WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 SPORTS ‘No Shattenkirk’ is no problem for bigger and better Blues WASHINGTON: Knowing Kevin Shattenkirk in the bidding when it became clear wasn’t in their long-term plans, the St Louis Shattenkirk was a rental and not long-term Blues traded the talented defenseman and commitment. After being a top-four braced for the immediate blow to their defenseman in St Louis, Shattenkirk is a playoff hopes. That never happened. The third-pairing player and power-play spe- Blues actually got better without him. cialist for Washington. He was among the When the Blues dealt the pending free team leaders in overall minutes in Games 1 agent at the trade deadline, they seemed and 2 before having his ice time slashed to to be creating a giant void on their blue a career playoff low 12:54 in Game 4 and line and gift-wrapping the NHL-best ranking fifth or six on the Capitals’ blue line Washington Capitals with their deepest the remainder of their first round series defense in a decade. against Toronto. Yet St Louis has thrived thanks to the Shattenkirk said he’s fine with that and elevated play of captain Alex Pietrangelo doesn’t need an explanation from coach and second-year defenseman Colton Barry Trotz, who called ice time “irrelevant” Parayko while Shattenkirk plays a limited, to players this time of year. He’s still on the specialized role for Washington. With top power-play unit, is counted on to feed Alex Ovechkin the puck from the point in crucial situations and leads Capitals defensemen with three points. But he’s not in St Louis anymore. “I do think that we roll our D pairings a little bit more here, and everyone gets to play a regular shift for the most part,” Shattenkirk said. “St. Louis, we were a little more reliant on our top two guys of playing the big-time minutes, and then power plays and penalty kills kind of determined where the rest of us played more or played less.” MINNESOTA: Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild blocks a shot by Jori Lehtera #12 of the St Louis Blues during the second period in Game Saying so long to Shattenkirk shifted the Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. — AFP big-time minutes on the right side to Pietrangelo and Parayko. Ranked 26th among NHL defensemen in points and 11th in ice time before the Shattenkirk Wild dealing with postseason Kevin Shattenkirk trade, Pietrangelo was second with 18 points and fourth at 26:35 a game after it. Pietrangelo taking over top power-play Thrown into tougher situations than his disappointment - once again duties, Parayko pitching in and 6-foot-4, first playoffs last season, Parayko has grown 221-pound Robert Bortuzzo providing up fast without Shattenkirk around. “It’s some bulk on the back end, the new-look good for me,” the 23-year-old said as the ST PAUL: Five straight appearances in the play- Western Conference these days. combination of sportsmanship, conduct and abili- Blues cruised into the second round with a Blues prepared to face the Nashville offs for the Minnesota Wild have produced just ty. He was bottled up by the bigger Blues during 4-1 series win over Minnesota and haven’t Predators. “I think that’s the best way to do two series victories and a high volume of frustra- NOT QUITE GOOD ENOUGH the playoffs, though, with only two assists in the missed a beat without Shattenkirk. it, get in there and learn from experience.” tion. This year, a five-game loss in the first round Goalie Devan Dubnyk had a fine year with a five games. Granlund will be a restricted free agent, “We’re bigger, all six guys are big men, Even the experienced Blues defensemen to St Louis marked the maddening peak of these franchise-most 40 wins, but his 7-14 record and so the Wild brass must decide how much and how and now we have two players that play like Jay Bouwmeester and Carl Gunnarsson spring letdowns. “Sure, we felt good coming in,” .903 save percentage in the playoffs leave room long to invest in the former first-round draft pick. with a little more nasty than we had when have thrived since the trade. Part of it is the captain Mikko Koivu said, alluding to the fran- for improvement. After playing in 67 and 65 we had five guys that played one way and structure of Mike Yeo, who replaced Ken chise-best 106 points compiled during the regu- games over the last two regular seasons, Dubnyk WHAT TO DO ON DEFENSE? sort of Joel Edmundson doing the majority Hitchcock as coach in early February, but lar season that gave the Wild the second-best could benefit from more rest down the stretch. Suter and Jared Spurgeon have been a formida- of the physical work,” general manager the defensive improvements have made up record in the Western Conference. “I thought we Alex Stalock is in line to replace Darcy Kuemper ble duo on the blue line, but as good as the Wild Doug Armstrong said. “Now we have two for the loss of Shattenkirk’s offensive talent had a great year coming into the playoffs, and as the backup. were in stretches of both the regular season and players that are bringing some of that that will earn him a big contract some- we played well. Just not good enough.” the playoffs they could use another proven pair on physical play.” Armstrong won’t mince where July 1. “Defensively I think we’re For all the excitement the Wild created, from GENTLEMANLY GRANLUND defense. Marco Scandella had an exceptional series words: He didn’t trade Shattenkirk to shake sound as ever,” Gunnarsson said. “Without hiring regular-season expert Bruce Boudreau as Mikael Granlund thrived at right wing after against the Blues. Matt Dumba had a career high things up. He dealt the 28 year-old for picks Shatty I think we were lacking, especially the new coach to winning 12 straight games in shifting from center and tallied career highs with 11 goals. Jonas Brodin has been a fixture for the and young forward Zach Sanford because the first couple games (of the playoffs), December to finishing second in the NHL with a 26 goals and 43 assists, becoming one of the NHL’s last four years. Someone must be left unprotected there was no chance of re-signing him this some offense. He was huge on the power plus-58 goal differential, their dedicated fan three Lady Byng Memorial Trophy finalists for the in the expansion draft.— AP summer. On the flip side, Capitals general play for us and that poise with the puck. base was left with another disappointment. manager Brian MacLellan only got involved Some guys stepped up.”—AP “Usually you remember what you last saw so, unfortunately, you’re going to remember getting knocked out in five games,” said left wing Zach NFL draft: Browns hunting Parise, who had two of the team’s eight goals in Dodgers and Yankees cut the series. There’s not really a common theme in for franchise quarterback these early exits, either, other than the core of projected luxury tax bills the roster remaining the same throughout the CLEVELAND: Finding Bigfoot has been more team so we need to do everything we can to run since Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter productive than the Cleveland Browns’ search continue to add a player that we feel, as an NEW YORK: The Los Angeles Dodgers and pay a $25.1 million competitive balance tax signed their landmark 13-year contracts worth for a franchise quarterback. This flawed football organization, really good about, that can lead New York Yankees are cutting payroll and this year, according to opening-day calcula- $98 million apiece in 2012. quest drags on. For nearly two decades, the our football team and we’ll continue to chase their luxury tax bills - just as Bryce Harper, tions by the commissioner’s office obtained Goalie injuries and the eventual Stanley Cup Browns, once a standard of NFL excellence and that.” The chase continues Thursday when the Manny Machado and perhaps Clayton by The Associated Press, down from $43.6 champion Chicago Blackhawks got in the way in now a league punching bag, have been running Browns try to find that elusive, essential piece. Kershaw near the free-agent market after million in 2015 and $31.8 million last year. 2013 after a 5-8-1 finish nearly kept the Wild out in circles as they try to find a quarterback to Or fumble again. Here are some quarterback the 2018 season. The Dodgers are on track The Yankees’ bill is slated to be just under of the postseason. An upset of the Colorado lead them from the darkness to relevance and tidbits to chew on when the Browns go on the to slice their tax bill by about a quarter this $9 million, their lowest since the tax began Avalanche in a thrilling seven-game first round respectability. Since the franchise’s inglorious clock: year and the Yankees by two-thirds. The in 2003 and less than one-third of the $27.4 in 2014 led to a rematch with Patrick Kane and expansion return in 1999, they’ve started 26 San Francisco Giants also are set to slice million they owed last season. the Blackhawks and a six-game defeat.