at the pro level (Fernando Pisani is an example from the Oilers playoff hopes, veteran castoff Sam Gagner made a deft play to intercept own past) and Gambardella is a candidate for a two-way role somewhere a pass behind the Ottawa Senators net Saturday afternoon. Joe in the middle of the roster. It’ll come down to results, with offence the big Gambardella, still in the first blush of his NHL career, then sent a lovely question. If he can hang around long enough to figure out how to post pass to Colby Cave who ripped a shot high shelf to tie the game at 3-3. crooked numbers offensively in the NHL (create chances from turnovers In a season where the Oilers’ fourth line has been dead on arrival from on the forecheck), Gambardella may have an NHL career.” That could be the anthem to lights out, the Cave goal was a rush for Edmonton fans what we are seeing now, in real time. used to a slow bleeding out by the home team under these What does it all mean? circumstances. Colby Cave is winning 52 percent of his faceoffs since arriving with the In the beginning Oilers and he is signed for another year at $675,000 AAV. It’s a no Opening day, Edmonton’s bottom six forwards showed some roster brainer he’ll return, even the new general manager will see his value (and clarity and signs of being successful. The team’s No. 3 line opening night know the team needs several contracts under $1 million). The question included Ryan Strome between Jujhar Khaira and Jesse Puljujarvi. In the becomes where will he play? Cave’s penalty killing numbers aren’t game against New Jersey, a miserable 5-2 loss, the trio kept the Devils fabulous, but the entire team is a train wreck and it’s a minute sample off the scoresheet despite being outshot 5-2 in eight minutes. The fourth size we’re dealing with at this time. line, a veteran trio of Tobias Rieder and Zack Kassian with centre Kyle Gambardella is less proven, a year older and an RFA who is arbitration Brodziak, were caved 12-2 in Corsi 5-on-5 events and 2-0 in goals. Thus eligible. His contract this season is $725,000, and based on his began the season-long search for something the coach could count on impressive AHL spike and these early NHL games, I would think the from his bottom two lines. organization would work quickly to get him signed to an extension. In the days that followed, Drake Caggiula moved to the Strome line with A losing team can find some answers down the stretch. In the case of Puljujarvi, and Khaira slid to fourth-line work with some success. The Colby Cave and Joe Gambardella, these games are proving to be very issue for the team over the long season involved all four lines, as the important. The contributions of each man this March builds on their wingers on the skill trios kept changing through two coaches. Here are respective resumes, with gainful NHL employment in 2019-20 the goal. In the most successful bottom six duos (125+ minutes) over the long Edmonton, or elsewhere. season based on shot differentials (with goal differential also included) via NaturalStatTrick: The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 Ryan Strome with Milan Lucic: 67-55 shots (55 percent) and 1-3 goals (25 percent) (134 minutes)

Kyle Brodziak and Milan Lucic: 102-99 shots (51 percent) and 3-6 goals (33 percent) (211 minutes)

Kyle Brodziak and Jujhar Khaira: 81-79 shots (51 percent) and 5-11 goals (31 percent) (172 minutes)

Kyle Brodziak and Zack Kassian: 195-195 shots (50 percent) and 11-21 goals (34 percent) (401 minutes)

Third line centres over the season included Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan Spooner, Jujhar Khaira and Cave, but Strome (before being traded) and Brodziak (all year) were the main bottom-six pivots.

Cave as an option

If the Oilers decide to acquire an upgrade at No. 3 centre (likely a righty) Cave is a strong candidate to replace Brodziak as the fourth option. In truth, both could make the team next year. Although a much smaller sample size, here are Cave’s early Edmonton numbers.

Colby Cave with Sam Gagner: 21-14 (60 percent) and 2-1 goals (66 percent) (42 minutes)

Colby Cave with Milan Lucic: 33-24 (58 percent) and 3-1 goals (75 percent) (67 minutes)

Colby Cave with Tobias Rieder: 41-40 shots (51 percent) and 1-2 goals (33 percent) (92 minutes)

Colby Cave with Josh Currie: 45-49 shots (48 percent) and 3-3 goals (50 percent) (89 minutes)

Cave’s early showings are certainly superior to Brodziak, especially in goal differential. Small sample size alert, but the eye test suggests young Cave is getting more (and better) looks than Brodziak. At this point, Cave is going to run out of blacktop soon, but I believe he’s shown enough to warrant a return in the fall.

Gambardella rising 1137435 Florida Panthers

Panthers furious after Chara hit left Barkov bloodied in loss to Bruins

BY WALTER VILLA

MIAMI HERALD WRITER

MARCH 24, 2019 03:34 PM

Aleksander Barkov grabbed a face full of ice, and it wasn’t at all voluntary.

Barkov – the Florida Panthers’ captain and one of the best two-way centers in the NHL -- apparently escaped serious injury when he was essentially mugged by Boston Bruins 6-foot-9, 250-pound giant/defenseman Zdeno Chara.

The fact that the bloodied Barkov was able to get up after a couple of minutes and skate off the ice was about the only good news for the Panthers, who got routed 7-3 by the Bruins on Saturday night.

Here are five takeaways on the Panthers following:

1: Angry coach: Panthers coach Bob Boughner was livid following the loss.

Asked about the Chara tackle – which was not penalized – Boughner did not hold back.

“It’s a joke,” he said. “You get bear-hugged and slammed face first into the ice, and you get no call? It’s a joke.”

Boughner was equally upset about the Panthers’ 24 turnovers – twice as many as Boston.

“We beat ourselves,” Boughner said. “(Boston’s) first four goals all came off our sticks on turnovers. It wasn’t effort. It was just stupidity – bad turnovers that ended up in the back of our net.”

2: Matheson sits: Boughner benched defenseman Mike Matheson for a couple of shifts after the latter’s giveaway led to a Bruins goal.

“Yea, it’s a message being sent,” Boughner said. “He turned it over in a 1-0 hockey game and made it 2-0. It’s unacceptable.

“We talked about it in between periods. If you don’t have a play, use the wall. He didn’t use the wall, and it’s in the back of the net against one of the best lines in the game. If you don’t manage your game, you don’t play.”

3: Streaks snapped: Barkov had his eight-game run of points broken. He had accumulated six goals and 12 assists during that span.

Teammate Jonathan Huberdeau had his four-game points streak snapped. He had eight points during that span.

4: Monty mauled: Panthers rookie goalie Sam Montembeault had started his NHL career with a 4-0-1 record but has now lost three straight.

He stopped 31 of the 37 shots he faced on Saturday, but those turnovers left him helpless at times.

“We gave them a few,” Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle said of those dreaded turnovers. “We knew how good a team (the Bruins are), and what you give them, they take advantage.

“Especially with a young goalie, we hung him out to dry. We have to be better. As a group, that was not good enough.”

5: End is near: The Panthers now have just seven games left in the regular season, including the next four on the road. The Panthers then close out the regular season with three straight home games.

The Panthers (33-30-12) finished Saturday night with 78 points, trailing the Montreal Canadiens by nine points for the last wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

Miami Herald LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137436 Florida Panthers

Preview: Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m., Monday

Brett Shweky

South Florida Sun Sentinel

Panthers at Maple Leafs

When/where: 7 p.m., Monday/Scotiabank Arena, Toronto

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

Scouting report: The Florida Panthers’ faint playoff hopes took a significant blow on Saturday night at the BB&T Center as the Boston Bruins blew past them, 7-3, behind a five-goal second period. … The Bruins clinched a playoff berth with the victory, while the Panthers’ point deficit for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot grew to nine through Saturday’s games. … With seven contests remaining in the regular season, Florida will begin a four-game road trip against the Toronto Maple Leafs. … Toronto enters the game fresh off a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers but still remains the third-seed in the Atlantic Division. … Florida owns a 2-1 advantage in the season series between the two teams with the Panthers having won the last matchup, 3-1, on Jan. 18 at the BB&T Center.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137437 Los Angeles Kings LA Times: LOADED: 03.25.2019

Kyle Clifford shows his toughness by scoring first career power-play goal

By CURTIS ZUPKE

MAR 24, 2019 | 4:00 PM

File it under strange-but-true statistics for the Kings this season: Kyle Clifford has more power-play goals than Anze Kopitar.

Clifford’s man-advantage score Saturday was the first of his career, and it’s one better than Kopitar, whose zero power-play goals is one of the head-scratching numbers in a Kings’ season full of them.

Clifford found himself on the power-play unit because Ilya Kovalchuk sat out for the third time in four games because of a coach’s decision and Brendan Leipsic is injured. Clifford made a clever deflection of Alec Martinez’s shot for his first power-play goal and first power-play point, in his 599th game. He shrugged off being on the unit because it boils down to going to the tough areas.

“It kind of goes with the same as [playing] five-on-five,” Clifford said. “Just be ready and know what you got to do out there.”

Clifford re-invented his game this season to be more of a power forward, and it helped that he was given a larger role under interim coach Willie Desjardins shortly after Desjardins came on board in November. His nine goals are a career high. He doesn’t care how he gets them.

“Everybody’s got their role on the team and I know what mine is, whether it’s being in front of the net on the power play or playing hard, forechecking, or just being a good team guy,” Clifford said. “I don’t really put a lot of thought into personal statistics.”

His score was a good response goal against the Ducks. But more important for the Kings was how they responded to Rickard Rakell’s goal.

A common refrain of former Kings coach John Stevens was to not let one incident in a game affect the rest of the game, and Stevens’ former pupils heeded his mantra when they did not let Rakell’s score with 0.9 seconds remaining in the second period deflate them. They rallied for an eventual 4-3 shootout win, and while that fortitude is too little, too late this season, it’s good to see.

“I think the last couple of games we’ve been playing [with] mental toughness,” Clifford said. “We’re staying within ourselves. We’re not letting things that happen within the game affect the way we’re going to play. We’re just keeping it simple. When things go wrong, we push back.”

Carter’s season

It probably doesn’t qualify as being back on track, but Jeff Carter’s two- game scoring streak comes after a 20-game slump, the longest of his career. He ended it with an empty-net goal Thursday and followed it with a more traditional score Saturday.

At the beginning of this season, Carter indicated he might still be impacted by a lacerated ankle tendon from October 2017. But Desjardins doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t know if he’s been slowed,” Desjardins said. “I think he’s been playing well of late. I don’t mind his game. I think for a guy that’s been around for a while, I think this is a tough situation. It’s easier to play passionate when you’re playing for something, but at the same time, we need him. We need him to be good.”

Up next for Kings: at Calgary

When: Monday, 6 p.m.

On the air: TV: FSW; Radio: iHeartRadio (LA Kings Audio Network)

Update: Leipsic (lower-body injury) won’t be on this trip and Michael Amadio was recalled. Calgary’s Mark Giordano is the fourth defenseman in NHL history 35 or older to reach 70 points, after Ray Bourque, Sergei Zubov and Nicklas Lidstrom. The Flames won the first two games this season by a combined score of 5-1. 1137438 Los Angeles Kings

Takeaways from the Kings’ 4-3 victory over Ducks

By CURTIS ZUPKE

MAR 24, 2019 | 11:20 AM

The Kings and Ducks kept adding Jengas to their latest wild, back-and- forth matchup, until the whole thing came crashing down to an end Saturday night.

Rakell dazzled with a buzzer-beating second-period goal. Kyle Clifford got the first power-play goal of his career. Jeff Carter continued to rise from the depths.

Both teams are headed for early summers, but at least they’re making it interesting.

Here’s what we learned:

The Kings didn’t get their morale destroyed. A common phrase in the era of former Kings coach John Stevens was to not let one incident in a game effect the rest of the game.

Stevens’ former pupils heeded his mantra when they did not let Rakell’s terrific score with 0.9 second remaining in the second period deflate them. They did fall Carl Grundstrom’s tap-in goal and prevailed on Kopitar’s shootout strike.

That mettle is good to see but it’s also too little, too late for the Kings. However, at least they’re showing it when it’s least expected, or required.

“Nine years later,” Clifford said.

“It kind of goes with the same as [playing] five-on-five,” Clifford said. “Just be ready and know what you got to do out there.

So maybe it’s in the genes.

“I just wanted to try to get a quick shot off, but the puck lifted off the ice and I just tried to bat it out of the air,” Rakell said. “It was nice to see that one go in.”

LA Times: LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137439 Los Angeles Kings The Kings have recalled forward Michael Amadio from Ontario of the AHL. Amadio has four goals and four assists in 37 games with the Kings this season.

Kings’ Kyle Clifford feels the power for first time in his career KINGS VS. FLAMES

When: Monday, 6 p.m.

By Robert Morales | [email protected] | Press Telegram Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary

PUBLISHED: March 24, 2019 at 4:52 pm | UPDATED: March 24, 2019 at Records: Kings 27-39-8 (62 points), Flames 47-21-7 (101 points) 4:52 PM Radio: Kings Audio Network (iHeartRadio)

TV: Fox Sports West Kyle Clifford has never spent much time on the power-play unit during his nine seasons with the Kings. Orange County Register: LOADED: 03.25.2019

Still, it was somewhat astonishing to hear that when Clifford scored a power-play goal during the Kings’ 4-3 shootout victory over the rival Ducks on Saturday night at Staples Center, it was his first career power- play point, in his 599th game.

The most minutes Clifford has spent on the power-play unit in a given season is 16.4, and that came in his second season in 2011-12. Moreover, in nine seasons he has just nine power-play shots on goal.

Clifford, mostly a fourth-line player, isn’t concerned about all that stuff. An extremely hard worker, he just cares about doing his job.

“I don’t really put much thought into that,” said Clifford, when asked if it kind of blows him away that it took this long to get his first point with the man advantage. “Everybody’s got their role on the team and I know what mine us, whether it’s playing net-front on the power-play or playing hard forechecking, or just being a good team guy, I don’t really put a lot of thought into the personal statistics.”

Clifford, 28, is one of the toughest players on the team. He doesn’t have to be asked twice to drop the gloves. It therefore seemed only fitting that his power-play goal came off a deflection as he was positioned in front of the net, as that is a dangerous place to be without a goalie mask.

Overall, Clifford has a career-high nine goals this season. His 15 points tie a career-high.

Captain praises youngsters

Anze Kopitar is a forward, but he is a two-time Selke Trophy winner, an award given annually for the league’s best defensive forward.

Since defense means so much to him, reporters were all ears as he briefly discussed rookie defensemen Sean Walker and Matt Roy after Saturday night’s victory.

Kopitar started with Walker, when asked about him, then brought Roy into the conversation.

“He’s such a good skater that maybe even sometimes if he’s out of position just a little bit, he gains ground with his strides,” Kopitar said of Walker, “so very nice to see him play well.

“Him and (Roy), for that matter; logging some minutes.”

With the Kings missing the playoffs for the third time in five seasons, Kopitar intimated this is the time when the team should be seeing more and more of its younger players.

“That’s what we’re talking about in these games,” said Kopitar, whose team opens a three-game road trip Monday at Calgary. “It’s like an audition for some guys to show what they’re made of and what they’ve got.

“And I think we’re all liking what we’re seeing.”

Scouting Calgary

The Flames (47-21-7 ) have won six of their past seven games and lead the Western Conference with 101 points. They are led offensively by forward Johnny Gaudreau, who has a team-high 92 points on 35 goals and 57 assists.

The Kings and Flames have played twice this season. Calgary took a 1-0 victory Nov. 10 at Staples Center, and a 4-1 victory Nov. 30 in Calgary.

Amadio recalled 1137440 Los Angeles Kings Yeah, for sure. I think especially the last couple games we’ve strung together. Not giving away as many pucks, making a lot more nice plays, not causing any turnovers that are going to result in scoring chances the MODERN DEFENDING AND THE MOBILE (AND OFFENSIVELY other way, so I think that’s something that I’ve just been trying to focus on INCLINED) SEAN WALKER and I think it’s been working pretty well.

Walker, on how he uses his skating in the defensive zone, compared to the offensive zone: JON ROSENMARCH 24, 2019 Obviously, it’s one of my biggest assets, so I think in the D-zone just using it to close as fast as I can and get on guys and eliminate time and space and then on the other side of that in the offensive zone I’m using PRACTICE QUOTES that to get away from guys and give myself time and space. So, I think it Sean Walker has never played a hockey game in Western Canada. works both ways and it’s something I’ve got to continue to use. Heck, the only time he’d ever been in Vancouver was when he flew into Walker, on the growing reliance on “stick-on-puck” defending in the the airport to pick up a work visa before continuing on to Southern modern game: California last season. And this week, as the Kings head on the road to face the Flames, Oilers and Canucks, the undrafted former Bowling I think the general rule is stick on puck first, then close, then finish, but I Green captain will play an NHL game in his home country for the first think for a guy like me, stick on puck is going to be huge because time in his career. obviously there’s big guys that I’m not going to be able to physically outmatch against, so I think working on my stick first and trying to Hopefully word of his skill set and recent play will continue to spread. outsmart guys and get the puck away from them is huge for me. An exceptionally good skater whose bent skews towards the offensive Willie Desjardins, on Sean Walker: end, the 5-foot-11 Walker has three goals and nine points in 34 games but has recently transferred his mobility into the defensive end to the I think he’s been better. He’s a good, young player and he’s got an benefit of the team. Known as a player with a hard, accurate shot who upside with how he skates. Sees the ice well and can pass the puck. But can jump into the rush and owns a number of attributes that align with a it is a work in progress with young guys. It’s not like it’s easy for them, more up-tempo modern game, his defensive zone improvements helped either. As a coaching staff, you always want more, but the good thing is I the team defeat Anaheim on Saturday night. think he is capable of more.

He won pucks from Corey Perry and Carter Rowney in one-on-one Desjardins, on whether Walker is showing the type of upward trajectory battles defensively and showed good range at the other end to keep he’d like to see: pucks in at the blue line and add options to the team’s offensive zone playmaking. I think the biggest thing, sometimes you’ll look and you’ll see a bad play and you’ll react just to that play. It’s better if you react by when the “He’s such a good skater that maybe even sometimes if he’s out of mistakes are less and farther between. It’s not that they still don’t occur. position even just a little bit, he gains ground with his stride, so it’s very The big mistake, it will. But the way you see growth is ‘are they fewer nice to see him playing well,” Anze Kopitar said after the shootout win. between and farther apart?,’ and so that’s kind of how you measure that. And they are that. Like, he’s getting better. There’s been definite This is the Land of Opportunity for players like Walker, Paul LaDue and improvement. Matt Roy, all of whom shoot right-handed and have demonstrated that their games continue to evolve, which is a good sign for a group of Desjardins, on Tyler Toffoli continuing to generate scoring chances players that at 24, 26 and 24 aren’t league infants but are still rookies without scoring: with room to develop. All are strong skaters. And that’s what we like about his game. He has that and he skates But lest we get carried away here, he’ll still need to prove that he’s an himself out of trouble and he’ll skate the team out of trouble. Late in every day NHL player, and that won’t happen without some added games, he’s got that ability. So, that’s what you like and that’s something consistency in his defensive game. that he’s got to keep using. He’s got to be smart when he uses it, but it’s good. Like, that’s what experience does for you, and he’s getting that. Interestingly, while Sean O’Donnell had some one-on-one time with Walker before the season, he offered clips of Minnesota defenseman Desjardins, on whether there are other veterans he’d consider reducing Jared Spurgeon, a poised model of consistency who also uses his feet to their minutes or resting: avoid trouble — though at 5-foot-8, he’s more undersized. That’s a tough one. It’s kind of on a game-by-game basis, and it is true. But the league is smaller now, and defenders who are able to break up There’s some veteran players where you already know what they’re plays by getting sticks on pucks rather than out of sheer brute force will going to give you. You already know. And you need to see more young have a better opportunity to play than they did in prior eras. There will players, but it’s always a tough situation with veteran players. It is. But at always be a requirement for strength and physical play and winning puck the same time, Kempe got 20 minutes for the first time, and he needs to battles, especially in the playoffs, but as the skill in the league increases, get minutes. That’s a guy that needs to get it, so it’s good to see that. the demands of defensemen will be different. It will be more difficult to use force to separate a higher skilled forward off the puck, which could LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.25.2019 give rise to the need to scout and develop players with good sticks and equally good mobility.

There were interesting conversations with both Walker and Willie Desjardins, who earlier today shined some light on effective modern defending and ways in which the Keswick, Ont. native will continue to improve as a player.

Sean Walker, on his ability to separate players from the puck against Anaheim:

I think it’s obviously one of the things that the coaching staff, development staff has been trying to work with me for the whole year, so going into games it’s one of the things I want to focus on and stuff. So, I think last night was a good example of my progression towards that, so I’m feeling more confident in the D-zone and my abilities to separate guys from pucks and box them out going to the net, so I think last night was a good example.

Walker, on minimizing mistakes and whether he feels his defensive zone play is trending well: 1137441 Los Angeles Kings

WAKING UP WITH THE KINGS: MARCH 24

JON ROSENMARCH 24, 2019

Dominant for 40 minutes before resorting to a late third period cram session, the LA Kings again played with good structure and purpose and suffocated much of the life out of another team that struggles to score in a 4-3 shootout victory over Anaheim. There were lapses, and the events leading to the Carter Rowney shorthanded goal could receive their own paragraph on this page, but by and large the Kings exited and entered zones well and were able to get the clear majority of chances from close range, forcing Ryan Miller into a standout performance that kept the game level for two periods. Los Angeles generated three Grade-A looks in the first 100 seconds of this game, with Tyler Toffoli doing a good job moving his feet and skating his way both out of trouble and into attacking opportunities. He didn’t score, and that’s been the story of his season – he has 12 goals in 74 games despite owning 35 more scoring chances during five-on-five play than any other King, per Natural Stat Trick – as part of a line that was used heavily and relied on Adrian Kempe’s career- high 20:29. And though Anaheim scored opportunistically and banked on a glorious Rickard Rakell individual effort in which he lifted the puck into the air with his backhand and swatted it under the crossbar with his forehand with under two seconds remaining in the second period, Jonathan Quick made two key stops on Daniel Sprong breakaways, one of which immediately preceded Carl Grundstrom’s goal. He was also perfect in the shootout with little room for error, earning the Kings a second point on a day the Senators, Red Wings and Devils all won. A particular four-team parlay could’ve moved a few of us out of the blogging business!

It’s good to see several young’uns be rewarded for their work in the raised emotions of a rivalry game. Grundstrom now has two goals in as many games against Anaheim and might’ve played one of the better games of his lot by getting to tough areas and attacking consistently. On defense, there’s been a lot to like with the kids lately. Matt Roy was a key figure in the San Jose win, while on Saturday, both Paul LaDue and Sean Walker put on a pretty good exhibition of some of the recent advances in their games. LaDue’s battle component has taken a nice step forward over the last month, and his perimeter takedown of Sprong was a good example of the type of play he’s capable of when his skating, competitiveness and 6-foot-2 frame work in concert. He’s been playing with a pretty good snarl lately. Walker’s performance might have been the best he’s shown at the NHL to date. He efficiently separated body from puck in one-on-one battles, putting his mobility to use in both the offensive and defensive zones. He’s going to probably rely more on his competitiveness and ability to get his stick-on-puck over pure, in-your- face strength, but he still admirably used his body to end Corey Perry’s onrush into the zone during a particularly noteworthy first period disruption.

And, again, Kyle Clifford. With the first special teams point of his career, he tied his career-high in points with 15 and moved within one goal of his first 10-goal season. There was probably a time when his role in the rivalry was often intertwined with Jared Boll’s, and with all respect to Boll, who was a tough and honest player that went to punishing lengths for his teams, Clifford saw a lot of the Adam Henrique line on Saturday, along with the Lindholm-Manson and Fowler-Welinski pairings. Even though he started as many shifts in the defensive zone as the offensive and neutral zones combined in five-on-five play, he was still on the ice for 16 shot attempts for and only 10 against. He asked for the game sheet when media availability was closing down, took a look and smiled. “No hits?!,” he said jokingly at miscalculation of a statistic he values similarly to his points. He may have adroitly adapted his role in the modern game, but the Kyle Clifford ethos will never fade.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137442 Los Angeles Kings

AMADIO UP; ON THE ROAD AGAIN

JON ROSENMARCH 24, 2019

INJURIESROSTER MOVES

Good morning from LAX on what should be a beautiful day to fly north. There are one-off road games as part of back-to-back sets, but this is the last actual “road trip” of 2018-19, and as is very familiar this time of year, we travel to Western Canada to make the final rounds across the division. Apart from the Chicago game next Saturday, it’s all Pacific games from here on out.

News! Brendan Leipsic (lower-body) isn’t making the trip, Willie Desjardins confirmed today. He didn’t skate today, per Desjardins. Michael Amadio was recalled and provides another option at center should the Kings decide to move the similarly versatile Trevor Lewis to wing at any point on this trip. Amadio has four goals and eight points in 37 games with Los Angeles and 22 points in 24 games with Ontario.

More to come on WUWTK, which should go up an hour or so into our flight. Excited to get back on the road with you, Insiders.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137443 Minnesota Wild

Minnesota hosts conference foe Nashville

By The Associated Press Associated Press MARCH 25, 2019 — 2:25AM

Nashville Predators (42-28-6, second in the Central Division) vs. Minnesota Wild (35-32-9, sixth in the Central Division)

St. Paul, Minnesota; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota faces Nashville in Western Conference play.

The Wild are 11-8-4 against opponents from the Central Division. Minnesota has given up 43 power-play goals, killing 80.9 percent of opponent chances.

The Predators are 12-11-1 against opponents in the Central Division. Nashville has scored 31 power-play goals, converting on 12.8 percent of chances. In their last meeting on March 5, Nashville won 5-4. Viktor Arvidsson recorded a team-high 2 points for the Predators in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jared Spurgeon leads the Wild with a plus-five in 76 games played this season. Ryan Donato has collected 8 points over the last 10 games for Minnesota.

LAST 10 GAMES: Predators: 5-4-1, averaging 2.5 goals, 3.9 assists, 3.3 penalties and 6.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .913 save percentage.

Wild: 3-5-2, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.6 assists, 2.8 penalties and 6.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .896 save percentage.

Wild Injuries: Joel Eriksson Ek: out (lower body), Zach Parise: day to day (lower body).

Predators Injuries: None listed.

Star Tribune LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137444 Minnesota Wild

Wild-Nashville game preview

MARCH 25, 2019 — 12:17AM

RACHEL BLOUNT

7 p.m. vs. Nashville • Xcel Energy Center • NBCSN, 100.3-FM

Preview: With time running out on its quest to make the playoffs, the Wild has six regular-season games remaining — including three at Xcel Energy Center, where it has won only two of its past 13 games. Nashville has beaten the Wild in all three meetings this season, with the past two victories coming via shootout.

Players to WATCH: Since he was traded from Boston to the Wild on Feb. 20, F Ryan Donato has 15 points in 16 games. He leads all NHL rookies in scoring since Feb. 21. Predators F Mikael Granlund, traded from the Wild to Nashville on Feb. 25, has been playing left wing on a line with Nick Bonino and Wayne Simmonds; since the trade, he has one goal and three assists in 10 games.

Numbers: Wild F Jordan Greenway has 12 goals this season, fourth most in history by a Wild rookie. One more would tie him with Justin Fontaine for third. … The Wild has won 15 home games this season, which is 12 fewer than last year.

Injuries: Wild F Mikko Koivu (knee surgery), F Joel Eriksson Ek (lower- body injury) and D Matt Dumba (torn pectoral muscle) are out; F Zach Parise (lower-body injury) is day-to-day. Nashville D Dan Hamhuis (lower-body injury), F Zac Rinaldo (shoulder) and F Miikka Salomaki (upper-body injury) are out.

Star Tribune LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137445 Minnesota Wild from each other and when in doubt, we can talk to each other and give each other tips or pointers or any advice. I think we kind of grow from each other.”

Wild rookies Donato, Greenway and Kunin learn together Star Tribune LOADED: 03.25.2019

By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune MARCH 25, 2019 — 12:39AM

After every three or four shifts in a game, Wild rookies Jordan Greenway, Luke Kunin and Ryan Donato examine their play by watching it back on an iPad from the team’s bench.

They assess their own positioning, but they also use the tablet to clarify specific questions that arise. That’s what the three did Friday when they looked at video to figure out how a Capitals player got behind them in the third period.

“It just goes to show we’re all learning together,” Donato said. “So it’s kind of fun to see. None of us had an idea of what happened, so we all had to go back and look to see what happened.”

These study sessions highlight the development process three of the Wild’s youngest players are still experiencing, but so did the entire weekend.

On the heels of that game in Washington in which their line scored twice to lead the Wild to a 2-1 win, they were on the ice for two of Carolina’s goals in a 5-1 romp by the Hurricanes Saturday — varying results in back-to-back games that amplify how the three are still working to settle into the NHL during the Wild’s up-and-down playoff pursuit that continues Monday against the Nashville Predators at Xcel Energy Center.

“That’s one thing about young players,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “There’s going to be inconsistencies. I’ve talked to all three of them about this at certain points. [Saturday] was one of those games. They left everything on the table [Friday] night. They tried. It’s just not every night things go well.”

While there have been lulls for the trio since their roles became magnified after the trade deadline and a slew of injuries, they’ve frequently shined under the spotlight.

Their performance against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Capitals is the most recent example.

Kunin notched his first career game-winner on a blistering shot that snapped a 10-game goal drought. After the game, Wild rookies ranked tied for fifth in the NHL in goals (24) and sixth in percentage of goals at .119.

“I just think he’s going to be a really good player,” Boudreau said of the 21-year-old Kunin. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on him. He’s getting better all the time. He’s been in big games before, and it was a great shot for a guy who hasn’t scored in a while.”

Greenway, 22, had the other tally that game on a stellar individual effort that flexed his strength since he shrugged off a Capitals player en route to paving a path to the crease. It was the sixth time he’s opened the scoring, tops among NHL rookies, and his 12 goals are the fourth-most by a Wild rookie in franchise history.

“I saw a lane to the net and put my head down and put my knee out and just kind of put it in,” Greenway said.

Donato’s two assists capped off four points for the line against Washington, giving him 15 in his first 15 games with the Wild since joining the team in a trade from the Boston Bruins in February. That production ranked eighth among in-season acquisitions, with each player ahead of the 22-year-old playing at least a dozen more games with his new team.

“Individually, I believed in my abilities to do the things that I’m doing and maybe even more,” Donato said. “But I think for me I never came in with the mentality of I’m going to come in and do what I’m doing. No. I just wanted to come in and help the team win.”

All three have accomplished that so far but with six games left on the schedule, there’s still opportunity to do more — a push to the end that the three will make together.

“We’re all learning from each other, as well,” Donato said. “I think it’s kind of a good experience just because you don’t feel that much pressure 1137446 Minnesota Wild

Message to Wild winger Kevin Fiala: ‘Sometimes the simpler way is an awful lot better’

By Dane Mizutani | March 24, 2019 at 10:55 PM

There have been flashes of brilliance. No doubt about that.

It’s so obvious that Wild winger Kevin Fiala, at the ripe age of 22, boasts a skill set most common folk can only dream of. He can carry the puck like a yo-yo through the neutral zone and just as quickly unleash a blistering wrist shot that even the best goaltenders would struggle to stop.

His biggest weakness? He’s constantly doing too much when he has the puck on his stick.

It seems at least once a game Fiala will try to do it all by himself, dangling his way through defenders, looking for a highlight-reel sequence.

Those high-risk, low-reward plays drive coach Bruce Boudreau crazy, especially with the Wild (79 points) trying to chase down the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They entered Sunday’s slate of games trailing the Colorado Avalanche (80 points) by one point in the standings and tied with the Arizona Coyotes (79 points).

“I think he’s one of those guys is so skilled he thinks he can make every play,” Boudreau said of Fiala. “I’ve been around guys here in their younger days that have thought the same thing. Sometimes the simpler way is an awful lot better than trying to force things and bank it off the net and think something good is going to happen.”

There appears to be a disconnect, though, between what Fiala is actually doing and what he thinks he’s doing.

Asked about whether he’s had to guard against trying to do too much to prove himself in his first month with a new team, Fiala responded, “That’s what I try not to do. I just try to do the simple stuff.”

It’s been a slow build for Fiala since being acquired by the Wild via a trade with the Nashville Predators last month. He has two goals and four assists while serving as a mainstay in the top six of the lineup.

“I’m feeling comfortable more and more,” Fiala said, admitting he was a little shocked when he found out he’d been traded. “It was kind of up and down to start. Now I’m starting to feel better. Hopefully I can help the team a little more to success. It’s been exciting and right now we’re focusing on winning games and getting (into) the playoffs.”

Fittingly, that starts with a crucial game against the Predators on Monday night at the Xcel Energy Center. That will give Fiala another chance to prove himself against his former team.

Both of his goals with the Wild came in a road game against the Predators this month, and he will be trying to replicate that type of performance this time around.

It’s simply a matter of him not trying to do too much.

“He’s shown spurts of great skill,” Boudreau said. “You can sit there and say, ‘Man. This guy could be really good.’ I’d like to see it on a more consistent basis. Again, I think that’s going to come. He’s going to be a good player.”

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Svechnikov scores in overtime, Hurricanes beats Canadiens 2-1

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED 6 HOURS AGO

UPDATED MARCH 24, 2019

Andrei Svechnikov scored with 1:45 left in overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 Sunday night in a matchup with Eastern Conference playoff implications.

Carolina’s Trevor van Riemsdyk scored the tying goal with 5:39 remaining, and Svechnikov ended it with a wrist shot in the extra session. Curtis McElhinney stopped 28 shots.

With the win, Carolina remained alone in the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal squandered a chance to move into a tie with Carolina with a win.

Paul Byron scored in the first period, and Carey Price stopped 38 of 40 shots as Montreal had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Montreal controlled play most of the way before a sudden turn in the final minutes.

The Canadiens got the scoring started when Brendan Gallagher fired a shot from the left faceoff circle that was deflected by Teuvo Teravainen. But the rolling puck went straight to Byron along the far post, and he buried it.

The Canadiens had other chances, too. Jeff Petry hit the post in the first period, and in the second, Tomas Tatar also hit a post. Jesperi Kotkaniemi had a breakaway denied by McElhinney and Nate Thompson’s point-blank shot in the crease after a turnover was stuffed by McElhinney, as well.

The Hurricanes didn’t get their first shot on net in the second period until there was 5:27 left.

They Hurricanes finally put pressure on in the third period, but couldn’t solve Price. Sebastain Aho was robbed of two prime scoring chances, and Teravainen couldn’t convert a breakaway with just under nine minutes remaining.

But just when it looked as if Price was headed to a shutout, van Riemdsyk sent a wrist shot from the point through traffic that found the bottom left corner of the net. It was a critical goal from an improbable source in van Riemsdyk, who scored for just the third time this season.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

There was back-and-forth play at the start of overtime before the Hurricanes settled in and held possession. After jumping off the boards in a line change, Teravainen took a pass from Jordan Staal and whipped it under Price, giving Carolina a crucial win as it seeks to end its nine-year playoff drought.

NOTES: The Hurricanes improved to 11-3-1 in the second game of back- to-backs this season. ... Price was starting on back-to-back nights and for the third time in four days. ... The game was broadcast on Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in Plains Cree, the first time an NHL broadcast has aired in the Indigenous language.

Globe And Mail LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137448 Montreal Canadiens Alone in the slot, Gallagher gave the Canadiens their first lead of the night at 9:12 after a remarkable one-handed pass from a sprawled-out Phillip Danault behind the net — a career-high 32nd goal this season for Gallagher’s two goals push Canadiens to 7-4 defeat of Sabres Gallagher.

The home team went up 3-1 when Shaw took a saucer pass from Domi and beat Hutton blocker side with a wrist shot at 14:23. KELSEY PATTERSON The Sabres responded instantly, scoring 30 seconds later through THE CANADIAN PRESS Alexander Nylander’s power-play marker to make it 3-2.

PUBLISHED 1 DAY AGO A turnover by Jonathan Drouin led to Marco Scandella’s equalizer on a fast break at 16:08 on Buffalo’s 14th shot of the game. UPDATED 1 DAY AGO “It was good enough that we came back but we made mistakes that they

capitalized on,” said Nylander. “We have to clean that up.” The Montreal Canadiens never took their foot off the gas pedal in an 11- Making his seventh start in a row, Price made 23 saves on 27 shots while goal thriller as the race to the playoffs intensifies. Hutton stopped 37-of-43 shots. The Canadiens scored four goals in the second period and another three Notes: Jason Pominville was back in the Sabres lineup after being a in the third to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 7-4 on Saturday night, extending healthy scratch the last two games. The Sabres failed to complete the Montreal’s win streak to three games. season sweep after winning the first three games against the Canadiens Brendan Gallagher, Max Domi and Tomas Tatar each had three-point this year. nights. Globe And Mail LOADED: 03.25.2019 “That’s our team identity right there to be resilient and to be consistent,” said Domi, who had a goal and two assists. “(Buffalo) is a really good hockey team. They have a lot of firepower up front, good defence, great goaltender. They weren’t giving up and we knew that. We just found a way to keep going.”

Montreal (40-28-7) increased its lead to three points over the idle Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Columbus has a game in hand.

The Canadiens remain two points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the first wild-card spot. The Hurricanes, who have a game in hand on Montreal, beat Minnesota 5-1 on Saturday night. Montreal plays Carolina on Sunday.

Claude Julien’s men squandered a two-goal lead in the second period as the Sabres came back to tie the game 3-3, but the Canadiens found another gear.

Paul Byron gave Montreal the lead at 18:03 on a 2-on-1 with Jordan Weal, whose shot was saved by Carter Hutton before bouncing off Byron’s skate and in.

Gallagher made it 5-3 at 8:35 of the third period for his 33rd goal of the season before Jack Eichel got one back for the Sabres at 13:13.

Domi sealed it with a power-play goal with 4:30 remaining in the encounter. Tatar, playing his 500th NHL game, added an empty-netter with 2:13 to go.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

The Canadiens have produced 14 goals on their current three-game win streak.

“We gave up a couple of goals but our team did a great job responding,” said Byron, who netted his 14th of the season. “In the third period, we didn’t sit back, we kept chasing the game and trying to score. Huge two points for us.

“We’re fighting for the playoffs. Every game is pretty intense out there. It was a playoff atmosphere.”

The Sabres (31-34-9) were officially eliminated from playoff contention. They have one win in their past 10 games (1-8-1).

“It’s been a long year,” said Eichel.

“These same issues seem to continue to haunt us. We have to be better these next few games. There’s still a lot of pride on the line. We represent our city, this organization. That should be enough right there. We should play for each other more.”

Sam Reinhart got the high-scoring affair going when he went five-hole on Carey Price at 12:26 of the first period.

The teams then combined for six goals in a back-and-forth second.

Montreal tied it up 5:09 into the middle frame when Artturi Lehkonen took a feed from Andrew Shaw and scored while crashing into the net. 1137449 Montreal Canadiens

In the Habs' Room: 'Fatigue factor' led to loss against Hurricanes

PAT HICKEYUpdated: March 24, 2019

RALEIGH, N.C. — Canadiens coach Claude Julien had a feeling midway through the second period of Sunday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, and it wasn’t a good one.

“It’s natural that we’re disappointed, because you want to win,” Julien said after the Canadiens dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Hurricanes. “We came here to win a hockey game. At the end of the day, we gave it a good effort, but we just finished playing four games in six nights. This was our third in four nights, and the fatigue factor caught up to us.

“I started seeing it midway through the second period,” added Julien. “We stopped making plays and getting rid of pucks. We just hung on in the third period.”

Both teams were playing the second game in a back-to-back situation, but the Hurricanes were home for both games while the Canadiens had to travel after beating Buffalo 7-4 in a wide-open game at the Bell Centre.

The Canadiens were clinging to a 1-0 lead, but Trevor van Riemsdyk scored the tying goal at 14:21 on what proved to be a lucky bounce for the Hurricanes. His shot went in after hitting Jordie Benn.

While captain Shea Weber said the point the Canadiens picked for the overtime loss was important, he wished there could have been a better outcome for Carey Price, who made 38 saves.

“It would have been nice to get the win to reward him with two points,” said Weber. “He stood on his head and played well for us. There were chances that we could have capitalized and we didn’t, but you can’t think about those. It was unfortunate that puck bounced off Jordie Benn’s pad and went in.”

Andrew Shaw said it was important to park the loss and get ready for Tuesday, when the Florida Panthers visit the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m, TSN2, RDS, TSN-690 Radio).

Julien also was looking forward to the coming week.

“When you get seven points out of a possible eight, it’s a pretty good week,” said Julien. “If we do that next week, we’ll be in pretty good shape. We have to attack next week the same way, one game at a time. We have to stay positive and stay focused and compete like we have.”

One problem is that the schedule will be tougher. The Canadiens’ three wins last week included victories over Philadelphia and Buffalo, two non- playoff teams. The Panthers fall in that category, but the Canadiens follow that up with two road games. On Thursday they have a must-win game against Columbus, the team chasing them for the second wild-card spot, and on Saturday they are in Winnipeg to face the Central Division- leading Jets.

While the Canadiens’ offence came up empty, the Montreal defence was solid and did a good job killing three penalties.

“When you’re winning 1-0 halfway through the third, you look at your team and say the penalty kill really did a good job taking away the momentum (Carolina) was looking for at that point,” said Julien. “Beside the big saves Carey made, the penalty kill was good and we gave them some fits.”

Paul Byron, who has been playing on the fourth line, opened the scoring for the Canadiens with a generous contribution from Nate Thompson, who knocked Teuvo Teravainen off the puck. Thompson isn’t known for his scoring, but he has collected assists in each of the last four games.

On Saturday, Max Domi, Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar each collected three points as the Canadiens survived a scare from the Sabres. The Canadiens took a 3-1 lead in the second period but allowed the Sabres to tie the score on some sloppy play, including another turnover from Jonathan Drouin.

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About last night ... Carolina dominated, but Canadiens got a point

MIKE BOONEUpdated: March 24, 2019

Let’s be positive and lay some love on a Canadiens team that took seven of a possible eight points in the week that just ended.

Carolina is a tough place to play – especially for a team that played the night before, flew south and didn’t get to (unfamiliar) bed until 3 a.m.

They got a hard-earned point against a formidable opponent.

We’ll start with the heroes.

Carey Price was brilliant. Carolina had 21 shots in the first period. Not one of them beat the Canadiens’ goaltender.

Price had no chance on either goal. Trevor Van Riemsdyk’s third-period point shot changed direction off Jordie Benn, and Andrei Svechnikov’s Overtime winner was a laser.

Phillip Danault didn’t play a bad shift all night.

The fourth line was brilliant. Paul Byron scored the only Canadiens’ goal. Jordan Weal and Nate Thompson had chances to score late in the third period, and the line spent a lot of time all night long in the Carolina zone.

The penalty killers were outstanding. Carolina went 0-for-3 on its PP, and the Canadiens barely gave them a decent look at Price.

The usual suspects – Brendan Gallagher, Max Domi, Tomas Tatar, Andrew Shaw – played gritty games.

Artturi Lehkonen continues to emerge from his season-long funk.

“There’s character in the room,” Claude Julien said in a scrum carried on L’Antichambre. “You could tell, in the middle of the second period, we were feeling fatigue. Carey gave us a chance.”

A couple of Time on Ice numbers jump off the stat sheet:

Jonathan Drouin: 9:57

Jesperi Kotkaniemi: 9:33

Playing the second game of a back-to-back, with travel, you can’t have guys playing single-digit minutes … especially when the guys are as talented as Drouin and Kotkaniemi.

And especially when all the other guys in the game are busting their humps.

Carey Price was asked if the Canadiens’ recent performances boost team confidence.

“We definitely played well,” Price said, adding “we need points more than confidence right now.”

Six games to go.

And the Canadiens still hold down a Wildcard berth.

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Hurricanes edge Canadiens in overtime after goaltending duel

PAT HICKEY, Updated: March 24, 2019

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Canadiens’ playoff express hit a bump as Andrei Svechnikov scored in overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 2-1 win over Montreal Sunday at PNC Arena.

Trevor Van Riemsdyk scored at 14:22 of the third period to tie what was an old-fashioned goaltending duel between Carey Price and the Hurricanes’ Curtis McElhinney.

The Canadiens took the early lead on a first-period goal by Paul Byron, but they let the Hurricanes hang around long enough to tie the game despite Price’s best efforts. There was quantity in the first period when Price made 21 saves and quality in the final frame when he made a stop on a breakaway by Carolina’s leading scorer, Sebastian Aho. He stopped Aho a second time midway through the period when the Finn tried to bury a rebound of a shot by Calvin DeHan. Moments later, Teuvo Teravainen had a breakaway but Price forced him to cut outside and he hit the side of the net.

The overtime loss left the Canadiens three points behind Carolina in the battle for the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but the overtime point gave them a four-point edge over Columbus, which played a late game in Vancouver.

Brendan Gallagher, Max Domi and Tomas Tatar each had a three-point night Saturday as the Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 7-4 at the Bell Centre.

Neither goaltender had trouble getting involved in the game because both teams came out firing shots. The Hurricanes had 10 shots on goal before the game was seven minutes old and finished the first period with a 21-12 edge. The Canadiens helped Price by keeping many of the shots to the outside and the Hurricanes’ defencemen accounted for 11 of those shots. Brock McGinn had the Hurricanes’ best chance when he had an open net but he hesitated and then fired wide.

Montreal had chances early in the period but McElhinney made a glove save on Phillip Danault in the first minute and he threw out his leg to make a pad save on Domi. The Canadiens had a seven-minute stretch without a shot in the middle of the period but Paul Byron scored his 15th goal of the season at 14:58 to open the scoring.

Credit a strong forechecking effort by Nate Thompson to set the scoring play in motion. He knocked Teravainen off the puck in the Hurricanes’ zone and Gallagher set up Byron in front.

The Canadiens were unable to add a goal in the second period but they couldn’t be accused of sitting on the lead. They outshot Carolina 9-0 over the first 14:20 of the period and forced McElhinney to make some big saves. He stopped rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi on a breakaway and received sone help from defenceman Jacob Slavin later in the period. McElhinney was caught out of position and Tatar had a shot at the empty net but Slavin knocked the puck away as it was headed to the far post.

The game attracted 14,437 fans, which was a slight increase over the average attendance of 14,125. Florida and the New York Islanders are the only teams with lower turnouts.

Speaking of Florida, the Panthers are at the Bell Centre Tuesday (7:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio) as the Canadiens resume their playoff drive. The Canadiens have defeated Florida in two of their three previous games this season.

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Canadiens at Hurricanes: Five things you should know

PAT HICKEY, Updated: March 24, 2019

Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Hurricanes game at PNC Arena Sunday (7 p.m., SN, RDS, APTN, TSN 690 Radio).

The matchup: This is the third and final meeting between these teams this season and this is the important game for both teams after splitting the first two games at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens are coming off a wild 7-4 win over Buffalo at home Saturday while the Hurricanes maintained a two-point lead in the battle for the first wild-card spot with a 5-1 win over Minnesota. That game was in Raleigh and the extra rest will give the Hurricanes an edge.

Gallagher, Domi provide offence: The top two lines provided the bulk of the offence in Saturday’s win. Brendan Gallagher scored two goals and added an assist while Domi and Tomas Tatar each added a goal and an assist. They two goals gave Gallagher a career-high 33 for the season while Domi brought his career high up to 26. One of Domi’s assists allowed the snake-bit Artturi Lehkonen to score. It was his ninth of the season but the Finn has scored only two goals in the last 43 games. Speaking of offence, Andrew Shaw had a goal and an assist. Shaw has a career-high 18 goals and 40 points, which is even more impressive when you consider that he has missed 19 games this season because of injuries.

Double duty for Price: This is a back-to-back game and, under normal circumstances, coach Claude Julien would look to backup goaltender Antti Niemi. But these aren’t normal circumstances and that means Carey Price will get a second consecutive start. Price and the Canadiens are on a three-game winning streak and must continue winning if they hope to snare a playoff spot. They also need some help from their friends because Carolina is still two points ahead and while ninth-place Columbus is three back, they hold a game in hand.

Is the power play back? The Canadiens have had the worst power play in the league for most of this season, but there are small signs that Montreal is turning things around. When Max Domi scored a power-play goal late in the third period on Saturday, it marked the second consecutive game with a Montreal power-play goal. It’s a small sample, but the Canadiens have been getting more good looks and the Sabres came into the Bell Centre with the seventh-best penalty-killing record in the NHL.

The other guys: The Hurricanes are led by Finns Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. The 21-year-old Aho has emerged as a top offensive player in his third NHL season with 30 goals and 50 assists, while Teravainen has 19 goals and 70 points. The 37-year-old Justin Williams is next in the scoring parade with 22 goals and he provides solid leadership and the experience that comes in handy during a playoff race. He was a part of Carolina’s Stanley Cup-winning team in 2006. The Hurricanes also have a standout rookie in 18-year-old Andrei Svechnikov. The Russian teen has 19 goals and 16 assists. Veterans Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek provide solid goaltending on a team ranked ninth in defence.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137453 Montreal Canadiens The Canadiens don’t know what it’s like to have a small season-ticket base. Though it’s been easier than in years past to get tickets to games at the Bell Centre, they rarely have “a lot of tickets to sell” even at the Two vastly different franchises, seeking the same thing for vastly different worst of times. But there were empty seats at the Bell Centre last season reasons, meet in vital game and, most concerning of all if you’re the Canadiens, people seemed to be losing faith in the organization. Making the playoffs this season would go a long way in restoring that faith, a job that is already underway with the entertaining brand of hockey the Canadiens have played this season. By Arpon Basu 2h ago Going to the Bell Centre, much like going to PNC Arena, is fun again.

Canadiens owner Geoff Molson was at the game in Raleigh. He doesn’t RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes have not played a playoff attend most road games. If you want an idea of how important this game game since 2009. In that span, the Canadiens have played 66 playoff was to the Canadiens, this would be a good place to start. games. Pressure points. But neither team has won a Stanley Cup since then. Certainly not the To Molson, making the playoffs this season after sticking with general Hurricanes, but not the Canadiens, either. manager Marc Bergevin amid a firestorm calling for his head would prove These two franchises are different, but in many ways the same. That is his patience was justified. It would show that Bergevin’s latest plan is on but one example. the right track. That a reset was a better path than a rebuild.

These two franchises met in a vitally important game here Sunday night, The Canadiens arrived in Raleigh late Saturday night knowing that a win one the Hurricanes won in overtime, allowing both teams to solidify their in regulation would bring them to within a point of the Hurricanes and the playoff position. It’s just that one of them solidified it a lot more than the first wild-card spot, the spot that allows them to avoid the Tampa Bay other. Lightning in the first round, but more importantly would distance them from the Columbus Blue Jackets below them. But as different as these franchises are, both needed this game to respond to the unique pressure points that exist in their respective It was Montreal’s fourth game in six nights and third in four nights, markets. And it is those pressure points that make these two teams so playing a team that has been one of the best in the NHL since Jan. 1, different but unite them all at once. and the Canadiens came away with a point. It was a valuable point and allowed them to finish their week with seven out of eight points in four A night prior to the Hurricanes beating the Canadiens at home, both games, solidifying their playoff chances after they were left for dead. teams were playing home games against opponents that had no bearing on their current playoff positions aside from the fact they represented two “There are no moral victories,” Brendan Gallagher said. “We had a lead points in the standings. obviously going into the third. It would have been nice to find a way to win this one.” As the Canadiens were putting the finishing touches on their 7-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres about 1,400 kilometres to the north in Montreal, the The Canadiens had a 1-0 lead going into the third period, a lead Carey Hurricanes were celebrating their 5-1 dismantling of the Minnesota Wild Price gave them because he played what might have been his best game in Raleigh, putting a serious wrench in the Wild’s playoff aspirations. The of the season, and that’s saying something. The Hurricanes, as they Hurricanes’ room was jubilant, and what the Canadiens did or didn’t do in have a tendency to do, spent basically the entire first period in the Montreal was largely irrelevant. At least at the time. Canadiens’ zone and got nothing for their trouble because every shot they sent toward Price was swallowed whole, with no rebounds, no As the Hurricanes took control of the game against the Wild in the third second opportunities, nothing particularly dangerous happening as a period Saturday, the crowd of 16,000-plus began to chant “We want result. playoffs” over and over again. It was the first time this happened at PNC Arena this season. Expectations have changed for the first time in nearly The Canadiens flipped the switch and dominated the second period – the a decade, and that only happens when you play well enough to warrant Hurricanes got their first shot on goal with 5:26 left in the period – but sat those expectations. It’s a good feeling, because when the Hurricanes back and allowed Carolina to attack in waves in the third. That 1-0 lead don’t play well, having a building full enough for a chant like that to have evaporating appeared inevitable, and eventually it did when Trevor van any resonance simply doesn’t happen. Riemsdyk’s shot from the point deflected off Jordie Benn’s knee and past Price. This is the reality for the Hurricanes. This is a reality they are attempting to change. That week with seven out of eight points? It would have been better with eight out of eight points. “It kind of sends chills through me because it’s been a long time since we’ve had playoff hockey here,” general manager Don Waddell said in “I thought we definitely played well,” Price said when asked if the the Hurricanes’ dressing room following their win against the Wild. Canadiens’ week could build their confidence. “But we need points more “These guys have done a tremendous job every night; since Jan. 1 we than confidence right now.” haven’t lost back-to-back games (in regulation). Every time we seem to Price was angry. Gallagher was angry. This was not necessarily a bad get a loss, we have a bounce-back. That’s a strong sentiment in this result; it was a point in a hostile building at a crucial time of year on the locker room here. We have a great locker room, great culture, led by Rod tail end of a tough stretch of the schedule. But that anger said a lot about who’s done a great job coaching. … There’s a lot of excitement here. this team and what the players expect of themselves. We’ve been on a long homestand, we had a lot of tickets to sell because we have a small season-ticket base, and people have responded. It’s “I think it’s totally natural that we’re disappointed because we came here been great to watch.” to win,” coach Claude Julien said. “You want to win a hockey game, and I think at the end of the day we gave a real good effort. But we just “Rod” is Hurricanes coach Rob Brind’Amour, a rookie head coach and a finished four in six, this was our third in four nights, I think the fatigue franchise legend, the captain who was the first one to raise the only factor caught up. I started seeing it midway through the second period, Stanley Cup in Hurricanes history. He knows what the playoffs would we stopped making plays, we started getting rid of pucks and then we mean in this market because few people understand this market better. were just hanging on in the third period. But when you pick up seven “I should enjoy it more,” he said after the win against the Wild. “I try to points out of eight, it’s a good week. If we do that next week, we’ll be in make myself stop and enjoy this. But it’s pretty stressful, for sure.” pretty good shape.”

Pressure points. A few days earlier, the Hurricanes were talking about a 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning – a team no one seems to beat – in much the The Hurricanes have a new owner, Tom Dundon, who has vowed to do same way the Canadiens were talking about this loss to them. They were things differently in order for his shiny new toy to have success, and who disappointed even though it was entirely reasonable to expect a loss. sees a full building and thus sees the signs of that success on the horizon. The playoffs are everyone’s goal, but some teams need the “You play the best in the league by a mile and everybody was – I don’t playoffs more than others. know the right word to say, I’ve got to watch what I say – everyone was upset about how the game went,” Brind’Amour said Saturday of that loss The Hurricanes are one of those teams. to the Lightning. “And that’s great, around here. We expect to win every night and we also expect a certain level of play. When that’s not there, everyone wasn’t too happy.”

These two teams, sitting on opposite ends of the NHL’s revenue and business spectrum, are trying to build something. They are doing it by playing similar styles, possessing the puck and forechecking like hell to wear down teams and force mistakes. They are doing it to serve their fans, whether they are always in the building or looking for an excuse to jump back on board. They are doing it with a common goal in mind.

The Hurricanes and Canadiens couldn’t be more different. But they are the same.

This game showed it.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137454 Montreal Canadiens Final Word

The Hurricanes and Canadiens might be fighting to make the playoffs, but they’ve already switched their level of play to playoff mode, as An overtime loss to the Hurricanes wraps up a great week for the evidenced by the pace throughout the game. Canadiens Both teams showed flashes of why they’re among the most exciting organizations in the NHL, while the Hurricanes reminded everyone that By Marc Dumont 5h ago they’re the true analytics darlings of the league.

The Canadiens are well on their way, but for now, the crown belongs to the keepers of the storm. Everything the Canadiens can do, the Carolina Hurricanes can do better. In no way should the loss be considered a disappointment. There were For example, when it comes to controlling shots, the Canadiens rank defensive lapses from veteran defenders and the Canadiens allowed the third in the NHL. The Hurricanes are second. The Canadiens rank fourth Hurricanes too many quality chances, but given the situation they find in scoring-chance control, but the Hurricanes are third. And when it themselves in, a point in North Carolina can go a long way, especially comes to high-danger shot attempts, the Canadiens are eighth, the when you add it to the previous three wins, totaling seven points out of a Hurricanes are fifth. possible eight for the Canadiens in their last four games.

Essentially, the Hurricanes are a more finely tuned version of the The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 Canadiens and are also a year ahead when it comes to developing a core of young, speedy players, making Sunday night’s matchup quite interesting from a stylistic point of view. To add an additional layer of excitement to the mix, the Hurricanes and Canadiens are locked in a three-way race with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.

Thanks to some excellent goaltending from Carey Price, the Canadiens escaped North Carolina with one point in the bank, losing 2-1 in overtime.

Playoff Price

The Hurricanes took control of the game early, sending nine high-danger shots Price’s way in the first period. If not for Price, the Canadiens would not have entered the first intermission with a fragile 1-0 lead.

Fortunately for the Canadiens, Price was very much in the zone, not only when it came to making saves, but when it came to acting as a third defender as well.

There are certain levels when it comes to the ‘Price zone’.

Level 1 is when Price casually saves 30 shots in a game without breaking a sweat.

Level 2 involves Price making several breakaway saves.

Level 3 is when Price is fed up with defence and starts to shut down passing lanes as well as clearing pucks whenever he gets the chance.

Price was at level 3 all night long.

Storm shelter

Though the Hurricanes controlled play in the first period, the Canadiens finished with a 1-0 lead due to some excellent work in the offensive zone by Nate Thompson. His forecheck caused Teuvo Teräväinen to cough up the puck, leading to Paul Byron’s second goal in as many games.

The timing was impeccable for the Canadiens, seeing as the Hurricanes had taken over the game at that point. The Canadiens managed to carry the momentum from the goal into the second period, when they put on a puck-control clinic, limiting the Canes to just four shots on net.

Category 5

While the Canadiens did a great job weathering the early stormy weather and even proceeded to take control of the flow of the game in the second period, they were caught in the eye of the storm in the third.

First came the calm.

Then came the barrage.

The Hurricanes controlled over 80 percent of the 5-on-5 shots and 75 percent of the high-danger chances. The Canadiens offered very little resistance to the offensive onslaught.

Price finally acquiesced to the Carolina pressure late in the third period, though Jordie Benn did the Hurricanes a favour by deflecting the puck past his own netminder.

Price also gave up an overtime goal to impressive rookie Andrei Svechnikov, following a Brendan Gallagher turnover, but we won’t dwell on that considering it was the 91st shot attempt he faced. 1137455 Montreal Canadiens Let’s hit rewind again.

It’s late September. About two weeks after Domi had earned a five-game suspension (exhibition only) for punching out Florida’s Aaron Ekblad, a Melnick’s GBU: On Max Domi, kismet and the power of returning to the relaxed Bergevin is on the hugely popular talk show Tout le Monde en scene of your greatest success Parle with several regular panelists. On this night, he took on political analyst, and very frustrated Habs fan, Luc Lavoie.

By Mitch Melnick Mar 24, 2019 Bergevin knew.

Domi began his Montreal career where his life started – in Toronto. He helped set up a pair of goals on opening night as the Habs served notice Looking back now, through a four-year old lens, it was clearly a case of that they had put the misery of 2017-18 well behind them. A proud father foreshadowing. Tie looked on from the seats. While the Canadiens fell to Toronto in overtime (as they would again, and again), Domi immediately endeared Connor McDavid was the obvious star for Team Canada at the 2015 himself, once again, to Montreal hockey fans. World Junior Hockey Championship. But fans at the Bell Centre fell in love with a much smaller player who also electrified them while playing Nearly six months later, after leading his team in scoring almost all the alongside Sam Reinhart and Anthony Duclair. way through the season, the best player on the Bell Centre ice in an absolute must win over a non-playoff opponent with seven games The unlikely sound of fans in Montreal chanting “Domi! Domi! Domi!” remaining in a playoff push was Domi. while the Canadian team skated to a gold medal was when a star was born. They might have already known that in London, Ontario and around When he skated onto the ice after the game as the first star you could the country, but Montreal hockey fans saw it first hand for the first time. hear his name being chanted. Or was it the echo still reverberating from four years ago? When asked about the moment on TSN 690 Radio a couple of weeks after the Canadiens had acquired his son from Arizona, proud papa Tie, Some things are just meant to be. who could be seen in the building beaming that night, had to pause to collect his emotion, clearly choked up over the memory of it and the joy THE GOOD he felt. · Max Domi-Andrew Shaw-Artturi Lehkonen: The game didn’t begin well Imagine if hockey fans in Toronto had chanted “Nilan! Nilan! Nilan!” or for Domi. A little more than 12 minutes into the opening period he had his “Fergy! Fergy! Fergy!” (without it being followed by, “…must go!”) old World Junior linemate in his sights along the boards inside the Montreal zone. But he lost him. As Sam Reinhart spun away from Domi When one of the worst kept secrets in hockey – that Habs GM Marc he sent the puck to Casey Mittelstadt in the corner of the rink, who then Bergevin was trying to trade Alex Galchenyuk – finally became reality last played it back to Reinhart, who beat an already-down-on-his-knees summer, the immediate reaction was generally not very kind. Carey Price through the 5-hole to open the scoring while picking up career point number 200. But Domi more than made up for it. He I can recall personally being more upset over the end of the Galchenyuk basically took control of the game starting with an assist on Lehkonen’s drama and his unfulfilled potential than the fact he was actually traded. ninth goal of the season to tie the game while, whaddya know, tying (“We had no choice” is how one well-connected member of the Reinhart in career points. It was Shaw, after taking the puck from Domi, Canadiens’ family put it.) who made the perfect feed to a streaking Lehkonen, who symbolically The Galchenyuk scoring arc through his first four seasons looked very ended up following the puck into the net a little more than five minutes promising. He went from nine goals in a lockout-shortened 48-game into the second period. Nine minutes later, Domi set up Shaw whose schedule in his rookie season, to 13 (in 65 games) to 20 to 30. quick wrister beat Carter Hutton for his 18th goal of the season and 40th point, besting his previous career high of 39 points with Chicago in 2013- He was almost a point-per-game player to start his fifth season before 14. The goal should have given Montreal enough breathing room as the losing serious time to a knee injury. When he did return, probably too Sabres appeared to be folding on cue. Except a puck-over-glass delay of soon, he wasn’t the same player. And the focus again shifted to his game penalty on the next shift by Christian Folin gave them new life. A defensive deficiencies, as opposed to the offence he created. one-time blast from the circle by Alex Nylander was followed 75 seconds later by a gift to Marco Scandella and suddenly a Saturday night party-in- As soon as the dreadful Canadiens season of a year ago came to an end the-making atmosphere grew tense again. Fortunately for the Habs, and Bergevin raised “attitude” as a serious issue, it couldn’t have been some hard work by the fourth line (that is now really the third line) of Nate made any clearer. Not only was he looking for stronger leadership – the Thompson, who forced a turnover, Jordan Weal, whose shot on a 2-on-1 Pacioretty-as-captain era was over – but the continuing soap opera and break forced a rebound, and Paul Byron, who redirected (but clearly uncertainty that was Galchenyuk was about to get flushed out as well. didn’t kick it) the puck past Hutton to regain the lead and momentum late It was a beautiful Friday evening in Montreal last June 15 when Bergevin in the period. But Buffalo refused to go away when Jack Eichel scored announced he had traded Galchenyuk to Arizona for Max Domi. Upon his first career goal against Montreal to make it a one-goal game again hearing the news – I was at the Montreal Folk Festival on the Lachine with less than seven minutes to play. It’s not like there was impending Canal enjoying Josh Ritter’s set – I immediately felt a tinge of anger but doom in the air, but you couldn’t help but think back to the wild 6-5 my next thought took me back to the 2015 WJC, when the Domi name Buffalo win in overtime in early November at the Bell Centre. It was the was being lovingly chanted at the Bell Centre. night that forced Price and Stéphane Waite off the ice and into the film room for a needed reset. But then fourth liner Zemgus Girgenson’s took a It made me think that perhaps returning to the scene of a building that terrible neutral zone holding penalty. It eventually allowed Domi to put an produced some of his best hockey would be an environment that could exclamation point on his brilliant night when he fired a deadly wrist shot take Domi’s game to another level. over Hutton’s glove to finally put the game away. It was his first power play goal since Nov. 8. It was a six-point night for the Domi line. Let’s see We had seen it happen with Erik Cole, the native of upstate New York, if Lehkonen, in particular, can build on just his second goal of 2019. who always seemed to torch the Habs whenever Carolina hit the Bell Centre. In his only full season in Montreal after he signed as a free agent · Phillip Danault-Brendan Gallagher-Tomas Tatar: They’ve been so in 2011, Cole scored 35 goals, a career high. consistently effective and productive it’s hard to pick out a single game as a highlight but this might have been it. Danault mostly blanketed But reality also set in. Eichel and it was his relentless forecheck on Rasmus Dahlin and Why were Domi’s goal totals so low in his previous two seasons? After a desperate, diving feed to Gallagher that allowed the Habs top goal scorer promising rookie season of 18 goals, he needed two full seasons to to break last season’s career high mark of 31 goals. Tatar celebrated his equal that total, and a bunch of the goals were empty netters. 500th NHL game in style with a couple of assists, an important drawn penalty (he was held up by Girgenson) and an empty-netter to clinch the What had gone down in Arizona? Why would they trade a former first game and snap a nine-game scoreless drought. It was an eight-point round pick with speed and tenacity to burn? night for the line. Gallagher led all skaters with nine shots on goal. His Could anybody really envision Domi’s debut season as a Hab turning into second goal left him sitting at 33 for the season. A number much a chase for 30 goals while spending every shift of it as a centre? appreciated no doubt by former Expos star Larry Walker sitting in the stands, who played baseball with a hockey mentality. · Victor Mete: Aren’t small, young, and inexperienced defencemen play inside the Buffalo zone by a Scandella elbow to the side of the face. supposed to be showing signs of fatigue this deep into season? Mete It didn’t look dangerous. It was subtle. But to a player who has had was tremendous. Always seemed to be well positioned to break up plays numerous concussions, it stung. Shaw looked around to see that there and lead the rush. was no penalty coming. The inner cannon went off. He went looking for retribution. Moments later he found himself in the penalty box for four · Shea Weber: He was pretty good too. Steady and solid. And when he minutes. With a welt clearly forming on the side of his face. The skated down low on the right side and set up Gallagher’s second goal Canadiens did a terrific job to kill off the double minor but Shaw had with a no-look pass to the slot as he circled behind the net, well, because barely stepped back onto the ice when Eichel scored his goal to make it it happens so infrequently, you couldn’t help but think if there wasn’t also 5-4. The emotional part of Shaw’s game often allows him a little more a 7 on his jersey. Led the Habs in ice time but still kept under 23 minutes, room on the ice. Sure, it can lead to trouble. But the real issue here is which might be critical for the match up in Carolina. how indispensable he has become. Especially at this time of the year. · Special Teams: As good a time as any for the PP and PK units to Because he was not on the Montreal bench to finish the game, there was suddenly be in sync. It was a bad offensive zone holding penalty to real concern about his health. But Claude Julien forcefully pointed out Lehkonen late in the first period that actually seemed to provide a much- after the game that there was no physical issue for Shaw. Obviously needed wake up call. Byron and Thompson combined for a strong good news for a productive leader who is trying to get back to the post scoring chance while the positive momentum from the kill carried over as season to help make amends for the last one. Two years ago, Shaw was the Domi trio provided a lot of pressure just before the period ended. The totally ineffective during the opening round playoff series against the New Lehkonen penalty could have been deadly because it followed a truly York Rangers until he was finally scratched for Game 6, which turned out horrid power play that looked ragged and dirty. But, when the Habs to be the finale. Unlike Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty, who both fired needed a late goal to finally put the Sabres in a “Rowdy” Roddy Piper- blanks for the entire series, Shaw’s game suffered greatly because he sleeper hold, it was Domi who delivered it, set up by Jeff Petry. It was the had suffered a concussion in Game 1. As competitive as he is, you know Montreal defenceman’s first point in 11 games and his first on the power how badly he wants to return. Healthy. In body and mind. play since scoring against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Feb. 23. The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 · Montreal Expos in the House: The future Hall of Famer (we strongly hope) Walker, who starred for the Expos from 1989-94, was joined in a private suite during the game by (L-R back row) Oil Can Boyd (1990-91), Ken Hill (1992-94), Dennis Martinez (1986-93) and (L-R front row) Bill “Specman” Lee (1979-82), Brad Wilkerson (2001-04) and Steve Renko (1969-76). Nice added touch by Sportsnet’s John Bartlett, who appeared on camera wearing an original tricolor Expos cap. Happy 50th Anniversary to Canada’s first MLB team. They shall return.

THE BAD

· First period: How did they follow up a dominant and emotional payback win over the New York Islanders two nights earlier? By sleepwalking through most of the first period before the strong penalty kill appeared to wake them up. Still, the Habs remained patient. There was never a sense of panic even after the two quick second period goals by the Sabres tied the game 3-3.

· Joel Armia and Jonathan Drouin: Armia couldn’t come close to matching his intensity level of a game earlier. On their first power play chance of the game, right after Buffalo had taken a 1-0 lead and Kyle Okposo slashed Mete on the next shift, it was Armia and Drouin who clearly lacked focus handling the puck. Or to be more precise, it looked like they didn’t want it. And if you thought Drouin’s two-point night against the Islanders, including his first goal in 18 games, would propel him into some kind of late season surge, it almost seemed to do the opposite. There was simply no excuse, other than a lack of intensity, that allowed Buffalo to score their third goal to tie up the game late in the second period. Not only did Drouin cough up the puck at the Buffalo blue line, there was just a half assed attempt to get it back as Johann Larsson skated by him and fed Montrealer Marco Scandella, who was allowed to move in deep and beat Price with a wrist shot to the short side to tie the game, quiet the crowd, and frustrate Drouin to the point of waving at the referee behind the Montreal net for, what, failing to call a penalty on Larsson? This kind of neutral zone turnover is normal for Drouin. He can overcome them by helping to score a couple at the other end of the ice. But there is nothing normal about his immediate reaction to the turnover. Once again, it seemed like his inability to do anything with the puck on Montreal’s first power play affected his mood for the rest of the night.

THE UGLY

· Andrew Shaw penalties: Shaw’s night was fabulous. In fact, almost his entire string of shifts from the moment he called out his team following the barely-there loss to the Islanders in Uniondale has been the epitome of leadership. Late in the game against the Islanders, a game in which the Habs imposed their physical will on a banged up team, Shaw delivered a thunderous shoulder-to-chest hit on 6-foot-5 defenceman Scott Mayfield, who was forced to leave the game. On the surface it might have looked unnecessary. But Mayfield was one of the few Islanders who actually pushed back. And frankly, if not a 4-0 game, Shaw would likely not have been penalized. But it was also a reminder that Shaw has a loose cannon inside of him that he has mostly managed to control this season. So what happened in the third period, 30 seconds after Gallagher’s second goal of the night, that opened up a window to a Buffalo team that was ready to pack it in? Shaw was rubbed out of the 1137456 Nashville Predators

Predators' loss to Jets ends up being appointment with disappointment

Paul Skrbina, Nashville Tennessean Published 12:00 p.m. CT March 24, 2019 | Updated 12:07 p.m. CT March 24, 2019

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Predators went from vying for a tie for first place in the Central Division on Saturday to being closer to third place by the end of the night.

Not long after the Predators' uninspired 5-0 loss to the Jets, the Blues topped the Lightning 4-3 to move to within two points of Nashville for second place in the division.

Both the Jets and the Blues have a game in hand on the Predators. Both teams also hold the advantage in the ROW (regulation plus overtime wins) tiebreaker over the Predators.

Oh, and the Predators have lost seven in a row combined to those two teams, putting their hopes of winning the Central Division at odds against the odds.

The minutes figure to get tougher for the remaining six games, starting Monday (7 p.m, NBC SN) in St. Paul, Minn., against the Wild.

Three times captain Roman Josi used the word "disappointing" to describe the setback, including twice to bookend one thought.

"Disappointing," he said. "Biggest game of the year up to this point. They were just better than us. Disappointing."

After a fast-paced first period with the aura of a playoff game ended in a 0-0 tie, the Jets left the Predators behind in the second with three goals.

Yes, the Predators still will make the playoffs, barring some unfortunate event.

But that did little to quell the effects of this appointment with disappointment.

"They were just better than us the whole game," Josi said. "It's real disappointing that we played like that for such a big game. We didn’t play well enough."

Predators coach Peter Laviolette summed the loss up thusly: "We lost 5- 0."

He then beckoned Josi's thoughts.

"It's a disappointing loss, yeah," he said. "We were playing for first in the Central tonight. We had a tough 40 minutes."

The more Laviolette changed things, the more they stayed the same for the Predators.

The team tried many line combinations throughout the game, but it still hasn't seemed to find a home that works for the struggling Kyle Turris and newcomer Mikael Granlund.

The Predators have scored one goal in their past two games – which includes a shootout loss to the Penguins – and just four in their past three.

"We're playing in two days, but it's definitely a tough loss," Josi said Saturday. "They are a really good team. It was a big game for first in the Central. We have to find a way to play better than we did."

And they have to do it quickly.

Tennessean LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137457 Nashville Predators

Prospect Rem Pitlick tries to take everything in a day after signing with Predators

Paul Skrbina, Nas hville Tennessean Published 6:00 a.m. CT March 24, 2019 | Updated 11:22 a.m. CT March 24, 2019

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Rem Pitlick's locker stall was the only one in the Predators dressing room that didn't have a sweater hanging in front of it Saturday morning.

Didn't much matter because Pitlick wasn't going to play against the Jets anyway.

Most of the rest of the team — save for that night's scratches and those recovering from injuries — was long gone by the time Pitlick finally retreated there after his first official morning skate as a member of the team.

MORE: Predators mailbag: Best names in franchise history, the top line and more

Pitlick, 21, signed a two-year, entry-level contract Friday. A third-round pick in 2016, Pitlick finished his collegiate career with the University of Minnesota in March 16 with a loss to Notre Dame in the Big Ten semifinals. The 5-foot-9, 196-pound center had 21 goals and 24 assists while earning All-Big Ten first-team honors this season.

"It’s a weird mix of emotions — fighting for a tournament in college and now I’m here. It’s pretty crazy," Pitlick said Saturday morning at Bell MTS Place.

Even crazier to Pitlick was sharing the ice with guys he'd watched on TV as a child.

Pitlick's father, Lance, played for the Senators and Panthers from 1994- 2002. His cousin, Tyler Pitlick, plays for the Stars.

But none of that compared to Rem Pitlick's experience Saturday, when he shared a laugh and some words with Matt Donovan while returning to the dressing room.

"Anyone is going to have that feeling," he said of being a little nervous. "You watch all these guys growing up on TV.

"I was talking with Zac Rinaldo the other day about how I was watching him when I was 13 years old and he was in the Winter Classic. He's still around and I'm just getting here."

Predators coach Peter Laviolette said the team has not decided whether Pitlick will play in a game this season. But he said having him around at this time of year, in a playoff race, can only be beneficial.

"Huge benefit. To get inside of a room and understand how things run at this level," Laviolette said. "The systems, the relationships you gain, the practice time, the strength coach, the nutritionist — all of that is really positive stuff."

Tennessean LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137458 New Jersey Devils He allowed one shootout goal to Conor Garland to push it into a seventh round.

Bergen Record LOADED: 03.25.2019 Takeaways: NJ Devils' Blake Coleman wants puck on his stick on power play

Abbey Mastracco, NHL writer Published 7:06 a.m. ET March 24, 2019

NEWARK — The Devils have settled for more moral victories than actual victories in this final month of the season but two points for a shootout win over the Arizona Coyotes did more than just boost the morale in Newark. Sure, it may not have gotten them any closer to the Jack Hughes lottery but these games serve as important learning lessons for inexperienced players and it’s always easier to learn from wins than losses.

Here are three lessons the Devils learned Saturday afternoon from their 2-1 shootout win over the Coyotes.

Mar 23, 2019; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils center Blake Coleman (20) scores a goal on Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) during the shootout at Prudential Center.

Pressure play

The Devils went 0-for-5 on the power play against the second-best penalty killing team in the NHL but the returns of Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmieri, Miles Wood and Sami Vatanen did make a difference when it came to the man-advantage. There was much more offensive generation, puck movement and high-quality scoring chances.

“I thought their decisions were excellent,” coach John Hynes said. “(Assistant coach Rick Kowalsky) was excellent in his report this morning and talked about some things we needed to do to beat the pressure. Our puck decisions on the power play and the puck movement was quick. That’s what you have to do to be able to beat the pressure.”

Darcy Kuemper was the difference-maker for the Coyotes, making 31 saves and several big stops on the power play, but the penalty killer in front of him made the Devils work for their opportunities.

“I don’t think there was much we did wrong,” New Jersey forward Blake Coleman said. “We got in and made some plays, he made some big saves. But as long as you’re getting those chances and generating momentum you really can’t be too down on it.”

Coleman’s contributions

Mar 23, 2019; Newark, NJ, USA; Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) makes a save against New Jersey Devils center Blake Coleman (20) during the second period at Prudential Center.

A few months ago, there was an outcry to put Coleman on the power play. When injuries necessitated his use with the man-advantage the returns weren’t great. Coleman was fatigued with an increased workload and he was quickly taken off the power play. But that opportunity prepared him for this one. Coleman is more assured on the power play this time around.

“I want the puck on my stick more than I did the first run through when I was just trying to be a big body in front of the net,” Coleman said. “I’m part of it, I’m making plays. I’m a few inches away from what seems like scoring on most power plays. It’s fun to be in their zone and have good movement.”

Shootout 101

Mar 23, 2019; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29) makes a save on Arizona Coyotes center Alex Galchenyuk (17) during the shootout at Prudential Center.

Rookie goalie Mackenzie Blackwood out-dueled the veteran Kuemper in the shootout, which was just his second in the NHL. The Devils' goalie of the future is quickly developing a book on NHL shooters.

“You get to see some guys’ one-on-one moves and get to see what they’re all about,” Blackwood said. “There are a lot of talented players around the league and whenever you get them one-on-one like that they can make you look pretty silly or you can best them. I think it’s a great challenge for me.” 1137459 New York Islanders "That was a good defensive game. I thought we had good possession," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "We are just having a tough time scoring right now."

Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson back Robin Lehner as Islanders beat [More Sports] Thomas Greiss shuts it down in critical Islanders win » Coyotes NOTES: The Islanders were 12-6-2 this season at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and are now 11-6-2 at Nassau Coliseum with two home games By ALLAN KREDA remaining. ... New York's Barry Trotz coached his 1,600th career game, moving seven games behind former Islanders coach Al Arbour who is | ASSOCIATED PRESS | third on the all-time list. ... The Islanders are 30-14-6 when the line of Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck all play. ... The Islanders MAR 24, 2019 | 8:26 PM scratched D Thomas Hickey, D Luca Sbisa, F Tom Kuhnhackl, F Michael Dal Colle, F Ross Johnston and injured F Valtteri Filppula. ... Arizona scratched D Jakob Chychrun, D Kevin Connauton, F Nick Cousins. and F UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The New York Islanders used a smothering Conor Garland. ... The Islanders won the previous meeting 3-1 on Dec. defense and some timely scoring to move closer to a playoff berth. 18 in Arizona.

Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored to back Robin Lehner's fifth UP NEXT shutout of the season as the Islanders beat the Arizona Coyotes 2-0 Sunday. Islanders: At Columbus on Tuesday night.

Lehner stopped 31 shots to help the Islanders win for the second time in Coyotes: Host Chicago on Tuesday night. two days and keep pace with first place Washington in the Metropolitan New York Daily News LOADED: 03.25.2019 Division. The Capitals, who beat Philadelphia 3-1 earlier Sunday, lead New York by one point with six games remaining for both teams, including a matchup at Washington in the season finale on April 6.

"Those are dangerous hockey games. We had chances to pull away and they hung around," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "We got it done."

New York can clinch a spot in the postseason with a Columbus loss in regulation later Sunday and if the Islanders beat the Blue Jackets on the road Tuesday night.

Starting for the second straight day, Lehner had nine saves in the first period, and 11 each in the second and third to improve to 22-12-5 this season. The Islanders, who beat the Flyers 4-2 on Saturday, improved to 11-1-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The Islanders also lead the NHL with 10 shutouts. Lehner's counterpart Thomas Greiss also has five shutouts this season.

"I feel like the majority of games we've won, we've gone into the third period 1-0, 2-1, low scores," said Lehner, who signed with the Islanders as free agent last summer. "When we are playing our game, we have confidence. We play hard, wait for them to make mistakes and try to capitalize on it."

Lehner then stopped former Islander Michael Grabner — who has a league-best six short-handed goals this season — on a breakaway.

"He's good on breakaways. It happens pretty quick," Lehner said. "It was nice that it hit my arm and they didn't score."

"Big goal by Nelly," Trotz said. "It feels right the way we play. You don't really worry about the score. We can frustrate teams. And the results sort of come."

Eberle put the Islanders ahead 4:37 into the game when he tapped a rebound of Nick Leddy's shot past Darcy Kuemper. It was Eberle's 15th of the season, but just his second since Feb. 9.

"Any time you get an early lead, especially on a back-to-back, it's huge," Eberle said. "You have to match team's desperation. I like the way that we played."

Barry Trotz.

Kuemper finished with 24 saves as the Coyotes lost their fifth straight (0- 3-2), and finished 0-3-1 on a four-game trip. Arizona hasn't won since March 14 against Anaheim at home, where there will play four of their last six games as they try to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

Kuemper kept the Coyotes in the game with a series of excellent saves in the second period. 1137460 New York Islanders

Barry Trotz begs Islanders fans: Don’t boo our power play

By Brett Cyrgalis March 24, 2019 | 8:49PM

It’s not often that a coach has a message for the fans, but Barry Trotz implored the Islanders’ faithful not to put any more pressure on their struggling power play.

“It doesn’t help that our fans boo us 30 seconds into the power play,” Trotz said before his team’s stout 2-0 win over the Coyotes on Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum, when the man-advantage went 0-for-1, taking it to 1-for-37 over the past 16 games.

“Come on, our guys are human,” Trotz said. “You’re coming up the ice and they’re booing you, well, guys are trying to look for the great play. Well, give us a break here. We need your help in that aspect. Power play is not good, we deserve to get booed. But give us a couple of them. If it’s the third or fourth one and we’re not doing anything, then you can boo. But give us a chance. In our own rink, give us an advantage. We need it.

“We have fantastic fans. And they have the right [to boo]. But we need their help. We’re going to need their help, if we can get in the playoffs.”

Trotz went to goalie Robin Lehner for both games of this weekend back- to-back, and he delivered consecutive victories while picking up his fifth shutout of the season by turning aside all 31 shots from the Coyotes.

“It was just a gut feeling,” said Trotz, who watched Lehner have a relatively easy 22-save performance in a 4-2 victory in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, his first win since returning from a 10-day absence following a head injury. “He missed some time, so wanted to get him into a rhythm.”

Lehner said he was “thankful” for the opportunity to play both games this weekend, and was even more thankful to hear the home fans chanting his name.

“Honestly, it means more than they think,” Lehner said.

Winger Andrew Ladd got into a collision with Christian Fischer with 4:45 left in regulation and was slow getting up. He stayed on the bench but missed his line’s final two shifts.

Ladd was out for close to three months with a lower-body injury before returning Feb. 26. Struggling to get up to pace, Ladd had started to play better in the past two games.

The lineup stayed the same from Saturday, including Johnny Boychuk staying in on defense and Thomas Hickey being a healthy scratch. Forwards Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston and Tom Kuhnhackl all sat, as well.

New York Post LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137461 New York Islanders

This is what ideal Islanders hockey looks like

By Brett Cyrgalis March 24, 2019 | 5:36pm | Updated

At this point in the season, the Islanders know how they have to play to win. It might not be the prettiest, and it might not be the best for padding the stat lines, but it brings results.

And so it was another tight-checking effort supplemented by timely goaltending that brought them a 2-0 win over the Coyotes on Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum, sweeping a weekend back-to-back that surely makes it feel like they’ve returned to solid ground.

“It just feels right. It feels right the way we play,” said coach Barry Trotz, his name being chanting by fans outside the postgame press conference area. “When you play right, it feels right. You don’t really worry about the score as much, about the ‘what ifs’ — ‘What if we don’t play well?’ Just play. And then we can frustrate teams, we can get on you, and the results sort of come.”

This one came with goalie Robin Lehner picking up his fifth shutout of the season by turning aside all 31 shots he faced, having also backstopped the 4-2 win in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. The victory allowed the Islanders (44-25-7) to stay one point back of the victorious Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

The Isles got here by winning games just like this, by buying into the philosophy that Trotz has preached about their biggest strength being their collective effort. No, they don’t score a lot. But they sure do win a lot.

“If you look at scoring and whatnot, we don’t have a ton of guys with a ton of points, but we’ve won a lot of games,” said Jordan Eberle, who seems to be slowly emerging from his goal drought at the right time, his goal 4:37 into the first period standing as the game-winner and giving him two in the past five games after having none in the previous 17.

“That’s just the way we play. That’s the style that we play,” Eberle said. “I think we’ve done a good job and everyone is committed to it. You’re not going to get as many points, but you’re going to win more games. More importantly, win a style of games you need to win and how you win in the playoffs.”

The playoffs are becoming more and more real with each one of these performances, and that final game of the regular season in Washington on April 6 is shaping up to be a doozy. The malaise that took over the Isles for the better part of March now seems to have subsided. It was brought on by players getting away from this defensive game, and trying to do too much on their own.

That’s exactly what happened in the consecutive shutout losses to the Bruins and Canadiens that preceded the weekend, when the goaltenders were left out to dry. But Lehner was hardly under siege from the Coyotes (36-33-7), who have just about eliminated themselves from playoff contention with a 0-3-1 Eastern trip.

When Lehner was needed for a big stop, he stood tall, denying former Islander Michael Grabner from adding to his six shorthanded goals this season, stopping the third-period breakaway with calmness that has defined his bounce-back season. It enabled Brock Nelson to put a bow on the performance, beating goalie Darcy Kuemper with a wraparound goal with 3:14 remaining in regulation.

“Especially when we’re playing our game, we have confidence being up by one goal,” Lehner said. “Every save becomes a little bit more important because they can tie it up, but at the end of the day, that’s how we played all year.”

The Islanders are very aware of how they got here, and very aware of what they need to do to wrap up this playoff berth and carrying some confidence into the postseason.

“The way we play defensively and the way everyone pitches in,” Lehner said, “it’s fun.”

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Barry Trotz reaches coaching milestone in Islanders' win

By Andrew Gross

Updated March 25, 2019 3:18 AM

Barry Trotz became the fourth coach in NHL history to reach 1,600 regular-season games as the Islanders topped the Coyotes, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum. He trails only Scotty Bowman (2,141), Joel Quenneville (1,636) and Islanders Hall of Famer Al Arbour (1,607), whom Trotz will tie in the first game next season.

“I’m just thankful to be in this position and have this many games,” said Trotz, 56, in his 20th NHL season. “We’ll see when I’m done how important that is.”

Trotz cited his first regular-season game, his first playoff game and his last playoff game — his Capitals won the Stanley Cup on June 7, 2018 — as games that stand out to him.

Earlier this month, Trotz became the fourth coach in NHL history with 800 wins after Bowman (1,244), Quenneville (890) and Ken Hitchcock (847).

Solid shift

C Tanner Fritz energized the Coliseum crowd with a 44-second penalty- kill shift in the third period. Fritz muscled the puck up ice along the right boards, then helped keep it in the Coyotes’ zone before leaving for the bench. The crowd responded with a loud “Let’s Go Islanders” chant in appreciation.

“I was just trying to catch my breath,” Fritz said. “It was unbelievable. Great crowd. It was fun to be a part of.”

Isles files

The Isles were 0-for-1 with one shot on the power play and are 1-for-37 over 16 games. “It doesn’t help that our fans boo us 30 seconds into the power play,” Trotz said. “I mean, c’mon. Our guys are human.” . . . The crowd of 13,917 was the Isles’ 11th sellout in 19 games at the Coliseum. Two home games remain.

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Isles goalie Robin Lehner looks in rhythm again after back-to-back wins this weekend

By Brian Heyman

Updated March 25, 2019 3:17 AM

Former Islander Michael Grabner raced down the middle of the ice, breaking away from Devon Toews and Jordan Eberle and breaking in on the masked man serving as the last line of defense. Islanders goalie Robin Lehner tried to protect the net from the wily Coyote bent on scoring the tying shorthanded goal.

“He’s good at breakaways,” Lehner said. “It happens pretty quick. You don’t really think.”

Lehner extended his left arm and made the third-period save, and the fans at the Coliseum chanted “Leh-ner, Leh-ner.” The one-goal game became a 2-0 victory over Arizona and gave Lehner two wins in two days; he also protected the net with 22 saves in Saturday’s 4-2 victory in Philadelphia. Sunday’s first star finished with 31 saves, good for his career-high fifth shutout.

“I didn’t think he had a lot of work, and he’s missed some time,” Barry Trotz said after the Islanders remained a point behind Metropolitan Division-leading Washington with six games to play. “So I just wanted to give him a little rhythm.”

Lehner indeed looks in rhythm again after missing three games with a head injury, then sitting behind Thomas Greiss for three more, then allowing five goals to Boston on Tuesday in his return to the net. He stopped all 12 shots he faced in 31:41 in relief of Greiss on Thursday in Montreal before playing on consecutive days for the first time this season.

“It was nice to get awarded with a back-to-back,” Lehner said. “You want to give something back to the coaches when they give you the opportunity. I feel good.”

It has been a feel-good first season here for Lehner after he moved on from Buffalo and signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal — a bargain for the Islanders. He has improved on and off the ice.

The 27-year-old Swede showed up third in the NHL in goals-against average (2.23) and fifth in save percentage (.925). He has formed a formidable tandem with Greiss behind a generally tight defensive structure.

Lehner also has spoken openly about having to overcome addiction and mental health issues. So the fan reaction touched him again.

“It’s a personal thing for me, the way they’ve been so supportive since I got here and with everything that I’ve been dealing with,” he said. “Honestly, it means more than they think.”

Trotz may turn back to Greiss on Tuesday night in Columbus, considering he went 3-0 with two shutouts in the first three against the Blue Jackets. But the chant-worthy save on Grabner helped save this day.

“Those are the saves that these guys have made all year,” Eberle said. “They’ve been timely . . . That’s what good teams do. They always have good goaltending, and we definitely have no shortage of that.”

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Islanders blank Coyotes as Lehner makes 31 saves for his fifth shutout of season

By Andrew Gross

Updated March 25, 2019 3:14 AM

There was nothing fancy to this one, and that suits the Islanders best.

“That’s how we play,” defenseman Johnny Boychuk said. “It was nice to see. It was not a perfect game. But that was a good game for us.”

A simply played 2-0 win over the Coyotes on Sunday afternoon at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum concluded a very productive weekend for the Islanders, who beat the Flyers, 4-2, in Philadelphia on Saturday. They remained one point behind the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals with six games left.

Robin Lehner started both weekend matinees and stopped 31 shots on Sunday to extend his career high with his fifth shutout. The Islanders (44- 25-7), who allowed an NHL-worst 293 goals last season, lead the league with 10 shutouts.

“We’re looking to take over the division and give ourselves the best chance to move as far as we can,” said right wing Jordan Eberle, who got to the crease for a rebound and scored his second goal in five games after a 17-game goal drought to make it 1-0 at 4:37 of the first period.

“We have to match teams’ desperation. We’re still desperate, but we’re in a spot where we have a little bit of a cushion. You don’t want to think that way. So I like the way we played today.”

Darcy Kuemper stopped 24 shots for the Coyotes (36-33-7). They are in an 0-3-2 slide, scored four goals on their now-concluded four-game road trip and were shut out for the seventh time.

Brock Nelson finally provided a two-goal margin as he won an offensive zone faceoff in the left circle from Derek Stepan and then scored on a wraparound to the far post at 16:46 of the third period.

The Islanders had the more dangerous scoring chances — in the final minute of the second period, Mathew Barzal’s line with Eberle and Anders Lee along with defensemen Devon Toews and Scott Mayfield provided a clinic in how to maintain offensive zone pressure — and limited the Coyotes to mainly long-range shots and few rebound chances.

Referring to Lehner and goaltending partner Thomas Greiss, Eberle said, “They’re the reason we’re in the position we are. They’ve made some big saves. But we’ve done a good job of helping them out. I’m not taking anything away from them, but the defensive style we’ve played, we’ve done a good job of preventing all the ‘A’ chances and odd-man rushes and they’ve done the rest.”

Lehner provided a crucial save by getting his arm on former Islander Michael Grabner’s shorthanded breakaway at 9:24 of the third period to preserve a one-goal lead.

“Especially when we’re playing our game, we have confidence in being up by one goal,” Lehner said. “Play hard and wait for them to make some mistakes and capitalize on it. At the end of the day, that’s how we’ve played all year. We’re trying to score some goals, but the way we play defensively when everyone pitches in, we’re fine.”

The Islanders entered the weekend off back-to-back shutout defeats, falling to the Bruins, 5-0, at the Coliseum on Tuesday and to the Canadiens, 4-0, in Montreal on Thursday.

But coach Barry Trotz liked the response, especially from his top-six forwards. Josh Bailey broke a 2-2 tie with two goals late in the third period on Saturday after Nelson scored the first goal against the Flyers.

“It just feels right,” Trotz said. “When we play right, it feels right and you don’t really worry about the score as much. We can frustrate teams. All the veteran guys are stepping up. They had gone dry for a little bit.”

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What Chris Kreider injury likely means for Brendan Lemieux

By Peter Botte March 25, 2019 | 1:56am

Brendan Lemieux figures to get at least one more spin with the Rangers’ top line.

Chris Kreider will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury Monday night against Pittsburgh at the Garden. That leaves Lemieux likely to receive another chance on Mika Zibanejad’s flank following a strong initial showing in that spot in Saturday’s overtime win over Toronto.

“I thought he did some good things,” Rangers coach David Quinn said of Lemieux, who was acquired from Winnipeg in February in the Kevin Hayes deal. “Listen, he’s in a role that he hasn’t been in at this level, playing with some good players, and going against the other team’s top line. It’s a different challenge for him through the course of the game. … But I think there’s an offensive side of his game that’s untapped.”

Lemieux, the 23-year-old son of Devils legend Claude, has 11 goals in largely limited ice time (8:25 per game) over 48 appearances this season.

“Any time I go up in the lineup, I have to remember to try to just bring what I bring,” Lemieux said. “I think they know what they’re getting with me and that I’m versatile and can play down or up in the lineup. … I think they knew that from Day 1. I don’t think I have to prove that to them. I just want to show them that I can be effective and maybe prove them right.”

The rebuilding Rangers own three selections in the opening round of the 2019 draft, and they will pick in the top 10 for the second consecutive year.

Last year’s first-rounder, Russian winger Vitali Kravtsov (ninth overall), finished his season with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League with eight goals and 13 assists in 50 games, third-most on the second-lowest scoring team in the league. With his contract expiring on April 30, the Rangers will seek to sign the 19-year-old forward to an entry-level deal.

“Kravtsov had a really good year in the KHL,” Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said Saturday on MSG. “For a young player, to just about lead his team in scoring, to [go to the] World Junior [Championships] and to be so effective — they moved him to center — he did a good job there. So we’re excited to get him over here as soon as we can. I know his contract ends, and we’ll be talking to him soon to see if we can get that job done.”

Kreider didn’t practice and remains day-to-day, but is “inching his way to health,” Quinn said. Defenseman Marc Staal (questionable) also sat out practice after experiencing “a lower-body issue at the end of [Saturday’s] game.” He is questionable against the Penguins.

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The Rangers are finally seeing the other Pavel Buchnevich

By Peter Botte March 24, 2019 | 9:36PM

This is starting to look like the player David Quinn and the Rangers envisioned Pavel Buchnevich could become.

Or this at least had to be the prodded results the Rangers coach was hoping for when he made the Russian winger a healthy scratch multiple times early this season and once more in late January.

Playing mostly on the rebuilding Rangers’ top line recently, alongside top center Mika Zibanejad, Buchnevich notched his sixth goal in 10 games in Saturday’s 2-1 overtime victory in Toronto against the playoff-bound Maple Leafs.

“I just like his demeanor, I like his intentions,” Quinn said when asked about Buchnevich after practice on Sunday. “The goals obviously I think are the byproduct of him doing the things he needs to do to put himself in offensive situations.

“You can have all the skill and talent that you want, but at this level, you have to do things that are allowing your skill set to influence the game out there and I think he’s doing it.”

Nearing the end of his third NHL campaign, Buchnevich has registered a career-high 18 goals over 57 appearances with his recent spurt, despite also missing a month in the first half with a broken thumb.

Still, a lack of engagement had been cause for demotion to the fourth line for several games, until Quinn most recently benched Buchnevich altogether on Jan. 29 against Philadelphia.

“I don’t think I changed something, but I got more ice time and play top lines. … But nothing really changes how I play,” Buchnevich said. “Maybe a little change in my style [after] the last time scratched … [Quinn] told me what he doesn’t like in my game and I tried doing whatever they want and create scoring chances for guys and be involved away from the puck every time.

“That doesn’t matter if it’s a first-line player or fourth-line player, be consistent in my game.”

With the Blueshirts (29-32-13 entering Monday’s home game against Pittsburgh) playing a slew of youngsters regularly amid their ongoing breakdown and rebuild, particularly after the deadline trades of Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello, it’s easy to forget that Buchnevich is just 23 years old, according to general manager Jeff Gorton.

“Pavel in particular has really come on lately, scoring goals, you see his skill level, and he’s been really consistent physically,” Gorton said on MSG before Saturday’s game. “So that’s nice to see as we go down the stretch here.”

Quinn simply called Buchnevich’s recent improvement “the natural progression of a young player” still learning to adapt to NHL competition.

“I think there’s the peaks and valleys, and I’ve talked about this a lot, but guys just don’t come here and become great players overnight,” Quinn said. “I think there’s some adversity that these players have to face and learn how to get to the next level.

“Because to have success at this level, you have to do things that you probably never had to do before. It’s a whole new level, it’s a whole new learning experience. Then compound the fact that he comes over here from Russia and English is his second language and there’s a lot of hurdles for everybody. But he wants to be great. Sometimes there’s battles with him, but at the end of the day, he’s done a heck of a job over the last month.”

New York Post LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137467 New York Rangers

Brendan Lemieux doesn't see end of season as test

By Denis Gorman

Updated March 24, 2019 4:59 PM

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- To hear Brendan Lemieux, the final eight games of this New York Rangers season are not akin to an audition.

As he sees it, the 23-year old is adamant that these games are not a trial run so the organization can determine whether he can fill a role as a top- six forward in 2019-20.

“I think they know what they’re getting with me and they know that I’m versatile, and that I can play down in the lineup and also play up in the lineup,” Lemieux said following practice Sunday at the MSG Training Facility. Lemieux played on the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich in Saturday night’s 2-1 overtime win in Toronto as a replacement for Chris Kreider, who missed the game with a lower-body injury.

During his post-practice media availability, coach David Quinn said Kreider is “still day-to-day and won’t be available for” Monday’s game at the Garden against the Penguins. Quinn also said Marc Staal, who did not participate in practice, sustained “a lower-body issue” in the win over the Leafs.

Against the Leafs, Lemieux recorded a shot on goal in 21 shifts spanning 15:29. But perhaps his most important contribution in the win was creating chaos in front of Frederik Andersen leading to Pavel Buchnevich’s goal that tied the game at one apiece 19 seconds into the third.

Lemieux drove to the net and became entangled with Jake Muzzin in front of Andersen, creating a shooting lane from the right circle for Buchnevich.

“Obviously, he was instrumental in the goal, creating the havoc he did at the net,” Quinn said. “I thought he did good things throughout the game.”

Acquired at the trade deadline along with a first round pick in June’s draft and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2022 draft from Winnipeg for Kevin Hayes, Lemieux has five points (two goals and three assists) in 12 games with the Rangers, where he is averaging 12:06 of ice time per game. By comparison, Lemieux recorded nine goals and two assists in 44 games while receiving 7:25 with the third-in-the-West Jets.

“I think I’m a little surprised from a skill standpoint,” Quinn said of Lemieux, who has provided a physical element (29 hits) and a north- south game to the lineup. “That said, he can’t lose sight of who he is and what’s going to allow him to have success at this level. I think his skill is a byproduct of his mentality.

“Then again, [what] jumped out at me was that he had nine goals before he got here in very little ice time. So you knew there was some offense there and a guy who had capabilities to score some goals. And I think there’s an offensive side to his game that was untapped.”

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 03.25.2019

1137468 Ottawa Senators you gave your team a chance to win and you did everything you possibly could then it’s a little bit easier to leave the rink and say, ‘We’ll get them next time’.”

Craig Anderson's losing streak comes to an end THE LAST WORDS

Returning the lineup Saturday, defenceman Thomas Chabot recorded an Bruce Garrioch assist on Bobby Ryan’s first period goal and picked up his 50th point of the season. According to Statscentre, Chabot is only the fourth blueliner in franchise history to reach that plateau. The others were: Erik Karlsson, Wade Redden and Norm Maciver … With 58 points through 75 games, EDMONTON — That huge sigh of relief you heard after the Ottawa the Senators are on pace for 63 points with seven games left on the Senators win at Rogers Place Saturday night came from goaltender schedule. Last season the club finished with 67 points … in 11 games, Craig Anderson. Crawford has a 4-6-1 record and the victory Saturday was No. 553 of his Winless in 14 games and making his second straight start on the career … Oilers’ coach Ken Hitchcock is impressed with Tkachuk and his Western Canada road swing the Senators wrapped up this trip with the brother Matthew with the Flames. Hitchcock said after the game he two points, the 37-year-old Anderson was finally able to taste victory as watched both players as kids while they were growing up in St. Louis. the club scored a 4-3 overtime decision over the Edmonton Oilers. “Matthew does more in zone and he has great body positioning and Brady has quickness in small spaces,” said Hitchcock. “I’ve been While Anderson had told reporters several times over the course of the watching their kid’s games since first year mite and I didn’t see the last three months that he was trying not to let his record get to him, he quickness that Brady’s got.” was able to leave Edmonton with a smile after Brady Tkachuk’s second goal of the game in overtime gave the Senators the win. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 03.25.2019

And, if you think Anderson’s teammates weren’t happy for him, think again because as coach Marc Crawford noted many rushed to celebrate the victory with the guy who has been the backbone of this team for eight years.

“You could see at the end of the game the guys all went more to Andy thank (Tkachuk),” said Crawford Saturday night. “The fact that all he guys after we scored the goal in overtime, they knew how much it meant for Andy to get off of that bad streak of almost winning and almost getting it.

“So when you finally break through I think the guys recognize it as much as anybody else in the building.”

Anderson even helped set up the winner at 2:51 of OT by starting the play during the three-on-three by starting the play initially. He picked up an assist on Tkachuk’s goal and not only was it Anderson’s second point of the season it was also the 17th of his career.

“I just do what I have to. Maybe I gotta score goals next time,” said Anderson, who made 26 stops in the win. “That’s just the luck of the bounce, just poked it by the first guy and I’m lucky (Connor) McDavid didn’t pick up that loose puck, otherwise, I’m pretty sure he’d probably bury it.

“I got a fortunate bounce there and luckily we got a squeaker on the other end with (Tkachuk) making a huge play for us.”

Crawford told reporters Saturday afternoon one of the reasons he went back to Anderson after the club’s 5-1 loss to the Flames Thursday was his personal history in this building.

Nobody can forget the club’s 2-0 victory in Edmonton on Oct. 31, 2016 when he shut the Oilers out with 37 stops only days after learning his wife Nicholle had been diagnosed with cancer

“There’s some good memories here and some good performances in Edmonton throughout my entire career. I knew if tonight if it didn’t happen then I was probably just going to have to quit hockey because it was just wasn’t going to happen,” Anderson said with a chuckle.

Over the years, Anderson has always been a player that has stayed on an even keel. He doesn’t strike you as someone who ever gets too high or ever gets too low. He’s able to take the good with the bad, but even he admits this last stretch has been challenging.

Mark Borowiecki was telling reporters Thursday before the Senators faced the Flames that he didn’t know about Anderson’s struggles until he mentioned it to the club’s alternate captain during a team meal. There were times during the stretch that Anderson deserved a better fate.

“There’s ups and downs to every season and every game,” he said. “The key is to stick with your basics, stick with your core beliefs and a long time ago someone said to me that sometimes a pitcher could pitch some great games and not get the results because he doesn’t get the run support.

“It’s the same thing for goalies, you can play your best game ever and if you don’t have the support there it can get frustrating and weigh on you. Looking back as a team, you want to win, but if you don’t win you have to look at your individual performance and break it down and if you can say 1137469 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers’ Jake Voracek on key late-season losses: ‘We choked’

by Sam Carchidi,

WASHINGTON — After Sunday’s 3-1 loss in Washington, Flyers right winger Jake Voracek used the c-word — choked — when describing some of the team’s critical losses in recent weeks.

The Flyers put together an 18-4-2 run to get within three points of a playoff spot before fading and losing five of their last seven games and falling out of the race.

Even during their hot streak, they lost crucial games to Montreal and Columbus, teams they are chasing for a playoff berth. In fact, they lost twice to Montreal in critical late-season matchups.

“We had a good push, but unfortunately, anytime we got close — three points, five points — and we played those big teams in front of us [in] those four-point games, we choked,” Voracek said. “We couldn’t find a way to win those big games, and that’s why we are where we are right now.”

The Flyers were seven points behind Montreal for the last wild-card spot entering Sunday night. The Canadiens are playing at Carolina.

Voracek, who reached the 20-goal mark Sunday for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, was asked what he would take out of this season.

“I don’t want to take anything out of this season, to be honest," said the veteran, who is finishing his eighth season with the Flyers. “I had way higher expectations. I think everybody did before we walked into the locker room in training camp. It’s really disappointing. We have to have a good look in the mirror and straighten some things out before we come in next year.”

The Flyers got off to a 15-22-6 start before turning around their season, but the damage had been done.

“We put ourselves in that situation. We couldn’t dig ourselves out," Voracek said after firing a team-high six shots Sunday. “There’s no one else to blame but us.”

Do the Flyers need a lot of offseason changes?

“Tough to say. It’s not my decision,” Voracek said. “I’ve got to prepare myself in the summer and come in here in shape and be a better player, more experienced. Hopefully, we won’t have to focus on digging ourselves out of a hole by December.”

Breakaways

The Flyers were 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and are 46-for-51 (90.2 percent) in their last 21 games since Feb. 11. ... Claude Giroux has no goals, but has eight assists in his last nine games. ... Early in the game, the Flyers switched two of their defensive pairings, as Robert Hagg was with Phil Myers, and Shayne Gostisbehere was with Radko Gudas.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137470 Philadelphia Flyers Wilson had given the Metropolitan-leading Caps a 1-0 lead when he deflected Nick Jensen’s drive past Elliott with 16:08 left in the first. It was Wilson’s fourth goal in four games against the Flyers this season.

Flyers fall to Capitals, get swept in season series for second time in “The last two months were like the playoffs for us," Giroux said. “We history believed we could make the playoffs. We put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs. The last few weeks, it hasn’t gone our way." by Sam Carchidi, Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 03.25.2019

WASHINGTON – For the Flyers, their season is ending the way it started — with too many losses.

The Flyers played much better than they did the previous day, but their late-season fade continued Sunday afternoon as they dropped a 3-1 decision to Washington at Capital One Arena.

After having one of the NHL’s best records for a stretch of more than two months, the Flyers have lost five of their last seven games to fall out of the Eastern Conference wild-card race. That’s more regulation losses than they had in their previous 24 games, when they went 18-4-2 to climb into the playoff hunt.

Braden Holtby made 35 saves to key the victory for the outplayed Capitals.

“That’s a story line we’re privileged to have sometimes — when we’re not at our best, we’ve got one of the best, if not the best in the league, back there making up for some of our mistakes,” said Washington right winger Tom Wilson, who gave the Capitals the lead for good with an early goal.

The Flyers’ tragic number for playoff elimination fell to five points — a combination of points Philadelphia fails to gain, and points Montreal does gain — with six games left. The Flyers are eight points behind the Canadiens, who lost, 2-1, in overtime at Carolina on Sunday night.

The Flyers finished 0-4 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals, the second time they were swept in the series since Washington joined the league in 1974-75. The Caps also won all four games in the 2006-07 series.

In this year’s series, the Caps never trailed at any point in the four games.

The Flyers showed a lot more energy — and had many more quality chances — than in their listless 4-2 home loss Saturday to the Islanders. They outshot the Capitals, 36-30, and had a 74-47 advantage in shot attempts.

“We did a lot of good things. Our D were activating on the rush and I thought we got chances that way,” center Scott Laughton said. “We played a lot better than we have in this stretch we’ve gone through. If you’re going to take a positive, maybe [take] that. ... But we still lost two in a row on the weekend. You can’t lose two in a row, especially with the position we’re in.”

“It seems like the harder we try, the deeper we get,” captain Claude Giroux said after he was minus-2 on the afternoon. “I thought we played a pretty solid game. They had two point shots they tipped and found a way to get in.”

Early in the third period, Holtby made two key power-play saves on Jake Voracek (six shots) to keep the Capitals ahead, 2-1. He then made a nice stop on a ticketed drive by Oskar Lindblom after the power play had expired.

With 11:53 left, defenseman Phil Myers couldn’t keep the puck in the offensive zone and Brett Connolly fed Jakub Vrana, who scored on a breakaway to put the Caps ahead, 3-1.

The Flyers dominated the second period and, while on a power play, finally solved Holtby as Voracek scored from a bad-angle shot from deep in the right circle near the sideboards. It was Voracek’s 20th goal and it sliced the Caps’ lead to 2-1 with 2:50 left in the second period.

The Flyers, who had a 20-7 shots advantage in the second period, had peppered Holtby with seven straight shots before the Caps took advantage of a Sean Couturier turnover and took a 2-0 lead midway through the stanza. Fourth-line center Travis Boyd scored on a deflection of Matt Niskanen’s shot for his first goal in 25 games.

Brian Elliott (27 saves) had denied Andre Burakovsky and Connolly on separate two-on-ones earlier in the second period. 1137471 Philadelphia Flyers

Claude Giroux’s season assessment already sounds like postmortem

By Wayne Fish / www.flyingfishhockey.com

WASHINGTON — The playoff dream might not be officially over but one look at Claude Giroux’s facial expressions the past two post-games indicates it is.

The Flyers captain got choked up after Saturday’s bitter loss to the New York Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center and his disposition wasn’t much better after Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Capitals.

If the Flyers don’t make the postseason, it will make it seven years since the Flyers were able to put back-to-back playoff seasons together, something that has to be eating at the 31-year-old forward.

The question that loomed large in the Flyers’ locker room was: Did that 18-4-2 push simply drain the Flyers too much down the stretch?

Jake Voracek answered that by saying the Flyers didn’t play “big″ enough in the big games. He even used the “choke″ word.

Giroux’s language wasn’t that strong but clearly he’s frustrated by his team’s inability to get the job done in clutch situations.

Two fairly recent losses to Montreal, one of the teams they had been chasing for a wild card spot, proved particularly vexing.

“Right now, it just feels that the harder we try, the deeper we get,″ Giroux said. “I thought we played a pretty solid game tonight. They had two point shots that were both tipped and find a way to get in.″

At times, the Flyers just look like a team that’s emotionally spent. With the exception of wins at Pittsburgh and Chicago, they’ve been chasing games from the outset, which is not a formula for success.

“The last two months (during the good run), we knew those were playoff games for us,″ Giroux said. “We battled hard to get back in the standings, give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs. Right now it’s just not going our way.

“It’s not a secret (that) it’s real tough to get in. But not two weeks ago, we had real confidence in our group. We liked the way we were playing. The last two weeks haven’t gone our way.″

So where do the Flyers go from here?

“We can’t lose two in a row, especially in the position we’re in,″ Scott Laughton said.

Voracek has been through this before. It can be frustrating.

“I don’t want to take anything out of this season,″ he said. “I had high expectations. I think everyone did before we walked into the locker room (back in training camp in September). It’s disappointing. We have to have a good look in the mirror and straighten some things out here before we come in next year.

“We had a good record (in January and February), it just wasn’t good enough. We put ourselves in that situation, we couldn’t dig ourselves out of it. There’s no one to blame but us.″

Burlington County Times LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137472 Philadelphia Flyers Coach Scott Gordon liked the way his team responded and corrected some things after the difficult loss to the Islanders.

“We were slow (vs. Islanders) closing in the defensive zone,″ Gordon Flyers’ playoff hopes all but over after loss to Caps said. “The opportunities to squash plays before they developed, we didn’t do a very good job of it against the Islanders. That was the difference today.″ By Wayne Fish / www.flyingfishhockey.com Elliott kept the Flyers in it but had no chance on the Boyd and Vrana goals.

WASHINGTON — Get ready to turn out the lights. The party’s just about “I thought the guys did a really good job,″ he said. “Especially coming over. back from yesterday, bringing the effort that did this afternoon. We generated a lot of chances, just a couple mistakes led to some odd-man After losing to the Capitals on Sunday, the Flyers found themselves still rushes. That’s where they got their chances.″ at least seven points out of a playoff spot with only six games to play. Short shots And pending Sunday night’s Montreal at Carolina game, the Flyers could be nine points out, meaning their “tragic″ number could be down to four. There was some confusion at the start of the game when the Flyers submitted a lineup card with Phil Varone’s name on it. The only problem Mathematically, the Flyers might be out of it as early as Wednesday. was, Justin Bailey was supposed to be on it. It took a few minutes to By dropping a 3-1 decision at Capital One Arena, the Flyers were swept straighten things out but no penalty was called. ... The Flyers are off from by the Capitals for only the second time since Washington began NHL practice Monday. They don’t play again until Wednesday when they host play back in 1974-75. The only other time was in 2006-07, the worst Toronto. season in Flyers’ history. Burlington County Times LOADED: 03.25.2019 Truth be told, the Flyers gave it a game effort against the Caps, putting 36 shots on Brayden Holtby and launching a total of 74 if you count missed and blocked shots.

The Flyers have dropped five of their last seven games after a stretch of 18-4-2 going back to Jan. 12.

Having given so much for two months, it was almost inevitable that the Flyers would run out of gas down the stretch, playing teams like the Capitals and the Islanders three times each.

Jake Voracek, facing the reality of the situation, said the Flyers didn’t come up big in the big games and ultimately that led to their downfall.

“We had a good push,″ he acknowledged after the game, “but every time we got close — three points, five points — and played those big teams in front of us (such as Montreal) ... those four-point games, we choked.″

Strong words.

“We couldn’t find a way to win those big games. That’s why we are where we are right now.″

Scott Laughton says the Flyers put enough energy into this effort but Holtby and a tight Washington defense did the job. The Caps aren’t defending Stanley Cup champions for nothing.

“We did a lot of good things,″ Laughton said. “Our defense activated the rush and we got a lot of chances that way, a lot better than in that stretch (2-5) we’ve been going through.

“We were closing on them better (than Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Islanders).″

A power-play goal by Voracek with 2:50 left in the second period pulled the Flyers to within 2-1.

Voracek took advantage of a loose puck in the right circle and rifled a shot past Holtby.

The goal was Voracek’s 20th of the season, giving the Flyers five 20-goal scorers.

Washington jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Dmitrij Jaskin tipped Matt Niskanen’s shot past goaltender Brian Elliott at 3:52.

That made it a quick uphill battle for the Flyers, who are just 15-27-3 when an opponent scores first.

During the middle of the second period, the Flyers dominated play for a good five minutes, with Holtby getting peppered with shots left and right. But when that stretch ended, the Flyers gave up a second goal. This time another Niskanen shot was tipped past Elliott by Travis Boyd at 10:47.

Washington moved to a 3-1 lead at 8:07 of the third period on a Phil Myers bad-luck turnover, leading to a breakaway goal from Jakub Vrana. On the play, it looked like Myers was trying to cover for Robert Hagg, who had pinched in low.

“I tried to keep the puck in there,″ Myers said. “It hopped over my stick.″ 1137473 Philadelphia Flyers "It's tough to make excuses," James van Riemsdyk said. "This time of year you have to find a way to win games. The schedule is what it is. Ultimately, we're just trying to put our best foot forward every day. No one Parent: Voracek, Giroux and Flyers have that familiar empty feeling again is quitting in here."

Maybe not, but their countdowns are now trained on calendars rather than hockey standings. By Rob Parent [email protected] @ReluctantSE on Twitter 3 hrs ago Comments With a new general manager in Chuck Fletcher who keeps his feelings — and all his words — close to the vest, and an interim head coach in Scott Gordon who likely has no idea where or if he'll be working by June, the issues for the Flyers now go from spring dreams to those familiar WASHINGTON D.C. — Long educated in the art of early-spring fizzles, summer realities. the Flyers surprisingly did more than merely go through the motions Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena, realizing that another playoff "I don't want to take anything out of this season, to be honest," Voracek miss doesn't necessitate a matching loss of dignity. said. "We had higher expectations. I think everybody did, before we walked into the locker room at training camp. It's real disappointing. It So with another season's expiration only a matter of mathematics, the sucks. ... We have to have a good look in the mirror, straighten some Flyers did their best to act mentally fueled against D.C.'s defending things out here before we come (back) next year." Stanley Cup champions, but really couldn't carry themselves past the fact that — as they had shown time and again recently — they're really Then they get to do it all over again. gassed physically. Delaware County Times LOADED: 03.25.2019 Still play-acting the part of playoff-position pursuers, the Flyers played about as well as their late-March legs would allow them in a 3-1 defeat to the Capitals, chalking up their fifth loss in seven games while still officially refusing to bow to reality.

Unofficially, the white flag had been recognized and raised the day before anyway.

"It just feels like the harder we try, the deeper we get," Claude Giroux said. "I thought we played a pretty solid game ... they had two point shots that were both tipped and found a way to get in."

It really was that close, with a turnover by rookie defenseman Phil Myers leading to a clinching breakaway goal by Washington's Jakub Vrana late in the third period to further dim the season lights.

By nightfall Sunday, Montreal would be playing in Carolina, and with a win by the Habs the Flyers could be nine points out of a playoff spot with just six games to play.

All the new math in the world isn't going to change the summary of that equation. So Jake Voracek thought it was about time for a summary of his own.

"We knew we had to keep pushing to have a chance," said Voracek, who along with Giroux will be heading for their fourth non-playoff finish as Flyers. "You're going to lose some games ... we had a good push. But unfortunately, every time we got close, when we got to (within) three points or five points, we played those big teams in front of us. In those four-point games, we choked. That's why we are where we are right now."

Win, lose or withdraw, all that mattered for the Flyers on this day was putting forth an improved effort over Saturday's downer of a 4-2 home loss to the Islanders. At least that was achieved, putting up a fight worthy of a team that knows it's not good enough but usually only admits it after the playoff window closes.

That's happened to the Flyers four times in the last seven seasons.

Despite their 18-4-2 comeback charge of February and early March, essentially going from 16 points out to within three points of those Eastern Conference playoff chairs, the tired Flyers are once more going out like lambs being led to slaughter.

"I think we started to play a little better; it just wasn't enough," Voracek said. "We put ourselves in that situation. We couldn't dig ourselves out of it. There's no one to blame but us."

"It's not a secret, right? It's going to be real tough to get in," Giroux added. "Two weeks ago I think we had confidence in our group. We liked the way we were playing. But the last two weeks hasn't gone our way."

Word was passed through the team's professional cheerleaders that a flu had devastated the locker room of late, the logical conclusion that these Flyers should be commended for hanging in there ... even if they really weren't.

That hot take has gone cold fast.

Regardless of the temperature(s) in the room, another late-season bow- out is, as they say, what it is. 1137474 Philadelphia Flyers

Why this year's Flyers team has been an analytics nightmare

By John Boruk March 24, 2019 9:30 PM

WASHINGTON — At least the Flyers spared us from the throwaway cliché of “If we play like this, we’ll win a lot of games this season” following their 3-1 loss to the Capitals on Sunday afternoon (see observations).

It’a an all-too overused line that is thrown out there when a team dominates in possession time and by outshooting their opponent by a significant margin, only to be on the short end of the final score — much like the Flyers were in Washington.

It’s hardly believable on a number of levels.

First, only the elite teams in the league dominate possession consistently over the course of an 82-game season enough to actually believe that, and secondly, the Flyers have proven when they do play like that, they simply don’t win.

The Flyers have been an analytics nightmare this season when it comes to the metrics of shot totals.

The “Corsi For Percentage” at even strength metric is an easy computation of the team that attempts more shots (shots on goal, blocked shots and missed shots) than its opponent. Over the course of an 82-game season, the conventional wisdom is that the better Corsi teams will win a higher percentage of games.

Quite simply, more volume equates to more victories.

For the most part, this season has played out like the proponents of advanced metrics would have hoped for. The top ten teams in the CF% metric are currently occupying a playoff spot, while eight of the bottom 10 teams are currently outside the playoff picture.

Except in the case of the 2018-19 Flyers, who are a completely flawed team in the analytics department.

Sunday’s game was yet another example of the Flyers dominating possession and shot totals only to lose, and the most puzzling part is that this has been the case all season long.

When outshooting their opponents, the Flyers are a dismal 10-20-2, but when they’ve been outshot, they’re a head scratching 23-12-6. You’d expect those records to be flipped.

Under interim head coach Scott Gordon, those lopsided shot totals are even more tilted. The Flyers' CF% is 43.7 percent in the team’s wins under Gordon and nearly even at 50.5 percent in their losses.

By comparison, the Ottawa Senators, as you might expect, own the worst Corsi For Percentage in the NHL at 45.1 percent, as they’ve played the majority of their games in the defensive zone this season.

But how does one explain the Flyers?

During their eight-game winning streak in January, the team's CF% was a miserable 41.4 percent when rookie Carter Hart was bailing them out on a nightly basis. Throughout their eight-game winless stretch in December and January, it was a very respectable 52.3 percent.

Numbers don’t always tell the whole story.

With the Flyers this season, they seem to be telling us a lie.

They needed to win the majority of games in which they outplayed the opposition, and to win a handful of games when they didn’t.

Jakub Voracek may have summarized it best Sunday: “I don’t want to take anything out of this season, to be honest. I had way higher expectations. I think everybody did. It’s really disappointing. It sucks.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137475 Philadelphia Flyers

Capitals 3, Flyers 1: Swept by defending champs as 2018-19 run nearing end

By John Boruk March 24, 2019 3:03 PM

WASHINGTON — The Capitals completed a four-game season sweep of the Flyers for the first time since the 2006-07 season following a 3-1 win Sunday at Capital One Arena.

Back-to-back losses to the Islanders and Capitals will almost ensure the Flyers won’t qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The highest point total the Flyers can finish with is 92, if they can run the table over their final six games.

Here are my observations from Capital One Arena:

• The Flyers entered this game having surrendered an average of 42 shots per game over their last five games — the most they’ve allowed in any five-game stretch this season. Against the Capitals, though, they were clearly the better team, controlling play as they dominated in shot attempts by an overwhelming 44-10 margin in the second period alone, but couldn’t generate the game-tying goal. You have to wonder where that energy level was Saturday against the Islanders.

• The Flyers need a Tom Wilson-type player for next season. Wayne Simmonds was that kind of player in his prime, but no longer. The closest they had was Scott Hartnell, who played a similar style.

Wilson was a first-round pick because of his skill level combined with the edge he brings to the ice. The Caps simply don’t win the Stanley Cup without his feisty and chippy play, which was a difference maker in the Cup Final. With his 1-0 goal in this game, Wilson now has a career-high 22 goals this season, four of those against the Flyers.

• Sean Couturier will be my vote for the Bobby Clarke award as the Flyers' MVP this season with his all-around, two-way play, and a second straight 30-goal season.

However, I don’t think Couturier has had a Selke-worthy season like he showed in 2017-18 when he finished second to Anze Kopitar. Couturier was nearly flawless last season in his defensive positioning and his puck management in his end of the ice, but not quite as good this season. He had one of those miscues that led to the Caps' second goal of the game.

• The defensive pairing of Robert Hagg and Radko Gudas had apparently run its course. After the Hagg-Gudas pair looked awful in the game against the Islanders, it wasn't much better in the opening 10 minutes of this game.

The Flyers played much better defensively once interim head coach Scott Gordon paired Hagg with Philippe Myers and Gudas with Shayne Gostisbehere. However, the Flyers were exploited with the fourth line on the ice and Hagg pinching deep with no recognition from the forwards, which led to Jakub Vrana’s breakaway goal.

V's feeling 22 (goals)! #ALLCAPS #CapsFlyers pic.twitter.com/0srMGbjnsz

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 24, 2019

• Jakub Voracek scored a power-play goal, giving him 20 goals for the season and the sixth time in his last seven seasons in Philadelphia. While Voracek will never be considered a pure goal scorer, this puts him near exclusive company. Only 20 current players have six 20-goal seasons over the last seven seasons.

• Did you catch the delay before the opening faceoff? Phil Varone’s name was on the lineup card submitted to the official scorer, but Varone was a healthy scratch in favor of Justin Bailey. Had the change not been made prior to the faceoff, Bailey would have been ruled ineligible, according to rule 5.2 in the NHL rulebook, and the Flyers would have been forced to play with 11 forwards (which they’ve done a handful of times over the past month).

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137476 Philadelphia Flyers Defensemen

Ivan Provorov - Travis Sanheim

Flyers at Capitals: Live stream, storylines, game time and more Shayne Gostisbehere - Philippe Myers

Robert Hägg- Radko Gudas

By John Boruk March 24, 2019 9:50 AM Goalies

Brian Elliott

Can the Flyers avoid their first sweep to the Capitals since the 2006-07 Carter Hart season? Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 The Philadelphia Flyers (36-31-8, 80 points) will face the Washington Capitals (43-24-8, 94 points) for the fourth and final time this season.

The Flyers enter Sunday seven points out of the wild card chase behind the Montreal Canadiens with seven games remaining in the regular season for both teams.

Other games vital to the Flyers’ playoff chances:

• Montreal at Carolina, 7 p.m.

• Columbus at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

Let's take a look at today's essentials:

• When: 12:30 p.m. EST

• Where: Capital One Center

• Broadcast: NBC

• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app

• After Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Islanders, head coach Scott Gordon now has the same number of regulation losses (15) and overtime losses (4) as Dave Hakstol had this season. However, Gordon has amassed twice as many wins (24 to Hakstol’s 12).

Gordon mentioned that an element of fatigue has set in with a bug spreading its way throughout the locker room, coupled with the Flyers’ high level of play since mid-January.

“I think that we just need to dig down and we all have more, we all have better, and including myself. I think we just all need to dig down deeper.” - Flyers goaltender Carter Hart.

• Over their past five games the Flyers have allowed an average of 42 shots per game. It’s their most allowed over a five-game stretch this season.

• Claude Giroux comes into Sunday’s game with a five-game point streak after adding an assist in a 4-2 loss to the Islanders Saturday.

With that point, Giroux topped 60 assists for the third time and hit the 80- point mark for the fourth time in his 12-year career.

Since 2011-12, only Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby has more 80-point seasons (6) than Giroux, who’s tied with Toronto’s John Tavares.

• With his goal on Saturday, defenseman Robert Hägg extended his career-best season with five goals and 19 points, more than double his rookie season total of eight points.

• Over the Flyers last eight games the penalty kill has successfully killed off 22 of 23 power play opportunities. Against the Islanders, it was exceptionally good, successfully killing all five chances including 2:35 of a 5-on-3 advantage.

• For winning the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship, the Washington Capitals will visit the White House Monday. Goaltender Braden Holtby and forward Brett Connolly have declined the invitation and will not join their teammates.

Projected lineup

Forwards

Oskar Lindblom - Sean Couturier - Claude Giroux

James van Riemsdyk - Nolan Patrick - Jake Voracek

Ryan Hartman - Scott Laughton - Travis Konecny

Michael Raffl - Corban Knight - Justin Bailey 1137477 Philadelphia Flyers

No Johnny Boychuk drama, but Jakub Voracek, Flyers honest about their reality

By Jordan Hall March 24, 2019 12:00 AM

The Flyers aren't fooling themselves.

There's a sense of reality setting in with the Flyers that they're running out of lives and postgame lines. They've lost four of their last six games after making a furious run from Jan. 14 to March 11, going 18-4-2 with a plus-22 goal differential.

To sustain such a pace over the final 13 games of the regular season would have been awfully difficult and the Flyers are noticing it, with another nail being hammered into the coffin Saturday afternoon courtesy of a 4-2 loss to the Islanders (see observations).

Inconsistency has reared its ugly over this 2-4-0 stretch, which has the Flyers seven points out of the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot with seven games to go (see standings). In particular Saturday, the inconsistency bit the Flyers during the second period. They were outshot 15-5 and the Islanders pinned the Flyers in the defensive zone while taking a 2-1 lead.

Too often have the Flyers been burned by a poor period of play. Saturday was no different despite the Flyers tying the game early in the final stanza.

"Especially today, we were god-awful, oh my God in the second," Jakub Voracek said of the middle period. "I don't think we had a shot in the first 10 minutes. When they get zone time, they do a great job cycling us and keep the puck away from their net. I don't think we were moving well enough in the second period to give ourselves a chance to create something."

The Flyers have tried wiping the slate and turning the page after each difficult loss, but players are human and realistic, as well. Saturday marked the Flyers' third straight loss at the Wells Fargo Center, which this team simply could not afford.

"It sucks, that's the feeling right now, they played better than we did the whole game," Robert Hagg said. "We didn't deserve to win today, so, right now, yes, I have a terrible feeling."

The Islanders stayed away from the drama and decided to instead get the best of the Flyers on the scoreboard. Johnny Boychuk and New York didn't seek retaliation for Voracek's interference two weeks ago, a play that didn't really warrant retaliation anyway.

But when Boychuk angrily called out Voracek after the collision during the third period of the March 9 game, an attempt at payback was possible Saturday.

"There was no talking about the Voracek thing," Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said. "Those two will figure it out down the road, but Johnny is one of those ultimate team guys. He knows how important what we're trying to do is, he knows how important this game was. There was no 'me' in his thought process, it was all about 'we.'"

Boychuk was back in the lineup for the first time since the incident with Voracek. He had been mostly a healthy scratch, so it seemed like a not- so-coincidental return.

"I expected something was going to happen," Voracek. "It didn't. I'm not going to say I was unhappy about that. He played a great game.

"We just blew it."

No sugarcoating it, not with where the Flyers are now.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137478 Philadelphia Flyers Breaking up the defense

Ever since Jan. 31 in Boston, the Flyers have had Robert Hägg and Radko Gudas together as a defense pair on a regular basis. Unlike the Flyers 5 takeaways: ‘the harder we try, the deeper we get’ other two pairs, there’s no puck-mover on that one so it makes sense that two stay-at-home defensemen paired together wouldn’t fare well in the analytics department. Dave Isaac, Cherry Hill Courier-Post Published 4:30 p.m. ET March 24, 2019 According to NaturalStatTrick.com, leading up to Sunday’s game the pair of Hägg and Gudas had been together for 398 minutes of play at even strength this season and were a minus-108 in shot attempts. In the second period, the Flyers finally broke that pair up and put Hägg with WASHINGTON — Going 0-for-2 in a weekend is devastating when the Myers and Gudas with Shayne Gostisbehere. season is on the line. “NHL D here. I’m not complaining,” Myers said. “They’re all good If Saturday’s loss to the New York Islanders wasn’t the final dagger, a 3-1 defensemen. I like playing with Bob and I thought we had some pretty defeat to the Washington Capitals on Sunday likely was. good chemistry out there. Try to build on that and move forward.” The Flyers haven’t been mathematically eliminated yet. There’s still six “I think (assistant coach Rick Wilson) was just mixing and matching games to play and in some alternate universe they might get a world of based on the matchups and putting one out for certain shifts,” interim help from other teams and win all six of those games to sneak into the coach Scott Gordon added. “There was nothing that was structured as playoffs. permeant. Even these Flyers know that likely won’t happen. “Wils mixes them up. Sometimes he’ll put, depending on what the “Right now it just feels like the harder we try, the deeper we get,” captain situation is, he might put one of the pairs out with the other pair because Claude Giroux said. “I thought we played a pretty solid game tonight. we don’t have the last change. That happens quite frequently on the They had two point shots they were able to tip and find a way to get in.” road.”

Tom Wilson and Travis Boyd tipped pucks behind Brian Elliott and Jakub van Riemsdyk wanted in Washington Vrana scored on a breakaway in the third period. Braden Holtby had 35 The Capitals weren’t big fans of James van Riemsdyk in the third period saves at the other end of the ice. when he appeared to get his stick between the knees of Holtby in a drive- It’s the kind of game the Flyers could have lived with in November. Not in by behind the Washington net. Holtby made sure to retaliate with a slash late March. once the Flyers forward positioned himself in front to screen the goalie.

“They made us pay. They’re a good team. They made us pay all year, I JVR pitchforks Braden Holtby in the skate behind the net. Holtby slashes guess,” said Scott Laughton, referencing the second time the Capitals him at the feet as he skates by. pic.twitter.com/As4HjqzbHd had ever swept the season series against the Flyers. “Yeah, we maybe — Ian Oland (@ianoland) March 24, 2019 could find more traffic and get pucks in that way but I thought we did some good things out there.” “I don't know what he was so frustrated about,” Wilson said, “but it's pretty dirty when you go down on a guy’s knees. We’ve played against There’s not much consolation with six games left and the Flyers have to him for a long time, and he's a good player in this league and I think play out the string. They could be eliminated as soon as this week. sometimes emotions just get high. We’ll leave it at that. It's nice to get After an 18-4-2 run from Jan. 14 to March 11, the Flyers have won only two points at the end of a night like that, for sure.” two of the next seven games. “You just try and protect yourself at this point in the season and make “We knew we had to keep pushing to have a chance,” said Jake sure you don't get hit and hurt,” Holtby said. “Got lucky at the end when Voracek, the Flyers’ lone goal scorer Sunday. “I wouldn’t say it’s tough van Riemsdyk tried to push the outside of my knee. That's a dirty play emotionally. You’re gonna lose some games, unless you’re Tampa and and you just try to block it out and keep playing.” you lose 10 games all year. You’re gonna lose some games. Lineup malfunction Unfortunately it felt like in that push we had, we had a good push but unfortunately any time we got close to three points, five points and we There was some confusion to start the game when the NHL was under played those big teams in front of us, those four-point games, we choked. the impression that Phil Varone was playing and Justin Bailey was not. We couldn’t find a way to win those big games and that’s why we are where we are right now. The Flyers had an extra forward on the ice for warmups, but Bailey took all the line rushes and Varone didn’t take one. On-ice officials huddled “I don’t know for the other players or the other guys. For me, it’s the before dropping the opening faceoff and the Capitals were pining for a same approach. It’s an NHL hockey game. I’m happy I’m here and penalty, but no such rule exists. playing hockey in the best league in the (world). That’s the way I look at it. I’m gonna work my (bag) off until Game 82 and we’ll see what’s gonna Rule 5.1 in the NHL’s rule book reads in part “A list of names and happen after.” numbers of all eligible players must be handed to the Official Scorer before the game, and no change shall be permitted in the list or addition Here are four more takeaways from Sunday’s game… thereto shall be permitted after the commencement of the game.

Much better second period Prior to the game, if an official (on-ice or off-ice) notices that a player is in uniform but has not been included on the Official Game Report, the A day after Jake Voracek called the Flyers’ second period against the Referee shall bring this to the attention of the offending team so that the Islanders “godawful,” he scored a goal in the middle frame to finally get necessary correction can be made to the Official Game Report (and no something tangible for all the work his team did. penalty is assessed).” The second period saw the Flyers dominate the Capitals 20-7 in shots Had they not caught the mistake until after the game had started, the and 37-9 in shot attempts. In goals, however, they were tied 1-1 in the Flyers would have had to roll with 11 forwards. According to Rule 5.2, a period and 2-1 in the game. player not listed on the coach’s lineup card is ineligible and it appeared “I think we put a good effort in in the second,” defenseman Phil Myers as though Bailey was not. said. “I think we played good as a team and when times get tough like “There was no name on that roster so…short story, his name wasn’t put that we just gotta stick with it and battle through it. Just gotta learn from on the roster, Bailey’s,” Gordon said. “That’s all.” that and move on.” Dave Isaac “It’s not bad, to walk away and go into the locker room 2-1 down in Washington,” Voracek added. “We had a power play in the third in the Courier-Post LOADED: 03.25.2019 beginning, a couple of chances there, and then we had to open it up a little bit unfortunately they came down and scored a breakaway.” 1137479 Pittsburgh Penguins “It’s a little bit different when you have a whole season ahead of you,” Sullivan said. “You’re trying to manage the short-term with the big picture as well.

Don’t look now, but Matt Murray has become a workhorse “I think what we have learned is that Matt can handle a workload. That’s certainly a positive sign from our standpoint. He’s playing really well for us right now.” JASON MACKEY ‘On our toes’ MAR 24, 2019 8:31 AM The Penguins are among the NHL leaders in six-on-five goals allowed, with only three teams having given up more than their seven.

DALLAS — Matt Murray used the word “sick” to describe teammate Credit to them, they found a way to solve that problem Saturday: Bryan Jared McCann, who delivered the highlight of the night on Saturday. Rust took a holding penalty with 80 seconds left, turning it into a six-on- four for the Stars, who pulled goaltender Anton Khudobin. McCann might not be the only one who fits that description. The Penguins have coughed up only one six-on-four goal this season. Murray has been pretty sick himself, and he might actually be sick enough to enjoy all this work. Saturday was an extremely busy night for “We don’t make it easy on ourselves,” Sidney Crosby said. “Not just six- Murray, the result of a poor start for the Penguins and a late push by the on-five, had to make it six-on-four and really test ourselves. That was a Dallas Stars, one that ultimately fell short in Pittsburgh’s 3-2 win. big kill. Murr made some unbelievable saves all night. It was good to close that one out that way.” In all, Murray faced 31 shots, stopped 29 and improved to 7-2-2 in his past 11 starts, during which he has a 2.07 goals-against average and Murray was tremendous on the kill, but a ton of credit should also go to .939 save percentage. the skaters in front of him, who were ultra-aggressive in taking away opportunities for the Stars. On Saturday, Murray faced a total of 19 high-danger chances, an absolutely absurd number, and he stopped every single one of them. The worst thing the Penguins could’ve done in that situation was sit back, and they resisted that temptation. “I think Matt’s playing his best hockey of the year,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “There’s no doubt.” “I thought our guys did a really good job killing that penalty,” Sullivan said. “I thought we were aggressive. We were on our toes. We did a job There’s also a reason. keeping the puck under pressure and not allowing them to get to a setup. And that’s what might make Murray a bit nutty. “That’s when I think our team is at its best, when we have that In a completely good and ultra-competitive sort of way, as Murray seems cooperative pressure and we use our quickness and our stick detail and to be relishing the heavy workload. things of that nature to put power plays under pressure.

That 11-start stretch traces back to a key date: March 2, in Montreal, “That’s an indication of our confidence level that we didn’t sink. We when Sullivan decided to start Murray on back-to-back nights. stayed on our toes, and we were aggressive.”

Since then, nobody in the NHL has faced more shots than Murray (360), Notes and numbers and nobody has more wins. Going back a few more games, to Feb. 23, • Jake Guentzel’s first-period, power-play goal ended a couple streaks. It nobody has made more than Murray’s 14 starts. snapped an 0-for-11 slump on the power play, while it served as the first Since March 2, Murray ranks second in high-danger shots faced in all first-period goal the Penguins have scored in seven games. situations (85) and first in saves made (76). His high-danger save • The Penguins blocked 17 Dallas shots, including at least one from 12 percentage of .894 ranks No. 1 among goaltenders who’ve started at different skaters. least 10 games. • Guentzel now needs just two goals over the Penguins’ final six games Part of playing Murray more now, Sullivan would explain late Saturday to reach 40. If he gets there, he’ll become the 20th player in Penguins night, involves where the Penguins are at in their season. In October or history to reach that mark. Only one player aside from Sidney Crosby November, the coach had to think about this being a grind and there and Evgeni Malkin — James Neal in 2011-12 — has scored 40 since the being a lot of hockey ahead. beginning of the Crosby/Malkin Era. Not so much anymore. Jason Mackey The Penguins need points, and Murray has often provided the best Post Gazette LOADED: 03.25.2019 opportunity for them get those. The result has been Murray playing a lot, seeing a ton of shots and seemingly being better for it.

“I talk to [Murray] daily about how he’s feeling,” Sullivan said. “His answer to me every day is the same. He feels good. He feels sharp. He’s confident. He wants to be in the net. And he’s showing it through his play.”

It’s almost as if Murray enjoys the guy. No longer must he look over his shoulder for Marc-Andre Fleury or worry about Casey DeSmith starting against top teams.

It’s a pretty big departure from how Murray was handled prior in his career, when the Penguins seemed careful not to over-tax him or unnecessarily risk injury.

“He’s competing hard,” Sullivan said. “When he’s playing the way he’s been playing, he’s one of the top goaltenders in the league.”

The whole situation screams learning experience, doesn’t it? The Penguins played it cautious. They were a little conservative. And for good reason. Murray struggled to stay healthy. You can’t just keep running a guy out there when he gets hurt all the time.

But it seems like Murray has finally solved the Catch 22. He’s playing better because he’s playing more, and they’re playing him more because he’s playing better. 1137480 San Jose Sharks If the team felt differently, DeBoer claims he’d know. It would infect every aspect of the Sharks game.

“If there’s not a belief system there, and I’ve had teams where there isn’t DeBoer explains why Sharks never considered a goalie trade at deadline that belief system, it affects your entire game,” the Sharks coach said. Pete DeBoer says talk of a goalie trade ‘never came up’ before the “You play differently. You’re not as aggressive. You’re waiting for bad deadline. things to happen. I don’t think the belief system’s ever wavered. The challenge is, we need everybody’s highest level of game. We’re not asking them to play at a higher level than they have played before.

By Paul Gackle | [email protected] | Bay Area News “But we need that game consistently.” Group The Sharks belief in Jones centers on his four-year track record with the PUBLISHED: March 24, 2019 at 3:11 pm | UPDATED: March 24, 2019 at team, especially his performance in the playoffs. Jones will enter this 6:24 PM year’s tournament with a .926 save percentage in 42 career-playoff appearances. The team also insists that Jones’ standing as hockey’s

third-winningest goalie this season (34 wins) suggests that he pitches to SAN JOSE — As Alex Stalock struggled through his last three months the score, elevating his performance when it counts. with the Sharks, Doug Wilson made a tough decision: he traded one of “I’m not worried at all. I feel like they’re going to hit their peak here,” the most popular players in his dressing room to shore up the team’s Thornton said. “I know Deller, in big games, is going to be there. I know goaltending down the stretch. Jonesy, he’s proven it in the past. Yeah, their numbers might not be Martin Jones was in his first season as a full-time starting goalie and the (great), I haven’t even looked at the numbers. But I know they’re winning Sharks braintrust wanted a reliable plan B in case he stumbled in the games.” playoffs. Wilson traded for James Reimer, Jones flourished in the — Both Erik Karlsson and Joe Pavelski will miss Monday’s game against playoffs and the Sharks reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in the Detroit Red Wings at SAP Center. Pavelski will miss his fourth franchise history. straight game with a lower-body injury while Karlsson will be sidelined for Facing a similar dilemma this season, the Sharks took the opposite path, his 12th consecutive game with a groin ailment that’s hampered him refusing to even entertain the option of a goalie move at the trade since Jan. 15. deadline. DeBoer declined the opportunity to rule Karlsson out for the rest of the “Removing one of these guys has never come up in a conversation,” week, changing course from the approach he’s taken since the two-time head coach Pete DeBoer said. “That’s the God’s honest truth. It’s never Norris Trophy winner re-tweaked his groin injury in Boston on Feb. 26. even been a discussion point.” “I’m not going out past (Monday),” the Sharks coach said. “I’ve told you After shaky goaltending played a role in a third consecutive Sharks loss guys where I’m at. There’s no hidden information. But I can’t tell you. The on Friday, DeBoer spoke bluntly about the issue, acknowledging the game after that’s five days from now. I don’t know.” concern that’s stirring anxiety throughout the team’s fan base: “you can’t — Logan Couture and Evander Kane both missed Sunday’s practice for win in this league with an .800 to .900 save percentage.” maintenance purposes. Couture is recovering from a flu-bug that With just seven games left on the schedule, the Sharks are heading sidelined him for the Sharks loss in Los Angeles on March 21. toward the playoffs ranked dead-last in save percentage (89.06 percent), San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 03.25.2019 raising concerns that goaltending could derail a season in which the Sharks went all-in by trading for Erik Karlsson on the eve of training camp. The goaltending woes are particularly frustrating because they’re hindering the Sharks in a season where they’re shattering franchise records, setting a new-team mark by scoring 266 goals.

The problem isn’t exactly new. The Sharks have ranked toward the bottom of the league in even strength save percentage throughout most of the season, making goaltending a potential area of need heading toward the trade deadline. On Feb. 25, Jones ranked 43rd in save percentage (.897) and Aaron Dell was 50th (.892). With veteran goalies, such as Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings, Brian Elliott of the Philadelphia Flyers and Ryan Miller of the Anaheim Ducks, facing unrestricted free agency this summer, Wilson had opportunities to explore the possibility of acquiring an insurance policy.

Instead, he opted to stick with his goalies, citing the team’s belief in Jones and Dell as one of the variables that factored into his decision. Trading a popular goalie can disrupt a team’s chemistry, especially when the guys are willing to work their tales off for him. In addition, Jones appeared to be turning the corner in the weeks leading into the trade deadline. He posted a .914 save percentage in his first eight starts after the all-star breaks. Recently, he’s started to backslide again, recording an .871 save percentage in his last four starts.

Still, Joe Thornton confirmed that he’s vouched for Jones and Dell in conversations with management over the course of the season.

“That’s normal. As the year goes on we talk about everything,” Thornton said. “Full confidence.”

Though Thornton backed the team’s goalies, DeBoer insisted that he doesn’t need to have those conversations with his players. The belief in Jones and Dell is glaringly clear from the coach’s office.

“It doesn’t even cross my plate because I know how the team feels,” the Sharks coach said, adding: “There’s no issue with personality, character, fitting in. They’re popular guys and the guys believe in them. Those things never come up.” 1137481 San Jose Sharks

Sharks need better goaltending with NHL playoffs just around corner

By Chelena Goldman March 24, 2019 12:45 PM

SAN JOSE – Goaltending has been a hot topic all season for the Sharks. Even when they’ve been winning games, the performance between the pipes has been under scrutiny.

Now, with the playoffs just a couple weeks away and San Jose tryng to snap a season-long five-game winning streak, the performance of Sharks goaltenders Martin Jones and Aaron Dell is yet again being scrutinized.

There’s no mistaking it – they need to be better.

Even Sharks coach Peter DeBoer, who isn’t one to call out players after a loss, seemed particularly perturbed with the Sharks' play in net. He said just as much after San Jose's fifth straight defeat, a 4-3 loss to the lowly Anaheim Ducks on Friday.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat it, but I think we had them for six chances, and they scored four goals,” he said at the time. “You can’t lay it at one guy's feet, but you can’t win in this league with [an.800 to .900] save percentage. We’ve got to find a way to get an extra save, and on (the other) end we’ve got to find a way to get another goal.”

DeBoer isn’t wrong. Jones might be tied for third place among all NHL goalies with 34 wins under his belt, but his .898 save percentage is 58th out of 69 goalies who have played at least 10 games. Dell's .887 save percentage is 67th. Combined, the Sharks' .891 save percentage is last in the league.

In March, a month in which the Sharks have gone 6-4-1, San Jose has scored 37 goals and allowed 36. Those aren’t stats you want to see heading into the postseason.

To be fair, all the blame can’t be laid at the feet of the netminders, much like DeBoer said. Defensive breakdowns in front of the net don’t do Jones and Dell any favors – and with a banged-up blue line that’s missing Erik Karlsson and Radim Simek, those mistakes become more apparent.

It also doesn’t help the Sharks' offense has dried up, scoring no more than three goals in each of the last five losses. Leading goal-scorer Joe Pavelski has missed the last three, making matters worse.

But San Jose still, as DeBoer mentioned, needs to get more key saves from its goaltenders.

Now, with the Sharks having secured a playoff spot over the past week, the last few games of the season are going to be focused on being ready for the first round. In addition to getting the lineup healthier, the Sharks also have to focus on allowing fewer goals. A better defensive effort will go a long way, but Jones and Dell also have to buckle down and stop the puck more if San Jose is to hang on to home-ice advantage in the first round.

Don’t expect the goaltending conversation to cool off during these last weeks of the regular season. Goaltending is going to be a major focus as the playoffs get closer. If the Sharks want to still be playing hockey in May and June, it simply has to be better than it is right now.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137482 San Jose Sharks lineup on Dec. 2 when the Sharks started turning their season around following a 6-2 beating by the Ottawa Senators the day before.

When Simek isn’t in the lineup, the Sharks are now 14-14-6 overall. Yes, Assessing the Sharks’ goaltending and blue line issues as their losing the team is still missing All-Stars Erik Karlsson and Joe Pavelski, but streak stretches to five games maybe Simek was one of those glue guys that you notice more when he’s out than when he’s in.

By Kevin Kurz Mar 24, 2019 22 Was the sudden loss of Simek more of a monkey wrench than originally anticipated?

“I don’t think it should be,” DeBoer said. “We recognized his value when The Sharks’ season-long struggle to get consistent goaltending reached he came in. I think our record from that point on really took off. I don’t a new low point on Sunday morning, when the stats showed they were think that’s an accident. Obviously, it wasn’t just him. We were turning 31st overall in save percentage in the NHL in all situations. While they some things around, but he was a piece of that. He was an important have been 31st in even-strength save percentage for some time, the piece for us. The other guys are going to have to step up and get the job recent struggles on the penalty kill amid a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) done.” have dropped them to dead last overall. DeBoer continued: “I still think we can end some more plays, and that Martin Jones and Aaron Dell, the Sharks’ only two goalies this season, was one of the things Simek did really well. I think as a group, it’s have combined for an .891 save percentage. That’s just slightly lower pushing our group to get more plays squashed.” than 30th-ranked Florida. One guy who’s been doing more squashing since earlier in the season is The timing is concerning, of course, as there are less than two weeks to defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who seems to have found a much go in the NHL regular season. more consistent game over the past few weeks. Since Feb. 24, Vlasic is the Sharks’ leading scorer with 12 points (1g, 11a), and his plus-8 rating The spotlight on the team’s goaltending got even brighter after a 4-3 over that span is second only to his partner, Tim Heed (plus-9). Vlasic overtime loss to the Ducks on Friday at Honda Center, when Aaron Dell has nine points, including eight assists, in his last seven games. allowed four goals on just 21 shots. Coach Pete DeBoer didn’t mask his displeasure after the Sharks played well enough to win, limiting Coming out of the All-Star break in early February, DeBoer stressed how Anaheim’s prime scoring chances, but were let down by Dell, who important it was for Vlasic to have a better second half. That’s couldn’t come up with the big stop despite rarely getting tested. happening.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat it. We had them for maybe six chances and “I like his game lately. And he’s getting rewarded — he’s getting points, they scored four goals,” DeBoer said. “You can’t lay it at one guy’s feet, he’s skating, he’s defending. I think he’s turned the corner,” DeBoer said. but you can’t win in this league with an .800 to .900 save percentage, you “Everybody goes through ups and downs over a career; great stretches know? You can’t. So we’ve got to find a way to get an extra save.” and not so great stretches. I like where his game is at. It’s coming around at the right time, and we need it.” On many nights, the Sharks’ prolific offense has masked what’s been going on between the pipes. During one stretch, they scored at least Vlasic has made it clear this season that he doesn’t want to get too in- three goals in 37 out of 43 games. The Sharks are still third overall in the depth with the media about his play. When asked after the Kings game NHL with 3.55 goals per game. on Thursday what has been working for him, for example, he said: “I’m not sure. I’m playing well.” But the scoring has gone down a bit lately, as the Sharks have averaged 2.88 goals over their past eight games. The margin of error has gotten But Braun, his longtime partner before this season, has seen an smaller, and the losses are suddenly mounting. It’s probably a stretch to improvement in the 31-year-old blueliner. think that the Sharks can still catch Calgary, which is now six points ahead in the standings with seven games left to play. “He’s making more offense happen, and he’s been a lot better with the gap and stick,” he said. “Sometimes it’s just bounces or whatever, but it Perhaps the best representation of what the Sharks have been missing in seems like (he is) shutting down plays a little earlier. He’s looked really net is that their high-danger save percentage, according to Natural Stat good.” Trick, is just .793. That’s the second-worst mark in the league, better only than Minnesota. The Sharks have surrendered 635 high-danger chances As for Karlsson, his return date is still uncertain. DeBoer wouldn’t against, the 12th-fewest in the league, suggesting that the big, comment on the injured defenseman’s status beyond ruling him out for momentum-changing stop that Stanley Cup-caliber goalies have to make Monday against Detroit, but he did mention that Karlsson is “on the from time to time has just not been there. horizon.” Tuesday will mark one month since Karlsson re-injured his groin in Boston. Is that a fair criticism? “Obviously when he comes in that’s going to change some things,” “Sure, yeah. Obviously in the last stretch of games, I think so,” said DeBoer said. Jones, who has an .871 save percentage and 4.12 goals-against average in his last four starts. “But we’ve won a lot of games this year, as The biggest change the Sharks need, though, is steadier play from their well. I know I need to be better, and I’m working at it. We’ve got a couple netminders, and especially Jones, who will undoubtedly be the playoff weeks here, and everything right now is just preparing for playoffs.” starter.

The goaltending, of course, isn’t the only reason the Sharks are suddenly “I feel like I’m going to play well (in the playoffs), for sure,” Jones said. scuffling. Although the game against Anaheim was a step in the right “But we’re going to try and get things going here in the right direction direction defensively, there have been far too many mental errors and before that.” turnovers in the past two weeks that have led to scoring chances the The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 other way.

Special teams has also hit a rough patch, as the Sharks are 2 for 18 on the power play in their last five games, and 10 for 16 on the penalty kill. Their faceoff percentage is just 45.1.

“It’s been a little bit of everything,” Justin Braun said. “Some games we are horrible through the neutral zone, (with) turnovers which lead to chances against. Another game it’s the defensive zone (coverage). It’s just concentrating on all aspects of the game.”

It’s worth noting, too, that the recent struggles began when the club lost defenseman Radim Simek for the season on March 12 with torn ligaments in his knee. Simek, perhaps not coincidentally, entered the 1137483 St Louis Blues The Rampage lost to Grand Rapids 3-1 and continue to fade out of American Hockey League playoff contention. In last place in the Central Division at 27-33-7, the Rampage have won only three of 18 games (3- Tarasenko back on his game against Tampa Bay 12-3) since Feb. 15. Nine games remain in the regular season.

BLUENOTES

By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 5 hrs ago O’Reilly’s assist against the Lightning extended his career-high points total to 70 this season, but he has gone without a goal for a season-high eight games.

In his first two games back since returning from an apparent elbow injury, • David Perron’s career-best points streak ended at 17 games Saturday. Vladimir Tarasenko didn’t look quite like himself. Which helped explain why the Blues’ top line of Brayden Schenn, Ryan O’Reilly and Tarasenko • The Blues had scored at least one goal in 14 consecutive regulation was quiet against Edmonton and Detroit. periods before going scoreless in the third period against the Lightning.

It didn’t matter in the larger picture, because the Blues beat both the St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 03.25.2019 Oilers and the Red Wings and scored 12 goals in the process. But Schenn, O’Reilly and Tarasenko combined for only one assist Tuesday against Edmonton and did not show up on the scoresheet Thursday against Detroit.

Before those games, they had scored at least one goal in their previous 13 games together and combined for 56 points on 21 goals and 35 assists.

Not to worry, Tarasenko was back on his game in Saturday’s 4-3 thriller over Tampa Bay, and so was the team’s top line.

“I thought Vladi was really good,” interim coach Craig Berube said. “I thought he skated, attacked. He was keyed in to play.”

Tarasenko had a goal and an assist against the Lightning, as did Schenn. Throw in O’Reilly’s assist on the Tarasenko goal and it was a five-point night for the Blues’ power trio.

“You need them to be good,” Berube said. “They’ve got to produce. They’re playing against a top line on the other team all game. They had a good game.”

Tarasenko missed five games with the injury, starting March 9 in San Jose.

“It’s always tough when you sit on the couch watching games,” Tarasenko said. “You always want to be here helping the guys. It’s nice to be back, nice to be feeling this atmosphere again. Hope to stay healthy (the rest of the season).

Tarasenko’s goal against Tampa Bay was his 29th, leaving him just shy of his fifth consecutive season of 30 or more goals.

SUNDAY BLUES

Unless the team is playing a game, Sunday normally is a day off for the Blues. But with the team playing only its seventh Monday game of the season, against the Vegas Golden Knights at Enterprise, the Blues held an optional skate Sunday afternoon at the IceZone in Hazelwood.

Ten players participated, including injured players forward Sammy Blais (left foot, ankle) and defenseman Carl Gunnarsson (wrist). Gunnarsson, who hasn’t played since Feb. 5 against Florida, appears to be getting close to returning.

It was interesting to see Blais on the ice, because he had a walking boot on his left foot after the Tampa Bay game Saturday night. (He was an injury scratch against the Lightning, missing his sixth straight game, but has been skating in practice recently.)

Defenseman Joel Edmundson, who hasn’t played since March 12 because of a lower-body injury, did not practice Sunday. Although Berube said he expects Edmundson to return to the lineup before the end of the regular season, Edmundson has missed three consecutive practices — optional skates Friday and Sunday, and the morning skate before the Tampa Bay game.

RAMPAGE UPDATE

Blues prospects Jordan Kyrou and Austin Poganski left Sunday’s San Antonio game with Grand Rapids with injuries and were to be evaluated Monday, according to the Rampage.

Goalie prospect Ville Husso was seen Saturday at Enterprise with his right foot in a walking boot. Husso has missed much of the season with a nagging ankle injury. 1137484 St Louis Blues

Preview: Blues vs. Vegas

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

BLUES vs. VEGAS

When, where • 7 p.m. Monday, Enterprise Center

TV, radio • FSM, KMOX (1120 AM)

About the Golden Knights • The defending Western Conference champions have been on a tear lately, winning 10 of 11 before a 3-2 overtime loss Saturday to Detroit. The hot streak coincided with the arrival of Mark Stone in a trade deadline deal with Ottawa; he has four goals and four assists since the trade. At third place in the Pacific Division, Vegas (47-27-6, for 90 points) appears destined to open the playoffs against San Jose.

Former Blue Paul Stastny missed two months earlier in the season with a knee injury but has been playing well lately with three goals and 10 assists in his last 13 games. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (lower body) has missed the last four games. Forward Max Pacioretty (leg) missed the Detroit game.

Jim Thomas

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137485 St Louis Blues again. I think we’ve been really successful the last few months, and looking forward to keep playing the same way.”

The Blues won seven in a row at home from Jan. 10 (Montreal) through Playoff time? Blues could clinch as early as Tuesday Feb. 26 (Nashville). After home losses to Dallas and Arizona to begin March, the Blues have since won three straight at Enterprise Center. So that adds up to 10 wins in their last 12 home games over the past 2 ½ By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 6 hrs ago months — granted, a period in which the Blues haven’t played a ton of home games.

In their season series with Nashville, the Blues went 3-0 against the With just two weeks and seven games left in the regular season, the Predators at Enterprise; they were 1-1 in Nashville, with the lone road Blues are ever so close to accomplishing what they failed to do last victory coming in overtime, 5-4. season: earn a playoff berth. Saturday provided a taste of what a playoff atmosphere could be like at In fact, it could happen as early as Tuesday. Here’s what needs to Enterprise Center. You could tell from the outset that the crowd was happen. jacked up for the Tampa Bay game, and the Blues certainly fed off that. • A victory by the Blues on Monday over the Vegas Golden Knights. “The fans were great,” goalie Jordan Binnington said. “The atmosphere • A regulation or overtime loss by the Minnesota Wild on Monday against was incredible. I think the boys really rallied around that together and the Dallas Stars. played hard for each other and the city.”

• A regulation or overtime loss by the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday “We can feel it,” Tarasenko said. “We can feel the support when fans get against the Chicago Blackhawks. loud and support us. Like other guys say, it’s like a seventh player.”

The Blues would be 41-27-8, for 90 points. The victory over Tampa, clearly the league’s best team, also was a confidence booster for an already confident Blues team. Minnesota (35-32-9) and Arizona (36-33-7) currently both have 79 points. With regulation losses by the Wild on Monday, and the Coyotes on “It’s huge for team confidence,” Brayden Schenn said. “They’re a very Tuesday, the most points they could earn this season would be 89. With good team, playing great hockey, winning a lot of games, scoring a lot of overtime losses, the Wild and Coyotes could both max out at 90 points, goals. For us to come in and beat them two times this year, obviously but the Blues would own the ROW (regulation and overtime wins) gives the team confidence and we know we’re a good team in here.” tiebreaker. “It’s a good measuring stick for us,” Binnington said. “From here on out The Blues may not know exactly how close they are to wrapping up a it’s gonna be a battle. I think the teams who aren’t in the playoffs are playoff berth, but they know they’re close. battling for their jobs, and the teams who are, are trying to tighten things up for the playoffs. “We need to make a push,” Vladimir Tarasenko said after Saturday’s 4-3 win over Tampa Bay. “Whatever other teams are playing, it’s seven “This is why we play. This is the time of year we want to be in.” games left. Every point matters, especially after last year and we know And here they are. Playoff time. Almost. this.” St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 03.25.2019 The Blues missed the playoffs by one measly point last season. Even an overtime loss to Colorado in the regular-season finale would’ve done it, but the Blues fell 5-2 to the Avalanche that day.

Tarasenko said the heartache of last April no longer weighs on the Blues.

“No. Not anymore,” he said. “We need to step over it and bring the lessons with you from last year, bring positivity — what was good there. Make the playoffs and go for a run.”

But after winning the first three games of a four-game homestand, maybe the Blues are looking in the wrong direction. Maybe they should be looking at what’s above them in the standings rather than what’s behind them.

Following Nashville’s 5-0 loss to Winnipeg on Saturday night, the second-place Predators (42-28-6), with 90 points, are only two points ahead of the Blues in the Central Division.

The Blues have a game in hand, having played only 75 games to Nashville’s 76. And right now, the Blues have the ROW tiebreaker advantage over the Predators, 39-38.

Nashville has been treading water for three months, barely above .500 at 20-18-5 since Dec. 15, and the Predators have a tough week ahead of them. They play two teams fighting to get in the playoffs in Minnesota (Monday) and Columbus (Saturday), plus a Pittsburgh team (Friday) that still could win the Metropolitan Division title. The Minnesota and Pittsburgh games are on the road.

The Blues and Predators appear to be on a collision course to meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, so finishing in second place ahead of Nashville would give the Blues home-ice advantage in that series.

For much of the season, the concept of home-ice advantage seemed meaningless, because the Blues were playing much better on the road than at home. But that’s changed in the new year.

“It’s been a tough time on home games at the start of the year,” Tarasenko said. “We understand we can’t play like this at home. That’s what we were working on, just try to make this building hard to play in 1137486 St Louis Blues coach Red Berenson, a legendary Blues player. They won the NCAA championship in 1998 — a teammate was Bob Gassoff Jr., son of the late Blues defenseman Bob Gassoff. When Van Ryn became a Blue, the Hochman: Blues’ defense doesn’t rest under Van Ryn kid’s locker was between those of Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis — and he was on-ice partners with No. 44. And now, Van Ryn is on the bench for these 2018-19 Blues, this team that started off so dysfunctional, and now appears to be feared in the eyes of postseason opponents. Benjamin Hochman “He’s just a happy and charismatic guy,” Dunn said. “He coaches with

emotion and being a former player, he really gets into it. He really feels The assistant coach, sports’ dutiful lieutenant, seldom receives public for us when things are going good and things are going bad. He’s very praise during the good times. personable to talk to, and he’s someone who wants you to feel good about yourself.” But in bad times, these previously anonymous onlookers suddenly are chiefly to blame for failures in their specialized fields — be it hitting in And now, Van Ryn has all of us feeling good about the Blues’ defense, baseball or offensive line play in football or, in the case of the Blues’ Mike which seemed impossible earlier this season. Van Ryn, defense in hockey, or whatever you want to call what the Blues “For me, it was kind of strange, because I played with ‘Ryno’ when we were playing earlier this season. were in Florida,” Bouwmeester said. “We were both relatively young — So let’s give Van Ryn some public praise during these good times, for he he’s a couple years older than I am. Honestly, at the beginning of the has overseen the resurgence of the Blues’ defense. It’s remarkable, year, it was weird because we were friends back then, both single and really. The Blues’ blue line has become reliable and resilient. There’s a hung out a lot, and all of a sudden, he’s your coach. And I hadn’t talked youth movement and a fountain of youth. And Van Ryn is the team’s to him in a while, so you’re still trying to get reacquainted. fourth defensive coach in the past four years – and he’s in his first year in “But things have settled in place — and I think for him, too, with this the National Hockey League. being his first job at the NHL level. It takes a little while to feel everything “The start of this year, there were new players and coaches, and a lot of out, see how guys respond to different things.” feeling out going on,” said Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who, at St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 03.25.2019 35, has had a rejuvenating season. “As our team has come together, he’s done a good job with our defense and killing penalties — he runs the penalty kill, too. … I don’t know if there’s anything magic or different that he does more than anything else. I think nowadays it’s more about having good relationships with players. It goes a long way.”

Numerous Blues defensemen mentioned Van Ryn’s ability to communicate — alas, something Blues assistants aren’t allowed to do with media, per team rules. So to learn about Van Ryn, you’ve got to go through different avenues.

Coach Craig Berube shared that Van Ryn has a particularly applicable ability to utilize video for coaching. Bouwmeester spoke about Van Ryn’s comfortable ways of connecting to the younger generation of defensemen, thanks to Van Ryn’s days as a head coach at lower levels of hockey. And Blues defenseman Vince Dunn said he “doesn’t necessarily want to coach you and break you down all the time; he likes to pump you up and get excited about a new challenge or to work on something that maybe you’re struggling at.”

For instance, Van Ryn recently has spent extra time after practice working on one-timers with Dunn. And in Saturday’s huge win against Tampa Bay, when Dunn made a conspicuous mistake and returned to the bench, there was Van Ryn’s paw on the kid’s shoulder.

“If something doesn’t go right, he wants me to just shake it off,” said Dunn, who recently has been paired with star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, because of Joel Edmundson’s injury. “Learn from it, but not dwell on it for the whole game and let it affect me over and over on shifts. Things like that, he’s very boosting to your game.”

And Van Ryn encourages defensemen to be offensive. The Blues are 26- 6-3 when a defensemen scores at least one goal in a game. For the first time in franchise history, the Blues have three defensemen with double- digit goal totals (Pietrangelo has 13, Dunn has 11 and Colton Parayko has 10). And the 45 total goals scored by Blues defensemen, which leads the NHL, makes up for 20.3 percent of the Blues’ offense. Only one team, Minnesota, has defensemen accounting for a higher percentage of scoring (21.3).

And Van Ryn has helped cultivate a culture of communication and confidence. He teaches philosophies of keeping the puck to the outside, establishing tight gaps and trusting your partner.

“He wants us to really care for each other when we’re out there,” Dunn said, “And now I think you’re starting to see the defense do things that maybe we weren’t doing last year. I think a lot of that is from him.”

So who is this guy? Van Ryn, who turns 40 in May, won a division title as a head coach last year in the American Hockey League. He played in the National Hockey League, including 69 games for the Blues, from 2000- 03.

And he’s sort of a “Forrest Gump” of Blues history, showing up in the lives of so many notables. At the University of Michigan, he played for 1137487 Tampa Bay Lightning

Brayden Point notches his first 40th goal season

Third-year pro is the first of three likely 40-goal scorers this year

By Diana C. Nearhos

The Lightning has its first 40-goal scorer of the season. And Tampa Bay is on its way to having three.

Brayden Point reached 40 for the first time on Saturday. His second- period goal, redirecting Ryan McDonagh’s pass at the back door, was his 40th goal of the season.

“It’s pretty cool for sure,” Point said. “It’s definitely something I’m proud of.”

Point reaches the milestone in his third year in the league. He’s fifth in the league in goals and on pace for 98 points, so the centennial mark isn’t too much of a stretch.

Point is the first Lightning player to hit the mark this year, but the third on the team to do it in his career. Nikita Kucherov scored 40 goals two seasons ago (and is three away now). Steven Stamkos has done it four times (also hitting 50 and 60) and is currently two off of 40.

Victor Hedman pointed out how much more Point brings than just being a goal scorer. He’s also been matched up against the toughest lines for most of the year. Hedman is confident Point will keep improving.

“We were real happy for him to get 40,” Jon Cooper said. “That’s a big number.”

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137488 Tampa Bay Lightning

What do the Lightning’s three losses have in common?

Three times, Tampa Bay has dug a hole it can’t get out of. But they have been different holes.

By Diana C. Nearhos

TAMPA — The Lightning’s shovels don’t get too much use. The team has mostly avoided digging holes in the latter half of the season.

Thrice in the last five weeks, however, Tampa Bay has ended up down three goals and unable to come back. Those three games have also been the only losses in that time frame.

Each of those losses has come differently, and the Lightning also came back from a 3-0 deficit to Detroit in that span, but it bears looking at the three games.

St Louis: The Lightning gave up three goals in the span of 1:15 and lost 4-3 on Saturday.

Tampa Bay did not play a bad game. It played a bad 75 seconds. This game is not reason to sound the alarm, but is a reminder of how a short- term breakdown can compound quickly.

Boston: The Lightning allowed one goal in the second period and then three goals in 1:28 in the third and lost 4-1 on Feb. 28.

Tampa Bay made bad decisions with the puck and looked sluggish on the second half of a back-to-back. The Lightning was completely outplayed by the Bruins in all facets.

Minnesota:The Lightning gave up one goal in the first period but not another until early in the third. An empty-netter in the final two minutes gave Minnesota a 3-0 shutout on March 7. (This one is a weaker three- goal deficit but fits the spirit).

The Wild came in with a game plan to play the Lightning tight and executed. Tampa Bay didn’t play poorly, or do anything wrong, but Minnesota was even better.

Detroit: The Red Wings scored twice in the first period and once in the second before the Lightning mounted a comeback, sparked by Steven Stamkos’ record-tying goal, to win 5-4 on March 14.

The takeaways:The obvious difference between the comeback and the three losses is quality of opponent. Detroit is languishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, while the others are in or competing for a spot in the playoffs. That’s over-simplifying matters, though.

The manner in which the Lightning ended up in a hole was different in each of the four games.

On Saturday, the Lightning did match those three allowed goals, but St. Louis got one more. Against Boston, Tampa Bay just couldn’t get anything to go right until late. Against Minnesota, the Lightning couldn’t solve a tight defense.

In Detroit, the Lightning dominated the third period in the comeback. That’s something Tampa Bay has done before. It’s second in the league with eight wins having come back from multi-goal deficits.

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137489 Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs sign goaltender Joseph Woll to entry-level contract

THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed goaltender Joseph Woll to a three-year entry-level contract on Sunday.

The 20-year-old native of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., had a 13-21-3 record and .919 save percentage over 37 games this season with Boston College.

Woll helped the United States win gold at the 2017 world junior hockey championship and bronze at the 2018 tournament.

He was selected by the Maple Leafs in the third round (62nd overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Globe And Mail LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137490 Toronto Maple Leafs “Oh, we’ve done real well here of late (on the cycle),” Babcock said. “Now, we haven’t scored … (but) it’ll turn. So we just keep on grinding.”

Nobody’s been grinding harder than the line led by Matthews, who has Maple Leafs are finally starting to embrace the grind received glowing praise from his coach for playing “physical on offence.” Ditto John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman, who’ve been awfully effective creating chances off the cycle much of the season, too. By Dave Feschuk All season Babcock has been intermittently pointing out the importance Sports Columnist of this kind of work. Playing for long stretches in an opponent’s end — “rolling around,” as the coach terms it — wears an opponent down. By Sun., March 24, 2019 the time the foe gets a zone exit opposing players are often in need of a line change. Sometimes that leads to a desperate dump-in, and another chance at possession for the Leafs. Other times it leads to the kind of When a Maple Leaf in a scoring slump crosses paths with teammate fatigue-related chaos that creates neutral-zone turnovers and allows Patrick Marleau, the veteran sometimes offers a piece of sage advice: Toronto to score off the ensuing rush. Talk to yourself, Marleau suggests, the way you’d talk to a slumping teammate. “Our best nights, for sure, are when we play heavy and then we transition and we get you off the rush. Now, (fans and media) see the rush. But In other words, don’t beat yourself up, as is a time-honoured custom. Be what comes first, the chicken or the egg?” Babcock said. as nice and encouraging to yourself as you would to a struggling colleague. Self-talk doesn’t need to be self-flagellating. In other words, the only acceptable kind of rush hockey comes from the avails of grunt hockey. Auston Matthews has been trying to ramp up his game as the Leafs prepare for the post-aeason. “I’m playing more free out there, and just “You get transition (opportunities) out of spending time in the offensive trusting my ability,” he said. zone,” said the coach.

Auston Matthews has been trying to ramp up his game as the Leafs Ultimately, you get the opportunities because you work for them. And prepare for the post-aeason. “I’m playing more free out there, and just Matthews’s engine, for one, has lately revved at an increased rate. The trusting my ability,” he said. (STEVE RUSSELL / TORONTO STAR) proverbial late-season switch has been flipped.

Leafs forward Connor Brown has heard those words, and he “This is kind of the time of year when you want to ramp it up,” Matthews acknowledges the wisdom. But given how he’s scored just six goals this said. “Once January and February hits, that’s when you see the elite season after averaging 17 over the previous two campaigns, Brown guys ramp it up. For me, last year it seemed like (Evgeni) Malkin just took shrugged: “It’s so much easier to say all those things than to do them.” over, guys like (Patrick) Kane — that last couple months of the season and going into the playoffs they were just on another level. So I kind of Even Auston Matthews, who has scored more goals at even strength looked at that and I wanted to be in that situation where I was going into since he arrived in the league than anyone not named Connor McDavid, the playoffs and feeling good about my game and I’m competing every said he has occasionally been having a hard time keeping the voice in night and making plays and doing a lot of good things — just feeling good his head as positive as Marleau would suggest. In Saturday’s 2-1 about yourself.” overtime loss to the Rangers, when Matthews was held scoreless for the third time in the past four games despite a series of glorious chances, A year ago, after a season that saw Matthews miss 20 games with three Matthews eventually snapped his stick over the boards in a moment of different injuries, Matthews headed into a blasé post-season “not feeling teeth-gritting frustration. 100%.” With less than two weeks left until the regular season’s conclusion, the lead-up to these playoffs is beginning to feel much “I was really mad at myself,” Matthews said. “I felt like I should have different. definitely beared down on a couple of those.” “I’m playing more free out there, and just trusting my ability,” he said. The Maple Leafs sniper smiled while acknowledging his crime against his $300-plus implement. There it is: The kind of positive self-talk Marleau would surely endorse. Dominating the offensive zone as the playoffs approach, the percentages “It was all the stick’s fault,” he said. suggest Matthews ought to be reintroducing himself to the scoresheet at just the right moment — assuming he eventually finds a stick that’ll Angry shards of carbon fibre aside, if you walked into the Maple Leafs behave. dressing room after Sunday afternoon’s practice you could sense little in the way of tension. The calm positivity in the air suggested nobody had “I blame the stick,” Matthews said. “It’s always the stick.” noticed the Leafs have lost three of their past four games while combining for three goals in those defeats. Brown and Matthews aren’t Toronto Star LOADED: 03.25.2019 the only ones cursing their luck. Nazem Kadri has gone 11 games without a goal. William Nylander has gone 12. And the list continues.

“We’ve got a number of guys that have gone (cold). But to me, that has to turn,” head coach Mike Babcock said. “When you look at our last three games we’ve done a way better job defensively. We’ve also generated a ton of offence.”

Babcock said his optimism stems from evidence his team, embarrassed by the dismal four-game stretch that culminated in a 6-2 loss in Ottawa a Saturday ago, is lately coming to the realization that the key to success lies in the grind game — sustained possession in the offensive zone.

“Rush hockey is great at the start of the year and it’s great for the fans, but you don’t win in the playoffs playing rush hockey,” Babcock said.

There are numbers to suggest the coach’s optimism isn’t unfounded. Despite Saturday’s result, for instance, the Leafs generated 20 high- danger chances at five-on-five, their biggest such number of the season, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. As of Sunday, they led the league in shots from the inner slot, averaging 8.9 per game, according to ThePointHockey.com.

Babcock said the team’s internal metrics, and those provided by an “independent service,” have backed up what’s been observable by the naked eye: The Leafs are playing heavier. 1137491 Toronto Maple Leafs Leafs that ends this spring. His future with the Leafs is a grey area now, given that the club needs cap space to sign several young, cornerstone players this summer.

The value of Leafs defenceman Ron Hainsey isn’t always found in the But he has experience and a quiet willingness to play the game the right numbers way, which is not going out of fashion in the NHL just yet.

“It’s real important when you’re scouting other teams, and then to have By Mark Zwolinski someone on your team who knows what he’s doing,” Babcock said. “He didn’t step into the league right away and dominate. He had to earn his Sports Reporter way, and there’s life lessons there, and those life lessons get passed on.”

Sun., March 24, 2019 Toronto Star LOADED: 03.25.2019

Maple Leafs defenceman Ron Hainsey has a very pragmatic way of looking at hockey.

The veteran is part of a group of elder statesman blueliners currently performing at league-leading levels — he’s one of the best plus-minus players in the NHL this season — but he gives the credit to team play.

Leafs defenceman Ron Hainsey has been Morgan Rielly’s partner for much of the last two seasons.

And he feels good about the Leafs’ defensive work the last week, which followed a horrendous four-game stretch where they had allowed 23 goals in four games.

“(I’m) certainly encouraged by the way we played the last week here,” Hainsey said Sunday. “It appears we’re headed to Boston again (for the playoffs) — a big challenge, seven-game series last year — so we have to get ourselves ramped up.”

Hainsey turned 38 Sunday, and there is reason to celebrate. Along with being sixth in the league with a plus-30 rating, he has been a part of the Leafs’ top defensive pairing because of his experience and his ability to communicate and marshal his teammates in the defensive zone.

The pragmatist in Hainsey shrugs his shoulders at the mention of personal stats and goals. But Leafs coach Mike Babcock has praised him ever since Hainsey signed with the Leafs in July, 2017.

Hainsey debuted alongside Morgan Rielly, with Babcock pencilling in that pairing almost exclusively ever since. The coach credits Hainsey for helping with Rielly’s development, taking care of some of the defensive details while his younger partner was expanding his game.

“Unbelievable,” said Babcock, who didn’t have to be reminded that it was Hainsey’s birthday. “I look at his career ... a good player, and still a good player, one of the top plus-minus players in the league ... He’s been real good for us, good in the room, and (it’s) good to have guys who’ve won Cups in your room.”

Hainsey, a father of three, said he hadn’t heard of anything special being planned for his birthday. But the Leafs showed their appreciation, allowing him to lead the on-ice stretch at practice, with every player tapping his stick on the ice.

Two days earlier, the Bruins signed 42-year-old defenceman Zdeno Chara to a one-year extension, bringing him back for his 22nd season. And Saturday, Calgary’s Mark Giordano became just the third defenceman 35 or older to reach the 70-point plateau in a season. Giordano, who is second in plus-minus, is the favourite to win the Norris Trophy.

“Giordano is a tremendous guy,” Hainsey said. “He scratched and clawed all the way, and he’s always trying to do it the right way. A tremendous season for him.”

Hainsey was an offensive defenceman when Montreal drafted him out of UMass-Lowell, 13th overall, in 2000. But his focus changed to his own end of the rink when Columbus picked him up off waivers early in the 2005-06 season. He hasn’t changed much since, although he acknowledges that he’s working on his skating to keep up with the young guns.

“It’s not so much about getting faster or slower, as what everyone else around you is doing,” Hainsey said. “In some respects, you know, there’s a certain level of fleet of foot that you have to keep up with, but there’s a lot that goes on around you that you have to keep up with.”

Hainsey won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2017 after being picked up at the trade deadline. That led to a two-year, $6-million deal with the 1137492 Toronto Maple Leafs

Monday NHL game preview: Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs

By Mark Zwolinski

Sports Reporter

Sun., March 24, 2019

SCOTIABANK ARENA

FACEOFF: 7 p.m.

Florida’s Aleksander Barkov has 34 points in his last 19 games.

Florida’s Aleksander Barkov has 34 points in his last 19 games. (CHARLES TRAINOR JR / TNS)

TV: TSN

RADIO: TSN 1050

KEY PLAYERS

Yandle/Marleau

Florida defenceman Keith Yandle and Leafs winger Patrick Marleau own the two longest active games-played streaks in the NHL. Yandle just played his 900th career game in a 7-3 loss to Boston Saturday, and extended his consecutive streak to 790 games, the fifth longest in league history. Marleau is at 781. Yandle has also set Panthers’ records for points by a defenceman (58) and power-play points by a defenceman (38).

NEED TO KNOW

Watch out for Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. The Panthers may be out of the playoffs, but Barkov and Huberdeau lead the NHL in scoring since Feb. 17. Barkov has 15 goals and 34 points in 19 games, while Huberdeau has 10 goals and 30 points. Barkov has 87 points on the season, and is chasing Pavel Bure’s franchise record of 94 points … Mike Hoffman is also on fire. He scored his team-leading 35th goal in the loss to Boston. He also has 17 power-play goals, third in the NHL. The Panthers have the second-best power play in the NHL ... Panthers management told a town-hall meeting last week that they will spend all the money they can this summer on free-agent talent to bring a championship to South Florida.

UP NEXT

Wednesday at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Toronto Star LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137493 Toronto Maple Leafs GOALIES

Frederik Andersen

Game Day: Panthers at Maple Leafs Garret Sparks

PANTHERS GAME DAY LINES

Lance Hornby LWCRW

Jonathan Huberdeau Aleksander Barkov Evgenii Dadonov

FLORIDA PANTHERS (33-30-12) at TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (44-25- Mike Hoffman Vincent Trocheck Jayce Hawryluk 6) Frank Vatrano Riley Sheahan Troy Brouwer Monday, 7 P.M., Scotiabank Arena Jamie McGinn Henrik Borgstrom Colton Sceviour TV: TSN4; Radio: 1050 AM DEFENCE PAIRINGS THE BIG MATCHUP Michael Matheson Aaron Ekblad C Aleksander Barkov vs. D Morgan Rielly Keith Yandle MacKenzie Weegar There are a few team stars who have been ousted from the playoffs who are nonetheless making waves atop the NHL scoring leaderboard. Mark Pysyk Josh Brown Barkov continues to shine — and give the Leafs trouble. Barkov, who GOALIES absorbed a heavy hit from Boston’s Zdeno Chara on Saturday and was shut out in his club’s 7-3 loss, will be back to give Rielly and the Leafs’ Roberto Luongo defence a stiff test, though Toronto has held foes to 25 or fewer shots in Samuel Montembeault regulation the past three games. SICK BAY FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME Toronto: D Jake Gardiner (back), D Travis Dermott (shoulder) Clawing to the end Florida: C Derek MacKenzie (shoulder) The Panthers’ season is ticking down with a record of 2-8 in their past 10 road games, despite impressive offensive numbers most of the season. SPECIAL TEAMS But putting away clubs who are out of the playoff race has proven quite difficult for the Maple Leafs, who didn’t pull away from Buffalo until late in POWER PLAY the game last Wednesday and lost in overtime Saturday to the Rangers. Toronto 22.1% (7th) Come and get it Florida 27.3% (2nd) Yes, there are teams with worse giveaway numbers than the oft-careless PENALTY KILLING Leafs, who were charged with 18 more on Saturday. In fact the Panthers are at the top of the league list with 1,125. But Toronto has to capitalize Toronto 81.0% (12th) on those mistakes — and watch its own sloppy puck possession, in many cases by its top players. Florida 80.5% (18th)

Iron men Toronto Sun LOADED: 03.25.2019

This game will be an interesting look at the players with the two longest active games-played streaks in the league, Panthers defenceman Keith Yandle and Toronto winger Patrick Marleau, at 790 and 781. But Marleau would love to score another goal about now, more than chase any other longevity milestones.

Don’t hassle the Hoff

Winger Mike Hoffman has 17 power play goals — and 17 helpers — on Florida’s potent unit, while Yandle is battling NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov for the overall league lead in special teams’ assists. Translation: Stay out of the box Toronto, even if the Leafs are generally well behaved this season.

Back to Bobby Lou?

The Panthers have been using rookie Sam Montembeault in net, but after his hot start he has cooled the past while. So the cunning old vet Roberto Luongo might get yet another shot at the Leafs.

LEAFS GAME DAY LINES

LW C RW

Zach Hyman John Tavares Mitch Marner

Andreas Johnsson Auston Matthews William Nylander

Patrick Marleau Nazem Kadri Kasperi Kapanen

Trevor Moore Frederik Gauthier Connor Brown

DEFENCE PAIRINGS

Morgan Rielly Ron Hainsey

Jake Muzzin Nikita Zaitsev

Justin Holl Igor Ozhiganov 1137494 Toronto Maple Leafs “He’s definitely been a veteran presence in the room. Not a whole lot fazes him. “A very even-keeled man, laid back and confident.”

Babcock said hearing Hainsey’s encouragement is like having an LEAF SNAPS: Waiting for the goal rush assistant coach on the ice in a game.

“It’s just really important sometimes when you’re starting. It’s a hard Lance Hornby league to play defence in and (you need) someone who knows what they’re doing. It’s not like he just stepped in and dominated. He had to earn his way. Those life lessons are passed on.”

Mike Babcock checks a long list of Leafs in-goal slumps, sees a positive LOOSE LEAFS shot differential of 64 the past six games, reviews video of missed tap ins and empty nets and just shakes his head. Defenceman Jake Gardiner was in the dressing room Sunday, in fine spirits and when the ice was clear, he went out for about 20 minutes of “This has to turn,” the coach said Sunday, after a dominant effort against work with skills coach Mike Ellis. His back injury is still listed as a week- the New York Rangers ended in a 2-1 overtime loss. “You look at our last to-week situation. Defenceman Travis Dermott (shoulder) wore the red three games and we’ve done a way better job defensively, generated a no-contact jersey again, but looks ready to shed it by early this week and ton of offence. We haven’t scored though. perhaps play towards the weekend … On Saturday, Marlies winger Jeremy Bracco set the single-season assist record for the Leaf farm team “I’m a big believer in the process. Hit the net on your chances, don’t put in their Toronto-based era, reaching 53. Before Sunday’s rematch any pressure on yourself. Just breathe. Now, that’s easy for me to say, against Rochester, he also had 71 points, one behind defenceman T.J. but when it’s not going the way you want, there’s no sense over-thinking Brennan’s 76-game record … Babcock on how he thinks the Leaf slump this. Pick a spot in the middle of the net, (aim for) the five-hole and when (five losses in seven games) is playing around town. “We had four games you miss, it goes in.” that weren’t very good. Are people allowed to say something to you? I William Nylander, trying to get people back in his camp after a contract think so. I walk around town every day. The fans I talk to are jacked up stalemate and slow start, has been blanked in 12 straight despite centre about our team. Why? We’re in the running and it looks like we’re going Auston Matthews looking dominant. Matthews’ other winger, Andreas in the right direction. Steady on the rudder, let’s get better” … On Johnsson is 1-for-14. Sunday, the Leafs signed Boston College goaltender Joseph Woll — who was a third-round pick in 2016 — to a three-year entry-level contract. The whole third line is suffering, no goals for Nazem Kadri his past 11 Together with Canadian junior goalie Ian Scott, the Leafs hope to be set games, one for Patrick Marleau and Kasperi Kapanen in their past 12 at the position for the near future. and 15, respectively. Matthews did everything but get on the scoreboard Saturday, 12 shot attempts and misses in addition to hitting the net three Toronto Sun LOADED: 03.25.2019 times. Babcock likes the way he’s incorporating his body of late.

“He uses the size to win pucks back. Rush hockey is great at the start of the year and it’s fun for the fans, but you don’t win in playoffs playing it. So you have to be physical on offence, You hear me say ‘heavy’ all the time, that’s why a guy such as Zach Hyman is so important for us. It’s a 1-on-1 battle and you can win it, get it to your teammate and keep the play going. If you’re light, you’re one and done.”

The Leafs host Florida on Monday night, the Panthers having one of the best records in keeping shots down, averaging just more than 30 against a game.

One of the spriest looking players at Sunday practice was defenceman Ron Hainsey, who marked his 38th birthday and led the team stretch to a cacophony of sticks banging on the ice in salute. The night before, he played 23-plus minutes for the fourth time in five games and took a shot off the side of his head he was able to shake off.

This is a great time to be a veteran blueliner in the league, with playoffs making their service all the more valuable. Meanwhile, 42-year-old Zdeno Chara just signed a new one-year deal in Boston and Mark Giordano in Calgary became only the third 35-year-old or over defender to reach 70 points.

“I feel fine,” said Hainsey. “It’s not so much about getting faster or slower as much as what everyone around you is doing. There is a certain level of (speed) you have to keep, but there’s a lot that goes into it.”

Babcock was full of praise for Hainsey, one of eight Leafs to play all 75 games to date, including fellow 38-year-old Patrick Marleau.

“He’s still a good player for us, one of the top plus-minus guys in the league (plus 30). He’s helped make Morgan Rielly a better player, because he looks after some of the details when Mo is roaming around.

“He’s a fun guy to have around and it’s nice to have guys who’ve won Cups (Pittsburgh 2017) in your room, especially this time of year.”

LISTEN UP

Hainsey is the most vocal of Leafs in the heat of battle or when a dressing room is too quiet.

“He’s very good at talking and playing the puck for me,” goalie Frederik Andersen said of stopping dump-ins for Leafs breakouts. “You feel comfortable and confident calling for the puck more. Or he can be an extra set of eyes for someone who doesn’t have 180-degree vision, feeding information about open guys. 1137495 Toronto Maple Leafs The addition of Tavares (and his impact on Marner’s production) combined with the rise of Johnsson and Kapanen from fringe contributors to big factors has been huge.

Mirtle: Why the Maple Leafs will finish with a worse record than last year The only players down significantly were impacted by games missed, with Nylander losing one-third of his season to the contract negotiation and Gardiner out with a back injury for a prolonged stretch late this By James Mirtle Mar 24, 2019 102 season.

Otherwise, there have been a ton of positives here.

Well, the Maple Leafs lost again. (Tom Szczerbowski / USA Today)

They played well. Lots of chances. Probably deserved to win. Hot goalie. 2. Power play Yadda yadda. I had the lobster bisque. PP goals scored last season: 56 This story isn’t really a reaction to Saturday night’s 2-1 overtime loss to the lowly Rangers. It’s intended to be more of an examination of Projected total this season: 47 Toronto’s season as a whole with the intent of answering one big Goals against PP last season: 5 question. Projected total this season: 9 If the Leafs had 105 points last season, and added John Tavares, why will they finish with fewer points in 2018-19? Goal differential change: -13

The caveat here is the Leafs can technically still get more than 105 The power play has been a problem this season. The eye test has told us points. If they run the table over their final seven games, they will finish that for a while now. with 108. You can look at conversion percentage, and see that they’ve scored on Realistically, however, that’s not going to happen. Especially not now that 22 percent of their opportunities, which ranks seventh in the league. But Toronto has little to play for, given they’re seven points back of the Bruins that’s misleading given they were at 25 percent a year ago and added a and getting home-ice advantage in Round 1 looks all but impossible. talent like Tavares to the equation. We weren’t expecting a drop.

Now’s the time for the Leafs to start resting people and listening to Because the Leafs have drawn so few penalties, they’re in the middle of Jonas. (He decided not to write this weekend. We’re embracing writer the pack in the NHL in power-play goals scored. And they’re on the high load management.) side in shorthanded goals allowed.

The Leafs will need to close the season 5-1-1 to get back to 105 points. At the individual level, the drop in production is fairly significant for some Their current trajectory is a little under 103, so I’m going to go under the players. assumption that that’s about where they finish. Matthews got a boost going from PP2 to PP1, but everyone who stayed It’s a minimal difference — almost insignificant — but I think it’s worth on the top unit has dropped. And PP2 this year has been … let’s just call digging into why it exists. Why did this star-studded team fail to make it underwhelming. gains in the standings despite career years from, well, everyone of significance? It’s safe to say Tavares hasn’t been able to singlehandedly replace the combined positive impact JVR and Bozak had on the man advantage last The answers are interesting. And I think they should change the way we year. Those two produced 20 and 13 power-play points, respectively; think about their point total, wherever it finally ends up. Tavares is on pace for 19. And no newcomer has been able to produce more than Johnsson, who’ll finish the year with around six power-play 1. Even strength points.

5-on-5 goals scored last season: 187 That disjointed second unit has been a big part of that.

Projected total this season: 204 This is probably the biggest area the Leafs took a step back in, year over 5-on-5 goals against last season: 158 year. And it was not due to a dip in time spent on the power play, as the minutes per game there are almost identical. Projected total this season: 166 The Leafs aren’t bad on the power play. They just aren’t as effective as Goal differential change: +9 they probably should be — and that’s compounded by the fact they so seldom even get to play on the man advantage. The Leafs have been a better even-strength team in almost every conceivable way this season. Puck possession (CF%) is up almost 2 (Tom Szczerbowski / USA Today) percent, to 51.7 percent. They shoot more. They generate more scoring chances and convert on a higher percentage of them. 3. Penalty kill

Statistical definitions available here. PK goals scored last season: 4

You can see that improvement at even strength at the individual level, Projected total this season: 5 too. Goals against PK last season: 43

Last season, the Leafs’ leading scorers at 5-on-5 were Auston Matthews Projected total this season: 39 (who missed 20 games to injury) and William Nylander. They both had 45 points. Goal differential change: +5

This year, John Tavares is on pace for 61. Mitch Marner is on pace for 58 The Leafs may not have been able to draw any more penalties than a — a 21-point improvement over last season. Morgan Rielly is similarly up year ago, but they’ve quietly spent a lot less time in the box. by a projected 22 more points at 5-on-5. Last year, they were down a man an average of 5:48 per game. That’s The Leafs lost JVR and Bozak, who both had 30 points at 5-on-5 last dropped to 4:24 this season, putting them tied as the second-most season, but their losses were more than compensated for by the addition disciplined team in the league. of Tavares and full seasons with Johnsson (who’s projected to get 38 points at 5-on-5 alone, more than Marner had last season) and Kapanen A lot of that is likely personnel. Zach Hyman leads Toronto in minor (35) in the lineup. penalties taken this season with 19, followed by Tavares, Kadri, Marleau and Johnsson, who all have between 12 and 14. The chart below shows the shift in 5-on-5 point production for every significant player who was a part of both last season’s and this year’s Last year, Roman Polak took 22 minors. JVR had 15. Bozak 14, team. Borgman 13 and Komarov 13. They’re all gone. If you just compare the D cores, this year’s group has only taken 63 Part of what happened last year is the Leafs went 25-6 in one-goal minors, which projects to 69 by season’s end. games, which is typically not a sustainable way to win that much over a long period of time. Last year? The Leafs blueliners took 100 penalties. This year, they’ve played in way fewer one-goal games, as they currently There’s no doubt this year’s team is more of a finesse group, and it’s sit at 11-5 in those outcomes, with seven games to play. (Empty-net helping them here. The Leafs are on pace to be shorthanded 23 fewer goals skew these stats some, but the basic premise remains the same.) times this season, which is almost entirely owing to how their back end has been changed to more of a skating/skill group. The Leafs have been a weaker team in some respects than a year ago — on the power play and their backup goaltending, in particular — but As a team, the Leafs are on pace for more than 240 fewer hits than a they’re stronger in more important (and more sustainable) areas, which year ago. bodes well for the playoffs.

Those gains haven’t been as noticeable as they could have been, in part The fact they’ll likely finish a few back of last year’s 105 points is not due to the fact the penalty kill itself isn’t really any better. And the Leafs’ really cause for alarm. Unless, of course, you expected them to finish up save percentage when down a man is measurably lower, too. near Tampa’s 130.

But you can add discipline to the list of things they’ve improved on. The Athletic LOADED: 03.25.2019 (Tom Szczerbowski / USA Today)

4. Goaltending

5-on-5 save percentage last season: .9287

5-on-5 save percentage this season: .9255

PK save percentage last season: .8832

PK save percentage this season: .8662

All situations change: .9171 to .9098

Save percentage is down about two points this year in the NHL, from .912 to .910. But the Leafs have experienced an even bigger dip than that, down into the average range.

Given Frederik Andersen’s save percentage has been .918 both seasons, a lot of folks will point to Garret Sparks as the culprit.

While it’s true that Sparks’ .903 has been rather underwhelming, the real anomaly was what Curtis McElhinney did last season. Somehow the then-34-year-old journeyman backup rang up a .934 save percentage last year, which led to an 11-5-1 record in the games he earned a decision.

As of right now, Sparks has played an almost identical number of minutes to what McElhinney did a year ago and allowed 17 more goals — roughly one per game.

That’s a huge difference: It’s the equivalent to the Leafs allowing an extra 0.2 goals against over all 82 games, even though the backup is only playing once every four or five games.

The problem with making that kind of analogy? There’s no way McElhinney, or any other backup, was going to post a .934 again this season.

A more realistic measure of the drop in backup goaltending the Leafs have gotten this season might be to take McElhinney’s save percentage this season in Carolina (.913) versus what Sparks and No. 3 Mike Hutchinson have posted (.905). That’s not perfect, but it’s probably a better proxy given our purposes.

That equates to allowing another five or six goals over a season, assuming the Leafs backup(s) play about 23 games, as they’re projected to this season.

It’s undeniable, however, that not having McElhinney’s magic on the second night of back-to-backs — fluky though it may have been — has made it harder for the Leafs to improve on their point totals. Those 17 goals he saved are likely the equivalent of another two or three wins.

Conclusions

In a lot of ways, the Leafs are a better team than they were a year ago.

They score more goals, especially at even strength. They shoot more and they allow fewer opportunities against. They’re better on faceoffs and they take fewer penalties.

Plus, they’re on pace for six more ROW — regulation or overtime wins — than in 2017-18, when seven shootout wins helped boost their record. 1137496 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights focus on health, rest down the stretch

By Adam Hill / Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Golden Knights have been vague about the details of the lower-body injury that has kept goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury out of action the last four games.

What appears clear is that Fleury’s time on the bench has come at a pretty good time in the season.

Fleury has been among the league-leaders in games played at the position all season and figures to play every game of the playoffs barring injury, so a rest before the postseason begins can’t be a bad thing.

It also coincided with the final days of his wife’s pregnancy and birth of their third child on Friday.

Fleury’s not alone in having a chance to steal a day off here and there down the stretch.

Forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare has missed the last two games with what he called a “very minor” issue and coach Gerard Gallant has rotated his active defensemen a bit the last few contests.

Even forward Valentin Zykov saw his first action since Feb. 9 in Saturday night’s 3-2 overtime loss to Detroit in place of Brandon Pirri.

“I wouldn’t say it’s resting guys,” Gallant said Saturday morning before the game. “I’d say it’s more just taking care of little minor injuries to make sure they don’t become major injuries. That’s the biggest thing right now. When you’re in a flow like we are right now, playing real well, as a coach you want to keep it going.

“We’re making sure guys are healthy and that’s the biggest thing for me.”

Fleury appears to be nearing a return, though the Knights maintained their level of play with Malcolm Subban going 3-0-1 in his absence.

Gallant said it was possible Fleury would join the team on the trip to St. Louis for Monday’s game against the Blues. A team spokesperson declined to comment on whether Fleury was on Sunday morning’s flight.

As for Zykov, he played 10:15 and generated two shots on goal in a game that also saw the return of forward William Carrier after missing more than a month due to an upper-body injury.

“I mean, he didn’t have the chances that William Carrier did,” Gallant said of Zykov. “But he played a fine game. We will look at some tape on that, but he was fine.”

Muted celebration

Forward Cody Eakin’s goal in the second period on Sunday night was his 20th of the season, surpassing his career high of 19 when he played for Dallas in 2014-15.

He wasn’t really in the mood to commemorate the moment.

“It’s nice,” he said. “It’s just too bad it couldn’t come in a win.”

Eakin has nearly doubled his production from last year when he scored 11 goals in the Knights’ inaugural season.

High praise

The Red Wings entered T-Mobile Arena as one of the worst teams in the league, but left with a win and some positive memories.

“I think it’s one of a kind,” Detroit defenseman Madison Bowey said of the atmosphere. “Just how loud it is and the emotions. Everything is going, and I think it just takes a really good team to kind of slow it down and communicate out there and work as one. I think we did that tonight just as we planned. Obviously, it was the outcome that we wanted.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137497 Washington Capitals the next week, but he’s unlikely to play before the playoffs begin in two weeks. Kempny is averaging more than 19 minutes per game, and Sunday featured some experimentation with how the Capitals will replace With 35 saves, Braden Holtby leaves the Flyers feeling sick in the him. Capitals’ 3-1 win Christian Djoos started the game in Kempny’s usual spot, beside top- pairing defenseman John Carlson, but Reirden rotated his blue line as the game went on. While Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov largely stayed By Isabelle Khurshudyan March 24 at 4:39 PM together, Reirden tried Brooks Orpik with Carlson, and he also had Carlson skate on his off, left side with right-handed shot Jensen.

“We’re looking for the right combinations that work for us that can set us Especially in games such as Sunday afternoon’s, the Washington up for future success,” Reirden said. “Just some guys that aren’t 100 Capitals are reminded how good they have it. With some players battling percent in terms of sickness-wise, that are low on energy, so you have to an illness that’s working its way through the dressing room and the team manage those minutes as well. There are a lot of things in play that not at its best during a matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers at Capital cause that type of mix-and-match stuff both up front and on our blue One Arena, goaltender Braden Holtby single-handedly can make up for line.” all of that. Fortunately for the Capitals, Holtby seemed to be feeling just fine. He made 35 saves in the Capitals’ 3-1 win, which snapped a two-game skid and allowed Washington to stay a point ahead of the New York “Kept us in the game until we were able to get some chances and Islanders atop the Metropolitan Division. After Holtby kept the Capitals convert on them,” Reirden said. “He was excellent.” afloat with 19 saves in the second period, his teammates responded with an impressive third, holding Philadelphia to five shots on goal, and Washington Post LOADED: 03.25.2019 forward Jakub Vrana extended Washington’s lead with a breakaway goal.

“They worked for what they got, but I thought for the most part plays were in my grasp to stop,” Holtby said. “It’s one of those things when you’re in the [defensive] zone, you’ve got to trust each other, and I thought we did that.”

Vrana’s goal was his 22nd of the season and a testament to the Capitals’ depth: They have twice as many players with at least 20 goals (six) as they finished with a year ago. Of that group, most impressive is forward Tom Wilson, who has eclipsed that mark for the first time despite being suspended for the first 16 games of the season.

Wilson recorded his 22nd goal in 57 games with his deflection of defenseman Nick Jensen’s point shot 3:52 into the game. Wilson is tied with Vrana and right wing T.J. Oshie for the second-most goals on the team, behind captain Alex Ovechkin’s 48. Wilson scored four goals in four games against the Flyers this season.

This is the first time since 2006-07 that Washington swept the season series against Philadelphia, and with three of those wins coming in March, the Capitals essentially stunted any postseason hopes the Flyers had. Asked whether the Capitals took some satisfaction in that, Wilson joked that he didn’t “want to say it on camera.”

“But they would feel the same way if it was reversed,” he added. “It’s always nice this time of year when you’re collecting those points and winning against teams that are playing desperate hockey. They’ve got guys on that side that battle pretty hard, and it’s never fun when you’re in that position. We’ll move forward. Those three games that we played against them the last month, those were big points both ways. We’re happy to have done what we did.”

Washington’s second goal also came on a deflection. After several impressive saves by Holtby, the fourth line moved up the ice, and winger Travis Boyd went to the front of the net, screening Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott as defenseman Matt Niskanen’s point shot approached. Boyd tipped it into the net at 10:47 for his fifth goal of the season, extending Washington’s lead to 2-0.

But after the first period was played evenly, Philadelphia had the puck more in the second, largely because the Flyers were awarded three straight power plays. They eventually capitalized; after a giveaway by Niskanen, Philadelphia’s Jakub Voracek halved Washington’s lead with a power-play strike from the right faceoff circle at 17:10.

The Capitals had Holtby to thank for still holding the lead at the second intermission.

“You’re going to have nights where maybe you don’t have your ‘A’ game or whatever’s going on,” Boyd said. “If you have a goalie like Holts who can kind of pick up the slack on those nights, it makes things a lot easier for us.”

Sunday was the Capitals’ second straight game without defenseman Michal Kempny, who is out indefinitely after injuring his left leg in Wednesday’s overtime loss to the NHL-best Tampa Bay Lightning. Coach Todd Reirden has promised an update on Kempny’s status within 1137498 Washington Capitals

Holtby sharp as Capitals beat Flyers to end losing streak

By Stephen Whyno | AP March 24 at 4:06 PM

WASHINGTON — Even though the Washington Capitals didn’t have peak emotional energy from the drop of the puck, they had Braden Holtby.

They’re used to this by now.

Holtby stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced to compensate for the slow start by his teammates, and the defending Stanley Cup champions beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Sunday afternoon to snap a two-game skid. The 2016 Vezina Trophy winner was in late-season form to help the Capitals kill off three of four Philadelphia power plays and avoid what would have been their first three-game losing streak since January.

“That’s a story line that we’re privileged to have sometimes is that when we’re not at our best, we’ve got one of the best if not the best in the league back there making up for some of our mistakes,” said winger Tom Wilson, who scored his 22nd goal of the season. “That’s what a goalie’s for. He’s the last line of defense. We’re lucky to have him.”

Travis Boyd and Jakub Vrana also scored for the Capitals, who guaranteed themselves remaining in first place in the Metropolitan Division on Monday when they’re scheduled to visit President Donald Trump at the White House. Holtby is one of two players who have said they will not attend.

Washington lacked some intensity the past two games after a showdown with the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. The Flyers took the play to them at times despite being on the second half of a back- to-back and having their playoff chances reduced to almost none in recent days.

Jakub Voracek scored a power-play goal and Brian Elliott made 27 saves for Philadelphia, which made a run from near the bottom of the league before running out of gas.

“We battled hard to get back in the standings and give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs,” Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. “It’s going to be real tough to get in. Two weeks ago, I think we had confidence in our group. We liked the way we were playing, and last two weeks it hasn’t gone our way.”

Washington is trying to avoid an ill-timed slump after losing top-four defenseman Michal Kempny for an indefinite period of time with a lower- body injury. With Kempny out, Capitals coach Todd Reirden mixed up his defensive pairings against the Flyers, moving All-Star John Carlson to his off side to play with fellow righty Nick Jensen.

“I think everyone knows how skilled he is and his capabilities out there, so it’s not surprising that he can play his off side,” Jensen said of Carlson. “It doesn’t matter who I’m out there with. I think all the D are really great and easy to play with.”

NOTES: The Capitals swept the season series against the Flyers for just the second time in franchise history. ... The start of the game was delayed several minutes as officials sorted out a lineup discrepancy. Philadelphia initially had Justin Bailey listed as a scratch, but he was in the lineup in place of Phil Varone. ... Capitals C Evgeny Kuznetsov played after missing Saturday’s practice with an illness and LW Carl Hagelin returned after missing Friday’s game against Minnesota with an illness. ... The sickness going around the team coupled with Kempny’s injury led the Capitals to call up D Tyler Lewington as an extra body. ... Captain Alex Ovechkin remained stuck on 48 goals as he looks for his eighth career 50-goal season.

Washington Post LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137499 Washington Capitals “We’re looking for the right combinations that work for us that can set us up for future success. Just some guys that aren’t 100 percent, in terms of let’s say sickness-wise that are low on energy. So you have to manage Holtby, Capitals stave off Flyers to complete season sweep those minutes as well,” he said.

Up next, before playing another game, the Capitals will visit the White House on Monday in honor of winning the Stanley Cup. By Adam Zielonka - The Washington Times - Sunday, March 24, 2019 Washington Times LOADED: 03.25.2019

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are approaching, and Braden Holtby knows it.

After a loss Friday marked by low energy from the whole team, the Capitals showed up Sunday to end a two-game skid. For the number of shots they faced, it wouldn’t have been possible without their goaltender.

Holtby made 35 saves as the Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 at home, completing a four-game season sweep of their divisional opponent for the second time ever.

“(Holtby is) a huge, huge reason why we won the game tonight,” Travis Boyd said. “Some nights you’re gonna have the nights where maybe you don’t have your A-game or whatever’s going on. If you have a goalie like Holts who can kind of pick up the slack on those nights, it makes things a lot easier for us.”

Holtby said facing the volume of shots he did (36, against Washington’s 30) can help with finding a rhythm in net.

“They came hard,” he said of the Flyers. “Their season kind of was on the line. I thought we did a good job, especially off the rush. We didn’t give them too much 5-on-5. They worked for what they got, but I thought for the most part, plays were in my grasp to stop.

Tom Wilson, Boyd and Jakub Vrana scored for Washington, and Alex Ovechkin was one of five Capitals to record an assist.

The Capitals head into the final two weeks of the regular season hanging onto the Metropolitan Division lead at 44-24-8 (96 points). They will finish this homestand Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes before taking the final road trip of the season to Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida.

“We’re getting every team’s best game. We know that,” coach Todd Reirden said. “That’s the challenge of the regular season. Then the other things that come along your way, I feel those only help you grow as a group.”

Wilson put the Capitals on the board four minutes in by redirecting a shot from Nick Jensen. The puck hopped in front of the crease at an angle typically seen in basketball bounce passes, and Flyers goalie Brian Elliott couldn’t grab it.

Boyd broke a 25-game goalless streak during the middle period, seconds after he missed a shot from up close. Andre Burakovsky dug the puck out and around to Matt Niskanen at the blue line, and Boyd hopped a few inches to tip Niskanen’s shot down and under Elliott’s armpit.

“I had a split second there where I was a little frustrated with myself for missing the net completely on the first chance, but it’s a funny game,” Boyd said. “Sometimes you can be all alone with the goalie and miss the net. Two seconds later, you got an opportunity to tip one and somehow that one goes in. Regardless, it felt good for me.”

With Michal Kempny out of the lineup indefinitely, due to a lower-body injury he suffered Wednesday against the Lightning, the Capitals’ defensive pairings have become more fluid. Reirden mixed up the pairs throughout the second period, at one point moving Jensen up with Dmitry Orlov, then with John Carlson. Niskanen skated with Christian Djoos for a spell, another uncommon tandem.

For nearly 40 minutes, the different defensive looks helped keep the Flyers scoreless, although Holtby’s performance had more to do with that. Finally, Philadelphia struck with a power-play goal by Jakub Voracek, and it was 2-1 after the second.

Vrana’s goal came midway through the third on a Flyers neutral zone turnover. Brett Connolly popped a loose puck ahead to Vrana, uncovered, and he netted his 22nd goal of the season.

Forwards Carl Hagelin and Evgeny Kuznetsov were game-time decisions with illnesses, but both played. In fact, Reirden hinted after the game that other players were not feeling 100 percent as he discussed the defensive changes. 1137500 Washington Capitals

Capitals turn experimental as Stanley Cup playoffs approach

By Brian McNally March 24, 2019 5:01 PM

WASHINGTON – The Capitals are sick and they are tired and they are injured and they are experimenting.

That’s the takeaway with six games left to go in the regular season after a 3-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday at Capital One Arena. Todd Reirden mixed his defensive pairs routinely and did the same in the third period with his forward lines, which led to a goal for Jakub Vrana.

Washington extended its lead in the Metropolitan Division to three points over the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. But they have been forced to look at different options thanks to an injury to defenseman Michal Kempny and illness spreading through the forward ranks at a bad time.

And so that’s how John Carlson started the game on the right side of the top pairing as usual, but was soon on the left side of the ice, with Nick Jensen moving up to replace Christian Djoos. At various times, Brooks Orpik played with Jensen and Djoos on the third pair. Kempny is out indefinitely, so Reirden doesn’t have much time to configure his ideal pairings. And trying to win a division title while doing so is problematic.

“I feel perfectly comfortable playing with any of our D,” said Jensen, who was acquired just before the NHL trade deadline in late February. “I think they're all capable of playing great defense, and I think they're all really great D and we tend to all be on the same page a lot of the time. When we're switching up D-pairings there, it might be a little bit of an adjustment period, but we'll get used to it as it goes down the line as we keep playing with each other.”

They’d rather have Kempny, of course. Washington had turned the tide on shot attempts during the 10 games after Jensen was acquired and the lineup was stable. It was a good sign heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Unfortunately, Kempny is out indefinitely and no one is sure if or when he will return.

“We're looking for the right combinations that work for us that can set us up for future success,” Reirden said. “Just some guys that aren't 100- percent in terms of lets say sickness wise that are low on energy so you have to manage those minutes as well. So there's a lot of things in play that cause for that type of mix and match stuff both with up front and on our blue line.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137501 Washington Capitals

Capitals' significant others show off puppies, announce Homeward Trails donations

By Sammi Silber March 24, 2019 3:29 PM

If you didn't think you could love the Caps more, think again.

With an assist from some puppies, Caps' significant others Katrina Connolly, Paige Dowd, Tasha Maltman and Taylor Pischke announced a $177,000 donation to Homeward Trails Animal Rescue on the jumbotron during Sunday's 3-1 win over the Flyers.

All of the proceeds came from the Caps' 2019 canine calendars and were donated on behalf of the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation. Since 2014, the foundation has donated over $400,000 to Homeward Trails through the Capitals' annual canine calendars.

The puppies featured on the jumbotron are all available for adoption.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137502 Washington Capitals cut it off and tapped it up to the streaking Vrana who was in behind the defense.

You have to give credit to Philadelphia for not collapsing after Boyd’s Capitals earn an ugly, but critical two points in slugfest with Philadelphia goal. After dominating play, going down 2-0 must have been a deflating feeling, but they battled back. Vrana’s goal to restore the two-goal lead, however, was the knockout punch. The Flyers could not battle back after By J.J. Regan March 24, 2019 1:58 PM that one.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 WASHINGTON – It wasn't pretty, but it still counts. The Capitals were largely outplayed Sunday by the Philadelphia Flyers but Braden Holtby led the Caps to the 3-1 win and a critical two points.

Washington's lead atop the Metropolitan Division had been trimmed down to one point after Saturday's action. Had the Caps lost in regulation, they could have finished the day dropping to second place if the New York Islanders win their game later in the day. The victory, however, ensures Washington will keep its spot atop the division in the ever-tightening playoff race.

Here are four reasons the Caps won.

A Wilson hit

Tom Wilson has a bad rap around the league, but his physical play can certainly be an asset to the Caps and that was on display in Washington’s first goal.

Early in the game, the Caps held the puck in the offensive zone. Claude Giroux swept the puck off the stick of Alex Ovechkin and that looked like it would be the end of that offensive opportunity for Washington. As Giroux went to recover the puck behind the goal line, however, he felt the pressure of Wilson who knocked him into the boards and turned the puck over right back. Suddenly the Flyers were on their heels.

Wilson fittingly got to finish off the play he started as he got to the front of the net deflected in a shot from Nick Jensen past goalie Brian Elliott.

Travis Boyd’s timely deflection

Philadelphia began to take control of the game in the second period. The Flyers outshot the Caps 20-7 in the middle frame. Besides two 2-on-1 opportunities, neither of which they converted on, there was little offense to speak of for Washington. As the Flyers began to assert themselves, however, Travis Boyd provided a critical tally.

Sean Couturier turned the puck over on a breakout and the Flyers were caught completely out of position. Boyd had a great scoring opportunity but missed the net. Matt Niskanen cut the puck off at the blue line and threw it back on net. Boyd smartly went to the front of the net after the shot and was there to deflect it in to give Washington a 2-0 lead.

Not only did that goal prove to be the game-winner, but it also kept the Caps ahead when Jakub Voracek finally struck on the power play later in the period.

Braden Holtby

When the Caps were on their heels, Holtby was there to shut the door and keep them ahead. The Caps’ netminder was tested 36 times with 20 of those shots on goal coming in the second period alone.

It was not as if the Flyers weren’t pressuring Holtby either. Philadelphia was in his face all game long trying to knock him off his game with physical play. More than once you could see Holtby give a little hack with his goalie stick to a Flyers player after taking perhaps one too many liberties with the netminder.

Holtby was brilliant in a game in which Washington was largely outplayed. The Caps do not get this critical win without his effort in net.

Vrana’s breakaway

The Caps held a precarious 2-1 lead heading into the third period. Philadelphia was outplaying them badly and carried that momentum into the final 20 minutes. Brooks Orpik’s roughing penalty was the fourth straight power play for the Flyers and it felt like only a matter of time before Philadelphia would finally get the game-tying tally. Washington managed to kill off the penalty, however, and soon after extended their lead to 3-1 as Jakub Vrana snapped the puck through Elliott’s five-hole.

Brett Connolly tried to hit the puck off the wall and out of the defensive zone, but the puck was stopped at the blue line by defenseman Philippe Myers. Myers attempted to sweep the puck deep, but failed and Connolly 1137503 Washington Capitals

Don Cherry calls Evgeny Kuznetsov a "jerk" for his bird celebration

By NBC Sports Washington Staff March 24, 2019 10:15 AM

Don Cherry has been part of the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast since 1986 with his segment "Coach's Corner." Typically, he discusses the tough and physical aspects of the game.

But during Saturday's broadcast, Cherry called out Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov for his bird-walk celebration.

"Watch the jerk here now after he scores the goal," Cherry said. "He misses here, he's deep in the end, watch Hedman get the goal. Remember kids, Hockey Night in Canada, karma hockey, it always comes back, he's not even in the thing, he is a jerk and he inspires the other team. Remember kids, never inspire the other team."

This isn't the first time Cherry has called out Kuznetsov for his celebration. When Kuznetsov scored to tie the Feb. 12th game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, he celebrated with the birdman celly in front of the Blue Jackets' bench. Columbus gave it right back to Kuzy when they scored the overtime winner.

"He gives ’em that in front of their bench. Watch what Columbus does when they scored. The Birdman," Cherry said. "Watch this in Columbus. You do not make fun of a team when you score. You play the game."

In the Stanley Cup Final, Cherry praised Brayden McNabb for hitting Kuznetsov and potentially injuring him. "You wanna be a wise guy, remember kids, you wanna jump around, this is what happens to ya," Cherry said. "I used to give them the extra little shot there all the time."

Kuznetsov explained that he does the bird walk celebration because his daughter, Ecenia, is a fan of it. It's inspired by the celebration in the video game FIFA '18.

And the Capitals are making good use of the celebration, giving away Kuzy bird walk bobbleheads during their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 26.

Not only that, Breaking T made a shirt to commemorate the celebration and insult.

That game could be a battle of the jerks, as Don Cherry called the Carolina Hurricanes a "bunch of jerks" for their Storm Surge celebrations.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137504 Winnipeg Jets "The crowd was awesome. They were so loud and into it. That really helped us carry some momentum and really helped us get into this game. They were chanting, and that’s what you get in playoffs. This Roaring arena keeps Jets 'wired' whole city is ready for playoffs," Hellebuyck said.

It appears he and his teammates are as well. After a bit of a predictable dud in the desert last Thursday to wrap up a tough three-games-in-four- By: Mike McIntyre nights road trip, the Jets quickly got back to recent form and took another big step in the right direction with their most complete, 60-minute effort of Posted: 03/25/2019 3:00 AM the season against a Predators team that seemed to have no answers.

A loss against Nashville and it would have been a tight, three-way race to No, the roof didn’t come off Bell MTS Place, even if the decibel level was the finish line between the Jets, Predators and the red-hot St. Louis higher than it’s been all season. Blues. Now, the Jets have opened up some breathing room.

But if you’ve ever wondered just what home-ice advantage looks and "Biggest game of the year up to this point and they’re just better than us. sounds like — or why NHL teams spend a gruelling, six-month regular It’s disappointing," a very blunt Nashville defenceman Roman Josi said season striving for it — the raucous scene that played out Saturday night following the game inside the downtown Winnipeg barn was Exhibit A. That certainly bodes well considering Dustin Byfuglien and Josh And don’t take my word for it. Just listen to what Jets head coach Paul Morrissey remain out of the lineup, with both expected to be back in time Maurice and his players had to say in the aftermath of a 5-0 beatdown of for playoffs. Even if the Jets are being very careful not to get caught their arch-nemesis from Nashville that not only locked down a playoff looking too far down the road. spot, but put the local club in firm control of the Central Division with less "We can’t get satisfied. We’ve got to know that we can bring it, but we’ve than two weeks to go in the regular season. got to know it’s hard work. And we’ve got to come back tomorrow and the "It felt as close to a playoff game in the building. Right from the national next day and know that when you’re at the rink, it’s all or nothing," said anthems, there was a buzz. You know what? I really think we needed Hellebuyck, who is 4-0-0 in his past four starts with two shutouts and a that. I was worried about this one, more for just coming off the west 1.00 goals-against-average, stopping 129 of 133 shots. coast. This is our toughest stretch, where would the emotional level be? That’s the right attitude to have, of course. There’s no time to coast or The fans didn’t give you a chance not to be wired. You could feel it on the rest on laurels, and simply making the playoffs wasn’t the ultimate goal bench. It was great," Maurice said. here. It’s to be the last team standing later this spring. 'The crowd was awesome.They were so loud and into it...This whole city If that were to happen, you might want to have some earplugs at the is ready for playoffs' ready and construction workers on standby because the roof at Bell MTS — Connor Hellebuyck Place may indeed be blown right off.

For the record, this was not a response to a softball "Hey, wasn’t the Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 03.25.2019 crowd great?" question. Maurice dished out the praise without prompting, and his comments about how the noise gave his team a much-needed boost were certainly interesting given just how much jump his squad clearly had.

As an aside, so was his mention about "right from the national anthems." The Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus contributed to the big-game feel with powerful, goosebump-inducing renditions of The Star Spangled Banner and O Canada that had the joint jumping off the hop. According to the group itself, they’ve now performed before five Jets games — with the home team going 5-0-0 and outscoring opponents by a whopping 30-11 margin.

Memo to True North: perhaps you should be talking to Hoosli about clearing some space on their calendars in April, May and June?

"That was a little bit different buzz than we’ve had in the building all year. Everyone was fired up for this one. We fed off that. I thought it was our best game of the year," captain Blake Wheeler added.

Wheeler won’t say it, but I will: Bell MTS Place has been noticeably muted for much of the year. At first, I thought it was just the contrast coming off last year’s extended playoff run and Whiteout that spilled into the streets and had Winnipeg at the centre of the hockey map. But as the season has gone on and the wins kept coming, the crowds have seemingly gone mild compared to what we’ve all seen and heard in the past.

After all, Bell MTS Place was just voted as having the fifth-best atmosphere in the league, behind only Vegas, Montreal, Nashville and Chicago based on an NHLPA survey of more than 500 players. But it hasn’t exactly lived up to that reputation so far this season.

Maybe it was a prolonged playoff hangover. Perhaps the novelty has indeed worn off a bit here in year eight since the NHL returned. Or a case of the bar rightfully being raised, where fans no longer just hope the Jets win but now expect it. Or just pacing themselves and resting the vocal chords for when the time is right.

If so, it appears that time has arrived.

"First in Central," the chants rained down late in the third period Saturday as fans clearly sensed a first division title in franchise history is now very much in sight. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who recorded an impressive 33-save shutout, heard it loud and clear. 1137505 Winnipeg Jets "That game was a one-off. That game was two bullies meeting on a street corner, one liked the result of the last fight, one didn’t, and nobody told the police," Maurice said in a reference to the fact it was the first time Laine's unselfish act a smooth move they’d met since Winnipeg ousted Nashville in the playoffs last spring.

"If they’d just let them fight it out, there wouldn’t have been any penalties, but everything got called." Mike McIntyre Speaking of Maurice, Saturday’s triumph was the 693rd of his career and Posted: 03/24/2019 3:18 PM | Last Modified: 03/24/2019 10:06 PM put him ahead of the legendary Dick Irvin for seventh on the all-time list for wins by an NHL coach. Up next is Lindy Ruff, who has 736.

"He’s just a young man. He’s got a long ways to go," captain Blake It was a play that likely went unnoticed to the casual viewer, especially Wheeler said of his 52-year-old bench boss. given everything else that went down Saturday. The unselfish act by slumping scorer Patrik Laine commanded plenty of post-game respect Want to get a head start on your day? inside the Winnipeg Jets locker room. Get the day’s breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight The clock was ticking down in the Jets’ playoff-clinching 5-0 victory over to your inbox every morning. the Nashville Predators when Laine — stuck on 29 goals for 11 games and counting — got a perfect setup from Kevin Hayes right in the slot. SUBSCRIBE TO HEAD START

He’d hit two posts earlier in the contest, and nobody would blame the Rest is clearly a priority right now for the Jets, who cancelled a scheduled Finnish sniper if he pulled the trigger in an attempt to end the drought. practice on Sunday in favour of a day away from the rink. They also But he didn’t. Instead, Laine made a sweet dish to Kyle Connor, who didn’t skate last Friday (flying back from Vegas) or last Tuesday (the day one-timed a blast past Pekka Rinne for his first career hat trick with nine after their win in Los Angeles and the day before back-to-back games in seconds to play. Anaheim and Vegas).

Head coach Paul Maurice said Laine’s decision speaks volumes about They’ll hope to conserve plenty of energy for tonight’s visit from Dallas in his overall development. what is a possible playoff preview, then take another day off on Tuesday.

"He has a really strong awareness of what’s going on around him. Patty Visits from the New York Islanders on Thursday and the Montreal wants to play well. Sure, an offensive guy wants to score goals. He hit Canadiens on Saturday will finish the final homestand of the regular those two bars and his game didn’t get worse. There’s the maturity that season. we’re starting to see," Maurice said. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 03.25.2019 "He’s 20 years old and he wears it when he’s not scoring because he’s scored his whole life and he wants to score. But his game was rock-solid (Saturday), he won some battles along the wall, some good back-checks, some great chances to score. He’s not a selfish player on the ice."

Connor, who began the night tied with Laine for goals and is now up to 32, was singing the praises of his linemate.

"It’s just the character he is. He cares about this team first and he’s a very underrated passer. I don’t think that gets enough recognition," he said.

Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice (Boris Minkevich / Winnipeg Free Press files)

The Jets made a huge splash at last year’s trade deadline, landing Paul Stastny. And they grabbed another big fish this year in Hayes, once again filling a void for a second-line centre.

The similarities don’t end there.

Stastny put up four goals and nine assists in 19 regular-season games with the Jets. And Hayes? He has four goals and six assists in his first 13 regular-season games with the Jets.

Hayes had a career-high four points on Saturday night, including assists on all three of Connor’s goals. It was quite a debut for the new-look line of Hayes, Connor and Laine.

"He’s up there with one of the best passers I’ve seen and played with. He creates a lot of space with his size and really good hands for that big of a guy, too. He always seems to find the open guy so it’s been fun playing with him right now," Connor said.

No doubt, the Jets hope Hayes can replicate the playoff success of Stastny, who had six goals and nine assists in 17 post-season games for the Jets last spring.

Winnipeg was on its best behaviour Saturday, completely avoiding the sin bin against Nashville. Maurice was asked if that’s a sign of how far his team has come, considering the parade to the penalty box last October when the Jets took eight consecutive minors in the first two periods of what ended up being a 3-0 loss.

CP 1137506 Winnipeg Jets All three were plus-4 against the Preds, a dream start to Maurice’s latest experiment, which included putting Nik Ehlers on the top unit with Mark Schiefele and Blake Wheeler.

JETS SNAPS: Laine no longer one-trick pony, even if his best trick has “They’re not really creative changes by me,” the coach said. “We’ve seen vanished Ehlers, Scheifele, Wheeler play so very well for long periods of time, this year and in years past… and everybody kind of plays well with Kyle.

Paul Friesen “I liked all of them.”

FROM SINNERS TO SAINTS

Put a natural goal scorer in a prime shooting position and he invariably Also somewhat lost in the shuffle was the Jets going an entire game pulls the trigger. without taking a penalty for the first time this season.

Like an assassin with the target in his sights, that’s simply what he’s Wheeler says the tempo set by all four lines was the key. trained to do. “Nobody’s getting tired,” the captain said. “We have fresh legs every shift. Yet there was the Jets Patrik Laine on Saturday night, mired in an 11- There’s no reason to take a penalty when you’re jumping like that.” game scoring drought and staring down Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne in To Wheeler’s point: no forwards received less than 10 minutes of ice the dying seconds of a game already won. time, and none reached 20.

Instead of shooting, Laine fired a pass off to Kyle Connor, surprising It was a far cry from the first Winnipeg-Nashville meeting of the season, everyone in the building. when the Jets took eight straight penalties in a boisterous 3-0 loss.

Except maybe Connor, who took advantage of the out-of-position Rinne “That game was two bullies meeting on a street corner,” Maurice said. to complete his first career hat trick. “One liked the result of the last fight, one didn’t, and nobody told the And just like that, Laine shed another layer of skin in his continuing police. If they’d just let them fight it out there wouldn’t have been any transformation from a one-trick pony who thinks only of scoring. penalties. But everything got called.”

“Sure, an offensive guy wants to score goals,” Jets coach Paul Maurice COMRIE NOT SWEATING IT said, post-game. “He hit those two bars and his game didn’t get worse. Winners of five of their last six games, the Jets got an unexpected day off There’s the maturity that we’re starting to see. He’s 20 years old and he on Sunday, so there were no injury updates. wears it when he’s not scoring because he’s scored his whole life… but his game was rock-solid. That means backup goalie Eric Comrie could still be with the team for Monday’s game against Dallas, or Laurent Brossoit could return and “He’s not a selfish player on the ice.” Comrie would be back on the farm with the Moose.

It can be a fine line between selfishness and selflessness, one Laine He’s not sweating that outcome as much as he used to. seemed to be walking occasionally over his first three NHL seasons. “This year more than any other year I’ve realized, hey, don’t look forward He always said the right things, when he scored and the Jets lost or so much,” Comrie told me before the Nashville game. “Last year I was when he didn’t score and his team won. always looking for when’s my next game in the NHL. You get there and But his body language sometimes said something else. you’re almost burned out from getting excited for that.

These days you’re less likely to see him hanging his head when he “Just go about your business day-by-day, and when it comes you’ll be misfires. More likely to see him banging an opposing body against the ready for it.” boards than banging his stick in frustration at missing another chance. Comrie also won’t mind a return to the Moose based on the team’s He missed two glorious ones on Saturday, ringing them off the posts sparkling play, 8-3 in its last 11, as it keeps charging hard at an AHL behind Rinne, and nobody would have minded if he’d tried to cash in on playoff spot. that third one, the Jets already up 4-0. “We’re probably the most prepared team in the AHL, and it’s not even “It’s just the character he is,” Connor said. “He cares about this team first close,” Comrie said, crediting coach Pascal Vincent. and he’s a very underrated passer.” Two more wins on the weekend have the Moose tied for the last playoff With just four goals in his last 30 games, Laine has been producing at a spot in their division. rate befitting a bottom-six winger, something the Jets need to change Winnipeg Sun LOADED 03.25.2019 before much longer.

He does have seven assists during this current 12-game scoring drought, though.

That last one scored him some invaluable points in the dressing room.

HAYES NOT MINDING THE ‘PEG

One of the players overshadowed by Connor’s three goals was the other part of the Laine-Connor line, centre Kevin Hayes.

With a goal and three assists, Hayes had his most productive day since being shipped over by the New York Rangers at the trade deadline.

“To be able to contribute, an important game, is a good confidence booster,” Hayes told the Jets web site. “I’m building some chemistry with KC there, and it’s been great so far.”

Even if Winnipeg isn’t the Big Apple.

“It’s a little different outside the rink, for sure,” Hayes said. “But everyone’s so nice here.”

Hayes was pumped Saturday morning to learn he’d be lined up with one of the NHL’s quickest skaters and top shooters. 1137507 Winnipeg Jets Mathieu Perreault-Andrew Copp-Matt Hendricks

Defence

JETS GAME DAY: Centres in the spotlight when Jets, Stars clash Nathan Beaulieu-Jacob Trouba

Dmitry Kulikov-Tyler Myers

Paul Friesen Ben Chiarot-Sami Niku

Goalies

Winnipeg Jets vs Dallas Stars Connor Hellebuyck

7 p.m., Bell MTS Place. TV: TSN-3. Radio: TSN 1290 Eric Comrie

THE BIG MATCHUP Dallas Stars

Tyler Seguin vs Mark Scheifele Forwards

The two front-line centres love to go head-to-head with their rock-paper- Roope Hintz-Tyler Seguin-Alexander Radulov scissors contest to see who gets to be the last one off the ice for the pregame warmup. What happens for the 20 minutes or so they’re on the ice, Jamie Benn-Justin Dowling-Jason Dickinson Monday, will go a long way to determining the outcome in this one. If Andrew Cogliano-Radek Faksa-Blake Comeau they’re matched against each other, and if Schiefele’s line can at least make it a saw-off, that’ll allow the other Winnipeg lines to cash in on their Valeri Nichushkin-Mattias Janmark-Joel L’Esperance depth against the low-scoring Stars. Defence 5 KEYS TO THE GAME Esa Lindell-John Klingberg The follow-up Miro Heiskanen-Roman Polak Much air was expelled and ink spilled in effusive praise of the Jets’ Taylor Fedun-Ben Lovejoy spanking of the Nashville Predators, Saturday. If they let it get to their heads, or more importantly, their legs, they’ll likely crash back down to Goalies earth against a Dallas team fighting for its playoff life. The win over Nashville is the template, and it all starts with jump in their step. Can the Ben Bishop Jets do it again? Anton Khudobin Patrik Laine Injuries This is a recording. That’s 12 games now without a goal from the Jets: G Laurent Brossoit, D Josh Morrissey, D Dustin Byfuglien Frustrated Finn, and just four goals in his last 30 games. But there are signs Laine’s second-longest dry spell of the season is about to end. Stars: D Marc Methot, D Stephen Johns, F Martin Hanzal, F Tyler Pitlick, Moving to the right side with Kevin Hayes and Kyle Connor, Laine had F Mats Zuccarello two Grade A chances against Nashville and was millimetres from scoring his 30th of the season. Getting this man in a scoring mood is Job 1-B Special Teams (after clinching first place) over the last seven games. POWER PLAY Send another message Winnipeg: 25.3% (4th) The Jets are clearly in the heads of the Preds, having won three straight Dallas: 18.6% (17th) against them and scoring five goals in each, the latest a 5-0 win on Saturday. That psychological edge will come in handy if the teams meet PENALTY KILLING in Round 2 of the playoffs again. The Stars could be a first-round opponent, and they’ve had the upper hand on the Jets two out of three Winnipeg: 79.7% (20th) games this season. It’s one last chance to even that score. Dallas: 82.3% (5th)

Absorbing rubber Winnipeg Sun LOADED 03.25.2019 The most impressive part of the win over Nashville, aside from Kyle Connor’s hat trick, was how tenacious the Jets were in their own zone, knocking down passes and especially blocking shots. Coach Paul Maurice noted not long ago the art of the shot block was something his young players were still learning. They took a step forward against the Preds and need to realize that’s an every-day, and sometimes painful, part of the gig.

The D-zone

Related to the above, the Jets kept things really clean in front of Connor Hellebuyck on Saturday, making his second straight shutout look easy. And they still fired 43 shots at the Nashville net, scoring five times. Maybe there’s something to what Paul Maurice keeps preaching about how good offence starts with good defence. It’s certainly the way to go into the post-season.

GAME DAY LINEUPS

Winnipeg Jets

Forwards

Nik Ehlers-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler

Kyle Connor-Kevin Hayes-Patrik Laine

Brendan Tanev-Adam Lowry-Bryan Little 1137508 Vancouver Canucks the season, he was seeking clarity that the fog in a demoralizing five months has lifted.

He couldn’t help but have his head on a swivel, but needed to play on the Blue Jackets 5 Canucks 0: A night where the hosts got exactly what they inside and in high-traffic areas to erase doubts that he could take contact. deserved He dished a puck off early in his own zone when Markus Hannikainen had him in the crosshairs — and he was then jostled by the winger on the backcheck — before Boone Jenner rode Baertschi like he was in a rodeo Stuart Davis in the second period.

“I”m just happy that he’s healthy,” said Canucks coach Travis Green. “It’s a physical game and it’s a hard game. And if you’re on the outside There haven’t been many nights quite like Sunday night. looking in, it’s hard to have success. You can play on the outside, but The Vancouver Canucks didn’t deserve a better fate. Their compete you’re probably not going to win a lot of games or have a lot of long-term mantra was mangled. They chased the game. They were flat-footed. success.” They were mistake prone. And the power play went into hibernation. If Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella, back, pats Adam that wasn’t enough, winger Tyler Motte was lost to an upper-body injury McQuaid, right, on the back as he sits on the bench with Artemi Panarin, in the second period. left, of Russia, and Pierre-Luc Dubois, centre, during the second period. In an NHL season where the Canucks could be appreciated for finding a Goldobin goes quietly into the night way to will themselves back into games, you never got that sense at Rogers Arena. You never got the impression that the club could dig itself You have to have a certain internal drive to stomach the tough going this out of a deep hole after the Columbus Blue Jackets built a 3-0 lead after time of the season. Nikolay Goldobin, who returned to the lineup after 26 minutes had elapsed. being a healthy scratch the previous four games, looked like he wanted nothing of the tougher going. Maybe the belligerent and effective Josh Anderson got to the Canucks. Maybe Pierre-Luc Dubois ending a 13-game scoring drought and the first He had one shot and one bad turnover and is a restricted free agent. line finally looking like a first line was too much to handle. “We’ve talked not just about his willingness to compete and get in to puck Here’s what we learned as the Canucks were shut out 5-0 — their 10th battles, but being able to come up with pucks,” said Green. “He’s a young blanking this season — to all but mathematically eliminate themselves player who sometimes gets outmuscled. That’s just a progression. Young from playoff contention in trailing the final Western Conference playoff guys have to eventually become players who can play and play full time.” spot by seven points with six games remaining: OVERTIME — Quinn Hughes skated in a skills session Sunday morning, Luke Schenn checks Columbus Blue Jackets’ Boone Jenner during the but Green won’t rush the recovering seventh selection in the 2018 draft. first period. The dazzling defenceman suffered a bruised ankle March 8 in the Big Ten quarterfinal opener. “He was on the ice with five or six guys and it’s One big hit, three mistakes, three goals important that he get in to some practices and gets some bigger bodies The margin for error was going to be minuscule. The Blue Jackets had to leaning on him and game-like stuff, plus his conditioning because he has win to creep to within two points of the final Eastern Conference playoff been off a while,” said Green. Pouliot returned the lineup because position with a game in hand. They lost ground before the puck was Guillaume Brisebois is out day-to-day with a hip strain. Josh Leivo was ill dropped Sunday and were intent to cut a four-point deficit. Sunday.

And it started early. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.25.2019

When Anderson rocked Alex Edler into the endboards — the defenceman’s head hit the glass and there was no penalty on the play — it set the tone. Luke Schenn challenged an unwilling Anderson for the hit. Anderson then dropped Ashton Sautner and Schenn levelled Ryan Dzingel.

That should have ignited something. And it did in the Blue Jackets, who scored at will as Sergei Bobrovsky posted his seventh shutout of the season.

Anderson showed his size, speed and finish to open scoring when Bo Horvat bobbled the puck in the offensive zone and Derrick Pouliot was caught up on the half wall. Anderson picked the short side glove on Thatcher Demko late in the first period. The Blue Jackets would strike twice in the first seven minutes of the second period on a pair of miscues.

Dubois ripped a high shot past Demko on the stick side after the Canucks coughed up the puck in the neutral zone. Dzingel scored on the backhand at top of the crease with nobody picking him up.

A rough night for Demko got worse in the third period with Oliver Bjorkstrand picking the glove side and Anderson snapping his second on the stick side.

Sven Baertschi, left, checks Columbus Blue Jackets’ Boone Jenner during the second period.

Baertschi buoyed by finally winging it again

There’s a piece of the action. And then there’s peace of mind.

Sven Baertschi’s return from his latest post-concussion symptoms setback — he missed 23 games after not feeling right following a Feb. 2 victory in Denver — was about much more than helping the Canucks keep their flickering playoff hopes from being doused.

It was about the left winger regaining the feeling that his career is finally back on track. He suffered the fifth concussion of his pro career on Oct. 24 in Las Vegas and was sidelined for 30 games. So, in his 23rd game of 1137509 Vancouver Canucks something different to the table and we’ve got to learn from these games. You can’t sit and sulk.

As for the Anderson hit on Edler, Schenn didn’t hesitate to respond. Canucks Post Game: Second-period crack, Schenn sticks up, Demko learns, Baertschi grateful “He (Anderson) is a big boy and I’ve seen him fight before and I knew he could handle himself,” said Schenn. “You’ve just got to try handle yourself. But he wasn’t willing to go tonight. Edler is our best defenceman Ben Kuzma and you want to stick up for guys.”

Said Green: “That’s a good example of a guy who has been around and hopefully the younger players take note of it.” Points to ponder as the emotionally spent Canucks were out-skated, outplayed and out-classed in a 5-0 loss to the Blue Jackets on Sunday at That should have ignited something. And it did in the Blue Jackets. Rogers Arena in the second half of back-to-back games where they were Anderson showed his size, speed and finish to open scoring when Horvat never really in it: bobbled the puck in the offensive zone and Derrick Pouliot was caught GREEN: ‘WE CRACKED IN THE SECOND PERIOD’ up on the half wall. Anderson picked the short-side glove on Thatcher Demko late in the first period. The Blue Jackets would strike twice in the There haven’t been many nights quite like Sunday night. first seven minutes of the second period on a pair of miscues.

The Saturday setback to the Calgary Flames seemed to seep into the Dubois ripped a high shot past Demko on the stick side after the consciousness 24 hours later because the Canucks really had no push- Canucks coughed up the puck in the neutral zone. Dzingel scored on the back and it was hard to single out positives. Maybe Luke Schenn sticking backhand at top of the crease with nobody picking him up. up for a penalized hit that sent Alex Edler’s head into the glass and then challenging Josh Anderson to a fight, who declined the invitation. Jay Beagle won a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals last season and the sobering setback Sunday was a prime example of what happens That was about it as the Canucks were blanked for the 10th time this when the opposition is hungry and you’re not. season. “They (Blue Jackets) were tight and structured and they stuck with it,” The Canucks didn’t deserve a better fate. Their compete mantra was said Beagle. “We got away from our structure in the second and didn’t mangled. They chased the game. They were flat-footed. They were play direct. It felt like a playoff game and so did last night. They’re fun to mistake prone. And the power play went into hibernation. If that wasn’t be in but you’ve got to learn.” enough, winger Tyler Motte was lost to an upper-body injury in the second period. A rough night for Demko got worse in the third period with Oliver Bjorkstrand picking the glove side and Anderson snapping his second All but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in trailing the goal of the night on the stick side. final Western Conference playoff spot by seven points with six games remaining, it was hard to find a silver lining. “I think I could have played the first goal differently — it (puck) kind of dipped on me and it was on edge and I just misread it,” said Demko. “I “It was an emotional game last night (Saturday) and I thought tonight we just have to learn from it. Hopefully, I can see improvement when I look had an intense and physical first period,” said Travis Green. “But the at video and go from there. second period we turned over a couple of pucks that turned into goals and I thought that deflated us a bit. And when we got down 3-0, it looked “They (Blue Jackets) didn’t let up at all and it’s something we can learn like we got a half step behind the rest of the way. from.”

“We looked a little light after that. That (Blue Jackets) is a good team BAERTSCHI: ‘I JUST WANT TO REGAIN MY CONFIDENCE’ battling for their (playoff) lives.” There’s a piece of the action. And then there’s peace of mind.

In an NHL season where the Canucks could be appreciated for finding a Sven Baertschi’s return from his latest post-concussion symptoms way to will themselves back into games, you never got that sense setback — he missed 23 games after not feeling right following a Feb. 2 Sunday. You never got the impression that the club could dig itself out of victory in Denver — was about much more than helping the Canucks a deep hole after the Blue Jackets built that 3-0 lead after 26 minutes had keep their flickering playoff hopes from being doused. elapsed. It was about the left winger regaining the feeling that his career is finally Maybe the belligerent and effective Anderson got to the Canucks. Maybe back on track. He suffered the fifth concussion of his pro career on Oct. Pierre-Luc Dubois ending a 13-game scoring drought and the first line 24 in Las Vegas and was sidelined for 30 games. So, in his 23rd game of finally looking like a first line was too much to handle. the season, he was seeking clarity that the fog in a demoralizing five “They kept coming and we couldn’t get any traction,” said Bo Horvat. “We months has lifted. have to be better than that down the stretch. We should have been ready He couldn’t help but have his head on a swivel, but needed to play on the to go. We didn’t have enough push back the whole game and whether it inside and in high-traffic areas to erase doubts that he could take contact. was the (Anderson) hit or the first goal, we just can’t roll over the last six He dished a puck off early in his own zone when Markus Hannikainen games like they mean nothing. had him in the crosshairs — and he was then jostled by the winger on the “We’ve got to try to get better because we’ve tried to build an identity. backcheck — before Boone Jenner rode Baertschi like he was in a rodeo Tonight we weren’t ourselves.” in the second period.

SCHENN: ‘YOU WANT TO STICK UP FOR GUYS’ “You realize how fast the game is,” said Baertschi, who was held without a shot in 16:48 of ice time. “My timing was off and getting your head up The margin for error was going to be minuscule. The Blue Jackets had to right away when you’ve got the puck, there were a lot of things to get win to creep to within two points of the final Eastern Conference playoff used to right away. Missing that many games isn’t easy and I just want to position with a game in hand. They lost ground before the puck was regain my confidence. The hardest part is guys come from everywhere dropped Sunday and were intent to cut a four-point deficit. and I have to be aware of it.

And it started early. “There is nothing like games. I got stripped (of the puck) twice from behind and it’s something I have to be aware of. But I was super excited. When Anderson rocked Edler into the endboards — the defenceman’s This has been hard and a real difficult time for me and my support head hit the glass and there was no penalty on the play — it set the tone. system. Schenn would challenge Anderson for the hit. Anderson then dropped Ashton Sautner and Schenn levelled Ryan Dzingel. Schenn finished with “Just being able to play again this year has been unbelievable.” a dozen hits. GOLDOBIN GOES QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT “We knew Columbus was going to be desperate and it just felt like that type of game,” said Schenn. “You want to be hard on guys and you never You have to have a certain internal drive to stomach the tough going this want to go chasing hits and get caught out of position. I just tried to bring time of the season. Nikolay Goldobin, who returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous four games, looked like he wanted nothing of the tougher going.

He had one shot and one bad turnover in 16:33 and is a restricted free agent.

“We’ve talked not just about his willingness to compete and get in to puck battles, but being able to come up with pucks,” said Green. “He’s a young player who sometimes gets outmuscled. That’s just a progression. Young guys have to eventually become players who can play and play full time.”

HUGHES SKATES BUT NO RUSH FOR DEBUT

Quinn Hughes skated in a skills session Sunday morning, but Green won’t rush the recovering seventh selection in the 2018 draft. The dazzling defenceman suffered a bruised ankle March 8 in the Big Ten quarterfinal opener.

“He was on the ice with five or six guys (Sunday) and it’s important that he get in to some practices and gets some bigger bodies leaning on him and game-like stuff, plus his conditioning because he has been off a while,” said Green.

Pouliot returned the lineup because Guillaume Brisebois is out day-today with a hip strain. Josh Leivo was ill Sunday.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137510 Vancouver Canucks had him in the crosshairs — and he was then jostled by the winger on the backcheck — before Boone Jenner rode Baertschi like he was in a rodeo in the second period.

Blue Jackets 5 Canucks 0: A night where the hosts got exactly what they “I”m just happy that he’s healthy,” said Canucks coach Travis Green. “It’s deserved a physical game and it’s a hard game. And if you’re on the outside looking in, it’s hard to have success. You can play on the outside, but you’re probably not going to win a lot of games or have a lot of long-term Ben Kuzma success.”

Goldobin goes quietly into the night

There haven’t been many nights quite like Sunday night. You have to have a certain internal drive to stomach the tough going this time of the season. Nikolay Goldobin, who returned to the lineup after The Vancouver Canucks didn’t deserve a better fate. Their compete being a healthy scratch the previous four games, looked like he wanted mantra was mangled. They chased the game. They were flat-footed. nothing of the tougher going. They were mistake prone. And the power play went into hibernation. If that wasn’t enough, winger Tyler Motte was lost to an upper-body injury He had one shot and one bad turnover and is a restricted free agent. in the second period. “We’ve talked not just about his willingness to compete and get in to puck In an NHL season where the Canucks could be appreciated for finding a battles, but being able to come up with pucks,” said Green. “He’s a young way to will themselves back into games, you never got that sense at player who sometimes gets outmuscled. That’s just a progression. Young Rogers Arena. You never got the impression that the club could dig itself guys have to eventually become players who can play and play full time.” out of a deep hole after the Columbus Blue Jackets built a 3-0 lead after 26 minutes had elapsed. OVERTIME — Quinn Hughes skated in a skills session Sunday morning, but Green won’t rush the recovering seventh selection in the 2018 draft. Maybe the belligerent and effective Josh Anderson got to the Canucks. The dazzling defenceman suffered a bruised ankle March 8 in the Big Maybe Pierre-Luc Dubois ending a 13-game scoring drought and the first Ten quarterfinal opener. “He was on the ice with five or six guys and it’s line finally looking like a first line was too much to handle. important that he get in to some practices and gets some bigger bodies leaning on him and game-like stuff, plus his conditioning because he has Here’s what we learned as the Canucks were shut out 5-0 — their 10th been off a while,” said Green. Pouliot returned the lineup because blanking this season — to all but mathematically eliminate themselves Guillaume Brisebois is out day-to-day with a hip strain. Josh Leivo was ill from playoff contention in trailing the final Western Conference playoff Sunday. spot by seven points with six games remaining: Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.25.2019 One big hit, three mistakes, three goals

The margin for error was going to be minuscule. The Blue Jackets had to win to creep to within two points of the final Eastern Conference playoff position with a game in hand. They lost ground before the puck was dropped Sunday and were intent to cut a four-point deficit.

And it started early.

That should have ignited something. And it did in the Blue Jackets, who scored at will as Sergei Bobrovsky posted his seventh shutout of the season.

Dubois ripped a high shot past Demko on the stick side after the Canucks coughed up the puck in the neutral zone. Dzingel scored on the backhand at top of the crease with nobody picking him up.

A rough night for Demko got worse in the third period with Oliver Bjorkstrand picking the glove side and Anderson snapping his second on the stick side.

Baertschi buoyed by finally winging it again

There’s a piece of the action. And then there’s peace of mind.

It was about the left winger regaining the feeling that his career is finally back on track. He suffered the fifth concussion of his pro career on Oct. 24 in Las Vegas and was sidelined for 30 games. So, in his 23rd game of the season, he was seeking clarity that the fog in a demoralizing five months has lifted.

He couldn’t help but have his head on a swivel, but needed to play on the inside and in high-traffic areas to erase doubts that he could take contact. He dished a puck off early in his own zone when Markus Hannikainen 1137511 Vancouver Canucks Tanev had a career-high six goals in Tortorella’s lone wildly erratic and often entertaining 2013-14 season here.

“I enjoyed it because he was very honest,” recalled Tanev. “He was Ben Kuzma: Tortorella plays psychologist to keep Blue Jackets in playoff always on me to get up the ice and he brought me to the next step when hunt I started playing more and against better players. He can be hard and guys react to different things.”

Ben Kuzma Tortorella has to get through to his veterans in this telling stretch, but younger players who are skilled, savvy and want to know what the process means to them on an individual basis is the new and ongoing challenge. John Tortorella knows the numbers aren’t adding up. The Blue Jackets have five players 23 years of age or younger and nine The slumping Columbus Blue Jackets are in jeopardy of missing the who are 24 or younger. Reaching them on the right levels will determine post-season, so their coach changed the course of the conversation whether Tortorella, who has two years remaining on his contract Sunday morning to pump psychological life into his club. Are you extension, gets the Blue Jackets to the playoffs of if he pays the price for surprised? Of course not. This is tactical Torts at his best. a season gone sideways. The former cantankerous Vancouver bench boss didn’t need to be “It has to be a two-way street,” said Tortorella. “It’s not coaching by reminded that the Blue Jackets have allowed the fourth-most first-period coaching at them. It’s coaching with them, because it is a different type of goals, that their power play is ranked 26th and first-liners Pierre-Luc athlete today. And quite honestly, it’s not about Xs and Os. It’s about Dubois, Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson had got 13, 11 and six games pulling the rope at the same time. respectively without scoring before facing the Canucks on Sunday night at Rogers Arena. “Until they say, we’ve had enough of you, I’m going to keep doing the best I can.” And he didn’t need to hear the Blue Jackets were 5-7-1 since the Feb. 28 trade deadline. That’s where they gambled and went all in by retaining Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.25.2019 unrestricted free agents Sergei Bobrovsky and Panarin and adding UFAs Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Adam McQuaid and Keith Kinkaid.

Instead of acquiring deadline assets, the Blue Jackets parted with them and all five UFAs could land elsewhere. Duchene had just six points (3-3) in his first 15 games in Columbus while Dzingel had seven (1-6).

Tortorella wanted us to hear how it can change for the better if his players embrace the excitement of what the stretch drive is supposed be about, as opposed to being consumed by the numbers. Then again, the penalty kill is ranked fourth, so there’s that.

“They’ve got to feel a result to not let their confidence waver, because it can go either way if we don’t start getting results,” started Tortorella. “We need to find a way to release ourselves and get on the attack and keep it simple. The one thing when you’re dealing with some guys who aren’t used to being put under a microscope and you’re supposed to win now, is that it changes a bit with expectations and that has affected some guys.”

That would include Panarin, who has been too easy to shut down during the club’s fight to stay within striking range of the Montreal Canadiens, who held a three-point lead on the Blue Jackets entering play Sunday. But the Blue Jackets have a game in hand, so if Tortorella can reach his players between the ears, the results should show in the standings.

“The biggest thing now is we need to not over-think anything and stop trying to answer that question,” Tortorella added of scoring and scoreboard watching. “Don’t overload your mind with a lot of thinking and numbers that people throw at me all the time with the problems we’ve had as a team.

“Just go play. We need to have a shinny-hockey mentality. We’re trying to really clean the slate here. Good players always expect more out of themselves and not getting results, it tends to bog them down because they’re not feeling it.”

Tortorella’s feeling-out process with players — and even opposition coaches — spans the spectre from compassionate to confusing to completely confounding. Tyler Motte and Chris Tanev credit Tortorella for taking their games to another level but it wasn’t a smooth transition. It’s coaching. It’s not a group hug.

“There are times when it gets into conflict, but that’s coaching,” stressed Tortorella. “It’s never a personal thing. Everybody wants to think it’s personal when there’s some emotion involved. With my style, it might take a few years down the road for them so say: ‘You know what? You were right there.’ “

Motte played 13 games for the Blue Jackets last season before being dealt to the Canucks and his speedy, gritty style of player resonated with the coach.

“He’s intense and coaches with emotion and wants his teams to play with emotion,” said Motte. “He’s not afraid to jump on guys however he sees fit. His messages often work.” 1137512 Vancouver Canucks Defence pairings

Alex Edler — Alex Biega

Canucks Game Day: Torts needs extra zip from point-hungry Blue Guillaume Brisebois — Troy Stecher Jackets Ashton Sautner — Luke Schenn

Goalies: Jacob Markstrom, Thatcher Demko Patrick Johnston BLUE JACKETS’ LINES

LW – C – RW The Blue Jackets desperately need playoff points, just like the Canucks. Meaningful games? Here's a big one. Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Cam Atkinson

NEXT GAME: SUNDAY Ryan Dzingel — Matt Duchene — Josh Anderson

Columbus Blue Jackets at Vancouver Canucks Eric Robinson — Riley Nash — Boone Jenner

7 p.m., Rogers Arena, TV: Sportsnet Pacific; Radio: Sportsnet 650 AM Brandon Dubinsky — Alex Wennberg — Oliver Bjorkstrand

THE BIG MATCHUP Defence pairings

Brock Boeser vs. Artemi Panarin Zach Werenski — Seth Jones

While Brock Boeser is flying high, again — he had three goals and six Markus Nutivaara — David Savard assists in his last eight games, heading into Saturday’s action against the Scott Harrington — Adam McQuaid Flames — Artemi Panarin has been ice cold. He hasn’t scored a goal in his last 11 games and has just five assists in that span. Goalies: Joonas Korpisalo, Keith Kinkaid

The Blue Jackets are chasing the playoffs and they desperately need the SICK BAY pending unrestricted free agent to fire up. Canucks: Sven Baertschi (post-concussion syndrome), Brandon Sutter FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME (hernia), Ben Hutton (foot), Antoine Roussel (knee), Quinn Hughes (ankle), Ryan Spooner (groin), Chris Tanev (foot). 1. Baertschi set to return Blue Jackets: Ryan Murray (upper body), Nick Foligno (personal), Sergei The Swiss sniper will finally suit up for the Canucks. He hasn’t played Bobrovsky (undisclosed). since Feb. 2 because of post-concussion syndrome and he’s excited to get back. How much rust will he have to shake off to be effective? SPECIAL TEAMS

2. Demko time POWER PLAY

With Jacob Markstrom starting Saturday against the Flames, Thatcher Canucks: 15.9% (26th) Demko will almost certainly start against the Blue Jackets. Markstrom Blue Jackets: 15.3% (28th) has started back-to-back nights five times this season, but the numbers have long told us a tired No. 1 goalie is rarely likely to be better than a PENALTY KILL rested backup in these situations. Canucks: 80.4% (18th) At the other end of the rink, Sergei Bobrovsky missed Thursday’s game in Edmonton with an undisclosed injury — he was merely described as Blue Jackets: 84.2% (3rd) “nicked up.” Backup Joonas Korpisalo has had a poor season and CBJ Vancouver Province: LOADED: 03.25.2019 will be hoping their No. 1 man is back in action.

3. Playoff chase

While the Canucks are chasing a nearly impossible playoff dream, the Blue Jackets are right on the edge. Going into Saturday’s action, they were one point back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot in the east. Remember, the Blue Jackets went all-in at the NHL trade deadline. This game is a must-win for both teams.

4. Torts time

It has been five years since John Tortorella was the Canucks’ bench boss. On his way out the door, he said what his former boss at the time Mike Gillis knew, and what Gillis’s successors would take several years to realize: it was time to find a new core of players.

A younger core has emerged, finally.

5. Road warriors

Columbus has 20 road wins this season (they’re 20-14-2 away from home). If they do overhaul the Habs to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, it will be because of their work on the road. Five of their last eight games — including tonight’s — are on the road.

CANUCKS’ LINES

LW – C – RW

Josh Leivo — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser

Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat — Loui Eriksson

Sven Baertschi — Adam Gaudette — Jake Virtanen

Markus Granlund — Jay Beagle — Tyler Motte 1137513 Websites It was that kind of game, much like the 2-1 loss the Canadiens suffered to Carolina back in November—when they recorded 49 shots and 93 attempts.

Sportsnet.ca / Takeaways: Canadiens earn valuable point to cap off A weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news in the world with hosts positive week Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. New episodes every Thursday.

Hurricanes continue torrid pace

Eric Engels March 24, 2019, 11:26 PM It was in early December when Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon told the Triangle Business Journal that all he wanted to see from his team was more goals. Depending on how you see it, the Montreal Canadiens either earned a valuable point in the standings or let a precious one slip away in their “I want to lose 5-4, not 2-1. If we lose 5-4, I’ll at least have fun,” he said. overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. They listened. Well, except for the losing part.

They were less than six minutes from a regulation-time win when Trevor The two goals the Hurricanes scored against Montreal made it 130 goals van Riemsdyk took a harmless looking shot that Jordie Benn kicked at since Jan. 1. Only the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning have scored as and deflected by Carey Price to tie the game 1-1. many since that point.

In overtime, an inadvertent turnover from Brendan Gallagher gave Andrei And Carolina’s record over that time? 26-9-2, which is only second to Svechnikov a 2-on-1 break. The Russian rookie looked to pass and Tampa (27-7-2). deceptively fired the puck through Price for his 20th goal of the season. Taking the positives from the weekend A tough loss, no doubt. It put Montreal three points behind the Hurricanes in the standings. Sunday’s game was the third in four nights for the Canadiens, and they were travelling late on Saturday after completing their third straight win (a Livestream every game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free. Plus 7-4 conquest of the Buffalo Sabres at the Bell Centre). stream the Blue Jays & MLB, Raptors and NBA Playoffs matchups and more. Canadiens coach Claude Julien was disappointed with Sunday’s result, but less so with how his team handled its week. On the other side of it, the Canadiens temporarily extended their lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets to four points for the second wild-card “I think the fatigue factor caught up,” he told reporters after the game. position in the Eastern Conference. A lead that was reduced to two “Midway through the second period we stopped making plays and in the points after Columbus beat the Canucks 5-0 in Vancouver later in the third, we were just hanging on. But when you pick up seven of eight night. points, it’s a good week.”

Meanwhile, let’s get to some takeaways from the one in Carolina. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.25.2019

A backbreaking goal, but not one to blame on Benn

When van Riemsdyk’s shot found its way into Montreal’s net, Price was visibly distraught.

Understandably so. He stood on his head in this game, making highlight- reel save after highlight-reel save.

It started with a 10-beller on Jordan Staal in the first period. In the second, after Montreal had held Carolina to zero shots through the first 14:34 of the frame, Price scrambled to get his pads on dangerous shots from Dougie Hamilton and Nino Niederreiter.

It was in the fifth minute of the third that Price stopped Hurricanes leading scorer Sebastian Aho on a breakaway. He forced their second-leading scorer, Teuvo Teravainen, wide on another one moments later and appeared completely impenetrable until the unfortunate bounce off Benn’s leg found the mesh.

You could tell from Benn’s reaction that he was upset with himself, but he tried to do what he’s done more than any other Canadiens player this season. He came into Sunday’s game with 119 blocks, and with the game on the line–with the Canadiens clinging to a one-goal lead while getting out-shot 11-3 to that point of the third period–you couldn’t blame him for trying to stop the puck from getting to his net.

It’s worth reminding that Benn successfully did that on two other occasions in the game. Both of them came on the team’s penalty kill as part of an effort that saw the Canadiens limit the Hurricanes to just one shot on net on three power plays.

Too many missed opportunities against Carolina

During that sequence when the Canadiens held Carolina without a shot in the second period, they had multiple chances to build on the lead Paul Byron gave them with his 15th goal of the season.

Hurricanes goaltender Curtis McElhinney made some unbelievable saves. Among them: a right-pad stop on a Jesperi Kotkaniemi breakaway.

And when McElhinney wasn’t the difference, there was Hurricanes defenceman Jaccob Slavin covering an empty net and fending off a Tomas Tatar shot that appeared to be a sure goal. 1137514 Websites It was probably Montreal’s worst first period all season, in fact. As Bettez put it, “For sure we didn’t play 60 minutes.”

Calgary Inferno’s Zoe Hickel (left) and Tori Hickel celebrate with the Sportsnet.ca / Inferno put exclamation mark on near-perfect season with trophy. (Chris Young/CP) Clarkson Cup win The Inferno jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, striking when blueliner Katelyn Gosling made a beauty fake shot pass to Hickel, who re-directed Kristina Rutherford | March 24, 2019, 6:54 PM it past Maschmeyer. Inferno defender Halli Krzyzaniak increased that lead with about seven minutes to go in the opening frame, when her point shot through traffic beat Maschmeyer, blocker side.

TORONTO — Long after she’d scored the game-winner, Zoe Hickel still In the second period, Montreal got some life, created some chances and had most of her gear on — including her skates, which were covered by started to look more like the team that finished second overall in the a set of pink guards. Her helmet and gloves and stick were long gone, regular season. A Bettez backhand got past Rigsby, who on Friday won though, fired in the air in celebration while she was on the ice. the CWHL’s goalie of the year award, and suddenly Montreal was back in it. But Les Canadiennes couldn’t hang on to that momentum. “The girls are loving it right now,” the Alaska-born Calgary Inferno forward said from under the brim of a Clarkson Cup champions ball cap, Decker extended Calgary’s lead back to two on the power play, with an of her teammates, who were whooping it up in the dressing room. “I absolute rocket from the right faceoff dot. As she put it: “I had a great haven’t even gotten undressed yet because we’re having such a good screen in front and just had to feather it through and make sure I put time.” everything into it.” That she did.

When fellow Inferno alternate captain Brianne Jenner greeted the gaggle But with a little more than two minutes to go in the second, it was Bettez of media assembled at Coca-Cola Coliseum, she said Juno-nominated who got Montreal back into the game, yet again, thanks to a beauty Shawn Hook was delivering a “private concert” in the dressing room. The through-the-legs pass from linemate Hilary Knight, to make it 3-2. champagne was flowing, too. “Might’ve spilled a bit,” Jenner added, with a grin. Montreal seemingly tied things up in the opening seconds of the third, when Jill Saulnier put one in from the doorstep, but the goal was called On Sunday, the CWHL’s No. 1 seed put an exclamation mark on a close- back — the referees immediately whistled it down, after Knight fell on top to-perfect season that saw them down Montreal in the championship of Rigsby. It looked like she was pushed by a Calgary defender, and as game, 5-2, for a second Clarkson Cup championship in franchise history. Poulin watched the replay on the jumbotron from the bench, she threw out her hands and shook her head. When the buzzer went, the Inferno players spilled off the bench and piled atop goalie Alex Rigsby, who faced 25 shots in the final. Jenner used her “I have to see it again, but for me I feel like Hilary Knight was pushed and jersey to wipe away tears, and her eyes watered again as she hoisted she didn’t have a chance to get back up and move out of there,” Ouelette the Clarkson Cup over her head, with most of the 4,696 fans still in the said. “And to be honest, from what I saw up there I didn’t think Rigsby stands to take in the celebration. could have moved in time to make the save. Obviously that’s a moment where we could have tied the game right there.” “This has been my family since I’ve been drafted into the league,” said Jenner, who’s been playing in the CWHL since 2015-16, when she won Instead, Calgary extended its lead soon after, when Hickel scored her her first Clarkson Cup, and Calgary’s first-ever. On Sunday, she and second on a feed from Rebecca Johnston, in close. Johnston added the Calgary earned No. 2. empty-netter with 22 seconds to go, and that was all she wrote.

And what a game it was. A game-tying goal was called back early in the Montreal could have wondered ‘what if’ on a couple things, Sunday: third period, Hickel scored twice for Calgary, Team USA star Brianna What if they’d had their captain, who put up a league-leading 50 points in Decker wired one home and was named Clarkson Cup MVP, Ann-Sophie the regular season? What if that goal hadn’t been called back? But, as Bettez struck twice for Montreal and the league’s best player spent the Oulette put it: “Bottom line is we had to play catch-up the whole game, entire game on Montreal’s bench. because we didn’t start on time.”

No, Marie-Philip Poulin wasn’t in this game — she couldn’t play, due to a Calgary did, and the Inferno were no doubt the better team. They boast a lower body injury — but the league MVP was one of its biggest stories, league-leading 14 national team players and in the 28-game regular still. Poulin skated in the warmup, and spent the whole game standing on season, suffered just five losses. But though Calgary has been the the bench, wearing her full gear. She leaned forward during the game, league’s best for most of the season, it’s been quite a year for the like a kid who couldn’t wait to go on, a kid who never got that coach’s tap Clarkson Cup champions. At the end of last season, their head coach, on the shoulder. She cheered, she high-fived teammates, she clapped Tomas Pacina, resigned after winning the league’s coach of the year with her hockey-gloved hands. She sat on top of the bench during TV award. Then, part-way through this season, his replacement, former timeouts and waved at the little girls who were waving at her. And she Team Canada coach Shannon Miller, walked away while the team was didn’t play a single second. 10-1-1.

The captain was the last Montreal player off the bench when it was all “We went through a lot this year,” Jenner said. “Lots of change to see our over, slowly skating to join her teammates in the crease with goalie group, [but] it never threw us off course, all season. To see the way that Emerance Maschmeyer while DJ Khaled’s All I Do Is Win played over the our group rallied, to see the way we finished the regular season, on the speakers, followed by — you guessed it — Queen, with We Are The road in China, and then having a bit of a test in the semifinals and that Champions, as the champs celebrated at the other end of the ice. didn’t throw us off, either.

Poulin went around to each of her teammates and gave them a low fist- “And then coming in tonight and delivering a winning effort, that’s been bump. The 27-year-old, who’s probably the best player in the world, us all year, just a team of professionals, and I’m really proud of them.” didn’t play in Montreal’s semi-final series, either — “day-to-day,” according to her team. Poulin didn’t address media after the game, and There’s no doubt this Inferno team is tight-knit. As Johnston was doing it’s anyone’s guess as to whether she’ll be ready for the world her post-game interviews, Decker and fellow Team USA star Kacey championships, which kick off April 4, with the final on April 14. She had Bellamy stood on top of a chair and hugged, to try to throw her off her been doing to rehab two or three times a day, trying to get back in time game. Johnston laughed through her answers, then mugged for photos for Sunday’s final. It couldn’t be done. with Decker. In a couple of weeks, they’ll be trying to crush one another at world championships. But for now, they’re CWHL champions and “She was heartbroken, that’s for sure,” said Les Canadiennes associate teammates. coach and former Team Canada star, Caroline Ouellette. “She’s the type of player that craves those big moments, those moments where Like the North American teams, Montreal and Calgary have also everything is on the line. She’s our captain, she’s our leader and she’s developed a rivalry in the CWHL. These teams have met in the Clarkson the best player in the league, in my opinion, so it was a huge loss for us Cup final three of the last four years. … In the end it was tough to play Calgary without Marie-Philip Poulin, “There’s definitely a rivalry there, but in a couple days, a few of them will and we would have needed everyone to play their best possible game be my teammates and I’ll be smiling,” Jenner said, also smiling at this from the start to finish, and unfortunately, we didn’t have that.” second. “But, it feels pretty good that Calgary got this one.” Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137515 Websites starter Jacob Markstrom in goal, nor defenceman Derrick Pouliot getting another chance to play.

Baertschi, the first-line winger, had missed 63 games this season, Sportsnet.ca / Schenn the only bright spot in Canucks' lacklustre effort including the last 23, due to a concussion. Goldobin sat out the last four vs. Blue Jackets after coach Travis Green yanked the winger from the lineup for the sixth time this season.

Iain MacIntyre | March 25, 2019, 2:03 AM Baertschi failed to register a shot in 16:48 of ice time and was on the ice for three of the five Columbus goals, all scored at even strength. Goldobin managed one shot in 16:33 of ice time.

VANCOUVER — For the second straight night, a team with something to “I don’t think I’ve ever had an injury for that long,” Baertschi said. win was too good for the team with merely something to prove. “Coming back, you realize how fast the game is again. There’s a lot of things I had to get used to today but the first one is over. Missing that There have been a lot of lost weekends during the Vancouver Canucks’ many games is not easy. I just want to come back and help the team, unsuccessful five-decade search for the Stanley Cup. This one play as good as I can and regain that confidence out there.” extinguished the last, faint embers of their miniscule playoff hopes, as Sunday’s bleak 5-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets piled on top of Baertschi has two years left on his contract and the only issue about his Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to the Calgary Flames. future with the Canucks is his health. Goldobin, however, is a restricted free agent after this season and it seemed he might have played his final This was the Canucks’ last stand. game in Vancouver until Josh Leivo reported to the rink Sunday feeling There was honour in their effort on Saturday, battling to the end against ill. the superior Flames in a taut, playoff-type game. But there was nothing “I was just waiting; I couldn’t do anything,” Goldobin, who has two goals noble about Sunday’s defeat. in his last 32 games, said of sitting out. “It is hard, but I try and stay After a good first period was undone by a bad goal-against that gave the positive. I wasn’t playing, but I was working hard in practice. Just trying to Blue Jackets the lead, the Canucks stopped competing in the second help the team. Do my best.” period and were bystanders in the third, managing only four shots on net. The only guy who did that on Sunday was Schenn, the 29-year-old who With the gimme, the Blue Jackets closed within two points of the was sent to the minors this season for the first time in his career but was Montreal Canadiens in the race for the final playoff spot in the National rescued by the Canucks in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks. Hockey League’s Eastern Conference. The Flames lead the Western “I just tried to bring something different, I guess, to the table,” Schenn Conference. said of his robust game. “Teams like Calgary, Columbus … these teams The way the Canucks played the final 40 minutes on Sunday, they are too good for us not to be dialled in for the full 60 minutes. You see wouldn’t beat anyone in the league. what happens when you’re not. We’ve got to learn from it. We’ve got another huge week ahead of us.” Vancouver’s best player was probably defenceman Luke Schenn, a minor-league call-up who is trying to save his NHL career. Schenn The Canucks’ draft-lottery rivals, Anaheim and Los Angeles, visit Rogers logged 12 hits. The Blue Jackets had nine. Arena Tuesday and Thursday.

But with former Canucks coach John Tortorella behind the Columbus Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.25.2019 bench, we were reminded what he famously said about David Booth being Vancouver’s best player during a loss in Detroit: “Good for him but not good for us.”

It is not good if Luke Schenn is your best player. By the end of the night, the bottom of the Canucks’ Corsi page was clogged with most of Vancouver’s most-skilled forwards. Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, Nikolay Goldobin and Sven Baertschi — both just back in the lineup — all saw shot attempts go against them by 2-1 margins as the Blue Jackets dominated.

“I thought we had a good first period,” veteran Canucks centre Jay Beagle said. “We stayed direct and played within our system. The second period was bad, obviously. We got away from our game and they stayed structured. We didn’t compete as hard as we needed to and that was the difference.”

Winger Josh Anderson, who crushed top Canuck defenceman Alex Edler in the numbers without penalty on an early boarding, had two goals and an assist for Columbus, which scored twice in the second period and added two more in the third.

Anderson’s short-side knuckleball that beat Canuck goalie Thatcher Demko at 16:19 of the first period turned out to be the game-winner, as Vancouver was shut out for an NHL-leading 10th time this season.

“We’ve worked really hard this year in a lot of games and we’re starting to build an identity for our team,” Canucks leader Bo Horvat said. “Tonight wasn’t ourselves and that’s unacceptable. We have to be better here in the last six games.”

Asked if Saturday’s emotional loss, which dropped the Canucks six points adrift of the last playoff spot out west, had dispirited the team, Horvat said: “You try not to think about it. Obviously the game against Calgary was a big game, a must-win. Every game at the end we had to win basically. It was kind of a letdown, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for us tonight. We just weren’t good enough.”

The return to the lineup of Baertschi and Goldobin spectacularly failed to rouse the Canucks, who also drew no energy from Demko replacing 1137516 Websites defencemen on a regular basis, even if the science already shows additional rest can maximize performance.

“The human body would benefit from a million things, but again … to Sportsnet.ca / Beyond Headlines: Is 'load management' feasible in NHL? compare anyone to the Spurs or LeBron, it’s not a comparable scenario — at least not right now,” said Hainsey. “If this team goes on a five-year run of finals appearances and they finally say ‘We don’t give a s— if Chris Johnston |March 24, 2019, 1:31 PM we’re second or third, then it’s a different story.’ But that’s not the case, that’s not the case for anyone. Tampa this one time, but they’ve got guys

who want to score 150 points. Good luck with that. Ron Hainsey celebrates his 38th birthday today, which is notable if you’re “Sure, of course, pencil me in for f—ing 10 games off [per year], but we a family member or friend who needs to pass along well-wishes, or the don’t know: How’s that going to affect everything? I have no idea. Who is Toronto Maple Leafs monitoring his workload. going to start taking that risk right now? Hainsey’s shown himself to be incredibly durable throughout his career “Well no one. The answer is no one. Of 31 teams, so far no one.” and is the 10th-oldest player in the league this season. He’s also seen a recent spike in playing time, surpassing 22 minutes in eight of 14 games NEW SENS BOSS dating back to the end of February, when Travis Dermott and Jake Gardiner both went down to injury. The fact the Ottawa Senators are now in the market for a senior figure to oversee the hockey operation should be considered a welcome Physically, he says he’s feeling great despite playing in all 75 Leafs development for fans with concerns about the direction of the franchise. games so far and weathering the grind of another season. The playoffs are coming soon, but the last thing he’s looking for is extra time off to rest It’s merely a coincidence that my friend and colleague Elliotte Friedman — in part, because he thinks the discussion about implementing NBA- unearthed that nugget immediately after owner Eugene Melnyk went on a style “load management” isn’t feasible for NHL players and teams. mini radio tour this week, saying, among other things: “These next six months are going to be critical for [GM] Pierre [Dorion] and his team and “It’s easy to say ‘Oh yeah, we’ll rest this guy, this guy, this guy,”’ Hainsey the whole hockey operations to get their act together in a big way…” said this week. “Well if you rest a guy and you lose and then all of a sudden — I’m just making up the scenario — now Montreal’s five points The timing isn’t linear here. behind you. You don’t know what’s going to happen.” The search for a president who will effectively replace the late Bryan The Leafs are currently sitting seven points up on Montreal and seven Murray has already been going on for a little while in Ottawa, according points behind Boston with seven games remaining. When I pointed out to sources. The Senators have also made it abundantly clear that that third place in the Atlantic Division was basically secured, Hainsey Dorion’s job should not be considered in jeopardy because of it. wasn’t buying it. No, still in the early stages of a rebuild and with a boatload of picks the “Basically locked into third is not locked into third,” he said. “If someone next three drafts, they are looking to add another experienced voice to sits a bunch of guys and loses eight in a row, you’re going to go ‘Well what is arguably the smallest front office in the league. they were basically locked into third’ on TV? That’s not going to be an While there are nuances within every individual organization, most teams excuse. That might be your excuse right now, but if something happens have four key pieces at the top of their hockey operation pyramid — a — if somebody wins eight in a row or you lose … — it’s happened president, a GM and two assistant GMs. In Ottawa, Dorion and new before. assistant Peter MacTavish have been shouldering the load.

“No one’s going to be ‘Well they were basically locked into a spot so what Adding another key figure to the mix should improve the overall operation the f—?’ It doesn’t work like that, you know that.” while giving the Sens someone else who can speak for the organization.

Fair enough. There’s risk in taking anything for granted, in both sports OIL SPILL and life. It was also a tough PR week in Edmonton after president Bob Nicholson Hainsey is an avid sports observer and has worked extensively with the had to apologize to zero-goal, third-line winger Toby Rieder for speaking NHL Players’ Association over the years, so he’s spent a lot of time too freely about his struggles at a season ticket-holder event. examining these kinds of issues and ideas. The news won’t stop there. Livestream every game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free. Plus stream the Blue Jays & MLB, Raptors and NBA Playoffs matchups and With the regular season winding down, there is a sense the Oilers search more. for a new general manager will start to ramp up in the next week or two. And, as Nick Kypreos reported on “Headlines,” it could also see the team It’s not so much that he’s against the idea of building in extra rest for bring in a president above that GM. players, he just believes the tightly packed nature of the NHL standings makes it unattainable. He noted that having the Tampa Bay Lightning While there is no shortage of qualified candidates — Kelly McCrimmon, already clinch the Presidents’ Trophy at this stage of the season is the Mark Hunter, potentially Ken Holland, depending on how things play out exception, rather than the rule. in Detroit this off-season — Edmonton could find itself with competition for the most desirable names. “It depends on the scenario,” said Hainsey. “If it’s a scenario where it means nothing, or you’re the [San Antonio] Spurs who f—ing won four That’s because the Seattle group hasn’t ruled out bringing in a general times in 10 years and they don’t care if they’re first or second in the manager this spring even though it is still two years away from the June conference, or Cleveland, where LeBron’s going to take his chances no 2021 expansion draft. They aren’t operating on any specific timeline, but matter what. It’s not the same as what we’re all doing. want to consider all options in order to best position themselves for Year 1. “Tampa is the first [NHL] team I can remember that has that kind of luxury. It’s the first time it’s happened. It’s not the same scenario, it’s not PLAYOFF REFORMATTING comparable. It’s just not. The team in eighth isn’t resting guys in the NBA or seventh or sixth, not that I can remember. It’s been a few teams with As the NHL and NHLPA continue to discuss extending the current star players who decided they’re going to do one thing.” divisional playoff format beyond this season — which is almost certain to happen, on a one-year basis — there seems to be some growing unrest With NHL teams now making a bigger investment in sports science, among players about how well it’s working overall. we’ve seen a noticeable shift in approach over the last few years — sprinkling in more days off during the season, reducing the length of There is concern about the Boston/Toronto scenario in the Atlantic, practices, switching to optional morning skates before games and almost where the matchup has basically been set for weeks and diminished the never playing the same goalie on back-to-back nights. importance of games down the stretch. There is also a broader concern that the format doesn’t properly reward a good regular season with the But Hainsey thinks a specific set of circumstances need to be in place most equitable first- and second-round matchups. before a team is able to do something similar with its forwards and Now in its sixth season of existence, the NHLPA is wondering if the shift away from the 1-8 conference playoffs has had its intended impact economically, and for broadcasters and fans.

While the divisional format is likely to remain for 2019-20, the players don’t seem overly eager to commit to it beyond next season.

Talks are expected to continue this week.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137517 Websites Courtepatte was first taught the great force hockey can exert on a kid’s life during his own childhood in the early ’90s, and used that as fuel in the effort to bring back the ECHA.

Sportsnet.ca / Why hockey is more than a pastime for Enoch Cree Nation “What drove me was my own upbringing — it’s similar to a lot of these kids,” Courtepatte says. “To be honest with you, my dad was in and out of jail most of my life. And all my uncles, some of them in and out of Sonny Sachdeva | March 22, 2019, 12:11 PM gangs. And I was kind of going down the wrong path, I guess. I was getting in trouble as a kid and my perspective on things was different, as

my role models weren’t the best. I was about 10 years old when I started For those who’ve been around long enough to know, the Old Barn is playing hockey, and I got pretty good at it. It took a couple years to get to more than a rink. It’s more than the walls that enclose it or the roof that the top level, and my peers changed, the people I hung around with were protects it. It is, rather, the holder of decades upon decades of memories. different, and my goals definitely changed. I wanted to play hockey at all times. “You always have so many stories of what you did there,” says Robert Cardinal of why the recreation centre affectionately known as the Old “I had a good mother, she raised me and my brother by herself — she Barn means so much to the Enoch Cree Nation, a First Nation in central set some boundaries and some rules, where I had to go to school and Alberta that Rogers Hometown Hockey will celebrate this weekend. stay out of trouble to play, and that kept me in line, for the most part.” “Where you fell down and cut your eye open. Where you scored your first Hockey eventually carried Courtepatte out to the BCHL — through goal. Your first taste of fries and gravy. Everything in that rink just has a Burnaby, Alberni Valley and Surrey — before brief stints in college memory…. It’s a place that just develops those memories and keeps it hockey and the pro level. When all was said and done, he returned home going within the community.” to Enoch to run hockey camps and help out with youth programming. It’s also, at long last, the home of Enoch’s own minor-hockey “How it helped me is how I’m hoping it’ll help these kids. Whether it’s organization, the Enoch Cree Hockey Association, for which Cardinal one, two, 10, however many we get through to…. Because statistics serves as the bantam director. After going more than three decades don’t lie, and in Aboriginal communities there are a lot more barriers and without one, Enoch has watched the ECHA proudly restore the challenges that a lot of the kids go through. And some of them, they don’t community’s yearning for the game they love. make it through probably, without the support. The way I grew up, I don’t The revived minor-hockey outfit suited up four teams and 92 players in its know where I’d be if I didn’t play hockey.” first year back in 2015–16. Those numbers jumped to eight teams and Others in the community have also taken note of the ECHA’s undeniable 148 players in Year 2, and as high as 10 teams and 176 players in 2017– impact. 18. “I’ve seen it personally turn around some of the older kids,” says Morin. “That year, we actually had two teams win the minor-hockey league “The ones that are going in that bantam and midget age, they were kind championships,” says ECHA president Jordan Courtepatte. “We were the of steering themselves on the wrong path. And hockey’s kind of put them first all-Indigenous team to win the tournament.” right back in the right direction.” Four Enoch teams went on to win city championships that season, The Old Barn, which Morin says is now dedicated to the ECHA roughly becoming the first all-Indigenous teams to accomplish that feat as well. 80 per cent of the time, has played a key role. Though the organization scaled back slightly this year — down to eight “The community surrounds the ice rink, and it’s a central hub, if you look teams and 158 players — that hasn’t slowed the pace of their on-ice at it on the map,” Cardinal says. “It’s closest to the main road, it’s closest success. to our schools, everything like that. So it also is like a life raft for the kids. And yet, as Courtepatte tells it, winning titles was never the primary goal And I think that’s one of the biggest attributes we have besides a lot of guiding the effort to relaunch the ECHA. It was simply about giving the other communities, is that it’s so close.… That really is a difference community back something they’d long since lost. maker in how they’re going to grow.”

Celebrate Our Community. Celebrate Our Game. Courtepatte remembers some tougher moments growing up in the sport himself, enduring racism while playing outside of Enoch. Enoch once had another minor-hockey association to call its own, and a noteworthy place among the Albertan hockey world in general. “I was mostly the only Native kid on my team,” he says. “I was told, ‘What are you doing here? Don’t you know Natives can’t play hockey?’ My first “Grant Fuhr used to play out in Enoch,” Cardinal says of the Hockey Hall tryouts, I was about 10 or 11, and I had words with this kid — eventually I of Famer and former Edmonton Oiler. “We have old pictures of him got kicked off the ice. I left pretty hurt. I started thinking, ‘How many playing out here — he came out and he hung out in the community…. Native players are there in the NHL?’” We were really doing some big things back then.” It’s a question that seems easier to answer in the present, Courtepatte But a lack of volunteers caused the original association to fizzle out in the says. Current Enoch Councillor Shane Peacock provided an early role ’80s, says ECHA treasurer Chase Morin. That meant seeing the Old Barn model, getting drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round of the booked up primarily by outside organizations. And it meant leaving plenty 1991 NHL draft before enjoying a long career in Germany. But since of kids in the community with few, if any, options to play the game, with then, the Indigenous presence in the game has only continued to grow. other potential possibilities located in rinks reached only by lengthy That shift is sure to play a key role in helping encourage more kids like drives. the ECHA’s own to participate in the sport.

“Everybody loves hockey in Enoch,” Courtepatte says. “All the kids “You see somebody who’s the same as you, grew up in the same wanted to play hockey. For a lot of them, it was unfortunate that they conditions, and they’re making it and they’re doing it — that gives you didn’t have the opportunity to play because of family dynamics — they hope,” says Courtepatte. had no way to get to the rink. Every year, they’d come in wanting to play hockey and we’d fund them, but they had no way to go…. So that Enoch Cree Hockey Association novice Edmonton city champions bothered me quite a bit.” Shortly after Enoch Cree Nation revived its minor-hockey association, its Years of seeing Enoch’s youth barred from pursuing their passion novice team won the Edmonton city championship. (Enoch Cree Hockey spurred Courtepatte, who’s also Enoch’s Youth Director, and the rest of Association) the ECHA’s early board of directors to undertake the not-insignificant Enoch’s been able to get an up-close look at a couple of the game’s most amount of work required to bring minor hockey back to Enoch. The fruits promising Indigenous stars. Ethan Bear, the pride of the Ochapowace of their labour have since been easy to spot. First Nation, is a top defensive prospect in the nearby Edmonton Oilers “They say it takes a community to raise a kid and that’s kind of what’s organization, currently dominating in AHL Bakersfield. And Micheal happening here with hockey — it’s bringing our community together,” Ferland — the most prominent Cree player in the sport — spent the first Courtepatte says. “A lot of the kids are getting this opportunity to play four seasons of his career as a fan favourite with the nearby Calgary and hopefully it’s helping change their lives around, too.” Flames before an off-season trade sent him to Carolina last summer. Both relish the role they play in inspiring youth around the country.

“To be a role model for my own culture and my own people, it truly is an honour,” says Bear. “I try to work my hardest every day and just try to lead by example, by just hard work and commitment. To know there’s kids looking up to me and there’s people cheering hard for me, it’s motivating for myself as well.”

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to go back home,” says Ferland. “It’s a different type of relationship that I have with all my Native friends than I do with my hockey buddies. Even just playing against other Native hockey players in the NHL, you just kind of have a bond already. We don’t even know each other but it’s … it’s hard to explain. It means a lot to me to be able to play for my people.”

The impact of the ECHA’s arrival in Enoch brought back something else that was lost, too, says Cardinal — a renewed connection between the community and its history.

“For years, we’ve always done well at team sports. It’s innate in a lot of Native cultures to be good at a lot of sports, because we did a lot of hunting, a lot of gathering, a lot of things together,” he says. “This is just one way to be able to gain that cultural aspect back to the community, to the kids, and kind of connect them with their roots.”

It isn’t simply the team success — the championships that have already come in the first few years — that hearkens back to these cultural memories, but also the very makeup of each team and how it functions.

“If you look at team dynamics, anybody can see who the best player is. You’re on the ice, you can see who’s faster, who has the best shot, who’s bigger, who’s stronger. And it starts to weed out who the top line is, the second line,” Cardinal explains.

“But some of the other things that happen is you start thinking about who’s smarter with the puck. Who’s thinking two plays ahead. Who’s committed. Who’s feared. Who can be relied on. And those intangible things are the stuff that we’re talking about.

“I don’t want to go way, way back, but you delve into the cultural side and we can say hunting parties, we can say doing sun dances and other cultural events — who has the knowledge, who has the gifts to be able to do these things.… It brings back lost memories to our kids, whether they can see it or not.”

Even for those who don’t take the ice but instead watch from the stands, the return of minor hockey to Enoch has been just as much of a game changer.

“In any community, you have people who maybe don’t get along or bicker amongst themselves, especially in smaller communities. But I found, with hockey, when we’re playing, it kind of united everybody to be on the same page, all for the same cause, for our youth and our kids. All striving for the same thing, to become a good team and play well to represent the community,” Courtepatte says. “I think that’s one of the bigger parts that you don’t actually really see until you look deeper into it — the main thing is the kids playing, for sure. But when you look at the larger scale of things, it does bring the community together.”

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137518 Websites Edmonton. It’s only about a four-hour drive from where I live, so I’d go watch them play. They were my team all the way. In the NHL, it was the Leafs. Lanny McDonald was playing. Darryl Sittler was my favourite. I Sportsnet.ca / Shot Callers: Q&A with Clarence Iron, NHL's first Cree liked the Montreal Canadiens as well — Cournvoyer, Lafleur. play-by-play man When did you first get interested in calling play-by-play?

Way back in the ’70s. There was no such thing as local radio [in Northern Luke Fox | March 21, 2019, 3:00 PM Saskatchewan] back then. Now pretty much everybody has their own radio station in these northern communities. Back in the ’70s I would’ve loved to have called, but I was still doing it on my own. Nothing professionally taught. I used to listen to Bob Cole, Dan Kelly and Danny Unless you count that one trip to Meadow Lake (population: 5,344) — Gallivan. I used to like Danny Gallivan’s style. “It’s almost a city” — Clarence Iron hasn’t left the tiny village Pinehouse Lake, Sask., in a year. He hasn’t called a hockey game waged by grown- What did you like about Gallivan? ups in about a decade. He was smooth. He had calls like “cannonading shot!” and “dancing over This morning, the self-proclaimed “over the hill” Iron, edging age 60, sat the blue line!” He made it sound picturesque. down in Pinehouse’s cozy CFNK 89.9 FM studio for his daily talk-radio day shift. He broke down the newly released federal budget to his So you’d borrow that feeling? indigenous listenership in Cree, then promoted the Cree Nation’s big Yeah, I wanted to follow him in Cree. I say “dances over the blue line” in 13th annual walleye derby coming up at Montreal Lake ($100,000 grand Cree. I’ll use Guy Lafleur for example. [Iron lets rip an engaged 20- prize). second Guy LaFleur rush goal call in Cree.]

On Sunday, he’ll storm out of semi-retirement, find his way south and That’s great. When did you make the jump from practising on your own to make history. getting in a booth?

A rare voice of Cree hockey, play-by-play man Iron will team up with The early ’90s. I don’t know exactly what year. It was on radio, not play- analyst and former NHLer John Chabot, and musician-turned-studio host by-play. It was just to mention who’s playing, who scored. Then all of a Earl Wood to broadcast the first-ever NHL game in Plains Cree. sudden, we started calling a bit of play-by-play. And finally they gave me “I still have it,” says Iron of this long-deferred dream come true. “I get the mic. I didn’t jump at the mic right away. My colleague — I can’t excited when I see two teams on the ice and I’m getting ready to call a remember his name — controlled the mic. But one day my boss said, game.” “You try.” He gave me the mic. Little did they know that I used to practise. My boss was surprised: “Hey! You’re a natural.” He thought I was a We caught up with Iron over the phone to learn of his remarkable journey natural, but it took years of practice. When they gave me the mic in ahead of his boundary-breaking live call of Sunday’s Montreal Prince Albert, I started calling play-by-play live on radio. They said, “That Canadiens–Carolina Hurricanes as Rogers Hometown Hockey partners guy’s pretty good!” Then I started getting hired. I used to do play-by-play with Indigenous broadcaster APTN. in Prince Albert, North Battleford, Meadow Lake, Regina and Prince George. They had a very good team there; they used to be in the finals SPORTSNET.CA: What language was spoken in your house as a kid? pretty much all the time. The Prince George Lumber Kings. CLARENCE IRON: First of all, I put God No. 1. I believe in Jesus. I know When did you first hear about this opportunity? He gave me the gift to speak the Cree language. My grandparents, I always think of them. They’re gone now. I was raised by them, and they My friends saw it on Facebook and contacted me: “Did you see the ad? taught me Cree right at home. That’s where you have to learn your They’re looking for a Cree announcer. You should go for it.” I didn’t jump language. And when you leave home for school, Cree has to be taught on it right away because I’ve been semi-retired in broadcasting for 10 there. That’s the only way people will learn their language. Keep years. The last time I called hockey was around the year 2000. I came speaking the language. Don’t be shy. There’s lots of people here who back to work here in radio in Northern Saskatchewan, and I’ve called know how to speak it, but even with their own people they’re scared to minor hockey just for the kids here. They like hearing me, but it’s usually speak Cree. It’s a generational thing. We were taught at one time not to just on tape after [the game is over]. The odd time I’ll go on the road with speak Cree at the residential schools. I myself went to a residential them and call play-by-play. school, but I kept my Cree language by talking to myself. I used to go in the bush. People would think I was talking to somebody out there, but Why did you stop calling in 2000? that’s how I kept it. I was calling aboriginal hockey tournaments, and it was getting expensive Wow. So you would just go talk to yourself? for them because they had to pay for airtime. I used to call out of La Ronge, but the cost got too much. They liked it. People started Yeah. Like if I was going to the Hudson’s Bay store, a two-mile walk from wondering why we still didn’t call the games, but it had to do with money. the residential school, I would be walking by myself and talking as if I was having a conversation with another person. [Gives example in Cree.] I’d How did you secure the job after seeing the ad? say, “Well, I’m going to buy this at the store” in Cree. That’s how I kept I have a bunch of archives of me calling play-by-play on old cassette my Cree alive. I had a hard time speaking English, to tell you the truth. I tapes, so I sent some of them. Mostly, it wasn’t Cree that I called on the had to redo Grade 4 once and Grade 7 again because they told me I was tapes; it was an English version. But I found one in Cree, so that’s how a slow learner. I wasn’t. My English wasn’t up to par. Talk to me in Cree? they knew I did some Cree hockey. In between my English calling, I’d That’s my No. 1 language. [laughs] I have no problem with that. My throw in some Cree for about two or three minutes, five minutes at the English is probably 80 per cent now. I graduated Grade 12, and I took a most. People knew I could do it, and my friends were saying, “Apply for it! recreational technology program. I taught phys-ed in our community. I’m Apply for it!” Eventually, I did. originally from Canoe Lake [about 350 kilometres north of Saskatoon]. Celebrate Our Community. Celebrate Our Game. You have a nickname. Have you ever called an entire game in Cree, or has it always been Chi Boy. They know who I am. mixed?

What does that mean? Mixed. But now, with these youngsters here, I’ve called a few games in “Small boy.” My grandpa only spoke one English word. He couldn’t say Cree all the way. But I don’t have tapes of that. I’ll give you an example “Clarence.” He used to say “Chi Boy! Chi Boy!” That was his English from back in the ’90s. [Plays a cassette over the phone so I can hear. word: boy. Everyone heard what my grandpa called me, and my peers at Iron’s recorded voice bubbles with pep and flows like an auctioneer.] school started using it. [chuckles] What reaction have you received since you secured this gig?

Growing up, who were you a fan of? Especially on Facebook, they tell me, “Congratulations, Clarence. I hope I was a fan of the Edmonton Oilers when they were with the World you do a good job for our audience, for the indigenous people.” They’re Hockey Association, before they stepped into the NHL. I live close to excited as I am. Maybe even more so. They keep asking me where and when is it? What time? But it’s going to be advertised.

How are you preparing for Sunday’s broadcast? Going from local kids’ games to Canadiens-Hurricanes is a leap.

You need to know the names, for sure, and the numbers. If you don’t know the names and numbers, it’s pretty hard to call. I have a system. Every tournament I called, it was always a mix of different players; it’s never the same players. So I used to write the players’ names and numbers in chronological order on paper. I’d start with No. 4, then No. 6, then No. 10. That way I know where to look if I don’t know the name of the player. I learned on my own. No one taught me.

How will Sunday’s broadcast impact the Cree community?

It’s going to open doors, for sure. Even back home here, when I call play- by-play — I call some football and boxing, too — the young people hear me, and it makes them want to speak Cree. Maybe one of those might grow up to be a play-by-play caller. This is very important because this is the year of indigenous languages to be recognized. In at least one aspect, I’m helping open doors in the sports world. Our language is very important. We’re trying to keep it alive. Nothing can stop us. We have the talent, but we were never given the opportunity at a professional level. I could’ve called NHL, I think, if I was scouted earlier. I knew every player and their number at one time. To know that, it’s very easy to call a game. In the Lafleur days, I knew pretty much everybody. I thought back then I could’ve been a good play-by-play caller in Cree.

How nervous are you for that moment you go live on-air Sunday and make some history?

I’m not nervous. The only thing I was worried about was not knowing the names and the numbers, but I’ve been studying them. I know it’s going to be fast, because it’s the first one. Now, if I had four NHL games to warmup and the fifth one was live, I’d feel safer. But doing the very first one live, off the bat? It’s going to be a very fast game. But I like a challenge. I’m not scared. I also was called in to doing a live play-by-play boxing match in Regina, and whoever won the fight was supposed to advance to a title fight in Las Vegas. So, I’m going for it. It’s exciting. I want to do it for the indigenous people across Canada, those that will understand Cree. I toured Canada — right across — one time and tried to stop in every community I could. Some of the dialects, like Ojibwe, are a little different, but the Cree itself, pretty much everybody can understand one another.

Is there any sense this could lead to future NHL broadcasts in Cree?

I’m healthy. I jog. I play hockey. Until one day they might have a younger person come in, I’m ready for the challenge. If they want to do it every Saturday, Hockey Night in Canada, I challenge it. I might be good for another 10 years. [chuckles]

Hey, Bob Cole is still rolling at 85.

There’s people out there who are 70 years old and they’re still doing. I’d be good to call.

Anything else you believe is important for people to know?

Well, it’s very important for the younger generation. I hope they get in their mind that one day they can do things on a professional level. Even me, when I was listening to the Punjabi broadcast, I thought, “Well, if these guys can do it, anybody should be able to call play-by-play.” I know it takes skill, and it’ll take time. But I’ve heard 12-year-olds who can speak good Cree. I hope one of those hears this, gets excited, comes on board, and we can help them.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137519 Websites “We’ve got a number of guys who haven’t scored in a bit,” said coach Mike Babcock, following a night of high-danger chances coming up empty. “The way I look at that is, that’s usually going to change.”

Sportsnet.ca / Leafs turn page on mini crisis with persistent effort against A chance to maybe open a game’s scoring, something they failed to do Rangers for the seventh consecutive time Saturday.

And, most important, a chance for essential defencemen Travis Dermott Luke Fox | March 23, 2019, 10:09 PM (shoulder) and Jake Gardiner (back) to return to full health, and for the rest of the group to take care of their own end.

The D was Exhibits A, B and C in a team meeting held in Nashville at the TORONTO — Despite another Saturday-night loss and a further widened beginning of the week. gap between the chaser and the chased, the blip of a crisis that was Last Week with the Toronto Maple Leafs — a hellish, noisy implosion that’ll “At times over the course of a long season, you can lose focus a little bit come and go as quick as a news cycle — is history. on what’s important and the proper structure,” Morgan Rielly said. “And the way we play, it’s important to play well defensively. I think we got The Leafs may still be taking baby steps, with full knowledge that the away from that for a little bit.” time to gallop is only 19 days away, but at least they’re doing that. Seven days ago, they couldn’t locate their shoes. Dermott returned to practice Friday wearing a red, non-contact sweater and his trademark optimism. He’s still a few skates away and won’t rush Yes, the home side was defeated by a lesser talent, 2-1 in overtime, and things, but he’s close. again ran nose-first into the 179 pounds of Bulgarian Brick that is New York Rangers backup Alexandar Georgiev, infuriating Auston Matthews Gardiner was back on the ice this week, but only for solo work, and he to the point where he smashed his Bauer over the dasher boards. needed Saturday off after testing his back Friday. There is still no timeline for his return. But for the third consecutive game, Toronto outshot its opposition (45-28) and dominated the run of play, out-attempting the men in front of “It’s a huge deal for us,” Babcock said. “Both those guys are good puck- Georgiev 104-58. movers and good players, and we miss ’em.”

“There were points in the game where it seemed like we had the puck the The Leafs looked determined, not discouraged, Saturday to find whole time,” said Matthews, after personally posting a career-high 13 themselves fighting through an atypically low-scoring affair. Zach Hyman scoring chances. scored his 19th and scrummed it up with passion when linemate John Tavares got cross-checked to the ice by Marc Staal. Matthews kept “That goalie’s just got our number.” plugging and firing away through his bad luck and off aim.

Toronto has dressed the better hockey team all week, even if the results “This is our third straight year [in the playoffs], and we want to make sure or the goaltending — three points in three outings — didn’t always bear it we’re heading in on the right note,” Matthews said. “Not taking shortcuts. out. “Just keep going. We’re good players. Those are eventually going to go The ugliness on and off the ice is in Toronto’s rear-view, and there’s a in. If it’s not tonight, it’s tomorrow. If it’s not tomorrow, hopefully the next firm understanding of what these final seven games before the post- game.” season mean for the Atlantic Division’s No. 3 seed now that Boston has essentially clinched home ice, rolling all-cylinders past 100 points and At worst, these not-so-meaningful matches against softer opponents ripping through a four-game win streak. could open the door for complacency, but to a man, the Leafs insist they won’t let that happen. They can’t afford to. The ramp-up to TD Garden is on. “The adversity we faced here a week ago,” Babcock said, “I think it’s a The Maple Leafs have survived both the late-season swoon and the good thing. media “[poop]storm” portion of the schedule (no one uttered a slur on the ice, and the GM and coach have cleared the air, so let’s keep it moving, “It’s not supposed to be easy. shall we?). “Dig in.”

They have officially entered the please-no-one-else-get-hurt stretch. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.25.2019 “We’re focused on each other on this club, and that’s it,” Matthews said. “So anything, drama or controversy, that goes on in the media or on the outside, I don’t think anybody in here gives it much thought.”

The sole focus here and now: Staying healthy and sharpening their play in preparation for Game 1 in big, bad, Boston, who’s hung 17 goals over a three-game rip.

That being the case, Toronto’s schedule has laid out lovely.

The Leafs can take advantage of a soft slate of lottery-bound franchises, many of whom have already waved the white towel, stripping away key components at the trade deadline with an eye toward 2019-20 and beyond.

Beginning with Wednesday’s convincing victory in Buffalo and continuing with Saturday’s point at home to a depleted Rangers squad, the Leafs have five straight games against teams among the league’s bottom 15.

Next week: Florida, Philadelphia, and Ottawa. All beatable with a decent effort, even with a banged-up roster and a flu going around.

What these tune-up games lack in atmosphere and stakes they can make up for in opportunity.

A chance for No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen to regain a confidence that had voters mentioning his name in Vezina conversations until 10 days ago.

A chance to smarten the breakouts, dial in the structure, oil up the power play, and puff up the stats sheet. 1137520 Websites Gaudreau was angry in the second period when cut in the mouth on a check by Canuck Bo Horvat, although replays appeared to show the damage was done by the Flame’s own stick, which was a point of contact Sportsnet.ca / Canucks taken to school by Flames as playoff hopes keep on the light hit. slipping Understandably, the Flames weren’t much interested in the finer details of the collision. They saw their best player bleeding from a hit and heading to the dressing room for medical attention. They were not happy. Iain MacIntyre | March 24, 2019, 2:10 AM Garnet Hathaway immediately tried to engage Horvat, who skated away.

The most interesting running skirmish was Swede on Swede: Canucks super-rookie Elias Pettersson and Flame defenceman Rasmus VANCOUVER — Still learning how to win, the Vancouver Canucks got a Andersson, who at 22 is two years old than the Calder Trophy favourite. lesson in Hockey 101 on Saturday night. They became involved behind the play during a change, shortly before Well on their way to the Stanley Cup tournament, the Calgary Flames Hathaway’s backhand eluded Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom to make soared to 101 points, hitting triple digits in the National Hockey League it 2-0 at 17:08 of the second period. standings for the first time since 2006, with a 3-1 victory that might be the “It was just hockey, just a battle,” Pettersson, who went back at Flame last closest thing the Canucks get to an actual playoff game this spring. Matthew Tkachuk on a later exchange, said of the physicality. “Two guys The Canucks were unable to extend their desperate five-game unbeaten who want to do their best to win games. It’s hockey. Of course, the streak or improve their miniscule playoff chances, which took another hit intensity is much higher now. They’re a top team in the league, a great earlier Saturday when the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago team. It’s two teams that play hard against each other.” Blackhawks 4-2 to put Vancouver six points down in the wild-card race. The Canucks certainly do play hard, just not with the calibre of The Flames won wire-to-wire, dominating many shifts territorially despite defencemen the Flames possess. the Canucks’ eagerness to battle in a game that had a lot of intensity and “You’re always upset when you see your teammate get up slowly,” a little malice. Giordano said of the Gaudreau incident. “That’s all part of it. We stick “You could feel the excitement in the building tonight and for the most together. But for sure, you don’t ever want to see your teammate getting part I thought we competed really well against that team,” Canucks up slowly, especially your top guy. There was some good emotion out defenceman Alex Biega said. “They’ve got a great combination of skill there. We knew they were going to bring a game tonight because they’re and work ethic. I think we matched them on the work ethic, but we made fighting for that (wild-card) spot.” a couple of mistakes, turned the puck over. “You saw how emotional it was compared to other times,” Boeser said. “Calgary is getting ready to play playoff hockey and (on Sunday) the “There were so many scrums, so it was an emotional game and I thought Columbus Blue Jackets are going to be desperate because they’re a we played pretty well. But now we’ve got to turn our heads and focus on point or two out. These are the kind of games we want to play in.” tomorrow.”

The Canucks conclude their weekend back-to-back games against the • Although cleared to play, Sven Baertschi was not included in Canucks Blue Jackets at Rogers Arena. coach Travis Green’s lineup after missing 22 games due to the effects of a concussion. But the winger should play Sunday against Columbus. The Flames will continue their march towards the Pacific Division title Dynamic defence prospect Quinn Hughes, who hasn’t played since during a three-game homestand that starts Monday against the Los arriving from the University of Michigan nearly two weeks ago with a Angeles Kings. bone bruise in his foot, skated on his own Saturday morning but will likely require at least three more days on the ice before he can make his “It’s a big accomplishment so far to get there,” Calgary captain Mark Canucks debut. Giordano, who scored one goal and set up two others, said of surpassing 100 points. “We’re proud, but we want to keep going. Keep playing well Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.25.2019 going into the playoffs and try to solidify the division (title) if we can and go from there.

“We know we’re going to have to get a lot more than 101 points to win the division. We’ve put ourselves in a good spot; we just have to keep playing well going into the playoffs.”

There is now a 27-point abyss separating the Canucks and Flames in the standings, but you wouldn’t guess the disparity between the teams by watching their season series.

Vancouver went 3-2 in the five games, although Calgary twice lost beyond regulation so finished the series 2-1-2.

The most remarkable aspect of the Canucks’ surge in March is they went 4-0-1 in their five games prior to Saturday while playing a defence that includes a bottom four of Biega, a depth blueliner who was a regular healthy scratch until seven weeks ago, and minor-league call-ups Luke Schenn, Ashton Sautner and Guillaume Brisebois.

This patchwork group was outstanding last weekend when the Canucks swept back-to-back road games in Dallas and Chicago. But against Calgary, Vancouver’s defence was exposed. It struggled to make plays out of its end, and chased the speedy Flames around the Canucks’ zone.

Brisebois and Schenn had turnovers that preceded the first two Calgary goals, while Canuck winger Jake Virtanen’s fly-by check on Giordano allowed the Flame to set up Andrew Mangiapane’s one-timer in the slot that made it 3-1 at 7:25 of the third period — about seven minutes after Canuck Brock Boeser’s power-play wrist shot deflected past Calgary goalie Mike Smith.

An astoundingly reckless play by Flames’ star Johnny Gaudreau, who slew-footed Virtanen to the ice on an otherwise harmless sequence, gave the Canucks a chance to come back. 1137521 Websites Over the last three games, the Leafs have limited shots against to 28 or fewer per outing, and registered greater than 50-percent puck possession on each occasion. Having made a collective commitment to TSN.CA / Leafs continue to work through scoring slump being better defensively after ceding 23 goals over four games mid- month, the turnaround is heartening for Toronto.

“When you look at our last three games, we’ve done a way better job Kristen Shilton defensively, we haven’t given up as much,” said Babcock. "And we’ve also generated a ton of offence. We haven’t scored though.”

It would be easy to suggest that focusing in on defensive improvements TSN Toronto reporter Kristen Shilton checks in daily with news and notes has somehow distracted Toronto from its offensive responsibilities, but on the Maple Leafs, who held a noon practice at MasterCard Centre on that’s counter-intuitive to how better play in their own end will ultimately Sunday. help the Leafs attack their opponents more. The Maple Leafs have not often had trouble putting pucks in the net this “The one translates into the other,” said Marleau. “So if we play well season. With seven games to go in the regular season, Toronto has defensively, we should be in the other team’s end that much more.” scored 264 goals and sits fourth overall in goals-for per game (3.52). Ultimately, Kadri said the Leafs should be deriving confidence from how Lately, though, lighting the lamp has been tough for the Leafs with they put that four-game slump behind them, and continue taking pride in several of their forwards working through simultaneous scoring slumps. the strides made since. On the season, Toronto has given up the William Nylander has posted zero goals in his last 12 games, Kasperi seventh-most shots per game (33) but are trending well below that now. Kapanen has one goal in 15, Nazem Kadri has zero goals in 11 games, Andreas Johnsson has one in 14 outings, Patrick Marleau has one in 12, “The last few games we’ve definitely showed we can be reliable on and Connor Brown has just one goal in 23 games. defence and we’ve only given up 20-28 shots which is pretty incredible,” he said. “We’re trending in the right direction, we just have to make sure “It has to turn,” insisted Mike Babcock after the Leafs’ practice on we’re responsible with the puck and not giving up odd-man rushes.” Sunday. “We got a number of guys who have [scored] one in a long time. It has to turn. I’m a big believer in process, and when you do good things, As Ron Hainsey took centre stage to lead the Leafs through stretches at good things will happen.” Sunday’s practice, his teammates erupted in a swell of stick taps to honour the blueliner’s 38th birthday. It’s not that Toronto hasn’t had chances to score; they’ve actually generated plenty. In the Leafs’ last three games, they’ve put 113 shots While not the oldest player on the Leafs’ roster – that would be 39-year- on net, but come away with only five goals and a 1-1-1 record. old Marleau – Hainsey has brought a unique presence to Toronto’s dressing room, and continues to play big minutes despite his Reflecting on why Toronto’s had such difficulty converting, Babcock and comparatively advanced age. Kapanen see the same problem resurfacing. Through 75 games this year, the 16-year NHL veteran has skated “I just have to hit the net. If you don’t hit the net, it’s not going to go in,” primarily on the Leafs’ top defence pairing with Morgan Rielly, averaging Kapanen said. “Just have to focus on that, try to fire it on net and not try 20:13 time on ice per game and a team-high 2:53 TOI shorthanded per to pick my corner too much and just be confident with my play and know game. For much of the season, Hainsey was leading the NHL in that I’ve scored before and I’ve been hot, so just have to get back at it.” plus/minus, but has recently slipped to fifth overall at plus-30, which still “Hit the net on your chances, and don’t put any pressure on yourself; just paces all Leafs. breathe,” added Babcock. “When it’s not going as good as you want, “Unbelievable,” surmised Babcock of Hainsey’s longevity in the league. there’s no sense overthinking this. It’s simple: pick a spot in the middle of “He’s a good player, still a good player for us, one of the top plus/minus the net, like five-hole, and when you miss [there], it goes in [somewhere players in the league and has really helped Mo and makes Mo a better else].” player, just because he looks after some of the details when Mo is Toronto did everything but score more than the New York Rangers in roaming around. He’s been real good for us, a good guy in the room and Saturday’s 2-1 overtime loss, peppering goaltender Alexandar Georgiev a fun guy to have around.” with 46 shots and getting only one by him. That was better than last Hainsey also has something that only he and Jake Muzzin share Tuesday, when none of the Leafs’ 22 shots got past Nashville Predators amongst the Leafs: A Stanley Cup ring, from his time with the 2016-17 goalie Pekka Rinne. Pittsburgh Penguins. Babcock said it’s important this time of year Kadri, who has played primarily with Marleau and Kapanen recently, has especially to have players with that on their resume, and he’s leaned been around long enough to know such stretches of bad puck luck are heavily on Hainsey to shepherd more of Toronto’s young defencemen bound to happen, and aren't necessarily cause for alarm long-term. than just Rielly.

“Every single game, we get at least one or two good opportunities to Since Jake Gardiner (back) and Travis Dermott (shoulder) have been out score [on our line], so I think just a matter of staying patient,” said the with injuries, Hainsey has been rotating at times with rookie Justin Holl, nine-year NHL veteran. “Try not to get frustrated and force it and do too and his booming voice can be heard from ice level barking instructions much. That’s when you start to overcomplicate it and things go south and guiding the freshman around Toronto’s end. from there, so I think just be patient and I think we’re good players and “It’s really important sometimes when you’re starting, especially on it’s bound to come eventually.” defence because it’s a hard league to play defence in, to have someone Kapanen admitted he’s already frustrated by his lack of scoring touch, who knows what they’re doing,” Babcock said. “It’s not like he just but trusts Kadri’s assertion it would last for long. stepped into the league and dominated right away, he had to earn his way. I think those lessons and those life lessons are good to pass on, so “Nazzy and Patty were giving me every opportunity to score yesterday, good on him.” and it’s just been hard lately,” he said. “But eventually the drought will end and goals will come, so I’m not too worried about it.” Now in his fourth season as head coach of the Leafs, Babcock has endured the less pleasant sides of Toronto’s constant media coverage Kapanen on missed opportunities: 'I just have to hit the net' and the city’s sometimes-stifling expectations. But he still says he wouldn’t want to coach anywhere else. The Maple Leafs' offence has been getting their chances as of late but haven't been able to find the back of the net as much as they'd like. Mike “I love being here,” Babcock said, when asked if Toronto is the worst Babcock knows the scoring will come but is happy with how his team has place to be when your team is losing. “[The media] isn’t influencing adjusted their play on the defensive side of the puck. anything I do. I believe this is the greatest place to play hockey. And expectations are great, so who cares? Just do your job and keep getting While the pucks haven’t been going in as often for the Leafs, they are better and find joy in your life outside hockey.” suddenly doing a better job keeping shots (and goals) at bay in their own end. Babcock has often mentioned his interactions with fans on the street and said whether the Leafs are succeeding or struggling, those are overwhelmingly positive. “I think the expectations of the fans are perfect,” he said. “I walk around town every day. The fans I talk to, that talk to me, are jacked right up about our hockey club. Why are they jacked up about our team? Because we’re in the running. We got a team. It looks like we got players, looks like we’re going in the right direction, we think we can really improve our team. That’s what we’re trying to do every day.”

Babcock: 'The expectations of the fans are perfect'

Mike Babcock talks about the Maple Leafs tough week when they lost three of four games and says the fans had every right to be upset with the club, but he's happy with their bounce back and hopes they can continue to improve.

TSN.CA LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137522 Websites keep at it and accept that this is the way we’re going to be playing hockey. Eventually they’re going to go in.”

The Leafs can only hope that’s the case. With playoffs just over two TSN.CA / Maple Leafs looking on bright side again after close loss weeks away, Toronto can't afford to have its usually-potent offence in a rut. But taking these baby steps forward defensively could add up to success down the road, making the current simmering frustrations Kristen Shilton worthwhile.

“I thought we did a lot of good things tonight, don’t think we got in our own way,” said Mike Babcock. “Obviously a disappointing way to end. I TORONTO – When the final horn sounded to signal the New York don’t think we were as good tonight as the last two games, but I still Rangers 2-1 overtime triumph against the Maple Leafs, the home team thought we had lots of opportunity. I’d like to get us a little more rhythm was in familiar territory: on the losing end of a game they could have so we feel better. But I like the process we’re in and I like how hard guys won, left determinedly looking at the bright side. are working.” “I know it’s a cliché and I know that we’re all getting tired of it, but I think Takeaways there are positives to take from [the loss],” said Morgan Rielly. “I think it’s a good thing, the fact that we’re getting opportunities, shots, chances, but Auston’s all-in that being said, we have to find a way to win these ones.” On a night where there weren’t many great offensive showings by the Toronto did everything but score more than New York, out-pacing them Leafs, Matthews put together another terrific performance that fell just in shots on net 45-28 and controlling possession at 60 per cent. But just short of landing him on the scoresheet. like he did in the teams’ last meeting on Feb. 10, a 4-1 Leafs' loss, Rangers’ goaltender Alexandr Georgiev was nearly unbeatable. He made In the first period, he was all over Georgiev’s crease, but couldn’t quite a combined 99 saves in those outings to halt the Leafs’ offensive attack find twine on three separate chances in-tight. Matthews did a good job in its track, and stole the extra point again for New York again on controlling the puck in the second, generating some quality offensive Saturday. zone time that still yielded no goals, but at least provided spurts of momentum for Toronto. Only earlier this week, Toronto was in a similar boat, peppering Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne with 22 shots and dominating possession in a 3- Through two periods, Matthews had three shots on goal but 11 shot 0 loss. attempts, graduating to four shots on net and 16 attempts by the end of the game. And it wasn’t just him that Georgiev was holding at bay; “We’re good players; it’s eventually going to go in,” stressed Auston Matthews’ linemates William Nylander and Andreas Johnsson were Matthews. “If it’s not tonight, it’s going to be tomorrow, and if not equally stymied. tomorrow, hopefully the next game. But we’ll just keep playing the way we are, generating these chances. Our whole team, we’re too good to Together they pulled in 68 per cent possession and put 10 shots on keep generating these chances and not capitalizing on them.” Georgiev with nothing to show for it. As the third period wound down, that line had a series of furious shifts in the offensive zone that had the The Leafs’ started Saturday's game well enough, amassing a quick 7-1 Rangers on their heels, but New York’s netminder had all the answers. edge in shots and rolling around New York’s end with ease. The Rangers had posted a lowly 1-6-5 record in 12 games prior to facing Toronto, but While Matthews has scored fairly consistently of late for the Leafs, with were no pushovers either, and the game was still knotted 0-0 through 40 five goals in his last seven games, Nylander has zero goals in 12 games minutes. and Johnsson has one goal in 14 outings. For the Leafs prospects offensively to start shifting, they’ll need more contributions from both of Not until 19 seconds into the third period was that stalemate broken, off them. something of a broken play by the Leafs. A rebound went off Frederik Andersen and into a cluster of players in the slot, where Pavel Andersen forging ahead Buchnevich found the puck before Toronto could sweep it out of harm’s It’s been a rough couple weeks for Andersen, with only one win to show way. from his last four starts. For his confidence as much as anything, That made Saturday the seventh straight game in which the Leafs have Andersen needed to get back on track with a solid showing on Saturday, given up the first goal. and that’s mostly what he delivered.

Toronto pushed back hard from there, but too many attempts to even the The much less busy goalie in the game, Andersen still started sharp in score were just off the mark either high or wide. When Zach Hyman the first period, making most of his 11 saves of that frame in the second finally got rewarded with an equalizer, he was in good position around half when the Rangers took control of the Leafs’ defensive zone. the net and sent a terrific feed from John Tavares into the mesh. Through the goalless first and second, perhaps the toughest play “I think [Jake Muzzin] made a really good play in the D zone and then got Andersen had to face never really materialized. In the middle frame, the it to John, to Mitch [Marner] and Morgan [Rielly], and then just a shot on Rangers had a two-on-none rush that they overplayed and never got a net [by me],” Hyman detailed, “Which is what you’ve got to do when a good shot off on. If they had, it would have been a difficult stop for goalie’s hot.” Andersen, but he dodged a bullet as the puck went sliding wide of the net and out of harm’s way. Georgiev proved impossible to beat again, and Ryan Strome secured the game’s second point one minute, forty-eight seconds into overtime to When Buchnevich did eventually score, Andersen originally looked in hand Toronto its fifth loss in seven games. But none among the Leafs position to make the stop, but bodies collapsed into his crease area right were hanging their heads. before the puck sailed by. When Strome potted the game-winner, it was right after Andersen made a great first stop, and then lost sight of Strome “When we go back and look at the game, we’re going to see there are with the puck below the goal line before he banked it into the net off lots of good things,” Rielly insisted. “Whether it was puck possession or Andersen’s own skate. opportunities or our structure, there’s going to be good things. We wish we had a little more finish but credit to them; they played well Like there is for the Leafs’ snake-bitten shooters, Andersen has plenty of defensively. It is what it is, we’ll move on.” room to improve before playoffs, at which point he’d like to have recaptured the dominant form exhibited for most of the season. Settling Toronto also showed continued improvement on the defensive side, for a point on Saturday will have to suffice as Andersen’s own small step limiting its opponent to 30 or fewer shots on net for the third straight in the right direction. He finished the game with 26 saves and a .929 save game and keeping goals-against at three or fewer per game in that percentage. stretch. Considering where the Leafs were a week ago, having allowed 23 goals-against in four games, the strides are promising. Killer kill

“We are responding really well to the stretch we had before this,” The Leafs’ penalty kill has been one of its strong attributes recently, and Andersen said. “It’s a really good sign. We’re still putting up a decent Saturday was no exception to that. In the first two periods against New amount of shots, decent amount of chances. I think we just have to be York, Toronto was called for three infractions and its kill only got better tackling each one, keeping pressure off Andersen and generating opportunities the other way.

Marner continues to emerge as Toronto’s star penalty killer, balancing the right amount of aggression with smart reads in his own end.

In finishing 3-for-3 on Saturday, the Leafs moved to 16-for-17 in their last eight games on the kill.

Toronto’s power play hasn’t been quite as successful lately, going 0-for-3 against the Rangers and 0-for-9 in their last three games. The man advantage has been a roller coaster for Toronto all season, toggling between great highs and plummeting lows. This dip hasn’t been marred by major issues, and the Leafs did have some good looks with the extra man on Saturday, but their scoring touch has been more lacking there just as it has everywhere else.

With the loss on Saturday, the Leafs move to 6-6 in overtime this season, and remain the only NHL club to not have been involved in a shootout all year.

Next up

Toronto welcomes in the Florida Panthers on Monday.

TSN.CA LOADED: 03.25.2019 1137523 Websites three goalies on the active roster with Joonas Korpisalo and Keith Kincaid.

The Canucks beat the Blue Jackets 3-2 in their only other meeting of the TSN.CA / Game Day Preview: Canucks vs Blue Jackets season on December 11th at Nationwide Arena. Jake Virtanen’s sharp angle shot with 1:46 remaining found its way past Korpisalo and was the game winner. Jeff Paterson POSSIBLE CANUCKS LINE-UP

Pearson-Horvat-Goldobin VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks (32-33-10) are back in action for a second straight night as they conclude a busy weekend by hosting Leivo-Pettersson-Boeser the Columbus Blue Jackets (40-30-4) at Rogers Arena. It’s the 11th and Baertschi-Gaudette-Virtanen final set of back to back games on the schedule this season. The Canucks are 4-6 in the second games including a 3-2 overtime win in Spooner-Beagle-Motte Chicago last Monday. Edler-Biega The Canucks fell 3-1 to the Calgary Flames last night. Brock Boeser scored a power play goal early in the third period to cut Calgary’s lead to Brisebois-Stecher 2-1. But that’s as close as the Canucks would get. Boeser has scored in Sautner-Schenn back to back games and three of his past six. His goal last night extended his personal point streak to nine games (4+6=10) while Elias Demko Pettersson picked up an assist and is now on a five-game run (1+5=6). POSSIBLE BLUE JACKETS LINE-UP The Canucks have scored a power play goal in three straight games and Panarin-Dubois-Atkinson are 4/6 (66.7%) over that span. They are now 6 for their last 18 (33.3%) over the past six games. They had six power play goals in the 26 games Dzingel-Duchene-Anderson prior to that. Robinson-Nash-Jenner Last night’s loss snapped the team’s three game win streak leaving the Canucks 4-1-1 in their past six games. They now find themselves six Dubinsky-Wennberg-Bjorkstrand points back of Colorado in the chase for the second and final Wild Card Werenski-Jones spot in the Western Conference with just seven games remaining on the schedule. Nutivaara-Savard

Jacob Markstrom stopped 28 of 31 Calgary shots last night, but it’s Harrington-McQuaid expected that Thatcher Demko will get the start tonight. Demko picked up his second win of the season in his last outing on Monday in Chicago. If Bobrovsky he gets the call tonight, this will mark the fourth straight time Demko has TSN.CA LOADED: 03.25.2019 been tapped to appear in the second game of team back to backs (at Arizona, at Edmonton and at Chicago). This will also be just his second home ice appearance and his first since January 18th against Buffalo. Demko made his NHL debut against the Blue Jackets nearly one year ago in a 5-4 overtime victory on March 31, 2018.

With no morning skate, the Canucks line-up is unclear. After using the same 18 skaters for the past four games, Travis Green could very well make changes – especially up front where he has three healthy extras: Nikolay Goldobin, Ryan Spooner and Sven Baertschi. If Baertschi draws in, it will mark his return to the line-up for the first time since February 2nd in Colorado. Due to a concussion (30 games) and post-concussion syndrome (currently 23 games), he has been limited to just 22 of the Canucks 75 games this season.

The Blue Jackets have been idle since a 4-1 loss in Edmonton on Thursday night. Defenseman David Savard opened the scoring midway through the second period before the Oilers rattled off four unanswered goals. Columbus is 0-2-1 in its past three games with the team’s last victory coming in a 3-0 win against Carolina on March 15th. The Jackets are 5-7-1 since being one of the busiest teams in the league at the NHL trade deadline.

Matt Duchene has 3+3=6 in 15 games with his new team while Ryan Dzingel has 1+6=7 in 13 games. Cam Atkinson leads CBJ with 38 goals while Artemi Panarin is the team’s leading scorer with 25+51=76. The team has scraped together just four goals over its past three games.

The Jackets boast the fourth best penalty kill in the NHL (84.2%), but no team has been short-handed less (190 times is tied with Toronto) and no one has given up fewer power play goals (30).

Columbus enters action tonight in ninth in the Eastern Conference just three points behind Montreal in the Wild Card chase. The Jackets hold a game in hand on the Habs and they will face-off against each on Thursday in Ohio.

The Blue Jackets have 40 wins on the season with 20 at home (20-16-2) and 20 on the road (20-14-2).

Sergei Bobrovsky did not dress on Thursday in Edmonton due to an upper body injury. However, he practiced with his teammates at UBC yesterday and hopes to be able to start tonight. The Jackets are carrying