SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 1/20/2020 Arizona Coyotes Columbus Blue Jackets 1171898 Coyotes get blown out by Oilers despite return of Antti 1171933 Elvis Merzlikins gets confidence boost during Blue Raanta Jackets’ hot streak 1171899 AZ media: ’20 for 2020,’ a look at Valley sports, plus, fall 1171934 Blue Jackets 2, Rangers 1 | Oliver Bjorkstrand scores ratings book and more winner with 26.5 seconds left 1171935 Matiss Kivlenieks? Why not? And other observations from Boston Bruins the Blue Jackets’ win over the Rangers 1171900 Lead story: Bruins waste another three-goal advantage, fall to Penguins Detroit Red Wings 1171901 Despite assignment to Providence, Bruins don’t expect 1171936 Detroit Red Wings' Dylan Larkin scored his 100th goal; will David Backes to retire they ever come in bunches? 1171902 Bruins squander 3-0 first-period lead, fall to Penguins 1171937 Detroit Red Wings can't buy a power play goal; 'we're just 1171903 Providence Bruins notebook: Brett Ritchie adding penalty almost trying too hard' kill to his arsenal 1171938 Wojo: In Detroit sports misery, how much do you blame 1171904 Cam Neely expects David Backes to continue playing the coaches? 1171905 Bruins blow three-goal lead again, lose to Pens, 4-3 1171939 'Hockey is for everyone': Hockeytown Winterfest draws 1171906 Haggerty: These blown leads are becoming a plague for thousands to LCA the Bruins 1171940 Red Wings' Dylan Larkin strives for improvement as he 1171907 Bruins don't expect David Backes to retire after demotion reaches 100-goal mark to AHL 1171941 OctoPulse podcast: Gerard Gallant coaching rumors, 1171908 McAvoy takes blame in bad loss at Pittsburgh: "I've got to All-American Game preview be better for the team" 1171942 Flint youth players take in NHL Black Hockey History Tour 1171909 Talking Points from Bruins' 4-3 loss to Penguins 1171943 Red Wings lose but happy with battle level, feisty 1171910 Brad Marchand on the shootout whiff: 'You’ve got to have disposition fun with it' 1171944 Larkin scores 100th goal, Panthers beat Red Wings 4-1 Buffalo Sabres Edmonton Oilers 1171911 South Buffalo's Patrick Kane collects 1,000th NHL point 1171945 Lowetide: With the Oilers’ minor-league goaltending not 1171912 20 thoughts on the state of the Sabres entering the good enough, Ilya Konovalov might be the answer All-Star break 1171913 Rasmus Asplund, Lawrence Pilut, Scott Wilson assigned Florida Panthers to Rochester 1171946 Panthers’ win streak up to four after chippy win over 1171914 Predators' third-period surge causes 'pain' for Sabres Detroit in Bobrovsky’s return entering bye week 1171947 Panthers keep piling up goals in Detroit, extend win streak to season-best four games Carolina Hurricanes 1171915 Justin Williams returns for Canes, scores winning goal in Los Angeles Kings shootout to beat Islanders 1171948 ANDERSON-DOLAN, LUFF ASSIGNED TO ONTARIO 1171916 ‘Only Willy can make that up’: When the Hurricanes 1171949 SUNDAY THOUGHTS – CAMPBELL/WALKER ALL- needed him most, Justin Williams returned and delivered a STAR REFLECTIONS, LUFF/JAD, FRK, DIVISIONAL w DOGFIGHT 1171950 WAKING UP WITH THE KINGS: JANUARY 19 Chicago Blackhawks 1171917 4 takeaways from the Blackhawks’ 5-2 win over the Jets, Minnesota Wild including who orchestrated the bench-clearing celebrat 1171951 Wild-Florida game preview 1171918 Blackhawks getting contributions from all over the lineup, 1171952 Wild looks for rout to become springboard including unsung defenseman Slater Koekkoek: ‘He’s 1171953 Wild winger Ryan Donato looks like odd-man out — and 1171919 Will Patrick Kane — currently at 999 — earn his 1,000th doesn’t want to be career point tonight? He’d be the 90th NHL player to r 1171954 ‘It’s great to be a part of it’: Sights and sounds from 1171920 Patrick Kane’s 1,000th point provides historic moment in Hockey Day Minnesota Blackhawks’ win over Jets 1171921 Brandon Saad doesn’t miss a beat in return from injury Montreal Canadiens 1171922 Blackhawks' Kane gets 1,000th career point in win over 1171955 Cousins scores twice, Tatar records shootout winner as Jets Canadiens edge Knights 5-4 1171923 Blackhawks' Lehner makes 36 saves in win over Winnipeg 1171956 Jack Todd: Ilya Kovalchuk is fire on ice. The Canadiens 1171924 What 1,000 NHL points means to Patrick Kane and what's need to keep him next for Blackhawks superstar 1171957 Setting Marc Bergevin’s bye-week calendar in light of how 1171925 Patrick Kane receives the championship belt from the Canadiens have shown their ability to tread wate Jonathan Toews after getting to 1K 1171958 Tenacious trio: Keith Yandle, Patrick Marleau, Phil Kessel 1171926 4 Takeaways: Patrick Kane gets to 1K, Blackhawks win chasing Doug Jarvis’ consecutive games record fifth straight 1171927 Patrick Kane makes NHL history, hits 1,000-point New Jersey Devils milestone with Blackhawks 1171959 Devils notes: Mackenzie Blackwood was out with a 1171928 Jonathan Toews joins the Blackhawks All-Decade Team concussion; Why Travis Zajac, Blake Coleman got 1171929 Patrick Kane milestone and Blackhawks win add up to power-play ti biggest home game in years Colorado Avalanche 1171930 Avalanche hosts the downtrodden Red Wings, the team it used to be 1171931 An unexpected hero emerged from a month-long slump to put the Avs over the top against the Blues 1171932 Avalanche ride 3-goal 2nd period to 5-3 win over Blues New York Islanders Toronto Maple Leafs 1171960 Islanders fall to Hurricanes in shootout, suffer third straight 1171996 Maple Leafs head into all-star break on a wave of boos, loss jeers and ridicule after thumping by Blackhawks 1171961 Islanders’ skid hits three in shootout loss to Hurricanes 1171997 Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe counting on his stars to 1171962 Barry Trotz unhappy with Devon Toews' 'mocking' of be the solution to his team’s woes Evgeny Kuznetsov's celebration 1171998 Despite poor play, Andersen has support of Leafs 1171963 Islanders get a point but fall to Hurricanes in shootout teammates in dressing room 1171999 Challenges await Keefe, Leafs to get back in playoff New York Rangers picture once break ends 1171964 Oliver Bjorkstrand rallies Blue Jackets past Rangers 1171965 Brendan Lemieux promptly promoted in Rangers return Vancouver Canucks 1171966 Rangers’ damning inconsistency won’t change Pavel 1172008 Willes' Musings: All-star Markstrom not getting respect he Buchnevich’s trade standing deserves 1171967 Rangers blow late lead to Blue Jackets as playoff push 1172009 Canucks at 50: McLean save and Brown-to-Bure goal takes hit from 1994 Game 7 vs. Calgary remain memories that 1171968 NY Rangers projected lineup: Igor Shesterkin to start 'as resonate big as any game we’ve played' 1172010 Canucks at 50: 1994 double OT win over Flames will 1171969 Rangers allow goal with 26.5 seconds left, lose to Blue forever be known as 'The Game' Jackets at the Garden 1172011 Canucks Extra: Loui the Redeemer 1171970 Brendan Lemieux returns, plays his first game for Rangers 1172012 The Armies: Loui ‘saves the day,’ the almost goalie fight, since late December the NHL20 pass and dinner with Papa Tanev 1171971 Igor Shesterkin’s first NHL loss raises questions about the three-goalie system Vegas Golden Knights 1172000 Gallant ‘disappointed and surprised’ by firing from Golden Ottawa Senators Knights 1171972 SNAPSHOTS: Ottawa Senators head into break on a 1172001 Gerard (Turk) Gallant surprised by firing winning note Washington Capitals Philadelphia Flyers 1172002 Capitals enter bye week riding high, ready for postseason 1171973 Flyers’ Sean Couturier, Blues’ Craig Berube, Phillies’ J.T. push Realmuto among award winners at PSWA banquet 1172003 Tenacious trio: Keith Yandle, Patrick Marleau, Phil Kessel 1171974 Sights and scenes from Flyers' 2019-20 'Meet the Team' chasing Doug Jarvis’ consecutive games record day for fans 1171975 Flyers prospect WATCH: Keeping an eye on all the Websites goalies 1172013 Sportsnet.ca / "A team within the team": Inside the NHL's 1171976 Flyers find a new line that works, moving Claude Giroux brotherhood of the blue line back to center 1172014 Sportsnet.ca / Canucks' Quinn Hughes embraces 1171977 Trimmed down Alex Lyon has ‘a little extra incentive’ in nickname, thankful to be all-star Flyers call-up 1172015 Sportsnet.ca / Three Big Questions: What's one change you would make to all-star weekend? Pittsburgh Penguins 1171978 Empty Thoughts: Penguins 4, Bruins 3 Winnipeg Jets 1171979 Kevin Gorman: Make no mistake, Matt Murray and Jack 1172004 Big centre victim of iffy hit Johnson push Penguins past Bruins 1172005 Jets lose more than pivotal game against Blackhawks 1171980 Penguins start slow, finish fast in comeback win against 1172006 Jets hold players meeting in Chicago after suffering Bruins second straight loss 1171981 Penguins to start Matt Murray against Bruins 1172007 JETS SNAPSHOTS: Winnipegger Toews tearing it up as 1171982 Minor league report: Jordy Bellerive leads Penguins past Hawks rise in the standings Rampage SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1171983 Penguins deliver 4-3 win against Boston Bruins 1171984 Ron Cook: Goalie Matt Murray deserved better treatment from Penguins fans 1171985 Yohe: 10 observations on Penguins’ comeback against Bruins, from Kris Letang’s scuffle to Evgeni Malkin’s assi San Jose Sharks 1171986 Takeaways: For the Sharks, when’s the right time to start playing the kids? 1171987 Pearson leads Canucks past Sharks and into 1st in Central 1171988 NHL.com snubs Sharks-Golden Knights Game 7 as best game of 2010s 1171989 How struggles in faceoff circle plagued Sharks on disastrous road trip 1171990 Wheeler’s 2020 NHL prospect pool rankings: No. 25 San Jose Sharks St Louis Blues 1171991 For St. Louis, it's a 'special place in time,' hockey style 1171992 End result the same for Blues in Colorado: a loss 1171993 Blues notebook: Parayko sits, but Berube confident he'll be back with Blues after break 1171994 A look at the biggest events for NHL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis Tampa Bay Lightning 1171995 Re-live some of Alex Killorn’s goals on the way to 20 1171898 Arizona Coyotes

Coyotes get blown out by Oilers despite return of Antti Raanta

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

JANUARY 18, 2020 AT 4:40 PM

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Riley Sheahan had a goal and three assists and Connor McDavid scored twice as the Edmonton Oilers rode a strong start to a 7-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.

Josh Archibald, Sam Gagner, Kailer Yamamoto and Joakim Nygard also scored for the Oilers (26-18-5) who have gone 6-1-1 in their last eight games.

Taylor Hall, Christian Dvorak and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for the Coyotes (26-20-5) who have lost five of six.

Archibald was sprung on a short-handed breakaway just four minutes into the first period and sent his sixth goal of the season through the legs of Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta.

Edmonton made it 2-0 with six minutes left when Sheahan hooked a puck from behind the net to Gagner, who banked a shot from in tight at the side of the net off Raanta’s skate and in for just his second goal of the season.

The Oilers added to their lead with four minutes left in the first as Raanta accidentally nudged the puck into his own net during a frantic scramble, with the goal credited to Yamamoto.

Edmonton kept coming to start the second period with a power-play goal one minute into it when McDavid snuck a shot past the Arizona netminder.

The Oilers made it 5-0 five minutes into the middle period as Sheahan picked up his third assist of the game, stealing a puck and sending it to Nygard, who scored on a long shot.

Arizona responded shortly afterward as Hall scored his 13th of the year, beating Oilers goalie Mike Smith through a screen.

The Coyotes got another one back nine minutes into the second when Dvorak chipped in a rebound on a power play.

A burst of speed by McDavid with four minutes left in the second allowed him to deflect an Archibald pass into the net for his second of the game and 27th goal of the season

Arizona made it 6-3 with a power-play goal 11 minutes into the third as Ekman-Larsson hit the top corner of the net.

The Coyotes pulled their goalie early and the Oilers took advantage with just under four minutes left on a goal by Sheahan.

NOTES

Ranta missed the previous three games with a lower-body injury. Arizona is off for 10 days during the All-Star break.

UP NEXT

The Coyotes travel to Anaheim on Jan. 29.

Arizona Sports LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171899 Arizona Coyotes season, prepping them for the next two years. Key players are under contract and Rick Tocchet has this team playing at an extremely high level.

AZ media: ’20 for 2020,’ a look at Valley sports, plus, fall ratings book Bruce Cooper, Channel 12: The Coyotes and Diamondbacks will be and more playoff teams as soon as the 2020 season. However, they will not be the next team to win a championship here in the Valley. Both would need to win three-to-four best-of-seven series to become champions. That’s where each will come up a bit short. I can see one or both falling in the By Scott Bordow Jan 19, 2020 conference finals or the finals.

The Arizona Cardinals, meantime, would need to win three to four Here’s the first thing you should know about the Valley sports media postseason games to hoist the Lombardi championship trophy. They landscape in 2020: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM will dominate in the ratings. proved in the 2008-09 season that they didn’t have to be the best team in the league, rather, the team playing the best to be champions. They have Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess. their franchise quarterback in Kyler Murray. He’s special and a difference-maker. Give me the Cardinals to be the Valley’s next After all, could anyone have predicted in 2019 that a guy like Dan Sileo champion. would be hired — albeit for four days — while Tim Ring was laid off? Or that Bruce Jacobs would be back on the air? Jude LaCava, Channel 10: There is no doubt the Arizona Coyotes are in the best position to make a significant postseason run. Sadly, the We wouldn’t have thought any of that was possible. Thus, we won’t make Phoenix Suns are still very much a work in progress. The Diamondbacks a fool of ourselves by predicting what will happen in 2020, other than a have made some waves when it comes to free agency, but it is still hard serious challenger to Arizona Sports still not stepping up in sports talk to imagine the Dodgers taking a step back. But it is safe to say the radio. Instead, call this “20 for 2020,” a compilation that includes “best of” Coyotes are the team to watch moving forward when it comes to a deep awards, wishes, a goodbye, and local media personalities weighing in on playoff run. Valley sports teams and athletes. Best play-by-play voice: Anyone who can seamlessly work with Ron Best sports anchor: No one does it better than Channel 10’s Jude Wolfley and Bill Walton gets our vote. Dave Pasch can play it straight LaCava, who is retiring in April after 27 years at the station. LaCava and let himself go when Walton eats a lighted cupcake on the air. Our knows his stuff, isn’t a homer and he never tries to draw attention to only hope is that as his profile on ESPN continues to rise the Cardinals himself. don’t lose him to his national responsibilities. Best sports talk-show host: It can’t be easy, being Dave Burns. His Best analyst: The Valley has its share of interesting personalities in the partner on the Burns and Gambo show on Arizona Sports, John analyst chair — Wolfley, Tyson Nash, Jeff Van Raaphorst — but the Gambadoro, can suck all the oxygen out of the studio from 2 p.m. to 6 Diamondbacks’ Bob Brenly is as good as it gets. Brenly is able to talk p.m. But someone has to drive the show and rein in Gambadoro when inside baseball in a way casual fans can appreciate, and few are better at needed, and Burns does it expertly. How he doesn’t lose his mind when telling stories. If you see him out and about some time, ask him about he’s being interrupted all the time remains a mystery. former Phoenix Giants manager Rocky Bridges. Most underrated talk-show host: Bob Kemp never has gotten big ratings Don’t root, root, root: A wish for 2020? A little objectivity, please. Too on KDUS 1060 AM and that’s a shame. Few broadcasters put in as much many local media figures openly cheer for the Valley’s sports teams. Yes, work or are as well-informed as Kemp, who can knowledgeably talk Duke times have changed but how can the audience trust what it’s being told if basketball with a national guest as well as give studied opinions on the ethics are conveniently and completely pushed aside? Valley’s teams. Kemp isn’t afraid to say no when everyone else is saying yes, either, as evidenced by his recent dissent to the Diamondbacks One more wish: That a station, any station, would take a run at Arizona signing pitcher Madison Bumgarner. Sports in the ratings. Competition makes everyone better, but right now there’s an 800-pound elephant and a bunch of flies at its feet. Best Twitter account: Love him or hate him — and there’s plenty of opinion on both sides — Gambadoro’s Twitter account is a must follow For that to happen: iHeartMedia, which owns Fox Sports 910, has to start for Valley sports fans. There are times when he’s been wrong on Twitter. making better decisions. Hiring Sileo was a disastrous mistake. Then, He famously said the Cardinals would not trade quarterback Josh Rosen after moving Jody Oehler to the morning, the station had an opportunity and draft Kyler Murray, but no other Valley broadcaster breaks as much to make a statement by giving Tim Ring the afternoon slot. Instead of news on social media. hiring the well-known and respected Ring, however, it hired Matthew Jarecki, who was a senior at Northern Arizona University last year. Lifetime achievement award: Channel 12’s Bruce Cooper will retire after Nothing against Jarecki, who shows some promise, but why will listeners the Summer Olympics, concluding a 34-year run at the station. Cooper’s switch from Burns and Gambo to listen to someone they’ve never heard enthusiasm, infectious personality and high-pitch sayings — “I tell you” — of? has made him one of the most well-liked broadcasters Arizona ever has seen, both among fellow media members and athletes. Best pregame host: Fox Sports Arizona’s Jody Jackson is equally adept at setting up Diamondbacks and Coyotes games. She understands her Best weekly show: This one is going to Coop, as well. Having co-hosted role, which is to let her broadcast partners be the star. As a bonus, Friday Night Fever for three years I know how much work Cooper puts Jackson asks pertinent questions in the clubhouse and locker room. into the high school football 30-minute highlight show. No broadcaster has championed high school football more than Cooper, and it hasn’t Best feature reporter: A 2013 story on Todd Walsh of Fox Sports Arizona been done better than Friday Night Fever. said he cared more about stories than stats, and that still applies today. Walsh, who has won more than a dozen Rocky Mountain Emmy awards, Next championship team: Which Valley team among the four major pro is gifted at finding and telling human interest stories. sports will win a championship first? We asked a few media folk. Here’s what they said: Best athlete: Who’s the best athlete right now in the Valley?

Mark McClune, Channels 3/5: If I had to put money on it, I’d choose the Luke Lapinski, Arizona Sports: If we were basing this solely on winning, money. Coyotes new owner Alex Meruelo said he wants to win now. The I’d go with (Coyotes goalie) Darcy Kuemper. But really, what more can trade for former MVP Taylor Hall was a message to the team and fans Devin Booker do? He’s a legit star and all hope for the Suns’ future is that they’re all in. … If healthy, having Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta built exclusively around him. I can already tell you my pick in 2021 will be in goal seems like an X factor in making a playoff run. I wouldn’t be Kyler Murray though. surprised if GM John Chayka makes another big move before the February 24th trading deadline. I’m clearing my calendar for Memorial Jordan Simone, KDUS 1060: Kyler Murray. To be drafted in two different Day hockey in the desert and possibly longer. sports in the first round is incredible. To have the rookie year he had is something only Cardinals fans could dream of. He is a mini Bo Jackson. Craig Fouhy, Channel 15: Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes have a great Without a doubt, he is the best athlete in the state of Arizona. mix of veterans and young players and the goalie depth (when healthy) is solid. I anticipate them getting some valuable playoff experience this Dale Hellestrae, 1580 The Fanatic: Chandler Jones. Not only a tremendous athlete but for my money the most talented and productive athlete in the Valley. Very underappreciated, too.

Vince Marotta, Arizona Sports: There are a couple of different ways to go on this, but I’m siding with Devin Booker of the Suns. Booker, now in his fifth season, continues to elevate his game year-to-year. He’s become more efficient offensively and has improved (again) defensively. He should be an NBA All-Star this year.

Don’t be surprised if: Arizona State explores moving its broadcast rights to another station. Like the Coyotes, the Sun Devils are sometimes frustrated by the lack of conversation about their teams on Arizona Sports and how their games often get shuffled to other frequencies. Fox Sports 910, which recently acquired the Coyotes’ rights, could make a pitch. But given the station’s poor ratings, would ASU listen?

Best TV segment: Whoever came up with the idea to have Coyotes’ broadcasters Tyson Nash and Paul Bissonnette talk hockey while they’re in their pajamas deserves an award. The Pillow Talk segment is one of the funniest bits on air. Just one question: Where does Nash buy those PJs?

Best radio segment: Paul Calvisi can get a bit schtick-heavy, but his Paul’s Call each morning on Arizona Sports is always entertaining. The self-proclaimed Sawed-off Shotgun of Sports uses sound bites and offbeat stories to wrap up the Doug and Wolf show with a few laughs.

Give that man a job: Ring deserves better than what he got from Channels 3 and 5 last year when he was a victim of corporate downsizing. Ring knows his stuff and should have a full-time job in the market. Are you listening, Channel 15?

For you, Al: We couldn’t decide what our 20th category should be for “20 for 2020.” Then it hit us. In honor of Suns broadcaster Al McCoy, who’s still calling games at the age of 86, we’re putting this piece in the ol’ deep freeze.

First job

In our latest installment of how local media figures got their start in the business, here’s Arizona Sports host Dave Burns on his first job:

“My first job was as a board operator for KIRO Newsradio 710 in Seattle Washington. We had just moved up there after my dad got a Chief of Police job in Kirkland. I didn’t know the first thing about how to do any of it. I totally talked my way in and learned on the fly. Eventually, I was put on all their big talk shows and running the board for the Mariners and Seahawks.

But I was not on the air, never once, not even in a fill-in capacity. Two things stand out from my time there. First, on the day Kurt Cobain committed suicide, everyone — and I mean everyone — got called in to work that day. I wasn’t supposed to come in until that night. but it was all hands on deck. It was the spring of 1994 and given the popularity of grunge and Seattle’s role in grunge, it was such a huge story for that city.

Two, the sports department would let me cover games every now and then. Go into a locker room and get postgame sound. I’m an Arizona native, born and raised Suns fan. Being in the locker room with Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and George Karl drove me crazy. I couldn’t stand that team. But a gig is a gig. On my last day, the station staff sung “for he’s a jolly good fellow” for me in the newsroom. I’ll never forget that moment as long as I live.

Fall ratings

Arizona Sports continued to dominate in the Fall Ratings Book, which reflected the period of Sept. 12 to Dec. 4.

Arizona Sports had a 5.9 share of the market, compared to 0.6 for Fox Sports 910, 0.5 for KDUS 1060 AM and 0.6 for ESPN 620. The Fanatic 1580 AM did not show up in the ratings.

In terms of individual shows, Burns and Gambo received a 6.6 share. Doug and Wolf (Doug Franz, Wolfley) got a 6.1 and Bickley and Marotta (Dan Bickley, Vince Marotta) a 5.1. Fox Sports 910 did make some gains. Jody Oehler had an 0.4 share for his morning show while Roc and Manuch (Mike Muraco, Dan Manucci) also checked in at 0.4.

Of the syndicated shows, Dan Patrick (KDUS) had the highest rating with a 1.5 share.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171900 Boston Bruins made a good play. I have to be stronger on the puck. I’ll have to go look at it [on video], get better from it. Obviously, that hurt us.”

The wins have slowed to a trickle for the sons of Butch’s for the last Lead story: Bruins waste another three-goal advantage, fall to Penguins seven weeks. They were a lofty 20-3-5, (.804 ) after a 2-0 win over the Hurricanes on Dec. 3. A win rate of 10 per month. They have won but eight of 22 games (8-7-7) over the last 47 days and now have the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning climbing up their tattered backsides. By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff,January 19, 2020, 6:04 p.m. The Bolts, 29-15-4 with two games in hand, are but six points from tying

the Boots (28-10-12) for the lead in the Atlantic Division. Following PITTSBURGH — The Bruins on Sunday continued to redefine the term Tuesday’s visit by the Golden Knights, the Bruins go on their bye break “boot camp,” once again frittering away a three-goal lead and turning and won’t get after it again until they face the Jets in Winnipeg on Jan. certain victory into an insulting, near-inexplicable loss. 31.

Out in front of the Penguins, 3-0, on goals by Patrice Bergeron, Anders Once back in the grind, they’ll have 30 games remaining on their regular- Bjork, and David Pastrnak only 15:07 into their made-for-NBC matinee season schedule. If they can hold off the Bolts, it’s all but guaranteed here at PPG Paint Arena, the Bruins ended up on the dark side of a 4-3 they’ll clinch the Atlantic and face a wild-card team in Round 1. If they decision. can’t, then they get the third-best team in the division, which the last two years has meant going the full seven to eliminate the Leafs. Bryan Rust completed the indignity when he cashed in a Charlie McAvoy miscue, with help from Evgeni Malkin, with 12:35 gone in the third period. It has tightened up, considerably, like a stiff tug of leather laces of a steel-toed boot. Upon returning, they’ll need to keep from aiming that toe Rust’s strike, his club-high 21st this season, finalized an unanswered at themselves. string of four goals, a couple of those strikes delivered off velvety feeds from sublime superstar Sidney Crosby. However, getting beaten by one Boston Globe LOADED: 01.20.2020 of the game’s best was little solace to the NHL’s original Black-and-Gold team from Boston, which has become all too familiar with booting away seemingly comfy leads.

Consider:

■ It was last Monday that the Bruins moved to a 5-2 lead over the Flyers early in the second period, only to depart the Wells Fargo Center with a 6-5 OT loss — dotted by Brad Marchand’s embarrassing night- ending whiff on the last attempt in the shootout.

■ It was the third time this season the Bruins have booted away a lead of three or more goals and been left with a loss. The mind-bending trio of defeats began Nov. 12 at TD Garden, where a 4-0 lead over Florida in the second period turned into a shootout loss (5-4). The Sunrisers posted four goals in the third to pull even in that one.

■ As of late Sunday afternoon, the team from Booterville led the league in turning leads of three goals or more into losses, per the forensic accounting of the Elias Sports Bureau. Of the NHL’s other 30 teams, only the Canucks, Devils, and Islanders (two boots each) could compare.

“We saw some poor defending, poor goaltending in Philly,” noted chagrined coach Bruce Cassidy. “Tonight I think it was more of the same, to be honest with you. Not so much on the goalie [Jaroslav Halak] because they were good goals, but . . .”

Cassidy then began to review the parade of boo-boos that led to the goals by Dominik Simon, then Terry Blueger, then Jack Johnson (1:41 into the third), and finally Rust’s dagger, off a series of events that had McAvoy schooled by Malkin on the backwall.

“You need to make a play . . . you can’t turn the puck over there,” added Cassidy. “There’s too much of that going on — guys that have offensive ability have to start playing to their strength a little bit more on the back end or we have to seriously consider what kind of D corps do we want. We’re supposed to be mobile. We’re supposed to be able to move pucks out, add to our offense . . . and right now, that’s a challenge for us.”

McAvoy appeared to have control of the rock behind the goal line, recovering it after Halak’s sloppy attempt to make a stop back there on a puck rimmed in along right wing from center ice.

Option No. 1 for McAvoy would have been a safe play to partner Zdeno Chara in the direction of Pittsburgh’s right-wing corner. When in doubt, get it to Big Z, who, even at age 42, has ways of making hot pucks disappear into a black hole.

Instead, McAvoy attempted a riskier dish that would have sent the puck to Sean Kuraly out toward the left wing circle. But that was when Malkin took over. The big-shouldered Russian pivot plucked the puck from McAvoy, then tossed it by Kuraly, and in came Rust for the money shot. Textbook forecheck, pickpocket, pass.

PPG was in a thunder. Boot camp complete.

“I was trying to make a reverse play there to Kurl,” said a somber McAvoy. “I don’t know . . . good players in this league, so . . . [Malkin] 1171901 Boston Bruins Brett Ritchie needs to be more productive before a potential return to Boston.

McAvoy still scoreless Despite assignment to Providence, Bruins don’t expect David Backes to Charlie McAvoy, still without a goal for the Bruins through his 47 games, retire at least had his shooting shoes on here vs. the Penguins. He fired a total of 11 times — the Bruins had 77 attempts — and landed four of those on net. He missed the net on five chances and had two others blocked. By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff,January 19, 2020, 5:55 p.m. Torey Krug led the Boston effort with five strikes on Matt Murray, who blanked the Bruins on 23 straight chances after falling into a 3-0 deficit

on David Pastrnak’s goal at 15:07 of the third period . . . Pastrnak left PITTSBURGH — Provided the Bruins don’t find a landing spot for David here with 37 goals for the season, still No. 1 in the league. He needs but Backes in the NHL trade market, the expectation among Bruins one more to equal his career-high of 38 that he posted last season . . . management is that the veteran winger will report to AHL Providence Tuukka Rask (concussed) is feeling better, according to coach Bruce upon the completion of his current 10-day respite. Cassidy . . . No chance of seeing defensemen Kevan Miller or Connor Clifton anytime soon . . . No. 2 pivot David Krejci was sidelined for a Backes, who cleared waivers as of Saturday afternoon, has not second straight game. It’s possible he’ll skate in Monday’s late-morning commented publicly since being placed on waivers late Friday morning. workout in Brighton . . . The Boston power play was blanked (o for 2) and is now 0 for 10 over the last three games. The Bruins went three straight Club president Cam Neely, here for Sunday’s 4-3 matinee loss to the without a power-play goal in early December, but that was an 0-for-9 run. Penguins, said he does not believe Backes, 35, will call it quits. Boston Globe LOADED: 01.20.2020 “I don’t think he has a mind-set of retirement,” said Neely. “He’s a very proud man, and a professional. I still have the feeling he thinks he can help, so we’ll see where it goes from here.”

Backes, a 14-year veteran who increasingly became a spare part in the first half of this season, has the remainder of this season and all of next on the guaranteed five-year, $30 million deal he signed as a free agent July 1, 2016.

In hard dollars — often different than how cap figures are calculated — he is due only slightly less than $4.5 million because he already has been paid out some 85 percent of the contract’s full value.

Now that he has been waived, Backes’s cap figure on Boston’s books has been reduced from $6 million to $4.925 million, reflecting the CBA- defined discount of $1.075 million.

If Backes remains a non-roster player for the next five weeks, GM Don Sweeney will have that extra $1.075 million in wiggle room in the days leading up to the Jan. 24 trade deadline. However, that number could be reduced if the Bruins’ total payroll, which now is impacted by the club’s LTIR (Long Term Injured Reserve) status, changes over the next five weeks.

If Backes were to report to Providence, the earliest he would likely suit up for the AHL Spoked-Bs is their Jan. 31 game at Binghamton (the same night the varsity returns from the break with a game in Winnipeg).

Wade Arnott, the agent who negotiated Backes’s $30 million deal, has not responded to two emails requesting comment from him or Backes.

Ritchie pitches in

Brett Ritchie, waived down to Providence within 48 hours of Tuesday’s loss in Columbus, scored two goals in Saturday’s win at Bridgeport.

“And nine shots, too, by the way,” noted Neely, clearly keeping track of Ritchie’s production.

In his 27 games with the varsity prior to being demoted, Ritchie delivered a meager 2-4—6 line. The Bruins signed him to a one-year, $1 million free agent deal in July, never expecting that he would deliver two goals a game. Just one a week would have been considered wildly successful. A line of, say, 4-11—15 in the first half would have kept him with the varsity.

By Neely’s eye, the 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound Ritchie could find his way back to Boston, but he’ll have to show some pop on the scoresheet and pluck on his shifts.

“We’re not going to close the door on anything,” said Neely. “If we feel there’s a player in Providence who can help us, we’ll certainly have him come up and try to help us here again.”

Neely noted that Ritchie appeared more with it (“coming along”) in games prior to his demotion, but he needed to show more.

“We just didn’t feel he was getting inside the dots as much,” said Neely, who crafted his Hall-of-Fame career as a behemoth down low, inside the dots. “He needed to get more shots off, and create a little more urgency in his own game — we just thought we might see a little bit more of that.” 1171902 Boston Bruins Boston Globe LOADED: 01.20.2020

Bruins squander 3-0 first-period lead, fall to Penguins

By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff,January 19, 2020, 3:14 p.m.

PITTSBURGH — Another fat lead for the Bruins. And another big fat loss.

After posting a 3-0 lead here in the opening 15:07 of the first period, the Bruins frittered away their healthy advantage and were left with a revenge-best-served-ice-cold loss, 4-3, here Sunday afternoon at the hands of Penguins at PPG Paint Arena.

Ex-Notre Dame standout Bryan Rust nailed home the winner with 7:25 remaining in regulation, snapping a quick shot by Jaroslav Halak off Evgeni Malkin’s feed from the rear wall. Malkin muscled the puck away from Charlie McAvoy, shoveled his dish by Sean Kuraly, and the comeback was complete.

Patrice Bergeron, Anders Bjork, and David Pastrnak did all the scoring for the Bruins, who return to work Tuesday night at the Garden against the Golden Knights — Boston’s last game before a 10-day bye break.

The Bruins fell to 8-3-6 over their last 17 games and are now 12-8-3 on the road.

Like Thursday night in Boston, the first shot of the game went in, but this time it was off Begeron’s stick and not off of Sidney Crosby’s stick.

Bergeron snapped home No. 21 only 11 seconds after the opening faceoff, zipping the puck by Matt Murray from the right wing circle after Pastrnak’s feed off the left side ticked off Brad Marchand in the middle and set up Bergeron perfectly on the opposite wing.

Less than two minutes later, Bjork popped home the 2-0 lead with only the third shot of the afternoon, with help from Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk. Boston, 2-0, at 2:02.

The PPG Paints Arena crowd, stunned, began to heckle Pens tender Murray with mock cheers when he turned back the next few shots. Short memory here when it comes to Cup wins in the bank.

It got worse for the hometown faithful. With 4:53 to go prior to intermission, David Pastrnak popped in his league-leading 37th of the season, wheeling around the net and connecting with a centering pass that banged by Murray off the stick of his doorstep defender, Jack Johnson. Ouch. Marchand deserved an assist on the goal, but it went in the book as unassisted.

Finally, the Penguins paused the avalanche at 16:34 off Sidney Crosby’s exquisite dish from the center of the backwall. With John Moore trying to tie him up back there, Crosby dished to his right and a charging Dominik Simon nailed in a shortside snap from a deep angle on the goal line. Great shot. Better feed. The Penguins were back within reach, only down by a pair.

Ugly first period at the dot for the flightless birds. The Bruins won 71 percent of the 18 drops, with Bergeron clipping 5 of his his 7. His Team Canada pal, Crosby, was only 2-for-6 — a product of facing Patrice the Thief.

The Penguins scored the lone goal of the second period only 33 seconds after the opening faceoff, Teddy Blueger forcing a Marchand giveway as the Penguins forward came out of the penalty box. It was Crosby with another sweet dish, a blind backhand feed through his legs, that ultimately set up Blueger for the putaway from the left wing circle.

Fun scrap to watch at the 13:00 mark of the second period when Marchand and Kris Letang tangled after Marchand ducked out of a hit along the wall. The fallen Marchand grabbed the upright Letang around the right leg, preventing the slick defenseman joining the rush up ice. Ultimately, the two traded punches and both were sent off for two minutes.

The Bruins lost their offensive mojo for most of the second, not putting a puck on net until nearly the 7:30 mark. In fact, they needed nearly 15 minutes come scrape together three shots, after landing 14 in the first period. 1171903 Boston Bruins Boston Herald LOADED: 01.20.2020

Providence Bruins notebook: Brett Ritchie adding penalty kill to his arsenal

By MARISA INGEMI | PUBLISHED: January 19, 2020 at 7:12 pm | UPDATED: January 19, 2020 at 10:03 PM

PROVIDENCE — In three games in Providence since the Bruins waived him, Brett Ritchie has tried to work on the elements of his game he didn’t get an opportunity to do in Boston.

He also feels like he was playing pretty well before he was sent down.

“I liked how I was playing the last four games up there,” said Ritchie. “Going to be down here and get reps.”

Ritchie played some of his more solid games since joining the Bruins in the losses to Philadelphia and Columbus on their road trip before he was placed on waivers on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-4 winger had just two goals and four assists in his 27 games with the Bruins before being sent down. One aspect he’s trying to add to his game is the penalty kill, which he asked Providence head coach Jay Leach to place him on.

“He’s good, he’s been really good, solid on the penalty kill,” said Leach. “I don’t know if he killed a whole lot before coming down here, but it certainly doesn’t show. I think his stops and starts are good, he has a lot of strength in his body in general so he’s able to use that in any sort of battle on the ice.”

It’s tough to take positives being waived after just 27 games with a new team, but Ritchie is trying to make the best of it with the extra ice time.

Being on the penalty kill is only a part of it, and to return back to the varsity Bruins, given the depth and direction they’re going in, it will take a bit more.

“You get to play and be in situations you might not (in Boston),” he said. “That’s the positive. I think you can work on the parts of the game that you sort of lose playing on the fourth line up there, not getting as many minutes, you lose that feel a little bit. I think that comes from less reps. Going to get more reps that I’m going to focus on.”

Frederic evolving

Trent Frederic‘s clout has risen considerably since his NHL debut last season, especially in the last month.

He scored and added two assists on Saturday night and had a presence on the ice Sunday and is working to be a candidate for callup.

“He’s really starting to dictate his game,” said Leach. “He’s physical when he needs to be, making plays. … He’s really able to have extended periods of time during the game where he’s really a dominant force. He’s applied himself off the ice which is translating to the ice.”

Studnicka making strides

Bruins top prospect Jack Studnicka struggled for a bit in early January, going nine consecutive games without a point before assisting on Paul Carey‘s tally in the first period on Sunday.

No one is overly concerned with the drought for the AHL all-star.

“He’s come a long way,” said Carey of his teammate. “He’s a special talent. He’s got a very bright future.”

He lost a defensive zone draw in the first that led to a Springfield goal as well, and took a slashing penalty in the second period. In the third, he won a puck battle along the side of the post and found Carey open in the slot for the go-ahead goal.

“As much as everyone wants Jack to have the Cinderella rookie year that no one ever has, he’s right where he needs to be,” said Leach. “He’s going to be just fine. No one takes his career and development more seriously than Jack. I’m sure he doesn’t want to go through droughts, but we spoke this morning and he just wants to make sure he’s doing the right thing.” 1171904 Boston Bruins was on the hook for Bryan Rust’s game-winner. But he is starting to shoot more. He fired 11 pucks, hitting the mark four times, missing the net five times and having two blocked… Cassidy said David Krejci (upper body) remains day-to-day. If he can practice on Monday, then he’ll have Cam Neely expects David Backes to continue playing a chance to play against the Golden Knights… Cassidy said he expects Connor Clifton (upper body) to be ready sometime in February.

Meanwhile, Kevan Miller is working out off the ice but has not gotten By STEVE CONROY | January 19, 2020 at 6:31 PM back on skates since his latest setback with the kneecap he broke twice at the end of last year. Miller is the kind of big-boned defenseman the B’s could use right now but it does not seem like the B’s can count on him returning at this stage. PITTSBURGH — The Bruins have given David Backes, out of respect to the highly regarded veteran, his allotted time off that he would have Boston Herald LOADED: 01.20.2020 gotten with the upcoming bye week and All-Star break and, after that, the club will learn what Backes will do exactly following his waiving on Friday.

If Backes should decide to retire, his $6 million salary would come off the books. But team president Cam Neely did not believe that that was the direction the rugged veteran was going and expected he’ll accept his assignment to Providence when his break is up.

“I don’t think he’s got a mindset of retiring. He’s a very proud man and a professional. I still think he has a feeling he can help, so we’ll see where it goes from here,” said Neely before puck drop of the B’s-Penguins game at PPG Paints Arena.

As it is, the B’s will get a savings of $1,075,000 against the salary cap. The B’s were trending toward some kind of move with Backes for a while now. He missed 13 games earlier in the season after suffering the latest in a series of concussions and was contemplating retirement before visiting Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher in the Detroit area to get another opinion. What he learned then made him feel comfortable enough to continue playing, but he was a healthy scratch for all but eight of the 23 games since returning.

But all things considered — Backes’ stature in the game, his leadership in the room — made it difficult to pull the trigger on such a move.

“Very difficult,” said Neely. “Obviously we had a number of conversation internally but it becomes a roster issue with the number of bodies and if you’re not going to be in the lineup, we’ve got to figure out what we’re doing. So we just felt we had too many guys that weren’t playing and may not get back in the lineup, so we had to make some decisions. And they’re very difficult decision, especially with a guy like him.”

Meanwhile, Brett Ritchie, waived and assigned to Providence after clearing last week, had a smashing debut with the P-Bruins, scoring two goals.

“Nine shots, too,” said Neely with a wry smile.

Is there a scenario in which Ritchie could play his way back to Boston?

“We’re not going to close the door on anything,” said Neely. “If we feel a player that can help us that’s in Providence we’ll certainly have him come up and try and help us here again. But we just felt like, although the last couple of games he was coming along, we just didn’t feel he was getting inside the dots as much, getting shots off as much as we’d like and creating a little more urgency in his own game. We just thought we’d see a little bit more of that.”

Cautious with Rask

Goalie Tuukka Rask (concussion) is eligible to come off injured reserve for Tuesday’s game against Vegas at the Garden and coach Bruce Cassidy did not rule him out for that game, though he sounded like he was inclined to give his No. 1 another night off before the bye week/All- Star break.

“My guess is no right now, but he has felt better the last couple of days,” said Cassidy. “My guess is we’d just let it run its course though the break. But we’ll get back to the rink (Monday) and we’ll see how he’s doing. If he’s on the ice, then he’ll have a chance.”

Neely did not have an answer yet on whether Rask still had to serve his one-game suspension for declining his invitation to the to the All-Star game. Rask announced he wasn’t going a day before he suffered the concussion in Columbus.

Ice chips

Patrice Bergeron was dominant in the faceoff circle in the B’s 4-3 loss, winning an astounding 20 of 25 draws… Chris Wagner was credited with a game-high seven hits… Charlie McAvoy finished with a minus-2 and 1171905 Boston Bruins back the next game and play for half a game or whatever it was. We all have to take responsibility and be accountable for how we’re able to play in this locker room. It’s one of those games where we’re playing a good team. They’re going to give you a push but then you can’t let that go by. Bruins blow three-goal lead again, lose to Pens, 4-3 It’s a 3-0 lead and there’s a lot of game left so you have to play the right way and keep pushing to increase that lead.”

Crosby got his team to within a goal on a pretty between-the-legs By STEVE CONROY PUBLISHED: January 19, 2020 at 3:32 pm | backhand pass to a wide open Teddy Blueger to make it 3-2 just 33 UPDATED: January 19, 2020 at 6:34 PM seconds into the second period. Then Johnson atoned for his earlier mistake, jumping up into the attack on a shorthanded 3-on-2 and blasting a slapper past Halak (18 saves) at 1:41 of the third to tie it. PITTSBURGH — Almost since the drop of the puck on the 2019-20 season, the general feeling was that the Bruins would eventually need to Right then you had the feeling that this was going to end badly for the add a right wing to bolster their attack. B’s. Did it ever. And now the B’s have to figure out what to do about these recurring nightmares. Recent developments, however, suggest help on the blue line might be pressing as well. Boston Herald LOADED: 01.20.2020

For the second time in a week, the Bruins blew a three-goal lead and, this time, they didn’t even have the loser point to show for their efforts. After taking a 3-0 lead in the first period, the B’s allowed four straight goals to the Pittsburgh Penguins and lost 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

The B’s blew a three-goal lead last Monday in Philadelphia and lost in the shootout. But this issue has cropped up a few times this year. On Nov. 4 at the Garden, they also lost a three-goal lead to the Pens but came back to win it in regulation. They weren’t so fortunate eight days later, when they coughed up a four-goal lead to the Florida Panthers at the Garden and lost the shootout.

Jaroslav Halak did not give up the soft kind of goals he allowed in the Flyers games but he had at least a fighting chance on the last couple of Pittsburgh goals and didn’t come up with the save.

These things don’t happen that often to championship teams, and coach Bruce Cassidy — calling the goals against “gifts” from his skaters — sounded rightly concerned after the latest ugly loss.

“We saw some poor defending and poor goaltending in Philly, and (today) I thought it was more of the same to be honest with you,” said Cassidy. “Not so much on the goalie, they were good goals, but we got beat off the wall on the first one and the last one I can’t tell you what happened to be honest with you. It’s a rim puck that the goalie needs to get out on and stop and the D need to communicate. You need to make a play. You can’t turn the puck over there. There’s too much of that going on. Too much of guys that have offensive ability need to start playing to their strength a little bit more on our back end or we have to seriously consider what type of D corps do we want? We’re suppose to be mobile, we’re suppose to be able to move pucks, break pucks out, add to our offense. And right now that’s a challenge for us.”

On the game-winner at 12:35 of the third period, the Pens dumped the puck in along the wall and Halak went out to play it and presumably leave it for Zdeno Chara, but couldn’t stop it. That should not have been disaster because Charlie McAvoy was right there. He could have played it in front of him to defense partner Chara, but tried to reverse it to Sean Kuraly. Instead, Evegeni Malkin put the body on him, stole the puck and fed for Bryan Rust for the Pens’ fourth straight goal and first lead of the game. Unlike the B’s, they would not relinquish it.

“There are good players in this league. They made a good play and I’ve got to be stronger on the puck,” said McAvoy.

The day started with such promise for the B’s, who took a 2-0 lead 2:02 into the game. Patrice Bergeron scored his 21st goal of the season, beating Matt Murray (34 saves) 11 seconds, and then Anders Bjork doubled it up with a snipe off a 3-on-2 for his eighth marker. When David Pastrnak’s 37th of the year went in off Jack Johnson at 15:07 of the first, it appeared as though the B’s would sweep the season series with the Pens.

Nope. The Pens climbed back into it, thanks to a couple of world class plays by Sidney Crosby. The Pens got on the board late in the first when he lost John Moore by stopping short behind he B’s net. Both Halak and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk were expecting the puck to be coming out on the left side, but Crosby dished it back to Dominik Simon, who had a huge hole on the shortside to score from a tough angle. The comeback had begun.

“We just have to bear down,” said Bergeron. “You can’t have a good effort (as they did in Thursday’s win over Pittsburgh at home) and come 1171906 Boston Bruins change from the outside to improve things for a Bruins team that's almost the same as last season’s Stanley Cup finalist.

It remains to be seen what’s going to right the ship, or if it will ever get Haggerty: These blown leads are becoming a plague for the Bruins righted at all. But the list of problems is growing for a Bruins team that can’t live off its early-season success for much longer.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 By Joe Haggerty January 19, 2020 10:17 PM

PITTSBURGH — If it happened once or twice, it could be shrugged off as a coincidence.

But the Bruins have blown three-goal leads three times this season, including two in the last week alone. That gives them one of the NHL's worst records when leading after two periods, with seven losses already this season.

To put Sunday's 4-3 loss at Pittsburgh in perspective, the Bruins went into the contest 200-1-6 since 2010-11 in games where they’d held a three-goal lead.

It came down to a couple different things on Sunday, but you can start with their sloppy second period. They basically did nothing for the first 10 minutes coming out of the first intermission. That opened the door for everything that followed.

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First, Sidney Crosby made a couple of All-World plays to set up goals and get the Penguins back in the game. Then, it came down to the Bruins dooming themselves with mistakes, allowing two more goals without any offensive response.

On the third goal, their top power-play unit stayed out on the ice far too long, and a gassed Brad Marchand couldn’t catch Jack Johnson as the trailer unloaded a shorthanded bomb. Then in the third, Evgeni Malkin stripped Charlie McAvoy behind the Boston net and set up Bryan Rust for the Penguins' game-winner.

McAvoy takes the blame: "I've got to be better for this team."

To a man, the Bruins said it wasn’t about taking the foot off the gas pedal. Instead, they pointed to mistakes made while crediting Pittsburgh for pushing back.

“It’s typically how does it happen? We saw some poor defending and some poor goaltending in Philly, and tonight it was more of the same to be honest with you,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “Not so much on the goalie. They were good goals. But we get beat off the wall and the last one I can’t tell you what happened to be honest with you.

“I saw them bump their urgency up. The goals we are giving up against a good team…what is it a lack of focus? Do we lose our urgency? Because they are gifts a little bit. You can get outplayed by good teams, and you will in stretches. But these were gifts today.”

But it sure feels like the mind-numbing results fly in the face of their denials. Instead, something feels inherently wrong with a team that consistently plays down to the worst teams in the league, and seems to ease up once they build a comfortable lead. Those are the kinds of team traits that don’t go away as things get more challenging, and will certainly crop up when things are heightened. It’s also a shocking development for a Bruins team that’s been very good at closing out other teams over the years.

“We just need to bear down and you can’t just have a good effort and be satisfied with that, and then come back in the next game and just play for half of a game or whatever that was,” said Patrice Bergeron, who scored his 21st goal of the season and won 20-of-25 face-offs. “We need to take it upon ourselves. We all need to take responsibility and be accountable for how we’re able to play in this locker room.

“It’s one of those games where we’re playing a good team and they’re going to give you a push, but you can’t let that go by. It’s a 3-0 and you know there’s a lot of game left, so you need to play the right way and keep pushing in order to increase that lead.”

The good news for the Bruins is that they still have a half-season to figure things out. But it also makes one wonder if something has to 1171907 Boston Bruins

Bruins don't expect David Backes to retire after demotion to AHL

By Jacob Camenker January 19, 2020 6:53 PM

David Backes was waived by the Boston Bruins late last week. The statement move to demote the veteran Bruin was part of two critical changes that the B's made to their team. The other was waiving fellow enforcer and physical forward Brett Ritchie.

After Backes' demotion, there was some speculation that the 14-year veteran may opt to retire instead of playing in the AHL for the Providence Bruins. But according to Bruins president Cam Neely, Backes hasn't indicated that he will do that.

"I don’t think he has a mindset of retirement," said Neely per Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe. "He’s a very proud man, and a professional. I still have the feeling he thinks he can help, so we’ll see where it goes from here."

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This isn't altogether surprising. Backes may be holding out hope that he'll get another chance to play moving forward if he can prove himself in the AHL.

Backes turns 36 in May, but hockey players often have long careers. So, it's possible that Backes could find a role as a veteran depth piece for another team. It'll just be on a deal much cheaper than the five-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Bruins back in the 2016 offseason.

That said, it's worth noting that Backes has had concussion issues in recent seasons. So that could impact his decision-making moving forward.

In 16 games this season, Backes had just one goal and two assists for the Bruins. He'll take some time off before joining the Providence Bruins later this month.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171908 Boston Bruins But McAvoy has also very consistently played below his talent level. He's a gifted two-way defenseman capable of doing just about anything, and one who many believed was going to have a breakout NHL season. That hasn’t happened yet. McAvoy takes blame in bad loss at Pittsburgh: "I've got to be better for the team" Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020

By Joe Haggerty January 19, 2020 6:48 PM

PITTSBURGH — It would appear that patience is beginning to wear thin on the season-long performance of Charlie McAvoy.

Ahead of his third NHL season, the 22-year-old defenseman was picked by some to be a Norris Trophy winner. He was given a three-year bridge contract toward a much bigger deal, based on the expectation he’d quickly develop into a No. 1 defenseman.

But it’s been a fitful year of development for McAvoy. He’s still searching for his first goal of the season headed into next week’s NHL All-Star break, and he’s been a minus player for the month of January.

Things came to a bit of a head Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh. McAvoy was at the center of the Penguins' third period game-winning play that made a 4-3 comeback win. Evgeni Malkin neutralized a hesitating McAvoy with a big hit, stripped the puck away from before he could outlet it to Sean Kuraly or Zdeno Chara, and then fed to Bryan Rust in front for the game-winner.

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McAvoy was quietly accountable following the game, and knew exactly where he’d gone wrong.

“I got it and I was trying to make a reverse play to [Kuraly]. There are good players in this league. They made a good play. I’ve got to be stronger on the puck,” said McAvoy. “I was trying to make a puck possession play. I’ll have to look at it and get better from it, but it obviously hurt us.

“It’s frustrating. From an overall game I was feeling good and liking my game, but then it’s tough to give up a play like that and feel good about it. I’ve got to be better for the team and for [Jaroslav] Halak.”

Talking Points from the Bruins' 4-3 loss to Penguins

McAvoy was in the middle of another scoring play for the Penguins when Sidney Crosby made a highlight-reel, backhanded and between-the-legs dish to Teddy Blueger for a second period goal. McAvoy was a half- second late getting to the front of the net to stop the play. He wasn’t the only one playing poorly on Sunday; John Moore didn’t play too much after Crosby fended him off behind the Boston net to set up the Pens' first goal.

Cassidy called the plays “gifts”. He seemed to be challenging McAvoy in particular in his post-game comments.

“We get beat off the wall on the first wall and the [game-winner] I can’t tell you what happened to be honest with you," Cassidy said. "It’s a rimmed puck that the goalie needs to get out and stop and the D need to communicate. You need to make a play. You can’t turn the puck over there.

"There is too much of that going on. Guys that have offensive ability have to start playing to their strength a little bit more on the back end. Or we have to seriously consider what kind of D-corps do we want.

“We’re supposed to be mobile, we’re supposed to be able to move pucks, break pucks out and add to our offense. Right now, that’s a challenge for us.”

The good news is that McAvoy and the Bruins have just one more game, and then they will get 10 days to hit the reset button, thanks to the All- Star break. Perhaps that’s what McAvoy needs to get his game back on track, after a first half where he did some good things while learning his trade as a No. 1 D-man. He leads the Bruins in ice time (23:12 per game) and blocked shots, often getting matched up against the other team’s best offensive players. 1171909 Boston Bruins

Talking Points from Bruins' 4-3 loss to Penguins

By Joe Haggerty January 19, 2020 5:00 PM

Here are my talking points from Sunday afternoon's unexpected collapse in Pittsburgh . . .

GOLD STAR: Sidney Crosby didn’t have a real hand in the Penguins' game-tying or game-winning goals. But it was the superstar that got Pittsburgh back in the game after they went down 3-0 in the first period. Crosby carried John Moore on his back and fed Dominik Simon for Pittsburgh’s first goal, to give them signs of life. Then he made a highlight-reel backhanded, between-the-legs pass to Teddy Blueger in the second period to push them closer. Crosby finished with two assists in 18:27 of ice time, two shot attempts, four hits and took 24 draws in a gritty-feeling, playoff-style game. This was an amazing lesson in how the little things can make a huge impact. He only had one shot on net, but was a dominant figure in the game.

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BLACK EYE: Charlie McAvoy coughed up the puck to Evgeni Malkin behind the Bruins' net midway through the third period in a tie game. That set up the game-winning goal for Pittsburgh, and capped another blown three-goal lead for the Black and Gold. McAvoy clearly wasn’t hard enough on the puck on the game-deciding play. He finished with a minus-2 rating in 26:52 of ice time, and wasn’t good at all in the third period. He continues to miss the net on far too many shooting chances, and still doesn’t have a goal just one game away from the All-Star break. At times McAvoy has been solid defensively, blocking shots and playing the body. But his whole game is puck-moving, and he froze on that play behind the net.

NHL Top 10: Where does Tuukka rank among top goalies this season?

TURNING POINT: The Bruins had a power play early in the third period, after Kris Letang elbowed Brad Marchand in the head and knocked his helmet off (an attempt to get even for their second-period scrap). But the Bruins' top power-play unit stayed on the ice for too long, and that turned into a shorthanded Penguins rush going the other way. Brad Marchand lagged behind Jack Johnson as the trailer going up the ice. Then Brandon Tanev fed a pass to a wide open, trailing Johnson, and he rifled it past Jaroslav Halak for the game-tying goal. At that point it felt like the Bruins were going to once again lose a game where they held a three- goal lead.

HONORABLE MENTION: Patrice Bergeron certainly did his job on Sunday afternoon. He scored the game's first goal 11 seconds into the game, beautifully finishing a David Pastrnak transition pass. Bergeron finished with the goal and a plus-1 rating in 18:41 of ice time, four shots on net, five shot attempts and dominated the dot with a whopping 20-of- 25 face-offs won. Bergeron and Pastrnak (goal, assist, nine shots) did everything they could do. But beyond them, and Brandon Carlo finishing with a plus-3 rating in 21:13 of ice time, there were many B’s players that needed to be better.

BY THE NUMBERS: 16-1-6 — the B’s record when leading after two periods this season. That's among the worst records in the NHL, made even worse by finally losing one of those in regulation.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “There are good players in this league. They make good plays. I need to be stronger on the puck.” –Charlie McAvoy, on the game-deciding play in the third period where he gave up the puck to Evgeni Malkin for Pittsburgh’s game-winning goal.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171910 Boston Bruins “They’re two of the best players in the league. Stuff happens to good players and you just battle through it. Not everybody is great every night. You need to laugh at yourself. I laugh at everybody else, so if you’re going to chirp people you need to take it and chirp yourself. Brad Marchand on the shootout whiff: 'You’ve got to have fun with it' “Obviously everybody is looking for a reason to troll. Keyboard heroes or warriors, or whatever you want to call them. That’s part of it. They feel like they pay us to chirp us. It’s going to come. By Joe Haggerty January 19, 2020 12:40 PM "I can laugh at it too. It’s not a huge deal and it’s the same as if I just

went down and missed it. It’s the same result. You just look at it in that PITTSBURGH – Brad Marchand is still on pace for 35 goals and 107 context, and by the way my penalty shots have been going that’s what points and he’s one of the best players in the league, so his expression was going to happen either way. We have such short careers that you and his words don’t betray much of a lack of confidence. The 31-year-old need to enjoy every day whether it’s a good or a bad day.” winger has been through slumps and tough times before, and he’ll Given that Marchand is talking about and snapped out of his scoreless undoubtedly go through them again. stretch with the empty netter earlier this week, it stands to reason that the But Marchand also hopes that his empty net goal at the end of Thursday offense is going to return in pretty short order as well. night’s win over the Penguins represents an escape from a current slump Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 that’s seen him score just three goals since the beginning of December. And so does his head coach.

LIVE stream the Celtics all season and get the latest news and analysis on all of your teams from NBC Sports Boston by downloading the My Teams App.

“I think he’s fighting it and he’d be the first to admit it. The puck is not cooperating with like he’d like it to, and that’s aside from the [missed] shootout. That’s in general,” said Bruce Cassidy. “When he’s in all alone the pucks are bounding when he thinks they are going to be flat and that can get on your nerves a little bit. You think you’ve got to flatten a puck when it’s already flat and there goes your time and space.

“Every player can have those moments, especially when you are handling the puck a lot. But he’s looked good [the last few days] and hopefully that translates.”

It has also seen him tweet out a self-aware message that he’s searching for a pair of “hands that have either been lost or stolen” and hopes they be returned to TD Garden.

ATTENTION...hands have been lost or stolen, if found please return to TD Garden...thanks

— Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) January 17, 2020

“You’ve got to have fun with it. I’m not happy with missing a breakaway and missing a shootout, especially with the game on the line,” said Marchand. “But [expletive] happens. We’re in the middle of January. We’re not in the playoffs or anything like that. We’re in a good position as a team and one of the top teams in the league right now.”

Given that the offensive downturn has also included Marchand completely whiffing on a shootout attempt earlier this week as well in a loss to the Flyers, he felt it was about time that he poked a little fun at himself.

“It just hasn’t gone in. That stuff happens. There was a stretch there where I was having bad games and the puck was still finding the back of the net, so it all evens itself out. It’s been a while since I had a stretch like this, but it happens, and it happens to everybody.

“You just play through it. There are other areas of the game you can focus on and play well. It’s nice to get one to up the confidence a little bit, but it’s going to come. I play with too good players and get put into too many good opportunities for it to not [come], so it’s just a matter of time.”

Now that the Bruins have won a game they played well in against the Penguins, Marchand felt like he could open up a little bit more about his mindset in the immediate aftermath of completely fanning on his shootout attempt. Given who he is within the world of the NHL, he knew he was going to hear about it and he absolutely did.

Haggerty: Bruins make a statement by placing Backes on waivers

But he’s also looking at from the perspective of one of the best players in the world flubbing something on the ice. It happens from time to time even to the best ones, or the ones that opposing fan bases around the NHL are waiting to carve up.

“This stuff happens in hockey. [Connor] McDavid dumped the puck in the corner in a shootout and so did [John] Tavares,” said Marchand, who admitted he’s been battling some bumps and bruises that should get time to heal over the NHL All-Star break and bye week. 1171911 Buffalo Sabres

South Buffalo's Patrick Kane collects 1,000th NHL point

By Mike Harrington

Published Sun, Jan 19, 2020|Updated Sun, Jan 19, 2020

South Buffalo native Patrick Kane became the 90th player in NHL history to collect 1,000 career points, reaching the milestone on an assist late in the third period of the Chicago Blackhawks' 5-2 victory Sunday night over the Winnipeg Jets.

Kane started the play that led to a goal by Brandon Saad at 14:14 of the third period and was mobbed in the corner by his entire team after the goal. Kane also got point No. 999 on a assist to Saad in the first period of Saturday's 6-2 win in Toronto.

"You guys have meant the world to me," Kane told United Center fans during a postgame interview aired on NBC Sports Chicago. "It's been a fun ride and I'm looking forward to the next portion of my career.

"The team is playing great right now. We're rolling and things are going to get interesting here in the second half of the season."

The Blackhawks have won five straight and 11 of their last 15 games to pull within three points of a playoff spot. Kane has 24 goals and 38 assists this season for 62 points, tied for eighth in the NHL with Sabres center Jack Eichel.

Kane is the 10th American player to reach 1,000 points and, at 31, is the youngest member of that group. He has the most points in his first 13 seasons of any American NHL player in history.

Patrick Kane becomes the youngest American-born player to reach 1,000 points #PK1K pic.twitter.com/Tc1h0WgX5R

— BlackhaWWWWWks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 20, 2020

Kane led all NHL scorers in the 2010s with 802 points. During the 2019 calendar year, he was fourth in the league with 111 points (44-67).

It's been a big weekend for Kane. He spent Friday night in London, Ont., getting his No. 88 retired by the Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Kane was the OHL Rookie of the Year and leading scorer in his only year in London, piling up 62 goals, 83 assists and 145 points in 2006-07, his lone season there. He was then drafted by the Hawks No. 1 overall in 2007.

Kane has won three Stanley Cups with Chicago and scored the overtime goal in 2010 in Philadelphia to give the Hawks their first Cup triumph since 1961. He was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP in 2013 and scored the clinching goal in the Game 6 triumph over Tampa Bay in 2015.

Kane is fourth all-time in Blackhawks history behind Hall of Famers Stan Mikita (1,467), Bobby Hull (1,153) and Denis Savard (1,096), who was Kane's coach for his rookie season in the NHL before getting fired early in the 2008-09 season and getting replaced by Joel Quenneville. The Hawks went on to win three Stanley Cups under Quenneville.

"I've been very fortunate to be playing as long as I have, and also fortunate to be drafted by the Blackhawks and what's happened in in this organization," Kane said Saturday in Toronto. "All the great players that have been here and what we've done together as a team. There's been a lot of guys with some amazing individual accomplishments as well. It's been a great time here."

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171912 Buffalo Sabres "When Linus breaks down it’s on the aggressive nature," former NHL goalie Martin Biron, an analyst for MSG, said. "That’s a positive. I would much rather have a guy that breaks down being overaggressive than a guy that breaks down being too safe and too passive and too 20 thoughts on the state of the Sabres entering the All-Star break comfortable. At least he’s doing it in an aggressive way, in a winning way as opposed to a losing way."

8. Remember all the talk about Rasmus Dahlin having a sophomore By Lance Lysowski slump? Well, he's been outstanding since returning from a concussion, Published Sun, Jan 19, 2020|Updated Sun, Jan 19, 2020 and his .682 points per game is on pace for the best mark by a Sabres defenseman since Brian Campbell (.683) in 2007-08.

9. The Sabres finally have an identity. How would you describe what they Jack Eichel won't be able to completely unplug from hockey during the were trying to do last season? I'm not sure I could put it into words. They break. The star center will represent the Buffalo Sabres at All-Star struggled to forecheck and were a disaster defensively. festivities this week in St. Louis. Buffalo's win Thursday in Dallas showed the formula it needs to follow to The Hart Trophy buzz will make Eichel a hot topic during media day, and win a game when Eichel is not at his best. The break came at a perfect he'll likely compete in the fastest skater competition. His remarkable play time. The chaotic schedule seemed to take a toll on players. before the break, including 28 goals, has Buffalo in the playoff mix through 49 games. "Our schedule, I don’t think I’ve ever had one like this in my time here," Jake McCabe said. "It was a tough first 50 games. We put ourselves in a While he's been the catalyst for change in Buffalo, a number of factors spot to be playing meaningful hockey games and be in the mix at the end have contributed to the Sabres' improved play this season. With that in of the year here. It’s time to recharge the batteries, step away from the mind, here are 20 thoughts and observations from the first half. game a little bit, clear our heads and come back ready to go."

1. Ralph Krueger has fixed the Sabres' game at 5-on-5, an area in which 10. The Sabres need Casey Mittelstadt to make an impact in the they had a negative-31 goal differential last season. Buffalo has a plus-3 season's second half. The cap situation might make it difficult for General 5-on-5 goal differential through 49 games. According to Manager Jason Botterill to make a significant trade. Mittelstadt, 21, has NaturalStattrick.com, the Sabres have allowed 69 fewer high-danger the tools to be the top-six goal scorer Buffalo needs. scoring chances compared to its first 49 games of 2018-19. Although Mittelstadt entered Sunday with just four goals among seven The turnaround is impressive considering they've received only 11 goals points and a minus-8 rating in 13 games with Rochester, he has shown from Jeff Skinner, who is among the league's top 5-on-5 goal scorers progress with and without the puck. since he was drafted in 2010. "You can see his game is coming. His confidence is coming back with the 2. Defensive-zone structure has been the difference. Krueger's concepts puck," Sabres assistant general manager Randy Sexton said last week. have the Sabres allowing fewer odd-man rushes and breakaways. The "His play away from the puck has continued to improve steadily, with system allows more room for error, so a teammate is often in position to some of the finer points. His faceoff numbers are good. ... He’s help when there's an individual breakdown. Most mistakes you're seeing continuing to work on that. (Coach Chris Taylor) has him killing penalties, are minor details such as stick positioning or not getting into a shooting which will help round out his understanding of the defensive side of the lane. game and will translate to the offensive piece. Everything we wanted to do is being worked on from a coaching perspective. He’s thrown his heart "I’m really happy with the commitment of the guys to play without the into doing it and doing it the right way. We’re very pleased with where his puck and to really work together as a group," Krueger said. "Of course, game is at." every team will create chances as we do, no matter how you play. For us, it’s not the habits now or the team concept that’s in doubt. It’s, once in 11. Acquiring Henri Jokiharju is among Botterill's best moves since a while, details. ... We’re going to get some good players back after the coming to Buffalo. Jokiharju, 20, solves pressure on breakouts as well as break, and if we can continue to build on the defensive game with the any young defenseman in the NHL, and he has earned Krueger's trust added firepower that’s coming back at us we should be excited about with consistent play in the defensive zone. what’s ahead." The Sabres' 50.57% shot differential with Jokiharju on the ice ranks first 3. Skinner has resumed skating and could return following the break. The among all defensemen on the roster and fourth among qualifying Buffalo Sabres' first game is Jan. 28 at home against Ottawa. Victor Olofsson, players. He's the type of player the Sabres should build around. meanwhile, is still in a walking boot, though he's not worn it during off-ice workouts. "He’s a very, very proud player, but his skill set, right off the hop, and his ability to bypass pressure with the puck and his ability to solve pressure 4. The power play is no longer predictable. The Sabres' puck movement when the bodies are up on him is elite," Krueger said of Jokiharju. "That has improved, and Rasmus Ristolainen has brought a physical element was evident right from the start." to the net-front. Imagine the damage they could do once Olofsson returns. He has a team-high 14 power-play goals this season. 12. Nine of the Sabres' first 10 games out of the break are in KeyBank Center. The stretch includes home games against Ottawa, Montreal, The Sabres will need improved special teams to make a playoff push. Columbus, Anaheim and two meetings with Detroit. Of those teams, only the Blue Jackets currently occupy a playoff spot. 5. Eichel has become a superstar. The 23-year-old captain is now using his speed and stickhandling to take over games. He's already matched 13. Zach Bogosian shouldn't be playing over Colin Miller. In addition to his previous career high in goals and has 62 points through 48 games. reportedly requesting a trade, Bogosian struggles to defend around the This isn't his prime, either. Imagine what his game could look like a few net and has been prone to turnovers. He's not going to be with the years from now. Sabres next season and his play away from the puck has been a liability.

6. Sam Reinhart is making himself a lot of money. The Sabres will likely That said, Miller needs to be more consistent when given the opportunity. need to offer the pending restricted free agent a lucrative long-term His double-minor last Tuesday against Vegas led to him being scratched contract extension. He's on pace to set career highs in goals and points. in Dallas and Nashville, his 15th and 16th games in the press box this More impressive, Reinhart has evolved into a responsible defensive season. Like Mittelstadt, a rejuvenated Miller would improve the Sabres' player. chances in the second half.

7. The Sabres have a possible No. 1 goalie. Linus Ullmark had a .932 14. Lawrence Pilut is an NHL defenseman. Don't worry about him being save percentage while winning five of his final seven starts before the sent to Rochester on Sunday. The move allows Pilut to play at least three break. He's six games away from matching his previous career high in games with the Amerks and participate in the AHL All-Star Classic. games played (37) and has a .914 save percentage this season. Ullmark tends to make his job more difficult than it needs to be by venturing out of Pilut has shown he can help the Sabres now. Despite some revisionist the crease, but he's giving Buffalo a chance to win every game. history by fans, Pilut struggled last season when pressured on breakouts and while battling for the puck in the defensive zone. Those issues continued upon his return to Rochester. An offseason of training and a better structure in Buffalo has helped him flourish in six games with the Sabres. He should be back after the break.

15. Michael Frolik has been noticeable in each of his first six games with Buffalo. The 31-year-old has an empty-net goal and an assist while averaging 14:45 of ice time, almost three minutes more than he was playing with Calgary. Frolik has whiffed on a few scoring opportunities, but he has 16 shots on goal and should benefit from more practice time following the break.

16. The Sabres finally have impactful checking-line players. Remember when Phil Housley spoke repeatedly last season about Buffalo needing to be more difficult to play against? The Sabres' forwards are finally playing some heavy hockey.

Kyle Okposo, Johan Larsson and Zemgus Girgensons use their tenacity to wear down opponents. Curtis Lazar has also been a physical presence since rejoining the team last month. Give Krueger credit for how he's handling role players. They're rewarded with more ice time if they're performing well. The culture creates a healthy internal competition.

"There’s definitely coaches that have a good pulse on the game and some coaches their pulse on the game isn’t as good," Okposo said. "Ralph’s is pretty exceptional. If you’re playing well, if you’re going, he’s going to put you on the ice. That’s definitely something that’s welcomed as players."

17. Rasmus Asplund will benefit from going to Rochester this week. The 22-year-old forward was scratched in three of four games before the break. His role has decreased on the penalty kill since Frolik's arrival, and he struggled to make an impact when playing with Eichel. Asplund may remain with the Amerks after the break since Skinner could return. Don't worry about Asplund, though. He's not far from being a full-time NHL player.

18. The Sabres were wise to not give up on Ristolainen. In addition to his improved play on the ice, he's become a mentor to Jokiharju. Ristolainen is responding to Krueger's message and made necessary changes in the offseason. The 25-year-old defenseman also seems to be enjoying himself more. It's amazing what performing well can do for a player's psyche.

"He's been really great for me since I got here," Jokiharju said of Ristolainen. "He's played like 500 games in this league and has taught me a lot, like not dwelling on a mistake. You have to move past it quickly."

19. It’s impressive to see how Eichel and Reinhart, among others, are reacting to losses compared to last season. There never seems to be a sense of panic in the dressing room. The historic second-half collapse under Housley has the Sabres determined to make a playoff push. There's a healthy amount of urgency.

20. Marcus Johansson needs to start making more of an impact offensively. He has one goal in his last 19 games and entered the break with zero points in his last six games. Skinner’s return should help.

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171913 Buffalo Sabres

Rasmus Asplund, Lawrence Pilut, Scott Wilson assigned to Rochester

By Lance Lysowski

Published Sun, Jan 19, 2020|Updated Sun, Jan 19, 2020

Rasmus Asplund, Lawrence Pilut and Scott Wilson won't be resting in preparation for a possible second-half playoff push with the Buffalo Sabres.

All three were assigned to the Rochester Americans on Sunday, giving them an opportunity to play American Hockey League games during the Sabres' bye week and All-Star break. The Amerks play three games this week, beginning Wednesday night in Cleveland.

Asplund, 22, played 28 games with the Sabres after being recalled Nov. 16. He had one goal among three points with a minus-4 rating and was a healthy scratch in three of the final games before the break.

Pilut, meanwhile, had zero points in six games after joining the Sabres earlier this month. He was recalled while Jake McCabe nursed an upper- body injury and had zero shots on goal in 13:58 Saturday night in Nashville. The assignment also allows Pilut to play in the AHL All-Star Classic, which will be held Jan. 26-27 in Ontario, Calif.

Wilson played only two of seven possible games since being recalled by the Sabres. He had zero shots on goal with a minus-1 rating.

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171914 Buffalo Sabres game and there were momentum swings throughout it, and they were able to find that last goal to go ahead."

The third period wasn't a total disaster for the Sabres. They had four Predators' third-period surge causes 'pain' for Sabres entering bye week shots on goal during an early power play, however, one-timers by Marcus Johansson and Conor Sheary fluttered toward the net. Buffalo went 0 for 3 on the power play and enter the break amid an 0-for-6 slump on the man advantage. By Lance Lysowski Withstanding an inevitable Nashville pushback was imperative Saturday. Published Sun, Jan 19, 2020|Updated Sun, Jan 19, 2020 The Sabres buckled, though. Fueled by their home crowd, the Predators (22-18-7) forechecked effectively to earn long possessions in the offensive zone in the third period. NASHVILLE – Kyle Okposo paused, closed his eyes, shook his head and gave reporters a glimpse into the Buffalo Sabres' mindset following a Larsson was stuck on the ice for almost three minutes during a sequence particularly difficult road loss. in which Ullmark had to stop a Mikael Granlund slap shot from the high slot. Jack Eichel was penalized for tripping at the end of a 75-second "Tough to swallow right now," Okposo acknowledged Saturday night in shift with 6:36 remaining. the visitors' dressing room at Bridgestone Arena. "That’s a really tough game. Obviously we wanted that one bad." Seven seconds later, Smith's redirect on a pass from Kyle Turris rang off the post, hit Ullmark in the back and crossed the goal line for a 2-1 The Sabres might spend their week away stewing over how they Nashville lead. unraveled in the final moments of a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators. Buffalo peppered Predators goalie Pekka Rinne with 17 shots on goal in "I thought that was some of the best hockey they could have played and I the second period, only to be hemmed in its own zone for most of the think that we, for a lot of the game, managed it, and we just missed a game's final 10 minutes. couple opportunities to take a stranglehold on the game," Okposo said. "In the third they came out with a push and we just couldn’t survive." Craig Smith's redirect off the post and into the net with 6:29 remaining in regulation stood as the game-winner. Rather than entering the break on Despite going 3-6-1 over their previous 10 games and firing Peter a season-best four-game win streak, the Sabres (22-20-7) are six points Laviolette on Jan. 7, the Predators' production at 5 on 5 is among the behind the Florida Panthers for third place in the Atlantic Division. best in the NHL. This game illustrated Buffalo's improvement under Krueger, particularly without the puck, and the Sabres enter the break "It’s one to learn from," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said. "Who knows? with five wins in their last eight games. Maybe going into the break with the pain will make us that much stronger coming out of it." Nine of their first 10 out of the break are in KeyBank Center, and Skinner and Olofsson are closer to returning. Still, forgetting about the loss won't The Sabres don't want their season to be defined by missed be easy during a week that's supposed to provide players with much- opportunities. It's become a theme, though. Impressive stretches of play needed rest after a chaotic schedule. have often been followed by lulls. Their 4-1 win over the Stars in Dallas on Thursday was a sign of maturation. "It’s pretty obvious what we need to do," Reinhart said. "We just have to keep chipping away. We’ve been setting goals kind of internally and Buffalo shut down the Stars in the third period and scored two empty-net we’re just trying to keep meeting those goals. … This one is a little goals to improve to 18-1 when leading after two periods. The Sabres disappointing, but we have some time to regroup and re-energize." finally discovered how they needed to play against the NHL's best, especially with Victor Olofsson and Jeff Skinner out. Buffalo News LOADED: 01.20.2020

The Wraparound: Predators 2, Sabres 1

They followed the recipe again Saturday. Buffalo kept most of Nashville's shots to the outside, and Linus Ullmark managed to clean up most of their mistakes. The 26-year-old goalie made a highlight-reel split save on Smith's backhander from in tight the second period. Later in the second, Ullmark was caught out of his net attempting to play the puck and dove across the crease to prevent a goal.

Though Ullmark stopped 35 of 37 shots, he didn't face any breakaways or odd-man rushes. His ascent as the Sabres' No. 1 goalie is one of many encouraging signs for Buffalo entering the break.

"I thought Linus made five or six unbelievable saves tonight," Okposo said. "He’s done it all year."

The Sabres also overcame a horrific start. They did not have their first shot on goal until 12:08 into the game, a redirect by Johan Larsson that hit Rinne's leg pads. An impressive cycle in the Buffalo offensive zone resulted in Sam Reinhart scoring his 17th goal of the season for a 1-0 lead with 1:02 remaining in the first period.

Rasmus Dahlin faked a shot from the right circle to fool Rinne before threading a pass between two Predators defenseman to find Reinhart at the bottom of the left circle. Reinhart enters the break with 21 points in his last 21 games.

The Sabres had a number of chances in the second period, beginning with Zemgus Girgensons redirecting an Okposo pass from the slot into Rinne's chest. Their best opportunity came with under a minute remaining when Okposo's redirect went off the crossbar.

However, Buffalo entered the second intermission tied because Ryan Johansen retrieved a loose puck that ricocheted off the end boards and banked it off Zach Bogosian and into the net to make it 1-1 with 13:55 remaining.

"It’s frustrating because we feel we had our opportunities and just didn’t find a way to capitalize," Reinhart said. "I think both teams played a tight 1171915 Carolina Hurricanes “The teams weren’t giving an inch and it could have gone either way,” Williams said of the Metropolitan Division game. “But thankful for the opportunity to take a penalty shot.”

Justin Williams returns for Canes, scores winning goal in shootout to beat Asked if he surprised it took until the eighth slot to get the tap on the Islanders shoulder from Brind’Amour, a smiling Williams said, “I assumed I’d maybe be on the 10-12 sheet. He tapped me a little earlier than I thought.”

BY CHIP ALEXANDER Williams, with another smile, said he didn’t have time for the nerves to jangle at that point. JANUARY 19, 2020 07:50 PM “Just breathe, take a deep breath and say, ‘Here we go,’ ” Williams said.

“As I said before the game, trust yourself, trust your ability, trust your Justin William was nervous, a lot more than he expected. He admitted it. instincts and go get it.” This one was different. The Islanders were stung Saturday with a 6-4 loss to the Washington For the first time since last May, Williams was back in the Carolina Capitals, who scored five goals in the third. They had their chances, too. Hurricanes’ lineup Sunday, back on the ice before a sellout crowd at But it was if the script for this game was written all along for Williams to PNC Arena, competing, trying to win a tough hockey game. win it.

And then doing it, dramatically. In the eighth round of a shootout, Canes “He came back, first game back, and he scored,” Svechnikov said. “It’s coach Rod Brind’Amour finally turned to No. 14. Williams went over the kind of his game. Everyone was super excited.” boards and drilled a shot through the pads of goalie Thomas Greiss of News Observer LOADED: 01.20.2020 the New York Islanders.

When the Canes’ James Reimer then denied the Islanders’ Anders Lee, later joking that he had prolonged the shootout long enough for Williams to get his chance, the Canes had a 2-1 win and had put an end to a three-game losing streak.

“I mean, I was nervous the whole game, to be honest,” Williams said. “It was like a playoff game out there. That’s what it felt like.”

Williams’ last win in a Canes uniform came against the Islanders, in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, in Game 4 of the second-round series. The Canes swept that series before being swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference finals.

Williams, the Canes captain last year, had a huge decision to make. At age 37, he could retire with three Stanley Cup rings and a career in full, or take his time and see if the desire to play was still there. He decided to “step away” from the game and did for months, but came back to the Canes, signed a contract this month, practiced and finally went on the ice Sunday — now 38 — with the Canes sitting below the playoff line and missing injured defenseman Dougie Hamilton.

“He certainly didn’t look out of place,” Brind’Amour said. “Right from the start, his first shift was a good shift. I expected him to be a little more rusty, just the pace, but he fit right in.”

Brind’Amour calls Williams the “ultimate pro” and his value to the Canes (28-18-3) could be immeasurable the rest of the season as they fight to earn another playoff berth. It was quite measurable Sunday as Williams, on the fourth line, had 18 shifts and 13:06 of ice time.

It was another tight-checking, fight-for-every-inch kind of game between the Canes and Islanders (28-15-5).

“A playoff-style game,” Isles coach Barry Trotz called it.

Andrei Svechnikov scored his 19th of the season in the first period, ripping a one-timer from the right circle for his first goal in seven games. Lee tied the score 1-1 in the second, following up a rebound.

Reimer and Greiss took it from there, Reimer making 26 saves and Greiss 31. Both teams had their chances in overtime, Greiss stopping shots by Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho, and it was on to the shootout.

The Canes, shooting first, sent out Svechnikov, who scored and Teuvo Teravainen scored as the third shooter. But Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier answered for the Isles.

Martin Necas, Ryan Dzingel, Jaccob Slavin and Nino Niederreiter all failed to score for the Canes, putting added pressure on Reimer. With nearly everyone in the building screaming for Williams, Brind’Amour finally turned to his former Canes teammate and good friend.

“He’s been out for a long time, so I wasn’t sure if he had even taken breakaways for a long time,” Brind’Amour said.

Williams’ shootout-winning goal was the fifth of his career and his first since Nov. 16, 2011, when Williams was with the Los Angeles Kings and beat the Anaheim Ducks. 1171916 Carolina Hurricanes Svechnikov: “I actually was thinking, you know, it’s tied, we did seven shootouts. It’s (Williams) first game back. He scored. It’s kind of his game, I feel.”

‘Only Willy can make that up’: When the Hurricanes needed him most, Reimer stopped Lee on the Islanders’ final chance, sealing the Justin Williams returned and delivered a win Hurricanes’ win.

Reimer: “Obviously when Willy scored, you know you have to make that save.” By Sara Civian Jan 19, 2020 The players on the bench just lost it.

Svechnikov: “I mean, It’s huge for us. He was our leader last year, and Justin Williams tried to make a deal when he signed a one-year contract he (kept) it same way. He’s our leader in the locker room and it was so with the Hurricanes on Jan 7. nice to see him back. Everyone was super excited. For him, for the team. We really needed this big win.” He’d answer all the questions, feel all the feels, address everything that had to do with himself as an individual on Carolina’s scheduled day off Williams said he decided to come back with a mission: “Help the team Jan 8. Then it had to be about the team. any way (he) can.”

That’s why he didn’t get a letter on his sweater. That’s why he and Mission accomplished for the night. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour tried to ease into this thing with no immediate timeline. Heroics aside, Williams had a solid first game back.

The Canes have so desperately needed a spark, though — especially “When you’re away for a long time you don’t want to overhandle the after All-Star Dougie Hamilton broke his fibula earlier this week. Williams puck,” he said. “You just want to get it in, get hit, or be hit, or throw a hit. crushed the fitness tests, fit right in at practice and said himself he was Just get involved early. That’s what I tried to do and my linemates were “ready to rock.” great tonight.”

So fine, on Sunday Brind’Amour would ease him into his first NHL game “He certainly didn’t look out of place. Right from the start, his first shift since May 16 on the fourth line. But still, there would be no special was a good shift. That was encouraging,” Brind’Amour said. “I expected treatment. The fourth line didn’t start the game, and that meant no him to be a little more rusty, to be honest with you. He fit right in.” premature standing ovation for Williams. Williams had a team-low 13:06 TOI, but Brind’Amour said ice time is Turns out premature standing ovations are for cowards. earned. Clearly, Williams showed he’s “ready to rock” Sunday.

Williams would earn his — from teammates and fans alike — much later, Our stat guru Shayna Goldman is here to provide us with some Actual when his no-nonsense laser in the eighth round of the shootout lifted the Numbers: flailing Hurricanes to their first win in three games. “The story of this game was the return of Justin Williams. He slated on “It was all a conspiracy from the beginning,” joked goaltender James the fourth line in place of Jordan Martinook, alongside Lucas Wallmark Reimer, who saved 26-of-27 shots for the win. “That was the plan. We and Brock McGinn. Using Sean Tierney’s WAR Lineup Creator on fooled everyone.” ChartingHockey.ca, we can see that the line has a projected full season Wins Above Replacement value of 1.3; with Martinook, that line is a full The Canes struck first on the evening — Andrei Svechnikov off Brett point lower at -0.3. Williams is more than likely to move up in the lineup Pesce’s 100th career point 5:45 into the game. Islanders captain Anders when he’s back up to speed, but this, at the very least, shows how he Lee answered late in the second. Then two hot goaltenders prevented gives their forward depth a boost. everything else to force a shootout. “Williams finished second to last in all situation ice time at 13:06 as he Svechnikov’s shot was good. wasn’t deployed in any special teams minutes in his first game back. His 13 minutes at even strength were just under 24 percent of the available Jordan Eberle’s wasn’t. ice time, and ranked seventh among the Hurricanes’ forwards. He took Sebastian Aho missed wide. five shot attempts (tied for second on the team) and had an individual expected goal total of 0.15 (ranked seventh). With him on the ice, the Mat Barzal went bar-down. Hurricanes took 50 percent of the even strength shots and 48.1 percent of the xG share. Not bad for his first game back since May, but certainly Teuvo Teravainen got it done, and so did Anthony Beauvillier. room to grow. Martin Necas fell short. “We can use game score, which blends traditional numbers and Brock Nelson, showered with boos after his playoff antics, pulled a Brad advanced statistics, for a single game value to capture performance. Marchand. Only one member of the Hurricanes ranked in the top-five of all skaters — James Reimer (1.84, second overall) who stopped 96 percent of the Ryan Dzingel, Derick Brassard, Jaccob Slavin, Devin Toews, Nino 27 shots he faced in all situations. He faced 3.47 expected goals against Niederreiter, Casey Cizikas? Nada. and allowed just one goal in 65 minutes, so he stopped 2.47 goals more Then Williams got a tap on the shoulder. than the average netminder would have in his place. Rounding out Carolina’s top five were Svechnikov (1.31, seventh overall), Niederreiter Williams: “The butterflies were going, but you settle yourself down, I (1.25, eighth overall), Pesce (1.13, ninth overall) and Jake Gardiner mean I played over 1,200 of these (NHL games). It’s like ‘All right Justin, (0.65, 12th overall). In his season debut, Williams’ 0.14 game score was get real here. You can do this.’ … I was thankful for the opportunity to seventh among Hurricanes skaters.” Data via Evolving-Hockey.com and take a penalty shot. He’s a very patient goalie, so I figured I’d try and HockeyStatCards.com shoot it five-hole.” Thank you, Shayna. Brind’Amour, shaking his head: “Only Willy can make that up.” That’s what the Islanders get for scratching Sebastian Aho North. Williams: “I assumed I’d be maybe on the 10-12 sheet if we got going a little further. (Brind’Amour) tapped me a little earlier than I thought … I I don’t think I’ve ever seen worse ice in my life. Yikes! said even before the game just trust yourself, trust your ability, trust your Is there a goalie controversy in North Carolina? Reimer is 9-2-1 with a instincts — that’s what got you here.” .931 save percentage in his past 13 games, and he proved worthy of his Brind’Amour: “I wasn’t really waiting, but Dougie’s out and he’s usually second consecutive start Sunday. the one (shootout) guy we feel good about. After that you kind of go by The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 feel. He had a good game, so he was definitely a guy I was going to throw out there. It was just a matter of when.” 1171917 Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane Sr. doesn’t like to fly, his son said, and they weren’t able to make the drive to Chicago. The weather was bad enough that they weren’t able to make the roughly two-hour drive from Buffalo to Toronto on Saturday to see their son score his 999th point against the Maple 4 takeaways from the Blackhawks’ 5-2 win over the Jets, including who Leafs. orchestrated the bench-clearing celebration of Patrick Kane’s 1,000th career point "It’s tough not having them here," Kane said. "They’ve been a big part of my career. I’m sure I’ll talk to them after this and hopefully there will be some better moments in the future that they’ll be here for."

By JIMMY GREENFIELD 3. Well, that didn’t take long.

JAN 19, 2020 | 11:33 PM It took 952 games for Kane to reach 999 points. It took him 103 minutes, 12 seconds of playing time to go from there to 1,000.

Kane scored the 999th point of his career with eight minutes, 58 seconds The inevitably of Patrick Kane’s 1,000th career point has been clear for left in the first period of Saturday's 6-2 win over the Maple Leafs. He years even if the anticipation of the milestone began to build in earnest picked up his 1,000th point with 5:46 left in the third period against the over the last few days. Jets. Every time Kane touched the puck Sunday, a wave of excitement surged Asked if it was nice to get the 1,000th point over with, he was through the crowd of 21,487 at the United Center, so in that sense it was unequivocal that it was. Not because it was a drain on him but because like every other game over the last 13 seasons. the Hawks have more important things to think about. But this was a chance to witness history, and as he has done so often “I think I’ve been playing OK lately, but I think I can play a little bit through his brilliant career, Kane delivered. better,” Kane said. "It’s nice to have it out of the way. Now I can just kind His pass from behind the Jets’ net to Ryan Carpenter was sent over to of focus on my game and where I can improve and help this team out. Brandon Saad, who slid it into an open net. And with that assist late in “Our team has been playing great. We have a lot of timely depth scoring the third period of a 5-2 win over the Jets, Kane became the 90th player right now and that’s been helping us get these wins and kind of get on a in NHL history to record 1,000 points. roll here, so we’re in a good spot. We have one more game here before The fans erupted, his teammates jumped the bench in an orchestrated the (NHL All-Star) break, so it would be nice to get a win and enjoy the response to mob Kane, and a few minutes later Kane was back in the time off.” Hawks locker room talking about the memorable moment. 4. In other news, the Blackhawks won a huge game. “I knew I had two games here where I had a chance to get it,” he said. "I If the Hawks were distracted by Kane going for his 1,000th point, they was hoping to get it done here at home before we went on a long break. sure didn't play like it. The team is rolling right now, too, so there’s a lot of good things happening. We’re playing well. It’s nice to get it here at home in front of Their season-high fifth straight win was similar to the previous four in that the crowd, get a win in front of the crowd and to have it come in a win. they were in control most of the way, played with a confidence that hadn’t been seen earlier in the season and came really close to playing a "It’s a pretty special day." complete game. Here are four takeaways from Kane’s 1,000th career point and an There were some blemishes. Drake Caggiula taking four minor penalties, important victory for the Hawks: including one for unsportsmanlike conduct, was a noticeable one. But 1. The bench-clearing lovefest was a Jonathan Toews production. other than that they stuck to a familiar script.

Moments after it was clear that Kane had registered his 1,000th point, he The penalty kill was perfect, the offensive production was spread around was mobbed by the four linemates on the ice with him: Saad, Carpenter, and goalie Robin Lehner was nearly impenetrable with 36 saves, Erik Gustafsson and Connor Murphy. including all 13 shots he saw on the power play. Alex Nylander had a goal and an assist, Kirby Dach picked up his second point in his last 29 But in something that Kane never saw coming — and which coach games and David Kampf had his sixth goal of the season. Jeremy Colliton later revealed was planned by team captain Jonathan Toews — every player on the bench jumped the boards to in a show of One game remains before the All-Star break — Tuesday’s game against friendship, joy and appreciation for their teammate. the Panthers and Joel Quenneville in what should be an emotional reunion — and Jeremy Colliton wants to keep this streak going. “I don’t know who orchestrated that or what that was about, but I’m sure ‘Tazer’ probably had something to do with that,” Kane said. “That’s a “We’ve had trouble in a couple of these situations early in the year where special moment. Obviously, there’s great leadership in this room.” we started playing better and then we take a step back,” Colliton said. “And there will be a step back at some point, but the best teams they find Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, No. 88, celebrates with teammates a way to ride the wave when they’re playing well and build momentum, after scoring his 1,000th career point on an assist against the Jets on and then when you do take that inevitable step back, turn it on as quick Jan. 19, 2020, at the United Center. as you can.”

This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision by Toews. He had cleared it The timing of Quenneville’s return should make for an exciting game and with the referees during Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs, and another memorable evening. The Panthers have won four straight — also cleared it with the officials on Sunday. He wanted to make sure they play at the Wild on Monday — and are also in need of every point Kane had his moment without the team getting an unsportsmanlike they can get as they try to nail down a playoff berth. penalty. For Colliton, it can't hurt that he has the Hawks firing on all cylinders right “What a moment, obviously, with everyone coming onto the ice and now and may not have to hear boos from the same crowd that is likely to sharing that moment with me,” Kane said. “You see some faces in that give Quenneville a standing ovation. pile that have been a big part of a lot of those points, whether it’s been Tazer or ‘Duncs’ (Duncan Keith) or (Alex) DeBrincat recently, ‘Saader’ “It’s a chance to honor Joel,” Colliton said. "It’s a big night for the (Brandon Saad) to finish it off I think was pretty cool.” organization, and he was great to me so I want to honor him too because it’s a big part of the reason why I came here to begin with is because he 2. Kane’s parents weren’t able to be at the United Center. was here. Obviously we want to beat him because they’re two big points for our team, and we’re going to have to sit on that game for a bunch of Patrick Kane Sr. famously tries to make it to all of his son’s games at the days (because the All-Star break follows). United Center. Last season, he made it to all 41 home games. “We’re going to have to prepare with all the detail and excitement that we But in a cruel twist of fate, neither of Kane’s parents were able to get to can muster, and then I’m sure there will be a lot of energy in the building Chicago after their hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., was socked by and we’ve got to use it in the right way.” snowstorms and they couldn’t get out. Here is coverage from Sunday’s win:

Patrick Kane became the fourth player to score 1,000 points in a Blackhawks uniform when he hit the milestone in the third period of the Blackhawks’ 5-2 victory — their fifth straight — over the Jets on Sunday night at the United Center.

Kane, 31, had an assist on Brandon Saad’s goal to join Hall of Famers Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull and Denis Savard.

Kane, who is the 90th player in NHL history to hit the 1,000-point mark, did it in the 953rd game of his career. He is the seventh active player to reach 1,000 points along with Joe Thornton, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Marleau, Evgeni Malkin and Eric Staal.

According to the NHL, Kane is the youngest U.S. player to reach the milestone. Kane, 31 years, 61 days old, eclipsed former Blackhawk Jeremy Roenick, who was 32 years, 13 days old when he did it.

The Hawks improved to 24-20-6 and pulled to within three points of the Coyotes for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Robin Lehner had 36 saves for his sixth win in his last seven starts.

The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the game on Alex Nylander’s sixth goal of the season and first in his last 11 games.

Nylander took a pass from Erik Gustafsson as he was skating through the slot and moved around goalie Connor Hellebuyck before deftly putting a backhander just inside the far goal post.

Gustafsson scored his sixth of the season and the first in his last 10 games on a wrist shot from near the top of the left faceoff circle to make it 2-0.

Drake Caggiula took four minor penalties in the first two periods, including a double-minor that gave the Jets a four-minute power play, but Lehner stopped 13 shots while the Hawks were down a man to keep the Jets off the scoreboard. The Hawks penalty kill has allowed just three goals in the last 39 opportunities over their last 16 games.

The Jets finally beat Lehner with 1:55 left in the second on Mark Scheifele’s rebound goal to pull within 2-1.

David Kampf scored his seventh goal of the season midway through the period to restore the Hawks’ two-goal lead. Kirby Dach picked up his second point and first assist in his last 29 games.

Dominik Kubalik sealed the victory with an empty-net goal, his 21st of the season.

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171918 Chicago Blackhawks “There’s a buzz in the room around those guys,” Koekkoek said. “Whenever there’s a third- or fourth-line guy that’s getting hot or scoring goals it’s a different feeling than when the superstars are going. Both are equally important, but it’s a nice feeling.” Blackhawks getting contributions from all over the lineup, including unsung defenseman Slater Koekkoek: ‘He’s made it impossible for us to Like Koekkoek, Caggiula was acquired by general manager Stan take him out’ Bowman a little over a year ago in a midseason trade that didn't seem like it would pay dividends. But as the Hawks enter the stretch run, both are proving to be very useful depth players.

By JIMMY GREENFIELD Caggiula, who missed nearly two months with a concussion before returning on Jan. 9, grew up near Toronto as a Hawks fan, so it has been JAN 19, 2020 | 6:22 PM a particular pleasure for him to watch Kane chase his 1,000th point and Toews the 800th of his career.

Slater Koekkoek began to list some of the Blackhawks' unsung players, Those are daunting figures for Caggiula, who has 69 career points after one after another, describing their growing roles and explaining how the posting a goal and an assist in each of the Hawks’ last two wins of their Hawks have started to thrive on the backs of their stars as well as lesser- road trip. known contributors. “I’ve got a lot of work to do (to catch Kane and Toews),” Caggiula said He mentioned Ryan Carpenter, whose work on the penalty kill has with a big laugh. “It’s incredible. Being able to be a part of it and play helped transform the Hawks into one of the league's best units this alongside these two players that I idolized growing up, it’s a pretty special season after being one of the worst in league history last season. thing.”

Koekkoek brought up Zack Smith, who had two goals Wednesday Chicago Tribune LOADED: 01.20.2020 against the Canadiens, and Dominik Kubalik, who has nine goals in his last seven games and is probably in the final days of anonymity.

And he also mentioned his new defensive partner, Olli Maatta, who won a pair of Stanley Cups with the Penguins but has fought through some healthy scratches to the point where coach Jeremy Colliton wouldn’t dream of taking him out of the lineup.

But Koekkoek forgot someone — himself.

He could have mentioned that he played a season-high 20 minutes, 16 seconds against the Senators. Or that he had an assist in each game of the Hawks’ perfect road trip against the Senators, Canadiens and Maple Leafs.

Koekkoek laughed and acknowledged his strong stretch of six straight starts, including Sunday’s game against the Jets.

Blackhawks players John Quenneville, left, and Slater Koekkoek, right, mob teammate Jonathan Toews after Toews scored a goal on Jan. 11, 2020.

“It feels good,” Koekkeok said. “It was nice because I had my family in Toronto and Ottawa. They couldn’t get to Montreal because of the snowstorm. It was great. It’s too bad Chicago only goes up to Ottawa once, but it was nice to have them there.”

It’s typical of hockey players that even those who rarely garner publicity still tend to shy away from it. But Koekkoek deserves to be mentioned for helping to solidify the Hawks’ third defensive pairing after the losses of Calvin de Haan and Brent Seabrook led to a restructuring of the defense.

Koekkoek had a hard time getting in the lineup consistently during the first half of the season despite injuries to several defensemen. Rookies Adam Boqvist and Dennis Gilbert began to get starts ahead of Koekkoek, but when he did play Colliton was happy with his performance, and told him so.

Koekkoek, a left-handed shot, had never played a game on the right side until a preseason game against the Red Wings this season, but he has been playing on that side with Maatta and feeling extremely comfortable.

“We kind of talked with him (earlier in the season) like, ‘You’re still in and out, but you’re doing a good job, you’re on the right path. All you can do is focus on being good every time you get in,’” Colliton said. "And this latest opportunity that he’s had, he’s found another level to his performance and he’s made it impossible for us to take him out.

“Him and Maatta, since they’ve been reinserted they’ve been great and I think really added some depth to our group and a big part of why we’re having success lately.”

Patrick Kane is on the verge of his 1,000th career point and is on pace for a second straight 100-point season. Jonathan Toews has been on an incredible run with 12 points in his last five games entering Sunday. But the Hawks also are getting contributions from Carpenter, Smith, Kubalik, Drake Caggiula and others, and that’s a big reason they won 10 of their last 14 going into Sunday’s game. 1171919 Chicago Blackhawks Beginning with the 2018-19 season, Kane scored at least one point in 102 of the 130 games in which he played, and the Hawks are 56-33-13. In games Kane has not registered a point, the Hawks are 3-20-5.

Will Patrick Kane — currently at 999 — earn his 1,000th career point And this season? In games in which Kane didn’t pick up a point, the tonight? He’d be the 90th NHL player to reach the milestone. Hawks are, incredibly, just 1-8-2. That one victory comes with an asterisk because, although Kane didn’t get credit for a point, he scored the clinching shootout goal in a 3-2 win Dec. 29 against the Blue Jackets.

By JIMMY GREENFIELD Despite only being in his third season, Alex DeBrincat’s 24 goals are seventh among Hawks who have scored the most off an assist from JAN 19, 2020 | 10:30 AM Kane. DeBrincat learned early in his career that playing on a line with Kane isn’t as simple as jumping on the ice and waiting for Kane to zip a perfect pass his way. Every once in a while a confluence of events comes together that best can be described as magical. The perfect pass often comes. But it’s impossible to know when, where or how. Patrick Kane, whose Blackhawks career has been nothing less than magical, could wind up remembering this weekend that way. “He’s got eyes in the back of his head,” DeBrincat said. "He’s always looking for you. You’ve just got to be prepared — that’s the biggest thing. Kane had his No. 88 retired Friday night by the London Knights, with A lot of guys are thinking, ‘There’s no way he can get this to me,’ and whom he played junior hockey for one brilliant season 13 years ago. And they get a little lazy. And then it’s right on their stick and they’re not ready after picking up his 999th career point Saturday against the Maple Leafs, to shoot. Kane is on the cusp of becoming the 90th player in NHL history to hit the 1,000-point milestone. “That’s a big thing with him: Just be ready to shoot it at any time.”

Kane hit 999 on Saturday with an assist on Brandon Saad’s goal in a 6-2 That’s a lesson Marian Hossa learned in 2011 when he was a participant Hawks victory. Kane’s next chance to hit 1,000 comes Sunday night in what Kane said was the most memorable regular-season point of his against the Jets at the United Center. career.

“It would be fun to do it tonight,” Kane said Saturday after the morning The Hawks played the Ducks at the United Center on Oct. 25. Kane took skate in Toronto. “It would cap off a pretty special weekend.” off with the puck near the right boards and crossed the blue line with defenseman Toni Lydman cutting off his path to the net and three other [Most read in Sports] 4 takeaways from the Blackhawks’ 5-2 win over the Ducks clogging the slot. Jets, including who orchestrated the bench-clearing celebration of Patrick Kane’s 1,000th career point » Kane veered slightly away from the net before doing a spin-o-rama and sending a perfect blind pass to Hossa, whose stick was on the ice ready But it wouldn’t cap off what has been a special run. At 31, Kane has for, well, a perfect blind pass. plenty left in the tank and is playing perhaps the best hockey of his 13- season career that began a few months after he racked up 145 points “I think it was the first time I did that and was able to pull it off (and) be (62 goals, 83 assists) in 58 games for the Knights during the 2006-07 able to create a goal out of it,” Kane said. “Tried it a few times before. season. and that was the first time it connected on the pass to Hossa. For whatever reason, that sticks out.” On Friday, Kane’s parents, girlfriend, three sisters and several former Knights teammates joined him in London, Ontario — about a two-hour Some things stick out more than others. Like certain magical weekends drive from Toronto — to have his No. 88 hung from the rafters of of hockey. Budweiser Gardens alongside those of Corey Perry, Dino Ciccarelli and Chicago Tribune LOADED: 01.20.2020 former Hawk Dave Bolland, among others.

Kane has won three Stanley Cups and an NHL scoring title, was named rookie of the year and won the most valuable player award after the 2015-16 season and the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 2013 playoffs. Having his number retired by the Knights ranks with them all.

“I think it’s up there,” Kane said. “Being in London one year and going back there (Friday) night, I think you get a little emotional at the video tribute. It’s your career displayed for you in front of your eyes. It’s amazing it’s been 13 years.”

The importance of that season to the Hawks dynasty of the last decade can’t be overstated. Kane was not considered a candidate for the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft until he grabbed the attention of the hockey world during his one season in London.

The Hawks took notice and took him with the first pick. The rest is history. Or at least history in the making.

"It feels like yesterday I was playing there and having a lot of fun playing hockey," Kane said. "I was there one year but have a lot of memories that can maybe take up four or five years from that one season. It was a great season and just felt the same when I was walking in the building. Felt like I was coming back to play a game in that building. That was a weird feeling going back in there."

Getting his 1,000th point in Toronto — one of the meccas of the hockey world — with his family in attendance and on the same weekend the Knights retired his number would have been a beautiful coincidence.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty good stage to get it if he were able to,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “I think he’d want that. It’s a big game for us too. So he knows that when he’s able to produce for us, it helps us win.”

Colliton had no idea how right he was. It has been nearly impossible for the Hawks to win over the last two seasons, statistics show, unless Kane’s name is on the scoresheet. 1171920 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 01.20.2020

Patrick Kane’s 1,000th point provides historic moment in Blackhawks’ win over Jets

By Ben Pope

CST Jan 19, 2020, 10:00pm CST

For the first 54 minutes of the Blackhawks’ 5-2 victory against the Jets, Patrick Kane didn’t look like himself.

Three Stanley Cups hadn’t rattled him. The 380 goals and 619 assists in his career to date had come as easily as they have for any scorer in Hawks history. Even the team’s struggles in recent years hadn’t disrupted his incredible year-after-year productivity.

The quest for his 1,000th career point, however, had him slightly jittery. He made some uncharacteristic turnovers, forced some passes and ventured offside on one rush.

And then finally, at 14:14 of the third period Sunday, Brandon Saad — one of many forwards over the years to have developed into an excellent player under the tutelage of Kane and Jonathan Toews — put Kane out of his misery and onto another legendary list in the NHL’s record books. Within seconds, the bench had emptied into a 20-man celebratory hug.

“What a moment, obviously, with everyone coming onto the ice and sharing that moment with me,” Kane said. “You see some faces in that pile that have been a big part of a lot of those points, whether it’s been [Toews] or [Duncan Keith] or [Alex] DeBrincat recently. Saad to finish it off was pretty cool.”

Saad was unfortunately left on the perimeter, as his tap-in goal — after Kane found Ryan Carpenter from behind the net, and Carpenter fed Saad through the crease — left him on the wrong side of the ice at first.

“I kind of felt bad for him there,” Kane joked. “All the other guys on the ice came to me, and he was alone in the corner, even though he was the one who scored.”

Saad didn’t seem to mind too much, though.

“[Kane’s] one of those few who can achieve goals like that,” Saad said. “He’s a special player, [and] he keeps getting better with age.”

Coach Jeremy Colliton clarified later that Toews had planned the bench- clearing celebration — which Kane had unknowingly guessed was the case — and notified the referees in advance. For an occasion only 89 other players in NHL history have ever experienced, exceptions can be made.

The crowd of 21,487 — which had clearly kept Kane’s imminent milestone on its mind all night, even as the Hawks controlled their way through a fifth consecutive win — continued its own ovation for minutes, as well.

“I’ll never forget that moment, and I told the team that afterward,” Kane said. “Just looking at everyone’s face and everyone’s excitement was a cool moment.”

No. 88 came close a number of times Saturday in Toronto to hitting the milestone, but the long-awaited point seemed fated all along to happen in Chicago.

Even though Kane would’ve perhaps liked to get it out of the way sooner — and for two specific fans to be among the 21,487.

“Tough weather in Buffalo, [so my parents] couldn’t get to Toronto the other night, and they couldn’t get to Chicago today,” he said, a twinge of emotion seeping out. “It’s tough not having them here. They’ve been a big part of my career.”

Still, as the Hawks bear down on a wild-card spot with wins in 11 of 15 games, there are bigger things to focus on.

“I’ve been playing OK lately, but I think I can play a little bit better,” Kane said. “It’s nice to have it out of the way. Now I can just kind of focus on my game and where I can improve and help this team out.” 1171921 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 01.20.2020

Brandon Saad doesn’t miss a beat in return from injury

By Ben Pope Jan 19, 2020, 4:43pm CST

Brandon Saad scored on his fourth shift Saturday in Toronto, offering early proof that he hadn’t lost his dominant form despite a monthlong absence with an ankle injury.

“I wanted to keep it simple and play good hockey early on,” Saad said. “To get a goal out of the way, too, it always gives you that confidence.

“[I’m] playing with some good players out there, too, so that always helps.”

Saad was slotted alongside Patrick Kane and center Ryan Carpenter, bumping struggling Alex Nylander down to the fourth line, and the trio produced a fantastic outing.

In a little over 14 minutes together at five-on-five, they enjoyed a 16-10 shot differential, a 10-1 shot-on-goal differential and a 12-8 scoring- chance differential.

“That line was really good last game,” Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said Sunday. “Obviously, the [Jonathan] Toews line, they were the one scoring all the goals, but I thought the Carpenter line had almost as many scoring opportunities.”

Saad looked every bit the consistent possession-driving, chance- generating power forward that he was early in the season.

The only difference, actually, was the goal. Despite his dominance, he failed to convert most of his golden opportunities in the season’s opening months.

Perhaps the time off will help resolve that issue.

Sikura sent down

Dylan Sikura was demoted to Rockford before the game against the Jets. He had a goal and two assists in nine appearances with the Hawks.

Colliton provided a relatively transparent explanation for the decision.

“Other guys have kind of outplayed him in those depth positions,” he said.

“I talked to him yesterday. I’m not unhappy with his play. He showed he can play in the league, definitely, and he’s part of the group we have going forward. But he hasn’t played [much] lately, either, and I see other guys playing ahead of him for now.”

With Matthew Highmore earning a nightly spot on the fourth line and Saad back from injury, the need for Sikura on the NHL roster had diminished.

Sikura’s 42-day stint with the Hawks included some bright spots — his two-assist game in Calgary was impressive, and his first career goal last week against the Red Wings was an unforgettably joyous moment — but also a lot of inactivity. He was scratched for 11 of 20 games, and three of the last five.

It’s another missed opportunity for Sikura, and his window to become a full-time NHL forward clearly is tightening.

Lengthy break approachingwn

After the home game Tuesday against the Panthers — Joel Quenneville’s long-awaited return to Chicago — the Hawks won’t play again until Feb. 1 in Arizona.

The lengthy break from team activities is because of the NHL All-Star Game this coming weekend in St. Louis, followed by the Hawks’ bye week. Half of the league’s teams are enjoying their bye weeks this week; the other half will do so at the same time as the Hawks.

“Selfishly, you’d love to practice a little more, but it’s the same for all the teams,” Colliton said Saturday. “For the players, it is nice to get away. For coaches, too, to just be able to turn your brain off for a few days.” 1171922 Chicago Blackhawks "Oh -- 1,001," he said with a wide smile. "Start there and then move forward. ... I feel like I can help the team even more and get rolling here. The team is playing great. A lot of guys are stepping up."

Blackhawks' Kane gets 1,000th career point in win over Jets Daily Herald Times LOADED: 01.20.2020

John Dietz

Updated1/19/2020 10:42 PM

It was a moment Patrick Kane will never forget.

A moment made possible by his immense talent. By incredible teammates throughout the years. By an amazing stroke of lottery luck.

And, finally, by a teammate and friend who thought ahead and helped orchestrate a once-in-a-generation celebration on the United Center ice Sunday night.

The historic moment arrived when Kane recorded the 1,000th point of his career by assisting on Brandon Saad's third-period goal during a 5-2 Blackhawks victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

Kane became the 90th player in league history and the fourth in Hawks history to achieve the milestone when Saad tapped in Ryan Carpenter's pass with 5:46 remaining in the game. Kane had fed Carpenter to begin the scoring play.

Carpenter, Saad, Erik Gustafsson and Connor Murphy immediately engulfed Kane, but seconds later it was a true mob scene as the rest of the Hawks jumped over the boards and joined in the celebration.

The game was stopped for over a minute, and Kane mouthed "thank you" to the hysterical crowd after sitting down on the bench.

"I was hoping to get it done here at home before we went on a long break," Kane said. "It's a pretty special day."

And made even more special thanks to Jonathan Toews, who asked the referees beforehand if it would be OK for everyone to jump on the ice. From Kane's reaction in the postgame dressing room, it was clear the gesture meant a lot to him.

"I was kind of at the bottom of the circle there," Kane said. "I got pushed back pretty far up against the boards by all the guys.

"I'll never forget that moment and I told the team that after. Just kind of looking at everyone's face and everyone's excitement was a cool moment."

Said Robin Lehner, who made 36 saves: "He's obviously a (heckuva) hockey player, but he's even (a) better person. He deserves it, and everyone was truly and genuinely happy for him. It was cool to be a part of."

Kane, who had his "88" jersey retired by the OHL's London Knights on Friday, joins Stan Mikita (1,467), Bobby Hull (1,153) and Denis Savard (1,096) as the only Hawks to hit 1,000 points. Kane (31 years, 61 days) is also the youngest American-born player to hit the milestone, passing former Blackhawks forward Jeremy Roenick (32 years, 13 days).

"I've been very fortunate in my career, whether it's been getting drafted by Chicago or making some decisions when I was younger to move away at 14 years old," said Kane, who played one season in London before being taken first overall in 2007. "Obviously, Chicago winning the lottery, getting drafted by Chicago, then having a lot of good pieces in place here with some great players where we could turn the corner pretty fast and become a good team.

"There were a lot of things that were lined up. When you reach a milestone like this you think of all those players you played with that had a big part of it."

The only bummer for Kane was that bad weather in Buffalo kept his parents from attending.

"It's tough not having them here," Kane said. "They've been a big part of my career. I'm sure I'll talk to them after this and hopefully there will be some better moments in the future that they'll be here for."

So what's next for the future Hall of Famer? Well, that's easy. 1171923 Chicago Blackhawks reassigned Brandon Hagel and D-man Dennis Gilbert to Rockford after Sunday's game. ... Erik Gustafsson leads the Hawks' blue liners with 6 goals. ... The Hawks have outscored opponents 52-44 in the first period.

Blackhawks' Lehner makes 36 saves in win over Winnipeg Daily Herald Times LOADED: 01.20.2020

John Dietz

Updated1/19/2020 9:49 PM

Robin Lehner made 36 saves -- 9 of which came during a four-minute Winnipeg power play -- in backstopping the Blackhawks to a 5-2 victory over the Jets at the United Center on Sunday.

Alex Nylander, Erik Gustafsson, David Kampf, Brandon Saad and Dominik Kubalik scored as the Hawks ran their winning streak to five straight. At 24-20-6, coach Jeremy Colliton's team is now tied with Winnipeg (25-20-4) for fourth place in the Central Division and is 3 points behind Vegas and Arizona in the wild-card chase.

Patrick Kane recorded the 1,000th point of his career Saad's goal, which gave the Hawks a 4-1 lead with 5:46 remaining.

"We're finally starting to get a full buy-in to the system (and) a full effort level," said Lehner, who improved to 15-7-4. "Fifteen games ago we started playing good with leads, playing different -- not backing up. Just keep going at em. We did the same thing today in the third."

Lehner was really put to the test after Drake Caggiula was whistled for interference and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties at 4:20 of the second period. Lehner turned away multiple close-in shots, including 4 in just 19 seconds at 6:48, 6:55, 7:00 and 7:07.

"Obviously the first 10 minutes of the second was a bit of a workout," said Lehner, who was protecting a 2-0 lead that the Hawks earned on goals by Nylander and Gustafsson. "But we stuck with it. We battled hard together and got through it."

The Hawks blocked 24 shots, with Connor Murphy (6) and Olli Maata (5) leading the way.

Nylander's goal, his sixth, was his first in a month. Kubalik now has 21 goals, 10 of which have come in the last eight contests.

Cuckoo for Koekkoek:

Defenseman Slater Koekkoek played in his sixth straight game -- a season high -- during the Hawks' victory over Winnipeg.

Koekkoek, acquired from Tampa Bay for Jan Rutta on Jan. 11, 2019, was only in the lineup nine times from Games 13-40. But since being paired with Olli Maatta, the 25-year-old has impressed coach Jeremy Colliton with his simple, direct approach.

As the healthy scratches were piling up, Colliton said the staff told Koekkoek that he was doing a good job and was "on the right path."

"This latest opportunity that he's had," Colliton continued, "he's found another level to his performance and he's made it impossible for us to take him out."

Koekkoek, who played 18 minutes against the Jets, had assists in the three previous games.

Sikura back to Rockford:

Dylan Sikura was reassigned to Rockford on Sunday and played at the Allstate Arena in the IceHogs' 2-0 victory over the Chicago Wolves. Sikura had 1 goal and 2 assists in nine games with the Blackhawks and was a healthy scratch in three of the last five contests.

Coach Jeremy Colliton felt Sikura was outplayed in "those depth positions."

"I'm not unhappy with his play," Colliton said. "He showed he can play in the league definitely and he's part of the group we have going forward. But he hasn't played lately either and I see other guys playing ahead of him for now."

Slap shots:

Drake Caggiula became the first Blackhawks player since Ben Eager in 2009 to take 4 minor penalties in one game. ... The Blackhawks 1171924 Chicago Blackhawks

What 1,000 NHL points means to Patrick Kane and what's next for Blackhawks superstar

By Charlie Roumeliotis January 19, 2020 10:30 PM

It was never a matter of if and only a matter of when Patrick Kane would reach 1,000 career NHL points. He tried his best not to let it creep into his mind as he got closer to the number, but it was difficult not to.

Kane entered Sunday's game sitting at 999 points after picking up one the night before on Hockey Night in Canada to extend his point streak to nine games. He needed only one more to make history and did so, fittingly, in front of a sold-out United Center crowd of 21,487.

Kane recorded the secondary assist on Brandon Saad's goal in the third period to make it 4-1 and the entire team left the bench to mob Kane thanks to captain Jonathan Toews, who orchestrated the ordeal and cleared it with league officials.

"What a moment, obviously, with everyone coming onto the ice and sharing that moment with me," Kane said following a 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. "You see some faces in that pile that have been a big part of a lot of those points, whether it’s been [Toews] or [Duncan Keith] or [Alex] DeBrincat recently, [Saad] to finish it off I think was pretty cool. ... As far as everyone coming onto the ice and sharing that with me is something I’ll never forget."

Kane became the youngest American-born player to hit the 1,000-point mark and fourth player in Blackhawks history to accomplish that feat, joining Denis Savard (1,096), Bobby Hull (1,153) and Stan Mikita (1,497). Only 89 other players in NHL history are part of the 1,000-point club; Kane makes it 90.

"He's one of those elite players," Brandon Saad said. "He's one of those few who can achieve goals like that. All you can say is good things about him. He's a special player. He keeps getting better with age. He's fun to play with."

It was a memorable night in Chicago, but there was something missing. Kane’s parents couldn't attend due to inclement weather in their hometown of Buffalo. His dad, Pat Kane Sr., made it to all 41 home games last season.

“It’s tough not having them here,” Kane said. “They’ve been a big part of my career. I’m sure I’ll talk to them after this and hopefully there will be some better moments in the future that they’ll be here for.”

Kane’s list of accolades in his NHL career is only getting longer and will continue to get longer. Three Stanley Cups. Conn Smythe Trophy recipient. Art Ross Trophy winner. League MVP. Now a member of the 1,000-point club.

"It’s special," Kane said. "I’ve been very fortunate in my career, whether it’s been getting drafted by Chicago or making some decisions when I was younger to move away at 14 years old, a freshman in high school, forgo college and play in London for a year.

"Obviously, Chicago winning the lottery, getting drafted by Chicago, then having a lot of good pieces in place here with some great players where we could turn the corner pretty fast and become a good team. There were a lot of things that were lined up. When you reach a milestone like this you think of all those players you played with that had a big part of it. It’s been a fun ride."

Even though he’s accomplished just about everything in his hockey life, Kane is still hungry for more.

So what’s next?

"1,001," Kane laughed. "Start there and then move forward."

But really, there's only one goal.

"Maybe a few more Cups," Kane said to Chicago crowd after being named No. 1 star of the game. "That would be nice, right?"

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171925 Chicago Blackhawks

Patrick Kane receives the championship belt from Jonathan Toews after getting to 1K

By Michael Walton January 19, 2020 9:59 PM

Patrick Kane added a special milestone onto the Blackhawks' fifth- straight win, scoring the 1,000th point of his NHL career.

Kane was emotional after the overall awesome night capped off by his amazing feat. Jonathan Toews made sure that Kane received the "championship belt" that the Blackhawks give to the team's top player after every win. Toews called it a "no brainer" of a decision.

Kane was overjoyed and emotional speaking tp his teammates, stating, "that was absolutely unreal, obviously getting 1,000 points but having you guys come on the ice there and share it with me was a great moment."

Obviously the big focus on the night was Kaner's amazing career achievement but even he wanted to make sure the overall team success doesn't go unnoticed. Kane knows how confident the team is right now and wants to keep the wins going.

"It's been fun here for a long time," stated Kane, and with 1,000 career points and No. 88 hopefully a Chicago Blackhawk for the rest of his career, it will be fun for much, much longer.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171926 Chicago Blackhawks "We're finally starting to full buy-in to the system," Lehner said. "Full effort level, doing the right things at the right times. 15 games ago, we started playing good with leads, playing different, not backing up, just keep going at it. We did the same thing today in the third. Not just backing up that 4 Takeaways: Patrick Kane gets to 1K, Blackhawks win fifth straight whole period, we went after them.

"Everyone's just doing their job, and we're starting to feel [that] doing those things gets you rewarded, and everyone just keeps doing it. We're By Scott King January 19, 2020 9:27 PM doing well but we've just got to keep doing it because every point is crucial."

The Blackhawks won their fifth straight game, 5-2 against the Winnipeg Drake! Jets, and Patrick Kane reached 1,000 career points on Sunday. Here are Drake Caggiula, who has four points in his past three games, had trouble four takeaways: staying out of the penalty box on Sunday. Caggiula took an interference Kane 1K Watch ends penalty in the first period after putting a hit on Adam Lowry that knocked him out of the game, a second interference infraction tagged with He did it. Patrick Kane stepped onto the United Center ice with 999 unsportsmanlike conduct and a trip in the second period. The Hawks points, one shy of the monumental milestone shared by the greatest were able to kill off all eight minutes of his penalties. players to skate in the NHL and left Sunday's game among them. "Well, I didn't love that he took four penalties no question," Blackhawks With 5:46 remaining in the third period, Kane passed the puck from head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "The first one he's just playing hard. I behind the net to Ryan Carpenter, who was in front, and Carpenter think there was a bunch of hits like that tonight. The unsportsmanlike is passed it to Brandon Saad, who scored to put the Hawks up 4-1. Kane one you don't like. Other than that it's kind of like tough circumstances. was credited with a secondary assist on the goal and his 1,000th NHL point. "But he plays hard for the team, he's been playing well. He pays the price for the team and we want him to play on the edge. As long as he can I "That was special," Kane said of reaching the milestone. "Obviously nice don't think this is going to be a pattern for him." to get it out of the way and move on and start the next portion of my career here. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020

"What a moment, obviously, with everyone coming onto the ice and sharing that moment with me. You see some faces in that pile that have been a big part of a lot of those points, whether it’s been Tazer or Duncs or DeBrincat recently, Saader to finish it off I think was pretty cool.

"I kind of felt bad for him there all the other guys on the ice came to me and he was kind of pulled into the corner even though he was the one that scored.

"Great play all around, Gus to keep it in, Carpy making the heads-up pass to Saader backdoor to finish it. Nice to get it out of the way, nice to move on. As far as everyone coming onto the ice and sharing that with me is something I’ll never forget."

Saad may have been "pulled into the corner" because he was the one who retrieved the puck for Kane.

Kane became the 90th player to reach 1,000 points in NHL history. Brian Propp is ahead of Kane at #89 (1,004). Kane has the fourth most points in Blackhawks history behind Denis Savard (1,096), Bobby Hull (1,153) and Stan Mikita (1,467).

The dynamic winger got #999 on Saturday after passing the puck to Saad, who sniped it over Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen’s stick to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead at 11:02 of the first period in a 6-2 Hawks win in Toronto.

Hawks keep streakin

The Blackhawks extended their winning streak to five games with their win over the Jets, who they jumped over in the Western Conference standings to come within three points of a Wild Card spot.

Chicago wrapped up a perfect three-game road trip through Eastern Canada on Saturday after beating the Maple Leafs 6-2 in Toronto. The Hawks beat the Canadiens 4-1 in Montreal on Wednesday and the Senators 3-2 in Ottawa on Tuesday.

They began the streak by winning 4-2 against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday Jan. 11.

Dominik Kubalik scored on the Jets' empty net for the 5-2 final score. It was the rookie's 21st goal of the season. Toews assisted on the play, bringing him to 799 career points.

The Blackhawks have one game left: Tuesday vs. Joel Quenneville's Florida Panthers before the All-Star break.

Right on, Robin

Blackhawks goalie Robin Lehner once again got the job done. Lehner made 19 saves on the Jets' 20 shots in the second period, including nine when the Blackhawks were killing off a four-minute double-minor penalty. He finished the game with 36 saves on 38 shots. 1171927 Chicago Blackhawks

Patrick Kane makes NHL history, hits 1,000-point milestone with Blackhawks

By Charlie Roumeliotis January 19, 2020 8:20 PM

Patrick Kane made history in Chicago on Sunday by becoming the 90th NHL player ever to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Kane needed one point against the Winnipeg Jets to notch 1,000 for his career and did just that by recording an assist on Brandon Saad's goal in the third period to extend his point streak to 10 games.

By joining the 1,000-point club, Kane is now part of some elite company:

— Kane is the seventh active NHL player to hit the 1,000-point milestone, joining Eric Staal (1,008), Evgeni Malkin (1,051), Patrick Marleau (1,183), Sidney Crosby (1,239), Alex Ovechkin (1,258) and Joe Thornton (1,497),

— Kane is the fourth player in Blackhawks history to accomplish the 1,000-point feat, joining Denis Savard (1,096), Bobby Hull (1,153) and Stan Mikita (1,497).

— Kane is the 55th player in NHL history to record 1,000 points before his 1,000th game. It took him 953.

— Kane is the 10th American-born player to score 1,000 points, joining Pat Lafontaine (1,013), Brian Leetch (1,028), Doug Weight (1,033), Joe Mullen (1,063), Keith Tkachuk (1,065), Jeremy Roenick (1,216), Phil Housley (1,232), Mike Modano (1,374) and Brett Hull (1,391).

Kane is on pace to crack 100 points for the third time in his NHL career and is showing no signs of slowing down at age 31. It’s fun for Chicago to think about where he’ll finish when his career is all said and done, especially if he continues to perform at an elite level for years to come.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171928 Chicago Blackhawks

Jonathan Toews joins the Blackhawks All-Decade Team

By Scott King January 17, 2020 11:49 AM

Throughout the 2019-20 season, NBC Sports Chicago will be unveiling its Blackhawks All-Decade Team. The roster will feature the 14 forwards, 7 defensemen and two goaltenders that made the biggest impact on the franchise from the 2010 through 2019 seasons.

Three Stanley Cups (2010, 2013, 2015), two Olympic gold medals (2010, 2014), six All-Star nominations, one Conn Smythe (2010), a Selke (2013), a Mark Messier award (2015) and one trophy case fighting for its life.

It was obvious from the moment he stepped on the ice in Chicago, Jonathan Toews was serious about hockey. On July 18, 2008 after a stellar rookie season in which he posted 54 points (24 goals, 30 assists) in 64 games, the Blackhawks made him the third-youngest captain in NHL history at the time at the age of 20.

In 2010 Toews earned playoff MVP honors by recording 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) in 22 games, helping the Hawks capture their first Stanley Cup in 49 years.

The No. 3 overall pick of the 2006 NHL Draft has 798 career points (341 goals, 457 assists).

As the numbers and his Selke dictate, Toews has been one of the premiere two-way players in the NHL since his rookie year in 2007-08. The Hawks have always been able to count on the Winnipeg native being strong on both sides of the puck and winning a lot of faceoffs.

After a couple down seasons for the captain - likely due to injury - Toews proved a lot of doubters wrong and had a career year last season. He finished the 2018-2019 season with a career-best 81 points, 35 goals and 46 assists. He's on-pace for a solid finish this year with 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists) through 49 games.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171929 Chicago Blackhawks Since then, the Blackhawks have rattled off five wins, meaning they have to probably go something like 19-10-3 from here. That seems a bit more realistic now. With Sunday’s victory, they moved within three points of the final wild-card spot. Patrick Kane milestone and Blackhawks win add up to biggest home game in years Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton didn’t hide the fact the win was big in his mind, too. He even began his press conference saying, “Big win.” That said, he’s keeping his feet on the ground. If there’s one thing Colliton has been throughout his time here, it’s level-headed. By Scott Powers Jan 19, 2020 “(The win) was important because we’ve climbed closer to the pack, but

now we have a head-to-head home game and we’ve had trouble in a You can count the number of truly meaningful Blackhawks home games couple of these situations early in the year where we started playing in recent years on just a few fingers. better and then we take a step back,” Colliton said. “And there will be a step back at some point, but the best teams they find a way to ride the There weren’t any during the 2017-18 season. There was the one wave when they’re playing well and build momentum, and then when you against the Colorado Avalanche in February of last season when you felt do take that inevitable step back, turn it as quick as you can. So that’s a true playoff vibe. There was another against the Vancouver Canucks, what we’ve got to do. We’ll be off tomorrow and some time to rest and also last season, when the Blackhawks returned home after a five-game regroup and get recharged, and then it’s another big game.” winning streak in March. Those two games ended in disappointing Blackhawks losses and were followed by more losses to kill any buzz. What makes this Blackhawks run seem more legit than even last season, when they touched a playoff spot for a portion of a day, is they’re actually And then there was Sunday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. playing good hockey. This isn’t them being propped up by a hot power play or many unsustainable elements. An easier second-half schedule Sure, there’s been excitement in the United Center and some importance might be part of it, but they’re taking care of business and winning games to other games, but nothing nearly to this extent for anyone who has in a fashion they hadn’t for much of the past two seasons. At 24-20-6, the followed this team for the past decade. Sunday wasn’t Game 6 of the Blackhawks are four games over .500 since Colliton took over. Stanley Cup final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it’s as close as the Blackhawks have gotten in recent years. It was certainly the first The Blackhawks are definitely still getting elite goaltending — Robin meaningful home game of this season. Lehner wore the “S” on his chest during the Jets’ four-minute power play Sunday — but that’s been the case most of the season. Corey Crawford The Blackhawks were going to send a message to their fans one way or regaining some consistency of late was important, too. The penalty kill is another with Sunday’s result. It was either come follow us down this path tied for fourth in the league. The Blackhawks have a legit top line with or we’re going to continue to drive you crazy. Dominik Kubalik and Jonathan Toews leading the way. Brandon Saad’s The Blackhawks had succeeded in creating some hype for Sunday’s return boosts Kane and the second line. game with their recent play. They entered it on a four-game winning They’re getting some depth scoring such as Zack Smith’s two-goal streak after completing a perfect Canadian road trip. They had won 10 of performance against the Montreal Canadiens last week and Alex 14 games. They had resuscitated their playoff hopes. Where their odds Nylander, David Kampf and Erik Gustafsson providing goals Sunday. had dropped to a single digit not that long ago per The Athletic’s model, Their bottom six isn’t a liability. The defensive pairings are as close to those chances had risen to 32 percent before Sunday’s league action. being stable across the board as we’ve seen in a few years. Slater On top of that, they were facing the Jets, the team just ahead of them in Koekkoek and Olli Maatta as the third pairing have been huge for that. the Central Division and the wild-card race. It was also notable the The Blackhawks are closing out games they were unable to just a few Blackhawks were going to have to win at home because it’s where months ago. The underlying numbers also suggest the Blackhawks are they’ve struggled this season. Recent home results like the ones against playing better. Their Corsi is up and opponents’ shots on goal are down the New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators are difficult to forget. in five-on-five play.

And because of all that, you could argue Sunday’s 5-2 win over the Jets There are also reasons to believe the Blackhawks can improve. Dylan was the Blackhawks’ biggest home win in the past three seasons. You Strome will be back soon. Alex DeBrincat still has a boatload of goals add in Patrick Kane recording his 1,000th career NHL point, and it was a he’s capable of. Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist can continue to evolve memorable night for the Blackhawks for a number of reasons. and become more comfortable in the NHL. There’s also about $10 million of cap space that general manager Stan Bowman can tap into if he Kane didn’t lose sight of the team being at home and its recent success chooses. that added to his history-making night. “We’re right there and it’s up to us how we play,” Colliton said of the “It’s nice,” Kane said of being at the United Center. “I think that’s special, recent surge and the possibility of the playoffs. “We’re not in a space too. I knew I had two games here where I had a chance to get it. I was where we can feel the job is completed as far as our evolution as a team. hoping to get it done here at home before we went on a long break. The We have to continue to get better. The teams that improve as the year team is rolling right now, too, so there’s a lot of good things happening. goes on, you give yourself a chance, and I think we have. We’re better We’re playing well. It’s nice to get it here at home in front of the crowd, than we were, but there’s so much work to do and there’s a lot, I think, of get a win in front of the crowd and to have it come in a win. It’s a pretty room to be better, more consistent. That’s exciting.” special day.” Sunday was definitely exciting in the United Center. The building had a “That was special,” Patrick Kane said. “Obviously nice to get it out of the feeling it’s been lacking for much of the past few seasons. We’ll now see way and move on and start the next portion of my career here.” (Dennis in the coming weeks and months if the Blackhawks can bring that back Wierzbicki / USA Today) for good.

What Kane did Sunday will stand up regardless of what this season The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 becomes for the Blackhawks. He became the 90th NHL player to reach 1,000 points and the fourth in franchise history. The fact Jonathan Toews orchestrated the entire team leaving the bench to celebrate with Kane — he did clear it with the officials beforehand — only made the moment even more unforgettable.

As for the game’s absolute meaning for the Blackhawks, that will be determined in time. Sunday’s victory has no value unless the Blackhawks make the playoffs. It may end up being a great night in another subpar season. But it’s also not out of the question now for Sunday marking the start of a long stretch of meaningful games leading into the playoffs.

When the Blackhawks lost to the Calgary Flames at the United Center on Jan. 7, I figured they needed to go 24-11-3 the rest of the way to be on a 95-point pace. They lost the next game and that record changed again. 1171930 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche hosts the downtrodden Red Wings, the team it used to be

By MIKE CHAMBERS | January 19, 2020 at 3:24 PM

Kiszla: Cale Makar is only 21 years old. But are we watching emergence of best defenseman in Avalanche history?

Jared Bednar is sympathetic toward coach Jeff Blashill and the Detroit Red Wings — by far the NHL’s worst team.

It wasn’t that long ago when Bednar coached “that” team.

In 2016-17, Bednar’s first season behind the Avalanche’s bench, Colorado finished with league/franchise lows in victories (22) and points (48). It was the league’s worst season since the Atlanta Thrashers won just 14 games in 1999-2000. The Red Wings take a league-low 12 wins and 28 points in Monday’s matinee against Colorado at the Pepsi Center and are on pace for just 47 points.

Blashill is in his fifth season at the Wings’ head coach and ninth in the organization.

“It’s horrible. Pure misery,” Bednar of coaching the NHL’s worst team. “The morale in your room, you’re trying to get guys back in the right mental state to go win your next game, and there’s a lot of nights where you play hard, do everything you can, (but) you maybe just don’t have the horses to win the games.”

The Avs held their last practice before their 11-day break between games Sunday, a day after defeating the Western Conference-leading St. Louis Blues 5-3 at the Pepsi Center. The Avs stand 27-15-6 and second in the Western Conference with 60 points, eight behind the defending Stanley Cup-champion Blues.

Colorado has become a Stanley Cup contender less than three years after being the laughingstock of the league.

Win or lose, Bednar said adversity is always attached to the NHL.

“It’s a long season. We just went through a little bit of a slump, and it feels like your world is crashing down on you,” he said. “It’s misery when you lose just one game, never mind four, six or whatever. And then to go through a whole season like (Detroit), it’s tough. It’s mentally draining.”

Footnotes. Monday’s matinee is Colorado’s second consecutive 1 p.m. start and concludes a five-game homestand in which the Avs are 2-0-2. The Avs won’t practice again until Jan. 30, just two days before resuming play Feb. 1 at Philadelphia. Colorado begins a five-game trip against the Flyers, with stops at Buffalo, Ottawa, Columbus and Minnesota. … Winger Joonas Donskoi, who is recovering from a concussion, participated in a full practice Sunday but will miss his fifth consecutive game for precautionary reasons. … Bednar reinstated his stacked power- play unit Sunday, with Cale Makar running the show at the blue line, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, and Nazem Kadri and Gabe Landeskog down low. Those five players began the season on the No. 1 power play.

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An unexpected hero emerged from a month-long slump to put the Avs over the top against the Blues

BY EVAN RAWAL JANUARY 19, 2020 3 MINS READ

One month.

That’s how long it had been since Andre Burakovsky had buried a puck behind an opposing goaltender. The 24-year-old started his Avs career looking unstoppable, picking up 13 goals in his first 31 games, but things have not been coming as easy for him lately. The lack of scoring didn’t bother him…as long as the team was picking up some victories.

“As long as we win, I don’t care if we score or not,” Burakovsky said after the Avs dispatched St. Louis 5-3 on Saturday afternoon. “It’s always nice to help the team get on the board, and it was nice getting one.”

While Burakovsky had been struggling to produce his own goals, he had been building momentum towards Saturday’s effort with a few weeks of strong play. Heading into the game against the Blues, the winger had recorded five assists in his previous seven outings, showing off a different side of his game. He also had an assist taken away in that same span due to an offsides review.

In the game against the Blues, other than scoring his own goal, Burakovsky assisted on Tyson Jost’s first goal since November 30, as Jost followed up a great chance for Burakovsky and buried it. Upon replay, the puck appeared as though it may have hit Burakovsky’s skate before going in (As of Sunday afternoon, there had been no scoring change), but he wasn’t going to admit it.

“I don’t know,” he deadpanned to me after I tried to get him to admit it.

The victory against the Blues on Saturday now ties up the season series for the Avs. After two tough losses in St. Louis, the Avs have taken advantage of the home ice, outscoring the Blues 12-6 in the two games at the Pepsi Center. The fifth and final matchup between the two teams will come in the final game of the regular season at the Pepsi Center.

The Avs know that the Blues are the team everyone uses as a measuring stick in the Western Conference and that you can’t take shortcuts against them.

“We have to play the right way,” Burakovsky told DNVR after the game. “We have to just chip it down and then chase it down there. We don’t want to turn it over in the neutral zone and I think we stayed away from that pretty good today.”

The Blues don’t make it easy on anyone. The key to beating them? Staying patient.

“They’re a really good team,” Burakovsky said. “They’re not going to give you a whole lot, so when they do you have to take advantage of it, and I think we did today.”

The Avs now have a chance to enter the All-Star Break and bye week with a very successful homestand. While they dropped the first two games in overtime, a win on Monday would give them a 3-0-2 record, giving them eight of the ten possible points they could have picked up.

On Monday, they will face off against the NHL-worst Detroit Red Wings before an 11-day break prior to their next game. The game against the Red Wings starts at 1 PM MST.

BSN DENVER LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171932 Colorado Avalanche Colorado struck first 3:41 into the game as Samuel Girard intercepted a pass near center ice and dished it over to Mikko Rantanen, who fumbled the puck right back to Girard. The Avalanche defenseman slid a pass through the goal crease to an open MacKinnon. Avalanche ride 3-goal 2nd period to 5-3 win over Blues It was MacKinnon’s 28th goal of the season. The speedy forward is chasing his third straight 30-goal season (41 in 2018-19, 39 in 2017-18). That would join him with Hall of Famer Joe Sakic as the only Avalanche By PAT GRAHAM Associated Press 16 hrs ago players to record three straight 30-goal seasons since the team relocated to Denver in 1995.

DENVER — Cale Makar refused to make too big of deal out of his Girard’s assist was his 10th since Jan. 1. Asked to explain his recent milestone moment. assist surge, Girard responded: “I’m just trying to be myself.”

Sure, he’s “honored and stuff” after breaking the Colorado franchise NOTES: Blues D Carl Gunnarsson returned to the lineup for the first time record for most goals by a rookie defenseman. since Dec. 12. He’s been out with an upper-body injury. ... Avs F Joonas Donskoi (concussion protocol) missed a fourth straight game. He’s “But it’s not something that I’m going to go home and celebrate,” Makar skating in a non-contact sweater. ... The Avalanche moved to 3-0 in day said. games this season.

This win, now that’s celebration-worthy. UP NEXT

Makar and Andre Burakovsky scored 22 seconds apart in the second Blues: Off until Jan. 27 when they play in Vancouver. period to chase All-Star goaltender Jordan Binnington from the game and the Avalanche held on to beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3 on Saturday. Avalanche: Host Detroit on Monday before the All-Star break and bye week. The Avalanche used a three-goal middle period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 advantage. Tyson Jost also scored in the period. Nathan MacKinnon LOADED: 01.20.2020 added a goal in the first and Gabriel Landeskog clinched it with an empty-netter against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

“Everybody’s playing their game and I think we’re playing confident as a team right now,” Makar said. “It’s something we have to continue.”

Makar’s 11th goal of the season broke the team mark that John-Michael Liles set in 2003-04. On his goal, Makar circled around the blue line before moving in and lining a shot through a screen.

Burakovsky’s goal seconds later was his first in 14 games and had the Blues pulling Binnington for Jake Allen with 3:12 remaining in the second period. Binnington allowed four goals on 11 shots.

“I felt pretty good,” Binnington explained. “They had some quality chances and they capitalized on them.”

Alex Pietrangelo — on his 30th birthday — made things interesting down the stretch by scoring with 12:37 remaining to make it 4-3.

The Blues pulled Allen with just under 2 minutes remaining, but couldn’t tie it up. Landeskog sealed it with his empty-net goal with 1.8 seconds left.

“I liked our jump, our skating,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, whose team is 2-2 against the Blues this season. “We had good energy in our locker room before the game and it carried over onto the ice.”

David Perron and Oskar Sundqvist also had goals for the Blues, who will lead the Central Division heading into the All-Star break. Ryan O’Reilly added two assists, including a brilliant spin pass that set up Sundqvist.

“These are the times when you look at big picture — and the big picture is we’ve put ourselves in a good spot here for the second half of the season,” Pietrangelo said. “We’ve got to be proud of where we are.”

Philipp Grubauer stopped 21 shots as Colorado moved to 2-0-2 on its five-game homestand.

After Sundqvist gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead 66 seconds into the second period, Jost tied it with his first goal since Nov. 30. That set off a wave of scoring with Makar and Burakovsky quickly following.

Binnington would like to have another chance at Burakovsky’s blast, which went in on the short side.

“Unfortunate,” Binnington said.

It happens.

“Not everybody is perfect every night,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “We didn’t win, but our guys are dialed in. A break is OK right now. When we come back, it’s a tough schedule. Got to be ready to go.”

In the first period, it was St. Louis that rallied when Perron scored a power-play goal with 1:56 left in the period. He also collected an assist on Pietrangelo’s goal.

Perron leads the Blues with 49 points (21 goals, 28 assists). 1171933 Columbus Blue Jackets just want to go and have fun on the ice and not be nervous — just follow the puck and get into the game and (have) fun, help my team.”

Bjorkstrand returns Elvis Merzlikins gets confidence boost during Blue Jackets’ hot streak Prior to facing the Rangers, the Blue Jackets activated forward Oliver Bjorkstrand (ribs/oblique tear) from injured reserve. They reassigned rookie forward Kevin Stenlund to the Cleveland Monsters of the Brian Hedger American Hockey League to create room on the roster.

Jan 19, 2020 at 9:48 PM Stenlund, 23, had four goals and two assists in 17 games for the Blue Jackets, who added him to the roster Dec. 15 as an emergency recall.

Stenlund handled a role on the Jackets’ power play and skated mostly at The “monster” that was snoozing inside Elvis Merzlikins is fully awake right wing on the third line. now. Bjorkstrand was red hot prior to his injury, which happened on a In fact, it’s romping and stomping around the NHL, searching in the Blue crosscheck by Devils defenseman Damon Severson on Dec. 21 in Jackets’ crease for pucks to gobble and spirits to crush. In other words, Columbus. He had six goals and two assists in seven games prior to the Elvis feels a lot more like himself than he did before getting pressed into injury, which caused him to miss 13 games. the No. 1 role following Joonas Korpisalo’s knee injury on Dec. 27. Bjorkstrand is the second top-six forward the Blue Jackets have gotten Going into a game against the New York Rangers on Sunday night at back from injury in the past week, after Cam Atkinson returned from a Madison Square Garden, Merzlikins had started 10 straight games and high-ankle sprain Thursday with a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over posted an 8-2-0 record. He also had a miniscule 1.51 goals-against Carolina. Atkinson followed it up with two goals and one assist Saturday average, a blistering .955 save percentage and earned the first three against New Jersey, which the Jackets hope Bjorkstrand can mimic. shutouts of his NHL career in those games. The shutouts all came within Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.20.2020 the previous four games.

“That’s what I talked (about) with my best friend from Switzerland (on Friday), that I don’t feel anymore that shaking, that (nervousness),” Merzlikins said Saturday night at Nationwide Arena, after making 41 saves in a 5-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils. “I pretty much, kind of, know well my home, my net, my posts. And I just feel comfortable.”

That’s quite a change from a couple of months ago, when Korpisalo won the No. 1 role and proceeded to earn an invitation to the All-Star Game before his injury. Merzlikins, meanwhile, scuffled in the backup role — going 0-4-4 with a bloated 3.41 GAA and ice-cold .889 save percentage in his first 10 NHL appearances (eight starts).

That was not what the 25-year-old Latvian came to the NHL to do. He left Lugano HC in Switzerland to join the Blue Jackets, knowing there was a starter’s role up for grabs in the wake of Sergei Bobrovsky’s free-agent departure. It was tough to swallow when it didn’t unfold that way.

Merzlikins endured a humbling NHL debut Oct. 5 in Pittsburgh, allowing all seven goals in a 7-2 loss to the Penguins, then felt the sting of an ill- advised turnover late in the third period Nov. 23 at Winnipeg — a mistake that led directly to a winning goal.

Merzlikins flailed about, as the “monster” snoozed.

“The first start (to my career), what I had, it was really tough,” he said. “My mom, she always told me that in negative you’re always going to find something positive … but we all saw. I was playing, I was losing. I was … in my mind, I was crazy.”

He consulted his “mental coach” in Europe, straightened out his focus and seized the opportunity to play more once it arrived. Before shutting down the Florida Panthers 4-1 on New Year’s Eve in Columbus — his first start after Korpisalo’s injury and first NHL win — Merzlikins shut down his media availability.

It wasn’t received well by reporters, who were given statements by the Jackets’ public relations staff after the first two games, but Merzlikins explained his logic Saturday night.

“I did really a great job with my mental coach back home,” he said. “That’s why, when it happened with Korpi, the injury, I asked (the media) to leave me alone because I didn’t want anybody. I even didn’t talk much with my mom, with my brother. I didn’t use my phone.

“I was kind of, really, selfish. I really deleted everybody out of my life except my girlfriend. I wanted to focus, because I understood … this is my, could be my last chance, and I had to take it.”

He’s in full stride with it now, and the focus has shifted. Merzlikins is no longer obsessed with winning, because he has realized that winning is merely garnishment to the main course.

“I’m not happy and I don’t want to be happy about right now, what I’m doing,” Merzlikins said. “I just want to play hockey. I just want to (have) fun. Before, I was thinking, ‘I have to win, I have to win, I have to bring the points.’ Now, to be honest with you, I really don’t care about that. I 1171934 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets 2, Rangers 1 | Oliver Bjorkstrand scores winner with 26.5 seconds left

Jacob Myers

Jan 19, 2020 at 9:39 PM

NEW YORK — They found a way. Again.

In his first game back after missing four weeks with a rib/oblique injury, Oliver Bjorkstrand was the best skater on the ice for the Blue Jackets and made the most of his chances. The last one came with 26.5 seconds left in the game to lift the Blue Jackets to a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.

Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins has carried the Blue Jackets through the past three weeks, but watched from the bench as rookie Matiss Kivlenieks made 31 saves in his NHL debut to extend the Jackets’ winning streak to five games.

"Today I feel like it's one of those games where we found a way to win it," Bjorkstrand said. "(Kivlenieks) played amazing. It's nice to give him a win, and he deserves it."

The game-winner started from the Blue Jackets’ end. Pierre-Luc Dubois drove down the center of the ice and left the puck for Bjorkstrand as he locked up Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei to give the sharpshooter an open look at the net.

Ping. Bar down. Jackets win.

Bjorkstrand tied the score with a goal over the glove of goalie Igor Shesterkin with 13:52 remaining in the game. From there, the Blue Jackets skated with a bit more energy.

"I thought through the first two (periods) we didn't forecheck much, didn't have many opportunities," coach John Tortorella said. "It was just one of those games where it just didn't seem like there was a whole bunch of energy out there. Again, find-a-way league. We found a way."

Tortorella said Kivlenieks was calm as could be.

Down a goal and with the Rangers preventing many good looks on net for the Blue Jackets, Kivlenieks made three major saves in the second period that gave him confidence. One of them was a shot from Artemi Panarin in the low slot that forced Kivlenieks to move across the goal for his highlight save.

The only goal he allowed came off a broken stick at the end of a power play that yielded a breakaway attempt for Skjei.

"I was a little nervous, obviously," Kivlenieks said about his first start. "But I was trying to treat it like any other hockey game. All that matters is we got two points."

The Blue Jackets performance wasn’t as clean or as dominant as they would prefer, but the points keep coming. And that’s what matters.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171935 Columbus Blue Jackets It helps that Kivlenieks is a humble, likable guy. He’s been Merzlikins’ primary backup since Korpisalo went down with an injury, but he’s known most of the players in the dressing room since he started coming to training camp a few years back. Matiss Kivlenieks? Why not? And other observations from the Blue Jackets’ win over the Rangers Most of them have never seen him play, though.

3. Welcome Bjack!

By Aaron Portzline Jan 19, 2020 Bjorkstrand had missed 13 games since he suffered an injury to his ribs and oblique Dec. 21 versus New Jersey. The time off might have affected his timing, but it didn’t touch his wrister.

Ten observations from the Blue Jackets’ 2-1 win over the New York The 24-year-old Dane gave the Blue Jackets life at 6:08 of the third Rangers on Sunday in Madison Square Garden: period when he jumped on a loose puck off Panarin’s stick and wired it past Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. 1. The crazy run continues He gave the Blue Jackets victory with only 26.5 seconds remaining when John Tortorella certainly raised some eyebrows with his decision to start he scored off the rush — once again a bar-down wrister — to give goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks on Sunday against the Rangers. It was his Columbus its first lead of the game. first NHL start. Not just on the road, but in The Garden. Against a Metro Division rival. In both cases, the Rangers fell apart defensively, a problem that has plagued them all season. Kivlenieks had 31 saves — because, of course, he did — and the Blue Jackets got two third-period goals by Oliver Bjorkstrand — because, of Of his first goal, Bjorsktrand said: “I don’t think I expected that much course, they did — to keep the magic rolling on what has been an time.” incredible run. 1-1 The Blue Jackets are 15-2-4 since Dec. 7, and they’ve won five in a row for the second time on the hot streak. They’ve taken six points from The second goal was a surprise to everybody, including Bjorkstrand. It Metro rivals Carolina, New Jersey and the Rangers in 96 hours, leaving was aided by linemates Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nick Foligno driving hard them just one point out of third in the division. to center once Dubois had dropped the puck to Bjorkstrand in the high slot. Let’s get back to the point here, though: The Blue Jackets have had many different players step to the fore during this run of play, and “I thought it went post and out,” Bjorkstrand said. “I looked at Luc and he Sunday it was Matiss Kivlenieks. was celebrating, but I wasn’t sure.”

Kivlenieks, 23, was playing in the United States Hockey League in 2016- 2-1 #CBJ 17. He spent considerable time last season in the East Coast Hockey Bjorkstrand now has 14 goals, third on the team behind Dubois and League. His time in the American Hockey League the last 2 1/2 seasons defenseman Zach Werenski (15 each). (all with sub.-900 save percentages) has not been drenched in greatness. “Bjorky was probably our best player for a number of weeks before he got hurt,” Tortorella said. “It doesn’t surprise me.” Yet here he was, in his first NHL action, in the world’s most famous arena, staring down and turning away one of the hockey world’s most 4. Elvis gets a breather dynamic players, Rangers forward Artemi Panarin. Merzlikins would love to perform on a stage like Madison Square Garden, “I thought he was calm as could be for his first game,” Tortorella told but it was pretty clear after his 41-save shutout against New Jersey on reporters in New York. “Madison Square Garden, everything that comes Saturday that he was feeling fatigued. with it. I was impressed with him. Tortorella sought out Merzlikins in the dressing room after Saturday’s “He made some key saves and key times.” game for a private chat. It’s possible the news of Kivlenieks’ start Sunday was delivered then. The Blue Jackets needed to give Elvis Merzlikins a breather after he’d made 10 consecutive starts in the wake of Joonas Korpisalo’s knee injury “(Merzlikins) has played a lot of hockey and it’s a back-to-back,” and surgery. The Blue Jackets keep plumbing the depths of their depth Tortorella said. “I’m not going to give you all the information on our chart — now they’ve gone three goaltenders deep — and they keep discussions, as far as our goaltenders go. I never do. turning up gold. “But this was one we wanted (Kivlenieks) to play, so Matiss goes in.” “Honestly, I still can’t believe it,” Kivlenieks told Fox Sports Ohio’s Dave Maetzold. “The guys played really good, blocked some really important Merzlikins played in nine of the first 39 games this season, eight of them shots. And Bjorky scored twice. starts. Then he played in 10 in a row before getting an off day Sunday.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.” 5. Tough break

2. Not easy work Tortorella thought both teams looked fatigued. As noted above, the Blue Jackets weren’t particularly sharp defensively, especially early in the Kivlenieks was being kind in crediting the play in front of him for making game. Still, the only goal Kivlenieks was allowed was a bad break … life easier, but the Blue Jackets didn’t exactly stifle the Rangers. literally.

He turned away six shots on goal by Rangers center Mika Zibanejad and With the Blue Jackets’ power play expiring, Dubois’ stick broke as he four from Panarin, the former Jacket, who seemed to have open ice in attempted a shot on goal from low in the left circle. the left circle all night. The puck was flubbed instead of fired, and Rangers defenseman Jacob Early in the second period, Zibanejad set up Panarin roaring through the Trouba threw a bomb to Brady Skjei as he leaped from the penalty box, slot, but Kivlenieks stood his ground with a big save. resulting in a breakaway on Kivlenieks.

“We had a lot of confidence,” Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones A more experienced goaltender might play that puck and fire it back said. “He came in and made some big saves in the first, kept us in it in down the ice away from Skjei, but it appeared Kivlenieks got caught in the second period when we were giving up three-on-twos after three-on- between with just a moment’s hesitation. twos. 6. Fun math “He had a couple of chances on Bread in the slot. He’s not an easy guy to face. A couple of one-timers, too. He did a great job tonight. I’m glad Through 50 games last season, the Blue Jackets were 28-19-3, good for we got some run support from Bjorky for him.” 59 points. Through 50 games this season, the Jackets are 26-16-8, good for 60 points. Yes, so far the Jackets are one point better without goaltender Sergei • The Blue Jackets ultimately deserved this win, although they got there Bobrovsky, right winger Artemi Panarin, center Matt Duchene and all in unconventional fashion. The first 40 minutes were not good for the those guys who opted to leave as free agents. visiting team. Through two periods, Columbus trailed in shot quantity and quality. Money Puck had their likelihood to win at just 24.22 percent at The Jackets went 19-12-1 to finish with 98 points and the second wild- the second intermission. But then the third period happened, and at the card spot in the Eastern Conference. end of the game, in five-on-five adjusted play, the Blue Jackets had With Sunday’s win, the Blue Jackets own the first wild card, and they’re earned 45.98 percent of all shot attempts and 52.64 percent of expected only one point back of the New York Islanders for third place in the goals. In all situations, the final expected goal total was 1.65 to 1.59 with Metropolitan Division. the ever so slight advantage going to Columbus. Money Puck’s “deserve to win o’meter” had the Blue Jackets winning the game 50.6 percent of 7. Just messin’ with ya the time.

The Blue Jackets harbor no ill will told Panarin, but that doesn’t mean • Oliver Bjorkstrand returned to the ice after missing 13 games, and he they won’t pick on their former teammate. was right back up there among the team’s top performers. He led the Blue Jackets in individual shot attempts (8), was second in individual Panarin spends part of his time during warmups working on his hand-eye scoring chances (4), and tied with Cam Atkinson for second-best coordination, his stickhandling and his wrists. He’ll place one or more individual shot quality (.32 expected goals). pucks on the ice, then use another puck to quickly maneuver around the puck(s), trying not to touch them. • In his NHL debut, Matiss Kivlenieks prevented .91 more goals than expected with a save percentage that was 1.9 percent higher than league Sunday, when Panarin settled into his routine in the neutral zone, he was average based on the shot quality he faced. interrupted by a puck that came skidding through from all the way on the Blue Jackets’ end of the rink. • Seth Jones and Zach Werenski were effective in this game. When they were on the ice, Columbus had the advantage offensively against every Then it happened again. And again. And again. Rangers skater except Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome, and even then, The culprits never did come forward, but they probably had a good laugh the differential was two shot attempts. after the warmups, as the usually amiable Panarin was said to be • The Blue Jackets were called for zero penalties for just the fourth time unamused. this season. Through 10 games in January, the penalty kill has gone 17- 8. All hail, Latvian goaltenders! for-19 for an overall kill percentage of 89.5 percent.

Kivlenieks became the fifth Latvian-born goaltender to play and win an • The top Columbus skaters as measured by Game Score: Jones (2.97); NHL game. Remarkably, three of them have been Blue Jackets at some Bjorkstrand (2.34); Pierre-Luc Dubois (2.29); Nick Foligno (1.90); and point during their careers. Zach Werenski (1.36).

You know about Merzlikins and Kivlenieks, who are both Blue Jackets • We had a request to include top game scores for opponents as well, so rookies this season. here you go — top Rangers: Brendan Smith (1.50); Ryan Lindgren (1.12); Ryan Strome (.55); Adam Fox (.48); Artemi Panarin (.16). But did you know that all-time Latvian goalie, Arturs Irbe, was also once the property of the Blue Jackets? — Data via MoneyPuck.com, Evolving-Hockey.com and NaturalStatTrick.com and reflects score- and venue-adjusted five-on-five The Blue Jackets acquired Irbe on June 16, 2004, from the Carolina play unless otherwise stated. Hurricanes, but he never dressed in a game for Columbus. The NHL owners’ lockout wiped out the entire 2004-05 season, and Irbe returned The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 to Europe to finish his career.

The other two Latvian NHL goaltenders were Peter Skudra and Kristers Gudlevskis.

9. An NHL player

When Cam Atkinson came back into the lineup three games ago, Sonny Milano was bumped as a healthy scratch.

When Bjorkstrand was activated from injured reserve Sunday, Kevin Stenlund was sent back to AHL Cleveland.

Stenlund has been called up and sent down a few times previously, but he heads back to Cleveland in higher standing with the organization than at any time previously.

The 23-year-old can play in the NHL.

In 17 games, he had 4-2-6 and a minus-1 rating, but you could sense his confidence climb the longer he stayed in the lineup. He’s a really good power-play player, but he was learning to slow the game down at even strength, too.

10. Side dishes

Milano was a healthy scratch for a third consecutive game. … Nathan Gerbe has informed the AHL that he will not be participating in the AHL All-Star Game next weekend in Ontario, Calif. Gerbe has found a home with the Blue Jackets — he’d need to clear waivers to go back to the minors — so he’s taking the extended break like most other players. … Bjorkstrand had nine shot attempts, including a club-high six on goal. … The Blue Jackets have won six of the last seven meetings with the Rangers in Madison Square Garden. … During their 15-2-4 run, the Blue Jackets have outscored opponents 27-10 in the third period.

Alison Lukan’s analytics

The Athletic’s Alison Lukan provided these insights into the Blue Jackets’ win: 1171936 Detroit Red Wings Valtteri Filppula, who missed the last two periods on Saturday due to a lower-body issue, is questionable to play at Colorado on Monday. Mantha, who has been out since Dec. 21 due to an upper-body injury, has yet to begin skating again. Detroit Red Wings' Dylan Larkin scored his 100th goal; will they ever come in bunches? Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.20.2020

Dana Gauruder, Special to Detroit Free PressPublished 2:16 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 | Updated 2:17 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020

Dylan Larkin's journey to career goal No. 100 took a little longer than expected.

Goals came on a regular basis last season, when the fifth-year Detroit Red Wings center scored a career-high 32 in 76 games. His milestone goal, which he delivered in a 4-1 loss to Florida on Saturday, was just his 12th this season and seventh in even-strength situations.

"When you first start out, you just want to score one," he said after Sunday's practice at Little Caesars Arena. "Every one is memorable. You never really think about that (100 goals) as an individual stat but it is an honor and something that I hope to keep going."

The general malaise surrounding the team has enveloped their star player, who has yet to have a multi-goal game this season.

"There's been moments where he's played equally as well as he did a year ago," coach Jeff Blashill said. "When your team is not scoring, your numbers are going to be down. In some years, the pucks are going to go in easier than others. That's the reality of it."

Larkin isn't alone in looking for a breakthrough. The Wings have scored two or fewer goals in 12 of the last 16 games.

"We're getting chances," he said. "You start to worry when you don't get chances. This month, we've only scored three goals as a group once. We need to score more. We know that and we've got to do it in different ways."

At 23, Larkin has time to establish himself as a prolific scorer. There's no guarantee that will happen. Blashill uses former Wings forward Gustav Nyquist as an example. Nyquist scored 28 goals in 57 games during the 2013-14 season but hasn't reached that mark since.

"I don't know what Larks is going to be," Blashill said. "Is he going to be a 40-goal scorer? A 20-goal scorer? I don't know. I'm more worried about his total game and so is he. He wants to win. For us to win long-term here, he's got to be one of the best two-way centers in the league."

The trio of Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha clicked during the latter stages of last season and the early weeks this season. Injuries have wrecked Mantha's season – he's out at least through the All-Star break with an upper body injury – and the first line's production has suffered as a result.

"Certainly that injury hurts," Blashill said. "I'd also say the Danny DeKeyser injury also hurts any of our forwards' production."

DeKeyser, the team's top defenseman, underwent season-ending back surgery last month. The Wings have altered their scheme without him. The Wings have been moving the puck along the boards more often this season.

"If you had DeKeyser, you might work more on hitting the middle of the ice because he's a little bit better at it," Blashill said.

Whatever the reasons for Larkin's drop in production, it has worn on him mentally.

"You think about it a lot as a goal scorer. Myself, you overthink it," he said. "You think about it at home. It's something where you've just got to want it and go to the hard areas."

Injury updates

Andreas Athanasiou, who hasn't played since Dec. 29, will miss the team's two-game road trip this week and probably won't play at least the first game after the All-Star break, according to Blashill. Athanasiou has a lower-body injury.

"We'll see how he progresses over the next week," Blashill said. "He's taking baby steps." 1171937 Detroit Red Wings The Wings lost in overtime to Pittsburgh the previous night after collecting a penalty in overtime.

"We can't take those undisciplined penalties. Period," Blashill said. "It just Detroit Red Wings can't buy a power play goal; 'we're just almost trying can't happen." too hard' Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.20.2020

Dana Gauruder, Special to Detroit Free PressPublished 10:55 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 | Updated 10:56 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020

The penalty box was a busy place at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

The Detroit Red Wings had seven power plays, their most since Oct. 22. They visited the box nearly as often, giving the Florida Panthers six power plays.

Not surprisingly, the team with the league's worst record couldn't take advantage of their opportunities. They came up empty with the man advantage, while the Panthers scored a late power play goal to seal a 4- 1 victory and extend the Wings' latest winless streak to four games.

"We need to stay out of the box and we need to convert on power plays," said Dylan Larkin, who scored his 100th career goal in the second period. "It's frustrating we got that many tries on the power play and we don't come up with one."

The Wings entered the game ranked No. 28 on the power play with a 15.2% conversion rate. They didn't even get a shot on goal during their first power play and had another short-circuited after 20 seconds when Larkin was whistled for a tripping penalty.

They did get 11 shots on goal against Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky during those power plays. Their only goal, ironically, came on a Larkin breakaway after he served out another penalty.

The Wings have scored three goals on 41 power plays over the last 12 games.

"We can't over-complicate it," coach Jeff Blashill said. "We've got to take what's given, make those plays, create chaos through the shot and make sure we have net presence. We've just got to stick to that formula and we didn't stick to it."

Blashill saw too many low percentage passes, rather than patience.

"If we had a group that made these unbelievable seam passes through three sticks, then let them do that," he said. "But that's not what this group is. We've got to know what we are and find ways to be better at it."

Being down several offensive weapons on a talent-starved roster feeds into that. Their best scorer, Anthony Mantha, is out through at least the All-Star break with an upper body injury. Andreas Athanasiou has been sidelined since late December with a lower body injury.

Their most offensively gifted defenseman, Filip Hronek, was off the ice for 17 minutes after a fight with Vincent Trocheck late in the first period. Hronek received a two-minute penalty for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct to go along with the five minutes for fighting.

Valtteri Filppula, who was centering the second line, missed the last two periods with a lower body injury. Blashill said the injury was minor and Filppula could return to play the last two games before the break, starting Monday afternoon in Colorado (3 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).

More from Blashill: NHL coach firings 'a bit crazy in the league'

There are times when players who have barely dented the scoring column all season were on the ice during those man advantages. But it really didn't matter who was attacking in those situations.

"We're just almost trying too hard," Larkin said. "We're trying to switch things up when sometimes it's good to just keep it simple – stick with the guys, stick with the set-ups, stick with everything and just simplify it. Tonight, there were so many penalties, so many penalty kills, there wasn't much flow to the game."

Detroit's last-ranked penalty kill unit was actually effective most of the way, thanks to a second straight strong outing from Jimmy Howard (34 saves). After killing off five penalties, the Wings allowed a power play goal following an Alex Biega slashing penalty. Aleksander Barkov's goal with 6:55 remaining gave the Panthers a two-goal advantage. 1171938 Detroit Red Wings (winning percentage 35.2), the most by one city in one year in North American pro sports history, a statistic painstakingly researched and painfully delivered by longtime Detroit sportswriter Dave Hogg.

Wojo: In Detroit sports misery, how much do you blame the coaches? It’s so much worse because we used to have it so much better The Wings have won four Stanley Cups since 1997. The Pistons have won three NBA titles since 1989. The Tigers haven’t won the World Series since 1984 but have reached the postseason five times since 2006 and Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit NewsPublished 10:50 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 played in two World Series.

The Lions? Well, they’ve made the playoffs three times since 2011 and Detroit — We knew it’d be bad. We signed up for bad. But at some point, are 0-3. Also, they beat New England in the 2018 regular season. Oh, a pointed question: How long before it’s bad enough to do something and they led Kansas City in the closing minutes last season. about it? Would Scotty Bowman or Mike Babcock win more games with these The Red Wings, Tigers and Pistons have been in various stages of Wings, who have lots of injuries, no defensemen and no goaltending? rebuilds for about four years. The Lions have been in the same stage of a Not before their heads exploded (literally!). rebuild for about 63 years. So far, the main repercussion for all the Would Larry Brown have coaxed more out of Drummond and Reggie teams’ recent losing has been a drop in fan interest and an Jackson, or magically kept Blake Griffin healthy? No, he would’ve bolted accompanying drop in revenue, although pro franchises don’t exactly after 15 games. need canned-food drives. Ashtray runneth over If you happen to coach in Detroit right now, you can’t win. Also, you can’t lose. Because the Wings and Tigers are in full teardowns, Jeff Blashill Would Jim Leyland have been able to tape Miguel Cabrera’s body and Ron Gardenhire get some slack, despite historically awful records. together and lift a Tigers team that has intriguing pitchers in the minors, Because Dwane Casey won elsewhere and is sorting out a muddled but virtually no impactful major leaguers? Ha. He would’ve become a Pistons roster, he also gets slack. There’s little indication any are in pack-an-hour smoker. serious danger of losing their jobs, which is both amazing and explainable. For now, improvements must be generated mostly by the general managers — Yzerman, Al Avila, Ed Stefanski, Quinn — in trades and In the NFL, no coach gets slack, especially not one that helped transform drafts, and that’s where the scrutiny falls. Yzerman hasn’t been here a a 9-7 team into a 9-22-1 abomination. Matt Patricia receives and year and bears no responsibility for the Wings mess. Avila and Stefanski deserves the most heat. The Lions never officially committed to a rebuild inherited bad situations, although Avila has done little to make it better. but slyly pivoted to one after their own failures during GM Bob Quinn’s Quinn inherited an OK situation and made it worse. four years. That destroyed a lot of faith, which is why Patricia’s third year could be his last. I’m not letting the coaches off the hook. (Yes you are!) (No I’m not!) I’m suggesting talent acquisition is a much larger issue than talent But how twisted are Detroit sports right now? The last coach to finish a development. Development was Casey’s strength in Toronto and it’s season with a winning record got fired — Jim Caldwell after going 9-7 in starting to show here. At the Feb. 6 trade deadline, the Pistons should 2017. deal the bulk of their experienced players — even though Derrick Rose is so fun to watch — and flood the floor with youngsters. Hey, I’m always willing to holler for leadership changes when necessary. But with these teams not remotely ready to contend from a talent That’s where Blashill, 46, has to show more, and you wonder if a few standpoint, can you truly argue a new coach would make a difference? young players have stopped getting the message. It wouldn’t be a It’s difficult to fairly assess Blashill, Gardenhire and Casey, although it surprise, considering they’ve heard his voice since he coached some of feels irresponsible to say that. And I suspect we won’t be able to say it them in Grand Rapids. much longer. Gardenhire, 62, has never been viewed as a long-term solution, and his Wilted Wings job is to instill professionalism and fundamentals in a team that has more stopgaps than actual major-league prospects. You can’t say he’s made The Wings have the worst record in the NHL, by far, and will have the an impact in that regard, although again, hard to tell with such a talent best shot at the No. 1 pick. Blashill is 148-178-51 in five seasons, deficit. incredibly the third-longest-tenured coach in the ax-happy NHL. He’s on the thinnest ice, pun intended, although Steve Yzerman has strongly It’s so dreary around here, we’re constantly forced to alter expectations, supported him. It’s not just that the Wings’ well-compensated veterans — lowering the floor with no ceiling in sight. The blame is widespread, from Frans Nielsen, Jimmy Howard, Mike Green, Justin Abdelkader, etc. — ownership to management to underperforming, overpaid veteran players, have failed, it’s that the touted young players — Dylan Larkin, Anthony to simple cyclical realities. The coaches haven’t made tangible, positive Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi, Andreas Athanasiou — have either been hurt or differences, and that’s a problem. Alas, it’s not even the biggest problem. stagnant. Gerard Gallant, recently fired by Las Vegas, could be the next guy in charge, whenever that is. Detroit News LOADED: 01.20.2020

The Tigers (47-114 last season) already have the No. 1 pick for the second time in three years and have a solid shot to grab it again. Ron Gardenhire is 111-212 entering his third season, but as long as the Tigers don’t start randomly banging on trash cans in the dugout, he’ll likely make it through another year.

The Pistons apparently have abandoned a foolhardy playoff push and are trying to trade Andre Drummond, while showing promising returns on young guys, notably Sekou Doumbouya. Casey, 57-68 in his second season here after seven strong years in Toronto, gets safer and safer with each basket by Doumbouya, or every upward step by youngsters Bruce Brown, Svi Mykhailiuk and Christian Wood.

The lack of urgency to fire coaches here is not about management being lazy, detached or cheap (although we can revisit those charges). It’s about owners — Chris Ilitch, Tom Gores, Martha Ford — who have mapped out plans of patience and aren’t ready to blow their covers with showy firings. They’re so deep into it, no turning back. For fans, apathy still tops anger, although we’re about one year from anger rising.

It’s been miserable, and the numbers are staggering. The four Detroit teams posted a cumulative total of 226 losses in the 2019 calendar year 1171939 Detroit Red Wings Smith scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday, in an 8-2 road loss to the New York Islanders.

Back inside the Little Caesars Arena, April Potoczek of Lincoln Park 'Hockey is for everyone': Hockeytown Winterfest draws thousands to treated herself to a free caricature on her 45th birthday. LCA Coming to the arena Sunday was her mom's idea; she is a Red Wings season ticket holder and avid Detroit sports fan.

James David Dickson, The Detroit NewsPublished 4:01 p.m. ET Jan. 19, "I figured I'd give it a whirl, and get one done," Potoczek said, wearing a 2020 | Updated 6:44 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 black hockey jersey with her nickname, "April Pot," on the back.

Artist Lydia Horvath, 49, of Toledo, will do dozens of caricatures Sunday in the six hours of Winterfest, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. She starts out Detroit — Mother Tiffany Blewett and daughter Jayla, 8, of Southfield put asking if the person wants to be a goalie or a regular player. Since many their heads together and posed inside an oversized picture frame that of the little kids (and big ones) who come to her booth have gotten face bore the theme of their Sunday visit to Little Caesars Arena in large paint at a different station, she asks if they want the caricature to include letters: "Hockey is for everybody." the paint or not.

The mother-daughter pair, hailing from Southfield, made the brief trip Horvath and the other artists all work for Goofy Faces, a Rochester Hills south to Midtown Detroit for the second annual Hockeytown Winterfest company that represents more than 500 caricature artists nationwide. An at the arena that plays host to both the Red Wings and Pistons. The free artist and art teacher, she's started making goofy faces of people to as a event is sponsored by Michigan-based Meijer, along with Coca-Cola. profitable way to add to her skill set.

While other attendees were skating on the newly-smoothed ice on the "It's a really nice sort of side job, because teaching hours and this don't hockey arena, and others waited their turn in line, outside, for the chance conflict with each other," Horvath said. "You can be a so-called 'starving to be the human crane, and grab a box of goodies, the Blewett family artist' or you can do something else." went inside the NHL Black Hockey History Tour bus. Some gigs are regular customers she's been working for years, such as "When I was growing up, I knew a few people who played hockey," company parties. There are people she's done many different caricatures Tiffany, 47, said. "To this day they're the only ones I've ever known to of. And that doesn't even include family. play it." "I think by now they all have six caricatures of themselves," Horvath said. Jayla left with a package containing two small replica hockey sticks and two balls and, her mom hopes, the understanding that anyone can play, More challenging than the art itself are the lines that form when regardless of skin color or sex. caricatures are being drawn. There were several others to share that burden Sunday. When it's just her, and closing time is approaching, she "Hockey is not just for guys. Girls play it, they have all kinds of leagues hands a laminated Last Person In Line sign to the person at the end of out there. It's all about the exposure," Tiffany said. the line, and it's their job to tell newcomers the bad news. Some people don't follow the plan, though, leaving Horvath to look up in horror as she Detroit is the second city of the mobile museum's second year of touring. realizes the line has gotten longer since the "last person" joined it. The 2020 tour started in Washington, D.C., at the Canadian embassy. Later this week it will head to St. Louis for NHL All-Star Game festivities. Why do people like being caricatured?

"Not a lot of people know that the Colored Hockey League, which was "People are really curious to see how someone else sees them," Horvath established in 1895, predates the National Hockey League that was said. founded in 1917," said Rodney Reynolds, whose research lines the walls of the 53-foot bus. Detroit News LOADED: 01.20.2020

Or that 11 years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947, Willie O'Ree broke the NHL's.

"He's going to be joining us at a number of locations this year," Reynolds said.

The tour will hit 14 locations, including Seattle, whose expansion team will start competition in 2021-22.

Last year, when the tour came through just six NHL cities, it drew about 6,000 visitors.

A Madison Heights company, MRA Mobile Experiential, put the bus together and has been building "experiential vehicles" for 30 years now, said president Tony Amato.

The black hockey history tour is a collaboration of the NHL, Reynolds' company, American Legacy, and MRA.

"I think (the NHL) saw the need to expand their outreach, especially when it came to minorities playing hockey," Amato said. "We don't just go to games, we go to neighborhoods. We have the ability to take the vehicle into neighborhoods, where people can feel not intimidated to walk in and learn the history. We know a little bit about the Negro Leagues in baseball, but no one really knows about the hockey side."

Sunday morning, three Detroit Red Wings players who are black — Trevor Daley, Madison Bowey, and Givani Smith, who has needed police escorts in the past after to being targeted by unruly crowds — toured the bus, said J.P. Reynolds, Rodney's son.

"They saw themselves on the wall, and they took the whole tour," J.P. said of a wall of the exhibit on the Red Wings' three black players. "They loved it — especially Givani. He got called up (in October), so he was surprised he was even on the wall." 1171940 Detroit Red Wings Both games over the weekend, against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Panthers, were chippy games that forced the Wings to play physical, and stand up for themselves and teammates.

Red Wings' Dylan Larkin strives for improvement as he reaches 100-goal To the Wings’ credit, given their last-place standing and not much to play mark for, they did.

“Good,” goaltender Jimmy Howard said of the Wings’ grit. “You have to stick up for yourself in this league. It’s always fun when the game is a Ted Kulfan, The Detroit NewsPublished 3:13 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 | little bit on edge out there.” Updated 4:58 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 Since coming out of the Christmas break, Blashill has tried to emphasize the physical part of the game.

Detroit — So, what exactly was Dylan Larkin thinking as he wandered out “We’ve really concentrated and focused on our physicality, different of the penalty box Saturday, was all by himself, and was moments from a things to try to embrace that physicality, and we’ve been way better at potential breakaway attempt on Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky? that,” Blashill said. “When it’s a physical game, it just draws you into the fight a little more, draws the emotion into the game a little more. Actually, Larkin was trying to keep his mind clear. “It brings the temperature of the game up and that’s a great thing for us.” Red Wings center Dylan Larkin celebrates his 100th career goal. Blashill is pleased with how the Wings have reacted from a competitive “I wasn’t thinking much. Helmer (Darren Helm) made a great pass,” standpoint. Larkin said of Helm’s pass that sprung Larkin free for his goal, the 100th of his young career. “I knew he was at the end of a shift. He ripped that “We’re not going to limp through and play these games, we’re going to thing. I was just trying to stay onside and I had to get on my horse to fight like crazy to win every night,” Blashill said. “We’re going to fight like make sure that the defenseman coming back wasn’t going to catch me. crazy to get better every night.”

“Great play by Helmer.” Ice chips

Larkin’s goal was the only Wings’ score in a 4-1 loss to Florida. The Wings lost forward Valtteri Filppula (lower body) early in Saturday’s game, but Blashill was optimistic Filppula could return for Monday’s The milestone goal was one of the few bright spots in what was still a game in Colorado. rather enjoyable, physical, chippy Saturday night battle at Little Caesars Arena. … The Wings were 0-for-7 on the power play against the Panthers, attempting to do too much instead of keeping it simple, Blashill said. Larkin became the sixth Wings player in the last 40 years to record his 100th career goal before the age of 24. “We overcomplicated it,” Blashill said. “We have to take what’s given, make those plays and create chaos through the slot, make sure we have Larkin is the second youngest of the group, at 23 years and five months a net presence. — Steve Yzerman scored his 100th goal at 21 years and eight months. “We have to stick to that formula and we didn’t.” “It’s a dream to score a goal in the NHL, and I’m just in a good spot there (coming out of the penalty box),” Larkin said. “I’ve been pretty fortunate … Howard said seeing, and stopping, some shots early in games has to play with good players in my career. Hopefully there’s a lot more. helped turn around his performances lately.

“It doesn’t feel great right now (after a loss), but it’s good to get.” “You sort of get into the rhythm of the game,” Howard said. “I’ve been fortunate for that the last couple (games). The guys did a great job in Larkin was one of the Wings’ best forwards against Florida, playing more front of me.” than 24 minutes (24:16), winning 19-of-28 faceoffs, and being credited with one takeaway and one blocked shot. Red Wings at Colorado

Coach Jeff Blashill has watched Larkin continue to evolve into one of the ► Faceoff: 3 p.m. Monday, Pepsi Center, Denver NHL’s better two-way centers, capable of making a difference either at the offensive or defensive end. ► TV/radio: FSD/97.1 FM

Blashill identified two areas where Larkin has taken his overall game ► Outlook: Colorado (27-15-6) is second in the Central Division and has forward. won back-to-back games after going through a slump. … C Nathan MacKinnon is putting together an MVP-caliber season (28 goals, 70 “His offensive skill set has gotten better because of how hard he works at points) and D Cale Makar (35 points) is a Rookie of the Year candidate. it, both through the season and in the summer,” Blashill said. “Not just scoring, but passing and the little plays he makes with the puck, things Detroit News LOADED: 01.20.2020 like that.

“The other area he’s really improved is his two-way game. There’s times where he’s been one of the better two-way players in the league. I’ve taken him to the world championships (Blashill coached Team USA) and played him against some of the best players in the world, and he’s done a good job of matching in those situations.”

What Blashill is pleased about most is Larkin’s desire of not being satisfied.

“The important thing for Dylan is he keeps getting better and the thing that is going to allow that to happen is he knows that and he keeps working at it,” Blashill said.

Forward Luke Glendening has noticed the same characteristic with Larkin.

“Every year he comes to camp more determined to be a better player than he was the last year,” Glendening said. “It’s great to watch. He does it right.”

Not backing down 1171941 Detroit Red Wings

OctoPulse podcast: Gerard Gallant coaching rumors, All-American Game preview

The Detroit NewsPublished 6:19 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 | Updated 7:55 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020

Ted Kulfan and Mark Falkner talk about the Red Wings' 4-1 loss against the Panthers, the Gerard Gallant coaching rumors and they preview Monday's All-American Game in Plymouth with Red Wings draft picks Robert Mastrosimone and Ethan Phillips, who were the MVPs at last year's game in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Here are some of the highlights from Episode 14 of OctoPulse:

►1:20: Jeff Blashill on going 0-for-7 on the powerplay

►3:05: Franz Nielsen's missed breakaway attempt

►4:10: Dylan Larkin's 100th career goal

Panthers center Vincent Trocheck, left, fights Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek during Detroit's 4-1 loss at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

Panthers center Vincent Trocheck, left, fights Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek during Detroit's 4-1 loss at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday. (Photo: Paul Sancya, AP)

►5:30: Gerard Gallant on his playing career with Steve Yzerman

►6:15: Ted Kulfan on Gallant coaching rumors

►8:25: Red Wings' second-round pick Robert Mastrosimone

►12:10: Boston University coach Albie O'Connell

►18:00: Red Wings' fourth-round pick Ethan Phillips

►22:15: Upcoming games in Colorado and Minnesota

►23:15: Nick Lidstrom book winners

Red Wings draft pick Ethan Phillips.

►What: BioSteel All-American Game

►Who: USA Hockey's National Team Development Program against the best American-born players from the United States Hockey League

►When: 7 Monday

►Where: USA Hockey Arena, Plymouth

►Tickets: $15-$20. Box office at 734-453-6400. Parking is $5 per vehicle.

►Honorary coaches: Mike Knuble (NTDP), Scott Gomez (USHL)

►NTDP roster: Goalies Drew Commesso, Noah Grannan; Defenseman Brock Faber, Owen Gallatin, Connor Kelley, Tyler Kleven, Daniel Laatsch, Eamon Powell, Jake Sanderson, Jacob Truscott (Port Huron); Forwards Matthew Beniers, Brett Berard, Thomas Bordeleau, Daniyal Dzhanlyev, Zakary Karpa (Muskegon), Tanner Latsch, Hunter McKown, Dylan Peterson, Landon Slaggert, Ty Smilanic, Hunter Strand, Luke Tuch, Chase Yoder

►USHL roster: Goalies Aidan McCarthy, Logan Stein; Defenseman Noah Ellis, Alex Gagne, Hank Kempf, Ben Meehan, Mitchell Miller, Luke Reid; Forwards Carson Bantle, Ryan Beck (Linden), Brendan Brisson, Nick Capone, Sam Colangelo, Sean Farrell, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Alex Gaffney, Patrick Guzzo (Marysville), Alex Laferriere, Ryder Rolston (Birmingham), Wyatt Schingoethe

►Alumni: 188 alumni of all the All-American Prospects Game have been drafted, including 44 first-round selections and a record 31 players in last year's NHL Draft. Notable graduates include Dylan Larkin (Detroit), Jack Eichel (Buffalo), Zach Werenski (Columbus), Seth Jones (Columbus) and Noah Hanifan (Carolina).

Detroit News LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171942 Detroit Red Wings “I think, for the first time their eyes are opening up a little wider that the hockey world is much, much bigger than their little world that they play in, and I think what it’s going to do is inspire them to go further," Phillips said. Flint youth players take in NHL Black Hockey History Tour Youths Isaiah Marble, Antwan Price and Caleb Adams soaked in the displays on the walls and snapped photos beside faces that they recognized. All three fell in love with skating while taking part in Phillips’ Today 7:09 PM program. They love playing as forwards with their Flint teams as aspire to By Lauren Williams play in the NHL some day.

After the tour, they headed into Little Caesars Arena, where they watched the Red Wings take on the Florida Panthers. Then they got the DETROIT -- Only three black players had suited up for the Detroit Red chance to meet Bowey and Dylan Larkin. Wings prior to 2017. Now the 94-year-old franchise has three black players on its roster -- Trevor Daley, Madison Bowey and Givani Smith. “I only set it up so there’s an experience and to hear kids be so inspired by the sport that they want to do it professionally that not just play the The NHL is becoming more diverse, but there still is room to grow. sport but work at the sport, it’s one of those things that is hard to put into words,” Phillips said. In an interview with WDET, Kim Davis, NHL executive vice president of social impact, growth initiatives and legislative affairs, said 43 players of Michigan Live LOADED: 01.20.2020 color have appeared in a game this season -- about five percent of the total number of players who have played a game in 2019-20.

Asked if the league was more diverse than when he entered in 2003, Daley said, "Absolutely. I obviously think there’s still strides we can make and we’re doing a good job of making those strides. I don’t think we’re where we should be.”

For years, hockey had been a sport inaccessible to players of color. In 1958, Willie O’Ree became the first black player in the NHL when he was called up by the Boston Bruins, a feat that was not easy.

In 1996, the NHL and the NHL Players Association launched the “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative as a way to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to play the sport. O’Ree serves as an ambassador for the league and in 2018, the NHL created the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award to honor those who have made an impact in their community, culture or society through hockey.

The initiative also launched the Black Hockey History Bus Tour to share the history and achievements of black players in the league.

The tour includes a wall that celebrates the achievements in black hockey history, including the first black NHL player, first captain and first inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame. It also shows every black player in league history on its ‘Wall of Pucks.’ There is also a ‘Team locker room’ that has been customized for each city along its 32 stops.

“I think it’s really special,” Bowey said. "Obviously, we’re trying to grow the game as much as we can and to have these little museums that are coming around does a lot for the community and I’m definitely going to check it out with Dales and it’ll be really cool to see all the fans and all the people who are there to support it and cherish it because it’s a really special moment for sure.”

At the tour’s Detroit stop this weekend, 2019 Willie O’Ree Award winner Rico Phillips took in everything on the walls of the bus. Phillips, a firefighter in Flint and hockey referee, had faced his own share of racism on the ice as a player and official.

The turning point for Phillips came when he was refereeing at age 17 and an assistant coach yelled a racial slur at him. His officiating partner tossed the coach from the game and asked Phillips if he would grow up or remain a kid.

“So I grew up that day, in a certain sense about how I was going to handle myself moving forward with respect to racial diversity and inclusion,” Phillips said.

In 2010, he founded the Flint Inner-City Youth Hockey program as a way to make the sport more accessible to kids in Flint. The program runs for nine weeks and teaches the sport to inner city children between the ages of 8 and 11.

Three former participants of the Flint Inner-City Youth hockey program met and took in the sights that the NHL's Black Hockey History Tour bus had to offer. Then they met two current players on the Red Wings roster, Madison Bowey (left) and Dylan Larkin.Detroit Red Wings

Three of the program’s former participants visited the bus with Phillips. He got teary-eyed seeing a photo of his hero, Hall-of-Fame goaltender Grant Fuhr, on the wall and found it humbling to share the experience with the kids. 1171943 Detroit Red Wings and we have to know what we are and we have to find a way to be better at it.”

Michigan Live LOADED: 01.20.2020 Red Wings lose but happy with battle level, feisty disposition

Posted Jan 19, 2020

By Ansar Khan

DETROIT – If you’re going to lose, don’t go down without a battle.

That has been the message from Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill. His team lost again Saturday, 4-1 to the Florida Panthers at Little Caesars Arena, but Blashill was glad players competed and scrapped in a chippy, physical, penalty-filled game.

“It was physical and lots of jawing and lots of stuff behind the play and a lot of emotion,” Blashill said. “I’m 100 percent good with that. We could have had ourselves a line brawl and it would have been even better.

“I’m just kidding.”

The problem, nothing new, was the Red Wings’ failure to capitalize on the power play, going 0 for 7, wasting more than 12 minutes on the man- advantage.

They squandered Jimmy Howard’s second solid outing in as many nights, a 34-save performance.

The Red Wings (12-33-4) have dropped four in a row (0-3-1). Blashill can at least stomach these types of defeats as opposed to some of the one- sided games in which the complete level was lacking.

“One thing we’ve really concentrated and focused on is our physicality, and we’ve done different things to try to embrace that physicality, and since the Christmas break, we’ve been way better at that,” Blashill said. “When it’s a physical game it just draws you into the fight a little bit more, draws the emotion into the game a little bit more, both ways, brings the temperature of the game up and I think that’s a great thing for us.

“We’re not going to limp through and play these games, we’re going to fight like crazy to win every night and we’re going to fight like crazy to get better every night.”

Said Howard: “Good. You have to stick up for yourself in this league. It’s always fun when the game’s a little bit on edge out there.”

Problem was, the Red Wings weren’t smart at times while battling. Filip Hronek was lost for 17 minutes at 13:47 of the first period after receiving an instigating penalty for a fight with Vincent Trocheck and then getting a 10-minute misconduct on top of it.

The Panthers got even-strength goals from Evgenii Dadonov and Mark Pysyk 1:25 apart late in the first period while Hronek was not available.

Alex Biega slashed Frank Vatrano at 12:50 of the third period – it originally was called spearing but changed after review – leading to Aleksander Barkov’s power-play goal at 13:05 that put the Panthers ahead 3-1.

“We can’t take those undisciplined penalties,” Blashill said. “Really both in the end are undisciplined. Not necessarily from guys that I expected.”

But, as Larkin pointed out: “We stuck together, we battled.

“I thought the game with Pittsburgh was like a playoff game (2-1 overtime loss Friday). Tonight was just as physical. I think we need to stay out of the box, and we need to convert on the power plays. It’s frustrating we had that many tries on the power play and we don’t come up with one.”

Blashill said they need to keep it simple on the power play.

“We’ve talked to our group about being efficient, taking what’s given and overshooting it a little bit,” Blashill said. “I thought we had at least one power play where we really shot it and we had some looks. But then we overcomplicated it after that. We have to take what’s given, make those plays, create chaos through the shot, make sure we have net presence. We just have to stick to that formula, and we didn’t stick to it.

“ If we had a group that made these unbelievable seam passes through three sticks, then you let them do that, but that’s not what this group is 1171944 Detroit Red Wings

Larkin scores 100th goal, Panthers beat Red Wings 4-1

By LARRY LAGE AP Hockey Writer Jan 18, 2020 Updated Jan 18, 2020

DETROIT (AP) — Evgenii Dadonov and Mark Pysyk scored late in the first period and the Florida Panthers went on to beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Saturday night.

Florida's Aleksander Barkov restored a two-goal lead with 6:55 left. Sergei Bobrovsky had 27 saves for the Panthers, who have won a season-high four straight.

Detroit has dropped four games in a row, giving the once-proud franchise an NHL-worst 12-33-4 record this season.

Dylan Larkin scored the 100th goal of his career with the Red Wings, and Jimmy Howard stopped 34 shots.

Larkin's goal pulled Detroit within a goal early in the second period, but the offensively challenged team could not get closer.

Bobrovsky looked sharp and appeared to finish the game healthy. Both were good signs for a team that will be without goaltender Chris Driedger for several weeks with what’s believed to be a groin injury.

Howard stopped the first 12 shots he faced before Florida scored on two of its final four shots in the first period.

Dadonov scored with 2:45 left in the opening period and Pysyk scored 1:25 later, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead.

Larkin scored 5:15 into the second period, taking advantage of open ice after coming out of the penalty box and Darren Helm's long pass that set him up for a breakaway.

The Red Wings had an extra skater for a fifth time early in the third and failed to take advantage, getting only one shot on Bobrovsky.

Detroit had another power play midway through the third, but negated it 21 seconds later when Larkin was called for tripping.

Shortly thereafter, Bobrovsky stopped Frans Nielsen's breakaway shot and rebound attempt. Seconds later, Howard made a save when Barkov was alone in front of him with a chance to restore a two-goal lead.

Florida went on the power play with seven-plus minutes left and took advantage 15 seconds later. Barkov redirected the puck off Keith Yandle's pass that was intentionally wide of the net.

Denis Malgin scored an empty-net goal with 1:48 left, putting the Panthers up by three goals.

NOTES: Red Wings C Frans Nielsen left with a lower-body injury in the second period. ... Bobrovsky missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury. ... Detroit has a losing streak of at least four games for the fifth time this season. ... Dadonov has a team-high 21 goals.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Play at Minnesota on Monday night.

Red Wings: Play at Colorado on Monday night.

Macomb Daily LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171945 Edmonton Oilers Ilya Konovalov is the only goaltender in the system drafted by Oilers general manager Ken Holland. He’s 21 and in his third season in the KHL, so there isn’t much worry about his being able to make the jump to the AHL. He is reportedly signed for one more year after this one, which Lowetide: With the Oilers’ minor-league goaltending not good enough, may mean a 2021-22 arrival in North America. Ilya Konovalov might be the answer Currently injured, meaning he won’t be at the KHL All-Star Game despite being selected, it has been an unusual season so far for Konovalov. The KHL rookie of the year in 2018-19, he has been running through coaches By Allan Mitchell Jan 19, 2020 at a rapid clip, beginning with former Oilers coach Craig MacTavish. His month-by-month splits during this season are interesting:

Entering training camp in the fall, the Edmonton Oilers would have been Games GAA Save Pct. confident in the AHL goalie depth chart. Although questions about the September 6 4.09 0.896 NHL tandem of Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith were a daily chore for coach Dave Tippett when meeting with media, the Bakersfield Condors October 12 2.27 0.918 had a quality starter in Shane Starrett and two youngsters who would fight for playing time in a backup role. November 7 2.25 0.921

It hasn’t worked out as planned, mostly because of Starrett’s injury December 8 2.94 0.889 issues. Now, with the Condors over halfway through the season, they Konovalov hasn’t played in January, missing six games. His performance badly need the veteran (who is now healthy) to start resembling the in December seemed to erode around the middle of the month, as his player we saw in 2018-19. How far off his pace of one year ago is final three outings saw him stop only 70 of 81 shots, which is an .864 Starrett? A long way: save percentage. Konovalov did not finish the game on Dec. 28. Games GAA Save Pct. What happens this summer? Through Jan. 19, 2019 18 2.63 0.906 Holland is known for his patience, so if Konovalov’s deal can’t be altered, Through Jan. 19, 2020 10 3.17 0.881 I expect the Oilers will wait on him. Based on the performances of Starrett, Skinner, Wells and Konovalov this season, Konovalov would be Starrett not only posted a strong save percentage, he also turned into a my choice as the Oilers’ goalie of the future. Don’t be fooled about his workhorse. A year ago, he played 1,000 minutes through Jan. 19 and recent injury issues: Konovalov is playing in a strong league, won the played 1,400 more in the second half. He played almost 60 percent of all rookie award and was named to the KHL All-Star Game. We may see a regular-season minutes for the Condors after entering the season as the transition year with Starrett, Skinner and Rodrigue sharing the backup to Al Montoya. Starrett finished eighth among all goalies in save Bakersfield net in 2020-21. percentage in 2018-19 and it’s my belief the Oilers considered him a legit NHL option if he continued to progress. Injuries derailed Edmonton’s In the meantime, Jay Woodcroft has to figure out which goalie deserves plans and, for now, Starrett’s goal of making it to the NHL. to start for the Condors for the rest of this season. The picture may become clearer as Starrett knocks off the rust from injury; in two games, The backup plan on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18, he stopped just 34 of 41 shots, a .829 save percentage. Stuart Skinner emerged in the first half of this season, flourishing at times. He was thrust into the role early and struggled. Since Christmas, At this point, Skinner may be the best option. A trade would seem Skinner has improved his performance: unlikely, and the Condors may not be in the playoff race come February.

Games GAA Save Pct. The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 Through Dec. 22 17 3.60 0.879

After Dec. 22 9 3.20 0.906

Skinner enjoyed a four-game run in early January in which he stopped 144 of 153 shots (.941) during a time when Bakersfield badly needed a lift. Since then, he has come back to earth a little in two games but has to be seen as a possible solution to the netminding woes the rest of the way.

Dylan Wells has been mostly sitting through the first half of the season. In seven AHL games, he has yet to pick up a win, posting an .878 save percentage. Wells isn’t playing much in Wichita of the ECHL, either. In just two games, he has an .833 save percentage. Goalies can find themselves down one year and up the next, but this season, Skinner is clearly ahead of Wells on the pro depth chart.

The future

Edmonton has two goaltenders who were drafted in the last two seasons and could play in Bakersfield in the next couple of seasons.

Olivier Rodrigue has signed and is likely to turn pro this fall. He was one of three goaltenders who represented Canada at the world juniors, although he didn’t see any action during the competition. His splits are fascinating, as he began the year at a very high level and then hasn’t played much in December or January.

Games GAA Save Pct.

October/November 22 2.19 0.925

December/January 8 3.87 0.874

Rodrigue is a quality prospect and the Oilers will no doubt make room for him on the pro depth chart next season. A strong finish with the Moncton Wildcats is the expectation, along with a deep playoff run. He has an .890 save percentage in January. 1171946 Florida Panthers ▪ Mike Hoffman extended his point streak to eight games with a secondary assist on Malgin’s third-period empty-net goal.

▪ Pysyk’s first-period goal gives him a career-high four goals on the Panthers’ win streak up to four after chippy win over Detroit in season. Pysyk, a defenseman for the majority of his career, has spent Bobrovsky’s return the bulk of the season as a winger on Florida’s fourth line.

NEXT UP

BY JORDAN MCPHERSON The Panthers follow an off day on Sunday with back-to-back games at the Minnesota Wild on Monday and Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday in JANUARY 19, 2020 06:00 AM their final games before the All-Star break.

Miami Herald LOADED: 01.20.2020 The Florida Panthers continued to ride their hot streak as the NHL All- Star break approaches, taking a 4-1 road win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night at Little Ceasars Arena to extend their win streak to four games.

But it didn’t come as smoothly as the final score indicates.

The Panthers overcame a chippy 60 minutes of action in Detroit. Florida fought off seven penalties, saw Sergei Bobrovsky make big saves in his return and had four players find the back of the net as the Panthers continue their quest to stay in the hunt to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“A lot of power plays out there tonight and our [penalty kill] was pretty good,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville told reporters in Detroit. “Bob was really good and then he was our best [penalty] killer. Early in the game, he made a couple of big saves.”

Evgenii Dadonov, Mark Pysyk, Aleksander Barkov and Denis Malgin netted goals for the Panthers (26-16-5), who have outscored opponents 21-10 over this win streak.

Bobrovsky stopped 27 of 28 shots in his first game since Jan. 9. This included stopping a breakaway shot and rebound attempt from Frans Nielsen during a four-on-four in the second period.

It was a positive sign for the Panthers to see Bobrovsky return to form, considering Florida announced that backup goaltender Chris Driedger is expected to miss “several weeks” after suffering a lower-body injury in the first period of their win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Sam Montembeault is with the team on emergency conditions.

“I feel pretty good,” Bobrovsky said. “I thought our guys helped me get into the game.”

And while Bobrovsky still has a ways to go to improve his overall season numbers — he’s 17-12-4 on the season with a .898 save percentage and 3.22 goals allowed average — he continued one positive trend with his performance on Saturday.

The 31-year-old netminder is a perfect 3-0 with a .957 save percentage (four goals allowed on 93 shots against) in starts after sitting out multiple games this season. He gave up one goal on 34 shots in the Panthers’ 4- 1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 7 after sitting in favor of Chris Driedger for two games. He also stopped 30 of 32 shots against the Vancouver Canucks in his last start on Jan. 9 after not playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes before that.

“It’s great to get back and play again,” Bobrovsky said. “I missed only two games, but it feels like I haven’t played for a month.”

KILLING PENALTIES

The Panthers were down a man for 12:21 against the Red Wings as penalties were continuously called on Thursday.

Brett Connolly, Malgin and Vincent Trocheck each went to the box twice while Pysyk and Colton Sceviour each received a minor penalty as well.

But Florida didn’t flinch. Bobrovsky was a perfect 11 for 11 on save opportunities while Detroit was on the power play.

“We were in the box a lot, seven times, but our PK did good job,” Pysyk said. “Guys dug in.”

The Panthers, meanwhile, had six power plays of their own, playing 8:36 with an extra skater. Barkov scored the lone power-play goal of the game with 6:55 left in regulation.

STREAKS AND MILESTONES

▪ Frank Vatrano had two assists on Saturday, giving him 101 points for his NHL career. 1171947 Florida Panthers Florida went on the power play with seven-plus minutes left and took advantage 15 seconds later. Barkov redirected the puck off Keith Yandle’s pass that was intentionally wide of the net.

Panthers keep piling up goals in Detroit, extend win streak to season- Barkov became the sixth Panther with at least 15 goals scored as Florida best four games improved its positioning atop NHL’s per-game-scoring leaderboard by edging up to 3.638 goals a game, ahead of second-place Colorado and Tampa Bay (3.604).

By LARRY LAGE “A lot of power plays out there tonight and our PK was pretty good," Quenneville said after his team’s penalty killers didn’t give up a goal on ASSOCIATED PRESS | seven power plays. “Bob was really good and then he was our best JAN 18, 2020 | 10:02 PM (penalty) killer. Early in the game, he made a couple of big saves.”

NOTES: Bobrovsky had missed the previous two games with an upper- body injury. ... Dadonov has a team-high 21 goals. ... Driedger will miss The Florida Panthers were thrilled to have banged-up goaltender Sergei several weeks due to a groin injury. The Panthers announced the Bobrovsky back on the ice. He was pretty happy about it, too. diagnosis Saturday, calling it a lower-body injury. Driedger was hurt midway through the first period of the Panthers’ win over the Kings on Bobrovsky made 27 saves, helping Florida beat the Detroit Red Wings 4- Thursday. He is 5-2-0 in nine appearances for Florida this season, with a 1 on Saturday night to win four straight for the first time this season. 2.48 GAA. ... Florida began a stretch of six consecutive road games “Great to get back and play again," he said. “I missed only two games Saturday in Detroit. That six-game run also includes the All-Star break and it feels like I haven’t played for a month.” and the Panthers’ bye week.

Bobrovsky looked sharp and appeared to finish the game healthy after Sun Sentinel LOADED: 01.20.2020 being out with an upper-body injury. Those were good signs for a team that will be without goaltender Chris Driedger for several weeks with what’s believed to be a groin injury.

“You can see the confidence of the team when he's back there," Florida's do-it-all player Mark Pysyk said.

Evgenii Dadonov and Pysyk scored late in the first period and that was enough offense to beat the lowly Red Wings.

Detroit has dropped four games in a row, giving the once-proud franchise an NHL-worst 12-33-4 record this season.

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, though, liked how physical and feisty his team played in its latest loss.

“We're not going to limp through and just kind of play these games," Blashill said. “We're gonna fight like crazy to win every night and fight like crazy to get better every day.”

Dylan Larkin scored the 100th goal of his career with the Red Wings.

“Hopefully, there’s a lot more," he said. “It doesn’t feel great right now."

Larkin's goal pulled Detroit within a goal early in the second period, but the offensively challenged team could not get closer.

Jimmy Howard stopped the first 12 shots he faced before Florida scored on two of its final four shots in the first period. He finished with 34 saves.

The veteran, whose season has been stunted by injury, has played in four straight games. The team needed Howard to be in net on consecutive nights with Jonathan Bernier out with a lower-body injury.

“The past two games, he’s played great for us," Larkin said. “He’s been our best player. We need him to keep going."

Dadonov scored with 2:45 left in the opening period and Pysyk scored 1:25 later, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead.

“Scoring early has been good for us," coach Joel Quenneville said.

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Larkin had a goal 5:15 into the second period, taking advantage of open ice after coming out of the penalty box and Darren Helm's long pass that set him up for a breakaway.

The Red Wings had an extra skater for a fifth time early in the third and failed to take advantage, getting only one shot on Bobrovsky.

Detroit had another power play midway through the third, but negated it 21 seconds later when Larkin was called for tripping.

Shortly thereafter, Bobrovsky stopped Frans Nielsen’s breakaway shot and rebound attempt. Seconds later, Howard made a save when Aleksander Barkov was alone in front of him with a chance to restore a two-goal lead. 1171948 Los Angeles Kings

ANDERSON-DOLAN, LUFF ASSIGNED TO ONTARIO

ZACH DOOLEYJANUARY 19, 2020

The LA Kings have assigned forwards Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Matt Luff to Ontario (AHL), according to Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake.

Anderson-Dolan went scoreless in four games during his first recall of the season. Selected in the second round (31st overall) by the Kings in the 2017 NHL Draft, he made his NHL debut last season, posting one point (0-1=1) in five games before being assigned to his junior team in Spokane (WHL).

Earlier this season with the Reign, the Calgary, Alberta native posted 19 points (5-14=19) in 36 games. At the time of his recall he ranked first on the team in assists and second in points.

Luff has tallied five points (1-4=5) during two stints with the Kings this season. Over the last two seasons the Oakville, Ontario native has appeared in 50 games and totaled 16 points (9-7=16).

The 22-year-old forward (born May 5, 1997) has appeared in 15 games with the Reign this season, posting 10 points (3-7=10) and a plus-4 rating.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171949 Los Angeles Kings The Reign currently sit in the final playoff position in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of San Diego but with the Gulls possessing four games in hand. While it would appear that Tucson and Stockton (17 and 13 points clear) would be in a good spot for the postseason, the AHL’s SUNDAY THOUGHTS – CAMPBELL/WALKER ALL-STAR schedule down the stretch ensures that the race will be decided within REFLECTIONS, LUFF/JAD, FRK, DIVISIONAL DOGFIGHT the division.

I’ll be honest, when the schedule came out for the Reign this season, I hated it. I thought it was pretty ridiculous that Ontario played ZACH DOOLEYJANUARY 19, 20200 four….FOUR non-divisional games all season, and following the back-to- back against Iowa on December 14 and 15, it was Pacific Division exclusively from there on out. via Ontario Reign But now, with how the standings have shaken out throughout the first half Happy Sunday! (plus) of the season, I think I love it. The postseason berths in the Pacific Division will truly be decided within the division. When Ontario plays The Reign took the ice for a partial team skate this morning at Toyota Bakersfield tomorrow, it’s not a two-point game, it’s a four-point game Sports Center, with a little bit less than half the team out there. The skate and every game down the stretch will be the same way. Two points lost included both goaltenders, those who did not play yesterday against is really four, because of the two points that the opposition gains. Tucson, and those who played lesser minutes, and was a pretty brief twirl on the middle day of a three-in-four set. “Well ideally, you’d like to have a winning record against those teams head-to-head,” Stothers said. “You’ve just got to find a way to get points, A few housekeeping notes to catch up on, as we enjoy the rest of today’s we’ve just got to keep finding ways to generate points. We just lost a day off before an MLK Day Matinee, tomorrow afternoon against tough point tonight against Tucson, but we gained a point and at most, Bakersfield. we lost one point. We’ll look at it, we’ll have a good practice tomorrow AHL On The Beat and we’ll look at it for Monday and get ready for Bakersfield, but yeah, there’s no room. It’s too tight.” With the All-Star Classic coming up, I wrote a feature story for AHL On The Beat on the experiences of Jack Campbell (2017) and Sean Walker The Reign have found a way to get points and remain in the thick of the (2019), who were both AHL All-Stars during their time with the Ontario playoff hunt. Sometimes, it’s felt like somehow, some way, but they’ve Reign. Read the entire story here, but sharing one Campbell quote about remained in middle of things despite inexperience, youth, callups and how special it was for him to get that All-Star call from Reign Head Coach injuries. Since November 16, Ontario has been within two games of the Mike Stothers – .500 mark on either side, no higher, no lower and only once each way have the Reign been two games over or two games under. Other than “It was cool,” Campbell said of his All-Star selection. [It was my] first year that, the Reign have had a record at one game over, one game under, or with the new organization, had a great group of guys as my teammates exactly at .500 in 23 of their last 25 games. here and obviously Dusty [Imoo] and Stutts [Mike Stothers] as my coaches. I think the best part of that All-Star experience was getting the It’ll be a dogfight down the stretch, and there’s no game that won’t be call from Stutts, telling me I made it. It was just really special, because important for Ontario. you could feel how much Stutts cares and that was really cool. Big LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.20.2020 moment for sure.”

I Like The Way You Roster Move

A different All-Star related event, the NHL’s All-Star Break, has slotted a pair of forwards down to the Reign in advance of tomorrow’s game. Matt Luff and Jaret Anderson-Dolan were assigned earlier this afternoon, and common logic would pencil them into tomorrow’s Ontario lineup against the Condors.

Both players are contributors, with Luff bringing 10 points (3-7-10) from 15 games played, which ranks second on the active Reign roster in points-per-game. Anderson-Dolan, who made his season NHL debut nine days prior, has 19 points (5-14-19) in his rookie season, which leads the Reign in assists and ranks second in points, behind only Martin Frk.

Speaking of Frk, well, he’s on a tear. Frk has goals in four straight games, points in eight straight games on home ice and, in a stat that you won’t find in any record book, he has scored a goal in the last eight Reign games that I have been in attendance for. He can Frk’n score, everyone knows that, but as Stothers puts it, he brings a lot more to this Reign team than just goals.

“He plays with a lot of passion, he plays with a lot of energy,” Stothers said. “He led our team in hits tonight too, so you’re right, he’s way more than just a goalscorer. He competes and it’s infectious on everybody else. You can see the guy loves to play, he just loves being around the rink, he loves being on the ice and he’s pretty darn skilled. He’s more than just a shooter, he can make plays, he makes things happen and that’s what a guy that’s got a few years of experience should be doing, he’s supposed to make the players around him better.”

With the Reign short on forwards, Frk has been double-shifted as of late. He’s skated on the right side with Carl Grundstrom and Gabriel Vilardi on the first line, but has pulled double duty with Boko Imama and Lance Bouma last weekend, and Johan Sodergran and Mason Bergh this weekend. Frk is known for his goalscoring ability, but his play over the past two weeks has elevated the play of those around him as well, the mark of an impactful player, not a one-dimensional one.

Specifically Pacific 1171950 Los Angeles Kings

WAKING UP WITH THE KINGS: JANUARY 19

JON ROSENJANUARY 19, 2020

Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel were the generational prizes available for winners of the 2015 draft lottery, a raffle the LA Kings owned a low- probability ticket for by virtue of an unsatisfying outcome in which they failed to qualify for the playoffs on the penultimate game of the season. They didn’t end up using that pick, ultimately trading it at the draft as part of a large package for Milan Lucic. But enough time has passed to rely on admittedly empty and easy hindsight and look not at the brilliant stars at the top of the draft, but rather the tremendous depth and talent that would’ve been available at 13. I know, I know. Jake Debrusk went 14th, Matthew Barzal two selections later. Kyle Connor, whom Los Angeles was starry-eyed over, was selected 17th, Thomas Chabot 18th, Brock Boeser 23rd and then Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny at 24. I profiled Konecny in Royal Lineage that summer mostly out of obligation because his average projection in a number of mock drafts fell right around 13. But in preparation for the draft, it became very clear that an endgame in which the 5-foot-10 Konecny was drafted by L.A. was unrealistic as the Kings’ thrust at the time was still size and strength and grinding and a number of attributes that align with Dean Lombardi referencing Lucic as his Clark Gillies when sharing the trade’s impetus. The very attributes and visions and structure that Dean stuck to his guns on won the LA Kings two Stanley Cups. No other Kings GM has won one. Any sort of hypothetical trade-off would be made 100% of the time, obviously. But bereft of talented youth, L.A. fell farther behind in individual speed and skill and waited longer than other teams before making a concerted push to replenish its pipeline. Konecny, now 22, scored twice on Saturday and is the co-leading scorer of a team currently in a playoff position. All five goals scored on Saturday came from first round draft picks. Related, Los Angeles used only two first round picks from 2011-16, missing out on acquiring top talent that’s now primarily between the age of 21 and 26. Their six leading scorers are all 26 and older. We can talk about the team’s improved pace and their buy-in and how hard they’ve worked and adapted. That is still valid and evident in the way they play a good majority of the time. But it’s going to take time, Insiders. Unless you’re Drew Doughty, it takes time for “high draft pick” to turn into “prospect” and then into “effective NHL player.”

What else would you like to know about this game? The Kings went 0-2 both on the power play and on the penalty kill and lost by three goals. The five-on-five play didn’t favor Los Angeles, either, regardless of what the xGF% read. The Flyers attacked hard areas around the net, forced turnovers that they capitalized on and were perfect on special teams. There were lapses, there were extended periods in which L.A. was pushed back in their own end and failed to generate the types of looks Philadelphia was able to. The past two losses irked Todd McLellan. He was visibly upset with lapses in detail in Florida and the costly mistakes in Philadelphia and spoke of a result “that’s what we deserved” against the Flyers. It’s disappointing punctuation of the team’s play prior to the bye week and particularly pronounced given that the trip began with a win in Vegas and then a strong performance in a loss at Carolina before they were unable to hold a late lead at Tampa Bay. While there have been noticeable and important advances in tempo and the needle has moved forward, as the saying goes, they’ve still got to play a virtually flawless road game to give themselves a chance. There have been narrower margins for error amidst a challenging recent schedule, but the Kings didn’t come very close to those margins against the Flyers.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171951 Minnesota Wild

Wild-Florida game preview

JANUARY 19, 2020 — 10:04PM

Sarah McLellan

7 P.M. VS. FLORIDA • XCEL ENERGY CENTER • FSN PLUS, 100.3-FM

After blowout, two against the East

Preview: The Wild plays its first of two in a row against the Eastern Conference when it takes on the Panthers. On Saturday, the team posted a second consecutive victory by routing the Stars 7-0, the biggest home rout in franchise history. The seven goals were the most the Wild scored since it had a season-high eight Dec.19 in Arizona. C Mikko Koivu missed Saturday’s game because of an illness. D Brad Hunt has also been sick.

Players to WATCH: Panthers G Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves Saturday in a 4-1 victory over Detroit after missing two games because of an upper-body injury. LW Jonathan Huberdeau has 27 points in his past 15 games. … Wild G Alex Stalock is 7-1-1 with a .924 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against average at home. LW Jason Zucker tallied a season-high three points Saturday vs. the Stars.

Numbers: The Wild has scored eight power-play goals in the past eight games. LW Zach Parise has four goals in his past three games. … Florida has won eight of its past 11. The Panthers went 7-for-7 on the penalty kill Saturday in Detroit.

Injuries: Panthers D MacKenzie Weegar (upper body) is out.

Star Tribune LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171952 Minnesota Wild The team has committed only three penalties over the past two games after racking up 12 in the two before that. And the power play has tied the season’s best run by scoring in three consecutive outings, with the three goals scored Saturday (in three opportunities) the most in a game this Wild looks for rout to become springboard season.

Just days earlier, the Wild’s returns in these areas were cause for concern. By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune JANUARY 19, 2020 — 10:46PM Now they’re sources of optimism, with the team trying to settle the

seesaw that is the day-to-day grind in the NHL to remain on the upswing. Muffing its lineup card before getting steamrolled on national television to “That’s the way this league works,” winger Jason Zucker said. “There are continue a winless streak was a debacle that could have haunted the so many great teams, and we feel like we’re one of them. There’s good Wild. stretches and bad stretches. We just have to balance those as best we But if there ever was a way to move that 7-3 mess Tuesday at Pittsburgh can.” to the back seat, the team might have discovered it Saturday. Star Tribune LOADED: 01.20.2020 By dominating the Stars 7-0, the Wild posted its most lopsided victory at Xcel Energy Center in franchise history and tied the team record for largest margin of victory overall — bookending a whirlwind week with polar-opposite performances.

“It’s an emotional roller coaster every day,” center Ryan Donato said. “One day you can be down in the dumps and the next day feel like you’re on top of the world.”

Bouncing back did little to improve the Wild’s station in the standings, with the team still seven points shy of a playoff spot in the Western Conference ahead of hosting the Panthers on Monday, but it did illustrate how fleeting momentum — good or bad — can be in the NHL.

And that has given the Wild hope this mini-turnaround can spark the long-term U-turn the team is seeking.

AARON LAVINSKY, STAR TRIBUNE

Wild left winger Jason Zucker, left, celebrated with right winger Mats Zuccarello after Zuccarello's second-period goal in a 7-0 rout of the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

“It’s too early to say, ‘Everything’s going to go wonderful,’ because it’s only been two in a row for a team that needs to win more,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “But it’s a start.”

A methodical 3-2 takedown of the Lightning on Thursday night was sandwiched between the two extremes and at 2-1, the week looks ho- hum in the grand scheme of the season.

In reality, the stretch could emerge as a turning point for the Wild — especially if the team is able to maintain the quality that enabled it to rebound from that letdown to the Penguins.

“It’s easy to lose in this league. It’s tougher to win,” Boudreau said. “But if you start doing good habits and good habits occur all the time, then you’re going to be successful. And the one little run we’ve had so far, we had all those good habits. Those are the video clips that I’ve been showing of what we did when we were successful.”

After dismantling Tampa Bay and Dallas, the coaches have fresh material to work with instead of rehashing the 11-game point streak and five consecutive victories from November and December.

And the catalyst for this two-game reprieve seems clear.

“It starts with defending,” Wild defenseman Carson Soucy said. “[If] we’re coming out of our zone clean, we’re going to get rushes. We’re going to have the puck a little more and get that confidence going.”

Goaltending has helped set this tone, with backup Alex Stalock stopping 45 of 47 shots in the past two victories and recording his seventh career shutout Saturday.

His breakaway stop against the Stars’ Denis Gurianov in the first period was especially key because the Wild ultimately deposited that save in Dallas’ net, moving the puck the other direction and opening the scoring on defenseman Jared Spurgeon’s shot.

“That was obviously huge, a big momentum swing, and we took advantage of it,” Soucy said.

Not only has a better defensive posture enabled the Wild to spend more time in the offensive zone, reigniting an offense that had gone stagnant, but special-teams play has also responded. 1171953 Minnesota Wild

Wild winger Ryan Donato looks like odd-man out — and doesn’t want to be

By DANE MIZUTANI | PUBLISHED: January 19, 2020 at 3:57 pm | UPDATED: January 19, 2020 at 4:18 PM

At least Ryan Donato had a few hours to prepare for his spot start this time around.

After readying himself to be a healthy scratch for Saturday’s game against the Dallas Stars, Donato got word from coach Bruce Boudreau that he was being inserted into the lineup because captain Mikko Koivu had come down with an illness.

It was a little different than earlier this week when a lineup card snafu forced Donato to hurriedly get dressed with the game already underway.

“Yeah,” Donato said a laugh. “It was actually a lot different.”

That much was clear based on the way Donato played as the Wild earned a convincing 7-0 win over the Stars.

He centered the fourth line, flanked by wingers Jordan Greenway and Ryan Hartman, and was extremely active both offensively and defensively.

“I just tried to show up in both ends,” Donato said. “In that fourth line spot, I’ve got to be able to play a little physical, and then try to create some offense when I can. I know I have a certain role in that spot. Just trying to get a little bit of both.”

Even better, Donato scored a goal in the game, showcasing his silky mitts midway through the game with a smooth backhander that beat goaltender Anton Khudonbin.

If Donato looked extra motivated on that particular night, it’s because he was.

He’s no dummy. He knows he’s the odd-man out again up front considering he was supposed to be a healthy scratch twice this week. And he wants to change that perception moving forward.

“Obviously, Mikko is a great asset for our team and it was tough to see him out,” Donato said. “hat said, when somebody goes down, the next guy has to step up. I was lucky to be able to get to know (I was playing) this time. And I think that’s the type of game I can always play.”

Asked whether he would consider playing Donato in Monday’s game against the Florida Panthers, and possibly scratching someone like Victor Rask, Boudreau sidestepped the question.

As much as he was impressed with Donato’s effort, he noted that he probably wouldn’t make any drastic lineup changes amid a winning streak.

No matter what, Donato vowed to be patient, trying his best not to put too much stock into a good game or a bad game.

“The biggest lesson I learned since becoming a pro hockey player is that it’s an emotional rollercoaster every day,” Donato said. “You can be down in the dumps and the next day feel on top of the world. You just have to stay as even-keeled as possible. That’s what I’m going to do.”

Pioneer Press LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171954 Minnesota Wild Fly” for the past four years, was also a host for Hockey Day 2019 in Bemidji. But when 2020 host site was announced to be Minneapolis, she knew she wanted to make a repeat appearance.

‘It’s great to be a part of it’: Sights and sounds from Hockey Day “I really wanted to (come back this year) because Minneapolis is real Minnesota home for me,” Hersch, who’s from Champlin, said. “I knew I could bring the baby (8-month-old son Brooks) and see my parents. I made a little trip out of it. My husband’s here, my baby’s here with my parents — I told them to stay home because it’s too cold — but just everything, it’s so By Jessi Pierce Jan 19, 2020 great.”

Taft left FSN six years ago to pursue an unknown with the new Fox The big city provided the backdrop, with the faintest hint of the Sports 1 (now known as FS1). She has covered a wide gamut of sports Spoonbridge and Cherry covered in snow in the Minneapolis Sculpture and events for the network, including motocross, college football, and Garden, and a light snowfall leftover from Friday’s storm completed the World Cups. Taft also recently expanded into a moderator role on final bit of ambiance. “Undisputed” alongside Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe.

For the first time in its 14-year history, Hockey Day Minnesota had come But, none of them are hockey. Which made coming back for Hockey Day to Minneapolis. Minnesota a no-brainer for the former Edina varsity player.

Sure, the 11 degrees at times felt more like minus-16 with windchill (“My “I think what I love the most about hockey is I feel like it’s a part of me,” face was real cold through most of this,” Blake coach and 1980 U.S. said Taft. “My brother played, my dad played, and my husband (2018 Olympian Rob McClanahan commented after his team’s 3-2 win over U.S. Olympian and former professional player Matt Gilroy) played, so to Blaine), but that’s a part of the Hockey Day atmosphere. me, it felt like hockey was family, and it felt so close to me.”

From Thursday’s start to Saturday’s Wild finish, players and fans braved Hersch shares a similar feeling about returning to the place where her the weather for Hockey Day 2020 at Parade Stadium. The event story began. expanded on Hockey Days past, brought a couple homegrown sports “It’s so special every time I’m back,” she said. “To know that I’ve been broadcasting stars back home for the day and put its own Minneapolis gone four and a half years already, to have so many people tweeting mark on each game and storyline. their support or sending me letters in the mail, it’s really great to have Here are a few snapshots from this year’s State of Hockey holiday. that support. I feel Minnesota has always been proud of their own in whatever atmosphere, and the fact that I can come home and see fans Hockey Day firsts who say, ‘I remember watching you do Wild and Twins,’ it’s just so special.” Minneapolis Hockey may have been the home team to kick off games on Saturday, but it looked as though the entire community of Warroad Friday’s special events caravanned south. Capitalizing on the Hockey Day extension which began with girl’s high “It’s probably pretty quiet in Warroad today,” Warroad coach Jay school games on Thursday, two new events were added to the plump-full Hardwick said of the team’s first-ever appearance in Hockey Day, which Hockey Day roster. The State of Hockey Women’s All-Star game and ended up being a 5-1 victory over Minneapolis. “I know there was I think NHL Alumni Games on Friday forged on despite the weather. eight of our youth teams and numerous other people down here. I looked up in the stands and it was all black and gold and red, white and blue Female members with ties to either a U.S. Olympic team, the Minnesota (Warroad school and hockey association colors), so it was great to see Whitecaps or the University of Minnesota braved the elements, struggling all the Warroad community down here supporting us. to work the puck up the ice with Friday’s heavy snowfall.

“Hockey Day has been going on for a long time, and I’ve been asked By the time the NHL alumni game rolled around at 7, the snow had every year, ‘When’s Warroad going to be in it? When’s Warroad going to petered off and players of North Stars lore (like Gordie Roberts, Joe host it?’ And now to finally be in it and be a part of it, it is special, and I Dziedzic, Reed Larson, Brian Lawton) and household names (Mike think the kids really enjoyed themselves, and the fans really enjoyed Modano, Ryan Carter, Darby Hendrickson) put on a show for the crowd themselves. It’s one of those things that it doesn’t really hit you until next that remained. year maybe when Hockey Day is on and the kids will look back and say, Each game served as a reminder to the talent has been produced in ‘Hey, that was us last year. It’s great to be a part of it.” Minnesota — and that some of those old-timers could still play (even if The top-ranked Gopher women’s hockey squad also enjoyed a Hockey they paid for it the next morning). Day first, concluding games at the outdoor rink with a 2-1 win over No. 5 The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 Ohio State on Saturday.

“Definitely the three points are huge,” Gophers Sydney Scobee told FSN’s Marney Gellner postgame as Minnesota now faces two road games against No. 2 Wisconsin. “A little chilly. I was skating a lot of laps … the toes are real numb but everything else was OK. A lot of fun, ton of fun.”

A happy, chilly homecoming

Jenny Taft didn’t necessarily forget how cold it was in Minnesota. She maybe just didn’t remember how necessary thick — really thick — boots can be in January winter.

“I (felt) so good and warm, until my ankles. I did not bring the right shoes,” Taft said with a laugh. “I just totally dropped the ball. I feel embarrassed by it. What I decided on were not the right choice, so my mom gave me hers for now. It’s good to have your parents close by.”

Taft, an Edina native and former Fox Sports North reporter turned Fox Sports 1 host, left the warmth of L.A. in favor of the cold in Minnesota as a part of FSN’s star-studded broadcast team on Hockey Day Minnesota. She was joined by fellow FSN alum and Minnesota native Jamie Hersch in a triumphant return to the Hockey Day broadcast team.

Hersch, who parlayed her former Twins, Wild and Hockey Day coverage into full-time hockey broadcast duties with the NHL Network’s “On the 1171955 Montreal Canadiens

Cousins scores twice, Tatar records shootout winner as Canadiens edge Knights 5-4

THE CANADIAN PRESS

PUBLISHED 1 DAY AGO

UPDATED JANUARY 18, 2020

Tomas Tatar scored in the fourth round of the shootout as the Montreal Canadiens held on for the dramatic 5-4 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night.

Nick Cousins, with two, Ilya Kovalchuk and Joel Armia scored in regulation for the Canadiens (22-21-7), who have won four of their last five games. Carey Price made 31 saves for his fourth consecutive victory.

Jonathan Marchessault, Paul Stastny, Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith replied for the Golden Knights (25-20-6) in their second game under new coach Peter DeBoer. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28-of-32 shots in defeat.

Down 4-2, Vegas scored twice in the game’s final two minutes to force overtime with Fleury on the bench for the extra skater.

Pacioretty scored against his former team with a shot from the blue line through traffic with 1:57 remaining.

Smith scored the equalizer with eight seconds on the clock when he tipped Stastny’s shot past Price. The Canadiens goaltender smashed his stick against his post in anger.

Fleury made highlight-reel saves on Phillip Danault and Kovalchuk on odd-man rushes in overtime to force a shootout, where Kovalchuk and Tatar scored.

Claude Julien’s men improved to 10-12-4 at home.

Montreal took a commanding 3-0 lead on nine shots after the first 20 minutes.

The Canadiens went ahead at 5:51 on Cousins’ sixth of the year. Weise sent a backhand pass from behind the net to Cousins, who slid the puck under Fleury’s outstretched pad.

Kovalchuk was coming off a two-goal performance in Montreal’s 4-1 victory in Philadelphia on Thursday and he added another to his total.

The 36-year-old scored his fourth in a Canadiens uniform to double the lead at 12:33. Fleury denied Kovalchuk’s initial shot in close but he couldn’t stop the Russian’s second effort.

The goal was Kovalchuk’s first at Bell Centre since 2011. His first three goals since joining Montreal came on the road.

The home team went up 3-0 when Armia deflected Brett Kulak’s shot and beat Fleury five-hole for his career-high 13th of the season.

The Golden Knights scored twice in the second period to come within one.

An unmarked Marchessault tallied from the slot on a pass from Smith behind the net at 9:08.

Ben Chiarot and Armia were unable to clear their crease and the veteran Stastny jammed a loose puck past Price to make it 3-2 at 14:47.

Cousins scored his second of the game on a 2-on-1 with Weise at 9:40 of the third to give Montreal at 4-2 advantage. Fleury overcommitted to the shot but Weise passed to Cousins instead for his seventh of the season.

Globe And Mail LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171956 Montreal Canadiens Sign the man, Marc. Is there a risk to signing a player who will be 37 in April for another two or

three seasons? Of course, there is. Jack Todd: Ilya Kovalchuk is fire on ice. The Canadiens need to keep Is there any other player on the roster or in the pipeline who might give him you what Kovalchuk does? Of course, there isn’t.

We can hold out hope for Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Ryan Poehling, JACK TODD, SPECIAL TO MONTREAL GAZETTE Updated: January Jesperi “K.O.” Kotkaniemi — but let’s face it: not one of them, on the best 19, 2020 day of his career, will be able to bring what Kovalchuk brings to the ice.

It’s been said the Canadiens should flip Kovalchuk for a second-round draft pick or maybe a late first-rounder before the trade deadline. Why? Sign the man, Marc Bergevin. Because they don’t already have enough prospects in Laval?

This is your chance, Marc. You have to make the call and you have to As my late great and good friend Red Fisher used to say: “Show me who make it now. gets off the bus.” By that, he meant real players. Players like those Red covered, from the Rocket through the Flower. Special players, In an extraordinary stroke of luck, a generational talent named Ilya extraordinary talents. Like Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk has fallen into your lap. He was supposed to be finished. He isn’t. From what we have seen, Kovalchuk appears capable of playing at Sign the man, Marc. No fooling around, no half-hearted offers. If any of an elite level for at least two more seasons. the doom-and-gloom buzzards that are always circling this team bitch about it, I’ll remind them they’ve been screaming for a transformational Here’s the situation, Marc. You have three players now on the roster who talent like M. Kovalchuk for the past 40 years. are headed for the Hockey Hall of Fame: Carey Price, Shea Weber and Kovalchuk. Your plan was to develop players from among an impressive It’s time. Sign the man. list of young talent and hope they matured in time to make a serious Stanley Cup run while Price and Weber are still young enough to lead the Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.20.2020 way.

But what if you can add a guy who has 440 career goals and 427 assists despite spending five seasons in the KHL? Can you be flexible enough to change the plan in mid-stride and to take advantage of a rare gift from the hockey gods?

If you’re not going to make a bold move to sign the man, Marc, then you should trade him before the deadline.

That would be a mistake, as would trading him and hoping to re-sign him in the offseason. The man is here now. Don’t let him get away. Luck only matters if you take advantage of it. That’s why you have salary-cap room, right? For flexibility? You’ve been roasted for it, but cap room has its uses. Use that flexibility to get the man’s signature on the dotted line.

This time, no pussyfooting around. No waiting until July and making a half-hearted “first come, first served” offer. Go for it. If you believe Kovalchuk is a truly dynamic force on the ice, if you agree it’s the equivalent of adding a 36-year-old Alex Ovechkin to your roster, then get it done. He will put fans in the seats, goals in the nets and points in the standings.

Will it be enough to carry this team to the playoffs in the spring? Probably not. But he’s already signed for this spring. You’re looking at the next two or three seasons, that window before Price and Weber can no longer carry a team, and you’re getting an extraordinary player — a player who wants to be here.

It’s impossible to emphasize that enough. Some guys wilt in the pressure of Montreal. Others were born to play here. Kovalchuk is one of those: to him, the atmosphere at the Bell Centre is pure oxygen.

There have been a number of comparisons made between Kovalchuk and Alexander Radulov, who ended up in Dallas after a free-agency fiasco. Both players are big, Russian and spent time in the KHL — but the similarity ends there.

Radulov has 134 NHL goals in his career and has never hit the 30-goal mark. Kovalchuk has topped that level eight times. He was over the 40- goal mark five consecutive years, with two 52-goal seasons. Had he remained in the NHL, in all likelihood he would already have topped the 600-goal mark.

Russians can be difficult, as any reporter who covered Alexei Yashin or Vladimir Malakhov can tell you. They can party a little too hard off the ice — Radulov himself comes to mind. They can be like Alexei Kovalev, the Enigma. One night, Kovalev would take over a game. The next night, he would sit brooding on the bench, staring at the ice as though he was a character in a Dostoyevsky novel trying to work out an existential dilemma.

Kovalev will be remembered fondly for turning the Leafs’ Darcy Tucker into a speed bump on the highway of life, but he only topped the 40-goal mark once in his career. He was not Kovalchuk, either. He was not fire on ice. 1171957 Montreal Canadiens Pretty sobering after a euphoric win just prior to the bye week, no? Then, there was this when asked what Julien will reflect on over the bye week:

“I think we realize where we are in the standings. We need a good push Setting Marc Bergevin’s bye-week calendar in light of how the Canadiens after the break.” have shown their ability to tread water Yeah, you could say that.

It has been widely reported that general manager Marc Bergevin would By Arpon Basu Jan 19, 2020 use the bye week to assess where his team is at and how he will approach the final month prior to the trade deadline. It is highly doubtful Bergevin wants our advice, but here it is anyway.

When you go through a stretch of 26 games where you win only seven Basically, don’t believe the hype. Leave the realm of the possible and times, you can’t blame a team for being excited about stringing a few enter the realm of the probable. wins together. The best-case scenario is that Price remains hot, Gallagher and Drouin That’s what the Canadiens have done. They’ve found a way to feel good and Byron return and make the Canadiens a formidable four-line team, about themselves with four wins in five games heading into their bye they win a bunch of games and pick 15th in the draft for a second year in week and the All-Star break. Again, that’s four wins in five games after a row. winning seven times in 26 games. It makes it easier for these guys to enjoy whatever vacation plans they might have, and that’s a good thing. And before you say, ‘Well, what about the St. Louis Blues last year?’ consider that the Blues, after 50 games, were three points out of a playoff “As a group obviously we needed to win some hockey games here, string spot and went 22-6-4 over their final 32 games. some together, to give ourselves a chance,” Max Domi said after a 5-4 shootout win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. “We That is not the realm of the probable. achieved that going into the break, kind of re-boot the batteries here and If we had access to Bergevin’s calendar over the bye week, here’s how come back ready to go. We put ourselves in the best spot possible going we would organize his time. into the break right now considering where we were at. Monday “We’re feeling confident, so come back, win some games and we’re right back in the mix.” Call Pat

Yeah, about that last bit. At this point, Bergevin has to at least have an idea of what Max Domi and Pat Brisson are looking for on his next contract. But if he doesn’t, then On the morning of Jan. 11, just before this little run began for the now’s the time to find out. Canadiens with an overtime win in Ottawa, they were 13th in the Eastern Conference in points and points percentage. The Canadiens will wake up Domi is 86th in scoring in the NHL with 34 points in 50 games. He’s on Sunday morning 12th in the Eastern Conference in points and 13th in pace for 55 points. If he’s looking for a salary that starts with a seven, points percentage. They were nine points out of a playoff spot on Jan. that just doesn’t fly. But he is a supremely talented offensive player, as 11. They are six points out of a playoff spot now. he demonstrated in overtime Saturday when he did this:

Over this five-game stretch in which the Canadiens have collected eight And then this: points, the teams they are chasing have basically done just as well. By winning four out of five games, the Canadiens made up two points on the The Canadiens are not exactly swimming in players who can do things Philadelphia Flyers, two on the Florida Panthers, none on the Columbus like that, so there should be interest in retaining a player like him. But Blue Jackets, four on the New York Rangers and two on the Buffalo again, if Domi’s contract aspirations are a bit too ambitious, Bergevin Sabres. It would be a stretch to say they would need to win four out of should also have interest in gauging the trade market for him, because five games the rest of the season to have any hope of making the the Canadiens are not the only team that is not exactly swimming in playoffs. But it wouldn’t be that far from the truth. players who can do things like that.

The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn has the Eastern Conference playoff Let’s be very clear: The Canadiens should only consider trading Domi at cutoff at roughly 95 points. For the Canadiens to get there over their final the deadline if his contract demands don’t align with their medium-term 32 games, they would need to collect 44 of a possible 64 points, or a salary structure and their socks get knocked off with an offer. Because .688 points percentage. So, yes, if the Canadiens continue winning four even if Domi is looking for a big-money deal, the best he can hope for if of five games from now until the end of the season, they should make the things get that far is to win his case in arbitration, and the Canadiens playoffs. But there are only three teams in the NHL who have a better would have a pretty good case to make sure his salary starts with a five if points percentage than .688 this season. it were to get to that point.

That is not meant to disparage what the Canadiens have done. They Tuesday have played very well, for the most part, over their run, and Carey Price Call Kenny finding his game is an encouraging sign. Even though he allowed four goals to the Golden Knights on Saturday, Price’s save percentage over If that conversation with Brisson doesn’t go all that well, Edmonton Oilers his last four starts is .960. Since Jan. 1 it’s .935. general manager Ken Holland should be the next call as he should see if there would be any interest in acquiring Domi to play on Connor If Price can stay hot. If Brendan Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin and Paul McDavid’s left wing. There are other calls that could be made, but that Byron come back and no one else gets injured. If Ilya Kovalchuk should be the first. The Oilers have a legitimate shot at the playoffs and continues playing like he has even if he’s moved down in a healthy could use a player who is already familiar with McDavid to play with him. lineup. If all sorts of things happen, the Canadiens can start considering In a market desperate for some sign of light at the end of the tunnel and the possibilities of a playoff berth. a division that is the epitome of being wide open, a move like that would But the reality is they are not much closer to making the playoffs today energize the city. than they were on the morning of Jan. 11. In fact, all that’s happened is Wednesday the Canadiens have gone from potentially picking sixth in the 2020 draft to being in line to pick ninth. Send a mass told-you-so email to all my colleagues

What does that mean? Claude Julien seems to know exactly what it You all thought Ilya Kovalchuk was done and laughed at me when I means. signed him for nothing? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

“We never said we gave up and the message remains that we’re going to So, now that he’s thrived in Montreal, let’s start the bidding process. If fight right to the end or until people tell us it’s really impossible,” he said you want him now, it will cost you a second-round pick at the draft I’m after the win over Vegas. “We’re a group of professional athletes paid to hosting. If you wait and he keeps putting up a point a game, it might wind do a job, and no matter what, you play the best hockey you can and up costing more. In any case, I might not be popular at home for trading that’s what we’re trying to do.” him so soon, so you better come with an offer I can defend in a market that is slowly falling in love with him in a very similar way to Alex Kovalev far before my time. So make it worth my while to take the PR hit.

Wednesday

Take a pulse of the role player market

Hey everyone! Did you see Nick Cousins on Saturday night? Now imagine that guy on your fourth line! Or even your power play as we insist on doing for some reason!

Thursday

Send out a comparative analysis of Taylor Hall and Tomas Tatar

Hall, as a pure rental, fetched the New Jersey Devils a top-three protected first-round pick, potentially another first-round pick (if the Arizona Coyotes re-sign him and win a playoff round) plus three prospects, one of whom, Kevin Bahl, projects at the very least as a player on the Devils in the next couple of years.

Tatar has 43 points this season to Hall’s 40, is under contract for one more year and has missed three games in seven years, compared to considerably more than three for Hall. I don’t need to trade him, but I could be tempted. I’m accepting offers. Blow me away.

Friday

Take stock of the reset

After gathering all that information, Bergevin can decide where his reset is at. Because the reset called for a playoff appearance this season, but there is still a potential benefit to the rest of this season in that it can advance the reset in a way that he didn’t necessarily want, but that remains valuable.

Bergevin’s goal was to expose his players to the playoffs this season. It is an important part of this reset, one that should not be discounted, but one that is not necessarily vital. NHL reps for the young players are vital. So, barring the playoffs, using the final 20 games or so to see how the youth responds in bigger roles has value. Giving more minutes to those kids has value. Allowing Julien to coach for the future rather than the present has value.

So Cale Fleury stays in the lineup. Nick Suzuki stays at centre. Jesperi Kotkaniemi gets more minutes. Ryan Poehling takes over as fourth-line centre or, if his future is deemed as a winger, he shares those increased minutes on Kotkaniemi’s wing.

The NHL is not a developmental league … unless the coach receives a directive from management to treat it as such.

And remember what the coach said Saturday night: “We never said we gave up and the message remains that we’re going to fight right to the end or until people tell us it’s really impossible.”

If the past week has told us anything, a week when the Canadiens played about as well as they could play only to tread water, it’s that it might be time for management to deliver that message.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171958 Montreal Canadiens standpoint, the strategies that we’re going to utilize to get him ready, we’re all involved in that. Everybody plays a part, from a dynamic warmup to pre-competition treatments and there’s a lot of advancements in treatment for an acute injury. Tenacious trio: Keith Yandle, Patrick Marleau, Phil Kessel chasing Doug Jarvis’ consecutive games record “Guys now are doing a lot of dry needling (similar to acupuncture) and advanced manual therapy methods whereas in the older days it was stimulation and ice which are not the most effective forms of treatment. We might get a guy feeling a lot better by putting some needles in there By Craig Morgan Jan 19, 2020 and calming things down pretty quick; bringing a lot of blood flow to the area and healing a little bit quicker. It’s a very integrated process in the preparation phase, even down to nutrition.” Doug Jarvis never missed a regular-season game in his 13-season NHL career, but the record holder for most consecutive games played (964) When Jarvis finally broke Unger’s record while playing for the Whalers, never paid much heed to his pursuit of the mark. he did it with a poetic flourish. He played his 915th consecutive regular- season game on Dec. 26, 1986, against the Montreal Canadiens, his first “I just loved to play so I wanted to be in the lineup and the games just NHL team, and the one with which he won four straight Stanley Cups added up,” he said. “I’d pass somebody on the ladder and it might get a from 1976-79 in the first four seasons of his NHL career. little bit of attention but not much, and then it would maybe be three or four years before you hit the next person until finally for me, Garry Unger “When my career was done, you look back on it and certainly I was very was the ironman leader at that time with 914 games and I finally passed grateful for the chance to play that many games and to be healthy,” him.” Jarvis said. “I don’t think any player — and I can only speak for myself — would ever want to be in a situation where if they were playing through As a senior adviser for the Vancouver Canucks, Jarvis hadn’t paid much injury they would be hurting the team. You just have that drive. You want attention to those pursuing him either, at least until recently. The to play. You want to be in the lineup and pulling your weight. uniqueness of the current chase is hard to ignore. Through Saturday’s games, three of the NHL’s seven longest all-time ironman streaks were “For those three guys now, I think it’s just a credit to their perseverance, held by active players. The Florida Panthers’ Keith Yandle (844) is fourth their desire, their hunger to play and their consistency to be in the lineup all time, the San Jose Sharks’ Patrick Marleau (834) is fifth and the night after night. That has value to their teams.” Coyotes’ Phil Kessel (825) is seventh. We caught up with the three active, aforementioned players who are “It’s starting to gain a little bit of attention now and I think it’s awesome,” chasing Jarvis’ record. Here are their thoughts on the streak. Jarvis said. “It’s great for those players to be in that kind of group. It adds Keith Yandle interest, for sure.” Current team: Florida Panthers In his stints with the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers, Jarvis had days when his playing status was in doubt. Previous teams: Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers He suffered a sprained ankle, bone contusions, and in a 1985 game at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, he had what he termed “one very serious Position: Defense situation” when he got knocked out on a big hit near the end of the game. Consecutive games played through Jan. 18: 844 “They checked me out afterward and they said, ‘You can keep on Milestones in sight: Yandle could pass Steve Larmer for third place in the playing,’” said Jarvis, who played the following night in St. Louis. “With sixth game of the 2020-21 season, pass Unger for second in the 36th concussion protocol now, I’m sure I would not have been allowed to game of that same season and he could pass Jarvis in the fourth game continue to go but at that time — we’re talking back in the ’80s — I went of the 2021-22 season. and that was the closest I came to missing a game.” Yandle has taken a lot of pucks, sticks and elbows to the face in his Better medical care, better nutrition and better training habits have career, but an incident earlier this season felt different. This time, Yandle undoubtedly helped modern-day players prepare to play in games where was actually spittin’ chiclets. it may not have been possible years ago, but there are two ways of looking at those advancements. Yandle was skating along the defensive half-wall during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Nov. 23 when a dump-in “It’s a double-edged sword,” Coyotes strength and conditioning coach deflected off teammate Sasha Barkov and struck Yandle in the mouth. J.P. Major said. “There is probably increase and decrease because with advancements in medical technology and, obviously, protection of the Yandle’s injury required more stitches than he could count, he eventually players. There are guys that probably played with concussions that lost nine teeth, there were exposed roots in his mouth, and his whole probably shouldn’t have, so guys who had ironman streaks then might head was throbbing the next day when the Panthers hosted the Buffalo not nowadays because of the advancements in medical technology and Sabres, but he wasn’t about to miss that game. Hell, he didn’t even miss diagnostics. the third period against Carolina.

“From a treatment and preparation standpoint, I’d like to think that being “Playing (Buffalo) was probably tougher than coming back (against consistent with those good habits and routines plays a large part in Carolina) because I had all the Novocain in my mouth,” Yandle said at prolonging those streaks, but I think the other underrated thing was the time. “The teeth were hurting a lot (against Buffalo).” something that I saw with guys like Shane Doan. Certain guys don’t become overly rattled or waver when they don’t have everything right. When it comes to the regular season, that may be the closest Yandle’s Doaner was just like, ‘Give me a right-handed stick and I’ll play.’ They’re consecutive-games-played streak came to ending. Believe it or not, it not people that need everything to go right for them to play. was not the worst injury he has played through on his way to the fourth- longest ironman streak in NHL history, and the longest active streak. “I think with a lot of guys nowadays, if they don’t feel 100 percent, it’s a different mentality, and that’s maybe because of a better understanding Yandle’s moment of reckoning came while playing for the New York from a medical standpoint that if the guy’s got something going on with Rangers in the 2015 playoffs, where he would not have jeopardized his his knee that might affect him long term, we might hold him out to let him streak by missing a game. recover for a couple nights vs. playing through it and rolling the dice that “I had a Grade 3 (the most severe) shoulder separation,” he said of the it gets worse and then he misses the whole season because he’s got to same injury that infamously sidelined Doan, his Coyotes teammate at the get surgery.” time, for the final four games of a first-round playoff series loss to the When a player’s status is in doubt, a lot of people weigh in before a final Detroit Red Wings in 2010. “It happened in Game 1 of the first series and decision is made. we went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals and I didn’t practice once. I was just playing in the games and trying to get ready for them. “It’s the player, the coach (Rick Tocchet), the medical director (Bob The trainers did everything. All I had to do was be able to tie my skates Luberto) and the head athletic trainer (Dave Zenobi) that are ultimately and get going.” going to make the decision whether the player plays or not,” Major said. “If we determine this guy’s going to play then from a preparation Yandle knows he is the closest of the three active players to breaking the As for the importance of the record, Kessel gave a classic Kessel stretch, but he is taking a low-key approach to the pursuit. response.

“The less I’m thinking about anything the better off it is for everyone,” he “I don’t really care about it,” he said. “If I have to miss a game for said, laughing. “My wife probably doesn’t like that about me, but I kind of something really bad, you just miss it. What are you going to do? I have just let the day unfold the way it’s going to unfold.” played a lot of games. If one of those days comes along, it is what it is. I don’t think it’s pride that gets me out there. I just want to be out there. I All the same, Yandle said he would be honored to break the record. want to play in the games. It’s fun for me.

“Anything you can accomplish along those lines, especially in the highest “I’ve been fortunate, too; lucky. Sometimes, my injuries have been bad league in the game, is obviously pretty cool,” Yandle said. but they’re not the worst thing possible, like a broken leg where you can’t Patrick Marleau move. If I can move, I’ll be out there.”

Team: San Jose Sharks The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020

Previous team: Toronto Maple Leafs

Position: Forward

Consecutive games played through Jan. 18: 834

Milestones in sight: If Yandle’s streak remains intact, Marleau could pass Steve Larmer for fourth place in the 15th game of the 2020-21 season, pass Unger in the 45th game of that same season and pass Jarvis in the 13th game of the 2021-22 season.

“I just love being out there and trying to help my team,” said Marleau, who is also 64 games shy of Gordie Howe’s all-time games played record of 1,767. “It’s way better than sitting out. I’ve always looked at it as a privilege and an honor to be able to go out, lace ’em up and try to play.”

Like his peers, Marleau has had moments when he thought the streak might end. There was the time “a rib popped out,” and there was the time in Nashville (“I can’t remember which season”) when he also suffered a shoulder separation.

“I got hit and the shoulder got pushed down and it was hard to lift my arm up the next day,” he said. “Somehow, I managed to find a way to get through it. I probably didn’t feel very good but I try to forget those things. If something like that happens, you just have to make sure you’re in the right spots defensively and trying to help your team out. You’re trying not to stick out by doing things the wrong way.”

Like Yandle, Marleau admits that any NHL record is a major accomplishment.

“I think it would be cool to look back on it and realize not too many guys have done that,” he said. “Mostly, I think how fortunate I have been to have done it for so long.”

And a little bit crazy, too?

“Yeah, I think so,” he said.

Phil Kessel

Team: Arizona Coyotes

Previous teams: Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins

Position: Forward

Consecutive games played through Jan. 18: 825

Milestones in sight: Kessel could move into sixth place on the all-time list when the Coyotes face the Bruins at TD Garden on Feb. 8. Kessel began his NHL career with the Bruins. He would pass Andrew Cogliano, whose streak (830) was broken by a two-game suspension last season.

Kessel said there have been several times where his body was in disagreement with his decision-making.

“I can think of a few,” he said. “I don’t want to share them, but there have been instances where I probably shouldn’t have played and I did. It is what it is. I’m a competitive person. I want to win and I want to help the team. I just love to play the game. I always think I can help so I want to be out there.”

It’s no secret that Kessel was dinged earlier this season, playing through a groin injury that had an impact on his skating.

“I’m fortunate. I have been with good coaches who let me see how I feel at game time and let me make the call,” he said. “I would say it was hard on a couple of occasions, but I know a lot of guys who play through injuries, broken bones and stuff.” 1171959 New Jersey Devils Nate Schnarr, who also joined Binghamton in that trade, has one goal and four assists in 10 games.

Star Ledger LOADED: 01.20.2020 Devils notes: Mackenzie Blackwood was out with a concussion; Why Travis Zajac, Blake Coleman got power-play time

Posted Jan 19, 2020

By Chris Ryan

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Devils entered their bye week following a 5-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at Nationwide Arena.

Before the Devils go off the grid for a week away from the ice, here are some notes from around the team, from Mackenzie Blackwood’s recent injury, a shakeup on the power play and a look at what prospect Nick Merkley has done in the AHL.

Blackwood was out with a concussion

Last week proved to be a rough one for Blackwood. After losing four teeth when a puck hit his mask last Tuesday against the New York Islanders, he suffered a concussion in a loss to the Rangers last Thursday. Blackwood was diagnosed after meeting with trainers following that game.

Recovery timelines for concussions vary for every injury and every player, but Blackwood was symptom-free after a few days. He skated on his own in New Jersey prior to joining the team for practice on Friday at Nationwide Arena.

Blackwood backed up Cory Schneider on Saturday before making a relief appearance, stopping 13 of the 14 shots he faced.

As for the lost teeth, Blackwood is still missing them on top of his mouth. He expects to receive replacements during the bye week.

That injury, however, wasn’t the result of the puck striking them directly. Blackwood tucked his chin into his neck to guard it during the shot — that’s how goalies are trained from a young age — and the force of the shot knocked a bar on Blackwood’s mask into his mouth, dislodging the teeth.

Why Zajac, Coleman got a chance on the power play

“We need a little bit more of an attacking mindset and those guys have been doing all the right things now for a while,” Nasreddine said. “They’ve been successful 5-on-5, and they deserve a shot in the power play. When things don’t go well, you gotta try something different. And those guys deserve it. We need production out of our power play, so we’re looking to try something different.”

Coleman has never been a fixture on the power play since breaking into the NHL, and the only extended look he got there came in the second half of the 2018-19 season, where injuries got to the point where the Devils didn’t have many options.

But when Coleman got power play time, along with some games on the top line, it pushed his average ice time closer to 20 minutes. When Coleman is at his most effective, he’s giving 110 percent every shift for his 16 or 17 minutes per game. Those additional minutes add up, and it was a factor as to why the Devils didn’t turn to him on the power play prior to Saturday.

“It’s probably the reason why we didn’t try it earlier, but he’s in terrific shape. He can take on the minutes right now,” Nasreddine said. “He’s deserving of it. Every player will tell you they’d love to play on the power play. And for us it’s trying something different, trying to get production out of our power play.”

Binghamton’s eight-game winning streak came to an end on Friday, but one of the team’s newest additions has continued to pile up points.

Nick Merkley, who was acquired in December Taylor Hall trade to the Arizona Coyotes, scored a goal and tallied an assist in a 6-5 loss to the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, pushing him to four goals and six assists for 10 points in 12 games with Binghamton.

Merkley has been getting consistent power-play time and has appeared on the top line in Binghamton. 1171960 New York Islanders

Islanders fall to Hurricanes in shootout, suffer third straight loss

ASSOCIATED PRESS |

JAN 20, 2020 | 1:09 AM

RALEIGH — On a losing streak and missing their All-Star defenseman, the Carolina Hurricanes needed a boost Sunday.

They got one from Justin Williams, who returned to the lineup and scored in the eighth round of a shootout to lift Carolina over the New York Islanders 2-1.

Williams played for the first time since helping Carolina reach the Eastern Conference final last year. He took an extended offseason, signed with the club Jan. 8 and helped it end a three-game skid in his first game back.

"It was like playoff game out there," Williams said. "That's what it felt like."

James Reimer stopped six shots in the tiebreaker for Carolina, the last against Anders Lee to lock up the win. Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen also scored in the shootout for the Hurricanes. Svechnikov had a goal in the first period.

Carolina Hurricanes' Justin Williams shoots the puck past Thomas Greiss during the shootout.

Lee scored in the second period and Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier connected in the shootout for New York, but the Islanders lost their third straight.

Reimer made 26 saves, none bigger than denying Barzal on a breakaway with 2:51 left in the third period.

"We had some chances," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "Their goaltender had some good saves. That was a playoff-style game."

Thomas Greiss turned away 31 shots for New York and was particularly sharp in the third period. He stopped Carolina's Ryan Dzingel midway through the period on a close-range shot and saved Joel Edmundson's try with 1:59 left.

Lee had two prime chances in the second period but was denied by Reimer.

"(Reimer) was great," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "All of the sudden it opened up at the end there. There were a lot of grade-A looks for both groups. He stood his ground."

Hamilton broke his leg in Thursday's loss at Columbus. He's expected to be out for two to three months.

Williams, who helped the Hurricanes win the 2006 Stanley Cup and won two more with the Los Angeles Kings in his 19-year career, has been practicing with the team and provided an emotional lift. He played 13:06 on the fourth line and said he was unusually nervous.

"I've played over 1,200 of these," Williams said. "I was like, 'All right Justin, get real here, you can do this.'"

Brind'Amour tabbed Williams after Svechnikov and Teravainen beat Greiss in the shootout but five others Carolina players couldn't.

"He had a good game," Brind'Amour said. "So he was definitely a guy I was going to throw out there. It was just a matter of when."

Williams was able to beat Greiss through the five-hole, and Reimer made it stand.

“He’s a calming presence,” Reimer said. “He’s got that experience and then he can score big goals. It’s great to have him back.”

New York Daily News LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171961 New York Islanders

Islanders’ skid hits three in shootout loss to Hurricanes

By Associated PressJanuary 19, 2020 | 9:14pm | Updated

RALEIGH, N.C. — Justin Williams returned to the lineup and scored in the shootout to lift the Carolina Hurricanes over Islanders 2-1 Sunday.

James Reimer stopped six shots in the tiebreaker for Carolina, the last against Anders Lee to lock up the win. Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen also scored in the shootout for the Hurricanes. Svechnikov had a goal in the first period.

The Hurricanes ended a three-game skid thanks to Williams, the 38-year- old who took an extended break after leading Carolina to last year’s Eastern Conference final. He scored in the eighth round of the shootout.

Lee scored in regulation, and Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier connected in the shootout for the Islanders, but they lost their third straight.

“We had some chances,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “Their goaltender had some good saves. That was a playoff-style game.”

Reimer made 26 saves, none bigger than denying Barzal on a breakaway with 2:51 left in the third period.

“[Reimer] was great,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “All of the sudden it opened up at the end there. There were a lot of grade-A looks for both groups. He stood his ground.”

Thomas Greiss turned away 31 shots for the Islanders and was particularly sharp in the third period. He stopped Carolina’s Ryan Dzingel midway through the period on a close-range shot and then saved Joel Edmundson’s try with 1:59 left.

Lee had two prime chances in the second period but was denied by Reimer. Finally, Lee was able to finish a rebound with 55 seconds left in the period.

Svechnikov gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 5:45 in the first period. Brett Pesce fed Svechnikov in the right circle for a one-timer. Svechnikov’s shot broke an Islanders defenseman’s stick before ricocheting past Greiss.

The Hurricanes were hoping to get a boost with the return of Williams. The 38-year-old right winger signed on Jan. 8 and has been practicing with the team since.

After All-Star defenseman Dougie Hamilton broke his leg Thursday at Columbus, the Hurricanes needed an emotional boost. He provided that and then the decider in the shootout.

The Islanders’ Josh Bailey left in the second period with what the team called an illness

New York Post LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171962 New York Islanders

Barry Trotz unhappy with Devon Toews' 'mocking' of Evgeny Kuznetsov's celebration

By Andrew Gross

Updated January 20, 2020 1:16 AM

RALEIGH, N.C. — Barry Trotz doesn’t like some of the “individual mindsets” he’s seen lately from the Islanders rather than a team mindset. And he certainly didn’t like defenseman Devon Toews “mocking” Evgeny Kuznetsov’s unique, bird-like goal celebration.

“I didn’t have a conversation with [Trotz] but I’m not happy with myself either,” Toews told Newsday after the Islanders’ strong, team-oriented effort in a 2-1, eight-round shootout loss to the Hurricanes on Sunday at PNC Arena.

The Islanders lost to the Capitals, 6-4, on Saturday afternoon at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum. Toews, capping a career-high three-point performance, scored to give the Islanders a 4-1 lead at 17:25 of the second period. He then flapped his arms and raised one leg, as Kuznetsov does.

“It’s not who I am,” Toews said. “I’m not trying to disrespect anyone. We lost that game and that’s the most important part of that. We sort of collapsed in the third period for whatever reasons. I carry a lot of that on my shoulders.”

Trotz made his critical comments before seeing how well the Islanders responded on Sunday.

“Our mindset has to be all team and we’ve got some individual mindsets that are ahead of the team right now,” Trotz said. “We addressed them today, seriously.

“I didn’t like some of the antics,” added Trotz, who culminated four seasons as the Capitals’ coach by leading them to the Stanley Cup in 2018. “Mocking Kuznetsov.”

Sunday’s game was an example of how Trotz needs his team to play. He was unhappy that the Islanders did not play smart, structured defensive hockey Saturday with a three-goal lead.

“It was a little bit immature on our part,” Trotz said. “Last year, we were dialed in there. This year, we’re not dialed in there in trying to accept what we really are.”

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171963 New York Islanders scratches . . . Trotz said Bailey was feeling under the weather before the game but believed he could play through it.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.20.2020 Islanders get a point but fall to Hurricanes in shootout

By Andrew Gross

Updated January 20, 2020 12:41 AM

RALEIGH, N.C. — The response was as important as getting a needed point.

The Islanders lost to the Hurricanes, 2-1, in an eight-round shootout on Sunday at PNC Arena after allowing five goals in the third period of a 6-4 loss to the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals on Saturday afternoon at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum.

“We take a lot of pride in what we do,” Anders Lee said. “It was just a sour feeling [Saturday] night that I don’t think is going to sit well with anyone. That stung and we have to come together as a group and individually to rise up out of some adversity like we saw [Saturday]. I think we did a great job of that tonight. It’s a shootout loss, but we took a step forward.”

The third-place Islanders (28-15-5), who got 31 saves from Thomas Greiss in a sterling performance, are in a 1-3-2 skid as they complete a stretch of seven games in 11 days on Tuesday night against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

The Islanders played one forward short the second half of the game after Josh Bailey left for the dressing room at 9:32 of the second period because of illness.

Justin Williams, back with the Hurricanes after sitting out the first half of the season as he contemplated retirement, scored the deciding shootout goal and James Reimer (26 saves) stopped Lee’s last-chance attempt.

Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Islanders in the first three rounds of the shootout. Both Brock Nelson and Casey Cizikas had the puck go off their sticks on their shootout attempts on the choppy ice surface and did not get off a shot.

The Hurricanes (28-18-3) moved within two points of the Islanders.

“I didn’t have any problem,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “We had some chances. Their goaltender had some good saves. That was a playoff-style game.”

The Hurricanes, of course, swept the Islanders in the second round of last season’s playoffs.

“It’s just a good hockey game overall,” Barzal said. “Any time you come into this barn, it seems like a playoff game. There was no room out there. But we kept it simple and it paid off. It’s unfortunate about the shootout, but those are two top teams going at it.”

“It’s always tough,” defenseman Devon Toews said of not earning the second point. “But we felt like we played a good game. If we play that way every single night, we’re going to win a lot of hockey games. It’s unfortunate because we felt we got some good looks. Shootouts are a toss-up and Greisser gave us chance after chance there.”

Greiss made perhaps his best save at 8:12 of the third period, sliding to his left to deny Ryan Dzingel on an odd-man rush feed from Martin Necas. But both teams had chances to end it in regulation.

Greiss made back-to-back hard saves on Andrei Svechnikov and Nino Niederreiter at 14:36 of the third period and Reimer denied Barzal’s backhander on a breakaway at 17:10.

The Islanders tied the score at 1-1 with 55.9 seconds to go in the second period as Lee swooped in for a loose puck at the crease.

Svechnikov’s shot from the right circle over Greiss’ right shoulder had given the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 5:45 of the first period.

Notes & quotes: Defenseman Nick Leddy logged 23:20 in his 700th NHL game . . . Matt Martin played after needing stitches to his right ear as he was hit by a puck late in the pregame warm-ups . . . Defenseman Sebastian Aho and Ross Johnston were the healthy 1171964 New York Rangers Shesterkin made 29 saves in his third career start. He won his previous two against Colorado and New Jersey, both at home, earlier this month.

New York Daily News LOADED: 01.20.2020 Oliver Bjorkstrand rallies Blue Jackets past Rangers

By ALLAN KREDA

ASSOCIATED PRESS |

JAN 20, 2020 | 1:00 AM

The surging Columbus Blue Jackets received a dose of stellar play from a rookie goaltender and a two-goal boost from returning Oliver Bjorkstrand to forge another close victory.

Bjorkstrand scored twice, including with 26.5 seconds left, to lift the Blue Jackets over the New York Rangers 2-1 Sunday night for their fifth straight win.

Bjorkstrand came back after missing 13 games with an oblique injury. He tied it 6:08 into the third period, then put the winner past goalie Igor Shesterkin for his 14th goal of the season, finishing a 3-on-2 break with assists credited to Pierre-Luc Dubois and Seth Jones.

"It's nice to get a few goals, a big one for us,'' the 24-year-old Bjorkstrand said. "It was a game of patience where we just found a way to win it."

Columbus rookie Matiss Kivlenieks made his first NHL start and stopped 31 shots. The surging Blue Jackets are 15-2-4 since Dec. 9 and 8-1-3 in their last 12 road games.

"We were as calm as we could be,'' Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "Our goalie made key saves and our team had a lot of energy. We're just trying to ride this wave."

Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei opened the scoring at 18:23 of the first period, eight seconds after his high-sticking penalty – the only infraction called during the game – had expired. A long pass from fellow defenseman Jacob Trouba went past Skjei's outstretched stick, but he managed to scoop up the ricochet off the boards and beat Kivlenieks for his seventh goal. Trouba had the only assist.

Blue Jackets right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand restrains Brendan Lemieux as a fight breaks out with Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois and left wing Nick Foligno.

The 23-year-old Kivlenieks, from Riga, Latvia, was making his debut after fellow Latvian goalie Elvis Merzlikins blanked the New Jersey Devils 5-0 in Columbus on Saturday. Kivlenieks became the fifth Latvian goaltender to play in the NHL.

"I was a little nervous. I was trying to treat it like any other hockey game,'' Kivlenieks said. "All that matters is that we got two points. I'm really happy about it.''

The Rangers were coming off two straight wins over the Islanders, 3-2 at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday and a 6-2 drubbing Madison Square Garden on Monday. This performance against another division rival proved frustrating, leaving coach David Quinn vexed as his young club tries to stay in the playoff race.

"We pretty much got what we deserved when the night ended,'' Quinn said.

Kivlenieks, who was 7-7-2 with AHL Cleveland this season, played a strong second period. He denied Tony DeAngelo and Brendan Smith on point-blank chances in front. He also kept former Blue Jacket Artemi Panarin – who leads the Rangers with 68 points in his first season since leaving Columbus as a free agent – from getting on the scoresheet.

"Honestly I still can't believe it happened. It's always been a dream'' a beaming Kivlenieks added after making 14 saves in the third period. "The guys played really great in front of me."

With the win, the Blue Jackets moved within one point of the third-place Islanders in the Metropolitan Division, remarkable considering where they were in the standings just over a month ago.

"We're just taking it day by day and game by game,'' said Jones, who leads Columbus with 22 assists. "We're playing with confidence." 1171965 New York Rangers

Brendan Lemieux promptly promoted in Rangers return

By Brett CyrgalisJanuary 20, 2020 | 1:38am

Brendan Lemieux couldn’t talk his way into the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Islanders. But once he did get back in, making his return from a nine-game absence with a broken left hand, Lemieux played his way onto the top line.

The rugged winger played all of the third period with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, taking the spot of Pavel Buchnevich for the Rangers’ last- minute 2-1 loss to the Blue Jackets on Sunday night at the Garden.

“I don’t put too much weight on when I walk in here what the lineup sheet looks like,” Lemieux said. “I know I’m going to get an opportunity to play every night. Tonight was just another example of that, playing with our best player, Mika. It’s always an opportunity.

“It sucks you couldn’t get the win. I wanted to play tonight, I wanted to help be part of getting in the playoffs, keep winning around here. It sucks to get back in and not win. So it’s a bad taste in my mouth.”

Lemieux broke his hand when he was hit with a puck in a game against the Hurricanes on Dec. 27. He practiced with the team twice, and started the game on the fourth line with Greg McKegg and Brendan Smith, bumping Micheal Haley from the lineup.

“I felt good, considering it’s been a while. I had good legs,” Lemieux said. “Obviously the playing and adjusting to the speed of the game isn’t easy, but considering how long I was out, I felt pretty good.”

Coach David Quinn explained the flip as partially a result of Buchnevich battling the flu over the past week or so.

“Buchie has been sick, just didn’t think he had it tonight, especially at the end of the second period,” Quinn said. “Lemieux had energy. That’s normally what happens when you come back from injury — you play at a pace.”

Quinn seemed to be lobbying for John Tortorella as the Jack Adams Award winner, as the former Rangers coach had his team in playoff position despite dealing with a rash of injuries and a summer when Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky both left as free agents.

“Torts has done a phenomenal job,” Quinn said before the game. “They just keep chugging along. That’s certainly a testament to the job he’s done.”

Quinn used his fourth line more than usual, with McKegg getting 8:41 of ice time and Smith getting 9:17 (with 1:31 as a defenseman on the penalty kill). Buchnevich finished with 15:50, but only 2:51 in the third period.

New York Post LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171966 New York Rangers past 13 games. He has posted two goals (and four assists) over his past 23 matches.

And as most of the trade deadline talk has been focused on Kreider, Rangers’ damning inconsistency won’t change Pavel Buchnevich’s trade Strome, Tony DeAngelo and Alexandar Georgiev, Buchnevich is certainly standing to be a topic of conversation in the executive suite as Feb. 24 approaches.

That goes whether or not the Rangers are still in, or on the periphery of, By Larry BrooksJanuary 20, 2020 | 12:25am a playoff hunt.

New York Post LOADED: 01.20.2020 If this is about learning experiences, then Sunday was sure one of them for the young Rangers, who flushed one point and the opportunity to grab a second by allowing a three-on-two winning goal against with under a half-minute remaining in regulation.

“We have to learn about puck management and making the right decisions at the right time,” Brady Skjei told The Post after Oliver Bjorkstrand’s second goal of the third period elevated the Blue Jackets to a 2-1 victory over the Blueshirts in a low-event, low-energy match at the Garden. “We have to play smart through the entire game and we have to understand situational hockey in the last minute or two.

“We have to recognize the right play and then we have to make it.”

The Rangers came into the match having scored 41 goals in their last 10 and as the league’s sixth highest-scoring club on a per-game basis. They’d achieved those numbers partly by relying on a power play that had gone 10-for-29 over that stretch. On this night, the Blueshirts did not earn so much as a single man-advantage.

And they did little at even-strength to throw any doubt into Matiss Kivlenieks, the 23-year-old Latvian who made his NHL debut on the second night of a back-to-back for his team. The Jackets played conservatively, going into a protective 1-2-2 pretty much from the get-go. Kivlenieks was rarely under pressure, the Blueshirts unable to generate second shots through long stretches of the match while Columbus had trouble getting first shots on Igor Shesterkin.

“It’s almost as if we had too much time,” Skjei said of the methodical pace. “It’s kind of like we played into their hands.”

This is a two-track season. It has been all along, Management and the coaching staff are focused on development but not at the expense of winning hockey games or mounting a push for the playoffs. Same for the players. That has been the story and they’re all sticking to it.

But nine points behind second wild-card Carolina with a couple of games in hand and five teams (including Toronto) to hurdle in order to claim a postseason berth, the Rangers will have to win more than two in a row at some point. They have done that exactly one time this season in the three games preceding Thanksgiving.

Otherwise, the Blueshirts have won two straight six times, which is what they had done entering this one by sweeping last week’s home and home against the Islanders. But that’s where it stopped. Five weeks before the Feb. 24 deadline, two straight and two straight only isn’t going to keep a single endangered species on Broadway for a late charge.

Artemi Panarin had an ordinary night at best at both ends of the ice. Ryan Strome, fairly unremarkable throughout, made a remarkably bad change on the final Jackets’ rush that contributed to Bjorkstrand being able to tee one up from the slot against a helpless Shesterkin. And Pavel Buchnevich was demoted to the fourth line a shift into the third period.

Buchnevich has contended with flu-like symptoms for much of the past week, so maybe that’s part of the explanation. David Quinn cited how No. 89 had been “sick” lately while explaining why he flipped Buchnevich with Brendan Lemieux, back from the broken hand he suffered on Dec. 27 that had sidelined him for the previous nine contests. Buchnevich had been on the right with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider for the previous 10 games, beginning with that match against the Hurricanes.

“I didn’t think he had it tonight,” the coach said of Buchnevich, whose struggles were illuminated during a late second-period shift in which he turned the puck over a couple of times while his line was pinned and he was caught on for 2:13.

But even as he has been a staple on the top six and on the second power-play unit, Buchnevich has not generated much offense. Indeed, the Russian winger has recorded one goal (and three assists) over his 1171967 New York Rangers “This one,” Zibanejad said with a shake of his head, “was tough.” New York Post LOADED: 01.20.2020

Rangers blow late lead to Blue Jackets as playoff push takes hit

By Brett CyrgalisJanuary 19, 2020 | 10:15pm | Updated

David Quinn had made it a point to say how important he thought this game was, the Rangers coach calling it “bigger than any game we’ve played.”

So after the 2-1 loss to the Blue Jackets on Sunday night at the Garden, when a 1-0 third-period lead was officially blown as Oliver Bjorkstrand’s second goal of the night went in with just 26.5 seconds left in regulation, did it then feel like a big loss?

“Any time you lose at this time of the season,” Quinn said, “it feels big.”

The stated goal by Quinn, repeatedly almost daily, is to get his Rangers (23-20-4) into the playoffs. By winning four of the previous five coming in, that goal remained optimistic, but attainable. But each loss like this is going to hurt even more, as the Blueshirts were looking up at John Tortorella’s Blue Jackets (26-16-8), figuring this was a four-point game with implications for spring hockey.

But despite playing mostly tight defensively and not allowing too much work for rookie goalie Igor Shesterkin, it was two bad turnovers and some soft coverage that allowed Bjorkstrand to tie it with a rifle wrist shot at 6:05 of the third, and an awful line change from Ryan Strome that gave Bjorkstrand enough room to snipe the game-winner.

“Pretty much got what we deserved when the night ended,” Quinn said. “To give up a three-on-two with 28 seconds to go is just inexcusable. Really bad change, bad [defensive coverage] at the wrong time — but we were playing with fire for a while. Just disappointing.”

Making his third NHL start, Shesterkin made 29 saves, including all 17 he saw over the opening 40 minutes before being peppered with 14 in the third. This was the 24-year-old Russian’s first taste of defeat in this league, having won the first two games of his career in back-to-back starts just over a week ago.

So as the three-goalie situation marches on — Henrik Lundqvist backing up, Alexandar Georgiev in street clothes as a healthy scratch — Shesterkin hopes not to feel the deep disappointment that colored a very quiet postgame locker room.

“The team played well, but I could have played better,” Shesterkin said through an interpreter. “Columbus didn’t play great, but we should have won today.”

During this recent stretch when the Rangers have been playing well, it seems like the lessons that Quinn has tried to instill are sinking in — they have been better managing the puck and more committed defensively. For most of the game, they did much of the same, even if they missed the net a lot and didn’t exactly put too much pressure on goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, the 23-year-old Latvian making his NHL debut for the injury- riddled Blue Jackets.

The only time the Rangers beat Kivlenieks was when Brady Skjei jumped out of the penalty box, barely missing a breakaway before he took the errant pass off the back wall and one-timed it into the top corner at 18:23 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. After that, the Rangers struggled to establish any zone time. Even Artemi Panarin had a rare off night, unable to pull a rabbit out of his hat to create some much-needed offense.

“We obviously had some lapses in the game when they did a good job and we don’t,” Mika Zibanejad said. “It comes down to the last minute, we give them one opportunity there, and they took advantage of it and got the two points.”

It was that one opportunity that changed the game, but it was also the Rangers’ inability to pad their lead and their inability to defend it. With 15 of their final 36 games against opponents from the Metropolitan Division, continuing with the Islanders at the Garden on Tuesday to play the third leg of their midseason miniseries, the hope for the postseason is in their hands.

Quinn and his team knew it going into this one, and so it was a tough pill to swallow. 1171968 New York Rangers Third line → Brett Howden (LW) – Filip Chytil (C) – Kaapo Kakko (RW) Fourth line → Brendan Lemieux (LW) – Greg McKegg (C) – Brendan

Smith (RW) NY Rangers projected lineup: Igor Shesterkin to start 'as big as any Defense game we’ve played' First pair → Brady Skjei (L) and Jacob Trouba (R)

Second pair → Ryan Lindgren (L) and Adam Fox (R) Vincent Z. Mercogliano, NHL writerPublished 8:00 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 | Updated 6:12 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 Third pair → Marc Staal (L) and Tony DeAngelo (R)

Goalies

TARRYTOWN - David Quinn isn't concerned about his team overlooking Starter → Igor Shesterkin the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. Backup → Henrik Lundqvist In fact, the New York Rangers coach is expecting a heightened level of focus. Healthy scratches: Phil Di Giuseppe, Alexandar Georgiev and Micheal Haley "In a lot of ways, this is bigger than anything we've done up to this point," he said following Saturday's practice at the MSG Training Center. "This New York Rangers' Jesper Fast (17) looks to pass during the first period game is as big as any game we’ve played, if not bigger, because of how of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Thursday, Jan. deep we are in the season. This team is six points ahead of us. It's a 16, 2020, in Uniondale, N.Y. four-point game. There are a lot of teams in this league right now that are New York Rangers' Jesper Fast (17) looks to pass during the first period playing playoff hockey based on the standings and the schedule — and of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Thursday, Jan. we’re one of them." 16, 2020, in Uniondale, N.Y. (Photo: Frank Franklin II, AP)

The Rangers are one of several teams chasing the Blue Jackets for the Game notes final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. A win would mark their fifth in the last six games and pull them to within four points of Columbus. How to watch/listen: 7:00 p.m. ET — TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 1050 AM It's not quite a must-win, but it's not far off if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. All-time series: 19-15-1-3 (8-5-1-3 at home; 11-10-0-0 on the road)

With such high stakes, Quinn is opting for a rookie goaltender. Previous meeting: The Rangers squeaked out a 3-2 win in Columbus on Dec. 5 despite being outshot 47-19. Artemi Panarin scored in his first He confirmed that Igor Shesterkin will make his third NHL start. game against his former team.

"He’s played well since he’s been here," Quinn said. "We have a lot of Top of the heap: The Rangers have earned at least one win against faith and confidence in him." seven of the current top 10 teams in the NHL standings this season and Shesterkin won each of his first two starts, stopping 75 of the 81 shots he have also earned at least one point against eight of those 10 teams. faced for a .926 save percentage. He made 46 saves in his second start (NOTE: The Rangers have not played one of the current top 10 teams, — a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 9. Dallas, yet in 2019-20)

It's been 10 days since, yet the Rangers feel he gives them the best Home sweet home: The Rangers enter with a five-game home winning chance to win. streak and have outscored their opponents, 27-12, over the five contests. The Blueshirts have recorded five or more goals in all five home games That speaks to how highly they think of Shesterkin while also raising over the span and have tallied five or more goals in five consecutive questions about Henrik Lundqvist, who has been their big-game goalie home games for the first time since Oct. 26, 2016 vs. Boston to Nov. 6, for the last 15 years. 2016 vs. Winnipeg.

If he doesn't start Tuesday against the Islanders — and it stands to Bergen Record LOADED: 01.20.2020 reason Quinn could go with Alexandar Georgiev after he beat the Isles twice this week — Lundqvist's next opportunity won't come until after the all-star break and the bye week when the Rangers host the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 31.

The gap between starts would be nearly three weeks (20 days). It would also leave Lundqvist with only one start — a 5-2 loss in St. Louis on Jan. 11 — over the course of 29 days.

The 37-year-old has preached patience as his ice time has dwindled. And while the organization has been upfront about scaling back, the extent of his reduced workload in January has been striking.

Of course, it's possible Lundqvist starts Tuesday. But all we know for now is that Shesterkin is the choice for what Quinn deemed "as big as any game we’ve played."

"They're not easy discussions, but Hank and I have also good conversations regarding the situation we’re in," Quinn said. "That doesn't mean he's not still a really good goalie. We have faith in him, but our organization feels that we're going to have three goalies here as of right now, and it’s just the way it's kind of evolved."

NOTE: This lineup is based on Saturday's practice and could be subject to change.

Forwards

First line → Chris Kreider (LW) – Mika Zibanejad (C) – Pavel Buchnevich (RW)

Second line → Artemi Panarin (LW) – Ryan Strome (C) – Jesper Fast (RW) 1171969 New York Rangers

Rangers allow goal with 26.5 seconds left, lose to Blue Jackets at the Garden

By Colin Stephenson

Updated January 20, 2020 12:41 AM

There still are 35 games left in the season, plenty of time to recover from this one. But if the Rangers end up falling just short of a playoff berth this spring, they likely will look back to Sunday’s crushing 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Garden as a pivotal moment.

Oliver Bjorkstrand, who was activated off injured reserve earlier in the day after missing 13 games with an oblique injury, scored his second goal of the third period with 26.5 seconds left to deal the Rangers a devastating blow.

“It sucks,’’ said Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux, who also came off injured reserve to play in the game. “It’s the worst way to lose a game. We get nothing out of it. It’s a massive game for us. You’ve got to play all 60 [minutes]. We played . . . 59 and a half.’’

The Rangers were caught in a line change on the winning goal. When Ryan Strome turned and headed to the bench, Columbus defenseman Seth Jones took advantage of the space vacated by Strome to fire a pass to Pierre-Luc Dubois, who skated unchecked up the middle of the ice on what turned into a three-on-two break. Dubois passed to Bjorkstrand, on his right, and Bjorkstrand cut to the middle and fired a snap shot over the glove of Igor Shesterkin for the tiebreaking goal.

“To give up a three-on-two with 28 seconds to go is just inexcusable,’’ Rangers coach David Quinn said. “A really bad change . . . Just disappointing.’’

If the Rangers had managed to get to overtime, they would have earned at least a point, which would have been some consolation. Instead, their record fell to 23-20-4 (50 points). That left them 10 points behind the Blue Jackets (26-16-8, 60), who leapfrogged the Carolina Hurricanes and took over the first wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Carolina (59 points), which beat the Islanders in a shootout on Sunday, sits in the second wild-card spot.

After playing the Islanders in the previous two games — and with another game against the Isles on Tuesday before the All-Star break — the Rangers had a chance to focus on themselves without having to take into account any kind of rivalry that can get in the way. But maybe they missed that extra passion that always is in the building for Islanders games.

“I just didn’t think we had a lot of energy for the third period,’’ Quinn said. “I thought our second period was OK, I didn’t love our first. We pretty much got what we deserved, I thought, when the night ended.’’

Shesterkin, playing his first game in 10 days, made 29 saves against a Blue Jackets team that had beaten the Devils, 5-0, on Saturday. He was hard on himself afterward.

“The team played well. I could have played better,’’ Shesterkin said through an interpreter. “We should have won today.’’

Brady Skjei’s goal at 18:23 of the first period, scored right after he served a minor penalty for high-sticking, opened the scoring.

After Skjei stepped out of the box, his regular defense partner, Jacob Trouba, spotted him at the red line and fired a pass that Skjei couldn’t catch. The puck went all the way off the back boards and Skjei corralled it in the lower left circle, settled it and lifted a shot over goalie Matiss Kivlenieks. The 23-year-old from Riga, Latvia, made 31 saves in his NHL debut.

In the third period, Jesper Fast’s turnover in the offensive zone allowed Dubois to retrieve the puck and skate it into the Rangers’ zone. Dubois lost it, but Bjorkstrand picked it up above the left circle and snapped a quick shot just over Shesterkin’s glove hand to tie it at 6:08.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171970 New York Rangers

Brendan Lemieux returns, plays his first game for Rangers since late December

By Colin Stephenson

Updated January 20, 2020 1:16 AM

Brendan Lemieux apparently talked his way into the Rangers’ lineup Sunday.

The 24-year-old winger, who had missed nine games with a broken bone in his left hand, came off injured reserve and dressed for the Blueshirts’ 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, replacing Micheal Haley.

Coach David Quinn was asked if he initially had hoped to hold out Lemieux for the final two games before the All-Star break and have him come back after the bye week. “Yes,’’ he said. “He was lobbying for the Islander game [Thursday].’’

Lemieux had been riding shotgun on the third line, with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko, at the time he was injured. Since he’s been out, 21-year- old Brett Howden, usually a center, has taken his place on the left wing of that line.

Because that trio has been playing well of late, Quinn opted to keep them together at the start of the game, at least. Lemieux started out on the fourth line, playing with center Greg McKegg and right wing Brendan Smith.

In the third period, Quinn dropped Pavel Buchnevich to the fourth line and moved Lemieux up to the top line, playing with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, who switched from left to right wing.

“[Buchnevich has] been sick,’’ Quinn said. “I just didn’t think he had it tonight, especially the end of that second period.

“I thought Lemieux had energy. Usually that’s what happens when you come back from being out. You have energy and play at a pace, so I figured I’d put him out there.’’

“I felt really good,’’ Lemieux said. “Obviously, you’ve got to take some adjustment time to feel the puck and whatnot, but I felt good.’’

Notes & quotes: Winger Phillip Di Giuseppe, who was called up from AHL Hartford Jan. 12, again was a healthy scratch, along with Haley. Di Giuseppe has been scratched three times on his current recall and has yet to play a game for the Rangers . . . Jesper Fast played in the 399th game of his NHL/Rangers career . . . Brady Skjei has seven goals, one short of his career high . . . Zibanejad led the team with six shots on goal . . . The Rangers won only 18 of 44 faceoffs (41%).

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171971 New York Rangers Then he was asked by a female fan if he is happily married. “Yes,” Lundqvist said with emphasis, and a laugh. “Finally an easy

question.” Igor Shesterkin’s first NHL loss raises questions about the three-goalie There are no easy questions or answers, though. system Coach David Quinn talked about the “balancing act” again on Saturday

and the need for none of the goalies to go too long without a start. By Rick Carpiniello Jan 19, 2020 “But also, when someone goes in and plays really well, you’ve got to win hockey games. This isn’t a house-league team where everybody gets a shift and everybody gets a start. That being said, we feel really good NEW YORK — The plot thickens. Well, this particular plot can’t really get about all three goalies and we don’t want someone to sit an extended thinner, can it? period of time. But we don’t want to do it at the expense of someone who’s really hot and really playing well and riding his confidence. … But it Igor Shesterkin suffered his first NHL loss Sunday — losing, actually, to a is a balancing act.” young goalie making his first NHL appearance — and it sure as heck wasn’t Shesterkin’s fault. Shesterkin hadn’t played and hadn’t even dressed for a game since winning his first two NHL games in succession. Lundqvist has dressed “The team played well,” Shesterkin said through an interpreter after a 2-1 for every game, either backing up one of the youngsters, or in his only loss to Columbus at the Garden. “I could have played better. … We start, in which Georgiev was the backup. Until Sunday, Shesterkin and should have won today. Georgiev were both 2-0 since Shesterkin arrived from Hartford. Lundqvist “I’m really disappointed. The team played really well. The result could is 0-1. have been better.” Shesterkin — other than the possible trip to Hartford over the break — He’s not wrong. The Rangers lately have been better than they were in isn’t going anywhere. It’s very possible that the Rangers don’t get what this one. But defensively they would have killed to have a game like this they will demand for Georgiev. And that it will be this way — three of earlier in the season — few shots allowed (31) and low scoring (it was 1- them vying for playing time — for the final 35 games. 1 until there were 26.5 seconds left). Thoughts But they weren’t opportunistic at all — well, except for their only goal — 1) The Rangers saw their five-game home streak snapped before and they weren’t as involved as they’ve been, particularly in the two Sunday’s game, which wasn’t a complete stinker, but sure wasn’t great games against the Islanders. … and sure hit them hard at the end. “We pretty much got what we So now? It’s the Islanders again at the Garden on Tuesday. And this is deserved, I thought, when the night ended,” Quinn said. where the plot gets really thick because Alexandar Georgiev has been 2) There’s nothing wrong with playing a boring game every now and terrific against the Isles, with two wins in a row last week, and probably then, especially for two teams playing goalies with a combined two deserves the start Tuesday. That means Henrik Lundqvist, who has games of NHL experience. The Rangers’ calling card recently has been played just one of the past seven, sits again as the backup. an attention to detail on defense. That said, they kind of gave Columbus Even worse, it leads into a nonsensical nine-day break due to the poorly — 15-2-4 in its past 21 with five wins in a row and seven of eight — every named “bye” week following the All-Star break, during which there will be chance to stay in the game. no practices for the first eight days and it will be one start from Jan. 2 3) Diaper Line: Quinn said, “It’s funny, we’ve been kind of harping on all until Jan. 31 for the 37-year-old, who, by the way, hasn’t been great the good things that we’ve done, whether it be on the forecheck, or in the coming off layoffs in his career. O-zone or off the rush, and that young line’s been a lot of the examples Don’t be surprised, too, if Shesterkin doesn’t spend a little time playing in that we’re using. So I like the pace that they’re playing at, I like the fact Hartford, where the Wolf Pack have three games early in the Rangers’ that they’re being responsible with the puck. They’ve got to continue to break, then go into their own AHL All-Star break. work on D-zone coverage, obviously, as most 18- (Kaapo Kakko), 20- (Filip Chytil), and 21-year-olds (Brett Howden) have to. But we really like It remains possible, too, that Lundqvist gets the nod Tuesday, just to get their game.” him off the bench. But that kind of goes against the goal of making the playoffs given Georgiev’s success against the Islanders. They are also figuring out that a good shift doesn’t necessarily end in a goal. So it gets dicier for the three in goal, and for the coach and GM and team president who have to figure this thing out but don’t necessarily have to “Yeah, but they’re kids, so they get frustrated because they don’t get the figure it out comfortably until the summer. goal or assist. You certainly want them to score, but they’re starting to understand that a good shift is spending time in the offensive zone.” I spoke with Lundqvist last week, and he continues to handle this as professionally and impressively as can be. He hasn’t complained, though 4) So Brendan Lemieux (who missed nine games with a broken hand) he has said how difficult it is. And it sure is, especially for him. talked his way back into the lineup but had to go to the fourth line for starters. He didn’t end up there. One thing the Diaper Line has helped Publicly, he has always gotten it. Who knows what he’s thinking privately. Quinn do is to keep his top three lines mostly intact for several weeks He hasn’t indicated, by all accounts, anything to the front office about now. Well, until the third period Sunday. changing his mind and going elsewhere — whether for a run at a Cup or just to be a No. 1 goalie again. That doesn’t seem to be happening, nor is 5) Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins had three shutouts in his past four it even likely to be accomplished if he did want to waive his no-move games. Got to be Elvis impersonators in Columbus soon, right? But he clause. got the night off.

The Rangers have to be sure before they trade Georgiev, if they trade 6) Matiss Kivlenieks made his NHL debut, and the first shot he faced, a Georgiev, about how Lundqvist feels about the rest of this season, and long wrister by Tony DeAngelo, he handled awkwardly. The Rangers next, when he will be 38 and in the final year of his contract. I know the helped him ease his way in, missing the net several times in the first decision-makers well enough to know they’ll be thorough about this. seven minutes. Artemi Panarin had a great chance to shoot in the right circle and forced a cross-ice pass for Ryan Strome but that missed. In I also know it won’t be easy to move Georgiev, if that’s the move, fact, the Panarin-Strome-Fast line was guilty of that a couple of times in because they’re going to want a young player, a forward likely, who will the first. be on their team for a long time. (Rick Carpiniello / The Athletic) At a Q&A for iPlay America in Freehold, N.J., on Saturday, Lundqvist was asked about his future and admitted that the present isn’t what he 7) Jack In The Box: A turnover caused a little chaos in the Rangers’ dreamed of coming into the season, and that going through the rebuild zone, and led to Brady Skjei taking an inadvertent high-sticking penalty. has been challenging. He repeated that he’s committed to play and be The Rangers killed it — Ryan Lindgren nearly scoring on a shorthanded ready when called. breakaway, and Shesterkin making a big pad save on Oliver Bjorkstrand alone in the right circle. And when Skjei jumped out of the box, Jacob in expected goals as they took more than 90 percent of the quality Trouba blocked a shot and just missed him with a long touchdown pass. chances — it seems having a boost in depth on the fourth line helped Skjei kept skating though, took the carom off the back wall and quickly them push the pace of play. On defense, Ryan Lindgren led the way with fired it past Kivlenieks for a 1-0 lead. With DeAngelo’s JITB on Long a +7 Corsi differential and +0.25 expected-goal differential. On the other Island Thursday, that gave the Rangers back-to-back Jacks. end of the ice, Brett Howden’s -6 Corsi differential ranked last of the Rangers, while Jacob Trouba was the worst in terms of xG differential (- 8) Early in the second, Shesterkin stopped a break by Pierre-Luc Dubois 0.36). with Skjei draped on his back. Shortly after, he stopped Dubois again off a Mika Zibanejad turnover. Zibanejad, who was flying from the get-go, • To focus on just one end of the ice at a time, the Rangers took the most then set up Panarin for a close-range shot that he semi-shanked, and shots when Panarin was on (26) and fewest with Howden (seven); they Kivlenieks made a pad save. generated the highest xG with Marc Staal (0.78) and the lowest with Howden (0.19). On the flip side, they allowed the most shots (24) and xG 9) Shesterkin got the Rangers through two periods with the lead and the (0.94) with Trouba on and fewest with Smith (three shots, xG of 0.04). shutout, though it got hairy in the final minutes of the second when they were pinned in their own end — Pavel Buchnevich twice failing to clear • Both teams leaned on their goaltenders. Kivlenieks stopped almost 97 the puck. He was on the ice for a Kovalev-ian 2:13 shift. percent of the 32 shots he faced in all situations and stopped 0.91 more shots than the average netminder would in his place when factoring in 10) Quinn Bin: So early third, there was Buchnevich taking a twirl on the quality. Shesterkin stopped 93.5 percent of the 31 shots he faced. In fourth line, replaced by Lemieux on the Zibanejad-Chris Kreider line. The allowing two goals against when facing an xG against of 1.93, he finished new fourth line actually ended up with a good chance by Skjei down low. just below average at -0.07, but overall, was solid for the Rangers. The Really, Buchnevich’s offense is woefully low (two goals, three assists in game-winner he allowed late in the third was the fifth-highest quality shot his past 23 games) given that he’s played almost exclusively with attempt of the game in terms of xG (and Columbus’ third-best chance). Panarin or Zibanejad. “Buchie’s been sick,” Quinn said, charitably perhaps. “I just didn’t think he had it tonight, especially at the end of the • In terms of Game Score, which blends traditional and advanced second period.” Quinn did a miniature eye-roll when he mentioned that statistics for a single value, the Rangers had just one player in the top shift. five with Brendan Smith as the last slot in the group at 1.50. Rounding out the Rangers’ top five were Lindgren (1.12), Ryan Strome (0.55), 11) Daily Bread: But the Rangers let the Blue Jackets hang around by Adam Fox (0.48) and Panarin (0.16). missing the net and by overpassing. Sure enough, a counterattack was broken up by Trouba, but Panarin overskated the puck and kept going, The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 leaving Bjorkstrand all alone in the circle. He had time to step up and beat Shesterkin with a laser to tie it at 1-1 with 13:52 left.

12) Jesper Fast set up Strome in front, and he shanked a shot over goalie Matiss Kivlenieks.

13) DeAngelo and Kreider each had a late chance, and each was handcuffed by the puck, neither got a shot on net.

14) Just as the Rangers did to the Isles three nights earlier with a winning goal in the final 25 seconds — the Blue Jackets did when the Rangers blundered. Panarin and Strome went for a long, slow change, turning a Columbus rush into a three-on-two before Zibanejad could sub in for Strome and Kreider for Panarin. Dubois got it to Bjorkstrand in the high slot, before Lemieux could get to him, and he ripped one over Shesterkin. The puck might have nicked Skjei on the way in for a 2-1 lead with 26.5 left.

15) “He played well,” Quinn said of Shesterkin. “To give up a three-on- two with 28 seconds to go is just inexcusable. A really bad change, bad F3. But we were playing with fire for a while, I thought. Just disappointing.”

16) Saturday was Mark Messier’s 59th birthday. It reminds me, every year, how some people, including some in this business, were whining about how he was old and beaten up when the Rangers got him. Yeah, he had a knee injury the year before. But he was 30. He’d only play until he was 43.

17) Note how long it took our fine, fine NHL referee to call something here. And just for giggles, what do you think would have happened if one of those guys happened to be, oh, I don’t know, Brendan Lemieux?

Shayna Goldman’s analysis

• The Rangers tilted the ice in the first two frames at five-on-five. And then, the third happened. … The Rangers weren’t able to break even in shots, finishing at 48.4 percent, and took just 31 percent of the expected goals share — which was enough to give Columbus the edge in xG for the game. The Blue Jackets pushed back hard in the third to tie and take the lead, which helped them end the night with two points.

• Artemiy Panarin played 19 minutes at even strength, which ranked second on offense only to Mika Zibanejad. He also had a few of his signature extra lengthy shifts, including one that extended for 1:58, along with three shifts that were over 1:20. Against his former club, he led the Rangers in even-strength offensive generation with eight shot attempts and an individual expected-goal total of 0.32; he also had the highest quality attempt in terms of xG of all skaters, in all situations, with his second-period, even-strength shot.

• With Brendan Smith on the ice (in just under eight minutes of even- strength time) the Rangers outshot Columbus 11-3 and had a +0.39 edge 1171972 Ottawa Senators Duclair has 21 goals and 33 points in 47 games with the Senators and he’ll benefit from spending the weekend with some of the best in the game.

SNAPSHOTS: Ottawa Senators head into break on a winning note “You just get to see how good they move and how smart they are with the puck and how they make little plays,” Smith said. “It has to help your confidence to go there with the league’s and the world’s best, you have no choice but to come back and feel like you’re part of that elite group.” Bruce Garrioch THE LAST WORDS Published:January 19, 2020 The club’s AHL affiliate in Belleville received reinforcements Sunday. As Updated:January 19, 2020 6:53 PM EST Belleville prepares to wrap up a eight-game, 16-day road trip this week with games Monday against the Rockford Ice Hogs, Tuesday at the Milwaukee Admirals and then Friday vs. the Utica Comets, the Senators The Ottawa Senators wore wide smiles as they raced out of the were joined by forwards Rudolfs Balcers, Drake Batherson and Filip Canadian Tire Centre and headed their separate ways Saturday night. Chlapik. The trio were sent down after Ottawa’s victory over the Flames Saturday and GM Pierre Dorion wants the club’s top prospects A 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames to end the club’s nine-game developing with Belleville. Coach D.J. Smith told reporters he’s going winless skid was a nice way to put a wrap on the schedule before away for three or four days, but plans to see Belleville play Utica Friday Ottawa’s eight-day break. When the Senators return from the various and Saturday. “They’re shorthanded down there,” said Smith … Winger locales where they’ll be spend the next week — coach D.J. Smith wants Brady Tkachuk noted a lot of the players can use the rest. “Everybody them recharged for the rest of what’s going to be a demanding schedule. has something nagging going on so I think each day is a nice day to The Senators will have 34 games remaining when they face the New recover and have some fun whether you’re going on a little trip or going Jersey Devils Monday at home and then travel to Buffalo to take on the to see family,” said winger Brady Tkachuk, who had a two-point effort Sabres Tuesday in back-to-back games. Yes, Smith wants his players to against his brother Matthew’s Flames with 40 family members on hand. enjoy the time off, but not too much because there’s work to be done “It’s nice to lounge around, have some fun and spend some time with before the season wraps up Apr. 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. family. Everybody is looking forward to the break.”

The Senators will return to practice Sunday afternoon to prepare for the Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.20.2020 Devils.

“Enjoy it for sure, but the first practice back is going to be really hard,” Smith said Saturday night. “Enjoy the first three or four days for sure but then this turn’s around and you’re right back to playing hockey and we want to make sure we’re really competitive every single night on the way (to the end).”

Headed to Mexico, defenceman Dylan DeMelo is aware there’s lots of racetrack left.

“You want to enjoy the break but, at the same time, we do have a lot of games left that we have to worry about,” said DeMelo. “We have to recharge, but stay focused and do the right things along the way but once we get back it’s going to be go time.”

Generally speaking, the Senators are pleased with where they’re at. The club has been competitive most nights and, yes, they’re ranked No. 28 in the league but with Ottawa in a rebuild that’s not the worst-case scenario because it will mean better odds in the draft lottery and a high selection this June is a key piece to get this team back on track.

And, let’s be honest, the Senators could have as many as two selections in the top 10 because the disappointment of San Jose’s season could provide a huge bonus for Ottawa after GM Pierre Dorion acquired the Sharks’ No 1 selection as part of the Erik Karlsson deal.

Smith said the club hoped to have more wins but injuries have tested the Senators’ depth.

“We have to continue to play hard,” Smith said. “Hopefully, we can get healthy and we’ve got some really high-end teams we’re going to play and we’ve got a lot of teams fighting for playoff spots and some high-end players.

“We’ve got to continue to get better. Our special teams, our power-play has been scoring of late and that’s something we have to continue to get better, and that will help us win some hockey games. As a whole, every kid has to be better, we have to be stronger so going forward as an organization we’re a better team.”

OFF TO ST. LOUIS

Winger Anthony Duclair will have his break cut short.

He’ll head to St. Louis Thursday night to take part in the NHL’s all-star weekend and Smith is confident that will be good for the 24-year-old winger. It’s the first time in Duclair’s career he’s been selected to take part in the weekend and Smith wants him to enjoy it.

“It’s great for him,” said Smith. “I thought his last two games were really good and I thought he was great again (Saturday) and he’s back skating. He’s a streaky player and, for his sake, I hope he’s really hot in the all- star game because it will be fun to watch him. 1171973 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers’ Sean Couturier, Blues’ Craig Berube, Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto among award winners at PSWA banquet

by Sam Carchidi,

St. Louis coach Craig Berube, who is representing the Stanley Cup champion Blues, Flyers center Sean Couturier, and Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto are among the award winners at Monday’s 116th annual Philadelphia Sports Writers Association’s banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill.

Tickets are available at the door or online at phillysportswriters.com. The cocktail hour starts at 5 p.m., followed by the dinner at 6 p.m.

Berube will accept the association’s Team of the Year award on behalf of the Blues. Realmuto has been named the Pro Athlete of the Year among the city’s teams, and Couturier will be honored as the Flyers’ MVP in 2018-19.

“It means a lot,” said Berube, who spent 18 years in the Flyers’ organization. “Obviously I played there and coached there for a long time and it’s where I live, so it’s pretty nice of them to do that and hand an award to our team. I’m pretty honored to receive that award for our team.”

Berube divides his time between St. Louis and Bucks County.

“It’s tough, but it’s part of the job,” he said. “You’ve got to have good people around you. My girlfriend and my kids’ mom, they do a good job of making sure the kids are looked after and they see me and all that. That’s important and I’m lucky that way.”

Connor Barwin (Ed Snider Distinguished Humanitarian of the Year), who was recently named a special assistant to Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, Villanova coach Jay Wright (Good Guy Award), Wayne Fish (Stan Hochman Award winner), and Angelo Cataldi (Bill Campbell Award winner) will also be honored, among others.

Joe Conklin will entertain, and Flyers coach Alain Vigneault and Phillies manager Joe Girardi will be among the guest speakers.

Breakaways

General manager Chuck Fletcher said he would have an update Monday on forward Michael Raffl, who suffered an unspecified upper-body injury in the third period of the Flyers’ 4-1 win Saturday against Los Angeles. ... Travis Konecny recorded the eighth multi-goal game of his career on Saturday – and his first since the season opener against Chicago in Prague. ... Rookie Joel Farabee has scored goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. “It just helps with the confidence part of the game,” he said. ... The Flyers’ special teams were perfect for the first time this season Saturday. They were 2-for-2 on the power play and 2- for-2 on the penalty kill.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171974 Philadelphia Flyers

Sights and scenes from Flyers' 2019-20 'Meet the Team' day for fans

By Jordan Hall January 19, 2020 3:00 PM

Before welcoming the rival Penguins to the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night, the Flyers hosted their fans Sunday for the annual "Meet the Team" event.

The day consists of season ticket holders getting to meet their favorite players, take pictures, ask for autographs and skate on the Wells Fargo Center ice.

Following Tuesday's game, the Flyers go on their NHL-mandated bye week from Jan. 22-30.

So Sunday gave the fans a timely up-close-and-personal look at their 2019-20 Flyers before the extended break.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171975 Philadelphia Flyers Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 180 pounds Acquired: 2017 third-round pick (80th overall)

This season: 25 games, 2.68 goals-against average, .907 save Flyers prospect WATCH: Keeping an eye on all the goalies percentage

The skinny: Also known as the pick from the Zac Rinaldo trade, Dave Isaac, NHL writerPublished 11:01 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2020 Ustimenko has been somewhat on the fast track. He never played in the KHL before coming over from Russia and, at age 20, has to make a playing adjustment and cultural adjustment. He spent nearly all summer at the Flyers training facility and is still trying to work on his English, When the Flyers hired him in 2015 as a goalie development coach, Brady which at the start of the season made his time with the Reading Royals a Robinson didn’t have many players to oversee. bit difficult. He’s been the Royals’ starter this season. At that time Anthony Stolarz was the goalie of the future, 2013 draft pick Robinson’s take: “Obviously we were always excited, he was a third- Merrick Madsen was playing at Harvard and the Flyers had just drafted round pick, about his ability, his competitive nature. It was hard to gauge Ivan Fedotov, who is still technically a prospect although there’s no sign where he’d be at this year just based on the level of play he was at last of a plan to bring him over from Russia. year and obviously there’s a (cultural) transition as well. I think the play With all of those players out of the equation now and more draft picks that he was involved in last year in comparison to Felix, I don’t think it retained, times have changed and Robinson has been traveling a bit was quite as structured in the Russian league. There was still games more. Home base for him is Vancouver, but he’s spent the majority of his where he wouldn’t see a lot of action, but it wasn’t as structured so he business trips in Reading, Pa. watching rookie Royals in Felix Sandström wasn’t used to facing a lot of those quality opportunities. He’s done a and Kirill Ustimenko. He also frequents Allentown, Pa. to work with the really good job. He’s been impressive since he’s come over. He’s got that Lehigh Valley Phantoms goalies. elite athletic ability. He’s a super competitive guy. He has the ability to make momentum, game-changing type of saves and he’s done that on a “This is the first time, since I’ve been involved, that we’ve had some of nightly basis. The English, it’s coming along. He’s still got a long ways to our drafted guys in Reading so it’s worked out pretty good,” he said via go. He understands a lot of it. He’s not able to respond with much but he phone the other day. “Don’t have to travel as much and can see four does understand a lot and there’s ways to use, with the technology there guys within about an hour. It’s been a pretty good year. I also got over to is now, there’s a lot of ways to translate things.” see Sam (Ersson) in Sweden in November and I’ve been down to see Roddy (Ross) in Seattle a few times as well.” Samuel Ersson, goalie, Brynäs IF (SHL)

Even though the Flyers have a 21-year-old starting goalie in Carter Hart Age: 20 (who’s out with a lower-right abdominal strain at the moment), they’ve Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 176 pounds restocked the cupboard with some new prospects. Acquired: 2018 fifth-round pick (143rd overall) Goalies, perhaps more than any other position, tend to be a lottery ticket that’s tough to hit on. That’s why only three netminders have been taken This season: 19 games, 2.58 goals-against average, .897 save in the first round since the 2013 draft. If Hart pans out to be a long-term percentage star, it’s unlikely that most of these guys will see action in a Flyers uniform. The skinny: Ersson took a real step forward last year when he won the starting job for Sweden in the World Junior Championship. He signed a Those masked men are the subjects of this week’s prospect watch with two-year contract for Brynäs after that and started playing this season in insight from Robinson. the men’s league (he had one previous SHL game in 2017-18). He began this season in a 50-50 split with the older Joacim Eriksson but has *all statistics through Saturday, January 18 since started to get the majority of the starts, especially since the team Felix Sandström, goalie, Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL) moved on from Magnus Sundquist as head coach.

Age: 22 Robinson’s take: “He’s a bit of a late bloomer so I don’t think he had quite as much instruction as a lot of those guys had. He’s learned to develop Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 204 pounds really good instincts. I think his hockey sense is very high end but he’s definitely got a pretty sound base in place like most of the Swedes do. Acquired: 2015 third-round pick (70th overall) What’s really impressive to me is his self-belief and the confidence that This season: 15 games, 3.78 goals-against average .877 save he carries. He wants to be the best. He’s not really concerned about percentage in ECHL anybody else. He’s concerned about what he needs to do and he holds himself extremely accountable. He’s got a really high standard for himself The skinny: The chain reaction of Hart’s abdominal injury was that Alex and he’s just really mature with his approach. For a guy that’s 20 years Lyon went up to the NHL and Sandstöm went from the ECHL to the AHL. old to do what he’s done and still be so humble about everything, it’s This is his first full season overseas from Sweden and he is still making a impressive.” lot of adjustments, but the Flyers have always been encouraged by his work ethic. The plan heading into this season was to assume that Roddy Ross, goalie, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) Sandström and Kirill Ustimenko would both graduate to the AHL in 2020- Age: 19 21. Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 184 pounds Robinson’s take: “He’s always had a really good technical foundation but just his ability when an unexpected play happens, there’s times that he Acquired: 2019 sixth-round pick (169th overall) needs to break from structure. Part of that is reading when those situations are and part of that is just getting a higher comfort level in This season: 32 games, 3.27 goals-against average, .907 save coming outside of structure, whether that’s coming into a split save or a percentage spread. With the style of play here, you can’t just always be in your The skinny: Ross’ Thunderbirds are a young team with an average age butterfly. Just understanding when to come out and exactly how to do of younger than 18. That inexperience tends to mean some hectic that, I think that’s the big one and obviously…even with the style of the hockey and, for a goalie, a lot of action. Seattle has come on strong NHL these days too, there’s so many quality opportunities that come recently, but a goalie being thrown to the wolves and seeing a lot of from the center of the ice, just being a little more patient on his feet and action there is something the Flyers see as positive in a goalie as he being a little more reactive when facing shots. Facing shots from the develops. outside, you have a little more time that way so patience is a big area as well.” Robinson’s take: “They have a young group there for sure. He’s played a lot and when they do have a chance to win games, he’s usually a big part Kirill Ustimenko, goalie, Reading Royals (ECHL) of it. With the team in front of him, I think he’s been pretty good for the Age: 20 most part. He’s still got a long ways to go. He’s very raw from a technical side of things but also just his off-ice workouts and everything else, he kind of just came out of nowhere last year. He hadn’t had a lot of coaching up until his time with Seattle and hadn’t gotten to a lot of work with a trainer or structured training off the ice, either. The good part of that is that there’s so much room for growth and improvement but he also has a long way to go on the technical side of things. The goalie coach there (Ian Gordon) has done a really good job. You can see a lot of improvements with his skating, his mobility and just his overall rebound control, too. He’s made a lot of improvements but there’s definitely still a long way for him to go, too.”

Courier-Post LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171976 Philadelphia Flyers “Certainly you have to have versatility on your team over the course of a long season,” van Riemsdyk said. “You’ve got different injuries or different things go stale or whatever, you like to have options. We have a bunch of different guys who can play center, which is nice. They were Flyers find a new line that works, moving Claude Giroux back to center looking to shake things up a little bit obviously, making a change to the line, but something we have a good option with and we had success with

it tonight.” Dave Isaac, Published 10:55 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2020 Courier-Post LOADED: 01.20.2020

PHILADELPHIA — Alain Vigneault has called it an ace up his sleeve, a move that he can go to when times get tough and after losing to the Montreal Canadiens the other night and dropping out of the playoff picture, that’s exactly where his Flyers found themselves.

It may not be sustainable, or preferable or even the easy way to do things by putting Claude Giroux back at center. It takes more tread off his tires and is a little more taxing than playing wing. It also helped the Flyers beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 and regain that wild card spot.

“I thought after the last game that I was gonna keep (Kevin Hayes) with G, but after watching the game I just felt I was looking for something else,” Vigneault said. “Putting G back in the middle was an option that we had and it worked out tonight. Obviously we’re gonna come back with that next game.”

Giroux had two assists and his linemates, Travis Konecny and James van Riemsdyk, produced three goals.

Konecny fired a one-timer past Jack Campbell to give the Flyers the lead early in the first and, unlike Thursday night, they kept their foot on the gas pedal and poured it on. Konecny buried his 17th goal of the season early in the second, when he went to the slot and benefitted from another van Riemsdyk pass.

“It’s definitely a different look for other teams,” Konecny said of Giroux centering the line. “He’s got a lot more options when he comes up the middle of the ice. That makes it pretty deadly for other teams when they’re looking at that. It’s definitely good for me and Reemer because it takes the outside of the ice away a little and we can move the puck around.”

Giroux is one of the best faceoff takers in the league. Usually he just moves to wing after doing so. Two years ago, the Flyers moved him from center to left wing and it seemed to give him new life. Generally, it’s where he prefers to play now.

Part of the move to send him back there Saturday was out of necessity. Vigneault wanted to keep Sean Couturier’s line the same and he moved Scott Laughton from center to wing, where he also plays better hockey, and Connor Bunnaman, the call-up from Lehigh Valley, is still holding down the fort on the fourth line.

Center is still an area where the Flyers need help. It’s Bunnaman’s second audition. They’ve had Mikhail Vorobyev up has had three call-ups this season. German Rubtsov got a looksee as well. General manager and team president Chuck Fletcher admitted he’s looking in the trade market for help, too.

There was a report Saturday from NBC Sports’ John Clark that the Flyers have contemplated bringing back Jeff Carter, who signed an epic 11-year deal with the Flyers in 2010 that doesn’t expire until 2022. He can certainly still play (has 14 goals and nine assists on the season while averaging about 17 minutes per game). He carries a cap hit of $5.27 million, so the Flyers would have to move significant money to get that deal done or sweeten the deal if the Kings are willing to eat some of that money.

Meantime, Giroux’s back at center.

“We’ve had some good games together,” he said of playing with Konecny and van Riemsdyk, a unit that played together a bit last season. “I know it’s only one game (this season), but you can see that we have chemistry, the three of us. We need to build off this but we can play better.”

It certainly brought the best out of van Riemsdyk, who won player-of-the- game honors and a night wearing the silver helmet the Flyers were gifted from Lausanne HC in their preseason finale.

He was threading passes before he scored a tip-in power-play goal, his first tally in 13 games and his first on the power play in 15 games. 1171977 Philadelphia Flyers general manager) Chuck Fletcher is an extremely good guy and I just want to play my hardest for the organization and I’ll be a free agent (at the end of this season) so it adds a little extra incentive.”

Trimmed down Alex Lyon has ‘a little extra incentive’ in Flyers call-up Courier-Post LOADED: 01.20.2020

Dave Isaac, NHL writerPublished 11:43 a.m. ET Jan. 17, 2020

PHILADELPHIA — Last year was a circus between the pipes for the Flyers and their NHL-record eight goalies. Alex Lyon only got two games, in part due to injury.

He and Michal Neuvirth both suffered groin injuries in training camp so the Flyers had to pick up Cal Pickard on waivers. There were several other opportunities throughout the year due to further re-injuries to Neuvirth and Brian Elliott and Anthony Stolarz and a new ailment for Carter Hart. But Lyon was re-injured as well.

He shed 11 pounds over the summer and reported to camp leaner than ever since signing with the Flyers out of Yale University in 2016.

“For whatever reason, I don’t know if it was anything I could have done, but in my mind it’s like, ‘You’re not doing enough,’” he said Thursday night, after his first NHL action since December of 2018. “I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in. As long as I can hit my head on the pillow and be happy, that’s all I really care about at this point.”

He’s split the net with Jean-François Bérubé for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season and been one of the rare bright spots for the team that sits seventh in its division. Lyon’s .916 save percentage ranks 11th among AHL goalies. It’s a big year for Lyon as the 27-year-old backstop is set to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time.

He’s put in the work and it’s paying off with the Phantoms. Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens it wasn’t as great. He allowed four goals on 40 shots, but was hardly the reason the Flyers lost 4-1. He was much more efficient in his movement since the last time he was up in the NHL and acknowledged he felt, “significantly more at ease.”

Alain Vigneault had no complaints, although Lyon wanted back at least one of the two goals Montreal scored in a span of 11 seconds when his “brain fell asleep a little bit.”

“He did what you want a goaltender to do. He gave us a chance,” Vigneault said. “He made some good saves early. Unfortunately execution wise, we weren’t as good.”

Lyon is up because Hart is out with a lower right abdominal strain. A two- to three-week timetable comes at a good time for the Flyers because of the All-Star break and bye week. If it’s on the shorter end of that spectrum, Hart may miss as few as four games and half of them are already in the rear view mirror.

The flip side of that is less time for Lyon to prove himself at this level. He has played only 14 NHL games across three seasons and has a .894 save percentage. There are no back-to-back scenarios in Hart’s two- week window, so it’s possible that Elliott plays the remaining games until Hart returns. If he needs more time, then perhaps Elliott and Lyon split a back-to-back Jan. 31 at Pittsburgh and February 1 at home against the Colorado Avalanche.

In a free agent class of goalies this summer that currently includes Anton Khudobin, Braden Holtby, Corey Crawford, Robin Lehner, Jaroslav Halák, Thomas Greiss and Jacob Markström, Lyon has a lot of teams to audition for. The Flyers may still be one of them, considering Elliott is part of that class as well and will be 36 when his contract expires.

“The nature of the business is you want to play well so you can make more money and do better,” Lyon said when asked if his contract year had any effect on his preparation. “That’s what professional sports is all about. In that sense, yes, I want to do well but I’m learning as I go and trying to get smarter and appreciate every day and try to stay healthy. I think that’s one thing I’m really focusing a lot on this year and just enjoying it. Being in the NHL is just so awesome and I’ve worked my whole life to get here, so just being up for these couple days has been a thrill and I want to keep doing my best.

“That’s what I’m trying to learn is that it doesn’t matter where you are, doesn’t matter what they want to do. I have faith in the management that they’re going to make good decisions. I think (Flyers president and 1171978 Pittsburgh Penguins Regardless, everyone in the Penguins’ dressing room is a big boy and should be able to deal with being booed or, in this case, “cheered.” It’s professional sports. It comes with the territory.

Empty Thoughts: Penguins 4, Bruins 3 That said, Sunday’s display was not well received by Murray or his teammates.

Statistically speaking SETH RORABAUGH | Sunday, January 19, 2020 8:28 p.m. • The Bruins dominated shots, 37-22.

• Krug led the game with five shots. Observations from the Penguins’ 4-3 win against the Bruins. • Blueger and Hornqvist each led the Penguins with four shots. First things first, there were no updates on Penguins forwards Dominik Kahun or Dominik Simon. Both players failed to finish the game due to • McAvoy led the game with 26:52 of ice time on 33 shifts. undisclosed injuries. • Letang led the Penguins with 24:12 of ice time on 32 shifts. Kahun’s final shift came at 1:32 into the second period while Simon’s last • The Bruins controlled faceoffs, 37-27 (58 percent). shift was recorded at 15:57 of the third period. • Bergeron was 20 for 25 (80 percent). As for the game itself, it was a strange affair. Jack Johnson scored twice, including once on the opposition’s net. The Bruins scored only 11 • Malkin was 7 for 13 (54 percent). seconds in. There was an impromptu MMA fight due to poor officiating. • Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson led the game with seven Oh, and Matt Murray got cheers. blocked shots.

Bronx cheers. • Carlo led the Bruins with three blocked shots.

(Or Blawnox cheers if you’re into the whole provincialism thing.) Historically speaking

After allowing two goals on three shots within the first 2:02 of regulation, • The Penguins had their third comeback victory in which they rebounded Murray stopped a puck which slid in from center ice off the ensuing from a three-goal deficit. The NHL’s single-season record for such faceoff. comebacks is four. The 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers, the 1983-84 Minnesota North Stars and the 1989-90 Detroit Red Wings share that Cheers rained down. They weren’t overwhelming but they were mark. prodigious. • Crosby (1,241 points) surpassed Hockey Hall of Fame forward Peter Roughly 13 minutes later, that happened again after Johnson tapped in a Stastny (1,239) for 39th place on the NHL’s career scoring list. goal behind Murray by accident. Murray stopped another puck which rolled in on net and there were more of those cheers. Randomly speaking

The Penguins and Murray shook off the rough start and the rough • Since returning from his core muscle injury, Crosby has played in four reception to claim a pretty impressive, albeit considerably flawed victory. games and has eight points (three goals, five assists).

But he heard those cheers. • Rust’s 21st goal move him past injured forward Jake Guentzel (20) for the team lead. He took the high road and declined comment. • Murray won his fifth consecutive game. Here’s his basic numbers of his His teammates defended him with far more vigor after the game than past seven games compared to his seven previous games: they did in the opening minutes of the game. • Simon, who has been on Crosby’s line since his return, has four points “He was really solid,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “Unfortunately, he in those four games. heard it a bit from the crowd early on in the game. But he stuck with it. He’s been great. That’s not easy for a goalie when you’re at home and -Andrew Agozzino was limited to 4:09 of ice time on six shifts. He you hear it from your own fans. I’m happy for him and I’m glad we were remained on the bench. Obviously, whatever positives coach Mike able to get back into it and give them something to cheer about it.” Sullivan may have seen in Agozzino last week have worn off.

“We heard the cheers in the first,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “That’s • The officiating was poor throughout. There were several instances not the time to do that. Matt is a professional. He knows what he has to where a player took a hit then was pinned to the ice for extended periods do. He made big saves in the second and the third to keep the score the of time by who hit them as play moved to another portion of the ice. way it was. He played a great game.” Oftentimes, it happened with referees Kelly Sutherland or Francois St- Laurent watching it from less than 15 feet away. Murray did play great down the stretch, especially in the third period when he made 14 saves, many of them high-danger opportunities. Once instance involved Letang and Marchand rolling around on the ice like a high school wrestling match. But man, what an ugly scene that was after he gave up those early goals. Sutherland and St-Laurent weren’t missing these potential penalties. The author of this corner of the Internet isn’t going to lecture anyone on They were regularly opting to not enforce the rules. It was abhorrent to how to behave at a sporting event, especially when he gets into games watch. for free. Publicly speaking That said, it’s nothing short of striking to see a goaltender with two Stanley Cup ring get treated like that. • Letang on the comeback:

Despite two Stanley Cup titles, Tom Barrasso all but engineered his low “We all know we came out pretty flat. Just things didn’t go our way in the standing in Pittsburgh by largely being a loathsome entity. And the first period. As a team, we were confident in the way we can play, that we ebullient Marc-Andre Fleury is seemingly loved more as a visitor than he can come back on any team. We just tried to climb. We didn’t cheat to ever was as a local. get goals. We just tried to climb slowly and guys were able to find the back of the net.” Matt Murray? He’s a quiet person who is neither bubbly nor boorish. He’s very inert as a human being, at least publicly. • Rust on Malkin’s play setting up his game-winning goal

So maybe there’s a “purity” to the lack of patience some fans have for “It’s just one of those plays where he was in hard on the forecheck. He him in that they’re only critiquing him on his results and not his got the puck loose and he can make some pretty special plays. So I was personality. And hey, the results, at least the good ones, have been too just trying to come in the slot and be ready for it. He put the puck right on infrequent over the past two seasons and change for Murray. my tape.” • Johnson explained what happened on the play where he tapped in Pastrnak’s goal:

“You try to stop it and maybe lay it in the pads there. You don’t want to let it go through and you can’t deflect it out in the slot. That’s a tough bounce.”

• Murray on the Pastrnak goal:

“You just move past that one. (Johnson is) trying to make the right play and gets a bad bounce and it ends up going in. So you just move past it.”

• Rust on his team staging yet another three-goal comeback:

“We obviously weren’t too thrilled with it. But it’s a place we’ve been before, unfortunately. But we’ve climbed out of holes before. Everybody in the room knew what it took. We just had to kind of elevate our game a little bit, play a little bit harder, play a little bit smarter.”

• Johnson would like to avoid another comeback from a three-goal deficit:

“Getting down 3-0 isn’t what we had in mind. We’ve been able to come back before but that’s not a recipe for success. Games are going to tighten up more and more. As we get closer to playoff hockey, it starts to get closer to that style of hockey. We’d like to not be down 3-0.”

• Blueger enjoyed a rare moment on the ice with Crosby:

Obviously, it was fun to be out there with him. I don’t get to do that a lot. It was fun to be on the receiving end of one of those.”

Tribune Review LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171979 Pittsburgh Penguins beautiful between-the-legs pass to Teddy Blueger to cut it to 3-2 just 33 seconds into the second period.

It was only 20 seconds into the third period when defenseman Kris Kevin Gorman: Make no mistake, Matt Murray and Jack Johnson push Letang was called for elbowing, putting the Penguins on the penalty kill. Penguins past Bruins That set up Johnson’s heroics, as he scored a short-handed goal to tie the score at 1:41.

The Penguins got a three-on-two rush, with Brandon Tanev floating along KEVIN GORMAN | Sunday, January 19, 2020 6:33 p.m. the right boards as Blueger cleared a defenseman on a center drive until Johnson was open in the high slot. Tanev set Johnson up for a slap shot

from the top of the left circle that he drilled past goalie Jaroslav Halak. Perhaps no Pittsburgh Penguins have served as lightning rods for the fan “It always feels great to help the team,” Johnson said, “no matter what base more than goalie Matt Murray and defenseman Jack Johnson, and you’re doing, whether it’s killing penalties, making a hit to get the team both were being blamed for a three-goal, first-period deficit against the going or scoring a goal.” Boston Bruins. His fiery fist pump told another story. It was one of redemption, as the Murray and Johnson took their share of abuse in the first five minutes shorty gave the Penguins the momentum. Not only had the Bruins blown Sunday afternoon, first from the Bruins and then from the crowd of a three-goal lead, but the NHL’s third-best penalty-killing unit had just 18,655 at PPG Paints Arena. How they turned jeers to cheers for a 4-3 allowed a short-hander to a stay-at-home defenseman for his third goal comeback victory over the Bruins — in what is being billed as their best of the season. win of the season — had Penguins coach Mike Sullivan praising both. “That was awesome, a huge goal for us,” Murray said. “He played great Where Murray (15-6-4) has endured his share of struggles and lost for us. Everybody else did, too.” playing time to Tristan Jarry (16-7-1), Johnson has been elevated from healthy scratch in the playoffs last season to the top defense pairing No one played better in the third period than Murray, even as the because of injuries to Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz this season. Penguins got the go-ahead goal when Evgeni Malkin set up Bryan Rust for a 4-3 lead at 12:35. Murray stopped 14 shots, including one in the slot “I’m thrilled for them because I know how much these guys care, how by defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and a wrister by forward Jake DeBrusk. hard they work and how good of teammates they are,” Sullivan said. “It’s a hard game out there. It doesn’t always go your way. This game is a “I was thrilled because Jack gets a great goal, a tying goal and Matt game of mistakes. Everybody’s going to make them. It’s just about trying made some dynamite saves in the third period,” Sullivan said. “We don’t to react the right way to them, and those guys did.” win the game if Matt doesn’t make those saves.”

But it didn’t exactly turn frowns upside down. Make no mistake, the two players who took blame for putting the Penguins in a three-goal hole also dug them out of it. That Murray and When asked if he heard the Bronx cheers from the crowd and how he Johnson moved past the jeers to draw cheers made beating the Bruins tuned that out, Murray bit his lip and averted his eyes. that much better. “No comment,” Murray said. Tribune Review LOADED: 01.20.2020 That spoke volumes. The Penguins beat the Bruins for the first time this season, not even three days after a 4-1 loss in Boston. The Penguins also closed the gap in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing the second-place Bruins (68 points) by a point going into Tuesday’s game at the Philadelphia Flyers before the All-Star break.

Murray had every right to be disgusted by how quickly the home crowd turned on him after allowing a Patrice Bergeron goal 11 seconds after the opening faceoff, then another by Anders Bjork at 2:02. Penguins fans can be unforgiving, even for Stanley Cup-champion goalies. (See: Fleury, Marc-Andre).

And they can be stupid, too.

“Unfortunately, he heard a bit from the crowd early on in the game, but he stuck with it,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “That’s not easy for a goalie when you hear it at home from your own fans, so I’m happy for him. I’m glad we were able to get back into it and give them something to cheer about.”

To say Murray wouldn’t allow another goal isn’t entirely accurate, though the next one was no fault of his own.

That’s where Johnson comes in. The Bruins were skating circles around the Penguins, quite literally, when David Pastrnak spun and shot toward the net with Brad Marchand stationed at the right post. Johnson stuck his blade in the crease to intercept the puck, but it deflected off his stick and between Murray’s legs.

“I had a pretty good feeling like he was just going to try to throw it against the goal line to the guy on the back side there,” Johnson said. “You try and stop it, maybe lay it in the pads there. You don’t want it to go through, and you can’t deflect it out in the slot. That’s a tough bounce.”

And a tough mistake to swallow, as the Bruins took a 3-0 lead.

Where the fans were furious, Murray was more understanding.

“He’s trying to make the right play and gets a bad bounce, and it ends up going in,” Murray said, “so you just move past it.”

Crosby started the comeback with a behind-the-net pass to Dominik Simon, who found the net from a ridiculous angle from the right side of the goal line to make it 3-1 at 15:07 of the first. Crosby later dropped a 1171980 Pittsburgh Penguins “No matter what you’re doing, whether it’s killing penalties, making a hit to get the team going or scoring a goal, it always feels good to help the team,” Johnson said.

Penguins start slow, finish fast in comeback win against Bruins The winning score came at 12:35 from two people who have aided the team all season.

Forward Evgeni Malkin forechecked on Bruins defenseman Charlie SETH RORABAUGH | Sunday, January 19, 2020 3:28 p.m. McAvoy along the end boards, forcing a turnover. He then slipped a forehand pass low to the left circle, where forward Bryan Rust fired a

wrister past Halak’s blocker with his team-leading 21st goal. The Penguins inched closer to an NHL record Sunday at PPG Paints “It’s a place we’ve been before, unfortunately,” Rust said of the early Arena. deficit. “But we’ve climbed out of holes before. Everybody in the room Frankly, it is a mark they would rather be light years away from claiming. knew what it took. We just had to kind of elevate our game a little bit, play a little bit harder, play a little bit smarter.” With a resolute 4-3 victory against the Boston Bruins, the Penguins rebounded from a three-goal deficit to win a game for the third time this Note: Simon and Penguins forward Dominik Kahun failed to finish the season, one short of the NHL’s single-season record. game because of undisclosed injuries.

“It’s not a recipe that we want to have very often,” Penguins defenseman Tribune Review LOADED: 01.20.2020 Jack Johnson said. “It’s nice knowing you can come back, but it’s not the position you want to be in.”

It didn’t take the Bruins long to establish an ideal position. Eleven seconds, in fact.

That’s how long it took the Bruins to take the game’s first lead thanks to forward Patrice Bergeron scoring his 37th goal off a rush from the opening faceoff. Only 1:51 later, Bruins forward Anders Bjork lifted wrister from the slot past goaltender Matt Murray’s left shoulder for his eighth goal.

The Bruins engineered a 2-0 lead on only three shots. Off the ensuing faceoff, the puck slid in on net and was shoveled away by Murray, drawing sarcastic cheers for the goaltender with two Stanley Cup rings.

Murray declined to comment on the reaction. His teammates defended him more fiercely after the game than they did in the opening minutes.

“Unfortunately, he heard it a bit from the crowd early on in the game,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “But he stuck with it. He’s been great. That’s not easy for a goalie when you’re at home, and you hear it from your own fans.”

Defenseman Kris Letang said: “We heard the cheers in the first. That’s not the time to do that. Matt is a professional. He knows what he has to do.”

Things got worse for the Penguins at 15:07 of the first when Johnson inadvertently tapped in a pass attempt by Bruins forward David Pastrnak, who was credited with his league-leading 37th goal.

“He’s trying to make the right play and gets a bad bounce, and it ends up going in,” Murray said. “So you just move past it.”

Down 3-0 at home, the Penguins were just under 45 minutes away from being victims of a regular-season sweep by the Bruins.

“Plenty of time,” Johnson said. “The way the NHL is now, teams come back from 3-0 leads.”

Particularly the Penguins.

Only 1:27 after Johnson’s own-goal, Penguins forward Dominik Simon scored his sixth goal from a difficult angle left of the cage off an industrious pass by Crosby from behind the net. The timing of the goal was vital.

”We knew we had a lot of time, but it was good to get that momentum,” Crosby said. “We built off of it. We get one on the second shift of the second.”

Only 33 seconds into the second, forward Teddy Blueger cashed in a blind backhand feed by Crosby from the left of the net for his seventh goal.

“It was fun to be out there with him,” said Blueger, who emerged from the penalty box prior to the goal. “I don’t get to do that a lot. It was fun to be on the receiving end of one of those.”

Another rare goal forced a tie 1:41 into the third period.

Johnson scored the first short-handed goal of his 14-year career by rocketing a slapper from above the left circle under goaltender Jaroslav Halak’s blocker on the near side. 1171981 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins to start Matt Murray against Bruins

SETH RORABAUGH | Sunday, January 19, 2020 11:18 a.m.

The Penguins will start goaltender Matt Murray against the Boston Bruins Sunday at PPG Paints Arena according to coach Mike Sullivan.

Murray has appeared in 26 games this season and has a 14-6-4 record along with a 2.84 goals against average, an .899 save percentage and one shutout.

Murray is in the midst of a four-game winning streak and has won five of his past six games.

During Thursday’s 4-1 road loss to the Bruins in TD Garden, Tristan Jarry was in net and allowed three goals on 29 shots.

“There are times during the season when some goaltenders get hot and they help their teams win,” Sullivan said. “We’re fortunate to have two quality goaltenders like we have, two guys that we think give us a chance to win each and every night. We’re going to try to make the best decisions for the team that can help us win games. One of the benefits is that their workloads are very reasonable. We think that’s a huge benefit to our team, especially when you look at the schedule that we’re going through right now where the games are so condensed.”

The Penguins have split their goaltending duties fairly evenly this season as Jarry, who was named to the NHL’s All-Star Game event later this month, has played in 24 games this season.

A division of labor among goaltenders is nothing unique to the Penguins.

“When you look at how the league has gone, there’s not a lot of guys that go wire to wire in goal,” Sullivan said. “There’s a lot of teams that are using two goaltenders. And I think it’s out of necessity based on the way the game is being played, the schedule. There’s a lot teams that have done it. We’ve done it in the last few seasons. Since I’ve been here, we’ve done it. We’ve used to guys. If you have the capability to do it and you have quality guys, then it can be a competitive advantage for your team.”

Notes:

• The Bruins are expected to start long-time Penguins nemesis Jaroslav Halak in net. Appearing in 22 games this season, Halak has an 11-5-6 record along with a 2.42 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and three shutouts.

During Thursday’s victory against the Penguins, Halak made 29 saves on 30 shots.

• Bruins forward David Krejci is expected to miss his second consecutive game due to an undisclosed injury.

Tribune Review LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171982 Pittsburgh Penguins

Minor league report: Jordy Bellerive leads Penguins past Rampage

SETH RORABAUGH | Sunday, January 19, 2020 6:44 a.m.

A shootout goal by forward Jordy Bellerive gave the Wilkes- Barre/Scranton Penguins a 4-3 road win against the San Antonio Rampage at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Saturday.

Bellerive also had two regulation goals while goaltender Casey DeSmith made 22 saves for the Penguins (19-16-3-4).

Highlights:

The Penguins’ next game is on the road against the Rampage on Tuesday, 8 p.m.

Goaltender Alex D’Orio made 26 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-1 road loss to the Indy Fuel at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

Forward Justin Almeida, a fifth-round pick in 2018 by the Penguins, scored the lone goal for the Nailers (17-18-4-0).

Highlights:

The Nailers’ next game is against the Cincinnati Cyclones at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling on Friday, 7:05 p.m.

Tribune Review LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171983 Pittsburgh Penguins Crosby has eight points in four games since returning to the lineup Tuesday.

The Penguins during that second period settled down and got back to Penguins deliver 4-3 win against Boston Bruins playing their up-tempo brand of hockey instead of trying to match the physicality of the chippy Bruins, who dominated them Thursday in a 4-1 loss in Boston.

MATT VENSEL Instead of throwing punches or slashing shin pads, they fought through checks, worked together and got their forecheck going. They controlled JAN 19, 2020 10:41 PM play in the second. When the Bruins made a push late in the period, Murray kept them out.

The Penguins started Sunday’s game with little energy and a lot of “We didn’t like the way we played in their rink, so we tried to come out agitation, swinging their sticks at Boston Bruins players who pounded and be physical. And maybe we were overthinking it,” Rust said. “It was a them three days earlier. 12:30 [p.m.] game. We just had to try to settle down and just skate and work together.” The home fans were equally irked, jeering a two-time Cup-winning goalie. And in the third, with Letang in the penalty box, Johnson redeemed himself at the end of a 3-on-2 rush by ripping a slapshot past Halak to tie Viewers who tuned in to watch two Eastern Conference powerhouses the score, 3-3. It was the Penguins’ first short-handed goal since their clash were probably checking to see when the NFL’s championship Dec. 6 win against Arizona. games kicked off. The Penguins took the lead with 7:25 left. Evgeni Malkin barreled into The Penguins, already down 3-0, were about to get blown out of the Charlie McAvoy behind the Boston net, knocking the puck loose. He water. quickly spun and found Rust in front. Halak, fooled by Malkin’s pass, was looking the other way. Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson celebrates his goal in the their period against the Bruins on Sunday at the PPG Paints Arena Uptown. “It’s a hard-working goal,” Sullivan said. “When you have one of your best players and leaders step up like that, it speaks volumes for the “Good teams don’t get discouraged,” Kris Letang said. “They stay the leadership of the group.” course.” Murray came up big before and after Rust’s fourth game-winner of the Sidney Crosby sparked them with two beautiful assists, Matt Murray season, leading to “Murray! Murray!” chants two hours after he got Bronx settled down after a nightmarish start, and the Penguins stormed back to cheers. steal a 4-3 win from the formidable Bruins Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena. Murray, who made 28 saves in Friday’s 2-1 overtime win in Detroit, was given a second consecutive start for the first time since Nov. 21. He Add it all up, and it was maybe the Penguins’ best, most satisfying win made 34 saves and has now won five starts in a row, posting a .925 save yet. percentage over that span. And that’s saying something, since it was the seventh time this season “Unfortunately, he heard it a bit from the crowd there early on in the they won after trailing by two periods. Only the Dallas Stars have done it game. But he stuck with it,” Crosby said. “He’s been great. That’s not more often. easy for a goalie, when you’re at home and you hear it from your own “We’ve climbed out of holes before,” said Bryan Rust, who scored yet fans. So I’m happy for him and I’m happy we were able to get back into it another game-winning goal. “Everybody in the room knew what it took. and give them something to cheer about.” We just had to elevate our game a little bit. Play a little bit harder. Play a Given the size of Sunday’s deficit, the caliber of opponent and what little bit smarter.” happened in Boston three days earlier, this was a Zdeno Chara-sized win Their start Sunday, as Rust put it perfectly, was “horrific.” Patrice and the latest sign that these Penguins are capable of accomplishing Bergeron scored 11 seconds into the game. The Bruins got another goal, something special this spring. their second on three shots, less than two minutes later when Murray “With the success we had with the injuries we had, the recipe to win is retreated too far into his net on a fairly innocent 3-on-2 and flailed his pretty clear in our dressing room. If we play the right away, we’ll have glove as Anders Bjork picked a corner. success,” Letang said. “I think it doesn’t matter the score. We keep After the next save the goalie made, sticking a long-range shot into the playing.” corner, some fans mockingly cheered Murray, loud enough that players The Penguins visit Philadelphia on Tuesday, their final game before the heard it. All-Star break. They blasted the Flyers, 7-1, in their only other meeting Penguins goaltender Matt Murray makes save on Bruins center Danton this season. Heinen on Sunday at the PPG Paints Arena Uptown. Post Gazette LOADED: 01.20.2020 Later in the period, Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson accidentally deflected David Pastrnak’s centering pass between Murray’s legs, putting the Bruins up, 3-0.

“We didn’t say a whole lot. I just didn’t feel it was necessary to state the obvious, that we didn’t have the start that we wanted,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “But what I did say is that we had a lot of hockey left to respond the right way. ‘All we can do is control what’s in front of us. So let’s go out and try to play better.’ ”

And so they did, following the lead of their captain. Of course.

Late in the first, Crosby made a jaw-dropping pass from behind the Bruins net to set up Dominik Simon for his second goal in the past four games.

Crosby made an even crazier one in the first minute of the second period to get the Penguins back within a goal. After Teddy Blueger left the penalty box, Crosby chased down a puck that had caromed off the end boards and with his back to the play made a between-the-legs pass to Blueger, who beat Jaroslav Halak. 1171984 Pittsburgh Penguins Murray acknowledged that a slight increase in his playing time has sharpened his game. “Yeah, maybe a little.”

Murray’s strong play and a bit of a drop in performance by Jarry, who has Ron Cook: Goalie Matt Murray deserved better treatment from Penguins allowed three goals in each of his past six starts, has opened the door for fans Murray to reclaim the starting job. He should get the start Tuesday night in Philadelphia in the Penguins’ final game until Jan. 31.

“We think we have two good goalies playing for us right now,” Sullivan RON COOK said. “If you have the capability to split the workload and you have quality guys, that’s an advantage for your team.” JAN 19, 2020 10:23 PM Murray gave the Penguins a chance to win Sunday by stopping all 24

shots he faced in the final two periods. Dominik Simon, Teddy Blueger, Penguins fans generally are terrific as long as the best player in the world Johnson and Bryan Rust scored goals to bring the team all the way back. plays on their team and their team is winning. They weren’t so supportive It was an impressive win against a strong, talented team in what before Mario Lemieux arrived in town, certainly not before the Penguins’ amounted to the Penguins third game in 3½ days. ping-pong ball came up in the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes. Mellon Arena was so empty most nights before Crosby got here that the “We didn’t have the start we wanted, but I thought we had a real good franchise nearly moved to Kansas City. response,” Sullivan said. “I was pleased with our guys. I think it was a character win.” But many Penguins fans can be frontrunners with the best of ’em. They packed PPG Paints Arena again Sunday for the game against the Boston Well said. Bruins, running the team’s sellout streak to 600 dating to Feb. 14, 2007, when the games were at Mellon Arena. That is a phenomenal number. No one showed more character than Murray.

The Penguins won, 4-3, after falling behind, 3-0. Post Gazette LOADED: 01.20.2020

On this day, the team was so much better than its fans.

Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson celebrates his goal in the their period against the Bruins on Sunday at the PPG Paints Arena Uptown.

The ones who serenaded Matt Murray with Bronx cheers early in the game should be ashamed of themselves.

No, it wasn’t a good start for Murray or the Penguins. Boston’s Patrice Bergeron got behind Jared McCann and beat Murray with a wrist shot just 11 seconds in. Moments later, Murray mishandled the puck behind his net and lost it to the Bruins’ Joakim Nordstrom, who would have scored on a wraparound if he hadn’t been hurried by a diving Kris Letang. Moments after that, Anders Bjork put Boston ahead, 2-0, when he scored at the end of a 3-on-2. It was the Bruins’ second goal on just three shots.

That’s when it became embarrassing for the home crowd.

It obnoxiously cheered Murray when he stopped a shot from the red line by Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo.

There would be a few more Bronx cheers after Murray’s next few saves.

“No comment,” Murray said when asked about his treatment from the fans.

It was a “no comment” that said plenty.

Penguins center Sidney Crosby takes a big hit from Bruins defenseman John Moore.

Clearly, Murray didn’t like the crowd’s reaction. It’s fair to say it angered him. It also probably hurt him.

Wouldn’t the fake cheers anger and hurt you?

“We heard the cheers in the first,” Letang said. “I mean, that’s not the time to do that.”

Murray deserved better even though he has had an uneven season and lost his starting job to Tristan Jarry. His name is on the Stanley Cup twice, remember? Murray won 15 games in the Cup run in 2016 and the final seven in 2016 after taking over for Marc-Andre Fleury. Murray also has been playing much better since late-December. He started Sunday after getting the win in a 2-1 overtime victory Friday night in Detroit, the first time since Nov. 19 and Nov. 21 that he started consecutive games. This latest win was his fifth in a row. He allowed just 13 goals on 173 shots in those games, a .925 save percentage. He stopped 24 of the Bruins’ final 25 shots, the one goal he allowed a fluke when Jack Johnson put a pass by Boston’s David Pastrnak into his own net.

“Matt is a professional. He knows what he has to do,” Letang said. “Hats off to him. He played a great game.”

“I give Matt Murray a ton of credit,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He made some dynamite saves in the third period. We don’t win the game if Matt doesn’t make those saves.” 1171985 Pittsburgh Penguins pairings. In the first period, Johnson had his struggles. He was slightly out of position on the opening rush, giving Patrice Bergeron a wide-open look he didn’t miss, scoring 11 seconds in. Later, he inadvertently knocked a puck into his own goal. Letang, meanwhile, looked out of sorts Yohe: 10 observations on Penguins’ comeback against Bruins, from Kris while chasing Marchand. In the third period, everything swung. Johnson Letang’s scuffle to Evgeni Malkin’s assist smartly jumped into the play while short-handed — three Bruins players ended up stuck behind the Penguins’ net — and fired a rocket that beat

Halak to the blocker side. Letang, meanwhile, played at a very high level By Josh Yohe Jan 19, 2020 during the final 15 minutes. I don’t love the two together, but they got the job done when needed while playing much of the game against hockey’s best line.

The Penguins became only the second team in the past decade to beat 6. Blueger is becoming a heck of a player for the Penguins. He scored the Bruins in regulation after spotting them a three-goal lead. It happened his seventh goal of the season while continuing to display the kind of in dramatic fashion as Bryan Rust finished off the 4-3 victory Sunday with defensive aptitude that forces Sullivan to call his name on a regular basis his 21st goal of the season. when games are in the balance. Blueger has some offensive upside remaining and will continue to score goals. It wouldn’t shock me if he Here are 10 observations on what may have been the Penguins’ most sniffs 15 this season, though that would require him to score eight in his satisfying victory of the season. final 33 games. Unlikely, perhaps, but not impossible. Blueger and 1. The game possessed a different kind of intensity, which was linemates Zach Aston-Reese and Brandon Tanev give the Penguins a particularly evident whenever Kris Letang and Brad Marchand were on very steady, reliable line. And as Sullivan frequently mentions, it’s not like the ice. They went after each other all game, had a wrestling match in the they are a traditional “shutdown line.” They have the puck a lot, they can second period and had another incident in the third that led to an score and, in Blueger’s case, I believe much more offense is on the way. elbowing infraction against Letang. 7. Dominik Simon (lower body) and Dominik Kahun (upper body) were Letang was miffed that, on two occasions, Marchand ducked when he injured. Sullivan, as is customary, didn’t give an update. Simon returned was about to absorb a hit. briefly in the second period but then went back to the locker room. Both started the day in the top six, and each would be a loss. The good news “He ducked right before I hit him,” Letang said. “He did it in the second is the Penguins will be off for nine days after their game in Philadelphia period. What do you want me to do? How am I supposed to expect a guy on Tuesday. In Simon’s case, the injury was surely frustrating because to duck? In the second period, he almost broke my knee. He ducked right he was playing perhaps his finest game of the season when he was into my knee. In the third, he ducks because he didn’t want to get hit. injured. His finish on the first-period goal was a thing of beauty, and he What do you want me to do there?” was skating with more authority than we have seen from him. Playing Letang wasn’t thrilled with the elbowing call. with Crosby is giving him a clear boost.

“I didn’t even move,” he said. “The problem is, my body hits his shoulder 8. I feel like I’m tough on NHL officials quite frequently, and I realize and trunk. The force brings my arms over his head. Then he loses his theirs isn’t an easy job. But watching Kelly Sutherland and Francois St. helmet. Sometimes there are angles on the ice you can’t really see. I’m Laurent officiate was frustrating for anyone who enjoys hockey on any not targeting anyone’s head out there. I’m just trying to hit him.” level. Twice, players on the Penguins and Bruins basically assaulted each other for about 10 seconds while Sutherland stood with his hands Letang rarely plays his best when he is worked up, and he was plenty on his hips, the way a disappointed father might look at his children as worked up by Marchand. But he settled down and was good down the they engage in a scuffle. Just call a penalty, for God’s sake. The call on stretch. Letang said he knows Marchand personally and that they get Letang in the third was bad, but Letang also got away with a very clear along off the ice. On the ice, not so much. What a playoff series it would slashing penalty. I could go on and on. The officials can’t help but make be. themselves the show. It’s not going to change anytime soon, but it makes you cringe a little more when a game is on national TV and such things 2. There would have been no comeback if not for some heroics from are being ignored. Sidney Crosby. The Penguins captain started it all with two of the most spectacular feeds you’ll ever see. Late in the first period, he displayed his 9. You can read much more about this from The Athletic’s Rob Rossi, but strength, vision and touch all in one instant, getting body position behind it was rather startling to hear the fans at PPG Paints Arena give Matt the net and firing a perfect pass to Dominik Simon, who got the Penguins Murray numerous Bronx cheers. Murray entered having won four on the board. Crosby then delivered an outrageous pass between his consecutive starts. He’s won the Stanley Cup twice. He’s been battling legs to Teddy Blueger, who pulled the Penguins within a goal. That’s now his way out of a slump. One of the goals he allowed was an own goal eight points (three goals and five assists) for Crosby in four games back courtesy of Johnson. The first goal, Bergeron’s, was scored on a in the lineup. Not bad. And his next game is in Philadelphia, where you defensive breakdown and a heck of a shot. Even the second goal, scored might be aware he’s enjoyed some success over the years. by Anders Bjork, was a pretty nice snipe. I don’t like telling fans what to do. They pay money for their tickets and have the right to behave as they 3. Speaking of brilliant feeds, how about Evgeni Malkin’s play on the wish. And I suspect it was a vocal minority giving it to Murray. But it still winner? Mike Sullivan described it as a “hardworking goal,” and that’s wasn’t a very good look. If you don’t believe me, check out what the fair. Malkin went behind Boston’s net at top speed and removed Charlie players — one, in particular — told Rossi about it. McAvoy from the puck with an outstanding forecheck. Malkin then immediately located Rust, who was wide open and buried the winner 10. All in all, it was a heck of a victory for the Penguins. The Bruins don’t past a surprised Jaroslav Halak. It was another magical pass by Malkin, blow leads and, frankly, they’re just a tough matchup for the Penguins. who is seemingly making such plays nightly. Malkin has 31 assists in his Yet, the Penguins scratched and clawed their way all the way back for a past 30 games and, keep in mind, the Penguins have been operating victory in regulation. The Penguins trail the Bruins and Blues by one point with a shaky power play during that stretch. His playmaking and creativity in the overall standings and the Capitals by four points for the best are astonishing. record. They look like a team that could use the rest that the bye week and All-Star break will bring. They also, as I’ve stated many times, look 4. Interestingly enough, Rust wasn’t sure if he was going to take the shot. like a team with a wonderful blend of talent and character. Impressive It sounds crazy, I know, but I had a chance to speak with him about the victory. play. In retrospect, it was a fairly simple decision for Rust because Halak had no idea he had the puck. Rust had an open corner and took the shot. The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 However, as the pass was being delivered to Rust, he anticipated that Halak was going to quickly locate him and jump into the play. Rust said he saw Jared McCann out of the corner of his eye and had a thought to deliver a backdoor pass. Rust thought better of it, and another chapter to his exceptional season was written.

5. It was an interesting game for the Letang-Jack Johnson tandem. I’m on record as saying I don’t like them together, and I’m sticking with that. Both players, in my view, are more effective when they’re in other 1171986 San Jose Sharks Barracuda play twice next week. Once the Sharks’ bye week ends, though, Blichfeld — as Boughner intimated — should be among those coming back to the NHL.

Takeaways: For the Sharks, when’s the right time to start playing the There could be more opportunities for Barracuda players after the kids? deadline, as well. Depending on where things stand, the Sharks shouldn’t be afraid to sit more of their depth players and give long looks to their more promising farmhands.

By CURTIS PASHELKA PUBLISHED: January 19, 2020 at 5:03 am | 2. Reclaiming an identity: The Sharks have 12 games left before the UPDATED: January 19, 2020 at 4:01 PM trade deadline, starting with a Jan. 27 game against Anaheim. With Couture not expected back until the end of February, things could get

real ugly if the Sharks can’t rediscover a formula for success. The margin VANCOUVER — Joe Thornton skated through the neutral zone and for error without Couture is razor-thin. caught up to Brandon Sutter before he delivered a shoulder-to-shoulder “I think we all know the situation that we’re in. We’ve got to find a way to check that laid out the Vancouver Canucks forward. Sutter then skated build on something, whatever that might be,” Sharks defenseman Erik across the ice back toward Thornton, only to receive a short left hand to Karlsson said. “If it’s not for now, then for the future. the face for his troubles. “You’re going to go through these spells at some point as a team and as It all took place at the end of a frustrating night to conclude a depressing an organization. We’re in the middle of it right now. This is where we’re road trip that couldn’t wrap up soon enough for the Sharks, who lost 4-1 going to find out who’s going to be here long-term and what we’re going to the Canucks at Rogers Arena in their last game before a week-long to have to do to move forward.” break. 3. Dell’s solid night: Ten of the Canucks’ 39 shots Saturday came with “I think it’s probably a little bit of frustration leaking over on our part,” the man advantage. Only one wound up behind Dell, as Tanner Pearson Sharks interim coach Bob Boughner said of the late-game fracas. “At that scored at the 5:01 mark of the third period, 24 seconds after Timo Meier time in the game … it’s 4-1 with a couple of minutes to go and it’s a tough was given the gate for goalie interference. position to be in. I think they’re frustrated and I think it’s just a good time for a break for this hockey club.” Dell gave his team a chance, as he made 26 saves in the first two periods. His save percentage is around .920 over the last two months, The Sharks managed just seven shots on goal through two periods, took and it’ll be interesting to see if anything develops with him on the trade too many penalties and were dominated in the faceoff circle, punctuating front over the next few weeks. Dell is scheduled to become an a three-game trip that started with losses to Arizona and Colorado. The unrestricted free agent this summer. Sharks never held a lead on the trip and were outscored 14-4 along the way. If Dell isn’t traded, is that a sign the Sharks would be interested in keeping him past this season. We shall see. Just last week, the Sharks were celebrating consecutive wins over Columbus and Dallas, their first two games without injured center and Avalanche 4, Sharks 0: Bob Boughner airs his frustration — “It’s time to captain Logan Couture. The morning after their 2-1 win over the Stars on man up” Jan. 11, the Sharks were six points out of a playoff spot with 45 games left to play. Not great, but not insurmountable. Would other teams show interest in acquiring him? Not necessarily to be their No. 1, but to be a solid backup during the stretch run? Could Now, after Saturday’s game, and the road trip as a whole, the writing’s on Toronto be interested, given the Maple Leafs’ struggles to find a backup the wall. The Sharks (21-25-4) are now 11 points out of the second wild to Frederik Andersen and Dell’s history with Dave Hakstol? How about card spot in the Western Conference with 32 games left. Barring a Winnipeg, or Florida? stunning turnaround, the Sharks will miss the playoffs for only the second time since 2002-03. Not saying the Sharks should trade Dell. But why not listen?

“We just stopped everything that was (helping us) be successful, and I I’m not sure anything should be off the table. guess this is pretty much the ramifications of that,” Sharks goalie Aaron San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.20.2020 Dell said. “I don’t know why it changed or when it changed, but it’s back to the team from (December), kind of.”

Takeaways from Saturday night:

1. Expect big changes in the coming weeks: The Sharks will be sellers by the Feb. 24 trade deadline. It’s probably just a matter of how many players they want to trade away.

Right after the deadline, or perhaps sooner, it makes sense for the Sharks to start dressing some more of their younger players on a regular basis, just to get an idea of whether they can help the hockey club long term.

We may have gotten a taste of things to come Saturday night, as Marcus Sorensen was scratched in favor of Joachim Blichfeld.

Blichfeld, who had 25 points in 27 games with the Barracuda before his latest recall, finished with two shots in just over 16 minutes of ice time as he was given a chance to play on the Sharks’ top line with Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane.

Blichfeld had a couple hiccups, but overall made a positive impression on Boughner.

“You can tell he’s got some poise with the puck,” Boughner said. “Guys like that, it takes them a little while to get going. They’re worried about being good defensively, not making mistakes and things like that.

“Once he plays some more hockey up here with us, I think you’re going to see his offense come out even more.”

Blichfeld, along with Antti Suomela and possibly Joel Kellman, will likely be reassigned to the AHL once the Sharks return to San Jose, since the 1171987 San Jose Sharks for 10th place ion the NHL's career list. ... San Jose forward Marcus Sorensen was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

UP NEXT Pearson leads Canucks past Sharks and into 1st in Central Sharks: host Anaheim on Jan. 27.

Canucks: host St. Louis on Jan. 27. Updated 12:14 am PST, Sunday, January 19, 2020 San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 01.20.2020 AP

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The Vancouver Canucks surged past the San Jose Sharks — and took over the tight Pacific Division.

Tanner Pearson scored on the power play and had an assist, helping the Canucks to a 4-1 victory Saturday night.

Loui Eriksson, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes also scored for the Canucks, who won for the 11th time in 14 games and extended their home winning streak to eight games. The victory also moved the Canucks into first place in the Pacific with 58 points, one more than Edmonton, Calgary, Vegas and Arizona.

“Going into the break in a playoff spot is big,” Pearson said. “We’ve got to keep it strong here at home (and) become a better road team here on out.”

Vancouver is 16-5-3 at Rogers Arena, but just 11-13-1 away from home.

Jake Virtanen and Adam Gaudette, playing in his 100th NHL game, each had two assists for Vancouver, who outshot the Sharks 38-17. Thatcher Demko, making his third start in the last 19 games, stopped 16 shots.

“It’s going to be like this through the rest of the games,” Eriksson said. “Tight games and every game is going to be big to get points.”

Barclay Goodrow scored for the Sharks, who lost their third consecutive game. Aaron Dell made 35 saves.

"We pretty much didn’t show up the whole game,” Dell said. “We just stopped everything that was successful. This is pretty much the ramifications of that. I don’t know why it changed or when it changed.”

Pearson gave the Canucks a 2-0 lead at 5:01 of the third period when he deflected a shot by Virtanen past Dell.

The Sharks finally showed some life when Goodrow scored off a scramble at 7:09. Hughes restored Vancouver’s two-goal lead just 37 seconds later when his shot from the blue line ended up in the net.

Miller made it 4-1 off a pretty pass from Virtanen on a 2-on-1 at 15:27.

"In a game like that, you’re peppering their goalie,” Pearson said. “He’s saving them all and they’re not getting any shots. It usually can go one way or another. Good thing it went our way tonight.”

The Canucks outshot the Sharks 27-7 after two periods, including 18-4 in the second, but led just 1-0.

Eriksson’s goal came at 14:05 of the second. Pearson whiffed a shot that sent the puck trickling to the net. Eriksson lifted the stick of San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson, then batted the puck behind Dell for his fifth goal of the season.

San Jose challenged, arguing Vancouver was offside. The goal was upheld on video review and San Jose was assessed a penalty, but the Canucks failed to score on the power play.

“That was top to bottom another good game,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “The last two games at home were pretty complete games by our group. We talked about being a committed group, resilient, and we were tonight.”

Sharks forward Kevin Labanc said frustration led to a melee late in the game that saw 60 minutes in penalties handed out.

“We all just want to win so badly,” Labanc said. “We’re kind of stuck in the mud right now. It’s not fun. Tension builds. Next thing you know, stuff like that happens.”

NOTES: Canucks captain Bo Horvat announced on social media that he and his wife are expecting a baby. ... Vancouver’s longest home-ice winning streak was 11 games between Feb. 3 and March 19, 2009. ... The Sharks’ Joe Thornton played his 1,616th game to pass Larry Murphy 1171988 San Jose Sharks

NHL.com snubs Sharks-Golden Knights Game 7 as best game of 2010s

By Marcus White January 19, 2020 2:39 PM

NHL.com named a Game 7 ending 5-4 and involving a three-goal comeback, two division rivals and an overtime winner as the best game of the 2010s.

It just wasn't the one with the Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights.

NHL.com and NHL.com International staff members chose the Boston Bruins' Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference first-round series during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the game of the decade. In a 9:18 span, the Bruins erased a 4-1 deficit to force overtime and Patrice Bergeron scored the winner 6:05 into the extra frame.

An epic comeback in a game between two "Original Six" rivals is, on paper, worthy of the crown. But Sharks-Golden Knights is more deserving.

For one, San Jose and Vegas were much closer in terms of quality than Boston and Toronto. Yes, the Golden Knights jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the 2019 Western Conference first-round series and fewer standings points separated the Bruins and Maple Leafs (five) than the Sharks and Knights (eight). However, the 2013 Maple Leafs greatly benefited from the lockout-shortened 48 game schedule, making the playoffs despite being the NHL's worst puck-possession team.

The Sharks and Golden Knights, on the other hand, were both legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. Both finished the regular season in the NHL's top three in terms of shot share and shot quality. Had Vegas beaten San Jose, it's likely the expansion franchise would have played in a second Western Conference final in as many years.

What unfolded on the ice in the third period in Boston doesn't hold a candle to the third period in San Jose last April. Then-captain Joe Pavelski's head bled as the result of a fluky collision with Golden Knights forwards Paul Stastny and Cody Eakin, leading to a highly disputed five- minute major penalty. The Sharks then matched an NHL record with four power-play goals on the non-releasable penalty, nearly blowing the roof off SAP Center.

A 3-0 deficit turned into a 4-3 lead, but the Sharks couldn't escape regulation with a win. Then-Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant pulled goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and iced six forwards when Jonathan Marchessault scored the game-tying goal with 47 seconds remaining in the third period. That set up an overtime that lasted nearly 20 minutes before Barclay Goodrow sent San Jose to the second round, and the Sharks' win left the Golden Knights with a summer of animosity that made Vegas' decision to replace Gallant with fired San Jose coach Peter DeBoer so much more shocking.

To recap: Game 7 of Sharks-Golden Knights included one of the most controversial (or worst, if you ask Golden Knights fans) calls in NHL history, a historic power play that sent the SAP Center crowd into delirium, a game-tying goal that silenced the same crowd not even six minutes later and nearly a full period of extra hockey.

By comparison, the twists and turns of Bruins-Maple Leafs seem rather straightforward.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171989 San Jose Sharks

How struggles in faceoff circle plagued Sharks on disastrous road trip

By Brian Witt January 18, 2020 10:55 PM

That is not how the Sharks wanted to enter the All-Star break.

Coming off consecutive wins over the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars, San Jose had a chance to reach the unofficial midway point of the regular season riding a massive wave of momentum, perhaps large enough to carry the team back to the postseason. All that sat between the Sharks and that development was a crucial three-game road trip against Western Conference foes.

At the very least, San Jose needed to keep its head above water. Instead, the Sharks drowned in disaster.

Facing the Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks -- all teams San Jose potentially would have to leapfrog to make the playoffs -- the Sharks reverted back to kind of performances that put them in such a deep hole in the first place.

San Jose was outscored 14-4 and outshot 117-73 over the course of the three games. Those two stats obviously are interconnected, but Sharks interim head coach Bob Boughner pointed to another area of failure as a big reason for his team's struggles.

"The big difference this road trip is we've been horrible in the faceoff circle," Boughner said following the 4-1 loss in Vancouver on Saturday night. "You're never starting with the puck. Even in the offensive zone, you're chasing, and you can't chase pucks all night. That limits your possessions and tires you out."

Boughner's correct. The Sharks were thoroughly dominated in the faceoff circle over the course of the road trip, which might have had something to do with them scoring only one goal over its final six periods of play. San Jose won only 45.1 percent of the draws against the Coyotes, 45.6 percent against the Avalanche and only 38.0 percent against the Canucks.

It's only the third time this season the Sharks have won fewer than 49.0 percent of the draws in three straight games, and the most recent instance also coincided with a three-game losing streak. Whether it's shooting, scoring or simply gaining possession of the puck, Boughner is hoping the All-Star break will provide the Sharks with the needed respite to address their shortcomings.

"This is probably a great break for everybody, mentally," Boughner said. "Recharge the batteries and come back and try to forget about this week of hockey and put a good week in as soon as we get back."

The Sharks' final week heading into the All-Star break was an unmitigated disaster. If they're still planning on qualifying for the postseason, they can't have any more like it.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171990 San Jose Sharks going to be his go-to weapon, his instant success in the AHL as an immediate threat offensively shouldn’t surprise anyone.

3. Jonathan Dahlen, LW, 22 (Timra IK) Wheeler’s 2020 NHL prospect pool rankings: No. 25 San Jose Sharks If I could make heart eyes at Jonathan Dahlen, I would. Hell, I did when I included him in The Gifted, my annual series on fascinating prospects. There are a lot of things that contributed to Dahlen’s tumultuous rookie By Scott Wheeler Jan 19, 2020 season in the AHL last year and the decision to go back to Sweden and try to reset with his hometown team. Injuries at bad times, usage in the

wrong role and a trade resulted in a disappointing year. He remains one Welcome to Scott Wheeler’s 2020 rankings of every NHL organization’s of hockey’s most underrated prospects, though. Stick him with talented prospects. You can find the complete ranking and more information on players and I’d be shocked if he didn’t create offence … at any level. the criteria here, as we count down daily from No. 31 to No. 1. The He’s not an explosive skater but he’s got unique edge work, the ability to series, which includes evaluations and commentary from coaches and maneuver through traffic, excellent east-west vision and superb hands. staff on more than 500 prospects, runs from Jan. 13 to Feb. 11. I’m willing to die on this hill.

I’m going to be honest: The Sharks were actually a couple of slots lower 4. Sasha Chmelevski, C/LW, 20 (San Jose Barracuda) on this list before recent NHL demotions propped them back up a little. Chmelevski is one of those prospects who has always impressed me On the whole, I see their group of prospects as among the most volatile more for the sum of his skills than his actual production. That isn’t to say of the 31 clubs. By that I mean that I think there’s a scenario where the he hasn’t produced. He was excellent in each of the last two years in the range of outcomes for their pool places them significantly higher than OHL and outright dominant in Ottawa’s playoff run last season. But I truly here in hindsight, or potentially even lower than where I originally had believed he was going to challenge for a 100-point season toward the them ranked. end of his career and that never happened. Part of what turned me into such a fan of his game is that he’s talented enough to be the primary That’s driven by a few things. The first is the presence of one of the most carrier and creator on his line but he’s also smart enough to know how to enigmatic prospects in the sport and one of hockey’s great boom or bust play off different types of players. I hate to use terms like ‘hockey IQ’ or propositions. The second is that it’s also a surprisingly deep pool. I set ‘awareness’ because they mean different things to different readers and my minimum number of prospects for each team at 15 and the Sharks pretend to say more than they actually do but he’s just a smart hockey are the first to appear on the ranking and run longer than that (there are player. He does an excellent job tracking the puck, he anticipates the 18 players ranked here). The problem is that while I’m intrigued by more play with and without the puck at a high level and he knows when to Sharks prospects than I was for any of the teams before them (though I make the simple play or when to try the risky one. He’s also really well- did debate having the Bruins run a couple slots further), I’m not in love spoken and articulate, which I think has helped him complement with many of the guys near the top. impressive skill with a deeper understanding of the way the game is played than most his age. If there’s one thing that might hold him back, The result is a lot of interest, without a ton of fascination. A lot of players it’s mediocre speed. I think he becomes an NHLer, though. who have tools that might help them into depth roles but overall very few I’d bank on as top-of-the-lineup options. 5. Artemi Knyazev, LHD, 19 (Chicoutimi Saguenéens)

1. Ryan Merkley, RHD, 19 (London Knights) I have concerns about Knyazev’s skill level and ceiling (I don’t think it’s high-end enough to become a power play guy at the next level) but he I have written about Merkley so many times in the last two years that I’m plays a modern, fluid game that transitions the puck up ice quickly. He’s honestly running out of new things to say. If you’re familiar with my work, just efficient. He’s calm with the puck, he’s calculated about where he you’ll know I’ve always believed in his talent as high-end enough to puts it, he rarely makes the big mistakes other young defencemen do, his overcome some obvious (and real) concerns about everything else. I had skating is a strength and he’s physical for his size. There’s a lot to like. him 11th on my final top 100 ranking for the 2018 draft — and believed Keep an eye on Chicoutimi, too. They’re a favourite to come out of the the Sharks were right to swing for the fences and take a chance on him. QMJHL and a run at the Memorial Cup with Knyazev playing big minutes But while you’d hope that some of the drama that seems to always follow wouldn’t be surprising. him would have dissipated after he was selected, it didn’t. The top- ranked Guelph Storm felt like they were better off without him. Then there 6. Noah Gregor, C, 21 (San Jose Barracuda) was his bizarre exit from Peterborough. It contributed to a climate where OHL teams weren’t willing to give their league’s most talented defender a Gregor is one of those players who is a pretty straightforward evaluation shot, until the London Knights did. And then the head coach of those because what you see is what you get. He’s a standout skater north- Knights didn’t even invite Merkley to Team Canada’s selection camp. I south (his edge work laterally is good but not nearly to the level of his will say, though, that while the stick-slamming and temper-flaring is still straightaway speed) with a knack for finishing off plays around the net happening in London, I’ve seen a reduction in it and he hasn’t been a and decent though unspectacular playmaking ability. He’s the kind of liability in his own zone. The production and skill level don’t need any player who projects fairly safely as a third-line option but probably doesn’t justifying. He’s a brilliant offensive player who has a chance to be a have enough pop in his offensive game to be more than that. I do think dynamic offensive threat and one of the NHL’s more dangerous power he’s got more of a scoring touch than we’ve seen to date in the AHL (and play quarterbacks. obviously in the NHL), though. He’s not going to beat goalies from long distance but he’s got a dangerous release from the slot. 2. Joachim Blichfeld, RW/LW, 21 (San Jose Barracuda) 7. Alexander True, C, 22 (San Jose Barracuda) Blichfeld is one of a handful of the players across all 31 teams who I opted to include on my list despite a recent call-up to the NHL. That’s True is a late-blooming, towering centre who struggled in junior to match driven by the fact that, as I author this piece, he has played just two NHL his length with the strength and coordination he needed to be a top games and I’m not convinced his AHL days are over. So you can add an player but has since begun to put it all together. He does a good job at extra prospect report, Sharks fans. Huzzah! For my money, Blichfeld has the front of the net, going side to side to finish off plays with better-than- followed one of the steepest progressions outside the NHL over the last you’d-expect hands and impressive hand-eye coordination on tips and few years. When he was picked as late as he was (210th overall) in deflections. He has also always been a strong penalty killer, 2016, he wasn’t one of those players that I thought was going to be a demonstrating impressive instincts and an active stick. Though skating is steal. Then he had an excellent rookie season in Portland, including a almost always a concern for a player his size and he’s no exception, he particularly impressive playoffs. And by the time he left the WHL, he was can actually hold his own once he gets moving, which will probably be one of the league’s most dominant players and he’d done it without top the difference between him being an NHL player or not. Though he prospect and teammate Cody Glass for most of the year. While there are doesn’t have great offensive skills, I could see him as the net-front guy often 20-year-old players who post big numbers in the WHL and aren’t on a second power play, an active penalty killer and an OK offensive legitimate prospects, Blichfeld’s one-man show on a Winterhawks team presence at even strength. that lacked a supporting cast was impressive. The big progression from 8. Lean Bergmann, LW/RW, 21 (San Jose Barracuda) Blichfeld is that he’s gone from being a pure goal scorer with size to being a well-rounded offensive who has puck skill and has opened up his There’s a lot to like about Bergman’s game. He can score, he’s big, he vision to become a multi-faceted creator. And while his shot is always knows how to effectively use his size to his advantage, both dropping a shoulder off the rush and driving the cycle, and he’s physical. My worry could prove challenging. He’s a dynamic college player with lukewarm with his game has always centred around his tendency to tunnel vision. NHL odds at worst. Worth keeping an eye on, though. There are a lot of moments where you’d like him to do a better job slowing down and surveying the ice to involve his teammates a little 13. Nicolas Meloche, RHD, 22 (San Jose Barracuda) more. He’s very net-focused. That’s a good thing in a depth forward who Meloche hasn’t played as well for the Barracuda as he did for the just wants to get pucks on net and end his shift as a net-positive, but it Colorado Eagles but he’s still a 6-foot-3, right-shot defender who can will limit his ability to be more than that. move the puck efficiently, defend at a high level and offer a physical 9. Jeremy Roy, RHD, 22 (San Jose Barracuda) element. Is he going to be the second-pairing all-situations defenceman some scouts believed he could be in his draft year? No. But he’s got Tracking Roy’s progression has been a bit of a whirlwind for me because enough elements to still become a useful NHL option. his game has gone in different directions (both good and bad) than I expected it would. I was really high on him in his draft year (too high, it 14. Jayden Halbgewachs, LW, 22 (San Jose Barracuda) turns out) as an impressive pass-first defender who I believed had power Halbgewachs is kind of the classic AAAA player. He’s dangerous every play upside at the NHL level and room to grow into an even more time he has the puck at the AHL level, with the ability to pull you out of impressive offensive threat. Since, he has battled injuries, his offensive your seat, create something out of nothing or show up in a flash through game has stagnated, his skating has remained average and his traffic. He’s the kind of player who can disappear for shifts or periods and defensive game has taken the largest steps forward. Now, I like him for then still end up on the scoresheet. The natural worry is that he’s going to different reasons. I have been impressed by his ability to leverage be a bit of a tweener due to his size (5-foot-8). He’s not the energy, obvious strength on the puck to win battles and by his willingness to bottom of the lineup type and he’s not so ridiculously talented as to be simplify his game and change his style of play. Today, he makes a lot of the first-or-second line type in the NHL. Think Nic Petan or Reid Boucher smart, quick decisions, rather than hanging onto the puck to find the hard or Chris Terry, players who can fill in and add some offensive punch to a seam with a pass. I wouldn’t rule out possession-driving third-pairing line at the NHL level but don’t really fit anywhere in an everyday role. defenceman just yet. 15. Vladislav Kotkov, LW/RW, 20 (Chicoutimi Saguenéens) 10. Ivan Chekhovich, LW, 21 (San Jose Barracuda) Kotkov has struggled to progress as far as his size and talent level A dominant year on a talented Baie-Comeau team — and a second should take him due to a sluggish stride, particularly from a standstill. strong showing in the AHL to close out a season — reinforced opinions He’s got great touch around the net, a dangerous shot (it almost springs from a minority of scouts (myself included) that there was something off his stick, which is quite long), obvious puck skill for a player who is 6- there in Chekhovich offensively; however, he has struggled as an AHL foot-4 and an extremely impressive — and underrated — game off the rookie. Some of that is driven by luck as his shooting percentage has puck. If he’s going to overcome an awkward stride to become an NHL cratered and some of it is due to usage, but some of it has also option at some point, it will be because of his play without the puck and a reinforced the concerns a majority of scouts had about his game. The constant commitment to the defensive zone. skill is obvious. It was evident on most nights before his breakout season as a 20-year-old last year, when he was a one-man show on a 16. Karlis Cukste, LHD, 22 (Quinnipiac University) considerably less talented Drakkar team. He’s dynamic with the puck on In his final year at Quinnipiac, after the program lost its three top his stick and able to make defenders move with a quick shake or stutter defencemen last summer, Cukste has been asked to play tough minutes. step from a standstill. He’s also got a dangerous shot, which he snaps Though the new assignments have resulted in a little less offensive through rather than needing time to dust off pucks or cradle his release. production than you’d hope for out of a senior with NHL aspirations, The big concern has always been that he looks a little sluggish in his Cukste has handled some hard assignments well. At 6-foot-4 and 220 movements. He’s heavy for a player who is 5-foot-10 and that is evident pounds, you’d expect him to be this hulking, physical presence. That’s in a stride that you’d probably like to be a step or two faster than it is. not really his game, though. Instead of focusing on removing players Plus, he’s not particularly well-equipped for depth roles, so there’s a from the puck, he does a good job removing pucks from players with an element of boom or bust to his projection. In time, I think he’ll be a active stick and sound gap control. And while his ceiling tops out at dangerous offensive player in the AHL. From there, it will be about calming third-pairing defender, that’s not bad for No. 16. making good on any NHL opportunity that comes his way. 17. Timur Ibragimov, C, 19 (SKA-Neva St. Petersburg) 11. Yegor Spiridonov, C/LW/RW, 18 (Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk/Zauralie Kurgan) Ibragimov has progressed really well in the last year and a half, basically willing himself into the NHL draft conversation as one of the MHL’s more Spiridonov already has a defensive game that’s mature for his age. He’s consistent game-to-game players as an 18-year-old. This year, that an excellent penalty killer, he’s strong on the puck and in battles, he’s got consistency spilled into dominance at the start of the year and he earned size and length, he can be counted on in tight games or defensive usage a quick promotion to the VHL, where he hasn’t looked out of place. He’s to make plays and end shifts in the offensive zone and he’s effective at a straight-line player who isn’t all that noticeable when he’s on the ice but all three forward positions, which helps on rotations. I think he projects finds ways to impact a game with decent hands, pro size, a hard shot safely as a good pro player. Now it’s about figuring out how high he can (though the release could be a little quicker) and strong offensive play in a lineup. Just because he’s a defensive presence doesn’t mean instincts. he has to be a depth, role-playing type. I’m actually quite fond of his playmaking ability and I think he has a better shot than most scouts give 18. Dillon Hamaliuk, LW, 19 (Kelowna Rockets) him credit for (though I’d like to see him use it more). He has already proven to be a dominant offensive option in the MHL (without giving back Hamaliuk really impressed scouts at the beginning of last year with his anything defensively) and I suspect the rest of his game will progress at a blend of size and well-rounded skill. He looked good at everything, slow burn at the pro level. It might take him some time to turn solid without being great at any one thing and that was promising. But then he offensive instincts and above average skill into something more than that got injured, lost half a season, got traded and he hasn’t looked the same. (he needs to pick up his foot speed along the way) but he’s got a real Now, suddenly, he’s already 19 (he was one of the older players in the chance. draft) and none of those good qualities have become great ones. He’s still worth a mention for his talent level at 6-foot-3 and 200-plus pounds, 12. John Leonard, LW, 21 (UMass) even if the missed time turned him into a bit more of a long-term project.

Pew! Pew! Pew! The Tiers

That, I imagine, is the sound goalies hear when Leonard is left open in a Each of my prospect pool rankings will be broken down into team-specific dangerous area with the puck. He doesn’t need time or space to get his tiers in order to give you a better sense of the talent proximity from one shot off (even if he’s receiving a pass on his backhand) and when it player to the next (a gap which is sometimes minute and in other cases comes off, it comes off hot. Mix in excellent hands and the ability to quite pronounced). create lanes and adjust his angles on net and you’ve got a player who can burn opponents by getting open or burn them by creating his own Breaking the Sharks pool into tiers was an easier task than it was for chances. His challenge, which is a common one for scorers, is going to some of the other teams. On talent and upside alone, Merkley is the clear be whether he can find the same time and space, or create the same No. 1, with the ability to play higher in the lineup and make more of an lanes, without a separation gear to his skating at the pro level. I think that impact offensively than any other prospect in the organization. After that, they’ve got a really strong group of five prospects who I think have a chance at being middle six contributors, another group of six players with legitimate NHL hopes and a final group of prospects that all have intriguing NHL qualities and an outside chance.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171991 St Louis Blues “It really is interesting the way so many things came to fruition at the same time,” Stillman said. “Obviously the Cup being most important. But the arena renovations being pretty close to being finished. The facility in Maryland Heights being finished and coming on line. For St. Louis, it's a 'special place in time,' hockey style “Our transaction buying out the previous owners — all those things just really came to a head at just about the same time.”

Jim Thomas 16 hrs ago Zimmerman expanded on Stillman’s thought.

“That’s a good list. That’s a really good list,” Zimmerman said. “It is this convergence of all these different activities. Of course, it was not the Twenty years ago, as the St. Louis Rams rocked the football world with grand plan that this would be the outcome. the Greatest Show on Turf, and the Edward Jones Dome was THE place to be on a Sunday afternoon, Dick Vermeil and Mike Martz frequently “But sort of like any other business you’re building, you work on the referred to it as a special place in time. individual pieces. And I think we’re in a situation where a little bit of lightning in a bottle happened that you put all these things together and Well, St. Louis sports fans, we have reached the hockey equivalent. Only the outcome is what we’re living through.” with several more layers. As for one piece of that lightning, the All-Star Game, Stillman gives Consider this convergence of events over the last couple of years — a Zimmerman a ton of credit for making it happen. sequence no one could have predicted: “It’s a long process of pushing and convincing the league,” Stillman said. — Over the past three summers, all kinds of renovations in infrastructure, “I think (NHL commissioner) Gary Bettman once thought that maybe amenities and aesthetics transformed the Enterprise Center from a worn- Chris Zimmerman was stalking him because he just kept on it and down venue to a sparkling showplace for sports and entertainment. working this way and working that way. Visitors have noticed. “Also, I think the Winter Classic helped us in getting the All-Star Game “Yeah, it’s great. It’s awesome,” said former Blues goalie Carter Hutton, because the league and NBC were really pleased with how we did that. in town earlier this month as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. “It was We worked together very well with both the league and NBC. So all those much needed, right? It was kind of an older building. Even when you things come together to get awarded an All-Star Game. walk out there, it looks like a brand new arena. So they’ve done a helluva “Obviously, we wouldn’t have got it without all the arena renovations job here.” either. So that feeds into it as well.” — Last June, the Blues announced they had purchased a minority share Regardless of the sport, St. Louis has shown repeatedly over the years of the team that had been put up for sale by a previous ownership group. that it knows how to put on a big event. The Winter Classic at Busch As a result, the Blues are now completely locally owned. Stadium on Jan. 2, 2017 between the Blues and Chicago Blackhawks — This fall, the Centene Community Ice Center complex opened in proved that to the NHL. So did the series of playoff games last season in Maryland Heights. Yes, the Blues practice there on many days. But the St. Louis culminating in the Cup Final. men’s and women’s teams at Lindenwood University call it home. Go Most of the groundwork already has been laid to make this a successful there any weeknight or afternoon on the weekend, and the place is event. buzzing with youth hockey teams. The All-Star Game — actually a tournament of three mini-games — is a St. Louis is now calling itself the “Heartland of Hockey” and Centene is sellout Saturday. the hub, building off a foundation laid before them for amateur hockey, such as the “St. Louis Six” — the six St. Louisans taken in the 2016 NHL The Skills contest on Friday is a sellout. draft (including five first-rounders). The Blues/NHL Alumni game at Centene? Sold out. More kids playing hockey, in theory, grows the Blues’ fan base over the long-term. The Fan Fair at Union Station, which runs Thursday through next Sunday: sold out. (Although some additional walk-up sales may take “Getting that facility built, and it’s without question one of the top facilities place here.) in the country, is a huge part of this,” said Chris Zimmerman, the Blues’ president and CEO of business operations. Sparked by the Cup run, the hockey energy in this “baseball town” is palpable. Casual fans aren’t so casual any more. Blues hockey is — And did we mention the Stanley Cup? After more than a half-century appointment television for many, with ratings up 30 percent so far this of thrills, spills, dashed hopes and frustration, captain Alex Pietrangelo season on Fox Sports Midwest. raised Lord Stanley’s Cup on a June night in Boston. The Blues at long last were champions of the hockey world. Attendance at basically every game at Enterprise is listed as 18,096 — a sellout. STLtoday.com columnist Jeff Gordon, who has seen more Blues Even now, it hasn’t quite sunk in for team chairman Tom Stillman, who hockey than just about any active media member in this town, remarked heads the Blues’ ownership group. last week from the press box: “You wouldn’t have seen this kind of energy for Anaheim in January a few years ago.” “I am a little bit still pinching myself,” Stillman said. “And I’ve said this too many times, but when I see something in print that says ‘the Stanley Cup In a sport where local revenue is critical to financial success, winning has champion St. Louis Blues,’ I’m still a little taken aback. been good for the Blues. Last month, Forbes’ annual list of franchise values in the NHL said the Blues were worth $530 million, 17th in the “It was just overwhelming, from the time we won (the Cup), to the parade, league and up 14 percent from a year ago. the reaction of the city and the way the city came together — it’s been a great several months.” “Winning is good for business and especially going all the way and winning a Cup is a very good thing,” Stillman said. “We got a lot of — Now comes the cherry on top. This coming Saturday, for only the third support during the run. Now coming into the next year, a lot more people time ever and the first time since 1988, St. Louis is playing host to the have made that commitment to have season tickets or sponsorships and NHL All-Star Game. It’s actually morphed into an All-Star Weekend, with other types of support. And those things are our lifeline. a skills contest Friday, an alumni game on Thursday, and all kinds of ancillary events, including a Fan Fair, street concerts, exhibits. “One of the goals we set back in 2012 (after buying the team) was to make the franchise financially stable and viable and this obviously helps. The Blues have shown no letup from their championship season. They So we’re strong, we’re stable. are leading the Central Division, leading the Western Conference, and going back and forth with the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins for “At the same time there’s always the caveat that the salary cap is just the top spot in the NHL standings. going to continue to go up because things are doing well in the league.

Has there ever been a better time to be a Blues fan, or a Blues owner? “We are tied to the salary cap and that is pushed largely by the really big market teams, whether it’s New York, Toronto, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal. So I think we will always be in a position of working to keep up Mascots of various NHL teams play Broom Ball at the 2017 NHL Fan Fair in a market that’s not as large as those. Our work is far from over.” in Los Angeles.

But for one weekend at least, it will be more about play than work, with Players from all the NHL teams come together to play in the All-Star most of the best players in the world on display in St. Louis. Game, and so do their mascots: Louie from the Blues, of course, along with Bernie, Bailey, Sparky, Gritty, S.J. Sharkie — all 29 of them (two “I really like the 3-on-3 format,” said Tom Stillman, hockey fan. “And the teams don't have mascots). The costumed creatures will compete in four skills competition will be fun, not only seeing the greats and the things days of relay races, musical chairs, jousting and actual ice hockey, they can do. which, as you’d imagine, gets awkward. In between competitions, the “But it’s such a light, fun atmosphere. And our fans will be right there mascots will roam the Fan Fair, greeting fans and posing for photos. while the best players in the world are just kind of hanging out and joking “There’s a lot of people in St. Louis who are fans from other cities — fans with each other.” of other teams," Mayer says. "(The All-Star Game) sort of brings out a lot of different uniforms and people’s allegiances.” As for that 3-on-3 format in the All-Star Game, Stillman was asked about the possibility of Central Division coach Craig Berube going with an all- The mascot roster: St. Louis starting lineup of Jordan Binnington, Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan Western Conference, Central Division • Tommy Hawk (Chicago O’Reilly and David Perron. Blackhawks); Bernie (Colorado Avalanche); Victor E. Green (Dallas “I would think so,” Stillman said, laughing. “I don’t know. Maybe he’ll feel Stars); Nordy (Minnesota Wild); Gnash (Nashville Predators); Louie bad about doing that.” (Blues); Moose (Winnipeg Jets)

Uh, no he won’t. Western Conference, Pacific Division • Wild Wing (Anaheim Ducks); Howler (Arizona Coyotes); Harvey the Hound (Calgary Flames); Hunter A fan puts his hand on the Stanley Cup at the 2017 NHL Fan Fair in Los (Edmonton Oilers); Bailey (Los Angeles Kings); S.J. Sharkie (San Jose Angeles. Sharks); Fin (Vancouver Canucks); Chance (Vegas Golden Knights)

Lord Stanley's Cup has certainly made the rounds since the Blues won Eastern Conference, Metropolitan Division • Stormy (Carolina the Stanley Cup Final in June. If you didn’t catch the famous trophy — or Hurricanes); Stinger (Columbus Blue Jackets); NJ Devil (New Jersey if you want to see it again — the hardware will be on display in front of a Devils); Sparky (New York Islanders); Gritty (Philadelphia Flyers); cool, hockey-themed background at the Fan Fair, Jan. 23-26. “We made Iceburgh (Pittsburgh Penguins); Slapshot (Washington Capitals) this plan to come to St. Louis for the All-Star Game well before the Blues won the Stanley Cup,” says Steve Mayer, the NHL’s chief content officer. Eastern Conference, Atlantic Division • Blades (Boston Bruins); “So this is super-exciting and very, very, very unusual that the All-Star Sabretooth (Buffalo Sabres); Stanley C. Panther (Florida Panthers); city is also the host of the Stanley Cup champion.” The NHL tries to tailor Youppi (Montreal Canadiens); SpartaCat (Ottawa Senators); each Fan Fair to the fans and venues of the hosting city, and this is about ThunderBug (Tampa Bay Lightning); Carlton (Toronto Maple Leafs) as personal as it gets. While the Fan Fair will take over the midway, ballroom and other portions 2019 NHL All-Star Fan Fair of Union Station, Lord Stanley will hold court from his tank on the second level of St. Louis Aquarium, which opened last month at Union Station. Attendees at the 2019 NHL All-Star Fan Fair in San Jose, Calif. The owner of a Massachusetts restaurant discovered the blue lobster among a seafood shipment and gifted the rare crustacean to the If you’re going to the Fan Fair, a hall of activities inside Union Station, aquarium in honor of the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup Final victory. The NHL Fan Access is a necessary download: It will be updated with last- lobster is one in 2 million, its coloring the result of a genetic mutation. minute changes and additions of player and alumni appearances and Fans selected Lord Stanley's name in an online vote, and his likeness is other special events. The app includes maps, chances to win prizes, and found on shirts and as stuffed animals at the aquarium’s gift shop. filters and frames for sharing your photos on social media (#NHLallstar). “The fans have really appreciated the minute-by-minute real-time Where St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, 201 South 18th Street • How updates they get with that app to understand what’s going on, not only at much $18-$25 • More info 314-923-3900; stlouisaquarium.com the Fan Fair but also at all of our events in St. Louis,” Mayer says. Missouri History Museum's "History Made" exhibit Get a grip, and take a shot "History Made," detailing the St. Louis Blues' road to the Stanley Cup, is 2020 NHL Fan Fair on display through Jan. 26 at the Missouri History Museum.

An oversize hockey puck at Kiener Plaza, where some events for NHL Courtesy of Missouri Historical Society All-Star Weekend will be held After the Blues won the Stanley Cup, Missouri History Museum historians The Fan Fair will give visitors plenty of chances to play hockey in all worked with the team to assemble an exhibition that told the story of the types of venues — from air and bubble hockey games inside the Dunkin’ underdog team and its path to "Gloria." "History Made" includes more Hockey House to a chance to shoot pucks into stacked washer-and-dryer than 20 objects on loan from the Blues and is on view through Jan. 26; units at the NHL Network Target Practice. An area for kids will include on that day, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., visitors can also stop by the Black History activities such as a ball hockey rink, and guests can test their aim at the Hockey Tour Truck. Both the museum exhibit and the truck are free. Ticketmaster NHL Accuracy Challenge or show off their slapshot at the GEICO Speed Shot Challenge. “We always get the great smiles on Where Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Boulevard • How much anything that we put together where somebody puts a stick in their hands Free • More info 314-746-4599; mohistory.org/society and shoots a puck,” Mayer says. “They’re something families can do Learn more about black hockey history together. They’re interactive. They love that stuff.” The NHL's American Legacy Black History Hockey Tour Truck will make Visit (or buy) a piece of hockey history several local stops during All-Star Weekend. The 525-square-foot mobile The Hockey Hall of Fame brings an exhibit to the Fan Fair that museum celebrates more than 200 years of achievement in black showcases the history of the Blues and professional hockey in St. Louis, hockey. Every black NHL player is represented on a “Wall of Pucks,” and along with the history of the All-Star Game. Oooh and ahh all you want, the truck gives a look ahead to the next generation of players, officials, but items there aren’t for sale — visit the Fanatics booth and the official broadcasters and women in hockey. The truck is touring the country merchandise shop for that. You can take home the usual hockey through March. memorabilia, along with items such as limited-edition, inscribed and Sing ‘Gloria’ — or sing along with Green Day and O.A.R. game-used items from NHL Auctions. And you’ll be able to snag a piece of fresh history, like game-worn gear from All-Star Weekend. S. Preston Green Day at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Art + Designs will offer limited-edition sketch prints and hockey-themed artwork. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day performs in 2017 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. Cheer for Louie — or 28 other team mascots Fans already know Green Day will perform during the All-Star Game on Jan. 25. It’ll be a brief show during the second intermission, during which the band will perform “Fire, Ready, Aim,” the season's theme song for The 1988 game was dedicated to Plager, who had become a coach but NBC Sports Wednesday Night Hockey. died at age 46 of a brain tumor, three days before the game.

Green Day also will perform a mini-concert outside, at 14th and Market The Arena got a bit of a makeover before the All-Star Game, with yellow streets, at the 5 p.m. pregame event Jan. 25. The rock band O.A.R. paint on outside handrails and updates to the bathrooms and press box. performs Jan. 24 at the NHL All-Star Skills Pregame Event, which starts “It looks good for a 58-year-old facility,” a general manager told the Post- at 3:30 p.m. at the same location; fans can enter the area at 2:30. Dispatch at the time. “The comments we hear is that it looks clean and it smells clean.” 2011 Orlando Calling Music Festival Enterprise Center, the Blues' home arena since 1994, thankfully has Marc Roberge of O.A.R. performs in 2011 in Orlando, Fla. raised that bar. (The venue previously has been named Scottrade Get your blood pumping before the big game Center, Savvis Center and Kiel Center.)

Why not get warmed up before the All-Star Game? This downtown 5K is NHL All-Star Weekend schedule as Bluesy as you can get. NHL All-Star 5K participants will get a blue, All- NHL All Star Skills Hockey Star Game-themed race shirt and bib, a medal for finishing, an electronic timing chip, refreshments and a chance to win Blues prizes. Players are introduced before the Skills Competition, part of the 2019 NHL All-Star weekend, in San Jose, Calif. When 9 a.m. Jan. 25 • Where Starts at 18th and Market streets • How much $35-$45 • More info nhl.com/blues/fans/all-star-5k Jan. 23

Cheer for our Blues and a St. Louis native NHL Fan Fair

David Perron, Alex Pietrangelo When • 3-10 p.m. Jan. 23-24, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 26 The Blues' David Perron (right) is congratulated by Alex Pietrangelo after scoring against the Colorado Avalanche during the second period Dec. Where • Midway, ballroom and other portions of Union Station, 1820 16, 2019, in St. Louis. Market Street

St. Louis is the starring, hosting city, so we’ve gotta cheer for our stars in How much • $12-$20 for adults, $10-$18 for children, seniors, college the game: Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, students and military; free for ages 2 and under forward Ryan O’Reilly and forward David Perron were chosen to play for the Central Division. Matthew Tkachuk, who grew up in Chesterfield and More info • nhl.com/fanfair attended Chaminade, plays for the Calgary Flames and represents the 2-4 p.m. • Black History Hockey Tour Truck (Matthews-Dickey Boys and Pacific Division. Girls Club, 4245 North Kingshighway)

When 7 p.m. Saturday • Where Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Avenue • 3-10 p.m. • NHL Fan Fair (Union Station) How much Sold out • More info stlblues.com 5 p.m. • Mascot Showdown (All-Star Rink, Fan Fair at Union Station) Hit the ice for yourself 7 p.m. • NHL Alumni Game (Centene Community Ice Center, 750 Casino New Year's Eve at Kiener Plaza Center Drive, Maryland Heights)

Skaters hit the ice Dec. 31, 2019, for Winterfest at Kiener Plaza. 7 p.m. • Mascot Showdown (All-Star Rink, Union Station)

Kiener Plaza serves as “celebration point east” for NHL All-Star Week, Jan. 24 with events centered on a temporary ice rink. From 1 to 4 p.m. this Saturday, a One Nation Celebration will include giveaways, raffles, face 10 a.m. • NHL Mini 1 v. 1 Shootout (Centene Community Ice Center) painting and more. Charles Glenn will perform free concerts at 1 and 3 11:30 a.m. • NHL Learn-to-Play Skills Jamboree (Winterfest Rink at p.m. Kiener Plaza) From noon to 2 p.m. Jan. 26, St. Louis Blues Youth Hockey invites kids 2-6 p.m. • Black Hockey History Tour Truck (Boys and Girls Club Teen ages 4 to 9 to learn basic hockey skills such as passing, stick-handling Center for Excellence, 9200 West Florissant Avenue, Ferguson) and shooting, and they will get a chance to play some pond hockey. The experience is free, but registration is required at 3-10 p.m. • NHL Fan Fair (Union Station) nhl.com/blues/community/winterfest-hockey. 3:30 p.m. • NHL All-Star Skills Pregame Event and O.A.R. concert (14th Players will compete in Winterfest 3-on-3 Hockey Classic games and Market streets) throughout the week, with a championship this Saturday. Games are played from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. 7 p.m. • All-Star Skills Competition and Mascot Showdown (Enterprise Center; broadcast on NBC Sports Network) From Jan. 22-26, the rink will be open daily for public skating. Admission is free, and skate rental is $12 adults and $7 for ages 3-15. The rink is Jan. 25 open 4-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, and noon-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. 9 a.m. • NHL All-Star 5K (starts at 18th and Market streets) Kids can rent skates for free on Friday, courtesy of the Blues. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. • NHL Fan Fair (Union Station) Where Kiener Plaza • How much $7-$12 • More info archpark.org/events/winterfest Noon • NHL Learn-to-Play Skills Jamboree (Winterfest Rink at Kiener Plaza) Were you there? Looking back at past All-Star Games Noon and 2 p.m. • Mascot Showdown (All-Star Rink, Fan Fair at Union The St. Louis Arena, 1967 Station) The neon sign at the Arena on Oakland Avenue before the team's first Noon-9:30 p.m. • Black Hockey History Tour Truck (Kiener Plaza) National Hockey League season in 1967-68. 5 p.m. • NHL All-Star Pregame Event with Green Day concert (14th and Post-Dispatch file Market streets) The only other NHL All-Star Games in St. Louis were in 1970 and 1988 5:30 p.m. • Mascot Showdown before the All-Star Game (Enterprise at the St. Louis Arena, which was demolished in 1999. In 1970, seven Center) Blues players played in the All-Star game, including Jacques Plante, Barclay Plager and Red Berenson. An All-Star Game dinner was held the 7 p.m. • All-Star Game (Enterprise Center; broadcast on NBC Sports night before the game at the Khorassan Room at the Chase Park Plaza; Network) that year, for the first time, the $25 tickets were available to the public. Jan. 26 10 a.m.-4 p.m. • NHL Fan Fair (Union Station)

10 a.m.-5 p.m. • Black History Hockey Tour Truck (Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Boulevard, Forest Park)

Noon • Try Hockey for Free (Winterfest Rink at Kiener Plaza)

Noon and 2 p.m. • Mascot Showdown (All-Star Rink, Fan Fair at Union Station)

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171992 St Louis Blues “I thought we played a great third period. Would have liked our power play in the third to get a few more looks.”

David Perron scored on the Blues’ first power play of the game, but after End result the same for Blues in Colorado: a loss that they did precious little in terms of creating chances on their other three power plays. Other than Perron’s goal, the Blues had just three other shots on goal in 6:19 of power-play time.

Tom Timmermann 21 hrs ago 0 “Some of the goals were definitely mistakes by us,” said Perron, whose goal gave him 21 on the season and five in the past seven games. “Guys

didn’t get covered and whatever it is. Definitely that shouldn’t happen and DENVER — As the Blues scattered in multiple directions on Saturday — it’s disappointing, but we have to try and move on and get fresh here in in general, the direction is south — it’s clear there’s one place you won’t the next several days. After the All-Star break, we’re right back on the find Blues goalie Jordan Binnington: Colorado. road for a week, week and a half. Here we go again.”

The Blues made some progress on Saturday from their previous trip to Colorado got two big goals in the final 3:34 of the second period, and had the Mile High City, and they certainly left feeling better about themselves a chance for more during a 67-second five-on-three that the Blues killed. than they did the last time they were here, but the end result was the “It’s frustrating, it’s disappointing,” Perron said. “I thought we could have same. After a 7-3 loss last time, the final score this time was 5-3, and gotten more out of this game at certain times, but we needed more also really it was 4-3 with the Blues threatening to tie before an Avalanche at different times. I’m disappointed about that.” empty net goal with 1.8 seconds left. Up next for the Blues is to host the All-Star Game, on Saturday at Enterprise Center, and then get back to Still the Blues are going into their break with a sizable lead. With a win, work the following Monday. the Blues would have been up 12 on Colorado. Instead, it’s eight points and Colorado has one more game, on Monday, before its break begins. For the second time in 16 days, Binnington took to the ice at the Pepsi Center to face the Avalanche, and for the second time in 16 days, he “It’s still frustrating, coming in here twice and losing the last couple didn’t finish the game. On Jan. 2, he was pulled in the third period after times,” said Pietrangelo, who has 13 goals this season and for the allowing seven goals. On Saturday, he was pulled late in the second second time in the NHL scored on his birthday. (He’s 30.) “We’re period after allowing a fourth goal on just 11 shots. The Blues cut the frustrated but these are the times you look at the big picture and the big number of shots they allowed to the Avalanche from 42 to 18 but it didn’t picture is we’ve put ourselves in a good spot for the second half of the change the result. season. It’s a good opportunity again to take a break and rest up and get ready.” “It was more of a quality over a quantity game tonight,” Binnington said. “They capitalized on their chances. I’ve got to be there to make some big QUESTION: With the play of Mikkola (cannot say it without making it saves for the boys when we needed it. Unfortunately, it’s a tough way to sound like the "Ri-co-la" commercials), does it make Gunny and / or go into the break for me, but it is what it is. Just get some time away and Bortuzzo expendable. come back regrouped.” JT: FYI, he says he gets teased about the cough drop commercials all The limited chances the Blues served up for the Avalanche were good the time and doesn't mind it. ones. Colorado whiz kid defenseman Cale Makar was given ample room to skate around before finding the shot he wanted at the top of the right As well as he's played, I don't think we should get too carried away after circle to make it 3-2. Just 22 seconds later, Oskar Sundqvist turned the four games. Very small sample size. But it certainly looks — right now — puck over just outside the Blues zone to spring Andre Burakovsky on a like he's got a bright future in this league. Berube obviously likes what breakaway, and he beat Binnington to the short side as the goalie left a sees, otherwise he wouldn't keep putting him in the lineup. gap between him and the post. But if this keeps up, somebody has to go sooner or later. If I had to pick “It’s a short-side goal,” Binnington said. “I haven’t really watched it between the two, I'd say Bortuzzo stays and Gunnarsson goes. As obviously, but odd-man rush, I’ve got to take that shot. It is what it is, put effective as he's been Gunnarsson has had trouble staying healthy this them up by two and it was unfortunate. We regrouped and we responded season and last. Plus, I think Berube likes the physical edge Bortuzzo and I think we had a pretty good third period and made a good push.” brings. In the near future, we're only talking about a month until the trade deadline comes and all teams can have expanded rosters. But if Binnington has now been pulled from an NHL game four times in his something needs to be done in the interim, it's always possible that short career, three in the regular season, once in the playoffs, and two of Mikkola gets sent down for a few weeks. them have happened in Denver. His previous loss here whetted his appetite, but he did not leave satisfied. 'ARMY' AT THE DEADLINE?

“I wanted to win tonight,” he said. “It’s frustrating. I was pretty (ticked) off, St. Louis Blues pre-season starts but it is what it is. Just try to keep building, keep your head down and QUESTION: Does "Army" consider making any trades at the deadline to keep working. bolster the team or does he stand pat like last year? “I felt pretty good actually. It’s just they had some quality chances and JT: My impression of Army is that he never says never. That he's always they capitalized on them. That’s on me to come up with some big saves. talking to people and working the phones. In saying that, there are cap It is what it is.” constraints to making a move, and this team — after all — is at the top of Berube said he made the move to buy some time after Colorado had the standings. But there's a lot of hockey to be played between now and gone up 4-2, but whatever the reason, the Blues made mistakes in front the trade deadline — I think 17 games. Stay tuned. of Binnington that put him in a tough spot and he wasn’t able to save DON'T MESS WITH THE TEAM CHEMISTRY them, as he’s done multiple times this season and last. Rangers Blues Hockey Still, the Blues showed the resolve they have showed a lot of this season by having a chance to tie at the end, but they couldn’t scale that final QUESTION: Was Sanford showcased to the Rangers to trade him and a mountain. Alex Pietrangelo scored a goal 7:23 into the third, giving the second-rounder for Chris Kreider? Blues more than 12 minutes to get even and they had their chances as the Avalanche played a very uncomfortable prevent defense. The Blues JT: Boy, Krieder's name sure comes up a lot when it comes to the Blues. created chances and had shots at the Colorado net but couldn’t get them Are you talking about just a rental here? Because given the team's to go in. current cap situation, it's hard to imagine the Blues doing anything long term. “They capitalized on some plays,” Berube said. “I thought we took too many penalties again against these guys because last time we did too. And one more thing: I'd be very careful about messing with the chemistry But I liked our game. I thought our guys competed hard, they played of this team. The Blues are on top of the standings, they're scoring more hard. It was a playoff style game. We just came up short. goals than they did last year, and they're about to get Blais back in a couple weeks. They've got Kyrou waiting in the wings. One of the best moves Armstrong made last year at the deadline was Gunnarsson, although his modest salary ($1.75 million) means the Blues doing nothing. Now, if the goal-scoring suddenly dips, or more injuries won't be able to save much money there. occur, that's another matter. WAIVERS FOR BROUWER? BERUBE HOLDING KYROU BACK? Blues take on Penguins at home Jordan Kyrou celebrates after scoring goal QUESTION: When Sammy Blais returns from IR, would you expect Troy QUESTION: Your thoughts on Kyrou? He's sitting and, yes, the Blues are Brouwer to be placed on waivers the same day? I don't understand why winning. But Berube isn't helping this kid develop. The Blues were he is still on the roster. There are enough injuries in the league that some winning 'with' Kyrou as well, and the kid has explosive talent, just needs team will need a veteran player. to hone it. Can't they get him more playing time? JT: I think that's the logical move. No need to do anything right now, JT: Berube was pretty clear about why Kyrou wasn't playing when I because the Blues aren't over the roster limit. Not sure if there would be asked him about it earlier on the homestand. Colleague Jeff Gordon calls any kind of demand for Brouwer — he was out of the league until Nov. them Berbube Points, and you have to be strong on the puck and play 20. defense to earn Berube points. GUNNER ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN I think Kyrou is much better with puck possession/puck battles than he was a year ago, but still has a way to go. With the team being as good as The Blues take on the Coyotes at Enterprise it is, they can afford to be patient with prospects/younger players. It QUESTION: Have you talked to Gunnarsson about how he feels being worked out pretty well with Robert Thomas, wouldn't you say? But Kyrou left out of the lineup? I would imagine he's not happy. Injuries are does has some dazzling talent. inevitable, though, and one would think that this extended break now will PETRO'S PRIORITIES serve him well in March and April and hopefully beyond.

Blues face off against Flyers JT: Not recently. But I've talked to Gunnarsson so many times in the past about this. Last season and early . this season, he was going back and COMMENT: It would be very sad if "Petro" chased every dollar and left, forth with Bortuzzo in terms of being in the lineup. He's always said the but why would he go after every cent when he can stay on a team with a right thing — yeah, he wants to be in the lineup every day — but the huge window to win one or maybe two more Cups in the next 5 years? team is winning and he understands this is a good team and deep D- Being on a winning team with teammates you love and have chemistry corps. But this feels a little different, doesn't it? with has to be a factor, too. COACHING CHAOS JT: I hear you. He has a chance to be a legacy player here — the kind they put statues in front of the building for. Blues take on the Ducks at Enterprise Center

I have no insight into Pietrangelo's thinking. But I'll say this: not every QUESTION: I'd imagine one of the biggest changes in covering hockey player dreams of playing in the hockey fishbowl that is Toronto — even over football is how coaches are treated in the NHL. How many years of players such as "Petro" who are from the Toronto area. futility did Rams fans suffer because guys like Spagnuolo, Fisher, and Linehan were given "another year" to turn it around. Meanwhile, in the PARAYKO HEALING? NHL, Jack Adams Award-winning coaches get cashiered for having their team 2 points out of first before the All-Star break. Is it jarring to cover a Blues take on the Edmonton Oilers league where the coaches are an underperforming goaltender or poor QUESTION: We are never told what players' injuries are. Can I assume power play away from losing their jobs? "Colt 55" has a concussion? Its the only injury that you can't put a firm JT: Yeah, it sure makes you wonder. Like what happens, strictly time frame on as to when it's healed. hypothetical, if the Blues get off to a slow start next season?

JT: I don't think it's a concussion with Colton Parayko. I was told he had Interesting that you mention Rams football. One of the reasons Dick "soreness." One thing I've noticed: Even though he's been on the ice for Vermeil got a third season with the St. Louis Rams (after going 5-11 and every practice/morning skate since the day before the Vegas game, I 4-12) is that team president John Shaw told me he felt a little bit haven't really seen him let loose with one of those 100 mph-plus remorseful about giving Rich Brooks only two seasons. Can't see that slapshots. Shoulder perhaps? happening in hockey, can we?

WHERE'S VLADI? Anyway, Linehan made it 2½ seasons. Spags got 3 seasons. So these Los Angeles Kings vs St. Louis Blues weren't necessarily extended stays although it may have seemed like an eternity at the time. QUESTION: Has anyone seen Tarasenko lately? On this homestand, I expected the TV folks to do a cutaway and show him watching from the YEO'S TIME WITH THE BLUES press box, but there was nothing. It's like he's turned invisible. St. Louis Blues v Toronto Maple Leafs

JT: We asked Berube about this about a week or so ago. He said QUESTION: Nice interview with Mike Yeo. Do you know how the Blues Tarasenko had been around, but that the team had given him permission players felt about Yeo? Did they like him personally? Did they like playing to leave St. Louis for a while. (I think for the holidays.) Don't know if that for him? Do you know of anyone on the roster who particularly disliked meant going back to Russia for a visit or going somewhere warm with the him or his coaching? family. He may be back now. But personally, I haven't seen him. JT: Schenn was talking Wednesday about how well he was treated by FINESSING THE SALARY CAP Yeo. Most of the players seemed to like him when he was here. The only Blues victorious over Sabres exception I know about was Bouwmeester — and it was in a narrow framework — Bouwmeester told me last season (and I've written it) that QUESTION: Looking at the numbers on capfriendly.com, it looks like the he didn't like the way Yeo handled his benching in Toronto. If you recall, Blues will have between $7-10 million in cap space depending on what it was early in the season, and it was the first time Bouwmeester could the limit goes up to. Based on these numbers, how can the Blues sign recall being a healthy scratch in his career. Petro without trading Allen, Steen or letting some of the younger players go (Mac Mac, Dunn, Mikkola, De La Rose, Blais)? NO CHEATING SCANDALS IN THE NHL?

JT: There's no doubt that Armstrong will have to do some cap finessing, Blues practice before playoffs which he's been known to do in the past. I think it will be closer to $10 QUESTION: Obviously there's no sign-stealing. You ever hear of any million of space and possibly more if the cap goes up _ as it always does. ways for the home team to cheat in the NHL?

It may come down to whether the Blues can afford to keep both Jake JT: Nope. And how would you cheat? Unless you had a bug on the other Allen ($4.35 million) and Alexander Steen ($5.75 million). Or they simply team's bench during games? Practices are open in the NHL and on may not be able to re-sign Alex Pietrangelo. Perhaps they move game days, it's easy enough for members of one team to watch the other skate.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THESE CHATS iParty Sports on Tap: St. Louis Blues edition

COMMENT: You know what I realized? Chats are a lot more fun when your team isn't as good. I've never been less interested in a trade deadline and all I really have to complain about is that Kyrou isn't seeing much ice. But thanks for the chat anyway!

JT: There's a lot of truth to what you say! Tough to argue with 30-10-8.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171993 St Louis Blues effective as he's been Gunnarsson has had trouble staying healthy this season and last. Plus, I think Berube likes the physical edge Bortuzzo brings. In the near future, we're only talking about a month until the trade deadline comes and all teams can have expanded rosters. But if Blues notebook: Parayko sits, but Berube confident he'll be back with something needs to be done in the interim, it's always possible that Blues after break Mikkola gets sent down for a few weeks.

'ARMY' AT THE DEADLINE?

Tom Timmermann 21 hrs ago 0 St. Louis Blues pre-season starts

QUESTION: Does "Army" consider making any trades at the deadline to bolster the team or does he stand pat like last year? DENVER — Colton Parayko accompanied the Blues on the trip to Colorado, but didn’t play on Saturday, making it the seventh game he’s JT: My impression of Army is that he never says never. That he's always missed, one more than he missed in his first four seasons combined. talking to people and working the phones. In saying that, there are cap constraints to making a move, and this team — after all — is at the top of Coach Craig Berube has suggested that Parayko isn’t far away from the standings. But there's a lot of hockey to be played between now and returning, though the team doesn’t want to rush him and now that chance the trade deadline — I think 17 games. Stay tuned. is here. With the bye week and the All-Star break, the Blues don’t play again until Jan. 27, so he’ll get another week to get healed from his DON'T MESS WITH THE TEAM CHEMISTRY upper-body injury. Rangers Blues Hockey Asked if he was confident in having Parayko back when play resumes, Berube said “Pretty confident. We’ll see, but pretty confident. He is close, QUESTION: Was Sanford showcased to the Rangers to trade him and a but like I said, want him to be 100 percent.” second-rounder for Chris Kreider?

Parayko is on injured reserve now but can be activated at any point. JT: Boy, Krieder's name sure comes up a lot when it comes to the Blues. Are you talking about just a rental here? Because given the team's Mikkola sent down current cap situation, it's hard to imagine the Blues doing anything long term. The Blues sent defenseman Niko Mikkola down to San Antonio after the game. They likely would have made the move regardless of Parayko’s And one more thing: I'd be very careful about messing with the chemistry situation since the youngster can get some games in even while the of this team. The Blues are on top of the standings, they're scoring more Blues are idle for a week with the All-Star break and their bye week. goals than they did last year, and they're about to get Blais back in a couple weeks. They've got Kyrou waiting in the wings. San Antonio has three games this week, on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, so if the Blues did need him he could rejoin the team on One of the best moves Armstrong made last year at the deadline was Sunday before they flew to Vancouver for the start of a four-game trip doing nothing. Now, if the goal-scoring suddenly dips, or more injuries through Western Canada. occur, that's another matter.

Mikkola played five games, with one assist, during his time in St. Louis. BERUBE HOLDING KYROU BACK? He logged 17:30 of ice time in the game with the Rangers, though he had just 9:25 in the Flyers game as the Blues used just two pairings at the Jordan Kyrou celebrates after scoring goal end of the game as they pushed for a goal. He got some words of advice QUESTION: Your thoughts on Kyrou? He's sitting and, yes, the Blues are and encouragement from Blues assistant coach Mike Van Ryn, who winning. But Berube isn't helping this kid develop. The Blues were handles the defense, outside the Blues dressing room after the game. winning 'with' Kyrou as well, and the kid has explosive talent, just needs The Blues did not send, at least on Saturday, forward Jordan Kyrou back to hone it. Can't they get him more playing time? to get in some action while the team shuts down for the break. Kyrou JT: Berube was pretty clear about why Kyrou wasn't playing when I hasn’t played since Jan. 9 vs. Buffalo, so even if he plays against asked him about it earlier on the homestand. Colleague Jeff Gordon calls Vancouver in the first game back, he will have gone 18 days between them Berbube Points, and you have to be strong on the puck and play games. Kyrou and Mikkola are the only players the Blues could send to defense to earn Berube points. San Antonio without having to pass them through waivers. I think Kyrou is much better with puck possession/puck battles than he Notes was a year ago, but still has a way to go. With the team being as good as Mackenzie MacEachern played one shift in the third period and then left it is, they can afford to be patient with prospects/younger players. It the game with a lower-body injury. He’ll be evaluated, but there doesn’t worked out pretty well with Robert Thomas, wouldn't you say? But Kyrou figure to be an update until the Blues reunite next week. MacEachern does has some dazzling talent. played just 4 minutes in the game, though there wasn’t much time for the PETRO'S PRIORITIES fourth line as the team tried to battle back. Linemate Jacob de la Rose played just 5:28. … With Carl Gunnarsson returning to the lineup, he and Blues face off against Flyers Robert Bortuzzo took part in the same game for the first time this season. Gunnarsson, in his first game since Dec. 12, played 11:45 with two shots COMMENT: It would be very sad if "Petro" chased every dollar and left, on goal and he blocked two shots. Late in the game, he was paired with but why would he go after every cent when he can stay on a team with a Alex Pietrangelo as the Blues tried to tie the game. … Kyrou, Mikkola huge window to win one or maybe two more Cups in the next 5 years? and Troy Brouwer were healthy scratches. … With six shots on goal and Being on a winning team with teammates you love and have chemistry six shot attempts that went off target, Pietrangelo’s 12 shot attempts with has to be a factor, too. were his most this season. JT: I hear you. He has a chance to be a legacy player here — the kind QUESTION: With the play of Mikkola (cannot say it without making it they put statues in front of the building for. sound like the "Ri-co-la" commercials), does it make Gunny and / or I have no insight into Pietrangelo's thinking. But I'll say this: not every Bortuzzo expendable. player dreams of playing in the hockey fishbowl that is Toronto — even JT: FYI, he says he gets teased about the cough drop commercials all players such as "Petro" who are from the Toronto area. the time and doesn't mind it. PARAYKO HEALING?

As well as he's played, I don't think we should get too carried away after Blues take on the Edmonton Oilers four games. Very small sample size. But it certainly looks — right now — like he's got a bright future in this league. Berube obviously likes what QUESTION: We are never told what players' injuries are. Can I assume sees, otherwise he wouldn't keep putting him in the lineup. "Colt 55" has a concussion? Its the only injury that you can't put a firm time frame on as to when it's healed. But if this keeps up, somebody has to go sooner or later. If I had to pick between the two, I'd say Bortuzzo stays and Gunnarsson goes. As JT: I don't think it's a concussion with Colton Parayko. I was told he had Interesting that you mention Rams football. One of the reasons Dick "soreness." One thing I've noticed: Even though he's been on the ice for Vermeil got a third season with the St. Louis Rams (after going 5-11 and every practice/morning skate since the day before the Vegas game, I 4-12) is that team president John Shaw told me he felt a little bit haven't really seen him let loose with one of those 100 mph-plus remorseful about giving Rich Brooks only two seasons. Can't see that slapshots. Shoulder perhaps? happening in hockey, can we?

WHERE'S VLADI? Anyway, Linehan made it 2½ seasons. Spags got 3 seasons. So these weren't necessarily extended stays although it may have seemed like an Los Angeles Kings vs St. Louis Blues eternity at the time.

QUESTION: Has anyone seen Tarasenko lately? On this homestand, I YEO'S TIME WITH THE BLUES expected the TV folks to do a cutaway and show him watching from the press box, but there was nothing. It's like he's turned invisible. St. Louis Blues v Toronto Maple Leafs

JT: We asked Berube about this about a week or so ago. He said QUESTION: Nice interview with Mike Yeo. Do you know how the Blues Tarasenko had been around, but that the team had given him permission players felt about Yeo? Did they like him personally? Did they like playing to leave St. Louis for a while. (I think for the holidays.) Don't know if that for him? Do you know of anyone on the roster who particularly disliked meant going back to Russia for a visit or going somewhere warm with the him or his coaching? family. He may be back now. But personally, I haven't seen him. JT: Schenn was talking Wednesday about how well he was treated by FINESSING THE SALARY CAP Yeo. Most of the players seemed to like him when he was here. The only exception I know about was Bouwmeester — and it was in a narrow Blues victorious over Sabres framework — Bouwmeester told me last season (and I've written it) that QUESTION: Looking at the numbers on capfriendly.com, it looks like the he didn't like the way Yeo handled his benching in Toronto. If you recall, Blues will have between $7-10 million in cap space depending on what it was early in the season, and it was the first time Bouwmeester could the limit goes up to. Based on these numbers, how can the Blues sign recall being a healthy scratch in his career. Petro without trading Allen, Steen or letting some of the younger players NO CHEATING SCANDALS IN THE NHL? go (Mac Mac, Dunn, Mikkola, De La Rose, Blais)? Blues practice before playoffs JT: There's no doubt that Armstrong will have to do some cap finessing, which he's been known to do in the past. I think it will be closer to $10 QUESTION: Obviously there's no sign-stealing. You ever hear of any million of space and possibly more if the cap goes up _ as it always does. ways for the home team to cheat in the NHL?

It may come down to whether the Blues can afford to keep both Jake JT: Nope. And how would you cheat? Unless you had a bug on the other Allen ($4.35 million) and Alexander Steen ($5.75 million). Or they simply team's bench during games? Practices are open in the NHL and on may not be able to re-sign Alex Pietrangelo. Perhaps they move game days, it's easy enough for members of one team to watch the other Gunnarsson, although his modest salary ($1.75 million) means the Blues skate. won't be able to save much money there. THE TRUTH ABOUT THESE CHATS WAIVERS FOR BROUWER? iParty Sports on Tap: St. Louis Blues edition Blues take on Penguins at home COMMENT: You know what I realized? Chats are a lot more fun when QUESTION: When Sammy Blais returns from IR, would you expect Troy your team isn't as good. I've never been less interested in a trade Brouwer to be placed on waivers the same day? I don't understand why deadline and all I really have to complain about is that Kyrou isn't seeing he is still on the roster. There are enough injuries in the league that some much ice. But thanks for the chat anyway! team will need a veteran player. JT: There's a lot of truth to what you say! Tough to argue with 30-10-8. JT: I think that's the logical move. No need to do anything right now, because the Blues aren't over the roster limit. Not sure if there would be St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.20.2020 any kind of demand for Brouwer — he was out of the league until Nov. 20.

GUNNER ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

The Blues take on the Coyotes at Enterprise

QUESTION: Have you talked to Gunnarsson about how he feels being left out of the lineup? I would imagine he's not happy. Injuries are inevitable, though, and one would think that this extended break now will serve him well in March and April and hopefully beyond.

JT: Not recently. But I've talked to Gunnarsson so many times in the past about this. Last season and early . this season, he was going back and forth with Bortuzzo in terms of being in the lineup. He's always said the right thing — yeah, he wants to be in the lineup every day — but the team is winning and he understands this is a good team and deep D- corps. But this feels a little different, doesn't it?

COACHING CHAOS

Blues take on the Ducks at Enterprise Center

QUESTION: I'd imagine one of the biggest changes in covering hockey over football is how coaches are treated in the NHL. How many years of futility did Rams fans suffer because guys like Spagnuolo, Fisher, and Linehan were given "another year" to turn it around. Meanwhile, in the NHL, Jack Adams Award-winning coaches get cashiered for having their team 2 points out of first before the All-Star break. Is it jarring to cover a league where the coaches are an underperforming goaltender or poor power play away from losing their jobs?

JT: Yeah, it sure makes you wonder. Like what happens, strictly hypothetical, if the Blues get off to a slow start next season? 1171994 St Louis Blues The Hockey Hall of Fame brings an exhibit to the Fan Fair that showcases the history of the Blues and professional hockey in St. Louis, along with the history of the All-Star Game. Oooh and ahh all you want, but items there aren’t for sale — visit the Fanatics booth and the official A look at the biggest events for NHL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis merchandise shop for that. You can take home the usual hockey memorabilia, along with items such as limited-edition, inscribed and

game-used items from NHL Auctions. And you’ll be able to snag a piece Jim Thomas 23 hrs ago of fresh history, like game-worn gear from All-Star Weekend. S. Preston Art + Designs will offer limited-edition sketch prints and hockey-themed artwork.

Players are introduced before the Skills Competition, part of the 2019 Cheer for Louie — or 28 other team mascots NHL All-Star weekend, in San Jose, Calif. Mascots of various NHL teams play Broom Ball at the 2017 NHL Fan Fair St. Louis Blues/NHL Alumni Game: Thursday, 7 p.m. at Centene in Los Angeles. Community Ice Center Players from all the NHL teams come together to play in the All-Star Not all will be playing, but over 28,000 games of NHL experience are Game, and so do their mascots: Louie from the Blues, of course, along scheduled to be on hand including Wayne Gretzky, Bernie Federko, with Bernie, Bailey, Sparky, Gritty, S.J. Sharkie — all 29 of them (two Doug Weight, Garry Unger, Red Berenson, Garth Butcher, Barret teams don't have mascots). The costumed creatures will compete in four Jackson, Cam Janssen, Chris Butler, Chris Thorburn and many more. days of relay races, musical chairs, jousting and actual ice hockey, which, as you’d imagine, gets awkward. In between competitions, the NHL All-Star Skills: Friday, 7 p.m. at Enterprise Center mascots will roam the Fan Fair, greeting fans and posing for photos. NHL All-Stars will participate in fastest skater, goalie save streak, “There’s a lot of people in St. Louis who are fans from other cities — fans accuracy shooting, hardest shot and shooting stars competition. An of other teams," Mayer says. "(The All-Star Game) sort of brings out a lot added bonus this year is a USA vs. Canada women’s 3-on-3 competition, of different uniforms and people’s allegiances.” featuring some of the best women’s players in the world (39 Olympic and The mascot roster: 108 World Championship medals between them). Western Conference, Central Division • Tommy Hawk (Chicago NHL All-Star Game: Saturday, 7 p.m. at Enterprise Center Blackhawks); Bernie (Colorado Avalanche); Victor E. Green (Dallas The best players the NHL has to offer square off in three 20-minute 3-on- Stars); Nordy (Minnesota Wild); Gnash (Nashville Predators); Louie 3 games. The Atlantic Division plays the Metropolitan in Game 1. Then (Blues); Moose (Winnipeg Jets) the Central plays the Pacific. The winners of those games meet for the Western Conference, Pacific Division • Wild Wing (Anaheim Ducks); title. The Blues are represented by Jordan Binnington, Alex Pietrangelo, Howler (Arizona Coyotes); Harvey the Hound (Calgary Flames); Hunter Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron. Craig Berube is coaching the Central (Edmonton Oilers); Bailey (Los Angeles Kings); S.J. Sharkie (San Jose squad. Sharks); Fin (Vancouver Canucks); Chance (Vegas Golden Knights) There are a host of other activities on all-star weekend. For a Eastern Conference, Metropolitan Division • Stormy (Carolina comprehensive listing of All-Star Weekend events, see the guide below. Hurricanes); Stinger (Columbus Blue Jackets); NJ Devil (New Jersey A fan puts his hand on the Stanley Cup at the 2017 NHL Fan Fair in Los Devils); Sparky (New York Islanders); Gritty (Philadelphia Flyers); Angeles. Iceburgh (Pittsburgh Penguins); Slapshot (Washington Capitals)

Lord Stanley's Cup has certainly made the rounds since the Blues won Eastern Conference, Atlantic Division • Blades (Boston Bruins); the Stanley Cup Final in June. If you didn’t catch the famous trophy — or Sabretooth (Buffalo Sabres); Stanley C. Panther (Florida Panthers); if you want to see it again — the hardware will be on display in front of a Youppi (Montreal Canadiens); SpartaCat (Ottawa Senators); cool, hockey-themed background at the Fan Fair, Jan. 23-26. “We made ThunderBug (Tampa Bay Lightning); Carlton (Toronto Maple Leafs) this plan to come to St. Louis for the All-Star Game well before the Blues While the Fan Fair will take over the midway, ballroom and other portions won the Stanley Cup,” says Steve Mayer, the NHL’s chief content officer. of Union Station, Lord Stanley will hold court from his tank on the second “So this is super-exciting and very, very, very unusual that the All-Star level of St. Louis Aquarium, which opened last month at Union Station. city is also the host of the Stanley Cup champion.” The NHL tries to tailor The owner of a Massachusetts restaurant discovered the blue lobster each Fan Fair to the fans and venues of the hosting city, and this is about among a seafood shipment and gifted the rare crustacean to the as personal as it gets. aquarium in honor of the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup Final victory. The Attendees at the 2019 NHL All-Star Fan Fair in San Jose, Calif. lobster is one in 2 million, its coloring the result of a genetic mutation. Fans selected Lord Stanley's name in an online vote, and his likeness is If you’re going to the Fan Fair, a hall of activities inside Union Station, found on shirts and as stuffed animals at the aquarium’s gift shop. NHL Fan Access is a necessary download: It will be updated with last- minute changes and additions of player and alumni appearances and Where St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, 201 South 18th Street • How other special events. The app includes maps, chances to win prizes, and much $18-$25 • More info 314-923-3900; stlouisaquarium.com filters and frames for sharing your photos on social media (#NHLallstar). "History Made," detailing the St. Louis Blues' road to the Stanley Cup, is “The fans have really appreciated the minute-by-minute real-time on display through Jan. 26 at the Missouri History Museum. updates they get with that app to understand what’s going on, not only at the Fan Fair but also at all of our events in St. Louis,” Mayer says. Courtesy of Missouri Historical Society

An oversize hockey puck at Kiener Plaza, where some events for NHL After the Blues won the Stanley Cup, Missouri History Museum historians All-Star Weekend will be held worked with the team to assemble an exhibition that told the story of the underdog team and its path to "Gloria." "History Made" includes more The Fan Fair will give visitors plenty of chances to play hockey in all than 20 objects on loan from the Blues and is on view through Jan. 26; types of venues — from air and bubble hockey games inside the Dunkin’ on that day, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., visitors can also stop by the Black History Hockey House to a chance to shoot pucks into stacked washer-and-dryer Hockey Tour Truck. Both the museum exhibit and the truck are free. units at the NHL Network Target Practice. An area for kids will include activities such as a ball hockey rink, and guests can test their aim at the Where Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Boulevard • How much Ticketmaster NHL Accuracy Challenge or show off their slapshot at the Free • More info 314-746-4599; mohistory.org/society GEICO Speed Shot Challenge. “We always get the great smiles on anything that we put together where somebody puts a stick in their hands Learn more about black hockey history and shoots a puck,” Mayer says. “They’re something families can do The NHL's American Legacy Black History Hockey Tour Truck will make together. They’re interactive. They love that stuff.” several local stops during All-Star Weekend. The 525-square-foot mobile Visit (or buy) a piece of hockey history museum celebrates more than 200 years of achievement in black hockey. Every black NHL player is represented on a “Wall of Pucks,” and the truck gives a look ahead to the next generation of players, officials, broadcasters and women in hockey. The truck is touring the country The only other NHL All-Star Games in St. Louis were in 1970 and 1988 through March. at the St. Louis Arena, which was demolished in 1999. In 1970, seven Blues players played in the All-Star game, including Jacques Plante, Sing ‘Gloria’ — or sing along with Green Day and O.A.R. Barclay Plager and Red Berenson. An All-Star Game dinner was held the Green Day at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre night before the game at the Khorassan Room at the Chase Park Plaza; that year, for the first time, the $25 tickets were available to the public. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day performs in 2017 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. The 1988 game was dedicated to Plager, who had become a coach but died at age 46 of a brain tumor, three days before the game. Fans already know Green Day will perform during the All-Star Game on Jan. 25. It’ll be a brief show during the second intermission, during which The Arena got a bit of a makeover before the All-Star Game, with yellow the band will perform “Fire, Ready, Aim,” the season's theme song for paint on outside handrails and updates to the bathrooms and press box. NBC Sports Wednesday Night Hockey. “It looks good for a 58-year-old facility,” a general manager told the Post- Dispatch at the time. “The comments we hear is that it looks clean and it Green Day also will perform a mini-concert outside, at 14th and Market smells clean.” streets, at the 5 p.m. pregame event Jan. 25. The rock band O.A.R. performs Jan. 24 at the NHL All-Star Skills Pregame Event, which starts Enterprise Center, the Blues' home arena since 1994, thankfully has at 3:30 p.m. at the same location; fans can enter the area at 2:30. raised that bar. (The venue previously has been named Scottrade Center, Savvis Center and Kiel Center.) 2011 Orlando Calling Music Festival NHL All-Star Weekend schedule Marc Roberge of O.A.R. performs in 2011 in Orlando, Fla. NHL All Star Skills Hockey Get your blood pumping before the big game Players are introduced before the Skills Competition, part of the 2019 Why not get warmed up before the All-Star Game? This downtown 5K is NHL All-Star weekend, in San Jose, Calif. as Bluesy as you can get. NHL All-Star 5K participants will get a blue, All- Star Game-themed race shirt and bib, a medal for finishing, an electronic Jan. 23 timing chip, refreshments and a chance to win Blues prizes. NHL Fan Fair

When 9 a.m. Jan. 25 • Where Starts at 18th and Market streets • How When • 3-10 p.m. Jan. 23-24, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. much $35-$45 • More info nhl.com/blues/fans/all-star-5k 26

Cheer for our Blues and a St. Louis native Where • Midway, ballroom and other portions of Union Station, 1820 David Perron, Alex Pietrangelo Market Street

The Blues' David Perron (right) is congratulated by Alex Pietrangelo after How much • $12-$20 for adults, $10-$18 for children, seniors, college scoring against the Colorado Avalanche during the second period Dec. students and military; free for ages 2 and under 16, 2019, in St. Louis. More info • nhl.com/fanfair

St. Louis is the starring, hosting city, so we’ve gotta cheer for our stars in 2-4 p.m. • Black History Hockey Tour Truck (Matthews-Dickey Boys and the game: Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, Girls Club, 4245 North Kingshighway) forward Ryan O’Reilly and forward David Perron were chosen to play for the Central Division. Matthew Tkachuk, who grew up in Chesterfield and 3-10 p.m. • NHL Fan Fair (Union Station) attended Chaminade, plays for the Calgary Flames and represents the Pacific Division. 5 p.m. • Mascot Showdown (All-Star Rink, Fan Fair at Union Station)

When 7 p.m. Saturday • Where Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Avenue • 7 p.m. • NHL Alumni Game (Centene Community Ice Center, 750 Casino How much Sold out • More info stlblues.com Center Drive, Maryland Heights)

New Year's Eve at Kiener Plaza 7 p.m. • Mascot Showdown (All-Star Rink, Union Station)

Skaters hit the ice Dec. 31, 2019, for Winterfest at Kiener Plaza. Jan. 24

Kiener Plaza serves as “celebration point east” for NHL All-Star Week, 10 a.m. • NHL Mini 1 v. 1 Shootout (Centene Community Ice Center) with events centered on a temporary ice rink. From 1 to 4 p.m. this 11:30 a.m. • NHL Learn-to-Play Skills Jamboree (Winterfest Rink at Saturday, a One Nation Celebration will include giveaways, raffles, face Kiener Plaza) painting and more. Charles Glenn will perform free concerts at 1 and 3 p.m. 2-6 p.m. • Black Hockey History Tour Truck (Boys and Girls Club Teen Center for Excellence, 9200 West Florissant Avenue, Ferguson) From noon to 2 p.m. Jan. 26, St. Louis Blues Youth Hockey invites kids ages 4 to 9 to learn basic hockey skills such as passing, stick-handling 3-10 p.m. • NHL Fan Fair (Union Station) and shooting, and they will get a chance to play some pond hockey. The 3:30 p.m. • NHL All-Star Skills Pregame Event and O.A.R. concert (14th experience is free, but registration is required at and Market streets) nhl.com/blues/community/winterfest-hockey. 7 p.m. • All-Star Skills Competition and Mascot Showdown (Enterprise Players will compete in Winterfest 3-on-3 Hockey Classic games Center; broadcast on NBC Sports Network) throughout the week, with a championship this Saturday. Games are played from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 25

From Jan. 22-26, the rink will be open daily for public skating. Admission 9 a.m. • NHL All-Star 5K (starts at 18th and Market streets) is free, and skate rental is $12 adults and $7 for ages 3-15. The rink is open 4-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, and noon-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. • NHL Fan Fair (Union Station) Kids can rent skates for free on Friday, courtesy of the Blues. Noon • NHL Learn-to-Play Skills Jamboree (Winterfest Rink at Kiener Where Kiener Plaza • How much $7-$12 • More info Plaza) archpark.org/events/winterfest Noon and 2 p.m. • Mascot Showdown (All-Star Rink, Fan Fair at Union Were you there? Looking back at past All-Star Games Station)

The St. Louis Arena, 1967 Noon-9:30 p.m. • Black Hockey History Tour Truck (Kiener Plaza)

The neon sign at the Arena on Oakland Avenue before the team's first 5 p.m. • NHL All-Star Pregame Event with Green Day concert (14th and National Hockey League season in 1967-68. Market streets)

Post-Dispatch file 5:30 p.m. • Mascot Showdown before the All-Star Game (Enterprise Center)

7 p.m. • All-Star Game (Enterprise Center; broadcast on NBC Sports Network)

Jan. 26

10 a.m.-4 p.m. • NHL Fan Fair (Union Station)

10 a.m.-5 p.m. • Black History Hockey Tour Truck (Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Boulevard, Forest Park)

Noon • Try Hockey for Free (Winterfest Rink at Kiener Plaza)

Noon and 2 p.m. • Mascot Showdown (All-Star Rink, Fan Fair at Union Station)

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171995 Tampa Bay Lightning

Re-live some of Alex Killorn’s goals on the way to 20

By Diana C. Nearhos

Published Yesterday

Updated Earlier today

For the past six seasons, Lightning forward Alex Killorn hovered close to the 20-goal mark. This season he made it there, getting No. 20 against the Jets on Friday.

When Killorn scored his 10th goal on Dec. 19, in Game No. 33, 20 looked pretty achievable. He picked up his pace, scoring the second 10 in his past 15 games.

“It wasn’t something I was really thinking about,” Killorn said. “I think that’s one of the reasons why things have been going well. I’m really not too worried about it, just kind of playing.”

If he could maintain that recent pace, he’d have 55 goals on the season, a feat that would lead the league most years. As it is, overall he’s on pace for 35.

Killorn has scored skilled wrist shots and deflected pucks in front of the net this season, but he has been a master of the rebound recently. Here are some of his best rebound goals of the season.

No. 20 — Jan. 17, at Winnipeg

Mitchell Stephens shot from the left circle. Killorn continued on to net and was just off the crease when the puck bounced off goalie Laurent Brossoit’s pads. Killorn took a quick shot from under the left hash marks, firing the puck across the goalie. It was the final goal of a 7-1 win, and then Lightning bench went wild.

No. 8 — Dec. 7, vs San Jose

Jan Rutta fired a shot from the point that got past goalie Martin Jones, but defenseman Radim Simek deflected the puck out of the crease. Killorn was one of four players trying to find the puck in the low slot when it landed. He got there first and fired it in.

No. 14 — Dec. 31, at Buffalo

Killorn started a New Year’s Eve comeback. The Lightning were down 4- 1 in the second period when he scored a power-play goal. Killorn started with the puck behind the net and passed to Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov snapped the puck back to Killorn at the post. Killorn quickly passed to Brayden Point in the low slot. Point’s shot rang off the post, and Killorn banked in the puck. Killorn also scored the winner in the third as the Lightning won 6-4.

RELATED: What changed this season for Alex Killorn?

No. 18 — Jan. 9, vs Coyotes

Killorn moved to the third line with Cedric Paquette and Pat Maroon, in part to spark more production from that unit. It worked. Killorn opened the scoring five minutes into a 4-0 win. Maroon put the puck on the net, and the Killorn jammed it in through a tiny gap above goalie Adin Hill’s blade at the post.

No. 9 — Dec. 10 at Florida

As Anthony Cirelli came through the middle of the ice, drawing three Panthers to him, Killorn stayed wide. The puck popped out to him, and he flung a quick shot on goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The goal was the Lighting’s second in a 2-1 win and became the winner when Florida got its goal in the third.

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171996 Toronto Maple Leafs Teammates go out of their way not to criticize him and blame themselves instead for his erratic play. That does not make it any less disconcerting. Forty-two shots have made it past him in the past dozen games. His save percentage has fallen to .909, the lowest of his career. Maple Leafs head into all-star break on a wave of boos, jeers and ridicule after thumping by Blackhawks Andersen is on his way to the all-star game proceedings with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. There is not a lot of criticism that can be directed at them. Matthews leads the team with 34 goals and 57 points. Marner, who missed 11 games with an ankle injury, has 47 points. MARTY KLINKENBERG While the all-stars are in St. Louis, the remaining players will be resting PUBLISHED JANUARY 19, 2020 and girding themselves for the gruelling task of securing a spot in the UPDATED JANUARY 19, 2020 playoffs. By no means is it guaranteed, and that would be a terrible disappointment for this team.

“I think we just hit the reset button and have a nice week to rest and The Toronto Maple Leafs headed into the all-star break on Saturday recharge,” Matthews said Saturday night. “Hopefully guys that have been night amid boos and jeers and ridicule. It is not the way any team with out with injury can get themselves back and ready to play, but there’s postseason aspirations wants to enter its bye week. really no excuse for how we played tonight.

Toronto played dreadfully in a 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, and "It doesn’t really matter who we’re missing or what guys are out. The way the crowd assembled at Scotiabank Arena voiced its dislike. Catcalls we played wasn’t really good enough. I don’t really know what else to accompanied the players as they filed down the tunnel during the say.” intermissions. In the second period, when Frederik Andersen stopped an easy shot, the crowd cheered to mock him. That has been said too many times this season.

Until then, shots had bounced off, and gone around and through the Globe And Mail LOADED: 01.20.2020 Maple Leafs goaltender, who has not looked like one of the National Hockey League’s elite netminders for weeks. He was credited with 28 saves, but most came when the outcome was already decided.

“I think it's time now for everyone here to look in the mirror, myself included,” Andersen said. “It's not a time to point fingers or anything like that.

“[We have] to use this week to reflect, and make sure we come with more intensity and more purpose after the break.”

Toronto lost two of three games last week and has only one victory in its past six. Thanks to this clunker, it no longer holds down a playoff position.

It took Drake Caggiula 21 seconds to score the Blackhawks’ first goal and they led 3-0 after 20 minutes.

“I didn’t have that vibe going into it, but clearly from the drop of the puck we just didn’t have a lot of life,” said Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe. “Then we’re down, we’re down early and it’s a tough game.

“It’s frustrating. I think when you go through these types of things … it’s a sign of where you are and that you’re not where you want to be. We’re not performing or playing with any level of discipline or consistency. We were an immature team here today.”

Afterward, players exhibited the same hangdog look as when they stumbled out of the gate to start the season. They talked about a lack of attention to details and being unprepared to play. They seemed puzzled by their lack of energy and ineptitude.

That is a bad sign 49 games into an 82-game regular season.

“We were sloppy and we missed assignments, and were careless with the puck,” John Tavares, the team captain, said. “It put us behind and gave [the Blackhawks] a lot of confidence, and got them feeling good about themselves. We were not good enough.

“It is not a good feeling. We have to dig down and ask ourselves where we want to get to.”

Toronto has won 12 of 25 games at home. It is playing without its top defenceman, Morgan Rielly, and one of its next best in Jake Muzzin. The latter’s broken foot may be healed well enough for him to be back in the lineup when regular-season games resume on Jan. 27.

The Maple Leafs begin the grind toward April with road games in Nashville and Dallas. They don’t play at home again until the Ottawa Senators visit on Feb. 1.

After a poor start to the season, they regained ground and seemingly were on the right path. It is hard to say that with certainty now.

As per usual on Saturday, they were outhit and had more shots blocked by an opponent than they did themselves. They were outworked and Andersen failed to come up with a big save when it was needed. 1171997 Toronto Maple Leafs you’re playing 25 minutes as a forward every night, it might catch up to you. But guys are being load-managed pretty well, I think.”

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN... Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe counting on his stars to be the It’s going well offensively, for sure. Matthews is on 63-goal pace in 26 solution to his team’s woes games under Keefe. Marner is averaging a team-best 1.45 points per game with Keefe as his coach. But lately the defensive bugaboos have been glaring. Marner and Matthews were on the ice for four goals against By Dave Feschuk in Saturday’s drubbing. William Nylander was on the ice for four five-on- five goals against in an 8-4 loss to Florida last week. Since Keefe took Sun., Jan. 19, 2020 over, no Leaf has been on the ice for more five-on-five goals against than Tavares, who’s a minus-two in such situations.

Sheldon Keefe’s coaching honeymoon, it turned out, lasted precisely 20 Just as Babcock’s harping about the need to “start on time” and “play games. And it was a blast while it lasted. What wasn’t to like about a right” was often met by the team with what seemed like a collective eye league-best 15-4-1 record that equated to a 127-point pace, not to roll, it has taken Keefe all of two months to come to point he arrived at mention an unleashing of a previously stagnant offence to the tune of after Saturday’s loss to the Blackhawks, when he called his team out as more than four goals a game? “immature.”

In the six games that have followed, though, the Maple Leafs have lost “We're not performing,” Keefe said. “We're not playing with any level of five times and procured just four points in the standings. As a result, they discipline or consistency." had fallen out of the playoff picture when their eight-day midseason When it all begins again a week from Monday in Nashville, Toronto’s vacation began Sunday. NHLers will have 33 more games over 68 days to prove they’re a playoff The coach has only been on the job for two months, but the team is yet team — an on-paper assumption that’s suddenly turned into a real-life again facing the same essential question it’s been stumped by for years: question. That they’ll be without No. 1 defenceman Morgan Rielly for How do you get an offence-loving, stat-piling team to pay more than another month-plus as Rielly recovers from a broken foot is not ideal. But occasional attention to defence? Watching Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the in a league where superior teams have historically papered over bigger Blackhawks could give you the idea the cause is essentially hopeless as holes in their lineups to breeze into the playoffs — last year’s injury- currently constructed. ravaged Boston Bruins come to mind — no absence can be considered a palatable excuse for failure. It hasn’t helped that Frederik Andersen is languishing through his worst calendar month as a Leaf as measured by his .881 January save When the new coach starts questioning your level of discipline and percentage. New coach, old coach, this team isn’t going anywhere consistency approximately two months after the old coach left the without exceptional goaltending, never mind below-average stuff. premises perpetually sermonizing about the same things ... well, there’s no hanging the failure on Babcock’s alleged crimes against civility. Now But if we’ve seen a few differences under Keefe — and there are many there’s a referendum on the players’ collective ability to do their jobs. — a big one goes like this: He’s asking the highest-paid players to figure out the solutions to the team’s weightiest problems in a way Babcock No more griping about ice time. No more complaining about linemates. never quite did. He’s leaning on the team’s stars far more heavily than No more scapegoating the coach’s stubbornness. Keefe has given the his predecessor ever would. Which only makes sense. Leafs everything they didn’t get under Babcock. And the way the new coach appears to be seeing it, the Leafs who make the bulk of the money Keefe is playing the Leafs a lot more in line with the way general will be given every chance to make or break this season. That’s the way manager Kyle Dubas is paying them. Since Keefe took the reins, for it should be. Certainly it’s the only way we’ll begin to understand if instance, Auston Matthews, Toronto’s top-paid player by annual average Dubas’s top-heavy salary-cap structure is a work of bold vision or a contract value, ranks third among NHL forwards in even-strength ice time flailing experiment in need of an emergency tweak. per game at 17:53 – about a minute and a half more a game at even strength than he played under Babcock. Under Keefe, Matthews has Toronto Star LOADED: 01.20.2020 played slightly more even-strength minutes per game, to be clear, than Edmonton’s Connor McDavid. Only Buffalo’s Jack Eichel and Chicago’s ageless Patrick Kane have played more per game.

And Matthews isn’t the only horse Keefe is driving hard. John Tavares, the second-highest-paid Leaf by AAV, ranks sixth in even-strength ice time since the new coach took over. Mitch Marner ranks seventh.

To recap, under Keefe Toronto boasts the third, sixth and seventh most- played forwards in the league at even strength. With Babcock at the helm, Matthews ranked 12th, Tavares 34th and Marner 140th.

“Obviously he counts on us,” Tavares said of Keefe.

And even if Keefe’s play-the-stars mandate means that players closer to the bottom of the roster can be marginalized, there are those who see it as the prudent approach.

“I think he understands the game really well. I think he’s an intelligent coach,” said Jason Spezza, the 36-year-old veteran forward, when asked about Keefe’s approach to player deployment. “I think he knows that a lot of times you live and die with your top guys, and you have to make them feel a sense of ownership of the team. And I think he’s done a great job of doing that.”

The sense of ownership is real. The likes of Matthews, Tavares and Marner are making a big chunk of the available salary-cap money. Why shouldn’t they have the biggest hand in making or breaking this season?

“They’re the best players on the team for a reason,” Spezza said. “In a single game, the best players want to play more. You feel better about your game the more you play. And I think you feel equally tired. I feel equally tired waking up the next day whether I played eight minutes or I played 15 minutes. Waking up the next day doesn’t really change. If 1171998 Toronto Maple Leafs

Despite poor play, Andersen has support of Leafs teammates in dressing room

Terry Koshan

Published:January 19, 2020

Updated:January 19, 2020 7:44 PM EST

Partly because they don’t want to ruffle feathers, perhaps, the Maple Leafs weren’t criticizing the play of goaltender Frederik Andersen as the club headed into the break.

“It’s not on Freddy,” captain John Tavares said. “It’s pretty clear, the opportunities that we’re giving up.

“We have to do a better job in front of him. I feel bad for him because we just don’t do a good-enough job consistently with the opportunities that we’re giving up and the way we’re careless at times.”

The Leafs often have referred to Andersen as the team’s backbone. He has not been that for the past month, however, sporting an .888 save percentage in his past 14 games, dropping his overall mark to .909.

“I don’t think this is on him,” Auston Matthews said, referring more to the loss against Chicago on Saturday.

Still, the Leafs know Andersen has to rediscover his all-star form.

“I don’t think he’s happy with how things have gone here of late,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I think that he recognizes that he can be better and that he’s part of our group.

“We have to be better as a team, make less mistakes, help our goaltender, help out our defence, but everybody else has to do their part.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.20.2020 1171999 Toronto Maple Leafs Keefe has brought out the best in some of his best players in his first 26 games as coach, namely Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, as all have prospered.

Challenges await Keefe, Leafs to get back in playoff picture once break The challenge for Keefe in the final 33 games — including 21 against ends teams with fewer or equal to the Leafs’ 57 points before games on Sunday — is getting his players, as five-man units, to be more defensively cohesive.

Terry Koshan It has to turn quickly for the Leafs.

Published:January 19, 2020 As they have learned, the standings won’t wait for them.

Updated:January 19, 2020 7:39 PM EST Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.20.2020

Six days after the Maple Leafs got what coach Sheldon Keefe called “a good slap in the face” in a loss to Florida, the players turned the other cheek and took another one on Saturday night.

Whether the stings of embarrassment are enough to spur the Leafs to playing determined hockey once they return from their bye week is anyone’s guess, and therein lies a problem with this group.

There have been positive changes made with Keefe as coach, but the team as a whole seemingly can’t get past the one-step forward, one-step back manner of doing business.

That’s costing the Leafs. The players like to think of themselves as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, but they’re not close to that, not when they are unable to string together consistently solid defensive performances.

Bringing the situation into sharper focus has been the play of goaltender Frederik Andersen, who will take part in the all-star festivities for the first time this weekend. Andersen has been below average for the past month, and if he continues along the same path starting next Monday in Nashville against the Predators, you don’t have to be a genius to arrive at the conclusion the Leafs won’t make the playoffs.

Toronto is in a precarious spot as it is, having fallen out of the post- season picture with the dismal loss against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. That ended a week which started with a terrible effort in Florida against the Panthers, as the Leafs gave up eight goals in a road game for the first time in almost eight years.

The loss to Chicago gave the Leafs one win in six games as they headed off to get some rest. Before that, they had won nine of 10, and though those victories weren’t accomplished with smoke and mirrors, the Leafs weren’t winning tight games either. In those nine wins, the opposition scored at least three goals in five of them.

A year ago general manager Kyle Dubas made an astute trade when he acquired defenceman Jake Muzzin during the break. The loss of Muzzin for the past month to a broken foot (and you can bet the club is keeping its fingers crossed that Muzzin indeed returns to the lineup in Nashville) has helped underscore the fact the Leafs aren’t defensively sound enough to ensure success.

Tyson Barrie has been an adventure without the puck, and hasn’t provided the kind of offence one would have expected from a player in the final year of his contract. After posting a career-high 59 points for the Colorado Avalanche last season, Barrie is on pace for 45.

Morgan Rielly was not having a great season, offensively or defensively, before a broken foot forced him to the sideline.

Rielly, Barrie and Muzzin are the leaders in the defence corps, but when one is hurt and the other two have not been excellent, it helps explain why the Leafs find themselves where they do.

If Dubas wants to acquire a backup goaltender before the Feb. 24 NHL trade deadline, go for it. But a defenceman of some calibre has to be in his sights, even if Rasmus Sandin proves he is in the NHL to stay, though it has to make financial sense for a Leafs club that doesn’t have extra dollars waiting to be found under the couch cushions.

Rentals would include players such as Sami Vatanen, Brenden Dillon and Erik Gustafsson, but as we saw with Muzzin last year, Dubas is fine with adding a player who is not on an expiring contract.

Keefe might have perked up some ears when he called the Leafs immature in the losses in Florida and against Chicago, but he was not wrong. 1172000 Vegas Golden Knights sometimes people forget about the assistant coaches. Mike is a good man, we have been together for a long time.

“It’s not just me, Mike is part of that, too. We will get ready and, hopefully, Gallant ‘disappointed and surprised’ by firing from Golden Knights something comes up.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.20.2020

By David Schoen

January 19, 2020 - 8:40 am

Updated January 19, 2020 - 9:43 am

BOSTON — Former Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant spoke publicly about his firing for the first time Saturday night and told the Journal Pioneer newspaper in Prince Edward Island he was surprised by the move.

“You don’t see something coming like that when you have 2½ years in,” Gallant told the paper in his hometown of Summerside. “I was disappointed and surprised, but I understand the hockey business and things have to change sometimes. They made a tough decision and I’m sure it was tough on them, but that’s the way hockey is.”

Gallant was attending a Maritime Junior Hockey League game Saturday in Summerside. His son, Jason, is an assistant coach with the Summerside Western Capitals.

Gallant, 56, said he was notified of the team’s decision to fire him and assistant coach Mike Kelly in Ottawa on Wednesday, and Gallant spent the next three days visiting his grandchildren in Moncton, New Brunswick.

The Knights were 24-19-6 and lost four straight to fall out of a playoff position at the time of Gallant’s dismissal.

Gallant was named the coach of the Pacific Division team for Saturday’s All-Star Game at St. Louis based on the Knights having the division’s highest points percentage at the season’s official halfway point.

Gallant told the paper the NHL let him decide whether he wanted to coach in the event, but said didn’t feel comfortable attending. Arizona coach Rick Tocchet was named as Gallant’s replacement.

“I was an all-star coach a week and a half ago and we were in first place in our division, and then things change and we lost four in a row,” Gallant said. “They made a decision, it isn’t too popular with me, but it is what it is and you have to move on.

“I’m not going to worry about the past. I’m going to look at the future, and that’s what you have to do as a coach.”

Gallant was 118-75-20 and guided the Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. The Knights qualified for the playoffs last season but were eliminated in the first round by rival San Jose after a controversial loss in Game 7.

Kelly returned to Las Vegas after being fired, according to the Journal Pioneer, but Gallant’s longtime assistant couldn’t be reached for comment.

“The 2½ years were incredible,” Gallant said. “That first year was a magical season. If we could have capped it off winning the Stanley Cup, it would have been incredible. The second year was a really good year, too. We made the playoffs, battled hard.

“Up until I got fired, I had 2½ years of being really happy in Vegas. It’s a good organization, a good team and I was excited.”

Gallant said he wants to coach again in the NHL. He has already been linked as a possible candidate for the Seattle expansion team and in Detroit, which is buried at the bottom of the NHL standings and could be looking to move on from coach Jeff Blashill.

Gallant spent nine seasons with the Red Wings as a player and was a linemate of current Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman.

In the meantime, Gallant told the Journal Pioneer he will divide his time between Prince Edward Island and visiting his grandchildren in New Brunswick.

“If an opportunity comes up, I will definitely look at it — myself and Mike,” Gallant told the paper. “Mike is a big part of what I do, too, and 1172001 Vegas Golden Knights “Up until I got fired, I had 2 ½ years of being really happy in Vegas. It’s a good organization, a good team and I was excited.”

Back home Gerard (Turk) Gallant surprised by firing Gallant was back in his hometown watching the Summerside Western Capitals’ Maritime Junior Hockey League game against the Fredericton Red Wings on Saturday night. His son, Jason, is an assistant coach with Jason Simmonds the Capitals, the team the senior Gallant began his coaching career with during the 1995-96 season. Published: a day ago After being informed of the Golden Knights’ decision in Ottawa, Gallant Updated: 21 hours ago returned to the Maritimes.

“I got on a plane and went from Ottawa to Moncton and visited the SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Gerard (Turk) Gallant admits he never saw the grandchildren (Caleb, 3, and Dylan, 2) and had a lot of fun with them the Vegas Golden Knights’ coaching change coming. last couple of days,” said Gallant. “Today is my first day back in Summerside. Gallant, who was the first head coach in franchise history, and assistant coach Mike Kelly were relieved of their duties on Wednesday morning, “All you can do is say you look forward to the next thing and hopefully after four straight losses left Golden Knights still a respectable 24-19-6 something comes up and you take the opportunity if it does come up.” (won-lost-overtime losses) in the National Hockey League. Gallant’s immediate plans include spending time with his family. “I was quite surprised actually when it happened,” Gallant told the “I’m going to spend some time in Moncton and P.E.I. with the grandkids Journal Pioneer on Saturday night. “You don’t see something coming like for the next week, week and a half for sure,” he said. “Then I’ll go back to that when you have 2 ½ years in. Vegas and clean some things up there. After that, I don’t know. “I was disappointed and surprised, but I understand the hockey business “I have a place in Florida and we may spend some time down there and and things have to change sometimes. They made a tough decision and a lot of time here. With the grandkids, you want to be with them as much I’m sure it was tough on them, but that’s the way hockey is.” as you can. It takes your mind off other things.” Gallant said he “definitely” still wants to coach. One thing that is not lost on Gallant is the support he’s received from “I’m far from done,” said Gallant, 56. “I enjoy coaching. P.E.I., Las Vegas and all over the hockey world.

“If an opportunity comes up I will definitely look at it – myself and Mike. “A lot of coaches have texted and said it’s not right, but you have to move Mike is a big part of what I do too and sometimes people forget about the on and that’s what coaching is all about,” said Gallant. “There are a lot of assistant coaches. Mike is a good man, we have been together for a long coaches this year who got fired, real good coaches and good people, but time. that’s the business.”

“It’s not just me, Mike is part of that, too. We will get ready and hopefully, Facts something comes up.” Some facts about Gerard (Turk) Gallant: The Journal Pioneer was unsuccessful in its attempt to contact the 60- Played 615 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red year-old Kelly, who grew up in Shamrock, P.E.I., and lives in Cornwall, Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. P.E.I. Assistant coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2001 to 2004. “Mike is great,” said Gallant. “Mike went back to Vegas and he understands it. Head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets from the 2004 season to 2006. “Mike and I are tied at the hip they might say and we are pretty close. We’ve worked together the last number of years together. Head coach of the Florida Panthers from 2014 to 2016.

“Nothing is going to change there. It’s never easy when people get fired.” Head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights from 2017 to 2020.

NHL All-Star Game Coached the Atlantic Division in the 2014-15 NHL All-Star Weekend with the Florida Panthers. Gallant was named head coach of the Pacific Division for NHL All-Star Weekend on Jan. 24-25 after leading the Golden Knights to a .591 A finalist for the 2014-15 Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year. winning percentage of 23-15-6 as of Jan. 2. Coached the Pacific Division in the 2018 NHL All-Star Weekend with the “I was an all-star coach a week and a half ago and we were in first place Vegas Golden Knights. in our division and then things change and we lost four in a row,” said Gallant. “They made a decision, it isn’t too popular with me, but it is what Named 2017-18 Jack Adams Award winner. it is and you have to move on. Qualified to be the coach of the Pacific Division in 2020 NHL All-Star “I’m not going to worry about the past. I’m going to look at the future and Game. He will not attend after being relieved of his head coaching duties that’s what you have to do as a coach.” with Vegas on Wednesday.

Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet has been named as Gallant’s LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 01.20.2020 replacement for all-star weekend.

“I talked to the NHL about it and they sort of left it up to me, but I didn’t really feel comfortable (going),” said Gallant. “I just said I’d sooner pass.”

Record

Under Gallant, the Golden Knights had a record of 118-75-20, including a five-game series loss to the Washington Capitals in the 2018 Stanley Cup final.

“The 2 ½ years were incredible,” said Gallant. “That first year was a magical season.

“If we could have capped it off winning the Stanley Cup it would have been incredible. The second year was a really good year, too. We made the playoffs, battled hard. 1172002 Washington Capitals The blue line as a whole has had its ups and downs, with turnovers and breakdowns continuing to cause issues. General Manager Brian MacLellan has added depth before the trade deadline for five straight years, including Nick Jensen last season and Michal Kempny the year Capitals enter bye week riding high, ready for postseason push before.

While the Capitals’ defensive depth is something of a question mark, their forwards have not been a concern. With 22 goals, Jakub Vrana is Samantha Pell well on his way to a career season, and he is closing in on his career January 19, 2020 at 11:50 AM EST high of 24 goals set last season. He has shined on the second line with Oshie, who found his scoring groove early after working on his offensive game in the offseason. He has 34 points (18 goals, 16 assists) and, like Vrana, has played in all 49 games. UNIONDALE, N.Y. — As the Washington Capitals started packing up in the visitors’ dressing room Saturday at Nassau Coliseum, bags were Washington’s fourth line has been a pleasant surprise: Brendan Leipsic, thrown onto carts, food was consumed in the hallway, and wide grins and Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway have formed one of the NHL’s most infectious laughter filled the space. productive checking lines. At five-on-five, across 187 minutes when all three players are on the ice, the Capitals have scored nine goals and The team was in a giddy, childlike state. The Capitals had just completed allowed just four, per Natural Stat Trick. a wild 6-4 victory over the New York Islanders, scoring five unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes, before entering their bye week. A few hours In net, rookie Ilya Samsonov has impressed. After Holtby was pulled earlier, there was a sense that the matinee would be challenging before entering the third period Saturday, Samsonov notched his 10th straight the team began a week-long break. And while that was true for the first win. He is the only goaltender in NHL history to win his first nine career two periods, the third belonged to the Capitals, who ended their 49th road games in one season. game of the season on a high note before going idle until visiting Montreal on Jan. 27. Holtby remains a question mark in his contract season: Although he faced similar adversity last season and the break helped, he has just one “That is a time where some may have checked out,” Capitals Coach win in his past seven starts. Saturday’s game was an important test, but Todd Reirden said. “There is no check-out in our group at all — only an after he gave up four goals on 22 shots, his day was done. opportunity to do something pretty special, which has been a common theme of up until the all-star break, almost never being out of a game. The negatives are less striking, but no struggle has stood out more than Given the circumstances, makes it even more special.” the Capitals’ streaky power play. Washington is 3 for 27 (11.1 percent) in its past seven games, and it has given up three shorthanded goals in that The Capitals (33-11-5) head into their bye week with an NHL-best 71 span. It finished 0 for 4 against the Islanders and entered Sunday’s points and on a three-game winning streak, capped by their victory games ranked 15th in the NHL at 20.3 percent. against the Islanders and former coach Barry Trotz. The team hopes a full week of rest for most of its players — forward T.J. Oshie, The penalty kill has more than held its own. The Capitals have killed off defenseman John Carlson and goaltender Braden Holtby are set to take 14 of their past 15 shorthanded opportunities to improve to 84.2 percent, part in All-Star Game activities this weekend in St. Louis — will provide a which ranked second in the NHL. natural reset, and the Capitals will look to peak as the postseason nears Washington Post LOADED: 01.20.2020 after they return.

“I think there will be a whole different level of focus, motivation and desire to really push the envelope with this team once we get back from the break,” Reirden said. “ ... We’ve had a lot of belief from our team, found different ways to win. We’ve had contributions from a lot of different people. It’s been a real group effort.”

The Capitals’ leaders have shined of late, especially Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Ovechkin’s play speaks for itself: back-to-back hat tricks and eight goals in the past three games.

Ovechkin, who has 34 goals this season and 692 in his career, is on pace to go from 600 to 700 goals in 159 games. That would be the fewest to make that leap for any member of the 700-goal club, which stands at seven players. It also would be the second-fewest games for Ovechkin to get from one 100-goal milestone to another.

Backstrom has remained quietly consistent. Earlier in the season, after he missed eight games with an upper-body injury, he had nine points (four goals, five assists) in his first five games back, and he has 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 18 games since returning.

On Saturday, Backstrom fittingly had the assist on Ovechkin’s first goal — a cross-ice, tape-to-tape pass in transition to an open Ovechkin on a breakaway. The goal tied Ovechkin with Mario Lemieux for 10th on the NHL’s all-time list — before he passed Lemieux and then tied Steve Yzerman for ninth later in the game.

Alex Ovechkin is nearing 700 goals. The Capitals are prepping the celebration.

With Backstrom and Ovechkin leading the forwards, Carlson has remained the key on the blue line. After his two assists Saturday, he has a team-high 60 points (13 goals, 47 assists) in 49 games, and he is two assists away from passing Calle Johansson (361) for the most by a defenseman in franchise history.

Carlson needed the fewest games by a Capitals defenseman to reach the 60-point mark, besting the mark held by Mike Green (57 in both 2008-09 and 2009-10). Carlson is the favorite to win the Norris Trophy, given to the NHL’s best defenseman, and his consistent production and continued health will be crucial as the Capitals head down the stretch. 1172003 Washington Capitals standpoint, the strategies that we’re going to utilize to get him ready, we’re all involved in that. Everybody plays a part, from a dynamic warmup to pre-competition treatments and there’s a lot of advancements in treatment for an acute injury. Tenacious trio: Keith Yandle, Patrick Marleau, Phil Kessel chasing Doug Jarvis’ consecutive games record “Guys now are doing a lot of dry needling (similar to acupuncture) and advanced manual therapy methods whereas in the older days it was stimulation and ice which are not the most effective forms of treatment. We might get a guy feeling a lot better by putting some needles in there By Craig Morgan Jan 19, 2020 and calming things down pretty quick; bringing a lot of blood flow to the area and healing a little bit quicker. It’s a very integrated process in the preparation phase, even down to nutrition.” Doug Jarvis never missed a regular-season game in his 13-season NHL career, but the record holder for most consecutive games played (964) When Jarvis finally broke Unger’s record while playing for the Whalers, never paid much heed to his pursuit of the mark. he did it with a poetic flourish. He played his 915th consecutive regular- season game on Dec. 26, 1986, against the Montreal Canadiens, his first “I just loved to play so I wanted to be in the lineup and the games just NHL team, and the one with which he won four straight Stanley Cups added up,” he said. “I’d pass somebody on the ladder and it might get a from 1976-79 in the first four seasons of his NHL career. little bit of attention but not much, and then it would maybe be three or four years before you hit the next person until finally for me, Garry Unger “When my career was done, you look back on it and certainly I was very was the ironman leader at that time with 914 games and I finally passed grateful for the chance to play that many games and to be healthy,” him.” Jarvis said. “I don’t think any player — and I can only speak for myself — would ever want to be in a situation where if they were playing through As a senior adviser for the Vancouver Canucks, Jarvis hadn’t paid much injury they would be hurting the team. You just have that drive. You want attention to those pursuing him either, at least until recently. The to play. You want to be in the lineup and pulling your weight. uniqueness of the current chase is hard to ignore. Through Saturday’s games, three of the NHL’s seven longest all-time ironman streaks were “For those three guys now, I think it’s just a credit to their perseverance, held by active players. The Florida Panthers’ Keith Yandle (844) is fourth their desire, their hunger to play and their consistency to be in the lineup all time, the San Jose Sharks’ Patrick Marleau (834) is fifth and the night after night. That has value to their teams.” Coyotes’ Phil Kessel (825) is seventh. We caught up with the three active, aforementioned players who are “It’s starting to gain a little bit of attention now and I think it’s awesome,” chasing Jarvis’ record. Here are their thoughts on the streak. Jarvis said. “It’s great for those players to be in that kind of group. It adds Keith Yandle interest, for sure.” Current team: Florida Panthers In his stints with the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers, Jarvis had days when his playing status was in doubt. Previous teams: Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers He suffered a sprained ankle, bone contusions, and in a 1985 game at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, he had what he termed “one very serious Position: Defense situation” when he got knocked out on a big hit near the end of the game. Consecutive games played through Jan. 18: 844 “They checked me out afterward and they said, ‘You can keep on Milestones in sight: Yandle could pass Steve Larmer for third place in the playing,’” said Jarvis, who played the following night in St. Louis. “With sixth game of the 2020-21 season, pass Unger for second in the 36th concussion protocol now, I’m sure I would not have been allowed to game of that same season and he could pass Jarvis in the fourth game continue to go but at that time — we’re talking back in the ’80s — I went of the 2021-22 season. and that was the closest I came to missing a game.” Yandle has taken a lot of pucks, sticks and elbows to the face in his Better medical care, better nutrition and better training habits have career, but an incident earlier this season felt different. This time, Yandle undoubtedly helped modern-day players prepare to play in games where was actually spittin’ chiclets. it may not have been possible years ago, but there are two ways of looking at those advancements. Yandle was skating along the defensive half-wall during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Nov. 23 when a dump-in “It’s a double-edged sword,” Coyotes strength and conditioning coach deflected off teammate Sasha Barkov and struck Yandle in the mouth. J.P. Major said. “There is probably increase and decrease because with advancements in medical technology and, obviously, protection of the Yandle’s injury required more stitches than he could count, he eventually players. There are guys that probably played with concussions that lost nine teeth, there were exposed roots in his mouth, and his whole probably shouldn’t have, so guys who had ironman streaks then might head was throbbing the next day when the Panthers hosted the Buffalo not nowadays because of the advancements in medical technology and Sabres, but he wasn’t about to miss that game. Hell, he didn’t even miss diagnostics. the third period against Carolina.

“From a treatment and preparation standpoint, I’d like to think that being “Playing (Buffalo) was probably tougher than coming back (against consistent with those good habits and routines plays a large part in Carolina) because I had all the Novocain in my mouth,” Yandle said at prolonging those streaks, but I think the other underrated thing was the time. “The teeth were hurting a lot (against Buffalo).” something that I saw with guys like Shane Doan. Certain guys don’t become overly rattled or waver when they don’t have everything right. When it comes to the regular season, that may be the closest Yandle’s Doaner was just like, ‘Give me a right-handed stick and I’ll play.’ They’re consecutive-games-played streak came to ending. Believe it or not, it not people that need everything to go right for them to play. was not the worst injury he has played through on his way to the fourth- longest ironman streak in NHL history, and the longest active streak. “I think with a lot of guys nowadays, if they don’t feel 100 percent, it’s a different mentality, and that’s maybe because of a better understanding Yandle’s moment of reckoning came while playing for the New York from a medical standpoint that if the guy’s got something going on with Rangers in the 2015 playoffs, where he would not have jeopardized his his knee that might affect him long term, we might hold him out to let him streak by missing a game. recover for a couple nights vs. playing through it and rolling the dice that “I had a Grade 3 (the most severe) shoulder separation,” he said of the it gets worse and then he misses the whole season because he’s got to same injury that infamously sidelined Doan, his Coyotes teammate at the get surgery.” time, for the final four games of a first-round playoff series loss to the When a player’s status is in doubt, a lot of people weigh in before a final Detroit Red Wings in 2010. “It happened in Game 1 of the first series and decision is made. we went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals and I didn’t practice once. I was just playing in the games and trying to get ready for them. “It’s the player, the coach (Rick Tocchet), the medical director (Bob The trainers did everything. All I had to do was be able to tie my skates Luberto) and the head athletic trainer (Dave Zenobi) that are ultimately and get going.” going to make the decision whether the player plays or not,” Major said. “If we determine this guy’s going to play then from a preparation Yandle knows he is the closest of the three active players to breaking the As for the importance of the record, Kessel gave a classic Kessel stretch, but he is taking a low-key approach to the pursuit. response.

“The less I’m thinking about anything the better off it is for everyone,” he “I don’t really care about it,” he said. “If I have to miss a game for said, laughing. “My wife probably doesn’t like that about me, but I kind of something really bad, you just miss it. What are you going to do? I have just let the day unfold the way it’s going to unfold.” played a lot of games. If one of those days comes along, it is what it is. I don’t think it’s pride that gets me out there. I just want to be out there. I All the same, Yandle said he would be honored to break the record. want to play in the games. It’s fun for me.

“Anything you can accomplish along those lines, especially in the highest “I’ve been fortunate, too; lucky. Sometimes, my injuries have been bad league in the game, is obviously pretty cool,” Yandle said. but they’re not the worst thing possible, like a broken leg where you can’t Patrick Marleau move. If I can move, I’ll be out there.”

Team: San Jose Sharks The Athletic LOADED: 01.20.2020

Previous team: Toronto Maple Leafs

Position: Forward

Consecutive games played through Jan. 18: 834

Milestones in sight: If Yandle’s streak remains intact, Marleau could pass Steve Larmer for fourth place in the 15th game of the 2020-21 season, pass Unger in the 45th game of that same season and pass Jarvis in the 13th game of the 2021-22 season.

“I just love being out there and trying to help my team,” said Marleau, who is also 64 games shy of Gordie Howe’s all-time games played record of 1,767. “It’s way better than sitting out. I’ve always looked at it as a privilege and an honor to be able to go out, lace ’em up and try to play.”

Like his peers, Marleau has had moments when he thought the streak might end. There was the time “a rib popped out,” and there was the time in Nashville (“I can’t remember which season”) when he also suffered a shoulder separation.

“I got hit and the shoulder got pushed down and it was hard to lift my arm up the next day,” he said. “Somehow, I managed to find a way to get through it. I probably didn’t feel very good but I try to forget those things. If something like that happens, you just have to make sure you’re in the right spots defensively and trying to help your team out. You’re trying not to stick out by doing things the wrong way.”

Like Yandle, Marleau admits that any NHL record is a major accomplishment.

“I think it would be cool to look back on it and realize not too many guys have done that,” he said. “Mostly, I think how fortunate I have been to have done it for so long.”

And a little bit crazy, too?

“Yeah, I think so,” he said.

Phil Kessel

Team: Arizona Coyotes

Previous teams: Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins

Position: Forward

Consecutive games played through Jan. 18: 825

Milestones in sight: Kessel could move into sixth place on the all-time list when the Coyotes face the Bruins at TD Garden on Feb. 8. Kessel began his NHL career with the Bruins. He would pass Andrew Cogliano, whose streak (830) was broken by a two-game suspension last season.

Kessel said there have been several times where his body was in disagreement with his decision-making.

“I can think of a few,” he said. “I don’t want to share them, but there have been instances where I probably shouldn’t have played and I did. It is what it is. I’m a competitive person. I want to win and I want to help the team. I just love to play the game. I always think I can help so I want to be out there.”

It’s no secret that Kessel was dinged earlier this season, playing through a groin injury that had an impact on his skating.

“I’m fortunate. I have been with good coaches who let me see how I feel at game time and let me make the call,” he said. “I would say it was hard on a couple of occasions, but I know a lot of guys who play through injuries, broken bones and stuff.” 1172004 Winnipeg Jets

Big centre victim of iffy hit

Mike McIntyre

Posted: 01/19/2020 11:45 PM

CHICAGO — It was a loss that may prove to be especially costly for the Winnipeg Jets.

Not only did they fall 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks Sunday night, they also lost shutdown centre Adam Lowry to an upper-body injury early in the game. The 26-year-old, who is one of the few physical players on the team, was victimized by a blindside hit from Chicago’s Drake Caggiula. Lowry fell awkwardly to the ice and seemed to be clutching his hand or shoulder. Following the game, he was spotted with his arm in a sling.

'...it's pretty tough to lose a guy like him'

— Josh Morrissey on Adam Lowry

"We’ll get him tested and looked at a little bit (today) and then we’ll have a better idea of where we’re at on that," said coach Paul Maurice.

Missing Lowry for any duration would be another huge hit for a Jets team that doesn’t have a whole lot of "bite" and often struggles to play big, heavy clubs, like the ones in the Central Division. The 6-5, 210 pound Lowry anchors the third line, which has recently been comprised of Mathieu Perreault and Jack Roslovic. He has four goals and six assists this season.

It would also be a big blow to one of the NHL’s worst penalty killing units, which has been showing signs of improvement.

Caggiula was given a two-minute interference penalty, although the Jets seemed to believe it could have been a major.

"At the time I didn’t really see it because I was kind of to the side. I felt like he’s in a pretty defenseless situation. To be honest I’d have to watch it, I haven’t seen the play other than quickly on the Jumbotron. For me, I think he’s in a pretty tough spot. Obviously now he doesn’t return to the game so it’s pretty tough to lose a guy like him. He’s a huge part of our team. That’s my interpretation," said defenceman Josh Morrissey.

Caggiula, no doubt feeling a bit more relaxed with Lowry out of the game, continued to be a thorn in Winnipeg’s side all night. He took a run at Nikolaj Ehlers and was called for both interference and unsportsmanlike conduct, drawing the ire of Mark Scheifele who chirped him all the way to the penalty box. Then he tripped up Luca Sbisa later in the game.

Unfortunately for the Jets, they whiffed on all four power play chances Caggiula’s reckless play handed them. And Maurice had to scramble his lines, moving Mason Appleton up to play with Perreault and Roslovic, and leaving fourth-liners Nick Shore and Gabriel Bourque without a regular member of their trio.

"It affects your penalty kill and it affects how you’re gonna run your bench for sure. I got some other guys some minutes in there but he’s a big loss for us obviously," said Maurice.

The Jets are also without centres Bryan Little and Mark Letestu to long- term injuries. And the injury bug has bit hard on the blue-line, with Tucker Poolman, Nathan Beaulieu and Carl Dahlstrom all currently hurt, on top of Dustin Byfuglien’s ongoing absence.

Add it all up and a team that is struggling these days to remain competitive may have to dip into their thinning depth even more. On Sunday night, forward Jansen Harkins was the lone healthy scratch up front, while Manitoba Moose blue-liners Cam Schilling and Nelson Nogier watched from the press box as extra insurance for this current three- game road trip.

Perhaps one positive is that, following back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday in Carolina and Columbus, the Jets will enjoy an eight-day break for the All-Star game and league-mandated player hiatus.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.20.2020 1172005 Winnipeg Jets It was the dagger for a Jets team that had been coming on strong in an attempt to find the equalizer, including a second period where they had fired 20 shots.

Jets lose more than pivotal game against Blackhawks "I think you can’t let that creep in, but the same old story, goalie’s making some big saves at the other end, it seems like you’re hitting posts or the puck’s a couple inches away from your blade when you have a wide open net, things like that. Obviously it’s frustrating," said Morrissey. Mike McIntyre With a two-goal lead and under six minutes to play, the moment that fans Posted: 01/19/2020 8:38 PM | Last Modified: 01/20/2020 12:48 AM wanted to see finally happened as Kane set up Brandon Saad become just the fourth Blackhawks player in history to reach the 1,000 point milestone, joining Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull and Denis Savard in that CHICAGO — It’s never a good sign when the majority of fans have filed illustrious club. The entire Chicago team poured off the bench to out of the building and the dressing room door remains shut. celebrate, and the sold-out crowd of more than 21,000 gave Kane a prolonged standing ovation. But that was the case Sunday night, as the reeling Winnipeg Jets held a players-only meeting following a 5-2 loss to Chicago. Patrik Laine scored his 16th with just over two minutes left and Hellebuyck pulled for an extra attacker. But Dominik Kubalik added an It appears the situation has hit a crossroads for a club with just five wins empty-netter to seal the deal. Winnipegger Jonathan Toews got an assist in their last 16 games. And how could it not, after the well-rested Jets on the goal, his 799th career point. inexplicably came out flat against a division rival that had played the night before, quickly falling behind and never recovering. Hellebuyck finished with 28 saves.

"I think it’s just generally talking about not being frustrated with our game Despite the final score, the Jets had a much-improved effort following here. We believe we’re a good hockey team. We’re in a fight to make the Friday’s terrible 7-1 loss to Tampa at Bell MTS Place. But that was of playoffs for a reason. Every team that goes on to make the playoffs or little solace considering the final result. have successful runs in the playoffs goes through periods of adversity. I think for us it’s about trying to get out of that little mini-slump as fast as "First of all, that’s not saying a whole lot (comparing to the Tampa possible, being confident and believing that we’re a good hockey team game)," said Wheeler. and we can play with anyone," said alternate captain Josh Morrissey. "But there are instances where maybe you play a little bit better than... They may believe they’re a good team, but they certainly don’t look like it When it’s going tough, sometimes you’re playing well and losing. lately. And not only did the Jets drop a pivotal game to kick off a three- Sometimes when you’re winning you’re not playing so well but you’re still game road trip heading into the All-Star break, they were also on the finding ways to win. It’s a little bit of a mixed bag. You know, I think wrong side of history. there’s some good in our game. There’s some areas we can improve. Young hockey team. We’ve just got to keep working every day and Alex Nylander and Eric Gustafsson’s first-period goals gave the sticking together to get it right. There’s still a lot of hockey to play. Blackhawks the fast start they needed. And Patrick Kane’s 1,000th There’s still time to get it right and I believe in this group." career point gave them the marquee moment they hoped for. Winnipeg will try to get back in the win column Tuesday night in Raleigh It’s the fifth straight win for Chicago, who improve to 24-20-6 and pull into against the Carolina Hurricanes, then finish up the journey the following a tie with the Jets for ninth place in the Western Conference. It’s also the night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. Maurice said the key is second triumph in as many nights for the Blackhawks, who trounced trying to stay positive right now. Toronto 6-2 on Saturday. "You have to. You can leave road trip 2-1 and you’ve got to leave that Winnipeg falls to 25-20-4, including 5-9-2 over the past month. door open for yourself. It’s a challenge for us right now and you don’t want to that to build and become a bigger animal than it is," said Maurice. "I do like to see that. I think it’s always more important, when you’re struggling, that the players are coming together and not going separate Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.20.2020 ways, so it’s good that they got together," coach Paul Maurice said of the impromptu gathering, which left the media and several team executives including chairman Mark Chipman and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff waiting in the hallway outside

Winnipeg’s power play was a big story, going 0-for-5 on a night they sure could have used a goal or two. They generated plenty of good looks and 13 shots with the man advantage, but weren’t rewarded. Much of that was thanks to the superb goaltending of Robin Lehner, who made 36 saves. It was an eerily similar performance for Lehner to a Dec. 19 game in Winnipeg in which he made 36 saves in Chicago’s 4-1 victory.

"The power play’s not the problem. Obviously we didn’t score and we would have liked to get one but I think there’s more to the game than the power play. (If) we get our 5-on-5 game right, all three zones — you know, since this unit’s been back together I think we’re right near the top of the league. The power play’s fine," said captain Blake Wheeler, who believes a sluggish start was what did his team in.

"Not a good first. They jumped on us and I think, as that period went on, we got stronger. Played pretty well the latter half, the latter 40 minutes of the game. Their goalie made some big saves. We couldn’t get that next one to go. I think from there, they jumped on their opportunities, jumped on a couple of loose pucks, and that was the difference," he said.

Down 2-0 late in the second, the Jets finally broke through when Mark Scheifele scored his 23rd of the season But David Kampf added a valuable insurance marker that proved to be the game-winner at 9:29 of the third after Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck botched a routine play, failing to cover the puck in his crease and allowing Kampf to get a stick on it and poke it in. 1172006 Winnipeg Jets A month ago they looked to be firmly entrenched in the playoff mix, but they’ve fallen on hard times and things don’t seem to be getting better.

“This was a big game,” Morrissey said. “We’re playing against teams tight Jets hold players meeting in Chicago after suffering second straight loss with us in the standings. These next two games before the break, and then the push towards the end of the season, we’re going to have to be at our best, we’re going to have to go to another level here and get wins.”

Ted Wyman Lehner was a difference-maker against the Jets for the second time this season. Back on Dec. 19 in Winnipeg, he stopped 36 shots in a 4-1 win Published:January 19, 2020 and he stopped 36 more Sunday night. Updated:January 19, 2020 10:00 PM CST Hellebuyck made 28 saves in suffering his second straight loss.

“We were in the slot an awful lot,” Maurice said. “If you look at the shot CHICAGO — All you really need to know about the Winnipeg Jets latest map of that game there’s so much more from the dangerous areas. performance is that the players had a closed-door meeting after their (Lehner) made some good saves, timely, because it was a fairly tight game Sunday night. game till they made it 3-1. We had a better net presence than last game but I still think we can get to another level with it.” Do those ever happen after a win? More concerning for the Jets was the fact that they lost centre Adam Do they happen when a team is performing at an optimum level? Lowry to an injury late in the first period. Chicago’s Drake Caggiula was penalized for interference and Lowry was spotted after the game sporting The answer is no and no and it’s no surprise that this meeting came after a sling on his left arm. a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center, a defeat that came on the heels of a 7-1 home-ice humiliation against the Tampa Bay The Jets went 0-for-5 on the power play, which didn’t help their cause. Lightning on Friday night. “The power play’s not the problem,” Wheeler said. “Obviously we didn’t To recap, the Jets have been outscored 12-3 over two games by two score tonight and we would have liked to get one but (If) we get our 5-on- teams that were on tail end of back-to-backs, with travel. 5 game right, all three zones — you know, since this unit’s been back together I think we’re right near the top of the league. The power play’s This loss was particularly costly as it moved the Blackhawks into a tie fine.” with the Jets with 54 points, despite the fact that they were 10 points back of Winnipeg just a month ago. As for that closed-door, players-only meeting, Maurice said it’s a good thing. Both teams are now three points out of the playoffs and are headed in completely different directions. “I do like to see that,” he said. “I think it’s always more important, when you’re struggling, that the players are coming together and not going “Yeah, we had a little chat,” Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey said after separate ways, so it’s good that they got together. the game. “You have to (try to stay positive). You can leave road trip 2-1 and you’ve “It’s just generally talking about not being frustrated and staying with our got to leave that door open for yourself. It’s a challenge for us right now game here. We believe we’re a good hockey team and we’re in a fight to and you don’t want to that to build and become a bigger animal than it is.” make the playoffs for a reason. Every team that goes on to make the playoffs or has successful runs in the playoffs goes through periods of Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.20.2020 adversity. For us it’s just trying to get out of that little mini-slump as fast as possible and being confident and believing that we’re a good hockey team and we can play with anyone.”

The Jets have shown at times that they are good enough to play with anyone but in the last two games they got off to such poor starts that they were never able to recover.

They were down 3-0 in the first period against Tampa Bay and down 2-0 on Sunday, thanks to goals by Alex Nylander and Erik Gustafsson of the Hawks.

“Yeah, not a good first,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “They jumped on us. We played pretty well the latter half, the latter 40 minutes of the game. Their goalie (Robin Lehner) made some big saves. We couldn’t get that next one to go. I think from there, they jumped on their opportunities, jumped on a couple of loose pucks, and that was the difference.”

The Jets did make it 2-1 late in the second period when Mark Scheifele batted in a Nikolaj Ehlers rebound, but David Kampf and Brandon Saad scored in the third to make it 4-1.

Hawks winger Patrick Kane picked up an assist on the Saad goal to become the fourth Chicago player and 90th in NHL history to record 1,000 points in his career. The entire Hawks team poured on to the ice to celebrate the milestone and the crowd stood and cheered for several minutes.

Patrik Laine of the Jets scored his first goal in eight games with Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck on the bench for an extra attacker, but the Hawks iced it with an empty netter by rookie Dominik Kubalik.

“We like the idea of going out there and getting a jump on a team but we’re slow out of the gate, for sure,” Jets coach Paul Maurice lamented.

As the Jets move on to play a strong Carolina Hurricanes team on Tuesday and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday before getting their eight-day break, they are in danger of falling out of the playoff race. 1172007 Winnipeg Jets While few people were blaming Hellebuyck for the 7-1 score — he was left to fend for himself repeatedly — it’s still an ugly stat line.

“I wasn’t looking at any of those goals,” Maurice said. “I didn’t pull him JETS SNAPSHOTS: Winnipegger Toews tearing it up as Hawks rise in because I was down on him. I was leaving him to four because even as the standings lopsided as that game appeared, there was still offence to be had. But at five, he’s got enough minutes under his belt and he didn’t need to burn time in the net.”

Ted Wyman Hellebuyck allowed four goals on 33 shots in Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the Hawks, and was outplayed by Chicago’s Robin Lehner, who made 36 Published:January 19, 2020 saves. Updated:January 19, 2020 9:54 PM CST NO LINEUP CHANGES

Though they called up Nelson Nogier on Saturday, giving them eight CHICAGO — As the Chicago Blackhawks have been heating up, so has healthy defencemen for the road trip, Maurice said the move was all veteran centre Jonathan Toews. about insurance.

The 31-year-old Winnipegger had a four-point night Saturday in Toronto “There’s nobody really with a lingering issue but we didn’t want to get into and another Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets giving him four goals and a back-to-back situation or three in four and be bringing a guy in late,” 13 points in his last six games. Maurice said.

Toews is coming off his best offensive season (81 points) and seems to Nogier and fellow call-up Cam Schilling were the scratches for the Jets in be aging like a fine wine even as the Hawks try to recover from post- Chicago. Stanley Cup hard times. Blue-liner Luca Sbisa took a puck to the face against Tampa Bay but Toews, who has 14 goals and 44 points in 49 games this season, has Maurice said he got through practice fine on Saturday and was good to played a big role in the emergence of rookie Dominik Kubalik, the Czech go on Sunday. rookie who scored 20 goals in his first 47 NHL games. There were no lineup changes for the Jets Sunday although Maurice did “Well, I just think he’s got some chemistry with Kuby,” Blackhawks coach switch up his top centres, putting captain Blake Wheeler with Kyle Jeremy Colliton said prior to Sunday’s game at the United Center. “They Connor and Patrick Laine and putting Mark Scheifele between Nikolaj seem to be on the same page. Obviously, it’s really taken off lately Ehlers and Andrew Copp. production-wise but even before that, going back weeks, he was playing “I’m hoping that playing with Blake gets (Laine) shooting the puck a little well. Just the scoring, the pucks weren’t going in the net to the same bit more, not deferring quite as much, and gets everybody back to what extent but I think it’s been going on quite a while now where he’s been they do for a living,” Maurice said. playing really well for us.” Laine scored his first goal in eight games Sunday and now has 16 goals It’s noteworthy that Toews, who has always been one of the better on the season. The former 44-goal scorer, is on pace for just 27 goals defensive centres in the league, has become more of a force in the this season. offensive zone over the last couple of years. So, has there been a fundamental change in the way he plays and therefore the way opposing Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.20.2020 teams defend against him?

“We never noticed any change,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “When Winnipeg and Chicago play, he’s always a dominant player out there. Maybe it’s the Winnipeg factor but he certainly doesn’t look like he’s changed at all when he plays us.”

KANE IN ELITE COMPANY

Toews played his 923rd career NHL game on Sunday night and picked up his 799th career point.

Although 800 points is clearly a cool milestone — and Toews is sixth all- time in Hawks’ scoring — the anticipation heading into Sunday’s game was more focused on Patrick Kane, who was sitting on 999 points at puck drop.

Kane, who’s also 31, became the fourth player in Blackhawks history to record at least 1,000 points when he picked up a third-period assist on a goal by Brandon Saad.

He joins a club that includes Hall of Famers Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull and Denis Savard. He is the 90th NHL player to reach the milestone.

Colliton was asked if he is able to appreciate what Kane does while he’s in the moment, coaching.

“Sometimes you appreciate it in the moment because he makes such a special play,” Colliton said. “Small things … he gets the puck in his own and finds a way to get out. That’s probably an underrated part of his game.

“He’s so clean and you can see that in his play. Obviously, the plays he makes to score and create chances for himself are special. He’s got a knack for coming through when you need him. He scores big goals all the time, makes plays allow you to have an advantage.”

BACK TO ’BUYCK

The Jets were looking for a big bounce-back game from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who allowed five goals on 12 shots before getting yanked in Friday’s loss to the Lightning. 1172008 Vancouver Canucks • The Chiefs beating the Titans in the AFC Championship Game isn’t surprising. The Chiefs beating the Titans with their ground game after they fell behind 17-7, that’s surprising.

Willes' Musings: All-star Markstrom not getting respect he deserves • As for the Super Bowl matchup, it’s hard to bet against Patrick Mahomes and he’ll be the better quarterback in Miami. But it’s hard to get around the beat down the 49ers put on the Packers. The NFC champions are a more physical, balanced team with a better defence and those ED WILLES teams invariably win the big game. Published:January 19, 2020 Football has evolved from its primitive roots. It hasn’t evolved that much. Updated:January 19, 2020 6:43 PM PST • And finally, one more thought about the Canucks at the all-star break. There exists among the faithful a deep-rooted fear that this team can still collapse like a bad souffle; that they’re setting up their fans for another The Canucks are in first place, the fans are chanting Loui Eriksson’s epic failure. name, in a world gone mad it’s reassuring to know you can still count on the Monday morning musings and meditations on the world of sports: It’s the Charlie Brown-Lucy Van Pelt Syndrome and you can understand why it exists. But let’s look at things from a different perspective. • Clear Sight Analytics advertises itself as a cutting-edge operation that supplies the most-detailed, comprehensive data in the hockey world. The The Canucks have integrated four new defencemen into the lineup and a Toronto Maple Leafs, among others, pay a hefty fee for their services. new first-line winger in J.T. Miller. Tanner Pearson had played 19 games with the organization before the start of this season. Thatcher Demko is According to its website, Clear Sight “ … catalogues every shot in his first full year in a new role. Adam Gaudette was in Utica, N.Y., in sequence resulting in a shot on goal for every game played in the NHL the first month of the season. Elias Pettersson, their best player, just using 34 individualized points of data.” This takes into account screens, turned 21. And their coach, Travis Green, is in his first NHL posting. deflections, broken plays, passing sequences, shooter locations, odd- man rushes and a whole bunch of other stuff. So, just putting this out there. Is it possible the Canucks spent the first 2 1/2 months of this season adjusting to each other and their new roles and Now the big reveal. their 11-3 record since Dec. 17 is a reflection of a team that is starting to jell? According to Clear Sight, which was founded by former NHL goalie Steve Valiquette, Jacob Markstrom leads all NHL goalies in expected goals, a Discuss this among yourselves. cumulative statistic that calculates the difference between the number of goals expected based on the type and quality of shots and the number of “We wanted to be a better team and that happens in three ways: your goals allowed. He’s also second in expected save percentage. young guys get better, you add new players though free agency and the guys you have on your team come back as better players,” Green said. “I Look at me with the fancy stats. think all that has happened. It’s just a progression of our team.”

Markstrom is top six in two other key analytical categories, which Sounds like an accurate description of what’s happened this season. confirms something the faithful have long-since suspected: the Canucks’ Wouldn’t it be swell if that was actually the case. keeper is a top-five goalie this NHL season. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.20.2020 The next question is, has anyone outside B.C. noticed?

Part of the problem is Markstrom’s numbers in the traditional areas that measure goaltending performance — wins, save percentage, goals- against average — are good, not great. He’s ninth in wins, the only category he appears in the top 10.

But that still doesn’t explain why he didn’t receive one all-star vote from NHL.com’s panel of writers, or why NHL general managers ranked him 22nd among goalies in a pre-season poll in The Athletic.

It’s possible Markstrom would receive more love if his entire body of work this season was taken into account. But you still sense the larger hockey world has been slow to grasp his role in the Canucks’ renaissance.

His appearance in next weekend’s All-Star Game is something of a validation of his performance. Just wondering if anyone will be paying attention.

• This is Markstrom’s seventh season with the Canucks. In that time he’s morphed from third-stringer to backup to full-fledged starter, but he’s yet to play a game in the post-season.

After the Canucks’ 4-1 win over San Jose on Saturday, he was asked about his journey.

“It’s been a rebuilding process, which is never fun,” he said. “You hate to lose hockey games. It’s easier to come to the rink when you’re winning. When you’re rebuilding and trying a lot of young kids it’s tough on the mental part.

“We have big goals this season. We don’t want to disappoint ourselves, our teammates or the fans and the city of Vancouver. You want to give something back to the fans who’ve stuck with us through some tough times.”

• Another year comes, another year goes and still no Warren Zevon, Little Feat or Steve Earle in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But T. Rex and their two songs — Bang a Gong and Not Bang a Gong — made it. Awesome. 1172009 Vancouver Canucks “Everybody had a role. Everybody knew what they were there for. The power play was good. The penalty kill was great. We had a mixture of young guys and veteran guys. It wasn’t just Pavel winning it for us. Every game somebody different stepped up. That was the beautiful thing about Canucks at 50: McLean save and Brown-to-Bure goal from 1994 Game 7 it,” Brown said. vs. Calgary remain memories that resonate McLean added: “We grew together. We did everything together. We felt like a big family, from the (owners) Griffiths family on down. That’s the way we treated each other. It makes you want to play for each other. You STEVE EWEN don’t want to let the guy next to you down. You don’t want to let the staff Published:January 19, 2020 or the ownership down.”

Updated:January 19, 2020 3:33 PM PST Dave Babych, 58, says that team has a special bond, as you’d expect. They’ll talk about that playoff run when they get together. They’ll bust each other’s chops like they did all those years ago. Guys will joke that McLean fell rather than stacking the pads on Reichel, according to McLean and Reichel having forged some sort of friendship all these Babych. They’ll kibitz that Geoff Courtnall, who helped keep the Calgary years later would be something out of a movie. series alive with his top-shelf slapshot in OT in Game 5’s 2-1 triumph, Kirk McLean doesn’t really know Robert Reichel. That would be too good routinely would fire high and wide and off the glass in that very same to be true, wouldn’t it? circumstance most times.

McLean stacking the pads to the blocker side to pilfer a sure goal from They understand the connection that spring has with Canucks fans to this Reichel on a 3-on-1 in the first overtime in Game 7 of that 1994 first day. They didn’t at the time, of course. round versus the Calgary Flames remains one of the most memorable “When you’re in the middle of it, you’re in a bubble,” said Babych, plays in Vancouver Canucks history. another member of that team who still lives in the Lower Mainland and is It’s alongside Jeff Brown threading the needle to Pavel Bure for the 4-3 busy with alumni events. “You’re tired and you’re beat up and you’re just winner in the second OT session later that April 30 evening and a small eating enough and resting enough to get by.” handful of other moments that diehard Canucks fans can recite the play- That team lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the New York by-play of by heart. Rangers, falling 3-2 on June 14 at Madison Square Garden. It’s easy to McLean and Reichel having forged some sort of friendship all these wonder where Quinn, Bure, Linden and all the others might fit in the years later would be something out of a movie. Alas, McLean says Vancouver sports landscape if they had won that last game. It’s easy to they’ve never really spoken to any extent, saying that Reichel is simply wonder how even more revered they would all be by Canucks fans. “one of the guys that I played against.” It’s also easy to wonder the other way too. It’s easy to wonder what McLean still gets to talk about Reichel and that save. He talks about it a would have happened if Reichel, who was coming off his second-straight ton it would seem. 40 goal season in those playoffs, had put that puck a few inches higher and beaten McLean. It’s easy to wonder what might have happened if “I probably get asked about it twice a day,” said McLean, 53, who’s one Brown was just a step late with that pass and that Bure play was negated of the more prominent members of the Canucks’ alumni in the Lower and somebody from Calgary had scored later on. Mainland. “It’s part of people’s memories. I’m happy to discuss it. And it was a defining moment of my career. If people want to talk about it, I’ll “Who knows?” McLean says, when asked how things might have played talk about it. I’ll be worried when people stop asking.” out if Vancouver had lost that opening round. “Would Pat have lasted? There would have been some changes for sure. There could have been Our memories are tricky things. McLean played 11 years for the a whole shakeup. I don’t know. Pat was a very loyal guy. He would have Canucks. He played parts of 16 seasons in the NHL. He’s credited with gone to bat for all of us.” 14,727 saves for Vancouver in regular-season and playoff games. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.20.2020 One of his saves connects more than all the others for so many of us.

Brown’s situation is similar. He played 13 years in the NHL, including parts of three seasons with the Canucks. He recorded 475 assists in league action and the playoffs. St. Louis Blues fans will have a different take, citing setups to Brett Hull during his five seasons there. In Vancouver, it’s that pinpoint blue-line-to-blue-line feed to a streaking Bure, who rocketed in and deked goalie Mike Vernon, that so many of us recall.

There are reasonable reasons that all this resonates so. That Canucks team had Bure and Trevor Linden, and Pat Quinn behind the bench. It had underachieved in the regular season, finishing with 85 points after the nucleus had put up 101 points the campaign before and 96 points the season before that.

Remember this overtime classic? Flames fans could be forgiven for developing instant amnesia when it comes to this marker, the Canucks’ Pavel Bure slipping the puck past Flames goalie Mike Vernon in double OT in the seventh and deciding game of the 1994 Western Conference quarterfinal at the Saddledome in Calgary. PROVINCE

They were the conference’s No. 7 seed. The Flames, who finished 12 points ahead of the Canucks, were No. 2 and they had beaten Vancouver in three playoff series in a row going into that one. The Flames jumped out to a 3-1 series lead and Vancouver stormed back, winning each of the final three games in OT to advance.

“To win a series like that, in Game 7 in overtime, is something that I’ll never forget,” said Brown, 53, who was coaching minor hockey in St. Louis a couple of seasons ago but is focusing now on sons Logan, 21, a centre who’s split time this season between the Ottawa Senators and their AHL Belleville, Ont., affiliate, and Caden, 16, a forward with the U.S. National Team Development squad. 1172010 Vancouver Canucks As he left the rink, a throng of Vancouver fans were chanting in the concourse: ”Steamer! Steamer! Steamer!”

The nickname he earned with his body and soul never sounded so good. Canucks at 50: 1994 double OT win over Flames will forever be known For The Vancouver Sun, columnist Archie McDonald noted the as 'The Game' momentum the goal had given the Canucks heading into the next series in Dallas.

STAFF REPORTER DALLAS — For seven months when Pat Quinn took daily inventory he felt the Vancouver Canucks had an adequate supply of the material he Published:January 19, 2020 could see — physical talent.

Updated:January 19, 2020 10:00 AM PST But he placed a question mark after the mental components. Quantity unknown?

They made so many costly, bonehead mistakes, that as late as three CALGARY — Pavel Bure had just scored one of the biggest goals in weeks ago Quinn thought a serious overhaul would be needed at the end Vancouver Canucks history and Kirk McLean had forever purged any of the season. implications he couldn’t win the big one. He awoke in Dallas this morning — a place he never thought he would But the man who seemed to feel best about this colossal victory was be — hoping that seven punishing games and three straight overtime assistant coach Stan Smyl. decisions against Calgary Flames accomplished what the previous seven For five years the Steamer has carried around the anvil of that seventh- months couldn’t. That it transformed a collection of individuals into a real game overtime loss. The save Mike Vernon made on him has haunted team. and taunted, and with emotion dripping from his words he admitted it has Maybe, just maybe, it took the crucible of the playoffs to meld them into a gripped him all this time. unit which is capable of making a run for the Stanley Cup. ”You don’t forget things that happened in the past,” he said, the voice of Their 4-3 double overtime victory Saturday night added a memorable this man’s man quivering. ”It’s something I could never let go. I knew I’d chapter to one of the world’s thinnest books, Great Playoff Triumphs of have to retire and never be able to do anything about it myself, but this is the Vancouver Canucks. just as sweet. I can honestly say the ghost is risen now. It’s gone. Tonight they will try to keep it going against the fresh, ultra conservative ”I had a lot of opportunities when my career ended and I took this role in Dallas Stars, who will test their new-found patience and discipline to the part because of that and because of the Griffiths’ and the organization. extreme. The Stars play a style that has caused the Canucks This really makes it special. As I told Trevor (Linden) and Gus (Greg considerable anguish all season. Adams), all the line needed was a different right winger.” Tonight’s opener may seem monotonous to what transpired at the ”I was on the ice behind the play,” said Adams of the ’89 save on Smyl. Saddledome. ”This is really nice to beat those guys in the same situation. This almost makes up for the kind of season I’ve had and for us as a team. Another Only the Canucks’ double overtime drama against Chicago in 1982 couple of series and it will completely.” comes close to matching it.

Smyl admits he relives the play in his mind again and again. It had THE Save by Kirk McLean, and it had THE goal by Pavel Bure. For the Canucks this will remain THE Game until a better one comes along. ”I think of things I could have done differently. I think I shouldn’t have rushed myself the way I did. I think that D wasn’t so close, I had more McLean, maligned by media and fans when Mike Vernon outplayed him time. But what can you do. I got it up, but he just made a great save. It’s in the middle part of the series, looked up to see his nemesis, Theoren been with me all those years, and now I feel I can let go. It’s away, Fleury, bearing down on a three-on-one attack in the first overtime. forever.” Fleury made a text book move, holding the puck, freezing McLean, and Vancouver Canucks’ Geoff Courtnall (14) celebrates his goal with then feathering a pass to Robert Reichel who one-timed his shot. A goal teammate Pavel Bure during Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals against was inevitable. Even the red light went on. the Calgary Flames on April 26, 1994. They won the game 6-3. Vancouver Sun But McLean had anticipated the pass, stacked his pads and skidded across to rob Reichel. Bure, the man who erased the OT nightmare with one whirl of his stick — the kind of skill of which Smyl could only dream — said he was glad he ”It’s a desperation move,” said McLean. ”You have to read the play was able to purge the demons, goblins of which he knows nothing. perfectly, but the puck is going to hit you if you do it right.”

”I’m glad for Steamer,” he said. ”I still can’t believe I scored that one. I If McLean hadn’t made THE save Bure couldn’t have scored THE goal. should have scored in the first period, but the puck rolled away. It came with shocking suddenness. Dave Babych moved the puck to ”I said to myself in overtime, just be patient, you’re going to get your defensive partner Jeff Brown who zipped a long, precision pass to Bure. chance if you watch for it.” Said Brown: ”Pavel was turning and we made eye contact. I was ”I made eye contact with him as soon as I got the puck and I couldn’t get fortunate to put the pass right on the tape. Anyone other than Pavel rid of it fast enough,” said Jeff Brown, who threaded the puck through the might have been caught.” traffic to the streaking Bure. ”This is a funny team. We just never seemed Dejected Calgary Flames skate past Vancouver Canucks as they to give up. We just kind of hung around. Kirk kept us in.” celebrate their overtime victory in game seven of the first round playoff Smyl is not one to get overly confident, but doesn’t see any unbeatable series April 30, 1994 in Calgary. Vancouver Sun teams between here and the final. When ghosts are vanquished, the No one in the NHL moves as swiftly as the Russian Rocket. He is a Dallas Stars hardly seem imposing. skater out of those old speeded up silent movies. He faked Vernon out of ”This team is slowly building character and when you come through a his intimate apparel and the Canucks were on their way to Dallas. seven-game series like that it just naturally happens. The fact we never Said Bure: ”It was the best one I ever have. I would have scored on my gave up and the patience we showed has done a lot for this team. Three first one (first period breakaway) but the puck went off the end of my straight overtime wins can do a lot for all those ingredients. You get to stick.” start trusting that player beside you. Rarely have the words ‘sudden death overtime’ seemed so appropriate. ”The only team I’m glad we don’t have to play now is the Sharks. I know they’ve given Toronto fits this season,” Smyl added. ”My feeling was disbelief,” said Bure’s linemate Trevor Linden. ”When the puck went in I didn’t know where to go, what to do, who to hug.” He made the only logicalchoice and embraced Bure in a scene that should make the cover of the team’s yearbook.

”I can’t remember anything better than this,” said veteran Babych. ”We deserved everything we got in this series. We deserved to be down when we were, and we deserved to win now.”

Even the usually restrained Quinn was caught up in the emotion of the moment. The series restored his faith in the direction of the club and he was full of the joys of spring.

”For five years we’ve made some progress. Then this year our goal was to become a team that could take the next step, a mental step. We needed to have the discipline when necessary, and take steps toward teamwork.

”We had a lot of fine individuals but we weren’t necessarily a good team. And with so many teams this year going to the more conservative checking style, we seemed to fall into a trap.

”Sometimes we worked our butts off but weren’t smart enough to win. In this series we were smart enough to win.”

Going into the series, Bure, McLean and Linden were fingered as the three key Canucks. Each one responded magnificently.

Despite being hounded by Mike Sullivan, Bure ended up with eight points. That inordinate attention allowed Greg Adams to find space late in the third period and Bure found him with a pass. Adams went for the net and got the puck over Vernon’s pads to tie the game.

Adams was an unlikely hero. He hadn’t done much in the series but he did it when it counted.

There are a lot of unlikely things at work. Winning three straight games in overtime defies Canuck history.

Assistant coach Ron Smith thinks he may have seen it before. He was an assistant to Roger Neilson when the Canucks made their improbable run at the cup in 1982.

”Even when we were down, I felt something was going to happen,” said Smith. ”It’s almost metaphysical, something cosmic. It reminded me of ’82 when we had the patched up defence and everything still fell into place. You have to work hard, but at some point something else takes over.”

The Canucks have been in business 24 years. Maybe every 12 years they get lucky.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.20.2020 1172011 Vancouver Canucks As I mentioned in the game story, twice this season I’ve seen the Sharks now. They’ve been awful in both, barely looking like they cared.

Jumbo Joe just looks old. I’m not sure Patrick Marleau was out there. Canucks Extra: Loui the Redeemer It’s tough when your greatest leaders can’t do it anymore. That’s hard on the group dynamic.

PATRICK JOHNSTON The Sharks used to have Joe Pavelski around to stir the drink. They don’t anymore. By all accounts their leadership dynamic is very different. Published:January 19, 2020 Toxic, even.

Updated:January 19, 2020 8:58 AM PST I didn’t think Erik Karlsson would look like an albatross already — he signed his deal just last summer! — but here we are.

The Insurance Line Oh, what a night. Brendan Batchelor floated a name for the Pearson-Horvat-Eriksson trio The size of the scrum that amassed itself around Loui Eriksson Saturday the other night: The Insurance Line. morning really was remarkable. You know, because they’re on the ice late in the game. Because they’ve In the 18 months I’ve been covering the Canucks, I don’t think we’ve scored six (six!) empty-net goals in their 13 games together. seen quite such an assemblage. So, I put the name to them. In the seasons prior, I did occasionally find myself at the rink for practices and morning skates and I don’t recall anything similar. Eriksson: “I don’t know about that.”

It may have happened before, but even if it did, it was a rare thing. Horvat: “I’ll take it. I’ll take any name for my line that I can get … I’ll take it as a compliment.” Eriksson is a very nice guy. He’s always been happy to talk with the media. I know, because I’ve engaged with him in long conversations in Pearson: “Oh! I like that. I like that. Getting a name for your line means the past. you’re doing something good.”

But he’s soft-spoken and never one to rock the boat. He’s good at Oiler miracle helping to explain certain aspects of the game, but he’s not one for zingers. he’s not one to throw barbs at teammates. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t think I’d see the Oilers rise back into the goal-differential black again this season. He’s certainly not one to make headlines, at least not in conversation with Vancouver reporters, anyway. But in thumping Arizona 7-3 on Saturday, they did just that.

He did once tell me a great story about how Jonathan Dahlen thought They’re 6-1-1 in their last eight games. But they’re also 10-11-2 in their he’d played Santa at a long-ago Dallas Stars Swedish Christmas party. last 23 games.

It all adds up to mean that he’s rarely the sort for a quote, and it’s not just So it’s a surge lately, but if you step back and look at the big picture, I’m because so much of his play in 2019 underwhelmed. not sure they’re going to stay in the black for long.

But he’s started 2020 on the best foot. Sure, his production may have Just look at their even-strength expected-goals chart from been helped along by empty nets. His line is playing very well, though, MoneyPuck.com. (Expected goals are a measure of shot quality, based maybe better than any other the Canucks have. on historical data tied to shot locations.)

He deserves some credit for that. This is a team that’s really struggled to get better shots than the opposition. You had to believe he felt a bit of pride in being swarmed by reporters for the first time in so long. And there were the roars of Louuuuuu from the Then you go look at their basic data: this is a team that scores on an crowd when he was announced as a starter before the game. above-average percentage of their shots, something I buy when they’ve got Connor McDavid leading the charge and Leon Draisaitl riding That surely must have felt good, too. It’s a bit surprising, given the vitriol shotgun. that has accompanied his name over the past year or so. His play hasn’t matched his pay stub. But they’ve also got a below-average save percentage. The truth is Mike Smith is old and Mikko Koskinen is just not that good. But it does seem to be now. What the Oilers do have is excellent penalty killing. Their power play is Can he keep it going? The Canucks sure need him to keep it going as he outscoring the penalty killing by 20 goals. That’s why they’re in the has. It was something they were hoping to get right out of the box, an positive. effort that produced results that would match his salary. Their special teams may yet save them, but only if they can manage to The Canucks are now out of game action for nine days. He didn’t play not have their five-on-five play be a total tire fire. much in the first half of the season, so maybe that will be an edge on everyone else: he’ll actually be fresher than the rest. An alternate timeline https://t.co/AxUJSau2C1 pic.twitter.com/CjMIjdK3ss— Bik Nizzar So while I was doing some digging about that What-If story on Igor (@Bik650) January 19, 2020 Larionov’s departure from Vancouver — if he’d stayed, might Pavel Bure have been even more productive? Might he have been happier? — I Loui heard the roar came across this remarkable story from my retired colleague Jim Jamieson: The post-game grin from Eriksson when he was asked about the shorthanded two on one in the second period, and whether he realized From the June 15, 1992 edition of The Province, titled “Gillis an official the frenzy the crowd was in as he took his shot told the story. candidate.”

He heard them. He knew the place would have exploded if he’d scored Mike Gillis’s status as a candidate for the assistant general manager the goal. position vacated by Brian Burke has grown from plausible to official.

But he then replied in his classic, down tempo, measured, polite fashion. Gillis, a former NHL player who’s now a lawyer and player agent, confirmed Sunday night from his Kingston, Ont., home that he’d been “It was close,” he said. “I was able to get a shot at least, I think it hit the asked about his interest in Burke’s job by Vancouver Canucks general shoulder on him and he made a great save. But in the end we won the manager Pat Quinn. game anyway, so it’s good.”

What happened to the Sharks “We’ve had some contact (about Burke’s vacant position), but I really So what if an NHL club were caught in a similar scenario? It’s basically don’t want to comment any further,” said Gillis. impossible to sign a player to a contract that doesn’t conform to league rules: every deal signed has to be approved and registered by the league Burke, who left the Canucks after five years on May 26 to become g.m. office. of the Hartford Whalers, confirmed Gillis was one of the people he’d recommended to Quinn. The only thing conceivable would be if the team somehow found a way to create other, hidden, payment schemes, away from the NHL-regulated That’s no surprise, considering their striking similarities. Both played standard player contract. professionally (Burke in the minors) and both have law degrees (Burke from Harvard, Gillis from Queen’s). Burke was a player agent before If the league found out a team was giving a player payments that didn’t coming to the Canucks and Gillis represents about 25 players including conform to the rules, there would be heavy fines and likely revoked draft Canucks Tom Fergus and Geoff Courtnall. picks.

Burke agreed the similarities in their curriculum vitae might be in the 33- There are secret cap penalties that get applied from time to time based year-old Gillis’s favor: “I think Pat took a lot of criticism when he hired on the delayed settlements of payment disputes and of course there are someone with my background, but I think it set a trend in the NHL.” daft things like cap recapture, but one source I spoke with said it was doubtful a team would have a cap penalty imposed as the result of a cap Quinn said recently that youthful enthusiasm was one of the key things violation. Burke had brought to the organization and that it would be his first priority to replace. About the BFG

Gillis – who played five and a half seasons in the NHL with the defunct Jim Benning admitted last summer he’d like to see Nikita Tryamkin back Colorado Rockies and the Boston Bruins – said he’s about 65 per cent in Vancouver. involved in corporate law and 35 per cent as an agent. His agent Todd Diamond confirmed talks happened at the draft combine “But if you included the work I do in the evening, it’s more like 75-75,” he in Buffalo in May. said, adding that 16-hour days aren’t uncommon. And on Saturday on TSN 1040, Diamond once again said his client ICING – Five Canucks become free agents today: Igor Larionov (Group would like to come back. 3), Kirk McLean and Gerald Diduck (both Group 2) as well as Fergus and Jim Agnew (both unrestricted). So let’s say for a moment Tryamkin does come back. Given the way the roster is currently set up, first of all there’s finding cap space for him. That Your mind wanders to what might have been if Gillis had given up his has to be solved somehow. sports agent life, which was thriving at the time and would go on to become a powerhouse. He was one of the agents who were most But there’s also the roster spot itself. Say he gets signed this summer: successful in landing his clients big-money deals, especially in the years that simply means not re-signing Oscar Fantenberg. (Tryamkin, a left- leading into the 2004-05 lockout. handed shot, mostly played on the left, though he can play on the right side as well.) He had already learned plenty about the game to that point, having taken on the most corrupt hockey man in the game: his former agent, the But if you bring in Tryamkin, with Edler and Hughes and Jordie Benn crooked head of the NHLPA Alan Eagleson. Eagleson had lied to Gillis already still in the fold, where does that leave Olli Juolevi? about his disability claim, which Gillis filed after a broken leg ended his The 2016 mess playing career. And speaking of Juolevi, the only player remaining in the Canucks’ Gillis eventually discovered that Eagleson had simply defrauded him of a system from the 2016 draft class, Will Lockwood, is having a terrible year large percentage of the funds he was due. He went to court to get his on a terrible Michigan team. He’s a year out from serious shoulder money back, which he did. surgery, never a good thing for a young hockey player to have to deal Then it was off to corporate law. At some point, a former teammate with. asked for advice with a contract. And Gillis was on his way. No other player from that draft remains tied to the Canucks, and for them By 1992, he had a stable of clients. By 1993, he was doing hockey agent to keep Lockwood, he’ll have to be signed in the off-season. work full-time. Corporate law fell by the wayside. That draft, by the way, was the only draft where the collaborative Over the following decade, Gillis and his agent colleagues leveraged scouting system developed by Judd Brackett and his staff and used to contract after contract, eventually creating an environment the NHL’s such great success in the well-rated 2017, 2018 and 2019 draft, wasn’t in owners were greatly displeased about. play.

But what if we rewind back to 1992 and Gillis is somehow convinced to Quinn Hughes is great … step into Quinn’s stable, to become his primary adviser, to offer a … but you want to hear something bananas? different take on what the big Irishman was doing. Not only is Lidstrom the last defenseman to get 60 points as a rookie, he Quinn was as creative as they came in roster building. But he wasn’t got 60 points in his 19th season at age 40.— Dave Hogg (@stareagle) perfect. Might Gillis have dissuaded his boss from making the multitude January 19, 2020 of bad first round picks that were to come? Justin Bailey, goal machine It seems unlikely he’s the guy to take over the team 15 years later: wouldn’t another team have swooped in to make him their general The Utica winger has a ton of goals in his last five games. You may have manager, as happened with Brian Burke and Burke’s successor, George heard he scored three hat-tricks in his previous four games coming into McPhee? Saturday.

Anyway, it’s a wild notion. That’s his mom, who is thrilled to be getting more pucks to put up on her walls at home. What if an NHL club broke the cap rules? I ask Zack MacEwen about his sometimes-teammate. I won’t bore you with the details, but the biggest rugby club in England has been caught breaking all the rules of their league’s salary cap. “Just that speed stands out,” he said. “He moves for a big guy.”

London-based Saracens have been hit twice with punishments, the first MacEwen, of course, hasn’t played much in the last month, though he did last summer when it was first revealed they’d been making payments to get a one-day re-assignment to Utica last Friday. players in an “investment” scheme that violated the rules, the second this Before last Friday’s game, he hadn’t played a game since Dec. 18 in week when it was clear they had not fixed their previous cap problems. Belleville. Both came with 35-point penalties in the standings; add it all up and they’re going to be sent to the second division. The Canucks sent him from Buffalo to Utica in a private car at 1 p.m. last Friday. It’s a three-hour drive. He was there in plenty of time ahead of the game.

Then he was back in the car post-game, arriving back in Buffalo at 2 a.m.

Imagine being that close to your minor league club *all* the time.

Beware, beware

I mean, Zack Kassian is a great story. And the number being discussed for him — $3.5 million, four years — is still just half of what was thrown at Milan Lucic by the previous administration.

But throwing money at a guy who puts up pretty pedestrian underlying numbers — I was talking about him before the season with someone, who agreed he’s sadly had a pretty mediocre career — after he’s spent the whole year playing with the best player in the world is a little crazy.

See you after the all-star break.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.20.2020 1172012 Vancouver Canucks Best Aquilini impersonation NOT HEARING MUCH FROM CRITICS OF THE LOUI ERIKSSON

SIGNING JIM MADE THESE DAYS @FR_AQUILINI The Armies: Loui ‘saves the day,’ the almost goalie fight, the NHL20 pass — TAJ (@TAJ1944) JANUARY 19, 2020 and dinner with Papa Tanev Best idea

The Jake Virtanen thing By Harman Dayal and Thomas Drance Jan 19, 2020 One thing that’s clear when watching Jake Virtanen play this season is

that he’s making a concerted effort to take the extra second to get his Led by Loui Eriksson, the Canucks surged to first place in the Pacific head up and survey his options. This is important because Virtanen’s Division with a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks heading into the bye puck management in maintaining possession, particularly in transition, week and the All-Star break. will be key for him to succeed with Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.

Don’t refresh the website, or reload your app. Everything is working fine. The first period was a little bit hit and miss in this regard. There was a These are just facts. turnover on the breakout where he hung onto the puck too long and telegraphed the cross-ice pass. Yes, the San Jose Sharks put in as uninspired and — dare we say — toothless a performance as you’re likely to see from an NHL team this There was another turnover at the offensive blue line in the middle of the season. first but everything changed for him in the second period after Virtanen and the second unit pinned the league-best Sharks penalty kill for a full Yes, the main reason Eriksson has posted such sparkling underlying two minutes. numbers in his unlikely return to Vancouver’s top-six has been that Bo Horvat has been electric since Christmas. He’s playing the best hockey One of the closest chances on that power play was when he attacked of his career. Forget throwing his fastball, Horvat is throwing hadoukens. downhill from the right circle and slid a pass right in front to Pearson.

Still, this is a real story. There’s energy behind it too. It was the turning point for his night.

The Vancouver crowd earlier this season cheered Eriksson hysterically “You make a good pass like that it gets your confidence up,” said when he beat out an icing. Virtanen.

Now? The building was legitimately ready to explode when Eriksson He was rewarded for his poise with the puck in the third period on a rush nearly cashed in a short-handed opportunity, ultimately putting a nice attempt where he slowed down and then rifled a pass to a streaking Tyler Motte setup just wide in the first period. Pearson.

It’s Loui’s world. And good for him. The Virtanen to Pearson play is actually something the two had strategized in the second intermission after it almost led to a goal the first His resurgence is incredible. A healthy scratch 19 times this season, time they had tried it. Eriksson has seized this opportunity — probably the last he was going to be afforded by the Canucks — since Josh Leivo’s injury in late “We actually talked about him going back post to the net in-zone but he December. Placed on a line with Horvat and Tanner Pearson, the ended up doing it just on the rush,” said Virtanen. “I told him in the Canucks are controlling play ably with Eriksson on the ice. In fact, they’re intermission that their defence was going to let him go to the net and I’m manufacturing five-on-five goals at a higher rate with the Eriksson- glad it worked out.” Horvat-Pearson trio on the ice than they are with the damn Lotto Line. Vancouver’s second power-play unit has been a massive boon. That hardly seems like real life. Long gone are the frustrating days of watching Markus Granlund trying to Not bad for a player who, if other Canucks forwards had been healthy, gain the zone to no avail and good decision-making from the right circle was likely waiver fodder. has been a huge part of that. Josh Leivo was a key cog on a couple of nifty goals earlier in the season and now Virtanen has stepped up in that The contract is still a millstone, and no, this run of excellence does role without skipping a beat. nothing to raise or in any way alter Eriksson’s trade value. But it’s fun, and funny, and Vancouver’s second line has been genuinely effective. “It’s good for me because I’m on my forehand and I can try to look for the plays that are open,” Virtanen said of playing on the right side of PP2. “I It’s basically like Andy Kaufman’s famous Mighty Mouse sketch on can protect the puck pretty well on that side just because I have my “Saturday Night Live.” Kaufman basically turned on a record player and shoulder to them. I feel like it was good and I enjoy playing the right stood there, awkwardly, as the music played. That’s Eriksson’s first side.” three-and-a-half years in Vancouver. Best video game pass Then, in a flourish, Kaufman raised his hands and modified his entire posture. He made a grand gesture while flawlessly lip-syncing the “Here I Virtanen capped off the night with a slick saucer pass to set Miller up for come to save the day” chorus to the Mighty Mouse intro. It’s insane, but it the Canucks’ fourth goal on a two-on-one break. works and it’s the stuff of comedy legend. “You get the two-on-one with Millsy there, I saw Burns go down and just That flourish, that’s Eriksson’s form the past two weeks. tried to make a solid pass,” said Virtanen. “Right away when I got it, I wanted to pass to Millsy because he’s got a really good shot.” “Here he comes to save the day!” Thatcher Demko: That was a video game pass Best pregame cheer Virtanen: NHL 20, man (smiles) PEOPLE CHEERED LOUUUUUUU FOR LOUI ERIKSSON. Best video game hit THIS IS A REBIRTH. It’s amazing how Alex Edler likes to remind us from time to time that he — PATRICK JOHNSTON (@RISINGACTION) JANUARY 19, 2020 can casually morph into a wrecking ball whenever he wants. The victim on this occasion was Kevin Labanc, who ended up flying further than he Best bounce back would in first-class to his bye week vacation spot. THE RESURRECTION OF LOUI PIC.TWITTER.COM/KNTNMDOFVJ Best question — MR BOOTH (@MRBOOTH_7) JANUARY 19, 2020 Alex Edler got a big roar from the crowd when it was announced that he Vancouver’s second highest-scoring winger since Christmas, J.T. Miller had become the franchise leader in assists from a defenceman. Brock Boeser, Loui Eriksson was rewarded for going to the front of the The question that had to be asked, however, is would he waive wave? net — potting the first of the game for the Canucks. WILL HE WAVE? HTTPS://T.CO/NLMO5FGRA5 Burn whatever the heck this is.

— JEFF PATERSON (@PATERSONJEFF) JANUARY 19, 2020 Wow, the rare Jim Sandlak jersey. I assume this fan’s Dana Murzyn jersey was in the wash. Yes, yes he did. Best dad Hughes goal Chris Tanev is an ace shutdown defender, but among his teammates QUINN HUGHES SCORES A VERY UN-CALE MAKAR-LIKE GOAL. he’s also become Papa Tanev — regularly, jokingly referred to by his IT'S A GOAL UNLIKE THE ONES THAT MAKAR SCORES, BECAUSE younger teammates as ‘dad’ on Instagram. HE DID IT WHILE ALSO LEADING HIS TEAM IN ICE TIME. It’s a name borne of Tanev’s habit of hosting dinners for his young #CANUCKS teammates, cooking for them and, of late, schooling up his defense — THOMAS DRANCE (@THOMASDRANCE) JANUARY 19, 2020 partner Quinn Hughes on the chess boards.

Sandwiched between Virtanen’s two assists was this long-range goal by “We’ve played three games now, we’ve just started, but we played last Quinn Hughes. night again,” Tanev told the Armies on Saturday. “I try to have the young guys over for dinner a bit and we usually try to do something. Had tacos You know Hughes is something special because he can turn one of the going yesterday and ended up playing some chess after dinner. I’ve won lowest percentage shots in hockey (a corner point shot with no twice and one was like a stalemate, we both were down to our kings, not deflection) into a goal. much left. It was going to go for days, no one was getting checkmate.”

Either that or Aaron Dell got the All-Star Game memo where they ask You’d think between Tanev and Hughes that Hughes would be the young goalies not to make elementary saves a week early. marauder, making aggressive moves all over the board. That doesn’t seem to be the case though. Best scrum “I would think he would be more offensive and I’d be more defensive, but THORNTON-SUTTER LASTED ROUGHLY AS LONG AS MCGREGOR- he’s not,” Tanev joked. “He really thinks his moves out. He’s had me on CERRONE the ropes, he’s pretty smart.” — MIKE HALFORD (@HALFORDTSN) JANUARY 19, 2020 For Tanev, hosting his younger teammates is his way of passing along Pandemonium ensued late in the third period when old man Joe something he experienced at length when he was a young player Thornton got frustrated that kids were having fun on his lawn. breaking into the NHL. You’ll recall that back in those days, when Tanev was said to be a chain smoking rookie on the back end, it was pretty rare Everyone will fixate on the hit that led to the scrum, but the truth is that for the Canucks to have any young talent on veteran-laden rosters. Thornton was hunting for blood right from the start of the shift after he and Jay Beagle had gotten kicked out of the faceoff circle. “When I was a young player that’s what older guys did with me — Bieksa, Hamhuis, Ballard — they sort of took care of me, made sure I “He slashed me that real bad one when he got kicked out,” Beagle said. wasn’t eating alone all the time,” Tanev recalls. “These guys now they “Me and him have always battled on draws. He’s always been really have each other so they can hang out, but when I was coming up I was good on draws so you got to love a battle. Especially when I’m playing the only young guy. They made me feel comfortable. with Suttsy, I’ll get kicked (from the dot) every time because there’s no way their winger’s as good as Suttsy.” “When Brock started coming up, I started inviting him for dinner and hanging out,” Tanev continued. “Petey and Quinn come over quite a bit, As the play advanced up the ice, you can see that Chris Tanev is we try to make something different every few times. When we’re on the carrying the puck up the ice and Thornton lays the body on Sutter who’s road or even when we’re at home, they’re eating out a lot. And it’s a lot of next to Tanev, but without the puck. Tanev doesn’t like the dirty hit from steak on the road, the old meat and potatoes. We try to keep it pretty Thornton and from there all hell breaks loose. healthy, change it up, change the variety up. It’s nice to get a home cooked meal and enjoy the company.” “Just kind of a chippy shift and sometimes emotions run high,” said Sutter. “That happens, it’s hockey, sometimes it’s kind of fun. Just happy As for what Tanev’s go-to meal is, he was pretty reluctant to be pinned with the way we played and the win.” down. The Armies had to reformulate the “what’s your signature dish” question a couple of times before he offered up an answer, and when he What the TV cameras didn’t catch was Dell inching out to the top of the finally did, we got it by digging into our Food Network knowledge: faceoff circle and jawing at Demko. Armies: “So if you’re a contestant on Bobby Flay, what’s the signature “I figured I would ask him,” Dell said of challenging Demko. meal you’re making?” As much as it would have been awesome to see a goalie fight, the last Tanev: “I’d make ribs, but not against Bobby Flay, but that’s a whole day thing Demko needs after just recently recovering from a second thing. More a thing in the summertime if I’m at the cottage.” concussion is more blows to the head. A whole day at the cottage managing the smoker. That’s some real “I didn’t think that was necessary,” Demko said of a potential fight. hardcore dad schtick. “Maybe he thought so, I’m not too sure, but we’re up 4-1 late in a game and obviously there was a little bit of frustration, I totally understand that, Turning the corner but it didn’t seem like the right time for me.” The last four years in Vancouver haven’t been easy for anyone. Best stat Not for ownership or management who thought the initial rebuild could be CANUCKS ARE UNDEFEATED SINCE WE FOUND OUT LOUI a rather swift one. Not for the fans, who stuck it through a huge chunk of ERIKSSON’S NICKNAME IS “SWEETNESS” losing. And certainly not for the players themselves, who had to stick with the process and keep growing as both individuals and as a group as they — AZADEH (@CANUCKSAZ) JANUARY 17, 2020 powered through the mental toll of losing night in and night out. Best Jersey Botch Watching the team turn the corner and emerge as a legitimate playoff @THESTANCHION @HARMANDAYAL2 @THOMASDRANCE contender has been sweet for the fanbase. For some of the veterans that PIC.TWITTER.COM/T6ANQ8T9VW have been around the entire time, it’s just as rewarding.

— KEVIN DOUGHTY (@NO_DOUGHTY) JANUARY 19, 2020 “Obviously, a lot of new guys, new faces,” Jacob Markstrom said when asked where the team stands compared to four or five years ago. “It’s Awful, but apt for a night where the Leafs got stomped 6-2. kind of been a rebuild process which is never fun. You hate losing hockey games. It’s easier to come to the rink when you win. @THESTANCHION @THOMASDRANCE @HARMANDAYAL2 #ARMIES #CANUCKS PIC.TWITTER.COM/7PWXGFFOLX “When you’re rebuilding and trying a lot of young kids, it’s tough on the mental part. But everybody from the trainers to the medical staff, — CANUCKSBC (@CANUCKSCOMIC) JANUARY 19, 2020 everybody in the office, all the coaches that I had have been great. “The fans, you want to give them something to cheer for and obviously the end goal right now is to go to the playoffs and then go from there, but you want to give something back to the fans who stuck with us for a tough time.”

First place in the Pacific Division heading into the All-Star break? Now that’s one hell of a way to give something back to the fans.

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Sportsnet.ca / "A team within the team": Inside the NHL's brotherhood of the blue line

by Luke Fox

Those stakes are part of what forges the D-men’s bond, and the strongest connection, naturally, is often felt between the people who share the ice, shift after shift. “A lot of the time you’re playing the game with your back turned to what’s coming at you,” says Scott Stevens, a three-time Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils and current NHL Network analyst. “So you really need your partner, you need to be on the same page, you have to understand each other, you have to have each other’s back and try to help each other as much as possible to try and beat the forecheck and [avoid] getting hurt.”

Like any relationship, the dynamic of a D pair is defined by the people forming the duo. Jovanovski used to rib one of his partners, Scott Lachance, about the fact no matter which corner the puck went in, the whole world knew it was going to be Jovanovski — not Lachance — who would have to chug back and get it. “And then he left for a $10-million dollar contract to Columbus,” laughs Jovanovski. [Editor’s note: It was actually $8 million.]

When Gill played with P.K. Subban in Montreal, he filled the Lachance role, running interference and creating breathing room for Subban to take the puck and whiz out of the zone. If Gill was skating with fellow defence- first guy Josh Gorges, though, a completely different approach was required. “It was more of a partnership; we had to get the puck out together. We could defend well, but we really had to be on the same page.”

A shorthand develops between partners, who tend to stay together much longer than forward lines. Single words like “Up!” or “Over!” or “Back!” carry layers of meaning. The longer conversations happen elsewhere. “I played with Nick Boynton,” says Gill. “He was a fiery competitor and I could see he’d get too fired up and I’d try to tell him a joke or something to bring him back down.

“With P.K., he’d get so fired up and excited, I’d be like, ‘This is a big shift, let’s keep it simple on this one.’ You get to know, not just the [player’s style], but the mind behind it.”

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.20.2020 1172014 Websites Hughes’ father, Jim Hughes, played with Providence College and was previously an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Marlies. He then became the director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sportsnet.ca / Canucks' Quinn Hughes embraces nickname, thankful to be all-star Living in Toronto for 11 years, the Hughes brothers often found themselves playing a game of shinny on outdoor rinks across the city.

“I think the outdoor rinks really grow your passion for the game. There’s Shannon Coulter January 19, 2020, 2:22 PM like a thousand in Toronto and I’ve probably been to all of them,” he said. “I was definitely fortunate to grow up there. It was just fun.”

Hughes also admitted to After Hours being a Leafs fan while he was Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes has accomplished a lot growing up. during his short time as a professional hockey player. “Being in Toronto, it’s hard to not get caught up in the excitement there. It He’s going to his first all-star game before completing a full season in the wasn’t a great time to be a Leafs fan, but I always loved going to the NHL. He’s in talks for winning the Calder Trophy this year. games and there were still some fun players to watch.” And he likely has the most unique nickname in all of professional sports: No American family has ever had three players taken in the first round of “Huggy Bear.” the NHL draft. But with Hughes selected seventh overall in the 2018 draft Hughes said a lot of the credit for the name goes to his teammate, and his brother Jack Hughes being the first overall pick in the 2019 NHL Brandon Sutter. Draft, the Hughes family could make history.

“He kind of drove that nickname,” Hughes said Saturday during After Currently, the youngest Hughes brother Luke is playing with the United Hours on Hockey Night in Canada. “He made everyone call me that, so it States national development program. Luke also matched Quinn’s under- is what it is.” 17 points total – but in 22 fewer games than his older brother.

While sometimes “Hughesy” is thrown around, it seems most of the “I think he’s just getting some good bounces,” Hughes joked. “Luke is a Canucks prefer the nickname “Huggy Bear.” really good player. He’s probably further along than I was at the same age. I’m really excited for him. I think he’s going to be a really high pick “As soon as we drafted him, I thought ‘Hughesy,’ ‘Huggy Bear,'” Sutter next year.” said. “He came in one day, like the third day he was here, and he had a T-shirt on it that had a tiny little bear on it. It was perfect. ‘Huggy Bear’ “It’s your dream as a kid to play in the NHL and do it with your brothers… was perfect.” Now that me and Jack are here, and Luke’s doing good, it’s pretty exciting and cool.” “I think I’ve kind of gotten used to it now, but it’s pretty funny,” Hughes said. “I didn’t help myself with the T-shirt last year but I definitely haven’t Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.20.2020 worn it since.”

Since making his NHL debut on March 28, 2019, Hughes has been everything and more for Vancouver.

The 20-year-old was the youngest Canucks defenceman to score a goal for the team since J.J. Daigneault. He’s the first NHL rookie defenceman to record multiple three power-play assist games in a season.

Hughes is also the sixth fastest defenceman in to reach 30 assists in 49 games or less in NHL history.

“I’m a confident kid, so I thought I’d do well, but you never know how things are going to go,” Hughes said. “I’m very fortunate to have played with very good players, and I think we got a very good team so that definitely helps as well.”

“We still have 30 games to go, and I need a strong finish here.”

Standing at 5-foot-10, Hughes is certainly not the biggest guy on the ice. But his ability to use his skill and smarts to defend sets him apart and makes a big impact in each game.

“I definitely learned at a young age when I was smaller that I couldn’t use my brawn and I had to use my brain instead,” he said. “I feel like I’ve gotten better defensively throughout the year and I’m sure I’ll just keep going.”

Earlier this month, the Canucks defenceman was selected for the all-star game as the winner of the Last Man In vote. While he admits he didn’t vote for himself, he knows his mom certainly did.

“She was pretty fired up,” he said. “If my mom could do a hundred (votes per day), I think she would. That’s just her, she loves her kids.”

“I’m definitely pretty thankful. It just shows you the hockey market that Vancouver has.”

The Hughes family has been referred to as America’s first family of hockey. Hughes’ mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, was a three-sport athlete, playing lacrosse, soccer and hockey at the University of New Hampshire. She also was a member of the United States women’s national hockey team.

“She was huge with helping us when we were growing up, she’s just so supportive,” Hughes said about his mom. “A lot of times, my dad was on the road, so she would be the one driving us to practice and taking us to games and stuff like that. Very fortunate to have her and her support.” 1172015 Websites get the edge because of how their talent is spread throughout the lineup. Just take a look at the names they have inked long-term:

Up front, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are both signed for half of Sportsnet.ca / Three Big Questions: What's one change you would make the next decade (with Kucherov locked in for the majority of it). Then to all-star weekend? there’s some solid depth signed up for a while in Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde. The next couple years have Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat in the mix too, though they’ll need to be re-upped fairly early in the decade, and Point will likely be in for a decent raise. Sportsnet Staff | January 19, 2020, 11:01 AM On the back end, they have two talented top-four defenders signed for

half the decade in Ryan McDonagh and Victor Hedman, the latter of Every Sunday, Sportsnet NHL contributors will answer three questions those two remaining a Norris Trophy-calibre talent. around developing news and storylines, or other generalities around the And, perhaps most importantly, Tampa Bay has young Andrei game. Vasilevskiy signed on for almost all of the coming decade, too. With all-star weekend up next, this week we explore one change to make That doesn’t leave them with an exceptional amount of cap space to to the weekend, either in the game or at the skills competition. Plus, work with over that span but it does give Tampa a pretty lethal core to looking ahead to the next decade, which team is set up for sustained bring to the rink for most of these next 10 years. Other clubs with strong success, and could we see a new record for coach dismissals in a single financial situations and talented young cores seem to have at least one season? position lacking in star power. But the Lightning have locked in the high Emily Sadler, Staff writer: Bring back The Breakaway Challenge! I know end of their forward talent — and don’t forget, Kucherov’s 128 points just it’s silly (and, uh, not very fun for goaltenders) but it’s a fun way to get a last year were the most any NHLer (!) has scored in more than two little glimpse of players’ personalities — something the NHL could always decades — a pair of top-end blue-liners, and a dominant starting use a little more of. We’ve seen an increase in flashy goals scored in goaltender. games (we see you, Andrei Svechnikov), which shows the creativity of so While Stamkos and Hedman, both 29, will begin to tail off over the latter many young players is at an all-time high. More of that, please. half of the next decade, they’ll remain elite for its first half. But Kucherov, Sonny Sachdeva, Staff writer: The biggest issue that’s plagued the All- Point and Vasilevskiy appear to just be getting started. Add in the fact Star Game for years is the feeling that it just didn’t matter all that much. that the club also brings a favourable tax situation and some quality There are two ways to fix that — either make it impact the actual regular- weather to the table, making it a fairly desirable free-agent destination, season standings, or use the festivities for something bigger, for growing and there’s plenty to suggest the Lightning are set up to succeed in the the game. 2020s.

A quirky three-on-three tournament shouldn’t impact an NHL club’s RB: It’s not crystal clear how everything will come together yet, and the chances of winning the Stanley Cup, and the All-Star Game is infinitely start of the decade will be slow, but don’t sleep on the New York Rangers better in three-on-three mode, so the first of the above options is out the here. Yes, Henrik Lundqvist is nearing the end of his career with one window. The second option, using the All-Star break for something year left on his contract, but Igor Shestyorkin has arrived at age 24 after greater, is the way to go, and the league took a small step towards that being one of the top KHL goalies for the past few years and comes with with the addition of the women’s national team three-on-three game. an expectation that he’ll allow the team to make a smooth transition in net. But if the goal is to aim higher and to grow the game by showcasing the best of women’s hockey, then go all-in — integrate the women’s hockey The Rangers have made six first-round picks in the past three drafts and elite into the skills competition and into the larger three-on-three though the highest of those picks, Kaapo Kakko, is having a miserable tournament, and truly showcase the best of the women’s game on the rookie season, better days are assuredly ahead. They’ve spent the past NHL stage. couple years rebuilding the prospect cupboard, but the reason to believe in the Rangers has more to do than just that. Rory Boylen, NHL editor: The skills competition is the best part of the whole weekend to me, and it’s because this is the one part where the New York, and the Rangers, are a destination for free agents. They players really do compete. So how can we maximize that competition? already landed a huge one in Artemi Panarin last summer, inking him to Simple: make sure the best fits for every drill are part of it. a seven-year contract and getting MVP-type numbers from him out of the gate. Defencemen Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox were able to work their So that means doing away with the requirement that you have to be part way to the Rangers, a preferred destination, and will both be solid top- of the All-Star Game to be in the skills competition. In the hardest shot four blueliners for years to come. New York doesn’t come with the same competition, we should always have a Zdeno Chara-Shea Weber ready-made build of Tampa Bay or Colorado, two Stanley Cup showdown. Dylan Larkin should compete against Connor McDavid in the contenders this year, but it’s easy to see how it could quickly come fastest skater again and the Detroit Red Wings should also have Andreas together. Athanasiou there to do it. Going about it this way would provide the best theatre and truly measure who the best are in each drill. WILL THE RECORD OF 11 COACH DISMISSALS IN A SINGLE SEASON BE EQUALED OR SURPASSED IN 2019-20? The players would need to buy in, of course, but this is how you get eyes on the game. ES: What is happening in the league this year? The flurry of firings and hirings feels like it’s getting out of control, with Gerard Gallant’s dismissal WHICH TEAM DO YOU THINK IS SET UP BEST FOR THIS DECADE? the biggest head-scratcher of them all. But considering all the new coaches that stepped in last off-season and all the changes we’ve seen ES: Colorado. The Avalanche are one of the best in the West right now already, I don’t see how we could have four more still to come. That and I don’t see them sinking down the standings any time soon. With the being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see at least one more… which is young trio of Nathan McKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar at the my way of saying I don’t think Gallant will be out of work for long. core and a complementary crew of depth players surrounding them, Colorado feels like a club that’s going to be contending for a long time. SS: We’re already up to seven coaching changes so far this season, so it wouldn’t take too big a dose of chaos to get there. That said, it’s tough to And have you seen how much cap space they have? That won’t last, of pin down four more teams who would be looking to make a change over course, but GM Joe Sakic has some flexibility to play with this year and the latter half of the season. set himself up for future success — maybe even by preying on clubs barreling towards a cap crunch with a first-round pick to spare? Speaking It’s been a unique campaign in terms of dismissals, with both a number of picks, there’s plenty more talent on the way soon — top prospects like of performance-based changes and a few of an entirely other sort in the Bowen Byram, Conor Timmins and Martin Kaut highlight a deep prospect cases of a couple teams. Moving forward, who else is left that is pool built by Sakic. performing poorly enough to make a change and hasn’t already, either over the summer or during the season? There’s a chance Jeff Blashill’s SS: I’ll go with Tampa Bay. Though they might not have the cap space time in Detroit is running out, given the team’s now under a new regime and elite super-young core of a team like Colorado, I’d say the Lightning with Steve Yzerman at the helm and Gallant — who has deep ties to Detroit from his playing days — is now available. There’s also Bruce Boudreau in Minnesota, who’s been on the hot seat for what seems like eons.

But all in all, it doesn’t seem like there are too many moves left on the coaching front, given the majority of the rest of the clubs are either thriving or are in the hunt. So I say, barring any other unique situations, the record stands and the coaching carousel calms down for the remained of 2019-20.

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.

RB: The key is identifying which teams could still make a change. As Sonny notes, Detroit and Minnesota pribably have the best odds. May as well add Montreal to that list, because if they fade from the playoff picture over the next month everyone will be talking about Claude Julien being on the hot seat. So that’s three teams, but where does the fourth come from?

Keep in mind there are a number of coaches with the interim tag out there (Dallas, Calgary, New Jersey) so as long as there’s no long-term commitment those franchises are all possibly in line to make a permanent hire from outside the organization. And what about Winnipeg? They’re struggling to stay in it and Paul Maurice is in the final year of his contract so, who knows, if the right coach is made available they may make an in-season move. And Chicago? That’s a franchise hungry to get back to its winning ways, so would it shock anyone if they stepped in to bring in a more veteran voice behind the bench?

There are more than four teams out there that could still make a move. It would take a fair amount of chaos for four more coach dismissals to be made, but that’s sort of what’s defined this NHL season, isn’t it? We should expect the unexpected at this point. I say the record gets tied, as unfortunate as that may be to the coaching fraternity.

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