Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips October 21-23, 2017
Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets: Jenner practices full-go, may return Saturday night PAGE 03: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Boone Jenner may make season debut PAGE 04: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Struggling faceoff a sore spot PAGE 05: The Athletic: Portzline: All signs say Pierre-Luc Dubois is sticking with Blue Jackets this season PAGE 07: Columbus Dispatch: Kings 6, Blue Jackets 4 | Kings pin second straight loss on Jackets PAGE 09: Columbus Dipstach: Blue Jackets notebook | Jenner’s back, and he’s going to play a lot PAGE 10: The Athletic: John Tortorella delivers message to young forwards Sonny Milano, Oliver Bjorkstrand PAGE 13: NHL.com: O'Ree drops ceremonial puck at Blue Jackets game PAGE 15: The Hockey Writers: Blue Jackets 3 Takeaways: Breakthroughs, Power Play & Jenner PAGE 17: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets: Losses show there’s work to do
Cleveland Monsters/Prospects PAGE 19: The Plain Dealer: Monsters hook Barracuda, 4-1 PAGE 20: The News-Herald: Monsters beat San Jose, 4-1 PAGE 22: The Plain Dealer: Cleveland Monsters fall to San Jose Barracuda in OT, 1-0
NHL/Websites PAGE 23: The Athletic: Duhatschek Notebook: Russia determined to end Olympic drought, Canadian team taking shape, Ducks getting healthy PAGE 27: The Athletic: LeBrun: Players, officials, and league all learn from confusing offside challenge PAGE 28: TSN.ca: TSN Hockey's Top 10 Storylines of the Week PAGE 32: TSN.ca: Insider Trading: Could Galchenyuk be a fit in Pittsburgh? PAGE 34: TSN.ca: Hot Button Issues: Dahlin continues to dazzle PAGE 35: Sportsnet.ca: Hockey Canada wants to recruit CHL players for Olympic team PAGE 36: USA Today: What's behind the Vegas Golden Knights' unprecedented start?
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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171020/blue-jackets-jenner-practices-full-go-may-return-saturday- night
Blue Jackets: Jenner practices full-go, may return Saturday night By Steve Gorten – October 21, 2017
The Blue Jackets activated winger Boone Jenner from injured reserve Friday, paving the way for him to make his season debut Saturday at home against the Los Angeles Kings. Markus Hannikainen was reassigned to AHL affiliate Cleveland. Jenner, who suffered a “middle-body injury,” believed to be a back issue, a couple of weeks before the start of training camp, skated on the second unit during line rushes at Friday’s practice, taking Matt Calvert’s place alongside center Nick Foligno and right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand. Afterward, coach John Tortorella would say only that Jenner is “day-to-day” when asked about his progress and pending return. Jenner also didn’t reveal when he’ll be back, but said he feels “real close” to 100 percent and that playing Saturday is a “possibility.” He added he’s “definitely” anxious to return. “It’s tough watching. You always want to be out there with your team,” said Jenner, who was vague about how he was injured, noting only that it happened during training. “It’s definitely not fun, especially through camp, and then starting the season. You want to be out there. Anytime is not a good time to be out, but especially at the start of the season.” He added of his conditioning, “I’ve been working really hard to be in the best possible shape, even though it’s tough to mimic a game and the battles that can happen.” Jenner played in all 82 games each of the past two seasons. He averaged more than 16 minutes of ice time both years, netting 18 goals and 16 assists in 2016-17 after 30 and 19, respectively, in 2015-16. “We all know what Jenns is,” Tortorella said. “He’s a complete player, body to the net, in the blue. He killed penalties well for us last year. He’s the full package.” Foligno said Blue Jackets players were excited to have Jenner take part in a full practice with them. “He just brings his tenacious style of play. That’s one thing about Boone. He drags guys into the fight with him. The way he plays, he’s a reckless player, and that’s a compliment,” Foligno said. “He can play that bang-crash style, but also has the skill to go along with it and brings pucks to the front of the net. It just brings everybody into it when you see a guy battling all night long. So it will mean a lot to us to get him back in the lineup.” Also Friday, the team activated injured center Sam Vigneault (hand) and assigned him to Cleveland.
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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171020/blue-jackets--boone-jenner-may-make-season-debut
Blue Jackets | Boone Jenner may make season debut By Steve Gorten – October 21, 2017
The Blue Jackets’ lineup is about to get a boost. Indications suggest that injured left wing Boone Jenner will make his season debut Saturday night when the Jackets, coming off their first loss in nearly two weeks, take on the Los Angeles Kings in the second of four consecutive home games. “I’ve been feeling good,” Jenner said. “I’m itching to come back and help the boys.” Jenner skated alongside Nick Foligno and Oliver Bjorkstrand during line rushes Friday while participating in the full practice at Nationwide Arena. Coach John Tortorella was tight-lipped about Jenner’s status afterward, saying only that Jenner is “day-to-day” when asked repeatedly about the alternate captain’s potential return. Minutes later, the Jackets announced Jenner had been activated from injured reserve and wing Markus Hannikainen had been sent to minor-league Cleveland. Sam Vigneault was sent to Cleveland as well after he was activated Friday. Jenner didn’t reveal if he will play Saturday, but noted it’s “a possibility” and he feels “real close” to 100 percent healthy after suffering an injury while training a couple of weeks before the start of camp. The team has termed his injury “middle body;” it’s believed to be related to his back. Jenner said he’s “definitely” eager to return. “It’s tough watching,” he said. “You want to be out there. Anytime is not a good time to be out, but especially at the start of the season.” Jenner’s return, whenever it happens, will shuffle the second, third and fourth lines. During Friday’s practice, Pierre-Luc Dubois skated alongside Brandon Dubinsky and Josh Anderson. Matt Calvert, who has been on the second line with Foligno and Bjorkstrand through the first seven games, could move to the fourth line centered by Lukas Sedlak. Regardless of the combinations, Jenner, an alternate captain who has played all 82 games each of the past two seasons while notching 48 goals and 35 assists, should provide a spark to a team that needed one Thursday in a 2-0 loss to the Lightning. The Jackets were admittedly lethargic in the first period, and after reviewing a replay of the game, Tortorella noted Friday that, contrary to his initial impression, the Jackets weren’t that good in the second or third periods either. That shouldn’t be an issue with Jenner, who said he likes to lead by example. “The way he plays, he’s a reckless player, and that’s a compliment,” said Foligno, who raved of Jenner’s “tenacious” style. “He can play that bang-crash style, but also has the skill to go along with it and brings pucks to the front of the net. It just brings everybody into it when you see a guy battling all night long. So it will mean a lot to us to get him back in the lineup.”
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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171020/blue-jackets--struggling-faceoff-sore-spot
Blue Jackets | Struggling faceoff a sore spot By Steve Gorten - October 21, 2017
The Blue Jackets didn’t just fail to score on their power play Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They also didn’t manage to win a faceoff while having a man advantage three times.
That’s not all that surprising considering the Blue Jackets have won 43.3 percent of those jousts for the puck through the first seven games, worst in the NHL.
“We’re not a team that should be dead last in the league in faceoffs,” captain Nick Foligno said. “But I do like that we’re tenacious to get (the puck) back. It hasn’t cost us right now, but down the road it could so we have to shore that up for sure.”
Foligno and fellow center Alexander Wennberg attributed some of the team’s struggles to the NHL’s new crackdown on faceoff procedures this season. Foligno said referees and linesmen aren’t consistent in their enforcement of rules, causing uncertainty among players.
“It’s so different right now with new rules where you can get kicked out, and you try to adjust to that,” added Wennberg, who lost nine of his 14 faceoffs Thursday. “You have to try to get in there and dig in on faceoffs. Obviously that’s not something I’ve been really good at. I have to improve.”
Coach John Tortorella said he’s “not a big analytics guy” but said faceoffs are important, particularly on power plays because “you get an advantage with a faceoff in the end zone.
“We did nothing with that advantage. That was part of the issue.”
Rookie struggles Rookie wing Sonny Milano scored in each of his first three NHL games, notching four goals with a plus-2 rating. In the past four games, he doesn’t have a point and is minus-3. “It’s dipped, but it’s expected,” Tortorella said of Milano’s performance level. “Some nights it’s going to be awful. Some nights it’s going to be terrific. That’s what it is with a young player. But with a guy with skill like that, we have to spend some time and teach the game.”
Slap shots If the Blue Jackets are to end their power-play drought Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings, they’ll have to do it against the NHL’s best penalty kill. While the Blue Jackets have just one power-play goal in 19 opportunities so far, the Kings’ penalty kill has allowed just one on 24 chances (95.8 percent success). ... Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to make his second straight start in goal. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets likely will face a hot goalie for the second consecutive game. After suffering their first shutout loss since Feb. 28 on Thursday vs. the Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, they will try to solve the Kings’ Jonathan Quick, who ranks second in the NHL with a 9.50 save percentage and third in goals-against average (1.59) among goalies who’ve faced at least 100 shots.
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https://theathletic.com/133009/2017/10/20/portzline-all-signs-say-pierre-luc-dubois-is-sticking-with- blue-jackets-this-season/
Portzline: All signs say Pierre-Luc Dubois is sticking with Blue Jackets this season By Aaron Portzline - October 21, 2017
Sources told The Athletic on Thursday that the Blue Jackets have not had extensive front-office discussions regarding rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois' short-term future, which can only mean one thing:
Dubois is almost certain to stick in Columbus this season.
If Dubois dresses on Saturday vs. Los Angeles, Wednesday vs. Buffalo and next Friday vs. Winnipeg — and there is no reason to think he won't — he will have dressed in 10 games this season, meaning the first year of his NHL entry-level contract is engaged.
To be clear, the Blue Jackets have not expressed any of this to Dubois, he said. Nor has management had the “get-a-place” conversation with him, which is a momentous occasion for a young player. It means the player is in the NHL to stay.
But it's hard to imagine the Jackets pulling Dubois out of the lineup now, given how well he's begun to play and how comfortable — and physical — he looks in an NHL setting, especially after he looked so overwhelmed in 2016.
The fact that Dubois' situation hasn't been a hot topic among Jarmo Kekalainen and the hockey operations staff is telling, too. If there was serious consideration to sending him down next week, it would be an almost-daily debate.
Dubois (6-foot-2, 207 pounds) has 1-0-1 in seven games, the lone goal (and point) coming in the season- opening win over the New York Islanders. He's settled into a fourth-line role at left wing, but sees time on the second power-play unit and is averaging just less than 13 minutes per game.
He seems to be getting stronger.
“The biggest improvement he showed me the other night against Winnipeg was, he was in the (hard) areas,” John Tortorella said Thursday. “He wasn't on the outside. He protected pucks. He went to the net.
“He got knocked on his ass three separate times on one power play, but he kept on going back into the ‘blue' trying to look for the puck. That's what he has to do. He's a gifted player, but he has a big body and the willingness is there. … That's where he was really good the other night.”
Dubois' ability to play physically in the NHL is crucial. But that's not always easy for young players, even the strapping lads like Dubois. Running into players at the junior level is a far different collision than vs. NHL players.
For instance, Dubois was asked by The Athletic if he'd been “knocked on his ass” three times during his entire junior career?
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“Not really,” he said with a sheepish smile.
“Guys are a lot stronger here. I like to hit, but I don't mind getting hit, either. It's part of my game, so … . If you have your head down in juniors, sometimes you won't get hit, and if you do it's not that bad. Here if you have your head down for just two seconds, it can be dangerous.
“The other thing is, I've hit a few guys with pretty good hits, but it was like hitting a wall. But being physical is part of my game and I have to bring it every night. If I play well physically, everything follows and I get involved in the game more.”
Dubois, despite limited ice time, is third on the Blue Jackets with 12 hits. Only Brandon Dubinsky (19) and Nick Foligno (15) have more hits.
All indications say he'll continue to ply his trade with the Blue Jackets.
Dubois is too young to play in the American Hockey League, so he could not be sent to the Jackets' minor-league affiliate in Cleveland. He would have to go back to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League franchise.
The Blue Jackets could still send him back to junior after he hits the 10-game threshold, but that seems unlikely. In that event, he would no longer draw his NHL paycheck for the rest of the season (he would keep any signing bonuses), but next season would be the second year of his three-year deal.
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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171022/kings-6-blue-jackets-4--kings-pin-second-straight-loss-on- jackets
Kings 6, Blue Jackets 4 | Kings pin second straight loss on Jackets By George Richards – October 22, 2017
If one was looking for a fun Saturday night out on the town, you could have done worse than hit up the hockey game at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings put on quite a show by combining for 10 goals. In the end, it was Anze Kopitar knocking in a Dustin Brown shot with 2:14 left which led the Kings to a 6- 4 win. The victory was the sixth in seven games for the Kings; the Jackets have lost two consecutive games after a four-game winning streak. “It was one of those games where the next one was going to win it,” captain Nick Foligno said. “They got one late and it’s unfortunate. That’s a game we have to find a way to win, especially at home. You can’t lose two in a row, and that’s something we haven’t done in a long time. We pride ourselves in losing one and finding a way in the next one.” After a wild first period in which the Jackets took a 3-2 lead, the Kings roared back to kick off a very entertaining second. Los Angeles tied the score just 40 seconds into the period when defenseman Jake Muzzin sent a shot over Sergei Bobrovsky’s shoulder to make it 3-3. The Kings retook a lead a few minutes later as Drew Doughty kicked off a rush, then deflected a long shot from Brown and put the puck past Bobrovsky. Not to be outdone in the second, Columbus kept the pressure on and tied the score at the 15:15 mark when Sonny Milano got back on the scoresheet by muscling Oscar Fantenberg to keep control of the puck and backhanded a shot past Jonathan Quick. The goal was the fifth of the season for the rookie forward but first since he scored twice in an overtime win at Carolina in Game 3. The Jackets and Kings got into a shootout in the opening period, with the two teams combining for five goals on 19 shots. Columbus opened the scoring when Foligno snapped the Jackets’ 0-for-18 power play drought on a shot from the right circle 5:43 in on the first shot of the game. Los Angeles quickly scored the next two goals. The Kings tied the score at 1 when Brown wrested the puck away from Jack Johnson and Lukas Sedlak in the corner and found Kopitar, who beat Bobrovsky with a wrister. Less than a minute later, the Kings took a 2-1 lead. It would not be a 2-1 game for long. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the fourth goal within a span of 2:17 when he hammered a loose puck off Quick’s pad from a David Savard shot into the back of the net.
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“I had my eyes on the goalie, was waiting for a rebound,” Bjorkstrand said. “The rebound came out and it was an easy tap-in.” Things settled down for a bit until Matt Calvert sent the red light flashing when he scored in traffic off a loose puck down low. The game was delayed for a moment as that red light refused to shut off. After going off three times behind the Kings net in the period, apparently it wasn’t done working. The three-goal period was the third for the Jackets this season. “It wasn’t the hockey we want to play in the first two, but we kept finding a way to stay in it,” Calvert said. “The third was more of the way we want to play, but unfortunately, they got the last one.”
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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171021/blue-jackets-notebook--jenners-back-and-hes-going-to- play-lot
Blue Jackets notebook | Jenner’s back, and he’s going to play a lot By Steve Gorten – October 22, 2017
After sitting out training camp, the preseason and then the first seven games of this season, Boone Jenner finally made his debut Saturday night against the Kings. As expected, Boone, who was activated Friday after fully recovering from a “middle-body injury,” was inserted into the Blue Jackets’ lineup, playing on the second line with center Nick Foligno and right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand. “I’m really excited to be back out there with the guys,” Jenner said before the game. “I’ve been working as hard as I can to get in the best shape possible before this game. It’s tough to mimic a game, but as far as conditioning, I feel good.” Coach John Tortorella said Jenner’s ice time wouldn’t be limited because of his long absence. In fact, he planned to use Jenner on power plays and penalty kills in addition to his regular shifts. “I’ve already told him, ‘Don’t think we’re going to just wean you in here,’” Tortorella said. “We’re going to get him in (game) shape by playing him.” With Jenner in the lineup, Matt Calvert moved down to the third line with Brandon Dubinsky and Josh Anderson. Calvert replaced rookie Sonny Milano, who was dropped to the fourth line, taking Zac Dalpe’s place alongside center Lukas Sedlak and fellow rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois. Dalpe was a healthy scratch. Milano’s demotion came after four consecutive games in which he didn’t record a point and twice had a minus-1 rating. Tortorella said Friday that Milano was going through an expected rookie slump. “It’s been a whirlwind first couple of weeks,” Milano said before Saturday’s game. “Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect coming in. “I’m not really trying to stress too much,” he added. “I think I’ve been playing fine ... maybe just start moving my feet a little bit, go a little bit harder on the forecheck, do the little things, and my chances will come.” Milano scored his team-high fifth goal against the Kings on Saturday. In addition to penalty kill and faceoffs, Tortorella said he’s hoping Sedlak eventually earns some minutes on the third line as well as some time on the wing. “He’s a utility guy, and the way I like to coach, that’s very important,” Tortorella said. ... What is Tortorella’s message to players who are too cute with the puck on power plays? “We’re trying to tell them to shoot the puck. If they don’t shoot the puck, they’re not going to be there to shoot the puck. You take them off it until it really hits home.”
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https://theathletic.com/134720/2017/10/22/john-tortorella-delivers-message-to-young-forwards- sonny-milano-oliver-bjorkstrand/
John Tortorella delivers message to young forwards Sonny Milano, Oliver Bjorkstrand By Aaron Portzline - October 22, 2017
At the end of practice Friday, as players were milling about the ice, John Tortorella skated up to young forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Sonny Milano for separate conversations.
Part of the coach's message to Milano had nothing to do with hockey: “He told me to get a haircut,” Milano said, sheepishly. “It was pretty long. It's understandable.”
But the rest of it was sage advice for two players the Blue Jackets believe can be difference-makers.
Milano, after scoring four goals in the first three games of the season, had been dropped to a fourth-line role in the wake of Boone Jenner's return from a back injury.
“Torts just told me to keep playing,” Milano said. “Obviously I was on the fourth line, but he said I did nothing wrong. I just have to get my game back, get my confidence back and start moving my feet again.
“And he said just play my game, don't play like a grinder just because you're on the fourth line. Do the things that got me here and keep working to improve my game.”
Milano scored a brilliant breakaway goal off his backhand at 15:15 of the second period, a goal that pulled Columbus to a 4-4 tie Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Jackets eventually lost 6-4.
It was Milano's only shot on goal in 8:05 of ice time, but his line — with Lukas Sedlak at center and rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois on the wing — was effective.
“Sonny and I have had many conversations,” Tortorella said. “He doesn't have to change his game.
“That line had some good shifts. I just want him to be able to play straight ahead. We're still working with him … he had some good coverages, had some good sticks tonight. We're trying to teach him to play away from the puck. It doesn't matter what line he plays on, that's going to be a big part of him getting minutes.”
Bjorkstrand is in a different spot. He scored his first goal of the season Saturday, finishing a rebound off the rush at 8:00 of the first period to tie the score at 2.
He pumped his fist with great exuberance, a mixture of joy and relief, he said.
“It's always nice to get the first one of the season,” Bjorkstrand said, “especially since it'd been a few games.”
Bjorkstrand has played almost exclusively in the Blue Jackets' top six so far this season, and he's drawn second-unit power-play time. But, through Saturday's game, he has 11 shots on goal in eight games.
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Tortorella has no issues with Bjorkstrand's hairstyle, which can only be called Denmark chic. But Tortorella had the same hockey advice he offered for Milano.
“Bjorky played better than the last game (Thursday vs. Tampa Bay),” Tortorella said. “Couldn't find him the last game. Winnipeg (on Tuesday) I thought he had a decent game. He was skating (vs. Los Angeles). The key for Bjorky is moving his legs. I thought he was on the puck.
“I kind of crawled up his ass (when) he didn't block a shot, (but he) had a huge blocked shot in the third period. He tried to do some things that we talked about that he needs to do. Maybe scoring the goal will lighten the load a little bit as far as the pressure on him, and he can just try to play.”
Bjorkstrand could benefit greatly from Jenner's return. He played left wing on a line with center Nick Foligno and Bjorkstrand.
The hope is that Jenner and Foligno's propensity for physical play could open space for Bjorkstrand to create and shoot. Milano and Dubois have played previously in that spot.
“Boone played a really good game,” Bjorkstrand said. “You can sense his presence out there. He plays the body and it makes it easier for us. I like playing with them.
“Move my feet. That's what Torts said. I need to move my feet more. You've seen some games where I've played a lot, some games where I haven't. That's what it is. I have to move my feet and skate.”
Bjorkstrand has 1-3-4 in eight games. He hasn't been invisible, certainly, but he hasn't produced enough to justify a top-six spot on a playoff-worthy NHL team.
Then again, Bjorkstrand is no stranger to slow starts.
In 2015-16, he had only three goals in the first 22 games for AHL Cleveland. He finished the regular season with 14 goals in the final 29 games, then had 10 goals — six game-winners — in the Monsters' 17-game run to the Calder Cup.
Last season, Bjorkstrand struggled in training camp and lasted only three games into the season before the Blue Jackets sent him back to Cleveland for more seasoning. When he came back to Columbus in mid-February, he looked much better, with 6-6-12 in 21 games.
NOTEBOOK The Blue Jackets are off today. Back to work Monday. Here's Tortorella, not speaking directly about Bjorkstrand, but sharing his thoughts during training camp on players who are notorious “slow starters”: “It’s bullshit. It’s a cop-out. It’s bullshit. Start right. To me, it’s a mindset. You can talk yourself into ‘it’s going to take me a little while to get going,’ but, to me, it’s a cop-out and it’s not putting enough pressure on yourself to be the best you can be when the season starts. I don’t buy all that slow start stuff. If somebody slow starts, somebody else is going take your job.”
Jordan Schroeder's conditioning assignment with AHL Cleveland can last only two weeks, which means they'll need to make a call by Thursday. Either he goes on waivers to stay with Cleveland, or he returns to Columbus and occupies a spot on the 23-man roster. In two games with the Monsters, Schroeder has
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no points, a minus-1 rating, two PIMs and one shot on goal. He sustained a concussion during an early preseason game. Schroeder told The Athletic last week that it was the first concussion of his career.
Wild night in Vegas last night. Former Blue Jackets center William Karlsson scored the overtime game- winner, the first in his career, in a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. Also, goaltender Oscar Dansk — remember him? — made his NHL debut with 9:10 remaining after starter Malcolm Subban was injured. Dansk allowed a goal on the first shot he faced, then stopped the next 10, including five in OT, to earn his first NHL win. Dansk will be the Vegas starter in the short term. Starter Marc-Andre Fleury is out with a concussion. Subban left the game with a lower-body injury after extending his right pad to make a save.
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https://www.nhl.com/news/willie-oree-drops-ceremonial-puck-at-blue-jackets-game/c-292161844
O'Ree drops ceremonial puck at Blue Jackets game By Craig Merz - Ocotber 22, 2017
COLUMBUS -- Willie O'Ree is approaching 60 years since he became the first black player to play in the NHL, but his enthusiasm for hockey and his desire to see the sport attract a broader following hasn't waned. O'Ree, 82, is in Columbus through Wednesday morning as the NHL's director of youth development and an ambassador for the League's diversity program. He dropped the ceremonial first puck to a standing ovation prior to the Columbus Blue Jackets game against the Los Angeles Kings at Nationwide Arena on Saturday. "Working around the kids, going to a school, doing a clinic or going to a YM or YWCA, a boys or girls club; anywhere there's kids and I can talk to them, I love it," O'Ree said. O'Ree is no stranger to Columbus. He has been to Ohio's capital city 18 times, according to John Haferman, director of the Columbus Ice Hockey Club (CIHC), an organization whose programs include those for sled hockey, women and girls and special needs children. O'Ree on Sunday will meet with players from CIHC's youth leagues. The following two days he will discuss his journey to the NHL and the League's Hockey Is For Everyone initiative at four Columbus schools. He was also hoping to reunite after the game Saturday with Seth Jones, the Blue Jackets' African- American defenseman. They first met at an event during the week leading to the 2013 NHL Draft, when Jones was selected by the Nashville Predators with the No. 4 pick. "I knew who he was, obviously, a lot of people do, and what he did for the game for minority players," Jones said. "He's an extremely nice guy and so many people have nothing but great things to say about him." O'Ree, a native of Fredericton, New Brunswick, made his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins at the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 18, 1958. Having played against the Canadiens in the preseason and in the Montreal Forum in juniors and the minors, O'Ree didn't immediately grasp the significance of being a black player on white ice. "I was just Willie O'Ree with a Boston Bruins jersey on," he said. Willie O'Ree drops the puck before the Blue Jackets' game against the Kings. It wasn't until his second call-up to the Bruins that the media started referring to him as the Jackie Robinson of hockey. Like the player who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, O'Ree had to endure his share of taunts and threats. O'Ree's older brother gave him some advice: "You're going to run into racism, prejudice, ignorance and bigotry. I know the type of person you really are. If you feel strongly about choosing hockey as a career just go out and work as hard as you can and let everything else go in one ear and out the other." O'Ree played 45 games in the NHL with the Bruins and had 14 points (four goals, 10 assists); He played 21 years of pro hockey despite losing vision in his right eye after being struck by a puck as a teenager.
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"I wish I could have played in the National Hockey League longer but things happen for a reason," he said. "Getting involved in the Hockey is for Everyone initiative is the best move, thanks to Commissioner (Gary) Bettman appointing me to the diversity program."
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https://thehockeywriters.com/columbus-blue-jackets-power-play-boone-jenner/
Blue Jackets 3 Takeaways: Breakthroughs, Power Play & Jenner By Kristyn Repke - October 22, 2017
This season, The Hockey Writers will have a recurring “Three Takeaways" feature after every Columbus Blue Jackets matchup, meant to serve as postgame quick hits.
1) Breaking Through In an unexpected battle of offense on Saturday night, two struggling Blue Jackets forwards finally broke through and scored their first goals of the season, despite a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Matt Calvert, despite playing well on the Blue Jackets’ top penalty-killing unit all season, netted the team’s third goal on Saturday and his first of the 2017-18 campaign. It was in the back of his mind heading into the game that he still had not scored. “I’m going to keep chipping away and eventually they’ll start to go in,” Calvert said ahead of Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. And, sure enough, one did. “Yeah, it was nice to get that one out of the way,” Calvert said after. He was not the only one to get rid of the “goose egg.” Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored his first goal of the season, which relieved a significant amount of pressure placed on the 22-year-old by the coaching staff and himself. “Hopefully scoring a goal will lighten the load on him and lighten the pressure on him so he can just continue to play,” Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella said after the team’s 6-4 loss. For Bjorkstrand and Calvert, it will be key to see if finally getting their first goal out of the way will lead to less nervy play and more points. Both have felt the heat from not contributing, despite being involved in other ways. Finally scoring should help their game, at least from a mental standpoint. Nick Foligno with some foreshadowing, perhaps? “Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.” 2) Power Play Push To the relief of every Blue Jackets player, coach and fan, the power play ended an 0-for-18 scoring drought with an early goal by Foligno. What was the difference this time around, according to the captain? “We were in our right spots and doing the right things,” Foligno said. “We were finally just playing to our system and executing plays, too. We were getting tape-to-tape passes and that made such a difference.” What does that mean moving forward? “Now the confidence just starts to grow,” Foligno said. “We scored off a broken play, and then on our next [power play] we did everything but score. It’s a good sign that our power play is getting hotter." That is what the Blue Jackets need to happen.
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Related – Blue Jackets Three Takeaways: Overtime & Second Periods 3) Boone Comes Back After missing the first seven games of the season with a back injury, Boone Jenner returned to the lineup. The 24-year-old was forced to fit in, playing 18-plus minutes in the loss. He did not look like a player coming off a serious injury, which was a great sign for Tortorella and team. “It was great to have him back in the lineup,” Tortorella said. “He gives our team a different look and does a lot of things for us.” Jenner said he was happy to be back and contribute in any way he could. “I felt good, and it felt good being back out there,” Jenner said. “It was tough and not a lot of fun watching those first few games. I wanted to come back and bring what I bring, and I was pretty comfortable right away.” He finished the night with four hits, six shots on goal and 11 shot attempts after all was said and done, so it appears that Jenner was “one hundred percent” as he said. Calvert agreed. “He stepped in well and looked like he didn’t miss a beat out there,” Calvert said. “It’s great to have him back.” The Blue Jackets are a tougher team when Jenner is in the lineup, so look for him to contribute as long as he stays healthy through the duration of the season. He will be a key factor on special teams and at even strength at both ends of the ice.
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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171023/blue-jackets-losses-show-theres-work-to-do
Blue Jackets: Losses show there’s work to do By Steve Gorten – October 23, 2017
The Blue Jackets ended this past week with two home games against two of the NHL’s best teams, and disappointingly for them, two losses. Their effort in Saturday’s 6-4 defeat to the Kings, who are tied for second in points (13) with zero regulation losses and a league-best 13-goal differential, was immensely better than Thursday’s 2-0 setback against the Lightning, which has posted 15 points and outscored opponents by 12. Still, “you’ve got to find a way to get on the other end of those games and be the one scoring there with a couple of minutes left,” Boone Jenner said. Added fellow winger Matt Calvert: “It’s back-to-back games against two good hockey teams, and for whatever reason we couldn’t find a way.” The Blue Jackets (5-3) lost consecutive games four times last season, and just once at home — to the Bruins and Sharks to start the season. They’ll get another chance to knock off a quality team Saturday night on the road against the Blues, tied with the Kings in points, after home games against the Sabres and Jets on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. Anze Kopitar’s game-winner for the Kings, which came with 2:14 left, was “a very defendable goal” that resulted from Calvert missing coverage, Jackets coach John Tortorella noted postgame. “I don’t think we played it that well in the corner, but it’s still a 30-foot pass cross-ice (from Dustin Brown), Calvy sees the guy and he just lets him get behind,” Tortorella said. “They snapped one right from the boards, it went over two of our guys’ sticks and I wasn’t quite there,” Calvert said. “It’s one I’d definitely like to have back.” As a whole, “It seemed like we made a few mistakes we could correct and maybe have saved some goals,” winger Oliver Bjorkstrand added. The Jackets will work the next two days on eliminating defensive mistakes, and expect to get better goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky in his next start after five goals allowed on 31 shots against the Kings. But they also carry several positives into this week. After 18 consecutive power plays without a goal, they ended their drought with Nick Foligno’s first-period score, and did so against the NHL’s top-ranked penalty kill. Jenner “didn’t miss a beat,” Calvert said, in his return from a back injury. Jenner’s presence appeared to spark linemate Bjorkstrand, who netted his first goal of the season. So did Calvert. And rookie Sonny Milano scored for the first time since tallying four goals combined in the first two games. “It took some of the weight off my shoulders,” Milano said. Tortorella, who had a private conversation with Milano at Friday’s practice, during which he told the long, curly-locked winger to get a haircut (Milano obliged and chopped off about 2 inches), said Milano “doesn’t have to change his game” despite being dropped to the fourth line. The coach added that the key to Milano getting minutes on the ice moving forward will be his play away from the puck.
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The Jackets, meanwhile, will try to avoid their first three-game skid since losing six consecutive games in late March and early April of last season. “We played some good hockey (against the Kings). It’s something we can build on,” Bjorkstrand said. “Of course it sucks to lose, but a few adjustments and we could have gotten the win.”
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http://www.cleveland.com/monsters/index.ssf/2017/10/cleveland_monsters_hook_san_jo.html#incart _river_index
Monsters hook Barracuda, 4-1 By staff - October 22, 2017
Monsters and Barracudas might be evenly matched in water, but the Cleveland Monsters proved more dangerous on ice Saturday afternoon, beating the San Jose Barracuda, 4-1, at Quicken Loans Arena.
The first-ever meeting of the two franchises lifted the Monsters to .500, in third place at 2-2-0-0 in the American Hockey League Central Division. San Jose stands at 2-3-0-0 in the Pacific Division.
Center Carter Camper started the scoring and notched Cleveland's first first-period goal of the season just 35 seconds into the game, with an even-strength marker assisted by Markus Hannikainen and Tyler Motte.
John Ramage put the Monsters up 2-0 with his first goal of the season, a wrist shot on a power play at 12:56 of the second period.
San Jose cut the margin to 2-1 on an even-strength tally by Brandon Bollig at 1:57 of the third frame. But Miles Koules extended Cleveland's lead on a power play at 8:25, assisted by Dean Kukan and Motte.
Adding a goal to his two assists, Motte hit an empty net at 19:07, with assists by Alex Broadhurst and Cameron Gaunce.
Brad Thiessen (2-0) stopped 18 shots in net for Cleveland. Troy Grosenick saved 18 in the loss for San Jose. The Monsters were 1-for-7 on power plays and killed all three they faced.
Monster Mash: Next up for the Monsters is a rematch with the Barracuda at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Q. The teams won't meet again until March in San Jose...
Saturday's matinee was Hannikainen's first game for Cleveland this season, after three with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was assigned to Cleveland on Friday with Sam Vigneault, who was injured in training camp...
Announced attendance Saturday was 6,892.
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http://www.news-herald.com/sports/20171021/cleveland-monsters-hook-san-jose-barracuda-4-1
Monsters beat San Jose, 4-1 By Jeff Schudel - October 22, 2017
There was one problem after the Monsters crushed the San Jose Barracuda, 4-1, in an Oct. 21 matinee at Quicken Loans Arena — picking the three stars of the game.
It was a problem because at least a half dozen players were worthy. In the end, the recognition went to defenseman John Ramage with one goal and a plus-three rating as the first star, left wing Tyler Motte with two assists and an empty-net goal as the second star and goalie Brad Thiessen with 18 saves as the third star.
“I was extremely proud of a lot of guys,” Monsters coach John Madden said. “There were no passengers tonight. Every man competed. I thought we started a little tentative in the third period, but then the guys got back into it and started playing hockey again.”
The Monsters, 2-2, host the Barracuda in Game 2 of the brief series at 5 p.m. Oct. 22 at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Monsters scored 35 seconds into the game. Motte sent a pass to Markus Hannikainen at the offensive blue line. Hannikainen won the puck in a battle with a San Jose player and made a tape-to- tape pass to Carter Camper on the right side. Camper, a Rocky River native, snapped the puck into the top left corner of the net from the right faceoff circle for his second goal of the season.
But more than offensive success made it a complete game victory.
Near the midpoint of the first period, with the Monsters leading 1-0, a shot by a San Jose player hit Monsters center Alex Broadhurst squarely on the left knee.
Broadhurst, favoring the injured leg noticeably, waited until the Monsters gained control of the puck before starting to skate toward the Monsters bench. Before he could take a full stride, Barracuda left wing Rudolf Balfers intercepted a pass at the Monsters defensive blue line.
Balfers skated into the Monsters defensive zone and Broadhurst went to the ice in the left faceoff circle to either block the shot or make Balfers alter his target.
Only when the puck went off the netting behind the goal and play stopped did Broadhurst head to the bench. He could not put weight on his left leg and needed help from two teammates.
“That’s how you win games,” Madden said. “All the guys basically gave him a standing-O on the bench, but that’s what it takes. You have to get out of your comfort zone once in a while, and that was out of his comfort zone, but he did what he had to do. I was proud of him.”
The Monsters made is 2-0 at 12:56 of the second period when Ramage, skating from the right circle to the inside edge of the left circle with the puck on his blade, wristed a low show shot past the stick side of San Jose goalie Try Grosenick. Ramage had only four goals all of last season.
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Even the Monsters power play showed signs of improvement. They were 1-of-17 with a man advantage through the first three games. They had seven power-play chances against the Barracuda (one lasted only five seconds because the Monsters drew a penalty five seconds after a power play began) and cashed in once when Mike Koules gained control of a loose puck and put it into the back of the net for a 3-1 lead at 8:25 of the third period.
Motte added his empty-net goal with 53 seconds left.
The Monsters were three-for-three killing penalties.
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http://www.cleveland.com/monsters/index.ssf/2017/10/cleveland_monsters_fall_to_san_2.html
Cleveland Monsters fall to San Jose Barracuda in OT, 1-0 By staff - October 23, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The San Jose Barracuda scored a goal with two seconds remaining in overtime to defeat the Cleveland Monsters, 1-0, in an American Hockey League game Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Barracuda defenseman Michael Brodzinski scored an even-handed goal at 4:58 of the five-minute OT session. It was his first goal of the season, assisted by left winger Adam Helewka.
It ruined an outstanding effort by Monsters rookie Matiss Kivlenieks, who stopped 21 of 22 shots and is now 0-1-1. San Jose's Antoine Bideau had 28 saves and is 1-1-0.
The Monsters, who defeated San Jose on Saturday, 4-1, fall to 2-3-0-0 on the season while San Jose is 3- 3-0-0.
The Monsters had a 27-20 edge in shots through regulation, including a 12-4 edge in the first period, but were blanked on two shots in OT.
Each team was stopped on four power plays in the game, all in regulation.
Roster addition: Before the game the Monsters announced the signing of defenseman Brady Austin to a 25-game professional tryout contract. Austin was in camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Originally a seventh-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres in 2012, Austin has played in five NHL games and has spent most of the past three seasons with the AHL Rochester Americans.
Up next: The Monsters will play host to the Ontario Reign on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. They will close out the homestand against the Rockford IceHogs on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m., then go on a four- game road trip at the Tucson Roadrunners (Nov. 3-4) and Iowa Wild (Nov. 11-12).
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https://theathletic.com/133568/2017/10/20/duhatschek-notebook-russia-determined-to-end-olympic- drought-canadian-team-taking-shape-ducks-getting-healthy/
The Athletic / Duhatschek Notebook: Russia determined to end Olympic drought, Canadian team taking shape, Ducks getting healthy By Eric Duhatschek – October 21, 2017
Sean Burke is just back from 10 days of scouting Canada’s Olympic hopefuls in Russia and it was as a sobering experience – not necessarily because of what he saw among the players he’s trying to recruit, but in the efforts Russia is putting into ending what, for them, has been a massive Olympic medal drought. According to Burke, general manager of Canada’s 2018 team, the emphasis on getting a positive result in these Olympics is massive in Russia. Russia has been shut out of the medals in men’s hockey for the past three Olympics, and in the five Olympics which featured NHL players, managed silver in 1998, bronze in 2002 and nothing since. Canada has three gold medals in five tries, while Finland actually leads the overall medal count in the NHL’s Olympic era with four – one silver and three bronzes. To help end Russia’s lengthy losing streak, the KHL season will go into an international break toward the end of January, which will give the national team time to jell. Moreover, most of the candidates on the Russian team are playing either in Moscow for CSKA Red Army or in St. Petersburg for SKA. Ultimately, when the Russian Olympic roster is finalized, it will likely include four five-man units that will have played together for the larger part of the season. In many respects, that smacks of the old Soviet way of doing things – when coach Viktor Tikhonov drafted everybody he wanted into the army, obliging them to relocate to Moscow to play for a stacked Red Army team. “When you’re over there, and I’ve been over there a lot, this is all they’re talking about,” said Burke. “This Olympics is huge for the Russians and their level is going to be good. They’ve got eight or 10 guys on one team that are basically all going to be on the Olympic team – the (Pavel) Datsyuks and the (Ilya) Kovalchuks. Those are good players. You can say what you want about Datsyuk’s age (39), but he could still step into the NHL tomorrow and be an effective player. They’re going to be a good team.” Canada, meanwhile, competed in two Olympic test events in the summer with a roster mostly made up of former NHLers currently playing in Europe — and plays event No. 3 in the de facto Olympic trials, the Karjala Cup, in Helsinki beginning Nov. 8. Canada is also entered in the former Izvestia tournament, now known as the Channel One Cup, from Dec. 12-17 in Moscow, and then finishes off its preparation with the Spengler Cup, held over Christmas, in Davos, Switzerland. At some point, in mid-January probably, Canada will name its final Olympic roster which, according to Burke, remains a work in progress. Kovalchuk and Datsyuk are both having excellent seasons, with Kovalchuk No. 2 in KHL scoring with 17 goals and 28 points in 24 games through Friday, while Datsyuk was eighth with 24 points in 22 games. Interestingly, the leading goal-scorer in the KHL is a familiar name from the past — Winnipeg’s Nigel Dawes, now 32, and in his seventh season playing for Barys Astana in Kazakhstan. Dawes has 20 goals in 19 games, playing mostly on a line with Linden Vey (Wakaw, Sask.) and Matt Frattin (Edmonton). Vey, who spent most of last season playing for the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate in Stockton, is third in the KHL scoring race, with 27 points, one behind Kovalchuk. Vey last played a full season in the NHL with the
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2014-15 Vancouver Canucks, where he was coached by Willie Desjardins – who will be behind the bench for the 2018 men’s Olympic team. There was some thought that Jarome Iginla might have suited for Canada at the Karjala Cup, but that isn’t happening. Iginla, 40, is currently without an NHL contract and settled this off-season in Boston, where he played for the Bruins in the 2013-14, largely for family reasons. All three of his children, Jade, Tij and Joe, play hockey and the travel isn’t as onerous in the U.S. Northeast as it was in Colorado. Iginla is helping coach Tij’s team this year. Iginla’s participation in the Karjala Cup has been ruled out, according to Burke, because the former Flames’ captain recently underwent a hip procedure and needs additional time to heal. Though the odds get longer with each passing day, Iginla remains on the radar for the Olympic team, provided he can get healthy and then get to playing somewhere, so that his form can be evaluated. “I was waiting to see what Jarome wanted to do and if he wanted to come and play for us in this event, and I was going to give him that opportunity,” said Burke. “But he called back and he wasn’t healthy. My thought on it was, ‘listen, you called us originally.’ My answer was, ‘as long as you have a long-term plan here, and that you’re playing somewhere in January at least, then we can still talk about it.’” Former Oilers/Leafs/Kings’ goalie Ben Scrivens is still on pace to be one of Canada’s two goalies for the Olympics, after a 13-4-1 start for Ufa in the KHL. No one understands the value and importance of playing goal for a decided underdog better than Burke, a two-time Olympian, and Canada’s all-time games-played leader at the world championships, where he played five events and won gold twice and silver two other times. Burke was also in goal for the 1988 Olympic team’s unexpected victory in the Izvestia tournament, against a stacked Russian team that included Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov, Slava Fetisov and others. Russia is the odds-on favorite in 2018, largely because – in the absence of NHL players – it loses only 40 to 50 players to NHL commitments from its overall player pool. Canada, by contrast, probably loses somewhere between 500 and 700 of its top players, creating the same sort of uneven playing field it faced 30 years ago, before the Russian migration to the NHL. One of the suggestions you frequently hear on social media is that Canada should simply take its 2018 world junior team and compete in the Olympics with them, on the grounds that they will be a) talented; b) have developed a modicum of team play; and c) will be accustomed to some of the pressure and expectation associated with competing in a major international event. And while those reasons are all perfectly plausible, the reality is that the major junior operators may not to want to release all that high-end talent twice in one season to compete internationally. On the other hand, with the way hockey at the highest levels is skewing ever younger, you wonder if they couldn’t find a way of plucking one kid line and one kid defence pair off the world junior roster and adding them to the collection of experienced Canadians playing professionally in Europe that will make up the bulk of the men’s Olympic hockey team – just to add chemistry and energy to the mix. It would mean a sacrifice for the junior teams affected – losing a top player for probably seven or eight games in February – although you could argue that the value at the box office of having a returning Olympian might offset that, as well as the chance to see their players grow and mature more quickly, when given the opportunity to play at such a major event so early in their careers. And the fact remains, if you were a 19-year-old Canadian and the opportunity to play for Canada in Olympics was presented to you, would you say no?
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And if you wanted to play, how could your boss reasonably stand in your way to prevent that from happening? It’s an interesting puzzle to ponder, as the days click off the calendar, and the prospect of the first Olympics since 1994 without NHL players inches ever closer. All along, the plan in Anaheim was for the Ducks to waddle along in the early going, until some of their key pieces – centre Ryan Kesler, plus defencemen Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen – recovered from off-season surgery. Kesler is still months away, but Lindholm and Vatanen, who had virtually identical operations to repair labrum tears in their shoulders, are set to return imminently, which should eventually give a boost to a team that was just 2-3-1 out of the gate. Other than Cam Fowler, there is no defencemen on the Ducks’ roster that coach Randy Carlyle trusts more. Usually, Lindholm and Josh Manson play together as the team’s No. 1 shutdown pair and that’ll be how they line up when Lindholm returns, possibly as early as Friday’s date with the slumping Montreal Canadiens. Vatanen is probably a week away, which means he could be back playing at some point on the four-game road trip that will carry the Ducks to the East Coast next week, their first major road outing of the year. Apart from those three, the Ducks have also played without Ryan Getzlaf, Patrick Eaves and goaltender Ryan Miller, the new back-up to John Gibson. Miller was signed because of Gibson’s injury history – and the fact that he has yet to play more than 52 games in any NHL season – but it was Miller who hasn’t been ready to go. Effectively, the Ducks were playing without three top-six forwards and two top-four defencemen, so their unremarkable beginning is easy enough to explain away. Once they get healthy, or even close to healthy because Kesler likely isn’t playing until the middle part of December at the earliest, then they should regain their accustomed perch at or near the top of the Pacific Division which the Ducks have won, remarkably, five years in a row. The Ducks’ crosstown rivals, the Kings, were left for dead in some quarters (though not here), but following a 5-1 win over the Canadiens, were the only team remaining in the NHL without a regulation loss (5-0-1) for 11 out of a possible 12 points to start the season. What’s worth monitoring under new coach John Stevens is if they can develop a new supporting cast to supplement their reliable core of Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty and Jon Quick. That never happened much in the Darryl Sutter era, where the Kings preferred to solve their depth issues by bringing in experienced hands (such as Vinnie Lecavalier and last year, Iginla). Stevens has a rookie playing on the top line – Alex Iafallo – alongside Kopitar and Dustin Brown and against the Canadiens, Adrian Kempe – who had just six points in a 25-game cameo a year ago – exploded for three goals and an assist, to complete the third-period rout. Kempe is playing centre on the third line, though with Carter lost indefinitely because of surgery to repair a severed tendon in his left leg, he may have to play up the depth chart. The Kings did bring in one more veteran this past off-season – Mike Cammalleri, who started his career in LA back in 2002-03. Cammalleri got off to a slow start, and was a healthy scratch for two games, but he also had a big night against the Canadiens, one of his many former teams. In Carter’s absence, the Kings also signed former Capitals centre Brooks Laich, 34, to a one-year contract. Laich had been with the team through training camp on a professional tryout offer. SHORT TAKES –Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov saw his consecutive games goal-scoring streak snapped at seven, but he contributed two assists to the Lightning’s 2-0 win over the Blue Jackets. According to the Elias Sports Bureu, Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are only the third pair of teammates over the past 24 years to begin a season with simultaneous eight-game point streaks. The others were Radek Bonk and Marian Hossa with the 2003-04 Ottawa Senators and Pavol Demitra and Doug Weight with the 2001-02 St. Louis Blues.
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–Who says it takes time to get up to NHL game speed after time on the sidelined? Making his season debut, the catalyst of the Boston Bruins, Patrice Bergeron produced a mere four points in Thursday’s win over Vancouver. It was Bergeron’s 900th career game. –Rookie Nico Hischier had been playing well for the surging New Jersey Devils, but it took him until his seventh game to score his first NHL goal. He managed two in the end, plus an assist, as the Devils stayed hot by beating Ottawa Thursday night. At 18 years, 288 days, Hischier became the third youngest player in franchise history to produce a multi-goal game. Only Paul Gagne and Kirk Muller were younger. It will be interesting to see if the Devils can continue their strong early-season play if Cory Schneider, injured vs. the Sens, is out for any meaningful time. Schneider broke into the NHL full-time in 2010-11 and in his first six years, never had a GAA over 2.23 until last year, when it ballooned to 2.82. He was in the midst of a serious bounce-back season until he got hurt. For now, Keith Kincaid gets the call for the Devils between the pipes.
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https://theathletic.com/133330/2017/10/20/lebrun-players-officials-and-league-all-learn-from- confusing-offside-challenge/
The Athletic / LeBrun: Players, officials, and league all learn from confusing offside challenge By Pierre LeBrun – October 21, 2017
Call it a teaching moment for everyone involved. Including me. When I first saw the overturned Colorado Avalanche goal on Thursday night off a St. Louis Blues challenge, I felt it was definitely the right thing. Sven Andrighetto no doubt was offside. Ah, but that’s when it gets interesting. I reached out to the league on Friday morning and it acknowledged (then explained) an error in the offside challenge in Denver. I'm hoping this makes sense, but here we go: When you watch the video, it’s clear Andrighetto puts himself offside. And ultimately, that's what the review decided, too, so the Avs’ tying goal was nullified. However, upon further reflection, the league now realizes that since Andrighetto wasn't ruled offside by the linesman on the spot – which he should have been – you've got a new zone entry when he skates back into the zone with the puck. Hence, the NHL nullified a goal on a second zone entry which, as per the current video review rules, you can't do. Only the last zone entry can exist for any review. When Andrighetto re-enters the zone without the play being blown dead, it's by definition a clean zone entry. So what should have happened is the goal stands, and the Blues get a penalty for a failed challenge. Now, by the spirit of it all, because you know Andrighetto was offside originally, it feels right that there’s no goal. But what we're saying here is that you can't review on a second zone entry. Well, unless the GMs, when they next get together, want to alter the rule. But that’s a conversation for another day. Under the current rule, that goal should have stood. There were other factors confusing things on the play, too, including a hand pass from a Blues player before all this, and the linesman being bumped by a player, which hampered his view of the whole thing. Not to mention that the same player who should have been called offside brought the puck back in on the new zone entry, too. And, finally, even the Blues players themselves appeared to stop playing because they thought it was offside. The bottom line is that once Andrighetto was allowed to re-enter the zone with the puck, it's a new zone entry and that's as far as back as the video review process can go. Not before that. In the end, these offside challenge review calls are introducing some unusual plays, so it’s learn as you go in some cases. They key indeed is to learn from this one, and no doubt the league will.
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http://www.tsn.ca/tsn-hockey-s-top-10-storylines-of-the-week-1.891111
TSN.CA / TSN Hockey's Top 10 Storylines of the Week By Scott Cullen – October 21, 2017
Karlsson returns, politics in Calgary, a Lightning supertar, Maple Leafs hype and more in TSN Hockey’s Top 10 Storylines of the Week. KARLSSON RETURNS The Ottawa Senators went without a regulation loss for the first five games of the season, all played without superstar defenceman Erik Karlsson, who was recovering from ankle surgery. While they haven’t managed a win in either of the past two games, the good news for Ottawa is that Karlsson has returned from ankle surgery and doesn’t look any of the worse for wear. In two games, he’s contributed three assists and 10 shots on goal in 24:47 average time on ice, which is a few minutes less per game than where he was last season. Even though the Senators haven’t immediately vaulted up in the wake of his return, it’s a pretty big deal when the third-best player in the league comes back from injury. Maybe not a big enough deal to have him start in the first overtime shift against New Jersey Thursday, but a big deal nonetheless. CALGARY ELECTION The National Hockey League which, on one hand, doesn’t want players to be involved in political issues, wasn’t so hesitant to get involved in the Calgary municipal election, attempting to shift voters towards challenger Bill Smith who, presumably, would offer a more favourable new arena deal for the Flames than incumbent mayor Naheed Nenshi. Well, Nenshi won again, and the Flames are left to negotiate with someone who has established a position of not rolling over to give tax breaks to billionaires for their new arena. It was not well-received. This doesn’t make for an easy future for the Flames, who are trying to get public money for an arena at a time when the public, in general, appears less interested in offering those tax breaks. Certainly, the issue wasn’t enough for Calgarians to vote for change, and it likely means difficult negotiations in the years to come. LIGHTNING SUPERSTAR The Tampa Bay Lightning have the league’s leading scorer, and it’s not that much of a surprise. Nikita Kucherov has 14 points (8 G, 6 A) in eight games, following up on a 2016-2017 season in which he ranked fifth in the league with 85 points in 74 games. Kucherov, who is playing with Steven Stamkos and Vladislav Namestnikov, could see this kind of production when they started together last season, telling Sovsports.ru, “I had a great chemistry with Namestnikov and Stamkos at the start of the season. We understood each other very well. And then Stamkos was injured. I think those nine games were my best in the NHL.” Kucherov ascending to the game’s elite probably happened last year, given his production even after Stamkos was injured, and he was ranked No. 7 on TSN’s Top 50 Players before the season. Where this really gets interesting is that Kucherov is on a grossly underpriced contract, on a cap hit under $4.8-million, but he will be eligible for an extension next summer and the Lightning may have to
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prepare to pay through the nose to get the 24-year-old signed long-term. Sometimes that bridge deal can be costly further down the road. MATTHEWS/MAPLE LEAFS HYPE It’s been some kind of start for the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that showed promise last season, but has jumped out to a 6-1 start with an astounding 4.86 goals per game, making them the highest-scoring team by more than half a goal per game. Franchise centre Auston Matthews is leading the way, with six goals and 10 points in seven games, and that has resulted in some rather lofty comparisons. This brilliant start has suddenly lifted the Maple Leafs into an unusual place, Stanley Cup favourites, according to the latest odds from Bodog. Maybe that’s a reflection of optimism from Toronto-based bettors, or maybe the Maple Leafs are simply the best team in the league at this early juncture. These are unusual days, indeed. STILL SURPRISING The Maple Leafs’ start is perhaps mildly surprising, but nothing like early showings from the New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights. After finishing 28th in the standings last season, the Devils have turned in a 6-1 start through seven games, and only the Maple Leafs have scored more than New Jersey’s 4.29 goals per game. Not only are the Devils getting production from their most established scorers, Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri, but the Devils also have three of the top rookie scorers in the league: D Will Butcher (9 A), C Nico Hischier (2 G, 5 A), and LW Jesper Bratt (3 G, 3 A). Can they keep it up? They’ve just lost starting goaltender Cory Schneider to an injury and the Devils are still on the wrong side of the possession ledger, but at the very least they are a much more competitive, and more exciting, team than expected. The other big surprise team has been the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who have won five of their first six games. A favourable schedule, including two games against Arizona and home games against Detroit, Boston and Buffalo, has contributed to Vegas’ hot start, but this is still remarkable for an expansion team. Like the Devils, the Golden Knights have lost starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to injury, and they do tend to get outshot, but not by a lot, which is why Travis Yost is pretty high on Vegas’ early-season performance. FADING FAST Two teams that were in the playoffs last season have started on an especially tough path this season, perhaps putting a postseason berth this year in doubt. The New York Rangers have won one of their first eight games. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist hasn’t bounced back from a down 2016-2017 season, and wingers Rick Nash, Jimmy Vesey and Chris Kreider have combined for one goal between them. As miserable as their start has been, the Rangers’ only win thus far came against the Montreal Canadiens, a team having its own troubles. Montreal’s biggest concern is their inability to score. The Habs’ 1.43 goals per game is more than half a goal per game worse than the 30th-ranked Anaheim Ducks. None of Montreal’s returning players has
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more than two points this season – the only players on the team with more than two points are first-line centre Jonathan Drouin (2 G, 3 A) and defenceman Karl Alzner (3 A). It’s fair to question the talent on Montreal’s roster, and goal-scoring should be a legitimate concern, but they aren’t going to keep shooting 3.9% as they have through the first seven games. Results will get better for both the Rangers and Canadiens, but they are starting the season in a hole. TRADE RUMORS The Insiders say that teams are starting to come back around to the Colorado Avalanche, once again investigating the asking price for Matt Duchene, who is tied for the team lead with seven points (3 G, 4 A) in eight games. Even with Duchene playing well, it appears that the Avalanche are still considering a Duchene deal and that apparently is Duchene’s preference at this point. Another player who is finding his way into trade rumours (as I suggested might be worthwhile last week) is Montreal forward Alex Galchenyuk. The Pittsburgh Penguins were mentioned as a potentially interested team. One more early trade rumour was that the Los Angeles Kings could consider moving one of their top four defencemen, with Alec Martinez and Jake Muzzin potentially drawing real interest around the league. Muzzin, in particular, would surely command a nice return. J.T. BROWN Tampa Bay Lightning winger J.T. Brown was a Top 10 Storyline last week, when he raised a fist for the national anthem, but there hasn’t been much in the meantime because Brown has been a healthy scratch ever since. This isn’t necessarily unusual. Brown had six points in 64 games last season and didn’t play well in the one game that he dressed for this year. The Lightning were also winning with him out of the lineup, so it fits with standard hockey behaviour to not change a winning lineup, but Brown’s absence was at least a little notable, and then he put out a statement. Maybe this is nothing but, from a distance, it did look like that statement could possibly have been a pre-requisite to Brown getting back into the lineup. I'd feel better about J.T. Brown's statement of organizational support if he hadn't been healthy scratched since his one fist-raised game. Now, it turns out Brown was still a healthy scratch for Thursday’s win at Columbus, but this was always going to be a complicated situation for Brown, especially because he’s lower on the depth chart and his absence can more easily be attributed to a hockey decision. DRYDEN ON CONCUSSIONS Former NHL goaltender Ken Dryden has written a book, Game Change, and in it discusses how to limit brain injuries in hockey. Dryden’s two-step plan to limiting brain injuries is to penalize hits to the head, which is an established idea, but also to eliminate the notion of “finishing your check”, which allows players to be hit even after they have given up the puck. This comes at a time when concussions are more and more a central issue in the sport. Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl are among the players to be sidelined currently because of a concussion.
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GORD DOWNIE The lead singer of The Tragically Hip, the quintessentially Canadian band, died this week at the age of 53. The Hip were the soundtrack to many hockey dressing rooms for many years and while Gord will be missed, we are fortunate enough that his music lives on. Many Canadians have their own Tragically Hip memories. I was always a fan, and was an easy mark for all of their hockey references, but also never to the level of real diehard fans that I knew. I only saw them live once, but it was with someone I loved, and I will always cherish that memory.
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http://www.tsn.ca/insider-trading-could-galchenyuk-be-a-fit-in-pittsburgh-1.890255
TSN.CA / Insider Trading: Could Galchenyuk be a fit in Pittsburgh? By TSN.ca Staff – October 21, 2017
TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger and Bob McKenzie joined host James Duthie to talk about the latest rumours swirling around the NHL including an update on a possible Matt Duchene trade, what the Kings are going to do without Jeff Carter and whether Alex Galchenyuk would be a fit in Pittsburgh. Are the Colorado Avalanche closer to making a Duchene trade? “Well it depends who you ask. Some believe that Joe Sakic is actually mulling over some legitimate interest and pieces, part of a package perhaps, that he finds at least enticing at this stage. But, look, if I took you back to the draft in June there were opportunities at that point and there were packages presented to Sakic in the moment that he found interesting. So, it’s hard to say. What it is is an endless cycle. The New York Rangers are classic examples of a team that was initially in, then they were out. Recently they’re back in, they’re just revisiting, but they don’t think there’s anything remotely possible. So it could happen, but it might not.” What do the Los Angeles Kings do without Carter? “Well, obviously, it’s a big blow to their team because he is such a dynamic performer, but in the very short term Brooks Laich has signed a one-year, two-way deal , $650,000 in the NHL, $50,000 in the minors. Now this was agreed to, the Laich deal was agreed Embedded Imageto even before Carter injured his ankle last night in that game against the Montreal Canadiens. What it does, though, it accelerates, instead of having Laich maybe in the minors for a couple weeks, he’s going to find himself on the Kings' roster sooner rather than later. Now we did talk about the possibility that the Kings could trade one of their defencemen, like Jake Muzzin or Alec Martinez, because they feel like they have the depth to be able to do that. Sample size so far on their young defencemen is still too small that they’re prepared to give up one of those top four defenceman for a forward. So they’ll monitor the situation as they go and in the meantime just try to get by with Laich and everybody else pitching in.” Galchenyuk to Pittsburgh could make sense “Jim Rutherford and the Pittsburgh Penguins are in the market for a centre and he has been for quite some time, I would say. Just augment what they have in considerable talent up the middle of the ice there. There’s been some speculation as to who might be available as to players who aren’t and Matt Duchene probably isn’t a great fit financially for the Pittsburgh Penguins. But Alex Galchenyuk from the Montreal Canadiens, his name has surfaced. We shouldn’t be overly surprised by that, again given the fact that more often than not Galchenyuk seems to be in the doghouse there and given the play of the Montreal Canadiens as of late, perhaps there’s a fit there that could make some sense.” What’s going on with the Athanasiou situation? Embedded Image“It can only go to Dec. 1 because if he’s not signed by then, he’s out of the NHL for this season, but here’s the latest development. The Detroit Red Wings had offered Athanasiou a two-year deal at $1.9 million per year. And now that the season is on and the Red Wings are in LTIR situation, they can no longer give that deal to Andreas Athanasiou, so if Athanasiou is going to sign with the Red Wings, it’s likely going to be a one-year deal now at a shave more than the $1.25 million that the Red Wings were offering him in the summer. There is an incredibly high level of exasperation on both sides, from
32 the Red Wings and Athanasiou. This thing is either going to get done here in the next day or so, or it’s likely he’s going to sign to play in Europe and who know when or if he’ll be back in the Red Wing lineup.” What is Patrick Roy’s future with the NHL? “Well, look, he’s more or less a NHL recluse. He’s acknowledging though that he does have interest in getting back into the National Hockey League. Now a quote was provided because obviously there was interest in the golfer and they swarmed Patrick Roy to Embedded Imagetalk about his potential future. Both FM 93 and Le Soleil providing quotes.” Roy Quote – “If ever a team called, for sure I would listen, but the more it goes the more I’m sensing that it’s the management side that interests me more. It’s not that I’m not interested in coaching, but the management side…is more interesting for me.” And it might be a little ill-timed given what’s going on with Marc Bergevin and the Montreal Canadiens although I don’t expect that there will be change in Montreal in season there.”
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http://www.tsn.ca/hot-button-issues-dahlin-continues-to-dazzle-1.890853
TSN.CA / Hot Button Issues: Dahlin continues to dazzle By Craig Button – October 21, 2017
TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button on the latest news and notes in the world of hockey prospect evaluation: 1. Rasmus Dahlin, a 17-year-old playing for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League (2-3-5 in 10 games), is no ordinary defenceman or teenager. He has every single attribute necessary to be an elite number- one defenceman in the NHL and stands alone as the consensus top pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. You can see with your own eyes why everyone is excited about his potential. 2. Oliver Wahlstrom, a right wing with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, was a YouTube sensation as a nine-year-old with this nifty shootout move at a Boston Bruins game. Is Rasmus Dahlin good enough to be the top pick in 2018? Find out as TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie unveils his annual pre-season draft rankings. Wahlstrom continues to develop (9-5-14 in eight games) and is a gifted offensive player with excellent puck skills. He possesses arguably the best shot and release of any player available in the 2018 NHL Draft. 3. Matthew Phillips, a right winger with the Victoria Royals and sixth-round pick (2016) by the Calgary Flames, leads the WHL in scoring with 10 goals and 16 assists in 11 games. The diminutive (5-foot-7) winger scored 50 goals in 2016-17 and was the WHL Rookie of the Year in 2015-16. Phillips was invited to Team Canada’s 2017 World Junior summer development camp and continues to make a case to be on the roster when the tournament begins on Boxing Day in Buffalo. 4. Dmitri Zavgorodny is a Russian forward playing with Rimouski in the QMJHL, where he has six goals and 12 points in 10 games. He’s not tall (5-foot-9) but he’s a very talented offensive player who finds ways to create offence. He was the leading scorer at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup with five goals and 10 points. He’s been a prolific scorer and shows elite ability, but I’m sure the narrative will be about his size instead of his obvious talent – just as it was with players like Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Alex Debrincat. He was rated No. 19 on September’s Craig’s List. 5. Jacob Olofsson is a 17-year-old centre playing for Timra in the Swedish Allsvenskan league. It’s the same team that produced Henrik Zetterberg and Vancouver Canucks’ 2017 first-round selection Elias Pettersson. Olofsson has four goals and five points in 10 games, and has the skill, intelligence and competitiveness to be a top-two centre in the NHL. He has a style similar to Ottawa’s Derick Brassard. Expect him to be a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. Injury update: Andrei Svechnikov, a power winger for the Barrie Colts who has 10 goals in 10 games and is a certain top-5 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, will have hand surgery next week. He’s expected to miss eight weeks.
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http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/hockey-canada-wants-recruit-chl-players-olympic-team/
Sportsnet.ca / Hockey Canada wants to recruit CHL players for Olympic team By Sonny Sachdeva – October 22, 2017
Hockey Canada is considering adding junior players to the national men’s team it will send to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the development during Hockey Night in Canada‘s Headlines segment on Saturday, saying the Hockey Canada brass has reached out to the CHL about adding a couple of players – likely forwards – to the Olympic team. “Right now, they’re not getting a lot of acceptance on the idea,” Friedman said. “The junior teams don’t want to lose players – they might go to the World Juniors, they don’t want to risk losing them for the Olympics too. I think there’s a hope right now that common sense will prevail, but there’s no agreement at this point in time and they do want to sort this out pretty soon.” The Canadian squad’s management group continues to look for options to bolster an Olympic team that won’t include the usual cast of NHL participants. The league announced earlier this year that it will not allow its players to participate in the 2018 Olympics, marking the first time since 1994 that the tournament will feature non-NHLers representing their countries. Hockey Canada sent a prospective group to compete in two August tournaments, the Sochi Hockey Open and the Nikolai Puchkov Tournament, in an effort to pin down the list of names that will populate that eventual national team. The 45 players who appeared in those tilts, including former NHLers like Mason Raymond and Ben Scrivens, either play in Europe or remain without an NHL deal. Friedman reported earlier this month that Hockey Canada will reach out to future Hall of Famer, and current unrestricted free agent, Jarome Iginla as well, and will invite him to play for the Canadian squad at the upcoming Karjala Cup in November.
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/columnist/allen/2017/10/22/vegas-golden-knights-strong- start-reasons/788656001/
USA TODAY / What's behind the Vegas Golden Knights' unprecedented start? By Kevin Allen – October 23, 2017
History says the expansion Vegas Golden Knights shouldn’t be winning this often. Statistics also don’t provide a tidy explanation for why Vegas is the only team to start 6-1 in its first NHL season. The Golden Knights’ Corsi rating, an indicator of puck possession, is 24th at 46.6, according to corsica.hockey. Their power play is clicking at 13.8%, which is 25th in the NHL. The Golden Knights rank 28th with an average of 29.4 shots on goal per game and 23rd in giving up an average of 34.1 shots per game. They are 12th in scoring and fourth in goals against. But anyone who has watched the Golden Knights can testify that they are playing like an entertaining, relentless and competitive team. Here is why they have had an unprecedented start: Quality goaltending: The average save percentage is .909, a low level we haven’t seen since 2008-09. No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, now injured, owns a .925 mark, and backup Malcolm Subban is at .936. Even Oscar Dansk, pressed into service by Subban’s injury, stopped 10 of 11 shots he faced Saturday in a win against the St. Louis Blues. Vegas' goaltending has been elite. Instant chemistry: Every player on this team played elsewhere last season but this group is playing like a team that has been together a while. General manager George McPhee put a heavy emphasis on character and leadership when he put his team together. That has expedited the bonding experience. The Golden Knights also have grown closer and played with an extra layer of motivation as they seek to help the community heal after the mass shooting that killed 58 people in Las Vegas. Multiple contributors: With six goals, winger James Neal has been a difference maker. But David Perron and William Karlsson both own overtime game winners. Oscar Lindberg, who had eight goals in 65 games for the New York Rangers last season, has three goals. That’s a pace to score more than 30. Defenseman Nate Schmidt is playing a strong 21 minutes, 33 seconds per game. The Golden Knights are sixth in the league in faceoff percentage. The right coach: Remember the good work coach Gerard Gallant did with the Florida Panthers when they captured the Atlantic Division title in 2015-16? He’s using the same approach to make the Golden Knights credible. He understands people and that helps him pull the right levers at the right time. Hiring Gallant is one of several good decisions McPhee has made with this team. Favorable schedule: Five of their games have been at home, and four of their wins have come against teams at or below .500. They have beaten the winless Arizona Coyotes twice, and they also beat the Buffalo Sabres, who are 2-5-2. Their latest win came against the 6-2-1 Blues in overtime. They will get another test Tuesday when they entertain the 5-2-2 Chicago Blackhawks.
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