Post on 17-Aug-2020
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
Hurricanes slug it out with Panthers, win
3-2 in OT
Frustration and passion fuse together while Ward keeps it all
together
By Peter Koutroumpis
editor@trianglesportsnet.com
RALEIGH, N.C. – It was the melding of so many little things
that caused the Carolina Hurricanes to unleash an all-out
onslaught against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena on
Saturday night.
Power play goals from Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner in
regulation preceded Noah Hanifin’s game-winner in overtime
that gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 win.
Goaltender Cam Ward recorded his 299th career win with a
37-save performance, limiting goals to only Florida’s Nick
Bjugstad and Aleksander Barkov.
Carolina peppered Panthers netminder James Reimer with
19 shots during the first period and 47 total, including seven
in overtime.
“I thought it was a competitive game; I thought both teams
played very hard,” Carolina head coach Bill Peters said.
“I thought there was a lot of passion in the game and makes
for a better hockey game for everybody involved.”
While it was a tight-checking, low-scoring affair, indicative of
both teams’ style of play, the x-factor for the Hurricanes was
the cathartic release of frustration – a departure from their
usual passive-aggressive demeanor.
While dominating play and posting the first goal on
Lindholm’s tip-in off a Sebastian Aho feed from the left circle
at 14:02 in the first, a 1-0 lead didn’t present much comfort.
Coming off a blowout loss to the New York Rangers at
Madison Square Garden the night before, and having won
just one out of its last five games, Carolina received many
cheap shots from the Panthers that eventually had to be
dealt with.
Sure, Florida paid the price for it during three man-down
sequences in the period with Lindholm connecting on one of
them for his seventh of the season, but one too many
nudges from forward Jared McCann sent Carolina’s Brock
McGinn over the edge.
The two squared off in the corner to Reimer’s right and
infused some explosive energy in the building as 14,246 in
attendance looked on.
Both earned fighting majors, with McGinn’s the first 5-minute
penalty assessed to the Hurricanes in 25 games this season.
The cheap shots continued in the second period as Panthers
defenseman Mike Matheson pushed and mauled Skinner
with no one in the immediate vicinity to help him.
Skinner took matters into his own hands and face-washed
Matheson and earned a double-minor for roughing while co-
captain Justin Faulk eventually joined him in the box for
engaging Michael Haley into the fray as well.
A few minutes later, a hard, solid shoulder-on-shoulder hit
from the Hurricanes’ Joakim Nordstrom rocked Florida
assistant captain Vincent Trocheck and sent his helmet flying
in the air.
Yet another dance card assembled amongst the players on
the ice, but no one took it further than tangling with and
chirping at one another.
Still leading 1-0, and being outshot by a 20-11 margin,
Carolina’s resistance to the Panthers’ bullying tactics
reached another crescendo with 5:42 remaining in the period
as Hanifin squared off with Florida captain Derek MacKenzie.
The young Hurricanes D-man held his own, tying the veteran
up to slow his punches enough to eventually get a few in
before landing on top of him.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
The crowd, many dressed in Star Wars-themed garb as it
was Star Wars night after all, showed its appreciation.
“It was a big deal,” Ward said.
“Obviously, they were trying to engage in that, thinking that
were going to be able to push us around, and we showed
that we had a lot of pushback. I’m old school, I like that sort
of thing. I like the wolfpack mentality. I think it’s important
that it’s still in the game; not necessarily fighting, but just
sticking up for one another and being there to answer the
bell. I mean Hanifin got in a fight, that’s awesome. Kudos to
him for showing the ‘cojones’ (to do so).”
Carolina gave up a goal early in the third as Bjugstad tallied
his sixth of the season at 4:52 before Skinner roofed a shot
in close over Reimer’s trapper-side shoulder just under four
minutes later to score his team-leading 10th.
Holding on to a 2-1 lead, the Hurricanes’ grip loosened after
10 minutes and Barkov tied it up again with 1:56 remaining –
a marker that eventually sent the contest into overtime.
Carolina maintained puck possession for much of the five-
minute period with Reimer remaining steady in facing six
shots before Hanifin’s rebound put-back with two seconds
left decided it.
“It was a great pass by Lindy,” Hanifin said.
“There wasn’t a lot of time left. I just hopped over the bench,
Lindy found me, and I got lucky on the rebound. It was good
execution.”
Along with his first career fight, the Boston-area native tallied
his first game-winner of the season, and gave Carolina a
much-needed win at home before heading on the road for 10
of its next 15 games in December.
“Yeah, it was a real hard-fought game,” Hanifin concluded.
“Obviously, last night was tough and we wanted to rebound
and show some energy and character, and we did that.”
Notables: With two power-play goals on the night, the
Hurricanes have scored six power-play goals in their last
seven games (11/19-12/2: 6-for-24, 25%). They are 3-0-0 in
games when they have scored two power-play goals this
season…Lindholm posted his second multi-point game of the
season, and is tied for first on the team in power play goals
(3). He also paced Carolina in faceoff win-percentage (71%),
winning 5-of-7 faceoffs throughout…Derek Ryan notched his
eighth assist of the season on Skinner’s goal, and has
recorded four points in his last five games (11/24-12/2: 1g,
3a).
Hanifin scores late in OT to lift Hurricanes
past Panthers
By MIKE POTTER, Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. — After Carolina twice gave up one-goal
leads in a brawl-filled game against Florida, the Hurricanes'
last goal gave the Panthers no chance to respond.
Noah Hanifin scored from the right doorstep on a pass by
Elias Lindholm with 2 seconds left in overtime, giving the
Hurricanes a 3-2 victory on Saturday night.
"It was a great pass by Lindy," Hanifin said. "I don't think
there was a lot of time left. I hopped over the bench, Lindy
found me, and he made a great pass. There was a lot of
good execution there."
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
Lindholm and Jeff Skinner scored Carolina's regulation
goals, while Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist and
Nick Bjugstad scored a goal for Florida.
"Both teams played very hard and there was a lot of passion
in that game," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "It makes it
fun. There was a lot of skill on both sides. They weren't
staged fights for the most part. It was just guys competing,
and that's what happens."
Carolina goalie Cam Ward had 37 saves for his 299th career
win — all with the Hurricanes — while James Reimer
stopped 44. Carolina bounced back after a 5-1 loss to the
Rangers on Friday night.
"This was huge," Ward said. "We had a tough night in New
York, and we got home late. It was a gutsy effort, and the
energy in the building was outstanding tonight."
The teams combined for 36 minutes of fighting and roughing
penalties.
"Hopefully we can use that situation to bring us together a
little bit," Skinner said. "It was physical early, and guys did a
good job sticking up for each other."
Carolina outshot the visitors 18-4 in the first period, courtesy
of three minor penalties against Florida.
The Hurricanes broke through on their third power play,
when Lindholm beat Reimer from the left circle on assists
from Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen.
"I didn't like our start," Florida coach Bob Boughner said.
"We took too many penalties and then spent too much time
in our zone. Reimer was good and gave us a chance to win.
It was a heartbreaker with 2 seconds to go."
The hostilities started when Brock McGinn and Florida's
Jared McCann fought in the final minute of the period.
Several players got into a skirmish at 7:42 of the second,
with Skinner getting four minutes for roughing while
teammate Justin Faulk got two minutes. Florida's Mike
Matheson and Micheal Haley received two minutes each. At
9:01, Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau got two minutes and
joined the group in the boxes.
Hanifin and the Panthers' Derek MacKenzie fought later in
the second.
Florida tied the score nearly 5 minutes into the third, when
Bjugstad picked up a loose puck in the crease and slid it past
Ward with Barkov on the primary helper.
Carolina came back with a power-play goal 3 minutes later,
with Skinner beating Reimer high.
Barkov tied it again in a 6-on-5 at with 1:56 left in regulation.
NOTES: Carolina won the teams' first meeting 3-1 on Nov. 7.
... Brock McGinn and Florida LW Jamie McGinn are brothers.
... Florida RW Radim Vrbata was a Hurricane from 2003-05.
... Carolina's healthy scratches were LW Phillip Di Giuseppe
and D Klas Dahlbeck. ... LW Connor Brickley, LW Henrik
Haapala and D Mackenzie Weggar were healthy extras for
Florida. ... The teams' final meeting of the season will be on
April 2 in Florida.
UP NEXT
Panthers: Start a three-game homestand on Monday night
against the New York Islanders.
Hurricanes: Visit Vancouver on Tuesday night in the opener
of a six-game trip.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
Recap: Canes Down Panthers in OT
Hanifin scores game-winner with two seconds left in overtime
by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / CarolinaHurricanes.com
Despite seeing their one-goal lead disappear late in the third
period, the Carolina Hurricanes fought back in overtime to
defeat the Florida Panthers, 3-2.
Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner tallied goals in regulation for
the Canes, while Noah Hanifin scored the game-winner with
just two seconds left in overtime.
Here are five takeaways from an entertaining Saturday night
at the rink.
One
After a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Friday night, the
Hurricanes were looking to bounce back. They did so with
one of their feistiest efforts of the season.
"It was a real hard-fought game. Last night was tough,"
Hanifin said. "We wanted to rebound and show some
chemistry and character, and I think we did that."
"It's a good win. Guys came together and stuck up for one
another," Skinner said. "Those always feel a little bit more
satisfying. There was a little bit more emotion in the game,
and everyone was a little bit more invested physically and
emotionally."
"I thought it was a competitive game. I thought both teams
played very hard," head coach Bill Peters said. "I thought
there was a lot of passion in the game, which makes for a
better hockey game for everybody involved."
Two
Time was ticking down in overtime, the Hurricanes' eighth
period of extra hockey this season. The pace was frantic.
The puck worked its way around the boards to Lindholm,
who fielded it, turned and found Hanifin open in the middle of
the ice. Hanifin got a shot off that James Reimer stopped,
but he followed up his own rebound to pot the game-winning
goal with just two seconds remaining in overtime.
"It was a great pass by Lindy. I don't think there was a lot of
time left," Hanifin said. "I just hopped over the bench, and
Lindy found me with a great pass. I got a lucky rebound
there. Good execution."
Hanifin now has 14 points (5g, 9a) on the season, which
leads team defensemen in scoring.
"There's an unbelievable upside, and the ceiling is very high
for him," Peters said. "Hani's got lots of confidence, and he's
playing well."
Three
Before tonight, Skinner had gone without a goal in the last
eight games. As goal scorers tend to do, though, he came up
big when the Hurricanes needed him most tonight.
With the Hurricanes tied at one in the third period and the
team on the power play, Derek Ryan fed Skinner down low.
Skinner dangled and flipped the puck over Reimer for his
team-leading 10th goal of the season.
"That's elite," Peters said. "He hunts pucks, he stays on
pucks and he's hungry to score."
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
"We're looking for a big play at a big moment," Skinner said.
"It's been a while for me personally. And the situation of the
game caused for a little more excitement on my end."
Four
This was one of the most physical, chippiest Canes games in
recent memory (long live the Southeast Division), making it
all the more fun to take in - and compete in, as well.
"It was pretty scrappy. We had a lot of fun," Hanifin said. "It
was a fun game. It was a huge two points for us."
"It was physical early. Guys did a good job sticking up for
one another. That's nice to see," Skinner said. "Sometimes
games will be like that. It's a good job by guys responding
and getting a win in that type of game."
"I thought it was just guys competing," Peters said. "That's
what happens sometimes when you're pushing and shoving,
trying to gain every inch possible."
Mounting tensions boiled over in the first period when Brock
McGinn dropped the gloves with Jared McCann. McGinn
threw quick hands, landing a couple of strikes before ending
up on top of McCann. It was the Hurricanes' first fighting
major of the season - the last team in the league to record
one - and, the first of McGinn's career.
"Guys love it when they see it on display," Peters said. "I
love it when guys compete like that."
Things kicked up another notch in the second period.
Skinner received an extra roughing minor among a collection
of others assessed when he went after Mark Pysyk and the
two teams came together.
"[My gloves] were stuck on me I think," Skinner joked.
"Ginner and Hani showed off their nice haircuts. I don't really
have that nice of a haircut, so I was self-conscious there."
Shortly after that, Joakim Nordstrom leveled Vincent
Trocheck with a heavy and legal check along the far boards.
That caused another gathering between the teams.
Then, Noah Hanifin dropped the mitts with Derek MacKenzie
in the first career NHL fight of Hanifin's young career and first
since "probably with my little brother or something when I
was younger," he said after the game.
"It was good to get it over with," he added. "Faulker has
taught me a few things."
Five
A couple of players we haven't mentioned much just yet who
factored in big in tonight's victory:
Cam Ward made 37 saves and was named third star of the
game in the 299th win of his career.
"They took it over a little bit for a stretch. He gave us good
goaltending, and that's always a positive," Peters said.
"Wardo has been really good."
At the other end of the ice, Lindholm put together a solid
game. He opened the scoring in the first period on the
Canes' third power play of the game, slipping the puck past
Reimer off a pass from Sebastian Aho. He then had the
beauty of a primary assist on Hanifin's game-winning goal in
overtime.
Up Next
On Sunday, the Hurricanes will embark on their longest road
trip of the season, a two-week, six-game trek that takes them
through Vancouver, California, Vegas and Buffalo.
"We have a long road trip coming up, and we wanted to
show some fight before we go on that," Hanifin said.
"I'm excited about going on the road with this group," Peters
said. "I'm really looking forward to seeing us take a step."
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
Recap and Rank ‘em: Hurricanes Beat
Panthers in Dramatic and Emotional Must-
Win Game
This one pretty much had it all.
by Brett Finger
Coming off of a hugely disappointing loss in New York on
Friday, the Carolina Hurricanes needed to beat the Florida
Panthers, and they did.
It was a big hockey game, one that ended up being low-
scoring, but for what it lacked in goals, it made up for with
physicality and emotion.
It was all Hurricanes for the first 20 minutes on Saturday
night.
The Canes kept their foot down offensively, getting chance
after chance against Panthers netminder James Reimer.
The home team wasn’t able to convert on either of their first
two powerplays, but the third time was the charm as Elias
Lindholm carried the puck down the middle of the zone,
dropped it off to Sebastian Aho, and deflected the return
pass short-side on Reimer.
Carolina kept applying the pressure down the stretch of
period one, but Reimer answered the call time after time,
holding the game to a 1-0 score through 20 minutes.
Though, not before Brock McGinn and Jared McCann
scrapped at the end of a long offensive-zone shift for
Carolina.
The second period was... interesting.
The Panthers came out with much more energy, finding
holes in the Hurricanes’ defense and getting chances on
Cam Ward, who had a truly marvelous period.
Then, hell broke loose.
Jeff Skinner had a run-in with Mark Pysyk, but after a lot of
pushing and shoving from not only those two but also from a
group of other players, things eventually died down for the
time being.
Just moments later, Joakim Nordstrom sent Vincent
Trocheck into another dimension with this huge, helmet-
removing hit near the half-way point of the hockey game.
As expected, tempers continued to flare as the period went
on, eventually bringing on another fight.
Noah Hanifin dropped the gloves for the first time in his NHL
career, going up against Florida captain Derek MacKenzie.
From there, things started to even out a bit and hockey was
played more consistently. Joakim Nordstrom followed up his
big hit with a big blocked shot down the stretch of period two,
and the Canes held onto their lead after a very emotional
period.
Early on in period three, the Panthers responded and found
a hole in Ward, tying the hockey game at one goal apiece.
The Cats wouldn’t keep it tied for long, though.
Jeff Skinner was all alone in-tight and netted an absolute
beauty to give the Hurricanes their second lead of the night.
Why, yes, he was quite excited to score his first goal in nine
games.
As the third period wore down, chances were exchanged
back and forth, but both goalies were strong, including Cam
Ward who bounced back well after a weak goal against
earlier in the period.
Then, with two minutes to go, the Panthers tied the hockey
game.
A long shot from the point was stopped by Ward, but Alex
Barkov was right there to hammer home the rebound in front,
thus forcing overtime in Raleigh.
It was one of the most exciting overtimes of the season as
both teams went back and forth, getting chance after chance.
Then, Noah Hanifin willed one home with two seconds left in
overtime.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
Hurricanes tough out overtime win over
Panthers
Carolina tops Florida in fight-filled contest
By Shawn Krest
RALEIGH — Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters has seen
plenty of hockey fights this season, just not in person.
“I watched a lot on TV. I watch games every night,” he said
after the Hurricanes’ 3-2 overtime win over the Florida
Panthers. “In our building? It’s been awhile.”
The Hurricanes made up for lost time on Saturday night,
scrapping with the Panthers more than a half-dozen times in
a hard-fought game.
“A couple of teams showed they really wanted it,” said Canes
goalie Cam Ward. “It was going to come down to who
wanted it the most.”
Carolina jumped on top early, courtesy of a first-period goal
by Elias Lindholm.
The two teams then settled in for a battle of attrition in a
violent, but scoreless second period.
“Obviously, they were trying to engage us, thinking they
could push us around,” Ward said. “They got a lot of
pushback. I’m old school. I like that sort of thing.”
One of the scraps made history in a couple of different ways.
Noah Hanifin squared off against Florida’s Derek MacKenzie
with 5:42 left in the second, earning a five-minute major. It
was Carolina’s first major of the year, in the team’s 25th
game. That’s the latest in the season the Hurricanes have
gone before getting a major, shattering the old mark by five
games.
It was also Hanifin’s first career fight.
“The last time was probably with my little brother or
something,” Hanifin joked afterward. “It was good to get it
over with. (Justin) Faulk taught me a few things. He’s had a
few fights, and I think he knows what he’s doing.”
“Hani got in a fight,” Ward marveled, tongue in cheek. “Come
on. I mean, that’s awesome. Kudos to him for showing that.”
Hanifin wasn’t the only one. Peters urged the team to
toughen up after a rough 5-1 loss in New York on Friday
night.
“Last night was tough,” Hanifin said. “We wanted to rebound
and show some energy and character today. We weren’t too
happy with the outcome last night. Coming home with a long
road trip coming up, we wanted to show some fight before
we went on that.”
“Guys were competing, pushing and shoving, trying to gain
every inch possible,” Peters said of the second period
scrums. He also singled out a Joakim Nordstrom blocked
shot late in the period as a key moment.
“Nordy laying down and blocking that shot, that gives you
juice,” he said. “You’re sitting on the bench. You might be
tired. It’s back-to-back. You might have had a little bit of
travel, and all of a sudden, you see a guy selling out like that.
It doesn’t leave you any wiggle room not to do the same.”
For Peters, the secret to Carolina’s success was as simple
as being willing to mix it up in front of the goal.
“We talked about it prior to the game,” he said. “Go in close
to the blue paint.”
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
In the third period, after Florida tied the score, the Canes
followed Peters’ advice. Jeff Skinner batted down the puck
and charged the goal, flipping it in at the last second to give
Carolina a late lead.
“Skinner was running out of room,” Peters said. “He’s got
great hands. He was close to the blue paint, and he scores.”
Florida tied it again with 1:56 remaining, and the game went
to overtime. With two seconds remaining in the extra period,
following furious end-to-end action for the final minute,
Hanifin scored the game winner.
“Hanifin scores right in front of the blue paint too,” Peters
said. “There’s no secret, right? You’ve just got to get
competitive enough to go there and pay the price. You’re not
going to score every time you go to the blue paint, but it
definitely increases your odds.”
The win gave Ward his 299th career victory.
“The game got a little bit chippy,” he said. “I’m proud of our
guys for sticking up for one another and having that mentality
that if somebody messes with one of us they’ve got to mess
with all of us. … I love that wolfpack mentality — sticking up
for one another and being there to answer the bell.”
Hanifin scores late in OT to lift Hurricanes
past Panthers
by STATS
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) After Carolina twice gave up one-goal
leads in a brawl-filled game against Florida, the Hurricanes'
last goal gave the Panthers no chance to respond.
Noah Hanifin scored from the right doorstep on a pass by
Elias Lindholm with 2 seconds left in overtime, giving the
Hurricanes a 3-2 victory on Saturday night.
''It was a great pass by Lindy,'' Hanifin said. ''I don't think
there was a lot of time left. I hopped over the bench, Lindy
found me, and he made a great pass. There was a lot of
good execution there.''
Lindholm and Jeff Skinner scored Carolina's regulation
goals, while Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist and
Nick Bjugstad scored a goal for Florida.
''Both teams played very hard and there was a lot of passion
in that game,'' Carolina coach Bill Peters said. ''It makes it
fun. There was a lot of skill on both sides. They weren't
staged fights for the most part. It was just guys competing,
and that's what happens.''
Carolina goalie Cam Ward had 37 saves for his 299th career
win - all with the Hurricanes - while James Reimer stopped
44. Carolina bounced back after a 5-1 loss to the Rangers on
Friday night.
''This was huge,'' Ward said. ''We had a tough night in New
York, and we got home late. It was a gutsy effort, and the
energy in the building was outstanding tonight.''
The teams combined for 36 minutes of fighting and roughing
penalties.
''Hopefully we can use that situation to bring us together a
little bit,'' Skinner said. ''It was physical early, and guys did a
good job sticking up for each other.''
Carolina outshot the visitors 18-4 in the first period, courtesy
of three minor penalties against Florida.
The Hurricanes broke through on their third power play,
when Lindholm beat Reimer from the left circle on assists
from Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen.
''I didn't like our start,'' Florida coach Bob Boughner said.
''We took too many penalties and then spent too much time
in our zone. Reimer was good and gave us a chance to win.
It was a heartbreaker with 2 seconds to go.''
The hostilities started when Brock McGinn and Florida's
Jared McCann fought in the final minute of the period.
Several players got into a skirmish at 7:42 of the second,
with Skinner getting four minutes for roughing while
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
teammate Justin Faulk got two minutes. Florida's Mike
Matheson and Micheal Haley received two minutes each. At
9:01, Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau got two minutes and
joined the group in the boxes.
Hanifin and the Panthers' Derek MacKenzie fought later in
the second.
Florida tied the score nearly 5 minutes into the third, when
Bjugstad picked up a loose puck in the crease and slid it past
Ward with Barkov on the primary helper.
Carolina came back with a power-play goal 3 minutes later,
with Skinner beating Reimer high.
Barkov tied it again in a 6-on-5 at with 1:56 left in regulation.
NOTES: Carolina won the teams' first meeting 3-1 on Nov. 7.
... Brock McGinn and Florida LW Jamie McGinn are brothers.
... Florida RW Radim Vrbata was a Hurricane from 2003-05.
... Carolina's healthy scratches were LW Phillip Di Giuseppe
and D Klas Dahlbeck. ... LW Connor Brickley, LW Henrik
Haapala and D Mackenzie Weggar were healthy extras for
Florida. ... The teams' final meeting of the season will be on
April 2 in Florida.
UP NEXT
Panthers: Start a three-game homestand on Monday night
against the New York Islanders.
Hurricanes: Visit Vancouver on Tuesday night in the opener
of a six-game trip.
Hurricanes score late in overtime to defeat
Panthers Hanifin gets game-winner with two seconds left
by Kurt Dusterberg / NHL.com Correspondent
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Noah Hanifin scored with two seconds
remaining in overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2
win against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena on Saturday.
The defenseman followed his rebound after a save by James
Reimer to score on a backhand.
"I just hopped over the bench and [Elias Lindholm] found
me," Hanifin said. "Great pass and I got a lucky rebound
there. So it was good execution."
Cam Ward made 37 saves for the Hurricanes (11-9-5).
"It was a gutsy effort tonight," Ward said. "It was a game that
got a little bit chippy, and I'm proud of our guys for sticking
up for one another. We realize that this is our only home
game for almost two weeks."
Reimer made 44 saves for the Panthers (10-13-3), who lost
to the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Friday.
Florida forward Aleksander Barkov tied it 2-2 with 1:56 left in
the third period on the rebound of Aaron Ekblad's shot.
Lindholm gave Carolina a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at
14:02 of the first period when he redirected a centering pass
from Sebastian Aho. It was the Hurricanes' third power play.
"I didn't like our start, took too many penalties," Panthers
coach Bob Boughner said. "So we spent a ton of time in our
zone. I thought we answered the bell in the second period."
Nick Bjugstad tied it 1-1 at 4:52 of the third period when he
scored from below the right face-off circle on a bad-angle
shot.
Jeff Skinner gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead at 8:17 on
Carolina's second power-play goal. He broke up Florida's
clearing attempt and then made a move to beat Reimer on
the short side to end his eight-game scoring drought.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
"Once you get it in that tight, you've got to get it up to beat
most goalies in the League," Skinner said. "It's been a while
for me personally, and obviously the situation in the game
calls for a little more excitement on my end."
They said it
"Reimer was good. He gave us a chance to win, a
heartbreaker with two seconds to go. Everybody knows our
team is a pretty good shootout team. I thought there was a
lot of character when the game got physical. I think we
earned the point tonight" -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner
"[Hanifin] is a young guy (20) who's becoming a young man.
There's an unbelievable upside and the ceiling is very high
for him. He really skated tonight. Our defense has to skate to
be successful. He has lots of confidence and he's played
well all year. He loves the game and wants to be elite." --
Hurricanes coach Bill Peters
"[The backup role] is something I'm adjusting to, the
mentality of not playing as much. My last outing wasn't very
good, so you've got to be patient and wait for that next
opportunity. I've been in this league long enough that I can
turn the page." -- Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward, who allowed
four goals on 16 shots in a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple
Leafs on Nov. 24
Need to know
Carolina's 47 shots were its most this season. ... Ward has
299 NHL wins (299-232-80). ... Carolina is 33-10-4 against
Florida at PNC Arena. ... The Hurricanes will start a six-game
road trip, their longest of the season.
What's next
Panthers: Host the New York Islanders on Monday (7:30
p.m. ET; FS-F, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: At the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (10 p.m.
ET; SNP, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
TODAY’S LINKS
http://trianglesportsnet.com/carolina-hockey-network/hurricanes-slug-panthers-win-3-2-ot/
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/hanifin-scores-late-in-ot-to-lift-hurricanes-past-panthers/17157606/
https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/recap-hurricanes-defeat-panthers-in-overtime/c-293616624
https://www.canescountry.com/2017/12/2/16728938/carolina-hurricanes-beat-panthers-high-emotions-must-win-game-mcginn-skinner-nordstrom-
hanifin
https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/hanifin-scores-late-in-ot-to-lift-hurricanes-past-panthers/
https://www.nhl.com/news/florida-panthers-carolina-hurricanes-game-recap/c-293619324
https://nsjonline.com/article/2017/12/hurricanes-tough-out-overtime-win-over-panthers/
1086453 Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Game Day: Boeser looks to keep roll going against Matthews
and Leafs
STEVE EWEN
Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser scores the go-ahead goal
against Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne during the third period
Thursday, Nov. in Nashville. The Canucks won 5-3.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and all that comes with them are here today (4
p.m., CBC, Sportsnet 650) for their annual trip. Here are some things to
consider about the visit.
THE BIG MATCH-UP
Brock Boeser vs. Auston Matthews
Matthews comes into the day tied for 12th in league scoring, with 26
points, including 13 goals, in 23 games. Boeser is 14th, with 25 points,
including 13 goals, in 23 games.
Any questions?
big Patcast here with @botchford . Lots of stories from the road. Plus all
the issues & hot topics involving the #Canucks as they near the end of
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
their trip. Have a listen and please share on social.
https://t.co/ziES0DG5qT— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 29,
2017
FIVE KEYS
MATCH GAME
Canucks coach Travis Green has shown a propensity for wanting to use
a checking line against opponents’ top talents, particularly on home ice
where Vancouver has the last change. Derek Dorsett has been a key cog
in that. Now that Dorsett is sidelined for the remainder of the campaign,
will Green’s long-term thinking change? Minus Dorsett and likely no
Brandon Sutter (shoulder) tonight, will Green have a line shadow
Matthews?
A THOUSAND THINGS TO CELEBRATE
The Canucks are planning to honour Daniel Sedin for his 1,000 career
point in a pre-game ceremony. Fans are asked to get to their seats early.
The twins have looked better of late and they’ve also had success
against the Maple Leafs in the past. Daniel has 26 points, including 13
goals, in 27 games versus Toronto, while Henrik has 24 points, including
five goals, in 27 contests against the Maple Leafs.
LIFE OF RIELLY
There’s been plenty of buzz this season out of Toronto about how Rielly,
the 23-year-old from West Vancouver, has developed into a legit No. 1
defenceman. How will he play tonight? He’s talked up how inspired he is
on this trip. And, keep in mind, he’s looking for his first goal against the
Canucks in what will be his ninth career game against them tonight.
TALKING TRENDS
The Maple Leafs are looking for their first sweep of Western Canada
since 1996, coming off a 4-1 triumph in Calgary and a 6-4 victory in
Edmonton on Thursday.
Conversely, Rogers Arena has been far from a nirvana for the Maple
Leafs. The Canucks are 8-2-0 in their last 10 home games versus
Toronto.
GOLDY MOMENT
How will Nikolay Goldobin fare in NHL Game 2 for him this season?
There’s a good chunk of the fan base that’s on his side, and general
manager Jim Benning talked in the media this week about him getting a
chance to succeed.
Goldobin highlights from Thursday’s 5-3 win in Nashville included the set-
up on Boeser’s second goal of the evening.
Vancouver Province: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086454 Vancouver Canucks
Ed Willes: Leafs might be best young team, but Canucks aren't bad,
either
Ed Willes
Depending on where you are and who you’re talking to, most informed
hockey fans would identify the Toronto Maple Leafs as the best young
team in the NHL.
True, you might get an argument in Winnipeg or New Jersey. And if this
survey was conducted in the GTA, those informed fans would identify the
Leafs as the best team — like, ever — irrespective of age.
But, gratuitous Toronto snark aside, the collection of talent on Mike
Babcock’s team speaks for itself. They lead the NHL in goals. Four of
their top seven scorers are 23 or under, led by the sublime Auston
Matthews. Maybe the complete game isn’t there yet, but the parts are in
place for this Leafs’ team to remain at or near the top of the NHL’s food
chain for the next decade.
And then there’s your Vancouver Canucks.
Saturday night, the Leafs’ annual visit to the rain forest came in all its
familiar glory. There was the annoying 4 p.m. start. There were the
masses in Leafs’ jerseys. There were the chants of Go Leafs Go, and let
it be known the Canucks scored the all-important first goal to take the
crowd out the game.
But, for the first time in a while, this meeting was notable for reasons
other than the crowd and the start time. The Canucks, as it happens,
finally seem to have turned a corner and are building their own young
core. They’re not really in the conversation concerning the NHL’s good
young teams just yet, but they are trending that way.
So how did they measure up against the NHL’s gold standard in their 2-1
win? How did the Canucks’ kids look against the Leafs’ young
thoroughbreds?
Well, Alex Edler had himself a helluva game.
“We knew they’re a strong deep team with a lot of talented young
players,” said Ben Hutton, the Canucks’ 24-year-old defenceman.
“This game was huge for guys in our locker-room.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys on our team who have been stepping up
this year. When we match up against another young team and come out
on top, it shows we’re in the process of becoming a very strong team.”
In truth, any attempt to bill this one has a matchup between the Leafs’
and Canucks’ young guns would be a stretch so severe it could result in
a groin pull. The Canucks won this one because of a lights-out
goaltending performance from Jacob Markstrom, Edler’s best game since
the Stephen Harper administration and, truth be told, a little puck luck
around their goalie.
Want a stat? The Canucks were outshot 25-9 over the final two periods
after a dominating first.
“I didn’t think our last 40 was good enough,” said Daniel Sedin. “They
really pushed the pace in the last two periods.”
Still, half the Canucks’ skaters on this night were 25 or under, and their
fingerprints were all over this game. Bo Horvat was matched against
Matthews most of the night and ended up plus-one over 18 minutes.
Markus Granlund, 24, opened the scoring. Young D-men Derrick Pouliot
(21:53 of ice), Troy Stecher and Hutton held their own.
OK, Brock Boeser didn’t exactly support this storyline. The Canucks’ 20-
year-old sniper had a quiet night, and his most visible moment came late
in the third when his bid at an empty net was swatted out of the air by
that man Matthews.
But this theme is going to be central to any Canucks’ game this season,
or the next two, three seasons come to think of it, and any a win against
a quality opponent in a nationally televised game for this team is
significant.
“Everyone knows what kind of young talent they have,” Horvat said. “We
knew it was going to be a tough game, a fast game. I thought we
responded well tonight.
“It gives our group confidence knowing we can hang with teams like that
and match their speed. A couple of times they took it to us, but I liked our
first period.”
The Canucks’ opening 20 minutes, in fact, might have been their best
period of the season. In their first game after a six-game roadie, the
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
home side produced 17 shots on Freddie Andersen in the Leafs’ net,
scored twice, and were dangerous for most of the frame.
The Canucks’ defence produced nine shots on Andersen in that period.
Edler also scored his first goal of the season and didn’t break his stick in
the process.
The final two periods, alas, weren’t as impressive as the Canucks
retreated into a craven defensive posture. But there was still a crackling
atmosphere in the building, still plenty of drama, and, in the end, two
points.
“Growing up, I wasn’t a fan of the Leafs,” said Hutton, an Ontario kid from
the Ottawa bedroom community of Prescott.
“I’m still not. It’s in my blood. So it’s a big bonus when you get two points
against Toronto.”
Hutton was asked if the disproportionate number of Leafs’ fans in the
building bothered him.
“No, it’s fun,” he said. “You’ve got the ‘Go Leafs Go’ chants and the
Canucks’ fans fire back with ‘Leafs Suck.’ That brings the atmosphere up
and we hear it. Like I said, it’s fun.”
And more fun after a win.
Vancouver Province: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086455 Vancouver Canucks
Canucks 2, Leafs 1: What we learned
Jason Botchford
The Vancouver Canucks had one terrific period and carried that to an
entertaining 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night at
Rogers Arena.
Here is what we learned …
HISTORY WAS NOT MADE
It was his 114th NHL start and his 128th game without one.
Jacob Markstrom was just three minutes away from his first NHL shutout.
It looked like it was going to happen, too.
Until it didn’t.
Morgan Rielly whiffed on an open net, and it seemed like it was the break
Markstrom needed.
He had others, even though he deserved a shutout with some
spectacular saves.
But moments after Rielly’s whiff, James Van Riemsdyk tipped one past
the Canucks bad luck goalie.
Sometimes, it feels like Markstrom will never get a shutout, and who
knows? Maybe he won’t.
THE CANUCKS CAN ACTUALLY BE GOOD
For one glorious period, the Maple Leafs were good and the Canucks
were actually better.
The Sedins looked like they had shaved five years off their age. They
controlled the puck in a way that brought fans to the seat’s edge in
anticipation of something great happening,
And it did.
On a delayed penalty, they danced with the puck, methodically wearing
down the Leafs who were on the ice, wilting.
The kill shot came courtesy Henrik. He sauced a pass over one stick and
under another.
It ended up on Alex Edler’s blade, and from there Edler picked a corner,
giving the Canucks a 2-0 lead.
The first period ended improbably. The Canucks didn’t just have a lead,
they had 17 shots.
It was as good as a 20-minute stretch as they’ve played in year.
THE CANUCKS GOT AN EMOTIONAL LIFT, AND NO ONE SAW IT
COMING
It was set up to be a celebration for Daniel Sedin’s 1,000th point.
It was, but it ended up being so much more. Daniel was honoured with a
nice tribute video voiced by Markus Naslund. The crowd went wild. But
then, the unexpected happened.
Derek Dorsett appeared. As he came out to salute Daniel, it was one of
the most touching scenes this arena has ever hosted.
It couldn’t have been easy for him, either. His career ended just days
ago. It still has to be fresh and painful.
There is nothing he would have wanted more than to be on that ice
playing in that game.
Turns out, he did the next best thing.
BROCK BOESER IS NOT BETTER THAN AUSTON MATTHEWS
Let’s be clear, it’s fun to point out how close the two are in point totals.
And it’s worth noting they were born in the same year, 1997.
But it’s not really fair to compare them past that point. There isn’t much
Matthews can’t do on the ice. He is a complete package.
Rarely has that been more clear than in the first period, when he
manhandled Chris Tanev, took him to the ice with one hand and created
his own scoring chance.
He can snipe. He can skate. And he can move small office buildings
without machinery.
When he figures it out, Jake Virtanen’s game is going to take a giant leap
forward.
There was a play against Toronto, where he lost his stick skating toward
the offensive zone. At full speed, he maintained control of the puck and
regained his stick and turned the rush into a scoring chance.
It was one of the few plays this year he took a puck to the net, and it
created all kinds of mayhem.
He had other chances Saturday, but pulled up instead. He’s just not a
good enough playmaker yet to be pulling up on those opportunities.
BROCK BOESER IS THE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Boeser ended November as the frontrunner in the Calder Trophy race, a
point that even Hockey Night in Canada validated.
It was only two weeks ago when they went over the rookie leaders on the
broadcast and Boeser wasn’t viewed as one of the favourites to win the
award.
Twice, it looked like Stecher was knocked out of the game, and twice he
came back.
The first was on the opening shift when he blocked a shot and left the
game unable to put any weight on one foot.
He slammed his stick leaving for the training room, and it appeared his
night was over. It was not.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
He returned to play nearly five minutes in that first.
Then in the second, Mitch Marner’s shot deflected off Brendan Gaunce’s
stick appeared to bust up Stecher’s face. There was concern his nose
was broken.
But once again, Stecher came back and played the third.
Vancouver Province: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086416 San Jose Sharks
Three takeaways: Sharks still no match for the NHL’s top team
By PAUL GACKLE | pgackle@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: December 2, 2017 at 8:35 pm | UPDATED: December 3,
2017 at 2:50 am
TAMPA — After playing airtight defense and compiling a 6-2-2 record
over the last three-plus weeks, the Sharks couldn’t bridge the gap
between themselves and the NHL’s top team.
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newsletter.
The Sharks (14-9-2) loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning (18-6-2) Saturday
wound up looking eerily similar to the 5-1 shellacking they received at the
SAP Center on Nov. 8. The big difference was Martin Jones, who kept
the Sharks in the game for a longer stretch of time in the rematch.
Here’s what we learned as the Sharks lost to the Lightning for the second
time this season, dropping a 5-2 decision in Tampa.
1. The Sharks are still no match for the NHL’s top team.
The Sharks entered Saturday’s game leading the NHL in goals against
average (2.13) and shots against (29.1), but their top-ranked defense is
still no match for the high-flying Lightning’s speed and skill.
The Lightning outshot the Sharks 9-1 in the game’s first seven minutes
and they held a 31-16 shot edge after two periods. But the Sharks went
into the second intermission tied at 1-1 because Jones bailed them out
time and time again.
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commentary and conversation.
The dam eventually broke in the third as Tyler Johnson scored a pair of
goals that put the Lightning ahead 3-1 just 5:39 into the stanza before
Cory Conacher added an insurance goal at the 11:01 mark. After Justin
Braun scored his first of the year, Nikita Kucherov put the game on ice by
scoring his league-leading 19th goal on a breakaway with 4:23 left on the
clock.
Nikita Kucherov: fairly good at hockeying. Picks Couture;s pocket and
knuckle-pucks one past Jones. pic.twitter.com/VEGcNUpaMZ
— Zachary DeVine (@zakkthebear) December 3, 2017
The Sharks ran into the same problems that plagued them last month
and in the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins two years
ago: they couldn’t keep up with the Lightning’s speed, so every mistake
was magnified, leading to odd-man rushes, quality-scoring chances and
bang-bang plays.
Palat with a perfect saucer pass over the stick of Vlasic and Kucherov
ties the games up for the #TBLightning pic.twitter.com/YF1xdyAIgv
— Zachary DeVine (@zakkthebear) December 3, 2017
“I don’t how it looked, but it felt like we were a step slower than them all
over the ice,” Logan Couture said.
“They play fast. They move pucks well. Their forwards are quick through
the neutral zone. They definitely skated around us for a lot of the game.”
Jones made a similar observation from the goalie’s crease.
“That’s a team that plays with a lot of pace,” the Sharks netminder said.
“Coming off a back to back, maybe we were a half-a-step slow in the
third. Good teams make you pay.”
The #TBLightning with a set play and Johnson beats Vlasic in the foot
race. #SJSHARKS trail 2-1. pic.twitter.com/tPmJPEC1Gd
— Zachary DeVine (@zakkthebear) December 3, 2017
2. ‘A big ask’
Head coach Pete DeBoer knew that answering last month’s blowout loss
would be a tall order.
In addition to playing their second game of a back to back, the Sharks
are hobbled by injuries. They sent their second-leading goal scorer,
Joonas Donskoi (lower body), to the injured reserve Saturday, along with
their top goal-scoring defenseman, Tim Heed (upper body).
The Sharks were also playing without Mikkel Boedker (lower body) and
Melker Karlsson (cut), who are nursing day-to-day injuries.
“It’s a big ask,” DeBoer said prior to Saturday’s game when asked if the
Sharks were looking for payback against the Lightning.
“You’re coming in back to back and short guys. I would love to have a
bounce back game and thrash them like they thrashed us. I don’t know if
that’s going to happen. We’re just looking to compete, play a good road
game and not beat ourselves.”
The Sharks coach didn’t get everything he was looking for against a
Lightning squad that was hungry for a win coming off a 1-3 road swing.
“We didn’t have enough contributions,” DeBoer said. “We would have
needed 20 guys tonight, plus Jonesy’s effort. “They’re a desperate team
and rested, and we didn’t help ourselves.”
Couture was more blunt with his assessment of the Sharks performance .
“They outplayed us again,” he said. “You can say we’re on a back to
back and all that, but you’ve still got to show up and put forth a better
effort.”
3. Jones returns from injury in all-star form.
If the Sharks two-game series with the Lightning this season is
reminiscent of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, Saturday’s game looked a lot
like Game 5 for 40 minutes as Jones nearly stole the win like he did that
June night against the Penguins.
The Sharks netminder picked up where he left off before suffering an
injury that sidelined him for two games on Nov. 25, keeping the Sharks in
a 1-1 game for two periods by making 38 saves.
“You take him for granted, but he’s been like that all year for us,” DeBoer
said. “I knew he wouldn’t go in if he didn’t feel like he was healthy, and
when he’s healthy, he’s capable of having a game like that.”
Tags:
Logan Couture
Martin Jones
Head shot of Paul Gackle, beat reporter for San Jose Sharks, in San
Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Josie Lepe/ Bay Area News
Group)
Paul Gackle
San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 12.03.2017
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
1086417 San Jose Sharks
Jones’ effort in return from injury isn’t enough to propel Sharks to win
By PAUL GACKLE | pgackle@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: December 2, 2017 at 6:41 pm | UPDATED: December 3,
2017 at 2:50 am
TAMPA, Fla. — Martin Jones returned to all-star form after missing two
games with an injury. But his 38 saves weren’t enough to lift his injury-
battered squad past the high-flying Tampa Bay Lightning.
After Jones kept the Sharks (14-9-2) in the game for 40-plus minutes,
Tyler Johnson scored twice in the third, breaking the dam as the
Lighnting picked up a 5-2 win in Tampa Saturday night.
Johnson scored the go-ahead goal on the power play at 1:39 of the third,
capitalizing on a favorable carom off the end boards. After Ondrej Palat
dumped the puck into the zone, it landed right in front of the Sharks net,
allowing Johnson to zip past defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and flip a
backhand through Jones.
The smooth-skating forward recored the game-winning goal 4:30 later,
swooping in to score off a rebound after Jones stopped a Victor Hedman
breakaway with his right shoulder and Brenden Dillon scooped the puck
off the goal line.
Cory Conacher scored the Lightning’s third goal of the final frame with
8:58 left on the clock and Nikita Kucherov added his league-leading 19th
of the year at 15:37.
Justin Braun added a goal for the Sharks at 13:37 of the third, his first of
the year. Danny O’Regan picked up his second assist of the game on the
tally.
Before the Lightning grabbed hold of the game in the third, the Sharks
left the opening frame with a 1-0 lead after weathering an early storm in
which they surrendered nine of the game’s first 10 shots.
In his first game back from an upper-body injury, Barclay Goodrow, who
missed five games, scored his first goal of the year at 16:58 on a tally
that saw AHL Barracuda alumni earn all three points.
Ryan Carpenter started the play by threading a seam pass through the
slot to O’Regan, who was driving to the net after splitting the Lightning
defense. After goalie Andrei, Vasilevskiy stopped O’Regan’s shot,
Goodrow fired the puck into a gaping net.
Carpenter’s secondary assist was his first point in 14 games this season.
The Lightning continued to tilt the ice in the second, outshooting the
Sharks 16-7 and tying the game just 27 seconds into the frame.
Kucherov scored his 18th after sliding behind defenseman Vlasic and
one-timing a fancy-saucer pass from Palat on the rush.
The game wasn’t all that different from the first meeting between the
clubs on Nov. 8 when the Sharks took a shellacking 5-1 from the
Lightning. The only difference was that Jones allowed the Sharks to stay
in the game for a longer period of time.
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newsletter.
Jones made several remarkable saves, including a pad stop on Ryan
Callahan after a Joakim Ryan turnover in the first, a right-pad save on
Yanni Gourde from in close in the second and a glove stop on Steven
Stamkos from the high slot later in the period.
Head coach Pete DeBoer anticipated that his club could be in for a long
night, squaring off against the Eastern Conference’s top team with
Joonas Donskoi (lower body), Tim Heed (upper body), Melker Karlsson
(cut) and Mikkel Boedker (lower body) all sidelined by day-to-day injuries.
The Sharks recalled Marcus Sorensen Saturday. The 25-year-old Swede
will join the team for the final game of their four-game road trip against
the Washington Capitals Monday.
Tags:
Martin Jones
Head shot of Paul Gackle, beat reporter for San Jose Sharks, in San
Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Josie Lepe/ Bay Area News
Group)
Paul Gackle
San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086418 San Jose Sharks
Three things to know: Sharks send two offensive catalysts to IR
By PAUL GACKLE | pgackle@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
December 2, 2017 at 3:28 PM
TAMPA — The injuries are piling up as the Sharks dressing room is
quickly turning into a hospital ward.
The Sharks (14-8-2) sent forward Joonas Donskoi (lower body) and
defenseman Tim Heed (upper body) to the injured reserve Saturday,
retroactive to Nov. 28 and Nov. 25. Mikkel Boedker (lower body) and
Melker Karlsson (cut) will be scratched from Saturday’s game against the
Tampa Bay Lightning (17-6-2) because of injuries they suffered in
Friday’s 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers.
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newsletter.
Head coach Pete DeBoer labeled all four injuries as “day to day” as Heed
will be eligible to return to the lineup for the Sharks game against the
Washington Capitals Monday, and Donskoi can rejoin the squad when it
kicks off a three-game homestand at SAP Center against the Carolina
Hurricanes Thursday.
DeBoer said Friday that Donskoi’s injury isn’t “serious”, an assessment
he stood by Saturday.
“Nothing changed,” the Sharks coach said. “We were going to get up this
morning, see if he’s better. He is better, but not ready to play yet.”
2. Sharks recall Marcus Sorensen, activate Barclay Goodrow.
On the surface, DeBoer’s claim that Donskoi’s injury is “day to day” might
seem misleading considering that the team sent him to the injured
reserve Saturday.
In reality, it was a move the Sharks needed to make to give themselves
an insurance policy against further injuries Saturday with Boedker and
Karlsson’s health also in question.
By placing Donskoi on the injured reserve, the Sharks were able to recall
forward Marcus Sorensen from the AHL Barracuda. Sorensen will join
the Sharks in Washington, D.C. Sunday.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
Likewise, moving Heed to the injured reserve allowed the Sharks to
activate Goodrow for Saturday’s game, giving the team 12 bodies to put
on the ice at forward.
Sorensen got the nod by notching 14 points (5g, 9a) in 19 games for the
Barracuda. The 25-year-old Swede suited for 19 games with the Sharks
last season and he dressed for all six of the team’s Stanley Cup playoff
games against the Edmonton Oilers.
“He played well down there,” DeBoer said. “He was a guy that we had in
the mix right until the end of training camp, and he’s got some elements
that we could use up here. His speed and tenacity when he plays inside.
I like his game when he’s playing it.”
Goodrow will make his return after missing seven games with an upper-
body injury. The 24-year-old forward appeared to be on his way to
locking down the Sharks fourth line center position before he suffered his
injury against the Panthers on Nov. 16, recording two assists in five
games.
3. Martin Jones will start in goal against Lightning.
Jones will make his return Saturday from a day-to-day injury suffered
against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 25.
The timing of Jones’ return couldn’t be better as the Sharks are facing
the NHL’s third-ranked offense (3.56 goals per game), its top scorer in
Steven Stamkos (37 points) and its No.2 goal scorer in Nikita Kucherov
(17 goals).
Nevertheless, Aaron Dell acquitted himself well in Jones’ place over the
first two games of the Sharks road trip, stopping 61 of the 63 shots he
faced
“Thankfully, it wasn’t more serious. You never know,” DeBoer said,
referring to Jones’ injury. “Deller’s given us two great starts, and with a
back to back, it’s nice to get a fresh guy in there.”
Tags:
Joonas Donskoi
Head shot of Paul Gackle, beat reporter for San Jose Sharks, in San
Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Josie Lepe/ Bay Area News
Group)
Paul Gackle
San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086419 San Jose Sharks
harks’ winning streak ends with loss to Tampa Bay
Associated Press Updated 11:02 pm, Saturday, December 2, 2017
TAMPA, Fla. — Tyler Johnson broke out of a scoring slump just in time
to help the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning.
Johnson scored twice in Tampa Bay’s four-goal third period, snapping a
15-game drought in the process, and the Lightning beat the Sharks 5-2
on Saturday. San Jose had won three in a row.
“That’s how hockey goes,” said Johnson, who entered with four goals.
“Sometimes you get the chances and bounces and they don’t go your
way. Other times, you get those garbage goals that just find a way to go
in. Luckily for me, I was able to break through.”
Barclay Goodrow and Justin Braun had goals for San Jose, and Martin
Jones stopped 38 shots in his return after missing two games with a
lower-body injury.
“Our goalie was outstanding,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “He was
by far our best player. We didn’t have enough contributions. We would
have needed 20 guys, plus Jones’ effort.”
Goodrow, activated from injured reserve after sitting out seven games,
put the Sharks up 1-0 at 16:58 of the first period. His first NHL goal since
Feb. 13, 2015, ended a 44-game drought. It was his fifth career goal,
coming in his 84th NHL game.
Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov tied it at 1 just 27 seconds into the second
with the first of his two goals.
“We had a chance with 20 minutes to go to get some points and we
didn’t,” DeBoer said. “That’s a disappointment.”
Cory Conacher also scored for the Lightning, who had lost four of six.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves.
Kucherov had one of Tampa Bay’s four goals, his 19th, in the third. He
entered without a goal over his previous six games.
After Johnson had an in-close backhand power-play goal 1:39 into the
third, the center made it 3-1 at 5:49 on a rebound after Jones stopped
Victor Hedman on a breakaway.
“He’s earned it.” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of Johnson. “When
you’re doing the right things and you’re working, it’s just a matter of time.”
Conacher and Braun also had third-period goals.
Jones turned aside Ryan Callahan’s in-close shot that went off a San
Jose defender in the first, a period in which the Sharks were outshot 15-
8. Tampa Bay also dominated the second-period shots, 16-8.
Sidelined: The Sharks placed right wing Joonas Donskoi (upper-body
injury) and defenseman Tim Heed (upper-body injury) on injured reserve
retroactive to Nov. 25 and Tuesday, respectively.
San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086420 San Jose Sharks
Sharks overmatched in loss to Lightning
By Associated Press December 02, 2017 6:41 PM
TAMPA, Fla. -- Tyler Johnson broke out a scoring slump just in time to
help the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning.
Johnson scored twice in the third period to snap a 15-game drought and
the Lightning beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 Saturday night.
"That's how hockey goes," said Johnson, who entered with four goals.
"Sometimes you get the chances and bounces and they don't go your
way. Other times, you get those garbage goals that just find a way to go
in. Luckily for me I was able to breakthrough."
Nikita Kucherov had two goals and Cory Conacher also scored for the
Lightning, who had lost four of six. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves.
Kucherov had one of Tampa Bay's four goals, his 19th, in the third. He
entered without a goal over his previous six games.
After Johnson had an in-close backhand power-play goal 1:39 into the
third, the center made it 3-1 at 5:49 on a rebound goal after Martin Jones
made a nifty save during Victor Hedman's breakaway.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
"He's earned it." Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "When you're doing
the right things and you're working, it's just a matter of time."
Barclay Goodrow and Justin Braun had goals for San Jose, and Jones
stopped 38 shots in his return after missing two games with a lower-body
injury.
"Our goalie was outstanding," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "He was
by far our best player. We didn't have enough contributions. We would
have needed 20 guys, plus Jones' effort."
Goodrow, activated from injured reserve after sitting out seven games,
put the Sharks up 1-0 at 16:58 of the first on his first goal since Feb. 13,
2015 that ended a 44-game drought. It was his fifth goal, coming in his
84th career NHL game.
Kucherov tied it at 1 just 27 seconds into the second.
"We had a chance with 20 minutes to go to get some points and we
didn't," DeBoer said. "That's a disappointment."
Conacher and Braun also had third-period goals.
Jones turned aside Ryan Callahan's in-close shot that went off a San
Jose defender in the first, a period where the Sharks were outshot 15-8.
Tampa Bay also dominated second-period shots 16-8.
Tampa Bay's top-ranked power play went 1 for 2 against the Sharks'
second-best NHL short-handed unit. San Jose failed on its one man-
advantage chance.
NOTES: The Sharks dropped to 7-3-1 on the road. ... San Jose placed
RW Joonas Donskoi and D Tim Heed on IR. ... Tampa Bay C Cedric
Paquette served a one-game suspension for a boarding penalty
Wednesday against Boston. ... Lightning D Braydon Coburn (knee-to-
knee hit) didn't play.
UP NEXT
Sharks: Complete a four-game trip Monday night at Washington.
Lightning: Play the second of four straight home games Tuesday night
against the New York Islanders.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086363 Los Angeles Kings
What we learned from the Kings' 4-1 victory over the Blues
Curtis Zupke
Meet us in St. Louis, again?
The Kings admitted they had revenge on their mind when they ventured
to Scottrade Center, one month after a loss in the building gave the Blues
bragging rights to best in the Western Conference.
And it didn’t matter if they were fatigued from a win the previous night
against the Washington Capitals. Darcy Kuemper continued to roll, and
most other facets of the Kings’ game fell into place in an impressive 4-1
win.
Here’s what we learned:
The puck is finding Tyler Toffoli. He shared the team lead with Anze
Kopitar with 13 goals and is on pace for 35 goals. Toffoli joked that “I
wouldn’t really count” his empty-net goal Thursday, but his uptick is that
of a goal scorer who gets points in bunches.
Toffoli hasn’t suffered much in production since he lost Jeff Carter as his
center. His in-close skill is as good as any on the Kings, and if he can
complement Adrian Kempe in that department, it would give them a
dynamic they haven’t had in recent years.
How does Alex Iafallo not have more points? His nine points in 27 games
seems criminal given his vision and creativity. The rookie wisely put the
puck on net on a rush, and the resulting rebound was left for Kopitar to
pounce on in the first period.
Iafallo’s instincts and style might remind Kings fans of Justin Williams.
But the numbers don’t necessarily reflect that. Drew Doughty perhaps
explained it best this week how Iafallo is most effective: on a line with
Kopitar and Dustin Brown.
“I think Iafallo doesn’t get enough credit for what he does on that line,”
Doughty said. “He’s 100% got maybe the best stick I’ve ever seen in my
entire life on the forecheck in the neutral zone. His stick on puck is
unbelievable. So he creates those turnovers for those guys, and
obviously Brownie likes forechecking, too, and I think Kopi kind of missed
that in the past.”
St. Louis was unorganized. As good as the Kings played, this didn’t look
like the Blues team from Oct. 30. Their defensive pairs didn’t click, and
communication seemed to be an issue. Even Norris Trophy-candidate
Alex Pietrangelo made a glaring giveaway in the opening minutes and
was forced into a hooking penalty on Brown.
Blues coach Mike Yeo also made a curious move when he pulled goalie
Carter Hutton after two periods, to change it up, but also because he
didn’t like Hutton’s game.
Overall, this is likely a spell that good teams like the Blues usually get
through. It just wasn’t representative of the tighter defensive game they
had a month ago.
LA Times: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086364 Los Angeles Kings
WAKING UP WITH THE KINGS: DECEMBER 2
JON ROSEN
DECEMBER 2, 20170 COMMENTS
GAME STORY
The Los Angeles Kings scored twice before the game’s first TV timeout
on Friday night. Is that good? With a performance that represented the
continued the swell in their team game, they jumped out to an early lead
and, after the St. Louis Blues pulled within one in the second period,
received an important late second period dagger that re-established the
two-goal difference. From then, they used a committed team-wide effort
that kept the hosts off the scoreboard in the third in widening their
impressive late-game goal differential. It’s time to revisit the February,
2013 Dustin Brown quote, because it applies here. “Let’s just say we
haven’t been playing our best hockey, and sometimes you say at the end
of losing streaks and at the end of winning streaks, sometimes you’re
losing games you shouldn’t, and sometimes you’re winning games you
shouldn’t, as well,” he said after the Kings put up 47 shots at Joe Louis
Arena but fell to the Red Wings, 3-2, on a goal in the final seconds.
Towards the end of the Kings’ winning streak this season, they weren’t
playing great hockey, but Jonathan Quick and Darcy Kuemper were
bailing them out. And though Los Angeles went through an extended
November rut, something appeared to change late in their doldrums. I
thought they played a really solid game in the narrow loss to Winnipeg,
and though that was followed by a so-so outing at Arizona, they’ve by
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
and large built a crescendo in their game that has culminated with a four
game winning streak, the final three games of which they’ve won on the
road to give themselves the opportunity to cap off a tremendous road trip
Sunday night at the United Center.
Scott Rovak/NHLI
The game was well punctuated. For the third time in three games on the
trip, the Kings exited the second period with a lead. They’ve outscored
their opponents 5-0 in third periods on the trip, lifting their goal differential
over the final 20 minutes of regulation to an impressive +21. They’ve
outshot the Red Wings, Capitals and Blues 26-24 in these late-game
situations. Yada, yada, yada. But it’s important, in protecting multi-goal
third period leads, to not cede an early goal. St. Louis had an opportunity
to cut into the Los Angeles lead with an early third period power play, and
the Kings didn’t allow much more than a few sniffs at the net in an
impressive display. Darcy Kuemper was called upon to make one of his
six saves on Vladimir Tarasenko during the kill, but there were no shots
that came within 25 feet of the net. From there, L.A. really seemed to
build off a successive string of shifts in which all players were involved
and contributing, and it resulted in Tanner Pearson – who had another
strong night at the Scottrade Center – pressuring Vince Dunn and Colton
Parayko into a fumbled hand-off, resulting in a quick-strike as he issued a
heads-up puck towards Tyler Toffoli, who crashed the net and stuffed it
past Jake Allen. In the final 20 minutes, Adrian Kempe had seven shifts.
Jonny Brodzinski had six. Kurtis MacDermid jumped over the boards
eight times. For four rookies to get regular shifts in the third period of a
game against the team that (at the time) led the Western Conference,
and to come away with a win, is a boon for the confidence of the young
players and the balance in which John Stevens allots his minutes. It also
kept Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar well below their average usage on
the second night of a back-to-back.
Jeff Curry/NHLI
Kuemper’s save percentage is .944. Jonathan Quick’s save percentage
is .929. The Kings’ team save percentage is a league-leading .931. Anze
Kopitar is having an explosive season offensively (and his scoring rate
will ultimately slow somewhat, because his 19.1% shooting percentage is
over three percentage points higher than his highest shooting percentage
in any single season), but the team’s MVPs through the first 27 games of
the season have been their goaltenders, who allowed the team to
construct its game early and have hardly let up since.
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086365 Los Angeles Kings
GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO
JON ROSEN
DECEMBER 2, 20170 COMMENTS
Good morning, Insiders, and good morning, Chicago.
Not a bad schedule, this. Hastened by a 7:00 p.m. local time start, we
were out the doors (err, loading dock) of the Scottrade Center at 10:20
yesterday and up in the air just before 11:00 p.m. We touched down at
Midway before 11:45, and after leaving the field, arrived at the team hotel
with enough time to spare for a nightcap. There were a few bloggers and
media types congregating at the sleekly renovated lobby downstairs. Not
enough time to make a quick run to Rush Street, but, hey, it’s a Saturday
off-night in Chicago, and the world is our oyster. The only time we visited
last year was on the second night of a back-to-back. ALL HAIL
SCHEDULOR.
So! A little bit of personal and site news. I’ve taken on some additional
broadcasting responsibilities outside of the organization, and the first
assignment will be coming up next weekend. I’ve been given a
broadcasting package to call some NCAA hockey by the Big Ten
Network, and my first game will be next Friday’s match-up between Notre
Dame and Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in Madison. This requires a sign
off from the Kings, and they’ve been incredibly kind to allow me this
opportunity, because I’ll be missing some games here and there. In the
immediate future, I won’t be present for Thursday’s game versus Ottawa
and Friday’s practice day. My return flight to L.A. is scheduled to land at
10:30 a.m. Saturday, so I’ll likely miss the morning skate in advance of
the Carolina game as well, but hopefully there will be a gate available for
us at LAX and I can rush back to TSC and cover the end of that day’s
media availability. There will be a guest poster for the days I’m away, so
the site won’t go Sports Center during a Y2K compliance test. More
about this next week.
I’ll also have another broadcasting package to announce in a few weeks,
which, again, the Kings were awesome to sign off on. I’ll share that with
you at the appropriate time.
Practice day! Will we see the whites of Torrey Mitchell’s eyes? We’ll find
out at the United Center at 1:00 p.m. local time. Enjoy your weekend,
Insiders. It’s a beautiful morning in the Windy City.
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086366 Los Angeles Kings
DECEMBER 1 POSTGAME NOTES
JON ROSEN
DECEMBER 1, 20170 COMMENTS
POSTGAME NOTES
-With the win, Los Angeles improved to 76-99-26 all-time against St.
Louis, a record that includes a road mark of 28-62-12. Including playoffs,
the Kings have won 21 of the last 31 meetings between the teams. Both
teams are 1-1-0 in the head-to-head match-up with one remaining game
at Staples Center on March 10.
-With the win, Los Angeles improved to 4-5-3 versus the Western
Conference, 1-2-1 versus the Central Division, 7-1 in three-goal games,
8-2-0 when scoring first, 6-2-0 when leading after one period, 9-1-0 when
leading after two periods, 7-5-1 when outshot by their opponent and
-With the win, the Kings improced to 9-3-1 away from Staples Center.
Their 19 road points are tied for the most points through 13 road games
in club history (third time, also 1999-00 and 1980-81). The nine wins is
also tied for the most road wins through the first 13 games in team
history (second time, also 1980-81).
-By outscoring St. Louis 1-0 in the third period, Los Angeles has now
outscored their opponents 33-12 in third periods this season.
-The Kings scored the first goal of the game, ending a six game streak in
which they allowed the first goal. The last time they scored the first goal
was in the 4-0 win over Florida on November 18.
-Los Angeles leads the NHL with a .931 save percentage. San Jose
ranks second at .927.
-Adrian Kempe finished with a +1 rating and leads all NHL rookies with a
+13. Defenseman Robert Hagg of Philadelphis ranks second at +11.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
-The Kings attempted 42 shots (28 on goal, 9 blocked, 5 missed). The
Blues attempted 70 shots (40 on goal, 15 blocked, 15 missed). Vladimir
Tarasenko finished with a game-high six shots on goal, while Drew
Doughty, Alex Iafallo and Dustin Brown tied with a game-high four shots
for L.A.
-Los Angeles won 25-of-58 faceoffs (43%). Adrian Kempe won 2-of-7,
Anze Kopitar won 12-of-25, Jonny Brodzinski won 0-of-1, Nick Shore
won 5-of-10, Trevor Lewis won 0-of-2, Dustin Brown won 1-of-2, Nic
Dowd won 1-of-3, Jussi Jokinen won 3-of-6 and Tanner Pearson won 1-
of-2.
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086367 Los Angeles Kings
DECEMBER 1 POSTGAME QUOTES: TOFFOLI, KUEMPER
JESSI MCDONALD
DECEMBER 1, 20170 COMMENTS
POSTGAME QUOTES
Tyler Toffoli, on winning both games on the back-to-back:
I think we just had a really good start. I mean, we know how it feels when
you kind of get in a hole early games and we did a good job of not doing
that and we were ready to play tonight.
Toffoli, on whether the third period was one of the best they’ve had on
the road:
Yeah, we were solid. We rolled lines, just did all of those little things right,
and definitely contained them. Obviously they had some chances and
Darcy made some big saves, but I think it was just a really good road win
here.
Toffoli, on getting three goals in the last two games:
Yeah, well I wouldn’t really count last night as a goal (laughing). But
yeah, I guess they all count. Honestly, I just really kept my speed, good
breakout on the first goal and then on the other one Pears made a really
good play. I was low in front. So to be able to get the two goals, it
obviously feels good for myself, but at the same time the way these guys
have been playing at home, it’s really nice to get a win.
Toffoli, on the mindset coming in after losing to the Blues earlier in the
season:
I think we all expected them to come out like they did last time so we
were ready for it. So all in all it was just a really good effort by our team
here.
Toffoli, on if there’s any significance to being atop the Western
Conference right now:
I mean, obviously it’s a cool feeling. But after the start we had, we know
how quickly things can kind of slip away a little bit. I think we did a good
job of finding our way to come back and win some games here and kind
of get ourselves back on a roll. We’ve just got to stay focused on doing
those little things and just be consistent with our game.
Darcy Kuemper, on the team’s effort:
Took the entire roster and it’s going to every time you play a good team
like St. Louis, but we really brought it tonight and got rewarded with the
result.
Kuemper, on limiting both Washington and St. Louis to a total of three
goals:
It just shows what kind of team game we play. The commitment we got
out of the roster from the first guy to the last guy—everyone’s on the
same page and we’re playing for each other and it really shows on the
ice.
Kuemper, on making the most of his opportunities:
I was excited to get the challenge to play against a team like St. Louis.
You know, you don’t always get those opportunities so I was excited
when I found out about it. And I think our whole team was and really got
up for it and wanted to prove something out there.
Kuemper, on the first period:
I thought it was a pretty well-fought period. Obviously getting out of there
with the two-nothing lead is a great spot and we wanted to go out and
win the second. Got out of there with a tie and got a huge fourth goal in
the third and we were able to shut it down from there.
Kuemper, on how losing to the Blues earlier this season affected the pre-
game mindset:
Yeah, you could kind of tell when we got to the rink it was on guys’
minds. Guys were talking about it. You never want to lose to a team twice
in a row and we were really aware of that tonight and really came to play.
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086368 Los Angeles Kings
DECEMBER 1 POSTGAME QUOTES: JOHN STEVENS
JON ROSEN
DECEMBER 1, 20170 COMMENTS
POSTGAME QUOTES
On the win:
It was a good hockey game. It’s a back to back against two really good
teams that play hard and play a heavy game. I thought the guys really
dug in tonight. You got a great performance from your goaltender, and
jeez, we had some real quality looks there and Ty had two big goals for
us, but I thought we really kind of stayed with it and continued to get
better as the game went on. I thought we had a real solid third period,
and again, I think in these situations you need production from
everybody, and I thought we got good contributions from everybody.
On winning the first three games of a road trip:
Well, we knew it was a really important trip coming on. We didn’t do as
well on the home stand as we would’ve liked to, and it was really
important we thought that we won that last game at home and headed
out on the road on a good note, and we did, and that was a tough game,
as well. So, you go back to the Anaheim game, some really tough
sledding for us, and I just think the guys have done a good job of rest-
recovery on days in between and making sure they’re ready to play on
the days we play. It’s certainly nice to get a good start tonight, and I
thought the start of the hockey game was good for us, but we knew this
trip was going to be tough. Detroit was playing really well, Washington’s
been playing really well, St. Louis has played well all year, and Chicago’s
always a dangerous team, so it was an important trip for us, so obviously
we’re excited to be on it with three wins here, and now we’ve got to just
bear down for Chicago.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
On whether Darcy Kuemper’s strong performances affect how he
balances his goalies’ playing time:
We feel good about the schedule, the way it’s been for Jonny. I mean,
our goaltending’s been excellent all year, and if you look at the schedule,
I don’t think Jonny’s been in a situation anywhere where he’s been
overplayed. I thought that Washington game was a really hard game
because we had a lot of zone time, and that’s really hard for a goalie with
traffic, and we had pegged this game for Darcy. Darcy’s really done a
good job of getting ready to play when he’s called upon. He’s played on
the front end of a back-to-back, he’s played on the back end of a back-to-
back, and he’s done a really good job for us. I think Billy’s got a really
good relationship with our goalies. I think they kind of get a heads up
when they’re going to in the net and they do a really good job of getting
dialed in and ready to play, and he was ready to play tonight.
On Darcy Kuemper not having a regulation loss on December 1:
I think it’s important – I think we’ve seen it in the past with what’s
happened here before where you get some big production from your
back-up goalie. It was exactly what we were hoping for. You look at
Darcy, he came here, and I think he was excited for the opportunity, and
that’s a big responsibility for a back-up. You’ve got to a lot of times go in
on trips and sometimes in tough spots. He went in in Vegas for us mid-
game and played terrific, so your goalie needs to be able to come off the
bench and help the team get righted, and your goalie needs to come in
when the schedule’s tough and you need a great performance, and he’s
done all of that.
On whether he was pleased by Adrian Kempe’s line’s performance
against Brayden Schenn’s line:
Yeah, we have full confidence in that group. Adrian just continues to get
better. I think we all love his speed in the middle of the ice, but he’s
becoming a very responsible guy. I think the faceoffs are something we
need to continue to work on and get better at, but we like the line. We
think it’s a real responsible line. As long as he continues to improve in
those areas, he’ll continue to get more responsibility.
On whether he’s happy with the team’s standing near the top of the
conference on December 1:
Well, for sure. I mean, I think points early in th year are really important.
We just want to continue to try and get better as a team here. We’ve said
this all along. Things went well, and then things kind of slid a little bit, but
I think the important thing is to put it back in neutral, look at the game,
understand what you did well and understand what you need to improve
on, and we have lots of both.
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086369 Los Angeles Kings
GAME 27: LOS ANGELES AT ST. LOUIS
JON ROSEN
DECEMBER 1, 20170 COMMENTS
GAME THREADS
Los Angeles Kings 4, St. Louis Blues 1
NHL.com Preview
Box Score
Ice Tracker
SOG: LAK – 28; STL – 40
PP: LAK – 0/4; STL – 1/5
First Period
1) LAK – Tyler Toffoli (12) (Nick Shore, Tanner Pearson), 1:43
2) LAK – Anze Kopitar (13) (Alex Iafallo, Jake Muzzin), 6:12
Second Period
3) STL PPG – Patrik Berglund (1) (Colton Parayko, Vince Dunn), 15:17
4) LAK – Adrian Kempe (9) (Alec Martinez, Drew Doughty), 18:56
Third Period
5) LAK – Tyler Toffoli (13) (Tanner Pearson), 10:54
Los Angeles Kings (15-8-3) at St. Louis Blues (17-7-1)
Friday, December 1, 2017, 5:00 p.m. PT
Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO
Referees: #30 Kendrick Nicholson, #6 Francis Charron
Linesmen: #68 Scott Driscoll, #96 David Brisebois
Fox Sports West, FOX Sports GO, FUBO TV, KABC 790, I Heart Radio
LAK starters: G Darcy Kuemper, D Jake Muzzin, D Drew Doughty, LW
Alex Iafallo, C Anze Kopitar, RW Dustin Brown
LAK scratches: D Christian Folin. F Torrey Mitchell
STL starters: G Carter Hutton, D Joel Edmundson, D Alex Pietrangelo,
LW Dmitrij Jaskin, C Paul Stastny, RW Alexander Steen
STL scratches: D Robert Bortuzzo, F Magnus Paajarvi, F Sammy Blais
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086370 Los Angeles Kings
DECEMBER 1 PRE-GAME JOHN STEVENS QUOTES; MITCHELL TO
MEET TEAM IN CHICAGO
JON ROSEN
DECEMBER 1, 20170 COMMENTS
On the Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko lines, and attempts to neutralize it:
Well, if you look at the line, it’s interesting. I ran into Brayden Schenn’s
dad when we were in Arizona. He was visiting Luke, and he said he had
never seen a group that had such chemistry right away, and I think that’s
probably the key ingredients of have on a line. They seem to mesh very
well. They’ve got a lot of speed and quickness, they’ve got a lot of power
in their game, they’ve got some elite shooters and they play a really good
team game. If you add it up, I think they’re a plus-56 combined as a line,
and that might be the most dominant line in the league right now. They
play a 200-foot game. They’re a handful. They’re not just run-and-gun,
just a one-dimensional line. They play a really good team game, they can
check, there are turnovers that create a lot of offense of them, so
whoever’s on the ice to get them, you’ve got to compete, and you’ve got
to be ready to check them.
On any parallels to the last meeting, such as the standings, momentum,
and strong road play:
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
I’m not sure, to be honest with you. I haven’t really thought about it that
way. But we’re just kind of focusing on ourselves. When you play St.
Louis, it’s a team in the conference, they’ve been one of the consistent
teams in the league all year. One thing is they’re healthier now than they
were. They’ve got Berglund back, they’ve got Bouwmeester back in their
lineup, so for us, it’s just another road game where in a back-to-back
situation we want to make sure we play a really smart game, we want to
get off to a good start and we want to make sure that we’re getting
contributions from everybody.
On what has evolved in the Kings’ game since the last meeting:
I don’t think it’s got anything to do with St. Louis. I think us, as a team,
we’re always trying to get better. I thought we defended really well last
night in our own zone, just we were there too much. If you took a look at
our neutral zone and our O-zone forecheck, I don’t think it was as
effective as it needed to be last night. When we got in our zone, the
commitment to keep the puck out of our net was impressive, but I think
we taxed ourselves a little bit too much by being there a little too much,
but good teams find a way to win in those games, and I think our
commitment in our own zone was excellent.
On whether he’s expecting a different style of hockey tonight compared
to the last two games:
I’m not sure. Maybe Detroit’s a little different. They really have a speed-
rush team coming at you, but I think Washington plays a really heavy
game. Their skill guys play a heavy game, and I would say St. Louis is
the same way. They’ve got big defense, and their forwards, they play
hard, they play physical, and they really count on their team game. I think
Washington is similar in that sense, but I probably see more similarities in
Wash and St. Louis than I did in the Detroit game. All good teams all
have lots of speed in the lineup, but I just think Washington and St. Louis
play a really heavy game that you’ve got to be ready for. I think the dot-
to-board part of the game, it’s a real important part of the game tonight.
On why St. Louis’ defense is having so much success this season:
They have. They’ve got a scheme where they’ve got this high umbrella in
the offensive zone. Their forward ends up high in the middle of the ice.
It’s an interesting set-up, but it’s a tough read. It’s a good concept they’ve
really gravitated towards. They’ve got some defensemen I think who are
some really good thinkers with good mobility, and they’ve really activated
that D. It’s almost like a power play look in the offensive zone five-on-five,
and it’s really been effective for them. They really get a guy away from
the puck, a lot of time it’s a defensemen, and that creates some
confusion on coverage on that play, and I think last time when we were
here they were at least a goal a game and they’re almost a goal a game
now with 21 goals from their defensemen. That’s been impressive, and
it’s certainly a concern and something we have to be aware of.
On whether Torrey Mitchell was available for tonight’s game:
He’d be available if he was here. He’d need a long stick to help us
tonight. He’s not coming here. He’s going to meet us in Chicago. He had
some complications there with that, but we were trying to get him in here.
We weren’t going to play him, anyway. I just didn’t think it was fair to him.
We’ve got healthy guys here, and he hasn’t skated in three days, so we’ll
get him back on the ice tomorrow and get him going.
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086371 Los Angeles Kings
DECEMBER 2 PRACTICE NOTES: MITCHELL’S PURGATORY,
CLIFFORD UPDATE, PIZZA!
JON ROSEN
DECEMBER 2, 20170 COMMENTS
Good evening from Chicago, the final stop of the Kings’ four-city tour
through the Midwest and our nation’s capital. Los Angeles scheduled a
1:00 p.m. practice, but the few regulars who took the ice did not stay on
for very long. By the end of the skate, Pierre Turgeon led Torrey Mitchell
and Kyle Clifford on some conditioning sprints as others trickled out of
the dressing room and weight rooms towards the first team bus.
Notes!
-Clifford (upper-body) is still a little ways out:
JS reaffirms Clifford not quite yet day-to-day. Still needs to continue to
build up strength.
-As for Mitchell, yes, we saw the whites of his eyes. We also had a nice
conversation with him! As noted yesterday, his visa was secured, and he
beat the team to Chicago yesterday evening by several hours. His arrival,
of course, followed three and a half days in Detroit in which he was
confined to his hotel room because he had to be ready at a moment’s
notice for a call informing him that he’d have to report to the immigration
office.
“Yeah, it was, ‘we’re working on it,’ and they’re expediting my work visa,
and then it was for some reason or another not done by the end of that
day,” he said of the bureaucratic delay, which continued after the team’s
game in Detroit on Tuesday. While the team traveled to Washington,
D.C., he remained at the hotel to deal with immigration paperwork that
bled into Friday.
“I was on call [Wednesday] morning. And then I’d get a call at around
noon like, ‘they’re processing it,’ and … “you should be hearing shortly,’
and, ‘oh, they just sent us some papers and we’ve got to wait a little bit
longer here,’” he said.
“I was going, ‘do I have a record or something that I didn’t know about
here? … I’m a law-abiding citizen.”
He laughed it off and kept an open mind to being stuck in travel
purgatory.
“It’s a holiday for Thanksgiving, and then they processed it Monday, and
it took three and a half days,” he said. “So in hindsight it wasn’t that bad,
right? Three and a half days, but it would’ve been nice to get there.”
The hardest part was not really being able to leave the hotel.
“I couldn’t do anything because I was literally on call to go immigration as
soon as we got the email saying ‘you’re processed,’ so I couldn’t do
anything,” he said. “Like, I literally couldn’t even drive 20 minutes to the
mall, because I had to be ready to leave the hotel right away, so I did
room service like ten times.”
He also watched Showtime’s Billions, which he loved, and the Kingsmen
movies. And then he was back on the ice at the United Center on
Saturday going through sprints. It’s been a long week, but if needed, he’d
be available tomorrow, at least by virtue of his completed paperwork.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. I think, just try to get in shape and when your
name’s called, be ready to go,” he said. An indication of whether he’ll
play the Blackhawks will be revealed during Sunday’s morning skate.
-Meanwhile, the Kings were back in the visitors’ dressing room at the
United Center, the same one they celebrated in after winning the 2014
Western Conference Championship. It’s three and a half years removed
from Alec Martinez’s bank shot off Nick Leddy, but Anze Kopitar recalls
the feeling of returning to the room from which he spoke on Saturday. He
was “pretty tired” after the seven-game heavyweight bout, but did put into
words the immediate feeling of having emerged from the 21-game
western marathon.
“It was just, you know you can’t really—well, yeah you can celebrate –
but you still have one more step to take,” he said. “So, coming here,
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
probably the most satisfying part was they did knock us out the year
before in ‘13. So, we came in here and we couldn’t defend [the Stanley
Cup] anymore, and coming here and being on the other side of things,
especially in this rink, I don’t think we’d had too much success in here on
the other side of things. It was definitely a good feeling.”
“…It’s been a while now. But, yeah, we always come here, it’s always
intense. The building, it’s very loud. You’ve got to make sure that we’re
ready right from the get-go because we all know they can score goals if
you let them play their game. So, we’ll go out there [tomorrow] and
compete and see what happens.”
-More than a dozen pizza boxes arrived for the players just prior to
leaving the rink, and no, it wasn’t deep dish, Chicago-style pizza. It might
take another 21 games to burn off some Lou Malnati’s.
“I’m usually a thin-crust guy,” Jonny Brodzinski said. “I’ve never really
been a thick crust guy, and I heard it’s kind of a bit thicker here.”
Self-styled “pizza expert” Jeff Solomon declined to fully go on the record
with his pizza preferences as to not sow discord in the locker room, but
did state his preference for a New Jersey-style pie.
John Stevens, who regularly embarks on morning runs in the cities he
visits, has some pizza preferences but remains a commendably healthy
eater. He’ll splurge occasionally, though.
“My favorite thing is shrimp cocktail and steak,” he said. “That probably
doesn’t qualify [as comfort food], but I do like pizza once in a while. We’re
pretty much protein-and-vegetable, so fish, chicken, steak. But if I’m
going to have a night where I’m going to have some pizza, I’d be pretty
happy. As a matter of fact, I’m going to have pizza right now.”
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.03.2017
1086456 Websites
The Athletic / Vegas Strong: Golden Knights have been big winners, on
and off the ice
By Michael Russo 16 hours ago
Erik Haula does consider himself extremely lucky.
A big country music fan, Haula had talked to his girlfriend, Kristen, about
attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the night of Oct. 1, just
a slap shot away from the Vegas Golden Knights' home of T-Mobile
Arena.
Haula, the former Wild center selected by the Golden Knights in June’s
expansion draft, had a couple friends visiting from Minnesota that were
attending the concert, and the Golden Knights’ preseason finale against
the San Jose Sharks — a game Haula would score in — would be over
by 7:45.
“Some of the guys even went on Friday, and the concert was right next to
the arena,” Haula said.
But instead, Haula decided to join several of his teammates for dinner
just down the strip at the Cosmopolitan.
“I left the rink at 9, and the thing happened at 10,” Haula said. “Just
chaos. It was terrible.”
Shortly after 10, a gunman smashed open a window from a 32nd-floor
suite at the Mandalay Bay and began firing at unsuspecting concertgoers
as Jason Aldean closed the third and final night of the festival. Fifty-eight
people were killed, more than 500 injured.
Deryk Engelland
Down the road at the Cosmo and out of harm’s way, Haula looked out
the window at Las Vegas Boulevard.
“You know how Vegas is, but it was an absolute ghost town,” Haula said.
“Just cops and ambulances and S.W.A.T. everywhere.”
Haula said the “toughest part for us was social media when we were in
there. You don’t know yet what’s really going on, and then you’re reading
there are multiple shooters or now someone’s walking in here and
someone’s walking in there.”
“So I just decided,” Haula said, his voice cracking, “I’m not moving. I’ll
just wait it out.”
In the days following, the Golden Knights played a pivotal role in helping
the community heal.
They attended blood drives, honored first responders and visited victims
in hospitals.
“We, as a group, had a meeting the next day, and we wanted to go and
help in any way possible and just give our support,” Haula said. “It was
sad. It was really sad. Emotions were running really high. We went to
these hospitals and talked with police officers, and it was just … so sad.”
On Oct. 10, the Golden Knights played their first home game, against the
Arizona Coyotes.
It was not your typical home-opener celebration, particularly for the first
home game for a new franchise.
The Golden Knights paid homage to the heroes of Oct. 1 by having
players accompany firefighters, doctors, nurses, police officers and
paramedics on the ice. They honored survivors during a ceremonial puck
drop, honored the victims with 58 seconds of silence and defenseman
Deryk Engelland, a longtime Las Vegas resident, gave an impressive
pregame speech.
“We had to get the ceremony right because we were suddenly on a huge
platform in Las Vegas and it was a big platform to get the message out
about what happened here and how important it was for the hockey team
and the community to help people heal and grieve and persevere,”
Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee said. “We just thought
it was critical that we got the ceremony right to honor the victims and
support the families and recognize the first responders.
“The game was really secondary to us and in some ways didn’t matter.
This was a bigger event, a bigger issue, a bigger story, and we had to do
it right. And thankfully we think we got it right. It’s not about being proud,
it’s not about accepting accolades. It was about showing we were part of
the community now and here to support. There was a huge expression of
emotion that night. You hope you never have to experience one of these
things at any point in your lifetime, and for some people it’s over, for
some people it will never be over and for us we won’t let it be over.
“We have to continue to support.”
The Golden Knights beat the Coyotes, 5-2, that night to open the season
3-0 in a run that included eight wins in their first nine games. Until a
recent blip of three consecutive losses, including a 4-2 defeat in
Thursday’s first-ever visit to Minnesota, the Golden Knights were leading
the Pacific Division.
They have set several inaugural-season records, including becoming the
first expansion team to win their first three games, win eight times in their
first nine games and win 15 times in their first 22 games (the 1926-27
Rangers had the record with 15 wins in their first 25 games).
They’ve had two five-game winning streaks and an eight-game home
winning streak.
“Everyone hopes for a start like this,” McPhee said. “You seldom ever
see it. We’re delighted. We didn’t expect it. It’s early, but it’s a great start
for us. We wanted to be competitive. We’re trying to win every game.
We’ll see where that takes us. It has been a good start, but it’s a long
way to go. We hope we’re talking this way late in March.”
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
If the Golden Knights are in the hunt come late February, McPhee will
have some serious decisions to make. His goal is still building a
foundation for the future, and key players like left wing James Neal (12
goals, 7 assists), center Jonathan Marchessault (9, 14), left wing David
Perron (6, 13) and defenseman Luca Sbisa (1, 7) are potential free
agents next summer, and thus attractive potential rentals come trade
deadline time.
“That’s a decision we don’t have to make now, thankfully,” McPhee said.
It took an extraordinary amount of work for McPhee and his staff to put
together this roster. Every decision took time, and as an example, The
Athletic reported earlier in the week on the anatomy of the Haula/Alex
Tuch Wild-Golden Knights swap in June.
They studied expansion drafts galore, especially the Florida Panthers’ in
1993 and the Minnesota Wild’s in 2000.
The Panthers truly used that expansion draft to build a team that
accelerated to the Stanley Cup Final in Year 3. The Wild, similarly,
advanced shockingly to the Western Conference Final in Year 3.
The Golden Knights tried to draft players of high character and low ego
and so far have been beating teams through speed and work ethic.
“Those are the two takeaways that we got meeting with management that
had been through expansion,” McPhee said. “(First Panthers GM) Bob
Clarke, one of the big takeaways from him was to make sure you have a
team of workers. (First Wild GM) Doug Risebrough emphasized speed.
So, we tried to accomplish both. And, so far we have those two elements.
And, our coach is doing a heck of a job.”
McPhee chose Gerard Gallant from a list of several qualified candidates
after the Panthers unceremoniously kicked him to the curb last
November.
“He has a very, very good and deep understanding of this game and
how it should be played and a very good understanding of how to relate
to players,” McPhee said. “They enjoy working for him. He’s the kind of
guy you don’t want to let him down because you enjoy playing for him so
much.”
McPhee said he and his staff needed “every minute of that last year to
scout and to put together a master plan and just go through all the details
in scouting meetings.” Every single decision McPhee and his staff made
in these scouting meetings affected another, but “we had an excellent
software engineer create a tool for us that kept things really, really
orderly and precise. Whenever we clicked one player, it sort of changed
the whole paradigm.
“We wanted to try to claim the best players we could get, needless to
say, but they also had to be good people and we had to keep an eye on
proper team construction. That wasn’t easy. But we did the best we
could, and crossed our fingers and hoped when we got going in October
we’d have a competitive, entertaining team, and a team Las Vegas fans
would enjoy.”
McPhee and his staff should feel proud.
So far, on and off the ice, the Golden Knights have been a winner.
The Athletic LOADED: 12.03.2017
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Sportsnet.ca / Impressive first period propels Canucks past Maple Leafs
Jacob Markstrom made 35 saves to help the Vancouver Canucks edge
the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1.
Iain MacIntyre
December 2, 2017, 10:03 PM
VANCOUVER – Nothing bugs a westerner like being dictated to by an
easterner. Even something as pragmatic as an earlier start time for the
Vancouver Canucks when the Toronto Maple Leafs and their pilgrims
make their annual visit to Rogers Arena bothers a lot of people on the
West Coast.
But Canucks fans should stop complaining about the bias towards
Eastern Canadian television viewers for National Hockey League start
times because it was the Maple Leafs who weren’t ready to go Saturday
when the puck dropped early at 4:19 pm local time.
The Leafs started playing around 5 p.m., and by then it was too late. The
Canucks scored two in the first 12 minutes and hung on to the beat the
Maple Leafs 2-1 to ruin what had been a perfect Western Canadian road
trip for Toronto.
"We didn’t get ready," Leafs’ coach Mike Babcock admitted. "The first
period cost us obviously. We spent the whole night playing catch-up. We
had lots of opportunities. Their goaltender was good and they made
some blocks and all that. But in saying all that, we weren’t ready to go at
the start. When you play catch-up hockey, it’s usually losing hockey."
As good as the Canucks were in the opening period, the Leafs were that
good in the final 40 minutes but could put only one puck – James van
Riemsdyk’s deflection with 2:52 remaining – past Vancouver goalie
Jacob Markstrom.
Unfortunately for the Leafs, the Canucks refused to score on themselves,
which is how Toronto beat the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday to sweep
two games in Alberta.
"The bottom line is if you want to be a real good team, you’ve got to play
every day, you got to play every night and you’ve got to start on time,"
Babcock continued. "There was nothing wrong with our effort in the
second and third… but you’ve got to start on time."
Markstrom finished with 35 saves and through 57 minutes appeared
ready to rectify an embarrassing blemish on his resume by finally
recording an NHL shutout. He has gone 128 games over nearly seven
years without one.
But the 27-year-old, who was better than the Leafs’ Frederik Andersen,
happily took the two points. At least we think he was happy, if a little bit
defiant, when asked after the game about losing the shutout.
"Huge win," he answered. "At home (after) a long road trip. Great buzz in
the building. Saturday night. When you play a Canadian team, it’s a little
extra special. Huge win."
Yes, he spoke in fragments, which is how the Canucks played over the
final two periods. By then, the mental and physical exhaustion after a six-
game road trip and 20 nights away from home in November appeared to
set in. Of course, the Leafs, when they skate and press, can do that to
teams, too.
But the Canucks survived on first-period goals by Markus Granlund,
whose wrist shot from left wing was whiffed by Andersen, and
defenceman Alex Edler during a delayed penalty that capped what was
one of Vancouver’s best shifts of the season.
The Canucks were buoyed at the start by a pre-game ceremony
acknowledging Daniel Sedin’s 1,000th point in the NHL. The presentation
included an emotional appearance in street clothes by teammate Derek
Dorsett, who gave Sedin a silver puck two days after the sudden end of
Dorsett’s career due to back injuries.
Sedin didn’t know Dorsett would be part of the ceremony.
"It was awesome to see him," Sedin said. "He has been a big part of our
team. Hopefully he can still be around (because) I think he can still teach
us a lot of lessons."
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
Driven by the emotions surrounding Dorsett’s retirement announcement
on Thursday morning, the Canucks rallied that night with three third-
period goals to beat the powerful Nashville Predators 5-3.
The Canucks’ first period against the Leafs was nearly impressive.
You can debate whether the Maple Leafs or Winnipeg Jets are Canada’s
best team, but the Canucks have been the most surprising in a positive
way. Picked to finish near the bottom of the standings for a third straight
season, Vancouver is instead battling for a playoff spot at 13-10-4. And
the Canucks’ pelts include the Leafs, Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins,
Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals.
"It shows that when we play our best, we can beat anyone," Sedin said.
"But if we have a bad game, we’re going to lose against a lot of teams.
We need every guy each and every night. Tonight, Marky stepped up big
time."
Edler said: "This (Toronto) team tonight, they have so much skill up front.
It was a battle all the way through. We battled hard in Nashville, we
battled hard tonight and we beat two good teams."
Two more good teams.
Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.03.2017
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Sportsnet.ca / Making sense of Doughty and Karlsson’s contract
comments
Emily Sadler
December 2, 2017, 10:51 PM
Drew Doughty and Erik Karlsson share a lot in common, from their draft
year to their status as perennial Norris Trophy contenders, so it’s no
surprise they’d be looking to land similar paycheques on the open
market.
Doughty made it clear that he’ll be consulting Karlsson when the time
comes for him to negotiate a new deal when he spoke with The Athletic‘s
Craig Custance earlier this week.
“I know I’m going to talk to Karlsson back and forth, kind of see what
money he’s looking for,” Doughty said. “I’ll kind of look at what money I’m
looking for. I don’t know if he’s going to re-sign with Ottawa. I don’t know
if I’ll re-sign with L.A. You just never know what’s going to happen.”
Both Doughty and Karlsson are scheduled to be free agents following the
2018-19 season, and will therefore be eligible to sign extensions as early
as July 1, 2018.
According to Sporsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Los Angeles Kings plan on
making their star blue liner a priority.
“Kings management had no issues whatsoever when it comes to his
comments,” Kypreos said during Saturday’s Headlines segment on
Hockey Night in Canada. “Their priority is to make him an offer as early
as July 1. The last thing that they want is another distraction, much like
we see with the Islanders and (John) Tavares. That’s the one thing that
they want to avoid.”
Of course, it’ll cost them. Doughty’s current contract, an eight-year, $56-
million deal he signed back in 2011, counts for $7 million against the cap.
Kypreos said he’s aiming for something even bigger than the $80-million
deal Kings captain Anze Kopitar inked in 2016, which could pose some
big budget questions for Kings in the near future.
“They understand that he will put himself in a position to be higher than
the highest paid player in L.A., which is Kopitar at $10 million,” Kypreos
said. “But for them to remain competitive in years to come, I don’t think
that they’re willing to give him, basically, a top-leveled kind of contract. I
do believe that it will be slightly higher, but not to the point where he
prices himself out completely out of a competitive team for years to
come.”
Hockey players are notorious for side-stepping questions about money,
so Doughty’s honesty made several headlines—and prompted several
questions for Karlsson, too.
As for the Ottawa Senators captain, he was clear about his intentions:
“When I go to market, I’m going to get what I’m worth, and it’s going to be
no less, no matter where I’m going,” Karlsson told the Ottawa Sun on
Thursday.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston broke down what Karlsson’s comments could
mean for the Senators:
“The timing in Ottawa was a little bit less than ideal,” Johnston said
Saturday. “They’d lost seven straight games when this came up,
obviously they had no control over it when Drew Doughty made his
comments and naturally reporters were going to go to Erik Karlsson and
get his feelings on the matter. He’s made his point here, I don’t expect
the Senators will do the same.”
Karlsson signed a seven-year, $45.5-million deal in 2012 with an
affordable $6.5-million cap hit for a Senators team that has seen its share
of star players leave town due to budgetary reasons.
“Awkward timing for them as well, because they can’t do anything until
July 1. They don’t want to stoke the fires here, and a lot of people have
pointed out that Doughty and Karlsson both share an agency, Newport
Sports,” explained Johnston. “There’s also another dynamic here: the
Ottawa Senators have to deal with Newport on Mark Stone this coming
summer, so there’s a few things boiling beneath the surface. Ottawa
wants to keep it quiet in hopes this blows over.”
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Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens’ current win streak has restored hope in
Montreal
Paul Byron scored three of Montreal’s ten goals as the Canadiens
hammered the Detroit Red Wings 10-1.
Eric Engels
December 2, 2017, 11:48 PM
MONTREAL—This was never supposed to happen. Not for Paul Byron,
and certainly not for this group of Montreal Canadiens.
But such is life in Gary Bettman’s parity show, where a player who
supposedly never had much of a chance at a career in this league can be
celebrating his first hat trick in his eighth NHL season and be doing so on
a night where his team, which lost seven of its first eight games of 2017-
18, is firming up its hold on a playoff spot on the strength of a 10-1 win
over the Detroit Red Wings.
On Saturday, Byron scored goals one, three and six of the game and
increased his season total to nine, helping the Canadiens win their fifth
consecutive contest. This event, which seemed so unfathomable when
Byron—a sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2007—was claimed
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
off waivers from the Calgary Flames on the eve of the 2015-16 season,
was born of incredible determination.
And who are these Canadiens, if not a determined-to-defy-the-odds
group? They are a team no one thought could score, one that looked
porous on the defensive side of the puck through all of October, and one
that looked like it was on a fast track for top spot in the 2018 draft lottery
race.
Successive wins over the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets,
Ottawa Senators and two against the Wings have restored hope in
Montreal.
"There was two ways to go," started Byron after Saturday’s game. "We
could either pity ourselves and give up or stop fighting, or we could come
together as a group and find a way to take it one game at a time and get
one win at a time. I know it’s pretty cliché, but in an 82-game season
anything can happen. Teams can get hot, teams can get cold, and you
know I think we all knew we were much better than what our record said
we were."
We’re not entirely sure how good the Canadiens in fact are, but there’s
little doubt now about what they are. They are a resilient group. The proof
is in who led them to such an overwhelming win on Saturday night.
It wasn’t captain Max Pacioretty, who led the team in goals in each of the
last five seasons and led them in points in each of the last six. He was
the only one of Montreal’s forwards to not record a point in Saturday’s
game.
It wasn’t goaltender Carey Price, who was responsible for the majority of
their wins since taking over as starter in 2011. Nor was it No. 1 centre
Jonathan Drouin, who missed Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury.
It was Byron. It was Jacob De La Rose, who hadn’t scored a goal since
April 15, 2015 but found the back of the net in this one and added two
assists to his NHL total of six over parts of four seasons. It was fourth-
liner Nicolas Deslauriers who scored his first goal and first three points as
a Canadien. It was rookie Charles Hudon, who scored his first-ever goal
at the Bell Centre.
Byron Froese, who had two goals and three assists in his first 72 NHL
games, had two assists for Montreal in this one. Defenceman Jordie
Benn, who had 15 goals in 341 previous games at this level, scored the
team’s eighth of this game.
And Daniel Carr, who had admitted being sent to the AHL after a less-
than-stellar training camp had really rocked him, added a goal and an
assist and now has three points in two games since being called up to
the team.
Even Alex Galchenyuk, who should be among Montreal’s point leaders
but scored just one point in his first 10 games, contributed four assists in
this one.
Improbable.
"I know everyone likes to count us out and everyone wants to look at the
odds, but there’s so many good teams in the league I don’t think there’s
going to be as much separation as there’s been in years past," said
Byron. "Until that last game in April, I think it’s going to be a dogfight to
get into that last playoff spot and I think this group needs to keep working
harder to get better and we certainly have a lot better hockey in us than
we played at the beginning of the year. I think it’s finally starting to show
for us."
Time will tell if it can last, and the Canadiens aren’t under any illusions
about what this explosive win over the now-downtrodden Red Wings
really amounts to.
"Stuff is going to happen throughout the course of the year," said
Brendan Gallagher, who scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season
and the 100th of his career Saturday. "You look at what happened last
year, we lost one of these against Columbus, and we won one of these
against Colorado.
"It’s important not to get too high on ourselves," added Gallagher. "The
same way we didn’t get too down on ourselves earlier on in the year."
Just about everyone else in Montreal did, when nights like this one
seemed too far-fetched to fathom.
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Sportsnet.ca / Takeaways: Despite late scare, Oilers appear ready to
turn corner
Mark Spector
December 3, 2017, 1:56 AM
It’s an old hockey axiom you don’t often hear anyMORE: Bad
goaltending, good game.
On Saturday, shady goaltending turned a 5-1 game into a thrilling, 7-5
finish. Don’t look now, but with 55 games left in the 2017-18 season the
Oilers pulled to within five points of Calgary after Edmonton won its sixth
straight game in the Battle of Alberta.
Truly, the 6-1 lead Edmonton had was more indicative of this game than
the final score, as Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit imploded in the third
period to keep Calgary in the game. But the Oilers were the better team
in this one, and they just might be turning a corner — finally — in what
has been a brutal start to the season.
Here are some takeaways from a game played in 2017 with a final score
from about 1987:
• Brossoit’s last four starts: a 2-1 shootout loss at Washington; two goals
against at Buffalo; five goals against versus Toronto; and a good night
turned dreadful Saturday night in Calgary.
With Cam Talbot (upper body) out for at least another 10 days or so, and
the Oilers not up again until Philadelphia comes to Rogers Place on
Wednesday, we’ll bet Brossoit gets another start versus the Flyers, with a
very short leash. Remember, backup Nick Ellis hasn’t played an NHL
minute.
What of Brossoit though? He was good into the third period, holding a 6-
1 lead. And then he absolutely imploded.
An awful goal to Sam Bennett from well below the circle. Then another to
Johnny Gaudreau — maybe worse. Almost cost the Oilers a game they
once led 6-1.
Edmonton appears ready to turn a corner. They won’t turn anything with
goaltending like that however. GM Peter Chiarelli is shopping, no doubt.
There could be a new man between the pipes come Wednesday,
because at this point there isn’t a man inside this organization who has
faith that Brossoit is ready to carry a team.
• Jesse Puljujarvi entered the game with three NHL goals, and very
nearly doubled that total in the opening 20 minutes. He closed the game
with two goals, and couple of Grade A chances missed.
The 19-year-old Finn, we’ll have to say, is starting to very much resemble
an NHL player. He skates well, and is figuring out that he’s as big or
bigger than most NHL defencemen. He can barge into the blue paint and
stay there a while against a lot of pairings, as he learns that every goal
doesn’t have to be a 30-foot snipe show.
With Kailer Yamamoto at WHL Spokane, and Puljujarvi still just 19, the
Oilers look strong on the right side. If Puljujarvi can find chemistry there
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with McDavid, it will allow head coach Todd McLellan to keep Leon
Draisaitl at centre ice on his own line for the foreseeable future.
ERIC ENGELS
• This is how hockey works: Two night ago Toronto talked about how
great their power play was, scoring two goals on two shots, needing only
1:28 to go 2-for-2 on the man-advantage vs. Edmonton. The Oilers,
meanwhile, bemoaned their own brutal PK, which is the worst in the
NHL.
Fast forward to Saturday, when the Flames blew an early four-minute
power play in a scoreless game, and would go on to convert just one of
six power play chances. The Flames would tell you that special teams
cost them a hockey game Saturday, while the Oilers will take five kills in
the same game, something that is rare as an Eric Gryba hat trick this
season.
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Sportsnet.ca / NHL’s next expansion franchise could cost $600-700
million
Sonny Sachdeva
December 3, 2017, 12:03 AM
If the NHL adds another franchise to the mix in the future, there’s a good
chance it will cost much more than the $500 million Bill Foley paid to spur
the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights.
That’s according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, who reported that the
next NHL franchise is expected to cost between $600-700 million.
“Expansion is not formally on the agenda as owners gather Thursday and
Friday in Florida, but there is a strong feeling that it will be discussed on
some level,” Johnston said during Hockey Night in Canada’s Headlines
segment on Saturday. “We’ve talked about Houston, we’ve talked about
Quebec City in recent weeks. There’s also a key vote in Seattle on
Monday where the Oak View Group could have its $600-million arena
proposal approved by council to get things going. That will obviously get
the attention of NHL owners should it go through.
“And with how well things have gone in Vegas on the ice, off the ice, all
this interest that they’re getting, the feeling is that the next franchise in
the league is going to cost $600 million to $700 million.”
The vote in question—on a memorandum of understanding between the
Oak View Group and the city of Seattle proposing a redevelopment of
KeyArena—could serve as the first significant step in Seattle’s bid to
enter the expansion fray.
FULL DETAILS: #Seattle Mayor, OVG to announce $660+ million,
tentative, privately financed arena deal:
#KeyArenahttps://t.co/ZOUgfiSTCB pic.twitter.com/dkw4UcMt2S
— Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels5) September 12, 2017
Commissioner Gary Bettman discussed the city’s chances of getting a
franchise in October, telling Sportsnet 590’s Prime Time Sports that
securing a building surely helps.
“You need to believe that a building is going to come out of the ground.
And if not, bad things will happen,” Bettman said. “This is really jumping
ahead because we would have to be in a place where we say ‘OK we
want to commit to a franchise in Seattle. Here’s what has to happen, here
are the terms of engagement.’ We’re nowhere near that.”
Not yet, but a majority vote from the nine-member council on Monday
would certainly move Seattle one step closer.
The Golden Knights’ $500-million price tag was the most costly in NHL
history thus far—by a long shot. The two previous clubs to join the
league, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, each paid
$80 million in expansion fees back in 2000.
Nashville and Atlanta paid the same in the two years prior, while Florida
and Anaheim each coughed up $50 million in fees before that, one tenth
of the price paid by Foley for the Golden Knights.
However, as Johnston said, the league’s 31st team has already begun
reaping the rewards of that hefty sum, drawing interest from locals and
the hockey world alike as their club continues what has already been the
most impressive start of any franchise in league history.
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Sportsnet.ca / Making sense of Doughty and Karlsson’s contract
comments
The Hockey Night in Canada panel discuss comments made by Drew
Doughty and Erik Karlsson about their contracts and if the Buffalo Sabres
and Philadelphia Flyers are open for trades.
Emily Sadler
December 2, 2017, 10:51 PM
Drew Doughty and Erik Karlsson share a lot in common, from their draft
year to their status as perennial Norris Trophy contenders, so it’s no
surprise they’d be looking to land similar paycheques on the open
market.
Doughty made it clear that he’ll be consulting Karlsson when the time
comes for him to negotiate a new deal when he spoke with The Athletic‘s
Craig Custance earlier this week.
“I know I’m going to talk to Karlsson back and forth, kind of see what
money he’s looking for,” Doughty said. “I’ll kind of look at what money I’m
looking for. I don’t know if he’s going to re-sign with Ottawa. I don’t know
if I’ll re-sign with L.A. You just never know what’s going to happen.”
Both Doughty and Karlsson are scheduled to be free agents following the
2018-19 season, and will therefore be eligible to sign extensions as early
as July 1, 2018.
According to Sporsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Los Angeles Kings plan on
making their star blue liner a priority.
“Kings management had no issues whatsoever when it comes to his
comments,” Kypreos said during Saturday’s Headlines segment on
Hockey Night in Canada. “Their priority is to make him an offer as early
as July 1. The last thing that they want is another distraction, much like
we see with the Islanders and (John) Tavares. That’s the one thing that
they want to avoid.”
Of course, it’ll cost them. Doughty’s current contract, an eight-year, $56-
million deal he signed back in 2011, counts for $7 million against the cap.
Kypreos said he’s aiming for something even bigger than the $80-million
deal Kings captain Anze Kopitar inked in 2016, which could pose some
big budget questions for Kings in the near future.
“They understand that he will put himself in a position to be higher than
the highest paid player in L.A., which is Kopitar at $10 million,” Kypreos
said. “But for them to remain competitive in years to come, I don’t think
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NEWS CLIPPINGS • Dec. 3, 2017
that they’re willing to give him, basically, a top-leveled kind of contract. I
do believe that it will be slightly higher, but not to the point where he
prices himself out completely out of a competitive team for years to
come.”
LUKE FOX
Why would Doughty start fires 17 months before free agency?
ERICK EVANS
Hockey players are notorious for side-stepping questions about money,
so Doughty’s honesty made several headlines—and prompted several
questions for Karlsson, too.
As for the Ottawa Senators captain, he was clear about his intentions:
“When I go to market, I’m going to get what I’m worth, and it’s going to be
no less, no matter where I’m going,” Karlsson told the Ottawa Sun on
Thursday.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston broke down what Karlsson’s comments could
mean for the Senators:
“The timing in Ottawa was a little bit less than ideal,” Johnston said
Saturday. “They’d lost seven straight games when this came up,
obviously they had no control over it when Drew Doughty made his
comments and naturally reporters were going to go to Erik Karlsson and
get his feelings on the matter. He’s made his point here, I don’t expect
the Senators will do the same.”
Karlsson signed a seven-year, $45.5-million deal in 2012 with an
affordable $6.5-million cap hit for a Senators team that has seen its share
of star players leave town due to budgetary reasons.
“Awkward timing for them as well, because they can’t do anything until
July 1. They don’t want to stoke the fires here, and a lot of people have
pointed out that Doughty and Karlsson both share an agency, Newport
Sports,” explained Johnston. “There’s also another dynamic here: the
Ottawa Senators have to deal with Newport on Mark Stone this coming
summer, so there’s a few things boiling beneath the surface. Ottawa
wants to keep it quiet in hopes this blows over.”
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Sportsnet.ca / Sabres open for business, is Evander Kane on the block?
Emily Sadler
December 3, 2017, 12:09 AM
The deeper we get into the 2017-18 season, the clearer it becomes that
something needs to change in Buffalo.
The struggling club was expected to take a big step in its rebuild this
year, but once again finds itself in the NHL’s basement with a 6-17-4
record. Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins was their fourth
straight defeat—their 11th in their past 12 games—and featured another
dismal offensive performance on the heels of being shut out for three
straight games.
So, might we see some trade talks coming soon?
“There’s a sense from other teams that the Sabres are sending signals
that they are open for business, and you can ask about anybody whose
name is not Jack Eichel,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during
Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “Now, I do
think if you’re going to ask about a [Rasmus] Ristolainen or a Marco
Scandella or a Sam Reinhart, you better be coming with a serious offer
because I don’t think Buffalo is going to trade those guys unless the offer
is great. But I think they are prepared to listen to everyone except the
franchise player.”
According to Friedman, Evander Kane could be a player to watch. The
26-year-old assisted on the Sabres’ one and only goal scored this week,
and his play has been a rare highlight on a team that hasn’t had many of
them.
“A lot of people are talking about Evander Kane,” said Friedman. “I asked
a couple of teams what the price would be, and here’s what a couple of
them said: If you go back and look at a couple of deadline deals from the
past couple of years, Andrew Ladd and Martin Hanzal, look at what their
two teams got: Winnipeg got Marko Dano, a first-round pick, and a
conditional pick for Ladd from Chicago, and Arizona got a first, a second
and a fourth from Minnesota for Hanzal and Ryan White.”
Kane has 12 goals and 24 points through 27 games this season so far to
lead Buffalo in both categories, and would surely land a hefty return if
we’re talking in terms of what Ladd and Hanzal garnered.
“The sense is that Buffalo feels that Kane is a better player than both
those players, so they’re going to be aiming higher,” said Friedman. “I
don’t think they’re going to be getting a franchise defenceman for him,
but I think that’s the idea of what they want to be, and Kane is having a
great year.”
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Sportsnet.ca / NHL hoping salary cap could rise to $80M neighbourhood
next year
Sonny Sachdeva
December 2, 2017, 10:37 PM
General managers around the NHL could have plenty of room to bolster
their rosters before the 2018-19 season rolls around as the league is
hoping the salary cap could rise to somewhere in the neighbourhood of
$80 million next year.
An update on next season’s salary cap is expected to come when the
league’s Board of Governors meet this week in Florida, according to
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
“There is a sense and a hope that they’re going to hear that the league is
hoping for something in the neighbourhood of $80 million,” Friedman said
during Hockey Night in Canada’s Headlines segment on Saturday.
“We’re at $75 million now—they’re hoping to hear something around $80
million, depending on what the Players’ Association wants to do.”
With the cap sitting at $75 million this season, a jump to $80 million
would serve as the biggest yearly rise since the 2014-15 campaign, when
the league’s cap increased from $64.3 million to $69 million.
The cap rose by just $2 million between this season and last, having sat
at $73 million for the 2016-17 campaign.
NHL Salary Cap by Season:
2013-14 $64.3 M
2014-15 $69.0 M
2015-16 $71.4 M
2016-17 $73.0 M
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— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 22, 2016
A $5-million increase could provide some much-needed breathing room
for a few different clubs around the league.
The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning are each projected to
have roughly $10-11 million in cap space next season with the ceiling at
its current $75 million, according to CapFriendly. Both teams have some
key names to re-sign, meaning a significant cap bump could grant them
the opportunity to keep their current names and perhaps add some
others.
For clubs like the Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings and Florida
Panthers, who have their cores locked up and would similarly have
roughly $8-10 million if the cap remained the same, an extra $5 million
might give them an opportunity to add another significant piece to the
mix.
Much is yet to be determined before it can be assumed that such an
increase will take place, however, more clarity should come after the
league’s Board of Governors meet on Thursday and Friday.
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Sportsnet.ca / Predators’ Viktor Arvidsson helps fan with marriage
proposal
Sportsnet Staff
December 2, 2017, 8:27 PM
Viktor Arvidsson collected an assist before the Predators game even
began on Saturday.
As the team was walking past their screaming fans to take the ice for
warmups, Arvidsson stopped and passed a ring to fan Conor Payne.
And then Payne got on one knee and asked his girlfriend Morgan
Landsberg a very important question.
She said YES, y’all!!! What a special moment we got to share with
Morgan & Conor! pic.twitter.com/z2jcr8hRBv
— Lexus Lounge (@lexus_lounge) December 3, 2017
She said yes!
Predators beat writer Adam Vingan caught up with the couple afterwards
and found out that Arvidsson is Landsberg’s favourite player.
After that nice pass, it’s probably safe to say he’s Payne’s now too.
Congrats to the happy couple!
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TSN.CA / Leafs come up just short in loss to Canucks
By Kristen Shilton
The Maple Leafs haven't swept a Western Canada road trip since 2000.
After going 2-0 against Calgary and Edmonton, Toronto came up just
short of the accomplishment in Saturday's 2-1 loss to a feisty Vancouver
Canucks team. The defeat halted Toronto's two-game win streak, and
moved them to 17-10-1 on the season.
Takeaways
11th-hour alterations
The Leafs had a last-minute change to the lineup when they announced
hours before puck drop that Tyler Bozak was scratched due to illness.
That moved Patrick Marleau back to the middle between James van
Riemsdyk and Mitch Marner, while William Nylander moved to the
Nazem Kadri line to accommodate Josh Leivo stepping into the lineup on
the fourth line. In another intriguing move, Roman Polak remained in the
lineup after a difficult night against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
Polak had trouble matching the Oilers’ speed and was victimized with a
couple of drawn penalties in quick succession.
Against the Canucks he had another rough start, directly contributing to
the Canucks’ first goal. Overall, Toronto had a mediocre first period and
didn’t have much jump offensively compared to the high-octane Canucks’
attack, and Marcus Granlund’s first goal of the season materialized as
the Leafs were running around their own zone and Polak had Frederik
Andersen screened.
Polak was also on the ice later in the frame (while play was 6-on-5 due to
a delayed penalty against the Leafs), when Alex Edler picked the same
top corner as Granlund to put the Leafs in a 2-0 hole after 20 minutes.
When the second frame began, Babcock blended his lines, moving
Nylander back to the Matthews line, Marner to the Kadri line and Brown
to the Marleau line, which gave the Leafs a spark they used to control the
flow of the game until well into the third period. Babcock has been
tinkering with Toronto’s offence since the start of the season trying to find
the right combinations and with or without losing guys due to illness, that
trends shows no signs of slowing just yet.
Veteran moves
It was a nightmare moment for Morgan Rielly. Playing in his hometown
with his mom and dad in the crowd, the fifth year defenceman had a
wide-open net and the puck on his stick when he fanned on the shot and
sent it trickling past the left post. As Rielly turned his head to the sky in
anguish, James van Riemsdyk moved into position to do what he does
best. He tipped his 13th of the season past Jacob Markstom to deprive
the net minder of his first shutout of the season, and moved into a tie for
first place with Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri for goals scored
among Leafs.
The single goal for Toronto may have taken nearly three periods to
materialize, but after being outworked through the entire first, Toronto got
the better of their hosts for most of the final 40 minutes. Going into
Saturday’s game, Toronto had only outshot their opponent seven times
over their first 26 games, going 3-3-1 in that span. After being outshot in
the first period, Toronto was outshooting the Canucks 10-0 after the first
10 minutes of the middle frame, and by the start of the third period, shots
were 17-3 Toronto since the start of the first.
But Markstrom was rock-solid for the Canucks in net, and only a
relentless shift from the Leafs offensively to set up van Riemsdyk’s goal
put a dent in his armour. It was just the second one-goal game the Leafs
have lost this season, after falling 3-2 to San Jose on Oct. 30.
Goalie groove
Andersen entered Saturday’s game with a 7-1-4 all-time record against
the Canucks and was already a perfect 2-0 on the Leafs’ Western
Canada road trip. He was also just 24 hours removed being named the
NHL’s second star of the month for November, after posting a terrific 8-2-
1 record with .947 save percentage and 1.97 goals-against average.
But while Andersen had been the Leafs’ best player in the previous four
weeks, he started Saturday’s game with a goal he surely wanted back.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
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Granlund’s marker was one Andersen would normally have, but his
reaction to the high-glove shot was just a half-second too late. The Leafs
were caught chasing the Canucks in their own zone at the time, and were
at a loss to match the Canucks’ cycle game in the opening frame.
After Edler’s score, Andersen really settled down and looked closer to his
usual self, though he wasn’t tested nearly as much through the final 40
minutes. Andersen did make what was perhaps his best save of the
game midway through the final frame on Loui Eriksson, extending his
right pad just enough to turn the puck aside and keep the Leafs down by
a pair.
Late in the third period, Andersen tried to play the puck and ended up
falling, but recovered enough to keep Vancouver from capitalizing. He
finished with 24 saves and a .923 save percentage. It was the second
time in three games Andersen has faced 25 or fewer shots after a stretch
of eight games with 30 or more shots against.
Ferocious fourth line
For the second straight game, the Leafs fourth line was among their best
for 60 minutes. Matt Martin, Dominic Moore and Leivo generated the
most offensive zone time (at a team-high 71 per cent possession) and
some of Toronto’s best chances, especially in the second period. They
finished the night with five shots on goal while averaging less than nine
minutes of ice time collectively.
Following their first period struggles, the Leafs held a commanding lead
in possession time, at 71 and 71 per cent respectively over the final two
periods; they finished at 58 per cent overall. While it was van Riemsdyk’s
group that ultimately tallied the Leafs’ lone goal, he, Patrick Marleau and
Connor Brown were among the least efficient in possession time at 51
per cent.
Next game
The Leafs return home to face the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
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TSN.CA / TSN Hockey's Top 10 Storylines of the Week
By Scott Cullen
A Canucks milestone, free agent defencemen from 2019 in the news,
Price is back in fine form, Ducks-Devils trade and more in TSN Hockey’s
Top 10 Storylines of the Week.
DANIEL SEDIN HITS 1,000
Vancouver Canucks left winger Daniel Sedin became the seventh active
player to cross the 1,000-point threshold, picking up three points in
Thursday’s 5-3 win at Nashville.
The 37-year-old is not playing so much this season, 14:14 time on ice per
game is his lowest since 2003-2004, and the Sedins are left to a
supporting role at this stage of their careers, but hitting a milestone like
this is a reminder of just how productive they have been for a long time.
In his illustrious career, Daniel’s most productive stretch was from 2006-
2007 through 2010-2011, when he put up 429 points in 390 games,
winning the 2010-2011 scoring title with 104 points.
While production is down this year, the Sedins remain play drivers,
controlling 57% of shot attempts during 5-on-5 play, so while the twins
may be in their twilight of their careers, they remain productive
contributors, even in their diminished role.
FREE AGENT DEFENCEMEN
The 2019 free agent class of defencemen – headlined by Erik Karlsson,
Drew Doughty and Oliver Ekman-Larsson – is very interesting, not least
of all because at this early point in the process there is still the possibility
that these guys might move.
This could all be fanciful dreaming, by teams that hoping that might be
able to lure one of these premier talents in free agency, but Karlsson and
Doughty both had some interesting comments this week.
Doughty told The Athletic’s Craig Custance that he’d be discussing free
agency with Karlsson. "Right now, we'd be gauging off what Subban
makes," Doughty said, referencing Subban’s $9-million cap hit. "I think
both of us deserve quite a bit more than that."
For his part, Karlsson insisted, “I will get what I’m worth.”
Neither of these stances are especially controversial, but it’s unusual for
hockey players to talk about how much money they will be seeking on a
new contract. Doughty noted that there will be some pressure on the
2019 free agent defencemen to set a new standard for the position.
PRICE RETURNS
The Montreal Canadiens’ season was fading away, as they had gone
seven straight without a regulation win, and the outlook was bleak. But a
funny thing happened on the way to the draft lottery: the Habs got
superstar goaltender Carey Price back from injury and Price, who had
struggled early in the season, was in fine form, stopping 128 of 133 shots
in his first four games back in the lineup.
The Canadiens are hardly fixed, as they are still ranked 29th in goals per
game (2.48), but if Carey Price is healthy and back to being Carey Price,
then they are going to have a chance to be competitive, which is a whole
lot better than things looked even a week ago.
HENRIQUE-VATANEN DEAL
A couple of teams looking to address positional needs used their depth
elsewhere on the roster to swing a significant trade.
The Anaheim Ducks have had their centre ice position gutted by injuries,
so they made a deal to acquire Adam Henrique from New Jersey,
sending puck-moving blueliner Sami Vatanen to the Devils.
DORSETT DONE
One of the big surprises for the Vancouver Canucks early in this season
was the production they received from gritty right winger Derek Dorsett, a
30-year-old who missed most of last season after he had neck surgery.
He scored six goals in the first 10 games in this season, stunning
production from a player who had scored more than seven goals in a
season once, all while remaining his feisty self – he leads the league with
74 penalty minutes in 20 games.
Nevertheless, word came this week that Dorsett’s career is finished, that
he can’t continue to play because of the risks involved with his surgically-
repaired neck. He ends his career with 127 points, 105 (regular-season)
fights and 1,314 penalty minutes in 515 games.
SENS SLUMPING
It’s not a great time for the Ottawa Senators. Friday’s 6-5 win at the
Islanders ended a seven-game winless streak, a miserable stretch that
saw them score just nine goals.
Even after the win at the Islanders, the next five games are on the road,
so that’s not an ideal situation, and if this season gets away from them
that will be a significant disappointment after last season’s appearance in
the Eastern Conference Final.
There was also another round of the Senators insisting that they are not
for sale, with rumours suggesting that the team lacks the funds to
develop Lebreton Flats for a new arena.
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MATT MURRAY INJURY
After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Pittsburgh Penguins have
started this season slowly, in part because their goaltending has not
been as strong as it has been in recent seasons.
Matt Murray, who is the clear No. 1 between the pipes for the Penguins,
had a .906 save percentage through 21 games, and suffered a lower-
body injury after a collision with Philadelphia Flyers winger Jakub
Voracek, and that leaves the Penguins in a precarious spot.
In the past few seasons, the Penguins have had the luxury of having
either Murray or established veteran Marc-Andre Fleury in net, but with
Fleury gone to Vegas in the expansion draft, a Murray injury leaves
Pittsburgh with 22-year-old Tristan Jarry in net and Jarry has appeared in
just five NHL games in his career.
Jarry did record a 34-save shutout at Buffalo Friday, but this is still a
dicey situation if Murray is going to be out long-term.
FLYERS SLIDING
Heading into Saturday’s afternoon contest against Boston (which they
are losing), the Philadelphia Winless in nine, the Philadelphia Flyers are
starting to feel the heat, with fans calling for head coach Dave Hakstol to
be relieved of his duties (if not necessarily in such amicable terms).
The Flyers haven’t been entirely awful – there is some bad luck involved
in losing four of those games in overtime and one in a shootout – but the
season is getting away from the Flyers and if they don’t turn it around
soon, they’ll be looking ahead to next season, probably sooner than
expected.
KESSEL
With Sidney Crosby going through an early-season slump (he’s since
emerged and is producing in typical fashion again) and Evgeni Malkin
injured, the early scoring leader on the Pittsburgh Penguins is Phil
Kessel, who has 32 points in 27 games, a career-best 1.19 points per
game.
Kessel is generating 3.7 shots per game, his highest since 2013-2014,
though he played two-and-a-half minutes more per game back then;
that’s encouraging for the 30-year-old winger’s production moving
forward, but beware the power play. Kessel has scored 17 of his 32
points with the man advantage, tied with Steven Stamkos for most
power-play points in the league.
WILLIAM KARLSSON
The Vegas Golden Knights made out pretty well in the expansion draft,
but even Vegas has to be surprised by the immediate impact they’ve
received from centre William Karlsson, who came from Columbus.
Karlsson, 24, has scored 10 goals in the past 10 games and is tied for
fifth in the league with 14 goals. He has 24 points in 25 games, one off of
tying last year’s career-high. He’s shooting 25.5% right now, so that’s not
going to continue, but Karlsson has been shooting more (28 shots on
goal over the past 10 games), so that will help to offset when his
percentages start to fall.
The good news out of this for Vegas is that Karlsson is young enough to
be a building block. He will be a restricted free agent next summer and is
looking at a hefty increase in salary from the $1-million he’s making this
season.
TSN.CA LOADED: 12.03.2017