SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 7/30/2020 Arizona Coyotes Blackhawks Continued 1176764 Arizona Coyotes expecting quick start, strong forecheck in 1176797 5 Things to watch for in Blackhawks-Blues exhibition exhibition game against Vegas game at Edmonton 1176765 Predators vs. Coyotes: Key questions, predictions for 1176798 Observations from the Blackhawks’ exhibition win over the qualifying-round series Blues 1176799 Dollars and sense: What is the Blackhawks’ one goal with Boston Bruins ‘All for One’ slogan? 1176766 Brad Marchand takes issue with tweet 1176800 Prince Albert connection ties Blackhawks’ Jeremy Colliton, 1176767 Anders Bjork deal another win for Bruins GM Don Oilers’ Dave Tippett Sweeney in retaining his players 1176768 Tuukka Rask's Bruins legacy will very much be impacted Colorado Avalanche by this playoff run 1176801 Avalanche kills seven-of-eight penalties to win exhibition in 1176769 Bruins' Anders Bjork agrees to three-year, $4.8 million Edmonton contract extension 1176802 A bubble of their own: How Avalanche broadcasters are 1176770 Was David Pastrnak hacked? Bruins star's strange tweet handling the restart suggests so 1176771 Who is Anders Bjork? To be determined Columbus Blue Jackets 1176772 Who hacked David Pastrnak? The five leading suspects 1176803 NHL, players did `great job’ with bubble, Blue Jackets’ Seth Jones says Calgary Flames 1176804 Speed is key to playing time for Blue Jackets’ Eric 1176773 Time for Flames to turn talk into playoff progress Robinson 1176774 Lanny? Iggy? Kipper? Johnny? Vote now for your Fave 1176805 Scouting the enemy: Breaking down the Blue Jackets with Flame, Round 3 Aaron Portzline 1176775 Fateful 33 seconds may have answered Flames goaltending question Dallas Stars 1176776 Answering 5 questions from the Flames’ ‘litmus test’ 1176806 Approaching their first NHL game in months, the Stars are against the Oilers prepared to live with their mistakes 1176777 Scouting the enemy: Getting to know the Flames’ stars, 1176807 How the 1-1-3 neutral zone forecheck defines the boring, goalies and unsung heroes effective Dallas Stars Carolina Hurricanes Detroit Red Wings 1176778 Dress rehearsal leaves Hurricanes with questions, and 1176808 Former Red Wings coach Mike Babcock named volunteer only two days to answer them adviser at University of Vermont 1176779 Canes beaten 3-2 by Caps in exhibition game warmup for 1176809 Former Red Wing Gustav Nyquist a 'pro' as he helps lead NHL playoff qualifying round Blue Jackets' playoff push 1176780 What to know, how to watch Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals exhibition game Edmonton Oilers 1176781 What to expect from Mike Maniscalco and the Hurricanes’ 1176810 Edmonton Oilers head coach Dave Tippett has two solid return-to-play broadcast options in goal 1176811 Blackhawks rookie Dach looking to dig in against Chicago Blackhawks hometown Oilers 1176782 Dominik Kubalik scores 2 power-play goals and Corey 1176812 'Felt like the Twilight Zone': New ambience in empty NHL Crawford makes 11 saves in the Blackhawks’ 4-0 arena requires some adjustment exhibition 1176813 ‘One of oddest games I’ve ever played’: Oilers adapt to 1176783 Blackhawks ban fans from wearing Native American games without fans headdresses to their games 1176814 Prince Albert connection ties Blackhawks’ Jeremy Colliton, 1176784 What channel is the Blackhawks game on? Your complete Oilers’ Dave Tippett guide to watching them play in the NHL playoffs. 1176785 Blackhawks-Oilers in review: What we learned from Florida Panthers recapping their 3 games this season 1176815 Florida Panthers enter playoffs qualifying round with even 1176786 Corey Crawford quiet but flawless as Blackhawks win more defensive question marks exhibition against Blues 1176816 Panthers have to regroup quickly after exhibition rout. ‘It 1176787 Blackhawks banning headdresses, increasing Native certainly is a wake-up call’ American cultural representation in game presentation 1176817 Roundtable preview: Key factors and predictions for 1176788 How to watch the Blackhawks’ 2020 season restart Islanders-Panthers 1176789 After 140 days, Blackhawks ready to play an NHL game 1176818 2020 NHL qualifying round preview: Islanders vs. again Panthers 1176790 Crawford, Blackhawks look solid in exhibition victory over St. Louis Los Angeles Kings 1176791 Glass-half-full approach has served Blackhawks 1176819 REIGN DONATE MORE THAN $500K TO INLAND defenseman Koekkoek well EMPIRE COMMUNITY IN 2019-20 SEASON 1176792 Corey Crawford, Blackhawks look ready for Oilers after 1176820 HOCKEY IS BACK! STANLEY CUP QUALIFIERS BEGIN exhibition win over Blues AUGUST 1 – DETAILS HERE 1176793 Blackhawks' Kubalik, Crawford and penalty kill shine against Blues 1176794 Blackhawks banning costume headdresses at team events and home games 1176795 What Blackhawks are hoping to get out of lone exhibition game against Blues 1176796 Why Blackhawks face more threats on Oilers besides McDavid and Draisaitl Minnesota Wild Pittsburgh Penguins 1176821 Wild 'running out of chances' for playoff run in Zach 1176855 Penguins notes: Awkward quarantine encounter with Parise-Ryan Suter tenure Flyers, no injuries 1176822 Avalanche edges Wild 3-2 in exhibition game in Edmonton 1176856 First Call: Is Antonio Brown leveraging Patriots opt outs? 1176824 Day 12: The end is near … but I'm finally a social Penguins problems. Canadiens lose. distancing expert! 1176857 Penguins coach Sullivan remains mum on which goalie 1176825 Five takeaways from the Wild’s exhibition loss to the will start Saturday vs. Habs Avalanche 1176858 Mike Sullivan not revealing his starting goalie for Game 1 1176826 Wild notebook: Dean Evason not ready to say which — or maybe he already has goaltender will start playoffs 1176859 Joe Starkey: Goalies, Jake Guentzel, bubble hockey and 1176827 What the Wild are up against: Our crew in Vancouver the Penguins’ biggest question breaks down the Canucks 1176860 Six suggestions for recharging the Penguins' power play 1176828 2020 NHL qualifying round preview: Canucks vs. Wild San Jose Sharks Montreal Canadiens 1176863 Is this Patty’s year? Ranking ex-Sharks’ chances of 1176829 In the Habs' Room: Canadiens try to shake off the rust in winning the Cup, from slightest to greatest 4-2 loss to Leafs 1176830 Our 14 biggest questions (and answers) for the Penguins St Louis Blues against the Canadiens 1176864 Blues back in action with warmup game in Edmonton 1176831 5 burning Canadiens questions heading into their series 1176865 Blues' Tarasenko returns to game action, looms over against the Penguins round-robin foes 1176866 Blues find playing in an empty arena is a different Nashville Predators experience 1176832 NHL bubble diary: Predators forward Colton Sissons 1176867 Even during a pandemic, Blues-Blackhawks always a treat dishes on his first days 1176868 How to find Cardinals and Blues telecasts on Wednesday 1176833 Predators vs. Coyotes: Key questions, predictions for night qualifying-round series Tampa Bay Lightning New Jersey Devils 1176869 Lightning’s Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov off to a 1176834 Devils pursuit caused discord that led to John Chayka’s good start Coyotes resignation 1176870 No fans, no problem. At least in the Lightning’s exhibition 1176835 Projecting the next contracts for the Devils’ restricted free game agents 1176871 Three things we learned watching the Capitals’ exhibition game New York Islanders 1176872 NHL’s broadcast offers fans a different viewing experience 1176836 Marc Staal avoids big injury in Rangers’ loss to Islanders in playoffs 1176837 Islanders top Rangers in exhibition matchup as Semyon 1176873 Lightning’s fan-signed glass installed in Scotiabank Arena Varlamov makes claim for starting spot in goal 1176874 Why Brayden Point looked like he was ‘shot out like a 1176838 Wellness targeted in Islanders' new Belmont Park arena rocket’ Wednesday 1176839 As NHL season restarts, could Islanders' defense be a 1176875 Lightning camp showed Cal Foote is close to cracking valuable asset? Tampa’s roster 1176840 Roundtable preview: Key factors and predictions for Islanders-Panthers Toronto Maple Leafs 1176876 The jump in Morgan Rielly’s step is a step in the right New York Rangers direction for the Maple Leafs 1176841 Rangers could face contract issue with popular and 1176877 Scouting the enemy: Breaking down the Blue Jackets with effective Jesper Fast Aaron Portzline 1176842 Marc Staal avoids big injury in Rangers’ loss to Islanders 1176843 Igor Shesterkin, Henrik Lundqvist split time in net in Vancouver Canucks Rangers' exhibition loss to Isles 1176899 The Skate: Jake train is at the station 1176844 Rangers’ Kryptonite exposed in exhibition but shouldn’t be 1176900 Jets 4 Canucks 1: Playoff liftoff awaits issue vs. Hurricanes 1176901 Canucks terminate one-quarter of business staff, more 1176845 The Panarin Effect: Grading his impact on the Rangers’ COVID-19 cuts may follow qualifying chances 1176902 Ben Kuzma: From SFU to NHL, math whiz Chu fits Kraken 1176846 Carpiniello: Young Rangers team needs to make scouting staff exhibition versus Isles matter 1176903 The Exhibition Armies: Jake Virtanen and the Chaos Cup tune-up Philadelphia Flyers 1176904 Canucks hockey is back: Storylines, scouting reports and 1176847 After a layoff of four-plus months, Flyers defenseman Ivan X-factors for the Wild Provorov ‘seems like he never left’ 1176905 2020 NHL qualifying round preview: Canucks vs. Wild 1176848 Egor Zamula, Flyers’ promising 20-year-old defenseman, opening eyes Vegas Golden Knights 1176849 ‘Ghost’ gives strong showing in exhibition; Flyers, 1176878 Golden Knights set for exhibition game after 143 days Penguins show solidarity before game away 1176850 Flyers give Alain Vigneault another chance at elusive 1176879 Golden Knights call NHL’s coronavirus testing ‘seamless’ Stanley Cup championship 1176880 Marc-Andre Fleury to start exhibition game for Golden 1176851 Flyers, Penguins show solidarity for Black Lives Matter Knights 1176852 NHL playoffs Flyers vs. Penguins: Previewing possible 1st-round matchup 1176853 2019-20 Flyers season grades: Travis Sanheim 1176854 10 things: Flyers open Toronto bubble in style with 3-2 OT win over Penguins Washington Capitals 1176881 Capitals pick up in bubble where they left off during season, beat Hurricanes in exhibition 1176882 Ovechkin scores twice in Capitals' exhibition win over Hurricanes 1176883 Capitals' John Carlson left in 3rd period of exhibition game after awkward fall 1176884 Alex Ovechkin scores twice early in Capitals' exhibition against Hurricanes 1176885 4 observations as Alex Ovechkin leads the way in Capitals exhibition win 1176886 Capitals stand shoulder to shoulder with Hurricanes during national anthems in show of solidarity against raci 1176887 Vitek Vanecek in a 'good spot' to be Capitals backup goalie in Stanley Cup playoffs 1176888 Previously on: What the Capitals gained and lost from the season pause 1176889 David Pastrnak tweets the best goal-scorer in the NHL is...Tom Wilson? 1176890 Five key takeaways from Capitals’ 3-2 exhibition win over Canes 1176891 Who hacked David Pastrnak? The five leading suspects Websites 1176906 The Athletic / ‘The best-case scenario’: NWHL outlines plans for a delayed season 1176907 The Athletic / Media Circus: NBC is doing all it can to make sure NHL playoffs are made for TV 1176908 The Athletic / ‘He has a mouth on him like a trucker’: The NHL playoffs anonymous coaches poll 1176909 The Athletic / Down Goes Brown: The 2020 Old Guy Without a Cup rankings 1176910 Sportsnet.ca / Five things we learned about Jets in exhibition win over Canucks 1176911 Sportsnet.ca / Analyzing Nick Robertson's exhibition game and the tough choice ahead 1176912 Sportsnet.ca / Wild's strengths and weaknesses both highlighted in loss to Avalanche 1176913 Sportsnet.ca / Blackhawks' win over Blues a reminder Oilers can't take them lightly 1176914 Sportsnet.ca / Canucks' Markstrom still working out kinks with Wild matchup approaching 1176915 Sportsnet.ca / Why NHL's restart means everything to Maple Leafs veteran Jason Spezza 1176916 Sportsnet.ca / The main strengths and weaknesses of Canada's four Western playoff teams 1176917 Sportsnet.ca / What Jets can learn from Flames' exhibition showing against Oilers 1176918 Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens notebook: Big 3 on defence must get up to speed 1176919 Sportsnet.ca / NHL Bubble Blog: Tampa Bay brings a touch of home to Toronto 1176920 Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs' Tavares on adjusting to unique challenges of NHL restart 1176921 TSN.CA / Toronto Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly revving up after rough regular season 1176922 TSN.CA / Head coach Sheldon Keefe pondering Nick Robertson's role with Toronto Maple Leafs 1176923 TSN.CA / Montreal Canadiens plagued by familiar problems in exhibition loss to Toronto Maple Leafs 1176924 TSN.CA / Canucks vs Jets Gameday Preview 1176925 USA TODAY / NHL power rankings: With 24 teams left in field, here are the Stanley Cup favorites Winnipeg Jets 1176892 Jets down Canucks 4-1 in fan-less affair 1176893 Jets and Flames face off Saturday with everything on the line 1176894 Flames expectingintensity 1176895 Hellebuyck, Jets in fine form as they top Canucks in lone exhibition tilt before summer playoffs 1176896 Travelling to NHL’s bubble city for playoff hockey brings some surreal moments 1176897 JETS SNAPSHOTS: Jets are going to have their hands full with Flames agitator Tkachuk 1176898 Scouting the enemy: Getting to know the Flames’ stars, goalies and unsung heroes SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1176764 Arizona Coyotes "It's going to be tough, and we're not expecting a perfect game by any means, but if we can play fast and play to the qualities we instilled in camp, that's what we're looking for," Hall said. "We just want to get out of Arizona Coyotes expecting quick start, strong forecheck in exhibition this game healthy and feeling good. We'll get our systems in place, game against Vegas hopefully we're dialed in with details and how we have to play. From there, lines and d-pairs can feel good together and our goalies can get some touches."
Jack Williams Arizona Republic
Published 8:15 PM EDT Jul 29, 2020 Arizona Republic LOADED: 07.30.2020
The waiting game is just about over. Now in Edmonton, the Coyotes will get their first taste of NHL action at 7 p.m. Thursday against Vegas in their only exhibition game before their qualifying playoff series against Nashville.
The Coyotes fell into the final slot of exhibition games, with almost every team getting in their tune-up before the Golden Knights and Coyotes square off. In that time, Coyotes players and coaches have been keeping up with their competition and picked up on some trends.
Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet gives instructions during the first day of training camp on July 13, 2020, at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. NHL owners and players approved an agreement Friday to resume the season.
"You're watching games and the same guys are scoring and some teams are winning by a lot," coach Rick Tocchet said Wednesday on a conference call. "(Washington's Alex) Ovechkin scored twice against Carolina and Tampa won 5-0. I don't know if teams are missing a beat or not. It's one game watching, but it's been pretty good hockey for guys who've been off for a few months and started training a few weeks ago."
On his own team, Tocchet said he's been impressed by forward Clayton Keller and defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson during training camp. Last week in Glendale, Keller scored five times over the course of three scrimmages.
"Clayton Keller has really jumped out and you can tell he's done his stuff over the pandemic," Tocchet said. "I really like Hammer and OEL (Oliver Ekman-Larsson). I can name a bunch of guys who've had their spots. As a team, I think we're really starting to get excited and the execution is getting better. A week ago I was getting worried, but I'm seeing better execution."
One thing that the Coyotes are looking to take away from Thursday night against the Golden Knights is combating a strong forecheck, similar to what they'll see in their series against the Predators. Both Nashville and Vegas held similar penalty-killing percentages and goals-allowed numbers over the course of the regular season.
Also, Vegas offers the Coyotes a trial run against a team with playoff experience. The Golden Knights have made the playoffs in all three seasons of existence, including a Stanley Cup Final appearance in their inaugural season of 2017-2018. Nashville made the Final a year earlier. Vegas is one of four teams playing in round-robin games instead of a play-in series.
"We've been working on our breakouts a lot in practice and watching video on what Nashville does," forward Taylor Hall said. "They've had a coaching change, so obviously things might've changed a little bit, but they're still a fast team that wants to get on top of you, get the puck in the (offensive) zone and get the puck in their d-mans' hands. Going against Vegas will give us a measuring stick on how we have to play."
While the Nashville coaching change in January, from Peter Laviolette to John Hynes, might have shaken things up scouting-wise, Hall gives the Coyotes some insight as to what the Predators might bring to the ice. Hall played for Hynes for three and a half seasons in New Jersey, including one playoff season in 2018.
"If I look back to training camps, playing under Hynzie, it would be playing fast and forechecking," Hall said. "Sometimes he'll make adjustments in the neutral zone depending on what team they're playing. He wants his guys to hunt pucks, be tenacious on the forecheck and be a quick and fast team to play against."
The Coyotes are focused on starting off quick and making sure all their systems are sound against Vegas. They aren't expecting a perfect game, but simply to put into action what they learned in camp. 1176765 Arizona Coyotes Kurz: That very question is something Tocchet spent plenty of time on during the break, as the Coyotes finished 23rd in the league with 2.71 goals per game. Tocchet, though, said that the team was generating Predators vs. Coyotes: Key questions, predictions for qualifying-round enough chances to win before the pause. series “A lot of two-on-ones, slot shots, missed opportunities around the net, open nets,” Tocchet said. “I think we’ve just got to be able to bear down more. We’re on the right side of the numbers in a lot of the games. We By Adam Vingan and Kevin Kurz just didn’t come out on the right side of the results.”
Jul 29, 2020 Hall will be in the spotlight as the league’s highest-profile pending unrestricted free agent. I will also be keeping an eye on Keller and
Kessel. Keller was third on the team with 44 points, and Tocchet has said Eight years ago, the then-Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Nashville more than once that the winger had a good training camp. Predators in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This time, the As for Kessel, there have been reports that he just was not healthy this teams are encased in a bubble in Edmonton, which eliminates the season, dealing with a groin issue that resulted in his scoring 14 goals in possibility of a late-night excursion to Scottsdale. 70 games. Kessel has 77 points in 87 career playoff games, though, so The sixth-seeded Predators and 11th-seeded (Arizona) Coyotes will face he has shown he can step up at important times. off in a best-of-five qualifying-round series that starts Sunday. The Roman Josi has a good chance of winning his first Norris Trophy. How Athletic’s Adam Vingan and Kevin Kurz will be covering the series and did he look during training camp, and how much of an impact do you previewed the matchup. expect him to have on this series? Vingan: Kevin, the Coyotes told us how they really felt about general The Predators and Coyotes split their two meetings this season. manager John Chayka leaving the organization, delivering the ultimate (Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today) hockey insult by claiming that he “quit” on them. Will the front-office drama have any sort of impact on their on-ice performance? Vingan:Josi was his dominant self during training camp. I have stumped for him in the Norris Trophy race for several months, and I would not be Kurz: On the Monday conference calls, questions about Chayka were not surprised to see him receive some Hart Trophy votes when the ballots permitted, so Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet did not address the situation. I are released. cannot imagine that it would have much — if any — impact on how the team plays. In a typical season, a general manager’s job is pretty much No defenseman in the league is more integral to his team’s success than over in terms of his impact on the dressing room after the trade deadline. Josi, who can work magic with the puck. After that, it is up to the coaches and players to put it together. There are going to be plenty of other talented defensemen on the ice for From my own experience, I cover a team in the San Jose Sharks where both teams in this series — Ekman-Larsson, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Ryan the star player, Joe Thornton, told the general manager, Doug Wilson, to Ellis and Mattias Ekholm are top of mind. I am curious to see if Josi can “shut his mouth” through the media. One year later, the Sharks were in find another level in the playoffs. The Predators’ success probably the Stanley Cup Final. I do not buy the idea that this will be a distraction depends on it. for the Coyotes. Darcy Kuemper was having a Vezina Trophy-worthy season before being The Predators were one of many teams that made a coaching change sidelined by a lower-body injury, and Antti Raanta was strong in his this season. How were the Predators different after replacing Peter absence. Who gives the Coyotes the best chance to win? Laviolette with John Hynes? Kurz: My distinct impression after Monday’s media availability was that it Vingan: When the regular season abruptly ended in March, the Predators is going to be Kuemper in net for Game 1. He missed a lot of time during under Hynes were very much a work in progress, which tends to happen the season but managed to play four games before the league shut when a team makes an in-season coaching change. down, so he really should not be rustier than any of the other goaltenders returning to play. I do not claim to be an expert on X’s and O’s, but one of Hynes’ top priorities has been to improve the quality of the offense in order to get “He’s the backbone of our team,” Tocchet said Monday. “We’re very more out of the top forwards. Statistically, the Predators’ attack became lucky to have him and (Raanta). He’s a guy we definitely rely on, and he less dangerous, but I chalk that up to their having to adjust on the fly. plays that goalie position perfectly for our system. There’s not a lot of movement in his game, and I can tell that he hasn’t missed a beat since The four-month break greatly benefited Hynes, who used the downtime the pause.” and abbreviated training camp to get closer to his players and put his stamp on the team. I expect to see a more cohesive group when the After finishing third in the league in save percentage (.928) and fourth in series starts. goals-against average (2.22) in 29 games, Kuemper has earned the chance to be in net for Game 1. “The pause seems as though it really (gave) some guys an opportunity to reflect,” Hynes said Tuesday. “You can’t predict the future of whether Pekka Rinne has been the man in goal for the Predators for some time, you’re going to win or lose the games, but what you do know is what the but Juuse Saros was much better during the regular season. Who gets reality is. And the reality is we feel like some of the players that had some the call in Game 1, and who do you believe should? tough years have come back energized. They had very good training camps as far as the intensity level, their attention to detail, the Vingan: This is the question on everyone’s mind. Rinne, 37, has started consistency in how they’ve played. There’s a renewed energy within the each of the Predators’ 89 playoff games since 2010, but Saros, 25, was group. I think they’re genuinely excited for the opportunity. in control of the crease at the end of the regular season. Saros and Rinne had similar numbers at five-on-five, but Rinne was awful when the “We have some players that I think are excited to get back. I don’t want Predators were shorthanded, which tanked his statistics. to say anyone had a bad year, but some guys didn’t have the years that they would like or we would like, but now this is a fresh opportunity. Predators GM David Poile told me last week that under these unique We’re moving in the right direction. I think that there’s been a lot more circumstances “you’re going to see the value and importance of having continuity. We really tried to use the pause to be able to stay together as two goalies that are playing well.” I would not be surprised if both Saros a team, to iron some things out, to get to know each other better. All and Rinne start games against the Coyotes, but as for who should start those things are all positives.” Game 1, Saros is the logical choice based on his play under Hynes. (A bit of trivia: The last Predators goaltender other than Rinne to start a There is a lot to like about the Coyotes. The roster has a solid blend of playoff game was Dan Ellis in 2008.) respected veterans and promising talent. From afar, though, it is puzzling that a lineup featuring Taylor Hall, Phil Kessel, Clayton Keller and other It is prediction time, Kevin. Who ya got? gifted forwards, not to mention Oliver Ekman-Larsson on defense, Kurz: I expect the first week or two of games all across the league to be struggles to score. How can they rectify that? pretty sloppy. When that happens, it usually is the team that makes the fewest defensive mistakes that wins. The Predators arguably have the best defense corps in the league, so I am going to give them the slight advantage, though I believe it will be a competitive series. Predators in five games.
Vingan: I preface this by saying that I suck at making predictions.
The Coyotes have excellent goaltending, and that is enough to pull off an upset. But I think Mike Kelly from Sportlogiq did a great job of breaking down how the Predators can exploit them.
Even after seeing a dip in production following the coaching change, I trust the Predators offense slightly more than the Coyotes offense. That will be the difference in what I expect to be a tight series. Predators in five games.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176766 Boston Bruins With a major financial slowdown facing all pro sports leagues, Bjork was glad to get something done.
“It definitely feels good, for sure. Now I can have my focus completely on Brad Marchand takes issue with tweet where it should be which is on these playoffs,” said Bjork.
While GM Don Sweeney and the RFA were able to reach a deal, just By STEVE CONROY | [email protected] | Boston Herald what Bjork can become is still unknown.
PUBLISHED: July 29, 2020 at 6:16 p.m. | UPDATED: July 29, 2020 at “I still think there’s some projection in terms of whether or not Anders will 6:21 p.m. have consistency from a scoring and offensive and standpoint. What he has is he’s filled in the gaps defensively,” said Sweeney.
“I know he wants to continue to get better. He has to find the confidence Dipping your toes into the social justice waters can be fraught with peril, at the NHL level to be able to score and finish and, if not, he’s going to be and the Bruins learned that on Tuesday evening. a real good two-way hockey player that has speed and versatility. But we still hope and feel that he will produce.” Shortly after releasing a statement from the players announcing their intentions to lock arms during the playing of the national anthems in Coach Bruce Cassidy had not yet come to a final decision but he was solidarity with the Black community and against racism, goalie Tuukka leaning toward playing David Pastrnak in Thursday exhibition against the Rask was interviewed on NBC while wearing a Boston Police baseball Blue Jackets. cap. Asked if Pastrnak needed to catch up after missing Phase 3, his Some on Twitter, apparently construing the hat as some kind of centerman Patrice Bergeron smiled. contradiction to the original message about the team’s plan for the anthem, took Rask to task on the social media platform. In a tweet “We have to catch up to him,” said Bergeron. “He’s looking great and like thread, Globe beat reporter Matt Porter juxtaposed the Bruins’ players’ Pasta, like he didn’t miss a beat.” statement on their anthem intentions, writing “There is this:” on top of the Sweeney did not give an exact timeline on the arrival of Ondrej Kase, but statement and then “And there is this:” on top of the screenshot of Rask said he expects him to arrive “in short order.” Kase will need to in the BPD hat. quarantine for four days upon arrival.
Sensing a shot at his goalie, Brad Marchand tweeted back: ”Are you (expletive) serious Porter. This here is why you are part of the problem.” Boston Herald LOADED: 07.30.2020 Though he quickly deleted his response, Marchand explained where he was coming from and defended his tweet in a Zoom press conference on Wednesday.
“Tuuks was given a hat by a friend that he wore on an interview (recorded) prior to the statement being released and it’s OK for him support a friend and wear a hat. It doesn’t change the fact that we all stand united… trying to end racism and being a part of that solution and Tuuks is a part of that. He’s on board with that just as all of us are,” said Marchand. “I responded to (Porter’s tweet) because I felt that we want to be part of the solution. … Matt was trying to create a buzz and we feel that Tuukka has a big platform and for (Porter) to bring negative attention to (Rask), that can deter Tuuks from wanting to be a part of this. I’m not saying that it does but if it does, Tuuks has a big following, and if you silence Tuuks and you silence his following, that’s part of the problem.
“We need people to be willing to speak up and wanting to be part of the solution and continue the conversation. The more people you silence and the more negative attention you bring to people who are trying to be part of a positive solution, the more it’s going to negatively impact ending racism. And we are not standing for that. So what Matt did was, he tried to create a buzz to reflect (on) him more positively and get more attention and get more likes when it’s hurting what we’re trying to move forward with.
“So the reason I deleted my tweet was not because I regretted tweeting it, it was because I didn’t want to bring any attention to (Porter) and give him what he was looking to do. So I don’t regret the way I responded. I regret giving him attention for what he wanted. We stand with Tuukka and we stand together to end racism.”
As for the plan to lock arms, captain Zdeno Chara said it came about from team discussions.
“We have a platform right now. We want to use it and in the right way. After thoughtful conversations and meetings we had as a group, we decided that we wanted to do something to support the Black community,” said Chara. “During the playoffs we have coming up, we want to express our support. We understand there is progress to be done and we are still listening and learning and everybody has to approach it in the right way to (affect) change. That’s how we are feeling about it.”
The Bruins took care of a bit of business on Wednesday, signing forward Anders Bjork to a three-year contract extension with an annual salary cap hit of $1.6 million.
Bjork has had his first two pro seasons cut short by shoulder surgery and has also suffered a concussion, but he’s made some strides this year and he very well could be in the Bruins’ lineup when they open round robin action on Sunday against the Flyers. 1176767 Boston Bruins Certainly, Bjork’s arbitration rights played a role in things getting done now from a timing perspective, but the fact he can play right wing with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand or be a speedy option as a third Anders Bjork deal another win for Bruins GM Don Sweeney in retaining liner provides options for the Bruins coaching staff. Jack Studnicka will his players get a first crack at the right wing on David Krejci’s line in Thursday’s exhibition game against the Blue Jackets, but Bjork could get a longer look there in Ondrej Kase’s absence for as long as the absent winger is separated from the team. By Joe Haggerty And if Bjork does indeed fully realize his potential and develop into a 20- July 29, 2020 9:36 PM goal scoring type winger, the Bruins will have a real bargain on their hands for the next few years.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney once again has shown that he’s a Now the Bruins have $16 million in cap space for next season to master team-builder when it comes to retaining his own players. potentially sign Torey Krug, Jake DeBrusk, Zdeno Chara and Matt Grzelcyk, and Sweeney may have to pull off another bargain basement The B’s announced on Wednesday afternoon that they had re-signed contract or two for his incumbent players if they do indeed want to stay in restricted free agent Anders Bjork to a three-year contract worth $1.6 Boston. million per season that will keep the 24-year-old in the fold for the foreseeable future. It takes one more thing off Sweeney’s plate for the upcoming offseason, where he’ll be busy dealing with Torey Krug Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 (unrestricted) and Jake DeBrusk (restricted) in free agency, and it’s a great value for a young, speedy winger that’s just coming into his own after his first full season at the NHL level.
Certainly, Bjork was excited about his new deal as he and the rest of the Bruins get ready to embark on their postseason schedule.
“It definitely feels good,” said Bjork. “Now I can have my focus completely where it should be on the playoffs and helping the team to achieve our goal. It’s a good opportunity with such a fantastic team and I want to be in Boston and just focus on playing.”
At worst, the Bruins have a good two-way winger that will play a middle-6 role for the next few years at a bargain basement price, and at its best they could have a 20-goal scorer in Bjork that’s got greater offensive upside than the dearly departed Danton Heinen if he can just get a little more aggressive with his overall game.
It’s by no means the kind of hometown discount achievement in contract negotiations that Sweeney managed with his deals for guys like Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak on team-friendly deals, but the Bruins GM continues to really nail down good value contracts for the players within the organization. There will always be free agent mistakes with guys like David Backes or Matt Beleskey, but the Bruins GM is pretty much flawless when it comes to retaining the players he wants to keep.
Haggerty: Which team should Bruins hope to avoid in playoffs?
That may change in a few months when it comes to Krug in unrestricted free agency, but that’s a different story for a different day. The Bruins are betting on Bjork’s continued development happening over the next couple of years after he turned himself into a star college hockey player while at Notre Dame.
“Things will start to take the normal course as they do. Every team has had to do a lot of internal discussions to understand that these are new times in terms of what the projections are not just for next year, but for the next couple of years. We’re no different in that regard,” said Sweeney. “Every team will start to look at how the pieces come together. This was a piece for us as a young player that’s continued to develop and is off to a strong start [in the Return to Play].
“I still think there’s some projection as to whether he can gain consistency from an offensive and scoring standpoint. What he has is filled the gaps from a defensive standpoint. He came in and he’s had some hiccups with injuries, but you can see that his game is rounding out as a more complete two-way player. We use him in penalty kill situations and he’s been able to settle at left and right wing. I know he wants to continue to get better and he needs to find the confidence at the NHL level to score a little more and finish. And if not, he’s going to be a really good two-way hockey player that’s got speed and versatility to the lineup. But we still hope and feel like he can produce.”
The nine goals and 19 points in 58 games were a pretty good step forward for Bjork in his first full season in Boston after shoulder surgeries had cut short each of his previous two seasons at the NHL level. But as Sweeney alluded to, he may just be scratching the surface of his offensive potential while working on his offensive assertiveness and utilizing his speed to create more for himself and his teammates.
Haggerty: Are the Bruins built to thrive in the NHL's bubble? 1176768 Boston Bruins that all bets are off because everybody has been off for the last four months and we’re starting from scratch.”
The Bruins' core group isn’t getting any younger and neither is Rask as Tuukka Rask's Bruins legacy will very much be impacted by this playoff he enters the final year of his contract with Boston next season, so this run may be the last, best chance for all of them to win one more before the championship window begins to close.
By Joe Haggerty If Rask once again falls short this postseason, fair or not, it will cement a legacy that he was never able to carry the Bruins over the Cup threshold July 29, 2020 7:18 PM as Tim Thomas did almost 10 years ago when he pitched shutouts in Game 7 of both the Eastern Conference Final and then again in the
Stanley Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks. If he's not ready to It’s no stretch to say that a great deal of Tuukka Rask’s ultimate legacy play after the long layoff and the Bruins exit the postseason quickly, it will with the Bruins is tied up in the unprecedented 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs be even worse for all parties involved. inside the bubble. If Rask is able to play as he did last postseason, when he would have Sure, the 33-year-old is a Vezina Trophy finalist this season for the won the Conn Smythe Trophy had the B’s won Game 7 against St. Louis, second time in his NHL career and is essentially in a two-man race with and finish it off by playing well when the Bruins need him most in a Game Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck for the ultimate piece of goaltending 7-type situation, then it will be the crowning achievement in what’s hardware this season. The .929 save percentage and NHL-leading 2.25 already been an exceptional regular season career. It could mean entry goals against average speak for themselves about his dominance this to the Hockey Hall of Fame for Rask, and it certainly would clinch his year while largely splitting time with backup goalie Jaroslav Halak in a status as the best goalie in the nearly 100-year history of the Bruins nearly equal split of playing time. franchise.
Truthfully, the regular season accolades go on and on for Rask as he But all of it comes down to how things go for the goaltender and the B’s continues to prove he’s the best regular season goaltender in Bruins hockey club that takes many of its cues from exactly how he is playing franchise history. He’s the all-time winningest goalie in Bruins history with between the pipes. 291 wins, and has the most games played (536), the most saves So, yeah, there’s quite a bit riding on how things go for Rask in his go- (13,711) and the best save percentage (.922) in the B’s nearly 100-year round for the Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs. franchise history.
Even his playoff stats are excellent as Rask ranks seventh all-time in NHL history with a .9268 save percentage in the postseason and is the Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 active leader among all NHL goalies with a .9218 career save percentage in the regular season over his 13-year career.
He ranks third all-time in career save percentage behind Dominik Hasek and Johnny Bower, both Hall of Famers. Clearly, the reduced workload paired with Jaroslav Halak has been a big deal to Rask in the last couple of seasons as he’s approaching his mid-thirties. The reduced workload led directly to playing at a Vezina Trophy level all season and allowed Rask to carry the Bruins with a .934 save percentage during last spring’s run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Rask is even beginning to push his way into the Hockey Hall of Fame conversation as the career numbers pile up for him.
Haggerty: Which team should Bruins hope to avoid in playoffs?
But there is an unfinished business element to his decade-long legacy with the Black and Gold after falling short in some extremely big moments for the Bruins during the postseason.
“You look at as a process and when you’re a young guy, you’re just looking to make a name for yourself,” said Rask. “And then as the years go by you kind of learn different things about your game and about yourself, and what you need to do and what not [to do].
“In the years where I needed to play a lot of games I had to focus on keeping my mind sharp and my body rested, and years where I didn’t have to play a lot of games then you have more practice time. I think over the years it’s a balance of keeping your mind and body in sync. And you try to improve your game every day and every year and then before you know it ten years have gone by. You say ‘wow’ and it’s been a long time when it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.”
Rask has won a Stanley Cup as a backup to Tim Thomas in 2011, but the Finnish netminder has not been able to carry the Bruins to hockey immortality as the franchise guy. He has yet to get the B’s over the top in two tries at the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and 2019 and the Bruins enter this postseason as the favorites after winning the Presidents' Trophy during the regular season.
Haggerty: Are the Bruins built to thrive in the NHL's bubble?
“If you look at the way our team is built, we’re built for a long run into the playoffs,” said Rask. “Unfortunately, we were heading to a direction when the league, and the whole world, came to a stop. Now we have to go back to building that chemistry with the same group as when it stopped. Obviously, winning a Stanley Cup or any trophy in Boston is a big thing.
“That’s something we need to try for and that’s our goal. We just have to adapt and build that groove and chemistry back up. The way I look at it is 1176769 Boston Bruins
Bruins' Anders Bjork agrees to three-year, $4.8 million contract extension
By Nick Goss
July 29, 2020 3:16 PM
The Boston Bruins have reached an agreement with right winger Anders Bjork on a three-year contract extension through the 2022-23 season, the team announced Wednesday.
The contract is worth a total of $4.8 million with a salary cap hit of $1.6 million, which is a pretty reasonable price for the B's. Bjork was set to become a restricted free agent in the offseason. The Bruins still have several important players with expiring contracts to consider re-signing, most notably left winger Jake DeBrusk (RFA) and defenseman Torey Krug (UFA).
Bjork played in 58 games during the regular season and tallied 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists). He was a fifth-round pick (146th overall) of Boston in the 2014 NHL Draft.
If he can stay healthy -- which has been a challenge at times in his pro career -- Bjork has the potential to be a dependable second or third line player capable of providing much-needed secondary scoring.
Bjork traveled with the Bruins to the Toronto bubble for the season restart, and he's among the top candidates to be the second-line right winger while veteran Ondrej Kase works his way back after missing all of the recent training camp.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176770 Boston Bruins
Was David Pastrnak hacked? Bruins star's strange tweet suggests so
By Darren Hartwell
July 29, 2020 10:50 AM
Either David Pastrnak is a big Tom Wilson fan, or someone stole his phone Tuesday night.
The Boston Bruins winger, fresh off his second practice with the team in Toronto since emerging from quarantine, sent a head-scratching tweet around 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Quick context: Pastrnak scored 48 goals before the 2019-20 NHL season shut down, tied with Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin for the most in the league. Wilson, Ovechkin's teammate, had more penalty minutes in this season alone (93) than goals in his career (78).
So, yeah. Pastrnak probably didn't write this tweet.
But who did? As former NHL player John Scott pointed out, Boston winger Brad Marchand is an obvious suspect.
Defenseman Torey Krug can't be ruled out, either.
LOL. What's going on here?
Or what if Wilson himself managed to commandeer Pastrnak's phone? (The Bruins and Capitals are staying in the same Toronto hotel, after all...)
Wilson also thanked Pastrnak just minutes after his tweet, so we're not ruling out some foul play on the Capitals' part.
Pastrnak and Wilson can work things out in person soon: The Bruins play Washington on Sunday, Aug. 9, in one of their three Eastern Conference round-robin games of the NHL restart.
Until then, Pastrnak might want to update his password.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176771 Boston Bruins If Bjork develops into more of a scorer during his second contract, he would be selling himself short of market value. The Bruins, on the other hand, would be getting bang for their buck.
Who is Anders Bjork? To be determined Sweeney has done this before.
Two of Sweeney’s previous second contracts belong to Kuraly (three By Fluto Shinzawa years, $3.825 million) and Matt Grzelcyk (two years, $2.8 million). Sweeney and his colleagues projected them accurately. In hindsight, Jul 29, 2020 both are team-friendly contracts, signed after limited NHL viewings (83 regular-season games for Kuraly, 63 for Grzelcyk).
Two more may follow: the two-year, $1.7 million extension Jeremy At the start of 2017, Bruce Cassidy’s first full season behind the Bruins’ Lauzon signed on Feb. 14, and the three-year, $3 million second contract bench, the coach thought highly of Anders Bjork’s scoring potential. So Connor Clifton signed on July 1, 2019. Lauzon and Clifton could be the highly, in fact, that Cassidy gave the 21-year-old rookie the first ride with No. 3 pairing next season. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron for most of training camp. Based on that history, Sweeney may have locked down more value in Two shoulder surgeries, one concussion, one pandemic and 108 career Bjork. Plugs do not score 21 goals and 31 assists as he did as a Notre NHL games later, Bjork is fighting with Karson Kuhlman for the Dame junior when he was a Hobey Baker finalist. postseason job at No. 3 right wing. For Bjork, who turns 24 on Aug. 5, the tumble down the lineup may not be so much a reflection of reality but an “He’s got to find the confidence at the NHL level to be able to score and outcome of black-and-blue circumstance. finish,” Sweeney said. “If not, he’s going to be a real good two-way hockey player that has speed and (adds) versatility to the lineup. But we “The scoring is going to be the question mark — at what level,” general still hope and feel he will produce and play with different players.” manager Don Sweeney said on Wednesday after Bjork agreed to a three-year, $4.8 million extension. “I think he’ll put up points, that he has done on a pretty consistent basis, albeit in a smaller sample size due to injuries. We’re certainly hopeful there’s more offensive upside. But we The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 know we’ve got a good two-way hockey player. He’s come back in a motivated fashion. I think his early stance here — and he’s got to maintain that — would bode well for him and for us.”
The truth is that no one can say for certain what Bjork could become. Three successive interrupted pro seasons have limited Bjork’s reps and blurred the Bruins’ projections of the right wing … or left wing … or first- liner … or third-liner … or healthy scratch.
To the eye, a lot of the tools are there. Bjork has elite jump off the line and high-end speed. He’s got the handling of a Porsche. Bjork’s shot is hard and whippy. He can pick pucks off the walls, protect them from oncoming enemies and earn the graces of a coach who has no time for defensive irresponsibility.
But the reason positional permanence has eluded Bjork is because performance has lagged behind potential. Cassidy’s given Bjork chances, like the top-line position when David Pastrnak was quarantined for most of Phase 3 of the NHL’s return. Even against friendly fire in camp scrimmages, Bjork struggled to turn a prime opportunity into a showcase.
Traffic, the kind Marchand and Bergeron always fight and regularly overcome, dampened Bjork’s puck play. He turned down shooting opportunities. When he launched pucks on net, too many veered wide.
His game may be more suited to third-line grinding, defensive stoutness and puck protection alongside Sean Kuraly and Charlie Coyle, his likely linemates for Thursday’s exhibition game against Columbus. There’s nothing wrong with that. Plenty of wingers have made careers of such roles, whether they be Carl Hagelin, Michael Raffl or Michael Frolik.
In the 679:57 of 5-on-5 time Bjork totaled during the regular season, the Bruins allowed 1.76 goals per 60 minutes of play. Among regular team forwards, only David Krejci had a lower on-ice GA/60 (1.48) than Bjork.
Bjork’s future annual earnings, in fact, align with those of bottom-six wings in his cohort. Ex-teammate Ryan Donato (10-15—25 in the final year of his entry-level contract) signed a two-year, $3.8 million extension. Sonny Milano (7-16—23), who played with Bjork at the National Team Development Program, agreed to a two-year, $3.4 million second contract, per CapFriendly. Like Bjork (9-10—19), Donato and Milano have long been considered to have top-six potential.
Bjork, however, opted for three years of security over two. In that way, he’s playing it safe instead of preferring shorter term and betting on himself, even if he believes there’s more to give.
“It’s grown a bit for sure,” Bjork said of his confidence as a scorer. “But I think I’m a long ways away from where I want to be with that and where I feel I have the potential to be. It doesn’t happen right away for every player that’s a scorer in the league. That’s sort of my mindset — working my way to build my offensive game and contribute that way. Because I do believe I have the ability to do that. It’s just going to take continued work. Continuing to build that confidence mentally is a huge component of that.” 1176772 Boston Bruins
Who hacked David Pastrnak? The five leading suspects
By Fluto Shinzawa
Jul 29, 2020
At 9:02 p.m. on Tuesday, something went sideways with David Pastrnak’s Twitter.
Pastrnak, who had previously used his account to promote his Dunkin’ Donuts sponsorship and retweet teammates on occasion, careened off his previous script. Pastrnak pumped the tires of Tom Wilson, of all people, as having a title he could claim as his own.
As a rookie, Pastrnak lost his passport while attending development camp. It’s no stretch, then, to believe he had either left his phone or his account unguarded.
You can cross Zdeno Chara’s name off the list. Chara was probably in the gym. Doubtful it was Patrice Bergeron. He is nowhere to be found on social media.
The individuals under suspicion
1. Brad Marchand. Duh. Pastrnak’s linemate is notorious for his carvings, verbal as well as physical, of his opponents. You can just about hear Marchand giggling as he swiped Pastrnak’s phone and tapped out the tweet.
2. Jake DeBrusk. The left wing is known as the Bruins’ class clown. He and Pastrnak are close friends. DeBrusk would not be above snatching a buddy’s phone and conducting mischief.
3. Anders Bjork. Like DeBrusk, Bjork is another goofball. It would be like Bjork to take advantage of a misplaced phone. Then blame someone else.
4. Don Sweeney. It may feel like 2023 is a long time from now. But that’s when Pastrnak’s contract will expire. He’ll be 27, still within his sweet spot. This could have been the general manager triggering an early warning system to bring down Pastrnak’s market.
5. Chris Wagner. A Masshole through and through.
Here’s the thing, though: It could have been Pastrnak himself.
On Dec. 23, 2019, Pastrnak and Wilson got into it at TD Garden. As both approached their benches for a line change, Wilson jostled Pastrnak. Pastrnak gave it back with a right jab to Wilson’s chin.
Naturally, Wilson boiled over and went after Pastrnak, shrugging off Marchand in the process. Wilson was given a roughing penalty and 10- minute misconduct. Pastrnak was called for a roughing minor.
Perhaps Pastrnak was giving the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Wilson an attaboy for not knocking out his teeth back then.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176773 Calgary Flames do that is playing really well defensively, and then our skill and offence is always going to be there.”
Before they worry about getting to the second round, they need to move Time for Flames to turn talk into playoff progress into the first.
The Jets have lost some talent and toughness over the past year and Wes Gilbertson change, but they won’t be an easy out in a best-of-five play-in. With the final standings sorted by points percentage after the pandemic pause, July 29, 2020 5:20 PM MDT these two troupes were separated by the thinnest of margins — Calgary seeded eighth at .564, the Winnipegers ninth at .563.
The Jets have arguably the best goaltender on the loop, Vezina Trophy EDMONTON — In the immediate aftermath, they were simply shocked. frontrunner Connor Hellebuyck. Stunned. Their top line, a trio of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, Fifteen months later, the Calgary Flames actually seem more mad, more is vaunted. frustrated about their 2019 playoff face-plant than they were back then. The quotes seem to get stronger as time wears on. They have a lot of holdovers from a run to the conference final in 2018.
It’s not just that they were quickly dismissed despite claiming the top Only one of the Flames has advanced that far in a regular role. seed in the Western Conference standings. It’s that after winning the series opener, they barely looked like they belonged in the same league He’s new. as the wildcard Colorado Avalanche. “One of the things that I really liked about our team before the pause “Going back to Colorado and thinking about that series, that still sticks happened was the way we were playing as a team and on the defensive with you,” bristled Flames alternate captain and first-line centre Sean side of the puck,” said winger Milan Lucic, a Stanley Cup winner with the Monahan, one guy who often references that five-game flop against the Boston Bruins in 2011. “That’s one of the key things where I saw this Avs. “To have a season where you finish first and secure home ice and team grow, probably most, from October until now. So that’s what gives then basically get swept and embarrassed … I mean, if you’re a me a lot of confidence about what we can do starting on Aug. 1. competitor, that kind of stuff sticks with you. It’s still in my head all the “I really like this group. I have a lot of confidence in this group. I see a lot time. You don’t want to go through a grind of a season and go into of great things in this group. We have great leaders. We have great playoffs and get swept and sent home. players, good depth. The guys love being around each other. So we’re “Now, this is a chance for us to step up. Everybody has to prove really looking forward to this challenge, and I couldn’t be more excited for themselves.” what lies ahead.”
Indeed, this crew has plenty to prove. As Tkachuk added: “We plan on being here for a long time.”
And after their only in-bubble exhibition, Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Every team is talking that way. Edmonton Oilers at an empty Rogers Place, the time has come to turn all One way or another, the Flames’ lingering frustrations from 2019 will that talk into playoff progress. finally fade over the August long weekend.
After a four-month pause, after two-and-a-half weeks of official prep, the Can they start to change the narrative for a franchise that has won just a Flames’ next action is Saturday’s series launch against the Winnipeg single playoff series since 2004? Or will they be singing a familiar tune Jets. after another early exit?
These first-of-their-kind qualifiers are best-of-five sets. It’s possible that “We have a lot of guys on our team who have been here a while … and the Flames or Jets could be headed home by Tuesday night. we all feel the same way,” Monahan said. “It’s our turn to prove ourselves “We know what people have been saying about us, the past couple of that we can win in this league and make an impact. I think each guy, if playoffs and what happened last year,” said Flames alternate captain you look around our dressing room, they want to prove it to each other. Matthew Tkachuk after his club arrived in the Western Conference And I think that’s the biggest thing right now — we have a whole group of bubble in Edmonton. “We lived it. We’ll be the first ones to say that we guys who are hungry to make a difference.” underperformed last year. Starting Saturday, it’s time to show it.
“We put pressure on ourselves to perform. We put pressure on ourselves to have a shot at redemption, and we’ve been given that shot. That’s why it’s so nice to get this opportunity and get this chance to play in the Calgary Sun: LOADED: 07.30.2020 playoffs. After all this uncertainty, to be here and be ready to play … Here’s our shot at redemption, so let’s take advantage of it. Let’s make up for it.”
It’s certainly not uncommon to hear banter about unfinished business. The reality of pro sports is that only one team achieves the ultimate goal at the end of a season.
For the Flames, though, something changed in 2019.
Their winter work suggested that they were ready to join the ranks of the NHL’s legitimate championship contenders.
There were believers, and not just inside their locker-room walls.
And then … thud.
“For us, as a team and an organization, we’re ready to take that next step and have some playoff success here. It’s long overdue,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano. “I think we’ve learned a few hard lessons, especially last year and years before in playoffs. It’s such a fine, I think, (between) winning and losing at this time of year.
“As a team, we haven’t had much success. We’ve lost in the first round a few times in recent history, and we have to sort of get that off our back, where we can move into the second round. I think the way we’re going to 1176774 Calgary Flames 1) Theo Fleury, 89.6% vs. 9) Sandy McCarthy 10.4%
2) Joe Nieuwendyk, 92.4% vs. 10) Fred Brathwaite, 7.6%
Lanny? Iggy? Kipper? Johnny? Vote now for your Fave Flame, Round 3 3) Gary Roberts, 92.6% vs. 6) Phil Housley, 7.4%
4) Sergei Makarov, 64.1% vs. 5) Robert Reichel, 35.9%
Todd Saelhof 2000s
July 29, 2020 5:00 AM MDT Nobody fared better at the ballot box in Round 2 of our challenge than the Flames superstar belovedly billed as ‘Kipper.’
That’s right … Miikka Kiprusoff captured more than 98% of the vote over We expect more battles to be tightly contested as we move from the former teammate Dion Phaneuf in a battle of 2 v. 7 of 2000s-ranked second round of our massive 64-player tournament into Round 3 of the warriors. NCAA March Madness-esque bracket. The closest battle of the decade saw Conroy eliminate ‘The Eliminator’ Two good buddies will do battle in Round 3 of our FAVE FLAME EVER with nearly two-thirds of the vote. Not surprising it was a relatively tight bracket challenge. contest between the two colourful former teammates and current Jarome Iginla vs. Craig Conroy … members of today’s brass.
We figured this was going to happen. The other two battles in the 2000s saw Iginla get a landslide victory over blueliner Rhett Warrener and stay-at-home rearguard Robyn Regehr And we expect more battles to be tightly contested as we move from the decisively oust forward Daymond Langkow. second round of our massive 64-player tournament into Round 3 of the NCAA March Madness-esque bracket. 1) Jarome Iginla, 95.3% vs. 8) Rhett Warrener, 4.7%
We’re again wanting your input as we try to determine the favourite 2) Miikka Kiprusoff, 98.1% vs. 7) Dion Phaneuf, 1.9% Calgary Flames player of all-time. 3) Robyn Regehr, 88.0% vs. 6) Daymond Langkow, 12.0%
So we’re down to the Sweet 16 who plied their trade with the Flames at 4) Craig Conroy, 62.6% vs. 5) Martin Gelinas, 37.4% some point in the last 40 years. 2010s And we have broken it down into four decades, with four players — and two battles — left representing each of the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and In the 2010s bracket, it’s clearly a case of what have you done for me 2010s. lately.
But we need your help to determine Round 3 winners. The final four standing are current members of the Flames hoping to get hot on a run to the 2020 Stanley Cup. So we’re back for another round … Your captain, Mark Giordano, copped most of the votes — more than Join us online at http://www.calgarysun.com to cast your ballot, as we try 90% — in his battle with teammate Elias Lindholm, who came in as the to track just who is the most favourite Flames star of all. 10th-ranked player of the 2010s.
In the meantime, let’s look back at the results of Round 2. Gio is rated No. 2 in the decade.
The only upset of Round 2 came during this decade. No. 1 Johnny ‘Hockey’ Gaudreau had his hands full with tenacious Sam ‘American Sniper’ Joe Mullen took down ‘The Magic Man’ Kent Nilsson in Bennett, the eighth-rated player, but grabbed the win with 77% of the a win of a fifth-ranked player over a fourth-rated star of the 1980s ballots cast. bracket. There was even more of a battle between current teammates Sean No. 5 Mullen took nearly two-thirds of the votes against Nilsson, pulling Monahan, No. 3, and Mikael Backlund, No. 6, with the scoring centre off the mild surprise. getting a little more than 70% of the vote.
The No. 3 vs. No. 6 battle between Mike Vernon and Hakan Loob turned And in the other 2010s bracket challenge, feisty Matthew Tkachuk up a similar result, except that the favourite, goaltender Vernon, took earned a decisive victory over the only non-current Flames player left in home close to two-thirds of the ballots cast. the decade, Michael Cammalleri.
At the top, Lanny McDonald and Al MacInnis continued to dominate their 1) Johnny Gaudreau, 77.2% vs. 8) Sam Bennett, 22.8% battles, as No. 1 Lanny got the majority of the votes over the ninth- 2) Mark Giordano, 91.1% vs. 10) Elias Lindholm, 8.9% ranked Doug Gilmour and second-rated MacInnis blasted No. 7 Gary Suter in a landslide victory. 3) Sean Monahan, 71.5% vs. 6) Mikael Backlund, 28.5%
1) Lanny McDonald, 83.8%, vs. 9) Doug Gilmour, 16.2% 4) Matthew Tkachuk, 87.1% vs. 5) Michael Cammalleri, 12.9%
2) Al MacInnis, 95.8% vs. 7) Gary Suter, 4.2%
3) Mike Vernon, 64.1% vs. 6) Hakan Loob, 35.9% Calgary Sun: LOADED: 07.30.2020
5) Joe Mullen, 63.1% vs. 4) Kent Nilsson, 36.9%
1990s
Robert Reichel gave it a good run.
But he came up short in a Round 2 1990s challenge with Sergei Makarov.
It was the closest of the ’90s battles, with the Russian superstar garnering nearly two-thirds of your votes cast.
The other three battles were dominated by the favourites, Theo Fleury, Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts.
Fleury survived quite easily against rough-and-tumble Sandy McCarthy. Nieuwendyk scored a landslide win over goalie and fan fave Fred Brathwaite, as did Roberts over hall-of-fame defenceman Phil Housley. 1176775 Calgary Flames So?
“We haven’t made up our mind yet,” Ward said afterward, pointing to Wednesday’s off-day as an opportunity to review and regroup. Fateful 33 seconds may have answered Flames goaltending question Despite a sloppy start in this lone exhibition, the Flames sharpened up as the night wore on.
Wes Gilbertson Elias Lindholm, who buried a team-high 29 goals before the pause, had a July 29, 2020 9:36 AM MDT man-advantage marker for the gents in red, collecting a rebound in the slot and calmly slinging a shot past old friend Mike Smith late in the middle stanza. Operating as the home team in this enemy rink, the Calgarians did finish with a 37-30 edge in shots. EDMONTON — It has been the biggest question mark, the hottest topic, around the Calgary Flames in the lead-up to this unprecedented summer “I think our team did a really good job,” said Flames forward Sam restart — who would be tabbed as the starting goalie for Game 1 of their Bennett. “We had a little bit of a slow start, but I think in the second and best-of-five, won-or-done qualification series against the Winnipeg Jets? third, we dominated the play. So I thought our team looked pretty good, pretty aware, and I think we all feel ready for the real thing to get started.” A 33-second span might have ended the debate. This whole Hockey Night in the Hub thing finally feels real. This Flames- If that’s the case, Cam Talbot will be the go-to guy. Oilers exhibition was the first of clash at a crowd-less Rogers Place. In the late stages of Tuesday’s exhibition loss to the Edmonton Oilers, With no fans, those inside the rink could hear almost everything. the lone tuneup for either squad in the hub-city bubble, Flames netminder David Rittich was handcuffed by a dump-in that took a funky bounce. He You could hear Bennett grousing to the ref after he was busted for did manage to get a pad on that puck, but one of the Edmonton Oilers’ hooking Yamamoto — something along the lines of, “He frickin’ held it!” pluggers — Patrick Russell, to be specific — arrived on scene to tuck in the rebound. You could hear the officials, on more than one occasion, reminding Matthew Tkachuk to stay out of the blue paint. Thirty-three ticks later, Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, selling the possibility of a pass on an odd-man rush, sizzled a low shot past him. You could hear the warnings when a teammate was about to get drilled, although that didn’t stop Flames’ trade-deadline acquisition Erik Lanny? Iggy? Kipper? Johnny? Vote now for your Fave Flame, Round 3 Gustafsson — in his first exposure to the Battle of Alberta — from being clocked by Zack Kassian along the boards. (Making matters worse, Sure, McDavid is one of the best players on the planet, but a goalie Gustafsson lost his lid and was just moments later called for participating never likes to surrender a short-side snipe. without a helmet.) Especially, a guy who’s not assured of the starting job. You could hear the always-energetic Zac Rinaldo screaming at a pair of Talbot also allowed a pair in this 4-1 loss to the Oilers, but you wouldn’t Oilers in the sin-bin, then Calgary’s entire bench chirping Gaetan Haas fault the masked man on either. In this all-important audition, that might after he lost his balance while being dipsy-doodled by Johnny Gaudreau. settle it. In the third period, when Kassian accused TJ Brodie of a dive, you could hear somebody yell, “Get in the box and shut your mouth.” “We want to do the due diligence on what we saw tonight,” said Flames interim coach Geoff Ward after Tuesday’s exhibition at an empty Rogers “Once the game was going on, you don’t even really realize there aren’t Place in Edmonton. “But obviously, the puzzle is starting to become more fans,” Bennett said afterward. “You’re just in the heat of the game. I clear. We are at the point now where we’re going to have to sit down a thought it was nice to be able to hear the guys from the bench even more make a decision.” than you usually do.”
While the Flames must soon pick a puck-stopper for Saturday’s play-in “I thought the energy was good in this game,” added Flames winger opener, Ward likely won’t be in a rush to reveal the news. Milan Lucic. “There was physicality, scrums. To be honest, for me personally and from talking to some teammates after the game, it felt like That would only benefit the poolies, the prognosticators and … the Jets. a regular-season game already, and that was the first time we’d played in about five months. Calgary’s skipper certainly wasn’t showing his cards after Tuesday’s friendly, shrugging off Rittich’s shaky sequence with less than five “Once you’re in the play and once you’re in the flow of the game and your minutes remaining. blood is flowing and all that type of stuff … Don’t get me wrong, you love the energy and the momentum that the fans bring to the game. And you “That third goal, it’s a bad bounce. Obviously, it’s unfortunate,” Ward miss them. But when you’re trying to make plays and you’re getting in on said. “And then the fourth one, we create a turnover at the offensive blue- the forecheck and all that type of stuff, you get in your own zone and line and the best player in the world (McDavid) is alone with our you’re not focused on all that outside stuff. So far, I like what I saw from goaltender, 1-on-0. Some nights, he is gonna score. He knows how to do our team.” that. Ward, too, was satisfied, saying “we feel good about our game and what “So it’s unfortunate, but there are reasons why those things happen. we were able to do tonight after the slow start.” We’ll take what we need to from it, and move on.” “I think one of the most important things that we need to understand The Flames really need to get this one right. about tonight’s game, and the lesson, is that in playoff time, it’s not In a best-of-five showdown, there’s not much room for error. Especially always what you make, it’s what you leave,” Ward reasoned. “We left a with Connor Hellebuyck, the frontrunner for the Vezina Trophy, between couple things that they were able to cash, and that’s the way playoffs go. the pipes for the other guys. For us, we have to learn form it, get better from it.
Rittich represented the Flames at the 2020 NHL All-Star Game, but “But everything we wanted to look at, we saw. I thought our guys gave a Talbot was the better of Calgary’s two twine-minders in the weeks before real good accounting of themselves, especially in the second period and the action was halted due to the COVID-19 crisis. This crease into the third. On another night, we had enough chances, I felt like, to pull conundrum has been lingering since then. into the lead. Their goalie made the stops when he had to. Which, again, is this time of year.” The 32-year-old Talbot fished a couple out of his net in Tuesday’s opening period — Kailer Yamamoto buried a rebound just 64 seconds in, The Flames will need those timely saves against the Jets, especially with then McDavid scored off a back-door feed from Leon Draisaitl on the Hellebuyck at the opposite end. power-play — but didn’t unravel and ultimately finished with 19 saves on So who’s it going to be — Rittich or Talbot? 21 shots. The decision looms, or did a 33-second stretch end the debate? Rittich, who relieved his pal at the midway mark of the second, wasn’t as busy. The 27-year-old stopped seven of nine. Calgary Sun: LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176776 Calgary Flames — taskmaster Pat DiPronio — and hired shooters for a dozen on-ice sessions in Hamilton before returning to Calgary for Phase 2.
“To be quite honest, I didn’t take any time off,” Talbot said the other day. Answering 5 questions from the Flames’ ‘litmus test’ against the Oilers “I worked out four or five times a week the entire time, so I was ready to go. I was preparing myself the whole time. Until I was told that the season was going to be over, I was making sure that I was ready.” By Scott Cruickshank 2. What about the Flames’ top six? Jul 29, 2020 Following last spring’s disheartening exit in the first round, the first line — Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm — took heat, and deservedly so. Their point total, five, was matched by Sam Bennett’s, a Paul Maurice guaranteed the other day that 30 years from now, because 13-minute winger. of unprecedented circumstances, people will remember who won the 2020 Stanley Cup. Somewhat under the radar, however, had been the postseason struggles of the second line, which had not been great, or even good, against the That’s a great point by the Winnipeg Jets head coach. Avs. Matthew Tkachuk provided difference-making excellence in Game But recalling the outcome of a July friendly between the Calgary Flames 1. But not much after that. and the Edmonton Oilers? Not likely. All of which they realize. Which isn’t to downplay the importance of Tuesday’s event at Rogers Fifteen months later, this represents the start of the team’s — and its Place — a 4-1 triumph for the Oilers, by the way. As the only exhibition stars’ — redemption tour. contest for each team before the elimination rounds erupt this weekend, it stood as a critical proving ground for the furrow-browed decision- Guess who stood out in Edmonton? Tkachuk, naturally. makers. On the game’s first shift, he took a run at Darnell Nurse. Soon enough, On the morning of the game, Geoff Ward referred to it as a “litmus test,” he was shoving an in-crease Mikko Koskinen. Peeved, the goalie with teams endeavouring to iron out any last-minute wrinkles. responded with a hack.
“There’s a lot of things that we want to touch base on,” the Flames Tkachuk, after ducking a check from the normally mild-mannered Leon skipper said, whose bunch opens their play-in series on Saturday against Draisaitl, cross-checked Kris Russell, instigating a post-whistle scrum. the Jets. “Probably the best way to describe it — it’s going to be a dress Later, former teammate James Neal slashed the Flames winger in the rehearsal. back after being uncustomarily jolted.
“That’s how we’ll treat the game and that’s how we’ll pick it apart.” All this from No. 19? In the first period.
With that in mind, here are five questions about a meaningless and Tkachuk looked pumped. Fully engaged already. A great sign if you’re meaningful brush between the provincial rivals: his employer.
1. What about the Flames’ goalies? The top unit, however, toiled through a relatively quiet opening 20 minutes. It was on the ice when Kailer Yamamoto opened the scoring. Cam Talbot was the first out of the gate — at least that was the case on And Monahan was in the penalty box — after an offensive-zone infraction Tuesday. — when McDavid connected on the man advantage. Clearly the sharpest goalie in camp, he deserved whatever honour it is to Through each period, the line, which is going to be counted on heavily in start a game he knows he’s going to have to share. the coming days, looked stronger. Talbot allowed an early goal — making the original save and watching “Overall, I think we’re ready,” Lindholm said. “I think this was a good test the rebound get swatted past him — then a power-play tally to Connor for us. It was a real game, for sure, so that was good.” McDavid. For the most part, he looked calm and confident. 3. What about the Flames’ bottom six? Talbot departed at the game’s midpoint, having blocked 19 of 21 pucks. Here, there was some telling experimentation. Then it was David Rittich’s turn. The third line was arranged like it usually is — with Derek Ryan centring Unfortunately for him, the Flames were solid in the game’s second half, Milan Lucic and Dillon Dubé — through 40 minutes. leaving him unable to properly strut his stuff. Rittich did repel the first six shots he faced. But, caught off guard by a crazy bounce on a flip-in by But, no doubt remembering how well Sam Bennett played with those Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, he spilled the puck out into the danger zone, wingers during camp, Ward moved No. 93 into Ryan’s spot for the third which Patrick Russell promptly buried. Thirty-three seconds later, period. Bennett and Dubé, who had been an up-tempo presence from McDavid blazed into the frame and snapped in a short shot to complete start to finish on this night, hooked up for a dandy scoring play. Only Mike the scoring. When the final horn sounded, Rittich had stopped seven of Smith’s trapper prevented Dubé from cashing in. the nine shots he faced. Meanwhile, Ryan took over the fourth line, working with flankers Zac The coach explained away the third-period damage. “The (3-1) goal, it’s Rinaldo and Tobias Rieder, an alignment that left Mark Jankowski a bad bounce,” Ward said. “The fourth one, we create a turnover at the anchored to the bench. Of the three non-Ryans, one will be scratched for offensive blue (line), and the best player in the world is alone with our Game 1. goaltender.” A hint of things to come? A couple of times, Mangiapane partnered up Now, based on what they’ve seen so far this season and in camp, with Lindholm on the penalty kill — normally that’s Jankowski’s spot. Calgary’s coaches need to make a call. 4. What about the Flames’ special teams? Who’s going to stand at the opposite end from Connor Hellebuyck and friends? Making the Oilers the ideal opponent — beyond the built-in hate and automatic intensity — had been their highfalutin special teams. The best “The nice thing is, we have a day off (Wednesday),” Ward said, “so we power players in the league, operating at a better than a 29 percent clip, can take some time and look at it. But, obviously, the puzzle’s becoming and the second-best penalty-killing unit. more clear. And we’re to the point now where we’re going to have to sit down and make a decision. The Flames themselves are no slouches on the special teams — eighth in the NHL on the penalty kill, 12th on the power play. “We haven’t made up our mind yet.” No wonder Ward relished the test for his team. Talbot must have the in-house edge. And if he does, it is in large part due to his pause-time routine. A fitness fiend, he worked out regularly in his Working with the man advantage — going with the 1-3-1 formation — the home gym in Ancaster, Ont. He also lined up his childhood goalie coach Flames utilize specialist Erik Gustafsson on the first unit (with the usual suspects) and Mark Giordano on the second (with Mikael Backlund, Lucic, Mangiapane, Dubé)
Near the end of the second period, the go-to unit connected. Gaudreau shifted the puck to Gustafsson, who, head up and moving along the blue line, whipped a wrister toward the net. There, Tkachuk was tangling with both defender and goalie, so, when the puck sprung loose, Lindholm had a relatively easy time of finishing.
In the end, both teams were 1-for-4 on the power play.
“Overall, I thought it was fine after a layoff,” Ward said of his group’s special-team performance. “We were fairly happy with a large portion of our game. I felt we had some moments on both special teams. It’ll continue to grow as we move down the road here.
“But for a first night, after a long layoff in our first real game, I thought we saw some good things on both sides of the special teams.”
It’s worth remembering that for Gustafsson, power-play ace or not, it marked only his eighth appearance with the Flames.
5. What about the (non-existent) fans?
Apparently, it’s not going to take much for players to adjust to one facet of the new normal — crowd-free contests.
“Don’t get me wrong — you love the energy and the momentum that the fans bring to the game and you miss them,” Lucic said. “But when you’re trying to make plays and you’re getting in on the forecheck, you get in your own zone. You’re not focused on all that outside type of stuff.”
No one, postgame, seemed too rattled by the radically different atmosphere.
“Once the game is going on, you don’t even realize there aren’t fans,” Bennett said. “You’re just in the heat of the game. I thought it was nice to be able to hear the guys from the bench even more than you normally do.”
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176777 Calgary Flames And through 27 dates, they were sub-.500 — and sitting 13th in the same conference they’d topped the previous winter.
As to whether they’d been “shell-shocked,” that’s hard to declare with any Scouting the enemy: Getting to know the Flames’ stars, goalies and degree of certainty. Because, regardless of any lingering playoff unsung heroes disappointment, the team has had to chew through challenge after challenge to reach even this stage of the chase:
By Scott Cruickshank and Murat Ates Top prospect Juuso Valimaki, a shoo-in starter, wrecks his knee in a pre- camp training mishap. ACL surgery is required and he’s gone for the Jul 29, 2020 entire season.
T.J. Brodie collapses in practice one day and goes into convulsions in front of panicked teammates, coaches, managers, reporters. He’s rushed Winnipeg played Calgary just once this season. It was so long ago — from the Saddledome ice to the hospital, where he quickly recovers from and was played under such unique circumstances — that Paul Maurice the scary episode. threw out the video. Bill Peters — and the entire organization — is engulfed in scandal after “The first thing we’d normally do is we’d pull all of the video of the games Akim Aliu’s (swiftly corroborated) allegations of racism. He resigns his against us but we’ve got one outdoor game,” Maurice said at Jets camp, post as head coach. “and that’s with a different guy behind the bench. So I’ve watched it once. I didn’t cut anything out of it to use.” The Flames announce that assistant general manager Chris Snow has received a diagnosis of ALS, the disease that killed his father, two Instead, Maurice turned to other sources of data. He talked to other uncles, and a cousin. coaches, consulted his staff, and studied late-season video from Calgary’s rise up the Western Conference standings. The same day the NHL season is officially paused, long-time president Ken King dies. This is going to be kind of like that. Three days before the start of the NHL’s return-to-play plan, Travis No one has followed the Flames closer than The Athletic Calgary’s Scott Hamonic, a heart-and-soul presence on the back-end, opts out for family Cruickshank did this year. From Calgary’s early season struggles, Bill reasons. Peters’ exit and Geoff Ward’s righting of the ship, it’s been a wild season for Winnipeg’s rivals. This is a team that has endured, that has kept on keeping on, in the face of adversity. Last spring the players had been unable to cope with even So while Jets fans know about Dustin Byfuglien’s departure, the Jets’ the slightest push-back. It’s different now. As general manager Brad injury woes, their waiver-wire defence corps, Connor Hellebuyck’s Treliving puts it, the group’s added some “callus.” excellence and big offensive seasons from Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, there’s still a lot to discover about Calgary’s turnaround. How has Geoff Ward changed things? From far away, it looks like the Ward Flames got better finishing and goaltending than the Peters Flames To guide in that discovery, we turn to Cruickshank with a laundry list of … but was there more to it? questions. Better finishing and goaltending may have simply been byproducts of a Were the Flames shell-shocked at the beginning of the season? What more relaxed, more settled setting. happened to Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan’s point production? How is Winnipeg supposed to handle Matthew Tkachuk? Because Ward, as a counter-balance replacement to Peters, was ideal. Just the right personality, just the right touch. We volleyed all of those questions — and more — at Cruickshank. Unlike Peters, who was detached from his players, Ward is all about We had Craig Button on The Boarding Pass this spring and he relationships. While this is his first stab as a head honcho in the NHL, he suggested Calgary took the loss to Colorado pretty hard last year. Were is a hockey lifer. He’s coached all over North America, on the the Flames shell-shocked at all this fall? international stage, too, and he’s built a reputation of having a firm, but They did take it hard at the time. Real hard. Which is understandable. fair, hand. Players respect that.
Remember, going into the opening round, the Flames were the Western Running his first practice at the Saddledome, Ward allowed the squad to Conference’s top side. With 50 victories, they had piled up 107 points — listen to music over the public-address system. With a rocky first quarter only one NHL outfit, Tampa, gathered more. So imagine the lofty of the schedule and the subsequent Peters exit, the skaters were in expectations in Calgary. danger of becoming detrimentally uptight. So that day, out came Rasmus Andersson’s playlist — “Radio Ga Ga” (Queen), “Tiny Dancer” (Elton Quite rightly, they’d been favoured against the Avs. The thinking among John), “It’s Tricky” (Run-DMC). Smiles all around. And this happened some observers (guilty) was that even if the teams’ respective — and more than once. highly regarded — first lines played each other to a standstill, the Flames’ superior depth would see them through. Then off to the second round. Ward, who also called for on-ice soccer games at the tail-end of some sessions, did what he could to brighten the sometimes heavy mood. All Didn’t happen. Not even close. along he’s maintained that he wants his players to have fun — even during the strain of the postseason. What a concept. In the aftermath of the disheartening — and, in some ways, revealing — series, the Flames’ players and coaches said all the right things. That It showed. their pace and intensity had been lacking, that they’d coasted into the playoffs, that they would never make that mistake again. The Flames won the first seven games they played for the interim head coach. Then, at camp in the fall, that soundtrack continued. Those insistences that they learned their lessons. They said could not wait to redeem A couple of months later on HNIC’s After Hours, Milan Lucic revealed themselves. Makes sense. that he had considered retiring while Peters was in charge. (“I just think for myself it was just really hard and especially when you’re getting Perhaps there would no Rocky Mountain hangover for these guys benched and no one is saying anything to you.”) However, having played in Boston — and won a Stanley Cup with Ward — Lucic was familiar with On top of which, it seemed like the NHL schedule-maker did them a the new skipper’s approach, even and open. favour — putting their season-opener back at the Pepsi Center, where, in Games 3 and 4, they had surrendered a combined 108 (!) shots. What a Ward guided the Flames to a 25-15-3 record. It was not a perfect stretch perfect way to exorcise those postseason demons. — the team, for instance, staggered on home ice — but players seemed to respond to the man on a personal level. Results followed. Nevertheless, in the first period of the new season, the Flames, trying to keep up with the hosts, took three minors (interference, hooking, Explain the offensive slides of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. interference) and got outshot 14-3. It was a 20-minute span that looked They’re clearly two great players Winnipeg should be preparing for — an awful lot like the spring’s bow-out. what happened? Gaudreau, in particular, was off his game, especially early. Production recorded four hits. Mike Smith’s sterling netminding aside, No. 19 was wasn’t there. the story for the home side.
This, note, was a 99-point winger last winter. But through the first half of Game 2 was markedly different. Getting only the side-eye from enemy 2019-20, Gaudreau had rustled up only 30 points — dropping him to 65th blueliners — read: little reaction — Tkachuk went pointless and minus- on the NHL charts. two in a 3-2 loss.
He looked unhappy. Body language that led people to crank up ever- In other words, they managed to ignore him. present speculation that No. 13 is dying to get out of Calgary. That, though, is the challenge. And good luck with that. No one has Lo and behold, Gaudreau recovered smartly. He produced 20 points in drawn more penalties than the St. Louis resident during his four years in the 20 games before the pause, and, equally important, upgraded the NHL. There’s a reason for that. He’s forever strutting into traffic, substantially his level of engagement. Why? No idea. He hinted the day getting in the way, hanging around. Plus, he has “a face you just want to before the pause that he had not enjoyed all the line juggling — for a punch” — and that’s according to his father, Keith. while he was separated from Monahan, then, for another stretch, they had left-handed centre Mikael Backlund on the right wing. But, down the Restraint, if you’re a Winnipeg rearguard, is paramount. Especially when stretch, it had been a new player, just like that (finger snap). you know — you know — that one of Tkachuk’s primary objectives, starting Saturday, is infiltrating the head of Connor Hellebuyck. Exactly Monahan’s output, flagging or otherwise, is always a little harder to how he plans to reach inside the goalie’s cranium is anyone’s guess. define. This is not a dynamic player. Looks the same most of the time. He finds a seam in the offensive zone. If someone skitters the puck over But does coach Paul Maurice send in the cavalry? Or does he resist to him, he shoots it into the net. giving Tkachuk what he wants?
One narrative floating around Flames headquarters was that Monahan Whichever way it goes, this has the makings of a tasty subplot. had been taking measures to become a more well-rounded player, a Mark Giordano is the 2019 Norris Trophy winner and he’s been a stud more own-zone-focused centreman. Did that commitment drag his forever but … he’s 36. How does he still dominate and what do Jets fans offensive numbers? Perhaps. But it is hard to knock a chap who just need to know about that Giordano/T.J. Brodie pairing? authored his seventh straight 20-goal campaign. To put Giordano’s age into perspective, he and the Saddledome were But however Nos. 13 and 23 fared during the regular season, given their welcomed into the world within two weeks of each other. The latter is glaring shortfall last spring, they can expect to be judged intensely in the scheduled to be torn down. And the player, well, he’s still going strong. coming days. That’s their real test. Giordano, who turned 36 the day of the season-opener in Denver, has Who is Calgary’s starting goalie going to be? Did they choose the right been partnered for years with Brodie, a fellow lefty who shoulders right- guy? What do you expect from him? side duties. Their partnership is established to the point that when they’re TBD. Great question, though. separated, it’s newsworthy.
Because David Rittich had been bypassed last spring by Mike Smith — It’s fairly easy to imagine a future with Juuso Valimaki and Rasmus who ended up being superb against the Avs — it figured that Flames Andersson forming the Flames’ first pairing. Till that day, possibly brass would love to get a look at him when the stakes are high. After all, multiple seasons away, it’s Nos. 5 and 7 as the top duo. the Czech, who turns 28 next month, is considered the first-stringer, now No encroachers are likely to get starched when Giordano and Brodie are and going forward. Heck, he was probably the team’s MVP in the on the ice. But in terms of moving the puck and defending crisply, they do season’s first half. well. Well enough, in fact, that they’re likely to be matched against the The reasoning tracks well. But? Cam Talbot, who performed much better Jets’ most dangerous forwards. than Rittich from Jan. 1 onward, reported to the Saddledome a couple of And, beyond those quality-of-opposition spins, Giordano continues to weeks ago and, by a fair stretch, was the sharpest of the two throughout draw work as a penalty-killer and as a power-play quarterback. camp. Too, the Flames captain is sure to be stoked for the coming games. After So now what? all, he’s suited up for nearly 900 regular-season dates — but just 13 in Both are eager to start. Rittich admitted recently that it stung when he the postseason. In his career, he’s experienced only two wins. lost the net to Smith in the playoffs. And Talbot, a 33-year-old who is a Who on the Flames quietly has a big impact? Who will Jets fans grow to pending free agent, wants to prove to the hockey world that he can still respect? And, of course, who will they grow to hate? be the man for an NHL club. Quiet but big impact? Derek Ryan. “This is a hot topic right now, who we’re going to start, this and that,” Ward said Tuesday morning, “but we’ll just let it play out. We’ve still got a While his backstory is remarkable — three seasons with WHL Spokane, few days before we declare who our starter is.” four seasons with the University of Alberta, three seasons in the Austrian league, one season in the Swedish elite league, nearly a full season with How much did Tuesday’s exhibition game help to settle matters? They AHL Charlotte, all before dressing for his first NHL game — you might each played 30 minutes and each allowed two goals — but Talbot, who never notice him. started, faced 21 shots; Rittich, nine. Unless you’re relying on him. In that case, you’ve got appreciative eyes I am anticipating Matthew Tkachuk to be a thorn in the side of Jets for No. 10. players all series long. What is it about this guy that makes him so effective and such a pain in the ass? What can Winnipeg do to shut him Ryan is the team’s best faceoff man — he was second, behind only down? Jason Spezza, on the 2018-19 NHL charts — and perhaps its most adaptable. He’s centred the third and fourth lines. He’s worked the right Boiled down — this is a very good player, who happens to be super flank on the top unit. With injuries a likelihood — not just a possibility — annoying. An all-world needler with an elite skillset. this postseason, he can be jammed into any vacancy.
It’s one thing if it’s a fourth-line grunt crowding the crease, nudging your The low-maintenance forward is also savvy enough to handle goalkeeper, filling your ear-hole with post-whistle nattering. But it deployment on either of the special teams. somehow makes the shenanigans even more irksome when the smirking player is also capable of no-look passes, between-the-leg dekes, off- Grow to respect? Elias Lindholm. balance deflections. (The other day at the Saddledome, Tkachuk devoted Not exactly a highlight-maker, the Swede is nearly as versatile as Ryan considerable time to working on tips — with the butt-end of his stick.) and he does work on both special teams. Additionally, there are few ebbs Consider the Avs’ playbook. to his game. The club’s most consistent player, he’s proving to be its best clutch scorer, too. With a wicked release, Lindholm paced the Flames Game 1 last year, Tkachuk, mouthguard a-dangle, crowded the Colorado with 29 goals — including the most at home, the most on the road, the crease, riled up the defenders (including Erik Johnson, who retaliated most on the power play, the most game-winners. with a penalized high stick). He also scored twice, put three pucks on net, Additionally, he happily does the heavy lifting in the defensive zone.
Grow to hate? Andrew Mangiapane.
Even close pal Rasmus Andersson — they played together in OHL Barrie, AHL Stockton, and now Calgary — refers to Mangiapane as “annoying.” But he means it in the best sense. On-ice persistence.
The other day in the Flames’ first intrasquad action, with most players desperately trying to find their stickhandling rhythm, Mangiapane made it his personal mission to ruin everyone’s night. He stole pucks at a rapid clip.
His mindset is no different when it counts. Unrelentingly, he manages to win nearly every 50-50 possession battle he wades into. And the youngster is getting only more confident. So, yeah, annoying — and effective.
Calgary will scorch the Jets and go on a long run if:
The Flames’ first unit rekindles its magic from the first 50 games of the 2018-19 season. It was a stretch of goodness that propelled all of its members to career years. When dialled in, that line is an engine capable of powering an entire group an awfully long way.
Winnipeg will beat the Flames in round one if:
The Jets open well and plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the Calgarians. A short series makes a slow start bad enough. But if you’re already haunted by past playoff failings, doubts are compounded.
Finally, how do you think this series is really going to go? Which team wins it and how?
Once upon a time — OK, late in the 2014-15 season — I watched the Jets play a regular-season contest against Chicago, and lose. But they’d looked so solid, so energized, up and down, front to back, that I picked them to go far, like really far, that spring. I was convinced. And they ended up being swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round.
Ditto: my ill-fated prediction for Calgary’s series a year ago.
I cite these handy examples by way of offering an up-front appraisal of my predicting abilities. Which is to say generally shabby.
That noted, Flames in five.
Assuming they can get their goalie situation sorted out, their quality on the blue line will stand as the difference. But barely.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176778 Carolina Hurricanes
Dress rehearsal leaves Hurricanes with questions, and only two days to answer them
BY LUKE DECOCK
JULY 29, 2020 07:08 PM
Hockey, it turns out, is a surprisingly resilient beast, even without fans. This was no normal preseason game, not that it would ever be under these circumstances, with a zing to it that’s inevitably lacking from the usual September previews, especially in the final minutes.
But with the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals icing full- strength lineups in this one and only dress rehearsal for the postponed postseason, trying to get in gear in their only chance to pop the clutch, it was easy enough to focus on the action on the ice and not the tarps covering the seats at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
“It kind of feels normal when you’re on the ice,” said Vincent Trocheck, who scored one of Carolina’s goals in a 3-2 loss. “But when you’re on the bench, it’s weird to look out and see no fans.”
The NHL’s bubble has so far held firm, and at this point the Hurricanes are beginning a stay that could be a short one — with the No. 1 pick in the draft a potential consolation prize — or a much, much longer one.
After this long away, it’s all happening so fast. It’s a little crazy to think that in only two days the Hurricanes and New York Rangers will be playing for real. Based on Wednesday, the Hurricanes still have a lot to figure out by Saturday, with goaltending atop a surprisingly long list.
Petr Mrazek got the start against the Capitals but didn’t exactly dazzle, while James Reimer looked polished in relief, stopping all nine shots he faced, including a couple dangerous ones. Rod Brind’Amour has ultimate confidence in Mrazek — look no further than the decision to go right back to Mrazek to start the Boston series last year, despite Curtis McElhinney’s work against the Islanders — and it’s anyone’s guess whether Wednesday’s limited evidence will be enough to sway him.
Based on Wednesday alone, Reimer is clearly the better option to start the series against the Rangers. There was an argument to be made to go that direction anyway, based on how Reimer and Mrazek closed out the season in March, but there shouldn’t be any debate now.
“We’ll look at it, obviously,” Brind’Amour said. “Both guys I thought were good.”
As for the defense sans Dougie Hamilton, Sami Vatanen manned the right side next to Jaccob Slavin in his unofficial Hurricanes debut but there’s still a void Hamilton would normally fill. The question the Hurricanes face is whether they can sort things out on defense until Hamilton comes back, which they hope will be at some point in the Rangers series. Can Brady Skjei find his footing? Can Jake Gardiner be relied upon?
“We’ve got a lot of decisions to make now,” Brind’Amour said. “We knew all along this time would come, having to really put the best lineup out there possible. With a couple guys out that makes it interesting as well.”
There’s so much about this that’s different but some of it remains the same. It’s possible to skate through the regular seasons without answers to some of these questions as the games come one after another, but nothing is overlooked in the playoffs, even when they’re played in August.
They’re here, now. The Hurricanes had to wait a decade to get back into the playoffs last year and they had to wait four months — and get shoved into playing an extra round when they had earned otherwise — to do it again this year. Their one trial run is over. It all counts from here on out.
News Observer LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176779 Carolina Hurricanes Ovechkin’s first goal came after he first hit the post with a shot. When the Canes couldn’t clear the puck, he got another chance from the left circle and didn’t miss the second time.
Canes beaten 3-2 by Caps in exhibition game warmup for NHL playoff Trocheck’s goal was awarded after an official review. Jake Gardiner’s qualifying round shot got through Holtby, the puck stopping inches from the goal line, and Trocheck barged in to knock it in.
BY CHIP ALEXANDER The Caps’ Nic Dowd, trying to prevent the score, slammed into the cage and knocked the net off its moorings. That resulted in the ruling of a good JULY 29, 2020 06:41 PM goal and a 1-1 tie.
The Canes, anything but smooth early, had trouble at times handling the puck in their own end in the first period and another turnover helped the For the first time in 141 days, the Carolina Hurricanes played a hockey Caps retake the lead. Kuznetsov scored off a nice pass from Ovechkin. game Wednesday.
They didn’t win it. The Washington Capitals took a 3-2 victory in Toronto. Nor did it count — it was an exhibition game. News Observer LOADED: 07.30.2020 But for the Canes, it’s where everyone has wanted to be since March 12, when the NHL abruptly suspended the season because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus. They were on the ice at Scotiabank Arena, skating, competing, preparing for Saturday and the start of their qualifying round against the New York Rangers.
“I think the most important thing was to get the legs going and get the feeling that you’re actually playing hockey games again in your body,” Canes center Sebastian Aho said.
Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist for the Caps, who also got a goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov. Goalie Braden Holtby played the first two periods, stopping 12 of 13 shots, before being relieved by Vitek Vanecek in the third.
Carolina’s goals came from center Vincent Trocheck in the first period and winger Teuvo Teravainen in the third. Teravainen scored on a 5-on-3 power play, ripping a shot from the right circle, and the Canes pressed hard in the period but could not tie the score.
“I didn’t like too much, to be honest with you,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “The third period was a little better than the start and I felt getting to more what our game should look like. I expected it to be rusty and we saw that really the first two periods. That concerns me a little but I like the fact that it looked like in the third we got our legs.
“But overall I think it’s just good to get the rust off. Hopefully the rust is off.”
Brind’Amour started goalie Petr Mrazek and then turned to James Reimer at 12:25 of the second period, giving both some work in the one exhibition game allowed in the NHL’s Return to Play format. Reimer, in particular, was sharp.
“I thought our goaltending was good,” Brind’Amour said. “We had some breakdowns and our goalies made some big saves for us. I thought ‘Reims’ coming in cold was really good. But I thought Petr was good, too. I’m happy with those guys.”
Mrazek allowed the three goals on 16 shots and had little defensive help on the three scores. Ovechkin’s goals came off a one-timer and odd-man rush, and Kuznetsov’s after a Canes turnover in the Carolina zone.
With defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Martin Necas held out of the game, Brind’Amour paired Jaccob Slavin with Sami Vatanen on the top defensive pairing and had rookie forward Morgan Geekie in the lineup.
“We’ve got a lot of decisions to make,” Brind’Amour said. “Obviously a couple of guys out, that makes it interesting. I’m not sure if they’re going to be back (for Saturday). But we’ll review it. We’ve got two days to put the best lineup out there possible.”
It was the first game appearance by Vatanen, the veteran defenseman acquired at the Feb. 24 trade deadline from the New Jersey Devils.
“I thought he struggled early and then I thought as the game got a little more competitive and at the end especially I thought he was a little more noticeable,” Brind’Amour said.
The Canes, trailing 3-1 after two periods, had 14 of their 27 shots in the third. More importantly for Brind’Amour they had more players around the net.
“We were a little too cute tonight and that happens,” he said. “First game back and we were too cute.” 1176780 Carolina Hurricanes
What to know, how to watch Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals exhibition game
BY CHIP ALEXANDER
JULY 29, 2020 10:07 AM
CAROLINA HURRICANES VS WASHINGTON CAPITALS
What: NHL exhibition game.
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto.
Watch, listen: FOX Sports Carolinas is broadcasting the game remotely from PNC Arena, with Mike Maniscalco handling play by play and Tripp Tracy the analyst.
Look for: Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, in his Tuesday media call, did not name a starting goalie for the game. He said the plan was for both Petr Mrazek and James Reimer to play but that he did not know how their playing time would be split.
Questions: Brind’Amour said it was doubtful defenseman Dougie Hamilton or forward Martin Necas would play in the game. Hamilton has missed the team’s last four practices — the last two in Raleigh to end training camp, then the two in Toronto this week. Necas has missed the two practices in Toronto. Teams are not allowed to disclose injury or health information.
Of note: Defenseman Sami Vatanen will be playing his first game in a Canes uniform. Vatanen was obtained in a Feb. 24 trade but was on injured reserve with a leg injury and did not get in a game before the NHL paused the season on March 12.
News Observer LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176781 Carolina Hurricanes me! Consume me!’ I don’t know if it went viral, but it’s been out there,” Tracy said. “The combination of my love for Mike, and Jordan scoring that goal right in front of us, I’m not usually a touchy-feely guy. But I What to expect from Mike Maniscalco and the Hurricanes’ return-to-play mean, I grabbed him and I screamed ‘Consume me!’ I think about how broadcast grateful I am to have sat next to John Forslund, all of the great memories I will carry with me, all the great moments we got to witness in the booth. Now I’m just excited to see The Big Rig start calling these moments.”
By Sara Civian “It was there for the world to hear,” Maniscalco added, laughing. “You talk about chemistry, it’s one of those unbelievable moments you can’t script. Jul 29, 2020 You heard a small tremor in the booth, it sounded like my voice was wavering, but I assure you it was just Tripp being excited. That’s kind of what’s awesome — I’ve worked with Tripp, I know how excited he gets Nine months ago, the Hurricanes’ then-TV host Mike Maniscalco went for these moments, it makes me excited and makes me want to make the from a Canes vs. Kings game to a San Jose emergency room in a matter right call. It makes me want to bring people into the moment the way of hours. He’d eventually make a full recovery, but not before he got a we’re seeing, I’m grateful for the opportunity to do that.” volleyball-sized mass removed from his stomach. Tracy noted that there will be a Plexiglas partition between him and Four months ago, Maniscalco was one of many furloughed Americans Maniscalco to ensure social distancing in the booth. facing an uncertain future due to the COVID-19 crisis. “Mike is protected from me,” he said. “I will just have to do the jig by Monday, Maniscalco sat down inside an empty PNC Arena, taking in the myself.” same, familiar venue in a new light — one that will play host to his lifelong goal. A few floors down, Labar and Willis will have to get creative with limited access to Hurricanes players. Labar, who filled in for Maniscalco during After serving as the Canes’ on-ice host since the 2016-17 season, his surgery recovery, would conduct intermission interviews on a typical Maniscalco will take over as the play-by-play announcer on FOX Sports game-day. Now NBC will handle those on-site, and she and Willis will Carolina’s playoff broadcast. This comes after the Hurricanes and John provide more of an analysis role for Canes fans. Forslund failed to reach a contract agreement. Forslund will be calling playoff games for NBC. “Getting the ‘call up’ during such a wild time in hockey, sports and our society will no doubt be a challenge,” she said. “I think the toughest part “It’s been the wildest 10 months of my life, and that is an will simply be the limited access. Obviously not going to the bubble is understatement,” Maniscalco said. “But this is what I’ve always wanted to tough in itself because there is so much behind the scenes that we as do. The dream job is to be the play-by-play voice of a major league media members observe. The conversations we have that we franchise. The how it happened has been very bittersweet for me, incorporate as storytellers into the broadcast make it unique and because John’s a friend and we know how great — not good — how powerful, we will really have to get creative as a (broadcast) team to great John is.” deliver the best possible story of the game from a remote location — but I know we are all excited to take on that challenge.” Maniscalco hasn’t arrived here under easy circumstances, and plenty more challenges lie ahead — there’s no playbook for playoff hockey The common thread throughout the Hurricanes’ broadcast team seems coverage in the era of COVID-19. to be a comfort in the fact that they’re facing all these challenges with a trusted crew. He, longtime color commentator Tripp Tracy, in-game host turned on-ice host Abby Labar, analyst Shane Willis and the rest of the crew will cover “There’s going to be a lot of chemistry on this crew, I’m just terribly the Hurricanes’ 2020 Stanley Cup run by monitor, from PNC Arena. excited because we have an elite production team,” Tracy said. “We have a ton of people on our home crew that get swept to national shows, “I’ve done a ton of investigating with people who call games off monitors Olympics and things like that. Over the years we had a bit of a revolving with regularity,” Tracy said. “I had a long chat with Pierre McGuire a door of producers and directors but (in the past few years) there hasn’t couple of days ago, just about what to think and what to look for. The been a lot of turnover in that production truck. Quality, elite people.” biggest thing for me? There’s going to be the world feed from Toronto on one monitor, then we’ll have a camera in the building. I’ll be able to utilize So even though there was a bittersweet goodbye to a legend and that camera to story-tell or even for replays, illustrations and that kind of unprecedented obstacles ahead and even though it might not have thing. But the biggest thing I’ll have to focus on is — usually when I break played out the way they drew it up, Maniscalco and Labar will still be down a replay, my eyes are entrenched in the monitor. In this situation I achieving their dreams come puck drop. And Tracy will still be trying not almost have to have one eye on that monitor and one eye on the to make himself throw up. program feed because I have to know when the next faceoff is coming. I will have to play with this (during the exhibition game).” “As an analyst this isn’t my first rodeo, but it’s my first rodeo doing games off the monitor,” he said. “I have always said to myself I’ve never gone Tracy and Maniscalco will have to make some nitty-gritty decisions home from a game and thought I didn’t talk enough. I’ve oftentimes gone during Wednesday’s exhibition game against the Capitals. Like what are home and cringed and borderline vomited because I talked too much. I the best camera angles to get the whole picture? Tracy predicts he’ll go don’t get paid by the word. In this situation, the best thing we can all do with an all-12, meaning a view of all 12 players on the ice, to make sure as a team is know our roles, have trust and belief in our teammates to he doesn’t miss things like players getting hurt and going to the dressing fulfill their roles, and not try to do too much.” room and coach’s challenges.
Where Tracy and many other team broadcasters are used to covering live games, Maniscalco almost has an advantage of starting his new role The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 without much expectation.
“For me the preparation doesn’t change, I’m preparing like I would last year when Tripp and I had the radio call for the Islanders series last season,” he said. “I’m going about my prep the exact same way. I guess that’s a bit of an advantage for me because I don’t know what I don’t know right now. I’ve joked a few times that I’m gonna find out how good my eight-year-old self was at doing these, you know, as a little kid you were in front of the TV calling the game.”
Tracy recalls a specific moment from that series where he and Maniscalco first partnered up (Forslund was on the national call) as a reason he has faith the new broadcast will be successful.
“When Jordan Staal scored right in front of the Big Rig (Maniscalco) in overtime, I was so excited that I reached out and screamed ‘Consume 1176782 Chicago Blackhawks The Hawks now turn their focus to the Oilers, who got two goals from Connor McDavid on Tuesday night in a 4-1 exhibition win against the Flames.
Dominik Kubalik scores 2 power-play goals and Corey Crawford makes 11 saves in the Blackhawks’ 4-0 exhibition win against the Blues Chicago Tribune LOADED: 07.30.2020
By PHIL THOMPSON
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
JUL 29, 2020 AT 9:29 PM
“Chelsea Dagger” played frequently during the Chicago Blackhawks’ “home” exhibition game Wednesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The Hawks got second-period goals from Brandon Saad and Dylan Strome and a pair of third-period power-play goals from Dominik Kubalik in a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
Coach Jeremy Colliton called it a “step in the process” in the Hawks’ preparation for the best-of-five Stanley Cup qualifier series against the Edmonton Oilers that starts Saturday.
“We’re not going to get too high and we’re not going to think we’re better than we are,” Colliton said. “But tonight we did a lot of things away from the puck that allowed us to have the opportunity to have success.”
It had been 140 days — a little more than 4½ months — since the Hawks faced another team on the ice. That came on March 11, when they beat the San Jose Sharks 6-2 at the United Center a day before the NHL halted the season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That seems worlds away from Wednesday’s game. The Hawks were the designated “home team” but played in an empty arena in Edmonton, one of two designated hub cities with Toronto for the NHL postseason, as part of safety protocols the league and the NHL Players Association established to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to players and staff.
Artificial crowd noise and music were piped in during the broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago Plus.
“It’s definitely a little strange,” Saad said. “Once you get going, hockey is hockey, but the buildup or TV timeouts, things like that, where you’re used to having some fans in the building creating noise, it’s a little different.”
After two weeks of training camp scrimmages, the Hawks were eager to see how they would fare against the defending Stanley Cup champions, even though the game was merely a warm-up for the Oilers series.
The Hawks entered the game with questions about goaltender Corey Crawford’s readiness, the depth behind him, their anemic power play during the season, the defensemen’s readiness after several injuries and the inexperience of some of their core players.
One exhibition doesn’t settle all of those concerns, but the Hawks had to be pleased with what they saw.
Crawford, who tested positive for COVID-19 and didn’t join the team until the last day of camp Saturday, stopped all 11 shots he faced in about a period and a half.
“I thought he was solid,” Colliton said. “We got some saves out of him. He continues to play the puck really well. It was a good step forward for him.”
The Hawks scored two goals on 13 shots against the Blues’ Jordan Binnington, who ranked third in the league in save percentage (.912). Saad tipped in Jonathan Toews’ pass, and less than two minutes later, Strome put one in off a Patrick Kane assist. Both passes came across the crease in front of Binnington.
Malcolm Subban took over for Crawford with about 10 minutes left in the second, and less than a minute later he stopped Jordan Schwartz on a two-on-one break. Subban finished the game and had 10 saves.
The Hawks couldn’t cash in on their first-period power-play chance, but Kubalik fired a shot point-blank past Jake Allen off Kirby Dach’s assist in the third. Kubalik struck again seven minutes later with a man advantage off Toews’ assist.
The Hawks masterfully killed two penalties, preventing the Blues from getting off a shot against Crawford. 1176783 Chicago Blackhawks into a stadium and play where his opponent wore the old version of Uncle Ben, with the big lips, on the jersey.”
In their statement Wednesday, the Hawks also said they’re working to Blackhawks ban fans from wearing Native American headdresses to their help build a new state-of-the-art wing for the Trickster Cultural Center, a games nonprofit Native American arts center in Schaumburg that has received financial support from the Hawks in recent years.
By PHIL THOMPSON Trickster CEO Joseph Podlasek, who according to his center’s website is Polish and a citizen of the LCO Ojibwe Tribe, recently told the Tribune CHICAGO TRIBUNE that the Hawks have helped improve fans’ education and cultural sensitivity through work with his group. JUL 29, 2020 AT 5:31 PM Podlasek, a Hawks fan himself, said he saw dozens of fans wearing
headdresses and imitating Native American war chants 15 years ago. The Chicago Blackhawks took a step toward removing their use of Native “They had pink and white headdresses and faces painted in black and American symbols, banning fans from entering games and other team- red,” Podlasek told the Tribune. “Some were looking pretty silly.” related events while wearing Native American-style headdresses or He said the number of fans dressing like that and using war chants has costumes. since diminished “from 300 (per game) to two.” The team said it also will expand on partnerships with Native American Podlasek said he supports the use of the Blackhawks name, though groups and work on ways to incorporate indigenous culture into the other Native American representatives have said they strongly oppose organization. the name and will continue to put pressure on the team until it’s removed. In a message directed to fans, the Hawks said: “As we prepare to return to play and represent you in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers in Edmonton, we want our fans to be very clear on what it means to be part of the Chicago Tribune LOADED: 07.30.2020 Blackhawks family, regardless of whether we can be together in the arena. We have always maintained an expectation that our fans uphold an atmosphere of respect, and after extensive and meaningful conversations with our Native American partners, we have decided to formalize those expectations.
“Moving forward, headdresses will be prohibited for fans entering Blackhawks-sanctioned events or the United Center when Blackhawks home games resume. These symbols are sacred, traditionally reserved for leaders who have earned a place of great respect in their Tribe, and should not be generalized or used as a costume or for everyday wear.”
The team has come under criticism from Native American advocates who say the Indian head logo and Blackhawks nickname, derived from Sac and Fox Nation war leader Black Hawk, is offensive to Native American people and appropriates their culture.
In recent weeks, Washington’s NFL team and Cleveland’s major-league baseball franchise have committed to dropping team names, mascots and symbols that Native American advocates and their allies have called out as slurs.
The Hawks issued a statement July 7 that they consider the Blackhawks name to be a tribute to Black Hawk and his legacy. “We will continue to serve as stewards of our name and identity,” the statement said, indicating they had no plans to change the name.
In Wednesday’s statement, the team said it would focus on educating fans and the community about Native American culture and history through its game presentation, United Center displays and online and social media channels.
“Education will be our beacon, and these efforts will continue to honor Native American contributions to our society, including Black Hawk’s legacy,” the statement said.
“It’s not far enough,” Brad Gallant said of the headdresses ban. Gallant, a resident of Mississauga, Ontario, is of Mi’kmaq descent. In 2019, the City of Mississauga banned indigenous mascots and imagery in city-owned facilities as part of a settlement after Gallant filed a complaint.
Some youth hockey teams that play at city arenas still have been allowed to use such mascots, including the Mississauga Blackhawks, whose logo is identical to the Chicago Blackhawks’ Indian head.
“Take a look at the shape of the head on the logo,“ Gallant said. “It’s a caricature of the indigenous person as a Neanderthal with the sloped brow. It’s scientific racism.”
He said mainstream culture’s acceptance of Native American-themed mascots allows fans to give themselves permission to use red face, headdresses and tomahawk chops.
“It creates a culture of racism that is just absurd,” Gallant said. “There’s going to be an indigenous fellow playing for the Edmonton Oilers on (Saturday) night, Ethan Bear,” who is from the Ochapowace Nation. “Imagine (if you were a Black player) or Jackie Robinson having to go 1176784 Chicago Blackhawks What’s the Blackhawks radio situation?
Wednesday’s exhibition, with John Wiedeman and Troy Murray announcing the action, will be available only online because WGN-AM What channel is the Blackhawks game on? Your complete guide to 720 is airing the White Sox-Indians game. WGN-AM will have the watching them play in the NHL playoffs. Blackhawks-Oilers games with the White Sox moved to WMVP-AM 1000.
Why haven’t you mentioned former Blackhawk Patrick Sharp?
By PHIL ROSENTHAL We were getting to him. NBC Sports is using Sharp as part of its national CHICAGO TRIBUNE studio team in Stamford, apparently not a moment too soon.
JUL 29, 2020 AT 9:00 AM “I’m jacked and pumped to get out of the house,” he said. “I know my wife is excited that I can direct my energy back toward the sport of hockey instead of rearranging the furniture in each and every room in the house and annoying her in different ways.” The Chicago Blackhawks are in Edmonton. You’re at home, perhaps wondering how you’ll watch them play in the NHL bubble beginning this Anything else I might want to know about the TV coverage? week. Sam Flood, NBC Sports’ executive producer, told reporters there will be “Hard to believe that the puck’s going to drop for real here this coming a five-second delay owing to the likelihood players may use inappropriate Saturday,” NBC’s Eddie Olczyk, an analyst both nationally and locally for language. But the empty arena also should allow for enhanced in-action the Blackhawks, said this week. “I’m really looking forward to getting audio that is usable. back and seeing some familiar faces, masked up hopefully, and looking forward to calling the greatest game in the world.” “The enhanced audio from inside the glass can be supplemented by some (video game crowd) audio EA Sports has that we will mix in as Let’s see if we can answer your TV questions heading into the qualifier needed,” Flood said. “But we are going to really test and find out what the series. best balance is and what the best experience is for the viewers as we evolve through this.” Will there be any practice games on TV before the ones that count? What about visually? The Blackhawks’ exhibition with the defending Stanley Cup champion Blues, set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, will be on NBC Sports Chicago Plus “We have got a lot of cameras in these host feeds,” Flood said. “There and streaming on the channel’s website and My Teams app. (The White will be up to 30 cameras, including a really cool JitaCam that hangs Sox-Indians game, scheduled to start that night at 5:10, is to run on the beneath the scoreboard at center ice and gives you a 360-degree view. It main NBCSCH channel.) can swoop in behind the power play, and there’s nothing better than to look at that top of the point position of the power play and looking in at How about the best-of-five play-in series? the goalie, trying to figure out where the puck is going to go in the net. It’s a neutral site in Edmonton for Western Conference teams in an “We think that it will be a unique way to look at a certain part of the game, empty arena. (Eastern teams are in Toronto.) But, as luck would have it, and it will also be a fun camera to use in transition.” the Blackhawks have drawn a qualifier matchup with the hometown Oilers.
Game 1 is set for 2 p.m. Saturday on NBC-5 with Doc Emrick and Olczyk Chicago Tribune LOADED: 07.30.2020 on the call. Emrick will be working from an ad hoc studio near Detroit while Olczyk will be at NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Conn.
NBC Sports Chicago and its digital streaming platforms have Games 2 (at 9:30 p.m. Monday) and 3 (at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 5). Olczyk will remain in Stamford, but Blackhawks play-by-play man Pat Foley will be at Chicago’s United Center. If there is a Game 4 (Aug. 7) or Game 5 (Aug. 8), details will be announced at a later date, but it’s expected those also would be on NBCSCH.
And beyond that?
Check back for details if the Blackhawks advance.
What channel is NBC Sports Chicago?
If the announcers are not on site, who’s producing the game video?
Canada’s Sportsnet is producing the global feed out of Edmonton. NBC is doing it out of Toronto.
Does NBC Sports Chicago plan to use its new studio?
Of course. There will be a half-hour Blackhawks pregame show and postgame program, even for Saturday’s series opener on NBC-5. For Games 2 and 3, Pat Boyle, Steve Konroyd and Jamal Mayers should get started around 9 p.m.
What if I live outside NBC Sports Chicago’s market?
For U.S. viewers beyond the reach of NBCSCH, the Blackhawks games will be available on the national NBC Sports Network and its streaming platforms as well as NHL.TV. Game 1 with the Oilers still will be broadcast over the air on NBC. The scrimmage will be joined in progress on NBCSN and available on NHL Network and NHL.TV unless you live in the St. Louis area, which will have it on Fox Sports Midwest.
How about in Canada?
Sportsnet is your go-to channel for Oilers-Blackhawks in the Great White North. 1176785 Chicago Blackhawks were really good tonight. We knew they were going to create some, but it would have been nice to limit their chances a little bit more.”
March 5 at the United Center: Blackhawks 4, Oilers 3 Blackhawks-Oilers in review: What we learned from recapping their 3 games this season Recap: Patrick Kane started off the scoring with a beautiful sharp-angle wrister, off Dylan Strome’s pass, that went top shelf.
Jonathan Toews scooped in a wrap-around. Also in the second period, By PHIL THOMPSON Alex DeBrincat sneaked in a long-range goal through traffic and whipped CHICAGO TRIBUNE in a second goal from the slot.
JUL 29, 2020 AT 8:00 AM For the Oilers, Leon Draisaitl assisted on goals by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto, and Josh Archibald poked in another on Zack Kassian’s assist.
The Chicago Blackhawks have a date with the Edmonton Oilers. Their What we learned: Not everything shows up on the stat sheet. best-of-five play-in series begins at 2 p.m. Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Without Andrew Shaw for much of the season, the Hawks needed players such as Drake Caggiula to endure punishment in front of the net, The teams met three times during the regular season, twice at the United and in this case it paid dividends. Caggiula screened goaltender Mike Center. The Hawks won both of the home games and lost the one in Smith on both of DeBrincat’s goals. Edmonton. They totaled 10 goals to the Oilers’ nine. “He’s really good in front of the net,” DeBrincat said, “so anytime playing Here’s a recap of each game and what we learned. with him these past few games, he’s always there. So trying to shoot through the screen, and tonight it worked.” Oct. 14 at the United Center: Blackhawks 3, Oilers 1 It was a big lift for DeBrincat — only his second two-goal game of the Recap: Patrick Kane led off the scoring in the second period with his season but coming less than two weeks after the first one. second goal of the season. Alex Nylander and Brandon Saad added goals in the third (Saad on an empty-netter). The Oilers’ James Neal Not that the 12th-seeded Hawks need any added motivation for this capitalized on Dominik Kubalik’s third-period slashing penalty, scoring on series against the fifth-seeded Oilers, but they could look at one of the power play. Draisaitl’s postgame comments if they’re seeking bulletin-board material.
Corey Crawford stopped 27 shots in the Hawks’ first win of the season. Lamenting the potential playoff implications of the loss, Draisaitl told the Edmonton Journal: “We’ve been in that situation, with guys (like the What we learned: It was the first test against Leon Draisaitl and Connor Blackhawks) playing for contracts and that stuff, and you just kind of go McDavid, and the Hawks held the Oilers duo to no goals on a combined out and play. But that’s not an excuse. If you want to be a playoff team, five shots on goal. you have to beat these teams.” On the first Hawks goal, Dylan Strome won the faceoff and fought through traffic to backhand the assist to Kane, who waited patiently in the left circle before striking. Chicago Tribune LOADED: 07.30.2020 It was the fourth straight game the Hawks allowed at least one power- play goal. They didn’t panic, though, and the penalty kill eventually was corrected.
Some of the goaltending questions that hung over the Hawks most of the season presented themselves in this game: Was Robin Lehner the goaltender of the future? Could the Hawks afford him? How long will this platoon go on?
“I’m not going to give you the road map,” coach Jeremy Colliton said at the time. “But today it’s Crawford and we’ll go from there.”
Feb. 11 at Rogers Place: Oilers 5, Blackhawks 3
Recap: The Hawks didn’t have to worry about Connor McDavid, who missed his first game after sustaining a left quadriceps injury. Turns out, they should’ve had their eye on Kailer Yamamoto too.
Yamamoto scored his sixth and seventh goals of the season, and Leon Draisaitl had an empty-net goal and three assists.
Brandon Saad, Jonathan Toews and Adam Boqvist scored for the Hawks, and Patrick Kane assisted on two of them.
The Oilers' Adam Larsson, left, and Kailer Yamamoto (56) celebrate a second-period goal against the Blackhawks on Feb. 11, 2020, in Edmonton.
What we learned: For all of his promise, Robin Lehner had his share of letdowns, too, and this was one of them (though the defense did him no favors).
Two of the four goals he allowed came when the Hawks were short- handed, one of the few instances their penalty kill really failed them.
Meanwhile, Draisaitl faced his first game without McDavid and came through with flying colors. The game illustrated how much damage Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (a goal and an assist) can do together or separately, particularly with Yamamoto as a catalyst.
“Draisaitl was really good tonight, making a lot of plays,” Kane said, according to NHL.com. “Seems like he has chemistry with Nugent- Hopkins and the Yamamoto kid. That line’s been good for them and they 1176786 Chicago Blackhawks
Corey Crawford quiet but flawless as Blackhawks win exhibition against Blues
By Ben Pope@BenPopeCST
Jul 29, 2020, 9:12pm CDT
With his coronavirus symptoms faded away and his rust scraped off, Corey Crawford looks ready for the NHL playoffs.
The veteran goaltender wasn’t tested often, but held his ground steadily every time he was, in the Blackhawks’ 4-0 exhibition victory against the Blues on Wednesday in Edmonton, Alberta.
Crawford finished with 11 saves on 11 shots in the first half of the game. He was replaced by backup Malcolm Subban as scheduled with 9:54 left in the second period. Subban saved all 10 shots he faced to complete the shutout.
“It’s great to have [Crawford] back,” Brandon Saad said. “We have confidence in all our goalies, but for him to have a couple days of practice, it looks like he never misses a beat out there. He’s an incredible goaltender, he anchors our team, and we all get confidence when he’s in the net.”
Crawford’s best save came just a minute into the game, when he denied Zach Sanford’s slot shot with a quick left pad. He also read a play nicely and squared up to smother a Vladimir Tarasenko wrister from the right faceoff dot early in the second.
“He just calms us all down. He has all that playoff experience. He’s been great all year. It’s been nice to get him back,” Dylan Strome said. “We feel very confident when he’s in the net.”
The Hawks clearly showed more urgency in the game than the Blues, even though the result didn’t matter. The Blues, with the Western Conference’s best regular-season record, next will play three round-robin games to determine seeding; the Hawks start a best-of-five elimination series Saturday against the Oilers.
So the takeaways from Wednesday’s glorified scrimmage must be taken with a grain of salt, one that coach Jeremy Colliton openly acknowledged postgame.
“We did a really good job of the work ethic of our forwards, getting above the puck, making sure we had back pressure to allow our ‘D’ to play an aggressive game,” Colliton said. “We were cleaner and cleaner as the game went on with our puck plays and our breakouts. Early on, we had a couple turnovers and got a couple saves from ‘Crow’ that allowed us to get our legs under us.”
Crawford and Subban rarely had to deal with anything on the Blues’ power plays, as the Hawks’ stellar penalty kill — a focus area in training camp with the matchup against the Oilers’ top-ranked power play looming — held St. Louis to just two shots on goal in four power-play opportunities.
Dominik Kubalik, meanwhile, was the Hawks’ standout forward, tallying two goals and one assist. He immediately returned to his always-getting- open ways in the first period, just missing on three scoring chances, before potting two power-play strikes in the third.
“I was kind of scared from the beginning, because the first game after a couple of months is always tough,” Kubalik said. “But I felt pretty good out there, and obviously when you score a goal or when your line is going, it’s always good.”
Kubalik also notably skated on the first line with Saad and Jonathan Toews after spending all of camp with Kirby Dach and Drake Caggiula.
“We want guys to be comfortable in different combinations because that just allows you to be flexible,” Colliton said. “But we knew that Toews and Kubalik and Saad had a good chemistry . . . so as you go into the playoffs, it’s only natural you’d look at that combo.”
Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176787 Chicago Blackhawks There, Kruger scored 19 points in 34 games this season. He also conveniently occupied the locker next to the league’s leading scorer, Pius Suter — now signed by the Hawks.
Blackhawks banning headdresses, increasing Native American cultural Kruger’s presence apparently aided the recruitment process. representation in game presentation “We talked through the season about stuff,” Suter said Monday, speaking for the first time as a member of the Hawks. “I asked him a couple things By Ben Pope@BenPopeCST [about Chicago]. He told me how much he loved it. After that, I just tried to make my own mind and my own decision. Jul 29, 2020, 2:28pm CDT “I know he loved it there, and [he’s a] great guy. So we talked a lot and, for sure, it helped.”
The Blackhawks announced several initiatives Wednesday designed to better honor Native American culture. Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 Most notably, the Hawks will ban headdresses at all future games at the United Center.
“These symbols are sacred, traditionally reserved for leaders who have earned a place of great respect in their Tribe, and should not be generalized or used as a costume or for everyday wear,” the team said in a statement.
Headdresses used to be a common sight around the 2010 Stanley Cup run but have become less common in recent years. The team has discouraged them, but they weren’t officially banned as recently as this past season.
The Hawks also broadly described intentions to more thoroughly incorporate Native American culture and education into the United Center and their in-game presentation there.
The team occasionally hosts Native American leaders for pregame ovations or intermission performances, but such events are somewhat infrequent. The arena itself currently contains very few references to Native Americans or the 1800’s Sauk tribe leader Black Hawk, for whom the franchise is named.
It sounds as though the team plans to change that moving forward.
“These efforts will continue to honor Native American contributions to our society . . . as well as showcase that those achievements are not limited to history books and museums but thriving right now within our military, business, the arts and more,” the team said.
The Hawks also announced that they’re working with Trickster Cultural Center, a Native American arts center and museum in suburban Schaumburg, to build a new Blackhawks-sponsored wing of the building.
The wing “will include Native American artifacts from their vast collection and integrate a greater use of technology to create an interactive space for students throughout Chicagoland,” the team said.
Wednesday’s announcements come after the Hawks said earlier this month that they’d keep their name and logo. That announcement was prompted by the NFL’s Washington franchise beginning the process of moving on from their Redskins nickname.
Hawks are youngest team
The Hawks, despite their aging core, sport the youngest roster of the 24 teams in the NHL playoffs.
Thanks to the impact of 19-year-olds Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist, among other youngsters, the Hawks clock in with an average age of 25.6 years old.
The Rangers are second-youngest at 25.7; the Islanders are the oldest at 28.9, just above the 28.5-year-old Predators.
A list ranking every team by average age went around Twitter on Tuesday, but Duncan Keith wasn’t impressed when asked about it.
“The whole ‘being the youngest team,’ ‘coach with no experience in playoffs,’ those are convenient excuses if things don’t go well,” said Keith, 37. “There isn’t much of a difference between the ages.”
Kruger helped recruit Suter
Marcus Kruger wasn’t able to land another NHL job after his second tenure with the Hawks ended last summer. He instead signed with Zurich SC of the Swiss League. 1176788 Chicago Blackhawks
How to watch the Blackhawks’ 2020 season restart
By Sun-Times staff
Updated Jul 29, 2020, 10:10am CDT
Goalie Corey Crawford is expected to be on the ice when the Blackhawks return to play this week.
The Blackhawks will be the next team to return from sports’ coronavirus hiatus.
The Hawks face the St. Louis Blues in Edmonton at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in their only exhibition game before starting the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Oilers on Saturday.
‘‘It’s really important for the players to get their timing back and just the routine of playing a regular game — all things you take for granted as you go through a normal season,’’ coach Jeremy Colliton said.
The Hawks will be competing in the NHL’s Western Conference bubble in Edmonton. The Eastern Conference bubble is in Toronto.
The hiatus actually provided a second chance for the Blackhawks, who likely would not have qualified for the postseason under normal circumstances.
The Hawks will probably use a normal lineup in the preseason game.
‘‘We’ve only got one [exhibition], so there’s definitely some urgency to get everyone in,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘[We’ll] use this game as an opportunity to remember how we’re supposed to play . . . and get the summer hockey out of your game. Because come Saturday, that’s not going to get it done. We’ll play a very detailed, structured, disciplined game.’’
Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176789 Chicago Blackhawks remember how we’re supposed to play . . . and get the summer hockey out of your game. Because come Saturday, that’s not going to get it done. We’ll play a very detailed, structured, disciplined game.’’
After 140 days, Blackhawks ready to play an NHL game again
Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 By Ben Pope@BenPopeCST
Jul 29, 2020, 6:50am CDT
The Flyers and Penguins started the NHL’s exhibition game schedule Tuesday in Toronto.
The Blackhawks will play an NHL game Wednesday.
Never has a phrase uttered thousands of times in the 94-year history of the franchise been so notable.
But on Wednesday — 140 days after the last time it was true — that sentence reads as remarkable and special, even to the coaches and players who will participate in it.
‘‘It’s really important for the players to get their timing back and just the routine of playing a regular game — all things you take for granted as you go through a normal season,’’ coach Jeremy Colliton said Tuesday.
‘‘They haven’t done that in a long time. You have your scrimmages . . . but nothing’s going to get them ready like an actual game.’’
Indeed, the Hawks will play their lone exhibition game of the NHL restart — their one chance to prepare for the do-or-die qualifying playoff round — at 5:30 p.m. against the Blues.
‘‘St. Louis has been a good team for a long time, one of the best teams in the league, so it’ll be good to play against them,’’ Hawks star Patrick Kane said. ‘‘We’re going into an arena [Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta] that’s going to be pretty different with no fans, but a lot of different other things going on. . . . We really want to use it as a game where we can prepare ourselves.’’
The Flyers beat the Penguins 3-2 in the first exhibition game of the NHL restart Tuesday in Toronto, and the game went off without a hitch. The Oilers and Flames broke in Rogers Place later in the night.
Coronavirus precautions were everywhere, but fear was not. The NHL’s announcement Monday of zero positives out of 4,256 tests during the final week of localized training camps eased a lot of anxiety, and the quality of hockey in the Flyers-Penguins game looked impressively close to that in a regular-season game.
The Hawks and Blues will hope to match that, even with nothing riding on the result.
‘‘It’s good to have that mindset that it’s only one game, then we’re right into the mix in the play-in series, so we want to get our speed up,’’ Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith said.
Since arriving in the bubble Sunday, the Hawks have made the most of the strange situation. Goalie Collin Delia garnered some laughs on social media with a picture of him playing as himself in a video game, and Kane mentioned games of basketball and cornhole on the outdoor plaza of Rogers Place.
Technically, that fun doesn’t have to end Wednesday, although Kane, Keith and captain Jonathan Toews sure looked and sounded serious Tuesday.
But Wednesday will provide the lone opportunity for the Hawks to prepare for Game 1 on Saturday against the Oilers, when the fun really does have to end.
Colliton said the coaching staff hadn’t yet decided on the starting goalie, but Corey Crawford has participated fully in three practices since returning Saturday from COVID-19 and presumably will play at least part of the game against the Blues. Defenseman Connor Murphy, who is iffy with a groin injury, practiced fully Tuesday.
Colliton also implied the Hawks will use their normal lineup instead of a preseason-like hodgepodge of NHL and American Hockey League players.
‘‘We’ve only got one [exhibition], so there’s definitely some urgency to get everyone in,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘[We’ll] use this game as an opportunity to 1176790 Chicago Blackhawks
Crawford, Blackhawks look solid in exhibition victory over St. Louis
John Dietz
Follow @johndietzdh
Updated
7/29/2020 9:27 PM
Corey Crawford started in net and made 11 saves during the Blackhawks' 4-0 exhibition victory over St. Louis in Edmonton on Wednesday.
Crawford played 30 minutes, six seconds and was rarely tested during the Hawks' only warmup game before they begin a best-of-five play-in series against Edmonton on Saturday.
Brandon Saad and Dylan Strome scored 92 seconds apart midway through the second period to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. Dominik Kubalik then scored a pair of power-play goals in the third period to complete the scoring.
Malcolm Subban relieved Crawford and made 10 saves.
Crawford, who contracted the coronavirus before training camp began July 13, seems to be in line to start Game 1 vs. Edmonton.
"Thought he was solid," said coach Jeremy Colliton. "He continues to play the puck really well. It was a good step forward for him."
"He just calms us all down," said forward Dylan Strome. "Has all that playoff experience and he's been great all year. ... We feel very confident when he's in the net."
Kubalik, who scored 30 goals and is a finalist for rookie of the year, was placed on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad after spending all of camp on the third line.
"We knew that Toews and Kubalik and Saad had a good chemistry and they play a little bit different style in the offensive zone compared to the other lines we have," Colliton said. "So as you go into the playoffs it's only natural you'd look at that combo as being an option."
The game was sloppy at first, with plenty of missed passes and turnovers by both sides. The Hawks settled in during the second period and began playing the smart, disciplined style that must be on display at all times vs. the Oilers.
"A lot of the things we did tonight will transfer," Colliton said. "It was a great situation for us to play St. Louis. I (know) they have some round- robin games before they get into the life-or-death situation (and) they maybe weren't at full strength, full speed.
"But regardless, they're a detailed team and they pose a lot of the same problems that Edmonton will, so it was really good preparation for us."
Blackhawks policy change:
The Blackhawks released a statement Wednesday telling fans that Native American headdresses will no longer be allowed at home games or team events.
The statement read, in part: "These symbols are sacred, traditionally reserved for leaders who have earned a place of great respect in their Tribe, and should not be generalized or used as a costume or for everyday wear."
The statement went on to say that the organization is "building a platform that will further integrate Native American culture and storytelling across our organization."
There will be more community engagement, front-office education and an increased presence during game presentation and across digital channels.
Daily Herald Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176791 Chicago Blackhawks "I had to learn it," Koekkoek said of dealing with the scratches. "I just think that I have a good support system with my family.
"Keep a positive mind. Like to look up above sometimes when I get a Glass-half-full approach has served Blackhawks defenseman Koekkoek little bit low. Keeps me strong." well 'Throwing me a bone'
Things weren't getting any better for Koekkoek last season, so Tampa John Dietz Bay sent him to the Hawks in exchange for Jan Rutta Jan. 11. The Follow @johndietzdh change of scenery could have breathed life into Koekkoek's career, but the healthy scratches kept piling up and continued well into this season. Updated Still, Koekkoek never pouted, never moaned, never wavered. He just 7/29/2020 4:20 PM kept plugging along, hoping to get another chance.
"It's easy to be discouraged and go into a shell," said teammate Connor Murphy. "But he was actually a guy I was really impressed with that On every game day for as long as he can remember -- whether he's seemed to stay himself and keep working toward when he got his playing, sitting or injured; whether the team is at home or on the road -- opportunity. Slater Koekkoek knows his phone is going to light up with a message from his mom. "He obviously took advantage of it."
The text never changes, never deviates. He sure did -- and in a most unorthodox way, as Koekkoek was asked to play on his off side for the first time in his career Jan. 9 against Nashville. "I like it," said Koekkoek, who wanted to keep the words private. "I look That was Game No. 45 for the Hawks, and Koekkoek's 17th appearance. forward to it and it's just our little thing that we do." "I was a little nervous because I had never played the right side," It's his constant in what has been a trying, turbulent journey for the Koekkoek said. "And they were kind of throwing me a bone where, 'We're Blackhawks' defenseman, whose career will once again be at a going to get you in for a game here. I know it's on the right side, but that's crossroads once the reboot to the 2019-20 NHL season comes to an all we really have right now. So go do what you can.'" end. Koekkoek played 17 minutes during a 5-2 loss, showing enough where High expectations coach Jeremy Colliton kept him in the lineup two nights later against Like many Canadian kids, Koekkoek's indoctrination into hockey began Anaheim. The Hawks beat the Ducks 4-2, then won their next four, with soon after he could walk. His story has a unique twist, however, in that Koekkoek registering an assist in three straight road games to help his grandfather, William Sherwood, was quite an accomplished player solidify a spot in the lineup opposite veteran Olli Maatta. and actually played in a camp in St. Catharines, Ontario, with -- are you Koekkoek remained a regular and played in 26 straight contests before ready for this? -- Blackhawks legend Bobby Hull. the NHL suspended its season due to coronavirus. He eclipsed his "Obviously Mr. Hull went on to bigger and better things than my career high for games played against -- who else? -- Tampa Bay on Feb. grandpa," Koekkoek says with a wide smile. 27 and finished with 42 appearances.
Due to family circumstances, Sherwood returned to Winchester, Ontario, "Credit to Slater," Colliton said. "Great teammate. Showed a lot of but he certainly passed some impressive hockey genes on to Slater. character sticking with it. Kept working at his game. We got him in when Koekkoek, who was also inspired by his figure-skating mom, was a we could and he really took that (opportunity) in the second half, and he's standout junior player in the Ontario Hockey League and was drafted a big part of our team." 10th overall by Tampa Bay in 2012. Now, as the Hawks are preparing to play Edmonton in a best-of-five play- The Lightning were incredibly excited about Koekkoek's potential and in series that begins Saturday, Koekkoek has retained his spot next to believed he would become a top-pairing defenseman. Maatta during training camp at Fifth Third Arena. It was a grueling first week, but Koekkoek provided a bit of levity with a lengthy, smack-talking But three shoulder surgeries cut short two of Koekkoek's OHL seasons. celebration after scoring during a shootout drill last Friday. The last one was a particularly tough blow as it happened near the end of Koekkoek's 15-goal, 38-assist campaign for the Windsor Spitfires. "That was chirping guys who were on the 'No Goal' side when I went to shoot," Koekkoek said, smiling. "A few guys moved over late and bet on "Obviously, not only is he our best player, but I truly believe he's the best me not scoring. I like to shove it in their face whenever I put it in." two-way defenseman in league at this point," Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner told the Windsor Star. "To lose a guy like that is devastating. Koekkoek will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights when the You're not going to replace him." off-season rolls around. He'd love to stay in Chicago, but it's difficult to say what will happen with the Hawks having so many veterans locked up Said Koekkoek, who was averaging a whopping 35 minutes of ice time: and a slew of young, up-and-coming D-men. "It was tough obviously. Tough mentally. But it prepared me for life and how to work through things and see the positives." "I love the city, love my teammates and organization," Koekkoek said. "If I can have a good playoff, who knows? Winning always helps, so that's It hasn't always been easy for Koekkoek to see the glass as half full what I'm focused on. Everything else will take care of itself." during a career made up of spits and spurts. The first major disappointment came in January 2017 when Tampa Bay demoted Said Maatta: "We've become pretty good friends. Off the ice, we kind of Koekkoek to the American Hockey League after he'd carved out a just hang out. We played a little tennis before the training camp. He's a significant role over the course of 29 games. funny guy. Guys like to be around him."
Then came the next season, one in which he was healthy-scratched a Considering Koekkoek's draft position, it's fair to ask if he feels like he whopping 47 times. should be an 82-game player at this point.
It's moments like these that can test anyone's mettle. Some players go The question, which was posed in late February, rankled the Ontario into a dark place and never resurface. native for a brief moment.
But not Koekkoek, who credits a strong family and a strong faith for But he composed himself quickly and delivered an honest, heartfelt pulling him through. The 26-year-old is one of four or five Blackhawks response. who take part in chapel meetings before every practice and game. These "Everybody has a different path," he says. "Whether I was put in this sessions, organized by center Ryan Carpenter and run by a chaplain, position for a reason, or spent those years in Tampa for a reason, it normally last 15 to 30 minutes on practice days and involve reading and ultimately led to me growing stronger as a person. You ask anybody talking about a Bible verse. that's been through what I have with the scratches or with the trade or whatever -- it's a tough situation. "If I was a weaker man it could have broke me, or it could have caused me to turn to something else. But ultimately you have to work through it and become a strong person.
"And now when I see somebody going through what I am it just gives you a different perspective. Some guys that have never been through it, they don't know how it feels. So I'm in a position where I can talk to guys who have been scratched a lot.
"It's a good position."
Now, that's a message mom would be proud of.
Daily Herald Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176792 Chicago Blackhawks
Corey Crawford, Blackhawks look ready for Oilers after exhibition win over Blues
By Charlie Roumeliotis
July 29, 2020 9:00 PM
The Blackhawks had one focus going into Wednesday's one and only exhibition game against the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues.
"Get the summer hockey out of your game," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "Because come Saturday, that's not going to get it done."
Well, mission accomplished.
The Blackhawks cruised past the Blues 4-0, but the result wasn't the part to get excited about. It's how the game unfolded.
If you're a Chicago fan, you saw just about everything you wanted to see:
The power play, which ranked 28th going into the pause, cashed in twice.
The penalty kill, which is preparing to go up against the top-ranked Oilers power play, went 4-for-4.
Kirby Dach, Patrick Kane, Dominik Kubalik and Jonathan Toews each had multi-point efforts.
Corey Crawford stopped all 11 shots he faced in 24:06 of ice time after missing the first 12 days of training camp because he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Malcolm Subban, in a relief appearance, turned aside all 10 shots he saw in 23:09 of action.
"It's nice," Dylan Strome. "I don't know if we've beat St. Louis since I've been here. Obviously they're a good team, just an exhibition game, but I think we feel a lot better now than if we would've lost 4-0."
Click to download the MyTeams App for the latest Blackhawks news and analysis.
Now, it's important to note, the Blackhawks are jumping right into a best- of-five play-in series on Saturday while the Blues have three round-robin games before playing in actual do-or-die games, so the intentions going into Wednesday's game were probably different on both sides. But it was still important for the Blackhawks to go into Game 1 against Edmonton on a positive note.
And even though they're encouraged by Wednesday's performance, the Blackhawks aren't going to put too much stock into one game, whether it was good or bad.
"It's huge," Saad said. "It's nice, everybody feels good about that. But we can't get too high, at the same time. We know we have a tough test ahead of us, but it's good to feel the puck, have success, score some goals, play a pretty good all-around game. But we have to stay even-keel here, we're playing a really good team Saturday. We're feeling good, but we have to respect our opponent."
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176793 Chicago Blackhawks The Hawks were perfect on the PK, killing all four Blues power plays without breaking much of a sweat.
On their own man advantage, the Blackhawks went two-for-four off two Blackhawks' Kubalik, Crawford and penalty kill shine against Blues power-play goals from Kubalik.
Overall, it was about the best the Hawks could do in an exhibition contest By Scott King ahead of the qualifying round series. They generated a lot of offense, Crawford got comfortable again in a game setting and they were effective July 29, 2020 5:29 PM on special teams. Hopefully the Hawks gained the level of confidence they'll need to face Edmonton in the play-in series.
The Blackhawks took on the St. Louis Blues, the defending Stanley Cup champions, in an exhibition game at Edmonton's Rogers Place Arena on Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 Wednesday, winning 4-0 off two power-play goals and an assist from rookie Dominik Kubalik and an 11-save performance from Corey Crawford.
Each minute of the unofficial contest was crucial for the Hawks as they prepare to take on the hometown Oilers, the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, beginning Saturday in a best-of-five series with the winner advancing to Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the NHL's Return To Play program.
Here are five takeaways from Wednesday's exhibition game:
We're back
The Blackhawks last game was 140 days ago on March 11 vs. the San Jose Sharks, a 6-2 victory at the United Center. The NHL paused the next day due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the Hawks at No. 12 in the West.
Several Blackhawks started participating in small group voluntary workouts on June 12 in accordance with RTP before Phase 3's formal training camp started on July 13. The Hawks traveled to Edmonton for the NHL's 24-team postseason this past Sunday.
Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford got the start for the exhibition contest. Crawford missed the first 12 days of the Hawks' Phase 3 training camp after being previously diagnosed with COVID-19.
The Blackhawks need Crawford as sharp as possible when he takes the ice on Saturday against the Oilers. He recorded a .928 save percentage in his past 20 starts of the regular season.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion goalie played just over half of Wednesday's exhibition game against the Blues and saved all 11 shots he faced before being relieved by Malcolm Subban.
Crawford was bumped down to the ice by Blues defenseman Colton Parayko early in the game, drawing a goaltender interference penalty, but appeared to be fine after the contact.
New-look top line
Kubalik, a rookie of the year finalist who put up 30 goals in the regular season, was buzzing early on in the game. He had played on the Hawks' third line at camp, on the left wing of Kirby Dach, opposite Drake Caggiula, but flipped spots with Alex DeBrincat and moved on up to the top line with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad against St. Louis.
Kubalik had two shots on net in the first period, one hitting Blues goalie Jordan Binnington on a Hawks power play from the right circle.
The line finally broke through early in the second period when Toews, from the goal line, passed the puck to Saad in front of St. Louis' crease to make it 1-0 at 7:40 of the second period. Kubalik picked up a secondary assist on the play.
2nd line
The Hawks' second line of Alex Nylander-Dylan Strome-Patrick Kane simply lit up training camp. They seemed to pick up where they left off against the Blues, achieving a lot of zone time in St. Louis' end, generating quality chances and finding the back of the net when Kane fed Strome in front to make it 2-0 Hawks at 9:12 of the second.
Special teams
The Blackhawks penalty kill was hoping to make the most of their reps against the Blues power play, which was good for third in the league at the time of the pause, because the Oilers touted the NHL's best power play at the end of the regular season. 1176794 Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks banning costume headdresses at team events and home games
By Scott King
July 29, 2020 12:32 PM
On Wednesday, the Blackhawks announced that headdresses worn as costumes by fans will be prohibited from team events and home games at the United Center.
The full team statement released on their website Wednesday reads as follows:
A Note to Our Blackhawks Community,
On July 7, the organization made a commitment to expand our efforts, serve as stewards of our name and identity and raise the bar even higher for our ongoing dialogue with local and national Native American groups. We thank these Native American partners for their consistent insight throughout the years, as well as the other Native American organizations and community members who reached out over the last few weeks to share their feedback on how we can best utilize our platform to better educate the public and serve the Native American community.
As we prepare to return to play and represent you in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers in Edmonton, we want our fans to be very clear on what it means to be part of the Blackhawks family, regardless of whether we can be together in the arena. We have always maintained an expectation that our fans uphold an atmosphere of respect, and after extensive and meaningful conversations with our Native American partners, we have decided to formalize those expectations. Moving forward, headdresses will be prohibited for fans entering Blackhawks-sanctioned events or the United Center when Blackhawks home games resume. These symbols are sacred, traditionally reserved for leaders who have earned a place of great respect in their Tribe, and should not be generalized or used as a costume or for everyday wear.
Today, we also want to share that the Blackhawks are building a platform that will further integrate Native American culture and storytelling across our organization - from broader community engagement and front office staff education to an increased presence within our game presentation, around our arena and across all of the team's digital channels. Education will be our beacon, and these efforts will continue to honor Native American contributions to our society, including Black Hawk's legacy, as well as showcase that those achievements are not limited to history books and museums but thriving right now within our military, business, the arts and more.
Additionally, we are currently working to establish a state-of-the-art new wing at Trickster Cultural Center, the only Native American owned and operated arts institution in the state of Illinois. In partnership with the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, the Chicago Blackhawks Cultural Education Center will include Native American artifacts from their vast collection and integrate a greater use of technology to create an interactive space for students throughout Chicagoland, Northwest Indiana and Southern Wisconsin to visit as part of their core curriculum.
We look forward to continuing this dialogue and sharing additional updates on these plans with you in the months ahead and thank you for joining us in this important and ongoing conversation.
The Blackhawks play an exhibition game against the St. Louis Blues in Edmonton on Wednesday and will also face the Oilers in Edmonton, their home ice, beginning Saturday for a best-of-five play-in series with the winner advancing to Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Hawks won't have any home games until next season, which isn't expected to begin until December at the earliest if the NHL's 24-team postseason tournament concludes.
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What Blackhawks are hoping to get out of lone exhibition game against Blues
By Charlie Roumeliotis
July 29, 2020 10:00 AM
For the first time in 140 days, the Blackhawks will play a real hockey game on Wednesday and they aren't going to take it lightly.
With three days to go until Game 1 of the qualifying round against the Edmonton Oilers, the Blackhawks will take on the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in their one and only exhibition game, and it will serve as a solid measuring stick going into the postseason.
"It’ll be good for us," Kirby Dach said. "It’ll kind of show us where we stand with the top of the league. They won the Stanley Cup last year and they’re looking to repeat and they’re getting pieces back. So for our group, it’s a big test for us to get ready to play against Edmonton."
The Blues won all four games against the Blackhawks this season, sweeping Chicago in a regular-season series for the first time in their 53- year history.
"I think it's a great opportunity to get out there and play and get used to everything," Patrick Kane said. "Obviously we're going into an arena that's going to be pretty different with no fans and a lot of other things going on, and just kind of feel that out, play a game.
"We really want to use it as a game where we can prepare ourselves for what's upcoming with the Edmonton series. It'll be a good challenge for us. St. Louis has been a good for a long time, one of the best teams in the league, so it'll be good to play against them."
There were three NHL exhibitions games on Tuesday night, and you could certainly tell it had a regular-season pace as opposed to a preseason-type feel. The players are taking full advantage of their tune- up game to prepare themselves for what's to come in the NHL's 24-team tournament.
Connor McDavid scored twice in the Oilers' 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames and looked to be in midseason form. Mikko Koskinen strengthened his case to be the Game 1 starter by stopping all 17 shots. Mike Smith played well, too, turning aside 19 of 20 shots.
All in all, Edmonton got exactly what it needed to out of its preseason game. Now it's the Blackhawks' turn to do the same.
"The result, it's not that important," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "It's more-so that we, as a group, use this game as an opportunity to remember how we're supposed to play, and stop and start, and get the summer hockey out of your game. Because come Saturday, that's not going to get it done. We'll play a very detailed, structured, disciplined game. It's a great test for us to play St. Louis, Stanley Cup champion. It's going to bring the best out of us, I hope."
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Why Blackhawks face more threats on Oilers besides McDavid and Draisaitl
By Scott King
July 29, 2020 10:52 AM
It's not exactly a secret that the Blackhawks have to be on the lookout for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl was the leader in points at the time of the NHL pause with 110 and McDavid was in second place with 97.
They played together on the same line the first two months of the year, then went on to prove they can be lethal scorers when separated through the remainder of the regular season, and continued to do so at Phase 3 training camp and in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Calgary Flames.
They're also a huge reason Edmonton finished the regular season with the league's best power play. McDavid scored on an Oilers' man advantage in the first period of Tuesday's game.
According to two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman and three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks Duncan Keith — who's seen it all against top teams in plenty of postseason hockey — there's more to worry about when it comes to Edmonton than just their dynamic duo.
"Obviously McDavid and Draisaitl get a lot of attention for good reason, but they do have a lot of other good players... it's the whole team, obviously, that you have to be aware of," Keith said on a Zoom call from Edmonton with the media on Tuesday. "They've got some physicality on their team with (Zack) Kassian and (Jujhar) Khaira. I've played a lot of hockey over the years and playoffs with James Neal and I always thought he was one of the hardest guys to play against. He's a big guy that can skate, obviously he can shoot the puck but he's physical as well.
"Those are players that I think in playoffs, a team appreciates having them. They've got other guys, some smaller guys: (Tyler) Ennis and (Ryan) Nugent-Hopkins, (Kailer) Yamamoto that are skilled players. They've got a good mix of a lot of different things back there. We've got our hands full, we know that. It's going to be a tough series and we're looking forward to that challenge."
Keith was right about Kassian's physicality. In the first period of the Oilers' exhibition game against the Calgary Flames, the winger buried former Hawks defenseman Erik Gustafsson with a massive hit.
Yamamoto, who's been playing on the right wing of Draisaitl, also stood out on Tuesday. The speedy forward scored 1:04 into the exhibition contest to give Edmonton an early 1-0 lead.
The Blackhawks will take on the St. Louis Blues Wednesday for their exhibition matchup. The defending Stanley Cup champs should give Chicago a pretty good idea of where they stand before they start their play-in series against Edmonton on Saturday.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176797 Chicago Blackhawks The Blackhawks were ninth in the NHL on the PK, killing 82.1% of their power plays and 28th with the man advantage, scoring at a rate of 15.2%.
5 Things to watch for in Blackhawks-Blues exhibition game at Edmonton The Blues will be good practice, at least for the Hawks' PK. St. Louis had the third best power play in the league before the pause (24.3%). Their penalty kill was less effective at 18th (79.3%). By Scott King Related: Blackhawks are youngest team in 2020 postseason July 29, 2020 7:30 AM "The number one thing with any of these games coming up is staying off the penalty kill to begin with, but we've gone over it a lot," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said of Chicago's penalty kill during a Zoom The Blackhawks haven't faced another team since March 11 — the day video conference call from Edmonton with the media on Tuesday. "Seen before the NHL paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic — when they a lot of improvements in that area of our game over the season. We beat the San Jose Sharks 6-2 in Chicago. know it's going to be a big part of this series if we want to have success, That'll change on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. CT when the Hawks face the so having a good start on that is pretty big for us tomorrow." defending Stanley Cup champs, the St. Louis Blues, in an exhibition Kirby Dach contest in Edmonton, the Western Conference's hub city for the NHL's 24-team postseason. Outside of 'Where in the world is Corey Crawford?', the talk of camp was Kirby Dach, followed by the Hawks' second line. The Blackhawks will have their hands full keeping up with the Blues, the West's No. 1 seed, but it's imperative they build off of head coach Jeremy Dach, 19, noticeably put on muscle from his work during the pause and Colliton's fast-paced, scrimmage-driven summer camp in order to give found ways to elevate his game and play with more confidence, at least their qualifying round opponent, the hometown Oilers, a run for their during summer camp. money in Game 1 on Saturday to set the tone for the play-in series. "The one (young) guy I guess that stands out more than anybody has Here's five things to keep an eye on in Wednesday's exhibition game: been Kirby Dach," three-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman Duncan Keith said during camp. "He’s gained a little bit of muscle. More Chicago's net than anything it’s just a bit of confidence with him. He didn’t get a training The Hawks brought four goalies to Edmonton: Corey Crawford, Malcolm camp last year because he was injured, and then it was just getting his Subban, Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen. feet wet. He’s got that confidence now where he’s had whatever it is, (64) games under his belt, but he is one guy I have noticed out there that Crawford missed the first 12 days of camp after being previously looks like he has taken another step." diagnosed with COVID-19. He joined the Blackhawks for practice on Saturday, participating in some drills and seeing some shots in the During Phase 3, Dach centered the Hawks' third line between Dominik scrimmage before heading in early. Kubalik (a 30-goal scorer, Calder Trophy finalist in his rookie year) and Drake Caggiula (a wrecking ball forward with a scoring touch, tailor-made Colliton said the whole team practiced on Tuesday, including Crawford. for playoff hockey). The Hawks will have access to ice when they need it for Crawford to get extra work in. It'll be interesting to see how the net is divided in the Chicago selected Dach at No.3 overall in the 2019 NHL Draft in hopes exhibition contest. You want Crawford to see game action to get ready that the strong two-way game he showed at a young age would translate for the Oilers series, but seeing as how he's only recently joined the team to the NHL. This postseason will be a very good indication of where he's and hit the ice again, is more than one period for him too much? Or has at. If Dach is able to use the momentum from camp to have a good he repeatedly proven that he's capable of missing time, jumping right showing against the Blues, he could be a difference maker against the back in and playing big in meaningful games? Oilers on both sides of the puck.
Subban and Delia are expected to be next on the goalie depth chart after Calvin de Haan Crawford, but in what order? The way they're potentially used on The defenseman rejoined the team at Day 1 of camp on July 13 for the Wednesday and what they do with the possible opportunity might help first time since having shoulder surgery in December. He fully reveal that. participated on the first day before leaving camp to deal with a family Second line emergency and returning July 21.
At Phase 3 practices, Chicago went with a second line of Alex Despite missing some time at camp, de Haan looks good to go. The D- Nylander—Dylan Strome—Patrick Kane, which lit up camp. man, acquired by the Blackhawks last season in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes, was on the team's second defensive pair with Connor Nylander had opportunities to play opposite Kane during the regular Murphy at camp. Both de Haan and Murphy will play a big role in trying to season. The two certainly had some chemistry and Nylander showed limit the speedy and skilled offense of the Oilers. flashes of offensive brilliance. Unfortunately for the 22-year-old winger, it was often one step forward, two steps back as he occasionally displayed hesitation with playmaking and defensive play that proved costly for the Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 Hawks.
Related: Where to watch Blackhawks' Stanley Cup qualifier, exhibition game
Based on his performance in camp, his game could be trending up and headed in a more complete direction. Keep an eye on Nylander and the ability of the second line to generate chances against St. Louis. The Blackhawks will lean on them for scoring against the Oilers, as Jonathan Toews usually matched up against Connor McDavid when the teams played in the past.
Special teams
This could decide the series for the Hawks. At Phase 3 practices, Colliton made sure to spend a lot of time on both the power play and penalty kill, and for good measure.
During the regular season, the Oilers had the best power play in the league, converting at a rate of 29.5%, not to mention the second best penalty kill, terminating 84.4% of their penalties. 1176798 Chicago Blackhawks Caggiula was especially good that game and screened Mike Smith at the net on both of DeBrincat’s goals. That line had an expected-goals percentage of 87.9 in 10:40 of ice time in the game.
Observations from the Blackhawks’ exhibition win over the Blues Corey Crawford didn’t get a ton of work Wednesday and he didn’t make any spectacular saves, but that’s just fine for the Blackhawks goaltender. After all, what makes Crawford such a good goaltender is that he rarely By Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus has to make any spectacular saves. His puck-tracking is his greatest strength, and it’s why so many pucks seem to hit him in the chest, even Jul 29, 2020 on great scoring chances.
Crawford stopped all 11 shots he faced before being lifted for Malcolm It took Dominik Kubalik two months to finally earn a crack at the top line Subban midway through the second period. It was certainly a step up as a rookie, and he made the most of it. Finally freed up from a highly from the three goals he allowed in the one scrimmage period he played effective but limited third-line role alongside the likes of David Kampf, the during Phase 3. The one somewhat memorable stop he made was Czech import flourished alongside Jonathan Toews. He had five goals in typical Crawford — he read the play, followed a bouncing puck through a December after moving up mid-game against Arizona on Dec. 8, added mess of bodies and sticks, stayed calm, squared up to the shooter and 10 in January and eight in February en route to a 30-goal season and a easily stopped Zach Sanford’s shot from the slot. Every rep is crucial as top-three spot in the Calder Trophy voting. he tries to go from 0 to 60 — idle to the postseason — in one week.
So it was a little odd to see Kubalik spend the two weeks of summer “We just want to get him skating as much as possible,” Colliton said camp on the third line with Kirby Dach and Drake Caggiula. Whether it when the Blackhawks arrived in Edmonton. “We have practices with the was all some sort of strange long con or Jeremy Colliton simply coming team, but we’ll get him on early, give him some extra things. It’s a priority to his senses, Kubalik was back on the top line for Wednesday night’s 4- for us to get him ready as soon as we can. As soon as we can integrate 0 exhibition win against the St. Louis Blues. He was up there with Toews him with the group and get him back to his normal routine, the better for and Brandon Saad, a line Blackhawks fans clamored for throughout everyone. But we’re trying to get him up to speed as quick as we can October and November. because he’s missed a bit of time.”
Logically, it makes perfect sense to have Kubalik on the top line — he The St. Louis Blues probably weren’t the ideal exhibition matchup for the has the best shot on the team and is an ideal trigger man for Toews, with Blackhawks. Saad crashing the net on the opposite wing — but that trio didn’t have The Blues and Oilers play different games. The Blackhawks definitely will the best 2019-20 season. The group certainly had flashes of dominance, see more speed and transition against the Oilers. The Blues are a better but they were outscored 10-7 at five-on-five during the season and were all-around team. underwater in possession. Kubalik and Toews also spent a fair amount of time with Drake Caggiula, with whom they were outscored 12-10, with a There’s also the fact the Blues have owned the Blackhawks this season. 46.76 expected-goals-for percentage. When Patrick Kane was in that The Blues dominated the Blackhawks more than any other opponent this spot for a stretch of games midseason, they outscored opponents 15-5, season. The fear had to be that this game could get ugly for the but it made the lineup too top-heavy. Saad-Toews-Kubalik remains the Blackhawks. most logical top unit for Colliton. The Blackhawks held more than their own against the Blues, though. The The early returns on their early return Wednesday night were positive. Blackhawks’ defensive-zone coverage was especially a vast Through two periods, they held a 10-1 edge in shot attempts at five-on- improvement from previous games. It’s where the Blues had previously five. Toews whipped around the back of the Blues’ net after taking a chip- given the Blackhawks trouble. The Blues would get the puck into the up along the boards from Kubalik to set up Saad on the doorstep for the Blackhawks’ zone, keep them in there and exploit their coverage issues. first goal of the game, and Toews set up for Kubalik for a couple of good chances in the slot in the first period. That’s the kind of inside-outside In this game, the Blackhawks didn’t have many breakdowns. Even when game that line can play — Saad from close range, Kubalik from distance. the Blues kept the Blackhawks in their zone, the Blackhawks did a good Saad’s speed and power, Kubalik’s relentless motor and terrific shot and job of keeping the Blues on the outside and not allowing high-quality Toews’ heavy game and ability to make plays in traffic give that trio the chances. The Blackhawks often played Colliton’s system to near potential to be a monster line. perfection. They picked up their checks, switched when needed, kept an eye on their man and the puck and were aware when someone needed Kubalik had 22 goals and 11 assists in his last 35 games before the help. pause, and picked up right where he left off with a three-point game. He added a pair of power-play goals in the third period, one coming off a In this clip, the Blues have a lot of zone time, but it goes nowhere Kirby Dach feed and another off a Toews setup. because the Blackhawks are following the rules of the system. As much as some fans want to criticize Colliton’s system, it is played by other “Obviously, I really like to play with Saader and Tazer,” Kubalik said after teams around the league and can be effective. the win. “We played pretty much the whole season like that. We know what to expect from each other. … It’s hard to say (what it would be like The Blackhawks had an expected-goals percentage of 37.5 the last time on the third line) because I didn’t play that much with Kirby in the season. they met the Blues. It was at 55.88 on Wednesday. I don’t know if that would be different now, but it’s nice to play with those The Oilers don’t just have the best power play in the league, they have guys.” one of the best power plays in the history of the game. So the Of Colliton’s lineup moves during training camp, the only one that was Blackhawks’ penalty kill is second only to Crawford in terms of probably questionable was having Alex DeBrincat on the top line and importance in the qualifying round. Colliton spent most of his non- Kubalik on the third line. scrimmage time in Phase 3 working on special teams, and though the power play was the focus, the PK got plenty of work, too. It was how the Blackhawks finished the regular season, and those line combinations were definitely working. From that standpoint, it made He couldn’t have asked for much better than he got against the Blues. sense. But when you go back and watch the Blackhawks’ last game The Blackhawks killed off all four St. Louis power plays, allowing two total against the Oilers in March, the player who stood out more than anyone shots on goal. As usual, Kampf, Ryan Carpenter, Saad and Toews saw on the ice that day was DeBrincat. He happened to be playing with Dach the bulk of the PK time, but it was interesting to see Dach get nearly a and Caggiula on the third line. minute of short-handed ice time as a third-rotation guy. Dach earned Colliton’s trust and his increased playing time over the course of the That game was arguably DeBrincat’s best of the season. It was the only season with his responsible defense — not a common trait among 18- game this season during which he scored two five-on-five goals. He did year-old rookies — and adding some PK time to his repertoire would that five times last season. Against the Oilers on March 5, DeBrincat also make him only more valuable. had seven shot attempts, five shots on goal and four scoring chances in five-on-five play. “To me, he was just an entirely different player by the end of it, when things wrapped up in March,” Toews said Tuesday. “It’s tough for a kid It wasn’t just DeBrincat making incredible plays that game. It was a full- like that, who was a top player on his team in junior, to all of a sudden be line effort. Both of DeBrincat’s goals were a byproduct of the line’s work. in a third-line role where he’s not getting a lot of offensive or power-play roles. He’s so big and strong and fast and skilled that when he puts his mind to it, there’s nothing he can’t do. I think he’s realizing, too, he can be a really effective two-way player and a centerman that carries a lot of heavy minutes and responsibility for our team.”
Calvin de Haan didn’t have the smoothest return to hockey.
After not playing a game since Dec. 10 due to a shoulder injury and later surgery, de Haan returned Wednesday and was whistled for two penalties in the first period. It was expected that he might need a minute to catch up to the game speed again, but that had to be a nightmarish scenario for him.
As the game went on, de Haan looked much more comfortable. He played alongside Connor Murphy most of the game, and they were the reliable second pairing Colliton has been hoping for. De Haan also chipped in offensively and moved the puck up ice. His most memorable play was the following stretch pass that ended up in an extended zone possession and eventually a goal.
Both teams were allowed to dress 13 forwards and seven defensemen for the exhibition game, and it was telling that Colliton chose Dylan Sikura and Lucas Carlsson for those spots. At the very worst, they appear to be the next man up at either position.
Sikura, all but forgotten by the end of the regular season, was one of the most impressive players in summer camp, posting a hat trick during one scrimmage and looking fast and aggressive throughout Phase 3. Carlsson, meanwhile, made quite an impression in his six NHL games before the pause. With de Haan working his way back from shoulder surgery and Connor Murphy playing through a groin injury, Carlsson is absolutely a viable option to play in the Edmonton series, and perhaps as soon as Game 1.
One area where Colliton had confidence in his team before the pause was its power play. It was starting to get going.
On Wednesday, it picked up where it left off. With a top unit of Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Toews, Kubalik and Dach, the Blackhawks scored twice. Dach set up Kubalik for the first one, and Kubalik put away the second one on a broken play.
The power play had given the Blackhawks the most trouble this season. What’s been different lately has been getting shots through from the point and having a net-front presence. Keith and Dach have been key in that. The Blackhawks also are playing faster, which has helped. It’s just not getting Kane the puck on the half-wall and waiting for him to make something out of nothing.
“I think it’s coming right along. We’re understanding what our options are,” Toews said last week. “There’s a lot of options to shoot, I think, especially when a guy like Kaner has the puck. I mean, it doesn’t matter who has it, but obviously, when he’s on the ice, you want to get him the puck and he’s going to make things happen when he has time and space, so it’s nice that he has those one-time shots. We’re just trying to get to a place where we’re creative, we’re relaxed and we can keep getting pucks back and keeping plays alive after taking those shots. It’s getting in a rhythm because we know it’s going to be a big part of the series.”
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176799 Chicago Blackhawks and wanted to highlight them. The Hawks went from 0 to the Western Conference finals just like that and by the next year, “One Goal” morphed into something different.
Dollars and sense: What is the Blackhawks’ one goal with ‘All for One’ “One goal, having been around for the beginning of that, it began very slogan? similarly to this,” Hassen said. “I remember just sitting around in a room talking about things that resonated for brands and things that resonated for the long haul. Stuff like ‘We Try Harder’ for Avis was kind of beat into By Jon Greenberg us, how those kind of things can define a moment but can also be a mantra. I’m not sure ‘All for One’ is that.” Jul 29, 2020 What the Hawks, Varyer and Banner realized was they wanted to center
in on the idea of unity between the team and the community. Hey, it’s not Dollars and sense is a column about Chicago sports business and media like they can promise much in terms of wins and losses.
Pete Hassen has been with the Blackhawks since the dark days. “One really does constitute the fans, the community and the team in terms of the symbolism, if you will,” said Chris Kaskie, one of the Hassen, the vice president of marketing, started with the team in 2005, founders of Varyer, the Hawks’ ad agency part-owned by interim back when John McDonough and Jay Blunk were trying to figure out how president Danny Wirtz. “How the campaign will evolve is both inherently to market a bad Cubs team (Answer: beer), back when the Blackhawks planned and reactive to what happens on the ice and in the world. So at were such an afterthought in Chicago that they would make news only the time, ‘All for One’ becomes a kind of catch-all for this is where we when the AHL Chicago Wolves would outdraw them. take this campaign.”
Hassen has been with the organization as the Hawks got hot and This reminds me of how when a team is bad, they try to market games as became the talk of the town, back when a tagline became an a “family-friendly” activity. In reality, teams just want to draw adults organizational mantra. drinking beer. But given the precarious state of the world, perhaps centering your ad campaign on a unifying theme isn’t the worst idea in So what do you do when the Blackhawks return to the playoffs on Aug. 1 the world, even if Hawks fans really only care about the on-ice product in as a throw-in team during a pandemic? How do you market an August this context. postseason which will be played in Edmonton to a fanbase that had given up on the team’s season when the world shut down? But for all kumbaya thinking behind it, the purpose of any campaign is a call to action. In the Hawks’ case, it’s reminding casual fans, the ones Summer Hockey used to mean winning a Cup and celebrating with who might get swept into a Chelsea Dagger-induced mania if the times parades. Now, the Hawks are selling hope. were normal, that the team is playing again. No one can buy tickets to “This moment in time is really just kind of supposed to be fun for us,” games and few will go to bars to watch. Hassen said in a recent phone conversation. “We won a lottery ticket. So the Hawks released a “Summer Hockey” ad spot for that purpose. We’re here and we wanted to take advantage of that.” The ad is not raw meat for avid fans and its YouTube views are scant. If So how do you communicate that? Not with a familiar, confident refrain. the Hawks advance, then the tone will change. (I’m a little amazed they used “damn” in the video, which probably would’ve gotten a creative and From the team’s 2009 playoff run until Joel Quenneville was fired in the expletive-laden harangue from McDonough.) fall of 2018, “One Goal” was a way of life for the Blackhawks, a team with high expectations, high ticket prices and immense internal pressure. “You always want to create something fans are going to like,” said Pat Dahl, the president of Banner Collective, the Wirtz-owned production This summer, the Blackhawks, who jettisoned McDonough in an shop. “But we have a really big mission right now, which is promoting the unexpected move, have transitioned away from that philosophy, fact that this team is playing summer hockey which has never been done introducing a communal “All for One” tagline into their social media and before. People’s heads are in a lot of different places, but I think the marketing materials. Beyond the Three Musketeers connotation, “All for ratings for the baseball games show that people are hungry for sports. One” isn’t the most original phrase for a professional sports team. In fact, the Blackhawks used it during the 2006-07 season. Not that anyone was “The spot we released, I don’t think anyone has visions of that going viral paying attention. because it’s so shareable. But the value of that spot is in a TV buy or being put into White Sox and Cubs games and informing people who But the Blackhawks and their marketing partners, Banner Creative and might be sports fans, but casual Blackhawks fans, that in two weeks the Varyer, thought they needed something fresh for the postseason, Blackhawks are going to be in the playoffs. There’s a functional aspect to something that communicated the state of the world and the state of the that.” team. The Hawks are also trying to involve fans with drive-in viewing parties, How did they get to “All for One?” which are scheduled at Boomers Stadium in Schaumburg for the first three games. Tickets are $40 or $80. Considering the first game is at 2 During the pandemic, the Hawks started a “One Community” campaign p.m. and the next two start at 9:30 p.m., it might not be an easy draw for to highlight the work they were doing and engage their fans with service- some fans. oriented projects. Pandemic or not, it’s safe to say the Hawks are having a bit of an identity “We felt this one aspect,” Hassen said. “One being a collective, one crisis. Their days of competing for Cups seem over for the foreseeable being a team, one being a city, one being a moment in time. I think it all future. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are still the core. There is kind of came together. All for one.” young talent on the roster, but not the kind that powers a future “modern” I would’ve gone with “All for Love,” but I’m a longtime Color Me Badd fan. dynasty.
The introduction of “All for One” doesn’t necessarily mean “One Goal” is Jeremy Colliton looks and feels like the guy who comes after the going away. It’s obviously a branch off the same tree. legendary coach.
“We’re definitely not trying to replace ‘One Goal,’” Hassen said. “‘One So the fans aren’t thrilled and no slogan is going to satiate them. In fact, Goal’ has its place. We’re not sure where it lives right now, to be honest changing the one thing that works might have the opposite effect. with you. This is basically a derivative of that and I think the COVID The early “All for One” posts led to a lot of complaining in the comments situation and the effects it’s had on all business gave us the opportunity about the absence of “One Goal.” to say, ‘Where does this fit?’ Right now, maybe that doesn’t fit with what we’re trying to say as summertime fun hockey, because of the serious A problem with the campaign is it gets a little too high-minded for social note it took over the last few years. Is it gone? No. Where does it fit? I media. don’t know.” One recent post had a picture of two players with the message When the Blackhawks and their old ad agency Ogilvy & Mather came up “22+17=One.” For those, like me, who don’t know the numbers of the with “One Goal” before the 2008-09 season, they were searching for an “other” Blackhawks, 22 is Ryan Carpenter and 17 is Dylan Strome. The identity. The team was up and coming with young stars in the making caption reads: “We don’t play as Numbers, we Play for One. #AllForOne” Comments under that picture include, “This new tag line is kinda pissing me off and I’m a huge fan of the team,” “So hawks r bad at hockey and math” and “What does this mean?”
Now, every Instagram post is going to have that kind of stuff, but, uh, are the Hawks reading these?
“I’d be lying to you if I said we didn’t take a look at the comments,” Hassen said. “Everybody does, right? But I don’t think you can overreact to comments on social media anymore. If your collective group feels that this was the right thing to do and the right way to go and you’re inspired by it, then you gotta let the chips fall where they may.
“If you spend too much time in the muck and the mire of social media. you’re not going to be true to what you set out to do. You’re just going to be reactive. That can be hard on a campaign. But you do have to listen. And we’re always listening. I think fan reaction is important, but I don’t think you can overreact too much.”
In truth, this ad campaign should have a short life. The Hawks need to figure out what they’re doing going forward, what the identity of the team is going to be. But they don’t yet know what next season and the near future will bring. There are more important things going on in the lives of Blackhawks fans than a tagline.
Ten years ago, all the Hawks knew about summer hockey was it tasted like beer and Champagne. That was back when they weren’t sure “One Goal” would stick. They won the Cup and no one knew what was coming next.
“After the first Cup, we’re on the buses and see all the signs, like ‘One Goal Achieved,’” Hassen said. “I remember, as a marketer, thinking, ‘Oh my god, can we use that anymore?’ We thought we were just taking off with it.”
They were, but things change. How will the Blackhawks evolve from here? Given the state of the world, the sport and the Blackhawks salary cap, it feels like “One Long Rebuilding Project” is coming up next.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176800 Chicago Blackhawks times where it was uncomfortable, but it made me better. One of the biggest things he did was force me to become more comfortable speaking to the group. I’m kind of a quieter guy. I prefer to just sit in the Prince Albert connection ties Blackhawks’ Jeremy Colliton, Oilers’ Dave background and observe and he would not allow that to happen as one Tippett of the (players) wearing a letter and those things. He wouldn’t allow me to just prepare myself to play. He was forcing me to prepare the other guys as well. And I didn’t love it at the time and it was uncomfortable, but it made me better. By Scott Powers “That type of responsibility has probably helped me a lot as I made the Jul 29, 2020 transition into coaching. I also have him to thank for that. Obviously, there’s lots of hockey stuff you steal from coaches you like. That’s the case with Pete, but I think the leadership part, forcing me to do things Dave Tippett and Jeremy Colliton first encountered each other about 15 maybe I didn’t want to do, has made me better.” years ago. Anholt wasn’t surprised Colliton chose a coaching path. It came earlier It is a meeting that wouldn’t have left much of an impression on Tippett, than Anholt expected, but he envisioned Colliton someday doing what but it did on Colliton. Tippett isn’t the reason Colliton eventually became he’s now doing. Anholt said Colliton was his first former player to coach a hockey coach, but hearing Tippett speak did have an impact. You tend in the NHL. to remember when an NHL coach comes to visit your junior team. “First of all, he was a real cerebral player, hard player,” Anholt said. “He It was the 2004-2005 season. The NHL was locked out, and Tippett, who thought the game. He understood the game as a player. He was one of was the Dallas Stars head coach, had little to do. He accepted an those kind of players that you could match up against the other team’s invitation from his good friend Peter Anholt to come speak to Anholt’s best players. That’s the kind of guy he was. Big, strong, center iceman, team, the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. Tippett and Anholt had once really dependable in so many different ways both on and off the ice. So played together for the Raiders. Among the players in attendance that when you ask me if I’m surprised he’s become a coach, absolutely not in day was Colliton. any way shape or form. I thought he for sure would be a coach at some point in his career. I think it came earlier than we all thought because of “I’ve met him a couple of times just through the Prince Albert connection,” injuries, but not surprised in the least he’s a coach.” Colliton said. “During the lockout in 2005, that was my last year of junior, and Tip was pretty close to my coach at Prince Albert at the time, Peter Knowing Tippett and Colliton, Anholt compared and contrasted them as Anholt. And so he actually came and spoke to our team. I can’t players and coaches. remember what city it was in, but that was big, to be a junior and have an NHL coach come in and obviously an alumni of Prince Albert, that was “It’s kind of interesting their roads are so different,” Anholt said. “Tip didn’t cool. That had an impact on me. He had a great presence about him. really start playing junior until he was 18, then of course he goes on to He’s been around a long time, had a lot of success. He’s been a great play college for a couple years and plays in the Olympics team and then coach in the league.” had a long pro career and was an ironman in a lot of ways, played hurt. He as just a gritty player. And JC was the same way, but probably was Tippett recalled the talk. He’s done it for Anholt’s teams a few times over more of advanced as a younger player and then got hurt, and his hockey the years. career kind of ended soon. So really different paths but kind of the same base that they work from as far as how they go about things.” “Peter and I were teammates a long time ago, won a championship together in Prince Albert, remained real good friends,” Tippett said. As for their personalities and coaching styles, Anholt saw a lot of “Peter was coaching in Prince Albert at the time. I just happened to have similarities. some time to go up there and spend with them. … Any time you get around a young hockey team, check in with them and see if you can “They’re both very astute,” Anholt said. “Quiet confidence, I would say help, I look forward to doing things like that. Pete’s a good man. His both of them. I think they both go about things actually in a little bit similar teams are always competitive. It’s that friendship with him that’s allowed fashion. Both aren’t very boisterous, go about things in almost a quiet me to get to know some of those junior players.” fashion and both very, very analytically.
And now 15 years later, Tippett and Colliton are meeting again in a “I haven’t been around Davey as a coach, but I know him pretty well and different setting and as peers. When the Chicago Blackhawks and I’ve seen what he’s done, and I’ve talked to a lot of people about how he Edmonton Oilers face each other in the Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying coaches. Having been around our team with our coaches a little bit, you round, beginning with Game 1 on Saturday, it’ll be the 35-year-old know he’s very analytical. And knowing JC and talking to him and how he Colliton behind the Blackhawks bench as their head coach and the 58- approaches things, very analytical, too. I think quiet confidence for the year-old Tippett for the Oilers. two of them is as close as you can get.”
For Anholt, that’s something in itself. Both relationships are dear to him. Since that first meeting in the 2004-05 season, Colliton and Tippett have Colliton, whom he calls JC, was a team captain for him. Tippett, whom he gone up against each other a few times on the ice. Off the ice, Colliton calls Tip and Davey, is a good friend and someone he described as “one said they’ve met a few other times, too. of the great teammates of all time.” Tippett and Anhold played together For Colliton, there’s a lot of respect there. for Prince Albert, which was then in the SJHL, from 1979-1981. “I definitely wouldn’t say that I know him well, but it’s a fun challenge,” “It’s pretty neat, isn’t it?” said Anholt, who is now the general manager of Colliton said. “He’s had playoff success; he’s had good teams and it’s the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes. “I actually went to a game up in going to be fun.” Edmonton with Chicago before everything hit. So we went up and watched Edmonton and Chicago play, so that was really good because we were there for the pregame skate and it was fun visiting with the both of them. It’s going to be fun, to see how it shakes out because certainly The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 Chicago is the underdogs and JC’s got his work cut out for him to go head-to-head against Tip. Tip’s got some fantastic experience and been around a long, long time. JC will have his hands full going head-to-head against Davey.”
Colliton was influenced by a number of coaches coming up, but Anholt especially got through to him. It was during Colliton’s time at Prince Albert that Anholt pushed Colliton to abandon his shell and be a leader through his actions and words. The actions part was always easier for Colliton.
“He was pretty hard-nosed, pretty traditional coach, very demanding, especially on the top players and leaders,” Colliton said. “There were 1176801 Colorado Avalanche
Avalanche kills seven-of-eight penalties to win exhibition in Edmonton
By MIKE CHAMBERS | [email protected] | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: July 29, 2020 at 3:38 p.m. | UPDATED: July 29, 2020 at 4:55 p.m.
In a chippy exhibition summer opener in Edmonton on Wednesday, the Avalanche took far too many penalties but used a near-flawless penalty- killing effort to defeat Minnesota 3-2 at Rogers Place.
Colorado, playing its first game since March 11, got goals from Joonas Donskoi, Nathan MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog — the latter on a power play for the game-winner. Landeskog whacked a loose puck in from atop the crease during a 5-on-3 advantage for the only goal of the second and third periods.
The game featured a combined 36 penalty minutes, including 20 for the Avs, who blocked a whopping 26 shots. Minnesota outshot Colorado 34- 29.
“Pretty good energy for our team and their team right out of the gate,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “You put yourself in some situations there when you’re just kind of used to playing shinny hockey or scrimmages and a guy is a little harder on the puck than what you expect him to be and he gets a step on you.
“Some of our penalties were reaching in and trying to keep plays alive when we probably should have let guys go. Too many holding, hooking, tripping — stick penalties that we need to avoid here and clean up before we play on Sunday.”
The Avs, who have a bye in the best-of-five, play-in round that begins Saturday, will begin playing for Western Conference seeding Sunday against St. Louis. The traditional 16-team, best-of-seven series tournament begins Aug. 11.
“First steps on the ice, you feel a little bit weird with no fans,” said Avs winger Mikko Rantanen, who logged 16:10 in ice time in his first game since Feb. 17 when he sustained a shoulder injury. “But when you get into the game, you don’t think about it too much. It was a hard-fought game. We knew the first game back after a 4- to 5-month break would be hard. And it was like that. The execution wasn’t really there. But it’s only going to get better from here.”
Minnesota, which finished 1-of-8 on the power play, begins a best-of-five elimination series against Vancouver on Sunday. The Wild got goals from Matt Dumba and Eric Staal and were 1 of 5 with the man-advantage.
“I think I can speak for all of us: It’s nice to get back out there and just move the puck around in a game-type scenario,” Avs center Nazem Kadri said. “In that first period we definitely had a little rust we had to shake off, but as the game went on we played better and we’ll look to do that at the start of the next game.”
Kadri, a Muslim, stood arm-to-arm with Black teammate Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Black Wild players Matt Dumba and Jordan Greenway during the U.S. national anthem when the combined 42 players split up on both blue lines. The show of unity began in Tuesday’s exhibition opener between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
“Just a nice moment of solidarity,” Kadri said of sharing the blue lines with the opposing team. “With what’s going on in the world today with the injustice and the racism issue, I think it’s an important thing to come together and unify as players.”
Footnotes. Avs defenseman Sam Girard was scratched because of a minor injury, but Bednar said Girard skated Wednesday morning and is fine. He was replaced by rookie Connor Timmins…..Colorado’s 22-man lineup featured an extra forward (Tyson Jost) and an extra defenseman (Kevin Connauton). … Avs defenseman Erik Johnson logged a team- high 21:34 and fellow blue-liner Ryan Graves was second at 20:09. MacKinnon led all forwards at 18:01 and had a team-high five shots.
Denver Post: LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176802 Colorado Avalanche Go downstairs to the control room. The screaming gets explained. McNab and Moser are speaking at an amplified tone that allows viewers at home to feel as if they really are in Edmonton broadcasting the game A bubble of their own: How Avalanche broadcasters are handling the instead of in a studio in suburban Denver. How they sound comes off as restart natural as if they were at an actual game. Their voices stand out from the sounds of skates shredding ice and sticks clacking against each other or on the surface itself.
By Ryan S. Clark The Attic and the control room are two spaces working toward one thing. The Attic is a bright area built to look like McNab and Moser are having Jul 29, 2020 fun, which is indeed the case. Moser is known for being a candy fiend, to the point that he has actually eaten vending machine food for breakfast at morning skates. He notes how they do not have any gummy bears Just to the left of the stairwell is a sign that reads “ONE-WAY TRAFFIC around, which leads McNab to tell him, “You don’t need your goddamn ONLY,” with a graphic of two people at least 6 feet apart so those who gummy bears.” walk up the steps are aware of social distancing. What they do and how viewers see it comes across as two people having Get into the room they call “The Attic” and one will find Peter McNab and a ton of fun, and this is in large part because of the chaos that engulfs Marc Moser. Behind them is a 70-inch flat-screen television that has a the control room. Know this about the control room: The place is a cave “BACK AT IT” graphic, with the Colorado Avalanche logo replacing the with dim track lighting, while the room’s fluorescent lights remain off by “A” in “BACK.” Next to the main monitor are two more vertical screens design. All of the needed lighting comes from the seven 50-inch flat- featuring the Avs logo opposite the Minnesota Wild’s emblem. In front of screen monitors that carry what amounts to nearly 70 different video them are five more screens that all show something different. The largest feeds. Think of it as going to a playhouse where the stage is a row of one is in the middle, and that displays the main television feed from the monitors that looks more like a Best Buy showroom. Each one serves a Avs-Wild exhibition game Wednesday. different purpose, one that makes sense to the trained eye but could leave a novice puzzled. Four of those feeds — Green, Gold, Red and Next to it are two more screens televising what is on NBCSN and the Silver — appear to be the primary ones that producers Doug Menzies NHL Network. Beneath those are two more monitors. One has an “all-12” and Mike Rigg use as they try to orchestrate a production without a great broadcast that allows McNab and Moser to see all 12 players on the ice, deal of control. and the last monitor is a quad screen with four video feeds on a singular screen, allowing them to see even more. Regional sports networks such as Altitude work with national rights- holders like NBC and Rogers to televise games. The challenge comes “You’d love to be there,” McNab says of Rogers Place in Edmonton. “But when the world feed provided by NBC and Rogers doesn’t line up with this is as good as it gets.” something McNab and Moser want to highlight. It happened when McNab and Moser are in a makeshift studio on the second level of the Avalanche center Nazem Kadri and Wild left winger Marcus Foligno were Altitude Sports and Entertainment building. They have three cameras — in an entanglement early in the game Wednesday. Normally, McNab or two at an angle and another in the middle — along with several lights that Moser could discuss the moment, knowing that any of the 18 cameras allow viewers to see every detail down to the custom-made black table under Altitude’s control could provide numerous angles of the incident. with the Avalanche’s locker room as its design. This is only a fraction of This allows a director and a producer to shape a part of the broadcast — what an Avalanche broadcast looks like as the team returns to play. even if it is just 30 seconds — to that particular moment.
Limited personnel are allowed inside the bubbles in Edmonton and A world feed, which is what Altitude is getting from Edmonton, might not Toronto. That means regional sports networks such as Altitude had to offer that chance. McNab and Moser were trying to explain what might make adjustments to broadcast games. It might seem simple — stuff have caused the Foligno-Kadri skirmish, but the broadcast went in everyone into a studio and call it good — but that’s not how it works. The another direction. network is maintaining social-distancing standards in a way that makes It’s far from the end of the world. But it is an adjustment that comes with open space paramount. this new format. It is why McNab and Moser are in The Attic while Kyle Keefe and Mark “Part of it is we go do it, and we do it being a little unsure of how it is Rycroft are stationed at the desk they have shared for years. Sideline going to look and how it is going to work,” Moser explained. “Every reporter Lauren Jbara and radio play-by-play announcer Conor McGahey broadcast team, from producer to director down to the people like Peter are at Pepsi Center. Jbara roamed the open areas of the Avalanche’s and I, who call the games, have a certain way of doing things with what home arena while McGahey used the building’s TV booth for more room. our broadcast looks like. I don’t know how many fans really notice how All of this is in the name of social distancing. All of it was done to different broadcasts are. It is going to be different in terms of the broadcast an exhibition game the Avalanche won 3-2 before the Western construction of it. It is going to be different for our producers and our Conference round-robin games begin Sunday. directors and our replay operations and our graphics people.”
“Nobody really knew what we were dealing with,” said Ken Miller, the Shaping a broadcast, however, is only a fraction of what makes this executive vice president/general manager for Altitude. “You look back at experience so different compared with the last Avalanche game before those very first calls with the NHL. We specifically asked about some the NHL went on pause, on March 11. things and they did not know. … We’re going to return to play, but what Altitude’s control room is usually an open environment where people can would that look like? The Avs playing at Pepsi Center with no fans? move freely throughout games. Now, each terminal is separated by a 6- Announcers not having access to players but being able to go to their foot plexiglass partition, all with yellow signs that read “CAUTION DO broadcast booth and the limited access to the people in the (production) NOT ENTER” in black lettering. All five people working in the control truck. It just all developed over time. room are at least 6 feet apart and wearing masks. The need for safety is “As soon as that first conversation started happening, there was a feeling so strong that Menzies uses a tray of cleaning supplies to wipe down his that it was not going to happen. We started formulating ‘what-ifs,’ like the terminal before Rigg takes over in the third period. Right outside the NBA is talking about, and what if there was going to be a neutral site?” control room is a large hand-washing station with four mini-sinks and an entire table filled with cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer. Miller said the studio the network built for McNab and Moser was constructed over a day or so to get everything right. The studio is silent to The control room serves as the final barrier before one enters the main the point that the only sounds that can be heard are the building’s air- studio Keefe and Rycroft have used for several years. For them, this is conditioning unit and an oscillating fan near the doorway. But once nothing new. They are used to watching games off a television feed, only McNab and Moser start their telecast, they are loud — almost to the point to return to their posts to explain what just happened during intermission. that it sounds like screaming. Really, the only change for Keefe is that he is testing the second-screen experience the network plans to debut Sunday. The plan is for them to Why? They are just 6 feet apart in a fairly acoustic room holding them implement certain elements normally associated with an Avalanche and no one else. Why are they damn near shouting at each other? game at Pepsi Center — items such as Jake Schroeder performing the national anthem or public-address announcer Alan Roach delivering one of his signature goal calls. “You take my home office: I have my TV and my laptop when I watch a Everything they do is directed by a control room that must cede the first game,” said Declan Bolger, the senior vice president and chief marketing word of its own — control — to another crew more than 1,200 miles away officer for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. “I see people doing the same and hope that it all works out. thing, hopping back and forth between the television play-by-play action, but doing it as if they were sitting at Pepsi Center. It’s like Pepsi Vision, They expect to be doing this every other day until October should the where you get to experience some of those things. At Pepsi Center, you Avalanche win the Stanley Cup. can see highlights in real time, but the nuances of going to an Avs game “I have never called a game from someplace else other than right there in are unique, and that is what we are hoping to provide.” the arena where the game is being played,” Moser said. “I think it’s one Bolger said what KSE learned from broadcasting “simulated games” on of those things where there is FOMO because that is your hockey team social media was it could receive positive feedback from fans about the and they are in another country. I think a lot of us do this for the love of game-day experience that was then interjected into those contests. the game. While it is a bummer we cannot be there, we all know for sure and we all understand why, and we are all on board and are all happy to The simulated games Bolger is referring to occurred when McNab and be working again. Moser teamed up to broadcast the “NHL 20” games the team aired on its social media platforms during the pause, a way of providing fans with “We love our jobs, and we know how good this hockey club is. We know some sort of hockey, even if it was virtual. what the possibilities are.”
If you think asking McNab — an industry professional for more than 30 years — to provide color commentary for a fake Avalanche game on a The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 video game console via social media was an insult, consider this: He welcomed it for many reasons. The experience of calling games off a TV is new for broadcasters who cover major leagues such as Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NHL and the NFL. But it is a practice that became more popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s when European soccer and the UEFA Champions League became more popular in North America.
“I don’t play the computer games and I had never seen anything like it, and I was just curious about how it was all going to play out,” McNab said. “I had sort of this idea it was going to be very robotic, but it was unreal. There were a couple of guys who looked identical with their body language, the way they skated and all those things — it was amazing. It was really fun to watch. It got you into the rhythm of talking about hockey.”
This is technically the second season that McNab and Moser have been together, but their partnership extends back to the countless radio broadcasts they had done before the 2018-19 campaign, when Moser moved to television. McNab said the key is to follow what the play-by- play announcer, Moser, is doing and then supplement what is being said in that moment.
How they went back and forth Wednesday made it seem like just another game for them. But this time, instead of being in a TV booth at an arena, they were in a studio built just for them to call games. McNab quipped about how having the monitors was nice because he felt closer to the ice than he would have at Rogers Place, which usually seats broadcasters close to the arena’s roof.
McNab and Moser said having all of those monitors plus the different feeds they carried was a distraction. It aided them in being able to look around like it was a regular game, even if it was not. And there was the oddity of the NHL Network airing the Wild’s feed, only to then cut the telecast and show something else. The NHL Network doesn’t own the broadcasting rights to Avalanche games in the state of Colorado.
Altitude has those rights and is currently being aired by providers such as Charter Spectrum and DirecTV. KSE and Comcast, the largest provider in the region, remain in a contract dispute that is approaching a full year. The network’s 15-year deals with Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network all expired within days of each other in late August, a few weeks before the Avalanche and Denver Nuggets were about to start preseason camp. KSE and DirecTV agreed to terms on Oct. 31.
Negotiations with Comcast and Dish remain at a stalemate, with KSE having filed an antitrust suit against Comcast in November.
“This certainly would be a good time for Comcast to distribute us again for the fans,” Miller said. “That has always been the hope: that Comcast would be able to deliver these games to the fans. They are served for this, and we would love for Comcast to be able to take these games.”
For now, this is the dynamic that exists within Altitude. McNab and Moser work from The Attic, while Keefe and Rycroft are in the studio. Jbara does her live shots from the cavernous Pepsi Center, while McGahey’s baritone voice from the open-air TV booth might be the only sound that bounces off the seats and concrete of a building that expected to host playoff hockey in the spring instead of an impromptu summer training camp. 1176803 Columbus Blue Jackets
NHL, players did `great job’ with bubble, Blue Jackets’ Seth Jones says
Brian Hedger The Columbus Dispatch
Jul 29, 2020 at 6:01 AM
If a reminder was needed about why the NHL is conducting its playoffs with quarantine "bubbles," a big one was provided this week by Major League Baseball.
Just a few days after MLB opened its 60-game season, teams had games postponed Monday after 11 players and two coaches on the Miami Marlins tested positive for COVID-19. It was troubling, but also showed why the NHL has adopted its "bubble" plan, choosing to place them in the Canadian cities of Edmonton and Toronto.
Baseball is not using a quarantine bubble and teams are traveling to opposing cities on a regional basis.
"The league and the (NHL players association), I think we did a great job of creating the (bubbles) and making it safe," Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones said. "It’s unfortunate the MLB is dealing with that, but I believe that … it lands on individuals, as well, to do what they’re supposed to do that’s necessary. Wear your mask and do the things necessary … so that you don’t get players starting to go down one-by- one in the middle of the playoffs."
So far, so good.
The NHL revealed Monday that no new positive test results occurred during the second week of the league’s restart training camps, which concluded last weekend and preceded all 24 teams traveling to their respective hubs Sunday.
That round of testing ran from July 18-25, canvassed more than 800 players and included 4,256 tests.
The Blue Jackets and Boston Bruins have talked about doing something jointly to support the Black Lives Matter movement before their exhibition game Thursday in Toronto.
"Just show a united front that we’re all here, we all care and we’re all trying to make a difference in the world," said Jones, who is Black. "So, that’s my thoughts on it, and obviously, we’re trying to create a cultural change, not just in hockey but around the world."
John Tortorella addressed his connection to Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe on Monday, saying it will be the extent of his comments about it before their teams play in the qualifying round.
"He’s one of the most competitive players I’ve coached," said Tortorella, who coached Keefe from 2001 to 2003 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. "I didn’t coach him a lot of games, but when he played, he knew one way, and that was to play hard. I wish nothing but the best for that guy. … But I’m sure he feels the same way. It’s time to play against one another and all that stuff gets thrown out the window."
Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176804 Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 07.30.2020
Speed is key to playing time for Blue Jackets’ Eric Robinson
Brian Hedger The Columbus Dispatch
Jul 29, 2020 at 5:45 AM
It’s the kind of speed that makes your eyebrows rise involuntarily and compels you to look at the Blue Jackets’ roster.
"Who is this No. 50 guy?"
That question was being asked with increasing regularity this season, as Eric Robinson’s speed and hard shot opened some eyes before COVID- 19 forced the NHL to pause the season March 12.
More than four months later, the Blue Jackets are matched up against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of a 24-team playoff format, and Robinson’s name might start coming up again during the best-of-five series.
"He has a ton of things to improve on, but ... his speed and how he gets up and down that wing is so very important today’s game — so he’s in (for Game 1)," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said of Robinson, who usually plays left wing on the fourth line.
"How many minutes he gets, it’s going to depend on him as the game goes on and situations, but I think he’s had a very good (training camp) and he deserves to be in our lineup and get a chance to make a difference."
If he does, it will start with his legs.
Robinson’s rare combination of size and speed drew the attention of the Blue Jackets and other NHL teams during his collegiate career at Princeton. The interest intensified during his senior year in 2017-18, when Robinson wore the captain’s ‘C’ for the Tigers and his offensive numbers spiked.
The Jackets viewed him as a possible starter set for the type of forward they already at the NHL level in Josh Anderson — whose size, speed and skill at right wing also grabbed attention across the league. Adding another Anderson type, only for the left wing, and unleashing them together was a dream scenario. It came to fruition this season, two years after the Jackets signed Robinson to his first professional contract, in 2018.
In the time that’s followed, Robinson has earned an NHL roster spot and played 50 games this season, including a handful on the same checking line as Anderson. His speed has overwhelmed a few unsuspecting defensemen, his shot has markedly improved after changing his stick a couple of years ago to gain more lift and now he has a chance to shine on the big stage of the playoffs.
"You’re seeing a guy that has that top-tier speed in this league and when he uses it, he’s a weapon," said Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno, who compared Robinson to both Anderson and New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider. "He’s a lot like Kreider in New York, just straight-ahead players. And when he figures that out and he gets that confidence to play that way and that style ... he can be a weapon for us and a great player in this league."
Robinson finished this season with seven goals, five assists and 12 points, but averaged only 10:57 per game primarily as a fourth-liner.
Would added ice time mean a bump offensively?
It looked that way in the Jackets’ restart camp, which wrapped up Friday with their final scrimmage. Robinson had two goals in that one and notched a hat trick in a scrimmage to start the week. Next up is an exhibition game Thursday in Toronto against the Boston Bruins and then Game 1 of the postseason Sunday.
"It’s a confidence booster for sure," Robinson said of his scrimmage success. "Obviously, I’m coming here and doing everything I can to be in the lineup for Game 1, and if that’s the case, I have to be ready to go, ready to help the team and do what I can to make sure I’m contributing to a win." 1176805 Columbus Blue Jackets Bjorkstrand. That’s when the wheels started coming off again, when they just simply didn’t have enough talent to hang on despite how hard they were playing.
Scouting the enemy: Breaking down the Blue Jackets with Aaron James, I literally looked at the lineup sheet a few nights and checked to Portzline see if it would be legal in the preseason given the requirements to dress a certain number of veteran players. It was crazy.
By James Mirtle and Aaron Portzline Mirtle: That’s another thing I noticed about their record: Yes, the Leafs were much better in the back half of the year after the coaching change, Jul 29, 2020 but Columbus was very good over the last few months of the season, record-wise, too.
Do you think Columbus is a much bigger challenge now than it would Five months after the Maple Leafs last took the ice, we’re about to get have been in April, simply because so many more players are recovered some more hockey. Playoff hockey. and ready? Or will it be hard to integrate all those players who haven’t I’m really looking forward to this series for a couple of reasons, but one of been playing together a lot of the year? them is that our team of Leafs writers is going to get to work with Aaron (And just so I don’t get complaints, yes, the Leafs are dealing with this Portzline and Alison Lukan, who do a terrific job writing about the Blue issue to some extent, too, after having a lot of players in and out of the Jackets here at The Athletic. lineup this year.) The combined coverage of this play-in series should be fantastic — and Portzline: The Blue Jackets survived a million blows and kept chugging, we’re getting it started here with an advanced scouting report on the but they started sputtering when Jones and Bjorkstrand went down. team the Leafs will be facing. Everybody knows Jones. Bjorkstrand is a well-kept secret, though. He I’ll ask Portzline some of the pressing questions we’re all wondering was not just the club’s leading goal scorer but their best (and most about, and then he’ll return the favour in a separate article here later this dangerous) forward when he fractured his ankle. week. Let’s get into it. They were in a 3-5-7 slump when the pause hit, so it’s not like they were Mirtle: Porty, you’ve covered the Blue Jackets for nearly 100 years now exactly stating their case. They were barely hanging on. There’s no — can you set the mood for us for this series from the Columbus question they’re a more dangerous team now. perspective? How does the organization feel about facing Toronto in this Not having Josh Anderson makes them a vastly different club than they best-of-five? How does the fan base feel about where they’re at? were last spring. He’s the embodiment of how they want to play. But Portzline: Some days it feels like 100 years, James, but it’s really only losing Jones and Bjorkstrand is a game-over type scenario. been 20. The Blue Jackets feel pretty good about themselves, pretty Mirtle: OK, let me take us in a different direction: The No. 1 question I confident that they can hang with anybody as long as they can quickly seem to be getting about the Blue Jackets right now is their goaltending. get into the defensive-minded style that carried them on a crazy two- Who are these guys? Are they for real? Does Columbus really have an month stretch this season and, more famously, to a first-round upset of advantage there given their lack of experience? Tampa Bay last spring. Porty, who do you think starts? And what’s your confidence level that I certainly don’t sense overconfidence, but I think FINALLY winning a they’re going to get high-level goaltending, whoever gets in the net? playoff series last spring has really upped the swagger with this group. Now they know what it feels like to win a series. Now they know how to Portzline: I believe both of these guys — Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis weather the storm and plow through it. I don’t think you can put a price Merzlikins — are No. 1-caliber goaltenders. Only one of them can play on that. (at a time, obviously), so this is really the story of training camp 2.0 for the Blue Jackets. And yet there’s still an us-against-the-world narrative, and you can expect John Tortorella to fan those flames all along. They’re playing a So far, Merzlikins has been sharper and looks more comfortable. fancy team with tons of skill, much like the Lightning. They’re playing the Korpisalo looked dreadful on Day 1, but you let that go a bit being the Leafs in Toronto, the epicentre of hockey. Here they go again. The Blue first day of an oddly timed camp. He looked OK the rest of the first week Jackets thrive in the underdog’s role because it’s really all they’ve ever but has now given up 13 goals in two scrimmages. known. I know: scrimmages, frimmages. But Merzlikins has looked far more Mirtle: You just scared the crap out of a few million Leafs fans. That poised. I thought he would be the starter all along, and now I’m sounds like their worst nightmare. convinced of it.
One of the things I’ve been warning fans in Toronto about Columbus, Don’t get me started on Elvis. There’s something there, something beyond their tenacious defensive play, is the fact they’ve been so beaten special. As for having an advantage over the Leafs? The one thing I up. On paper, the Blue Jackets are the underdog, but they were on pace expect to be wildly unpredictable in all of this is the goaltending. I’ve seen for an identical number of points as Toronto, despite having the most Freddy Andersen be a dominating goaltender. Who knows who is going man-games lost to injury in the NHL. to show up?
Am I overemphasizing how bad their injury situation was? How big of a Mirtle: Yep. No clue which Andersen shows up. It doesn’t even seem factor will it be for Columbus to get everyone back for this series, impossible that Campbell plays games. compared to if it was played in April instead of August? The other thing I’m really curious about in this series is the matchup of Portzline: There are a couple of facets to this. Yes, the injuries were Toronto’s big stars versus the tight-checking Tortorella defence. The relentless all season, and these weren’t extra forwards and defensemen Leafs averaged more than 3.5 goals a game under Sheldon Keefe and drawing up the man-games. It was mostly at the top of the depth chart. were dominant on the power play; do you think the Blue Jackets will be Their perennial Norris Trophy candidate (Seth Jones), most able to limit four different star players spread out over two lines? accomplished scorer (Cam Atkinson), leading scorer (Oliver Bjorkstrand), All-Star goalie (Joonas Korpisalo) and both rookie offensive sparks Does Tortorella like to have a checking line shadow someone like Auston (Alexandre Texier and Emil Bemstrom) were out long term. Zach Matthews, or what will the approach be? Werenski and Elvis Merzlikins were shelved for a time, too. It was Portzline: Center ice is always an issue for the Blue Jackets. Dubois is incredible. their No. 1, of course, and he’s a really good, physical defensive player. But the dirty little secret is that the Blue Jackets did not play well early in He could bang with Matthews, certainly. But they can’t thrive offensively if the season when they were mostly entirely healthy. They started 12-14-7 Dubois is resigned to a checking role. and were mostly lost defensively. It wasn’t until they started losing key The Blue Jackets made the call to switch Boone Jenner to the middle last parts of their lineup that they fully locked into playing their conservative season, and they’ve stuck with it despite his subpar skating. He’s helped style away from the puck. They were humming along (allowing 1.6 goals solidify the position, as he is defensively sound, certainly competitive as per game in a 25-game stretch) before Jones went down, and then hell, and has become much better away from the puck as his career has moved along.
The wild card here is Alexander Wennberg, who is such a smart, positionally sound player that he should probably get some Selke consideration. My memory tells me that Tortorella was fine interchanging Jenner, Dubois and Wennberg on the Matthews and Tavares lines, and I expect that to continue until the pace of play tells him otherwise.
He’s already shown concern about the Leafs’ speed by putting young burner Liam Foudy in an elevated role. Foudy has skated with Nick Foligno and Jenner.
The Jackets know they’ll have their hands full. The key, and you’ll hear Tortorella go on about it, is them staying “above the puck.” They take very few risks in terms of getting overextended. They keep a forward high in the offensive zone and do a great job rotating back when either Werenski or Jones goes low. The hope is that they can frustrate the Leafs by limiting the open ice and odd-man looks.
Mirtle: I’ve seen a lot of folks talking about Columbus as a dark horse and a potential upset pick in this series. The one thing that gives me pause on that is, frankly, they can’t really score. They were 27th in the NHL in goal production and had only one forward top 20 goals. The only teams they outscored all missed the 24-team playoff cutoff.
I know the Leafs aren’t exactly a defensive juggernaut, but is there enough there for the Blue Jackets to do damage in this tournament?
Portzline: That would be my concern if I’m the Blue Jackets, too. This team works so hard to score goals. It was that way before Panarin arrived, and it’s that way now that he’s gone. Cam Atkinson can score. Bjorkstrand has a great shot. Dubois can finish. But they don’t have one single player who is instant offence. They need huge breakdowns, bad goals or rebound put-back goals. They need bounces. Those are Dubois goals, Jenner goals, Foligno goals. They say it’s a “3-2” league, but the Jackets may need to count on playing “2-1” hockey, and I’m not sure that’s consistently doable against a team with Toronto’s talent. Columbus has some talent on the rise in Texier and Bemstrom, but I don’t think you’d expect too much from them right away. Is the Blue Jackets’ offence more inept than the Maple Leafs’ defence is incapable? Maybe that’s the series.
Mirtle: If you had to sketch out the Blue Jackets lineup today, all four lines and the D pairs, what will their roster look like? And how much different is it than what the Leafs would have seen in their matchups this season? (They split two games way back in October.)
Portzline: Mostly the same personnel, except that Josh Anderson played in the two meetings earlier this season. Here’s what the lines look like now, which only guarantees that they’ll change by Aug. 2:
Mirtle: OK, one last one for you — you’ve mentioned a few of the lesser- known Blue Jackets like Wennberg. Does anyone else stand out to you as a potential X-factor who Leafs fans should be aware of? Maybe Kamloops legend Riley Nash? Or Emil Bemstrom, who led them with … five power-play goals?
Portzline: The guy who seems poised for a coming-out party is Merzlikins, but I’m guessing you’re looking for more of a sleeper than a goaltender.
Bemstrom’s shot is what brought him to Columbus from Sweden, and he started to figure it out before he was (what else?) injured. He has sleeper potential, and I could see him moving up in the lineup, even if it means moving him to the left side. Look for him on the power play, too. The kid can bomb it.
One more note on that power play: The Blue Jackets have run a 1-3-1 for many years, but they’re using both Jones and Werenski on the first unit, with Werenski manning the point and Jones on the left half-wall. The power play has been an unmitigated disaster for the last several seasons. They’re trying anything.
Mirtle: Thanks for this, Aaron. I think this is going to be a heckuva series given the clash of styles — maybe the best matchup of this play-in round.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176806 Dallas Stars Bowness said the team would like to keep the Pavelski and Faksa lines together, but are open to “fooling around with the wingers on those other lines.”
Approaching their first NHL game in months, the Stars are prepared to live with their mistakes Dallas Morning News LOADED: 07.30.2020
By Matthew DeFranks
7:37 PM on Jul 29, 2020 CDT
At long last, the Stars will be playing a hockey game.
It won’t be in Dallas. It won’t be in front of fans. It won’t count in the standings or the postseason. But 20 weeks after the NHL suspended its season because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Stars will play an exhibition Thursday afternoon in Edmonton against the Nashville Predators.
It’s the only exhibition the Stars will play, a precursor to their Western Conference round robin and subsequent first-round series. It is the Stars’ first and final chance to play another team before they take on Vegas on Monday.
“You’re going to have to adjust to the limited atmosphere,” forward Jason Dickinson said. “You’ve got to create your own energy sometimes. Obviously, we only get one exhibition game for this. It’s kind of going to be a quick feeling-out process to really get your flow going and feel the game speed. Scrimmages are good, but it doesn’t quite compare to a real game.”
The Stars completed two weeks of training camp in Frisco from July 13- 25 and flew Sunday to Edmonton, where they hope their stay dips into October, when the Stanley Cup is scheduled to be awarded. In Frisco, the Stars twice scrimmaged in their game uniforms but did not reach the level of hitting and speed and intensity requisite in postseason games.
Against Nashville, coach Rick Bowness understands that it may be sloppy, a product of not playing since March 11. He understands there will be mistakes.
“Defensively, there’s going to be some mistakes, there’s going to be some misreads and Nashville’s a tough team to play against because their D are so active,” he said. “When you haven’t played, your reads are off, your timing is off. We’re making sure our intensity is up there.”
Bowness said the Stars plan to play Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin 30 minutes apiece in goal, with Bishop earning the start. Bowness acknowledged that the plan may change “if Bish is starting the game and he hasn’t gotten a lot of work, maybe we let him finish the second period.”
Bishop had four days of rest last week when he missed two Stars practices (because of maintenance, Bowness said), along with two off- days. Bishop has practiced in all three days since the Stars arrived in Edmonton, according to a team spokesperson, and will have to adjust to game speed again.
“The traffic is a big difference,” Bishop said. “In practice, defensemen don’t want to take big shots and hit their own teammate, so I think that’s the biggest difference. And then just getting the timing down as far as the rushes and working with the D, and getting all of our timing down.”
As a team, the Stars hope to implement the subtle changes they made in training camp: having the defensemen join the rush more often, and possessing pucks more in the offensive zone. The tweaks are intended to make the Stars a better offensive team after they finished the season ranked 26th in scoring. Bowness also said he wants to see the team’s defensive structure remain stingy after allowing the second-fewest goals in the NHL.
“We want to feel the game,” Dickinson said. “We’ve got to come out and play with some pace, and work on the things we’ve worked on since we got back to camp and turn the things we worked on into habits and not just talk. Because it’s easy to talk about it and Watch video on it, but for us to get into the game, and actually do it in a live situation, is going to be big for us.”
The Stars will roll out the same lines that closed camp and will also dress forward Justin Dowling and defenseman Taylor Fedun. 1176807 Dallas Stars overaggressive with a second or third forward in support, the ideal is based on getting the puck back by intercepting the pass or controlling the dump in.
How the 1-1-3 neutral zone forecheck defines the boring, effective Dallas That is boring – incredibly boring, sometimes. But the puck stays out of Stars the middle of the ice, and this strategy takes away the opponents’ ability to enter the zone with possession, which are two keys to success for any NHL offense. By Sean Shapiro The Stars aren’t the only team to use the 1-1-3 in the neutral zone, and Jul 29, 2020 there’s past precedent for its success in the playoffs. For instance, the Washington Capitals used the 1-1-3 to perfection during the 2018
Stanley Cup run. The Dallas Stars are a boring team. To be specific, they play low-event, Here’s a clip from Washington’s series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. defensive hockey. That’s how a team ranked 27th in goals per game was able to be a top-four team in the Western Conference during the regular Barry Trotz left Washington after winning the Cup in 2018 and took the 1- season and can claim the No. 1 seed next week in the round-robin. 1-3 with him to the New York Islanders. In the past two seasons, the Stars and Islanders have been the NHL’s best defensive teams, While not aesthetically pleasing, Dallas is a frustrating team to play effectively looking like mirror Images of each other in how they stifle against. opponents in low-event games. “They just lock the game down and make it impossible to do much of So, why doesn’t everyone do it? anything,” an Eastern Conference scout said. “They play like they have the lead and are protecting it, and when they do get that lead, it’s tough For starters, it does contribute to the Stars’ lack of overall offensive jump, to break them down with a team that’s so committed and disciplined with and it’s not the best approach when chasing a goal. By committing to the its system like that.” 1-1-3, the Stars are sacrificing a mentality where they can turn an aggressive forecheck into instant goals. Dallas players often talk about One of the cogs of the system is the Stars’ effective neutral zone turning defense into offense, but in reality, they are more passive about it forecheck. Coaches talk about it all the time, so we should probably be than words indicate. discussing it more in the public space. There is also a consistency issue. Many coaches would love to use the The neutral zone forecheck is one of the first things this Stars regime 1-1-3 more frequently to lock down games, but the execution and installed under Jim Montgomery, and that continued after the coaching defensive decisions that need to be made by forwards require complete change to Rick Bowness. The Stars are devout acolytes of the 1-1-3 buy-in from your skill players, something Stars coach Jim Montgomery neutral zone forecheck, and the dedication to that art is one of the key referenced when discussing how Jamie Benn made offensive sacrifices reasons you can consider them a potential Stanley Cup contender. last season. The 1-1-3 – or trap, if you want to use dirty words – is built on controlling The 1-1-3 also isn’t foolproof. A faster team than Dallas can try to the territory and keeping the opponents’ offense away from the most capitalize on the dump-and-chase, while a more skilled team can break it dangerous spots on the ice. It looks as simple as it sounds: There are by regrouping and attacking in a more complete wave. Opposing teams two single-player layers of forwards, followed by a third layer where the can also try to better use the boards to create directional plays around 1- F3 has joined the defensemen in protecting the blue line. 1-3, specifically when attacking a forward that has cycled back and is It looks like this on paper. skating like a defenseman in the third layer.
In the 1-1-3, the F1’s job is to push the puck to one side of the ice and It’s possible, but it’s also tremendously difficult when it’s done correctly. force a tighter angle on the opponent attempting to break out. The F2’s Hardly anyone does that better than Dallas, which is why the Stars have job is to jump into the play and take away the pass through the space been a tough team to crack and will continue to be one of the NHL’s best that F1 has left vacated, then provide pressure on the puck carrier. defensive squads when games resume.
Once the puck is on one side of the ice, all five players trap the puck carrier on that side. The forwards will either force the turnover in the The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 neutral zone, or the defenseman is going to force the forward to dump the puck into the offensive zone.
This limits the opponent from entering the offensive zone with possession and allows Dallas to take advantage of Ben Bishop’s work handling the puck. This is what we are really referring to when we talk about Bishop being like a third defenseman: It’s his ability to read the dump-ins and control the breakout after the opponent has been forced to throw into the offensive zone.
For example, the Stars and their 1-1-3 took center stage in the first game of 2020 in the Winter Classic on a situation like this when the Nashville Predators often had to resort to dumping the puck in as soon as they gained the red line.
Here’s another example of what it looks like from a game against the New York Islanders, where the 1-1-3 has forced New York to the right side of the ice and Esa Lindell stepped up to squash a play on the boards.
Dallas gets referred to as an old team, but in many ways that also translates to discipline within their system. You don’t need to be fast or spry to run the 1-1-3; you just have to read plays effectively and know your role based on your position on the ice.
The 1-1-3 works even better when you have a strong skating defenseman like the Stars do with both Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg, a fact that makes their overall defense even better now that Roman Polak is out of the mix.
The dedication to the 1-1-3 is one of the reasons the Stars don’t score off the forecheck as much as they probably should. Instead of being 1176808 Detroit Red Wings
Former Red Wings coach Mike Babcock named volunteer adviser at University of Vermont
Ted Kulfan, The Detroit NewsPublished 5:04 p.m. ET July 29, 2020 | Updated 5:23 p.m. ET July 29, 2020
Detroit – Mike Babcock is back in hockey but not behind the bench.
The former Detroit Red Wings coach has joined the University of Vermont hockey program as a volunteer adviser to the coaching staff.
Babcock will be reunited with head coach Todd Woodcroft, who was Babcock’s video coach for the gold-medal winning Team Canada squad at the 2004 men’s world championships.
Babcock spent 10 seasons as head coach of the Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup in 2008.
Babcock left for the Toronto Maple Leafs in May 2015, signing an eight- year contract worth $50 million with the Maple Leafs.
This season, Babcock’s fifth in Toronto, he was fired with the team on a 9-10-4 start and in the midst of a six-game losing streak.
After Babcock was fired, there were reports he verbally abused Red Wings and Leafs players in the past. Babcock has yet to publicly comment on the matter.
Babcock is still being paid by the Leafs and there has been little talk of Babcock returning to the NHL. But many analysts believe Babcock could be a contender for the opening in expansion Seattle, which enters the league for the 2021-22 season.
Detroit News LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176809 Detroit Red Wings Going directly from a brief training camp, to one exhibition game, to playoff hockey is going to be something entirely different for an NHL player.
Former Red Wing Gustav Nyquist a 'pro' as he helps lead Blue Jackets' The NHL has been idled for four months because of the pandemic. But playoff push Nyquist feels the level of competition and intensity will rachet up quickly.
“It’s playoff hockey, you’ll have to fight for every inch on the ice,” Nyquist said. “It’s another step up of where we were from the last game against Ted Kulfan, The Detroit NewsPublished 5:17 p.m. ET July 29, 2020 | Vancouver (that Columbus played in March). It’s always a step up in the Updated 5:17 p.m. ET July 29, 2020 playoffs, and getting right into the battle.”
Nyquist quarantined in Columbus with his family, rather than return to Sweden where they normally would return during a four-month hiatus Gustav Nyquist and his Columbus Blue Jackets teammates are facing from the NHL. the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL play-in round. Nyquist kept in touch with family and friends in Sweden. Way back in October, way before the pandemic, when Nyquist was still new with the Blue Jackets, Nyquist set a minor tone for the Columbus “We haven’t seen them in quite a while,” Nyquist said. “We’re just trying season with a game-winning penalty-shot goal in Toronto. to stay updated and everyone is making sure everyone is healthy. It’s hard when you don’t get to see them in person, but with technology, Former Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist was second on the Columbus FaceTime, it’s been good to see them that way. Blue Jackets in points this season. “We stayed here the whole time, we didn’t end up going to Sweden It was only Nyquist’s second career penalty shot — he missed on a 2014 because of the virus and not knowing what’ll happen (with the virus). attempt with the Red Wings against the New York Rangers — but it was We’ve been quarantining and it’s definitely something we hope we don’t the first Nyquist converted. have to go through again in our lifetime. And it was in overtime, in Toronto, with his new team. “Obviously we paused the season for a good reason and hopefully we “That’s the one opportunity, I guess, I’ve had in OT,” Nyquist said last can get going here again and get sports back in a safe way.” week, speaking with reporters. “I’m sure that doesn’t happen that often. Detroit News LOADED: 07.30.2020 That was a fun moment. Especially against Toronto.”
Nyquist, a former Red Wing who the team dealt to San Jose at the February 2019 trade deadline, signed with the Blue Jackets last summer.
The signing didn’t produce bold headlines anywhere but in Columbus, for a Blue Jackets team that was decimated by free agency.
But the Jackets have been one of the NHL’s surprise teams, and Nyquist’s contributions on and off the ice are a major reason why.
“You say ‘Gus’ and I say ‘Pro’,” said Jackets coach John Tortorella, who praised Nyquist’s professionalism on several occasions this season when the Jackets faced the Wings. “He’s just a good pro. He’s one of the better players I’ve seen in small spaces. He doesn’t say boo and I’ve used him in a lot of different spots, bounced him up and down the lines.”
Nyquist, 30, played on scoring and checking lines with the Jackets, was a key contributor on the power play, and even played some on the penalty kill.
On a Jackets roster that was decimated by injuries almost from Day One, Nyquist played all 70 games and had 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists), second on the team.
The Jackets desperately needed a veteran presence with five key free agents leaving a young roster. Nyquist, with his ample postseason experience with the Wings, proved to be a great fit in Columbus.
“When we lost all the (free agents) and Jarmo (Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen) did it (signing Nyquist), that was a very important signing for this club,” Tortorella said. “It certainly came to fruition as we played this year.”
Nyquist and the Jackets begin this most unique of NHL playoffs Saturday against the Maple Leafs.
All the Eastern Conference playoff games are at the Leafs’ Scotiabank Arena, but it’s difficult to say the Leafs have any real sort of home-ice advantage.
With no fans in the arena, Nyquist feels everyone is on an even keel that it’ll “be the same for everyone else.
“It’ll be different for sure,” Nyquist said of playing in front of no fans. “That’s something we’ve never done before, competitive games without any fans. It’ll be different.
“I’m focusing on the play and where to be (on the ice). We’re all just trying to focus on our systems and what we need to focus on to beat a good Toronto team.
“But it’ll be different. This is something that’s never been done before. It’ll be weird. But it’s the same for everyone. It’s (no fans) something we’re not going to focus on.” 1176810 Edmonton Oilers FIRST TIME AUDITION Philip Broberg got a shot as seventh defenceman against Calgary rather
than Caleb Jones, who played 43 games this season. A reward for a Edmonton Oilers head coach Dave Tippett has two solid options in goal strong camp.
“Caleb’s a little nicked up or he would have played. We talked about other people and Broberg is the only one who hadn’t played an NHL Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal game before. (Evan) Bouchard and (William) Lagesson have and we felt if we got to the (injury) situation where we needed Philip, we wanted his
first experience in the NHL to be an exhibition game,” said Tippett, who So Mike Smith or Mikko Koskinen? wanted the teen making mistakes when the game doesn’t count.
Does Edmonton Oilers coach Dave Tippett just flip a coin for Saturday’s “He’s a competitive kid and skates really well but the game moves quick Stanley Cup opener against Corey Crawford who will almost surely be in out there. He’s got a tremendous upside, good to see him get his feet the Chicago Blackhawks net because he, at 70 per cent, is probably still wet.” more comforting than 100 per cent of little-used back-up Malcolm BEAR MAKING NAME FOR HIMSELF Subban Ethan Bear had his cree name on the back of his No. 74 jersey, a Did we really learn anything from Tuesday’s 4-1 exhibition win over wonderful testament to his heritage. Calgary to clearly say there is a winner in the Oilers goalie competition? Nope. “It’s very honourable to the players who played before me and then to the young indigenous kids who want to play in the NHL. I wore it with pride. It Koskinen faced 17 shots and made 17 saves in 30 minutes work. Smith was very awesome,” said Bear, who is from the Ochapowace Cree faced 20 shots and made 19 stops, only giving up a power-play put-back Nation reserve in Saskatchewan. by Elias Lindholm after Darnell Nurse pushed Matthew Tkachuk into the Oilers goalie for an easy goal. Bear had an outstanding game against Calgary.
They both got lots of work in half a game. Koskinen, who played only “I used to play with a guy named Yanic Perreault and we used to call him 25:16 against the Hawks in the three meetings (180 minutes) this No Panic Yanic,” said former NHLer Rob Brown, who works the CHED season, mopping up for Smith on March 5, got the start against the radio broadcasts, “Ethan is the same way. He plays like a 10-year Flames, if that means anything. veteran.”
He’s got better seasonal numbers (save percentage, goal average) than This’ n that: Both teams saluted Cave with a moment’s silence before the Smith. game … Patrick Russell, who didn’t score in 45 games in regular-season, banged one past Calgary goalie David Rittich in the third period to make Smith has a much longer history with Tippett from their time in Dallas and it 3-1. later Arizona beat the Hawks in a playoff series when he was with the Coyotes in 2012. Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 07.30.2020 “That seems a million years ago now,” said Smith.
Indeed that’s yesterday’s news. How about today?
This isn’t like baseball where you know who the World Series starting pitchers are days in advance. Tippett prefers the just move along nothing to see here form of enlightenment. He may go with a guy he knows better Smith, but …
“They’re making the decision hard on me but in actual fact I’ll feel comfortable whichever way I go because both have the capability of playing well. Both did that against Calgary,” said Tippett.
Smith isn’t laying awake at nights at the JW Marriott bubble hotel wondering about the start.
“Obviously both guys want to play. I really believe I play my best hockey in the playoffs and that’s when you want to do it. Mikko’s played well, wants to play too. It’s been a healthy competition all season long. I think the coach will have a hard decision come game one,” said Smith.
“Both guys will get the opportunity to play games. It’s kind of a weird schedule (Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, then Friday-Saturday if there’s games four and five in the best-of-five). If we’re going to make a long run both of us will play a huge part in that,” said Smith.
HAAS STEPS INTO BREACH
The Oilers’ best penalty-killing centre Riley Sheahan, who tweaked something in the Colby Cave Memorial Fund scrimmage last Saturday and missed practice Monday, was back Tuesday. But only for the morning pre-game Calgary skate.
Gaetan Haas took his spot with Josh Archibald and Andreas Athanasiou and also was on the first PK with Archibald. He did nice job — he’s a faster skater and dogged worker, but not as strong on his skates in battles as Sheahan. Haas is only a 42.2 per cent face-off guy too to Sheahan’s 49.0 with Haas taking 408 total and Sheahan 834.
If Sheahan is ready to go, Haas will sit for Game 1 against the Blackhawks.
“I liked Haas’s game. We played him on a lot of penalty kill against Calgary … and that’s an area we feel he can help us and we’ll see where Riley is. Skating with us (Tuesday), that’s a positive,” said Tippett. 1176811 Edmonton Oilers that responsibility. The last time we played them, he ended up against Draisaitl.”
Ah, Draisaitl had four points. Blackhawks rookie Dach looking to dig in against hometown Oilers Do I hear a ‘double dog dare you’?
“Kirby away from the puck is far ahead of where most NHL players are, Terry Jones especially at his age. It’s a huge, huge weapon for us that we can play him against anyone. These playoffs are an opportunity for him to measure himself and I’m sure he’ll show very well.”
The only time the Chicago Blackhawks played in Edmonton this season, TSN analyst Craig Button thinks the rookie might get an occasional look there was a curious sight to behold after the game. against Draisaitl or Connor McDavid.
There were dozens and dozens of fans who stayed around to visit with “Dylan Strome seems to be the natural guy to match up, along with their man of the match when it was over. Jonathan Toews, but Kirby could be an option and a different look because of his length,” said Button. “Kirby has size and reach. You can And, no, they weren’t there to visit with Leon Draisaitl, who had four try and use that to keep McDavid and Draisaitl a little further away. points playing in the first game of seven without Connor McDavid in the lineup on the way to a 5-3 win for his Edmonton Oilers’ on Feb. 11. “When Kirby digs in and competes, he can be a real tough player to handle. When he goes about trying to finesse his way through the game They were there for Kirby Dach, the six-foot-four rookie centre out of Fort he isn’t nearly as effective, in my opinion.” Saskatchewan who was drafted third overall by the Blackhawks. For sure, Dach is going to be a future star, says captain Johnathan “With family, a lot of guys he played with in minor hockey, a lot of Toews, who was eloquent on the development he’s witnessed as the parents, aunts, uncles and neighbours, Kirby easily had more than 150 Blackhawks settled in to Hub City. people there for him,” said his dad, Dale. “We went down below to go see him at the dressing room after the game and they let in 50 of us and the “Any young player with his level of talent, I think they’re going to improve. rest weren’t able to get in to see him.” If you saw his first couple games at the start of the season, he was like an entirely different player by the end of it. He was getting more and It was supposed to be the only visit of the season by the struggling more confidence. As the season wore on, he was getting more and more Blackhawks and you can’t blame the fans in Fort Saskatchewan, who physical and holding onto pucks. He’s so big and strong and fast and hope they finally have a talent like St. Albert’s Mark Messier or Jarome skilled, I think he’s realizing now as a centre he can play a lot of heavy Iginla on the way. minutes and carry a lot of responsibility for his team.” Saturday afternoon, of course, there won’t be any fans there at all waiting Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 07.30.2020 around to see the Chicago future star after Game 1 of the best-of-five 2020 Stanley Cup play-in series game between the two teams.
Dach says not having any of those folks around may be a benefit.
“It kind of eliminates the distraction of having a lot of people around. But otherwise, it will suck,” he said.
The kid also makes the point that not having all those Oilers fans who historically dial up the decibel level with the playoff atmosphere here beyond belief.
Dach experienced it here three years ago.
“I was able to go to all of the games when they made that playoff run. And I still remember the 2006 run. I went to all of those games, too, back then.”
Now, hold it right there, young fella.
Dach just turned 19 in January.
“I was five years old. And I very much remember it,” Kirby insisted.
Dad Dale and mom Hilary testified it to be the truth.
“He went to most of those games when he was five. He was very passionate about going to watch. Kirby was also very adamant about getting there early so he could get a program. He went through all the stats and everything.
“His younger brother, Colton, was just like him that way in the years that followed. My father-in-law also had season seats so I’d take one and my father-in-law would take the other one,” said the former NAIT player.
Similar-sized Colton, who is going into his draft year, thought he might be playing with his brother this past year in Saskatoon, but Chicago general manager Stan Bowman didn’t send him back to junior.
“He became a pretty important player for us right when we paused the season,” said Bowman. “I’ve seen a noticeable progression in him since the pause. He’s been one of the most noticeable players for us over the last two weeks.”
Coach Jeremy Colliton even suggested he might find himself assigned to Draisaitl in the best-of-five play-in series against the Oilers beginning Saturday.
“As the year went on, we felt very comfortable playing him against anyone at any time. As the year went on, we gave him more and more of 1176812 Edmonton Oilers The natural rivalry Edmonton and Calgary have in general, but particularly this season with a number of fight-filled contests during the regular season, helps as well.
'Felt like the Twilight Zone': New ambience in empty NHL arena requires “I thought the energy was good in this game, there was physicality, some adjustment scrums,” said Flames forward Milan Lucic. “To be honest, for me personally, and from talking to some teammates after the game, it felt like a regular-season game already and that was the first time we’ve played in about five months.” Derek Van Diest Having experienced the new reality of the NHL, Lucic believes players
will be able to adjust and get back up to speed quickly. Without fans in the stands, sound reverberates around Rogers Place like “Once you’re in the play and once you’re in the flow of the game and your an ancient amphitheatre. blood is flowing and all that type of stuff – don’t get me wrong, you love So a comment which would otherwise be drowned out by boisterous the energy and the momentum that the fans bring to the game and you fans, is clearly audible for those fortunate enough to be allowed in the miss them,” he said. “But when you’re trying to make plays and you’re area. trying to get into the forecheck and all that kind of stuff, you get in your own zone and you’re not focused on all that outside type of stuff.” Even media types tucked away in the highest recesses of the area, as far away from the players as possible, could clearly make out what was Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 07.30.2020 being said on the ice.
It was quite interesting and highly entertaining.
“To be honest it felt like the Twilight Zone there for a bit,” said Oilers goaltender Mike Smith following a 4-1 exhibition win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. “Everyone was kind of skating around feeling out the whole feel of how it was going to be like with no one in the arena. It was definitely one of the oddest games that I’ve ever played since I’ve been in the NHL.
“But I think it’s the same boat for every team. Every team is obviously going to have mental challenges with creating your own energy, creating your own emotion, but that’s what’s going to make this little tournament so unique and so difficult to win.”
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to think outside the box in order to complete the 2019-2020 season. They came up with the idea of two hubs cities where a qualifying tournament and full playoffs would be played to determine a Stanley Cup champion.
The plan, which seemed ambitious at first, is now a reality with perhaps the biggest hurdle already cleared in getting all 24 teams and nearly 750 players into their respective secure zones safety without a single player testing positive for the virus.
On Tuesday, both Toronto and Edmonton unveiled its made-for- television presentation in relatively empty buildings.
It’s a slick-looking production with tarps covering the lower bowl and large screens installed on one side of the arena facing the cameras. They are also utilizing the extra space in the stands to come up with creative camera angles.
In anticipation of the colourful language associated with competitive, physical contests, the games are being broadcast on a short five-second delay with the naughty words filtered out whenever possible.
So fans at home didn’t hear Flames forward Zac Rinaldo yell at Oilers counterpart Josh Archibald as the two were sitting in their respective penalty boxes; “I’ll (expletive) hurt you.” But everyone else in the arena heard it loud and clear and got a chuckle out of it.
It truly is a new world.
“Obviously, it’s different off the start,” said Connor McDavid of the ambience. “It took probably the first period to get used to it. You had two teams that don’t like each other very much. It didn’t feel too different that way but got more and more used to it as the game went on.”
As the games begin to count starting Saturday and the intensity increases, the language should get even more colourful. It’s a rare look into the verbal exchanges that take place between opponents at the highest level.
And with an absence of fans, who create energy players feed off, teams are going to have to find creative ways to keep up their intensity.
“I think we’ve addressed that as a team and it has to come from within,” said Oilers forward Alex Chiasson. “We have to make sure there is a lot of talk on the bench and keeping our mind in the game. Those are circumstances none of us have ever been through and I think the teams that are able to manage that and keep their minds in the game are the teams that are going to be success in the end.” 1176813 Edmonton Oilers Russell was the 13th forward. NHL teams are permitted to dress 20 skaters to give a couple of extra players a look ahead of the postseason.
On defence, it was 2019 eighth overall pick Philip Broberg who got the ‘One of oddest games I’ve ever played’: Oilers adapt to games without seventh assignment. The plan had been to use Caleb Jones in that role, fans but he was “nicked up” and unavailable – according to Tippett. Jones missed the first few days of training camp so he could be eased into practices after an earlier asymptomatic positive COVID-19 test.
By Daniel Nugent-Bowman Jul 29, 2020 14 Broberg got the nod over William Lagesson and Evan Bouchard on Tuesday, Tippett said, because the latter two players have NHL
experience. He wanted Broberg to have an NHL game – albeit an It was easy to see Kailer Yamamoto’s goal coming while sitting high exhibition one – under his belt in the event the Oilers need his services in above the ice in the seventh level of the arena. the postseason.
Tyler Ennis set up Oscar Klefbom for a shot from the slot, resulting in a Haas took Riley Sheahan’s place on a line with Josh Archibald and juicy rebound off Cam Talbot’s left pad. It landed perfectly on the stick of Andreas Athanasiou. Tippett said Sheahan took part in the morning skate a streaking Yamamoto and he made no mistake, burying the Oilers’ first Tuesday and hopes the centre will skate again Thursday, Edmonton’s goal since March 11 – the first (unofficial) goal in the Edmonton portion of next scheduled day on the ice. the NHL’s resumption of play. It paced them to a 4-1 win over the hated Goalies Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith split the action. Koskinen Flames in the only exhibition game before both teams start their stopped all 17 shots he faced. Smith, the busier of the two in quantity and respective play-in round series on Saturday. quality, turned aside 19 of 20 shots as the jockeying for the Game 1 start With no spectators in the stands to witness it, however, there was as against Chicago continues. about much buzz in the rink as when a beer-leaguer nets a late goal in a “I really believe I play my best hockey in the playoffs,” Smith said. “I want blowout game at midnight. to play. Mikko’s played well and wants to play also. I think it’ll be a “It just doesn’t have that same feel as when you have fans in there,” healthy competition. It has been all season long. Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. “If we wanna make a long run, both guys are gonna play a huge part in Something was off about not hearing a round of applause following a that.” tribute and moment of silence for the late Colby Cave. No roar from the Having each goalie play well in his only audition surely beats the crowd at the end of “O Canada” was bizarre, too. alternative, but it doesn’t help clear up Tippett’s choice. But when it came to the play on the ice, it was Yamamoto’s goal – scored “We’ll talk about it,” the coach said. “I think both guys will play. The good just 1:04 into the game – that was the first indication of how different thing is it’s gonna be a hard decision, but it’s a decision you feel these summertime postseason contests are going to be. comfortable with both ways because both guys have played very well.” There would have been a buzz, a loud inhale, with the anticipation of a “It’s a great problem to have,” added McDavid, after a two-goal goal under normal circumstances. It was so obvious Yamamoto was performance. “We have two goalies that we really trust. Both guys were going to get to that free puck first and have a chance at open net that it awesome.” would have been impossible to quell an Oilers fan’s excitement. The best save of the night came just past the five-minute mark in the The puck hitting the back of the net would have been akin to popping the third period when Smith slid post to post to rob Sam Bennett with his cork off a champagne bottle, an eruption from the masses, especially glove on a 2-on-1. With Oilers ahead by just one goal, that’s the type of after a long layoff. Instead, a goal horn was needed to drown out the game-saving stop that just might have earned him a standing ovation. crickets. Aside from some yells from his teammates, it was awfully quiet. “To be honest, it felt like ‘The Twilight Zone’ there for a bit,” goaltender Mike Smith said about the early goings. “Definitely one of oddest games Welcome to the new reality in the NHL where players can’t rely on fans I’ve ever played since I’ve been in the NHL.” for any source of motivation.
It wasn’t just the moments surrounding Yamamoto’s goal that made “It has to come from within,” veteran winger Alex Chiasson said. “These things seem so unnatural. are circumstances that none of us have ever been through.”
The library-like atmosphere allowed the sounds from the ice to carry up The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 to the rafters of the arena in a way seldom heard before.
Flames winger Zac Rinaldo used salty language and made threats from the penalty box to Josh Archibald and Gaetan Haas. Teammate Rasmus Andersson told Zack Kassian to “shut up and get in the box” after the Oiler was penalized. The Flames razzed Haas after he stumbled and fell as a Calgary player darted around him on a power play. Referees sometimes gave instructions to players by name. The Oilers gave David Rittich the Bronx cheer after he misplayed a bouncing puck, which immediately led to a Patrick Russell goal.
It could all be heard clearly without fans. Just think about how easy it was to hear each other on the ice.
“Both teams hate each other,” said defenceman Ethan Bear, whose name was featured in Cree syllabics rather than the Latin alphabet on his sweater. “That’s as close as it gets to a playoff-type exhibition game.”
The atmosphere sure was odd. The game itself had its share of oddities for the usual home team – in this case meaning the Oilers, designated as the road team, who used the WHL Oil Kings’ dressing room.
Russell, limited to 45 games as a frequent healthy scratched this season, finally scored his first goal. He scored his first-ever NHL goal Dec. 1 in Vancouver only to see it stricken from the record on a successful coach’s challenge by the Canucks. This goal won’t make the record books either since this was an exhibition game. 1176814 Edmonton Oilers speaking to the group. I’m kind of a quieter guy. I prefer to just sit in the background and observe and he would not allow that to happen as one of the (players) wearing a letter and those things. He wouldn’t allow me to just prepare myself to play. He was forcing me to prepare the other Prince Albert connection ties Blackhawks’ Jeremy Colliton, Oilers’ Dave guys as well. And I didn’t love it at the time and it was uncomfortable, but Tippett it made me better.
“That type of responsibility has probably helped me a lot as I made the transition into coaching. I also have him to thank for that. Obviously, By Scott Powers Jul 29, 2020 4 there’s lots of hockey stuff you steal from coaches you like. That’s the case with Pete, but I think the leadership part, forcing me to do things maybe I didn’t want to do, has made me better.” Dave Tippett and Jeremy Colliton first encountered each other about 15 years ago. Anholt wasn’t surprised Colliton chose a coaching path. It came earlier than Anholt expected, but he envisioned Colliton someday doing what It is a meeting that wouldn’t have left much of an impression on Tippett, he’s now doing. Anholt said Colliton was his first former player to coach but it did on Colliton. Tippett isn’t the reason Colliton eventually became in the NHL. a hockey coach, but hearing Tippett speak did have an impact. You tend to remember when an NHL coach comes to visit your junior team. “First of all, he was a real cerebral player, hard player,” Anholt said. “He thought the game. He understood the game as a player. He was one of It was the 2004-2005 season. The NHL was locked out, and Tippett, who those kind of players that you could match up against the other team’s was the Dallas Stars head coach, had little to do. He accepted an best players. That’s the kind of guy he was. Big, strong, center iceman, invitation from his good friend Peter Anholt to come speak to Anholt’s really dependable in so many different ways both on and off the ice. So team, the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. Tippett and Anholt had once when you ask me if I’m surprised he’s become a coach, absolutely not in played together for the Raiders. Among the players in attendance that any way shape or form. I thought he for sure would be a coach at some day was Colliton. point in his career. I think it came earlier than we all thought because of injuries, but not surprised in the least he’s a coach.” “I’ve met him a couple of times just through the Prince Albert connection,” Colliton said. “During the lockout in 2005, that was my last year of junior, Knowing Tippett and Colliton, Anholt compared and contrasted them as and Tip was pretty close to my coach at Prince Albert at the time, Peter players and coaches. Anholt. And so he actually came and spoke to our team. I can’t remember what city it was in, but that was big, to be a junior and have an “It’s kind of interesting their roads are so different,” Anholt said. “Tip didn’t NHL coach come in and obviously an alumni of Prince Albert, that was really start playing junior until he was 18, then of course he goes on to cool. That had an impact on me. He had a great presence about him. play college for a couple years and plays in the Olympics team and then He’s been around a long time, had a lot of success. He’s been a great had a long pro career and was an ironman in a lot of ways, played hurt. coach in the league.” He as just a gritty player. And JC was the same way, but probably was more of advanced as a younger player and then got hurt, and his hockey Tippett recalled the talk. He’s done it for Anholt’s teams a few times over career kind of ended soon. So really different paths but kind of the same the years. base that they work from as far as how they go about things.”
“Peter and I were teammates a long time ago, won a championship As for their personalities and coaching styles, Anholt saw a lot of together in Prince Albert, remained real good friends,” Tippett said. similarities. “Peter was coaching in Prince Albert at the time. I just happened to have some time to go up there and spend with them. … Any time you get “They’re both very astute,” Anholt said. “Quiet confidence, I would say around a young hockey team, check in with them and see if you can both of them. I think they both go about things actually in a little bit similar help, I look forward to doing things like that. Pete’s a good man. His fashion. Both aren’t very boisterous, go about things in almost a quiet teams are always competitive. It’s that friendship with him that’s allowed fashion and both very, very analytically. me to get to know some of those junior players.” “I haven’t been around Davey as a coach, but I know him pretty well and And now 15 years later, Tippett and Colliton are meeting again in a I’ve seen what he’s done, and I’ve talked to a lot of people about how he different setting and as peers. When the Chicago Blackhawks and coaches. Having been around our team with our coaches a little bit, you Edmonton Oilers face each other in the Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying know he’s very analytical. And knowing JC and talking to him and how he round, beginning with Game 1 on Saturday, it’ll be the 35-year-old approaches things, very analytical, too. I think quiet confidence for the Colliton behind the Blackhawks bench as their head coach and the 58- two of them is as close as you can get.” year-old Tippett for the Oilers. Since that first meeting in the 2004-05 season, Colliton and Tippett have For Anholt, that’s something in itself. Both relationships are dear to him. gone up against each other a few times on the ice. Off the ice, Colliton Colliton, whom he calls JC, was a team captain for him. Tippett, whom he said they’ve met a few other times, too. calls Tip and Davey, is a good friend and someone he described as “one For Colliton, there’s a lot of respect there. of the great teammates of all time.” Tippett and Anhold played together for Prince Albert, which was then in the SJHL, from 1979-1981. “I definitely wouldn’t say that I know him well, but it’s a fun challenge,” Colliton said. “He’s had playoff success; he’s had good teams and it’s “It’s pretty neat, isn’t it?” said Anholt, who is now the general manager of going to be fun.” the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes. “I actually went to a game up in Edmonton with Chicago before everything hit. So we went up and The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 watched Edmonton and Chicago play, so that was really good because we were there for the pregame skate and it was fun visiting with the both of them. It’s going to be fun, to see how it shakes out because certainly Chicago is the underdogs and JC’s got his work cut out for him to go head-to-head against Tip. Tip’s got some fantastic experience and been around a long, long time. JC will have his hands full going head-to-head against Davey.”
Colliton was influenced by a number of coaches coming up, but Anholt especially got through to him. It was during Colliton’s time at Prince Albert that Anholt pushed Colliton to abandon his shell and be a leader through his actions and words. The actions part was always easier for Colliton.
“He was pretty hard-nosed, pretty traditional coach, very demanding, especially on the top players and leaders,” Colliton said. “There were times where it was uncomfortable, but it made me better. One of the biggest things he did was force me to become more comfortable 1176815 Florida Panthers “The Florida Panthers stand proudly with the Tampa Bay Lightning in joining other National Hockey League teams in the fight against racial injustice and discrimination,” the team said in a statement. “As we stand in solidarity, we continue to learn more about the role we can play in Florida Panthers enter playoffs qualifying round with even more bringing forth positive change and equality in our community and defensive question marks beyond.”
Miami Herald LOADED: 07.30.2020 By David Wilson
Panthers coach Quenneville's calls loss to Lightning a "wake-up call."
Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville's spoke to the media via Zoom after the team's 5-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their only exhibition game ahead of the expanded postseason. By NHL
The Florida Panthers’ porous defense was always going to be the biggest obstacle they had to overcome in the expanded postseason. Now the unit faces even more issues with just two days until the Panthers open the qualifying round against the New York Islanders on Saturday.
As expected, Aaron Ekblad did not play in Florida’s exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. Unexpectedly, neither did MacKenzie Weegar, Ekblad’s usual partner on the Panthers’ top defensive playing, and Joel Quenneville didn’t offer any assurance’s about Weegar’s status moving forward.
“We’ll see on Weegs,” was all the coach said about the defenseman’s status following Florida’s 5-0 scrimmage loss in Toronto.
Ekblad’s absence was precautionary as he’s recovering from an undisclosed injury, which kept him off the ice for the Panthers’ final three practices of their postseason training camp last week in Coral Springs before he returned to practice Monday in Ontario.
Weegar is a new addition to Florida’s informal injury report. He didn’t miss any time throughout training camp at the Florida Panthers IceDen and Quenneville didn’t say anything about Weegar’s participation at Florida’s first practice in Canada on Monday.
With the defensemen both out, Quenneville turned to a top defensive pairing of defensemen Keith Yandle and Josh Brown. Defensemen Mike Matheson and Brady Keeper filled in as the third defensive pairing. Keeper, who spent the entire regular season with AHL Springfield, looked solid in his action, while Matheson struggled, on the ice for all five Lightning goals.
“We’ve got to be better in all areas,” Quenneville said.
Quenneville said Noel Acciari, who was shaken up after blocking a puck, “should be fine.”
An unusual atmosphere
The NHL’s setup for the qualifying round of the Stanley Cup playoffs will be a bit more intricate this weekend, but the Panthers did get their first taste of competitive action in the COVID-19 world Wednesday.
With no fans in the crowd, Florida found there’s a new point of emphasis to think about for Saturday: a lively bench.
“It was definitely different from what we’re used to. It’s the same for everybody,” forward Erik Haula said. “It’s kind of nice to get an exhibition game, get a feel for what it’s going to be like. We talked in the locker room that it’s very, very important to have a positive bench, be up, be talking because you’ve got to find that energy among yourselves, so we were working on that. I feel like we did a good job. We were positive and on that aspect I think we were pretty solid.”
NHL social-justice stance
The NHL has had a template for social-justice gestures throughout these scrimmages in Canada, and Florida and Tampa Bay took part Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.
As the national anthems played, the Panthers and Lightning lined up intermingled on the two blue lines, rather than have each team stand on their own. The gesture is intended to show the teams stand “united in solidarity ... against social injustice, racism and hate,” the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins said in a joint statement Tuesday as they became the first teams to do so. 1176816 Florida Panthers “I thought he battled and did what he had to do,” Quenneville said. “A lot of open looks at both ends of the rink today, but Bob did what he had to do. I thought he was fine under the circumstances. We’re going to need everybody across the board to be better after today.” Panthers have to regroup quickly after exhibition rout. ‘It certainly is a wake-up call’ The Lightning’s first and fifth goals were the direct result of defensive- zone giveaways. Tampa Bay’s second happened when center Brayden Point streaked down the ice totally unmarked to field a long pass. On the fourth, Bobrovsky’s vision was shielded off by four teammates, caught By David Wilson out of position and strewn aimlessly in front of the net.
Defenseman Mike Matheson, who committed one of the giveaways and The Florida Panthers’ lone exhibition tuneup before the expanded had the defensive breakdown on the second goal, was on the ice for all postseason starts Saturday began innocently enough. The Panthers and five Lightning goals. Tampa Bay Lightning both took some time to settle, as everyone “It’s just going to be a lot of work and thankfully we have a couple days to expected given the four-month hiatus because of the COVID-19 do it,” Boyle said. “We have an opportunity to learn our lesson and a pandemic, and then Florida actually started to generate some chances. It couple of days before us, so we’ve got to put that time to good use.” went on the power play and failed twice, but the Panthers were still playing even with — if not better than — the Lightning for more than 10 Miami Herald LOADED: 07.30.2020 minutes Wednesday in Toronto.
Quickly, it all fell apart. Tampa Bay scored once in the 14th minute, then again with just seconds left in the first period. In the second period, the floodgates opened scored twice more in the first six minutes. With four goals allowed in less than 12 minutes, Florida was crashing to a 5-0 loss in their only exhibition game ahead of the qualifying round.
“It certainly is a wake-up call,” coach Joel Quenneville said.
The Panthers’ offense was bad, their defense was worse and now Florida stares down meaningful action Saturday with even more concerns than they had entering the exhibition at Scotiabank Arena.
Florida went 0 for 4 on the power play. Sergei Bobrovsky, who played all 60 minutes in net, gave up five goals on 34 shots. The Panthers now even have question marks surrounding their entire top defensive pairing after Florida mysteriously scratched MacKenzie Weegar for the exhibition, leaving both him and fellow defenseman Aaron Ekblad on the bench for the Panthers’ only taste of live action before they open their five-game series against the New York Islanders in the qualifying round Saturday.
“I don’t think there’s one area of our game,” forward Brian Boyle said, “that we can be even OK with.”
What went wrong on offense?
The first period was the closest Florida got to playing its winning style. The Panthers got their first power-play opportunity less than five minutes into the game and immediately started peppering star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, with five shots on goal in less than three minutes. Florida outshot the Lightning 11-10 in the opening period.
On those first two power plays, the Panthers commanded the puck and generated chances. The rest of the way, they never emulated those opportunities., squandering two more power-play chances in the second and third periods, including a 5-on-3 chance in third.
Florida’s top line — center Aleksander Barkov, and wingers Evgenii Dadonov and Frank Vatrano — combined for just three shots on goal. Second-line left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, the Panthers’ lone All-Star, managed just one shot.
“We were a little bit one and done today. We got some chances, like you said, but there wasn’t a whole lot of puck possession,” forward Erik Haula said. “Tampa had the puck pretty much the whole game and we didn’t, so they controlled play, and we’ve got to look at some stuff and kind of find it quick.”
How worried are Panthers about Bobrovsky?
The offense’s issues left Florida’s defense on its heels and it didn’t handle the challenge well.
When Tampa Bay pulled away from the Panthers in the second period, it did so by outshooting Florida 10-5. In the third period, the Lightning outshot the Panthers 14-10.
The story was the same for Bobrovsky as it has been all season: He was to blame for some of what went wrong defensively, but not all of it. He was not the reason Tampa Bay kept scoring, but he also didn’t elevate his play to make up for the deficiencies in front of him. 1176817 Florida Panthers Trotz will surely match defense pairs where he can, though. Pelech and Ryan Pulock will presumably see a lot of Barkov and Pelech and Scott Mayfield will get the task of containing the Panthers’ lethal top power-play unit. In rolling four lines, Trotz wants to see all of his forwards be physical Roundtable preview: Key factors and predictions for Islanders-Panthers on Barkov and Huberdeau and perhaps exploit some matchups in the Panthers’ bottom six — though, between Connolly and Noel Acciari,
Florida’s got some bottom-sixers who score more than the Isles’ top- By Max Bultman and Arthur Staple Jul 29, 2020 31 sixers.
Bultman: I’m glad you mentioned Pageau, because your story on him last week sold me on him being an X-factor in this series. I know the training It’s about four months later than expected, but postseason hockey is now camp probably got old for some guys, but how big of an opportunity did it just days away. create for Pageau in his assimilation to the team and to Trotz’s system? I mean, this might be the first time ever that deadline acquisitions have And once it begins, if the NHL is able to maintain a tight bubble and keep gotten this type of a reset with their new teams. players and team staff healthy, it has the potential to be one of the wildest postseasons we’ve ever seen. Staple: It was a huge reset for Pageau, given the Islanders went 0-3-4 with him after the trade and he looked like he was trying to justify his big So,The Athletic’s Arthur Staple and Max Bultman got together to discuss new contract every second he was on the ice. He’s not a star; he’s a the Panthers-Islanders qualifying-round series, identify the potential X- good, complementary role player, and his proficiency on faceoffs (53.5 factors and predict a winner. percent this year) puts him into a rotation with Casey Cizikas and Brock Bultman: Let’s start off with a simple one: What’s the vibe been like in Nelson, who are also over 50 percent on draws. Pageau will certainly Isles land ahead of returning to play — to whatever degree you can help. discern a vibe from video conferences? Is there a Panther who rates as an X-factor here? Staple: It started with, “Hey, this is weird!” Then it progressed to, “Hey, Bultman: Here’s where I’ll come back to Bobrovsky, and not just because this is getting old!” It’s hard to imagine a team that’s accustomed to 3-4 goalies can make or break any team in the playoffs. But also, yeah, partly days of proper training camp and two weeks of intrasquad scrimmages because goalies can make or break any team in the playoffs. Prior to last before exhibition games begin, but Barry Trotz has a very mature crew. year’s playoffs with Columbus, Bobrovsky’s career postseason numbers This may be the one time it helps to have an older team. had been less than inspiring. Then he went out and turned in a series Bultman: If memory serves, the Islanders had a pretty absurd winning sweep over the Lightning, the best team in hockey during the 2018-19 streak early in the season. I know it came after a 1-3 start, which regular season, and ended up with a .925 save percentage across 10 certainly they can’t afford to replicate in a best-of-5 first-round, but then it games. was 10 straight wins and 15 out of 16. Is there any reason to believe this Columbus still only lasted into the second round last year, and Bobrovsky team is particularly well-equipped to go on a bit of a run? It seems like didn’t have the regular season you’d expect from a goalie making $10 their depth, in particular, could serve them well in a compressed million a year in his first year with the Panthers. But, as colleague Scott schedule early. Burnside wrote last week, he has a chance to recapture some of that “old Staple: Yes, I think this is where the Islanders have their biggest edge on magic” in this postseason. And if he does, then the Panthers are going to the Panthers. The Isles are fully healthy, which means lunch-pail regulars have a real shot in the series. like Adam Pelech (ruptured Achilles) and Casey Cizikas (leg laceration) Which reminds me: How do you see things shaking out in net for the are back after missing weeks prior to the shutdown. The Islanders want Isles during this series? Is Varlamov the clear-cut starter unless to play a structured, ugly game; the Panthers, judging by their numbers catastrophe strikes? this season, want to let their skill guys dominate. If the Islanders get to that greasy, grinding game quickly, Florida may get frustrated. Staple: I think Varlamov has the edge to be the Game 1 starter since neither he nor Thomas Greiss looked incredibly good or incredibly bad Where do you see the Panthers having a distinct advantage? during Phase 3 camp. But I am intrigued about Games 2-3 back to back Bultman: I think it comes back to those skill players you alluded to, and and whether Trotz will gamble on using both goalies, especially if the that, inevitably, is going to lead back to the power play. The Panthers had series is 1-1 or the Isles are up 2-0 heading into Game 3. One of the the 10th best power play in the league this season, and while the Isles reasons for having two viable goalies is to save them in situations where were fairly middle of the pack in terms of both committing and killing the data shows quite clearly that goalies do not benefit from playing on penalties, it seems like special teams could have some real bearing on consecutive days. how this series plays out. That’s a luxury we assume the Panthers don’t have, so it will be fun to The Panthers had five players who scored 20 or more goals in the see what Trotz decides. regular season, and likely would have had at least one more (Brett I think we’ve covered some serious ground here. What’s your prediction Connolly had 19) if the season had been completed. But to me, it’s for how this series shakes out? Huberdeau and Barkov (and Sergei Bobrovsky, but more on him in a minute) who represent the Panthers’ best hope. They’ve got the offensive Bultman: I’ll take the Isles in 4, because playoff hockey should suit a firepower, so then it comes down to whether they will have enough room team with such a clear-cut identity. My main question is whether they’ll to make the most of it. And really, that seems like the question for any be able to come back if they go down a goal or two early, and certainly team against the Isles. they weren’t the hottest team in the league when things shut down. But I think this will be a chance to start fresh, and their composition makes me I guess that brings the question back to how you see Trotz wanting to lean their direction in this series. What about you? match up in a series like this, and a question I’m fascinated with for almost every team: In a short series, do you dutifully roll four lines to Staple: I say Islanders in 5. Florida will get its goals, especially with that keep guys fresh, knowing there’s a back-to-back scheduled for Games 2 power play, so I don’t see the Islanders holding the Panthers down the and 3? Do you rely on your top players more than ever because it only entire series. But this Islander team has shown an ability to recover takes three losses to end your season? How do you see New York quickly and having a good option in net will allow them to bounce back approaching that? from a loss. I see three tight wins for the Islanders sandwiched around a couple of ugly losses, but the Isles take it. Staple: This is very much a 20-guys-pulling-the-rope crew, which is how Trotz got them to buy in to his scheme so quickly in 2018-19. They were Bultman: Thanks for doing this, Arthur! Should be exciting to watch it all a bit too decimated by injuries to key guys to be as successful this play out. season, but Trotz has been clear that rolling four lines and not worrying too much about matching up is important for his team. The deadline Staple: Welcome aboard the postseason train, Max! You may get to see addition of J-G Pageau helps there, since the Isles’ third line was a mess some decent hockey this season after all. all season long. The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176818 Florida Panthers was to be expected and now the team’s results more clearly mirror the average talent on the roster.
What the Islanders’ roster lacks is bona fide elite talent and that’s what 2020 NHL qualifying round preview: Islanders vs. Panthers separates them from other legitimate Cup contenders. The Islanders have good players and they have some depth — but they don’t have great players, players that can tilt the ice and break a game wide open. That didn’t matter so much last season as they fully bought into a team By Dom Luszczyszyn Jul 29, 2020 21 mentality (and also got league-best goaltending that they couldn’t replicate in back-to-back seasons), but that only took them so far and worked for so long. This season it’s become more evident that they’re The New York Islanders and Florida Panthers are two teams that lacking that element to push them into the next tier. could’ve really used a break when the season stopped. The Islanders were in free-fall after a hot start, losing seven straight games and 11 of Mathew Barzal is the closest to reaching that threshold up front. He’s one their last 13. That stretch saw them go from a playoff lock to looking like of the game’s best players with control of the puck, an explosive skater a team that might fall right out of the race entirely. The Panthers weren’t who is a cheat code when it comes to bringing the puck up ice. This year too much better, dropping 12 of their last 18 and looking less and less he was on a 72-point pace, an impressive total on a defensive team, but likely to make the postseason. A fresh start was needed for both clubs. despite his skill set, he isn’t really taking over games. At 5-on-5 the Islanders get 52 percent of the expected and actual goals with him on the That’s what they got and all that’s standing in their way of that playoff ice, a solid number, but not an overwhelming one in line with some of the berth is each other in a series that looks pretty damn winnable from game’s best centers. either perspective. This looks to be a tightly contested matchup where it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either team prevail. It’s the second closest Barzal has help in the form of two first-line calibre wingers, Anders Lee series of the qualifying round. and Jordan Eberle, but neither belongs in that upper echelon and aren’t that far off from second-line status. They’re good for around 50-to-55 The Islanders are the favourites in this one at just under 54 percent, points while being solid 5-on-5 contributors, but that’s not saying much mostly due to how weak my model believes the Panthers to be and not compared to what other teams can throw out with their top lines. Brock necessarily how strong the Islanders are. The Islanders only project to be Nelson anchors the second line and offers similar value. He had a strong an average team, while the Panthers grade out as one of the weakest breakout season playing at a career-high 65-point pace, but his on-ice teams playing in the qualifying round. impacts to go along with it are only middling. He helps create a fine one- two punch with Barzal and grades out as a low-end first-line calibre Still, the gap between the two isn’t very large and in a short five-game center at 1.9 wins of value. That’s a luxury few teams have on the series, Florida will have a legitimate shot at advancing to just its third second line and he ranks among the 10 best second-line pivots league- playoffs of this millennium. The Panthers drew a beatable opponent and wide. That the second line left winger spot remains wide open isn’t ideal while both teams have obvious strengths, they also have legitimate though, especially if it is Ross Johnston taking it. That’s a big hole in the weaknesses ready to exploit. Interestingly, each team’s biggest strength team’s top six. seems to mirror the opposing team’s biggest weakness which should make for a fascinating chess match between the two clubs. Two of the Nelson, along with the top line, gives the Islanders a decent quartet of best head coaches in hockey, Barry Trotz and Joel Quenneville, will be first-line calibre forwards which is not something a lot of teams can boast. more than up for the task. It’s a modest collection of talent and may just be enough for a qualifying round showdown against the Panthers, but it pales in comparison to what The Islanders are a strong defensive team, one that finished in the they might be up against in the next round against stronger teams. league’s top 10 in goals against at 5-on-5. That’s been their identity since Trotz became head coach and they lived up to it again in 2019-20. The Even against Florida, there’s the issue of quality versus quantity as the Panthers are a strong offensive team, one that finished in the league’s two best forwards in the series play for the Panthers. In Aleksander top five in goals for at 5-on-5 off the strength of a scintillating shooting Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, the Panthers have a dynamic forward percentage. They’ve got some dangerous offensive weapons and play at duo that is exactly what the Islanders lack. They’re two of the league’s a high pace to maximize that effect. At 5-on-5, this series will be like yin most dangerous offensive talents, capable of taking over games all on and yang as two strong, but opposing forces butt heads. It’ll be a battle of their own in a way the Islanders can’t match. Both players eclipsed 90 which strength comes out on top and it’ll be interesting to watch the points last season and Huberdeau was on pace to pull it off again this showdown as an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object. season. Neither player was a puck possession star this season, but the Panthers still managed to amass 54 percent of the goals at 5-on-5 due to The other side of the ice will be the exact opposite: a stoppable force their prolific offence. The pair are also key cogs to a decent power play, meeting a moveable object as the two teams are exceptionally weak at something the Islanders also lack likely due to their absence of elite the other end of the ice. The Islanders really struggle to score due to their offensive talent. lack of offensive talent and though they were a middling team at generating chances, they struggled to convert them finishing 25th in Shutting both players down will be paramount to Islanders’ success, and goals for at 5-on-5. Much the same, the Panthers struggled mightily it’ll be interesting to see how Florida splitting them up onto separate lines keeping goals out of their net, finishing 28th in the league in goals- plays a role in that. The two bring out the best in each other but have against at 5-on-5 thanks mostly to the third-worst goaltending. It’s safe to struggled to replicate that success while apart. Over the past two say they’re not exactly getting their money’s worth there after making a seasons, they have a 56 percent goals percentage together thanks to big splash in free agency one summer ago. earning 3.6 goals for per 60, but both numbers drop significantly when split, earning around 44 to 46 percent of the goals. By expected goals, On special teams it’s the same story. Again, the Islanders’ strength is on Barkov’s numbers drop by five percentage points (Huberdeau’s remain defense and the Panthers’ is on offence, with both teams looking pretty the same) to 44 percent. Sometimes spreading the wealth can be an evenly matched. And again, the Islanders’ weakness is on offence while effective strategy in the matchup game as it creates a more balanced the Panthers struggle on defence. These teams have a specific brand of attack that’s tougher to stop. Other times it pays to load up on an elite hockey and they seem likely to live up to it no matter the manpower duo to overwhelm the competition. That’s where Florida’s twosome seem situation. to be at their best as they’ve struggled to carry their own lines. This season, when these two clashing styles met, it played out entirely in Creating mismatches in a playoff series is crucial, and though the goal the Islanders’ favour as they swept the season series 3-0, out-scoring the with splitting up Florida’s two elite stars seems to be doing just that, it Panthers 7-4. The Islanders didn’t score much, as promised, but they hasn’t been as effective as it looks on paper. Considering New York’s managed to stifle a deadly Panthers attack, holding Florida to just 1.33 lack of elite talent, it may just make more sense to load up on the top line goals-per-game. New York will need that same energy in this series. and create the coveted mismatch there – overwhelm the Islanders with a The Islanders have the edge here overall, but it’s plain to see above why line it doesn’t have the pieces to stack up against. it’s not exactly a large one despite the uneven season series. They have The issue is Florida might not have the necessary depth to get away with the stronger expected goals share, but lag behind when it comes to that. The Panthers have two other secondary stars with 60-point upside actual results at 5-on-5 — a stark change from the team’s output last in Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman that can do some offensive season where they were able to greatly outscore expectations. That drop damage, but that’s it for top-six calibre forwards. The team is pretty thin outside of that, which leaves an opening for the Islanders’ bottom six to defense corps – a 45 percent expected goals rate when neither Ekblad or do some damage. Weegar is on the ice – the Panthers might benefit from leaning heavily on their top duo. The deadline addition of Jean-Gabriel Pageau helps a lot in filling a massive hole and creating more depth. The team actually looks quite The Islanders’ top four isn’t really comprised of any especially strong formidable down the middle as a result. That’s if Pageau can play at the offensive talent, but they make up for that in their ability to suppress level he showcased in Ottawa. His first seven games in Long Island left a chances and play strong defensive hockey. All four of Ryan Pulock, lot to be desired as he got crushed at 5-on-5 to the tune of a 41 percent Adam Pelech, Devon Toews and Scott Mayfield carry positive defensive expected goals rate while getting outscored 6-1. The Islanders paid a impacts and they’re the engine that drives the Islanders’ identity. Pulock hefty price for Pageau and need him to live up to that. In Anthony is a legitimate No. 1 defenceman and forms a strong shutdown pairing Beauvillier and Derick Brassard, he has two solid linemates for support with Pelech who was sorely missed near the end of the season. He’s a and unlike his time in Ottawa, he won’t be tasked with playing tough big addition back into the lineup, falling just shy of first pair territory. If minutes either. Florida decides to load up their top line, this duo will be ready to handle it – though their numbers did drop a little compared to last season. Toews, Brassard in particular had a nice bounce-back season after having a meanwhile, is perhaps the team’s most intriguing blueliner. He’s the disastrous time since being traded from Ottawa himself back in 2017-18. Islanders’ best puck-mover from the back end which had led to a strong He scored at a second line rate while putting up team average on-ice expected goals rate in each of the past two seasons. Having a player of numbers. Along with Beauvillier, a capable 20-goal scorer, the Islanders his calibre on the second pairing is a big advantage. have the makings of a solid third line here. It’s one that matches up pretty well against Florida’s which is anchored by a past-his-prime Brian Boyle Where the Islanders have issues on defense is on the third pair, where who posted a team-worst 43.7 percent expected goals rate. He’s they remain loyal to Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk despite a mountain between the offensively inept Lucas Wallmark and strong finisher Brett of evidence suggesting the duo’s best days are long past due. This Connolly, whose goal-scoring talents will likely be wasted on this line. season the pairing was outscored 20-16 and put up a ghastly 43.5 percent expected goals rate together. On the scoring chances front, they Lastly, there’s the fourth line where the Islanders have the league’s best were just as bad last year too. What’s especially strange is the team bottom line center in Casey Cizikas. He was second on the team behind spent a second-round pick to acquire Andy Greene at the deadline and Eberle with a 54.6 percent expected goals rate and first in actual goals at the grizzled veteran represents a decent improvement over either player, 60.7 percent. He had similarly strong numbers last year too. It should as does his rookie partner, Noah Dobson. Though he played mostly come as no surprise that the team began to really slide in February once sheltered minutes, it’s still noteworthy that Dobson led the team’s they lost Cizikas to injury as he’s a pivotal piece of the puzzle in Long defence in both expected and actual goals percentage this year at 53 Island. He’s an excellent play-driver, especially defensively, and is the percent. Having that duo as the third pair would add 1.4 wins of value to main reason the team’s fourth line is so effective. They can be used the team’s bottom line, which would boost New York’s chances of effectively in a shutdown role in a pinch too – Sidney Crosby can winning the series to 56.1 percent. certainly attest to that from last year’s playoffs – which can help free up the Islanders’ best scorers against one of Florida’s weaker lines. As for the goalies, they come out looking relatively even. That might be difficult to believe considering how famously Bobrovsky struggled this The Panthers’ fourth line isn’t in the same realm as the Islanders, season, posting an .899 save percentage and allowing 13.5 goals more especially if Noel Acciari can’t replicate his absurd 18.5 percent shooting than expected, the eighth-worst mark in the league. However, much of percentage from this season. Acciari impressively scored 20 goals on 12 that damage came in the season’s first half. Though he never looked as expected in 2019-20, but I’m skeptical he can keep up that pace strong as his previous heights, he was fine from January onward. Those considering his prior track record. previous heights do matter though, especially for goalies where sample On defence, it might be a bit perplexing to see the two teams grade out size is king and larger bodies of work create more reliability in a goalie’s nearly equal considering their opposing strengths. The Islanders are of numbers. The version of Bobrovsky that won multiple Vezina Trophies course the stronger defensive team, but some of that defensive acumen and was frequently among the league’s goals saved above expected comes from a responsible group of forwards, while the value of Florida’s leaders is still in there somewhere and it’s why he grades out as a defenders includes the offensive ability they bring to the table. capable netminder despite a trying season.
That’s the only reason Keith Yandle, the team’s weakest defender, Varlamov has the edge though and that’s entirely due to a stronger 2019- comes out looking pretty sharp with 1.2 wins of value. Most of that comes 20 performance. Though he sagged near the end, he still saved 1.3 goals from quarterbacking the team’s power play where he is one of the above average for the season which ranked 23rd league-wide. Varlamov game’s most productive players, which offsets his sketchy play at 5-on-5. has a history of inconsistency, yo-yo-ing between effective and poor His 45.7 percent expected goals rate was the second-worst mark on the goaltending from season-to-season, so it’s difficult to know what you’ll team. That he’s partnered with Mike Matheson, who had the third-worst get with him, but as an Islander, he’s well-insulated defensively. mark on the team, doesn’t bode well for Florida’s second pair which Goaltending will be key for both teams and like any series, whichever could be exposed against a structured Islanders team. team gets it will probably come out on top. For the Islanders, it’s become A lot of the heavy lifting in this series will come down to the Aaron Ekblad clear their stingy defensive identity is dependent on goaltending and and MacKenzie Weegar pairing which was a revelation this season. they’ll need Varlamov to be sharp to keep that up. For the Panthers, their Ekblad took a massive step forward this year as a puck-mover, rating in free-flowing attack means Bobrovsky will have to bail them out frequently the 90th percentile for shot assists among defencemen this season and – more than he did this season. He’s capable of it and has series-stealing looking particularly strong at entering the zone. In previous seasons, it potential, but we still haven’t seen that version of him in Florida. seemed as if he struggled to move the puck, especially in the offensive Across the board, the Islanders have the slightest of edges. Their zone, but that changed this season which bore out in his production. For forwards are a little bit better, their defencemen are a little bit better and his career, Ekblad averaged just 0.55 assists per 60 at 5-on-5, most of their goaltenders are a little bit better. But a little bit doesn’t leave much which were secondary helpers and he never eclipsed 0.7 in a season. margin for error and Florida has some pieces that will make this series This year, he managed 1.32 assists per 60, with 0.84 of those being interesting, especially if they can play to their fullest potential. primary. The latter mark actually led the league and ushered a seventh- place finish among defencemen in 5-on-5 points-per-60 just behind The bottom line names like Cale Makar, John Carlson, Roman Josi and Dougie Hamilton. For the first time since his first two seasons, Ekblad actually looked like a This has the makings of a very close series, an environment the legitimate No. 1 defenceman, an elite one at that. Islanders usually thrive in. Though they really struggled down the stretch, they’re in much better health now, and that matters for a team that isn’t A lot of credit for the Ekblad’s emergence and the top pair’s success as deep. They need every piece to execute their preferred style of play should go to finding chemistry with the unheralded Weegar who has and Cizikas and Pelech are crucial ones to that cause. blossomed into a genuine top-pairing option himself. He’s a well-rounded player that led the team in expected goals percentage and that translated While the Islanders are the better team, the best players are on the other in tough minutes with Ekblad. In 553 minutes together this season, the side and both Barkov and Huberdeau can dominate over a five-game duo had a very strong 55 percent expected goals rate and the Panthers stretch or less. That’s not something the Islanders can go toe-to-toe with outscored opposing teams 33-24, both of which are very strong and shutting that duo down will be critical. A series where Barkov and considering the context of their minutes. Given the play of the rest of the Huberdeau flex their offensive strengths won’t be pretty for the Islanders who will need to contain the twin superstars as best they can. It’s an offence versus defence showdown here, and though neither team looks likely to inflict much damage in the next round against an actual contender, the contrasting styles between two teams close in total talent should make for a captivating series.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176819 Los Angeles Kings
REIGN DONATE MORE THAN $500K TO INLAND EMPIRE COMMUNITY IN 2019-20 SEASON
BY ZACH DOOLEY FOR LAKINGSINSIDER.COMJULY 29, 20200 COMMENTSCOMMUNITYONTARIO REIGN
The Ontario Reign announced this afternoon that the organization, in conjunction with the Hope Reigns Foundation, donated $500,710 to the Inland Empire during the 2019-20 season. The Reign’s donations bring the team to over $2.9 million donated across six seasons as an AHL franchise and was a part of more than $4.8 million donated across the American Hockey League during the 2019-20 campaign.
The largest chunk of the total donation came from the team’s efforts with specialty jerseys, which accounted for just over 1/3 of the overall donation total. That number would have been even higher has the AHL season not been cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, which cancelled eight remaining Reign home games, including three specialty jerseys nights as well as Fan Appreciation Night, which would have included a “jerseys off our backs” promotion.
Other highlights from the Reign’s 2019-20 community impact included the completion of a pair of large-scale, multi-year programs. As a part of both the Reign and the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic in Ontario, the Reign completed a $60,000 contribution to the Lightspeed Academy, to provide local artists, designers, entrepreneurs and educators with access to state of the art technology and resources to develop prototypes for new products, graphic designs, and creative services. Additionally, the Reign completed a two-year, $20,000 commitment to the Ontario Fire Department to provide trauma kits to high schools throughout the City of Ontario. In addition to the donation, the Ontario Fire Department conducted training for school staff administration on bleed control techniques.
In terms of community appearances, the Reign started two important initiatives to help grow the game in the Inland Empire. The Reign held Hockey Day in the IE on January 13, as Reign players visited practices with the Ontario Jr. Reign, Ontario Moose and Empire Hockey Club to skate with youth players. On February 4, Reign players visited three schools in the Inland Empire to teach ball hockey to students, while instilling values such as leadership and teamwork that are synonymous with the game of hockey. These two programs will be continued in future seasons, to continue to help develop the next generation of hockey players.
Overall, the Hope Reigns Foundation supported more than 400 local organizations throughout the course of the 2019-20 season
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176820 Los Angeles Kings with the final game beginning at 7:30 PM Pacific. Think the first weekend of March Madness, but on ice!
Shown below is the broadcast schedule for the first five days of play – HOCKEY IS BACK! STANLEY CUP QUALIFIERS BEGIN AUGUST 1 – So, what can we expect while watching the broadcast? DETAILS HERE Fans are getting a preview this week, with what is described as a
watered down version of the full return to play on Saturday. Exhibition BY ZACH DOOLEY FOR LAKINGSINSIDER.COMJULY 29, 20200 games went off beginning yesterday, but the NHL did not roll out all of COMMENTSUNCATEGORIZED the bells and whistles that are expected for the broadcasts this weekend.
As leagues around North America including the NBA, WNBA, NWSL, MLS and MLB have returned to play, following the return of several The words we’ve all been waiting for…the NHL is back on Saturday! European soccer leagues, we’ve seen everything from pumped in crowd noise to cardboard cutouts of fans, all of which have been received with It’s been a long road to this point, but it feels rewarding for everyone as varying degrees of acceptance. the NHL returns to play this coming weekend. The league will be broadcasting every qualifying round and round robin game, as of now As reported by NHL.com and the LA Times among others, the NHL is through August 5, on NBC, NBC Sports, NHL Network and the aiming to cater its game presentation exclusively to those watching at occasional game on USA Network for those in the U.S., while Canadian home, which is nearly the entirety of its viewership in this unique, fanless viewers can watch the same games through the Sportsnet or TVA family situation. The league has partnered with EA Sports, creator of the NHL of networks. Fans can also stream via NHL.TV and NHL Center Ice video game series, to use the company’s library of in-game sounds to during the qualifying round and round robin stage. create a more realistic atmosphere surrounding the games. The NHL has also collected goal songs, goal horns and in-arena music compilations Can an employee get paid for watching NHL action for 15 consecutive from each of the 24 participating teams, as well as fan-submitted videos hours? Asking for a friend myself. to mimic some of the more original chants used in specific arenas. The schedule for all games from August 5-August 9, as of this writing, There will be no cardboard cutouts of fans in the arena and no virtual contains many games currently designated as “if necessary” in the best- fans placed into the seats using the technology that is capable of doing of-five formats. That broadcast information will be announced later for so. I mean, you try filling out the paperwork for insuring yourself against a those dates, as the eight series dictate how many Games 4 and Games cardboard cutout getting hit in the head with an errant clearing attempt. 5, so we will see. We’d never drop the puck. Here’s how the league will breakdown its broadcasts in the United States There will, however, be more than 10 additional camera angles in use for for the first five days of play – each game, to give the viewers at home additional content to consume NBC Sports (U.S.) during the broadcasts. While it won’t be the Stanley Cup Playoffs we’re used to, the league has made the effort to do unique things in a one-of-a- • NBC Sports will present up to 120 hours of coverage of the 2020 kind situation. Stanley Cup Qualifiers on NBC, NBCSN and USA Network beginning Aug. 1, highlighted by at least 10 hours of wall-to-wall NHL action each For me, I’m torn on the “fake” crowd noise. On one hand, hearing some day from Aug. 1-5, comprised of Qualifying Round and Round Robin sort of buzzing going on during play makes me feel more like I’m matchups. watching a normal game, and less like one in an empty arena. On the other side of it though, it just doesn’t do it for me when you hear that loud • Beginning Saturday, Aug. 1, through Wednesday, Aug. 5, NBC Sports AWWWW from a crowd that isn’t there after a narrowly missed chance. It will present coverage from at least four games each day across NBC, felt strange to me watching soccer matches, hearing the crowd react in NBCSN and USA Network, including some games that will be joined in different ways, and then you look up and see banners or empty seats progress. behind the goal.
NHL Network (U.S.) It will also be interesting though to see how the league integrates fans watching from home. The NFL Draft and MLS Is Back Tournament, as • NHL Network will air a combined seven Stanley Cup Round Robin and well as English Premier League broadcasts on NBC, all took varying Qualifier games in the first five days of the 2020 Stanley Cup® Playoffs. approaches of integrating fans watching at home into the broadcast. The In addition to its live games, NHL Network will provide extensive studio MLS specifically had fans watching through a video platform shown live coverage, including NHL Tonight before and after every Stanley Cup on the broadcast, along the sidelines and behind the net, providing a Playoff game. Stanley Cup Playoff games will re-air on NHL Network, virtual fan experience. and additional content featuring NHL Network analysts will be featured across NHL Network’s digital platforms. Leading up to the 2020 Stanley Regardless of how it all shakes out, I’ll be interested to see how the NHL Cup Playoffs, NHL Network will air exhibition games, beginning with the approaches it. We’re just four days away from the return of competitive Toronto Maple Leafs against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, July hockey! 28, at 5 p.m. PT. NOTE – Zach Dooley works for the Ontario Reign and is one of many NHL Center Ice and NHL.TV (Streaming) contributors to LA Kings Insider during this time. Our organization understands the importance of LAKI to you and remain committed to • From Saturday, Aug. 1, through Wednesday, Aug. 5, 21 games will be evolving the platform and providing even more content once we resume available on NHL Center Ice and for streaming on NHL.TV. Local usual operations. blackouts apply. Additional games after Aug. 5 will be announced if available. LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 07.30.2020 • Fans can subscribe to NHL.TV for $4.99 for all access to exhibition games and qualifying rounds in the U.S. Blackout and restrictions apply. Fans can access or subscribe to NHL.TV through the flagship NHL app, official website, or on all major devices and platforms, including iOS, Android, tvOS, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Amazon Fire TV and tablets, and Google’s Chromecast. For more information on the NHL’s streaming service, visit: NHL.TV.
Beginning on Saturday, a minimum of five games will be broadcast each day, with that number bumped up to six from Monday through Wednesday. Beginning with the Rangers-Hurricanes matchup on what will be Saturday morning Los Angeles time, we’re looking at hockey all day, every day. The matchup begins at 9 a.m. here on the West Coast, and we’ll be treated to a steady stream of games all throughout the day, 1176821 Minnesota Wild Even if the Wild is losing daylight, darkness hasn’t set in yet. This season’s unpredictable road is proof of that.
A bottom-feeder early on, the Wild clawed its way back up the standings Wild 'running out of chances' for playoff run in Zach Parise-Ryan Suter and made enough strides to be lumped into this expanded, post-pause tenure pool for the playoffs. And the unique circumstances of restarting after a four-month hiatus in a centralized bubble are the same for everyone.
That’s a source of confidence for the Wild. So is how the group has By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune JULY 29, 2020 — 11:18PM evolved from last season’s transformation, with younger players Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek and Carson Soucy becoming regular contributors.
The boost Kirill Kaprizov can provide next season is also promising. EDMONTON, ALBERTA – The clock is ticking, and Ryan Suter knows it. “Putting ourselves in these situations is going to continue to help us and “We’re running out of chances,” the Wild defenseman said. help the organization, and it’s going to happen,” Suter said. “It’ll happen here.” Making the playoffs was the objective Suter had in mind when he and Zach Parise signed identical 13-year, $98 million contracts with the Wild Another opportunity in 2012, and it was a reasonable target. The Wild hadn’t advanced What can help fulfill that vision is the leadership at the top. beyond the regular season in four years and needed to become more competitive before it could emerge as a legitimate contender. As he approaches his anniversary on the job, GM Bill Guerin isn’t just expecting the Wild to evolve as a franchise. He’s calling it a necessity. But after seven postseason appearances in eight years — including the play-in series against Vancouver that begins Sunday as part of the NHL’s “The goal is to win a championship and if it hasn’t worked out, then we 24-team return — the Wild is still vying to be more than a participant and have to look at what’s been going on here and what needs to improve actually close the gap on a Stanley Cup. and what needs to change, and I think we’ve done a lot of that,” Guerin said. “Sometimes that isn’t changing just players. It’s not changing “It’s time to take those next steps here,” Suter said. coaches. It’s changing your mind-set.” Improvement was tangible at the beginning of the Suter-Parise tenure. The Wild can’t rewrite the past, but the team can take a new direction in Despite the team losing in five games to eventual Stanley Cup champion the future. Chicago in the 2013 playoffs, just getting past the regular season was “Let’s make the best of it,” said Parise. encouraging. In 2014, the Blackhawks eliminated the Wild in the second round. Star Tribune LOADED: 07.30.2020 “You felt like we were taking the right progression,” Parise recalled. “But it’s a hard league. You gotta have a lot of things go right to win the Cup. It’s just the way it goes.”
The Wild learned that firsthand.
Parise felt that 2013-14 version and the following season’s roster that was again felled by Chicago — this time in a four-game sweep by a team headed for another Stanley Cup — were the best teams the Wild had since he’s been here. But neither could reach that elusive conference- final stage, thanks partly to the roadblock of the Chicago dynasty.
Since then, the Wild lost in the first round in three straight years: in six games in 2016 (Dallas), five games in 2017 (St. Louis) and another quick five games in 2018 (Winnipeg).
On paper, the most promising of that bunch was the 2016-17 squad that put together the most successful regular season in franchise history and made aggressive moves at the trade deadline to prepare for a lengthy run. Instead, the team eked out just one win against the Blues.
“I thought that was our best team and our best chance,” Suter said. “But obviously it doesn’t really matter if you don’t go out and perform in the playoffs.”
Under construction
The consequences of those struggles culminated in 2019.
With a new general manager at the helm in Paul Fenton, the core that had become a perennial playoff team was dismantled.
Gone were Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund, and the Wild would go on to miss the postseason for the first time in seven seasons.
“You feel like after you have a couple times where you can’t get over that hump, that first, second round, and then you have a couple first-round exits, and I think change is inevitable,” Parise said. “So we went through a little transition where you had some guys that earned their way into being some very common household names with the Wild, they got traded.
“So that’s just the progression of teams that are trying to put that puzzle together of building a contender. I don’t want to say we missed our little window with that group, but that’s kind of what it felt like.”
Still optimistic 1176822 Minnesota Wild know that we got allies like our teammates and like our organizations behind us was very powerful and to have us four standing up there as four players of color in the game, I hope that showed some strength.”
Avalanche edges Wild 3-2 in exhibition game in Edmonton Star Tribune LOADED: 07.30.2020
By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune JULY 29, 2020 — 11:09PM
EDMONTON, Alberta – After a break Thursday, the Wild will have a few days left to prepare for its qualifying-round matchup with Vancouver, and its lone exhibition primer Wednesday offered up some practice material.
Despite a fast start by the power play, the unit came up empty-handed the rest of the game — finishing 1-for-8 in a 3-2 loss to the Avalanche at Rogers Place.
“More pucks have to go at the net,” coach Dean Evason said afterward on a video call. “We thought our entries were real good. We thought our puck control was real good. But we have to find opportunities to get pucks at the net.”
The power play tied the score 1-1 only 3 minutes, 5 seconds into the first period on a Matt Dumba one-timer, this after Colorado’s Joonas Donskoi opened the scoring at 1:25 when he buried a rebound by Alex Stalock.
A shot off the rush by Nathan MacKinnon reinstated the Avalanche’s lead by 4:47, but the period ended 2-2 after Eric Staal capitalized on a loose puck at the side of the net at 14:06.
Gabe Landeskog put Colorado ahead again at 4:31 of the second with his team’s only power-play goal in five tries, and that was the difference- maker even though the Wild had four more chances with the man advantage — including a four-minute look after Marcus Foligno was caught with a high stick.
“When you’ve got a guy on the one unit like Zach Parise, the puck needs to get there,” Evason said. “The puck needs to get there so he has an opportunity to score goals, and we didn’t do enough of that for whatever reason. We’ll obviously have a good opportunity to watch it and go forward with that, but definitely more pucks at the net will help us out.”
Stalock was in net for all three Avalanche goals, leaving near the midway point of the second after making 14 saves. Devan Dubnyk turned aside all 12 shots he faced in relief. Both remain under evaluation to determine the team’s Game 1 starter for Sunday.
“We saw some real good things from both of them,” Evason said. “Both of them had areas of the game that they had barrages, and they played and held up extremely well. We liked both their games.”
Different sound
Although the Wild’s goal horn went off on the TV broadcast after the team scored Wednesday, the reaction inside Rogers Place was much tamer.
“There’s not a horn,” Stalock said. “There’s not a crowd. Just dead quiet and maybe a few stick taps and a cheer. It’ll take some getting used to.”
The Wild got its first introduction to game action without fans during its exhibition contest, and while players were impressed with the setup in Rogers Place — including the screens around the ice — the lack of sound was different.
“It was a little weird, I think, [with] no fans,” Kevin Fiala said. “But it was an emotional game. A lot of hits, a lot going on there. I think as the game went on, I didn’t feel such a difference. Maybe on the PP, when you go on the PP, there are no fans to cheer or when you have a big chance. You gotta play the game.”
Standing together
During the national anthem, Dumba and teammate Jordan Greenway stood with Colorado’s Nazem Kadri and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — a decision Dumba said showed “our strength in numbers in this fight against racism.”
Earlier this summer, Dumba helped launch the Hockey Diversity Alliance, which also includes Kadri.
“Me and Naz have done a lot of work, and we’ve shared that with both of our teams everything that we’ve been doing with HDA,” Dumba said. “To 1176823 Minnesota Wild know that we got allies like our teammates and like our organizations behind us was very powerful and to have us four standing up there as four players of color in the game, I hope that showed some strength.”
Avalanche edges Wild 3-2 in exhibition game in Edmonton Star Tribune LOADED: 07.30.2020
By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune JULY 29, 2020 — 11:09PM
EDMONTON, Alberta – After a break Thursday, the Wild will have a few days left to prepare for its qualifying-round matchup with Vancouver, and its lone exhibition primer Wednesday offered up some practice material.
Despite a fast start by the power play, the unit came up empty-handed the rest of the game — finishing 1-for-8 in a 3-2 loss to the Avalanche at Rogers Place.
“More pucks have to go at the net,” coach Dean Evason said afterward on a video call. “We thought our entries were real good. We thought our puck control was real good. But we have to find opportunities to get pucks at the net.”
The power play tied the score 1-1 only 3 minutes, 5 seconds into the first period on a Matt Dumba one-timer, this after Colorado’s Joonas Donskoi opened the scoring at 1:25 when he buried a rebound by Alex Stalock.
A shot off the rush by Nathan MacKinnon reinstated the Avalanche’s lead by 4:47, but the period ended 2-2 after Eric Staal capitalized on a loose puck at the side of the net at 14:06.
Gabe Landeskog put Colorado ahead again at 4:31 of the second with his team’s only power-play goal in five tries, and that was the difference- maker even though the Wild had four more chances with the man advantage — including a four-minute look after Marcus Foligno was caught with a high stick.
“When you’ve got a guy on the one unit like Zach Parise, the puck needs to get there,” Evason said. “The puck needs to get there so he has an opportunity to score goals, and we didn’t do enough of that for whatever reason. We’ll obviously have a good opportunity to watch it and go forward with that, but definitely more pucks at the net will help us out.”
Stalock was in net for all three Avalanche goals, leaving near the midway point of the second after making 14 saves. Devan Dubnyk turned aside all 12 shots he faced in relief. Both remain under evaluation to determine the team’s Game 1 starter for Sunday.
“We saw some real good things from both of them,” Evason said. “Both of them had areas of the game that they had barrages, and they played and held up extremely well. We liked both their games.”
Different sound
Although the Wild’s goal horn went off on the TV broadcast after the team scored Wednesday, the reaction inside Rogers Place was much tamer.
“There’s not a horn,” Stalock said. “There’s not a crowd. Just dead quiet and maybe a few stick taps and a cheer. It’ll take some getting used to.”
The Wild got its first introduction to game action without fans during its exhibition contest, and while players were impressed with the setup in Rogers Place — including the screens around the ice — the lack of sound was different.
“It was a little weird, I think, [with] no fans,” Kevin Fiala said. “But it was an emotional game. A lot of hits, a lot going on there. I think as the game went on, I didn’t feel such a difference. Maybe on the PP, when you go on the PP, there are no fans to cheer or when you have a big chance. You gotta play the game.”
Standing together
During the national anthem, Dumba and teammate Jordan Greenway stood with Colorado’s Nazem Kadri and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — a decision Dumba said showed “our strength in numbers in this fight against racism.”
Earlier this summer, Dumba helped launch the Hockey Diversity Alliance, which also includes Kadri.
“Me and Naz have done a lot of work, and we’ve shared that with both of our teams everything that we’ve been doing with HDA,” Dumba said. “To 1176824 Minnesota Wild
Day 12: The end is near … but I'm finally a social distancing expert!
By Sarah McLellan JULY 29, 2020 — 10:45AM
Editor's note: Sarah McLellan is covering the Wild during the NHL postseason in her birthplace of Edmonton, but first must spend 14 days confined to her hotel room. She'll write regularly to her father, who now lives in Arizona, with an update on life with limited freedom.
Dear Dad,
The Wild is back in action today, but I won’t be able to watch in person.
I still have a few more days left in quarantine, this two-week isolation test the first I must pass to gain entry into the outside world. But I’ve realized being sequestered is also preparing me for the other challenges that I’ll face once I’m in Rogers Place and covering games for the first time in months.
At this point, I consider myself a social distancing expert. The only people who regularly come close to my room are the hotel workers, and they’re usually already down the hallway when I open the door to scoop up the food they dropped off. I’ll have no problem staying away from other media members or staff at the arena.
Although I might have been tempted to make friends with the appliances in my room, I haven’t really talked out loud to myself much since I’ve been here. Honest! All right, maybe just a few words here and there … or when I see something funny on TV. It happens, OK? Bottom line, I will do my best to keep my lips shut when I’m at the games so I can pick up the natural sounds of a hockey game without fans and convey that in my coverage – even though I may not be able to print everything I hear.
The Wild’s first two games are late starts. I’ve adjusted my caffeine intake accordingly the last few days.
Returning to the arena means I’ll be back on deadline for game stories, and I’ve been putting the reps in at my computer. My fingers are probably in the best shape they’ve been in since they were in college when they churned out term papers one after another. I’ve also been writing under self-imposed deadlines every day, readying myself for the pressure of clicking send soon after the final horn blares. I got this.
And if I ever have to dash to my computer for a virtual post-game interview, I fully expect to move quickly. I’ve exercised every day in quarantine, spiking my heart rate like I’m sure the adrenaline will once I’m back doing the work I love.
My training’s not done yet. I still have some time to practice. But I’m ready.
Love,
Sarah
P.S. The binoculars you gave me a few years back to help me see the ice? They’ll be coming with me.
Star Tribune LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176825 Minnesota Wild NHL announces no new COVID-19 cases: ‘No reason it shouldn’t stay that way’
Wild embark for Edmonton hoping to be away for a couple of months Five takeaways from the Wild’s exhibition loss to the Avalanche That said, if the Wild can get Dumba rolling against the Canucks, it could unlock another dimension to their game.
By DANE MIZUTANI | [email protected] | Pioneer Press ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Everything felt a little loose throughout the game. While practices have been in full swing for the past few weeks, the overall speed of a game The Wild finally played an actual hockey game Wednesday. seemed to stun some players in the early stages. There were a handful of examples, ranging from errant passes up the ice to sloppiness through After nearly 150 days away due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Wild the neutral zone to constant whistles across the 60 minutes of play. took on the Colorado Avalanche in an exhibition game, and for a few hours everything felt normal again. That said, the Wild and Avalanche both brought a level of intensity not usually seen in exhibition games. It’s clear both teams saw this as an In the end, the Wild lost 3-2 in front of an empty arena at Rogers Place in opportunity to iron out some of the wrinkles before the games start to Edmonton. matter over the weekend. Not that the final score mattered. But here are five takeaways that did Pioneer Press LOADED: 07.30.2020 matter as the Wild now set their sights on their best-of-five qualifying series against the Vancouver Canucks, which begins on Sunday night:
GAME 1 LINEUP
Wild coach Dean Evason said heading into the game with the Avalanche that he would likely use the same lineup that he plans to use in Game 1 of the series against the Canucks. It looks like that’s exactly what he did.
He deployed his usual lines up front with Eric Staal centering Jordan Greenway and Kevin Fiala; Joel Eriksson Ek centering Zach Parise and Luke Kunin; Alex Galchenyuk centering Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello, and Mikko Koivu centering Ryan Donato and Ryan Hartman. As for the blue line, Ryan Suter played with Jared Spurgeon; Jonas Brodin played with Matt Dumba, and Carson Soucy played with Brad Hunt.
Most importantly for the Wild is everyone came out of the game healthy and looks ready to go for this weekend.
GOALTENDER BATTLE
Alex Stalock got the start in goal with Devan Dubnyk relieving him midway through the game.
Looking specifically at Stalock, he allowed a juicy rebound early in the first period, which paved the way for an easy goal from Avalanche winger Joonas Donskoi, and failed to stop a wicked wrist shot from Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon a few minutes later. He also allowed a goal to Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog in the second period, though it’s hard to fault him considering the Wild had a couple of guys in the penalty box at the time.
As for Dubnyk, he took over at almost the exact midway point, and made a number of impressive saves in relief. He stopped every shot he faced.
It’s still unclear which goaltender the Wild will go with in Game 1 against the Canucks. According to Evason. that announcement will come in the 24 hours leading up to the match-up.
FRESH LEGS
Whether it was young buck Kevin Fiala using his speed to draw a couple of penalties, or veteran Eric Staal using his body to score a goal, the time away from the ice seemed to do wonders for almost everyone involved.
That’s something players talked about at length in the days leading up to the exhibition game, and it was noticeable over the 60 minutes of play.
While there was some obvious rustiness, almost everyone seemed to have some pep in their step. That isn’t always the case during the postseason as players are usually dealing with nagging injuries by that point.
POWER SURGE
After struggling for most of this season, Dumba was a force to be reckoned for a good chunk the game. His most notable contribution came early in the first period when he cashed in on the power play with an absolute bomb from the left circle.
Though he failed to find the net after that, Dumba consistently made his presence felt on the offensive end the rest of the way. He did struggle a bit on the defensive end as he got caught flat-footed on MacKinnon’s goal. 1176826 Minnesota Wild and be ready to play if called upon. And I think that’s the same for Al. So we’ll see.
“As long as we’re winning, regardless of who’s in the net, I think we’re Wild notebook: Dean Evason not ready to say which goaltender will start both going to support each other extremely well. It’s short. It’s quick. playoffs Especially at the start here, so both of us have got to be ready to perform if called upon. I’m sure there’ll be some more clarity … on who’s going to start Game 1, and like I said, it doesn’t matter. We just support each other and both be ready to compete because it’s real quick.” By Michael Russo Jul 29, 2020 42 The Wild will take the day off Thursday, then practice Friday and
Saturday. With a wry smile, Dean Evason still wouldn’t tip his hand when it came to “We saw some real good things from both of them,” Evason said. “Both announcing which goaltender will start Game 1 once the Wild open the of them had areas of the game that they had barrages and they held up qualifying round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Vancouver extremely well. We liked both their games. Obviously, we’re going to Canucks. have a very difficult decision and (it’s) something that we have to talk Asked if he saw enough from Alex Stalock and Devan Dubnyk during about clearly here for a couple of days and hopefully make the right Wednesday’s one and only exhibition game — a 3-2 loss to the Colorado decision. But we liked both of them here today.” Avalanche at Rogers Place in Edmonton in both teams’ first games since Disappointing power play March — to know who’d be in net Sunday night, Evason grinned oh so slightly. The Wild got an early power-play goal on a four-on-three when Eric Staal saucered a cross-slot pass to Matt Dumba for a scorching one-timer. “Maybe,” the Wild coach said. But overall, the Wild’s power play arguably cost them the game. Stalock gave up three goals on 17 shots and was admittedly rusty in a little more than 30 minutes of work. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS, @MATT_DUMBA. #STANLEYCUP JOONAS DONSKOI BURIES THE REBOUND IN TIGHT TO OPEN UP EXHIBITION GAMES PIC.TWITTER.COM/P5EDTL4IQA THE SCORING FOR THE @AVALANCHE!#GOAVSGO — NHL (@NHL) JULY 29, 2020 PIC.TWITTER.COM/RQ2G3EV1N4 Not only did it go 1 for 8 with five shots on goal, it went 0 for 5 on — HOCKEY DAILY 365 (@HOCKEYDAILY365) JULY 29, 2020 chances to tie the score in the second and third periods. This came after Dubnyk, whose longtime No. 1 job was taken away by Stalock during a Gabriel Landeskog’s early second-period five-on-three winner. subpar regular season, was a perfect 12 for 12. Entries were a huge problem in the second half of the game.
Was that enough to seize control of the top gig again heading into the “I think that’s something that just comes with practice and getting back to playoffs despite the fact Stalock looked good in a two-week training camp it,” Dumba said. “I’m sure we will work on that leading up to Sunday. and after Stalock’s career-best 20-win season and 11-4-1 run before the Entries got to be sharper. All the teams stand pretty strong at their blue NHL pause? lines now, so we’ve gotta find a way to slip through, and we’ll work on Frankly, probably not. that and look at the video and get ready for Vancouver.”
But we’ll see. Evason said it also just comes down to getting pucks to the net.
“My whole career has kind of been that way — you find out day before “When you’ve got a guy on the one unit like Zach Parise, the puck needs games (if you’re starting),” said Stalock, a career backup up until this to get there,” Evason said. “It needs to get there so he has an opportunity past season. “I think at this age, being 33, you learn how to get your body to score goals. And we didn’t do enough of that for whatever reason. ready for the game. It’s a daily process. You know when you feel right, We’ll obviously have a good opportunity to watch it and go forward with and you know when you need work. For me, it’s finding that happy that. But definitely more pucks at the net will help us out.” medium being ready to go, and whoever it is Game 1, I know that they’ll Staal thought it was just as simple as Wednesday being the first game be ready.” after a nearly five-month break.
It was not a great first look by Stalock, who served up two juicy rebounds “It was a lot of power plays, a lot of special teams and it was sloppy at for goals and gave up a short-side shot off a breakaway by the lethal times,” said Staal, who also scored a goal along with his assist to Nathan MacKinnon after a neutral-zone breakdown and a sloppy line Dumba. “I think we’ll work at it here the next couple days and it’ll be an change following a Wild power play. important part. I think once this qualification round starts against MACKINNON FLIES INTO THE ZONE AND BEATS STALOCK SHORT Vancouver, hopefully we’ll get that many power plays, but I don’t think it’ll SIDE TO GIVE THE AVS THE LEAD BACK. #MNWILD be the case. PIC.TWITTER.COM/MT0XG4P5SY “So we definitely have to clean up that area a little bit. Execution level, — GILES FERRELL (@GILESFERRELL) JULY 29, 2020 get a little higher. But everybody knows what they’re doing. I think we’ll get better and stronger as we move forward. It doesn’t matter where “I felt like I settled in as the game went on,” Stalock said. “Speed of play, you’re at, no matter what game it is, that next power play, you want to obviously, you’re playing against one of the fastest teams in the league in score, it doesn’t matter what happened previous. We’ll focus on that and Colorado, and probably the fastest player in the league in Nathan be ready for Game 1.” McKinnon. There’s some catch-up with four months off, took a little while to get adjusted. But overall, I think I felt good. Obviously one game, it Interestingly, the Wild’s 70 power-play goals all-time against the Canucks goes quick and all of a sudden the real deal starts.” is Minnesota’s highest total against a single opponent. However, the 73 power-play goals they’ve given up to Vancouver are the most all-time Stalock has never started a Stanley Cup playoff game. Dubnyk has they have allowed. started 26. Fiala buzzing He’s 8-18 in four postseasons for the Wild, with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Kevin Fiala was flying against the Avalanche but couldn’t get a bunch done in terms of production. Not knowing who’ll get the first-game nod is foreign to Dubnyk, 34. He attempted 15 shots, but eight of those were blocked and six were on “I mean, it’s different,” he said. “I think I’ve just tried to show up and be net. He also drew two penalties and took a penalty in an intense ready to go and concentrate on getting my game into where it needs to exhibition game by the two bitter division rivals. be and just competing. I think we kind of knew that this was going to be the situation coming into camp, so I didn’t want to go home and lose any KEVIN FIALA GOES AROUND THE WORLD AND TRIES TO GET A sleep over it. I just wanted to come in and compete as much as I could SHOT ON NET, BUT HIS WRISTER'S BLOCKED. PIC.TWITTER.COM/TNPN14HHXU — HOCKEY WILDERNESS (@HOCKEYWILDERNES) JULY 29, 2020
“Probably the same thing as the PP, we can get some more pucks at the net, he can get more pucks at the net,” Evason said. “You know some blocks that need to find their way through. And when he’s doing that, it obviously gives himself an opportunity to have success.”
First time playing with no fans
Wednesday’s game was the Wild’s first where they got to experience what this postseason will be like with no fans at Rogers Place.
“I thought it was, at the start, a little weird, I think, no fans,” Fiala said. “But it was an emotional game, a lot of hits and a lot going on there. I think as the game went on, I didn’t feel such a difference. Maybe on the PP, when you’d go on the PP, there was no fans who can cheer when you have a big chance.”
NO FANS, BUT HERE’S THE VIEW FROM #MNWILD GM BILL GUERIN’S SUITE (COURTESY OF OWNER CRAIG LEIPOLD) PIC.TWITTER.COM/MTG4XBVCW4
— MICHAEL RUSSO (@RUSSOHOCKEY) JULY 29, 2020
Evason said he noticed it only during TV timeouts, and Stalock said it was really noticeable to him only after goals were scored against him and there was no cheering. He did sound a bit worried that the black backdrops in each end zone could affect tracking the black puck for goalies.
As for Staal, he said, “Definitely right away, it was a little bit different, but it was also fun to just compete again. I thought both teams were competitive, were physical at times and got the emotions again into the game. That’s why we all love this game, and that was there. And it was exhibition, so it was fun to compete again. It’s going to be different, like Kevin said, those chances, those looks offensively, usually you can hear the crowd of however many or that ‘ooh’ or ‘ahh’ and it’s not there, so it’s a little bit different.
“But when you’re in the heat of it, we’ll just play and compete and try and accumulate the wins.”
STAAL EVENS IT UP. #MNWILD PIC.TWITTER.COM/76STYLBSOP
— GILES FERRELL (@GILESFERRELL) JULY 29, 2020
Staal said the ice was shockingly good despite the midsummer temperatures outside.
“We were just talking in the room, I thought it was pretty good,” Staal said. “Later in the period, the puck would get a little bit slow at times, a little sticky, I think, just with the humidity. But overall I didn’t find it any different than regular-season games or playoff games. I thought it was very good. It’ll be interesting to see by Game 3 on how it is, but today I thought the ice was fine. It wasn’t any different.”
Staal was referring to the fact that in the first two games of the Wild- Canucks series, the teams play the third game of the day at 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. CT, respectively.
Greenway’s ice time
The game sheet wasn’t completely accurate, but either way, first-liner Jordan Greenway was credited with only four first-period shifts and spurts of nine minutes and eight minutes without a shift.
“I actually went to him at the start of the second (period), and just said, ‘I lost ya a little bit in the first period,’” Evason said. “There were penalties and power plays. And he just said, ‘Whatever we got to do.’ And as you see, we got him more involved as it went on. But he’s a big piece of our group. But for sure, he got lost a little bit in the first period.”
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176827 Minnesota Wild some of the underlying numbers, or the “hockey analytics” that we use frequently in our writing. As I size up these matchups, I feel like I have to throw everything I know about hockey out the window. This is ultimately a “make the best of it” competition, and there’s no price you can put, no What the Wild are up against: Our crew in Vancouver breaks down the weight you can assign, to really caring that will do it justice. Canucks That’s going to be such a massive difference, especially when you get into Game 5 or a Game 7 elimination. Having a veteran group that actually wants to continue to play and stay in the bubble could give By Michael Russo, Thomas Drance and more Jul 29, 2020 14 teams a decisive edge.
I’m also fascinated to see what the impact is of a series in which coaches Minnesota Wild hockey is back. have had this long to prepare. We’ve seen how coaches have figured out how to defend 3-on-3 with all that open space, now we’re looking at On Sunday night, the Wild open their best-of-five qualifying round series coaches having had months to break down other clubs’ tendencies. I’m against the Canucks, and it should be a tremendous series. It’s a really curious to see if we get a mess of 1-0 results in this qualifying rematch of the epic seven-game series in 2003. The storylines are round. Certainly, if that’s the case, when you size up these two teams, if tremendous: Brock Boeser vs. his hometown team, Elias Pettersson vs. that preparation edge matters in this qualifying round, you’d have to think Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota’s veteran savvy vs. Vancouver’s youthful that could be an advantage for the Wild. exuberance. J.T. Miller There’s also a lot to look forward to on the coverage side. Over the next couple of weeks, we have a chance to work with Thomas Drance and J.T. Miller (Anne-Marie Sorvin / USA Today) Harman Dayal who do tremendous work covering the Vancouver Russo: (Forward) J.T. Miller has had a fascinating impact on the team. Canucks for The Athletic. What can you tell Wild fans about what to expect from him? Our combined coverage is going to be fun and fantastic. We’ve got a lot Dayal: If you’re talking about Miller, he’s had an outstanding breakout on our plate for the days ahead. We’ll get it started though, with an campaign. Just to understand the context of the trade, when it was made advanced scouting report on the team the Wild will be playing. Drance initially there were a lot of raised eyebrows. Giving up a conditional first- and Dayal joined me this week on Straight From The Source where I round pick, potentially unprotected, as a rebuilding squad is a significant asked them some of the pressing questions about the Canucks in this risk to incur. qualifying round series. For those that would rather read than listen, what follows is a partial transcript of our conversation edited for length and For Miller though, ever since he’s come in, he’s hit the ground running. readability. He was the club’s best forward in October and that’s continued. He’s been outstanding. He’s fit like a glove with Pettersson and whereas in Russo: Thomas, first of all, how the heck are you driving to Edmonton, years past you looked at Miller as an excellent complementary top-six haven’t you ever heard of an Air Canada flight? piece, he’s taken his game to the next level. He’s emerged as this Drance: I am going pure pandemic style! I’m driving up through the bonafide top-line driver who can really dictate the pace and flow of play Rocky Mountains, staying overnight in Jasper. Beautiful hiking there. And for his own line. His partnership with Pettersson has been magnificent. then I’m saying in an AirBNB, not even in a hotel. I’m going pure isolation Russo: I was talking to Brock Boeser a lot during this “offseason” and he travel, isolation functioning as I go into the bubble for the games. talked about J.T. Miller and how much pushing he did in the locker room. Russo: It’s nuts to me. I would so be looking forward to getting those In New York he was a very young player, in Tampa Bay he’s behind the Delta points on WestJet or my Marriott points at the Westin. Steven Stamkos’ and the Nikita Kucherov’s, and I’m sure he learned a ton. When I talked to Mats Zuccarello about J.T. Miller, he says he Drance: Well, I’m going for 66 days! What I really wanted was a kitchen recognized right away in New York that he was a potential leader that and a laundry. Points for most are vanity for me, I just want to make sure had this ability to push players. It seems like he’s come to Vancouver and I’m pressed and looking fresh — even if I’m being seen by absolutely really taken control in that locker room. nobody in the bubble. Drance: I think he’s got that sort of “killer mentality,” as it were, when it Russo: Both of the teams, the respective teams we cover, have already comes to losing. I’ve asked him this point-blank and he struggled when I left for the hubs. You have both been covering the Canucks through this did: He’s a guy that can’t tell you offhand whether he likes winning or very odd training camp in the middle of the summer. What did you see hates losing more. He’s one of those. I think that’s shown and it’s come from them from going to a lot of these practices and the late scrimmages out more as he’s gotten older, but also grown in stature on a club. He that (head coach) Travis Green had? played over 20 minutes per game on average for the Canucks, played in all situations. He’s not just on the first-unit power play, he initiates almost Dayal: I was honestly surprised in a positive way, just by the pace and all of the action from the half wall on his strong side. He’s not just playing intensity of camp and the scrimmages. The first couple of days you could first-line minutes, but he also bumps around. He’s Mr. Fix It for Travis tell they were slowly trying to ramp up, but by the time you got to the Green, when he needs another line going, Miller often ends up there. second or the third of the Canucks’ “simulated games” if you want to call them that, you could really tell that the players understand what’s at It’s not “his team” because there’s Jacob Markstrom and Bo Horvat, stake. This wasn’t a normal camp where you can coast through — as the there’s Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, but he’s become this larger-than- vets often do — and then it’s Game 1 of the regular season and you start life first-line power forward character. And as we know, the Wild and the to hit the ground. Here you’ve got one exhibition game and then you’re Canucks can’t play a playoff series without the Canucks having a into a do-or-die play-in series. bonafide top-line power forward.
The coaches and from top-down, the team has seemed to emphasize Brock Boeser how crucial this training camp is, and that’s been reflected by the play on the ice. The top guys look really sharp. The first scrimmage was choppy, Brock Boeser (David Berding / USA Today) which is what you’d expect, but after that it was smooth going, especially Russo: So you have Miller with Pettersson and Tyler Toffoli at right wing. when you consider how poor the ice is in Vancouver. Then on the second line, you have Boeser with Tanner Pearson and Bo Russo: It’s funny that you said that about the veterans. That was the Horvat, is that right? biggest shock I had from the Wild scrimmage the other day. Guys like Drance: That’s right. Subject to change, but here’s our best guess on the Ryan Suter and Eric Staal, who you usually watch in training camp and Canucks lineup based on the scrimmages so far: they’re in total “do not get hurt” mode, they came to play in these scrimmages. It looks like everyone is going with the proper attitude, Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli which is probably the biggest task for a veteran team is actually wanting to be there. Pearson-Horvat-Boeser
Drance: Absolutely. Harman and I are both so used to breaking down the Roussel-Gaudette-Ferland game with a level of confidence based on our understanding and belief in Motte-Beagle-Sutter Hughes-Tanev Russo: Thank you, guys. For Wild fans you’re going to see a lot of dual and triple bylines from us over the next week, so stay tuned. Let’s drop Edler-Myers the puck.
Fantenberg-Stecher The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 Russo: So right away, especially if Boeser plays the way Minnesota fans know he can play, that’s two really formidable lines.
Drance: No question. The top-six is Vancouver’s biggest edge going into the series — that and the goaltending. Those are the two areas that the Canucks will really need to make stand up in this series if they’re going to advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Russo: When you look at the Wild’s third and fourth line, when you have Ryan Donato on the fourth line, he seems to score every time he’s on the ice. The franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Mikko Koivu, is also on the fourth line and Zuccarello and Alex Galchenyuk on the third line. It’s pretty deep. How about the blue line though? I look at Vancouver’s blue line and I see a bit of a weakness. Obviously there’s Quinn Hughes, but then there’s everyone else.
Dayal: Yeah, you’ve got Hughes and then you’ve got a collection of defensemen who are fine. I tend to think of them as 4/5 guys and a collection of guys in (Christopher) Tanev, (Alexander) Edler, (Tyler) Myers that don’t have a ton of mobility. It’s why I think a lot of Vancouver’s ability to get the puck out of their own zone and activate their transition offense will be dictated by how swiftly and how efficiently defensemen not named Quinn Hughes can get the puck up the ice. There’s no question it’s a weakness for the Canucks, especially in comparison with a formidable Minnesota blue line that’s clearly one of the best in the NHL.
Russo: Can you guys give Wild fans — who don’t watch the Canucks as much as they did during the Northwest Division rivalry — that see a ton of Cale Makar, give them a tutorial about who Hughes is and why they’ll grow to fear him in this series?
Drance: It’s hard to go with comparables for Hughes because I’m not really sure I’ve seen anything like the way he plays. It’s partly because the NHL didn’t have players like Hughes playing — certainly not playing NHL games this young — in the past. The guy he reminds me of the most stylistically is late-career Brian Campbell, and I don’t know that late- career Brian Campbell sticks out in people’s brains, but he’s a guy that just never makes the wrong play.
Hughes is still young, he’s still slight, and occasionally his defensive zone play can leave some to be desired as you’d expect. The way he plays with the puck, though, and what he does to the gravity of the game when he’s on the ice, it completely shifts. He’s a one-man ice-tilting mechanism.
When Hughes is on the ice, the puck just spends the entire time in the offensive zone. He holds onto the puck longer than almost any defender you’ll see, the team almost takes no point shots when he’s on the ice, it’s just constantly being worked into high-danger areas. It’s just wild to watch how he skates about, dissects opposing defenses and it takes teams so long to recover once he’s done that — he just creates so much chaos with the possibilities on his stick, his ability to make those plays and what he does with his feet around the ice. Hughes changes the game in a totally different way than Makar does, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the Wild contain him.
I do think the biggest challenge from Vancouver’s perspective when it comes to the Minnesota blue line, is how active they are in everything the Wild do offensively. There’s going to be a real premium placed on how Canucks wingers get the puck out of their zone with Wild defenders pinching down on them, and how they cut off the top when the Wild try to go high-low.
For the Wild, however, when they’re matching up against the Canucks with Pettersson and Hughes on the ice at the same time, that’s a duo that on the ice together outscored every other NHL team’s top-scoring center in minutes spent with his most frequently used defensive teammate. Minnesota will have to find a way to take those punches and not have a glass jaw that leaves them several goals down in those minutes.
I think if Minnesota can do that, they’ll have a good chance, but that’s going to be the real threat for the Wild: those minutes when the Canucks come at them with Hughes and Pettersson on the ice together. 1176828 Minnesota Wild limit chances, finishing 25th in expected goals against. A slightly above average save percentage wasn’t enough to bail them out.
Considering the Wild’s strength is its offence (no, seriously), Vancouver 2020 NHL qualifying round preview: Canucks vs. Wild will be in tough given the way the team played this season. That and the fact Minnesota is so good at dominating the scoring chance share at 5- on-5. It means the Wild are likely to have a big advantage at 5-on-5, though Vancouver should be able to even that up with special teams By Dom Luszczyszyn Jul 29, 2020 70 play. That’s especially true considering how poor Minnesota’s penalty kill is which performs opposite to its power play: excellent at limiting chances, but poor at giving up actual goals. Ask any hockey fan if they expected either of the Vancouver Canucks or Minnesota Wild to make the playoffs before the season started and you’d Despite what appear to be OK surface numbers, goaltending is always likely be met with a blank stare. Before the season started most the issue in Minnesota as the Wild are routinely very strong at observers had both teams in the league’s bottom 10, and now at least suppressing shot quality against thanks to a deep defence corps. That one of them will make it. doesn’t seem to matter to either goalie though. When looking at each team’s roster that’s where Vancouver has the largest advantage. It’s a small shock that both teams are in this position, but it’s a deserved one based on the way they played this season looking relatively average At minus-1.9 wins Alex Stalock has the largest negative impact of any overall (which has so far been the theme of these qualifying round goalie in the qualifying round. It’s bleak, but it’s technically an previews, unsurprisingly). To make the postseason as a low seed that’s improvement over incumbent Devan Dubnyk, from whom Stalock stole really all you need to be. the starting job late in the season. Dubnyk, as arguably the weakest goalie in the league over the last three seasons, would be worth minus- This should be a very close series, the closest of the qualifying round 3.1 wins. according to my model, and while the advantage has normally gone to the “home” team, that’s actually not the case here. The Canucks are the Over the last three season’s Stalock’s .908 save percentage may not only higher seed in the qualifying round that are not favoured according seem too bad, but one has to remember he’s earned that in Minnesota to my model. playing behind one of the stingiest teams in the league. That .908 is actually quite paltry compared to the .922 expected of him based on the The Canucks only finished one point ahead of the Wild this season so it quality of chances allowed and as a result Stalock has allowed 34 goals shouldn’t be a surprise that this series is close. The reason the Wild have more than expected in just 87 games. It’s the fifth-worst mark in the the upper hand is because they’ve been at this level of mediocrity for league over the time frame with two of the goalies below him no longer in longer. The Canucks are only a year removed from being a perennial the NHL. This season wasn’t very different as he finished fourth-last bottom feeder and there are still elements of that team present on the allowing 16 goals more than expected. Dubnyk was last at minus-27, but roster and in the team’s underlying numbers this season. still, it’s far from ideal. The Wild could really use a goaltending upgrade.
Still, it’s close enough that the word “favoured” is doing a lot of heavy With Vancouver’s Jacob Markstrom sitting at 2.4 wins of value, the lifting. This is really a coin flip series that could very well go either way Canucks have a massive advantage here. The 4.3 win difference is depending on which team can play to their strengths most. Given the age unsurprisingly the largest of the qualifying round. Markstrom’s game has discrepancy between the two teams, it might come down to Vancouver’s steadily improved in his three years as a starter going from -4.4 goals fresh legs or Minnesota’s veteran mentality. saved above expected in his first year to 3.2 and then 4.2 (prorated to 60 games) this season. That was good for top 20 league-wide on the I’m not sure which will prevail, but looking at the numbers this season strength of his .918 save percentage. It’s not exactly Vezina-calibre, but makes it a lot easier to see why the Wild would be favoured in this series, it’s solid for a starter. Given his consistency over the past two seasons, especially given each team’s 5-on-5 play. it’s probably safe to say Markstrom is among the more dependable One of the reasons to be optimistic about the Wild prior to the season starters in the league and should easily win the goaltending battle in this was their ability to control the expected goals share. Last season they series. were among the league’s best teams but were pretty unlucky in That’s once shot quality and team defence are factored into the equation converting that territorial dominance into actual results. It seemed like and it’s there where Vancouver’s entire goaltending edge is already something that would regress and lo and behold, that’s exactly what nullified. The Canucks defence lacks any semblance of depth and simply happened. This year their 53 percent goals percentage was identical to pales in comparison to what the Wild can trot out. In total the Canucks their expected goals percentage, both of which bordered on top five in defence corps is worth 4.2 wins, 4.5 fewer than the Wild, mitigating the league. At 5-on-5, the Wild were a very strong team. whatever effect goaltending should have in this series. It’s why the two How they got there is what’s probably one of the most surprising stats of were so close in all situations goals against-per-60 this season, it’s just a the season. Most people are well aware that the Wild are an excellent matter of which players get credit for it. defensive team undermined by poor goaltending, but they more than In Minnesota’s case it’s an exceptional top four, one of the league’s make up for it with… elite scoring ability? It doesn’t feel right, but it is. deepest led by an incredibly strong top pairing of Jared Spurgeon and The Minnesota Wild finished the year fourth in 5-on-5 goals-per-60 on the Ryan Suter. With all due respect to the super rookie on the other side, strength of the league’s second best shooting percentage. That offensive Spurgeon is probably the best defenceman in this series, projected to be prowess was put into overdrive down the stretch overlapping with the worth 2.7 wins. That’s ninth in the league among all defencemen, which team’s 12 games under new coach Dean Evason. The Wild went 8-4-0 is probably much higher than his current reputation. under Evason, improving their numbers across the board and may be a more formidable opponent than some realize as a result. That Spurgeon doesn’t play big power play minutes and isn’t a huge point producer as a result is probably the main reason for that, but few The team’s finishing ability translated to the power play as well and was players can influence 5-on-5 play as well as he can, especially especially hot down the stretch, scoring 10.2 goals-per-60, the second defensively. This season the Wild only allowed 1.89 expected goals most in the league. For the season they finished 10th despite being a against per 60 with Spurgeon on the ice, which is the sixth lowest in the bottom five chance generating team. Minnesota’s shooting talent added league. More impressive is that no one above him plays tough minutes almost 2.3 goals-per-60 above expected with the man advantage. while also putting up a strong offensive impact. That led to a 58 percent The Canucks’ finishing ability on the power play was just as impactful, expected goals rate for Spurgeon this season, the fourth best mark in the but a higher expected goal volume meant the team finished fourth in the league. Of the three ahead of him, only Dougie Hamilton did it in tough league. Vancouver’s power play is by far the team’s best asset and the minutes. His goals percentage was just as strong too and it wouldn’t be a main reason the team finished as highly as it did. That, plus an average surprise to see him sneak onto a couple of Norris ballots this year from penalty kill gave Vancouver a plus-15 goal differential on special teams. stats-savvy writers paying attention to those kinds of numbers. That special teams success was much needed as the team simply wasn’t Spurgeon looks to be partnered with Ryan Suter, whose numbers for the very strong at evens this season. year look decent with a 53 percent expected goals rate, but that looks to The Canucks marginally improved their expected goals and actual goals be exclusively because of his time with Spurgeon. Suter played 325 rate at 5-on-5, but both were still below average landing in the league’s minutes away from Spurgeon and got absolutely crushed in that time with bottom third. That was entirely on the team’s defence, which struggled to a 42 percent expected goals rate while getting outscored 26-15. That’s Before the all-star break Fiala was still a very effective player. He was ugly and suggests Spurgeon might be carrying the pair. third on the team in points-per-60 at 2.17 – a first line rate – and a solid two-way player. The issue was he was being buried at the bottom of the Most of that time apart was with Matt Dumba, who had an off year by his lineup as the team’s 10th most used forward and on the second power standards with just 24 points in 69 games. The time with Suter clearly play. That changed after the all-star break once he broke out and he wasn’t working for either party, but thankfully Dumba found his way again suddenly became the team’s most used forward at 5-on-5. If you’ve got partnered with Jonas Brodin, one of the game’s best defensive players. something good, might as well lean on it and the Wild sure did. Aside They had a solid 53 percent expected goals rate together, which comes from more minutes, the other big change was Fiala using his shot more, from how well the two opposing-styled players fit together. Brodin isn’t ramping up his shots-per-60 at 5-on-5 from 7.5 to 10.1, and it reflected much of an offensive talent, but he happened to be one of the five greatly on the scoresheet. players ahead of Spurgeon in expected goals against for the season. By my model, Brodin carries the highest defensive impact in the league with Unsurprisingly, he also became a mainstay on the top power play where Spurgeon in third. Having one player on each of the top two pairs of that everything went through him. He scored seven goals and 11 points with calibre is a big reason why the team is so stingy. That duo is a vital part the man advantage in just 55 minutes, an incredible number made even of the team’s identity. more impressive by the fact the next best player, Zach Parise, had three goals and six points. Only one other forward had more than a single Even the team’s third pair of Brad Hunt and Carson Soucy brings decent point. Fiala was the Minnesota Wild power play. value and rates as one of the best bottom pairings in the league. The duo both managed to allow under two expected goals against per 60 this Fiala’s play is one reason to be optimistic about the Wild’s chances as it season, giving the Wild four such defenders. There were only eight other helps bridge the large gap between the two teams’ top lines. Vancouver’s defencemen league-wide. top trio of Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Tyler Toffoli didn’t get much time together post trade deadline, but the two hours they did get were Vancouver in contrast has Quinn Hughes, Alex Edler and not much else phenomenal, outscoring opponents 10-3 with a sterling 58 percent to be impressed by in all honesty. Hughes is an absolute phenom and expected goals rate. Pettersson is the team’s MVP and one of the already one of the game’s best defencemen. He’s amazing with the puck, game’s best centres, but some credit for the line’s success this season ranking in the 95th percentile or higher in shot assists as well as should go to J.T. Miller, who played elite calibre hockey for the Canucks controlled entires and exits. He’s a one man puck-carrying machine and this season, well worth the price paid for him last summer. The two that drives his 5-on-5 impact. He was the only Canuck defender with a formed an incredible duo that controlled play to a high degree and were a positive expected goals share this season, finishing at 52 percent for the big difference maker on most nights for the Canucks, leading the team in season. He hasn’t been tasked with the tough top pairing minutes just both expected and actual goals. Add a trigger-happy Toffoli to that mix – yet, but that doesn’t diminish what he’s done so far. It can’t be overstated he fired 12.6 shots-per-60 at 5-on-5 in his 10 games with the Canucks – how massive his influence is on the team’s top-five power play too – the and you get a very dangerous line that will be difficult to contain. Canucks have needed a quarterback of his ilk for a long time. The addition of Toffoli should also make the Canucks’ second line Edler is the team’s key shutdown defender and though his expected stronger too as it means they can slide Brock Boeser down. Bo Horvat goals rate was slightly below break even, it was a bit higher than the and Tanner Pearson lost the scoring chance battle and were outscored team average and his goals percentage of 52 percent makes up for it. by a hefty margin at 5-on-5 this season, something Boeser’s presence You’ll take that considering how tough his minutes usually are, and the should alleviate. With the trio only playing 26 minutes together this sheer amount of shots he blocks does add value. season, though, there might be some growing pains as they find The rest of the defence corps is lacking, though. Troy Stecher is the only chemistry together. It should be noted that Boeser carried the team’s other Canuck defender to outscore his opponents and actually led the strongest defensive numbers among forwards, which could be a useful team in that regard, but he played very cushy minutes and was fifth on asset for a duo that struggled to limit chances. the team in expected goals percentage at 47 percent. Chris Tanev and Kevin Fiala Tyler Myers were both around 48-49 percent in expected goals, which is passable given the team’s overall strength, but in the grand scheme of It’s a stronger second line than what Minnesota has in terms of total things is still below break-even. That likely won’t be good enough against value, but that might have a bit to do with the power play value Boeser a team that can control the scoring chance battle as well as Minnesota. and Horvat bring to the table. At 5-on-5 Minnesota might have the edge here, partially due to the understated emergence of Joel Eriksson Ek. For Myers, it’s almost exactly the level of 5-on-5 play he was at in each of The 23-year-old had a quiet 29-point campaign, but managed to score his prior two seasons in Winnipeg, which is not something a team should 1.95 points-per-60 this season at 5-on-5. For comparison, Horvat was at pay $6 million per year for. Having said that, it’s worth noting that he 1.58. More important is his ability to shut down opposing teams’ top lines, actually found some terrific chemistry with Hughes and it’s curious that though, as I’m sure teammate Mikko Koivu taught him a few tricks over the two aren’t paired together here considering their numbers together. In the past couple of seasons. Eriksson Ek was second to only Marcus 326 minutes this season the duo had a 57 percent expected goals rate Foligno in expected goals against allowed at 1.76 per 60 and that and outscored opponents 22-15. Now that is worth $6 million, even if contributed to a 54 percent total rate. Zach Parise still has some game much of the credit for that should go to Hughes (Myers really struggled in left in him too with a 53 percent expected goals rate to his name and that minutes without him). Myers isn’t a great shutdown option, making his could be an effective duo for the Wild. place next to Edler even more odd, but the concern might be that Tanev struggled in that role this year and the team might be trying to balance Minnesota doesn’t have the strongest top six, but it can probably hold its the top four as well as it can. With Tanev’s play degrading, the team’s own against Vancouver’s unless the second line really steps up at 5-on- lack of depth on the backend becomes a pretty big issue. 5. The Wild might be able to get away with that thanks to their stacked bottom six, which is entirely comprised of middle six calibre forwards. At forward, the two teams are built fairly differently, which is a testament That’s something that no other team can boast and is a huge edge for to where both teams are in their playoff window. The Canucks are at the the team. Marcus Foligno is one of the game’s best defensive wingers beginning of theirs and have a star-studded but top-heavy group as a and actually scored 2.1 points-per-60 this year, the third best on the result. The Wild are near the end of theirs and have amassed a lot of team. Mats Zuccarello was right behind him in fourth while Ryan Donato forward depth in that time, but their best forwards are past their prime was ahead of him in second. That three of the team’s most efficient and the team is now low on high-end talent. Well, lower than they were scorers are in the bottom six likely speaks to how Minnesota was able to before anyways. generate such a prolific offence: by winning the matchup game lower in That has potential to change if Kevin Fiala can keep up the torrid pace he the lineup. Mikko Koivu can’t do much on offence anymore, but is still was on to close the season as he finally began to realize his potential. excellent defensively while Ryan Hartman had the team’s best Fiala has always been a dynamic forward and one of the game’s best at possession numbers. moving the puck up ice, and this season he started to get the results to Finally, there’s Alex Galchenyuk, who’s been searching long and hard for show for that effort. Fiala posted a career-high 54 points in 64 games, a the right situation and might have found it here on a very structured 69-point pace, with much of that coming towards the end of the season. Minnesota team. Believe it or not, he had a 56 percent expected goals After the all-star break, Fiala scored 26 points in just 19 games, which rate, was insanely good defensively with just 1.66 expected goals ranked third league-wide. If he can play anywhere close to that level in allowed per 60, and also scored 2.1 points-per-60 on top of that. It was this series, the projected 1.8 wins of value really don’t do him justice. Not only 14 games, but in that time his average Game Score was 0.83, a first even close. line rate. He’s worth keeping an eye on as he’s had a surprisingly promising start to his Wild tenure, looking much closer to the guy taken third overall back in 2012.
It’s a deep lineup that will be able to feast on most teams’ bottom sixes, allowing Minnesota to mitigate whatever disadvantage it has at the top of the lineup. That edge will be especially prudent here against Vancouver’s bottom six, where the team lacks depth. Antoine Roussel and Micheal Ferland bring much needed sandpaper to the lineup and are the best options, but both struggled at 5-on-5 this season, especially Ferland in an injury-plagued campaign. In 14 games in his first season as a Canuck he hasn’t looked anywhere close to the player he was last season capable of playing in a top six role. Perhaps some time off to get healthy will be good for him, but it’s hard to say. Adam Gaudette is in between them and though his game improved from last season, especially his scoring, his two-way ability still leaves a lot to be desired.
The fourth line is a much bigger problem, specifically the presence of Jay Beagle and Tyler Motte, who are the sole reason the Canucks are not favoured in this series. The difference between the two teams in total wins is the difference between just one of them and a replacement-level player. If the Canucks are OK with surrendering 60 percent of the expected goals and 70 percent of the actual goals with these two on the ice (regardless of zone starts), then by all means, but I don’t personally think it’s a strategy that will work out for them. Not against a deep forward group like Minnesota’s. I’m not sure how Jake Virtanen – whose game really improved this season – is sitting in favour of either of these two players.
Depth kills and in this matchup that advantage belongs solely to the Wild. The Canucks have the high-end talent to make things interesting, but with how thin the team looks, the Wild don’t look like a great matchup for them.
The Bottom Line
The Canucks and Wild could not be more different with the way they’re built and it’ll be interesting to see what prevails in this series.
Do you prefer a top-heavy lineup or a balanced one? Star-studded or loaded with depth? Saving goals through goaltending or stingy team defence? A young and hungry team or a veteran and experienced team? There are no shortage of differences between these two teams, which is what should make this series so fascinating.
There are many different ways to be successful in this league and Vancouver and Minnesota will clash in a matchup to prove which way is best. That the two are so even in total talent makes it all the more intriguing. May the best team win.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176829 Montreal Canadiens The Canadiens allowed only three Toronto power plays and killed all of them, but gave up two short-handed goals while going 0-for-6 with the extra man.
In the Habs' Room: Canadiens try to shake off the rust in 4-2 loss to In the first exhibition game Tuesday, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Leafs Penguins 3-2 in overtime. Sidney Crosby, who missed five of the Penguins’ last six practices, played 19:03 but failed to pick up a point, Evgeni Malkin had one assist but he also gave the puck away for the second Philadelphia goal. Author of the article:Pat Hickey • Montreal Gazette Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.30.2020
Canadiens coach Claude Julien said he’s glad there are three days for his team to shake off the rust before they play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the best-of-five qualifying round of the NHL Return to Play tournament.
The problem is that the Canadiens were rustier than a 1963 Datsun in their 4-2 exhibition loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.
“You definitely see a lot of rust in our team because there aren’t a ton of players who had high notes tonight, but hopefully it was enough of a game to get the rust out and we’re ready to go Saturday,” said Julien.
The Canadiens will play the Penguins in Game 1 of their series on Saturday (8 p.m., CBC, SN, NBC, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio).
A lot of things went wrong for the Canadiens Tuesday night against the Leafs.
They gave up a goal in the first minute of the game.
They not only went 0-for-6 on the power play, but they also gave up two short-handed goals.
And while the Canadiens outshot the Leafs 30-23, they were unable to finish.
Ilya Mikheyev (65) of the Toronto Maple Leafs scores a goal against Carey Price (31) of the Montreal Canadiens in the first period in an exhibition game prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on July 28, 2020.
Ilya Mikheyev (65) of the Toronto Maple Leafs scores a goal against Carey Price (31) of the Montreal Canadiens in the first period in an exhibition game prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on July 28, 2020. MARK BLINCH/USA TODAY Sports
“We’re probably all guilty of it,’ said Brendan Gallagher. “Tonight, the pace of game was fast, it was a little bit quicker and the brain wasn’t keeping up to the pace of the play. We knew what we had to do to be successful but there was a lot of sloppiness, trying to make plays that weren’t there.
“Going into this series, we know how high-powered (the Penguins’) offence is so we have to play smart,” Gallagher added. “We definitely have to improve on that.”
The Toronto game was seen as a good warmup because the Leafs have a fast, skilled team that resembles the Penguins.
“I think when we were aggressive we made things happen, but we played passive a little too much and gave a good team with a little speed and a lot of skill time to make plays,” Julien said. “That’s where we got in trouble and that’s what we’re against in Pittsburgh, another team with offensive ability and good speed. They create a good attack on turnovers and tonight when we got ourselves in trouble it was because of that.”
Julien was able to use all four of his lines and the so-called fourth line of Max Domi, Dale Weise and Jordan Weal was able to create some chances because they did play an aggressive game. And, for what it’s worth, the Canadiens played Toronto to a standstill when playing 5-on-5.
“I was happy to get those four lines out there 5-on-5,” said Julien. “We were always a decent team 5-on-5 and we’re gonna need four lines. I thought our discipline was good because that’s also going to be a key element against Pittsburgh. But again, our power play tonight — your best payers have to be your best players. We need to get more confidence and more assertiveness in making the right plays. Thankfully, we have three days to work on that, whether on ice or through video. Hopefully, we’ll have that fixed by Saturday.”
1176830 Montreal Canadiens A few people brought this up, obviously; it’s a reference to Zach Aston- Reese saying that he didn’t really know who was on Montreal’s first line Monday, or which line was the first.
Our 14 biggest questions (and answers) for the Penguins against the “Any team, (when) you go against their superstars, it’s going to be the Canadiens same thing,” Aston-Reese said. “They’re all skilled players. You have to play a gritty game and a hard game. Make it tough for them. It’s little details. Finishing every check. Get in their way. Slow them down.”
By Sean Gentille Jul 29, 2020 23 Reasonable stuff. Also a good reminder that a handful of Twitter freaks saying something is “bulletin board material” doesn’t make it so. Nobody
needed to think about Aston-Reese’s words for more than 30 seconds. I A little more than 48 hours away, it finally feels safe to say: We are going feel stupid bringing it up right now, in fact. to have real, consequential hockey to watch. The bubble is as secure as How underappreciated is Brendan Gallagher? it can be. The bottom won’t fall out. It’s time to sit in front of our TVs. I reject the premise that anyone on the Canadiens can be Feels good, man. Not sure I realized how much I missed it, but I missed it underappreciated, but Gallagher comes close. Maybe it’s because he’s quite a bit. So, yes, I’m ready for Penguins-Canadiens. You all seem 5-foot-8. Who knows. Still, he’s been a beast in the shot-generation ready, too. We’ve all got things on our mind as Friday approaches, and game for years, and they’re not low-value shots. He goes to dangerous it’s time to discuss a handful of the biggest deals … and some of the areas, and he converts. Travis Yost summed this up well a few months smaller ones, too. Let’s go. back. How long does Matt Murray get if he looks out of sorts? The dude, had he played a full season, probably would’ve had his third Might as well cut the B.S. from the jump — Rob Rossi said it postgame, straight with 30 goals. With a big-time center, all due respect to Danault, and Jim Rutherford said it to Josh Yohe last week. Every available sign, he might hit 40. Either way, he’s a great player. He could give the including the fact that he started Tuesday against the Flyers and didn’t Penguins some problems because he gives everyone problems. He’s a look terrible, points to Murray in Game 1. When the GM says he expects pain the ass. you to start, and the coach starts you, you start. It’s not rocket science, Does playing the late game help or hurt? even when you’re talking about a guy coming off an .899 regular-season save percentage. Whether Murray should be the No. 1 is a fair question. On one hand, a run of 8 p.m. ET games — which we’re about to see — Whether he is a year from now, even more so. Whether he will be it, at gives teams something approaching a normal day. They’ll get a morning least initially, seems like a ship that’s long sailed. The tie was always skate (if they want one). They’ll eat when they normally eat. They’ll get to going to go to the guy with two Stanley Cups. If you didn’t know that the rink when they normally get to the rink, unless they’ve got nothing three weeks ago, you do now. better to do than hang out and watch the early games, which, uh, they don’t. Afternoon games seem like a crapshoot for this team specifically, The most relevant question is about the length of Murray’s leash. A week too. We’ve seen that over the last few years. ago, given how rough he’d looked in practice and in the first intra-squad scrimmage, I’d have measured it in minutes. Today, after some On the other hand, ice quality seems like it’ll be an issue. Summer in stabilization on Murray’s part and my own renewed appreciation for how Toronto is still summer, and three games a day is still a lot. By the end of bad the Canadiens are (they played Toronto on Tuesday, and they Flyers-Penguins, stuff was a mess. None of the players complained all stunk), it’s impossible to imagine him not getting multiple games. Even if that much — shocking stuff — and the most interesting bit came from he’s at a sustained sub-par level, the Habs are really, really unlikely to Flyers coach Alain Vigneault. challenge him enough to make it stick. If nothing else — after all he’s done and amid the uncertainty that almost five game-free months creates “Usually it takes a good week of skating (on an ice rink) for the ice to be — Murray deserves a sustained shot to keep the net, and it certainly good,” he said. “So I see it getting better, even though it is hot, it is humid seems like he’ll get it. and there’s going to be a lot of activity.”
What is the likelihood the goaltending debate is settled even if Penguins What Penguin will Jared McCann fight in Game 1? win comfortably? We need McCann-Tanev, Round 2. The former has the reach, the latter Zero. Mike Sullivan made his bones as a Cup-caliber NHL coach by has the aggression. Lewis-Tyson, baby! knowing when to make goalie changes in playoff series. What works Points to Tanev, by the way, for almost dropping “guys being dudes” in against the Canadiens isn’t necessarily what’ll work in the “first round” of his explanation for their scrap in the last intrasquad game. the playoffs. In 2017, Marc-Andre Fleury was the right guy to face the Capitals, and Murray made more sense against the Senators. Sullivan TANEV ON GETTING INTO A LITTLE TUSSLE WITH MCCANN didn’t just understand that; he acted upon it, and the goalies responded DURING THE LAST INTRA-SQUAD SCRIMMAGE: "THAT'S JUST as well as they could’ve. That’s a factor, too. GUYS PLAYING HOCKEY. WE'RE GREAT FRIENDS AND TEAMMATES. WE HUGGED AND MADE UP AS SOON AS THE PLAY “It’s different,” Fleury told Rossi earlier this month. “And, like, when both WAS DONE." goalies normally play a lot, it’s tough to just find a new rhythm— I guess you call it rhythm. You’re used to practicing and everything else being TANEV AND ASTON-REESE'S FACES WHEN THE QUESTION WAS one way for one goalie and then it’s not that way for playoffs? It’s hard to ASKED PIC.TWITTER.COM/XCHEXQC7YN have it work.” — PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (@PENGUINS) JULY 27, 2020 Beyond that, it’s impossible to look at Murray’s last couple of years and assume that he’ll show the sort of consistency, for better or worse, that’d How can they add life to their PP? bring true clarity here. Also a factor: goalie rhythm, at least as we’ve Rossi went longer on this, but it was a popular question for good reason. always understood it, doesn’t exist. Not after five months off. Things Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel played a grand total of change quickly,. four games together in the regular season. You can pinpoint that as the “Nothing will be like before,” Fleury said, “so maybe now is when to try it reason for the unit’s mediocrity (16th in the NHL, 19.9 percent), or you for more teams.” can wonder whether that relative lack of work together will create more issues. Who is on the Canadiens’ first line? Then, you’ve got the Kris Letang-Justin Schultz debate, which Sullivan Left to right, Tomas Tatar-Philip Danault-Brendan Gallagher! Everyone wasn’t interested in resolving Tuesday. The unit was a mess against knows this! Danault and Gallagher played more than 80 percent of their Philly. If it were me? Some combo of more Schultz — to set up the regular-season 5-on-5 minutes together, for example. Tatar was there for Malkin one-timer — and Crosby down low makes sense. This doesn’t most of that, and he led Montreal in points. It’s them. seem like it’s going away anytime soon, though.
How long is too long to stick with … anything? Here’s our first truly unanswerable question. We talked about it a bit with Fires go out. Alexis Lafrenière on Crosby’s wing would last five years, at the goalie stuff; against the Canadiens, barring some Islanders-in-2019 least. You say thank you and move on. Just don’t expect any ping-pong meltdown, they’re going to have wiggle room. It’s just a matter of how balls in the first place. much. If they go down 1-0 in a five-game series against this team, there’s no sense in pushing the panic button. They’d also better not go down 2- The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 0. This is why Sullivan, as they say, makes the big the bucks.
Does the absence of the home crowd for Montreal have any effect?
On the players? Probably not much. Most guys like playing in environments like that, anyway; buzz is buzz, and there’s something to be said for shutting up a crowd.
On the officials? That’s a more interesting question. Think of it this way; we’ve seen, time and again over the years, when it feels like crowds can buy calls. If nothing else, they can win a tiebreaker or two. Now, that’s out of the picture. I’m not dumb enough to believe it’ll lead to true consistency among officials in the postseason because nothing can, but it’s a legitimate factor.
What can we expect from the third line?
Maybe a little of everything. That’s the traditional thinking for the third line, at least, and the personnel backs it up. Jared McCann, Patric Hornqvist and Patrick Marleau all have defined skillsets and defensive bona fides. But in a perfect world, the Penguins would see a little more offense in this spot than the past. I think you can expect McCann to shoot more; he finished the regular season on a 22-game goal drought, and he’s talked quite a bit during camp about how eager he is to end it. That wasn’t something you heard much from, say, Nick Bonino. Either way, it’s a speed-shot-tenacity combo that makes a ton of sense.
What does Crosby trace before games?
Huge deal here. We know that one of Crosby’s many pregame compulsions in Pittsburgh is tracing the McDonalds logo near center ice. There’s no such option in Toronto; Geico and Enterprise are both too horizontal to work all that well, though Crosby could focus on the lead “E” in the second option. The Budweiser logo is also oddly shaped, without any prime traceable bits. Gatorade is the runaway choice here; it’s square, roughly the size of Crosby’s wingspan, with a defined “G” in the middle. Also, it’s a sponsor. Seems like an obvious call, unless Dana Heinze packed a McDonalds mat.
(Worth noting: It looks like the board ads are going to be manually changed for each game, based on teams’ local sponsors. That’s why you saw UPMC and Wells Fargo ads for Penguins-Flyers, then a bunch of Canadian stuff for Leafs-Canadiens.)
How did the layoff affect “the new guys?”
Patrick Marleau looks like Patrick Marleau. He skates better than any 40- year-old has right to, and it really feels like he’s a natural fit for McCann and Hornqvist. Evan Rodrigues is the more interesting case. He looked a bit adrift in his first handful of games after coming over from Buffalo. Not the case at the start of camp. He’s probably not going to have a regular shift in Game 1, but we just watched him work — with success — as the replacement for Crosby on the first line and Hornqvist on the third. He can play, literally, any forward position. When injuries happen, and they will, that’s a guy you’d like to have around. Seems like a prime candidate for Sullivan to dress as a spare if he wants some early in-game shakeups.
What happens in those “Settlers of Catan” sessions?
Aston-Reese said Monday that Bryan Rust brought at least a couple versions of the game to the bubble. This is apparently par for the course for Rust, which is something, shamefully, I did not realize. He’s got a social-media paper trail and everything. Thanks to everyone who follows these guys on Snapchat so I don’t have to.
WHY ARE REPORTERS OUT HERE ADMITTING THEY HAVEN’T DONE THEIR RESEARCH?? SMH, OF COURSE THEY BROUGHT IT HTTPS://T.CO/HTWTVITD6Z PIC.TWITTER.COM/RN8ZAJXY9C
— MOMO (@MLRICH4) JULY 29, 2020
When I heard Aston-Reese say that, it was the first time I felt any sort of real anger over the lack of media access to all this. I want, like, a half- hour to ask those guys about board games. Someday, I’ll get it. Then, it’s curtains for you all.
If the Pens lose the series and then win the draft lottery where will the fire start and how quickly will it engulf all of North America? 1176831 Montreal Canadiens million-dollar question, because while the intensity should be at a traditional playoff level, the execution might look more like the start of the regular season. Carey Price, before even leaving to attend training camp, said he expected chaos. 5 burning Canadiens questions heading into their series against the Penguins Chaos and structure are at opposite ends of the spectrum here.
In this context, it is possible that pure talent will be even more dominant than normal. If that’s the case, it goes without saying it would be terrible By Marc Antoine Godin Jul 29, 2020 24 news for the Canadiens.
Does Carey Price have to steal Game 1?
Who will be the backup goalie? Will Jake Evans be able to crack the As soon as the 24-team tournament was announced and the qualifying lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins? Will Xavier Ouellet hold his spot round matchups were revealed, the Penguins expressed some mild on the third defence pairing, therefore pushing Victor Mete to the right concern about facing Price and the influence he could have on a short side? series.
There are all sorts of intriguing questions surrounding the Canadiens that “It’s very motivating to hear that,” Price said at the time. will be answered in the coming days. But there are more fundamental issues in play here, deeper questions on the state of the team as the It is a legitimate concern considering the enormous importance Game 1 Canadiens prepare for their qualifying round series. has in a five-game series.
We’ve picked out five of them to explore further here. “The preparation for the first game will be very intense because winning or losing that game will have a huge influence on many things afterward,” Will these playoffs give us an accurate reflection of who the Canadiens said legendary goalie coach Francois Allaire. “If you have a good start, are? you have a chance to go deep. If you don’t, your playoffs might be very short. One of the aspects of this unusual 24-team summer tournament that everyone appears to agree on is how the conditions serve as a great “There will be a big focus on that first game for the players and coaches equalizer. Since almost every team is healthy and they all had to deal in terms of pep talks and meetings.” with the same extended break and the same conditioning challenges, teams are entering the tournament on an equal footing. They are what Historically, a team that wins Game 1 in a best-of-7 in the Stanley Cup they are. Playoffs has a 69.6 percent chance of winning the series. Now imagine how your chances increase even more by winning Game 1 in a best-of- It would be a stretch to draw any firm conclusions from these results, five. particularly a qualifying round that is a best-of-5. But a team’s competitive drive, its inner battle, that won’t lie. This will only provide a snapshot of Price has generally been quite good in the playoffs, but he’s never really where teams are in their journey, but it will represent something stolen a series, per se. The closest he came was in the first round in nonetheless because when they are called upon to give everything they 2015 when he stole Game 7 with a 43-save shutout against the Ottawa have and play their best hockey, they are all entering the starting blocks Senators. But if he’s feeling good and he’s as motivated as he says he is, on equal footing. Price is perfectly positioned to make sure the Penguins don’t win that first game, potentially tilting the balance of the series in the Canadiens’ favour Maybe these playoffs will only confirm everything we think about these as a result. teams now. For the Canadiens, they simply lack the personnel to matchup with a talented Pittsburgh Penguins team, they lack the finishers What type of playoff performer will Max Domi reveal himself to be? to convert all the scoring chances they generate into goals, they lack the Domi has never played an NHL playoff game and is now getting an depth on defence to avoid exposure to the opposition’s best forwards. If opportunity thanks to this expanded tournament. The league continues to all that is true, it will be important not to allow this play-in, win or lose, to insist that the qualifying round is not a playoff round, even if the statistics overly impact that evaluation. will count as playoff statistics. But let’s not kid ourselves, everyone is But this might also be an opportunity for the Canadiens to at least inject a looking at this round as a playoff round. bit of doubt in those evaluations by showing the best version of Domi has never had an opportunity to elevate his game in the Stanley themselves, whether that’s through unexpected contributions from young Cup Playoffs, but at previous levels he has shown that ability to rise to players or from guys like Jonathan Drouin, Max Domi and Artturi the occasion. In the summer of 2012, Domi helped Canada win the gold Lehkonen who have not yet reached their full potential. There may be medal at the Ivan Hlinka tournament with three goals and three assists in hope to be found that any future success for the Canadiens is not five games. In 2013, at age 17, Domi helped the London Knights win exclusively dependent on players who haven’t reached the NHL. their second straight OHL championship with 11 goals and 32 points in We can’t simply throw away what we will see in this tournament. The 21 playoff games, finishing second in playoff scoring behind Mark circumstances are unprecedented and unique, true, but that should not Scheifele, who was two years older than him. His three trips to the completely discredit the evaluation of this performance. It will be different, Memorial Cup with the Knights were not quite as productive, but Domi but it will still be valuable. shined again internationally at the 2015 world junior championships, where he was named the tournament’s top forward in helping Canada Do these unique playoffs favour skills or systems? win gold.
Some teams lacking elite talent can still get results by adhering strictly to Domi’s enthusiasm and intensity make him a player tailor-made for the a good system that maximizes the value of the individual players. The playoffs. If he was happy to leave Arizona for Montreal, it was because New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars come to he wanted to play under the glare of the spotlight in an intense hockey mind. The Canadiens, when they are able to establish their game plan market. The same logic should apply in the playoffs. with a fully healthy lineup, could also be considered as one of those teams. The best playoff players are not only those who can produce at opportune times, but also those who can hide their weaknesses and The cream does inevitably rise to the top, but teams like this have always present the best version of themselves for the good of the team. That’s been able to do some damage in the playoffs because the system what will be interesting to observe in Domi’s case. We know all about his overrides factors the team can’t control. speed, his puckhandling, but will he be able to avoid holding on to the puck too long and turning it over? Will he be able to remain disciplined as “Hockey is a collective sport above all else,” defenceman Xavier Ouellet he tries to agitate his opponents? Those are largely errors in judgment, said. “The system and teamwork will always be first. Everyone in the and perhaps a playoff environment that requires the ultimate focus and league has talent. But it comes down to being able to collectively concentration will be able to keep Domi on the right track. contribute.” Domi missed the first week of training camp to ensure he would not be at The Canadiens’ chances against the Penguins rest in large part on their risk of contracting COVID-19 as a Type 1 diabetic. When he arrived, system. If it is respected and executed properly, those chances improve. But after such a long layoff, will any team be able to do that? That is the Claude Julien put Domi at centre on his fourth line, a situation that might change quickly, especially if Domi can play to his full potential.
Can Jesperi Kotkaniemi show what he can be right away?
Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s mere presence at training camp was a victory unto itself. A spleen injury at the beginning of March was supposed to put an end to his season, but Kotkaniemi was able to recover a bit quicker than expected, giving him a chance to play in this qualifying round.
However, there is no correlation between his quick recovery and an accelerated comprehension of what he must do to become a good NHL player. At this point, even if it’s clear Kotkaniemi is in good physical shape, we can’t say with any assurance that he’s ready to apply what he learned in his 13 games under Joël Bouchard with the Laval Rocket.
But Kotkaniemi’s words and actions do suggest he has a new perspective on what it will take for him to establish himself in the NHL.
“Everyone knows my skating is not the best thing in my game and we’ve been working with that this summer,” Kotkaniemi said when asked to identify what he needs to do to succeed in the NHL. “I think that was the biggest thing to improve and I think we went forward a lot this summer and I think it will take me forward next season and in these playoffs.”
Perhaps as an attempt to improve Kotkaniemi’s confidence, Claude Julien has been beaming about the improvements to his skating. But as camp progressed from week one to two, it became more and more difficult for Kotkaniemi to stand out on the ice. That might not mean a whole lot, but his performance in the intrasquad games weren’t all that convincing and he had difficulty getting to the net in one-on-one battle drills.
Who knows? Maybe Kotkaniemi has a new bag of tricks he will unveil in Toronto. But it might not be until next season where we see the real progression in his game. After all, as veteran coach André Tourigny reminded us recently, a rookie doesn’t stop being a rookie the day he fully understands how to become a good NHL player. It happens on the day he actually does those things on the ice.
Kotkaniemi doesn’t need to be at that point right now, but next season will be an important one for him and the organization. Until he is able to lock down a centre spot on one of the top two lines, the Canadiens might be less inclined to ask Max Domi to move to the wing.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176832 Nashville Predators
NHL bubble diary: Predators forward Colton Sissons dishes on his first days
By Adam Vingan Jul 29, 2020 7
Editor’s note: The Predators are one of 12 Western Conference teams inside the Edmonton bubble as the NHL returns to play. Forward Colton Sissons has agreed to document his experience for The Athletic to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the unprecedented postseason experience.
Here is Sissons’ first entry, as dictated to Predators reporter Adam Vingan.
It was a little bit more stressful packing this time because it has the potential to be quite a long trip, which everyone is hoping for. I was just trying to make sure I had enough to get by with. There was definitely a heavy emphasis on comfortable clothes — some shorts and sweats to wear in the room and in the lounge. That was a priority for everyone, for sure. It was definitely a bit of a task, but I think I did a pretty good job. I’m not out of anything on Day 2 yet, so that’s a good sign.
It had been quite a while since we traveled home from Toronto (on March 12) before the quarantine hit. A few of us at the card table on the plane were talking about how it felt like just yesterday that we were playing and traveling with one another. We just got right back into that routine when we saw one another. It was definitely a little uneasy coming into Edmonton and heading into the bubble, not really knowing what to expect and what it was going to be like, but now that we’re two days into it, we’re pretty comfortable here.
I was impressed when we arrived. We knew we were coming to a nice hotel and somewhere that we’d be very comfortable, so that definitely was a positive thing. I know everyone was kind of tiptoeing around for the first couple of hours and the first evening, just to get the lay of the land and see how strict all the protocols were.
There’s an outside courtyard that we’ve been spending a lot of time at. The weather’s beautiful here, so that helps as well. I’m sure everyone’s heard about the food trucks and the Tim Hortons. There’s a little salad bar and a taco place, so that’s pretty huge. I feel like we never stop eating, so that’s always nice.
The lounges that are set up, a couple of teams are over at the arena, and they’re great. We’ve got a ton of space. There’s pingpong. We’ve got a PS4 set up and TVs everywhere to watch the games or whatever you want to do, so that’s nice to have.
The competitions haven’t heated up quite yet. I expect they will. I know I won’t be on the pingpong table because I’m terrible. I’ve got the PS4 set up in my room. We got the Wi-Fi figured out. We had a bit of trouble with that on the first night, but we got that sorted out. There’s been a little Call of Duty going down in my room. My first crew was myself, Dante Fabbro and Craig Smith. It did not go well, so we disbanded that team pretty quickly.
We have two floors in the hotel. We’ve been told that we need to spend some time apart for certainly the first couple of days. We basically go to the rink for practice and hang out outside in the courtyard. Other than that, they want us quarantined for the first week, basically.
The testing is pretty impressive. They have it set up in the concourse of the arena. There are about 10 lanes with a number of different testers there. It’s about a five-minute process, so it’s pretty streamlined. It’s pretty easy and quick for us.
Practice has been great. It’s pretty busy over at that rink. It’s funny seeing all the teams practice and just so many guys around you. It’s like we’re at a spring hockey tournament when we were kids but with NHL players, so it’s kind of funny.
We’ve had some competitive days of practice the past two days. The boys are looking confident. We’re ready to go here.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176833 Nashville Predators goals per game. Tocchet, though, said that the team was generating enough chances to win before the pause.
“A lot of two-on-ones, slot shots, missed opportunities around the net, Predators vs. Coyotes: Key questions, predictions for qualifying-round open nets,” Tocchet said. “I think we’ve just got to be able to bear down series more. We’re on the right side of the numbers in a lot of the games. We just didn’t come out on the right side of the results.”
Hall will be in the spotlight as the league’s highest-profile pending By Adam Vingan and Kevin Kurz Jul 29, 2020 12 unrestricted free agent. I will also be keeping an eye on Keller and Kessel. Keller was third on the team with 44 points, and Tocchet has said
more than once that the winger had a good training camp. Eight years ago, the then-Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Nashville As for Kessel, there have been reports that he just was not healthy this Predators in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This time, the season, dealing with a groin issue that resulted in his scoring 14 goals in teams are encased in a bubble in Edmonton, which eliminates the 70 games. Kessel has 77 points in 87 career playoff games, though, so possibility of a late-night excursion to Scottsdale. he has shown he can step up at important times. The sixth-seeded Predators and 11th-seeded (Arizona) Coyotes will face Roman Josi has a good chance of winning his first Norris Trophy. How off in a best-of-five qualifying-round series that starts Sunday. The did he look during training camp, and how much of an impact do you Athletic’s Adam Vingan and Kevin Kurz will be covering the series and expect him to have on this series? previewed the matchup. The Predators and Coyotes split their two meetings this season. Vingan: Kevin, the Coyotes told us how they really felt about general (Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today) manager John Chayka leaving the organization, delivering the ultimate hockey insult by claiming that he “quit” on them. Will the front-office Vingan:Josi was his dominant self during training camp. I have stumped drama have any sort of impact on their on-ice performance? for him in the Norris Trophy race for several months, and I would not be surprised to see him receive some Hart Trophy votes when the ballots Kurz: On the Monday conference calls, questions about Chayka were not are released. permitted, so Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet did not address the situation. I cannot imagine that it would have much — if any — impact on how the ROMAN JOSI (SPECIAL WHITE JERSEY) FINDS THE BACK OF THE team plays. In a typical season, a general manager’s job is pretty much NET. #PREDS @ONTHEFORECHECK over in terms of his impact on the dressing room after the trade deadline. PIC.TWITTER.COM/PEZRDSNVCC After that, it is up to the coaches and players to put it together. — SHAUN C. SMITH (@SCSOTF) JULY 19, 2020 From my own experience, I cover a team in the San Jose Sharks where the star player, Joe Thornton, told the general manager, Doug Wilson, to No defenseman in the league is more integral to his team’s success than “shut his mouth” through the media. One year later, the Sharks were in Josi, who can work magic with the puck. the Stanley Cup Final. I do not buy the idea that this will be a distraction There are going to be plenty of other talented defensemen on the ice for for the Coyotes. both teams in this series — Ekman-Larsson, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Ryan The Predators were one of many teams that made a coaching change Ellis and Mattias Ekholm are top of mind. I am curious to see if Josi can this season. How were the Predators different after replacing Peter find another level in the playoffs. The Predators’ success probably Laviolette with John Hynes? depends on it.
Vingan: When the regular season abruptly ended in March, the Predators Darcy Kuemper was having a Vezina Trophy-worthy season before being under Hynes were very much a work in progress, which tends to happen sidelined by a lower-body injury, and Antti Raanta was strong in his when a team makes an in-season coaching change. absence. Who gives the Coyotes the best chance to win?
I do not claim to be an expert on X’s and O’s, but one of Hynes’ top Kurz: My distinct impression after Monday’s media availability was that it priorities has been to improve the quality of the offense in order to get is going to be Kuemper in net for Game 1. He missed a lot of time during more out of the top forwards. Statistically, the Predators’ attack became the season but managed to play four games before the league shut less dangerous, but I chalk that up to their having to adjust on the fly. down, so he really should not be rustier than any of the other goaltenders returning to play. The four-month break greatly benefited Hynes, who used the downtime and abbreviated training camp to get closer to his players and put his “He’s the backbone of our team,” Tocchet said Monday. “We’re very stamp on the team. I expect to see a more cohesive group when the lucky to have him and (Raanta). He’s a guy we definitely rely on, and he series starts. plays that goalie position perfectly for our system. There’s not a lot of movement in his game, and I can tell that he hasn’t missed a beat since “The pause seems as though it really (gave) some guys an opportunity to the pause.” reflect,” Hynes said Tuesday. “You can’t predict the future of whether you’re going to win or lose the games, but what you do know is what the After finishing third in the league in save percentage (.928) and fourth in reality is. And the reality is we feel like some of the players that had some goals-against average (2.22) in 29 games, Kuemper has earned the tough years have come back energized. They had very good training chance to be in net for Game 1. camps as far as the intensity level, their attention to detail, the Pekka Rinne has been the man in goal for the Predators for some time, consistency in how they’ve played. There’s a renewed energy within the but Juuse Saros was much better during the regular season. Who gets group. I think they’re genuinely excited for the opportunity. the call in Game 1, and who do you believe should? “We have some players that I think are excited to get back. I don’t want Vingan: This is the question on everyone’s mind. Rinne, 37, has started to say anyone had a bad year, but some guys didn’t have the years that each of the Predators’ 89 playoff games since 2010, but Saros, 25, was they would like or we would like, but now this is a fresh opportunity. in control of the crease at the end of the regular season. Saros and We’re moving in the right direction. I think that there’s been a lot more Rinne had similar numbers at five-on-five, but Rinne was awful when the continuity. We really tried to use the pause to be able to stay together as Predators were shorthanded, which tanked his statistics. a team, to iron some things out, to get to know each other better. All those things are all positives.” Predators GM David Poile told me last week that under these unique circumstances “you’re going to see the value and importance of having There is a lot to like about the Coyotes. The roster has a solid blend of two goalies that are playing well.” I would not be surprised if both Saros respected veterans and promising talent. From afar, though, it is puzzling and Rinne start games against the Coyotes, but as for who should start that a lineup featuring Taylor Hall, Phil Kessel, Clayton Keller and other Game 1, Saros is the logical choice based on his play under Hynes. (A gifted forwards, not to mention Oliver Ekman-Larsson on defense, bit of trivia: The last Predators goaltender other than Rinne to start a struggles to score. How can they rectify that? playoff game was Dan Ellis in 2008.) Kurz: That very question is something Tocchet spent plenty of time on It is prediction time, Kevin. Who ya got? during the break, as the Coyotes finished 23rd in the league with 2.71 Kurz: I expect the first week or two of games all across the league to be pretty sloppy. When that happens, it usually is the team that makes the fewest defensive mistakes that wins. The Predators arguably have the best defense corps in the league, so I am going to give them the slight advantage, though I believe it will be a competitive series. Predators in five games.
Vingan: I preface this by saying that I suck at making predictions.
The Coyotes have excellent goaltending, and that is enough to pull off an upset. But I think Mike Kelly from Sportlogiq did a great job of breaking down how the Predators can exploit them.
Even after seeing a dip in production following the coaching change, I trust the Predators offense slightly more than the Coyotes offense. That will be the difference in what I expect to be a tight series. Predators in five games.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176834 New Jersey Devils
Devils pursuit caused discord that led to John Chayka’s Coyotes resignation
By Howie KussoyJuly 29, 2020 | 12:27PM
John Chayka got burned after trying to make a deal with the Devils.
Chayka, who became the youngest general manager in major-league sports history upon being hired by the Arizona Coyotes at the age of 26 in 2016, resigned from his position as GM and president of hockey operations right before the team was set to make its first playoff appearance in eight years. According to multiple reports, Chayka’s relationship with new team owner Alex Meruelo was irrevocably damaged when the general manager lied about having a job interview with the Devils — owned by the 76ers-led Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who are also bidding to take control of the Mets — who reportedly then were uninterested in hiring Chayka.
Following Chayka’s resignation, the Coyotes released an uncharacteristically hostile statement.
“The Club is disappointed in his actions and his timing, as the Coyotes prepare to enter the NHL’s hub city of Edmonton, where the team will begin postseason play for the first time since 2012. Chayka has chosen to quit on a strong and competitive team, a dedicated staff, and the Arizona Coyotes fans, the greatest fans in the NHL,” the Coyotes said in the statement.
Chayka later released a statement, too.
“I love our players, coaches, staff and fans and I very much wish I could be with the team in Edmonton. Sadly, the situation created by ownership made that an impossibility,” Chayka said. “That’s all I intend to say on this matter for now. A fuller, more detailed explanation may be necessary in the near future.”
Nine months ago, Chayka was given a three-year extension from Meruelo.
“I am fully confident that John is the right person to lead us moving forward and help us bring the Stanley Cup to Arizona,” Meruelo said then.
However, roughly a month ago, an NHL owner asked Meruelo for permission to speak with Chayka, which the former denied. Chayka reportedly then lied to Meruelo, telling the owner that he wasn’t seeking a position with another team, but seeking to “build relationships with owners in hockey” and “get market knowledge,” according to ESPN. Afterwards, Chayka told Meruelo he sought to be released from his contract, so he could accept a new position with the team, which he said allowed greater opportunities within the Devils’ owners vast sports portfolio.
Meruelo felt “betrayed,” according to ESPN, but offered to discuss the situation after the season. Chayka was skeptical of ownership, and felt that was “unreasonable,” according to the report, which said tensions elevated when Meruelo learned the position Chayka desired was more similar to the one he held Arizona then Chayka had led him to believe.
“This is where things fell apart. The Coyotes felt it was a pattern of misrepresentation,” a source told ESPN. “He tried to finesse it. There are some people that just think they’re the smartest people in the room, and every now and then it comes back to bite them.”
Still, Chayka was expected to join the team in Edmonton, but the general manager refused to partake in COVID-19 testing protocol, according to ESPN, ensuring he couldn’t go. The Coyotes considered the move a “material breach of contract.” Chayka then walked away from the deal he signed less than a year ago.
New York Post LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176835 New Jersey Devils lingering unknown, could make for a wide variety of outcomes. It also makes his next contract an intriguing one.
An important note is Bratt does not have arbitration rights this time Projecting the next contracts for the Devils’ restricted free agents around. The two sides could agree to a one-year deal, similar to what Anderson or Merkley might sign (with presumably a little more money), and basically push any longer deals off to next offseason.
By Corey Masisak Jul 29, 2020 5 Evolving-Hockey, besides being home to Goals Above Replacement and other fun stats and contract projections, also has a skater similarity tool
to help out with this project. Here’s a selection of the players most similar The last big contract former Devils general manager Ray Shero to Bratt at or near this stage of his career: negotiated has made new GM Tom Fitzgerald’s first offseason in charge Jack Roslovic a little easier to navigate. 89.9 Fitzgerald’s task — guiding New Jersey back to playoff contention — remains a challenging one after two disappointing seasons. Of course, 180 having the club’s top restricted free agent signed for the next seven years is a big checkmark on the to-do list. Nico Hischier signed a seven-year, 26 $50.75 million contract in October, removing the possibility of the Devils 67 sweating through an offseason without one of its franchise players under contract. 14.2
Fitzgerald still has nine RFAs to sign between now and the start of next Drew Stafford season. Six of them — Joey Anderson, John Hayden, Josh Jacobs, Nick Merkley, Brett Seney and Colton White — should be relatively 88.7 straightforward. Hayden, Seney and Jacobs all have arbitration rights but 184 don’t have the type of NHL resumes that lead to protracted negotiations. Anderson and Merkley are at least a year away from signing a deal worth 49 longer than one season. White, like Jacobs and Seney, is still trying to play his way into a regular NHL lineup. 110
That leaves the three most high-profile New Jersey RFAs: forward 13.7 Jesper Bratt, defenseman Mirco Mueller and goaltender Mackenzie J.T. Miller Blackwood. The best way to project contract values for potential free agents is to identify players with similar statistical profiles who signed 87.4 new deals recently. 170 One problem: We don’t know exactly how much the coronavirus pandemic will affect NHL business this offseason and those to come. We 35 do know the salary cap ceiling will stay at $81.5 million next season, and 72 it is likely to either remain there or increase slightly over the next few years. That’s a big adjustment for NHL GMs, who are used to the cap 11 rising at a consistent pace since it was instituted in 2005. Markus Granlund Will the star players not sign for as much money? Will some RFAs get 87.3 squeezed because they lack leverage? Will veterans be forced to take cut-rate deals to compete with an increasingly cheaper and younger 164 workforce? The answer to all of those questions might be “yes.” 33 That said, lets hunt down some comparable players for Bratt, Mueller and Blackwood and establish a range for their next contracts. The Devils 60 have plenty of cap space and enough flexibility to sign any of these 10 players to short- or long-term contracts. Brandon Sutter Jesper Bratt 87.3 2019-20: 60 games, 16 goals (third on the Devils), 32 points (tied for fourth), 101 shots on goal (ninth among forwards), 13:59 TOI/game (10th 204 among forwards), 48.33 Corsi for percentage (fourth among forwards) 36 Strengths: Skating, smarts, competitiveness 75 Weaknesses: Consistency, durability 16.5 Short-term outlook: Should be one of New Jersey’s top three wings in 2020-21, potentially the top wing on the left side. Tyler Ennis
Long-term question: Will he be a top-six forward on the next really good 87.1 Devils team? 177
Bratt has been the most productive player taken outside the top 100 45 picks in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 drafts. He’s also arguably the 12th-best player of the entire 2016 draft class and turns 22 on Thursday. 114
He has shown flashes of being an impact player, but the Devils would 21.3 like to see that from him more regularly. Bratt could thrive with new coach Lindy Ruff. Both John Hynes and Alain Nasreddine limited his ice time or Mikael Granlund scratched him from the lineup at times as a motivational tactic. 86.9
Bratt looked like a potential star near the end of this season, playing on a 158 line with Pavel Zacha and Nikita Gusev. Is he destined to be an inner- circle, core player like Hischier and Jack Hughes, or more of a 18 complementary piece of the puzzle? The potential, along with the 88 18.1 N/A
Kyle Turris 10.2
86.9 Pavel Buchnevich
183 179
31 43
74 101
19.2 13.9
Mikkel Boedker 3.8
86.8 Andre Burakovsky
208 196
27 38
69 95
7.5 16.9
Matt D'Agostini 2
86.4 Alex Galchenyuk
182 193
35 42
71 104
11.9 16.6
Cody Hodgson 7.6
86.4 Jonathan Huberdeau
139 196
35 38
77 113
12.8 21.6
Jesper Bratt 12.1
185 Marcus Johansson
37 183
100 33
8.7 95
One issue is trying to nail down comparable players in the same 18.2 contractual state. Players get to around 185 games at around the age of 21 or 22 in different ways, and some need a second NHL contract the 4.5 year before because they’ve already spent three seasons in the Nick Schmaltz AHL/NHL. Jack Roslovic, the player most similar to Bratt according to Evolving-Hockey’s model, is also an RFA this offseason for the Jets. 179
It’s worth noting that comparisons are a big part of the negotiation 34 process and not every team/agent will include metrics like GAR and 105 skater similarity scores in their arsenal. Here’s another list of similar players, using more traditional stats to narrow our focus. This chart 13.3 replaces skater similarity with “3rd year GAR,” in part because Bratt took a significant step forward in his third season with that metric. 3.3
Jesper Bratt Craig Smith
185 195
37 42
100 100
8.7 16.6
9.6 14
Steve Bernier Ryan Strome
177 189
45 32
90 96 19.6 $2.067 million
-1.3 Cody Hodgson
This group doubles as a good illustration of Bratt’s potential outcomes. 6 years There are three clear paths here: The high end is in Jonathan Huberdeau’s neighborhood as an underrated star, the middle ground is $4.25 million closer to Johansson/Burakovsky as a solid two-way second-line wing and Nick Schmaltz the low end could be Alex Galchenyuk (untapped potential). 7 years So here are players from those groups who signed their second NHL contracts at about the same time as Bratt will (a few signed before the $5.85 million offseason). Trying to track down whether or not each player had There are a lot of bridge contracts on that list. That makes sense — most arbitration rights might have taken months, but this group gives us a of these players hadn’t played to their full potential yet and faced many of range of term and cap hits for players who are similar to Bratt at this the same questions marks as Bratt has. The deals for Cody Hodgson stage of his career. and especially Nick Schmaltz are examples of the team betting on the Jesper Bratt player’s development and hoping the long-term pact gives the player security up front and the club savings and surplus value in later seasons. ??? A one-year deal for Bratt could look a lot like Miller’s — he signed for two ??? years and $2.75 million per before the following season and then got paid (five years, $5.25 million per) on his fourth NHL contract. Steve Bernier Evolving-Hockey’s contract projection model sees a 59 percent chance of 1 year Bratt signing a two- or three-year contract and pegs the cap hit at $2.8 million per for two years and $3.2 million per for three. Johansson ended $2.5 million up at $2 million in part because the Capitals needed to save where it J.T. Miller could to be cap compliant, but the Devils aren’t likely to have the same motivation with Bratt. Their model also suggests a six-year deal at $4.9 1 year million each as an option; a six-year, $30 million pact seems reasonable for both sides, but the risk for Bratt is if he does develop on a path similar $874,000 to Huberdeau’s, he’ll spend the final years of that deal being underpaid. Mikkel Boedker Mirco Mueller 2 years 2019-20: 50 games, two goals, seven points (sixth among the $1.1 million defensemen), 29 shots on goal (sixth), 17:39 TOI/game (seventh), 43.81 Corsi for percentage (ninth) Marcus Johansson Strengths: Size/reach, work on the penalty kill 2 years Weaknesses: Suppresses offense at both ends of the ice $2 million Short-term outlook: Pending an offseason addition or two, Mueller could Craig Smith have the chance to line up next to Damon Severson or P.K. Subban in the top four. 2 years Long-term question: This could be a huge season for Mueller because $2 million the Devils could be flush with younger, NHL-ready options a year from Ryan Strome now.
2 years The Devils traded a second- and a fourth-round pick for Mueller and a fifth-rounder (Marian Studenic) in 2017. Mueller has had stretches where $2.5 million he’s found a consistent spot in the lineup and played well, but his offensive game has not developed. He’s also had longer stretches where Alex Galchenyuk he’s been a drag on the team’s possession metrics and has struggled to 2 years keep his place in the lineup.
$2.8 million Mueller turned 25 in March. He needs to prove he can help his team get out of danger better and more consistently to settle in as the defense-first Mikael Granlund option on a second- or third-pairing in the NHL. The Devils have a few 2 years prospects, including Kevin Bahl and Nikita Okhotyuk, who could be ready for similar roles by 2021 or 2022, so his time to do so in New Jersey $3 million could be limited.
Andre Burakovsky Here is the group of defensemen with the closest similarity scores at this stage of Mueller’s career over a three-year span on Evolving-Hockey: 2 years Mirco Mueller $3 million 131 Pavel Buchnevich 3 2 years 22 $3.25 million 0.1 Jonathan Huberdeau Dalton Prout 2 years 91.2 $3.25 million 140 Brandon Sutter 3 3 years 21 0 11.3
Jon Merrill Davis Drewiske
90.5 87
132 97
3 1
14 16
2 2.8
Adam Pelech Jon Merrill, Adam Pelech and Kevin Klein are all players who improved as their careers progressed, but there are also several players in this 89.3 group who never really broke free of the No. 6/7 defenseman role. If we 131 include his time with the Sharks and try to find a group of defensemen with similar traditional stats, here are some comparable options: 6 Mirco Mueller 31 185 6.3 5 Brian Lee 28 89.1 -1.1 126 Ben Chiarot 4 170 19 5 0.1 30 Mark Pysyk 4.5 88.8 Brian Dumoulin 70 163 4 2 15 33 -1 12.1 Kevin Klein Kevin Klein 87.6 162 157 6 5 26 25 1.8 1.8 Josh Manson Andrej Sustr 181 87.4 10 117 35 1 13 21 Martin Marincin -0.4 177 Roman Polak 3 87.2 25 180 -2.3 4 Victor Mete 29 171 -2.5 4 Mike Lundin 31 87.2 18.1 155 Patrik Nemeth 3 176 21 3 2 years
29 $1.45 million
8.6 Mike Weber
Xavier Ouellet 3 years
160 $1.667 million
5 Patrik Nemeth
26 1 year
4.1 $2.5 million
Theo Peckham Josh Manson
4 years
160 $4.1 million
4 Brian Dumoulin
17 6 years
-9.6 $4.1 million
Mike Weber Mueller made $1.4 million on a one-year deal this season. He also has arbitration rights, so that could be an avenue to a deal if the two sides 174 don’t agree on one. He’s not likely to accept an offer that’s lower than 6 $1.4 million per season, especially if the Devils are interested in multiple years. New Jersey signed Connor Carrick to a two-year, $3 million deal 32 last offseason and Mueller has played more than him.
-4.1 Evolving-Hockey’s one-year projection for Mueller is $1.378 million and two years is $1.754 million per. It does seem like somewhere in the $1.4- Klein shows up again. A couple of these players (Brian Dumoulin, Josh 1.75 million range is a good bet for where this one ends up. Manson) were destined for bigger roles, and Victor Mete, who also is an RFA this offseason, could be as well. He’s younger than Mueller and it Mackenzie Blackwood will be his second NHL contract, while this will be Mueller’s fourth. Here’s a look at those two groups blended together with their next contracts: 2019-20: 47 games (43 starts), .915 save percentage, 2.95 goals against average, 22-14-8 record Mirco Mueller Strengths: Size-athleticism combo, technical and mental improvements ??? Weaknesses: Sample size ??? Short-term outlook: He’s no longer the goalie of the future, but the goalie Xavier Ouellet of the present.
1 year Long-term question: Can Blackwood be the No. 1 goaltender on a Stanley Cup contender? $700,000 After a couple of uneven years in the AHL, Blackwood played really well Martin Marincin for the Devils when they needed stability in net and he followed that up 1 year by claiming the No. 1 job in his second year. He struggled at the start of 2019-20 but reemerged from the holiday break as one of the best goalies $800,000 in the NHL.
Mike Lundin There’s an easy narrative to believe in here. Blackwood came to the position a little later than most as a big, athletic goalie who has been 1 year amenable to coaching and uses his athleticism to make some saves that $1 million others cannot. A classic late-bloomer kind of story.
Mark Pysyk But Blackwood is also a young goaltender with 70 NHL games on his resume and the potential to be an above-average starter. There’s no 2 years magic number for goaltenders — 150 games? 200 games? — before you can feel comfortable about what level they’ll end up at. $1.125 million That makes longer deals with any goaltender risky, even a super-hyped Kevin Klein prospect who excels early on in the NHL like Carey Price or Andrei 3 years Vasilevskiy. There are no similarity scores for goaltenders on Evolving- Hockey, but here is a group of goalies with similar games played at near $1.35 million Blackwood’s age/stage of his career.
Jon Merrill Mackenzie Blackwood
2 years 70
$1.375 million 0.916
Ben Chiarot 2.72
2 years 13.1
$1.4 million 20.4
Andrej Sustr John Gibson 66 61
0.92 0.902
2.22 3.33
8.91 -15.24
14.6 -0.5
Carter Hart Carter Hart and Alexander Georgiev are also both RFAs this offseason, though Hart’s situation as the entrenched starter is much closer to 74 Blackwood’s. That group includes a wide variance of performance, so 0.915 let’s try to find another list of comparable players that focuses on similar GAR at age 23. 2.59 Price and Sergei Bobrovsky are well ahead of the field, but Blackwood is 12.49 12th among U-24 goalies in GAR since 2007-08, tucked between Braden Holtby and Matt Murray on the list. Here are the goalies who are close to 17.4 Blackwood in games played (Price, as an example, had 206 GP after his Alexander Georgiev age-23 season).
77 Petr Mrazek
0.913 94
3 26.1
7.12 Tuukka Rask
22.7 79
Michal Neuvirth 24.5
70 Matt Murray
0.913 62
2.55 23.6
-2.4 Alexander Georgiev
11.8 77
Darcy Kuemper 22.7
63 Mackenzie Blackwood
0.91 70
2.48 20.4
-5.52 Carter Hart
1.2 74
Louis Domingue 17.4
77 Joonas Korpisalo
0.91 63
2.87 15.1
-5.61 Connor Hellebuyck
6 81
Joonas Korpisalo 13.1
63 Robin Lehner
0.91 86
2.87 10
-6.42 James Reimer
15.1 71
Anders Lindback 8.4
62 Brian Elliott
0.909 87
2.68 2.1
-4.49 Andrei Vasilevskiy
3.8 90
Ondrej Pavelec 0.2 Vasilevskiy at the bottom of this list seems surprising, but it took him (six years, $37 million) or Gibson (eight years, $51.2 million) eventually another year before he blossomed into one of the best goalies in the signed. league. The Devils would be pleased if Blackwood develops the way several of the goaltenders on this list have. The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020
Blackwood, like Bratt, does not have arbitration rights. He did start 62 percent of the Devils’ games this year, and starting goalies don’t typically end up with the one-year, less-than-$1 million contract that some skaters without leverage do. Here are contract examples based on those two goalie groups:
Joonas Korpisalo
1 year
$1.15 million
Michal Neuvirth
2 years
$1.15 million
Louis Domingue
2 years
$1.15 million
Ondrej Pavelec
2 years
$1.15 million
Tuukka Rask
2 years
$1.25 million
Darcy Kuemper
1 year
$1.55 million
Anders Lindback
2 years
$1.8 million
Connor Hellebuyck
1 year
$2.25 million
John Gibson
3 years
$2.3 million
Petr Mrazek
2 years
$4 million
What we ended up with is a lot of young goalies who weren’t established starters at this stage of their careers. Connor Hellebuyck was by the end of his second season and Petr Mrazek had taken the No. 1 role from Jimmy Howard with the Red Wings. But Tuukka Rask was still behind Tim Thomas on the depth chart and John Gibson was in a timeshare with Freddy Andersen. I left out Murray because he had won the Stanley Cup twice by the end of his entry-level contract and that’s a tough comparison to make for anyone.
Blackwood should have more leverage than some of the goaltenders on the list, both because he played like a No. 1 goalie this past season and because of the uncertainty behind him on the depth chart. At the same time, he’s a goalie and the risks with a long-term deal at this stage of his development remain.
Are the Devils ready to commit to a longer deal with him? A two-year contract would run through the end of Cory Schneider’s deal. If Blackwood continues to play as well as he did in 2019-20, he’d likely be in line for a big contract in 2022, something similar to what Hellebuyck 1176836 New York Islanders second shot with 3:38 remaining in the match against relief netminder Thomas Greiss to bring the Blueshirts within 2-1.
The Rangers have been a top-heavy, top-six team throughout the Marc Staal avoids big injury in Rangers’ loss to Islanders season. If kids Kakko and Chytil can create a dangerous third line, that would most certainly change the dynamic even more so that moving the Finn permanently onto the second line. Remember, too: a defensive consciousness is often needed beside Strome and Panarin. By Larry BrooksJuly 29, 2020 | 11:36pm | Updated Saturday, a defensive consciousness will be needed against Carolina.
That’s when the fun starts. Or despair. Islanders, Rangers discussing their own 'Moment of Solidarity' New York Post LOADED: 07.30.2020 Truth be told, all that anyone truly wanted out of this exhibition match was to come out of it healthy. It appears that after a scare, the Rangers met that objective.
What else the Blueshirts accomplished in their first game in 141 days and last before Saturday’s Game 1 of the best-of-five qualifying round against Carolina, was not especially clear.
“We want to focus on getting back to where we were, and obviously at a higher level, even. We just wanted to keep moving forward and keep building and getting everything geared toward Saturday,” David Quinn said after his team’s 2-1 defeat to the Islanders in a lukewarm performance in Toronto. “I liked the first 30 minutes, I didn’t love the last 30.
“We hadn’t played a game in four months, so …”
The injury escape involved Marc Staal, the Blueshirt with 104 games of Stanley Cup playoff experience, who left the match after the second period and did not return. The alternate captain was replaced by Libor Hajek, who had gotten 3:57 through the first two periods as the seventh defenseman, but then took a regular turn the rest of the way on Tony DeAngelo’s left side.
“No, no,” Quinn said when asked if the alternate captain might miss the opener. “That was more precautionary.”
The pace was reasonably good even if the Blueshirts’ top skill guys such as Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad often did look as if they were playing their first game in four-plus months. Same for Chris Kreider, who hadn’t been in a competitive situation on the ice since breaking his foot in Philadelphia on Feb. 28.
Fact is, and this is an observation rather than a critique, Panarin has been rather pedestrian since the Blueshirts officially reconvened on July 13. One presumes this is an example of a splendid athlete knowing his body and his capabilities as he builds toward Saturday, but the Rangers quite clearly are going to need their Hart Trophy finalist to hit the ice running when the puck drops just after noon on Saturday.
When Quinn said, “Some individuals have to be better, for sure,” and when the coach said, “Some guys obviously are kind of finding their way, still, right now,” for sure he was including Panarin in that mix.
Igor Shesterkin was barely tested in his prep work for the rookie’s anticipated Game 1 start, allowing one goal on a close-range Anthony Beauvillier two-on-one midway through the second period while facing a sum of seven shots in 29:15. The Beauvillier goal, a short sider to the stick side, was created by an Andy Greene stretch pass that caught Adam Fox up ice. The goal came on the Islanders’ first shot of the period.
Henrik Lundqvist, who relieved Shesterkin, was outstanding, beaten only by Devon Toews on a right-wing wrister off the rush with under five minutes to play in the third period. This represented a carryover from camp, throughout which the King was extremely sharp.
Lundqvist has started the Rangers’ last 127 playoff games, dating back to Game 2 of the 2006 first round against the Devils. Qualifying-round games will not be counted as playoff games, so the streak will live, technically, even if Lundqvist is on the bench when the puck drops Saturday.
Kaapo Kakko played with the same confidence and touch of swagger he displayed throughout the Blueshirts’ two-week summer camp. Quinn elevated Kakko, who has becoming a shoot-first, north-south player, to the second line with Panarin and Ryan Strome for a handful of shifts.
Thing is, the 19-year-old Finn worked very well with third-line pivot Filip Chytil in creating second-period scoring chances against Semyon Varlamov. And it was Chytil driving to the net to bury Jesper Fast’s 1176837 New York Islanders puck quick. The shots were in the windows a little bit but we’re going to get that back quick.
The Islanders were outshot, 27-22, and went 0-for-5 on the power play Islanders top Rangers in exhibition matchup as Semyon Varlamov makes with just four man-advantage shots. claim for starting spot in goal Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 07.30.2020
By Andrew Gross
Semyon Varlamov seemingly made Barry Trotz’s decision on a No. 1 goalie rather easy with his shutout work over two periods in the lone exhibition game. Andy Greene and Noah Dobson are doing their best to make it very hard on the Islanders coach to choose his top six — or seven — defensemen.
“I really wanted to see them against some competition other than their own teammates,” Trotz said of Greene and Dobson after the Islanders topped the Rangers, 2-1, on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. “It’s a tough decision for the coaching staff to separate them.”
The Islanders open their best-of-five qualifying series against the Panthers on Saturday and Trotz said he could dress seven defensemen and just 11 forwards for Game 1.
Keith Jones and Brian Burke preview up the Islanders vs. Florida Panthers NHL Stanley Cup playoff qualifying series, pointing out that the Panthers' stars will have to start playing better, and Sergei Bobrovsky will need to stand on his head.
Wednesday night marked the Islanders’ first game since a 5-4 shootout loss at Vancouver on March 10. The NHL paused its season two days later in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With being off for whatever, four and a half months, and being that everyone is healthy back there, it’s a competition,” Greene said. “It’s out of my hands at this point and we’ll go from there.”
Allowed two extra players for the exhibition game, Trotz dressed eight defensemen to get both Greene, the former Devils captain acquired on Feb. 16 with Adam Pelech thought to be lost for the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon on Jan. 2, and Dobson, a rookie, into the lineup. Both had assists and were strong in the defensive end. Greene also saw time on the 3-for-3 penalty kill.
Pelech, too, was steady in his return as he was reunited on the top pair with Ryan Pulock.
“He looked pretty seamless jumping in there,” Trotz said. “He made a couple of good reads, some good exits. He defended well on the penalty kill. He looked set.”
Besides figuring out which defensemen to dress, Trotz must choose between Varlamov and Thomas Greiss and also settle on a 12th forward.
Varlamov would seem to be the choice after stopping all 19 shots he faced in two periods. That included stoning Jesper Fast on three straight, point-blank shots, stacking his pads to stop the last one at 4:32 of the second period.
“I haven’t tried it for the last 15 years, probably never,” Varlamov said of his acrobatics. “Sometimes, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. Old school never gets old.”
Greiss stopped seven of eight shots in the third period.
As for settling on his forward lines, Trotz started Anthony Beauvillier on Brock Nelson’s left wing along with Josh Bailey, leaving a spot on Jean- Gabriel Pageau’s line with Derick Brassard. Trotz opted to use burly but strong skating Ross Johnston while scratching wings Andrew Ladd, Tom Kuhnhackl, Michael Dal Colle and Leo Komarov, who missed most of training camp with a facial injury.
Johnston had a secondary assist on defenseman Devon Toews’ far-side wrister past Henrik Lundqvist to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead at 15:35 of the third period.
Beauvillier had made it 1-0 at 9:15 of the second period as he kept the puck on a two-on-one with Nelson and beat Igor Shesterkin to the short- side after Greene fed him with a pinpoint stretch pass.
“I thought the pace was good,” Beauvillier said. “We had really good pace in the scrimmages back home. Today, we did a good job of moving the 1176838 New York Islanders
Wellness targeted in Islanders' new Belmont Park arena
By Andrew Gross
Tim Leiweke strongly believes the COVID-19 pandemic will be under control by the time UBS Arena at Belmont Park opens. Still, the CEO of arena development company Oak View Group said the Islanders’ new home is incorporating enhanced health and safety protocols.
“As we go on, on this small little planet we live on, we’ll have more of these types of issues, more viruses,” Leiweke told Newsday. “We dedicated ourselves in the design of the building to be very focused on wellness and health. We are joining the Wellness Institute [The International WELL Building Institute, the world’s leading certification body for healthy buildings] to be certified and hitting the standards necessary to make sure people are confident when they go into the building.”
That includes thorough sanitization protocols and cleaner and more frequent air circulation.
Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky also described a state-of-the-art concession model that will allow social distancing to be maintained as customers will be billed directly to an online account.
“Amazon Go technology,” Ledecky told Newsday. “You’ll go in and grab a beer and pour it yourself, or whatever food you want, and walk right out. We’re trying to use technology to drive innovation.”
UBS Arena is targeted to open either in October or November of 2021 for the start of that NHL season. The arena, expected to seat 17,113 for hockey, is the centerpiece of a $1.5 billion development at Belmont Park that includes a 250-room hotel and 350,000 square feet of retail on 43 acres adjacent to the racetrack.
Leiweke believes UBS’ 20-year commitment for naming rights is another hopeful sign.
“We all wanted to send a positive news story to New York that, this, too, shall pass,” Leiweke said. “We will recover and we’re going to thrive. So, to have a company that’s internationally this big making the bet on the Islanders, on Long Island, on this project at this time, it’s an amazing compliment that we will get back to normal again.”
Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176839 New York Islanders defensively and get good goaltending, you can ride that. On the flip side of that, you want to try and get all your offensive weapons going. One team might have been an offensive powerhouse earlier in the season but so much time has passed, things may have changed a little bit.” As NHL season restarts, could Islanders' defense be a valuable asset? Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 07.30.2020
By Andrew Gross
The final answer can’t be gleaned from a single exhibition game. But as the NHL embarks upon an unprecedented restart to its season after a four-month pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s a fair question whether a defensive-oriented team such as the Islanders could have an early advantage.
“You look at every year, the start of the year it seems like the offense is always a little sloppier, especially when you look at special teams, the power plays are maybe not clicking as good as it needs to be,” Islanders right wing Jordan Eberle said. “We’ve always been a good defensive team since Barry [Trotz] stepped in. The fact that we have that foundation, the fact that we know positionally how we need to play in order to win, if we can stick to that, it’s definitely going to help us win some games.”
The Islanders played the rival Rangers on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto in the lone tune-up before the games count. The Islanders open their best-of-five qualifying series against the Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
Isles vs. Panthers: Jones, Burke preview series
Keith Jones and Brian Burke preview up the Islanders vs. Florida Panthers NHL Stanley Cup playoff qualifying series, pointing out that the Panthers' stars will have to start playing better, and Sergei Bobrovsky will need to stand on his head.
The Islanders allowed an average of 2.8 goals over their 68 regular- season games. But that went from an average of 2.6 goals before top- pair defenseman Adam Pelech suffered an Achilles’ tendon injury on Jan. 2 to an average of 3.1 goals over their final 30 games (10-13-7) without him.
Pelech is back in the Islanders’ lineup, as his invaluable fourth-line center Casey Cizikas. The Islanders went 2-7-4 heading into the pause without Cizikas in the lineup after he suffered a left leg laceration.
The Islanders scored an average of 2.8 goals per game during the regular season.
The Panthers averaged both 3.3 goals scored and allowed over their 69 regular-season games.
So, simply, the Islanders must re-discover their defensive structure quickly and have goalies Semyon Varlamov and/or Thomas Greiss outplay the Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky.
“Our focus has been on ourselves,” Trotz said. “You know Florida’s strengths and you know places that we think we can take advantage of. Really, it’s going to come down to us and how we play. As a team, we normally find our identity right off the bat. It’s when you have a long season, your ups and downs, that you can get away from things like that. But when you’re fresh off the get go, you fall back on your foundations.”
This season, Trotz’s second as Islanders’ coach, the team went on a franchise record 15-0-2 run from Oct. 12, when they beat the Panthers, 3-2, in a shootout at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum, to Nov. 23.
Then again, because of the uniqueness of the current NHL circumstances, trying to predict future performances off past results may be a fool’s errand.
All teams are essentially starting from scratch again after the four-month pause and all games are being played in either Toronto or Edmonton, with all 24 participating teams quarantined in an arena/hotel/practice rink bubble in their hub city.
Which makes Islanders center Brock Nelson unsure whether a defensively-inclined team may have an advantage.
“I’d say it probably doesn’t matter either way, so much time has passed,” Nelson said. “You want to try and find a healthy combination of both as quickly as you can now. If you can tighten things up and lock things up 1176840 New York Islanders Trotz will surely match defense pairs where he can, though. Pelech and Ryan Pulock will presumably see a lot of Barkov and Pelech and Scott Mayfield will get the task of containing the Panthers’ lethal top power-play unit. In rolling four lines, Trotz wants to see all of his forwards be physical Roundtable preview: Key factors and predictions for Islanders-Panthers on Barkov and Huberdeau and perhaps exploit some matchups in the Panthers’ bottom six — though, between Connolly and Noel Acciari,
Florida’s got some bottom-sixers who score more than the Isles’ top- By Max Bultman and Arthur Staple Jul 29, 2020 31 sixers.
Bultman: I’m glad you mentioned Pageau, because your story on him last week sold me on him being an X-factor in this series. I know the training It’s about four months later than expected, but postseason hockey is now camp probably got old for some guys, but how big of an opportunity did it just days away. create for Pageau in his assimilation to the team and to Trotz’s system? I mean, this might be the first time ever that deadline acquisitions have And once it begins, if the NHL is able to maintain a tight bubble and keep gotten this type of a reset with their new teams. players and team staff healthy, it has the potential to be one of the wildest postseasons we’ve ever seen. Staple: It was a huge reset for Pageau, given the Islanders went 0-3-4 with him after the trade and he looked like he was trying to justify his big So,The Athletic’s Arthur Staple and Max Bultman got together to discuss new contract every second he was on the ice. He’s not a star; he’s a the Panthers-Islanders qualifying-round series, identify the potential X- good, complementary role player, and his proficiency on faceoffs (53.5 factors and predict a winner. percent this year) puts him into a rotation with Casey Cizikas and Brock Bultman: Let’s start off with a simple one: What’s the vibe been like in Nelson, who are also over 50 percent on draws. Pageau will certainly Isles land ahead of returning to play — to whatever degree you can help. discern a vibe from video conferences? Is there a Panther who rates as an X-factor here? Staple: It started with, “Hey, this is weird!” Then it progressed to, “Hey, Bultman: Here’s where I’ll come back to Bobrovsky, and not just because this is getting old!” It’s hard to imagine a team that’s accustomed to 3-4 goalies can make or break any team in the playoffs. But also, yeah, partly days of proper training camp and two weeks of intrasquad scrimmages because goalies can make or break any team in the playoffs. Prior to last before exhibition games begin, but Barry Trotz has a very mature crew. year’s playoffs with Columbus, Bobrovsky’s career postseason numbers This may be the one time it helps to have an older team. had been less than inspiring. Then he went out and turned in a series Bultman: If memory serves, the Islanders had a pretty absurd winning sweep over the Lightning, the best team in hockey during the 2018-19 streak early in the season. I know it came after a 1-3 start, which regular season, and ended up with a .925 save percentage across 10 certainly they can’t afford to replicate in a best-of-5 first-round, but then it games. was 10 straight wins and 15 out of 16. Is there any reason to believe this Columbus still only lasted into the second round last year, and Bobrovsky team is particularly well-equipped to go on a bit of a run? It seems like didn’t have the regular season you’d expect from a goalie making $10 their depth, in particular, could serve them well in a compressed million a year in his first year with the Panthers. But, as colleague Scott schedule early. Burnside wrote last week, he has a chance to recapture some of that “old Staple: Yes, I think this is where the Islanders have their biggest edge on magic” in this postseason. And if he does, then the Panthers are going to the Panthers. The Isles are fully healthy, which means lunch-pail regulars have a real shot in the series. like Adam Pelech (ruptured Achilles) and Casey Cizikas (leg laceration) Which reminds me: How do you see things shaking out in net for the are back after missing weeks prior to the shutdown. The Islanders want Isles during this series? Is Varlamov the clear-cut starter unless to play a structured, ugly game; the Panthers, judging by their numbers catastrophe strikes? this season, want to let their skill guys dominate. If the Islanders get to that greasy, grinding game quickly, Florida may get frustrated. Staple: I think Varlamov has the edge to be the Game 1 starter since neither he nor Thomas Greiss looked incredibly good or incredibly bad Where do you see the Panthers having a distinct advantage? during Phase 3 camp. But I am intrigued about Games 2-3 back to back Bultman: I think it comes back to those skill players you alluded to, and and whether Trotz will gamble on using both goalies, especially if the that, inevitably, is going to lead back to the power play. The Panthers had series is 1-1 or the Isles are up 2-0 heading into Game 3. One of the the 10th best power play in the league this season, and while the Isles reasons for having two viable goalies is to save them in situations where were fairly middle of the pack in terms of both committing and killing the data shows quite clearly that goalies do not benefit from playing on penalties, it seems like special teams could have some real bearing on consecutive days. how this series plays out. That’s a luxury we assume the Panthers don’t have, so it will be fun to The Panthers had five players who scored 20 or more goals in the see what Trotz decides. regular season, and likely would have had at least one more (Brett I think we’ve covered some serious ground here. What’s your prediction Connolly had 19) if the season had been completed. But to me, it’s for how this series shakes out? Huberdeau and Barkov (and Sergei Bobrovsky, but more on him in a minute) who represent the Panthers’ best hope. They’ve got the offensive Bultman: I’ll take the Isles in 4, because playoff hockey should suit a firepower, so then it comes down to whether they will have enough room team with such a clear-cut identity. My main question is whether they’ll to make the most of it. And really, that seems like the question for any be able to come back if they go down a goal or two early, and certainly team against the Isles. they weren’t the hottest team in the league when things shut down. But I think this will be a chance to start fresh, and their composition makes me I guess that brings the question back to how you see Trotz wanting to lean their direction in this series. What about you? match up in a series like this, and a question I’m fascinated with for almost every team: In a short series, do you dutifully roll four lines to Staple: I say Islanders in 5. Florida will get its goals, especially with that keep guys fresh, knowing there’s a back-to-back scheduled for Games 2 power play, so I don’t see the Islanders holding the Panthers down the and 3? Do you rely on your top players more than ever because it only entire series. But this Islander team has shown an ability to recover takes three losses to end your season? How do you see New York quickly and having a good option in net will allow them to bounce back approaching that? from a loss. I see three tight wins for the Islanders sandwiched around a couple of ugly losses, but the Isles take it. Staple: This is very much a 20-guys-pulling-the-rope crew, which is how Trotz got them to buy in to his scheme so quickly in 2018-19. They were Bultman: Thanks for doing this, Arthur! Should be exciting to watch it all a bit too decimated by injuries to key guys to be as successful this play out. season, but Trotz has been clear that rolling four lines and not worrying too much about matching up is important for his team. The deadline Staple: Welcome aboard the postseason train, Max! You may get to see addition of J-G Pageau helps there, since the Isles’ third line was a mess some decent hockey this season after all. all season long. The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176841 New York Rangers
Rangers could face contract issue with popular and effective Jesper Fast
By Larry BrooksJuly 30, 2020 | 2:19am
And then there are going to be the offseason contract negotiations with pending unrestricted free=agent winger Jesper Fast, and good luck to general manager Jeff Gorton if or when he asks what the Swede has done for the team lately.
Because, for the fifth straight season, Fast has been named winner of the Player’s Player Award that is voted upon by his peers in the room. The announcement was accompanied by the news that Artemi Panarin had been named the Rangers’ 2019-20 MVP in a vote by the media and that Chris Kreider had been selected by the media as the John Halligan Good Guy Award winner for his cooperation with us reporter wretches.
By winning the award, Fast broke the record he’d shared with franchise royalty Jean Ratelle and Brian Leetch, each of whom had previously won the award four consecutive seasons.
Fast, who will turn 29 in December, moved up to the second line and became the defensive and checking conscience of the high-octane unit that featured Panarin on the left and Ryan Strome in the middle. The Swede recorded 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) while posting a 14.3 shooting percentage.
The winger was unavailable for comment following the Wednesday afternoon announcement as he and teammates prepared for their exhibition match against the Islanders in Toronto. Of course, no one was made available pregame by the league, which has made it a priority to limit media access to players and team officials since they entered the bubble on Sunday.
(If that has not been an intentional league priority, it has become a de facto policy. Health and safety concerns have nothing to do with the absence of conference calls between team personnel and local media people attempting to provide information to consumers.)
This is, however, what Mika Zibanejad told The Post about Fast in October during a conversation about the then four-time Players’ Player.
“He is everything you want a teammate to be, on and off the ice,” said No. 93. “He does the little things shift in and shift out. He forechecks, is hard on the puck, blocks shots. He sacrifices every day.
“Off the ice, he is a friend to everyone. Maybe he is not rewarded with the offensive numbers, but everyone here knows how important he is to our team. You can’t ask for more.”
The issue is that Fast is going to ask for more, and probably much more than the $1.85 million per the winger has been earning — and that is the operative word — the last three years. The number on the bottom line and the number of years on the next deal are going to be dicey for the Rangers to handle under the flat cap of $81.5 million under which the league will operate for at least the next two seasons.
Indeed, even before COVID-19 intervened, the parties were unable to come to an agreement on an extension prior to the trade deadline.
In a perfect world, Kaapo Kakko will nail down a top-six slot next year as a sophomore. That would bump Fast down to a bottom-six role that he plays to perfection. Again, though: at what price?
That will be a determination for Gorton and management, whose organization seems exceedingly thin up front. There is no obvious replacement in the system for a player of many virtues. But it is obvious what the Rangers will lose if Fast skedaddles.
They will lose their Players’ Player.
MSG paid tribute to Post photographer Anthony Causi, who died of coronavirus April 12 at the age of 48, during its broadcast of the Rangers’ 2-1 loss to the Islanders on Wednesday.
New York Post LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176842 New York Rangers The Rangers have been a top-heavy, top-six team throughout the season. If kids Kakko and Chytil can create a dangerous third line, that would most certainly change the dynamic even more so that moving the Finn permanently onto the second line. Remember, too: a defensive Marc Staal avoids big injury in Rangers’ loss to Islanders consciousness is often needed beside Strome and Panarin.
Saturday, a defensive consciousness will be needed against Carolina. That’s when the fun starts. Or despair. By Larry BrooksJuly 29, 2020 | 11:36pm | Updated New York Post LOADED: 07.30.2020
Truth be told, all that anyone truly wanted out of this exhibition match was to come out of it healthy. It appears that after a scare, the Rangers met that objective.
What else the Blueshirts accomplished in their first game in 141 days and last before Saturday’s Game 1 of the best-of-five qualifying round against Carolina, was not especially clear.
“We want to focus on getting back to where we were, and obviously at a higher level, even. We just wanted to keep moving forward and keep building and getting everything geared toward Saturday,” David Quinn said after his team’s 2-1 defeat to the Islanders in a lukewarm performance in Toronto. “I liked the first 30 minutes, I didn’t love the last 30.
“We hadn’t played a game in four months, so …”
The injury escape involved Marc Staal, the Blueshirt with 104 games of Stanley Cup playoff experience, who left the match after the second period and did not return. The alternate captain was replaced by Libor Hajek, who had gotten 3:57 through the first two periods as the seventh defenseman, but then took a regular turn the rest of the way on Tony DeAngelo’s left side.
“No, no,” Quinn said when asked if the alternate captain might miss the opener. “That was more precautionary.”
The pace was reasonably good even if the Blueshirts’ top skill guys such as Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad often did look as if they were playing their first game in four-plus months. Same for Chris Kreider, who hadn’t been in a competitive situation on the ice since breaking his foot in Philadelphia on Feb. 28.
Fact is, and this is an observation rather than a critique, Panarin has been rather pedestrian since the Blueshirts officially reconvened on July 13. One presumes this is an example of a splendid athlete knowing his body and his capabilities as he builds toward Saturday, but the Rangers quite clearly are going to need their Hart Trophy finalist to hit the ice running when the puck drops just after noon on Saturday.
When Quinn said, “Some individuals have to be better, for sure,” and when the coach said, “Some guys obviously are kind of finding their way, still, right now,” for sure he was including Panarin in that mix.
Igor Shesterkin was barely tested in his prep work for the rookie’s anticipated Game 1 start, allowing one goal on a close-range Anthony Beauvillier two-on-one midway through the second period while facing a sum of seven shots in 29:15. The Beauvillier goal, a short sider to the stick side, was created by an Andy Greene stretch pass that caught Adam Fox up ice. The goal came on the Islanders’ first shot of the period.
Henrik Lundqvist, who relieved Shesterkin, was outstanding, beaten only by Devon Toews on a right-wing wrister off the rush with under five minutes to play in the third period. This represented a carryover from camp, throughout which the King was extremely sharp.
Lundqvist has started the Rangers’ last 127 playoff games, dating back to Game 2 of the 2006 first round against the Devils. Qualifying-round games will not be counted as playoff games, so the streak will live, technically, even if Lundqvist is on the bench when the puck drops Saturday.
Kaapo Kakko played with the same confidence and touch of swagger he displayed throughout the Blueshirts’ two-week summer camp. Quinn elevated Kakko, who has becoming a shoot-first, north-south player, to the second line with Panarin and Ryan Strome for a handful of shifts.
Thing is, the 19-year-old Finn worked very well with third-line pivot Filip Chytil in creating second-period scoring chances against Semyon Varlamov. And it was Chytil driving to the net to bury Jesper Fast’s second shot with 3:38 remaining in the match against relief netminder Thomas Greiss to bring the Blueshirts within 2-1. 1176843 New York Rangers
Igor Shesterkin, Henrik Lundqvist split time in net in Rangers' exhibition loss to Isles
By Colin Stephenson
When the Rangers begin their best-of-five play-in series Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, they will have a very familiar look to them. Their coach, David Quinn is taking the attitude that, if it ain’t broke, you don’t fix it, and in his mind, the Rangers weren’t broke when the NHL halted play on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
So even after his team lost its one pre-playoff, warmup game Wednesday against the Islanders, 2-1, Quinn wasn’t looking to tear everything up and start from scratch.
“We want to focus on getting back to where we were, and, obviously, at a higher level even,’’ Quinn said on the postgame Zoom call with reporters. “We just want to keep moving forward. We wanted to keep building and getting everything geared towards Saturday . . . I liked the first 30 minutes, didn't love the last 30. And you know some individuals have to have to be better for sure. But… we hadn't played a hockey game in four months. So, you know, we're gonna take a day off tomorrow recharge the battery have a good practice on Friday and get ready to go for Saturday.’’
Going in, there were no spots in the lineup to be filled, and Quinn said he didn’t learn anything from the game that he didn’t already know. But there was the question of who will start in goal against Carolina, rookie Igor Shesterkin, or franchise icon Henrik Lundqvist.
Shesterkin had taken over as the No. 1 goaltender by the time play had paused, but Lundqvist has dominant career numbers against the Hurricanes. While Quinn has so far refused to declare his No. 1, all indications are that he is leaning heavily toward Shesterkin, who started Wednesday and faced only seven shots on goal in his 29:15 of action. He stopped the first six, before being beaten by Anthony Beauvillier at 9:15 of the second period. Lundqvist replaced him after that goal and he stopped 14 of 15 shots, beaten by Devon Toews with 4:25 remaining in the game.
“I thought they were both pretty good,’’ Quinn said of the two goaltenders.
On Wednesday, Quinn started the game with the same lines that had been together before the pause. Chris Kreider played on the left wing with center Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich on the first line, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome and Jesper Fast made up the second line; Phil DiGiuseppe, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko were the third line, and the fourth line saw Greg McKegg, Brett Howden, Julien Gauthier and extra forward Brendan Lemieux — who is suspended for the first two games against Carolina — rotating shifts.
Chytil, the 20-year-old Czech who was a first-round pick in 2017, and Kakko, the 19-year-old Finn who was the No. 2 overall pick in the NHL draft last summer, drew praise from Quinn. Chytil scored the Rangers’ only goal, at 16:22 of the third period, on a pass from Fast, and Kakko was tied with Fast for the most shots on goal (four). Quinn moved Kakko around, getting a look at him for several shifts on the second line, with Panarin and Strome, and a couple shifts on the first line, as well.
Libor Hajek was dressed as the extra defenseman, and he didn’t play much in the first two periods, but took Marc Staal’s spot next to Tony DeAngelo in the third period. Under the NHL’s new policy regarding reporting injuries, Quinn isn’t allowed to say what Staal’s injury is, but he did say after the game that he isn’t in danger of not playing on Saturday.
Notes & quotes: Before the game, the Rangers announced that Panarin was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player and Fast, for a team record fifth consecutive year, was chosen by his teammates as the team’s Player’s Player. Kreider was selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association as the team’s Good Guy, for his cooperation with the media all season.
Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176844 New York Rangers 4. Trouba noted the change from assistant coach Lindy Ruff, who is now the Devils head coach, and Gord Murphy, the assistant elevated from Hartford to take Ruff’s spot as the defensive and penalty-kill coach. “Obviously, Gord’s here now and Lindy moved on so that’s a little bit of a Rangers’ Kryptonite exposed in exhibition but shouldn’t be issue vs. different voice. PK is something we went over a lot the last week or so. A Hurricanes little bit of a different feel. It was nice to get some practice in today because there are a couple of changes with a different voice leading the
way.” By Rick Carpiniello Jul 29, 2020 6 5. I kind of like the Google Earth camera angle for seeing plays develop, even if it’s really hard to identify the players. I wouldn’t want to watch an entire game from up there, but it’s especially good, in my opinion, during Well, that Rangers exhibition season went fast, two hours and 25 power plays. minutes to be exact. 6. Brendan Lemieux, the “extra” forward who is suspended from the first They probably got enough out of their 2-1 loss to the Islanders on two games of the play-in, fought Johnny Boychuk. It reminded me of Wednesday in the Toronto bubble. The Rangers probably wished for fight-filled rookie games at the Rye Playland practice rink, or in more, and it certainly could have been worse — when they meet again in Burlington, Vt. With no fans in those cases you could hear the thuds of the Eastern Conference final … (I kid). punches landing and it was a little bit sickening. Much more real, and more violent than when you have a building full of people screaming and What does the outcome mean for Saturday, when the Hurricanes- cheering. That said, I could do without the fake crowd noise. Rangers best-of-five series begins? We have absolutely no idea because this has never happened this way before. Certainly not play-in games. In 7. Lemieux drew one penalty but got one himself by embellishing to August. After 140 days off. negate a power play. But he does draw them like nobody else on the team, and with the Rangers finally having a dangerous PP, that’s a key The Islanders squeezed the life out of the Rangers for stretches of the element that will be missing the first two games against Carolina (and second part of this game, and nobody’s surprised. maybe more, depending on whether Game 2 is a win or a loss). These clogging, suffocating defensive teams have always caused 8. Shesterkin, who undoubtedly will be the Game 1 starter, saw one shot problems for the Rangers — more than the fast teams, more than the for most of the early going (it was 8-1 Rangers) despite the two PPs. tough teams. These opponents become a problem for the Rangers when they aren’t careful through the neutral zone (I don’t think that was the 9. Man, the Rangers fooled me for a few seconds with the locker-room case in this game), when New York’s speed gets neutralized at times, video they posted on Twitter. The dry-erase board had 30 listed ahead of and when the Rangers don’t battle enough to get to the slot and the 31, so I thought Henrik Lundqvist was starting. Thank goodness for the paint. delete button on Twitter.
Rangers coach David Quinn said he thought they got frustrated as the 10. Kakko-Meter: Kaapo Kakko got more than a few twirls on the Artemi game went on, that their transition game stalled and they got bottled up a Panarin-Ryan Strome line in place of Jesper Fast. He took a good little bit in the neutral zone, and that’s a theme we’ve heard about penalty and probably prevented a good scoring chance in the first. Kakko defensive-minded (neutral-zone boring) opponents before. came out of the box, had a little dangle against Andy Greene and got off a good shot that Semyon Varlamov stopped – nearly a Jack In The Box! “It’s predicated on our skating,” Jacob Trouba said. “I think when we built Early in the second, Kakko fired a big one-timer from Strome. Late some speed in the first we got through the neutral zone pretty well. The D second, he had another from Filip Chytil. Remember the times during the stopped skating a little bit (and when) we get a little bit of that gap season when he hesitated, or passed, instead of firing it? Now he’s firing between our D and our forwards, our whole game tends to slow down a it. The teenager who looked good at the start of camp continues to do so. little bit. So that’s something to recognize.” Quinn said he won’t start in the top six on Saturday, but “that’s on the It wasn’t all bad, and it wasn’t a cause for concern against Carolina, table” if he’s trying to get some different looks. which plays a different style. NO HESITATION ON THE ONE-TIMER “I know a lot our guys haven’t played that brand of hockey yet, haven’t PIC.TWITTER.COM/WBMVXBD8IP played playoff hockey, but it’s a war of attrition,” Chris Kreider said. “We’re going to have to get to the point where we’re comfortable — RANGERS ON MSG (@RANGERSMSGN) JULY 30, 2020 advancing pucks, where we’re comfortable with that bend-don’t-break 11. Fast, back on that Strome line, had three whacks at a loose puck in mentality because the ice gets chipped up and guys that might not the paint, and Varlamov stopped them all. necessarily throw the body are throwing the body, and there’s no time and space. That’s what the hockey’s going to be like going forward, so 12. Adam Fox broke up a two-on-one down low and did so brilliantly in we’ve got to be comfortable being uncomfortable.” the second. Not sure if he anticipated it perfectly or if he reacted, but either way he stayed on his skates. That allowed him to make the play. “Overall,” Quinn said, “I thought it was another step forward.” But Fox was caught up ice, allowing a two-on-one against Ryan He noted that Carolina will be “hard to play against” in a different way. Lindgren. Anthony Beauvillier snapped one short-side past Shesterkin, But that frustration cannot change the way you play. who was coming out of the game at the next whistle to take a 1-0 lead. He faced only seven shots, not many of them memorable. “I liked some of the things we did and I didn’t like others, so it was a mixed bag,” Quinn said. A LITTLE SPIN-AND-SNIPE ACTION COURTESY OF @TITOBEAUVI21. PIC.TWITTER.COM/6ST0GZFH7F Thoughts — SPORTSNET (@SPORTSNET) JULY 30, 2020 1. Marc Staal left the game and did not return. Fortunately for the Rangers, they’ve had Libor Hajek playing with the varsity during camp, 13. Lundqvist faced a dangerous chance immediately and was solid and not the taxi squad, and he was the “extra” defenseman allowed to throughout — as he was every day of camp. I still think starting dress for this exhibition. He was having a pretty solid season before that Shesterkin for Game 1 is a no-brainer, but it has to be comforting to have knee injury. However, Quinn said removing Staal was precautionary and Lundqvist playing this way, with his playoff experience and excellence, that he’s not in danger of missing Game 1. and his record against the Hurricanes.
2. Man, you could see both teams’ rust. So maybe they won’t be able to 14. I thought Trouba had a pretty solid game, but he can’t get beat on an go into playoff mode quickly. I thought this game would go a long way inside move by Cal Clutterbuck as he did in the second, when he took a toward that goal. penalty.
3. The Rangers spent three and a half consecutive minutes of the first 15. Daily Bread: Not Panarin’s best game, but in terms of players you period killing penalties, including 33 seconds of five-on-three. They killed should worry about, he’s probably last. Took a bad penalty in the middle it but were pinned in their own end for nearly the whole thing. I don’t think of the third, during a power play, on Beauvillier. For that matter, we’ve starting goalie Igor Shesterkin had to make a save. seen better games from Mika Zibanejad. I think Quinn (and you) can be fairly confident those two will be better when the puck drops for real. “Some individuals have to be better, for sure,” Quinn said. Panarin, by the way, was named the team’s MVP on Wednesday.
.@DEVONTOEWS6 WITH A SNIPE PIC.TWITTER.COM/VKWMGZXXWV
— ISLES ON MSG PLUS (@ISLESMSGN) JULY 30, 2020
16. Late third, Fox trapped up ice again, Panarin was sort of covering for him, but not really, and Devon Toews had a breakaway. Before Lindgren could cut him off, he ripped a wrister past Lundqvist for a 2-0 lead.
17. Moments later with Quinn shuffling the lineup — he had Kakko playing up with Panarin and Fast with the third line — Fast, off a pass from Brendan Smith, had two more chances and Chytil buried the second rebound to cut the deficit to 2-1. They played the Rangers’ goal song in the bubble.
THE @NYRANGERS ARE WITHIN ONE NEARING THE END OF THE THIRD.
WATCH THE BATTLE OF NEW YORK ON SN ONE + SN NOW. #NHLONSN PIC.TWITTER.COM/EJ290YTQ6Z
— SPORTSNET (@SPORTSNET) JULY 30, 2020
18. The Rangers were terribly disjointed during those last couple of minutes with the net empty, but the Islanders deserve some credit.
19. Good Tony, Bad Tony: Not his best, by any means.
20. Fast, for a fifth year in a row, won the Rangers’ Players’ Player award. Kreider won the John Halligan Good Guy award, which always makes me smile because it’s named for the wonderful former Rangers PR man/historian John Halligan. Players should be honored to win it, and we — the New York media members — should be happy to award it to players whose cooperation helps us do our jobs.
I hear the Steven McDonald award for extra effort is coming Thursday. I imagine that will go to Zibanejad for the second year in a row, but I think a really cool choice would be Ryan Lindgren.
21. A couple of times on the postgame Zoom video call, Trouba kidded Kreider about winning the “New York media award this year … answers like that.” As they left the podium, Trouba nodded toward Kreider and said, “Media machine.”
22. I love the unique stats that MSG Network’s Steve Valiquette keeps. This one from Wednesday: Though Zibanejad and Panarin didn’t play a lot together at even strength, when they did, Zibanejad had 16 “primary” scoring chances on passes from Panarin. He scored 10 goals on those chances.
23. I don’t want to say the Islanders’ style is boring because it’s effective. But it’s boring.
My Three Rangers stars
1. Kaapo Kakko
2. Henrik Lundqvist
3. Filip Chytil
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176845 New York Rangers First, there’s the fact that when Panarin doesn’t have the puck, he’s looking for ways to change that quickly. He doesn’t have to be physical to accomplish that — in fact, he doesn’t hit much or get hit very often. Rather, it’s his strength, speed, and anticipation. The Panarin Effect: Grading his impact on the Rangers’ qualifying chances A puck battle or a stick lift can go a long way for the winger because of his ability to protect the puck once he’s in possession.
And in some situations, a quick play and lucky bounce can be a game- By Shayna Goldman Jul 29, 2020 5 changer after a play is jumpstarted by a takeaway.
Not only is Panarin quick in terms of actual foot speed, but in his reactions and decision-making, whether he dekes to skate the puck out It’s no shock that the New York Rangers are going to need Artemi of danger or find a teammate to move it to. His vision and anticipation are Panarin, their most valuable player and a finalist for the Ted Lindsay what helps him connect with his teammates as frequently as he does. Award and Hart Trophy, to continue to be a game-changer in their upcoming best-of-five qualifying series. His stellar play is one of the After gaining the puck, the next part of his game to watch for is how he primary reasons why they’re even in this position to contend in the transitions it. With Corey Sznajder’s manually tracked microstat database postseason. (which you can read about and subscribe to here), we can look closer at that. Panarin excelled at moving the puck up the ice prior to joining the If the Rangers are going to advance past the Hurricanes, it’ll more than Rangers, and that’s only continued this year. Because of his neutral zone likely be because Panarin’s elite play fuels them forward. So, let’s dive play, he’s not just one of the leaders relative to his team, but the entire into his game, the pivotal role he’s played in New York, and how he league in how he distributes the puck with possession. He’s one of the elevates their chances against Carolina. more effective players in contributing to plays off the rush both because Starting at the surface level, there’s his 95 points in 69 games, which of how he can bring the puck through his own end and into the offensive ranked third in the league and exceeded his career best by seven points zone with control. in 10 fewer games. With that scoring, he directly contributed to about 41 Viz via Corey Sznajder percent of the team’s all-situation goals. The next best Ranger scorer, Mika Zibanejad, fell 20 points shy of that with 75 points in 57 games. Panarin’s playmaking has defined his game throughout his NHL career. Because he’s always such a threat with the puck, he draws players to Panarin is a key player on the power play for the Rangers, but even him. That can either open up his opponents to receive the puck, or if he’s when subtracting his scoring on the man-advantage, his 59 5-on-5 points evasive enough in that instance, he can maintain control and continue still rank pretty highly — they’re only the best in the league. The rate in the play. which he scored those points, 3.28 per 60, was second to only Evgeni Malkin’s 3.43 per 60, and bested a previous high by .48 per 60. The Rangers aren’t a team to flood their offense with shots outside of scoring areas. They instead seek for more high-danger passing plays Even when the winger didn’t total a point, he still had an influence on which makes sense given how much of the offense runs through players their scoring, whether via a takeaway, transition play, or pass. The like Zibanejad and Panarin, who not only are creative enough to draw up Rangers scored at least half of their goals with him on the ice — 55 these plays, but execute them. percent in all situations and 50 percent at 5-on-5, despite not playing alongside the team’s leading pivot in Zibanejad at even strength through How that matches up against Carolina is something to watch as two of much of the season. their top players, Slavin and all-situation forward Sebastian Aho, are both leaders in takeaways. High-risk plays are that much riskier when facing Panarin played just 233 5-on-5 minutes with Zibanejad, and over 845 such skilled two-way players. However, it’s also worth noting, as away from him. While they’re reunited in final frames of games with the Luszczyszyn did in his preview, that the Hurricanes have increased the team trailing, they’re usually separate at even strength because they can number of quality chances they’ve allowed in the last chunk of the regular drive their own lines. season. Instead, Panarin’s most frequent linemates were Ryan Strome and What adds to Panarin’s value, and potentially to this matchup with that in Jesper Fast. Strome has unquestionably raised his game this season, mind, is that he doesn’t always have to pass to make a play. He’s shot but there’s also no question about the impact his left wing had on him. the puck more this year than he has in most seasons. With 17.01 Fast, on the other hand, has been a utility player in New York over the attempts per 60 in all situations, he’s increased his rate by 3.28 shots per years, and has been defined more by his defensive than offensive play 60 from last year. He’s also converted more with a higher rate of goals before this season. than ever before with 1.35 per 60. By separating Panarin from Zibanejad, who scored 41 goals and put his Between his passing and shooting, the Rangers’ are that much better skill on display this season, New York had a more balanced top-six offensively with their leading winger on both ends of the ice. instead of just one stacked line, which is key for a team lacking in depth in the bottom-six. The above heat maps visualize the team’s shot generation with and without Panarin on the ice; red sections indicate where more offense is As The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn pointed out in his preview for this created, while blue represents areas with fewer shots. upcoming series, with at least one of them on the ice at 5-on-5, the Rangers outscored their opponents almost 64 percent of the time by a To continue their season, the Rangers’ hopes hinge on their leading margin of 106-60. With neither of them on, the team’s goal share players being at their best. dropped to below 35 percent, as they were outscored 83-44, showing a stark difference between their top- and bottom-sixes. With an elite player like Panarin at his best, it doesn’t just add to his value — it elevates all around him, and the team’s chances of moving As measured earlier this week, as a whole, the Hurricanes have a deeper forwards. team up front. But the Rangers do have a stronger top-six offensively, and head coach David Quinn has no problem boosting his best players’ The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 minutes when necessary. That’s likely going to create matchup problems for a blue line that’s missing two of their top three defenders for the time being.
Jaccob Slavin is one of the best defenders in the league, but having to shut down one of these lines, let alone both, is going to be tough without Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce. If the Hurricanes, who will have home ice in the majority of these games, try to match Panarin with their second line that’s centered by Jordan Staal, it could help Carolina suppress their offense. But even with Slavin, Staal, and Co., the problem isn’t just that there are two dangerous lines to stifle. It’s that Panarin isn’t an easy player to contain. 1176846 New York Rangers Quinn noted the “balancing act” between playing all-out and avoiding injury in exhibition games, but honestly, if you don’t play at full-tilt, you will get run over. Especially by the Islanders.
Carpiniello: Young Rangers team needs to make exhibition versus Isles “If the guys are playing, they’re going to play,” Quinn said. “We need to matter get ready for Saturday and this is part of the process of getting ready to play.”
He had spoken a few days earlier about an opponent who might not By Rick Carpiniello Jul 29, 2020 45 finish his check against you in December, but will absolutely pile drive you in the playoffs. And the Islanders have a bunch of guys who will pile
drive you in December, too. Irish-born scholar and novelist C.S. Lewis wrote, “You can’t go back and “You can sense the excitement and the energy in our practice today,” change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the Quinn said Tuesday. “Guys are looking forward to playing an opponent. ending.” … we’ve been waiting for this for a long time.” This is where the Rangers are, after all that’s happened – another He refused to name his goalies – whether it will be Igor Shesterkin or rebuilding season which began with low expectations then built upward, Henrik Lundqvist, or if they will split the duties to some degree. Quinn then was slapped shut by a global pandemic. said that, with the NHL allowing an extra forward and an extra They can only start where they are and change the ending. defensemen for the exhibitions (which began Tuesday with three games), Brendan Lemieux and Libor Hajek will be in uniform. Lemieux can’t play That start starts with an exhibition game against the Islanders against Carolina until Game 3 due to a suspension, but could come in Wednesday night in the NHL’s Eastern Conference bubble in Toronto. handy in a nasty game against the Isles. Exhibition game? Yeah, that’s what it is, since it won’t count. But meaningless? Hardly. This is the only tune-up the Rangers will get, the The rest of the lineup will surely, barring the unforeseen, be exactly the only test against a real opponent in a different uniform, before beginning same as the one the Rangers used in training camp: the unique play-in best-of-five against Carolina on Saturday. Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich You best believe this is an important game against the Isles, an initial test Artemi Panarin-Ryan Strome-Jesper Fast of what “postseason” hockey will be like, especially for the 12 or so Rangers likely to wear the uniform who have absolutely zero playoff Phil Di Giuseppe-Filip Chytil-Kaapo Kakko games on their resumes (and ditto for head coach David Quinn). Greg McKegg-Brett Howden-Julien Gauthier Need to win? Certainly not. Need to show up and be counted? Need to find a pace and a temerity and the necessary level of aggression? Brendan Smith-Jacob Trouba Absolutely. Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox So much unknown exists among all 24 entries in this novel Stanley Cup Marc Staal-Tony DeAngelo tournament in terms of who’s ready, who’s in game condition, who’s set for the contact and the intensity and mostly the speed. There’s no time to hold back anything at all, not for this exhibition game. The Rangers have to find a way to bring a big-boy game against the The Rangers’ kids – their roster is second-youngest among the 24 teams Islanders, because it’s their only chance to find that game before it gets –have have a ton to learn in a hurry. Most of them, I’d venture to say, really real on Saturday. have never even seen a Stanley Cup playoff game in person. Now they’re going to be flung into one, going from 0 to 100 mph on Saturday. The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020
So here’s a chance, against the Islanders, to get somewhat accustomed and to start to understand what it will take. And it was fairly brilliant by the NHL to set up some natural rivals for these exhibitions because that even ramps it up a bit more.
Rangers-Islanders is always treated as Game 7 by the Islanders, and they are a heavy team that enjoys rubbing out opponents, especially Rangers, and the test will be a stern one coming off the 140 days or so with no games and only a few scrimmages. The Rangers’ scrimmages were competitive, for scrimmages. But they were intra-squad games. No anger. No dislike.
“It’s definitely a different experience for someone like myself, but, you know, it’s still nice to be able to have that experience in my first year and to understand the intensity of playoff hockey and try to adapt to that,” rookie defenseman Adam Fox said. “You can barely prep for the unique circumstances we’re in. It’s not really going to be building momentum off the crowd. So it’s a little bit about building your own energy. I think that makes it a little easier for someone like me who is in my first time in playoff hockey. But we’ve still got a good group of guys who have experience and understand playoff hockey and how it works and how the flow of the game may go. I’m definitely excited to get going.”
Fox is a Long Island kid who grew up a Rangers fan, so he knows about the rivalry. He’s also Harvard educated, with really, a grad degree in hockey. He understands that playoffs don’t come around for a team every year — the Rangers have been out two years in a row during a rebuild and really aren’t yet quite in “the playoffs” unless they beat Carolina three times.
This, he said, is not something to be taken for granted.
“It’s an opportunity and a great experience,” Fox said. “It’s obviously unique in this setting, but it is playoff hockey and I think we’re going to play with that kind of intensity.” 1176847 Philadelphia Flyers
After a layoff of four-plus months, Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov ‘seems like he never left’
by Sam Carchidi,
Ivan Provorov didn’t ease into the Flyers’ first game in 4½ months on Tuesday in Toronto, a 3-2 overtime win in an exhibition against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The soft-spoken Russian defenseman played in all situations, accumulated a game-high 25 minutes, 39 seconds of ice time, contributed an assist and a plus-2 rating, fired four shots, and helped hold Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby without a shot.
In other words, Provorov, a physical-fitness addict, looked ready to resume the season.
“I don’t think he’s missed a beat,” said Matt Niskanen, Provorov’s defensive partner, after Wednesday’s practice in Toronto. “He’s confident with the puck, smooth skating, strong in the corners. He seems like he’s got his feel for the game. It seems like he never left.”
Provorov, 23, is fortunate. He was one of the few Flyers to skate regularly during the long break caused by the pandemic. The four-year NHL veteran was able to skate at a private rink near Wilkes-Barre and work out five to six hours a day, which was shorter than his 11-hour daily summer routine.
“I’m not going to lie. I felt good out there,” Provorov, sporting a long beard (like Niskanen) said about Tuesday’s game. “I think the tempo was great. Our team did a great job playing fast and playing our game from the puck drop. I think we played the same way we played in March.”
The Flyers were the NHL’s hottest team when the season was stopped March 12 by the coronavirus outbreak, winning nine of their last 10 games.
Provorov helped keep Crosby, who was recovering from an unspecified injury, from being a factor in Tuesday’s tune-up for Sunday’s round-robin tournament game against Boston.
“The kid’s a stud,” said Niskanen, 33. “I thought he was really good. Hopefully he keeps getting better, the way he has all year. The old fart next to him will try to keep up.”
Provorov had an outstanding season and won the Barry Ashbee Trophy as Flyers’ best defenseman. He led their defensemen in goals (13), points (36), and time on ice (24:51 per game), and also paced NHL defensemen with seven power-play goals.
When the NHL Network listed the league’s top 20 defensemen recently, Provorov was conspicuous by his absence.
Ivan Provorov gets no respect. #Flyers https://t.co/XItF9Vtef1
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) July 24, 2020
“I’ve seen the list,” Provorov said. “To be honest, it’s their opinion. It is what it is. I don’t play the game of hockey to make some sort of list. I play the game because I love it and want to win. I love spending time with my teammates, on and off the ice. That’s the reason I’m playing the game of hockey.”
Provorov’s game improved with the addition of Niskanen in the offseason. The veteran has stabilized Provorov and given him more chances to jump into the offense.
“I want to get better. I try to get better with every practice, every game, and every season,” said Provorov, whose improvement might also be traced to signing a six-year, $40.5 million ($6.75 million annual cap hit) deal just before training camp in September — and not having contract negotiations hanging over his head, like last season. “If someone didn’t put me on a list, it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176848 Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 07.30.2020
Egor Zamula, Flyers’ promising 20-year-old defenseman, opening eyes
by Sam Carchidi
A few days ago, lanky Egor Zamula, the Flyers’ promising 20-year-old defenseman, was playing a PlayStation game and facing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
On Tuesday, he found himself playing in an exhibition game against the two Pittsburgh Penguins stars.
The minute he stepped on the ice, “I felt like I was still in a video game,” he cracked from Toronto on Wednesday morning in a conference call in which Slava Kouznetsov, the organization’s skating coach, translated his Russian into English. “It was really exciting and a good experience.”
Zamula, known to his teammates as “Z”, made a mistake or two, but he was mostly solid in the 3-2 exhibition victory.
It was his first game since he had back surgery in January.
“Man, this kid’s got some skill and confidence with the puck,” veteran defenseman Matt Niskanen said after Wednesday’s practice in Toronto. “You can see he’s got the potential to be a player. Probably just needs some reps at higher speed and with the big boys. He’s going to be a good one.”
The 6-foot-3, 177-pound Zamula, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2018, said that fellow Russian Ivan Provorov is his role model and that he received lots of advice from the Flyers defenseman in Tuesday’s game.
“He’s a great kid, he wants to learn,” Provorov said. “I just told him to be himself and don’t think too much. Just play your game and enjoy every shift and try to learn on every shift.”
Zamula, who figures to play with the AHL’s Phantoms next season, is probably ninth on the Flyers’ defensive depth chart , but he has the ability to quickly climb. He says he needs to gain some weight and muscle, and improve his skating before he is ready to be a full-time NHL performer.
“He’s only going to get better and better,” Provorov said.
Round robin looms
The Flyers will start the three-game round-robin tournament by facing Boston at 3 p.m. Sunday. The tourney also includes Washington and Tampa Bay next week.
“We have three important games in front of us,” coach Alain Vigneault said after what he called an “intense” and “challenging” practice Wednesday in Toronto. “We’re going to play them obviously to win, but also to prepare our team for the first real playoff game.”
He said the next three games will help him make decisions on his playoff lineup.
“We’re trying to improve our seeding, but at the same time, we’re also trying to get ourselves ready for that first [playoff] game,” Vigneault said.
Hart in goal
As expected, goalie Carter Hart will start Sunday against the Bruins, Vigneault said. He stopped 11 of 12 shots in two periods Tuesday.
Vigneault said Brian Elliott, who also was sharp Tuesday, will start one of the round-robin games.
Breakaways
Scott Laughton, who scored in overtime Tuesday on a breakaway, was again used as the second-line left winger at Wednesday’s practice. Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny were also on the unit, which was the Flyers’ best line in the win. … The Flyers will have an off day Thursday, then will have two practices before facing Boston. … Vigneault liked the play of his special teams in the win over the Penguins. The penalty kill was 3-for- 3, and the power play was 0-for-1 but created momentum with several scoring chances. 1176849 Philadelphia Flyers Gritty is not in Toronto, but a recording of veteran public-address announcer Lou Nolan is there. “The Flyers are going on the PECOOOOO power play” is being used in Flyers games.
‘Ghost’ gives strong showing in exhibition; Flyers, Penguins show Breakaways solidarity before game The Flyers held Sidney Crosby without a shot in 18:53. ... Ivan Provorov played 25:39 and was plus-2 with an assist. ... The Penguins outshot the Flyers, 26-22,, and had a 12-3 advantage in the third period. by Sam Carchidi Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 07.30.2020
Shayne Gostisbehere is making a case for being in the Flyers’ lineup when the season restarts.
The 27-year-old Gostisbehere, believed to be behind Robert Hagg as the Flyers’ No. 6 defenseman, had an assist and played solidly Tuesday in his team’s 3-2 overtime win over Pittsburgh in an exhibition game in Toronto.
Gostisbehere has had arthroscopic surgery on each knee since January — including a procedure about two months ago — and said this is the best he has felt in a long time.
“I’m definitely 100 percent, probably the healthiest I’ve felt in a couple years,” he said after the victory. “I’m happy to contribute any way I can. It s just good to be healthy and out there playing again and having fun. And obviously, winning, too.”
Coach Alain Vigneault said he liked Gostisbehere’s mobility and play. He was paired with rookie Mark Friedman and was used on the power play.
“There are some battles, obviously, for that starting lineup on the 11th” of August, Vigneault said of the Flyers’ first playoff game, “and they’re going to happen here through the next couple weeks.”
Vigneault hinted he will use the three-game round-robin tourney — which will be followed by the playoffs on Aug. 11 — to determine his lineup.
Hagg, a physical and effective player, appears to have the edge over Gostisbehere because of the way he and defensive partner Justin Braun played while the team was winning games late in the regular season.
Showing solidarity
When the national anthems were played before the game, a player from the each team stood next to each other, showing solidarity for Black Lives Matter.
“We’re a pretty big rival, but it still shows how we have respect for each other,” Flyers center Sean Couturier said. “I think it should be the same in life and in general.”
Couturier said the teams wanted to show unity for justice and against racism.
Laughton on No. 2 line
The Flyers went with Scott Laughton as their second-line left winger, a spot that is up for grabs. Joel Farabee played there for a good portion of camp.
Laughton scored the winner on a breakaway with 2:20 left in overtime.
Tuesday’s lines: Couturier centering Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek; Kevin Hayes centering Laughton and Travis Konecny; Derek Grant centering James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Pitlick; and Nate Thompson centering Michael Raffl and Nic Aube-Kubel. Farabee also was a rotating winger on the fourth line.
The teams were permitted to dress 13 forwards instead of 12 and seven defensemen instead of six.
The defense had its usual first two pairings: Ivan Provoorv and Matt Niskanen, and Travis Sanheim and Phil Myers. Gostisbehere and Friedman composed the third pairing at times, and Egor Zamula spent some time with Friedman and Myers.
Braun and Hagg, who are expected to be the third pair against Boston in Sunday’s round-robin opener, sat out Tuesday’s game.
Gritty update
The Flyers paid for a billboard in Toronto that had Gritty on it and said: EVERY SHOT YOU TAKE, EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE, I’LL BE WATCHING YOU. 1176850 Philadelphia Flyers Vigneault can scratch second-year players like Hayes was in 2015. But with foundationpieces such as Giroux and Voracek, the coach used a different tactic by publicly — but respectfully — demanding accountability and improvement. He had tried to get Voracek motivated by moving him Flyers give Alain Vigneault another chance at elusive Stanley Cup briefly to the fourth line. Had done the same thing with James van championship Riemsdyk.
He also was critical of goaltenders Brian Elliott and Carter Hart. by Ed Barkowitz, Something must have clicked because the Flyers went 10-2-4 to tie a team record for points in November. There would be no fall swoon this
season. Kevin Hayes signed a $50 million contract with the Flyers last June. It “He’s a smart guy. Knows how to manage different things. He talks to was a life-changing deal for the then-27-year-old center. players and stuff like that. I would say the biggest thing is how he kind of Five years ago, Hayes was staring at another significant moment in his does that,” said van Riemsdyk, who has played for eight head coaches in career. He was playing for the Rangers and then, just as now, his coach his 11 NHL seasons. “I think that has really given us a chance to be was Alain Vigneault — and Vigneault was furious with the second-year successful night in and night out and be as prepared as we can for each player. and every game. … He knows when to push, knows when to pull back.”
Hayes, who had a strong rookie season for Vigneault the year before, Voracek, a 12-year pro, went from a -16 rating last year to a career-best was in a slump filled with turnovers and poor decisions. The coach’s +14 this year. He’s merely an example of the Flyers’ improvement in patience had run out. Vigneault’s first year here.
“He called me in the office after a game against Nashville and basically Alain Vigneault dubbed Sean Couturier "Dr. Coots," because every time told me that I wasn’t doing it for him,” Hayes explained. “He was told all the coach wanted to get a player back on his game, he'd put him on these things about my game and what I brought to the table and I wasn’t Couturier's line. Couturier is shown here in the middle of Jake Voracek doing any of those things and it was time to figure it out. He scratched and Oskar Lindblom. me for two games.” Alain Vigneault dubbed Sean Couturier "Dr. Coots," because every time “I haven’t been scratched since,” Hayes continued. “I owe a lot to that the coach wanted to get a player back on his game, he'd put him on [benching] and to him.” Couturier's line. Couturier is shown here in the middle of Jake Voracek and Oskar Lindblom. Philadelphia is the fourth stop of Vigneault’s career. Though he’s yet to win a Stanley Cup, he has been immediately successful in his first ‘We have a chance' season at each. The loudest voice at the Flyers’ practice rink is Vigneault’s. He will yell for In Montreal, his first NHL job, Vigneault took a club that finished five more, more, more. One minute, he will cajole a player for missing a step games under .500 the year before he arrived and finished five games in a drill. The next, he barks encouragement for an intelligent play. over .500. Even won a playoff round and was a 1998 coach-of-the-year Vigneault’s practices are shorter and crisper than those of his finalist. predecessors, his players say. He also is creative with the travel He did a similar job in his first season in Vancouver in 2007 when he won schedule, spotting chances during the season to stay an extra day in a coach of the year. road city to get his players some extra sleep. Many of those subtle nuances contributed to Vigneault’s turning things around in his first Vigneault went to New York in 2013-14. He wasn’t a COY finalist, but he season. did take the Rangers to their first Cup finals in 20 years. The Flyers were 29th in goals allowed per game last season. This year, The Flyers this year, of course, have gone from perennial underachievers they were 10th. to legitimate contenders. Vigneault’s .645 points percentage this year (41-21-7) is his highest in his first season with a team. Vigneault, “There’s a few things,” general manager Chuck Fletcher said. “One, he’s Columbus’ John Tortorella, and Boston’s Bruce Cassidy are this year’s a tremendous communicator. Two, he’s very organized. His ability to coach-of-the-year finalists. command the details. Just what he’s done in the two weeks of [recent training] camp has been remarkable. “I would say all the situations that I’ve come in have been slightly different, but what hasn’t been different is my demand for work ethic, “He says our practices are going to be 42 minutes. They are 42 minutes. attention to detail, preparation, and the will to win,” Vigneault said. “Make Everything is right down to a T. Everything’s covered. Because of that, sure that players understand the team has to come first. When you stress because of the experience, the detail and the professionalism, and his that and you hold players accountable, a lot of times with the proper track record, the players really respect what he says. They believe what direction you can have a fair amount of success.” he says. It’s been really remarkable to watch.”
Dave Scott says it was a ‘new day for the #Flyers’ when Alain Vigneault Of course, if Vigneault’s had three prior stops, that means he’s been fired came aboard https://t.co/GBDKx6gvlT via @PhillyInquirer three times. The window of opportunity shutting on his fingers before he had a chance to hoist the championship trophy. He turned 59 on May 14. — Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) July 23, 2020 There is a sufficient blend of youth and veterans to reasonably think the Wake-up call Flyers should contend for several years. Vigneault is the Flyers’ 18th coach in the 45 years since they last won a Cup, but the first to start a The Flyers were one of the hottest teams in hockey when play stopped. season not hired while late owner Ed Snider was in charge. Their .645 points percentage was their best in nearly 10 years. But there were bumps this season, too, especially at the start. This is a Fletcher-Vigneault operation, the culture change many fans had demanded. October ended with a thud, a 7-1 loss to Pittsburgh that left the Flyers 5- 5-1. The definition of mediocrity. “I like our attitude and the atmosphere we have,” the coach said. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. I believe we are one of the best teams in It looked like just another typical slow start that would have them skating the league and we have a legitimate chance at winning the Stanley Cup.” uphill the rest of the season just to get into the playoff chase. But then something happened after a practice following that Penguins loss. One thing’s missing
“We need our top players to lead the way for us, lead the way by how The Flyers traded a fifth-round pick to Winnipeg just for the right to try to they have to play on the ice,” Vigneault said. “We need ‘G’ [Claude convince Hayes to eschew free agency and come sign here. Vigneault Giroux] to be a top-end performer like he’s been for the past few years. called him twice to let him know he’d be a perfect fit. We need Jake [Voracek] to be a top-end performer like he’s been for the past few years. We need those guys to lead the way for us with their play “When I showed up in Philadelphia, the first thing he told me is how on the ice, and I’m confident that’s going to be the case.” happy and proud he was that I figured these things out for myself,” Hayes said. “I’m almost certain that if I didn’t figure these things out, I wouldn’t be in the league right now.”
It was something I felt I had to do with him to get him back on the right track. It’s something I’ve done with some other players. Some players you don’t need to, some you do. At the end of the day, there are players who find a way to understand. Kevin is one of those. He’s become a real solid pro in how he prepares, how he works and how he helps others. How he helps the younger guys become a good professional hockey player.
-- Alain Vigneault
Vigneault appeared in 42 NHL games in the early 1980s and was finished as a player by the age of 23. He started coaching in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League at 25 and was 36 when he made his NHL coaching debut for the Canadiens in 1997-98.
“I didn’t have a long career, but I had a lot of coaches,” Vigneault explained, naming Michel Bergeron and Marcel Pronovost as particular mentors. “I tried to take what I thought they did well: whether it be the teaching aspect, the communication aspect, the relationship aspect. I was very fortunate to have some good coaches [give me] a solid foundation. They were very good people who taught me not just the hockey aspect of it, but being-a-good-person aspect of it.”
Vigneault is 10th all-time in regular-season wins and 14th in postseason victories. Only Pat Quinn has won more playoff games without winning the grand prize. Vigneault said it’s practically the only thing he thinks about, and Hayes said the players can tell.
“He’s one of the most successful coaches in league history. … But he keeps on bringing up one thing,” Hayes said. “I know our team knows that the one thing he hasn’t accomplished is a Stanley Cup. It definitely resonates with us. As players, we want to do everything in our power to win the Stanley Cup. We’ve all been dreaming of that moment since we’ve been little kids.”
Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176851 Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers, Penguins show solidarity for Black Lives Matter
by Ed Barkowitz,
Carter Hart stood next to Sidney Crosby during the national anthems before Tuesday’s game in Toronto.
As the “Star-Spangled Banner” gave way to “O Canada,” Travis Sanheim was shoulder-to-shoulder with Evgeni Malkin. Claude Giroux stood next to Jack Johnson.
Before the NHL resumed play after a historic stoppage lasting more than four months, the players for these normally bitter rivals wanted to make a statement.
“The Flyers and Penguins stand in solidarity that black lives matter,” the Flyers tweeted. The Penguins sent out a similar tweet.
“We talked about it before the game doing something,” said Sean Couturier, a Flyers alternate captain who stood between Penguins Jared McCann and John Marino. “It was for equality, justice, racism, everything, respect. We’re a pretty big rival, but [we wanted to show] the way that we have respect for each other, and that it should be the same in life, in general.”
It was the first NHL game since the COVID-19 shutdown in March and the social unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.
Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, one of the faces of the league and of Canada, said afterward, “A lot has happened since we played our last game. We felt both teams it was important to show unity. ... We just wanted to be part of the solution moving forward.”
Even the coaches were in on it as the Flyers’ Alain Vigneault stood next to counterpart Mike Sullivan.
“All we were trying to do tonight — players and coaches — was show our support,” Vigneault said. “It was one small way I thought everybody could do it and show it, and that’s what we did.”
The Flyers and Penguins stand in solidarity that black lives matter. pic.twitter.com/GLv8xjpT3e
— x-Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) July 28, 2020
Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 1176852 Philadelphia Flyers A few other things to consider in the Flyers' favor: • No. 1 goalie Carter Hart didn't start in any of the three games against
the Penguins. The Flyers should like their chances with Hart getting a NHL playoffs Flyers vs. Penguins: Previewing possible 1st-round shot at Pittsburgh in a best-of-seven series. matchup • The Flyers feature a bona-fide one-two punch down the middle in Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes, two centers with size, reach and defensive strengths that can help combat the Penguins' big names by making By Jordan Hall July 29, 2020 3:45 PM things difficult in all three zones.
Why matchup could be trouble for Flyers
FLYERS' 1ST-ROUND ANALYSIS Pittsburgh will be a scary team to face because it's seeing one of the biggest returns in this entire tournament: Jake Guentzel. So, about those Penguins ... 1st-round matchup for Flyers? Guentzel (shoulder injury) played the Flyers only once during the regular Trust the captain, he'll know what to do if the Flyers face the Hurricanes season and missed 30 total games. The 25-year-old winger scored 40 One of the most intriguing (and favorable?) 1st-round matchup goals last season and had 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in six possibilities games against the Flyers during the 2018 playoffs.
Flyers-Canadiens is perfect on paper, but would it be a trap? The Penguins were ravaged by injuries in the 2019-20 regular season but still found a way to finish seventh among the league (three points Leading up to the Flyers' Aug. 2 round-robin opener — which officially behind the No. 6 Flyers) despite losing: commences the team's run at the 2020 Stanley Cup in the NHL's return- to-play 24-team tournament — we're going to break down every possible Brian Dumoulin for 41 games first-round matchup for the club. Guentzel for 30 games Today, we look at the fifth-seeded Penguins. Sidney Crosby for 28 games Flyers by the numbers Patric Hornqvist for 17 games Goals per game: 3.29 (seventh overall) Evgeni Malkin for 14 games Goals allowed per game: 2.77 (tied for seventh fewest) Bryan Rust for 14 games Power play percentage: 20.8 (14th overall) Kris Letang for eight games Penalty kill percentage: 81.8 (11th overall) Crosby and the Penguins have often been a thorn in the Flyers' side, as Penguins by the numbers well. Pittsburgh's three-time Stanley Cup champion center has knocked the Flyers out of the playoffs three times. Goals per game: 3.20 (10th overall) No doubt, a Flyers-Penguins series would be as competitive as any in Goals allowed per game: 2.84 (tied for 11th fewest) the first round.
Power play percentage: 19.9 (16th overall) Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 Penalty kill percentage: 82.1 (tied for eighth overall)
How they could meet
If the Flyers remain the fourth seed after the round-robin tourney and the Penguins beat the 12th-seeded Canadiens in their best-of-five qualifying- round series.
Why matchup could be favorable for Flyers
If the Flyers draw a Metropolitan Division team in the first round, the familiarity could be beneficial. The Flyers went 16-4-4 with a plus-25 goal differential (90-65) against divisional opponents during the regular season.
In three meetings with Pittsburgh, the Flyers went 1-1-1 and were outscored 11-7. The Flyers, though, put up 30 shots per game in the regular-season series compared to the Penguins' 25.3. After being blasted by Pittsburgh, 7-1, in October, the Flyers dominated the Penguins, 3-0, in January before losing to them, 4-3, in overtime later that month.
Following the season's opening month, the Flyers got significantly better and more comfortable from November on with new pieces, a new head coach and a new system.
NHL's most points since Nov. 1:
1. Bruins — 80
2. Flyers — 78
2. Lightning — 78
4. Blues — 77
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) July 15, 2020
Albeit an exhibition game, the Flyers faced a full Pittsburgh group Tuesday and it resulted in another tight game — a 3-2 OT win for the Flyers. 1176853 Philadelphia Flyers coach said Nov. 2. “Different guys have different money in the bank. He doesn’t have a lot of money in the bank but he’s got a little bit of money in the bank. I’ll give him time to work his way back. He’s a real good kid. Coaches have a tendency to be behind real good kids.” 2019-20 Flyers season grades: Travis Sanheim Sanheim continued to take positive strides in the 2019-20 regular season after earning the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy last season as the club's most improved player. This season, Sanheim played the most By Brooke Destra Joe Fordyce, Jordan Hall July 29, 2020 6:10 PM minutes per game (20:09) and shorthanded minutes per game (1:48) of his career, while forming a high-upside defensive pair with Myers.
END TO END Sanheim is 24 years old, starting to gain all-situation responsibility and hasn't reached his ceiling yet, which is exciting. Grading Raffl's performance for 2019-20 Flyers season Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 Grading Provorov's performance for 2019-20 Flyers season
Grading Pitlick's performance for 2019-20 Flyers season
Grading Niskanen's performance for 2019-20 Flyers season
Grading Myers' performance for 2019-20 Flyers season
Grading Lindblom's performance for 2019-20 Flyers season
Grading Laughton's performance for 2019-20 Flyers season
Grading Konecny's performance for 2019-20 Flyers season
The 2019-20 NHL regular season has concluded and the next time the puck drops will officially kick off the race to the Stanley Cup. The Flyers are hungry and ready to battle it out, but that is thanks to the hard work from back in October.
In an End to End series, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Brooke Destra, Joe Fordyce and Jordan Hall will be grading players based on individual performances.
Today we will be looking at Travis Sanheim.
Destra
Sanheim has been a player that continues to grow with each season he plays — when he’s given the opportunity to succeed, that is. Through his first three years in the NHL, he has become a vital asset to the blue line for the Flyers, only further solidifying the defensive depth within the organization.
His partner shifted a few times this season between Philippe Myers and Justin Braun, but as time progressed, he and Myers were able to create a pretty exciting, dynamic second pair for the time they were together. Given Sanheim is only 24 years old and Myers 23, that’s one heck of a pairing to look forward to for years to come.
Sanheim also averaged 20:09 of ice time for 2019-20, which is a new career high. It’s a subtle indication that he’s earned the trust of head coach Alain Vigneault — and rightfully so.
Sanheim gets a B+.
Fordyce
Sanheim struggled early on, with several mistakes resulting directly in goals against, and it appeared that Sanheim had lost his way a bit. As the season wore on though, Sanheim stuck with it, found his groove and at times looked every bit the part of a first-round pick.
The thing that stands out most about Sanheim when he’s doing well is his skating ability for the size, which is a huge advantage. This season we saw Sanheim show why he could have a bright future in this league. After the early portion of this season, Sanheim’s plus-minus rating wasn’t looking great but he rebounded and finished the season with a plus-4.
Sanheim gets a B from me.
Hall
Sanheim went through a head-scratching three-game stretch early in the season when he had trouble staying upright with the opposition on the attack.
The stumbles were head-scratching because skating is one of Sanheim's biggest strengths.
Vigneault wisely maintained his trust in the young blueliner.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to let things work themselves out, by putting him back there, showing him that we’ve got faith in him,” the Flyers' head 1176854 Philadelphia Flyers the long term. Perhaps after years of practices and weeks of scrimmages in mostly empty facilities, the transition to fan-less games won’t be as jarring as some thought.
10 things: Flyers open Toronto bubble in style with 3-2 OT win over “I think it was just nice to get things rolling, and feel what it’s like to be in Penguins a game,” Hart said. “For us, it’s a different environment, something we’re not used to — no fans, we’re all in this bubble. It’s something that’s different, but we’ll adjust, and this game was good for us to see what it’s gonna be like.” By Charlie O'Connor Jul 29, 2020 2. Flyers will keep it simple in the early going
Back in October, with the Flyers finding their skating legs at the start of Competitive hockey returned, and the Philadelphia Flyers vanquished the season and learning Vigneault’s new system on the fly, the mentality their fiercest rival in dramatic fashion. preached by the coaching staff was clear: Keep it simple. If given a OK, “competitive” might be a bit of a stretch for an exhibition played in choice between trying to make a man miss through the neutral zone or front of no fans. But while Tuesday’s game might have been technically just chipping it past him and aiming to retrieve it in the corner, the latter meaningless from a standings or seeding perspective, it certainly wasn’t play was preferred. Creativity would naturally come later, with improved for the players, who got their first taste of organized, team-on-team chemistry and a more instinctual understanding of the systems. hockey since mid-March. Nor was it meaningless to hockey-starved Based on the Flyers’ strategy Tuesday and Vigneault’s postgame Flyers fans, who not only had the opportunity to watch their beloved boys comments, it seems like we might see a similar mindset to start Phase 4. in orange and black hit the ice once more, but also defeat the hated Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime, 3-2. Scott Laughton provided the “It’s one of the things that is definitely on my bucket list to talk to our heroics in the extra session, courtesy of a picture-perfect stretch pass players (about) before the next game,” Vigneault said. “Even though from Travis Konecny. there’s three other games (before the start of the playoffs, and) the three other games are important for reseeding, so we could move up so we The Flyers treated the game like a preseason matchup, splitting need to play well. I think at this stage, with it being almost five months off, netminding duties between Carter Hart (first two periods) and Brian Elliott simple is better right now. And that’s what we’re gonna try to do here (third period and overtime) while dressing 13 forwards and seven moving forward.” defensemen. The result was a low-stakes “Welcome Back to Hockey” day, with Flyers-Penguins serving as the first game across the Toronto The first period was classic early season Flyers in terms of their bubble for Eastern Conference clubs and the Edmonton bubble for teams approach on entries. The Flyers entered the offensive zone with control out west. Hopefully, it will be remembered as a mere prelude to a only 32.26 percent of the time — an extremely low rate. But they created successful NHL tournament that lasts into October and crowns a Stanley a whopping 31 total entries in the opening stanza, hinting at the “just get Cup champion. the puck into the zone at all costs” style they deployed. Compare that to the Penguins, who posted a much higher controlled entry rate (47.37 1. First taste of bubble hockey proves surprisingly normal percent) but generated fewer raw controlled entries (nine) than the Flyers Anyone who has watched the NBA scrimmages or MLB regular-season (10). Philadelphia simply overwhelmed Pittsburgh with sheer entry games can attest to the strangeness of games without cheering fans. volume. And eventually, with time running down in the period, the Flyers’ Basketball games are now constant “squeak fests,” with only shouts from relentless forecheck finally showed its teeth. the benches providing the occasional jolt for viewers at home. As for That’s Konecny with his usual effective work as the first man in (F1) on baseball games, it’s harder to guess whether a batted ball is going to fall the forecheck, along with strong pressure from Laughton as the second for a hit without the telltale crowd noise after the crack of the bat. wave, which gift-wraps Hayes a golden opportunity for his first goal in the What about the Flyers-Penguins exhibition game? At least watching on bubble. Hayes credited both players in his postgame interview; without television, it actually felt a bit like an outdoor game. their dogged work, he never gets the glory.
Sure, the lack of fans in the lower levels was odd, and it was definitely In the long term, the Flyers almost certainly won’t be so dump-and-chase quieter than usual. But the piped-in crowd noise echoed well, the arena heavy in their approach. After all, they gradually transitioned to a more music during breaks in play sounded comfortingly familiar, and coverings creative style as 2019-20 progressed. But in the early going of the made the empty seats far less glaring than they were this past weekend resumed season, when passes are misfiring and lines aren’t clicking? A at Citizens Bank Park. If you focused on the ice surface, the exhibition keep-it-simple, “avoid the mistakes everyone else is making” approach easily could have been a mid-November Florida Panthers game — not might give them a leg up on the competition. It’s no coincidence the nearly as enthralling as watching a contest in an electric atmosphere, but Flyers’ 31-entry, two-goal first period was the one Vigneault said he liked still unmistakably hockey. most after the win.
And that’s the way it seemed for the Flyers players as well. Sean 3. Couturier, Provorov looking strong Couturier still was a two-way force, with or without fans. Ivan Provorov One of the Flyers’ strengths in this tournament will be depth — remained a workhorse (25:39). Hart finished two periods with a 0.917 Vigneault’s ability to roll four lines and three defense pairs that all qualify save percentage, nearly identical to his full-season rate of 0.914. Sure, it as “useful.” But don’t take that to mean certain players won’t lead the way was different. But the Flyers didn’t seem fazed, and they think they’ll in workload. Expect Vigneault to heavily lean on his top-line, all- grow more accustomed to the “new normal” as more games are played. situations, Selke Trophy contender of a center, Couturier, and his No. 1 “It was a little different at first in warmups, and there wasn’t really a lot of defenseman, Provorov. They’ll need to be up to the challenge. emotions during the game,” Couturier said. “Nothing crazy going on, (no) Couturier and Provorov looked like they would be ready for the first round battles after the whistles. Usually, you see a lot of that between (the based on their work in the exhibition. Couturier resembled the player Flyers and Penguins). But at the same time, I think it was just because it from before the season’s pause, scoring a goal and breaking up multiple was an exhibition game, not really because there was no fans. I think Pittsburgh opportunities that could have resulted in a tally at the other once the game started, you don’t really think about it. You’ve got a job to end of the ice. do, and you just go out there and do your thing.” Meanwhile, Provorov was entrusted with over 25 minutes of ice time and That’s not to say the players and coaches won’t have to make looked every bit the rock that he’ll need to be for the Flyers to go on an adjustments. Hart said the screens placed in the stands will take some extended run. Don’t forget, Provorov never really stopped skating during getting used to when it comes to tracking pucks in the air. Multiple the pause because he was able to relocate to central Pennsylvania, players noted the ice quality wasn’t exactly stellar, and Couturier in where he had access to a small rink. It showed Tuesday. Provorov was particular worried it might be even worse for the second game of the day challenging zone-entry attempts left and right, a telltale sign that a player in the Toronto bubble (Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens). Head coach Alain is confident in his skating and his ability to recover if things go bad. Vigneault laughed as he noted a few players had already told him that Provorov didn’t luck into a defense-high 68.34 percent expected goals for they heard his voice carry over the ice during their shifts. percentage; he earned it, despite spending over half of his 5-on-5 But no one — not Couturier, Hart nor Vigneault — expressed much minutes matched up against either Sidney Crosby (who wasn’t quite concern that the unique environment would be a problem for them over himself) or Evgeni Malkin (who largely was). 4. Gostisbehere’s momentum continues — is it enough? Perhaps Farabee’s role will be expanded in the round-robin games. Maybe he’ll get a chance to impress in Laughton’s spot on Line 2, as he With Vigneault promising Monday that Shayne Gostisbehere, Mark did during camp. But in the only game of the bubble that can accurately Friedman and Yegor Zamula would check into the exhibition, that meant be called a testing ground with no seeding or playoff implications, two lineup regulars would have to sit, even with the one-time-only rule Farabee was deployed as a rotational, 12th/13th forward. For those that teams would be allowed to dress seven defensemen. Justin Braun hoping Farabee is in the lineup for Game 1 of the playoffs, that doesn’t and Robert Hägg were the odd men out, sitting to accommodate exactly bode well. Zamula’s debut and the insertion of what has clearly been the “fourth pair” throughout camp, Gostisbehere and Friedman, into the lineup. 7. Thompson underwhelms at even strength, strong on PK
Both fourth-pair defensemen had strong nights. But Friedman enters It’s impossible to discuss Farabee without immediately jumping to the Phase 4 fully aware that he will serve as an injury replacement; case of Thompson — the two appear to be fighting for the same open Gostisbehere, on the other hand, has a chance to earn his way back into spot in the 12-man forward group. But what makes the competition the starting lineup for Game 1. And while Ghost’s game lacked the flash intriguing is that they’re not battling for the same role. If Farabee makes he showcases when at his best, it was the same type of efficient, smart the lineup, it presumably will be as a winger on either Line 2 or Line 3. game he played March 10 against the Boston Bruins, right before the Thompson, on the other hand, would be entrenched as a fourth-line season was paused — except this time, he looked even more mobile and center, with his highest-leverage minutes coming on the PK. spry. That’s why I’m not convinced Thompson hurt his case, despite the fourth After the game, Gostisbehere echoed his comments from training camp: line struggling to drive play at 5-on-5 with him as the pivot. And let’s not It’s been a long time since he’s felt this good. sugarcoat it, the Flyers struggled mightily with Thompson on the ice at even strength, allowing the game-tying goal off a faceoff and not creating “Yeah, I’m definitely 100 percent right now,” he said. “I feel good. much of anything on the attack. But Thompson, like the entire group, Probably the healthiest I’ve felt in a couple years.” contributed to multiple clears on the penalty kill, which stifled the Will that be enough to get Gostisbehere back into the starting lineup, Penguins’ power play. Add in the fact that Laughton excelled at 2LW — likely over Hägg? That’s far from a certainty, and Hägg will have his Farabee’s ideal spot — and it’s not hard to see how this game might chances to impress in the round-robin games. But Ghost did put a strong have actually strengthened Thompson’s case in the eyes of the coaching skate forward, and he received tempered praise from Vigneault afterward staff. as a result. The big question is whether Laughton’s fit at 2LW and their respect for “I liked Ghost’s game tonight, I thought he tried to make some plays with Thompson as a PKer are enough to outweigh the 35-year-old’s the puck,” Vigneault said. “But obviously, like the rest of our group, it was limitations at even strength. Or, to put it another way: Is a dangerous our first game in a long time. He made some good plays.” second line and stout penalty kill worth dressing a Line 4 that is weaker on paper than it would be with Farabee in the lineup? 5. Laughton complicates lineup decisions with strong Line 2 work 8. Special teams impress The logical path for 20-year-old winger Joel Farabee to make the Game 1 starting lineup is no secret: He plays on Line 2 with Hayes and The penalty kill was noticeably ahead of the power play during the final Konecny, Laughton takes over third-line center duties and Derek Grant week of Phase 3 training camp in Voorhees, N.J. After watching the drops down to 4C, bumping veteran Nate Thompson out of the lineup. It exhibition game, however, maybe it wasn’t that the power play was off; just seems to make too much sense on paper. perhaps it was just that the PK has been on point from the minute the players returned to action. There’s only one problem: Laughton is looking really, really good in the 2LW spot with Hayes and Konecny. Pittsburgh’s fearsome power play was largely kept in check by the Flyers, who thrived on the PK despite giving minutes to non-regulars like This really shouldn’t come as a major surprise. The line flourished in Gostisbehere, Jakub Voracek and Konecny. On the other side of the ice, February, posting a 62.41 percent expected goals for percentage and the Philadelphia power play had little trouble setting up shop and creating outscoring opponents 4-1. In fact, the Laughton-Hayes duo (even setting quality opportunities. Per Natural Stat Trick, it had just as many high- aside the third player on the line) took apart opponents all season long, danger chances in two minutes (two) as the Penguins produced in 10. outscoring them 16-8. It’s a tandem that just seems to click. “We were in their zone for probably most of the power play, a lot of good It continued to do so Tuesday. As the F2, Laughton helped to set the chances and good looks,” Couturier said after the game. “It’s something stage for Hayes’ first-period goal, and it wasn’t just one well-executed to build on.” play, either. In 11:46 together, the Laughton-Hayes-Konecny line generated 14 shot attempts, allowed just seven (66.66 percent Corsi for) 9. Zamula’s signature calm comes with strengths, drawbacks and posted a team-high 76.86 percent xG share. And with the game on Zamula has a number of strengths to his game. But none are more the line in overtime, Konecny and Laughton hooked up for the prettiest obvious than his distinctive calm and poise when moving the puck up ice play of the day, with Laughton unveiling a finishing move that would from within the defensive zone. Some defensemen move the puck with impress even Claude Giroux. an obvious sense of urgency. Zamula, on the other hand, often looks Vigneault is now left with an intriguing decision. He can be fairly confident almost casual handling the puck, confident enough in his accuracy and Line 2 will thrive with Laughton at left wing; Tuesday’s strong work adds vision to wait until a lane develops. Fans got a glimpse of that signature further evidence to the 26-year-old’s already impressive track record calmness early on. there. But can he afford to have the bottom six centered by Grant and Don’t forget, this is a 20-year-old with no professional experience beyond Thompson? And more importantly: Can the Flyers afford to go with that a few preseason games, treating an exit out of the zone like it’s occurring deployment if it means Farabee is out of the lineup? in a pond hockey game, not a precursor to an unprecedented 6. Farabee fine, doesn’t wow postseason. That kind of self-assured mentality can’t be taught. It comes naturally to Zamula. As for the bubble boy himself, Farabee was … fine. Like many Flyers players, he began the game a tick off, just behind the pace of play on the Yet Zamula won’t be able to get too calm and casual with the puck at the forecheck and a bit weaker than necessary on the puck. As the game NHL level. The players are faster and the pace is far more relentless; just progressed, he settled in, with the third period his strongest of the bunch. ask Morgan Frost, who spent a large portion of his first pro season adapting to it. Sometimes, Zamula will have to move the puck up ice just Farabee’s biggest potential issue wasn’t his play, which again, was fine. a bit quicker than he did at the junior level to avoid potentially It was the limited time he received to impress. Only Nicolas Aubé-Kubel backbreaking turnovers. (6:07) had fewer minutes at even strength than Farabee (6:30), and NAK was at least granted power-play time. Farabee, on the other hand, was On the whole, Zamula’s “debut” was a success. He didn’t look out of only given an additional 2:25 on the penalty kill, and while that could place against NHL competition, and should stay in the injury-replacement bode well for his chances of winning a bottom-sixer job, every player on mix. But the playoffs probably aren’t the right place for a 20-year-old to the roster not named James van Riemsdyk received PK time. The be learning on the fly. coaching staff seemed to want a look at everyone in that situation. 10. Sanheim-Myers pair exploited at times There are some instances where “learning on the job” is defensible, with the projected second pair of Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers serving as a perfect example. They have very little playoff experience; Sanheim appeared in four games in a limited role in 2018, while Myers hasn’t sniffed the NHL postseason before this year. So why are the Flyers planning to rely upon them heavily during this playoff run?
The first answer is obvious: the Sanheim-Myers duo was very impressive in the regular season, particularly during the stretch run. Second, it’s the highest-upside duo for this playoff run behind the Provorov-Matt Niskanen; in theory, the Sanheim-Myers pair’s combination of size, speed and aggressiveness could be quite formidable against any opponent. Third, and arguably most importantly, Sanheim and Myers are viewed as key parts of Philadelphia’s future on defense. A playoff run with high but not win-or-bust expectations is the perfect time for the still- developing pair to get its first taste of postseason action in a significant role, and learn what stylistic adjustments need to be made to survive it.
Tuesday was a glimpse at the worst-case scenario for the pair this summer. Pittsburgh repeatedly attacked the duo in transition and the final third of the ice, and at times, it got ugly.
There’s Myers getting caught on a poorly-timed pinch that immediately turns into a 3-on-1 rush; there’s Sanheim getting trapped on the wrong side of the net after a faceoff, leaving Jason Zucker all the room he needs to pop a loose puck in for a goal. These are the kinds of plays the Sanheim-Myers pairing needs to avoid for the Flyers to have a real shot at a long run.
Fortunately for Philadelphia, it was an exhibition game. The young duo has had far better days, and almost certainly will again. But it did serve as a warning of what a contender like Pittsburgh can do to the Flyers if their chosen second pair slips up when the games matter.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176855 Pittsburgh Penguins Tribune Review LOADED: 07.30.2020
Penguins notes: Awkward quarantine encounter with Flyers, no injuries
CHRIS ADAMSKI | Wednesday, July 29, 2020 7:37 p.m.
Not long after arriving at the NHL’s Eastern Conference “bubble” established in Toronto, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang found himself among some unfamiliar — and sometimes-unfriendly — faces.
Just part of the quarantine life of these unique Stanley Cup playoffs.
“Maybe the first day, we were trying to look around, and I ran into the entire Philly team,” Letang said during a video call with media Wednesday.
The Penguins traveled to Toronto over the weekend before their first practice there Monday. All 12 of the Eastern Conference teams that qualified for this postseason are staying in a makeshift temporary community that is closed off from other humans. Interactions with playoff opponents are unavoidable.
“Just walking around you say hello, you chat a little bit,” Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry said. “But other than that, it’s that not too awkward yet that we haven’t been playing. But I am sure as we get playing, there might be a little (animosity) that builds.”
Letang acknowledged “awkwardness” of unintentionally entering a social circle of an organization that prides itself on antagonizing the Penguins most.
“But I know Mr. Voracek really well,” Letang said of Flyers veteran Jakub Voracek, “so it made me feel a little bit better.”
The Penguins faced the Flyers on Tuesday in the teams’ lone exhibition game in Toronto.
Experience rules?
Wednesday morning, Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Julien made note of one of the most obvious disadvantages his team has against the Penguins during their qualifying-round playoff series that begins Saturday.
“Experience-wise, we don’t compare to Pittsburgh,” Julien told reporters during a video call.
“So, the chance that we have of winning is by having everybody being able to step up and play a little bit above their heads and have the confidence to do that.”
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has far less to gain by pointing out an obvious edge his team has in a 5-vs.-12 seed mismatch. But he did allow himself to acknowledge a perceived edge in playoff experience can be beneficial.
The Penguins claimed the Stanley Cup championship at the end of the each of the postseasons just three and four years ago.
“I think experience is a great teacher for all of us because we all learn through our experiences, regardless of what endeavor in life,” Sullivan said. “So with respect to playing in the NHL, when players and coaches and teams have the opportunity to go through the challenges of a Stanley Cup playoff run and experience the successes and the championships — but also experience the hard aspect of it when you don’t have success and you lose — it offers you a certain perspective. And so you have the benefit of those experiences to draw on.“
No apparent new injuries
The Penguins emerged from Tuesday’s exhibition game unscathed in regards to injuries.
Though practice sessions are closed to media and team personnel are prohibited from speaking publicly regarding specific injuries, Sullivan confirmed that no players were absent from Wednesday’s practice in Toronto.
“Everybody participated in practice today,” he said. 1176856 Pittsburgh Penguins After accounting for the opt-outs of Chung, Hightower, Marcus Cannon, Bolden, Toran and
Vitale First Call: Is Antonio Brown leveraging Patriots opt outs? Penguins 5 guaranteed salaries added to Patriots dead money problems. Canadiens lose. Hastings re-signing
my new Patriots salary cap space number is $24,745,302. The Patriots TIM BENZ | Wednesday, July 29, 2020 6:20 a.m. now have 75 players on their 2020 roster.
— Cap Space=$24,735,302 (@patscap) July 28, 2020 Wednesday’s “First Call” checks on Antonio Brown’s latest plea to get The Boston Herald is suggesting that the team may try to pursue pass back into the NFL. Is he appealing to a former team once again? rusher Jadeveon Clowney in free agency as a result. We also talk about future plans for a Steelers draft choice and a former Meanwhile former Patriots receiver — and Steelers All Pro — Antonio coach. Brown may be trying to leverage the Patriots into spending some of their Plus, a look at how the Montreal Canadiens did in their warmup game newfound cap space. after the Penguins lost to the Philadelphia Flyers. Remember, Mr. Big Chest is still a free agent. He recently settled a One and done salary dispute with the Patriots. Based on this post, it looks like he’s willing to let bygones be bygones. The Penguins had their lone NHL hub exhibition game against the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday. They lost 3-2 in overtime. View this post on Instagram
Just a few thoughts: Himmothy #possibilities
• Like in the regular season, the power play continues to be a mystery. A post shared by AB (@ab) on Jul 28, 2020 at 12:44pm PDT Mike Sullivan is still struggling to best deploy all that talent in harmonious Or Brown is just speaking about “possibilities” in general with any team if fashion. It went 0 for 3 on the night. he can work out his lagging discipline issues with the league. But based • The Flyers’ two regulation goals were the result of one stumbly on all the news surrounding the Patriots earlier in the day, it seems like defensive shift from Marcus Pettersson and one ghastly turnover from more than a coincidence. Evgeni Malkin. Full go for B.A. "Thanks." Former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is now 68 years old. – @KevinPHayes12 (probably). #StanleyCup He’s the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s got Tom Brady as his quarterback. And he’s not leaving the sidelines despite concerns : https://t.co/pqRDv2rMR8 @NHLonNBCSports surrounding coronavirus for people in his age group.
: https://t.co/w05LDX6Xar @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/sfHkM8fyM5 Arians was asked Tuesday if he may coach in the booth instead of staying on the sidelines. — NHL (@NHL) July 28, 2020 “No. There’s no chance of me coaching from a box,” Arians said via It’s tough to pin either of those goals on Matt Murray. ProFootballTalk.com. “Once we get a (face) shield that I like, I’ll have my mask and shield on. Jeez! Do Malkin and Kris Letang get assists on that one? “I’m very comfortable with our protocols now that I’ve gotten used to the • Early in relief, Tristan Jarry may have had to make a few more tough protocols.” saves than Murray did, jumping right onto a power play. He also made a gem in overtime, before allowing Scott Laughton’s game winner. But I Arians has also battled prostate, skin and kidney cancer. don’t see the need to have Jarry replace Murray as a result of this game. High hopes for Highsmith • Malkin didn’t really wake up until the third period. But when he did, you saw some flashes of how well he could work with Jason Zucker as those Alex Highsmith was the second draft choice for the Steelers in the 2020 two combined to knock in a goal that eventually forced overtime at 2-2. draft (third round, pick 102).
The Penguins and Montreal Canadiens face off for Game 1 of their best- The rookie from Charlotte is viewed as a potential replacement for Bud of-five series at 8 p.m. Saturday in Toronto. Dupree if the outside linebacker leaves via free agency. Now that Dupree is playing 2020 on the franchise tag and the salary cap could go all the Meanwhile, Montreal had a warmup game against the Toronto Maple way down to $175 million next year, Dupree’s departure seems almost Leafs on Tuesday, too. The Canadiens lost 4-2. Alexander Kerfoot assured. scored twice for Toronto, including a shorthanded goal. Via Zoom, I asked Highsmith if he’s more proficient rushing from the right Shorthanded speed #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/8E70aZ950j or left side.
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 29, 2020 “In college last year, I rushed from the right side,” Highsmith said. “I feel a little more comfortable from that side. But I’ll be practicing from both Canadiens goalie Carey Price had 19 saves on 23 shots. sides so I can get my moves from different sides. Whatever position they Opportunistic A.B. put me in, I’ll do whatever I can to get to the quarterback and stop the run to be a three-down outside linebacker.” New England Patriots players are opting out of the 2020 pandemic season at a high rate. For the last two years, Dupree has started as the right outside linebacker, and T.J. Watt has been on the left side. Linebacker Dont’a Hightower and safety Patrick Chung are the biggest names. Those two defensive starters are three-time Super Bowl Tribune Review LOADED: 07.30.2020 champions.
Running back Brandon Bolden, offensive tackle Marcus Cannon, fullback Danny Vitale and reserve offensive lineman Najee Toran, also have opted out.
However, combined with those defections and free agency losses, the Patriots now have $24 million in cap space, according to Boston Sports Journal cap guru Miguel Benzan. 1176857 Pittsburgh Penguins The same scenario could play out in the coming weeks if Sullivan eschews Murray for Jarry.
“That’s part of the responsibility of a head coach in making the types of Penguins coach Sullivan remains mum on which goalie will start decisions, (the criteria for which is) that it’s best for the hockey team and Saturday vs. Habs gives them the best chance to win,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that. It’s, I guess, simple in nature but it’s difficult when you are in those types of situations.”
CHRIS ADAMSKI | Wednesday, July 29, 2020 7:21 p.m. Tribune Review LOADED: 07.30.2020
Tristan Jarry said Wednesday afternoon he hadn’t been told who will begin the playoffs as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ starting goalie. Sitting 6 feet to Jarry’s right, alternate captain Kris Letang indicated he didn’t know, either.
The dozen or so reporters on the line during the video conference call with those players? If all goes by design from the Penguins’ end, they will be the last to know if Jarry or Matt Murray is in net for the resumption of the NHL season Saturday.
But what about the man entrusted with that decision: coach Mike Sullivan? He has established over his 4 ½-year tenure he won’t confirm even the most obvious lineup choice. “Game-time decision” might be the three most common words Sullivan uses.
Sullivan upped the ante Wednesday, 72 hours before faceoff of Game 1 of the Penguins’ playoff opener against the Montreal Canadiens. Not only did Sullivan decline to reveal his goaltending decision, he refused to acknowledge if he even made it yet.
“I’d rather not divulge the process that we go through and how we make the decisions we make,” Sullivan said. “That’s just part of this coaching staff’s philosophies and the way we have gone about our business here.”
With practices and morning skates closed to independent media, it is possible Sullivan’s choice might end up literally being a “game-time decision” that is not known until 8 p.m. Saturday.
“I haven’t been told anything,” Jarry said. “I am just taking it day by day and making sure our practice habits are staying where they need to be for Matt and I. We’re preparing like we both will be playing, and whoever gets the call on Saturday, we’ll be ready.”
The debate among fans intensified after Murray allowed seven goals and Jarry zero during an intrasquad scrimmage July 18. Jarry (.921 save percentage, 2.43 goals-against average) outperformed Murray (.899, 2.87) during the coronavirus-interrupted regular season. Jarry was selected for All-Star weekend.
Murray, of course, has two Stanley Cup rings, with six shutouts, a 1.95 GAA and .928 save percentage during the Penguins’ championship runs in 2016 and ‘17. In the two postseasons since, though, Murray is 6-10 with a 2.57 GAA and .907 save percentage. He has lost eight of his past nine postseason starts.
That will make Sullivan’s decision highly scrutinized.
“That type of decision is never an easy decision because these players are both very good players, and they are both very capable players,” Sullivan said. “They are competitive guys. The coaching staff will make the best decision and what we think is best for the team. But we really like how both these guys have tracked throughout the training camp to this point.”
. @MarkMaddenX: #Penguins Matt Murray should start Game 1 but leash should be short for goalie https://t.co/MkMzvzEe8E
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) July 21, 2020
Sullivan said he thought each goalie played well during Tuesday’s exhibition against the Philadelphia Flyers. A prearranged plan called for each to play about a half the game. Murray stopped 10 of 12 shots and Jarry nine of 10. None of the goals either allowed would be considered egregious.
Sullivan wasn’t afraid to buck convention with regard to goalies during the Cup runs of 2016 and ‘17. Each year, he switched starters mid-run for reasons other than injury. On a more macro level, he transitioned the franchise from a Cup-winning veteran (Marc-Andre Fleury) to a younger heir apparent. 1176858 Pittsburgh Penguins And Crosby? “I think the part that went unnoticed by most was the net drive that Sid
had coming out of the deep ice,” Sullivan said. “I thought his burst of Mike Sullivan not revealing his starting goalie for Game 1 — or maybe he speed through the neutral zone to back the D off to open up that lane for already has Jake to move the puck dot-width to Conor was how the whole play evolved.”
After all the questions about Crosby’s health recently, the speed he Mike DeFabo showed on the play may have been the most-encouraging sign. Sulilvan said that all of the Penguins practice on Wednesday, including Crosby.
Still ‘sloppy’ Tristan Jarry said Wednesday that the Penguins’ coaching staff hasn’t told the goalies “anything” about their plan for Game 1. Sullivan used the term “sloppy” to describe the way the Penguins played during early parts of Tuesday’s exhibition. After watching the film? Maybe that's true. Maybe not. But one thing has become quite certain through training camp and into the first couple days in the NHL's bubble: “That’s just more affirmation that what I saw was correct,” Sullivan said. If coach Mike Sullivan has made up his mind, he's sure not planning to tell us. While Sullivan was happy with the intensity, he felt they were lacking in execution. In particular, Sullivan wasn’t happy with the way the Penguins The Matt Murray vs. Jarry debate has kept sports-talk radio in business handled the pressure of the Flyers’ forecheck. That element of the game this hockey season, and especially during the four-month pause. Now could be tested early against a speedy Montreal team. with the qualifying round matchup against Montreal days away, finding new, creative ways to dance around the subject has become almost a That was awkward sport itself for reporters. And shutting down those questions is an art form NHL players are doing their best to stay socially distanced inside the Sullivan has perfected. Toronto bubble. But, at the same time, they’re in much closer proximity to “My main responsibility is to make the best decisions for the hockey opponents who are trying to make their stay in the hub city a brief one. team, regardless of what position it is,” Sullivan said on Wednesday, “The first day, we were trying to look around,” Penguins defenseman Kris reciting a variation of the same answer that’s appeared in this publication Letang said. “I ran into the entire Philly team. That was a little awkward.” dozens of times this season. Letang joked that he knows “Mr. Voracek” — Flyers assistant captain But what goes into that decision-making process? Jakub — and he helped diffuse any tensions. “I’d rather not divulge the process that we go through,” Sullivan said. Post Gazette LOADED: 07.30.2020 “That’s just part of the coaching staff’s philosophy and the way we’ve gone about our business.”
Fair enough. Still, even if Sullivan isn’t technically saying out loud or in front of a microphone whom his goalie will be for Game 1, maybe he already told us.
During Tuesday’s exhibition, the goalie with two Stanley Cup rings and the one who became a first-time All-Star this season each earned an opportunity. And ... Murray started.
Maybe it was nothing. But it sure felt like something. Murray has always seemed like the more-likely option, given his track record of postseason success. Even though he got off to a rough start at camp, allowing seven goals in the first scrimmage, he did nothing that sounded alarms against the Flyers.
It’s hard to pin either of the two goals he allowed on Murray. The first one deflected off of Marcus Pettersson, a fluky goal more than anything. The second was about 98% on Evgeni Malkin for blindly throwing a pass into his own goalie’s crease. That’s about as well as a goalie who gave up two goals can play.
At the same time, Jarry would have pitched a shutout had Bryan Rust converted on a 3-on-1 in overtime, or if he hadn’t been beaten by a breakaway during a fast and loose extra period.
So one more time, who starts?
“That type of decision is never an easy decision,” Sullivan said. “These players are both good players and they’re both very capable players. … These guys want the net. They’re competitive guys. I understand that. The coaching staff will make the best decision on what we think is best for the team.”
One way or another, we’ll have our answer on Saturday — then we can start asking about Game 2.
Just like old times?
The so-called “Sid and the Kids” line didn’t have much time to establish chemistry during an abbreviated training camp, especially with Sidney Crosby missing three of the four scrimmages and several practices. However, even though the line was “Evan Rodrigues and the Kids” through the majority of camp, there have been some positive signs that the sequel might be like the original.
That trio scored a quick-strike goal early in the first period on Tuesday. In Sullivan’s words, it was a “terrific shot” from Conor Sheary. A “great” pass from Jake Guentzel. 1176859 Pittsburgh Penguins • Malkin turned monstrous in the third period. He lost his mind a few times before that, notably on the tape-to-tape pass to set up a Flyers’ goal and an egregious turnover at the Philly blue line. The Penguins need good Geno, smart Geno, sane Geno, to get where they want to go. Joe Starkey: Goalies, Jake Guentzel, bubble hockey and the Penguins’ biggest question That said, his line was the best line Tuesday and will continue to be that in the Canadiens series.
• Other predictions: Patric Hornqvist will wind up on Crosby’s line sooner Joe Star•key: or later. … Jake Guentzel, whose presence was greatly missed, will be the Penguins’ leading playoff goal scorer. … Jack Johnson will benefit
from the time off and play well next to Schultz (oh man, I’m already Bubble hockey works. That was the primary takeaway from the Penguins’ regretting that one). … The Penguins will sweep the Canadiens, who, first legit game in four months. quite frankly, are better off losing and getting a shot at the first overall pick. But hardly the only one. Post Gazette LOADED: 07.30.2020 There’s almost too much to talk about as the NHL launches an unprecedented, 24-team postseason, and the Penguins begin what they hope will be a march toward their third Stanley Cup in five years …
• The league did a fabulous job with the setting in Toronto. It’s all about the television show now. Once the puck dropped, Penguins-Flyers looked and sounded like an international game, where the sport’s natural sounds replace fan-created bedlam (though fans will be desperately missed as the playoffs begin).
The tarps covering the lower bowl helped mitigate the reality of empty seats. The fake crowd noise and goal horns and such helped trick this viewer’s brain into believing all was somewhat normal.
Conor Sheary aptly compared it to an outdoor-game dynamic, where the crowd is situated far from the ice. That creates a TV experience — again, like an Olympic game — that accentuates blades cutting ice, bodies hitting boards, pucks hitting sticks and voices (players, coaches, referees) providing a constant backdrop.
This did not seem abnormally weird, which I thought it might.
• Matt Murray looked fine in goal and is an easily justified choice to start Game 1 against Montreal. I just can’t help but wonder if Tristan Jarry might be the better choice later on.
The Penguins should easily dispatch the Canadiens, regardless of who’s in goal. Perhaps the biggest question after that is their ability to withstand the physicality in the East — ’cause it’s comin’.
You know what the Bruins, Lightning and Capitals bring: a jump in thump. They’ll want to wear down the Penguins, pound their defense, over a long series. It’s one thing to survive one of those teams. The Penguins must survive the gauntlet.
Jarry presents a special quality that could help mitigate the pounding. He can kill a forecheck with his puck-handling ability. The first job is stopping the puck, of course, and if Murray is great from the outset, he’ll keep the job.
But I’m thinking one bad game might lead to a Jarry sighting — and that Jarry might be the better choice against the big boys. Remember, he was the better goalie over the course of the season, even if his performance slipped late.
• Another element that can make an overly rambunctious team pay? A lethal power play, and the Penguins’ power play didn’t look so lethal Tuesday and finished a middling 16th in the regular season.
The first consideration is to not lose momentum on the power play — and to absolutely not allow a shorthanded goal. I can’t help but wonder if that consideration is behind Mike Sullivan using Justin Schultz instead of Kris Letang with the first unit.
Sullivan might be thinking it’s unwise to have Letang and Evgeni Malkin out there together when one gaffe could lead to a shortie.
• In the very near future, the best power play quarterback on the team might be John Marino. He is cerebral, deceptive and dangerous. He has a high panic threshold, as well, and immense confidence in his ability to escape trouble. He’s also a great skater. Looks like a power-play quarterback in the making to me.
• Sidney Crosby seemed like he was smartly pacing himself for Saturday. You look for the burst and the ability to fend off the big boys down low when you’re gauging Crosby’s health. Both were apparent in small doses. I would expect much larger doses Saturday night. 1176860 Pittsburgh Penguins occasionally his coach — crazy with his cavalier style. But the reward still outweighs the risk.
Part of the rationale of using Justin Schultz, which we saw Tuesday, is Six suggestions for recharging the Penguins' power play that Schultz plays a simple, straightforward game that leads to more shots.
Yeah, about that … The Penguins this season actually had significantly Matt Vensel more shot attempts, high-danger scoring chances and goals per 60 minutes with Letang on the ice for the power play. Now, maybe a little bit
of that should be chalked up to Schultz spending more time on the After getting four months to assess all that went wrong for their power second unit. But the difference is striking. play this season, the Penguins hoped to get it all sorted out before the And when you look on Natural Stat Trick at the high-danger chances games began. going the other way with Letang out there versus Schultz’s minutes, it’s But throughout their postseason training camp, there was a lot of basically the same. shuffling and not much that suggested the unit was about to surge. That So the Penguins should just stick with Letang and buckle up. There will notion was reinforced during Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia be some scary moments. But he is still a zone-entry threat, and his ability Flyers in their lone exhibition in Toronto, the Eastern Conference’s to walk the blue line and get pucks through traffic helps the Penguins playoff hub. once they get set up. The Penguins went 0-for-3 against the Flyers and generated only four Go to section shots with a guy in the box. Their only dangerous opportunity came in transition. When they tried to set up inside the zone, they usually didn’t 4. Make Jake the swing guy hang onto the puck for long. Guentzel scored 60 goals in a season and a half before a shoulder injury “My impression of the power play is we need to be a whole lot better,” shut him down. On many NHL teams, he’d be a power-play fulcrum. But coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ve got a ways to go to get it firing on all in Pittsburgh, his skill set is redundant with two guys who are great at cylinders.” what they do.
Sullivan believes the Penguins need to simplify their game, move the The winger is at his best when hovering in the slot or lurking at the puck more quickly and put pucks on the net when they see open backdoor. He is smart and tough with a well-rounded skill set. The shooting lanes. All that was a common refrain for him as the team was problem is that’s the preferred role for a generational talent in Sidney merely mediocre this season. Crosby. Guentzel’s next best spot is at the net front, but few NHLers make goalies crazier than Patric Hornqvist. The coach said the Penguins spent time working on the power play Wednesday and “utilized a different look.” He thought it was a productive There is, however, no questioning that Guentzel is one of the Penguins’ practice. top five weapons, so he must remain involved.
“I think it will improve,” Sullivan said. “I know these guys are proud guys. Perhaps the compromise is splitting Guentzel’s time equally among the They want it to be successful. … We’ll get it moving in the right direction.” left circle, the net front and the second unit. It would allow Sullivan and the Penguins to give opponents a few different looks without cratering Here are six suggestions for how the Penguins can do that with Game 1 their chemistry. of their qualifying-round series against the Montreal Canadiens looming Saturday. 5. Stick with those six
1. Get Mario some skates Since camp started on July 13, the Penguins have used nine players on their top unit. Obviously, that wasn’t the plan. Both Crosby and Hornqvist Mario Lemieux was a maestro on the left half-wall during his legendary missed about half of camp. Still, that’s a lot of shuffling. A lack of career, and the Penguins have shuffled players in and out of that spot all continuity, as we saw during their injury-riddled regular season, mucks year. Sure, he’s 54. But you don’t think he can’t still quarterback a everything up. competent power play? The Penguins need to settle on a couple of combinations and let them 2. Reintegrate Bryan Rust gel. OK, OK. That first one wasn’t a serious suggestion. The point being 6. Now just let them play made is that the Penguins do not have a perfect option to set up shop in the left circle. Sullivan was totally justified this season in trying to get his players to move their feet more on the power play. The top unit for the Penguins, Jared McCann was most often used there during the postseason camp. despite their remarkable success in recent years, got stagnant We saw the ineffective two-defenseman setup sporadically. And against sometimes, and the coach recognized it would be an issue without Phil the Flyers, it looked like it was Jake Guentzel who was supposed to be in Kessel in the left circle to create more balance. the left circle, though the top unit struggled so much getting set up that one can’t say with certainty. But due to all those injuries, which took away both top talent and continuity, the Penguins have been unable to find a comfort level with the One player who saw limited time there — and that should change — is new approach. Sure, there were moments where it clicked, but the Rust. consistency was not there. Rust is neither a fearsome shooter nor a deft playmaker. And if penalty- It’s clear after watching the Penguins in postseason camp and the killers come after him hard, how he handles that pressure could be a exhibition against the Flyers that the top unit is thinking too much instead worry. But this season he played with more poise and is one guy who is of acting on their instincts and letting their abundance of skill overwhelm willing to take the puck to the net. His numbers on the power play say he opponents. should have a role. With time running out before the playoffs start, Sullivan might want to Not only did nine of Rust’s 27 goals this season come on the power play, loosen the reins a bit and, at least in the short term, let his thoroughbreds but the Penguins’ shot attempts spiked, and they scored 10.8 goals per roam free. 60 minutes of power play time with Rust on the ice, per Natural Stat Trick. That ranked first among all Penguins players who logged at least Post Gazette LOADED: 07.30.2020 60 minutes of power-play time.
3. Let Kris Letang run the point
It can feel like a roller-coaster ride whenever Letang is the one manning the point. The 33-year-old defenseman often drives the fan base — and 1176861 Pittsburgh Penguins The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020
Penguins notes: Awkward quarantine encounter with Flyers, no injuries
CHRIS ADAMSKI | Wednesday, July 29, 2020 7:37 p.m.
Not long after arriving at the NHL’s Eastern Conference “bubble” established in Toronto, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang found himself among some unfamiliar — and sometimes-unfriendly — faces.
Just part of the quarantine life of these unique Stanley Cup playoffs.
“Maybe the first day, we were trying to look around, and I ran into the entire Philly team,” Letang said during a video call with media Wednesday.
The Penguins traveled to Toronto over the weekend before their first practice there Monday. All 12 of the Eastern Conference teams that qualified for this postseason are staying in a makeshift temporary community that is closed off from other humans. Interactions with playoff opponents are unavoidable.
“Just walking around you say hello, you chat a little bit,” Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry said. “But other than that, it’s that not too awkward yet that we haven’t been playing. But I am sure as we get playing, there might be a little (animosity) that builds.”
Letang acknowledged “awkwardness” of unintentionally entering a social circle of an organization that prides itself on antagonizing the Penguins most.
“But I know Mr. Voracek really well,” Letang said of Flyers veteran Jakub Voracek, “so it made me feel a little bit better.”
The Penguins faced the Flyers on Tuesday in the teams’ lone exhibition game in Toronto.
Experience rules?
Wednesday morning, Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Julien made note of one of the most obvious disadvantages his team has against the Penguins during their qualifying-round playoff series that begins Saturday.
“Experience-wise, we don’t compare to Pittsburgh,” Julien told reporters during a video call.
“So, the chance that we have of winning is by having everybody being able to step up and play a little bit above their heads and have the confidence to do that.”
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has far less to gain by pointing out an obvious edge his team has in a 5-vs.-12 seed mismatch. But he did allow himself to acknowledge a perceived edge in playoff experience can be beneficial.
The Penguins claimed the Stanley Cup championship at the end of the each of the postseasons just three and four years ago.
“I think experience is a great teacher for all of us because we all learn through our experiences, regardless of what endeavor in life,” Sullivan said. “So with respect to playing in the NHL, when players and coaches and teams have the opportunity to go through the challenges of a Stanley Cup playoff run and experience the successes and the championships — but also experience the hard aspect of it when you don’t have success and you lose — it offers you a certain perspective. And so you have the benefit of those experiences to draw on.“
No apparent new injuries
The Penguins emerged from Tuesday’s exhibition game unscathed in regards to injuries.
Though practice sessions are closed to media and team personnel are prohibited from speaking publicly regarding specific injuries, Sullivan confirmed that no players were absent from Wednesday’s practice in Toronto.
“Everybody participated in practice today,” he said. 1176862 Pittsburgh Penguins The same scenario could play out in the coming weeks if Sullivan eschews Murray for Jarry.
“That’s part of the responsibility of a head coach in making the types of Penguins coach Sullivan remains mum on which goalie will start decisions, (the criteria for which is) that it’s best for the hockey team and Saturday vs. Habs gives them the best chance to win,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that. It’s, I guess, simple in nature but it’s difficult when you are in those types of situations.”
CHRIS ADAMSKI | Wednesday, July 29, 2020 7:21 p.m. The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020
Tristan Jarry said Wednesday afternoon he hadn’t been told who will begin the playoffs as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ starting goalie. Sitting 6 feet to Jarry’s right, alternate captain Kris Letang indicated he didn’t know, either.
The dozen or so reporters on the line during the video conference call with those players? If all goes by design from the Penguins’ end, they will be the last to know if Jarry or Matt Murray is in net for the resumption of the NHL season Saturday.
But what about the man entrusted with that decision: coach Mike Sullivan? He has established over his 4 ½-year tenure he won’t confirm even the most obvious lineup choice. “Game-time decision” might be the three most common words Sullivan uses.
Sullivan upped the ante Wednesday, 72 hours before faceoff of Game 1 of the Penguins’ playoff opener against the Montreal Canadiens. Not only did Sullivan decline to reveal his goaltending decision, he refused to acknowledge if he even made it yet.
“I’d rather not divulge the process that we go through and how we make the decisions we make,” Sullivan said. “That’s just part of this coaching staff’s philosophies and the way we have gone about our business here.”
With practices and morning skates closed to independent media, it is possible Sullivan’s choice might end up literally being a “game-time decision” that is not known until 8 p.m. Saturday.
“I haven’t been told anything,” Jarry said. “I am just taking it day by day and making sure our practice habits are staying where they need to be for Matt and I. We’re preparing like we both will be playing, and whoever gets the call on Saturday, we’ll be ready.”
The debate among fans intensified after Murray allowed seven goals and Jarry zero during an intrasquad scrimmage July 18. Jarry (.921 save percentage, 2.43 goals-against average) outperformed Murray (.899, 2.87) during the coronavirus-interrupted regular season. Jarry was selected for All-Star weekend.
Murray, of course, has two Stanley Cup rings, with six shutouts, a 1.95 GAA and .928 save percentage during the Penguins’ championship runs in 2016 and ‘17. In the two postseasons since, though, Murray is 6-10 with a 2.57 GAA and .907 save percentage. He has lost eight of his past nine postseason starts.
That will make Sullivan’s decision highly scrutinized.
“That type of decision is never an easy decision because these players are both very good players, and they are both very capable players,” Sullivan said. “They are competitive guys. The coaching staff will make the best decision and what we think is best for the team. But we really like how both these guys have tracked throughout the training camp to this point.”
. @MarkMaddenX: #Penguins Matt Murray should start Game 1 but leash should be short for goalie https://t.co/MkMzvzEe8E
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) July 21, 2020
Sullivan said he thought each goalie played well during Tuesday’s exhibition against the Philadelphia Flyers. A prearranged plan called for each to play about a half the game. Murray stopped 10 of 12 shots and Jarry nine of 10. None of the goals either allowed would be considered egregious.
Sullivan wasn’t afraid to buck convention with regard to goalies during the Cup runs of 2016 and ‘17. Each year, he switched starters mid-run for reasons other than injury. On a more macro level, he transitioned the franchise from a Cup-winning veteran (Marc-Andre Fleury) to a younger heir apparent. 1176863 San Jose Sharks “It’s not like I’ve got another 10 years to go,” Marleau said Feb. 29 when the Penguins played the Sharks. “So, great opportunity to come here, get into the playoffs and have another shot of winning.”
Is this Patty’s year? Ranking ex-Sharks’ chances of winning the Cup, It looks like Marleau, 40, will start the playoffs as the Pens’ third line left from slightest to greatest wing — the perfect spot for him. The Penguins will have Sidney Crosby healthy and available for their series with Montreal, providing a massive NHL: San Jose Sharks fans might not have a team to root for in the boost to a team that is used to deep playoff runs. Coached by Sullivan, playoffs, but players such as Penguins’ Patrick Marleau and Stars’ Joe another original Shark, the Pens won titles in 2016 and 2017. If Pavelski could be sentimental favorites Pittsburgh can stay healthy and get consistent goaltending, maybe Marleau will finally get that ring. Odds to win Cup: 15/1.
Justin Braun, Philadelphia Flyers: Braun dressed for 84 postseason By CURTIS PASHELKA | July 29, 2020 at 6:01 a.m. games for the Sharks and is an important piece for the Flyers. Now, is Carter Hart seasoned enough as a goalie for a long playoff run? Odds to win Cup: 13/1. Who do you want to see hoist the Stanley Cup this year, Sharks fans? Joonas Donskoi and Matt Nieto, Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche will A sentimental favorite like Joe Pavelski, who spent 13 years in teal no doubt be led by stars Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and before he signed with the Dallas Stars last summer? Or perhaps you’re Cale Makar, but former San Jose wingers Donskoi and Nieto figure to be taking a more practical approach, hoping Brenden Dillon and the important depth pieces. Odds to win Cup: 13/1. Washington Capitals win it all so the Sharks can gain another draft pick. Joe Pavelski and Taylor Fedun, Dallas Stars: Pavelski played 134 playoff Of course, both bases would be covered if the Pittsburgh Penguins win games in his 13 seasons in San Jose. The teams he played on went to the Cup for the third time in five years. the Western Conference finals four times and the Stanley Cup Final once. Seeing Patrick Marleau finally hoist Lord Stanley might mean as much to the Sharks’ fan base as it would to Pittsburgh’s. To boot, a Penguins Pavelski has just as good a chance to go deep into the playoffs again this victory would mean the conditional 2021 third-round draft pick the Sharks season. Led by goalie Ben Bishop, the Stars are one of the stingiest received in the Marleau deal in February would become a 2021 second teams in the league, and were one goal away from beating St. Louis last rounder. season and advancing to the conference finals.
With that in mind, we’re handicapping the chances former members of Can Pavelski help them get over the hump? Even though he is coming the Sharks’ organization have to win it all in this year when the off a regular season in which he scored just 14 times in 67 games, his unprecedented 24-team postseason begins Saturday. playoff history speaks for itself. His 48 playoff goals since 2007 is tied with former teammate Logan Couture for fifth-most in the NHL over that Let’s start with those with the longest odds, working our way to the time. Odds to win Cup: 10/1. favorites. Brenden Dillon, Washington Capitals: Dillon figures to play a significant Ryan Carpenter, Chicago Blackhawks: It looks like Carpenter will be on role for the Capitals in the postseason, as he’ll likely average about 20 the Blackhawks’ fourth line for the start of their series with the Edmonton minutes of ice time per game. With Dillon in the mix, it looks like the Oilers. He might need to learn how to be a goalie considering the Capitals have the necessary pieces to win their second Cup in three questions the Blackhawks have in net. Odds of winning the Cup: 100/1. years. Odds to win Cup: 4/1. Jason Demers, Arizona Coyotes: Will former GM John Chayka get his Pete DeBoer and Steve Spott, coaches, Vegas Golden Knights: name on the Cup if Demers, with the Sharks for five-plus seasons, and DeBoer’s new team seems ready for another deep run. The Golden the Coyotes win it all? We’re guessing it won’t be a question owner Alex Knights went 15-5-2 after DeBoer replaced Gerard Gallant on Jan. 15, Meruelo will have to answer. Odds to win Cup: 80/1. good enough to charge into first place in the Pacific Division and a spot in Mike Hoffman, Florida Panthers: Hey, we said we’d include as many the round of 16. DeBoer has already taken two teams to the Cup final. If people as possible. Hoffman was a Shark for about three hours on June the Golden Knights stay healthy, they could be the third. Odds to win 19, 2018, as Doug Wilson acquired him from Ottawa for Mikkel Boedker Cup: 5/2. before he sent him to Florida for draft picks. Hoffman’s stay in the Barclay Goodrow, Tampa Bay Lightning: Sharks fans have some reason Toronto bubble will last a little longer, but not much. Odds to win Cup: to want to see the Lightning flame out early in the playoffs for the second 50/1. straight year. After all, an earlier exit by Tampa Bay means a higher first- James Reimer, Carolina Hurricanes: Will Reimer be the Hurricanes’ round selection for the Sharks, who acquired that pick when they dealt starting goalie for Game 1 of their series with the Rangers? Will Petr Goodrow in February. It probably won’t happen. We’re guessing the Mrazek? Will David Ayers? Will it matter? Odds to win Cup: 30/1. Lightning learn from last season’s issues and win the Eastern Conference. Odds to win Cup: 2/1. Gus Nyquist, Columbus Blue Jackets: Nyquist was a steady contributor for the Sharks last year after he was acquired at the trade deadline. He’s OTHERS WITH SHARKS’ TIES TO WATCH played the same way for the Blue Jackets, who are healthy again and Thomas Greiss, New York Islanders: Odds to win Cup — 75/1. could make some noise this postseason. Odds to win Cup: 25/1. Alex Stalock and Dean Evason, Minnesota Wild: Odds to win Cup — For complete Sharks coverage 75/1. Dylan DeMelo, Winnipeg Jets: DeMelo will start the playoffs on the Jets’ Colin Blackwell, Nick Bonino and Troy Grosenick, Nashville Predators: top defense pair with Josh Morrissey. With Connor Hellebuyck in net and Odds to win Cup — 50/1. a healthy lineup, Winnipeg could surprise and go on a deep run. All of it should help DeMelo, a pending UFA, get a nice contract in the offseason. Buddy Robinson, Calgary Flames: Odds to win Cup — 40/1. Odds to win Cup: 20/1. Manny Malholtra, assistant coach, Vancouver Canucks: Odds to win Cup Best of luck to you Patty. #SJSharks fans are rooting for you. — 40/1. pic.twitter.com/bBOStn7Nrb Charlie Coyle and Sean Kuraly, Boston Bruins: Odds to win Cup — 5/1. — SHARK CITY (@WeAreSharkCity) July 28, 2020 San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 07.30.2020 Patrick Marleau and Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins: Marleau, in his 22nd NHL season, just wanted to have a shot at capturing his first Stanley Cup when he agreed to be traded to the Penguins on Feb. 24. He’s got it now with a team that has both the necessary star power and pedigree to win it all. 1176864 St Louis Blues “One’s a bad break, the other one we got caught coming in the zone on an entry play and didn’t cover the middle of the ice good enough and they scored,” Berube said.
Blues back in action with warmup game in Edmonton The latter was a reference to Kubalik’s first goal, which came after Sammy Blais was sent off for interference four minutes into the third. It was a textbook tic-tac-toe play with Kirby Dach sending the puck down low to Kane, who popped it back to Kubalik streaming down the slot. Jim Thomas As indicated Tuesday by Berube, Binnington went two periods, stopping
11 of 13 shots before Allen took over in the third. EDMONTON, Alberta — The Blues looked like a team that hadn’t played “Binner was fine,” Berube said. “He made some nice saves in the first in 141 days Wednesday evening at Rogers Place. The Chicago period there. I thought that he played the puck extremely well, got out on Blackhawks did not. pucks and stopped them behind the net early in the game which is The result was a 4-0 exhibition loss by St. Louis, as the NHL’s return-to- important.” play plan during the coronavirus pandemic became a reality for the The Blues started with the line of Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn and defending Stanley Cup champions. Vladimir Tarasenko, marking Tarasenko’s first action since Oct. 24 Speaking of reality, the Blues have a lot of work to do on offense, against the Los Angeles Kings when he sustained a left shoulder injury defense and special teams before beginning round-robin play Sunday that required surgery. against the Colorado Avalanche. With that in mind, exhibition game or But they were missing defenseman Vince Dunn, who has practiced only not, maybe it was a good thing no Blues fans were in the stands to twice since July 14 after apparently testing positive for COVID-19. And a witness things firsthand. surprise scratch was veteran Alexander Steen, who missed some “That’s why you play an exhibition game, right?” captain Alex Pietrangelo practice time in St. Louis during Phase 3 (training camp) doing rehab said. “You can’t prepare for a game unless you play a game. We play work according to Berube, but had been practicing in Edmonton. against each other (in practice) but that really doesn’t do a whole lot. So all in all, in the Blues’ first July game in franchise history, it certainly “Obviously we’re not happy with the result. You want to win the game. looked like they were playing summer hockey. It was a night to forget, but But it’s something to work off of.” considering what lies ahead — real hockey, postseason hockey — it’s easily forgettable. On offense the Blues had a modest 21 shots on goal, and little in the way of what you’d call high-danger chances. Coach Craig Berube and Ryan Even so, with a lot of talk in camp about ramping up for playoffs, it’s O’Reilly both mentioned the condition of the ice, which led to some clearly time to ramp up. Quickly. bouncing pucks. “Obviously nothing’s going to be perfect for us right away,” O’Reilly said. (It was 83 degrees Wednesday, pretty warm for these parts.) “But there’s lessons to take out of it. It’s a good wakeup for us to go into Sunday.” “You could tell the puck was bouncing quite a bit and we weren’t clean,” O’Reilly said. “When it’s like that you really have to take care of it and not The Avalanche won their exhibition game 3-2 over Minnesota in a game (have) turnovers. We had way too many turnovers. that preceded the Blues and Blackhawks at Rogers Place.
Berube thought the Blues got too cute at times with puck, and need to St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 07.30.2020 get back to their hallmark simple style of direct hockey.
On defense, they gave up a pair of even-strength goals 92 seconds apart in the second period in what had been a scoreless game.
“We let a couple backdoor plays happen, which shouldn’t have happened,” Berube said.
On the first goal, Jonathan Toews came from behind the net and zipped a pass through traffic backdoor to Brandon Saad, who flipped a shot off Jordan Binnington’s blocker and into the net at the 7-minute, 40-second mark.
That goal went from Binnington’s right to his left. The second score went left to right on the Blues goalie, with a similar-looking precise pass from Patrick Kane to Dylan Strome — who got behind Pietrangelo for a tip-in goal that went top shelf.
On the play, Carl Gunnarsson and Mackenzie MacEachern had chances to clear the puck but failed to do so. It was Gunnarsson who was officially credited with the giveaway.
On special teams, the Blues’ power play unit — which finished third in the NHL during the regular season — went 0-for-4.
“PP’s got to shoot a little bit more,” Berube said.
The Blues put only two shots on goal over those four power plays.
Meanwhile, the penalty kill unit gave up a pair of third-period goals both scored with Jake Allen in goal by rookie Dominik Kubalik, a Calder Trophy finalist after scoring 30 goals in 68 regular-season games.
“That’s a good power play over there,” O’Reilly said. “They moved it well. Just some little tweaks (are needed). I think they had a couple good bounces that they were able to score on. I don’t think there’s any panic there, we’re gonna be fine.”
Actually, the Blackhawks finished 28th on the power play but they do put out some talented personnel with the man advantage in the form of Toews, Kane and Kubalik. 1176865 St Louis Blues seem to faze him with their potency. It was as if Tarasenko woke up the smelling salts. The image was a gift to fans, who made it a Twitter GIF.
“I thought he did a great job and as the game went on,” Blues captain Blues' Tarasenko returns to game action, looms over round-robin foes Alex Pietrangelo said. “I think you can see he got comfortable, made a couple good plays on the power play. I’m sure he was nervous — when you go that long without playing, whether it’s a preseason game or not, it’s tough. But you can see he can still shoot the puck. Like the rest of us, Benjamin Hochman but especially him, as he plays he’s going to keep getting better. He’s kind of an X-factor here that we haven’t had all year that can really draw some attention.” Vladimir Tarasenko passed the blue line, passed to a Blues’ linemate and disappeared. Opponents know they’ll have to account for this X-factor — but that’s easier said than done, considering he’s at his best when defenses can’t I mean, he still was right there, you totally could see him — but to the mark or spot the X-factor. Chicago defensemen Wednesday night, he was gone. While Jaden Schwartz controlled the puck in the lower right corner of the rink, “You have a lot of respect for him,” Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. “He Tarasenko lurked in a crevice of the Blackhawks’ defense — out of sight, makes them a deeper, better hockey club — there’s no question.” playing with their minds. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 07.30.2020 As one defenseman committed to Schwartz, Tarasenko slipped behind the other. And suddenly, an unencumbered Tarasenko received a Schwartz pass right on the right dot. He ripped a wrist shot. Goalie saved it. But that play wasn’t as much about the result as the execution — Tarasenko is back, doing Tarasenko things.
Yes, in the course of Wednesday’s exhibition game in Edmonton, Alberta, he showed some rust and some reticence to get smacked by an opponent. But overall, the reports of his on-ice rapport were sure encouraging.
“It’s good to see him back out there — his presence on the ice is just a threat automatically,” teammate Ryan O’Reilly said of No. 91, who played his first game since the Blues’ 10th game of this season, one eon ago. “With him, you know he’s only going to get better and more comfortable.”
The overall play in the exhibition deserved an expletive. The Blues lost 4- 0 and made terrible turnovers and took terrible penalties on what sure looked like a terrible sheet of ice — choppy as the Blues were sloppy.
But you can’t get too high on an exhibition win (Chicago) and you definitely can’t get to low on an exhibition loss. The Blues will be OK. And the bigger story simply was that their star player played. Back from shoulder surgery, Tarasenko got off four shots in 15:07 of ice time, reuniting with Schwartz and Brayden Schenn on the first line, while finding a new home on the second power-play unit.
Though, maybe after Wednesday’s showing by the first power-play group, Tarasenko will be wedged onto there.
Still, that top unit was third-best in hockey during the season, so if No. 91 stays with the second unit, look for him to lock up with Robert Thomas for some scoring chances — starting Sunday in the round-robin game against Colorado that counts.
And that’s the thing — just as Tarasenko lurks on ice, he looms over the Blues’ opponents in Edmonton. After all, we saw him emerge in many big games a postseason ago.
“When I think about him, I just think about his shot — I think he’s one of the handful of guys in the NHL that if he has the puck on his stick anywhere inside the blue line, he can score,” said Vegas coach Peter DeBoer, the former Sharks coach, whose Golden Knights play the Blues on Aug. 6. “That’s first and foremost when I think of him. We have a guy like that in (Max) Pacioretty. I’ve coached against him in San Jose over the last 4-5 years in some big playoff games, especially last year, and he scored a couple of big goals for them.”
After the Colorado and Vegas games, the Blues’ final round-robin matchup is against Dallas. The Russian could face a fellow countryman Anton Khudobin between the pipes.
“His wrister is really quick and really hard, and he can hit the spot really quick” Khudobin said Wednesday. “And sometimes, you just can’t read him, where he’s going to shoot. He’s fast and he’s so thick, too — like, guys are talking about when they battle him, it’s crazy how strong he is.”
During Wednesday’s game, there were numerous reassuring glimpses of Tarasenko: his body control as he skated with the puck at defenseman Matthew Highmore, only to swoop his body away to create space for a pass; his unreluctance to shoot; his sprouted beard, ready for the playoffs; some of his puck battles behind the net; and the funny moment the camera caught him on the bench with smelling salts, which didn’t 1176866 St Louis Blues including 1:47 on the penalty kill, took no shots and had two hits. He played one shift in the third period.
Casual dress codeFor a preseason game in a bubble, the Blues Blues find playing in an empty arena is a different experience coaching staff passed on their usual suits and ties and instead wore dark gray zippered jackets with a Blues logo over a dark polo shirt while on the bench.
Tom Timmermann “It’s a different style, playoff tournament style here,” Berube said. “We thought it’d be something that we wanted to do. The players, it’s a pretty
casual dress code, and we decided we’ll go with these coats and see The Blues’ 4-0 loss to Chicago in their pre-postseason game served the how it goes.” valuable role of showing them what playoff hockey in 2020 will look like. BluenotesVince Dunn, as expected, didn’t suit up for the game. Dunn has And the answer, as you might have expected, is that it’s like nothing had three days of practice with the team since returning from a 10-day they’ve ever seen before. There were no fans in the stands, covered absence. … With Steen sitting out, O’Reilly wore the second A as seats and large video boards. A very, very different world. This game assistant captain. He’s worn it a lot this season because of all the time wasn’t just about playing an opponent, but about learning the intricacies Vladimir Tarasenko missed. of a new home where the Blues will play at least seven more games. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 07.30.2020 “It was tough to adjust to, but that’s why you play this game, to kind of get used to it,” Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo said. “We haven’t even been in this rink, so this is the first time we got to see what it’s like.
“It was certainly a lot more different than I thought it was going to be, but as you play, you’ll adjust and get used to it.”
The Blues’ two practice sessions since they got to Edmonton were 25 minutes away at the Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre. That’s where most of their practices are at the start of the tournament.
“Not having the fans, especially the stoppages in play and TV timeouts, it’s weird,” center Ryan O’Reilly said. “You can kind of hear every little thing and even on the ice, with no fans, the communication you could hear a lot clearer, which was just different.
“It’s a very unique. It was different coming out and the whole preparation of it and having our first look at this building and what it’s going to be like. I think we’ll be a lot more comfortable coming into the next game.”
Another thing that all the teams are going to have to adapt to are the ice conditions. One of the concerns has been how well the ice will hold up on a rink where sometimes there are three games being played on one day at the hottest time of the year. The Blues-Blackhawks game was the second of three on Wednesday at Rogers Place.
The puck was bouncing a lot on the ice. This could be a situation that goes on through the early stages of the tournament, when there will be the most games.
“It could be, for sure,” coach Craig Berube said. “I would think it would be. You’ve got to definitely pay attention to that, play a simpler style of hockey. I think we were getting a little too cute today at times, the puck wasn’t sitting flat and our execution wasn’t very good.”
“You could tell the puck was bouncing quite a bit,” O’Reilly said, “and we weren’t clean. When it’s like that, you really have to take care of it and not (cause) turnovers.”
Steen sits outAlexander Steen, who missed three days of practice last week while Berube said he was rehabbing an injury, was not in the lineup.
Steen practiced in St. Louis on Saturday and Berube said he had practiced on Monday and Tuesday in Edmonton. (Practices are closed within the bubble.) It’s unclear what may be wrong with Steen. He missed 16 games in November and December with a high ankle sprain. Berube said his absence was connected to the days he missed earlier but wasn’t serious. “He’s fine,” Berube said.
The Blues have been looking at Mackenzie MacEachern in camp on the fourth line, getting ready for when Ivan Barbashev is expected to leave the team for the birth of his first child. With Steen out, Berube had the easy move of playing Barbashev and MacEachern on the fourth line along with Oskar Sundqvist.
Bonus playersTeams were allowed to use two extra skaters for their preseason game, the only one the teams will have before they begin play for real this weekend.
The Blues used Troy Brouwer, who last played on Feb. 6., as their extra forward and Niko Mikkola as their extra defenseman. Brouwer played 7:48 and had one shot attempt, which was blocked. Mikkola played 7:31, 1176867 St Louis Blues St. Louis sometime in early August for the birth of a child? Or does he go with Barbashev?)
BLUENOTES Even during a pandemic, Blues-Blackhawks always a treat The Blues, and every team, are allowed to dress 22 players instead of the usual 20. The guess here is that Barbashev will be the 13th forward. And Niko Mikkola will be a seventh defenseman as Vince Dunn works his Jim Thomas way back into game shape after missing nearly two weeks of practice.
Only the Blues’ extras skated Wednesday morning at the Terwilliger Recreation Centre. Because of the early start time tonight, the “game” EDMONTON, Alberta — It’s only an exhibition game. And it’s the end of group had the morning off. July. But for the hockey fans of St. Louis, Blues-Blackhawks is always a treat. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 07.30.2020 And after 141 days without a hockey game, that’s who the Blues play tonight in a 5:30 p.m. (Central) start against Chicago at Rogers Place. The game will be televised on FSM Plus.
“It’s not difficult for us to get up for those games,” captain Alex Pietrangelo said. “We know the rivalry of Chicago, so it should be a fun one. . . .But I don’t know, nowadays we’ve played a lot of teams in the playoffs. It seems like we have a rivalry against a lot of teams.”
In a savvy move, the NHL has tried to pair up natural rivals in these exhibition games. Tuesday, for example, Pittsburgh played Philadelphia, Toronto faced Montreal, and the Battle of Alberta was renewed with Calgary against Edmonton.
“It’s gonna be weird playing them not (in St. Louis) or in Chicago,” defenseman Carl Gunnarsson said. “We know those guys; they know us. It’s a good rivalry. But then again, we just gotta focus on us and build our game and get ready for what’s coming.”
The Blues swept the Blackhawks during the regular season, a first in franchise history. But it took some doing in a couple of the games. A brief refresher:
Dec. 2 in Chicago: With Jake Allen in goal, the Blues won 4-0 to push their road points streak to 10 games (8-0-2).
Dec. 14 in St. Louis: Down by three goals in the third period, Justin Faulk scored the game winner in a 4-3 Blues triumph.
Feb. 25 in St. Louis: In another memorable comeback, two third-period goals by Zach Sanford helped the Blues overcome deficits of 3-1 and 5-4 in a 6-5 victory.
March 8 in Chicago: Allen registered another shutout and Pietrangelo and Robert Bortuzzo provided the goals in a 2-0 win.
PROJECTED LINES
(An educated guess here, with practices closed to the media because of the coronavirus pandemic.)
Forwards
Blues roster, salaries and player profiles
NHL live odds and latest line
Updated: NHL scores and schedule
Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko
Sanford-O’Reilly-Perron
Blais-Thomas-Bozak
MacEachern-Sundqvist-Steen
Defensemen
Gunnarsson-Pietrangelo
Scandella-Parayko
Bortuzzo-Faulk
Goalies
Binnington, Allen
(Coach Craig Berube said Tuesday he planned to use both goalies, with Binnington likely to get two periods of work and Allen one.
In terms of the forward lines, the fourth line is the murkiest. Will Berube go with MacEachern, who’ll be needed when Ivan Barbashev returns to 1176868 St Louis Blues
How to find Cardinals and Blues telecasts on Wednesday night
Dan Caesar
Because Fox Sports Midwest has two games on its Wednesday schedule that will be played simultaneously, it will show the regular-season contest on its main channel and an exhibition affair on its secondary outlet.
The Cardinals' game in Minnesota, their fourth contest of the season, is to appear on FSM's primary channel. It is to start at 7:10 p.m. The Blues' exhibition contest, against Chicago in Edmonton, Alberta, is set for FSM Plus. That's where it airs spillover and ancillary programming. It is set for 5:30 p.m.
FSM Plus channels:
AT&T U-verse: 747, 1747.
DirecTV: 671-1.
Spectrum (Charter): 75, 213 or 826;
Cable America: 22.
2020 Cardinals roster, salaries and player profiles
2020 Cardinals schedule
MLB live odds and latest line
Fidelity (Sullivan, Mo.): 72, 472.
Grafton Technologies (Jerseyville): 78, 789.
Highland (Ill.) Communications: 51, 551.
HomeTel (Madison, Ill.): 1196.
Madison Communications (Macoupin, Ill.): 26.
Vast Broadband (formerly New Wave) — Carlinville, Greenville, Jerseyville, Litchfield, Sparta, Taylorville, Ill.: 80, 208.
Wabash Communications (Salem, Ill.): 97.
On radio, KMOX (1120 AM) has the ballgame and WXOX (101.1 FM) has the hockey game.
St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176869 Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.30.2020
Lightning’s Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov off to a good start
Diana C. Nearhos Lightning Reporter
Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov are a dangerous pair, no matter who plays on the other wing. They’ve played together for two years and not even a four-month pause tripped them up.
Point and Kucherov led the way as the Lightning put on a clinic, dominating Florida in Wednesday’s 5-0 exhibition win. They scored two goals apiece and assisted each other on three of those.
They’re a mutual admiration society, each stressing how easy the other is to play with.
“It’s support on the ice and the little plays we make,” Kucherov said, referring to Point as a smart player. “It’s going to help us.”
Last week, during training camp, Point said he always knows Kucherov can find him on the ice.
Wednesday’s fifth goal didn’t carry a lot of significance for the game — it had already been decided and it was exhibition — but it was the most Point-Kucherov of the bunch.
The pair streaked down the wing, Kucherov slipping the puck to Point just before they entered the zone. Point used his speed to turn a two-on-two into a two-on-one. Defenseman Brady Keeper couldn’t commit to playing Kucherov, and was stuck in the middle.
Point passed to Kucherov, at this point almost past the far post, where he had a wide-open angle behind goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
What’s a goalie to do in that situation? Bobrovsky all but shut down the pair when he was a Blue Jacket in last year’s playoffs, but only stopped one of Point’s three shots and two of Kucherov’s four on Wednesday.
Steven Stamkos will probably return to Point’s left wing once he is able to play. But Ondrej Palat is hardly new to that spot and was a more-than- adequate stand-in on Wednesday.
Coach Jon Cooper pointed to the trio’s chemistry as one of the things he liked out of Wednesday’s game.
On the game’s first goal, Kucherov battled to steal the puck behind the goal line and batted it out toward the slot. Palat corralled the bouncing puck and slid it over to Point, who scored with a slick backhand.
They picked up right where they left off in March.
“Just doing drills in practice that simulate game stuff definitely helps,” Point said about getting the chemistry back quickly. “It feels more like a game (now) and getting in those situations, you start to feel a little bit more normal.”
They might be better than they were in March. Point looks healthier than he did in the regular season, and Kucherov looks refreshed.
Point had hip surgery in the offseason and missed the first three games of the season. He was fully recovered but not completely back to form. Four months off, plus time in the weight room and on a bike, has made a clear difference for Point.
He looks more like the player who caught the league’s attention last year than he did all regular season.
Kucherov didn’t have the standout numbers this year that he did in his previous, historic season. Overall, he had a good regular season, but there were times when he didn’t seem completely engaged — Kucherov was benched for a period in December, for not focusing on defense.
That forecheck to create a turnover before the Panthers could even get the puck out from behind their goal line screams focus.
The Lightning has depth but also need their stars for a successful playoff run. The trio of Point, Stamkos and Kucherov were all but absent for much of last year’s first-round sweep. The team is still waiting for Stamkos to recover from his leg injury, but Point and Kucherov set a good tone for themselves in this first outing. 1176870 Tampa Bay Lightning silence. A round of stick taps from both benches were the only applause once refs broke it up.
The setting No fans, no problem. At least in the Lightning’s exhibition game Scotiabank Arena is dressed up for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The NHL has draped seat covers over the 100-level seating bowl. Above Lindsay Eastwood the seat covers are digital screens and light fixtures blocking out the top half of the arena. During the national anthems, the screens showed a waving flag that matched the anthem being played.
TORONTO — Without the roar of the crowd, fans watching at home and When Wednesday’s game started, these digital screens switched to the the few people in the empty arena might be left asking, “Did he just teams’ logos and colors. The screen in the middle showed the NHL logo. score?” The screens essentially acted as crowd filler, in order to make the arena look more interesting and less empty. Music blares to make up for the When Brayden Point opened scoring during the Lightning’s 5-0 exhibition lack of crowd noise. win over Florida on Wednesday, there was no fake crowd noise, just a delayed goal horn and music. After each of the five goals a little “woo” Staff writer Mari Faiello contributed to this report. came from the bench. The rest of the arena? Crickets. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 Playoff hockey at the end of July, in an empty Scotiabank Arena, felt and looked as weird as it sounds. At least to viewers.
Lightning players and coaches said the lack of fans blended into the background once the game started. “To be honest, you don’t even notice that there’s no fans; it’s crazy,” coach Jon Cooper said.
Center Brayden Point agreed: “On the ice didn’t feel different. You forget that you are in an empty building.”
When the puck flew into the stands, players on both teams reflexively yelled “Heads!,” calling for fans to be alert and not get hit.
“We’re like, ‘Who are we yelling that for,’ because I don’t think the LED lights care too much,” Cooper said.
This is good news for fans who were worried about the players’ performances being affected by the empty arenas. Playoff hockey intensity shall remain, even in a bubble.
Chatter
If officials were worried about not having help from the crowd when making calls, or the players not knowing when to shoot, no worries.
In the first minute and a half, Florida sent the puck down for an icing and left wing Alex Killorn — along with the rest of the Lightning bench — made the officials aware.
When the Panthers’ Mark Pysyk was on the half boards in the defensive zone going to pick up a pass on the breakout, Riley Stillman shouted “heads up!” Pysyk was able to avoid a hit from fellow defenseman Luke Schenn.
Panthers left wing Mike Hoffman also got some help from the bench as he and Lightning center Anthony Cirelli raced for the puck, “One coming, Hoff!,” came the shout from the bench.
Occasionally there was a whistle from the Lightning bench. Coaches called the players for a change, more specifically on the power play.
Quote of the day
“I know there’s a lot of fans that wish they could be there in person, but for us to have that glass with all of those signed names, it’s kind of symbolic of the fans being there, being part of this journey with us.”
Killorn, on the piece of glass from Amalie Arena, signed by around 350 Lightning fans, that accompanied the team to Toronto. It was installed Wednesday morning inside the arena.
Arena acoustics
The sound of skates cutting into the ice has never sounded so crisp. You can nearly hear every stride and stop. The same goes for the puck bouncing off the players’ sticks and boards. Although the sounds of the game echo throughout the building, the best stuff — the trash talk — still isn’t audible. The quick and obvious phrases such as, “Yeah, here,” “skate” or “man on” can be heard all the way up to the 300 level.
Rough and rowdy
Tension and aggression were not lacking, though the atmosphere suffered a bit during brawls. When defensemen Erik Cernak and Josh Brown dropped gloves, it felt like a street fight without the crowd there to hype it up. The remaining players on the ice stood around watching in 1176871 Tampa Bay Lightning
Three things we learned watching the Capitals’ exhibition game
Mari Faiello Sports Trending and Outdoors Reporter
The Lightning and Capitals will face off in their first round-robin game Monday at 4 p.m. at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Both teams won their Wednesday exhibition games, with the Lightning defeating the Panthers 5-0 and the Capitals defeating the Hurricanes 3-2.
Here are three things we learned about the Capitals from their first game back since the pause.
Special teams will play a role
Against Carolina, the Capitals went 1-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
Like the Lightning (which went 1-for-3), Washington saw little success on its power-play. However, both teams saw greater success on the penalty kill (the Lightning went 4-for-4).
Tampa Bay’s top power-play unit likely will be missing Steven Stamkos against the Capitals, but Alex Ovechkin will be a mainstay on Washington’s No. 1 power play.
In addition to Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Dmitry Orlov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jakub Vrana and John Carlson made appearances on the Capitals’ power-play units.
Without Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman Wednesday, the Lightning experimented more with their special-teams lineups. Tyler Johnson and Mikhail Sergachev took their places on the top power-play unit, joining Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point.
Similar to the Lightning’s contest against Florida, the Capitals had to fight off a 5-on-3 power play. Washington, however, allowed Carolina to score, where the Lightning killed off both penalties.
Ovechkin is still very much Ovechkin
It's been a while since we've seen @ovi8 score from his office. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/k2cw6NXiFL
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) July 29, 2020
Even after a four-month pause, Ovechkin is still the same player everyone has always known him to be.
The Capitals’ captain scored two goals against Carolina. His first was Washington’s sole power-play goal, from his office inside the left faceoff circle. His second, from the same spot, gave the Caps a 3-1 lead.
In May, Ovechkin, who had 48 goals and 19 assists during the regular season, tied Boston’s David Pastrnak for the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s top scorers.
Physicality won’t be an issue
Four months of pent-up energy apparently can create a lot of commotion when players return to the ice for the first time.
Wednesday’s matchup between Carolina and Washington was no exception, as the Capitals delivered 24 hits.
The Lightning had their own physical game against the Panthers, registering 28 hits. Erik Cernak got into a scrum with Florida’s Josh Brown, and Mikhail Sergachev dropped the gloves against former Lightning center Brian Boyle.
It wasn’t the first time either of those players got into it with the opposition. Cernak took on Washington’s Tom Wilson earlier in the season — losing a tooth in the process — and Sergachev went up against Montreal’s Shea Weber in March.
While Washington’s game didn’t have scrums like the Lightning’s, the matchup against the team that knocked the Capitals out of the 2019 playoffs was physical, nonetheless.
Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176872 Tampa Bay Lightning Ahead of the Flyers-Penguins matchup, the screens were shown with the American flag waving during the national anthem.
The screens were shown at the beginning of each period, showcasing NHL’s broadcast offers fans a different viewing experience in playoffs the teams’ primary logos and the NHL logo, too. But other than that, and a few occasional shots here and there, the digital screens weren’t all too noticeable during game play.
Mari Faiello Sports Trending and Outdoors Reporter The screens are much more noticeable in the NBA, where court-level cameras typically include the screens in the camera shot.
Streaming experience It didn’t look like playoff hockey and it didn’t sound like playoff hockey, but that had nothing to do with how the players competed on the ice. I watched the Flyers-Penguins game on NHL.tv. Overall, I would say the streaming experience was an enjoyable one. Typically, I watch the On the day of hockey’s return, the NHL gave viewers a different games on NBCSN or Fox Sports, but I thought I’d give the streaming broadcast experience, one they will see for the weeks to come. service a try on Tuesday night. The NHL’s postseason debut featured three exhibition games between I liked being able to rewind in 10-second increments and rewatch pivotal the Penguins-Flyers, Leafs-Canadiens and Flames-Oilers on Tuesday moments in the game (goal-scoring was a red dot and notable saved night. shots were gray dots). The Lightning will take on the Florida Panthers at noon today at The box score was featured at the bottom of the stream with a scoring Scotiabank Arena, and Tuesday’s games gave a good indication of what summary off to the left featuring each player’s goal time, who assisted that broadcast may look like. the goals and a “play” button to rewatch the clip of the goal. Here were some of the things I noticed watching the Penguins-Flyers If you’re looking for something different — because at this point in 2020, broadcast Tuesday night: why not? — I recommend this route. Clean but cold look to arena with seat covers How to watch Lightning-Panthers While baseball is using cardboard cutouts to fill major-league stadiums Fans can watch the Lightning-Panthers at noon on Fox Sports Sun, the around the country, the NHL went with a complete no-fans look in both NHL Network and NHL.tv. Those who cannot watch can listen in on Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Place. 1250-AM WHNZ. The NHL draped gray-blue covers over the seating bowls in both arenas. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 It provided a clean look to Scotiabank Arena, but was also a grim reminder that there aren’t any fans watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs in- person this year. The rink looked colder and more sterile because of it.
Piped in fan sounds, songs
When Pittsburgh’s Conor Sheary notched the opening goal in the Penguins exhibition matchup against the Flyers, the goal horn didn’t sound but “fans erupted” after the puck hit the back of the net.
The NHL used piped-in cheers for the goals scored Tuesday. And yes, Jump Around blared as the players skated toward the bench.
“Fans” groaned after a close shot and “jeered” when officials called a penalty or blew their whistle for a stoppage of play.
Without the fans, it’s possible it was difficult for players to know when they should shoot — especially on the power play — or for the officials to know they made a poor call.
Per sources: For the first time in Flyers history, no one yelled "shoot" from the crowd during our power play.
— x-Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) July 28, 2020
Overall, it was hard to tell just how loud the sounds of the game were over the play-by-play broadcast. The rink mics sounded normal but the fan sounds were harder to determine.
Viewers finally heard the goal horn sound at the end of the game. An overtime goal from Philadelphia’s Scott Laughton warranted it.
Chit-chat on the ice
Sheary commented during his player interview in-between periods that the silence in Scotiabank Arena was strange, but he liked how the players could hear each other and communicate better with the fans’ absence.
Aside from that, the microphones around the rink picked up on the natural sounds of the game such as the sound of metal on ice, players checking into the boards and sticks clacking against each other.
Talking on the ice wasn’t as loud or noticeable than it would be at a live game and I couldn’t hear the coaches, either.
What mega screens?
Although the mega video screens added a nice aesthetic for wide shots of the arena, it didn't do much for the in-game experience. 1176873 Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning’s fan-signed glass installed in Scotiabank Arena
Mari Faiello Sports Trending and Outdoors Reporter
When coach Jon Cooper sees the piece of glass from Amalie Arena signed by hundreds of Lightning fans, he immediately thinks about all of the games that fans watch through that very glass back home in Tampa.
“It’s so cool and so symbolic when you think about it,” Cooper said.
The glass from Amalie Arena was installed at 10 a.m. Wednesday inside of Scotiabank Arena for Tampa Bay’s exhibition game against the Florida Panthers.
The Lightning's fan-signed glass was installed in Scotiabank Arena for the Wednesday exhibition game against the Panthers. Fans signed the glass Friday and Saturday before it flew with the team to Toronto. [ Tampa Bay Lightning ]
“I think it’s great to have the glass with us in Toronto,” Alex Killorn said. “I know there’s a lot of fans that wish they could be there in person, but for us to have that glass with all of those signed names, it’s kind of symbolic of the fans being there, being part of this journey with us.”
It's difficult to see on the #TBLightning-#FlaPanthers broadcast, but I'm pretty sure that's the fan-signed panel if you look behind McDonagh.
(Screen Grabs from Fox Sports Sun broadcast) https://t.co/ZQ2zgD9bSR pic.twitter.com/MtOJOJQcPZ
— 홼횊횛횒 홵횊횒횎횕횕횘 (wears a mask) (@faiello_mari) July 29, 2020
About 350 fans came out over a two-day span to sign the glass at Amalie Arena last weekend. The glass is a part of the Lightning’s Distant Thunder campaign for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The organization hoped the glass would be symbolic during the coronavirus pandemic and a reminder of how glass has played a role in hockey for much longer.
“One of the things that we looked at, when you think about it was, the NHL really is the only sport that has this glass partition protection, but it’s the new normal. It’s everywhere now,” said Eryn McVerry, senior vice president of content and brand strategy for the Lightning. “It’s something we’re all familiar with right now.”
Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176874 Tampa Bay Lightning Cooper to play Stamkos with Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli on line No. 2?
Just listen to why Kucherov thinks Palat is a good fit with them. Why Brayden Point looked like he was ‘shot out like a rocket’ Wednesday “He goes into the corner and gets the puck for us,” Kucherov said. “He works in front, and that’s huge for us because none of us plays in the middle like that. We play to the outside and create. He’s the guy that By Joe Smith Jul 29, 2020 competes so hard and gets the puck for us.”
The forward lines:
When Lightning coach Jon Cooper was asked what he was most pleased Palat-Point-Kucherov about during Wednesday’s 5-0 exhibition win over the Panthers, it was tough for him to pick. Killorn-Cirelli-Johnson
“Lots of things, to be honest,” Cooper said. Coleman-Gourde-Goodrow
There was the dominant top line of Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Maroon-Stephens-Paquette Nikita Kucherov combining for four goals and 10 points. There was goalie Defensive pairs: Andrei Vasilevskiy racking up 26 saves in a shutout. The special teams were spotless, with a power-play goal and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. Sergachev-Shattenkirk
Yes, it was just an exhibition game, a matinee played in front of no fans McDonagh-Cernak at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. But for the first competitive game in five months — without Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman — it was a heck Rutta-Bogosian of a good start for The Athletic’s Cup favorite, with the Lightning putting Coburn-Schenn on a clinic. Special teams starting to click “Tampa had the puck pretty much the whole game,” Panthers forward Erik Haula said. The power play had been a work in progress throughout the two-week camp in Tampa, with part of the reason that the Lightning were trying to “We stood around watching all day long,” Panthers coach Joel adjust without Stamkos, whose office is in the left circle. Quenneville said. “And it wasn’t fun.” But even without Stamkos and Hedman, the top unit displayed the type There’s a lot to unpack after this one, the Lightning’s only exhibition of puck movement and spacing they need to be successful. Point was in before Monday’s first of three round-robin games. Here’s what jumped Stamkos’ spot, with Tyler Johnson added down low. Mikhail Sergachev out at us. seamlessly replaced Hedman up top, and you could sense the chemistry The Point-Kucherov connection he had with Kucherov on the power-play goal.
When I recorded a podcast with The Athletic colleague Craig Custance The power play goes through Kucherov in the right circle. He’s one of on Tuesday, I mentioned that Brayden Point may end up being one of the those players who likes to create and facilitate for others, and that best players in this entire postseason. He’s been that good. mentality started early as a youth when he was taught in Russia to make the right play — even if it was passing to an open teammate. But the Point, who had surgery on both hips last summer, said the four-month power play is at its best when Kucherov has a shoot-first mentality. pause gave him more time to work out like he couldn’t when he started Whether it’s Stamkos on the other side or Point, knowing Kucherov is a the season a little late. Cooper said just because Point was “fit to play” threat from that spot really opens things up. earlier in the season, it didn’t mean the hip wasn’t holding him back with scar tissue and such. “He tends to like to set guys up, there’s no question,” Cooper said. “You watch him and he’s extremely gifted at that, as well as his shooting. It just “I just think, coming off hip surgery, not being able to lift weights and adds another element to his repertoire. I just think it’s a big confidence skate as much as you want to in the summer, you’re not coming in as builder for him and the team when he’s shooting it.” fresh or as strong as you usually are,” Point said. “The time off gave me a chance to work out and train and get back to feeling good. Hopefully The penalty kill was 4-for-4 too, including killing off a five-on-three later in moving forward it helps my game” the game. The Lightning used their usual combos of Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn up top in one, with Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow, a Point, one of the game’s fastest players, has taken it to another level dynamic duo, in the second. They were aggressive up the ice, with Cirelli since camp started. creating a rush chance short-handed in the first period. And Vasilevskiy was stout when he needed to be. “He’s been shot out like a rocket,” Fox Sports Sun analyst Brian Engblom said. “You could hear the gears changing when he gets up the ice.” CIRELLI OUTWORKS HOFFMAN TO GET DOWN ICE AND NEARLY SETS UP A PAIR OF CHANCES PIC.TWITTER.COM/CY78MQR9YK His chemistry with Kucherov didn’t need much help. The two stars each have an elite hockey IQ and communicate constantly, on the ice and on — OMAR (@TICTACTOMAR) JULY 29, 2020 the bench, often watching their shifts on an iPad. Kucherov said he, Point and linemate Ondrej Palat back each other up a lot on the ice, support It may be just one exhibition, but those habits on the special teams can each other, and can make great reads. build.
Just take Point’s first goal on Wednesday, where Kucherov made a slick “I think it’s incredibly important,” Killorn said. “You don’t get a ton of reps steal behind the net, then found Palat out front with a quick behind-the- in the intrasquad games, and in the exhibition games there’s a lot of back pass. Point created some space in front for a backhand. different formations teams do. You’re trying to get as many reps as possible. The power play and PK are creators of momentum and if you “They’re just exceptional players that can make creative, skilled plays at start things well and things the right way, it’s much easier than trying to a high, high pace,” Cooper said. “They’ve had time to play together, it’s find a way out of it.” not like they were thrown together yesterday. They just have the ability to play at such a high pace with such skill, not too many guys can do that. Andrei Vasilevskiy was locked in Talking to the guys on the bench today, just National Hockey League Vasilevskiy, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, was as responsible as players now marveling at what they’re doing.” anyone for the Lightning’s turnaround during midseason, helping spark It’ll be interesting to see what Cooper does when Stamkos comes back. the team on winning streaks of 10 and 11 games. And while it was hard Stamkos completed his first two full practices with the team Monday and for him during the pause not to see pucks, Vasilevskiy said he felt good Tuesday since his recovery from core surgery. The team initially started from the time Phase 2 began. camp holding his spot on the top line with Point and Kucherov, but Palat On Wednesday, he looked like he was in regular-season form. really showed how effective he can be with those two. Maybe that allows Vasilevskiy made 26 saves, including three breakaway stops to preserve the shutout. He wasn’t challenged a ton, but when he was, Vasilevskiy — TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (@TBLIGHTNING) JULY 29, 2020 was on top of it. He looked in command in net, moved well in the crease and had good rebound control. Alex Killorn’s mustache
I asked Vasilevskiy afterward if the different big screens in the stands We thought we were done “observing” from the game but had to make and lighting had an impact on him at all. one more category to showcase the amazingness of Killorn’s facial hair.
“I felt good,” Vasilevskiy said. “All the screens, it didn’t really bother me. IT’S NOT QUITE AT THE LEVEL OF ROLLIE FINGERS, BUT ALEX Even like this year, all the fans, I don’t really (notice). I watch the puck all KILLORN HAS THE MUSTACHE FLOW GOING IN THE TORONTO the time. I don’t really watch the fans, right? Even with the new setup, BUBBLE. #BOLTS PIC.TWITTER.COM/DXZXYPMCKM screens and stuff, I watch the puck so it’s the same for me.” — BRYAN BURNS (@BBURNSNHL) JULY 29, 2020
Cooper said Vasilevskiy will play most of the time during the round-robin The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 schedule too — three games next week — with backup Curtis McElhinney likely getting some reps in later in the games. But so far, so good for the Russian goaltender.
The physicality
Considering this was an exhibition and — you know, and the whole social distance mindset we’ve had since March — it was a bit surprising that there was a fight in this game, with Mikhail Sergachev going toe-to-toe with former Lightning center Brian Boyle.
The two have a history, fighting during the Tampa Bay playoff series against the Devils two years ago, but it was interesting to see a little more physicality overall in this game than I thought.
The intensity and physicality will likely take a big jump starting in the round-robin games next week and build up. There was a good pace to this exhibition, though, with players trying to get their timing back. Sergachev stuck out to me in terms of using his body in his own zone, and he was also aggressive offensively.
Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, Sergachev’s partner, said he noticed a big step taken by the young Russian in November and December in learning how he could use that strength and hold his own with guys, not just in fights but in battles in front of the net. Sergachev certainly grew into a two-way force and it’s good timing with Sergachev being a restricted free agent this summer.
But Sergachev stood out Wednesday and if his camp is any indication, he’ll be playing large minutes during this postseason. A potential X- factor.
The atmosphere
It was hard to get a feel watching on the broadcast, but it was surreal to see the empty arena (cleverly covered by the NHL, with many added screens). Cooper mentioned on a between-periods interview with Fox Sports Sun that it felt like they were in a huge TV studio, but once the puck was dropped, they were all locked in like a regular game.
“To be honest, you didn’t even notice,” Cooper said of the empty seats. “There was one time the puck got shot over the glass hard. Reactionary, both teams will scream ‘Heads up!’ It’s just something that teams do knowing pucks are going into the stands and there’s a big crowd, so people can keep their heads up.
“It whipped up to the seats behind the bench and both teams yelled ‘Heads up!’ I’m like, ‘Who are they yelling at?’ I don’t think the LED lights were worried.”
When there’s actual playoff games, there will be more live mic’s on the broadcast, so you’ll hear the interesting and colorful exchanges between players and coaches. But the eerie silence helped when players tried to communicate with each other on the ice.
“The NHL has done a great job, and created an environment where it felt like we were in a hockey game,” Cooper said.
There was also a great touch from home. The Lightning continued their “Distant Thunder” campaign by having around 400 fans sign a pane of glass from Amalie Arena the past week, offering messages to the team. That glass was brought to Toronto with them and installed into the rink for Wednesday’s exhibition. The players remarked how much it meant to them, reminding them of who they were playing for back home.
Tampa Bay players signed a different piece of glass and it was given to a local Tampa hospital to use as a safety barrier for their front desk, a tribute to front-line workers.
MADE IT. #BETHEDISTANTTHUNDER PIC.TWITTER.COM/SLYNXAQLZZ 1176875 Tampa Bay Lightning “He was okay,” said Fox Sports Sun analyst Brian Engblom, a two-time Stanley Cup-winning defenseman. “He sometimes looked overwhelmed by the situation. He plays a tentative game. He’s got to be more aggressive. Play with more authority instead of covering bases. He got a Lightning camp showed Cal Foote is close to cracking Tampa’s roster little better, but was just not ready.”
Assistant coach Derek Lalonde spent a lot of time working with the Black Aces, which Foote was a part of (along with forward Alex Barre-Boulet, By Joe Smith Jul 29, 2020 Gemel Smith, Luke Witkowksi, Alex Volkov and Mathieu Joseph). Lalonde said one of Foote’s goals was getting ready for the pace, which is why this camp was so important to him. TAMPA, Fla. — When Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois brought Cal Foote in for a talk following Friday’s scrimmage, he knew “You could see as camp went on, how his gap had improved, his ability he’d have to deliver some bad news. to kill plays in the neutral zone, his ability to keep plays in,” Lalonde said. “He needs to be around this pace. It’s a little bit of a different camp here. Foote, 21, the team’s top defense prospect, was going to be one of the We have our top 30 players in our organization so it’s immediately a five cuts from camp, with Tampa Bay deciding to only go with the 28 higher level and tempo. He’s going to benefit from those reps.” players they felt they needed for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Joseph and Volkov were the two extra forwards selected for the Lightning But while Foote would soon head home — well, after a Saturday fishing roster. You would think the Lightning, with the ability to carry 31 players trip with Crunch teammates Luke Witkowski and Gemel Smith — the 6- in the hub, would have brought Foote to give him more beneficial foot-4 defenseman stood tall. This had been a golden opportunity for experience. But BriseBois said, historically, teams the past 10 years Foote, a two-week training camp against the Lightning’s top players, and didn’t use more than 16 forwards and nine defensemen for the playoffs, holding his own here provided a unique evaluation period for coaches. and they only wanted to bring the players they needed.
The cap-strapped Lightning could need Foote to step in on the blue line But for prospects like Foote and Barre-Boulet, neither of whom have next season. He just needs to prove he’s ready. played in the NHL, they made a good impression. Barre-Boulet, the Crunch’s AHL All-Star this season after tying for the league lead with 34 “You could sense he himself could sense he’s getting closer,” BriseBois goals as a rookie, displayed his skill and hockey sense, which has helped said. “This was a good chance for him to make a good impression and he make up for his size (5-foot-9). did.” It’s hard to imagine Barre-Boulet making the Lightning out of camp — This is not to say that it’s a guarantee Foote will make the Lightning there are experienced prospects like Volkov and Joseph, Mitchell roster next fall. But with just three defensemen currently under contract Stephens and Carter Verhaeghe potentially ahead of him. But Barre- (Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Braydon Coburn), Mikhail Sergachev Boulet could be a player who gets called up next season. and Erik Cernak due raises as restricted free agents, Tampa Bay will be hard-pressed just to squeeze those five in the flat $81.5 million cap. The ALEX BARRE-BOULET WITH A SLICK MOVE TO BEAT ANDREI Lightning already have over $76 million committed to 15 players, so there VASILEVSKIY IN SHOOTOUT @SYRACUSECRUNCH will have to be tough decisions to make it work. Sliding Foote in at his PIC.TWITTER.COM/WYSJOL94E0 entry-level deal, just below $1 million, could be a solution. — JOE SMITH (@JOESMITHTB) JULY 20, 2020 Foote, who finished his second full pro season with AHL Syracuse, said getting to compete with regulars in two scrimmages during camp was “You could see he has the skill-making ability that very few players have,” confidence-building on his progress. BriseBois said. “He’s still young but when the puck is on his stick, he sees the ice so well, he’s got great skill, he can make plays quick to the “It’s good for us guys from the AHL to show coaches how far we’ve net. He’s got a great shot, is quick to get it off. I really liked in battle drills come,” Foote said. “The biggest thing for me is improving my skating, he was going up against big, strong guys all the time. For him, it’s about quick feet, and that’s come a long way. It’s been a good year for me to getting his skating up to the NHL level. Once he gets there, a little more get more physical, closing guys out. This was a huge challenge — there pop in his first couple strides, which will come through strength training are bigger, stronger, faster guys up in the NHL.” and conditioning to work on his biomechanics and skating stride, he’s got the potential to be a really strong player at the NHL level.” Foote had some strong plays during the two scrimmages, including some subtle stick positioning and moves to keep Brayden Point at bay. Barre-Boulet was surprised to get the call to camp, having been picked to temporarily take the spot of injured captain Steven Stamkos. But Barre- CAL FOOTE HAS LOOKED GOOD SO FAR IN SCRIMMAGE. HAD Boulet said he learned a lot, especially how the decision-making has to BLOCKED SHOT ON KILLORN EARLIER, KEPT BRAYDEN POINT AT be a lot quicker up in the NHL, there’s “not as much margin for error.” He BAY A COUPLE TIMES IN ONE RECENT SPOT. USING HIS STICK, looks up to veterans like Yanni Gourde, who provides a model for an REACH WELL #TBLIGHTNING PIC.TWITTER.COM/XIH8FVQBRG undersized and undrafted forward making the NHL. — JOE SMITH (@JOESMITHTB) JULY 20, 2020 “I don’t know how close I am,” Barre-Boulet said. “Being here has given Foote also scored a goal in Friday’s scrimmage, a shot from the left me an extra opportunity to prove myself. I still need to work on my game. circle. I still need to work on my speed and do all the little details. I’m here to prove myself to the organization, and at the end of the day, they make “He had some scoring chances, broke up some 2-on-1s,” BriseBois said. that decision.” “He’s a really smart player. Physically, he’s gotten a lot stronger. He took advantage of the pause here to come back a stronger athlete than he After the Lightning camp, Foote headed back to Colorado, and Barre- was on March 12. Kudos to him and all the work he’s put in to do that.” Boulet to Quebec. They’ll watch the Lightning playoff games on television and keep working at their craft. Foote, who is still on his entry-level deal Foote said he spent the pause back in Colorado, where he and younger at $925,000 next season, could provide some real bang for the buck on brother Nolan (a former Lightning prospect traded to the Devils) worked the blue line in a third pair situation. out with some other players. He said he benefitted from several sessions during the season with skating coach Barb Underhill. Foote looked more The Lightning could still try to re-sign one of their free agents like Jan comfortable and confident in making plays, while being better in battles. Rutta, Kevin Shattenkirk or Zach Bogosian, but it’s up to Foote to put That helped him get quicker, too. himself in the mix in training camp this November.
“It goes hand in hand,” Foote said. “If you’re closing in on guys more, it’s “The progression he’s had this year has been phenomenal,” said Crunch going to look faster and when you’re physical, you can get the puck out coach Ben Groulx. “He’s become more and more a two-way guy that can quicker.” play on the second power play, and he’s a better three-zone defenseman. He understands the position way better and can compete There’s still some areas where he needs to grow, and Foote knows that. harder, and he’s more consistent doing the things day-in and day-out. He The kind of assertiveness and conviction in plays, whether that’s making still needs some time. Like Barre-Boulet, his skating has got to be better. a pass or decisions down low, need to get to a higher level. I think Footer is going to do his best in the offseason knowing that, and I think he will compete for a spot.” The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176876 Toronto Maple Leafs
The jump in Morgan Rielly’s step is a step in the right direction for the Maple Leafs
By Mark Zwolinski Sports Reporter Wed., July 29, 2020
The question for Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly: Can he live up to Sheldon Keefe’s mostly promising review of his performance in the Leafs’ exhibition win over Montreal on Tuesday?
“There was a couple of times the puck wobbled on him and got away from him and things like that,” Keefe said after Rielly had a goal and two assists against the Canadiens. “But Mo’s at his best when he’s flying up the rink and he’s joining the rush and he’s playing with authority.”
That offensive flair — the game-breaking speed, the puck-carrying ability, the points that seem to come in buckets at times — has always been tied to Rielly’s health. He missed eight weeks with a fractured foot earlier this year, played many more with various aches and pains, and his numbers dropped in the regular season. A year after setting career highs with 20 goals and 72 points in 82 games, he had just three goals and 27 points in 47 games this season.
But with more than four months of COVID-19-related down time, Rielly has been telling his coach he is feeling as healthy as he has ever felt in a Leafs uniform. He didn’t put much stock in one exhibition game, but Keefe took note.
“If you look at what you would want to come out of this game for someone like Mo, it’s the confidence in the skating and to be pushing the pace with the way he moves and joins the rush,” the coach said.
It is Rielly’s skating and his ability to carry the puck and lead the transition into the opponents’ zone that could make a big difference in the play-in series against the Columbus Blue Jackets, which begins Sunday night. Speed is expected to be a key factor in the games.
Rielly, a big part of the team’s leadership group and a candidate for captain heading into this season, often adopts a captain’s demeanour when asked about his personal performance: He says little.
But it is apparent he not only worked on eliminating his aches and pains during his time off, he sharpened all aspects of his game. He didn’t sound surprised with what he was able to accomplish.
“I think that all us players had a chance to do what they needed to do for their bodies. I don’t think I was any different, you try to prepare as best as you can,” Rielly said, before downplaying his efforts Tuesday night.
“I think, in a pre-season game, you don’t put too much weight into it … you just work hard and get a sense of the timing, and I think we all felt OK in that game. I think we all feel there’s lots of room to improve.”
Rielly has been playing recently with Cody Ceci, a move that should allow him to think more offensively. And he will no doubt be compared to Columbus star defenceman Seth Jones in the play-in series. It’s the kind of thing that adds media spice to a series — Rielly, the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft, versus Jones, the fourth pick in 2013.
Both are superb skaters and offensive threats, and both can produce more than they did earlier in the season. Jones, who had 16 goals and 57 points in 78 games in 2017-18, managed just six goals and 30 points in 56 games before the regular season was cut short.
NOTE: Keefe continued to play rookie Nick Robertson on the third line with Alex Kerfoot and Kasperi Kapanen in practice Wednesday. The coach plans to give Robertson reps there until an off day later this week, when he will make his final roster and line decisions.
Toronto Star LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176877 Toronto Maple Leafs just simply didn’t have enough talent to hang on despite how hard they were playing.
James, I literally looked at the lineup sheet a few nights and checked to Scouting the enemy: Breaking down the Blue Jackets with Aaron see if it would be legal in the preseason given the requirements to dress Portzline a certain number of veteran players. It was crazy.
Mirtle: That’s another thing I noticed about their record: Yes, the Leafs were much better in the back half of the year after the coaching change, By James Mirtle and Aaron Portzline Jul 29, 2020 but Columbus was very good over the last few months of the season, record-wise, too.
Do you think Columbus is a much bigger challenge now than it would Five months after the Maple Leafs last took the ice, we’re about to get have been in April, simply because so many more players are recovered some more hockey. Playoff hockey. and ready? Or will it be hard to integrate all those players who haven’t I’m really looking forward to this series for a couple of reasons, but one of been playing together a lot of the year? them is that our team of Leafs writers is going to get to work with Aaron (And just so I don’t get complaints, yes, the Leafs are dealing with this Portzline and Alison Lukan, who do a terrific job writing about the Blue issue to some extent, too, after having a lot of players in and out of the Jackets here at The Athletic. lineup this year.) The combined coverage of this play-in series should be fantastic — and Portzline: The Blue Jackets survived a million blows and kept chugging, we’re getting it started here with an advanced scouting report on the but they started sputtering when Jones and Bjorkstrand went down. team the Leafs will be facing. Everybody knows Jones. Bjorkstrand is a well-kept secret, though. He I’ll ask Portzline some of the pressing questions we’re all wondering was not just the club’s leading goal scorer but their best (and most about, and then he’ll return the favour in a separate article here later this dangerous) forward when he fractured his ankle. week. Let’s get into it. They were in a 3-5-7 slump when the pause hit, so it’s not like they were Mirtle: Porty, you’ve covered the Blue Jackets for nearly 100 years now exactly stating their case. They were barely hanging on. There’s no — can you set the mood for us for this series from the Columbus question they’re a more dangerous team now. perspective? How does the organization feel about facing Toronto in this Not having Josh Anderson makes them a vastly different club than they best-of-five? How does the fan base feel about where they’re at? were last spring. He’s the embodiment of how they want to play. But Portzline: Some days it feels like 100 years, James, but it’s really only losing Jones and Bjorkstrand is a game-over type scenario. been 20. The Blue Jackets feel pretty good about themselves, pretty Mirtle: OK, let me take us in a different direction: The No. 1 question I confident that they can hang with anybody as long as they can quickly seem to be getting about the Blue Jackets right now is their goaltending. get into the defensive-minded style that carried them on a crazy two- Who are these guys? Are they for real? Does Columbus really have an month stretch this season and, more famously, to a first-round upset of advantage there given their lack of experience? Tampa Bay last spring. Porty, who do you think starts? And what’s your confidence level that I certainly don’t sense overconfidence, but I think FINALLY winning a they’re going to get high-level goaltending, whoever gets in the net? playoff series last spring has really upped the swagger with this group. Now they know what it feels like to win a series. Now they know how to Portzline: I believe both of these guys — Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis weather the storm and plow through it. I don’t think you can put a price Merzlikins — are No. 1-caliber goaltenders. Only one of them can play on that. (at a time, obviously), so this is really the story of training camp 2.0 for the Blue Jackets. And yet there’s still an us-against-the-world narrative, and you can expect John Tortorella to fan those flames all along. They’re playing a So far, Merzlikins has been sharper and looks more comfortable. fancy team with tons of skill, much like the Lightning. They’re playing the Korpisalo looked dreadful on Day 1, but you let that go a bit being the Leafs in Toronto, the epicentre of hockey. Here they go again. The Blue first day of an oddly timed camp. He looked OK the rest of the first week Jackets thrive in the underdog’s role because it’s really all they’ve ever but has now given up 13 goals in two scrimmages. known. I know: scrimmages, frimmages. But Merzlikins has looked far more Mirtle: You just scared the crap out of a few million Leafs fans. That poised. I thought he would be the starter all along, and now I’m sounds like their worst nightmare. convinced of it.
One of the things I’ve been warning fans in Toronto about Columbus, Don’t get me started on Elvis. There’s something there, something beyond their tenacious defensive play, is the fact they’ve been so beaten special. As for having an advantage over the Leafs? The one thing I up. On paper, the Blue Jackets are the underdog, but they were on pace expect to be wildly unpredictable in all of this is the goaltending. I’ve seen for an identical number of points as Toronto, despite having the most Freddy Andersen be a dominating goaltender. Who knows who is going man-games lost to injury in the NHL. to show up?
Am I overemphasizing how bad their injury situation was? How big of a Mirtle: Yep. No clue which Andersen shows up. It doesn’t even seem factor will it be for Columbus to get everyone back for this series, impossible that Campbell plays games. compared to if it was played in April instead of August? The other thing I’m really curious about in this series is the matchup of Portzline: There are a couple of facets to this. Yes, the injuries were Toronto’s big stars versus the tight-checking Tortorella defence. The relentless all season, and these weren’t extra forwards and defensemen Leafs averaged more than 3.5 goals a game under Sheldon Keefe and drawing up the man-games. It was mostly at the top of the depth chart. were dominant on the power play; do you think the Blue Jackets will be Their perennial Norris Trophy candidate (Seth Jones), most able to limit four different star players spread out over two lines? accomplished scorer (Cam Atkinson), leading scorer (Oliver Bjorkstrand), All-Star goalie (Joonas Korpisalo) and both rookie offensive sparks Does Tortorella like to have a checking line shadow someone like Auston (Alexandre Texier and Emil Bemstrom) were out long term. Zach Matthews, or what will the approach be? Werenski and Elvis Merzlikins were shelved for a time, too. It was Portzline: Center ice is always an issue for the Blue Jackets. Dubois is incredible. their No. 1, of course, and he’s a really good, physical defensive player. But the dirty little secret is that the Blue Jackets did not play well early in He could bang with Matthews, certainly. But they can’t thrive offensively if the season when they were mostly entirely healthy. They started 12-14-7 Dubois is resigned to a checking role. and were mostly lost defensively. It wasn’t until they started losing key The Blue Jackets made the call to switch Boone Jenner to the middle last parts of their lineup that they fully locked into playing their conservative season, and they’ve stuck with it despite his subpar skating. He’s helped style away from the puck. They were humming along (allowing 1.6 goals solidify the position, as he is defensively sound, certainly competitive as per game in a 25-game stretch) before Jones went down, and then hell, and has become much better away from the puck as his career has Bjorkstrand. That’s when the wheels started coming off again, when they moved along. The wild card here is Alexander Wennberg, who is such a smart, Mirtle: Thanks for this, Aaron. I think this is going to be a heckuva series positionally sound player that he should probably get some Selke given the clash of styles — maybe the best matchup of this play-in round. consideration. My memory tells me that Tortorella was fine interchanging Jenner, Dubois and Wennberg on the Matthews and Tavares lines, and I The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 expect that to continue until the pace of play tells him otherwise. He’s already shown concern about the Leafs’ speed by putting young burner Liam Foudy in an elevated role. Foudy has skated with Nick Foligno and Jenner.
The Jackets know they’ll have their hands full. The key, and you’ll hear Tortorella go on about it, is them staying “above the puck.” They take very few risks in terms of getting overextended. They keep a forward high in the offensive zone and do a great job rotating back when either Werenski or Jones goes low. The hope is that they can frustrate the Leafs by limiting the open ice and odd-man looks.
Mirtle: I’ve seen a lot of folks talking about Columbus as a dark horse and a potential upset pick in this series. The one thing that gives me pause on that is, frankly, they can’t really score. They were 27th in the NHL in goal production and had only one forward top 20 goals. The only teams they outscored all missed the 24-team playoff cutoff.
I know the Leafs aren’t exactly a defensive juggernaut, but is there enough there for the Blue Jackets to do damage in this tournament?
Portzline: That would be my concern if I’m the Blue Jackets, too. This team works so hard to score goals. It was that way before Panarin arrived, and it’s that way now that he’s gone. Cam Atkinson can score. Bjorkstrand has a great shot. Dubois can finish. But they don’t have one single player who is instant offence. They need huge breakdowns, bad goals or rebound put-back goals. They need bounces. Those are Dubois goals, Jenner goals, Foligno goals. They say it’s a “3-2” league, but the Jackets may need to count on playing “2-1” hockey, and I’m not sure that’s consistently doable against a team with Toronto’s talent. Columbus has some talent on the rise in Texier and Bemstrom, but I don’t think you’d expect too much from them right away. Is the Blue Jackets’ offence more inept than the Maple Leafs’ defence is incapable? Maybe that’s the series.
Mirtle: If you had to sketch out the Blue Jackets lineup today, all four lines and the D pairs, what will their roster look like? And how much different is it than what the Leafs would have seen in their matchups this season? (They split two games way back in October.)
Portzline: Mostly the same personnel, except that Josh Anderson played in the two meetings earlier this season. Here’s what the lines look like now, which only guarantees that they’ll change by Aug. 2:
Texier – Dubois – Bjorkstrand
Nyquist – Wennberg – Atkinson
Foligno – Jenner – Foudy
Robinson – Nash – Bemstrom
Werenski – Jones
Gavrikov – Savard
Murray – Kukan/Nutivaara
Mirtle: OK, one last one for you — you’ve mentioned a few of the lesser- known Blue Jackets like Wennberg. Does anyone else stand out to you as a potential X-factor who Leafs fans should be aware of? Maybe Kamloops legend Riley Nash? Or Emil Bemstrom, who led them with … five power-play goals?
Portzline: The guy who seems poised for a coming-out party is Merzlikins, but I’m guessing you’re looking for more of a sleeper than a goaltender.
Bemstrom’s shot is what brought him to Columbus from Sweden, and he started to figure it out before he was (what else?) injured. He has sleeper potential, and I could see him moving up in the lineup, even if it means moving him to the left side. Look for him on the power play, too. The kid can bomb it.
One more note on that power play: The Blue Jackets have run a 1-3-1 for many years, but they’re using both Jones and Werenski on the first unit, with Werenski manning the point and Jones on the left half-wall. The power play has been an unmitigated disaster for the last several seasons. They’re trying anything. 1176878 Vegas Golden Knights “For me, it’s just about positioning. Making sure you get good habits going the first game and making sure you know where you’re at.”
Golden Knights set for exhibition game after 143 days away LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 07.30.2020
By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal July 29, 2020 - 6:43 PM
The last time the Golden Knights played a game, they were in Edmonton, Alberta, celebrating defenseman Shea Theodore’s overtime goal. That was 143 days ago. When they hit the ice at Rogers Place on Thursday, hardly anything will be the same. The Knights face Arizona in a midsummer exhibition game that will serve as a tuneup for the NHL’s 24-team postseason tournament. “For me, I want to see a version of how we went into the pause to our game,” coach Pete DeBoer said in a video news conference Wednesday. “I know we’re not going to be all the way there, but playing without overthinking situations, playing with a lot of speed, supporting each other, supporting the puck. “I know it’s not going to be perfect and you’re going to have to live with some mistakes after the layoff we’ve had, but the quicker we can get back to a version of that game, the more success we’re going to have.” Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will draw the starting assignment against the Coyotes as DeBoer uses the next four games to help determine his starter for Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. DeBoer wanted to give Fleury the first game back in part because the 35- year-old sat out the first three practices in training camp for maintenance on an undisclosed ailment that was not related to a positive COVID-19 test. “I think (Fleury) had the later start to training camp,” DeBoer said. “He missed the first few days. I felt it was important to get him in a game as soon as possible. That was the only things that went into the decision, but both guys are going to play here.” Fleury finished 27-16-5 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 49 regular-season appearances. The three-time Stanley Cup winner ranks seventh all time with 78 postseason victories. Robin Lehner is in line to start Monday against Dallas in the first round- robin game, as DeBoer said he expects to alternate goaltenders during the round robin. “We’re going to play both guys through these first four games,” DeBoer said. “I think we have two starting goalies. I think we’re going to need both guys if we go as deep as we want to go and we feel we can go.” The Knights won 11 of their final 13 games before the NHL season was paused March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic and will try to recapture that form as quickly as possible. The first two days of the NHL’s return have shown these are anything but typical exhibition games. The Battle of Alberta between Calgary and Edmonton nearly boiled over Tuesday evening, and Florida’s Brian Boyle traded right hands with Mikhail Sergachev of Tampa Bay on Wednesday. “Obviously, you take these exhibition games, the outcome does not really matter,” left wing Jonathan Marchessault said. “But, I mean, your execution, your physical play, your moving your feet, playing well in the D-zone, making the right decision with the puck, all that needs to be A-1 to prepare for the first game that we’re going to face Dallas Monday. We have to prepare for that.” While the Knights try to fine-tune aspects of their game, whether it’s the penalty kill or defensive-zone coverage, they’ll take on a Coyotes team that needs to get up to speed immediately. After facing the Knights, Arizona jumps straight into a best-of-five series against Nashville that begins Sunday. Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said goalie Darcy Kuemper will start and Antti Raanta also will play against the Knights. “As you’ve seen so far, I think the pace is tremendously high,” Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “I think it’s higher than I’ve ever seen games at the beginning of the year. I think guys are ready to rock and hungry. 1176879 Vegas Golden Knights
Golden Knights call NHL’s coronavirus testing ‘seamless’
By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal July 29, 2020 - 5:46 PM
The Golden Knights’ daily routine now includes more than taping sticks and lacing up skates. Every day the team walks from the JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District hotel to Ford Hall, the main entrance to Rogers Place, and gets tested for COVID-19 to make sure the bubble the NHL has created remains virus- free. Right wing Reilly Smith, defenseman Nate Schmidt and coach Pete DeBoer said the process has been “seamless.” The team has walked in and out quickly and then is free to get on with the rest of the day. “It’s really quite flawless,” Schmidt said. “It’s been really good. You go through it each day, and it kind of just becomes a part of the routine here moving forward.” Each team has a designated time to go through testing so clubs can be isolated as much as possible. DeBoer said the Knights were given a 45- minute window Monday but were done in 15 to 20 minutes. Schmidt said there’s 12 lanes available so each player can get his RT- PCR nasal swab test administered by personnel from nearby DynaLIFE medical labs. Results are available within 24 hours. The NHL said Monday it had no positive tests over the last week of training camp from July 18 to Saturday. “I know just talking to one of the NHL officials here, that was probably one of their biggest concerns was how to get everybody through the testing every day,” DeBoer said. “So far, so good. The results, I think, have been good, too.” The Knights also have daily symptom and temperature checks through CLEAR technology. The company, which also has a service that lets users bypass airport security lines, has an app in which players can enter whether they have any symptoms. It also has a large amount of kiosks set up that take players’ temperatures remotely. If a player passes on both counts, he gets a green bar on his app that says he is free to move about the bubble for 12 hours. Players aren’t the only ones who have to go through the process. Everyone who has even limited exposure to players needs to be tested daily. That includes people such as hotel bartenders, the Rogers Place ice crew, the public address announcer and the housekeeping staff. Commissioner Gary Bettman estimated in May that the NHL could use 25,000 to 30,000 tests during the postseason at a cost of “millions of dollars.” “We’ve got an extensive process in place to streamline (everything) and put everyone in the secure zone through testing on a daily basis,” said Dr. Willem Meeuwisse, the NHL’s chief medical officer. “Everyone who’s got any exposure in the hub is going to be very tightly monitored and regularly tested.” Playoff beard Left wing Jonathan Marchessault started growing his playoff beard early during quarantine, but sported a trimmed look on his Zoom call with the media Wednesday. But he doesn’t expect his beard to stay trimmed for long. ”I just expect (to keep) growing it out for a while, so I just wanted to step back a little bit,” Marchessault said. “Don’t worry, it’s going to come back. It’s coming back soon.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176880 Vegas Golden Knights
Marc-Andre Fleury to start exhibition game for Golden Knights
By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal July 29, 2020 - 4:06 PM
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will start for the Golden Knights on Thursday when they face Arizona in an exhibition game at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. Coach Pete DeBoer announced that Fleury would get the first game back after the NHL paused its season in part because he missed the first three practices in training camp. “I think Flower had the later start to training camp,” DeBoer said. “He missed the first few days. I felt it was important to get him in a game as soon as possible. That was the only things that went into the decision, but both guys are going to play here.” Fleury, 35, finished 27-16-5 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 49 regular-season appearances. Robin Lehner is in line to start Monday against Dallas in the first round- robin game, as DeBoer said he expects to alternate goaltenders before the Western Conference quarterfinals, which are slated to begin as early as Aug. 11. “I think I said on a call, we’re going to play both guys through these first four games,” DeBoer said. “I think we have two starting goalies. I think we’re going to need both guys if we go as deep as we want to go and we feel we can go.”
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176881 Washington Capitals All expected regulars played in Wednesday’s game, and with teams able to dress an extra forward and extra defenseman for the exhibition, Reirden opted to play forward Travis Boyd and defenseman Radko Gudas. The latter was a regular in the Capitals’ lineup before the Capitals pick up in bubble where they left off during season, beat acquisition of Dillon in mid-February. Hurricanes in exhibition Braden Holtby played the first two periods in goal, and Reirden and his staff were able to get a first in-game look at 24-year-old Vitek Vanecek, who played the third. Vanecek, who spent the season with the team’s By Samantha Pell American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey, Pa., posted a 2.26 goals July 29, 2020 at 8:10 PM EDT against average and .917 save percentage. He posted a 19-10-1 record in 31 games while splitting time with Pheonix Copley.
Copley is Washington’s third goalie on its bubble roster. With Vanecek TORONTO — It was only an exhibition, but for the first time in 143 days, backing up Holtby Wednesday, all signs point to Vanecek being Ilya the Washington Capitals put on their red sweaters, laced up their skates Samsonsov’s replacement as the No. 2 goaltender in the playoffs. and played an actual hockey game Wednesday afternoon. Samsonov suffered an undisclosed injury before the NHL’s restart and And while the Capitals’ 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes brought a did not travel with the team to Toronto. He is undergoing treatment in resounding sense of familiarity on the ice — notably a two-goal, one- Washington and is expected to be healthy for the 2020-21 season. assist outing by captain Alex Ovechkin — there also was an abundance of irregularities. Reirden said before the game that Vanecek is “in a good spot” to secure the Caps’ backup goaltending role. Holtby, who is a pending unrestricted Because of the novel coronavirus pandemic that moved the NHL’s free agent and could be playing in his last postseason with the Capitals, postseason plans entirely into the two hub cities of Toronto and finished the game with 12 saves on 13 shots. Vanecek made 13 saves Edmonton, there were no fans in the stands at Scotiabank Arena. There on 14 shots and earned praise from Reirden afterward. were no roars from the crowd, no flashy pregame intros. Instead, there just were the sounds of skates cutting into the ice, bodies banging “I thought that was a very strong performance from him and we will against the boards and the familiar blare of the goal horn. The seats continue to put him in situations here as we move through the round where fans normally sit in the lower bowl were covered with gray tarps, robin and get him ready if need be,” Reirden said. and large video screens are set up in the stands behind the benches. The piped-in crowd noise, that murmur that viewers are hearing on their Washington Post LOADED: 07.30.2020 television screens, is not being played inside the arenas. It’s a new feel for players and coaches alike, and Wednesday, it was the Capitals’ first taste of postseason play in unprecedented circumstances. “Obviously, it was very important for us to feel the rhythm, feel the atmosphere, how it’s going to be during the playoffs. It was kind of weird but nothing we can do right now, right,” Ovechkin said after the game. “We just play our game and try to feel the ice and try to feel the puck.” And while there is still a fragility that comes with the NHL’s restart, with the pandemic still raging and the death toll approaching 150,000 in the United States, the first three days have brought a wave of optimism among players, spectators and health experts. There is an overwhelming sense that playing in a bubble can work, and the players have said they are feeling that needed sense of safety. Now, they say, their attention has turned to hockey. “Hockey’s back,” defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “It feels like it’s back. You’re getting into the grinds of training camp and these types of situations. We’re excited to play some games and play some playoff hockey.” The game was the Capitals’ lone exhibition before they start their three- game round-robin tournament Monday. The round robin will set the seeding among the other three top teams in the Eastern Conference: Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and Boston. Carolina’s next game will be Saturday, when the Hurricanes open their five-game play-in series against the New York Rangers. For the Capitals, Wednesday’s game provided a brief scare, with defenseman John Carlson leaving the game midway through the third period after his legs got caught underneath him and he hit the boards. Despite skating off on his own, he still went down the tunnel with trainer Jason Serbus. Coach Todd Reirden said Carlson was to be evaluated later Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Other than Carlson’s late-game absence, the team started the exhibition strong, with flashes of the Washington team that finished the season atop the Metropolitan Division. Ovechkin got the scoring started early with a power-play snipe from the circle with 11:33 left in the first period. Center Evgeny Kuznetsov then answered Vincent Trocheck’s tying goal with a tap-in in front of the net at 10:34 in the first period. The tic-tac-toe passing was in midseason form, with Dmitry Orlov dishing it to Ovechkin, who found Kuznetsov in front. Ovechkin scored his second with 7:35 left in the second period, off a crisp pass from Tom Wilson, who fought through a Jaccob Slavin check against the boards. Teuvo Teravainen scored the Hurricanes’ lone goal of the third period on a five-on-three advantage. While the contest was just an exhibition, it was a promising start for the Capitals’ time in the bubble. With the offense firing on all cylinders, Reirden was able to get a feel for his lineup, which should encounter only minor changes as the postseason continues, barring injury. 1176882 Washington Capitals
Ovechkin scores twice in Capitals' exhibition win over Hurricanes
By Adam Zielonka - The Washington Times Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Don’t think for a second that having four months off will be a detriment for Alex Ovechkin. In the Washington Capitals‘ first semi-competitive hockey since March, Ovechkin scored two goals in a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. The game was the Capitals‘ lone exhibition game of the NHL restart; their seeding round robin begins Monday when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning. TOP STORIES Declining coronavirus case fatality rate in U.S. renews questions on merits of lockdown Hydroxychloroquine rated 'most effective therapy' by doctors for coronavirus: Global survey Reality check: Trump has 5% lead over Biden in poll of 11,000 Ovechkin’s first tally came on a first-period power play, assisted by T.J. Oshie and Dmitry Orlov. Watch Ovechkin roof this shot from behind the left circle: Ovechkin also assisted an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal that period, and Washington led 2-1. In the second period, the captain extended the lead off a quick pass in front of the crease from Tom Wilson, and the Capitals would hold on from there. One concern: Defenseman John Carlson left the game midway through the third period and did not return after getting tied up with a Hurricanes player and ramming into the boards.
Washington Times LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176883 Washington Capitals
Capitals' John Carlson left in 3rd period of exhibition game after awkward fall
By J.J. Regan July 29, 2020 6:18 PM
John Carlson got to the bench with 9:59 remaining in the third period during Wednesday's exhibition game and did play again. Carlson was tangled up with a Carolina Hurricanes player behind the net and fell. He skated off to the bench with no sign of any issue. Following the game, head coach Todd Reirden downplayed Carlson's absence as largely a precaution, but said Carlson would be looked at later Wednesday. "He just got tangled up there and kind of fell awkwardly so obviously in a situation like this it's best to just have him leave for the remainder of the game," Reirden said. "We'll see how he's doing later tonight and tomorrow and move forward from there. I'll have a little bit more of an update for you then." Just to note, per the NHL's protocols for the 2020 postseason, if Carlson is not able to practice on Thursday, the only update Reirden technically has to give us is that Carlson is unfit to play, but he is not required to say anything beyond that. So the best update we could possibly get on Thursday would be if Carlson is practicing. Of all the players on the Caps' roster, there are three who are currently irreplaceable. That would be Alex Ovechkin, Braden Holtby due to the absence of Ilya Samsonov and Carlson. Considering the Caps have struggled to find a right defenseman just for the second pair, losing their top pair right defenseman would be a disaster. Then again, that's also a reason why the team should be cautious with him. The good news is that we don't know if there is any issue at all. He could be completely healthy and perhaps it was only a precaution. Plus, the Caps' have a few days before their first round robin game on Aug. 3.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176884 Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin scores twice early in Capitals' exhibition against Hurricanes
By Kevin Brown July 29, 2020 5:51 PM
Four months without competition and Alex Ovechkin is already in full postseason form. Through the first two periods on Wednesday, Ovechkin already bagged a couple goals against Carolina in the lone exhibition game before the Capitals take on Tampa Bay in the round-robin seeding games. The first of his two goals was as vintage Ovi as ever, collecting a loose puck from his usual spot on the right-wing before slinging a powerful slap shot past the Canes goaltender. Washington's second goal of the exhibition came on more rapid puck movement, with a Dimitri Orlov hockey assist feeding an open Ovi on the backside, who dinked it over to Evegny Kuznetsov for an open-net score. Then, Ovechkin got Washington's third. It was a beautiful drive along the right wing from "the best scorer in the league" Tom Wilson, who fed a naked Ovi on the backside to lengthen Washington's lead to two. The chemistry between the two star forwards was on display as though the two have been drawing it up on the team Zoom sessions during the quarantine. If those first two periods are any indicator of the NHL's restart, the league's defenses will have to be back to the drawing board when game- planning for one of the best goalscorers the sport has ever seen. And no, David Pastrnak, we're not talking about Tom Wilson here.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176885 Washington Capitals Vanecek cemented his position Vitek Vanecek played the full third period for Washington and was very
good. I don't want to overstate his performance and make it sound as if 4 observations as Alex Ovechkin leads the way in Capitals exhibition win he played so brilliantly he left no doubt that he will be the backup, but he certainly did nothing to lose the job.
The lone goal Vanecek was allowed was on a 5-on-3 power play. He By J.J. Regan made a great save coming out of his crease in an aggressive challenge on a wide-open shorthanded opportunity. That was the most impressive July 29, 2020 5:50 PM of his 13 saves. Reirden made it sound as if the backup job was Vanecek's to lose In the team's first game in 142 days, the Capitals walked away as the 3-2 coming into this game and based on his performance it seems safe to winners over the Carolina Hurricanes in Wednesday's exhibition. Alex assume it will be Vanecek on the bench backing up Holtby in the round- Ovechkin was brilliant with two goals and one assist and a goalie tandem robin. of Braden Holtby and Vitek Vanecek did the rest to get the win. Ovechkin's still got it Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 After essentially a full offseason, the 34-year-old Ovechkin still shows no signs of slowing down and factored on all three of Washington's goals. The team's first goal of the game was a typical Ovechkin from the office one-timer. Before you dismiss that as simply "Ovi being Ovi" don't forget this is the team's first game action since March. To be able to get the timing right on that play is pretty remarkable, even if we've seen Ovechkin do it hundreds of times. On his second goal, Ovechkin was the recipient of a fantastic pass by Tom Wilson who fought off Jaccob Slavin to make the play and set up the goal. Ovechkin was coming in on the left of Wilson and managed to get off the one-timer on the pass despite the awkward angle with the pass coming to his backhand. Whatever the Caps hope to achieve in the postseason, none of it would be possible without Ovechkin leading the way. The fact that he seemed to pick up right where he left off is a great sign. The one note about the offense is that you would like to see more from the other lines. All three goals came from the top line which looked great. Ovechkin was the catalyst with three points, but in addition, Evgeny Kuznetsov's goal came off a beautiful quick passing play that showed the offense was in-sync more so than perhaps many expected. That's great, but they will need production from the other three lines as well. One player who the team was hoping wouldn't pick up where he left off was Braden Holtby. Holtby had a very difficult season, but had a strong performance Wednesday with 12 saves on 13 shots through two periods. The only goal Holtby allowed had to be reviewed and was waved off on the ice. Vincent Trocheck found a loose puck behind him and tucked it into the net, but it appeared as if the goal was off its moorings before Trocheck could get it in. The play was called a goal on review. It was not a perfect performance by any means. Holtby was beaten but saved by the post in the second period and there were some frantic moments. Holtby plays a very calm style so when his game starts to look frantic, that's a bad sign. For the most part, however, Holtby looked very much in command of his crease. Perhaps more importantly, there were no goals that made you shake your head and think to yourself, "boy, he should have had that." The penalty kill looked really, really good. Washington killed off three out of four penalties and only gave up a goal on a lengthy 5-on-3 with Vitek Vanecek in net and Sebastian Aho dangling through everyone to set up Teuvo Teravainen. Sometimes great players won't be stopped (see Ovechkin). On the other end, however, the power play did not look all that great. Ovechkin scored on the first opportunity from the office (see note above on great players who won't be stopped), but that particular power play was hot garbage leading up to the goal. Right off the start, Jordan Staal picked off a stretch pass leading to a shorthanded opportunity. Washington then spent most of their time trying to figure out how to get the puck in the offensive zone and keep it there. It took a bad turnover from Carolina to launch a 2-on-1 break and then another turnover in the defensive zone to set up Ovechkin again for the goal. While the first power play was bad, the unit improved somewhat as the game went along, though Washington did not score again with the extra man and gave up too many shorthanded chances. It's also important to remember that timing is the one thing that teams will struggle with the most coming back after nearly five months off and so much of the power play is about timing so some struggles are to be expected. In short, the power play wasn't great, but there's no reason to assume at this point that the power play has simply picked up where it left off. 1176886 Washington Capitals
Capitals stand shoulder to shoulder with Hurricanes during national anthems in show of solidarity against racism
By J.J. Regan July 29, 2020 4:57 AM
The Capitals joined several other teams in showing their solidarity against racism by standing shoulder to shoulder with the Carolina Hurricanes prior to Wednesday's exhibition game. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers had stood shoulder to shoulder prior to their exhibition game on Tuesday. The issues of racism still facing the United States were brought to the forefront in the wake of the murder of George Floyd on May 25 in police custody. With the season on pause, Wednesday's game was the first opportunity for the NHL to use the spotlight of a game broadcast to show any type of support towards ending racism. Capitals coach Todd Reirden was asked during the team's pregame availability if the players had any specific plans. Though he had not yet met with the team to discuss any actions they wished to take prior to the game, he did cite the organization's commitment to the community. "This type of a situation, I can't speak highly enough of the work that they've done in the community," Reirden said. "And, whether it's dealing with the pandemic, injustices, different issues that have gone on over the last four months, our team has really used their platform as professional athletes to stand up for things they believe in. I expect today to be nothing different."
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Vitek Vanecek in a 'good spot' to be Capitals backup goalie in Stanley Cup playoffs
By J.J. Regan July 29, 2020 12:18 PM
When the Capitals take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday in the team's lone exhibition game before the 2020 season restarts, Vitek Vanecek will be the backup goalie to Braden Holtby. The goalie tandem was revealed by head coach Todd Reirden in a pregame availability. Ilya Samsonov suffered an injury prior to training camp and did not travel with the team to Toronto. Without their promising rookie Russian, Washington needed a new backup for the postseason. Pheonix Copley seemed the likely choice given that he has 29 games of NHL experience and was the team's backup just last season. Instead, Reirden will turn to Vanecek, who spent the entire season with American Hockey League- affiliate Hershey and has no NHL experience. He seems to be the leading candidate to hold onto the No. 2 job for the playoffs. "It's something we spent a lot of time with as a staff," Reirden said of the decision to go with Vanacek over Copley. "I'd say at this point, he's in a good spot to be that backup goaltender. That's why he's getting that opportunity [Wednesday]. Whether it goes really well or it doesn't, we're going to evaluate it, but ultimately he's done a lot of really good things over the last couple of years, being a two-time All Star in the American Hockey League and he continues to improve every year. Had another solid year before the pause down in Hershey and is a guy that we want to see in this type of a setting." Holtby will play the first two periods against Carolina and Vanecek will come in for the third. In Hershey this season, Vanecek was the better goalie with a .917 save percentage and 2.26 GAA in 31 games. Copley had a .905 save percentage and 2.47 GAA in 31 games and it now appears he has slid to fourth on the organization's depth chart behind Holtby, Samsonov and Vanecek just one year after managing a 16-7-3 record with the Caps. Vanecek has played in preseason games before, but those games typically feature several players who will not make the NHL roster. Wednesday's game will be the first time Vanecek has faced a full NHL roster in a game situation. "It's a body of work decision and it's something we evaluated every day,," Reirden said. "We looked at, just in terms of his comfort in the net every day, every drill against obviously the shooters that we have on our team. It's a good challenge for our goaltenders every day in practice. Our guys are competitive, they like scoring goals so they certainly don't let up, especially not on the backup goaltenders. He's been challenged regularly and I think the staff, this is the decision we've come to and we feel confident in." In addition to the goalie news, Reirden also revealed that Travis Boyd and Radko Gudas will dress as the team's extras for Wednesday. In a normal game, teams are allowed 18 skaters and two goalies. For the exhibition game, however, the NHL has allowed teams to dress an extra forward and defenseman.
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Previously on: What the Capitals gained and lost from the season pause
By J.J. Regan July 29, 2020 10:15 AM
At long last, hockey is almost back! The Capitals begin the 2020 postseason on Aug. 3, nearly five months after the 2019-20 season was initially paused due to the coronavirus. That’s a long time ago. Let’s take a look back at the biggest stories of the 2019-20 season to refresh our memories before the Caps continue their quest for a second Stanley Cup. One of the big questions heading into the 2020 postseason is which teams would benefit the most from the extra rest? The obvious answer is the teams with the most injuries. Per usual, the Caps were one of the healthiest teams in the league this year so it will not be a completely new roster when they hit the ice like it will for teams like Pittsburgh and Columbus. In fact, instead of gaining new players, Washington actually lost a few. Forward Brendan Leipsic had his contract terminated by the team in May in response to offensive social media comments being made public. He was signed in 2019 to a one-year contract and had three goals and eight assists in 61 games. The big news is that goalie Ilya Samsonov suffered an injury prior to training camp. He did not participate in any practice and was left off the team’s travel roster for Toronto. That’s a big loss after Samsonov put together a brilliant rookie season in which he went 16-6-2 with a 2.55 GAA and .913 save percentage. At times he was outplaying Braden Holtby so to not have that safety net there is significant. But the long pause did have its benefits. Michal Kempny underwent surgery to repair a torn hamstring in April of 2019. Though he returned early in the 2019-20 season, he did not look right physically or mentally. The pause to the season has now brought him over a year past the surgery and the hope is that he can return to being the top-pair defenseman he was for the team prior to the injury. In addition, the Caps are not what you would call a “young” team and rank among the oldest teams in the playoffs. In fact, Cap Friendly ranks them as the oldest based on the projected 20- man game roster. A few months off before the grind of the Stanley Cup Playoffs should certainly do wonders for veteran players like Nicklas Backstrom (32), John Carlson (30), Lars Eller (30), Carl Hagelin (31), Braden Holtby (30), Ilya Kovalchuk (37), T.J. Oshie (33) and Alex Ovechkin (34). Sure, Washington is not going to get as many injured players back, but the team will still benefit from the rest considering how many veterans play vital roles for the team.
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David Pastrnak tweets the best goal-scorer in the NHL is...Tom Wilson?
By J.J. Regan July 28, 2020 11:50 PM
NHL teams reported to their respective hub cities on Sunday and already there appears to be some hijinks taking place in the bubble. Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak, who tied Alex Ovechkin for the league lead in goals this season with 48, tweeted out on Tuesday who he felt the best goal scorer in the NHL was and...well, the answer was surprising. He did not name himself or a player on his own team, rather he picked a Capitals forward...one who plays wing on the top line...yes, that's right, he named Tom Wilson. Wait...what? Pastrnak's tweet was met with a variety of responses ranging from anger to glee, but mostly just confusion. Some posited that Partnak had lost a bet. Others, interestingly enough, wondered if Pastrnak's own teammate, Brad Marchand, was the culprit. Or perhaps this could just be some reverse psychology. In 2017, then head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs declared going into his team's playoff series against the Capitals that he had bigger concerns than Wilson. Wilson responded by scoring the overtime winner in Game 1. Maybe Pastrnak is doing the opposite before both teams enter the round-robin.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176890 Washington Capitals Holtby ‘solid’ The Caps’ No. 1 netminder wasn’t tested often, but on the few occasions
that he was, he was there with a pad, glove or stick. Five key takeaways from Capitals’ 3-2 exhibition win over Canes He finished with 12 stops in 40 minutes, including a clutch pad save on Andrei Svechnikov from about 10 feet out early in the second period as the teams skated four-on-four. By Tarik El-Bashir “I thought Braden looked solid,” Reirden said. “He probably wasn’t tested Jul 29, 2020 as much as he was a few days ago in our scrimmage, but he looked solid, very under control. He was really our backbone back there. Looked calm, looked confident, looked the part. It’s really good to see guys that For the first time in 143 days, Alex Ovechkin and company faced an put their time in (shine). From the first opportunity he had to get on the opponent that wasn’t wearing a Washington sweater. ice, he’s been on the ice. He’s put the work in, and it’s good to see him get an early reward for it. He’s obviously going to be really important for And while this one didn’t count either, Wednesday’s 3-2 exhibition victory us moving forward here.” over Carolina got the Capitals off to exactly the type of start they’d hoped for in the NHL’s return to play. Holtby’s strong performance builds on his efficient effort in the team’s intrasquad scrimmage last Friday, when he helped a less experienced Ovechkin, who finished the regular season tied with Boston’s David Team Red to a 2-1 victory over a veteran-laden Team Blue. Pastrnak for the league lead in goals with 48, picked up right where he left off, scoring twice and setting up Evgeny Kuznetsov for the other goal. Vanecek seizes control Braden Holtby was sharp, and his new backup, Vitek Vanecek, was After it was announced that Ilya Samsonov was done for the season, it strong too. The only negative was an apparent injury to John Carlson, was assumed that Pheonix Copley would slide into the backup role who left the game in the third period after an awkward tumble into the behind Holtby. boards. That speculation, however, was not correct. Here’s more on Carlson’s status and four more observations from The Athletic DC: Vanecek outperformed Copley in training camp 2.0 and earned the No. 2 job. Concern for Carlson There’s a “difference in the confidence level,” Reirden said. “Even for me, Midway through the third period, Carlson got tangled up with Nino from (Friday’s) intrasquad game, where we tried to replicate this 4 o’clock Niederreiter and teammate T.J. Oshie deep in the Caps’ end. Carlson game and do as many possible things as we could, I thought he looked a lost his balance, and as he went down along the boards, his left leg got little, at times, nervous in that intrasquad game. But I didn’t feel it at all caught awkwardly underneath his body. The Norris Trophy finalist got up today. That’s exciting to see from a young goaltender. There’s growth immediately and skated to the bench, but he did not return to the game. already. I know it’s something Scott Murray, our goalie coach, has been “He just got tangled up there and kind of fell awkwardly, so, obviously, in working with him on: believing in himself.” a situation like (an exhibition), it’s best to just have him leave for the “Part of that,” Reirden continued, “is by us letting him know that right now remainder of the game,” Reirden said. “We’ll see how he’s doing later he is that backup, and he’s got to be ready for the situation. I think that tonight and tomorrow and move forward from there. I’ll have a little bit helps him confidence-wise, as well, and it gave him a little bit of a boost more of an update for you then.” from that standpoint.” The Caps do not play again until Aug. 3, when they open the East round- In one period of work versus the Canes, Vanecek allowed a five-on-three robin versus Tampa Bay. But for obvious reasons, Carlson’s health will goal but stopped 13 shots as Sebastian Aho and company cranked up be a huge storyline in the coming days. the pressure in the third and pressed for the equalizer. Ovi’s off to a fast start Reirden said he noticed Vanecek’s growing confidence manifest itself in Few players can fill up a stat line the way Ovechkin can. And did he ever how aggressively he challenged Carolina shooters. versus the Canes. “That’s where you see confidence in goaltenders, and they start to give The Caps’ captain had a hand in all three goals, scoring on the power that off to our team,” Reirden said of Vanecek playing at the top of his play and again at even strength, and he set up Kuznetsov for a tap-in. crease. “And that’s what is so important about having someone back Ovechkin also recorded a game-high five shots on goal (on eight there that the players believe in. I thought that was a really strong attempts) and two hits in 20:30 of ice time, also the highest total for either performance from him.” team. Reirden also hinted that Vanecek, a 2014 second-round pick who has yet Surprised that Ovechkin, who turns 35 in September, has gotten up to to make his NHL debut, will probably get some playing time in the round- speed as quickly as he has? Reirden isn’t. robin, as well. “I can’t say I’m totally surprised,” he said. “The shape he came back after “We’ll continue to put him in situations here as we move through the the pause, how he’s been working at practice, the energy that he’s had round-robin and continue to get him ready, if need be,” Reirden said. — that doesn’t happen by accident. Obviously he has a gift to be able to “Braden has done an outstanding job and he’s in charge here, and we’ll score goals, but he put work in. He put work in for months; had his be leaning on him heavily. It’s a good situation to be in.” personal trainer with him the entire time. It’s great to see someone like Boyd, Gudas get the call that, that puts the time and the effort in, get rewarded in those situations.” If you were wondering which extra skaters would be the first to draw into Ovechkin said he felt good but added that he’s getting used to the lack of the lineup in case of injury or another reason, Wednesday’s lineup any atmosphere at the fan-less Scotiabank Arena. provided a glimpse into Reirden’s thinking — and it shouldn’t have been “Obviously it was very important for us to feel the rhythm, feel the a shock. atmosphere, how it’s going to be during the playoffs,” he said. “It was Teams were allowed to dress an extra forward and an additional kind of weird, but nothing we can do right now, right? We just play our defenseman for their lone exhibition game, and Reirden went with the game and try to feel the ice and try to feel the puck.” versatile Travis Boyd up front and veteran Radko Gudas on the back Ovechkin’s first strike came on the power play, but he acknowledged that end. the unit, which underachieved during the regular season, is still getting Boyd is the leading candidate to replace Lars Eller when the third-line into sync after a nearly five-month layoff from game action. The unit center temporarily leaves the bubble next month. Eller’s wife is expecting mustered five shots on five opportunities with the man advantage. the couple’s second child on Aug. 8. Gudas, meanwhile, is the most “Well, of course you want to score every power play, but the teams play experienced blueliner who is not currently in the lineup. good against our lines,” he said. “We have to find different ways to score, “They both had strong camps,” Reirden said. “We know there are going but again, the most important thing is to get confidence when you (are) to be injuries. We know that there’s a possibility of having some testing with the puck, what you have to do, don’t make mistakes, don’t make (issues) — maybe not a positive test but tests not coming back. There’s turnovers and try to feel (your) partners. I’m pretty sure we still have (five) lots of things at play here behind the scenes, so you have to have a days to figure out where we’re at, and I’m sure the coaching staff is going number of people prepared for any possible scenario that can come our to do more at practice and give us more confidence back.” way.” Boyd skated 6:29, while Gudas got 12:33, a number no doubt inflated by Carlson’s absence in the third.
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Who hacked David Pastrnak? The five leading suspects
By Fluto Shinzawa Jul 29, 2020
Pastrnak, who had previously used his account to promote his Dunkin’ Donuts sponsorship and retweet teammates on occasion, careened off his previous script. Pastrnak pumped the tires of Tom Wilson, of all people, as having a title he could claim as his own. As a rookie, Pastrnak lost his passport while attending development camp. It’s no stretch, then, to believe he had either left his phone or his account unguarded. You can cross Zdeno Chara’s name off the list. Chara was probably in the gym. Doubtful it was Patrice Bergeron. He is nowhere to be found on social media. The individuals under suspicion 1. Brad Marchand. Duh. Pastrnak’s linemate is notorious for his carvings, verbal as well as physical, of his opponents. You can just about hear Marchand giggling as he swiped Pastrnak’s phone and tapped out the tweet. 2. Jake DeBrusk. The left wing is known as the Bruins’ class clown. He and Pastrnak are close friends. DeBrusk would not be above snatching a buddy’s phone and conducting mischief. 3. Anders Bjork. Like DeBrusk, Bjork is another goofball. It would be like Bjork to take advantage of a misplaced phone. Then blame someone else. 4. Don Sweeney. It may feel like 2023 is a long time from now. But that’s when Pastrnak’s contract will expire. He’ll be 27, still within his sweet spot. This could have been the general manager triggering an early warning system to bring down Pastrnak’s market. 5. Chris Wagner. A Masshole through and through. Here’s the thing, though: It could have been Pastrnak himself. On Dec. 23, 2019, Pastrnak and Wilson got into it at TD Garden. As both approached their benches for a line change, Wilson jostled Pastrnak. Pastrnak gave it back with a right jab to Wilson’s chin. Naturally, Wilson boiled over and went after Pastrnak, shrugging off Marchand in the process. Wilson was given a roughing penalty and 10- minute misconduct. Pastrnak was called for a roughing minor. Perhaps Pastrnak was giving the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Wilson an attaboy for not knocking out his teeth back then.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176892 Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. Overall, they have 1,430 active cases in the province, prompting Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw to declare, "the curve is no longer flat in Alberta." Jets down Canucks 4-1 in fan-less affair Of course, you'd never know it inside the secure bubble environment created for all 12 Western Conference clubs here in Edmonton, and a similar set-up for Eastern teams in Toronto, which includes rigorous health and safety protocols and daily testing. So far, so good, with not a EDMONTON – It looked like a typical NHL game, complete with the single positive case in the league in more than a week. Keeping the virus blazing speed, crisp passes and sizzling shots we've come to expect out is the key to keeping hockey going. from the best pro players on the planet. Global pandemic or not, that's not changing anytime soon. As for the game-day experience, one big bonus was that the drive to Rogers Place was a breeze. No fans in the stands = no traffic. Across the But it sure didn't feel like one from my perch high above the ice at Rogers street from the beautiful downtown barn, Mercer Tavern would normally Place on Wednesday night, where the Winnipeg Jets downed the be buzzing, especially on a gorgeous game-day where the temperature Vancouver Canucks 4-1 in an exhibition tune-up prior to this weekend's topped 30C. Instead, I only counted a handful of people sitting on the start of the most unique Stanley Cup playoffs in history. patio, and none of them were wearing hockey jerseys. As one of just a handful of writers across North America granted access Normally I'm the one asking questions when I go to a rink, but the roles to watch the action in-person, let me say two things: It's great to have were reversed. Using an online health pass obtained through the hockey back. And this is going to take some getting used to. league's partnership with the security company Clear, I could only get The last time I was in this building was exactly 20 weeks ago to the day, inside once I confirmed I was symptom-free, hadn't travelled abroad which turned out to be the final night of the 2019-2020 regular season. It within the past 14 days and haven't been around anyone with COVID-19. feels closer to 20 years given all that's changed since. A quick temperature check later and I was being escorted to a makeshift press box, which is actually one floor below the usual one. There were more than 18,000 fans in the seats that night watching the Jets beat Connor McDavid's crew. On Wednesday, there was zero, a That area is being reserved for those inside the NHL's secure bubble, grim reminder that we're still a long way from "normal" despite the long- such as the TV broadcast crew and NHL staff. The handful of us awaited return of the NHL. independent media, which included just one other Winnipeg scribe and a couple from Vancouver, were on the second tier. Their absence was especially noticeable as the Jets hit the ice to the familiar, albeit pre-recorded introduction from long-time PA announcer Other noticeable changes to routine include a morning skate held in Jay Richardson, only to be met by complete silence, save for a few "Let's private, with writers not allowed to attend, and post-game interviews go boys!" and "Whoooos" that could be heard loud and clear. done via Zoom despite being in the same building as the players. Face- to-face access is not permitted at this point, so all scrums are being done When Tucker Poolman opened the scoring late in the first period – and online. who had the stay-at-home Jets defenceman as the one to break the club's four-and-a-half month scouring "drought"? – every single As for the game itself, one thing remained constant – Connor Hellebuyck celebratory F-bomb was apparent. is very, very good. He stopped 37 shots to lead his team to victory. The only puck that beat him was during a goalmouth scramble with just over "I mean it’s different. There’s no question about that. I would say what six minutes left in the third period. was positive about it, what I liked about it, is you’re getting the whole interaction on the bench. So between the players and the trainers and "I thought it was great, being able to get to that playoff battle mentality the coaches there’s always a lot of chatter, but you almost don’t hear it and that battle level. So this game was not just an exhibition for me, it because of the fan noise. And I’m not a fan of really loud music piped in was getting that battle intensity up," said Hellebuyck. at the timeouts, you can’t talk to the players as much as you’d like. I Nikolaj Ehlers, Dmitry Kulikov and Wheeler, into an empty net, had the actually liked that part of it; it was way easier to communicate with your other Winnipeg goals. team. It was way easier for them to interact with each other," said Jets coach Paul Maurice. "So that would be the best exhibition game in terms of effort that I’ve ever seen. This was a completely different thing. There was some really good There's a good reason broadcast networks have added a five-second pace to it. In some ways, parts of that were better than games we see in delay, along with artificial crowd sweeteners from the EA Sports video the first two months of the season. I don’t think the hands are there quite game franchise. Otherwise, the CRTC would be having a field day over yet, but the legs were. They were driving pretty good," said Maurice. the next couple months. Prior to puck drop, the Jets and Canucks gathered around centre ice in Winnipeg Jet Adam Lowry and Vancouver Canuck Troy Stecher fight for what the teams described as an act of "solidarity in support of all front- the puck Wednesday night in Edmonton. The Jets won 4-1. line workers and against acts of racism and acts of hate." But if you can tolerate some colourful language, the natural sounds of the The Jets will take Thursday off, then have one final practice on Friday game in all their glory were a highlight. From hearing skates squeak with before the best-of-five series against Calgary begins Saturday night. every hard stop, players calling for passes or warning teammates from the bench about an incoming opponent, to your run-of-the-mill lobbying "We’re a pretty competitive group so we were definitely battling and trying for penalties and complaining to officials, this is the type of stuff normally to get ourselves ready. There were a few bumps there tonight and drowned out by big crowds. obviously when the playoffs start, that’s going to ramp up on both sides so I think that would be the only thing that’s missing. Our group, we’ve If I were in charge of the TV presentation, I'd be finding a way to been through the battles already over the last couple of years. We know maximize that for viewers at home. what this playoff intensity feels like so we’re prepared for that," said "During the play, it felt completely normal. Once there was a TV time out, Wheeler. it was kind of crazy. Could use some trivia out there or something to keep everyone involved. I’m not sure how it was for the goalies. I think there’s going to have to be a lot of talk on the bench in time outs and just keep [email protected] each other engaged because they’re pretty long," said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg Another fun touch is the NHL's attempt to make the designated home Mike McIntyre team feel like they're in their own building. From Richardson's voice to Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 07.30.2020 the usual mix of Bell MTS Place music to the familiar goal horn, it seems like no detail was missed -- unless you're a fan of the "True North" shout during the anthem, which was not included. League officials tell me this was only the start. Other bells and whistles are being saved for when the games start to count on Saturday night, and the large video screens set up in the stands will be put to good use. Might we seem a virtual Jets "Whiteout" happen? I wouldn't bet against it. Outside the rink, it was hard to escape the reality that this pandemic is far from over, with Alberta announcing 133 new cases and three new deaths 1176893 Winnipeg Jets Power Play: Winnipeg 20.5% (15th), Calgary 21.2% (12th) Penalty Kill: Winnipeg 77.6% (22nd), Calgary 82.1% (T-8th)
Shots Per Game: Winnipeg 31.3 (17th), Calgary 31.6 (15th) Jets and Flames face off Saturday with everything on the line Shots Against Per Game: Winnipeg 32.6 (25th), Calgary 32.4 (T-23rd)
Faceoffs: Winnipeg 50.1% (15th), Calgary 49.1%(T-21st) By: Mike McIntyre | Posted: 07/29/2020 7:00 PM Corsi for (even-strength): Winnipeg 48.55% (21st), Calgary 50.25%
(15th) (According to Natural Stat Trick) EDMONTON — It still doesn’t seem real. Corsi for (All situations): Winnipeg 49.56% (17th), Calgary 49.98% (15th) The Winnipeg Jets (37-28-6 in the regular-season) and Calgary Flames (According to Natural Stat Trick) (36-27-7) are about to face off in an empty arena, starting the first day of A few things have changed since then. Bryan Little, who scored the August, in the middle of a global pandemic, while living in a bubble. winner, isn't on the playoff roster due to a season-ending injury last For extra fun, the winner of this best-of-five qualifying round series earns November. And Calgary's coach at the time was Bill Peters, who was a the right to compete in the traditional 16-team Stanley Cup playoffs that few weeks away from having his career crash after being exposed for will run into October, while the loser gets a one-in-eight shot at landing racist behaviour in his past by former player Akim Aliu. generational talent Alexis Lafrenière with the first-overall draft pick, Jets bench boss Paul Maurice said he's spent very little time reviewing thanks to the screwy draft lottery. game film of the Heritage Classic, and for good reason. Just as the prophecy foretold, right? "The really kind of neat story is that there probably isn’t another team in As strange as it all may be, this is what counts for the new normal these the NHL, that based on last season, we know less about. We had one days in the NHL. And when the puck drops here Saturday at Rogers game against them, so that would almost make them like an Eastern Place and at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the 143-day hiatus between Conference opponent, and it was an outdoor game and they had a meaningful hockey games will finally be over. different coach. So both teams don’t have any memory of a style of game or what it might look like. It’s been at least a year-and-a-half, I guess, There's been so much focus on how we got here that we haven't spent a before these two teams can remember the hockey. So this is going to be ton of time yet looking at which of these Canadian clubs has the best unusual for sure, but certainly exciting," said Maurice. chance of moving on. But with training camp and exhibition games now in the rear-view mirror for the Jets and Flames, the road ahead is much It's safe to say both Winnipeg and Calgary have bitter tastes in their clearer. mouths over how quickly their playoff runs ended last year. "I think everyone knows it's a best–of–five, everyone knows that we play What Vegas is saying three games in the first four days so we've got to be ready to go or else The latest odds, as of Wednesday, favouring the Flames: we're out of here in four." – Jets forward Andrew Copp Overall Here's everything you need to know to get you set for some high-stakes summer hockey. Flames -130 (10/13) Blast from the past Jets +110 (11/10) Let's take a quick trip down memory lane, shall we? Exact Series Outcome There once was a time when Jets vs. Flames was as common as the Calgary wins 3-2 — 17/5 cold. The clubs met often during the regular-season while playing in the Smythe Division in the 1980s and early 1990s, before the Jets packed Calgary wins 3-1 — 7/2 their bags — first for the Central Division, and then the desert. The latest odds, as of Wednesday, favouring the Flames: They met in three consecutive playoffs: Winnipeg eliminated Calgary 3-1 Overall in their best-of-five divisional semifinal in 1985, the Flames returned the favour with a 3-0 sweep in 1986 and Winnipeg got the last laugh (until Flames -130 (10/13) now) in 1987 with a 4-2 victory in the expanded best-of-seven format. Jets +110 (11/10) Consider this: At the time of their last post-season meeting, Blake Wheeler was still a few months away from blowing out the candles on his Exact Series Outcome first birthday cake. Depth centre Mark Letestu had just turned two. And the other members of the current Jets roster hadn't been born yet. David Calgary wins 3-2 — 17/5 Gustafsson, the youngest player on the team, was still 13 years away Calgary wins 3-1 — 7/2 from entering the world, for pete's sake! Winnipeg wins 3-2 — 18/5 There's not a lot of recent history to look at between these teams, either, as they only met once during the 2019-20 season in circumstances that Winnipeg wins 3-1 — 15/4 were anything but typical. Under a snowy sky at Regina's Mosaic Stadium, the Jets rallied for a 2-1 overtime victory over the Flames during Calgary wins 3-0 — 23/4 the Heritage Classic last Oct. 26. Winnipeg wins 3-0 — 13/2 Tale of the tape Total games in series Individual Goals: Winnipeg (Connor 38, Scheifele 29, Laine 28), Calgary Five — 3/2 (Lindholm 29, Tkachuk 23, Monahan 22) Four — 8/5 Individual Points: Winnipeg (Connor 73, Scheifele 73, Wheeler 65), Calgary (Tkachuk 61, Gaudreau 58, Lindholm 54) Three — 13/5 Wins: Winnipeg 37 (T-10th), Calgary 36 (T-14th) The Jets began the year as Stanley Cup favourites following a run to the Western Conference final, and looked the part halfway through the Individual Goals: Winnipeg (Connor 38, Scheifele 29, Laine 28), Calgary campaign. But then the wheels fell off, the they were vanquished in six (Lindholm 29, Tkachuk 23, Monahan 22) games by the St. Louis Blues, who went on to win it all. Individual Points: Winnipeg (Connor 73, Scheifele 73, Wheeler 65), Calgary also laid a post-season egg, falling to underdog Colorado in just Calgary (Tkachuk 61, Gaudreau 58, Lindholm 54) five games in the opening round. That still isn't sitting well with the Wins: Winnipeg 37 (T-10th), Calgary 36 (T-14th) Flames. Team Goals For: Winnipeg: 213 (16th), Calgary 204 (20th) (Note: "We got embarrassed last year," forward Sean Monahan recently told Doesn’t include shootout goals) reporters. "We’ve talked about it a lot, and a lot behind closed doors — we got outworked and outcompeted and got owned by Colorado. You Team Goals Against: Winnipeg 209 (T-13th), Calgary 214 (T-16th) want to be a guy who can be a part of the post-season and that’s where a lot of guys’ legacies are built. That’s the kind of guys we want to be, and we want to step up and take charge in Game 1." Six storylines to watch 1. Can Connor Hellebuyck pick up where he left off? The team with the better goaltender almost always comes out on top in the playoffs. And there's no question that, on paper, the Jets have a distinct advantage. Hellebuyck was having a career year, with an NHL- best six shutouts, despite playing behind a defence that had been completely stripped down for parts. He's a Vezina Trophy finalist, and a favourite to win, and makes the Jets a difficult out if he can regain his form following a 4 1/2-month break. 2. Meanwhile, in Calgary's net? David Rittich? Cam Talbot? Who knows at this point? The Flames haven't named their Game 1 starter, although coach Geoff Ward hinted earlier this week both guys will likely be called upon at some point. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it? Calgary needs one of these two guys to take the reins and get red-hot to have a fighting chance against Winnipeg's high-powered offence. 3. Can Nikolaj Ehlers shed the playoff gorilla on his back? Two playoffs. Twenty-one games. No goals. You don't have to remind Winnipeg's speedy, skilled winger about the obvious, but he's looking to break out in a big way. He had 25 goals during the regular-season and was one of the hottest players on the team before the season was paused in mid-March, skating on a line with Patrik Laine and trade- deadline addition Cody Eakin. A big series by Ehlers could be a difference-maker. 4. Can Matthew Tkachuk get under everyone's skin? Get ready, Jets fans, to get your hate-on for the son of Jets 1.0 star Keith Tkachuk. Young Matthew is not only a supremely talented forward, but he's also a super-pest who will stop at nothing to help his team win. Just ask Edmonton's Zack Kassian. He'll hit anything that moves, and Hellebuyck will likely be seeing him in his sleep every night, given Tkachuk's net-front presence. In fact, Hellebuyck might want to keep his head up while grabbing breakfast each morning at the Sutton Place Hotel here, considering the Flames are staying under the same roof. Tkachuk might just step in front of him at the omelette bar. 5. Battle of the beleaguered blue lines The Jets began the year with the loss of Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot, and paid for it at various times with a shaky group of six in front of Hellebuyck that had plenty of growing pains. But the emergence of Neal Pionk, the continued evolution of Josh Morrissey, the steady play of Dmitry Kulikov and contributions from several depth pieces such as Tucker Poolman and Nathan Beaulieu helped weather the storm. The trade-deadline addition of Dylan DeMelo from Ottawa gives the Jets the strongest, healthiest group they've had all year. The Flames will miss Travis Hamonic, who opted out of the playoffs for family reasons, due to COVID-19 concerns. His absence will test their depth and put extra pressure on whoever happens to be in goal. 6. Who will have the most special teams? Playoff hockey typically means tighter checking and low-scoring tilts, which is why special teams often play such a big role. The Jets' power play has all the tools to be better than it was during the regular season, but fell into the trap of being far too predictable at times. Calgary's has had weeks to study film, so Maurice's crew better be prepared to throw a few curveballs into the mix if they want to be successful against a Calgary penalty kill that was very efficient. Winnipeg's penalty kill was among the NHL's best in the second half of the year, once it started to get healthy, along with adding Eakin and DeMelo to the fold, but Calgary has a potent power play as well, with some big guns up front including Tkachuk, Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm. [email protected] Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyre Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 07.30.2020 1176894 Winnipeg Jets
Flames expectingintensity
EDMONTON — The Calgary Flames are expecting to be a battle-tested lot when they face-off against the Winnipeg Jets in their opening round playoff series starting Saturday. And they can thank an old foe for helping to get them ready. Calgary renewed hostilities with Edmonton on Tuesday night at Rogers Place in an exhibition game that was anything but ordinary. The two teams were at each other’s throats during the regular-season with all kinds of shenanigans, so dialing up the intensity should come naturally even if there weren’t going to be any bloodthirsty fans in the building for the first contest being held in the Western Conference hub. "It’s an important game. You want to get your feet under you, you want your timing there, and there’s no better way to start than against a team like Edmonton. We know what’s there in the past, and we’ve got to amp up and get ready for playoffs," Flames forward Sean Monahan said prior to the 9:30 p.m. CT puck drop. "You want to try to set the tone early. A best of five (against Winnipeg) is obviously a little bit quicker and you don’t want to be playing catch-up in something like that. For us, our mindset is we have to come out with a good start to the series and set the tone right away." The Jets will get their one dress rehearsal tonight, although their meeting with the Vancouver Canucks doesn’t come with the same built-in hate that the Battle of Alberta does. Whether Calgary can use that to their advantage remains to be seen. "We don’t want to come in flat-footed and not prepared. We have to try to get off on the right foot and not just go through the motions because it’s an exhibition game," said forward Johnny Gaudreau. "Obviously the history is there between both of our teams, everyone remembers that. But at the same time we’re trying to get ready for the playoffs and make our statement there," added Monahan. Unlike the Jets who have Vezina Trophy favourite Connor Hellebuyck in goal, the Flames still don’t even know who will tend their net in Game 1. David Rittich and Cam Talbot were expected to split the game against the Oilers with coach Geoff Ward still weighing his options. "There’s a few things we will be looking at, for sure," said Ward. "From there the evaluation stage of our training camp will be set, and then we’ll use the next couple days to make a decision on who will start." Rittich made the bulk of the regular-season starts, appearing in 48 games with a 24-17-6 record, 2.97 goals against average and .907 save percentage. Talbot, who came over from the Oilers after last season, was 12-10-1 with a 2.63 GAA and .919 SV% in 26 games. Ward is also still playing around with some line combinations and defence pairings. Despite the hype and excitement, he wasn’t expecting any real nonsense on Tuesday, considering the stakes. Nobody wants to get injured or suspended just days before the playoffs officially begin. "I think both teams are aware of that. It’s a good opponent for us for a couple reasons. Number one, the rivalry is there, so I think the intensity will probably be where you want it to be in a type of game like this," said Ward. "They’ve got really good special teams, Edmonton does, so that’s going to be good for us in terms of getting our special teams some work. And they’ve got some obvious high-end, elite-level players that we’re going to see in the series against Winnipeg. I think a lot of things about what Edmonton has in terms of their team will make us a much more prepared team than maybe if we played somebody else." [email protected] Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyre Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 07.30.2020 1176895 Winnipeg Jets Hellebuyck stopped Canucks sniper Brock Boeser on a breakaway in the second period. The Vancouver winger, who has scored 75 goals in 197 NHL games, deked to his backhand and tried to go through the legs but Hellebuyck looked cool and calm and denied him. Hellebuyck, Jets in fine form as they top Canucks in lone exhibition tilt before summer playoffs Not long after that, winger Nikolaj Ehlers found an open net after collecting a rebound, created by a Patrik Laine wrister, to make it 2-0 for the Jets. Ted Wyman And the Jets made it 3-0 before the end of the second period as Jack Roslovic made a slick backhanded pass into the slot to defenceman July 30, 2020 12:54 AM CDT Dmitry Kulikov, who buried a wrist shot past Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom. EDMONTON — It was an NHL hockey game, played in a frigid arena on If there were downsides to the Jets game, they were the number of shots a scorching hot evening, with no fans in the stands. Hellebuyck had to face and the fact the power play went 0-for-2. Plus, Ehlers left the game early and looked to be hobbling, but Maurice said Kind of like hockey in Florida or Arizona, am I right? after the game it was 100% precautionary and he expected Ehlers to practice on Friday after Thursday’s off day. All kidding aside, it was a unique night for the Winnipeg Jets, as they faced off against the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday night in an NHL The Jets also allowed a late goal by Antoine Roussel of the Canucks, but exhibition game at Rogers Place in the hub city of Edmonton. that was about it. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was Winnipeg’s first game action Wheeler scored into an empty net to round out the scoring. in 20 weeks and it was a one and only chance to prepare for the NHL’s made-for-TV playoffs, which will begin Saturday. With no fans in the stands and the NHL not using all of the bells and whistles it intends to use during the playoffs, it was an odd atmosphere in It was an exhibition game, but it was far from meaningless, with the the arena, but it didn’t seem to have much effect on the play on the ice. teams having no choice but to ramp up the intensity in order to hit the ground running when the qualifying-round games begin. “I mean, it’s different,” Maurice said. “There’s no question about that. I would say what was positive about it, what I liked about it, is you’re With the Jets set to face the Calgary Flames in one best-of-five, and the getting the whole interaction on the bench. So between the players and Canucks going against the Minnesota Wild in another, this was the the trainers and the coaches there’s always a lot of chatter, but you chance for both teams to find out if they’re up to speed. almost don’t hear it because of the fan noise.” It looked pretty good for the Jets, on the whole. The Jets were the home team, so they wore their home blue jerseys, the voice of Bell MTS Place announcer Jay Richardson was heard as they They seemed to have their legs from the outset, had no problem were introduced on to the ice and Maurice had the last change. generating offence and got a rock-solid performance from Vezina Trophy finalist Connor Hellebuyck on the way to a 4-1 victory. The Jets goal horn and siren was also heard a few times. “That would be the best exhibition game in terms of effort that I’ve ever But it was incredibly different from the fan madness we saw inside and seen,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said. “This was a completely out of Winnipeg’s downtown arena during the playoffs in 2018, when the different thing. There was some really good pace to it. In some ways, Jets went all the way to the Western Conference final. parts of that were better than games we see in the first two months of the season. I don’t think the hands are there quite yet, but the legs were. That’s going to take some getting used to. They were driving pretty good.” If the Jets play like they did on this night in the coming playoffs, they’re Before the game began, the players from both teams gathered in a circle going to have plenty of time to get accustomed. at centre ice to show solidarity for front line workers, who have put their lives on the line during the pandemic, and to condemn acts of racism and hate. Winnipeg Sun LOADED 07.30.2020 It was a nice gesture from a group of NHL players who have seen racism and social injustice issues explode in worldwide protests in the months since the NHL shut down because of the coronavirus threat. Not every team playing exhibition games this week in Toronto and Edmonton has made such a gesture and it’s good to know these players saw it as important to recognize what’s going on outside their little bubble. And that’s not simply an expression — these players are actually living in a bubble of sorts in order to play these summer games. As they walked down fenced-off walkaways to the arena from their hotels, it was 29 C on the streets of Edmonton. Inside, it may as well have been February. And the Jets looked quite a bit like the team that won four straight games in early March, before the NHL pressed pause on the season. The Jets were winning with great goaltending, timely offence, responsible defensive play and solid special teams before the break and that carried on into Wednesday’s game. “I think our group felt good,” captain Blake Wheeler said. “I think everyone came into camp in really good shape. Tonight was a good step for us. There were obviously some moments where the plays weren’t great, the hands weren’t great but we talked before the game. We don’t need hands right now. We just need to be in the battle, be in the fight and willing to work and kind of just see where things line up.” On this night the Jets got a late first-period goal from defenceman Tucker Poolman — an unlikely hero if there ever was one — a sparkling performance, as usual, from Hellebuyck (37 saves) and a 2-for-2 night from the once-hopeless penalty kill. “I thought it was great, being able to get to that playoff battle mentality and that battle level,” Hellebuyck said. “So this game was not just an exhibition for me, it was getting that battle intensity up.” 1176896 Winnipeg Jets Catan, cards and ping pong, doing push-up contests and trying to live as normal a life as possible within their closed off village.
They have to get the “brain tickler” regularly — that’s what the Jets call Travelling to NHL’s bubble city for playoff hockey brings some surreal the test for COVID-19 — but so far players have been testing clean moments across the board, which suggests the NHL’s bubble plan is working well. When game time arrived, I walked over to the arena on a 29 C sunny day, something I’ve done for football games here in Edmonton before, Ted Wyman but never to watch hockey. July 29, 2020 10:18 PM CDT Inside the arena, the media go through a screening process and a temperature check and then taken up to the press viewing area, which is in the building but far away from any area where the players and team EDMONTON — To truly capture the experience of travelling to this personnel ever go. Northern Alberta city for a once-in-a-lifetime pro hockey tournament It’s so cold in the building, you need a winter coat. Seriously. In July! during a pandemic, you have to start with the arrival at the airport in Winnipeg. As the puck drops between the Jets and Canucks, it’s a truly surreal moment. As my ride pulled up to the departures level, it was immediately obvious how different things were from the last time I flew in March. There are, of course, no people in the seats, save for a few players from teams in the tournament who are not playing at this moment. Every There were no cars. sound from the ice surface is clearly audible — the skate blades carving Inside the airport there was no line at the WestJet bag drop, no wait to go into the ice, the pucks exploding off sticks as players shoot or clapping through security. After breezing through, the first thing that jumped out onto them as they take passes. was the departures board, with only four flights on it. You can hear the goalies directing traffic, the chatter on the bench, the And there were very few people in a place that is normally bustling with trash talking, the ignored complaints to referees after penalty calls. busy travellers. What a sign of the times it is to see that place empty, It’s like watching a practice, except this is an NHL game and soon the almost all the businesses closed, most of the gates unused, only a games will have great meaning. couple of planes parked outside. In two months, the Stanley Cup will be awarded here. The WestJet flight was terrific for a COVID-wary traveller, with only about 30 passengers on a plane that holds 174. Talk about social distancing. Between now and then 12 NHL teams will compete for the right to represent the Western Conference and two more teams will move over I had a whole exit row to myself as I sat and observed that all the from the Toronto hub in September for the Eastern Conference final and passengers were wearing masks (I added plastic safety glasses (pink the Stanley Cup final. ones, to be exact) to my PPE ensemble, just to be safe). By then everyone will be used to these strange conditions and the NHL Then there was the arrival in Edmonton, the very place that is hosting the will have pulled off a minor miracle by making it all happen — at least we NHL’s Western Conference playoffs, the conference finals and the hope they will have. Stanley Cup. For now, it just feels pretty cool to be one of the few who get to witness it It felt like arriving in a cathedral during a period of mourning. happening. The airport was so quiet it was eerie, with just the 30 people from our No matter how surreal it seems. flight walking along silently.
Almost everything was closed — even Tim Hortons and Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99 Wine and Whisky bar. Winnipeg Sun LOADED 07.30.2020 The next morning I ventured out into the Ice District in Edmonton, where the NHL playoffs will be played, starting on Saturday. Rogers Place arena is the focal point of the Ice District, a revitalized part of downtown. There’s a huge, beautiful J.W. Marriott hotel attached to the rink and that’s where six of the teams are staying. Other teams, like the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames, who will meet on Saturday in Game 1 of their best-of-five qualifying round series, are at the Sutton Place Hotel. Those hotels, and the nearby Delta Suites, are all connected by a series of fenced-off walkways, which are fully adorned with NHL marketing, social justice slogans and promotions of Edmonton and Alberta. In close proximity to the bubble the NHL has created there is virtually no activity. The streets are almost completely deserted. Inside, it seems to be teeming with life, with players, team personnel, league support staff, television crews and officials busily walking through the fenced off corridors, congregating in open areas with music, picnic tables and open spaces for training. This is a game day after all, with three exhibition games — including the Jets and Vancouver Canucks — set to be played throughout the afternoon and evening at Rogers Place. As you walk in the area, you occasionally come upon spots where the public — vehicles and/or pedestrians — need to cross the secure zone walkways. Masked security guards watch for pedestrians in the secure zone, and when there are none, open up gates for the general public to pass through. Other guards man traffic lights, closing the gates when the lights are red so pedestrians can cross within the bubble, opening them for traffic to pass through when lights are green. Inside, we’re told, it’s like a big summer camp for adult hockey players, coaches and team executives. They’re playing games like cornhole and 1176897 Winnipeg Jets “It feels like they’ve been part of the group from the beginning. And maybe it’s because you pause and you have the restart that we do here right now that everybody’s on that even footing.” JETS SNAPSHOTS: Jets are going to have their hands full with Flames As the trade deadline approached, Cheveldayoff was clearly looking for a agitator Tkachuk right shot defenceman. With Jacob Trouba (traded), Tyler Myers (free agent, Vancouver) and Byfuglien (retired) all missing from the previous season, the Jets had gone from one of the best right sides in the game to one of the weakest. Ted Wyman Neal Pionk was playing great hockey and Tucker Poolman holding is July 29, 2020 4:01 PM CDT own, but otherwise the Jets were often playing left-shot players on the right side, to varying degrees of effect. EDMONTON — Judging from Tuesday’s exhibition game between DeMelo, picked up for a third-round draft pick in 2020, fit the bill and so Calgary and Edmonton, the Winnipeg Jets are going to have their hands far it’s been good for the Jets. more than full with Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk. Eakin was a different story. The 29-year-old Winnipegger was somewhat To be more precise, Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s crease is going to surprisingly acquired for a conditional fourth round draft pick from a be full of Matthew Tkachuk. Western Conference rival. The Flames winger has proven to be both a solid scorer, a physical “It was interesting because Cody was someone that we had kind of performer and an agitator in his four NHL seasons and many observers talked about but never really anticipated that would be available,” believe he could be a huge factor in the best-of-five qualifying round Cheveldayoff said. “When he did come available, we thought long and series that starts Saturday at Rogers Place. hard about it and knew that it was going to be a good fit from a lot of different perspectives. He’s the type of player that draws people into the On Tuesday, Tkachuk was in the face of the Edmonton goaltenders all fight, was going to be a good complement we felt from an experience, night long and very clearly interfered with Mike Smith as Elias Lindholm leadership and certainly from a playing perspective, as well. They were scored Calgary’s first goal late in the second period. both good fits.” Take Our Poll Eakin had a goal and four assists in eight games with the Jets, while DeMelo had no points. His presence annoyed the Oilers enough that things got nasty and scrums ensued during an exhibition game. ABOUT THAT P.K. He’s sure to be a thorn in the side of the Jets, who don’t really have DeMelo, a 27-year-old who can become an unrestricted free agent after anyone who matches that level of agitation. If Dustin Byfuglien were still the playoffs, doesn’t have much interest in taking credit for the Jets’ playing, he would have been perfect, but that big ship has sailed. improved penalty killing. Winnipeg may have better goaltending and better forwards overall for this “Obviously I wasn’t here for the full season but when I got here I felt our series — at least on paper — but there are many other things that come PK was really strong,” he said. “It starts in net with (Connor Hellebuyck into play in the playoffs and the ability to get under an opponent’s skin is and Laurent Brossoit) and they do a great job of stepping up and making one of them. some big saves. Of course, Tkachuk has not exactly lit things up in the Flames two “I think we have a great group of forwards that really drive our PK and we previous playoff series, during which they won only one game. do a great job of pressuring other teams. We do a great job of sacrificing, blocking shots and we’re doing all those things and everything is clicking He has two goals and three points and is -6 in nine games. for us.” But he’s just 22 years old and has gained a lot of experience while The Jets killed off 20 of 22 (91%) penalties they took after DeMelo was scoring 94 goals in the NHL. The Jets will have to pay close attention to acquired. him every shift. “Hopefully we can continue to do that here,” DeMelo said. “Even if we get The Jets have added “Hawerchuk Strong” decals to their helmets and scored on, we’re so confident with our group and how we kill. As long as team apparel for the duration of the NHL playoffs. we play our way and be aggressive, I think we’ll do a good job with it. “ The decals are a show of support for one-time Jets superstar Dale Overall, the Jets finished 22nd in the league in penalty killing at 77.6% Hawerchuk, who is battling a second round of cancer just months after completing treatments for a first round of stomach cancer. Hawerchuk, 57, is the all-time leading scorer in Jets 1.0 history and is a Winnipeg Sun LOADED 07.30.2020 Hockey Hall of Famer. The Jets have become a considerably different team since the last time they played the Flames, in late October of 2019, in an outdoor game at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. Though the Jets won that game, they were not looking much like a potential playoff team at the time, giving up far too many goals, sitting last in the NHL in penalty killing and looking very much like a team that had lost four core defencemen in the off-season. By the time the NHL hit pause on the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jets were much improved and a couple of near trade- deadline acquisitions played big roles in that turnaround. The Jets picked up defenceman Dylan DeMelo from the Ottawa Senators and centre Cody Eakin from the Vegas Golden Knights in February and both played good hockey for them. DeMelo got into 10 games and found a place on the top defence pairing with Josh Morissey, while Eakin got into eight games and played between Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine. The Jets had some of the best penalty killing in the league going on when the season shut down and had won four straight games. “It was almost like I forgot we traded for them because they just fit in so well, fit in so nicely,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said this week. 1176898 Winnipeg Jets As to whether they’d been “shell-shocked,” that’s hard to declare with any degree of certainty. Because, regardless of any lingering playoff disappointment, the team has had to chew through challenge after challenge to reach even this stage of the chase: Scouting the enemy: Getting to know the Flames’ stars, goalies and unsung heroes Top prospect Juuso Valimaki, a shoo-in starter, wrecks his knee in a pre- camp training mishap. ACL surgery is required and he’s gone for the entire season. By Scott Cruickshank and Murat Ates T.J. Brodie collapses in practice one day and goes into convulsions in front of panicked teammates, coaches, managers, reporters. He’s rushed Jul 29, 2020 from the Saddledome ice to the hospital, where he quickly recovers from the scary episode. Winnipeg played Calgary just once this season. It was so long ago — Bill Peters — and the entire organization — is engulfed in scandal after and was played under such unique circumstances — that Paul Maurice Akim Aliu’s (swiftly corroborated) allegations of racism. He resigns his threw out the video. post as head coach. “The first thing we’d normally do is we’d pull all of the video of the games The Flames announce that assistant general manager Chris Snow has against us but we’ve got one outdoor game,” Maurice said at Jets camp, received a diagnosis of ALS, the disease that killed his father, two “and that’s with a different guy behind the bench. So I’ve watched it once. uncles, and a cousin. I didn’t cut anything out of it to use.” The same day the NHL season is officially paused, long-time president Instead, Maurice turned to other sources of data. He talked to other Ken King dies. coaches, consulted his staff, and studied late-season video from Three days before the start of the NHL’s return-to-play plan, Travis Calgary’s rise up the Western Conference standings. Hamonic, a heart-and-soul presence on the back-end, opts out for family This is going to be kind of like that. reasons. No one has followed the Flames closer than The Athletic Calgary’s Scott This is a team that has endured, that has kept on keeping on, in the face Cruickshank did this year. From Calgary’s early season struggles, Bill of adversity. Last spring the players had been unable to cope with even Peters’ exit and Geoff Ward’s righting of the ship, it’s been a wild season the slightest push-back. It’s different now. As general manager Brad for Winnipeg’s rivals. Treliving puts it, the group’s added some “callus.” So while Jets fans know about Dustin Byfuglien’s departure, the Jets’ How has Geoff Ward changed things? From far away, it looks like the injury woes, their waiver-wire defence corps, Connor Hellebuyck’s Ward Flames got better finishing and goaltending than the Peters Flames excellence and big offensive seasons from Mark Scheifele and Kyle … but was there more to it? Connor, there’s still a lot to discover about Calgary’s turnaround. Better finishing and goaltending may have simply been byproducts of a To guide in that discovery, we turn to Cruickshank with a laundry list of more relaxed, more settled setting. questions. Because Ward, as a counter-balance replacement to Peters, was ideal. Were the Flames shell-shocked at the beginning of the season? What Just the right personality, just the right touch. happened to Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan’s point production? Unlike Peters, who was detached from his players, Ward is all about How is Winnipeg supposed to handle Matthew Tkachuk? relationships. While this is his first stab as a head honcho in the NHL, he We volleyed all of those questions — and more — at Cruickshank. is a hockey lifer. He’s coached all over North America, on the international stage, too, and he’s built a reputation of having a firm, but We had Craig Button on The Boarding Pass this spring and he fair, hand. Players respect that. suggested Calgary took the loss to Colorado pretty hard last year. Were the Flames shell-shocked at all this fall? Running his first practice at the Saddledome, Ward allowed the squad to listen to music over the public-address system. With a rocky first quarter They did take it hard at the time. Real hard. Which is understandable. of the schedule and the subsequent Peters exit, the skaters were in danger of becoming detrimentally uptight. So that day, out came Rasmus Remember, going into the opening round, the Flames were the Western Andersson’s playlist — “Radio Ga Ga” (Queen), “Tiny Dancer” (Elton Conference’s top side. With 50 victories, they had piled up 107 points — John), “It’s Tricky” (Run-DMC). Smiles all around. And this happened only one NHL outfit, Tampa, gathered more. So imagine the lofty more than once. expectations in Calgary. Ward, who also called for on-ice soccer games at the tail-end of some Quite rightly, they’d been favoured against the Avs. The thinking among sessions, did what he could to brighten the sometimes heavy mood. All some observers (guilty) was that even if the teams’ respective — and along he’s maintained that he wants his players to have fun — even highly regarded — first lines played each other to a standstill, the Flames’ during the strain of the postseason. What a concept. superior depth would see them through. Then off to the second round. It showed. Didn’t happen. Not even close. The Flames won the first seven games they played for the interim head In the aftermath of the disheartening — and, in some ways, revealing — coach. series, the Flames’ players and coaches said all the right things. That their pace and intensity had been lacking, that they’d coasted into the A couple of months later on HNIC’s After Hours, Milan Lucic revealed playoffs, that they would never make that mistake again. that he had considered retiring while Peters was in charge. (“I just think for myself it was just really hard and especially when you’re getting Then, at camp in the fall, that soundtrack continued. Those insistences benched and no one is saying anything to you.”) However, having played that they learned their lessons. They said could not wait to redeem in Boston — and won a Stanley Cup with Ward — Lucic was familiar with themselves. Makes sense. the new skipper’s approach, even and open. Perhaps there would no Rocky Mountain hangover for these guys Ward guided the Flames to a 25-15-3 record. It was not a perfect stretch On top of which, it seemed like the NHL schedule-maker did them a — the team, for instance, staggered on home ice — but players seemed favour — putting their season-opener back at the Pepsi Center, where, in to respond to the man on a personal level. Results followed. Games 3 and 4, they had surrendered a combined 108 (!) shots. What a Explain the offensive slides of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. perfect way to exorcise those postseason demons. They’re clearly two great players Winnipeg should be preparing for — Nevertheless, in the first period of the new season, the Flames, trying to what happened? keep up with the hosts, took three minors (interference, hooking, Gaudreau, in particular, was off his game, especially early. Production interference) and got outshot 14-3. It was a 20-minute span that looked wasn’t there. an awful lot like the spring’s bow-out. This, note, was a 99-point winger last winter. But through the first half of And through 27 dates, they were sub-.500 — and sitting 13th in the same 2019-20, Gaudreau had rustled up only 30 points — dropping him to 65th conference they’d topped the previous winter. on the NHL charts. He looked unhappy. Body language that led people to crank up ever- getting in the way, hanging around. Plus, he has “a face you just want to present speculation that No. 13 is dying to get out of Calgary. punch” — and that’s according to his father, Keith. Lo and behold, Gaudreau recovered smartly. He produced 20 points in Restraint, if you’re a Winnipeg rearguard, is paramount. Especially when the 20 games before the pause, and, equally important, upgraded you know — you know — that one of Tkachuk’s primary objectives, substantially his level of engagement. Why? No idea. He hinted the day starting Saturday, is infiltrating the head of Connor Hellebuyck. Exactly before the pause that he had not enjoyed all the line juggling — for a how he plans to reach inside the goalie’s cranium is anyone’s guess. while he was separated from Monahan, then, for another stretch, they had left-handed centre Mikael Backlund on the right wing. But, down the But does coach Paul Maurice send in the cavalry? Or does he resist stretch, it had been a new player, just like that (finger snap). giving Tkachuk what he wants? Monahan’s output, flagging or otherwise, is always a little harder to Whichever way it goes, this has the makings of a tasty subplot. define. This is not a dynamic player. Looks the same most of the time. Mark Giordano is the 2019 Norris Trophy winner and he’s been a stud He finds a seam in the offensive zone. If someone skitters the puck over forever but … he’s 36. How does he still dominate and what do Jets fans to him, he shoots it into the net. need to know about that Giordano/T.J. Brodie pairing? One narrative floating around Flames headquarters was that Monahan To put Giordano’s age into perspective, he and the Saddledome were had been taking measures to become a more well-rounded player, a welcomed into the world within two weeks of each other. The latter is more own-zone-focused centreman. Did that commitment drag his scheduled to be torn down. And the player, well, he’s still going strong. offensive numbers? Perhaps. But it is hard to knock a chap who just authored his seventh straight 20-goal campaign. Giordano, who turned 36 the day of the season-opener in Denver, has been partnered for years with Brodie, a fellow lefty who shoulders right- But however Nos. 13 and 23 fared during the regular season, given their side duties. Their partnership is established to the point that when they’re glaring shortfall last spring, they can expect to be judged intensely in the separated, it’s newsworthy. coming days. That’s their real test. It’s fairly easy to imagine a future with Juuso Valimaki and Rasmus Who is Calgary’s starting goalie going to be? Did they choose the right Andersson forming the Flames’ first pairing. Till that day, possibly guy? What do you expect from him? multiple seasons away, it’s Nos. 5 and 7 as the top duo. TBD. Great question, though. No encroachers are likely to get starched when Giordano and Brodie are Because David Rittich had been bypassed last spring by Mike Smith — on the ice. But in terms of moving the puck and defending crisply, they do who ended up being superb against the Avs — it figured that Flames well. Well enough, in fact, that they’re likely to be matched against the brass would love to get a look at him when the stakes are high. After all, Jets’ most dangerous forwards. the Czech, who turns 28 next month, is considered the first-stringer, now And, beyond those quality-of-opposition spins, Giordano continues to and going forward. Heck, he was probably the team’s MVP in the draw work as a penalty-killer and as a power-play quarterback. season’s first half. Too, the Flames captain is sure to be stoked for the coming games. After The reasoning tracks well. But? Cam Talbot, who performed much better all, he’s suited up for nearly 900 regular-season dates — but just 13 in than Rittich from Jan. 1 onward, reported to the Saddledome a couple of the postseason. In his career, he’s experienced only two wins. weeks ago and, by a fair stretch, was the sharpest of the two throughout camp. Who on the Flames quietly has a big impact? Who will Jets fans grow to respect? And, of course, who will they grow to hate? So now what? Quiet but big impact? Derek Ryan. Both are eager to start. Rittich admitted recently that it stung when he lost the net to Smith in the playoffs. And Talbot, a 33-year-old who is a While his backstory is remarkable — three seasons with WHL Spokane, pending free agent, wants to prove to the hockey world that he can still four seasons with the University of Alberta, three seasons in the Austrian be the man for an NHL club. league, one season in the Swedish elite league, nearly a full season with AHL Charlotte, all before dressing for his first NHL game — you might “This is a hot topic right now, who we’re going to start, this and that,” never notice him. Ward said Tuesday morning, “but we’ll just let it play out. We’ve still got a few days before we declare who our starter is.” Unless you’re relying on him. In that case, you’ve got appreciative eyes for No. 10. How much did Tuesday’s exhibition game help to settle matters? They each played 30 minutes and each allowed two goals — but Talbot, who Ryan is the team’s best faceoff man — he was second, behind only started, faced 21 shots; Rittich, nine. Jason Spezza, on the 2018-19 NHL charts — and perhaps its most adaptable. He’s centred the third and fourth lines. He’s worked the right I am anticipating Matthew Tkachuk to be a thorn in the side of Jets flank on the top unit. With injuries a likelihood — not just a possibility — players all series long. What is it about this guy that makes him so this postseason, he can be jammed into any vacancy. effective and such a pain in the ass? What can Winnipeg do to shut him down? The low-maintenance forward is also savvy enough to handle deployment on either of the special teams. Boiled down — this is a very good player, who happens to be super annoying. An all-world needler with an elite skillset. Grow to respect? Elias Lindholm. It’s one thing if it’s a fourth-line grunt crowding the crease, nudging your Not exactly a highlight-maker, the Swede is nearly as versatile as Ryan goalkeeper, filling your ear-hole with post-whistle nattering. But it and he does work on both special teams. Additionally, there are few ebbs somehow makes the shenanigans even more irksome when the smirking to his game. The club’s most consistent player, he’s proving to be its best player is also capable of no-look passes, between-the-leg dekes, off- clutch scorer, too. With a wicked release, Lindholm paced the Flames balance deflections. (The other day at the Saddledome, Tkachuk devoted with 29 goals — including the most at home, the most on the road, the considerable time to working on tips — with the butt-end of his stick.) most on the power play, the most game-winners. Consider the Avs’ playbook. Additionally, he happily does the heavy lifting in the defensive zone. Game 1 last year, Tkachuk, mouthguard a-dangle, crowded the Colorado Grow to hate? Andrew Mangiapane. crease, riled up the defenders (including Erik Johnson, who retaliated with a penalized high stick). He also scored twice, put three pucks on net, Even close pal Rasmus Andersson — they played together in OHL recorded four hits. Mike Smith’s sterling netminding aside, No. 19 was Barrie, AHL Stockton, and now Calgary — refers to Mangiapane as the story for the home side. “annoying.” But he means it in the best sense. On-ice persistence. Game 2 was markedly different. Getting only the side-eye from enemy The other day in the Flames’ first intrasquad action, with most players blueliners — read: little reaction — Tkachuk went pointless and minus- desperately trying to find their stickhandling rhythm, Mangiapane made it two in a 3-2 loss. his personal mission to ruin everyone’s night. He stole pucks at a rapid clip. In other words, they managed to ignore him. His mindset is no different when it counts. Unrelentingly, he manages to That, though, is the challenge. And good luck with that. No one has win nearly every 50-50 possession battle he wades into. And the drawn more penalties than the St. Louis resident during his four years in youngster is getting only more confident. So, yeah, annoying — and the NHL. There’s a reason for that. He’s forever strutting into traffic, effective. Calgary will scorch the Jets and go on a long run if: The Flames’ first unit rekindles its magic from the first 50 games of the 2018-19 season. It was a stretch of goodness that propelled all of its members to career years. When dialled in, that line is an engine capable of powering an entire group an awfully long way. Winnipeg will beat the Flames in round one if: The Jets open well and plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the Calgarians. A short series makes a slow start bad enough. But if you’re already haunted by past playoff failings, doubts are compounded. Finally, how do you think this series is really going to go? Which team wins it and how? Once upon a time — OK, late in the 2014-15 season — I watched the Jets play a regular-season contest against Chicago, and lose. But they’d looked so solid, so energized, up and down, front to back, that I picked them to go far, like really far, that spring. I was convinced. And they ended up being swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. Ditto: my ill-fated prediction for Calgary’s series a year ago. I cite these handy examples by way of offering an up-front appraisal of my predicting abilities. Which is to say generally shabby. That noted, Flames in five. Assuming they can get their goalie situation sorted out, their quality on the blue line will stand as the difference. But barely.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176899 Vancouver Canucks I was told by Stan Smyl and Tony Gallagher when I was putting together my story on the 1989 Stanley Cup playoff series vs. Calgary that the two coaches would make sure to tell a joke as the players were set to go out on the ice before the opening faceoff. Would always leave the Canucks The Skate: Jake train is at the station in stitches. Patrick Johnston It sure put paid to the notion that old-time coaches were all fire and brimstone. They wanted their players to be loose before they went on the ice. PATRICK JOHNSTON Also not sure they’d be too worried about what their players were July 30, 2020 12:03 AM PDT wearing off the ice. A Wild note Canucks Extra: The Canucks are set for the qualifying round of the 2020 Eric Staal has 111 goals since signing a very team-friendly contract with Stanley Cup playoffs. the Wild in 2016. Last week’s relaunch of the Skate was so fun, let’s do it again. Loui Eriksson has 38. Don’t know how often we’ll do this, but with a lot happening right now, Sometimes it’s about more than just playing there’s lots to chew on. There are a lot of reasons why players keep playing. Mostly it’s about Virtanen’s lament how much fun they’re having. Hours after Canucks general manager Jim Benning told David Amber on But it can also be about their bigger financial picture. Hockey Night in Canada that there wasn’t anything to read into the fact I’m pretty amazed this flew under the radar like it did: Loui Eriksson’s that Jake Virtanen was a healthy scratch in the team’s lone tune-up restaurant chain lost a ton of money in 2018 and while it did do better in before they play the Minnesota Wild in the Stanley Cup playoffs 2019, he was still in the red. qualifying round, Travis Green was very direct in why the Abbotsford kid was a scratch. One of the first things Eriksson did after signing his big contract in 2016 was to become the lead investor in the five-location chain. It was about dressing the best lineup he had. But the restaurants almost immediately ran into trouble: the former owner Hours after Benning said "Jake’s working hard and had a good was arrested on sexual assault charges against underage girls. The camp……I wouldn't read much into it", Green says he didn't use Virtanen authorities rescinded the restaurants’ liquor licences, leading to a year- because he iced the team that gave him the best chance to win.. over-year decline in revenue of more than $8 million. Those are different answers.— Blake Price (@BlakePriceTSN) July 30, Bottoms up 2020 Drink safe, Friends. That’s damning of a player he’s shown a lot of time for. Super cool and unique shotgunning tool from the @drunk_engineers. Hey, maybe he still gets in for Brandon Sutter, who did not look good Was a pleasure to tell their story and help try to get the word out there! against the Jets. But Sutter kills penalties and Virtanen does not. #Canuckshttps://t.co/bO8lMQvAVc— David Quadrelli (@QuadreIli) July Loui Eriksson kills penalties and was also a healthy scratch. You’d think 20, 2020 he’s likely in before Virtanen, simply because of his specialist utility. Rugby keeps the mic on the ref on all the time. What a turn of events for a forward who was looking likely to score 20 It brings the viewer right into the action. goals this season. He was on pace for 46 points. Hockey would be great like this. You still figure he’ll win a raise in arbitration. But if you retain Tyler Toffoli, that keeps Micheal Ferland on your third line and the fourth line is The Chayka-Canucks connection already jam-packed with contracts so is there still a way to find a new home via trade for Virtanen? The high price Benning was asking for him You may have heard that John Chayka, late of the Coyotes, once had a at the trade deadline certainly won’t work now. connection with the Canucks. His company, Stathletes, had a deal with the Canucks. Have we seen him play his last game for his hometown team? It was nothing more than a services contract. The Canucks needed a Jack Mack bunch of data tracked. In those days, there weren’t any in-house people doing much of that. Stathletes was a company that was doing that. Spoke with him briefly a couple times. Emailed with him last winter about setting up an interview for a Canucks 50 story. Ended up playing And so the deal was made. telephone tag with him. That was it. There was an option for the Canucks to buy a portion of the Figured I’d get another chance to chat with him. business at one point, but it wasn’t taken up. Sadly I didn’t. The big red head died of cancer on Monday. Everyone I’ve The Canucks, of course, now have their own internal data analysis team. since spoken with about him had nothing but good things to say. Most teams do. Ed Willes has a wonderful column up about it. Kovid Hockey League I emailed with Bob McCammon’s wife Maureen about McIhargey What a terrifying situation for Reid Boucher. yesterday. McCammon was the Canucks’ coach in the late 1980s and McIlhargey was his assistant. His team is rife with Covid. And he’s not even there yet. “Yes it is very sad to hear about Jack,” Maureen said. “He called about Hearing up to 20 players infected with Co-vid 19 in Avangard Omsk in three weeks ago to see how Bob was doing and to set up a coffee date. KHL, that is Reid Boucher's team. We had no idea he was sick. When I told him Bob was struggling, he said Boucher has not arrived in Russia yet. he was also and told us about his cancer. Sadly the coffee date didn’t happen and now he’s gone. Bob doesn’t really remember much any Sounds like his plan is still to go. He’s making $700k over there, far more more but I do know when he used to refer to Jack he said that he was than he’d make even on a nice deal in the AHL. incredibly loyal, honest and a true friend. A straight shooter with a big heart. I also know they had a lot of great times together on and off the He’s too old and too good for the A. Who really wants to sign him? ice.” He could go to Europe but he’d never make what he can make in the RIP JACK McILHARGEY KHL. -one of the most respected and loved members of the @Canucks In another year, it’s probably an easy call. organization over a span of 24 years, passed away peacefully on July 19, But in the time of Covid? Yikes. losing his battle with cancer at the age of 68. NHL, do better There’s a pretty well-established way to do the minimum in supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Don’t make up your own version. Nazem Kadri tried to talk about it today. Kadri talking about racism. I know there are no restrictions on protesting during a game. Part of good allyship though is creating a space where people feel they can protest safely and without retaliation. From Kadri's words, it doesn't sound like that support from the NHL is very forthcoming.— Hemal Jhaveri (@hemjhaveri) July 29, 2020 And on their official channels, the Avs (or the NHL?) did this: Interesting that this clip cuts off before Kadri says he’d like to see more support from the NHL. https://t.co/CFROcoeQvs— Hemal Jhaveri (@hemjhaveri) July 30, 2020 That’s atrocious. Do better NHL. And don’t churn out puff pieces that don’t even mention what one of your actual racialized players had to say! These are real issues. Don’t be afraid of them. Listen. Empower people. Let them lead. Don’t stamp out thought.
Vancouver Province: LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176900 Vancouver Canucks And Kulikov’s was a terrible defensive breakdown in the Canucks’ own end with the defenceman left all alone in the slot, who fired a wobbly shot home past Markstrom. Jets 4 Canucks 1: Playoff liftoff awaits The most important story about the Canucks’ third line wasn’t that Roussel broke Hellebuyck’s shutout with a goal late in the third period.
It was that Micheal Ferland played the whole game. PATRICK JOHNSTON The burly right winger has mostly been an enigma for the Canucks this July 29, 2020 10:44 PM PDT season. He had a slow start to the regular season after a nasty virus picked up from his toddler daughter knocked his fitness off stride in training camp. On Sunday against the Minnesota Wild, the Canucks will surely be And then he was concussed in late October in a fight, a head injury which hoping to look smoother than they did Wednesday night in a 4-1 loss to saw him suit up for just two more NHL games on the season, plus a the Winnipeg Jets in an exhibition game in Edmonton. period in the AHL. The Wild game is, after all, the opening game of the Stanley Cup The pandemic forced him to stay off the ice and get the rest his vestibular playoffs’ opening round. system needed. He skated hard in this summer’s training camp and We know the Canucks can score. They often did that in bunches this declared himself ready to take on the challenge of a full game, hopeful past season. And the fact they only scored once against Winnipeg on that he’d be able to process the quick movements of the other nine Wednesday isn’t really cause for concern. There’s too much talent there. players on the ice without a recurrence of the vision and balance problems he’d been suffering from because of his head injury. They did generate 38 shots on goal, so it wasn’t like they didn’t put plenty of pucks the way of Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck. (Hellebuyck is a From the outside, it certainly seems like he did. favourite for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie and we saw But the Canucks’ third and fourth lines really struggled on the night. another standout, steady performance.) Roussel may have scored and Ferland may have made it through the But we also know the Canucks aren’t a defensive powerhouse. They whole game, but they, like the Jay Beagle-led fourth line, were badly have had great goaltending for most of the past two seasons from Jacob outshot. Markstrom. The giant Swede gives his team a chance to win every night. There was a feeling among the Canucks’ media corps that Jake That Markstrom has been able to turn back most problems has been a Virtanen’s time was coming — but not in a good way. good thing: the Canucks give their opponents plenty of chances to score. And him not dressing in the summertime exhibition, the only tune-up We knew from the moment it was announced in May that the Canucks before the qualifying round, spoke volumes. and Wild would face off in a best-of-five series that a lot would ride on the Green was direct when asked about the decision not to dress the 2014 work of the Canucks’ goalie. first-rounder. That necessity isn’t going to change. “I went with the lineup that I thought gave us the best chance to win, plain Canucks coach Travis Green said he was happy with his team’s and simple,” he said. That was a little different from what general performance, even if they didn’t get the (meaningless) result. manager Jim Benning said on Hockey Night in Canada. “I liked a lot of our game, really liked our start,” he said. He wasn’t happy “I wouldn’t read much into it,” he told David Amber of the reason why with the eight minutes or so in the second period where the Jets seized Virtanen was a scratch. control of the game, scoring twice. Virtanen scored 18 goals this season, including six on the power play. “We weren’t strong enough on a couple pucks around our net and couple But his work away from the puck has always been inconsistent and he turnovers at the other end,” he said. finds himself on a team that has forward depth for the first time since he made the NHL in 2015. But overall, he saw the team he wanted to see. Not astounding depth, but enough that Green isn’t worried about leaving “We played that fast, aggressive game,” he said. a guy with good hands in the press box. Markstrom will want to have the first and third goals back no doubt. He And with Ferland’s solid night, it seems unlikely there will be anything didn’t get much help on the second. He was content post-game with how different for Virtanen on Sunday. the night went. In normal times, a former first-round pick getting exhibition game time “I thought it went better the longer it went, it was nice to be out there, it’s wouldn’t be notable. But in the context, that Olli Juolevi skated against been a while,” he said, pointing out that he hadn’t played a game for the the Jets was notable. Canucks since Feb. 22, when the Canucks shelled the Boston Bruins 9- 3. The 22-year-old Finn had a strong training camp this summer, there’s no doubt of this. He impressed his coach. “This was a good test.” Whether he plays on Sunday in the Stanley Cup playoff qualifying round The Jets’ goals were scored by Tucker Poolman, Nikolaj Ehlers and opener vs. the Minnesota Wild remains to be seen, but it’s clear he’s Dimitry Kulikov, plus Blake Wheeler into an empty net, while Antoine close. Jordie Benn remains away for the birth of his first child. Roussel got the Canucks’s lone tally. Oscar Fantenberg took Benn’s job partway through the season and An early rush from the Canucks’ super sophomore Elias Pettersson proved capable. Juolevi still has holes in his defensive game, but is it showed that their top centre was ready to make things happen. really so inconceivable that even now he might be a better option than the Swedish veteran? Like the play of Markstrom, there was little doubt he’d do anything but come back with fire in his belly and a good performance on the night. Fantenberg ended up playing about twice as much as Juolevi — the young Finn played less than seven minutes — so it’s likely he’ll get the He won’t be happy he didn’t score, even in an exhibition game, but he did tap on Sunday. everything but. His line — J.T. Miller and Tyler Toffoli skated alongside him to no surprise — generated 21 shot attempts towards the Winnipeg net, while allowing just 10 against their own. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 07.30.2020 Whiffs Each of the three Winnipeg goals had moments of concern. Poolman’s was a long looping shot that Markstrom stops every other time. Ehlers’ came on a terrible up-ice breakdown on the part of the defensive pairing of Tyler Myers and Oscar Fantenberg. 1176901 Vancouver Canucks
Canucks terminate one-quarter of business staff, more COVID-19 cuts may follow
PATRICK JOHNSTON July 29, 2020 9:38 PM PDT
With little chance of the Vancouver Canucks playing games in front of fans at Rogers Arena in the near future, the NHL team is reducing its full- time business operations staff. The Canucks, trying to stickhandle around the COVID-19 pandemic, gave written termination notice — permanent, as opposed to a temporary layoff — to 49 people Wednesday, which works out to about one-quarter of the roughly 200 people employed with the business operations staff. Only laying off 49 people at this time means this does not qualify as a group termination under the terms of the Employment Standards Act. That means, for instance, if the Canucks were to layoff 50 people at once — or in a two-month period — they’d have to give those employees eight weeks notice. Instead, Wednesday’s terminations will follow whatever an employee’s contract call for in terms of notice and severance. For the most part, business operations staff fill roles that deal directly with fans, working at or around Canucks’ games and concerts at the arena. Hockey operations personnel remain unaffected, though like all Canucks Sports and Entertainment employees, most have been working at 65 per cent of their usual salaries for several months now. “Canucks Sports and Entertainment continues to be greatly impacted by COVID-19 due to the significant impacts to revenues in our business,” CSE chief operating office Trent Carroll said in a statement, the same day the Canucks were set to play the Winnipeg Jets in Edmonton in an exhibition test before the playoffs get rolling on the weekend. “Like many companies during this pandemic, we have unfortunately been faced with the difficult decision to reduce our business ops workforce through layoffs. These are incredibly challenging days for everyone involved. “These are our friends and colleagues and we will do everything we possibly can to support them through this period. At the same time, we will also ensure we are ready to start up when we get back to normal operations again at Rogers Arena. We hope to call back as many of our employees as possible when that time comes.” It’s likely the Canucks will add to the layoff numbers in the future if operations are not able to return to normal. The NHL is hoping to start the 2020-21 regular season in early December, so if the team isn’t allowed to have fans in the stands, it’s likely a large portion of their current business operations staff will be let go. Current provincial health restrictions don’t allow for more than 50 people to gather at an event and it’s not likely this policy will change before a treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 is discovered.
Vancouver Province: LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176902 Vancouver Canucks If that wasn’t enough, Bornn won a sports analytics competition for measuring basketball defence and Chu had read that paper. There was an instant connection and Bornn is now vice-president of strategy and analytics for the Sacramento Kings. Ben Kuzma: From SFU to NHL, math whiz Chu fits Kraken scouting staff Chu’s passion was also fuelled by other SFU professors, including Dr. Tim Swartz, and a sports analytics club. BEN KUZMA It became a career entry point. In team-oriented hack-a-thons, a problem was presented and data had to be quickly assessed to reach a quick July 29, 2020 8:26 PM PDT solution. “You have to be quick on your feet to present it to judges and Dani Chu lost me with a reference to linear modelling. stakeholders,” said Chu. “The first couple I was not good, but my technical and communication skills grew because I went through the The Simon Fraser University grad then won me over with his passion, ringer.” patience and pursuit of a dream career. Chu met his future Kraken manager (Alexandra Mandrycky) at the 2016- After all, when you’re teaching an old reporting dog new tricks — 17 Vancouver Hockey Conference and again the following year at the especially complicated terminology and calculations as a quantitative SFU Cascadia Symposium on Statistics in Sports. A year later, he was analyst in hockey research and development for the NHL expansion hired. Seattle Kraken — it takes the temperament of a teacher to guide an advanced numbers newbie. And in the NHL, where advanced analytical assessment of players is Vancouver Province: LOADED: 07.30.2020 divisive between the old guard and new-age thinkers, Chu is a 24-year- old math whiz and sports fanatic willing to address negative narratives. He grew up in Burnaby, attended Dr. Charles Best Secondary in Coquitlam and holds a Masters of Science in Statistics degree. He can also hold your attention. “There are two reasons for it (divide) and one is just the way it’s presented,” Chu said Wednesday. “Analytics is just trying to drive the classical hockey arguments and disappointments with stats. We’re not try to do anything new that’s rooted in hockey and when it’s presented the wrong way, you run into issues. “If you talk about a player who’s averaging two points a game, a person can say he’s not playing in the best league or he’s playing with good teammates and just riding the coattails. We adjust the number of games played and adjust for competition and teammates to come up with a better estimation of the true talent level. “There’s a skepticism on how you do those adjustments that’s not totally fair because they’re based on things you would criticize in a classical stat.” Still, naysayers emphasize there’s no analytical assessment for heart and desire and intangibles that don’t show up on a scoresheet. “If heart really matters, it will show up (statistically),” added Chu, who was hired by the Kraken on Nov. 1, 2019 and started working on pro and amateur scouting and expansion draft projects in January. “The argument is a way to solidify your bias. You may say someone doesn’t have a lot of heart because it could be someone you don’t like. But maybe they do. It’s an outside perspective of heart and who really knows what is really there deep down? “The other thing you run into is judging a small sample size or just one play — which you never want to do. And for advanced stats, when you measure rotations or gap controls, that’s something not included in our statistics. But if you go to a bad stat, like plus-minus, I’m going to criticize that one. It’s a balancing act.” So is figuring out what to do for a living. Chu played soccer, basketball and hockey growing up, but his NHL dreams would be off the ice. “My skating wasn’t up to par and hours and hours of power-skating lessons didn’t appeal to me,” he laughed. “I had applied to a bunch of schools for mechanical engineering and, at the last moment, I kind of had an epiphany about my life. I was going to be a math teacher and coach basketball. “When I got to SFU, I had flexibility with a math degree to get my teaching certificate after and freedom to explore and take courses in other disciplines, like stats and computer science and build my own degree.” However, the light-bulb moment came when he crossed paths with professor Luke Bornn and his statistics course on linear modelling (continuous response variable). Chu was already enamoured by NBA analytical assessments by ESPN staff writers Zach Lowe and Kirk Goldsberry and his career curiosity was piqued in 2014 by a Philadelphia 76ers analytics posting. “There were a bunch of technical skills that I didn’t have, all sorts of jargon and 15 lines of requirements and I didn’t know any of this stuff,” he admitted. “But they were listed in (SFU) course descriptions and that was the motivation and inspiration.” 1176903 Vancouver Canucks the young man who has crushed many a home run at the Castle Fun Park batting cages.
Jim Benning, who spoke to Sportsnet during the first intermission, did his The Exhibition Armies: Jake Virtanen and the Chaos Cup tune-up best to stop that train of thought right in its tracks. “Michael Ferland came back and had a real good camp, Travis wanted to take a look at him on that line with Gaudette and Roussel so I don’t think By Wyatt Arndt it’s anything more than that,” Benning said. “Jake’s working hard. He’s had a good camp, we’re going to need all our players here, so I wouldn’t Jul 29, 2020 read too much into it.” It’s a GM’s job to squash stories like this, so kudos to Benning for doing There is something truly cathartic about having people get together what one would expect a GM to do, even if the camerawork on his online and debate who was at fault for a goal again. The normalcy of interview was shakier than Dana Murzyn defending a rush. watching the Canucks play hockey, even if it’s in the form of a 4-1 loss to And to be fair, Michael Ferland is another player who has been under Winnipeg, is a calming respite from the chaos around us. intense scrutiny in this market, but for other reasons. Ferland’s history of It’s also nice to know some things never change, like the proud tradition head injuries is well known, and for a town that collectively grasps its of losing to the Jets. pearls anytime Ferland takes a hit on the ice, there is something to be said about using this one game to test drive Ferland in the less intense Worry not, Canucks fans, hockey is back. environment of this pseudo preseason. It might have taken a moment to get used to the lack of a crowd and the The fact Zack MacEwen is in the lineup ahead of Virtanen is where it canned cheers supplied by EA Sports, but it was surprising how quickly gets murky. You would think if you’re getting ready for the playoffs and you found yourself settling into the zone of watching just another hockey you planned on having Virtanen in your starting lineup, you’d give him game. It was a sentiment Bo Horvat echoed after the game. game time in the closest thing to real hockey this team has seen in months. This is where it looks like Green might be tipping his hand “I’m not going to lie, it was different obviously,” Horvat said. “No fans, it’s toward not trusting Virtanen heading out of the pandemic break. just way different than playing in front of a crowd whether it’s home or away. I thought it didn’t take long for guys to get into it, for the intensity to But let’s hear Green give his take on why Virtanen wasn’t in the lineup: ramp up.” “I just went with the lineup that I thought gave us the best chance to win, Call it a starter course in Beer League Hockey 101 for the players. The plain and simple.” only thing missing was significant others looking up from their phones occasionally to see if their guy was on the ice for a shift. Ice. And though preseason/exhibition game results tend to mean nothing in Cold. the grand scheme of things, there were a few takeaways from That, my friends, is a far cry from the explanation Benning gave. Wednesday night’s game. That’s colder than the time your girlfriend told you she needed time to Elias Pettersson looks locked in and ready to go. Any time you see him “think about things” days before your anniversary. making a variety of facial expressions in under five seconds, you know he’s in the zone. Needless to say, it certainly gives this town something to talk about until the first game against Minnesota. Brock Boeser looked sharper than he has in a while, the version who does not want to lose bragging rights to Minnesota. And with practices locked down tighter than Maximus Decimus Meridius’ moral code, we might not know the full implication of this lineup decision Quinn Hughes and Chris Tanev tilted the ice heavily in their team’s until just before puck drop on Sunday, either. favour anytime they were on the ice. All NHL players have to own a healthy dose of competitiveness to reach JT Miller, Tyler Toffoli and Horvat also all had their moments. In fact, the the highest level of hockey, but there is just something about watching entire top six had a solid game and would have looked better if not for Pettersson that makes you feel like he has an extra gear to his desire to Connor Hellebuyck’s impressive goaltending. There was a certain irony win, not just at hockey but also at everything he does. in watching the Canucks outplay another team only to lose to superior goaltending, a strategy they have found themselves using all too often This is why it should be no surprise that the best player for the Canucks this season. was Dekey Pete. Even in a game in which he has nothing to prove, his spot in the lineup secure, you see him try to go end to end and almost As for the bottom six and team defence, well, you can’t have everything. pull it off: As always, that is a work in progress and is perhaps the biggest concern heading into the series against Minnesota. You want attention to detail? Pettersson already has calculated the pass you’re going to make and is on his way to intercept it: But again, it’s one exhibition game in which both teams are still just feeling things out after being away from hockey so long. And that one-timer from the Petterzone? It was looking downright delightful: Much like shirts at Kits Beach, reading into these results is optional. Everything changes once the puck drops against Minnesota. Though The Armies does feel the need to point out that Miller needs to listen to his goalie slapping his stick on the ice, letting him know the That being said, we haven’t had hockey highlights in a long time, so let’s power play is over. This would have prevented Miller from trying the dive into the game. same pass as the one above, except this time with the penalized player Embrace the GIFs. Become one with the GIFs. The Armies are here for stepping out of the box right behind him: all your VIP needs. Watching this game was tough in a way because it truly meant nothing, The big news before the game was the absence of Jake Virtanen from yet the Canucks are just days away from the games meaning everything. the Canucks’ lineup. Since Vancouver now operates under a strict Jack You want to see what Pettersson can bring in the highest competitive Ryan shadow ops set of rules for practices, Canucks Nation was environment he’s ever been in. We have seen players wilt under that unaware of the lines until just before puck drop. This meant people had pressure before, yet something about Pettersson seems special. It feels only mere moments to start internet fights over Virtanen as opposed to like the playoffs are truly meant for him, and it’s hard not to imagine him the traditional 48 hours. You can fit only so many Cam Neely metaphors being involved in some of the next biggest moments in Canucks lore. into a handful of minutes, so needless to say it was a rough scene out It’s just unfortunate we have to wait until Sunday to see Pettersson’s next there. chapter. Perhaps even worse, the destruction of the Insurance Line barely Some people are made for GIFs. Zack Kassian was the previous King of garnered a mention, as Loui Eriksson was on the outside looking in. the GIFs, as he brought the juice almost every game. If he wasn’t Were all those empty-net goals scored in vain? All that top-level board screaming at somebody on the ice, he was doing weird dances inside the battle work done for nothing? penalty box. He provided content to The Provies and The Athletties for But as the Canucks get ready to partake in the Chaos Cup, and with years. having only one tune-up game, you’d be forgiven for looking at Virtanen’s spot in the lineup and wondering if Travis Green is sending a message to But the new king has to be Pettersson. In a sport in which raw emotion is often chastised and lobotomized out of players at an early age, there is something endearing about seeing Pettersson’s emotions written all over his face. And nothing is better than when you see him analyze an entire play, going through the five stages of grief of a missed scoring chance, all in three seconds: Landing on acceptance with aplomb. All hail the King! Vancouver tends to have a roller-coaster with its players, where the fans build them up, break them down, then build them up, then break them down as many times as needed. See Eriksson for further proof of this phenomenon. As we all know, Oli Juolevi was a highly touted first-round draft pick that seemed like a reach when the Canucks took him fifth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. When he struggled early on, people said he was too smart to play with the dumb-dumbs at the lower level of hockey, and he just needed to play with smarter players. The support system was in place. Then he struggled with injuries and his play in the AHL was suspect, which led to GIFs of him being turn-styled in his own zone regularly appearing online. The tearing down process was in place. Now that the bar has been significantly lowered from “hope this fifth overall pick can be a solid No. 2 D-man” to “it would be nice to see him play a game of hockey,” the support system is back in place. Yes, it was a nice pass. But it was also a pass without pressure to an open man. That isn’t taking anything away from a young man who has had some incredibly bad injury luck in his career, but we are a long way from seeing how his career pans out. In the meantime, it’s OK to be happy seeing him playing hockey and making some good passes. Boeser, who was under fire from some critics this season, used the time away from hockey to find his mojo. He was playing away from his BFF on a line with Pearson and Horvat, but he was by far the most dangerous player on that line. He also almost had a nice breakaway goal in the middle of the second period: Again, it was just one game, but it was nice to see The Flow having some zip in his step and getting scoring chances. He ended the game with four shots and was one of the better Corsi players on the night. If he can get going on that second line, that gives the Canucks a nice starting six heading into Minnesota. With Michael Ferland taking Virtanen’s place on the Gauds of War line, they got the only goal on the night, utilizing the EA Sports wraparound goal. They didn’t fare too well overall in the game in terms of shots created for versus against, but during the last part of the third period, they managed to look better and started causing some chaos in the Jets’ zone. We’ve seen Roussel and Gaudette often paired together, and with Virtanen possibly being out of the lineup, we might be looking at the starting third-line unit for the Canucks. It’s just an exhibition game so we won’t dive too deep into these goals, but yes, those of you thinking Markstrom should have had this goal, he probably should have had this goal. Is it truly a hockey game unless Tyler Myers is slipping and sliding all the way to Burnaby, while Oscar Fantenberg ponders buying a boat? You’ve got to hope Fantenberg realizes Myers is going to Myers, which means sliding away at 50 mph any chance he gets. Why Fantenberg lets up on that play, I will never know. He coasts in there like he’s trying to turn onto Robson street in his tricked-out Ferrari. Again, another case of the Canucks letting up on a play. Tanner Pearson, perhaps still coming to terms with his Insurance Line friend Eriksson being out of the lineup, picks up his man way too slowly. Yes, it’s just an exhibition game, but there have been many games like this during the season in which the Canucks simply collapse in their own zone and hang Markstrom out to dry. If anything, this game underscored how important Markstrom’s play is to this team.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176904 Vancouver Canucks Evason, who was his coach in Milwaukee. This was a European player drafted high by the Predators, he came over to the United States and I think that he was like a lot of Europeans that came here and expected to be in Nashville’s lineup right away, but there are a couple of teams like Canucks hockey is back: Storylines, scouting reports and X-factors for the Predators and the New Jersey Devils under Lou Lamoriello back in the Wild the day where you have to earn your stripes in the minors no matter who you are. Even Filip Forsberg spent time in Milwaukee.
Fiala went to Milwaukee and there was a lot of tough love and fights with By Harman Dayal, Thomas Drance and more Dean Evason. He had a lot of growing up to do. He had a 20-goal season Jul 29, 2020 and then winds up here in Minnesota. There was a lot of responsibility and pressure thrown on his back by Paul Fenton when he called him a game-breaker right off the hop. He was hurt right away, didn’t fare well right away with Minnesota. Then he comes in this year and he sustains There were numerous obstacles to overcome and it’ll be a unique an injury in October, was scratched for a couple of games by Bruce experience unlike anything else we’ve ever seen, but Canucks hockey is Boudreau. It took him a while to get going, but man once he did, he finally back. turned into the game-breaker that Paul Fenton advertised him to be. On Wednesday, Vancouver will face-off against Winnipeg in a lone Fiala was absolutely unbelievable from about Thanksgiving on for the exhibition game before entering a do-or-die five-game play-in series Wild. He had a little lul in the wintertime but once he came back from the against the Minnesota Wild which starts on Sunday. bye week he was awesome, scoring 14 goals and 12 assists in his last As part of The Athletic’s preview coverage, your Vancouver scribes 18 games. He fittingly scored the final goal for the Wild in OT against joined Wild beat writer Mike Russo this week on “Straight from the Anaheim and was just dominant every shift. Source” and hijacked his podcast to dig into some key Wild storylines for For the first time since the days of Marian Gaborik, I watched a player the benefit of the VIPs. that every single time he was on the ice, you noticed him. You saw a For those that would rather read than listen, what follows is a partial player that wanted to make something happen and that’s something Wild transcript of our conversation edited for length and clarity. fans have lacked the ability to see since the days of Gaborik. Thomas Drance: Hey Mike, can you give us a quick scouting report of the Harman Dayal: Mike, when I look at this series, arguably one of the Wild and how they’ve looked at camp, beginning with the status of Joel biggest disparities between the two sides comes on the goaltending front. Eriksson Ek who I know has missed a couple of practices and I know that Vancouver’s a loose defensive team that was bailed out on many Canucks fans are eyeing that pretty closely, assuming that he’s going to occasions by Jacob Markstrom and then on the flip side you have be Dean Evason’s first choice to match up against the Pettersson line. Minnesota who’s stingy defensively, but the goaltending tandem of Alex Stalock and Devan Dubnyk has still been very permissive. With top Wild Mike Russo: Yeah, no doubt about it and technically for the first couple goalie prospect Kaapo Kahkonen up for this series, how do you view the games Vancouver’s going to be the home team in Edmonton so Travis goaltending situation playing out? Who do you expect to be the Game 1 Green will have last change. We’ll see if Dean Evason coaches this starter and is there a chance that we could see Kahkonen in the series? series a lot like maybe Jacques Lemaire coached that 2003 series where he just kept on throwing Wes Walz out there and Walz would skate to the MR: There’s a chance we could see Kahkonen, but I think Stalock’s the bench if it wasn’t the right matchup. Maybe you try to get the matchup Game 1 starter. I think it’s the right message to send, he’s done nothing that way, just by having Eriksson Ek start a lot of shifts. The problem is in camp to say he doesn’t deserve to be the No. 1. The big storyline Eriksson Ek’s not the greatest in the face-off circle so if you lose that coming into camp when we were talking about who’s going to be the No. face-off, you’ve got him stuck out there in a matchup that you don’t 1 was what if Stalock came back and looked like me? Like what if he exactly want. gained 50 pounds and all of a sudden couldn’t stop a puck, now who do you start? But right now, Eriksson Ek did practice Tuesday. He practiced Monday well and it looks like whatever was ailing him from that scrimmage last But Stalock’s come in great shape. He looks like he hasn’t missed a beat Thursday has subsided. As you guys have mentioned, he’s probably from the guy that we saw win 20 games and go 11-4-1 down the stretch. going to be a thorn in the side of a lot of these Canucks players. He’s not He’s so popular in that locker room, he’s one of the best puck handling a dirty player, he’s not a chirper. goalies in the NHL and so he really helps out the Wild defence as well. I wrote a really funny story back in December, I think the headline was The problem with Duby is just his game has not been nearly the same “What the Wild’s Joel Eriksson Ek does to make his opponents want to the last two or three years. As I’m sure both of you know, analytically the rip his head off” and from the teammates’ perspective it’s because he Wild give up some of the fewest quality chances in the NHL and yet if doesn’t say a word. He just gives you this weird look that Zach Parise you look save percentage in high danger situations, they are by far the calls and it just drives players nuts. worst in the league. A lot of that is on Duby. It would be shocking to me if we don’t see Stalock at least start this series, the team just seems to play He’s such a great skater, he’s a big, hard man and yet he’s not just harder and better in front of him. gigantic, he’s in perfect shape and is just all over you. It drives opponents nuts because they just can’t accomplish much when he’s on the ice. As In terms of Kahkonen, that’s going to be the big question. If all of a both of you guys know from being analytics experts, the analytics show sudden Stalock suffers a bad loss or gets hurt, Dean Evason will have a that he’s one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL. He’s somebody tough decision to make. A lot of that might even be dependent on what who’s going to be getting a lot of ice-time and a lot of matchup situations management tells him to do. There’s been a lot of speculation in in this series. Minnesota that there’s at least a chance that Bill Guerin might consider buying out Dubnyk in the offseason and if that is at all possible, you TD: Yeah, if he’s underrated now, he’s got a chance to rewrite that script might not want to play him at all in the series and risk potential injury I think over the next couple weeks. because then you obviously can’t buy him out. MR: And you know what’s a really interesting storyline in this series is HD: One of the other key cogs for Minnesota is that they create so much that in Minnesota there are still a lot of Wild fans that are never going to offence from their backend. When I look at Minnesota’s blue line, forgive the previous regime for passing up Brock Boeser to take Eriksson arguably the biggest X-factor in that respect is Matt Dumba. When you Ek. This could be a series where Eriksson Ek maybe even starts to get look back at the past couple of seasons, in 2018-19 suffered through more love from Wild fans if he can somehow win this matchup with the some injuries and then he didn’t put up a ton of points this year, but we Canucks. know he can absolutely rip the puck. How has he navigated the past couple years coming back from injury and where do you expect his game TD: Right, and then the risk there is that Brock Boeser does Brock to be at heading into the series? Boeser things and just twists in the knife. MR: I think if there’s anyone that this break has helped, it’s probably Matt On the offensive side of the puck, we all know that the straw that stirs the Dumba because it’s almost like a new season for him. He was starting to drink for the Wild, or certainly did after the All-Star break was Kevin Fiala. play well down the stretch, but this is somebody that was coming back What can you tell us about Fiala’s growth not just on the ice, but behind from major, major injury. He was getting off to an absolutely scorching the scenes in terms of taking on sort of the responsibility offensively that start two years ago, 12 goals in 32 games, he was on pace for 30 which he gained over the last 30 games before the pause. only three or four defencemen have done since the early 1990s. Then all of a sudden he gets in a fight with Matthew Tkachuk at home in MR: He became a professional and gained maturity. This is somebody retaliation for a hit that he had in the previous week on Mikael Backlund who openly admits that when he was a Nashville Predator that he wasn’t and he tears his pectoral muscle. exactly a pro at times. He had a lot of battles with, coincidentally, Dean He misses the rest of the year, has a lot of setbacks in his recovery and multiple surgeries because of infections. He eventually comes back this season and I think he expected to be the same player pacing 30 goals and it just didn’t happen. He had a really tough go in the early going, it really affected his defensive game and then suddenly he scored his first goal of the year finally and he started to play better and better. You’re right, he’s an important piece to this team because I don’t think you want to play Suter and Spurgeon for 30 minutes a night in this series. I think you’d like to even out the two defence pairs and feel confident that you can throw out Brodin and Dumba or Suter and Spurgeon whether it’s against the top Pettersson line or the Horvat line. That’ll be a big, big key in the series and that’s where the Wild will have to be really good. The way the Wild win games is by forechecking the heck out of the puck. For them to forecheck the heck out of the puck, they need their blue line to get in transition and do what they do best, and that’s getting the puck out of their own end and into the offensive end, joining the rush and contributing offensively. If they do that, I could see the Wild winning this series. TD: Let’s go with just one more Wild question, Mike. The series shapes up so that you’re going to have games on August 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th, so that’s four games in six days to settle which one of these teams is playoff-bound. You’re looking at teams where one of them is relatively young, especially their key players and of them is relatively old, especially their key players. How do you think that sort of difference between the two will play out, especially with this level of scheduling density to open the qualifying round. MR: It’s a great question because with the Wild, I thought one of their better games was in Vancouver and that was a fast, hard-hitting game. Vancouver worked their butts off in that contest and the Wild figured out a way to come back and win and that was a tired Wild team at that point. They were starting to get a little mojo back in their game after the coaching change, but that was a team that played really terribly in the game before in Dean Evason’s home debut against the San Jose Sharks. I thought they were on the skids for a large portion of that month, but there’s something about Vancouver that gets this team playing well, it just always happens. All of a sudden you have four or five months off, a lot of these tired bodies get rest, including guys like Eric Staal, Mikko Koivu, and maybe Devan Dubnyk if he gets into the series that really needed it. It also benefits a guy like Mats Zuccarello who had a poor first year in Minnesota, now he and other veterans can maybe get some fresh legs under them and do some damage. In a short, five-game series, anything can happen. If Parise looks like the type of Parise that he did to end the year and the type of Parise he’s looked like in camp, if Fiala is the star, one of the best players in the NHL like he showed in the final month, then I think Vancouver’s got a tough combatant on its hands. But if Vancouver looks as dominant as they can be with the top two lines they have, then I think that will put a lot of pressure on Minnesota. It’s going to be a fascinating series to watch.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176905 Vancouver Canucks Considering the Wild’s strength is its offence (no, seriously), Vancouver will be in tough given the way the team played this season. That and the fact Minnesota is so good at dominating the scoring chance share at 5- on-5. It means the Wild are likely to have a big advantage at 5-on-5, 2020 NHL qualifying round preview: Canucks vs. Wild though Vancouver should be able to even that up with special teams play. That’s especially true considering how poor Minnesota’s penalty kill is which performs opposite to its power play: excellent at limiting By Dom Luszczyszyn chances, but poor at giving up actual goals. Jul 29, 2020 Despite what appear to be OK surface numbers, goaltending is always the issue in Minnesota as the Wild are routinely very strong at suppressing shot quality against thanks to a deep defence corps. That doesn’t seem to matter to either goalie though. When looking at each Ask any hockey fan if they expected either of the Vancouver Canucks or team’s roster that’s where Vancouver has the largest advantage. Minnesota Wild to make the playoffs before the season started and you’d likely be met with a blank stare. Before the season started most At minus-1.9 wins Alex Stalock has the largest negative impact of any observers had both teams in the league’s bottom 10, and now at least goalie in the qualifying round. It’s bleak, but it’s technically an one of them will make it. improvement over incumbent Devan Dubnyk, from whom Stalock stole the starting job late in the season. Dubnyk, as arguably the weakest It’s a small shock that both teams are in this position, but it’s a deserved goalie in the league over the last three seasons, would be worth minus- one based on the way they played this season looking relatively average 3.1 wins. overall (which has so far been the theme of these qualifying round previews, unsurprisingly). To make the postseason as a low seed that’s Over the last three season’s Stalock’s .908 save percentage may not really all you need to be. seem too bad, but one has to remember he’s earned that in Minnesota playing behind one of the stingiest teams in the league. That .908 is This should be a very close series, the closest of the qualifying round actually quite paltry compared to the .922 expected of him based on the according to my model, and while the advantage has normally gone to quality of chances allowed and as a result Stalock has allowed 34 goals the “home” team, that’s actually not the case here. The Canucks are the more than expected in just 87 games. It’s the fifth-worst mark in the only higher seed in the qualifying round that are not favoured according league over the time frame with two of the goalies below him no longer in to my model. the NHL. This season wasn’t very different as he finished fourth-last The Canucks only finished one point ahead of the Wild this season so it allowing 16 goals more than expected. Dubnyk was last at minus-27, but shouldn’t be a surprise that this series is close. The reason the Wild have still, it’s far from ideal. The Wild could really use a goaltending upgrade. the upper hand is because they’ve been at this level of mediocrity for With Vancouver’s Jacob Markstrom sitting at 2.4 wins of value, the longer. The Canucks are only a year removed from being a perennial Canucks have a massive advantage here. The 4.3 win difference is bottom feeder and there are still elements of that team present on the unsurprisingly the largest of the qualifying round. Markstrom’s game has roster and in the team’s underlying numbers this season. steadily improved in his three years as a starter going from -4.4 goals Still, it’s close enough that the word “favoured” is doing a lot of heavy saved above expected in his first year to 3.2 and then 4.2 (prorated to 60 lifting. This is really a coin flip series that could very well go either way games) this season. That was good for top 20 league-wide on the depending on which team can play to their strengths most. Given the age strength of his .918 save percentage. It’s not exactly Vezina-calibre, but discrepancy between the two teams, it might come down to Vancouver’s it’s solid for a starter. Given his consistency over the past two seasons, fresh legs or Minnesota’s veteran mentality. it’s probably safe to say Markstrom is among the more dependable starters in the league and should easily win the goaltending battle in this I’m not sure which will prevail, but looking at the numbers this season series. makes it a lot easier to see why the Wild would be favoured in this series, especially given each team’s 5-on-5 play. That’s once shot quality and team defence are factored into the equation and it’s there where Vancouver’s entire goaltending edge is already One of the reasons to be optimistic about the Wild prior to the season nullified. The Canucks defence lacks any semblance of depth and simply was their ability to control the expected goals share. Last season they pales in comparison to what the Wild can trot out. In total the Canucks were among the league’s best teams but were pretty unlucky in defence corps is worth 4.2 wins, 4.5 fewer than the Wild, mitigating converting that territorial dominance into actual results. It seemed like whatever effect goaltending should have in this series. It’s why the two something that would regress and lo and behold, that’s exactly what were so close in all situations goals against-per-60 this season, it’s just a happened. This year their 53 percent goals percentage was identical to matter of which players get credit for it. their expected goals percentage, both of which bordered on top five in the league. At 5-on-5, the Wild were a very strong team. In Minnesota’s case it’s an exceptional top four, one of the league’s deepest led by an incredibly strong top pairing of Jared Spurgeon and How they got there is what’s probably one of the most surprising stats of Ryan Suter. With all due respect to the super rookie on the other side, the season. Most people are well aware that the Wild are an excellent Spurgeon is probably the best defenceman in this series, projected to be defensive team undermined by poor goaltending, but they more than worth 2.7 wins. That’s ninth in the league among all defencemen, which make up for it with… elite scoring ability? It doesn’t feel right, but it is. is probably much higher than his current reputation. The Minnesota Wild finished the year fourth in 5-on-5 goals-per-60 on the strength of the league’s second best shooting percentage. That offensive That Spurgeon doesn’t play big power play minutes and isn’t a huge prowess was put into overdrive down the stretch overlapping with the point producer as a result is probably the main reason for that, but few team’s 12 games under new coach Dean Evason. The Wild went 8-4-0 players can influence 5-on-5 play as well as he can, especially under Evason, improving their numbers across the board and may be a defensively. This season the Wild only allowed 1.89 expected goals more formidable opponent than some realize as a result. against per 60 with Spurgeon on the ice, which is the sixth lowest in the league. More impressive is that no one above him plays tough minutes The team’s finishing ability translated to the power play as well and was while also putting up a strong offensive impact. That led to a 58 percent especially hot down the stretch, scoring 10.2 goals-per-60, the second expected goals rate for Spurgeon this season, the fourth best mark in the most in the league. For the season they finished 10th despite being a league. Of the three ahead of him, only Dougie Hamilton did it in tough bottom five chance generating team. Minnesota’s shooting talent added minutes. His goals percentage was just as strong too and it wouldn’t be a almost 2.3 goals-per-60 above expected with the man advantage. surprise to see him sneak onto a couple of Norris ballots this year from stats-savvy writers paying attention to those kinds of numbers. The Canucks’ finishing ability on the power play was just as impactful, but a higher expected goal volume meant the team finished fourth in the Spurgeon looks to be partnered with Ryan Suter, whose numbers for the league. Vancouver’s power play is by far the team’s best asset and the year look decent with a 53 percent expected goals rate, but that looks to main reason the team finished as highly as it did. That, plus an average be exclusively because of his time with Spurgeon. Suter played 325 penalty kill gave Vancouver a plus-15 goal differential on special teams. minutes away from Spurgeon and got absolutely crushed in that time with That special teams success was much needed as the team simply wasn’t a 42 percent expected goals rate while getting outscored 26-15. That’s very strong at evens this season. ugly and suggests Spurgeon might be carrying the pair. The Canucks marginally improved their expected goals and actual goals Most of that time apart was with Matt Dumba, who had an off year by his rate at 5-on-5, but both were still below average landing in the league’s standards with just 24 points in 69 games. The time with Suter clearly bottom third. That was entirely on the team’s defence, which struggled to wasn’t working for either party, but thankfully Dumba found his way again limit chances, finishing 25th in expected goals against. A slightly above partnered with Jonas Brodin, one of the game’s best defensive players. average save percentage wasn’t enough to bail them out. They had a solid 53 percent expected goals rate together, which comes from how well the two opposing-styled players fit together. Brodin isn’t much of an offensive talent, but he happened to be one of the five more impressive by the fact the next best player, Zach Parise, had three players ahead of Spurgeon in expected goals against for the season. By goals and six points. Only one other forward had more than a single my model, Brodin carries the highest defensive impact in the league with point. Fiala was the Minnesota Wild power play. Spurgeon in third. Having one player on each of the top two pairs of that calibre is a big reason why the team is so stingy. That duo is a vital part Fiala’s play is one reason to be optimistic about the Wild’s chances as it of the team’s identity. helps bridge the large gap between the two teams’ top lines. Vancouver’s top trio of Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Tyler Toffoli didn’t get much Even the team’s third pair of Brad Hunt and Carson Soucy brings decent time together post trade deadline, but the two hours they did get were value and rates as one of the best bottom pairings in the league. The duo phenomenal, outscoring opponents 10-3 with a sterling 58 percent both managed to allow under two expected goals against per 60 this expected goals rate. Pettersson is the team’s MVP and one of the season, giving the Wild four such defenders. There were only eight other game’s best centres, but some credit for the line’s success this season defencemen league-wide. should go to J.T. Miller, who played elite calibre hockey for the Canucks this season, well worth the price paid for him last summer. The two Vancouver in contrast has Quinn Hughes, Alex Edler and not much else formed an incredible duo that controlled play to a high degree and were a to be impressed by in all honesty. Hughes is an absolute phenom and big difference maker on most nights for the Canucks, leading the team in already one of the game’s best defencemen. He’s amazing with the puck, both expected and actual goals. Add a trigger-happy Toffoli to that mix – ranking in the 95th percentile or higher in shot assists as well as he fired 12.6 shots-per-60 at 5-on-5 in his 10 games with the Canucks – controlled entires and exits. He’s a one man puck-carrying machine and and you get a very dangerous line that will be difficult to contain. that drives his 5-on-5 impact. He was the only Canuck defender with a positive expected goals share this season, finishing at 52 percent for the The addition of Toffoli should also make the Canucks’ second line season. He hasn’t been tasked with the tough top pairing minutes just stronger too as it means they can slide Brock Boeser down. Bo Horvat yet, but that doesn’t diminish what he’s done so far. It can’t be overstated and Tanner Pearson lost the scoring chance battle and were outscored how massive his influence is on the team’s top-five power play too – the by a hefty margin at 5-on-5 this season, something Boeser’s presence Canucks have needed a quarterback of his ilk for a long time. should alleviate. With the trio only playing 26 minutes together this season, though, there might be some growing pains as they find Edler is the team’s key shutdown defender and though his expected chemistry together. It should be noted that Boeser carried the team’s goals rate was slightly below break even, it was a bit higher than the strongest defensive numbers among forwards, which could be a useful team average and his goals percentage of 52 percent makes up for it. asset for a duo that struggled to limit chances. You’ll take that considering how tough his minutes usually are, and the sheer amount of shots he blocks does add value. Kevin Fiala The rest of the defence corps is lacking, though. Troy Stecher is the only It’s a stronger second line than what Minnesota has in terms of total other Canuck defender to outscore his opponents and actually led the value, but that might have a bit to do with the power play value Boeser team in that regard, but he played very cushy minutes and was fifth on and Horvat bring to the table. At 5-on-5 Minnesota might have the edge the team in expected goals percentage at 47 percent. Chris Tanev and here, partially due to the understated emergence of Joel Eriksson Ek. Tyler Myers were both around 48-49 percent in expected goals, which is The 23-year-old had a quiet 29-point campaign, but managed to score passable given the team’s overall strength, but in the grand scheme of 1.95 points-per-60 this season at 5-on-5. For comparison, Horvat was at things is still below break-even. That likely won’t be good enough against 1.58. More important is his ability to shut down opposing teams’ top lines, a team that can control the scoring chance battle as well as Minnesota. though, as I’m sure teammate Mikko Koivu taught him a few tricks over the past couple of seasons. Eriksson Ek was second to only Marcus For Myers, it’s almost exactly the level of 5-on-5 play he was at in each of Foligno in expected goals against allowed at 1.76 per 60 and that his prior two seasons in Winnipeg, which is not something a team should contributed to a 54 percent total rate. Zach Parise still has some game pay $6 million per year for. Having said that, it’s worth noting that he left in him too with a 53 percent expected goals rate to his name and that actually found some terrific chemistry with Hughes and it’s curious that could be an effective duo for the Wild. the two aren’t paired together here considering their numbers together. In 326 minutes this season the duo had a 57 percent expected goals rate Minnesota doesn’t have the strongest top six, but it can probably hold its and outscored opponents 22-15. Now that is worth $6 million, even if own against Vancouver’s unless the second line really steps up at 5-on- much of the credit for that should go to Hughes (Myers really struggled in 5. The Wild might be able to get away with that thanks to their stacked minutes without him). Myers isn’t a great shutdown option, making his bottom six, which is entirely comprised of middle six calibre forwards. place next to Edler even more odd, but the concern might be that Tanev That’s something that no other team can boast and is a huge edge for struggled in that role this year and the team might be trying to balance the team. Marcus Foligno is one of the game’s best defensive wingers the top four as well as it can. With Tanev’s play degrading, the team’s and actually scored 2.1 points-per-60 this year, the third best on the lack of depth on the backend becomes a pretty big issue. team. Mats Zuccarello was right behind him in fourth while Ryan Donato was ahead of him in second. That three of the team’s most efficient At forward, the two teams are built fairly differently, which is a testament scorers are in the bottom six likely speaks to how Minnesota was able to to where both teams are in their playoff window. The Canucks are at the generate such a prolific offence: by winning the matchup game lower in beginning of theirs and have a star-studded but top-heavy group as a the lineup. Mikko Koivu can’t do much on offence anymore, but is still result. The Wild are near the end of theirs and have amassed a lot of excellent defensively while Ryan Hartman had the team’s best forward depth in that time, but their best forwards are past their prime possession numbers. and the team is now low on high-end talent. Well, lower than they were before anyways. Finally, there’s Alex Galchenyuk, who’s been searching long and hard for the right situation and might have found it here on a very structured That has potential to change if Kevin Fiala can keep up the torrid pace he Minnesota team. Believe it or not, he had a 56 percent expected goals was on to close the season as he finally began to realize his potential. rate, was insanely good defensively with just 1.66 expected goals Fiala has always been a dynamic forward and one of the game’s best at allowed per 60, and also scored 2.1 points-per-60 on top of that. It was moving the puck up ice, and this season he started to get the results to only 14 games, but in that time his average Game Score was 0.83, a first show for that effort. Fiala posted a career-high 54 points in 64 games, a line rate. He’s worth keeping an eye on as he’s had a surprisingly 69-point pace, with much of that coming towards the end of the season. promising start to his Wild tenure, looking much closer to the guy taken After the all-star break, Fiala scored 26 points in just 19 games, which third overall back in 2012. ranked third league-wide. If he can play anywhere close to that level in this series, the projected 1.8 wins of value really don’t do him justice. Not It’s a deep lineup that will be able to feast on most teams’ bottom sixes, even close. allowing Minnesota to mitigate whatever disadvantage it has at the top of the lineup. That edge will be especially prudent here against Vancouver’s Before the all-star break Fiala was still a very effective player. He was bottom six, where the team lacks depth. Antoine Roussel and Micheal third on the team in points-per-60 at 2.17 – a first line rate – and a solid Ferland bring much needed sandpaper to the lineup and are the best two-way player. The issue was he was being buried at the bottom of the options, but both struggled at 5-on-5 this season, especially Ferland in an lineup as the team’s 10th most used forward and on the second power injury-plagued campaign. In 14 games in his first season as a Canuck he play. That changed after the all-star break once he broke out and he hasn’t looked anywhere close to the player he was last season capable suddenly became the team’s most used forward at 5-on-5. If you’ve got of playing in a top six role. Perhaps some time off to get healthy will be something good, might as well lean on it and the Wild sure did. Aside good for him, but it’s hard to say. Adam Gaudette is in between them and from more minutes, the other big change was Fiala using his shot more, though his game improved from last season, especially his scoring, his ramping up his shots-per-60 at 5-on-5 from 7.5 to 10.1, and it reflected two-way ability still leaves a lot to be desired. greatly on the scoresheet. The fourth line is a much bigger problem, specifically the presence of Jay Unsurprisingly, he also became a mainstay on the top power play where Beagle and Tyler Motte, who are the sole reason the Canucks are not everything went through him. He scored seven goals and 11 points with favoured in this series. The difference between the two teams in total the man advantage in just 55 minutes, an incredible number made even wins is the difference between just one of them and a replacement-level player. If the Canucks are OK with surrendering 60 percent of the expected goals and 70 percent of the actual goals with these two on the ice (regardless of zone starts), then by all means, but I don’t personally think it’s a strategy that will work out for them. Not against a deep forward group like Minnesota’s. I’m not sure how Jake Virtanen – whose game really improved this season – is sitting in favour of either of these two players. Depth kills and in this matchup that advantage belongs solely to the Wild. The Canucks have the high-end talent to make things interesting, but with how thin the team looks, the Wild don’t look like a great matchup for them. The Bottom Line The Canucks and Wild could not be more different with the way they’re built and it’ll be interesting to see what prevails in this series. Do you prefer a top-heavy lineup or a balanced one? Star-studded or loaded with depth? Saving goals through goaltending or stingy team defence? A young and hungry team or a veteran and experienced team? There are no shortage of differences between these two teams, which is what should make this series so fascinating. There are many different ways to be successful in this league and Vancouver and Minnesota will clash in a matchup to prove which way is best. That the two are so even in total talent makes it all the more intriguing. May the best team win.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176906 Websites coaching, development, practices and off-ice training before the season starts. From January to March, we’ll have the sprint to the Isobel Cup with a non-stop schedule of games, all streamed on Twitch for everyone to see.” The Athletic / ‘The best-case scenario’: NWHL outlines plans for a delayed season And while league games won’t return until January, the NWHL did say players will be able to return to the ice by the week of Sept. 21 for optional practices. Formal training will begin by the week of Oct. 19. By Hailey Salvian Players will have access to their on-ice coaching staff, off-ice trainers in the gym and a full medical staff. They will have everything but games. Jul 29, 2020 In a way, it’s a positive outcome in such uncertain times. Typically, NWHL players have two to three weeks to gear up for the season, The NWHL is pushing back the start of the 2020-21 season to January Packer said. This year, players will have three months. as it continues to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’m hugely pumped for it,” she said, adding that players will be paid their According to the league’s return-to-play plan, released Wednesday, the full wages, with payments starting as soon as they hit the ice. regular season is scheduled to begin in January, with each team playing Cutting games has not been discussed. And cutting salaries is not on the a full 20-game season. The Isobel Cup playoffs are expected to be table. Neither decision could be made without NWHLPA approval. completed by the end of March. An all-star game is possible but will not be held until the culmination of the playoffs. “The main things for me that I wanted to have heard in these meetings is that the pay is starting right when the players start hitting the ice, their “It was recommended by our medical staff to get to the point in which we safety is being monitored extremely closely, and they have access to had more information,” Anya Packer, the NWHL Players’ Association their full staffs,” Packer said. “So we haven’t limited anything from the executive director, said in an interview. “At this point what we’ve learned players’ perspective. We’ve actually gained a whole development period and what we’ve realized is that the reopening, especially of travel, is that we’ve never had before.” going to be a little bit more slow-moving, and because our league relies so heavily on travel, (the question) was how do we fix that, how do we During the pandemic, however, it’s been clear that leagues and people solve for that? don’t set the schedule — COVID-19 does. Packer and the league’s committee have discussed several contingency plans from “Plan A, to “So I think it was a natural progression to just getting more time.” Plan Z” at the group’s biweekly meetings, she said. The plan was created and agreed upon by the league’s COVID-19 Safety “We’re monitoring this in real time,” Packer said. “This is our vision, and Committee, which was created in April. The committee is led by we’re super comprehensive about it from what it might look like for fans infectious-disease and Sports Health experts, including doctors Andrew or players or staff and every different level.” Feldman and Guillem Gonzalez-Lomas from NYU Langone Health, which is also an official NWHL partner, as well as league executives and The NWHL’s committee has looked to counterparts in the WNBA and members of the NWHLPA. NWSL as examples of leagues with fewer resources than, say, the NBA and NHL, that have nonetheless returned to play. Still, the start of competitive women’s hockey is months away. The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively created an unprecedented pause — The NWSL and WNBA have used a bubble format, with strict protocols the last game was played on March 8, the Isobel Cup semifinals — and priorities on health and safety. Neither league has allowed fans into during an already tumultuous time for women’s hockey. buildings. But they have used social media and enhanced streaming partners to keep interest high. At the end of March last year, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded after 12 years. Shortly after, around 200 of the top women’s The NWSL, which returned with a tournament-style championship, set hockey players, including all Canadian and American national team two ratings records on CBS — first with the opening game of the members, announced they would boycott all professional leagues in Challenge Cup, and with the championship game, which drew 653,000 North America. In September, the Four Nations tournament, a major viewers, making it the most-watched NWSL match in league history. event on the national team schedule, was canceled because Sweden’s top players were boycotting their national team. A bubble format is not in the cards for the NWHL because most of the league’s players have full-time jobs that they cannot leave for a three- The 2020 Women’s World Championships were canceled this March month season. A tournament is not the current plan, either. And as for because of COVID-19, and so was the NWHL’s Isobel Cup Finals. fans, that is one area where holding off until January might prove to be helpful. The delay also comes amid a standoff between the NWHL and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association, the group that is The Boston Pride and Minnesota Whitecaps sell out most, if not all, of boycotting professional hockey in North America. That impasse has their home games. Losing those ticket sales could hurt the league’s created its own share of uncertainty around the women’s game for more bottom line. But perhaps by January, health officials will allow for larger than a year. crowds again, or socially distant crowds at half capacity. The PWHPA does not believe there is a professional option for players That is just one reason waiting until January made sense for the NWHL. coming out of college and will not play in the NWHL. The NWHL (Another major reason is the international component with the Toronto contends that it is providing what the PWHPA membership is fighting for. expansion franchise, which Packer says they are not worried about.) In its most recent season, the league’s fifth, the NWHL appeared to be Either way, Packer is confident the league will be OK. gaining momentum. New owners and sponsors started signing on, including a broadcast partnership with Twitch. The league introduced a “For us, in particular, with over 8 million views on Twitch, we’re pretty 50-50 revenue share with players, which the NWHL says resulted in a 30 virtual to begin with,” she said. “Our rinks don’t have the type of size that percent bonus for players. And in April, the league revealed a new team the NHL do and the attendance rates. So while I want people in the in Toronto, marking its expansion into Canada. stands, we’re ready for any iteration of what this might look like.” There are many unknowns about what the next NWHL season will look The league’s testing and protocols are not set in stone, due to the fluid like. But if and when the puck does drop for season No. 6, it will have a nature of the situation. packed schedule. “The rules change every day,” Packer said. “We thought maybe one test Each team will play two games on weekends (as they traditionally do) would be available, and one test would be the right way, and then new over a 10-week schedule, with playoffs to follow. research has come out about a separate test. … So everything changes, from insurance to all these different elements that we have to closely “We’re being extremely cautious. But it’s also going to be fun to watch 10 monitor. weekends, or a full season basically come to life between January and March,” said Packer. “There’s going to be nonstop hockey, and for us, I “I think our document right now is like eight or nine pages long on mean, from the players’ perspective, that’s the best-case scenario.” protocols. And we add new lines, every single day.” League executives echoed Packer. In Wednesday’s press release, the league said its medical protocols, as well as “announcements regarding ticket availability and arena capacity “In our view, it’s the best of both worlds,” deputy commissioner Michelle for fans,” will be made before the start of the season. “At every step, Picard said in an emailed statement. “With the support of our partners decisions will be guided by the science and at the direction of doctors,” and team owners, our league is providing more than three months of the release noted. In May, the PWHPA outlined changes for its second season, including a new “regional structure” that will see it reduce the number of cities where it operates and introduce tryouts and cuts in an attempt to improve the on-ice product. Last season, the PWHPA hosted seven stops on the Dream Gap Tour. Regions also played in exhibition games against other regions or other club teams. Jayna Hefford, the lead consultant for the PWHPA, said adding exhibition games is a priority this year to give players more opportunities to play. There are also hopes to host more showcase events, but the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic will be a determining factor there. “Regional games may be even more of a priority because we don’t know when it comes to travel and different things that we’re going to be able to do,” Hefford said in May. “We are kind of taking it day by day.”
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176907 Websites Liam McHugh, Kathryn Tappen and Tirico will host studio coverage. Patrick Sharp, Keith Jones and Anson Carter will contribute to both studio and game coverage. The Athletic / Media Circus: NBC is doing all it can to make sure NHL How will the games look? playoffs are made for TV For the early rounds: NBC producers and directors will produce the host feed out of Toronto. Rogers Sportsnet (Canada) will produce the feed out of Edmonton. “We will be adding commentary, graphics and unique By Richard Deitsch elements that make it an NBC show,” said NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood. “We will be doing that to both the feed coming out Jul 29, 2020 of Toronto and the host feed coming out of Edmonton. Once the second round of the playoffs ends and the entire event moves to Edmonton for the conference finals and finals, we will park a truck from NBC Sports Sean Riley’s formal title is senior operations associate for NBC Sports, next to the Rogers host feed and supplement that coverage and originate but the more accurate way to describe him professionally would be staff the entire telecast from out of Rogers Place.” lighting director. Riley has held his job since December 2012, but he’s never had a pair of months like the last two. In early June, Riley and his The NHL has created a made-for-TV set that utilizes videoboards with boss, Tom Popple, a vice president of studio operations and facilities, replays and graphics. There will be 32 broadcast cameras in each arena drove 14 hours from the company’s headquarters in Stamford, Conn., to – 12 more than a normal game. One camera angle to keep an eye on is Chicago to build a home studio setup for NHL and horse racing analyst the “JitaCam,” which hangs beneath the scoreboard at center ice and Eddie Olczyk, so Olczyk could contribute to NBC’s Triple Crown provides a 360-degree view. “It can swoop in behind the power play and coverage. But that was an easy job compared to the one Riley recently there’s nothing better than to look at that top of the point position of the completed — creating a home studio for Mike Emrick so the iconic NHL power play, and looking in at the goalie, trying to figure out where the broadcaster could call the Stanley Cup playoffs from his home in eastern puck is going to go in the net,” Flood said. “We think that it will be a Michigan. unique way to look at certain parts of the game, and it will also be a fun camera to use in transition.” “My boss and I loaded all of the TV gear into a rented minivan, and on a Sunday morning I left my home in northern Westchester and headed Audio will play a major role in the broadcasts. Games will feature artificial west on I-80,” Riley recalled of his solo excursion. “After a long 11-hour crowd noise supplied by EA Sports and there will be a 5-second audio drive, a drive which would have been 100 miles shorter if not for the delay for curses. “The audio is a big issue for us with no people in the Canadian border closure, and making as few stops as possible with a stands,” said NBC Sports coordinating producer John McGuinness. “We mask hand-sewn by my wife to protect me, I arrived at my hotel and let have the use of different tracks of audio, everything from duplicating a Doc (Emrick) know I had arrived safely. Despite never meeting me crowd murmur to hitting a post to a rush up ice. We will definitely have before, he thanked me profusely for making the trip and even had some the crowd murmur and we’ll enhance it with skates and sticks. I want the beverages waiting in the hotel for me.” audience at home to be comfortable with us calling the game and not go over the top with it.” “Home studio installations can always feel slightly awkward — who really wants their co-workers in their homes? — so I always try to be a good Will Emrick call games from his home throughout? house guest,” Riley continued. “This can be difficult when I show up with As of now, NBC Sports execs are leaving it up to Emrick, who is 73 years a minivan filled with TV gear and take over a small portion of their home. old and a cancer survivor. “I’ve not looked that far into the future just Everyone I’ve worked with previously has been very accommodating and now,” Emrick said. “I’m looking at day-to-day. I have done monitor-only understanding. However, Doc and his wife, Joyce, took it to another games before, so that is not new. It’s just something that hasn’t level, helping me prep the room and bent over backwards to make me happened in recent years. Pierre and I did a game that involved the Los feel welcome.” Angeles Kings in Sweden, one of those early-season games that was Riley stayed an extra night in Michigan because NBC needed to done from Europe. We did that in Stamford working off a table and a overnight a splitter cable and a stand for Emrick’s iPad. He described couple of monitors then. There is an adjustment to it, but it is the same Emrick’s home setup as FaceTime on steroids. The broadcaster is using game and we are seeing it on really clear screens. So we’ll just do our an iPad with a specialized app that allows the NBC Sports control room best to bring the game to people. It will be exciting and I’m sure I’ll be in Stamford to dictate what Emrick is seeing. There are two large TV jazzed up about bringing emotion to it. I think just watching the game will monitors featuring multiple camera angles to mimic what Emrick would do that. Right now I’m just going from this to see how things work out.” have if he was at the arena. Emrick has a monitor so he can see Olczyk, I’ve heard the NHL is restricting independent media to report from inside broadcasting partner. He also has an all-12 camera so he can see the its bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton? changes on the ice. There is an audio mixer with Emrick’s headset and microphone patched into it, as well as a mic that pins to Emrick’s blazer This is correct. I recommend reading Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star for on-camera segments. The assignment lasted three days and Riley and Matt Porter of The Boston Globe on the subject. made it back home to New York around midnight on Tuesday. I plan to watch from Canada. How will the Canadian coverage look? “If we did our jobs right, viewers at home would never know the difference until you see a shot of Doc sitting in his basement,” Riley said. The Athletic’s Dan Robson had a long piece on Sportsnet’s plans to “And much like my mother, he insisted I text him when I arrived safely broadcast from inside the bubble. (Note: I work for Sportsnet 590 in back home.” Toronto as a radio host.) Welcome to the new world of sports broadcasting. Emrick’s setup is part What do the lead broadcasters have to say about the challenge of calling of NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup qualifiers, which begin Saturday at games in different locations? noon Eastern on NBCSN. For hockey lovers, it will be unlike any “Look, we’re going to work it out,” Olczyk said. “We’ve worked long weekend they have ever experienced. There will be at least 10 hours of enough together where I really believe that we’ll [he and Emrick] be able hockey each day on NBC, NBCSN and USA Network from Aug. 1-5, to have the same cadence and symmetry once we get through a game or featuring the qualifying round and round-robin matchups. Here is the two. For us, it’s a little different viewing, selfishly, then being in the initial schedule: buildings where you’re sitting up top in the press box and you’re able to What can you expect? Below, a guide to how the Stanley Cup playoffs see things develop. We’re going to be following the puck when we are will look for viewers. calling it off the monitor, so that’s going to be challenging at times, but that will be my job to pick up things that are behind the play or to draw Who are the game broadcasters? attention to. It’s the hand that everybody’s been dealt and we’ll be calling it, whether it’s at noon Eastern or maybe at midnight. We’re looking The play-by-play broadcasters are Emrick, Kenny Albert, John Forslund, forward to the challenge of bringing the greatest game in the world to the Brendan Burke, Gord Miller and Mike Tirico. Game analysts are Olczyk, fans. It will be a lot of fun and hopefully take people away from the real Mike Milbury, and AJ Mleczko. Pierre McGuire and Brian Boucher will world for a period of time.” provide insights from their ‘Inside-the-Glass’ roles. Forslund, Milbury and Boucher will work together onsite in Toronto. The broadcasters who will Will NBC cover player activism if it happens? work out of NBC’s Stamford headquarters include Albert, Burke, Mleczko, Olczyk and the studio announcers listed below. McGuire will be McGuinness said they will document what is happening in the arena based on the ice in Edmonton. Emrick, as noted above, will call games including player activism or social justice initiatives. As a league partner, I from a home studio in Michigan. would not look for NBC game broadcasters to freelance their own thoughts on these issues. The studio will be the space to watch. Who are the studio analysts? What’s the setup for SiriusXM? 3. Episode 108 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests. First up is ESPN reporter Holly Rowe, who is SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (channel 91) will have live play-play of covering the WNBA season from inside the bubble in Bradenton, Fla. every game. The regular hosts return including Gord Stellick, Steve Next is Tania Ganguli, the Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times Kouleas, Scott Laughlin, Boomer Gordon and Mick Kern, Brian Burke, who is covering the NBA season from inside the bubble in Orlando. She Bob McKenzie, Elliotte Friedman, Pierre LeBrun, Jeff Marek, Pierre is followed by ESPN’s Stefano Fusaro, who is covering the MLS Is Back McGuire and Mike Rupp. Bruce Boudreau will also provide analysis. tournament from inside the bubble in Orlando. Who will win the Stanley Cup? In this podcast, Rowe discusses how she landed the assignment and If the league is able to finish, we all win. I think the games being played in why she wanted it; her experience leading up to going inside the bubble Canada and restricted travel give the bubble a shot to work. and her first week there; speaking to her doctors about taking the assignment; the access she has inside the bubble; what WNBA players The Ink Report have told her so far about the experience; getting a daily COVID-19 test; her role on WNBA game broadcasts; navigating stories on social activism I wrote a pair of WNBA media-related pieces last week in case you with game coverage and much more. missed them. Ganguli discusses getting the assignment and how she arrived in ESPN broadcasters Rebecca Lobo and play-by-play broadcaster Ryan Orlando; what the opening weeks were like for NBA reporters; the access Ruocco are calling WNBA games from a studio at ESPN’s headquarters she has inside the facility; her interaction with players; what she has in Bristol, Conn., which normally hosts pregame and halftime shows. The been told about game access for reporters; the challenges of covering challenge for Ruocco, Lobo and ESPN’s other WNBA broadcast team the Lakers; navigating stories on social activism with game coverage and (Pam Ward and LaChina Robinson) is to navigate the extra monitors in much more. front of them. Since the broadcasters do not have a full view of the court, given they are calling games from a studio, ESPN wants to provide as Fusaro explains how he got the assignment and why he wanted to come much court coverage as possible. That is a tricky, real-time stimuli dance to Orlando; his opening weeks inside the bubble; the access he has to for game announcers, who also have to juggle producers in their ears. MLS players; what players have told him about the experience; Here’s how ESPN is approaching the coverage. navigating stories on social activism with game coverage; providing news for multiple parts of ESPN; how it works for him during game broadcasts; Holly Rowe is the only reporter credentialed for the WNBA bubble, which his experience with doctors before arriving inside the bubble and much means Rowe is embarking on one of the most interesting sports media more. assignments over the next couple of weeks. I spoke with her for an extended Q&A on her unprecedented assignment. 3a. ESPN’s opening night MLB broadcast — featuring the Yankees and Nationals — drew an average audience of 4 million viewers, the most- 1b. The WNBA opener between the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix watched regular-season MLB game on any network since 2011. The Mercury drew 540,000 viewers on ABC, the most-watched opening day network said the game was up eight percent from the previous Opening WNBA game since 2012 and up from last year’s top opener (452,000 Night record on ESPN (Cardinals-Cubs in 2017, which drew 3.7 million viewers) on ABC. viewers.) The game telecast delivered an 8.4 rating in the Washington, D.C., market, the highest-rated regular-season MLB game ever on ESPN 1c. ESPN announced on Monday it had added 13 more WNBA regular- in the market. It also generated a 7.8 rating in the New York market, the season games to its schedule. The company will air 37 games across its highest-rated regular-season MLB game on ESPN in the market since networks, the most the company has ever aired during the regular 2015. season. ESPN’s four-game opening schedule averaged 401,000 viewers across ESPN and ABC, up 63 percent over the 2019 WNBA regular- 3b. The Giants-Dodgers opener drew 2.76 million viewers, ESPN’s most- season average on ESPN’s networks. watched MLB regular season late-night ET game ever. The telecast drew a 6.9 rating in the San Francisco market, making it the highest-rated 1d. Exhibit A of a mess: When your reporter onsite has to correct your regular season MLB game in the market since 2013. social media feed that prompts a correction 11 hours later: 3c. Per Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily: ESPN averaged 1.78 2. Eric Reid did not expect his words last Saturday to go viral. The million viewers for its six MLB opening weekend games. For context: The exhibition game he was calling — the Miami Heat vs. Utah Jazz — aired “Sunday Night Baseball” package in 2019 averaged 1.6 million viewers. live only on the Fox Sports app so the audience was small. When his Karp reported that Fox Sports averaged 1.72 million viewers for its four producer AJ Speaks asked the longtime Heat broadcaster (32 years with MLB games last Saturday (3 on Fox; 1 on FS1). The three Fox games, the team) to join host Jason Jackson at halftime to share his thoughts, per Karp, averaged 2.21 million, down 8 percent from 2019’s first three Reid said he was driven to speak out on a subject that mattered to him. “I games. TBS’s broadcast of the Yankees-Nationals last Sunday (also simply spoke my truth from my heart and told our story and spoke of how shown on RSNs in D.C. and NYC) averaged 653,000 viewers. Per Karp: we view race in our house,” Reid said. “It was personal.” The network averaged 347,000 for the season (primarily Sunday The personal became public. Reid’s powerful words on raising children in afternoon non-exclusive games) last year. an interracial household have been viewed hundreds of thousands of 3d. ESPN announced it will air seven of the eight new first-round series times as of this writing including more than 100,000 on the Fox Sports as part of the expanded 2020 MLB postseason. All four National League Sun: Heat Twitter feed alone. You can see it here. series will air exclusively on ESPN platforms across a four-day period “I saw the Heat organization take a public stand pledging to fight against from Sept. 29-Oct. 2. TBS will air one American League series. ESPN racism and for encouraging people to vote,” Reid said. “A couple of will also have the exclusive rights to 2020 first-round MLB games on months ago I had an important conversation with Heat VP Michael national radio and Spanish-language domestic television as well as rights McCullough. I told him that I was willing and eager to use my voice and on International television. share my personal story regarding family, fatherhood, race and why 3e. The NWSL Challenge Cup championship drew 653,000, the most- Black Lives Matter to me. He understood, embraced and supported that. watched match in league history. Last year’s final drew 166,000 viewers. We discussed the possibility of doing something at halftime of one of our games. I talked with my family about it and then waited for the right 3f. NBC said its Premier League coverage averaged a Total Audience opportunity to arise. I am proud to work in a league and for a franchise Delivery (TV plus streaming) of 462,000 viewers for the 2019-20 season, that is not shying away from the important social messaging that has and the highest average Premier League viewership since 2015-16, and up will be a significant part of this historic NBA restart in Orlando. I stand in 1% from last year (457,000). full support of the NBA’s players and coaches in their support of Black Lives Matter. In the midst of this Covid-19 pandemic and so much racial The most-watched match of the year was Manchester United’s 2-0 win tension and anxiety in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, I wanted to over Manchester City on March 8. It drew a Total Audience Delivery speak up then but chose silence. I was hesitant to even tweet anything, average of 1.76 million viewers across all platforms respecting and aware that my Twitter handle has my team’s name in it. I have generally kept the content basketball-related.” 3g. The U.S. TV markets with the highest average season-long ratings for Premier League telecasts on NBC and NBCSN were: Reid said he watched the halftime spot last Sunday with his wife and later with his two daughters.” It made us all feel good about our family,” Washington, D.C. he said. “I never imagined it would go viral like it did over the weekend. It Philadelphia was heartwarming to hear from so many of my NBA broadcasting colleagues. I also appreciated the overwhelmingly supportive feedback Tampa from the great fans of Heat Nation.” Seattle Baltimore New York Cincinnati San Francisco Richmond San Diego Portland Hartford West Palm Beach Las Vegas Fort Myers 4. Sports pieces of note. The Curious Case of the Electrified Épée. By Michael Farber, for Sports Illustrated. ESPN’s $793 million in ad sales on the line with college football. By Eben Novy-Williams and Anthony Crupi of Sportico. A night in the NHL bubble: What players can expect when they arrive in Toronto. Reporting from the Fairmont Royal York hotel in Toronto by Hailey Salvian. Additional reporting by Joshua Kloke in Toronto. Daniel Bard’s Long Road Back From the Yips. By Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated. How Steve Phelps steered NASCAR through COVID-19 and racial turbulence. By Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic. Sledding Athletes Are Taking Their Lives. Did Brain-Rattling Rides and High-Speed Crashes Damage Their Brains? By Matt Futterman of The New York Times. Non-sports pieces of note. ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, with support from the Pulitzer Center, have for the first time modeled how climate refugees might move across international borders. By Abrahm Lustgarten of ProPublica. In a town where half of police shootings involve people with mental illness, cops dread these calls. Officer Parker was given two days of de- escalation training last month, then sent to a call with a troubled black woman, a gun, and a crowd ready to record. By Hannah Dreier of The Washington Post.
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176908 Websites One Eastern Conference head coach didn’t hesitate in naming Boston. “Without even blinking,” he said. “They should be the No. 1 seed overall,
and now they might be the fourth seed. That’s the only time I thought The Athletic / ‘He has a mouth on him like a trucker’: The NHL playoffs there was an injustice. Boston was clearly the No. 1 team.” anonymous coaches poll Another vote for Boston: “For some reason, I don’t know if it’s true or not, I feel like it’s Boston. They’re not any younger. … Their best players minus (Torey) Krug are older guys, and I don’t know if (after) not only an Craig Custance and Michael Russo extended break but a time where you … spend very little time on hockey, (you) can hit the ground running.” Jul 29, 2020 But the most unique theory came from a Western Conference coach who wondered if the teams hurt the most were those based in Canada. His So much of the talk around the NHL’s bubble and return to play has theory was that players on the Canadian teams tended to leave town focused on the players. They’re in the spotlight. Their health is on the more than others and the strict rules for reentry might have prevented line. them from assembling as early as other teams that had players in town together during the pause. Right behind them, quite literally, are the NHL’s coaches. This postseason is unlike anything they’ll ever do. They have to try to inject “It would have to be one of the Canadian teams,” he said. “Like energy during games without 18,000 screaming fans. They have to Winnipeg. Nobody stayed in town for the pause. Southern teams and scream words of encouragement and argue calls in empty rinks in which warm-weather teams — a lot of guys stayed in town. Winnipeg, Calgary, every word will be heard — by hot microphones and referees who might Montreal — in those places guys didn’t stay, and then it was tough to get hot when they hear what’s being said. come back because of the quarantine.” Their rosters look different. Their players are in different levels of physical 3. Which goalie is most likely to come out of nowhere and lead his team and mental shape. They’re leaving behind their families for months at a on a run? time. It’s a lot. It seems like there’s one of these every postseason. A guy gets hot and “The sacrifice for two months is huge, but that’s why you have the big it’s not always the obvious candidate. Ben Bishop nearly carried the party at the end,” one Stanley Cup-winning coach said. Stars on his own last spring. Marc-Andre Fleury was unreal in 2018 — Pekka Rinne the year before. To get a sense of their mentality, concerns and analysis, and mostly to have a little fun, we decided to anonymously poll a group of head and So we’re trying to get out in front of it now, and the coaches really like assistant coaches with nine questions. In all, we had 20 responses. At Robin Lehner to be that guy. He’s on a really good team and also playing least 19 of them seemed to take it seriously. for a contract. There’s a lot of motivation there. Let’s dive in. “Their team (Vegas) was playing really well since the coaching change,” said an assistant coach. “They’re a good team. I don’t know what’s going 1. Which team benefits the most from the time off? on with Marc-Andre (Fleury).” The answers to this question tended to center around teams getting Another explanation from a Lehner supporter: “(Vegas) had some of the players back from injuries, especially those with serious injuries that best five-on-five underlying numbers in the league and were plagued by might have impacted a normal postseason. some of the worst underlying goalie numbers in the league.” “Lots of teams will have guys who will be fully healthy now,” one coach Lehner was the popular pick, but there were some interesting ones. Like said. one coach suggesting Braden Holtby might not be the answer for the Capitals. The Penguins ran away with this, in part, because of the return of Jake Guentzel. “If Holtby struggles in the round-robin, I see (Ilya) Samsonov taking off,” he said before news of Samsonov’s injury surfaced. “This might be the most complete roster they’ve been able to put on the ice,” one Eastern Conference coach said. Another inexperienced goalie, 26-year-old Elvis Merzlikins, caught the attention of this coach. Columbus was another popular answer. Not only is Seth Jones healthy, but the extended time off has put Josh Anderson’s name back in play as “Who knows who is starting for Columbus? But Elvis had five shutouts in someone who could return to action when it was widely assumed he was eight games last year,” he said. “Five shutouts!” gone until next season. Finally, one coach just had a gut feeling: “He might not even start, but I’m “They haven’t had a whole team almost the whole year,” said a coach. going to say Mike Smith in Edmonton. Just a gut (feeling). I could be “That’s why Torts (John Tortorella) should be coach of the year.” dead wrong. I think that team can go on a run and he’s that highly competitive guy who could just get hot.” Another coach instead considered style of play. That led him to choose Toronto as a team that benefited from the time off. 4. Which star player has the ability to carry his team to a Stanley Cup? “In general, the high-skilled teams are going to have the most success Hockey is the ultimate team game. But the thought here is that every star early,” one head coach said. “It’ll be the least amount of structure early. player is rested. They’re not coming off the grind of the regular season. … I would give a nod to Toronto. I think Toronto benefits just because I There’s an opportunity for one of the best players in the world to strap his think early in seasons, lots of times, it looks like Shinny hockey. The team to his back and will his way to a championship. more it looks like Shinny hockey, the more advantage goes to the high- skilled teams.” More often than not, Nathan MacKinnon was the guy mentioned as the best candidate. 2. Which team was hurt the most from the time off? “This could be MacKinnon’s moment,” one voter said. This one was tougher because we were testing the memory of coaches. Who was doing well before the pause? Which team was starting to get “MacKinnon can take over a game by himself,” said another. into playoff mode? A couple of coaches needed a minute to do some “Nathan MacKinnon is the obvious answer,” a Western Conference head research to refresh their memories. March seems like a long time ago to coach said. “I thought he almost did that last year in the playoffs for everybody. them.” “Philly was on fire. They have some serious mojo,” said an Eastern “He doesn’t get enough attention,” said a coach in the East. “He’s as Conference assistant. “Alain (Vigneault) is a hell of a coach, in my dynamic as any of the other guys who get all the accolades.” opinion, and they are definitely an AV team.” Of course, Sidney Crosby had his supporters. “I feel like it really hurt St. Louis. I don’t know if that’s enough to derail them,” another Eastern Conference coach said. “When this pause “Crosby until somebody tells me differently,” said a head coach. happened, they were starting to steamroll. It looked like they were getting “(Connor) McDavid is a better hockey player today; he’s not a better to their playoff game. They were starting to control games. The machine winner yet. Until somebody proves it different, I’ll go Crosby.” was starting to run on all cylinders. I would also put Minnesota in that category.” “Have to look at Crosby,” another Crosby voter said. “No way he was Columbus coach John Tortorella dominated here, for obvious reasons. vacationing during the pause. He is always working, and his experience Tortorella doesn’t need an empty rink to get in hot water. and his drive will be tough to stop.” “His emotions are part of who he is and why he is great,” explained one If you’re wondering why McDavid didn’t receive more support, the coach. consensus seemed to be that his team wasn’t strong enough even for a player of his caliber to guide it all the way. And another: “Torts, if he gets mad, if he believes in a cause, he will fight for that cause even if everybody can hear him.” “This rules out McDavid because I don’t see Edmonton winning a Cup,” said a coach. But the more fun answers came from those who went off the board. 5. Which player returning from injury will make the biggest impact? “Has there been more than one answer to this one?” joked one coach, referencing Tortorella. “I’m not going to say the obvious one. I’m going to Injuries and players “unfit to play” are going to go a long way in deciding say (Joel Quenneville). Q never says anything on camera that’s crazy. how this tournament plays out, but the time off also allowed some key Not so true on the bench.” players to heal. Quenneville was a popular sleeper pick here. Columbus defenseman Seth Jones had surgery to heal a fractured ankle on Feb. 11. His return to health was something coaches saw as most “He’s a fiery man,” one Quenneville voter said. “He has a mouth on him impactful. Coaches love Jones. And rightfully so. like a trucker. It’s bad. Joel Quenneville, beware.” “It’s just the impact he has on that team,” one coach said. “He’s the most A few other answers: impactful.” “Claude Julien. He’s sneaky fiery. I’ll go with him.” “Columbus plays tight and defends well,” said another Jones voter. “He is “Mike Sullivan. He just speaks. He’d be the first to say, ‘Sorry, buddy, it part of that but, more importantly, a big part of their offense.” slipped out.'” “Seth Jones can play over half a game,” said a third. “(Dave Tippett) gets very argumentative. He’ll beat his point to death.” Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko had surgery on his shoulder on Oct. 8. What’s your biggest worry playing in the bubble for so long? 29, and St. Louis now gets his game-breaking ability back in the lineup. While the health of everybody participating is the main concern, coaches “It seems like there’s life in a game when he’s on the ice,” said an will be fixated on getting the most out of their players in a unique Eastern Conference coach. “His own teammates feed off it. His guys on environment. No fans. No family to start out. Nobody knows exactly how his team respond to him, and you can see that.” this will go. And the players lacking intensity without screaming fans in Penguins forward Jake Guentzel had surgery on his shoulder at the end the building is a real concern. of December and was leading the Penguins in goals (20) when he went “Having to manufacture your own emotion and intensity and energy. down. His name came up often, even if coaches didn’t ultimately pick him That’s a real part of a playoff series,” said one coach. “It’s a real in this category. difference-maker in winning and losing in the playoffs. The teams that “He can play a fast game,” one coach said. “He’s shown the ability to manage that the best are going to have a real edge You’re going to have contribute. He was going to be a big piece of what they would be to manufacture it. It’s something the building, situation and fans did for missing.” you. You never had to focus on it. Now, it’s going to be how much energy — how good are you at (creating) that? To me, that’s going to be a real “Because Guentzel is so good in the playoffs, he could be a major challenge.” factor,” said another coach in highlighting a player who has 24 goals in 41 career playoff games. “There’s going to be no one in the stands. These games are going to be like training camp games,” said another coach. “It’s going to mean Colorado is a popular pick to make a run, and Mikko Rantanen’s health is something; they’re going to be trying and all that, but there’s not going to a big reason for that. be the same level of energy in the building.” “Rantanen really completes that line, so if he’s healthy, look out,” said a One more thought from a head coach who picked the lack of fans: “It’s an coach. “Rantanen is so much bigger than the second-line right winger of odd feeling to play a hockey game and you hear things rattle in the Colorado.” distance and there’s no noise in the building. Even when there are 8,000 people in a 20,000-seat arena, you hear things clanking around. There’s 6. If you could have picked your ideal hub city, where would it be? no energy in the building. By the time you get into the playoffs, some of For the record, we like the NHL’s plan. It’s smart to put this thing in the energy is going to be worn off and it’s still going to be a clanky old Canada. The coaches seem to feel the same way. That said, it’s fun to building. It’s going to be odd.” see where else they’d like to hang out right now for two months. Another coach disagreed. He felt that the competitive side of the players First, our coach who may or may not have taken this seriously. will emerge once the games get going. “Fairbanks, Alaska,” he said. “It is light 24 hours a day this time of year.” “It might be a boring first period or half, but it won’t be boring the whole game,” he said. “These guys play in world championships with 20 Then, because he answered via text, he added a bunch of emoji, percent capacity with no atmosphere. They’ve done this their whole life. including a golf one, badminton (I think?), soccer and basketball. They’ve played big games with nobody in the building. It’s never stopped them.” Vegas got a lot of votes. Coaches like Vegas. Another popular answer was the concern over players going stir-crazy in “I’m saying Vegas, but not for the glitz and glamor of Vegas. Just being the bubble as their playoff run extends. We’ve seen players pack video able to be in a hub city and be close and have everything in close games, board games and a surprising amount of acoustic guitars. That proximity,” an Eastern Conference coach said. “You could be in your might get them through two weeks. hotel and have all the things you need nearby.” “That’s going to be everyone’s biggest problem,” one coach said. “I’ve “Vegas. No-brainer,” said another. done world championships. They’re a month. You have free rein to go anywhere in the city and guys get stir-crazy.” The time of year got a few coaches thinking about British Columbia and making the case for Vancouver and nearby rinks. If you get stir-crazy in Prague or Paris, a hotel in Edmonton could be problematic. “I love the mountains, the ocean, the temperate weather,” an assistant coach said. “The NHL has done a great job of creating parameters to make sure this thing works, but, man, that’s a long time doing nothing,” another coach One head coach of a playoff team went a step further and picked a spot said. outside an NHL city. “This time of year? One, it would have to be in Canada,” he said, talking through his thought process. “I think that’s the In the “other” category, one coach said it’s going to be a record amount right call. I think it’s the best weather this time of year in Canada in the of time away from family and that could be an issue for players in the interior of British Columbia. Kelowna.” same boat. 7. Which coach is most likely to get in trouble for something he says to a “That’s going to be the hardest,” he explained. “The longer you go, the ref because there’s no crowd to drown him out? harder it’s going to get. I know by the conference final, you get some family. It’s still a long time.” 9. Are you concerned about your own health and exposure to COVID- 19? Coaches, just because of their age, are potentially more at risk when it comes to catching COVID-19. But even the ones who are concerned seem comfortable with the NHL’s game plan going in. “You’re concerned, but I also feel we’re fortunate in that we’re going to be surrounded with the best health care you could possibly have, the most testing to catch it early,” said a Western Conference coach. “You’re concerned, but we have nothing to complain about.” “I know it can be very bad,” said a coach in weighing the risks. “But the bubble may be the safest place to be.” “I respect the virus enough to say, yes, there’s a level of concern,” another coach said. One coach suspects COVID-19 cases were even more widespread than anyone realized before the league shut down. “My personal opinion is there were more people in the NHL who had it than we think,” he said. “When our teams go through the flu, lots of people get it. I think we weren’t immune to having it go through a couple teams. That’s my feeling.”
The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176909 Websites Yandle feels like one of those guys where you could tell me he’s 27 or that he’s 36 and I’d believe you. He’s actually 33, and 14 years into an NHL career that’s included a trip to the conference finals with the 2015 Rangers. He’s only won one playoff game since then, and the Panthers The Athletic / Down Goes Brown: The 2020 Old Guy Without a Cup have a long road ahead of them, so don’t get too attached, but he makes rankings the list. 20. Nathan Gerbe, Blue Jackets By Sean McIndoe The diminutive center has always been a great story, and he just barely qualifies for OGWAC status this year, having turned 33 last week in his Jul 29, 2020 10th NHL season. The Blue Jackets are a long-shot to win it all, and Gerbe has some work to do to earn a regular spot in the lineup, but admit it — you’d love to see Nick Foligno turn and hand the Cup to him. Or just With the playoffs starting this weekend, its time to break out an annual hold it over his head and make him jump for it. tradition: The yearly OGWAC rankings, in which we honor the noble tale of the Old Guy Without a Cup. The OGWAC is always a great story, and 19. James Neal, Oilers the sight of one finally getting his hands on the big trophy is guaranteed It might surprise you to see Neal show up on this list. He barely makes to tug at any fan’s heartstrings. Whether it’s Ray Bourque, Lanny the age cut-off, turning 33 in September. And you might assume that he McDonald, Teemu Selanne or last season’s Jay Bouwmeester, the already has a Cup since he spent all those years in Pittsburgh. But he grizzled OGWAC is a playoff tradition, and a concept we like to revisit arrived two years after their 2009 Cup and left two years before their every year around this time. back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017. That means he’s still searching for Well, not really “around this time,” because we usually do all this in April. that first ring, despite going to the Final with both the 2017 Predators and Things are somewhat different this year, as you may have noticed. And 2018 Golden Knights, and very much not doing that with the 2019 that means that in addition to being three months late with this year’s Flames. column, we’ve also got a much larger field of teams to contend with. And 18. Nate Thompson, Flyers you know what that means: More OGWACs! We’ll bump the list up to 25 names this year, just to make sure we don’t leave any of the best Most of the classic OGWAC stories feature a heavy dose of star power, candidates out. but there’s something to be said for a veteran depth guy who finally sees his hard work pay off with a championship. (Examples include Dallas To qualify for this year’s list a player must be at least 33 years old by the Drake in 2008 and Willie Mitchell in 2012.) Thompson would fit that group time the Cup is awarded in October, have played in the league for at perfectly; the 35-year-old journeyman is on his eighth NHL stop and has least 10 years and be expected to play in this year’s tournament. That never made a Final. leaves several teams without an OGWAC and a few others whose best options won’t make the cut. Other teams have a ton of candidates, so 17. Blake Wheeler, Jets we’re going to limit each team to a max of two entries on this year’s list. As always, preference will be given to older players that have a realistic Partly because he’s still so productive, Wheeler doesn’t necessarily feel shot at winning this year and have suffered through painful near-misses like a guy who’s old enough to be on this list. But he is — he turns 34 in or otherwise have some sort of dramatic story to draw on. August and is in his 12th season. And his OGWAC story carries some extra weight because the 2011 Bruins traded him away at the deadline, Competition is tight this year, especially since a certain OGWAC months before they won the Cup. mainstay didn’t get traded at the deadline like he was supposed to and it made him sad and everyone involved in that decision should be sent to 16. Mike Smith, Oilers jail. But it’s fine, don’t worry about, we’re not holding any grudges here at Goalies are always tricky when it comes to this list. I’m not completely OGWAC headquarters. sure there’s ever been a truly great goaltending OGWAC story, although As the old saying goes, first place on the OGWAC list is the hardest maybe Dominik Hasek in 2002 would count. You’d think the position trophy to win in all of sports. I think that’s what the saying is, I wasn’t would lend itself to the concept, and maybe it’s just coincidence that the really paying attention. On to this year’s list … very best OGWACs have historically been skaters, but for some reason, it hasn’t really clicked for the goalies yet. Maybe this year. 25. Mats Zuccarello, Wild Smith is the second goalie we’ve run into on the 2020 list, with three It feels weird to think of him as old, but this is his 10th season and he more to come. He’s an interesting candidate because he’s 38 and on his turns 33 in September. He’s also a popular player who had a close call sixth NHL stop but has only been out of the first round as a starter once with the Rangers in 2014 and some recent adversity with last year’s in his career (with the Coyotes in 2012). Last year’s postseason with the broken arm. There’s also a good chance that you’d completely forgotten Flames was a disaster, even if it wasn’t his fault, so there’s a strong he plays for the Wild now, so I can’t rank him too highly, but he deserves “prove them all wrong” vibe here. But first, he’s got to earn the starter’s a mention. job. 24. Braydon Coburn, Lightning 15. Pekka Rinne, Predators Coburn may not be a star, but he’d make for a classic OGWAC story. At At 37, Rinne’s got the age and experience to make for a great OGWAC 35, he’s been around for 15 seasons and has had plenty of deep playoff story. What he may not have is the Predators’ starting job, thanks to a runs, including trips to the Final with the 2010 Flyers and 2015 Lightning. solid season from Juuse Saros. Like with Smith, backup goalies make for The big question is whether he’ll see enough ice time to be an important just about impossible OGWAC stories, and there’s another one lurking part of this year’s Lightning push. further down this list. For now, we’ll say that Rinne has a Vezina and a trip to the Final on his resume, so he’s done just about everything a 23. Carey Price, Canadiens goalie can do in the NHL … except win a Cup. I know there’s a few of you double-checking right now, but yes, Price 14. Andy Greene, Islanders qualifies this year — the 13-season veteran turns 33 in a few weeks. We’ll see if the Habs are even still playing then, but for now, he barely The Islanders nearly went into the playoffs having to rely on Derick makes the cut as the only former MVP on our list. I can’t rank him very Brassard and Thomas Greiss for their OGWAC mojo, but smartly high, in part because the Habs are a longshot to go very far. But if he patched that hole at the deadline by picking up the 37-year-old Greene. proves all those scared GMs right and turns into the monster behind the He’d spent his entire career patrolling the blue line of one team before diner, he’d be a fun story. If not, well, according to his contract he still has finally being dealt at the deadline to chase a Cup with a contender, so at least six more years of elite goaltending ahead of him, so it’s fine. he’s basically a poor man’s Ray Bourque. OK, he’s an extremely poor man’s Bourque, but the remake is never as good as the original. 22. Marc Staal, Rangers 13. Ben Bishop, Stars Staal just turned 33 this year, and his 13 seasons in New York include a near-miss in the 2014 Final. On most teams, that would make him a It’s another goalie, but the 33-year-old Bishop has got a better near-miss strong candidate. He’s still a solid pick for the Rangers, but there’s a story than most. He went to the Final in 2015, then suffered a torn groin better one we’ll meet a little further down the list. that cost him one full game and the end of another and may have slowed him down just enough to make the difference in a close series. That’s a 21. Keith Yandle, Panthers solid sympathy story, although we can’t go much higher on Bishop given he’s not that old and isn’t even the best OGWAC on his own team. 12. Shea Weber, Canadiens could set the stage for the Rangers to turn to a veteran for one more run. That could be the sort of story that moves Lundqvist even higher up the Fifteen seasons. That’s how long Weber has left on his contract has list, maybe all the way to No. 1. But for now, this is as high as I can go. been in the NHL, and he’s yet to make it out of the second round. On top of that, he got to watch the team he spent the first decade of his career 4. Jason Spezza, Maple Leafs with make it to the Final the year after he left. He’s about to turn 35, so this isn’t his last shot at a ring, and the Habs are big underdogs, so I can’t Spezza is 37, has played 17 seasons, lost in the Final over a decade rank him any higher. But at this rate, Weber might end up entering the ago, has had to fight through back problems that have cost him playoff conversation with Brad Park and Borje Salming as the best defenceman games and recently signed a bargain-basement contract with his in NHL history to never win a Norris or a Cup. hometown team for one last shot at a Cup. What more could you want from an OGWAC? 11. Deryk Engelland, Golden Knights OK, there is the small matter of that hometown team being the Leafs, They love him in Vegas, and he came close with the Golden Knights in which will make this a non-starter for some fans out there. But if anyone 2018 (and just missed the Penguins’ 2009 Cup by one season). At 38, could make you cheer for a Leaf, it should be Spezza. Come on, look at and with his contract expiring at the end of the year, this could be his last the smile. Let’s get this kid his Stanley Cup. shot. 3. Brian Boyle, Panthers 10. Alex Edler, Canucks The 35-year-old is on his seventh team and has been a popular depth The Canucks also have Loui Eriksson on the eligible list, but I don’t think guy pretty much everywhere he’s ever played. He’s played well over 100 there’s any question who their fans would prefer to see taking that first career playoff games, including trips to the Final with the 2014 Rangers Cup handoff. Edler has been a Canuck for 14 seasons now, and came and 2015 Lightning, so he’d be a solid OGWAC just based on his career. agonizingly close to a championship with that powerhouse 2010-11 team. Add in his battle with leukemia, and the emotional Masterton win that With one year left on a big-dollar contract for a cap-strapped team, he came with it, and it’s hard to imagine any fans who wouldn’t be rooting for may be running out of chances in Vancouver. the guy. 9. Mark Giordano, Flames 2. Joe Pavelski, Stars Giordano is still just one season removed from his first Norris, so it’s easy It always seemed as if Pavelski would play his entire career with the to forget that he’s almost 37. He debuted the season after the Flames’ Sharks, but after 13 seasons it was time for both sides to move on. He last trip to the Final, so he’s never had a deep run. In fact, he’s never landed in Dallas and probably doesn’t regret it much after seeing what been out of the first round — he was hurt late in the 2014-15 season, the happened in San Jose this year. Pavelski has had plenty of playoff only time the Flames have won a series in the cap era. heartbreak and near-misses, including a trip to the Final in 2016, and his 134 career playoff games tie him with Coburn for the second-most of any 8. Dan Hamhuis, Predators player on this list. He’s pretty close to the platonic ideal of an OGWAC. Hamhuis is a classic grizzled veteran story at this point. He’s 37, on his (By the way, the Stars are stacked with OGWAC candidates. In addition second stint with his original team, and has gone two full seasons and to Bishop and Pavelski, they’ve also got Blake Comeau, Andrej Sekera, counting without scoring a goal. He came close to a Cup with the Anton Khudobin and Andrew Cogliano. If they win it all, Jamie Benn Canucks in 2011, but other than that one deep run, he’s a career oh-for- might have to do the first Cup handoff by just tossing it over his shoulder nine in playoff rounds. He’s already getting local OGWAC buzz. The like a bride with a bouquet.) bandwagon could fill up quickly if the Predators can make some noise, so grab a seat now while you can. 1. Patrick Marleau, Penguins 7. Mikko Koivu, Wild I’m guessing there wasn’t a ton of suspense here. Marleau ranked first on this list way back in 2016, and now it’s four years and three teams Man, the Wild are absolutely loaded with OGWAC candidates. We’ve later and he’s come close, including a trip to the Final in that same 2016 already mentioned Zuccarello, and there’s also Ryan Suter, Zach Parise postseason. But he’s still chasing the ring, and he’s almost out of time. and Devan Dubnyk. You could put any of those guys on your list and I wouldn’t argue, but I think the top slot for the Wild has to go to the Beyond that, Marleau checks every box you could want in an OGWAC captain who’s been there his whole career. As a pending UFA, this could story. By all appearances, he’s a great teammate, and nobody seems to be his final season in Minnesota, and there was talk of a trade to a have a bad word to say about him these days. He’s overcome adversity, contender at the deadline. Instead, he decided to stick around, and it including an unfair narrative about not being clutch and some would be great to see that decision pay off with a surprise championship. manufactured media feuds. And he’s been around forever. No, really, I As a bonus, that would end the Koivu family’s push up the list of the all- don’t think people realize this — if he returns for another season next time OBWACs. (Old Brothers Without a Cup, obviously.) year, Marleau is set to pass Ron Francis, Jaromir Jagr and Mark Messier on his way to breaking Gordie Howe’s all-time record for NHL games 6. Ilya Kovalchuk, Capitals played. I’m not kidding. This one won’t be for everyone since Kovalchuk has burned a few To add to his case, he’s chasing this opportunity on a very good bridges in his career, most recently in L.A. But remember when he Penguins team that he just recently joined. The ideal OGWAC would win arrived in Montreal and looked like his old self for a few weeks? Wasn’t a Cup with a team he’d been on forever, and it would have been great to that fun? Now imagine him doing that with a Cup on the line, on a team see Marleau do that back in San Jose. But there’s something irresistible where everyone else already has a ring and desperately wants to get him about the veteran who arrives on a team that’s already won, where a one too. room full of guys who already have their rings decide to pull together to OK, I’m projecting a best-case scenario here. But after five teams, 13 get one for the new guy. That’s what happened with Bourque, as well as NHL seasons, one quasi-retirement and a failed comeback, Kovalchuk’s Michal Handzus and Kimmo Timonen, among others, and it’s always cool OGWAC story certainly isn’t boring. And the image of Alexander to see. Ovechkin turning and handing him the Cup is almost impossible to resist. It’s not hard to picture Sidney Crosby taking the Cup from Gary Bettman 5. Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers and immediately handing it over to a sobbing Marleau while his teammates mob him. That’s the kind of moment we can all get behind, Man, I just don’t know what to do with Hank. On paper, he’s got an assuming we’re not Flyers fans, and even they might grudgingly be OK unbeatable OGWAC case. He’s 38, he’s in his 15th year without a Cup, with it. In the deepest field in OGWAC history, Marleau takes the crown he’s lost in the Final and his reaction to that loss was utterly heart- as the best story. Now let’s see if he can get the win that matters. breaking. It is clear that he desperately wants a ring, and the sight of him actually getting one would be magical. I’ve ranked him near the very top of this list more than once over the years, and he’s not getting any The Athletic LOADED: 07.30.2020 younger. But there are two problems. First, the Rangers are massive underdogs to win it all. But more importantly, we don’t know whether Lundqvist will even play much. With the Rangers carrying three goalies, he may not even dress for some games. And I’m sorry, but you can’t be a great OGWAC story if you’re a backup. It just doesn’t work as well. That said, if Igor Shesterkin (and maybe Alexandar Georgiev) stumble a bit, or if David Quinn just felt his team needed an emotional boost, it 1176910 Websites After defenceman Josh Morrissey started the play with a smart outlet pass, Ehlers drove to the far post in transition and was quick to pounce on a rebound after a hard, low shot from linemate Patrik Laine. Sportsnet.ca / Five things we learned about Jets in exhibition win over This is the type of thing Ehlers has done all year long, using his speed Canucks and going to the hard areas. That’s why Jets head coach Paul Maurice is expecting Ehlers to break through.
“It’s a five-game series, so there’s not a lot of time to do it. But his game Ken Wiebe | @WiebesWorld has changed this year,” said Maurice. “He’s harder on pucks, he drives the net, he’s competing at a different level than he ever has before, so I July 30, 2020, 2:34 AM think he’s a goal scorer in the playoffs for sure.” There was an element of concern when Ehlers left practice early last WINNIPEG — Say so long to the dress rehearsal. From this point and week and then spent time with the second group the day after, but if he on, the stakes will be considerably higher. was dealing with a minor ailment, he had shown no signs of any lingering effects. Some elements of rust were inevitable as the Winnipeg Jets played an actual hockey game for the first time since March 11, and while it’s Senior Writer Ryan Dixon and NHL Editor Rory Boylen always give it essential to remember this was merely an exhibition game, there were 110%, but never rely on clichés when it comes to podcasting. Instead, some themes that stood out after a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver they use a mix of facts, fun and a varied group of hockey voices to cover Canucks on Wednesday night. Canada’s most beloved game. It’s impossible for goaltending to not be a storyline as the Jets get set to However, just before the mid-way point of the third period, Ehlers got face the Calgary Flames in the best-of-five, play-in round. tangled up with Canucks forward Adam Gaudette and he went down the tunnel. In the red corner, Flames interim head coach Geoff Ward may know he’s going to be between the pipes in Game 1, but he’s still not ready to share Maurice made sure to say his departure was “100 per cent the information publicly whether it will be Cam Talbot or David Rittich. precautionary” and that he expected Ehlers to be a full participant in the Jets’ practice on Friday after the team uses Thursday as a day off. In the blue corner, the Jets have no such debate. Jack is jumping Hellebuyck in Vezina form Jets forward Jack Roslovic was noticeable for the right reasons Connor Hellebuyck is the Vezina Trophy front-runner and for good Wednesday and that could be a sign of things to come. reason. Roslovic chipped in an assist with a beautiful no-look, backhand pass to If there was any concern that Hellebuyck might need a bit of additional Dmitry Kulikov when it looked like he might have a clear path to the net. time to find his form, that should be alleviated after Wednesday’s performance as he finished with 37 saves. The 2015 first-rounder also showcased his speed and skill on several other shifts throughout the contest, and after setting career-bests for The Jets were making life a bit more difficult than it needed to be during goals (12), assists (17) and points (29), Roslovic could be primed for a the first period as they struggled with puck management and turned the productive playoff. puck over far too often, but Hellebuyck was there to bail his teammates out. The duo of Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp is known for being able to generate plenty of time in the offensive zone on the cycle, and Roslovic That’s a phrase that’s been typed on multiple occasions this season, but has the potential to be a strong finisher on that unit, to go along with his it had to be reassuring for the Jets to basically see Hellebuyck in mid- playmaking. season form. Secondary scoring is a must for teams to go deep, and given the “Connor was outstanding,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. “He looks responsibility the trio will have on the defensive side of the equation, like he hasn’t missed a beat.” chipping in some additional offence would help take some of the pressure off the top two lines. Whether it was stopping Bo Horvat on a rebound chance, being in perfect position to stop a Tanner Pearson redirection, or denying Brock Boeser “I don’t look at that as just a shutdown line, they can do it because they’re on a breakaway, Hellebuyck served notice that he’s going to be tough to built to do it. But there’s some offence — for sure — to be had,” said Jets beat when the real games begin. head coach Paul Maurice. “You can use them to check and you can play them against the heavy line too. That frees your other guys from having “I thought it was great, being able to get to that playoff battle mentality to do that. It’s a very versatile group.” and that battle level,” said Hellebuyck. “So this game was not just an exhibition for me, it was getting that battle intensity up.” Don’t worry about the D From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream Yes, there were some shaky moments early — including a pair of every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on turnovers by Neal Pionk on his first shift — but again, it’s the first real Sportsnet NOW. game action for this group since early March. Naturally, the Jets will spend some time over the next few days focusing While the Jets struggled defensively for a chunk of the season, they did a on the importance of taking better care of the puck. better job as the season moved along and this unheralded bunch is eager to attack the narrative that the D-corps could be viewed as a weak One thing they won’t be the least bit worried about is whether their elite link. goalie will be ready to answer the bell. The Jets lost a lot of offence and some considerable bite with the Ehlers gets going overhaul of the blue line, but they got a pair of goals on Wednesday from Only Pierre-Edouard Bellemare of the Colorado Avalanche (31) and Tucker Poolman and Kulikov. Carter Rowney (26) of the Anaheim Ducks have a longer active playoff They also got some physical play from Nathan Beaulieu, who leveled drought than Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who has seven assists in 21 Zack MacEwen in the first period. career post-season games. The top pairing of Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo are going to need to log As I’ve stated before, while this is a fact, it’s not an indictment of Ehlers’ plenty of important minutes in a shutdown role, but as Maurice said ability, and any suggestion he doesn’t have what it takes to perform on during training camp, he feels a lot better about the group than he did on the big stage is nothing but a hot-air narrative. the first day of training camp. While Ehlers has downplayed the significance of that statistic when And for good reason. asked about it, you can be sure he’s looking forward to getting rid of that goose egg in the goal column. Fourth-line ferocity His second-period goal Wednesday won’t count on that front, but it came One of the criticisms of Maurice during his tenure with the Jets is that on the type of play that is likely to lead to Ehlers scoring multiple goals he’s often leaned too heavily on his top guns and hasn’t used his fourth when the games matter most. line enough. Some of that is related to personnel, but he’s got confidence in the line of Nick Shore, Mathieu Perreault and Mason Appleton, and on Wednesday it showed — as all three players were above 11:26 in ice time and combined for four shots on goal and three hits. Of course, building a four-goal cushion helped on that front, but it won’t be a surprise to see those players routinely at (or at least near) double digits, especially since Perreault is on the second power-play unit and both Shore and Appleton are used on the penalty kill. Perreault was limited to 49 games this season because of injury, but he looks like he’s energized, while Appleton is an emerging player who has shown he can also play up the lineup when called upon. This line will be asked to do more than just tread water and not get scored on. They could also chip in offensively and create some momentum by creating some chaos on the forecheck.
Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176911 Websites Even after Robertson’s best chance of the game, it wasn’t so much his miss that I noticed (since he’s a proven finisher who’ll find his way there), but it was what happened after. He takes contact, is rubbed out, and it’s the other team’s puck. Sportsnet.ca / Analyzing Nick Robertson's exhibition game and the tough choice ahead Robertson showed himself well a number of times. Once on a forecheck he came up with a puck that led to a low-to-high pass in the O-zone for the Leafs. His speed and effort were present. He scrapped hard out there. Nobody’s worried he isn’t going to be a very good NHLer one day. Justin Bourne | @jtbourne But hockey is still very much a contact sport, and playoff hockey is July 29, 2020, 1:31 PM another animal yet. There’s grabbing and pulling and huge people playing at their competitive best. If this were a roster decision Columbus were making — a team that finished 28th in the NHL in scoring going up Heading into Toronto’s exhibition game versus Montreal, most roster against a not-very-physical playoff opponent — it might be different. But decisions for their upcoming series versus Columbus were set — outside for the Leafs, scoring is not a problem. Nobody did it more in the entire of Nick Robertson’s role, of course. I don’t need to prime you much for NHL than them after Sheldon Keefe took over. who he is — he’s been a story for a while now — so just a quick refresher for those who haven’t been neck-deep in hockey all summer. What Toronto needs is versatility (don’t forget their PK buried them in the playoffs against Boston last year), and they’ll need to keep moving Robertson is a 2019 second-round draft pick. He is 18 years old. He’s a forward through the thick forest of size and quality defence Columbus is kid who just scored 55 times in 46 junior games. A tenacious, hard likely to put forth. Engvall is huge and skates like the wind. Gauthier wins worker. He’s 5-foot-9, but a heavy shooter and hungry. Inexperienced. draws and defends as a priority. Almost nothing happens either way He’s lots of things. when he’s out there — it’s not such a bad thing to have that option in certain situations. Most of all though, he’s tempting for the Leafs, because there’s no doubt he’d help them create offence in certain spots. And hey, offence is good. I can see Robertson playing Game 1. I can see Robertson scoring in the While we’re speaking of good, it’s not impossible to see him as a major series if he plays. What I don’t see happening is the Leafs playing 20- contributor next season, so if they don’t dress him this year — and lose some playoff games this year and Robertson not experiencing a long by a scant margin — there will surely be retrospective doubt about their spell of struggles. The Leafs may not have to contend with that as much decision-making. if they consistently play Engvall, another young guy they recently extended for two years because they like what he brings, as well. He won The problem for any young talent, though, is there’s a learning curve and a Calder Cup with Keefe and Dubas, don’t forget, as did Gauthier. at the NHL level the those lessons aren’t offered with kid gloves — let alone during the playoffs of a congested and bizarre year. They slap you This isn’t a referendum on what Nick Robertson will be. It’s a decision in the mouth so you figure out where not to stick your lips next time, about what he’ll be on Sunday, versus what their other options are. I which is big-picture helpful, but that doesn’t change the fact you’d be have no sense which way the team will end up going, but I know which getting metaphorically slapped in the mouth in a very public high- way I lean. pressure situation.
From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.30.2020 Sportsnet NOW. Surely the Leafs were hoping Tuesday that Robertson’s play would make a decision for them so they could figure out what to do with their remaining roster spots. If he was really good, he’d be in (and I get the sense they’ve been hoping for this outcome). That would leave a fourth line centre spot for Frederik Gauthier or Pierre Engvall (that’s another debate unto itself — Engvall is a more threatening PKer, ‘Goat’ the more experienced centre.) If Robertson was bad, both the aforementioned 6-foot-5 penalty killers would be in, and Robertson would be on the outside, waiting for an injury or for the series to go awry. Instead, he was something else on Tuesday, and we still have questions. He was just OK, but in a unique way. What I don’t want to do is nitpick simple errors (like two neutral zone misplays) and over-praise where things went well (like a nice pass for a secondary assist). I wanted to find moments that made me believe it will work this season for him, or that tell us maybe it’s going to take some more time. Were the decision mine going into the play-in round, I’d have Robertson in the press box to start. Sheldon Keefe has said he needs to see Robertson looking comfortable and capable, and I saw too many instances in his 10 minutes of ice time where he was cold-eliminated from the play, no matter how quickly he popped back up like a puppy ready to re-engage. My conclusion comes from moments like this below where he took contact. We’ve seen small, young players have success in a very big league before — I’m thinking of stars like Patrick Kane and Mitch Marner here — but those players play a game that exists outside contact. They don’t get hit, they exist in the seams. Robertson wants to engage, and while he does so with all the ferocity he has, sometimes raw size still wins. Yes he’s outnumbered and in a tough spot above, but we see bigger players able to hold the puck in their feet, get hit and buy time for help — or at least avoid turning back into pressure where there isn’t support. It doesn’t take much to snuff Robertson out and take the puck just yet, which could be a huge issue against a big Columbus team that’s excellent defensively. The Leafs are going to be fighting for inches, and those battles are tough to win when your sweater is covered in snow. 1176912 Websites The Wild went 8-4 under Evason, and their 8-3-0 sprint to the abrupt finish of the regular season in March began with a 4-3 shootout win in Vancouver on Feb. 19. Sportsnet.ca / Wild's strengths and weaknesses both highlighted in loss “I guess you would say, we play a little more free,” veteran centre Eric to Avalanche Staal said of the Wild’s transformation. “I think we’re a little bit more up- tempo pace. We’ve got weapons. . . these young guys that have pace, that have speed, that have skill. I think we’re just utilizing it a lot more. I think it has changed our game and our confidence has grown.” Iain MacIntyre | @imacSportsnet The guys Staal named, by nickname, were Jordan Greenway, Luke July 29, 2020, 8:27 PM Kunin, Ryan Donato, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kevin Fiala. Fiala has been a revelation, a talented player who suddenly seems to EDMONTON – The Minnesota Wild are trapped in a narrative. have figured things out at age 24 and on his second NHL team. In his final 18 games, he had 14 goals and 26 points. Only Edmonton’s Leon I know, aren’t we all? Draisaitl and New York Ranger Mika Zibanejad outscored Fiala after Feb. 3. But the impression of the Wild and the reality of the National Hockey League team conflict sharply. Senior Writer Ryan Dixon and NHL Editor Rory Boylen always give it 110%, but never rely on clichés when it comes to podcasting. Instead, The Wild were a defensive, grinding, plodding, dull team for so many they use a mix of facts, fun and a varied group of hockey voices to cover seasons, they still mostly carry that reputation into their Stanley Cup Canada’s most beloved game. qualifying series against the Vancouver Canucks. But rejuvenated by a February coaching change that saw Dean Evason replace Bruce On Wednesday, Fiala buzzed around the Avalanche zone like he buzzed Boudreau, the Wild have more speed and skill throughout their lineup around the NHL the last five weeks of the regular season. The Swiss than most people realize. They are also more combative. winger had 16 shots attempts. No other player on either team took more than six shots. From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on It’s a small sample, but Fiala looks like the most dynamic and dominant Sportsnet NOW. Minnesota forward since Marian Gaborik was a young man. If only the Wild had Gaborik’s old teammate, Dwayne Roloson, in net. Their hub city exhibition game Wednesday against the powerful, dynamic and sexy Colorado Avalanche was an example of what the Wild do Evason isn’t naming his starter for Game 1 Sunday against the Canucks, surprisingly well. It also illustrated their key weaknesses: average special but it’s likely to be Stalock, whose 20 wins this year matched his total teams and sub-par goaltending. from the last four seasons as a backup in Minnesota and San Jose. Nathan MacKinnon’s Avalanche won 3-2 at Rogers Place in the only “There’s some catchup, obviously, with four months off,” Stalock said dress rehearsal the teams will have for this summer’s Stanley Cup Wednesday of his performance. “It took a little while to get adjusted, but tournament. overall I felt good. You go back and look at the tape and see that maybe you had more time in spots where you felt rushed. Obviously, one game, The Wild not only skated with the Avalanche, Minnesota outshot it goes quick, and all of a sudden the real deal starts.” Colorado 24-16 at five-on-five. Goaltending questions aside, the Wild look like a real deal. But the Minnesota power play, which was the stronger half of its special teams during the regular season, went only 1-for-8 and generated just five shots on target in 13:15 of advantage time. And starting goalie Alex Stalock, a career backup who lifted the No. 1 job this season from the Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.30.2020 failing hands of Devan Dubnyk, was beaten three times on 17 shots, serving up a bespoke-tailored rebound to Joonas Donskoi just 1:25 after the start and looked leaden when MacKinnon whipped a shot past him from the top of the faceoff circle at 4:47. The goal crease is where the Canucks appear to have their biggest advantage. If you removed Jacob Markstrom from Vancouver and put him behind the Minnesota defence, which has one of the best top-fours in the NHL, the Wild would be a heavy favourite in the five-game series. Livestream the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, plus every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sportsnet NOW. Even with Stalock and Dubnyk, who stopped the 12 shots he faced in relief on Wednesday, Wild-Canucks is almost too close to call. But everyone has to call something, and 16 of 18 Sportsnet insiders have predicted a Vancouver victory. Half of these television and print reporters are predicting a five-game series and nobody called for a sweep, so it’s expected to be a tight series. But it’s surprising how few people think the Wild will actually win it. (I picked the Canucks in five). “I don’t read a lot of clippings,” Evason told reporters after Wednesday’s game. “I basically don’t read any of them. I honestly don’t know who’s picking who. We’re just worried about what we’re going to do and how we’re going to play against Vancouver.” About his team, the former Kamloops junior star and Vancouver Giants coach said: “I think that they’re really playing for each other. That’s one of the biggest things we talked about before the pause. Certainly our commitment to the team game and to playing for each other. . . and working with each other through (training camp). . . has been a real good feel. We saw a lot of that today. They were sticking together, they were playing hard together. When you do that, you feed off each other. You push each other, but you have each other’s back. I think our group has done that.” 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. 1176913 Websites way right off the bat, and be aware of the guys who are on the ice at all times. And a lot of the things we did (versus St. Louis) will transfer.”
Senior Writer Ryan Dixon and NHL Editor Rory Boylen always give it Sportsnet.ca / Blackhawks' win over Blues a reminder Oilers can't take 110%, but never rely on clichés when it comes to podcasting. Instead, them lightly they use a mix of facts, fun and a varied group of hockey voices to cover Canada’s most beloved game.
The Toews line was the best line on the ice for either team, a message Mark Spector | @sportsnetspec from the Team Canada centre Toews and Calder candidate Dominik Kubalik (two goals) that, along with Saad (one goal), they are a trio to be July 29, 2020, 10:29 PM reckoned with. Kirby Dach was also very effective versus the Blues. Toews has what the Oilers will have a couple of Olympics from now, but EDMONTON — In our tireless efforts to report on the Edmonton Oilers do not yet possess. He is battle-tested through three Stanley Cup Finals, and their upcoming Qualifying Round opponents, the Chicago two Olympic Games and that wild shootout sequence when he was 19 Blackhawks, we poured over Chicago’s entire pre-season as a pre-scout and representing Canada at the world juniors. on the 12th-place Blackhawks. You can’t buy or manufacture what those types of experiences do for a And let me tell you, it was quite a project. player. Now, at age 32, if he can’t keep up with the young guys like McDavid, it could be a struggle. But when it comes to smarts and dealing OK, so the “pre-season” existed of one game against the St. Louis Blues with the stress and pressure of captaining an NHL team into the playoffs, on Wednesday. And “tireless effort” meant about three hours of watching Toews has something the Oilers do not have — yet. hockey. “There were some really good, mature performance up and down the So what did we learn? For starters, the Blues have seldom looked more lineup,” Colliton said. “That’s the approach we need to have if we think disinterested, knowing that they still have three relatively meaningless we’re going to have success. It’s nice for the guys to have a positive games to play before their playoffs begin. This was a no-hitter, as St. feeling about themselves. But certainly, there are a lot of steps left as we Louis barely tested Chicago starter Corey Crawford, or reliever Malcolm prepare to play a really good team. Subban for that matter, in a 4-0 Blackhawks win. “We were cleaner and cleaner as the game went on with our puck-play “It’s nice,” said Chicago centre Dylan Strome. “I don’t know if we beat St. and our breakouts.” Louis since I’ve been here (0-4 vs Blues this season). I don’t think so. It’s just an exhibition game, but we feel a lot better now than if we’d have lost The way to get to Chicago’s forward lines is to cycle. The Blues forgot 4-0.” their bikes back in Missouri. From an Oilers standpoint, it is a good lesson: If you sleep on these Edmonton has two lines that can score off the rush, or create chances off Blackhawks, they can feed you the way they did the Blues. the cycle. They’re not a big, heavy group, but they are highly skilled, and like the Sedins used to do, they can put an opponent through the spin Here’s a look at what the Oilers will be facing when their series opens cycle for a while, and have someone pop out with a wide-open chance on Saturday afternoon: goal. From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream We saw no evidence of how Chicago will work against the cycle against every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on St. Louis. But credit the Blackhawks, they did not allow the Blues enough Sportsnet NOW. possession time to get anything going. When it comes to the Blackhawks and Crawford, they aren’t asking “Regardless of who we were playing we wanted to sharpen up or game,” “how? Just “how many?” Saad said. “We play a really good team on Saturday as well. For the full 60, overall it went pretty well.” Chicago’s No. 1 played the first half of the game and was flawless on 11 St. Louis shots, though we’re not entirely sure the lethargic Blues counted three legit, Grade-A scoring chances during that time. But remember, the last time out — an intra-squad game in Chicago — Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.30.2020 Crawford got scorched for three goals in one period and was lifted amid a cloud of concern. “It’s great to have him back,” said winger Brandon Saad. “We have confidence in all of our goalies … but he anchors our team out there. We all get confidence when he’s in the net.” After missing almost the entire training camp while recovering from COVID-19, Crawford had this game and now a couple more practices to get up to standard for a start in Game 1 against the Oilers on Saturday. He looked just fine against a tepid Blues attack on Wednesday. How does that translate to facing Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers in a best-of-five playoff round? Well, Wednesday’s result was better than the alternative, right? “He just calms us all down,” said Strome. “He has all that playoff experience, and he’s been great all year. Obviously, we feel comfortable and confident with him in the net.” Said head coach Jeremy Colliton: “It was a good step forward for him.” Colliton, unplugged, on playing Edmonton: “We know they have tremendous, high-end skill, particularly upfront,” he began. “It’s going to be a challenge, especially when they play on separate lines we know they’re going to be on the ice for a lot of the game. There’s not going to be a break. “We’re going to have to be very, very detailed away from the puck, and of course with the puck. Because if you turn the puck over against that group, the time between when they win the puck and the puck’s in the back of your net, you can barely blink. “So, the awareness for our guys of every five seconds is life or death. In a best-of-five playoff series, the time to ease into it, to see how it goes, is probably not there. We’ll talk about having the urgency to play the right 1176914 Websites defence partner, beached himself, Markstrom stopped Laine’s shot, but at full stretch couldn’t quite keep out Ehler’s rebound attempt that made it 2-0 at 14:54. Sportsnet.ca / Canucks' Markstrom still working out kinks with Wild Two shifts later, Tanner Pearson’s chip out was kept in at the Vancouver matchup approaching blue line, leaving two Jets behind Canucks defenders. Laine dropped a pass back into the slot for trailing Kulikov, whose shot rattled in between Markstrom’s arm and torso. Iain MacIntyre | @imacSportsnet From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on July 30, 2020, 2:01 AM Sportsnet NOW. The Canucks, who dominated for stretches in the game’s first half and EDMONTON – It’s not more exhibition games the Vancouver Canucks had a chance to tie it on Brock Boeser’s breakaway early in the second need, but more shooting practice. And a couple more saves from the period, suddenly were down by three goals. goalie still waiting for his first National Hockey League playoff game. “I thought our team played a solid game,” Canucks captain Bo Horvat The Canucks significantly outplayed Winnipeg Jets in the first half of said. “We outchanced them, we outshot them. I thought we did a lot of Wednesday’s 4-1 tuneup loss, but Vancouver had the second-best goalie really good things. (But) we had three turnovers, and against a team like as Jacob Markstrom was outplayed by Connor Hellebuyck, who made 37 that — they’ve got elite goal-scorers and good forwards — they’re going saves. to capitalize on it. That’s why we play an exhibition game. It’s something we can work on, something we can talk over on video and get ready for The degree to which Markstrom may determine whether the Canucks Minnesota come Sunday.” succeed or fail in their Stanley Cup qualifying series against the Minnesota Wild was underscored by this: in Vancouver’s only pre- Horvat’s line with Boeser and Pearson had a strong night going head-to- tournament warmup, Markstrom got 60 minutes and backup Thatcher head against Mark Scheifele’s line for Winnipeg. Demko got none. Boeser was the most dangerous Canuck and the best of Vancouver’s “It was nice to be out there,” Markstrom said after his first game since young stars. After looking dominant in training camp, defenceman Quinn undergoing minor knee surgery on Feb. 26. “It’s been a while – since Hughes didn’t stand out against the Jets the way he did against February when we played Boston at home. It was nice to be out there teammates the last two weeks but was still pretty good. Elias Pettersson and I felt the longer the game went, more details and stuff like that looked especially quick and had some great moments, but couldn’t started to fall into place. You want to win every game, but it was nice to generate a goal. be back and nice to feel that it got better and better the longer the game The Canucks didn’t force a puck past Hellebuyck until 13:13 of the final went on. period when Antoine Roussel jammed in the rebound from Adam “It was nice to get the full 60 — I’m not going to lie. After two periods … I Gaudette’s wraparound to make it 3-1 before Jets captain Blake Wheeler felt a little off with some detail work, and in the third period, I felt that was scored into an empty net. improving. So me playing a full game helped for sure to kind of see Micheal Ferland, the surprise of Vancouver’s training camp after where my game is at and what I need to work on.” returning from what looked like career-threatening concussion and With three days and at least a couple of practices before the Canucks balance problems, started in what was once Virtanen’s spot on a line with open their five-game series against the Wild on Sunday, Markstrom said Gaudette but failed to generate much momentum or scoring chances. he has time to fine-tune his game with goaltending coach Ian Clark. This was not unique to the Canucks’ bottom-six, which is an area of concern going into the elimination series against the four-line Wild. “Pretty close,” Markstrom said of his readiness. “I feel like this is a good test. Myself and Clarkie can sit down and see what we need to work a After two periods, no Canucks forward outside the top two lines was little bit extra on. We’ve got time to do that before the series against remotely close to 50 per cent in shooting attempts for and against. Minnesota starts. It’s going to be an important week to kind of dial my One exhibition game after a four-month layoff is not ideal for anyone. But game in and hit peak form for next week.” it’s all the Canucks have. Ready or not. Canucks coach Travis Green dressed 13 forwards Wednesday, and none of them were 18-goal scorer Jake Virtanen, who lost his third-line place during the opening week of training camp and hasn’t impressed his Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.30.2020 boss enough to get back a regular spot. Rookie Zack MacEwen played as the additional forward against the Jets, which theoretically leaves Virtanen no higher than 14th on the depth chart as of Wednesday. In a first-intermission interview with Sportsnet, Vancouver general manager Jim Benning cautioned against reading too much into Virtanen’s lineup omission, but his warning would be largely ignored. This was the teams’ only playoff rehearsal, vital preparation for the nearest thing the Canucks will have to playoff hockey since 2015. The lineup was a test run for Game 1. Green and his staff now have time to reassess. One thing that won’t be changing is Markstrom’s status. He was the Canucks’ MVP this season and remains the biggest potential advantage Vancouver has over Minnesota. But the goalie will have to play better than he did Wednesday, when his best work came with the Canucks down three goals. Markstrom’s failure was simply that he did not make enough saves. When the Jets were sloppy, which was all through the first period, Hellebuyck saved his team. When the Canucks got sloppy in the second period, Markstrom couldn’t rescue teammates. The Jets were up only 1-0 late in the second – on scoring chances, the Canucks could have been ahead by two or three goals at that point – when Nikolaj Ehlers and Dimitri Kulikov capitalized on Vancouver mistakes by scoring goals 85 seconds apart. Canucks defenceman Oscar Fantenberg pressed into the middle of the ice in the neutral zone without adequate cover, leaving an open wing for Patrik Laine to skate into a 2-and-1. As Tyler Myers, Fantenberg’s 1176915 Websites perennial powerhouse for a few years and didn’t get it done. You don’t want to see that happen again.”
As for what he might contribute now, know this: Back in the weeks before Sportsnet.ca / Why NHL's restart means everything to Maple Leafs he’d even played his first game with the Leafs, Spezza was already veteran Jason Spezza talking about the role a fourth line can take on in the playoffs. He’d scored a couple big goals during Dallas’ run to the second round in 2019 and pointed to how Boston and St. Louis — the most recent Cup finalists — each found strength from the bottom part of their rosters. Chris Johnston | @reporterchris “I think when you get to the end you need it,” he said. July 29, 2020, 12:04 PM So under these most unusual of circumstances Spezza will try to help tip the scales in Toronto’s favour. As a steadying hand, sounding board and TORONTO — Nineteen wins for No. 19. dressing room dad. As a depth forward who will give it all he’s got for each precious shift Keefe gives him. That’s what stands between Jason Spezza and an elusive Stanley Cup. More than 17 years into his NHL career, Spezza is all-in on this restart. Of course, you don’t get as deep into your career as the Toronto Maple He will make do with regular FaceTime calls with daughters Sophia, Leafs forward without learning about the value of staying in the moment. Nicola, Anna and Julia, and adjust a pre-game routine that can no longer Especially entering the playoffs. include a stroll through the city to grab a coffee. “One step at a time,” Spezza said on a recent Zoom call with reporters, And he will savour an opportunity decades in the making. when the topic of a potential storybook finish to this strange season was raised. “Obviously being in Toronto would be extra special to win because of the support we get from the city and me growing up here,” said Spezza. “I’m Spezza is a compelling figure at the dawn of a qualifying-round series definitely chasing a dream. with Columbus. It was this specific opportunity that prompted the 37- year-old to take a hometown discount while signing with his hometown “To try to win a Stanley Cup as a Maple Leaf is something that I dreamed team, and the unprecedented circumstances brought on by the COVID- of as a kid.” 19 pandemic have since forced him to leave wife Jennifer and their four daughters at home while moving into the NHL bubble a short drive away. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.30.2020 From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on Sportsnet NOW. Throughout hockey’s pause Spezza has “stepped up,” in the words of Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, taking an active role in the return-to- play discussions with the NHL Players’ Association and becoming an even more trusted voice among teammates. “He’s a veteran player in the league and he’s experienced a lot of different things. And he’s a guy that’s passionate about the game and he’s also passionate about his game and his career and having another shot to compete for the Cup,” said Keefe. Spezza has lived a full hockey life: As the much-hyped prospect who once made his playoff debut in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, as the No. 1 centre on a team that fell short in the Stanley Cup Final, as the well-travelled veteran still finding a way to contribute to a post-season run despite a limited role, and many other things in between. That’s why the Leafs measure his impact by much more than goals and assists. It should come as no surprise, for example, that Spezza made it a point to speak with 18-year-old Nick Robertson at least once per day during summer training camp or that he stayed out well after a recent practice to feed Robertson passes for extra work on his one-timer. “He’s one of the most caring guys you’ll meet,” Ben Bishop, Spezza’s former teammate in Dallas, said earlier this season. “If there’s a rookie that comes up from the minors, Spezz is the first one to go sit next to him and talk hockey.” There are two things that keep Spezza coming to the rink with a smile on his face each day no matter what personal circumstances he may be dealing with: 1. A child-like love for the game 2. A burning desire to lift the Stanley Cup And not necessarily in that order. On the topic of the Cup, he can serve as something of a cautionary tale for 22-year-old Auston Matthews, 23-year-old Mitch Marner and 24-year- old William Nylander. Spezza played in Game 7 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Final before his 20th birthday and was Marner’s age when he helped the Ottawa Senators reach the Cup Final four years later. The Senators were a force with him, Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley each in their primes together. And yet they never managed to be the last team standing. “He really just is a great voice within our team through his experience, and not all positive experiences,” said Keefe. “I played on great teams early on and you think they’re going to last forever and then you realize that things change,” Spezza said in September. “Those three years we had there [in Ottawa], we were knocking on the door and probably should have won. We were a 1176916 Websites A bit more surprising is that the Canucks, who position themselves as a cycling and forechecking team, only produce more offensive zone possession time than one team: the Ottawa Senators. The Canucks can create some brilliant offensive zone possessions, especially that top line, Sportsnet.ca / The main strengths and weaknesses of Canada's four but outside of that, not much gets done at evens. Western playoff teams As previously mentioned, the Flames are still porous off the rush, and part of the reason might be the wide berth they give opponents. No team gives opponents a wider gap on their average shot attempt than the Andrew Berkshire | @AndrewBerkshire Flames. That conservative approach might be to give their goalies July 29, 2020, 12:01 PM clearer views, or to take away passing lanes, but it hasn’t helped in the inner slot.
No team has seen their goalies stop a lower percentage of shots on net A nearly five months off hockey is upon us, and we have six Canadian from the inner slot than the Flames, so stepping up and forcing shots teams in the mix. Despite the excessive parity in the NHL, each team is from further out might be paramount to their potential success. relatively unique, so let’s look at the season that was 2019-20 and see where each Canadian team could find its success or trip itself up. The Jets give up more chances than any team in the league, and a big reason for that is they’re so sloppy with the puck under their own control. To start with, we’ll look at each of the Western Canadian teams, before circling back to the Eastern teams to finish up. We’ll look at how teams In the defensive and neutral zones they’re among the worst teams for performed specifically since the calendar turned to 2020 in order to focus turning the puck over, which puts a lot of pressure on their goaltenders to on more recent data. make reactionary saves on broken plays. Luckily, Hellebuyck has been up to the task all year long. Before we get into the specifics, let’s take a general look at how the Western Canadian teams stack up in terms of controlling play at 5-on-5. STRENGTHS Overall, the outlook from this perspective is not so hot for three of the On to the good stuff. four teams. As you might expect for a team built around McDavid and Draisaitl, the The Oilers hover around even, and manage to get by due to playing a Oilers are incredible at attacking the opposing blue line, succeeding on low-volume game, and counting on their star forwards to outscore their attempted entries more than anyone in the league. Once they gain opponents when chances are about even. It’s a decent strategy when the zone, they’re very effective at maintaining control of the puck, your depth is suspect and your team has Connor McDavid and Leon committing the second-fewest offensive zone turnovers in the league. Draisaitl, but can it work in the playoffs when the quality of opponents is In their own zone, part of what has helped the Oilers look better higher? defensively has been the diligent work of their goaltenders at controlling The Canucks had a brutal second half, masked by brilliance from their rebounds. Giving fewer chances for opponents to recover pucks and get power play, Jacob Markstrom, Quinn Hughes, and a dynamite top line. second chance opportunities goes a long way towards holding leads in Outside of their standout players, though, you could argue that tight games. Vancouver was the worst 5-on-5 team in the league. Even when you The only team that commits fewer offensive zone turnovers than the include those players the Canucks were run over off the rush, giving up Oilers is one province away – this skill helps the Canucks make the most more chances than anyone else and not creating much on the counter of their fewer offensive zone possessions than the average team. Clearly attack. Can their star power hold it together? the preferred method of attack for Vancouver is to cycle the puck, as An up and down season for the Flames was trending in the right direction they’re a top-five team in the NHL at creating those chances. before the season was paused. The Flames weren’t the even strength Defensively, the Canucks are by no means “good” in their own end, but powerhouse they were during last year’s regular season and they’re still one thing that helps them out is their ability to win a huge number of struggling in rush chances, an area where the Avalanche ate them alive faceoffs, which should in theory lead to more quick exits and fewer in the playoffs. But overall they’re controlling quality chances better than dangerous shots against, but that hasn’t been the case overall. most teams are. The question for them is whether they can put it all together at the right time for once. For the Flames, breaking out quickly is the number one reason why they are strong defensively. They have strength in an ability to break opposing The Jets are the team that seems to be the biggest wildcard entering cycling games and immediately move the puck out of the defensive zone these playoffs. By the numbers they never should have even made the with control. playoffs this season and they’ve been one of the worst defensive teams in the league. However, Connor Hellebuyck was downright heroic all The Flames have been a very good defensive team at even strength this season long, so can he steal a series or two? season, but a middling offence has held them back. Just don’t give them power play time. From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on Only one team has managed to create a more dangerous power play in Sportsnet NOW. terms of expected goals per minute, and things really picked up for the Flames in the second half, where they scored on over a quarter of their WEAKNESSES power play opportunities. The crazy thing is, they were still a little Let’s start things off with the weaknesses that opponents will be looking unlucky. If they catch lightning in a bottle on the power play, watch out. to exploit so we can end on a positive note. The only team that put up a higher expected goals number on the power The Oilers’ biggest weaknesses are scattered across each zone, with the play in the second half of the season is also from Canada, and it was a second-highest turnover rate in the neutral zone in the league making team that desperately needed that offence. The Jets’ best attribute in the them vulnerable to quick transition rush chances against. second half was their incredible playmaking with the extra man, and like the Flames, they shot below expected over that time. Their biggest weakness relative to the league is puck battle wins in the offensive zone, where they ranked 31st, which does hurt their chances of At even strength, the Jets weren’t able to create as many slot passes as creating long possessions and breaking down opposing teams off the in years past, and relied more on getting screens in front of their shots to forecheck or cycle. But the Oilers rely more on their stars to do the work create dangerous looks. on dynamic plays off the rush than most teams do, so it isn’t as big a deal One thing opponents will need to be wary of as they out-possess the Jets for them to be the worst team in the league here as you may think. is Winnipeg’s ability to flip the script and counterattack; the Jets were one Defensively, the Oilers have actually been skated into shape by Dave of the best teams in the league at creating odd-man rushes. Is struggling Tippett and his coaching staff, and while many may believe they’re in your own zone and relying on your goaltender to save the day, only to exploitable there, they keep everything pretty tight in their own end, capitalize on an opponent’s mistake, a long-term model for success? No. except off the forecheck. Only a handful of teams give up more off the But can it result in a huge upset or two in the playoffs? Of course. Just forecheck than the Oilers do, so high pressure forechecking teams could ask the 2010 Montreal Canadiens. break them down. The Canucks, as mentioned before, are a terrible team at defending off Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.30.2020 the rush, and that links up well with them giving up the second-most controlled entries against in the league. 1176917 Websites rocky moments down the stretch — which was when Talbot played his best.
For what it’s worth, Talbot is a pending unrestricted free agent while the Sportsnet.ca / What Jets can learn from Flames' exhibition showing Flames committed to Rittich last summer. against Oilers However, with Rittich giving up two late goals in 33 seconds late in the third period after the Flames had controlled a good chunk of the play, it won’t be a surprise if Talbot gets the start in Game 1. Ken Wiebe | @WiebesWorld The Flames’ top line of Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Elias July 29, 2020, 10:39 AM Lindholm are under pressure to perform after a poor showing against the Colorado Avalanche in the opening round last spring.
While it’s important to remember this was an exhibition game and there WINNIPEG — Matthew Tkachuk needs no introduction in the Battle of was a long layoff for all of the players, it was an inauspicious start for the Alberta, but how long will it take for the Calgary Flames feisty forward to Flames’ big guns, as they were on the ice for the early goal-against. make a ripple in the play-in series with the Winnipeg Jets? However, Lindholm — who led the Flames with a career-high 29 goals — No matter what odds are given, it’s probably a safe bet to take the under. scored a power-play marker and Gaudreau chipped in an assist. Tkachuk, the son of Jets 1.0 captain Keith Tkachuk, doesn’t really have a Monahan is going to need to try and keep up with Scheifele in this series, history of agitating against Winnipeg — or should we say not yet. whether the two are going head-to-head or facing other match-ups. Not unless you count an animated exchange with former Jets winger That’s no easy task. Brendan Lemieux a few years back at the YoungStars tournament in Penticton, B.C. back in 2016. Entering the match-up, Scheifele has 16 goals and 26 points in 27 career playoff games, while Monahan has eight goals and 13 points in 20 With the Jet and Flames meeting just one time this season in the games. Heritage Classic in Regina back in late October, there is currently no bad blood bubbling right below the surface. It’s not a stretch to suggest this series is being viewed by some as a referendum for the Flames’ core. But you can be sure Tkachuk won’t need much time to find the blue paint inside the crease of Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck on Saturday night. How those top guns perform could go a long way towards determining whether the Flames will be moving on to the round of 16 or facing Or to try and get into the kitchen of anyone wearing a Jets jersey. another early exit. That will be the rule, not the exception — if Tuesday’s exhibition game (a Flames winger Milan Lucic has a decisive edge when it comes to playoff 4-1 win for the Oilers) is any indication. experience, as he’s suited up in 114 postseason games — the bulk of If you figured Tkachuk might need some time to find his edge after an which came as a member of the Boston Bruins. absence of four-plus months, you thought wrong. The Flames have the least amount of playoff game experience of the 24 Tkachuk got under the skin of Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl early, teams involved in the post-season tournament with 323. For the sake of annoyed goalie Mikko Koskinen (who took a wild swing with his stick comparison, the Jets have 515, while the Bruins have the most with during the first period) and then forced James Neal to take a retaliatory 1,191. slashing minor. Lucic had a rough start to the season after coming over in the trade with Tkachuk also provided a screen on the Flames’ opening goal on the the Oilers, but he rekindled his passion for the game under Ward and power play. playing on a line with Derek Ryan and Dillon Dube. Had this been something other than an exhibition game, there’s a better- When he’s on his game, Lucic has the potential to be a physical than-average chance the play would have gone to video review — presence and provide some secondary scoring. though the argument against it would be that Oilers defenceman Darnell Dube, 22, is about to make his post-season debut and has the potential Nurse initiated the contact that caused Tkachuk to bump into Mike Smith. to be an X-factor for the Flames. All in a day’s work for Tkachuk, who had four shots on goal and is As a former captain of Canada’s world junior team, Dube isn’t afraid of a expected to be a difference-maker for the Flames in this best-of-five big stage and he’s a tenacious player who has the ability to create series. offensive opportunities for himself and others. Tkachuk isn’t just a pain in the you-know-what to play against, he’s a key His slick saucer pass to Sam Bennett on an odd-man rush during the offensive contributor who led the Flames in scoring this season with 23 third period showcased his playmaking ability, though Bennett was goals and 61 points in 69 games. unable to convert the glorious chance. With the Flames having last change in Game 1, you can expect interim As expected, blue-liner Erik Gustafsson finds himself at the top of the head coach Geoff Ward to try and get Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and Flames No. 1 power play unit. Andrew Mangiapane out against the Jets’ top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and captain Blake Wheeler. The Jets are quite familiar with Gustafsson from his time with the Chicago Blackhawks and he’s got the ability to get his shot through from The Jets will need to be aware of Tkachuk whenever he’s on the ice — the point — just like he did on the Flames’ goal. and can’t afford to get caught up in much of the extra-curricular activity that can occur after the whistle. Special teams are often important when two teams are as evenly- matched as the Jets and Flames, and it’s clear Gustafsson was acquired Here are four others things the Jets could learn about the Flames prior to prior to the NHL trade deadline to give the power play a shot in the arm. their own exhibition tilt with the Vancouver Canucks: Gustafsson is a good puck-mover, but isn’t known for his defensive One of the biggest storylines heading into training camp surrounded prowess at even strength, which is why he’s on the third pairing with which goalie the Flames would be between the pipes in Game 1 of the Forbort. post-season. On the Oilers’ first goal, Gustafsson was a bit hesitant to challenge So what to make of Cam Talbot getting the start on Tuesday night in the Draisaitl on the entry, then got caught in no-man’s land defensively as lone exhibition game? Kailer Yamamoto came cruising into the high slot to pick up the loose Talbot gave up a goal just 64 seconds into the contest on a juicy rebound puck and bury the early marker. after he made a good save on the initial shot, then allowed another to From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream Connor McDavid as the Oilers top-ranked power-play unit struck. every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on But after looking a bit uncomfortable in the early stages, Talbot settled in Sportsnet NOW. nicely and turned aside 19 of 21 shots before giving way to David Rittich Rasmus Andersson is one of the beneficiaries of the decision by midway through the second period. Manitoba product Travis Hamonic opting out of the return-to-play plan. Rittich, who stopped seven of nine shots he faced, was chosen to participate in the NHL All-Star Game this season but endured some Andersson, whose average ice time was up nearly four minutes from last season, is comfortable playing alongside Noah Hanifin on the second pairing and that was evident against the Oilers. However, Hamonic is a minute-muncher on the Flames’ penalty kill and his willingness (and ability) to block shots would have come in handy against the Jets — and specifically on the one-timer side where Patrik Laine resides with the man-advantage. In Tuesday’s game, Derek Forbort — acquired at the deadline from the Los Angeles Kings — took Hamonic’s spot on the top penalty-killing unit with Flames captain Mark Giordano. Forbort will be an important part of a concerted effort to limit Laine’s impact with the man-advantage.
Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176918 Websites and space to skate this down to the goal line and towards the net, at which point Hyman pivots, turns and finds Morgan Rielly for an easy goal. Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens notebook: Big 3 on defence must get up to Did Jonathan Drouin do enough to tie Rielly up? Absolutely not. Was the speed goal on Drouin? No. The play never should’ve been allowed to develop to the point that it did.
These are the finer details that only get sorted out through repetition. The Eric Engels | @EricEngels kind of details that get lost after 140 days away from game action, but the kind that have to be cleaned up immediately if the Canadiens are going July 29, 2020, 2:04 PM to have a chance in their play-in series against the Penguins. A defensive conundrum We thought this was as good a time as any to cover off a number of Julien has a decision to make as far as who he’s going to lean on as a different subjects — after the Montreal Canadiens played and lost their third defence pairing for this series against Pittsburgh, and Victor Mete, first game in months, and before they step on the ice for practice on Xavier Ouellet and Cale Fleury didn’t make that decision any easier on Wednesday. Tuesday. So let’s get into what the Canadiens learned on Tuesday and how they It was Ouellet who Julien used most, and his game was largely out of can apply those lessons moving into their Stanley Cup Qualifier series sorts. with the Pittsburgh Penguins. You can chalk it up to the long pause, or his 10-day absence from Phase Where the game was lost 3 training camp, or the fact he wasn’t good enough to make the team in They say some pictures are worth 1,000 words, but we’ll try to make September and likely hasn’t become a markedly better player since. these ones say just 700. Whatever it is, Ouellet’s play needs to be much more convincing than it was. When coach Claude Julien talked about rust following his Canadiens losing 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first and only exhibition Ditto for Fleury, who won the job over Ouellet at the start of the season game in over four months, when he said, "We played a little passive a but played just 41 games with the Canadiens. He was used sporadically, little too much tonight and gave a good team with a lot of skill and a lot of and he struggled mightily on most of his shifts. speed some time to make plays," he was referring to what we’re about to Mete is probably the safest of the three, and he was playing a steady break down in detail. game until he allowed Kerfoot to skate through the slot unimpeded and Let’s start with this first sequence at the end of the very first shift of the score Toronto’s third goal. game. "I think, overall, our defence is going to play a real big role in the success See defenceman Ben Chiarot choosing to step up and make a pinch on of our team here against Pittsburgh," said Julien on Wednesday morning. Toronto’s Mitch Marner, who’s in control of the puck and positioned so far "We’re going to need all of them to be good to start with — whoever we away from Chiarot he doesn’t even need a mask to be respecting social put out there. The way they defend but also the way they move the puck distancing protocols. to our forwards is going to be a real big asset for our hockey club. This is half of a bad decision because Chiarot has no chance of closing "Right now, I would tell you we are still looking into finalizing those final this play off, and only half of one because at least he read that teammate positions. But whoever we pick has to defend well and obviously has to Brendan Gallagher was backing him up at the blue line. Where the rest of move the puck in our transition much better than we did last night. I think this goes bad is that Gallagher somehow reads — and we’d call it wishful if we want to get some offence and a good forecheck going, we’re going thinking — that Chiarot is going to make a successful pinch and he gets to need them to be good quarterbacks back there and allow us to be able caught staring at the play for the one second it takes John Tavares to to do those things." move from right in front of him to right behind him. It starts at the top You know the rest. Tavares takes the puck down the ice on a 2-on-1 from We’re not sure three days is enough time to address all the defensive his own side of centre and sets up Ilya Mikheyev with what might be the foibles we saw on Tuesday, and Julien’s biggest problem isn’t going to easiest goal of his career. be choosing who gets to play between Ouellet or Fleury on his third It’s easy to pin the second goal on Tomas Tatar, who makes a blind pairing; it’s going to be getting his top three defencemen up to speed. backhand pass at the offensive blue line that Kasperi Kapanen feasts on Because this was anything but a confidence-inspiring performance from for a half breakaway down the ice, but that’s not the only egregious error Weber, Chiarot and Jeff Petry. And considering how heavily Julien is on this Canadiens power play. going to have to lean on them against Pittsburgh, that’s cause for The other big mistake is made by Nick Suzuki, who leaves Kapanen to concern. Shea Weber and goes looking for a rebound off a save he’s convinced From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream Carey Price will make. He’s staring at the play instead of looking for every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on Alexander Kerfoot, the Leafs forward who’s lurking out of frame. You Sportsnet NOW. know, the one who has an unimpeded path to the puck when all is said and done. A first test passed by Jesperi Kotkaniemi And yes, Tatar, who turned the puck over, is beat up the ice by Kerfoot. It’s one thing to impress in Phase 3 training camp, it’s another to do it in a But this is a classic over-backcheck by Suzuki. game. Especially for a player who had a brutal sophomore season, one that ended prematurely due to a spleen injury suffered in an American Rust? You bet. Hockey League game. A player like Suzuki, who can make a read like the one you see here, Julien said that not too many players hit a high note last night, but it typically doesn’t make that kind of mistake. seemed to us Kotkaniemi might have been one of the few that did. Toronto’s fourth goal, scored just 1:32 after the Canadiens cut the deficit The six-foot-two Finn had some jump in transition, he was particularly to 3-2, is the one that probably cost Julien a bit of sleep on Tuesday. sharp on zone exits and he had a dominant shift to help provoke Paul It was so preventable, and here’s why. Byron’s third-period goal. Here’s Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman in anything but a dangerous Koktaniemi finished with an assist, a plus-1 rating, a shot on net, two hits position. He’s 1-on-2, glued to the boards, and he’s essentially being and he won two of five faceoffs in 13:24 of ice-time. He wasn’t perfect but forced into jamming the puck against the wall and trying to freeze it there he was involved, and he was arguably better in this exhibition game than or dumping it in. he was in any of the 36 games he spent with the Canadiens this season. If Tatar plays this the right way, nothing comes of it. But don’t just take our word for it… But the hustle just isn’t there. Tatar’s job is to play this aggressively, with "Well, I think you saw a big difference in KK tonight, as far as where he Weber taking away the middle of the ice and giving Hyman no real was [this season] when we sent him to Laval," Julien said. "He’s getting passing option — or at least none that wouldn’t present too much risk to better, and he’s still a young player. He just turned 20 and, again, I think take on the penalty kill. But Tatar relents and gives Hyman enough time he’s progressing fairly well. In my eyes, coming back [to Phase 3 training] camp, I said I was impressed with the pace of his game and everything else. So I think that part of it [was impressive] for the first game for him, as well, in even longer than the rest of our guys because he was injured before they even stalled the season or put it to a halt. "I think we definitely need to give him an opportunity here to continue to keep his confidence but, as I said before, I think he’s heading in the right direction. So that’s encouraging." Odds and ends • The biggest positive for the Canadiens to take away from their game against Toronto was the way Price played. If you merely looked at the stat sheet and saw that Price was beaten on four of Toronto’s 23 shots, you’d have missed how reassuring his performance actually was. • Another positive, which was largely overshadowed by an inept power play that went 0-for-6 and allowed two goals, was the work of the penalty kill. The Canadiens held the Leafs to five shots and limited them to just two quality scoring chances over the course of their three power plays. Holding them to zero goals was a feat in and of itself. • Tough break for Alex Belzile, the 28-year-old Canadiens forward who was limited to just three shifts in the game before he absorbed a devastating hit from Jake Muzzin that kept him from returning to the game. Julien said he chose to dress Belzile as his 13th forward because of the energy he plays with and because he’s less familiar with his game than he is with that of some of his other extras, like Ryan Poehling, Charles Hudon and Jake Evans. Here’s a player who’s fought very hard to continue his professional career in North America, a player who’s tenacious and who got off to a great start with the Laval Rocket — scoring seven goals and 14 points in 20 games — before he tore a pectoral muscle. It was an injury that required surgery and kept him out of action for six months. You can imagine what the opportunity to play in Tuesday’s game — and to potentially be a depth option Julien calls on — meant to Belzile. Now that opportunity appears to be gone. He said it… Drouin was asked to describe what was different or strange about playing in an empty arena after Phillip Danault said Tuesday night that it would require a significant adaptation moving forward. "There was more ambiance at my Atom BB games in Mont Tremblant," he responded.
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Sportsnet.ca / NHL Bubble Blog: Tampa Bay brings a touch of home to Toronto
Emily Sadler | @EmmySadler July 29, 2020, 12:32 PM
NHL hockey made its long-awaited return Tuesday evening, and Wednesday brings much more of the same with a dozen teams hitting the ice for exhibition action in Toronto and Edmonton. We’re gathering the best photos, quotes, videos, and notes from the league’s hubs to give fans a glimpse of life in the bubbles. Thunder arrives in Toronto The NHL hubs have quickly become home to 24 teams. You’ll hear teams’ home-rink goal horns, piped-in crowd noise could feature familiar cheers and chants tailored to each team, and extra measures are being taken to dress up the Oilers’ and Maple Leafs’ locker rooms to look a little more like their own digs. The Tampa Bay Lightning brought an extra-special token from Tampa to Toronto — a pane of glass from Amalie Arena, signed by fans and flown north to the hub: The Lightning recently invited fans to sign the pane as part of their “Be the Distant Thunder” fan campaign. As Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston noted, Lightning players also signed a pane that will be used as a safety barrier at a hospital in Tampa in a showing of support for front line workers. One of the biggest storylines in Washington throughout Phase 3’s training camp was the whereabouts of rookie goaltender Ilya Samsonov who, after putting up excellent numbers this season, was absent from camp earlier this month due to what we later learned was an injury suffered prior to the restart. It looks like the Capitals will now lean on Vitek Vanecek, who has spent the past four seasons in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, to back up starter Braden Holtby. Vanecek, 24, has yet to suit up for an NHL game but a strong showing at camp put him “in a good spot” to be on Washington’s bench in the bubble. Hotel X hijinx have begun Tuesday night brought a mystery in the NHL bubble when this suspicious tweet landed in our timelines… Tom Wilson’s response didn’t rule him out, but… … it also led to us to a second suspect. A collaboration, perhaps? We may never truly solve this case. UPDATE! The plot thickens…
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Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs' Tavares on adjusting to unique challenges of NHL restart
David Morassutti | @d_morassutti July 29, 2020, 7:39 PM
The NHL had to make a lot of adjustments in preparation of the league’s restart, and on Tuesday night the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens got to see some of the early results. Getting dressed in the visiting locker room at Scotiabank Arena wasn’t a new experience for John Tavares, but he says it no longer feels like home given its transformation into the NHL’s Eastern Conference hub. Tavares admits that while the Leafs will have to make their own adjustments, he doesn’t want it to be a concern for the team. “With the way the rink is set up I think obviously the way you see it on TV, and even in the hallways and throughout the facility, it doesn’t look like Scotiabank normally does,” Tavares explained on Tim and Sid on Wednesday. “So you know you really do get the feeling that it’s a neutral site.” “…It’s going to be different and something you’ve never experienced. So you just try to not really worry or focus too much about it. You just kind of try to go about your preparation and focus on what you need to focus on and just put your energy there.” The Leafs captain particularly noticed the absence of fans was during warmups and when the national anthem was played without a singer. He believes the crowd helps bring intensity and energy prior to the game, and that’s tough to replace. “It’s your last moments to soak in whatever you need to before that intensity of the competition begins. So it’s certainly a little bit different,” Tavares said. “I would agree that definitely had a different feel to it. So those are just the things that all those details that go into your day and that are part of the experience of playing in the NHL.” Another unique challenge the team will have to prepare for is going from an exhibition game to playing a five-game qualifying series to get into the playoffs, but it’s a change in pace the team has been planning for since league and NHLPA began discussions on return to play. Tavares believes the Leafs’ work before training camp should put them in the best position possible to adapt to these types of challenges. “We’ve had tremendous buy-in from the group all throughout this. Phase 2 was a real positive time for us just because I think we had really strong numbers, and the guys that weren’t here right away, communication was strong and they were working on things really well from where they were,” Tavares said. “…Training camp was extremely thought out (and) extremely detailed. The effort and commitment was fantastic. “We’re just trying to do everything we can every day to just best prepare ourselves and you don’t know how that’s all going to translate in terms of going from one exhibition game into that type of intensity, that type of environment. And a lot of your surroundings are going to be very different. So, just trying to take it in stride and be ready for whatever’s thrown at you.”
Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176921 Websites One of Kerfoot's goals on Tuesday came while the Leafs were short- handed. Kerfoot has never played a consistent PK role during his NHL career, but while watching video during the pandemic pause the coaching staff liked the potential he showed in spot duty. TSN.CA / Toronto Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly revving up after rough regular season "[Assistant coach] Dave Hakstol really took the lead with that," Keefe noted. "We had used him sparingly and just looking a lot closer at it and thought there were a lot of positives there that gave us reason to want to give him a chance early in camp to expand his role. It helps us having a Mark Masters centre who can take face-offs." Toronto's top forward penalty killers in the regular season – Mitch The Maple Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre on Wednesday. Marner, Hyman, Mikheyev, Kapanen and Pierre Engvall – are all wingers. But Kerfoot won't simply be darting off the ice after winning face- Morgan Rielly is looking more and more like his old self. offs. Rielly led all National Hockey League defencemen with 20 goals last "How he skates and pressures the puck and his reads of the play have season and finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting. But this season he been really good so we've seen lots of reasons to continue to go with struggled to produce at the same level while playing through a nagging that," Keefe noted. "And if he can continue to pair with Kappy like he did injury. And then on Jan. 12 he broke his foot during a game in Florida, yesterday and they play together at five-on-five and can go together on missing eight weeks of action and only returning for the final game before the kill, it really helps the rhythm of our bench." the pandemic pause. The Leafs' penalty kill was a big reason why they lost the last two series If Tuesday night was any indication, the 26-year-old looks ready to against the Bruins, allowing 14 goals in the 14 games. So, it's important reclaim his top form. that the unit builds some confidence heading into this best-of-five series against the Jackets. "He really did skate well," coach Sheldon Keefe observed after the 4-2 exhibition win over Montreal. "Mo is at his best when he is flying up the "Our PK was solid last night," said Hyman. "Kerf and Kappy did a great rink and joining the rush and playing with authority. Talking to him, he is job. Kerf on that draw was great and he scored a shorthanded goal and feeling as good as he's felt from a health standpoint and he looked like it they didn't give up much. Both quick and fast on pucks and they were with how he skated." really strong. It was good for us to have them going." Rielly finished the only tune-up game before the qualifying round series Kerfoot suggested that poor ice conditions at Scotiabank Arena helped with a shorthanded goal, two assists and four shots on net while logging the Leafs kill off Montreal's six power plays on Tuesday. 19 minutes of ice time. "The ice was sloppy," he said. "It was hard to make plays." "If you were looking at what you would want to come out of this game for someone like Mo, it's the confidence to be up and skating and pushing The Leafs-Habs game was the second of the day in the building and the the pace with the way that he moves and joins the rush," Keefe said. "He temperature was in the high 20s leading up to puck drop. got rewarded with a goal and that's great to see." "Under the circumstances they were pretty good," Frederik Andersen For his part, Rielly, who finished the regular season with 27 points in 47 said of the ice conditions. "There was a game before so that's something games, didn't want to get carried away when asked to assess his that will be interesting to see how it plays out. The ice crew has a pretty progress. tough task ahead of them with a lot of games in a short period of time." While Rielly's return helps bolster the blue-line, Keefe has stressed that Travis Dermott shifted to the right side to skate a few shifts alongside Toronto's forwards have to do a better job of helping keep the puck out of Rielly in the third period on Tuesday. The lefty also skated on his off-side the net. And the coach liked the progress he saw against the Canadiens. during some of the Phase 2 workouts and for one of the scrimmages in the Phase 3 training camp. "We moved our feet really well," Keefe said. "Defensively, I thought that was a big thing for us. We want to make sure that we are really working What does Keefe think of the Rielly-Dermott pairing? and skating and having urgency coming back to our end. I thought that "They've done fine," he said. "I don’t know that the sample is large was a really good sign for our team. There were a number of times we enough yet to make any real final determinations, but what we've seen came back. I thought we gave up the neutral zone at times a little too throughout this with the number of reps we were able to get Derms easily, but I liked how we worked. We ended up breaking up some plays playing on the right side and practising on the right side, he's comfortable in and around our net because of the work we had coming back. That to play there any time we want to make a change. It gives us increased was really good." flexibility and gives him further opportunity to move up the line-up." "We're doing well," said winger Zach Hyman. "I don't think we gave up Rielly and Dermott only played together for 25 minutes and 34 seconds too much last game. I think every day, every practice we get a little bit this season, per Natural StatTrick, making them the least used pair on better. [It] was really important for us to jump into game-like situations the Leafs. where there was randomness and things like that and I thought we adapted well and it's a good for us moving forward." Robertson remained on the third line at practice on Wednesday. He’s now skated in a regular spot in the top-12 in every team session since But no one is getting too carried away after one exhibition game against July 18. the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference field. What are we to read into that? "It's definitely a work in progress," said defenceman Justin Holl. "We did a lot of good things last night, executed a lot of what Sheldon "What you can read into it is we continue to believe in him and he hasn't emphasized through training camp, but I also think one game isn't going had any lapses here that have made us second guess giving him that to be the [sign] that we made it so I think there's still a lot of stuff we can opportunity," said Keefe. "Despite the fact we don't have any more continue to clean up and continue to emphasize." games here, we haven't made any final decisions. We still have some days here to consider different things ... If you can read anything into it, Rielly isn't the only Vancouver native who appears poised to turn things it's just we continue to believe in him and believe there's reason to give around after a forgettable regular season. him reps in that spot." Alex Kerfoot scored twice on Tuesday and appears much more The 18-year-old spoke to the media on Wednesday, his second session comfortable after a shaky start to his Leafs tenure. Kerfoot bounced with reporters since camp opened up. between centre and wing much of the year, but now with Ilya Mikheyev returning from injury, Keefe has been able to slot the 25-year-old in as "My confidence level is obviously getting higher and higher each day," the third-line centre alongside wingers Kasperi Kapanen and Nick Robertson said. "Getting to know the players off the ice definitely helps Robertson. on the ice and just learning a lot from all these guys and asking a lot of questions helps me." "It was as good as we have seen Kerfoot play and that's a really healthy sign for our team," Keefe raved after Tuesday’s game. "If we can get Robertson played just over 10 minutes against the Habs, firing one shot Kappy and Kerf playing like they were [Tuesday], it makes us a tough on net and picking up a secondary assist. team to handle. That's really good for us.” "It proves to myself that I can keep up with them," Kerfoot said of his NHL With other teams focused on shutting down Toronto's top two forward pre-season debut. "Obviously, I have a lot to learn, but I think I definitely lines, production from the bottom of the lineup could swing a tight series. made an impact."
TSN.CA LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176922 Websites the puck, he was making plays, he got an assist. So for his first game, it was a good one.”
What Keefe still has to sift through are the other players around TSN.CA / Head coach Sheldon Keefe pondering Nick Robertson's role Robertson also vying for a spot in the Leafs’ lineup come Sunday. Pierre with Toronto Maple Leafs Engvall started Tuesday’s game centering the fourth line but didn’t play a shift in the latter half of the second period or the third, being replaced by Frederik Gauthier. Kristen Shilton Throughout camp, Keefe was sliding Robertson, Engvall and Gauthier in and out of spots in the bottom-six. Unlike the latter two players though, who Keefe knows from coaching them with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies TORONTO — The day after Maple Leafs’ rookie Nick Robertson played from 2015-19, Robertson was Keefe’s “wild card” in all this. in his first NHL exhibition game, head coach Sheldon Keefe was still not So while Engvall and Gauthier had their minutes sliced to 4:56 and 7:30 ready to answer the question he’s heard on repeat for weeks: Is respectively in Tuesday’s game, it wasn’t totally a reflection on where Robertson going to make his true NHL debut in the Leafs’ upcoming they stand with the coach. qualifying-round playoff series against Columbus? “We dressed 13 forwards [against Montreal], and it's really difficult to play “I think what you can read into [the situation] is we continue to believe in 13,” Keefe explained. “We have a lot of guys there that need to get him,” Keefe told reporters on a Zoom call from the NHL’s Eastern minutes and I had to make a decision. I gave Pierre his opportunity early Conference Hub at the Royal York Hotel on Wednesday. “And he hasn't to get going and Gauthier didn't have much opportunity early on and then had any lapses here that have made us second-guess giving him that I just kind of flipped it in the second half. It had to be that way just opportunity. We haven’t made any decisions. [But] we continue to believe because you make sure that the players that need to have regular rhythm in him and believe there's reason to continue to give him reps in [a top- and to really get a lot out of the exhibition game [do that].” nine] spot.” Now Keefe’s attention is solely on maximizing these remaining days Despite lacking any professional hockey experience to date, the 18-year- before Toronto faces the Blue Jackets, at which point he’ll finally have old Robertson is parlaying a spectacular 55-goal season with the OHL’s revealed what’s next for Robertson. Peterborough Petes into a postseason audition with the team that drafted him in the second round, 53rd overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. “Despite the fact that we don't have any more [exhibition] games here, we haven't made any final decisions,” Keefe reiterated. "I still have some As soon as the NHL’s return to play plan was up and running in June, days here to consider different things and as I've maintained throughout Robertson joined the Leafs for Phase 2’s voluntary workouts to become this, it's more than just Nick. We have other decisions to make about acclimated with their program. Shifting into Phase 3’s training camp, other players and how everything fits. And some of those decisions Robertson turned a slow start to the proceedings into a perch on the impact Nick. It's more than just his individual situation but rather what's Leafs’ third line, with Alex Kerfoot and Kasperi Kapanen. right for our team and what's going to give us the best opportunity to win That’s where Robertson skated in Tuesday’s 4-2 preseason win over the Game 1.” Canadiens, finishing with one assist in 10:11 of ice time. Taking it all in after the fact, Robertson is pleased with how he’s handling himself in the big leagues. TSN.CA LOADED: 07.30.2020 “Playing in junior, you never know what your calibre is as an 18-year-old,” Robertson said. “Especially going through those [training camp] practices and these scrimmages and the exhibition game last night, it just proves to myself that I can keep up with [NHL players]. I've got a lot to learn but I definitely made an impact [in the game] and I can learn a lot still and as time goes on, I'll definitely mature for sure.” Robertson had the secondary assist on what would be Kerfoot’s game- winning goal against Montreal, and while there were no fans in the stands to cheer the accomplishment, Robertson felt a boost in himself regardless. “My confidence level is getting higher and higher each day,” he said. “Everything is a lot better than what I was exposed to [before]. Being thrown in with good players during camp definitely helped my ability and just comfortability as well. As far as my [potentially] playing Sunday, I know my comfortability and my confidence will be a little bit higher after [the game] and these next couple practices for sure.” Toronto only had the one tune-up on its calendar before Game 1 of its best-of-five series with Columbus rolls around on Sunday. But that brevity of schedule doesn’t necessarily put more pressure on Keefe to announce Robertson’s future; it just gives him more time to assess the teen’s preparedness for meaningful hockey. “I think he's in a good place [confidence-wise]; he’s not a guy that's short on [that],” Keefe said. “He’s shown that all the way through camp, that he believes in himself and he goes out every shift and tries to make the most of it, and that's what we like about him. I thought there were some really good positive signs in his play [on Tuesday], and I think he showed well in that sense [of being confident] so that was a positive thing to see from him.” Robertson has earned plenty of praise for his work ethic from teammates since Phase 2 began, so it was no surprise to them he could translate it well into a game setting. “He's a very impressive young kid to step right into this situation,” said Kerfoot. “Obviously never having played at this level, having only a couple of weeks to practice, I think he's been outstanding. You can just see that whenever he's on the ice how good he is and how good he's going to be and he's a lot of fun to play with.” “I thought he looked pretty good,” added Kapanen. “I think our line did a good job [on Tuesday] too. He brings a lot of energy. He was shooting 1176923 Websites
TSN.CA / Montreal Canadiens plagued by familiar problems in exhibition loss to Toronto Maple Leafs
Travis Yost
For the Montreal Canadiens, this postseason appearance is an unexpected surprise. The team sat 24th in the National Hockey League at the pause and were pacing to finish the regular season with 82 points. Considering their upcoming matchup – they are set to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, arguably the best team featured in the play-in round – expectations are relative. But the good news is that Montreal is facing a win-win scenario. The Canadiens will either lose in the play-in round and get a one-in-eight chance at landing a potential superstar in the form of Alexis Lafreniere in the Entry Draft, or they will pull off a shocking first- round upset. While an upset seems unlikely, it’s not as if Montreal is without capabilities. This is a team that outscored opponents at 5-on-5 this season (+5, 12th in the NHL), better than a number of respectable playoff contenders like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars. And any time you have Carey Price in net you have a chance – even if his performance has started to dwindle with time. But the concerns that plagued Montreal all season long resurfaced once again during Tuesday’s exhibition game against Toronto. The Canadiens out-attempted the Maple Leafs 37-28 and broke even in goals at even strength, but gave up a pair of short-handed goals and lost the game 4-2. The first of two critical issues observed during the game was Montreal’s inability to pierce the interior of the opposition’s defence. Despite having the majority of puck control, the Canadiens generated most of their shots from the perimeter. The two goals they did score – one from Paul Byron, the other from Tomas Tatar on a slick feed from Nick Suzuki – were two of only a handful of shots within close proximity of Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen: A decisive shot advantage tends to mean a decisive goal advantage, but not when the majority of shots are from distance. Looking closer at the data, the Maple Leafs – who also looked off from time to time in the offensive zone – were much more effective at getting to Price’s doorstep. Consider what happens when we break the shot attempt data down. Let’s look at all situations to ensure that special teams are enveloped: Montreal goes from a +12 shot attempt advantage (good!) to a -9 dangerous shot disadvantage (bad!). Perhaps more concerning is the fact that Brendan Gallagher owned the lion’s share of those dangerous shots. That plays on another pressing issue facing the Habs: Where exactly will the offence come from when Montreal’s top line is resting? There is one other obvious issue, and that’s how Montreal gave up two goals on power plays. Every team is going to need some degree of spool up time, which is why there are exhibition games being played this week. Giving up a pair of goals while on the man advantage certainly reeks of rust. The goals were a killer, but it’s even more concerning that the Canadiens generated just two dangerous shots in more than 12 minutes of power- play time. This is an extension of what we saw all season long, with both power- play units ineffective at carrying through the neutral zone and holding the offensive third. Montreal was 26th in shot generation, 26th in expected goals and 24th in goal scoring. This is a team that had two forwards – Tatar and Suzuki – account for half of the team’s power-play scoring. All this to say: It’s just one exhibition game and Montreal still has a bit of time to shake off nearly five months of rust, but the struggles the Canadiens had against the Maple Leafs Tuesday night were collinear with what killed the team all season long. The Canadiens will be in the draft lottery queue rather quickly if that holds in the opening round against the Penguins.
TSN.CA LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176924 Websites
TSN.CA / Canucks vs Jets Gameday Preview
Jeff Paterson 6-7 minutes
VANCOUVER – For the first time since March 10th, the Vancouver Canucks (36-27-6) will take part in game action tonight when they face the Winnipeg Jets (37-28-6) in the National Hockey League bubble in Edmonton. The Jets were scheduled to be the next team to visit Vancouver on March 15th when play was halted. In their final game prior to the COVID-19 pause, the Canucks defeated the New York Islanders 5-4 in a shootout at Rogers Arena. Adam Gaudette, Tyler Toffoli, Zack MacEwen and Bo Horvat had the Vancouver goals while Thatcher Demko made a career-high 45 saves as the Isles held a wide 49-34 edge in shots that night. Tonight will be Jacob Markstrom’s first game action since suffering a knee injury in a home game against Boston on February 22nd. The team MVP missed the final eight games the Canucks played. Brock Boeser returned to the line-up against the Islanders after missing a dozen games with a rib cartilage injury. He logged 17:17 of ice and registered three shots on goal on four attempts. Boeser has gone 12 games without a goal since scoring a pair in Buffalo on the afternoon of January 11th. At the time of the COVID break, veteran forward Jay Beagle was out with a foot injury suffered blocking a shot in Toronto on March 29th. Micheal Ferland has not seen NHL game action since December 10th. JT Miller was riding high when the schedule was suspended. The veteran forward had 10+16=26 in 20 games between the All Star break and March 10th. Of note during that stretch was Miller’s consistency with at least one point in 15 of those 20 games. The Jets defeated the Canucks in both of their meetings in the 2019-20 regular season posting 4-1 and 4-0 victories on home ice. Dating back to the 2016 season, the Jets have won 10 straight match-ups against the Canucks – three of the last six wins by shutout. Winnipeg hit the COVID break as one of the hottest teams in the NHL having won four straight and going 5-1-1 in their final seven games. Beyond that, the Jets were flying high with a 12-5-2 record over the last 17 games they played. Kyle Connor led the Jets this season with 38 goals while he and Mark Scheifele shared the team lead with 73 points. With Connor, Scheifele (29), Patrik Laine (28), Nikolaj Ehlers (25) and captain Blake Wheeler (22), the Jets line-up boasted five 20+ goal scorers. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is the presumptive favourite to win the Vezina Trophy this season. Hellebuyck was 31-21-5 with a 2.57 GAA and a 92.2% save percentage. Among goalies with 20 starts this season, the Jets ace was second in the league in starts and wins and led the NHL with 1796 shots faced and 1656 saves made. He also led the league with six shutouts this season. On Saturday night, the Jets will start their play-in series against the Calgary Flames in the only all-Canadian series of the opening round. Because this is the one and only exhibition game before the Return To Play tournament begins, coaches are permitted to dress an additional forward and an extra defenseman tonight.
TSN.CA LOADED: 07.30.2020 1176925 Websites 15. Nashville Predators: The John Hynes era has been a mixed bag so far and the offensive output this season has been disappointing relative to the talent on the team. Still, Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis are patrolling the back end, and that's a better duo than most teams have on defense. USA TODAY / NHL power rankings: With 24 teams left in field, here are the Stanley Cup favorites 16. Winnipeg Jets: Vezina Trophy finalist Connor Hellebuyck put forth a Herculean effort this season, posting a .922 save percentage while facing a league-high 1,796 shots. He paced the NHL with six shutouts. Jimmy Hascup Mike Brehm Jace Evans 17. Vancouver Canucks: This squad is beginning to emerge from a lengthy rebuild with some fantastic young cornerstone talent in the likes USA TODAY of Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson. 18. New York Islanders: This Barry Trotz-led group will go as far as their After being paused for nearly five months because of the coronavirus defensive stinginess takes it as it had just one player, Brock Nelson, with pandemic, the NHL will play games that matter when it resumes more than 20 goals during the regular season Saturday. 19. New York Rangers: All scenarios seem to be in play for this team — The new-look season will include 24 teams with 12 playing in each hub including a deep run or a sweep by the Hurricanes. Artemi Panarin and city — Toronto (Eastern Conference) or Edmonton, Aberta (Western Mika Zibanejad lead the fifth-best offense, but the defense in front of Conference). The top four teams from each conference will be playing a rookie sensation Igor Shesterkin will be what determines their fate. round robin-style format to determine seeding, while the remaining eight 20. Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets don’t seem to have the from each conference will play a best-of-five qualifying series to advance scoring (fourth-worst) to make a run, even if they did rank fourth in goals to the first round playoffs, with winners facing one of the round-robin against. They also will be starting a goalie with no playoff experience. But teams. Each team will play an exhibition game this week. don't discount what coach John Tortorella can do with a team that is Got all that? Here is a ranking of the 24 teams left in the field. counted out. 1. Boston Bruins: The Bruins were one win short of a Stanley Cup last 21. Arizona Coyotes: The sudden departure of GM John Chayka and season, were solid this season and feature the NHL’s best line. David pending free agency of former No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall looms over a Pastrnak looks like he’ll be ready to go after breaking protocol and team that hasn't made the playoffs in a traditional 82-game season since needing to quarantine. 2012. 2. Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning will have plenty of motivation after 22. Montreal Canadiens: Montreal will be outmatched against the last season’s first-round flameout. The talent remains there, the pressure Penguins, and it will be up to Carey Price to give the Canadiens a is off and they were strong after Christmas. chance. He went 1-1-1 against them this year, stopping 91 of 98 shots against. 3. St. Louis Blues: The Blues’ bid for a rare Stanley Cup repeat was aided by the season’s pause because Vladimir Tarasenko had time to 23. Minnesota Wild: A team in transition following the somewhat get healthy. unexpected firing of Bruce Boudreau. Dean Evason was just 12 games into his tenure when the season was halted, though he owned an 8-4-0 4. Vegas Golden Knights: They were rolling and were a leading record. contender to come out of the West before the season was halted. Can lean on trade deadline pickup Robin Lehner in goal should stalwart Marc- 24. Chicago Blackhawks: They are the worst Western Conference team Andre Fleury falter. (72 points) in the playoff field and don’t seem quite ready to do damage, especially facing the Oilers in their home arena. 5. Philadelphia Flyers: A well-rounded group, the Flyers were seventh in offense despite their leading scorer, Travis Konecny, finishing with 24 goals and 61 points in 66 games. But they have defended well and have USA TODAY LOADED: 07.30.2020 a coach, Alain Vigneault, with postseason experience and two trips to the Stanley Cup Final. 6. Colorado Avalanche: The Nathan MacKinnon line is healthy and will be hard to stop. Young defenseman Cale Makar makes the offense more dangerous. Gritty Nazem Kadri will have to avoid the playoff suspensions that led to his trade from Toronto. 7. Washington Capitals: They finished the regular season inconsistently (7-9-3), but this is a playoff-tested, veteran roster that could have benefited greatly from the long rest. 8. Pittsburgh Penguins: The big question surrounds their starting goalie decision: Matt Murray (.899 save percentage) was not good this year but has won a Stanley Cup, and Tristan Jarry (.921 SV%) was much better but has not played in the playoffs. 9. Dallas Stars: Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn had subpar seasons and coach Jim Montgomery was surprisingly fired. So how did the Stars get a bye? Strong defensive play, a mobile blue line and the goalie tandem of Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin. 10. Carolina Hurricanes: The defending Eastern Conference champions will be without key defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce for at least the start of the playoffs. 11. Toronto Maple Leafs: The offense will thrive if there’s run-and-gun hockey. But their defense is second worst among playoff teams, and defense wins championships. 12. Edmonton Oilers: They have the NHL's top two scorers in Leon Draisaitl – who had 110 points in just 71 games – and Connor McDavid, arguably the best player in the league. 13. Florida Panthers: The Panthers need more from Sergei Bobrovsky than the goalie showed (3.23 goals-against average and .900 save percentage) in the first season of a seven-year, $70 million contract. 14. Calgary Flames: The definition of "middle of the pack," Calgary was 20th in goals for and 15th in goals against.