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SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 4/5/2016

Anaheim Ducks

1008528 What we learned from Ducks' 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars

1008529 Ducks defenseman Simon Despres is cleared to play

1008530 Ducks burn out Stars: What you need to know

1008531 Ducks' Nate Thompson succeeding by a hair 1008532 Anaheim Ducks getting healthier as season nears its end

Arizona Coyotes

1008533 Arizona Coyotes blow two-goal lead in loss to St. Louis Blues

1008534 Arizona Coyotes' Brad Richardson played as advertised

1008535 Hanzal remains in Arizona as Coyotes start season-ending trip

1008536 Coyotes look to snap futility streak against Blues

Boston Bruins

1008537 Bruins are in chase mode at the wrong time

1008538 Injuries leaving Bruins defense vulnerable

1008539 Bruins ready for 'big week' with playoff spot at stake

1008540 For Bruins, all’s not lost despite ugly defeat 1008541 Claude Julien spares Tuukka Rask misery

1008542 Kane hat trick leads Blackhawks past Bruins 6-4

1008543 Bruins suffer ugly loss in Chicago as playoff hopes dented

1008544 B's hold playoff fate in own hands in final week

1008545 Gyllenhaal movie on Bauman filming after Bruins-Hurricanes game

1008546 Hayes hoping to get opportunity and 'make the best of it' 1008547 Don Cherry: Rask 'can't stop a beach ball' 1008548 Kelly returns for first full practice with Bruins

Buffalo Sabres

1008549 Sabres take aim at .500 points percentage

1008550 Sabres prospect Bailey finishing strong with Amerks

1008551 Sabres notebook: Ryan O’Reilly’s status in doubt for game

1008552 Bylsma coy on injuries as Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly miss practice; one questionable for Devils game

1008553 Sabres Prospect Update: Bailey enjoying second-half surge with Amerks

Calgary Flames

1008554 'Amazing journey' wraps up as Hitmen grads pack bags for final time

1008555 Backlund poised for the first 82-game season of his NHL career 1008556 Hitmen to have new crop of leaders step up next season

1008557 Game Day: Los Angeles Kings vs Calgary Flames

1008558 Flames Notebook: Finishing the season strong, Shinkaruk's first game at the Dome

1008559 Calgary Flames defenceman Mikael Backlund eyeing first complete NHL season

1008560 Calgary Flames organization forward Brian "Big Ern ' McGrattan smilin’ in San Diego

1008561 Flames still smiling .. Shinkaruk's big chance ... Sutter's 1200th ... goalie mystery

1008562 Game day: Los Angeles Kings at Calgary Flames

Carolina Hurricanes

1008563 Bishop signs entry-level contract

Chicago Blackhawks

1008564 Marian Hossa unlikely to play Tuesday for Blackhawks

1008565 Observations from Blackhawks' 6-4 win

1008566 Blackhawks' Scott Darling filling in ably in goal with Corey Crawford out 1008567 Tuesday's matchup: Coyotes at Blackhawks

1008568 Corey Crawford likely to return in time for playoffs

1008569 Blackhawks’ dormant second line awakens just in time

1008570 Blackhawks doing just fine in Keith's absence

1008571 Blackhawks: Marian Hossa doubtful, Andrew Shaw out vs. Coyotes

1008572 Blackhawks: Artemi Panarin named NHL's first star of week

Blackhawks cont'd

1008573 Blackhawks want to build off 'first 39 and change' 1008574 NHL's 3 stars: Artemi Panarin, Brent Burns and Matt Murray

Columbus Blue Jackets

1008575 Blue Jackets | Time on Jenner's side in reaching 30 goals

1008576 Blue Jackets | 'Dancing Kevin' returns to Nationwide Arena

1008577 NHL | Blue Jackets can't overcome Rangers' start 1008578 Blue Jackets notebook | Healthy Bobrovsky is benched

1008579 NHL | Fans in Canada left without playoff teams

Dallas Stars

1008580 Stars' confidence at a high after two-game trip through Southern California

Detroit Red Wings

1008581 Pavel Datsyuk mum on his future with Detroit Red Wings

1008582 Red Wings pumped for key final-week clashes, timely TV attention

1008583 Pavel Datsyuk coy about future with Wings

1008584 Wings’ Howard finds practice, patience pay off 1008585 Declining skills might be at heart of Datsyuk’s decision

1008586 Red Wings excited to control own destiny in final week of playoff race

1008587 ed Wings' Pavel Datsyuk declines to discuss future, focused on this season

1008588 Red Wings' NHL-leading 46 one-goal games could be beneficial if they make playoffs

1008589 5 things to WATCH: Red Wings have three big games; Pavel Datsyuk's future in question

1008590 Datsyuk plays down report he'll leave Detroit

Edmonton Oilers

1008591 Oilers notes: Oscar Klefbom getting the time to heal 1008592 Oilers head coach Todd McLellan focused on 'eradicating' what ails team

1008593 Dan Barnes: There will be echoes of 2006 when Rexall Place empties out on Wednesday

1008594 Matty's memories: Long-time Edmonton Journal hockey writer will never forget his 10 calendar years at Rexall P

1008595 Everyone associated with Rexall Place has moments they cherish

1008596 Edmonton Oilers defenceman Oscar Klefbom expected to return 100 per cent next season

1008597 OIlers head coach Todd McLellan looks to fix what's wrong now, deal with rest later

Florida Panthers

1008598 Panthers set team record for poitns with win over Maple Leafs

1008599 Rocco Grimaldi scores twice to lead Panthers to shaky 4-3 victory over Leafs

1008600 Florida Panthers' top-line trio know they have to pick up the slack with Vincent Trocheck out 1008601 Preview: Panthers at Canadiens; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. 1008602 Panthers beat Leafs for franchise's best record

Los Angeles Kings

1008603 Fifth straight road loss hurts Kings bid for first-round home ice

1008604 The MVP choice here is Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks

1008605 APRIL 4 MORNING SKATE QUOTES: DARRYL SUTTER

1008606 GOOD MORNING, VANCOUVER

1008607 APRIL 4 POSTGAME NOTES

1008608 APRIL 4 POSTGAME QUOTES: DARRYL SUTTER

1008609 APRIL 4 POSTGAME QUOTES: TOFFOLI, KOPITAR

1008610 GAME #79: LOS ANGELES AT VANCOUVER

1008611 GAME 79 PREVIEW: LOS ANGELES AT VANCOUVER

1008612 MUZZIN, MCBAIN DESCRIBE TONIGHT’S FOCUS

Kings cont'd

1008613 APRIL 4 MORNING SKATE NOTES; MARTINEZ DAY-TO-DAY

Minnesota Wild

1008614 Jared Spurgeon returns to ice, could play Tuesday vs. San Jose

1008615 Prodigal Stars could be playoff foe for Wild

1008616 Wild takes on the task of rediscovering its game

1008617 Wild-San Jose game preview

1008618 3 straight losses haven't derail Wild's playoff push

Montreal Canadiens

1008619 Practice Notebook: John Scott to play one game with Canadiens

1008620 This Date in Habs History: April 4

1008621 Stu Cowan: John Scott thankful, excited to don CH jersey

Nashville Predators

1008622 Predators week ahead: Regular season concludes

1008623 Predators seek momentum in final week of season

1008624 Predators' Ryan Ellis, Anthony Bitetto nearing returns

New Jersey Devils

1008625 Martin Brodeur talks about losing wins record to Braden Holtby

1008626 Patrik Elias' return to Devils' lineup appears imminent; "I feel as good as I'm going to feel" 1008627 Elias on third line, working on power play at Devils' practice; Blandisi, Kalinin sitting out 1008628 Devils return defenseman Seth Helgeson to Albany

1008629 Devils' Patrik Elias hopes to be in the lineup tonight

New York Islanders

1008630 Islanders’ Offense Awakens After Coach’s Scolding

1008631 Islanders coach Jack Capuano calls out Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson: They ‘need to pick their s-- 1008632 Islanders respond to rip job from coach inch closer to playoff berth with big 5-2 win over Tampa Bay Lightning

1008633 Islanders coach is naming names: Time to ‘pick their s–t up’ 1008634 Isles’ Ryan Pulock coming up big, and more pressure’s coming

1008635 Ripped Isles answer cursing, fiery coach with Lightning rout 1008636 Islanders beat Lightning but deal with scares, injuries

1008637 With J-F Berube hurt, Islanders recall Christopher Gibson

1008638 Adam Pelech could help Isles after comeback from thoracic outlet syndrome

New York Rangers

1008639 Kreider and Stepan Help Rangers Clinch Postseason Berth

1008640 Rangers remain optimistic despite recent struggles, grueling final stretch

1008641 Rangers clinch playoff berth with 4-2 win over Blue Jackets, Ryan McDonagh leaves with apparent hand injury

1008642 Henrik Lundqvist’s punishment after recent debacles

1008643 Rangers’ playoff worries give way to Ryan McDonagh worries

1008644 Rangers clinch tonight with 2 points in any fashion

1008645 Rangers clinch playoff berth, 4-2 over Jackets

1008646 Rangers beat Blue Jackets, 4-2, to clinch playoffs

1008647 Bad starts getting Rangers off-kilter 1008648 Henrik Lundqvist back in net as Rangers try to clinch playoff spot 1008649 Alain Vigneault stays with struggling Rangers’ defense

1008650 Rangers-Blue Jackets in review

1008651 Rangers at Blue Jackets … It’s Go Time!

Ottawa Senators

1008652 Scanlan: Don’t read too much into Sens’ final games

1008653 Notes: Zack Smith would leap at chance to play for Canada at worlds

1008654 Stone’s status in doubt for final week

1008655 Senators' Zibanejad looking to grow

1008656 Senators' Zack Smith would love to go to worlds

1008657 Senators exercising extreme caution with Stone's health

1008658 Senators still waiting for breakout season by Zibanejad

Philadelphia Flyers

1008659 Flyers to continue playoff push in Detroit 1008660 Flyers' MacDonald sidelined after hit 1008661 Flyers' ailing MacDonald will miss Red Wings game

1008662 Ron Hextall questions injured veteran's heart 1008663 Flyers Power Rankings: Train’s 30, Schenn’s 60 & Ghost’s effort 1008664 Flyers Weekly Observations: Getting closer to playoff spot 1008665 Michal Neuvirth skates Monday, 'excited' about results

1008666 Michal Neuvirth may begin practicing with Flyers soon

Pittsburgh Penguins

1008667 Penguins' Murray named NHL's third star of the week

1008668 Starkey: East opens wide for Implausible Penguins

1008669 Swedish trio enhances Penguins' possession game

1008670 Penguins still rolling despite injury woes

San Jose Sharks

1008671 Sharks' Burns makes case for Norris Trophy consideration

1008672 Report: Jones 'probably' playoff starter for Sharks

1008673 Ten Observations: Sharks better starting playoffs on road

St Louis Blues

1008674 Blues say Allen, Backes will miss rest of regular season

1008675 Gordon: Blues fans need to relax, enjoy the journey

1008676 Allen, Backes out for rest of regular season

1008677 Brodziak has big night for Blues

1008678 Blues rally from 2 down, whip Coyotes 5-2

Tampa Bay Lightning

1008679 Bolts notes: ‘Shocked’ players must press forward after loss of Stamkos

1008680 Playoff berth on hold as Lightning lose to Islanders

1008681 Lightning players shocked with 'horrible' news on Steven Stamkos

1008682 Ben Bishop chased as Lightning loses at Islanders

1008683 Steven Stamkos has successful surgery on blood clot 1008684 Without Steven Stamkos, Lightning focuses on simplifying game

1008685 Lightning-Rangers capsule preview

1008686 The road to recovery for Steven Stamkos

Toronto Maple Leafs

1008687 Panthers seal best season in team history with win over Leafs

1008688 Nazem Kadri suspended four games for cross-check on Luke Glendening

1008689 Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri suspended four games by NHL

1008690 Leafs' Nazem Kadri to have hearing over cross-check

1008691 Leafs turn to rookie Gauthier to centre top line, but Panthers pull out win

1008692 Two Nylanders better than one for the Maple Leafs?

1008693 Leafs' Kadri gets 4-game ban ahead of tilt vs. Panthers

1008694 Leafs can't overcome lack of Kadri against Panthers

1008695 Kelly McParland: Edmonton seizes the crown for perennially woeful hockey from always-awful Leafs

1008696 Toronto Maple Leafs’ Nazem Kadri suspended over cross-check, will miss final four games of season

1008697 Maple Leafs’ late push falls short against Panthers

Vancouver Canucks

1008712 Canucks Game Day: Vancouver seeks elusive third straight win with powerhouse Kings in town

1008713 Canucks Game Day: Rollie’s rotation sensation, McCann winging it, Dorsett dishes, Doughty wishes

1008714 Willes: A winning streak the Canucks can feel good about 1008715 Canucks 3 Kings 2: Canucks culture not up for debate with third-straight win

1008716 Free-agent NCAA defenceman Stecher "dreamed about playing for Canucks" as a kid

1008717 Canucks Game Day: Rollie’s rotation sensation, McCann winging it, Dorsett dishes, Doughty wishesApril 4, 2016. 1008718 Canucks Post Game: Miller proves a prophet, Gaunce gains traction, Hansen pulls PP trigger (honestly) 1008719 The Provies: The man who blew up the tank, Sedins get hit with a cheap shot, and the Miller possibilities

1008720 Trevor Linden leading Vancouver Canucks through a period of patience

Washington Capitals

1008698 Nicklas Backstrom is practicing, but he won’t play until fully healthy

1008699 Capitals feel ‘snake-bitten’ during recent scoring struggles

1008700 Braden Holtby’s pursuit of NHL record guides Capitals into playoffs

1008701 Nicklas Backstrom recovering from injury; uncertain for Capitals’ upcoming games

1008702 Holtby approaching Brodeur’s single-season wins record

1008703 Backstrom says he'll wait until he's '100 percent' 1008704 NHL Power Rankings: Are Caps and Penguins on a collision course?

1008705 Will Caps give Backstrom another game off?

1008706 Caps begin final week with teams fans love to hate

Websites

1008721 ESPN / 10 things we never saw coming this season

1008722 ESPN / Work ethic, smarts driving Roberto Luongo's impressive longevity

1008723 Sportsnet.ca / Leafs and Panthers once together in basement, now miles apart 1008724 Sportsnet.ca / Weekend Takeaways: Stamkos injury may change summer payday

1008725 Sportsnet.ca / Five things we learned in the NHL: Rangers are in

1008726 Sportsnet.ca / Nazem Kadri’s divisive season has him under microscope

1008727 Sportsnet.ca / How will the loss of Steven Stamkos impact Lightning?

1008728 Sportsnet.ca / Todd McLellan, Oilers still establishing boundaries

1008729 Sportsnet.ca / Neurosurgeon: NHL should alter equipment, ban fighting

1008730 Sportsnet.ca / Datsyuk responds to report that he’ll leave Red Wings early

1008731 TSN.CA / Injury won’t slow Stamkos speculation

1008732 TSN.CA / Statistically Speaking: Kane hits 100

1008733 TSN.CA / Statistically Speaking: Panarin deserves Calder 1008734 TSN.CA / #MondayMustRead: Roy puts Avs’ core under the microscope

Winnipeg Jets

1008707 Jets, Moose give call-ups a chance to impress

1008708 College free agent Tanev to make NHL debut Tuesday for Jets in Anaheim

1008709 First impressions: Three Jets rookies share some of their most memorable moments of the season

1008710 Time for change: Jets need better goaltending to take next step

1008711 Lowry not going to to tank for the draft

SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129

1008528 Anaheim Ducks

What we learned from Ducks' 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars

Curtis Zupke

Playing the Western Conference’s best usually isn’t at the top of the wish list for a team trying to get into playoff form.

But the Ducks needed an opponent like Dallas and a game like Sunday’s 3-1 win at Honda Center to kick-start the home stretch of the regular season.

Here’s what we learned:

The Ducks got back to their defense.

That had gotten away from Anaheim recently, even though the team remains among the league’s best in goals-against and penalty killing.

The Ducks blocked 22 shots and forced Dallas into 15 missed shots. It was only the second time in 22 games that the Stars were held to one goal.

The Ryan Kesler line is picking up the scoring slack.

The Ducks are without injured forwards Brandon Pirri, David Perron and Rickard Rakell. But in the last nine games, the line of Kesler, Andrew Cogliano and Jakob Silfverberg has combined for 13 goals and 17 assists.

Ducks are up for a challenge and beat Stars, 3-1

Kesler, who was credited with an empty-net goal, reached 50 points, his most since his 73 points with Vancouver in 2010-11.

“They’ve always gotten the chances, they’ve just never put them in,” Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Now they’re starting to go in for them, which really makes it nice because now you have secondary scoring.”

Nate Thompson can’t remember if he’s had a three-game scoring streak … at any level.

Thompson got his first such streak in the NHL on Sunday, and he’s not sure if he had one before that.

“It’s been a long time, guys,” Thompson said with a smile. “I don’t know. Honestly, it’s been a long time. I’ll take it.”

LA Times: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Ducks defenseman Simon Despres is cleared to play

Curtis Zupke

Ducks defenseman Simon Despres is in a good place when he's alongside his teammates, whether working through a long season on the ice or enjoying loose moments off it.

Unfortunately for him, that camaraderie has been scarce this season, but he was back in his element Monday after he was cleared to play from an upper-body injury, Coach Bruce Boudreau said.

"To be able to come back on the ice with my teammates means a lot to me," Despres said. "I went through a lot of injuries this year, and just to be healthy and playing again is something that has no price. I appreciate every moment I get on the ice."

Despres missed 42 games earlier this season with a concussion. Boudreau alluded to it when Despres was sent home to be evaluated following a hit in a March 22 game at Montreal, and since has missed six games.

His return gives the Ducks almost a full complement of defensemen with four games left in the regular season and the Pacific Division title on the line, starting with Tuesday's regular-season home finale against Winnipeg. Despres is a big-bodied defender and penalty killer, and Anaheim is 18-5-2 with him in the lineup since his Jan. 26 return.

But even if he finishes the regular season, Despres will have played in only 32 games, fewer than half of the 75 games he played last season. He also missed two games in early March with illness.

The remaining four games give Despres an important window, though.

"I definitely want to get some games in before the playoffs, and get ready as much as I can to get to the top of my game," he said.

Etc.

Goalie Frederik Andersen participated in part of practice and Boudreau said Andersen has not had any setbacks from a concussion. ... Defenseman Kevin Bieksa and forward Brandon Pirri did not practice. Both have upper-body injuries. ... The Ducks signed Minnesota Duluth defenseman Andy Welinski to a two-year entry-level contract. Welinski was their third-round pick in the 2011 draft.

NEXT UP

DUCKS VS. WINNIPEG JETS

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. PDT.

Where: Honda Center.

On the air: TV: NHL; Radio: None.

Update: Injury-riddled Winnipeg is out of the playoff picture, but the Jets beat Minnesota and took Chicago to overtime in their last two games. Jets forward Blake Wheeler has an eight-game point streak. The Ducks beat the Jets on Jakob Silfverberg's overtime goal on March 20.



Ducks burn out Stars: What you need to know

April 4, 2016 Updated 10:07 a.m.

By ERIC STEPHENS / STAFF WRITER

ANAHEIM – Here’s what you need to know about the Ducks’ 3-1 win over Dallas Stars on Sunday night:

THE GAME IN 140 CHARACTERS OR FEWER

- Finally getting to test themselves against a top-tier team, the Ducks passed with flying colors. Two shorthanded goals will help the cause.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

“It was a great move. I don’t know why he’s been keeping it from us. I was glad to see it.”

- Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, on Nate Thompson’s breakaway goal

STAT OF THE NIGHT

- The Ducks’ two shorthanded are the first time they’ve done that in a game since March 3, 2015 against Arizona.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

- Tough call but we’ll give a slight edge to Nate Thompson over Jakob Silfverberg. The gritty center doesn’t get the headlines for the dirty work he’s always willing to do but he’s on a roll with his first three-game goal-scoring streak. Thompson was a winner in the faceoff circle, has been a spark on an energetic fourth line of late and delivered a momentum-changing shorthanded goal that opened the scoring and was a thing a beauty. Meanwhile, the tenacious Silfverberg was a defensive demon all game, a factor in the offensive end and made the play that doubled the lead to start the third.

ANALYSIS

- Bored is a strong word when you talk about players competing on the ice but it is fair to say the Ducks didn’t weren’t as fully engaged during their seven-game swing against the Lottery Seven that is Canada’s NHL teams. It took a team like Dallas to force them to sharpen their game and they did exactly that. Boudreau groused about how his group didn’t get the puck down the ice when it could in their loss to Vancouver and that was fixed in short order. The Ducks did that at every opportunity they could, making the quick-transitioning Stars repeatedly play the entire length of the ice. And they never got sucked into going chance-for-chance with the explosive Stars, who would much rather turn games into track meets on the ice. John Gibson was sharp, particularly in the first half of the game. This is Gibson’s chance to making a final lasting impression on Boudreau and the coaching staff as at some point they’ll have to decide on a Game 1 starter for the first round. Frederik Andersen appears to be quickly recovering from the concussion he suffered last week against Calgary and he could get a game this week – possibly either in Colorado or Washington. But if Gibson gets the start Thursday against the Kings and plays well, the playoff goalie quandary may be settled.

The playoffs are an entirely different animal and who knows if the Ducks’ dominant penalty kill will hold up when the stakes are raised. But they again showed how effective it is and how it can become a momentum-changing weapon. The combination of proven killers and assistant Trent Yawney’s system that they have complete trust in has made the improvement in that area nothing short of wondrous. Now where do the Ducks want to finish? Do you want to win the Pacific and face the prospect of playing Nashville and traveling across the country to Music City, perhaps needing to at least win once at raucous Bridgestone Arena? Or do you want to finish second and likely have a California showdown with San Jose, which has been terrific on the road and strangely terrible at the once-raucous SAP Center? Would either team really want home ice? The Ducks do, no matter their work in Game 7s at Honda Center. “Right now, we’re in the playoffs,” Ryan Kesler said. “We just got to get home ice. Obviously it’s nice to win the division. I think we just want to get home ice.”

KEY MOMENT

- The Ducks had Clayton Stoner in the penalty box to start the third period. Ryan Kesler won the facecoff and Jakob Silfverberg shot the puck into the Dallas end. Stars goalie Antti Niemi couldn’t retrieve it cleanly but teammate Patrick Sharp was there to play it. Except his play

off the boards was poor and Silfverberg cut if off, gathering the puck and feeding Kesler as he went toward the net. A quick wrist shot later, it was 2-0 and a lead that would hold up.

ANY NEWS?

- Andrew Cogliano played in his 700th consecutive game, becoming the sixth player in NHL history to do that and the second from the start of his career. Doug Jarvis, who holds the record with 964, also never missed a game.

- Corey Perry joined Teemu Selanne as the second Ducks player to play in 800 games with the franchise.

- Frederik Andersen (concussion) took shots in goal for the first time since getting hurt Wednesday against Calgary.

- The club signed Minnesota-Duluth defenseman Andy Welinski to a two-year entry level deal, according to the Duluth News-Tribune. Welinski will report to San Diego (AHL).

MORE POSTGAME QUOTES

BRUCE BOUDREAU

(on dictating their style of play in the game …)

“It was, I think, really our best game in a month. I thought we were a pretty determined group. We knew what their strengths were and I thought a good game plan was put together. I thought the players executed it really well.”

(on the penalty kill scoring twice …)

“They made mistakes. We’ve got eight penalty killers so they’re usually always fresh. They don’t get caught out there. And when that happens, when you keep putting pressure on them and putting pressure on them sometimes you get a break. And tonight we got a break.”

(on whether John Gibson is grabbing the net …)

“Well, Freddie’s hurt. Yeah, he’s taking advantage of the situation and that’s what you want somebody to do. Read the writing on the wall and take advantage of it.”

(on them elevating their game before the playoffs …)

“We’d like to be able to continue to play at this level for the next four games. But for sure we know we can do when we put our mind to it.”

(on their game without their injured players …)

“It’s a great testament to the depth. Other guys come in and fit in and do a really good job.”

(on needing an opponent like Dallas to raise their game …)

“Now that we’ve won the game, I’d say yes. It’s a daunting task when you’re looking opposite and you look at all the goals they’ve scored and what they’ve got going. I think it was something that got the players excited. We just went through seven or eight games in a row against Canadian teams who are out of the playoffs. This had little bit more meaning. And any time you see when the Western Conference plays the Western Conference, it’s always a little more intense game.”

(on the shutdown line providing consistent offense …)

“They’ve always gotten the chances. They’ve just never put them in. Now they’re starting to go in for them, which really makes it nice because now you have secondary scoring. When you have secondary scoring, especially with Rakell and Perron not in the lineup, it’s an important issue.”

RYAN KESLER

(on the pivotal parts to their penalty killing success …)

“First off, you need your goalie to be your best penalty killer. You need guys committed to the system and committed to blocking shots. Right now we have four penalty kill units that are confident.”

(on needing an opponent like Dallas to get them up for the game …)

“Definitely. Obviously we’re professionals and we’ve got to get up for whoever we play. Playing against this team, a potential playoff opponent, it helps gets you up for the games.”

(on his goal off Silfverberg’s forecheck …)

“It was kind of a set play off the draw there and it finally worked. We’ve only been trying it for 80 games.”

(on being back in first place …)

“We got a couple of big games. I think we have four left. And we have to win some games here if we want to stay on top.”

NATE THOMPSON

(on the penalty kill and scoring goals on it …)

“It’s always nice to get a shorthanded goal, let alone two shorthanded goals. It was big. Our PK was definitely a big difference tonight.”

(on their complete 60 minute effort …)

“It’s huge. Especially after last game. We were disappointed after last game. We let those two points slip away and I think we wanted to bounce back. I think we did that tonight. We were pretty good all over the ice. They had some looks but Gibby made some big saves and then we capitalized on our chances.”

(on the fourth line playing well …)

“I think we’ve had depth all year. You look at the guys that have gone out and the guys have come in. Eveyrone’s contributed at some point. It says a lot of our team and we just have to continue to do it.”

ANDREW COGLIANO

(on their performance …)

“I thought it was one of the better games we played in a while. That’s a good team so that should be a big confidence booster for us and get us back on the right track.”

(on how a shorthanded goal energizes a team …)

“Usually when you get a shorty, getting two, I think you should win the game. Those are almost bonus goals. Those are big plays. Thommer had a great play at the right time. Zero-zero and that was the first goal obviously coming out of the second period. Those are goals that are just big momentum shifts. Those are the difference tonight.”

POSTGAME NOTES

• Ryan Kesler had two goals to reach for 20 for the eighth straight season.

• The Ducks had a 29-20 edge in the faceoff circle, with Nate Thompson going 10-for-15.

• Jakob Silfverberg had a plus-2 rating and is 9-4-13 over his last 11 games.

• The Ducks had 34 credited hits, with Chris Wagner getting eight and Jamie McGinn having six.

• Kesler and Clayton Stoner each had four of the Ducks’ 22 blocked shots.

• Shawn Horcoff won six of his seven faceoff draws.

• Cam Fowler (23:45), Hampus Lindholm (23:32) and Sami Vatanen (21:41) had a plus-1 rating.

• Dallas captain Jamie Benn had three shots on goal and a minus-3 rating.

• Stars defenseman John Klingberg had four giveaways and a minus-2 rating.

• Stephen Johns played 21:57 and had six hits for the Stars.

• Jason Spezza had an assist and went 7-for-10 in the circle.

DUCKS RECORD/STANDING

44-24-10 (25-10-5 at home, 19-14-5 on road), first place in Pacific Division

WHAT’S NEXT?

- The Ducks play the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at Honda Center at 7 p.m.

Orange County Register: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Ducks' Nate Thompson succeeding by a hair

By ERIC STEPHENS

2016-04-04 19:23:49

ANAHEIM – The Bible says that Samson drew much of his supernatural strength from his hair and that he was rendered powerless once it was cut by Delilah.

Nate Thompson always has preferred to keep his locks more on the lengthier side. The veteran center isn’t believed to be particularly superstitious, but he thought it was time to go short and tight on the sides.

Three games since being in the chair, Thompson has goals in each one of them. It is the first time he has scored in three straight NHL games. And it might be time to make regular appointments.

“I just decided to change it up,” he said, flashing a missing-tooth smile. “For some reason, it worked.”

His latest one Sunday was a shorthanded beauty on a breakaway in the Ducks’ 3-1 win over Dallas. And his out-of-the-blue scoring surge has him trying to recall the last time he had goals in three straight.

“It’s been a long time, guys,” said Thompson, who didn’t score in his first 42 contests this season. “I don’t know. Honestly, it’s been a long time. I’ll take it. You guys come up with those stats, not me.”

Who knows if there are otherworldly forces that have suddenly turned Thompson into an offensive force? There are more concrete reasons why the center’s play has been particularly effective of late and they go beyond putting the puck in the net.

Thompson is healthy. It is the best he has felt since returning to action on Dec. 2, a little over five months after having major surgery to repair two labral tears in his left shoulder. His presence stabilizes a fourth line that’s recently had more of an impact.

“His puck-handling has been better,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “The goals don’t make a big difference but before he got them, he hadn’t had a point in a while. To me, the puck was bouncing off his stick and he was trying not to make a play. He just didn’t want to get into trouble.

“Once he scored that goal, everything seemed to slow down for him. And now he’s handling the puck. He’s trying to take guys wide and beat guys. And he’s doing it fairly well.”

Boudreau also points to Thompson’s 70.2 percent faceoff success (26 for 37) over the past three games as further evidence that he’s back to full strength. Thompson said he knew his recovery would be long and tedious, but not having a training camp was still a big adjustment.

“I felt when I came back, I was pretty good,” Thompson said. “I felt pretty good. And then I get suspended (in December). Playing a bunch of games – I kind of felt like I was going through a little bit of a lull there. I wasn’t playing bad but I wasn’t playing my best. And then I miss a few more games with injury.

“I never really got in a rhythm. Now that I feel pretty healthy, knock on wood, I’m starting to play to my capabilities. And just playing with confidence and making sure I do all the little things. It’s nice to get rewarded for it.”

DESPRES RETURNS

Defenseman Simon Despres was cleared for game action and should be in Tuesday’s regular-season home finale against Winnipeg after missing the past six games.

Despres was sent home amid some concern over recurring concussion symptoms that resulted from a hit in a game at Montreal. He missed 42 games after being concussed by Colorado’s Tyson Barrie.

“One of those years where you catch a few bad breaks,” Despres said. “You fall down and get back up. Back down and back up again.”

Hampus Lindholm returned to the blue line Sunday after missing one game due to the flu. The Ducks still have a number of players out, with Rickard Rakell (appendix), Brandon Pirri (upper body) and David Perron (shoulder) unable to practice yet.

Goalie Frederik Andersen is still working his way back from a concussion. Boudreau is hoping to work regulars into their current lineup as their ready for a smooth transition.

“The one thing you don’t want to do is have to put four or five guys in the lineup all at the same that haven’t played,” Boudreau said. “If you can just keep adding one on a nightly basis, that’d be great.”

Despres said he’s ready to tune up his game for the upcoming playoffs.

“It’s an important week personally for me to get ready physically and get my game sharp for the real season, which starts in a week or so,” he said.

WELINSKI SIGNED

The club announced the signing of 2011 third-round pick Andy Welinski, a senior defenseman at Minnesota-Duluth who served as the Bulldogs’ captain. It is a two-year entry level deal and Welinski, 22, will report to San Diego (AHL).

“It’s exciting for sure,” Welinski told the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune. “It’s been a long road to get here and there’s obviously been a lot of people that have helped me get to this point.

“I’m looking forward to seeing where I’m at right now. It will be a great test to get in some games here and, hopefully, make a playoff run.”

Orange County Register: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Anaheim Ducks getting healthier as season nears its end

Posted: 04/04/16, 4:17 PM PDT | Updated: 7 hrs ago

Elliott Teaford

Faceoff: 7 p.m.

TV/Radio: NHLN / 830-AM

Update: Defenseman Simon Despres skated with his teammates Monday and said he was ready to return to the Ducks’ lineup after sitting out for six games because of an upper-body injury. Goaltender Frederik Andersen skated on his own then joined the Ducks for the start of their workout at Honda Center. He’s getting closer to a return to the net after suffering a concussion during the Ducks’ victory Wednesday over the Calgary Flames. The Ducks (44-24-10) are expected to be without Andersen, Kevin Bieksa (upper body), David Perron (shoulder), Brandon Pirri (upper body) and Rickard Rakell (appendectomy) for their regular-season home finale. The Ducks are a league-best 32-9-4 since the Christmas break. They also are 12-2-1 in their past 15 games at Honda Center. Their overall home mark of 25-10-5 is the best in the Western Conference. Winnipeg is 32-39-8.

LA Daily News: LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008533 Arizona Coyotes

Arizona Coyotes blow two-goal lead in loss to St. Louis Blues

Sarah McLellan, azcentral sports 8:50 p.m. MST April 4, 2016

ST. LOUIS – The momentum the Coyotes siphoned out of a Saturday victory over the league-leading Capitals in their home finale seemed to make the trip to St. Louis as they were holding off a Blues team that’s jostling for the top spot in the Western Conference.

But after a string of penalties bumped the Coyotes out of their rhythm, their two-goal lead evaporated into a 5-2 loss to the Blues on Monday in front of 19,465 at Scottrade Center at the outset of their season-ending, four-game road swing.

“I don’t know if we thought it was going to be easy or not,” winger Anthony Duclair said. “But we definitely got away from the things we were doing right after the first period.”

The Blues scored five straight, four of which came in the third, to cap off their rally with center Kyle Brodziak scoring twice – including a short-handed tally – and winger Vladimir Tarasenko converting the game-winner and adding an assist to help the Blues nab their eighth straight over the Coyotes.

St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott had 25 stops, and Mike Smith made 21 saves for the Coyotes; five goals is the most he’s surrendered since returning March 12 from a core muscle injury.

“As the game went on, too may penalties and lost a special-teams game,” coach Dave Tippett said.

The Coyotes scored all of their offense in the first with the Alex Tanguay-Antoine Vermette-Duclair line supplying Arizona’s goals to combine for four points.

Tanguay assisted on both goals and in 15 games with the Coyotes since being acquired in a trade-deadline acquisition with the Avalanche, he has 13 points – nine assists – and the Coyotes are 6-2-1 when he tallies a point.

Vermette made it 1-0 at 3:28 when he scooped up the rebound off a Connor Murphy shot and lifted a backhand over Elliott.

The line added another with a give-and-go between Tanguay and Duclair that saw Duclair pull the puck back before sending it over Elliott with 6:52 remaining in the period for his 20th goal of the season.

“It’s a pretty nice accomplishment,” Duclair said. “At the same time, I’m sharing it with my teammates. I gotta give all credit to them. They’ve been supporting me through the whole season. Just the leadership group has been unbelievable for the young guys. I’m happy to share it with them.”

St. Louis ramped up the pressure in the second, outshooting Arizona 11-4 amid a penalty-heavy period.

On their first power play, the Blues cut their deficit in half when winger Troy Brouwer deflected a shot from defenseman Alex Pietrangelo five-hole on Smith at 7:36 to end Smith’s shutout streak at 116:53.

The Coyotes went on to commit six more infractions in the period, including three during a late-period scrum after Smith made an impressive sliding pad save on defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.

In the third during a Blues’ penalty kill, Brodziak outmuscled defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson for a loose puck to skate in alone on Smith and finish the play with a glove-side shot at 1:28 – the 13th short-handed the Coyotes have given up this season, the second-most in the NHL.

Duclair had a glorious chance to break the 2-2 tie near the midway point of the period when he accepted a pass from – who else – Tanguay, but he was slashed by winger Magnus Paajarvi and unable to get his backhand attempt over Elliott.

“He had no choice but to hook me,” Duclair said. “We just have to make sure we capitalize on the power play next time.”

The Coyotes were unsuccessful on the ensuing power play (they went 0-for-3) and after Paajarvi stepped out of the penalty box, he broke out for a 2-on-0 with winger Alexander Steen.

Smith snuffed out the opportunity but not long after, Tarasenko converted by roofing a shot over Smith.

And with seven minutes remaining, Tarasenko fed center Patrik Berglund for a one-timer on the power play to make it 4-2.

St. Louis finished 2-for-6 on the power play.

Brodziak added his second of the game on a shot that eclipsed Smith's glove with 51 seconds to go.

“It’s tough to gain momentum back when you lose it,” Tanguay said. “You have some guys that don’t play the PK that sit on the bench. You have some guys that overplay because they pay on the PK, so it’s kind of hard to stay in the focus of the game. You can’t take twice as many penalties as the other team and expect to win a game.”

Report

Key player: Blues center Kyle Brodziak scored twice.

Key moment: Brodziak tied it at 2 only 1:28 into the third period on a short-handed breakaway.

Key number: 4 goals by the Blues in the third period.

View from the press box: Consistency is a hallmark of the teams near the top of each conference, like the Capitals and Blues, and the Coyotes were issued a reminder of that Monday. Beating the NHL’s best in Washington was a feel-good accomplishment for Arizona in its home finale Saturday, but the challenge is to stick with a blueprint when it works. Typically, that’s what separates the non-playoff clubs from the ones that play late into the spring.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 04.05.2016


Arizona Coyotes' Brad Richardson played as advertised


ST. LOUIS – Free agency can be a risky venture – for players and teams – but as the Coyotes and center Brad Richardson approach the end of the season, their union last summer seems like it’s led to a solid partnership.

“I’ve really loved it,” Richardson said. “The guys have been awesome. We’ve had a lot of fun this year even though we’re not going to get in. It’s still been a fun season. I think we’ve improved in a lot of areas we’ve needed to. You’re always sad when you’re not in the playoffs, but I think we’re pushing in the right direction.”

Richardson signed a three-year, $6.25 million contract on the first day of free agency this past offseason as a source of secondary scoring who could be sound all over the ice – including on the penalty kill. And by scoring his 10th goal of the season in Saturday’s home finale, establishing a career-high in points (29 entering Monday’s game against the Blues) and racking up more than 125 minutes as a penalty kill, the 31-year-old has delivered as advertised.

“He’s just one of those guys, a third-, fourth-line guy who gives you everything he’s got,” coach Dave Tippett said. “He’s competitive. He can chip in. He’s almost to 30 points. Ten goals. He chips in. Plays a lot of PK. Started a little slow on the faceoff dot but as the year’s gone on, he’s really improved that part of it. Just been a really good gritty player for us.”

Back to business

Goalie Mike Smith was back between the pipes Monday, returning to the building in which he played his last game before undergoing surgery on a core-muscle injury in December.

And pausing for about three months to clear up a nagging issue has sure seemed like the right call considering Smith’s performance since he’s been back – a 5-2 record with two shutouts and a .962 save percentage entering action against the Blues.

“I think it was really important for me to come back and not only show myself but the team and the group that I can still play when I’m healthy and when I’m feeling my best,” Smith said.

After blanking the Capitals on Saturday for his 30th career shutout and No. 19 with the Coyotes, Smith is only two shutouts shy of tying Ilya Bryzgalov and Nikolia Khabibulin (21) for the most in franchise history.

“I think his injury bothered him,” Tippett said. “He went about a month with that injury trying to play through it, and I think it was really bothering him because you look at the first 10 games of the season he was really, really good. I mean, we went into LA and into Anaheim, a couple games where he was outstanding. I think the injury really bothered him. That’s why I feel good he’s come back healthy. We gave him lots of time. He got good and healthy. Now we’re seeing the results of that.”

Delivery time

Defenseman Nicklas Grossmann has left the team to return to the Valley to be with his wife, who is expecting the couple’s first child.

Tippett is hopeful Grossmann will rejoin the Coyotes at some point on this road trip.

“If he gets through a day or two, it’s probably better he meets us out in San Jose than fly all the way back out here,” Tippett said. “But we’ll see how that goes.”

Injury update

Center Martin Hanzal is also in Arizona as he didn't accompany the team to St. Louis for the start of their season-ending, four-game road trip. Hanzal is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

“Hopefully there’s a chance he can join us,” Tippett said. “But we’ll just monitor that as it goes along here.”

Winger Eric Selleck (upper-body) skated Monday but didn’t play against the Blues.

“He’s feeling better,” Tippett said. “Not ready for action yet, but there’s a chance he’ll play on this trip I hope.”



Hanzal remains in Arizona as Coyotes start season-ending trip


Coyotes (35-36-7) vs. Blues (47-23-9)

Puck drop: 5 p.m.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Arizona-Plus/KTAR-AM (620).

Center Martin Hanzal did not travel with the Coyotes to St. Louis for the start of a season-ending four-game road trip.

“He didn’t make the trip,’ coach Dave Tippett said. “He’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Hopefully there’s a chance he can join us, but we’ll just monitor that as it goes along here.”

Defenseman Nicklas Grossmann is also not currently with the team.

“He left early this morning. His wife is probably going to have a baby today,” Tippett said. “ … I would hope (he rejoins the team on the trip). I don’t know. You never know. It’s day-to-day. If he gets through a day or two, it’s probably better he meets us out in San Jose than fly all the way back out here. But we’ll see how that goes.”

Tonight’s game against the Blues is the first of four against playoff-bound opponents to conclude the season.

“It’s great for our young players,” Tippett said. “You’re going to play against good teams that have something to play for still,” Tippett said. “It’s going to be a great tests for us.”

Fast facts for Monday’s game

The Coyotes’ 12 wins by three goals is their most since 2011-12.

Center Boyd Gordon is fourth in the NHL with a 57.7 faceoff win percentage.

The Coyotes are first in the NHL with a 54.4 faceoff win percentage.

Arizona is 0-2 against St. Louis this season.

Winger Anthony Duclair leads the team with eight road goals.

St. Louis has won seven in a row against Arizona and has points in 11 straight (10-0-1).

The Blues are 32-12-4 against Western Conference opponents.

Winger Vladimir Tarasenko and winger Paul Stastny are in the midst of five-game point streaks.

Against the Coyotes, center David Backes has a five-game point streak (seven goals and three assists).

The Blues are averaging 3.71 goals-per-game since the beginning of March, which ranks second overall in the NHL.

Possible Coyotes lines:

Tanguay-Vermette-Duclair

Domi-Richardson-Doan

Rieder-Dauphin-Sekac

Martinook-Gordon-Chipchura

Ekman-Larsson-Murphy

Connauton-Michalek

Dahlbeck-Grant

Smith

Potential scratches: Stone, Plotnikov, Grossmann, Tikhonov, Selleck and Hanzal.

Injury update: Center Martin Hanzal (upper-body injury) and winger Eric Selleck (upper-body injury) are day-to-day. Defenseman Michael Stone (knee) is out for the season. Anders Lindback (Achilles tendon) and center/winger Joe Vitale (concussion-related issues) are on injured reserve.

Possible Blues lines:

Steen-Lehtera-Tarasenko

Paajarvi-Stastny-Brouwer

Schwartz-Berglund-Backes

Upshal-Brodziak-Jaskin

Edmundson-Pietrangelo

Shattenkirk-Parayko

Gunnarsson-Bortuzzo

Elliott

Potential scratches: Fabbri, Bouwmeester, Reaves and Lindbohm.

Injury update: Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester (upper-body) and centers Steve Ott (hamstrings) and Robby Fabbri (lower-body).



Coyotes look to snap futility streak against Blues

Apr 4, 2016 at 3:19p ET

Staff

The Coyotes open a four-game season-ending road trip Monday against an opponent that has given them fits in recent years.

The St. Louis Blues have won their last seven against against the Coyotes and are 10-0-1 in the last 11 matchups.

The game can be seen on FOX Sports Arizona Plus, starting at 4:30 p.m.

The Coyotes (35-36-7) have struggled to generate offense away from home, averaging 1.7 goals in their last 16 road games. But they've four of their last six overall following Saturday night's 3-0 victory against Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington in their home finale.

Mike Smith registered his second shutout since returning from a lower-body injury March 12 and improved to 5-2-0 with a 1.29 GAA in his last seven starts.

"It was important for me personally, coming off the injury and not playing a lot, to come back and show myself and the team and the organization that I can still play when I'm healthy," Smith said. "It was our last home game and we played really well against the best team in the league."

Smith is winless in his last six against St. Louis with a 3.90 goals-against average.

Captain Shane Doan leads the Coyotes with 27 goals and needs four more in his final four games to equal his career high. The Coyotes will be without center Martin Hanzal (upper-body injury) and defenseman Nicklas Grossmann, who stayed behind in Arizona to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

The Blues (47-23-9) are still in the running for the top seed in the Western Conference, trailing Dallas by two points. The Blues have three games to play, compared with two for the Stars, but Dallas holds the tie-breaker, so the Blues' margin for error is simall.

St. Louis has outscored opponents 25-8 during a current 6-1-0 run and is coming off a 5-1 victory over Colorado on Sunday. Anders Nilsson was in net for the final two periods after an undisclosed injury suffered by Jake Allen.

"We'll know a little more on Jake (on Monday)," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Hopefully, it's day to day."

"We know what's in front of us. We know what's behind us," defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "But the biggest thing for us is worrying about ourselves. If we play like we can, we're going to put ourselves in a good position. We want to make sure we're going full speed going to the playoffs."

Nilsson was the Blues' backup against Colorado because Brian Elliott was back in St. Louis, reportedly resting up for Monday's game.

Elliott is 4-0-0 with a 1.29 GAA and three shutouts since returning from a lower-body injury March 19. He yielded four goals on 22 shots in Arizona on Feb. 20, but St. Louis exited with a 6-4 victory.

Blues forward Alexander Steen has four goals and seven assists in his last seven games against the Coyotes. Right wing Vladimir Tarasenko lead the Blues with 36 goals and 69 points.

foxsportsarizona.com LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008537 Boston Bruins

Bruins are in chase mode at the wrong time

By Fluto Shinzawa Globe Staff April 04, 2016

Of all the hammerings the Bruins absorbed during their 6-4 beatdown in Chicago Sunday, they escaped one punishment. They scooted out of United Center without being charged for admission for the first half of the game.

Whatever sport the go-go Blackhawks were playing for all of the first period and half of the second, the Bruins were left to consume it as spectators. The Blackhawks controlled the puck and the pace. The Bruins, down a six-pack with less than a minute left in the second, had no choice but to chase.

They’d better get used to it.

The Bruins enter the final week of 2015-16 in full chase mode. Detroit and Philadelphia, the two teams they’re pursuing, are 1 point ahead of Boston for third place in the Atlantic Division and for the final wild-card spot, respectively.

Never has 1 point seemed like a gap so great.

On March 14, the Bruins were in first place in the Atlantic Division with 86 points. They were 10 points clear of Philadelphia, the ninth-place team in the Eastern Conference, and 7 points ahead of the Red Wings. Since then, the Bruins have gone 2-7-0, while the Wings have gone 6-4-0 and the Flyers 7-3-1.

Call it a choke, gag job, or anything else that qualifies as such. In reality, their nine-game stumble is a mirror. The results reflect who they are: an unexceptional, top-heavy mishmash of players.

Their talent level puts them at risk for tumbles like the one they’re currently riding. It’s just that it’s happening at the wrong time.

It would be one thing if their recent troubles were about offense. They are averaging 2.9 goals per game, fifth-most in the NHL. They have 152 five-on-five goals, third-most behind the Stars and Rangers.

In small windows, scoring goals can be fickle, as the Bruins learned the hard way in their 2-1 loss to New Jersey on March 29, when they had a 64-29 advantage in shot attempts. They did not suddenly learn how to shoot straight in their next two games when they pumped in 10 total pucks against St. Louis and Chicago. Their offensive luck changed for the better.

It’s a lot harder, however, to make immediate corrections to defending. When the Bruins have allowed chances in bunches the way they have the last two games, it reflects many things gone wrong. They made bad decisions. They compounded their mistakes by letting a breakdown get to their heads. They ran around, tried to do too much, and ended up doing themselves far more harm than good.

“We have to clear up our little mistakes in our defensive game, especially in our D-zone,” David Krejci said after Monday’s practice at TD Garden. “Sometimes we were kind of everywhere and nowhere at the same time. We kind of worked on that today. Hopefully, we can keep the goals away from our net and keep scoring. That would be nice to do tomorrow.”

Ultimately, they played to the quality of their roster, which is not very good.

Up front, coach Claude Julien has opted for a power line by skating Loui Eriksson with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. It’s a risky move. When the line doesn’t score, opponents can take advantage of the bottom six, which includes two first-year pros in Frank Vatrano and Noel Acciari, a slumping No. 3 center in Ryan Spooner (one goal and three assists in his last 12 games), and a right wing in Jimmy Hayes whose results (0-0—0 in his last 15 games) are screaming at high decibels in contrast to his hushed on-ice performance.

It’s even shakier on the blue line, where there are three dependable defensemen (Zdeno Chara, Adam McQuaid, and Torey Krug), one newcomer (John-Michael Liles), and a whole lot of Providence (Zach Trotman and Joe Morrow).

Dennis Seidenberg left Monday’s practice early after pulling out of a battle drill with Hayes. Seidenberg did not play against St. Louis or Chicago. Kevan Miller, injured against St. Louis, did not practice. Neither looks likely to be available against Carolina Tuesday.

“Obviously, be more tight defensively,” Chara said when asked how the team had to play this week. “We’re giving up some outnumbered situations, some scoring chances. We need to be more tight defensively.”

In previous times of crisis, the Bruins always retreated to a familiar spot. They would simplify their game, lock it down on defense, and progress from there. Seventy-nine games of data have shown that this is no longer a sure thing. They’ve allowed 2.77 goals per game, 12th-most in the league. They’ve allowed more shot attempts during five-on-five play than they’ve taken. Their penalty kill is No. 13 overall at 81.7 percent.

Julien still trusts that his players can think and execute the game properly in the final week of play.

“When a team wants to get itself back on track, which we have to do this week, you’ve got to trust whatever word you want to use — game plan, system,” Julien said. “You’ve got to trust it.

“You’ve got to respect it and go and do it so that everybody’s on the same page. That just minimizes breakdowns. That’s the focus we have to have this week. Let’s trust our game plan and our system here. Let’s execute it the best we can. The rest will take care of itself.

“We’ve got enough talent to score goals. We’ve got enough talent to defend. It’s just making sure we minimize the kind of mistakes you saw yesterday.”

Perhaps this is doable for one game. But the Bruins need three wins to do it right. They haven’t won three straight since January.

Boston Globe LOADED: 04.05.2016


Injuries leaving Bruins defense vulnerable

By Amalie Benjamin Globe Staff April 04, 2016

CHICAGO — Eleven.

That’s the number of goals the Bruins have allowed over their last two games, a win over the Blues and a loss to the Blackhawks. And while there’s a more heartening corresponding number — 10, the number of goals that the Bruins have scored — the defensive effort has to give the Bruins some concern.

It didn’t help that the team was down two defensemen in Sunday’s game in Chicago, with Dennis Seidenberg not on the trip and Kevan Miller ruled out. Miller was injured in the first period against the Blues on Friday and missed the second and third periods of that game. He was seen using crutches on Saturday.

That put Joe Morrow and Zach Trotman in the lineup against the Blackhawks. Instead of sticking with pairings, coach Claude Julien and the Bruins opted to mix and match throughout the game.

“I don’t think it makes it more difficult,” Torey Krug said. “You obviously develop chemistry with certain guys, but at the end of the day we’re all playing in the same league and capable of playing with one another. We’ve got to find a way to have a better start, defensively bring it in tighter.”

While Tuukka Rask admitted that he should have saved a couple of the goals in the St. Louis game, it was hard to blame him for much of what happened Sunday in Chicago.

Not having two of the team’s top-six defensemen didn’t help.

“It hurts,” Krug said. “We all know what they bring to the table. Both guys work so hard, and they battle for us. They block shots. They penalty kill. They do a lot of good things defensively.

“We don’t have them, but you can’t sit there and dwell on it. We have guys that came in the lineup, and they’re more than capable of playing those solid games. Collectively as a group, we just have to be better. It’s not about what we’re missing. It’s about what we have.”

The Bruins do not know — or are unwilling to discuss — who they will have for this week’s games. It is obvious, though, that they need to be better defensively if they want to win all three and make the postseason.

Of Miller, Julien said: “He’s going to come back home [with the team]. We’ll have to obviously get him evaluated by our doctor, but I don’t suspect it’s anything major.”

It’s also unclear how long Seidenberg will be out. The defenseman has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury.

“He started skating this weekend,” Julien said. “Again there it’s a matter of whether he’s going to be 100 percent when he gets back or still needs some time.”

Rask takes a seat

Rask is on pace to finish the season with 65 games played, which helped make it an easy call for Julien to pull him 2:00 into the second period. The Bruins had allowed four goals to the Blackhawks, and Julien wanted to conserve his starter for the final three games of the season.

“I don’t think my No. 1 goaltender needed to be exposed any more than that, the way we were playing in front of him, giving him those quality chances,” Julien said. “So it was an opportunity for me to pull him out and maybe even try and change the momentum. But certainly not because of his play.”

The Bruins had allowed four goals on 22 shots at that point. They allowed two on 12 shots with Jonas Gustavsson in net over the remaining 38:00. Gustavsson had not played since relieving Rask, who was ill, in a March 23 loss to the Rangers in New York.

Rask’s last full game off came March 18, in Anaheim.

“Never feel like that as a goalie,” Rask said, of wanting the rest. “You always battle to the last buzzer and try to stop every puck. But obviously the way we played we needed to wake up and do something. A lot of times it’s the last option.”

Chara gets a breather

Zdeno Chara, who played his second-most minutes of the season (28:29) on Friday night with the Bruins down a defenseman, did not take the ice with the team for Saturday’s practice. “I think it’s just this time of year, it’s smart to rest at a certain point,” Chara said. “[Saturday] was probably a good day to take that rest.” Chara played 23:48 on Sunday . . . The Bruins and Red Wings are fighting for the third spot in the division. Each team has three games remaining, including one head-to-head matchup on Thursday. The Bruins host Carolina, Detroit, and Ottawa to close out their regular season. The Red Wings host the Flyers on Wednesday before heading on the road to face the Bruins and Rangers.

Boston Globe LOADED: 04.05.2016


Bruins ready for 'big week' with playoff spot at stake

Stephen Harris Monday, April 04, 2016

The Bruins opened what may or may not be their final week of the season with a practice today at the Garden. The B's, after holding on for a 6-5 win in St. Louis Friday, then getting blown out 6-4 yesterday afternoon in Chicago, trail Detroit by one point for final playoff spot. But if they can win their remaining three games -- vs. Carolina, Detroit and Ottawa -- in regulation or overtime (not a shotout), they will hop past the Red Wings to claim the playoff spot. There is, of course, a wide variety of other potential outcomes. But the B's are aiming simply to get the three wins they need.

"How many times have teams been in a playoff race and they're looking at the out-of-town scores and hoping?" said injured Bruin Chris Kelly, who continues to edge closer to returning from an early-season broken leg. "We don't have to do that. We just need to focus on Carolina tomorrow: Have a good game and go on from there. You can't win all three games tomorrow night. We need to win the first one and then move on."

Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who missed the weekend games with an undisclosed injury, returned to practice. He looked OK, but left the ice early during a down-low battle drill. As he skated near coach Claude Julien, it appeared he looked at the coach and shook his head -- perhaps indicating his ailment remained a problem. Kevan Miller, who suffered an apparent leg injury against the Blues and did play vs. the Hawks, was not on the ice for practice. So the B's, having allowed 11 goals the last two games, may face the Hurricanes tomorrow night minus two key rearguards. But the tone in the room was confident.

"We know we've got a big week ahead of us," said Julien. "All we've got to do it win our games and we're in. Our focus has to be on that, and that's what we're going to do this week. One game at a time."

Boston Herald LOADED: 04.05.2016


For Bruins, all’s not lost despite ugly defeat

Steve Conroy Monday, April 04, 2016

CHICAGO — The Bruins might have spared themselves the embarrassment of a lopsided score with a late surge yesterday at the United Center, but the comeback attempt was nothing but perfume on a pig of a start that earned them a loss they wholly deserved.

With quite a bit of help from the Bruins, the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks rampaged their way to a six-goal lead before the B’s made it respectable, even throwing a bit of a scare into the Hawks with four unanswered goals. But that’s all the B’s could muster and they fell, 6-4, in this Chi-town matinee.

As angry as the B’s should be at themselves, they need to park this loss and focus on the fact that they still control their playoff future. They are one point out of the playoffs, but if they can sweep their last three games — vs. Carolina, Detroit (which holds the one-point advantage on them for the third place in the Atlantic Division) and Ottawa, all at home — they’re in the postseason.

They could also get in if they get any help by other teams beating Detroit, but the B’s don’t want to leave it up to that.

The B’s were in a similar situation last year, but with their final three games on the road, and they lost all three. This time for the last three they come home, which hasn’t been all that kind to them this year.

“We win our last three games, we’re in the playoffs. We know that. We know what’s at stake,” said Torey Krug. “We have to take them one game at a time. I think last year we got caught up looking a little ahead of ourselves. But it’s a different story this year. We’re going to take it one game at a time and learn from everything that’s gone on.”

The B’s got their noses rubbed it in for the better of two periods yesterday. But if there’s one thing you can say about this team it’s that they do come back from rather ignominious losses rather well. And they’ve had some practice.

“We’ve been through that before. And the way that we played at the end, we need to carry that over,” said Patrice Bergeron, who scored a pair of goals in the comeback, giving him a career-best 32 for the season. “I thought the third period was the perfect example of how we need to play, and we got the goals.”

But when you only show up for the final 20 minutes and 16 seconds, you’re not going to beat the Blackhawks, who did not look like they missed top defenseman Duncan Keith (suspension) a bit. Patrick Kane, who seemed to be skating with the tune of Sweet Georgia Brown in his head most of the day, notched a hat trick and reached the 100-point plateau with a four-point game.

The Hawks took the lead on a fluky power play when Artemi Panarin’s flubbed one-timer turned into a perfect pass for an Artem Anisimov goal. Then Joe Morrow committed a costly mistake on a 4-on-4 with 1:29 left in the first. He tried to make a cross-ice pass to John-Michael Liles just inside the offensive blue line, but Kane picked it off and stormed down the ice for a breakaway goal.

The mistakes kept coming in the second. First, Kane scored a goal from in tight on a pass from Anisimov just 56 seconds in, and then Jonathan Toews converted a 2-on-1 to end Tuukka Rask’s day just 2:00 into the second.

Panarin scored an even-strength goal at 5:17 and then Kane completed the hat trick on the power play at 14:16 — and the rout, it seemed, was on.

“For me, I thought we had our legs, I thought we competed hard. We didn’t have our brains,” said coach Claude Julien. “We made some real poor decisions and that’s what cost us.

“The decision making’s got to be better. When you look at the kind of mistakes we made — outnumbered situations, pinching at the wrong time, making those low percentage passes or plays that turn into a counter that ends up in our net — those are the major things that really hurt us.”

In the final 16 seconds of the second, David Pastrnak scored on a breakaway and Bergeron deflected home a puck.

Bergeron then beat Scott Darling 2:39 into the third and, when a puck went in off of Brad Marchand’s skate at 9:51, a full comeback did not seem so out of the question, especially not with the way the were suddenly controlling the play — outshooting the Hawks 17-3 in the final frame.

But though the B’s had numerous chances to draw closer, that is as close as they got. And now, they know what they have to do.

“We just have to realize how desperate we have to play the rest of the season,” said Marchand. “We need three wins. It comes down to that.”



Claude Julien spares Tuukka Rask misery

Steve Conroy Monday, April 04, 2016

CHICAGO — Tuukka Rask got yanked from yesterday’s 6-4 loss to the Blackhawks just 22 minutes into the game. The decision had nothing to do with the goaltender’s performance.

Of the four goals he allowed, one came on a fluke, another came off a clean breakaway from the league’s most dangerous player (Patrick Kane), and a third came on a well-executed 2-on-1 goal from Jonathan Toews.

“I don’t think my No. 1 goaltender needed to be exposed any more than that, with the way we were playing in front of him and giving them those quality chances,” coach Claude Julien said. “It was an opportunity for me to pull him out and maybe even try and change the momentum. But it was certainly not because of his play.”

Rask actually had come up with some big stops prior to the first goal against, most notably on Marian Hossa on a clean break-in. But it all fell apart for Rask and the B’s rather quickly. The first one went in on the power play after Artemi Panarin’s flubbed shot turned into the perfect assist for Artem Anisimov’s goal.

“I was just trying to stay focused at that point. We obviously weren’t playing our best in the first period. I was just trying to keep the game tight,” Rask said. “But after a couple of quick ones in the second, it looked like we needed to do something.”

The game looked like a lost cause after he left the game following Toews’ goal that made it 4-0 and, with three huge games coming up this week, Julien made the decision to pull him. It was probably the sound one to make, though Rask wouldn’t actually say he wanted to come out at that point.

“You never feel that way as a goalie. I think you always battle through the last buzzer and try to stop every puck,” Rask said. “But obviously, the way we played, we needed to wake up and do something. A lot of times, that’s the last option.”

Banged-up defense

As expected, Kevan Miller did not play yesterday but Julien was hopeful that the defenseman would not be out long-term. He appeared to hurt his right leg when he crashed awkwardly into the end boards in a puck battle with the Blues’ Magnus Paajarvi on Friday in St. Louis. While he walked with a crutch on Saturday, Miller was moving around on his own power, but with a sight limp.

“He’s going to come back (to Boston) and we’ll have to get him evaluated by our doctor, but I don’t suspect it’s anything major. I can’t tell you more until we get the right diagnosis on his injury,” said Julien.

The coach said that defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who missed the last two games with a lower body injury, started skating over the weekend.

“It’s a matter of whether he’s going to be a 100 percent when we get back (to Boston) or if he’ll still need some time,” Julien said.

The loss of the two veterans showed at times yesterday, and the B’s allowed 11 goals in their past two games.

“It hurts. We all know what they bring to the table. Both guys work so hard and they battle for us, they block shots, they penalty kill and they do a lot of good things defensively,” fellow defenseman Torey Krug said. “We don’t have them, but you can’t sit there and dwell on it. We have guys who came in the lineup who are more than capable of playing solid games. Collectively as a group, we just have to do better. It’s not about what we’re missing, it’s about what we have.”

With Joe Morrow and Zach Trotman — playing his first game since March 7 — in the lineup, the B’s were changing up the defense pairs quite a bit. Morrow was minus-2 and Trotman was plus-1, but was on the ice for a pair of Chicago power-play goals.

Century club

One game after notching his first 40-goal season, Patrick Kane hit the 100-point plateau for the first time with a four-point game yesterday (3-1-4).

“Pretty cool the way it happened. Just one of those nights where things were going in. Our line was creating a lot. We had a lot of chances, so it was just a fun night overall,” said Kane. . . .

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, who for some reason is never on anyone’s short list for Coach of the Year, notched his 800th career coaching win. . . .

Jimmy Hayes and Tyler Randell were the healthy scratches.



Kane hat trick leads Blackhawks past Bruins 6-4

Associated Press Sunday, April 03, 2016

CHICAGO — Patrick Kane had three goals and an assist as the Chicago Blackhawks raced to a six-goal lead in the second period before hanging on for a 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

Kane's scoring spree gave him 100 points for the first time in his nine-year career. The win was career No. 800 for Chicago coach Joel Quenneville.

Kane, the NHL's leading scorer, was clicking with linemates Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov early and often in the club's fourth win it its last five games. Panarin had a goal and three assists, while Anisimov added a goal and two assists.

Patrice Bergeron had two goals and an assist for the Bruins. He and David Pastrnak scored 11 seconds apart late in the second period. Bruins starting goalie Tuukka Rask was replaced early in the second after allowing a barrage of goals. Brad Marchand scored on a deflection midway through the third to cut it to 6-4, but Chicago hung on.

Jonathan Toews also scored for the Blackhawks, who won't finish lower than third in the Central Division and will avoid a wild-card playoff seeding.

Kane's second career regular-season hat trick — both this season — lifted him to 43 goals, the most for a Chicago player since Tony Amonte hit that mark in 1999-2000. He's the first Blackhawk to reach 100 points since Jeremy Roenick had 107 in 1993-94.

Boston, with just two wins in its last nine games, remained one point behind Detroit and Philadelphia for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Flyers played Pittsburgh later Sunday.

The Bruins have three games remaining, all at home, including one against Detroit on Thursday.

Quenneville is second to Blackhawks senior advisor Scotty Bowman in coaching wins. Bowman has 1,244.

Chicago's Scott Darling made 42 saves in his ninth straight start as Corey Crawford remained sidelined with an upper-body injury. Before the game, Quenneville said he expects Crawford to be ready for the playoffs.

Rask allowed four goals on 22 shots before being replaced by Jonas Gustavsson two minutes into the second. Gustavsson permitted two goals on 12 shots.

Anisimov opened the scoring during a power play 13:14 in. Kane made it 2-0 with 1:29 left in the first on a breakaway. Kane made it 3-0 with a point-blank tap in of Anisimov's feed 54 seconds into the second.

Barely over a minute later, Toews finished a 2-on-1 break, converting Marian Hossa's pass to make it 4-0.

Panarin ripped in a one-timer from the slot at 5:17 to make it 5-0. Kane completed his hat trick with a power-play goal with 5:44 left in the second on a one-timer ripped from the right circle.

Pastrnak banked in a shot off the right post to complete a breakaway with 16 seconds left in the second to the get Boston on the board. Bergeron cut it to 6-2 just 11 seconds later on a deflection of Adam McQuaid's shot from just inside the right point.

Bergeron's second goal, from the left side of the slot at 2:39 of the second, trimmed it to 6-3.

NOTES: Kane's four points tied his career high. . Before Sunday's game, Crawford skated and took practice shots from goaltending coach Jimmy Waite for the second straight day. . Chicago C Andrew Shaw is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained Friday at Winnipeg. . Boston F Jimmy Hayes, scoreless in 15 games, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. ... Bruins F Kevan Miller (lower body) sat out after being injured in St. Louis on Friday. . Linesman Andy McElman worked his final and 1,500th game and was honored by the Blackhawks, Bruins and NHL before the contest.



Bruins suffer ugly loss in Chicago as playoff hopes dented

Stephen Conroy Sunday, April 03, 2016

CHICAGO—The Bruins found out today what it's like to play the Chicago Blackhawks when the Stanley Cup champions play well – for the better part of two periods, anyway.

The Blackhawks, whom the B's beat 4-2 in Boston earlier this season, scored half a dozen goals before the B's even knew what hit them and they then hung on for a 6-4 victory at the United Center.

After allowing the first six, the B's mounted a furious comeback, scoring a pair of goals in 11 seconds apart at the end of the of the second period (David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron) and then two in the first 10 minutes of the third (Bergeron and Brad Marchand), but it wasn't enough.

The loss keeps them one point out of playoff structure with three home games left, including a vital one against the Red Wings on Thursday at the Garden. If they win out against Carolina, Detroit and Ottawa, then they're in.

The B's, now missing Kevan Miller and Dennis Seidenberg, have allowed 11 goals in their last two games.

Patrick Kane led the way with a hat trick and, with an assist, he hit the 100-point plateau on the season.

The Bruins fell down 2-0 when they allowed a power-play goal and a 4-on-4 tally in the first period.

The power-play goal came about from a stroke of good fortune for the Blackhawks. Artemi Panarin set up for a one-timer on the left side, but it looked like Tuukka Rask had it covered. But Panarin fanned on the one-timer, instead sending the puck into the slot for Artem Anisimov for an open net goal.

The teams' captains, Zdeno Chara and Jonathan Toews had a couple of jousting matches in the first, and they were both sent off for their second dust-up to create the 4-on-4. Working the left point in the offensive zone, Joe Morrow tried to send a cross-ice pass for John-Michael Liles but it was picked off by Patrick Kane, who stormed off for a breakaway goal with 1:29 left in the period.

The Hawks needed all of two minutes in the second period to deliver the knockout punch. Kane converted a short Anisimov feed in tight for his 42nd of the year just 54 seconds in. And with the B's all of a sudden in desperation mode down three, the Hawks broke out on a 2-on-1, with Toews socring off a Marian Hossa feed at 2:00.

That was it for Rask, who received little to no help. But it didn't stop the bleeding. Panarin made it 5-0 when he got all of a one-timer off a Kane feed. Kane notched the hat trick with a power-play goal, which put him at the century mark.

With the Blackhawks coasting, the B's got two back before the end of the period on a David Pastrnak breakaway with 16 seconds left and then, wit 4.5 seconds left, a Patrice Bergeron deflection of an Adam McQuaid shot.

Bergeron pulled the B's to within three goals at 2:39 of the third with his 32nd goal of the season and Marchand scored one off his skate at 9:51, but that's as close as they got.

Guregian: Will new Patriots be the right 'fit' with Tom Brady?



B's hold playoff fate in own hands in final week

By Joe Haggerty April 04, 2016 9:30 PM

BOSTON – The Bruins enter the final week of the NHL regular season with control of their playoff fate in their own hands.

Three regulation or overtime wins against the Hurricanes, Red Wings and Senators will get them into the Stanley Cup playoffs after 96 points wasn’t enough to do it for them last year. Currently the Bruins sit out of the playoff structure a point behind the Red Wings for the third spot in the Atlantic Division, but those two teams will face off for an April 7 winner-take-all showdown at TD Garden that should be something special.

The Bruins veterans were taking pages right out of the “one game at a time” handbook when asked about the crucial week ahead.

“We are focusing on the game [against the Hurricanes]. That’s the biggest focus right now,” said Zdeno Chara. “We don’t look at as a three game [sequence], you know? Right now we look at it like [the Carolina] game is the biggest game for us.

“It’s obviously not an ideal situation, but nobody is giving up. I think we all know what we’re playing for, so we’ve got to be ready to go.”

The Sports Club Stars website has the Black and Gold with a 62.2 percent probability of making the postseason, which are slightly better odds than the Red Wings (60.4 percent) but currently worse odds than the Philadelphia Flyers (78.7 percent) currently entrenched in the final wild card spot in the East.

Despite coming off a weekend where they managed to secure two points in St. Louis before getting their doors blown out in Chicago, the Bruins are trying to project an air of confidence while a distinct whiff of tightness and nerves was also present in the Boston dressing room after Monday’s practice.

But the B’s allowed 11 goals to the Blues and Blackhawks over the weekend ostensibly without Kevan Miller and Dennis Seidenberg, and there’s no guarantees those two defensive warriors will be back for all three games this week.

“Three to go, and if we want all three of them then we’re in no matter what Detroit is going to do,” said David Krejci. “That’s a good thing. We just have to take it one at a time now. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been in [the playoffs]. It’s the best part of the season [and] it’s the best part of hockey. So it would be nice to be there battling for the prize at the end.

“It’s in our hands, so we just need to take it one game at a time and go get it. We just need to go out there play our game, control what we can control and not worry about other things. We just need to go out there and play our best. The biggest we need to do is to not look ahead, and just stay in the moment.”

Missing the playoffs two seasons in a row could have dire consequences for the coaches, players and management on Causeway Street, and the gravity of that situation was undoubtedly presence with three games to go and a clear path to the postseason there for Boston’s taking.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.05.2016


Gyllenhaal movie on Bauman filming after Bruins-Hurricanes game


BOSTON – The Boston Bruins had a busy morning at practice taking their team picture on the TD Garden ice, and then skating for roughly an hour in advance of the final three regular season games of the season. There were also a bustling number of trucks and people in a flurry of activity after the Bruins got off the ice on Monday morning, and that made perfect season given that the movie “Strong”, based on Marathon bombing survivor’s Jeff Bauman’s book, will be filming over the next couple of days at TD Garden.

The movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal has been filming around Boston intermittently over the last couple of months, and it looked like the movie crew was working on filming Bauman’s emotional, cathartic turn as banner captain for the Bruins in Game 2 against Toronto during their thrilling 2013 run to the Stanley Cup Final.

The film shooting at the Garden will at least go through Tuesday night as, according to a number of Bruins season ticket-holders via twitter, B’s season ticket holders have been informed the “Strong” moviemakers will film some crowd shots after the conclusion of the Bruins/Hurricanes game at the Garden tomorrow night. The crowd for the game is being encouraged to stick around for a couple of hours after the game is over, so the movie can get the crowd shots they’re looking for with the stands packed with authentic Bruins fans.

No word on whether Gyllenhaal himself will be in the house for Tuesday night’s Bruins game, or in the building to film any of the aforementioned scenes following the tilt.



Hayes hoping to get opportunity and 'make the best of it'


BOSTON – The Bruins played a couple of “must win” games on the road in St. Louis and Chicago last weekend, and 6-foot-6 forward Jimmy Hayes was scratched for both of them. That should paint a fairly accurate picture for the frustration level with the massive winger and Dorchester, Mass. native given the equally massive lack of production Hayes has provided for the Black and Gold recently.

The 26-year-old finished the month of March with zero points and a minus-6 in 13 games, and had also been scratched in the California road finale against the Los Angeles Kings as well. Instead the Bruins have opted for Landon Ferraro, Noel Acciari and Seth Griffith on the fourth line where the Providence call-up didn’t do much with a couple of games to show his stuff either.

With Brett Connolly out of the lineup with a lower body injury, it will likely come down to either Griffith or Hayes again on Tuesday night against the Hurricanes. Hayes said that he’s hoping it’s him, but his voice didn’t sound nearly as confident as the words he was using.

“When you can help the team and contribute then it’s tough to do that when you’re being scratched, but you’ve got to stay positive, continue to work hard and find a way to get back into the lineup,” said Hayes, who hasn’t scored a goal since Feb. 24. “When you get the opportunity, you make the best of it and stick.”

It’s a little far-fetched to think Hayes is suddenly going to carry the Bruins in the last three games after posting 13 goals and 29 points in 74 games this season, but he can be a factor if he can move his big 221-pound frame toward the net. He’s always proven to be a streaky player at the NHL level that perhaps needs reminders like healthy scratches every once in a while, and seems to be picking up the message that Claude Julien is sending in the last two games.

“It’s definitely a message, and you definitely need to continue moving forward,” said Hayes. “I think it’s all about hard work, being consistent and finding a way to contribute. You can get out of these funks by working hard and going to the net, and hopefully get a greasy one to get going in a positive direction.”

At this point should Hayes draw back into the lineup, he just needs to do something to be a factor out on the ice. Nobody as big and physically strong as Hayes should have stretches of games where he’s not even noticed on the ice, and Hayes has produced a few too many of those while his team needs his best down the stretch.

Now he’s only got three games to change that if he gets another chance to “make the best of it, and stick” in the lineup for the B’s.



Don Cherry: Rask 'can't stop a beach ball'


BOSTON – It’s fair to question how much everybody’s favorite, well-tailored bombastic hockey analyst, Don Cherry, has actually watched the Boston Bruins lately after he lambasted Tuukka Rask in a series of tweets on Monday afternoon.

Cherry didn’t mention the offensive drought that the Bruins went through during their damaging five-game losing streak in March, and he didn’t mention the shoddy B’s defensemen corps that’s been a weakness all season. They were the main culprit again on Sunday in the 6-4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks with defensive warriors Kevan Miller and Dennis Seidenberg both out of the lineup, and the defensive gaffes led way to Grade-A chances for Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin.

Still, Cherry pointed to the Bruins having more goals scored this season than the Lightning, Panthers and Rangers as noteworthy, and said the blame should rest with the Bruins $7 million man between the pipes in Rask.

Cherry sent out a series of three tweets from his account that followed:

1) Boston Bruins fans are wondering why the Bruins are struggling to make the playoffs. B's are scoring tons of goals. 233 goals which is

— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) April 4, 2016

2) more goals than Florida, Tampa, Detroit and Rangers. Put it on their goalie Tuukka Rask. He can't stop a beach ball. Got pulled yesterday


3) afternoon. Bruins outshot Chicago in Chicago 46-34.


Rask’s numbers are clearly down from his career norms, and he’s had declining save percentage in each of the last three months: .920 in February, .918 in March and now .827 in a couple of rough defensive games against the Blues and Blackhawks in April. But it’s difficult to blame Rask for a careless Joe Morrow pass that turns into a breakaway for the NHL’s most dangerous player in Patrick Kane, or the seemingly endless barrage of odd-man rushes and quality chances given up by the leaky B’s defense down the stretch.

One thing is certain: Cherry’s tweets will add fuel to the fire from a faction of Bruins followers that blame the Finnish netminder every time the B’s give up a big number on the scoreboard, regardless of the circumstances.



Kelly returns for first full practice with Bruins


BOSTON – The Bruins were back to work for Picture Day at TD Garden on Monday, and they had a few new faces on the practice ice as the made-for-camera moments had passed on by. Grizzled veterans Chris Kelly and Dennis Seidenberg skated with the Bruins at Monday’s session as they looked to shake off a sloppy, embarrassing 6-4 loss to the Blackhawks, and focus on the remaining three must-win games on home ice to close out this week.

Kelly has been out since Nov. 3 after breaking his leg, and had skated with the Bruins a couple of times in non-contact situations. This is the first real, full-bore practice session for Kelly with his teammates in the last five months. The original diagnosis had him out 6-8 months with a left femur fracture, so a return prior to the end of the season would be well ahead of the initial recovery schedule set out for the 35-year-old defensive forward.

Seidenberg left the nearly hour-long B's practice session early ahead of the stretching that traditionally closes out practice, and after taking some light contact with his teammates.

Kevan Miller and Brett Connolly were both missing from the practice ice as Connolly missed the last two games, and Miller was knocked out of last weekend’s win over the Blues with a lower body injury. Here are the Bruins line combos and D-pairings based on the morning practice session:

Marchand-Bergeron-Eriksson

Beleskey-Krejci-Pastrnak/Kelly

Vatrano-Spooner-Stempniak/Griffith

Ferraro-Acciari-Hayes/Randell

Chara-Liles

Krug-McQuaid

Morrow-Seidenberg

Trotman

Rask

Gustavsson


1008549 Buffalo Sabres

Sabres take aim at .500 points percentage

By Mike Harrington

Updated 9:02 PM

April 4, 2016

NEWARK, N.J. – The Buffalo Sabres were a 30th-place team each of the last two seasons, mired in the netherworld of the NHL standings. As they head into the final week and the final three games of this campaign, they have a tangible and realistic goal within their grasp.

No, it’s not the playoffs. The Sabres will be shut out of the postseason party for the fifth straight year and seventh time in nine seasons. But from the Walk Before You Run Department comes the following slice of numerology:

The Sabres enter Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils with a 33-35-11 record for 77 points. If they go 2-0-1 in their final three games, they would finish 35-35-12. That would be 82 points in the 82-game schedule, or a points percentage of .500 that could push them up eight or nine slots in the standings from a year ago.

And that would make for quite a good-looking transition season.

(Some would be quick to say that would actually be a won-lost record of 35-47 but points percentage is what drives hockey coaches and statisticians alike. This is not a strict W-L like the NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball. The Sabres would have exactly half of the 164 possible points for the season.)

“That would be huge,” center Ryan O’Reilly, who missed practice Tuesday with an undisclosed injury, said after Saturday’s 4-3 win in New York. “One thing we know here is you don’t just add one player, make a couple adjustments and you’re a contending team. You have to chip away at it and get better. So that’s a good goal for us.”

“It’s not where we’re trying to go but when you’re looking at where we’ve been, it’s definitely a step in the right direction,” added defenseman Josh Gorges. “We’re not there yet. We don’t want to count any chickens before they hatch. We have to take these last three games, do things the right way and we’ll see where we stand at the end of it.

“I definitely think this team has taken a step in the right direction. You look at the way we’ve played in the last two months and if we played this way all year, we’re in much more of a playoff position than we are now.”

The Sabres will finish the season with a home game Friday against Columbus and a road game Saturday at the New York Islanders. They need three points to forge a 26-point improvement over last season, which would be the third-largest in franchise history.

Of course, that comes with the caveat the team was set up to fail last year by a management group obsessed with getting the No. 1 pick in the draft. That didn’t materialize but the Sabres still landed Jack Eichel at No. 2 and he’s become a 20-goal man in his first season and the first Buffalo rookie to crack the 50-point mark since 1994.

The Sabres were 15-22-4 in the first half of the season and have improved to 18-13-7 in the second half, including 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. Their goal differential for the season, eliminating shootout winners, is minus-16. Last year, it was an astonishing minus-116.

“We had a tough start and we are really just getting it now,” said goaltender Chad Johnson. “We had a new coach, new faces and I think you are seeing it all come together. The chemistry, the compete we have, sort of buying into our system. Guys are more comfortable with that.”

“We’ve come a long way,” added first-year coach Dan Bylsma. “I maybe underestimated the distance we had to travel to get to that mentality where we thought we could win games. … We feel that’s the case right now. We’ve got that in our team.”

Look no further than the club’s road record. The Sabres are 17-17-5 away from First Niagara Center. Their record on the road the last two years combined? A hapless 17-59-6.

Bylsma said this year’s road record could be even better were it not for a couple of disheartening losses earlier in the season to returning Stanley Cup finalists Tampa Bay and Chicago. And there was last week’s shootout defeat in Pittsburgh in a game Buffalo led, 3-0, after the first period.

“There’s a few games out there, so we should be even better on the road,” he said. “But I do think it plays to the mentality of our team. We’ve shown we’re going to be a relentless team that keeps working, playing regardless of the situation.”

Indeed, there is no longer panic when games start to go awry. The Sabres nearly blew a pair of three-goal leads Saturday in Madison Square Garden but again got strong work from Johnson and got a clutch penalty kill of a two-minute, five-on-three situation late in the third period.

“Our details and the way we’re playing the system have really helped,” said winger Marcus Foligno. “We have a lot of belief in the older guys, a lot of belief in ‘Johnny.’ We have a lot of trust. The previous two years, it seemed we didn’t want to play an offensive game so you’re sitting there on defense a lot and you can’t do that against a team like the Rangers.

“We want to go out and win these next three games. It’s nice to see it turning and you can really see it now. We’re competing. We’re a hockey club that next year can really be a good hockey club. It starts now.”

Buffalo News LOADED: 04.05.2016


Sabres prospect Bailey finishing strong with Amerks

By Amy Moritz

Updated 9:32 PM

April 4, 2016

Justin Bailey’s second-half surge continued for the Rochester Americans this week.

The right winger picked up two goals and an assist for the Amerks, moving him into the Top 10 in rookie scoring in the American Hockey League.

Bailey has 20 points in his last 16 games for the Amerks. On the season he has 43 points (19 goals, 24 assists) becoming the first Amerks’ rookie to reach the 40-point mark since Johan Larsson had 41 in 2012-13. Larsson, however, played 62 games that season with the Houston Aeros before being traded from Minnesota to Buffalo. He played seven games with Rochester to close out his AHL rookie campaign.

Bailey, the Williamsville native drafted by the Sabres in the second round in 2013, has found his groove in his first professional hockey season.

The results for the Amerks haven’t been as strong.

Rochester defeated the Crunch, 5-1, in Syracuse on Saturday but bookended that with home losses to Grand Rapids (6-1 on Friday, 5-2 on Sunday).

The Amerks are now 33-34-2-1 with six games left in the season. They host Binghamton on Friday then have a home-and-home series with Lake Erie, starting in Rochester Saturday and moving to Cleveland on Sunday.

Rochester added two new players to the roster. Brendan Guhle was assigned to the Amerks by the Sabres after his junior hockey season ended this week. Giorgio Estephan, drafted by the Sabres in 2015, signed an ATO with the Amerks after his junior season with Lethbridge ended as well.

Western Hockey League

Giorgio Estephan (forward, Lethbridge) had a goal and an assist but his team was eliminated from the playoffs, losing in five games to Regina. Estephan had two goals and two assists in five playoff games.

Brendan Guhle (defenseman, Prince Albert) had three assists in five games in the loss to Moose Jaw. Had six penalty minutes in the series and was a plus-one.

Brycen Martin (defenseman, Everett) had two points (goal, assist) and a plus-3 rating as Everett advanced to the second round by sweeping Portland in the best-of-seven series. The Silvertips meet Seattle in the next round which begins on Friday.

Devante Stephens (defenseman, Kelowna) has no points and an even rating as Kelowna faced Kamloops in a deciding Game Seven on Monday.

Ontario Hockey League

Eric Cornel (forward, Peterborough) had a goal on Sunday as the Petes forced a deciding Game Seven in their series with North Bay. Cornel has five points (one goal, four assists) in six playoff games with 17 shots and a plus-3 rating. Game Seven is Tuesday.

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

Vaclav Karabacek (forward, Moncton) had two goals, including a power play tally, and one assist as Moncton advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Victoriaville in five games. Moncton meets Gatineau in the quarterfinals.

College hockey

Christopher Brown (forward, Boston College) – The freshman gets his first taste of the Frozen Four when the Eagles meet Quinnipiac in the national semifinal on Thursday in Tampa. The winner will advance to Saturday’s national championship game against the winner of North Dakota-Denver.



Sabres notebook: Ryan O’Reilly’s status in doubt for game

By Mike Harrington

Updated 8:58 PM

April 4, 2016

NEWARK, N.J. – The Buffalo Sabres’ top two centers both sat out practice here Monday, and it appears Ryan O’Reilly is definitely questionable to play in Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

O’Reilly and Jack Eichel both missed practice for what coach Dan Bylsma termed maintenance days. Bylsma was coy about who could be in danger of missing the game but noted that O’Reilly was injured during Saturday’s 4-3 win over the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden while Eichel was simply dealing with ongoing issues.

The tea leaves thus surround the status of O’Reilly, especially when Bylsma said it’s possible the team could call up a forward from Rochester for the game. It could mean the return of Justin Bailey, who has 19 goals and is the first Rochester rookie to crack the 40-point mark in four years.

O’Reilly played only 18 minutes, 24 seconds in Saturday’s game, nearly three minutes under his season average of 21:45 that leads all NHL forwards. Still, O’Reilly played 7:02 in the third period, including the final 2:01 as the Sabres were protecting their one-goal lead.

O’Reilly scored a pair of first-period goals in the game, giving him 20 on the season for the second time in his career. O’Reilly joined the Sabres’ under-25 quartet of 20-goal scorers that also includes Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Evander Kane.

It’s the first time the Sabres have had four players 25 or younger hit the 20-goal mark since 1987-88, when Hall of Famer Phil Housley, Dave Andreychuk, Christian Ruuttu and Ray Sheppard all accomplished the same feat.

The Devils might get a big name back in their lineup against the Sabres as 40-year-old Patrik Elias could make his return from knee surgery that has kept him out of the lineup since Dec. 19.

Elias is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer and a two-time Stanley Cup winner but is in the final season of his contract and this could be his final week with the team. Elias has one goal and four assists in 13 games this season - but has 407 goals and 1,022 points for New Jersey in a career that saw the first of his 1,237 games played way back in 1996. He has 45 playoff goals and assisted on Jason Arnott’s Cup-clinching goal in double overtime of Game Six in the 2000 final in Dallas.

Coach John Hynes said forwards Joe Blandisi (lower body) and Sergey Kalinin (illness) are questionable after not practicing Tuesday, which could facilitate Elias’ return. Cory Schneider will start in goal.

Bylsma said the Sabres’ 50-minute practice was reminiscent of what teams endure in the playoffs because there were so many players missing. Certainly in the not-drawn-up-in-October category was an April practice that did not include Eichel, O’Reilly, Kane, Tyler Ennis, Robin Lehner or Cody Franson.

“This time of year, you get short practices and guys are banged up, injured and not out there,” said Bylsma, who has been a part of the postseason each of his first six years as an NHL coach. “You kind of feel like, even though it’s our last three games, it’s pretty normal to have guys banged up and maybe not practicing but being out there for the games.

The Sabres’ practiced Tuesday in the Barnabas Health Hockey House, the Devils’ practice rink located inside Prudential Center. The team dressed in the normal visiting locker room and simply took a long walk through the building’s corridors into the facility, which features large replicas of all the Devils’ championship banners that hang in the rafters of the main arena. The Hockey House, which took its new corporate name two weeks ago is the rink the Buffalo Beauts and Boston Pride played in last month in the first championship series of the National Women’s Hockey League. The Pride swept the series in two straight games.

The Sabres reassigned defenseman Brendan Guhle, their second-round pick last June, to Rochester after his junior team was eliminated from the Western Hockey League playoffs. In addition, 2015 sixth-rounder Giorgio Estephan was named to an Amateur Tryout by the Amerks after his WHL squad was also eliminated.

Guhle, 18, appeared in 63 WHL games with the Prince Albert Raiders, posting a career-high 10 goals and 18 assists. Estephan, 19, had 30 goals and a career-high 74 points with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and had four points in five playoff games.



Bylsma coy on injuries as Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly miss practice; one questionable for Devils game

By Mike Harrington

Updated 2:05 PM

April 4, 2016

NEWARK, N.J. -- The Sabres' practiced in New Jersey's practice rink inside Prudential Center today minus Jack Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly. The team's top two centers were both sitting out on maintenance days but coach Dan Bylsma said one is questionable for Tuesday's game against the Devils.

Bylsma wasn't giving up which one, although he said O'Reilly suffered an undisclosed injury Saturday night in Madison Square Garden while Eichel was just dealing with ongoing issues.

The tea leaves thus surround the status of O'Reilly, especially when Bylsma said it's possible the team could call up a forward from Rochester for the game. It could mean the return of Justin Bailey, who has 19 goals and is the first Rochester rookie to crack the 40-point mark in four years.

The Sabres have not played here this season, and lost both games to New Jersey in First Niagara Center. Maybe the road is a better idea; Buffalo is 17-17-5 away from home this year -- after going just 17-59-6 on the road the last two years combined.

"Our focus really from the beginning has been that it doesn't matter where we're playing," Bylsma said. "Home, on the road. ... Whatever the situation, we're going to keep playing, keep pushing and playing our way.

"We've been able to do it on the road in some tough places and I think our record should be even better than that on the road. ... There's a few games out there we should be better on the road but I do think it plays to the mentality of our team. We've shown we're going to be a relentless team that keeps working, playing regardless of the situation."



Sabres Prospect Update: Bailey enjoying second-half surge with Amerks

By Amy Moritz

Updated 3:58 PM

April 4, 2016

Justin Bailey’s second-half surge continued for the Rochester Americans this week.

The right winger picked up two goals and an assist for the Amerks, moving him into the Top 10 in rookie scoring in the American Hockey League.

Bailey has 20 points in his last 16 games for the Amerks. On the season he has 43 points (19 goals, 24 assists) becoming the first Amerks’ rookie to reach the 40-point mark since Johan Larsson had 41 in the 2012-13 season. Larsson, however, played 62 games that season with the Houston Aeros before being traded from Minnesota to Buffalo. He played seven games with Rochester to close out his AHL rookie campaign.

Bailey, the Williamsville native drafted by the Sabres in the second round in 2013, has found his groove in his first professional hockey season.

The results for the Amerks haven’t been as strong.

Rochester defeated the Crunch, 5-1, in Syracuse on Saturday but bookended that with home losses to Grand Rapids (6-1 on Friday, 5-2 on Sunday).

The Amerks are now 33-34-2-1 with six games left in the season. They host Binghamton on Friday then have a home-and-home series with Lake Erie, starting in Rochester Saturday and moving to Cleveland on Sunday.

Rochester added two new players to their roster. Brendan Guhle was assigned to the Amerks by the Sabres after his junior hockey season ended this week. Giorgio Estephan, drafted by the Sabres in 2015, signed an ATO with the Amerks after his junior season with Lethbridge ended as well.

Western Hockey League

Giorgio Estephan (Forward, Lethbridge) had a goal and an assist but his Lethbridge team was eliminated from the playoffs, losing in five games to Regina. Estephan had two goals and two assists in five playoff games.

Brendan Guhle (Defenseman, Prince Albert) had three assists in five games as Prince Albert lost to Moose Jaw. Had six penalty minutes in the series and was a plus-one.

Brycen Martin (Defenseman, Everett) had two points (goal, assist) and a plus-3 rating as Everett advanced to the second round as Everett swept Portland in the best-of-seven series. The Silvertips meet Seattle in the next round which begins on Friday.

Devante Stephens (Defenseman, Kelowna) has no points and an even rating as Kelowna faces Kamloops in a deciding Game 7 on Monday.

Ontario Hockey League

Eric Cornel (Forward, Peterborough) had a goal on Sunday as the Petes forced a deciding Game 7 in their series with North Bay. Cornel has five points (one goal, four assists) in six playoff games with 17 shots and a plus-3 rating. Game 7 is Tuesday.

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

Vaclav Karabacek (Forward, Moncton) had two goals, including a power play tally, and one assist as Moncton advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Victoriaville in five games. Moncton meets Gatineau in the quarterfinals.

College hockey

Christopher Brown (Forward, Boston College) – The freshman gets his first taste of the Frozen Four when the Eagles meet Quinnipiac in the national semifinal on Thursday in Tampa. The winner advances to Saturday’s national championship game against the winner of North Dakota-Denver.


1008554 Calgary Flames

'Amazing journey' wraps up as Hitmen grads pack bags for final time

Scott Fisher

Published on: April 4, 2016 | Last Updated: April 4, 2016 10:18 PM MDT

It was anything but a fairy-tale ending.

Unless it was penned by Stephen King.

Calgary Hitmen captain Colby Harmsworth couldn’t have envisioned ending his WHL career with a loss . . . that he watched from the stands.

“It wasn’t the way I imagined finishing my career,” said Harmsworth, who was forced to sit out Games 3-5 with a three-tilt suspension.

“But I had a couple of people, like (GM) Mike Moore, tell me that you can’t focus on that. You have to look at the good things that have happened over the four years.”

Harmsworth was one of three overagers who saw their junior careers end with the first-round loss to the Red Deer Rebels.

Winger Jackson Houck said he’ll look for an opportunity to play pro hockey next season while hulking defenceman Keegan Kanzig will join the Calgary Flames AHL affiliate in Stockton for the remainder of the season.

Harmsworth, who will join his hometown defending Canada West champion University of Saskatchewan Huskies next season, said he knows how badly his teammates wanted to extend the series to at least let him finish his Hitmen career with his skates on.

“It wasn’t painful,” Harmsworth said of watching three playoff losses. “But it’s a helpless feeling. You want to be out there and do everything you can to help the team win.

“But the guys left it all on the line, so no complaints.

“After the game, both Houcker and Kanner apologized to me that they couldn’t get one more game (in the series). It was nice for them to do.”

The Saskatoon product said he’s come a long way over his four years in Hitmen silks.

“You come in and you’re just trying to get in the lineup every night,” the 6-foot-2, 193-pounder said. “You want to make sure the coach isn’t yelling at you in practice.

“It’s been surreal and it’s been an amazing journey for sure.”

In addition to the overagers, there were a couple more players packing up their bags for the final time at the Saddledome.

Philadelphia Flyers prospects centre Radel Fazleev and defenceman Travis Sanheim, the top two scorers on the team, are both headed to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms and are highly unlikely to return next season.

“I’m heading down to Lehigh,” Sanheim said. “I’ll get a few practices in and then I’m not too sure what their plans are whether I’ll get in (to a game) this weekend or not.

“For me, I’m at the stage where I’m hoping to turn pro next year. I’m not too sure where that’s going to end up.

“I think the next couple weeks will be a good experience for me and hopefully it benefits me going into next season.”

Fazleev, who was held pointless in the post-season due to a hand injury, said he may not be able to suit up with the Phantoms.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” Fazleev said. “I’m not sure if I’m going to play, but I’m going to join the team and gain some experience with the AHL guys.”

Fazleev, who added he also needs a work visa before he can play in the States, said he suffered the injury during a first-period melee in the playoff opener in Red Deer.

“A guy just started fighting me,” the Russian import said. “And then 20 guys fell on me, I think.

“They were laying on my hand. I don’t remember what happened but I hurt my hand.

“I know the bones are not broken, so something with the muscles.”

Sanheim’s twin brother Taylor is eligible to return to the Hitmen in 2016-17 as an overager.

Blueliner Micheal Zipp and power forward Tyler Mrkonjic are the other 20-year-old candidates.

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Backlund poised for the first 82-game season of his NHL career

Kristen Odland, Postmedia


For the first time since Mikael Backlund was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2007, it’s finally looking like he’s going to make it through an entire National Hockey League season without missing a single game due to injury.

Quick, go find the nearest piece of wood and knock on it.

With three regular season games remaining on the 2015-16 docket, the 27-year-old pivot has had a difficult time remaining healthy through his career. Of course, players don’t always have a choice in the matter and injuries in the NHL are often unpredictable and not preventable.

So in some ways, it’s an accomplishment for Backlund to stay upright for this long.

But more importantly, it’s the consistency in his game that has come through being healthy.

“I don’t need to prove (I can stay healthy) to anyone,” Backlund was saying on Monday. “But it was a goal for myself to play 82 games.”

Right now, it’s looking like Backlund is the lone forward who will have played every single game this season and only one of three Flames that have done so (Dougie Hamilton and captain Mark Giordano are the others).

He played 76 games in 2013-14 but a finger issue cost him a handful of games at the end of the season.

A lingering abdomen issue and subsequent surgery kept him out for a stretch at the beginning of 2014-15 and limited him to 52 regular season games.

Chalk it up to good health or slowly becoming an NHL veteran. Either way, it’s been noticeable.

“After my slow start (this year) I’ve been pretty consistent and playing both ways,” he said. “I’ve been responsible (defensively) and it takes time to get experience and know where to be at. Some guys can dominate right away … but it took a few years for me to develop who I am.

“I feel like this is my most consistent year.”

Backlund, who has spent his entire NHL career in this organization, is two goals shy of a new career-high. In Saturday’s 5-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers, he had a short-handed marker and a third-period tally plus an assist.

That gave him 17 goals this season and 25 assists to set a career-high in points (42) as well as surpassing the 100-assist mark for his career (he now has 102 in 377 NHL games).

His face-off percentage is 47.1 and he takes the majority of the draws behind Sean Monahan (who leads the team with a 51.1 face-off percentage).

But it’s his consistent effort that stands out.

“Points come and go but I feel like I’ve been working hard and playing solid for most of my games,” Backlund said. “You’re not going to score all the time so I haven’t been putting too much focus on points, and just going out to play on the right side of the puck.”



Hitmen to have new crop of leaders step up next season

Scott Fisher


There will be changes.That’s the case after every hockey season, especially in the junior ranks.

But despite losing at least five key contributors, the future looks bright for the Calgary Hitmen.

Take, for example, left-winger Beck Malenstyn.

If the team handed out a playoff MVP — a dubious award considering the post-season lasted just five games — Malenstyn would likely have been the recipient.

Head coach Mark French said the former first-round bantam pick will be a crucial piece of the puzzle moving forward.

“I thought that Beck had a really good playoff,” Malenstyn said. “He’s a guy I mentioned coming out of training camp as someone I thought most surprised people with his ability to take a step.

“I think he struggled with who he was early in the year, with what type of player he needed to be, but he quickly found it in the second half.

“He’ll be ready to have a big year next year and to help us out from a leadership standpoint.”

Malenstyn, whose trio of points was second-best on the team in the first-round loss to the Red Deer Rebels, certainly played like he wanted to prolong his season.

“Coming into the playoffs, I felt I was in a good spot with my game,” Malenstyn said. “As a group, we pulled together even though the result wasn’t what we wanted.”

The Hitmen cleaned out their lockers and headed their separate ways on Monday, which is always tough on the players.

“The emotions are high when the season ends,” Malenstyn said. “You sit there and you say you’re not going to get upset, but it never happens.

“It’s a group of brothers in that room. It’s tough to say goodbye to those guys. There’s lots of guys you hope you cross paths with again but you never know if you will.

“There’s other guys you know you’ll see next year but it’s a long summer without them.”

Malenstyn is among a half-dozen Hitmen players who could hear their names called at the NHL Draft in June.

High-scoring defenceman Jake Bean is pegged to go in the first round, followed in no particular order by Malenstyn, Jordy Stallard, Carsen Twarynski, Jakob Stukel and goaltender Cody Porter in the later rounds.

That kind of young talent should produce a few points in the standings in 2016-17.

“I think the team will be strong,” Malenstyn said. “We built a pretty solid foundation regardless of the players that we have.

“We’re looking forward to coming in next year.

“We’ll have a solid group, maybe a little younger but it will be a solid year.”

Hitmen GM Mike Moore’s first order of business will be the Bantam Draft on May 5 and the CHL Import Draft on June 28, when he’ll need to replace Russian Radel Fazleev.

But regardless of what pieces he adds, Moore expects to be in the thick of things next season.

“Unless you move off 10 or 12 veterans, and you know you’ll (have a team full of) 16- and 17-year-olds, the goal and expectation is to win,” Moore said. “And with 19 returning guys next year, I think we’ll have as good a shot as anybody in the league to win.

“The players that had successful seasons and are coming back need to be that much better next year. You have to take steps each and every year.

“You have to learn from your mistakes and not getting to where you want to, ie. the Red Deer series, and find ways to take those next steps. There’s a terrific nucleus in place for next season, but it has to grow and get better between now and then.”



Game Day: Los Angeles Kings vs Calgary Flames

Kristen Odland, Postmedia


Los Angeles Kings (46-27-5*) at Calgary Flames (33-40-6)

*prior to Monday’s action vs. Vancouver

7 p.m. Tuesday, Scotiabank Saddledome

TV: CBC

Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan

04.05.201604.05.2016

LAST FIVE GAMES

Flames

at Oilers W 5-0

at Kings L 3-0

at Ducks L 8-3

at Coyotes W 5-2

vs. Blackhawks L 4-1

Kings

vs. Stars L 3-2

vs. Flames W 3-0

at Sharks L 5-2

vs. Oilers W 6-4

at Jets L 4-1

04.05.201604.05.2016

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

TOUGH SCHEDULE? — With three of their final four games of the 2015-16 campaign against non-playoff teams, one would expect the Los Angeles Kings to put on cruise control this week before the post-season dance begins. Wrong. They’ve lost their last four games on the road (prior to Monday’s clash at Vancouver) and have stumbled in the third period. Chances are, they’ll arrive in Calgary ready to roll.

GRAVEL RECALLED — The Kings recalled D Kevin Gravel from their American Hockey League affiliate on Sunday. The need for the call-up was spurred by several “bang-ups” on defence and gives them one final look before the post-season injuries. The left-shot defender appeared in four NHL games earlier this year against the Islanders, Rangers, Devils, and Capitals.

KRAFT HOCKEYVILLE — The Los Angeles Kings will square off with the Edmonton Oilers in a pre-season game at Lumby, B.C., on Oct. 2 to celebrate 2016 Kraft Hockeyville. The town, just on the north end of the Okanagan, will host the clash and receive $100,000 in arena upgrades to the Pat Duke Memorial Arena.

LIMPING TO THE FINISH — Darryl Sutter’s Los Angeles Kings are sputtering towards the end of the 2015-16 regular season. With a playoff berth secured weeks ago, the Kings have lost five of their last seven games (before Monday’s game at Vancouver). Prior to Monday’s action, the Dallas Stars had an eight-point lead over the Kings to hold their spot atop the Western Conference. “I don’t think we care about who we play,” Kings defender Rob Scuderi told the L.A. Times. “I think we’re worried about how we play. I think that’s important this time of year.”

LAST TIME THEY MET — The Flames arrived in Los Angeles last Thursday, trying to erase memories of an embarrassing 8-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks the night before. This result was a little better, but not by much. C Jeff Carter scored twice in the second period, LW Andy Andreoff scored in the third, and G Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in the winning effort at Staples Center. The Flames are winless and point-less in eight contests against the Kings and Ducks this season. By the way, their record is 9-15-3 against Pacific Division teams this season.

FLAMES LINEUP

Forward lines

Johnny Gaudreau-Sean Monahan-Hunter Shinkaruk

Micheal Ferland-Sam Bennett-Josh Jooris

Lance Bouma-Mikael Backlund-Joe Colborne

Brandon Bollig-Matt Stajan-Derek Grant

Defence pairings

Mark Giordano-Deryk Engelland

TJ Brodie-Dougie Hamilton

Jyrki Jokipakka-Jakub Nakladal

Goalies

Joni Ortio

Niklas Backstrom

KINGS LINEUP

Forward lines

Tanner Pearson-Anze Kopitar-Kris Versteeg

Milan Lucic-Jeff Carter-Tyler Toffoli

Dwight King-Vincent Lecavalier-Dustin Brown

Kyle Clifford-Trevor Lewis-Andy Andreoff

Defence pairings

Brayden McNabb-Drew Doughty

Jake Muzzin-Luke Schenn

Rob Scuderi-Jamie McBain

Goalies

Jonathan Quick

Jhonas Enroth

04.05.2016=

WHO’S HOT

C Jeff Carter, Kings — After lighting the Flames up twice last week, the 31-year-old is heating up at a perfect time — right before the 2016 post-season. In the last five games (before Monday at Vancouver), he’s scored five goals and added another three assists during a tough stretch for the Kings.

C Mikael Backlund, Flames — With a pair of goals and an assist against the Edmonton Oilers, the Swedish pivot snapped a 10-game scoring slump. Continues to produce in a career season and, with two more goals, he’ll hit a new career-high with 19 goals.

04.05.201604.05.2016

WHO’S COLD

RW Dustin Brown, Kings — Before Monday’s game at Vancouver, the veteran winger was point-less in eight games. Probably not going to cut it in the 2016 post-season as far as Darryl’s concerned.

C Derek Grant, Flames — In the wake of Michael Frolik’s injury, he still has a glorious opportunity to prove he’s got what it takes at the NHL level. Had four shots on net in Saturday’s 5-0 win over the Oilers but nothing to show for it.

04.05.201604.05.2016

INJURIES

Kings — D Matt Greene (shoulder surgery), RW Marian Gaborik (knee), C Jordan Nolan (herniated disc). D Alec Martinez (day to day) is on the trip.

Flames — RW Michael Frolik (groin) is still recovering while G Karri Ramo (knee), D Ladislav Smid (neck) and D Dennis Wideman (triceps) are finished for the season.

04.05.201604.05.2016

SPECIAL TEAMS (Prior to Monday’s action)

Kings: PP 20.7% (8th), PK 81.2% (T-15th)

Flames: PP 16.5% (24th), PK 74.6% (30th)


Flames Notebook: Finishing the season strong, Shinkaruk's first game at the Dome

Kristen Odland


With two practices and three games remaining in the disappointing 2015-16 National Hockey League season, the Calgary Flames are surprisingly upbeat.No sulking.

No pouting.

And, if you can believe it, there were even a few smiles at Winsport’s facilities — the site of Calgary’s skate on Monday as the 2016 Juno Award celebrations moved out of the Scotiabank Saddledome.

“We talked about it … you look at the effort and it’s great,” said Flames head coach Bob Hartley. “That’s the only way we’re going to move forward. There’s still lots of young players that need to learn the game the right way. And it doesn’t always involve pucks. It’s about learning to do things the NHL way.”

The Flames, with 72 points and just ahead of the Winnipeg Jets, were sitting 25th in the 30-team loop on Monday morning. If you’re an optimist and have checked nhllotterysimulator.com, they’re actually sitting sixth with a 7.5 per cent chance of landing Auston Matthews.

Still, out of the post-season just a year after that magical run of 2014-15, they’re not quite there yet.

Tuesday’s clash against the playoff-bound Los Angeles Kings will serve as another reminder of where they want to go.

“We have two more home games and those are very important to play in front of our fans,” Hartley said. “They’ve always been behind us and it’s our chance to send them home until next training camp and make sure they’re proud of us.”

While the Vancouver Canucks, Thursday’s opponent, are in the same boat as the Flames, the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild are firmly focused on maintaining a high level of play before the 2016 post-season.

Long gone are the emotions of realizing the Flames would be hitting the golf courses earlier than expected this year.

“We passed that tough stretch,” Hartley said. “When you have a week left and you’re going to have all summer away from the game you love so much — that’s what we’re trying to get to our guys … I like the players’ mindset. I give them credit. They could unplug. But they have too much pride to do that.”

Hunter Shinkaruk will continue to live out his childhood dream of playing for his hometown National Hockey League team with his first game as a Calgary Flame at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.

But the bigger picture for the 21-year-old product of South Calgary? Becoming a consistent and impactful star in the NHL.

And fans can’t help but wonder at his potential, especially skating on Calgary’s top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, which he’ll do again on Tuesday.

“Well, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” cautioned Flames head coach Bob Hartley with a chuckle. “That’s a lot of mustard on your sandwich. But here’s a kid that has to learn to play the game the right way. He’s getting a freebie right now. We want to see what he’s got.

“He’s been good but let’s make sure we don’t get carried away.”

In his first recall as a Calgary Flame, Shinkaruk has one goal and an assist in four games and has averaged between 15 and 18 minutes of ice time per game.

Kings skipper and former Flames coach Darryl Sutter coached his 1,200th NHL regular season game on Monday against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Viking native became the 15th coach in NHL history to reach that mark.

Prior to Monday’s clash, Sutter was 184-111-44 in his 339 games at the helm of the Kings.

He coached 210 games with the Flames from 2002 to 2006.

ICE CHIPS: Bob Hartley was noncommittal about his goaltending plan beyond Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. “You’ll see Joni Ortio (Tuesday),” he said. “That’s where we’re at in our decision. One game at a time.”



Calgary Flames defenceman Mikael Backlund eyeing first complete NHL season

By Kristen Odland, Postmedia

First posted: Tuesday, April 05, 2016 12:04 AM MDT | Updated: Tuesday, April 05, 2016 12:09 AM MDT

For the first time since Mikael Backlund was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2007, it’s finally looking like he’s going to make it through an entire National Hockey League season without missing a single game due to injury.

Quickly, go find the nearest piece of wood and knock on it.

With three regular season games remaining on the 2015-16 docket, the 27-year-old pivot has had a difficult time remaining healthy through his career. Of course, players don’t always have a choice in the matter and injuries in the NHL are unpredictable.

So in some ways, it’s an accomplishment for Backlund to stay upright for this long. But more importantly, it’s the consistency in his game that has come through being healthy.

“I don’t need to prove (I can stay healthy) to anyone,” Backlund was saying on Monday. “But it was a goal for myself to play 82 games.”

Right now, it’s looking like Backlund is the lone forward who will have played every single game this season and only one of three Flames that have done so (Dougie Hamilton and captain Mark Giordano are the others).

He played 76 games in 2013-14 but a finger issue cost him a handful of games at the end of the season.

A lingering abdomen issue and subsequent surgery kept him out for a stretch at the beginning of 2014-15 and limited him to 52 regular season games.

Chalk it up to good health or slowly becoming an NHL veteran. Either way, it’s been noticeable.

“After my slow start (this year) I’ve been pretty consistent and playing both ways,” he said. “I’ve been responsible (defensively) and it takes time to get experience and know where to be at. Some guys can dominate right away … but it took a few years for me to develop who I am.

“I feel like this is my most consistent year.”

Backlund, who has spent his entire NHL career in this organization, is two goals shy of a new career-high. In Saturday’s 5-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers, he had a short-handed marker and a third-period tally plus an assist.

That gave him 17 goals this season and 25 assists to set a career-high in points (42) as well as surpassing the 100-assist mark (he now has 102 in 377 NHL games).

His face-off percentage is 47.1 and takes the majority of the draws behind Sean Monahan (who leads the team with a 51.1 face-off percentage).

But it’s his consistent effort that stands out.

“Points come and go but I feel like I’ve been working hard and playing solid for most of my games,” Backlund said. “You’re not going to score all the time so I haven’t been putting too much focus on points, and just going out to play on the right side of the puck.”

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Calgary Flames organization forward Brian "Big Ern ' McGrattan smilin’ in San Diego

By Eric Francis, Calgary Sun

First posted: Monday, April 04, 2016 11:54 PM MDT | Updated: Tuesday, April 05, 2016 12:03 AM MDT

Brian McGrattan is two goals away from setting a new season high.

He’s playing upwards of 13 minutes a night, he wears an ‘A’ on his jersey and he’s living in a beach house in San Diego where his Gulls are one of the hottest teams in the AHL heading into the playoffs.

Suffice it to say, clawing his way back into the NHL is no longer his priority.

His one-year-old son is.

After all, it’s the love and perspective young Gabriel gives McGrattan that allowed all this to be possible.

A recovering alcoholic who celebrated seven years of sobriety before Christmas, McGrattan’s adult life has been a well-documented series of battles on and off the ice.

But the 34-year-old is now happy and content.

It’s a radical departure from the mindset he had a year ago when the Flames sent him packing and hockey was the last thing he cared about.

“I played almost ten years in the NHL and if I never play another game there I’m not going to lose any sleep,” said McGrattan from his coastline home.

“I want to enjoy whatever time I have left. A lot of times in the NHL it’s not an enjoyable job. You’re not in the lineup two or three weeks, you get bag-skated and coaches walk by and don’t even look at you. Often you’d go in and see if your equipment is in your stall.

“Those are some of the parts I don’t miss. This year I played in the minors the whole year and I can’t remember having this much fun. It has definitely put a little spark under me, and given me new life.”

Playing in the California-based Pacific division with Anaheim’s affiliate, McGrattan loves the light travel, giving him more time to spend with wife Michelle and Gabriel who arrived last Apr. 13 and allowed the 6-foot-4, 235 pound winger to take his mind off a game that appeared to pass him by.

In an increasingly speedy league that all but officially said goodbye to heavyweight fighters last season, the towering Hamilton native dressed just eight times for the Flames before being demoted mid-January. Upon his departure he said he had no interest in fighting anymore, choosing instead to half-heartedly suggest he’d prove himself as a player to get back to the bigs.

Then Gabriel was born, prompting a much-needed hiatus from the game.

“Last year wasn’t a great year for me all the way around in my career – I didn’t know if I wanted to play anymore,” said McGrattan, who knows the end is near for fighting in hockey.

“When Gabe was born I didn’t think about hockey the first three months. After that I sat down with Michelle and said, ‘I think I want to play. I didn’t play 14 years to have a year like this and go out like that.’

“I didn’t know where but I said I wanted to see where I could play and have fun. From the way I was treated at the rink every day and not playing, everything was so bad I said I want to go to Europe or the AHL and sure enough Anaheim was the first team to call.”

None of that is to suggest he has any hard feelings towards the Flames or its management.

“Not at all – that’s life,” insisted the man teammates affectionately called Big Ern.

“I’ll be a Flame and a Flames fan for life. We’re really grateful for my time there. It was a very important part of our lives. We have so many friends there and we will continue to call it home every summer.”

Despite being a fan-favourite McGrattan couldn’t possibly have felt like part of the team in Calgary his final year.

Coach Dallas Eakins has built a close-knit group in San Diego and McGrattan has been made to feel an integral part of the team. Sewing the guy’s very first letter on his jersey sure helps.

“Being a veteran guy and an important part of the team is a lot of fun,” said McGrattan, who needs one goal in his final five games to tie his AHL high of nine.

“The environment here is easy. You want to be here and you want to work for them.”

And, as always, McGrattan wants to fight for them too.

“I’m not looking for it but anytime someone wants to go, I’ll go,” said the laid back McGrattan of his renewed vigor for what he does best.

“I don’t care - I’m a gamer all the time. There are some older tough guys floating around in the California division like Colton Orr, Frazer McLaren, Paul Bissonnette and Patrick Bordeleau. You get the college or some junior guys who’ve never seen a fight in their life and they see one and it’s scary for them. It’s more of a protection role in the league. There will always be jobs for that down here.”

Even though there’s talk the AHL will start squeezing out fights with lengthy suspensions after a handful of scraps McGrattan hopes to re-sign with the Gulls next year.

“I want to play another two, three or four years and maybe go to Europe and show Gabriel all the experiences he can at a young age,” said McGrattan, who delights in taking his son for walks on the beach.

“I put his feet in the ocean and bring him to the rink the odd time – he won’t remember it but he’ll have pictures.”

And his dad will always remember how fatherhood helped him finish his career on far happier terms than his days in Calgary.

BOUNCE BACK

The last time most Calgarians saw Brian McGrattan he was motionless, lying facedown on the ice after being knocked out early in the new year.

It was a shocking, disturbing and rare piece of Youtube evidence proving that even the toughest of heavyweights can be dropped if hit in the wrong spot.

However, those who thought hockey’s heavyweight champion had been dethroned or turned off of fighting should guess again.

“That hasn’t changed my mentality at all,” said the 6-foot-4, 235-pound San Diego Gulls winger who has fought twice since then, including a successful rematch against San Antonio’s Daniel Maggio a few weeks ago.

“I’ve fought a lot of years in the NHL and I’ve taken some good shots by big guys. Maybe I got sloppy and should have been sharper. I hit the reset button, figured out what I did wrong and moved forward.”

In the initial, spirited fight with Maggio, McGrattan was caught with a right hand that knocked him unconscious, caused him to fall face-first and forced him to be stretchered off the ice and taken to the hospital where he was alert and moving.

“I tip my hat to him - he took my best when I fought him in San Antonio and got me with one punch,” said McGrattan, nine years older than the 6-foot-3, 210 pound Maggio.

“I fought him (two weeks ago) and it was a little different outcome, but I give him credit again.”

McGrattan has nothing but respect for those who fight for a living and praised Maggio for coming at him for the rematch.

“We got on at the same time and we looked at each other and he knew,” chuckled the former Flames enforcer who has eights AHL goals this year as an assistant captain, contributing with more than just his fists.

“I one-punched Tie Domi my first year and he had never lost like that before. He didn’t chirp me. I’ve always been very respectful and humble. Sometimes you have to tip your hat.”



Flames still smiling .. Shinkaruk's big chance ... Sutter's 1200th ... goalie mystery


First posted: Monday, April 04, 2016 07:05 PM MDT | Updated: Monday, April 04, 2016 10:31 PM MDT

With two practices and three games remaining in the disappointing 2015-16 National Hockey League season, the Calgary Flames are surprisingly upbeat.

No sulking.

No pouting.

And, if you can believe it, there were even a few smiles at Winsport’s facilities — the site of Calgary’s skate on Monday as the 2016 Juno Award celebrations moved out of the Scotiabank Saddledome.

“We talked about it … you look at the effort and it’s great,” said Flames head coach Bob Hartley. “That’s the only way we’re going to move forward. There’s still lots of young players that need to learn the game the right way. And it doesn’t always involve pucks. It’s about learning to do things the NHL way.”

The Flames, with 72 points and just ahead of the Winnipeg Jets, were sitting 25th in the 30-team loop on Monday morning. If you’re an optimist and have checked nhllotterysimulator.com, they’re actually sitting sixth with a 7.5 per cent chance of landing Auston Matthews.

Still, out of the post-season just a year after that magical run of 2014-15, they’re not quite there yet.

Tuesday’s clash against the playoff-bound Los Angeles Kings will serve as another reminder of where they want to go.

“We have two more home games and those are very important to play in front of our fans,” Hartley said. “They’ve always been behind us and it’s our chance to send them home until next training camp and make sure they’re proud of us.”

While the Vancouver Canucks, Thursday’s opponent, are in the same boat as the Flames, the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild are firmly focused on maintaining a high level of play before the 2016 post-season.

Long gone are the emotions of realizing the Flames would be hitting the golf courses earlier than expected this year.

“We passed that tough stretch,” Hartley said. “When you have a week left and you’re going to have all summer away from the game you love so much — that’s what we’re trying to get to our guys … I like the players’ mindset. I give them credit. They could unplug. But they have too much pride to do that.”

Hunter Shinkaruk will continue to live out his childhood dream of playing for his hometown National Hockey League team with his first game as a Calgary Flame at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.

But the bigger picture for the 21-year-old product of South Calgary? Becoming a consistent and impactful star in the NHL.

And fans can’t help but wonder at his potential, especially skating on Calgary’s top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, which he’ll do again on Tuesday.

“Well, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” cautioned Flames head coach Bob Hartley with a chuckle. “That’s a lot of mustard on your sandwich. But here’s a kid that has to learn to play the game the right way. He’s getting a freebie right now. We want to see what he’s got.

“He’s been good but let’s make sure we don’t get carried away.”

In his first recall as a Calgary Flame, Shinkaruk has one goal and an assist in four games and has averaged between 15 and 18 minutes of ice time per game.

Kings skipper and former Flames coach Darryl Sutter coached his 1,200th NHL regular season game on Monday against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Viking native became the 15th coach in NHL history to reach that mark.

Prior to Monday’s clash, Sutter was 184-111-44 in his 339 games at the helm of the Kings.

He coached 210 games with the Flames from 2002 to 2006.

ICE CHIPS: Bob Hartley was noncommittal about his goaltending plan beyond Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. “You’ll see Joni Ortio (Tuesday),” he said. “That’s where we’re at in our decision. One game at a time.”



Game day: Los Angeles Kings at Calgary Flames


First posted: Monday, April 04, 2016 02:46 PM MDT | Updated: Monday, April 04, 2016 03:48 PM MDT

Los Angeles Kings (46-27-5*) at Calgary Flames (33-40-6)

*prior to Monday's action vs. Vancouver

7 p.m. Tuesday, Scotiabank Saddledome

TV: CBC

Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan

04.05.201604.05.2016

LAST FIVE GAMES

Flames

at Oilers W 5-0

at Kings L 3-0

at Ducks L 8-3

at Coyotes W 5-2

vs. Blackhawks L 4-1

Kings

vs. Stars L 3-2

vs. Flames W 3-0

at Sharks L 5-2

vs. Oilers W 6-4

at Jets L 4-1

04.05.201604.05.2016

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

TOUGH SCHEDULE? — With three of their final four games of the 2015-16 campaign against non-playoff teams, one would expect the Los Angeles Kings to put on cruise control this week before the post-season dance begins. Wrong. They've lost their last four games on the road (prior to Monday's clash at Vancouver) and have stumbled in the third period. Chances are, they'll arrive in Calgary ready to roll.

GRAVEL RECALLED — The Kings recalled D Kevin Gravel from their American Hockey League affiliate on Sunday. The need for the call-up was spurred by several "bang-ups" on defence and gives them one final look before the post-season injuries. The left-shot defender appeared in four NHL games earlier this year against the Islanders, Rangers, Devils, and Capitals.

KRAFT HOCKEYVILLE — The Los Angeles Kings will square off with the Edmonton Oilers in a pre-season game at Lumby, B.C., on Oct. 2 to celebrate 2016 Kraft Hockeyville. The town, just on the north end of the Okanagan, will host the clash and receive $100,000 in arena upgrades to the Pat Duke Memorial Arena.

LIMPING TO THE FINISH — Darryl Sutter's Los Angeles Kings are sputtering towards the end of the 2015-16 regular season. With a playoff berth secured weeks ago, the Kings have lost five of their last seven games (before Monday's game at Vancouver). Prior to Monday's action, the Dallas Stars had an eight-point lead over the Kings to hold their spot atop the Western Conference. "I don't think we care about who we play," Kings defender Rob Scuderi told the L.A. Times. "I think we're worried about how we play. I think that's important this time of year."

LAST TIME THEY MET — The Flames arrived in Los Angeles last Thursday, trying to erase memories of an embarrassing 8-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks the night before. This result was a little better, but not by much. C Jeff Carter scored twice in the second period, LW Andy Andreoff scored in the third, and G Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in the winning effort at Staples Center. The Flames are winless and point-less in eight contests against the Kings and Ducks this season. By the way, their record is 9-15-3 against Pacific Division teams this season.

FLAMES LINEUP

Forward lines

Johnny Gaudreau-Sean Monahan-Hunter Shinkaruk

Micheal Ferland-Sam Bennett-Josh Jooris

Lance Bouma-Mikael Backlund-Joe Colborne

Brandon Bollig-Matt Stajan-Derek Grant

Defence pairings

Mark Giordano-Deryk Engelland

TJ Brodie-Dougie Hamilton

Jyrki Jokipakka-Jakub Nakladal

Goalies

Joni Ortio

Niklas Backstrom

KINGS LINEUP

Forward lines

Tanner Pearson-Anze Kopitar-Kris Versteeg

Milan Lucic-Jeff Carter-Tyler Toffoli

Dwight King-Vincent Lecavalier-Dustin Brown

Kyle Clifford-Trevor Lewis-Andy Andreoff

Defence pairings

Brayden McNabb-Drew Doughty

Jake Muzzin-Luke Schenn

Rob Scuderi-Jamie McBain

Goalies

Jonathan Quick

Jhonas Enroth

WHO'S HOT

C Jeff Carter, Kings — After lighting the Flames up twice last week, the 31-year-old is heating up at a perfect time — right before the 2016 post-season. In the last five games (before Monday at Vancouver), he's scored five goals and added another three assists during a tough stretch for the Kings.

C Mikael Backlund, Flames — With a pair of goals and an assist against the Edmonton Oilers, the Swedish pivot snapped a 10-game scoring slump. Continues to produce in a career season and, with two more goals, he'll hit a new career-high with 19 goals.

WHO'S COLD

RW Dustin Brown, Kings — Before Monday's game at Vancouver, the veteran winger was point-less in eight games. Probably not going to cut it in the 2016 post-season as far as Darryl's concerned.

C Derek Grant, Flames — In the wake of Michael Frolik's injury, he still has a glorious opportunity to prove he's got what it takes at the NHL level. Had four shots on net in Saturday's 5-0 win over the Oilers but nothing to show for it.

INJURIES

Kings — D Matt Greene (shoulder surgery), RW Marian Gaborik (knee), C Jordan Nolan (herniated disc). D Alec Martinez (day to day) is on the trip.

Flames — RW Michael Frolik (groin) is still recovering while G Karri Ramo (knee), D Ladislav Smid (neck) and D Dennis Wideman (triceps) are finished for the season.

SPECIAL TEAMS (Prior to Monday's action)

Kings: PP 20.7% (8th), PK 81.2% (T-15th)

Flames: PP 16.5% (24th), PK 74.6% (30th)


1008563 Carolina Hurricanes

Bishop signs entry-level contract

BY CHIP ALEXANDER

The Carolina Hurricanes announced Monday that the team has agreed to terms with forward Clark Bishop on a three-year, entry-level contract.

The deal will pay Bishop $575,000 in 2016-17, $650,000 in 2017-18 and $650,000 in 2018-19 on the NHL level, or $65,000 per season in the minor leagues. He receives a signing bonus of $210,000.

“Clark has shown improvement in each year of his career with Cape Breton,” general manager Ron Francis said in a statement. “He is a strong two-way player and a proven leader who has been part of his team’s leadership group for three of his four junior seasons.”

Bishop, 20, had 16 goals and added 23 assists for a career-high 39 points in 50 regular-season games for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He served as Cape Breton’s team captain for the second consecutive season.

Selected by the Hurricanes in the fifth round, 127th overall, of the 2014 NHL Draft, Bishop has 129 points (57 goals, 72 assists) and 227 penalty minutes in 202 career QMJHL games for Cape Breton. He has also participated in several international competitions, winning gold with Canada at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

News Observer LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008564 Chicago Blackhawks

Marian Hossa unlikely to play Tuesday for Blackhawks

Chris Hine

Marian is Hossa is unlikely to play Tuesday when the Blackhawks face the Coyotes, but coach Joel Quenneville reiterated Hossa’s injury is not serious and said he expects Hossa to play again before the regular season ends Saturday.

“He’s not bad (Monday), but he’s questionable for (Tuesday), maybe doubtful," Quenneville said.

Hossa had a scary moment in Sunday’s 6-4 victory over the Bruins when he had to exit with an apparent left leg injury after colliding with the Bruins’ Frank Vatrano. Hossa missed nine games in February and march because of a left-leg injury. Quenneville said there was “a lot of relief” after the game when the team discovered Hossa’ injury was not serious.

“Initially we were concerned but the news wasn’t so bad afterwards. ... The way he went off it didn’t look good,” Quenneville said.

Andrew Shaw is likely out for Tuesday’s game as well because of an upper-body injury and Quenneville said “We’ll see” when asked if Shaw could play this week.

As for goaltender Corey Crawford (upper body), Quenneville said Crawford is on track to play in the regular-season finale Saturday against the Blue Jackets.

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 04.05.2016


Observations from Blackhawks' 6-4 win

Chris Kuc

Patrick Kane had three goals and an assist as he reached 100 points on the season, Artemi Panarin had a goal and three assists and Artem Anisimov added a goal and two assists as the Hawks won for the fourth time in their last five games.

The Hawks raced to a 6-0 lead and then found themselves hanging on after the Bruins roared back with four unanswered goals. Patrice Bergeron led the way for the Bruins with two goals and an assist.

Second line second to none

The Hawks’ second line of Kane, Panarin and Anisimov was re-energized and was dangerous every time it took the ice. It appeared teams had begun to figure out the trio — or at least assign top checking lines against it — and production had been down. But Sunday the trio combined for 11 points with Panarin collecting his second consecutive four-point game.

Corey Crawford likely to return in time for playoffs

“I think we realize teams were kind of defending us a little bit differently so we had to adjust some things,” Kane said. “Overall, I think it comes down to just working hard and battling for the puck because when we get that puck back we feel we can make plays and create a lot of offense. The last maybe three, four or five games we’ve been doing some good things. We’ve had some chances. It wasn’t going in at the beginning but the last couple it has been. Keep playing the same way whether we’re scoring or not and keep trying to create chances but most importantly play the right way and make sure we’re keeping the puck out of our net.”

That was the case Sunday as Kane, Panarin and Anisimov were a combined plus-8 as well as an offensive force.

“They were great, individually, collectively, fun to watch, nice plays on the goals, great individual plays, play recognition (and) finish,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “Nice to see our power play, too, be a part of that.”

The Hawks scored on two of their three man advantages.

Panarin for Calder

After scoring his first goal against the Bruins, Patrick Kane get a high-five from Artemi Panarin. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

Panarin continued to solidify his case for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the league’s top rookie. There appears to be backlash against Panarin in some hockey circles because he is 24 and played professionally at a high level in the KHL before signing a free-agent deal with the Hawks, but the rules are in place and the NHL considers Panarin a rookie. There is is no denying his credentials — Panarin leads rookies with 72 points off 28 goals and 44 assists. The 72 points are the most points by a rookie in the NHL since Kane had 72 during the 2007-08 season.

“If you look at his numbers and what he's been able to do in his first year in the league, that all speaks for itself,” Kane said. “There are a lot of other rookies in the league with a lot of notoriety and media attention and things like that. He's kind of one of those guys that maybe wasn't talked about coming into the season. He surprised a lot of people with his play for being a first-year player. In my mind, I would vote for him.”

Added teammate Teuvo Teravainen: “(Panarin) has been really good for us all year. Now, especially the last couple games, he's been scoring a lot and that's what we want to see. Whenever he's scoring, it makes our team better. So, it's fun to watch.”

Panarin said his focus in the final three games heading into the postseason isn’t on the Calder race, but to “play smart (and) to play well defensively first.”

Flipping the switch

Despite the letdown that allowed the Bruins to get back into the game, the Hawks were dominating throughout the first period and late into the second. The puck possession, speed through the neutral zone and strong special teams are the way the Hawks need to play once the playoffs begin.

Quenneville was asked if that is the way the Hawks need to play once the postseason rolls around April 13.

“Or better,” he said. “I know that was as good as we’ve played but that’s the pace we have to play at, with consistency and purpose, meaning in every shift.”

Hossa watch

One thing to keep an eye on is the health of Marian Hossa. The veteran winger left the ice following a collision with the Bruins’ Frank Vatrano during the third period with an apparent left knee/leg injury.

After the game, Quenneville said, Hossa “seemed to be OK” and that the team would know more Monday. The Hawks aren’t scheduled to practice Monday but will hold off-ice workouts and Quenneville will meet with the media. An update on Hossa will be given then. Sitting on 499 career goals, Hossa was flying during Sunday’s game and appeared determined the set the mark before going down with the injury. The Hawks can ill afford to lose Hossa for any part of the playoffs.

“It's tough, of course, anytime you lose a player,” Teravainen said. “You want to stay as healthy as you can, and hopefully he gets better. He's huge for our team. He does so many good things on the ice, offensively and defensively, especially.”



Blackhawks' Scott Darling filling in ably in goal with Corey Crawford out

Chris Hine

Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling could not remember the last time he started on consecutive nights, as he did on the Hawks' recent trip to Calgary and Vancouver.

You can forgive Darling if everything has seemed like a blur lately. That tends to happen when you go from being a backup goaltender who plays only once every other week to starting nine consecutive games while Corey Crawford has been out because of an upper-body injury.

"Never, never in my life," Darling said of the last time he started that many games in a row. "In college, I probably played four out of five. This has been a new thing for me."

He will extend that streak to 10 games, and likely 11, before Crawford returns. Crawford is on track to start the regular-season finale Saturday against the Blue Jackets.

While Crawford has been out, Darling has held down the fort. The Hawks are 5-3-1 with wins in four of their last five, including the back-to-back set against the Canucks and Flames. Darling has a .912 save percentage in those nine games.

For reference, Crawford has a .926 save percentage this season, so there has been a bit of a drop-off, as you might expect going from starter to backup. But it has been a manageable one, and Darling is doing what a good backup should do: giving his team a chance to win nearly every game.

"I think I've done well," Darling said. "I had a few OK games, but for the most part I feel like I've pulled my weight and done my job."

Like most of the Hawks on Sunday, Darling had a solid first 39 minutes before letting it get close late. Before the Bruins rallied, he showcased his athletic ability while making several improbable saves.

It might be surprising to see someone of Darling's height — 6-foot-6 — make such nimble plays, but his teammates are used to it by now.

"He's had a few top-10 saves of the year I can think of," defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk said. "It's unbelievable, for such a big guy, how athletic he is. It's a great (combination) where he takes up a lot of the net with his size, but that doesn't mean he just sits there and tries to block it. He's out there making saves and making some pretty special ones at that."

Darling is able to make those saves in part because of the grueling conditioning and practicing he undertakes while waiting for a chance to play. That conditioning has helped his body stay near its peak over the last nine games — not easy when you're accustomed to playing only every so often.

"He's handling it fine," coach Joel Quenneville said. "Goalies get in that groove — you want the net, you feel good about it and you expect to get in the net. The back-to-back games for him was a different kind of a challenge, and he handled that very well."

The Hawks would say the same about how Darling has handled his full slate of games with Crawford out.



Tuesday's matchup: Coyotes at Blackhawks

Chris Hine

TV/radio: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; CSN, WGN-AM 720.

Storylines: The Hawks won the previous two meetings this season, scoring a combined 12 goals. They clinched at least a third-place finish in the Central Division with their victory over the Bruins on Sunday.

Trending: Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane have a combined 14 points in their last two games. The Coyotes had won four of six entering Monday's game against the Blues.



Corey Crawford likely to return in time for playoffs

Chris Kuc

The biggest question the Blackhawks have heading into the playoffs is nearing an answer.

Coach Joel Quenneville expressed optimism Sunday that starting goaltender Corey Crawford will be ready when the postseason begins next week. Crawford skated before the Hawks' 6-4 victory over the Bruins on Sunday at the United Center — his second consecutive day on the ice while recovering from an upper-body injury.

"It was good," Quenneville said. "He felt fine after (Saturday), which was the most important thing. And then (Sunday) it sounds like it was the same … We feel he's turned the big corner there and we're heading in the right direction."

The Hawks have three regular-season games remaining and Quenneville was asked how many would be ideal for Crawford to round into postseason shape.

"As many as he can, but right now we're probably looking at maybe one," Quenneville said.

Will that be enough?

"Well, it's better than none," Quenneville said.

That likely would pit Crawford, who hasn't played since March 14, against the Blue Jackets in Columbus in Saturday's season finale.

Scary moment: Veteran winger Marian Hossa, who has 499 career goals, left the game in the third period with an apparent left leg injury after a center-ice collision with the Bruins' Frank Vatrano.

"(Hossa) seemed to be OK," Quenneville said after the game. "We'll know more (Monday), but we don't think it's much. Hopefully, he'll be fine and ready to go on Tuesday."

Short-handed: Andrew Shaw missed Sunday's game with an upper-body injury and has been ruled out for Tuesday's game against the Coyotes. He was injured during Friday's game against the Jets.

Quenneville said Shaw's status might be different if the playoffs had begun.

"If today was a game, knowing him … I don't know," Quenneville said with a smile.

He said it: Russian rookie Artemi Panarin had his second consecutive four-point game, scoring once and dishing out assists on two Patrick Kane goals and another on a score by Artem Anisimov.

When asked what was suddenly going right with his game, Panarin deadpanned, "Kane woke up."

Farewell: Before puck drop, the Hawks honored linesman Andy McElman, who worked his 1,500th and final NHL game.



Blackhawks’ dormant second line awakens just in time

Mark Lazerus

The man on his left has been trying to crack the top 10 in scoring among forwards to trigger a seven-figure bonus. The man on his right has been trying to reach 100 points for the first time and become the first American to win the scoring title.

But Artem Anisimov hasn’t been counting along with Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane. He’s just worried about his own game, and the line as a whole. The individual stats will follow.

“I don’t actually think about that stuff,” Anisimov said. “I just think about our game, how we need to play. If we play the right way, they’re going to reach those milestones easily. They’re so skilled, they can make all those plays. We just need to play the right way.”

Anisimov said that on Friday morning in Winnipeg, when things looked a lot bleaker for the Hawks’ vaunted second line. At that point, Panarin had no goals and two assists in nine games. Kane had one goal in his last 10. And Anisimov had virtually gone missing, with one goal and five assists in his previous 19 games since a four-point night in Dallas on Feb. 6. In his first 55 games, the big Russian center had 18 goals and 14 assists.

Then, just as Anisimov predicted, everything came together. In the past two games, both Hawks victories, the trio has combined for eight goals and 10 assists. Panarin has posted back-to-back four-point games to get back in position for his bonus. Kane had a hat trick on Sunday to reach the 100-point plateau. And Anisimov is back on track, clearing room for his linemates and cleaning up rebounds in the crease.

Good thing, too. Without that line scoring at will, the Hawks offense had looked anemic, scoring two goals or fewer in seven of 10 games.

“It’s always good thing for us when they’re on the scoring sheet,” Niklas Hjalmarsson said. “That whole line was carrying us through pretty much three-quarters of the season. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where we’d be in the standings right now.”

Given the skill of the wingers and the sneaky strong play of Anisimov, it took a long time for the league to figure out how to slow down the trio. But the more they scored, the more attention they got from opponents’ top defenders.

“When the season started, in the beginning, nobody knew how to play against us,” Anisimov said. “By now, they’ve watched the tape and are prepared for our line. So it gets a little bit harder to score. We just need to find a way.”

Kane agreed.

“We realized teams were kind of defending us a little bit differently, so we had to adjust some things,” Kane said. “It comes down to just working hard and battling for the puck, because when we get that puck back, we feel we can make plays and create a lot of offense.”

With few exceptions, Joel Quenneville has stuck with that line all season, a rare constant for a coach with a notoriously itchy trigger finger. He shrugged off the second line’s recent funk as part of the regular ebbs and flows of a hockey season, and stood by Anisimov even as his numbers dropped off.

And if the last two games were any indication, the Hawks’ second line — their only line, really, for much of the season — might be finding its groove again. And with the playoffs barely a week away, not a moment too soon.

“It’s been a little frustrating,” Anisimov said. “But we just need to get our minds ready for the playoffs. The excitement level builds and it’s a fun time of year. We want to be ready.”

NOTE: Marian Hossa, who left Sunday’s game with an apparent leg injury, is questionable for Tuesday’s game against Arizona. Joel Quenneville expects him to return before the playoffs.

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 04.05.2016


Blackhawks doing just fine in Keith's absence

John Dietz

Lost in the hoopla of Patrick Kane racking up his 100th point of the season and Joel Quenneville notching his 800th career coaching victory on Sunday was this little fact:

The Blackhawks thoroughly dominated a Boston Bruins team fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot without the suspended Duncan Keith.

Scouting report

Blackhawks (46-26-7) vs. Arizona (35-37-7) at United Center, 7:30 p.m.

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WGN 720-AM

The skinny: Arizona's not going to the playoffs, but the Coyotes still have managed to beat Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington over the past 11 days, so the Hawks better not take this team lightly. … Oliver Ekman-Larsson is second among defensemen with 21 goals, 12 of which have come on the power play. Shane Doan leads the team in goals with 27. Doan has 4 goals against the Hawks in the teams' two meetings. The Hawks won both times, 7-4 and 5-4 in OT.

Next: St. Louis Blues at United Center, 7:30 p.m. Thursday

-- John Dietz

Ice time for the Hawks' six defensemen in that 6-4 victory ranged from 11:39 for Erik Gustafsson to 24:39 for Brent Seabrook. That's a good sign for Quenneville, who certainly doesn't want to tax Seabrook or Niklas Hjalmarsson at this point of the season. "The guys who have been playing defensively weren't giving up a lot of quality off the rush," said Quenneville, whose team raced to a 6-0 lead before Boston scored 2 late second-period goals to make a game of it. "For the most part we played probably as good as we've seen in the first 39 and change (minutes). That was, to me, the best sign, be it our defense or our team defense."

Seabrook has really picked his offensive game up in the 12 games that Keith has missed this season, scoring 4 goals and racking up 11 assists. He has at least 1 point in 10 of those 12 games.

In the 66 games Seabrook and Keith have played together, Seabrook has recorded a point only 23 times.

"Obviously, he's such a big part of our team and you definitely notice when he's not out there," Seabrook said. "But we're trying to do our job and pick up slack where we need to, and just get some wins and try and get this ship rolling in the right direction before he gets back."

Keith is suspended for six games and will return for Game 2 of the opening round of the playoffs.

Home, sweet home:

The Hawks are going to have to win the final three games of the season and get some help if they are to earn home ice in the first round of the playoffs by passing the Blues or Stars in the Central Division. St. Louis beat Arizona on Monday, and is now tied with Dallas for first place (with the Stars owning the tiebreaker). Both squads lead the Hawks by 6 points.

The Hawks finish with Arizona, St. Louis and Columbus. If they win those three, they can pass the Blues (via the tiebreaker) if Washington beats St. Louis in regulation in the season finale. The Hawks could also win the division if they win out and Dallas loses in regulation to Colorado and Nashville.

"That's obviously what we'd like to work for," Brent Seabrook said. "You know, we're not going to throw the hat in or anything like that. We'd like to start at home here in front of our fans and have that extra game at home if we need it.

"But, you know, playoff hockey is playoff hockey, and we've got to win four games no matter if we start on the road or if we start at home. So we're just looking forward to starting that."

Injury update:

Corey Crawford: Coach Joel Quenneville said it looks like his goalie will return from an upper-body injury at Columbus for the regular-season finale. Crawford hasn't played since a 5-0 loss to the Kings on March 14.

Marian Hossa: Veteran winger suffered a lower-body injury during the third period of the Hawks win over Boston on Sunday. Hossa is likely out vs. Arizona on Tuesday, but "for sure" will be back before season ends, according to Quenneville. "Initially we were concerned, but the news wasn't so bad afterwards," he said. "A lot of relief. The way he went off, it didn't look good."

Andrew Shaw: Suffered upper-body injury at Winnipeg on Friday and is out vs. Arizona. "We'll see on him this week," Quenneville said.

Star power:

Artemi Panarin was named the NHL's first star of the week Monday. The Hawks' rookie had 2 goals and 2 assists in a 5-4 OT win over Winnipeg on Friday, then had a goal and 3 assists in a 6-4 win over Boston.

According to Elias, Panarin is the first Hawks rookie to record back-to-back 4-point games, and the first NHL rookie to do so since Washington's Nicklas Backstrom in 2008.

Sharks defenseman was the second star, while Penguins goalie Matt Murray was the third star.

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 04.05.2016


Blackhawks: Marian Hossa doubtful, Andrew Shaw out vs. Coyotes

April 4, 2016, 1:15 pm

Tracey Myers

Marian Hossa is questionable-to-doubtful and Andrew Shaw will be out when the Blackhawks host the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Hossa suffered what looked to be a left leg injury in Sunday afternoon’s game against the Boston Bruins. He left in the third period and did not return. Coach Joel Quenneville deemed Hossa, “questionable, maybe doubtful” for tomorrow. Quenneville added that didn’t look good when Hossa was first injured but the right wing was “not bad today,” and should play again before the regular season ends.

“A lot of relief,” Quenneville said on what he felt on Hossa’s post-game diagnosis. “The way he went off, it didn’t look good. Initially we were concerned but the news wasn’t so bad afterward.”

Shaw was already ruled out of Tuesday’s game with an upper-body sustained against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. Asked if Shaw will play in one or both of the final regular-season games, Quenneville said, “we’ll see on him this week.”

Scott Darling will get the start vs. the Coyotes.

Meanwhile, Corey Crawford did not skate on Monday; nobody did, as the Blackhawks just had off-ice workouts. Quenneville said Crawford is “doing fine,” and is still hopeful Crawford plays the final regular-season game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.



Blackhawks: Artemi Panarin named NHL's first star of week

April 4, 2016, 11:45 am

C. ROUMELIOTIS

Artemi Panarin was named the NHL's No. 1 star for the week ending April 3 after scoring three goals and adding five assists in three games.

San Jose's Brent Burns and Pittsburgh's Matt Murray were named the second and third stars, respectively.

After being held pointless in the first game against Minnesota, Panarin recorded four points in back-to-back wins over Winnipeg and Boston to help the Blackhawks secure a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

He became the first rookie in franchise history to register four-point efforts in consecutive games.

Panarin increased his point total to 72, the first Blackhawks rookie to reach that number since Patrick Kane (72) in 2007-08.



Blackhawks want to build off 'first 39 and change'

April 4, 2016, 3:15 pm

Tracey Myers

For nearly 40 minutes on Sunday the Blackhawks looked like — the Blackhawks.

We mean the dominating, four-line-rolling Blackhawks that people have been used to watching the last few seasons. That team, for nearly two periods, was very evident on Sunday.

“I know that was as good as we’ve played. That’s the pace we have to play at, with consistency and purpose,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “Meaning in every shift.”

And that team is going to have to be more evident — and for 60 minutes or more, not just 40 — as they head into the postseason.

The Blackhawks would rather forget the final 20-plus minutes of Sunday’s victory over the Bruins. That was a combination of Blackhawks breakdowns and Bruins mettle that made a once lopsided game more interesting than the Blackhawks would have liked. But for the first 40 minutes — or as Quenneville more specifically noted, “the first 39 and change” — the Blackhawks liked what they did.

It would be easy to focus on the six goals the Blackhawks scored during that time, and certainly the outburst was a welcome sight. But it several cases, it was what the Blackhawks were denying on the other end during those minutes that was leading to the Blackhawks’ scoring opportunities.

“We saw it there for 40 minutes, how good we can be. And it all starts with how well we defend. You see six goals coming fast, and it’s all about how we defend,” Trevor van Riemsdyk said. “It seems counterintuitive or whatever it may be, but it really is when we’re turning them over, giving them nothing and using our transition and our speed and skill. We have so many great forwards up there that can make so much happen. If we can just stay patient and really focus on how we defend, that leads to our offense.”

The Blackhawks had a few goals down this regular-season stretch. They wanted to shore up their overall game and rekindle their offense — the second line of Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane was looking strong again on Sunday. They wanted to get the most out of a defense minus Duncan Keith, who still has four games remaining on his suspension. Through (nearly) the first two periods on Sunday, the Blackhawks were playing as they hoped to all season.

Now they need to rinse and repeat — and do it for more than 40 minutes from here on out.

“I think we’re happy with our first 40 for sure. That’s something we need to continue to play and build off that,” Brent Seabrook said. “It goes to show when we’re playing our game we can play that way.”



NHL's 3 stars: Artemi Panarin, Brent Burns and Matt Murray

1:00 PM ET

Staff

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Artemi Panarin, San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Apr.3.

FIRST STAR – ARTEMI PANARIN, LW, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Panarin led the League with 3-5—8 in three outings as the Blackhawks (46-26-7, 99 points) won two of three starts for the week to clinch a berth in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. After being held off the scoresheet in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on March 29, Panarin registered consecutive four-point performances to close out the week: 2-2--4 in a 5-4 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets on April 1 and 1-3--4, including the game-winning goal, in a 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins April 3. Per Elias, Panarin became the first rookie in Blackhawks history to record consecutive four-point games and the first rookie on any team to do so since Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom in 2007-08. Panarin leads all NHL rookies in goals (28), assists (44), points (72) and game-winning goals (seven).

SECOND STAR – BRENT BURNS, D, SAN JOSE SHARKS

Burns finished second among all scorers and first among defensemen with 1-6--7 in four games as the Sharks (44-29-6, 94 points) gained six of a possible eight standings points. Burns began the week by notching one goal and one assist in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on March 28. On March 29, he recorded two assists in a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks and added two assists in a 4-2 loss to the Canucks on March 31. He finished the week with one assist in a 3-2 shootout win over the Nashville Predators April 2. Burns leads all defensemen with 27 goals this season and ranks second among blueliners with 74 points.

THIRD STAR – MATT MURRAY, G, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Murray went 3-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and one shutout as the Penguins (46-25-8, 100 points) recorded four victories for the week to extend their overall winning streak to six games and move into second place in the Metropolitan Division. Murray began the week by stopping 26 shots in a 5-4 shootout victory over the Buffalo Sabres Mar. 29. On April 2, he stopped all 24 shots he faced to record his first career shutout, a 5-0 win over the New York Islanders. He finished the week with a 28 save effort in a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Apr. 3. The 21 year-old native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has appeared in 10 games for the Penguins posting a 7-2-1 record (1.88 GAA, .933 save percentage, one shutout), including five consecutive wins.

ESPNChicago.com LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008575 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets | Time on Jenner's side in reaching 30 goals

By Aaron Portzline

The Columbus Dispatch • MONDAY APRIL 4, 2016 5:34 AM

RALEIGH, N.C. — Without a second to spare Saturday, center Boone Jenner became the fifth Blue Jackets player to score 30 goals in a season.

Replays showed that Jenner’s shot cleared the goal line with 0.1 of a second left in the second period. It gave the Blue Jackets a 4-1 lead on the way to a 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I had a feeling (the goal would count),” Jenner said. “But when I looked at the replay, it was a little closer than I thought, to be honest. It was tight but just in the nick of time.”

Jenner has been one of the Blue Jackets’ few bright spots this season. He came in with 25 goals in 103 games over his first two NHL seasons.

“It’s definitely pretty cool to get 30,” Jenner said.

Coach John Tortorella, who has spoken highly of Jenner for his energy and work ethic, went a step further.

“I’m ecstatic,” Tortorella said. “That’s something that is well deserved. This time of year, in our situation, I’m not looking at the standings, I’m looking at the contributions the guys have made, and that’s a guy who deserves that. It’s a nice little milestone for him, and he still has a few games left to play.”

Tonight's game

vs. New York Rangers

When: 7 p.m.

TV: Fox Sports Ohio

Radio: WBNS-FM (97.1)

Injury update: D Dylan McIlrath (knee) is questionable.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 04.05.2016


Blue Jackets | 'Dancing Kevin' returns to Nationwide Arena

By Doral Chenoweth The Columbus Dispatch • Tuesday April 5, 2016 12:15 AM

Before a slimmer "Dancing Kevin" returned to Nationwide Arena on Monday night for the Blue Jackets' game against the New York Rangers, his friend Clair Crawford sat with him on the floor of his Clintonville apartment and drew slogans on his once-expansive belly.

"It's definitely smaller," she said. "We just don't have as much room."

Kevin Schroeder, with his large tummy and back embellished with Blue Jackets slogans, has been entertaining the crowd during TV timeouts for years. But beginning in January, the Jackets' self-proclaimed biggest fan began a diet and workout regimen to lose some of his 358-pound frame.

After daily workouts and frequent boot-camp sessions with Life Time Fitness trainer Jack Staggs, Schroeder has lost 62 pounds.

Schroeder said he has no "ideal" weight to achieve, but he did joke about having to buy new pants.

Crawford, who sat next to him at the game, said she thought he is much more agile.

"He had moves I haven't seen before," she said.



NHL | Blue Jackets can't overcome Rangers' start

By Aaron Portzline The Columbus Dispatch • Monday April 4, 2016 11:25 PM

The Blue Jackets scheduled their Fan Appreciation Night for Monday against the New York Rangers. When these decisions are made — usually in June or July — this game set up as a Metropolitan Division showdown, a game that would likely have Stanley Cup playoff ramifications.

It did, but only for the Rangers.

In the penultimate game of the season at Nationwide Arena, the Rangers won 4-2 before 15,951 fans, 20 of whom went home with the Blue Jackets’ sweaty, game-worn jerseys.

The Rangers, who swept the four-game season series against the Blue Jackets, clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the fifth straight season and ninth time in 10 seasons.

“That’s a team we have to beat; we have to find a way,” said Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno, who scored both goals, ending a 15-game drought. “They’re the cream of the crop in the division, and they have been for a little while now. They’re a team we’ll have to go through at some point.”

Ask team management and players where 2015-16 went off the rails, and they’ll say — sadly or comically, you decide — that the season-opening 4-2 loss to the Rangers at home on Oct. 9 was that moment.

The Blue Jackets were cruising along, gripping a 2-1 lead when goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky let in an awful goal by Rangers’ J.T. Miller, and the whole cheap suit unraveled.

Less than 24 hours later, the Blue Jackets lost against at Madison Square Garden. Less than two weeks later, coach Todd Richards was fired and replaced by John Tortorella.

The Blue Jackets didn’t collapse or gag away Monday’s game, but they did get jumped early. The Rangers skated to a 2-0 lead early in the second period when defenseman Dan Boyle found a spot under the stick of goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to squeeze the puck.

“That was my goal, my mistake,” Korpisalo said. “It was a big mistake. I just played it really wrong.”

Foligno redirected a David Savard shot at 14:41 of the second, pulling the Blue Jackets to 2-1 and helping elevate their pace to match the Rangers.

The rest of the game was a chess match.

The Rangers took a 3-1 lead just 4 1/2 minutes after Foligno scored, when Mats Zuccarello retrieved his own shot off a Ryan Murray block and shot it past Korpisalo on a 2-on-1.

“We need to get out of that period 2-1,” Tortorella said.

Foligno scored again on a power move to the net at 10:45 of the third period, pulling the Blue Jackets to 3-2. The Jackets made a late push with a two-man advantage — they were on the power play and pulled Korpisalo for an extra skater — but they couldn’t convert.

Rangers center Derek Stepan scored into an empty net with 1:11 remaining to end all hope.



Blue Jackets notebook | Healthy Bobrovsky is benched

By Todd Jones The Columbus Dispatch • Monday April 4, 2016 11:01 PM

The final week of a season that once again won’t include a playoff appearance doesn’t mean Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella is yielding on his expectation for players’ performances.

Tortorella benched top goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, made veteran forward Scott Hartnell a healthy scratch and put captain Nick Foligno on the fourth line Monday for a game against the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena. The Rangers won 4-2.

Rookie Joonas Korpisalo started in goal for the second consecutive game — one in which New York was seeking to clinch a playoff spot — even though Bobrovsky is healthy and the team’s highest-paid player, with a $8.5 million salary this season.

“(Korpisalo) has played better,” Tortorella said at the morning skate. “This is an important game for the Rangers. The team I have on the ice I think is our best team, the team that gives us the best chance to win. That’s what we’re going with.”

Bobrovsky won the Vezina Trophy in 2013, is a former NHL all-star and is tied with Steve Mason for most wins in Blue Jackets history at 96. His salary cap hit of $7.425 million makes him the league’s second-highest paid goalie behind the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist.

“It’s not my decision,” Bobrovsky said. “I stay humble. … I can’t control who is going to play, who is not going to play. I just focus on today, getting better and move on.”

Does Bobrovsky, who said he’s fine physically, think Tortorella is sending him a message?

“I don’t know,” Bobrovsky said. “I don’t want to think about the message. It’s all about the result. Obviously, Torts is responsible for the team. It’s his team. He decides who he believes gives him a better opportunity to win. It’s his choice and I respect his choice.”

Three groin injuries have limited Bobrovsky to 35 games this season. He played only twice from Dec. 8 until March 11. At that time, Tortorella said Bobrovsky would play the majority of the remaining games.

Bobrovsky started eight of the first 10 games after his return but lost six, giving up at least three goals in all but one.

“I’m just trying to get my game back,” said Bobrovsky, who is 13-19-1 this season with a goals-against-average of 2.77 and a .908 save percentage.

Hartnell has also been struggling. He hadn’t scored in the past 13 games, and in that span had only two assists with a minus-10 rating. The 15-year player said the reasoning for his scratch wasn’t specified and that he was “fairly” surprised.

“It’s something I’ll obviously talk to John about and go from there,” said Hartnell, signed through 2019 with a $4.75 million salary cap hit.

Slap shots

Defenseman Cody Goloubef suffered an oblique injury in the first period and didn’t return. … Jared Boll returned to the lineup for the first time since his four-game suspension and a one-game scratch. … Foligno moved back to left wing after playing the previous two games at center.



NHL | Fans in Canada left without playoff teams

By Ian Austen The New York Times • Monday April 4, 2016 10:14 PM

Canada, where hockey passion is so intense that weddings on rinks are a thing, will not have a single team in the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s as if Argentina were shut out of the world’s premier tango competition, or France had no representation in the Michelin Guide.

To call it a national crisis would be unfair. It’s worse than that — at least according to many hockey die-hards there whose lives revolve around the playoffs each spring. They wonder, what has happened to us? And what do we do now?

‘‘I told my wife recently that I’ll have a lot of free time this spring,’’ said Geoff Cantello, a lawyer and hockey fan in Ottawa.

Sixteen of the league’s 30 teams make the playoffs, which begin April 13. By last week, all seven Canada-based teams had been eliminated from contention. Entering play last night, six teams had fewer than 75 points — five Canadian teams and the Blue Jackets.

Playoffs without a Canadian team had not happened in 46 years, when there were just two Canadian teams in a 12-team league. But the plight of Canada’s hockey teams is not entirely new. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993.

‘‘No Canadian teams, that’s huge,’’ said Adam Godard, a long-suffering fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. ‘‘Things definitely have got to be blown up. Things have got to change.’’

Hockey is not dying in Canada. (See Olympic gold, 2014, 2010.) But a confluence of factors is giving American teams an edge — and ‘‘American’’ is a loose term, given that Canadian players populate every roster.

The current favorite theory is that the now-low value of the Canadian dollar makes it difficult for Canadian teams to attract top talent paid in U.S. currency. Regardless, the NHL and its Canadian broadcast rights holder, Rogers Communications, are waiting to see if an absence of patriotic favorites will prompt Canadians to find new rituals this spring.

‘‘I think a lot of people will be like the hockey players: getting their golf clubs out and hoping for the weather to improve,’’ Cantello said.

As if the drought were not bad enough, consider what’s happening in some ice-challenged places south of the border: The teams likely to make the playoffs include three teams from California, two from Florida and one each from Texas and Tennessee.

It has been five years since a team from Canada played in the Stanley Cup finals, when Vancouver was shut out by Boston at home in Game 7. Last week, days after the Canucks were mathematically eliminated from the postseason, disengaged fans watched among clusters of empty seats as Vancouver fell to the playoff-bound San Jose Sharks.

‘‘This season has been a little boring, to be honest with you,’’ said Jessica Bedi, 29. ‘‘We’re season-ticket holders and we go to the games only because we have to. We try to sell tickets sometimes, but people just don’t want them.’’

Not all Canadian hockey fans support Canadian hockey teams, even in good times. Sometimes their reasons are geographical. Windsor, Ontario, tends to root for the Detroit Red Wings, just across a river, rather than the Maple Leafs, a four-hour drive away in Toronto.

Some fans pick teams based on favorite players. Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies, said he believed that was increasingly true among younger fans, like his 19-year-old son, who lives in Montreal but is a Tampa Bay Lightning supporter because he likes a star player, Steven Stamkos, who is from suburban Toronto.

To Jedwab, the eclipse of Canadian teams is an inevitable consequence of the sport’s growth through American expansion.

‘‘We’re a bit of a victim of our success,’’ Jedwab said.


1008580 Dallas Stars

Stars' confidence at a high after two-game trip through Southern California

By Mike Heika

While the Stars will be sitting on a disappointing 3-1 loss to Anaheim for three days before they play again Thursday, they also will be sitting on the belief that they might be playing their best hockey of the year.

Dallas is on a 7-2-0 roll heading into its final two games, and maybe more importantly, it seems to have figured its defensive game, allowing just 18 goals over that nine-game span.

“I like where our team is at,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said.

Dallas went into two tough barns against two physical teams and played the Kings and Ducks even or better. The Stars made two mistakes that led to shorthanded goals against Anaheim, but otherwise were solid against the Ducks. The game before, they seemed perfectly comfortable in a 3-2 win against the Kings.

“This was a good test,” winger Patrick Sharp said of the back-to-back games. “I liked the way we played, the way we competed and battled. These games are going to get tighter and tighter as we move along, and we better be comfortable playing in these situations.”

Dallas rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the third period to beat the Kings, and cut the Ducks deficit to 2-1 with a late goal. In both situations, the Stars were able to manufacture scoring chances without giving many up.

“I think we’re better at being patient,” Ruff said. “We know we can get chances, but we’re not forcing things the way we did earlier in the year.”

Ruff said adding rookies Radek Faksa and Stephen Johns to the lineup has helped. The two youngsters have size and a physical presence, and that makes the Stars harder to play against. In addition, the veterans are playing better defense and making better decisions.

“We have made improvements as a team all season long,” Sharp said. “It’s good to see the confidence, it’s good to see guys wanting to be on the ice in those situations. That’s the first step.”

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008581 Detroit Red Wings

Pavel Datsyuk mum on his future with Detroit Red Wings

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press 12:43 p.m. EDT April 4, 2016

Of his love of hockey, there can be no doubt. But whether he'll continue that love affair in Detroit or in Russia is less clear.

Detroit Red Wings star forward Pavel Datsyuk did not definitively shoot down weekend rumors saying he will leave the Red Wings this off-season and return to his native Russia when he spoke after practice at Joe Louis Arena.

"I have one more year contract and we have three games left this year," Datsyuk said today. "This is more focus for me now.

"I'm not looking at next year."

The possibility of Datsyuk's premature departure was brought up Saturday night by Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman, who cited unnamed sources in saying Datsyuk might leave this off-season because of family issues. That has the potential to be devastating for the Wings, because Datsyuk signed his last contract after he turned 35. Even if he retires, his $7.5 million hit would count against the Wings' salary cap.

Datsyuk, whose daughter from his first marriage lives in Russia, said he did not want to discuss any family situations. Asked if there is any reason to think he wouldn't play in Detroit in 2016-17, Datsyuk said, "Who knows. Maybe injured or something."

Datsyuk, 37, has said in the past he'd like to finish his career in Russia. He spent the fall of 2012 playing in the KHL, taking advantage of the NHL's labor dispute, and came back raving about the experience.

"From the beginning of my career ... Russian fans, they help me, and I want to give back to them," he said.

This situation is similar to the last time Datsyuk had a year left on his contract. Rumors swirled he'd return to Russia - and then he ended up signing a three-year extension.

Datsyuk reiterated several times his focus is on helping the Red Wings secure a playoff spot. Their next game is Wednesday, when they host the Philadelphia Flyers. Monday was an optional practice with only about a dozen players going to the ice. Datsyuk was the rare veteran.

"Not happy with a little bit myself," he said. "I have to play better and more help my team."

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 04.05.2016


Red Wings pumped for key final-week clashes, timely TV attention

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press 9:21 p.m. EDT April 4, 2016

Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg and coach Jeff Blashill talk April 4, 2016, about their next two games at Joe Louis Arena. Video by Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press.

Henrik Zetterberg chuckled.

The Detroit Red Wings are in the last week of the regular season, and as it turns out, the schedule holds the two teams most closely battling the Wings for playoff positioning.

First, the Philadelphia Flyers come to Joe Louis Arena on Wednesday. That it’s one of NBCSN’s “rivalry nights” amused Zetterberg, as other such nights have seen the Wings host St. Louis and Washington.

“The league when they scheduled that probably hoped it would be some big games, and it will be,” Zetterberg said, smiling. “Rivalry Wednesday, probably the first one that actually is a big rivalry.”

The Flyers and Wings have 91 points, but the Flyers have a game in hand and hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. On Thursday, the Wings play at Boston. Over the weekend, the Wings were able to overtake the Bruins and slide into third place in the Atlantic Division by one point.

Beating both teams would go a long ways toward securing a playoff berth before Saturday’s finale at the Rangers.

“That’s one reason why we felt like we control our own destiny,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “It should make for a great, great opportunity for all of us.”

Only about a dozen players took part in an optional practice Monday, but Blashill said everyone is available.

Many players spent Sunday cheering on the Blackhawks and Penguins, happily seeing Chicago beat Boston and Pittsburgh top Philadelphia.

“It was nice watching them take care of those two teams that we’re battling with,” Jimmy Howard said. “At the same time, we control our own destiny, and that’s by going out and winning a couple of games here this week.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 04.05.2016


Pavel Datsyuk coy about future with Wings

Staff

Detroit – If Pavel Datsyuk is considering going back to Russia after this season concludes, he didn’t say Monday after the Red Wings’ finished practice.

Datsyuk neither confirmed or denied there’s a possibility of him heading to Russia and end his playing career in the Kontinential Hockey League.

Datsyuk, 37, has one more season left in his contract. But reportedly, family reasons are motivating him to consider leaving Detroit.

“I don’t want to share information about my family,” Datsyuk said.

Datsyuk didn’t deny he would like to finish his career playing in Russia at some point, but he has been open about that for a number of years.

“From the beginning of my career, Russian fans have helped me (grow up); I want to give back,” Datsyuk said.

But when pressed about the possibility of leaving after this season, Datsyuk was coy.

“I have one more year on my contract and have three games left this year, and that’s more the focus right now,” Datsyuk said. “Nobody knows – you could be injured or something (next year).”

One thing Datsyuk was firm about was the disappointment in his performance this season. But with 48 points (16 goals, 32 assists) in 63 games, Datsyuk is still tied with Henrik Zetterberg for the team scoring lead.

“Not happy little bit with myself,” Datsyuk said. “I have to play better and help.”

The focus right now, said Zetterberg, is on this week’s three crucial regular season-ending games and the possibility of making the playoffs.

“That’s what Pavel is focused on and what we’re focusing on,” said Zetterberg.

Zetterberg added that players coming and going on pro sports teams is to be expected.

“You go through that,” he said. “I don’t know how many times we talked about Nick Lidstrom not being here. Players move on and players will retire and there’s other guys who step up.

“But as I said, we’re focused on these games.”

Said coach Jeff Blashill: “Our focus right now is on winning a hockey game Wednesday (against Philadelphia).”

Blashill said he didn’t pay much attention to Saturday’s report that he was considering leaving the Wings: “We’re solely focused on winning this game Wednesday just like we were Saturday (in Toronto). Anything with the future with players, we’ll sit down at the end of the year and we’ll talk with those players and we’ll see what that brings.”

Detroit News LOADED: 04.05.2016


Wings’ Howard finds practice, patience pay off

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News 9:13 p.m. EDT April 4, 2016

Detroit — About 60 days ago, Jimmy Howard was languishing on the bench, playing sparingly and wondering what the future held.

Monday, he was preparing to start in one of the biggest games for the Red Wings — against the Flyers on Wednesday — and holding the hopes of the franchise’s streak of 24 consecutive playoff appearances in his gloves.

“I feel all the hard work with (goaltending coach) Jim Bedard is paying off,” Howard said. “I’m just thankful to have the opportunity and sort of have the ball and run with it a little bit.”

Around Jan. 1, to use his analogy, Howard wasn’t getting the ball much.

Coach Jeff Blashill was leaning on Mrazek exclusively as he rose to the top of the NHL statistics charts with a successful stretch, while Howard went 0-5-4 between Dec. 8-Feb. 21.

It was frustrating, but Howard understood Blashill’s reasoning.

“That’s what I drew and Petr was playing lights out, so you really can’t complain about it,” Howard said. “You just have to put in your hours, put in your time, and that’s what I did.”

Howard spent considerable time with Bedard before practices and would stay on the ice after practice, working on various aspects.

And now, Blashill believes the work has paid off.

“There’s no substitute for work and he went to work with Jimmy Bedard and they worked on getting his game in the best possible spot,” Blashill said. “I’ve talked about confidence, confidence from knowing you have the skill set to succeed, and you put in the work to succeed.

“He gave himself that confidence. He looks like he has a lot of confidence. He’s got real control of his body and he’s doing a real good job of making first saves and putting himself in position to make the second saves.”

In his last four games, Howard is 3-1-0 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.

And Mrazek? He’s been pulled from three of his last four starts.

“It’s just fun being out there and competing,” Howard said. “Just being back out there, knowing what’s on the line, being in the trenches, it’s just a lot of fun.

“That’s why you play the game.”

Said captain Henrik Zetterberg: “We all believe in our goalies, both Petr and Howie. Howie has come up and played real huge for us, he’s playing with a lot of confidence and that confidence spreads around the team.”

... Blashill, on the Red Wings playing the Flyers and Bruins — the teams in direct competition for a playoff berth — this week: “Two of the biggest opportunities is the way I’d word it. That’s one of the reasons we felt we controlled our own destiny ... because we do have opportunities to play those teams. They could say the same, so it should make for a great opportunity for all of us.”



Declining skills might be at heart of Datsyuk’s decision

Gregg Krupa

Detroit — Pavel Datsyuk did not appreciate that his status for next season became a story over the weekend.

The feeling he conveyed is he especially did not like that his family was dragged into it.

But it is noticeable, over the years, how much news about the Red Wings is made, usually without sources, on Saturday nights in the Canadian cities when Detroit travels there. And the media scrum that occurred in the Wings’ dressing room in Joe Louis Arena Monday did little to dispel the notion that Datsyuk will, in fact, give his status for next season some thought, despite the year remaining on his contract with $7.5 on the table.

It does not please him, clearly, that the topic came up now, with three games remaining to determine the success of a season that began six months ago – and, for Datsyuk, in recovery from fairly involved surgery on his ankle.

But Datsyuk is clearly mindful of his desire to play in Russia, in front of family, friends and his countrymen, before he retires. He is also mindful of the extent to which time waits for no mortals, even gifted hockey players adored by their fans.

He also knows that the franchise he has served so well, at times brilliantly, throughout all of his NHL career is not the dynamic powerhouse it once was.

To some degree neither is Datsyuk. But the extent of the decline is not fully discerned, perhaps not even by Datsyuk.

And that may well be the crux of the issue.

One had the feeling, when he turned to walk back through the curtains that help define the boundaries of interaction in the dressing room, that if Datsyuk was playing a bit better, with all of the old speed and deceptiveness, at age 37 in his 13th year with the Red Wings, there would be little to discuss, beyond the tasks at hand in the three games remaining.

Someone might not have whispered something to someone behind the scenes in Toronto over the weekend, the report might never have aired, and the face-off Monday with the local media might never have occurred.

Datsyuk playing back in Russia, at some point, was known. His continuing search to recover the quickest, most potent offense in his game is obvious, too. But then came a report Saturday in one of the chattering sessions scattered through the hockey on Hockey Night in Canada that he might leave after this season.

The degree to which that is possible was not clear from the report. And nothing Datsyuk said Monday, standing a few feet in front of the giant red and white, winged-wheel crest emblazoned into the carpeting on the floor of dressing room, provided significant clarity.

At first, Datsyuk, ever one for a bit of mischief, portrayed a confused respondent.

“What? What did you say about Russia?” he said. “Are you coming to Russia? I’m not coming to Russia, yet.”

Time for another approach. Are you playing in Detroit next season?

“I have one more year left on my contract. I have three more games left, this year, and that’s what’s more a focus for me, now.”

Is he considering leaving, after this season?

“It’s hard to say,” Datsyuk said. “I never know what is going to happen in an hour, let alone a year from now.”

Keeping his humor in mind, and his willingness to poke fun, play the imp and smile through long practices and tough moments on the ice, one did not know quite whether to respond with a chuckle or another question.

The next query arose from what was reported Saturday, that an illness in Datsyuk’s family might be a determining factor.

“Family, is my family,” he said. “I just want to be quiet with family. I don’t want to share information about my family with nobody.”

Was he surprised by the broadcast report? "Everything is something coming out. The next one … is big news too. Everybody is looking for something.”

Can he think of any reason he would not play for the Red Wings, next season? “Who knows? Not everybody knows. I might be injured or something.”

Does he still want to play in Russia? “From the beginning of my career I don’t have enough, or give enough, time with the Russian fans. They helped me when I grew up and, of course, I want to give back to them.”

Is there a time frame after the season for making his decision known? “No. Of course, I need more time.

“But now, it’s very important, the next two games, in Philadelphia and Boston. So I’ll know what I’m thinking about. I can think about the next two games. “That’s more important to me now.”

Is he happy with the direction of the team? “Yes, but not happy with myself, a little bit. Because I’d like to play better, and I’d like to help my team more.”

About a month after he returned, Datsyuk was asked if he was happy with his performance. He said, no, “something’s missing.”

Does he now think he got back whatever it is?

Datsyuk paused, dropped his head a bit and then rallied with a response.

“No actually, I’m still looking,” he said. “I do not feel that I’m back from this injury yet.”

Is that entering into his thoughts about the decision to return?

“Actually, I don’t think about the decision. I think about coming back and playing better.”

If he feels he can, he most likely will.

If he feels he cannot, time to go play for all the folks back home, before all the wondrous skills flicker away.



Red Wings excited to control own destiny in final week of playoff race

Ansar Khan

on April 04, 2016 at 4:05 PM, updated April 04, 2016 at 4:20 PM

DETROIT – A pair of teams Detroit fans love to hate did the Red Wings a huge favor Sunday. Now it's time for this team to do its part.

The two teams the Red Wings are competing against for a playoff spot are next on the schedule – Philadelphia Wednesday in the home finale and Boston Thursday on the road.

"The league, when they made the schedule, were probably hoping these would be some big games and they will be," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "These games are the fun games. I think a lot of guys here are real excited."

Said goaltender Jimmy Howard: "If you're not excited I don't know what would get your blood flowing around here. These are going to be very intense games. We're definitely looking forward to Wednesday night."

The Red Wings wrap up the season Saturday at the New York Rangers. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill doesn't view these games as obstacles, calling them opportunities.

"That's one of the reasons that we felt like we controlled our own destiny, even last week after the Montreal (loss), because we do have opportunities to play those teams and they could say the same," Blashill said.

The Red Wings (91 points) are one point ahead of the Bruins in the battle for third place in the Atlantic Division, an automatic playoff spot. Detroit is tied with the Flyers in the wild card chase, but Philadelphia has one extra game.

The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Bruins 6-4 and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Flyers 6-2 on Sunday.

"That's all find and dandy, but now we have to take care of our own business here," Howard said. "We control our own destiny and that's by going out and winning a couple of games here this week."

They have been in this position before. In 2013, they needed to win their final four games to qualify. In 2014, they clinched a spot in their 80th game. In 2015, they didn't get in until their 81st game.

"It's been the same feeling for several years now, playing until the final day of the regular season and making that push in the playoffs," Howard said.

Howard, who is expected to start Wednesday, said it has felt like playoff hockey for weeks.

"We've been battling here for the last month-and-a-half," Howard said. "It comes down to three games. First and foremost, we have to concentrate on Wednesday night and Philly.

"This is as about as big as we've had in a little while in the regular season. It's going to be fun. The atmosphere is going to be great. It's going to be a hell of a game."

Zetterberg said trying to maintain the playoff streak, which stands at 24 seasons, isn't putting added pressure on them.

"I think we have enough pressure and weight on our shoulders to just get in and have a chance to go on a run here," Zetterberg said.

Only a dozen skaters and both goalies took part in Monday's optional practice. Blashill said everyone who played over the weekend is available.

Kardi banned four games

Toronto's Nazem Kadri was suspended for the final four games of the regular season for his cross-check on Detroit's Luke Glendening during Saturday's game.

This actually doesn't help the Red Wings because the Maple Leafs will be missing their leading scorer when they visit Philadelphia on Thursday.

Michigan Live LOADED: 04.05.2016


ed Wings' Pavel Datsyuk declines to discuss future, focused on this season

Ansar Khan on April 04, 2016 at 12:46 PM, updated April 04, 2016 at 12:53 PM

DETROIT – Pavel Datsyuk wouldn't confirm or deny a report that he is contemplating returning to Russia after this season, despite having one year remaining on his contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

"I have one more year on contract, we have three games left in season," Datsyuk said Monday, after taking part in an optional practice at Joe Louis Arena. "That is more focus for me now."

Is he even entertaining the possibility of going back after this season?

"It's hard to say. I never know what's happening in an hour," Datsyuk said. "I'm not looking at next year."

CBC's Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday that Datsyuk might forego the final year of his contract and return to his native country due to family reasons.

"I don't want to share information about my family with anybody," Datsyuk said.

Rumors of Datsyuk wanting to return to Russia also surfaced in 2013, when he had one year remaining on his previous contract. He also declined to address the situation back then, but ended up signing a three-year extension following the playoffs.

If he leaves, his $7.5 million salary-cap hit for 2016-17 would remain on the books for the Red Wings. However, they could solve that issue by trading his rights to a team that needs to reach to the salary-cap floor, the Arizona Coyotes, for example.

Datsyuk, who turns 38 on July 20, said he is not concerned about the direction of the organization. But he's not happy with his play this season. He has 16 goals and is tied with Henrik Zetterberg for the team lead with 48 points.

"I'm not happy a little bit with myself, I have to play better, have to help my team more," Datsyuk said.

He indicated he still is not fully comfortable following off-season surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his ankle, which forced him to miss the first 15 games.

Datsyuk reiterated that he would like to finish his career in Russia someday.

"I don't have enough years and time (playing in front of) Russian fans," Datsyuk said. "They help me, growing up. Of course I want to give back to them."

Asked about his time frame for a decision, Datsyuk said, "Of course I need more time, but now it's very important next two games, Philadelphia and Boston, I don't want to think about anything but those next two games. These are most important for me right now."

Zetterberg said he hasn't spoken to Datsyuk about his plans.

"Our focus right now are these three games starting on Wednesday," Zetterberg said. "That's what Pavel is focused on, that's what we're focused on and whatever happens after, we focus on after."

Can he imagine playing without Datsyuk on his team?

"I don't know how many times we talked about Nick Lidstrom not being here," Zetterberg said. "I think players will move on, players will retire. Other guys have to step up, but as I said, we're focused on these games and it all starts Wednesday."

Coach Jeff Blashill also stressed the focus needs to be on these remaining games.

"Our focus right now is on winning a hockey game Wednesday, so to be honest with you, I didn't pay much attention to (the report)," Blashill said. "We're solely focused on trying to win this game on Wednesday, just like we were last Saturday. Anything with future with players, we'll sit down at the end of the year and talk to those players and see what that brings."



Red Wings' NHL-leading 46 one-goal games could be beneficial if they make playoffs

Brendan Savage | on April 04, 2016 at 10:10 AM, updated April 04, 2016 at 10:45 AM

DETROIT -- No team in the NHL has been involved in more one-goal games this season than the Detroit Red Wings.

That could be advantageous if the Red Wings extend their playoff streak to 25 seasons since they're used to the pressure that comes with being involved in tight games.

After beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 Saturday night at Air Canada Centre, the Red Wings have been involved in 46 one-games this season. Minnesota and Carolina are second with 44 apiece followed by New Jersey (42) and Philadelphia (41).

Being involved in so many tight games have helped the Red Wings learn to deal with nerves.

"You don't get nervous towards the end," said goaltender Jimmy Howard, who was in the net for the victory in Toronto as well as Friday's 3-2 triumph over the Minnesota Wild at Joe Louis Arena.

"You know you can come out on top."

The Red Wings have done that more often than not this season. Much more often. Their record in one-goal games is 27-8-11, a winning percentage of 587.

The Red Wings' 27 victories in one-goal games are tied for the most in the NHL with the Washington Capitals, who are 26-6-6 and have already clinched the regular-season championship.

Five of the Red Wings' last six games have been decided by one goal and Detroit has a 4-1 record in those outings. The exception in that stretch was a 7-2 loss to Pittsburgh, the Red Wings' worst setback of the season.

"We've been through this the last month," said captain Henrik Zetterberg. "So the more you play in those situations the more used to it you get and the better you play."



5 things to WATCH: Red Wings have three big games; Pavel Datsyuk's future in question

Ansar Khan on April 04, 2016 at 6:01 AM, updated April 04, 2016 at 6:09 AM

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings' longest winning streak this season is four games. They might need to match that or exceed it this week in order to extend their playoff streak to 25 seasons.

The Red Wings have won two in a row and have three tough games this week – home against Philadelphia Wednesday and on the road vs. Boston Thursday and the New York Rangers Saturday.

The Red Wings, with 91 points, control their own destiny. If they win out in any fashion (regulation/overtime/shootout), they're in. If they win their next two games in regulation or OT, they'll clinch a spot.

Detroit is one point ahead of the Bruins, who also have three games remaining, in the battle for third place in the Atlantic Division. The Red Wings and Flyers are tied in the wild-card race, but Philadelphia has one game in hand.

Here are five things to watch this week:

1. Big game against Flyers

Wednesday's home finale (8 p.m., NBC Sports Network exclusive) will be the Red Wings' biggest regular season game since 2013, when they needed to win their final four games to clinch a playoff berth. At least it will be until the next night.

The Flyers are 13-4-2 since Feb. 25, including a 4-3 win at home against the Red Wings on March 15, when they outshot Detroit 23-3 in the first period.

The Flyers are 9-3-0 in their past 12 against the Red Wings and have won three of their past six games in Detroit, including a 2-1 shootout victory on Jan. 17. Before that, the Red Wings had gone 15-0-2 (W-L-T) in their previous 17 at home vs. Philly, including the 1997 Stanley Cup finals. But that's all ancient history that will mean nothing on Wednesday.

2. Datsyuk's final home appearance?

Could Wednesday be Pavel Datsyuk's last game at Joe Louis Arena? It's possible, if the Red Wings miss the playoffs.

CBC's Elliotte Friedman reported that Datsyuk might return to Russia after the season due to family reasons, something that his agent, Dan Milstein, would not confirm or deny.

Datsyuk-to-Russia rumors ran rampant in 2013, before he signed a three-year extension that has one year remaining.

If Datsyuk -- who turns 38 on July 31 -- leaves, his $7.5 million salary cap hit for 2016-17 remains on the books. However, the Red Wings could solve that issue by trading his rights to a team that will need to reach the salary cap floor next season, such as the Arizona Coyotes.

The bigger problem, for a team that has difficulty scoring, would be losing their most offensively gifted player.

3. Winner-take-all vs. Bruins?

Thursday's game in Boston (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit) could end up being a winner-take-all scenario for third place in the Atlantic.

The struggling Bruins are 2-7-0 in their past nine. They'll be rested, playing against a team that played the night before.

The Red Wings have lost three in a row in Boston, but the Bruins are 16-17-5 at home. Detroit snapped a six-game losing streak overall against the Bruins with a 6-5 win on Feb. 14 at JLA.

4. It's Howard or bust

Jimmy Howard is coming off back-to-back wins and there is no doubt he will start on Wednesday. If he plays well, he's likely to start the next night, too.

The Red Wings probably won't risk starting Petr Mrazek in Boston, after pulling him in three of his past four starts.

For the fourth year in a row, the Red Wings will be leaning on Howard to help them reach the playoffs in the final week of the season.

5. A potentially huge season finale

The Red Wings would rather not go into their season finale Saturday against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden (12:30, NBC) needing to win, especially if Henrik Lundqvist is in goal.

Detroit has lost five in a row at MSG dating back to Dec. 6. 2009. The Rangers are 6-1-2 in their past nine against the Red Wings overall. Six of those games have gone to overtime.

The Rangers are winless in three (0-2-1) heading into a week in which they'll play four games in six days.

If the Rangers have third place in the Metropolitan Division locked up, they night opt to rest some key players. If they're still battling the New York Islanders for the spot, they'll be all in to win.



Datsyuk plays down report he'll leave Detroit

By Chuck Pleiness, The Macomb Daily

POSTED: 04/04/16, 5:41 PM EDT | UPDATED: 7 HRS AGO

DETROIT >> Where Pavel Datsyuk plays hockey next season is anyone’s guess.

“I have one more year on (my) contract (and) we have three games left in (the) season,” Datsyuk said after the Wings held an optional skate Monday at Joe Louis Arena. “That is more focus for me now.”

A report Saturday from Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman said that Datsyuk won’t fulfill the final year of his contract next season, and that he’ll instead play next season in Russia for family reasons.

“It’s hard to say,” Datsyuk said when asked if he’s even considering retuning to Russia. “I never know what’s happening in an hour. I’m not looking at next year.”

If that’s the case the Wings won’t get any relief for his $7.5 million salary, unless they’re able to unload his contract to a team that needs to reach the salary-cap floor.

“I don’t know how much truth there is to that or whatever,” said Luke Glendening, whose stall is next to Datsyuk’s in the locker room. “At this point of the year, we don’t really have time to dwell on it. But he’s been the ultimate competitor his whole career here. I’ve enjoyed being able to sit near him, watch him, just hear what he has to say about the game, pick his brain a little bit. Obviously we hope he’s around longer but I know that he’s all in for right now and that’s what we need.”

This isn’t the first time a rumor had surfaced about Datsyuk possibly ending his career and playing in his native country. It also occurred during a final year of a deal. Instead, he signed a three-year extension after the 2013 playoffs.

“It’s from my beginning, career, I don’t have enough years and time Russian fans,” Datsyuk said when asked if he still wants to play in Russia someday. “They (helped) me, growing up. Of course I want to give back to them.”

Datsyuk has just 16 goals and is tied for the team lead in points (48) with Henrik Zetterberg.

“I’m not happy a little bit with myself, I have to play better, have to help my team more,” Datsyuk said.

He turns 38 on July 20.

“You go through that,” Zetterberg said when asked if he can imagine playing on a team without Datsyuk. “I don’t know how many times we talked about Nick Lidstrom not being here. I think players will move on, players will retire. Other guys have to step up.

“Our focus right now (is) these three games starting on Wednesday,” Zetterberg added. “That’s what Pavel is focused on, that’s what we’re focused on and whatever happens after we focus on after.”

With three games in the regular season the Wings are in third place in the Atlantic Division, a point ahead of Boston.

“Of course I need more time, but now it’s very important next two games, Philadelphia and Boston, I don’t want to think about anything but those next two games,” Datsyuk said. “These are most important for me right now.”

If the Wings don’t finish in the top three in the division they can also get in as a wild card where they’re currently tied with Philadelphia with 91 points for the spot, but the Flyers have four games left to play.

“Our focus right now is on winning a hockey game Wednesday so to be honest with you, I didn’t pay much attention to it,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said when asked about the Datsyuk rumors. “We’re solely focused on trying to win this game on Wednesday, just like we were last Saturday. Anything with future with players, we’ll sit down at the end of the year and talk to those players and see what that brings.”

Macomb Daily LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008591 Edmonton Oilers

Oilers notes: Oscar Klefbom getting the time to heal

JIM MATHESON, EDMONTON JOURNAL


While the infection in Oscar Klefbom’s leg has been of great concern for weeks now, Edmonton Oilers’ coach Todd McLellan says he should be good as new for the fall.

Klefbom’s season ended Dec. 11 against New York Rangers when he broke a knuckle in his hand, then he got a staph infection. He missed the final 52 games after playing 22 minutes a night in the first 30 as the club’s top defenceman.

“From what I’ve been told when Oscar shows up training camp next season, we won’t even be talking about this,” said McLellan. “If our team had played well enough to give ourselves a shot at the playoffs, maybe Oscar would have been out there. Right now, it makes no sense to put him on the ice and have it (cured) to the just about line and then have it go back. Let’s let it heal.”

LONGTIME SCOUT PASSES

Former Oilers’ amateur scout Chris McCarthy, who was with the team 17 years from 1992 to 2009, passed away in Boston at 46. McCarthy, who went back to school and became a lawyer, had kidney and liver problems. He leaves a wife and an 11-year-old son.

“He was in the donor program but nothing came,” said his former boss Kevin Prendergast.

McCarthy, who had a strong, out-going personality pushed for the Oilers to draft a strong but average skating high-school forward Chris VandeVelde, now a fourth-liner with the Philadelphia Flyers. He also was high on a big, tough defenceman named Brad Norton, who played 124 NHL games for various teams over six seasons. The Oilers got him in the ninth round in 1993 and a colourful U.S.-born goalie Mike Morrison, who played 21 Oiler games in 2006.

McCarthy also spotted a skinny, unsung Czech defenceman Tomas Kaberle at a tournament up near Siberia in 1996 when with head Oilers’ European scout Kent Nilsson and McCarthy was immediately pumped. There was a very small contingent of scouts but Anders Hedberg, then working for the Leafs and a long-time friend of Nilsson, was also there and Toronto took Kaberle, instead.

McCarthy hung around with the late Ace Bailey when Ace was an Oilers’ scout back east, and he brought McCarthy into the fold with the Oilers. When Bailey joined the Los Angeles Kings, McCarthy took over Bailey’s U.S. college/high school duties.

“Chris was a very intelligent, confident guy,” said Prendergast, who now works in scouting for the Buffalo Sabres.

HUGE TURNOUT

The Oilers have yet to release any details about their final Rexall Place game Wednesday but well over 100 ex Oilers will be there and on the ice for a 90-minute ceremony about 25 minutes after the league game with the Canucks ends. The list of those who’ll be here for the goo bye includes Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Kent Nilsson, Willy Lindstrom, Brett Callighen, Blair McDonald, Ron Chipperfield, Kirk Maltby, Anson Carter, Marty McSorley, Marty Gelinas and Eddie Mio.

RIGHT TO PLAY

Darnell Nurse has taken on the role as one of the Right to Play Athlete Ambassadors for the international organization that helps children facing adversity. Nurse has already hosted a hockey clinic with youngsters from the Alexander First Nation at Servus Credit Union Place in St. Alberta. “That was a blast being on the ice with all the kids,” said the Oilers’ defenceman.

DESIRE THE ISSUE

McLellan knows his team needs a strong puck-moving D-man over the summer in a trade, but off his team’s sad effort against Calgary, he wasn’t about to blame that on missing an offensive blueliner.

“We could have had Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey back there and it wouldn’t have mattered,” said McLellan.

“The video we showed the players today had nothing to do with talent, adding a goaltender or two defencemen or changing out four forwards or bringing in big, tough guys. It had to do with game management and deciding whether you really wanted to do that.”

Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Oilers head coach Todd McLellan focused on 'eradicating' what ails team



There was no bag-skate. No temper tantrum from the guy with the loudest whistle.

But, make no mistake, even if Edmonton Oilers’ coach Todd McLellan chose not to punish his players Monday by making them do stops and starts and laps and laps 80 games into the NHL season with no pucks because of their pathetic showing Saturday in a 5-0 loss to the Calgary Flames, he was not a happy camper.

He chose to raise his voice behind closed door at the R-rated game film of the shocking no-show Saturday in the last Battle of Alberta meeting at Rexall Place and publicly ran a tightly controlled skating practice with drills, but he was still sour as he rehashed the embarrassing effort against the Flames.

He talked about a complete disregard for backchecking on Calgary’s shorthanded goal in the first without mentioning Jordan Eberle’s name. He talked about a 1:20 shift later with players who should have known better without mentioning rookie Connor McDavid, who stayed out far too long or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who jumped on while McDavid was 25 feet from the bench, for a too-many-men penalty, by name.

The question, of course, is whether these mistakes are endemic, whether some older guys will ever learn, guys who’ve been here a lot longer than 40 games. Are some players incapable of playing the right way and not having a stinko game like Saturday, to pull out of their kit-bag?

“My experience is 200 days (from camp) and I’ve seen improvement in a lot of areas, then it comes back in,” said McLellan. “It’s like a disease that you think you have cured, then it reappears. You have to go back and eradicate it, get it out of your system.”

“I think it’s dangerous at this time of year to get emotional because as a staff you can make poor decisions heading into the summer. We’ll deal in the moment and try to fix this and deal with the rest later.”

Like, which two of the three core players — forwards Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall — will be shopped this summer for defence help?

Eberle, RNH and Hall are all very good players with gusts to great on some nights, but the Oilers’ team today looks to be transitioning to a new core with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse.

Have some of these players been here too long and losing is ingrained?

“I’m not prepared to say that,” said McLellan.

Are there some guys who don’t appear to want to be an Edmonton Oiler?

“I’m not going there. I don’t believe that,” said McLellan.

“Today was a disappointing day for me. We should have used the practice to polish things up. Instead, it turned into re-establishing a work ethic and holding players accountable for lack of a work ethic last game. As a staff, we get no joy in that,” said McLellan.

“It’s like me sitting in front of my two boys and disciplining them for their inactions or poor choices. There’s not a parent in the world who enjoys doing that,” said McLellan.

“We’re trying to re-establish there are expectations when you put the equipment on, to be honest, at least. I was disappointed after watching the game again at the battle level, but also game management. Monday was spent trying to establish boundaries,” he said.

There’s more rope for kids making mistakes than players with 400 NHL games, but McLellan doesn’t want anybody to be off the hook. “The decision to complete a back-check … I’ve watched kids in the USHL (junior) and the Brandon-Oil Kings playoff and they know right from wrong,” he said.

Eberle, who got roasted by Hockey Night in Canada’s Kelly Hrudey Saturday for slowing down and letting Mikael Backlund score shorthanded on a 2-on-2 break, knows he screwed up.

“I made the wrong read. I was coming back and I thought Jordan (Oesterle, D-man back) had it on his stick (after a Josh Jooris pass

attempt to Backlund) and was going to chip it out. I have to finish the check. That was on the video today,” said Eberle.

“We watched clips (game film) and you’re embarrassed, but you get back on the horse,” he said.

“The final Battle of Alberta game (at Rexall) was for our franchise and we completely didn’t execute our game plan, and our work ethic wasn’t there,” said Hall.

They better ride off into the sunset on a high Wednesday at the final Oilers’ game at Rexall against Vancouver Canucks, after the first one Nov. 10, 1974 in the WHA (Jacques Plante of the Oilers vs Gerry Cheevers of the Cleveland Crusaders) when it was called Northlands Coliseum.

“I fully expect us to respond,” said Eberle.

If they can’t get up for one last night, that will be really, bad stuff.

But a win against the Canucks could also be a false positive. This should almost be an automatic, shouldn’t it? They aren’t playing the Ducks.

“The final game is huge … Todd brought up Winnipeg playing their last (2015-2016) game Sunday and they really brought it against a playoff team (Minnesota), winning 5-1 and their fans were applauding their effort,” said Hall, who knows the long-suffering fan base here deserves, at the least, a resounding W against the Canucks.

“This is about holding ourselves accountable, having a higher standard even if we’re not in the playoffs. We owe it to each other,” said Hall.

McLellan wouldn’t single out anybody in particular for public scolding.

“No, it’s the group,” he said.

“We’re in this together, the coaching staff. We were just as bad as the players the other night. I made many mistakes (behind the bench). My belief system was low. They probably read off my body language and my verbal cues and react accordingly. I was just as responsible,” he said.

That said, players are more responsible once the puck is dropped.

“Players know right from wrong and when you choose to be lazy and make a negative choice, you have to fix that. Nobody’s perfect; we’re far from a 50-win season, we’re far from the Washington Capitals,” said McLellan.

“We’re at the bottom of the league and we’re working hard to get out of there, never mind the playoffs. We have a long ways to go. Players have to understand that. It’s not about getting out of the bottom and out of the (draft) lottery. It’s about being in the top 16.”

“This is character time now, whether you’re 28, 29 or 30 or when you’re 1, 2 or 3 and you’re carrying the Cup,” he said.



Dan Barnes: There will be echoes of 2006 when Rexall Place empties out on Wednesday

DAN BARNES, EDMONTON JOURNAL


The Oilers owned April.

From 1983 through 1992, they compiled an amazing record of 71-24 in playoff games during a month that bulged with post-season promise. April was all about Smythe Division smashups with Winnipeg, Calgary and Los Angeles; the battered survivors moving on to Norris Division tilts with Detroit, Minnesota or Chicago in May.

Make it through April and you were halfway to the holy grail. It meant double-digit scorelines as offence dominated those early playoff rounds. It featured Glenn Anderson’s off-balance artistry in overtime.

But the Oiler core broke apart and the team sputtered, fans fled and playoff appearances were rare, wins even rarer. When Dallas beat Edmonton in five straight series from 1998 through 2003, April became the cruellest month. And now it’s merely empty; offering only promises broken and platitudes spewn as edition after edition of a once great franchise plays out the string.

Shawn Horcoff scored the last April game-winner for the Oilers in 2006, in Detroit, giving Edmonton a 3-2 series edge, keeping the improbable dream alive. Come June 17, it will have been exactly 10 years since Horcoff also scored what will stand as the final playoff goal recorded in Rexall Place, capping a 4-0 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

What Wayne Gretzky started at 15:55 of the first period on April 11, 1980 — scoring the first NHL playoff goal at home for the Oilers against Phil Myre of the Philadelphia Flyers — Horcoff finished 26 years later against Cam Ward at 13:05 of the third period in a more raucous Rexall. That game, perhaps their best of the entire run, left an imprint on the minds of a new generation of Oiler fans, most of whom surely walked out the doors that night expecting more playoff memories to come.

“The ’06 run was a chance for a whole new fan base, a whole new group of Oiler fans, to sort of have their time and be proud of their team and not listen to their parents or their grandparents about the ’80s,” said Kevin Lowe, who was then GM. … “I run into kids now, and some of them don’t even know who Wayne Gretzky is, and that’s not a bad thing. It just means life moves on.”

That ’06 run through Detroit, San Jose and Anaheim harkened back to the franchise’s David-like victories over the Goliath-like Stars and Avalanche in 1997 and 1998. The Red Wings had claimed the President’s Trophy and finished 29 points ahead of Edmonton, but the Oilers played the trap and forged an upset.

“We had to go in and slay giants,” said former goalie Dwayne Roloson. “Give our coaches a lot of credit and the players, too, for executing the game plan. We played it to a T.”

The ’06 run made folk heroes of Horcoff, Chris Pronger, Fernando Pisani, Ryan Smyth and Roloson.

“Roly was at the top of his game,” said Horcoff. “And he’s probably, to this day, the best big-game goalie I’ve ever really been around. You just knew.”

Pisani scored 18 goals during the regular season, then 14 in 24 playoff games. Pronger made them all better, and bigger. Smyth gave his teeth to the cause.

Even anthem singer Paul Lorieau had a hand in it, raising his microphone to the roof, and letting the crowd take it from there.

“The fans were electrifying,” said Smyth. “I thought the roof was going to come off. It just ran through your body. There was a lot of energy in us.”

A decade later, Horcoff is an Anaheim Duck, Ales Hemsky a Star, both headed to the playoffs. Smyth, Pronger and Pisani are retired. Roloson is an assistant coach with Anaheim, grateful for another shot in the spring. In Edmonton, April’s annual, anticlimactic arrival has given Oiler fans no reason to yell or sing or stomp their feet. It is long past tiresome.

When Lowe walked through the dressing room in Raleigh after the Game 7 loss, he knew some of his players were already thinking, ‘We’ll get

them next year.’ But so rare is the run through April and May and into June.

“There wasn’t too many dry eyes. I was disappointed but I wasn’t crying. I had lost before in my career. I thought a lot of these guys will never get this opportunity again.”

He was thinking only of the Cup Final. He certainly envisioned more playoffs.

And in the other room that night, former Oiler Doug Weight was celebrating, even as he fought off emotions for his old teammates.

“I had sorrow for them. Imagine coming so close and losing the last possible game of the year, and having that flight home, with the ride they had. I’d played so much hockey with all of them. Listen, I got over it. But I had no joy in that.”

There is still no joy for some in returning to the scene, even a decade later.

“Still pretty sore every time I go to Carolina,” said Roloson. “I get pissed off walking into that building.”

When the Oilers and their fans walk out of Rexall Place after the final home game on Wednesday, they will have celebrated a team, a building and its glorious shared past. It will feel different, but win or lose, for one last night in April there will be something to smile about.



Matty's memories: Long-time Edmonton Journal hockey writer will never forget his 10 calendar years at Rexall Place and all its great Oilers characters



What do you say about a place at which you’ve spent about 10 calendar years of your life? All those game nights, practice days, playoff games, writing on deadline at the rink with all manner of computers, even typewriters.

It’s time the Edmonton Oilers moved on from Rexall Place — known as Northlands Coliseum long before a drugstore baron put his name to it — because it’s stale-looking, the lighting in the building seems as dim now as Alex Semin was when he was in his end of the ice and the narrow concourses are clogged like traffic around the construction zone at the new downtown rink.

But when you’ve been driving to the same building days and nights since 1974, it’s hard to let it go.

It’s like a comfortable, old pair of shoes with a hole in the sole.

It was the nicest building in the World Hockey Association when Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and construction partner Peter Batoni finished it in 1974.

The Coliseum sports a novel press box that goes completely around the rink — one that sways every now and then, which caused some discomfort for a guy who isn’t big on heights, but it held up.

The building came with some bells and some whistles — referees blowing excluded — and a popcorn machine at which I must have indulged myself with 10,000 bags of the buttered stuff over the years, except they never put a bathroom in the press box.

It was my fourth home, along with the three others my wife Marni and I owned over the years in the Highlands. It was like my car knew how to get there and I could practically put it on auto-pilot; not a good thing for wear and tear on the road in-between, but when you’ve spent 3,500 days at one place, you don’t get lost.

I’ll be lost in the new rink when it opens in the fall, a building that could probably fit two or three Rexalls. But it’s time for a change, like when I threw away my pants with the pleats for ones with narrow legs.

That said, there are lots of memories at Rexall.

I remember coming out one practice day when it was 25 below and my wife’s 1968 green Rambler, the one I’d borrowed to go the 20 blocks to the rink, wouldn’t start. I was muttering to myself when there was a tap on the window.

“You need any help? You need a boost?” said Wayne Gretzky, who was driving a Mercedes, if memory serves.

“Uh, no, I’ll be OK,” I mumbled.

Those were the days when you could sit down with the greatest player ever at his locker stall for 15 or 20 minutes, just to shoot the breeze — or with one of the other kids, Mark Messier or Kevin Lowe or Paul Coffey — then ask them some questions on the record. There weren’t half a dozen cameras around like there typically are today, when the player stands in a scrum and everybody gets the same sound bite.

What I remember is a cozier Oilers dressing room, where the poor sap who sat next to Gretzky never got a chance to get his gear off because Wayne held court night after night. As I recall, Esa Tikkanen was the unfortunate one for a long while. He’d offer up that sloppy grin of his and speak in a twisted English only he understood and trudge away until Gretzky’s interviews were over.

I remember my routine coming into the Coliseum through the 1980s. I’d walk into the dressing room while the Oilers were on the ice for practice, take a right turn to the lounge area that sported leather couches and a TV, and help myself to a coffee.

If a player was hurt and not skating, he’d be in there after maybe seeing the trainer, and he’d be watching the tube. We’d have a nice chat. You could find out stuff.

What I’ll miss:

I miss poking my head into the trainer’s room like the time in 1981 after the Oilers had shocked the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs —beating them three straight in the then-five game first-round series — and seeing Paul Coffey, Mark Messier and Kevin Lowe giggling in a whirlpool. Rub-a-dub-dub, three-men-in-a-tub, I believe I wrote in the paper.

I miss seeing one of the toughest guys who ever played the game, Ted Green, tussling my son Scott’s hair when I took him from elementary school for lunch-hour so he could read his books outside the dressing room. Teddy, who was Glen Sather’s assistant and also the head coach later, would fake like he was going to turn my son upside down and dump him into a garbage can.

I miss seeing Dave Semenko and Ronnie Lowe lighting up darts, puffing away between periods, something you never, ever see now.

I miss seeing a stubby bottle of a Molson product sitting beside an exhausted Gretzky, still sitting in his soaking gear long after after his famous 50-goals-in-39-games performance in 1981.

I miss the old ping-pong table in the Oilers’ dressing room, with so many spirited player games after every practice in the ’80s.

I miss seeing Glen Sather’s kids Justin and Shanon around the rink, Justin now a pro scout for his dad’s New York Rangers, years after Coffey and some other Oilers wrapped him in tape from head to toe — a fun memory that sticks to Justin to this day.

I miss standing at Grant Fuhr’s locker stall early into his second season in the old dressing room after a string of bad outings by the goalie and the fans had gotten on him. He proceeded to call them jerks and, trying to cut him some slack, I asked if he was sure he wanted to say that. Going against all journalistic principles where you never turn down a good quote, I knew, but he was just a kid. Fuhr said to go with the jerks line, so I did, and it got him into trouble, but the working relationship with the players in those days was different, I guess.

I miss being in John Muckler’s coach’s office when the technical master was talking about how to stop teams from moving the puck up the ice and also one day in 1989 when he told me Jimmy Carson had left the team after one season because, in John’s words, there was too much pressure being the guy the Oilers got for Gretzky.

I miss former equipment manager Barrie Stafford giving me a tutorial on skate sharpening, and talking about Messier taking his new skates right out of the box and putting them on right away for games.

I miss seeing Glen Sather and how he’d make himself a cup of coffee in the mornings at practice, how he’d get two styrofoam cups and pour and it back and forth from one to the other until he had it just the way he liked it.

I miss seeing colourful visiting players such as Al Iafrate working on his sticks with a blow-torch outside the visitors’ dressing room, as he lit up a ciggie and talked about his slapper. If he liked the conversation, he’d have two ciggies. Many a good story was mined by the stick/blow torch area.

I miss seeing the stickers on the dressing room door for the 16 wins the Oilers always needed to win another Stanley Cup, and how forlornly that door looked in 2006 when they fell one sticker short.

I miss the sight of Roger Cote, the WHA Oilers defenceman who played with a toothpick wedged into his teeth, from shift to shift, pass to pass, somehow never swallowing the toothpick when he took an elbow to the face.

I miss seeing Joey Moss belting out O Canada behind the Oilers bench, and the late, great anthem singer Paul Lorieau putting the mic in the air and letting the full house sing their hearts out during the 2006 playoff run — a wonderful, spontaneous touch.

I miss Sparky Kulchisky, the irascible, loveable one-time assistant equipment man, who was berated one day by a much-travelled defenceman named Michel Petit because they didn’t have any tea for him. When Sparky said he would get some shortly and Petit still ragged on him, Sparky shrugged.

“I figure I’ll be here long after he’s gone,” said Sparky.

As I recall Michel Petit —or Mike Small, as we called him — was history a few days later.

Maybe word got to the boss Sather, who had picked up Petit on waivers.

My greatest memory of the arena was trying to work the Oilers dressing room after the first Stanley Cup win in 1984. This was before digital recorders, and all us scribes had was a notebook and a pen for quotes.

When I got into the clogged, party atmosphere room, somebody giddily sprayed my corner of the winning room with champagne. My notebook was drenched, all my quotes were a mess of blue ink. As I recall, my game story and all the sidebars were a stream of consciousness as I scrambled to remember what player had said what. As I recall, the quotes in the story were much better than the ones I’d written down.

But nobody cared. I figured the players would have better things to do the day after than read me.

I don’t know what I’ll take as a souvenir from the old building. It’s not like I can take one of the seats from the lower bowl. I can’t take, say, a metal nameplate as a keepsake, either, from the Bill Tuele press-box because the Oilers never had any of those. I always knew where my spot and seat number was anyway, the spot where I’ve certainly dropped more than one pen 100 feet over the edge to somebody’s head below.

My seat number in the press box at Rexall is currently No. 107, but it was once No. 99.

A nice touch, if I say so myself.

But as I think of my last night on the catwalk, I can’t see myself lugging the chair I sat him for so many nights. But that popcorn machine? Yeah, but I might need help getting it to my car.

Jim Matheson has covered the Edmonton Oilers since the team’s inception in 1972



Everyone associated with Rexall Place has moments they cherish

BY TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN

FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, APRIL 04, 2016 11:33 PM MDT | UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 04, 2016 11:39 PM MDT

Most everybody in Edmonton has a memory from the Northlands Coliseum. It might be from one hockey game, one concert, one curling, figure skating, rodeo, or various other event in the building.

People like your correspondent have hundreds. Some of them are personal:

• Twice I ate my column with sauerkraut, sour cream and bitter lemon at centre ice, the first time surrounded by members of a booster club.

• When I was inducted into the writers section of the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Oilers honoured me with ceremonial faceoff duties on a brand new red carpet with slick undercoating. If Shawn Horcoff hadn’t grabbed an elbow, I would have gone down.

Some you may not remember:

• Jacques Plante giving the Oilers a 3-0 win in their home opener.

• A WHA game a couple weeks later postponed because the ice under the rodeo dirt was wrecked by horse and cattle urine.

• Wayne Gretzky playing on a line with Gordie Howe and son Mark in a WHL All-Star mini-series with the Russians.

But most we probably share:

• The first Stanley Cup when Dave Lumley put it away with a goal into the empty net ranks near the top of the list with most.

• Gretzky, alone, probably rates 50 of the Top 100 if you put such a list out there including his five-goal night against Philadelphia to make it 50 in 39 games.

• Mark Messier’s goal to seal the deal in 1987.

• Steve Smith scoring on his own net.

• Gretzky giving Smith the Cup to carry first when they won it the next year.

• All four times the Cup was hoisted at home.

• The loudest crowds in all of Stanley Cup history, any time, any place in the 2006 playoffs.

• Anthem singer Paul Lorieau singing the first few bars of O Canada and then holding his mic up to the crowd to take it home.

• Dave Semenko’s farce fight against Muhammad Ali.

• Momentous goals by Todd Marchant and Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Smyth losing ‘Chicklets’ on the ice, having dental surgery of sorts down the ramp behind the bench and coming back without missing more than a single shift.

• Sam Gagner’s eight-point night.

• The greatest ice in the league.

There were so many. And that’s just with Oilers hockey and not including any of the highlights we’ve watched this year with Connor McDavid.

There were so many more with curling, figure skating, rodeo, Oil Kings hockey and all the other events. Wednesday night is about the last Oilers game in the Northlands Coliseum. Rodeo and curling will have their own Great Goodbye’s in November and April next year respectively, for later. And the concerts and non-sports events. The memories seem almost endless.

But the memories that interest me most are not the ones we all share together, they’re the other ones you didn’t see and the ones never revealed before.

Can you imagine the people who have spent a significant portion of their lives in the building? The staff, full-time and part-time, the people who have been to endless numbers of games and concerts, consider what leaving the building behind is going to mean to them?

Most of the Northlands staff are largely anonymous, behind-the-scenes people unlike Dan Craig, the maker of the greatest ice in the league at Northlands who went on to be hired as Facilities Operations Manager by the NHL and has become a famed name because of all the outdoor games that, of course, began with the Heritage Classic in Edmonton.

What about the men and women who work the building and have for years and years?

It’s an interesting time for these people. They have no idea, most of them, if they are going to be recruited by the Oilers to take their experience and expertise to the new arena downtown.

A significant number of them probably aren’t going to be moving on to the new palace downtown as the Oilers Entertainment Group hires a staff tailored to their new era. OEG decided to leave most of that until their run is done in Rexall.

The people who do not make the move downtown are not only going to miss the building, they’re going to miss you.

In doing what they do, many of them didn’t actually see Gretzky’s 50th in 39 or Dave Lumley’s empty-netter that put away the game to give the Oilers that first Stanley Cup or many of those other memory makers from over the years.

But they, too, have their memories and most of them are to be treasured.

A LOT OF MILES ON MILES

Miles Poliak was there on Day One.

He’s 82 now and he’s the only Northlands Coliseum employee to start and end with the building as he intends to do through to the Ford World Curling Championships a year from now in the actual final major event in the building.

He’s experienced most of it as the media gate attendant to the press box catwalk, which has allowed him to meet the legends of the broadcasting business dating back to Danny Gallivan, all the writers around the league and all the general managers, hockey executives and scouts who also watch games from up there. From one of the best locations in the building, he’s almost seen it all.

Miles (everybody knew his first name and nobody knew his last) was there for the first Oilers game in the Northlands Coliseum on Nov. 10, 1974. And he’ll be there Wednesday night for the last.

“When you get to the last game and you are the only guy left from the first game, while I hadn’t thought about it much before, I guess you sort of feel special,” he said.

“You’ve seen it all. I’m the only one. It’s a special feeling. It’s been such a great ride.

While he’s stationed at the Game Day office right now, I hope somebody at Northlands thinks of putting him back on the press box gate for his last game if for no other reason than to welcome back Bob Cole to call the last game and shake hands with the media and hockey people as they prepare to climb those last 18 stairs for the last time.

“I think back right now at all the people who I used to welcome to the game at the catwalk gate and be on a first name basis with, and it’s just such a great feeling. A lot of them are gone now, but I’ve sure been left with a lot of memories with the people I’ve met.”

More than any other, Oilers original general manager Bill Hunter remains the one he’ll remember most.

“Later in his life I was at a function and talked to him and he told me he had no way of getting around. He couldn’t drive anymore. I said ‘Oh, hell, I’m retired now, I’ll just take you wherever you want to go.

“It was three or four times a week I’d do that. We’d go out to lunch with the ‘Who’s Who’ of Edmonton and the hockey world. This went on for many years. We became great friends. It was fun. He’d be in the car and all of a sudden his phone would ring and it would be somebody like Gretzky. Next thing you knew we’d be having lunch with Gretzky’s dad, Walter. Oh, the people I met with him. It was just incredible. And no matter who I met, he made sure I was introduced to them.”

Miles worked 9-to-5 for the provincial government in the agriculture and communications offices over the years. That was work. Going to the Coliseum was play.

“The memories,” said Miles.

“The Stanley Cups. The banner raisings. I loved all those. Dave Semenko’s fights with Tim Hunter. Paul Lorieau singing the national anthem. He used to come up to the catwalk to watch the games after he sang. The Briers and all the curling. Figure skating. And all those rodeos.

I was there on the catwalk looking right down on it when the bull got into the stands that one night. Pavorotti. I’ve never experienced anything so classy in my life. The blue carpets, tuxedos, tuxedos and gowns. It was such an extravagant show.

“But mostly my memories are the people of the media and the hockey world I came to know at my catwalk gate during all those years.”

NOBODY YELLED ‘DUCK’

Considering Marti Hiniuk’s first day on the job at the Northlands Coliseum in March of 1979, it’s surprising she came back for her second.

“My very first day on the job was for a Jethro Tull concert in which I was required to do walks up and down the section to make sure everything was OK. When coming down the steps, I felt something hit me on the back of my head,” she remembered.

“When I looked down, I noticed a liquor bottle. I had a bump on the head but was fine. I continued working that night. I think back now that I never quit and that was the best decision that I had made. I would have missed out on all the good times that I have had.

“In my 39 years, I believe I’ve only missed six hockey games and a similar number of concerts since. There have been several games, though, where I have gone as a guest of a season ticket holder, usually with a family member.

“Some of my memories included being part of all five Stanley Cups, working my all-time favourite concerts featuring the Eagles and Rod Stewart, riding on a Monster Truck after the Monster Jam event, meeting John Candy … oh, there have been so many.

“I have made many friends through working at Northlands at all the various events. That’s been a big bonus. Season ticket holder in my section became best friends.”

SCOREBOARD FOR SALE

Don Clarke was the marketing director of Northlands before the Royal American Shows bribery scandal wiped out most of the organization. The former city cop was chosen to be acting general manager to lead the organization into the new arena.

As marketing director, Clarke had been charged with selling the scoreboard clock.

“The clock was costing us $120,000. There were 12 spaces for advertising on the clock and I was charged with getting $5,000 a year out of a dozen guys to sign four-year deals which would pay for the clock in the first two years and be total profit after that,” said Clarke.

“At the time the Coliseum was a hole in the ground. So what we did was get some chairs and sit the chairs in the mud in the hole in the ground. I had a couple members of the staff build me a giant box kite in the shape of the scoreboard to illustrate the size and positions of the ads. We sort of floated it over where centre ice would be.”

Clarke, who would go on to have the same job with Horne & Pitfield (IGA, Red Rooster) as Stu MacGregor had with Safeway, sold the first one to MacGregor. The rest of them, seeing Safeway thought it was a good deal, followed through. Clarke then took MacGregor out of the muddy hole in the ground to the nearest pub.

“All it cost me was a few rum and Cokes for Stu.”

Being the acting general manager while Northlands found a replacement was not a glamorous job some nights for Clarke.

And those were the Wild Bill Hunter days.

“Bill Hunter and I had a number of arguments whether I was wrong or whether I was wrong. With Bill, when I was wrong, he would forgive me. And when he was wrong, he was good enough to forgive me, too. And he did that once when we had a foul-up in the box office.

“Bill insisted that their crew should look after certain things on the Coliseum. Eventually we let him take over the box office. In those days, box office tickets were hard tickets, not computer tickets. One Sunday there was an Edmonton Eskimos game in the afternoon and the Oilers had an unusually high walk-up of fans coming over from the Eskimos game to the box office, and Bill’s crew wasn’t prepared for that. Bill yelled at me and we helped out. But the next day he complained about the foul-up. They looked at me and I said ‘You’re right, it was an absolute foul up, Bill. But you guys were in charge of it. You took it away from us.’ He said ‘Oh, well, OK, but don’t let it happen again.’ We took over the box office again after that. So he forgave me. But let’s make no mistake. Bill Hunter was a good guy.”

Clarke, in his role as acting GM found himself, become a boxing promoter.

“Nick Zubray had a boxing card scheduled. But then Nick ended up suspended by the Edmonton Boxing & Wrestling Commission about two weeks before the fight. All of a sudden, Northlands tells me ‘You’re the promoter.’

“When it was over I have to pay the fighters but I didn’t know how much Nick had promised them. I had the total to be paid, which was about $70,000. But we had no idea how much to pay each guy. So I took Ron Hayter, the head of the Boxing & Wrestling Committee with me and plumped the 70 grand on the floor and told them to work it out and we left the room. I guess they did.”

GROVER, OVER AND OUT

George Waselenchuk is the venue operation manager of Rexall Place, working his 31st year in the building.

He once answered to the name of Grover.

“One year we had a Sesame Street show coming to the building and the show people asked if one of the Zamboni drivers could wear one of the suits driving the Zamboni to promote the show. I was the only one working that was short enough to wear the suit so Tom Cornwall and Pauline Hughes convinced me to drive the game in the Grover costume.

“With ping pong balls in the tips of the fingers that made it hard to steer and with a head piece that was meant for someone much smaller, I missed three spots on the ice. When I had finished driving, Dan Craig looked at me wearing the Costume laughed and said ‘That was horrible. Please go change. We can't have you do that for the rest of the game.’

“A few weeks later Pauline handed me an envelope and said photographer Dale MacMillian took this photo. It was an 8 x 10 of me driving the Zamboni as Grover. It's proudly displayed on my office wall and is a constant reminder of how great a job this has been, I smile every time I look at it.”

“One of my favourite hockey memories would have to be from the ̕97 playoffs. I was driving the Zamboni with Trent Evans and the Oilers were down 3-0 to the Dallas stars in the third. I think everyone thought the game was over. There was a steady stream of fans leaving the building after the five-minute mark until that first goal was scored at four and a half minutes then the Oilers scored a second goal. I remember watching the stream was reversed with people running back to the building there was a third goal.Then in OT Kelly Buchberger scored the game winner and the Oilers went on to win the series and play Colorado. Definitely one of the most exciting comebacks I've ever seen

“Another memory would have to be the whole 2006 playoff run. I drove Zamboni two of the three Stanley Cup final games. That was the last full season that I drove the Zamboni. I had never heard the building so loud with a constant roar coming from the stands; my ears rang after every game.

“I've had some brushes with fame meeting some of my favorite musicians mostly by accident. The unwritten rule of the back of house is we don't interact with the talent unless they interact with us first. Now I'm a big George Strait fan and was working the night shift on one of his shows. I was walking past some gentlemen they were hanging around back stage. They were talking with southern accents so I assumed they were the road crew or truck drivers. They said hello and we started talking, standard conversation where to eat in the city things like that, then they asked if I knew where to buy fiddle bows or something like that so I told them where Alfie Meyers was and asked if they played? To which they replied ‘Oh we mess around a bit.’ That evening I watched the show that was in the round. So standing in Section 110 I could see the faces of the band clearly and there they were. Needless to say I was pretty embarrassed and a little sheepish when I saw them the next day before the second show.”

DON’T QUIT YOUR ‘FUN JOB’

Wendy Richards has worked 25 years at Rexall Place.

“I’ve been in my section, 224, for Oilers games for around 20 years.

“I started as an 18-year-old girl wanting a second job to sharing so many moments and memories with people, families, friends and coworkers over the years. I could never give up my ‘fun job’ that, to me, is anything but a job.

“I love the people in my section. I think they’re the best people in the entire arena. When you look back at all of that, you realize it’s mostly about the people. You go from season ticket holder with their babies to those babies reaching adulthood,” said the usher.

“I started serving beer when drinks weren’t allowed in the stands. The fans would rush to the four bars during intermissions, enjoy their suds, and off they would go back to watch the game.”

‘THAT GUY HAS AN AXE!’

Mike Telford has been calling the building his second home for 21 years, first as a ticket-taker and an usher and progressing to become senior security supervisor.

He was there the night of the ‘Axe Man’

“A gentleman re-entered the building after he’d been evicted. When somebody gets evicted we put a ‘X’ on the back of his hand. This gentleman came back and rushed a door person who yells ‘That guy has an axe!’

“We figured the guy had come back to do harm.

“We rushed to the staff member to see if he could point out the guy with the axe.

“He says there is no axe.

“ ‘That guy over the has an ‘X’ on his hand.’

“We still laugh about that until this day. That happened about 15 years ago.”

Telford remembers the time Edmonton Rush owner Bruce Urban brought in basketball’s Dennis Rodman for a game.

“They asked Rodman to play one-on-one with a local radio celebrity. He said no: ‘No one told me this. That will cost you more greenbacks to see those skills.’

Telford remembers one particular person whe met on the job.

“The best think that happened to me was meeting my wife while working in the building. She was a volunteer security member for the Druid’s Rugby Club. I would always talk to her almost to the point where I would be in trouble for not doing my job. On New Year’s Eve she was working an event at the Expo Centre and I was a patron. I slipped her my number and told he if she would like to go out to call me. A couple weeks later she did and the two of us haven’t stopped smiling since.”

LOONIE HIS CLAIM TO FAME, BUT …

Trent Evans became fairly well known, largely for imbedding the Canadian Loonie in the ice of the Olympic ice surface at Salt Lake 2002.

Evans, who has worked at Northlands for 34 years now, rolled out the red carpet for the first Stanley Cup presentation as an 18-year-old rink rat in 1984.

He painted the ice and drove the Zamboni for the first time in the rink in 1990. He also used to help out with Sparky with the visiting team’s equipment.

“I ended up having a great friendship with Sparky. On Christmas, he’d open up the dressing room for my family and his family. We always had a Pot Luck in there on Christmas morning, go skating and I’d do the ice after we had our family skate.”

Sparky tells how that all got started.

“I used to take my niece and nephew to Rundle Park to go skating on Christmas morning and got so cold out one year, there was no way. I said ‘I know where we can go skating.’ So I took them to the Coliseum. Trent was there and I said ‘Next year, bring your boys down.’ That’s how it grew into the Evans-Sparky Christmas party.”

One of a team of Olympic icemakers under Dan Craig, Evans said the centre-ice loonie has no connection to the Northlands Coliseum, other than the people involved.

“It actually began when we were told they had no need for a big red dot at centre ice like in the NHL and that a ‘marker the size of a Loonie,’ is how Dan Craig described it to me. The first day I placed a dime with the Bluenose on it and the second day I put a Loonie on top of it.”

THE GREAT ZAMBONI RACES

Chris Lewis, a building attendant, has worked the building since 1985 and remembers the Great Zamboni Races.

“It was to see who would be driving the Zambonis during the playoffs. There were three things involved.

“1. Your time.

“2. The job you did with each flood.

“3. Your record. Whether the Oilers won or lost.”

Oilers equipment man Sparky Kulchinsky was the official scorekeeper.

“He’d put it up on the wall and say ‘Hey this crew is ahead now,” said Lewis.

“He made up standings and everything. It was kind of fun.”

Changeovers were always interesting, he said of going from concert venue to NHL hockey for the morning skates.

“The biggest challenge was when Guns & Roses were here and Axel Rose decided not to show up until 12:30 a.m. and by that time we’re usually well underway in changing over the rink. But he didn’t get on stage until then so that made it incredibly challenging.

One claim to fame he treasures.

“I unveiled the Gretzky statue.”

FACE TO FACE WITH THE GREATS

Pauline Hughes never dreamed that she would one day have a job that put her into face-to-face contact with almost every great entertainer of our time.

“I was actually working for a law firm that Peter Pocklington had for the transfer of the building over to Peter in 1993. When Peter hired Tom Cornwall and Ogden concessions, I went over to be the office manager for a short time because I knew all the ins and outs of the contract. Peter was so famous for hiring people and then firing them. When they got fired, I’d have to do those people’s jobs. And that’s how I ended up in my job,” said the woman who by title is the Marketing Manager of Rexall Place.

That doesn’t quite cover the job.

She manages the advertising, the publicity, and public relations of all the concerts and work with all the promoters and talent that comes into the building.

“To me, they’re just like regular, normal people. And I think that was one of the huge successes at Rexall. When the athletes and entertainers come into our building, the people who work there are so down to earth. There isn’t star-struck going on. I think the stars really have felt at home. They tell us that all the time. They tell us ‘We know when we’re going to Edmonton things are going to get done.’ We do. We’re very simple. There’s no extra drama. We treat them like normal, regular people.”

Like David Bowie.

“I was backstage with some papers I had to give someone and there was this gentleman standing by a garbage can smoking. I went over to let him know that we had a no smoking rule in the building. I realize as I’m walking up that it is David Bowie. But now I have to talk to him because he’s acknowledged my coming towards him and we ended up having this lovely conversation about his performance. He told me ‘You know, love, I don’t think I was really on tonight.’ ”

Considering the usually-at-war relationship between the Oilers and Northlands throughout the history of the building, Hughes marvels at the exceptional relationship between the members of the two organizations.

“I can’t tell you how many times, before a show, an entertainer would get word to me that they’d put on an Oilers jersey during the show. I never find out the feel and temperature of the artist and management until they actually get here. And we’ve made all that happen throughout all the years. I can’t tell you how many times I called J.J. Hebert and said “We need that jersey. Can we do it?’

“One of my favorites was when Rascal Flatts played the building. Tom Cochrane was there that night. One of the highlights of all the shows we’ve had was when Rascal Flatts brought Tom Cochrane on stage to sing ‘Life is a Highway.’ Tom turned to me right away and said ‘I can’t go on unless I’m wearing an Oilers jersey.’ In seconds we got that Oilers jersey. He went up there and the building erupted. It was one of the best highlights I remember in that building.

“Same thing with Shania Twain. When she first came out, she came out in an Oilers jersey.”

That one was specially tailored to custom fit her figure.”

HE ‘SHOOTS’, HE SCORES

The history of Rexall Place, at least the history of the last 20 years in the building, has all been captured by Dale MacMillan’s camera.

He’s shot it all.

As Northlands’ official photographer, MacMillan has photographed almost every game, every major and minor sports event in the place and every concert or speech.

MacMillan, first and foremost a sports photographer who doubles as the official photographer of the Edmonton Eskimos, has witnessed more events in the building than just about anybody else. Most of it has been up close and personal.

“I’ve shot Queen Elizabeth, Paul McCartney, Pavarotti, and two U.S. Presidents. I’ve probably done 500-plus shows and I don’t know how many hockey games — probably close to 1,000, including World Junior and Oil Kings. I’ve never sat down and tried to add it all up over 22 years and loved every minute of it.

“I started shooting Oilers hockey in 1992 with the Edmonton Sun. I remember the year they got me a season pass to shoot. It was a small orange card that said ‘Season Access’ on it. I shot a bunch of games that year and every year since. I’ve shot for a few different card companies including Upperdeck for the last 13 years, as well as Pacific Cards and Getty Images and had a couple shots in Sports Illustrated.”

He was the Edmonton Rush photographer for 10 seasons.

But his favourite week was working the Canadian Finals Rodeo every year.

“To me, it was always one of the best weeks in the building. Not that I don’t love shooting the concerts and the hockey, but this was only a week out of the year I got to wear cowboy boots.

“The second or third one I covered, I was shooting in the first row and one of the Cowboys took a really bad hit in the face. He crawled through the dirt and fell right in front of me. His face was all bloodied and it was a good picture. I was shooting him just because that’s what I do and the rodeo veterinarian, who was standing right beside me started hitting me. The crowd started swearing and it seemed like the entire section turned on me. I found out the hard way they don’t like us shooting the injured contestants. I almost became one myself that night.

“Another year I was shooting out in the dirt for the opening. It was pitch black and I was not paying close attention to my surroundings and nearly got run over by a horse. If not for one of the event planners yanking me back, I would have been knocked into next week.”

Hughes marvels at the way MacMillan relates to everybody

“He’s so friendly with everybody and he never complains.

MacMillan has great memories involving some of the stars, including Keith Urban and Britney Spears, the only two performers he posed with for a photo. There was one incident with Neil Diamond's security people.

“Pauline and I always had a code between us for the concerts.

“I love going up top to the catwalk or behind the stage up top to get the cool shots that we wouldn’t get normally as a photographer just covering the show. The media is only allowed three songs and out. So when we would do those three songs and all the media would leave, I would walk around inconspicuously to get wide angles of the full house and overhead shots of the mosh pits etc.

“The last words out of the office when I would tell them where I was headed, was always ‘Don’t get caught’

“If I got caught in any part of the building after photographers were supposed to be gone, Pauline would act all angry and tell their crew ‘I will deal with him’ and then kick me out. Well, we laughed about it for years and for years we never had to apply the code.

“That was until the Neil Diamond concert. His people were incredibly conscious, brutally anal, of anyone even lifting up a camera or a phone to take a snap of him as he sang. I remember his security lining the sides of the crowd, pulling peoples phones out of their hands.

“We discussed that we needed a wide angle shot of this show before I set out because of the size of the crowd and the set up.

“I did my thing for about 30 min before I got a call on my cell phone from Pauline screaming ‘GET OUT NOW. They’ve seen you.’

“I didn’t even hesitate and ran out the nearest exit. I was busted in the back breezeway in between Rexall and the LRT. Security brought me back in and Pauline was their and we implemented our code to perfection.

“It’s the only time its happened in 22 years and we still laugh about it.”

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Edmonton Oilers defenceman Oscar Klefbom expected to return 100 per cent next season

BY JIM MATHESON


While the infection in Oscar Klefbom’s leg has been of great concern for weeks now, Edmonton Oilers’ coach Todd McLellan says he should be good as new for the fall.

Klefbom’s season ended Dec. 11 against New York Rangers when he broke a knuckle in his hand, then he got a staph infection. He missed the final 52 games after playing 22 minutes a night in the first 30 as the club’s top defenceman.

“From what I’ve been told when Oscar shows up training camp next season, we won’t even be talking about this,” said McLellan. “If our team had played well enough to give ourselves a shot at the playoffs, maybe Oscar would have been out there. Right now, it makes no sense to put him on the ice and have it (cured) to the just about line and then have it go back. Let’s let it heal.”

LONGTIME SCOUT PASSES

Former Oilers’ amateur scout Chris McCarthy, who was with the team 17 years from 1992 to 2009, passed away in Boston at 46. McCarthy, who went back to school and became a lawyer, had kidney and liver problems. He leaves a wife and an 11-year-old son.

“He was in the donor program but nothing came,” said his former boss Kevin Prendergast.

McCarthy, who had a strong, out-going personality pushed for the Oilers to draft a strong but average skating high-school forward Chris VandeVelde, now a fourth-liner with the Philadelphia Flyers. He also was high on a big, tough defenceman named Brad Norton, who played 124 NHL games for various teams over six seasons. The Oilers got him in the ninth round in 1993 and a colourful U.S.-born goalie Mike Morrison, who played 21 Oiler games in 2006.

McCarthy also spotted a skinny, unsung Czech defenceman Tomas Kaberle at a tournament up near Siberia in 1996 when with head Oilers’ European scout Kent Nilsson and McCarthy was immediately pumped. There was a very small contingent of scouts but Anders Hedberg, then working for the Leafs and a long-time friend of Nilsson, was also there and Toronto took Kaberle, instead.

McCarthy hung around with the late Ace Bailey when Ace was an Oilers’ scout back east, and he brought McCarthy into the fold with the Oilers. When Bailey joined the Los Angeles Kings, McCarthy took over Bailey’s U.S. college/high school duties.

“Chris was a very intelligent, confident guy,” said Prendergast, who now works in scouting for the Buffalo Sabres.

HUGE TURNOUT

The Oilers have yet to release any details about their final Rexall Place game Wednesday but well over 100 ex Oilers will be there and on the ice for a 90-minute ceremony about 25 minutes after the league game with the Canucks ends. The list of those who’ll be here for the goo bye includes Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Kent Nilsson, Willy Lindstrom, Brett Callighen, Blair McDonald, Ron Chipperfield, Kirk Maltby, Anson Carter, Marty McSorley, Marty Gelinas and Eddie Mio.

RIGHT TO PLAY

Darnell Nurse has taken on the role as one of the Right to Play Athlete Ambassadors for the international organization that helps children facing adversity. Nurse has already hosted a hockey clinic with youngsters from the Alexander First Nation at Servus Credit Union Place in St. Alberta. “That was a blast being on the ice with all the kids,” said the Oilers’ defenceman.

DESIRE THE ISSUE

McLellan knows his team needs a strong puck-moving D-man over the summer in a trade, but off his team’s sad effort against Calgary, he wasn’t about to blame that on missing an offensive blueliner.

“We could have had Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey back there and it wouldn’t have mattered,” said McLellan.

“The video we showed the players today had nothing to do with talent, adding a goaltender or two defencemen or changing out four forwards or bringing in big, tough guys. It had to do with game management and deciding whether you really wanted to do that.”



OIlers head coach Todd McLellan looks to fix what's wrong now, deal with rest later

BY JIM MATHESON


There was no bag-skate.

No temper tantrum from the guy with the loudest whistle.

But, make no mistake, even if Edmonton Oilers’ coach Todd McLellan chose not to punish his players Monday by making them do stops and starts and laps and laps 80 games into the NHL season with no pucks because of their pathetic showing Saturday in a 5-0 loss to the Calgary Flames, he was not a happy camper.

He chose to raise his voice behind closed door at the R-rated game film of the shocking no-show Saturday in the last Battle of Alberta meeting at Rexall Place and publicly ran a tightly controlled skating practice with drills, but he was still sour as he rehashed the embarrassing effort against the Flames.

He talked about a complete disregard for backchecking on Calgary’s shorthanded goal in the first without mentioning Jordan Eberle’s name. He talked about a 1:20 shift later with players who should have known better without mentioning rookie Connor McDavid, who stayed out far too long or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who jumped on while McDavid was 25 feet from the bench, for a too-many-men penalty, by name.

The question, of course, is whether these mistakes are endemic, whether some older guys will ever learn, guys who’ve been here a lot longer than 40 games. Are some players incapable of playing the right way and not having a stinko game like Saturday, to pull out of their kit-bag?

“My experience is 200 days (from camp) and I’ve seen improvement in a lot of areas, then it comes back in,” said McLellan. “It’s like a disease that you think you have cured, then it reappears. You have to go back and eradicate it, get it out of your system.”

“I think it’s dangerous at this time of year to get emotional because as a staff you can make poor decisions heading into the summer. We’ll deal in the moment and try to fix this and deal with the rest later.”

Like, which two of the three core players — forwards Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall — will be shopped this summer for defence help?

Eberle, RNH and Hall are all very good players with gusts to great on some nights, but the Oilers’ team today looks to be transitioning to a new core with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse.

Have some of these players been here too long and losing is ingrained?

“I’m not prepared to say that,” said McLellan.

Are there some guys who don’t appear to want to be an Edmonton Oiler?

“I’m not going there. I don’t believe that,” said McLellan.

“Today was a disappointing day for me. We should have used the practice to polish things up. Instead, it turned into re-establishing a work ethic and holding players accountable for lack of a work ethic last game. As a staff, we get no joy in that,” said McLellan.

“It’s like me sitting in front of my two boys and disciplining them for their inactions or poor choices. There’s not a parent in the world who enjoys doing that,” said McLellan.

“We’re trying to re-establish there are expectations when you put the equipment on, to be honest, at least. I was disappointed after watching the game again at the battle level, but also game management. Monday was spent trying to establish boundaries,” he said.

There’s more rope for kids making mistakes than players with 400 NHL games, but McLellan doesn’t want anybody to be off the hook. “The decision to complete a back-check … I’ve watched kids in the USHL (junior) and the Brandon-Oil Kings playoff and they know right from wrong,” he said.

Eberle, who got roasted by Hockey Night in Canada’s Kelly Hrudey Saturday for slowing down and letting Mikael Backlund score shorthanded on a 2-on-2 break, knows he screwed up.

“I made the wrong read. I was coming back and I thought Jordan (Oesterle, D-man back) had it on his stick (after a Josh Jooris pass attempt to Backlund) and was going to chip it out. I have to finish the check. That was on the video today,” said Eberle.

“We watched clips (game film) and you’re embarrassed, but you get back on the horse,” he said.

“The final Battle of Alberta game (at Rexall) was for our franchise and we completely didn’t execute our game plan, and our work ethic wasn’t there,” said Hall.

They better ride off into the sunset on a high Wednesday at the final Oilers’ game at Rexall against Vancouver Canucks, after the first one Nov. 10, 1974 in the WHA (Jacques Plante of the Oilers vs Gerry Cheevers of the Cleveland Crusaders) when it was called Northlands Coliseum.

“I fully expect us to respond,” said Eberle.

If they can’t get up for one last night, that will be really, bad stuff.

But a win against the Canucks could also be a false positive. This should almost be an automatic, shouldn’t it? They aren’t playing the Ducks.

“The final game is huge … Todd brought up Winnipeg playing their last (2015-2016) game Sunday and they really brought it against a playoff team (Minnesota), winning 5-1 and their fans were applauding their effort,” said Hall, who knows the long-suffering fan base here deserves, at the least, a resounding W against the Canucks.

“This is about holding ourselves accountable, having a higher standard even if we’re not in the playoffs. We owe it to each other,” said Hall.

McLellan wouldn’t single out anybody in particular for public scolding.

“No, it’s the group,” he said.

“We’re in this together, the coaching staff. We were just as bad as the players the other night. I made many mistakes (behind the bench). My belief system was low. They probably read off my body language and my verbal cues and react accordingly. I was just as responsible,” he said.

That said, players are more responsible once the puck is dropped.

“Players know right from wrong and when you choose to be lazy and make a negative choice, you have to fix that. Nobody’s perfect; we’re far from a 50-win season, we’re far from the Washington Capitals,” said McLellan.

“We’re at the bottom of the league and we’re working hard to get out of there, never mind the playoffs. We have a long ways to go. Players have to understand that. It’s not about getting out of the bottom and out of the (draft) lottery. It’s about being in the top 16.”

“This is character time now, whether you’re 28, 29 or 30 or when you’re 1, 2 or 3 and you’re carrying the Cup,” he said.


1008598 Florida Panthers

Panthers set team record for poitns with win over Maple Leafs

BY GEORGE RICHARDS

APRIL 4, 2016 11:17 PM

Monday was quite the night for the Panthers.

Not only did Florida set the franchise mark with its 99th point this season, but also the Panthers came one step closer to the Atlantic Division title with a hard-fought 4-3 win over the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.

With Tampa Bay losing in Brooklyn to the Islanders, Florida leads the Lightning by four points. Both teams have three games remaining.

If the Panthers take the division, they would get home-ice advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs and open against the top wild card team next week. Metropolitan champ Washington opens with the final playoff qualifier.

By winning Monday, the Panthers can finish no lower than second in the division.

“It’s a tap on the back, but we’ll move on to the next one,” said defenseman Brian Campbell, who tied the franchise record for consecutive games played as Monday was his 373rd since joining Florida in 2011.

“It’s a big outing for us to keep going, keep climbing and see where we can take this ride.”

After a coma-inducing opening period, the Panthers came out flying in a three-goal second that helped avenge last Tuesday’s loss to the Leafs in Sunrise.

Florida opened the scoring early when Nick Bjugstad followed up his own shot by jamming the puck past Jonathan Bernier.

Rocco Grimaldi, recalled by the Panthers last month when Vincent Trocheck got hurt, then scored twice in less than three minutes to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

“It is a good feeling,” said Grimaldi, who scored his first of the season back in November and got the “Spacey In Space” sweatshirt for the first time.

“Toronto was coming with some jump, and I’m definitely not happy with the way I finished. We have to play better in playoffs. I’m glad we got the two points but we have to do better. ... [Goalie] Al Montoya definitely battled but we have to be better for him.”

Although the Leafs fought back in the third by scoring three times, the Panthers and Montoya (22 saves) ultimately held them off.

After Toronto scored to make it a 3-2 midway through the period, Sasha Barkov scored just 36 seconds later to give the Panthers a two-goal lead.

On Saturday, Florida battled back from a 3-0 deficit against Montreal but didn’t let Toronto return that favor.

“This is fun to be a part of,” Bjugstad said after saying Florida needs to tighten things up after its third period almost turned into disaster.

“This is a good group of guys and it has been a really fun year. We’re at Step One and we need to keep moving on. We cannot be satisfied.”

▪ Campbell, who hasn’t missed a game with the Panthers, tied Olli Jokinen (2000-08) for the franchise “Iron Man” mark in his 999th NHL game.

Campbell will pass Jokinen in his milestone 1,000th game Tuesday in Montreal.

“A thousand games is nice,” Campbell said. “I wasn’t given anything when I came in. It took me a while to get established, so it means a ton to me.”

▪ For the first time in months, Willie Mitchell traveled with the team and took part in Monday morning’s skate in Toronto. Gallant said nothing has changed with Mitchell’s status and the decision whether to return to the team remains up to him.

Mitchell has sustained a number of concussions in the latter part of his career, including one believed to be in January. Florida doctors have warned Mitchell —the Panthers’ captain the past two seasons — that

returning and risking another hit to his head could be dangerous to his future well-being.

“He’s skating, working hard and feeling good,” Gallant said. “He’s going to make his own decision; I’m not saying anything. He’s still a team leader, still around the players a lot. We always talk about our veteran group being good for our young players and he’s a big part of that.”

▪ The Panthers didn’t have any wild celebrations when they learned they had clinched a playoff spot upon landing in Toronto on Sunday afternoon.

Bjugstad said everyone seemed to turn on their phones at the same time to check out how the Bruins-Blackhawks game. A Boston loss meant a spot in the postseason. Chicago won 6-4.

“We don’t have Internet on the plane so we all found out right when we landed,” Bjugstad said. “It was pretty cool. The boys were definitely excited. We weren’t spraying any Champagne, though, just because we clinched a spot in the playoffs. This is just a step for us. We’re excited, but not too excited.”

TUESDAY: PANTHERS AT CANADIENS

When/where: 7:30 p.m.; Bell Center, Montreal.

Series: Tied 40-40-6.

Scouting report: The Panthers have won all three meetings against the Canadiens this season but had a tough one Saturday as Montreal led 3-0 midway through the second. Sasha Barkov had two goals and assisted on the others in Florida's 4-3 win — its first win after trailing 3-0 since the 2011-12 season.

Miami Herald LOADED: 04.05.2016


Rocco Grimaldi scores twice to lead Panthers to shaky 4-3 victory over Leafs

Harvey Fialkov

While the youthful 29th-ranked Maple Leafs were playing for jobs, the Panthers' immediate goals were home ice in the playoffs, first place in the Atlantic Division and a piece of franchise history.

Oddly enough it took a Panthers rookie playing for a possible role in the upcoming playoffs or beyond to basically achieve the aforementioned shopping list. Rocco Grimaldi scored two of Florida's three second-period goals, but the Panthers held on for dear life in a wild third period for a shaky 4-3 victory over the Leafs Monday night in Air Canada Center.

Backup goalie Al Montoya, who certainly has played well enough to earn another contract with the Panthers next season, helped the cause with 22 saves to improve to 12-6-3.

The Panthers' third consecutive victory and fifth in six games locked up home ice for at least the opening round, but not before a near disastrous third-period collapse.

"It was a good feeling,'' said Grimaldi, who earned the Spacey in Space MVP hoodie for his first career two-goal game. "They were coming with some jump there and I'm not happy the way I finished the game. … We're glad to get the two points though, but we got to be better for [Montoya].

Florida Panthers' top-line trio know they have to pick up the slack with Vincent Trocheck out

"We wanted to clinch a spot in the playoffs and we did. Our next goal for us is to win the division. We're almost there.''

A game after notching their franchise-high 44th victory, the Panthers reached 99 points to eclipse the 98 in 1999-2000 and officially make the 2015-16 season best since the birth of the team in 1993.

"It's great, a big achievement for our team but I think the most important thing is to work as hard as you can before the playoffs start,'' Jaromir Jagr said. "They're not a bad team; they were down 3-0 and had nothing to lose so they put all the pressure on us.''

Preview: Panthers at Canadiens; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

Combined with the Lightning's 5-2 loss to the Islanders, the Panthers took a commanding four-point lead over their Florida brethren with three games remaining for both teams.

The Panthers led 3-0 after two periods but the Leafs scored three times and had one goal negated for goalie interference after coach Gerard Gallant won his challenge.

Just 36 seconds after T.J. Brennan wristed it past Montoya, who had Leafs wing Rich Clune on top of him (Gallant lost that challenge), Aleksander Barkov gave the Panthers 4-2 breathing room with a flicker in traffic at 9:30 for his team-leading 27th tally (Leafs coach Mike Babcock lost that challenge).

Colin Greening then plated his second goal of the period at 11:53 to cut it to 4-3, but the Panthers survived.

Grimaldi almost had a bizarre kind of hat trick when he accidentally redirected Byron Froese's shot past Montoya at 2:23 of the third. However, former Panther Brad Boyes made contact with Montoya as the puck sailed by, so the goal was eventually nullified.

After a scoreless first period, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead just 1:34 into the second when accurate Aaron Ekblad slapped it on net where Nick Bjugstad corralled the rebound before tucking it in for his 14th.

"We kind of sat on our heels at the end. They kind of dominated us, but good to get the win,'' Bjugstad said. "It's fun to be part of [franchise history]. It's been a fun year. We're at step one. Keep moving on, we don't want to be satisfied.''

Reilly Smith also notched his first of two assists on the second line's first goal since losing center Vincent Trocheck to a fractured foot in last Tuesday's stunning 5-2 loss to these lowly Leafs.

Then the 5-foot-6 Grimaldi - who was called up from the AHL for the third time this season when Trocheck went down - took over. Feeling more comfortable at center, Grimaldi took a pass from Jiri Hudler and

unleashed a roof-job that sailed over goalie Jonathan Bernier to make it 2-zip at 10:31.

Just 2:40 later, Smith whizzed a cross-ice pass to a streaking Grimaldi, who one-timed another top-shelf special for his third goal of the season for a 3-0 cushion after two.

"It's not a big deal right now,'' Gallant said of 99 points. "It'll mean more in the summer. Right now it means nothing. You want to get as many points as you can and finish as high as you can in the standings.''

Luongo turns 37

Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who's 33-19-6 for his eighth career 30-win season, turned 37 Monday.

His present from Gallant was a night off as the coach has decided to alternate Luongo and Montoya in the final four games to keep both goalies fresh for the playoffs.

"We have four games this week so there's a lot of hockey so it gives us both to get a couple of games before it all starts,'' said Luongo, who received a hockey-themed decorated cake. "There's nothing like it to be part of that. It's nice for me because I'll be able to enjoy [the playoffs] with the Florida Panthers for the first time.''

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 04.05.2016


Florida Panthers' top-line trio know they have to pick up the slack with Vincent Trocheck out

Harvey Fialkov

Ever since Jaromir Jagr joined the Panthers last season there was no doubt that his line of Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov formed one of the most productive lines in the NHL, and certainly was considered Florida's top trio.

A funny thing happened on the way to the playoffs this season as blossoming forward Vincent Trocheck changed the dynamics and possibly the pecking order of Florida's lines when he shifted from wing to center when Barkov and center Nick Bjugstad sustained injuries.

Trocheck eventually settled in with veteran forward Jussi Jokinen and Reilly Smith and the trio caught fire over the past few months. They combined for 34 goals and 83 points over the past 31 games to basically give the Panthers two top lines.

But last week Trocheck broke a bone in his foot while blocking a shot against the Maple Leafs, and is out for at least the remainder of the regular season and most likely the first week of the playoffs. So Panthers coach Gerard Gallant had to reshuffle the lines again, moving Bjugstad into Trocheck's spot and rearranging the newly formed third line.

However, the top-line trio remained intact and knew they'd have to pick up the slack for Trocheck, who will finish his second NHL season with a career-high 25 goals and 53 points. They did just that in the past two games with victories over the New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens. The trio has accounted for all seven goals and 12 points.


"That's our job to score," Jagr said after scoring his 26th goal in Saturday's 4-3 win over Montreal. "I feel like we have enough talent to do it.

"Vinnie's out, and he's a big part of our hockey game. We sure miss him. You could see how badly we're missing him right now. We somehow found a way to win without him, but it's going to get tougher and tougher especially in the playoffs, so I hope he's going to come back."

Barkov scored twice against Montreal, including the game-winner with 28 seconds left, for 26 goals. He also added two assists for his first career four-point game. But no Panther is hotter than Huberdeau, who scored two goals in the past two games and has six goals over a career-long, five-game goal streak to reach 19 goals.

Huberdeau had just four goals in the first 39 games by Jan. 5, when Jagr predicted he'd score 20 in the new year. Huberdeau has 15 goals in his last 33 games.

"With him it's all about the confidence," Jagr said of Huberdeau. "Even [Saturday], his shot hit the post and that's his shot. Now he starts shooting a little more than before. He always got the chances, but he tried to deke everybody. And it's funny, I always tell him, 'Hey, don't deke anymore, it doesn't work. Shoot the puck.' And [Saturday] I tried to deke and that was so stupid."

Before Trocheck's injury, he had 13 goals and 29 points in his previous 29 games. Jokinen, who has 17 goals and 58 points, had nine goals and 31 points. Smith, who has a career-high 24 goals with 47 points, had 10 goals and 22 points.

"It's a big loss with Trocheck out and he's such a good player and has had a really great season for us and has been one of the leaders out there," Huberdeau said. "It for sure [stinks], but it's part of hockey. We have to do it without him, but we are looking forward to getting him back."

Luongo turns 37

Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who's 33-19-6 for his eighth career 30-win season, turned 37 on Monday.

He got the night off Monday against the Leafs as Gallant has decided to alternate him with Al Montoya in the final four games to keep both goalies fresh for the playoffs.

"We have four games this week so there's a lot of hockey so it gives us both to get a couple of games before it all starts," said Luongo, who received a hockey motiff decorated cake. "There's nothing like it to be

part of that. It's nice for me because I'll be able to enjoy [the playoffs] with the Florida Panthers for the first time.

"It's an exciting time to be playing hockey to be part of this group. We want to finish strong these last four games and head into next week feeling good about our team."

Kadri suspended

The Panthers received a break Monday when Leafs forward Nazem Kadri was suspended by the league for the final four games of the season for an illegal crosscheck on Detroit Red Wings' Luke Glendening last Saturday.

Kadri had a hat trick in the Leafs' 5-2 win over the Panthers last week in Sunrise, and has 16 points in 15 games versus Florida.




Harvey Fialkov

Panthers at Canadiens

When/where: 7:30 p.m.; Bell Centre

TV: FSF Radio: 560-AM, 640-AM (Palm Beaches), 1210-AM (Spanish)

Note: Due to the Marlins-Tigers baseball game, the Panthers-Canadiens TV broadcast will be moved to channels 200 (HD) and 219 (SD) on Comcast. There are no changes for DirecTV, Dish Network and AT&T U-Verse subscribers as they will have access to the game through their normal FOX Sports Florida alternate channel.

Scouting report: The Panthers are 3-0 against the rebuilding Montreal Canadiens, including last Saturday's wild 4-3 comeback victory at home in which Aleksander Barkov's second goal, the game-winner, came with 28 seconds left in regulation. ... Barkov has five goals and four assists in the three meetings. The Panthers played the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, and they're 7-4-2 in the second games of back-to-back sets. ... The Canadiens haven't played since Saturday. They've helped the Panthers' cause by beating the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning last week. ... Montreal called up NHL All-Star Game MVP John Scott from their AHL affiliate for his professionalism and he will play his first game for Montreal against the Panthers. He played 11 games for the Arizona Coyotes before getting traded. ... Roberto Luongo will start for the Panthers. ... Habs D Nathan Beaulieu (thumb) and PK Subban (neck) are out.



Panthers beat Leafs for franchise's best record

12:18 a.m. Tuesday, April 5, 2016 | Filed in: News

Staff

There's no more startling anyone for these Florida Panthers.

Rocco Grimaldi scored twice, Aleksander Barkov got his 27th goal and Florida beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 Monday night to set a franchise record with its 99th point this season.

Florida clinched its fifth playoff berth Sunday and then surpassed the 98 points reached by the 1999-2000 Panthers.

"We're at step one," said Nick Bjugstad, who also scored. "We keep saying step one, keep moving on, we don't want to be satisfied."

The Panthers lead the Lightning by four points for first in the Atlantic Division. They don't think they're a surprise team any more.

"I like our team and I think coaches comment around the league that we're a good hockey team," Panthers coach Gerrard Gallant said Monday morning. "We all believe that. The players believe that. You don't sneak up on people anymore. They know we're a good hockey team."

How good can the Panthers be in the playoffs?

"It's going to be a big challenge for us," 44-year-old Jaromir Jagr said. "It's something new for a lot of guys to make the playoffs. We'll see how we're going to react. It can scare us away or the other way around."

The Panthers were the worst team in the NHL as recently as 2013. The club finished that lockout-shortened 48-game season with only 15 wins and 36 points.

Bjugstad was a member of that squad and held mostly bitter memories.

"Those are some tough times," he said. "Losing a lot of games and it's not fun coming to the rink a lot of times because it's a tough environment."

Al Montoya made 22 saves for the Panthers.

Colin Greening had two goals and T.J. Brennan also scored for the Leafs, who are tied for last in the NHL with 67 points. Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves.

Twenty-year-old center Frederik Gauthier had perhaps the best early chance, finding some room in the slot area before missing high and wide with what would have been his first NHL goal and point.

Playing alongside veterans Brooks Laich and Michael Grabner, Gauthier drew top matchup duties for the game with Leafs top center Nazem Kadri serving the first game of a season-ending four-game suspension. Gauthier and his senior linemates were tested against Florida's powerful top line of Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Huberdeau and Barkov.

The unit wore Toronto out at points early, grinding and cycling pucks in the Leafs zone. One such instance actually sprung a quality chance for the home side when Grabner and Laich raced in for an odd-man rush — Montoya stopped Grabner's shot comfortably.

Among the bigger teams in the league, the Panthers caused problems that way for the Leafs, who were dressing a number of players in their earliest NHL days, including Gauthier and 19-year-olds William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen.

Grimaldi scored his first of the game on a blazing rush down the left side. The California native fired a high shot far side that whistled past the reaching glove of Bernier. He added his second of the game shortly after, one-timing Reilly Smith's pass through Bernier's pads.

The puck was turned over moments earlier by Kapanen. Shots in the period favored Florida 14-1 at that point.

"We're trying to get as many points and try and play as well as we can going in and see what happens," Florida head coach Gerard Gallant said. "It's good to get the home-ice clinched tonight and the next goal is to try and get first in the division."

NOTES: Florida got its 45th victory this season, increasing the franchise record for wins. ... Kadri was also docked $200,000 for his four-game suspension, which came after he cross-checked Red Wings center Luke Glendening on Saturday. He was replaced in the Leafs lineup by veteran

Rich Clune, who was recently serving as captain of the team's AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

Palm Beach Post LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008603 Los Angeles Kings

Fifth straight road loss hurts Kings bid for first-round home ice

Lisa Dillman

Their third-period woes simply relocated for the night, shifting to the last five minutes of the second period.

The Kings gave up two goals in that span and couldn't get one past Canucks goalie Ryan Miller for the equalizer in the third period. Vancouver managed to protect its lead and beat the Kings, 3-2, on Monday at Rogers Arena, handing them their fifth straight loss on the road.

All this adds up to an increasing concern on two fronts for the Kings: hanging on to home ice in the first round of the playoffs and finding a higher level in time for the postseason. They've lost six of their last eight games.

They have three games remaining in the regular season to try to solve those issues. There's also this: Steady defenseman Alec Martinez, who is on the trip, missed the game because of an unspecified injury and is considered day to day.

They've been playing leapfrog with the Ducks for the last few days at the top of the Pacific Division. The Kings trail the first-place Ducks by a point and are trying to hold off the third-place Sharks, who are three points behind them and also have three games left. The Ducks have four left.

The Kings had built a 2-1 lead Monday on a first-period goal by Tyler Toffoli and a second-period effort by winger Kyle Clifford. Toffoli's goal was his 30th goal of the season, making him the first Kings player to hit the 30-goal mark since Anze Kopitar had 34 in the 2009-10 season.

This one turned late in the second period via a combination of ill-advised penalties and a costly giveaway by Kings captain Dustin Brown, leading to Jared McCann's go-ahead goal, an unassisted breakaway with 33 seconds left in the period.

Earlier, the Canucks tied it, 2-2, with 4:38 left in the second, as Jannik Hansen scored on a two-man advantage.

Kings center Vinny Lecavalier had gone off for slashing Daniel Sedin and Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb followed him to the box after getting called for an illegal check to the head of Alexandre Burrows.

The Kings were opportunistic and pushed hard in the third period, outshooting the Canucks, 20-6. They had 42 shots on goa, in all.

“We had enough opportunities,” Kopitar said. “We've just got to score. That's just the bottom line. Tonight we had a good start. We get one and we're doing just enough to let them hang around and they get a couple of opportunities and they score.

“The next thing you know we're behind and we're chasing the lead and we all know that's not the way to go.”

Will and determination are not the issues, he said.

The MVP choice here is Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks

“The effort is there,” Kopitar said. “It's not like the guys are not trying hard. We've got to play smarter, a little bit tighter . . . check better and not give them opportunities off our mistakes.

“It's more execution than anything else. It's just too much sloppy play on our part. Just some penalties we just can't take and put ourselves where we have to kill a minute and a half of five on three.”

Kings Coach Darryl Sutter accepted some accountability over what has transpired the last couple of weeks.

“We've got to get the top guys firing for sure, that's my job and their responsibility,” he said. “Our top guys are our captains and our best players and I think other than Jeff [Carter] and [Milan Lucic] and Tyler [Toffoli], they have played really well, but our other tops guys have not played very well since we [clinched] a playoff spot.”

Toffoli downplayed his personal accomplishment, saying: “It's whatever. As a team we're not playing the right way and we want to be winning right now.”

What we learned from the last week of play in the NHL

NEXT UP

KINGS AT CALGARY FLAMES

When: Tuesday, 6 p.m. PDT

Where: Scotiabank Saddledome

On the air: TV: Channel 13; Radio: 790.

Update: The Flames' Johnny Gaudreau, the kid known as Johnny Hockey, found the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career, hitting the big number on Saturday against Edmonton. Goalie Joni Ortio is expected to get the start against the Kings



The MVP choice here is Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks

Helene Elliott

This is the final weekly NHL column this season, which means it's time to pick the winners of the major regular-season awards. The envelopes, please:

Hart trophy (MVP): Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks. Runners-up: Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals; Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars; Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks.

Kane has been the most consistent player on a good but oddly inconsistent team and is the NHL's only 100-point scorer, no small feat. Holtby's sustained excellence is the backbone of the Capitals' success and he's one win from tying Martin Brodeur's single-season record of 48. Benn (41 goals, 88 points) is a force for the West leaders. Thornton (18 goals, 78 points) is a key reason the Sharks will return to the playoffs.

Vezina (best goaltender): Holtby. Runners-up: Corey Crawford, Chicago; Jonathan Quick, Kings.

In addition to leading the league in wins, Holtby has a 2.17 goals-against average and .923 save percentage, ranking among the leaders. Crawford (2.32, .926), sidelined because of a suspected concussion, has steadied the Blackhawks through their stumbles. Quick (2.21, .919 before Monday's game) is considered better in the playoffs than the regular season, but he's second in wins despite playing for a low-scoring team that puts him under constant pressure.

Norris (best defenseman): Drew Doughty, Kings. Runners-up: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators; Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins.

Karlsson has astounding numbers — a league-leading 64 assists and 79 points — but let's keep the "defense" in defenseman. Doughty plays heavy minutes against opponents' top scorers, kills penalties (Karlsson doesn't), is among the leaders in minutes played and plus/minus, and thrives in physical games. Maybe Karlsson should be classified a rover, not a defenseman. Letang (64 points) is solid at both ends and has been a catalyst for the surging Penguins.

Calder (rookie of the year): Artemi Panarin, Chicago. Runners-up: Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers; Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers; Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues.

What we learned from the last week of play in the NHL

McDavid (45 points in 43 games) would win on pure talent, but an injured collarbone sidelined him for three months. It's impossible to know if he would have maintained his scoring pace over a full season. It's tough to ignore Panarin's rookie-best 28 goals (seven game-winners) and 72 points. Gostisbehere averages nearly 20 minutes a game on defense, has 43 points (21 on the power play), and is plus-six defensively. Parayko averages more than 19 minutes' ice time, is plus-23 and has 31 points for the battered but resilient Blues.

Selke (best defensive forward): Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins. Runners-up: Anze Kopitar, Kings; Jonathan Toews, Chicago.

Three-time winner Bergeron deserves a fourth, which would tie him with Bob Gainey for most Selke wins. Kopitar is belatedly getting recognition from Eastern voters, who aren't always awake to see his two-way skills. Toews is as serious about defense as every other aspect of the game, which is very.

Adams (coach of the year): Barry Trotz, Washington. Runners-up: Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis; Bruce Boudreau, Ducks.

The Capitals were expected to be good but not this dominant. Trotz has kept them motivated and structured. Hitchcock has navigated past injuries to get the Blues battling for the Central Division title. Boudreau turned the Ducks into an efficient defensive team after off-season changes disrupted their offensive chemistry. They're scoring now, and still solid defensively.

Kings face three non-playoff teams in the final week, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy

Farewell to Rexall Place

In its glory days, the arena then known as the Northlands Coliseum was home to some of hockey's greatest players. But time marches on and owners discovered they can make big bucks on luxury suites and other

amenities, and so the Oilers will play their final game at Rexall Place on Wednesday.

The Oilers' new downtown arena, Rogers Place, will have more restrooms and high-tech features, but it can't duplicate the memories of Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey and others growing up together to become one of the NHL's dynasties.

A personal recollection: leaving the building after one of the Oilers' five Stanley Cup championships and watching in horror as a friend of Gretzky's tried to stuff the Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy into the too-small trunk of Gretzky's car. After several failed attempts, the Smythe was spared further indignity by being placed in the back seat, and Gretzky left to celebrate.

Slap shots

• The Penguins will enter the playoffs hot — they've won six in a row and 12 of 13 — but they're without forward Evgeni Malkin (upper-body injury) and probably will open without goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who's recovering from his second concussion this season. Rookie Matt Murray is 7-2-1 with a 1.88 goals-against average and .933 save percentage, but can he continue to play at that level?

• R.I.P former NHL referee Ron Wicks, who died of liver cancer last week at 75. He officiated in five Stanley Cup finals and more than 1,400 regular-season games.

• Linesmen Brad Lazarowich (1,971 games) and Andy McElman (1,500 games) worked their final assignments Sunday before retiring. Referee Greg Kimmerly also exited Saturday, after 1,138 games.

• Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith was fortunate he was suspended only six games — including the playoff opener — for swinging his stick at the face of Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle. It's no excuse that Coyle had upended him before that. Keith, who didn't appeal the decision, acknowledged that it was a dangerous play and apologized to Coyle.



APRIL 4 MORNING SKATE QUOTES: DARRYL SUTTER

Posted by JonRosen

On Alec Martinez’s status:

You’re going to get nothing from the coaching staff for the rest of the year until September about the status regarding players. It’s not a good idea for coaches to relay messages through the media to the other team. [Reporter: If he weren’t to play, what confidence do you have in Jamie McBain after not playing for so long?] He’s played really well for us this year, and we’ve used 11 or 12 defensemen, and very seldom do you make the playoffs or go play after the tulips are up without using that many.

On newcomers Nic Dowd and Kevin Gravel:

They’ve been in the organization for two years. They won a Calder Cup last year. They’re both here to watch and learn. It’s an advantage you have after the deadline if you have salary cap room to see if players can put their foot on the right pedal at this level.

On what makes Jamie McBain effective after missing long stretches:

We haven’t done that yet this year, so I don’t know. I don’t know how many games since he’s played, but I wouldn’t think it had been that stretch before.

On the team’s recent play:

Yeah, I think we’ve had a little bit of trouble on the road after we clinched. I think we had, where was it, the Dallas-Chicago back-to-back where we had high-scoring games that we won, and then since then on the road we haven’t played as well as we would’ve liked, but you know what? At the same time, our goals were to make the playoffs as quick as you could – [and] only Washington did it ahead of us – and finish in the top-five in goals against, and we’re going to do that. So that was our goal coming into the season. We’ve done that.

On the challenge of finishing first in the division:

I think if you make the playoffs as quick as you can, you know what? I can remember all the times I’ve won divisions, but I can’t remember what years they were. I can remember other years where you play in finals and play in conference finals and win cups way more than that. When you’re trying to get to the playoffs as quick as you can, then that always gives you a chance at a division title, and that’s the same. It is.

On whether he wants to have regularity in lines in advance of the playoffs:

I would think that the schedule, the injuries, all that comes into it so much. There’s very continuity in anybody’s lineups. If you look at ours the last two or three weeks, we’ve had a lot of different players and a lot of different lineups.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 04.05.2016


GOOD MORNING, VANCOUVER

Posted by JonRosen

Good morning, Insiders, and good morning, super, natural British Columbia.

Ah, yes. The end-of-season Western Canada trip. Every full season since 2010-11, the Kings have traveled to play at least two teams from the Canucks/Oilers/Flames rodeo during either the final or penultimate week of the season. Last year, this trip did not end well for the team. Two years ago, the team was 1-1-1 but showed a good spark in coming back from a 3-0 deficit to Calgary to earn a point in a shootout loss in a game that featured a nifty Anze Kopitar goal. Ultimately, L.A. finished 11 points behind San Jose and 12 points up on fourth-place Phoenix, so there wasn’t a ton that could have been earned over the final week of the season. If you’d like more excerpts of semi-meaningful regular season games, you know where to find me.

It was a quiet, uneventful flight up the coast yesterday, and that’s fine. Please let every flight be “without event.” As we deplaned and handed our customs cards to the border services agents, we emerged to be greeted by… partly sunny skies? Warmth? On the Lower Mainland?

When it is sunny, the Pacific Northwest is among the greatest places on the planet, and this Portlandia clip is dead-on accurate. Living in Seattle, I learned that it rarely “rains heavily,” but rather “drizzles steadily.” Southern Californians have no concept of this. Constantly changing windshield wiper speeds gets tiresome. There is no such thing as “spring,” but rather a slightly warmer extension of the dreary, overcast weather that generally runs until July 4.

When we left dinner last night, it was raining lightly. ¯ \_(ツ)_/¯

The Kings are scheduled to skate at 11:30 a.m. this morning. There’s more to come from Rogers Arena, Insiders. Have a good Monday.



APRIL 4 POSTGAME NOTES

APRIL 4, 2016 11:59 PM

Posted by JonRosen on April 4, 2016

-With the loss, Los Angeles fell to 105-99-36 all-time against Vancouver, a record that includes an away mark of 41-60-18. The Kings went 3-2-0 against the Canucks in 2015-16, winning the season series for the third consecutive year.

-Los Angeles fell to 26-19-2 against the Western Conference and 16-11-0 against the Pacific Division.

-In the race for the Jennings Trophy, Washington leads with 182 goals allowed (in 78 games played). Following the Capitals are the Ducks (185 GA / 78 GP), Kings (186 GA / 79 GP) and Lightning (191 GA / 79 GP).

-Los Angeles is 2-6-0 in its last eight games and has been outscored 26-19.

-With his 30th goal of the season, Tyler Toffoli became the first King to score 30 goals in a season since Anze Kopitar’s 34 goals in 2009-10. With a +1 rating, Toffoli moved past Kopitar for sole possession of the league lead with a +34 rating. Kopitar finished even on the night.

-In 34 games since January 24, Drew Doughty has seven goals, 26 points and a +12 rating. By playing his 603rd career game, he moved within one game of Jay Wells (604 GP) for fourth place in club history amongst defensemen.

-Jeff Carter has nine points (5-4=9) in the last six games.

-Darryl Sutter coached his 1,200th NHL game, becoming the 15th coach in NHL history to do so.

-Jamie McBain returned to the lineup aftern an 18-game absence and finished with four shots on goal, one hit and a plus-one rating in 13:43 of ice time.

-Los Angeles recorded 71 shot attempts (42 on goal, 19 blocked, 10 missed). Vancouver recorded 38 shot attempts (24 on goal, 8 blocked, 6 missed). Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter finished with a game-high six shots on goal, while Doughty (6 on goal, 2 missed) led all skaters with eight shot attempts. Despite the heavy possession advantage, L.A. still recorded 26 hits to Vancouver’s 20.

-The Kings won 36-of-57 faceoffs (63%). Among regular performers, Anze Kopitar won 10-of-17, Andy Andreoff won 1-of-1, Trevor Lewis won 3-of-5, Vincent Lecavalier won 8-of-11 and Jeff Carter won 13-of-22.



APRIL 4 POSTGAME QUOTES: DARRYL SUTTER

APRIL 4, 2016 10:45 PM

Posted by JonRosen

On whether there was anything specific that led to the late-period goals against:

No, there were veterans out on the ice that should be able to handle that situation, if you look at the guys who were out there. The first one was coverage by our D and centerman, and the second one in the last minute was basically passing the puck.

On the mindset of starting playoffs after a “difficult” stretch of hockey:

Got to get your top guys … for sure, that’s my job, and that’s their responsibility. Our top guys are our captains and our best players, and I think out of Jeff and Looch and Tyler, I think they played really well tonight. I think that our other top guys have not played very well since we got a playoff spot.

On whether he has confidence that top players will be able to “turn it on”:

Yeah, of course you do. I’ve said it lots of times, when you figure out that the regular season is now the first round of the playoffs, and the second round starts the 12th of April.



APRIL 4 POSTGAME QUOTES: TOFFOLI, KOPITAR

APRIL 4, 2016 10:42 PM

Posted by Alex Kinkopf

Tyler Toffoli, on reaching the 30-goal mark:

It’s whatever. As a team we’re not playing the right way and we want to be winning right now.

Toffoli, on where the team’s frustration lies:

Just little breakdowns, not scoring big goals. Myself, I had a breakaway and I could have put them in a 2-0 hole early in the game and I didn’t capitalize, and they stuck around and they beat us.

Toffoli, on letting teams hang around, not finishing:

Scoring big goals isn’t scoring a goal with a minute left to win the game, it’s scoring two-three goals in the first period, putting them down, giving them a hard time to come back.

Toffoli, on if the team takes solace on doing everything in the third period but score:

You can’t win games if you’re not playing a full 60 minutes; Quickie’s been standing on his head, giving us every single chance to win, and we’re having breakdowns and they’re scoring, it’s not the right way.

Anze Kopitar, on the game:

I think we had enough opportunities, we’ve got to score, that’s the bottom line. I think tonight, we have a good start, we get one, and then doing just enough to let them hang around, and they get a couple opportunities and they score, and then the next thing you know we’re behind and we’re chasing the lead, we all know that’s not the way to go. The effort’s there, it’s not like the guys aren’t trying hard, we’ve got to play smarter obviously, play a little bit tighter, and just check better and not give them opportunities off of our own mistakes.

Kopitar, on if he feels the team’s urgency is where it should be, or if it’s more about execution:

I think it’s more about execution than anything else, I think it was just too much sloppy play on our part, some penalties that we just can’t take, and we put ourselves in a position where we’ve got to kill – what was it, a minute and a half of 5-on-3. Teams obviously have good players, it doesn’t matter if they’re in the playoffs or not, they’re going to make plays, especially on a 5-on-3, obviously that hurt us tonight.

Kopitar, on if the concern is directed more toward the standings or how the team is playing:

Obviously you want to finish first, definitely, but it’s not necessarily always about wins and losses either, obviously you want to win as much as you can too, but you’ve got to know that your game is where it needs to be going into the playoffs, and right now we’re just short of that, but we still have three games remaining here to sharpen up and put it in place in an order we want it to be.



GAME #79: LOS ANGELES AT VANCOUVER

Posted by Alex Kinkopf

APRIL 4, 2016 7:26 PM

Next: April 4 postgame quotes: Toffoli, KopitarPrevious: Game 79 Preview: Los Angeles at Vancouver

Vancouver Canucks 3, Los Angeles Kings 2

Final

Radio Feed

LA Kings Insider Preview

Boxscore

Ice Tracker

SOG: LAK – 42; VAN – 24

PP: LAK – 0/2; VAN – 1/4

First Period

1) LAK – Tyler Toffoli (30) (Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty), 6:00

2) VAN – Emerson Etem (5) (Derek Dorsett, Bo Horvat), 19:47

Second Period

3) LAK – Kyle Clifford (3) (Andy Andreoff), 9:15

4) VAN – Jannik Hansen PPG (21) (Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin), 15:22

5) VAN – Jared McCann (9) (Unassisted), 19:27

Los Angeles Kings (46-27-5) at Vancouver Canucks (29-36-13)

Monday, April 4, 2016, 7:00 p.m. PT

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

Referees: #31 Trevor Hanson, #34 Brad Meier

Linesmen: #58 Ryan Gibbons, #79 Kiel Murchison

Prime Ticket, KABC 790 AM, I Heart Radio

LAK starters: G Jonathan Quick, D Jake Muzzin, D Luke Schenn, LW Tanner Pearson, C Anze Kopitar, RW Kris Versteeg

LAK scratches: D Kevin Gravel, D Alec Martinez, F Nick Shore, F Nic Dowd

VAN starters: G Ryan Miller, D Ben Hutton, D Nikita Tryamkin, LW Daniel Sedin, C Henrik Sedin, RW Jannik Hansen

VAN scratches: D Luca Sbisa, D Yannick Weber, F Linden Vey, F Radim Vrbata, F Chris Higgins, F Sven Baertschi



GAME 79 PREVIEW: LOS ANGELES AT VANCOUVER

Posted by JonRosen

APRIL 4, 2016 5:29 PM

Next: Game #79: Los Angeles at VancouverPrevious: Muzzin, McBain describe tonight’s focus

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Los Angeles Kings (46-27-5) vs Vancouver Canucks (29-36-13)

Monday, April 4, 2016, 7:00 p.m. PT

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

Referees: #34 Brad Meier, #31 Trevor Hanson

Linesmen: #79 Kiel Murchison, #58 Ryan Gibbons

FOX Sports West, KABC 790 AM, I Heart Radio

Los Angeles Kings v Vancouver Canucks

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Jonathan Quick

2015-16: 65 GP (65 GS) / 39-22-4 record / 2.21 GAA / .919 Sv% / 5 SHO

Career vs Vancouver: 30 (30) / 15-13-2 / 1.62 / .939 / 3

Last Game vs Vancouver: 3/7/16 / 60 MP / 21-22 shots / 5-1 W

2015-16, Away: 28 (28) / 16-10-2 / 2.18 / .928 / 3

Vancouver Projected Starting Goaltender – Ryan Miller

2015-16: 49 GP (49 GS) / 16-23-9 record / 2.63 GAA / .917 Sv% / 1 SHO

Career vs Los Angeles: 12 (11) / 6-4-1 / 2.53 / .924 / 2

Last Game vs Los Angeles: 3/7/16 / 58 MP / 24-28 shots / 1-5 L

2015-16, Home: 25 (25) / 8-13-4 / 2.46 / .922 / 0

2015-16 Los Angeles Leaders

Total Points: Anze Kopitar (25-45=70)

Goals: Tyler Toffoli (29-26=55)

Assists: Anze Kopitar (25-45=70)

Plus/Minus: Tyler Toffoli (+33; 29-26=55)

Penalty Minutes: Brayden McNabb (90; 2-11=13)

Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (27:59; 14-35=49)

Corsi-For Percentage: Nick Shore (60.9%; 3-7=10)

2015-16 Vancouver Leaders

Total Points: Daniel Sedin (28-32=60)

Goals: Daniel Sedin (28-32=60)

Assists: Henrik Sedin (11-42=53)

Plus/Minus: Jannik Hansen (+17; 20-16=36)

Penalty Minutes: Derek Dorsett (160; 4-8=12)

Time On Ice: Alex Edler (24:27; 6-14=20)*

Corsi-For Percentage: Jake Virtanen (51.2%; 7-6=13)

*On injured reserve; active leader is Chris Tanev (21:53; 4-13=17)


Rankings and Statistics

Goals/Game: LAK – t-13 / 2.71; VAN – 29 / 2.24

Goals Against/Game: LAK – t-2 / 2.32; VAN – 21 / 2.83

Power Play: LAK – 8 / 20.7%; VAN – 27 / 16.0%

Penalty Kill: LAK – t-15 / 81.2%; VAN – 10 / 82.2%

Shots/Game: LAK – 3 / 32.0; VAN – t-27 / 28.3

Shots Against/Game: LAK – 5 / 27.6; VAN – 28 / 32.1

Faceoffs: LAK – 13 / 50.3%; VAN – 30 / 45.2%

Save Percentage: LAK – t-8 / .916; VAN – 15 / .912

Corsi-for Percentage: LAK – 1 / 56.1% / VAN – 26 / 47.2%


Los Angeles Projected Lines

Tanner Pearson – Anze Kopitar – Kris Versteeg

Milan Lucic – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli

Dwight King – Vincent Lecavalier – Dustin Brown

Kyle Clifford – Trevor Lewis – Andy Andreoff

Brayden McNabb – Drew Doughty

Jake Muzzin – Luke Schenn

Rob Scuderi – Jamie McBain

Jonathan Quick

Jhonas Enroth

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 105-98-36 all-time against Vancouver, a record that includes an away mark of 41-59-18. The Kings are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games against the Canucks and with a record of 3-1-0 this season have clinched a victory in the season series for the third consecutive year. … Los Angeles is 26-18-2 against the Western Conference and 16-10-0 against the Pacific Division. … In the race for the Jennings Trophy, Washington leads with 182 goals allowed (in 78 games played). Following the Capitals are the Kings (183 GA / 78 GP), Ducks (185 GA / 78 GP) and Lightning (186 GA / 78 GP). … Los Angeles is 2-5-0 in its last seven games, having been outscored 23-17. … Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli are tied for the league lead with +33 ratings. With 29 goals, Toffoli is one goal from becoming the first King with 30 goals in a season since Kopitar scored 34 in 2009-10. … In 33 games since January 24, Drew Doughty has seven goals, 25 points and a +12 rating. By playing his 603rd career game tonight, he will move within one game of Jay Wells (604 GP) for fourth place in club history amongst defensemen. … Jeff Carter has eight points (5-3=8) in the last five games. … With 39 wins, Jonathan Quick is one win from surpassing his career-high and the Kings’ record of wins in a single season by a goaltender. … With his 34 assists, Milan Lucic is one assist shy of his career-high of 35 (twice; last: 2013-14). … With 31 assists, Jake Muzzin is one assist from surpassing his career-high, set in 2014-15. … Darryl Sutter will coach his 1,200th NHL game tonight, becoming the 15th coach in NHL history to do so.


Vancouver Projected Lines

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Jannik Hansen

Derek Dorsett – Bo Horvat – Emerson Etem

Jared McCann – Markus Granlund – Jake Virtanen

Andrey Pedan – Brendan Gaunce – Alex Burrows

Dan Hamhuis – Chris Tanev

Ben Hutton – Nikita Tryamkin

Matt Bartkowski – Alex Biega

Ryan Miller

Jacob Markstrom

Notes and milestones: Vancouver is expected to be without Sven Baertschi (lower body), Chris Higgins (lower body), Linden Vey (upper body), Alex Edler (leg), Brandon Sutter (jaw) and Luca Sbisa (upper-body). … Jannik Hansen has set a career-high with 20 goals, while his 18.3% shooting percentage ranks sixth in the league. … Dan Hamhuis was the Canucks’ Masterton Trophy nominee. Since its inception in 1968, no Canucks player has been awarded the trophy. … Defenseman Ben Hutton ranks sixth amongst league rookies with a time on ice average of 19:45. He is tied for ninth amongst rookies with 22 assists. … Derek Dorsett ranks second in the league with 160 penalty minutes. … Vancouver has had nine different players make NHL debuts this season (McCann, Virtanen, Hutton, Gaunce, Shinkaruk, Grenier, Pedan, Friesen and Tryamkin). The last season in which eight or more players debuted

for the Canucks was 1999-00. … The Canucks are 24-2-3 when holding their opponent to two or fewer goals.




MUZZIN, MCBAIN DESCRIBE TONIGHT’S FOCUS

APRIL 4, 2016 3:46 PM


The Kings face the Vancouver Canucks tonight (7:00 p.m. / FOX Sports West / KABC 790 / I Heart Radio) having lost five of their last seven games in regulation and without the services of versatile defenseman Alec Martinez. For a read on tonight’s game, I spoke with Jake Muzzin and joined a media scrum around Jamie McBain. Their thoughts in advance of an important divisional match-up are below.

Jake Muzzin, on the team’s recent play:

Obviously we aren’t happy with how we have been playing. We are giving up way too many chances, goals, [and] kind of lost a little jam in our game and we have to get it back these last four games heading into the playoffs. We still have lots to play for, we still want to get first in the division, and push for that. Every game coming in now, we are looking at as must-win games.

Muzzin, on whether the final week of the season provides a “jolt” to improve play:

With how we have played, I think it is very crucial that we get back to playing well. Whether it be the last week of the season or whatever the situation may be, we need to get back to playing good hockey. It just so happens that it’s the last week of the season and we have four games left. It’s a good time for us to start rolling and we will look for a good game tonight.

Muzzin, on trying to end the recent slump:

We have been trying to look at some things. Personally, I was not playing well and I need to improve on the D-zone, shutting plays off and making good plays with the puck. I think we can all do a little bit better job of that and that goes a long way with our team.

On adjustments playing with Luke Schenn as opposed to Alec Martinez:

It changes a little bit. Obviously he is a righty, Marty is a lefty, so there is that. He is a big body and likes to play physical, so look to get in and play off that a little bit. Marty is a physical D as well, but maybe a little bit more mobile in the back end. Just looking to play a solid game and we are going to need that tonight. [Reporter: Knowing that, is that something you cognizantly think of, shift-by-shift, when you’re on the ice? Or does that come naturally knowing that you have a right-shot partner?] You think about it a little bit. D-to-D, neutral zone, on the point, behind the net he is a righty, not a lefty so you don’t think about it, you just know now that he is a righty. Maybe you do think about it a little bit, but not too much.

Jamie McBain, on staying game ready when he has been out of the lineup:

There isn’t really an easy way to do it. There is nothing like that can really compare to a game. Our trainers and coaches do a great job making sure off the ice that we are doing the right things and keeping our self in shape and on the ice making sure we are doing everything we can to kind of simulate the games and make sure that if my name is ever called then I am ready to go. So I feel comfortable and I am ready to go.

McBain, on the mental challenges of not playing:

It definitely is [a mental challenge]. I am honored to be a part of this group and whether I am playing or not it is a fun group to be around and it’s a culture that is exciting. Like I said, the coaches do a great job and I try and make sure I do the best job I can so if my name is called I am ready to go and I feel like I have done that.

McBain, on whether it’s easier to come back into a system that is so structured:

It’s definitely part of the culture and part of the systems that are run here and the expectation with everyone. It’s a five-man game all over the ice, and I think for guys to come back in and out of the lineup it makes it a lot easier just because you know where everyone is going to be, you know the structure, you know the system and you kind of fit right back in.

McBain, on the importance of getting into a game before the playoffs:

It’s that time of year, every point matters. We are neck and neck with Anaheim and battling back and forth and we have the big game coming up there. Everything is about preparing yourselves so that when the

playoffs do roll around everyone is going on their top cylinder and we are ready to go.



APRIL 4 MORNING SKATE NOTES; MARTINEZ DAY-TO-DAY


APRIL 4, 2016 2:34 PM

Good afternoon from the team hotel in sunny Vancouver. The Kings held a morning skate at Rogers Arena and aligned as such:

Pearson-Kopitar-Versteeg

Lucic-Carter-Toffoli

King-Lecavalier-Brown

Clifford-Lewis-Andreoff

Shore-Dowd

McNabb-Doughty

Muzzin-Schenn

Scuderi-McBain

Gravel

-Alec Martinez did not skate with the team and is “day-to-day,” according to hockey operations. It was expected that a defenseman could be questionable tonight given the Gravel recall yesterday and the word that there were a few “bang-ups” on the blue line; that defenseman is Martinez. Don’t expect him to play against Vancouver, though that he is of the “day-to-day” designation and traveled with the team on the trip is an indication that his bang-up isn’t severe.

Re Martinez – status is day to day

Me : Versteeg day to day or real day to day

Am told it is the latter

— lisa dillman (@reallisa) April 4, 2016

I may come up with a “Level Of Alarm Meter” over the summer. It would range from 1-10 on how concerned you should be over a particular development such as injury, rule changes, salary cap fluctuation or any other variable that could affect NHL teams to different degrees. If it were in place today, the Level Of Alarm would be fairly low, as Martinez traveled and is of the “day-to-day” designation. Unfortunately for the versatile defenseman, though, he won’t have a shot at perfect attendance. Along with Jake Muzzin, Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown and Tyler Toffoli, he is one of five players to have played in every game to this point.

-Jamie McBain, come on down. The puck-moving offensive catalyst hasn’t played since a four-game stretch against St. Louis, Nashville, Calgary and Edmonton – the team was 3-0-1 in those games – from February 18-25. His ice times in those games were 7:52, 7:15, 10:29 and 8:41. McBain fully acknowledges and accepts his role, though, and in meetings I’ve had with hockey operations, that understanding has earned him appreciation from his teammates, coaches and team executives. It’s not an easy role to serve; he hadn’t played in the last 18 games.

“It definitely is [a mental challenge],” McBain said of going stretches without playing. “I am honored to be a part of this group and whether I am playing or not it is a fun group to be around and it’s a culture that is exciting. Like I said, the coaches do a great job and I try and make sure I do the best job I can so if my name is called I am ready to go, and I feel like I have done that.”

-Jonathan Quick was the first goaltender to leave the ice and will start against the Canucks, as expected. Nick Shore, Nic Dowd and Kevin Gravel remained on the ice for extra work with Jhonas Enroth, so they’re most likely out of the lineup tonight.

-There are teams with injuries, and then there are teams that have so many injuries that it’s difficult to build regularity and consistency on a night-to-night basis. Vancouver is in the latter group. They’ll be without Sven Baertschi (lower body), Chris Higgins (lower body) and Linden Vey (upper body), all of whom did not practice yesterday, as well as Alex Edler (leg), Brandon Sutter (jaw) and Luca Sbisa (upper-body). Defenseman Andrey Pedan, who made his NHL debut in Los Angeles as a forward earlier this season, will again shift up front in a versatile move, while Jared McCann will shift from center to wing. Derek Dorsett

(undisclosed) is expected to return. Canucks lines are expected to be D.Sedin-H.Sedin-Hansen, Dorsett-Horvat-Etem, McCann-Granlund-Virtanen and Pedan-Gaunce-Burrows up front, with defensive pairs of Hamhuis-Tanev, Hutton-Tryamkin and Bartkowski-Biega. Ryan Miller is expected to start in net.


1008614 Minnesota Wild

Jared Spurgeon returns to ice, could play Tuesday vs. San Jose

By Kent Youngblood APRIL 4, 2016 — 2:52PM

After a stretch of three games in four days, the Wild had an optional skate today.

It was lightly attended: Goalie Darcy Kuemper and skaters David Jones, Justin Fontaine, Ryan Carter, Chris Porter, Mike Reilly, Jordan Schroeder, Nate Prosser…

…and defenseman Jared Spurgeon.

That last name is probably the most important one. Spurgeon has been out with a lower body injury since blocking a Bobby Ryan shot just minutes into the Wild’s loss to Ottawa last Thursday. He missed the rest of that game and the following two games against Detroit and Winnipeg, both losses.

Today was the first time Spurgeon had skated since the injury. He did some work on his own before practice, then was on the ice for the optional. “I’ll take it day-by-day,” he said. “It was nice to get back out there. Hopefully it responds well, and then I’ll go again [Tuesday] morning.’’

Coach John Torchetti said it was possible Spurgeon would play. The Wild will see how Spurgeon responds to skating today and how he feels after the morning skate Tuesday. One thing Torchetti made clear: If Spurgeon can go, he will. There will be no waiting for him to get a full practice in first. “We missed him a lot,” Torchetti said. “For one he’s a great competitor. He makes a good first pass. He’s a great skater, smart in the offensive zone, great in the neutral zone. He makes really good decisions.’’

Meanwhile, Thomas Vanek did not skate. He remains classified as day-to-day but will not play Tuesday, Torchetti said.

Torchetti said he and the team went through a pretty comprehensive film review today, with the goal of getting the team back playing the way it did when it won six straight games. Torchetti seemed a bit frustrated with his team’s up-and-down play, which is understandable.This is the second three-game losing streak the Wild has had since Torchetti took over.

“We want to play the game the right way,” he said. “We haven’t got what we wanted in the last three. We had success when we won six in a row. We talked about that today, doing things the right way, and doing ‘em for 60 minutes. Not trying to do it the shortcut way.’’

And if having to tell a team that message yet again on the day before game No. 81 sounds like frustrating business, it is. “It’s frustrating to everybody,” Torchetti said. “When things are going right, it’s an easier game, when everyone’s playing the right way. But, then, when you have one or two or three that want to go the other way, then we have to get back on track.’’

It appears that’s a message Torchetti has been stressing since Sunday’s 5-1 loss in Winnipeg; when asked if the team got the message today, Torchetti said, “Yeah, I think they got it yesterday.’’

That’s about all for now. Mr. Russo will be back in action tomorrow.

Michael Russo

Star Tribune LOADED: 04.05.2016


Prodigal Stars could be playoff foe for Wild

By Michael Rand Star Tribune

April 4, 2016 — 9:59pm

Even as the Wild stumbles down the stretch of an inconsistent season, it is a near-certainty Minnesota will make the playoffs. And if that happens, there is a pretty decent chance the Wild’s first-round opponent will be one that can energize even the most frustrated fan: the Dallas Stars.

If that happens, it would mark the first playoff meeting against the franchise that left Minnesota more than two decades ago — a move that ripped a hole in the hearts of many local hockey fans. It made me curious how often such playoff meetings have happened in the history of major U.S. pro sports. I came up with seven such clashes between teams throughout the history of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, with at least one instance in each sport. Here are the seven I found:

NHL: The franchise once known as the Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey and became the Devils in 1982. But Colorado regained a franchise when the Quebec Nordiques became the Avalanche in 1995. The Avs and Devils ended up meeting in the 2001 Stanley Cup Final — with Colorado getting revenge for the lost franchise when it defeated New Jersey in seven games to win the Cup.

NBA: The Lakers left Minneapolis in 1960 for Los Angeles, meaning you can put a little asterisk next to this one. Still, it fits the criteria: The Timberwolves, who came into existence in 1989, faced the Lakers in the 2003 and 2004 NBA playoffs. Those happen to be the last two seasons the Wolves have qualified for the postseason. In both cases, the Lakers prevailed — including 2004, when they knocked the Wolves out in the Western Conference finals.

The other NBA case is interesting as well: The Philadelphia Warriors relocated to Golden State before the 1962-63 season, and Philadelphia regained a franchise when Syracuse became the 76ers in 1963-64. The 76ers and Warriors met a few years later in the 1967 NBA Finals. The series featured six future Hall of Famers, including Wilt Chamberlain for the 76ers. Philadelphia won the series in six games.

NFL: How’s this for revenge? The Rams moved from Cleveland to Los Angeles in 1946. In 1950, Cleveland gained the Browns. And in three of the Browns’ first six seasons, they faced the Rams with the NFL championship on the line. Cleveland won twice, while Los Angeles won once.

The other case is another three-time meeting, this one more recent and perhaps with the most parallels to a possible Wild/Stars matchup in terms of bitterness. The Colts relocated from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984, leaving many Baltimore fans angry. Baltimore regained a franchise with the Ravens in 1996, and the teams have met in the playoffs three times. The Colts won the first two after the 2006 and 2009 season, but the Ravens won the third in 2012 on the way to winning a Super Bowl.

MLB: The A’s left Kansas City for Oakland after the 1967 season. Two years later, in 1969, the Royals began play in Kansas City. The A’s and Royals have met in the postseason twice since then: 1981, when the A’s won, and 2014, when Kansas City beat Oakland in the one-game wild-card playoff.

And finally, the Giants left New York for San Francisco in 1958. Four years later, New York regained the Mets. Those teams met in the 2000 NLDS, with the Mets prevailing.



Wild takes on the task of rediscovering its game

By Kent Youngblood Star Tribune

April 4, 2016 — 11:53pm

Monday’s Wild practice was optional, and lightly attended. But the pre-practice film review? That played to a full house.

The Wild is all but assured of a spot in the playoffs. With two games left, it is five points ahead of Colorado, which has three games remaining, for the final Western Conference berth. That means a victory by the Wild clinches a playoff spot. The next opportunity is Tuesday against San Jose at Xcel Energy Center.

But the message interim coach John Torchetti gave the players Monday was to worry about the way they play and let the rest take care of itself. In its losing streak that reached three games on Sunday night at Winnipeg, the Wild hasn’t been doing enough.

“We want to play the game the right way,” Torchetti said Monday. “We haven’t got what we wanted the last three. We had success when we won six in a row. We talked about that today, doing things the right way, and doing ’em for 60 minutes. Not trying to do it the shortcut way.’’

It is a message the fans and the players have heard a lot.

Since Torchetti took over for Mike Yeo, the Wild has ridden a roller coaster. The team won four straight, then lost three in a row. It won four more in a row, then lost four of the next five, one in overtime. Most recently there was a six-game winning streak followed by losses to Ottawa, Detroit and 5-1 in Winnipeg on Sunday.

And so if it’s frustrating to hear that message again before game No. 81, well, it’s frustrating for Torchetti, too.

“It’s frustrating to everybody,’’ he said. “When things are going right, it’s an easier game. When everyone’s playing the right way. But then, when you have one or two or three that want to go the other way, then we have to get back on track. You’ve got to show ’em, because if you just tell ’em it doesn’t work. The film helps.’’

There was a lot of talk in the locker room after the loss in Winnipeg about the need to finish the regular season strong. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk said the team would get “throttled’’ in the playoffs if it played the way it did against the Jets.

The Wild has two regular-season games left — both at home, against San Jose on Tuesday and Calgary on Saturday — to build a semblance of momentum.

“That would be ideal,” Zach Parise said. “We haven’t played that great the last three games, and we know that. We’re making mistakes we can’t be making at Game 79, 80. But we have a couple of games that can turn things around, get in [the playoffs] and feel good about the way we’re playing.’’

The talk Monday was to grab a playoff spot, not back into it.

‘’We’ve missed at least one chance to clinch,’’ Parise said. “I know right now we’re more worried about ourselves and how we’re playing. Playing the right way. … The things we’ve been doing in the last couple games, they’re fixable, they’re correctable. It’s tough to win when you’re making those mistakes.’’

Among those skating Monday was defenseman Jared Spurgeon, on the ice for the first time since being injured while blocking a shot early in the Wild’s loss to Ottawa on Thursday. There is a chance he will play Tuesday. But Torchetti ruled out Thomas Vanek.

No matter who plays, the entire team has to play better. It sounds like that’s a message Torchetti has been repeating since shortly after Sunday’s game ended. When asked if the players got his message Monday, Torchetti said, “I think they got it yesterday.”



Wild-San Jose game preview

KENT YOUNGBLOOD

April 4, 2016 — 11:52pm

7 p.m. vs. San Jose • FSN, 100.3-FM

Preview: The Wild, which has lost three consecutive games — most recently 5-1 in Winnipeg on Sunday — will try to clinch the final Western Conference playoff berth with a victory over the Sharks. San Jose has clinched a playoff spot. The Sharks, who have gone 5-5-0 in their past 10 games, entered Monday third in the Pacific Division with 94 points, three behind second-place Los Angeles and four back of first-place Anaheim. The Wild has split the season series with San Jose so far, beating the Sharks 2-0 in San Jose on Dec. 12 and losing there 4-3 om Jan. 23.

Players to WATCH: Wild C/W Mikael Granlund, who scored Minnesota’s lone goal Sunday in Winnipeg, has goals in back-to-back games and has 10 points (5-5—10) in his past 12 games. C Mikko Koivu has 10 points in the past 10 games. W Zach Parise has a three-game point streak and 11 points in his past seven games. His next goal will be the 300th of his career. G Devan Dubnyk leads the NHL in wins since Feb. 28 (11-4-1). Sharks D Brent Burns is first in goals (27) and second in points (74) among NHL defensemen. C Joe Thornton leads the Sharks with 78 points. He has points in four consecutive games (1-5—6). C Tomas Hertl had two goals in San Jose’s 3-2 shootout victory in Nashville on Saturday.

Numbers: Thursday’s loss to Ottawa ended a four-game home winning streak for Minnesota. Still, the Wild’s 21 home victories are second fewest among the top eight Western Conference teams, ahead of only San Jose’s 17. But the Sharks have gone 27-10-3 on the road this season, the most road victories in the NHL through Sunday. San Jose has won six of its past seven on the road. The Wild is 7-0-1 in its past eight home games vs. San Jose.

Injuries: D Jared Spurgeon, who practiced Monday, is questionable because of a lower-body injury. LW Thomas Vanek (upper body) is out. Sharks D Matt Tennyson (upper body), LW Matt Nieto (broken knuckle) and D Marc-Edouard Vlasic (lower body) are out.



3 straight losses haven't derail Wild's playoff push

By Chad Graff | [email protected]

April 4, 2016

When Zach Parise led the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final in his last season with New Jersey four years ago, the squad he captained entered the postseason as the hottest team in the NHL.

Winners of six straight games to close the regular season, Parise and the Devils continued their hot play, winning the Eastern Conference playoffs as the sixth seed.

That team was evidence of the importance of playing well entering the postseason, where it’s not uncommon for higher seeds to pull off upsets.

Now as Parise and the Wild prepare for their final two games of the regular season, and what they hope is a playoff berth, there’s growing concern about the Wild’s potential postseason performance after three straight losses, the latest a 5-1 whipping Sunday in Winnipeg from Jets, one of the worst teams in the NHL.

“I’ve been on teams that carry momentum into the playoffs, and I’ve seen teams that have limped in,” Parise said. “Usually it goes a lot better for the teams that are playing well and doing things the right way going in. It’s tough to just turn it on and just expect to go in and play great games when leading up to it you’re making some mistakes. We’re a better team than what we’ve been showing.”

Most confounding with the Wild are the inconsistencies that continue to plague them into the final week of the season.

The precursor to this three-game losing streak was a season-high six-game winning streak. In John Torchetti’s first three weeks as interim coach, the Wild won four games in a row, then lost three straight, then won four in a row again. So this isn’t a new phenomenon.

“It’s frustrating to everybody,” Torchetti said. “We’re not consistent now. We’ve got to get back to that.”

Before the Wild’s lightly-attended optional practice Monday, Torchetti tried to refocus his squad with a video review highlighting the mistakes that have plagued them the past three games.

“Now they’ve seen it, and now we improve on it,” Torchetti said. “They’ll be ready.”

The Wild’s play the past three games has been anything but playoff-caliber. They were been outshot the past two games and came out flat Sunday.

In those games, they’ve allowed a combined 32 high-danger scoring chances, according to war-on-ice.com, while generating 15 high-danger chances.

“It’s just mistakes that if you’re a playoff team, if you’re getting into the playoffs, it’s tough to win when you’re making those kind of mistakes,” Parise said. “We haven’t played that great the last three games, and we know that. (We’ve) just made some mistakes that we can’t be making in games 79 and 80. But we have a couple of games left (with which) we can turn things around and get in, and hopefully feel good about the way we’re playing.”

While the Wild haven’t played well in the past week, they’re still on the verge of clinching a fourth straight playoff berth. A big part of that is because the team chasing them for the Western Conference’s final spot, the Colorado Avalanche, has lost three games in a row, too.

Thanks to Colorado’s struggles, the Wild need only a win in their final two games or a regulation loss from the Avalanche to clinch a playoff spot.

Torchetti said the Wild’s five-point lead has played a role in the recent struggles.

While he has declined to answer questions about the playoffs until a postseason berth is locked up, he said his team has been too relaxed thanks to their lead over the Avs.

“They’ve been sitting on a cushion,” Torchetti said. “We’ve got to focus … and just get the job done.”

BRIEFLY

Injured defenseman Jared Spurgeon is expected to skate with teammates Tuesday morning, and if that goes well, he will be in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game. He has missed the past two games. … Injured forward Thomas Vanek will miss his fourth straight game Tuesday, Torchetti said. … The Wild called up defenseman Christian Folin and forward Zac Dalpe on Tuesday.

Pioneer Press LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008619 Montreal Canadiens

Practice Notebook: John Scott to play one game with Canadiens

Posted by Stu Cowan

MONTREAL GAZETTE

John Scott will get to play one game with the Canadiens before being returned to the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps.

The Canadiens called up the 6-foot-8, 260-pound enforcer from the IceCaps on Sunday and he practised on the fourth line Monday morning in Brossard with Torrey Mitchell and Paul Byron. Scott will be in the lineup Tuesday night when the Canadiens play the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS, TSN Radio 690).

Scott said the Canadiens approached him last week to see if he’d be interested in playing a game at the Bell Centre.

“It’s just a one-game thing, unless I go out and maybe score a hat trick,” Scott said after practice with a big smile.

“I don’t think anybody owes me anything,” Scott added. “I think I’ve done pretty well this year as far as things turned out. I don’t think they owe me anything. I think they’re just doing me a really solid favour. I would love to come and play here and I appreciate everything they’re doing for me right now.”

The Canadiens acquired Scott from the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 15, along with Victor Bartley, in exchange for Jarred Tinordi and Stefan Fournier. The trade was made after fans had voted Scott into the All-Star Game as captain of the Pacific Division even though he had only played 11 games with the Coyotes and had one assist with 25 penalty minutes. The Coyotes and the NHL had both tried to convince Scott not to go to the All-Star Game.

The Canadiens made it clear after the trade that Scott wouldn’t play in the NHL, but that plan seemed to change after he was named the MVP at the All-Star Game and the Habs were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

When asked what role he thinks the Canadiens played in the All-Star Game drama, Scott said: “I don’t even want to get into that junk. That was a long time ago and it’s in the past. So I don’t even want to rehash any of that stuff.”

Scott has taken the high road ever since the trade was made. In 27 games with the IceCaps, he had two goals, two assists and 85 penalty minutes.

“Since he joined the organization, he went to St. John with a great attitude,” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said after practice. “He was really good for the young kids over there (in St. John’s). It’s a special season for him, as we all know. And by respect, we want to give him an opportunity to play one game with the Montreal Canadiens. Talked to him this morning, he’s really excited.

“First of all, he’s a great guy,” Therrien added. “He’s a great guy to be around. I didn’t know him much, but when I saw what happened at the All-Star Game that was quite a story and all the players really respect him around the league. The idea is we want to show respect because he’s been a real pro since he joined us and we want to give him the opportunity to play a game with the Montreal Canadiens.”

Scott said he’s excited about getting a chance to wear a Canadiens sweater and play at the Bell Centre.

“Obviously, any chance you get to put on a jersey of an Original Six team it’s pretty exciting,” said the 33-year-old, who becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season.

“It’s kind of come full circle,” he added. “We started in the NHL and now we’re going to end up here. It’s definitely been a whirlwind from where I’ve gone and where I’ve been to here. It’s been good and bad, but I think at the end of the day it was a good season so far.”

When asked what memories he would keep from this season, Scott responded: “You can look at it either way. You can take the negative or the positive. I’m always one of those guys the glass is half full. So I’ll look back at it and think of all the good memories, the All-Star Game, and even just getting traded to Montreal and having this opportunity and meeting new people. It will be a good season for me.”

Defenceman Ryan Johnston was also called up from the IceCaps on Sunday and was paired with Alexei Emelin at practice. Johnston, an undrafted 24-year-old out of Colgate University, will make his NHL debut against the Panthers.

McCarron, De La Rose sent down

The Canadiens announced on Sunday that Mike McCarron had been sent down to the IceCaps and after practice Monday they sent Jacob De La Rose to join him in St. John’s.

“It’s sad to see McCarron go down because I think he was doing so well,” Scott said.

McCarron, the Canadiens’ first-round draft pick in 2013 (25th overall), had one goal and one assist in 20 games with the Canadiens and was minus-10 while averaging 11:40 of ice time per game.

“He took it good,” Therrien said about the 21-year-old’s demotion. “He needs to play … the kid needs to play. He needs to get ice time.

“I’ll say the last few games, it was a little bit more difficult for him on the ice,” the coach added. “But you got to look at the big picture. The kid’s played 20 games … a lot more probably than we were expecting. It’s great experience for him. He knows what he needs to work on. And this is going to be five big games for him (in the AHL). He needs a huge summer, obviously. But he needs mileage. He needs to play games, he needs to be put in different situations. So that’s a decision that we took.

“Right now we have a lot of players more healthy than two weeks ago. So even tomorrow, we got three extra ones that could be capable to play. So we want him and Jacob to go down there and play some games.”

Subban will sit out again

P.K. Subban will miss his 12th straight game Tuesday night with a neck injury.

Subban refused to answer any questions after practice about his health.

Said Therrien about the defenceman: “He’s practising. He’s practising hard. He’s skating well, he’s moving the puck and he’s doing a lot of good things out there. But I have no indication talking with the medical staff that he’s got the green light to play.”

Condon will face Panthers

Therrien said that Mike Condon will be in goal Tuesday night against the Panthers. The coach also confirmed that Charlie Lindgren — signed last week out of St. Cloud State University — will play in one of the final three games and that he’s still hoping Carey Price will play a game.

“It’s going to be up to Carey and the doctors to decide if he’s ready 100 per cent to play a game,” Therrien said. “I know he’s working extremely hard.”

After Tuesday’s game, the Canadiens visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday before wrapping up the season Saturday night at the Bell Centre against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Practice lines

With 26 players on the Monday morning, the Canadiens had to break out their turquoise practice jerseys for the fifth forward line.

The Canadiens had 16 forwards, seven defenceman and three goalies taking part in the practice.

Here’s how the lines and defence pairings looked

Pacioretty – Galchenyuk – Gallagher

Eller – Plekanec – Carr

Danault – Desharnais – Andrighetto

Scott – Mitchell – Byron

Matteau – De La Rose – Brown/Flynn.

Markov – Pateryn

Emelin – Johnston

Hanley – Dietz

Subban

Power-play units

The Canadiens spent time at the end of practice working on their power play, which ranks 26th in the NHL with a 16.2-per-cent success rate.

Here’s how the two power-play units were set up:

First unit

Pacioretty – Galchenyuk – Gallagher

Markov – Plekanec

Second unit

Carr – Desharnais – Andrighetto

Hanley – Emelin

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 04.05.2016


This Date in Habs History: April 4

PUBLISHED ON DEC. 20, 2014

JACK TODD

SPECIAL TO MONTREAL GAZETTE

During that outpouring of affection for Saku Koivu Thursday night, it occurred to me that perhaps we have this retired number thing all wrong.

Until this week, I would have agreed with the majority opinion, which seems to be that the Canadiens should not retire Koivu’s number – even though our careers roughly overlapped and I covered almost everything that happened to Koivu here, good and bad.

Koivu presents a dilemma for the Canadiens, especially in this stats-mad era. In his best season with theCanadiens (which came relatively late in his career, five years after the battle with cancer) Koivu produced 22 goals and 53 assists for 75 points.

I’ve always wondered what kind of player Koivu might have been had he not suffered a serious knee injury two months into his second season with the Canadiens, when he was among the league leaders with 13 goals, 25 assists and 38 points when he went down in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 7, 1996. After that, Koivu was never quite the offensive force he had been before the injury.

Still, he did have more career assists with the Canadiens than Rocket Richard, he did equal Jean Béliveau’s mark by serving as team captain for a decade – and he was, as we were reminded so often this week, a special person whose dedication to the community (especially after his recovery from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma) was exceeded only by what Béliveau accomplished over a much longer span.

As a player, I would concede, Koivu’s success didn’t match that of the legends whose numbers have already been raised to the rafters at the Bell Centre. If Stanley Cups are the criteria, then Koivu was a failure, because not one of his teams made it as far as the conference finals – in part because he suffered so many injuries during a career that is almost unrivalled for sheer hard luck.

But this is a different era. The heroes of the present and future aren’t going to collect Stanley Cups rings in bunches. Patrick Roy, in chronological terms the most recent of those who had their numbers retired, won only two Stanley Cups and it’s conceivable that others in the future, led by Carey Price, might receive the honour without carrying the Cup.

But if the criteria include service to the community, leadership on and offthe ice, courage, humility, good citizenship and a long career as team captain, then Saku Koivu should receive the Canadiens ultimate accolade.

It would also be a way of paying him back for some unfortunate and much undeserved treatment, after his lack of French became an issue here and that somehow trumped the fact that he had gone the extra mile to provide an $8-million scanner to the Montreal General Hospital.

The ugliness of that period, coupled with the Journal de Montréal photographer who sneaked into the hospital and popped a flashbulb in Koivu’s face while he was resting his injured eye in a darkened room, was a low point for this city and for the profession of journalism in general.

I couldn’t make the game Thursday night, but if I had I would have posed a question that went unasked this week: Did former GM Bob Gainey unilaterally make the decision to let Koivu go as a free agent, or did Koivu make the request himself because he was fed up with some of the treatment he had received here?

Whatever, depending on how you view the career, I think the club should, over the next two or three years, give some serious thought to retiring Koivu’s number.

And I hope that we will all remember that there was another Saku Koivu here, a man who was very different than the rather sombre image of him as some dark, Scandinavian hero in one of Ingmar Bergman’s more depressing flicks.

Given the injuries and the illness, it’s easy to see why people would think of Koivu as a sombre, reserved guy, because he was caught up in so many serious and near-tragic circumstances. But that’s not the man

today – and it was certainly not the player who arrived here as a rookie from Finland.

Koivu is and has always been a funny, lively, talkative guy, with a quick, mordant wit and a penchant for dry humour.

My favourite Koivu anecdote involves an exchange in the Canadiens room a couple of weeks before the 1998 Olympics. I was an innocent bystander when Koivu and towering Swedish defenceman Peter Popovic were ragging on each other, arguing about whether Sweden or Finland would fare better at the Olympics. Finally, Koivu said to the half-Croatian Popovic: “What do you care? You’re only half a Swede.”

Popovic looked down from the pinnacle of his 6-foot-6 frame and drawled: “Yeah, and you’re only half a Finn.”

But Koivu was not one to let that go without the last word.

Finland beat Sweden at the Olympics. On his way through the mixed zone after, Koivu winked at me. “Hi, Jack,” he said. “Say hello to Peter Popovic for me, will you?”



Stu Cowan: John Scott thankful, excited to don CH jersey

Stu Cowan, Montreal Gazette

More from Stu Cowan, Montreal Gazette

Published on: April 4, 2016 | Last Updated: April 4, 2016 7:33 PM EDT

John Scott will get to wear a Canadiens jersey after all — but only for one game.

And when Hollywood makes a movie about the enforcer’s life story, maybe the CH will be in it — and shine in a good light.

When asked after practice Monday in Brossard if the movie project might be one of the reasons why the Canadiens decided to call him up from the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps on Sunday, Scott replied: “Oh, gosh. There’s no way. I doubt that. That’s a pretty far-fetched conspiracy theory there. I don’t believe that.”

The Canadiens opened themselves up to all kinds of conspiracy theories when they acquired Scott and defenceman Victor Bartley from the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 15 in exchange for former first-round draft pick Jarred Tinordi and minor-leaguer Stefan Fournier. To throw another twist into the story, Tinordi was suspended by the league last month for 20 games for violating terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.

Before the trade, fans had mischievously voted online to put Scott into the All-Star Game as captain of the Pacific Division. The NHL and the Coyotes tried to convince him not to go before the 6-foot-8, 260-pounder was traded to Montreal and then shipped off to St. John’s.

Scott not only went to the All-Star Game — without any NHL crest on his jersey — he won the MVP award.

In a story published by the New York Times on Monday, Scott — described by writer John Branch as “the exiled winner of the Most Valuable Player Award at the NHL All-Star Game” — is quoted saying: “I guarantee you I’d still be in the NHL if I wasn’t in the All-Star Game. For sure.”

The day after that quote, Branch writes, Scott got called up by the Canadiens.

When asked Monday what role he thinks the Canadiens played in the all-star saga, Scott said: “I don’t even want to get into that junk. That was a long time ago and it’s in the past. So I don’t even want to rehash any of that stuff.”

Scott will be in the lineup Tuesday night when the Canadiens play the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS, TSN Radio 690), but expects to be on his way back to St. John’s after the game.

“It’s just a one-game thing, unless I go out and maybe score a hat trick,” Scott said with a big smile after practice.

That big smile — and the classy way he has handled this entire season — turned Scott from being known simply as an “enforcer” or “goon” into a fan favourite. The Canadiens showed some class by calling him up, but it is also a very good public-relations move for a team that really needs good PR with three games remaining in a dismal season.

“I don’t think anybody owes me anything,” said Scott, who had two goals, two assists and 85 penalty minutes in 27 games with the IceCaps and becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. “I think I’ve done pretty well this year as far as things turned out. … I think they’re just doing me a really solid favour. I would love to come and play here, and I appreciate everything they’re doing for me.

“Obviously, any chance you get to put on a jersey of an Original Six team it’s pretty exciting.”

While Scott was called up, Mike McCarron and Jacob De La Rose were sent down to the IceCaps. Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien said both young forwards need more ice time and an opportunity to play in different situations. The Canadiens also called up defenceman Ryan Johnston, who will make his NHL debut against the Panthers, while P.K. Subban will miss his 12th straight game with a neck injury.

Therrien — like a lot of people — admitted he didn’t know much about Scott before the All-Star Game, but that the 33-year-old veteran with 11 points and 542 penalty minutes in 285 NHL games, has had a great attitude in St. John’s and worked well with the young players.

“First of all, he’s a great guy,” Therrien said. “He’s a great guy to be around. I didn’t know him much, but when I saw what happened at the All-Star Game that was quite a story and all the players really respect him around the league. The idea is we want to show respect because he’s been a real pro since he joined us and we want to give him the opportunity to play a game with the Montreal Canadiens.”

Mandalay Sports Media won a bidding war for the rights to develop a movie based on Scott’s life and Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom will write the script. If everything goes well, the film will be released in 2018.

TSN’s John Lu asked Scott during Monday’s media scrum which actor will play him in the movie.

“Oh, gosh, I don’t know,” Scott responded. “No idea.”

Lu, who is about a foot shorter and 100 pounds lighter than Scott and of Chinese descent, then asked who Scott would like to see get the part.

“Maybe you?” Scott said, flashing that big smile one more time.

“I don’t know,” he then added. “Hopefully someone good.”

Whoever the actor is, it will be interesting to see if a Canadiens jersey is part of the wardrobe.


1008622 Nashville Predators

Predators week ahead: Regular season concludes

Adam Vingan, [email protected] 2:34 p.m. CDT April 4, 2016

Tuesday: Colorado Avalanche, 7 p.m.

Colorado is still mathematically alive in the Western Conference playoff race, albeit barely. A 5-1 loss to the Blues on Sunday means that the Avalanche need to win their final three games and hope the Wild lose their last two in regulation if they stand any chance of qualifying, which is highly unlikely. Since the Avalanche defeated the Predators on March 28, they have lost three in a row in regulation, burying themselves in the process.

Predators record vs. Avalanche this season: 1-3-0

Key player: Matt Duchene. For the first time in his career, Duchene, Colorado's leading scorer, reached the 30-goal mark Sunday, but he was criticized by Avalanche coach Patrick Roy for the exuberant manner in which he celebrated the achievement. The forward's goal broke St. Louis' 4-0 shutout late in the third period.

Quotable: "First of all, I mean, I think we have some good leadership. Maybe not enough from our core. Our core hasn't proved that they have the leadership to bring this team to another level. ... We need more from these guys. These guys need to prove to us that they're capable of carrying this team." — Roy calling out his leadership group after Sunday's loss (via Denver Post).

Thursday: Arizona Coyotes, 7 p.m.

The Coyotes' future is bright, but their season ends without a playoff appearance for the fourth consecutive season. With rookie forwards Max Domi and Anthony Duclair and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson fronting the next generation, Arizona's presence within the Western Conference should grow. That process could be accelerated if the Coyotes snag the No. 1 pick in June's draft and select local product Auston Matthews, a native of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Predators record vs. Coyotes this season: 1-1-0

Key player: Shane Doan. The 39-year-old has been the face of the Coyotes' two-decade existence in the desert, but he is approaching the end of a celebrated career. Doan remains productive, though, scoring a team-leading 27 goals this season, his most in seven years.

Quotable: “It is a different feeling, just the atmosphere around our team. ... There’s a lot of hope here. So we took a step forward, but there’s still more work to be done.” — Coyotes coach Dave Tippett on the progress his team made this season (via Arizona Republic).

Saturday: at Dallas Stars, 7 p.m.

Leading the Central Division as the season enters its final week, the Stars seek to also wrap up the best record in the Western Conference, leading the Blues by two points as of Monday. Dallas, which missed the playoffs last season, has reached the 100-point threshold for the first time in nine years behind the NHL's best offense, averaging 3.23 goals per game.

Predators record vs. Stars this season: 1-2-1

Key player: Jamie Benn. The forward led the NHL with 87 points last season, and though he won't win another Art Ross Trophy this season, he's surpassed his career high in points with 88, including a personal-best 41 goals.

Quotable: “He allows us to be creative, and that’s great for players like me. I think the best thing is he really enjoys it when we score a lot of goals. He loves it as much as we do.” — Stars center Jason Spezza on why coach Lindy Ruff is the right fit for the team (via Dallas Morning News).

Tennessean LOADED: 04.05.2016


Predators seek momentum in final week of season


From a purely standings-based standpoint, the remainder of the Predators' regular season is meaningless. They are guaranteed to finish in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, ensuring a first-round matchup against the Pacific Division champion, likely to be either the Ducks or Kings.

The Predators obviously don't view it that way, seeing this final week, which began with a rigorous practice Monday and continues Tuesday with the first of three games, as a pressure-free opportunity to tighten any inconsistencies before the postseason begins next week.

"Everybody says you want to hit the playoffs on the right note," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "But with that comes a lot of energy, a lot of execution, a lot of determination, so there's lots of room for us to get better."

Nashville's four-game losing streak, its longest since a five-game skid that began in early January, is certainly untimely, but not as worrisome as it seems. The disparity between the Predators' recent slip and the NHL-best 14-2-5 stretch that preceded it makes the former look worse by comparison.

The only game within the losing streak that the Predators were unequivocally outworked in was their last one, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Sharks on Saturday that they actually led 2-0 entering the third period. That kind of performance is the most frustrating for coaches and players, but also the most fixable, which explains the intensity of Monday's practice.

"Sometimes when you play the game, you don't really see what's happening," Predators defenseman Barret Jackman said of Saturday's loss. "But you go over the video after and it was pretty obvious that they were winning the battles and we were making mental errors because we weren't moving our feet and working hard enough."

As for what specific areas need to be addressed, multiple players brought up the team's starts, which haven't been as strong lately, forcing the Predators to unnecessarily expend energy as they attempt to catch up.

"It sets the pace for the rest of the night and for the rest of the game," Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne said. "We've been doing a really good job coming back in games and having pretty good second halves of the game, but I think it's the fact that we've got to get off to better starts. ... We've been chasing a lot of games and, like I said, we've been doing a pretty good job coming back, but still, it's a demanding way to play when you're trying to come back all the time."

Successfully ending the regular season would undoubtedly build momentum and confidence, both of which are pivotal to the Predators' postseason chances.

"We just need to get back to winning hockey games," Predators forward James Neal said. "That comes with a mindset, a focus before each game. ... It's been a grind. It's been a battle to get to this point, and it's just going to get harder. I like the makeup of our team and like the way we've played, and I think we can be dangerous come (the) first game of the playoffs."



Predators' Ryan Ellis, Anthony Bitetto nearing returns


Injured defensemen Ryan Ellis and Anthony Bitetto fully practiced Monday, a promising sign for the Predators as the playoffs approach.

"Everything's kind of coming back and feeling better over the last couple days … for sure," Ellis said of his status.

Nashville's defensive depth, traditionally its greatest strength, has been tested lately. Ellis has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury, sustained last Tuesday against the Stars after a shot struck him in the side of the head during a flurry near the Predators' crease.

With the next three games not meaning anything in regards to the Predators' place in the standings, Ellis could theoretically use the final week of the season to recover, though the coaching staff isn't inclined to sit out a player who's ready to play even if it could allow for extra rest.

"It's kind of out of my hands," he said. "It's whatever the coaches think. I would have loved to play in the last couple games, but it was more of a precaution for long-term things. … But personally, I like to play the game and I like to be involved in it, so I'd love to come back and play. We need to get our game in order anyway."

Bitetto, who has settled into his role as the sixth defenseman, hasn't played since March 17, missing eight consecutive games because of a lower-body injury.

"It's nice to get back on the ice with the guys," Bitetto said. "It's my first injury, so kind of managing it a little bit. It's kind of just day-by-day right now. ... I think it would be nice to get into a couple games before (the playoffs) to get that game speed back a little bit, but I want to be 100 percent come Game 1."

Defenseman Stefan Elliott, recalled under emergency conditions Wednesday, remains with the Predators, but must be returned to the American Hockey League as soon as Ellis or Bitetto is ready to return.


1008625 New Jersey Devils

Martin Brodeur talks about losing wins record to Braden Holtby

Rich Chere

on April 04, 2016 at 6:30 AM, updated April 04, 2016 at 7:24 AM

Former Devils goalie Martin Brodeur has mixed emotions about seeing his NHL record of 48 victories in a season broken by Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals.

Holtby is one victory short of tying the record Brodeur, established in 2006-07, and could equal the mark Tuesday night when the Capitals host the New York Islanders at Verizon Center.

"You wish you could keep your records forever," Brodeur told NHL.com. "But for me it was all about setting the bar as high as I could. If somebody achieves it, well, good for them. It's impressive."

Philipp Grubauer was in goal Saturday night when the Capitals lost to the Arizona Coyotes, 3-0. The Caps have four games remaining.

When Brodeur won 48 games for the Devils in 2006-07 he was 48-23-7 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in 78 games. Holtby has played 63 games and is 47-9-5 with a 2.17 GAA and .923 save percentage.

What does Brodeur, the NHL's all-time winningest goalie, think about Holtby?

"I feel he's got a presence in net," Brodeur said. "It looks like it's normal for him to steal games. I think his body language is tremendous. That's something that really helps as a goalie. It translates into the other team saying, 'OK, what's going on here? We're getting all these chances and this guy doesn't look like he's fading at all.' He seems to be a really good athlete. He makes saves in different positions. He recovers real well from scrambles. He's a battler and he plays the puck fairly well. He's an active goalie. He checks in a lot of boxes that I like about a goalie."

Star Ledger LOADED: 04.05.2016


Patrik Elias' return to Devils' lineup appears imminent; "I feel as good as I'm going to feel"

Posted by Tom Gulitti

Patrik Elias feels he's as ready as he's going to be to return to the Devils' lineup. That might come as soon as Tuesday night when the Devils host the Buffalo Sabres to begin a three-game season-ending homestand.

The decision will be made Tuesday morning when Elias talks it over again with head coach John Hynes.

“I'm sure he's going to ask me how I felt,” Elias said. “I'm going to say I was tired, which is normal.”

Elias laughed after he said that, but, joking aside, he believes his timing and conditioning are good enough now for him to play.

“I feel as good as I'm going to feel in this week coming up, so it's up to me and John to make the decision together if I'm in for one, two or three games,” Elias said. “It's just communicating, that's all.”

Elias, who will turn 40 on April 13, hasn't played since Dec. 19 and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Jan. 12 to repair a torn meniscus and clean out some loose cartilage on his right knee. As recently as two weeks ago, Elias' return appeared unlikely after he had hit a lull in his recovery, but everything has progressed positively since then and he practiced today at left wing on the third line with Jacob Josefson and Mike Sislo.

So, if Elias doesn't play Tuesday, it appears almost certain he'll play in the Devils' game Thursday night against Tampa Bay.

“He looked like he was good in practice and that was something that we wanted to put him through on a regular line and some power-play time,” Hynes said. “So, he looked good. We'll see how he reacts tomorrow and he could be a possibility for tomorrow or Tampa.”

Elias returned to practice with the team on Wednesday and has skated with the team every day since then except for the team's full day off on Sunday.

“I feel fine,” he said. “It's not going to make a difference for me if I practice tomorrow or have more practices. It's just either putting me in there or letting the young guys play. I think that's what it is. I want to make sure that (Hynes) feels I'm good enough to put me in a position that I can help the team. That's all.”

Hynes said forwards Joe Blandisi (lower body) and Sergey Kalinin (illness) are “questionable” for Tuesday's game after they did not practice today. If they are both out Tuesday, that might make it more likely that Elias will play.

“That's the way I got in the league 18 years ago when Dave Andreychuk (fractured his ankle at the end of the 1996-97 season),” Elias said. “That's when I got called up and stayed. You've got to take advantage of your chances.”

Elias has played in only 13 games this season because of his knee. He missed all of training camp and then the first 20 games while rehabbing before making his season debut on Nov. 25 against Columbus.

It's certainly not the kind of season any player would like to end his career with, but Elias isn't viewing it like that.

“I look at it the other way,” he said. “I'm lucky enough to play until 39 pretty much with a couple injuries that got me out of the lineup for a long period of time (but otherwise) almost pain-free, relatively. There's a lot of guys that go through injuries and have to end their career in their 20s or early 30s, so I'm lucky enough to deal with that at this point.”

Elias said his knee feels now “as good as it did when I got back” earlier this season.

“It's not worse,” he said. “There were other issues that started bothering me during those games and those are gone. That issue that was bothering me (initially), it's still there, but it allows me to play and practice, which is OK.”

There's an obvious sentimental side to the story with Elias, the franchise's all-time leading scorer and a two-time Stanley Cup winner, in the final season of his contract and his future uncertain. He's already said he plans to train this summer to prepare to play next season and then see how he feels and if there is an opportunity for him.

Elias said he isn't approaching it as if these could be his final games in a Devils' uniform, but acknowledged, “It could happen.”

“I'm not going into them thinking that, but nobody knows what the future holds,” Elias said.

Although Hynes recognizes and lauds Elias' significance to the organization, he said the decision to put him in the lineup won't be based on that.

“This is based on we think he can help us and I think that even goes back to Patrik and his character,” Hynes said. “I think if he really wasn't ready to play, as much as it would be nice to be able to have that, he's a proud guy, too. If he's going to put the jersey on and play, he's going to be able to help us win a hockey game. So, I think that's the most important thing. But, it is important too to be able to honor the past here and he's a huge part of it – all-time leading scorer, the Stanley Cups and what he's done for the organization.

“To play as long as he has is pretty special, so it's only fitting that, thankfully, his body allowed him to get back for this week and he's worked his butt off for it and we know he's going to come in and do a good job.”

His teammates are looking forward to seeing him out there again.

“Not only because you want to see him end the season on a good note playing, but just because he's a good player and he makes our team better when he's out there,” center Travis Zajac said. “So, I think for both those reasons you'd like to see him out there and enjoying the last couple of games.”

“On his side, it hasn't been the year that I think he's wanted and or we've wanted,” Hynes said. “We wanted the opportunity as new management and new coaches to be able to work with a guy like Patrik. He's been fantastic off the ice. You can just see the character and the maturity of the type of guy he is. We think he would have made our team better if he was healthy. Unfortunately, he wasn't. His rehab and the way he was around the team and the communication he helped us through even as coaches this year was fantastic, so he's certainly deserving of what he's done in the past years, but also this year. So, hopefully, we can get him in and he plays some good games here for us.”

***

Cory Schneider will start in net for the Devils Tuesday. Hynes said “we'll figure out the rest of the week” after that.

Hynes said, “there's a possibility” that Keith Kinkaid will start one of the two games after that.

Chad Johnson is likely to start in net for the Sabres.

Forwards Jack Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly sat out practice for the Sabres today for “maintenance.” It sounds possible O'Reilly won't play Tuesday.

***

Right wing Jordan Tootoo stopped by the locker room today after having surgery Friday to repair a torn tendon sheath in his right wrist. Tootoo, who said he was injured when he went into the corner on his first shift on March 10 at San Jose, has a cast on his wrist that extends above his elbow that he will have to wear for six weeks.

Tootoo had hoped to come back this season and had been skating, but said the tendon kept popping out of the sheath, so he had to have the surgery.

Hynes also confirmed that defenseman Jon Merrill is out of the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. Merrill hasn't played since March 19 at Columbus.

***

Defenseman Adam Larsson said he got a call today frm officials from the Swedish Ice Hockey Association about playing in this year's IIHF world championships in Russia. Larsson said if he is completely healthy, he will probably play in the tournament. He was asked to play in last year's tournament, but declined because he was a pending restricted free agent. He signed a six-year, $25 million contract on July 25, 2015.

***

The Albany Devils announced today they have extended their lease at the Times Union Center through the 2018-19 season. The Devils relocated their AHL franchise from Lowell, Mass. back to Albany in 2010.

Bergen Record LOADED: 04.05.2016


Elias on third line, working on power play at Devils' practice; Blandisi, Kalinin sitting out


Left wing Patrik Elias skated on the third line with Jacob Josefson and Mike Sislo for the Devils' practice today.

Elias is working his way back from Jan. 12 arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus and clean out some loose cartilage in his right knee. Devils coach John Hynes said Friday that there's “a chance” Elias will return to the lineup Tuesday night against Buffalo at Prudential Center.

The Devils close out their 2015-16 schedule with a three-game homestand – Tuesday vs. Buffalo, Thursday vs. Tampa Bay and Saturday vs. Toronto.

Elias also practiced today on a power play unit with Damon Severson, Adam Henrique, Reid Boucher and Devante Smith-Pelly.

Forwards Joe Blandisi and Sergey Kalinin are sitting out today's practice. The Devils say Blandisi has a lower-body injury and Kalinin is sick.

Forwards: Tyler Kennedy-Adam Henrique-Devante Smith-Pelly; Reid Boucher-Travis Zajac-Kyle Palmieri; Patrik Elias-Jacob Josefson-Mike Sislo; Bobby Farnham/Tuomo Ruutu-Stephen Gionta-Blake Pietila.

Defensemen: Andy Greene-Adam Larsson, David Schlemko-Damon Severson; John Moore-Vojtech Mozik; Seth Helgeson-David Warsofsky.

Goaltenders: Cory Schneider, Keith Kinkaid.



Devils return defenseman Seth Helgeson to Albany


The Devils returned defenseman Seth Helgeson to Albany of the AHL this afternoon.

Helgeson, 25, was a healthy scratch for a 3-1 loss at Tampa Bay on Saturday, but was still with the team in New Jersey for practice today. He has played in 19 NHL games over two stints with the Devils this season, registering no goals, one assist and 17 penalty minutes.

In 41 career NHL games over the last two seasons, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Faribault, Minn. Native has no goals, three assists and 35 penalty minutes.

The Devils have only three regular season games remaining, including one against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night that begins a season-ending, three-game homestand. Even with Helgeson being demoted, the Devils still have seven healthy defensemen on their roster.



Devils' Patrik Elias hopes to be in the lineup tonight

By TOM GULITTI

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

NEWARK — Saying "I feel as good as I’m going to feel," left wing Patrik Elias hopes to be back in the Devils’ lineup tonight when they host the Buffalo Sabres.

The decision will be made when Elias talks it over again with head coach John Hynes this morning.

"It’s up to me and John to make the decision together if I’m in for one, two or three games," Elias said Monday. "It’s just communicating. That’s all."

Already eliminated from playoff contention, the Devils close out the season with three homes games: tonight vs. Buffalo, Thursday vs. Tampa Bay and Saturday vs. Toronto.

Elias, who will turn 40 on April 13, hasn’t played since Dec. 19 and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Jan. 12 to repair a torn meniscus and clean out some loose cartilage on the knee. As recently as two weeks ago, Elias’ return appeared unlikely after he hit a lull in his recovery, but everything has progressed positively since then and he practiced Monday on the third line with Jacob Josefson and Mike Sislo.

"He looked like he was good in practice and that was something that we wanted to put him through on a regular line and some power-play time," Hynes said.

"So, he looked good. We’ll see how he reacts [today] and he could be a possibility for [tonight] or Tampa."

Elias returned to practice with the team on Wednesday and has skated with the team every day since except for the team’s day off on Sunday.

"It’s not going to make a difference for me if I practice [today] or have more practices," Elias said. "It’s just either putting me in there or letting the young guys play. ... I want to make sure that [Hynes] feels I’m good enough to put me in a position that I can help the team."

There’s an obvious sentimental side to the story with Elias, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer and two-time Stanley Cup winner, in the final season of his contract and his future uncertain. Elias said he isn’t approaching it as if these could be his final games in a Devils’ uniform, but acknowledged, "It could happen."

"I’m not going into them thinking that, but nobody knows what the future holds," Elias said.

Although Hynes lauds Elias’ significance to the organization, he said the decision to put him in the lineup won’t be based on that.

"This is based on we think he can help us and I think that even goes back to Patrik and his character," Hynes said. "I think if he really wasn’t ready to play, as much as it would be nice, he’s a proud guy, too. If he’s going to put the jersey on and play, he’s going to be able to help us win a hockey game. So, that’s the most important thing. But, it is important, too, to be able to honor the past here and he’s a huge part of it — all-time leading scorer, the Stanley Cups and what he’s done for the organization.

"To play as long as he has is pretty special, so it’s only fitting that, thankfully, his body allowed him to get back for this week and he’s worked his butt off for it, and we know he’s going to come in and do a good job."


1008630 New York Islanders

Islanders’ Offense Awakens After Coach’s Scolding

By ALLAN KREDAAPRIL 4, 2016

The Islanders were scolded by their coach at the morning skate, and they responded with a spirited 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday at Barclays Center.

They knew a far better performance was demanded by Coach Jack Capuano after a 5-0 pasting from Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Islanders, who had won four of their six previous games, remained 2 points behind the third-place Rangers in the Metropolitan Division.

The Islanders reeled off three unanswered goals in the second period with a display of offense rarely seen in recent weeks. Matt Martin, Brock Nelson and John Tavares each scored in the period, and Johnny Boychuk added another goal in the third.

The Islanders (43-26-9) won for the 25th time on home ice to match their victory total last season at Nassau Coliseum. Thomas Greiss made 32 saves for the win.

Boychuk’s goal at 4 minutes 28 seconds of the third chased Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop.

The victory was costly. Defenseman Calvin de Haan blocked a shot with his right knee in the first period and left the game after one shift in the second. Forward Cal Clutterbuck also exited in the second after appearing to twist his leg after he was high-sticked by J. T. Brown of Tampa Bay, but he returned in the third.

The Islanders’ fiery performance came after Capuano chided the underperforming forwards Nelson, Josh Bailey and Ryan Strome — demanding better production on a regular basis. Capuano’s frustration has been rising for several reasons: his team’s inconsistency, the ever-growing injury list and the annoyance of his players of skating on slushy ice at Barclays.

The Islanders had lost the top defenseman Travis Hamonic to a lower-body injury last week, and they are also missing forward Mikhail Grabovski.

Capuano installed several new line combinations against Tampa Bay — most notably Tavares with Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo — and his team engaged the Lightning in a pair of first-period scraps.

The rookie defenseman Ryan Pulock gave the Islanders the early lead, scoring his second goal of the season at 13:18 of the first.

Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn knotted the score when he slid the puck under the pads of Greiss at 2:08 of the second.

Martin scored his ninth at the 11-minute mark, followed by Nelson with his 26th at 15:23 and Tavares with his team-best 30th goal at 16:15 on a power play.

Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman’s goal at 19:53 of the second.

The Islanders had to plow ahead with five defensemen, as they did when Hamonic was injured early in last Thursday’s win over Columbus. Without de Haan, they had to use various pairings the rest of the way.

The Lightning (45-29-5), who lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup finals last season, played without their captain, Steven Stamkos, who had surgery Monday for a blood clot near his right collarbone. Tampa Bay is also without the stalwart defenseman Anton Stralman, who broke his leg against the Islanders late last month.

The Lightning became the last team make their first visit to Barclays Center.

The building again felt colder than usual for a second straight game, with a temporary dehumidification system in place to help the quality of the playing surface.

As time wound down, fans chanted, “We want playoffs.” It appears they will soon get their wish.

New York Times LOADED: 04.05.2016


Islanders coach Jack Capuano calls out Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson: They ‘need to pick their s--t up’

BY PETER BOTTE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, April 4, 2016, 11:43 AM A A A

The time for niceties is over.

Jack Capuano has been adamant about not singling out the obvious “secondary players” he often has stated have contributed little this season, but the Islanders’ head coach finally called out a few underachievers by name before Monday’s game against Tampa Bay.

With a three-point cushion over No. 9 Boston and two over No. 8 Philadelphia entering the final week of the regular season, Capuano told reporters that former first-round picks Josh Bailey and Ryan Strome — who have played recently on the top line, flanking captain John Tavares — and center Brock Nelson all “need to pick their s--t up” and work harder over the final five games to help the Isles secure a second straight postseason berth.

“There’s no surprises. We need Strome to be better. We need Brock to be better. We need Bailey to be better. We need guys to be better if we’re going to have any chance at all,” Capuano said. “They see it, it’s black and white. The video doesn’t lie. It doesn’t come down to X’s and O’s, it doesn’t come down to systems. It comes down to how hard you want to compete.

“We’ve struggled with a few guys, for sure, about their compete level and their work ethic. It has to be better. There’s no doubt that those guys they have to figure out at some point…The guys mentioned need to pick their pick their s—t up and start playing.”

Strome, who totaled 50 points last year in his first full NHL season, has just eight goals and 26 points in 66 games — and just one goal in his last 22 appearances. The fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft also was sent to AHL Bridgeport for three weeks in November.

NHL SENDS EXPERT TO FIX 'AWFUL' ICE AT BARCLAYS CENTER

Bailey, the ninth overall pick in 2008, never has exceeded the 41 points he totaled in 2014-15 over eight largely disappointing NHL campaigns. The 26-year-old winger — in the third year of a five-year deal that comes with a $3.3 million annual cap hit — has just 12 goals and 32 points despite another season of frequent top-6 ice time. He has scored just once in his last 18 appearances.

Nelson, the 30th overall pick in 2010, actually is second to Tavares (29-32-61) on the Isles with 25 goals, but only five have come in the last 28 games after he’d netted 20 in the first 48.

Anders Lee also has endured a rough sophomore season after potting 25 goals as a rookie last year, although two of his 14 this season were important ones during separate third-period comebacks last week. Mikhail Grabovski, out since March 15 with a concussion, also has just nine goals in 58 games to show for his $5 million salary.

With Jaroslav Halak (groin) sidelined since early March and J-F Berube suffering an undisclosed injury in Sunday’s 5-0 blowout loss to Pittsburgh — which Tavares dubbed “an embarrassment and unacceptable” — fourth-stringer Christopher Gibson was summoned from Bridgeport to back up Thomas Greiss against the Lightning.

Tampa Bay leading scorer Steve Stamkos is out at least a month with a blood clot, joining former Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman (broken leg) on the injured list. Isles defenseman Travis Hamonic (knee) will miss his second straight game and at least the remainder of the regular season.

New York Daily News LOADED: 04.05.2016


Islanders respond to rip job from coach inch closer to playoff berth with big 5-2 win over Tampa Bay Lightning

BY Peter Botte

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Monday, April 4, 2016, 10:57 PM

The niceties from Jack Capuano finally are over. And the Islanders responded to rare public criticism from their coach by nearly wrapping up a return trip to the postseason.

Capuano has been adamant about not singling out the obvious “secondary players” he often has stated have contributed little this season, but he finally called out a few underachievers by name before Monday’s convincing 5-2 bounce-back win over Tampa Bay at Barclays Center.

“I thought we were a resilient team tonight,” Capuano said. “As the guys know, the only reason I singled them out is because I care about them…and we had to do something to ignite them.”

Brock Nelson — ripped along with fellow former first-round picks Josh Bailey and Ryan Strome for needing “to pick up their s--t” by Capuano earlier in the day, following Saturday’s 5-0 home loss to Pittsburgh — scored one of three second-period goals as the Isles (43-26-9) lowered their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to two points with four games remaining.

Matt Martin and John Tavares (30th of the season) also connected in the middle period for the Isles, who now own a five-point cushion over No. 9 Boston and four over No. 8 Philadelphia entering Tuesday’s visit to Washington.

“I really like the way we responded, but now we have to carry it over,” Tavares said.

Rookie defenseman Ryan Pulock potted the first goal and also was involved in a first-period fight. Johnny Boychuk scored in the third to chase Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, while Thomas Greiss made 32 saves for the Isles.

With goalie Jaroslav Halak (groin) and defenseman Travis Hamonic (knee) already sidelined, however, the Isles also lost blueliner Calvin de Haan, who departed after taking a puck off his right knee in the first period.

Beforehand, Capuano had implored Bailey and Strome — who had played recently on the top line, flanking Tavares — and Nelson to “work harder” to help the Isles secure a second straight postseason berth.

“There’s no doubt that those guys they have to figure it out at some point,” Capuano said. “The guys I mentioned need to pick their s--t up and start playing.”

Strome, whose point total has dipped from 50 in his first full NHL season to 26 this year — has just one goal in his last 23 appearances. Bailey has scored once in his last 19 appearances, while Nelson had five goals in the previous 28 games after netting 20 in the first 48.

“We gotta be better,” Nelson said.

Tavares, who reached 30 goals for the third time despite rotating linemates all season, finished with three points while skating mostly between Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen.

CLOT AGAIN

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is out 1-to-3 months following surgery Monday to remove a blood clot, joining former Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman (broken leg) on the injured list. Isles rookie D Adam Pelech also underwent blood clot surgery earlier this season, but he was sent to AHL Bridgeport on Monday for conditioning.



Islanders coach is naming names: Time to ‘pick their s–t up’

By Brett Cyrgalis April 4, 2016 | 1:10pm

Jack Capuano is done playing nice guy.

The Islanders coach pulled no punches Monday morning, naming names as he ripped into his team’s work ethic and compete level before a game against the Lightning at Barclays Center.

Capuano singled out young forwards Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson, adding the veteran winger Josh Bailey, as three guys who need to be better and need to work harder.

“There’s no surprise: We need Stromey to be better, we need Brock to be better, we need Bailey to be better,” Capuano said. “We need guys to be better if we’re going to have any chance at all. They see it: It’s black-and-white — the video doesn’t lie. And it doesn’t come down to X’s and O’s, it doesn’t come down to systems. It comes down to how hard you want to compete.”

The lack of offensive production from those players is worrisome, but not as much as the coach calling out how hard they’re working.

“You have to compete at a high level, and it’s about accountability,” Capuano said. “It starts from the coaches, but — I’ve said this — if you want to win games, it’s about team and about accountability amongst the guys in the room. And you’re only letting your teammate down if you’re not going to compete at a high level.

“The guys I mentioned earlier need to pick their s—t up and start playing.”

Bailey, for one, was not surprised to have his coach’s comments relayed to him. With one goal, five assists and a minus-7 rating over the previous 18 games, the 26-year-old who was taken by the Isles in the first round of the 2008 draft was aware of his situation.

“I don’t need him to say it for me to know it,” Bailey said. “I think I know what needs to be done. I think I’ve been here a long time. I’m confident I’ve played some of my best hockey in the playoffs and down the stretches. It’s not like that’s the reason. I think I want to be better in any way, shape or form.”

Bailey did rebuke the idea that he needs to work harder, saying, “I don’t know about that.” He added that he tries to focus on the little things away from the puck when the points aren’t coming.

“I think I go out every game and try to skate and work and backcheck hard,” he said. “Those are easy things to go out and do. You don’t really have to think about those. You just go out and work. When thing maybe aren’t going great, you rely on those things to maybe get you out of whatever situation you may be in.”

Capuano also applied a guilt trip, saying the veterans in the locker room are being let down. The coach mentioned captain John Tavares, in his seventh season at age 25, as well as 29-year-old Cal Clutterbuck as players who deserve an opportunity to make a postseason run.

“Guys are getting older, they want a chance,” Capuano said. “So the young guys, as we’ve explained to them — you’re 20, 21, 22 [years old] — you don’t know when you’re going to get to this point again. You know what I mean? Like, you want to try to get in the dance to give yourself a chance.”

Strome, 22, is a natural center, yet playing on Tavares’ right wing, he often losses physical puck battles along the walls and is easily found out of position in his own end. After a stint back at AHL Bridgeport for most of November, Strome has eight goals and 26 points — along with a minus-11 rating — in 66 games this season. He had just one goal and three points in the previous 22 games.

Nelson, 24, started the season red-hot, but now has just five goals in his past 28 games.

“We’ve struggled with a few guys, for sure, about their compete level and their work ethic — and it has to be better,” Capuano said, his team still tenuously holding the first wild-card position. “There’s not doubt that those guys just have to figure it out at some point, or they’re just going to be a ‘sometimes’ player and work themselves in their hockey career [to the point of] who knows where it’s going to go.”

Rookie defenseman Ryan Pulock was set to the return to the lineup after four straight games as a healthy scratch. He replaced Brian Strait.

Backup goalie J-F Berube has a lower-body injury, which will keep him off the ice for “a few days,” according to Capuano. The team recalled Christopher Gibson from AHL Bridgeport on an emergency basis to back up Thomas Greiss.

Young defenseman Adam Pelech was sent to the AHL for a conditioning assignment, having not played since Jan. 14 as he recovers from an upper-body injury. The Sound Tigers play Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so he could be available for the first round of the NHL playoffs.

New York Post LOADED: 04.05.2016


Isles’ Ryan Pulock coming up big, and more pressure’s coming

By Brett Cyrgalis

April 5, 2016 | 12:50am

Have we seen the last of Travis Hamonic in Islanders jersey?

It doesn’t sound like rookie defenseman Ryan Pulock has leapfrogged anyone on the depth chart yet, but he at least took advantage of his opportunity.

The Islanders’ 21-year-old blueliner was reinserted into the lineup and scored his second goal of the season in Monday night’s 5-2 game win over the Lightning at Barclays Center.

“I’ve just stuck with it,” said Pulock, who had been a healthy scratch for the previous four games. “I was thinking when I got in, I just want to help the team win. That’s my goal since I’ve been here — just help the team win.”

It looks as if Pulock is going to stay in the lineup now that Calvin de Haan is sidelined with an apparent right-knee injury, suffered while blocking a shot late in the first period.

Coach Jack Capuano didn’t have an update on de Haan, other than to say that he wasn’t going to make the trip to Washington for Tuesday night’s game.

“He didn’t return,” Capuano said. “So that’s not a good thing.”

With right-hander Travis Hamonic already out for at least the rest of the regular season, Brian Strait will rejoin the lineup, and more pressure will be put on Pulock.

“I thought he played well,” Capuano said of Pulock’s 11th career game. “When Ryan first came here, we had a veteran group of guys, and he knew he was going to be in and out of the lineup. But he handled it well. He played hard tonight, and he stepped up. He engaged physically, and I thought he made some good decisions with the puck.”

Goalie Jean-Francois Berube is considered “day-to-day” with a lower-body injury, according to Capuano. The rookie got torched in Saturday’s 5-0 loss to Pittsburgh, then missed Sunday’s practice.

“We just want to make sure that he’s completely rested, especially as a goaltender, before we get him back in there, or on the ice,” Capuano said. “Hopefully he’ll be on the ice in maybe a few days.”

The team made an emergency call up of goalie Christopher Gibson to back up Thomas Greiss on Monday.

Defenseman Adam Pelech was loaned to AHL Bridgeport for a conditioning stint. The left-handed Pelech has been skating with the team for a week as he recovers from his upper-body injury, which has kept him out since Jan. 14.

The Sound Tigers play Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so if Pelech plays in all three of those games, he will miss the Islanders’ regular-season finale Sunday but could be ready to play in the first round of the playoffs.

Now with de Haan out, a recall could come sooner.



Ripped Isles answer cursing, fiery coach with Lightning rout

By Brett Cyrgalis

April 4, 2016 | 9:51pm

Have we seen the last of Travis Hamonic in Islanders jersey?

So Jack Capuano called his team out, and it responded.

Just hours after the Islanders coach delivered a pointed and profane criticism of his team — naming three players he thought “need to pick their s—t up” — they came out and beat the Lightning 5-2 on Monday night at Barclays Center.

Turns out, Ryan Strome, Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey found out how to pick up their … um, stuff.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve never singled guys out,” Capuano said after the game. “When I singled them out [Monday] morning, the only reason I singled them out is because I care about them. I care about them as people, and I care about them hockey players. You have to do something to ignite them.”

What Capuano might have done is ignite his Islanders (42-26-9), who now are two points away from securing a playoff spot as they head down to Washington for the second leg of this back-to-back Tuesday night against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals. The Lightning (45-29-5) are in position to be their first-round opponent — and will be without Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman — but they couldn’t seal the deal on their first chance at locking up a berth.

Instead, the Isles dictated the fast pace from the start and didn’t need too many heroics in the 32 saves made by goalie Thomas Greiss.

“Everyone in this room needs to be better, it’s not just the guys that were singled out,” said Matt Martin, who got a big go-ahead goal at 11:00 of the second to give his team a 2-1 edge. “Everyone in this room got that message. All 12 forwards and six ‘D’ need to be a lot better, and I think tonight was a good start.”

To a small group of assembled media Monday morning, Capuano decided it was time to rip into his guys publicly and got everyone’s attention by calling out not just their production but their work ethic.

“There’s no surprise. We need Stromey to be better. We need Brock to be better. We need Bailey to be better,” Capuano said. “We need guys to be better if we’re going to have any chance at all.”

It only got more pointed.

“You have to compete at a high level, and it’s about accountability,” Capuano said. “It starts from the coaches, but — I’ve said this — if you want to win games, it’s about team and about accountability amongst the guys in the room. And you’re only letting your teammate down if you’re not going to compete at a high level.

“The guys I mentioned earlier need to pick their s—t up and start playing.”

Capuano has been behind the Islanders bench for five-plus seasons now. He never has gone to these lengths to make a point about specific players, and it seems to have worked.

Nelson scored a nifty backhand breakaway at 15:23 of the second, his 26th of the season that gave the Isles a 3-1 lead. Capuano juggled the lines and put Strome back at center, where he was able to find some more open ice. Bailey, moved off John Tavares’ wing, played with a physical edge that had been lacking.

“It is what it is,” Nelson said in response to Capuano’s public criticism, as the 24-year-old is second on team in goals scored after having five in the previous 28 games. “Need to be better, I guess.”

The Isles were staked to a 1-0 lead by rookie defenseman Ryan Pulock’s second of the season, and the lead was extended to 4-1 later in the second with captain Tavares’ 30th of the season on the power play. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman cut it to 4-2, but the Isles got one from Johnny Boychuk 4:28 into the third to pull away.

“I said what I said. It’s not calling them out trying to embarrass them in any kind of way,” Capuano said. “We need those guys to play better.”



Islanders beat Lightning but deal with scares, injuries

Updated April 4, 2016 11:41 PM

By Laura Albanese [email protected]

The time for niceties is over.

Islanders coach Jack Capuano made that perfectly clear hours before his team took on the Lightning on Monday night. He called out specific players for lack of effort, something he’s avoided doing all season. But even though the Isles responded with a 5-2 win at Barclays Center — one more victory in their last four games will clinch a playoff berth — effort did little to compensate for a game full of big scares and big injuries.

Calvin de Haan left in the second period and did not return after taking a puck to his right knee. Cal Clutterbuck took a stick to the face in a frightening second-period collision that left him incapable of leaving the ice under his own power (he returned in the third period). De Haan might not make the trip to Washington for Tuesday night’s game.

The injuries — the latest in a growing list that includes Travis Hamonic, Mikhail Grabovski and Jaroslav Halak — tempered a pumped-up showing by the Islanders, who were subjected to their coach’s ire during the morning skate.

“We need [Ryan] Strome to be better, we need Brock [Nelson] to be better, we need [Josh] Bailey to be better,” he told reporters. “We’ve struggled with a few guys for sure about their compete level and their work ethic, and it has to be better . . . You’re only letting your team down if you’re not going to compete at a high level, and the guys I mentioned earlier need to pick this [expletive] up and start playing.”

After the win, Nelson said of Capuano’s comments, “I don’t think you can ever be too complacent. It is what it is. You go out and play.”

Asked if the coach’s assessment was fair, he added: “Nothing is fair . . . You go out and play.”

Capuano said part of the decision to call out his players was because of his veterans, who are running out of chances to win a Stanley Cup. “The only reason I singled them out is because I care about them,” he said. “I care about them as people and I care about them as hockey players . . . It’s not that I’m calling them out and trying to embarrass them in front of anybody. We need those guys to play better.”

On Monday night, young blood was part of the answer. Starting for Brian Strait (rest), Ryan Pulock ignited the offense early, scoring the second goal of his career at 13:18 of the first period when Kyle Okposo’s shot deflected off his leg and got past Ben Bishop. The rookie further endeared himself to the fan base when he went toe-to-toe with Cedric Paquette after Paquette’s hit on Thomas Hickey.

But every positive seemed to beget yet another injury.

Midway through the first period, de Haan took a hard shot off the knee from Nikita Kucherov. He tried to get up under his own power and faltered, and though he eventually returned with about 4:20 left in the period, he left immediately after trying to skate.

De Haan returned to start the second period but went back to the locker room a few minutes in, shortly after getting beaten by Kucherov at center ice. Kucherov fed it to Alex Killorn, who waited for Thomas Greiss to commit before backhanding a goal to tie the score 2:08 into the second period.

The Islanders scored the next three goals in a span of 5:15 — by Matt Martin, Nelson and John Tavares (his 30th) — but not before another player fell.

With the Isles up 3-1, J.T. Brown high-sticked Clutterbuck, who crumpled against the boards and had to be escorted off the ice by Martin and Casey Cizikas. Clutterbuck, hanging his head, didn’t move his legs as his teammates skated him off.

Tavares, who also had two assists, scored 52 seconds after Nelson’s goal. Johnny Boychuk scored the only goal of the third period.

IslandersIslanders recall Gibson from Bridgeport

The Lightning failed to get any traction without Steven Stamkos, who underwent surgery for a blood clot near his right collarbone Monday. He is expected to be out one to three months.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.05.2016


With J-F Berube hurt, Islanders recall Christopher Gibson

Updated April 4, 2016 10:09 PM

By Laura Albanese [email protected]

J-F Berube’s five-goal drubbing by the Penguins on Saturday hurt the Islanders in more ways than one. They announced Monday morning that the backup goalie is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and recalled Christopher Gibson on an emergency basis from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Coach Jack Capuano told reporters that he believes Berube should be back in a few days. In the meantime, the Islanders, who are in a pivotal stretch and have yet to clinch a playoff berth with four games left in the regular season, might have to use what essentially is a fourth choice in the crease. Jaroslav Halak (groin) isn’t expected to return until the playoffs.

Gibson, 23, was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Kings in 2011 and traded to the Islanders by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015. In 42 games with the Sound Tigers, he was 19-11-6 with a .909 save percentage and 2.70 goals-against average. In his only NHL game, he made his debut on Jan. 2 against the Penguins and allowed a goal with 16 saves in 29:03 in a 5-2 loss.

Isles files

The Islanders loaned defenseman Adam Pelech to the Sound Tigers for conditioning. The 21-year-old, who went down with what appeared to be a season-ending upper-body injury in January, is making strides and getting closer to returning to the NHL, Capuano said Sunday. Pelech’s unexpected return is fortuitous for the Islanders, given that Travis Hamonic went down with what appeared to be a knee injury last week and will miss at least the rest of the regular season . . . Ryan Pulock played in place of Brian Strait on Monday night as the Islanders began a home-and- away back-to-back. They will face the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals tonight in Washington.



Adam Pelech could help Isles after comeback from thoracic outlet syndrome

April 4, 2016 5:58 PM

By Arthur Staple [email protected]

Adam Pelech was warming up for a game against the Canucks on Jan. 17, a few days after the 21-year-old defenseman had two assists in an Islanders’ win over the Rangers. Things could not have been going better for Pelech, who in just seven games had shown himself to be a surprisingly calm and patient NHLer.

Within minutes, things went seriously wrong.

“My right side started swelling up, there was some tightness and kind of a bluish-purplish color,” Pelech told Newsday on Tuesday. “I went to the trainers and they felt it could have been a blood clot, since those are some of the symptoms. I went to a hospital in Brooklyn, they did an ultrasound and showed it was a clot, so I went to North Shore [University Hospital] in Long Island for a few more days of tests.”

And just like that, a promising first NHL season appeared over — or even more than that. But after a week or so without a firm diagnosis, Pelech was found to have thoracic outlet syndrome, a compression of the blood vessels running from the upper body to the arms.

Now, following surgery in California to remove part of the uppermost rib and some muscle on Pelech’s right side, he’s ready to resume his season. He’ll play for Bridgeport this weekend and, incredibly, could be a real option for Jack Capuano and the Islanders in the playoffs, which start next week.

IslandersIslanders vs. Canucks

“That would be amazing,” he said. “If you’d told me when it happened I might have a chance to play in the playoffs this year, it’d be hard to believe.”

Pelech credits the Islanders’ medical training staff, which reached out immediately to its counterparts with the Bruins and Lightning — Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid and Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy both had TOS and returned to play.

Pelech’s oldest brother, Matt, also dealt with a similar issue six years ago. “I was on the phone with him every day and he helped me get through the recovery,” Adam said.

And he credits Dr. Julie Freischlag and her team at UC-Davis for allowing Pelech to believe he’d be back playing again, even this season. “She said she does these surgeries for athletes all the time,” he said. “It calmed me down quite a bit.”

With Travis Hamonic out indefinitely, the Islanders’ defense will be stretched thin if they can qualify for the postseason this final week. And Pelech’s return could be a huge boost.


1008639 New York Rangers

Kreider and Stepan Help Rangers Clinch Postseason Berth

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSAPRIL 5, 2016

Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan each scored their 20th goals and had an assist, and the visiting Rangers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2, on Monday night to earn a sixth consecutive playoff berth.

Dan Boyle and Mats Zuccarello also scored for the Rangers, who ended a three-game skid and moved to 3 points behind second-place Pittsburgh. They remain 2 points ahead of the fourth-place Islanders in the Metropolitan Division.

Henrik Lundqvist made 27 stops for his 34th win.

Nick Foligno scored twice for Columbus, which cut the score to 3-2 with 9 minutes 15 seconds remaining before conceding an empty-net goal.

The Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh, who was injured blocking a shot in the first period, left the game and did not return.

BLUES 5, COYOTES 2 Vladimir Tarasenko’s 37th goal, midway through the third period, was the go-ahead tally for host St. Louis, which scored five straight times to rout Arizona and move into a tie for first place in the Western Conference.

The Blues and Stars each have 105 points and are also tied atop the Central Division, with two games left. Dallas holds the tiebreaker with more regulation wins.

PANTHERS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 3 Rocco Grimaldi scored twice, and Florida won at Toronto to set a franchise record with its 99th point.

New York Times LOADED: 04.05.2016


Rangers remain optimistic despite recent struggles, grueling final stretch

BY PAT LEONARD NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Sunday, April 3, 2016, 8:07 PM A A A

COLUMBUS - The Rangers' optimism after Saturday night's 4-3 home loss to Buffalo was startling.

They insisted they hadn't played that badly despite falling to 0-2-1 in their last three and failing twice in three nights to clinch a playoff berth needing only a regulation or overtime win.

"I don't think we're feeling any pressure to win a game," alternate captain Marc Staal said after the loss, before the team flew to Columbus on Sunday's off day. "That's the goal. We want to do it in the way we know how, by winning hockey games. The last two haven't gone our way, but we have (four) more left and I think if we play with the same desperation and emotion that we did in the last couple periods, we're gonna be fine."

The Rangers (43-26-9, 95 points) did see their magic number to clinch a playoff berth fall to two thanks to Boston's 6-4 loss Sunday afternoon to the Chicago Blackhawks. Now a Rangers win of any kind would get them into the postseason, as would one more Bruins loss the rest of the way.

Monday night's tilt in Columbus, though, will be brutal, win or lose. Don't count on John Tortorella and Brandon Dubinsky letting the Blueshirts out of Ohio without a few souvenir bruises just because the Blue Jackets (70 points) are way out of it.

From there, the Rangers' three remaining opponents are as desperate if not more so than Alain Vigneault's team: the Tampa Bay Lightning, while without Anton Stralman and Steven Stamkos due to injury, are clawing for early home ice entering Tuesday night's visit to the Garden.

Thursday night's final showdown with the Islanders (93 points, five to play) may decide which New York team finishes third in the Metropolitan Division and likely meets the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, and which qualifies as a wild-card that starts on the road at top Atlantic teams Florida or Tampa Bay.

Then Saturday afternoon's season finale against Detroit literally could be for the Red Wings' postseason lives. Nothing will come easy.

"For a goalie but also as a team we need short memories," Henrik Lundqvist said Saturday. "We need to bring positives here and go to work and prepare for the next game."

Quickly, the Rangers need to figure out why they are starting games with little fire and/or efficiency.

They were no-shows in Thursday night's first period in a 4-3 road loss in Carolina and fell behind 3-0 less than 21 minutes in against Buffalo as Lundqvist was benched in the early second period.

The Rangers can talk optimistically all they want but for a team with so many experienced leaders with poise, they have been unpredictably and alarmingly fragile at different points this season.

Figuring this out starts with their underperforming top players, a group led Saturday by captain Ryan McDonagh, who hasn't been nearly the consistent high-end difference maker that helped earn him the "C" after the 2013-14 playoffs.

"I have got to stay focused on continuing to try and accomplish what we are trying to do here," McDonagh said. "I really am going to try and put this behind me as soon as I can and focus on our next game."

The issues in defensive coverage, puck management and inexplicable no-shows that have plagued the Rangers all season continue to rear their head.

Advancing to the playoffs may seem like a formality, but the Blueshirts' recent slide here is a bigger deal than just a couple games that haven't gone their way.



Rangers clinch playoff berth with 4-2 win over Blue Jackets, Ryan McDonagh leaves with apparent hand injury

BY Pat Leonard

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Tuesday, April 5, 2016, 1:25 AM

COLUMBUS — First the Rangers lost three straight. The Rangers’ playoff clinching Monday night was characteristically complicated, nerve-racking and bittersweet, mirroring a 97-points-and-counting season that hasn’t often felt like it.

They sealed their 10th playoff berth in 11 seasons and third in three seasons under Alain Vigneault with a 4-2 victory over ex-coach John Tortorella’s woeful Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan led the way with a goal and an assist apiece, and Mats Zuccarello scored fortunate goal off his own blocked pass for the one-goal lead that Stepan sealed with a late empty-netter.

“It’s a great feeling, a proud feeling that we’re in,” Henrik Lundqvist (27 saves) said after holding the fort in what Vigneault called a “nervous” third period. “It hasn’t been pretty at times. At times it’s been great. But playing in this league it’s a grind. We were locked in tonight. It’s just a really good feeling.”

The franchise’s 58th-ever playoff berth may have come at a heavy price.Captain Ryan McDonagh injured his right hand blocking former teammate Brandon Dubinsky’s power-play slap shot at 14:47 of the first, did not return for the final two periods, and could be out long-term.

A tight-lipped Vigneault said McDonagh, 26, would be “re-evaluated” for an “upper-body” injury, but the coach admitted he may call up a defenseman for Tuesday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Garden with three regular-season games to play.

McDonagh’s hand had to be seriously injured for him to leave the game. This is the second-year captain who played “a couple games” of last spring’s Eastern Conference finals on a broken right foot. Teammates weren’t letting on if they knew his status, but they aren’t naïve, either.

“It’s a big piece,” Stepan said. “But as hard as it is and as big of a piece as he is to our group, we have to just have guys step in and pick up bigger roles.”

In McDonagh’s absence, Kevin Klein had to play his off left-side Monday and was beaten wide on Jackets captain Nick Foligno’s second goal 10:45 into the third period.

McDonagh hasn’t had a good year by his standards, but he is the team’s best defenseman and has helped foster a culture of belief.

The Blueshirts did not fold after losing three straight last week, including 4-3 defeats to non-playoff teams Carolina and Buffalo with chances to clinch.

“Down the stretch, this is our team. This is what we’re going to go to war with,” McDonagh said Monday morning. “There is a lot of confidence in this room, even through the ups and downs. We’ve had a lot of playoff experiences, and in those seven-game series, we know it’s not as much about your opponents as much as how you’re playing.”

Vigneault said the third-seed Rangers (44-26-9, 97 points, three to play) are still eyeing home-ice advantage, which would mean reclaiming the Metropolitan Division’s second seed from the red-hot Penguins (100 points, three to play).

“We’ve really got to focus on ramping ourselves up to playing our best hockey,” Stepan said. “We’ve got to get better in all areas of the game.”

But the Islanders (43-26-9, 95 points), who beat the Lightning, 5-2, are simultaneously threatening to drag the Rangers into their current first wild-card spot. That will depend heavily on the rivals’ final must-see showdown Thursday night at the Garden.

Buckle up.



Henrik Lundqvist’s punishment after recent debacles

By Larry Brooks April 4, 2016 | 4:08pm

COLUMBUS — The Rangers canceled Sunday’s scheduled practice soon after the end of Saturday’s 4-3 defeat to the Sabres at the Garden prevented a playoff clinching, but that didn’t stop Henrik Lundqvist — pulled from that one after allowing three goals on nine shots in just 20:46 — from getting the work he felt was required.

“I went to the rink [Sunday] and took care of what I felt I needed to do,” Lundqvist told The Post. “There were guys there who went on and who took shots at me. I had a good workout. I thought I needed it.

“If you feel like you need more work, you can always get it.”

Lundqvist gets right back on the horse Monday against the Blue Jackets, the Rangers for the third time trying to nail down that playoff invite following the defeat to the Sabres and the one that preceded it in Carolina on Thursday.

In neither game was Lundqvist sharp. He allowed a long one in Carolina that he never appeared to pick up until it hit the back of the net. His rebound control and decision-making were off against the Sabres, foretelling the fourth quickest hook of his career and the quickest since midway through the 2008-09 season, when he was yanked on Dec. 30, 2008 after allowing three goals in 20 minutes to the Flyers.

Actually, Lundqvist is only 2-4-3 in his past 10 starts — the NHL’s nonsensical rules hung Saturday’s loss on Antti Raanta because he allowed the winning goal — with an ugly save percentage of .899 and and uglier goals-against average of 3.59.

That’s over a span that began with the March 3 game in Pittsburgh in which the goaltender was forced out after the second period with neck spasms that would sideline him until March 12. The King had been on a roll prior to sustaining the injury, coming off consecutive sterling performances that allowed the Rangers to steal games in St. Louis and Dallas.

“I don’t want to get too technical about my game and what I work on, but I just want to come back [in this one] with a good performance,” said Lundqvist, who is 4-1 this season immediately after being pulled. “But there are always details in my game that I focus on when I play.

“To me, it’s about patience and awareness. That’s always important to me. Awareness and patience.”

Lundqvist is as aware as all of his teammates that the Rangers still require two points more to clinch their sixth consecutive postseason berth. But he said that couldn’t be the motivation underlying the club’s preparation for the match against John Tortorella’s 28th-overall Blue Jackets.

“Our mindset is to come back as a team with a really strong game,” Lundqvist said. “Let’s not focus on too much around us. Let’s not focus on the standings or what the playoff situation is.

“Let’s just focus on our game, on having an overall strong game. Let’s not focus on the way we start or the way we finish. Let’s have a complete game.”

Presuming the Rangers do qualify, it will be Lundqvist’s 10th trip to the playoffs. He knows what it takes to prepare. But he said that he hasn’t yet begun to think about next week and that his entire focus is on the task at hand.

“You can’t focus on the next chapter until you finish the one you’re on,” Lundqvist said. “We can’t look ahead. We can’t focus on next week. We need to finish strong and we need to win games.

“Personally, I never start thinking about the playoffs until after the last game of the season,” said The King. “That’s when you know who you’re playing and you know the schedule. That’s when the preparation and focus begins for the playoffs.

“Now is not the time for that.”

The Rangers were going with the same lineup, meaning Oscar Lindberg sat out his 10th straight as a healthy scratch up front and Dylan McIlrath sat out his third straight as a healthy scratch on defense after missing the previous 10 games rehabbing a right knee injury.

The Rangers, 53-25-4 on the road in Alain Vigneault’s first two years behind the bench, were 18-17-5 going into Monday’s finale away from home. The final three games are at Garden: Tuesday against Tampa Bay, Thursday against the Islanders and Saturday afternoon against the Red Wings.



Rangers’ playoff worries give way to Ryan McDonagh worries

By Larry Brooks

April 4, 2016 | 10:02pm

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Rangers got the playoff clincher here Monday that had eluded the team in the previous two games, but the check mark that came with this 4-2 victory over the Blue Jackets may have come with a heavy, heavy cost.

For the Blueshirts, who were plagued by injuries to defensemen Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal in coming up short in Game 7 of last year’s conference finals against the Lightning, might very well have to open this year’s tournament without McDonagh.

The Blueshirts’ captain may have suffered a broken right hand in blocking a low Brandon Dubinsky drive flush on the back of his glove with 5:13 remaining in the first period. McDonagh — without argument the team’s most important defenseman — played three more shifts through the end of the period but did not play the remainder of the game that the Rangers ultimately sealed on Derek Stepan’s shorthanded empty-netter with 1:11 to play.

Alain Vigneault said McDonagh would be “reevaluated [Tuesday].” The coach also seemed to indicate the Blueshirts would recall a defenseman from the AHL Wolf Pack prior to Tuesday’s match at the Garden against the Lightning.

When McDonagh missed six games in February with two separate head injuries, the Rangers shifted Dan Boyle to the left and paired him with Dylan McIlrath. It is not likely the Blueshirts would go in that direction if, as appears likely, McDonagh is sidelined when the first round kicks off either next Wednesday or Thursday.

With veteran Raphael Diaz, a righty who actually is more comfortable on the left side, out with another injury in an already injury-ravaged season, the Blueshirts are likely to recall lefty first-year pro Brady Skjei, who has impressed in four previous games with the Rangers. The other option would be veteran lefty journeyman Chris Summers.

On Monday, Marc Staal assumed much of the load in McDonagh’s absence, excelling through 20:00 over the final two periods and 26:03 overall. The alternate captain did not want to contemplate life without No. 27, at least not in the flush of the match.

“I haven’t gone in to check on him,” Staal said. “I’m scared to.”

The clinch sends the Blueshirts to the playoffs for the sixth straight year and 10th time in 11 years since both the hard-cap era and Henrik Lundqvist arrived in 2005-06. The Penguins are the only other team in the East to qualify as many times in that time period.

“I do think we should regard this as an accomplishment,” Staal said. “We have 97 points with three games to go in a season that by just about anyone else’s standards would be a very successful season.

“There have been a lot of ups and downs to get to this point, but it is definitely an accomplishment. It’s not an easy thing to do year after year.”

The Rangers were far crisper and played with far more authority out of the gate than they had in the preceding two defeats to the Hurricanes and Sabres. They took a 1-0 lead at 6:17 on Chris Kreider’s left wing power/speed drive to the net on which No. 20 got No. 20 by backhanding home his own rebound.

It was 3-1 at the end of the second on goals from Boyle and Mats Zuccarello before the Jackets closed it to 3-2 at 10:45 of the third to make things a little bit dicey out there. But Lundqvist, strong in a bounce-back performance after being yanked less than a minute into the second period against the Sabres, made a couple stops, and the Blueshirts had their clincher.

“It was a great feeling in the first to see how determined we were,” Lundqvist said. “There were big blocks in front, and a lot of times, that can make the difference.”

There were six first-period shots blocked by the Rangers with former coach and shot-blocking fanatic John Tortorella behind the other bench, and while Lundqvist might be correct that they made a difference, the question is — at what toll on one of them?

“It was a big block but a hard shot as well,” the King said. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Now, with three games remaining, the Rangers will take aim on first-round home ice and the second-place Penguins, whom they trail by three points. But with or without it, the Blueshirts could well be without McDonagh.

So a big win here for the Rangers — but very likely at an even bigger price.



Rangers clinch tonight with 2 points in any fashion

Posted by Andrew Gross

So here’s how my Sunday was spent: spent all morning obsessively checking airline web site to see status of my 5 p.m. flight to Columbus, given the rough wind conditions. On time, on time, on time. Finally leave for LaGuardia. Just as I reach the airport, get a call from the airline saying the flight was pushed back a half hour. OK, that’s not so bad. Make it through lengthy security line to gate. About 15 minutes later, gate is changed to another terminal. Wait in line for crowded shuttle bus with rest of people on flight, some very grumpy because they’ve been switched to this flight from earlier cancelled flight. Get to new gate to see flight has been pushed back another 10 minutes. OK, not so bad. Then, pushed back 10 minutes again. Check airline web site to see incoming aircraft has not left Toronto yet. Waiting, waiting. Check with gate agent. Flight still a go but now no departure time. OK, whatever. Turn away from gate agent. Try to find a spot to sit. Glance back toward gate. Flight shows cancelled. Back on line to talk to gate agent. Fight breaks out among two women on line. Police called. Get to gate agent. They can’t rebook me. Give me a number to call. Call the number. Nice woman on phone offers me flight this afternoon that may or may not get me to Columbus in time for tonight’s game.

Which is a long way of saying I’ll be watching the Rangers’ third playoff clinching attempt tonight against the Blue Jackets in their final regular-season road game from my couch. And, I’m sure everybody has been through multiple experiences like that at the airport. Other than the two women fighting, of course.

The Rangers will clinch a sixth straight playoff berth with a win in any fashion tonight - regulation, overtime or shootout. That’s the only scenario for tonight with no other teams playing that could impact the Rangers’ playoff status.

The reports from those media members who did make it Columbus - basically everyone on the beat but me - are that the Rangers’ lineup will remain the same tonight and that Henrik Lundqvist will be back in net after being pulled 46 seconds into the second period of Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Sabres after allowing three goals on nine shots.

Wasn’t sure if coach Alain Vigneault would go back to Lundqvist or start Antti Raanta with a game against the playoff-bound but Steven Stamkos- and Anton Stralman-less Lightning on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Also thought after Saturday’s loss to the Sabres - non-playoff-bound - and Thursday’s 4-3 loss at Carolina to the non-playoff-bound Hurricanes, not to mention a 3-2 overtime loss to the Penguins the previous Sunday, that Vigneault would look to get either Oscar Lindberg back into his group of 12 forwards or Dylan McIlrath into his group of six defensemen. But those two will remain healthy scratches.

From today’s morning skate in Columbus

Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello

J.T. Miller-Derick Brassard-Rick Nash

Eric Staal-Kevin Hayes-Jesper Fast

Tanner Glass-Dominic Moore-Viktor Stalberg

Ryan McDonagh-Kevin Klein

Keith Yandle-Dan Girardi

Marc Staal-Dan Boyle

Henrik Lundqvist (33-20-7, 2.48 goals-against average, .920 save percentage)

The Rangers (43-26-9) have won their first three over the Blue Jackets (31-39-8) - two before John Tortorella took over - who snapped a four-game losing streak with Saturday’s 5-1 win over the Hurricanes.



Rangers clinch playoff berth, 4-2 over Jackets

Andrew Gross

On their third attempt, the Rangers have clinched their sixth straight playoff berth and their 10th postseason appearance in 11 seasons, a.k.a. Henrik Lundqvist’s career.

The Rangers defeated John Tortorella’s Blue Jackets, 4-2, tonight at Nationwide Arena, getting the two points they required for playoff entry, something they were unable to do in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the visiting Sabres or in Thursday’s 4-3 loss at Carolina.

Henrik Lundqvist, who got pulled 46 seconds into the loss to the Sabres after allowing three goals on nine shots, made 27 saves against the Blue Jackets. The Rangers took a 3-1 lead into the third period but Nick Foligno scored his second goal of the game to bring the Blue Jackets within 3-2 at 10:45 of the third period. The Rangers did not clinch the win until Derek Stepan, on the penalty kill and the Blue Jackets skating six on four with the goalie pulled, backhanded in a empty-net shorthander at 18:49.

However, one huge note of concern is the status of captain Ryan McDonagh. The defenseman blocked a Brandon Dubinsky power-play shot with his right hand at 14:47 of the first period. McDonagh returned to play three more (short) shifts toward the end of the first period but the Rangers announced before the start of the second period that McDonagh would miss the rest of the game.

The Rangers remained in third place in the Metropolitan Division with the victory as they have 97 points in 79 games. The second-place Penguins have 100 points also in 79 games and the Penguins play at Ottawa on Tuesday night. The Rangers host the Lightning on Tuesday night.

The Lightning lost, 5-2, to the Islanders at Brooklyn tonight, giving the fourth-place Islanders 95 points in 78 games. The Islanders are at Washington on Tuesday and then face the Rangers at the Garden on Thursday night.



Rangers beat Blue Jackets, 4-2, to clinch playoffs

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Rangers needed three attempts before getting the victory that clinched a postseason berth.

Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan each scored their 20th goals and had an assist, and the Rangers hung on to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2, on Monday night to earn a sixth-consecutive playoff spot.

“It’s tough to get to the dance,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “People don’t realize how hard it is to be able to get an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup. We finally got our checkmark. We can still work for home ice, and that’s what we’re going to try and do.”

Dan Boyle and Mats Zuccarello also scored for the Rangers, who snapped a three-game skid and moved three points behind second-place Pittsburgh. They remain two points ahead of the fourth-place Islanders in the Metropolitan Division.

The Rangers clinched playing down a defenseman most of the way. Captain Ryan McDonagh suffered an apparent hand injury blocking a shot early in the first period and left the game. Vigneault said McDonagh would be reevaluated today.

“It was a big block but it was a hard shot as well,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who made 27 stops for his 34th win. “I don’t know much. I haven’t talked to him yet. Obviously he’s a big piece here so hopefully it’s not something too serious.”

McDonagh stepped in front of Brandon Dubinsky’s one-timer at 14:47 of the first period. As soon as the puck struck, McDonagh immediately dropped his stick.

On the bench, he was treated with ice and came on for another shift, but didn’t return after the intermission.

Nick Foligno scored twice for Columbus, which pulled within one with 9:15 remaining before conceding Stepan’s empty-net goal. The Blue Jackets were without former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovksy, who was a healthy scratch by coach John Tortorella in favor of impressive rookie Joonas Korpisalo. The 21-year-old made 26 saves.

The Rangers finally got off to a good start, scoring the first two goals of the game. On the attack with speed, Kreider took a drop pass from Stepan — who picked up his 300th career point — in traffic and fired a low shot that Korpisalo couldn’t control. Sliding on his knees and with Dalton Prout on his back, Kreider was able to get the rebound and score on the backhand at 6:17 of the first period.

Early in the second, Columbus had trouble clearing its own zone. The puck came to Boyle and he glided to the net before sneaking a shot under Korpisalo at 5:28.

Foligno cut the lead to one at 14:41, deflecting David Savard’s shot in front of Lundqvist for his first goal in 16 games.

Four minutes later, Kreider forced a turnover to create an odd-man break and found Zuccarello, who scored from the slot for his career-high 26th goal to make it 3-1.

“I really liked the way we played in the first two periods,” Vigneault said. “I think it was evident in the third that we were a little nervous. There was a lot on the line, but we got it done.”



Bad starts getting Rangers off-kilter

By ANDREW GROSS

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

The key to a decent finish for the suddenly struggling Rangers is better starts.

The Rangers face the Blue Jackets tonight at Nationwide Arena in their final regular-season road game and the conclusion of a stretch of three games against non-playoff contenders. It will also be their third attempt at clinching a playoff berth and they can do so by collecting two points, be it in regulation, overtime or in a shootout.

Including tonight, the Rangers, who remain in third place in the Metropolitan Division, have four games left in the regular season and their last three opponents, the Lightning, Islanders and Red Wings, are all battling for playoff positioning.

"As crazy as it sounds, you still have a lot of time until the playoffs start," center Derek Stepan said. "We’ve just got to find a way to play our game."

Thursday, the Rangers played one of their worst first periods of the season and went on to lose, 4-3, at Carolina.

And Saturday, the Rangers gave up two first-period goals and could not capitalize on their own offensive-zone time en route to a 4-3 loss to the visiting Sabres. The Rangers were booed off the ice after 20 minutes by the Madison Square Garden crowd and displayed a seeming lack of concern over their inability to play consistently for a full 60 minutes.

"Any time we get down it’s tough to fight back against any team in this league," defenseman Keith Yandle said. "Obviously, it’s not the way we wanted to start but we did some good things. We’ve got to keep fighting."

"It’s never easy to win in this league," Stepan added. "We have to find a way to play our game right from the drop of the puck in Columbus."

The Rangers have been outscored in the first period, 5-2, as they’ve gone 1-2-1 over their past four games. That’s in contrast to their overall first-period performance this season, as they’ve outscored their opponents, 64-50.



Henrik Lundqvist back in net as Rangers try to clinch playoff spot

April 4, 2016 3:42 PM

By Steve Zipay [email protected]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Alain Vigneault is staying the course.

In their third try at securing a playoff berth, the Rangers coach is relying on experience, sending out the same lineup tonight that started in the 4-3 loss to Buffalo on Saturday. The Rangers have 95 points, two shy of securing a postseason berth for the sixth consecutive season.

Henrik Lundqvist, who was pulled early in the second period against the Sabres after allowing three goals on nine shots, will be back in the net.

A Blue Jackets squad being evaluated by coach John Tortorella will counter with 21-year-old goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (15-10-4, 2.64, 918.)

“I want to come back with a strong performance,” said Lundqvist, making his fourth straight start and eighth in the last nine games.

Rangers

Rangers again will try to clinch playoff berth

Not just Lundqvist, but after three losses, all the Rangers will need to be more desperate to grab two points at Nationwide Arena. “We’re looking . . . to put everything out there and we’ll see how far that takes us,” Lundqvist said after Monday’s morning skate.

It’s possible that backup Antti Raanta will get the nod against Tampa at home tomorrow. Rookies Dylan McIlrath and Oscar Lindberg, who haven’t played in weeks, remained healthy scratches.

Vigneault has repeatedly pointed to puck management as the area that needs to be strengthened. “Defensively, we’re not going to be perfect, but we haven’t given up a lot of opportunities [in the last two games],” he said and seemed pleased with the offensive-zone time, if not the execution. “At the end of the day, you need results . . . if we have our ‘D’ moving it up in the right fashion, it’s going to help our whole process.”

With the Blue Jackets already eliminated from the playoffs, Tortorella is using the remaining games as evaluations before the draft and moves in the summer.

Veteran forwards Scott Hartnell and Rene Bourque and defenseman Fedor Tyutin aren’t dressing Monday and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is the backup. Recent call-ups such as Massapequa-born forward Sonny Milano and defenseman Dean Kukan are receiving opportunities to impress. “And we’re evaluating some of our veteran guys, too,” Tortorella said. “The kids have not been the problem. Korpi has played better [than Bobrovsky]. This is an important game for the Rangers. The team that I have on the ice is the team that I think gives us the best chance to win.”

Rangers

With Brandon Dubinsky, Brandon Saad, Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson, each with more than 45 points, up front, the threat to score is certainly there.

But the former Rangers bench boss said he hasn’t been emphasizing the role of spoiler to his players. “I don’t even get into the spoiler stuff. I just want us to play hard,” he said. “We’ve played a number of games — three in the last week — where we could have been spoilers in one way or another. I’m not sure what the Rangers are going for, if home ice is still in the picture or getting in, but they’ll be ready to play, to play fast. We’ve got to be ready to go.”

After the Tampa game on Tuesday, the Rangers host the Islanders on Thursday and the Red Wings on Saturday.



Alain Vigneault stays with struggling Rangers’ defense

Updated April 5, 2016 1:01 AM

By Steve Zipay [email protected]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — There could be changes on the Rangers’ defense and in goal for Tuesday night’s game against Tampa Bay at Madison Square Garden.

Ryan McDonagh, struck on the right hand by Brandon Dubinsky’s shot late in the first period, will be re-evaluated today. Coach Alain Vigneault said management was discussing a call-up from Hartford and that there is “a good chance” that a player will be summoned. It could be Brady Skjei, a lefty like McDonagh.

Defenseman Dylan McIlrath has played in 31 games, but not once since injuring his knee against the Islanders on March 6. He’s been cleared to play for the last three games and could get a chance in the next three games, perhaps as soon as Tuesday night.

“There is a possibility that [Dan] Boyle might get a game to rest, but I still feel we have an opportunity to get home ice advantage,” Vigneault said.

Antti Raanta could get Tuesday night’s start in goal in the second game of a back-to-back, but Vigneault did not announce his choice after Monday night’s 4-2 victory over the Blue Jackets.

Eric Staal was a happy camper, for the team and himself. “We controlled a lot of the game the first two periods, and scoring the first goal is always big in this league,” said Staal, 31, who joined the Rangers after a trade with Carolina on Feb. 28. “I’m excited for me personally. I haven’t been in a playoff game in a long time [2009], so I was fired up to see those two points.”

Massapequa’s Sonny Milano played his third NHL game for the Blue Jackets on Monday night. He had one shot on goal and one hit in 15:14.

How is his relationship with coach John Tortorella? “I’ve made some rookie mistakes and he’s called me out,” said Milano, the 16th overall selection in last June’s draft, “but it’s been great.”

Tortorella certainly has noticed the 19-year-old. “He’s made some beautiful backhand passes,” he said.

Milano recorded his first NHL point, an assist on Brandon Saad’s goal, on Saturday in Raleigh with his mother, Caroline, in the stands. His father, Frank, was at Monday night’s game.

With three games to play, five Rangers already have scored at least 20 goals. Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider have 20 each, J.T. Miller has 22, Mats Zuccarello has 26 and Derick Brassard has 27. The last time that occurred was in the 2010-11 season.

Newsday LOADED: 04.05.2016


Rangers-Blue Jackets in review

By Rick Carpiniello on April 5, 2016 Game review, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Rangers Report, Stanley Cup playoffs

Rangers 4, Blue Jackets 2.

Thoughts:

1) They’re in. That’s the best thing you can say about the Rangers right now. We have no idea who they’re going to play, or when. More importantly, we have no idea how they’re going to play, or when they will play well or when they will play poorly, because we haven’t known when they will or won’t for 79 games. So how can we now?

2) But they’re in for six years in a row now, and 10th time in 11 years – Olli Jokinen – which is a pretty good accomplishment for a team that wandered the desert from 1998 through what seemed like centuries.

3) We only know that, barring a miracle, the Rangers are going to open on the road next week, in Pittsburgh, Sunrise or Tampa, most likely.

4) Which brings us to Project Tank. I’ve been yapping about this for a couple of days, and our friend Eric has been insisting on it for weeks. Here’s the necessary disclaimer first: I don’t believe for a moment, for an eye-blink, that the Rangers would or will even entertain the idea of losing on purpose. But, in my opinion, they should … or at least, in my opinion, losing would be beneficial. Listen, this is a huge business, and there’s a ton at stake here, for a team that’s still in the window but won’t be for a lot longer.

New York Rangers v Columbus Blue Jackets5) It’s all about winning, right? About winning a Stanley Cup. Well, the best route – and it’s not even debatable – is through the Atlantic Division bracket. You can try to go through Florida and banged-up Tampa Bay/Detroit/Boston, or you can bang heads with smoking-hot Pittsburgh, then the Big Red Machine in Washington. You tell me which works better.

6) Again, the Rangers won’t tank. But the Islanders are two points back with a game in hand. The Rangers aren’t going any higher in the standings. These last three games don’t mean a lot to them. They have guys who need some rest, and rookies who need some minutes, and a captain who was injured last night (more on that in a moment). And we’ve seen that even if the Rangers try their damndest, they are capable of losing games to the Carolinas (well, they didn’t really try that night) and the Buffaloes (Alain Vigneault and Co. actually claim they tried that night).

7) And we’ve seen that losing to the Islanders hardly qualifies as tanking (0-2-1 this season), given it’s the Islanders’ Game 7 every time, and in this case on Thursday, the Islanders – two points back with a game in hand, but without the tiebreaker — might need to win their Garden visit to get their “checkmark.”

8) So, what I’m saying is that losing that game is a possibility no matter what, and losing Saturday to a Detroit team perhaps desperately trying to extend its 24-year run of playoff appearances, are not out of the realm of possibility, especially with some veterans out on Saturday. And that might be enough to get the Rangers the first wild card and trip through the Atlantic instead of Pittsburgh and D.C. That could give the Rangers a real shot of surviving two rounds of playoffs, or at least a much better shot. This caveat, obviously: The Rangers don’t want to go into the playoffs playing lousy hockey.

9) Wait, don’t order yet. There’s more. How delicious would it be for Rangers fans, on the last day of their season (depending on what Boston does) to lose to Detroit and maybe knock Mr. Snider’s kids out of the playoffs, or almost as good, force them to face Washington in the first round?

10) The Islanders and Flyers have a Sunday makeup game, by the way, so the Rangers might not know if they’re going to Pittsburgh, Florida or Tampa for 24 hours after they’re finished playing.

11) I checked the official standings. The Rangers have an “x” next to their name, not a “checkmark.” AV’s gonna be plenty disappointed.

12) So the Rangers will reevaluate captain Ryan McDonagh’s right hand today, after he took a Brandon Dubinsky shot off the back of the hand in the first period and did not play the last two periods last night. I’m sure he had x-rays last night. I’m not going to guess whether it’s broken or bruised or what – it is folly, stupid and asinine for those who are doing so

already – But we do know that McDonagh played on a shot-up broken foot last year, one so bad that he couldn’t start Game 7 because the freezing injection had a delayed effect. I imagine if he can handle the stick at all, he will want to play. Not saying he will be able to do that, or how effective he could be.

13) I must add, I think that sometimes it’s not the best idea to try to block a shot, especially a 35-footer like that, when there’s nobody screening the goalie and he’s going to make that save 97 percent of the time. Or if you’re going to go for the block, you go in straight ahead, on your feet, so the shinpad takes the brunt of it and maybe you even get to turn it into an offensive chance. I especially don’t think at this time of year it’s a worthwhile gamble, and can only think about Ryan Callahan/Zdeno Chara – though that was a huge moment and helped win a huge game the last week of the season. But I also understand that these guys are competitors and gamers and that’s their instinct – to go down in front of the shot, to sell out, to be there for the team, to try to win the game. It’s in their DNA, and there’s no way they won’t do it.

14) But the Rangers are in big, big, big trouble if McDonagh can’t play or can’t be effective, especially with the way some of the Rangers’ D-men who line up with him or behind him have played this season. Other than Lundqvist, he might be the most irreplaceable Ranger.

New York Rangers v Columbus Blue Jackets15) I imagine Brady Skjei will be summoned from Hartford today and play the left side against poor Tampa Bay tonight – the Bolts having lost Anton Stralman to a broken leg, and now Steven Stamkos to surgery to remove a blood clot from his arm, expected to be out 1-3 months. I imagine Dylan McIlrath goes in for Dan Boyle, and maybe gives Dan Girardi a breather later this week … and that would be great for McIlrath to play two fast teams in a row to prepare for any call he might get in the tournament. I think Oscar Lindberg, scratched for 10 straight, will play these last three, or some of them, too. Antti Raanta almost certainly gets the start in goal tonight, and maybe one more.

16) What we saw last night, when McDonagh went down, was the other defenders step up. I thought Marc Staal played one of his best games of the season with the additional minutes and responsibility. Plus we talk about how he seems to pick up his game when he gets ticked off early, and Nick Foligno did the honors. You could say the same for Keith Yandle stepping up. Dan Boyle and Girardi have both been relatively better lately, but both look exhausted at this point. Kevin Klein, McDonagh’s new regular partner, I think, has struggled with his new assignment lately, though he sure tries hard.

17) Not sure that defense – especially minus McDonagh – could dream of handling Pittsburgh in the first round.

18) But I digress. The Rangers weren’t at their best against John Tortorella’s mess of a team in Columbus, but they were so much better than they were the previous two, when they hacked up chances to clinch and maybe get home-ice, for what it’s worth (not much), with the No. 2 seed in the Metro. They skated. They pushed the pace. They took care, for the most part, of the area in front of Henrik Lundqvist. They didn’t mind getting dirty on the forecheck. Or the backcheck. It was definitely a step in the right direction.

19) And Lundqvist needed to be better than he had been the previous two, and he was. So it was a tough night for the Cam Talbot-crush boys who pose as Rangers fans but do touchdown dances on Twitter when Lundqvist loses.

20) You could see more jump early. Following good shifts by Viktor Stalberg with the fourth line, and Kevin Hayes’ line, Derek Stepan worked a give-and-go with Chris Kreider – coming around at the right time, as he usually does in spring — who put in his own rebound. Lundqvist with the assist. Mats Zuccarello took exception to Oliver Bjorkstrand’s snow shower on Lundqvist. Better than Kevin Hayes did vs. Buffalo Saturday.

21) It was hard to believe they were up 1-0 even though McIlrath and Lindberg didn’t play. (That’s sarcasm). But their first period was so much better than the last two.

New York Rangers v Columbus Blue Jackets22) I saw Derick Brassard and Hayes take strides early – you know, not coasting. Brassard then hustled to take the puck away from goalie Joonas Korpisalo to create a chance. He had two of Rangers’ five first-period hits (shows you how stats vary rink to rink, LOL, Rangers having only five hits in the first). What a different player Brassard is when he skates. Too bad he can’t find it in himself to skate all the time. Such a simple thing. Too bad that sometimes it takes something like playing his former team. But when he does, he can be a force.

23) Tanner Glass drew a penalty to Jared Boll, another tough guy who’s not as good as Glass and far more undisciplined, albeit tougher – and our fine, fine NHL officials got a call right — and the Rangers had one of their best power plays in recent weeks, even though it didn’t score.

24) Then Lundqvist made a home run pass to Zuccarello, who fed Eric Staal, who was robbed by Seth Jones’ deflection in front of an open net.

25) Earlier, Columbus iced the puck and it was really sad seeing Matt Calvert just easily beat Girardi to it, not even competitive, as Calvert negated the icing. Girardi is just dragging, and he’s got no wheels when he’s rested. He needs a break.

26) Lundqvist’s best save of first was against Jones inside the left circle, then he made a beaut against Cam Atkinson, released by Yandle to put a rebound on goal early in the second, up 2-0.

27) The Rangers had that lead because another good forecheck by Hayes’ line ended up in a Dan Boyle goal earlier in the second, though it’s a shot that should never go in, a bad-angle dribbler. These days, with the way all goalies play on their knees, they open a lot of holes on those bad-angle shots, Once upon a time, goalies would hug that post and players would only try to put pucks into their feet hoping for rebounds. Those shots rarely ever went in. Except for Pete “Feet” Peeters.

28) J.T. Miller had another fierce game. He stuck up for Marc Staal, after a high hit by Foligno. Not sure if Foligno got him in the head, but the way Miller and Staal — who took a penalty – reacted, I’m guessing he did. Players generally know when a play is borderline or over the line.

29) So the Rangers killed that penalty, but as they did, Stepan failed to get the puck deep at the offensive blue line, and thus couldn’t change, as Nash went to bench. Zuccarello couldn’t get on the ice in time, Foligno ended up all alone in front, between Yandle and Staal, to deflect home a shot by David Savard. 2-1.

New York Rangers v Columbus Blue Jackets30) Next goal was going to be big. Kreider, whose speed has been intimidating lately, blocked a shot by Dalton Prout, Yandle sent him out, and Kreider played give-and-go with Zuccarello. Only Zuccarello tried one of those customary one too many passes. It worked out great because his pass was blocked by Ryan Murray and came right back to Zuccarello for the shot he should have taken in the first place, his 59th point, tying a career high. 3-1.

31) The place sounded like the Garden.

32) Zuccarello also won a battle in the corner and set up Yandle for a good chance early in the third, missed high, or maybe goalie got a piece.

33) Foligno then went around Klein like a traffic cone and barreled in on goal. His shot wasn’t going in, but it hopped off Boyle, or perhaps off Klein, and over Lundqvist’s pad for an own-goal. Panic at the disco.

34) AV’s really got limited choices with his forward lines protecting a third-period lead. The Brassard line had some frighteningly bad shifts. But the coach has to play all four lines, especially in back-to-backs, and will have to do it in the playoffs. We all know that third-period leads have been, to say the least, a bit hairy this season.

35) Rick Nash, who was good but not great on that line, took a penalty, for knocking the stick out of Atkinson’s hands in the third. That’s a penalty in today’s pansified NHL. But really, guys just drop their sticks all the time now. They can’t be stick-checked anymore. Absurd what’s happened to the manly game of hockey. Sickening. They should play that “France In the Air” commercial song when penalties like that are called. And how often has that lift-the-stick maneuver turned into a high-sticking penalty this season? This time it was Zuccarello with two minutes left, and this time it wasn’t an automatic 6-on-4 goal. This time Stepan outworked the Blue Jackets to score an empty-netter – the Rangers’ third shorty this season, all of them by Stepan.

36) Torts being Torts. He scratched Scott (Scottie) Hartnell, and demoted Foligno to the fourth line, and Foligno who looked like somebody Matt Harveyed in his cornflakes. I think he’s been a gentler Torts this season, as he analyzes what he’s got and what he needs (and what he needs to lose). I imagine it will be a more uncomfortable Torts next season.

37) So, via tweets from @PLeonardNYDN, Vigneault said “I think we played better last game than people gave us credit for.” And AV said, “other than that the first period in Carolina, I’ve liked the way we played defensively.” Well, they were two quality, high-powered teams. Seriously, I don’t believe that AV really believed that. But he was selling it. That’s how he is, mostly positive publicly at least, and he’d rather keep his team confident than have it play in fear. That’s just his style. But if he believes those things, well …

38) I voted for team MVP, along with my PHWA/New York chapter brethren and sistren. I voted for 1. Lundqvist (if not for his first two months, the Rangers are out of the playoffs); 2. Miller (who carried the team during its best stretch of the season, into the trade deadline, in my opinion; and 3. Yandle, whose importance to this team still hasn’t been embraced by everybody. I couldn’t bring myself to pull the lever for the top two scorers, who haven’t played the full 200 nearly enough, or for the captain, who’s been so up and down. I’m not proud of my ballot.

39) I’m really tired of the John Scott story – he was called up to Montreal Monday. I mean, it was silly that he was voted to the all-star game, it turned into a nice story the way he acted and reacted, and the kind of guy he seemed to be that weekend, and it was an absolute joke that media professionals gave him the MVP award, and now it’s just completely played out.

Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Rangers at Blue Jackets … It’s Go Time!

By Rick Carpiniello on April 4, 2016 It's Go Time!, New York Rangers, NHL, Rangers Report, Stanley Cup playoffs

Rangers at Blue Jackets.

The Rangers reach the Final Four … four games remaining in the regular season. Tonight is their final road game until Games 1 and 2 of the playoffs in Pittsburgh, Florida, Tampa Bay or Washington.

The playoff clinching scenario has changed just a bit, and is simpler. The Rangers will clinch a spot with a win of any kind, or by getting two points in any way in their last four games.

There are also other scenarios regarding the Bruins failing to get a point, or failing to win in regulation or overtime, etc., which are far too complicated to fully explain. Any two points the Rangers get, or the Bruins fail to get, will do the trick.

But the Rangers have fallen to five points behind Pittsburgh, so home-ice in the first round is pretty much gone. They are two points up on the Islanders, with the tiebreaker, but the Isles have a game in hand and visit the Garden Thursday. If the Rangers finish fourth, behind the Islanders (or Flyers — unlikely) and get the first wild card they would crossover and play the Atlantic winner in the first round, and remain in the Atlantic bracket for the second round. The second wild card gets the Big Red Machine.

Other games that matter, to varying degrees, tonight: Tampa Bay at Brooklyn, Florida at Toronto.

Talk about bad timing: the Rangers are riding three straight losses for the first time since Dec. 17-20. They play back-to-backs, with Tampa at the Garden tomorrow. After the Islanders’ visit Thursday, the Rangers close their season Saturday afternoon against Detroit. They might not know their playoff seeding until after Sunday’s Flyers-Islanders game.

Alain Vigneault has decided to go with the same lineup that has disappointed all involved these last three games, which means Dylan McIlrath and Oscar Lindberg (for the 10th straight game) are prucha’d. Henrik Lundqvist, who was yanked from his last start after three goals on nine shots, starts in goal, which probably means Antti Raanta gets the Bolts tomorrow.

The Rangers are 3-0 vs. Columbus this season.

John Tortorella’s Blue Jackets snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Carolina Saturday and are 3-8 in their last 11. They return from a four-game trip, so you know what that means. Then again, the Rangers have appeared to be returning from a long road trip in their last two games.

FYI, Tortorella was 171-118-30 in 319 games as Rangers coach, then shown the door. Vigneault is 141-79-22 in 242 games.

Tonight’s probable lineup:

Kreider-Stepan-Zuccarello.

Miller-Brassard-Nash.

E.Staal-Hayes-Fast.

Glass-Moore-Stalberg.

McDonagh-Klein.

M.Staal-Boyle.

Yandle-Girardi.

Lundqvist/Raanta.

THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY

Apr. 3, 1928 – The Rangers defeated the Boston Bruins, 4-1, to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Apr. 3, 1937 – The Blueshirts defeated the Montreal Maroons, 4-0, to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Apr. 3, 2013 – After he was acquired by the Rangers in a trade during the afternoon, Derick Brassard tallied four points (one goal, three assists)

in his Rangers debut as the Blueshirts defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-1, at MSG.

Apr. 4, 1993 – John Vanbiesbrouck earned his 200th and final win as a Ranger, stopping all 24 shots he faced as the Blueshirts defeated the Washington Capitals, 2-0. Vanbiesbrouck became the third goaltender to win at least 200 games with the Rangers, and he currently ranks fifth on the franchise’s all-time wins list.

Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008652 Ottawa Senators

Scanlan: Don’t read too much into Sens’ final games

Staff

APRIL 4, 2016 4:31 PM

The Senators were in full evaluation mode this past week.

The management team was on the road with the hockey club, including general manager Bryan Murray, AGM Pierre Dorion and Daniel Alfredsson, senior advisor of hockey operations. After watching games in Winnipeg and Minnesota, Dorion also stayed west for some scouting.

While watching their own team play a three-game road trip, the decision-makers no doubt marvelled at the continued excellence of promoted forwards Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Zack Smith. Just as certainly, they wanted to toss Philly cheese steaks onto the ice as Ottawa surrendered three power-play goals in four chances in Saturday’s loss to the Flyers.

Here’s the thing about late-season player evaluations. They can be tricky, to the point of being outright misleading, depending on the state of a team and its roster, plus that of the opposition.

The Senators don’t have to look back any further than last March and April to spot a batch of Fool’s Gold that led the organization to believe this team was going to take a big leap forward from seventh in the Eastern Conference. Today, the Senators rank 12th.

That run was built on the foundation of unheralded goaltender Andrew ‘The Hamburglar’ Hammond exploding onto the scene as an emergency callup. Without warning (Hammond was 7-13-2 with AHL Binghamton) the Burglar went on the greatest streak of his life, a 20-1-2 tear that almost single-handedly lifted the Senators into a playoff position on the final day of the regular season. Even when Hammond left rebounds available, he was so charmed that rebounds fell into good hands, shooters missed nets or struck him yet again as the Golden Arches took notice.

In 2015-16, not surprisingly, Hammond has come back to earth (6-10-1, with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage). He’s not alone.

Many young players enjoyed success during that run, and some of them are no longer in the club’s plans.

Head coach Dave Cameron, behind the bench during that once-in-a-lifetime experience, will likely pay the price for this season’s fall from grace.

Professionals that they are, Cameron, his staff and the entire roster will play out these final three games, against Pittsburgh, Florida and Boston, with effort, whether or not it’s pretty.

As veteran winger Bobby Ryan said on Monday when he was asked about getting motivated to play — players tend to forget they’re not in playoff contention once they step on the ice.

It should be fun to play in the NHL anywhere, anytime. Just don’t expect that what we see should have any bearing on next year’s roster or the year after that.

Here’s five reasons to guard against making assumptions about late-season performances.

1. MEANINGLESS GAMES

As much as coaches love to preach about late-season intensity, the dirty little secret of the final week is that only the bubble teams are busting it. The Flyers played Ottawa as though Philly’s season was at stake, which is how it is for teams like Philadelphia, Boston and Detroit. Contenders like Washington (and Tuesday’s Senators opponent, the Pittsburgh Penguins) are in cruise control — more concerned with staying healthy than winning games. Rare is the game where two teams really care. (Detroit plays the Flyers, Wednesday and Boston, Thursday. Playoff hockey in the regular season).

2. CHEATING

On one of the Senators’ penalty-killing gaffes on Saturday, they were caught trying to make a breakout pass instead of just wiring the puck up ice. Why? Because the penalty kill unit has been cheating all season, but especially now when there are scoring points to be had for players on a team going nowhere. Contending teams don’t get greedy. They get the puck out.

3. MAKESHIFT ROSTERS

It’s difficult to assess players when they’re not slotted properly. On a given night, the Senators are missing up to half of their usual starting six defencemen. With centre Kyle Turris, winger Clarke MacArthur and now winger Mark Stone out, half of the top six forwards are missing. Flow and chemistry are hard to come by when the roster is a makeshift quilt most nights.

4. LAME DUCKS

It’s widely assumed the Senators will make drastic changes to their coaching staff, which means this group of players is being evaluated by playing a system and style that will be turned on its head by next year’s staff.

5. NOT SPECIAL

How can any player be evaluated when he’s part of a special teams operation that is among the worst in franchise history? Read it and weep: Ottawa’s current PK efficiency of 75.1% is basically identical to the expansion Senators 1992-93 PK rate of 75%. Today’s power play is at 15.8%, compared to the expansion team’s PP of 14.5%. The 1992-93 Senators were dead last in both categories. Today’s special teams are 28th (PP) and 29th (PK). The expansion Senators had a record of 10-70-4. Ouch.

“Without even trying, next year’s special teams will be better,” says MacArthur, who hopes to return to PK and PP duty. “If we don’t practise or do anything, it will be better. Turn the sticks upside down on the PK and we’ll be better than this year.”

Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 04.05.2016


Notes: Zack Smith would leap at chance to play for Canada at worlds

Staff

APRIL 4, 2016 4:17 PM

Zack Smith figures it’s a long shot, but if Canada comes calling, he would only be too happy to take a trip to St. Petersburg for the world championship.

“If it came up, I would go,” Smith said Monday. “It would be pretty hard to turn that down.”

When the year began, Smith never would have imagined anyone giving him a second thought about wearing Canada’s colours. He has never played on a national team before.

Yet it has been a year of surprises for Smith, who heads into the final week of the season with 22 goals. Last week, he was voted as the Senators’ nominee for the Masterton Trophy.

“With that award and the world championships, it’s just an honour to even be considered for something that you haven’t had before,” he said.

Countless factors are in play.

Canadian co-general managers Brad Treliving and George McPhee will first scour non-playoff-bound teams for players.

From there, lingering injuries is one concern, an issue which could keep Mark Stone from going to Russia. Players who are secure in playing for Canada at the World Cup in September may also opt out, opening the door for players who may not otherwise have received a shot.

“It would be a great opportunity, I would love to have that opportunity, but I haven’t talked to anyone,” said Smith. “I’ve heard a few people talking about it, but it’s tough to know how many guys will go (to Russia) with the World Cup coming up. Will it be more guys, fewer guys? It’s hard for me to be able to evaluate or factor in. It would be pretty cool if I got that chance.”

RYAN PASSES ON WORLDS: Bobby Ryan has ruled himself out of consideration to play for the United States at the worlds, but it has nothing to do with hockey. It has everything to do with his expanding family.

Ryan’s wife, Danielle, is due to deliver the couple’s first baby in late May or early June.

“If it wasn’t Russia, there would be possibility to go, but my wife wouldn’t even humour me,” said Ryan. “She said she needs me. She said ‘if the baby comes early and you’re in St. Petersburg and can’t come home, you’re sleeping on the couch all summer.’”

THE NUMBERS GAME: The plus/minus figure may be losing favour given the growth of the analytics in hockey, but Ryan still believes it’s a fair measure. In that respect, he’s disappointed he’ll finish with a minus for the first time in his eight full seasons in the NHL. He heads into Tuesday’s game against Pittsburgh as a minus-10. “I’m going to spend a lot of time thinking about that this summer and it’s not conducive to the kind of player I want to be.”

Ryan sported a chilly minus 15 from Feb. 1-March 10.

SPEAKING OF NUMBERS: The last time the Senators met Pittsburgh, back on Feb. 2, the Senators held a tender one-point edge in the battle for a wild-card spot. The Senators were 23-21-6, the Penguins checked in at 22-19-7.

Since then? The Senators have spun their wheels, with a 13-13-3 mark. The Penguins, meanwhile, have gone 24-6-1, gaining 20 points on the Senators in the standings.

The Penguins have done most of that without Evgeni Malkin, who suffered a lower body injury March 11.

In his absence, the Penguins have gone 11-1, outscoring their opponents 52-24.

CLAESSON, THE VETERAN: With all of 13 NHL games of experience, Fredrik Claesson found himself giving raw rookie Ben Harpur some pointers last week. Harpur, recalled from Binghamton of the AHL, played against Minnesota and Philadelphia, before being sent back to the AHL on Sunday.

“He was asking a lot of questions,” said Claesson. “It felt good to be able to help. I thought he did a good job.”

STONE COLD WEEK: Stone won’t be getting much sympathy from big brother, Michael, as he deals with his chest injury and the flu. Michael Stone, a defenceman with Arizona, is expected to be out at least six months after having ACL and MCL surgery on his knee last Friday.



Stone’s status in doubt for final week

KEN WARREN, OTTAWA CITIZEN

More from Ken Warren, Ottawa Citizen

Published on: April 4, 2016 | Last Updated: April 4, 2016 4:03 PM EDT

The Senators aren’t taking any chances in rushing Mark Stone back too soon.

Stone was on the ice for the start of Monday’s practice — his first appearance with his teammates since last Wednesday when he was crushed by an open ice hit from Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets — but didn’t stay for the duration.

“He left, he was not feeling well,” said Senators coach Dave Cameron.

“The flu is going through the team. I’m not going to jump to any conclusions here, but obviously, we’re going to consider what happened with the hit. All of that is going to be taken into consideration. We’ll be very cautious with this.”

Defenceman Marc Methot also missed Saturday’s game against Philadelphia due to the flu and rookie Ryan Dzingel also sat out practice Monday while dealing with the flu.

It appears unlikely that Stone would be back for Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s also possible that he could be kept out of Thursday’s game against Florida and the regular season finale, Saturday against Boston.

While Stone has had an outstanding second half and has 23 goals and 38 assists for the season, there’s a risk/reward involved following the chest injury he received following the devastating hit from Byfuglien.

If there’s any chance of making the injury worse, or of hampering off-season recovery, the Senators will opt to keep Stone out.

Last week, the Senators opted to rest both Clarke MacArthur and Dion Phaneuf for the duration of the season.

MacArthur has been out since the fourth game of the season, suffering from a devastating concussion, and the Senators believe giving him an additional six months away from game action is the prudent decision.

Phaneuf, meanwhile, is dealing with a hairline fracture in his foot and a torn oblique muscle and he risked making both worse by playing out the string.

The uncertainty surrounding Stone’s status could also play a role in whether he plays for Canada at the world championship in St. Petersburg, Russia.

While representing his country in the tournament would enhance his chances of also playing for Canada at next September’s World Cup, he will also consider whether the chest injury could be made worse by playing overseas.



Senators' Zibanejad looking to grow

Staff

April 4, 2016 7:48 pm

With three games still remaining in the Ottawa Senators disappointing season, Mika Zibanejad is labeling his own year as something in the so-so category.

“I’ve made some improvements this year,” Zibanejad said following Monday’s practice in preparation for Tuesday’s visit by Sidney Crosby and the high-flying Pittsburgh Penguins. “I can’t say I’m disappointed at the season, but I can’t say I’m overly happy with the season. It has been an up and down season for the team, as well, so obviously, it comes down to looking yourself in the mirror.”

From a pure statistical standpoint, Zibanejad has leveled off compared to the 2014-15 season.

He has 48 points, two ahead of the career-high he set last season. If he scores in the Senators final three games, he’ll hit the 20-goal mark for the second year in a row.

They’re decent numbers, but the breakout season the Senators have been hoping for has yet to come.

With No. 1 centre Kyle Turris severely hobbled by an ankle injury, just a little bit more from Zibanejad — a touch more offence, a steadier defensive presence and more consistency overall — could have pushed the Senators a bit closer to the playoffs.

Zibanejad, selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2011 entry draft, has heard the criticisms.

While he knows he must get better — “I’ve got to improve in the summer,” he says — he suggests some critics have looked past his age, failing to recognize that it takes years for players to hit their peak.

Zibanejad turns 23 on April 18. Cody Ceci, Curtis Lazar and Nick Paul are the only three players on the roster younger than Zibanejad.

“It gets to me, sometimes, I hear people talking about me or whatever,” he said.

“It’s not an excuse or to buy myself time, but I’m still in the process. I don’t think I’m going to get to my peak next year. I’m still going to evolve my game. They say when you get to 25-27 is when you have your best years.

“I’m still the third or fourth youngest on the team, but I’m in the middle of the pack, game-wise. I feel like I’ve been here for quite awhile, but I wouldn’t consider myself a veteran. It’s hard, because I’ve been around so much, that people might not think about (my age).”

Looking back at the 2011 draft, Zibanejad stacks up favourably with the forwards who were selected from third to eight overall — a group which includes Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau, Ryan Strome of the New York Islanders Mark Scheifele of Winnipeg and Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier.

Scheifele, who has scored 27 goals and 29 assists in 68 games this season, is the only player other than Zibanejad to top the 20-goal plateau.

Couturier, who has played 347 games, leads the way in game experience among that group. Zibanejad has played in 278 games.

At the same time, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was selected 96th overall in the 2011 draft, has taken on increasingly bigger roles for the Senators as the injuries have mounted, hitting career highs with 18 goals and 40 points.

The NHL is getting younger every year and players earn responsibility and playing time quicker than in the past.

Senators coach Dave Cameron says there are countless factors which go into how quickly a player is asked to develop.

“Probably games played is more a factor than age,” he said. “In this business, you’re always pushing. The one thing you never want to do is put a ceiling on what they are. Every day, you want to keep pushing.

“I don’t think in this business that you ever stop growing.”

In the short-term, Zibanejad says he would like to finish out the season by at least matching last season’s totals.

“It would be nice to get to the 20-goal mark, especially when I did that last year,” he said. “It’s not the primary focus, but it’s the back of my mind. You still want to score goals, whether it’s number five or number 20 and when you get close (to a milestone), you want to finish it off somehow.”



Senators' Zack Smith would love to go to worlds

BY KEN WARREN

FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, APRIL 04, 2016 04:01 PM EDT | UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 04, 2016 04:10 PM EDT

OTTAWA — Zack Smith figures it’s a long shot, but if Canada comes calling, he would only be too happy to take a trip to St. Petersburg for the world championship.

“If it came up, I would go,” Smith said Monday. “It would be pretty hard to turn that down.”

When the year began, Smith never would have imagined anyone giving him a second thought about wearing Canada’s colours. He has never played on a national team before.

Yet it has been a year of surprises for Smith, who heads into the final week of the season with 22 goals. Last week, he was voted as the Senators’ nominee for the Masterton Trophy.

“With that award and the world championships, it’s just an honour to even be considered for something that you haven’t had before,” he said.

Countless factors are in play.

Canadian co-general managers Brad Treliving and George McPhee will first scour non-playoff-bound teams for players.

From there, lingering injuries is one concern, an issue which could keep Mark Stone from going to Russia. Players who are secure in playing for Canada at the World Cup in September may also opt out, opening the door for players who may not otherwise have received a shot.

“It would be a great opportunity, I would love to have that opportunity, but I haven’t talked to anyone,” said Smith. “I’ve heard a few people talking about it, but it’s tough to know how many guys will go (to Russia) with the World Cup coming up. Will it be more guys, fewer guys? It’s hard for me to be able to evaluate or factor in. It would be pretty cool if I got that chance.”

RYAN PASSES ON WORLDS: Bobby Ryan has ruled himself out of consideration to play for the United States at the worlds, but it has nothing to do with hockey. It has everything to do with his expanding family.

Ryan’s wife, Danielle, is due to deliver the couple’s first baby in late May or early June.

“If it wasn’t Russia, there would be possibility to go, but my wife wouldn’t even humour me,” said Ryan. “She said she needs me. She said ‘if the baby comes early and you’re in St. Petersburg and can’t come home, you’re sleeping on the couch all summer.’”

THE NUMBERS GAME: The plus/minus figure may be losing favour given the growth of the analytics in hockey, but Ryan still believes it’s a fair measure. In that respect, he’s disappointed he’ll finish with a minus for the first time in his eight full seasons in the NHL. He heads into Tuesday’s game against Pittsburgh as a minus-10. “I’m going to spend a lot of time thinking about that this summer and it’s not conducive to the kind of player I want to be.”

Ryan sported a chilly minus 15 from Feb. 1-March 10.

SPEAKING OF NUMBERS: The last time the Senators met Pittsburgh, back on Feb. 2, the Senators held a tender one-point edge in the battle for a wild-card spot. The Senators were 23-21-6, the Penguins checked in at 22-19-7.

Since then? The Senators have spun their wheels, with a 13-13-3 mark. The Penguins, meanwhile, have gone 24-6-1, gaining 20 points on the Senators in the standings.

The Penguins have done most of that without Evgeni Malkin, who suffered a lower body injury March 11.

In his absence, the Penguins have gone 11-1, outscoring their opponents 52-24.

CLAESSON, THE VETERAN: With all of 13 NHL games of experience, Fredrik Claesson found himself giving raw rookie Ben Harpur some pointers last week. Harpur, recalled from Binghamton of the AHL, played

against Minnesota and Philadelphia, before being sent back to the AHL on Sunday.

“He was asking a lot of questions,” said Claesson. “It felt good to be able to help. I thought he did a good job.”

STONE COLD WEEK: Stone won’t be getting much sympathy from big brother, Michael, as he deals with his chest injury and the flu. Michael Stone, a defenceman with Arizona, is expected to be out at least six months after having ACL and MCL surgery on his knee last Friday.

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 04.05.2016


Senators exercising extreme caution with Stone's health

BY KEN WARREN


OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators aren’t taking any chances in rushing Mark Stone back too soon.

Stone was on the ice for the start of Monday’s practice — the forward's first appearance with his teammates since last Wednesday when he was crushed by an open ice hit from Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets — but didn’t stay for the duration.

“He left, he was not feeling well,” said Senators coach Dave Cameron. “The flu is going through the team. I’m not going to jump to any conclusions here, but obviously, we’re going to consider what happened with the hit. All of that is going to be taken into consideration.

“We’ll be very cautious with this.”

Defenceman Marc Methot missed Saturday’s game against Philadelphia due to the flu and rookie Ryan Dzingel also sat out practice Monday while dealing with the flu.

It appears unlikely Stone would be back for Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s possible, too, that he could be kept out of Thursday’s game against Florida and the regular-season finale, Saturday against Boston.

While Stone has been outstanding in the second half of the season, and has 23 goals and 38 assists overall, there’s a risk/reward involved following the chest injury he received following the devastating hit from Byfuglien.

If there’s any chance of making the injury worse, or of hampering off-season recovery, the Senators will opt to keep Stone out.

Last week, the Senators opted to rest both Clarke MacArthur and Dion Phaneuf for the duration of the season.

MacArthur has been out since the fourth game of the season, suffering from a devastating concussion, and the Senators believe giving him an additional six months away from game action is the prudent decision.

Phaneuf, meanwhile, is dealing with a hairline fracture in his foot and a torn oblique muscle. He would be risking making both worse by playing out the string.

The uncertainty surrounding Stone’s status could also play a role in whether he plays for Team Canada at the world championships in St. Petersburg, Russia.

While representing his country in the tournament would enhance his chances of also playing for Canada at next September’s World Cup, he will also consider whether the chest injury could be made worse by playing overseas.



Senators still waiting for breakout season by Zibanejad

By Ken Warren

First posted: Monday, April 04, 2016 07:30 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, April 04, 2016 07:37 PM EDT

With three games still remaining in the Ottawa Senators disappointing season, Mika Zibanejad is labeling his own year as something in the so-so category.

“I’ve made some improvements this year,” Zibanejad said following Monday’s practice in preparation for Tuesday’s visit by Sidney Crosby and the high-flying Pittsburgh Penguins. “I can’t say I’m disappointed at the season, but I can’t say I’m overly happy with the season. It has been an up and down season for the team, as well, so obviously, it comes down to looking yourself in the mirror.”

From a pure statistical standpoint, Zibanejad has leveled off compared to the 2014-15 season.

He has 48 points, two ahead of the career-high he set last season. If he scores in the Senators final three games, he’ll hit the 20-goal mark for the second year in a row.

They’re decent numbers, but the breakout season the Senators have been hoping for has yet to come.

With No. 1 centre Kyle Turris severely hobbled by an ankle injury, just a little bit more from Zibanejad — a touch more offence, a steadier defensive presence and more consistency overall — could have pushed the Senators a bit closer to the playoffs.

Zibanejad, selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2011 entry draft, has heard the criticisms.

While he knows he must get better — “I’ve got to improve in the summer,” he says — he suggests some critics have looked past his age, failing to recognize that it takes years for players to hit their peak.

Zibanejad turns 23 on April 18. Cody Ceci, Curtis Lazar and Nick Paul are the only three players on the roster younger than Zibanejad.

“It gets to me, sometimes, I hear people talking about me or whatever,” he said.

“It’s not an excuse or to buy myself time, but I’m still in the process. I don’t think I’m going to get to my peak next year. I’m still going to evolve my game. They say when you get to 25-27 is when you have your best years.

“I’m still the third or fourth youngest on the team, but I’m in the middle of the pack, game-wise. I feel like I’ve been here for quite awhile, but I wouldn’t consider myself a veteran. It’s hard, because I’ve been around so much, that people might not think about (my age).”

Looking back at the 2011 draft, Zibanejad stacks up favourably with the forwards who were selected from third to eight overall — a group which includes Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau, Ryan Strome of the New York Islanders Mark Scheifele of Winnipeg and Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier.

Scheifele, who has scored 27 goals and 29 assists in 68 games this season, is the only player other than Zibanejad to top the 20-goal plateau.

Couturier, who has played 347 games, leads the way in game experience among that group. Zibanejad has played in 278 games.

At the same time, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was selected 96th overall in the 2011 draft, has taken on increasingly bigger roles for the Senators as the injuries have mounted, hitting career highs with 18 goals and 40 points.

The NHL is getting younger every year and players earn responsibility and playing time quicker than in the past.

Senators coach Dave Cameron says there are countless factors which go into how quickly a player is asked to develop.

“Probably games played is more a factor than age,” he said. “In this business, you’re always pushing. The one thing you never want to do is put a ceiling on what they are. Every day, you want to keep pushing.

“I don’t think in this business that you ever stop growing.”

In the short-term, Zibanejad says he would like to finish out the season by at least matching last season’s totals.

“It would be nice to get to the 20-goal mark, especially when I did that last year,” he said. “It’s not the primary focus, but it’s the back of my mind. You still want to score goals, whether it’s number five or number 20 and when you get close (to a milestone), you want to finish it off somehow.”


1008659 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers to continue playoff push in Detroit

Updated: APRIL 4, 2016 — 4:25 PM EDT

by Sam Carchidi, STAFF WRITER

The Flyers, their playoff drive interrupted by sizzling Pittsburgh on Sunday, will put a one-sided loss behind them as they prepare for their most important game of the season: Wednesday's showdown in Motown.

The Flyers will play in Detroit, a team they have beaten in two close decisions this season. They will try to bounce back from Sunday's 6-2 shellacking in Pittsburgh, which was just their fourth regulation loss in their last 19 games.

"We've forgotten quick about our losses, and to an extent, our wins," said right winger Wayne Simmonds, whose team's playoff fate will be determined in its final four games. "We try to stay even-keeled. You enjoy it or dwell on what you did quickly. That's what we're going to have to do."

The Flyers, on a 13-4-2 run, are in a tightly contested battle for the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots. Detroit is third in the Atlantic Division - the top three teams in each division receive automatic playoff spots - but it is just one point ahead of Boston, and it could drop into the wild-card chase.

As it stands now, the Flyers have the second wild-card spot; they are one-point ahead of Boston and have a game in hand on the Bruins. The Islanders have the top wild-card spot and were two points ahead of the Flyers heading into Monday's game against Tampa Bay.

Boston has three games left, all at home. The Bruins host Carolina on Tuesday, Detroit on Thursday (the Flyers do not want a three-point game), and Ottawa on Saturday.

The Flyers are tied in points with Detroit and have a game in hand on the Red Wings. Detroit ends its season by hosting the Flyers on Wednesday and then playing games at Boston on Thursday and at the Rangers on Saturday.

The Flyers - who end the season by playing in Detroit, hosting Toronto and Pittsburgh, and traveling to Brooklyn to face the Islanders - could solidify their playoff spot by beating the Red Wings.

"Every game is important," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "Obviously, that's a key one with where we sit in the standings, but every game has been critical for us over the last, really over the last two months. Do they get bigger as we get to the final week? You could say that. But yeah, obviously, each game that we have left is critical."

The Flyers scored a 2-1 shootout win in Detroit on Jan. 17 as goalie Michal Neuvirth led the way with 29 saves, and Jake Voracek scored the winner in the shootout.

In the teams' March 15 rematch at the Wells Fargo Center, Michael Raffl scored a pair of goals, and Steve Mason made 34 saves, keying the Flyers' 4-3 win. The Flyers dominated the first period, outshooting the Red Wings, 23-3, and taking control by building a 2-0 lead.

Both teams' penalty-killing units have been dominant in the season series. Detroit has killed 11 of 11, while the Flyers have been 6 for 6.

With Neuvirth recovering from a knee injury - he skated Monday for the first time since he was sidelined nearly three weeks ago - Mason will make his 10th straight start Wednesday. It will be his 15th start in the last 16 games.

Jimmy Howard is expected to be the starting goalie for Detroit, which is trying to make the playoffs for the 25th consecutive season.

Howard struggled midway through the season but has won his last three starts.

"It's fun being out there competing for the guys," Howard told the Detroit Free Press. "Just being back out there, knowing what's on the line, being in the trenches with the guys, it's a lot of fun. And that's why you play the game."

Petr Mrazek was the loser in both games against the Flyers this season, though he made a combined 72 saves.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.05.2016


Flyers' MacDonald sidelined after hit

Updated: APRIL 4, 2016 — 1:55 PM EDT

by Sam Carchidi, STAFF WRITER @BroadStBull

Defenseman Andrew MacDonald, who might have suffered a concussion when he was slammed into the boards in Sunday's 6-2 loss in Pittsburgh, will not be able to play in Wednesday's key game in Detroit, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall announced on Monday.

Hextall would only call it an upper-body injury

Evgeny Medvedev, a healthy scratch the last 11 games, will replace MacDonald, who leads Flyers defenseman with a plus-8 rating and has played well since replacing the injured Michael Del Zotto.

Medvedev will likely be paired with MacDonald's defensive partner, Shayne Gostisbehere.

Midway through the third period, MacDonald, 29, was off-balance when Tom Kuhnhackl knocked him into the boards head-first. After staying on the ice motionless for a few seconds, MacDonald went to the locker room for medical attention.

MacDonald, a shot-blocking specialist who has seven points in 24 games, has a plus-8 rating, which is tied with Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn for the team lead.

Medvedev, 33, a former star in Russia's KHL who is in his first NHL season, has not played since March 12. He has 11 points, including three goals, and a plus-5 rating in 44 games.

The NHL said there would not be a disciplinary hearing for Kuhnhackl or Wayne Simmonds, who appeared to hit goalie Matt Murray's mask with his stick as he skated by him.

Neuvirth returns. "Another good step moving forward," said goalie Michal Neuvirth after skating and working out Monday with goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh at the Flyers' Voorhees practice facility.

Neuvirth hasn't played since a 3-2 win over Chicago on March 16 because of a knee injury. He was having an outstanding season, compiling a 17-8-4 record, a 2.28 goals-against average, and a .925 save percentage.

Scott Laughton, R.J. Umberger, Jordan Weal, Medvedev, and Ray Emery were also on the ice Monday.

There is a chance Neuvirth takes part in a practice with the full team Tuesday at 11 a.m.



Flyers' ailing MacDonald will miss Red Wings game

Updated: April 4, 2016 — 7:48 PM EDT

by Sam Carchidi, STAFF WRITER

Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald might have suffered a concussion when he was slammed into the boards Sunday in a 6-2 loss in Pittsburgh. He will not be able to play Wednesday in a key game in Detroit, general manager Ron Hextall announced Monday.

Hextall would call it only an upper-body injury.

Evgeny Medvedev, a healthy scratch for the last 11 games, will replace MacDonald, who is tied for second on the team with a plus-8 rating and has played well since replacing the injured Michael Del Zotto.

Medvedev will likely be paired with MacDonald's defensive partner, Shayne Gostisbehere.

Midway through the third period Sunday, MacDonald, 29, was off balance when Tom Kuhnhackl knocked him into the boards headfirst. After staying on the ice motionless for a few seconds, MacDonald went to the locker room for medical attention.

MacDonald, a shot-blocking specialist who has seven points in 24 games, is tied with Sean Couturier in plus-minus rating. Michael Raffl leads the team at plus-nine.

Medvedev, 33, a former star in Russia's KHL who is in his first NHL season, has not played since March 12. He has 11 points, including three goals, and a plus-5 rating in 44 games.

The NHL said there would not be a disciplinary hearing for Kuhnhackl or Wayne Simmonds, who appeared to hit goalie Matt Murray's mask with his stick as he skated by him.

Neuvirth returns

"Another good step moving forward," goalie Michal Neuvirth said after skating and working out Monday with goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh at the Flyers' practice facility in Voorhees.

Neuvirth hasn't played since a 3-2 win over Chicago on March 16 because of a knee injury. He was having an outstanding season, compiling a 17-8-4 record, a 2.28 goals-against average, and a .925 save percentage.

Scott Laughton, R.J. Umberger, Jordan Weal, Medvedev, and Ray Emery were also on the ice Monday.

There is a chance Neuvirth takes part in a practice with the full team Tuesday morning.



Ron Hextall questions injured veteran's heart

Enrico Campitelli Jr.

April 4, 2016, 10:30 am

It says something when not only a team's players but also an executive of the team a reporter covers want to poke fun at said reporter.

We're just not sure what exactly it says.

First, it was Claude Giroux last week when he attributed the Flyers hot streak to CSNPhilly.com's Flyers Insider Tim Pannacio going down with a lower-body injury.

"Since Tim Panaccio got [his] lower-body injury, we started playing better," Giroux said after the Flyers' 3-2 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets last Monday.

And then yesterday the team's GM got in on the fun with a no-nonsense call out.

"I'm starting to question Panotch's heart," Ron Hextall told Pannacio's pal and fellow Flyers beat writer Sam Carchidi.

A bold statement from Hexy and what some could read as a public call out of the injured reporter.

Pannacio has yet to return to the lineup after... slipping on some ice up in Montreal, forcing him to miss months of action. His return date is still unknown and many players like Giroux probably hope it doesn't happen until next season.

A smiling Hexy on @tpanotchCSN still being on the LTIR list. "I'm starting to question Panotch's heart." #Flyers

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) April 3, 2016



Flyers Power Rankings: Train’s 30, Schenn’s 60 & Ghost’s effort

Ryan Bright

April 4, 2016, 10:00 am

The highs and lows of the Flyers’ week were extreme. On one hand, the club took down the Washington Capitals in a shootout (of all things), beat the Winnipeg Jets and took out the Ottawa Senators, only to get destroyed by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Again.

But even that Pittsburgh setback couldn't stifle Wayne Simmonds, who was a goal-scoring machine around the crease. He jumped six spots to No. 1, while Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn kept their point pace and claim within the top-5.

The Rankings:

(last week: 7) Wayne Simmonds - It looked like Simmonds was playing against children on Saturday, dominating the crease area for a pair of power play goals. He added two more to finish the week with a ridiculous four goals and two assists in four games. Senor Train is one goal and three assists away from the 30 goal, 60 point club. Those are top-50 player numbers. Impressive.

(last week: 1) Brayden Schenn - There once was a time when matching his career high of 47 points would have been considered a winning season for Schenn. He’s obliterating that goal. After four points this week (1g, 3a), Schenn has 56 points and looks primed for 60. He’s going to get PAID.

(last week: 3) Steve Mason - Even though he ate five goals against the Pens on Sunday, Mason was stellar this week. He went 3-1-0 with a .924 save percentage and was one of the team’s top players. With Michal Neuvirth out, Mason won’t get rest any time soon.

(last week: 4) Claude Giroux - It was a typical week for Giroux, who padded his stats with four points (1g, 3a) and 11 shots in four games. Oddly, though, the captain (who is usually top-3 in TOI every week) only averaged 18:22 TOI -- good for seventh on the Flyers.

(last week: 2) Shayne Gostisbehere - With seconds left in OT on Monday against the Jets, Ghost made a diving play to recover a sure turnover, then got the puck to Giroux for the game-winner. Why is Ghost so good in game-ending situations? He wants it more than anyone on the ice. It’s addicting to watch.

(last week: 5) Sean Couturier - There are times when you see flashes of Couturier’s offensive game that make your eyes bulge. On Monday, that happened. He found Mark Streit streaking backdoor for one of the prettiest goals you’ll ever see. If Couturier could display that quality more often, he’d be a 60-point player.

(last week: 11) Jake Voracek - It was only a matter of time before Voracek began owning games again. He picked up two assists against the Senators and a goal against the Pens. He had two points in seven games after returning from injury and now three in his last two. The Flyers desperately need Voracek to be Voracek again and it appears like that’s happening.

(last week: 10) Mark Streit - He scored his sixth goal of the season on Monday off a ridiculous cross-ice, back-door Couturier pass. It was a nice reward for Streit, who led all Flyers once again with 22:40 average TOI per game this week -- over a minute more than Ghost, who had 21:20.

(last week: 9) Michael Raffl - Seven shots and one assist in four games. The Flyers are looking for more from Raffl, who is playing a top-6 role.

(last week: 6) Radko Gudas - The ridiculous run of production stopped this week, as Gudas finished with no points but a still-impressive 12 shots. He also got to push around Chris Neil, which had to be satisfying.

(last week: 8) Ryan White - His scoring touch became a little less magical this week. After notching two goals last week, White went pointless with seven shots in four games. On the plus side, he was only called for one minor, so he wasn’t a liability.

(last week: 13) Nick Cousins - Need a shootout win? Call Nick Cousins. Seriously, that’s apparently all the Flyers had to do. He embarrassed the best goalie in the league, Braden Holtby, with a soft five-holer for the eventual win.

(last week: 12) Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - If PEB scores one point in his final four games, he’ll set a new career high for points, which he set last season at 16. Not exactly a lofty goal, but it’s something.

(last week: 14) Brandon Manning - You aren’t hallucinating if you think Manning has been better lately. Once a seventh defender and liability, Manning’s confidence has him jumping into the play more often and hasn’t seen a press box seat because of it.

(last week: 16) Sam Gagner - The good news is Gagner added a clutch shootout goal this week that helped push the Flyers over the Caps. The bad news is that he has one point in his last 11 games and had only four shots this week. That’s not enough production.

(last week: 15) Andrew MacDonald - MacDonald’s week was defined by a non-boarding call, when the Pens’ Tom Kuhnhackl boarded the daylights out of the Flyers’ defender. The hit left MacDonald grabbing his split melon while the Pens went down the ice and scored. Now it looks like Mac could miss some time. It was a horrible series of events.

(last week: 17) Matt Read - In his last 11 games, Read has one point -- an assist -- that happened on March 26. The excuse for Read’s down season last year was a bum ankle. Well, now he has four games to produce five points to match last season’s 30-point total.

(last week: 18) Nick Schultz - It might not seem like much but six shots in four games is incredible output from Schultz. Why? He had six in his previous 10 games.

(last week: 20) Chris VandeVelde - Three shots, no points and four games. It was a very “VandeVelde” week for VandeVelde.

(last week: 21) Scott Laughton - He hasn’t played since March 22, but is it crazy to think that some rest and a press box view could help Laughton’s game? Is it time to give him another shot?

(last week: 22) Evgeny Medvedev - Just when you think Medvedev’s time with the Flyers is effectively over, MacDonald goes face-first into the boards and leaves the game injured. This would open the door for Medvedev, who hasn’t played since March 12. Is he worse than MacDonald? He might actually be an upgrade.

(last week: 23) R.J. Umberger - He’s 33 years old and spent last season practically immobile with a herniated disc and hip injury. Is it out of the question that Umberger forgoes the final year of his contract and retires? Definitely something to keep an eye on.

Injury Report:

Michael Del Zotto (Upper-Body Injury)

Jordan Weal (Upper-Body Injury)

Michal Neuvirth (Lower-Body Injury)



Flyers Weekly Observations: Getting closer to playoff spot

E-mail Tom Dougherty

April 4, 2016, 10:00 am

What a week this was for the Flyers.

Four games in seven days and eight possible points up for the taking.

The orange and black began the week tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot and are now one point up on the Boston Bruins.

After losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-2, Sunday night, the Flyers picked up six out of a possible eight points this week and now have 91 heading into the final week of the season (see story).

As of Monday morning, the Flyers have a 78.7 percent chance of making the postseason, according to sportsclubstats.com. Last week, it was 68.2 percent.

Their magic number to clinch a playoff berth is six points after Boston lost, 6-4, Sunday to the Chicago Blackhawks. That number goes down with each point the B's let go.

Boston has three games left on the schedule.

With the Flyers embarking on the final week of the regular season, let's take a look back at the week that put them fully in the driver's seat in their pursuit of a playoff spot:

• It's starting to feel like 2010 again. Not that this season will have the same trajectory that team had come postseason, but it seems everything is falling into place for the Flyers. This was a tough week that pegged the Flyers up against the NHL-best Washington Capitals, the team they'll likely face in the first round should they make it, and the orange and black edged the Caps in a game that made hockey fans excited for what may come. Wednesday's game was everything the playoffs are about — sans the shootout. It was a physical, tight-checking game with both teams disliking each other. Washington is the league's best, but a Flyers-Capitals first-round matchup would be a hockey fan's delight. A seven-game series, as Steve Mason said Wednesday, would be a "hell of a series," and it'd be one with the team left standing all sorts of banged up come the semifinals.

• Another indication this team has turned a corner under head coach Dave Hakstol was the Flyers' taking care of business against two teams they should have beaten this week. Last Monday night, they beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2, in overtime and Saturday, they knocked off the Ottawa Senators, 3-2. One of the narratives around this team last season under Craig Berube was it would show up against the NHL's best but lay eggs against lesser opponents. When it mattered most this season, Hakstol's club showed the same desperation against the two non-playoff teams last week that it did against Washington. Totally different team this year.

• To continue on the last point, the Flyers did not come out with the same desperation Sunday against the Penguins as it has over the last few weeks. Was it a concerning loss? A little bit because it showed this team doesn't quite match up well with Pittsburgh, the hottest team in the NHL. But let's take a look at the bigger picture. The Flyers' starts have been better, and their desperation level had been high prior to the game. Sunday was a disappointing effort, but it didn't undo the momentum the Flyers built this week. They had to win either the Washington or Pittsburgh game, and they did. Put the Penguins loss behind you. The Flyers will. Expect a team ready to play come Wednesday night in Detroit.

• Let's talk about a few plays in the Penguins game before we throw it in the garbage bin because we can't pretend the game didn't happen. It did. It was the first game in a long time the Flyers looked lost in the woods. It was the back end of a back-to-back, which should raise some concern because this week they have two back-to-backs to end the season. The game saw multiple coverage breakdowns, most notably by Mark Streit on Beau Bennett's goal in the first period. Streit abandoned his man, which was Bennett, on an odd-man rush, leaving Steve Mason out to dry. Mason was not the problem Sunday evening in Pittsburgh.

• We can't go much further without discussing the obvious missed call in the third period that led to Pittsburgh's fifth goal of the game and Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald leaving the contest. Pens winger Tom

Kühnhackl boarded MacDonald and escaped without a penalty. MacDonald did lose his footing, but that doesn't make the hit OK. It should have at the very least been a two-minute minor. It wasn't. MacDonald's numbers were to Kühnhackl and Kühnhackl drove him headfirst into the boards. That's the definition of boarding. Pretty easy call to make. The Penguins scored seconds later and killed any kind of momentum the Flyers were building after making it a 4-2 game.

• Wayne Simmonds had a big week, as he inches closer to a career-high 30 goals. Simmonds had a four-goal week, with two power-play goals Saturday and then followed that up with a snipe of Pittsburgh goalie Matt Murray in the final middle of the second period. Simmonds' 29th goal of the season was a thing of beauty and MacDonald and Claude Giroux deserve a shoutout for it, too. MacDonald made a nice saucer pass to get the puck to Giroux, who turned on the wheels before dropping it back to Simmonds before the winger used two Penguins as a screen. It's tough to see Simmonds failing to get one more goal this week for the Flyers' first 30-goal scorer since Scott Hartnell had 37 in 2011-12.

• Ryan White doesn't get enough credit for his role on the second power-play unit. No one is suggesting he's a skilled player worthy of power-play time necessarily and there is an argument to be made for the Flyers to use a more skilled player on the second unit, but the orange and black were getting very little production out of that unit before Dave Hakstol put White on the man advantage. White has a career-high 11 goals this season, with three of them coming on the power play. His role is simple: stand in front of the net, and he does it quite well. On a second-period power play Monday against the Jets, White screened Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec on a shot from Matt Read that rung iron. White has solid net presence for a pesty fourth-liner whose main role is to be an energizer bunny. I'm all for him staying there.

• It's been a while since Nick Schultz had a major gaffe that resulted in a goal against, but that was the case on Blake Wheeler's game-tying goal in the third period Monday night. Schultz's corner dump in the offensive zone was picked off by a Jet, leading to Winnipeg gaining possession and Wheeler beating Mason all alone. Schultz wasn't the only guilty party in the breakdown in coverage, as both Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Chris VandeVelde allowed Wheeler to get behind them but Schultz did follow his man into the corner, leaving the middle of the ice wide open. The thing about Schultz on that sequence was the corner dump in the offensive zone. The defenseman is not a threat to shoot the puck, and teams know that. How often do we see Schultz throw the puck into the corner? It's predictable, and the Jets read it perfectly. To be fair, Schultz was solid throughout the rest of the week, with his best game of the week coming Wednesday against Washington when he fired three pucks on net and was even in 21 minutes.

• It's easy to forget how much fun meaningful hockey is to watch when the team in your coverage area is going through a retooling stage. As we've written often in this space over the last couple of weeks, the Flyers' rebuild is ahead of schedule, making this season already a success. This team, currently constructed, isn't what general manager Ron Hextall has in mind when the finished product is in place. But it's within reach of a playoff spot, and the experience for the young guys already here will be invaluable. Hextall is playing the long game here, so this season won't change his plan too much. Let's enjoy the ride and stay focused on what's still to come. This is just the start of the Hextall era in Philadelphia. This past week was a taste of things to come, and it's been fun to watch this group play in games that mean something. Buckle up. This week should be the same.



Michal Neuvirth skates Monday, 'excited' about results

E-mail Jordan Hall at [email protected].

April 4, 2016, 6:15 pm

Michal Neuvirth on Monday made a step in his recovery by taking the ice at Flyers Skate Zone and doing work with goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh.

The Flyers' backup goalie has not played since March 16 and is out for the rest of the regular season with a torn meniscus in his left knee, a league source told CSNPhilly.com's Tim Panaccio on March 21.

Neuvirth was pleased with Monday's progress but did not have a time frame for his return, saying he's "just going day by day."

"I am very excited about how the skate went today," Neuvirth said, per Flyers public relations. "I believe I am relatively close to practicing with the team."

On March 20, the Flyers said Neuvirth would be out for three weeks, meaning the 28-year-old may possibly be available for the playoffs if the team clinches a berth.

"I felt pretty good," Neuvirth said of Monday. "I thought it was a good skate and another good step in moving forward."

Neuvirth has gone 17-8-4 this season with a 2.28 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.

Without Neuvirth and with rookie Anthony Stolarz backing up, the Flyers are riding Steve Mason in net, who has started 14 of the last 15 games, a stretch in which he's 9-3-2 with a .928 save percentage. It doesn't appear Mason will sit the rest of the regular season with four games remaining and the Flyers holding the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot by one point over the Bruins.

"We have been playing as a team and Mase has been playing very good," Neuvirth said. "The whole team is going forward so it’s a good time right before the playoffs. I can’t wait to be a part of it again."

The Flyers have a big game Wednesday night when they visit the Detroit Red Wings, who lead Boston by one point for third place in the Atlantic Division.

The Flyers did not practice Monday, but recent healthy scratches Scott Laughton, R.J. Umberger, Jordan Weal, Evgeny Medvedev and Ray Emery all took the ice with Neuvirth.

MacDonald out vs. Red Wings

Defenseman Andrew MacDonald will miss Wednesday's game against the Red Wings because of an upper-body injury. MacDonald is day to day after leaving Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Penguins in the third period following a check into the boards from Tom Kuhnhackl.

Medvedev, a healthy scratch the last 11 games, will likely return to the lineup.



Michal Neuvirth may begin practicing with Flyers soon

Dave Isaac, @davegisaac 9:21 p.m. EDT April 4, 2016

Injured goalie Michal Neuvirth limped his way to the bench last Thursday when the Flyers took their team photo. Even standing for a prolonged period of time aggravated his knee injury.

Apparently several days makes a world of difference.

Monday he was on the ice with goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh for the first time since his injury, while a handful of other teammates were on the ice for a very optional skate.

“I felt pretty good,” Neuvirth said through a PR representative. “I thought it was a good skate and another good step in moving forward.

“Right now I am just going day-by-day, but I am very excited about how the skate went today. I believe I am relatively close to practicing with the team.”

Neuvirth has played only one game since March 4, allowing two goals on 26 shots in an impressive win over the Chicago Blackhawks on March 16. He has been out the last eight games and Anthony Stolarz has been up with the club, but not played a game.

The Flyers are 5-2-1 since Neuvirth went on the shelf, with Steve Mason taking all the action for the Flyers. Expect him to stay between the pipes until the team either clinches a playoff spot, is mathematically eliminated or he gets hurt.

If that happens before Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders, Stolarz will almost certainly be the one to take the net. The Flyers also have Ray Emery, who signed a contract Saturday after joining the team on a tryout last Wednesday.

Neuvirth will need several practices with the Flyers before they will let him play in a game, which means he likely won’t return until the playoffs, should the Flyers make it that far.

“I think it’s probably a stretch, but is it impossible? No,” general manager Ron Hextall said of a regular-season return. “It all depends. How do you feel? You ramp it up a little more every day and we’ll see by the weekend. Is there a possibility? Yeah, it’s a possibility. A probability? I’d say no.”

Neuvirth has been watching from the press box for home games and on television when the Flyers are away. His 2.28 goals-against average and .925 save percentage this season are both career-best numbers, so he is extra antsy to return.

“I think they have been playing very well,” Neuvirth said. “Even the last couple months we were playing very good hockey. We have been playing as a team and Mase has been playing very good. The whole team is going forward, so it’s a good time right before the playoffs. I can’t wait to be a part of it again.”

MacDonald out Wednesday

Defenseman Andrew MacDonald won’t be on the ice with the Flyers Wednesday in Detroit. He went headfirst into the boards in the third period of Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins with a push in the back from Penguins forward Tom Kuhnhackl.

The Flyers say MacDonald, 29, is “day-to-day” with an “upper-body injury.” There have not been any documented concussions for MacDonald in his NHL career. He has been paired with Shayne Gostisbehere since taking over for the injured Michael Del Zotto and has seven assists in 24 games with the Flyers this season to go with a plus-8 rating that leads Flyers defensemen.

In his place will likely be Evgeny Medvedev, who has spent 11 straight games as a healthy scratch. Medvedev hasn’t played since March 12, a one-game appearance replacing MacDonald, who had a “lower-body injury” at the time.

In 44 games this season, Medvedev has three goals and eight assists.

Loose Pucks

Tuesday’s 11 a.m. practice at the Voorhees Skate Zone will be the Flyers’ last practice of the regular-season. … Flyers 2014 second-round draft pick Nicolas Aube-Kubel has been assigned to the Lehigh Valley

Phantoms. He completed his junior career with Val d’Or in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Sunday night.

Courier-Post LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008667 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins' Murray named NHL's third star of the week

BY JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Monday, April 4, 2016, 12:27 p.m.

Updated 4 hours ago

When the team announced Friday that goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was out with a concussion, it could have spelled trouble for the Penguins.

It didn't, though, thanks in large part to rookie Matt Murray.

After going 3-0-0 and recording his first career NHL shutout, Murray was named the NHL's third star of the week on Monday.

After blanking the Islanders 5-0 Saturday, Murray came back to make 28 saves in a 6-2 win over the Flyers on Sunday. It was the first time he played on consecutive days in his brief NHL career.

“It was a challenge, something new for me, but I like playing games,” Murray said. “I thought I played pretty well this weekend. Pretty happy with how it went.”

Murray has won five straight starts to improve to 7-2-1. Among NHL goalies with at least 10 appearances this season, Murray ranks first with a 1.88 goals-against average and is second to defending league MVP Carey Price of Montreal with a .933 save percentage.

“He has a quiet confidence about him that if he gives up a goal that he'd like to have back, he doesn't get rattled. He just refocuses, plays his game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He controls those things that are within his control. I think that will serve him well as a goaltender moving forward. As a young goalie, I think he has a maturity level that's beyond his years. I think that's one of his biggest strengths.”

The first star of the week was Chicago winger Artemi Panarin, who had three goals and five assists in three games. The second star was San Jose defenseman Brent Burns, who recorded a goal and six assists in four games.

Tribune Review LOADED: 04.05.2016


Starkey: East opens wide for Implausible Penguins

Joe Starkey

By Joe Starkey | Monday, April 4, 2016, 9:45 p.m.

Updated 7 hours ago

All was quiet on the Eastern Front on Monday. The Implausible Penguins finally rested.

That left us but a few short hours to stagger in the dust of their monthlong rampage and try to comprehend what just happened.

What just happened?

How did we get from the Penguins crawling toward the playoffs to Jay Caufield calling them the NHL's best team Monday (on KDKA-AM) and sounding quite reasonable in doing so?

Quantify it any way you like. I'll go with this: In back-to-back games over the past three weekends, the Penguins have trampled the Flyers, Capitals, Rangers, Red Wings, Islanders and Flyers again by a combined score of 31-9. They outshot those teams 211-139.

The Penguins might finish with the most goals in the East. They have the second-best goal differential in the NHL.

Once slow, old and done, they now are young, fast and fun. And look at what's happening around them.

The Rangers no longer are an impenetrable shell but rather a shell of their former selves. They can't get out of their zone anymore. The Tampa Bay Lightning suddenly are without their best forward (Steven Stamkos) and second-best defenseman (Anton Stralman).

The New York Islanders gave the Penguins fits for years because of their speed, but guess what? The Penguins now are the faster team.

The Washington Capitals remain the favorite in the East, but their major issue remains unchanged: They're the Washington Capitals.

As for the Penguins, I ask: Have you ever seen a Pittsburgh sports team so radically change its personality and fortunes in-season? Several teams I've witnessed belong in the conversation …

• The 2000-01 Penguins were sputtering along at 13-10-3 when the ghost of Mario Lemieux returned. That changed a few things. The buzz didn't wear off until the Eastern Conference finals.

• The 2007-08 Pitt basketball team fell to 9-8 in the Big East after a blowout loss at West Virginia. Twelve days later they were cutting down the nets at Madison Square Garden after a four-games-in-four-nights tour de force.

• The 2002 Steelers were 1-2 after a lucky overtime win against the Cleveland Browns. That prompted a switch in quarterbacks — Kordell Stewart to Tommy Maddox — and a total personality transplant. A franchise long known for running the ball launched an aerial show. It would eventually prove untenable, but nobody was complaining that year. Not after Tommy Gun took his team to within an overtime loss of the AFC title game.

A few of Walt Harris' Pitt football teams spring to mind, as do the 1976 Steelers, who surrendered 106 points in their first five games, dropped four of them and eventually lost star quarterback Terry Bradshaw. They gave up 28 points in their final nine games and won them all, despite backup Mike Kruczek throwing precisely zero touchdown passes.

The best example might be the 2008-09 Penguins, who were five points out of a playoff spot when Dan Bylsma replaced Michel Therrien. They went 18-3-4 down the stretch. Bylsma's arrival coincided with the additions of veterans Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin, and Sergei Gonchar's return from a season-long injury.

Suddenly, the Penguins weren't the same anymore. Not even close.

Kind of like this team.

“This reminds me a lot of '09,” Pierre McGuire was telling me Monday. “Mike Therrien had them playing passive-resistance hockey. Dan Bylsma turned them into an aggressive, super-charged hockey team. He played to the strengths of Malkin and Crosby. They played fast. I remember they

had a nine-second rule in their own zone (had to get the puck out nine seconds or less).

“Because of the way they changed, it surprised a lot of people. And if you look at what Mike Sullivan has done, it's a lot of the same. He's turned 'em loose. They're much more aggressive on the forecheck. They engage the defense in the rush a lot more.

“They're not sitting back and letting teams attack them anymore.”

Whereas Bylsma's Penguins were jolted by an infusion of veterans, Sully's were electrified by an infusion of youth.

And you know, I'd be remiss if I didn't include the 1999-2000 Penguins in this conversation. That team was 8-14-3 when Craig Patrick tapped Herb Brooks to replace Kevin Constantine.

Brooks' first news conference was memorable.

“We're going to play an up-tempo, dynamic game,” he said. “It's ice out there. It's not blacktop, wood or dirt. The first thing is to get back to even and play a type of game that fits the abilities of the players we have.”

History repeats itself. Particularly with the Penguins, whose personality always leans toward offense. There are so many great stories — but if this team can navigate a suddenly vulnerable East, it might be the most implausible one of all.



Swedish trio enhances Penguins' possession game

By Bill West | Monday, April 4, 2016, 9:18 p.m.

Meeting Sidney Crosby for the first time had center Oskar Sundqvist too awestruck and nervous to speak.

Figuring out how to play in an X's-and-O's system tailored to fit the strengths of Crosby, defenseman Kris Letang and the Penguins' other core stars came considerably easier to the 6-foot-3, 22-year-old Swede, a third-round draft pick in 2013 who lacked extensive game experience on North American ice before this season.

“Both this team and my team in Sweden (Skelleftea AIK) want to keep the puck and be the guys who come with speed,” Sundqvist said. “So I think it wasn't that big of a change for me, play-wise, when I came here with the system and stuff like that.

“Almost everything was similar.”

Sparse might best describe the Swedish presence in Penguins history, particularly during the team's prouder seasons.

Defensemen Ulf and Kjell Samuelsson, bruisers with no family connection, provided brute force during the early- to mid-1990s. Defensemen Dick Tarnstrom and Hans Jonsson received significant minutes in the early 2000s.

The addition of Sundqvist and winger Carl Hagelin this season to a roster that included winger Patric Hornqvist injected a Swedish influence into the Penguins' plan.

“I think a lot of Swedes, they just go about their business,” Hagelin said. “They're hard-working guys with pretty good hockey sense, I'd say.”

After Mike Sullivan took over as coach Dec. 12 and installed an up-tempo, “200-foot game” that turned the Penguins into puck-controlling monsters, Hornqvist became the team's leader in most advanced possession metrics. Hagelin ranks just behind Hornqvist's linemates, Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz, among Penguins in most possession categories.

And even Sundqvist, often used in a checking-line role, has numbers that indicate the Penguins generate more shots than they allow with the rookie on the ice.

A theory on the Swedes' two-way play offered by Hornqvist: Covering 200 feet in rink length is easier to do when there's 15 fewer feet of width in an NHL rink to worry about than in international rinks.

“When you grow up and play on the big ice, I think you get used to covering a lot of ice in the defensive zone, so I think all the Swedes are pretty good defensive players,” Hornqvist said.

How the Penguins' Swedes get the job done differs.

Hagelin forechecks and backchecks with speed and proficiency few teammates can match. Hornqvist relies on physicality and strength to create and win loose pucks. He also leads the Penguins' wingers with 52 blocked shots. Sundqvist counts on his reach to take away space and force turnovers.

“It's easier for me to be in the right spot because you don't have as big of an ice surface to protect here as you have back home in Sweden,” Sundqvist said.

General manager Jim Rutherford added the trio without their homeland in mind. Each fit a team need, he said.

“It isn't about saying, ‘Golly, we have to have players from one country,' ” he said. “But these guys do what it takes to win. ... They play the game in all areas of the rink. They're very conscious of that.”

What still catches Sundqvist by surprise — and what draws a sly smile from the more experienced Hagelin and Hornqvist — is how eager North Americans are to initiate contact compared to Europeans.

When Hornqvist, 29, came up through Sweden's youth system, the country didn't allow players to hit until they turned 15.

Sweden dropped the age to 12 by the time Sundqvist came around.

The United States and Canada, meanwhile, moved the age at which players begin to hit up to 12 or 13 after allowing it among skaters as young as 10 in the past.

If he remains with the Penguins when the playoffs begin, Sundqvist will discover a new degree of physicality. Did years of Swedish hockey prepare him for what awaits? At least one defenseman from Sweden's biggest hockey rival, Finland, believes so.

“We definitely like to think we're tougher than the Swedes, but I'm not sure that's true,” Olli Maatta said. “I know they do something right, for sure, because they have so many good players coming out of there.”



Penguins still rolling despite injury woes

April 5, 2016 12:00 AM

By Jenn Menendez / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Penguins have been dealt some heavy roster blows this season.

First came the devastating news that Evgeni Malkin would be out for 6-8 weeks with an undisclosed injury.

Hearts sank around Western Pennsylvania. The Penguins hardly missed a beat.

Next, defensemen Olli Maatta went down, then forwards Scott Wilson, Bryan Rust and defenseman Brian Dumoulin.

Uninterrupted, the Penguins continued a steady climb up the standings.

This past weekend, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was diagnosed with a second concussion of the season, an ailment notorious for stealing time from a player’s career.

Yet the Penguins continued to roll up wins.

Is there a more sure sign that a true team has come together? With the 2016 Penguins, it seems, the whole is greater than the sum of its single parts.

“It definitely shows a lot from the guys in here,” winger Eric Fehr said. “But to be honest it’s not really talked about too much. We almost assume guys are going to come in and step up. We’re a focused group right now.”

The Penguins’ latest run — wins in 12 of their past 13 — has positioned them favorably for the chance to earn home ice when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin in little more than a week, to say nothing of marking them as the hottest team in the NHL. The magic number for home ice is four.

General manager Jim Rutherford, chalks it all up to building organizational depth, and a room buying in to its coach.

“At the start of the season we wanted to build a team with more depth,” Rutherford said. “That was part of signing extra center icemen and acquiring more defensemen. Then we were also fortunate that we had a group of young guys that were pretty much through their development period and ready to come into the league.”

Of all the injured players mentioned above, only Dumoulin has returned to the lineup.

Still, not every group could weather such losses. He must be proud?

“Yeah I am. I’m very proud of these guys and coaches. They’ve worked hard,” Rutherford said. “It takes everyone committing to one the direction for the coach. And that’s what these guys have done. And this is the results.”

Defenseman Ian Cole said he views his team’s ability to keep moving forward despite losing key figures, as a sign of a real team.

“Yeah. I really do. I really think it is,” Cole said. “I just think we’re extremely deep, extremely talented in the way that we can continue to play the same that we want to play regardless of who’s in the lineup. Everyone knows what they need to do. Everyone knows their job. Everyone knows their role and they execute very, very well.”

Cole suspects the resiliency the team has shown could come in very handy in the second season.

“That’s a great sign going forward. The playoffs are nasty,” Cole said. “You’re inevitably going to lose guys, so I think the ability to continue to play a solid team game and have guys step in, who were call-ups, or a healthy scratch, a goalie down in the minors.

“All of these guys have stepped up and have really lead us to where we are and will continue to go where we want to go which is hopefully a better team game and play for a few months here.”

NOTES — Goalie Matt Murray was named the NHL third star of the week. … Rutherford said he does not expect an update on Fleury until today or Wednesday when the injured players will meet with team doctors again.

Post Gazette LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008671 San Jose Sharks

Sharks' Burns makes case for Norris Trophy consideration

By Curtis Pashelka,

Posted: 04/04/2016 08:41:31 PM PDT

Updated: 04/04/2016 10:47:40 PM PDT

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- With a season unlike any other in Sharks' franchise history, Brent Burns has put his name in the mix for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman.

He may have cemented his chance to be a finalist during an overtime period earlier on this brief road trip when he hardly came off the ice.

Burns had three shots on net, three other attempts blocked and played more than four minutes of Saturday's five-minute overtime against the Nashville Predators.

The Sharks didn't score, but Burns stayed out there for the entire two-minute power play that he helped create. With the puck mostly in Nashville's end, goalie James Reimer had to make only one save in the extra session.

Burns assisted on Tomas Hertl's tying goal in the third period, completing a week in which Burns had seven points in four games to help keep the Sharks' slim Pacific Division title hopes alive.

"He's an animal," Reimer said of Burns after the Sharks' 3-2 shootout win. "He's arguably one of the best defensemen in the league right now and probably not getting the recognition he deserves."

That might be partly true. Monday, Burns was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week, just days after he was selected by the league as one of three stars for the month of March.

"The numbers speak for themselves, but he can do it all," said Burns' former Minnesota Wild teammate Mikko Koivu. "He can defend, and by playing with him I know that. I think he's the whole package and he can be each and every night."

While Ottawa's Erik Karlsson and Los Angeles' Drew Doughty are getting the most attention for the Norris, Burns has put together an impressive resume.

Going into Tuesday's game against Minnesota, Burns has 27 goals and 74 points, both franchise records for a defenseman. He's also averaging a career-high 25:58 of ice time per game, 2:01 more than last season.

Burns perhaps is not quite as dominant offensively as Karlsson, or as stout on defense as Doughty. Few defensemen are. But Burns has the confidence of the Sharks' coaching staff to play in all situations, and Saturday's game was the latest example.

"I can't understand why he's not in those conversations more for (the Norris Trophy)," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. "He's a version of (Nashville's Shea) Weber and Doughty.

"He plays well in both ends for us, plays against other team's best lines. They're big guys a lot of nights, and he brings a physical element too, which some of those guys don't. For me, he should be in that conversation all day long, and I don't understand why I don't hear his name more."

Certainly there's a spirited debate going on in NHL circles as to what type of defenseman the Norris Trophy should go to. The tilt recently had been to more offensive-minded blueliners. Karlsson has won two of the last four seasons, and Montreal's P.K. Subban won in 2013.

"I think it's a two-way guy," Minnesota interim coach John Torchetti said. "It shouldn't always be about points, that's for sure. I think it's the most valuable player to his team, from every point in the game. Not just the offensive part of the game."

Burns is flattered to be a part of the conversation, and credited his teammates -- particularly defense partner Paul Martin -- for helping him in his standout season.

It's also clear that Burns enjoys playing for this coaching staff and has responded to assistant Bob Boughner, a veteran of 630 NHL games as a hard-nosed defenseman.

"He works a lot on the small parts of your game," Burns said of Boughner. "Getting shots through, good stick positioning. What he does is, he builds your confidence. He makes you feel good."

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Report: Jones 'probably' playoff starter for Sharks

April 4, 2016, 2:45 pm

Staff

Sharks goalie Martin Jones will “probably” be the starter for Game 1 of the playoffs next week, head coach Pete DeBoer revealed after practice in Minnesota on Monday.

DeBoer said: "Jonesy's had a great year for us. All things being equal, that's probably where we'll end up but there's no sense making any announcements on that until we have to because too many things can change,” according to the San Jose Mercury News. James Reimer is expected to start against the Wild on Tuesday in St. Paul, the first time he’ll make back-to-back starts with the Sharks. In seven games with San Jose since he was acquired from Toronto on Feb. 27, Reimer is 5-2-0 with a 1.85 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.

Jones, in his first season with the Sharks, is 36-22-4 with a 2.26 GAA and .918 SP. It is his first season as a number one after he previously served as Jonathan Quick’s backup in Los Angeles for two seasons.

[KURZ: Ten Observations: Sharks better starting playoffs on road]

Ten days ago, DeBoer indicated he’d be comfortable with either Jones or Reimer in net for the postseason.

“We think we’ve got two guys that we’re very comfortable with, and we’ll see where we are when we have to make those decisions,” he said on March 25.

Jones, 26, is in the first of a three-year, $9 million contract. Reimer, 28, is a pending unrestricted free agent.

After Tuesday, the Sharks close out the regular season at home against Winnipeg on Thursday and Arizona on Saturday. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on April 13.

As for playoff goalie, DeBoer said, "Jonesy's had a great year for us. All things being equal, that's probably where we'll end up but (1/2)

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) April 4, 2016

(2/2) ... there's no sense making any announcements on that until we have to because too many things can change," DeBoer said #SJSharks

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) April 4, 2016



Ten Observations: Sharks better starting playoffs on road

Kevin Kurz

April 4, 2016, 12:30 pm

Some random thoughts and leftovers as the NHL playoffs are set to begin next week…

1 – I know the Sharks and coach Pete DeBoer have said they’d like home ice advantage for the first round - they kind of have to, don't they? - but at this point, I think they’re better off starting on the road. As we wrote here yesterday, this team is simply more resilient on the road than they are at SAP Center, for some odd reason that no one seems to be able to figure out. The one stat that really leaps off the page is their 9-8-2 record when allowing the first goal on the road, compared with 2-16-2 at home. Not to mention, the last time the Sharks had a Game 7 at home in the playoffs against the Kings in 2014, they got smoked.

2 – A common question lately seems to be is there any chance James Reimer will stay after this season? I still don’t see it. This is a guy that could get in the range of $5-6 million per season on the open market this summer as a number one. The only way I see Reimer in teal in the fall is if the Sharks traded Martin Jones in the offseason, but it makes zero sense to deal a young goalie that’s making just $3 million for the next two seasons and may be a future star.

[KURZ: Sharks exude road resilience that's missing at home]

3 – I know they’ve lost four in a row, but the Nashville Predators could be a real sleeper in the postseason and I think they’ll give the Ducks or Kings a good series. They have a strong penalty kill unit of late, a more balanced scoring attack since Ryan Johansen arrived, their defense leads the NHL in points, they’ve played most of their games in the tough Central Division, and their coach, Peter Laviolette, has won a Stanley Cup and took a seventh seed to the Final in 2010. I’ll be very, very tempted to pick them as a first round upset.

4 – That in mind, I’m not a huge Kings guy headed into the playoffs. Sure, they still have their core players together that have won two Stanley Cups, and Milan Lucic has replaced what they lost in Justin Williams (on the ice, anyway), but this team still isn’t nearly as deep at any of the three positions as their championship teams were. Keep in mind, too, that 11 of their 46 wins have come in overtime (leading the league), and they obviously don’t play three-on-three in the playoffs.

5 – Choosing the top three finishers for Sharks team MVP, which is selected by the local media, was challenging this season (ballots were due on March 31). Ultimately I went with Joe Thornton, but choosing between Jones, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic for the second and third spots took some real thought. I ended up putting Burns second and Jones third.

6 – Speaking of votes, the NHL’s Calder Trophy vote is going to be a real tough decision, too. I’m leaning towards Shayne Gostisbehere first, Artemi Panarin second and Connor McDavid third, but that could change. Speaking of Gostisbehere, an old Flyers source of mine told me a few months ago that they didn’t really want to call him up until around Christmas time. They were forced to recall him early due to injuries in mid-November. Assuming they hold on to their playoff spot, that sure worked out well.

7 – Count me among those who thought there was a little too much made over the goal song (and, yes, the organization probably could have handled it better), but fan reaction to the new song seems to be positive. Here’s the history behind it, courtesy a Sharks spokesman:

“’Get Ready For This’ was the song to which the Sharks would take the ice when SAP Center first opened (formerly San Jose Arena) until 2003 when it was replaced by ‘Seek and Destroy’ by Metallica. The history and tradition of ‘Get Ready For This’ with this organization was cited by many as a determining factor for voting for this song, especially with this being our 25th Anniversary season. ‘Get Ready For This’ was not a part of the original song selections in the voting process. It was added to the fan vote in round two after being submitted as a write-in vote by several fans.”

8 – Todd McLellan isn’t a very happy guy these days, what with his Edmonton Oilers likely headed for another 30th place finish. He went off on the team after a 5-0 loss to Calgary on Saturday, saying, among other things: “That's the exact attitude and bulls--t that we're trying to eliminate here. And we see it after 200 days. Disappointing…”

The Edmonton Sun suggests some big changes could be coming this summer to the Oilers. McLellan's job, though, is definitely not in jeopardy.

9 – One huge benefit of Vlasic missing the past three weeks is that it’s given rookie Dylan DeMelo a chance to play on a regular basis again. If the Sharks manage to win a round or two this postseason, they’ll undoubtedly need DeMelo at some point. I wonder if he could even be an option to get in anyway against a speedier team like Chicago or Dallas if the Sharks manage to advance that far. He’s been a minus player just three times in his last 18 games.

10 – Finally, in case you missed it, the Montreal Canadiens have recalled former Sharks forward and All-Star game MVP John Scott, and he’s expected to play on Tuesday. "It was a shock, but I’m super grateful to be here. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to play for the Canadiens,” Scott told NHL.com’s Arpon Basu.

Scott was traded to the Canadiens in January and promptly sent to their AHL affiliate in St. John’s, Newfoundland.


1008674 St Louis Blues

Blues say Allen, Backes will miss rest of regular season

By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch 3 hrs ago

The Blues announced Monday afternoon that goalie Jake Allen, who left Sunday's game after one period, and forward David Backes will miss the remainder of the regular season with lower body injuries.

The team said the two will be re-evaluated before the playoffs, which will begin Wednesday or Thursday of next week. The Blues have three more regular-season games: tonight at home vs. Arizona, on Thursday in Chicago and on Saturday at home vs. Washington.

It's the second injury of the season for Allen, who missed 17 games earlier this season with a knee injury suffered in Anaheim on Jan. 8 that kept him out for six weeks. Prior to that, Allen had never been injured in his career.

Backes was one of two players to have played in every game this season for the Blues (Troy Brouwer was the other), though he had an upper-body injury in January during which he played in games but never practiced. Backes is second on the club with 21 goals and fourth with 45 points overall.

Backes had a goal and an assist on Sunday night against Colorado and was on the ice when the Blues clinched the game with an empty net goal with just under 3 minutes to play. He had 16:54 of ice time against Colorado and was credited with two blocked shots.

The Blues didn't have a morning skate today after arriving in St. Louis around 1:15 a.m. Coach Ken Hitchcock will talk to reporters this afternoon. We'll also find out then as to whether Robby Fabbri, Jay Bouwmeester or Steve Ott is ready to play yet.

Oh, and a word about last night. Since the Blues are carrying three goalies right now, they chose not to bring Brian Elliott on the trip and use Anders Nilsson as the backup. The idea is that rather than having Elliott come along on a trip in which he's very likely not going to play, he can see some shots at home -- it helped that the Blues had Fabbri, Bouwmeester and Ott all back in St. Louis to work with him -- and get a good night's rest, rather than getting home around 2 a.m. This isn't some hare-brained, out of left field idea. Baseball teams routinely send the next-day's starting pitcher ahead on road trips for that very reason. Hockey teams have done with goalies before. Hitchcock did it with Ed Belfour in Dallas.

Yes, it's a roll of the dice, but you're figuring a better performance from a rested goalie on Day Two vs. the chance of the starter getting injured on Day One. By my count, it's the fourth time this season the Blues have had to sub out an injured goalie, and that's probably a high number. It's a gamble the Blues took a week ago in Washington when they left Elliott behind and had Nilsson back up Allen. That one worked out OK. And figuring in the equation is that if Allen has to come out, Nilsson is a guy who has played a good number of NHL games. And Nilsson showed last night that he can do an adequate job if needed, though as he said afterward, he got a lot of help from the defense.

THE LAY OF THE LAND IN THE WEST

Here's where the Blues stand with six days to go in the regular season:

They can finish no worse than third in the Central Division.

They need three points from their final three games (or points won and points lost by Chicago that add up to three) to clinch at least second place and home ice in the first round. A win on Thursday in Chicago would take care of it.

A win on Monday night over Arizona would put the Blues even on points with Dallas, but behind on the tiebreaker. That means the Blues would have to get one more point from their final two games than Dallas gets in its last two in order to win the division. Dallas closes with home games against Colorado on Thursday and Nashville on Saturday. Colorado will likely have been just eliminated from the playoffs by then and Nashville is already locked into the first wild card spot no matter what happens this week.

If the Blues win the division, they will almost certainly face the second wild-card team, most probably Minnesota. (Any combination of Wild points and Avalanche points lost totaling two will do it. That could be settled on Tuesday when the Wild play San Jose and the Avs play Nashville. But who knows? The Wild haven't shown much interest in

getting this thing over with.) There are some very very unlikely scenarios requiring some very very specific results which would leave the Blues as champions of the Central but have a worse record than the Pacific champ. That's the only way the Blues would face Nashville. It's still mathematically possible, but along the lines of small fractions.

If the Blues finish second, they're playing Chicago. If the Blues finish third, they're playing Chicago, except for the small likelihood of Chicago jumping past both them and Dallas and winning the division. For that to happen, the Stars and Blues have to lose out and the Blackhawks have to win out.

In the Pacific, it's extremely muddled. The Ducks have a one-point edge on the Kings, and both teams will play four games in six days down the stretch. The key game will no doubt be the game between the two teams at the Staples Center on Thursday. Otherwise, the Ducks would appear to have the tougher schedule; the Kings also play Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg, all out of the race. Anaheim plays Winnipeg, Colorado and Washington. The last two games will be tricky, since they're back to backs on the road. The Washington game, which will be played on Sunday, is a make-up game for the blizzarded-out game earlier this season.

There's even a longshot chance of San Jose winning the division, but that requires a lot of losses. San Jose is pretty likely to finish in third. For them to get second, the Kings would have to win just one of their final four games.

NOTES

The Blues had their road shutout streak end at 236 minutes, 4 seconds. It's the third longest road shutout streak since 1987-88.

Magnus Paajarvi has three points in the past four games.

Alex Pietrangelo had goals in back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Maybe he'll get to 20. Troy Brouwer's empty net goal gave him 17 for the season.

Vladimir Tarasenko has a five-game point streak. It's the third time this season he's had points in five straight games. He has seven goals and eight assists in the past 14 games.

Paul Stastny extended his point streak to five games and has 17 points in his past 12 games.

Dmitrij Jaskin played just 9:20. He played about half of that in the third period after the score was 4-0.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.05.2016


Gordon: Blues fans need to relax, enjoy the journey

By Jeff Gordon St. Louis Post-Dispatch

5 hrs ago

Blues fans are a fretful bunch these days. A potential first-round playoff series against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks looms ominously on the horizon.

New injuries to Jake Allen and David Backes — tacked onto the previous injuries to Jay Bouwmeester and Robby Fabbri — added to the fan tightness.

So folks should relax for a moment or two and appreciate the third consecutive 100-plus-point season under coach Ken Hitchcock. To put that success into context, compare the Blues to the Central Division rival Colorado Avalanche.

While the Blues have maintained their sturdy defensive posture despite suffering a steady injury barrage, the Avs have played willy-nilly hockey, like so many ants scurrying after a sugar spill.

Colorado has significant talent. Matt Duchene, Jarome Iginla, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson, Carl Soderberg, Francois Beachemin, Semyon Varlamov ... the Avs have plenty of guys other teams would love.

Back in 2013-14 they raced to 112 points during Patrick Roy’s first season as coach. But their underlying numbers warned of a coming regression. The Avalanche won by converting an abnormally high percentage of their shots. Their puck possession numbers weren’t great. Their math suggested they were lucky.

Sure enough, the Avalanche slipped to 90 points last season and missed the playoffs while playing the same free-wheeling style. Further regression occurred this season, again due to their inability to control the puck.

(This is another franchise suffering from severe Kroenkeitis. The Avalanche will miss the playoffs for the sixth time in eight years. Stan Kroenke’s other winter sports team, the Denver Nuggets, will miss the playoffs for the third season in a row. The Avalanche have won one playoff series since 2006. The Nuggets have advanced past the first round just once since Kroenke bought the team in 2000. Fans in the Mile High City are subjected to steady mediocrity on the Ineptitude, er, Altitude Sports and Entertainment network. This is what happens when a billionaire puts his kid in charge of his teams. Or, in the case of the Rams, when he leaves somebody else’s kid in charge.)

After Saturday’s practice in Denver, Roy lamented his team’s high turnover rate while essentially acknowledging he has no clue what to do.

“I have to find a way to make our guys accountable,” Roy said, according to the Denver Post. “How I’m going to do it, I guess I’m going to have to figure out. Is it by showing them on the clip night after night? Is it by taking them out of the power play? Is it by benching the guys? ... But we have to find a way. I mean, we had way too many turnovers.”

Turnovers are just one problem for the Avalanche. The Avs don’t check well one-on-one and their overall defensive positioning is dreadful. Hockey coaches talk about maintaining good structure, but Colorado is a house of cards in its own end. Apply pressure on the Avs and they will collapse.

“There are different ways to see it. Is it a lack of talent, is it a lack of concentration, is it a lack of options?” Roy wondered. “These are things we might have another conversation on.”

Our guess? The Avs suffer from insufficient coaching and poor team management. Roy brought zero NHL coaching experience into this gig. Another former NHL superstar, Joe Sakic, brought no management experience to his front office post.

Over those two is former Mizzou basketball sub Josh Kroenke, whose father gave him nominal control of the Avs and Nuggets.

Compare the Colorado hockey operation to how well the Blues operate for Tom Stillman’s ownership group. Doug Armstrong spent 17 years with the Dallas Stars, including seven as assistant general manager and six as GM, before coming to the Blues in 2008 as GM Larry Pleau’s heir apparent.

Hitchcock started his NHL coaching career back in 1995 and has logged more than 1,400 regular season games behind the bench. Both have won Stanley Cups and both have distinguished themselves in international competition as well.

These men are not flawless. For instance, Armstrong paid a hefty price to rent longtime Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller two springs back, with unhappy results.

Hitchcock was fortunate to survive last spring’s inexplicable collapse against the Minnesota Wild. Sure, the Wild caught fire last spring, but come on. The Blues exited the postseason with a whimper. Hitchcock survived, in part, because Armstrong couldn’t line up a compelling replacement.

But the Blues went right back to work this season and resumed piling up the Ws, despite losing one key player after another to injuries along the way. The lineup often changed from game to game, prompting the shuffling of forward lines and defensive pairings.

For much of the season, the Blues played consistently good hockey while working to reach full stride. Down the stretch they’ve accelerated.

Since Feb. 9 they have built winning streaks of five, six and five games. They suffered a handful of bad games (6-3 loss to the Sharks at home, 5-0 loss at Nashville, 7-4 loss at Calgary, 6-4 loss at Edmonton) during that stretch, but they didn’t allow the failures to compound.

First the team established its resiliency, then it finally established its identity as a rugged team (or “heavy” in the parlance of the day) with good special teams and the ability to roll four strong forward lines at even strength.

The contrast between the Blues and Colorado is stunning. The Avs, fighting for their playoff lives Sunday night, needed a great performance. Instead they let the Blues zig-zag around them for a 3-0 lead that could have easily been 5-0 or 6-0.

Afterward, Roy ripped Duchene in particular (for celebrating the solitary Colorado goal late in the game) and his players in general.

“Our core hasn’t proved that they have the leadership to bring this team to another level,” Roy complained during his postgame news conference. “Eventually, we have to admit ... we need more from these guys. These guys need to prove to us that they’re capable of carrying this team.”

And Roy needs to prove to everybody that he is capable of leading that team. Until he does, the Avs will serve as an unhappy reminder that the regular season really does matter in the NHL.

Denver fans would love to have the STL’s playoff worries today.



Allen, Backes out for rest of regular season

By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch

5 hrs ago

With the start of the playoffs just over a week away, the Blues added two more players to an injury list that never seems to get shorter.

Goalie Jake Allen and forward David Backes will miss the remainder of the regular season because of injuries they suffered while playing Sunday against Colorado. Each is out with what is being termed a lower body injury; they will be re-evaluated after the regular season ends.

Allen appeared to injure himself making a quick stop and reversal of direction late in the first period, though he finished the period. Coach Ken Hitchcock said Backes was hurt on his final play of the game, as he made a pass to Troy Brouwer for an empty-net goal.

It’s unclear exactly what happened; replays show Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog pushing the Blues’ Paul Stastny into Backes, who had just won a battle for the puck along the boards.

Backes showed no signs of discomfort after the play or in the dressing room immediately after the game, though he later went to the training room.

Hitchcock said Allen and Backes are out because of injuries and not as a precaution.

“They’re hurt,” he said. “They’re not able to play. Can’t tell you time-frame-wise because we don’t honestly know. Obviously the sense of urgency with playoffs around the corner is there. But believe me, if they were able to play, they’d be playing.”

As to whether or not the two will be available for the playoffs, which will start either next Wednesday or Thursday, Hitchcock wasn’t sure.

“I think you know what the playoffs are like,” he said. “You try to play and if you’ve got to play at 80 percent, you play at 80 percent. You’re hopeful that you’re 100, but none of us can honestly tell you right now until these things are moved a little bit further down the dial here. It’s not what we had hoped for, it just seems to be what our season has been about. We’ve got to step up.”

Backes had been one of the few Blues to escape the team’s injury barrage, though he played through an upper-body problem in January that kept him out of practice for a week but not games. He had appeared in all 79 games until Monday night. (Troy Brouwer is the only Blue to have played in every game this season.)

Allen missed 17 games this season because of a left knee injury that kept him out for six weeks. Before that, Allen never had been injured in his career. Hitchcock said Allen’s injury was not related to his previous injury.

Goaltender Brian Elliott can be expected to get all the starts that matter the rest of the regular season, and the Blues’ forward configuration will depend on how soon Robby Fabbri gets back. Hitchcock said Fabbri and Jay Bouwmeester would be full participants in practice on Wednesday, meaning they could be back for Thursday’s game in Chicago.

“We’re all hopeful that come next week, we’re at 100 percent and ready to go,” Hitchcock said. “But you don’t know that stuff. I think the big thing for us is that we don’t coach, or the players don’t play, with any rear-view mirror. We don’t look back. … Everybody is looking forward to get going. You give us a couple of days and we’ll make this adjustment. We’ll be fine.”



Brodziak has big night for Blues

By Jeremy Rutherford St. Louis Post-Dispatch

5 hrs ago

The Blues were expecting a difficult game Monday night for multiple reasons.

In a pregame news conference discussing new injuries involving forward David Backes and goaltender Jake Allen, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said the team’s first game without its captain was going to be “chaotic.” Ryan Reaves was inserted into the lineup in Backes’ place, and Kyle Brodziak took his spot on the power play.

Hitchcock also was worried about playing the second night of a back-to-back set less than 24 hours after being in the altitude of Colorado. League-leading Washington was in Denver on Friday and knocked off the Avalanche but was shutout by Arizona the next day.

“This is one of the biggest challenges facing any team to come off of altitude and have no time to recover,” Hitchcock said beforehand. “We’re going to have to find a way to do it.”

The Blues fell behind two goals early, but then did find a way. They scored five answered goals, including four in the third period, for a 5-2 victory over Arizona in front of 19,465 fans at Scottrade Center.

Brodziak’s third short-handed goal of the season pulled the Blues even 1½ minutes into the third period. Then Vladimir Tarasenko’s 37th goal, with 9:18 left, put them ahead and the club didn’t look back.

The Blues thus seized their opportunity to catch frontrunner Dallas in the Central Division race, at 105 points. Both teams have two games remaining, with Dallas owning the tie-breaker in the event they finish even.

“You guys are the stat guys so I guess that’s right and I’ll take it as true,” Blues goalie Brian Elliott, who made 25 saves to win his 10th straight decision, said to members of the media. “We have a lot at stake right now, and these next two games are going to be big. It’s funny how it always comes down to the last games no matter what.”

The Blues jumped to six points ahead of Chicago, which will be the team’s opponent Thursday. The magic number of points for the club to clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs is one, which would happen Tuesday if Chicago loses in any fashion to Arizona.

Coming off a 5-1 win over Colorado on Sunday, the Blues were looking to use their game in-hand on Dallas to pull even in the race. But the Stars knew first-hand that the game wasn’t a give-me, considering they dropped one of two recent matchups with Arizona. The Coyotes, in fact, had won four of their last six entering Monday.

The night started as Hitchcock envisioned, with the Blues behind the play. That which led to them spotting Arizona two goals in the first period.

The first took only 3:28, as Antoine Vermette put Arizona ahead with his 16th goal of the season by putting a rebound past Elliott with a backhander. The Coyotes expanded their lead to 2-0 on Anthony Duclair’s 10th goal of the year, finishing a give-and-go with Alex Tanguay with 6:52 left in the period.

“We’ve had that all year, a lot circumstances where we’re down by a couple of goals,” Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “It’s 2-0, but we got into that second period knowing that we have an opportunity.”

The game also got chippy in the second period, with a lot of pushing and shoving after the whistle — which also could have been responsible for drawing in the Blues. They outshot Arizona 11-4 in the middle period and got one goal back on the power play with Troy Brouwer’s 18th tally of the season, a deflection off a shot from Pietrangelo with 12:24 left in the period.

Then the club got fully engaged in the third, scoring four goals on nine shots.

Brodziak started it with his shorthanded goal, his third of the season as a penalty killer. Pietrangelo sent a clearing pass out of the zone, and Brodziak took control in the neutral zone. He outmuscled Arizona defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson for body position before beating goalie Mike Smith to make it 2-2.

“I think really the whole second period, we really started to find our game,” Brodziak said. “A fortunate bounce on the penalty kill and it turned out to be a goal. (But) I think it started earlier than that.”

Both Elliott and Smith kept the game knotted with several big saves. Elliott made one on Max Domi with 10½ minutes left then Smith denied Magnus Paajarvi on a two-on-none break, after Paajarvi came out of the penalty box.

But less than a minute later, Tarasenko took the puck coast to coast, slipping past Duclair and Kevin Connauton and dipping below the faceoff dot before putting a side-angle shot past Smith to give the Blues a 3-2 advantage.

“Just give him his space, he’ll do what he has to do,” Pietrangelo said. “Just don’t get in his way.”

Tarasenko matched his career high goal total (37) from last season and stretched his point streak to six games.

The Blues then stretched their lead on Patrik Berglund’s 10th goal of the season, with seven minutes remaining, then Brodziak’s second of the game and seventh of the year. That came with 51 seconds left, as the offense racked up five goals for the third straight game.

“It can go one of two ways, when you come to a start like that,” Brodziak said. “You can get frustrated and look for excuses. As a group, we came in here and said ‘Let’s get to our game, let’s not get frustrated’ and we found a way to do that.”



Blues rally from 2 down, whip Coyotes 5-2

By R.B. FALLSTROM , AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Vladimir Tarasenko’s 37th goal midway through the third period was the go-ahead score for the St. Louis Blues, who scored five straight goals in a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night to tie for first place in the Western Conference.

The Blues and Stars each have 105 points, also tied for the Central Division lead, with two games to play. Dallas holds the tiebreaker with more regulation wins.

Kyle Brodziak scored twice, Troy Brouwer and Patrik Berglund also scored and goalie Brian Elliott won his 10th consecutive decision for St. Louis, which shook off the Coyotes’ two-goal first period. St. Louis is 11-0-1 in its last 12 games against Arizona, including 3-0 this season.

Antoine Vermette scored his 16th goal and Anthony Duclair got his 20th for the Coyotes.

Brouwer started the comeback with a power-play goal in the second and Brodziak’s short-handed goal tied it at 2 early in the third.

Tarasenko went nearly coast to coast before beating goalie Mike Smith unassisted with a quick shot from near the right faceoff dot at 10:42. The goal matched his career high set last season and gave him 17 points in his last 15 games.

Tarasenko assisted on a power-play goal by Berglund 2:18 later to put the Blues ahead by two and Brodziak made it a three-goal gap late. Berglund got his 10th goal with a one-timer.

Coach Ken Hitchcock had been worried before the game about the effects of coming down from altitude and playing the following night. The Blues won 5-1 at Colorado on Sunday night, but Arizona shut out Washington in its last game the day after the Capitals beat the Avalanche on the road.

Arizona is tied for the second-fewest road victories in the NHL, going 13-22-3 on the road.

Brodziak has seven goals, three of them short-handed.

Alex Tanguay assisted on the first two goals for the Coyotes, giving him five in five games.

The Blues ruled out captain David Backes and goalie Jake Allen for the rest of the regular season earlier in the day, both with lower-body injuries. Hitchcock said both would be re-evaluated on Monday before the playoffs.

Brouwer’s deflection on a power play got past Smith and cut the deficit to one in the second.

NOTES: Duclair leads Arizona with nine road goals. … Arizona rookies entered the game leading the NHL with 50 goals and 132 points. … Brouwer has 14 points in his last 13 games, six of them goals. … Tarasenko had three goals against Arizona.

Belleville News-Democrat LOADED: 04.05.2016

1008679 Tampa Bay Lightning

Bolts notes: ‘Shocked’ players must press forward after loss of Stamkos

By Erik Erlendsson | Published: April 4, 2016Updated: April 4, 2016 at 03:38 PM

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Lightning felt some sudden shock when it was learned on Friday that captain Steven Stamkos was going to be out of action for up to three months with a blood clot.

“Completely shocked, really, almost in disbelief. You feel for the guy so much,’’ center Brian Boyle said. “He’s such a great guy and he’s such a close friend. On a personal level it makes you sick to your stomach, almost. The passion and drive that kid has for this team and the game, the way he conducts and handles himself, he does everything the right way, it seems a bit unfair. It’s something that you don’t really understand and you just feel for the guy.’’

Stamkos underwent a successful two-hour surgery at Tampa General Hospital to remove the top rib on his right side and alleviate the clot, ensuring there will not be a reoccurrence. After that he will be on blood thinners until he is cleared by doctors to resume hockey-related activities.

“It’s a big, huge loss, and first of all you worry about the health, that’s the most important thing to put hockey aside,’’ center Valtteri Filppula said. “On the hockey side, it’s tough having that kind of guy who’s been playing well for a while now out, so we just need guys to step up a little bit more.’’

Fortunately (or unfortunately), the Lightning have had their share of dealing with long-term losses over the past couple of seasons, which likely allows them to draw on that past experience for what is ahead of them now, having also lost D Anton Stralman to a fractured fibula for up to five more weeks.

“With our group, this is something that has happened to us before and it is no doubt a blow,’’ Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “But the one thing we can’t do is say our two big guns are out and now our season is over. We’ve come way too far to have anything like that try to get in to our mind-set. So it stings, it hurts and it’s clearly not ideal. But we have to be pros. If there is anything we can look to ... let’s make their last games this year going out on their own terms because we are not in the spot we are today without those two guys. So that has to be our mind-set, let’s get them back and not make this the end of their season.’’

New digs

Monday marked the Lightning’s first trip to Barclays Center, the new home of the New York Islanders, who made the move after the lease was up at Nassau Memorial Coliseum at the end of last season.

The early reviews were promising.

“It’s a little bit different, for sure, but we’ll get a better look at it with some people in the building,’’ C Valtteri Filppula said. “I think it’s definitely a better place than the last one.’’

The cosmetics may be better, but at ice level, it’s all the same.

“It looks good, but a rink is a rink,’’ G Ben Bishop said. “The locker room is a little bit nicer, but once you get on the ice, there is nothing that changes.’’

One of the issues that have cropped up of late is the conditions of the ice. Islanders players complained about the ice following a recent against Carolina that prompted the league to send in ice specialist Dan Craig, who is responsible for setting up ice for outdoor games.

“It’s tough. You don’t know before you play and what it will be like in a game with 20,000 people in the building,’’ Filppula said. “It’s a little different intensity during the game. Hopefully it doesn’t look bad then.’’

Clinching scenario

The Lightning can officially clinch a playoff spot tonight with a victory of any kind or an overtime loss. A regulation victory would also secure no worse than finishing second in the Atlantic Division, which would guarantee home ice for at least the first round of the postseason.

Tampa Bay trails Florida by two points for the top spot in the division, but would win the tiebreaker if they both finish with the same number of points. The Lightning and Panthers both have four games remaining and play on the same nights this week. Florida has games at Toronto,

Montreal and Ottawa before ending the season at home on Saturday against Carolina.

Nuts and Bolts

RW Jonathan Marchessault and D Slater Koekkoek are scheduled to be healthy scratches tonight. ... Bishop was off the ice first and is expected to start in goal for Tampa Bay. ... The Islanders are scheduled to start G Thomas Greiss.

Tampa Tribune LOADED: 04.05.2016


Playoff berth on hold as Lightning lose to Islanders

By Erik Erlendsson | Published: April 4, 2016

Updated: April 4, 2016 at 11:01 PM

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — With the magic number to clinch a playoff spot down to one entering Tampa Bay’s debut at Barclays Center, the Lightning did a disappearing act on Monday.

Ben Bishop was pulled from the game for just the second time this season but he received little help in front of him as Tampa Bay fell 5-2 to the New York Islanders. The loss drops Tampa Bay four points behind the Florida Panthers for first in the Atlantic Division with three games remaining for each team.

Still, all the Lightning need is one point to secure a postseason berth for the third consecutive season and two points to earn home ice advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs. The next chance comes on Tuesday as Tampa Bay moves uptown to face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Coming out and failing to get the job done on Monday, however, came down to playing the wrong way.

The effort was there, the determination was there. Playing the right way was not.

“We didn’t think about our net tonight, that was it,’’ Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “So when you give up four breakaways in the second period, especially when we have time and possession ... and we just stopped shooting the puck. We just wanted to tap it around until it was placed in the net. Then we press and press and press and we are not shooting, ultimately they would get a breakaway and score.

“That was the tough part to watch because they were working their tails off, competing and battling, we just weren’t working smart enough.’’

Generally when the Lightning do have breakdowns, Bishop has been there to cover up the mistakes.

But not on Monday as he was unable to get enough of his glove on an in-close shot from Matt Martin - who sped past and around Matt Carle to cut in to the crease — while Brock Nelson converted a clean breakaway chance in the second period. Those goals coming four minutes, 23 seconds apart turned a 1-1 game into an insurmountable lead for the Islanders.

Though Victor Hedman scored his 10th goal of the season with 6.3 seconds left in the second period to make it 4-2, Johnny Boychuk scored 4:28 into the third that ended the night for Bishop, who has allowed 12 goals in three meetings with the Islanders this season.

“It snowballed in the wrong direction, too many odd-man rushes there and they capitalized on them,’’ Bishop said. “It’s one of those nights. The bounces are not always going to go your way and tonight was one of them.’’

But the Lightning are going to need more from Bishop as well as the rest of the team in the absence of captain Steven Stamkos — out due to a blood clot — and defenseman Anton Stralman, who will miss at least the next three weeks due to a fractured leg.

“This is not on Bish, he’s been there for us all year,’’ alternate captain Ryan Callahan said. “We were just worried about the other side of the net and not our own. When we play like that we, are not successful. I think our effort was there, we put pucks to the net and had some chances, but the defensive side of the puck wasn’t good enough tonight.’’

And they know the defense has to be better moving forward as they close out the season with three more road games before the playoffs begin next week.

“That’s how you win in the playoffs,’’ Callahan said. “That’s how you win down the stretch here and to be successful.’’

Tampa Tribune LOADED: 04.05.2016


Lightning players shocked with 'horrible' news on Steven Stamkos

Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer

Monday, April 4, 2016 1:47pm

Steven Stamkos will undergo vascular surgery today in Tampa.

When Lightning players found out Friday that captain Steven Stamkos would be out 1-3 months with a blood clot in his right arm, they thought - more so, hoped - it was an April Fool's Day joke.

"Huge shock," veteran center Brian Boyle said. "It came out of nowhere. It was unbelievable, we couldn't believe it."

"Terrible," wing Nikita Kucherov said.

"Pretty tough shoes to fill," Tyler Johnson said.

But the Lightning, which needs just one point tonight against the Islanders in Brooklyn to clinch a playoff spot, sound like it's mentally ready for the unenviable challenge of entering the playoffs without two of its top players, Stamkos and defenseman Anton Stralman (fractured left leg). And coach Jon Cooper was encouraged by Saturday's first game without the two, a 3-1 win over the Devils that he dubbed their best structured game of the year.

"They're two very, very big parts of our team," Johnson said. "But if everyone steps up and helps just a little bit more, we have the skill and depth and character that we can at least try to fill that in."

It won't be easy. Goalie Ben Bishop said they need to come together and play a simple, team game. Cooper suggested they'll have to protect their net even more, knowing they won't have that extra goal Stamkos usually scores (team-high 36 this season).

Stamkos will undergo vascular surgery today in Tampa. Several teammates visited him Sunday morning before their flight, saying he was in "good spirits" and "level-headed."

"If you want to glass half-full it, I guess you can sit here and say 'Let's win one for the Gipper,' we've all got to bind together, it's going to push us to new heights," Cooper said. "But in reality they're two of our best players, you can't replace their talent. It's no doubt a blow, but one thing we can't do is sit here and say, 'Our two big guns are out and now our season is over.' We've come too far to have anything like try and get in our mindset. So it stings, it hurts, it's clearly not ideal. But we've got to be pros. And I think if there's anything we can look to and say, 'You know what, let's not make Stammer's last game a 3-0 loss to Montreal. Let's not make Stralman's last game being hurt killing a penalty. Let's make their last game go out on their own terms and playing thits year, because we're not in spot we are today without those guys. That's got to be our mindset. Let's get them back. Let's not make this the end of their season."

More from morning skate: Goalie Ben Bishop will start.. The post-Stamkos lines looked like this, with the Triplets (Johnson, Kucherov and Ondrej Palat)/Filppula-Paquette-Callahan/Killorn-Namestnikov-Brown/Blunden-Boyle-Condra. Jonathan Marchessault and Slater Koekkoek will be scratched again. The power play units had a different look, with Jason Garrison and Victor Hedman on the point with Killorn-Filppula-Callahan, with the first unit boasting the Triplets with Boyle and Nikita Nesterov. "I kind of like our balance all the way through," Cooper said. "You can't sit here and say we're top heavy in one part, we're a four line team."

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 04.05.2016


Ben Bishop chased as Lightning loses at Islanders



NEW YORK — Goaltender Ben Bishop has been everything to the Lightning this season, its unquestioned MVP, a big reason why he's expected to contend for the Vezina Trophy.

And now there's more pressure on his sturdy 6-foot-7 frame, considering the significant injuries to captain Steven Stamkos and top defenseman Anton Stralman.

But Bishop can't do it all by himself, as evident in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Islanders at the Barclays Center. Bishop was pulled — for just the second time in 60 games this season — after allowing five goals in 23 shots. It was a mercy removal, Bishop having to face four breakaways in the second period alone.

"We didn't think about our net. That's it," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "This had nothing to do with Ben. This had everything to do with the quality of chances we gave up. It's too bad."

The Lightning (45-29-6) could have clinched a playoff spot with a point. And this loss likely cost Tampa Bay a shot at the Atlantic Division, with victorious Florida moving four points ahead with three games left. But if the Lightning plans on going anywhere upon reaching next week's playoffs, it has to protect its end better. Tampa Bay did in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Devils, with Cooper calling it the best structured game of the year.

"It seemed like the exact opposite (Monday)," wing Ryan Callahan said. "We were just worried about the other side of the net and not our own. We can't play that way. We're not successful when we play that way."

Bishop, with a league-best 2.00 goals-against average coming in, gave up five for just the second time this season. There were a couple he'd like to have back, notably Anders Lee's blast from the left circle that made it 4-1 in the second.

"It kind of snowballed in the wrong direction," Bishop said. "One of those nights bounces don't go your way."

He had little margin for error as the Lightning, with the league's worst road power play, went 0-for-4 and the Islanders scored on the next shift after two of them. The line of Callahan, Valtteri Filppula and Cedric Paquette was a combined minus-6.

Without Stamkos and his team-high 36 goals, the team could use a boost offensively, whether that's shoot-first wing Jonathan Marchessault — a healthy scratch the past two games — or calling up Jonathan Drouin, who has nine goals in his past nine games for AHL Syracuse.

The Islanders outshot the Lightning 36-24.

"We just stopped shooting the puck," Cooper said. "We just wanted to tap it around until it was placed into the net."

With Bishop pulled early in the third, he could start tonight against the Rangers. "You're so used to seeing him be the rock back there every single night," Cooper said. "…Sometimes you've just got to give your guy a break."

A little help couldn't hurt, either.

Islanders 1 3 1 5

Lightning 0 2 0 2

First—1, NYI, Pulock 2 (Okposo, Tavares), 13:18. Penalties—Zidlicky, NYI (hooking), 1:38; Nesterov, TB (roughing), 6:21; Okposo, NYI, served by Prince (roughing), 6:21; Nelson, NYI (cross-checking), 10:53; Paquette, TB, major (fighting), 16:43; Pulock, NYI, major (fighting), 16:43; Johnson, TB (hooking), 19:50.

Second—2, TB, Killorn 14 (Kucherov, Carle), 2:08. 3, NYI, Martin 9 (Clutterbuck, Cizikas), 11:00. 4, NYI, Nelson 26 (Kulemin), 15:23. 5, NYI, Tavares 30 (Nielsen, Okposo), 16:15 (pp). 6, TB, Hedman 10 (Carle, Namestnikov), 19:53. Penalties—Brown, TB (high-sticking), 15:53.

Third—7, NYI, Boychuk 9 (Tavares), 4:28. Penalties—Lee, NYI (hooking), 2:10; Hickey, NYI (roughing), 10:17. Shots—TB 10-12-12—34. NYI 9-10-17—36. PPs—TB 0 of 4; NYI 1 of 2. Goalies—TB, Bishop 34-

21-4 (23 shots-18 saves), Vasilevskiy (4:28 third, 13-13). NYI, Greiss 22-11-4 (34-32). A—13,106 (15,795).

Tonight

Lightning at Rangers

When/where: 7:30, Madison Square Garden, New York

TV/radio: NBCSN, 970-AM

Key stats: The Rangers (44-26-9) are third in the Metropolitan Division. They had lost two straight and six of their previous 10 (4-4-2) before Monday's win at Columbus. But New York is a strong home team (25-9-4 at MSG). The Rangers ranked sixth in the league in scoring (2.85 goals a game). The teams split the first two meetings, both in Tampa, with this the Lightning's only trip to New York. G Henrik Lundqvist has struggled recently, 2-4-3 in his 10 previous starts with an .899 save percentage and 3.59 goals-against average before Monday.



Steven Stamkos has successful surgery on blood clot



NEW YORK — Lightning captain Steven Stamkos had successful two-hour surgery Monday at Tampa General Hospital to remove a blood clot from his right collarbone area.

"So far, so good," his surgeon, Dr. Karl Illig, told the Tampa Bay Times by phone.

And the key to whether Stamkos' recovery period takes one month, three months or in between depends largely on ultrasound in two weeks, Illig said.

The procedure includes removing a top rib, which alleviates a "nutcracker" effect in the collarbone area, where a vein is squeezed. The condition is called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy suffered from in September. Illig also performed that surgery.

Illig said patients typically rest and recover for 2-4 weeks then rehab for 1-2 months. But Vasilevskiy was doing light skating (with no shots) in 10 days; Stamkos could be in the same situation.

"That two months was terrible for me," Vasilevskiy said in October after returning to practice. "A lot of the same routine every day, it's tough mentally, because guys go on the road to play games and you just watch on TV and sit at home."

Patients need to be on blood thinners for 1-3 months after surgery and can't take part in contact while taking the medication. But Stamkos' ultrasound could determine how long he needs to be on them. So Stamkos could potentially return to the Lightning in May or June, or not at all. The playoffs begin April 13.

"It'll be symptom status, how the patient is feeling, and ultrasound," Illig said. "One extreme is the patient feeling incredibly well and he has no problem whatsoever, and ultrasound is crystal clear. That would be something we'd lean on for a shorter time frame."

Illig said this syndrome is more common among baseball pitchers and tennis players, who use an arm-over-the-shoulder motion. Illig added that four players in Major League Baseball have had this surgery — including Rays pitcher Alex Cobb, in 2011. But Illig had never seen this type of clot in hockey players until this season, and it's stunning that both are with the Lightning.

"I think this was nothing that the Lightning are doing or the players are doing," Illig said. "This is a very, very, very odd and interesting coincidence."

Illig said the fact Vasilevskiy already had this condition, undergoing surgery in September before returning to an NHL game roughly two months later, helped the Lightning identify the issue and give Stamkos the best treatment.

"I want to say it's a problem for the Lightning because they're hoisting the Stanley Cup," Illig joked. "I want them to have that risk."



Without Steven Stamkos, Lightning focuses on simplifying game



NEW YORK — When Lightning players found out Friday that captain Steven Stamkos would be out 1-3 months with a blood clot in his right arm, they thought — more so, hoped — it was an April Fool's Day joke.

"Huge shock," veteran C Brian Boyle said. "It came out of nowhere. It was unbelievable, we couldn't believe it."

"Terrible," RW Nikita Kucherov said.

"Pretty tough shoes to fill," C Tyler Johnson said.

But the Lightning, which still needs one point to clinch a playoff spot after Monday's 5-2 loss to the Islanders, seems mentally ready for the unenviable challenge of entering the playoffs next week without two of its top players, Stamkos and D Anton Stralman (fractured left leg). And coach Jon Cooper was encouraged by Saturday's first game without the two, a 3-1 win over the Devils that he dubbed their best structured game of the year.

"They're two very, very big parts of our team," Johnson said. "But if everyone steps up and helps just a little bit more, we have the skill and depth and character that we can at least try to fill that in."

It won't be easy. G Ben Bishop said they need to come together and play a simple, team game. Cooper suggested they'll have to protect their net even more, knowing they won't have that extra goal Stamkos usually scores (team-high 36 this season).

Stamkos had successful vascular surgery Monday in Tampa. Several teammates visited him Sunday morning before their flight. Boyle said Stamkos was in "good spirits" and very "even-keeled."

"If you want to glass half-full it, I guess you can sit here and say, 'Let's win one for the Gipper,' we've all got to bind together, it's going to push us to new heights," Cooper said. "But in reality they're two of our best players, you can't replace their talent. It's no doubt a blow, but one thing we can't do is sit here and say, 'Our two big guns are out and now our season is over.' We've come too far to have anything like try and get in our mind-set.

"So it stings, it hurts, it's clearly not ideal. But we've got to be pros. And I think if there's anything we can look to and say, 'You know what, let's not make Stammer's last game a 3-0 loss to Montreal. Let's not make Stralman's last game being hurt killing a penalty. Let's make their last game go out on their own terms and playing this year, because we're not in spot we are today without those guys.' That's got to be our mind-set. Let's get them back. Let's not make this the end of their season."

Lining up: The post-Stamkos lines had the Triplets (LW Ondrej Palat, Johnson and Kucherov) back together. Other lines: Valtteri Filppula-Cedric Paquette-Ryan Callahan; Alex Killorn-Vladislav Namestnikov-J.T. Brown; and Mike Blunden-Boyle-Erik Condra. RW Jonathan Marchessault and D Slater Koekkoek were scratched again.

"I kind of like our balance all the way through," Cooper said. "You can't sit here and say we're top-heavy in one part, we're a four-line team."

Minor move: Second-round pick Mitchell Stephens signed to a three-year entry level deal; he can report to AHL Syracuse.



Lightning-Rangers capsule preview

Joe Smith, Monday, April 4, 2016 7:22pm

Tonight

Lightning at Rangers

When/where: 7:30, Madison Square Garden, New York

TV/radio: NBCSN, 970-AM

Key stats: The Rangers (43-26-9) entered Monday in third in the Metropolitan Division. They had lost two straight and six of their previous 10 (4-4-2). But New York is a strong home team (25-9-4 at Madison Square Garden). The Rangers ranked sixth in the league in scoring (2.85 goals a game). The teams split the first two meetings, both in Tampa, with this the Lightning's only trip to New York. G Henrik Lundqvist has struggled recently, entering Monday 2-4-3 in his previous 10 starts with an .899 save percentage and 3.59 goals-against average.



The road to recovery for Steven Stamkos

Joe Smith Monday, April 4, 2016 4:30pm

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos underwent a successful two-hour surgery at Tamppa General Hospital today to remove a blood clot from his right collarbone area.

And the key whether Stamkos' recovery period takes one month or three month depends largely on how an ultrasound looks in two weeks, surgeon Dr. Karl Illig said.

The procedure includes removing a top rib, which alleviates a "nutcracker" effect in the collarbone area, where a vein is squeezed. The condition is called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy suffered from earlier this season.

Illig said a typical course of action is rest/recovery for 2-4 weeks and then 1-2 month rehab period. But like Vasilevskiy, who was back on the ice skating (with no contact or shots) in 10-14 days after surgery, Stamkos could be in the same boat.

Patients need to be on blood thinners for 1-3 months after surgery, but how Stamkos' ultrasound looks could determine if he needs to be on them for less time. That would be huge in terms of Stamkos potentially returning to the Lightning in May vs June, or not at all. The playoffs begin a week from Wednesday.

"It'll be symptom status, how the patient is feeling, and ultra sound," Illig said. "One extreme is the patient feeling incredibly well and he has no problem whatsoever, and ultra sound is crystal clear. That would be something we'd lean for shorter time frame."

Illig said this syndrome is more commonly found among baseball pitchers and tennis players, who use an arm over the the shoulder motion. Illig added that four players in the major leagues have had this surgery. But Illig had never seen this type of clot in hockey players until this season, and both are stunningly with the Lightning.

"I think this was nothing that the Lightning are doing or the players are doing," Illig said. "This is a very, very, very odd and interesting coincidence."

Illig said the fact Vasilevskiy already had this condition, undergoing surgery in September before returning to an NHL game two months later, helped the Lightning identify the issue and give Stamkos the best treatment.

"I want to say it's a problem for the Lightning because they're hoisting the Stanley Cup," Illig joked. "I want them to have that risk."


1008687 Toronto Maple Leafs

Panthers seal best season in team history with win over Leafs

Jonas Siegel

TORONTO — The Canadian Press

Published Monday, Apr. 04, 2016 10:40PM EDT

Last updated Tuesday, Apr. 05, 2016 12:46AM EDT

The Florida Panthers officially sealed the best regular season in franchise history on Monday night.

Florida scored a 4-3 win over Toronto at the Air Canada Centre, giving them a franchise-record 99 points this season. The Panthers, who clinched their fifth playoff berth in team history on Sunday, surpassed the 98-point club record held by the 1999-2000 edition of the club.

Rocco Grimaldi scored a pair in the win, joined by Nick Bjugstad and Aleksander Barkov on the scoresheet for Florida. Al Montoya stopped 22 shots in a rare start, topping Jonathan Bernier, who made 32 saves.

Colin Greening, with two, and T.J. Brennan scored for the Leafs, who are still tied for last in the NHL with 67 points.

The Atlantic-Division leaders, Florida doesn’t believe it’s a surprise team any longer.

“I like our team and I think coaches comment around the league that we’re a good hockey team,” Panthers coach Gerrard Gallant said Monday morning. “We all believe that. The players believe that. You don’t sneak up on people anymore. They know we’re a good hockey team.”

Playing for the second time in less than a week, Florida and Toronto muddled through a dull opening frame.

Twenty-year-old centre Frederik Gauthier had perhaps the best early chance, finding some room in the slot area before missing high and wide with what would have been his first NHL goal and point.

Playing alongside veterans Brooks Laich and Michael Grabner, Gauthier drew top matchup duties for the game against Florida with Leafs top centre Nazem Kadri serving the first game of a season-ending four-game suspension. Gauthier and his senior linemates were tested against Florida’s powerful top line of Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Huberdeau and 20-year-old centre Aleksander Barkov.

The unit wore Toronto out at points early, grinding and cycling pucks in the Leafs zone. One such instance actually sprung a quality chance for the home side as Grabner and Laich raced in on an odd-man rush which saw Grabner’s shot stopped comfortably by Montoya.

Breaking in for a short-handed breakaway later in the period, Grabner had that chance also turned aside by Florida’s backup goaltender.

Among the bigger teams in the league, the Panthers caused problems that way for the Leafs, who were dressing a number of players in their earliest NHL days, including Gauthier as well as 19-year-olds William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen.

Making good use of that size, Florida took complete control of the game in the middle period.

Bjugstad, the Panthers six-foot-six centre, opened the scoring less than two minutes into the frame. He grabbed hold of a rebound on an Aaron Ekblad point shot, his first attempt stopped by Bernier, the follow-up deposited for his 14th goal this season.

The 23-year-old Bjugstad is plugging a hole left by injured centre Vincent Trocheck, who emerged with 25 goals this season before suffering a regular season-ending lower-body injury versus Toronto last Tuesday.

Florida’s hold on the game and period continued as the Leafs took penalties and failed to generate any offence, stuck mostly in their own end.

Grimaldi scored his first of the game on a blazing rush down the left side, the California native firing a high shot far side that whistled past the reaching glove of Bernier. He added his second of the game shortly after, one-timing a Reilly Smith pass through the pads of the Leafs goaltender.

The puck was turned over moments earlier by Kapanen. Shots in the period favoured Florida 14-1 at that point in the period.

Toronto clawed back in the third frame.

The Leafs appeared to get on the board early in the period only to have the goal from Byron Froese called back on a coach’s challenge. Brad Boyes was deemed to have interfered with Montoya, his left leg and arm appearing to make contact with the goaltender.

Greening beat Montoya short side a few minutes later to give Toronto its first goal of the night, cutting the deficit to two on the Leafs first power-play of the night. Nylander set up the play, landing his 10th point in the 19th game of his NHL career.

The Leafs pulled within one three minutes later on the first NHL goal for Brennan since Apr. 2013 when he was a member of the Panthers. Brennan’s blast beat Montoya as a crowd of players fell into the goal, almost like pins collapsing in a bowling alley.

The officiating crew for the evening huddled at centre ice after the goal before Florida challenged the play for goaltender interference. The Panthers were unsuccessful on their second attempt, the goal affirmed on video review.

Barkov increased the lead back to two 36 seconds later with his 27th goal of the season before Greening added his second of the game and sixth as a Leaf less than three minutes after that.

Florida held on for its 45th victory this season, increasing the franchise record for wins.

Kadri was also docked US$200,000 for his four-game suspension, which came after he cross-checked Red Wings centre Luke Glendening on Saturday evening. He was replaced in the Leafs lineup by veteran Rich Clune, who was recently serving as captain of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

Globe And Mail LOADED: 04.05.2016


Nazem Kadri suspended four games for cross-check on Luke Glendening

Jonas Siegel

NEW YORK — The Canadian Press

Published Monday, Apr. 04, 2016 12:18PM EDT

Last updated Monday, Apr. 04, 2016 12:21PM EDT

Nazem Kadri won’t be playing again for the Maple Leafs this season.

The NHL suspended Kadri for Toronto’s final four games for his cross-check to the head area of Red Wings centre Luke Glendening.

Kadri hit Glendening in the second period of an eventual 3-2 loss on Saturday after the Detroit pivot knocked Kadri’s helmet off in the offensive zone. Kadri’s cross-check left Glendening briefly down on the ice and drew a two-minute penalty.

Leafs head coach Mike Babcock felt Kadri initially targeted Glendening’s arm following a battle in the corner, with his check riding up into the shoulder and head area.

“You’ve got to command your fair share of the ice if you’re going to play hard,” Babcock said ahead of Toronto’s game Monday night against Florida. “You can’t cross-check people in the head. You’re allowed to cross-check them in the meat of the arm though.”

As a repeat offender under the collective bargaining agreement, Kadri will forfeit US$200,000.

Kadri has drawn the attention of the NHL numerous times in recent weeks. He was cited for three instances of diving and fined $5,000 last Friday.

The 25-year-old was unrepentant afterward, in total disagreement with the interpretation of diving.

“I think you can make a penalty more obvious but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a penalty,” said Kadri. “Diving and making something a little more obvious is two different things.”

The Leafs recalled Rich Clune for the Marlies on Monday morning to replace Kadri, who leads the Leafs with 45 points this season.



Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri suspended four games by NHL

By: Kevin McGran Sports Reporter, Published on Mon Apr 04 2016

Nazem Kadri’s season is over.

The Maple Leafs centre has been suspended for four games, without pay, for cross-checking Detroit Red Wings forward Luke Glendening during Saturday’s game.

Kadri, considered a repeat offender, will forfeit $200,000 (U.S.) in salary, money that goes to the league’s player assistance fund.

The Leafs have only four games remaining in their season, including Monday night’s game against the Florida Panthers.

Kadri finishes the year with 17 goals and 28 assists for 45 points, the team leader in assists and points.

The incident occurred at 7:23 of the second period of an eventual 3-2 loss at the Air Canada Centre. After Glendening knocked Kadri’s helmet off in the offensive zone, Kadri’s cross-check left the Detroit centre briefly down on the ice.

Kadri was assessed a two-minute penalty for cross-checking.

Leafs head coach Mike Babcock felt Kadri initially targeted Glendening’s arm following a battle in the corner, with his check riding up into the shoulder and head area.

“You’ve got to command your fair share of the ice if you’re going to play hard,” Babcock said ahead of Toronto’s game Monday night against Florida.

“You can’t cross-check people in the head. You’re allowed to cross-check them in the meat of the arm though.”

Just last week, Kadri was cited for three instances of diving and fined $5,000 last Friday.

The Leafs recalled Rich Clune for the Marlies on Monday to replace Kadri

Toronto Star LOADED: 04.05.2016


Leafs' Nazem Kadri to have hearing over cross-check

By: Mark Zwolinski Sports reporter, Published on Sun Apr 03 2016

Leafs centre Nazem Kadri will have a hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety after a dangerous cross-check to the head of Detroit forward Luke Glendening.

Kadri is expected to have the hearing before the Leafs’ next game — Monday night at home to Florida — and could be in line for a suspension, or his second fine in the past four days.

Kadri, who was fined $5,000 Friday for acts of embellishment, got into a scuffle with Glendening near the side of the Leafs net, and lost his helmet during the contact. He zeroed in on Glendening in front of the net seconds afterwards, and levelled him with a cross-check that rode up on Glendening’s shoulder, near his head.

Kadri took a minor penalty on the play, while Glendening laid on the ice for several seconds before returning to the bench.

The odds are against Kadri getting off without any kind of penalty from the league. He went out of his way to confront Glendening, and his cross-check appeared to be in retaliation to the previous scuffle.

Kadri is also a repeat offender with the league: He was suspended four games in March 2015 for an illegal hit to the head .



Leafs turn to rookie Gauthier to centre top line, but Panthers pull out win

By: Mark Zwolinski Sports reporter, Published on Mon Apr 04 2016

The Maple Leafs had a certain, big-bodied rookie in mind when it came to filling in the hole at centre on the top line left by the freshly suspended Nazem Kadri.

Enter Frederik Gauthier, all six-foot-five and 220 pounds of him.

Gauthier’s sizeable frame has long prompted positive reactions from Leafs coach Mike Babcock who, like everyone else inside the dressing room, refers to Gauthier as “the Goat.” And when you have size, youth and a cool nickname, you’ll get the opportunity to impress.

So, as the Leafs were losing to the feel-good-story Florida Panthers 4-3 Monday evening, Gauthier was making a decent impression in what was his fourth game of the season, and first as a front-line centre.

The 20-year-old native of Laval, Que., took the kind of ice time Kadri would normally get, playing against Florida’s top line of Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and the ageless Jaromir Jagr.

And in recognition of Gauthier’s two-way style of play, Babcock had him on the penalty-killing unit, which got a workout Monday night with the Leafs taking five minors overall, including three consecutive penalties in the second period.

While the Leafs were losing for the third straight game, and for the fifth time in their last six games, Gauthier did a notable job against the high-octane Panthers line that had combined for seven points against Montreal Saturday.

That line was blanked on the power play and didn’t click until Barkov fired his 27th goal to put the Panthers up 4-2, just 46 seconds after T.J. Brennan scored his first goal as a Leaf, and his first NHL goal since 2013 when he was with the Panthers.

“It was a huge factor for us tonight,” Babcock said about the suspended Kadri, who will miss the remainder of the season. “I thought the Goat did real good for us . . . but Nazem plays against those people for us, so obviously we miss him.”

Colin Greening was an offensive hero for the Leafs, scoring twice and working himself into the so-called “dirty” area around the crease both times to bang in loose pucks.

Greening reached the 100-point plateau in his career with those goals, and afterward felt lucky and blessed. He fell out of favour in Ottawa last year, and was shipped to the AHL, spending the final 12 games there last season and the first 41 of this season before a trade to the Leafs.

“No . . . not really, I wasn’t thinking 100,” Greening said. “For me, the kind of journey I’ve taken over the past two seasons, not knowing if I’d get another shot (in the NHL) . . . I guess this is pretty good. I know my parents back home in Newfoundland will be happy.”

Florida’s Rocco Grimaldi, fresh up from the AHL to replace the injured Vincent Trochek, had a pair of nifty goals — on a wicked snap shot and on a nice one-timer — in a span of two minutes and 39 seconds in the second to stake the Panthers to a 3-0 lead.

Florida survived some wide-open hockey in the third to record their 45th win, setting a new franchise mark. The Panthers have already clinched a post-season berth after having missed the playoffs in 13 of the past 14 seasons.

Gauthier and the Leafs’ penalty killers were exhausted during one penalty kill in the second, unable to get a stoppage in play. And when they finally managed one, it was on an icing, forcing Babcock to call a 30-second timeout. The Panthers dominated the entire period, outshooting Toronto 17-7 and opening a three-goal lead.

Gauthier took all the defensive-zone faceoffs during the Leafs’ penalty kills and came out of that pressure-packed second period with three faceoff wins and 11 losses. It wasn’t a flattering line for Gauthier, but the Panthers did not score on any of the three power plays they had in the period. They were 0-for-5 overall on the power play, and Gauthier was on the ice for only one of the goals.

“Mike came in and told our line that we’d be facing Barkov’s line,” Gauthier said. “It was a good challenge. We stepped up as a team in the third too and came back from down three goals, so that was a positive.

While Gauthier’s role for the Leafs’ final three games of the season might be undecided, it is certain he’ll head back to the Marlies to rejoin what is expected to be a promising playoff run.

And while he has yet to register a point in his limited opportunities with the Leafs, he could still challenge for one of four centre jobs on next season’s roster. A centre corps of Kadri, William Nylander, Tyler Bozak and Gauthier would represent a strong base for the team’s rebuild.

But Gauthier, like all of the Leafs prospects, must show continued improvement and two-way awareness to capture and keep Babcock’s faith. In Gauthier’s case, he will be in a stiff competition for a lower-line job with Byron Froese, who has done a good job for Babcock this season and has been strong on faceoffs.



Two Nylanders better than one for the Maple Leafs?

BY IAN SHANTZ, TORONTO SUN


TORONTO — William Nylander loves the idea of potentially playing alongside his younger brother Alex in a Maple Leafs uniform.

For now, they are both content with the knowledge their respective hockey seasons are not yet done.

The elder Nylander has three games remaining with the Maple Leafs after Monday's tilt against the visiting Panthers, meaning, barring anything unforeseen, the Leafs' eighth overall draft pick last summer will have played 23 regular-season games in the NHL as an 19-year-old rookie.

Upon the conclusion of the Leafs' season on Saturday, he will join the first-place Marlies for what's expected to be a deep playoff run through the American Hockey League playoffs.

Meanwhile, Alex, who turned 18 last month, will look to help keep his Mississauga Steelheads in the post-season when they face the Barrie Colts in Game 7 of their Ontario Hockey League first-round series on Tuesday.

In that major junior playoff series, Alex, also a forward who is projected to be drafted as high as fourth overall at this summer's NHL draft, has done nothing to hurt his draft status, recording six goals and 11 points in five playoff games. He sat out the series-opener with a nagging injury that kept him out of the Mississauga lineup for a week prior to playoffs starting.

"It really helped him reset, refresh and get going. I think it was good for him," William said of Alex's injury. "I thought (his playoff breakout) was going to happen, actually. I mean, not that good. But I thought that he was going to come back better than he was before."

The Nylanders are tight-knit siblings and, along with their dad, ex-NHLer Michael Nylander, an assistant coach with the Steelheads, there's a chance for the brothers to reunite with the Leafs has certainly been dinner table conversation.

The Leafs will pick no further in the draft order than fourth overall if they close out the season as last overall in the standings.

"I've thought about it," William said of a possible reunion with his brother, whom he played on a line with for Team Sweden at the world juniors. "It would be unreal to have my brother here, but we'll have to see what happens in the draft. It would be a dream, but we can't control that right now."

NEW KIDS IN TOWN

The Eastern Conference's Marlies have added some western flavour with the signings of Red Deer, Alta., native Andrew Nielson and Prince George, B.C.'s Chase Witala to amateur tryout agreements.

Nielson, a 6-foot-3, 207-pound defenceman, is a third-round Leafs draft pick (65th). The 19-year-old had a goal and three points and was a minus-5 in five games as his Lethbridge Hurricanes were eliminated by the Regina Pats in the opening round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.

Witala, a 20-year-old forward who is undrafted at the NHL level, registered 40 goals and 79 points in his overage season with the Prince George Cougars. He is that WHL team's all-time leading scorer (120 goals, 239 points). The Cougars were swept by the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Meanwhile, the Leafs recalled forward Rich Clune ahead of Monday's game to fill a hole left following Nazem Kadri's suspension.

Clune came in with three assists and 20 penalty minutes in 18 games with the Leafs this season.

"Part of that's a reward, no different than what we've done with the other veteran D-men (T.J. Brennan and Andrew Campbell)," Leafs coach Mike Babcock said of Clune's callup. "He's been a good pro for us, coming up and helped us out and looked after our kids down there."

LOOSE LEAFS

Panthers veteran goaltender Roberto Luongo celebrated his 37th birthday by poking fun at himself. When asked following his team's morning skate if he had anything special planned, he had this to say: "Go back five years, maybe? I don't know." As for a pre-game nap? "Definitely. Now that I'm 37, you have to nap every day." ... Babcock on 44-year-old Panthers veteran Jaromir Jagr: "I'll get his autographed stick before he's done. I've been asking for two years." ... According to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston, Kadri has now forfeited $396,078.77 in salary for three NHL suspensions, two diving fines and one throat-slashing fine.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 04.05.2016


Leafs' Kadri gets 4-game ban ahead of tilt vs. Panthers

BY IAN SHANTZ, TORONTO SUN


TORONTO — Nazem Kadri continues to draw penalties.

Lately, though, they have not been the kind that is beneficial to his team — or himself, for that matter.

While the pesky Maple Leafs centre has built his game around luring opponents to the penalty box — he is among the National Hockey League's leaders in that department — a troublesome late-season trend has ended the 25-year-old's year.

Kadri, who just days ago was hit by the league with $5,000 US in fines for various diving/embellishment infractions, had his season abbreviated courtesy a four-game suspension ahead of Toronto's tilt with the visiting Florida Panthers on Monday night.

Kadri had a hearing with the league's department of player safety on Monday morning for his cross-check on the Red Wings' Luke Glendening during the second period of Saturday's game. He was assessed a minor penalty on the play.

Kadri, who has repeat-offender status, will miss the Leafs' remaining regular-season games and, as a repeat offender, will forfeit $50,000 in salary for every game of his suspension.

"Him and Gleny were in a battle down low, they're both competitors, got knocked down, got up, (Kadri) got knocked down, got his helmet knocked off, he's gonna cross-check the guy right in the arm," Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said Monday following the morning skate, about 30 minutes before the ruling was made. "Gleny braced himself, (Kadri's stick) hit his shoulder pad and rode up.”

"You've got to command your fair share of the ice if you're going to play hard," the coach added. "I've got no problem with it. You can't cross-check people in the head, but you're allowed to cross-check (in the arm)."

Kadri's suspension and fine history surely did not help matters.

The veteran forward was suspended four games by the NHL for a check to the head of the Oilers' Matt Fraser in the late stages of last season, shortly after receiving a three-game suspension from his own team in March 2015 for off-ice related issues. Kadri, who received a league-maximum $5,000 fine for a throat-slash gesture during a game in Calgary in February, also received a three-game ban for running Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom in November 2013.

What's more, Kadri likely didn't do himself any favours this past Saturday.

He was publicly critical of the league's decision to fine him for diving, saying sarcastically "I guess this was a dive, too. I'm not quite sure," in reference to a black eye he sported from a late-game incident against Buffalo last Thursday that was unrelated to diving.

Teammate Brooks Laich describes Kadri as a “very slippery” player.

"I knew about his reputation a little bit before from having played against him," Laich said. "When you watch him play, you see how much he has the puck every night, you see why he's a target. He's also very slippery. That's why he draws a lot of penalties, because he can evade checks and avoid stuff. He can be very deceptive with the puck.”

"I don't think he dwells on things too much," the veteran added. "He plays with a little bit of amnesia. If there is a mistake, he's going to make up for it. I think that's a tremendous quality, something that's underrated with players. If he does make a mistake, it's because he's trying."

Kadri, who skated Monday morning, leads the Leafs with 17 goals and 45 points. He was five points shy of matching his career-high 50 set in 2013-14.

The Leafs recalled forward Rich Clune from the Marlies to fill a hole on the roster with Kadri out.

Clune has three assists and 20 penalty minutes in 18 games with the Leafs this season. He skated alongside Byron Froese and Brad Boyes during the morning skate.

"Part of that's a reward, no different than what we've done with the other veteran D-men (T.J. Brennan and Andrew Campbell)," Babcock said of Clune's callup. "He's been a good pro for us, coming up and helped us out and looked after our kids down there."

Jonathan Bernier will start in goal for Toronto after backing up Garret Sparks the previous two games. It's expected the Panthers will turn to Roberto Luongo, who is celebrating his 37th birthday on Monday, one day after the team clinched its first playoff berth since 2012.

The Leafs host the Blue Jackets on Wednesday in what is Toronto's final home game of the season. At the AHL level, the Marlies have added two Western Hockey League players, Chase Witala and Andrew Nielsen, through amateur tryouts. Witala, a forward, is a member of the Prince George Cougars, while defenceman Nielsen plays for the Lethbridge Hurricanes.



Leafs can't overcome lack of Kadri against Panthers

By Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun

First posted: Monday, April 04, 2016 10:34 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, April 05, 2016 12:05 AM EDT

Mike Babcock called it the kind of night where Nazem Kadri could’ve made a difference.

But the Maple Leafs’ leading scorer — and sometimes their loosest cannon — wasn’t around for Monday’s frenetic finish in a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers, nor will he be getting back on the ice to add to his totals.

The suspended centre’s situation underlines the good-highlights-versus-bad-headlines conundrum, the latter often created by his over-eagerness. While turning 25 seems to have been the impetus for maturity away from the rink, his zeal to “play on the edge” has aroused the ire of opponents and worse, put him under scrutiny from the NHL’s department of player safety.

Repeat offender status saw Kadri get the hook for Toronto’s four remaining games on Monday morning, stemming from a cross-check to the head of Detroit’s Luke Glendening on Saturday. Without Kadri, who had 45 points in 76 games, the chronically short-handed Leafs had even less of a chance against the division-leading Florida Panthers in their second-last home game.

“The Goat (rookie Frederik Gauthier) was really good, but Naz plays against those people,” Babcock said of covering top Panthers such as winning goal-scorer Aleksander Barkov. “He’s a competitive guy who plays well without the puck. We obviously miss him.”

Babcock took unnamed veterans to task for slacking off in Monday’s penalty filled second period, but was pleased with holding the Panthers off the board in the first period and a three-goal pushback in the third.

A pair of goals by Rocco Grimaldi following one from Nick Bjugstad paced the Panthers against the long-eliminated Leafs, who reached 40 defeats for their second straight season. That last happened in the late ’90s before Pat Quinn arrived.

But they didn’t go quietly when down three or when a third-period Byron Froese goal was waved off on a coach’s challenge that Brad Boyes interfered with goalie Al Montoya. Colin Greening struck twice, giving him three in two games, with the last his 100th NHL point. Marlies callup T.J. Brennan’s goal was unsuccessfully challenged, while Barkov’s might have been scrubbed on a similar call had Babcock not used his timeout earlier.

The Leafs killed five penalties and came close to tying with Jaromir Jagr in the box. Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves.

Add Kadri’s name to the staggering list of front-line Leafs injured or traded this season; James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Joffrey Lupul, Dion Phaneuf, Roman Polak, Matt Hunwick and James Reimer.

But Kadri had himself to blame for the current absence. After Glendening knocked Kadri’s helmet off in an exchange of hits around the Toronto net, Kadri took a couple of strides toward his foe, who was looking the other way and laid his stick hard across the side of the head.

The sentence also cost Kadri $200,000 in salary and brings his total tab for suspensions and fines to date just under $400,000 for the league’s player emergency assistance fund. Before the hearing and suspension Kadri and Babcock said the intent was to hit Glendening high in the arm, but the stick rode upwards.

Kadri, however, is not getting the benefit of the doubt these days. The league had announced Friday he’d been fined $5,000 for three warnings this year about diving embellishment on top of getting nicked a couple of grand for a throat-slash gesture against Mark Giordano of the Flames.

There’s no doubt that Kadri remains a big part of the Leafs, as people begin shifting their gaze to what will happen in Babcock’s second year with a cache of youngsters about to break into the NHL. Kadri will be going into his fourth full season — an RFA at present — but there’s a reason you don’t hear his name mentioned as a possible successor as captain. Ron Wilson, Randy Carlyle and now Babcock have found coaching Kadri both a delight and a detriment at times.

Teammates, however, mired in 30th place and looking for a spark every night against often over-whelming odds, appreciate a hellraiser who gets the other team off its game.

“I see it more now playing with him,” said Brooks Laich, who came from Washington before the deadline. “You see players’ reactions to him a little bit more now, especially when they’re going back to the bench. Guys want to take an extra jab at him. For us, that’s great.

“He plays on the edge, but he also makes some room for himself. He lets it be known that no one is going to take liberties on him, he’s a fiesty player who fights fire with fire.”

Laich insists Kadri is remorseful about mistakes he makes in tactical situations and had earned his time on the Leafs’ special teams. Some of those opportunities Kadri created by forcing checkers and defencemen to foul him.

“I knew about his reputation a little bit having played against him before,” Laich said. “When you play along side, you see how much he has the puck, you see why he’s a target. You also see he’s very slippery and that’s why he draws a lot of penalties.

Leaf defenceman Morgan Rielly was asked if Kadri might be getting more attention than warranted because he is out-spoken and plays in the NHL’s largest market. Case in point was Kadri’s retorts to the league office about the diving charges, which received a lot of play.

“Wherever he is, he’d find the microscope,” laughed Rielly. “He plays the game hard and these things will happen. He plays fair, he’s an honest guy who is not out there trying to break the rules on purpose. Naz is a good teammate, he has a lot of drive and having those guys on your team goes a long way. He’s not going to change who he is. He’s a good person and he’ll be back.”

GOAT'S GOT SOME GAME

His nickname is The Goat, but that breed doesn’t have the skate size of Frederik Gauthier.

“I don’t know, maybe size 14 or 15,” the rookie centre chuckled on Monday night when he looked at his feet.

His snowshoes had been complimented by veteran linemate Brooks Laich, who has been teaching him how to use his 6-foot-5, 238-pound size to his advantage on faceoffs and in general, in particular with added duties now that Nazem Kadri is gone.

Gauthier was prominent on the five-for-five penalty kill, blocking passes with his feet and using his strength.

“I feel like the more faceoffs I take, the better it is,” said Gauthier, a former first-round pick of the Leafs. “I’m always trying to find new ways to win them.”

In the morning, Gauthier received some face-off tips from Laich, who had some fun at his expense.

“I told him you don’t send a Goat to hunt a lion,” said Laich of the Marlie callup’s nickname. “But he cleaned me out. I ended up on my stomach fishing for a couple. He’s a big, strong guy. That’s what we wanted from him.

“Being his linemate, I want him to compete on those draws, use that to your advantage.”



Kelly McParland: Edmonton seizes the crown for perennially woeful hockey from always-awful Leafs

Kelly McParland | April 4, 2016 1:34 PM ET

It’s time the Toronto Maple Leafs surrender their longstanding status on the title of the National Hockey League’s most laughably inept organization, and turn it over to the astonishingly incompetent Edmonton Oilers. It’s only fair; the Oilers have earned it.

The Leaf claim on league-leading ineptitude is founded on its chronic mediocrity. Not only has the club failed to win a Stanley Cup in five decades (next season will be the 50th anniversary, worthy of a pre-game celebration), it hasn’t even made the finals, and in the past decade has demonstrated a newfound inability even to make the playoffs.

It’s time the Toronto Maple Leafs surrender their longstanding status on the title of the National Hockey League’s most laughably inept organization

There is no question the Leaf record shows a singular glaring incompetence, accompanied by evidence of an ongoing drive to maintain the club’s history of failure. And Leaf fans have shown their appreciation by continually filling the stands despite league-leading seat prices and astonishingly expensive charges for food and drink. The team recently raised ticket prices yet again, maintaining an almost perfect record of total disregard for the link between quality and pricing.

It’s an impressive record, no question about it. But the Oilers have shown a verve and originality in achieving failure that suggests it’s time the Leafs hand over to a new generation. On Saturday head coach Todd McLellan went on an extended rant after the team slept through a 5-0 shellacking by the Calgary Flames. The Flames and Oilers are supposed to be big rivals. It was the last time they will meet in Edmonton’s soon-to-be-abandoned Rexall Place arena. It was promoted as a final Battle of Alberta in the home of the Oilers’ glory days. Instead they stunk. “That’s the exact attitude and bullshit that we’re trying to eliminate here,” raged McLellan. He called the game “crap,” and “fricking embarrassing.”

What makes the Oilers’ futility worth noting is their ability to fail despite a line-up stuffed with some of the best young talent hockey can produce. The Oilers have held the first pick in the annual draft for four of the past six years. The Leafs haven’t had a #1 pick since 1985. Four #1 picks in so short a time is unprecedented, yet the Oilers – against all the odds – have an excellent chance of winning this year’s top choice yet again. At the moment they’re tied with the Leafs as the league’s worst team, vying for that first pick. But while the Leafs insist on trying to win games (admittedly not with much success), the Oilers are wisely showing no effort whatever, resulting in embarrassing laughers like Saturday’s loss. Though both teams have just 67 points, the Oilers are favoured to seize last place, as they have fewer games left to play, raising the risk the Leafs might win one.

The Leafs are losing with a squad of no-name youngsters from the American Hockey League. Their top scorer is the perennially disappointing Nazem Kadri with 17 goals and 45 points. The Oilers have far more talent: Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the astonishing Connor McDavid. Anyone can fail with Nazem Kadri; it takes skill to underachieve with Connor McDavid in the line-up.

The chink in the Oiler claim to peak awfulness is the ongoing memory of the glory years. There are still plenty of people alive who can remember Gretzky, Messier, Coffey and Kurri first-hand. You don’t have to be in your 60s to recall an Oilers Stanley Cup, as you do in Toronto. Oiler fans can still delude themselves with the belief there’s some hidden ember of greatness remaining in the team, the dim glow of a once-burning bonfire of talent. Leaf fans gave up on such fantasies long ago.

But remember, the Oilers traded Gretzky. They let Messier go to New York to win his next Cup. They go through coaches like squirrels go through peanuts. It’s only been 27 years since they last won the cup, but they’re demonstrating a keen desire to extend the streak, and an ability to overcome opportunity in pursuit of futility. The Leafs are bad because they’re bad; the Oilers can only be this bad through sheer effort. They’re doing less with more. Much less.

It’s time to pass the torch. The Leafs have held it long enough. The Oilers are the worst of the worst. Congratulations.

National Post LOADED: 04.05.2016


Toronto Maple Leafs’ Nazem Kadri suspended over cross-check, will miss final four games of season

Ian Shantz, Postmedia Network | April 4, 2016 | Last Updated: Apr 4 12:18 PM ET

Nazem Kadri leads the Leafs with 17 goals and 45 points.

While Nazem Kadri has built his game around luring opponents to the penalty box — he is among the National Hockey League’s leaders in that department — a troublesome late-season trend has continued for the pesky Maple Leafs centre.

Kadri, who just days ago was hit by the league with US$5,000 in fines for various diving/embellishment infractions, will miss the final four games of Toronto’s season due to a suspension issued on Monday for his cross-check on the Red Wings’ Luke Glendening on Saturday.

Toronto’s Nazem Kadri suspended four games for cross-checking Detroit’s Luke Glendening. Video: https://t.co/1JSLEoQ0La

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) April 4, 2016

Kadri was assessed a minor penalty on the play. As a repeat offender, Kadri will forfeit $50,000 in salary for every game of his suspension.

“Him and Gleny were in a battle down low, they’re both competitors, got knocked down, got up, (Kadri) got knocked down, got his helmet knocked off, he’s gonna cross-check the guy right in the arm,” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said following the morning skate. “Gleny braced himself, (Kadri’s stick) hit his shoulder pad and rode up.

“You’ve got to command your fair share of the ice if you’re going to play hard,” the coach added. “I’ve got no problem with it. You can’t cross-check people in the head, but you’re allowed to cross-check (in the arm).”

Kadri has a track record of misdoings. The forward was suspended four games by the NHL for a check to the head of the Oilers’ Matt Fraser in the late stages of last season, shortly after receiving a three-game suspension from his own team in March 2015 for off-ice issues. Kadri, who received a league-maximum $5,000 fine for a throat-slash gesture during a February game in Calgary, also received a three-game ban for running Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom in November 2013.

Kadri leads the Leafs with 17 goals and 45 points. He is five points shy of matching his career-high 50 set in 2013-14.

The Leafs recalled forward Rich Clune from the Marlies to fill the hole on the roster. Clune has three assists and 20 penalty minutes in 18 games with the Leafs this season. He skated alongside Byron Froese and Brad Boyes during the morning skate, while Kadri was on the ice after his teammates had departed the ice in the morning.

“Part of that’s a reward, no different than what we’ve done with the other veteran D-men (T.J. Brennan and Andrew Campbell),” Babcock said of Clune’s callup. “He’s been a good pro for us, coming up and helped us out and looked after our kids down there.”

Jonathan Bernier will start in goal for Toronto after backing up Garret Sparks the previous two games. It’s expected the Panthers will turn to Roberto Luongo, who is celebrating his 37th birthday on Monday, one day after the team clinched its first playoff berth since 2012.

The Leafs host the Blue Jackets on Wednesday in what is Toronto’s final home game of the season.



Maple Leafs’ late push falls short against Panthers

Lance Hornby, Postmedia Network | April 4, 2016 10:58 PM ET

Maple Leafs defenceman Jake Gardiner gets tripped by Florida Panthers centre Jonathan Huberdeau during game in Toronto on Monday.

Nazem Kadri will likely finish the season as the Maple Leafs leading scorer, but wasn’t on the ice Monday night to add to his totals in a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers.

The suspended centre’s situation underlines the good highlights vs. bad headlines conundrum, the latter often created by his over-zealous play. While turning 25 seems to have the impetus for maturity off the ice, his zeal to “play on the edge” has aroused the ire of opponents and worse, put him under scrutiny from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

Repeat offender status saw Kadri get the hook for Toronto’s four remaining games on Monday morning, stemming from a cross check to the head of Detroit’s Luke Glendening on Saturday. Minus Kadri, who had 45 points in 76 games, the chronically short-handed Leafs had even less of a chance against the division leading Panthers in their second-last home game.

A pair of second-period goals by Rocco Grimaldi following one from Nick Bjugstad paced the win for the Cats, sending the long eliminated Leafs to their 40th defeat. But they didn’t go quietly when down three. A third-period Byron Froese goal was waved off on a coach’s challenge that Brad Boyes interfered with goalie Al Montoya, before Colin Greening struck twice. He has three goals in two games, with the last his 100th NHL point.

The late push also included one by Marlie call-up T.J. Brennan, unsuccessfully challenged, but that brouught a quick response from Aleksander Barkov. The Leafs killed five penalties and came close to tying with the great Jaromir Jagr in the box. Jonathan Bernier faced 36 shots.

After Glendening knocked Kadri’s helmet off in an exchange of hits around the Toronto net, Kadri took a couple of strides toward his foe, who was looking the other way and laid his stick hard across the side of the head.

The sentence also cost Kadri $200,000 in salary and brings his total tab for suspensions and fines to date just under $400,000 for the league’s player emergency assistance fund. Before the hearing and suspension Kadri and head coach Mike Babcock said the intent was to hit Glendening high in the arm but the stick rode upwards.

Kadri, however, is not getting the benefit of the doubt these days. The league had announced Friday he’d been fined $5,000 for three warnings this year about diving embellishment on top of getting nicked a couple of grand for a throat slash gesture against Mark Giordano of the Flames.

There’s no doubt that Kadri remains a big part of the Leafs, as people begin shifting their gaze to Babcock’s second year behind the bench with a cache of youngsters about to break into the NHL. He’ll be going into his fourth full season – an RFA at present – but there’s a reason you don’t hear his name mentioned as a possible successor as captain. Ron Wilson, Randy Carlyle and now Babcock have found coaching Kadri both a delight and a detriment at times.

Teammates, however, mired in 30th place and looking for a spark every night against often over-whelming odds, appreciate a hellraiser who gets the other team off its game.

“I see it more now playing with him,” said Brooks Laich, who came from Washington before the trade deadline. “You see players’ reactions to him a little bit more now, especially when they’re going back to the bench. Guys want to take an extra jab at him. For us that’s great.

“He plays on the edge, but he also makes some room for himself. He lets it be known that no one is going to take liberties on him, he’s a feisty player who fights fire with fire.”

Laich insists Kadri is remorseful about mistakes he makes in tactical situations and had earned his time on the Leafs’ special teams. Some of those opportunities Kadri created by forcing checkers and defencemen to foul him.

“I knew about his reputation a little bit having played against him before,” Laich said. “When you play along side, you see how much he has the

puck, you see why he’s a target. You also see he’s very slippery and that’s why he draws a lot of penalties.

“He’s very deceptive with the puck from one wing sliding to the other. Someone’s going to get their stick in there and try to trip him. The thing that really impresses me about him is his competitive spirit. He doesn’t quit on pucks, with second efforts, (being) physical, he gets under guys skin and plays with skill.”

Leaf defenceman Morgan Rielly was asked if Kadri might be getting more attention than warranted because he is out-spoken and plays in the NHL’s largest market. Case in point was Kadri’s retorts to the league office about the diving charges, which received a lot of play.

“Wherever he is, he’d find the microscope,” laughed Rielly. “He plays the game hard and these things will happen. He plays fair, he’s an honest guy who is not out there trying to break the rules on purpose. Naz is a good teammate and we love playing with him. He has a lot of drive and having those guys on your team goes a long way. He’s not going to change who he is. He’s a good person and he’ll be back.”


1008698 Washington Capitals

Nicklas Backstrom is practicing, but he won’t play until fully healthy

By Isabelle Khurshudyan April 4 at 2:20 PM

If this were the playoffs, would Nicklas Backstrom be playing with his undisclosed upper-body injury?

“Well, to be honest, maybe,” he said on Monday. “But at the same time, we’re in a good position right now, and we don’t want to rush anything. It’s probably smarter decision for now, I’d say.”

With just four games left in the regular season and a Presidents’ Trophy already clinched for the Washington Capitals, they can afford to be cautious with the health of their top center. He suffered the injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, and Backstrom missed the next two games.

On Monday, he said it’d be up to the coaches and the training staff to decide if he’ll play against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. Coach Barry Trotz has said twice now that he isn’t concerned about the injury. He previously described as Backstrom being “banged up.”

“If he’s not 100 percent, he probably will not play,” Trotz said.

Backstrom was on the ice with the team during a morning skate on Friday in Denver, but he didn’t take rushes. In a lengthy practice on Monday, Backstrom again was a full participant, but he didn’t take line rushes with the team the first time through. He also didn’t practice on the power play, both good indicators that he’s unlikely to play on Tuesday night.

Backstrom missed three games at the start of the season, still recovering from offseason hip surgery. He has 20 goals and 47 assists in in 73 games played this year. With Backstrom out of the lineup, Marcus Johansson has been centering a top line of Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie. Evgeny Kuznetsov has filled in for Backstrom along the half wall on the top power-play unit.

“It’s good when you’re injured and we’re in a good position,” Backstrom said. “I mean, we’ve already clinched a playoff spot, so that’s nice. You get a little extra time to get back here.”

Here’s what the lineup looked like in practice on Monday:

Forwards

Alex Ovechkin-Marcus Johansson-T.J. Oshie

Andre Burakovsky-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Justin Williams

Jason Chimera-Jay Beagle-Tom Wilson

Stanislav Galiev-Mike Richards-Daniel Winnik

Defensemen

Karl Alzner-Matt Niskanen

Nate Schmidt-John Carlson

Brooks Orpik-Dmitry Orlov

Washington Post LOADED: 04.05.2016


Capitals feel ‘snake-bitten’ during recent scoring struggles

By Isabelle Khurshudyan April 4 at 4:52 PM

The Washington Capitals have started to keep count of the times they’ve hit the post or crossbar. There were two against Philadelphia. A whopping five against Colorado. Two more in Arizona.

“We’ve been struggling putting pucks in five-on-five for some reason,” Karl Alzner said. ” … We’re just a little bit snake-bitten right now. That can change pretty quick, so hopefully it does soon. Teams are playing us hard, and it’s the end of the year and they’re either grinding it out or just having fun out there. It’s hard to play against them.

“They’re just doing a good job, and we’re working to find it.”

While the Capitals’ defense has improved over the past six games, its offense has sputtered. It’s not for a lack of trying; Washington has averaged 66.2 shot attempts per game over the past six games. In that span, the Capitals have been shut out in three regulations and have averaged 1.67 goals-for per game. Washington has just four five-on-five goals in the past six games.

L6 games the Caps are shooting a comical 2.3% at 5v5, 4 for 172. As a point of ref, that's half a percentage point below Orpik's career Sh%.

— Japers' Rink (@JapersRink) April 4, 2016

“We need to find the back of the net a little bit more, find the snipe back in our game,” Capitals Coach Barry Trotz said. “I’d like to see a little more of that five-on-five, exactly what you see in Colorado with puck possession. I mean, we could’ve scored 10 goals in that game.”

Can some of the scoring drought be attributed to over-passing?

“I looked at a couple of them, and sometimes, we might over-pass a little bit,” Trotz said. “A good example was the [Evgeny Kuznetsov] one where [Arizona] came down and scored after that. My first reaction is that he should have probably shot it, then I watched it on film and went, ‘Well, he didn’t have a really good shot.’ He could’ve played the puck as an indirect pass off the goalie type of thing, but really, I don’t think he had much to shoot at. So, his thought process was to put it to where the traffic was going, where Justin [Williams] was going. Sometimes, when you look at that at full speed, you say that he probably should have shot.”

Jason Chimera joked that the Capitals are saving their goals for the playoffs, hence the reason for hitting so many pipes. Continually getting scoring chances minimizes concern, but it’s still frustrating and a bit unlucky.

“We’ve just got to keep getting those chances and eventually, they start going in,” Jay Beagle said.

“There’s some luck in it, but I don’t think we can really count on that or blame it on that,” T.J. Oshie said. “It just comes down to guys bearing down and scoring goals. We get a lot of opportunities, and we’ve got a lot of really good players that can put the puck in the net. Maybe a little bit of a dry spell here five-on-five, but not too worried about it. I think it’s going to pick up pretty quick here.”

Washington Post LOADED: 04.05.2016


Braden Holtby’s pursuit of NHL record guides Capitals into playoffs

By Zac Boyer - The Washington Times - Monday, April 4, 2016

Braden Holtby's pursuit of an NHL record has turned what would have been a meaningless final week of the regular season into anything but for the Washington Capitals.

With wins in two of the Capitals' final four games, Holtby could set the record for the most victories in a season by a goaltender, surpassing Martin Brodeur's 48-win total from the 2006-07 season.

Coach Barry Trotz said on Monday that Holtby will start on Tuesday against the New York Islanders and on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He'll likely get at least one of the final two games as well — on the road against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday or at home against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

"That's something that's very important to us," said right wing T.J. Oshie, acquired via trade with the Blues last July. "I'm not sure if he says it or not, but it's something that would be really cool for him to accomplish. We'll be fighting for him, for sure, in here every game."

Washington (55-17-6, 116 points) recently claimed the Presidents' Trophy, giving it the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. A victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday also set a franchise record for wins in a season.

The game at St. Louis on Saturday could provide a twist. Brodeur is currently an assistant general manager with the Blues, making it possible that Holtby could set the record with Brodeur in the audience. Brodeur, playing for the New Jersey Devils, set his record in a road game against the Philadelphia Flyers with previous record-holder Bernie Parent in attendance.

Brodeur set the record having played in 78 games that season, whereas Parent played in 73. Holtby, who tied a franchise record with 73 appearances last year, has played in only 64 games thus far.

"We're doing something together with Holts that I think is pretty impressive," Trotz said. "I think they know how important he is to our team. He's obviously one of the more popular guys in the room, and I think they all take pleasure if he could get it.

"Obviously, it will be something that his name will be attached to, but in the room, everybody knows that they're attached to that, and they've been a part of something — hopefully, if he gets it — part of something special."

Holtby, who entered Monday fourth in the league with a 2.17 goals-against average and seventh with a .923 save percentage, was nearly impenetrable during the early part of the season. From Nov. 25 through Jan. 14, he went 23 games without a regulation loss, and his 22-game point streak was the longest since Jose Theodore put together a 23-game streak during the 2009-10 season.

Recently, he has been credited with the victory in four of his last five games and in seven of his last 10, including a 19-save performance, with two goals allowed, against the Avalanche.

"Your goal as an athlete, as a member of a team sport, is to help the team in any way possible, and that doesn't just mean statistics," Holtby recently told reporters. "[It's] trying to help the momentum of games, communication on the ice, all those little things that go into a smooth game and helping your teammates out. That's what's made us successful this year."

Center Jay Beagle said Holtby's pursuit of the record underscores something else players collectively find important. If he reaches that mark, that would mean the Capitals would be entering the postseason on a high note.

"It's something that, you know, obviously, he needs us to play our best these next four games, and it's also great timing because we've got to play our best going into the playoffs," Beagle said. "It's just something else to play hard for. He stood on his head all year, and we, obviously, would love to pay a guy back like that who's been a rock for us all year."

Washington Times LOADED: 04.05.2016


Nicklas Backstrom recovering from injury; uncertain for Capitals’ upcoming games

By Zac Boyer - The Washington Times - Monday, April 4, 2016

Nicklas Backstrom said on Monday he is "progressing" in his recovery from an unspecified upper-body injury and remained unsure as to whether he'd play for the Washington Capitals against the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Backstrom missed each of the Capitals' last two games — a victory at the Colorado Avalanche on Friday and a loss at the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday — after taking an open-ice hit in the shootout loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.

The games were the first Backstrom had missed since the start of the season, when his recovery from surgery on one of his hips forced him from the first three contests.

"It's up to the coach and the [athletic] trainers," Backstrom said, "...but I'll be back when I'm 100 percent."

Backstrom, who wore additional padding on his left elbow, was a full participant in Monday's practice, rotating into the top two lines during rushes. He had been replaced as the top-line center in each of the Capitals' last two games by Marcus Johansson, who played between Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie.

"Nick's a big part of this team, a big part of this organization, so the sooner we can get him back, the better," Oshie said. "We want him 100 percent before he comes back, obviously. The big show is important, so if we need to rest him, we've got the depth here where guys can step in and have success."

Backstrom said that had the Capitals already opened postseason play, which will begin next week, he would "maybe" consider playing through the injury. Coach Barry Trotz cut off a question about such a scenario, saying, "I'm not doing the hypotheticals."

The Capitals clinched the Presidents' Trophy last week, sewing up the top seed in the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Backstrom, though, had been among a number of players who maintained that it was more important for players to finish out the regular season rather than be given games off to rest.

He acknowledged, though, that having time before the start of the playoffs to heal is an advantage.

"We're in a good position and I mean, we already clinched a playoff spot, so that's nice," Backstrom said. "We get a little extra time to get back here."



Holtby approaching Brodeur’s single-season wins record

By STEPHEN WHYNO - Associated Press - Monday, April 4, 2016

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - When Martin Brodeur broke the NHL's single-season wins mark in 2006-07, the New Jersey Devils goaltender was honored that previous record holder Bernie Parent was in attendance. The Hall of Famer sent him a note, and Brodeur had him autograph a replica mask that's still displayed in his home.

Nine years later, Brodeur is watching closely as Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby approaches his record. With four games left, Holtby has 47 wins, one shy of Brodeur.

"It's really tough to do, so if he achieves it, I'll be happy for him," Brodeur said. "It'll be quite an accomplishment."

It's even more of an accomplishment considering the variety of factors that have to go right to achieve it. Goalies who have come close to matching Brodeur's mark all say that workload, team success and consistency are necessary ingredients to win even 40-games in a season, let alone 48 or more.

"You need to play a lot of games, you need to be on a good team and you've got to perform," said Brodeur, now assistant general manager of the St. Louis Blues. "And he's checking all the boxes."

Holtby can tie the record Tuesday against the New York Islanders and break it Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins or Saturday at St. Louis, when Brodeur may be at the game.

Brodeur played 78 games during his record-breaking season, Parent played 73 for the Stanley Cup-champion Flyers in 1973-74 and Roberto Luongo played 76 when he reached 47 wins with the Vancouver Canucks in 2006-07. Holtby has gotten to this point with impressive efficiency, playing in just 63.

The Alex Ovechkin-led offense is important to the Capitals' success, but so is Holtby, a front-runner for the Vezina Trophy with a 2.17 goals-against average (fourth best in the league) and a .923 save percentage (seventh in the league). Holtby's doing it in just his third full 82-game NHL season at the age of 26.

"It's time to stop referring to him as a young goalie," said Luongo, now the Florida Panthers' starter. "He's here and he's one of the best in the league. I've always thought that he was a great goalie, but obviously this year he's taken it to another level."

Even though his workload pales in comparison to Brodeur's, Parent's or Luongo's, Holtby has played the third-most games of any goalie this season, which is how he wants it.

"I find rest harder to play through," Holtby said. "It's easy to tell your mind that your legs are sore, and you just have to push a little harder. It's a little harder when you're not seeing the puck well and you're trying to tell yourself to react quicker."

Holtby has seen the puck well most of the season, partially a product of stronger team defense under coach Barry Trotz than the Capitals had during much of the past decade.

"He's been their backbone for quite a bit," said retired goaltender Evgeny Nabokov, who won 46 games for the San Jose Sharks in 2007-08. "When the team got a little bit better defensively, I think now he's at the spot where he can win close to 50 games. It's been coming. It's not like he came from nowhere."

Picked in the fourth round in 2008, Holtby made his NHL debut in 2010 and was thrust into playoff duty by injuries in 2012. Now, he has become one of the best in the league.

The Lloyminster, Saskatchewan, native has consistently pointed to wins as the barometer he wants to be judged on. Unlike save percentage and goals against, wins are a team measurement, and Trotz said if Holtby breaks the record it's something the Capitals can be proud of.

"Your goal as an athlete, as a member of a team sport, is to help the team in any way possible," Holtby said. "Obviously statistics is one thing that you want to make sure are up. The main thing is you're not looking like a weak link on a team and creating a distraction that way. But the biggest thing is just creating a win somehow - making the saves at the right times."

Brodeur, who made enough timely saves to win three Cups, sees a little of himself in Holtby and hopes he can congratulate him on a new NHL record this week.

Holtby is "a goalie that loves to play the game," Brodeur said. "He plays hard. He's really athletic, he's a big guy. I just like the way he plays the game. It's been fun watching his run."



Backstrom says he'll wait until he's '100 percent'

April 4, 2016, 3:00 pm

Chuck Gormley

Although he practiced at full speed on Monday at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Nicklas Backstrom and Barry Trotz said they’d like to see their playmaking center at 100 percent before he returns from an upper body injury.

“We’re in a position where if he’s not 100 percent we probably will not play him,” Trotz said when asked if Backstrom will be in the lineup on Tuesday night when the New York Islanders visit Verizon Center.

“It felt good,” said Backstrom, who was injured in Wednesday night’s shootout loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia and sat out weekend games at Colorado and Arizona. “I feel like I’m getting better and better so that’s a good thing. It wasn’t really too much of battle drills but it’s good to practice with the team.

“We’ll see (about returning). It’s up to the coach and training staff. I’m progressing but I’ll be back when I’m 100 percent.”

Asked if he would have played over the weekend if they were playoff games, Backstrom smiled.

“To be honest, maybe,” he said. “But we’re in a good position right now and we don’t want to rush anything, so it’s probably the smarter decision for now, I’d say.”

The Capitals have just four games remaining in the regular season. Following Tuesday night’s game they will host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday then conclude the regular season with games in St. Louis on Saturday night and at home against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night.

With Backstrom sidelined, Capitals coach Barry Trotz has used forward Marcus Johansson as a center on a top line with left wing Alex Ovechkin and right wing T.J. Oshie.

Trotz said he made the change because he wants to see Johansson “get some reps” with Ovechkin and Oshie before the playoffs, just in case he needs to use Johansson there for any reason. At Monday’s practice, Backstrom rotated on and off the second line of center Evgeny Kuznetsov between Andre Burakovsky and Justin Williams.

In the five games the Caps have played without Backstrom this season (including the first three) they have gone 3-2-0 and have been shut out twice.

“Nick’s a big part of this team and a big part of this organization,” Oshie said. “So the sooner we can get him back the better. But we want him 100 percent before he comes back, obviously. The big show is in four games so if we need to rest him we have the depth here with guys that can step in and make a difference.”



NHL Power Rankings: Are Caps and Penguins on a collision course?

April 4, 2016, 2:45 pm

JJ Regan

The Western Conference looks like a jumbled mess in which any of the eventual playoff teams could emerge as the conference winner. The East...not so much. The Caps have long established themselves as the team to beat and as the playoffs draw closer, it looks like we could be headed for a rematch of the 2009 clash between Washington and Pittsburgh in the second round. Just like in that year in which Pittsburgh went on to win the Stanley Cup, the stakes could be just as high.

Washington has already won the Presidents' Trophy and they did so before any other team in the conference even secured a playoff spot. They have been dominant all season long and are now coasting their way into the postseason. Possible challengers for them in the playoffs have come and gone.

Montreal started off the season with nine straight wins, but an injury to Carey Price derailed their season. Steven Stamkos may miss the entire postseason due to a blood clot in his right arm while the Florida Panthers have shown at various points in the year that they lack depth. Detroit and Boston both look like they are trying to play their way out of the playoffs.

In the Metropolitan Division, the New York Islanders are rapidly collapsing without Jaroslav Halak and the New York Rangers couldn't outshoot a junior team. The Philadelphia Flyers are putting together a late-season surge, but the Pittsburgh Penguins have emerged as a true challenger for the conference crown.

Think about it. Who would you bet on to win the East? Most people would pick the Caps or the Penguins with the rest of the field a very distant third.

This all comes with the usual caveats of course—anything can happen in the playoffs—but if you look at the landscape of the Eastern Conference, all signs point to a second round matchup between rivals Washington and Pittsburgh and it's not a stretch to believe that series could serve as a de facto conference championship.

How do these two teams compare now? Well, not good if you're a Caps fan considering the Penguins are red hot and the Caps are sleepwalking their way to the playoffs. It's all just a matter of flipping that switch one the postseason rolls around.



Will Caps give Backstrom another game off?

April 4, 2016, 11:30 am

Chuck Gormley

Sidelined the past two games with an upper body injury, Nicklas Backstrom was back practicing with the Capitals on Monday and taking part in battle drills.

Whether that means the 28-year-old center will be in the lineup on Tuesday night against the New York Islanders remains in doubt. Backstrom rotated on and off the Caps’ second line, taking turns with Evgeny Kuznetsov on a unit with wingers Andre Burakovsky and Justin Williams.

Backstrom did not practice with the first power-play unit. In 73 games this season Backstrom has 20 goals and 47 assists.

With four games remaining in the regular season and the start of the playoffs still at least 10 days away, the Caps have been cautious with their star players. Backstrom played a physical game in Philadelphia on Wednesday and was checked hard into the boards by Brayden Schenn.

With everyone at least relatively healthy, the Caps’ lines and defense pairings looked like this on Monday:

Forward lines

Alex Ovechkin – Marcus Johansson – T.J. Oshie

Andre Burakovsky – Evgeny Kuznetsov/Nicklas Backstrom – Justin Williams

Jason Chimera – Jay Beagle – Tom Wilson

Daniel Winnik – Mike Richards – Stan Galiev

Extra: Michael Latta

Defense pairings

Karl Alzner – Matt Niskanen

Nate Schmidt – John Carlson

Brooks Orpik – Dmitry Orlov

Mike Weber – Taylor Chorney

Goaltenders

Braden Holtby (starter) – Philipp Grubauer



Caps begin final week with teams fans love to hate

April 4, 2016, 5:30 pm

Chuck Gormley

With four games and six days remaining in the NHL’s regular season, the Caps may not know which team they’ll face in the first round of the playoffs until Sunday night.

Will it be the Flyers, who currently hold the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings but just lost defenseman Andy MacDonald? Will it be the seventh-seeded Islanders, who just lost defenseman Travis Hamonic and are likely to start the playoffs without starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak?

Will it be the Bruins or Red Wings, who have traded places in the Atlantic Division and will face each other in a pivotal battle on Thursday night?

“It could be four different teams, right?” pondered Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom. “You never know what’s going to happen. It’s going to be until the last game, I think. It’s interesting. That’s what makes it fun, too.”

After a pair of games against non-playoff games, the Capitals expect the intensity to ramp up when they close out their regular season with games against the Islanders, Penguins, Blues and Ducks, four teams currently holding playoff spots. The Caps got a good taste of what the playoffs might be like when they visited the Flyers last week and fell 2-1 in a shootout.

“I think those type of games are really good for us right now,” Capos right wing T.J. Oshie said. “It’s hard not to look at the standings and see you already have first place and take a step back. But when we play these teams that are desperate and fighting for their lives I think it really brings out the best in us.”

That was certainly the case last Wednesday night, when the Caps and Flyers combined for 64 hits.

“I’m sure tomorrow would be the same thing,” Caps defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “They’re coming off a pretty good beating on Saturday (a 5-0 loss to the Penguins), so I’m sure they’re trying to respond. All these games this week will be a challenge for us. At some point in the playoffs we might face Pittsburgh as well. Psychologically, it’s a good opportunity to leave a mark on certain teams.”

The Islanders have been an unpredictable team lately. After losing six of seven games in early March, they won four out of five before getting blown out at home by the Penguins, who are currently without goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Isles lead the Flyers by two points with a game in hand. They face the Lightning tonight at home, followed by visits to Washington and New York and home games against the Sabres and Flyers. It’s possible that last makeup game of the season between the Isles and Flyers on Sunday night will determine which team faces the Caps in Round 1.

“Obviously, the Islanders are playing for position and Pitt is probably playing the best of any team in the league right now,” Capital coach Barry Trotz said. “(The Penguins) are feeling it. They’re probably the team coming into the playoffs, as of today, probably feeling the best about themselves.”

With their No. 1 playoff seeding clinched, Trotz said it’s hard to replicate during the final week of the regular season the desperation we’ll all see in the playoffs.

“You don’t practice running into a burning house like firemen, but that’s what it is,” Trotz said. “All of a sudden the playoffs start and you’re running into a burning house and it’s chaotic. Things are happening quicker and it’s intense. You just don’t practice that all the time.”

Oshie said that no matter who the Capitals face in Round 1, they’ll need to play at a higher level than they have the past few games.

“Personally, I don’t look ahead,” he said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in playoffs, everyone’s got a shot. Everyone’s playing good hockey. You can’t overlook anyone. Obviously, if someone’s dinged up, especially a key player, it gives you a slight advantage. But a lot of the teams that are in the playoffs are really deep.”


1008707 Winnipeg Jets

Jets, Moose give call-ups a chance to impress

Posted: 04/4/2016 10:50 AM

Staff

The Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose will use the final days of their regular seasons to evaluate more talent.

The Jets announced Monday morning they have recalled defenceman Brenden Kichton from the Moose, while winger Brendan Lemieux will join their American Hockey League affiliate after the completion of his junior season with the Windsor Spitfires.

The 23-year-old Kichton was recalled on an emergency basis on March 25, but did not make his National Hockey League debut. He has played in 65 games with the Moose this year and leads the team with 38 points (10 goals, 28 assists). He was chosen by the Jets in the seventh round, 190th overall, in the 2013 NHL Draft.

Lemieux, who signed an entry-level contract with the Jets last July, split this past season with the Barrie Colts and Spitfires. The 20-year-old had 62 points (32G, 30A) in 45 games this year and had five points in three playoff games before the Spitfires were knocked out of the first round of the OHL playoffs by the Kitchener Rangers.

Lemieux was part of the blockbuster trade with the Buffalo Sabres a year ago, coming to the Jets along with Joel Armia, Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers and a first-round draft pick (Jack Roslovic) for Zach Bogosian, Evander Kane and Jason Kasdorf. Lemieux was drafted by the Sabres in the second round, 31st overall in 2014.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 04.05.2016


College free agent Tanev to make NHL debut Tuesday for Jets in Anaheim

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN

FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, APRIL 04, 2016 08:57 PM CDT | UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 04, 2016 09:01 PM CDT

ANAHEIM – The wait is finally over for Brandon Tanev.

While it's important to remember he's only been a member of the Winnipeg Jets for one week, the dream of making the NHL began long ago for Tanev, who joined the organization after his NCAA career with the Providence College Friars came to an end.

After getting his feet under him with several skates with his new club, Tanev will suit up for the Jets on Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks.

“The opportunity to play in your first NHL game is really exciting,” said Tanev. “I'm going to be ready and I'm going to go out there, keep it simple, play to my strengths and enjoy myself.”

Naturally, Tanev would prefer to be jumping into the lineup for a playoff push, but he's focused on leaving a positive first impression on Jets head coach Paul Maurice and his new teammates.

Tanev will become the 11th rookie to suit up with the Jets this season and the eighth to make his NHL debut, joining Nikolaj Ehlers, Nic Petan, Scott Kosmachuk, JC Lipon, Chase De Leo, Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck in that latter category.

Tanev vividly remembers what it was like watching Chris make his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks against the Colorado Avalanche during the 2010-11 season.

“I watched it on TV because I wasn't able to go to it,” said Brandon Tanev. “It was an exciting time for our family. Our parents were able to go. (The Canucks) played Colorado and what stuck out the most was that he had a three-on-one against him and he was able to stop it. That was a proud moment.”

Growing up with two brothers – younger brother Kyle recently wrapped up his Tier II junior career in Ontario – led to an intense environment at home.

“We're a very competitive family, especially when it comes down to sports,” said Brandon Tanev. “You always want to out-do your siblings. All of us played many sports growing up and we definitely pushed each other. We talk to each other on a consistent basis and we're always there for each other.”

Tanev is known for being able to raise his level of play in big moments (he scored the game-winning goal for Providence College last year in the Frozen Four championship game) and that quality should help him adapt to the pro game.

“I do enjoy playing in the big moments,” said Tanev. “Whenever we had that opportunity to win a trophy or something big is on the line, that's when I want to play my best game.

“That goes back to my competitiveness and wanting to be the best player on the ice when I'm out there. That's going to help me adapt and make my transition easier.”

Tanev figures to skate on a line with Adam Lowry and Chris Thorburn and eventually he should grow into a member of the penalty-killing unit, since that was a strength of his in college.



First impressions: Three Jets rookies share some of their most memorable moments of the season

Paul Friesen


The season won't go down as a memorable one for most of the Winnipeg Jets.

But three players -- Denmark's Nikolaj Ehlers, Michigan's Andrew Copp and B.C. product Nic Petan -- realized a childhood dream by making the NHL for the first time, meaning they'll probably never forget much of the last six months.

I corralled all three on Monday to get their thoughts on everything from their most embarrassing rookie moment to their impressions of Winnipeg.

Sun: What's the biggest challenge in adjusting to the NHL?

Ehlers: That over the course of the year, the hockey gets better and better as the season goes on. And you've got to be better and better, too. Or else you can't play your game.

Copp: Staying in the flow and the rhythm of the game. Coming from college, I played Bryan Little-type minutes. With the minute reduction, which obviously I knew was going to happen, just staying in the flow and rhythm of the game, that mental focus has been probably the biggest adjustment.

Petan: The biggest challenge is getting used to playing lower minutes. Now I'm getting more used to it. Going down to the AHL and getting back to those minutes did help. This time around, I feel a lot more comfortable, whether it's high minutes or low minutes.

Sun: What's been the biggest surprise?

Ehlers: How fast the game is. It's fast. They're all great players, they make quick plays and they all have speed. So you've got to be able to play that way, as well.

Copp: You grow up and the NHL is like some untouchable thing, and everyone's so good in the NHL. But everyone's human. Sidney Crosby's out there, and he's one of the best players in the game, if not THE best. But he still makes mistakes. Everyone's going to make mistakes. These guys aren't invincible.

Petan: Probably just making it out of camp. Not many people had me slotted in. I just wanted to work hard and I did that and made it out of camp, which was my goal. Hopefully I'll do that next year.

Sun: What's been the coolest moment?

Ehers: Probably my first goal. There's been a lot of unbelievable moments this year: my first game in Boston, my first goal, the hat trick. But those are all personal moments. I wish there would have been more with the team. My first goal is probably one that I'll remember for a long, long time.

Copp: Probably playing in Detroit. That was really cool, with the friends and family. I'd been there several times to play youth hockey games and to watch the Wings and Michigan games. The first pro game is pretty cool.

Petan: Probably scoring in my first game. That was something special. Even if it wasn't with my stick (it went off his skate). It was still a special moment.

Sun: What's been your most embarrassing moment?

Ehlers: (laughs) Probably in Edmonton, when I lost the edge and couldn't skate back to the bench. It took me about 15 seconds to get back there. That looked a bit funny.

Copp: That's a tough one. Probably something inside the locker-room. Not fit to print.

Petan: During a bag skate at the beginning of the year, I accidentally went two or three times more than everyone else. And when everyone was yelling at me I thought they were yelling, 'Good job.' But they were yelling, 'Don't go.'

Sun: What's been the most surprising thing about Winnipeg?

Ehlers: I know people said it was a warm winter. I don't think so. I'm not a big fan of the cold. But I was getting used to it. It's cold.

Copp: I knew it was going to be cold, but I didn't know how cold. I was surprised at how cold it could get. And snowing (Sunday) was unnecessary, to be honest with you.

Petan: Coming from where I played, it's definitely super cold. A lot of people said it wasn't a cold winter, but I refuse to believe that. And the roads are pretty crazy – that's another surprising thing. It's pretty bumpy.

Sun: Is there something about your game that's pleasantly surprised you with how it's translated to the NHL?

Ehlers: My speed. It's something that describes me as a player. And it fit in really good in this league. Like I said before, it's a fast game. And I've been able to use my speed a lot.

Copp: The penalty kill. Especially lately we've been good, not just me but the entire unit. I've always been proud of my hockey IQ, defensively. That's translated well to the penalty kill.

Petan: Just playing with speed. Getting to know my speed against other top players in the league, knowing I can keep up. Obviously it's something you've got to work on over summer and keep getting faster, but just knowing I'm not far off from keeping up. And the more I get comfortable in this league the better off I'll be.

Sun: What do you most have to work on?

Ehlers: Honestly, there's a lot of things. One of the big things is my defensive positioning and defensive play. I feel I've taken a big step in that this year, but it's something I still need to work on.

Copp: Quickness and agility, tight turns in the offensive zone, protecting the puck. That's something I'm decent at, but to take that next step offensively that's what I can work on.

Petan: Just getting stronger, faster. My quickness will always be there, but getting faster, lengthening my stride and definitely working on getting into those holes where I can shoot the puck and hit the net. Definitely hitting the net is a big thing I need to work on this summer.

Sun: During the all-star break, Andrew Ladd went down to an auction and bought a $100,000 Corvette. What's been your biggest purchase?

Ehlers: (laughs) I haven't bought (a car). I bought a nice suit, for sure. Honestly, that's pretty much it.

Copp: I haven't made any really, yet. Probably tickets for the Detroit game was the biggest purchase. Nothing crazy. I got a suit. It might be golf clubs for my little brother. That might be the highest one.

Petan: I haven't purchased that many things this year. I'd say a suit. I bought a nice suit. That's pretty much it. I like to wear nice things, so I bought a nice suit.

Sun: Where did you get stuck with the restaurant bill, and how big was it?

Ehlers: (laughs again) That was in Chicago. I'm not sure I'm supposed to say how much it was. It was a lot for a young guy like me. It does hurt a little bit. But I saw it coming. We had fun. It was worth it, for sure.

Copp: Chicago. I couldn't tell you the exact number, but it was high enough.

Petan: I haven't got stuck with a big one, because I missed rookie party up here. But when we do go out for dinner we do sometimes play the credit-card game. I've lost a few times. Nothing too crazy. Probably between $500 and $1,000.

Sun: What was your best game?

Ehlers: It's hard to say. That (his hat trick, Jan. 26 vs Arizona) is one of them, because everything went my way. But it's been up and down. I can't tell you one game where, 'This was it.' There's been games where I haven't been too happy with myself.

Copp: That's a tough one, too. There's fricking 79 to choose from. There was one game in January against Nashville that I really liked. We had a bunch of centres down and I had to play the three-hole that night, and played 13 or 14 minutes. And I was really happy with how I played that night. I guess I played pretty well (Sunday), too. They all run together, though.

Petan: I'd say just recently against Vancouver. I got moved up with Scheifele and Wheeler... and I wanted to prove myself and play a solid game. Didn't score or anything, but I had a lot of chances. I would say that game's my most comfortable game.



Time for change: Jets need better goaltending to take next step

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN


The status quo was not good enough.

As the Winnipeg Jets get set to close out the fifth season since returning to the NHL, the hot-button topic of goaltending figures to be at the heart of many discussions.

If you're a frequent reader of this space, you already know that the Jets require above-average and bordering on elite-level goaltending to have a shot at the playoffs.

If you watched the Jets this season, you know that the defensive challenges run much deeper than the guys between the pipes.

For whatever reason, the Jets gave up more odd-man rushes and breakaway chances than they did a season ago, when they were more committed in the defensive zone and tied for 10th in the NHL in goals against.

The goal differential of minus-27 this season isn't nearly good enough and part of that burden falls on the goaltenders.

For the first time since the franchise relocated from Atlanta, it's not a lock that Ondrej Pavelec will enter next season as the No. 1 guy.

He'll be battling for his job, provided he's still around.

Pavelec's tenure with the Jets has featured plenty of ups-and-downs and this season was no different.

There were times when he seemed to channel last season's strong finish that helped the Jets reach the post-season, but at others, Pavelec was unable to make the timely save when his team needed one.

Pavelec allowed two goals or fewer in 16 of his 30 starts, but also gave up four or more 11 times.

It was basically feast or famine.

His numbers – another bone of contention for the fan base – dropped back near his career averages after posting career bests in both goals against average (2.28) and save percentage (.920) last season.

Pavelec also missed roughly three months with a knee injury suffered during a collision with Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan.

Losing your starting netminder is rarely a good thing for a team, but this turn of events provided an opportunity for youngster Connor Hellebuyck to get his first taste of NHL action.

After being eased into things, Hellebuyck took a stranglehold on the job, making 12 consecutive starts and 21 of 23 at one point, providing a glimpse of the future.

There were some expected bumps in the road though, as Hellebuyck gave up 21 goals over his final eight starts before he was returned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Even with that stretch, Hellebuyck went 13-11-1 with a 2.34 goals against average and .918 save percentage in 26 games, easily the best numbers of the three goalies in what was a relatively small but similar sample size.

Being sent back to the minors despite his solid play is sure to provide Hellebuyck with ample motivation as he prepares for off-season training.

Hellebuyck won't be handed the starting job, but he's likely going to be considered the front-runner come September.

Pavelec's injury was also beneficial for Moose goalie Eric Comrie, whose playing time increased dramatically with Hellebuyck spending all that time with the big club.

The Jets also have 2012 seventh-rounder Jamie Phillips in the system, but he remains unsigned after completing his senior season with the Michigan Tech Huskies of the NCAA.

If signed, Phillips could pair with Comrie in the AHL next season, unless the Jets decide to bring in a more experienced goalie in the minors who could be the first call-up if injury strikes once again.

That brings us to Michael Hutchinson, who had a disappointing season as the backup and was unable to grasp the No. 1 job during Pavelec's absence.

Hutchinson is a restricted free agent and would be an inexpensive insurance policy if the Jets believe he can return to the form that had him in the discussion to be an injury replacement for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game.

But Hutchinson's future may not be decided until the Jets determine the fate of Pavelec, who has one season left on his contract that carries a cap hit of $3.9 million but a salary of $4.75 million.

Pavelec handled a push from Hutchinson well last season, but would clearly benefit from a change of scenery if a trade partner can be found.

Almost nothing is guaranteed when it comes to goaltending, but most signs point to Hellebuyck being ready to take on a larger role come next season.

Changing things up looks like the most logical step.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 04.05.2016


Lowry not going to to tank for the draft

BY PAUL FRIESEN, WINNIPEG SUN


Don't tell Adam Lowry his team is blowing it by getting these late-season points.

The second-year Winnipeg Jets centre had no interest in seeing his team snag the best chance at the first draft pick this summer by being the worst team in the regular season.

That possibility (the last-place team will have a 20% chance at winning the draft lottery and getting the top pick) has disappeared after the Jets took three of four points in their last two games, including Sunday's 5-1 win over Minnesota.

“No one wants to be the worst team in the league,” Lowry said, Monday. “No one wants to be in the basement.”

Even if they lose their last three games, the Jets can no longer fall behind the last-place Edmonton Oilers, who are five points back with just two games to play.

And while the late-season points may cause chagrin for those eyeing the draft and the possibility of snagging top prospect Auston Matthews, the players appear blind to that angle.

“They don't have to deal with the games every night,” Lowry said. “It's not fun to lose.

“We're all competitive guys — we grow up striving to be the best. We're trying to win every game. It's a results-driven business. You don't want to be in the basement.”

Head coach Paul Maurice echoed Lowry's view as the Jets prepared to hit the road for their final trip: to Anaheim, San Jose and Los Angeles.

“You've gotta fight the fight that's today,” Maurice said. “We go into the game last night, and we can't make the playoffs. We can compete as hard as you can. And nobody wants to finish last.”

The chances of selecting first diminish, the higher a team finishes. For instance, finishing second-last leaves a team with a 9% chance of winning the draft lottery.

Maurice, while well aware of how it all works, hasn't taken his turn at the on-line draft simulators to see where his team might end up.

“I don't want to jinx it,” he said. “You run it ... and that might be your only chance. I'm staying away from it.”

ROSTER SHUFFLE

The Jets have called up defenceman Brenden Kichton from the AHL Manitoba Moose again, just in case someone can't suit up on the California trip.

“It's a tough flight in and out to get players in, and we want to make sure we've got a healthy body just in case,” Maurice said. “We've got a few guys we have to monitor, day-to-day.”

Also, forward Brendan Lemieux, fresh off his junior season, has been assigned to the Moose.

Signed last summer after the Jets acquired him in the Evander Kane trade with Buffalo, Lemieux had 32 goals, 30 assists, in 45 games with Barrie and Windsor of the Ontario Junior League, plus five points in three playoff games.

“Brendan had a real nice year, a real good playoff,” Maurice said. “And he takes that first step now in some pro games.”

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 04.05.2016

1008712 Vancouver Canucks

Canucks Game Day: Vancouver seeks elusive third straight win with powerhouse Kings in town

BY TAYLOR BECHTOLD, STATS WRITER APRIL 4, 2016 1:48 PM

After two unexpected road victories in California, Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins and players think they may have finally discovered what they have to do to make it three in a row.

California Dreaming is over for the Canucks — a pair of totally unexpected wins in San Jose and Anaheim will do that for you — and it’s back to reality tonight for the Canucks when they host the powerhouse L.A. Kings (7 p.m., PT, on Sportsnet Pacific, TSN 1040).

The Canucks ranked 23rd in the NHL with 2.86 goals allowed per game after getting outscored 28-8 during an 0-8-1 slide. However, they played better defensively while helping tonight’s opponents with a 4-2 win at San Jose on Thursday and then a 3-2 victory at Anaheim on Friday.

''I think we just have to stick together as a team and play our hearts out the last couple games," said goalie Jacob Markstrom, who is expected to give way to Ryan Miller tonight. "We have nothing to lose.''

Bo Horvat has provided a spark with a goal in each of the past two games, while Henrik Sedin has recorded an assist in both contests and three in this series with the Kings.

Vancouver, though, has totalled six goals over a five-game home skid. It looks to reverse that trend against Los Angeles, which has lost a season-high four straight road games.

With the Pacific Division title and home-ice advantage hanging in the balance, the Kings have picked the wrong time to go into a late-season swoon.

A lack of consistent scoring has been partly to blame, though that hasn't been much of a problem over the Kings' past few meetings with the Canucks.

Looking to take a big step toward its first division crown in 25 years, Los Angeles will try to avoid its fifth straight road loss and sixth in eight games overall tonight.

The Kings owned a six-point lead in the Pacific on March 19 following a 6-0-1 stretch that began with a 5-1 home win over the Canucks. However, they've since fallen back into a neck-and-neck race with Anaheim and San Jose as a result of their current slump.

Los Angeles, which hasn't won a division title since 1990-91, was all but eliminated from the chase for the Western Conference's top seed on Saturday when it couldn't hold to a third-period lead in a 3-2 home loss to Central Division-best Dallas. The club has scored two goals or fewer in six of its last eight games after totalling 24 over its previous six.

"I hope it's not a lesson that we have to learn this late in the season, but hopefully it's a better late than never type of thing," defenceman Rob Scuderi said. "All of these games now, and in a couple of weeks, they're going to be one-goal games, it's going to be tight."

The Kings hope to take advantage of a soft final stretch. They'll face Vancouver and Calgary on the road before returning to Staples Center for a showdown with the Ducks on Thursday, then close versus another eliminated club in Winnipeg.

Jeff Carter has totalled five goals and eight points over his last five games. He had two goals while Anze Kopitar added a goal and two assists in last month's win over Vancouver.

Carter did not play Dec. 28 when Tyler Toffoli finished with a hat trick and Kopitar had a career high-tying four assists in a 5-0 win at Vancouver (29-36-13). Kopitar has totalled two goals and six assists while helping the Kings (46-27-5) take three of the four meetings.

Jonathan Quick has been dominant against the Canucks, going 9-3-1 with a 1.07 goals-against average to go along with a .959 save percentage over his last 13 meetings.

Vancouver Sun: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Canucks Game Day: Rollie’s rotation sensation, McCann winging it, Dorsett dishes, Doughty wishes

April 4, 2016. 12:44 pm •

Ben Kuzma

Points to ponder as the Canucks seek their first three-game win streak of the season and will have to do it the hard way with the league’s worst home-ice record. But it’s another chance to play spoiler as the Kings can vault past the Ducks atop the Pacific Division. (7 p.m., Sportsnet, TSN1040):

ROLLIE’S ROTATION SENSATION: The untold story of this sorry season is the role Rollie Melanson has played in Jacob Markstrom’s development and Ryan Miller’s dedication. Getting a veteran like Miller and the maturing Markstrom to buy into what’s at play here — seeing how Markstrom can handle a bigger and more consistent workload and how Miller can be productive and supportive — is tougher than it sounds.

Ryan Miller has a 2.63 GAA and .917 saves percentage, similar to Jacob Markstrom.

“It’s frustrating in just what it represents — we didn’t have a good year — and it’s like they (management) are feeling out what they have,” said Miller. “Marky has had a solid season and we’ve been pretty consistent since it started (March 1). I really haven’t thought much about it other than being tapped on the shoulder and be ready to play and work on some stuff. You never to know to what end it may serve you down the road.”

Miller, 35, has another year left at $6 million US while Markstrom, 26, has one more at $1.6 million. That might be a lot to tie up in cap space, but it’s also a solid foundation for a team that will need strong goaltending in a slow climb back up the tough Pacific Division next season. Their statistics are virtually identical with Miller sporting a 2.63 goals-against average and .917 saves percentage, while Markstrom is at 2.61 GAA and .918.

Winning road games in San Jose and Anaheim last week proved the culture within the room hasn’t slipped. Tonight will be a litmus test with seven regulars injured and six rookies in the lineup.

“It’s a good team gearing up for the playoffs and they’re going to try and play that kind of game, so we have to be ready for something physical and we’ll have to pay close attention to structure,” said Miller. “They get the puck on the boards and they get in deep and they make you make a mistake. They’ve used that for two Stanley Cups and they’re trying to get back into form for that. We need to be ready.”

Jared McCann hasn’t had many goal celebrations in his rookie NHL season.

McCANN WINGS IT: Jared McCann is back on left wing with Markus Granlund and Jake Virtanen and it speaks to what may be in play next fall. Willie Desjardins likes the versatility he has in centres who can also play wing — Brandon Sutter, Brendan Gaunce, Granlund, McCann — and in the case of the rookie McCann, it should provide better scoring opportunities and lessen the burden of matching up defensively against big centres. McCann has played the left side with Linden Vey and Emerson Etem this season.

“If you look around the league, there are a lot of young players on the wing,” said Desjardins. “It’s an easier position to break into because centre is tougher. And since he has moved to the wing, I think he has played better. I’ve been able to get him on the ice more. I like the versatility and it’s nice to have a right and left-handed face-off guy on every line.”

McCann has a hard time keeping weight on and plans to train in Vancouver in the offseason. He doesn’t feel physically exhausted but after five goals in his first nine games, he has just eight in 67 games in a tough transition from the junior game.

“To survive in this league — even the great players like (Evgeni) Malkin and (Sidney) Crosby — are versatile and that’s the player I want to be,” said McCann. “I want to be used in every situation and playing on the wing, I feel like I can use my shot more. As a centre, you drive the middle a lot and get pucks to your wingers.”

Derek Dorsett has become a bigger voice of reason in an impressionable room.

DORSETT BANGS DRUM: Derek Dorsett has been on good and bad teams and his biggest contribution in the final four games is to ensure the collective effort doesn’t slip. It might not seem like much, but it means everything when you’re trying to set the competitive bar for next season.

“We’ve been know to come off road trips and start slow,” Dorsett said of a 13-21-5 Rogers Arena mark. “We need to kick that to the curb and we’re not worried about where we pick in the (lottery) draft. We don’t want to mail the season in, that’s not who we are. It’s been a frustrating year. We were losing games by one goal and then went 0-7 in overtimes and you could see in those stretches that it kind of defeated us.

“I wouldn’t say it killed us, but we started to second-guess ourselves. The last two games showed a lot of character because we have a lot of injuries and we could have gone into San Jose and Anaheim with a lot of excuses. The boys dug deep. That’s what we’re looking for.”

DOUGHTY CALLS IT MUST WIN: Drew Doughty knows how important finishing atop the division is to avoid what could be a long and physical first-r0ud playoff battle with the Sharks.

Drew Doughty labelled the Kings play as “bad”.

And with just two wins in their last seven games, the defenceman wasn’t sounding the alarm bell, but is wary of a slipping power play has been blanked in nine of the last 12 games and a penalty kill that has allowed goals in five of the last seven.

“It’s everything,” said Doughty. “Special teams and 5-on-5 or 4-on-4, we just haven’t been up the standard and we’ve relied on our goaltending and our defensive play as a team too much. We have to get pucks and possession time and play in their (Canucks’) zone. We’ve been bad for too long. It’s time to get back on track.”

CANUCKS

D.Sedin-H.Sedin-Hansen

Dorsett-Horvat-Etem

McCann-Granlund-Virtanen

Pedan-Gaunce-Burrows

Hamhuis-Tanev

Hutton-Tryamkin

Bartkowski-Biega

Miller

KINGS





McNabb-Doughty

Scuderi-McBain

Schenn-Muzzin

Quick

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 04.05.2016


Willes: A winning streak the Canucks can feel good about

BY ED WILLES, THE PROVINCE APRIL 5, 2016 1:45 AM

After watching the Vancouver Canucks stumble and bumble their way through the first 76 games of the season, we now find a team that's beaten San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles in consecutive contests.

Huh?

This prompts more than a few questions — most of which concern the Canucks' sense of timing and the NHL draft lottery.

But in a season which has been largely devoid of positive news, there's one query which seems especially relevant to the faithful and their team, namely: Does this run mean anything or are the Canucks watching Auston Matthews disappear in their rearview mirror for no good reason?

"(The Canucks' young players) are getting experience in games and hopefully next year we'll be in games that matter," said Jannik Hansen. "They've stood in the situation where all of a sudden you have to defend against the other team's top lines.

"You can't get that experience any other way."

That's one point of view. Here's another.

"I think we have to be really careful to evaluate our team based on the last five, 10 games of the season," said Henrik Sedin. "I've seen that mistake from other teams. You go into next year thinking you've got a good shot at it. We've got to remember we're playing teams getting ready for the playoffs and I don't see them putting their full, full effort into it."

Kill joy.

Monday night, the Kings were the latest Western Conference power to fall before the mighty Canucks, as Jared McCann's goal late in the second stood up as the game-winner in a 3-2 triumph for the home team.

True, the result had a lot more to do with Ryan Miller's goaltending performance — which included 20 stops in the third period — than the efforts of the kids, but the Canucks lineup featured six rookies and eight players with under 100 games of NHL experience and there they were trading punches with the two-time Stanley Cup champions.

Maybe, as Henrik said, you can't read too much into this mini-streak — but it's also possible there'll be some payoff down the road for the Orcans.

Just ask McCann.

Like a lot of his young teammates, the 19-year-old McCann has struggled through his first NHL season and, at times, has looked overmatched. But late in the second period, he poked the puck past Kings defenceman Brayden McNabb at the Canucks' blueline, raced the length of the ice and beat Jonathan Quick cleanly with a professional deke.

It was also part of his most complete game in his rookie year. Does that one performance erase a season's-worth of frustration? Hardly. But for McCann and his team, this run has at least offered something they can feel good about after after the unrelenting drumbeat of this campaign.

"I definitely wouldn't have learned this in junior," McCann said.

The same can be said for rookie centre Brendan Gaunce and rookie defenceman Nikita Tryamkin, who've both played expanded roles in the late stages of this season and both showed up against the Kings.

It's a similar story for Emerson Etem, who scored in the second-straight game after a prolonged drought and Markus Granlund, who logged over 16 minutes of ice time on Monday night.

A week ago, the Canucks were in a nine-game winless streak and in the thick of the Matthews' sweepstakes. Now? Well, who knows what this means, but for the Canucks' players it's a little more important than the team's draft position.

"The best experience would be playing for a playoff spot," said Hansen. "Second best is what we have here. But you still have to play to win. You're playing for jobs and lives. You can't check out on your teammates and say, 'We'll see you in October.'

"You have to approach the games like it matters. And it's not just games. It's showing up in practice and doing all the little things to the end."

To the bitter end. The Canucks haven't done a lot of things right this season.

This one they've nailed.



Canucks 3 Kings 2: Canucks culture not up for debate with third-straight win

BY BEN KUZMA, THE PROVINCE APRIL 5, 2016 12:51 AM

They hate when they win. They hate when they lose.

It has come to this polarizing split within the local hockey populace. Late-season victories in a lost season are jeered because they lessen draft lottery odds. And late-game fades that fashion disheartening setbacks get the same treatment because they speak of not having enough resolve to overcome adversity.

So, what do we make of Monday at Rogers Arena?

With seven regulars lost to injury and icing six rookies, the Vancouver Canucks won three-straight games for the first time this season with a revealing 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, who could have vaulted into the Pacific Division lead.

Combined with road wins in San Jose and Anaheim last week, the culture that seemed to be in question here is no longer up for debate.

There was never a reason to worry about driven sophomore Bo Horvat, and he did the dirty work to set up the first goal. There was all kinds of reason to wonder if this season is just too overwhelming for Jared McCann and then he speeds away and scores a highlight-reel breakaway goal to restore his confidence and his arrival as a winger.

And with every reason to wonder what has become of the league’s fourth-worst power play — a plodding and predictable pass-happy confusion that spawned a 1-for-38 funk — came Jannik Hansen. Yes, Hansen. Maybe it took a 5-on-3 advantage to finally formulate some success, but the winger looked comfortable in easily depositing a cross-ice feed.

But there was more than that. There wasn’t the folding after Daniel Sedin coughed up the puck in the offensive zone and Kyle Clifford scored off a 2-on-1 break to give the Kings a 2-1 lead.

The resolve didn’t break.

Ryan Miller faced a barrage of shots in the third period as the Kings pressed for the tie and finished with 40 saves. It ensured the Canucks would claim their first three-game win streak since finishing the last regular season with three-straight triumphs.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

Brendan Gaunce was converted from centre to wing because he needed to ramp up his compete level — especially on the forecheck — with the Utica Comets.

He’s back in the middle with the Canucks and he could have a leg up as the fourth-line centre next season because Jared McCann may make more sense playing the wing.

Gaunce hasn’t done anything offensively through 17 games in his rookie season, but is now doing the little things that don’t show up on the scoreboard. He’s winning board battles and he’s winning puck battles and threw three heavy hits Monday.

But he needs to be better in the circle and didn’t win his first six draws.

As for McCann, his first goal in 10 games came from coming off the wing, breaking up a pass at the Kings blueline, speeding away on a break and out-waiting Jonathan Quick for a forehanded goal.

“I want to be used in every situation and playing on the wing, I feel like I can use my shot more,” said McCann.



Free-agent NCAA defenceman Stecher "dreamed about playing for Canucks" as a kid

BY JOSHUA CLIPPERTON, THE CANADIAN PRESS APRIL 4, 2016

VANCOUVER - Troy Stecher wouldn't mind coming home.

The defenceman for the University of North Dakota is getting ready for the NCAA Frozen Four tournament this week in Tampa, Fla., but win or lose will soon have to make a big decision.

A junior with the Fighting Hawks, Stecher is on of U.S. college hockey's most sought-after undrafted free agents and could sign with an NHL team once North Dakota's season ends.

He also has the option to return to school for his senior year, but if Stecher decides to ink a professional contract, the native of nearby Richmond, B.C., says the Vancouver Canucks are on his list of potential suitors.

"My dad used to have season tickets to the Canucks with his old company," Stecher said in a phone interview Monday. "When I was a little kid I dreamed about playing for the Canucks."

Stecher, who will turn 22 on Thursday when North Dakota meets the University of Denver Pioneers in one of two national semifinals, has eight goals and 20 assists in 41 games this season.

At five foot 11 and 191 pounds, he was passed over in three straight NHL drafts from 2012 to 2014, but started to turn heads as a sophomore while helping North Dakota to a second straight Frozen Four appearance.

A smooth-skating defender who can jump into the rush, Stecher is finally getting noticed after being overlooked numerous times in his career.

"You're not drafted (to the NHL) so you're pretty disappointed," he said. "Now you're finally starting to get a lot of interest from different teams, so you feel excited.

"It can be distracting, but at the same time I'm trying to live in the moment. We're in a great place right now."

Stecher was a late-round pick of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks in 2009, but chose instead to play three seasons with the Penticton Vees of the second-tier BCHL to get stronger and hone his game before eventually committing to North Dakota.

In his three years with the Fighting Hawks, Stecher has 13 goals and 39 assists in 117 games and was named an assistant captain for the 2015-16 campaign.

The Canucks — who selected Brock Boeser, a winger with North Dakota, 23rd overall at last June's draft — are a club in rebuild mode that is thin on defence prospects.

But Stecher said that, while tempting, the chance to play in front of family and friends in Vancouver won't impact his decision.

"At the end of the day it's a business and you kind of have to look past that factor of it being your hometown," he said. "It's a place I'm interested in and at the end of the season I'm going to have a tough decision whether I want to sign with one of the teams or if I want to come back (to North Dakota)."



Canucks Game Day: Rollie’s rotation sensation, McCann winging it, Dorsett dishes, Doughty wishesApril 4, 2016. 12:44 pm • Section: The White Towel

Ben Kuzma

Posted on Mar 29, 2016

Points to ponder as the Canucks seek their first three-game win streak of the season and will have to do it the hard way with the league’s worst home-ice record. But it’s another chance to play spoiler as the Kings can vault past the Ducks atop the Pacific Division. (7 p.m., Sportsnet, TSN1040):

ROLLIE’S ROTATION SENSATION: The untold story of this sorry season is the role Rollie Melanson has played in Jacob Markstrom’s development and Ryan Miller’s dedication. Getting a veteran like Miller and the maturing Markstrom to buy into what’s at play here — seeing how Markstrom can handle a bigger and more consistent workload and how Miller can be productive and supportive — is tougher than it sounds.

Ryan Miller has a 2.63 GAA and .917 saves percentage, similar to Jacob Markstrom.

“It’s frustrating in just what it represents — we didn’t have a good year — and it’s like they (management) are feeling out what they have,” said Miller. “Marky has had a solid season and we’ve been pretty consistent since it started (March 1). I really haven’t thought much about it other than being tapped on the shoulder and be ready to play and work on some stuff. You never to know to what end it may serve you down the road.”

Miller, 35, has another year left at $6 million US while Markstrom, 26, has one more at $1.6 million. That might be a lot to tie up in cap space, but it’s also a solid foundation for a team that will need strong goaltending in a slow climb back up the tough Pacific Division next season. Their statistics are virtually identical with Miller sporting a 2.63 goals-against average and .917 saves percentage, while Markstrom is at 2.61 GAA and .918.

Winning road games in San Jose and Anaheim last week proved the culture within the room hasn’t slipped. Tonight will be a litmus test with seven regulars injured and six rookies in the lineup.

“It’s a good team gearing up for the playoffs and they’re going to try and play that kind of game, so we have to be ready for something physical and we’ll have to pay close attention to structure,” said Miller. “They get the puck on the boards and they get in deep and they make you make a mistake. They’ve used that for two Stanley Cups and they’re trying to get back into form for that. We need to be ready.”

Jared McCann hasn’t had many goal celebrations in his rookie NHL season.

McCANN WINGS IT: Jared McCann is back on left wing with Markus Granlund and Jake Virtanen and it speaks to what may be in play next fall. Willie Desjardins likes the versatility he has in centres who can also play wing — Brandon Sutter, Brendan Gaunce, Granlund, McCann — and in the case of the rookie McCann, it should provide better scoring opportunities and lessen the burden of matching up defensively against big centres. McCann has played the left side with Linden Vey and Emerson Etem this season.

“If you look around the league, there are a lot of young players on the wing,” said Desjardins. “It’s an easier position to break into because centre is tougher. And since he has moved to the wing, I think he has played better. I’ve been able to get him on the ice more. I like the versatility and it’s nice to have a right and left-handed face-off guy on every line.”

McCann has a hard time keeping weight on and plans to train in Vancouver in the offseason. He doesn’t feel physically exhausted but after five goals in his first nine games, he has just eight in 67 games in a tough transition from the junior game.

“To survive in this league — even the great players like (Evgeni) Malkin and (Sidney) Crosby — are versatile and that’s the player I want to be,” said McCann. “I want to be used in every situation and playing on the wing, I feel like I can use my shot more. As a centre, you drive the middle a lot and get pucks to your wingers.”

Derek Dorsett has become a bigger voice of reason in an impressionable room.

DORSETT BANGS DRUM: Derek Dorsett has been on good and bad teams and his biggest contribution in the final four games is to ensure the collective effort doesn’t slip. It might not seem like much, but it means everything when you’re trying to set the competitive bar for next season.

“We’ve been know to come off road trips and start slow,” Dorsett said of a 13-21-5 Rogers Arena mark. “We need to kick that to the curb and we’re not worried about where we pick in the (lottery) draft. We don’t want to mail the season in, that’s not who we are. It’s been a frustrating year. We were losing games by one goal and then went 0-7 in overtimes and you could see in those stretches that it kind of defeated us.

“I wouldn’t say it killed us, but we started to second-guess ourselves. The last two games showed a lot of character because we have a lot of injuries and we could have gone into San Jose and Anaheim with a lot of excuses. The boys dug deep. That’s what we’re looking for.”

DOUGHTY CALLS IT MUST WIN: Drew Doughty knows how important finishing atop the division is to avoid what could be a long and physical first-r0ud playoff battle with the Sharks.

Drew Doughty labelled the Kings play as “bad”.

And with just two wins in their last seven games, the defenceman wasn’t sounding the alarm bell, but is wary of a slipping power play has been blanked in nine of the last 12 games and a penalty kill that has allowed goals in five of the last seven.

“It’s everything,” said Doughty. “Special teams and 5-on-5 or 4-on-4, we just haven’t been up the standard and we’ve relied on our goaltending and our defensive play as a team too much. We have to get pucks and possession time and play in their (Canucks’) zone. We’ve been bad for too long. It’s time to get back on track.”

CANUCKS

D.Sedin-H.Sedin-Hansen

Dorsett-Horvat-Etem

McCann-Granlund-Virtanen

Pedan-Gaunce-Burrows

Hamhuis-Tanev

Hutton-Tryamkin

Bartkowski-Biega

Miller

KINGS





McNabb-Doughty

Scuderi-McBain

Schenn-Muzzin

Quick



Canucks Post Game: Miller proves a prophet, Gaunce gains traction, Hansen pulls PP trigger (honestly)

April 4, 2016. 11:29 pm •

Ben Kuzma

Points to ponder after the Canucks finally won three-straight games this season — a 3-2 decision over the Kings on Monday — to complete the California sweep with triumphs over playoff-bound San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles. Go figure:

MILLER PROVES A PROPHET: Ryan Miller knew what to expect. The Kings were going to play a heavy north-south game, they were going to get better as the night wore on and they proved it by peppering the Canucks starter with 20 third-period shots. That’s right. Twenty.

Ryan Miller’s 40-save effort spoke volumes.

While much can be made of how the kids came to play — Bo Horvat was a horse to set up the first goal and won 13 of 19 draws, Jared McCann looked more comfortable at wing and scored an unassisted breakaway goal and Brendan Gaunce looked like a fourth-line centre — there’s something to be said for a veteran stopper who doesn’t get caught up mentally in a goalie rotation designed to groom his eventual successor in the vastly-improved Jacob Markstrom.

A 40-save effort came complete with better tracking of pucks, crisp movements and not being overwhelmed by crease-crashers. Miller would like to have the first goal back when he only got a piece of a puck that allowed Tyler Toffoli and easy tap-in, but that was it for any warts.

In the long climb back up the division standings, a three-game win streak has to be kept in perspective, but it’s also a building block. If the Canucks get this kind of netminding from Miller and Markstrom next season — and stay healthy — it should ease the pain of what will probably be another trying season in a rebuild.

“It was a grind in the third and this is the type of hockey we had hoped to play earlier this season,” said Miller. “We’re happy with the wins, but we know where we stand. We’re not disillusioned. We’re on the outside looking in. But on my part, there’s a foundation to be laid and we played better with our structure and you can see what it can do for this team.”

gauncemug e1456959040434 Canucks Post Game: Miller proves a prophet, Gaunce gains traction, Hansen pulls PP trigger (honestly)

Brendan Gaunce may help solve a riddle in the middle on the fourth line.

GAUNCE GAINING TRACTION: Brendan Gaunce saw a lot of Anze Kopitar in the faceoff circle, which is like seeing Dracula. The centre is the Kings top performer on draws at 53.4 per cent efficiency and the fact Gaunce went 0-for-6 in the circle doesn’t tell the whole story in his transition back to centre from wing.

Gaunce was effective. He’s big. He forechecked well, he threw three good hits, won board battles and puck battles. Gaunce nearly made the team out of training camp and looks like he might have a leg up on the fourth-line centre spot because Jared McCann looks much more comfortable on wing.

“He has played well lately and is one of the reasons we’ve been able to turn it around a little bit,” said Canucks coach Willie Desjardins. “He and (Nikita) Tryamkin have made a difference. And for Gaunce, that’s a big role but he’s a big and heavy guy and skates well and really pays attention to detail. He’s been a real good surprise and when I see him now, I think he has taken another step.”

HANSEN PULLS POWER-PLAY TRIGGER: Maybe it took a 5-on-3 power play for the deployment — or the fact that man-advantage regulars like Sven Baertschi and Linden Vey are the latest injuries — but Jannik Hansen looked comfortable.

Real comfortable.

Jannik Hansen will get more power-play time.

He easily converted a cross-ice feed from Henrik Sedin and was all alone on the backside to one-time it home. Desjardins has always said that Hansen’s strength is scoring off the rush, but maybe there’s something else going on here. He has 21 goals.

“He’s a shooter and can play on that back side and with what we’ve got right now, he’s going to get a chance over there,” said Desjardins. “And

he gets excited about it, too, so it was good that he scored.” Said Hansen of the goal: “On the tape. In the net. We’ve always had a lot of skilled guys, so it (power play) hasn’t been an option for me, but missing a lot of guys, I got the chance.”

He’ll get more to close out the season in the three remaining games.

INJURIES INEVITABLE, CULTURE CRUCIAL: Derek Dorsett recalled a time when his struggling Columbus Blue Jackets had recalled seven players and somehow went into Washington and beat the Capitals. On Monday, Dorsett played on an effective line with Bo Horvat and Emerson Etem which combined for three points and six shots. It’s not an alignment you’d usually draw up, but one that worked because how hard they all worked. That can be infectious.

Attitude has never been a problem for Bo Horvat.

“You never want that losing culture — it’s like cancer and it spreads fast,” said Dorsett. “We know what our situation is (no playoffs) and it sucks, but this (culture) could help us down the road. Our line kept it simple and played well defensively and Horvat is just a kid who comes to play hard every night and has a great attitude off the ice.

“He doesn’t let things bother him.”



The Provies: The man who blew up the tank, Sedins get hit with a cheap shot, and the Miller possibilities

April 4, 2016. 11:46 pm •

Jason Botchford

BEST PLAY

Turns out, the last thing the Canucks needed this week was a healthy Jannik Hansen.

You expected his speed and ability to work with the Sedins to create some issues for the Canucks draft position and help his team win a game, or two.

Now they’ve won three in a row.

The horror of it all.

What we did not expect was Hansen scoring on the power play.

That’s because he’s never on the power play.

Take Granlund, for example. He has played 13 games with the Canucks. He arrived for tonight’s game having experienced an identical number of power play minutes as Hansen (17 minutes). That’s on the season.

It translated tonight, however, albeit it was a 5-on-3, and Hansen was the recipient of one helluva pass.

But, you can safely say, this Hansen can really rip the puck.

Funny, he now leads the team in goals-scored-per-60 minutes played on the power play.

Interesting to see Yannick Weber is second.

Some power play time to for the rest of the season would be a nice reward for the season Hansen has put in. He’s one of the few (or only?) who never had an extended letdown stretch.

Thing is, considering how battered the Sedins are, he may be playing his best hockey of the season right now.

In the three wins, he has five points.

And he had tonight’s best play too.

It was lost because of Quick’s smashing of Hamhuis’s stick, but if you missed it, the play of the game was actually the pass Hansen made a few moments before Hamhuis enraged a goalie.

The spin, the vision.

Hansen is pretty much the man on this one.

The Provies: The man who blew up the tank, Sedins get hit with a cheap shot, and the Miller possibilities

BEST LOL

I wasn’t there tonight.

But I did ask him about it Friday. He started laughing in the middle of the question.

It was a little odd, no doubt. I thought maybe he was laughing because of his own logic.

Basically, he said Hansen scores too many goals off the rush.

And Vey scores his goals how?

What I couldn’t believe was this exchange tonight:

Question: You’ve been hesitant to use Hansen on the PP, he scored there, is it different because it’s a 5-on-3?

Answer: “A little bit…

“It’s great to see him score. He’s a shooter. He can play on the backside. I think with what we got, he’s going to get a chance over there, because he can shoot.”

Wait, what?

What I do know is Hansen was never going to ask a coach about it. He’s too humble, respectful and deferential.

If anyone has earned the tag “fan favourite” this season, it’s Hansen.

He’s the best interview on the team. He’s funny, honest and willing to drop truth bombs. He’s been the most consistent performer.

He’s killed it at even strength.

BEST QUOTE

Not exactly what you’d expect to hear from those have been arguing winning at the end of the season is important, and certainly the Sedins have suggested it is.

Dorsett said tonight winning this time of year will help “in the long stretch.”

Obviously, others would suggest a top three pick is what would help the team the most in winning for “the long stretch.”

In fact, winning now is a short term thing. It helps the players feel better about themselves. It helps management, and ownership, feel better about the coach.

It helps fans who hate seeing their team lose.

It does not help in the big picture.

BEST CALL OUT

It sucks cheering for a bad team. I’ve already done it enough to fill up a few lifetimes.

It does weird things to you.

But being upset with these late season wins is a defensible position.

The chances the Canucks are ever in this spot again, this bad with this type of talent at the top of a draft, border on the improbable.

BEST IT’S NOT ALL BAD

The Canucks should still be in a good spot to get a good defenceman in June.

They are high on Olli Juolevi, for example, and should be in a position to work the board to get him.

If not, there’s always Jake Bean.

BEST COUNTER

BEST SIGN

BEST WHAT THIS TEAM NEEDS

BEST YOU KNOW IT’S COMING

BEST HIT AND RUN

As if this season hasn’t been bad enough for everyone. And by everyone, I mean the fans, the players, the owners, management, and the broadcasters, who have struggled enough to retain ratings, and that was before every single Canadian team failed to make the playoffs.

You think all of this coast-to-coast losing would put a chill on some of the smack talk, but Steve Lansky, dubbed Hockey Night in Canada’s youngest-ever producer, dipped into that tired, exhausting, lame “Sedins are girls!” well.

Lansky quickly deleted the tweet and with good reason.

It sucked. Good luck with Canucks twitter over the next 24 hours.

I don’t think @bigmouthsports has ever been a Sedin fan …

BEST POLL

This offseason will be oozing with intrigue in Vancouver.

There are those who believe that if Lucic is available, Benning will do whatever he can to try and sign him, even if actually signing him seems far fetched at this point.

On the other side, President Linden keeps pounding the word patience, suggesting the team is committed to a legitimate rebuild.

What direction is it going to be?

On SNET’s first intermission, the case was made that the Canucks can turn this around quickly with the right draft pick and the right free agent signing.

They lobbed up three of the biggest names who could be available in July as free agents, including Lucic, Eriksson and Okposo.

In this made up universe the created, signing any one of them would qualify as a massive move back toward the “soft rebuild” model the current Canucks staff attempted in Year One.

Given a choice, asked to enter this fantasy land, who would fans want?

The respondents got this one right, plus check out that showing for Bartkowski there.

BEST MIND BLOWN

This shows you everything you need to know about how this season has gone.

That’s Bartkowski leading all defencemen in EV strength ice time on the season.

It shows there were injuries. Many of them. It shows you there is not enough depth

And it shows you just how much Bartkowski’s speed is valued by Desjardins.

Could they bring him back?

Most believed he was gone the minute he appeared as part of Benning’s Garage Sale 7.

But just look at what’s going on right now.

Pedan, who had a really good year in Utica and has all sorts of promise, has been deployed as a forward recently in what are some pretty crucial games for a player who needs NHL experience.

Pedan put up big boy numbers in the AHL, 20 points in 42 games. He can produce offence. From the back end.

What have the Canucks lacked all season long? What is one of the biggest areas of concern moving forward?

That would be producing offence from their blueline.

It’s entirely counter-intuitive to take one of the few players who could help in this area and ask him to play a position he’s never played before.

For what end?

More Bartkowski?

Inspired by the sheer absurdity of it all, Beacher revealed he has taken this subject to town with something that will appear Tuesday over at Canucks Army.

1300 words on Pedan. Like the Canucks, Beacher has not given up on the season.

BEST THING TO PONDER

I don’t for a second believe Benning wants to trade Miller.

Does that mean it can’t happen? Won’t happen?

Not necessarily.

Miller will have some significant say in this and if he’s led to believe Markstrom will be getting equal billing next year, or more, what’s the point in staying, especially on a team that likely is not going to be really good?

I don’t think anyone sees Miller these days as a prototypical No. 1, workhorse goalie anymore, and by that I mean one who could play 60 games.

But with the way he’s finished out this season, he’s going to have value, if the Canucks are willing to retain salary and cap space.

If they were to travel down this road, as unlikely as it is, where could Miller go?

With his preference being to stay on the West Coast, could Anaheim work?

But San Jose would probably have to listed as the leading possibility, mostly because it was San Jose who called to make an offer for Miller last year.

Martin Jones has been really good. But …. you never know how things look at the end of a season.

Again, this is an extreme long shot.

BEST WTF

That penalty on Hamhuis was one of the most bizarre of the season. He was called for slashing because he tried to get at a puck he could see at Quick’s pad.

Quick had no idea where the puck was and the ref didn’t blow the whistle until after Hamhuis got his stick on the puck.

slash The Provies: The man who blew up the tank, Sedins get hit with a cheap shot, and the Miller possibilities

BEST ANGER

Quick speaking for Tank Nation.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

It was not a strong night for the big man.

BEST SUMMARY

BEST REACTION

Won’t be long now before The Sun and The Province are officially one, which of course should mean there will a version of The Provies, just for The Sun.

The Sunnies.



Trevor Linden leading Vancouver Canucks through a period of patience

By DAVID EBNER

April 4, 2016

Trevor Linden is entwined with the past and present of the Vancouver Canucks as few men in hockey are with a single team.

His image from his playing days appears repeatedly around Rogers Arena. His number 16 is one of only four retired and hanging in the rafters. The entrance to the team's executive offices is named Gate 16, outside of which there is a silver plaque celebrating Linden, who wore the captain's C at the age of 21. "He was a born leader," it reads.

So when the Canucks were in a state of collapse two seasons ago, it was a natural fit to turn to the former on-ice hero to take over the team as president of hockey operations. Linden was hired on April 9, 2014, with a difficult mandate: rebuild a team with an aging roster and a shallow pool of prospects.

Two years later, it's clear the job is still difficult, and taking longer than fans hoped. The Canucks finished the 2013-14 season in 24th place; as of midday Monday, they stood 26th.

In an hour-long interview on Monday morning at Rogers Arena, Linden's answers were dotted with phrases such as "need to be patient," "going to take some time" and "there's no quick-fix."

In Vancouver's last turnaround, from the drafting of Daniel and Henrik Sedin in the first round of 1999 draft, it took 12 years before the Canucks reached a Stanley Cup final. The current owner, the Aquilini family, bought the team in the mid-2000s, when it was very much on the rise. So this difficult stretch is something new.

However, the Aquilinis are committed to an extended rebuild, Linden said, with a focus on drafting and developing players.

"We're in a new place," Linden said. "They get it. I've talked to Francesco [Aquilini] a lot about where we are, about what the future looks like. He's extremely supportive. They understand this is going to take some time, and the need to be patient."

Linden meets monthly with the owners. The family, earlier in its ownership, had been hands-on, and firings would occur when the team missed the playoffs. This off-season will be different, said Linden, who several weeks ago publicly backed second-year coach Willie Desjardins.

"There has been zero interference," Linden said.

On the question of whether Desjardins would be back as head coach, Linden said: "I don't understand why he wouldn't be. There's such an appetite to place blame, especially in this market, I think because of the success of this franchise for 12 years. The whole conversation about 'let's blame the coach,' it doesn't make sense."

The big forthcoming decisions for general manager Jim Benning will centre on veteran players such as forwards Alex Burrows and Chris Higgins, both of whom have a year left on their contracts. There's free-agent defenceman Dan Hamhuis too. All provide leadership, but cost is the question.

Linden also spoke about making careful acquisitions in the free-agent market: The Canucks made two splashy signings in Linden's first summer, but this time, the situation is much different, and it might be harder to convince players to come here.

Vancouver has some reasonable salary-cap breathing room, but Linden isn't interested in signing lengthy deals.

"It's less about the money and more about the [contract] term, which you've got to be careful with," he said.

With a weak Canadian dollar and a flat salary cap, Linden said, there could be chances to add players from teams in financial binds. The Canucks also have numerous young restricted free agents to sign.

There will be more new faces on the roster next year. Russian defenceman Nikita Tryamkin, who has played 10 NHL games, is expected to stick with the Canucks, and Anton Rodin, MVP of the Swedish league, could earn a prominent roster position.

Typical of teams in mid-rebuild, the Canucks are unlikely to be much better next season as young players struggle to improve, the roster of the future comes into clearer focus and the playoffs remain out of reach.

"When you [ask], 'is this the worst it's going to be,' I don't know how to quantify 'the worst,'" Linden said. "I know where we are, I know where we need to get to, I know how we need to get there. But we need to be patient."


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ESPN / 10 things we never saw coming this season

10:38 PM ET

Scott Burnside

With less than a week left in the regular season, it's time for a bit of reflection before we turn our attention to the best time in any pro sport: the NHL playoffs -- and specifically, the madness of the first round.

At the beginning of each season we project, we hypothesize and, in the end, we are sometimes -- often? -- proven horribly wrong.

Herein, 10 things we did not see coming in 2015-16:

No one could have predicted the wacky season enjoyed -- well, maybe enjoyed doesn't quite cover it, more like endured -- by Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. He was written off in some quarters when he started the season in un-Crosby-like fashion with just two goals in his 18 games before tearing up the second half of the season to establish the Penguins as a legitimate Cup threat and to shoulder his way into the Hart Trophy discussion as league MVP. No surprise that he's among the league leaders in points (33 goals and 49 assists in 78 games), but no one could have imagined how he got there.

Hands up by those who figured Jaromir Jagr, who turned 44 this season, would not just remain a useful player for the Florida Panthers but would be leading a renaissance in South Florida? (Dale Tallon, sorry, you don't count.) Jagr might be one of the most compelling stories anywhere in sport, leading the team in points and being tied for the team lead in goals. The Panthers set a franchise record for wins in a season, they might end up with the Atlantic Division crown and they have a legitimate shot at their first real playoff success since 1996.

Watching Evgeny Kuznetsov in the playoffs last year left me in awe of the young center's skill set, but his emergence this season as one of the most dazzling players on the NHL's runaway best team, the Washington Capitals, has been an unexpected treat. Kuznetsov leads the Caps with 75 points and is a whopping plus-25. His dramatic evolution is one of the main reasons many are picking the Capitals to win their first Stanley Cup this spring.

With days left in the regular season, no one expected the Philadelphia Flyers -- under rookie head coach Dave Hakstol and with rookie-of-the-year contender Shayne Gostisbehere -- to be throwing a monkey wrench into the playoff works. Terrific story of a team doing things its own way under general manager Ron Hextall and getting early, unexpected dividends instead of vying for the first-overall draft pick, which is where most observers had pegged the rebuilding Flyers.

Was there a greater horror show this season than the collapse of the Montreal Canadiens? Yes, Carey Price is the world's best goaltender, but come on. After the Canadiens started the season with nine straight victories that had folks thinking Stanley Cup, Price was felled by nagging injuries that saw him play his last game on Nov. 25. The Habs' collapse was epic and has shone an unyielding spotlight on former wunderkind GM Marc Bergevin as the Habs roster has been revealed as wholly lacking, setting up an offseason of much introspection and likely significant change.

I wasn't surprised that Nashville Predators GM David Poile would make a bold move to bolster his offense, but I didn't see him swallowing hard and sending former No. 4 overall draft pick Seth Jones to the Columbus Blue Jackets for struggling young center Ryan Johansen. If the Preds end up upsetting one (or more) of the top teams in the Pacific Division this spring -- and that is a distinct possibility -- this trade will go down as one of the most important in Predators' history.

I liked the Anaheim Ducks to be a Western Conference power from the get-go. But I admit I had no sense of the struggles they would have to overcome to get there and are even more surprised that GM Bob Murray would show such restraint in not making a coaching change when the team could not find its offensive legs for the first third of the season. Kudos to head coach Bruce Boudreau for reforming the Ducks' identity on the fly. Heading into the last week of the regular season, the Ducks are in first place in the Pacific Division, which is where I thought they'd be. Just didn't figure on their torturous path to what could be a fourth straight division title.

Power Rankings: Attack of the hobbling Penguins!

Despite missing two superstars, the Penguins just keep on winning and have limped their way to the top of the second-last edition of the Rankings this season.

The Lightning's rocky season just got even rockier with the news that captain Steven Stamkos could be out as long as three months.

Are the Penguins primed for a long playoff run?

Pittsburgh has won 12 of its past 13 games and is locking down home ice in the first round, but injury questions could cast doubt on the Pens' ability to advance deep into the postseason.

I didn't think the Habs were capable of winning a Cup. Nor did I like any of the Canadian teams to make a serious run at ending a Canadian Cup drought that extends to 1993. But that all seven Canadian teams would tumble to the very bottom of the standings, leaving the playoffs bereft of Canadian representation for the first time since 1970, well, that's off the believable charts. Next season I'm sure this anomaly will be corrected, but the hard truth is there isn't a Canadian team that looks even remotely close to ascending to contender status.

I figured the Toronto Maple Leafs would still stink. And they do, tied with Edmonton Oilers for the fewest points in the NHL. But I did not know they would become such lovable losers. Nary has an unkind word been spoken about this team from the moment Mike Babcock stepped behind the bench last fall, as though this was an expansion team just happy to be playing with the big boys and not an Original Six team that has managed one playoff berth and zero playoff series victories since the 2004-05 lockout. Guess that tells you how ugly things really were in the center of the hockey universe.

I did not really expect much from the Oilers, but it remains one of the most baffling realities in sports that regardless of how much talent they have on paper, the on-ice product remains wildly inferior. Another season of chaos on the ice and in the standings reveals just how steep the mountain is that GM Peter Chiarelli and head coach Todd McLellan must traverse in getting the Oil out of the pit fashioned by years of mismanagement. Oh well, there's always the prospect of yet another No. 1 draft pick to consider as we head toward the April 30 draft lottery.

ESPN LOADED: 04.05.2016

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ESPN / Work ethic, smarts driving Roberto Luongo's impressive longevity

10:25 PM ET

Pierre LeBrun

TORONTO -- On a team whose leading scorer is 44 years old, it can be easy to once again gloss over the performance of Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo.

Luongo turned 37 on Monday and is wrapping up a second consecutive regular season with 60-plus starts and an identical .921 save percentage.

Although Patrick Roy retired at the age of 37, Luongo looks like a man ready to play a few more years. And that's saying something in today's NHL, where more than ever it's a young man's league, teammate Jaromir Jagr's performance this season notwithstanding.

"I've been blessed that I've been pretty healthy my whole career," Luongo said Monday after the Panthers' morning skate at Air Canada Centre. "I've never had any major injuries. I'm thankful in that regard. I just like working on my game all the time. I always try to get better. I always feel that I can get better and improve. As long as that desire is there, I'll be able to be part of this league.

"When I feel that my game is not where I want it to be, then maybe it'll be time to think about it. But for now, I'm having fun, I'm healthy, I feel good, I just want to keep it going."

Backup Al Montoya started against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night, with Luongo likely in net in his hometown Tuesday night in Montreal. Montoya's steady work as the backup this season has helped the Panthers manage Luongo's workload.

Still, that's 60 games under Luongo's belt so far, and he's among the league leaders in all the important categories.

"The reason he's still elite: He is a tireless worker, hates taking days off," said former NHL goalie and former backup to Luongo, Jamie McLennan, now a game analyst for TSN. "He studies the game, one of the biggest students of the game I know, constantly knows what's going on in the league. And has evolved with the new techniques used in stopping pucks. That along with his talent/skill set has kept him among the best in the game for years."

Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray is not surprised one bit. Luongo is now the goalie Murray felt he was acquiring back in June 2000, when as the Panthers' GM he pulled off the stunning acquisition of Luongo and Olli Jokinen from the New York Islanders in exchange for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha.

"It was an interesting deal," Murray said over the phone Monday morning. "I made a phone call just before the draft. I called [then-Islanders GM] Mike Milbury to inquire about a third goalie, I needed a depth guy. During our conversation he asked me if I was interested in Luongo. I figured right there he would draft Rick DiPietro. As soon as he mentioned Luongo, I perked up. I knew Mike loved Kvasha -- he had called two or three times about him."

Milbury, to his credit, was willing to revisit the trade Monday morning.

"We were desperate for offense at the time," Milbury, now an NBC analyst, said over the phone. "We got a good player in Parrish; he scored 25 goals, but the wild card was Kvasha. He was 6-5 and could skate."

Kvasha never turned into the player the Islanders and others thought he would be. Injuries also limited what should have been a promising career for DiPietro.

"It's the danger of trading a young player when he's struggling or floundering," Milbury said of dealing a young Luongo. "It's like Boston trading Tyler Seguin. There's a risk, obviously, in that younger player becoming something great.

"Roberto has had a great run," added Milbury. "I've always liked him. He's a good guy."

Sixteen years after that trade, Luongo is still going strong.

Back in Chicago looking for another Stanley Cup, Andrew Ladd has found the Blackhawks are just as confident as the group he left in 2010.

Who is going to win the Calder Trophy?

Connor McDavid's injury has made the race for rookie of the year an interesting debate. Pierre LeBrun breaks down the candidates.

"We figured he'd be a top goalie in the league for years, which he has been," Murray said. "It's a compliment to him to be playing at 37 at the level he's at."

Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock coached Luongo at the 2004 world championships in Prague, where Canada won gold, and during the past two Winter Olympics.

"He's a good man," Babcock said Monday of Luongo. "And obviously he's comfortable in Florida, too. I think that's important in your life. When you got things going really well away from the rink, when you get to the rink you can focus on being who you are. He's had a great run, he's done a lot of winning, he's on a good team again now and he seems happy. Good for him."

Luongo met his wife in South Florida, and that's where they started their family, so getting dealt by the Vancouver Canucks back to the Panthers just before the 2014 trade deadline was a godsend, given that it was obvious where things were headed in Vancouver after a long run as contenders. But Luongo didn't want just to come back to South Florida and just ride it out. He was hungry for another challenge.

"I wanted to have another crack at it," Luongo said. "I'm happy that things have worked out. And I feel like this team is just beginning to see the potential that we can have. That's exciting for me. Sometimes I wish I was five years younger and had a bit more time. I want to be part of it as long as I can."

ESPN LOADED: 04.05.2016

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Sportsnet.ca / Leafs and Panthers once together in basement, now miles apart

DAMIEN COX APRIL 4, 2016, 11:53 PM

In one sense it doesn’t matter. Then again, it really does.

It doesn’t matter, you could argue, that the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs were in basically the same place six years ago, and today the Panthers are a first-place team while the Leafs haven’t really budged.

Spilt milk, right? What’s done is done, and there’s no point going over all that again.

But in this case, there is a point. There are reasons the Panthers could actually contend for the Stanley Cup this spring while the sad-sack Leafs are locked in a mutual death grip with the Edmonton Oilers in a fight to the finish to finish last.

More optimistically for Leaf fans, there are reasons to believe Toronto has started down the same path that got the Panthers to where they are today, icing a quality team that defeated the Leafs 4-3 on Monday night at the Air Canada Centre to secure the best record in franchise history.

So let’s go back to June, 2010.

The weak Panthers finished 14th in the Eastern Conference that season with 77 points, three points ahead of Brian Burke’s lousy Leafs. At that point, neither team was definitely ahead of the other in terms of talent or promise. The Leafs had Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, plus viable youngsters like Tyler Bozak, Jiri Tlusty, Nikolay Kulemin, Luke Schenn and junior prospect Nazem Kadri.

The Panthers had Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton and David Booth, plus drafted players like Dmitry Kulikov and goalie Jacob Markstrom.

It was at that point that the two teams sped off in different directions.

The Leafs didn’t have a first-rounder in the 2010 draft, having traded it to Boston in the deal to land Kessel, and didn’t land an impactful NHL player out of the seven players they did pick.

Florida, meanwhile, had just fired GM Randy Sexton and replaced him with Dale Tallon, who lost his job in Chicago after building the foundation of the team that would go on to win three Cups in six years.

Tallon said right from the beginning he would do exactly what he had done in the Windy City and build with draft picks, and he made three first-round selections in the ’10 draft, landing Erik Gudbranson, Nick Bjugstad and Quinton Howden. All three were in the Florida lineup on Monday night at the ACC.

Despite the fact the Panthers were losing money back then, struggled to draw fans and were controlled by a 14-member partnership group with no clear mandate, Tallon was permitted to pursue the process he believed in, and continued to do that after Vincent Viola bought the team in 2013.

So that’s the lesson, right? Stick with a proven plan, draft intelligently (and not just in the first round) and hang in there through the lean years.

Don’t panic, don’t get ahead of yourself and (listen up Edmonton) don’t rush your youngsters.

The Leafs, meanwhile, are about 15 months into a similar process. It was last spring when president Brendan Shanahan started reducing the organization to cinders, firing GM Dave Nonis, interim coach Peter Horachek and most of the team’s scouts. Just before that, he was able to convince ownership to take on Horton’s “dead money” contract from Columbus to get rid of David Clarkson, and at the draft Kessel was traded away for futures.

This season has supplied plenty of evidence that the Rogers/Bell ownership team is fully behind the hyper-aggressive “Shana-plan,” the kind of program the previous ownership group led by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan was never motivated to follow.

Phaneuf was dealt, young players were kept in the minors most of the season and the hockey office, under the leadership of Lou Lamoriello, has done essentially everything humanly possible to ensure the club lands at worst a top-five pick this June. Nobody lifted a finger to try and achieve short-term success.

These are promising signs.

Assuming Leaf ownership and the Shanahan/Lamoriello combo stay the course, it’s now up to Toronto scouting guru Mark Hunter and his staff to do as well as Scott Luce and the Panthers’ draft team have done in recent years.

Mitch Marner, taken fourth overall last June, will be the first major piece of evidence as to whether Hunter can work the necessary magic.

The curious historical reality, of course, is that the Leafs were actually in a better position back in 2010 to do what Florida did. Toronto had lots of money, a full house every night and all the tools necessary to gradually accumulate resources, but chose to emphasize muscle over skill and harvested no established NHL players from the 2010 and 2011 drafts.

The Panthers, in those two drafts, acquired Gudbranson, Bjugstad, Howden, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Rocco Grimaldi, who scored the second and third Florida goals Monday night and was named first star.

Not hard to understand that’s when the Panthers started moving up and the Leafs stalled, is it?

Which brings us to today.

Mike Babcock has done an admirable job directing the talent at his disposal this season. The Leafs, emphasizing a skill-first organizational philosophy, now have a very good, very young farm club and three picks upcoming in the top 35 selections of the 2016 draft. The franchise is positioned well to move forward.

The danger, needless to say, is that Toronto will get ahead of itself in a way Florida never did. They might give up on the maddening but talented Kadri, for example.

They could move crucial picks to solidify their goaltending this summer.

Marner might be force-fed into the NHL even if he’s not ready. They could draft Auston Matthews, sign Steven Stamkos and decide the future is now and begin trading prospects and picks for immediate help. These kinds of things have happened before in these parts.

Babcock, for his part, firmly backs the long-term vision, although he finds it hard to look at the standings every day and see his team in last place.

“You’ve got to keep building, building, building,” he said. “There’s been lots of positive things happen. Now we have to keep doing positive things.

“We’re a long way from where we are to being a team that when the puck drops in September just knows it’s going to be in the playoffs.”

It wasn’t easy for Tallon to stick to the plan, not with attendance in Sunrise hovering around 11,000 until jumping past the 15,000 mark this season. But he did, and now he has this terrific young team.

The game-winning Florida goal on Monday night was symbolic, Aleksander Barkov’s 27th of the season assisted by Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad. Three high first-rounders combining to ice the game and set a franchise record for points.

The Panthers were essentially tied with the Leafs back in the spring of 2010, then left Toronto in the dust. It will take discipline, patience and time for the Leafs to catch up.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.05.2016

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Sportsnet.ca / Weekend Takeaways: Stamkos injury may change summer payday

DAMIEN COX APRIL 4, 2016, 11:37 AM

It’s hard to imagine two NHL teams hit harder in the solar plexus over the weekend by news involving their superstar players than Tampa Bay and Detroit. The news could have an impact well beyond this season.

For the Lightning, centre Steven Stamkos will be sidelined 1-to-3 months while he gets treatment for a blood clot near his right collarbone. Scary stuff, but treatable, we are told.

For the Red Wings, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday that speculation of Pavel Datsyuk one day returning to his native Russia to play could become reality after this season. Given that Detroit would be on the hook for the 37-year-old Datsyuk’s $7.5 million cap hit whether he plays or not makes this a potentially major problem.

In both cases, this creates enormous short-term and long-term uncertainty for the NHL teams involved.

For Tampa, a team already without defenceman Anton Stralman, it impacts how the Lightning prepare for the playoffs. Jonathan Drouin could be recalled, except he missed a game due to injury for Syracuse on the weekend.

Beyond that, the Bolts and Stamkos have been unable to reach agreement on a new contract during the course of this season, and a serious health situation like this only complicates matters. Stamkos, meanwhile, could have his marketability as a free agent limited to some degree, although all indications are this vascular condition is treatable and should have no long-term effects.

He was also one of the first 16 players named to Team Canada for next fall’s World Cup of Hockey, and his availability for that competition will depend on how quickly he can recover.

Datsyuk, meanwhile, has been a fixture in Motor City since 2001. He declined to speak after Saturday’s win in Toronto and his agent deflected inquiries by saying Datsyuk will talk to the Wings after the regular season. Detroit GM Ken Holland called it “all rumours.”

"IT'S HARD TO SAY. NEVER KNOW WHAT GOING TO HAPPEN" - PAVEL DATSYUK ON FUTURE.

— HELENE ST. JAMES (@HELENESTJAMES) APRIL 4, 2016

The Wings are in a life and death battle to make the playoffs for a 25th straight year. They have a group of very good young players, but could use at least another season out of Datsyuk, who has struggled to stay healthy in recent years but is still a magical player.

PAVEL DATSYUK SAYS HE'S FOCUSED ON PRESENT, DID NOT DEFINITIVELY SHOOT DOWN CHANCE HE'LL LEAVE WINGS THIS OFFSEASON. 1 YR LEFT, $7.5 M

— HELENE ST. JAMES (@HELENESTJAMES) APRIL 4, 2016

Detroit has battled cap issues all season long, losing Landon Ferraro to Boston on waivers at one point, and with the cap expected to either go up slightly or stay flat, being stuck with Datsyuk’s cap hit even if he doesn’t play could be a major issue.

More drama, please

As disappointed as Canadian hockey fans have to be with the fact that all seven of Canada's NHL clubs will miss the post-season, the fact the final week of the season is almost bereft of any playoff-related drama is something the league really needs to look at.

As we head into the final week, there is really only one “race” left, with three teams fighting for two spots in the Eastern Conference. One of Detroit, Philly or Boston will be left on the sidelines.

And that’s it, other than the tortoise race for last overall.

There are actually battles for first place in three of the NHL’s four divisions, but the fact securing a first place finish gains a team very little advantage makes it close to meaningless. It’s long been said in this space that the NHL needs to reward teams more for finishing first. An extra playoff game at home in the first and second round would suffice.

If that were the case, this would be a heckuva week of hockey drama ahead. And if you’re going to tinker with the lottery to give teams less incentive to tank, why not tinker with the formula at the top of the standings to give teams more incentive to win?

And give fans more reason to watch.

NHL emails

The concussion issue for the NHL, particularly as it relates to the ongoing lawsuit from former players, continues to percolate. A “smoking gun” that would show the NHL knew its players were endangering themselves and did nothing about it has not yet emerged.

What has emerged are a lot of emails, some of them embarrassing, and some of them enlightening. What seems abundantly clear is that concussions and head shots and fighting have certainly been a topic of debate internally with the NHL for years, with some holding down “old school” positions and others pushing for a more progressive approach.

The NHL could have eliminated these problems or at least controlled them by being more aggressive and proactive on the issue of head and brain trauma. The league could have moved to a no-tolerance position on head shots after Marc Savard was badly injured. It could have declared an intention to change the rules on fighting to give a game misconduct to any player who fights and then battled that issue out with the union.

Instead, we have seen the NHL try to slice and dice this issue for years, arguing that this kind contract to the head is OK and that kind isn’t. Most absurd has been the notion that you can’t bodycheck an opponent in the head, but you can drop your gloves and beat that opponent about the head with bare fists. Bare knuckle prize fighting, of course, was banned in North America decades ago.

The NHL gave Chicago’s star defenceman Duncan Keith a paltry six-game suspension last week for whipping his stick to the head of Minnesota’s Charlie Coyle. While that suspension seemed to satisfy no one, it's worth noting that had Keith dropped his gloves and punched Coyle repeatedly in the head, he would have received only a five-minute penalty.

Trying to be half-pregnant on this issue has been a problem for the NHL for years. That has finally caught up with the Bettman adminstration.

Tearing apart the Oilers

It’s hard to believe that Edmonton may have to tear down most of what it thought had been built.

Think about it. The message from the Oiler “core” to ownership and management on the weekend was a 5-0 loss at home in the final Battle of Alberta at the old Northlands barn, an unmistakable “we don’t care” from the group of young players the Oilers thought would bring the team back to competitiveness, at least.

Now GM Peter Chiarelli has to rip it all up, and one move won’t do. For it to have the necessary impact on the organization, Taylor Hall has to be the player to go, and fortuitously for Chiarelli, he’s the player likely to bring the greatest return.

But what will that return be? What Boston got for Tyler Seguin (Loui Eriksson and three prospects, the best of which was Reilly Smith)? What Minnesota got for Brent Burns (Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and a first round pick)?

In other words, it seems unlikely the Oilers will replace Hall, or others, with a new crew of star players. They’ll have to take what the market will bear, and the market, already compressed by salary cap restrictions, knows Chiarelli has to deal.

Roy rips Duchene

Speaking of young players under the microscope, how about Colorado head coach Patrick Roy’s comments on winger Matt Duchene for his celebration after scoring his 30th goal of the season with the Avs trailing St. Louis 4-0 score en route to a 5-1 defeat.

“The thing I have a hard time with is the reaction of (Duchene) after he scores. It’s a 4-0 goal. Big cheer. Are you kidding me? What is that? I mean, it’s not the reflect we want from our guys. Not at all,” said Roy.

Fair? It probably speaks less to this exact incident and more to Roy’s frustration over the play of his younger players and his team in general.

The Avs were close to a playoff berth in mid-March, and have stumbled badly down the stretch. They’ll miss the playoffs for a second straight year baring a miracle after making post-season play in Roy’s first season. It will be interesting to see the moves GM Joe Sakic has in mind.

Interesting week for Kadri

We’ve really seen all sides of the intriguing and enigmatic Nazem Kadri over the past week.

He scored a hat trick against the Florida Panthers, and showed his skill on Saturday with a dazzling set up to William Nylander. In between, he was fined by the NHL for diving, and was suspended for the rest of the regular season (four games) on Monday for a high stick delivered to Luke Glendening of the Red Wings. The league seems to have decided Kadri merits special and unusual attention.

All of this is Kadri in a nutshell. Infuriating, yet filled with enormous promise, and a player who unabashedly plays on the edge, something every team wants.

His future in Toronto is utterly unclear. Head coach Mike Babcock likes a lot of what he sees. But if the Leafs land Auston Matthews and sign Stamkos, maybe they move Kadri.

Last year he was suspended by the team for off-ice behavior. Since being drafted by the Brian Burke regime back in 2009, he has been a constant story, whether for displays of his ability or complaints that he wasn’t progressing quickly enough.

He’s not everyone’s cup of team. But one thing Kadri has never been? Boring.

Ice issues

The quality of ice at Barclay’s Centre in Brooklyn could be a major problem for the NHL when the playoffs start.

The league’s ice guru, Dan Craig, has been at the arena since Wednesday, and will stay there for the early part of this week, trying to install a working dehumidification system to improve the ice at the Islanders home rink.

Craig’s brilliant at his job, and he’ll probably be able to come up with a quick fix. But what about the long-term? It’s likely millions of dollars will have to be invested to install a new ice plant at the arena, which wasn’t built for hockey. With the future of the Islanders in Brooklyn still a talking point, it will be interesting to see how much the arena’s owners want to invest.

One more thought: John Tavares can be a free agent in the summer of 2018. One might wonder if he’ll be willing to commit indefinitely to a career skating on horrible ice.

Norris talk

Kris Letang sure is making a late run at the Norris.

The Pittsburgh defenceman has been nothing short of brilliant, adding another variable to a Norris Trophy discussion already heated enough with passionate advocates demanding the trophy be giving to Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty or Burns and his 27 goals.

The challenge for Letang is that half of his season has been so much better than the other half. That said, the same goes for Sidney Crosby, and the terrific play of the Penguins down the stretch has certainly advanced Crosby’s case for the Hart Trophy.

So Letang for the Norris? I’m still with Doughty. But you can definitely make a strong argument for the Penguin blue-liner as part of a Norris conversation that has become extraordinarily complicated for voters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.


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Sportsnet.ca / Five things we learned in the NHL: Rangers are in

EMILY SADLER APRIL 5, 2016, 12:55 AM

The Rangers are in the post-season, the Islanders rebound, the Panthers come up with a franchise record and more.

Here are five things we learned in the NHL on Monday night.

Islanders rebound

When an old-school coach like Jack Capuano calls you out before the media, you listen.

The New York Islanders bench boss called out his team Monday morning ahead of their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, highlighting three players in particular.

“We need [Ryan] Strome to be better. We need Brock [Nelson] to be better. We need [Josh] Bailey to be better. We need guys to be better if we’re going to have any chance at all,” Capuano said.

“We’ve struggled with a few guys, for sure, about their compete level and their work ethic. It has to be better. There’s no doubt that those guys they have to figure it out at some point…The guys mentioned need to pick their pick their [expletive] up and start playing.”

As New York's 5-2 win would suggest, Capuano's message was received.

While Bailey and Strome were kept off the scoresheet, Nelson made his presence known when he went top shelf with a nice backhand to put the Islanders up 3-1 in the second period.

Team captain John Tavares — who challenged his teammates to "look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves how much they want it" after their dismal 5-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night — backed up his own words Monday.

Tavares scored once and assisted on two goals to help his team rebound and earn a crucial two points in the playoff race.

Tampa netminder Ben Bishop was pulled after letting in all five goals, while the Islanders' Thomas Greiss made 32 saves in the win.

A win on Monday night would have seen the Lightning clinch a playoff berth, but no such luck for the team from Tampa. (Though, considering their second-place position in the Atlantic, they're a safe bet to get in.) Now without captain Steven Stamkos (blood clot) and Anton Stralman (leg), what might we expect from the Lightning in the playoffs?

Rangers are in

The New York Rangers are officially in the post-season. After failing to punch their ticket in their last three games, they finally clinched the berth with a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday night.

This will be their sixth straight playoff appearance.

"WE'RE IN AND IT'S JUST A REALLY GOOD FEELING"-#NYR GOALTENDER @HLUNDQVIST30 WHO MADE 27 SAVES TONIGHT

— NEW YORK RANGERS (@NYRANGERS) APRIL 5, 2016

The team saw two of its offensive leaders reach the 20-goal milestone on the season: Chris Kreider kicked things off to reach the 20-goal marker for the second straight year, and Derek Stepan did so for the second time in his career (he also registered 20 in 2010-11). Watch the highlights at the top of this post.

While the game's outcome was positive, the team may be in danger of losing their captain to injury. Defenceman Ryan McDonagh took a shot off his hand, and left the game in the first period. He did not return.

Head coach Alain Vigneault said after the game that McDonagh will be further evaluated Tuesday.

Panthers are the best they've ever been

The success of the Florida Panthers has been among this season's biggest surprises. Now, that success has found its way into the record books.

With their 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday night, the Panthers have officially made 2015-16 their best regular season in franchise history.

Their 45-25-9 record has them sitting at 99 points, topping their previous record of 98 points in 1999-00 (43-27-12).

The Maple Leafs, without Nazem Kadri, were kept off the scoresheet for most of the game, but made things interesting with a third-period rally thanks to two goals from Colin Greening and T.J. Brennan's first marker as a Maple Leaf.

As Sportsnet's Damien Cox points out, it wasn't so long ago that the Panthers and Maple Leafs were neighbours in the NHL's basement. Now, not so much. Read his story here.

Blues keep surging

How about those St. Louis Blues?

Despite losing goaltender Jake Allen and captain David Backes for the remainder of the regular season, the team is firing on all cylinders right now.

Their 5-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes Monday has them tied for first place in the Western Conference with the Dallas Stars at 105 points. (The Stars have played one less game.)

They have now won 13 of their last 16 games.

Down 2-0 after the first period, the Blues netted five straight to earn the win, propelled by Vladimir Tarasenko's go-ahead goal in the third.

Tarasenko's 37th goal of the season matches his single-season career high from 2014-15.

Kyle Brodziak had two goals in the effort.

They're certainly making a statement at the right time — even if they are limping into the playoffs.

Also of note from the game: Coyotes rookie Anthony Duclair reached goal No. 20.

Toffoli is king

Just a few days ago, we weren't sure if the Vancouver Canucks would get another win this season. Now, they're got three straight — and against some powerhouse West Coast teams, no less.

The trio of Ws (versus the Sharks, Ducks and now Kings) is nice change of pace after the Canucks' nine-game losing streak.

Jared McCann, 19, gets the credit for the game-winner in the 3-2 victory.

The playoff-bound Los Angeles Kings have been stumbling on the road lately.

Though their road efforts may be cause for a little concern heading into the post-season, the play of Tyler Toffoli is giving the team plenty of reasons to be excited.

Toffoli opened the scoring in the eventual loss, marking his 30th of the season for a career-high. That makes him first King to reach the 30-goal plateau in a single season since Anze Kopitar had 34 goals in 2009-10.

The 23-year-old, while leading the Kings in goals, is also ranked third for total points (56), surpassing last season's totals of 23 goals and 49 points.

We won't have to wait long to see what he does in the playoffs.


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Sportsnet.ca / Nazem Kadri’s divisive season has him under microscope

CHRIS JOHNSTON APRIL 4, 2016, 5:26 PM

TORONTO — It was a season where Nazem Kadri became the first NHL player to be on both ends of a throat-slashing gesture.

A year where he generated more shots, won more faceoffs, played more minutes and produced at a respectable clip given the linemates he dragged around the ice most nights.

And yet it will be remembered by some for the diving fines and four-game suspension that brought an abrupt end to his season on Monday.

That’s the thing about Kadri: He plays on the edge and usually inspires a dichotomy of opinion.

What matters most is the way the Toronto Maple Leafs feel about him and we’ll learn about that soon enough. This is the second straight summer he’s due to receive a new contract and the timing has never been better for the Leafs to lock him up long term.

The comparable contracts should tilt in the team’s favour after a 45-point season, even if they go longer than two years with Kadri and end up buying seasons where he could be an unrestricted free agent as a result.

You’ve got to assume the centre doesn’t replicate a 6.5 per cent shooting percentage. This would have been a 27-goal season, rather than a 17-goal season, had he simply connected at his career rate of 10.5 per cent.

The Leafs still managed to control more than 53 per cent of even-strength shot attempts while he was on the ice – and he almost exclusively drew the toughest assignments.

Trying to sign Kadri to another one-year deal this summer, or taking him to arbitration, would put the player in position to command a much larger payday a year from now.

How this is handled will say a lot about where the 25-year-old stands with the organization. Head coach Mike Babcock has praised him repeatedly – “He might be the biggest surprise for me,” Babcock said in January. “Like I’m almost shocked how good he’s been; and competitive and greasy” – but he’s also one of the few core pieces remaining from the previous regime.

He projects out as a quality No. 2 centre on a good team, but has capably performed as a No. 1 on a roster in the middle of a teardown. He earned $4.1 million to do it.

The last couple weeks Kadri has seemingly been in the middle of every Leafs storyline, both good and bad.

There was a four-point game against Anaheim and a hat trick in Florida, but also two separate diving citations. Then on Saturday he engaged in a battle with Red Wings forward Luke Glendening, ultimately cross-checking him in the neck and earning a four-game suspension with only four games left in the season.

As a repeat offender, it will cost him $200,000 in forfeited salary.

“He was going to cross-check the guy right in the arm,” said Babcock. “(Glendening) braced himself, it hit his shoulder pad and rode up. You’ve got to command your fair share of the ice if you’re going to play hard.

“I’ve got no problem with it. You can’t cross-check people in the head, but you’re allowed cross-check them in the meat of the arm though.”

It is that level of feistiness that has so endeared Kadri to his coach and teammates.

While there is a constant outside discussion about whether he needs to change aspects of his game – he’s drawn more penalties than any other NHL player over the last three years, according to war-on-ice.com – there doesn’t seem to be nearly as much internal debate.

The spotlight inside the Leafs dressing room is constantly trained on No. 43.

“I think wherever he is he’d find the microscope,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly. “He’s fine. I mean that’s just what happens. He’s a player that plays the game hard. These things are going to happen when you play on the edge and that’s what he does.

“He plays fair, he’s an honest guy. He’s not out there trying to break the rules on purpose, but I mean things are going to happen out there and this is just one of those instances.”

It’s notable that Kadri popped up on the radar of two separate arms of the NHL this season – the New York-based department of player safety handed him Monday’s suspension while the Toronto-based department of hockey operations nailed him with the diving citations and the $5,000 fine for making a throat-slashing gesture at Flames captain Mark Giordano in February.

Despite the attention, he never shied away from the action.

“I don’t think he dwells on things too much,” said teammate Brooks Laich. “He plays with a little bit of amnesia. … I think that’s a tremendous quality, something that’s underrated in people.”

Amid the constant debate about his play, the positive contributions he makes for the Leafs are often overlooked.

With Kadri, that’s just the way it is.


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Sportsnet.ca / How will the loss of Steven Stamkos impact Lightning?

ANDREW BERKSHIRE APRIL 4, 2016, 4:28 PM

The Tampa Bay Lightning were dealt a nearly crippling blow going into the playoffs, as Steven Stamkos and is likely to miss the entirety of the playoffs.

The Lightning captain underwent successful surgery on Monday to repair a blood clot in his right arm that will keep him out of the lineup for 1-to-3 months.

Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman made a big gamble at the trade deadline by not trading Stamkos, who is due to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Despite it likely being the right move for the Lightning organization, it has now blown up on him.

The question now for Tampa Bay is how big of a hole Stamkos leaves in its lineup. Stamkos is obviously an offensive dynamo, so let’s start there. Since the playoffs are right around the corner, we’ll look at the most recent performances, sticking to the last 25 games played.

It might be a little surprising that Stamkos is just team average in terms of getting scoring chances on net, though it has been fairly well documented that he isn’t shooting as often this year. Yet even with that, he is producing the second most scoring chances on the team after Nikita Kucherov. The other thing to remember is that a scoring chance for Stamkos is not the same as a scoring chance for another player. His finishing ability is a truly unique talent, so factor that in.

Stamkos also creates the second-most scoring chances for his teammates on the roster (after Kucherov), with his passing game seriously improved over previous years.

Stamkos isn’t the best forechecker, as he’s below team and league average in loose puck recoveries in the offensive zone, so that isn’t an area the Lightning shouldn’t be hurting too much from in his absence. The big thing they’ll be missing from Stamkos is the scoring chance creation and finishing ability.

Offensive creation isn’t limited to within the offensive zone, with the ability to transition the puck from the defensive zone forward being a big factor in attacking the offensive zone. Chances off the rush are harder to stop, so how does Stamkos stack up there?

Stamkos is a little bit better than average in terms of passing the puck out of the defensive zone, a little bit worse than average at both skating it out of the defensive zone and over the red line, but you can see right away that he stands out big time in terms of zone entries.

One thing that also stands out is how often Stamkos passes East-West in the neutral zone, something most players very rarely do. That ability to make those passes increases his linemates' chances to gain the offensive zone with control, and makes things difficult for opposing defences.

That ability to be a threat to enter the offensive zone himself, or make an east-west pass that creates an easy entry for a teammate, is a big game changer for the Lightning, a team that thrives on attacking the offensive zone with speed and rarely dumping the puck in.

With the possible reunion of the “Triplets” line, the Lightning should have no transition problems for their top line, but the ripples down the depth chart will hurt when things get tighter in the playoffs.


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Sportsnet.ca / Todd McLellan, Oilers still establishing boundaries

MARK SPECTOR APRIL 4, 2016, 6:48 PM

Back in September, speaking at length at the Rookie Tournament in Penticton, B.C., the newest in a long line of Edmonton Oilers head coaches revealed what he used to tell his San Jose Sharks prior to taking the two points from Edmonton:

“It was the mental aspect of the game,” Todd McLellan said. “They scared you because they could punish you offensively if you were sloppy and made mistakes. Our approach was to get into the game quickly against them. Don’t let them build and get any type of momentum. Make them get to the point where they’d fold their hand, as quickly as you could.

“Teams that win a lot have a big belief system, that they can overcome adversity. Teams that don’t have a lot of success, that’s a lot smaller.”

You don’t just walk in the door and change a belief system, or install swagger. Because a belief system is a result of winning, not a precursor to it.

So it started this season for McLellan with teaching a team to win. Play hard but smart; back check as if you consider it an important part of the game; keep shifts to 45 seconds. All basic tenets of winning hockey that somehow disappeared in Edmonton over the length of hockey’s most dysfunctional rebuild.

And his team did a lot of that through seven months of the 2015-16 season. But then, on the final Battle of Alberta on Hockey Night in Canada ever to be played at Rexall Place — the last night when you’d have thought a motivational speech was necessary — the old no-care bunch of floaters emerged in Oilers uniforms, only to be booed off the ice after a 5-0 loss at home to Calgary.

“1:20 shifts, and then still trying to go on offence. Complete disregard for back checking,” is what the game film showed McLellan, who felt the practice day was wasted Monday on working his players rather than improving them. “The day was spent trying to re-establish boundaries. What’s acceptable and what isn’t.”

That’s it, folks. We’re six, seven, whatever-you-want-to-call-it years into this rebuild, and they’re still working on the boundaries. Nibbling at the edges of what defines a successful team, after all these wasted seasons in Edmonton.

“My experience is 200 days,” said McLellan, a fact that is easy to forget. “I’ve seen improvement in a lot of areas, but (the delinquent play) comes back in. It’s like a disease that you think you have cured, then it reappears. You’ve got to get it out of your system.”

By his definition, it is a cancer — and the Oilers have it.

One example made by Kelly Hrudey on the HNIC broadcast is Jordan Eberle, who is 25 years old and has played over 400 NHL games. Yet there he is, cheating on offence and approaching his defensive responsibilities like he’s 18.

“I watch the kids in the USHL (where his son plays) all the time, I watch Brandon (vs. Edmonton in the WHL playoffs),” McLellan said. “They know right from wrong. They know when they need to do it.”

Did McLellan bite off more than he can chew here? We would think not.

Is the team built by Craig MacTavish and Kevin Lowe more flawed than even he and new GM Peter Chiarelli had expected? Undoubtedly.

But in an unsolicited statement that Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy could learn from, McLellan made it clear that he’s part of the entire picture here, not just the one that will emerge from this summer’s transactions.

“The last thing we will do here is separate the coaches from the players. We’re in it with them,” he said. “(The staff) was just as bad as the players (Saturday) night. I made many mistakes on the bench. My belief system was low, and they probably looked at me — my body language, my verbal cues — and they probably read off of that.

“I am just as responsible as the players are.”

What that shows you is that even a top hockey man who has resided on the top of the standings for more than a decade can be poisoned, if only temporarily, by the vile concoction that is this Oilers franchise. The potion

of first overall drafts, mindless acquisitions like Nikita Nikitin, bad signings like Mark Fayne, hopeful prospects like Darnell Nurse and flawed pickups like Andrej Sekera have yet to blend into anything palatable.

This season there has been actual, tangible progress: Goals against per game has gone from 3.37 last season to 2.96; Cam Talbot has shown he can be a legitimate No. 1 NHL goalie, something Edmonton has lacked for years; their chronic lack of size has been assuaged by players like Patrick Maroon, Zack Kassian, Brandon Davidson, Eric Gryba and Adam Pardy.

None of it matters a lick, of course, as long as you have to go to the very bottom of the standings to find Edmonton.

“It’s character time. This is when you reveal your character,” McLellan said of these final two, meaningless games of the season, a back-to-back against the Vancouver Canucks. “You can reveal it in 28th, 29th or 30th. Or you can reveal it in one two or three when you’re lifting the Cup. Everyone reveals their character (at this time of year).”

That includes the coach. To these eyes, the losing hasn’t gotten to Todd McLellan.

Not yet, anyhow.


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Sportsnet.ca / Neurosurgeon: NHL should alter equipment, ban fighting

MIKE JOHNSTON APRIL 4, 2016, 2:00 PM

The topic of concussions in hockey has been ongoing for years. Last week, the sensitive issue was thrust into the spotlight again when a series of internal emails from NHL executives were made public.

Dr. Charles Tator, a neurosurgeon at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre at Toronto Western Hospital, would like to see the NHL show more concern over concussions and take more preventative actions to help current and future players avoid short- and long-term brain injuries.

“Yes, there has been some change. Fighting is down, the number of enforcers is down, so some things have been done,” Tator told Jeff Blair and Stephen Brunt Monday on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “The awareness of the concussion problem has grown gigantically since 2011…there’s no parent now that can claim to be uninformed [about the risk of concussion in sports]. Similarly, there’s no NHL owner who can claim to be uninformed.

“I still feel in 2016… that more can be done than has been done.”

If it were up to Tator to make the game safer, he’d immediately make a handful of changes he feels would decrease the number of concussions.

“I would start probably with the equipment,” Tator said. “It’s crazy to have elbow pads and shoulder pads that are like sledgehammers. Why have the [NHL and other leaders in the hockey community] allowed those ridiculous elbow pads and shoulder pads to be perpetuated?

“Why have they allowed fighting to continue when somebody like Don Sanderson died as a result of a fight?”

Sanderson was a rookie with the Whitby Dunlops of the Ontario Hockey Association when he died in January of 2009. Sanderson hit his head on the ice during a fight on Dec. 12, 2008 and succumbed to his injuries three weeks later.

“Although it only accounts for maybe five per cent or 10 per cent [of concussions in hockey] you could get rid of those concussions overnight by saying fighting has ended in the NHL just the way some of the amateur leagues have ended fighting.”

Tator also believes there should be much harsher penalties and suspensions for hits from behind on unsuspecting players.

More than 100 former NHL players have joined a class-action lawsuit against the league, alleging it had the resources to better prevent head trauma, failed to properly warn players of such risks and promoted violent play that led to their injuries.


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Sportsnet.ca / Datsyuk responds to report that he’ll leave Red Wings early

LUKE FOX APRIL 4, 2016, 12:47 PM

Pavel Datsyuk did not exactly put Detroit Red Wings fans at ease Monday, when he addressed Elliotte Friedman’s report that he could return to Russia after this season.

“It’s hard to say. Never know what’s going to happen,” Datsyuk told reporters in Detroit.

The 37-year-old star forward maintained that he is focused on the present but did not shoot down the idea he’ll leave Detroit for the KHL this coming off-season. Datsyuk still has one year remaining on his contract, which carries a $7.5-million salary cap hit.

Detroit would be still on the hook for Datsyuk’s cap hit if he does head home for family reasons.

"Pavel is very determined to play and show his best game while helping, assisting and motivating his team into the playoffs and another Stanley Cup," Datsyuk's agent, Dan Milstein, wrote to the Detroit Free Press in an email.

"Pavel has one more year left on his NHL contract. We will sit down with Ken Holland at the conclusion of the season for our annual year-end meeting."

Holland, the Red Wings general manager, dismissed the report as rumours and reminded the Free Press that Datsyuk still has a year on his contract.

Datsyuk and Milstein are trying to finalize his first development hockey school in Detroit this summer, a program the talented forward had organized in Russia for years.

The Red Wings hold a slim lead over the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.


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TSN.CA / Injury won’t slow Stamkos speculation

By Gary Lawless

The Steven Stamkos noise will now resume. It won’t stop until he signs a new contract, whether that’s in Tampa, Buffalo, Toronto or elsewhere.

The news Stamkos will be out for the next one to three months as a result of a blood clot in his right arm brings his contractual status once again to the fore.

Stamkos’ decision to either stay in Tampa or test the free agent market remains among the biggest storylines of the coming off-season.

The landscape upon which this decision will be reached, however, has shifted.

The injury: Stamkos underwent surgery Monday to treat a type of Vascular Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (called Effort Thrombosis) near his right collarbone. Doctors called the operation a success and a full recovery is expected with a return to action predicted in one to three months. This is the second major health issue Stamkos has faced in his eight-year pro career, with the first being a broken leg suffered in the 2013-14 season.

Marketability: Will an injury of this type scare teams away from Stamkos? Will it reduce his price? It seems unlikely. Doctors have said surgery will fix Stamkos and this shouldn’t be a recurring issue. Blood clots have previously ended the careers of players such as Pascal Dupuis and Tomas Vokoun, while others such as Tomas Fleischmann have successfully returned to the NHL.

What does Stamkos want? Another injury and another notice served that he’s not invincible might provide Stamkos with pause for reflection. Maybe eight years and $64 million in Tampa, plus the life he currently knows and the opportunity to chase a championship in the near future becomes more attractive. Or maybe he’s always wanted to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and that urge becomes more insistent. Or maybe he determines playing in Buffalo allows him to be close to family in Toronto minus all the headaches that come along with playing in the centre of the hockey universe. At some point, making $8 million in Tampa or $11 million somewhere else comes down to how many pairs of jeans can one buy? Or how many sports cars? You get the point; Stamkos is going to earn more money than he can spend. So, is this about an ego contract where he gets paid more than just about everyone else in the NHL, or is it about best positioning himself to achieve the things he really wants in life? Or maybe they’re the same thing, which only Stamkos can determine.

Life is short, although pro athletes often don’t see this until their careers begin to wind down. Missing a playoff run and having doctors talk about your long-term health can get a player thinking about what’s most important. How this injury psychologically affects Stamkos may play a role in his decision-making process.

What do the Lightning want? They want Stamkos back but at a rate that gives the team the flexibility needed to deal with nine players having their contracts end this summer and six more at the conclusion of next season.

“Our hope is, No. 1, he comes back and plays this year,” Lightning GM Steve Yzerman said Saturday. “And, again, we want Stammer to remain with the Tampa Bay Lightning and we’re hoping at the right time we can make that happen.”

Yzerman has a Stanley Cup contender on his hands. Stamkos is a key piece in Tampa but Yzerman can’t let signing one player preclude the retention of a number of others. The Lightning are a cap team with a host of young players coming of contractual age. Lots of players will want raises, not just Stamkos. The $10 million per season mark players such as Anze Kopitar, Patrick Kane and Sidney Crosby will soon eclipse doesn’t appear to be in the cards for Stamkos if he elects to remain in Tampa.

How will Stamkos' health affect Lightning, UFA status?

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie explains what Steven Stamkos' absence due to a blood clot will do to the Lightning's Stanley Cup hopes and his pending UFA status.

Value: Stamkos is just 26 years old and with 36 goals and 64 points in 77 games this season, he can still produce. He broke his leg during the

2013-14 season, returning to play with 20 games left on the schedule. Since then, he’s played in 179 games, scoring 90 goals and 153 points which tie him for 11th in the NHL over that span. He’s one of the league’s best players will be highly sought after if he goes to free agency. There will be teams willing to give him more than $10 million per season for the maximum of seven years.

What if Tampa gets bounced fast? If the Lightning are one and done without their captain and scoring leader, Yzerman might be convinced he needs the player more than he thought and he gins up his offer.

What if Tampa goes deep? For Yzerman, this is all about giving his organization the best opportunity to stay on top for the longest period of time to give them multiple chances to try and win a Stanley Cup. Yzerman is going to be in evaluation mode and if his team goes three rounds without Stamkos in the lineup, he’ll have another piece of information to consider.

What if Drouin flourishes? Former third-overall pick Jonathan Drouin demanded a trade from the Lightning earlier this season, mostly based on a lack of opportunity. Well, the Stamkos injury could change all that if Drouin is recalled and steps in to provide an answer. The largest on-ice aspect the Lightning will miss with Stamkos gone is his scoring. It’s a lot to expect Drouin to fill that void. How he performs with Stamkos out, however, could provide Yzerman with another piece of valuable intel to chew on.

TSN.CA LOADED: 04.05.2016

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TSN.CA / Statistically Speaking: Kane hits 100

By Scott Cullen

Patrick Kane hits 100; Barkov, Simmonds, Saad, fantasy and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking.

HEROS

Patrick Kane – The league’s leading scorer had a hat trick, and added an assist in Sunday’s 6-4 win over Boston, after a goal and an assist in Friday’s 5-4 OT win at Winnipeg. He has 11 points (5 G, 6 A) in the past nine games, giving him 100 points on the season.

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Aleksander Barkov – Florida’s first-line centre scored two goals and added two assists in Saturday’s 4-3 win over Montreal. He has nine points (3 G, 6 A) during a five-game point streak.

Wayne Simmonds – The Flyers winger put up two goals and an assist in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Ottawa then added a goal in Sunday’s 6-2 loss at Pittsburgh, giving him 17 points (8 G, 9 A) in the past 18 games. It is the fourth straight full season (excluding 2012-2013 lockout) that Simmonds has scored at least 28 goals.

Brandon Saad – With a hat trick in Saturday’s 5-1 win at Carolina, the Blue Jackets winger has seven points (4 G, 3 A) in the past six games and is up to 28 goals in his first season with Columbus.

ZEROS

David Jones – The Wild winger had a rough weekend, stuck in his own end (6 for, 28 against, 17.7 SAT%) in losses at Detroit and Winnipeg. It was a tough weekend for Wild winger Nino Niederreiter, too, as he failed to generate a shot attempt in more than 29 minutes of ice time.

Sticking with the Wild, Charlie Coyle had one shot attempt in two games and has no shots goal in nearly 57 minutes over the past three games – all since getting clubbed in the head by Blackhawks D Duncan Keith.

Tyson Barrie – Colorado’s playmaking blueliner spent his weekend in the defensive zone, which isn’t altogether unusual for the Avalanche. In losses to Washington and St. Louis, Barrie had 24.6% possession (14 for, 43 against).

Tuukka Rask – Boston’s netminder has been getting shelled. He allowed five goals on 30 shots Friday at St. Louis then four goals on 22 shots, in 22 minutes, before getting pulled in Sunday’s 6-4 loss at Chicago. He has a .880 save percentage in his past eight games.

Henrik Lundqvist – Was pulled from the Rangers' net after allowing three goals on nine shots in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Buffalo. He has a .899 save percentage in his past 10 games.

Steven Stamkos finished his regular season with 36 goals, scoring seven in his last nine games.

VITAL SIGNS

Steven Stamkos – In a stunning development, Tampa Bay’s star centre will be out for one-to-three months after it was revealed he had blood clots in his arm.

Marc-Andre Fleury – Pittsburgh’s starting goaltender is out indefinitely after suffering his second concussion of the season. Rookie Matt Murray takes over as the Penguins’ starter.

Nicklas Backstrom – Washington’s premier pivot missed both games over the weekend due to an upper-body injury.

Cory Schneider – Stopped 33 of 35 shots in Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Tampa Bay, his first game in more than four weeks after he suffered a lower-body injury.

Jake Allen – St. Louis’ goaltender stopped all 11 shots he faced in Colorado Sunday before suffering a lower-body injury.

Seth Griffith – The Bruins called up the 23-year-old winger who has been having a terrific season in the AHL, putting up 67 points (22 G, 45 A) and a plus-12 rating in 51 games for Providence.

Daniel Carr – Returned to the Habs lineup Saturday at Florida, playing his first game since suffering a knee injury January 25. The 24-year-old rookie has contributed eight points (5 G, 3 A) in 20 games.

Kevan Miller – The Bruins blueliner was injured Friday, suffering a lower-body injury at St. Louis.

Nikita Zadorov – Colorado's towering defenceman was run over by Capitals RW Tom Wilson Friday, and suffered a concussion.

FIRSTS

Oskar Sundqvist – Drafted by the Penguins in the third round of the 2012 Draft, the 22-year-old centre scored his first career goal, shorthanded, in his 14th career game, a 5-0 win at the Islanders.

Sonny Milano – The 16th pick in the 2014 Draft made his debut for Columbus last week. He had 27 points (12 G, 15 A) and a plus-10 rating in 48 AHL games before getting promoted.

Brett Lernout – A third-round pick of the Canadiens in 2014, the 20-year-old defenceman made his NHL debut Saturday at Florida, though he left with an injury after playing just 6:30. The first-year pro had 12 points (2 G, 10 A) and a minus-4 rating in 69 games for St. John’s in the AHL. With Lernout hurt, Ryan Johnston has been called up from St. John’s, where the undrafted 24-year-old out of Colgate had no goals and nine assists, with a minus-18 rating, in 34 games.

Ben Harpur – Injuries on the Senators blueline created an opportunity for Harpur, a 21-year-old who has a fourth-round pick in 2013. The 6-foot-6 defender had five points (1 G, 4 A) and a minus-10 rating in 43 AHL games.

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Patrice Bergeron has a career-high 32 goals to go with typically stellar possession stats, including 55.5 CF%.

SHORT SHIFTS

Ducks C Ryan Kesler scored twice in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Dallas, and has 14 points (6 G, 8 A) in the past 10 games…Bruins C Patrice Bergeron put up two goals and an assist in Sunday’s 6-4 loss at Chicago, and has six points (4 G, 2 A) in the past six games…Bruins D Torey Krug chipped in two assists and has five assists in the past four games…Penguins RW Eric Fehr scored two goals in Sunday’s 6-2 win over Philadelphia, and has five points (3 G, 2 A) in the past six games…Penguins D Kris Letang added a pair of assists, and has nine points (2 G, 7 A) during a six-game point streak…Blues C David Backes produced a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 5-1 win at Colorado, and has six points (2 G, 4 A) in the past four games…Blues RW Vladimir Tarasenko had two assists at Colorado, giving him 14 points (6 G, 8 A) in the past 12 games.

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Jonathan Huberdeau has a career-high 19 goals and 56 points.

Panthers LW Jonathan Huberdeau contributed a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 4-3 win vs. Montreal, giving him eight points (6 G, 2 A) during a five-game point streak…Penguins C Matt Cullen had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 5-0 win at Brooklyn and two more assists in Sunday’s 6-2 win vs. Philadelphia, giving him eight points (3 G, 5 A) in the past eight games…Penguins rookie RW Tom Kuhnhackl picked up a goal and an assist at the Islanders, and has seven points (3 G, 4 A) in the past seven games…Senators LW Mike Hoffman had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 3-2 loss at Philadelphia, giving him 10 points (3 G, 7 A) in his past 10 games…Flyers LW Brayden Schenn had a pair of assists, and has 26 points (10 G, 16 A) in the past 23 games…Red Wings D Mike Green picked up a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Toronto; he has six points (3 G, 3 A) in the past six games…Maple Leafs rookie C William Nylander produced a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Detroit, and has seven points (3 G, 4 A) in the past eight games…Lightning D Victor Hedman delivered a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 3-1 win over New Jersey, giving him nine points (3 G, 6 A) in the past eight games…Lightning RW Nikita Kucherov tallied a goal and two assists, and has 15 points (6 G, 9 A) in the past 14 games…Sabres C Ryan O’Reilly scored twice in Saturday’s 4-3 win at the Rangers; he has 18 points (3 G, 15 A) in his past 18 games…Sharks LW Tomas Hertl scored a pair of goals in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win at Nashville; he has 10 points (5 G, 5 A) in the past 12 games...Hertl’s goals were assisted by Joe Thornton, who has 62 points (14 G, 48 A) in his past 50 games…Flames C Mikael Backlund put up two goals and an assist in Saturday’s 5-0 win at Edmonton. He had no points in his previous eight games…Flames RW Joe Colborne had a goal and an assist at Edmonton, giving him 12 points (6 G, 6 A) in the past 11 games…Flames LW Johnny Gaudreau scored twice, and also has 12 points (6 G, 6 A) in the past 11 games…Flames C Sean Monahan had two assists, giving him 16 points (6 G, 10 A) in the past 13 games…Coyotes C Max Domi had a pair of assists in Saturday’s 3-0 win vs. Washington, and has six points (1 G, 5 A) in the past six games.

Wild LW Zach Parise had a couple of assists in Friday’s 3-2 loss at Detroit, and another in Sunday’s 5-1 loss at Winnipeg. He has 11 points (6 G, 5 A) in the past seven games…Red Wings C Riley Sheahan contributed a goal and an assist in Friday’s 3-2 win over Minnesota, and has six points (4 G, 2 A) in the past six games…Bruins C David Krejci put up two goals and two assists in Friday’s 6-5 win at St. Louis, and added an assist at Chicago Sunday; he has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in the past four games…Blues RW Troy Brouwer earned two assists against Boston and chipped in a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 5-1 win at Colorado. He has 12 points (4 G, 8 A) in the past 10 games…Blues C Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist vs. Boston and an assist at Colorado Sunday, giving him 16 points (4 G, 13 A) in the past 12 games…Jets C Mark Scheifele had a pair of assists in Friday’s 5-4 OT loss to Chicago and a goal in Sunday's 5-1 win over Minnesota. He has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) during a seven-game point streak…Jets RW Blake Wheeler put up two goals and an assist against Chicago plus a goal against Minnesota, and has 11 points (5 G, 6 A) during an eight-game point streak…Canucks C Bo Horvat produced a goal and an assist in Friday’s 3-2 win at Anaheim, giving him five points (3 G, 2 A) in the past six games.

Ducks G John Gibson stopped 24 of 25 shots in Sunday’s 3-1 win against Dallas, and has a .928 save percentage in his past 11 games…Starting in place of an injured Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins G Matt Murray posted a 24-save shutout at the Islanders Saturday and saved 28 of 30 shots in Sunday’s 6-2 win against Philadelphia, raising his save percentage to .933 in 10 games…Stars G Kari Lehtonen turned away 24 of 26 shots in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Los Angeles, giving him a .938 save percentage in his past five starts…Lightning G Ben Bishop had 25 saves on 26 shots in Saturday’s 3-1 win against New Jersey. He has a .946 save percentage in his past 16 games…Sharks G James Reimer had 28 saves on 30 shots in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win at Nashville; he has a .927 save percentage in seven starts for San Jose…Predators G Carter Hutton stopped 38 of 40 shots in the loss, and has a .937 save percentage in his past 10 games…Flames G Joni Ortio recorded a 28-save shutout at Edmonton, and has a .921 save percentage in his past 12 games…Coyotes G Mike Smith stopped all 31 shots that he faced in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Washington, and has a .962 save percentage in seven games since returning from injury…Canucks G Jacob Markstrom stopped 34 of 36 shots in Friday’s 3-2 win at Anaheim, and has a .923 save percentage in his past eight starts.

FANTASY FOCUS

If you’re in championship mode and still need help, here are some defencemen getting added late in TSN leagues:

Niklas Hjalmarsson – He doesn’t score much – nine assists in the past 24 games – but with Duncan Keith out he’s playing a lot, averaging 25:24 time on ice over the past three games. Owned: 40.7%

Alexei Emelin – With so many injuries, Montreal is going with a patchwork defence, which means lots of ice for Emelin, who has three assists in the past three games and has averaged 25:39 time on ice over the past 10. Owned: 9.5%

Justin Schultz – He’s playing a lesser role (14:10 per game) in Pittsburgh, but it’s working for him, as Schultz has four assists in the past three games. Owned: 19.7%


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TSN.CA / Statistically Speaking: Panarin deserves Calder

By Scott Cullen

Chicago Blackhawks rookie left winger Artemi Panarin had quite a weekend, tallying two goals and two assists in Friday’s 5-4 overtime win at Winnipeg before adding a goal and three assists in Sunday’s 6-4 win over Boston.

It was the kind of performance that should cement his status as the winner of the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.

While there are many quality candidates in this year’s rookie class, and cases have been made for Shayne Gostisbehere and Connor McDavid, the search ends with Panarin.

There are some reasons that voters may have looked elsewhere. First of all, he’s a 24-year-old who played six seasons in the KHL. If Panarin was 26 or the KHL was deemed a pro league in the way that the WHA was way back when, then Panarin would not be Calder eligible. However, neither situation applies in this case, since Panarin’s previous experience is not considered professional by the NHL (whether that's correct or not can be debated) and he’s under the age limit that was imposed after 31-year-old Russian winger Sergei Makarov won the Calder Trophy in 1989-1990.

Panarin also benefits from playing with league-leading scorer Patrick Kane. That’s undeniable, because Panarin has performed much better with Kane than with any other Blackhawks (though it’s a relatively small sample of ice time without No. 88), but Kane is also having the best year of his career alongside Panarin, so it’s hard to paint this as a one-way benefit.

Know this: Panarin has scored 72 points (and still has three games remaining). Over the past 20 seasons, here is the list of rookies that have scored at least 70 points:

ROOKIES WITH MORE THAN 70 POINTS SINCE 1995-1996

PLAYER TEAM SEASON GP G A PTS

Alex Ovechkin* Washington 2005-2006 81 52 54 106

Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh 2005-2006 81 39 63 102

Evgeni Malkin* Pittsburgh 2006-2007 78 33 52 85

Paul Stastny Colorado 2006-2007 82 28 50 78

Patrick Kane* Chicago 2007-2008 82 21 51 72

Artemi Panarin Chicago 2015-2016 77 28 44 72

Scott Gomez* New Jersey 1999-2000 82 19 51 70

* - won Calder Trophy

The last time that a player led rookies in scoring with more than 70 points and didn’t win the Calder was in 1993-1994, when Philadelphia’s Mikael Renberg scored 82 points, but fell behind Martin Brodeur and Jason Arnott in the voting.

Snubbing Panarin in a year in which he’s currently 20 points ahead of the field in rookie scoring requires a massive leap, particularly when the two best alternatives may be players that have played partial seasons.

Gostisbehere has been terrific for Philadelphia, but there’s some good fortune at play here, too. He’s scored on 11.3% of his shots and I have no problem rewarding the resulting production when it comes to a single-season award, but recognize that it colours our perception of his play. Gostisbehere is a negative relative possession player and, because he started the season in the AHL, can max out at 64 games played.

McDavid is unequivocally the best of the rookies, but he has not had the best rookie season, because he missed three months with a broken collarbone. Sometimes, them's the breaks.

By way of comparison, Penguins centre Sidney Crosby was, unequivocally, the best player in the game during the 2010-2011 season, leading the league in goals per game and points per game by a wide margin.

The only problem: Crosby was limited to playing just 41 games because of concussions. Where did Crosby, the best player on the planet, finish in the MVP vote that year? 20th.

McDavid potentially playing four more games is not enough justification to warrant winning rookie of the year over qualified full-season candidates. If there wasn't a Panarin, running away with the rookie scoring race, then maybe, but McDavid will have to make do with the Art Ross and Hart Trophies that he’s likely to receive over the course of his career.


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TSN.CA / #MondayMustRead: Roy puts Avs’ core under the microscope

By Frank Seravalli

Matt Duchene became the first Colorado Avalanche player to hit the 30-goal plateau in nearly a decade on Sunday night, since current general manager Joe Sakic did it in 2006-07.

But Duchene’s exuberant celebration put the entire Avalanche core under Sakic’s microscope, if coach Patrick Roy’s blunt criticism is any indication.

Roy blasted Duchene’s celebration of a meaningless goal late in Sunday night’s 5-1 loss to St. Louis, which all but eliminated the Avalanche from Stanley Cup playoff contention. Duchene, 25, jumped and threw his hands in the air after his redirection hit the back of the net.

His teammates were apparently well aware the milestone was on the horizon, since Mikkel Boedker immediately reached down to collect the puck.

One problem: the Avs were down 4-0 with 4:14 left in a make-or-break game.

“The thing I have a bit of a hard time with is the reaction of Dutchy after he scores,” Roy told the Denver Post. “It’s a 4-0 goal. Big cheer. Are you kidding me? What is that? I mean, it’s not the reflect we want from our guys.”

Roy then went on to rip the “core” of the Avalanche, which includes Duchene.

“I think we have some good leadership, but not enough from our core,” Roy told the Post. “We need more from these guys. These guys need to prove to us that they’re capable of carrying this team.

Was Roy right to criticize Duchene?

Patrick Roy was critical of Matt Duchene's goal celebration on his 30th of the season and TH2N discusses whether or not the Avalanche head coach was right to criticize.

“When Washington needs a goal, they turn to [Alex] Ovechkin. When Pittsburgh needs a goal, they turn to [Sidney] Crosby. Their core players are the ones. Our core players are having a hard time carrying this team. That’s the bottom line. I’m sorry. But I mean, I can look at myself in the mirror, and we can all look at ourselves in the mirror, but at the end of the day, the core has to be our best players.”

Roy’s own job security has been come under public fire with Colorado’s high-risk, high-reward style of play. But Roy and Sakic have an atypical coach-manager relationship in that Roy has a hand in many player personnel decisions. That means his words hold more weight than most. It isn’t just bluster.

Duchene played down the goal in his post-game media availability, but that occurred prior to Roy’s comments. The Avalanche trail Minnesota, who has lost three straight games, by five points for the final Western Conference playoff spot with just three games to play.

“You play and you try and score goals for the playoffs,” Duchene told the Denver Post. “Everyone just cares about who is in the playoffs. That’s all we care about, that’s all I care about. Obviously, it’s a nice milestone, but I’m not thinking about that at all right now. I’m just very disappointed about this loss tonight.”

Colorado will miss the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, proving 2013-14’s 112-point campaign was an aberration. Duchene paced the Avs with 70 points as a 23-year-old that year and helped Team Canada to a gold medal in Sochi.

Similar criticism of the Oilers’ core, highlighted by the pointed words of coach Todd McLellan after Saturday’s drubbing, has led to rampant speculation that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle or even Taylor Hall could join Nail Yakupov on the trade block this summer.

Duchene was already linked to trade talk in November. TSN reported the Ottawa Senators were among the teams to investigate Duchene’s availability then, something Sakic quickly denied.

There would be no shortage of interest if Duchene were to hit the market this summer. He has three years remaining at a manageable $6 million per season. Coincidence or not, having his name in November’s rumour mill served as the turning point for Duchene’s season. Duchene has 26

goals and 25 assists for 51 points in 59 games since he was mentioned on Insider Trading.

Surgeons will likely remove Steven Stamkos’ top rib on his right side today to alleviate pressure that caused a blood clot to form near his collarbone. “It isn’t a rib like you’d think of, it is much smaller, more like the size of an index finger,” explained Dr. Thomas Forbes, vascular surgeon at Toronto’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. Forbes said that rib, which is bonded by the collarbone, constricts blood flow to the vein and can cause clotting with trauma or repetitive motion, such as raising your arms above your head. It isn’t easy to pinpoint a timeline for Stamkos’ return; the Lightning said between one and three months. “Normal recovery for range of motion and exercise would be about one month from just the surgery alone,” Dr. Forbes said. “Doctors would then recommend some period of time on blood thinners, perhaps one month, which also complicates the timeline.” NHL players are not permitted to play games while on blood-thinning medication, as Chicago’s Kimmo Timonen revealed last year. A conservative doctor would peg a return to the ice in two months. Will Tampa Bay still be playing in early June?

The $70-million (or more) question potential suitors will want to know before betting on Stamkos this summer: How likely are these clots to re-occur? The answer is not likely. It isn’t possible to know Stamkos’ complete medical history, but surgeons removing his rib will likely prevent a clot from forming there again. The doctor performing Stamkos’ surgery at Tampa General Hospital explained that vein as located “right in a nutcracker jaw.” With the rib removed, space is no longer an issue. Dr. Forbes said blood clots form for three reasons: sluggish blood flow (sitting/laying for long periods of time), trauma, and people who inherit hypercoagulable dispositions hereditarily. Timonen, for instance, found a protein deficiency that traced back to his mother, which made him susceptible to clotting. Barring an unreported hereditary condition, this is likely to be a one-time injury for Stamkos, not career impeding.

While romantics wax poetic about the cozy dump that is Rexall Place before Wednesday’s final home game, I can’t help but think of two potential trades that would have changed the course of the Oilers’ last decade. The statute of limitations has long since expired on both. The first: a 2003 deal agreed to in principal - Mike Comrie to Anaheim in exchange for prospect Corey Perry and a first-round pick. It fell apart because GM Kevin Lowe demanded Comrie re-pay $2.5 million in rookie bonuses to “top up” the deal. The other: Lowe fished around in both Chicago and Florida to try and find a new home for Chris Pronger before settling on Anaheim. His offer to Florida: Jay Bouwmeester and a No. 1 pick (Michael Frolik). His offer to Chicago: Brent Seabrook and a No. 1 pick (Jonathan Toews). Neither would bite. The only other deal that was close was a package with Los Angeles built around Alexander Frolov and Lubomir Visnovsky. Lowe picked Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, two first-round picks (eventually Riley Nash ‘07 and Jordan Eberle ’08) and a second-round pick (traded to Islanders, became Travis Hamonic). Hard to fault Lowe on that second one; his hubris prevented Perry from coming to Edmonton. Alas, the last playoff game played in the old Northlands Coliseum was June 17, 2006, Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final, one decade ago.

Four burning questions on the second-to-last Monday before the playoffs:

Is Marc Bergevin still beholden to Michel Therrien if Claude Julien is available this summer? Julien would be a home run for the Habs. It seems ever more the possibility with the Bruins slinking when games matter most for the second year in a row. For now, Boston can still guarantee a playoff berth by winning out.

Who would play Bergevin in the John Scott movie? How about Jack Huston? Bergevin is bound to play some sort of role, with Scott’s season receiving a Hollywood ending after his re-call by the Canadiens on Sunday. All-Star MVP Scott never complained about his banishment to St. John’s - professional hockey’s polar opposite from life in Arizona - and waited for another shot at the NHL level that he wasn’t sure would ever come.

Would the Flyers consider using defenceman Ivan Provorov for the playoffs? His Brandon Wheat Kings are back in control of their first-round WHL playoff series with Edmonton after a win on Sunday, but an upset seemed plausible. Scouts say Provorov, 19, could be every bit as much of a game-changer as Shayne Gostisbehere. He led all WHL defencemen with 73 points in 62 regular season contests. It’s only tempting if his Wheat Kings are eliminated. The Flyers would have a nine-game trial run at their disposal without burning a year off his entry-level deal, like the Flames did with Sam Bennett during last year’s playoffs.

Are the Stars re-thinking their move to the Central Division? It is mayhem on a nightly basis. We are guaranteed to have one of Dallas, St. Louis or Chicago - three bona fide Stanley Cup contenders - eliminated in the first round. Finishing first in the division, and avoiding either one of those teams in the opening round, is crucial this week.

Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman may be watching the NHL’s scoring leaderboard more than the standings this week. That’s because forward Artemi Panarin can earn a $1.725 million bonus by finishing among the Top 10 forwards in league scoring, according to GeneralFanager.com. Panarin, 24, momentarily jumped to ninth with his four-point effort Sunday afternoon, but fell back to 12th when the day’s games ended. The Bread Man has eight points in two games in April so far. He can max out at $2.775 million in bonuses. Since the Hawks are on track to finish with just $156,442 in space on the $71.4 million cap, they would start out with an “overage” of more than $2.4 million on next season’s cap. There goes any potential salary cap increase.

Happy trails to longtime linesmen Brad Lazarowich and Andy McElman and referee Greg Kimmerly. Lazarowich and McElman both called it a career on Sunday after 3,400 combined NHL games. Lazarowich, 53, was on pace to hit 2,000 games before an injury sidelined him for 13 weeks this year. He finished with 1,971 games and was the NHL’s active leader among linesmen. McElman, 54, settled on the nice round number of 1,500. He was one of 14 linesmen picked for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Kimmerly, who was an official since 1993-94, worked is last game on Saturday in T

Finally, give a read to World Junior hero Stefan Legein’s new blog at The Hockey News. He doesn’t pull any punches in describing his downward spiral, which included stepping away from the game at 19 in 2008 and dependency on prescription drugs. It is raw, emotional, and biting - a poignant reminder that the players we cover battle demons like us all.


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