SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF - NHL.comkings.nhl.com/v2/ext/Media Relations Page/Sports Scan/01 26 2015...

SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 1/26/2015

Anaheim Ducks

761851 Tavares leads Team Toews to NHL All-Star Game victory

Boston Bruins

761852 Patrice Bergeron’s skills on display daily

761853 Tyler Seguin stands behind column that said Bruins gave up on him too soon

761854 NHL All-Star Game: Bergeron helps out 761855 Bruins report card

761856 All-star Notebook: Columbus shines as All-Star host 761857 Bruins monitoring Canadian dollars' impact on salary cap

Buffalo Sabres

761858 Kane happy to answer World Cup call 761859 All-Star Weekend a hit for NHL

Calgary Flames

761860 Hitmen whip Giants to cap perfect weekend

761861 Calgary Flames' Mark Giordano, Johnny Gaudreau enjoy NHL all-star experience

761862 Five Burning Questions about the Calgary Flames

Chicago Blackhawks

761863 Blackhawks place LW Versteeg on long-term injured list 761864 St. Charles grandfather, grandsons honored at Blackhawks game

761865 Blackhawks put Versteeg on long-term IR

761866 Jeremy Roenick claims to snap 'best selfie ever' with Patrick Kane

761867 Blackhawks recall Dennis Rasmussen ahead of road trip

761868 All-Star Game was fun, but Blackhawks focused on upcoming trip

761869 Blackhawks recall Rasmussen from AHL

Columbus Blue Jackets

761870 NHL All-Star Skills Competition: Blue Jackets' Ryan Johansen steals the show

761871 NHL All-Star presence testifies to John H. McConnell’s passion

761872 NHL All-Star Game: Fans had fun even without tickets

761873 NHL All-Star Game notebook: Fleury booed for bad period

761874 Blue Jackets: Foligno, Johansen excel as All-Star hosts

761875 Michael Arace commentary: Columbus has reason to be proud

761876 NHL: Teams set All-Star record for total goals; Blue Jackets’ Johansen MVP

761877 Foligno and Johansen are humble ambassadors

761878 Columbus shines as the center of the hockey universe

761879 Fake fight breaks out at NHL All-Star Game

Dallas Stars

761880 Stars' Tyler Seguin scores two goals, two assists for Team Toews in NHL All-Star game win

761881 Seguin collects two goals as All-Stars set scoring record

Detroit Red Wings

761882 NHL All-Star Game: 4 goals for Tavares, Johansen MVP

761883 Tavares stars as NHL All-Stars stage record shootout 761884 AHL All-Star Classic up next on Teemu Pulkkinen's busy schedule

761885 Gave: Wings will soon need to sort out crowd in goal

Edmonton Oilers

761886 Prolific Medicine Hat Tigers offence overpowers Edmonton Oil Kings

Florida Panthers

761887 Goals and tweets pile up for Panthers’ Roberto Luongo at NHL All-Star Game

761889 Panthers' Luongo and Ekblad lead their team to 17-12 victory in All-Star Game

Los Angeles Kings

761890 The highlight of NHL All-Star game is the smile of Chris Sutter 761891 NHL All-Stars set record with 29 goals as Team Toews beats Team Foligno

761892 Kopitar, Doughty All-Star Game photos, videos

Minnesota Wild

761893 Offense rules as Tavares scores 4 in Team Toews' 17-12 win

761894 Tom Powers: Wild help wanted: Emotional stability a must

Montreal Canadiens

761895 Jack Todd: Silly news travels fast 761896 Carey Price survives All-Star Game shootout

Nashville Predators

761897 How Predators got here from there

New Jersey Devils

761898 A look at Devils great Patrik Elias' All-Star Game experience

761899 Devils' Patrik Elias notches two assists in Team Toews' 17-12 win at NHL All-Star Game

761900 Lamoriello, Devils striving to skate in right direction

New York Islanders

761901 Dreary NHL All-Star game an avalanche of scoring as Rangers’ Rick Nash, Islanders’ John Tavares among many to

761902 Isles’ Tavares somehow not MVP after 4-goal All-Star Game

761903 Islanders star John Tavares ties All-Star Game record with four goals

New York Rangers

761904 Dreary NHL All-Star game an avalanche of scoring as Rangers’ Rick Nash, Islanders’ John Tavares among many to

761905 Quiet Nash not a fan of All-Star spotlight; How the Rangers shape up for post-break playoff push

761906 NHL All-Star Game: Teams combine for record 29 goals

761907 Rangers' Nash heads back to Columbus as All-Star 761908 Rangers want to keep climbing up the standings

761909 Predicted blizzard already impacting Rangers' plans

761910 Unlike Rick Nash, Ryan Johansen a fan favorite in Columbus

761911 Rangers first-half notes and highlights

Ottawa Senators

761912 Senators' playoff chances pegged at 16.6%

761913 Senators all-star Bobby Ryan: 'I've had a blast'

Philadelphia Flyers

761914 Flyers' Voracek equals record in All-Star Game

761915 It's a goal explosion

761916 South Jersey's Gaudreau plays in NHL All-Star Game

761917 Voracek a star among Stars

761918 NHL All-Star Notebook: Flyers-Pens 2016-17 outdoor game?

761919 The Orange Line: Claude Giroux's top goals with Flyers

761920 Flyers' Jacob Voracek ties NHL All-Star Game record with 6 points, robbed of MVP

761921 NHL All-Star Game 2015: Tavares scores 4, Team Toews outscores Team Foligno, 17-12

761922 Flyers' Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux have shot at feat done twice in NHL's 1st 96 seasons

761923 What channel is the 2015 NHL All-Star game on?

761924 Here's look at Flames rookie Johnny Gaudreau's NHL All-Star Skills Competition experience

Pittsburgh Penguins

761925 All-Stars consider it a privilege to take part in game

761926 Rossi: Crosby's debt to NHL paid in full 761927 Chips in pucks, jerseys could alter how NHL games are analyzed

761928 NHL All-Star Game notebook: Columbus, Johansen make strong showing

761929 Penguins' Fleury surrenders 7 goals in 1 period of NHL All-Star Game loss

761930 Marc-Andre Fleury takes All-Star Game jeers in stride

761931 All-Star Game notebook: Hometown favorite Ryan Johansen selected MVP

San Jose Sharks

761932 Sharks' Burns scores, but Team Foligno loses 17-12 to Team Toews in NHL All-Star game

761933 NHL All-Star Game, Jan. 25: Burns’ goal caps scoring festival 761934 Record 29 goals made in 2015 NHL All-Star game

St Louis Blues

761935 Blues contribute in highest-scoring All-Star Game

761936 Blues' Vladimir Tarasenko: A star in the making

Tampa Bay Lightning

761937 Stamkos scores twice in record NHL All-Star Game

Toronto Maple Leafs

761938 MLSE, Blue Jays deal with dollar dive

761939 All-Star Game a nice diversion for Maple Leafs fans

Vancouver Canucks

761945 Kuzma: Against the good and the bad, Canucks need to start winning some home games

Washington Capitals

761940 2015 NHL All-Star Game: The real reason Alex Ovechkin badly wanted a car 761941 Ovechkin records three points and a scrum in ASG

Websites

761946 ESPN / What we learned at the All-Star Game

761947 ESPN / Storylines to follow at All-Star Game

761948 ESPN / Shattenkirk recharged as All-Star 761949 Sportsnet.ca / An all-star game isn’t just about you, Canada

761950 Sportsnet.ca / Fan feeds Price nachos during All-Star Game

761951 Sportsnet.ca / Four NHL All-Star Game host city candidates

761952 Sportsnet.ca / A look at NHL all-stars who shouldn’t have been

761953 Sportsnet.ca / Ranking NHL All-Star Game music acts: 1998-2015

761954 Sportsnet.ca / Complete NHL All-Star Skills Competition results

761955 USA TODAY / Tavares leads Team Toews to win in All-Star goalfest 761956 USA TODAY / Rick Nash's resurgence makes Rangers a threat 761957 YAHOO SPORTS / NHL All-Star Game MVP: Welcome to Ryan Johansen's coming-out party in Columbus

Winnipeg Jets

761942 Coyotes star had emergency surgery at HSC

761943 If Jets want to make moves, here's a few options

761944 Byfuglien doesn't shine at All-Star Game 3

SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129

761851 Anaheim Ducks

Tavares leads Team Toews to NHL All-Star Game victory

Jan. 25, 2015

Updated 6:16 p.m.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio — John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star game.

The wild, no-defense exhibition even featured a fake fight along with goals in bunches.

The 29 goals were the most in the event’s 60-year history, eclipsing the 26-goal burst in North America’s 14-12 victory over the World in 2001.

Ryan Johansen, of the hometown Columbus Blue Jackets, had two goals for the losing team but still won the MVP award in voting by fans on Twitter.

The NHL has determined the teams by a number of geographic and divisional setups over the 60 years. Just like on ponds around the globe, these lineups were determined by a player draft on Friday night.

Orange County Register: LOADED: 01.26.2015

761852 Boston Bruins

Patrice Bergeron’s skills on display daily

By Amalie BenjaminGlobe Staff January 24, 2015

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When trying to contemplate where he would fit into the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, scheduled to take place on Saturday night, Patrice Bergeron cracked the same joke that everyone around him has been making since he was named to his first All-Star Game.

“If there’d be like a backchecking contest, it’d be in my alley,” he said on Friday, smiling.

There is no backchecking contest. There is no faceoff contest, either. Those wouldn’t exactly rival Zdeno Chara’s specialty — the hardest-shot competition — for the most exciting showcase for fans.

As fellow Selke Trophy candidate Anze Kopitar said on Friday, “I don’t think the guys are going to be laying down blocking shots, stuff like that. That’s reserved for the season and the playoffs. It’s tough to say how you’d bring out the defensive skill in this kind of weekend. I don’t think anybody’s interested in blocking shots and taking a whole lot of faceoffs.”

So it goes that the skills most crucial to Bergeron’s game — his two-way play, his defensive prowess, his intelligence and awareness on the ice — do not lend themselves to All-Star Games. They do not stick out in statistics or, sometimes, in the highlights. Bergeron’s is a more subtle talent.

“Maybe it is a little bit underappreciated,” Kopitar said of those two-way skills. “But people that are involved about hockey, they know this stuff, so it’s not a big deal.”

Still, those talents don’t make a player stand out in an exhibition that is far more about showing off dips and dekes and special moves to the net than it is about passing and teamwork. The All-Star Game, to be played at Nationwide Arena on Sunday, is about individuals shining.

That’s not Bergeron, at least not in the system the Bruins employ, the one favored by coach Claude Julien. It was something that Bergeron really started to understand when he returned from his concussion-shortened 2007-08 season, a time when his career was in jeopardy.

“Definitely Claude had a big impact on my game, made me realize that it was important to play both ways,” Bergeron said. “It was something that was in my game, but I really needed to get better at it.”

It’s safe to say that happened.

He has the hardware to prove it, and his name on the Stanley Cup. That’s why he doesn’t wonder about what it would be like if he played in a different system, if there would have been more All-Star Games on his résumé, more goals from his stick.

“I want to win,” he said. “I feel like this is giving me the best chance to do so. It proved itself in 2011 and 2013 by going to the Final and winning in 2011. It doesn’t really matter to me, to be honest with you. I’m happy in Boston. All I want is to have success as a team.”

Though, in the end, individual achievements aren’t all that bad. Unless he’s forced to take Chara’s spot in that hardest-shot competition, that is.

That won’t happen. Bergeron was placed in the accuracy competition (along with the skills challenge relay and the shootout) by Jonathan Toews, the captain of his team for Sunday’s exhibition. Still, even if those events match his skill set slightly better, it’s still not exactly in his wheelhouse. It’s not where he’s most at home.

“It’s definitely different,” Bergeron said. “It’s definitely going to, I guess, get me out of my comfort zone. I’m pretty shy and some of those [skills] events are different, definitely out there, but we’ll see.

“I’m happy to be recognized here, but you’re right, sometimes it’s more for the offensive skills only, and I’m just happy that I got recognized.”

Bergeron has a Stanley Cup title, two Olympic gold medals, and two Selkes. But this is his first All-Star Game, which wasn’t held the last two seasons because of the lockout and the Olympics.

“It’s another thing I can say that I was part of and lived the experience and I know how it’s like,” he said. “Definitely something that when I’ll look back on my career, I’ll be happy that I’ve done it.”

Like many of his Bruins teammates, Bergeron has not had his best season, which was why there was no clear-cut All-Star candidate for Boston.

But Bergeron got the call, coming to the weekend with 11 goals (and 21 assists) this season, off the pace he set last season on his way to 30 goals and 32 assists. His totals also lag behind his pace from 2012, when then-teammate Tyler Seguin felt the need to apologize to Bergeron for having made the All-Star team over his center.

“I remember when I got the nod and he didn’t, I felt a little weird and didn’t think that was right,” Seguin said on Friday. “But I saw him earlier this morning. I know he’s happy to be here.”

Seguin relayed a story from last week, when the Bruins were in Dallas to face the Stars. Seguin’s Dallas teammates were looking at Bergeron’s faceoff numbers, where the center is second in the NHL to Montreal’s Manny Malhotra, at 58.9 percent.

They marveled at how he seems to get better, to refine those skills, to make himself shine through his teammates and the play of his team. Seguin knows this particularly well, having played alongside Bergeron, having watched the center every day, every game, every shift.

“With him, it’s his attitude,” Seguin said. “It’s not only the two-way player he is, but just how he approaches everything, the way he comes to the rink, his leadership qualities. He’s definitely someone I looked up to. Maybe we didn’t tell him very much, but I was always kind of watching what he did.”

So will he let Bergeron know that this weekend?

“I wouldn’t tell him to his face that I looked up to him,” Seguin said with a grin. “No, I wouldn’t do that.”

Boston Globe LOADED: 01.26.2015


Tyler Seguin stands behind column that said Bruins gave up on him too soon

Monday, January 26, 2015

Steve Conroy

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tyler Seguin tried his hand at penning a column – admittedly with the help of a ghost writer – for Derek Jeter's website ThePlayersTribune.com in which he hashed over the trade from the Bruins. In the piece he doesn't exactly break any news, but Seguin emphatically said that, yes, he believed the Bruins gave up too soon on him. He also admitted to some unspecified immature choices.

“It was probably one of the cooler requests I've gotten. I was all for doing it,” Seguin said at the NHL All-Star Game. “I was probably just talking truthfully about how I felt. It's been some time (since the trade). I've kept my mouth shut and I still am going to. But I thought it was an article that turned out well.”

Boston Herald LOADED: 01.26.2015


NHL All-Star Game: Bergeron helps out


Steve Conroy

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Patrice Bergeron proved yet again that he’s an excellent hockey player — even in a game that barely resembles hockey.

In the first All-Star Game of his career, Bergeron scored a goal and notched four assists to help propel Team Toews to a 17-12 victory against Team Foligno at Nationwide Arena last night.

The Bruins center even took a trip down memory lane early in the game.

Bergeron skated most of the night with John Tavares and Patrick Elias. But during a line change, Bergeron scored his goal off a primary assist from former B’s linemate Tyler Seguin.

“We said, ‘We still got it. The chemistry is still there,’�” said Bergeron with a laugh. “I saw him, he looked at me and waited until I got in the zone. It was pretty nice of him to do that. I knew he was going to try to give it back, so I was just trying to get open.”

Seguin picked up a couple of goals himself, but it was the helper to his old centerman that brought a smile to his face.

“We were chuckling about it,” said Seguin. “I kind of stayed there late and I saw him on the ice right when I got it, I wasn’t going to pass to anyone else. I wanted to connect for at least one. It felt pretty familiar, especially the celebration. Even after and before the game, doing our little handshake, memories flashed back.”

The time that Seguin and Bergeron were on the ice together was a rarity, however, and Tavares was happy for that. Tavares had a game-high four goals and Bergeron had the primary assist on all four. The last one, a cross-ice sling pass from the corner to the side of the net, was a thing of beauty from Bergeron.

“It was a lot of fun. It was a great experience playing with two great players. I had a lot of fun on the ice,” Bergeron said. “I definitely know John from the Olympics. We were talking a lot and having fun. We just enjoyed the moment.

Bergeron and Tavares were linemates for Team Canada in the Sochi Olympics for two games before Tavares was injured.

When the Bruins return to action on Thursday night, one of Bergeron’s chief assignments will be to keep Tavares from scoring for the New York Islanders.

“We had some good chemistry in the Olympics and I know this isn’t a typical game, but the more and more you get to know him as a person first and foremost, he’s just a tremendous guy. Just full of character and leadership,” Tavares said of Bergeron. “And you see why he’s such a special player on the ice when you see him. .�.�. He was setting up guys everywhere. I had a lot of fun playing with him.”

Bergeron and the rest of the All-Stars will get back to their real jobs this week, whenever weather permits. And it sounded like Bergeron already was pining for the rigors of the regular season before last night’s game was even over.

“In the third period he was saying he liked backchecking,” said Seguin, a look of sheer disbelief coming over his face. “I was like, ‘Don’t lie to your friends.’ He said, ‘No, no, I enjoy it sometimes.’ I’m like, ‘All right, that’s why you’re Bergeron.’�”



Bruins report card


Stephen Harris

It could have been worse. Much worse.

The Bruins are in eighth place in the East coming out of the All-Star break and still in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007. But that seems unlikely after the club played significantly better in the weeks before the break, with a 9-2-4 stretch that lifted them into the final playoff slot.

If the B’s continue to play as they have recently, they should edge higher in the standings.

But just think of the predicament the team could be in if it had not managed to survive surprisingly well without the injured Zdeno Chara (19 games), David Krejci (17), Adam McQuaid (18) and others during November and December.

Credit Providence blueline call-ups Joe Morrow, Zach Trotman and David Warsofsky for filling in quite well for the missing D-men — and various forwards for stepping up in Krejci’s absence.

“Despite all the injuries we’ve had a decent record,” said B’s coach Claude Julien in December. “If we’d collapsed this last month, we’d be in trouble. But we held tight, we battled. It wasn’t always pretty, but we always found ways — with character, determination and perseverance — we found ways to win.

“We can look back at those games and say maybe they weren’t pretty wins, but look how valuable they are now.”

True. But it was not pretty. The Bruins managed to stay close to .500 despite having few, if any, of their key regulars playing well.

So logic would have dictated that the B’s should have been in trouble with the injuries and sub-par play. But they hung around, not too far out of the top-eight, and, when they finally woke up and started to play better late last month, turned their season around.

Had the turnaround not occurred, the individual grades for the first part of the season would have been abysmal — nothing better than C’s, and plenty of D’s and F’s. As it is, most of the marks are at least respectable, with most individuals, like the team as a whole, still having plenty of room for improvement.

GOALIES

Tuukka Rask B

The defending Vezina Trophy winner struggled early with uncharacteristic numbers (2.69 GAA, .901 save percentage after 13 starts) and was rightfully unhappy with the D-zone play in front of him. He did let in some weak goals, however. But he has looked like the Rask of old the past month, with an 8-1-4 mark since Dec. 20. The team GAA in January was 1.60, compared to 3.00 in December.

Niklas Svedberg C+

The 25-year-old Swede has been an adequate backup, going 5-5-0 in 12 games, with a 2.22 GAA and .922 save percentage, giving the B’s a chance to win most nights. He’s been good on initial shots, but allows too many dangerous rebounds.

DEFENSEMEN

Dougie Hamilton B-

Sometimes he looks like a fast and talented star-in-the-making No. 1 defenseman — with 8-18-26 totals, two GWGs and four PPGs. And sometimes Hamilton looks like a 21-year-old kid still learning the job and prone to errors of decision-making or execution. Either way, he seems on his way to stardom, and his first pro fight last week in Denver is a good sign.

Torey Krug B-

Ideally a third-pair, power-play specialist, Krug’s had to do more this season — averaging 19:11, sometimes in the top pair — and has produced 9-15-24 (8 PP points) numbers and a plus-6. The RFA-to-be probably already has a $3 million-a-year deal locked in.

Adam McQuaid B-

The hard-luck D-man missed 18 games with a broken thumb, and team defensive-zone play improved noticeably after his return Jan. 3. The B’s were 7-7-4 without him in the lineup. He’s solid, tough and reliable, but a UFA who could be squeezed out by B’s tight cap.

Zdeno Chara C

The captain was playing so-so when he injured his knee in Game 9, then missed 19 games. The team went 11-7-1 without him. Chara struggled with skating and puck-handling for weeks after returning Dec. 11, but did look more like the tough, shutdown D-man of old in the last several games before the break. Turning 38 March 18, he still has three years and $16 million left on his contract.

Dennis Seidenberg C-

Coming back from major knee injury, he has struggled at times to be the defensive stalwart he was. Looking back, the idea than he might have played in the latter rounds of last year’s playoffs seems farfetched. But Seidenberg has gradually improved in recent weeks, averaging 22:07 of ice time and contributing 3-6-9 with a plus-3.

Kevan Miller C

The solid, strong stay-at-homer has quietly done his job pretty well, with a team-leading plus-13 and 1-4-5 totals in 17:53 of ice time.

Matt Bartkowski D

He was a top-four D-man last year after Seidenberg went down just after Christmas. But via bad turnovers, missed coverages and ill-advised decisions, he’s been in and out of the lineup, playing 20-of-48 games (0-4-4).

Incomplete:

Joe Morrow (15 games; 1-0-1; +3)

David Warsofsky (4 games; 0-1-1; +1)

Zach Trotman (17 games; 0-4-4; -1)

FORWARDS

Carl Soderberg B+

The big Swede has probably been the B’s most consistent forward, with 10-21-31 and plus-7 numbers in 48 games. He was the de facto No. 2 center in Krejci’s absence, but is better suited for the No. 3 role. He’s produced well on power plays, with four PPGs and seven assists.

Patrice Bergeron B-

After 18 games, the B’s top two-way center had just three goals and — more significantly — a minus-2, more even-strength goals-against than ever before. This from a guy who was plus-38 last season. Now, though, after 47 games he has 11-21-32 and a plus-7. He’s remained very good on faceoffs, leading full-time centermen with a 58.9 win rate.

Craig Cunningham B-

The unsung, 24-year-old plays only 10:40-per-game, but plays every second hard and at full speed. Lately he’s fit in at RW on the Krejci-Lucic line. Has modest 2-1-3 totals in 23 games, but could have a future as the B’s fourth-line center.

David Krejci B-

He displayed his obvious value when he returned from injury and the top line began to play much better — heck, all the lines did. Krejci has played only 17 games since the start of November. He’s having a pretty good faceoff year at 53.7 percent.

Chris Kelly C+

His versatility has come in very handy, as he has played both on the wing and, in Krejci’s absence, in the middle. Kelly has 5-16-21 totals and a plus-6.

Loui Eriksson C

As Tyler Seguin soared, Eriksson offered little early this season, with just three goals in his first 27 games. Lately, though, he’s bounced back and has 11-18-29 numbers in 47 games and finally resembles the player the B’s thought they were getting from Dallas. Had overtime GWGs Dec. 17 (Minnesota) and 21 (Buffalo).

David Pastrnak C

With only 12 games, he’d normally get an incomplete, but he’s potentially a very important player for the rest of the season. Pastrnak dazzled with recent back-to-back two-goal games vs. Tampa and Philly, but lately has looked out of step — pushed off pucks and knocked down too easily. But when he has time and room to move, his speed and offensive skills can make the top line — and the team — better.

Brad Marchand C

The pesky winger also started very slowly, with just one goal in the first 11 games. At the break he has 13-12-25 totals and is plus-12, but he needs a productive final stretch to reach last year’s totals of 25-28-53, plus-36. He’s been hit with too many unfair “reputation” penalty calls, but fully deserved his two-game suspension for a slew-foot.

Milan Lucic C-

Another key guy who contributed little in the first five weeks, with only three goals in the opening 22 games — and really an inconsistent scorer all season. The prolonged absence of Krejci seemed to render him mediocre. At the break he has 9-16-25 totals and is plus-7. He needs a big finish to reach last year’s numbers (24-35-59; plus-30). He’s fought three times.

Seth Griffith C-

After starting the season at Providence, the 21-year-old quickly found himself as the B’s No. 1 line right-winger and did a decent job. He scored one of the top goals of the year vs. New Jersey Nov. 10. His role diminished and he is back in the AHL, but he contributed 6-4-10 in 30 games and should have an NHL future as a third- or fourth-line guy.

Reilly Smith C

Being a no-show for the first half of training camp took a toll, as the winger’s timing and hands seemed off and he scored only four goals in the first 26 games. He has 9-14-23 and plus-5 totals, after going for 20-31-51 and plus-28 last year. Fast, with a good two-way work ethic and strong on the puck, he’s in line for an RFA salary bump to some $3 million.

Gregory Campbell C-

His fourth line did not offer much over the first few months, and he had just 1-0-1 in a 24-game span from Oct. 30-Dec. 23. But the center has been better lately, netting the game-winning goal in Dallas last week. He’s still a key to the 12th-ranked (82.8) penalty-kill unit and had a team-high four fights.

Daniel Paille D+

The veteran winger has played only 11:33 per game, and his 1-7-8 production is unacceptable for a guy who skates as well as he does. He’s netted as many as 19 goals in a season and averaged just under 10 the past three seasons. His minus-8 adds to the bleak picture.

Simon Gagne D

The B’s gave the oft-injured 34-year-old a job off a so-so training camp, hoping he’d get better in time. Just as he began to show hints of improvement, he left the team to be with his gravely-ill father. Then, after his dad died, opted not to return even though the B’s wanted him back.

Incomplete:

Jordan Caron (6 games; 0-0-0; -1)

Alex Khokhlachev (3 games; 0-0-0; -2)

Bobby Robins (3 games; 0-0-0; E)

Matt Lindblad (2 games; 0-0-0; E)

Ryan Spooner (5 games; 0-0-0; -2).

COACHING — A

Claude Julien and his staff have had to do more line-juggling than ever in search of offense, and incorporate several AHL call-ups as blueline regulars. Through it all, the B’s have found ways to grind out enough wins to stay in the playoff picture. The team now seems to have regained its confidence and identity.

MANAGEMENT — D

GM Peter Chiarelli is renowned for his patience on personnel moves, but his trade of Johnny Boychuk was premature and brought back too little (two reduced-value second-round choices from the much-improved Islanders). You never know the details of trade talks, but shouldn’t Boychuk have gotten the B’s at least a legitimate top-six forward? We’ll see if Chiarelli can acquire a needed winger in the coming weeks. And then how he handles another crushing cap crunch next summer.

# GOALIE GPI GS MIN GAA W L OT SO SA GA SV% G A PIM

40Tuukka Rask39 38 2296 2.35 20 11 7 2 1108 90 .919 0 0 4

72Niklas Svedberg12 10 621 2.22 5 5 0 2 296 23 .922 0 0 0

# POS PLAYER GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S%

43 DMatt Bartkowski20 0 4 4 -1 24 0 0 0 30 0.00

33 DZdeno Chara29 3 8 11 3 32 1 0 0 72 4.20

27 DDougie Hamilton48 8 18 26 2 31 4 0 2 126 6.30

47 DTorey Krug44 9 15 24 6 11 2 0 0 106 8.50

54 DAdam McQuaid30 1 3 4 1 57 0 0 0 25 4.00

86 DKevan Miller33 1 4 5 13 15 0 0 0 28 3.60

45 DJoe Morrow15 1 0 1 3 4 0 0 0 20 5.00

44 DDennis Seidenberg48 3 6 9 3 22 0 0 0 63 4.80

62 DZach Trotman17 0 4 4 -1 0 0 0 0 27 0.00

79 DDavid Warsofsky4 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 0.00

# POS PLAYER GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S%

37 CPatrice Bergeron47 11 21 32 7 32 0 0 4 138 8.00

11 CGregory Campbell43 5 2 7 2 32 0 1 2 36 13.90

38 RJordan Caron6 0 0 0 -1 7 0 0 0 2 0.00

61 RCraig Cunningham23 2 1 3 -3 2 0 1 0 21 9.50

21 RLoui Eriksson47 11 18 29 9 8 2 0 2 89 12.40

12 LSimon Gagne23 3 1 4 0 4 0 0 1 27 11.10

53 CSeth Griffith30 6 4 10 -2 6 1 0 1 33 18.20

23 CChris Kelly46 5 16 21 6 32 0 1 1 66 7.60

76 CAlex Khokhlachev3 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 1 0.00

46 CDavid Krejci28 6 16 22 6 14 1 1 1 45 13.30

52 CMatt Lindblad2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.00

17 LMilan Lucic47 9 16 25 7 71 2 0 1 84 10.70

63 LBrad Marchand43 13 12 25 12 64 1 0 3 93 14.00

20 LDaniel Paille48 1 7 8 -8 10 0 0 0 42 2.40

88 RDavid Pastrnak12 4 2 6 6 2 1 0 2 30 13.30

64 RBobby Robins3 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 0.00

18 RReilly Smith48 9 14 23 5 10 1 0 0 93 9.70

34 CCarl Soderberg48 10 21 31 7 12 4 0 2 99 10.10

51 CRyan Spooner5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 6 0.00



All-star Notebook: Columbus shines as All-Star host


Steve Conroy

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A four-goal night, apparently, isn’t what it used to be. Same goes for a six-point game.

John Tavares was one goal shy of an All-Star Game record and Jakub Voracek tied a record for points with three goals plus three assists, but the MVP and the accompanying Honda Accord went to hometown favorite Ryan Johansen, who had two goals and two assists in a losing effort for Team Foligno.

The award was decided by a Twitter vote.

While it may have been a miscarriage of justice, no one cared all the much. Both Johansen and fellow Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno were just happy to showcase their city as a hockey town. And, all inherent silliness of the weekend aside, the city did prove to be a very good host.

“You know, it’s meant a lot, us being a part of it,” Johansen said. “That’s all we’ve been talking about over the last few days is seeing the fans and how much they’ve been enjoying all the festivities and stuff and we did a two-hour signing today at the convention center up there, and everybody just seemed to be having a great time, and all the kids were laughing and smiling and having fun.”

Foligno and his outgoing personality were a popular combination during the weekend.

“We’re so proud of our city for showing that hockey is such a big deal here,” Foligno said. “For it to be the main focus and then for us to have been involved in it has been really gratifying for both of us. It’s allowed us to get out in our community a little more than we’ve been able to and really thank the fans for all their support for us. And you see the kids, that was my favorite part, the red carpet yesterday, and then the two-hour signing that we did today, the kids looked like they were having a ball, and that’s what we remember as kids, so it was really fun to kind of have that as our moment today.”

Technology put on ice

There was an interesting exhibition here by the company Sportvision, which rolled out technology it’s developing to track player movements on the ice by implanting a microchip into the puck and players’ sweaters. The chip will be able to more accurately track such things as possession and zone time. It was used in Saturday’s skills competition and last night’s All-Star Game.

“What we’ve learned over the years is if you’re going to do something and make it valuable for a fan, it has to be something that happens a lot, is hard to see and is important to the game,” said company CEO Hank Adams. “If it’s who’s on the ice, that’s actually incredibly important. It happens that every 45 seconds you get a whole new crew of (players) and it’s hard to see, so those types of things are actually really valuable.”

There’s also hope that the technology will improve the TV product.

“We’re excited about trying to bring that in-arena experience into the living room,” said NHLPA special assistant to the executive director, Mathieu Schneider, on hand for the demonstration. “That’s something that we’ve talked about for years and years — that the experience at the rink doesn’t translate to home. As technology gets better, we’re able to see more of that.”

Still, there will probably always be an element of hockey that will keep it what Brian Burke has called an “eyeball” sport.

“It’s next to impossible to measure hockey IQ, hockey intelligence,” Schneider said. “We all know that Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull were not the fastest skaters on the team or the strongest guys, but they were two of the greatest players to ever play the game.”

At least one player wasn’t thrilled about the new technology, for whatever reason.

“You guys might like that but I’m not so sure I want that in my game,” said Phil Kessel. “Too many numbers, right? I don’t know. I don’t like it.”

New lines for Seguin

Tyler Seguin tried his hand at penning a column — admittedly with the help of a ghost writer — for Derek Jeter’s website theplayerstribune.com in which he hashed over the trade from the Bruins. In the piece he doesn’t exactly break any news, but Seguin emphatically said that, yes, he believed the Bruins gave up too soon on him. He also admitted to some unspecified immature choices.

“It was probably one of the cooler requests I’ve gotten. I was all for doing it,” Seguin said. “I was probably just talking truthfully about how I felt. It’s been some time (since the trade). I’ve kept my mouth shut and I still am going to. But I thought I was an article that turned out well.” .�.�.

The 17 goals scored by Team Toews was the most in an All-Star Game.



Bruins monitoring Canadian dollars' impact on salary cap

January 25, 2015, 10:30 am

Joe Haggerty

COLUMBUS – There is no shortage of interest when it comes to the NHL salary cap. More specifically, there is great interest in exactly what the cap ceiling will be for next season across the NHL where it will significantly impact the future of cap-strapped teams like the Boston Bruins.

Partially because of a slightly lower-than-expected $69 million cap hit for the 2014-15 NHL season, partially due to bonus overage penalties for the contract given last season to Jarome Iginla and partially because of self-inflicted cap problems, the Bruins walked away from Iginla, Shawn Thornton and Johnny Boychuk among others following last season without bringing in suitable replacement players. All of those were cap-related woes for the Black and Gold.

It’s certainly been a concern all season for the Bruins while limiting what they can do in the trade market to improve their hockey club.

The whispers around the league have been that the falling value of the Canadian dollar could put a hurting on next year’s cap ceiling, and that would be extremely problematic for a team like the Bruins. Not only do they have existing cap issues with 11 players signed for next season for upwards of $54 million in cap space, so that doesn’t leave a ton of room to re-sign upcoming free agents like Carl Soderberg, Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton, Reilly Smith, Adam McQuaid, Matt Bartkowski, Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Craig Cunningham.

The NHL originally projected the 2015-16 season salary cap to be around $73 million, a healthy bump up from this season, but there is now some fluctuation based on the Canadian dollar. It’s not complete gloom and doom, according to Gary Bettman, but it could take away some very valuable dollars from teams like the Bruins.

“There has been a lot of speculation about the impact of the fall or decline of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar and its impact on hockey-related revenues, and the salary cap. I assure you that even with the decline in the Canadian dollar, the salary cap doesn’t fall off a cliff,” said Bettman while meeting with the media on Saturday. “When we gave you the rough estimate projection in December, the same estimate that I gave to the clubs, we were projecting a cap of $73 million, assuming the 5-percent increment under the collective bargaining agreement, based on the Canadian dollar at 88 cents to the U.S. dollar for the rest of the year.

“That would be 73 at 88. At 82 cents for the rest of the year, the cap would be 72.2 [million], and at 80 cents, the cap would be 71.7 [million]. These are not, in the context of a $70-million-plus cap, dramatic numbers. As of Friday I think the Canadian dollar was 81 cents. Nobody can project exactly where it’s going, but the point that I’m making is you’re not going to see a dramatic difference. The cap is computed based on currency on a daily basis. It’s averaged over the season, so even, as I said, with an 80-cent Canadian dollar, we’re still looking at a cap of almost $72 million.”

The gain or loss of even one million dollars on the cap could have a noticeable impact on a team like the Bruins, and it’s clearly something they are watching very closely.

“Obviously that plays a part of where the cap will end up,” said Bruins President Cam Neely. “At this point of the season I don’t know how much more it’s going to affect it. We’ll keep a close eye and hopefully we’ll get some decent information going forward, so we can plan and prepare for next season.

“When you’re a team that’s up against the cap and you’ve got future dollars committed, you want to make sure you’re planning accordingly.”

The only way to do that is by getting good information, and the hope is that’s exactly what Neely and the B’s ownership group received during this weekend’s NHL Board of Governor’s meeting in downtown Columbus.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.26.2015

761858 Buffalo Sabres

Kane happy to answer World Cup call

By John Vogl

on January 26, 2015 - 12:19 AM

updated January 26, 2015 at 12:41 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When the NHL announced the World Cup of Hockey this weekend, it needed high-profile names present. One of the first calls was to Patrick Kane.

The Chicago Blackhawks forward was front and center when the NHL and its players’ association revealed the return of the international tournament. It was further proof the South Buffalo native has become one of the prime faces of the NHL.

“It’s a great honor,” Kane said in Nationwide Arena. “I thought it was pretty cool to get asked to do something like this. Obviously, you take great pride in representing your country. I thought it was an awesome phone call that I got that I’d be here representing the United States and representing just the hockey game in general.”

The league isn’t shy about putting Kane and the Blackhawks in the spotlight. They will be in an outdoor game for the fourth time next season when they visit the Wild in the University of Minnesota’s football stadium.

“We’ll enjoy them all we can,” Kane said. “I don’t think it gets old at all.”

While some worry about overkill in terms of the Blackhawks and outdoor games in general – there will be three next season, bringing the total to 11 since Jan. 1, 2014 – Commissioner Gary Bettman isn’t one of the naysayers.

“Some teams are more comfortable playing these things than others,” Bettman said. “Some of you think that these games have some dilutive effect. If you’ve been to one, you know that’s not the case. The impact that these games have for the people who actually attend them and the markets in which they take place is nothing short of staggering.

“It doesn’t get old, and frankly our fans and our teams can’t get enough of them.”

The bidding process for the 2018 world junior tournament will begin in March, representatives from USA Hockey said Sunday. The Buffalo Sabres will attempt to bring the event back to town.

USA Hockey picked Buffalo the last time it hosted the world juniors (2011). The Sabres’ case is even stronger this time. Secondary games in 2011 were held at Niagara University, but those can be played across the street from First Niagara Center in HarborCenter in 2018.

Dave Ogrean, the executive director of USA Hockey and a member of the board of directors for the U.S. Olympic Committee, also made it clear that Olympic hockey will be strong with or without the NHL’s participation. Because of the World Cup’s return in 2016 and the location of the 2018 Winter Olympics (South Korea), most assume the league will stop sending players to the Games. No decision is expected for at least two years.

The league’s latest technological advances put the Glow Puck to shame.

The NHL teamed with Sportvision to track the players and pucks during Sunday’s All-Star Game and Saturday’s Skills Competition. Results were positive, and the league hopes to use Sportvision’s technology for all games.

“Our fans are at the center of everything we do with technology,” Bettman said. “While we’re excited about doing this test, we’re not exactly sure where this will all take us. This is, if I can coin a phrase, in the embryonic state of a work in a progress.

“But ultimately we are hoping to deliver the kind of data that will create insights and tell stories that avid and casual hockey fans will enjoy.”

Tracking chips were inserted into players’ jerseys and the puck, and fans were able to see how fast players skated, how far passes went and how far apart players were on the ice. Unlike the Glow Puck from the mid-1990s –

which monopolized the television screen and often appeared to be floating through the stands – the tracking graphics were unobtrusive and detailed.

In addition to looking good, the chips will allow the NHL to expand its stats.

Chief Operating Officer John Collins to NHL.com: “We need to create a digital record of what happens on the ice that is uniform across the league, highly accurate and allows fans to go as deep as they want to go but also allows us to tell stories.”

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.26.2015

761859 Buffalo Sabres

All-Star Weekend a hit for NHL

By John Vogl

on January 26, 2015 - 12:12 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Marc-Andre Fleury had a great time during All-Star Weekend. That alone shows the power of the three-day event.

Fleury had every reason to mope after Sunday’s All-Star Game. The Pittsburgh goaltender dug puck after puck out of his net during a second period to forget. He allowed seven goals on 16 shots and took the loss for Team Foligno during a record-breaking 17-12 game against Team Toews.

Yet he still walked through the dressing room with a smile on his face.

“Other than getting booed, that was a good weekend,” Fleury said. “It was fun.”

Because of a lockout and the Olympics, this was the first All-Star gala since 2012.

“We are delighted to have All-Star Weekend back in the mix as a major event,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We missed having it. We think getting everyone together to celebrate the game, to celebrate fandom, to celebrate our players is terrific.”

The game, played at less than half speed, was anticlimactic after two days of quality events. Saturday’s Skills Competition created more of a buzz for the crowd, and Friday’s wisecrack-filled fantasy draft to select the teams was the weekend highlight.

“The players seemed to have fun with it,” said Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan, who created the fantasy draft while working for the league. “My 12-year-old son loves it. It’s probably his favorite part. This is what we’re doing. We’re providing entertainment for kids. The players have a good time with it, and it’s entertainment. The more the players have fun with it, the more that our fans are entertained.

“The weekend is not an NHL game. It always lacks that intensity, so anytime you can add some entertainment and fun to it … we want to see their personalities.”

Few players had more fun than Nick Foligno. The Columbus forward and brother of Sabres left wing Marcus Foligno did everything he could to show his home fans a good time.

“We know how important it is for them to see a different side of us,” Foligno said. “The season is so busy and so hard to kind of get yourself out there, but at a time like this when you can really open yourself up, I think it’s great for the sport.

“The game of hockey is so fun, and we have a great time playing it. I think that’s really the message we want to get across in this All-Star Game.”

The folks in Columbus completed the weekend by voting the Blue Jackets’ Ryan Johansen as the game’s Most Valuable Player. He had two goals and four points. That may sound like a lot, but not in this exhibition.

Jakub Voracek had three goals and six points. John Tavares scored four times. Patrice Bergeron and Jonathan Toews had five points each. The 29 goals broke the previous record total 26 set in 2001.

Only three of the 35 skaters failed to record a point. One was the Buffalo Sabres’ Zemgus Girgensons, who was blanked along with Anze Kopitar and Phil Kessel. Girgensons, one of 20 first-time All-Stars, skated on a line with Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Vancouver’s Radim Vrbata.

Girgensons had a glorious opportunity to score during the first period. He was the lead man on a three-on-zero break, but he failed to get a shot off.

“It’s unbelievable skill out there,” Girgensons said. “It was just fun seeing all the guys do cool stuff and seeing all those goals. If I was a goalie in this game, I would be … not happy.”

The signature attraction in Nationwide Arena is a Civil War-style cannon that explodes after goals by the home team. The only way it would have fired more was if it were on the front line for the Battle of Antietam.

The 15th goal of the game – with just 28 minutes off the clock – best illustrated the defensive “intensity.” Tavares lost the puck on a breakaway, yet he still had time to collect it, continue the breakaway and score.

“You try to have fun with it,” said Patrick Kane, who had two goals. “That’s all we’re really doing out there is having fun and trying to show our skill at the same time. It was a fun day.”

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.26.2015

761860 Calgary Flames

Hitmen whip Giants to cap perfect weekend

Jeff MacKinnon, Published on: January 25, 2015Last Updated: January 25, 2015 7:50 PM MST

The Calgary Hitmen are all done with their latest three-games-in-three-nights stretch and if they weren’t so tired they’d welcome a fourth game on Monday.

They chopped down the Vancouver Giants 8-0 Sunday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome to finish off a perfect long weekend.

In the midst of a stretch a coach longs for the Hitmen have won four straight and have outscored the opposition 25-4 along the way. They are now 27-17-1-4.

“We’ve had good balance to our offence and I think some of our older players are starting to carry us, which should start to happen at this point in time,” said Hitmen coach Mark French.

“I also think we’ve got good contribution from all four lines and six (defenceman) and our goaltending’s been strong.”

Scoring for Calgary were Elliott Peterson and Jake Virtanen with a pair each, Adam Tambellini, Terrell Draude, Kenton Helgesen and Chase Lang. Rookie defenceman Jake Bean had three assists.

Posting his first shutout in 22 games in 2014-15 was Brendan Burke, acquired from the Portland Winterhawks on Jan. 7. Burke made 33 saves in his fourth game in Calgary but said it wasn’t an overly hard afternoon’s work.

“It looks like a lot of shots but they are a team that throws a lot to the net. They kept it mostly to the outside and the few that were inside I was able to make a save and the boys helped me out,” said the Scottsdale, Ariz., native.

The Hitmen also had 33 shots on a pair of Giants goalies. Payton Lee started but left after the third goal and appeared to have hurt his blocker/right hand. Cody Porter, who was the WHL’s goalie of the month in December, was thrown to the lions.

Tambellini, with seven goals during the four-game span (and 33 for the season) is having a blast for the Hitmen. He had a hat-trick Jan. 18 against the Regina Pats and a pair Saturday night when the Hitmen drove up to Edmonton and dumped the Oil Kings 5-2.

“Coming into this big road trip we have coming up we want to take advantage of our homes games and that’s what we’ve been doing,” Tambellini said, referring to the 11 straight games they have on the road from Feb. 20 to March 14 because of the Brier.

“We’re finally starting to hit our stride. We’re playing well right now.”

The Hitmen put this one away with three goals in 3:33 early in the second period that put them ahead 5-0. It was 2-0 after the first.

With the game under control, Peterson said French dangled a carrot in front of them so they wouldn’t mail it in in the third period.

“He said it we won the period we’d get a second day off away from the rink, so we went out and got it done,” he said.

The Hitmen play their seventh home game in their past eight contests on Friday when they meet the Prince Albert Raiders at 7 p.m.

Calgary dropped the first three games of that stretch — one in a shootout Jan. 14 against the Red Deer Rebels — before righting the ship.

ICE CHIPS … Goalie Mack Shields earned his 50th career WHL victory in Edmonton on Saturday night, He’s won his last three starts with a 1.33 goals-against-average … Former Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel is now 10-8-1 since taking over the Giants (20-27-1 overall) on Nov. 30. The Giants were 9-16-0 when Troy Ward was fired in late November … Sunday’s attendance was 8,660.

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 01.26.2015


Calgary Flames' Mark Giordano, Johnny Gaudreau enjoy NHL all-star experience

QMI Agency

First posted: Sunday, January 25, 2015 10:34 PM MST | Updated: Sunday, January 25, 2015 10:39 PM MST

One was a whopping plus-6 with an assist.

The other counted two assists.

Not a bad afternoon for a couple of Calgary Flames all-stars.

Flames captain Mark Giordano and teammate and phenom Johnny Gaudreau also picked up the win in the Team Toews’ 17-12 NHL All-Star Game victory in Columbus, Ohio.

Gio didn’t stop at having a sparkling plus-minus and one helper in the game — on a give-and go for Rick Nash’s early third-period pot. He was also part of a bizarre and rarely-seen scrum in Sunday’s all-star game.

Then, there was Johnny Hockey with assists on fellow NHL rookie Filip Forsberg’s two goals.

“Yeah, he’s a skilled hockey player,” Gaudreau said of Forsberg. “It was a lot of fun playing with him and getting a chance to play with a whole bunch of other guys. I like how they rotated a few guys on our line, so us young guys got to play with a lot of different people.”

Gaudreau’s parents took in the all-star show, much to his delight.

“They drove over here (Sunday) morning,” Gaudreau said. “It was about a seven-hour drive (from New Jersey).

“It was awesome. It was a great experience for me. Being a younger guy here was really special for me, and getting to play in the game was even better.

“It’s been really special for me,” Gaudreau added. “Growing up, I was watching this game and watching a lot of guys who have been in this game before. This weekend I got to be a part of it. I was extremely grateful.”

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.26.2015


Five Burning Questions about the Calgary Flames

By Scott Fisher, Calgary Sun

Thankfully, the NHL gets back to business Tuesday.

That glorified shinny game Sunday was unwatchable.

Hockey without intensity and passion is a complete waste of time.

Good thing Flames fans have been treated to large helpings of both this season, and there’s no reason to believe anything will change in the second half.

Head coach Bob Hartley has his squad battling for every point they can get — and that’s entertaining.

There’s plenty still to be decided and a few questions we have as the Flames get set to kick off the second half of the season with a six-game homestand Tuesday night against the visiting Buffalo Sabres.

1. An encore for Giordano?

What can captain Mark Giordano possibly do to follow up the first half of the season?

Gio led the Flames with 40 points through the first 47 skates and is the top-scoring defenceman in the league.

That’s a tough act to follow.

He’s only seven points off his career-high set just last season.

That total will obviously not stand the test of time.

Neither, it seems, will his plus/minus numbers, which are already a career-best plus-19. That’s second in the NHL among blueliners, trailing only d-partner TJ Brodie (plus-23).

It was enough to easily earn a ticket to the all-star game in Columbus (where he was a game-best plus-six, for whatever that’s worth).

But will it be enough to win a Norris Trophy?

As strong a season as Giodano is enjoying, Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber is also receiving a lot of attention. And rightfully so.

The NHL’s highest-paid player is a big reason the surprising Preds sit atop the Central Division, and he has never been named the NHL’s top defender.

It could come down to where the Flames finish.

If Giordano & Co. nail down a post-season berth, he’ll likely be considered the favourite to win the award.

But the Norris has never been handed to a member of a non-playoff team.

2. All-star boost for Gaudreau?

Johnny Gaudreau’s imitation of an ankle-skating tyke during Saturday’s all-star skills contest was hilarious.

Maybe the highlight of the weekend.

There’s no question Johnny Hockey has a great sense of humour and doesn’t take himself too seriously.

There’s also no questioning his skills.

And after spending the weekend rubbing shoulders with the biggest stars in the game, will Gaudreau take anything away from the experience?

The all-star game itself is nothing special, but just being among the league’s best for a couple of days might give Gaudreau a bit of a confidence boost for the second half of the season.

It’s not like the kid lacks confidence in the first place, but it never hurts to be recognized as one of the most skilled guys in the league.

Gaudreau will receive consideration for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top freshman.

But much like Giordano, it will be a Predators player standing in the way.

Swede Filip Forsberg burned up the first half with 40 points and is a plus-24.

Gaudreau has 35 points and is plus-11.

3. Who tends the twine?

Recent call-up Joni Ortio stole the show leading up to the all-star break.

The flashy Finn won his first four starts of the season before getting an early shower in Anaheim— a place that has become a nightmare for every Flames goaltender.

Along with defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon and centre Markus Granlund, Ortio was sent down to the AHL Adirondack Flames as a salary-cap saving measure.

We’ll see which players get called back up, perhaps as early as Monday.

But with two healthy goaltenders in Karri Ramo and Jonas Hiller, Ortio may end up biding his time with the Baby Flames for awhile.

That’s not such a bad thing for a 23-year-old who is establishing himself as the goalie of the future.

4. How do the Flames respond to pressure?

The Flames finished the season strong in 2013-14, but they weren’t dealing with any pressure.

After winning four of 14 games in November, the Flames were out of playoff contention early on.

They were able to proceed with the rebuilding process without the constant pressure of needing to win on a nightly basis.

But after surpassing everyone’s expectations in the first half of the season, that’s exactly where the Flames find themselves now — in a tooth-and-nail dogfight for one of the last playoff spots.

They’ll begin the second half sitting alone in eighth spot, a single point ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.

The Colorado Avalanche, at three points back, and the Dallas Stars, four behind, are also breathing down the Flames necks, so it’s going to be a stressful couple of months.

It’ll be interesting to see who embraces the pressure and who crumbles beneath it.

5. Can they take care of business?

If the Flames want to be considered a legitimate playoff contender, they’ll need to act like one.

True playoff teams don’t lose to the likes of the Buffalo Sabres, the Minnesota Wild or the Edmonton Oilers — teams that will all visit the Saddledome this week.

The Sabres are the worst team in the league, and the Oilers are second from the bottom.

The Wild are a much more respectable 20-20-6 but represent the kind of team the Flames need to beat if they want to be playing in late April.

A clean sweep of the three non-playoff teams would be a nice way to kick off this crucial six-game homestand.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.26.2015

761863 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks place LW Versteeg on long-term injured list

Associated Press

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have placed forward Kris Versteeg on the long-term injury list because of a left hand injury.

The left wing was hit in the hand by a shot during the Winter Classic at Washington on New Year's Day. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said then that Versteeg would be out about a month.

Versteeg has nine goals and 18 assists in 34 games this season.

Also on Sunday, the Blackhawks say they have recalled forward Dennis Rasmussen from Rockford of the American Hockey League.

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 01.26.2015


St. Charles grandfather, grandsons honored at Blackhawks game

Susan Klovstad

It was an emotional moment for the Strohmaier family of St. Charles when a grandfather and his three grandsons shared the spotlight as military honorees at a Chicago Blackhawks game.

As Jim Cornelison sang the national anthem before the start of the Jan. 18 game at the United Center, World War II veteran Charles Strohmaier, 87, stood proudly on the ice with his grandsons Steven, Kevin and Brian Strohmaier, who are serving in the Coast Guard, National Guard and Army.

At every home game, two military servicemen -- one active duty soldier and one veteran -- are selected to appear on the ice with Cornelison for the anthem and are honored throughout the game. In the case of the Strohmaiers, the four family members were honored together.

As four of them made their way to the concourse from the ice level, fans shook their hands and applauded. There were smiles everywhere, particularly from grandfather Charles, who seemed overwhelmed by the affection.

"It was great," Charles Strohmaier said, with tears in his eyes. "These boys make me so proud."

Charles D. Strohmaier, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, served as an air traffic controller at Ladd Army Airfield in Fairbanks, Alaska. He lives with his son Charles and daughter-in-law Susan in St. Charles.

"He makes us proud," said his grandson, Kevin Strohmaier, 27, a first lieutenant in the Iowa Army National Guard, 1-113th Calvary. Kevin, a platoon leader in B-troop, lives in West Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated from St. Francis High School in Wheaton.

"We're honoring people like him (by enlisting). What they went through was just unbelievable. If I could be half the soldier that he was, I'd say I was doing a pretty good job."

U.S. Coast Guard Seaman Steven W. Strohmaier, 28, also a graduate of St. Francis, enjoyed the way the crowd cheered for his grandfather.

"That's what I wanted him to hear," Steve said with a big smile. Steve is stationed on the USCG Cutter Buckthorn, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, which maintains navigation aid in the northern Great Lakes.

Youngest brother Brian C. Strohmaier, 23, an ordinance officer and second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, will soon be stationed at Camp Humphrey in South Korea. His mother Susan Strohmaier explained how it happened that the her father-in-law and sons were honored at the game.

"My husband had submitted his dad's name several years ago, then had been in contact with the USO regarding the other boys," she said. "Since Brian will be leaving soon, they decided to get everything together ASAP.

"The Martin Luther King Jr. weekend worked well so everyone could get in without difficulty."

Military service isn't the only tradition in the Strohmaier family -- the young men and their father are all avid Blackhawks fans as well.

"My boys have been fans most of their lives since my husband has been a fan," Susan said.

And there were plenty of friends and family members on hand to see the longtime fans honored at the game, she added.

"We let numerous family members know of the event as well as putting the info out on Facebook and email," Susan said. "We had about 40 or so friends and family attend the game as well as hook up after the game at the West End Bar.

"It's always so great to have the boys all together and in uniform. It was a beautiful, warm and most memorable weekend."



Blackhawks put Versteeg on long-term IR

John Dietz

updated: 1/25/2015 10:01 PM

With Kris Versteeg taking a bit longer to come back from a hand injury than the Blackhawks had hoped, the team decided to call up forward Dennis Rasmussen from Rockford on Sunday.

Versteeg injured his hand during the Winter Classic at Washington, and the Hawks placed him on long-term injured reserve to make room for Rasmussen.

The Hawks were hoping to have Versteeg (9 goals, 18 assists) back by the end of the month, but coach Joel Quenneville recently said, "It's probably going to be a bit more than that."

Rasmussen, whom the Hawks signed as a free agent last June, has 8 goals and 8 assists in 44 games with Rockford this season. He ranked 10th in the Swedish Hockey League last season with 40 points in 52 games.

The Hawks play at Los Angeles on Wednesday.



Jeremy Roenick claims to snap 'best selfie ever' with Patrick Kane

January 25, 2015, 6:00 pm

CSN Staff

There are some pretty great selfies out there, but Blackhawks legend and current NBC Sports broadcaster Jeremy Roenick thinks he has the best one ever.

During Sunday's NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, Roenick took a selfie with current Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane while conducting an in-game interview.

With two Blackhawks greats in the same shot, it has to rank pretty high on the all-time selfie list.



Blackhawks recall Dennis Rasmussen ahead of road trip

January 25, 2015, 5:30 pm

Staff

Coach Joel Quenneville said the Blackhawks would bring up another forward before embarking on their Ice Show trip. On Sunday, they did.

Dennis Rasmussen was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs a day before the Blackhawks head to California to start a six-game road trip. Rasmussen will wear No. 70 for the Blackhawks.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks also placed forward Kris Versteeg (fractured hand) on long-term injured reserve. Versteeg suffered his injury on Jan. 1 against the Washington Capitals. While Versteeg still has some time to go before returning, Quenneville said he could join the Blackhawks at some point on the trip.

The Blackhawks were at the forward minimum after Daniel Carcillo was suspended six games for his crosscheck on Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault. Quenneville said the team wanted to have an extra forward for the long trip. The 24-year-old Rasmussen has eight goals and eight assists in 44 games with the IceHogs this season.



All-Star Game was fun, but Blackhawks focused on upcoming trip

January 25, 2015, 8:45 pm

Tracey Myers

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Five Blackhawks had their entertaining weekend, one that wrapped up with Team Toews’ 17-12 victory over Team Foligno. The game produced the most goals in All-Star history but was otherwise fairly bland.

But that’s all over now. By Sunday night the mindset for Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford changed: Fun time is over, now let’s get back to the regular season.

The Blackhawks will head to Los Angeles on Monday, beginning their six-game road trip against the Kings on Wednesday night. It’s a quick switch of gears, mentally and physically, after a laid-back All-Star Game that was devoid of hits. But considering the tough schedule upcoming, it’s easy to regain focus fast.

“It’s not hard,” Keith said. “You want to get the rest this weekend. You’re focused on having fun and enjoying yourself. But as soon as we’re out of Columbus here, we’ll turn the page and be ready to go and focused for Los Angeles.”

It’s not hard to see why the focus will be there. The Blackhawks have played well through most of this season, but they’re nevertheless third in the Central Division — 62 points like St. Louis, but the Blues have a game in hand. Nashville comes out of the break atop the Central with 65 points.

[SHOP BLACKHAWKS: Buy a Jonathan Toews jersey]

Lengthy road trips, however seem to have a good effect on the Blackhawks. They were in a funk, thanks mainly to their scoring struggles, before heading on their annual Circus Trip in November. They came home with a 5-1-0 record from that trek. The Blackhawks also enter this trip in a bit of a malaise, going 5-5-0 entering the All-Star break. They did play better in back-to-back victories against Arizona and Pittsburgh and want to pick up where they left off with that.

“Hopefully we can look at it the same way we did the trip in November. We took advantage and started playing the right way,” said Toews, who had a goal and four assists in Sunday’s All-Star Game. “We’ve been stumbling around lately, but the last two games were better. We’ll try to carry that into this trip coming up.”

The Blackhawks just know how to play on the road. They block out what distractions there might be and play a simple game that garners victories. The All-Star weekend was fun, but it’s over now. It’s time to turn the page and get back to regular-season games and back on the road that’s been very beneficial for the Blackhawks.

“Usually we’re good because we focus one game at a time. We try not to look too far ahead. That’s the biggest thing with these,” Kane said. “We’ve had success in the past, so hopefully that’ll continue. We’ll just take it one game at a time, see what happens.”



Blackhawks recall Rasmussen from AHL

January, 25, 20155:15PM CT

Powers By Scott Powers

The Chicago Blackhawks recalled forward Dennis Rasmussen from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL on Sunday.

The Blackhawks also placed forward Kris Versteeg on long-term injured reserve. Versteeg suffered a hand fracture on Jan. 1. He has nine goals and 18 assists in 34 games this season.

Rasmussen, 24, has eight goals and eight assists in 44 games in the AHL this season. He signed as a free agent in June of 2014 after previously playing in Sweden.

ESPNChicago.com LOADED: 01.26.2015

761870 Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL All-Star Skills Competition: Blue Jackets' Ryan Johansen steals the show

By Aaron Portzline & Shawn Mitchell The Columbus Dispatch • Sunday January 25, 2015 6:36 AM

Ryan Johansen played to the masses, tugged at heartstrings and turned 1990s nostalgic last night, making the NHL All-Star Skills Competition the latest stop on his ascendency to becoming one of the league’s stars.

The Blue Jackets center earned major style points and won the breakaway challenge, igniting a sold-out crowd early at Nationwide Arena.

He played a key part in helping his team — the one drafted on Friday by teammate Nick Foligno — cruise to a 25-19 victory over Team Toews, which was drafted by Chicago’s Jonathan Toews.

But no one really cares about the score in these events. It’s about style points and memory, and Johansen ruled the day.

He had three shootout attempts in the breakaway challenge.

On his first attempt, he pulled up at the hashmarks between the faceoff circles and dropped his stick and gear. Then he peeled off his Blue Jackets sweater to reveal a scarlet-and-gray football jersey with the No. 5.

“That was kind of a no-brainer for me,” Johansen said. “Living here and going through the experience (two weeks ago) and watching (Ohio State) win the (national) championship, it was pretty cool.

“I had a jersey at home, so I figured I’d throw it on and have some fun with it.”

Johansen went shopping earlier in the day for an Ohio State football helmet, but said he couldn’t find one big enough to fit his dome.

Why No. 5?

“Braxton (Miller),” Johansen said.

With his second move, Johansen pulled 7-year-old Cole Vogt — son of Blue Jackets head medical trainer Mike Vogt — out of the crowd and carried him down the ice to take his shot.

Cole Vogt scored, five-hole, on Chicago’s Corey Crawford.

“I thought it would be cool to get Voter’s son out there and give him a memory he can look back on and think is pretty cool,” Johansen said.

On his third attempt, Johansen wanted to go “old-school,” so he gathered a bunch of Team Foligno teammates — Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos, Chicago’s Duncan Keith, Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux and Foligno — to form a ‘Flying V,’ a la Disney’s Mighty Ducks.

Other winners were:

• �Tampa Bay's Jonathan Drouin was the fastest skater (13.103 seconds);

• �Chicago’s Patrick Kane won accuracy shooting (13.529 seconds);

• �Nashville’s Shea Weber hit the hardest shot (108.5 mph).

It fell just short of the record (108.8 mph) set in 2012 by Boston’s Zdeno Chara.

Eye in the sky

The NHL used a wireless tracking system to monitor players and pucks during the Skills Competition and will do so today in the All-Star Game. The system, including chips inserted into pucks and jerseys, tracks puck and skating speed, puck trajectory, puck location “and other key data points to gauge the abilities of players,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.

The chips, tested in other venues including Nationwide Arena earlier this season, could help standardize how statistics are tracked and player performance is measured.

The system is “in the embryonic stages,” Bettman said, and would need to be approved by the players union to be fully implemented.

Money matters

Bettman downplayed the impact that a weakening Canadian dollar might have on the projected salary cap for next season. The NHL projected next season’s cap to be $73 million in December, based on a Canadian dollar being worth 88 cents in U.S. currency.

The Loonie currently is worth 80 cents, but even at that rate, Bettman said the cap would be roughly $71.7 million.

High praise

Bettman opened his remarks to the media yesterday with high and lengthy praise for Columbus, the Blue Jackets and late team founder John H. McConnell, recalling a visit with McConnell to the top of the Nationwide building and viewing site of the Arena District before construction started.

“I think it’s safe to say that John H. McConnell… would have every right to be overjoyed by what has transpired,” Bettman said.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.26.2015


NHL All-Star presence testifies to John H. McConnell’s passion

By Michael Arace The Columbus Dispatch • Sunday January 25, 2015 11:41 AM

Forty years ago, Columbus required “Ohio.” It was unimaginable that this city could, or would, play host to an NHL All-Star Game. The hockey capital of the world for a weekend? Moo.

Old Columbus had an inferiority complex, a fear of impinging on Ohio State’s sports hegemony and a singular skyscraper. It chafed against New Columbus, a city of transplants who fell in love with the place and aspired for it to be more than “the biggest college town in America.”

John H. McConnell, the late majority owner of the Blue Jackets, bridged the old world to the new. He was not alone in this formidable task, but his conviction reached down to his wallet.

McConnell bought the Blue Jackets. This is Columbus’ All-Star Weekend, yes, but he donated it to the city he loved.

McConnell’s son and successor, John P., often thinks of his father, even converses with him, during business hours. He is thinking of him this weekend.

“This is what he hoped pro sports would do to spotlight our city,” John P. McConnell said. “He wanted to put Columbus on TV, and get events like this one. ... I’m very proud we kept growing, and got this. I’m proud of our people who want to put on the best All-Star show ever, and pulling it all off.

“I know my father is near.”

Here is our city in 2015, with a metropolitan population of nearly 2 million. It is the only city in the Midwest that has seen consistent growth since the 1950s. Its economy is built on the solid foundations of technology, insurance and higher education; its cost of living is below the national average; and it is well-placed as demographics shift and more people cluster in urban areas.

Its Downtown is in the midst of a renaissance. Developers are scrambling to build enough housing to meet demand. The Arena District, with Nationwide Arena and the Blue Jackets as an anchor, is a portrait of successful renewal that is studied by other cities.

On the grounds of what was, not long ago, a crumbling state penitentiary, the Jackets played host to the draft seven-plus years ago. This weekend, they are showcasing Columbus to an estimated 140,000 visitors, including about 10,000 who flew in for the festivities. The event is expected to generate about $12 million for the local economy — and the hope is that it will burnish Columbus’ bid for the Democratic National Convention in July 2016.

Decades ago, this was unimaginable.

Let us go back to the 1970s, when activist Jack Gibbs began advocating for a Downtown Arena. His dreams were crushed in two ballot initiatives.

Let us go back to the 1980s, when Mayor Dana G. “Buck” Rinehart attempted to lure Major League Baseball, and then the NFL, to Columbus. His dreams were crushed in two ballot initiatives, but he did manage to secure the old Ohio Penitentiary site for future development.

Let us go back to the 1990s, when Rinehart’s successor, Greg Lashutka, picked up the pursuit. A former Ohio State football player, he found his alma mater resistant to Downtown arena plans. OSU wanted an on-campus building, outflanked the city in extracting seed money from the state and won the arena race.

Along the way, Lashutka enlisted the help of Dimon McFerson, then chief of Nationwide, and Wolfe Enterprises Inc., whose president, John F. Wolfe, is publisher of The Dispatch. To secure the franchise, Lashutka brought in McConnell, who had begun a steel-fabrication business in his basement in 1955 and built Worthington Steel into an international enterprise with billions of dollars in sales.

“(The city) was growing in leaps and bounds, and the one thing we did not have was (major-league) athletics,” McConnell said in a 2000 interview. “As

we kept growing, all the people that moved here, they said that was one of the things they missed. There was no Red Wings for them. No Indians. They missed major-league sports.”

It was not easy.

Let us go back to 1997. Another ballot issue failed, and the city’s NHL expansion bid was placed in jeopardy. McConnell assured NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman that there would be another solution. Nationwide’s real-estate arm came up with a plan for a privately built arena, and the plan grew to include a mixed development of shops, apartments, offices and restaurants.

It was not easy.

Even after the NHL accepted Columbus’ expansion bid, Lamar Hunt, who expected to be the team’s managing partner, attempted to scuttle the deal. He did not like the arena lease. According to court documents, he had a plan to take the expansion bid away from Columbus and move it to northern Kentucky. There were suits and countersuits.

Amid the intrigue, McConnell stepped in and assumed the mantle of majority owner. He wrote a check for $80 million to cover the bid and agreed to supply $40 million more to cover startup costs.

Columbus was the largest U.S. city without a major-league sports team. The Blue Jackets were McConnell’s gift.

“What I remember more than anything else was John H. McConnell’s absolute passion for Columbus and his unrelenting desire to secure an NHL team for the people of Columbus, no matter what it took,” Bettman told The Dispatch last week. “Without John McConnell, this never would have happened.”

McConnell died in 2008. He never saw his team compete in a playoff game, but he saw, in his mind’s eye, a weekend such as this one. He had a vision for what Columbus could be, and should be, given its good bones.

It could be a place to stage the most ambitious All-Star Weekend ever, an international stage for visitors to fan out along Nationwide Boulevard, which was a scrap heap not 20 years ago, and up High Street into the Short North, now a chic destination, and elsewhere in Downtown, where people now actually live.

“This was his long-term plan, to have all eyes on Columbus for hockey,” former Blue Jackets star Rick Nash said. “Knowing him pretty well — I spoke at his funeral here at this arena — you just know how much hockey meant to him, and to have this game here in Columbus, it’s definitely where he wanted it to be.”

McConnell wanted to show off his city. To do that, he had to get more people to notice it. And he did.

The dateline is Columbus. No Ohio required.



NHL All-Star Game: Fans had fun even without tickets

By Lori Kurtzman The Columbus Dispatch • Monday January 26, 2015 5:31 AM

Right around 5 yesterday evening, the Arena District finally got quiet. Scalpers stopped shouting for tickets. Buskers dressed as superheroes packed up.

The beer tent cleared out.

The NHL All-Star Game had begun. Everyone filed into Nationwide Arena, leaving behind the smoldering fire pits and the twinkling lights and the long, steady drizzle.

Well, almost everyone.

While the hockey players inside traded turns slapping the puck into the net (over and over and over), a few people outside took advantage of the new quiet that had settled over McFerson Commons.

For them, there was still time to enjoy the things that made it a special week in Columbus.

Suddenly the line for the snow slide was fairly reasonable, and the rain made sliding a little more fun. There was room enough to twirl on the pop-up skating rink. No one was sitting in the face-painting chair.

It was marshmallows for Alysia Vigliucci and Tyler Pigman.

Failing to negotiate a $20-a-ticket deal with scalpers, Vigliucci, 30, and Pigman, 31, ducked into a concessions tent and emerged with a bag of s’mores ingredients. Over three empty fire pits they speared huge marshmallows and got ready to roast, never mind the rain.

It was something they’d wanted to do since they got there, so why not then?

“When you see marshmallows this big, you have to,” said Pigman, of Marion.

Inside the cleared-out kids’ tent, Todd Barnish watched his 11-year-old daughter and her friends try on hockey gear at a replica Blue Jackets locker room. The Barnish family, of Reynoldsburg, had relished the city’s big hockey weekend: Barnish’s son ran the All-Star 5K on Saturday, the two of them went to the skills competition that evening, and the whole lot of them headed to the All-Star Fan Fair yesterday.

“It was a good weekend for Columbus,” he said.

The next tent over, there was heat as the game played on a big screen. There, Ben Sigall and Emily Godshalk sipped beer and wine and wondered if scalpers had grown desperate yet.

The couple, who live in Victorian Village, had walked down on Saturday for the skills competition. Those were the better tickets, Sigall said. None of this pretending-to-play stuff. (Seriously: the final score was 17-12.)

But, as they wondered about the scalpers, they weren’t ready to let go of the All-Star experience.

Sigall, 33, said that the All-Star weekend, especially when coupled with Ohio State’s commanding football performance, already cements 2015 as a momentous year for sports in the city. Godshalk, 29, thought it was even bigger than that.

“It kind of puts Columbus on the map,” she said.

Sigall shook his head. He didn’t agree.

“I think it’s a sign,” he said, “that we’re already established.”



NHL All-Star Game notebook: Fleury booed for bad period

By Shawn Mitchell • Monday January 26, 2015 5:32 AM

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has gotten to know, and grown to like, Columbus in recent months, but the feeling is not mutual.

Fleury played the second period for Team Foligno in a 17-12 All-Star Game loss to Team Toews yesterday at Nationwide Arena. Fleury allowed seven goals on 16 shots, and Team Toews tied an All-Star Game record for most goals in a period.

“In the (dressing) room after the second period, I heard on television (about the) record,” said Fleury, who said he and Penguins defenseman Kris Letang explored and enjoyed the city on rental bikes during their first-round playoff series win over the Blue Jackets last spring.

“It was so long, probably the longest 20 minutes of my career,” Fleury said. “We are at this game to have fun, but at one time, it was frustrating. Normally, I’ll be out of the game way before giving up seven goals.”

The crowd, particularly the portion stationed behind Fleury’s net, didn’t let it slide.

“I wish I would have made a few more stops to keep them quiet,” he said. “But it’s fine, they had their fun. I guess it’s a good thing because we beat them in the playoffs last year. I guess that’s why.”

Fleury and former Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash, who was razzed all weekend, drew sympathy from players on both teams.

“In the All-Star Game, you don’t see that much,” Tampa Bay Lightning and Team Foligno forward Steven Stamkos said. “But it just shows how passionate (the fans) are and how knowledgeable they are. They know their hockey. They know what’s going on.”

Team Foligno captain Nick Foligno of the Jackets felt particularly bad for Nash.

“In this event, he’s just representing hockey,” Foligno said. “But you’re not going to have everyone agree. I guess that’s the way it goes.”

The Nationwide Arena cannon was fired only after goals by Team Foligno. It failed to fire once, after a Patrick Kane goal in the third period, but let fly a memorable barrage over the weekend:

• Bobby Ryan (Ottawa): “That thing is obnoxious, but I know the fans love it.”

• Claude Giroux (Philadelphia): “I hate the cannon. It gets me every time.”

• Roberto Luongo (Florida): “No, the cannon wasn’t my favorite part of the weekend.”

• Jonathan Toews (Chicago): “It’s loud enough that it gets on your nerves pretty quickly. When they score 12 or so goals like that, it gets you a little bit.”

Toews said the cannon had a greater effect during Saturday’s Skills Competition when its blasts were less predictable.

“Before the Skills Competition, Brent Burns and Phil Kessel jumped pretty high, and they probably aren’t the only ones,” Toews said. “It startled pretty much everyone in the building.”

“You can’t see the numbers,” said Susan Smith of Hilliard. “None of us can tell who these guys are.”

No comfort

Luongo, a Team Toews goaltender, said Fleury approached him on the bench during the first TV timeout of the second period.

“He was looking for some comfort words or something from me,” Luongo said. “He wasn’t on my team, so I wasn’t going in for him. What are you going to do? Things happen. It’s tough to come in cold like that.”

Back to work

The Blue Jackets will return to practice at 2 p.m. today at the Ice Haus and play the Washington Capitals on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena. … The Jackets will recall goaltender Anton Forsberg to replace injured All-Star Sergei Bobrovsky. Forward Josh Anderson also will join the team from minor-league Springfield.



Blue Jackets: Foligno, Johansen excel as All-Star hosts

By Aaron Portzline The Columbus Dispatch • Monday January 26, 2015 5:32 AM

Blue Jackets forwards Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen had never been on a stage this big, much less for three straight days.

As the unofficial player hosts of the NHL’s All-Star Weekend, Foligno and Johansen handled these new responsibilities with poise and character. Yesterday, as the weekend came to a close with the All-Star Game, the glow around those two players still was evident.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Johansen said. “This is something I’ll remember for a very long time. We’ve been enjoying every moment of this weekend, and just being in Columbus and in front of our fans for our first game, it’s been a special weekend.”

Foligno was named one of the team captains, putting him on stage opposite Chicago superstar Jonathan Toews beginning with the fantasy draft on Friday. The decision raised eyebrows around the league, as Foligno has never been part of an NHL marketing push. But he was funny, self-effacing and charming.

“I was nervous, for sure,” Foligno said. “My first time being an All-Star, first time really being around these guys, you just want to — being honest here — fly under the radar and feel it out as you go. I just decided that I was going to embrace this. I really enjoyed every minute. I can’t tell you how humbled I am and so excited to be around everybody. I had a blast with it all.”

Johansen stole the show Saturday in the Skills Competition, and he was the MVP yesterday in the All-Star Game after putting up two goals and two assists.

“It was just surreal,” Johansen said. “You never expect this to happen when you’re growing up as a kid, and it hasn’t been an easy road for either of us.”

Johansen and Foligno barely slept this weekend. They took part in numerous charity events, were popular requests of local and national media and spent hours interacting with young fans.

Yesterday, before the game, they spent two hours signing autographs.

“It’s allowed us to get out in our community a little more and really thanks the fans for their support,” Foligno said. “You see the kids … that was my favorite part. The kids looked like they were having a ball.”

John Davidson, the Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations and a Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster, pulled both players aside before the weekend.

“I just told them to soak it up,” Davidson said. “Enjoy everything they ask you to do. Just love it, man.

“They were both great ambassadors for our game, our city, our club. You could feel the energy between the fans and all the players, but especially those guys. Those are their players. (Blue Jackets majority owner) John P. (McConnell) was very happy, too. It meant a lot to him.”



Michael Arace commentary: Columbus has reason to be proud

By Michael Arace The Columbus Dispatch • Monday January 26, 2015 5:31 AM

There will be no supplemental-discipline cases after the latest NHL All-Star Game. Team Toews defeated Team Foligno 17-12 in front of a sellout crowd of 18,901 at Nationwide Arena yesterday and, when scouring one’s mind to find the most exciting moment, it might have been the fake scrum at the end of the second period.

That is the way these things go. The game itself is a quiet coda to a bigger piece of music. All-Star Weekend is a party for sponsors and a celebration of hockey, and it is as successful as a host city wants to make it.

This one was a hit.

Columbus had certain advantages. The Blue Jackets, along with the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, began applying for one of these games in 2000. They had a rousing warm-up with the 2007 draft, which might be summed up in the following image, to which I can attest:

As the draft wrapped up a glorious June weekend that included the Pride Festival and Parade, a Canadian sportswriter of some renown in the hockey world stood on top of the bar at the High Beck Tavern, raised his glass and bellowed, “The draft should be in Columbus every year!”

Columbus had extra time to prepare for its party. The city was awarded the 2013 All-Star Game, which was scuttled by the lockout. The sports commission, the Blue Jackets and city leaders ended up with four-plus years to plan, and they nailed it — from the winter park on John H. McConnell Boulevard to the slide next to the arena to the Fan Fest in the convention center.

“I’m very proud of what so many people pulled off,” said Linda Logan, executive director of the sports commission.

How good was this All-Star Weekend in Columbus?

“The best,” one high-ranking NHL official said. “The best.”

Columbus is a college football town first, of course, and there are some small-minded folk in our midst who believe that hockey cannot coexist.

Ryan Johansen, the All-Star MVP in an essentially rigged election — a Twitter tally from within the arena — presented a contrary piece performance art to the contrary Friday night, when he donned an Ohio State jersey during the Skills Competition. Smart kid. Lovely gesture.

Johansen was the deputy mayor for the weekend. His Jackets teammate, Nick Foligno, was the mayor and official host. They were wired and followed by an NHL Network crew throughout, made the draft show into compellingly goofy television and turned into a comedy team when they sat for news conferences.

They also served as tour guides.

“You know what, it was fun to take on the role of showing off our team and our city,” Foligno said. “That was what I was proud of. I signed here, and when you make that kind of a commitment for that long of a time, you’re proud of what you’ve accomplished and the team that you play for, and I wanted the guys to see that. I wanted them to see the city, and all the comments that came from the guys, they love it here. They really were impressed with how nice Columbus is. …

“That was probably the role I wanted to make sure I got across to everybody is how great of a city it is to play here, and I think the fans took over and did the rest. It was a lot of fun for me, and mentoring this young man (Johansen) over here, too.”

For Foligno, this is a season in which he has come into his own, and this was a weekend to show how comfortable he is with his new role. For Johansen, this weekend was a coming out for a budding superstar, and we shall see whether he seizes on the momentum.

For the city of Columbus, it was a weekend to show off its bona fides, and to make one wonder what the place will be like when a real Stanley Cup contender is finally delivered.



NHL: Teams set All-Star record for total goals; Blue Jackets’ Johansen MVP

By Aaron Portzline The Columbus Dispatch • Monday January 26, 2015 5:32 AM

The NHL’s All-Star Weekend was all Columbus dreamed it would be, a glowing, festive celebration of the sport and the city.

The capper, last night’s All-Star Game at Nationwide Arena, came exactly as advertised, too.

“It felt like a road-hockey game with my buddies,” Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen said.

The 60th All-Star Game was the highest-scoring in NHL history. Team Toews, as drafted by Chicago’s Jonathan Toews on Friday, cruised to a 17-12 victory over Team Foligno — captained by Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno — in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,901 at Nationwide Arena.

The game featured 29 goals, 92 shots on goal, zero hits and zero penalties.

The only scrum that formed — early in the second period, after Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford got poked with a stick — was a playful skit with giggles and smiles. Every year, the game seems to drift a little further away from the fast, physical play of the regular season. Not that the fans, or the players, seem to mind.

“Sometimes you just need to get away from the grind a little bit,” Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos said. “Guys were able to do that a little bit this weekend.”

Johansen, who had two goals, two assists and a game-high seven shots, was named the game’s MVP as voted by the highly partisan fans at Nationwide Arena.

“There were some other guys who were deserving,” Johansen said. “But, thanks. I’ll take it.”

New York Islanders center John Tavares scored four goals, becoming the sixth player to reach that total in an All-Star Game. The last was Dany Heatley with Atlanta in 2003.

“It’s pretty cool,” Tavares said. “It’s something you don’t really think about going into a game like this. You get your opportunities; I’m just happy they went in.”

Philadelphia left wing Jake Voracek had three goals and three assists, joining Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux (1988) as the only players with six points in an All-Star Game.

“Voracek and Lemieux, right?” Voracek said. “I had three secondary assists, so I wouldn’t get too excited about that.”

The score was tied at 4 after one period before the offensive floodgates opened. Team Toews scored seven goals in the second period — four in a row at one point — to take control. The result surpassed the 2001 All-Star Game in Denver — a 14-12 victory by North America over the World team — as the highest-scoring game.

“We were laughing a little bit at how we’re used to going fast, and everything is full speed and guys are flying around and hitting each other, and there was none of that tonight,” said Foligno, who had a goal and an assist. “I’m not as cute as these guys, but it was really fun.”

Put another way: “I feel for the goalies, I do,” Los Angeles center Anze Kopitar said.

Toews and Boston’s Patrice Bergeron each had a goal and four assists, and St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko and Florida’s Aaron Ekblad had four assists each.

Other superlatives:

• Team Toews scored seven goals in the second period, tying an All-Star record set by the Wales Conference in 1990.

• The 11 combined goals in the second period were also the most in All-Star history.

• Minnesota’s Ryan Suter (Toews) and Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux (Foligno) scored 8 seconds apart early in the second period, tied for the fastest two goals in an All-Star Game.

• Tavares and Voracek are the first pair to get All-Star hat tricks since Mark Recchi and Owen Nolan in 1997.

But the greatest points this weekend might have been scored by the Blue Jackets’ organization and the city.

“Packed house at the Skills Competition (on Saturday) and a packed house (tonight),” Stamkos said. “Fans all over. It’s a pretty cool Arena District they have here. I think the guys all enjoyed it.”



Foligno and Johansen are humble ambassadors

Rick Gethin

JAN 25, 2015 11:04p ET

Team Foligno center Ryan Johansen celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the 2015 NHL All Star Game at Nationwide Arena.

Columbus, Ohio - Another NHL All-Star weekend has come to a close and there are two guys that are still the same humble players they were four days ago.

Blue Jackets' left wing Nick Foligno, captain of Team Foligno, and center Ryan Johansen, MVP of the All-Star Game, were all smiles when it was all said and done. Both were first-time all-stars, and yet you have to think this won't be their last.

"My first time being an All-Star," said Foligno, "first time really around these guys, you just want to, to be honest with you, fly under the radar and just kind of feel it out as you go. I enjoyed it, I really do. I thought it was a lot of fun, and then I just decided, you know what, I'm going to embrace this. I'm in my home city. I had Joey to really help me out, too, to get me some normalcy because I'm around him all the time, so it felt good just to have him around."

The stars aligned to have both Foligno and Johansen selected for the All-Star weekend when both are also having very good seasons despite the team not doing as well as expected. The former embraced the spotlight that came with being the captain on an all-star team. The latter melted the hearts of thousands during the Skills Competition and earned MVP honors Sunday.

"You know, it was good, though," continued Foligno. "I really enjoyed every minute. I can't tell you how humbled I am and so excited to be around everybody and really had a blast with it all, and it's something I'll never forget, and I'm glad people told me to really soak it in, because it is, it's a great experience, and I'm going to have stories forever from this weekend for sure."

Having the event in Columbus added an extra layer of specialness to the weekend that not many players get to experience. Not only playing in their first game, but playing in front of a very partisan crowd was not lost on the guys.

"You know, it's meant a lot, us being a part of it," said Johansen. "That's all we've been talking about over the last few days is seeing the fans and how much they've been enjoying all the festivities and stuff and we did a two-hour signing (Sunday) at the convention center up there, and everybody just seemed to be having a great time, and all the kids were laughing and smiling and having fun. So it's just been a great thing to see these last few days."

Could there have been two better ambassadors to represent not only the team, but also the city? Both of these players are faces of the franchise, and will be for quite some time moving forward.

"We're so proud of our city for showing that hockey is such a big deal here," Foligno said. "For it to be the main focus and then for us to have been involved in it has been really gratifying for both of us.

"It's allowed us to get out in our community a little more than we've been able to and really thank the fans for all their support for us, and like he said, you see the kids, that was my favorite part, the red carpet yesterday, and then the two-hour signing that we did today, the kids looked like they were having a ball, and that's what we remember as kids, so it was really fun to kind of have that as our moment today."

This All-Star Weekend exposed a much wider audience to the beauty of Columbus as a hockey town. Were some minds changed about the way they viewed Columbus? Of course they were. There were many comments overheard about how great everything was about the entire event and all that the city did to show the hockey world a good time.

"You know what?" said Foligno. "It was fun to take on the role of showing off our team and our city. That was what I was proud of. I signed here and when you make that kind of a commitment for that long of a time you're

proud of what you've accomplished and the team that you play for, and I wanted the guys to see that. I wanted them to see the city, and all the comments that came from the guys, they love it here. They really were impressed with how nice Columbus is."

What will this mean moving forward? Only time will tell. But one thing is for certain, and that is that the city and these two Blue Jackets players gave a good accounting of themselves.

"That was probably the role I wanted to make sure I got across to everybody," concluded Foligno, "is how great of a city it is to play here and I think the fans took over and did the rest."

foxsportsohio.com LOADED: 01.26.2015


Columbus shines as the center of the hockey universe

Rick Gethin

JAN 25, 2015 8:42p ET

The 2015 NHL All-Star Game was an unmitigated success for the league and the city of Columbus.

Columbus, Ohio - The cannon went "BOOM" a total of 29 times tonight in celebration of goals scored, to the delight of the fans and the bewilderment/non-liking of many of the visiting media, with Team Toews winning 17-12 over Team Foligno in front of 18,901 fans.

The celebration of hockey that is the NHL All-Star Game was wonderfully staged by the city of Columbus and the Blue Jackets organization and will not soon be forgotten by all who were in attendance.

Many coaches would lament the fact that players weren't moving their legs, if this were a real game. There was no back-checking and very little defensive coverage. Of course there were goals scored throughout the evening, including two hat-tricks; one from the New York Islanders' John Tavares (4 goals) and another from the Philadelphia Flyers' Jakub Voracek (3 goals).

And in the end, it didn't really matter what the final score was. The players had fun in a relaxed atmosphere where nothing really mattered except enjoyment by all. The fans were treated to the most goals ever scored in an NHL All-Star Game.

The hometown crowd rose to the occasion when it came to voting for the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star game via social media. The Blue Jackets' Ryan Johansen skated away with a new Honda Accord, made in Ohio. In his remarks after winning the MVP, he thanked his family, friends and the "fifth-liners", to a roar of appreciation from the partisan crowd.

There were 92 shots on goal, making it a goal-scorers dream game with a fake "scrum" thrown-in for good measure. It was very evident that everyone was enjoying themselves. Even the concussion blasts for the cannon couldn't dampen the spirit of the assembled masses.

By all accounts, everyone from outside the city was impressed with the event hosted by Columbus and the Blue Jackets, with nary a complaint heard throughout the weekend. From the Fantasy Draft on Friday through to the conclusion of the All-Star Game on Sunday, everyone was treated to a spectacle of extravagance.

While obviously the duo of Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen were cheered on loudly by the hometown fans, there was a vocal round of cheers for former Blue Jacket Voracek, not only when he was introduced, but every time that he found the back of the net. It was nice to see the crowd still showing him some love.

You could see the smiles on the players' faces as they skated over the ice, soaking in the atmosphere. Johansen had his trademark sheepish grin going all night and Foligno wore an ear-to-ear smile. This event will not soon be forgotten by them, nor will the city of Columbus forget being at the center of the hockey universe.

Columbus... you done good, kid.



Fake fight breaks out at NHL All-Star Game

Connor Kiesel

JAN 25, 2015 7:20p ET

Members of Team Toews and Team Foligno grab onto each other after a whistle in the second period.

The NHL All-Star Game got oh so serious late in the second period when both teams truly realized all that was on the line.

After Blue Jackets All-Star Ryan Johansen was stopped at the net by Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford and Capitals star Alex Ovechkin kept pushing at the puck, players nearly came to blows (not really, but they pretended to for a few seconds).

Valiant show of camaraderie by Team Toews in this all-important contest.

In an interview played on the scoreboard during the second intermission, Johansen had the best, dry quote: "It's a close, intense game," he said of the 11-8 score between Team Foligno and Team Toews following two periods.

The whole scrum honestly looks like one big group hug. Hockey is very rarely a sport where much love is shown on the ice, so let's just let this be for one day.


761880 Dallas Stars

Stars' Tyler Seguin scores two goals, two assists for Team Toews in NHL All-Star game win

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: 25 January 2015 07:43 PM

Updated: 25 January 2015 07:53 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio — John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star game.

The wild, no-defense exhibition even featured a fake fight to go with goals in bunches.

The 29 goals were the most in the event's 60-year history, eclipsing the 26-goal burst in North America's 14-12 victory over the World in 2001.

Ryan Johansen, of the hometown Columbus Blue Jackets, had two goals and two assists for the losing team but still won the MVP award in voting by fans on Twitter.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Jake Voracek — formerly of the Blue Jackets — scored three goals and tied a game record with six points for Team Toews. That mark was set by Mario Lemieux.

Tavares' four goals gave him a share of the All-Star record that was established by Wayne Gretzky in 1983, and equaled by Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston's Patrice Bergeron. Dallas' Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg of Nashville, and Rick Nash of the New York Rangers — another former Columbus star — both scored twice, and Florida's Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.

For Team Foligno, led by Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno, Chicago's Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist apiece, Philadelphia's Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists, and Washington's Alexander Ovechkin added three assists.


The fake fight provided some energy to a capacity crowd of 18,901 on the game's first visit to Ohio's capital city. Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary's Mark Giordano and Chicago's Brent Seabrook.

All of the players were laughing after they grabbed and hugged each other.

It was fitting that Toews scored the goal that shattered the record. He held off defenseman Brent Burns of San Jose to find the net with a rising shot with 5:39 left.

With the game tied at 4 after a period, Team Toews broke it open with six goals in 9 1/2 minutes — and a record seven in the frame.

The teams scored twice within 8 seconds in the opening minute and three goals in a 58-second span, as the arena announcer stacked up goal announcements and was three behind at one point.

Tavares had two goals, Voracek notched his second, and Ryan Suter, Nash, Forsberg and Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf each notched their first for Toews.

Steve Stamkos tallied twice in the period for Team Foligno, which trailed 11-8 heading into the third and never came close to catching up.

Nash, a former Blue Jackets captain who was booed every time he touched the puck, provided the go-ahead goal 4:08 in.

Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, the only Penguins player on either roster after Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin stayed home due to injuries, had a

particularly forgettable period. He gave up six goals on the first 10 shots he faced.

Johansen tallied twice in the opening period, once on a wrister while coasting from left to right across the high slot, and the other on a wicked one-timer at the left dot off a cross-ice pass from Ovechkin.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.26.2015

761881 Dallas Stars

Seguin collects two goals as All-Stars set scoring record

By Rusty Miller

The Associated Press

01/25/2015 9:11 PM

01/25/2015 10:23 PM

Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars had two goals and two assists, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star game.

John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals in the wild, no-defense exhibition that even featured a fake fight.

The 29 goals were the most in the event’s 60-year history, eclipsing the 26-goal burst in North America’s 14-12 victory over the World in 2001.

Ryan Johansen of the hometown Columbus Blue Jackets had two goals and two assists for the losing team, but still won the MVP award in voting by fans on Twitter.


“We had so many good players on each team,” said Voracek. “There’s going to be a lot of goals.”

Tavares’ four goals gave him a share of the All-Star record that was established by Wayne Gretzky in 1983, and equaled by Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston’s Patrice Bergeron. Filip Forsberg of Nashville and Rick Nash of the New York Rangers — another former Columbus star — both scored twice, and Florida’s Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.

For Team Foligno, led by Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno, Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist apiece, Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists, and Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin added three assists.

The fake fight provided some energy to a capacity crowd of 18,901 on the game’s first visit to Ohio’s capital city. Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary’s Mark Giordano and Chicago’s Brent Seabrook.



With the game tied at 4 after a period, Team Toews broke it open with six goals in 9 1/2 minutes — and a record seven in the frame.


Star-Telegram LOADED: 01.26.2015

761882 Detroit Red Wings

NHL All-Star Game: 4 goals for Tavares, Johansen MVP

Staff

Detroit Free Press News Services 10:24 p.m. EST January 25, 2015

COLUMBUS, Ohio – John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno, 17-12, on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star Game.


Ryan Johansen of the hometown Columbus Blue Jackets had two goals and two assists for the losing team but still won the MVP in voting by fans on Twitter.


Tavares' four goals gave him a share of the All-Star record established by Wayne Gretzky in 1983, and equaled by Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston's Patrice Bergeron. Dallas' Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg of Nashville and Rick Nash of the New York Rangers both scored twice, and Florida's Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.

For Team Foligno, led by Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno, Chicago's Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist apiece, Philadelphia's Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists, and Washington's Alexander Ovechkin added three assists.

During a scrum in front of the net in the second, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary's Mark Giordano and Chicago's Brent Seabrook. The players were laughing after they grabbed and hugged each other.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.26.2015


Tavares stars as NHL All-Stars stage record shootout

Rusty Miller, Associated Press 10:40 p.m. EST January 25, 2015

Columbus, Ohio — It was enough to give a goalie nightmares: A record 29 goals, 25 players with at least two points and eight with at least four.

In addition to the high-profile superstars who didn't make it to Ohio's capital city for the NHL All-Star game, defense also took a holiday.

John Tavares of the Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star Game.

"We had so many good players on each team," said Flyers forward Jake Voracek, who tied another record with six points. "There's going to be a lot of goals."

How much offense was there? Tavares wasn't even the MVP, although that might have been due to a little home-cooking. Ryan Johansen of the host Blue Jackets had two goals and two assists for the losing side and was selected as the MVP in voting by fans on Twitter.

Tavares was as gracious about the balloting as he was good on the ice.

"I didn't come to the game trying to get the car," said Tavares, referring to the prize given to the MVP.

"You get four goals, and obviously you think you have an opportunity. But Ryan had a good game. He had a couple of nice goals, made some nice plays."

Johansen, a budding star for the Blue Jackets, was touched by the smiles of the fans he encountered all week.

"It's meant a lot, being a part of it — seeing the fans and how much they've been enjoying all the festivities," he said. "We did a two-hour (autograph) signing. Everybody just seemed to be having a great time. All the kids were laughing and having a lot of fun."

The players, at least those on offense, had a lot of fun once the game started. The wild, no-defense exhibition even featured a fake fight to go with goals in bunches.

It was the most goals in the event's 60-year history, eclipsing the 26-goal burst in North America's 14-12 victory over the World in 2001.

Tavares' four goals gave him a share of the All-Star record that was established by Wayne Gretzky in 1983, and equaled by Mario Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

Voracek's six points tied another mark set by Pittsburgh legend Lemieux.

Captain Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston's Patrice Bergeron. Dallas' Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists.

Detroit News LOADED: 01.26.2015


AHL All-Star Classic up next on Teemu Pulkkinen's busy schedule

Peter J. Wallner | [email protected] By Peter J. Wallner | [email protected]

on January 25, 2015 at 10:24 AM, updated January 25, 2015 at 11:00 AM

RAND RAPIDS, MI – Success does not come with rest for Teemu Pulkkinen.

The Grand Rapids Griffins forward is the Detroit organization’s lone all-star representative, and he is a busy one at that. Pulkkinen has played six games in eight days as he heads to Utica, N.Y. and Monday’s AHL All-Star Classic. Pulkkinen, named a starter for the Western Conference, is due to compete Sunday night in the skills competition.

The busy week goes with the whirlwind month for the 23-year-old right winger, who was called up to Detroit and played six games with the Red Wings beginning Jan. 10.

Since Jan. 17, he played three games in four days with the Red Wings – collecting his first NHL goal Jan. 20 – and then returned to Grand Rapids where he played another three games in four days. He netted the game-winner Saturday in the Griffins’ 4-3 win against Iowa.

"For sure, it's going to be a good experience to go there and see good players there, but it's been hard for me, with the last eight days and six games just to go there and play another game,” Pulkkinen said. “It's going to be hard but I'm going to enjoy it."

Pulkkinen has enjoyed a remarkable first half. Despite playing in 36 of the Griffins’ 41 games, he has a team-high 21 goals and his 43 points are second in the league.

x-defaultPulkkinen has 21 goals in 36 games with Grand Rapids, and a goal in six games with Detroit.Joel Bissell | MLive.com

His first-half highlights with the Griffins include a goal with .08 seconds left in overtime on Nov. 14 against Dallas, and a franchise-tying eight game consecutive goal streak. That was interrupted by his call-up to Detroit and ended when he returned and played in Grand Rapids on Jan. 21, a day after scoring his first NHL goal in Detroit.

In 36 games with the Griffins, he has been held without a point in eight of them. He has gone no more than one game without a point just twice.

Pulkkinen was not the only player on the Griffins named to the all-star team. Defenseman Xavier Ouellet was also selected but won’t play. He has been with the Red Wings since the beginning of the year.

The all-star game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit and on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio.

The Griffins return to action Thursday at Iowa.

Michigan Live LOADED: 01.26.2015


Gave: Wings will soon need to sort out crowd in goal

KEITH GAVE

FOX Sports Detroit

JAN 25, 2015 4:34p ET

Jimmy Howard and Jonas Gustavsson, of course, started the season as Detroit's goaltending tandem.

If two is company and three's a crowd, then four might be a good problem to have if you're the Detroit Red Wings.

Injured goaltenders Jimmy Howard and Jonas Gustavsson will accompany the Red Wings to their two-game road trip to Florida this week. Both are rehabbing serious injuries. Gustavsson, out since he dislocated his left shoulder on Nov. 5, is close to returning; Howard, who suffered a slight groin tear on Jan. 10, is at least a couple of weeks away. Initially, the Wings forecast that he'd return in two to four weeks, but since they've adjusted that to three to five weeks.

They expect both to be back with the team for practices this week, after which they will deliberate on how to proceed, General Manager Ken Holland said.

"With Gustavsson, the plan right now is for him to practice Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and then we'll sit down on Thursday and have a conversation about what to do," Holland said, acknowledging that if Gustavsson is cleared to play there's a good chance he'll get a game or two with Grand Rapids before returning to the Detroit roster.

"With Howard, we're hoping he's to a point where he could do some off-ice work with our trainers," Holland said. "He just had five days off for the All-Star break. If he didn't go to Florida, he'd be looking at 9-10 days by himself. I would think he'd come with us so we can slowly start ramping him up."

Howard and Gustavsson, of course, started the season as Detroit's goaltending tandem. Howard was rebounding nicely from an injury-riddled season a year ago and was enjoying one of the best years of his career. He had learned he was selected to play in the All-Star game just an hour or so before he was carted off the ice in Washington. Gustavsson was the hero down the stretch last season, winning several important games to help Detroit stake claim to its 23rd straight playoff appearance after many had writing the Wings off.

In their place, Petr Mrazek and Tom McCollum have performed admirably. Mrazek has proven beyond doubt that he has a bright future in the NHL. And in the one game in which he didn't perform well, McCollum earned his first NHL win in relief when the Wings stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Buffalo.

Mrazek and McCollum began the season as the top tandem with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. There was some speculation that McCollum would return to Grand Rapids while the NHL went on break last week. But Holland explained that NHL rules stipulate that all teams must have two healthy goaltenders on their rosters at all times -- even during breaks like these. With both Howard and Gustavsson on injured reserve, McCollum got to stay and continue drawing a much larger NHL paycheck.

In their absence, Jared Coreau was getting the bulk of the work, but his record slipped to 6-6-1 amid a four-game losing streak. On Friday, Pat Nagle, who spent most of his season with Fort Wayne of the East Coast Hockey League, earned his first AHL win to help the Griffins beat Utica. In both Detroit and Grand Rapids, four goalies have won games this season.

The goalie glut is a good problem to have, Holland acknowledged. With both Mrazek and Gustavsson playing well, it means that the Wings don't have to rush Howard back into action from an injury that can tend to nag goalies.

They're thinking at some point in a nine-day span between the Feb. 5 game at Colorado and the Feb. 14 game against visiting Winnipeg, Howard should be ready to return to the starting lineup, Holland said.

Howard won't need a rehab assignment in Grand Rapids because he was playing regularly before his injury. Gustavsson would benefit from a game or two in the NHL, Holland explained, because he has played in just three games this season.

In the meantime, expect Mrazek to get both starts in Florida, with McCollum continuing to serve as his backup.

NAME W-L-T GAA SV%

Jimmy Howard 16-7-7 2.11 .920

Petr Mrazek 9-3-1 2.44 .914

Jonas Gustavsson 1-1-1 2.30 .908

Tom McCollum 1-0-0 1.30 .875

TOTALS 27-11-9 2.38 .912

foxsports.com LOADED: 01.26.2015

761886 Edmonton Oilers

Prolific Medicine Hat Tigers offence overpowers Edmonton Oil Kings

By Michael Arcuri, Edmonton Journal January 25, 2015

EDMONTON — Home has been offering little advantage recently to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Sunday’s game against the Medicine Hat Tigers was no exception.

The Oil Kings lost their fourth consecutive game at their home arena, Rexall Place, 4-2 to the visiting Tigers.

“We got off to a little bit of a rough start. We fought hard for a while, but in the end, we made a couple key mistakes in the third that didn’t allow us to get back into it,” Oil Kings assistant coach Ryan Marsh said after the game.

It didn’t take long for Edmonton to fall behind in the game — 49 seconds into the Western Hockey League contest, Medicine Hat enjoyed a five-on-two advantage after a poor Oil Kings’ line change.

The extra space allowed right-winger Chad Butcher to find Dryden Hunt streaking in, and the left-winger beat Oil Kings goalie Patrick Dea five-hole.

“It was a really bad change, still a little bit boggled why all three forwards would come off,” Marsh said. “Maybe just a little bit of a sign not being ready to play.”

The Tigers pushed the lead to two just over four minutes later. Forward Alex Mowbray was given space at the top of the circle to drag the puck and fire it past a screened Dea.

Mowbray almost scored another four minutes later. The Calgary native ripped the puck off the right post — it then ricocheted out of the zone and onto the stick of Oil Kings forward Mads Eller for a breakaway. The Dane was denied by Tigers goalie Marek Langhamer, but forward Tyler Robertson grabbed the rebound and scored for the Oil Kings, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Medicine Hat started the second period much like they did the first. Cole Sanford picked up his WHL-leading 40th goal of the season on the power play just 34 seconds into the frame. Dea made the initial stop on the sniper’s shot, but the puck bounced over the Oil Kings netminder and in to put the Tigers up 3-1.

The Oil Kings then scored a chance to get back into the game after defenceman Ty Santon was ejected from the game for a headshot on Eller.

Edmonton struggled to generate offence on the five-minute advantage, with a Brett Pollock crossbar shot the only semblance of a scoring chance.

“A number of times we missed the net,” Marsh said about the failed five-minute power play. “We got our power play goal in the third and it was off a rebound, if we could have forced the goalie to make a few more saves, generate a few more rebounds we could have been successful.”

The Oil Kings were unable to handle the Tigers’ quick and crisp puck movement on the evening, with Medicine Hat centre Matthew Bradley’s third period tally providing a prime example.

Hunt drew Oil Kings captain Ashton Sautner into the corner before spinning around and firing a cross- crease bullet onto Bradley’s stick. The ensuing tap-in made it 4-1 Tigers.

While Edmonton centre Davis Koch cut the Medicine Hat lead in half midway through the period with his sixth goal of the season, the league’s highest scoring duo connected again less than two minutes later to restore a three-goal Tigers lead.

Sanford found fellow Tigers forward Trevor Cox streaking to the net, and the WHL’s leading scorer tucked it between Dea’s pads for the final goal of the game. 5-2 lead.

Dea stopped 21 shots on the night.

The Oil Kings wrap up their seven-game homestand Wednesday against Edmonton Oilers prospect Leon Draisaitl and the Kelowna Rockets.

Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 01.26.2015

761887 Florida Panthers

Goals and tweets pile up for Panthers’ Roberto Luongo at NHL All-Star Game

BY GEORGE RICHARDS

[email protected]

After giving up four goals in the opening period Sunday, Roberto Luongo spent the rest of the game on the bench.

He wasn’t sulking, mind you.

Just tweeting.

Luongo’s first period was actually one of the defensive highlights of Sunday’s 60th NHL All-Star Game, a high-scoring affair that ended up being a 17-12 victory for Team Toews over Team Foligno.

The 29 goals scored were the most in an All-Star Game, and with the game out of hand coming into the third period Luongo decided to do some live work on his popular Twitter account.

Players are forbidden from using social media during games, but since this was the exhibition of all exhibitions, an exception was made.

“Everyone was pretty much for it,” Luongo said.

Luongo’s most popular tweet was his first, a complaint aimed toward the Civil War-style cannon usually shot off after Blue Jackets goals.

“I didn’t like the cannon,” Luongo said. “You get used to it, but the first few times you get freaked out.”

On Sunday, the cannon went off every time the home team — the one picked by Columbus’ Nick Foligno — scored.

Luongo played on Jonathan Toews’ squad, and the cannon went off four times while he was in goal.

“You did this to yourself,” replied the official Blue Jackets’ account, which led Luongo to ask if they could put him on the Kiss Cam.

Luongo wasn’t alone in his disdain for the Columbus pyrotechnics.

“I hate the cannon,” Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux said. “It gets me every time.”

Said Toews: “It’s loud enough that it gets on your nerves pretty quickly, and especially when they score 12 or so goals like that … it gets you a little.”

Luongo, making his fourth All-Star appearance, played just one period as scheduled and left with the game tied at 4.

He held things down the best he could.

Radim Vrbata gave Team Foligno the first lead by beating Luongo 3:09 into the first on a breakaway.

Toews’ team battled back, and Luongo ended up making a few highlight-reel saves in his 20 minutes of work — his biggest coming when he robbed Alex Ovechkin midway through the period.

Luongo gave up two quick goals at the end of the period, but Jonathan Tavares’ first of four goals came with 57 seconds left in the first to tie things at the break.

Tavares lost out on being game MVP, as Columbus’ Ryan Johansen took that honor with two goals and four points.

“You have to enjoy this,” Luongo said.

“It’s not every day you get to play in an All-Star Game, and it’s not often you get to [tweet during a game]. So that’s fun.”

Luongo served as the honorary backup for the second and third periods, and had a great seat for the seven goals surrendered by Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury in the second period.

Things got so bad for Fleury that at one timeout he skated to the visitors’ bench to talk to Luongo.

“He actually came to me on the first TV timeout,” Luongo said.

“I don’t know what that meant, whether he was looking for some comforting words or something from me. He wasn’t on my team, so I wasn’t going in for him. What are you going to do? It’s an all-star game, obviously. Things happen. It’s tough to come in cold like that. He’ll be fine.”

Said Fleury: “After the second period, I heard on television that seven goals in a period was a record. It was so long, probably the longest 20 minutes of my career.

“We are at this game to have fun, but at one time it was frustrating. Normaly, I’ll be quick out of the game way before giving up seven goals.”

Florida rookie Aaron Ekblad had a solid All-Star debut, notching four assists — all secondary — in the game to tie for third on his team in scoring.

Afterward, he joked that he needed to have a little amnesia after Sunday’s defenseless game.

The Panthers are back playing games that count starting Tuesday.

“That was like summertime hockey,” Ekblad said. “I’ll forget all that before the next game.”

Ekblad, who was a late substitution for the game after being selected to participate in Saturday’s skills competition, said he enjoyed the experience and “was welcomed with open arms.”

If Ekblad continues his current trajectory, Sunday won’t be his final time playing in an All-Star Game.

“Hopefully, I’ll get another chance at this sometime later in my career,” the 18-year-old said. “This was a learning experience.”

Miami Herald LOADED: 01.26.2015


Goals and tweets pile up for Panthers’ Roberto Luongo at NHL All-Star Game

Posted by George Richards

TWITTER: @GeorgeRichards

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After giving up four goals in the opening period Sunday, Roberto Luongo spent the rest of the game on the bench.

He wasn't sulking mind you.

Just tweeting.

Luongo's first period was actually one of the defensive highlights of Sunday's 60th NHL All-Star Game, a high-scoring affair that ended up being a 17-12 victory for 'Team Toews' over 'Team Foligno.'

The 29 goals scored were most in an All-Star Game and with the game out of hand coming into the third, Luongo decided to do some live work on his popular Twitter account.

Players are forbidden from using social media during games but since this was the exhibition of all exhibitions, an exception was made.

"Everyone was pretty much for it,'' Luongo said.

Luongo's most popular tweet was his first, a complaint aimed toward the Civil War-style cannon usually shot off after Blue Jackets goals.

"I didn't like the cannon,'' Luongo said. "You get used to it, but the first few times, you get freaked out.''

Sunday, the cannon went off every time the home team -- the one picked by Columbus' Nick Foligno -- scored.

Luongo played on Jonathan Toews' squad and it went off four times while he was on the ice.

"You did this to yourself,'' replied the official Blue Jackets' account, which led Luongo to ask if they could put him on the 'Kiss Cam.'

Luongo wasn't alone in his disdain for the Columbus pyrotechnics.

"I hate the cannon," Philadelphia's Claude Giroux said. "It gets me every time."

Said Toews: "It’s loud enough that it gets on your nerves pretty quickly and especially when they score a 12 or so goals like that .-.-. it gets you a little.''

Luongo, making his fourth All-Star appearance, played just one period as scheduled and left with the game tied at 4 as he held things down the best he could.

Radim Vrbata gave Team Foligno the first lead by beating Luongo 3:09 into the first off a breakaway.

Toews' team battled back and Luongo ended up making a few highlight reel saves in his 20 minutes of work -- his biggest coming when he robbed Alex Ovechkin midway through the period.

Luongo gave up two quick goals at the end of the period, but Jonathan Tavares' first of four came with 57 seconds left in the first to tie things at the break.

Tavares lost out on being game MVP as Columbus' Ryan Johansen took that with two goals and four points.

"You have to enjoy this,'' Luongo said. "It's not every day you get to play in an All-Star Game and it's not often you get to [tweet during a game]. So that's fun.''

Luongo served as the honorary backup for the second and third period and had a great seat for the seven goals surrendered by Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury in the second period.

Things got so bad for Fleury, at one timeout he skated to the visitors bench to talk to Luongo.

"He actually came to me on the first TV timeout,'' Luongo said.

"I don't know what that meant, whether he was looking for some comforting words or something from me. He wasn't on my team, so I wasn't going in for him. What are you going to do? It's an all-star game, obviously. Things happen. It's tough to come in cold like that. He'll be fine.''

Said Fleury: "After the second period, I heard on television that seven goals in a period was a record. It was so long, probably the longest 20 minutes of my career. We are at this game to have fun, but at one time, it was frustrating. Normaly, I'll be quick out of the game way before giving up seven goals.''

Florida rookie Aaron Ekblad had a solid All-Star debut, notching four assists -- all secondary -- in the game to tie for third on his team in scoring.

Afterward, he joked that he needed to have a little amnezia after Sunday's defense-less game. The Panthers are back playing games that count starting Tuesday.

"That was like summertime hockey,'' Ekblad said. "I’ll forget all that before the next game.''

Ekblad, who was a late substitution for the game after being selected to participate in Saturday's skills competition, said he enjoyed the experience and "was welcomed with open arms.''

If Ekblad continues his current trajectory, Sunday won't be his final time playing in an All-Star Game.

"Hopefully I'll get another chance at this sometime later in my career,'' said Ekblad, 18. "This was a learning experience.''

Miami Herald LOADED: 01.26.2015


Panthers' Luongo and Ekblad lead their team to 17-12 victory in All-Star Game

By Harvey Fialkov Sun Sentinel contact the reporter

Ekblad,18, is youngest defenseman in All-Star Game since 1955

For the two Panthers representatives, goalie Roberto Luongo and rookie defenseman Aaron Ekblad, Sunday's 60th NHL All-Star Game will be a lifelong memory to treasure.

But at the same time, two of the Panthers' main reasons for their vastly improved goals-against-average in the first half of the season, the midseason not-so-classic that stresses the complete lack of defensive structure should also be forgotten ASAP.

That said, Luongo and Ekblad certainly had their celestial moments. But it was center John Tavares displaying his Hart Trophy credentials for the upstart Islanders with four goals to lead Team Jonathan Toews to a pinball-like 17-12 victory over Team Nick Foligno in front of 18,901 at Nationwide Arena.

"You kind of cringe at it for a second,'' smiled Ekblad, who notched four assists in his first All-Star Game. "Your plus-minus is taking quite a hit. It's just a fun experience.''

Flyers forward Jakub Voracek showed why he's leading the NHL in scoring at the break with a hat trick and six points; Patrice Bergeron and Toews added five points apiece.

Blue Jackets hometown center Ryan Johansen had two goals and two assists for the losing team but was named game MVP by a fan-driven twitter vote.

The star-studded no-hitting exhibition game that was missing two Penguins superstars, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, has basically evolved into a 60-minute shootout in which defensemen turn into cement pylons and goalies should be handed blindfolds before facing a continuous firing squad.

The combined 29 goals was the most ever scored in an All-Star Game, eclipsing the 26 goals scored in 2001 when North America edged the World 14-12.

Even the Blue Jackets' infernal cannon that belts out a deafening blast after every home-team score misfired a few times, and the bulbs in the goal cages seemed close to burning out.

Luongo, who gave up four goals on 17 shots in the first period, was happy to watch the carnage over the last two periods and even began tweeting as @Strombone1 in the third, taking shots at the cannon.

"The cannon has to go …who's got the better Corsi so far?''

"It's my first win in five games,'' joked Luongo, who has been selected five times but was playing in his fourth game. "I wanted to play well, but I didn't take it too seriously.

"As a goalie can you be happy about [29 goals]? It was focused on offense which is nice. Fans want to see goals and some fans want to see nice saves, so we mixed in a few of those.''

Ekblad, who was picked to participate in Saturday's skills competition but soon was promoted to the main event when Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson pulled out due to an injury, played 18:37 and had a respectable minus-2 ice rating.

Already known for his impeccable defensive positioning, Ekblad chuckled when asked if he needed to leave some of these bad All-Star habits in Columbus.

"I was sitting on the bench getting the shakes,'' said Ekblad, 18, the youngest defenseman in an All-Star Game since Detroit's Larry Hillman played in 1955. "I was trying not to try too hard, that's the kind of thing to do almost. I got chirped a little for trying too hard.

"Yeah, bad habits. This was like summertime hockey all over again, so I'll forget all that before our next game. I don't want to screen Luongo on Johansen's shot like that.''

Ekblad said he loved meeting the all stars and hanging out with his parents, but wasn't overwhelmed by the experience.

"Hopefully, I'll get another chance at this at some point in my career and not be a replacement. I want to earn it,'' he said. "I'm not a kid that's going to be starry-eyed seeing some of these guys. When you play in the same league with them you can't really do that. It's easy to acknowledge how good they are and how special.''

Luongo must've felt like he was playing in front of the Panthers' 29th-ranked porous defense of last season as he had to make three separate breakaway stops on Phil Kessel, Alex Ovechkin and Bobby Ryan. His Flash-like glove save on Ovechkin's trademark 100-mph slapper was highlight-worthy.

However, Luongo couldn't halt Canucks magician Radim Vrbata on his one-on-one foray, and then gave up to two goals to Johansen, who was taken fourth overall in the 2010 draft, one spot behind Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 01.26.2015

761890 Los Angeles Kings

The highlight of NHL All-Star game is the smile of Chris Sutter

Helene Elliott

Who won and who lost Sunday's NHL All-Star game will soon be forgotten, as it should be. What should not be lost in the All-Star-record flood of 29 goals in Team Toews' 17-12 victory over Team Foligno was the grin that constantly illuminated the face of Chris Sutter, son of Kings and Team Foligno Coach Darryl Sutter, as he stood behind the bench at Nationwide Arena to offer encouragement and strategy, as always a friend and an inspiration.

Chris Sutter, who will be 22 in March, has Down syndrome. It has never limited his ability to love or to lift those around him, whether he's dancing during Kings games — a familiar sight on the Staples Center video screen — or chatting in the locker room. He was excited about this long before he arrived in Columbus and wasn't going to waste a moment.

"He's gotten wound up for a couple days," Darryl Sutter said before the festivities began. "He won't be in autograph mode — he'll be in visiting mode. He likes to sit down and visit."

Chris visited with players during Saturday's skills contests and shared the bench with his dad as well as with Kings assistant coach Davis Payne and the team's equipment managers, Darren Granger and Dana Bryson. Granger's and Bryson's sons made the trip too. It created a family atmosphere, especially for the Kings' delegation, but Chris also counted Bobby Ryan and others as favorites.

"I had a great time," said Chris, the youngest of Darryl and Wanda Sutter's three children. "It was a fun weekend for me. I had a great time with my dad. It was a fun three days here."

He singled out Jonathan Toews and rightly so, as the Chicago Blackhawks' captain contributed a goal and four assists in a winning cause. Jakub Voracek of Team Toews and the Philadelphia Flyers, formerly of the hometown Blue Jackets, led all scorers with six points. John Tavares of the New York Islanders and Team Toews tied an All-Star record by scoring four goals and Ryan Getzlaf, the Ducks' lone All-Star pick, had a goal and an assist for the winners. Fans voted Ryan Johansen of Team Foligno the game's most valuable player, keeping the sold-out crowd happy.

Chris said it didn't matter that his dad's team lost. He wanted to "just have fun and be supportive," and he succeeded. "I found out about the players," he said. "I know their names."

And they know his. "He made us laugh a lot. It was great to have him around the room," Kings and Team Foligno defenseman Drew Doughty said. "All the boys loved him and it made him happy, which makes us happy."

For Kings center Anze Kopitar, having his father, Matjaz here this weekend and having Doughty as a teammate were among the highlights. "I never had an All-Star game with a teammate before," said Kopitar, one of only three skaters who didn't record a point in the game. He added that it was "pretty cool" to share the occasion with the rest of the Kings' contingent, "and Chris most importantly, of course. It was nice to see Chris running around here, enjoying himself."

Sutter agreed to coach on the condition that his family, assistants and equipment managers also went. It was his best decision of the weekend, more meaningful than the decisions he made in putting defense pairs and lines together for a glorified game of shinny in which players freewheeled without fear of being checked and no hits were delivered.

Sutter quit his job as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1995 to spend more time with Chris and was out of coaching for two years before he was hired in San Jose, where he worked with then-Sharks General Manager Dean Lombardi. The rest is etched in Kings history, resulting in two Stanley Cup championships in the last three seasons after Sutter and Lombardi reunited in Los Angeles. It's vital to Sutter that Chris likes Southern California, though Wanda often takes Chris back to the family farm in Alberta, Canada, when the Kings are on the road.

"I think it's worked out really well," Darryl Sutter said. "I tell him he's the luckiest boy on Earth because he gets all the time he wants in California and all the time he wants back on the farm."

He was the luckiest boy on Earth on Sunday. "It was awesome," Chris said.

Forget the goals but remember him, with his arm draped over Ryan's shoulder and his big grin in the team photo and remember this All-Star game as a success in a way few of these ever turn out to be.

LA Times: LOADED: 01.26.2015


NHL All-Stars set record with 29 goals as Team Toews beats Team Foligno

By Rusty Miller, The Associated Press

Posted: 01/25/15, 8:10 PM PST | Updated: 16 secs ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was enough to give a goalie nightmares: A record 29 goals, 25 players with at least two points and eight with at least four.

In addition to the high-profile superstars who didn’t make it to Ohio’s capital city for the NHL All-Star Game, defense also took a holiday.

John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star Game.

“We had so many good players on each team,” said Philadelphia Flyers forward Jake Voracek, who tied another record with six points. “There’s going to be a lot of goals.”

How much offense was there? Tavares wasn’t even the MVP, although that might have been due to a little home-cooking. Ryan Johansen of the host Columbus Blue Jackets had two goals and two assists for the losing side and was selected as the MVP in voting by fans on Twitter.


“I didn’t come to the game trying to get the car,” said Tavares, referring to the prize given to the MVP. “You get four goals, and obviously you think you have an opportunity. But Ryan had a good game. He had a couple of nice goals, made some nice plays.”


“It’s meant a lot, being a part of it — seeing the fans and how much they’ve been enjoying all the festivities,” he said. “We did a two-hour (autograph) signing. Everybody just seemed to be having a great time. All the kids were laughing and having a lot of fun.”


It was the most goals in the event’s 60-year history, eclipsing the 26-goal burst in North America’s 14-12 victory over the World in 2001.

Tavares’ four goals gave him a share of the All-Star record that was established by Wayne Gretzky in 1983, and equaled by Mario Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

Voracek’s six points tied another mark set by Pittsburgh legend Lemieux.

Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston’s Patrice Bergeron. Dallas’ Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg of Nashville, and Rick Nash of the New York Rangers — another former Columbus star — both scored twice, and Florida’s Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.

For Team Foligno, Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist apiece, Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists, and Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin added three assists.

Captain Nick Foligno, also of Columbus, was asked what he learned from being a captain of the team he helped pick.

“How to handle 20 egos,” he cracked. “That’s probably the hardest thing. But it’s fun in the role of showing off our team and our city.”

The fake fight provided some energy to a capacity crowd of 18,901 on the game’s first visit to Columbus. Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary’s Mark Giordano and Chicago’s Brent Seabrook.



Toews said he was just happy to silence the cannon that fires every time the home team scores at Nationwide Arena.

“It’s loud enough that it gets on your nerves pretty quickly and especially when they score 12 or so goals,” he said. “It gets you a little bit.”

With the score tied at 4 after the first period, Team Toews broke it open with six goals in 9 1/2 minutes — and a record seven in the frame.



Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury, the only Penguins player in action after Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin stayed home due to injuries, had a particularly forgettable period. He gave up six goals on the first 10 shots he faced.

“I wish I would have made a few more stops,” he said. Then, referring to the heckling he got from Columbus fans, he added, “So they would have been more quiet.”

LA Daily News: LOADED: 01.26.2015


Kopitar, Doughty All-Star Game photos, videos

Staff

Somewhere it would be important to note that Team Toews beat Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Team Foligno 17-12 at Sunday’s All-Star Game, and we’ll eventually get to the post-game minutiae. But first, this moment, always:

Chris Sutter leaning on Radim Vrbata and Alex Ovechkin and summoning Patrick Kane, forever.

In the less important stuff, Anze Kopitar was held scoreless – he and Zemgus Girgensons were the only skaters on either team to be held without a point – over 12:40 of ice time. He did not attempt a shot, though he did win seven-of-12 faceoffs. Drew Doughty assisted on Patrick Kane’s first goal, attempted one shot and blocked a shot over 20:15 of ice time.

Blue Jackets and Team Foligno forward Ryan Johansen was named the game’s MVP as part of a two-goal, four-point performance. He led all skaters with seven shots on goal in a game that was broken open by Team Toews’ seven-goal outburst in the second period.

In addition to Darryl Sutter and Davis Payne coaching Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty on Team Foligno, the Kings were also represented by Head Equipment Manager Darren Granger and Assistant Equipment Manager Dana Bryson on Team Toews. Both Granger and Toews are included in the Team Toews photo at the bottom of the page.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 01.26.2015

761893 Minnesota Wild

Offense rules as Tavares scores 4 in Team Toews' 17-12 win

Article by: RUSTY MILLER

Associated Press

January 26, 2015 - 3:05 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The NHL Foundation agreed to donate $200 for each shot on goal at the league's All-Star game on Sunday night.

It ended up being a bonanza for charity.

In the biggest offensive display in the exhibition game's 60-year history, the 92 shots cost the NHL $18,400.

John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star game.

The game likely will also cost the NHL's goalies and defensemen a lot of sleepless nights.

In addition to the garish goal total, 25 players had at least two points and eight had at least four.

"We had so many good players on each team," said Philadelphia Flyers forward Jake Voracek, who tied another record with six points. "There's going to be a lot of goals."

DEBATE FOR MVP: Tavares may have tied the goal output of legends Wayne Gretzky (set in 1983) and equaled by Mario Lemieux (1990) — and also tied by Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003) — but he wasn't the game MVP.

That honor went to hometown favorite Ryan Johansen, the Blue Jackets' center, who had two goals and two assists — for the losing team.

The MVP was determined by a vote of fans on Twitter. Apparently, Islanders fans weren't paying attention on social media.

Tavares was gracious in not getting the new car that goes to the MVP.

"I didn't come to the game trying to get the car," he said. "You get four goals, and obviously you think you have an opportunity. But Ryan had a good game. He had a couple of nice goals, made some nice plays."

BROKEN RECORDS: It was the most goals in an All-Star game, eclipsing the 26-goal burst in North America's 14-12 victory over the World in 2001.


Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston's Patrice Bergeron. Dallas' Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg of Nashville, and Rick Nash of the New York Rangers — another former Columbus star — both scored twice, and Florida's Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.

For Team Foligno, Chicago's Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist apiece, Philadelphia's Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists, and Washington's Alexander Ovechkin added three assists.

QUOTE OF THE GAME: The Blue Jackets fire an ear-splitting salvo with their goal cannon — the franchise is named for the Union uniforms which were made in the city — after each goal by the home team. With Columbus' Nick Foligno and Johansen playing together, Toews said he was thrilled to not have to hear more of the thunderous booms.

"It's loud enough that it gets on your nerves pretty quickly and especially when they score 12 or so goals," he said. "It gets you a little bit."

BEST MOMENT: Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary's Mark Giordano and Chicago's Brent Seabrook.

They sort of traded awkward hugs. Then everyone separated and cracked up as they skated to the benches.

A WINNING VISIT: NHL officials, players and the fans raved about the many activities surrounding the All-Star weekend in Columbus, a first for the city.

Johansen said he was touched by what he saw the past few days.

"It's meant a lot, being a part of it — seeing the fans and how much they've been enjoying all the festivities," he said. "We did a two-hour (autograph) signing. Everybody just seemed to be having a great time. All the kids were laughing and having a lot of fun."

The players, at least those focused on offense, had a lot of fun of their own once the game started.

Star Tribune LOADED: 01.26.2015

761894 Minnesota Wild

Tom Powers: Wild help wanted: Emotional stability a must

By Tom Powers

[email protected]

Posted: 01/25/2015 12:01:00 AM CST

Updated: 01/25/2015 05:59:06 PM CST

A stand-up comedian once noted: "I thought about buying a copy of, 'The Power of Positive Thinking.' But what good would that do?''

Wonder if the comic ever heard of the Minnesota Wild. As the NHL trading season kicks off, perhaps Chuck Fletcher is on the lookout for the one commodity most needed by the Wild: emotional stability. In other words, somebody who is not susceptible to the manic mood swings that currently afflict the team.

(In a minute, I'm going to make a case for acquiring Jaromir Jagr. But you probably aren't ready for that yet, so we'll wait a few paragraphs.)

The Wild are not a last-place team. They just aren't. Even factoring in the occasionally shaky goaltender, they should be doing better than this. All the core players are here, except for Matt Dumba. In fact, Dumba really is the only prospect left in Iowa, which has the worst record of all 30 American Hockey League teams.

There's plenty of skill in Minnesota. The problem is that, emotionally, the Wild are all over the map. At times they work so hard they appear to be possessed. Then they just give up, especially when things don't go their way. Everybody in the building can see it. And opposing teams know that they just have to weather a temporary storm or two before the taking control.

Some blame coaching, but I don't know. It's not like it used to be, when coaches dominated players' lives. Don Cherry once traded defenseman Barry Beck from Colorado to the New York Rangers because Beck kicked Cherry's famous pit bull, Blue, in the behind.

The dog supposedly was making a mess near Beck's locker. No matter. See you later.

Scottie Bowman once gave a hotel bellman a hockey stick and instructed him to ask Montreal players to sign it as they came in. The catch was that the bellman wasn't to begin asking for autographs until after the clock struck curfew. The next day, Bowman showed up at practice with the signed stick and fined everyone whose name appeared on the shaft.

Bowman also had a thing about his players staying up late and watching television in their hotel rooms. He'd supposedly barge in at all hours and put his hand on top of the TV, feeling whether it was warm or not. If it was, look out. Imagine something like that today?

It's more of a business relationship these days. The coaches need the players to buy into the program. If they don't, the coach gets the gate. The Wild appear to drift in and out of Mike Yeo's system. It depends on their mood, I guess.

So ... how would Jaromir Jagr look in a Wild uniform?

Jagr is 42, soon to be 43, and still productive with the New Jersey Devils. Yet the Devils are going nowhere and Jagr reportedly is agreeable to being traded. He might be just what the doctor ordered. Not the orthopedist, the psychologist.

Jagr would be valuable not so much for what he can do on the ice, which remains considerable -- especially on the power play -- but for his presence in the fragile Wild mental ecosystem. This is a veteran of more than 200 playoff games who has seen all there is to see. He is a powerful, positive force. Maybe he's looking for one last challenge.

Hey, we have one for him. Right here.

Fletcher has shown a willingness to make deals before the deadline (March 2). The trading season usually kicks off about now. And right now it's all about the Wild's state of mind. They haven't been right since that weird bounce off a stanchion at Xcel ended their 2013-2014 season.

The Wild appeared to be on the verge of great things. Some even considered that shocking, overtime playoff exit a lesson -- a necessary lesson -- on the road to the Stanley Cup. And everyone seemed determined to come back and help carry the team to a higher level.

Well, here we are more than halfway through "next season" and the Wild now qualify as the most confounding team I've ever watched. Perhaps they are suffering from PTSD -- Post-Traumatic Stanchion Disorder. They got off to good start, winning some very tight games, only to quickly collapse in a heap.

Jagr knows what to do. Heck, the guy played with Mario Lemieux. He wouldn't cost much, either. And that's a real bonus considering how expensive psychiatric help is these days.

Pioneer Press LOADED: 01.26.2015

761895 Montreal Canadiens

Jack Todd: Silly news travels fast

Staff

Published on: January 25, 2015Last Updated: January 25, 2015 5:28 PM EST

It was one of those dry weeks on the increasingly crowded sports calendar that you could have predicted at least a year in advance, simply on the basis of a schedule that loomed as empty as the head of one of the Kardashians.

The extra week of dead air before the Super Bowl is always like that. At least this year, we had the early rounds of tennis from the Australian Open and a One-for-the-Ages performance from Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors in the NBA, who put up 37 points in a single quarter against the Sacramento Kings.

(If hoops aren’t your thing, it was the equivalent of Max Pacioretty scoring five goals in one period. Thompson’s 37 points were a one-quarter record and so were his nine three-pointers. He took 13 shots in the period and made them all, along with his two free throws.)

I mention Thompson’s feat prominently because it’s proof that something actually happened in the world of sports last week, something that didn’t come with “-gate” attached and a warning that to read the related Twitter chatter might cause permanent brain damage.

As if the NHL’s All-Star weekend wasn’t bad enough, we got a full-blown NFL controversy based entirely on hot air and a minor tempest-in-the-Twitterpot on Bouchard doing the Melbourne Twirl. If you followed all this, you are significantly dumber this morning than you were a week ago — which is probably why I keep having this inexplicable urge to join the Tea Party.

Let’s begin with the kerfuffle than Deadspin cleverly dubbed “Ballghazi,” making it possible for me to avoid that “-gate” thing you’re tired of hearing. Now I haven’t the slightest doubt that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady combined to make sure the footballs Brady was chucking against the Indianapolis Colts were underinflated and easier to throw. The Patriots do that: they cheat.

But let’s be honest here. The Pats were going to whup the Colts whether they played with hurling sticks, ping-pong balls, cow chips or silicone breast implants, so the whole gassy affair has no bearing on what actually happened. As usual, the NFL huffed and puffed and stumbled, insisting it was conducting a full investigation despite the fact, when he held his press conference, the league still hadn’t interviewed Brady.

C’mon, Roger Goodell. How dumb do you think we are? Dumb enough to spend a week talking about deflated balls? Ha! We fooled you.

If you thought the flat-balls flap was pathetic, there was worse to come. In Australia, a gravel-brained presenter, apparently operating under the illusion that it’s 1955, asked Westmount’s Genie Bouchard to twirl around to show off her … outfit.

Now in the just global society that will come into being after y’all come to your senses and elect me Emperor of the World, a yawning pit would have opened under that sexist troglodyte’s feet and he would have been plunged, microphone and all, into a thrashing maelstrom of hungry crocodiles.

Since Bouchard was fresh out of hungry crocodiles, she might have done the next best thing and provided him with a personally designed set of deflated balls, courtesy of a well-placed knee. But Genie is a well-brought-up young lady from Westmount, so she obliged the fool and did the twirl.

Seriously, what else was she to do? Deck him and be called an uptight bully? Curtsy? Take the opportunity to educate the buffoon on the history of feminism? No, this one wasn’t on Genie Bouchard. What should have happened was that the authorities Down Under handed the presenter with a pink slip on the spot, then demanded he put it on and give us a twirl.

Before feeding him to the afore-mentioned hungry crocodiles.

While all this was going on, the silly weekend of froth that is the NHL All-Star weekend got in on the act with the Crosby Crisis, in which the guy we

have all agreed to call the League’s Best Player decided not to show in Columbus because of an injury. Given Pittsburgh’s string of playoff failures, it’s understandable Sidney Crosby decided he needed a break.

But Crosby or no Crosby, what was unconscionable was for the league to hold its All-Star festivities without P.K. Subban. C’mon, Gary — that’s like holding a beer bash without the beer. In many ways, Subban is the quintessential NHL all-star, the one who should be there before anyone else, including the absent Crosby.

Subban’s absence, in fact, was such a sore point that the league needs to address it and to try to make us believe that P.K. wasn’t left off the squad simply because some people in high places have it in for him for no valid reason whatsoever.

For openers, Subban is the league’s most entertaining player. When he’s on the ice, it’s almost impossible not to watch him. Second, he has a package of skills that most of the other all-stars can only envy. The shot, the strength, the balance, the speed, the agility. Third, he is a bona fide all-star, meaning that he is one of the best players at his position.

Above all else, Subban’s thousand-watt personality can sell the game from Miami to Magnitogorsk. In the company of all those nice, polite Canadian boys who just want to maintain their focus, take it one shift at a time and get the puck to Jiggsy so he can one-time it through the five-hole, Subban is a downright tornado of fresh air.

All of which seems lost on a league that would rather bring you Justin Faulk — and they wonder why the ratings languish.

Finally came the news we’ve all been waiting for, sort of. The league is holding a World Cup in 2016. It should be called the NHL Cup because that’s what it is: a competition for the benefit of the NHL, which is in it for two reasons:

1) A gigantic cash grab.

2) A gigantic cash grab.

The NHL Cup will feature six real teams and two fake teams, one made up of European stars that have no dog in the race, the other a blatant NHL Young Guns promo. It will be held exclusively in Toronto, which will see some really good hockey for the first time since, oh, 1967.

And it probably means the NHL is out of the Olympics for good, because the league would prefer to grab the cash by preaching to the converted (meaning us, the Canadian suckers who pay the freight) rather than play in the Olympics for the greater good of the game.

The Canadiens are back on the ice Tuesday evening against Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars. Puck drop can’t come soon enough.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.26.2015

761896 Montreal Canadiens

Carey Price survives All-Star Game shootout

Posted by Stu Cowan

The All-Star Game is not a good time to be a goalie, and that was never more true than this year’s offensive shootout as Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday in Columbus.

The 29 goals combined were a record for an All-Star Game, beating the previous mark of 26 set in 2001 when North America beat the World 14-12 in Denver. Every skater on Team Toews had at least one point in the game.

The Canadiens’ Carey Price stopped 12 of the 16 shots he faced in the Team Foligno net for a .750 save percentage, which was better than the two other goalies on his team. Brian Elliott of the St. Louis Blues allowed six goals on 15 shots (.600 save percentage) and Marc-André Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins gave up seven goals on 16 shots (.562).

“I only let in four goals. I’m fairly happy with that,” Price told reporters in Columbus after the game. “It is what it is. You’re just out there trying to mix in a couple of saves. There’s no pressure on us, so you’re just out there enjoying yourself.”

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Ryan Johansen was named the game’s MVP after scoring two goals and adding two assists for Team Foligno.

With the all-star break now over, the Canadiens will return to practice Monday in Brossard at 2 p.m. as they prepare to face the Dallas Stars Tuesday night at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS, TSN Radio 690).

The Canadiens announced Sunday evening that they have recalled forward Christian Thomas from the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. In three games with the Canadiens this season, Thomas has no points. In 31 games with the Bulldogs, he has nine goals and six assists.

After Tuesday’s game, the Canadiens will play the Rangers Thursday night in New York before back-to-back afternoon games at the Bell Centre on Super Bowl weekend with the Washington Capitals visiting on Saturday and the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday. Both weekend games will be 1 p.m. starts.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.26.2015

761897 Nashville Predators

How Predators got here from there

John Glennon, [email protected] 7:49 p.m. CST January 25, 2015

A season ago at this point, the Predators were sputtering along with a losing record, well on their way to missing the playoffs for a second straight year.

But as the NHL prepares for the second half of its season, the Predators are among the league’s elite. They have the second-most points in the league (65), are tied for the third-most wins (30), and should have no problem making a return to the postseason.

So how exactly has such a large transformation occurred in such a short amount of time?

Here are six reasons behind the Predators’ big turnaround:

New blood behind the bench

The Predators owe all kinds of gratitude to former coach Barry Trotz for what he did for the franchise, but it was clear that a change was needed after his long run.

New coach Peter Laviolette has preached a more uptempo, aggressive system, one that features all five skaters attacking the opposition net as a unit. The result has been a less conservative and more puck-possession oriented team, one that’s created more goal-scoring chances on a regular basis.

New blood on the ice

Half of the skaters on the Predators’ top two lines — Mike Ribeiro, Filip Forsberg and James Neal — are new as regulars this year. Yes, Forsberg played 13 games for Nashville last season, but he wasn’t a big factor.

Those three players already have combined for 106 points (40 goals and 66 assists), more than offsetting the loss of players such as Patric Hornqvist and David Legwand. In order to play a more offensive-minded system, you have to have players who can put the puck in the net, and the Predators have more of them this year.

Return of the real Rinne

Rinne played in 24 games in 2013-14 — mostly late in the season — but he never looked to be in top form on a consistent basis, posting some of the worst numbers of his career.

Rinne has been a different goaltender this season, a legitimate candidate for the Hart Trophy up until the time of his knee injury earlier this month. The big Finn — who’s expected to miss two to four more weeks — had been on track for career highs in wins, goals-against average and save percentage at the time of the injury.

Rinne’s performance in shootouts is also far better. He was shaky in 2013-14, as he gave up five goals on 10 shots and went 0-3. This season, Rinne’s been one of the league’s best goalies during shootouts, stopping 18 of 21 shots and producing a 4-2 record.

The bottom line is that the Predators have the best goals-against average in the league this year (2.24), after finishing 23rdin that category last season.

Successful centers

Offensive production most often starts with a team’s centers, and the Predators didn’t get much in that department last season. Neither Mike Fisher nor Legwand totaled as many as 50 points in 2013-14, one of the reasons the Predators were one of the league’s lower-scoring teams.

But the Predators are getting much better production out of the middle so far this season.

Ribeiro (39 points in 45 games) has stepped into the first line and has given the Predators a much-needed playmaker for the likes of Forsberg, Craig Smith and Neal. Ribeiro is on pace for his first 70-point season since 2010-11.

Fisher missed the first quarter of the season but really has stepped up his offensive production since returning with 18 points (including nine goals) in 24 games. In the 24 games since Fisher returned to the lineup, the Predators are 16-5-3.

Resiliency

The Predators talked a lot about resiliency during the 2013-14 season, but they didn’t walk the walk all that well.

When opponents scored first against Nashville, the Predators had a difficult time bouncing back, as was illustrated by their 11-29-6 record after allowing the first goal. That .239 winning percentage when allowing the league’s first goal was fifth-worst in the league.

All that’s changed this season, as the Predators are 13-9-2 when allowing the game’s first goal, a .542 winning percentage that’s third-best in the NHL. A good example of their resiliency occurred earlier this month against Carolina, when the Predators overcame 1-0 and 2-1 third-period deficits to beat the Hurricanes 3-2.

Death of the droughts

The 2013-14 Predators were shut out nine times (fourth-most in the league) and suffered through some brutal goal-scoring droughts. In one November stretch, for instance, they scored a combined two goals during four straight losses, and in one March stretch, they scored a combined three goals during four straight losses.

Through 45 games this season, the Predators have been shut out only twice. They’ve been held to one goal only six times, and after five of those they bounced back to score at least twice in the next game.

Tennessean LOADED: 01.26.2015

761898 New Jersey Devils

A look at Devils great Patrik Elias' All-Star Game experience

Randy Miller

Email the author | on January 25, 2015 at 10:55 PM

Devils center Patrik Elias set up two goals in a Team Toews 17-12 victory over Team Foligno in Sunday's record-setting NHL All-Star Game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

The lone Devil and oldest All-Star participating, Elias, 38, assisted on a first-period goal by Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron and a second-period goal by Nashville Predators rookie left wing Filip Forsberg.

This was the third two-point game in four career All-Star Games for Elias, who has a goal and six assists.

Besides scoring two points, Elias racked up a plus-5 plus-minus rating that was second only to Team Toews teammate Mark Giordano, a Calgary Flames defenseman.

Star Ledger LOADED: 01.26.2015


Devils' Patrik Elias notches two assists in Team Toews' 17-12 win at NHL All-Star Game

Staff

Devils left wing Patrik Elias picked up a pair of assists for Team Toews in its 17-12 victory over Team Foligno in the NHL All-Star Game today at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

In four career all-star game appearances, Elias, 38, has a goal and six assists for seven points. Elias had assists today on goals by Patrice Bergeron and Filip Forsberg.

The 29 total goals and 17 goals for one team were all-star game records.

Columbus' Ryan Johansen, who had two goals and two assists for Team Foligno, was voted the game's most valuable player by the fans.

Bergen Record LOADED: 01.26.2015


Lamoriello, Devils striving to skate in right direction

January 25, 2015 Last updated: Sunday, January 25, 2015, 1:21 AM

By TOM GULITTI

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

Some view today’s All-Star Game in Columbus as the midway point in the NHL season, but all 30 teams already passed the halfway point in their schedules earlier this month.

When the Devils resume play Wednesday night against Toronto, they will have only 35 games remaining and just 16 left before the March 2 trade deadline. With a 17-22-8 record and a 15-point deficit from a playoff spot, the Devils’ painful reality is that without a major miracle they will fail to qualify for the postseason for the third year in a row. That disappointing bigger picture is not what GM and interim coach Lou Lamoriello wants his players focusing on, however, when they return to practice Monday afternoon .

"In the position we’re in, what you do is you do all the things that have to be done and the end result you worry about later," Lamoriello said. "Everything is in the back of your mind, but right now the focus is getting ready for the next game, the practices when we come back and then getting ready for that first game we play."

As GM, however, Lamoriello’s focus also has to be on March 2. At some point, he’ll have to start shopping around his veteran players on expiring contracts. That group includes Jaromir Jagr, Scott Gomez, Marek Zidlicky (no-trade clause), Michael Ryder and Martin Havlat.

"But, that’s no different than any other season," Lamoriello instisted. "When the appropriate time comes to think A, B and C, that end of my role has never changed and should never change. It’s no different today than it was any other year."

Still, this has been one of those seasons where so many things have gone wrong for the Devils with injuries and illnesses (210 man games lost), a host of players who underperformed and a brutal schedule that included playing a league-high 21 of their first 32 games on the road. They were only 11-15-6 after that difficult start and 12-17-7 when Lamoriello fired head coach Pete DeBoer on Dec. 26.

Then, Lamoriello, 72, made the unconventional move to bring in Scott Stevens and Adam Oates as co-coaches and to go behind the bench with them. With some systemic alterations and the roster getting a little healthier, the Devils have shown some improvement, going 4-2-1 in their last seven games and 5-5-1 overall since the coaching change.

Some players that had struggled previously – Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, Patrik Elias – have picked up their games and at least one who struggled to earn DeBoer’s confidence – 21-year-old defenseman Adam Larsson – have excelled.

"For whatever reasons, they weren’t at the level they needed to be and some of our younger defensemen just weren’t progressing the way – and I’ll put it on me – I thought they should," Lamoriello said. "I’ll take responsibility for that."

Lamoriello insists this is not an indictment of DeBoer and what he was trying to do, but admits "it wasn’t working."

"I’ve always felt before you make a change, you should make a trade, [but] it’s not easy to trade now," Lamoriello said. "The other thing here is certainly players weren’t getting better. To whose fault that is or what was done, there’s no blame here. I take responsibility. Then, I have to take the responsibility to make the change."

Lamoriello insists he hasn’t decided yet if he’ll remain behind the bench for the rest of the season and won’t discuss whether Stevens and Oates are candidates to become the team’s full-time head coach next season.

"I’m not going to get into discussions about any of that," he said. "Right now, all of us are just focused on what we’re doing right now and how we can get going in the right direction. Everybody’s thinking that way."


761901 New York Islanders

Dreary NHL All-Star game an avalanche of scoring as Rangers’ Rick Nash, Islanders’ John Tavares among many to light lamp

BY Pat Leonard

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Sunday, January 25, 2015, 8:21 PM

COLUMBUS – A potentially record-breaking winter blizzard could postpone the Rangers-Islanders clash on Tuesday night, though the rivals are doing everything they can to play the game.

The Blueshirts have moved Monday’s first post-All-Star break practice from Greenburgh to Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, L.I., and they will stay overnight at a nearby hotel to avoid treacherous travel.

If the puck drops, forwards Rick Nash and John Tavares will again be adversaries, after the Isles’ Tavares scored four goals and Nash tallied two in Sunday’s night’s dreary 17-12 NHL All-Star Game victory at Columbus’ Nationwide Arena.

Nash joked of trying to get Tavares a fifth goal late: “Yeah, wanted to get all the scoring out tonight and not Tuesday.”

The blizzard-level forecasts, however, have the NHL and both clubs monitoring whether a postponement might be necessary. The league waited until the afternoon of Nov. 20 before postponing the Rangers’ match the next day in snow-covered Buffalo to Feb. 20, jamming a sixth back-to-back set into a grueling second-half slate.

A potential makeup date has not been announced, but it would make the most sense simply to play the game on Wednesday. Both teams are idle with home games scheduled on Thursday night.

One would think the Rangers might not mind delaying their third of five meetings with their crosstown rivals, considering the first-place Isles (31-14-1, 63 points) have hammered them twice already at the Garden, 6-3 on Oct. 14, and 3-0 on Jan. 13.

But the third-place Rangers (27-13-4, 58 points) have a 10-2-0 record in their last 12 road games, where they typically play more confidently, so Monday night’s sleepover might put them in their comfort zone.

So far, of course, this has been the Isles’ year.

Tavares even got the upper hand on Nash in the goal department on Sunday, though he was snubbed from the MVP award in favor of hometown Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen. Illustrating how unwatchable the game was, Tavares’ third goal for the hat trick did not draw a single cap to the ice, though he seemed to enjoy the scoring barrage.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “It’s something you don’t really think about going into a game like this.”

Nash said it will not be difficult to switch from being Tavares’ teammate and friend this weekend to being his opponent two days later.

“It’s business,” Nash said. “Off the ice, we’re all friends. But on the ice, it’s business. I think it’s trickier for things like the Olympics, when you’re competing for a Stanley Cup and then you’re competing for a gold medal. That’s a lot trickier than this.”

Outside of Sunday’s poor product on ice and the incessant booming of the arena’s harsh goal cannon, the city of Columbus hosted a festive and welcoming All-Star Weekend, especially in the downtown district with the arena and convention center at the hub.

Nash was a huge part for nine seasons of building the Blue Jackets and Columbus into a franchise and city that could host such an event, but his desire to be traded to a contender in 2012 after enduring too much losing remains a sticking point for these fans.

Nash was booed all weekend, whenever he was introduced and whenever he touched the puck. He seemed a bit tired of the jeers after the skills competition on Saturday, but on Sunday he insisted it didn’t prevent him from enjoying the weekend in the city he still calls home in the offseason.

“I enjoyed it,” Nash said. “I had my whole family here, so we took it all in, and everything was fun for us.”

New York Daily News LOADED: 01.26.2015


Isles’ Tavares somehow not MVP after 4-goal All-Star Game

By Brett Cyrgalis

January 26, 2015 | 12:15am

COLUMBUS, Ohio — There was a bit of relief that came to John Tavares when the Islanders captain found out he wasn’t going to be the All-Star Game MVP and get the brand new Honda that came with it.

“I had my parents, two sisters and girlfriend here, and they all said they wanted a new car,” Tavares said on Sunday night at Nationwide Arena after he became the sixth player in league history to score four goals in an All-Star Game, tying the record. “So it’s almost good that I didn’t win.”

It was all jokes after this, because the game itself was a joke. The team captained by Jonathan Toews won the highest-scoring game in history, 17-12, over the team captained by Nick Foligno. Getting the MVP, as voted on by the fans, was hometown boy Ryan Johansen, who had two goals and two assists.

Tavares scored once in the first period, twice in the second, and once in the third for Team Toews, with teammates trying to get him a fifth in the final minutes. Teammates that included the Rangers’ Rick Nash, whom he will face as an opponent on Tuesday night when the Blueshirts visit the Coliseum.

“Wanted to get all the scoring out tonight and not Tuesday,” Nash joked.

As for the honest assessment of not winning MVP in his second career All-Star Game, Tavares really didn’t mind.

“When you score four goals, you know you have a good opportunity,” he said. “But it’s always nice to see the hometown guys do well. Definitely very worthy as well.”

The most recent player to scored four goals in an All-Star Game was Dany Heatley in 2003. Before that, it was Wayne Gretzky (1983), Mario Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991) and Mike Gartner (1993).

“Those guys are the best to ever play,” Tavares said when asked directly about tying Gretzky and Lemieux. “It’s pretty cool, it’s something that you don’t really think about coming into a game like this. But you get your opportunities, and I was happy to put them in.”

Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak played the third period for Team Toews and allowed four goals on 10 shots.

“I just tried to not give up more goals than we scored,” Halak said. “It was a fun weekend.”

The Devils’ Patrik Elias was the fourth Metropolitan area player on Team Toews, and he skated mostly on a line with Tavares and the Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron. Elias had two assists.

New York Post LOADED: 01.26.2015


Islanders star John Tavares ties All-Star Game record with four goals

January 25, 2015 10:16 PM

By MARK HERRMANN [email protected]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- What with the lack of intensity, contact, speed and defense, this did not resemble an actual hockey game in any way. Except one: John Tavares stood out and took over.

The Islanders captain burnished his reputation as one of the elite players in the sport by tying a National Hockey League All-Star Game record with four goals Sunday. It was one of the quirks of the event's setup that he didn't win the MVP Award, which went to Ryan Johansen of the hometown Blue Jackets in a fan vote. He didn't need a trophy to show his stuff in Team Toews' 17-12 victory over Team Foligno.

"He's such a dynamic player," said Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, who assisted on all four of the goals and had one of his own. Bergeron went on to explain why it was a Best of Tavares episode and why the Islanders center is one of the best of the best: "His vision, his hockey IQ, he's always in the right spot. He's so dynamic with the puck one on one. He's going to beat guys. We were reading off each other pretty well. It's always great to play with players like that."

With his goal total, Tavares joined players such as these, who also had four-goal All-Star Games: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Vincent Damphousse, Mike Gartner and Dany Heatley. He was particularly impressed with the first two names on that list. "I'll take it. Those guys are the best that ever played, probably 1-2. It's pretty cool. It's something you don't really think about going into a game like this.

"You go out in this game and you just try to enjoy it, put on a little bit of a show for the fans and create some opportunities."

The All-Star Game has become more of a passing and shooting exhibition. There were no penalties, no discernible hits, virtually no defense. On top of that, it was set up by the league to feature home players Johansen and Nick Foligno, who was one of the captains. The MVP voting was done by texting, with repeated announcements in Nationwide Arena. So it would have been an upset if a non-Columbus player had won.

No hard feelings from Tavares. "You score four goals, you probably have a good opportunity. But it was nice to see the hometown guys do well," the Islanders star said. "Ryan had some nice goals tonight, some nice plays. He was definitely very worthy, as well. He did a good job of representing Columbus and the Blue Jackets. He's a special player."

Jaroslav Halak, Tavares' Islanders teammate, said: "Not bad, right? Obviously, this is a game he loves. He's always good, even when there's a real game on the line. Tonight you could really see his skills . . . Obviously, you would love to see him as MVP. But you're playing in Columbus . . . "

Tavares completed the hat trick before the end of the second period, scoring on his first three shots. He fanned on a breakaway, but still managed to beat beleaguered Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (16 shots, seven goals). His final goal came on a steep shot near the end line against Brian Elliott of the Blues, who left a tropical vacation to come here as an emergency replacement goalie.

Had Tavares scored a record five goals, it would have been almost impossible to deny him the award. "Honestly in the end, I didn't have an edge on my skate, so I couldn't really accelerate," he said.

But his linemates saw it differently. Bergeron said, "I think he didn't like the attention, so he was giving [the puck] back."

The Devils' Patrik Elias said: "We were pushing for him for the fifth one. I don't know if he felt awkward or embarrassed but he was like, 'I don't need it.' He's an unbelievable hockey player, so it was a pleasure for me to play with him."

Tuesday night, it's back to business with an intense game at the Coliseum against the Rangers and Rick Nash, a teammate this weekend. "We know what the standings are like. We have a lot of respect for Rick and their team, as well," Tavares said. "They've got a heck of a hockey team. We certainly don't like them very much."

Nash admitted he was pulling for Tavares to get that fifth goal. "I wanted him to get all the scoring out tonight, and not Tuesday."

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.26.2015

761904 New York Rangers

Dreary NHL All-Star game an avalanche of scoring as Rangers’ Rick Nash, Islanders’ John Tavares among many to light lamp

BY Pat Leonard

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Sunday, January 25, 2015, 8:21 PM

COLUMBUS – A potentially record-breaking winter blizzard could postpone the Rangers-Islanders clash on Tuesday night, though the rivals are doing everything they can to play the game.

The Blueshirts have moved Monday’s first post-All-Star break practice from Greenburgh to Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, L.I., and they will stay overnight at a nearby hotel to avoid treacherous travel.

If the puck drops, forwards Rick Nash and John Tavares will again be adversaries, after the Isles’ Tavares scored four goals and Nash tallied two in Sunday’s night’s dreary 17-12 NHL All-Star Game victory at Columbus’ Nationwide Arena.

Nash joked of trying to get Tavares a fifth goal late: “Yeah, wanted to get all the scoring out tonight and not Tuesday.”

The blizzard-level forecasts, however, have the NHL and both clubs monitoring whether a postponement might be necessary. The league waited until the afternoon of Nov. 20 before postponing the Rangers’ match the next day in snow-covered Buffalo to Feb. 20, jamming a sixth back-to-back set into a grueling second-half slate.

A potential makeup date has not been announced, but it would make the most sense simply to play the game on Wednesday. Both teams are idle with home games scheduled on Thursday night.

One would think the Rangers might not mind delaying their third of five meetings with their crosstown rivals, considering the first-place Isles (31-14-1, 63 points) have hammered them twice already at the Garden, 6-3 on Oct. 14, and 3-0 on Jan. 13.

But the third-place Rangers (27-13-4, 58 points) have a 10-2-0 record in their last 12 road games, where they typically play more confidently, so Monday night’s sleepover might put them in their comfort zone.

So far, of course, this has been the Isles’ year.

Tavares even got the upper hand on Nash in the goal department on Sunday, though he was snubbed from the MVP award in favor of hometown Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen. Illustrating how unwatchable the game was, Tavares’ third goal for the hat trick did not draw a single cap to the ice, though he seemed to enjoy the scoring barrage.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “It’s something you don’t really think about going into a game like this.”

Nash said it will not be difficult to switch from being Tavares’ teammate and friend this weekend to being his opponent two days later.

“It’s business,” Nash said. “Off the ice, we’re all friends. But on the ice, it’s business. I think it’s trickier for things like the Olympics, when you’re competing for a Stanley Cup and then you’re competing for a gold medal. That’s a lot trickier than this.”

Outside of Sunday’s poor product on ice and the incessant booming of the arena’s harsh goal cannon, the city of Columbus hosted a festive and welcoming All-Star Weekend, especially in the downtown district with the arena and convention center at the hub.

Nash was a huge part for nine seasons of building the Blue Jackets and Columbus into a franchise and city that could host such an event, but his desire to be traded to a contender in 2012 after enduring too much losing remains a sticking point for these fans.

Nash was booed all weekend, whenever he was introduced and whenever he touched the puck. He seemed a bit tired of the jeers after the skills competition on Saturday, but on Sunday he insisted it didn’t prevent him from enjoying the weekend in the city he still calls home in the offseason.

“I enjoyed it,” Nash said. “I had my whole family here, so we took it all in, and everything was fun for us.”

New York Daily News LOADED: 01.26.2015


Quiet Nash not a fan of All-Star spotlight; How the Rangers shape up for post-break playoff push

Staff

The All-Star Game, particularly one in Columbus, is the antithesis of what Rick Nash, reserved by nature, might consider a good time.

“No, I’m not a fan,” said the Rangers’ MVP candidate, who will participate in his sixth All-Star Game today at Nationwide Arena, his home rink for the first nine seasons of his NHL career before being dealt to the Rangers.

“You’ve got to do so much,” added Nash, the team’s lone representative. “It’s just a busy, busy weekend. But I enjoy going to represent these guys [the Rangers]. That’s the fun part.”

The Rangers, coming off their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 20 years, obviously set the bar high for this season.

After the team reached the All-Star break having won 16 of 19 for the first time in franchise history since 1993, there’s no reason to think the Rangers won’t again be one of the top Eastern Conference contenders.

“I feel we’re a good team,” right wing Mats Zuccarello said. “Obviously, we started off a little sloppy but the last month or so we’ve been one of the best teams in the league and I think that’s where we should be.”



NHL All-Star Game: Teams combine for record 29 goals

January 25, 2015, 10:56 PM Last updated: Sunday, January 25, 2015, 10:56 PM

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was enough to give a goalie nightmares: A record 29 goals, 25 players with at least two points and eight with at least four.

In addition to the high-profile superstars who didn’t make it to Ohio’s capital city for the NHL All-Star Game, defense also took a holiday.

John Tavares of the Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno, 17-12, on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star Game.

“We had so many good players on each team,” said Philadelphia Flyers forward Jake Voracek, who tied another record with six points. “There’s going to be a lot of goals.”

How much offense was there? Tavares wasn’t even the MVP, although that might have been due to a little home-cooking. Ryan Johansen of the host Columbus Blue Jackets had two goals and two assists for the losing side and was selected as the MVP in voting by fans on Twitter.


“I didn’t come to the game trying to get the car,” said Tavares, referring to the prize given to the MVP. “You get four goals, and obviously you think you have an opportunity. But Ryan had a good game. He had a couple of nice goals, made some nice plays.”


“It’s meant a lot, being a part of it — seeing the fans and how much they’ve been enjoying all the festivities,” he said.

“We did a two-hour [autograph] signing. Everybody just seemed to be having a great time. All the kids were laughing and having a lot of fun.”

The players, at least those on offense, had a lot of fun once the game started.


It was the most goals in the event’s 60-year history, eclipsing the 26-goal burst in North America’s 14-12 victory over the World in 2001.

Tavares’ four goals gave him a share of the All-Star record that was established by Wayne Gretzky in 1983, and equaled by Mario Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

Voracek’s six points tied another mark set by Pittsburgh legend Lemieux.

Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston’s Patrice Bergeron. Dallas’ Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg of Nashville, and Rick Nash of the Rangers — another former Columbus star — both scored twice, and Florida’s Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.

As expected, Nash, the former Blue Jackets captain, was booed every time he touched the puck.

For Team Foligno, Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist apiece, Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists, and Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin added three assists.



The fake fight provided some energy to a capacity crowd of 18,901 on the game’s first visit to Columbus. Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary’s Mark Giordano and Chicago’s Brent Seabrook.




“It’s loud enough that it gets on your nerves pretty quickly and especially when they score 12 or so goals,” he said. “It gets you a little bit.”

With the game tied at 4 after the first period, Team Toews broke it open with six goals in 9½ minutes — and a record seven in the frame.

BRIEF: The Blackhawks placed F Kris Versteeg on the long-term injury list because of a left hand injury.



Rangers' Nash heads back to Columbus as All-Star


By ANDREW GROSS

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

The All-Star Game, particularly one in Columbus, is the antithesis of what Rick Nash, reserved by nature, might consider a good time.

"No, I’m not a fan," said the Rangers’ MVP candidate, who will participate in his sixth All-Star Game today at Nationwide Arena, his home rink for the first nine seasons of his NHL career before being dealt to the Rangers.

"You’ve got to do so much," added Nash, the team’s lone representative. "It’s just a busy, busy weekend. But I enjoy going to represent these guys [the Rangers]. That’s the fun part."

There’s no denying, though, that Nash belongs among the NHL’s elite — at least those healthy enough to play today.

He’s tied for the NHL lead with 28 goals, on pace to break his personal best of 41 set in 2003-04, his second season with the Blue Jackets, and with a shot of breaking Jaromir Jagr’s Rangers record of 54 goals set in 2005-06.

His sustained scoring this season stands in sharp contrast to his much-maligned postseason performance last season. Despite chances to score, Nash, 30, managed just three goals and seven assists in 25 playoff games, leaving many to wonder what if after the Rangers lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Kings in five games, with three overtime losses in Los Angeles.

"He just seems like a man on a mission, really," Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi said. "Every time he gets the puck, guys are draped on him but he still has the puck. He’s a total package for us right now. He’s doing everything."

"He’s always been one of the league’s top players," Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. "I know he’s struggled, I think, a year ago to score. This year, he’s got a lot of confidence. He’s a dangerous player in open ice because he protects the puck so well. He’s a big, rangy guy so he can beat you with a move but he protects it so well if you try and overpower him, he’ll just take it to the net."

This season is what the Rangers have been waiting for from Nash since general manager Glen Sather, ending several months of pursuit, altered his team’s chemistry by sending fan favorites Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, defenseman prospect Tim Erixon and a first-round pick to the Blue Jackets for Nash on July 23, 2012.

Nash had been the face of the Blue Jackets’ franchise, as their captain and the first overall pick in the 2002 draft by the expansion team.

He had 21 goals and 21 assists in his first season with the Rangers, the lockout-shortened 2013 in which he missed time due to a concussion. In 12 playoff games, he had one goal and four assists as the Rangers’ second-round loss to the Bruins led to coach John Tortorella’s firing.

Last season, he missed 17 games after suffering another concussion in the season’s third game before finishing with 26 goals and 13 assists in 65 games before his hard-luck postseason.

"He’s always calm," goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. "Even now, when he plays with that edge, he’s still very calm. Sometimes, it’s hard to read."

But he came into training camp in noticeably better condition after a strong summer of working out.

The boost it gave to his on-ice performance – he’s always been a streaky player – was bolstered by the perspective he’s found off ice after his wife, Jessica, gave birth to the couple’s first son, McLaren, in October.

"There’s nothing that can top having a kid," Nash said. "At the rink, things have been working. Things have been clicking. I had a good summer of training.

"I never have gone on a streak like this before so it’s been fun to be this consistent," Nash said. "It’s one of the most gratifying ones for sure."

Of course, his Rangers success is just one more thing the fans in Columbus dislike about their former hero.

While it’s natural to turn against a traded player, especially one who sought a deal as Nash did, Blue Jackets fans have taken to booing Nash with a vengeance ever since he shoved back Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and got into a fight with Matt Calvert in his first game back at Nationwide Arena, a 3-1 Rangers win on March 21, 2014.

"I always find it weird coming here," said Nash, whose wife is from Columbus and still maintains a residence there. "It’s always different. It’s kind of weird, the whole situation here. I think it’s more for my family and friends to enjoy it."

Girardi knows better. Returning to Columbus as an All-Star is significant for Nash.

"I think it means a lot to him," Girardi said. "He did a lot for that city. He was the face of the franchise. The way he left may not have been the best for both sides but I don’t think he did anything wrong. For him, having the year he’s having, it will be a nice story line for that All-Star Game."



Rangers want to keep climbing up the standings


By ANDREW GROSS

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

The Rangers, coming off their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 20 years, obviously set the bar high for this season.

After the team reached the All-Star break having won 16 of 19 for the first time in franchise history since 1993, there’s no reason to think the Rangers won’t again be one of the top Eastern Conference contenders.

"I feel we’re a good team," right wing Mats Zuccarello said. "Obviously, we started off a little sloppy but the last month or so we’ve been one of the best teams in the league and I think that’s where we should be."

The Rangers carried a three-game winning streak into the break after Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win against the Senators at Madison Square Garden. The players — other than lone All-Star Rick Nash — have a five-day vacation before Monday’s practice. That leads into Tuesday’s game against the Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

"I think, in the last stretch, we’ve proved to ourselves that we can beat anyone," center Derick Brassard said. "I think it proves to us what we have to do to win games and be successful. We were looking for the way we wanted to play the first couple of games in the season. I think, the last 20 games, there’s no doubt we know how to play and we know our strength and, when we do that, we can beat anyone."

Nash is having an MVP-caliber season. He’s tied for the NHL lead with 28 goals to go with 15 assists and he’s on pace for his first 50-goal season and a chance to break Jaromir Jagr’s team record of 54 goals, set in 2005-06.

Henrik Lundqvist, after a slow start that mirrored the Rangers’ 11-10-4 record through Dec. 6, has gone 14-2-0 with a 1.71 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage in his last 16 appearances.

The defense, with captain Ryan McDonagh healthy following his separated left shoulder in November and Dan Boyle recovered from a broken right hand suffered in the season opener, has allowed the Rangers to play the up-tempo, transition game coach Alain Vigneault preaches.

With Boyle quarterbacking, the Rangers’ power play ranks 12th in the league.

"We found our groove here with a little more consistency in our play," McDonagh said. "We’ve been able to get some points. But this is the time of the year when every team is getting better as well. You can see the other teams in our division are winning a lot of games."

The third-place Rangers are five points behind the Islanders with two games in hand.

Only the top three finishers in each division are guaranteed a playoff spot. But, unless there’s an epic collapse by one of the teams, the top four teams in each division – the Lightning, Red Wings, Canadiens and Bruins in the Atlantic and the Islanders, Penguins, Rangers and Capitals in the Metropolitan – all appear headed to the postseason.

Not that this second half of the season won’t be challenging.

The Rangers will squeeze their final 38 regular-season games into 75 days: three in five days to conclude January, 14 in February’s 28 days, 15 over 31 days in March and six games in 11 days in April to wrap up.

Though the Rangers have no games remaining against the Penguins — the Rangers went 3-0-1 in the season series — Tuesday marks the first of three games at Nassau Coliseum, in its final season as an NHL arena. The Rangers also have three games remaining with the Capitals, two in Washington, including the season finale on April 11.



Predicted blizzard already impacting Rangers' plans

January 25, 2015 8:03 PM

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The impending blizzard predicted for New York and the surrounding suburbs is already changing plans for the hometown Rangers.

With the NHL All-Star break ending Monday, the Rangers had planned to practice at their training center rink in Westchester County one day before traveling to Long Island to play the rival New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

But with forecasters calling for potentially 2-to-3 feet of snow on Monday and Tuesday, the Rangers say they will practice late Monday afternoon at the Nassau Coliseum -- the Islanders' home arena in Uniondale -- instead.

The Rangers would likely then stay overnight on Long Island and be in place to play there Tuesday, should the game remain scheduled.



Unlike Rick Nash, Ryan Johansen a fan favorite in Columbus

Updated January 25, 2015 10:15 PM

By MARK HERRMANN [email protected]

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ryan Johansen of the Blue Jackets won a car for having been named Most Valuable Player of the NHL All-Star Game, and it is clear that the local folks would prefer that he not drive away in it forever.

Johansen won a fans' vote for the honor, even though he was on the team that lost, 17-12, and he scored only two goals -- half that of the Islanders' John Tavares on the winning side. But the award was a sign of how much Blue Jackets fans appreciate having him here.

"I don't know if I really deserved it, but it's pretty cool to be MVP," Johansen said. "We've just been really enjoying every moment of this weekend, and just being in Columbus and in front of our fans and our first game, it really has been a very special weekend and something we'll remember for a long time."

Cheers were raucous every time he or teammate Nick Foligno did anything during the Saturday skills competition and Sunday's game. One last burst of enthusiasm came with the announcement that Johansen would get the new Honda.

Support like that used to rain down on former Blue Jacket Rick Nash, the Rangers star and the NHL's co-leader in goals with 28. Nash used to be the captain and franchise player here before he rebuffed a rebuilding project and requested a trade in 2012.

Nash kept his chin up and held a smile all weekend. "I enjoyed it. I had my whole family here and we took it all in. Everything was fun for us," said the alumnus who also had two goals yesterday.

He played on a line with another former Blue Jacket, Jakub Voracek, the NHL's leading scorer. It was deja vu.

"I thought we still had that chemistry," Nash said. "We scored exactly the way, with a flip pass, we did in Pittsburgh five or six years ago."

Nash was gracious about the current Blue Jackets franchise player, who began training camp this season in his own dispute with the club. "He's a good player. He's getting to that age when he's coming into his prime," Nash said.

When he was asked if he had any advice for Johansen, he added, "Just keep working hard and enjoy the game."

Halak busy in net. Jaroslav Halak of the Islanders enjoyed his first All-Star experience, despite learning firsthand that goalies in this exhibition seem like mere cannon fodder (and in Columbus, they actually fire off a noisy cannon when the home team scores).

He is used to facing many shots, in practices and games. This felt different. With a grin, he said, "More goals than shots."



Rangers first-half notes and highlights

By Rick Carpiniello on January 26, 2015 Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Rangers Report

Happy 54th birthday to the Great One!

Ladies and gentlemen, please be safe through this storm. Use your heads.

Courtesy of the NYR:

2014-15 NEW YORK RANGERS – FIRST HALF NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

• The New York Rangers entered the 2015 NHL All-Star break with a 27-13-4 record (58 points). The Blueshirts are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

• Entering the break, the Rangers rank among the NHL’s top 10 teams in the following categories: wins (27 – tied for eighth), regulation/overtime wins (25 – tied for third), points percentage (.659 – ninth), goals per game (3.00 – sixth), goals against per game (2.32 – third), 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio (1.30 – fourth), and goal differential (plus-28 – fifth).

• The Rangers currently lead the NHL in shutouts (eight) this season. The Blueshirts posted eight shutouts in their first 31 games of the season. Prior to 2014-15, the last time the Rangers registered at least eight shutouts in their first 31 games of any season was 1928-29 (11 shutouts in 31 games).

• New York is one of five NHL teams who won at least 13 games both at home and on the road prior to the All-Star break.Ottawa Senators v New York Rangers

• The Blueshirts allowed fewer goals on the road (48) than any other NHL team prior to the All-Star break. The Rangers rank third in the NHL – and first among Eastern Conference teams – in winning percentage on the road (.643) this season.

• The Rangers ended the 2014 calendar year with more regular season and playoff wins combined (58) than any other NHL team. Henrik Lundqvist earned more regular season wins (38) as well as more regular season and playoff wins combined (51) than any other NHL goalie during the 2014 calendar year.

• The Rangers have allowed two team goals or fewer in 23 of 44 games so far this season and have posted a 22-0-1 record in those contests.

• New York has posted a 20-0-1 record when leading after two periods thus far this season. The Rangers have registered a 134-1-9 record in their last 144 regular season games when leading after 40 minutes. The 144-game stretch dates back to Feb. 6, 2010 vs. New Jersey.

• The Rangers registered an eight-game winning streak from Dec. 8 vs. Pittsburgh to Dec. 27 vs. New Jersey. It was the first time the Blueshirts had posted an eight-game winning streak since they did so from Dec. 27, 1974 – Jan. 11, 1975.

• The Blueshirts posted a 16-3-0 record in their last 19 games prior to the All-Star break, dating back to a 4-3 overtime victory on Dec. 8 vs. Pittsburgh. The Rangers won 16 games in a 19-game stretch for the first time since they won 17 games over a 20-game span from Oct. 30 – Dec. 15, 1993. New York also won 20 of its last 26 contests (20-6-0) and 18 of its last 23 games (18-5-0) prior to the break. The Rangers earned at least one point in 30 of their last 40 contests (26-10-4), including 23 of their last 30 games (21-7-2) before the break.

nash• New York swept a three-game road trip against Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary from Dec. 13 – Dec. 16 and also swept a three-game road trip against Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose from Jan. 7 – Jan. 10. The Rangers completed a sweep of the Canucks, Oilers, and Flames on one road trip, as well as a sweep of the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks on one road trip, for the first time in franchise history. The Blueshirts became the second Eastern Conference team in NHL history to defeat Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Vancouver on the road in one season. The only team who had previously accomplished the feat was the Montreal Canadiens in 1997-98. The Canadiens’ coach during the 1997-98 season was Alain Vigneault.

• The Rangers earned a point in 12 straight games against Metropolitan Division opponents from Oct. 16 vs. Carolina to Dec. 27 vs. New Jersey (11-0-1), and won eight consecutive intra-division games from Nov. 19 vs. Philadelphia to Dec. 27 vs. New Jersey. The Rangers’ 12-game point streak against division opponents is the longest they have had since the NHL adopted a four-division format prior to the 1974-75 season. Entering the All-Star break, the Rangers have posted a 13-3-1 record against teams in the Metropolitan Division this season as well as a 17-3-1 record in their last 21 regular season games against Metropolitan Division opponents, dating back to Mar. 21, 2014.

• Nine players made their Rangers debuts prior to the All-Star break this season: Dan Boyle (Oct. 9 at St. Louis), Anthony Duclair (Oct. 9 at St. Louis), Tanner Glass (Oct. 9 at St. Louis), Lee Stempniak (Oct. 9 at St. Louis), Matt Hunwick (Oct. 11 at Columbus), Kevin Hayes (Oct. 12 vs. Toronto), Michael Kostka (Oct. 14 vs. the NY Islanders), Ryan Malone (Oct. 14 vs. the NY Islanders), and Chris Mueller (Oct. 19 at San Jose).

• Rick Nash represented the Rangers at the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus. The six-time NHL All-Star has registered 28 goals and 15 assists for 43 points, along with a plus-18 rating and 16 penalty minutes in 44 games this season. Nash ranks among the top 10 players in the NHL in the following categories: goals (28 – tied for first), even strength goals (21 – tied for first), game-winning goals (five – tied for second), shorthanded goals (three – tied for second), takeaways (42 – fifth), and shots on goal (162 – sixth). Nash is the only NHL player who ranks 10th or higher in all of those categories, and he is the only NHL player who is either tied for second or ranks higher in goals, even strength goals, game-winning goals, and shorthanded goals. Nash is also the only NHL player who ranks fifth or higher in goals and takeaways. He leads all NHL players in games with a goal (22) this season.

• From Oct. 16 until the All-Star break, Lundqvist posted a 22-7-3 record, along with a 1.99 GAA, a .930 SV%, and 5 SO in 32 appearances. In his last 16 appearances prior to the break, Lundqvist registered a 14-2-0 record, along with a 1.71 GAA, a .940 SV%, and 1 SO. He has allowed two goals or fewer in 13 of his last 15 starts (13-0-0 record in the 13 contests in which he allowed two or fewer goals). He posted a 7-1-0 record, along with a 1.69 GAA and a .945 SV% in his last eight games.

• Derek Stepan tallied a point in 21 of 31 games since making his season debut on Nov. 8 at Toronto (eight goals, 24 assists). Stepan has registered 54 points (15 goals, 39 assists) in 54 regular season games since the end of last season’s Olympic break.

• Ryan McDonagh was named the 27th captain in franchise history on Oct. 6. McDonagh became the fourth-youngest captain in the Rangers’ 89-year history, and he was the 11th defenseman in franchise history to be named captain.

Ottawa Senators v New York Rangers• Following the debuts of Boyle, Duclair, Glass, and Stempniak in the season opener on Oct. 9, 1,000 players had appeared in at least one regular season or playoff game with the Rangers in franchise history.

• With Nash (No. 61), Carl Hagelin (No. 62), and Duclair (No. 63) all in the lineup on opening night, the Rangers became the first team in NHL history to have players with Nos. 61, 62, and 63 in the lineup in a regular season game.

• With his start on opening night, Lundqvist became the fifth Rangers goalie to appear in parts of 10 seasons with the team (joining Mike Richter, Ed Giacomin, John Vanbiesbrouck, and Gump Worsley). He also became the third goalie in franchise history to start nine consecutive regular season openers.

• Nash became the first Ranger in franchise history to tally a goal in each of the first four games of a season. He also became the first Blueshirt to record at least six goals in the first four contests of a season since Don Murdoch in 1976-77.

• The Rangers tallied two goals in four seconds on Oct. 19 vs. San Jose, tying a franchise record for the fastest two goals scored (Martin St. Louis – 19:16 of the second period; Nash – 19:20 of the second period). The only time the Blueshirts had recorded two goals in a span of four seconds prior to the game was on Oct. 9, 1991 vs. the NY Islanders (Kris King at 19:45 of the third period, James Patrick at 19:49 of the third period). The Rangers’ two goals on Oct. 19 were also a franchise record for the two fastest goals without either goal being an empty-net goal.

• The Rangers rallied from a 3-0 deficit entering the third period to defeat Minnesota, 5-4, on Oct. 27. It was the second time in franchise history that

the Rangers won a game in which they trailed 3-0 in the third period (Jan. 4, 1956 vs. Detroit). Prior to Oct. 27, the last time the Rangers rallied from a three-goal deficit at any point in the third period to win a game was on Dec. 27, 1992 vs. Boston. The last time the Rangers won a game when trailing by three goals entering the third period before Oct. 27 was on Feb. 21, 1992 against the Minnesota North Stars.

• Mats Zuccarello tallied the game-winning goal on Oct. 27 vs. Minnesota. The goal was the 31st of Zuccarello’s NHL career, which gave him more goals than any other Norwegian-born player in league history.

• Lundqvist stopped all 25 shots he faced through regulation and overtime on Nov. 1 vs. Winnipeg. He made his 583rd career NHL appearance in the contest, passing Gump Worsley for second on the Rangers’ all-time appearances list.

• Dan Girardi skated in a single-game career-high 34:50 of ice time on Nov. 1 vs. Winnipeg. Girardi became the first Ranger to log at least 34:50 of ice time in a regular season game since Brian Leetch skated in 34:54 of ice time on Dec. 9, 2000 at Boston.

rangers celebrate• The Rangers defeated the Red Wings, 4-3, on Nov. 5 to extend their winning streak against Detroit to five games. It was the first time the Rangers won five consecutive games against the Red Wings since they won five straight from Jan. 3, 1983 – Jan. 16, 1984.

• Alain Vigneault coached in his 900th career NHL game on Nov. 5 vs. Detroit. Vigneault became the 28th Head Coach in NHL history to accomplish the feat.

• The Rangers posted a shutout in consecutive games on Nov. 19 vs. Philadelphia and on Nov. 23 vs. Montreal. It was the first time New York posted a shutout in two consecutive regular season games since Mar. 17 – Mar. 19, 2003.

• New York registered three shutouts at home in a five-game span from Nov. 11 against Pittsburgh to Nov. 23 against Montreal. The last time the Blueshirts registered three shutouts in a five-game span at home during the regular season was when they posted three shutouts in a span of four home games from Nov. 18 – Nov. 25, 1973.

• Nash posted a career-high 11-game point streak from Nov. 19 vs. Philadelphia to Dec. 16 at Calgary (eight goals, six assists over the span). At the time, the point streak was tied for the longest in the NHL in 2014-15.

• All 12 Rangers forwards recorded a point in the team’s 5-0 victory over Montreal on Nov. 23. Prior to that game, the last time all 12 Rangers forwards registered a point in one contest was Dec. 17, 1980 vs. Winnipeg.

• The Rangers’ 5-0 victory against the Canadiens on Nov. 23 was the first time New York defeated Montreal by five goals or more since Dec. 13, 1992 at MSG. The Rangers tallied at least five goals in a shutout against Montreal for the first time since they defeated the Canadiens 5-0 on Feb. 25, 1967 in Montreal. The last time the Blueshirts shut out Montreal by five goals or more at home was when they defeated the Canadiens 5-0 on Mar. 24, 1963.

• New York posted three shutouts in four games from Nov. 19 vs. Philadelphia to Nov. 28 at Philadelphia. It was the first time the Rangers registered at least three shutouts in a four-game span since they recorded three consecutive shutouts from Feb. 4 – Feb. 10, 1973.

• Martin St. Louis registered his 1,000th career NHL point with a goal on Nov. 28 at Philadelphia. St. Louis became the 81st player in NHL history to record 1,000 career NHL points, and also became the sixth player to accomplish the feat as a Ranger, joining Theo Fleury, Pat LaFontaine, Steve Larmer, Mike Gartner, and Rod Gilbert.

• Cam Talbot posted shutouts in two consecutive appearances on Nov. 19 vs. Philadelphia and Nov. 28 at Philadelphia. Talbot became the first Rangers goalie to record two consecutive shutouts against the Flyers, as well as the first NHL goalie to post two shutouts against Philadelphia in a 10-day span or less, since Steve Valiquette did so on Jan. 31, 2008 and Feb. 9, 2008.

• Kevin Klein tallied his second overtime goal of the season on Dec. 8 vs. Pittsburgh. Klein is one of only three Rangers defensemen who have registered two overtime goals in one season since overtime was reimplemented in 1983-84 (Brian Leetch (2001-02) and Tom Poti (2003-04) are the others).

• Lundqvist posted his 55th career NHL shutout on Dec. 14 at Edmonton, passing Hockey Hall of Famers Bernie Parent and Ed Giacomin for sole possession of 20th place on the NHL’s all-time shutouts list.

• By sweeping Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary, the Rangers won at least three straight games against Western Conference teams as part of one road trip for the first time since they won four straight from Jan. 23, 1992 against Edmonton to Feb. 1, 1992 against the Minnesota North Stars. Including their win at St. Louis on opening night, the Rangers won at least four consecutive road games against Western Conference opponents for the first time since Dec. 31, 1998 – Feb. 21, 1999 (five games). New York also improved their record against Western Conference opponents to 6-1-3 in 2014-15. The last time the Blueshirts earned a point in at least nine games of a 10-game span against Western Conference opponents prior to this stretch was when they registered a point in 10 consecutive games against Western Conference teams from Nov. 26, 1996 – Jan. 21, 1997 (8-0-2 record).

• The Rangers swept a road trip of four or more games in length (four games – Dec. 13 against Vancouver to Dec. 20 against Carolina) for the fourth time in franchise history, and for the first time since Nov. 10 – Nov. 17, 2007.

• Lundqvist became the second goaltender in NHL history to register 50 career shootout wins when he stopped all three shooters in the shootout to help the Rangers beat Carolina, 3-2, on Dec. 20.

• Talbot posted his third shutout in a personal four-game span on Dec. 21 vs. Carolina. He became the first Rangers goalie to register three shutouts in a personal four-game span since Andy Aitkenhead posted a shutout in three straight games from Dec. 2 – Dec. 7, 1933. Talbot also became the second goalie in Rangers history to register at least six shutouts in his first 26 career NHL starts (along with Lorne Chabot, who did so in the Rangers’ inaugural season of 1926-27).

• The Blueshirts recorded their 150th consecutive sellout (regular season and playoffs combined) on Dec. 23 vs. Washington (122 regular season, 28 playoffs). The sellout streak began on Nov. 3, 2011 against Anaheim.

• The Rangers had a player record a hat trick in back-to-back games on Dec. 23 vs. Washington and Dec. 27 vs. New Jersey (Nash against Washington; Stepan against New Jersey). Nash and Stepan became the first Rangers to record hat tricks in two consecutive games since Mike Gartner and Adam Graves did so on Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, 1994.

• Lundqvist made his 600th career NHL appearance on Dec. 27 vs. New Jersey. Lundqvist became the ninth goaltender in NHL history to appear in at least 600 career games with one NHL franchise, and he became the 22nd player – and second goaltender – in Rangers history to appear in at least 600 career regular season games with the franchise. Lundqvist is one of only four goaltenders in NHL history who recorded at least 325 wins through his first 600 career NHL games (Jacques Plante – 332; Martin Brodeur – 330; Chris Osgood – 325).

• Zuccarello tallied his 112th career point on Dec. 29 at Dallas, becoming the all-time leader in points by a Norwegian-born player in NHL history.

• New York finished December with a 9-3-0 record. The Blueshirts’ nine wins were tied for the seventh-highest total they have recorded in December in franchise history.

• The Rangers tallied three power play goals in a span of 2:32 on Jan. 3 vs. Buffalo. It was the first time the Blueshirts recorded three power play goals in a span of 2:32 or less since Nov. 21, 1995 vs. Pittsburgh (three power play goals in 1:10).

• Lundqvist posted his 20th win of the season on Jan. 10 at San Jose. He became the first goalie in NHL history to register at least 20 wins in each of his first 10 seasons, and he is tied with Mike Richter for the most 20-win seasons in franchise history. Lundqvist is also the only NHL goalie who has won 20 or more games in each of the last 10 seasons (2005-06 – 2014-15).

• New York won 13 consecutive games in which Jesper Fast was in the lineup from Dec. 8 vs. Pittsburgh to Jan. 10 at San Jose. Fast became the first Ranger to be on the winning side in 13 straight games in one season in the NHL’s modern era (since the center ice red line was introduced during the 1943-44 season).

• With their victory over the Penguins on Jan. 18, the Rangers posted a 3-0-1 record against Pittsburgh in 2014-15. It is the first time the Blueshirts earned a point in every regular season game against the Penguins in one season since 1996-97.

Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 01.26.2015

761912 Ottawa Senators

Senators' playoff chances pegged at 16.6%

By Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa Sun

First posted: Sunday, January 25, 2015 04:09 PM EST | Updated: Sunday, January 25, 2015 07:54 PM EST

COLUMBUS - The break is over. Now, the hard work begins.

Sitting 10 points out of a playoff spot, the Senators go back to work Monday as they gather at the Canadian Tire Centre at 5 p.m. for a late-evening practice with the four-day NHL All-Star break officially coming to a close.

Determined to try to get back on track after a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs last Wednesday, the Senators have a couple of extra days to prepare for a visit by Jason Spezza and the Dallas Stars as the Senators try desperately to string two wins together.

Of course, if they're going to close the gap and make the post-season, they'll have to win a lot more than that but a victory over the Stars would be a good starting point. The Senators should be well-rested and ready for the challenge ahead.

Winger Bobby Ryan said it's not impossible, but the site sportsclubstats.com rates the Senators chances at only 16.6%.

"When you look at it, we're 10 points (back), and when you look at what we have for the rest of January, we've got to gain a point or two there. We've got try to close the gap by three or four points in February and do it again in March to get ourselves within striking distance in April," said Ryan.

"That's the position we've put ourselves in. We did put a lot of intangibles in place the last five or six games and it's been a much better product for us. We didn't win, but we've been in those games and that wasn't always the case. Our goalies give us a chance every night, if we can have just a little bit of consistency, we're not out of it. There's some fight there."

Ryan said the mood around the room has changed completely since coach Dave Cameron took over and the results are starting to be seen.

"The culture has just been an immediate shift. He's been incredible," said Ryan. "You can tell that he's just energetic, he's engaging, he's got a big smile and even if we lose, he comes in the next day and even if he's mad at you and wants to show you something on video, he's got a contagious energy that you want to be around."

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.26.2015

761913 Ottawa Senators

Senators all-star Bobby Ryan: 'I've had a blast'

By Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa Sun


COLUMBUS - The picture of Bobby Ryan getting a little advice from Chris Sutter was making its way around Twitter Sunday night.

The son of Kings coach Darryl Sutter wanted Ryan to contribute.

“He was on me all weekend because I was a late round pick he expected a lot out of me,” said Ryan. “He was giving me some motivation to shoot the puck more in the third. I got to reward him _ which was exciting.”

The Senators' winger didn't get the souvenir puck after getting a goal and an assist in his first appearance as part of the All-Star weekend but as he headed back to Ottawa on a charter late Sunday, he packed up plenty of memories of something he'll always remember.

Skating with Steve Stamkos and Anze Kopitar, Ryan snapped one home in the third and picked up an assist.

"(The cannon) is loud and obnoxious but the fans like it," Ryan said.

He was happy to get one but he had a brilliant opportunity on a breakaway in the first and it was one of the rare saves Florida's Roberto Luongo made for Team Foligno.

"He read me like a book. He put the glove up there. I'd like to rethink that one," said Ryan. "But I got one. I'll take one and go."

It was a nice weekend for Ryan. Though there were a few more public appearances than he expected, he was happy to be part of it. He's never gotten the chance to be here because often in Anaheim it was difficult for him to go ahead of Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

"Everybody who plays, and especially a guy who has had chances to make it but didn't in the past, I don't know what it means, it's been a long time coming I think," said Ryan, who noted he never really expected to be selected while with Anaheim.

"Even though it's something where you can say you were an All-Star the rest of your life, even if it was just for one year. It's pretty cool. There's a lot of guys doing their first weekend as well and I think we've all talked about when you watch it TV, even though you're on break, how much fun it looks like with the skill on the ice is pretty incredible."

That's why this meant so much to Ryan.

"You're busy and you're doing cool things with the fans," Ryan said. "I've had a blast. It's been what I expected a lot of fun.

"It's been incredible experience being able to represent the Senators and the entire NHL as well. To do it here, you never know if you're going to get back so you try to soak it up and relish it. I have."

Ryan wasn't about to turn down this invitation. Much has been made of the fact the likes of Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both pulled out at the last minute with injuries. The NHL also polls some players beforehand to make sure they want to be invited.

There wasn't a chance Ryan was going to turn down this invitation but he can understand those who couldn't be here because of injuries and knows maybe some players who have been here before would rather rest their bodies for the stretch drive.

"If you look at guys who have done it seven or eight times, they're older and they just want the break. If that's what that is, they're entitled to it but at the same time it would be hard to imagine not wanting to come to these events. Everything is taken care of, it's first class and the best players in the world are here," Ryan said.

To be recognized was good for Ryan.

"In my experience it has been (fun). The entire thing has been a blessing," said Ryan. "It was always a lofty goal (to be here). I don't think I was overshadowed or overlooked."

Selected in Round 13 by Foligno in the draft Friday, Ryan was happy not to be selected last. He and Foligno actually played against each other as kids in the Philadelphia area when Mike Foligno was with the Flyers so there was some familiarity there.

Ryan really didn't want to be selected last.

"It was a relief. As the numbers were dwindling, and the musical chairs were happening, for awhile there (Alex Ovechkin) was sitting by himself and we had to make sure we at least got the boys together to make it look like we were unified as we were sweating it out," Ryan said.

Ryan may have also been sweating a bit Sunday until he put one home.

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 01.26.2015

761914 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers' Voracek equals record in All-Star Game

Sam Carchidi

Posted: Sunday, January 25, 2015, 8:42 PM

No one wanted to get hurt, but you would have thought someone would have at least PRETENDED to play defense in Sunday’s NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio.

Didn’t happen.

Final: Team Toews 17, Team Foligno 12.

In a game that set a record for most goals, the Flyers Jake Voracek, the league’s leading scorer so far this season, equaled an All-Star Game record with six points (three goals, three assists), matching the mark set by Mario Lemieux in 1988.

Voracek, who used to play for Columbus, was on Team Toews.

Columbus’ Ryan Johansen (two goals, two assists) somehow won the MVP award.

Flyers captain Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists while winning 64 percent of his faceoffs for Team Foligno.

The Flyers will practice Monday in Voorhees at 2 p.m. They host Arizona on Tuesday, and general manager Ron Hextall said he didn’t expect injured goalie Steve Mason (knee) to be able to play in that game.

With 34 games left, the Flyers are 12 points out of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

Breakaways. Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau, the pride of Gloucester Catholic, had two assists for the winners…..Ottawa’s Bobby Ryan, a Cherry Hill native, had a goal and an assist for the losers….Next year’s All-Star Game will be played in Nashville……Team Foligno goalie Marc-Andre Fleury allowed seven second-period goals on 16 shots, a .562 save percentage…..Another All-Star Game record: 17 goals by one team……Zac Rinaldo will have a phone hearing with the NHL Monday for his illegal hit in Tuesday’s 3-2 OT win over Pittsburgh; the Flyers’ winger is expected to be suspended for at least six games.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.26.2015


It's a goal explosion

Associated Press

Posted: Monday, January 26, 2015, 12:15 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio - John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals and Team Toews beat Team Foligno, 17-12, on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star Game ever.



Flyers forward Jake Voracek - formerly of the Blue Jackets - scored three goals and tied a game record with six points for Team Toews. That mark was set by Mario Lemieux.

"We had so many good players on each team," Voracek said. "There's going to be a lot of goals."

His Flyers teammate, Claude Giroux, who was on the opposing team, playing in his third All-Star Game, had a goal and two assists for Team Foligno.

Ryan Johansen, of the hometown Columbus Blue Jackets, had two goals and two assists for the losing team but still won the MVP award in voting by fans on Twitter.

"It's meant a lot, being a part of it - seeing the fans and how much they've been enjoying all the festivities," he said. "We did a two-hour [autograph] signing. Everybody just seemed to be having a great time. All the kids were laughing and having a lot of fun."

Tavares' four goals gave him a share of the All-Star Game record that was established by Wayne Gretzky in 1983, and equaled by Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston's Patrice Bergeron. Dallas' Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg of Nashville, and Rick Nash of the New York Rangers - another former Columbus star - both scored twice, and Florida's Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.

For Team Foligno, led by Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno, Chicago's Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist apiece, and Washington's Alexander Ovechkin added three assists.


The fake fight provided some energy to a capacity crowd of 18,901 on the game's first visit to Ohio's capital city. Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary's Mark Giordano and Chicago's Brent Seabrook. All of the players were laughing after they grabbed and hugged each other.



South Jersey's Gaudreau plays in NHL All-Star Game

FRANK SERAVALLI, Daily News Staff Writer [email protected]


COLUMBUS - First he was in, then he was out, then he was in again. It was a rush of emotion for Flames forward and South Jersey native Johnny Gaudreau.

But it culminated with the Carneys Point product appearing in his first NHL All-Star Game as an injury replacement for Sidney Crosby.

His addition to the roster meant Gaudreau would reportedly pocket an extra $212,500, per performance-based bonuses on his entry-level contract.

"It was really special for me," Gaudreau said. "Just playing in the game was even better."

Gaudreau's parents, Guy and Jane, weren't actually planning to come to Columbus. Their son was only scheduled to participate in Saturday's Skills Competition as a rookie. So, they figured it would be best to spend time with their other son, Matthew, who plays for Boston College.

After Crosby and Tampa Bay's Tyler Johnson went down with injuries, it was rumored Gaudreau would make an appearance in the big game. It was a bad rumor, the NHL informed him.

Finally, later on Saturday, Gaudreau was added to the roster. Team Toews was originally planning to play a man down. Gaudreau, 21, has 35 points in 46 games for Calgary this season.

"I heard rumors that I was playing at first and I kind of got a little excited," Gaudreau said. "Then I wasn't playing and it wasn't very fun. Then I got a chance to play and I was extremely excited about it. Growing up, I was watching this game and watching a lot of these guys. This weekend, I got to be a part of it."

The best part: His parents ended up making the last-minute drive to Columbus in time for the game. Seven hours in a car is nothing for two dedicated hockey parents.

Cap update

The Flyers did not have a representative at Saturday's Board of Governors meeting, as president Paul Holmgren and chief operating officer Shawn Tilger ran into travel issues.

From home, the Flyers still probably breathed a sigh of relief when the NHL issued its latest salary-cap projections for next season.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the salary cap "does not fall off a cliff," even with the Canadian dollar continuing to plummet. Canada's loonie closed at 80.4 cents compared to one American dollar on Friday, nearly 20 percent lower than what it was in 2013.

At 82 cents, Bettman said next year's salary cap would be $72.2 million. At 80 cents, it would be $71.7 million. The original projection in December was $73 million. This year's salary cap is $69 million.

"Nobody can project exactly where it's going, but the point I'm making is you're not going to see a dramatic difference," Bettman said. "The cap is computed-based on currency of a daily basis; it's averaged over the season."

Bettman's numbers included the annual 5 percent "escalator," a nuance in the CBA that has been exercised jointly by the NHL's Players Association eight out of the last nine summers.

That might not be an ironclad guarantee, with NHLPA executive director Don Fehr admitting last summer there were "differences in opinion" that ultimately got worked out. For players, a higher cap means more money in available salary, but it also usually means a higher percentage of escrow taken out of their paychecks to ensure an exact 50-50 split in hockey-related revenue with owners.

This season, players are only being paid 86 percent of their published salary, with the other 14 percent held in escrow. If revenue projections fall short, part (or all) of that money will be lost to owners.

"All I can tell you about that is whenever you get the currency functions that we're seeing now, you think about those things," Fehr said. "What we always do on staff, when you've got an issue like this, periodically you must discuss it and you must inform the players and insist the players make a considered decision on their own."

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he didn't foresee any fight from the NHLPA on the escalator, something that is written into the CBA as standard practice.

"I don't anticipate that's going to be an issue," Daly said. "Because I think the players' association wants to make sure where the cap goes as well because it's in their interest to do it. I don't anticipate any issue on the 5 percent inflator."

The Flyers have $62.2 million committed to players for next season, excluding Chris Pronger's $4.94 million hit. More importantly, even $1 million down from the original $73 million projection could seriously hamper the Flyers' trade plans. Without next year's cap set in stone, some teams will be weary - and nearly half the league is already operating within $1 million of the upper limit.

The Flyers would like to move a contract or two for flexibility purposes. The more the better, in their case.

"It's not as bad as everyone is predicting," Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said. "Some of the stuff we heard from them is more reassuring."

Need some jam!

Last year, Peter Laviolette watched from afar as nearly the entire NHL season went on without him after he was fired by the Flyers on Oct. 7, 2013.

Yesterday, he was behind the bench to coach his second consecutive All-Star Game. His Predators owned the NHL's highest points percentage through Jan. 10.

It just goes to show how strange hockey can be. There have been 64 NHL head coaching changes since the end of the 2007-08 season. Only two men - Mike Babcock (Detroit) and Claude Julien (Boston) - still man the same position since that time.

Laviolette, 50, was joined on the bench by his daughter, Elisabeth, for the entirety of yesterday's game. He put his former player, Jake Voracek, on the top line with captain Jonathan Toews and former linemate Rick Nash.

"It was like the old days," Voracek said with a smile. "It was fun. He played me a lot, so I was happy."

Quotable

Claude Giroux, on the Flyers' unofficial second half of the season, which will resume tomorrow night against Arizona. The Coyotes are flying out of Phoenix at 9 a.m. today to try to beat the weather.

"I think it's important that we stick with it. Obviously, we're not in the position that we want to be right now, but we need to get better as a team and learn from this. We have a big hole, but we have to stick together."



Voracek a star among Stars

FRANK SERAVALLI, Daily News Staff Writer [email protected]


COLUMBUS - Jake Voracek skated to the left and shot right, fooling Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, but barely raised his stick to celebrate.

The 18,901 once-excited fans more or less yawned, unsure whether to clap or cry for the 16th tally in a 29-goal bonanza that may well have as many points as Sunday's Super Bowl provides.

The 60th NHL All-Star Game was played with as much intensity as an afternoon nap, as much physicality as badminton and maybe as much interest as Disney on Ice. Even a mock post-whistle scrum around the net ended with smiles and hugs.

Nobody seemed to notice that Voracek collected a hat trick in his first All-Star Game, in the process tying a record held by Mario Lemieux (1988) for most points.

It was almost fitting that the league's most unheralded leading scorer in recent memory, who entered the weekend with a four-point cushion on the likes of Sidney Crosby and Ryan Getzlaf, ended up pacing all the big names with six points last night.

Yawn. Ho-hum. Nothing to see here, move along.

Hometown boy Ryan Johansen collected the Most Valuable Player award, as voted by fans using social media.

Somehow, the always humble Voracek continues to fly under the radar. Maybe it's because of his personality - laid-back, unassuming, unpretentious.

Yes, as Patrick Kane said, the glorified scrimmage felt more like summer hockey. The amount of defense played would have made the Flyers' defense corps look like Stanley Cup contenders.

Still, Voracek scored on three out of four shots - against professional goaltenders - after a raucous weekend partying in the city he used to call home.

"I had three secondary assists," Voracek said. "I wouldn't get too excited about that."

He laughed when someone brought up Lemieux. Voracek usually downplays any mention of himself with the league's current stars, saying his name doesn't belong in the same category.

"There's Voracek . . . and Lemieux," he said. "It's a little different, right?"

For Voracek, and most of the league's big names, the All-Star weekend wasn't about the stats, or the score, or who won. It was about catching up with old friends. It was about grabbing Johnny Gaudreau to hilariously imitate a shootout attempt in Saturday's Skills Competition.

It was about showcasing hockey in Columbus, an underrated city much bigger than Cleveland and Cincinnati combined, with its only professional sports franchise finally clawing out of anonymity.

"It was great to see this city," Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos said. "They had been waiting a couple years for this game. They did it right. I think the guys enjoyed it."

And it was about that damn cannon in Nationwide Arena that exploded all dozen times Team Foligno scored in a 17-12 losing effort to Team Toews.

"I hate that cannon," Claude Giroux said. "It gets me every time."

Or, as Predators defenseman Shea Weber said: "It definitely catches you by surprise, even if you are ready. You see guys bracing for it and they still have a reaction."

Voracek's first reaction after knocking off Giroux, who played for the "home'' Team Foligno, was that he finally earned bragging rights. Giroux has been relentlessly chirping to Voracek about that time his Gatineau junior team

eliminated Voracek's Halifax squad in the Quebec Major Junior League playoffs.

"I can give it to 'G' right now," Voracek said. "He's been all over me the last 7 years. So I've got something bigger now."

Clearly, Voracek also forgot to remind Giroux - and the rest of the league - to check the Art Ross Trophy race standings. That's not his style. His only regret was that the two didn't get much of a chance to trash talk on the ice, since they didn't have a shift against each other until the third period.

"He can have it," Giroux said of the All-Star win. "It was a lot of fun, and that's the whole thing about it."

Normally, Voracek would have spent the All-Star break on a beach in the Caribbean, soaking up the sun and enjoying a break from the rink. Last night, he scored more points than even the biggest names, and it was almost as if he was playing in the sand.

"This was a great experience," Voracek said. "I saw people that I haven't seen in forever. Obviously, I still have a lot of friends here. Even at the rink, when I walk in, I see a lot of people that I know. Hockey-wise, you are around the best players in the world. The last 3 days have been some of the most fun in hockey that I've ever had."

Shooting stars

The 2016 All-Star Game will be played in Nashville, at Bridgestone Arena . . . Claude Giroux and Ryan Suter scored 8 seconds apart in the second period, the fastest goals scored by both teams in All-Star history . . . Another record was also set when Marc-Andre Fleury allowed seven goals in the second period. "It was probably the longest 20 minutes of my career," Fleury said. "It was frustrating." . . . The weekend's events were expected to generate $12 million in tourist spending in Columbus.



NHL All-Star Notebook: Flyers-Pens 2016-17 outdoor game?

Staff

January 25, 2015, 6:15 pm

COLUMBUS, Ohio — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledged Saturday during his press conference that 2016-17 will be the league's centennial celebration, as well as the Maple Leafs' 100-year anniversary. In recognition, the league is planning on bringing the All-Star game to Toronto with an outdoor game, too.

Moreover, the '16-17 season also marks the 50th anniversary of NHL expansion and the league wants to recognize the importance of this landmark event, and there's some talk in Columbus that this will be the year for a Flyers-Penguins outdoor game. Both the Flyers and Pittsburgh came into the NHL in 1967, and perhaps no rivalry game would generate the energy and intensity as this one.

Obviously, an event at Beaver Stadium in State College could draw a record crowd, but the proximity from both cities might not make this a desirable venue. I'd be willing to bet an outdoor game, and possibly the 2017 Winter Classic will take place at PNC Park in Pittsburgh or at Lincoln Financial Field.

Voracek's next deal?

With the Flyers foundering this season look for general manager Ron Hextall to clear space on the team's salary cap for next season, either by the trade deadline or in the offseason.

Jake Voracek enters the 2015-16 in the final year of his current four-year contract with a team-friendly cap hit of $4.25 million. The Flyers know Voracek's price tag will be at a premium and somewhere north of $8 million on average. Look at the Anaheim Ducks as a benchmark where Corey Perry maintains a cap hit of $8.625 million and Ryan Getzlaf is not far behind at $8.25 million.

Fanfest

As part of All-Star weekend, I soaked up the Fanfest at the nearby Columbus Convention Center. One of the more interesting exhibits was a display of All-Star sweaters worn by former stars. There were several former Flyers on display — Jim Watson, 1976; Mark Howe, 1981; Brian Propp from 1982 and 1986; and Dave Poulin, 1987.

On the sleeve of Propp's 1986 sweater was the black No. 31. For those who can recall the 1986 All-Star game, the league remembered and honored Pelle Lindbergh who had tragically died earlier that season in a car crash. The MeiGray Group, located in Branchburg, New jersey, (about an hour north of Trenton), works with the NHL and is responsible for taking the NHL's game-worn jerseys, authenticating team, and putting them up for auction for fans to bid on online. They'll be busy collecting memorabilia following Sunday's All-Star game.

How many games?

Zac Rinaldo will have a discipline hearing Monday by phone where the league will determine the punishment for his boarding penalty against Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang.

League sources in Columbus believe Rinaldo is facing a suspension of at least six games, and quite possibly eight games considering he's a repeat offender. In addition, his postgame comments didn't help his case as well. Most recently, Rinaldo was suspended four games in April 2014.



The Orange Line: Claude Giroux's top goals with Flyers

January 25, 2015, 12:15 pm

Staff

Claude Giroux scored his first career NHL goal on Jan. 27, 2009, against the Florida Panthers.

Since then, he's become one of the top playmaking centers in the league, consistently using his electric moves and soft hands to create plenty of opportunities for the orange and black.

Whether it's an overtime game-winner, a dazzling deke in a shootout or a powerful one-timer from the top of the circle, it's fair to say Giroux has had his share of highlight-reel worthy markers.

Comcast SportsNet's weekly Flyers show, The Orange Line, recently ranked the top 10 goals of Giroux's young career. The show debuts Tuesdays on CSN.



Flyers' Jacob Voracek ties NHL All-Star Game record with 6 points, robbed of MVP

Randy Miller

Email the author | on January 25, 2015 at 8:48 PM, updated January 25, 2015 at 9:51 PM

OK, so no one played defense in Sunday's NHL All-Star Game.

No surprise there. We all knew that was coming.

Regardless, the star of stars in an All-Star Game that ended with football score was Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek, who showed his career season is no fluke.

Voracek's three-goal, six-point performance in Team Toews' 17-12 win over Team Foligno at Nationwide Arena in Columbus was deserving of MVP honors, plus the new 2015 Honda Accord EX-L that comes with it.

Voracek, however, was passed over even though the NHL scoring leader tied Mario Lemieux's All-Star record for most points in a game ... and even though the first-time All-Star played his first three seasons in Columbus and fans there still adore him.

Humble by nature, Voracek didn't act as if he was bummed at all during his post-game interview, as he pointed out that his three helpers were secondary assists.

"So I wouldn't get too excited about (tying Lemieux's record)," he said.

"I had 3 secondary assists. So I wouldn't get too excited about that." -Voracek staying humble about his record-tying performance

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 26, 2015

Considering this was more of a showcase than a game, the MVP voters perhaps can be excused for being homers and gifting the MVP to Columbus Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen, who had two goals and two assists in a losing cause.

Also passed over for MVP was Islanders captain John Tavares, who tied an All-Star Game record with four goals in a winning performance.

There was no much entertainment value for fans who appreciate good hockey, as there were no penalties called, there was no hitting and no one even attempted to defend anyone.

Still, some of the league's most creative offensive players, Voracek included, made it fun.

Voracek's points came on a first-period goal, a goal and an assist in the second period, then a goal and two assists in the third.

Voracek become the first Flyers player to score a hat trick in an All-Star Game 7:30 into the third period for his fifth point, then he matched Lemieux's record six-point performance in 1988 by assisting on a goal by Filip Forsberg at 16:40 of the third.

Voracek's sixth point also was a new All-Star Game record for a Flyer, surpassing Mark Recchi scoring a goal and four assists in the 1993 All-Star Game.

Voracek first got on the scoring sheet 9:51 into the first period by scoring on St. Louis Blues goalie on a wrist shot from the slot.

Claude Giroux, the Flyers' other All-Star, had a goal and two assists for Team Foligno. Giroux has played in the NHL's last three All-Star Games, and he's scored a goal in each of them.

Voracek and Giroux, who is tied for third in scoring, could become just the third teammates in NHL history to finish 1-2 in the scoring race for a team missing the playoffs.

The Flyers return from a five-day break for a 2 p.m. practice on Monday in Voorhees.



NHL All-Star Game 2015: Tavares scores 4, Team Toews outscores Team Foligno, 17-12

Associated Press By Associated Press

on January 25, 2015 at 8:25 PM, updated January 25, 2015 at 8:37 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It was enough to give a goalie nightmares: A record 29 goals, 25 players with at least two points and eight with at least four.


John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star game.


How much offense was there? Tavares wasn't even the MVP, although that might have been due to a little home-cooking. Ryan Johansen of the host Columbus Blue Jackets had two goals and two assists for the losing side and was selected as the MVP in voting by fans on Twitter.


"I didn't come to the game trying to get the car," said Tavares, referring to the prize given to the MVP. "You get four goals, and obviously you think you have an opportunity. But Ryan had a good game. He had a couple of nice goals, made some nice plays."


"It's meant a lot, being a part of it -- seeing the fans and how much they've been enjoying all the festivities," he said. "We did a two-hour (autograph) signing. Everybody just seemed to be having a great time. All the kids were laughing and having a lot of fun."





Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston's Patrice Bergeron. Dallas' Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg of Nashville, and Rick Nash of the New York Rangers -- another former Columbus star -- both scored twice, and Florida's Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.



"How to handle 20 egos," he cracked. "That's probably the hardest thing. But it's fun in the role of showing off our team and our city."

The fake fight provided some energy to a capacity crowd of 18,901 on the game's first visit to Columbus. Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary's Mark Giordano and Chicago's Brent Seabrook.





With the game tied at 4 after the first period, Team Toews broke it open with six goals in 9 1/2 minutes -- and a record seven in the frame.



Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, the only Penguins player in action after Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin stayed home due to injuries, had a particularly forgettable period. He gave up six goals on the first 10 shots he faced.

"I wish I would have made a few more stops," he said. Then, referring to the heckling he got from Columbus fans, he added, "So they would have been more quiet."

NOTES: Fall Out Boy, O.A.R. and Locksley performed before and during the game. ... Calgary's Johnny "Johnny Hockey" Gaudreau was promoted earlier Sunday from the list of four rookies to Team Toews, giving each side 21 players. ... The NHL season resumes Tuesday night with 11 games.



Flyers' Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux have shot at feat done twice in NHL's 1st 96 seasons

Randy Miller

Email the author | on January 25, 2015 at 7:50 AM, updated January 25, 2015 at 11:05 PM

PHILADELPHIA — Flyers coach Craig Berube was talking up his two All-Stars the other day when a point was made about how Jakub Voracek is leading the league in scoring and Claude Giroux is third playing on a losing team.

"Well, there have been lots of players who have had great years and their teams missed the playoffs," Berube said. "The most important thing is making the playoffs and trying to win a Stanley Cup. And that's the most important thing for them, too."

His statements are true, yet Voracek and Giroux have a shot at becoming just the third set of teammates ever to finish 1-2 in the scoring race for a non-playoff team. Voracek leads the league in scoring at the All-Star break with 55 points, while Giroux in a four-way tie for third with 51.

The Flyers never have had a scoring champ — Eric Lindros lost in a tie-breaker to Jaromir Jagr in 1994-95 because he scored fewer goals — but now they have two strong candidates in a season in which they need a miracle finish to avoid missing the playoffs.

"Any time you don't make the playoffs it is a lost opportunity," Berube said.

Not making the playoffs with Voracek and Giroux finishing 1-2 in the scoring race would be historic.

Giroux, 27, being among the NHL scoring leaders is old hat, as he finished third in 2011-12 and last season. But Voracek, 25, never produced like this in his first six NHL seasons.

His almost averaged a point per game scoring 46 in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, but his career-high in points is just 62, established last season. He should break that within two weeks.

Rangers All-Star winger Rick Nash says that he saw this coming, as he played in Columbus during Voracek's first three NHL seasons there.

"I'm not surprised at all," Nash told reporters Friday in Columbus. "I could see from the time [Voracek] was a young player he had all the talent in the world. It was a matter of maturing, and gaining confidence. He's got all the tools to be the best player in the world."

Best in the world?

How's that for a compliment?

Playing with Giroux helps Voracek ... as it helps Giroux playing with Voracek.

Together, they could become just the second set of teammates since NHL expansion in 1967-68 to finish first and second in the scoring race.

In 2012-13 season, the lockout-shortened season, Martin St. Louis won the Art Ross Trophy with 60 points in 48 games and Steven Stamkos finished second with 57 playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who finished with an 18-26-4 record that left them 15 points shy of a playoff spot.

Before that the only other teammates finishing 1-2 in scoring for a team missing the playoffs were Hall of Famers Roy Conacher and Doug Bentley for the 1948-49 Chicago Blackhawks.

Conacher won the scoring title with 68 points and Bentley was second with 66 for a Blackhawks club that finished out of the playoffs with a fifth-place finish in a six-team NHL that played a 60-game regular season.

If Voracek and Giroux just end up in the top five, it would be a big deal because it would be a first for the Flyers in 40 years.

The only times the Flyers have had two players in the top five in scoring were in 1972-73 when Bobby Clarke finished second with 104 points and

Rick MacLeish was fourth with 100, and in 1975-76 when Clarke was second with 119 points and Bill Barber was fourth with 112.

Just getting one player in the top five is rare for the Flyers, as it's happened only 13 times, including twice in the last three seasons with Giroux.

Voracek, who also has a team-best 17 goals, is on pace for a 96-point season. He's been a strong two-way player, too, with a team-best plus-10 plus-minus rating.

"You watch him night in and night out and you see the hard work and the effort, and I think that his game has just gone to another level this year," Berube said. "He shoots more pucks and that's a big key. I think in the past he was reluctant to shoot. He gets more pucks to the net and gets to the net."

In his third season as Flyers' captain, Giroux has been tremendous, too, scoring in 35 of his 47 games. He's second in points, tied with Wayne Simmonds for second in goals with 16 and is second to Voracek in plus-minus with a plus-6.

"I think he leads by example every night on the ice," Berube said. "That's what captains are supposed to do, and he does it. And he is producing. He's had a real good year. I think his game is really more rounded than it was last year. He is a better defensive player than he was last year in my opinion."

Voracek and Giroux's individual success led to both being selected for the All-Star Game. Of the other seven NHL teams with losing records, only the Columbus Blue Jackets — the host city — have more than one All-Star

On Sunday night, Giroux and Voracek will be on opposite teams in the All-Star Game, which had two captains draft teams. Giroux will play for Team Foligno, captained by Columbus winger Mike Foligno, while Voracek will play for Team Toews, captained by Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews.

After having fun as opponents, Voracek and Giroux will return to Philadelphia to try helping the Flyers make an unexpected playoff push. And along the way, they could make history together.

"They have played really well all year, very consistent," Berube said. "They both work extremely hard game in and game out. And that's the real reason for their success. When you've got skilled players like them, and smart players like Jake and G — and they put in the hard work — they will have success."

Teammates finishing 1-2 in NHL scoring race

2012-13: Martin St Louis (60) & Steven Stamkos (57), Tampa Bay

1995-96: Mario Lemieux (161) & Jaromir Jagr (149), Pittsburgh

1991-92: Mario Lemieux (131) & Kevin Stevens (123), Pittsburgh

1989-90: Wayne Gretzky (142) & Mark Messier (129), Edmonton

1986-87: Wayne Gretzky (183) & Jari Kurri (108), Edmonton

1984-85: Wayne Gretzky (208) & Jari Kurri (135), Edmonton

1983-84: Wayne Gretzky (205) & Paul Coffey (126), Edmonton

1973-74: Phil Esposito (145), Bobby Orr (122), Boston

1971-72: Phil Esposito (133) & Bobby Orr (117), Boston

1970-71: Phil Esposito (152), Bobby Orr (139), Boston

1969-70: Bobby Orr (120) & Phil Esposito (99), Boston

1966-67: Stan Mikita (97) & Bobby Hull (80), Chicago

1965-66: Bobby Hull (97) & Stan Mikita (78, T-2nd), Chicago

1966-67: Stan Mikita (89) & Bobby Hull (87), Chicago

1960-61: Bernie Geoffrion (95) & Jean Beliveau (90), Montreal

1958-59: Dickie Moore (96) & Jean Beliveau (91), Montreal

1957-58: Dickie Moore (84) & Henri Richard (80), Montreal

1956-57: Gordie Howe (89) & Ted Lindsay (85), Detroit

1964-55: Bernie Geoffrion (75) & Maurice Richard (74), Montreal



1949-50: Ted Lindsay (78) & Sid Abel (69), Detroit

1948-49: Roy Conacher (68) & Doug Bentley (66), Chicago

1944-45: Elmer Lach (80) & Maurice Richard (73), Montreal

1941-42: Bryan Hextall (56) & Lynn Patrick (54), Rangers

1939-40: Milt Schmidt (52), Woody Dumart (43, T-2nd) & Bobby Bauer (43, T-2nd)

1937-38: Gordie Drillon (52) & Syl Apps (50), Toronto

1933-34: Charlie Conacher (52) & Joe Primeau (46), Toronto

1931-32: Busher Jackson (53) & Joe Primeau (50), Toronto

1927-28: Howie Morenz (51) & Aurele Joliat (39), Montreal

1923-24: Cy Denneny (24) & George Boucher (23), Ottawa

1921-22: Punch Broadbent (46) & Cy Denneny (39), Ottawa

Flyers finishing in top 5 in NHL scoring race

2013-14: Claude Giroux (86), 3rd

2011-12: Claude Giroux (93), 3rd

1999-00: Mark Recchi (91), 3rd

1997-98: John LeClair (87), T-5th

1996-97: John LeClair (97), T-4th

1994-95: Eric Lindros (70) T-1st

1993-94: Mark Recchi (97), T-5th

1976-77: Rick MacLeish (97) 4th

1975-76: Bobby Clarke (119), 2nd & Bill Barber (112) 4th

1973-74: Bobby Clarke (87), 5th

1972-73: Bobby Clarke (104), 2nd & Rick MacLeish (100), 4th



What channel is the 2015 NHL All-Star game on?

Randy Miller

Email the author | on January 25, 2015 at 5:59 AM, updated January 25, 2015 at 11:36 AM

Get ready for a whole bunch of scoring and not a lick of defense, because that's now the norm for NHL All-Star Games.

The scores for the last five All-Star games have been 12-9, 8-7, 12-11, 11-10 and 12-9.

Sunday's All-Star Game in Columbus will be the NHL's first in three seasons, as the one scheduled for 2012-13 was canceled due to a lockout and there wasn't one last season due to players participating in the Winter Olympics.

For the third time in a row, this year's All-Star Game will involve two teams picked through a draft — Team Foligno, captained by Mike Foligno of the host city Columbus Blue Jackets, and Team Toews, captained by Chicago Blackhawks star Jonathan Toews.

In this format, some teammates become opponents for a day. For instance, NHL scoring leader Jakub Voracek will play for Team Toews while his Flyers linemate Claude Giroux will compete for Team Foligno.

Patrik Elias of the Devils and Rick Nash of the Rangers will be on Team Toews.

Team Foligno includes Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan, a Cherry Hill, N.J. native, and St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, a Connecticut native who played for the Devils Youth Hockey Organization.



Here's look at Flames rookie Johnny Gaudreau's NHL All-Star Skills Competition experience

Randy Miller

Email the author | on January 25, 2015 at 4:09 AM, updated January 25, 2015 at 11:34 AM

Johnny Gaudreau put on a show Saturday night at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, and we'll get to see more of Johnny Hockey on Sunday, too

What a day it was for little fellow from Carneys Point, N.J., whose rookie season in the NHL just keeps getting better and better.

The 21-year-old Calgary Flames left wing was one of the stars of the skills completion at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, but that was nothing compared to great news he'd received as the event was starting.

After a lot of rumors on Friday that initially weren't true, Gaudreau indeed will be an injury replacement for Sidney Crosby in Sunday's All-Star Game after showing up to Columbus as one of six rookies invited to participate in the skills competition.

"I found out right as the skills was starting," Gaudreau told reporters, including the Calgary Herald. "It was back and forth. ... I thought Friday I really was going to play, and I guess I wasn't. I don't know what changed. I'm really excited. It's going to be a great experience for me."

Gaudreau, a member of Team Toews, showcased some of his amazing talents in the skills competition, especially in the breakaway challenge, which had fans judging six players for creativity in an Internet vote.

Gaudreau finished only fourth, but his moves on his three breakaways were very impressive.

The highlight came just after Columbus Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen's final breakaway had him skating in holding up a 7-year-old boy on skates, and to the everyone's delight, the young son of a Blue Jackets' equipment manager scored.

Three skaters later, Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek topped that by mimicking Johansen, but his "young boy" was the smallest All-Star ... the 5-foot-9, 150-pound Gaudreau, who looks like he's closer to 15 than 21.

Hamming it up, Gaudreau pretended as if he was a grade schooler who could barely skate as Voracek trailed him from behind with arms around his waist as they skated in together.

Gaudreau swung his stick back and forth for show, then with more help from Voracek, scored five-hole on Blues goalie Brian Elliott, who really wasn't trying.

"(Voracek) came up and asked me first if it was alright," Gaudreau said. "I thought it would be pretty funny to do something like that,"

On his first breakaway, Gaudreau skated in and scored on a nifty behind-the-back shot. Elliott wasn't really looking to stop the puck here either, but Gaudreau's wizardry drew big cheers.

On his second shot, Gaudreau picked up the puck with the blade of his stick while skating in, threw it high in the air and then took a baseball swing ... and a miss. The was a one-strike strikeout, but the crowd again loved it.

Gaudreau's last breakaway was his best, as this time he slide the puck back through his legs, pulled his stick through his legs and scored with a forehand shot with his stick behind his back.

Later, Gaudreau also participated in the skills challenge relay and shootout event.

"This whole weekend has been a blast so far," Gaudreau said. "I'm excited to get a chance to play in the game."


761925 Pittsburgh Penguins

All-Stars consider it a privilege to take part in game

By Jason Mackey

Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, 10:47 p.m.

Updated 5 hours ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio — St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk grew up a New York Rangers fan in Greenwich, Conn. He idolized players such as Brian Leetch and Mike Richter, and remembered watching them play in 13 NHL All-Star Games.

So don't try to tell Shattenkirk that this year's game, which is missing seven players because of injury, has lost its luster.

“These are the games that I remember watching as a kid,” Shattenkirk said. “You hope that you're providing the same sort of inspiration for other young kids along the way.”

Perception from outside the NHL might be that the all-star game is dumb, useless or both.

Or that the format, which vacillated between conference versus conference, international competition or a fantasy draft, is too gimmicky.

Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter isn't buying it.

“It's a huge honor for me to be a part of this,” Suter said after a long pause to formulate his answer. “Look at the turnout for this, all the coverage it gets. It's great for hockey to have things like this. It's too bad those guys were injured and can't make it.”

Sure, Penguins centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were among the missing. Both are out with lower-body injuries.

Ditto for Kings forward Tanner Pearson, Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson and goalies Pekka Rinne (Predators), Jimmy Howard (Red Wings) and Sergei Bobrovsky (Blue Jackets).

But that, Predators defenseman Shea Weber said, provides an opportunity for younger players such as his teammate, Filip Forsberg, who filled in for Malkin.

“If guys are seriously hurt, they're not going to come,” Weber said. “If they're not (seriously hurt), it's going to cost them a game after. Regardless, it's a chance for other guys to showcase themselves.

“I think it's still special for a lot of guys to be named to it. It's an event that everyone wants to come to.”

Don't trying calling this a wasted weekend to Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno, a first-time selection who was smiling from ear to ear during Friday's media day.

“There are so many storylines to a year,” Foligno said. “This is kind of an amalgamation of all of that. It makes for a great time for everyone. To see the speed and skill of different players is pretty amazing.”

Lightning center Steven Stamkos said what many were thinking — that sure, who wouldn't rather be on a beach somewhere … or fishing, skiing or just relaxing?

But careers are short. Opportunities are few. And this is actually a good time to get to know some guys around the league.

“It's an honor to be an all-star,” Stamkos said. “You don't know how many chances you're going to have to make it. When you get a chance to meet the guys on a personal level, from a player's perspective, that's a pretty cool experience.

“It's also an event for the fans. Hopefully we put on a good show for them.”

Tribune Review LOADED: 01.26.2015


Rossi: Crosby's debt to NHL paid in full

By Rob Rossi

Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, 10:42 p.m.

Updated 7 hours ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Sidney Crosby's first decade in the NHL is almost over. And here is what he needs to know: Being Sidney Crosby isn't his job anymore.

Just being Sidney is all any of us should ask of “The Next One” who became “The One.”

Being Sidney Crosby meant breathing life into hockey after the NHL attempted to suffocate the game at its highest level. Being Sidney Crosby meant resuscitating a Penguins franchise that was on life support while calling a decaying Igloo home.

As Crosby became the world's finest player, Being Sidney Crosby came to mean raising the NHL and Penguins from their respective deathbeds. Either feat should have exhausted Crosby. Both tasks were too much to ask of any “Kid.”

Now a man at 27, Crosby can take the deep breath he is long overdue. His Penguins are perennial contenders. More importantly, they're financially sound, with 360 consecutive home sellouts and supreme regional TV ratings. His league is thriving, topping $4 billion in revenue, and working peacefully with its players' union to finally bring promise of tangible growth.

Being Sidney Crosby wasn't necessary here this weekend. Crosby missed the All-Star festivities because of an injury, and the good people of Columbus, Ohio, hardly seemed to notice. There were a few fans donning Crosby jerseys among the thousands who turned Nationwide Boulevard into an outdoor hockey carnival over the weekend. There also were a lot of people supporting Chicago's Jonathan Toews, Philadelphia's Claude Giroux and Montreal's Carey Price.

None of those players is on Crosby's level outside of hockey. Within it, however, those three players are stars in their own regard.

That's important. That's crucial, actually.

For too long, the NHL was all about Crosby and the player destined to become his historical rival, Washington's Alex Ovechkin. Coming back from the 2004-05 lockout, the league quickly became the Sid and Ovi Show.

It was awesome: Bird versus Magic on a smaller scale.

No matter where they finish among the all-time scorers, Crosby and Ovechkin each deserve the everlasting gratitude of all hockey fans for being willing to carry the flag for the NHL when nobody else could.

They were the best and most marketable players at a time when hockey needed superstars. Their duels for individual awards and team success became the narrative upon which the NHL constructed a story of recovery from a nearly disastrous lost season.

However, Crosby always faced more pressure than Ovechkin. He faced it for the Penguins, who needed a new arena to avoid ruin or extinction. He faced it for the NHL, which needed a North American to sell to North American sports consumers.

Crosby closed that sale by scoring the two most important goals of the past 30 years, markers that made the NHL a big deal again.

His shootout winner at the first Winter Classic provided a snow-globe moment that transformed a one-off gimmick into an NHL staple. On Saturday, the NHL announced three outdoor games for 2016, bringing the total since the first Classic to 16.

A World Cup also is coming in 2016. A Ryder Cup-like competition will happen in 2018. Each of those are slated to happen every four years, possibly driving the NHL out of the Olympics — ironic, considering neither event would be possible without Crosby's iconic Golden Goal at the 2010 Winter Games.

The NHL returned from those Games with Crosby established as a legend in his own time and an understanding that international competitions generated giant TV audiences.

Know what else draws a big number on TV? Being Sidney Crosby. That's why Root Sports Pittsburgh dominates regional hockey ratings. That's why the Penguins play so often on national TV.

Even if commissioner Gary Bettman always resisted committing to Crosby being the face of hockey, instead insisting Crosby was “one of our biggest stars,” it was always true that the NHL benefited as much from Crosby as did the Penguins.

It's also always been true that Crosby had to serve two masters: his franchise, and its league. Crosby needs to serve himself. He's certainly given enough of himself to fulfill a handful of careers.

There is a risk to all parties in Crosby continuing to be “The Man.” For the Penguins, it is relying on his (slightly) diminishing skill to elevate lesser players instead of reloading around him. For the NHL, it is not developing a torchbearer to serve as the guiding light of the next generation.

There is a danger for Crosby, too.

“Sometimes when you have attention, you can be lost,” Ovechkin said. “You just want to not think about the game. You want to think about doing some different stuff.

“Me and Sidney, and all the guys who had that attention (and) been in this position, think, ‘What do I have to say, what do I have to do off the ice?' ”

The answer is not as much as before. Crosby and Ovechkin have already done their part. They were the vitamins C and A for league that needed nourishment.

The NHL is now strong. So are the Penguins.

Sidney, in your next decade, just be you.



Chips in pucks, jerseys could alter how NHL games are analyzed

By Jason Mackey

Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, 10:30 p.m.

Updated 6 hours ago

Welcome to the Stuffed Puck Era.

The NHL debuted tracking chips inside pucks and jerseys over All-Star weekend here in Columbus. And although the experiment, spearheaded by sports technology giant Sportvision, is in its embryonic stages, it potentially could change the way hockey games are watched and analyzed.

“We want to create a digital record of what happens on the ice,” said NHL chief operating officer John Collins. “One that's consistent across the league, that's highly accurate and that lets fans go as deep as they want to go.”

What Sportvision essentially did was hollow out a hockey puck, blend chemicals to match the existing rubber and install special chip to link it to 10 infrared cameras at the top of Nationwide Arena.

Those cameras track a signal emitted from the puck and players' jerseys, where the tracking strip was inserted into a slot between the shoulder blades.

The data collected, then translated onto a TV screen, looks like a hockey video game from the early 1990s. The puck is red. The referees are purple. And the players, represented as circles, are identified by number and team color scheme.

“This is the kind of thing, at home, the fan can use as a second-screen experience,” Sportvision CEO Hank Adams said. “It isn't going to replace a broadcast feed, obviously. But it's the kind of thing where you get the whole picture of what's happening on the ice.”

It's a crucial concept for a league entering the age of analytics. And one whose data gathering still is predicated on what the eye can see and record a split second before something else happens.

Technologically sound

Sportvision is no stranger to this stuff. The company produces the yellow line you see during football games or the PITCHf/x data in professional baseball. It also did the glowing puck in hockey, an experiment so unsuccessful that even Adams laughed about it.

Pucks cost about $100 each. That figure will drop if the NHL is happy with the trial run and moves into mass production.

If a puck leaves the ice — unlike what happened when glowing pucks were visible around arenas — tracking can be turned off.

“I think the idea is this is a nice souvenir if it goes into the crowd,” Adams said.

Replicating the mix of chemicals in an official NHL puck was a challenge. Sportvision studied temperature retention and what Adams called “crush recovery” — essentially to make sure the pucks still feel and behave the same.

“From a player's standpoint, you throw this puck on the ice along with a standard puck, and they really won't be able to tell the difference,” Adams said. “There's no extra rebound. It's not livelier. It's not dead. It's not heavier. It is basically the same puck from their standpoint.”

The strip — about an inch wide and 3 inches long — is undetectable for players, as it slides into a piece of fabric on the jersey like a nametag.

Where from here?

The system is not perfect. For instance, since there's no chip in players' sticks, it's impossible to record individual possession time.

If Sportvision can figure out a way to track how long a single player has the puck, it potentially could mean the end of Corsi For Percentage, an

advanced hockey stat that expresses success in shots via percentage and one of the more popular stats in the analytics movement.

Scenarios the tracking system can improve include zone time — how long the Penguins, for instance, would have the puck in the opposing team's end of the ice — and video reviews.

The tracking would pick up any sudden direction change of the puck.

Broadcasters briefed on the technology are intrigued by what it can offer on matchups, Adams said. For Penguins fans, it easily could explain what line the Flyers use to defend Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.

“To understand the chess match,” Adams said.

The info also is a bit of a Pandora's box for players. Are their shifts too long? Are they productive? Are they constantly around the puck and thus valuable enough for a general manager to employ?

It could become too much information and could impact contract negotiations negatively.

Which is why Mathieu Schneider, special assistant to the executive director of the NHL Players Association, is taking a cautious approach.

“These are the discussions we're having with the players right now, like, ‘Will coaches coach by statistics sitting on the bench with an iPad?' ” Schneider said. “There will need to be that sense from the guys that it's not going to get overused or used improperly.

“Guys are excited about the upside, but we'll wade into it cautiously and see where it goes.”



NHL All-Star Game notebook: Columbus, Johansen make strong showing

By Jason Mackey

Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, 9:51 p.m.

Updated 6 hours ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Many players talked after the All-Star Game about the statement Columbus made as an NHL city.

“You can tell that Columbus is becoming a hockey city,” Kings forward Anze Kopitar said.

The Blue Jackets' best player, forward Ryan Johansen, made a statement of his own.

Johansen finished with two goals and two assists Sunday to pick up MVP honors.

That, coupled with his performance Saturday in the Skills Competition — where he feted the national champion Ohio State Buckeyes and paid tribute to “The Mighty Ducks” — cemented him as a fan favorite.

“This weekend is definitely a confidence booster,” Johansen said. “(I'm) obviously very happy to be a part of the All-Star Game and stuff, but it's important to not get too high, not get too low and just have that even keel where you're just a humble person.”

Following a messy, offseason contract dispute, Johansen has 17 goals and 43 points in 45 games.

Johansen became the first player to win MVP in his home building since Montreal's Alex Kovalev in 2009.

More milestones

New York Islanders forward John Tavares became the first player to score four goals in an All-Star game since Dany Heatley in 2003. Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux did it when the game was in Pittsburgh in 1990.

Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek tied Lemieux for most points in an all-star game with six. Lemieux had three goals and three assists in 1988. Voracek had the same scoring line.

Poor Phil

Toronto's Phil Kessel has endured so much, the firing of former Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, the questions about his attitude and cooperation with the media.

Now this.

In a game that included 29 goals, 92 shots and 81 points, Kessel was a minus-4 and didn't record a point. An assist was taken away from him in a postgame scoring change.

Thirty-two of 35 position players scored at least one point.

Major title

Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno was referred to as the unofficial mayor of Columbus. He doesn't mind.

“I signed here, and when you make that kind of a commitment for that long of a time, you're proud of what you've accomplished and the team that you play for, and I wanted the guys to see that,” Foligno said. “I wanted them to see the city, and all the comments that came from the guys, they love it here.

“A lot of times you come in and get a dinner and get to bed and get ready for the game. So they don't get to see all the people and the things to do here, and I think they really enjoyed themselves.”

No hits

Predictably, Sunday's game included zero hits and penalties.

Only when a fake scrum broke out in the second period and Philadelphia's Claude Giroux playfully shoved teammate Jakub Voracek following his goal

midway through the third did any players actually make contact with one another.



Penguins' Fleury surrenders 7 goals in 1 period of NHL All-Star Game loss

By Jason Mackey

Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, 9:33 p.m.

Updated 6 hours ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Whether it was the seven goals he allowed or the boos cascading down from Blue Jackets fans inside Nationwide Arena, Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury probably won't be counting the days until his next NHL All-Star Game appearance.

“It was a tough one, that's for sure,” Fleury said.

Fleury allowed six goals in 9:22, and seven total in one period.

From odd-man breaks galore to unobstructed paths to the net, Fleury had a .563 save percentage and a 27.00 goals-against average.

It was so tough, Fleury insisted, that the second period didn't feel like 20 minutes.

More like a couple of days.

“It was a slow period,” Fleury said. “Felt (like it took) forever.”

Team Toews topped Team Foligno, 17-12, in what became the highest-scoring NHL All-Star Game in history. The 11 second-period goals also set a record.

Defenseman Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild beat Fleury from the left circle 24 seconds into the period — an omen of what was to come. It looked like Fleury barely saw the shot.

Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin took advantage of more poor defense. Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf passed to Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues. Tarasenko left a between-the-legs drop pass to Getzlaf, who fed Seguin for an easy score.

Forward Rick Nash of the New York Rangers got the third on Fleury — all before the 5-minute mark of the period — when he took a pass from Jonathan Toews and beat Fleury on his doorstep. Even Fleury's trademark poke-check didn't work.

Nashville's Filip Forsberg, John Tavares (two goals) of the New York Islanders and Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek also scored.

Fleury was visibly peeved on the ice, and he didn't deny his frustration afterward.

“You want to have some fun, but you're a goalie, and it's frustrating when (the puck) goes in,” Fleury said. “I laughed for a few. Then I started to cringe.”

Not with his hands over his ears, however, although that would have been perfectly acceptable.

The Blue Jackets' fans let Fleury have it, an apparent holdover from last spring's playoff series.

“It's a good thing because we beat them in the playoffs last year,” Fleury shot back. “I guess that's why, I think.

“I wish I would have made a few more stops to make it a little more quiet.”

Fleury was asked what he remembered about the playoffs from last year. His answer: “Winning,” complete with a big, wide grin.

What does he remember about the crowd?

“I remember them being quiet at the end when we won,” Fleury said.

Fleury was in rare form after this one, as playful as ever. He joked that he may have bet the over on the number of goals scored.

But the booing was tough to ignore, Lightning forward Steven Stamkos said.

“It's tough for the goalies in general,” Stamkos said. “The fans were giving it to (Fleury), too. In an all-star game, you don't see that much. That just shows how passionate they are and knowledgeable about the game. I don't think guys are going to be complaining about getting razzed at the All-Star game.”



Marc-Andre Fleury takes All-Star Game jeers in stride

January 26, 2015 12:00 AM

By Sam Werner / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Yes, Blue Jackets fans. Marc-Andre Fleury heard you.

He heard your boos when he was introduced before Sunday's NHL All-Star Game. He heard the heckling after he gave up seven goals on 16 shots in the defense-optional game and he heard the taunting, drawn-out "Fleury" chants coming from the upper deck.

Not that it really bothered him.

"I guess that's a good thing because we beat them in the playoffs last year," Fleury said with a smile, referring to the Penguins' 4-2 win against the Blue Jackets in the first round of last year's playoffs.

"I wish I would've made a few more stops to make it a little more quiet. But that's fine, they had their fun, I guess."

It's hard to fault Fleury for the stat line. There wasn't much defense being played Sunday in Team Toews' 17-12 win against Team Foligno, Fleury's team.

It's not even as if Fleury, the Penguins' lone representative this weekend, could've told the guys in front of him to pick it up.

"They're not going to play defense anyways," he said.

Fleury played the second period for Team Foligno and gave up his first goal on the first shot he faced, a wrist shot from Minnesota's Ryan Suter, just 24 seconds in. The second shot also got past him less than a minute later when Dallas' Tyler Seguin capped off a series of barely-defended tic-tac-toe passes with an easy goal.

From that point, any time Fleury touched the puck -- on a routine stop or even just to corral it behind the boards -- he got the Bronx cheers.

"In an all-star game, you don't see that much," Tampa Bay center and Fleury's Team Foligno teammate Steven Stamkos said. "It just shows how passionate they are about the game. I don't think guys are going to complain about getting razzed at the All-Star Game."

Fleury gave up six goals in the first 10 minutes, but then held Team Toews out of the net until a minute left in the period when Islanders center John Tavares got the seventh against him.

"That period, it felt like forever," Fleury said.

"I was getting a little mad. You want to have some fun, [but] when you're a goalie, it's frustrating when it goes in."

All in all, though, Fleury was in good spirits after the game, joking and smiling about how much he enjoyed his second All-Star Game.

"It was a good weekend," he said. "I had some fun hanging out with the guys."

Of course, this atmosphere, even with a little light razzing from the fans, was much less tense than the previous time Fleury was here, for that playoff series in April. What does Fleury remember about that crowd, the one that was seeing its team in the playoffs for the second time in franchise history?

"I remember them being quiet at the end when we won," Fleury said with a grin.

So, yes, Blue Jackets fans, Marc-Andre Fleury heard you Sunday night. He just also has a pretty good response.

Post Gazette LOADED: 01.26.2015


All-Star Game notebook: Hometown favorite Ryan Johansen selected MVP

January 26, 2015 12:00 AM

By Sam Werner / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Columbus center Ryan Johansen took advantage of a little home cooking to claim the MVP award in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game.

Not that Johansen didn't have a good game. Just about every offensive player did in Team Jonathan Toews' 17-12 win against Team Nick Foligno Sunday.

Johansen, the top pick in the All-Star draft Friday night, finished with two goals and two assists, an exceptional scoreline on most nights. But Sunday, in the defense-free All-Star Game, he was dwarfed by a few performances on the winning side.

Flyers forward Jakub Voracek had three goals and three assists for a game-high six points. Bruins center Patrice Bergeron and Toews, the team captain and Blackhawks center, had five points a piece. Islanders center John Tavares topped all scorers with four goals.

Johansen, though, had the advantage of playing in front of his home crowd. He and Blue Jackets teammate Foligno consistently got the biggest cheers of the night, while any opponents -- particularly former Blue Jackets center Rick Nash -- got the harsher side of the crowd.

Columbus passes test

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had nothing but praise for Columbus as a host city for the weekend's festivities. This was the city's first crack at hosting an All-Star Game, but Nationwide Arena did hold the draft eight years ago.

"Columbus was a great host for the draft in 2007 and is showing once again that it is terrific at hosting high-visibility events," Bettman said.

Nationwide Arena opened in 2000 and just played host to its first All-Star Game 15 years later. Consol Energy Center, opened in 2010, has yet to host the event. Next year's is slated for Nashville, with no plans beyond that.

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said he would love to see the event come to Pittsburgh.

"It's awesome," Fleury said. "I think the city was buzzing. So many hockey fans come to town, it's just a fun weekend."

Defense optional

The 29 goals scored Sunday made it the highest-scoring All-Star Game in NHL history. It topped the 2001 All-Star Game, in which the North American All-Stars beat the World All-Stars, 14-12, in Denver.

"There was not too much defense," Capitals center Alex Ovechkin said. "I feel sorry for the goalies."

Each of the six goalies who played in the game allowed at least four goals, with Fleury having the worst game, allowing seven to get past him.

Friendly scuffle

The most "serious" moment of the game came early in the third period when players from both teams gathered for a scrum in front of Team Toews' net. It would be a regular occurrence in most games, but a rarity in an All-Star Game. Of course, even during some light pushing and shoving, players could be seen smiling and looking up at the video board with a grin.

Post Gazette LOADED: 01.26.2015

761932 San Jose Sharks

Sharks' Burns scores, but Team Foligno loses 17-12 to Team Toews in NHL All-Star game

By Curtis Pashelka

[email protected]

Posted: 01/25/2015 05:12:38 PM PST

Updated: 01/25/2015 06:09:34 PM PST

COLUMBUS, OH - JANUARY 25: Brent Burns #88 of the San Jose Sharks and Team Foligno vies for the puck with Jonathan Toews #19 of the Chicago Blackhawks and Ryan Johansen, of the hometown Columbus Blue Jackets, had two goals for the losing team but still won the MVP award in voting by fans on Twitter. The NHL has determined the teams by a number of geographic and divisional setups over the 60 years. Just like on ponds around the globe, these lineups were determined by a player draft on Friday night.

With the game 6-6 early in the second period of the defense-is-optional game, goals by Rick Nash, Filip Forsberg, Tavares and Jake Voracek in a span of 5 minutes and 14 seconds gave Team Toews a 10-6 lead. Tavares also scored with one minute left in the second period as Team Toews had an 11-8 lead after 40 minutes.

Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers, and formerly of the Blue Jackets, scored three goals and tied a game record with six points. That mark was set by Mario Lemieux.

Tavares' four goals gave him a share of the All-Star record that was established by Wayne Gretzky in 1983, and equaled by Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

Burns scored his first career all-star goal with 1:40 left in the third period, as he one-timed a pass from Alex Ovechkin on a two-on-one for the game's final goal.

Burns, in his second All-Star game appearance, was with Kevin Shattenkirk of the St. Louis Blues as one defensive pair for Team Foligno. But like most other defensemen in the game, Burns wasn't afraid to join the rush or play deep in the offensive zone.

Burns close to scoring with 1:27 left in the first period. Parked in front of Team Toews goalie Roberto Luongo, Burns had the puck on his stick, but fired a wrist shot above the net. A few seconds later, Tavares scored the first of his four goals.

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford allowed four goals in the second period, but also made 14 saves to help Team Toews take control.

Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston's Patrice Bergeron. Dallas' Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists, Forsberg of Nashville, and Nash of the New York Rangers -- another former Columbus star -- both scored twice, and Florida's Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.

For Team Foligno, led by Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno, Chicago's Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist apiece, Philadelphia's Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists, and Washington's Ovechkin added three assists.

The wild, no-defense exhibition even featured a fake fight to go with goals in bunches, providing some energy to a capacity crowd of 18,901 on the game's first visit to Ohio's capital city. Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary's Mark Giordano and Chicago's Brent Seabrook.


It was fitting that Toews scored the goal that shattered the record. He held off Burns to find the net with a rising shot with 5:39 left.


Tavares had two goals, Voracek notched his second, and Ryan Suter, Nash, Forsberg and Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf each notched their first for Toews.

Steve Stamkos tallied twice in the period for Team Foligno.


Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, the only Penguins player on either roster after Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin stayed home due to injuries, had a particularly forgettable period. He gave up six goals on the first 10 shots he faced.

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.26.2015


NHL All-Star Game, Jan. 25: Burns’ goal caps scoring festival

Staff and News Services

Updated 7:46 pm, Sunday, January 25, 2015

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An NHL game with virtually no hitting certainly didn’t lack for scoring punch Sunday.

Though his team didn’t win, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns capped the highest-scoring All-Star Game ever with a third-period goal in Team Toews’ 17-12 win over Team Foligno at Nationwide Arena.

“We had so many good players on each team,” said Team Toews forward Jake Voracek (Flyers), who tied Mario Lemieux’s All-Star Game record with six points.. “There’s going to be a lot of goals.”

How much offense was there? Team Toews forward John Tavares (Islanders) wasn’t even the MVP despite matching an All-Star record with four goals. That honor went to Team Foligno’s Ryan Johansen (Blue Jackets), who had two goals and two assists.

“It’s been really cool. It hasn’t hit me yet for sure,” Johansen said. “This is something I’ll remember for a very long time.”

Tavares’ four goals gave him a share of the All-Star record that was set by Wayne Gretzky in 1983, then equaled by Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

“I’ll take it,” Tavares said. “It’s pretty cool. It’s something you don’t really think about going into a game like this. You go out in this game and you just try to enjoy it, put on a little bit of a show for the fans and create some opportunities.”

In addition to goals in bunches, the wild, no-defense exhibition also featured a fake fight.

Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Team Foligno’s Alex Ovechkin (Capitals) and captain Nick Foligno (Blue Jackets) pretended to get into it with Team Toews’ Mark Giordano (Flames) and Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks).


As for the real action, the game produced the most goals in the event’s 60-year history, eclipsing the 26-goal burst in North America’s 14-12 victory over the World in 2001.

With the score tied 4-4 after the first period, Team Toews broke it open with six goals in 9½ minutes in its seven-goal second period.

Winning captain Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks) had a goal and four assists, as did teammate Patrice Bergeron (Bruins). Tyler Seguin (Stars) had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg (Predators) and Rick Nash (Rangers) both scored twice, and Aaron Ekblad (Panthers) and Vladimir Tarasenko (Blues) each had four assists.

For Team Foligno, Patrick Kane (Blackhawks) and Steven Stamkos (Lightning) had two goals and an assist apiece, Claude Giroux (Flyers) had a goal and two assists, and Ovechkin added three assists.

Foligno was asked what he learned from being a captain of the team he helped pick.


San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 01.26.2015


Record 29 goals made in 2015 NHL All-Star game

Staff

January 25, 2015, 8:30 pm

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It was enough to give a goalie nightmares: A record 29 goals, 25 players with at least two points and eight with at least four.


John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star game.


How much offense was there? Tavares wasn't even the MVP, although that might have been due to a little home-cooking. Ryan Johansen of the host Columbus Blue Jackets had two goals and two assists for the losing side and was selected as the MVP in voting by fans on Twitter.


"I didn't come to the game trying to get the car," said Tavares, referring to the prize given to the MVP. "You get four goals, and obviously you think you have an opportunity. But Ryan had a good game. He had a couple of nice goals, made some nice plays."


"It's meant a lot, being a part of it - seeing the fans and how much they've been enjoying all the festivities," he said. "We did a two-hour (autograph) signing. Everybody just seemed to be having a great time. All the kids were laughing and having a lot of fun."





Captain Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal and four assists, as did Boston's Patrice Bergeron. Dallas' Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg of Nashville, and Rick Nash of the New York Rangers - another former Columbus star - both scored twice, and Florida's Aaron Ekblad and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko each had four assists.




The fake fight provided some energy to a capacity crowd of 18,901 on the game's first visit to Columbus. Late in the second period, during a scrum in front of the net, Ovechkin and Foligno pretended to mix it up with Calgary's Mark Giordano and Chicago's Brent Seabrook.





With the game tied at 4 after the first period, Team Toews broke it open with six goals in 9 1/2 minutes - and a record seven in the frame.



Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, the only Penguins player in action after Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin stayed home due to injuries, had a particularly forgettable period. He gave up six goals on the first 10 shots he faced.

"I wish I would have made a few more stops," he said. Then, referring to the heckling he got from Columbus fans, he added, "So they would have been more quiet."


761935 St Louis Blues

Blues contribute in highest-scoring All-Star Game

4 hours ago • By Jeremy P. Rutherford

COLUMBUS, Ohio • Because of the NHL lockout and the Olympics the past two seasons, it had been three years since the league last held an All-Star Game.

In case anyone had forgotten, Team Toews and Team Foligno reminded a crowd of 18,901 at Nationwide Arena on Sunday that there’s no defense and lots of offense.

The 29 goals in Team Toews’ 17-12 victory set the All-Star Game record, and with four for the winning club, John Tavares of the New York Islanders tied the mark for most in the game.

The Blues put their stamp on it, too, with Vladimir Tarasenko netting four assists for Team Toews and Kevin Shattenkirk picking up a goal and an assist for Team Foligno.

“I was joking around on the bench, ‘I’m on the score sheet,’” Shattenkirk said. “They can say that I actually played in this game, there’s proof. It was a good memory to have.”

All but three skaters — LA’s Anze Kopitar, Toronto’s Phil Kessel and Buffalo’s Zemgus Girgensons — registered a point, so that tells the story of what kind of night it was for the goalies.

The Blues’ Brian Elliott entered the in the third period, opposite former teammate Jaroslav Halak, and allowed six goals on 15 shots. All six netminders in the game gave up at least four.

“Yeah, it’s always tough for the goalies in those,” Elliott said. “But you’ve got to have fun with it, try to make a couple of saves. I’m just kind of amazed at some of the moves you see out there ... special players.”

Tarasenko started the game on a line with Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf and Dallas’ Tyler Seguin, a threesome that had combined for 67 goals and 149 points for their respective teams to date this season.

“It was pretty good chemistry,” said Tarasenko, who set up Seguin on both of his goals and Getzlaf on his.

Early in the game, Tarasenko came in contact with Shattenkirk and gave the defenseman a playful job.

“I tried to call him for a fight, but he didn’t want to,” Tarasenko joked. “We need each on the Blues, so it’s fine.”

The two skated away smiling.

“He was trying to mix it up with me a little bit,” Shattenkirk said. “I was kind of hoping I’d get him on a one-on-one and see if I could maybe bump him a little bit, but I didn’t get that opportunity.”

No, but Shattenkirk did get a chance to show off his offense. He tied the score 3-3 with 5 minutes, 12 seconds left in the first period.

“I was just sitting in front, waiting, hoping the puck was going to get there,” Shattenkirk said. “I fanned on the shot, otherwise I think (goalie Roberto Luongo) would have saved it.”

There wasn’t much fanning in the second period, as the offenses rung up four goals in the first 2:27.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury of Pittsburgh surrendered four goals on the first six shots he faced. Fans in Columbus cheered when Fleury stopped anything. What would they have done in, say, Philadelphia?

“Might have got an egg on my head,” Fleury joked.

Team Toews led 11-8 after two periods, and at the intermission Columbus’ Ryan Johansen, the eventual MVP, called it a “close, intense game.”

It was far from that, but Shattenkirk said that’s what the All-Star Game is about.

“I think you want to showcase the skill,” he said. “It’s more about letting those breakaways happen ... as much creativity as possible.”

Tell that to Elliott, who came into the game cold in the third period.

“There was no room on the bench, so I was in the hallway and in (the locker room),” Elliott said. “I tried to stretch out so you don’t pull anything on the ice.”

Tavares pulled a fast one on Elliott 6:13 into the third period for his fourth goal of the game, joining a club that includes Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Late in the game, Tarasenko played on a line with Tavares.

“We know he was one goal from NHL All-Star record, so that’s why I didn’t try to take my breakaway ... I tried to set him up,” Tarasenko said.

That record wasn’t broken, but another one was. With 5:39 left, Jonathan Toews scored the game’s 27th goal on Elliott, breaking the All-Star record for goals in a game, a mark that was set in 2001.

“Doesn’t really matter,” Elliott said. “I don’t think you ever remember the scores of these games. You remember having fun with the guys. That’s what it’s all about.”

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.26.2015

761936 St Louis Blues

Blues' Vladimir Tarasenko: A star in the making

By JEREMY P. RUTHERFORD

St. Louis Post-DispatchJanuary 25, 2015

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mere minutes remain in regulation, the Blues are either down a goal or tied and all eyes inside Scottrade Center are searching for No. 91.

"Really?" says Vladimir Tarasenko, who wears the numerals and the pressure well.

In his third NHL season, the Russian right winger has become the Blues' go-to player. His 24 goals, which rank fifth in the league, include four game-winners and five that were either scored in overtime or the last 10 minutes of the third period when the difference in the score was one goal or less.

The Blues have not seen the likes of Tarasenko since Brett Hull roamed the rink in St. Louis. Tarasenko is on pace for 42 goals, a far cry from Hull's career-high 86, but gone are those high-scoring days in the NHL and plus, he's just getting started.

"He is unselfish, has a very high hockey IQ and has a cannon for a shot," Hull said. "He's going to be a star because of his skills."

In 46 games this season, Tarasenko has already set personal bests in goals and points (47), the type of production that will see him, at just 23 years old, play in his first All-Star Game Sunday at Nationwide Arena.

Surveying everyone from fellow NHL stars to league scouts, Tarasenko's trajectory is one that many believe will continue trending upward.

"He's a player with good patience," Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk said. "He has lots of skill and he's working hard to improve every year. In my opinion, he's still a little bit shy. But he just started being happy with what he's doing."

"His ability to shoot the puck really separates him from a lot of players in the league," said a Western Conference scout. "He's still a young player that's finding his level of play in the NHL. Everyone has that breakout season. This is the year."

Tarasenko arrived at the Columbus airport at 11 p.m. Thursday but despite what one might think would be a desolate terminal at that time of night, he was mobbed by scores of autograph seekers.

Team (Jonathan) Toews wanted a piece of Tarasenko, too, selecting him in the eighth round of the All-Star draft and then sticking him in four of the seven skills competition events on Saturday night.

"It's going to be a really good weekend," said Tarsenko. "I can't wait to play there."

Tarasenko is slowly embracing his All-Star status. He has no choice after scoring some of the sickest goals so far of the 2014-15 season.

If one had to rate Tarasenko's finest, his marker against the New York Rangers Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden would register at the top. If not, take your pick of tallies against the New Jersey Devils the next couple of nights.

But Tarasenko's personal favorite is perhaps one that few would expect. It was his second of the night in a 5-2 win over the LA Kings Dec. 16 at Scottrade Center.

The 5-on-3 goal put the Blues ahead 3-2 with seven minutes left in regulation, and after the club scored again, and he put in an empty-netter for the hat-trick.

"Most emotional goal this season," Tarasenko said of the power-play goal. "We win this game against Stanley Cup champions, that's why."

Asked about Tarasenko's bankroll of brilliant offensive plays this season, Datsyuk joked: "He scored highlight goals? Of course, you can see he enjoys the skill. Also, like what he say, he is not the only one. It's the line working together and the team helped too."

And that's why while accepting his growing role, Tarasenko is a bit reluctant to steal the spotlight.

"You can say 'I, I' ... but first of all it's going to frustrate your teammates," he said. "They're going to think, 'Oh we play together and he's just talking about himself.'

"When we win the game, I'm happy about it. When I feel like a winner, it's an unbelievable feeling. If you lose, you feel like a loser. You can score three goals and lose the game and you feel like a loser for the next couple days. All the stuff is team success."

That's not to say Tarasenko doesn't get frustrated, and even visibly angry, when he doesn't produce individually.

"If you don't push yourself hard, you don't have greatest skills (possible)," Tarasenko said. "You can't be like, 'OK, I lose here, I can play better the next time.' I'm going to be (ticked) every time you lose to somebody and try to win every moment."

Tarasenko has two seven-game point streaks this season. The longest he has gone without scoring is five games, which has happened twice. It once led to a visit from the Hall of Famer.

"I just encourage him to shoot more and be patient," Hull said. "Goals come from hard work, not by accident."

Tarasenko was floored.

"It's unreal for me when I walk out after a game and Brett Hull come to me and tell me, 'Don't worry, goals are coming,' " he said. "It's a really good push when a guy like this says something, especially for a young guy like me. I need to work more, more, more."

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock says that Tarasenko is one of only six or seven players in the NHL who could score 50 goals.

"But one of the problems with Vladi, and it's a good problem on a team, is he's very unselfish," Hitchcock said. "He has as much value in passing the puck as shooting the puck. He makes great plays, he's got great vision off the rush. He's a very humble guy that wants to include other people."

So with the game on line, in the closing seconds, don't always look for the shot to come off the stick of No. 91.

"Sometimes it's not a goal, it's a pass or one good touch," Tarasenko said. "I just try to do my best. I like games when it's pressure, when the pressure level is high.

"It's all about experience. You just feel coaches trust you, teammates trust you and sometimes when you go on ice for game-deciding shootout, they say, 'Hey, let's go, you can do this.' If they trust in you, you're going to be an unbelievable player."

Now an All-Star, Tarasenko is on his way.

"Blues fans have a special talent they get to see every night," the Western Conference scout said. "He is turning into a superstar. He has that ability to change games in a split second. That's something special that superstars have. That's what he has."

Belleville News-Democrat LOADED: 01.26.2015

761937 Tampa Bay Lightning

Stamkos scores twice in record NHL All-Star Game

Times wires

Sunday, January 25, 2015 10:42pm

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was enough to give a goalie nightmares: a record 29 goals, 25 players with at least two points — including the Lightning's Steven Stamkos — and eight with at least four.

John Tavares of the Islanders matched a record with four goals and Team Toews beat Stamkos' Team Foligno 17-12 on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star Game.

"It was a fun game," said a smiling Stamkos, who had two goals and an assist. "Tough one for the goalies, obviously, with the amount of skill out there. … Obviously a lot of goals. The fans were probably happy about that."

How much offense was there? Tavares wasn't even the MVP, though that might have been due to a little home cooking. Ryan Johansen of the host Blue Jackets had two goals and two assists for the losing side and was selected as the MVP in voting by fans on Twitter.

Tavares, playing for the winning team captained by the Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews, was gracious about the balloting.

"I didn't come to the game trying to get the car," said Tavares, referring to the prize given to the MVP. "You get four goals and obviously you think you have an opportunity. But Ryan had a good game. He had a couple of nice goals, made some nice plays."

Johansen, a budding star for the Blue Jackets who started the season with a contract holdout, was touched by the fans he encountered during the weekend.

"It's meant a lot, being a part of it, seeing the fans and how much they've been enjoying all the festivities," he said.

The goal total was the most in the event's 60 years, eclipsing the 26 in North America's 14-12 victory over the World team in 2001.

Tavares' four goals gave him a share of the All-Star record that was established by Wayne Gretzky in 1983 and equaled by Mario Lemieux (1990), Vincent Damphousse (1991), Mike Gartner (1993) and Dany Heatley (2003).

The Flyers' Jakub Voracek had six points on three goals and three assists to tie another mark set by Penguins legend Lemieux.

Stamkos and the Blackhawks' Patrick Kane shared the scoring lead for the team captained by the Blue Jackets' Nick Foligno. Kane also had two goals and an assist.

Foligno was asked what he learned from being a captain of the team he helped pick.


Toews scored the goal that broke the goals record with 5:39 left in the game and said he was just happy to silence the cannon that fires every time the home team — Foligno's, in this case — scores at Nationwide Arena.

"It's loud enough that it gets on your nerves pretty quickly and especially when they score 12 or so goals," he said.

With the score tied at 4 after the first period, Team Toews broke it open with six goals in 91/2 minutes in the second period and a record seven in all in the frame, all against the Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury.

"I wish I would have made a few more stops," Fleury said.

Then, referring to the heckling he got from Columbus fans, Fleury added, "So they would have been more quiet."

Team Toews 4 7 6 17

Team Foligno 4 4 4 12

First Period—1, Team Foligno, Vrbata 1 (Nugent-Hopkins), 3:09. 2, Team Toews, Getzlaf 1 (Tarasenko, Faulk), 6:33. 3, Team Toews, Voracek 1 (Toews, Ekblad), 9:51. 4, Team Foligno, Johansen 1 (N.Foligno, Shattenkirk), 11:05. 5, Team Toews, Bergeron 1 (Seguin, Elias), 12:17. 6, Team Foligno, Shattenkirk 1 (Nugent-Hopkins, Vrbata), 14:48. 7, Team Foligno, Johansen 2 (Ovechkin, Byfuglien), 16:24. 8, Team Toews, Tavares 1 (Bergeron, Ekblad), 19:03. Penalties—None.

Second Period—9, Team Toews, Suter 1 (Tarasenko, Seguin), :24. 10, Team Foligno, Giroux 1 (P.Kane), :32. 11, Team Toews, Seguin 1 (Getzlaf, Tarasenko), 1:22. 12, Team Foligno, Stamkos 1 (Keith), 2:27. 13, Team Toews, Ric.Nash 1 (Toews, Voracek), 4:08. 14, Team Toews, F.Forsberg 1 (J.Gaudreau, Elias), 5:56. 15, Team Toews, Tavares 2 (Bergeron, Faulk), 8:16. 16, Team Toews, Voracek 2 (Toews, Ekblad), 9:22. 17, Team Foligno, N.Foligno 1 (Johansen, Ovechkin), 11:59. 18, Team Foligno, Stamkos 2 (B.Ryan), 16:35. 19, Team Toews, Tavares 3 (Bergeron), 19:00. Penalties—None.

Third Period—20, Team Toews, Ric.Nash 2 (Giordano, Voracek), 1:29. 21, Team Foligno, P.Kane 1 (Giroux, Doughty), 2:15. 22, Team Toews, Tavares 4 (Bergeron, Seabrook), 6:13. 23, Team Toews, Voracek 3 (Toews, Ekblad), 7:30. 24, Team Foligno, B.Ryan 1 (Stamkos, Ekman-Larsson), 8:23. 25, Team Toews, Seguin 2 (Tarasenko, S.Weber), 9:26. 26, Team Foligno, P.Kane 2 (B.Burns, Giroux), 13:09. 27, Team Toews, Toews 1 (Suter), 14:21. 28, Team Toews, F.Forsberg 2 (J.Gaudreau, Voracek), 16:40. 29, Team Foligno, B.Burns 1 (Ovechkin, Johansen), 18:20. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—Team Toews 16-16-15—47. Team Foligno 17-18-10—45. Power-play opportunities—Team Toews 0 of 0; Team Foligno 0 of 0. Goalies—Team Toews, Luongo (17 shots-13 saves), Crawford 1-0-0 (0:00 second, 18-14), Halak (0:00 third, 10-6). Team Foligno, Price (16-12), M.Fleury 0-1-0 (0:00 second, 16-9), B.Elliott (0:00 third, 15-9).

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 01.26.2015

761938 Toronto Maple Leafs

MLSE, Blue Jays deal with dollar dive

By: Josh Rubin Staff Reporter, Published on Sun Jan 25 2015

Without adding a single forward, goalie or defenceman, the Toronto Maple Leafs saw the potential cost of their payroll jump by more than $1 million this past week.

Much of that climb came in less than 24 hours. The reason? A sudden two-cent plunge in the value of the Canadian dollar, after the Bank of Canada shocked investors by cutting a key interest rate on Wednesday.

With the loonie down by almost 20 per cent against the U.S. dollar over the past year, the cost of doing business for Canadian teams in the NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball and MLS has been climbing steadily. That’s because under their collective agreements players get paid in U.S. dollars. The majority of revenue, however, is in Canadian currency.

“That’s a 20 per cent addition to the wage bill for every Canadian NHL team, the Raptors and the Blue Jays,” said Glen Hodgson, chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada, an Ottawa-based economics think tank.

When those wage bills are in the tens of millions of dollars, that adds up to a whole lot more than chump change. For the Toronto Blue Jays, whose 2014 payroll was around $137 million (U.S.), the loonie’s fall over the last year equates to more than $25 million. For the Raptors and Leafs, both around the $70-million mark, it’s an extra $14 million each. For Toronto FC, which has been busy adding high-profile international players, the added cost could prove to be as much as $4 million.

For teams looking to sign free agents, an extra 20 per cent could prove prohibitive, suggested Hodgson.

“At that level, you’re starting to add another factor to the decision-making. They might decide they’re not able to spend as much on a particular player,” said Hodgson, who along with colleague Mario Lefebvre wrote Power Play, a study of the pro sports industry in Canada.

For Alberta’s two NHL teams, he adds, there’s a financial double whammy: The loonie’s drop comes at the same time as a dramatic fall in oil prices that’s hitting Alberta’s entire economy, including companies that buy high-end corporate boxes.

But just like buying insurance in case your house burns down, sports teams can soften the blow of fluctuating currency costs. The most common approach is the same way large import and export companies do, via currency hedging. Hedging contracts are agreements to buy a particular amount of a given currency for a set price on a set date. Companies can bet both ways: the price is usually set either higher or lower than the current value of the currency. The Blue Jays declined to comment on whether they engage in hedging.

For Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment — which runs the Leafs, Raptors, TFC, the Marlies and the Toronto Rock — the decision to hedge was an easy one to make, said chief financial officer Ian Clarke.

“Our approach has been that it’s better to have certainty over how much things are going to cost. Win or lose your bet, you know what it’s going to cost you,” said Clarke, adding that MLSE hedges about $100 million (U.S.) each year. According to published estimates, that’s more than half the total payroll for MLSE’s teams.

Most companies that look to hedge their bets on the currency market don’t go all-in, said Camilla Sutton, chief foreign exchange strategist at Scotiabank.

“Fifty per cent is the level of least regret . . . so it kind of tends to be the starting point for most companies,” said Sutton, who estimated it would cost MLSE around $350,000 at current prices to hedge $100 million. “A lot of people look at it as risk management.”

While Canadian teams in U.S.-based leagues are directly affected by the loonie’s plunge, American NHL teams don’t escape unscathed. The top 10 revenue-generating teams in U.S. dollars contribute to a pool divvied up by the bottom 10, under terms of the collective agreement. According to a

report by Forbes magazine three Canadian teams were among the top 10, with the Leafs in second spot (a report disputed by the team).

There’s also less money in the pot for players themselves. They are guaranteed 50 per cent of league-wide hockey-related revenue which is calculated in U.S. dollars, so any fall in the loonie means less cash to go around.

“If you have a league whose currency is U.S. dollars and you have Canadian teams, the revenues are going to be lower. . . . The players get 50 per cent, and it’s going to be lower. That’s the simple math,” said Clarke.

Still, said Hodgson, there’s less of a problem now than when the Jets left Winnipeg in 1996, and the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado in 1995. For one thing, the loonie was at 70 cents U.S. in 1995. For another, the NHL does more today to help weaker clubs.

“The revenue sharing in the NHL definitely mitigates things,” said Hodgson.

Toronto Star LOADED: 01.26.2015

761939 Toronto Maple Leafs

All-Star Game a nice diversion for Maple Leafs fans

By Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun


For one day out of 365, the whole NHL could take off the helmets and let their hair down for a different broadcast audience.

Purists would have been reaching for the remote about the time the game got silly late in the first period, or when the first two shots in the second easily went in. But for those watching a steady diet of Maple Leaf losses in this cold winter (full disclosure from writer) or some other struggling team, the 17-12 all-star final was an afternoon’s diversion. It won’t likely bring in any new fans, neither will it cost. And Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena will be sold out for the next ‘showcase classic’ in 2016.

While you’d like to see the players show off those 100 m.p.h shots from the skills competition or back check like they’re trying to win fastest skater, no one is going to really bust a sweat let alone break a bone blocking a shot.

Now please bring on the playoff races.

OFF-ICE ANTICS

If you’ve only ever seen the Mountie chorus perform Monty Python’s Lumberjack Song, Sunday was a chance for a couple of singing sentries to help the Jackets’ anthem man Leo Welsh with a nice rendition of O Canada ... Pre-game dressing room scenes showed exactly what all-star game participants spend half their weekend doing — signing sweaters, sticks and pictures ... Host George Stroumboulopoulos pulled Carey Price’s stick out of the rack as a pre-game stunt. Any other media person doing that and an angry Price would’ve applied the how’s-your-father hook, after which security would slap you in irons ... Family members spilled into the bench and the broadcast booth. “It’s Take Your Kid To Work Day,” one of the TV types quipped.

SILENT PHIL

There were 81 scoring points dealt in the game but none for No. 81. Toronto’s Phil Kessel had three shots on goal and one miss, but being in on Team Foligno’s 12 goals eluded him, despite being hand-picked to play on a line by Team USA pal Patrick Kane. Kessel, in a horrendous slump with the Leafs, had to settle for beating nemesis Tyler Seguin in the skills foot race on Saturday.

On the subject of being shut out, Zemgus Girgensons of the Sabres got 1.6 million votes, but 0.0 points, which would have sucked if you were staying up late to watch him in Latvia. About 27% of all-star votes this year were logged outside of North America.

Anze Kopitar was the third member of Team Foligno to be blanked, while not one skater went hungry on the Toews’ side.

LONG NIGHT FOR GOALIES

You could tell Price has played in a couple of these friendlies. When making a stop , he immediately looked for a teammate to relay the puck and avoid whistles.

The miked-up Price also proved adept at joking with the TV crew while facing hard pucks at the same time. But when it was suggested he do the routine for the Valentine’s Day game between the Leafs and Habs at the Bell Centre, Price said “I don’t think my coach would like it.” ... While the six goalies were hung out to dry most of the night facing 92 shots, Roberto Luongo made two great first-period glove saves on Alex Ovechkin and Bobby Ryan ... Newcomers Corey Crawford and Brian Elliott, meanwhile, eventually gave up waiting for defencemen to check or clear the puck and tried long bomb breakout passes on their own. Elliott realized what he was up against when the great Drew Doughty did an absolute flamingo in front of him to allow a clear shot ... While Doughty was credited with one of his team’s three shot blocks, the brave boys from Toews got in the way of nine, either on purpose or accidentally. No hits were logged by either team ... It was mentioned a couple of times in the third period that Elliott gave up his snorkeling vacation in the Turks and Caicos to be an emergency fill-in for the injured Sergei Bobrovsky. Though it didn’t help when Team Toews

slammed six goals past him, the officials had Elliott’s pride in mind when they rushed to a faceoff after the overhead camera detected a goal.

GAME ON

Foligno caused a mock scrum around Crawford poking at a rebound ... Ryan Getzlaf came the closest to a penalty, accidentally pushing over Duncan Keith and then trying to sell a call when pushed by Claude Giroux. “I was going hard to the net” he was heard pleading to a ref ... Commissioner Gary Bettman made sure to get his mug on camera with the new tablet that charted player movements through a micro-chip in their sweaters and the puck. He promised that data from the new gizmos would soon be available to fans as well as coaches. Curious players were even going over to the TV boys between benches to check their ice time and skating mileage ... With TV cameras showing every conceivable angle, in the stands, from the refs and on the players, analyst Nick Kypreos was overwhelmed. When Rick Nash was shown bringing his infant daughter into the dressing room, Kypreos warned “coming next, the Baby Cam.” ... When it was suggested Marc-Andre Fleury was being embarrassed by this all-star target practice, analyst Glenn Healy pointed out “He faces Malkin and Crosby every day in practice. He’s not humbled in any way.” ... Speaking of which, it would have been nice to see the ailing Crosby, if for no other reason than to give partisan Columbus fans someone other than Nash to boo.

Though the fan voting was a little contrived — okay, a lot — game MVP Ryan Johansen became the first to get the honour on home ice since Montreal’s Alex Kovalev in 2009.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.26.2015

761940 Washington Capitals

2015 NHL All-Star Game: The real reason Alex Ovechkin badly wanted a car

By Alex Prewitt January 25 at 11:18 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Earlier this week, when Alex Ovechkin and his confidants gathered to discuss the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, they aimed their crosshairs on the idea of winning a car. Honda, a title sponsor for the weekend, had planned to award Accord EX-Ls both to the final two picks of Friday night’s fantasy draft and to the MVP of Sunday’s actual event. So they outlined a basic plan. Ovechkin would try to get chosen last. If that failed, he would win MVP. And if that failed? No one knew.

“This wasn’t anything that was set up or contrived,” said David Abruytn, Ovechkin’s business representative. “It was, go have fun with it and try. There’s a lot of things that have to happen.”

Abruytn was speaking outside the home locker room Sunday night at Nationwide Arena, once everything had unfolded in a fashion far more dramatic than they initially scripted. Ovechkin had been tabbed 33rd overall in Friday’s draft, one spot shy of winning a car, because the two team captains saw how hard he was begging for the car and decided to make him sweat. Then, in the league’s highest-scoring All-Star Game ever, Ovechkin recorded a relatively paltry three assists, falling short of MVP honors.

But then Honda came along, having watched Ovechkin’s performance during the fantasy draft, when he spent the entire telecast pleading for the vehicular hardware. So Honda called the NHL. Then they called Abruytn. Then they decided, if Ovechkin indeed fell short of winning MVP, they would just donate a car anyway.

“We knew we were going to give away two cars this year,” said Nick Lee, the company’s national advertising manager. “Alex playing it up all through the broadcast was great, great theater for TV. He lent a real funny angle to it as well, did some things we never expected. Once he got very close to being the last guy, or the second to last guy, the once we saw the disappointment and reaction, we reached out.”

And here’s the kicker, the true reason the multi-millionare and avid car enthusiast spent all weekend stating his case for a free ride: He wanted to donate it to the Washington Ice Dogs, a local hockey team for children with developmental disabilities. (Earlier posts referenced the NoVa Cool Cats, another local hockey team serving the same mission, but the Capitals said that was a mistake.)

See, last fall, a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome named Ann Schaab summoned the courage to ask Ovechkin on a dinner date. It turned into a day-long event, held on the ninth anniversary of Ovechkin’s NHL debut. She received a tour of Ketter Capitals Iceplex. She asked her mother for a wedding ring, so she could propose to Ovechkin. She accepted his invitation to that night’s preseason game. She smelled his socks. They ate sushi in the owner’s lounge.

So Ann was on Ovechkin’s mind when he looked ahead to his fifth All-Star Game appearance, and sure he probably would have just purchased a car himself if Honda had not entered the picture, but where was the fun in that?

“Everybody felt like I just want a car to drive it,” he said. “Obviously I have lots of cars. Of course it kind of show time, do it for charity as well. Some maybe haters or somebody going to think I just need a car, but we do it for charity and good stuff.”

Except for Ovechkin, Abruytn, Capitals public relations director Sergey Kocharov and a handful of others, no one knew his true intentions. Not team captains Nick Foligno and Jonathan Toews. Not reporters who kept asking why Ovechkin desired a car so badly, only to receive sly, cryptic answers. Not Honda, until they contacted Ovechkin’s camp and found out. The locker rooms had all but emptied of all-star teammates by the time Ovechkin revealed his plan.

“I’ll tell a couple guys, like I get a car, but not I’m going to give it to charity,” he said. “I’m pretty sure they’re going to find out right away.”

And as for the anticipated reaction when the car, manufactured here in Ohio and scheduled to get shipped to Arlington, eventually gets presented to Ann and the Washington Ice Dogs?

“I’m pretty sure they’re going to be really happy and smiling,” Ovechkin said. “But again, it’s great when you make those people smiling and happy. It’s good.”

Washington Post LOADED: 01.26.2015

761941 Washington Capitals

Ovechkin records three points and a scrum in ASG

January 25, 2015, 8:45 pm

Staff

It looks like Alex Ovechkin will just have to buy himself a new car. The Capitals' captain recorded three assists in the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, but failed to score on any of the three goalies he faced and lost on on the new car awarded to game MVP Ryan Johansen.

Ovechkin, the Capitals' lone representative in the All-Star Game, had plenty of scoring opportunities but twice gave it up for the selfless play. In the first period, he had a clear shot on a screened Roberto Luongo, but instead passed it to Johansen who tallied the easy goal. Ovechkin gave up another open shot in the third period, finding Brent Burns all alone and the defenseman beat former Cap Jaroslav Halak for the game's final goal.

The scoresheet reflects an atypical game for Ovechkin who was clearly more concerned about having fun and distributing to teammates than his own stats. Ovechkin currently leads the league in shots on goal with 219, yet the trigger happy Russian recorded only two shots on the night.

Ovechkin played right wing on the top line for Team Foligno with Johansen at center and captain Nick Foligno on the left. Ovechkin assisted on goals for both of his linemates including the game's MVP.

Johansen finished with two goals and two assists, but there may have been some home cooking in the MVP award considering the performances of John Tavares (four goals) and Jakub Voracek (three goals, three assists).

But Sunday wasn't a night for stats or awards, it was a night for fun and celebration. No one seemed more relaxed than Ovechkin.

In the second period, as goalie Corey Crawford stretched to cover a loose puck, Foligno and Johansen began digging at the netminder with their sticks in an attempt to knock the puck in. In a regular game, that kind of play would have led to some pushing, a few words exchanged between teams and maybe even an all out fight.

As the defense skated over to relieve Crawford, Ovechkin dove right into the group creating a 'scrum' much to the delight of the crowd. Of course it was all in good fun as Ovechkin laughed after the incident all the way back to the bench.

Ovechkin walked away on the losing end as Team Foligno lost to Team Toews 17-12, but few will remember the score of this game or which team won. In terms of celebrating the game, the NHL and the city of Columbus were the big winners.

The only loser for on the weekend was poor Ovechkin who fell just short of a car in the draft on Friday night and could not do enough on Sunday to earn the car awarded to the MVP. Even so, something tells me you won't see Ovechkin walking to work anytime soon.


761942 Winnipeg Jets

Coyotes star had emergency surgery at HSC

By: Gary Lawless

Posted: 01/25/2015 11:17 PM

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Mikkel Boedker was hoping to play a little golf over the NHL all-star break, but instead found himself recovering from emergency surgery and bunking at a friend’s house in Winnipeg.

The Arizona Coyotes’ leading scorer took a hard hit from Winnipeg Jets defenceman Mark Stuart on Jan. 18 and ended up on an operating table later that night.

The 25-year-old Denmark native arrived at Health Sciences Centre for what he thought was going to be a routine MRI and was subsequently rushed into emergency surgery to staunch internal bleeding and remove his ruptured spleen.

"I got hit awkwardly behind the net and didn’t think much of it. Felt like I lost my wind and kept on playing, but turned out it was more serious than that," said Boedker. "A bit of a scare. After the hit the wind was knocked out of me for a bit. But when you play, the adrenaline goes through you and I didn’t think much of it. My rib cage hurt a bit and I tried to play through it. Played the second period out. Got into the dressing room and needed a bit of attention from the medical staff.

"They looked at it and they couldn’t find much. I was just uncomfortable. I went back out for the third and I couldn’t do much with the puck. I didn’t feel comfortable being out there so I went back to the dressing room. The doctor came and looked at me and he just said ‘We should get an MRI just to make sure.’ They couldn’t get it at the arena, they didn’t have the MRI machine, so we had to go to the hospital. We were kind of in-between about whether I should go since they couldn’t find anything wrong. The Winnipeg doctors insisted on us going, and it was critical that they did that. I can’t thank them enough for making sure."

Dr. Swee Teo and Dr. Ron Steigerwald examined Boedker at the rink and Dr. Ethel MacIntosh performed his surgery at HSC.

"I’m lucky to be treated so nice and so well. It’s underrated what they do. People don’t realize the effort and the job they do," said Boedker. "All the star players get all the credit in the world, but without (the medical staff), the league wouldn’t be running and the players wouldn’t be healthy enough to play and perform the way they do."

Boedker saw a consecutive games-streak end at 257 — the fourth-longest in Coyotes history. He leads Arizona with 28 points and 14 goals and had scored five goals in four games before the injury.

Boedker doesn’t remember much from the night of his surgery.

"At that point I was in so much pain that it was a blur. I remember telling our trainer just to call my parents and make sure that they know what was going on. They’re back home in Denmark, so it’s a long haul for them to come here," said Boedker, who had a career-high 19 goals and 32 assists last season.

"I wanted them to call them to let them be aware of the situation, that I was going into surgery. I didn’t think it was an emergency. They rushed me to the hospital. I didn’t think it was that bad, but now looking back on it, I realize it was an emergency.

"Nobody said anything (about what would have happened if I had got on the plane back to Phoenix). They didn’t get much into detail, but I was bleeding on the inside. It was pretty bad. I’m really happy and thankful the doctors made sure I got to the hospital and got taken care of. They made me listen to them, and not just be a hockey player. To be a person and listen to them. It’s not about hockey at the time, it’s about your health."

Boedker stayed in hospital until last Thursday before moving to the house of a friend he did not want to identify. Boedker played junior hockey in Kitchener for the OHL’s Rangers before joining the Coyotes. He says his treatment in Winnipeg is typical of what he’s experienced in Canada.

"I remember the nurse took the bandage off from my scar and she said, ‘It looks nice and they did a great job.’ I expected 10 stitches, but I didn’t

realize it was from under my chest to my belly button, with staples. That was interesting. You think something, and then it’s completely different," he said. "They did an unbelievable job. The people at the HSC were unbelievable. Everyone in Canada is all about hockey, so they all wanted to talk hockey. They’re big fans of the Jets and they were good people.

"I think I’ll have good memories of Winnipeg. They made my hospital visit and surgery a good one. Again, I can’t thank them enough. I know my family back home is appreciative of what they did. It’s a scary memory. But when people ask, I’m always going to say it happened in Winnipeg."

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.26.2015


If Jets want to make moves, here's a few options

By Ken Wiebe, Winnipeg Sun

First posted: Sunday, January 25, 2015 06:38 PM CST | Updated: Sunday, January 25, 2015 07:01 PM CST

COLUMBUS, Ohio – With five weeks to go before the NHL trade deadline, it's only a matter of time before a general manager or two comes out and makes a pre-emptive strike.

Each and every season, one or two teams get ahead of the pack and make a deal before the flurry of activity in the hours and minutes before the deadline finally arrives.

Recent history would suggest Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff won't be overly active on the trade market.

But given that his team is 26-14-8 and currently holding down a playoff spot in the Western Conference with 34 games left in the regular season, this could be the year Cheveldayoff is one of the buyers.

While it's unlikely he'll be chasing a high-priced item, if you injected Cheveldayoff with truth serum, finding a way to bolster his bottom-six forwards would likely be at the top of his list of priorities.

Make no mistake, I'm not advocating for a short-term deal that could come back to haunt the franchise – like Braydon Coburn to the Philadelphia Flyers for Alexei Zhitnik in 2007 – but if there is a player or two out there who could be had for a reasonable price, it's time for Cheveldayoff to pull the trigger.

The Jets just so happen to have nine healthy defenceman as they get set to return from the NHL All-Star break to face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

Should Mathieu Perreault (arm) be ready to return to action against the Penguins – something that won't likely be known until Monday's practice or possibly right up until game-time - the Jets would be forced to make a move to the active roster.

The Jets have a cohesive room, so if they're going to bring a body in, you would expect that they won't wait until the last minute, allowing more time for the player to get comfortable with his new club.

If Cheveldayoff can find a way to bring in a guy with another year or more left on a deal, that's still the route he'd prefer to go.

However, don't rule out the Jets bringing in a rental player, provided the price is right.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.26.2015


Byfuglien doesn't shine at All-Star Game 3

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN

FIRST POSTED: SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015 09:14 PM CST

COLUMBUS, OHIO - This wasn't the type of game that set up for Dustin Byfuglien to dominate or even put on much of a show.

Sure, the Winnipeg Jets defenceman is a dynamic player with plenty of skill but the NHL All-Star Game is a glorified version of shinny, which lends itself to showcase the talents of the forwards.

Back-checking is virtually non-existent and body-checking your opponent is strongly discouraged (officially, there were no hits), since nobody wants to get hurt during an exhibition with nothing on the line.

Byfuglien managed to chip in one assist in 18 minutes and 22 seconds of ice time while paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Arizona Coyotes, but ended up on the losing side as Team Jonathan Toews defeated Team Nick Foligno 17-12 on Sunday before a crowd of 18,901 at Nationwide Arena in what turned out to be the highest-scoring game in NHL All-Star history.

“I didn't even realize (the score) was that bad until I looked up at the end,” said Byfuglien. “I was like 'wow, they have 17.' I didn't hear the cannon go off that many times, I didn't think.

“It's tough to be a D-man (in an All-Star game). But the goalies' (job) would actually be the worst. There's not too much defence in this. You just kind of more or less watch these forwards show what they can do. Some of those goals out there... wow.”

Byfuglien, who started the season at forward but was moved back to the blue-line on Dec. 5 after the Jets suffered a plethora of injuries to the defence corps, was grinning from ear-to-ear and clearly enjoyed the experience of participating in his second NHL All-Star weekend.

“It's something that you dream about. You just enjoy the moment and have fun,” said Byfuglien, who was chosen for the All-Star game in 2012 but couldn't take part because of an injury.

Byfuglien didn't hesitate when asked what he was going to remember most about the experience.

“It's just the guys that got to put the jerseys on. There's a lot of great players in here,” said Byfuglien. “You never know what's going to happen later on (in your career). They put on a great weekend here in Columbus. I enjoyed myself, my family enjoyed it. Everyone seemed to be getting along and having a good time.”

As much fun as he had, Byfuglien is already looking forward to starting the stretch drive on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center.

“It's definitely going to be nice to get back in the swing of things. Hopefully we're ready to go and start the second half good,” said Byfuglien, who has 12 goals and 31 points in 48 games this season. “We've got to stay consistent and do what we've been doing. Keeping it simple. It's not going to be an easy task but we've been doing it well all year.”

The Jets enter Tuesday's action with a record of 26-14-8, which leaves them two points behind the St. Louis Blues and Blackhawks for second place in the Central Division standings.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.26.2015

761945 Vancouver Canucks

Kuzma: Against the good and the bad, Canucks need to start winning some home games

By Ben Kuzma, The Province January 25, 2015 6:20 PM

Back from the all-star break, the Vancouver Canucks won’t catch a break when they open a six-game homestead Tuesday.

Kevin Bieksa’s broken left hand is bad enough — the blueliner was struck on the left wrist by a Victor Hedman shot last Tuesday in Tampa Bay and required surgery to repair several fractures — and now the league-leading Anaheim Ducks strut into town.

They’ve won five-straight games, seven of their last eight and eight of their last 10 by combining balance, resiliency and depth.

In a special-teams league, there’s nothing special about the Ducks — 17th on the power play and 18th on the penalty kill — but they have five players in double-digit goals and sport an eye-popping 22-0-6 record in one-goal games for a .786 winning percentage. Only the New York Islanders are better at 18-3-1 (.818), while the Canucks rank third at 11-2-3 (.688).

As much as the towering and joking Ryan Getzlaf keeps the locker-room vibe loose, his on-ice transformation into a skilled behemoth who ranks ninth in NHL scoring with 50 points (15-35) isn’t lost on those who play with or against him. By comparison, Daniel Sedin leads the Canucks in scoring with 39 points (9-30), which ranks 32nd.

“We don’t want to lose back-to-back games,” Ducks winger Corey Perry told the Orange County Register. “When we lost a game, that next game we had our best. And most of the time, he (Getzlaf) was at his best and he really carried the team. That’s what leaders do. That’s why he’s the captain.”

The Ducks are ranked only 17th in goals, but dropped just two games in regulation in a 15-game span when Perry was sidelined by the mumps and then a knee ailment.

They do what good teams do — they don’t lose to bad teams — and have won a couple against the Canucks this season that required overtime or a shootout. Getzlaf has a goal and three assists in the season series in which the Canucks claimed a 2-1 shootout victory at The Pond on Nov. 9, lost 4-3 in a shootout here on Nov. 20 and dropped a 2-1 overtime decision in Anaheim on Dec. 28.

All this says something about the Canucks.

The have beaten the best (Ducks, Islanders, Blackhawks, Blues, Penguins) and have been blasted by the weak (Coyotes, Stars, Avalanche), which speaks to a new coach, new system, new players and the old problem of getting consistent scoring from more than one line despite deploying four to even out the minutes and ease the load on the top line.

Fresh off a 3-2-0 trip and improving to 15-8-2 away from Rogers Arena — it’s the league’s second-best road record — the Canucks rank 23rd at home with an 11-8-1 mark. The adage about putting on a show at home doesn’t really wash because they struggle to score at even strength and that places a burden on the club’s superb goaltending and the second-ranked penalty kill.

A 17th-ranked power play that has slipped badly and become stagnant and predictable with a perimeter-based plan doesn’t help because the Canucks went 0-for-7 in Tampa Bay last Tuesday in a 4-1 loss.

They’re also 28th in power-play opportunities and that’s the result of not doing enough to draw penalties — especially by establishing a net presence that often results in calls.

The Canucks have been held to two or fewer power plays in 18 games this season and have gone without one on two occasions in the past 11 games. It takes a lot of physical will to get the net and stay there, and that gets tougher with an aging roster. The mind might be willing, but the body isn’t always in sync.

“We need to be harder and draw more penalties,” Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said recently.

“We’re not creating as much as we need to and we need to get a little better with our battle level. You battle hard and other teams get frustrated and take penalties.

“We’re pushing but not to the point where they (opposition) are getting frustrated. It comes from more urgency and fire and drive.

“We might need to pick it up and it might be a veteran team that realizes where it’s at.”

It won’t get easier. After a game against Buffalo here on Friday, the Canucks play 14 games in February — nine against playoff teams — and 16 in March, of which nine are against those currently in the playoff mix.

Improving their third-place standing in the Pacific Division and seventh-place position in the Western Conference will mean finding as much resolve as offence.

OF NOTE — Canucks winger Radim Vrbata had the opening goal and added an assist Sunday for Team Foligno in his first All-Star Game, in which Team Toews claimed a 17-12 victory in Columbus, Ohio.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.26.2015

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ESPN / What we learned at the All-Star Game

By Scott Burnside

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In no time at all, maybe even by the time the accursed replica Civil War cannon in Nationwide Arena fired its final volley Sunday night, the actual details of the 2015 NHL All-Star Game had begun to fade to nothing.

And that's the way it should be.

Imagine eating the world's largest order of cotton candy and you'll have a sense of the substance to Sunday's loaf-a-thon that ended up 17-12 in favor of Team Toews, an All-Star Game record for most goals (or least backchecking).

But at the end of the day, the All Star Game is all about context -- because it sure isn't about anything remotely resembling an actual hockey game.

"What people have to understand, the All-Star Game is not, 'let's drop the puck and see if we can win it 4-3.'" Columbus Blue Jackets president John Davidson told ESPN.com. "It's a celebration of the game. People have to understand it. There were lineups to see the [Stanley] Cup. A big lineup for the [snow] slide. It's celebrating the game."

After Saturday's board of governor's meeting, Davidson described the events that surrounded the actual game, and the way the community responded to the event -- including a big gala charity dinner earlier in the week. For a team that's not headed to the playoffs this year, this is an important way for fans to stay connected to the team. It's also why the All-Star event continues to be an important bone for the league to throw to teams.

Former NHL netminder Glenn Healy, now a national broadcast analyst, agreed that this event is about far more than the 60 minutes of hockey on Sunday.

"I think you've got to look at this event in much of a bigger picture," Healy said. "And I think any of us that have been around Columbus for the last couple of days, you saw 150,000 fans cruising around the city spending around $22 million, and you saw a city that built a convention center, have the All Star Game and could potentially be poised to host the Democratic National Convention. ... Without a rink, it doesn't happen, without the activities and restaurants [that] are all built around that. So you can pick apart the 60 minutes, but I think you have to look at the overall picture and the fan experience and just how many people came and had such a great time."

For all the moaning about Sunday's game -- and allow us to say just this: it might have been nice for poor Marc-Andre Fleury's Team Foligno teammates to actually make a mild effort as the affable Pittsburgh netminder was getting lit up for seven goals on 16 shots in the second period -- is there anyone connected to the game who won't be chomping at the bit to get to next year's All-Star event in Nashville? Even if we do end up bemoaning the same lack of commitment to defense a year from now. Just saying.

Healy provided more perspective on the goaltenders, who combined to allow 29 goals on 92 shots.

"We talked about it during the game," Healy said. "I asked Carey Price -- he was mic'd -- and I said this reminds me of your very first practice in Sochi, Russia. We went over with the players [to the Olympics] and I was there for that first practice, it probably took 20 minutes for any goalie to make a save. Tic, tack, goal.

"You know Fleury, he plays with Crosby and Malkin, I'm sure he's been humbled a few times. You put it in perspective. You don't get many experiences to do this with the greatest players on the planet. I don't think anyone's keeping score here. I think if you ask Fleury, the only [stop] he would remember is the save on Nicklas Lidstrom for the Cup," Healy added referencing the classic save made by the Pittsburgh netminder in the waning moments of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in 2009 to preserve the Penguins' Stanley Cup victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

And OK, what does anyone really expect the game to be like? What player wants to be the guy that blocks a shot, breaks a bone in his foot and is a factor in his team missing the playoffs? Imagine if Brent Seabrook nudges teammate Patrick Kane the wrong way, even by accident, and Kane goes down with an injury? So, yes, the game possesses few of the qualities that attract us to the game, the physicality, the battle for space, driving the net. But get over it, because it's never going to change, nor should it.

"Obviously you're not going to go run somebody or anything like that. Just try to have some fun, and I think everybody did a pretty good job with that," offered Team Toews representative Filip Forsberg, who had two goals -- the first All-Star goals ever scored by a Nashville Predator. Who knew?

And when you factor in the player draft -- a huge hit with players and fans -- and the skills competition, which had a nice festive atmosphere Saturday, it provides a pleasant respite in the middle of the season. Plus we're still left with the as yet unanswered question: What exactly was in the players' plastic cups at the draft?

More takeaways from Columbus:

• This year's All-Star event featured a significant news element with the confirmation that the NHL would be heading out of doors three times next season with the Winter Classic in Boston and two Stadium Series games in Minnesota and Denver. Although the news had been reported earlier, it was still a nice add to the proceedings. Would it be a surprise to see the league take advantage of next year's event in Nashville to do something similar?

• More newsworthy was the decision to have the NHL and players' association formally announce plans for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which will be held in Toronto in September 2016. Announcing the important undertaking by the league and its players at an event that showcases the top players -- many of whom will be taking part in the eight-team tournament -- helped give the announcement additional oomph. Again, might be a nice idea to make some sort of World Cup of Hockey announcement next year in Nashville, like perhaps the coaching staffs or something like that.

• Did we miss Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Johnson and the rest of the players who had to bow out due to injury? Of course. But if there was any concern that their absence would somehow diminish the event or cast a pall over it, well, that just didn't happen. Both Johnson and Crosby will be forced to miss their teams' first game this week because they played in their final game before the break and then declined their invitations to All-Star weekend. There could be some debate among NHL GMs at their March meeting about expanding the repercussions for failing to attend the event going forward to perhaps two games.

• Worst part of All-Star Weekend? Did we mention the cannon that seems to be located right in the press box and went off each time Team Foligno scored? "No, I don't like that. I don't think anyone does. It's not good when we come here. It scares me, still," offered Los Angeles Kings defenseman and Team Foligno alternate captain Drew Doughty. Saving grace? Team Foligno could have scored the 17 goals that Team Toews scored.

• OK, want to get a sense of why we shouldn't get all bent out of shape about the game? When you look at the bench and see head coach Peter Laviolette's daughter standing with him behind the Team Toews bench. Or Darryl Sutter, who coached the Foligno squad, sharing the moment with son Chris, who clearly enjoyed his time in Columbus.

ESPN LOADED: 01.26.2015

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ESPN / Storylines to follow at All-Star Game

By Scott Burnside

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It's All-Star Sunday. Following the player draft and skills competition, it's time to get down to the meat and potatoes of All-Star weekend: the game.

Can't remember who is on whose team?

Can't take your eyes off the neon jerseys?

Still wondering what was in the plastic cups the players were drinking out of Friday night?

Read on for five storylines to follow Sunday. Game time is 5 p.m. ET.

1. Who will win the Phil Kessel-for-Tyler Seguin deal?

The two are inexorably linked, given the deal that sent Kessel to Toronto for the draft pick the Boston Bruins used to select Seguin with the second overall pick in 2010. If only Loui Eriksson, for whom Seguin was dealt in a trade with the Dallas Stars, was here. But we digress. It's hard to imagine two more polar opposites in terms of personalities, with Kessel painfully shy and Seguin outgoing to the extreme. But both possess some of the best raw goal-scoring skills in the game. Not sure who came up with the idea, but the in-draft trade of the two Friday night was a stroke of genius. At the risk of invoking a hockey cliché, this could be a deal that helps both teams. We'll predict this: Kessel (Team Foligno), who made a sort of All-Star history by being the first player to be chosen last, outpoints Seguin (Team Toews).

2. How will Alex Ovechkin react to the colossal disappointment of not being selected last in Friday's draft and not winning the free car that went with that (dis)honor?

Will Ryan Johansen take over the show in front of the hometown crowd?

As an aside, our favorite tweet of the weekend had to be Roberto Luongo's reference to Ovechkin's missing liver at the players' skate Saturday morning. But we digress. Again. The fact that Ovechkin slipped to almost the bottom of the draft (selected third-to-last) might turn out to be a bonus for Team Foligno, which ended up with the Russian star. At least it could be a bonus, assuming Ovechkin has recovered from Friday evening by the time the puck is dropped Sunday. For those keeping track at home, who gets more points, Ovechkin or countryman Vladimir Tarasenko?

3. How will the goalies fare without any defense being played?

It's an All-Star Game being played by millionaires, so there's not a lot of room for sympathy, but you still have to feel for the goalies in this competition. Blocked shots? Ha. Not going to happen. Forwards going all-out to get back to break up an odd-man rush? Not likely. An endless array of quality scoring chances from the league's most dangerous shooters? Take that to the bank. For us, we're excited to see how Brian Elliott fares. You have to hand it to the St. Louis Blues netminder, who was already on vacation in a tropical location when Sergei Bobrovsky was injured and Elliott was named as a replacement. That alone should earn him some good All-Star karma, which for a goalie would mean a goals-against average under 4.00 and a save percentage above .880.

4. Who will be the All-Star MVP? Does anyone care?

Actually, people do care. I recall many people feeling Rick Nash was jobbed when Eric Staal won the MVP in Atlanta in 2008. I was part of the voting process, and people were outraged. But I digress, as you knew I would. It's easy to suggest a guy such as Tarasenko, who this season has emerged as one of the game's most dynamic players, could pot four or five goals and end up with MVP honors. Or maybe it will be Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers, the league's top point producer. But for us, we'd love to see a guy like Radim Vrbata have a big game. The unassuming Vancouver Canuck, the team's only representative, is having a banner season playing with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin and seemed to be enjoying the trip to Columbus very much. Or how about Patrik Elias, the New Jersey Devils' only representative at the game who freely admits he doesn't feel he deserves to be here? How good would it be for Elias, at 38 the game's oldest participant, to take home a new vehicle for his troubles?

5. How will teammates fare playing against each other?

We wondered about Seguin and Kessel, but there are lots of other interconnections to ponder. There will be the competition between Chicago Blackhawks stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane -- both of whom had a hand in drafting their respective teams. Linemates Voracek and Claude Giroux ended up on opposite sides of the All-Star ledger, and you know Giroux, one of the game's topflight trash-talkers, will be giving it to his pal. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook have spent many a night patrolling the Blackhawks blue line together as one of the game's top defensive duos. Now they are on opposite sides in Columbus. The easy money suggests Keith, the defending Norris Trophy winner as the game's best defenseman, would have an edge, but Seabrook has been having a strong season offensively with just two fewer points than Keith. Finally, which of the hometown boys, Nick Foligno or Ryan Johansen, will have the bigger day in front of the appreciative Columbus Blue Jackets fans?


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ESPN / Shattenkirk recharged as All-Star

Updated: January 26, 2015, 1:43 AM ET

By Scott Burnside | ESPN.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Before St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk left for the All-Star Game in Columbus, assistant coach Kirk Muller pulled him aside and told him not to be shy and make sure he came home with some souvenirs.

So there was Shattenkirk, still in his sweaty under clothes, his All-Star jersey over his arm, all of his teammates' signatures on the fabric.

"Yeah I got my jersey signed," Shattenkirk told ESPN.com. "I got a stick signed from the other team. Trying to take home as much of that stuff as possible. It was actually Kirk Muller who said right before I left, 'Hey make sure, that no matter what, just get your stuff signed. It's something that you're going to want later and don't be afraid to ask.'"

While Shattenkirk's Team Foligno was thumped 17-12 by Team Toews in Sunday's All-Star Game, the memories are the real currency of this weekend and that goes equally for the players and the fans.

"Everyone's walking around with their jerseys and asking for signatures," Shattenkirk said.

Almost like high school kids at the end of the year with their yearbooks.

Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk had two points in the high-scoring All-Star Game.

"It's cool to see because you're not really sure how it's going to play out and how to ask some guys you've never met before," Shattenkirk said. "But everyone's been very receptive. I think hockey players are a good bunch of guys and it showed this weekend."

If goaltenders have the most onerous jobs at these events, it is certainly no picnic for defensemen whose job it is on a normal NHL night to make life difficult for opposing players.

This was especially true for Shattenkirk, who was playing in his first All-Star Game.

"You kind of go into the game not sure, feeling it out, how to play, what to do, what not to do," Shattenkirk said. "We had just a really good time with it. I think that's the most important thing is you kind of realize that everyone just tries to have the most fun with it as possible and create as many goals as possible."

Certainly a little different than the structured style of play Shattenkirk is used to playing for Ken Hitchcock in St. Louis.

"It's tough. It's tough. There are so many little plays and knee-jerk reactions that are just ingrained in your mind as a defenseman and someone gets a puck and you want to step up and hit him and you've got to realize tonight you've got to hold back and give him his space," Shattenkirk said. "But for the most part, I think everyone knew that going into it. It was in everyone's mind and luckily, other than a couple of collisions, there weren't any big hits."

The Blues defender is second among all defenseman with 39 points and managed to collect a goal and an assist on Sunday among the barrage of goals.

When Team Foligno got down, it didn't dampen the enthusiasm of his teammates, even though every time they tried to claw back into the game Team Toews responded.

"It was great. It was great," Shattenkirk said. "We were trying to somehow turn it around and make a game of it. We still wanted to try and make it a little bit closer. But they were trying pretty hard out there and didn't really let us breathe. Once they got that lead they seemed to just keep the foot on the gas pedal. But ... everyone was still enjoying it, having fun on the ice, laughing and coming off the ice. We were actually joking on the back end, there were a couple guys who were leaving some bad changes out there and eating a couple of minuses. It was all in good fun."

Now it's back to work.

After a weekend of hanging out with his parents, older brother, sister-in-law, agent and girlfriend, Shattenkirk will return to the business of trying to knock down opponents and collect points down the stretch.

Some of his teammates were enjoying a tropical climate during the break while Shattenkirk was pulling his gear in Columbus, but it's not something he'd trade.

"It was a good reset weekend. I think even though we were the few guys that were still on the ice this weekend, I think obviously this was a very lighthearted event and it was a chance to see family, which is always nice when you don't get to see them too often," Shattenkirk said. "Once you do that it feels like it's a vacation at that point when you have family in town and you're really just hanging out with them and doing this stuff along the way. I think that's the best part about the NHL that they do this weekend is they don't make you feel like you have too much to do. It's still a nice vacation weekend for the guys."


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Sportsnet.ca / An all-star game isn’t just about you, Canada

MARK SPECTOR JANUARY 25, 2015, 10:07 PM

COLUMBUS — Allow us to call a (BOOM!) spade a (BOOM!) spade.

When a game that counts speed and physicality as two of its most compelling components, is played at three-quarters speed and with no hits, well, it’s like eating a cake baked with half the eggs and two-thirds of the flour. But don’t take that to mean that this all-star weekend was a waste of time — because it was anything but.

We learned two things here in Columbus.

One, never hold a 17-12 hockey game in a rink where they celebrate each of the home team’s goals with a cannon blast. And, two, the all-star weekend is really about everything other than the actual all-star game.

“The canon has to go,” tweeted Roberto Luongo from Team Toews’ bench during third period play. “I hate the cannon,” echoed Claude Giroux. “It gets me every time.”

OK, the cannon can go. But only as long as the game stays.

Does the all-star game work anymore? Yes, because it’s not about what you watched on your TV back in Toronto or Vancouver. National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman may have inadvertently said it best when he was asked if the Stadium Series, the Winter Classic and the Heritage Classic represent overkill when it comes to outdoor games.

“If you’ve been to one you know it’s not the case,” he said. “The impact these games have on the people who attend them, in the markets they take place, is nothing short of staggering. It doesn’t get old, and our fans and teams can’t get enough of them.”

Like the outdoor games, we’ll give you the fact that all-star weekend is not a national concern anymore. The game is slowed and without contact, and simply does not translate to television particularly well. It’s the opposite of playoff hockey, which is the very definition the word “compelling.”

But here in Ohio it was one hell of an event that consumed — and to a certain extent, validated — a market that is every bit deserving of some NHL success. It’s not about you, Canada. This was about Columbus, and whether or not you watched a lick of this game, or the skills competition, it will be a rousing success again a year from now when they hold the all-star weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.

“We are so proud of our city for showing that hockey is such a big deal here,” said Nick Foligno, sitting at the post-game podium next to his Blue Jackets teammate Ryan Johansen. “It’s been really gratifying for both of us.

“Seeing the kids, that was my favourite part. The red carpet [pre-game], the two-hour signing we did today. … Everyone looked like they were having a ball.”

Maybe they should call it the all-star story, instead of game, because the allure of the weekend is part Zemgus Girgensons, the Latvian who led all players in all-star voting, and part Alex Ovechkin, who finally revealed why he wanted that free Honda so badly.

It turns out that Ovechkin has a soft spot for the Nova Cool Cats Special Hockey, Inc., based in Northern Virginia. He has a connection there with Ann Schaub, a 10-year-old girl with down syndrome who went on a sushi dinner date with Ovechkin in September. Honda ended up freeing up a car for Ovechkin after the game, and he will turn it over to the charitable organization this week.

“It means a lot,” Ovechkin told NHL.com. “Honda connected with my agent and they just gave me a car so I’m going to donate to Cool Cats and that sweet little girl.”

That’s what this weekend is all about, and the fact that they sold out Nationwide Arena for two straight nights. Columbus was literally teeming with hockey jerseys from the moment I touched down here on Thursday.

Like an outdoor game at Dodger Stadium that may or may not turn your crank, the local hockey community grazed on this at Fan Fests and other

events for days. In return, this group of NHLers, playing at three-quarters speed, produced more goals (29) than in any all-star game in NHL history.

Said comedian/colourman Jim Ralph during the second intermission, “The fastest skating I’ve seen tonight is when the period is over and the goalies head for the bench.”

Poor Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pittsburgh goaltender emerged for his turn in Team Foligno’s net in the middle frame, and was promptly tagged for six goals in 9:22. Some were stoppable (not many) while on others he was met with an all-star calibre player who had all the time in the world, standing unchecked in the slot.

Fleury ended up getting torched for seven goals on 16 shots, while at home, injured all-star goalies Sergei Bobrovsky and Pekka Rinne likely cracked a cold one in relief.

“It was probably the longest 20 minutes of my career,” Fleury said. “We are at this game to have fun, but at one time, it was frustrating. Normally, I’ll be quick out of the game way before giving up seven goals.”

Perhaps Fleury would prefer a trip to Cabo a year from now, and he would likely have some company among some of the game’s superstars who get invited every year.

But there will always be enough damned fine hockey players to put this show on, and ignite another market that deserves some recognition with an all-star weekend.

And if you don’t feel like watching, there’s a golf tournament down the dial.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.26.2015

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Sportsnet.ca / Fan feeds Price nachos during All-Star Game

EVAN PEASLEE JANUARY 25, 2015, 7:29 PM

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price took full advantage of his All-Star selection during the weekend’s festivities in Columbus, Ohio.

From fan fests to the draft, skills competition to the game, Price embraced every morsel of time he had on a rare weekend off (and he even poked some fun at the rival Maple Leafs).

After he played his period, Price also took some time to enjoy Nationwide Arena nachos in the middle of the All-Star Game.

Eat up Carey. Eat up.


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Sportsnet.ca / Four NHL All-Star Game host city candidates

JUSTIN PIERCY JANUARY 25, 2015, 3:14 PM

The 2015 edition of the NHL All-Star weekend is being hosted in Columbus, Ohio and next year’s event will be held in Nashville, Tenn. Toronto appears to be the leading candidate to host in 2017 for the team’s centennial celebration. But what about 2018 and beyond? Which cities could make for a great location for a weekend of fantasy drafts, shot accuracy and no-contact hockey?

Here are four host cities we think fit the bill, along with pros and cons for each selection. Be sure to cast your vote on who you think would make for the best choice at the bottom!

Anaheim

Anaheim is one of just two NHL cities that has never hosted the all-star festivities. Maybe it’s time for a sunny, warm weather All-Star Game.

PROS

One of the best teams in the league over the past few seasons and the 2007 Stanley Cup champions.

Celebrity sightings at NHL games could translate into ASG appearances.

The average high temperature in Anaheim in January is 22C. (That’s plus 22C, by the way.)

CONS

Hard to compete with “The Happiest Place on Earth” nearby.

Warm weather hockey may be a nice idea in theory, but in practice, both players and fans have had a hard time moderating the amount of sun they get.

Winnipeg

The other NHL city that has never hosted an all-star weekend, Winnipeg’s fervent fan base never stopped believing they’d get their franchise back. Now that it is, perhaps it’s time to invite the rest of the NHL to come and visit.

PROS

The only Canadian city with a franchise that’s yet to host.

Rabid fanbase sure to attend all events surrounding the game and skills competition despite the arctic conditions.

One of the loudest arenas in the NHL, they’d be able to chirp every team’s biggest star ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

CONS

The Canadian quota is working against them. Sometimes it’s hard to remember Canada, all tucked away down there, but Ottawa hosted the last all-star weekend back in 2012 and Toronto could be next.

It’s home to the smallest arena in the NHL.

The average low temperature in Winnipeg in January is -23C. That’s without windchill.

Las Vegas

Not home to an NHL franchise (yet), it has hosted the NHL Awards and could be a neutral site and possible tryout for a league expansion into the great glittering oasis in the desert.

PROS

They’ve had experience in hosting exhibition games before and by now have probably figured out how to keep crickets off the ice.

It’s already a high-traffic tourist destination, which *should* lead to a packed house.

CONS

It’s the only place where an All-Star Game MVP could bet their vehicle prize on “22 black.”

Plenty of other tourist attractions to choose from, meaning Criss Angel could make the audience disappear.

New Orleans

The All-Star Game is a party weekend, and “Nawlins” is the unofficial North American capital when it comes to party cities.

PROS

Exposure in another untapped southern market

Bourbon Street. Need I say more?

CONS

Fans already throw enough stuff on the ice as it is – do we need to tempt them into tossing beads on the ice, too?

Might start a tradition that the game’s MVP is subject to a voodoo curse.

So, who of these candidates do you think deserves the event the most?


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Sportsnet.ca / A look at NHL all-stars who shouldn’t have been

JEFF SIMMONS JANUARY 25, 2015, 1:45 PM

Nothing about Zemgus Girgensons screams NHL all-star, or all-star starter for that matter.

But you can’t blame the Latvian fans for their efforts.

Because of the popularity of Girgensons in his home country, the Buffalo Sabres forward will crack the lineup in this weekend’s All-Star Game despite registering just 13 goals and nine assists in 47 games (as of Tuesday night).

He’s definitely an odd choice, but certainly not the worst choice.

We looked back at the history of NHL all-star rosters and here are four selections who probably shouldn’t have made the cut.

1) Peter Sidorkiewicz, Ottawa Senators – It’s not too often that a goaltender makes the all-star team with a 4-32-3 record but that occurred in 1992-93 with the expansion Ottawa Senators. Sidorkiewicz was the beneficiary of the NHL’s requirement to select at least one all-star per team. Strangely enough, the ’92-93 Senators had two selections — Sidorkiewicz and defenceman Brad Marsh.

Sidorkiewicz finished the year with an .856 save percentage and ended up with more losses and goals against than any other goalie that season. He did pick up a victory in the All-Star Game, which may have been the highlight of his year. Sidorkiewicz only appeared in four more NHL games after the 1992-93 campaign.

2) Petr Buzek, Atlanta Thrashers — In 1998, the NHL altered its all-star format. Instead of East vs. West, the All-Star Game became North America vs. the World. Because of the change, there were some new all-stars that season such as Dmitri Mironov (Anaheim) and Igor Kravchuk (Ottawa) and two years later that opened up the door for Petr Buzek.

Buzek, a mediocre defenceman at best, participated in the 2000 All-Star Game in Toronto for a few reasons: he played on a horrible team (the inaugural Atlanta Thrashers) and the World team was in need of a European blueliner. All of these factors led to a player who finished the season with 19 points and a minus-22 rating taking part in the All-Star Game.

3) Espen Knutsen, Columbus Blue Jackets – Only the Thrashers lost more games than the Blue Jackets during the 2001-02 season. That being said, the Blue Jackets still had one representative at the All-Star Game. Columbus forward Espen Knutsen wasn’t originally selected, but when Jere Lehtinen of the Dallas Stars was unable to play, he was named as an injury replacement. Knutsen, the only Norwegian to participate in NHL All-Star Game history, finished third on the Blue Jackets in points in 2001-02, registering 11 goals, and 42 points in 77 games. Not exactly all-star production.

4) Marcus Ragnarsson, San Jose Sharks — As indicated above, the North America vs. World format led to some head-scratching choices. And when perusing through old all-star lineups, this one certainly was one of the strangest.

In the 2000-01 season, the San Jose Sharks had two representatives on the World team — goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and Marcus Ragnarsson, a stay-at-home defenceman who didn’t generate much offence. Ragnarsson had only 13 points before the February All-Star Game at Pepsi Center and finished the season with just 15 points in 68 games, his second-lowest total in parts of eight seasons with the Sharks. The World lost the 2001 All-Star Game 14-12 to North America.


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Sportsnet.ca / Ranking NHL All-Star Game music acts: 1998-2015

LUKE FOX JANUARY 19, 2015, 9:00 AM

In light of the NHL’s announcement of the 2015 All-Star Game musical lineup — Fall Out Boy, O.A.R. and Locksley are set to rock Columbus next weekend — we take a look back at the past 17 years* of the NHL All-Star Game soundtrack.

Together, hockey’s mid-season showcase has brought us sounds from a medley of countries, genres and eras. The niche, the multi-platinum, the timely and the completely obscure are all reflected here in our NHL All-Star Game Musical Act Power Rankings.

12. 2011, Raleigh, North Carolina: Where you’d rank 2011 depends on how big of a Three Doors Down fan you are. The platinum rock band has sold millions of records, so you might bump their first-intermission medley to the top of the list. American Idol sensation Clay Aiken might not be the first name you associate with the sport, but he is from Raleigh, so it makes sense the league tapped the well-known name to sing the U.S. anthem.

11. 2002, Los Angeles: Five for Fighting — the hockeyest of band names — crooned softball hit single “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” which is barely a face-wash, during the first intermission. Jewel handled the national anthem (a cappella) and sang “Standing Still” during the second intermission. She was raised in Alaska but not Mystery.

10. 2007, Dallas, Texas: Not even Mötley Crüe could assemble such a motley crew. Eight winters ago, this was the ASG lineup: pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph & The Family Band; country duo The Wreckers; Italian soprano Giorgia Fumanti; and Florida alt-rock outfit The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Notable for its pure randomness.

9. 2000, Toronto, Ontario: Keeping things local, the Barenaked Ladies sang “O Canada” at Air Canada Centre, and Moxy Fruvous (unlikely to get the invite again) highlighted intermission entertainment. The Ladies are no strangers to the rink, having opened multiple Maple Leafs games.

8. 1998, Vancouver, B.C.: Divided on this one. Canadian safe bets Bryan Adams and Spirit of the West were wise domestic choices to handle anthem duties in Vancouver 17 years ago, but most grown men — a popular NHL demographic — have a difficult time popping in that Hanson CD. “MMMBop” ruled 1997 pop radio, though.

7. 1999, Tampa, Florida: The NHL was ahead of the curve on this one. Nine years before they came back (again) to croon “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 2008 World Series, Bettman & Co. brought in the Backstreet Boys to open up the millennium’s final All-Star Game. Who performed pre-game, you ask? None other than Sprung Monkey. Yep.

6. 2003, Sunrise, Florida: The Goo Goo Dolls entrained during intermission, but the weekend belonged to singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, who opened up the game with “Soak Up the Sun” and hosted an outdoor concert after the buzzer. Crow would use the NHL ASG as a springboard to sing the national anthem at the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. Crafty.

5. 2009, Montreal, Quebec: All Quebecois all the time. Simple Plan (second intermission) headlined a French-Canadian entertainment program that featured Marie-Mai, the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir, Mes Aïeux and circus artists Cirque Éloize. The ASG is always big locally, and the roster catered to the crowd.

4. 2004, St. Paul, Minnesota: After singing the national anthem at the 50th All-Star Game, in 2000, Canada’s Barenaked Ladies, took centre ice during the second intermission of 2004.

3. 2001, Denver, Colorado: Talk about coming out of the woodwork. KISS at a 2014 Stadium Series event has nothing on this one. Nineteen years after striking gold with “She Blinded Me with Science” (not an ode to the FoxTrax puck — heey-oh!), Thomas Dolby rocked the All-Star Game after Great Big Sea warmed up the Pepsi Center.

2. 2008, Atlanta, Georgia: Swedish rock band The Hives opened the game by ripping their hit single, “Tick Tick Boom.” The Atlanta Boy Choir and highly regarded Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards took care of

their respective national anthems. And under-rated R&B artist Ne-Yo performed “Because of You” with a marching band — on ice!

1. 2012, Ottawa, Ontario: Never before or since has the NHL been able to secure an artist more relevant to the era or its players. Vivid is the memory of watching a handful of NHLers themselves sneak out of the dressing room and onto the ice’s shadows (smartphones out) to watch Drake‘s intermission set. At the time, Drizzy — who cheesed with the players in the dressing room and signed autographs for them — called it “one of the greatest honours I have ever received.”

That, of course, was before he was honoured with the No. 1 spot on this rankings list.

“I figured I won’t be able to see him in concert during the season, so I might as well do it while I can,” Carey Price told us. “I [appreciate that] as a player, being able to shoot the breeze with an international superstar.”

*Note: The NHL does not have records of its All-Star Game entertainment pre-1998.


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Sportsnet.ca / Complete NHL All-Star Skills Competition results

MIKE JOHNSTON JANUARY 24, 2015, 7:20 PM

It had been three years since fans enjoyed an NHL All-Star Skills Competition. This year, team captains Nick Foligno and Jonathan Toews were in charge of choosing which players competed in each event. The players had a blast showing off their skills in front of the Columbus fans and it was the hometown favourites from Team Foligno that edged out Team Toews.

Here are the complete results with some highlights from each event.

FINAL SCORE: Team Foligno 25, Team Toews 19

Team Toews gets better of Discover NHL Shootout

Round 1 – Team Foligno 3, Team Toews 6



Weber nearly sets record in AMP NHL Hardest Shot

It was the Shea Weber show in this one, as the Nashville Predators captain came within a fraction of breaking Zdeno Chara’s record of 108.8mph.

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Results

Alex Ovechkin (Team Foligno) – 101.4mph, 101.4mph

Brent Seabrook (Team Toews) – 96.9mph, 98.6mph

Brent Burns (Team Foligno) – 93.3mph, 97.6mph

Aaron Ekblad (Team Toews) – 95.3mph, 93.9mph

Steven Stamkos (Team Foligno) – 98.8mph, 97.5mph

Justin Faulk (Team Toews) – 95.0mph, 94.9mph

Dustin Byfuglien (Team Foligno) – 95.8mph, 97.3mph

Shea Weber (Team Toews) – 101.8mph (missed net), 108.5mph

Foligno, Toews split Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay

Team Toews Group 1 time – 2:06.262

Team Foligno Group 1 time – 1:37.979

Team Toews Group 2 time – 1:38.789

Team Foligno Group 2 time – 2:19.793

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Foligno, Kane impress in DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting

Nick Foligno was almost the hero for his team, but it was Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks that ended up hitting the four targets in the quickest time.

Results

Bobby Ryan (Team Foligno) – 30.914

Ryan Getzlaf (Team Toews) – 14.105

Nick Foligno (Team Foligno) – 13.674

Patrice Bergeron (Team Toews) – 17.038

Radim Vrbata (Team Foligno) – 22.141

John Tavares (Team Toews) – 26.122

Patrick Kane (Team Foligno) – 13.529

Jonathan Toews (Team Toews) – 16.307

Each player attempted three trick shots and some had more success than others. Alex Ovechkin, Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Johnny Gaudreau had a few solid attempts and showed creativity, but it was Columbus Blue Jackets star Ryan Johansen and St. Louis Blues teammates Vladimir Tarasenko and Brian Elliott who stole the show.

Johansen nearly earned a two-minute pandering penalty as he removed his Blue Jackets sweater to show of a No. 5 Ohio St. Buckeyes football jersey, which pleased the home crowd. Then he involved his team’s trainer’s kid to bury two goals past Corey Crawford.

Tarasenko and Elliott had some fun and because it’s the 21st century they had fun using social media.

Fans voted on Twitter to determine the winner and it was Johansen that earned Team Foligno a point.

Rookie Jonathan Drouin earned the fastest time and Phil Kessel edged out the man he was traded for (twice!), Tyler Seguin.

Phil Kessel (Team Foligno) – 13.596

Tyler Seguin (Team Toews) – 13.631

Jonathan Drouin (Team Foligno) – 13.013

Mike Hoffman (Team Toews) – 13.163

Jiri Sekac (Team Foligno) – 13.683

Aaron Ekblad (Team Toews) – 14.048

Zemgus Girgensons (Team Foligno) – 14.101

Vladimir Tarasenko (Team Toews) – 14.386


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USA TODAY / Tavares leads Team Toews to win in All-Star goalfest

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports 10:58 p.m. EST January 25, 2015

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said he had never played in a game as high-scoring as the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, even in youth hockey and probably in any shinny game.

Maybe no one has ever played a game quite as offensive as this one.

The NHL set a record for the highest-scoring game in All-Star Game history when John Tavares scored four goals and Jakub Voracek added three to pace Team Toews to a 17-12 win against Team Foligno.

That's not a misprint.

"I feel for the goalies, I do," said Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar.

It was the highest-winning score in league history. John Tavares tied an All-Star record for goals in a game that was previously held by Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and three others. Voracek, currently the NHL's leading scorer, tied Lemieux's record of six points in a game.

"That's what fans want to see," Stamkos said. "They want to see goals and scoring opportunities."

FOR THE WIN

John Tavares has the best goal of the first period

What fans didn't see was any hitting, and any defensive play. It was like pond hockey being played by many of top puck wizards in the game.

"It feels like summer hockey," said Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, who had a pair of goals.

Clearly fans had fun, booing former Columbus Blue Jackets player Rick Nash when the New York Ranger scored two goals. His sin was that he asked to be traded three years ago.

The fans razzed Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, playing for Team Foligno, as he was getting lit up for seven goals on 16 shots in the second period. They cheered mockingly every time he made a save.

"(Fleury) actually came to me on the first TV timeout," Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo said. "I don't know what that meant. He was looking for some comfort words or something from me. He wasn't on my team, so I wasn't going in for him. What are you going to do? It's an All-Star Game."

Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen was named the game's MVP on a fan vote after registering two goals and two assists. It undoubtedly helped his vote total that he was playing in his home arena.

USA TODAY

Rick Nash's resurgence makes Rangers a threat

As a young player, the game probably had more significance for Johansen, who is still establishing his reputation as a rising star in the game.

"He has sweet hands for sure," Kopitar said. "He's a big boy and he's very strong on the book."

Johansen is the foundation of the Blue Jackets' hope for success.

"I think people are starting to pay attention to him," Stamkos said. "Maybe he flew under the radar a little bit last year. To have the combination of size and skill ... he has played great for these guys. He's a tough guy to play against when he is on his game."

It wasn't NHL-caliber hockey, but it wasn't supposed to be. Players all said they enjoyed the event, except maybe the Civil War-style cannon fire that is used to celebrate goals.

"I hate the cannon," said Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux. "It gets me every time."

USATODAY

Why you'll be hearing plenty of cannon fire during the NHL All-Star Game

The boom is always loud and startling even though everyone knows it is coming when the home team scores.

"It's loud enough that it gets on your nerves pretty quickly, especially when they score 12 or so goals," Chicago's Jonathan Toews said. "It gets to you a little bit."

The All-Star Game is always more like a convention than a competition. It's a chance for players to bring their families to an NHL event. Players hang out with each other.

Said Stamkos: "Sometimes you just need to get away from the grind a little bit, and guys were able to do it a little bit this weekend."

Contributing: Hemal Jhaveri

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USA TODAY / Rick Nash's resurgence makes Rangers a threat

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports 9:21 p.m. EST January 25, 2015

COLUMBUS, Ohio - During last spring's playoffs, the public debate about New York Rangers winger Rick Nash centered on whether he had permanently lost his scoring touch. He looked a stride slower, a few pounds heavier, less driven.

Seven months later, the debate about Nash is whether he is the NHL's most valuable player.

What makes that story intriguing is that Nash has no explanation for why he finds himself on pace to be a 50-goal scorer. With 28 goals, he's tied for the lead in the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy race. But there is no dramatic story here about Nash making major changes at age 30 to climb back on top.

Other than doing more sprints and track work last summer, Nash said, he didn't make too many changes coming into this season. Although Nash had three goals in 25 playoff games last season, he didn't feel like a player on the decline. He still trusted his abilities, and that is crucial for elite athletes.

"I felt like my chances were there last year but they just weren't going in," Nash said. "We would look at a chance sheet after almost every game, and the chances were there every single night."

Last season he felt unlucky, and this season everything seems different. He couldn't find the puck last season, and now it seems to follow him like a magnet. Maybe it's confidence. Maybe it's karma. Maybe he just isn't thinking about it.

"I can't put my finger on just one thing that is the reason," Nash said. "The biggest thing is my teammates believe in me. They stood by me. The organization believed in me. Pucks have been going in. My linemates have been finding me. I'm getting good bounces. If you watch our games every night, a lot of the goals are lucky. It's a combination of things that are going right."

It's hard to swallow the idea that luck ever has much to do with Nash, who scored 30 or more goals in seven of his first nine seasons while playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"The consistency over his career is tremendous," New York Islanders center John Tavares said. "He has always been a hard player to play against because of his size, skill, speed ... and hockey IQ."

Although the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final last spring, there was not overwhelming trust in their ability to duplicate the feat. But the Rangers in recent weeks have looked like they have a chance to be better than they were last spring.

"He is a big reason why the Rangers are having the season they are," Tavares said.

It seemed fitting that the All-Star Game this season would be held in Columbus, where Nash began his rise to stardom. Blue Jackets fans booed him Saturday during the skills contest and when he touched the puck Sunday. They think he deserves it because he asked for the trade that sent him to the Rangers.

The truth is he deserves applause and handshakes for helping grow hockey in Columbus. Many fans who watched the event in Columbus were interested because of the work Nash did in the Blue Jackets' early years.

He has always been a classy performer, never one to blame his troubles on someone else.

In Columbus, he took the high road, as those who know him would expect. He said it still was a strange feeling returning to Nationwide Arena. But what he primarily said was that he always would have a special fondness for the city. He rattled off a few of his favorite memories without even having to think about it.

"I'm over the boos," he said. "It doesn't affect me anymore. But I feel like I put a lot of work into this city and this organization. I feel like I put half of my

career into Columbus and tried to build hockey the best I could in the area. It seems to be taking off pretty good."

In Sunday's pregame introductions, Nash received some applause, but mostly boos. He was booed after scoring his two goals. It's too bad Columbus fans couldn't have let it go and said, "Thanks for the memories."

With four goals in 37 playoff games with New York, Nash has something to prove to Rangers fans. But no one today talks about Nash being on decline.

With Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne out with a knee injury, Nash's contributions should be enough to make him one of the favorites in the Hart Trophy race. Who has been more important to his contending team than Nash has been to the Rangers? He deserves to be mentioned with Rinne, Ryan Getzlaf and others.

But Nash truly isn't the kind of guy who thinks about individual trophies. When he was asked how big it would be to win a Richard trophy 12 seasons after his first one earned in Columbus, Nash said it wouldn't be big at all.

"I want the other one that we were close to last year," Nash said. "As you get older in your career, you want to help the team win. The personal goals don't matter as much as the team goals."

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YAHOO SPORTS / NHL All-Star Game MVP: Welcome to Ryan Johansen's coming-out party in Columbus

Nicholas J. Cotsonika

6 hours ago

COLUMBUS — Ryan Johansen has a ritual the mornings before games at Nationwide Arena. He walks into an office down the hall from the Columbus Blue Jackets’ dressing room, and he chats with veteran NHL broadcaster Jeff Rimer, the team’s TV play-by-play man.

“I’ve told him 100 times if I’ve told him once,” Rimer said. “ ‘Do you realize how great of a hockey player you can be?’ ”

Johansen has not realized his potential, in more ways than one. But over NHL All-Star Weekend, he got a glimpse of what he can be. The whole hockey world did. Months after a bitter contract dispute with the Blue Jackets, he was thrust into a leading role. He played to the crowd and received lots of love in return.

Blue Jackets teammate Nick Foligno made Johansen the first pick in the fantasy draft Friday night.

Johansen hammed it up as he won the breakaway challenge Saturday night, taking off his Blue Jackets sweater to reveal an Ohio State football jersey, grabbing the son of a Blue Jackets trainer and carrying him to score a goal, gathering guys to form the ‘Flying V’ out of the “Mighty Ducks” movie.

Finally, Johansen had two goals and two assists in the All-Star Game on Sunday. He didn’t have the most goals, the most assists or the most points, and his team lost, 17-12. But the fans in the arena named him the most valuable player via a Twitter vote. He was their guy.

“It hasn’t hit me yet for sure,” said Johansen, as he sat behind a microphone under the bright lights, “and this is something I’ll remember for a very long time.”

Rick Nash used to be the face of the franchise. He spent nine seasons with the Blue Jackets and invested in the community, and he still calls Columbus home for part of the off-season. But he tired of losing and asked out. The Blue Jackets traded him to the New York Rangers, and when he comes back to Columbus now, he gets booed. He was booed all weekend.

Nash left a void. The Blue Jackets have a star goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky. Johansen broke out last season with 33 goals and 63 points as the Blue Jackets made the playoffs for only the second time in their history. But the team has a blue-collar, team-oriented identity and no captain.

When Johansen’s agent pushed for a massive contract over the summer, it didn’t go over well with management. The sides traded barbs in the media. Johansen missed two-and-a-half weeks of training camp – eight exhibition games and 16 days of practice – before signing a three-year deal that would pay him salaries of $3 million, $3 million and $6 million. According to the Columbus Dispatch, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen told him: “Get your butt over here and be ready to work.”

“I think it really bothered him,” Rimer said. “Obviously it was a long negotiation.”

There still seems to be tension between the team and the player, because the team sees a 6-foot-3, 223-pound center with high-end talent … and a laid-back personality. Although Johansen has 17 goals and 43 points in 45 games this season, management is not satisfied. He needs to forecheck better. He needs to backcheck better. He needs to skate hard every shift.

“Yes, we’re happy with his production,” Kekalainen told the Dispatch. “We just want him to improve, to get more complete. He has the potential to be one of the best in the league. To do that, he needs to play a more well-rounded game. We don’t just evaluate on points.”

The Blue Jackets seem unlikely to name Johansen captain. An NHL source said the league’s hockey operations department did not name Johansen a captain for the All-Star Game partly because it wouldn’t have been right after the contract battle and partly because he’s still an unfinished product

at age 22. Wanting to name a skater from the host city, hockey ops chose Foligno instead.

But Rimer insists Johansen wanted to be in Columbus and the fences had been mended.

“I’ve seen the maturity, especially after signing that contract,” Rimer said. “He’s a different player.”

And Rimer thinks Johansen will be a better player after his All-Star Game experience. Rimer sat down with Johansen for a question-and-answer session at the Fan Fest in the convention center Sunday. Before an overflow crowd, Rimer asked Johansen if he had been watching the game’s best players – Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane – and how they handled themselves.

“He said, ‘Absolutely,’ ” Rimer said. “He feels a little more responsibility here now. He is the guy. He is the face of the franchise, he and Bobrovsky. Yeah, it’s a coming out party for him, but at the same time, it’s a hell of a learning experience for him. I think he’ll continue to grow. He’s got size. He’s a tremendous athlete. He’s strong on his skates, a great skater. And his shot. He’s got a terrific shot.”

That he does. Both his goals on Sunday were rockets.

“He’s already a superstar,” said Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, a player to whom Johansen is often compared. “I think he proved that out there. He’s a great player with a great release. When he gets that puck on his stick, he’s always dangerous.”

Johansen needs to use this as a springboard. Rimer isn’t the first one to ask Johansen if he realizes how great he can be.

“Yeah, Rims reminds me of that all the time, but Foligno, I think, was the first guy,” Johansen said. “He would pull me in the corners and really push me to be a better player. It’s nice to see that confidence from other players and belief in me and my abilities. This weekend is definitely a confidence booster.”

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