NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017downloads.hurricanes.nhl.com/clips/clips120317.pdf · 3a). Hanifin...

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017

Hurricanes slug it out with Panthers, win

3-2 in OT

Frustration and passion fuse together while Ward keeps it all

together

By Peter Koutroumpis

[email protected]

RALEIGH, N.C. – It was the melding of so many little things

that caused the Carolina Hurricanes to unleash an all-out

onslaught against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena on

Saturday night.

Power play goals from Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner in

regulation preceded Noah Hanifin’s game-winner in overtime

that gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 win.

Goaltender Cam Ward recorded his 299th career win with a

37-save performance, limiting goals to only Florida’s Nick

Bjugstad and Aleksander Barkov.

Carolina peppered Panthers netminder James Reimer with

19 shots during the first period and 47 total, including seven

in overtime.

“I thought it was a competitive game; I thought both teams

played very hard,” Carolina head coach Bill Peters said.

“I thought there was a lot of passion in the game and makes

for a better hockey game for everybody involved.”

While it was a tight-checking, low-scoring affair, indicative of

both teams’ style of play, the x-factor for the Hurricanes was

the cathartic release of frustration – a departure from their

usual passive-aggressive demeanor.

While dominating play and posting the first goal on

Lindholm’s tip-in off a Sebastian Aho feed from the left circle

at 14:02 in the first, a 1-0 lead didn’t present much comfort.

Coming off a blowout loss to the New York Rangers at

Madison Square Garden the night before, and having won

just one out of its last five games, Carolina received many

cheap shots from the Panthers that eventually had to be

dealt with.

Sure, Florida paid the price for it during three man-down

sequences in the period with Lindholm connecting on one of

them for his seventh of the season, but one too many

nudges from forward Jared McCann sent Carolina’s Brock

McGinn over the edge.

The two squared off in the corner to Reimer’s right and

infused some explosive energy in the building as 14,246 in

attendance looked on.

Both earned fighting majors, with McGinn’s the first 5-minute

penalty assessed to the Hurricanes in 25 games this season.

The cheap shots continued in the second period as Panthers

defenseman Mike Matheson pushed and mauled Skinner

with no one in the immediate vicinity to help him.

Skinner took matters into his own hands and face-washed

Matheson and earned a double-minor for roughing while co-

captain Justin Faulk eventually joined him in the box for

engaging Michael Haley into the fray as well.

A few minutes later, a hard, solid shoulder-on-shoulder hit

from the Hurricanes’ Joakim Nordstrom rocked Florida

assistant captain Vincent Trocheck and sent his helmet flying

in the air.

Yet another dance card assembled amongst the players on

the ice, but no one took it further than tangling with and

chirping at one another.

Still leading 1-0, and being outshot by a 20-11 margin,

Carolina’s resistance to the Panthers’ bullying tactics

reached another crescendo with 5:42 remaining in the period

as Hanifin squared off with Florida captain Derek MacKenzie.

The young Hurricanes D-man held his own, tying the veteran

up to slow his punches enough to eventually get a few in

before landing on top of him.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


The crowd, many dressed in Star Wars-themed garb as it

was Star Wars night after all, showed its appreciation.

“It was a big deal,” Ward said.

“Obviously, they were trying to engage in that, thinking that

were going to be able to push us around, and we showed

that we had a lot of pushback. I’m old school, I like that sort

of thing. I like the wolfpack mentality. I think it’s important

that it’s still in the game; not necessarily fighting, but just

sticking up for one another and being there to answer the

bell. I mean Hanifin got in a fight, that’s awesome. Kudos to

him for showing the ‘cojones’ (to do so).”

Carolina gave up a goal early in the third as Bjugstad tallied

his sixth of the season at 4:52 before Skinner roofed a shot

in close over Reimer’s trapper-side shoulder just under four

minutes later to score his team-leading 10th.

Holding on to a 2-1 lead, the Hurricanes’ grip loosened after

10 minutes and Barkov tied it up again with 1:56 remaining –

a marker that eventually sent the contest into overtime.

Carolina maintained puck possession for much of the five-

minute period with Reimer remaining steady in facing six

shots before Hanifin’s rebound put-back with two seconds

left decided it.

“It was a great pass by Lindy,” Hanifin said.

“There wasn’t a lot of time left. I just hopped over the bench,

Lindy found me, and I got lucky on the rebound. It was good

execution.”

Along with his first career fight, the Boston-area native tallied

his first game-winner of the season, and gave Carolina a

much-needed win at home before heading on the road for 10

of its next 15 games in December.

“Yeah, it was a real hard-fought game,” Hanifin concluded.

“Obviously, last night was tough and we wanted to rebound

and show some energy and character, and we did that.”

Notables: With two power-play goals on the night, the

Hurricanes have scored six power-play goals in their last

seven games (11/19-12/2: 6-for-24, 25%). They are 3-0-0 in

games when they have scored two power-play goals this

season…Lindholm posted his second multi-point game of the

season, and is tied for first on the team in power play goals

(3). He also paced Carolina in faceoff win-percentage (71%),

winning 5-of-7 faceoffs throughout…Derek Ryan notched his

eighth assist of the season on Skinner’s goal, and has

recorded four points in his last five games (11/24-12/2: 1g,

3a).

Hanifin scores late in OT to lift Hurricanes

past Panthers

By MIKE POTTER, Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — After Carolina twice gave up one-goal

leads in a brawl-filled game against Florida, the Hurricanes'

last goal gave the Panthers no chance to respond.

Noah Hanifin scored from the right doorstep on a pass by

Elias Lindholm with 2 seconds left in overtime, giving the

Hurricanes a 3-2 victory on Saturday night.

"It was a great pass by Lindy," Hanifin said. "I don't think

there was a lot of time left. I hopped over the bench, Lindy

found me, and he made a great pass. There was a lot of

good execution there."

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Lindholm and Jeff Skinner scored Carolina's regulation

goals, while Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist and

Nick Bjugstad scored a goal for Florida.

"Both teams played very hard and there was a lot of passion

in that game," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "It makes it

fun. There was a lot of skill on both sides. They weren't

staged fights for the most part. It was just guys competing,

and that's what happens."

Carolina goalie Cam Ward had 37 saves for his 299th career

win — all with the Hurricanes — while James Reimer

stopped 44. Carolina bounced back after a 5-1 loss to the

Rangers on Friday night.

"This was huge," Ward said. "We had a tough night in New

York, and we got home late. It was a gutsy effort, and the

energy in the building was outstanding tonight."

The teams combined for 36 minutes of fighting and roughing

penalties.

"Hopefully we can use that situation to bring us together a

little bit," Skinner said. "It was physical early, and guys did a

good job sticking up for each other."

Carolina outshot the visitors 18-4 in the first period, courtesy

of three minor penalties against Florida.

The Hurricanes broke through on their third power play,

when Lindholm beat Reimer from the left circle on assists

from Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen.

"I didn't like our start," Florida coach Bob Boughner said.

"We took too many penalties and then spent too much time

in our zone. Reimer was good and gave us a chance to win.

It was a heartbreaker with 2 seconds to go."

The hostilities started when Brock McGinn and Florida's

Jared McCann fought in the final minute of the period.

Several players got into a skirmish at 7:42 of the second,

with Skinner getting four minutes for roughing while

teammate Justin Faulk got two minutes. Florida's Mike

Matheson and Micheal Haley received two minutes each. At

9:01, Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau got two minutes and

joined the group in the boxes.

Hanifin and the Panthers' Derek MacKenzie fought later in

the second.

Florida tied the score nearly 5 minutes into the third, when

Bjugstad picked up a loose puck in the crease and slid it past

Ward with Barkov on the primary helper.

Carolina came back with a power-play goal 3 minutes later,

with Skinner beating Reimer high.

Barkov tied it again in a 6-on-5 at with 1:56 left in regulation.

NOTES: Carolina won the teams' first meeting 3-1 on Nov. 7.

... Brock McGinn and Florida LW Jamie McGinn are brothers.

... Florida RW Radim Vrbata was a Hurricane from 2003-05.

... Carolina's healthy scratches were LW Phillip Di Giuseppe

and D Klas Dahlbeck. ... LW Connor Brickley, LW Henrik

Haapala and D Mackenzie Weggar were healthy extras for

Florida. ... The teams' final meeting of the season will be on

April 2 in Florida.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Start a three-game homestand on Monday night

against the New York Islanders.

Hurricanes: Visit Vancouver on Tuesday night in the opener

of a six-game trip.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Recap: Canes Down Panthers in OT

Hanifin scores game-winner with two seconds left in overtime

by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / CarolinaHurricanes.com

Despite seeing their one-goal lead disappear late in the third

period, the Carolina Hurricanes fought back in overtime to

defeat the Florida Panthers, 3-2.

Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner tallied goals in regulation for

the Canes, while Noah Hanifin scored the game-winner with

just two seconds left in overtime.

Here are five takeaways from an entertaining Saturday night

at the rink.

One

After a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Friday night, the

Hurricanes were looking to bounce back. They did so with

one of their feistiest efforts of the season.

"It was a real hard-fought game. Last night was tough,"

Hanifin said. "We wanted to rebound and show some

chemistry and character, and I think we did that."

"It's a good win. Guys came together and stuck up for one

another," Skinner said. "Those always feel a little bit more

satisfying. There was a little bit more emotion in the game,

and everyone was a little bit more invested physically and

emotionally."

"I thought it was a competitive game. I thought both teams

played very hard," head coach Bill Peters said. "I thought

there was a lot of passion in the game, which makes for a

better hockey game for everybody involved."

Two

Time was ticking down in overtime, the Hurricanes' eighth

period of extra hockey this season. The pace was frantic.

The puck worked its way around the boards to Lindholm,

who fielded it, turned and found Hanifin open in the middle of

the ice. Hanifin got a shot off that James Reimer stopped,

but he followed up his own rebound to pot the game-winning

goal with just two seconds remaining in overtime.

"It was a great pass by Lindy. I don't think there was a lot of

time left," Hanifin said. "I just hopped over the bench, and

Lindy found me with a great pass. I got a lucky rebound

there. Good execution."

Hanifin now has 14 points (5g, 9a) on the season, which

leads team defensemen in scoring.

"There's an unbelievable upside, and the ceiling is very high

for him," Peters said. "Hani's got lots of confidence, and he's

playing well."

Three

Before tonight, Skinner had gone without a goal in the last

eight games. As goal scorers tend to do, though, he came up

big when the Hurricanes needed him most tonight.

With the Hurricanes tied at one in the third period and the

team on the power play, Derek Ryan fed Skinner down low.

Skinner dangled and flipped the puck over Reimer for his

team-leading 10th goal of the season.

"That's elite," Peters said. "He hunts pucks, he stays on

pucks and he's hungry to score."

CAROLINA HURRICANES


"We're looking for a big play at a big moment," Skinner said.

"It's been a while for me personally. And the situation of the

game caused for a little more excitement on my end."

Four

This was one of the most physical, chippiest Canes games in

recent memory (long live the Southeast Division), making it

all the more fun to take in - and compete in, as well.

"It was pretty scrappy. We had a lot of fun," Hanifin said. "It

was a fun game. It was a huge two points for us."

"It was physical early. Guys did a good job sticking up for

one another. That's nice to see," Skinner said. "Sometimes

games will be like that. It's a good job by guys responding

and getting a win in that type of game."

"I thought it was just guys competing," Peters said. "That's

what happens sometimes when you're pushing and shoving,

trying to gain every inch possible."

Mounting tensions boiled over in the first period when Brock

McGinn dropped the gloves with Jared McCann. McGinn

threw quick hands, landing a couple of strikes before ending

up on top of McCann. It was the Hurricanes' first fighting

major of the season - the last team in the league to record

one - and, the first of McGinn's career.

"Guys love it when they see it on display," Peters said. "I

love it when guys compete like that."

Things kicked up another notch in the second period.

Skinner received an extra roughing minor among a collection

of others assessed when he went after Mark Pysyk and the

two teams came together.

"[My gloves] were stuck on me I think," Skinner joked.

"Ginner and Hani showed off their nice haircuts. I don't really

have that nice of a haircut, so I was self-conscious there."

Shortly after that, Joakim Nordstrom leveled Vincent

Trocheck with a heavy and legal check along the far boards.

That caused another gathering between the teams.

Then, Noah Hanifin dropped the mitts with Derek MacKenzie

in the first career NHL fight of Hanifin's young career and first

since "probably with my little brother or something when I

was younger," he said after the game.

"It was good to get it over with," he added. "Faulker has

taught me a few things."

Five

A couple of players we haven't mentioned much just yet who

factored in big in tonight's victory:

Cam Ward made 37 saves and was named third star of the

game in the 299th win of his career.

"They took it over a little bit for a stretch. He gave us good

goaltending, and that's always a positive," Peters said.

"Wardo has been really good."

At the other end of the ice, Lindholm put together a solid

game. He opened the scoring in the first period on the

Canes' third power play of the game, slipping the puck past

Reimer off a pass from Sebastian Aho. He then had the

beauty of a primary assist on Hanifin's game-winning goal in

overtime.

Up Next

On Sunday, the Hurricanes will embark on their longest road

trip of the season, a two-week, six-game trek that takes them

through Vancouver, California, Vegas and Buffalo.

"We have a long road trip coming up, and we wanted to

show some fight before we go on that," Hanifin said.

"I'm excited about going on the road with this group," Peters

said. "I'm really looking forward to seeing us take a step."

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Recap and Rank ‘em: Hurricanes Beat

Panthers in Dramatic and Emotional Must-

Win Game

This one pretty much had it all.

by Brett Finger

Coming off of a hugely disappointing loss in New York on

Friday, the Carolina Hurricanes needed to beat the Florida

Panthers, and they did.

It was a big hockey game, one that ended up being low-

scoring, but for what it lacked in goals, it made up for with

physicality and emotion.

It was all Hurricanes for the first 20 minutes on Saturday

night.

The Canes kept their foot down offensively, getting chance

after chance against Panthers netminder James Reimer.

The home team wasn’t able to convert on either of their first

two powerplays, but the third time was the charm as Elias

Lindholm carried the puck down the middle of the zone,

dropped it off to Sebastian Aho, and deflected the return

pass short-side on Reimer.

Carolina kept applying the pressure down the stretch of

period one, but Reimer answered the call time after time,

holding the game to a 1-0 score through 20 minutes.

Though, not before Brock McGinn and Jared McCann

scrapped at the end of a long offensive-zone shift for

Carolina.

The second period was... interesting.

The Panthers came out with much more energy, finding

holes in the Hurricanes’ defense and getting chances on

Cam Ward, who had a truly marvelous period.

Then, hell broke loose.

Jeff Skinner had a run-in with Mark Pysyk, but after a lot of

pushing and shoving from not only those two but also from a

group of other players, things eventually died down for the

time being.

Just moments later, Joakim Nordstrom sent Vincent

Trocheck into another dimension with this huge, helmet-

removing hit near the half-way point of the hockey game.

As expected, tempers continued to flare as the period went

on, eventually bringing on another fight.

Noah Hanifin dropped the gloves for the first time in his NHL

career, going up against Florida captain Derek MacKenzie.

From there, things started to even out a bit and hockey was

played more consistently. Joakim Nordstrom followed up his

big hit with a big blocked shot down the stretch of period two,

and the Canes held onto their lead after a very emotional

period.

Early on in period three, the Panthers responded and found

a hole in Ward, tying the hockey game at one goal apiece.

The Cats wouldn’t keep it tied for long, though.

Jeff Skinner was all alone in-tight and netted an absolute

beauty to give the Hurricanes their second lead of the night.

Why, yes, he was quite excited to score his first goal in nine

games.

As the third period wore down, chances were exchanged

back and forth, but both goalies were strong, including Cam

Ward who bounced back well after a weak goal against

earlier in the period.

Then, with two minutes to go, the Panthers tied the hockey

game.

A long shot from the point was stopped by Ward, but Alex

Barkov was right there to hammer home the rebound in front,

thus forcing overtime in Raleigh.

It was one of the most exciting overtimes of the season as

both teams went back and forth, getting chance after chance.

Then, Noah Hanifin willed one home with two seconds left in

overtime.

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/carolina-hurricanes

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/florida-panthers

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/florida-panthers

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54304/james-reimer

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/198297/elias-lindholm

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/198297/elias-lindholm

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/282852/sebastian-aho

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54255/cam-ward

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/111523/jeff-skinner

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/111539/mark-pysyk

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/111847/joakim-nordstrom

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/132333/vincent-trocheck

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/132333/vincent-trocheck

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/255262/noah-hanifin

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54928/derek-mackenzie

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/257582/noah-hanifin

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Hurricanes tough out overtime win over

Panthers

Carolina tops Florida in fight-filled contest

By Shawn Krest

RALEIGH — Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters has seen

plenty of hockey fights this season, just not in person.

“I watched a lot on TV. I watch games every night,” he said

after the Hurricanes’ 3-2 overtime win over the Florida

Panthers. “In our building? It’s been awhile.”

The Hurricanes made up for lost time on Saturday night,

scrapping with the Panthers more than a half-dozen times in

a hard-fought game.

“A couple of teams showed they really wanted it,” said Canes

goalie Cam Ward. “It was going to come down to who

wanted it the most.”

Carolina jumped on top early, courtesy of a first-period goal

by Elias Lindholm.

The two teams then settled in for a battle of attrition in a

violent, but scoreless second period.

“Obviously, they were trying to engage us, thinking they

could push us around,” Ward said. “They got a lot of

pushback. I’m old school. I like that sort of thing.”

One of the scraps made history in a couple of different ways.

Noah Hanifin squared off against Florida’s Derek MacKenzie

with 5:42 left in the second, earning a five-minute major. It

was Carolina’s first major of the year, in the team’s 25th

game. That’s the latest in the season the Hurricanes have

gone before getting a major, shattering the old mark by five

games.

It was also Hanifin’s first career fight.

“The last time was probably with my little brother or

something,” Hanifin joked afterward. “It was good to get it

over with. (Justin) Faulk taught me a few things. He’s had a

few fights, and I think he knows what he’s doing.”

“Hani got in a fight,” Ward marveled, tongue in cheek. “Come

on. I mean, that’s awesome. Kudos to him for showing that.”

Hanifin wasn’t the only one. Peters urged the team to

toughen up after a rough 5-1 loss in New York on Friday

night.

“Last night was tough,” Hanifin said. “We wanted to rebound

and show some energy and character today. We weren’t too

happy with the outcome last night. Coming home with a long

road trip coming up, we wanted to show some fight before

we went on that.”

“Guys were competing, pushing and shoving, trying to gain

every inch possible,” Peters said of the second period

scrums. He also singled out a Joakim Nordstrom blocked

shot late in the period as a key moment.

“Nordy laying down and blocking that shot, that gives you

juice,” he said. “You’re sitting on the bench. You might be

tired. It’s back-to-back. You might have had a little bit of

travel, and all of a sudden, you see a guy selling out like that.

It doesn’t leave you any wiggle room not to do the same.”

For Peters, the secret to Carolina’s success was as simple

as being willing to mix it up in front of the goal.

“We talked about it prior to the game,” he said. “Go in close

to the blue paint.”

CAROLINA HURRICANES


In the third period, after Florida tied the score, the Canes

followed Peters’ advice. Jeff Skinner batted down the puck

and charged the goal, flipping it in at the last second to give

Carolina a late lead.

“Skinner was running out of room,” Peters said. “He’s got

great hands. He was close to the blue paint, and he scores.”

Florida tied it again with 1:56 remaining, and the game went

to overtime. With two seconds remaining in the extra period,

following furious end-to-end action for the final minute,

Hanifin scored the game winner.

“Hanifin scores right in front of the blue paint too,” Peters

said. “There’s no secret, right? You’ve just got to get

competitive enough to go there and pay the price. You’re not

going to score every time you go to the blue paint, but it

definitely increases your odds.”

The win gave Ward his 299th career victory.

“The game got a little bit chippy,” he said. “I’m proud of our

guys for sticking up for one another and having that mentality

that if somebody messes with one of us they’ve got to mess

with all of us. … I love that wolfpack mentality — sticking up

for one another and being there to answer the bell.”

Hanifin scores late in OT to lift Hurricanes

past Panthers

by STATS

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) After Carolina twice gave up one-goal

leads in a brawl-filled game against Florida, the Hurricanes'

last goal gave the Panthers no chance to respond.

Noah Hanifin scored from the right doorstep on a pass by

Elias Lindholm with 2 seconds left in overtime, giving the

Hurricanes a 3-2 victory on Saturday night.

''It was a great pass by Lindy,'' Hanifin said. ''I don't think

there was a lot of time left. I hopped over the bench, Lindy

found me, and he made a great pass. There was a lot of

good execution there.''

Lindholm and Jeff Skinner scored Carolina's regulation

goals, while Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist and

Nick Bjugstad scored a goal for Florida.

''Both teams played very hard and there was a lot of passion

in that game,'' Carolina coach Bill Peters said. ''It makes it

fun. There was a lot of skill on both sides. They weren't

staged fights for the most part. It was just guys competing,

and that's what happens.''

Carolina goalie Cam Ward had 37 saves for his 299th career

win - all with the Hurricanes - while James Reimer stopped

44. Carolina bounced back after a 5-1 loss to the Rangers on

Friday night.

''This was huge,'' Ward said. ''We had a tough night in New

York, and we got home late. It was a gutsy effort, and the

energy in the building was outstanding tonight.''

The teams combined for 36 minutes of fighting and roughing

penalties.

''Hopefully we can use that situation to bring us together a

little bit,'' Skinner said. ''It was physical early, and guys did a

good job sticking up for each other.''

Carolina outshot the visitors 18-4 in the first period, courtesy

of three minor penalties against Florida.

The Hurricanes broke through on their third power play,

when Lindholm beat Reimer from the left circle on assists

from Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen.

''I didn't like our start,'' Florida coach Bob Boughner said.

''We took too many penalties and then spent too much time

in our zone. Reimer was good and gave us a chance to win.

It was a heartbreaker with 2 seconds to go.''

The hostilities started when Brock McGinn and Florida's

Jared McCann fought in the final minute of the period.

Several players got into a skirmish at 7:42 of the second,

with Skinner getting four minutes for roughing while

CAROLINA HURRICANES


teammate Justin Faulk got two minutes. Florida's Mike

Matheson and Micheal Haley received two minutes each. At

9:01, Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau got two minutes and

joined the group in the boxes.

Hanifin and the Panthers' Derek MacKenzie fought later in

the second.

Florida tied the score nearly 5 minutes into the third, when

Bjugstad picked up a loose puck in the crease and slid it past

Ward with Barkov on the primary helper.

Carolina came back with a power-play goal 3 minutes later,

with Skinner beating Reimer high.

Barkov tied it again in a 6-on-5 at with 1:56 left in regulation.

NOTES: Carolina won the teams' first meeting 3-1 on Nov. 7.

... Brock McGinn and Florida LW Jamie McGinn are brothers.

... Florida RW Radim Vrbata was a Hurricane from 2003-05.

... Carolina's healthy scratches were LW Phillip Di Giuseppe

and D Klas Dahlbeck. ... LW Connor Brickley, LW Henrik

Haapala and D Mackenzie Weggar were healthy extras for

Florida. ... The teams' final meeting of the season will be on

April 2 in Florida.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Start a three-game homestand on Monday night


Hurricanes: Visit Vancouver on Tuesday night in the opener

of a six-game trip.

Hurricanes score late in overtime to defeat

Panthers Hanifin gets game-winner with two seconds left

by Kurt Dusterberg / NHL.com Correspondent

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Noah Hanifin scored with two seconds

remaining in overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2

win against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena on Saturday.

The defenseman followed his rebound after a save by James

Reimer to score on a backhand.

"I just hopped over the bench and [Elias Lindholm] found

me," Hanifin said. "Great pass and I got a lucky rebound

there. So it was good execution."

Cam Ward made 37 saves for the Hurricanes (11-9-5).

"It was a gutsy effort tonight," Ward said. "It was a game that

got a little bit chippy, and I'm proud of our guys for sticking

up for one another. We realize that this is our only home

game for almost two weeks."

Reimer made 44 saves for the Panthers (10-13-3), who lost

to the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Friday.

Florida forward Aleksander Barkov tied it 2-2 with 1:56 left in

the third period on the rebound of Aaron Ekblad's shot.

Lindholm gave Carolina a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at

14:02 of the first period when he redirected a centering pass

from Sebastian Aho. It was the Hurricanes' third power play.

"I didn't like our start, took too many penalties," Panthers

coach Bob Boughner said. "So we spent a ton of time in our

zone. I thought we answered the bell in the second period."

Nick Bjugstad tied it 1-1 at 4:52 of the third period when he

scored from below the right face-off circle on a bad-angle

shot.

Jeff Skinner gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead at 8:17 on

Carolina's second power-play goal. He broke up Florida's

clearing attempt and then made a move to beat Reimer on

the short side to end his eight-game scoring drought.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


"Once you get it in that tight, you've got to get it up to beat

most goalies in the League," Skinner said. "It's been a while

for me personally, and obviously the situation in the game

calls for a little more excitement on my end."

They said it

"Reimer was good. He gave us a chance to win, a

heartbreaker with two seconds to go. Everybody knows our

team is a pretty good shootout team. I thought there was a

lot of character when the game got physical. I think we

earned the point tonight" -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner

"[Hanifin] is a young guy (20) who's becoming a young man.

There's an unbelievable upside and the ceiling is very high

for him. He really skated tonight. Our defense has to skate to

be successful. He has lots of confidence and he's played

well all year. He loves the game and wants to be elite." --

Hurricanes coach Bill Peters

"[The backup role] is something I'm adjusting to, the

mentality of not playing as much. My last outing wasn't very

good, so you've got to be patient and wait for that next

opportunity. I've been in this league long enough that I can

turn the page." -- Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward, who allowed

four goals on 16 shots in a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple

Leafs on Nov. 24

Need to know

Carolina's 47 shots were its most this season. ... Ward has

299 NHL wins (299-232-80). ... Carolina is 33-10-4 against

Florida at PNC Arena. ... The Hurricanes will start a six-game

road trip, their longest of the season.

What's next

Panthers: Host the New York Islanders on Monday (7:30

p.m. ET; FS-F, MSG+, NHL.TV)

Hurricanes: At the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (10 p.m.

ET; SNP, FS-CR, NHL.TV)

TODAY’S LINKS

http://trianglesportsnet.com/carolina-hockey-network/hurricanes-slug-panthers-win-3-2-ot/

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/hanifin-scores-late-in-ot-to-lift-hurricanes-past-panthers/17157606/

https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/recap-hurricanes-defeat-panthers-in-overtime/c-293616624

https://www.canescountry.com/2017/12/2/16728938/carolina-hurricanes-beat-panthers-high-emotions-must-win-game-mcginn-skinner-nordstrom-

hanifin

https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/hanifin-scores-late-in-ot-to-lift-hurricanes-past-panthers/

https://www.nhl.com/news/florida-panthers-carolina-hurricanes-game-recap/c-293619324

https://nsjonline.com/article/2017/12/hurricanes-tough-out-overtime-win-over-panthers/

1086453 Vancouver Canucks

Canucks Game Day: Boeser looks to keep roll going against Matthews

and Leafs

STEVE EWEN

Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser scores the go-ahead goal

against Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne during the third period

Thursday, Nov. in Nashville. The Canucks won 5-3.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and all that comes with them are here today (4

p.m., CBC, Sportsnet 650) for their annual trip. Here are some things to

consider about the visit.

THE BIG MATCH-UP

Brock Boeser vs. Auston Matthews

Matthews comes into the day tied for 12th in league scoring, with 26

points, including 13 goals, in 23 games. Boeser is 14th, with 25 points,

including 13 goals, in 23 games.

Any questions?

big Patcast here with @botchford . Lots of stories from the road. Plus all

the issues & hot topics involving the #Canucks as they near the end of

http://trianglesportsnet.com/carolina-hockey-network/hurricanes-slug-panthers-win-3-2-ot/

CAROLINA HURRICANES


their trip. Have a listen and please share on social.

https://t.co/ziES0DG5qT— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 29,

2017

FIVE KEYS

MATCH GAME

Canucks coach Travis Green has shown a propensity for wanting to use

a checking line against opponents’ top talents, particularly on home ice

where Vancouver has the last change. Derek Dorsett has been a key cog

in that. Now that Dorsett is sidelined for the remainder of the campaign,

will Green’s long-term thinking change? Minus Dorsett and likely no

Brandon Sutter (shoulder) tonight, will Green have a line shadow

Matthews?

A THOUSAND THINGS TO CELEBRATE

The Canucks are planning to honour Daniel Sedin for his 1,000 career

point in a pre-game ceremony. Fans are asked to get to their seats early.

The twins have looked better of late and they’ve also had success

against the Maple Leafs in the past. Daniel has 26 points, including 13

goals, in 27 games versus Toronto, while Henrik has 24 points, including

five goals, in 27 contests against the Maple Leafs.

LIFE OF RIELLY

There’s been plenty of buzz this season out of Toronto about how Rielly,

the 23-year-old from West Vancouver, has developed into a legit No. 1

defenceman. How will he play tonight? He’s talked up how inspired he is

on this trip. And, keep in mind, he’s looking for his first goal against the

Canucks in what will be his ninth career game against them tonight.

TALKING TRENDS

The Maple Leafs are looking for their first sweep of Western Canada

since 1996, coming off a 4-1 triumph in Calgary and a 6-4 victory in

Edmonton on Thursday.

Conversely, Rogers Arena has been far from a nirvana for the Maple

Leafs. The Canucks are 8-2-0 in their last 10 home games versus

Toronto.

GOLDY MOMENT

How will Nikolay Goldobin fare in NHL Game 2 for him this season?

There’s a good chunk of the fan base that’s on his side, and general

manager Jim Benning talked in the media this week about him getting a

chance to succeed.

Goldobin highlights from Thursday’s 5-3 win in Nashville included the set-

up on Boeser’s second goal of the evening.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 12.03.2017


Ed Willes: Leafs might be best young team, but Canucks aren't bad,

either

Ed Willes

Depending on where you are and who you’re talking to, most informed

hockey fans would identify the Toronto Maple Leafs as the best young

team in the NHL.

True, you might get an argument in Winnipeg or New Jersey. And if this

survey was conducted in the GTA, those informed fans would identify the

Leafs as the best team — like, ever — irrespective of age.

But, gratuitous Toronto snark aside, the collection of talent on Mike

Babcock’s team speaks for itself. They lead the NHL in goals. Four of

their top seven scorers are 23 or under, led by the sublime Auston

Matthews. Maybe the complete game isn’t there yet, but the parts are in

place for this Leafs’ team to remain at or near the top of the NHL’s food

chain for the next decade.

And then there’s your Vancouver Canucks.

Saturday night, the Leafs’ annual visit to the rain forest came in all its

familiar glory. There was the annoying 4 p.m. start. There were the

masses in Leafs’ jerseys. There were the chants of Go Leafs Go, and let

it be known the Canucks scored the all-important first goal to take the

crowd out the game.

But, for the first time in a while, this meeting was notable for reasons

other than the crowd and the start time. The Canucks, as it happens,

finally seem to have turned a corner and are building their own young

core. They’re not really in the conversation concerning the NHL’s good

young teams just yet, but they are trending that way.

So how did they measure up against the NHL’s gold standard in their 2-1

win? How did the Canucks’ kids look against the Leafs’ young

thoroughbreds?

Well, Alex Edler had himself a helluva game.

“We knew they’re a strong deep team with a lot of talented young

players,” said Ben Hutton, the Canucks’ 24-year-old defenceman.

“This game was huge for guys in our locker-room.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys on our team who have been stepping up

this year. When we match up against another young team and come out

on top, it shows we’re in the process of becoming a very strong team.”

In truth, any attempt to bill this one has a matchup between the Leafs’

and Canucks’ young guns would be a stretch so severe it could result in

a groin pull. The Canucks won this one because of a lights-out

goaltending performance from Jacob Markstrom, Edler’s best game since

the Stephen Harper administration and, truth be told, a little puck luck

around their goalie.

Want a stat? The Canucks were outshot 25-9 over the final two periods

after a dominating first.

“I didn’t think our last 40 was good enough,” said Daniel Sedin. “They

really pushed the pace in the last two periods.”

Still, half the Canucks’ skaters on this night were 25 or under, and their

fingerprints were all over this game. Bo Horvat was matched against

Matthews most of the night and ended up plus-one over 18 minutes.

Markus Granlund, 24, opened the scoring. Young D-men Derrick Pouliot

(21:53 of ice), Troy Stecher and Hutton held their own.

OK, Brock Boeser didn’t exactly support this storyline. The Canucks’ 20-

year-old sniper had a quiet night, and his most visible moment came late

in the third when his bid at an empty net was swatted out of the air by

that man Matthews.

But this theme is going to be central to any Canucks’ game this season,

or the next two, three seasons come to think of it, and any a win against

a quality opponent in a nationally televised game for this team is

significant.

“Everyone knows what kind of young talent they have,” Horvat said. “We

knew it was going to be a tough game, a fast game. I thought we

responded well tonight.

“It gives our group confidence knowing we can hang with teams like that

and match their speed. A couple of times they took it to us, but I liked our

first period.”

The Canucks’ opening 20 minutes, in fact, might have been their best

period of the season. In their first game after a six-game roadie, the

CAROLINA HURRICANES


home side produced 17 shots on Freddie Andersen in the Leafs’ net,

scored twice, and were dangerous for most of the frame.

The Canucks’ defence produced nine shots on Andersen in that period.

Edler also scored his first goal of the season and didn’t break his stick in

the process.

The final two periods, alas, weren’t as impressive as the Canucks

retreated into a craven defensive posture. But there was still a crackling

atmosphere in the building, still plenty of drama, and, in the end, two

points.

“Growing up, I wasn’t a fan of the Leafs,” said Hutton, an Ontario kid from

the Ottawa bedroom community of Prescott.

“I’m still not. It’s in my blood. So it’s a big bonus when you get two points

against Toronto.”

Hutton was asked if the disproportionate number of Leafs’ fans in the

building bothered him.

“No, it’s fun,” he said. “You’ve got the ‘Go Leafs Go’ chants and the

Canucks’ fans fire back with ‘Leafs Suck.’ That brings the atmosphere up

and we hear it. Like I said, it’s fun.”

And more fun after a win.



Canucks 2, Leafs 1: What we learned

Jason Botchford

The Vancouver Canucks had one terrific period and carried that to an

entertaining 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night at

Rogers Arena.

Here is what we learned …

HISTORY WAS NOT MADE

It was his 114th NHL start and his 128th game without one.

Jacob Markstrom was just three minutes away from his first NHL shutout.

It looked like it was going to happen, too.

Until it didn’t.

Morgan Rielly whiffed on an open net, and it seemed like it was the break

Markstrom needed.

He had others, even though he deserved a shutout with some

spectacular saves.

But moments after Rielly’s whiff, James Van Riemsdyk tipped one past

the Canucks bad luck goalie.

Sometimes, it feels like Markstrom will never get a shutout, and who

knows? Maybe he won’t.

THE CANUCKS CAN ACTUALLY BE GOOD

For one glorious period, the Maple Leafs were good and the Canucks

were actually better.

The Sedins looked like they had shaved five years off their age. They

controlled the puck in a way that brought fans to the seat’s edge in

anticipation of something great happening,

And it did.

On a delayed penalty, they danced with the puck, methodically wearing

down the Leafs who were on the ice, wilting.

The kill shot came courtesy Henrik. He sauced a pass over one stick and

under another.

It ended up on Alex Edler’s blade, and from there Edler picked a corner,

giving the Canucks a 2-0 lead.

The first period ended improbably. The Canucks didn’t just have a lead,

they had 17 shots.

It was as good as a 20-minute stretch as they’ve played in year.

THE CANUCKS GOT AN EMOTIONAL LIFT, AND NO ONE SAW IT

COMING

It was set up to be a celebration for Daniel Sedin’s 1,000th point.

It was, but it ended up being so much more. Daniel was honoured with a

nice tribute video voiced by Markus Naslund. The crowd went wild. But

then, the unexpected happened.

Derek Dorsett appeared. As he came out to salute Daniel, it was one of

the most touching scenes this arena has ever hosted.

It couldn’t have been easy for him, either. His career ended just days

ago. It still has to be fresh and painful.

There is nothing he would have wanted more than to be on that ice

playing in that game.

Turns out, he did the next best thing.

BROCK BOESER IS NOT BETTER THAN AUSTON MATTHEWS

Let’s be clear, it’s fun to point out how close the two are in point totals.

And it’s worth noting they were born in the same year, 1997.

But it’s not really fair to compare them past that point. There isn’t much

Matthews can’t do on the ice. He is a complete package.

Rarely has that been more clear than in the first period, when he

manhandled Chris Tanev, took him to the ice with one hand and created

his own scoring chance.

He can snipe. He can skate. And he can move small office buildings

without machinery.

When he figures it out, Jake Virtanen’s game is going to take a giant leap

forward.

There was a play against Toronto, where he lost his stick skating toward

the offensive zone. At full speed, he maintained control of the puck and

regained his stick and turned the rush into a scoring chance.

It was one of the few plays this year he took a puck to the net, and it

created all kinds of mayhem.

He had other chances Saturday, but pulled up instead. He’s just not a

good enough playmaker yet to be pulling up on those opportunities.

BROCK BOESER IS THE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH

Boeser ended November as the frontrunner in the Calder Trophy race, a

point that even Hockey Night in Canada validated.

It was only two weeks ago when they went over the rookie leaders on the

broadcast and Boeser wasn’t viewed as one of the favourites to win the

award.

Twice, it looked like Stecher was knocked out of the game, and twice he

came back.

The first was on the opening shift when he blocked a shot and left the

game unable to put any weight on one foot.

He slammed his stick leaving for the training room, and it appeared his

night was over. It was not.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


He returned to play nearly five minutes in that first.

Then in the second, Mitch Marner’s shot deflected off Brendan Gaunce’s

stick appeared to bust up Stecher’s face. There was concern his nose

was broken.

But once again, Stecher came back and played the third.


1086416 San Jose Sharks

Three takeaways: Sharks still no match for the NHL’s top team

By PAUL GACKLE | [email protected] | Bay Area News

Group

PUBLISHED: December 2, 2017 at 8:35 pm | UPDATED: December 3,

2017 at 2:50 am

TAMPA — After playing airtight defense and compiling a 6-2-2 record

over the last three-plus weeks, the Sharks couldn’t bridge the gap

between themselves and the NHL’s top team.

Get Sharks news in your inbox. Sign up now for the free Sharks Report

newsletter.

The Sharks (14-9-2) loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning (18-6-2) Saturday

wound up looking eerily similar to the 5-1 shellacking they received at the

SAP Center on Nov. 8. The big difference was Martin Jones, who kept

the Sharks in the game for a longer stretch of time in the rematch.

Here’s what we learned as the Sharks lost to the Lightning for the second

time this season, dropping a 5-2 decision in Tampa.

1. The Sharks are still no match for the NHL’s top team.

The Sharks entered Saturday’s game leading the NHL in goals against

average (2.13) and shots against (29.1), but their top-ranked defense is

still no match for the high-flying Lightning’s speed and skill.

The Lightning outshot the Sharks 9-1 in the game’s first seven minutes

and they held a 31-16 shot edge after two periods. But the Sharks went

into the second intermission tied at 1-1 because Jones bailed them out

time and time again.

Like our Sharks Facebook page for more San Jose Sharks news,

commentary and conversation.

The dam eventually broke in the third as Tyler Johnson scored a pair of

goals that put the Lightning ahead 3-1 just 5:39 into the stanza before

Cory Conacher added an insurance goal at the 11:01 mark. After Justin

Braun scored his first of the year, Nikita Kucherov put the game on ice by

scoring his league-leading 19th goal on a breakaway with 4:23 left on the

clock.

Nikita Kucherov: fairly good at hockeying. Picks Couture;s pocket and

knuckle-pucks one past Jones. pic.twitter.com/VEGcNUpaMZ

— Zachary DeVine (@zakkthebear) December 3, 2017

The Sharks ran into the same problems that plagued them last month

and in the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins two years

ago: they couldn’t keep up with the Lightning’s speed, so every mistake

was magnified, leading to odd-man rushes, quality-scoring chances and

bang-bang plays.

Palat with a perfect saucer pass over the stick of Vlasic and Kucherov

ties the games up for the #TBLightning pic.twitter.com/YF1xdyAIgv


“I don’t how it looked, but it felt like we were a step slower than them all

over the ice,” Logan Couture said.

“They play fast. They move pucks well. Their forwards are quick through

the neutral zone. They definitely skated around us for a lot of the game.”

Jones made a similar observation from the goalie’s crease.

“That’s a team that plays with a lot of pace,” the Sharks netminder said.

“Coming off a back to back, maybe we were a half-a-step slow in the

third. Good teams make you pay.”

The #TBLightning with a set play and Johnson beats Vlasic in the foot

race. #SJSHARKS trail 2-1. pic.twitter.com/tPmJPEC1Gd


2. ‘A big ask’

Head coach Pete DeBoer knew that answering last month’s blowout loss

would be a tall order.

In addition to playing their second game of a back to back, the Sharks

are hobbled by injuries. They sent their second-leading goal scorer,

Joonas Donskoi (lower body), to the injured reserve Saturday, along with

their top goal-scoring defenseman, Tim Heed (upper body).

The Sharks were also playing without Mikkel Boedker (lower body) and

Melker Karlsson (cut), who are nursing day-to-day injuries.

“It’s a big ask,” DeBoer said prior to Saturday’s game when asked if the

Sharks were looking for payback against the Lightning.

“You’re coming in back to back and short guys. I would love to have a

bounce back game and thrash them like they thrashed us. I don’t know if

that’s going to happen. We’re just looking to compete, play a good road

game and not beat ourselves.”

The Sharks coach didn’t get everything he was looking for against a

Lightning squad that was hungry for a win coming off a 1-3 road swing.

“We didn’t have enough contributions,” DeBoer said. “We would have

needed 20 guys tonight, plus Jonesy’s effort. “They’re a desperate team

and rested, and we didn’t help ourselves.”

Couture was more blunt with his assessment of the Sharks performance .

“They outplayed us again,” he said. “You can say we’re on a back to

back and all that, but you’ve still got to show up and put forth a better

effort.”

3. Jones returns from injury in all-star form.

If the Sharks two-game series with the Lightning this season is

reminiscent of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, Saturday’s game looked a lot

like Game 5 for 40 minutes as Jones nearly stole the win like he did that

June night against the Penguins.

The Sharks netminder picked up where he left off before suffering an

injury that sidelined him for two games on Nov. 25, keeping the Sharks in

a 1-1 game for two periods by making 38 saves.

“You take him for granted, but he’s been like that all year for us,” DeBoer

said. “I knew he wouldn’t go in if he didn’t feel like he was healthy, and

when he’s healthy, he’s capable of having a game like that.”

Tags:

Logan Couture

Martin Jones

Head shot of Paul Gackle, beat reporter for San Jose Sharks, in San

Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Josie Lepe/ Bay Area News

Group)

Paul Gackle

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 12.03.2017

CAROLINA HURRICANES



Jones’ effort in return from injury isn’t enough to propel Sharks to win


Group

PUBLISHED: December 2, 2017 at 6:41 pm | UPDATED: December 3,

2017 at 2:50 am

TAMPA, Fla. — Martin Jones returned to all-star form after missing two

games with an injury. But his 38 saves weren’t enough to lift his injury-

battered squad past the high-flying Tampa Bay Lightning.

After Jones kept the Sharks (14-9-2) in the game for 40-plus minutes,

Tyler Johnson scored twice in the third, breaking the dam as the

Lighnting picked up a 5-2 win in Tampa Saturday night.

Johnson scored the go-ahead goal on the power play at 1:39 of the third,

capitalizing on a favorable carom off the end boards. After Ondrej Palat

dumped the puck into the zone, it landed right in front of the Sharks net,

allowing Johnson to zip past defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and flip a

backhand through Jones.

The smooth-skating forward recored the game-winning goal 4:30 later,

swooping in to score off a rebound after Jones stopped a Victor Hedman

breakaway with his right shoulder and Brenden Dillon scooped the puck

off the goal line.

Cory Conacher scored the Lightning’s third goal of the final frame with

8:58 left on the clock and Nikita Kucherov added his league-leading 19th

of the year at 15:37.

Justin Braun added a goal for the Sharks at 13:37 of the third, his first of

the year. Danny O’Regan picked up his second assist of the game on the

tally.

Before the Lightning grabbed hold of the game in the third, the Sharks

left the opening frame with a 1-0 lead after weathering an early storm in

which they surrendered nine of the game’s first 10 shots.

In his first game back from an upper-body injury, Barclay Goodrow, who

missed five games, scored his first goal of the year at 16:58 on a tally

that saw AHL Barracuda alumni earn all three points.

Ryan Carpenter started the play by threading a seam pass through the

slot to O’Regan, who was driving to the net after splitting the Lightning

defense. After goalie Andrei, Vasilevskiy stopped O’Regan’s shot,

Goodrow fired the puck into a gaping net.

Carpenter’s secondary assist was his first point in 14 games this season.

The Lightning continued to tilt the ice in the second, outshooting the

Sharks 16-7 and tying the game just 27 seconds into the frame.

Kucherov scored his 18th after sliding behind defenseman Vlasic and

one-timing a fancy-saucer pass from Palat on the rush.

The game wasn’t all that different from the first meeting between the

clubs on Nov. 8 when the Sharks took a shellacking 5-1 from the

Lightning. The only difference was that Jones allowed the Sharks to stay

in the game for a longer period of time.


newsletter.

Jones made several remarkable saves, including a pad stop on Ryan

Callahan after a Joakim Ryan turnover in the first, a right-pad save on

Yanni Gourde from in close in the second and a glove stop on Steven

Stamkos from the high slot later in the period.

Head coach Pete DeBoer anticipated that his club could be in for a long

night, squaring off against the Eastern Conference’s top team with

Joonas Donskoi (lower body), Tim Heed (upper body), Melker Karlsson

(cut) and Mikkel Boedker (lower body) all sidelined by day-to-day injuries.

The Sharks recalled Marcus Sorensen Saturday. The 25-year-old Swede

will join the team for the final game of their four-game road trip against

the Washington Capitals Monday.

Tags:

Martin Jones



Group)

Paul Gackle



Three things to know: Sharks send two offensive catalysts to IR


Group

December 2, 2017 at 3:28 PM

TAMPA — The injuries are piling up as the Sharks dressing room is

quickly turning into a hospital ward.

The Sharks (14-8-2) sent forward Joonas Donskoi (lower body) and

defenseman Tim Heed (upper body) to the injured reserve Saturday,

retroactive to Nov. 28 and Nov. 25. Mikkel Boedker (lower body) and

Melker Karlsson (cut) will be scratched from Saturday’s game against the

Tampa Bay Lightning (17-6-2) because of injuries they suffered in

Friday’s 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers.


newsletter.

Head coach Pete DeBoer labeled all four injuries as “day to day” as Heed

will be eligible to return to the lineup for the Sharks game against the

Washington Capitals Monday, and Donskoi can rejoin the squad when it

kicks off a three-game homestand at SAP Center against the Carolina

Hurricanes Thursday.

DeBoer said Friday that Donskoi’s injury isn’t “serious”, an assessment

he stood by Saturday.

“Nothing changed,” the Sharks coach said. “We were going to get up this

morning, see if he’s better. He is better, but not ready to play yet.”

2. Sharks recall Marcus Sorensen, activate Barclay Goodrow.

On the surface, DeBoer’s claim that Donskoi’s injury is “day to day” might

seem misleading considering that the team sent him to the injured

reserve Saturday.

In reality, it was a move the Sharks needed to make to give themselves

an insurance policy against further injuries Saturday with Boedker and

Karlsson’s health also in question.

By placing Donskoi on the injured reserve, the Sharks were able to recall

forward Marcus Sorensen from the AHL Barracuda. Sorensen will join

the Sharks in Washington, D.C. Sunday.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Likewise, moving Heed to the injured reserve allowed the Sharks to

activate Goodrow for Saturday’s game, giving the team 12 bodies to put

on the ice at forward.

Sorensen got the nod by notching 14 points (5g, 9a) in 19 games for the

Barracuda. The 25-year-old Swede suited for 19 games with the Sharks

last season and he dressed for all six of the team’s Stanley Cup playoff

games against the Edmonton Oilers.

“He played well down there,” DeBoer said. “He was a guy that we had in

the mix right until the end of training camp, and he’s got some elements

that we could use up here. His speed and tenacity when he plays inside.

I like his game when he’s playing it.”

Goodrow will make his return after missing seven games with an upper-

body injury. The 24-year-old forward appeared to be on his way to

locking down the Sharks fourth line center position before he suffered his

injury against the Panthers on Nov. 16, recording two assists in five

games.

3. Martin Jones will start in goal against Lightning.

Jones will make his return Saturday from a day-to-day injury suffered

against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 25.

The timing of Jones’ return couldn’t be better as the Sharks are facing

the NHL’s third-ranked offense (3.56 goals per game), its top scorer in

Steven Stamkos (37 points) and its No.2 goal scorer in Nikita Kucherov

(17 goals).

Nevertheless, Aaron Dell acquitted himself well in Jones’ place over the

first two games of the Sharks road trip, stopping 61 of the 63 shots he

faced

“Thankfully, it wasn’t more serious. You never know,” DeBoer said,

referring to Jones’ injury. “Deller’s given us two great starts, and with a

back to back, it’s nice to get a fresh guy in there.”

Tags:

Joonas Donskoi



Group)

Paul Gackle



harks’ winning streak ends with loss to Tampa Bay

Associated Press Updated 11:02 pm, Saturday, December 2, 2017

TAMPA, Fla. — Tyler Johnson broke out of a scoring slump just in time

to help the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning.

Johnson scored twice in Tampa Bay’s four-goal third period, snapping a

15-game drought in the process, and the Lightning beat the Sharks 5-2

on Saturday. San Jose had won three in a row.

“That’s how hockey goes,” said Johnson, who entered with four goals.

“Sometimes you get the chances and bounces and they don’t go your

way. Other times, you get those garbage goals that just find a way to go

in. Luckily for me, I was able to break through.”

Barclay Goodrow and Justin Braun had goals for San Jose, and Martin

Jones stopped 38 shots in his return after missing two games with a

lower-body injury.

“Our goalie was outstanding,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “He was

by far our best player. We didn’t have enough contributions. We would

have needed 20 guys, plus Jones’ effort.”

Goodrow, activated from injured reserve after sitting out seven games,

put the Sharks up 1-0 at 16:58 of the first period. His first NHL goal since

Feb. 13, 2015, ended a 44-game drought. It was his fifth career goal,

coming in his 84th NHL game.

Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov tied it at 1 just 27 seconds into the second

with the first of his two goals.

“We had a chance with 20 minutes to go to get some points and we

didn’t,” DeBoer said. “That’s a disappointment.”

Cory Conacher also scored for the Lightning, who had lost four of six.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves.

Kucherov had one of Tampa Bay’s four goals, his 19th, in the third. He

entered without a goal over his previous six games.

After Johnson had an in-close backhand power-play goal 1:39 into the

third, the center made it 3-1 at 5:49 on a rebound after Jones stopped

Victor Hedman on a breakaway.

“He’s earned it.” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of Johnson. “When

you’re doing the right things and you’re working, it’s just a matter of time.”

Conacher and Braun also had third-period goals.

Jones turned aside Ryan Callahan’s in-close shot that went off a San

Jose defender in the first, a period in which the Sharks were outshot 15-

8. Tampa Bay also dominated the second-period shots, 16-8.

Sidelined: The Sharks placed right wing Joonas Donskoi (upper-body

injury) and defenseman Tim Heed (upper-body injury) on injured reserve

retroactive to Nov. 25 and Tuesday, respectively.

San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 12.03.2017


Sharks overmatched in loss to Lightning

By Associated Press December 02, 2017 6:41 PM

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tyler Johnson broke out a scoring slump just in time to

help the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning.

Johnson scored twice in the third period to snap a 15-game drought and

the Lightning beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 Saturday night.

"That's how hockey goes," said Johnson, who entered with four goals.

"Sometimes you get the chances and bounces and they don't go your

way. Other times, you get those garbage goals that just find a way to go

in. Luckily for me I was able to breakthrough."

Nikita Kucherov had two goals and Cory Conacher also scored for the

Lightning, who had lost four of six. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves.

Kucherov had one of Tampa Bay's four goals, his 19th, in the third. He

entered without a goal over his previous six games.

After Johnson had an in-close backhand power-play goal 1:39 into the

third, the center made it 3-1 at 5:49 on a rebound goal after Martin Jones

made a nifty save during Victor Hedman's breakaway.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


"He's earned it." Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "When you're doing

the right things and you're working, it's just a matter of time."

Barclay Goodrow and Justin Braun had goals for San Jose, and Jones

stopped 38 shots in his return after missing two games with a lower-body

injury.

"Our goalie was outstanding," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "He was

by far our best player. We didn't have enough contributions. We would

have needed 20 guys, plus Jones' effort."

Goodrow, activated from injured reserve after sitting out seven games,

put the Sharks up 1-0 at 16:58 of the first on his first goal since Feb. 13,

2015 that ended a 44-game drought. It was his fifth goal, coming in his

84th career NHL game.

Kucherov tied it at 1 just 27 seconds into the second.

"We had a chance with 20 minutes to go to get some points and we

didn't," DeBoer said. "That's a disappointment."

Conacher and Braun also had third-period goals.

Jones turned aside Ryan Callahan's in-close shot that went off a San

Jose defender in the first, a period where the Sharks were outshot 15-8.

Tampa Bay also dominated second-period shots 16-8.

Tampa Bay's top-ranked power play went 1 for 2 against the Sharks'

second-best NHL short-handed unit. San Jose failed on its one man-

advantage chance.

NOTES: The Sharks dropped to 7-3-1 on the road. ... San Jose placed

RW Joonas Donskoi and D Tim Heed on IR. ... Tampa Bay C Cedric

Paquette served a one-game suspension for a boarding penalty

Wednesday against Boston. ... Lightning D Braydon Coburn (knee-to-

knee hit) didn't play.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Complete a four-game trip Monday night at Washington.

Lightning: Play the second of four straight home games Tuesday night


Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.03.2017

1086363 Los Angeles Kings

What we learned from the Kings' 4-1 victory over the Blues

Curtis Zupke

Meet us in St. Louis, again?

The Kings admitted they had revenge on their mind when they ventured

to Scottrade Center, one month after a loss in the building gave the Blues

bragging rights to best in the Western Conference.

And it didn’t matter if they were fatigued from a win the previous night

against the Washington Capitals. Darcy Kuemper continued to roll, and

most other facets of the Kings’ game fell into place in an impressive 4-1

win.

Here’s what we learned:

The puck is finding Tyler Toffoli. He shared the team lead with Anze

Kopitar with 13 goals and is on pace for 35 goals. Toffoli joked that “I

wouldn’t really count” his empty-net goal Thursday, but his uptick is that

of a goal scorer who gets points in bunches.

Toffoli hasn’t suffered much in production since he lost Jeff Carter as his

center. His in-close skill is as good as any on the Kings, and if he can

complement Adrian Kempe in that department, it would give them a

dynamic they haven’t had in recent years.

How does Alex Iafallo not have more points? His nine points in 27 games

seems criminal given his vision and creativity. The rookie wisely put the

puck on net on a rush, and the resulting rebound was left for Kopitar to

pounce on in the first period.

Iafallo’s instincts and style might remind Kings fans of Justin Williams.

But the numbers don’t necessarily reflect that. Drew Doughty perhaps

explained it best this week how Iafallo is most effective: on a line with

Kopitar and Dustin Brown.

“I think Iafallo doesn’t get enough credit for what he does on that line,”

Doughty said. “He’s 100% got maybe the best stick I’ve ever seen in my

entire life on the forecheck in the neutral zone. His stick on puck is

unbelievable. So he creates those turnovers for those guys, and

obviously Brownie likes forechecking, too, and I think Kopi kind of missed

that in the past.”

St. Louis was unorganized. As good as the Kings played, this didn’t look

like the Blues team from Oct. 30. Their defensive pairs didn’t click, and

communication seemed to be an issue. Even Norris Trophy-candidate

Alex Pietrangelo made a glaring giveaway in the opening minutes and

was forced into a hooking penalty on Brown.

Blues coach Mike Yeo also made a curious move when he pulled goalie

Carter Hutton after two periods, to change it up, but also because he

didn’t like Hutton’s game.

Overall, this is likely a spell that good teams like the Blues usually get

through. It just wasn’t representative of the tighter defensive game they

had a month ago.

LA Times: LOADED: 12.03.2017


WAKING UP WITH THE KINGS: DECEMBER 2

JON ROSEN

DECEMBER 2, 20170 COMMENTS

GAME STORY

The Los Angeles Kings scored twice before the game’s first TV timeout

on Friday night. Is that good? With a performance that represented the

continued the swell in their team game, they jumped out to an early lead

and, after the St. Louis Blues pulled within one in the second period,

received an important late second period dagger that re-established the

two-goal difference. From then, they used a committed team-wide effort

that kept the hosts off the scoreboard in the third in widening their

impressive late-game goal differential. It’s time to revisit the February,

2013 Dustin Brown quote, because it applies here. “Let’s just say we

haven’t been playing our best hockey, and sometimes you say at the end

of losing streaks and at the end of winning streaks, sometimes you’re

losing games you shouldn’t, and sometimes you’re winning games you

shouldn’t, as well,” he said after the Kings put up 47 shots at Joe Louis

Arena but fell to the Red Wings, 3-2, on a goal in the final seconds.

Towards the end of the Kings’ winning streak this season, they weren’t

playing great hockey, but Jonathan Quick and Darcy Kuemper were

bailing them out. And though Los Angeles went through an extended

November rut, something appeared to change late in their doldrums. I

thought they played a really solid game in the narrow loss to Winnipeg,

and though that was followed by a so-so outing at Arizona, they’ve by

CAROLINA HURRICANES


and large built a crescendo in their game that has culminated with a four

game winning streak, the final three games of which they’ve won on the

road to give themselves the opportunity to cap off a tremendous road trip

Sunday night at the United Center.

Scott Rovak/NHLI

The game was well punctuated. For the third time in three games on the

trip, the Kings exited the second period with a lead. They’ve outscored

their opponents 5-0 in third periods on the trip, lifting their goal differential

over the final 20 minutes of regulation to an impressive +21. They’ve

outshot the Red Wings, Capitals and Blues 26-24 in these late-game

situations. Yada, yada, yada. But it’s important, in protecting multi-goal

third period leads, to not cede an early goal. St. Louis had an opportunity

to cut into the Los Angeles lead with an early third period power play, and

the Kings didn’t allow much more than a few sniffs at the net in an

impressive display. Darcy Kuemper was called upon to make one of his

six saves on Vladimir Tarasenko during the kill, but there were no shots

that came within 25 feet of the net. From there, L.A. really seemed to

build off a successive string of shifts in which all players were involved

and contributing, and it resulted in Tanner Pearson – who had another

strong night at the Scottrade Center – pressuring Vince Dunn and Colton

Parayko into a fumbled hand-off, resulting in a quick-strike as he issued a

heads-up puck towards Tyler Toffoli, who crashed the net and stuffed it

past Jake Allen. In the final 20 minutes, Adrian Kempe had seven shifts.

Jonny Brodzinski had six. Kurtis MacDermid jumped over the boards

eight times. For four rookies to get regular shifts in the third period of a

game against the team that (at the time) led the Western Conference,

and to come away with a win, is a boon for the confidence of the young

players and the balance in which John Stevens allots his minutes. It also

kept Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar well below their average usage on

the second night of a back-to-back.

Jeff Curry/NHLI

Kuemper’s save percentage is .944. Jonathan Quick’s save percentage

is .929. The Kings’ team save percentage is a league-leading .931. Anze

Kopitar is having an explosive season offensively (and his scoring rate

will ultimately slow somewhat, because his 19.1% shooting percentage is

over three percentage points higher than his highest shooting percentage

in any single season), but the team’s MVPs through the first 27 games of

the season have been their goaltenders, who allowed the team to

construct its game early and have hardly let up since.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.03.2017


GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO

JON ROSEN


Good morning, Insiders, and good morning, Chicago.

Not a bad schedule, this. Hastened by a 7:00 p.m. local time start, we

were out the doors (err, loading dock) of the Scottrade Center at 10:20

yesterday and up in the air just before 11:00 p.m. We touched down at

Midway before 11:45, and after leaving the field, arrived at the team hotel

with enough time to spare for a nightcap. There were a few bloggers and

media types congregating at the sleekly renovated lobby downstairs. Not

enough time to make a quick run to Rush Street, but, hey, it’s a Saturday

off-night in Chicago, and the world is our oyster. The only time we visited

last year was on the second night of a back-to-back. ALL HAIL

SCHEDULOR.

So! A little bit of personal and site news. I’ve taken on some additional

broadcasting responsibilities outside of the organization, and the first

assignment will be coming up next weekend. I’ve been given a

broadcasting package to call some NCAA hockey by the Big Ten

Network, and my first game will be next Friday’s match-up between Notre

Dame and Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in Madison. This requires a sign

off from the Kings, and they’ve been incredibly kind to allow me this

opportunity, because I’ll be missing some games here and there. In the

immediate future, I won’t be present for Thursday’s game versus Ottawa

and Friday’s practice day. My return flight to L.A. is scheduled to land at

10:30 a.m. Saturday, so I’ll likely miss the morning skate in advance of

the Carolina game as well, but hopefully there will be a gate available for

us at LAX and I can rush back to TSC and cover the end of that day’s

media availability. There will be a guest poster for the days I’m away, so

the site won’t go Sports Center during a Y2K compliance test. More

about this next week.

I’ll also have another broadcasting package to announce in a few weeks,

which, again, the Kings were awesome to sign off on. I’ll share that with

you at the appropriate time.

Practice day! Will we see the whites of Torrey Mitchell’s eyes? We’ll find

out at the United Center at 1:00 p.m. local time. Enjoy your weekend,

Insiders. It’s a beautiful morning in the Windy City.



DECEMBER 1 POSTGAME NOTES

JON ROSEN


POSTGAME NOTES

-With the win, Los Angeles improved to 76-99-26 all-time against St.

Louis, a record that includes a road mark of 28-62-12. Including playoffs,

the Kings have won 21 of the last 31 meetings between the teams. Both

teams are 1-1-0 in the head-to-head match-up with one remaining game

at Staples Center on March 10.

-With the win, Los Angeles improved to 4-5-3 versus the Western

Conference, 1-2-1 versus the Central Division, 7-1 in three-goal games,

8-2-0 when scoring first, 6-2-0 when leading after one period, 9-1-0 when

leading after two periods, 7-5-1 when outshot by their opponent and

-With the win, the Kings improced to 9-3-1 away from Staples Center.

Their 19 road points are tied for the most points through 13 road games

in club history (third time, also 1999-00 and 1980-81). The nine wins is

also tied for the most road wins through the first 13 games in team

history (second time, also 1980-81).

-By outscoring St. Louis 1-0 in the third period, Los Angeles has now

outscored their opponents 33-12 in third periods this season.

-The Kings scored the first goal of the game, ending a six game streak in

which they allowed the first goal. The last time they scored the first goal

was in the 4-0 win over Florida on November 18.

-Los Angeles leads the NHL with a .931 save percentage. San Jose

ranks second at .927.

-Adrian Kempe finished with a +1 rating and leads all NHL rookies with a

+13. Defenseman Robert Hagg of Philadelphis ranks second at +11.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


-The Kings attempted 42 shots (28 on goal, 9 blocked, 5 missed). The

Blues attempted 70 shots (40 on goal, 15 blocked, 15 missed). Vladimir

Tarasenko finished with a game-high six shots on goal, while Drew

Doughty, Alex Iafallo and Dustin Brown tied with a game-high four shots

for L.A.

-Los Angeles won 25-of-58 faceoffs (43%). Adrian Kempe won 2-of-7,

Anze Kopitar won 12-of-25, Jonny Brodzinski won 0-of-1, Nick Shore

won 5-of-10, Trevor Lewis won 0-of-2, Dustin Brown won 1-of-2, Nic

Dowd won 1-of-3, Jussi Jokinen won 3-of-6 and Tanner Pearson won 1-

of-2.



DECEMBER 1 POSTGAME QUOTES: TOFFOLI, KUEMPER

JESSI MCDONALD


POSTGAME QUOTES

Tyler Toffoli, on winning both games on the back-to-back:

I think we just had a really good start. I mean, we know how it feels when

you kind of get in a hole early games and we did a good job of not doing

that and we were ready to play tonight.

Toffoli, on whether the third period was one of the best they’ve had on

the road:

Yeah, we were solid. We rolled lines, just did all of those little things right,

and definitely contained them. Obviously they had some chances and

Darcy made some big saves, but I think it was just a really good road win

here.

Toffoli, on getting three goals in the last two games:

Yeah, well I wouldn’t really count last night as a goal (laughing). But

yeah, I guess they all count. Honestly, I just really kept my speed, good

breakout on the first goal and then on the other one Pears made a really

good play. I was low in front. So to be able to get the two goals, it

obviously feels good for myself, but at the same time the way these guys

have been playing at home, it’s really nice to get a win.

Toffoli, on the mindset coming in after losing to the Blues earlier in the

season:

I think we all expected them to come out like they did last time so we

were ready for it. So all in all it was just a really good effort by our team

here.

Toffoli, on if there’s any significance to being atop the Western

Conference right now:

I mean, obviously it’s a cool feeling. But after the start we had, we know

how quickly things can kind of slip away a little bit. I think we did a good

job of finding our way to come back and win some games here and kind

of get ourselves back on a roll. We’ve just got to stay focused on doing

those little things and just be consistent with our game.

Darcy Kuemper, on the team’s effort:

Took the entire roster and it’s going to every time you play a good team

like St. Louis, but we really brought it tonight and got rewarded with the

result.

Kuemper, on limiting both Washington and St. Louis to a total of three

goals:

It just shows what kind of team game we play. The commitment we got

out of the roster from the first guy to the last guy—everyone’s on the

same page and we’re playing for each other and it really shows on the

ice.

Kuemper, on making the most of his opportunities:

I was excited to get the challenge to play against a team like St. Louis.

You know, you don’t always get those opportunities so I was excited

when I found out about it. And I think our whole team was and really got

up for it and wanted to prove something out there.

Kuemper, on the first period:

I thought it was a pretty well-fought period. Obviously getting out of there

with the two-nothing lead is a great spot and we wanted to go out and

win the second. Got out of there with a tie and got a huge fourth goal in

the third and we were able to shut it down from there.

Kuemper, on how losing to the Blues earlier this season affected the pre-

game mindset:

Yeah, you could kind of tell when we got to the rink it was on guys’

minds. Guys were talking about it. You never want to lose to a team twice

in a row and we were really aware of that tonight and really came to play.



DECEMBER 1 POSTGAME QUOTES: JOHN STEVENS

JON ROSEN


POSTGAME QUOTES

On the win:

It was a good hockey game. It’s a back to back against two really good

teams that play hard and play a heavy game. I thought the guys really

dug in tonight. You got a great performance from your goaltender, and

jeez, we had some real quality looks there and Ty had two big goals for

us, but I thought we really kind of stayed with it and continued to get

better as the game went on. I thought we had a real solid third period,

and again, I think in these situations you need production from

everybody, and I thought we got good contributions from everybody.

On winning the first three games of a road trip:

Well, we knew it was a really important trip coming on. We didn’t do as

well on the home stand as we would’ve liked to, and it was really

important we thought that we won that last game at home and headed

out on the road on a good note, and we did, and that was a tough game,

as well. So, you go back to the Anaheim game, some really tough

sledding for us, and I just think the guys have done a good job of rest-

recovery on days in between and making sure they’re ready to play on

the days we play. It’s certainly nice to get a good start tonight, and I

thought the start of the hockey game was good for us, but we knew this

trip was going to be tough. Detroit was playing really well, Washington’s

been playing really well, St. Louis has played well all year, and Chicago’s

always a dangerous team, so it was an important trip for us, so obviously

we’re excited to be on it with three wins here, and now we’ve got to just

bear down for Chicago.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


On whether Darcy Kuemper’s strong performances affect how he

balances his goalies’ playing time:

We feel good about the schedule, the way it’s been for Jonny. I mean,

our goaltending’s been excellent all year, and if you look at the schedule,

I don’t think Jonny’s been in a situation anywhere where he’s been

overplayed. I thought that Washington game was a really hard game

because we had a lot of zone time, and that’s really hard for a goalie with

traffic, and we had pegged this game for Darcy. Darcy’s really done a

good job of getting ready to play when he’s called upon. He’s played on

the front end of a back-to-back, he’s played on the back end of a back-to-

back, and he’s done a really good job for us. I think Billy’s got a really

good relationship with our goalies. I think they kind of get a heads up

when they’re going to in the net and they do a really good job of getting

dialed in and ready to play, and he was ready to play tonight.

On Darcy Kuemper not having a regulation loss on December 1:

I think it’s important – I think we’ve seen it in the past with what’s

happened here before where you get some big production from your

back-up goalie. It was exactly what we were hoping for. You look at

Darcy, he came here, and I think he was excited for the opportunity, and

that’s a big responsibility for a back-up. You’ve got to a lot of times go in

on trips and sometimes in tough spots. He went in in Vegas for us mid-

game and played terrific, so your goalie needs to be able to come off the

bench and help the team get righted, and your goalie needs to come in

when the schedule’s tough and you need a great performance, and he’s

done all of that.

On whether he was pleased by Adrian Kempe’s line’s performance

against Brayden Schenn’s line:

Yeah, we have full confidence in that group. Adrian just continues to get

better. I think we all love his speed in the middle of the ice, but he’s

becoming a very responsible guy. I think the faceoffs are something we

need to continue to work on and get better at, but we like the line. We

think it’s a real responsible line. As long as he continues to improve in

those areas, he’ll continue to get more responsibility.

On whether he’s happy with the team’s standing near the top of the

conference on December 1:

Well, for sure. I mean, I think points early in th year are really important.

We just want to continue to try and get better as a team here. We’ve said

this all along. Things went well, and then things kind of slid a little bit, but

I think the important thing is to put it back in neutral, look at the game,

understand what you did well and understand what you need to improve

on, and we have lots of both.



GAME 27: LOS ANGELES AT ST. LOUIS

JON ROSEN


GAME THREADS

Los Angeles Kings 4, St. Louis Blues 1

NHL.com Preview

Box Score

Ice Tracker

SOG: LAK – 28; STL – 40

PP: LAK – 0/4; STL – 1/5

First Period

1) LAK – Tyler Toffoli (12) (Nick Shore, Tanner Pearson), 1:43

2) LAK – Anze Kopitar (13) (Alex Iafallo, Jake Muzzin), 6:12

Second Period

3) STL PPG – Patrik Berglund (1) (Colton Parayko, Vince Dunn), 15:17

4) LAK – Adrian Kempe (9) (Alec Martinez, Drew Doughty), 18:56

Third Period

5) LAK – Tyler Toffoli (13) (Tanner Pearson), 10:54

Los Angeles Kings (15-8-3) at St. Louis Blues (17-7-1)

Friday, December 1, 2017, 5:00 p.m. PT

Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO

Referees: #30 Kendrick Nicholson, #6 Francis Charron

Linesmen: #68 Scott Driscoll, #96 David Brisebois

Fox Sports West, FOX Sports GO, FUBO TV, KABC 790, I Heart Radio

LAK starters: G Darcy Kuemper, D Jake Muzzin, D Drew Doughty, LW

Alex Iafallo, C Anze Kopitar, RW Dustin Brown

LAK scratches: D Christian Folin. F Torrey Mitchell

STL starters: G Carter Hutton, D Joel Edmundson, D Alex Pietrangelo,

LW Dmitrij Jaskin, C Paul Stastny, RW Alexander Steen

STL scratches: D Robert Bortuzzo, F Magnus Paajarvi, F Sammy Blais



DECEMBER 1 PRE-GAME JOHN STEVENS QUOTES; MITCHELL TO

MEET TEAM IN CHICAGO

JON ROSEN


On the Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko lines, and attempts to neutralize it:

Well, if you look at the line, it’s interesting. I ran into Brayden Schenn’s

dad when we were in Arizona. He was visiting Luke, and he said he had

never seen a group that had such chemistry right away, and I think that’s

probably the key ingredients of have on a line. They seem to mesh very

well. They’ve got a lot of speed and quickness, they’ve got a lot of power

in their game, they’ve got some elite shooters and they play a really good

team game. If you add it up, I think they’re a plus-56 combined as a line,

and that might be the most dominant line in the league right now. They

play a 200-foot game. They’re a handful. They’re not just run-and-gun,

just a one-dimensional line. They play a really good team game, they can

check, there are turnovers that create a lot of offense of them, so

whoever’s on the ice to get them, you’ve got to compete, and you’ve got

to be ready to check them.

On any parallels to the last meeting, such as the standings, momentum,

and strong road play:

CAROLINA HURRICANES


I’m not sure, to be honest with you. I haven’t really thought about it that

way. But we’re just kind of focusing on ourselves. When you play St.

Louis, it’s a team in the conference, they’ve been one of the consistent

teams in the league all year. One thing is they’re healthier now than they

were. They’ve got Berglund back, they’ve got Bouwmeester back in their

lineup, so for us, it’s just another road game where in a back-to-back

situation we want to make sure we play a really smart game, we want to

get off to a good start and we want to make sure that we’re getting

contributions from everybody.

On what has evolved in the Kings’ game since the last meeting:

I don’t think it’s got anything to do with St. Louis. I think us, as a team,

we’re always trying to get better. I thought we defended really well last

night in our own zone, just we were there too much. If you took a look at

our neutral zone and our O-zone forecheck, I don’t think it was as

effective as it needed to be last night. When we got in our zone, the

commitment to keep the puck out of our net was impressive, but I think

we taxed ourselves a little bit too much by being there a little too much,

but good teams find a way to win in those games, and I think our

commitment in our own zone was excellent.

On whether he’s expecting a different style of hockey tonight compared

to the last two games:

I’m not sure. Maybe Detroit’s a little different. They really have a speed-

rush team coming at you, but I think Washington plays a really heavy

game. Their skill guys play a heavy game, and I would say St. Louis is

the same way. They’ve got big defense, and their forwards, they play

hard, they play physical, and they really count on their team game. I think

Washington is similar in that sense, but I probably see more similarities in

Wash and St. Louis than I did in the Detroit game. All good teams all

have lots of speed in the lineup, but I just think Washington and St. Louis

play a really heavy game that you’ve got to be ready for. I think the dot-

to-board part of the game, it’s a real important part of the game tonight.

On why St. Louis’ defense is having so much success this season:

They have. They’ve got a scheme where they’ve got this high umbrella in

the offensive zone. Their forward ends up high in the middle of the ice.

It’s an interesting set-up, but it’s a tough read. It’s a good concept they’ve

really gravitated towards. They’ve got some defensemen I think who are

some really good thinkers with good mobility, and they’ve really activated

that D. It’s almost like a power play look in the offensive zone five-on-five,

and it’s really been effective for them. They really get a guy away from

the puck, a lot of time it’s a defensemen, and that creates some

confusion on coverage on that play, and I think last time when we were

here they were at least a goal a game and they’re almost a goal a game

now with 21 goals from their defensemen. That’s been impressive, and

it’s certainly a concern and something we have to be aware of.

On whether Torrey Mitchell was available for tonight’s game:

He’d be available if he was here. He’d need a long stick to help us

tonight. He’s not coming here. He’s going to meet us in Chicago. He had

some complications there with that, but we were trying to get him in here.

We weren’t going to play him, anyway. I just didn’t think it was fair to him.

We’ve got healthy guys here, and he hasn’t skated in three days, so we’ll

get him back on the ice tomorrow and get him going.



DECEMBER 2 PRACTICE NOTES: MITCHELL’S PURGATORY,

CLIFFORD UPDATE, PIZZA!

JON ROSEN


Good evening from Chicago, the final stop of the Kings’ four-city tour

through the Midwest and our nation’s capital. Los Angeles scheduled a

1:00 p.m. practice, but the few regulars who took the ice did not stay on

for very long. By the end of the skate, Pierre Turgeon led Torrey Mitchell

and Kyle Clifford on some conditioning sprints as others trickled out of

the dressing room and weight rooms towards the first team bus.

Notes!

-Clifford (upper-body) is still a little ways out:

JS reaffirms Clifford not quite yet day-to-day. Still needs to continue to

build up strength.

-As for Mitchell, yes, we saw the whites of his eyes. We also had a nice

conversation with him! As noted yesterday, his visa was secured, and he

beat the team to Chicago yesterday evening by several hours. His arrival,

of course, followed three and a half days in Detroit in which he was

confined to his hotel room because he had to be ready at a moment’s

notice for a call informing him that he’d have to report to the immigration

office.

“Yeah, it was, ‘we’re working on it,’ and they’re expediting my work visa,

and then it was for some reason or another not done by the end of that

day,” he said of the bureaucratic delay, which continued after the team’s

game in Detroit on Tuesday. While the team traveled to Washington,

D.C., he remained at the hotel to deal with immigration paperwork that

bled into Friday.

“I was on call [Wednesday] morning. And then I’d get a call at around

noon like, ‘they’re processing it,’ and … “you should be hearing shortly,’

and, ‘oh, they just sent us some papers and we’ve got to wait a little bit

longer here,’” he said.

“I was going, ‘do I have a record or something that I didn’t know about

here? … I’m a law-abiding citizen.”

He laughed it off and kept an open mind to being stuck in travel

purgatory.

“It’s a holiday for Thanksgiving, and then they processed it Monday, and

it took three and a half days,” he said. “So in hindsight it wasn’t that bad,

right? Three and a half days, but it would’ve been nice to get there.”

The hardest part was not really being able to leave the hotel.

“I couldn’t do anything because I was literally on call to go immigration as

soon as we got the email saying ‘you’re processed,’ so I couldn’t do

anything,” he said. “Like, I literally couldn’t even drive 20 minutes to the

mall, because I had to be ready to leave the hotel right away, so I did

room service like ten times.”

He also watched Showtime’s Billions, which he loved, and the Kingsmen

movies. And then he was back on the ice at the United Center on

Saturday going through sprints. It’s been a long week, but if needed, he’d

be available tomorrow, at least by virtue of his completed paperwork.

“Yeah, that’s the plan. I think, just try to get in shape and when your

name’s called, be ready to go,” he said. An indication of whether he’ll

play the Blackhawks will be revealed during Sunday’s morning skate.

-Meanwhile, the Kings were back in the visitors’ dressing room at the

United Center, the same one they celebrated in after winning the 2014

Western Conference Championship. It’s three and a half years removed

from Alec Martinez’s bank shot off Nick Leddy, but Anze Kopitar recalls

the feeling of returning to the room from which he spoke on Saturday. He

was “pretty tired” after the seven-game heavyweight bout, but did put into

words the immediate feeling of having emerged from the 21-game

western marathon.

“It was just, you know you can’t really—well, yeah you can celebrate –

but you still have one more step to take,” he said. “So, coming here,

CAROLINA HURRICANES


probably the most satisfying part was they did knock us out the year

before in ‘13. So, we came in here and we couldn’t defend [the Stanley

Cup] anymore, and coming here and being on the other side of things,

especially in this rink, I don’t think we’d had too much success in here on

the other side of things. It was definitely a good feeling.”

“…It’s been a while now. But, yeah, we always come here, it’s always

intense. The building, it’s very loud. You’ve got to make sure that we’re

ready right from the get-go because we all know they can score goals if

you let them play their game. So, we’ll go out there [tomorrow] and

compete and see what happens.”

-More than a dozen pizza boxes arrived for the players just prior to

leaving the rink, and no, it wasn’t deep dish, Chicago-style pizza. It might

take another 21 games to burn off some Lou Malnati’s.

“I’m usually a thin-crust guy,” Jonny Brodzinski said. “I’ve never really

been a thick crust guy, and I heard it’s kind of a bit thicker here.”

Self-styled “pizza expert” Jeff Solomon declined to fully go on the record

with his pizza preferences as to not sow discord in the locker room, but

did state his preference for a New Jersey-style pie.

John Stevens, who regularly embarks on morning runs in the cities he

visits, has some pizza preferences but remains a commendably healthy

eater. He’ll splurge occasionally, though.

“My favorite thing is shrimp cocktail and steak,” he said. “That probably

doesn’t qualify [as comfort food], but I do like pizza once in a while. We’re

pretty much protein-and-vegetable, so fish, chicken, steak. But if I’m

going to have a night where I’m going to have some pizza, I’d be pretty

happy. As a matter of fact, I’m going to have pizza right now.”


1086456 Websites

The Athletic / Vegas Strong: Golden Knights have been big winners, on

and off the ice

By Michael Russo 16 hours ago

Erik Haula does consider himself extremely lucky.

A big country music fan, Haula had talked to his girlfriend, Kristen, about

attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the night of Oct. 1, just

a slap shot away from the Vegas Golden Knights' home of T-Mobile

Arena.

Haula, the former Wild center selected by the Golden Knights in June’s

expansion draft, had a couple friends visiting from Minnesota that were

attending the concert, and the Golden Knights’ preseason finale against

the San Jose Sharks — a game Haula would score in — would be over

by 7:45.

“Some of the guys even went on Friday, and the concert was right next to

the arena,” Haula said.

But instead, Haula decided to join several of his teammates for dinner

just down the strip at the Cosmopolitan.

“I left the rink at 9, and the thing happened at 10,” Haula said. “Just

chaos. It was terrible.”

Shortly after 10, a gunman smashed open a window from a 32nd-floor

suite at the Mandalay Bay and began firing at unsuspecting concertgoers

as Jason Aldean closed the third and final night of the festival. Fifty-eight

people were killed, more than 500 injured.

Deryk Engelland

Down the road at the Cosmo and out of harm’s way, Haula looked out

the window at Las Vegas Boulevard.

“You know how Vegas is, but it was an absolute ghost town,” Haula said.

“Just cops and ambulances and S.W.A.T. everywhere.”

Haula said the “toughest part for us was social media when we were in

there. You don’t know yet what’s really going on, and then you’re reading

there are multiple shooters or now someone’s walking in here and

someone’s walking in there.”

“So I just decided,” Haula said, his voice cracking, “I’m not moving. I’ll

just wait it out.”

In the days following, the Golden Knights played a pivotal role in helping

the community heal.

They attended blood drives, honored first responders and visited victims

in hospitals.

“We, as a group, had a meeting the next day, and we wanted to go and

help in any way possible and just give our support,” Haula said. “It was

sad. It was really sad. Emotions were running really high. We went to

these hospitals and talked with police officers, and it was just … so sad.”

On Oct. 10, the Golden Knights played their first home game, against the

Arizona Coyotes.

It was not your typical home-opener celebration, particularly for the first

home game for a new franchise.

The Golden Knights paid homage to the heroes of Oct. 1 by having

players accompany firefighters, doctors, nurses, police officers and

paramedics on the ice. They honored survivors during a ceremonial puck

drop, honored the victims with 58 seconds of silence and defenseman

Deryk Engelland, a longtime Las Vegas resident, gave an impressive

pregame speech.

“We had to get the ceremony right because we were suddenly on a huge

platform in Las Vegas and it was a big platform to get the message out

about what happened here and how important it was for the hockey team

and the community to help people heal and grieve and persevere,”

Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee said. “We just thought

it was critical that we got the ceremony right to honor the victims and

support the families and recognize the first responders.

“The game was really secondary to us and in some ways didn’t matter.

This was a bigger event, a bigger issue, a bigger story, and we had to do

it right. And thankfully we think we got it right. It’s not about being proud,

it’s not about accepting accolades. It was about showing we were part of

the community now and here to support. There was a huge expression of

emotion that night. You hope you never have to experience one of these

things at any point in your lifetime, and for some people it’s over, for

some people it will never be over and for us we won’t let it be over.

“We have to continue to support.”

The Golden Knights beat the Coyotes, 5-2, that night to open the season

3-0 in a run that included eight wins in their first nine games. Until a

recent blip of three consecutive losses, including a 4-2 defeat in

Thursday’s first-ever visit to Minnesota, the Golden Knights were leading

the Pacific Division.

They have set several inaugural-season records, including becoming the

first expansion team to win their first three games, win eight times in their

first nine games and win 15 times in their first 22 games (the 1926-27

Rangers had the record with 15 wins in their first 25 games).

They’ve had two five-game winning streaks and an eight-game home

winning streak.

“Everyone hopes for a start like this,” McPhee said. “You seldom ever

see it. We’re delighted. We didn’t expect it. It’s early, but it’s a great start

for us. We wanted to be competitive. We’re trying to win every game.

We’ll see where that takes us. It has been a good start, but it’s a long

way to go. We hope we’re talking this way late in March.”

CAROLINA HURRICANES


If the Golden Knights are in the hunt come late February, McPhee will

have some serious decisions to make. His goal is still building a

foundation for the future, and key players like left wing James Neal (12

goals, 7 assists), center Jonathan Marchessault (9, 14), left wing David

Perron (6, 13) and defenseman Luca Sbisa (1, 7) are potential free

agents next summer, and thus attractive potential rentals come trade

deadline time.

“That’s a decision we don’t have to make now, thankfully,” McPhee said.

It took an extraordinary amount of work for McPhee and his staff to put

together this roster. Every decision took time, and as an example, The

Athletic reported earlier in the week on the anatomy of the Haula/Alex

Tuch Wild-Golden Knights swap in June.

They studied expansion drafts galore, especially the Florida Panthers’ in

1993 and the Minnesota Wild’s in 2000.

The Panthers truly used that expansion draft to build a team that

accelerated to the Stanley Cup Final in Year 3. The Wild, similarly,

advanced shockingly to the Western Conference Final in Year 3.

The Golden Knights tried to draft players of high character and low ego

and so far have been beating teams through speed and work ethic.

“Those are the two takeaways that we got meeting with management that

had been through expansion,” McPhee said. “(First Panthers GM) Bob

Clarke, one of the big takeaways from him was to make sure you have a

team of workers. (First Wild GM) Doug Risebrough emphasized speed.

So, we tried to accomplish both. And, so far we have those two elements.

And, our coach is doing a heck of a job.”

McPhee chose Gerard Gallant from a list of several qualified candidates

after the Panthers unceremoniously kicked him to the curb last

November.

“He has a very, very good and deep understanding of this game and

how it should be played and a very good understanding of how to relate

to players,” McPhee said. “They enjoy working for him. He’s the kind of

guy you don’t want to let him down because you enjoy playing for him so

much.”

McPhee said he and his staff needed “every minute of that last year to

scout and to put together a master plan and just go through all the details

in scouting meetings.” Every single decision McPhee and his staff made

in these scouting meetings affected another, but “we had an excellent

software engineer create a tool for us that kept things really, really

orderly and precise. Whenever we clicked one player, it sort of changed

the whole paradigm.

“We wanted to try to claim the best players we could get, needless to

say, but they also had to be good people and we had to keep an eye on

proper team construction. That wasn’t easy. But we did the best we

could, and crossed our fingers and hoped when we got going in October

we’d have a competitive, entertaining team, and a team Las Vegas fans

would enjoy.”

McPhee and his staff should feel proud.

So far, on and off the ice, the Golden Knights have been a winner.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.03.2017

1086457 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Impressive first period propels Canucks past Maple Leafs

Jacob Markstrom made 35 saves to help the Vancouver Canucks edge

the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1.

Iain MacIntyre

December 2, 2017, 10:03 PM

VANCOUVER – Nothing bugs a westerner like being dictated to by an

easterner. Even something as pragmatic as an earlier start time for the

Vancouver Canucks when the Toronto Maple Leafs and their pilgrims

make their annual visit to Rogers Arena bothers a lot of people on the

West Coast.

But Canucks fans should stop complaining about the bias towards

Eastern Canadian television viewers for National Hockey League start

times because it was the Maple Leafs who weren’t ready to go Saturday

when the puck dropped early at 4:19 pm local time.

The Leafs started playing around 5 p.m., and by then it was too late. The

Canucks scored two in the first 12 minutes and hung on to the beat the

Maple Leafs 2-1 to ruin what had been a perfect Western Canadian road

trip for Toronto.

"We didn’t get ready," Leafs’ coach Mike Babcock admitted. "The first

period cost us obviously. We spent the whole night playing catch-up. We

had lots of opportunities. Their goaltender was good and they made

some blocks and all that. But in saying all that, we weren’t ready to go at

the start. When you play catch-up hockey, it’s usually losing hockey."

As good as the Canucks were in the opening period, the Leafs were that

good in the final 40 minutes but could put only one puck – James van

Riemsdyk’s deflection with 2:52 remaining – past Vancouver goalie

Jacob Markstrom.

Unfortunately for the Leafs, the Canucks refused to score on themselves,

which is how Toronto beat the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday to sweep

two games in Alberta.

"The bottom line is if you want to be a real good team, you’ve got to play

every day, you got to play every night and you’ve got to start on time,"

Babcock continued. "There was nothing wrong with our effort in the

second and third… but you’ve got to start on time."

Markstrom finished with 35 saves and through 57 minutes appeared

ready to rectify an embarrassing blemish on his resume by finally

recording an NHL shutout. He has gone 128 games over nearly seven

years without one.

But the 27-year-old, who was better than the Leafs’ Frederik Andersen,

happily took the two points. At least we think he was happy, if a little bit

defiant, when asked after the game about losing the shutout.

"Huge win," he answered. "At home (after) a long road trip. Great buzz in

the building. Saturday night. When you play a Canadian team, it’s a little

extra special. Huge win."

Yes, he spoke in fragments, which is how the Canucks played over the

final two periods. By then, the mental and physical exhaustion after a six-

game road trip and 20 nights away from home in November appeared to

set in. Of course, the Leafs, when they skate and press, can do that to

teams, too.

But the Canucks survived on first-period goals by Markus Granlund,

whose wrist shot from left wing was whiffed by Andersen, and

defenceman Alex Edler during a delayed penalty that capped what was

one of Vancouver’s best shifts of the season.

The Canucks were buoyed at the start by a pre-game ceremony

acknowledging Daniel Sedin’s 1,000th point in the NHL. The presentation

included an emotional appearance in street clothes by teammate Derek

Dorsett, who gave Sedin a silver puck two days after the sudden end of

Dorsett’s career due to back injuries.

Sedin didn’t know Dorsett would be part of the ceremony.

"It was awesome to see him," Sedin said. "He has been a big part of our

team. Hopefully he can still be around (because) I think he can still teach

us a lot of lessons."

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Driven by the emotions surrounding Dorsett’s retirement announcement

on Thursday morning, the Canucks rallied that night with three third-

period goals to beat the powerful Nashville Predators 5-3.

The Canucks’ first period against the Leafs was nearly impressive.

You can debate whether the Maple Leafs or Winnipeg Jets are Canada’s

best team, but the Canucks have been the most surprising in a positive

way. Picked to finish near the bottom of the standings for a third straight

season, Vancouver is instead battling for a playoff spot at 13-10-4. And

the Canucks’ pelts include the Leafs, Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins,

Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals.

"It shows that when we play our best, we can beat anyone," Sedin said.

"But if we have a bad game, we’re going to lose against a lot of teams.

We need every guy each and every night. Tonight, Marky stepped up big

time."

Edler said: "This (Toronto) team tonight, they have so much skill up front.

It was a battle all the way through. We battled hard in Nashville, we

battled hard tonight and we beat two good teams."

Two more good teams.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.03.2017

1086458 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Making sense of Doughty and Karlsson’s contract

comments

Emily Sadler

December 2, 2017, 10:51 PM

Drew Doughty and Erik Karlsson share a lot in common, from their draft

year to their status as perennial Norris Trophy contenders, so it’s no

surprise they’d be looking to land similar paycheques on the open

market.

Doughty made it clear that he’ll be consulting Karlsson when the time

comes for him to negotiate a new deal when he spoke with The Athletic‘s

Craig Custance earlier this week.

“I know I’m going to talk to Karlsson back and forth, kind of see what

money he’s looking for,” Doughty said. “I’ll kind of look at what money I’m

looking for. I don’t know if he’s going to re-sign with Ottawa. I don’t know

if I’ll re-sign with L.A. You just never know what’s going to happen.”

Both Doughty and Karlsson are scheduled to be free agents following the

2018-19 season, and will therefore be eligible to sign extensions as early

as July 1, 2018.

According to Sporsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Los Angeles Kings plan on

making their star blue liner a priority.

“Kings management had no issues whatsoever when it comes to his

comments,” Kypreos said during Saturday’s Headlines segment on

Hockey Night in Canada. “Their priority is to make him an offer as early

as July 1. The last thing that they want is another distraction, much like

we see with the Islanders and (John) Tavares. That’s the one thing that

they want to avoid.”

Of course, it’ll cost them. Doughty’s current contract, an eight-year, $56-

million deal he signed back in 2011, counts for $7 million against the cap.

Kypreos said he’s aiming for something even bigger than the $80-million

deal Kings captain Anze Kopitar inked in 2016, which could pose some

big budget questions for Kings in the near future.

“They understand that he will put himself in a position to be higher than

the highest paid player in L.A., which is Kopitar at $10 million,” Kypreos

said. “But for them to remain competitive in years to come, I don’t think

that they’re willing to give him, basically, a top-leveled kind of contract. I

do believe that it will be slightly higher, but not to the point where he

prices himself out completely out of a competitive team for years to

come.”

Hockey players are notorious for side-stepping questions about money,

so Doughty’s honesty made several headlines—and prompted several

questions for Karlsson, too.

As for the Ottawa Senators captain, he was clear about his intentions:

“When I go to market, I’m going to get what I’m worth, and it’s going to be

no less, no matter where I’m going,” Karlsson told the Ottawa Sun on

Thursday.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston broke down what Karlsson’s comments could

mean for the Senators:

“The timing in Ottawa was a little bit less than ideal,” Johnston said

Saturday. “They’d lost seven straight games when this came up,

obviously they had no control over it when Drew Doughty made his

comments and naturally reporters were going to go to Erik Karlsson and

get his feelings on the matter. He’s made his point here, I don’t expect

the Senators will do the same.”

Karlsson signed a seven-year, $45.5-million deal in 2012 with an

affordable $6.5-million cap hit for a Senators team that has seen its share

of star players leave town due to budgetary reasons.

“Awkward timing for them as well, because they can’t do anything until

July 1. They don’t want to stoke the fires here, and a lot of people have

pointed out that Doughty and Karlsson both share an agency, Newport

Sports,” explained Johnston. “There’s also another dynamic here: the

Ottawa Senators have to deal with Newport on Mark Stone this coming

summer, so there’s a few things boiling beneath the surface. Ottawa

wants to keep it quiet in hopes this blows over.”


1086459 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens’ current win streak has restored hope in

Montreal

Paul Byron scored three of Montreal’s ten goals as the Canadiens

hammered the Detroit Red Wings 10-1.

Eric Engels

December 2, 2017, 11:48 PM

MONTREAL—This was never supposed to happen. Not for Paul Byron,

and certainly not for this group of Montreal Canadiens.

But such is life in Gary Bettman’s parity show, where a player who

supposedly never had much of a chance at a career in this league can be

celebrating his first hat trick in his eighth NHL season and be doing so on

a night where his team, which lost seven of its first eight games of 2017-

18, is firming up its hold on a playoff spot on the strength of a 10-1 win

over the Detroit Red Wings.

On Saturday, Byron scored goals one, three and six of the game and

increased his season total to nine, helping the Canadiens win their fifth

consecutive contest. This event, which seemed so unfathomable when

Byron—a sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2007—was claimed

CAROLINA HURRICANES


off waivers from the Calgary Flames on the eve of the 2015-16 season,

was born of incredible determination.

And who are these Canadiens, if not a determined-to-defy-the-odds

group? They are a team no one thought could score, one that looked

porous on the defensive side of the puck through all of October, and one

that looked like it was on a fast track for top spot in the 2018 draft lottery

race.

Successive wins over the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets,

Ottawa Senators and two against the Wings have restored hope in

Montreal.

"There was two ways to go," started Byron after Saturday’s game. "We

could either pity ourselves and give up or stop fighting, or we could come

together as a group and find a way to take it one game at a time and get

one win at a time. I know it’s pretty cliché, but in an 82-game season

anything can happen. Teams can get hot, teams can get cold, and you

know I think we all knew we were much better than what our record said

we were."

We’re not entirely sure how good the Canadiens in fact are, but there’s

little doubt now about what they are. They are a resilient group. The proof

is in who led them to such an overwhelming win on Saturday night.

It wasn’t captain Max Pacioretty, who led the team in goals in each of the

last five seasons and led them in points in each of the last six. He was

the only one of Montreal’s forwards to not record a point in Saturday’s

game.

It wasn’t goaltender Carey Price, who was responsible for the majority of

their wins since taking over as starter in 2011. Nor was it No. 1 centre

Jonathan Drouin, who missed Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury.

It was Byron. It was Jacob De La Rose, who hadn’t scored a goal since

April 15, 2015 but found the back of the net in this one and added two

assists to his NHL total of six over parts of four seasons. It was fourth-

liner Nicolas Deslauriers who scored his first goal and first three points as

a Canadien. It was rookie Charles Hudon, who scored his first-ever goal

at the Bell Centre.

Byron Froese, who had two goals and three assists in his first 72 NHL

games, had two assists for Montreal in this one. Defenceman Jordie

Benn, who had 15 goals in 341 previous games at this level, scored the

team’s eighth of this game.

And Daniel Carr, who had admitted being sent to the AHL after a less-

than-stellar training camp had really rocked him, added a goal and an

assist and now has three points in two games since being called up to

the team.

Even Alex Galchenyuk, who should be among Montreal’s point leaders

but scored just one point in his first 10 games, contributed four assists in

this one.

Improbable.

"I know everyone likes to count us out and everyone wants to look at the

odds, but there’s so many good teams in the league I don’t think there’s

going to be as much separation as there’s been in years past," said

Byron. "Until that last game in April, I think it’s going to be a dogfight to

get into that last playoff spot and I think this group needs to keep working

harder to get better and we certainly have a lot better hockey in us than

we played at the beginning of the year. I think it’s finally starting to show

for us."

Time will tell if it can last, and the Canadiens aren’t under any illusions

about what this explosive win over the now-downtrodden Red Wings

really amounts to.

"Stuff is going to happen throughout the course of the year," said

Brendan Gallagher, who scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season

and the 100th of his career Saturday. "You look at what happened last

year, we lost one of these against Columbus, and we won one of these

against Colorado.

"It’s important not to get too high on ourselves," added Gallagher. "The

same way we didn’t get too down on ourselves earlier on in the year."

Just about everyone else in Montreal did, when nights like this one

seemed too far-fetched to fathom.


1086460 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Takeaways: Despite late scare, Oilers appear ready to

turn corner

Mark Spector

December 3, 2017, 1:56 AM

It’s an old hockey axiom you don’t often hear anyMORE: Bad

goaltending, good game.

On Saturday, shady goaltending turned a 5-1 game into a thrilling, 7-5

finish. Don’t look now, but with 55 games left in the 2017-18 season the

Oilers pulled to within five points of Calgary after Edmonton won its sixth

straight game in the Battle of Alberta.

Truly, the 6-1 lead Edmonton had was more indicative of this game than

the final score, as Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit imploded in the third

period to keep Calgary in the game. But the Oilers were the better team

in this one, and they just might be turning a corner — finally — in what

has been a brutal start to the season.

Here are some takeaways from a game played in 2017 with a final score

from about 1987:

• Brossoit’s last four starts: a 2-1 shootout loss at Washington; two goals

against at Buffalo; five goals against versus Toronto; and a good night

turned dreadful Saturday night in Calgary.

With Cam Talbot (upper body) out for at least another 10 days or so, and

the Oilers not up again until Philadelphia comes to Rogers Place on

Wednesday, we’ll bet Brossoit gets another start versus the Flyers, with a

very short leash. Remember, backup Nick Ellis hasn’t played an NHL

minute.

What of Brossoit though? He was good into the third period, holding a 6-

1 lead. And then he absolutely imploded.

An awful goal to Sam Bennett from well below the circle. Then another to

Johnny Gaudreau — maybe worse. Almost cost the Oilers a game they

once led 6-1.

Edmonton appears ready to turn a corner. They won’t turn anything with

goaltending like that however. GM Peter Chiarelli is shopping, no doubt.

There could be a new man between the pipes come Wednesday,

because at this point there isn’t a man inside this organization who has

faith that Brossoit is ready to carry a team.

• Jesse Puljujarvi entered the game with three NHL goals, and very

nearly doubled that total in the opening 20 minutes. He closed the game

with two goals, and couple of Grade A chances missed.

The 19-year-old Finn, we’ll have to say, is starting to very much resemble

an NHL player. He skates well, and is figuring out that he’s as big or

bigger than most NHL defencemen. He can barge into the blue paint and

stay there a while against a lot of pairings, as he learns that every goal

doesn’t have to be a 30-foot snipe show.

With Kailer Yamamoto at WHL Spokane, and Puljujarvi still just 19, the

Oilers look strong on the right side. If Puljujarvi can find chemistry there

CAROLINA HURRICANES


with McDavid, it will allow head coach Todd McLellan to keep Leon

Draisaitl at centre ice on his own line for the foreseeable future.

ERIC ENGELS

• This is how hockey works: Two night ago Toronto talked about how

great their power play was, scoring two goals on two shots, needing only

1:28 to go 2-for-2 on the man-advantage vs. Edmonton. The Oilers,

meanwhile, bemoaned their own brutal PK, which is the worst in the

NHL.

Fast forward to Saturday, when the Flames blew an early four-minute

power play in a scoreless game, and would go on to convert just one of

six power play chances. The Flames would tell you that special teams

cost them a hockey game Saturday, while the Oilers will take five kills in

the same game, something that is rare as an Eric Gryba hat trick this

season.


1086461 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / NHL’s next expansion franchise could cost $600-700

million

Sonny Sachdeva

December 3, 2017, 12:03 AM

If the NHL adds another franchise to the mix in the future, there’s a good

chance it will cost much more than the $500 million Bill Foley paid to spur

the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights.

That’s according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, who reported that the

next NHL franchise is expected to cost between $600-700 million.

“Expansion is not formally on the agenda as owners gather Thursday and

Friday in Florida, but there is a strong feeling that it will be discussed on

some level,” Johnston said during Hockey Night in Canada’s Headlines

segment on Saturday. “We’ve talked about Houston, we’ve talked about

Quebec City in recent weeks. There’s also a key vote in Seattle on

Monday where the Oak View Group could have its $600-million arena

proposal approved by council to get things going. That will obviously get

the attention of NHL owners should it go through.

“And with how well things have gone in Vegas on the ice, off the ice, all

this interest that they’re getting, the feeling is that the next franchise in

the league is going to cost $600 million to $700 million.”

The vote in question—on a memorandum of understanding between the

Oak View Group and the city of Seattle proposing a redevelopment of

KeyArena—could serve as the first significant step in Seattle’s bid to

enter the expansion fray.

FULL DETAILS: #Seattle Mayor, OVG to announce $660+ million,

tentative, privately financed arena deal:

#KeyArenahttps://t.co/ZOUgfiSTCB pic.twitter.com/dkw4UcMt2S

— Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels5) September 12, 2017

Commissioner Gary Bettman discussed the city’s chances of getting a

franchise in October, telling Sportsnet 590’s Prime Time Sports that

securing a building surely helps.

“You need to believe that a building is going to come out of the ground.

And if not, bad things will happen,” Bettman said. “This is really jumping

ahead because we would have to be in a place where we say ‘OK we

want to commit to a franchise in Seattle. Here’s what has to happen, here

are the terms of engagement.’ We’re nowhere near that.”

Not yet, but a majority vote from the nine-member council on Monday

would certainly move Seattle one step closer.

The Golden Knights’ $500-million price tag was the most costly in NHL

history thus far—by a long shot. The two previous clubs to join the

league, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, each paid

$80 million in expansion fees back in 2000.

Nashville and Atlanta paid the same in the two years prior, while Florida

and Anaheim each coughed up $50 million in fees before that, one tenth

of the price paid by Foley for the Golden Knights.

However, as Johnston said, the league’s 31st team has already begun

reaping the rewards of that hefty sum, drawing interest from locals and

the hockey world alike as their club continues what has already been the

most impressive start of any franchise in league history.


1086462 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Making sense of Doughty and Karlsson’s contract

comments

The Hockey Night in Canada panel discuss comments made by Drew

Doughty and Erik Karlsson about their contracts and if the Buffalo Sabres

and Philadelphia Flyers are open for trades.

Emily Sadler

December 2, 2017, 10:51 PM

Drew Doughty and Erik Karlsson share a lot in common, from their draft

year to their status as perennial Norris Trophy contenders, so it’s no

surprise they’d be looking to land similar paycheques on the open

market.

Doughty made it clear that he’ll be consulting Karlsson when the time

comes for him to negotiate a new deal when he spoke with The Athletic‘s

Craig Custance earlier this week.

“I know I’m going to talk to Karlsson back and forth, kind of see what

money he’s looking for,” Doughty said. “I’ll kind of look at what money I’m

looking for. I don’t know if he’s going to re-sign with Ottawa. I don’t know

if I’ll re-sign with L.A. You just never know what’s going to happen.”

Both Doughty and Karlsson are scheduled to be free agents following the

2018-19 season, and will therefore be eligible to sign extensions as early

as July 1, 2018.

According to Sporsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Los Angeles Kings plan on

making their star blue liner a priority.

“Kings management had no issues whatsoever when it comes to his

comments,” Kypreos said during Saturday’s Headlines segment on

Hockey Night in Canada. “Their priority is to make him an offer as early

as July 1. The last thing that they want is another distraction, much like

we see with the Islanders and (John) Tavares. That’s the one thing that

they want to avoid.”

Of course, it’ll cost them. Doughty’s current contract, an eight-year, $56-

million deal he signed back in 2011, counts for $7 million against the cap.

Kypreos said he’s aiming for something even bigger than the $80-million

deal Kings captain Anze Kopitar inked in 2016, which could pose some

big budget questions for Kings in the near future.

“They understand that he will put himself in a position to be higher than

the highest paid player in L.A., which is Kopitar at $10 million,” Kypreos

said. “But for them to remain competitive in years to come, I don’t think

CAROLINA HURRICANES


that they’re willing to give him, basically, a top-leveled kind of contract. I

do believe that it will be slightly higher, but not to the point where he

prices himself out completely out of a competitive team for years to

come.”

LUKE FOX

Why would Doughty start fires 17 months before free agency?

ERICK EVANS

Hockey players are notorious for side-stepping questions about money,

so Doughty’s honesty made several headlines—and prompted several

questions for Karlsson, too.

As for the Ottawa Senators captain, he was clear about his intentions:

“When I go to market, I’m going to get what I’m worth, and it’s going to be

no less, no matter where I’m going,” Karlsson told the Ottawa Sun on

Thursday.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston broke down what Karlsson’s comments could

mean for the Senators:

“The timing in Ottawa was a little bit less than ideal,” Johnston said

Saturday. “They’d lost seven straight games when this came up,

obviously they had no control over it when Drew Doughty made his

comments and naturally reporters were going to go to Erik Karlsson and

get his feelings on the matter. He’s made his point here, I don’t expect

the Senators will do the same.”

Karlsson signed a seven-year, $45.5-million deal in 2012 with an

affordable $6.5-million cap hit for a Senators team that has seen its share

of star players leave town due to budgetary reasons.

“Awkward timing for them as well, because they can’t do anything until

July 1. They don’t want to stoke the fires here, and a lot of people have

pointed out that Doughty and Karlsson both share an agency, Newport

Sports,” explained Johnston. “There’s also another dynamic here: the

Ottawa Senators have to deal with Newport on Mark Stone this coming

summer, so there’s a few things boiling beneath the surface. Ottawa

wants to keep it quiet in hopes this blows over.”


1086463 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Sabres open for business, is Evander Kane on the block?

Emily Sadler

December 3, 2017, 12:09 AM

The deeper we get into the 2017-18 season, the clearer it becomes that

something needs to change in Buffalo.

The struggling club was expected to take a big step in its rebuild this

year, but once again finds itself in the NHL’s basement with a 6-17-4

record. Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins was their fourth

straight defeat—their 11th in their past 12 games—and featured another

dismal offensive performance on the heels of being shut out for three

straight games.

So, might we see some trade talks coming soon?

“There’s a sense from other teams that the Sabres are sending signals

that they are open for business, and you can ask about anybody whose

name is not Jack Eichel,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during

Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “Now, I do

think if you’re going to ask about a [Rasmus] Ristolainen or a Marco

Scandella or a Sam Reinhart, you better be coming with a serious offer

because I don’t think Buffalo is going to trade those guys unless the offer

is great. But I think they are prepared to listen to everyone except the

franchise player.”

According to Friedman, Evander Kane could be a player to watch. The

26-year-old assisted on the Sabres’ one and only goal scored this week,

and his play has been a rare highlight on a team that hasn’t had many of

them.

“A lot of people are talking about Evander Kane,” said Friedman. “I asked

a couple of teams what the price would be, and here’s what a couple of

them said: If you go back and look at a couple of deadline deals from the

past couple of years, Andrew Ladd and Martin Hanzal, look at what their

two teams got: Winnipeg got Marko Dano, a first-round pick, and a

conditional pick for Ladd from Chicago, and Arizona got a first, a second

and a fourth from Minnesota for Hanzal and Ryan White.”

Kane has 12 goals and 24 points through 27 games this season so far to

lead Buffalo in both categories, and would surely land a hefty return if

we’re talking in terms of what Ladd and Hanzal garnered.

“The sense is that Buffalo feels that Kane is a better player than both

those players, so they’re going to be aiming higher,” said Friedman. “I

don’t think they’re going to be getting a franchise defenceman for him,

but I think that’s the idea of what they want to be, and Kane is having a

great year.”


1086464 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / NHL hoping salary cap could rise to $80M neighbourhood

next year

Sonny Sachdeva

December 2, 2017, 10:37 PM

General managers around the NHL could have plenty of room to bolster

their rosters before the 2018-19 season rolls around as the league is

hoping the salary cap could rise to somewhere in the neighbourhood of

$80 million next year.

An update on next season’s salary cap is expected to come when the

league’s Board of Governors meet this week in Florida, according to

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

“There is a sense and a hope that they’re going to hear that the league is

hoping for something in the neighbourhood of $80 million,” Friedman said

during Hockey Night in Canada’s Headlines segment on Saturday.

“We’re at $75 million now—they’re hoping to hear something around $80

million, depending on what the Players’ Association wants to do.”

With the cap sitting at $75 million this season, a jump to $80 million

would serve as the biggest yearly rise since the 2014-15 campaign, when

the league’s cap increased from $64.3 million to $69 million.

The cap rose by just $2 million between this season and last, having sat

at $73 million for the 2016-17 campaign.

NHL Salary Cap by Season:

2013-14 $64.3 M

2014-15 $69.0 M

2015-16 $71.4 M

2016-17 $73.0 M

CAROLINA HURRICANES


— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 22, 2016

A $5-million increase could provide some much-needed breathing room

for a few different clubs around the league.

The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning are each projected to

have roughly $10-11 million in cap space next season with the ceiling at

its current $75 million, according to CapFriendly. Both teams have some

key names to re-sign, meaning a significant cap bump could grant them

the opportunity to keep their current names and perhaps add some

others.

For clubs like the Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings and Florida

Panthers, who have their cores locked up and would similarly have

roughly $8-10 million if the cap remained the same, an extra $5 million

might give them an opportunity to add another significant piece to the

mix.

Much is yet to be determined before it can be assumed that such an

increase will take place, however, more clarity should come after the

league’s Board of Governors meet on Thursday and Friday.


1086465 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Predators’ Viktor Arvidsson helps fan with marriage

proposal

Sportsnet Staff

December 2, 2017, 8:27 PM

Viktor Arvidsson collected an assist before the Predators game even

began on Saturday.

As the team was walking past their screaming fans to take the ice for

warmups, Arvidsson stopped and passed a ring to fan Conor Payne.

And then Payne got on one knee and asked his girlfriend Morgan

Landsberg a very important question.

She said YES, y’all!!! What a special moment we got to share with

Morgan & Conor! pic.twitter.com/z2jcr8hRBv

— Lexus Lounge (@lexus_lounge) December 3, 2017

She said yes!

Predators beat writer Adam Vingan caught up with the couple afterwards

and found out that Arvidsson is Landsberg’s favourite player.

After that nice pass, it’s probably safe to say he’s Payne’s now too.

Congrats to the happy couple!


1086466 Websites

TSN.CA / Leafs come up just short in loss to Canucks

By Kristen Shilton

The Maple Leafs haven't swept a Western Canada road trip since 2000.

After going 2-0 against Calgary and Edmonton, Toronto came up just

short of the accomplishment in Saturday's 2-1 loss to a feisty Vancouver

Canucks team. The defeat halted Toronto's two-game win streak, and

moved them to 17-10-1 on the season.

Takeaways

11th-hour alterations

The Leafs had a last-minute change to the lineup when they announced

hours before puck drop that Tyler Bozak was scratched due to illness.

That moved Patrick Marleau back to the middle between James van

Riemsdyk and Mitch Marner, while William Nylander moved to the

Nazem Kadri line to accommodate Josh Leivo stepping into the lineup on

the fourth line. In another intriguing move, Roman Polak remained in the

lineup after a difficult night against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

Polak had trouble matching the Oilers’ speed and was victimized with a

couple of drawn penalties in quick succession.

Against the Canucks he had another rough start, directly contributing to

the Canucks’ first goal. Overall, Toronto had a mediocre first period and

didn’t have much jump offensively compared to the high-octane Canucks’

attack, and Marcus Granlund’s first goal of the season materialized as

the Leafs were running around their own zone and Polak had Frederik

Andersen screened.

Polak was also on the ice later in the frame (while play was 6-on-5 due to

a delayed penalty against the Leafs), when Alex Edler picked the same

top corner as Granlund to put the Leafs in a 2-0 hole after 20 minutes.

When the second frame began, Babcock blended his lines, moving

Nylander back to the Matthews line, Marner to the Kadri line and Brown

to the Marleau line, which gave the Leafs a spark they used to control the

flow of the game until well into the third period. Babcock has been

tinkering with Toronto’s offence since the start of the season trying to find

the right combinations and with or without losing guys due to illness, that

trends shows no signs of slowing just yet.

Veteran moves

It was a nightmare moment for Morgan Rielly. Playing in his hometown

with his mom and dad in the crowd, the fifth year defenceman had a

wide-open net and the puck on his stick when he fanned on the shot and

sent it trickling past the left post. As Rielly turned his head to the sky in

anguish, James van Riemsdyk moved into position to do what he does

best. He tipped his 13th of the season past Jacob Markstom to deprive

the net minder of his first shutout of the season, and moved into a tie for

first place with Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri for goals scored

among Leafs.

The single goal for Toronto may have taken nearly three periods to

materialize, but after being outworked through the entire first, Toronto got

the better of their hosts for most of the final 40 minutes. Going into

Saturday’s game, Toronto had only outshot their opponent seven times

over their first 26 games, going 3-3-1 in that span. After being outshot in

the first period, Toronto was outshooting the Canucks 10-0 after the first

10 minutes of the middle frame, and by the start of the third period, shots

were 17-3 Toronto since the start of the first.

But Markstrom was rock-solid for the Canucks in net, and only a

relentless shift from the Leafs offensively to set up van Riemsdyk’s goal

put a dent in his armour. It was just the second one-goal game the Leafs

have lost this season, after falling 3-2 to San Jose on Oct. 30.

Goalie groove

Andersen entered Saturday’s game with a 7-1-4 all-time record against

the Canucks and was already a perfect 2-0 on the Leafs’ Western

Canada road trip. He was also just 24 hours removed being named the

NHL’s second star of the month for November, after posting a terrific 8-2-

1 record with .947 save percentage and 1.97 goals-against average.

But while Andersen had been the Leafs’ best player in the previous four

weeks, he started Saturday’s game with a goal he surely wanted back.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Granlund’s marker was one Andersen would normally have, but his

reaction to the high-glove shot was just a half-second too late. The Leafs

were caught chasing the Canucks in their own zone at the time, and were

at a loss to match the Canucks’ cycle game in the opening frame.

After Edler’s score, Andersen really settled down and looked closer to his

usual self, though he wasn’t tested nearly as much through the final 40

minutes. Andersen did make what was perhaps his best save of the

game midway through the final frame on Loui Eriksson, extending his

right pad just enough to turn the puck aside and keep the Leafs down by

a pair.

Late in the third period, Andersen tried to play the puck and ended up

falling, but recovered enough to keep Vancouver from capitalizing. He

finished with 24 saves and a .923 save percentage. It was the second

time in three games Andersen has faced 25 or fewer shots after a stretch

of eight games with 30 or more shots against.

Ferocious fourth line

For the second straight game, the Leafs fourth line was among their best

for 60 minutes. Matt Martin, Dominic Moore and Leivo generated the

most offensive zone time (at a team-high 71 per cent possession) and

some of Toronto’s best chances, especially in the second period. They

finished the night with five shots on goal while averaging less than nine

minutes of ice time collectively.

Following their first period struggles, the Leafs held a commanding lead

in possession time, at 71 and 71 per cent respectively over the final two

periods; they finished at 58 per cent overall. While it was van Riemsdyk’s

group that ultimately tallied the Leafs’ lone goal, he, Patrick Marleau and

Connor Brown were among the least efficient in possession time at 51

per cent.

Next game

The Leafs return home to face the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.

TSN.CA LOADED: 12.03.2017

1086467 Websites

TSN.CA / TSN Hockey's Top 10 Storylines of the Week

By Scott Cullen

A Canucks milestone, free agent defencemen from 2019 in the news,

Price is back in fine form, Ducks-Devils trade and more in TSN Hockey’s

Top 10 Storylines of the Week.

DANIEL SEDIN HITS 1,000

Vancouver Canucks left winger Daniel Sedin became the seventh active

player to cross the 1,000-point threshold, picking up three points in

Thursday’s 5-3 win at Nashville.

The 37-year-old is not playing so much this season, 14:14 time on ice per

game is his lowest since 2003-2004, and the Sedins are left to a

supporting role at this stage of their careers, but hitting a milestone like

this is a reminder of just how productive they have been for a long time.

In his illustrious career, Daniel’s most productive stretch was from 2006-

2007 through 2010-2011, when he put up 429 points in 390 games,

winning the 2010-2011 scoring title with 104 points.

While production is down this year, the Sedins remain play drivers,

controlling 57% of shot attempts during 5-on-5 play, so while the twins

may be in their twilight of their careers, they remain productive

contributors, even in their diminished role.

FREE AGENT DEFENCEMEN

The 2019 free agent class of defencemen – headlined by Erik Karlsson,

Drew Doughty and Oliver Ekman-Larsson – is very interesting, not least

of all because at this early point in the process there is still the possibility

that these guys might move.

This could all be fanciful dreaming, by teams that hoping that might be

able to lure one of these premier talents in free agency, but Karlsson and

Doughty both had some interesting comments this week.

Doughty told The Athletic’s Craig Custance that he’d be discussing free

agency with Karlsson. "Right now, we'd be gauging off what Subban

makes," Doughty said, referencing Subban’s $9-million cap hit. "I think

both of us deserve quite a bit more than that."

For his part, Karlsson insisted, “I will get what I’m worth.”

Neither of these stances are especially controversial, but it’s unusual for

hockey players to talk about how much money they will be seeking on a

new contract. Doughty noted that there will be some pressure on the

2019 free agent defencemen to set a new standard for the position.

PRICE RETURNS

The Montreal Canadiens’ season was fading away, as they had gone

seven straight without a regulation win, and the outlook was bleak. But a

funny thing happened on the way to the draft lottery: the Habs got

superstar goaltender Carey Price back from injury and Price, who had

struggled early in the season, was in fine form, stopping 128 of 133 shots

in his first four games back in the lineup.

The Canadiens are hardly fixed, as they are still ranked 29th in goals per

game (2.48), but if Carey Price is healthy and back to being Carey Price,

then they are going to have a chance to be competitive, which is a whole

lot better than things looked even a week ago.

HENRIQUE-VATANEN DEAL

A couple of teams looking to address positional needs used their depth

elsewhere on the roster to swing a significant trade.

The Anaheim Ducks have had their centre ice position gutted by injuries,

so they made a deal to acquire Adam Henrique from New Jersey,

sending puck-moving blueliner Sami Vatanen to the Devils.

DORSETT DONE

One of the big surprises for the Vancouver Canucks early in this season

was the production they received from gritty right winger Derek Dorsett, a

30-year-old who missed most of last season after he had neck surgery.

He scored six goals in the first 10 games in this season, stunning

production from a player who had scored more than seven goals in a

season once, all while remaining his feisty self – he leads the league with

74 penalty minutes in 20 games.

Nevertheless, word came this week that Dorsett’s career is finished, that

he can’t continue to play because of the risks involved with his surgically-

repaired neck. He ends his career with 127 points, 105 (regular-season)

fights and 1,314 penalty minutes in 515 games.

SENS SLUMPING

It’s not a great time for the Ottawa Senators. Friday’s 6-5 win at the

Islanders ended a seven-game winless streak, a miserable stretch that

saw them score just nine goals.

Even after the win at the Islanders, the next five games are on the road,

so that’s not an ideal situation, and if this season gets away from them

that will be a significant disappointment after last season’s appearance in

the Eastern Conference Final.

There was also another round of the Senators insisting that they are not

for sale, with rumours suggesting that the team lacks the funds to

develop Lebreton Flats for a new arena.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


MATT MURRAY INJURY

After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Pittsburgh Penguins have

started this season slowly, in part because their goaltending has not

been as strong as it has been in recent seasons.

Matt Murray, who is the clear No. 1 between the pipes for the Penguins,

had a .906 save percentage through 21 games, and suffered a lower-

body injury after a collision with Philadelphia Flyers winger Jakub

Voracek, and that leaves the Penguins in a precarious spot.

In the past few seasons, the Penguins have had the luxury of having

either Murray or established veteran Marc-Andre Fleury in net, but with

Fleury gone to Vegas in the expansion draft, a Murray injury leaves

Pittsburgh with 22-year-old Tristan Jarry in net and Jarry has appeared in

just five NHL games in his career.

Jarry did record a 34-save shutout at Buffalo Friday, but this is still a

dicey situation if Murray is going to be out long-term.

FLYERS SLIDING

Heading into Saturday’s afternoon contest against Boston (which they

are losing), the Philadelphia Winless in nine, the Philadelphia Flyers are

starting to feel the heat, with fans calling for head coach Dave Hakstol to

be relieved of his duties (if not necessarily in such amicable terms).

The Flyers haven’t been entirely awful – there is some bad luck involved

in losing four of those games in overtime and one in a shootout – but the

season is getting away from the Flyers and if they don’t turn it around

soon, they’ll be looking ahead to next season, probably sooner than

expected.

KESSEL

With Sidney Crosby going through an early-season slump (he’s since

emerged and is producing in typical fashion again) and Evgeni Malkin

injured, the early scoring leader on the Pittsburgh Penguins is Phil

Kessel, who has 32 points in 27 games, a career-best 1.19 points per

game.

Kessel is generating 3.7 shots per game, his highest since 2013-2014,

though he played two-and-a-half minutes more per game back then;

that’s encouraging for the 30-year-old winger’s production moving

forward, but beware the power play. Kessel has scored 17 of his 32

points with the man advantage, tied with Steven Stamkos for most

power-play points in the league.

WILLIAM KARLSSON

The Vegas Golden Knights made out pretty well in the expansion draft,

but even Vegas has to be surprised by the immediate impact they’ve

received from centre William Karlsson, who came from Columbus.

Karlsson, 24, has scored 10 goals in the past 10 games and is tied for

fifth in the league with 14 goals. He has 24 points in 25 games, one off of

tying last year’s career-high. He’s shooting 25.5% right now, so that’s not

going to continue, but Karlsson has been shooting more (28 shots on

goal over the past 10 games), so that will help to offset when his

percentages start to fall.

The good news out of this for Vegas is that Karlsson is young enough to

be a building block. He will be a restricted free agent next summer and is

looking at a hefty increase in salary from the $1-million he’s making this

season.

TSN.CA LOADED: 12.03.2017

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017downloads.hurricanes.nhl.com/clips/clips120317.pdf · 3a). Hanifin...

Documents

Transcript of NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017downloads.hurricanes.nhl.com/clips/clips120317.pdf · 3a). Hanifin...