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CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • April 2, 2019

Who are these jerks in Carolina?

Scott Burnside

RALEIGH, N.C. – Curtis McElhinney has a confession.

Sometimes when the veteran netminder does not check his text messages on the way to PNC Arena for a home game. That means when the Carolina Hurricanes win and perform their now highly anticipated – and not a little controversial – postgame Storm Surge celebration, McElhinney occasionally does not know exactly what is going on.

Like when the Hurricanes defeated the Sabres and the group feigned a series of curling matches with their helmets and sticks.

“I will admit that on the curling one I wasn’t quite sure of what my role was,” McElhinney said. “I think I was merely a spectator.”

Good thing captain Justin Williams hadn’t penciled him in as a skip.

It’s the final stretch of what has been a revelatory season for the beleaguered franchise and its equally battered fans. Even picture day felt notable, as the most famous maker of hockey ice, Dan Craig, was visiting. At this time of year, the senior NHL executive visits various arenas that are likely hosting playoff games to make sure everything is in order.

It is safe to say Craig has not made such a visit to Raleigh in many years.

The most notable part of picture day, though, was the demeanor of the team. For most of the past decade, picture day was a brutal reminder of unmet expectations. This year, laughter and hooting and hollering rang out as the Hurricanes assumed their positions on the chairs and risers on the ice.

“That’s one of the first times picture day wasn’t as miserable as it normally is,” veteran center Jordan Staal said with a laugh. “It’s a fun feeling for sure. It’s been a long time. It’s been a long time coming for the city and the fans here. We’ve got some work to do obviously but definitely a different buzz on game days. On the ice. And then just around the city as well. Just a few extra, ‘hey, how’s it going?’ Or ‘great job, blah, blah, blah.’ You can definitely tell people are starting to get the itch and get more involved and starting to realize what this team can do.”

From the outside there is an element of the curious about this team mostly stemming from its enthusiastic, sometimes ingenious, sometimes obscure postgame celebrations.

High-profile hockey figures including aging Canadian broadcaster Don Cherry and longtime hockey executive Brian Burke, now a broadcast analyst in Canada, have criticized the celebrations and hence the team.

Cherry became so exasperated with the celebration he called them a “bunch of jerks” on national television, which further galvanized the team and its growing fan base.

The team instantly produced “Bunch of Jerks” T-shirts. Close to 11,000 were sold, shipping to people in every state in the United States, plus Canada, Finland, China, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It is the biggest-selling piece of team-related merchandise outside of the Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup gear in 2006.

But to consider the celebrations in isolation as some kind of hokey gimmick is to ignore the complex nature of building a team and the painstaking task of rebuilding a franchise from the ground up. To view this team through only the Storm Surge prism is to ignore that players here have endured unspeakable personal tragedy, have questioned their own worth, and faced ridicule and worse, irrelevance, in pursuit of forging something meaningful.

In a matter of days, the Hurricanes could step onto the ice for an NHL playoff game for the first time since 2009.

What it will mean to this team and its fan base is a lesson in perseverance and faith that has resonated across the hockey landscape. Bunch of jerks? Maybe. But these jerks are likely going to the playoffs. Get used to it.

Staal was at the center of the celebration the last time a playoff game was played in Carolina on May 26, 2009; only he was a member of the Penguins and on his way to winning the Stanley Cup.

Staal hasn’t seen postseason action since being traded to the Hurricanes in 2012, and watching his brothers have success didn’t make the wait any easier.

“I don’t want to be super negative in this thing. But I’m a pretty negative guy sometimes in general,” Staal said with a laugh when asked about all of those playoff-less springs. “But I find it miserable. I want to be a part of it. I hate to lose. And no one likes to finish off the season with meaningless games. It’s literally, it’s not fun. It’s not enjoyable. It feels like work at that point. And that’s what it’s been for a few years. It’s been work. And now obviously when you’re involved and playing it’s fun at the same time and it’s enjoyable to go to the rink and go play hockey.”

No one has the perspective on not just hockey but life that Jordan Staal does.

He just returned from a concussion that cost him two months of this season. The injury made it hard for him to track things with his eyes, threw off his balance quite a bit and caused migraines.

“You try and string together as many good days as you can,” he said. “Early on it was just putting the kids’ clothes on in the morning and going up and down and left and right and walking down the stairs after. And you’re going, that was way harder than it should have been. Your head just feels like it’s bobbing up and down and different stuff and the headaches.”

Staal relied on help from family, including brother Marc who had his own concussion issues, and former teammate Sidney Crosby.

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Marc met up with Jordan and their respective families at their parents’ winter place in Naples, Fla., during the All-Star break.

“As soon as he walked through the door I knew exactly what he was feeling,” said Marc. “It absolutely devastated me for seven or eight months after. I could see it in his eyes and his body language. I said ‘you’re not feeling right. I can tell.’”

One of the biggest pieces of advice Marc provided was that when you’re feeling right, truly right, there won’t be any question about whether you are ready to play.

But it’s not just the physical challenges that confronted Jordan and his family.

Just over a year ago he and his wife, Heather, lost their infant daughter, Hannah, to a terminal birth defect. It was something that forced Jordan to examine many elements of his life including his marriage to Heather – whom he married on the day he was traded to Carolina – his faith and his own personality.

“Yeah. Love. I’m telling you, my family has been amazing,” Staal said. “I guess when you hear about people going through tough times it’s almost like shutting up and just giving them a hug. It’s the best way to go about it. And just being there for them. Not trying to relate. Not trying to compare. Not trying to put a little bit Band-Aid on a tough time.”

He now feels like he was able to take something shattering and become stronger as a husband, brother and person.

“I learned a lot about listening and I learned a lot about my wife and how strong she is and how amazing she is and then just working through tough times and then I think I learned a little bit about just not being so independent,” Jordan said. “Actually leaning on people and talking to people and not being that guy that nothing ever bothers him because that was hard and I did need to talk to somebody and work through it. So I learned that those aren’t bad things. Those aren’t signs of weakness. Those are signs of strength. And being able to use the people that love you and that are around you and work through things like that is important.”

Those around the team say Staal, a father of two other girls, ages 4 and almost 3, has never been happier.

But it’s not just the prospect of returning to the playoffs: He and Heather are expecting another child in July.

“We obviously held off from telling people for a little bit longer than normal, I guess,” Jordan said. “So we were praying before that that everything went well and it did and it was an answered prayer. The baby looks healthy and everything looks good in regards to obviously what happened last year and everything else. We’re very happy and very excited.”

For coach Rod Brind’Amour, Staal’s point production is almost irrelevant when considered against what he brings to the ice and the locker room in terms of leadership and accountability.

“I just think the guys appreciate him and they know what he’s been through,” Brind’Amour said. “It doesn’t get talked about. You don’t have to, right? You know. Nobody wants to have to deal with something like that. But to come out the other side

and smile and be who you are and not let it affect you now, I think that’s leadership.”

Brind’Amour has been an institution here in this community since being acquired by the Hurricanes in 2000. But to be fair, there were those outside the Raleigh bubble who wondered if Brind’Amour’s promotion from assistant to head coach when Bill Peters departed for Calgary was simply a gimmick or another way for new owner Tom Dundon, who took control of the team in early 2018, to save some bucks.

That the team improved in such dramatic fashion should be surprising, but somehow for those who played with or worked alongside Brind’Amour, there is little surprise that the Hurricanes are poised to return to the playoffs in his first year as a head coach.

“I’m not even at all surprised honestly,” veteran NHLer Matt Cullen said.

“He’s a guy that, whatever he would decide to go into, he’d be a huge success just because he knows how to apply himself completely to whatever he wants to do. … Understands the game at a very high level and played it at a very high level forever, so he carries that weight of respect into the room. Just his commitment to excellence is beyond anybody I’ve ever seen probably.”

In the very first meeting at training camp in September, Brind’Amour told the players that the one thing the Canes had become good at was giving players lots of time off in the spring. He promised that was going to stop.

After an up-tempo training camp and a 4-0-1 start to the season, the team couldn’t buy a goal, winning just four of its next 14 games. The Canes slipped out of the playoff picture, and it was starting to look a little like Groundhog Day around Raleigh.

“It was weird. Our best hockey was our first 25 games. And our record was crap,” Brind’Amour recalled. “So I started going, ‘oh, no.’”

Brind’Amour, a man of deep convictions when it comes to the game, admitted he wondered how this was going to play out.

“Even though everyone was starting to doubt us, it was like, ‘oh, man, just stick with it.’ To be honest with you, I didn’t know any other way to do it,” Brind’Amour said. “It wasn’t like, ‘OK, let’s go to Plan B.’ We didn’t have a Plan B. This is how we have to play.”

Who knows how close this season came to being like every other season for the past 10 years. But it’s pretty simple to pinpoint why it didn’t.

On a wall at PNC Arena is a picture from Carolina’s 2006 Stanley Cup run of captain Rod Brind’Amour and 24-year-old Justin Williams.

Williams went on to win two more Stanley Cups in Los Angeles, earning the nickname Mr. Game 7, and played two seasons in Washington. In the summer of 2017, Williams chose to sign a two-year deal to essentially come home to Raleigh.

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He had other options. Dallas, Toronto and other teams looking for veteran leadership came calling. But he and his wife liked the fit in Raleigh, liked the possibilities.

And then came last season and a 10th-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

“Last year was a frustrating, very frustrating year,” Williams said. “We said all the right things last year but the feeling around the dressing room was that we were kind of pretenders, if we’re all being honest.”

This year, though? This is why he came home.

“This year it feels like we’re not going away. We’re not getting pushed out when it gets harder,” he said.

One of the first things that Brind’Amour did as a head coach was name Williams captain.

One might imagine that the prospect of their changed roles, an aging veteran captain and rookie head coach, could have caused some uncomfortable moments in spite of their longstanding friendship. But the opposite is true.

Williams is the conduit between Brind’Amour’s vision and the execution on the ice.

When things went south a bit early on it was Williams, along with Staal and Justin Faulk, who kept this ship from going aground.

“I give the guys credit. Because they could easily have said screw this, this isn’t working, you’re pushing us too hard or we don’t like this,” Brind’Amour said. “And they didn’t and that’s Willy, Jordan. It’s all those guys saying this is how we’re doing it. And we’re lucky we got a young team and they look up to those guys. … If they went the other way, easy, all the other guys go ‘we’re tanking, we’re not doing it that way.’”

Those veteran voices resonate because they are also productive members of the team.

Williams is playing top-six minutes and is a vital cog both personality wise and production wise. Williams has a chance to end up with more goals at age 37 than he’s had since 2006-07.

When it comes time to plan the Storm Surge celebrations, it is Williams who sits with teammates and maps them out. It is Williams who shares the ideas with the team’s communication staff in case there are props that need to be procured – like the portable basketball hoop that was procured from a local department store and stored near the ice resurfacing entrance for use after a critical win against Minnesota, with Trevor van Riemsdyk dribbling through his teammates and providing the slam dunk to end the surge.

Conversely, when the team lays an egg, as Canes did recently against Tampa, watching a 3-2 two-period lead turn into a sloppy 6-3 defeat, it is Williams who spares nothing.

“We pissed it away,” Williams said during a brief postgame media scrum. “We pissed it away and it’s unacceptable.”

More than half the players in the dressing room in Carolina on any given night are new to the team from a year ago. And somehow the group doesn’t just work they thrive.

“This is the most together team I’ve ever been around since the championship team,” veteran play-by-play announcer John Forslund said. “Now, who knows what they’re going to do? They haven’t even made (the playoffs) yet. But from togetherness, I’ve never seen anything like this. They’re truly together. They are truly a team. They’ve got great personalities. They’ve come out of their skin. A lot of these kids I never knew they had personalities like this because they were so restricted with Bill (Peters). Bill’s a good coach. Bill’s a very good coach. But they were younger and they were intimidated and they were worried about making mistakes outside of the system.”

Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho are basically inseparable. The two Finns live in the same complex not far from the Shorthills area of Raleigh. They are passionate video game players and are Fortnite teammates, as well as occasional linemates on the ice.

When the weather turns warmer, they plan to golf together, although at this stage Teravainen is the more accomplished of the two as Aho just picked up the game when he came to North America for the 2016-17 season.

“I made him,” Teravainen said with a laugh over lunch at a local Italian eatery.

Teravainen is not just three years Aho’s senior, but he also understands the dynamics of an NHL playoff run in a way that few outside Williams and Staal comprehend in the Hurricanes’ dressing room. After being called up from the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in the 2014-15 season, Teravainen played in 18 playoff games with the Chicago Blackhawks, collecting 10 points en route to a Stanley Cup.

Aho, from the small city of Rauma on the southwest coast of Finland, is starting to understand that part of his life includes being the center of attention both at home when he returns for the offseason and in his adopted hockey home in Raleigh. Even lunch now includes a fan politely stopping to offer his congratulations.

While it seems a given that NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov will win the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player, you can make a case that Aho should at least be in the discussion given his emergence as a two-way player.

The interesting thing is that Aho, the 35th overall pick in 2015, has surpassed the 80-point mark and registered a plus-23 goal differential through 79 games by moving back to his natural position as a center in spite of Brind’Amour’s initial reluctance to use him there. He felt Aho would be more dynamic on the wing a la Taylor Hall, but the fit at center has been a good one.

“I was worried his offense was going to suffer and that has been the opposite,” Brind’Amour said.

It’s still a work in progress. Aho is 21 after all and occasionally Brind’Amour will have to remind him that he’s not Sidney Crosby. Not yet.

“I’ve got to get on him all the time because he thinks offense all the time,” Brind’Amour said.

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As the season has progressed and with Staal’s injury complicating the penalty kill, Brind’Amour heaped more responsibility on both Aho and Teravainen.

Combined they represented 150 points through 74 games. Williams is third on team, 22 points behind Teravainen and 32 behind Aho.

If GM Don Waddell is correct, Aho better get used to the attention.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that one day he’ll be the captain of the team,” Waddell said. “There’s no selfishness in his game. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

There are more than enough reminders about the past and what has been lost in the last decade so maybe it’s a good thing that a sizeable part of the team’s core is young enough that the past has little relevance to them.

Longtime Carolina defenseman Justin Faulk tells a great story about a pal of his, a younger player in another market.

“Last year he was telling me he didn’t know who was in his division, what their record was, how many points they had,” Faulk said. “He had no idea. And this was like December. It wasn’t the beginning of the season. But he was doing really well having a good season. And it’s just that naiveness of like, ‘I’m here, I’m playing hockey’ and that’s all he’s thinking about.”

So there is something to be said for that kind of naiveté from players like Aho, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and rookie Andrei Svechnikov, who now leads all first-year players with 20 even-strength goals.

Much of this young Carolina team knows little but Storm Surges and now a playoff stretch drive.

Faulk is not one of those players. The 27-year-old has not played a single playoff game in his career.

“For myself, the last couple of years you start to think about it more and realize that it’s been pretty brutal,” he said. “It’s tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel when it seems like it’s been dragging on for a while.”

The talent on the team suggests that won’t be the case, but then again, no one thought it’d be 10 monstrous years between playoff appearances in this market either.

A generation of fans has come and gone, and mostly gone without knowing the drama of a playoff series. A generation that doesn’t remember the 2006 Stanley Cup run.

“There’s so many other people who just say, forget it, I’ll be there when they win,” Forslund said. “That’s why this season it was so important to do something.”

Dundon has been unconventional in his approach to owning a team, as evidenced by his failure to hire a traditional GM to replace Ron Francis and instead giving the job to Waddell, who was also overseeing the team’s business operation.

There is always some elasticity between on-ice success and bottom-line success, but still there are signs that a corner was turned.

The team invested in a state-of-the-art $3 million projection system, and Dundon is discussing long-term enhancements to the arena. Ticket sales are up 11 percent over last season and suite sales are up 13 percent over the same period. There is slow growth in sponsorships and there’s a possibility season-ticket sales could approach the 10,000 mark pending playoff success, which would almost double the number of four years ago.

If you go out the East entrance to PNC Arena and walk until you hit a patch of grass and bushes, you’ll run into the folks who call themselves Section 328. They’ve been calling that little swath of ground home for years, gathering before games in all kinds of weather in all kinds of circumstances.

On a chilly night in late March with rain threatening, the group – which includes Mike Flanagan and Derek Roessler, who do a podcast called Cheaters Never Win (what Canes fans call out when an opposing player takes a penalty) – is discussing the potential for the team to get an outdoor game. If it happens, they are already planning an epic 24-hour tailgate.

The past 10 years followed a predictable pattern for fans like the Section 328 gang. Hope pinned on a move or two – Alexander Semin and Scott Darling to name just two – followed by crushing disappointment and, of course, the inevitable sliding out of the playoff picture.

That this year might somehow be different is almost too much to believe.

“It’s been like waiting for the next shoe to drop,” Flanagan said. “It’s been like, when’s the failure going to happen? It’s almost like you can’t enjoy it as much as you should or as much as you want to.”

He looks around at his friends. He spends more time with them than he does pretty much anyone else in his life. Think of the best wedding you’ve been to in the past 10 years and that’s what Flanagan imagines it will be like when they step through the doors for that first playoff game, hopefully, in about a week.

Flanagan and his wife, Leigh, adopted a son a few years ago and now they will be able to share the moment with 4-year-old Fionn, who’s now addicted to the game.

And maybe that’s what this is all about.

Sharing something, passing something meaningful on so that they can, in turn, do the same down the road.

Maybe that’s why it’s so hard not to root for these jerks and all the jerks who have been waiting for days like this to roll back around.

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Bourne: Why this is the year a ‘weird-ass’ team wins the Cup

By Justin Bourne

It’s been said the NHL is home to a level of parity that’s the envy of all the other sports leagues, a phrase generally spoken by media evaluating the desires of those in positions of power at other sporting institutions. Leagues logically want to engage as many fan bases as possible each season, and for as long as possible, for no other reason than to wantonly suckle at the cash teats of as many wallets as possible for as long as possible — the economic goal of many businesses.

For the most part, those that assess these kinds of things agreed, the NHL’s attempts to create parity have been on-point. The league has done it or at least provided the illusion of it (which is what really matters) pretty darn well. Still, there have been a stubborn few organizations that have managed to swim upstream against dynasty-fighting policies for a little more than a decade now.

Nine of the past 11 Cup Finals have hosted one of Pittsburgh, Chicago or L.A. While a few other organizations — like Boston, Washington and Tampa — have been regularly nibbling at the fringes of the “likely to win” conversations, to varying levels of success, the reality is this: Heading into the postseason, we generally have a pretty good idea which puppies of the playoff litter will grow up to be the Big Dogs still eating when they bring out the biggest bowl in June.

With that reality in mind, I bring to you my latest “bargument.” (I’ve decided that a “bargument” is the type of argument usually rooted in sports or politics that can be conveyed using only words, that welcomes disagreement and conversation and usually has one fairly clear statement of opinion. As in, the type of argument you’d hear at a sports bar.)

That opinion here: Some weird-ass team is going to win the Stanley Cup this season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Final played between two weird-ass teams. (Another addendum: the phrase “weird-ass” — a very bar-style phrase, indeed — just means a team who hasn’t won it all in forever, if ever, or didn’t show itself to be a real Cup hopeful for most of the regular season. Simply a team that hasn’t recently or consistently qualified for consensus Big Dog status.)

Here’s my “bargument” by division, starting with a look at the Metro.

The Metro is a shemozzle

Last season, the Washington Capitals took home the Stanley Cup with a less-dominant team than many of its recent predecessors that dominated the regular-season standing. This year, they’re right around where they were last season in terms of points, which is to say they seem “good but gettable.” To understand what I mean by “gettable,” imagine you’re a gambler, heaven forbid you’d sink to such depths. Now imagine you’d like to place some wagers on the first round of the NHL postseason.

Assuming the Caps win the Metro — they’re three points up on the Islanders with three games each to play — they’re likely drawing Carolina or Columbus. What’s your comfort

level with putting your cash on Washington coasting past either team in short order? (Just to address the stampeding elephant that just charged into the room: No, I don’t think Montreal is going to work its way into the playoff picture. The Canadiens are trailing in points, they have a tough schedule left to play, and I’ve never been overly sold on their roster. They’ve been amazing and resilient and even a delight to watch, but this is a “bargument.” I’ve got them out, sorry. Moving on!)

Anyway, the Blue Jackets are red-hot right now, having won five straight games. It looks like the team they tried to build at the deadline seems to be coming together at the right time (or wrong, depending on whom you’re cheering for). Are you comfortable betting Washington in that matchup? Doesn’t it seem to have “long-series potential”? How about the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that seems to have caught Special Season lightning in a bottle, complete with some dazzling young talent and a rock-solid D-corps? I mean, you’d take Washington in that series for sure, but it’s pretty easy to see how legs could get tired there, is it not? And then what awaits a victorious Capitals team, maybe Crosby, Malkin, Kessel and the Penguins?

The point here is, do any of these five teams — Washington, the Islanders, Pittsburgh, Columbus or Carolina — from that one division seem to have much of a leg up on the next? Mix and match the potential series in any way you like. Most of the time, you’re looking at a coin toss when it comes to picking the winner.

And when it comes to slim margins between winning and losing in hockey, doesn’t it feel like a year that a weird-ass wild-card team could do some damage out of the East?

That’s only aided by the fact that …

The road through the Atlantic is essentially the plot of Lord of the Rings, only instead of dropping off the ring in Mordor, that’s where you pick it up

I don’t think I need to go into too much detail here. Tampa, Boston and Toronto have been three of the league’s better teams throughout the bulk of the 2018-19 season, divisions and conferences be damned.

(While we’re tranquilizing stampeding elephants before they do much damage: The Leafs have had some crappy late-season stretches, but they aren’t crap. Their area of weakness is defence, but a couple of their best defencemen, who have been injured, will return in time for the postseason. The Bruins are still the favourites, but the perception pendulum has swung way too far in the “Bruins are going to roll the Leafs” direction.)

The first two rounds of the NHL’s postseason are inarguably — I’ll go as far as to say inbarguably — the most fierce, the most competitive, the best. Teams are at their freshest, they’re at their most excited, and they’ve had the longest to prep for an opponent (even if they’re prepping for multiple opponents, the work can start months early). These early games are war, with huge emotional swings and physical drains that aren’t really felt until hours after the final buzzer

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goes. And worse, felt when the alarm goes off the next morning.

And as I may have mentioned, I like Columbus and Carolina enough that I don’t think either is going to roll over for Tampa in the first round. If Tampa does get through, which seems likely to happen but unlikely to be a walk, the Lightning then draw themselves one hell of a battle against either Boston or Toronto. The games played in those big series can take a lot out of a club.

While I’m not as high on the teams out of the Metro, I do think that whoever emerges will get to face a depleted team out of the Atlantic. Absences for a variety of reasons, including injury, can happen to any team, but with a Metro-Atlantic series coming after eight to 14 playoff games, who knows if we’re looking at the same rosters we are today. To me, it all opens up doors for all the weird-ass hopefuls from the East.

And on the other side of the continent …

Every serious contender from the Pacific qualifies as weird-ass

I’m not gonna blow any of your mental processors here, but this season’s iteration of the Pacific Division was hot garbage. Of the four worst teams in the Western Conference — doublechecks — yeah, four of them are from that division. Even if you win it — or even, say, the whole conference — it better be done in an extremely convincing fashion to be worthy of being in the Cup favourite conversation.

As you may have guessed, Calgary’s team and play alone aren’t quite there for me.

But where the Flames are is in the Pacific Division and about to draw a team from the Western Conference wild-card race — a race that in itself is enough to make me want to curse out anyone who suggests the NHL should expand the number of playoff teams. That’s what puts them in the “Cup favourite” conversation.

After they win Round 1 in four or five, they’ll either play a San Jose Sharks team that’s had more regular-season points than they currently have in 11 of their previous 13 full seasons, or the Golden Knights, who wouldn’t have enough points to qualify in the East despite also playing in the hapless Pacific.

Over the past nine seasons, the Flames have made the playoffs twice, winning one series and five games total over that span. They missed last season. Thereby they still qualify for “weird-ass” status, which in turn qualifies everyone in their division below them.

Before we move on here, though, can we take a second to dwell on the concepts that (a) it’s totally feasible that the Golden Knights could still be involved in the postseason conversation into May again, but more importantly, (b) THIS COULD REALLY BE JOE THORNTON’S YEAR.

Last year, Ovechkin shucked the “Yeah, but he never won it all” albatross, which easily leaves Thornton as the next most obvious guy to wear it. (I mean, I know he’s been wearing one. There’s multiple albatross — albatri? — clinging to NHL players, but it’s clear Thornton would be the biggest story

among those vying to lose it.) This brings me to the saddest potential moment ever. Could you imagine the interviews with Patrick Marleau if Thornton and the Sharks win it all this year? After all those years at their peak, unable to thwart Chicago, and Los Angeles and Vancouver, suddenly the path to the holy grail gets cleared right when he moves to a division with … maybe the league’s two best teams, to play on the division’s third-best? Poor Patty.

OK, I’m getting off track here. The next question to ask is …

What has become of the Central? It suddenly seems open for some unlikely teams to do some damage, doesn’t it?

If you follow many fans of the Winnipeg Jets on Twitter, there’s a sense that this team isn’t as good as the national media seems to believe. Yes, the Jets went to the conference final last season. Yes, they may yet win the Central. But we may still be mired in the idea of what “winning the Central” meant a few years ago (when the division had like four legit Cup hopefuls). And we may be missing the fact that the only way you could call them “hot” right now is by noting that tire fires also produce heat. There are just too many nights where they don’t look like a particularly special club despite having some elite talent.

Another division-winning hopeful, Nashville, has plummeted from last year’s President Trophy status to a team that’s been about .500 over the past couple of months of the season. With a few games to go, the Predators are more than 20 points behind their 2017-18 pace. While they, too, could still find their way into a first-round wild-card matchup and essentially a berth into the second round, this will be a fairly different squad from the juggernaut-status group that’s set into playoffs the past few years.

Where this gets really weird-ass is when you look at the St. Louis Blues, who remind me of the Sharks. They’ve been better, often far better, than they have been this season, but no other year has it seemed more possible for them to find their way through to the Final. They’re just two points behind the Predators and Jets for first in the division — with a game in hand on Nashville — which means they could draw Dallas, Colorado, Arizona or Minns … sorry, Dallas, Colorado or Arizona.

(Even just typing those three teams makes me realize — as much as I’m writing off those David-like Western wild-card teams, it doesn’t seem likely any of them are going to have to slay a Goliath to win a round of their own. Just a slightly bigger David. Now that would be weird-ass.)

In all, this is the year that it truly feels like any team could win. No team outside Tampa or Boston seems like it should win based on its team makeup or regular-season performance. I realize that’s the boldest part of this semi-bold prediction — that things won’t be so easy for one of those two teams if it gets through to the conference final. But I’m pretty comfortable making it — the slog of playoffs can dull the speed and skill of the more elite teams after enough crazy-high tempo matchups. And there are enough weird-ass “maybe” teams that I could see one catching fire at the right time.

… Plus, this is a “bargument,” after all, and it just feels like one of those years.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


I’m making the call. This is the year your random-ass fringe-nibbling team really does have a chance. This feels like the year the bizarre is just waiting to happen. So rejoice! After all, someone has to. And we know it won’t be the league

commissioner or the owners in the heat of the summer, when the curtain is raised, the puck is dropped and Carolina and St. Louis finally do battle for Lord Stanley’s Holy Grail.

Canes will try to trade Harvard’s Fox, Dundon says

By Chip Alexander

Adam Fox, a defenseman at Harvard, was traded in June 2018 to the Carolina Hurricanes and attended the team’s prospect development camp at PNC Arena. Photo courtesy of Harvard athletics.

With Harvard defenseman Adam Fox balking at signing an entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, team owner Tom Dundon said Monday the Canes are looking at another option.

“We’ll try to trade him,” Dundon said. “I think we’ll do OK. We’ll see.”

The Canes obtained Fox as part of the June 2018 trade with the Calgary Flames that had defenseman Noah Hanifin and forward Elias Lindholm going to the Flames for defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Micheal Ferland. The Flames had hoped to sign Fox after his sophomore season at Harvard but were told he planned to return to school for his junior year and then included him in the trade with Carolina.

If Fox goes back to Harvard for his senior season and completes his college eligibility, he will became a free agent in 2020. But there’s the belief if a trade can now be arranged by the Canes with a team Fox desires to play for, he might sign immediately.

Many consider Fox, a right-handed shooting D-man, to be NHL-ready, increasing his value to other teams. Could a trade bring the Canes a first-round draft pick? That might be too steep a price, although a second-round draft selection probably can’t be ruled out.

If a trade can’t be completed, the Canes could continue to try and sign Fox. If he returns to Harvard and becomes a free agent next year, they could make another run at him, although that would be unlikely.

Fox attended the Canes’ prospect development camp in Raleigh last year soon after the trade with Calgary. In an interview, he said he had made no firm plans about his pro future, saying, “For me, it’s not that I’ve thought all the way down the road and had this whole thing planned out, of what I want to do.”

Canes general manager Don Waddell had praise for Fox, saying he was the best defensive prospect not in the NHL. Waddell also was confident the Canes would sign Fox, saying he was “99.9 percent” certain an agreement could be reached after Fox’s junior year.

An all-American at Harvard, Fox has twice been a member of Team USA in the IIHF World Junior Championship, winning a gold medal in 2017.

No magic to it. Brind’Amour wants Canes to win out to reach playoffs

By Chip Alexander

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour doesn’t spend much time worrying about a “magic number.”

The Canes have three games left in the regular season and Brind’Amour says, “We’ve got to win our next three.”

Meaning, win all three to assure themselves a place in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Three wins would do it. No suspense that way.

After a 3-1 loss Sunday to the Pittsburgh Penguins, coupled with the Columbus Blue Jackets beating the Buffalo Sabres, the Canes and Blue Jackets swapped wild-card spots -- Columbus moving into the first wild-card position with 94 points and the Canes hold the second wild-card spot with 93. Just behind: the Montreal Canadiens with 92 points.

To reach the playoffs for the first time since 2009, the Canes need a combination of six points -- either points gained or points lost by the Canadiens. Win all three games, as Brind’Amour said, and it’s a moot point. Win two games, have the Habs lose one and the Canes are in. And so it goes. Six is the number.

All three teams play Tuesday and only the Canes are on the road, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Blue Jackets host the Boston Bruins and the Canadiens host the Tampa Bay Lightning, the league’s best team.

“I learned a long time ago we’re not getting help,” Brind’Amour said Sunday. “We’re going to have to win our games, take care of our business and don’t rely on anyone else.”

The Canes, after the Leafs game, close out the season with a final home game Thursday against New Jersey and a road game Saturday at Philadelphia.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Montreal will play Thursday at Washington and then home Saturday against the Maple Leafs. The Blue Jackets, at least on paper, have the easiest path to the playoffs with a game Friday against the New York Rangers, then Saturday against the Ottawa Senators -- albeit both games on the road.

The Canes will play Tuesday without defenseman Calvin de Haan, who left Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury.

Carolina on Monday recalled defenseman Haydn Fleury from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL on an emergency basis.

A question for the Canes are how they will handle the goaltending. Petr Mrazek is the likely starter against the Leafs but with the schedule spacing could start all three games unless Brind’Amour decides to give Curtis McElhinney another start.

Preview: Hurricanes at Maple Leafs

Three games remain in 2018-19 regular season

by Michael Smith

TORONTO - Just three games remain in the 2018-19 regular season for the Carolina Hurricanes, who make their first and only visit to Toronto to square off with the Maple Leafs.

The Hurricanes, who still occupy a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, are looking to rebound from a 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Controlling Destiny

Three teams separated by two points. Two playoff spots. Three games remaining.

That's what this comes down to.

Fortunately for the Hurricanes, they're on the right side of the playoff cut line, even despite dropping a 3-1 decision in Pittsburgh on Sunday. They trail Columbus by a point for the first wild card seed, and, on the outside looking in, Montreal trails the Canes by a point.

The road ahead is simple: win and you're in.

"We know where we're at," Justin Faulk said. "We know every point matters right now."

"We're not getting help," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We're going to have to win our games, that's just it. Take care of our business and don't rely on anybody else."

The Hurricanes have lost consecutive games in regulation just twice in 2019. They'll look to avoid suffering the same fate a third time - and twice in the last week - when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"We've got to flush it … and come back Tuesday ready to play," Jaccob Slavin said after Sunday's loss. "Only a couple games left. Nothing to save it for. We've got to get to the playoffs."

De Haan Out, Fleury In

Hurricanes defenseman Calvin de Haan suffered an upper-body injury in the second period of Sunday's game in Pittsburgh. De Haan did not return to the game and returned to Raleigh afterward for further evaluation.

Haydn Fleury was recalled from Charlotte on Monday. The 22-year-old defenseman has posted assists in each of his last four AHL games and will likely pair with Trevor van Riemsdyk on the Canes' blue line.

The Last Meeting

The Maple Leafs twice visited Raleigh in the first half of the season, and their most recent stop was in the midst of a disappointing December for the Hurricanes. Justin Williams tallied a power-play goal to tie the game at one in the in the second period, but the Leafs answered just over a minute later and stretched their lead in the third period in a 4-1 win on Dec. 11.

The Opposition

The Maple Leafs clinched a playoff berth with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Monday night. Former Islander John Tavares scored his 46th goal of the season early in the third period, and that held up as the game-winner. Toronto, who has three games remaining in the regular season, will square off with the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

WORTH A CLICK

News

Push for the Playoffs: Three of a Kind

Recap: Canes Defeated by Penguins

Canes Recall Fleury from Charlotte

Videos

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Highlights: PIT 3, CAR 1

Gameday Links

Cool Bars: Brier Creek

First Goal Contest presented by Kayem

WATCH, LISTEN & STREAM

Watch: FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports GO

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes app, Hurricanes.com/Listen

Push for the Playoffs: Three of a Kind

Canes could clinch playoff berth at home on Thursday

by Michael Smith

TORONTO - With just three games remaining in the 2018-19 regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes are in the thick of a playoff race that could come right down to the wire.

Despite a loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, a failure to gain ground in the wild card race, the Hurricanes still occupy a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and are in control of their destiny heading into the first week of April.

"We've got to flush it … and come back Tuesday ready to play," Jaccob Slavin said after Sunday's loss. "Only a couple games left. Nothing to save it for. We've got to get to the playoffs."

"We're not getting help," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said prior to Sunday's game. "We're going to have to win our games, that's just it. Take care of our business and don't rely on anybody else."

Down to the Wire

The Hurricanes defeated Philadelphia on Saturday night, but Montreal beat Winnipeg and Columbus defeated Nashville to keep pace in the wild card race. On Sunday, while the Canes stumbled in Pittsburgh, Columbus took care of business against Buffalo. As a result, the Canes slipped to the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 93 points and three games remaining. Sandwiching the Canes in the standings are Columbus in the first wild card spot (94 points, three games remaining) and Montreal just on the outside looking in (92 points, three games remaining).

Things, well, they're pretty tight.

The Hurricanes' magic number could be five: any combination of five points gained by the Canes or lost by the team with the ninth-best points potential in the Eastern Conference (currently Montreal) could clinch a playoff berth for the Canes, but that's contingent upon the tiebreaker still

favoring the Canes. A magic number of six points would ensure a postseason appearance regardless of the tiebreaker scenarios.

Either way, the earliest the Canes could clinch a playoff berth is now Thursday, April 4.

Hurricanes' Playoff Chances

The Hurricanes' postseason chances have taken a hit since this time a week ago, but the odds remain in the team's favor since they currently sit above the cut line.

Money Puck: 77.3 percent

The Athletic ($): 78.78 percent

Hockey Reference: 77.6 percent

Sports Club Stats: 78 percent

If the Season Ended Today

If the regular season ended today, here's how playoff match-ups would shake out in the Eastern Conference.

Metropolitan Division

Washington (1) vs. Columbus (WC1)

NY Islanders (2) vs. Pittsburgh (3)

Atlantic Division

Tampa Bay (1) vs. Carolina (WC2)

Boston (2) vs. Toronto (3)

Pittsburgh essentially ensured they will finish in the top three in the Metropolitan Division with their win over the Hurricanes on Sunday. Assuming the Canes remain above the cut line, then, they'll likely finish in one of the two wild card spots. According to Money Puck, the team has a 46 percent chance of retaining the second wild card seed and a 27 percent chance of trading places in the standings with Columbus for the first wild card seed.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Toronto faces conference rival Carolina

By The Associated Presstoday

Carolina Hurricanes (43-29-7, fifth in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (46-26-7, third in the Atlantic Division)

Toronto; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Toronto faces Carolina in Eastern Conference action.

The Maple Leafs are 23-14-2 at home. Toronto serves 6.2 penalty minutes per game, the fewest in the Eastern Conference. Zach Hyman leads them averaging 1.0.

The Hurricanes are 20-16-3 in road games. Carolina leads the NHL shooting 34.6 shots per game while averaging 2.9 goals. In their last meeting on Dec. 11, Toronto won 4-1. William Nylander recorded a team-high two assists for the Maple Leafs in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: John Tavares leads the Maple Leafs with 46 goals, adding 41 assists and totaling 87 points. Auston Matthews has six goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Toronto.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 5-5-0, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.3 assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .916 save percentage.

Maple Leafs: 4-4-2, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.3 assists, 2.6 penalties and six penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game with a .885 save percentage.

Maple Leafs Injuries: Jake Muzzin: day to day (illness), Jake Gardiner: day to day (undisclosed), Andreas Johnsson: day to day (illness).

Hurricanes Injuries: None listed.

Brind'Amour on wild-card race: 'We're not getting help'

TSN.ca Staff

The Carolina Hurricanes enter the final week of the season with just a one-point lead over the Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

The Hurricanes fell 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday and were jumped in the wild-card race by the Columbus Blue Jackets, who picked up their fifth straight victory.

"We're not getting help," Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said prior to Sunday's loss. "We're going to have to win our games, that's just it. Take care of our business and don't rely on anybody else."

“We’ve got to win our next three,” he added post-game.

Brind'Amour said a poor start cost the Hurricanes on Sunday, but he credited the team for continuing to battle after falling behind 3-0 early in the third period. The

Hurricanes outshot the Penguins 38-28 on Sunday as they lost for the third time in four games.

The Hurricanes have three games remaining in their season and begin their final stretch on Tuesday on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"We've got to flush it… and come back Tuesday ready to play," defenceman Jaccob Slavin said. "Only a couple games left. Nothing to save it for. We've got to get to the playoffs."

It appears Carolina may have to make their final push without defenceman Calvin de Haan after he left Sunday's game with an upper-body injury.

"I haven't talked to the trainers yet, but I think he's going home, so it's not good," Brind'Amour said after the game.

De Haan, 27, has one goal and 14 points in 74 games this season.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Carolina cannot afford let-up with three games remaining

Field Level Media

As much as Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour likes to emphasize the importance of focusing on the next game, there's a bigger picture for his team.

"We've got to pick the pieces up," Brind'Amour said. "We've got to win our next three."

The first of those three comes Tuesday night at Toronto.

The Hurricanes are a point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Eastern Conference's first wild-card spot, but a point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens for the second spot. Each of the teams has three games remaining.

The Maple Leafs are in the third-place spot in the Atlantic Division, and their playoff spot was clinched with Monday night's 2-1 victory at the New York Islanders.

"It's great to punch your ticket," Toronto center John Tavares told reporters after the game. "You work so hard all year to give yourself a chance. Every opportunity, you want to take advantage of it. It's great to be in it."

Toronto will be in the postseason for the third year in a row. And while the Maple Leafs have reached a certain threshold, that doesn't mean they're content.

"There's a lot of good going on," Tavares said, though realizing that the Maple Leafs have gone through a rather ragged stretch. "We're trying to get some better results. It doesn't take very much to put yourself in a tough spot."

Toronto was 3-5-2 across the final three weeks of March so there has been the desire to get things fixed before the shortcomings are too costly.

"We've got a couple more opportunities to prepare and get our game in shape and be ready," defenseman Morgan Rielly said.

Toronto is coming off a three-game road trip in which it went 1-1-1, but the Maple Leafs hold a 23-14-2 record in home games.

The Hurricanes had a chance to make a bid for the third-place position in the Metropolitan Division, but that was pretty much dashed with Sunday's 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh.

Carolina has lost three of its last four games for its roughest stretch since December.

"I'm certain we'll bounce back," Brind'Amour told reporters.

The Hurricanes have been pointing out the past couple of weeks that they need to take care of their business and to not expect help in regard to results from other games.

Now, they've reached this critical juncture as they try to end the NHL's longest playoff drought. The Hurricanes haven't qualified for the postseason since 2009.

"Nothing to save it for," Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. "We've got to get to the playoffs."

The Hurricanes sent defenseman Calvin de Haan back to Raleigh, N.C., after he sustained an upper-body injury in the Pittsburgh game. The team recalled defenseman Haydn Fleury from Charlotte of the American Hockey League.

Tavares recorded his career-high 87th point of the season with a goal Monday night.

This will be the third meeting of the season between the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs, though the first in Toronto. Carolina won 5-2 and on Nov. 21 and Toronto prevailed 4-1 on Dec. 11.

--Field Level Media

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Game Preview and Storm Advisory

The Hurricanes take on the Maple Leafs in their last non-divisional game of the NHL season.

By Andrew Ahr

Carolina Hurricanes (43-29-7) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (45-26-7)

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019 - 7:30 PM

Scotiabank Arena - Toronto, ON

TV: Fox Sports Carolinas Radio: 99.9 The Fan

CAROLINA HURRICANES


SBN Opponent: Pension Plan Puppets

The Hurricanes come off of a disappointing loss on Sunday night in Pittsburgh to take on the Maple Leafs in Toronto. Tonight’s game is nearly a must win in order for the Canes reclaim the WC1 spot from the Blue Jackets.

Vital Statistics

Category Hurricanes Maple Leafs

Record 43-29-7 45-26-7

Points 93 97

Division Rank 5 Metro 3 Atlantic

Conference Rank 8 EC 5 EC

Last 10 Games 5-5-0 3-5-2

Streak Lost 1 Lost 1

Goals/Game 2.94 3.55

Goals Against/Game 2.73 3.03

Shots/Game 34.6 33.3

Shots Against/Game 28.5 33.0

Faceoff % 49.2% 53.2%

Power Play % (Rank) 17.3% (20) 22.2% (8)

Penalty Kill % (Rank) 81.8% (7) 80.7% (T13)

ES Corsi For % 54.98% 51.82%

ES PDO 99.1 102.0%

PIM/Game 7:34 6:13

Goaltender #1

Category Petr Mrazek Frederik Andersen

Record 21-14-3 35-15-6

Save % .911 .917

GAA 2.46 2.78

Goaltender #2

Category Curtis McElhinney Garrett Sparks

Record 19-11-2 8-8-1

Save % .912 .901

GAA 2.57 3.15

Game Notes

The Hurricanes and Maple Leafs are meeting for the third and final game of the season. The Canes are 1-1-0 against Toronto this season.

11 different Hurricanes players picked up points in the November 21st win over the Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs clinched a playoff berth and at least the third spot in the Atlantic Division last night with a win over the Islanders. There’s still a chance that they could overtake the Bruins for the second spot in the division.

The Hurricanes’ 93 points thus far this season is just the fourth time that the franchise has reached the milestone. The last time that they crested 93 points was in the 2008-09 season.

Almost all of the relevant teams are in action tonight, so definitely keep an eye on the league scoreboard.

Storm Advisory

Is this a bad April Fools joke, or real?

Speaking of April Fools, this is definitely not real. [Pension Plan Puppets]

Tampa Bay is making history.

The Devils / Rangers rivalry is alive and well.

Stalking the Standings

Tonight is absolutely huge for the Hurricanes. A win would go a long way in ensuring an eventual playoff berth and afford them a chance to leapfrog Columbus. A loss could push them out of the WC2 spot if Montreal is able to pick up a win against Tampa Bay.

Metro 1: Washington Capitals: 79 GP, 102 points, 106 pt pace, 43 ROW

Metro 2: New York Islanders: 80 GP, 99 points, 102 pt pace, 42 ROW

Metro 3: Pittsburgh Penguins: 79 GP, 97 points, 101 pt pace, 41 ROW

WC 1: Columbus Blue Jackets: 79 GP, 94 points, 98 pt pace, 44 ROW

WC 2: Carolina Hurricanes: 79 GP, 93 points, 97 pt pace, 41 ROW

CAROLINA HURRICANES


9th: Montreal Canadiens: 79 GP, 92 points, 95 pt pace, 40 ROW

Tonight’s Rooting Guide

Bruins over Blue Jackets

Lighting over Canadiens

Red Wings over Penguins

Tiebreaker Scenarios for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Eastern Conference playoff race is coming down to the wire with the Hurricanes in the thick of it. We take a look at how the playoff tiebreaker scenarios would play out between the Hurricanes and every other relevant team in the hunt.

By Andrew Ahr

It’s the final week of the NHL season and the Carolina Hurricanes are in the middle of a race for one of the final Wild Card playoff spots. Yes, this is stressful — but above all else, it’s fun. If you told me in December that this hockey team would be challenging for a Wild Card spot in April, I’d look at you like you were crazy. But here we are!

The team has had a tough go of it lately against some of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. We knew that the brutal March schedule was going to catch up to the club eventually, and it unfortunately happened just as competing teams picked up steam. A regulation loss last night in Pittsburgh made it nearly impossible for Carolina to jump into the top three in the Metro, and also allowed for the Blue Jackets to leapfrog into the first Wild Card spot.

With three games left in the season, just two points separate the Blue Jackets (94 points), Hurricanes (93 points), and Canadiens (92 points) in the standings, and only a pair of those three teams can make the playoffs. In the event of a tie in the season ending standings on April 6th, there are a series of tiebreakers in place. Here they are, in order of precedence:

The first tiebreaker is Regulation and Overtime Wins (ROW). When the league moved to a shootout format, they wanted to place some more emphasis on winning hockey games before the skills competition. If two teams are tied at the end of the season, ROW is the first tiebreaker.

If teams are also tied in ROW, the next tiebreaker is head-to-head records, meaning the team who earned more points in head-to-head matchups would win the spot. There’s a caveat here in the event that the tied teams didn’t play the same amount of head-to-head games against eachother with home ice advantage (example: the Canes played the Sabres three times this season, twice on home ice). In this situation, the points earned in the first home game by the team with a greater amount of home games played are excluded from the tiebreaker in order to balance the home-ice advantage factor. In the event of a three-way tie for a spot, the team with the highest percentage of available points accrued against other teams in the group of three would claim the spot (the uneven head-to-head home games rule applies in this case as well).

In the event of a tie in points as well as the previous two tiebreakers, the third tiebreaker is goal differential. The teams with the greater differential between goals for and goals against for the entire regular season wins the

tiebreaker. A shootout win in this situation counts for one goal for, while a shootout loss counts for one goal against.

Tiebreaker Scenarios

Pittsburgh Penguins

After the loss in Pittsburgh last night, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Carolina end up tied with the Penguins next weekend. But for the sake of completeness, we’ll investigate this. The two teams are currently tied in ROW, and the Penguins claimed the head-to-head tiebreaker with a regulation win last night.

If the Canes somehow end up tied with the Penguins (they’re four points below Pittsburgh in the standings right now with the same number of games played), they’d need to have more ROW in order to win the tiebreaker. The good news here is that if the Canes miraculously closed a four point gap between themselves and one of the hottest teams in hockey over the course of three games, they’d probably come out on the winning side of ROW too.

New York Islanders

So you’re saying there’s a chance? The Islanders currently sit at second in the Metro and six points ahead of Carolina with 99 points in 79 games. If the Islanders somehow lose out in regulation and the Hurricanes win out, they’ll be tied in points. If at least two of those three Hurricanes wins were in regulation, they would own the ROW tiebreaker (Islanders currently sit on 42 to the Hurricanes 41).

Let’s say that the Hurricanes won only one of those three final games in regulation with the other two coming in the shootout, and the Islanders still failed to collect any points in their remaining three matchups. In this incredibly unlikely scenario, the tiebreaker would go to the Islanders, who easily won the season series with a record of 3-1-0.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The probability of a tie after 82 games with this team is much more likely than with the previous two. Unfortunately, the Blue Jackets hold a three game lead in ROW over Carolina. If the team was somehow able to win out and close that three game ROW gap with Columbus, the head-to-head series is a push with both teams winning twice in regulation in the four game series.

The goal differential tiebreaker would likely go to Columbus, who has a 9 goal lead in differential with a +25 to Carolina’s +16. The goal with respect to the Blue Jackets has to be finishing above them in the standings, because tying with them in points would almost guarantee losing the tiebreaker.

Montreal Canadiens

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Montreal currently sits one point behind Carolina and has one of the toughest schedules in their remaining three games with games against the Capitals, Lightning, and Maple Leafs. But they just beat a very good Jets team that’s still fighting for playoff positioning atop the Central Division, so it’s certainly not safe to count them out yet.

Finally, some (kinda) good news! The Canes currently own the ROW tiebreaker with 41 to Montreal’s 40. With two out of Carolina’s remaining games against teams eliminated from playoff contention, they should have a good chance to hold onto that superior ROW. If they somehow ended the season

tied in points and ROW, the Canadiens own the head-to-head tiebreaker, despite the Hurricanes’ 2-1-0 overall record.

Because the Canadiens played two games out of the three on home ice, the first matchup on November 27th in Montreal is omitted from the tiebreaker calculation (despite the fact that the Hurricanes won that game). The Canes took two points (1-1-0) in the other two games, while the Habs picked up three points (1-0-1). It doesn’t exactly seem fair that the Canes would get punished in this situation for winning on the road, but ¯ \_(ツ)_/¯ . The takeaway in this scenario is that if the Hurricanes tie the Canadiens in points, they better have more ROW wins.

About Last Night: Canes Outworked in Steel City; Fleury Recalled from Charlotte

Canes turned upside down in important tilt with the Pens; de Haan injured, Fleury recalled

By Andy House

The Carolina Hurricanes entered the final week of the NHL season clinging to a playoff spot on Sunday, and exited PPG Paints Arena with another loss as they struggled to mount any sort of fight against a Pittsburgh Penguins squad trying to keep their own faint hopes of a division title alive. The Canes fell 3-1, dropping them to the second wild card position, just one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens with three games to play for each team.

The Good:

Unfortunately, not much positive can be said about the performance on Sunday. Perhaps the only encouragement came from the lone goal which arrived once again on the beleaguered power play. Jaccob Slavin was able to wait patiently for a window and rip one past Murray in the third period to give the Canes a small glimmer of hope.

The goal marked the second consecutive game with at least one tally on the man advantage, and the Canes generally showed signs of better puck movement and aggressiveness on the power play. No doubt they will need some level of production from that unit of the final week of the season, so it is at least good to see that unit, which has been a disappointment a majority of the season, show signs of life.

The Bad:

Quite simply, the Canes were outworked on Sunday by the Penguins. Loose pucks and board battles were dominated by the Penguins, and it showed with a heavy tilt in the ice at various times. Obviously, the Pens were at a significant advantage, especially at this time of year, by not being on a back to back and having been at home following a Friday night defeat at the hands of the Predators, but with so much on the line it is still disappointing to see the Canes so consistently out-battled in what was clearly one of the season’s most important games.

While the Canes seemed a step slower on Sunday than the Pens, there was also some issues with puck management, especially in the neutral zone. After falling behind in the first on the jam opportunity in front, the Canes were less than two minutes away from escaping to the locker room down only a

goal. However, a critical turnover entering the offensive zone by Justin Williams led to a two-on-one at the other end in which his former teammate Matt Cullen made no mistake in snapping what ended up being the game-winning marker past Curtis McElhinney to make it 2-0.

From there, digging out of such a large deficit seemed a steep ask. Even as the Canes built a better game in the second period, they never seems to seize control of the pace and flow of the game.

The Ugly:

Unfortunately, Carolina lost more than a game on Sunday as Calvin de Haan, just recently returned from a scary eye injury suffered on Colorado was sidelined for the evening, and likely longer based on the call-up of Haydn Fleury from the Checkers on Monday. The injury occurred in a loose puck situation in the Carolina zone late in the first period, in which de Haan appeared to land awkwardly on his wrist/arm following a battle with Jake Guentzel. He did not return to the game, leaving the Canes with only five defensemen, and leaving his status for the remainder of the season in doubt.

Although the Canes owned the shot numbers in the third by a 20-9 margin as they scrambled to mount a comeback, they were never able to generate the kind of scoring chances that can make a team sitting on a lead uncomfortable.

In order to push through the final barrier to the first playoff berth in a decade, Carolina will need more production from some of the names that sparked their play earlier in the season. Micheal Ferland has dealt with various injuries of late, but has only produced six points (one goal) in his past 18 games played. Sebastian Aho has been the offensive hero so often for the Canes, but has not notched a goal in his past 11 games dating back to March 9th. If the Canes are going to finally break through, those two players, as part of a full team effort, are going to have to find the game that helped propel them through much of the season.

News Update:

As mentioned, the Hurricanes have recalled Haydn Fleury from Charlotte. Fleury has appeared in 17 games this season with the Hurricanes, and will likely slide into the lineup spot vacated by de Haan, should his injury from Sunday keep him out of the lineup.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Alex Nedeljkovic Named CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month For March

Written by Nicholas Niedzielski

The league today announced that Alex Nedeljkovic has been named CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month for March, marking his second such award this season. Over the month of March, Nedeljkovic went 6-2-1 while logging a 1.46 goals-against average and a .945 save

percentage. The netminder also notched a pair of shutouts along the way. The 23-year-old Nedeljkovic, who currently leads the AHL in wins and goals-against average, is the fifth different player in franchise history to earn one of the league’s monthly awards and the first to ever win multiple, let alone in a single season.

TODAY’S LINKS https://theathletic.com/887178/2019/04/02/who-are-these-jerks-in-carolina/

https://theathletic.com/900102/2019/04/02/bourne-why-this-is-the-year-a-weird-ass-team-wins-the-cup/ https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article228708234.html https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article228680339.html

https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/gameday-preview-carolina-hurricanes-toronto-maple-leafs/c-306334948 https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/push-for-the-playoffs-three-of-a-kind/c-306338882

https://apnews.com/833767a2dc224eaf8f4b8eca6e45e786 https://www.tsn.ca/brind-amour-on-wild-card-race-we-re-not-getting-help-1.1283069

https://sports.yahoo.com/carolina-cannot-afford-let-three-games-remaining-064720752--nhl.html https://www.canescountry.com/2019/4/2/18291118/carolina-hurricanes-vs-toronto-maple-leafs-game-preview-statistics-notes-links

https://www.canescountry.com/2019/4/1/18290888/nhl-stanley-cup-playoffs-carolina-hurricanes-tiebreaker-montreal-canadiens-columbus-blue-jackets https://www.canescountry.com/2019/4/1/18290480/carolina-hurricanes-game-analysis-pittsburgh-penguins-calvin-de-haan-injury-haydn-fleury

http://gocheckers.com/articles/features/alex-nedeljkovic-named-ccm-ahl-goaltender-of-the-month-for-march

CAROLINA HURRICANES


1138648 Carolina Hurricanes

Canes will try to trade Harvard’s Fox, Dundon says

BY CHIP ALEXANDER APRIL 01, 2019 06:46 PM

With Harvard defenseman Adam Fox balking at signing an entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, team owner Tom Dundon said Monday the Canes are looking at another option.

“We’ll try to trade him,” Dundon said. “I think we’ll do OK. We’ll see.”

The Canes obtained Fox as part of the June 2018 trade with the Calgary Flames that had defenseman Noah Hanifin and forward Elias Lindholm going to the Flames for defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Micheal Ferland. The Flames had hoped to sign Fox after his sophomore season at Harvard but were told he planned to return to school for his junior year and then included him in the trade with Carolina.

If Fox goes back to Harvard for his senior season and completes his college eligibility, he will became a free agent in 2020. But there’s the belief if a trade can now be arranged by the Canes with a team Fox desires to play for, he might sign immediately.

Many consider Fox, a right-handed shooting D-man, to be NHL-ready, increasing his value to other teams. Could a trade bring the Canes a first-round draft pick? That might be too steep a price, although a second-round draft selection probably can’t be ruled out.

If a trade can’t be completed, the Canes could continue to try and sign Fox. If he returns to Harvard and becomes a free agent next year, they could make another run at him, although that would be unlikely.

Fox attended the Canes’ prospect development camp in Raleigh last year soon after the trade with Calgary. In an interview, he said he had made no firm plans about his pro future, saying, “For me, it’s not that I’ve thought all the way down the road and had this whole thing planned out, of what I want to do.”

Canes general manager Don Waddell had praise for Fox, saying he was the best defensive prospect not in the NHL. Waddell also was confident the Canes would sign Fox, saying he was “99.9 percent” certain an agreement could be reached after Fox’s junior year.

An all-American at Harvard, Fox has twice been a member of Team USA in the IIHF World Junior Championship, winning a gold medal in 2017.

News Observer LOADED: 04.02.2019


No magic to it. Brind’Amour wants Canes to win out to reach playoffs

BY CHIP ALEXANDER

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour doesn’t spend much time worrying about a “magic number.”

The Canes have three games left in the regular season and Brind’Amour says, “We’ve got to win our next three.”

Meaning, win all three to assure themselves a place in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Three wins would do it. No suspense that way.

After a 3-1 loss Sunday to the Pittsburgh Penguins, coupled with the Columbus Blue Jackets beating the Buffalo Sabres, the Canes and Blue Jackets swapped wild-card spots -- Columbus moving into the first wild-card position with 94 points and the Canes hold the second wild-card spot with 93. Just behind: the Montreal Canadiens with 92 points.

To reach the playoffs for the first time since 2009, the Canes need a combination of six points -- either points gained or points lost by the Canadiens. Win all three games, as Brind’Amour said, and it’s a moot point. Win two games, have the Habs lose one and the Canes are in. And so it goes. Six is the number.

Gene J. Puskar AP

All three teams play Tuesday and only the Canes are on the road, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Blue Jackets host the Boston Bruins and the Canadiens host the Tampa Bay Lightning, the league’s best team.

“I learned a long time ago we’re not getting help,” Brind’Amour said Sunday. “We’re going to have to win our games, take care of our business and don’t rely on anyone else.”

The Canes, after the Leafs game, close out the season with a final home game Thursday against New Jersey and a road game Saturday at Philadelphia.

Montreal will play Thursday at Washington and then home Saturday against the Maple Leafs. The Blue Jackets, at least on paper, have the easiest path to the playoffs with a game Friday against the New York Rangers, then Saturday against the Ottawa Senators -- albeit both games on the road.

The Canes will play Tuesday without defenseman Calvin de Haan, who left Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury. Carolina on Monday recalled defenseman Haydn Fleury from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL on an emergency basis.

A question for the Canes are how they will handle the goaltending. Petr Mrazek is the likely starter against the Leafs but with the schedule spacing could start all three games unless Brind’Amour decides to give Curtis McElhinney another start.



Penguins Top Hurricanes – Murray Stops 37

CAROLINA HURRICANES


BY THE CANADIAN PRESS APRIL 1ST, 2019

PITTSBURGH — Matt Murray stopped 37 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins inched closer to a playoff berth with a 3-1 win over Carolina on Sunday night.

Matt Cullen, at 42 the NHL’s oldest player, had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh. Garrett Wilson collected his first goal in nearly two months and Patric Hornqvist added his first even-strength score since early January. Murray did the rest while as the Penguins took a major step toward assuring itself of a spot in the post-season for the 13th consecutive year, the longest active streak in the league

Pittsburgh needs just two points over its final three games or a loss by Montreal to lock up a playoff spot.

Carolina’s bid to reach the post-season for the first time in a decade took a hit. The Hurricanes have 93 points with a week to go in the regular season, just one point ahead of the ninth-place Canadiens.

Jacob Slavin’s power-play goal with just under 8 minutes to go spoiled Murray’s bid for a shutout but by then the Penguins were firmly in control. Curtis McElhinney finished with 25 saves while losing for the third time in four starts.

Playing without injured stars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, the Penguins relied on their depth and the kind of defensive grit they’ve lacked at times this season. Carolina came in leading the NHL in shots per game (34.5), but could get little going in front of Murray until it trailed by three.

Jordan Staal, Matt Murray

Wilson put the Penguins in front just past the midway point of the first period, crashing the net following a feed by Cullen from the corner and then jabbing at the puck until it emerged from a pile of bodies in front of McElhinney and slid across the goal line.

Cullen, playing in his 1,513th career game — one shy of tying Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman for 19th on the NHL’s all-time games played list — doubled Pittsburgh’s advantage late in the first period when he and Olli Maatta broke in on McElhinney 2 on 1. Rather than slip the pass to his teammate, Cullen zipped a wrist shot from the right circle that sailed over McElhinney’s right arm and into the net for his seventh of the season.

Hornqvist, who left briefly in the first period when his head hit the boards while getting checked by Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton, earned a measure of revenge 46 seconds into the third period when he collected a blind backhanded drop pass from Dominik Simon and beat McElhinney from the bottom of the right circle. The goal was Hornqvist’s 18th of the year and his first non-power play tally since Jan. 6.

Carolina mustered little in response.

The Hurricanes didn’t reach double digits on the shot counter until past the game’s midway point as the Penguins clogged the shooting lanes. When Carolina did manage to find some space, Murray either came up with the stop or the Hurricanes couldn’t get the bounce they needed. Sebastien Aho hit the post from the left circle in the second period and when the Hurricanes did finally get it going midway through the final period, it was too late.

Slavin’s seventh of the season provided a bit of life, but Pittsburgh withstood a push over the final minutes to all but assure itself of a chance to make a run at its third Stanley Cup in four seasons.

NOTES: Letang, Malkin, F Zach Aston-Reese and D Chad Ruhwedel all skated on Sunday morning but remain out with injuries. … The Hurricanes went 1 for 2 on the power play. The Penguins

were 0 for 1. … The teams split the season series 2-2. … Pittsburgh rookie Adam Johnson picked up the first two assists of his career.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: Visit Toronto on Tuesday.

Penguins: Begin a home-and-home series with the Red Wings on Tuesday in Detroit.


1138770 Toronto Maple Leafs

Tavares buries winner for Leafs against Islanders to clinch playoff spot

By Mark Zwolinski

What now?

Leaf John Tavares works past the Islanders’ Casey Cizikas for a shot on goal in Monday night’s game in Uniondale.

The Maple Leafs punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 2-1 road win over the New York Islanders on Monday night. That flight home from Uniondale had to feel good for that reason, and more.

The Leafs played so much better than they did in late February, when the Islanders and their fans took it to the visitors and John Tavares. Toronto admittedly shrunk from the challenge in that game, Tavares’ first one back against his old team. On Monday night, Tavares scored the winner and the Leafs defeated an Islanders club that is first in the NHL in goals-against average (2.38) and had allowed a goal or fewer in four of their previous five games.

There was a scare in the second period, when star centre Auston Matthews took a slapshot off his left ankle and limped off the ice. He returned to the game, though, and the Leafs caught a break. There will be discussion about resting star players the rest of the regular season, though, and it will be warranted.

Fred Ex: Goalie Freddie Andersen will get rest of some sort prior to the playoffs. There’s a chance he will start just one of the three remaining dates on the schedule. Saturday’s season finale in Montreal would be a timely playoff tune-up for Andersen. Garret Sparks is expected to start Tuesday’s home game against Carolina — he normally plays the second of back-to-back games — and it also makes sense to start him Thursday against Tampa Bay. Andersen was quietly excellent Monday, stopping 28 of 29 shots. That was what the doctor ordered after Andersen’s performance and workload were hot topics in March, when he had a subpar .890 save percentage.

Tavares scores: Great night for the Leafs and John Tavares, whose winner was his 46th goal of the season — a franchise record for centres (Darryl Sittler had 45 in 1977-78). Tavares also set a career high with his 87th point. A pretty good first year in Toronto for No. 91.

Tavares speaks: The Leafs wanted to play better for Tavares, the former Islanders captain, than they did back on Feb. 28 in Long Island — when fans burned Tavares jerseys that time, tossed snakes on the ice and rained down chants like “J.T. sucks” and “We don’t need you.” The chants rang out again Monday night, but this time the Leafs reversed the narrative.

Have your say

“Ah, I’m just trying to help this team win,” Tavares told reporters in Uniondale, not biting once on any questions about how satisfying his goal might have been. “It was nice to get the win. It’s always great to

CAROLINA HURRICANES


punch your ticket (to the playoffs). I tried to be honest and open about my decision (to join the Leafs as a free agent this past summer). It is what it is, but I got to play for two great organizations. I’m very fortunate to be at this level, and being at this level and playing for these two teams, I don’t take for granted.”

Tavares is a gamer, the ultimate self-motivator who constantly hounds himself to be better and do better. There may be arguments to rest some players, or at least let them take it easy on practice days. Tavares isn’t likely to be in that group.

Response unit: Nazem Kadri has just one goal in his last 15 games, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t ramping up for the playoffs. The Leafs centre jumped to Andersen’s defence in the second period when the Islanders crashed the crease. Kadri wound up with his gloves and stick in Cal Clutterbuck’s face — not a highlight-reel moment, but a necessary response. It’s the kind the Leafs will need more of when they face Boston in the first round. Andersen also had his helmet knocked off in the first period. Leafs fourth-line centre Frederik Gauthier had a word with ex-Leaf Matt Martin after that collision. Gauthier is not in Martin’s weight class or noted for dropping the gloves (two fights in his NHL career). But it’s the response that matters, and the Leafs began showing some of it Monday night.

One for Rosen: Defenceman Calle Rosen scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game of the season, a nice moment for a solid citizen. Rosen was called up from Marlies over the weekend and will play with the Leafs until Jake Gardiner returns to the lineup from his back injury. Rosen was paired with Travis Dermott, who scored his first goal last year in Uniondale against the Islanders. If Rosen can parallel Dermott in terms of development then the Leafs will have sewn up another important part of the future on the blue line.

Gardiner WATCH: Gardiner took part fully at the morning skate, for the first time since he was injured more than a month ago. He is likely to get in one or two games this week.

Up next: Home to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Toronto Star LOADED: 04.02.2019


Tuesday NHL game preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Toronto Maple Leafs

By Kevin McGran

SCOTIABANK ARENA

FACEOFF: 7:30 p.m.

TV: TSN 4

RADIO: TSN 1050

KEY PLAYERS

McElhinney/Sparks

Curtis McElhinney (19-11-2) faces the guy who took over his job as Leafs backup. And Garret Sparks (8-8-1) gets a chance to redeem himself in net after a disappointing effort in Ottawa on Saturday.

NEED TO KNOW

The teams have split the season series so far, with Carolina winning 5-2 in November and the Leafs winning 4-1 the next month. Both games were in Carolina ... Sebastien Aho leads Carolina with 30 goals and 52 assists. Rookie forward Andrei Svechnikov has 20

goals ... Carolina’s power play is rated 20th in the NHL (17.3 per cent) while its penalty kill (80.1 per cent) is seventh ... The Hurricanes recalled defenceman Haydn Fleury from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL on an emergency basis. Fleury, 22, has 10 points in 28 AHL games.

UP NEXT

Thursday vs. Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.



This is the week the Leafs hope to get their groove back

By Kevin McGran

With time winding down toward the playoffs, the Maple Leafs have to find ways to wind themselves up.

The idea is to expunge the bad habits, replace with good habits, get goaltender Frederik Andersen feeling good about his game, score a few goals, prepare for Boston, get ready for heavy hockey, maybe pull a bait-and-switch to fool the Bruins scouts, and do it all without suffering any further injuries.

Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen says it’s difficult to “flip a switch” when the playoffs begin.

So what’s the plan?

“We basically have a theme of the day,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said over the weekend. “Whether that be the defensive part we’re working on, or identifying some players we can work with, that we think is going to be our first-round matchup.

“There’s a number of things we can do. But obviously, just growing your game, getting your special teams ready. We’re trying to be feeling real good going in. You want to get in, and you need to be playing well.”

The Leafs close the schedule with a busy week. Starting with Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Ottawa and Monday’s game in Long Island, the Leafs will have played five games in eight days to round out the season, closing with home games Tuesday (Carolina) and Thursday (Tampa Bay) and a trip to Montreal for Saturday’s finale.

There’ll be a fair bit of time off before Game 1. The Leafs-Bruins matchup is likely to begin Thursday, April 11, at the TD Garden.

Right now, though, the Leafs schedule is hectic, with no easy games. But then, no team has been easy for the Leafs lately.

“We have to keep working on our game,” Andersen said. “You want to create good habits. It’s really hard to flip a switch when you go into the playoffs, and that’s why you see teams pushing for the full 82 games. You want to try to do the same, and correct the mistakes you’re making along the way. It’s a long season. Every team changes a little bit, and that’s where you adjust throughout the year. You have to keep doing that.

“We had a stretch where we played really well defensively. That’s something we’re working on, (to) create a game plan and play a style that is true to us and true to our strengths. We want to find a way to balance it out and be able to play electrifying games as well.”

Each game of late has seemed to bring a different struggle. Goaltending one night. Special teams another. Scoring another. The question is whether teams have found the Leafs’ weak spots, or

CAROLINA HURRICANES


whether the Leafs are beating themselves, either through lack of will or overconfidence or concentration lapses.

“We’re just trying to tie up the loose ends,” said Leafs defenceman Travis Dermott, who returned to the lineup after a 14-game absence Saturday. “You have to try tot get as prepared as you can for the series coming up. We’re trying to understand what we’re going to be up against, and be as prepared as we can for that.”

The Leafs were 3-5-2 in their last 10 games heading into Monday’s contest against the Islanders. They’d scored 33, allowed 43. That’s the 27th best record in the league since March 11. Leaf Nation is right to fret about their team’s woes.

In truth, the Bruins haven’t fared much better. They were 5-5-0 in their last 10 after the weekend, scoring 40 and allowing 34. Winnipeg (5-5-0), San Jose (3-7-0) and Vegas (4-3-2) are other playoff-bound teams stubbing their collective toes at this late juncture.

They’re all trying to do what the Leafs are trying to do, get in a groove.

“We have to find our consistency,” centre Auston Matthews said. “Make sure we’re playing a full 60 minutes, not get away from our game. Whether we’re up or down, play the same way, come in waves and waves. That’s the biggest thing for us, heading into this last week, is finding that consistency.”



Tavares scores, Leafs beat Islanders to clinch playoff berth

Terry Koshan

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Let’s recap a three-hour span of John Tavares’ night at work on Monday.

Gets booed at Nassau Coliseum by fans of the New York Islanders, though not as mercilessly as he was in the Maple Leafs’ previous visit; endures chants of “We don’t need you!” among others; scores his 46th goal, setting a Leafs franchise mark for most by a centre; sets personal high with 87th point of the season; his goal not only is the game-winner, but it officially clinches the Leafs a berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

And in the end, that’s really all that mattered to Tavares after the Leafs’ 2-1 victory put them in the post-season for the third year in a row.

“It’s great to punch your ticket,” Tavares said. “You work so hard all year to give yourself a chance and to be a part of it, so every opportunity, you want to take advantage of it. It’s great to be in it.

“We put a lot of work into it and we have a lot of work ahead.”

The Leafs, who tied a team record with their 23rd road win, have three regular-season games remaining before taking on the Boston Bruins in the first round, a rematch of the opening round last year when the Bruins broke the Leafs with a stunning third period in Game 7 to win the series.

The Leafs had no interest in continuing deeper into the week without a playoff spot locked up. The idea was that the club’s collective mental state will be better with the comfort of knowing the post-season is a sure thing.

“Finally, we took a few tries to clinch it but, obviously, it’s great to be back in the playoffs,” said goalie Frederik Andersen, who made 28 saves. “Hopefully, we can get revenge from last year. Most of the team is here still and it should be an exciting series.”

The Leafs have a shot at starting on home ice, but it’s slim. The Bruins also have three games left and are four points up on Toronto, 103-99.

Defenceman Calle Rosen scored his first National Hockey League goal in his season debut as the Leafs were strong from start to finish, often keeping the Islanders from having any sustained time in the offensive zone.

With just over five minutes remaining, Islanders forward Jordan Eberle scored a power-play goal.

Tavares’ goal came with nearly four minutes gone in the third period when he took a pass from Mitch Marner and fired a shot past Robin Lehner on the netminder’s short side. There was a muted response, but the goal was booed when it was announced.

Darryl Sittler had set the mark for most goals, with 45, by a Leafs centre in 1977-78.

Importantly, the Leafs got a strong game from Andersen, who struggled through the month of March. Andersen was in a zone from the opening faceoff, getting square to the shooters and ensuring he could get a handle on each shot coming his way.

Rosen — who didn’t have his own stall in the dressing room after the morning skate and had to change using only a folding chair — scored his first NHL goal in his fifth game when his shot from the point eluded Lehner at 2:17 of the second period. The shot appeared to hit an Isles stick on the way in as it dipped and fooled Lehner.

“I can’t say I’m completely sure how it went in but, for sure, it was a good feeling,” Rosen said.

The Leafs, who play host to Carolina on Tuesday, didn’t have an unhealthy Andreas Johnsson.

Toronto won for just the fourth time in 11 games and as the regular season wraps up, will have to keep trying to bring the same kind of determination it used to beat New York. It was a good start in the final week.

“I think what we’ve been through this last little bit, even though we’ve been playing better and better defensively, we haven’t been winning every night,” coach Mike Babcock said. “I think it’s probably good for our group. It’s nice for John Tavares, for us, to come back in here and for him to get the game-winner, for the way our club played and to clinch a spot.”

ROSEN ARRIVES

Now that his apprenticing in the American Hockey League is done — likely for good — Rosen is intent on making an impact with the Leafs now and in the foreseeable future.

Rosen played in four games for the Leafs at the start of 2017-18 and on Monday played in his first NHL game since Oct. 17, 2017. This past December, Rosen signed a two-year contract with the Leafs that kicks in next season.

“I’m ready for this now,” Rosen said. “That’s what I’m going for (to be a Leafs regular) and for sure I’m hoping for it. I think I’m confident in myself and my game and I’m just going to go out there and do my best.”

Babcock had it in mind during the off-season that Rosen would be ready to assume a role with the Leafs this season from the outset. That didn’t happen, but there is full confidence that Rosen has made the necessary steps to help the Leafs.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


“We thought, probably, (he was written) on your napkin last summer that he was going to be on the team,” Babcock said. “It didn’t go that way at training camp. He has had a good year.

“Playing in the National Hockey League on D, and playing in the American League are two different things, as we have seen. Saying all that, we like his skill-set.”

How has Rosen improved in the past couple of seasons with the Marlies?

“The biggest thing is your ability to play without the puck, your ability to defend, your ability to stand in the right spot,” Babcock said. “There doesn’t appear to be a lot of stats for that, but it matters to coaches and it matters to winning. And you can’t get scored against.

“The biggest thing is getting comfortable, knowing when to go and not to go, how to box out, how to take sticks, how to play on the D side and make sure you don’t get scored on.”

Rosen’s participation will depend on the health of Jake Gardiner, who continues to make his way back from a back injury.

It’s next season, probably, that Rosen will be expected to solidify his roster spot. There’s significant change on the blue line coming, as Gardiner, Ron Hainsey and Martin Marincin are headed for unrestricted free agency.

The Leafs, and Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe, have done their part in helping Rosen develop. It’s on the 25-year-old Rosen to demonstrate he was worth the investment.

“It’s almost two seasons later, so I think I have grown a lot,” Rosen said. “I’m really used to the game over here and I think can contribute more than before.

“For sure you want to have a chance earlier, but I have been down there playing my best and now I get the chance.”

ONE MORE TIME

Here’s a thought: When Tavares returns to face the Islanders in New York for the first time next season, maybe those of us in the media don’t have to ask what it’s like for the ex-Isles captain to come back for the third time.

We get the sense there is always going to be a rough ride for Tavares when he plays road games against the Isles, though nothing like what he faced back on Feb. 28, when the bitterness boiled over.

Whatever, getting booed or being the target of Isles fans in general hasn’t, and won’t, be keeping Tavares up at night.

“I try not to worry about it a whole lot,” Tavares said. “It’s a passionate fan base and they care about their team.

“You try to use it as a learning experience and you learn from everything you go through. I have learned a lot from almost being through my 10th season now, just continue to try to find ways to get better and how to handle certain things, overcome adversity and certain challenges. It’s a good way to learn about yourself.”

LOOSE LEAFS

An energetic Gardiner remained on the ice well past the end of the morning skate, taking part in drills with the other scratches. Babcock has been saying the plan is to have Gardiner return before the playoffs remains in place, which means Gardiner might play on Thursday against Tampa Bay or in Montreal in the finale on Saturday, if not both games. The Leafs won’t practise again until Friday, which could preclude Gardiner from playing on Thursday. Said Babcock after the game: “Can we get Gardiner back? I don’t know for sure, but I am sure hopeful.” Gardiner has not played since Feb. 25, missing the past 17 games … Tavares on the Islanders clinching a playoff berth on Saturday: “They have had a great season. You have to tip your cap to the way they played.” …

Defenceman Sean Durzi, sent to the Los Angeles Kings as part of the package that brought Muzzin to Toronto, signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Kings on Monday.

FIVE THINGS

Andersen sharp

The Maple Leafs needed a strong game from Frederik Andersen, perhaps more than anything, and they got it. “We need Freddie to be great because he’s a leader for us and when he feels good about himself we feel good about our team,” coach Mike Babcock said. “It’s important that he plays well.” On Monday, Andersen did that.

Hainsey a help

Ron Hainsey has his detractors, but not in the coach’s office or dressing room, where the view of the veteran defenceman counts the most. Hainsey caught Josh Bailey to negate a breakaway in the second period and led the Leafs with five blocked shots. He’s going to have to be a key player for the Leafs in the playoffs.

Rosen ready

It seemed like Calle Rosen was on the ice more, but when the night ended, he was at nine minutes 37 seconds, the least ice time among Leafs defencemen. In those minutes, he had a team-high 70.4% Corsi mark. “I liked Rosen,” Babcock said. “We didn’t give him a lot of minutes in the D-zone, but he can really skate and pass the puck.”

Penalty killers at work

Though the Leafs gave up a power-play goal to Jordan Eberle in the third period, they were strong on the penalty kill and staved off three other penalties. Andersen was key, but so were Hainsey, Nikita Zaitsev, Zach Hyman and Mitch Marner.

Well-rounded effort

Good luck finding much fault in any Leaf effort on Monday. A lack of hustle didn’t exist among any of them, from Morgan Rielly’s team-high 24 minutes 18 seconds to Trevor Moore’s team-low six minutes nine seconds. Consistency was key in all three zones, and every Leaf registered at least one shot on goal.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 04.02.2019


GAME DAY: Hurricanes at Maple Leafs

Lance Hornby

GAME DAY: Maple Leafs at Islanders

7:30 P.M., SCOTIABANK ARENA

TV: TSN RADIO: TSN 1050

THE BIG MATCH-UP

Curtis McElhinney vs. Garret Sparks

McElhinney has already won a game against his former team at Scotiabank Arena this season and it’s not his turn in the rotation with Petr Mrazek, who’d like a chance at his 100th NHL victory. But what a juicy joust it would be against the netminder that GM Kyle Dubas deemed ready enough to take Mac’s back-up job, so much so he exposed the latter to waivers. McElhinney has helped the Hurricanes stay in the playoff hunt.

KEYS TO THE GAME

CAROLINA HURRICANES


1. Inching toward clinching

Neither team had nailed down its playoff spot before Monday night’s contests, with the Leafs needing to win on Long Island where Frederik Andersen was slated to start and the Canes holding down the final wild-card spot a point behind Columbus and one up on Montreal. After tonight, Carolina faces the eliminated Devils and Flyers and might need the Leafs to beat the Habs on Saturday to ensure their first post-season berth in a decade.

2. Home fires burn

Despite its recent road difficulties (1-3-1 before Long Island), Toronto has points in three straight home games, with this one of two more Bay St. dates before it’s off to Boston. Winger Zach Hyman has goals in the past three games at SBA.

3. Justin time

Justin Williams, who recorded his 100th goal as a Cane against Toronto earlier this year, has scored in both meetings thus far. It’s game No. 1,242 for Williams, while the Maple Leafs’ Methuselah, Patrick Marleau, is fifth all-time in the NHL.

4. Raging rookies

Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov is now up to 37 points this season, with his 20 goals among the elite of rookies in the league, including Toronto’s Andreas Johnsson.

5. Missed it by that much

These two clubs led the league in missed shots on goal before Monday night, though Carolina has blocked the fewest of any team other than Buffalo.

LEAFS LINES

LW C RW

Zach Hyman John Tavares Mitch Marner

Andreas Johnsson Auston Matthews W. Nylander

Patrick Marleau Nazem Kadri Kasperi Kapanen

Trevor Moore Frederik Gauthier Connor Brown

DEFENCE PAIRINGS

Morgan Rielly Ron Hainsey

Jake Muzzin Nikita Zaitsev

Martin Marincin Travis Dermott

GOALIES

Garret Sparks

Frederik Andersen

SICK BAY

D Jake Gardiner (back)

HURRICANES LINES

LW C RW Forwards

Nino Niederreiter Sebastian Aho Justin Williams

Andrei Svechniko Jordan Staal Teuvo Teravainen

Micheal Ferland Lucas Wallmark Jordan Martinook

Brock McGinn Greg McKegg Saku Maenalanen

DEFENCE PAIRINGS

Jaccob Slavin Dougie Hamilton

Brett Pesce Justin Faulk

Haydn Fleury Trevor van Riemsdyk

GOALIES

Curis McElhinney

Petr Mrazek

Sick Bay

D Calvin de Haan (upper body)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY

Toronto 22.2% (8th)

Carolina 17.3% (20th)

PENALTY KILLING

Toronto 80.7% (14th)

Carolina 81.8% (7th)



Rosen makes season debut as Leafs try to secure playoff spot

Terry Koshan

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Just clinch.

Calle Rosen will make his season debut on the Maple Leafs blue line on Monday night and though the club could be without a couple of integral regulars, the chance to secure a playoff spot will be at the forefront against the New York Islanders.

The Leafs will have three games remaining in the 2018-19 regular season after Monday, and would have some peace of mind if they have punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“I think it would help, for sure,” defenceman Morgan Rielly said at Nassau Coliseum after the morning skate. “We had a chance to do it last game (a 4-2 loss in Ottawa against the Senators on Saturday) and we let it slip and it’s not a good feeling.

“Tonight, it’s important we take it seriously, make sure we’re ready.”

Neither defenceman Jake Muzzin nor winger Andreas Johnsson was on the ice in the morning. One has food poisoning and the other the chills, though coach Mike Babcock did not specify which.

We’ll know at game time, if not during the warmup, whether the pair will play.

“Don’t know if they are playing, we think they are, don’t know,” Babcock said.

Rosen and Martin Marincin were the third pair at the skate, and Travis Dermott was with Nikita Zaitsev.

Among forwards, Kasperi Kapanen took Johnsson’s spot on a line with Auston Matthews and William Nylander; Connor Brown moved up to play with Nazem Kadri and Patrick Marleau; and Trevor Moore was inserted on the fourth line with Frederik Gauthier and Tyler Ennis.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Frederik Andersen will start in goal for the Leafs. Robin Lehner goes for the Islanders.

Rosen officially was recalled on Sunday from the Toronto Marlies, a move that would have happened earlier had he not suffered a foot injury. He got back into two games with the Marlies and is ready to become a full-time member of the Leafs defence corps.

If that does not happen right away — the plan remains for Jake Gardiner to return this week to game action from a back injury — then it should next season.

“I’m ready for this now,” Rosen said. “That’s what I’m going for (to be a Leafs regular) and for sure I’m hoping for it. I think I’m confident in myself and my game and I’m just going to go out there and do my best.”

Rosen played in four games for the Leafs at the start of 2017-18 and will play in his first NHL game since Oct. 17, 2017. In December, Rosen signed a two-year contract with the Leafs that kicks in next season.

“We thought, probably, (he was written) on your napkin last summer that he was going to be on the team,” Babcock said. “It didn’t go that way at training camp. He has had a good year.

“Playing in the National Hockey League on D, and playing in the American League are two different things, as we have seen. Saying all that, we like his skill set and he gets an opportunity here tonight.”

How has Rosen improved in the past couple of seasons with the Marlies?

“The biggest thing is your ability to play without the puck, your ability to defend, your ability to stand in the right spot,” Babcock said. “There doesn’t appear to be a lot of stats for that, but it matters to coaches and it matters to winning. And you can’t get scored against.

“The biggest thing is getting comfortable, knowing when to go and not to go, how to box out, how to take sticks, how to play on the D side and make sure you don’t get scored on.”

As for the game itself, the Leafs require a single point to ensure they will take part in the playoffs for the third year in a row.

It marks John Tavares’ second return to Long Island since leaving the Islanders, who clinched a playoff spot on Saturday. Tavares got a rude welcome, to put it mildly, when the Leafs lost here on Feb. 28, though fans might not be as vitriolic on Monday.

“I have no idea (if it will be any better for him tonight),” Tavares said. “We’ll see, but I try not to worry about it a whole lot. It’s a passionate fan base and they care about their team.

“I think you learn from it. Definitely a unique experience. Overall, I would just like a better result for our team. If I can play better and be more effective, that’s just what I try to worry about.”



ULTIMATE LEAFS FAN: Lots of love for Buds in Western Canada

Mike Wilson

CALGARY – An Arctic wind cut through me with a temperatures of -20C, a frigid reminder the Leafs’ Western Canadian swing had begun.

Fortunately, the team arrived hot, 20 regulation wins over .500, and fired up to play in front of thousands of fans across the Prairies who only get to see them live once a season.

My long-time friend Glenn Forty, of Lloydminster, Sask., was waiting to greet me, his toasty truck a welcome sight. Another pal of ours, Ted Bull, was hosting us a few days on the front end of this trip. After time to thaw out, we headed to the game-day skate against the Flames, where I thought the Leafs looked loose, relaxed and had great jump. My hockey instincts were correct again as Toronto easily won 6-2.

Beside the Saddledome in Stampede Park sits the Corral, nearly 70 years old and for a time the largest venue of its kind west of Toronto. Designated to be razed in the next few years, it has been home to the minor league Calgary Stampeders, the WHA Cowboys, the Flames and a number of junior teams.

I love these old barns — reeking of character from the ice, right up to the modest concession stands, ticket booths and of course, past teams and players recalled through framed photos in the dingy hallways.

At the sprawling Cowboys, a popular establishment for pre- and post-game socializing, 61-year old Ed Guter, from Saskatoon, a Leafs fan for 55 years, waited excitedly to attend his first game. Denied this chance for a variety of reasons in his past, brother Tom from Toronto was here and about to make his dream come true. When I interviewed Ed, tears of joy began flowing through his wide smile. A very moving moment, certainly one of the highlights of this whole season’s experience for me.

Ed, Bev, Gladys and Tom Guter with Mike Wilson in Calgary.

A 59-year old man from Oakville, who didn’t give his name, held a sign asking John Tavares to autograph his sweater. He explained to me it was a one-of-a-kind and carefully took it from his knapsack and unfolded it. It featured the usual Tavares plate above the 91, but beneath it read ‘RENRAM’ to me. But turning the sweater upside down it became Marner with a No. 16. Now that’s being creative.

Todd Haas and Mike Krupsky from Regina never miss the Leafs in Calgary or Edmonton, while Frank Bafaro from Revelstoke, Alta., told me how 50 years ago his cousin Tony Pantusa wanted to purchase a Leafs sweater for him. Frank told him he must buy it from the team shop at Maple Leaf Gardens, not a random sports store, so it would have more authenticity. Frank still owns it.

Kurtis Stevenson, 33, grew up outside Calgary and never had the means or money to attend any Flames games in person. The closest he came was watching Hockey Night In Canada on one of the four channels available in the family household. Most telecasts featured the Leafs, whom he instantly fell in love with. Not only can he afford to see them now, he built himself an impressive Leaf man cave back in Medicine Hat.

Kurtis Stevenson and Mike Wilson at the Leafs-Flames game in Calgary.

Ted and his gang — John Griffin, Mike Bishop and Bill Hopkins, all Toronto transplants — also take in a game every visit out west. Toronto-born Dale Neville also kept his loyalty and convinced wife Kathleen to back them as well — if the Flames aren’t playing.

Dave Jackson had the most unusual painted face, one to rival Heath Ledger’s Joker in Batman. After this game, he was also headed to Edmonton to catch the Leafs on their way home after their middle stop in Vancouver. Meanwhile, Kylea Brady was mystified why none of the Leafs would respond in warm-up to her ‘birthday wish’ sign, which for the sake of a PG audience was a play on the word ‘puck.’

All were rewarded by the end of the game, a standing ovation for the Leafs and caps thrown on the ice to salute a hat trick by Tyler Ennis.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Megan Kennedy had approached me at the Winnipeg game way back in October, sharing her quest to eventually see the Leafs in every road rink. She advised me that when the Vancouver game rolled around, I should check a ‘Leafs only’ pub, the Regal Beagle.

Bar manager Clark Howson came to the left coast years ago from Oakville, frustrated there wasn’t a local watering hole that would show his Leafs. In 2011, he decided to host small gatherings for fans at the Beagle and it grew from a dozen into almost a couple of hundred. People not only watch Toronto on game night, they drop in daily to talk Leafs amid photos, sweaters and mementos.

Lloyd Andrews came here from Scarborough, imbued with his father’s strong Blue and White connection. He’s passed that to six-year old Lloyd Jr., who wears his Leaf sweater to school regularly and insists on donning it for any special occasion, like the class photo. He takes some heckling from his pro-Canucks classmates, but says it doesn’t bother him.

Christine McAvoy is the ‘official photographer’ of the pub, camera at the ready to welcome new visitors, contest winners, group shots and special events.

The faithful gather beforehand and then pile into cabs and Ubers from the Beagle to Rogers Arena. If Toronto is victorious, it’s bedlam afterwards at the bar with lineups hoping to join the celebration.

One person not allowed to attend when I was there, ironically, was Toronto’s famous ‘Dart Guy,’ who’d lost an earlier wager and had to go the game in full Canucks’ ensemble and face paint over his bald head. But good for him to honour the bet.

In Edmonton, I met my former Orillia Terrier teammate Geoff Green for breakfast. I used to tease him about being a great clubhouse lawyer and darned if he didn’t become a real one in Oiler country.

Green, who won a Memorial Cup in 1973 with the Toronto Marlboros, coached by George Armstrong, understands how special it was to be a small part of the Leafs family in the Gardens. It still amazes him how much love fans have for the team 2,000 miles away.

I spent the remainder of that morning in a walk-in clinic getting meds for an eye infection. Assured it wasn’t contagious, I still took the prudent approach to rest until game time rather than hunt out Edmonton’s city and hockey landmarks.

Rogers Place is a magnificent facility, not a bad seat in the house, sporting wide hallways and a vibrant ambiance.

Fabian and Amanda Madore and Don Frisby with Mike Wilson at the Leafs game in Edmonton.

Fabian and Amanda Madore, with friend Don Frisby, made the long drive down from Fort McMurray. Originally from Newfoundland, Fabian’s Leaf passion came from his dad, Andrew, whom Fabian assured “bled blue.” He died in 2001. The family had a Leaf crest along with a No. 28 in honour of Tie Domi, Andrew’s favourite, engraved on his headstone.

In 1995, 15-year-old Spencer Jewel attended his first game at the Gardens and still comes to matches in Edmonton in face paint and blue wig. James Vent, wearing a ‘Lucha Libre’ Leaf wrestling mask, sees as many Toronto games in Edmonton as possible or enjoys them from his own Leaf-themed rec room.

The common denominator among fans in the West was family tradition. Even the younger sect that weren’t as passionate understood what the Leafs meant to their fathers, grandfathers and in some instances great-grandfathers – and on their own lives.



Calle Rosen is extra insurance for the Leafs on Jake Gardiner — now and later

By Jonas Siegel Apr 1, 2019

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Calle Rosen waited more than 500 days for his fifth NHL game to come around.

When it finally did arrive Monday night on Long Island, the 25-year-old was ready and a different player from 17 months earlier. More sure of himself certainly than he had been during a brief stint with the Leafs to start last season and better for nearly two full seasons of AHL experience, including a star turn en route to a Calder Cup crown last spring.

“I think confidence comes with time being played,” Travis Dermott, Rosen’s partner on defence against the Islanders, said, “whether it’s up here or down there you’re going to gain confidence.”

“I was just ready for tonight,” Rosen said.

He was still grinning about his first NHL goal, a floater from the left point that somehow eluded Robin Lehner. He wasn’t sure if it hit a stick or bounced off the ice or hit the post — maybe all of the above. He was just happy it went in. He planned to send the puck home for mom to cherish. He was pretty sure she was watching him in the NHL for the first time since October 2017, even though it was the middle of the night in Sweden.

He found his phone flooded with excitable texts from her after the game.

“She’s happy for me and I’m happy too,” Rosen said.

Rosen didn’t play much in a win that clinched a playoff spot for the Leafs — just nine minutes and change — but his apparent readiness to become a full-time NHLer is important insurance nonetheless for the organization as it relates to Jake Gardiner — now and later.

Gardiner is now close to finally returning from back troubles which have kept him out since the end of February. He was on the ice again Monday, taking part in the Leafs morning skate before playing a little 3-on-3 with fellow scratches Nic Petan, Justin Holl, Igor Ozhiganov, and assistant coaches Jim Hiller and D.J. Smith.

His return is planned for Thursday night against the Lightning. “We’re making steps toward that happening,” Mike Babcock said before the game against the Islanders.

Gardiner’s absence until then is what’s left the door open for Rosen to finally grab another game with the Leafs.

It seems long ago now, but Rosen was in the Leafs lineup — and paired with Connor Carrick — in the second game of the 2017-18 season. He was gone before October was through.

There was some thought that he would challenge for a job at training camp this past fall, though with Dermott, Gardiner, and Morgan Rielly all locks on the left side it’s clear he wouldn’t have played and that his development was best served in the minors. An opportunity would have come around again even earlier had it not been for a foot injury that knocked him out for a month.

Time with the Marlies seemed to serve him well though. In particular, it helped him get a better grasp for defending on the smaller ice and also taking his biggest weapon — skating — and making it pop more to create offence.

He tallied 0.85 points per game for the Marlies this season, second among AHL defenders, after knotting just 0.35 points per game as an AHL rookie last season.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


“I don’t know if he got better, but he just got more confident,” said Trevor Moore, who’s played with Rosen for most of the past two seasons. “He’s able to do so many things and I think he realized he could do more offensively because he’s able to rebound defensively with his skating. Like you see it out there tonight, there was a 2-on-1 (rush for the Islanders) and then all of a sudden Rosy caught the guy.

“It’s stuff like that that makes him able to be more offensive and makes him a special player.”

Dermott got the call to join the Leafs midway through last season. He watched Rosen and the Marlies from afar after that.

“I thought he was exceptional,” Dermott said of Rosen. “I thought he really skated well and if a play wasn’t there he’d skate into a spot where a play was available, which I think he’s still doing here — which makes my life real easy being beside him.”

That easy skating glide made the transition to North America a little easier, Dermott figured. He saw the same thing with Timothy Liljegren, the Leafs 2017 first-round pick, when the two were paired together at the start of last season. “The only thing is the defensive aspect, where guys are coming on you quicker where that takes a little time getting used to,” Dermott said.

And that was what Rosen needed to get right to curry favour with Babcock, who quickly turned to Andreas Borgman over him last fall before pivoting again to Dermott after that.

“The biggest thing is just your ability to play without the puck, your ability to defend, your ability to stand in the right spot,” the Leafs coach said of Rosen’s challenge, adding that it was about “getting comfortable at knowing when to go and not to go (on offence), how to box out, how to take sticks, how to play on the (defensive) side, and make sure you don’t get scored on.”

Babcock protected Rosen pretty good against the Islanders. He didn’t line him up for a single defensive zone faceoff. Rosen and Dermott still ended up in the defensive zone here and there, but the Leafs managed to fire 18 shot attempts to just nine for New York when the two were on the ice. It was a positive night for the third pair.

“I liked Rosen,” Babcock said afterward. “We didn’t give him a lot of minutes in the D-zone, but he can really skate and pass the puck.”

It’s precisely why he fits into the Leafs’ short and long-term plans, and why he figures into the puzzle around Gardiner.

Right now, Rosen is the first option in the case that Gardiner’s back issues resurface in the postseason. He wouldn’t fill the full gap obviously, but would at least offer Babcock a skilled piece to plug onto a sheltered third pair.

Rosen looked like he was comfortably in charge for the Marlies during last year’s playoff run, moving the puck assertively and with precision. The NHL regular season is a few rungs up from that though, and the playoffs are a different beast entirely, but at the very least, Rosen would give the Leafs an extra creator behind Rielly and Dermott, and to a lesser degree, Jake Muzzin.

It’s bigger picture where Rosen really stands to fill some gaps, though.

Again, he’s not a replacement for Gardiner, if the 28-year-old does ultimately leave in free agency, but could be a cheap piece no less to plug into the lineup. The Leafs quietly re-upped Rosen back in December for two more years after this one at a helpful annual cap hit of $750,000.

Kyle Dubas can go in all kinds of different directions with his defence in the event that an agreement with Gardiner can’t be reached, and all of them figure to include Rosen in some sort of depth role.

One option could see Muzzin finally move to the right side. The Leafs could get him working toward that goal during his offseason training this summer.

Rosen could play the left side of the third pair with either Ozhiganov, a pending RFA, or Holl, or perhaps, Liljegren.

Or maybe it’s Dermott who moves into the right side void with Rielly.

Maybe the Leafs swing a deal for a top right-shooting option to play on their top pair. Or perhaps instead, Muzzin is the guy, and Ron Hainsey is re-signed for strict third pair duty.

It’s also possible the Leafs trade Zaitsev or even sign Gardiner. Maybe Rasmus Sandin snatches a job at training camp. In any case, Rosen plugs a hole or stands to anyway. At his third training camp in the fall, he’ll need to show that he can do all those things Babcock talked about, and do it in a league that’s loads faster than the AHL.

He’s moving in the right direction. He’s also another example of good team-building under the salary cap. The Leafs found him in Europe, developed him over two seasons, and now have a potentially useful, and cost-effective, asset moving forward. That stuff all adds up, especially as pricier contracts pile up for the stars that make up the Leafs core.

“It creates really good depth for the organization,” said Moore, another such example.

“Some up and downs,” Rosen concluded of his return to the Leafs, “but considering it’s my first (NHL) game this year I have to be pretty happy with my game.”

The Athletic LOADED: 04.02.2019


Leafs Report Cards — Game 79 at New York Islanders

By Ian Tulloch Apr 1, 2019

Well that was exciting! In typical Leafs fashion, Toronto managed to clinch the playoffs in what probably shouldn’t have been such a close finish, defeating the Islanders 2-1. Homecoming Part 2 went much better for John Tavares this time around, dominating play at even strength, not to mention scoring the game-winning goal against his former team.

I’m sure both Leafs fans and Islanders fans will analyze this game completely rationally, so let’s try our best to follow suit with some report cards.

How did the team look?

5-on-5 – ��

Score effects took over in the third period (when Toronto was holding a 2-0 lead), but the Leafs managed to control play for the majority of this game while things were close. Defensively, the team did a great job of shutting down Mat Barzal at even strength, keeping him to the outside off the rush and not letting him make passes to the middle of the ice, while offensively, the Leafs’ top six managed to generate lots of zone time in the Islanders’ end. It wasn’t a perfect game, but you’re happy with that kind of performance against a playoff team (and arguably rival at this point considering the Tavares drama).

Power Play – ��

CAROLINA HURRICANES


The Leafs experimented with Morgan Rielly on the second unit to help get PP2 going, which I thought was interesting. With that being said, I haven’t been a huge fan of Muzzin’s play with the man advantage. He’s been excellent at even strength, but the timing feels off on his passes in the offensive zone, which leads to a lot of slow, predictable play on the perimeter when his power-play unit is on the ice.

Penalty Kill – ��

If nothing else, Toronto’s penalty kill got lots of practice. I loved what I saw from Mitch Marner, which is becoming a common trend these days on the PK. He’s so great at disrupting the power play’s timing on their breakouts, which often results in a few neutral zone regroups before they’re able to gain the zone (killing precious seconds off the clock). The “bend but don’t break” feel of the penalty kill didn’t go so well later in the game, with Jordan Eberle finding the back of the net in the third period, but I still thought this was a pretty solid night for Toronto’s PK, all things considered.

Image from MoneyPuck.com

Player Reports

��

Best player on the ice: John Tavares – 18:47, 1 goal, 8 scoring chances (team lead), 4 clean zone entries (T-2nd among forwards, 1 set of BED SHEETS (not pajamas!)

This was a tough choice for best player on the ice (Frederik Andersen played one of his best games in a long time, while Tavares took over the game at 5-on-5). Considering the circumstances, though, I decided to go with Pajama Boy (who should really be Bed Sheet Boy since it’s clearly a picture of bed sheets that everyone’s referring to, but alas, sometimes the internet doesn’t make sense).

NOT EVERYDAY YOU CAN LIVE A CHILDHOOD DREAM PIC.TWITTER.COM/YUTKDFMALL

— JOHN TAVARES (@91TAVARES) JULY 1, 2018

When it comes to Bed Sheet Boy’s performance, he was all over the ice, winning puck battles in all three zones, controlling play on the cycle in the offensive zone and using his edge work to create space for himself in tight spaces. It’s not a coincidence the Leafs outshot the Islanders 18-10 and outchanced them 12-6 when Tavares was on the ice; he was the driving force behind the team’s best line and is a major reason they ended up securing the win.

Frederik Andersen – Stopped 28 of 29 shots (.966 save percentage)

Now, technically Andersen had the biggest impact on the game (when your goaltender only allows one goal, it’s very difficult to lose), but again, the Long Island factor probably robbed him of a well-earned “best player on the ice” award. As I’m sure most Leafs fans know, Andersen hasn’t been performing his best lately, but we got a taste of vintage Freddy. His movements were fluid in his crease, he did a great job of tracking pucks, securing rebounds and making a few key stops down the stretch to help lead his team to victory.

��

Mitch Marner – 22:54, 1 primary assist, 4 clean zone entries (T-2nd among forwards)

As I’ve been saying a lot lately, I can’t get enough of Marner on the penalty kill; he’s been spectacular at preventing teams from getting set up in formation (whether it’s with an aggressive forecheck in the offensive zone, smart positioning in the neutral zone, or lugging the puck up the ice to kill time off the clock). At even strength, he was also a major factor, transitioning the puck from defence to offence with consistency. He may not have been the star of his line, but he certainly left his stamp on the game.

Kasperi Kapanen – Sonic the Hedgehog on skates

It seems lazy to bring up the fact that “Kasperi Kapanen is fast” but sometimes I’m blown away with how much ground he can cover so quickly.

KASPERI KAPANEN SKATING FAST BUT WITH SONIC MUSIC PIC.TWITTER.COM/Y8XSRCHUMY

— X – THE LEAFS IMO (@THELEAFSIMO) APRIL 2, 2019

Is that music edit a bit silly? Absolutely, but it pretty much sums up Kapanen’s style of play. He’s all speed, all the time, and it’s a big part of the reason he was winning puck battles all night. He also generated a few quality scoring opportunities in the offensive zone, which is what you want to see when you get an opportunity to play alongside Auston Matthews and William Nylander (which was quite fun to watch).

Calle Rosen – Not bad for a Calle-up (… I’m so sorry)

I’m grading on a bit of a curve here, because this obviously wasn’t the most dominant performance by Rosen, but to come up to the NHL shortly after rehabbing an injury in the AHL – and to look good doing it – definitely isn’t. He looked confident with the puck on his stick and made a few nice plays without it in transition. He also did an excellent job of getting his shot through from the point, which is how he ended up scoring his first NHL goal. Now, was it a pretty goal? No. Was it one an NHL goalie should have stopped? Yes, but I’m not here for semantics – Calle Rosen scored his first NHL goal and we’re going to be happy about something for once!

Jake Muzzin – 20:35, 3 clean zone exits (2nd among defencemen), lots of smart little plays

Again, I haven’t been a fan of Muzzin’s play on the power play lately, but man have I loved his play at even strength. He’s so good at making subtle plays under pressure to keep his team in possession, whether it’s a slip pass to his centre in the middle of the ice, a quick pass to his partner in open space, or simply circling back with the puck and waiting for a better option (instead of blindly whipping it off the glass). He’s been doing this with consistency lately, and it’s a huge part of the reason the Leafs have been so dominant when he’s on the ice.

LAST EIGHT GAMES FOR JAKE MUZZIN:

24:18/GAME

5 POINTS

57 PERCENT CF%

57 PERCENT SCF%

68 PERCENT GF%

EVEN DRAWING TOP LINE ASSIGNMENTS OF LATE FOR MIKE BABCOCK.

— JONAS SIEGEL (@JONASSIEGEL) MARCH 28, 2019

Auston Matthews – 19:26, 2 shots on goal, +6 shot differential, 69% of the expected goals

This is what I’d like to call an “inconsistent-yet-dominant” game from Matthews. There were shifts where he would completely take over in the offensive zone, which led to a ton of zone time on the cycle and multiple scoring opportunities. Then there were shifts where he seemed disengaged (particularly defensively) and wasn’t battling hard for the puck. With that being said, there were moments of brilliance (both offensively and defensively), which led to his line dominating play when he was on the ice.

MATTHEWS CREATES THE TURNOVER WHICH SETS UP RIELLY FOR A CHANCE. PIC.TWITTER.COM/S6TYZNRHRZ

— FLINTOR (@THEFLINTOR) APRIL 1, 2019

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It’s easy to nitpick with a player as talented as Matthews. This was obviously as great night from him, but I feel like there’s a tendency to want “more” from a player who’s clearly the best player every time he steps on the ice. Here’s hoping we get to see that extra gear (“beast mode”) with more consistency as the Leafs enter the playoffs.

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Travis Dermott – Not noticeable, which is arguably a good thing

This was one of those games where you probably didn’t notice Dermott, but he was effective. He’s one of the best players in the NHL at stepping up on opposing forwards in the neutral zone (forcing a lot of dump-ins, which leads to easier breakouts for the team). He didn’t jump off the page, but it was a solid game.

Patrick Marleau – Looked a bit more rejuvenated tonight

I’ve been critical of Marleau’s game this season, but he looked like he had an extra jump in his step (especially earlier in the game). He was using his speed to get the puck up the ice with possession and helped force a few turnovers in the offensive zone. Now, his line didn’t generate much offence at even strength, but I thought he was making some solid plays throughout the course of the game.

Zach Hyman – Complementary winger

It’s always fun looking up Hyman’s numbers at the end of the game and going “Wow, the Leafs dominated the opposition when he was on the ice!” Then you remember that he plays alongside Tavares-Marner, and it begins to make a bit more sense. This isn’t to say he played poorly (I thought he made some solid plays on the forecheck and backcheck), but I think it’s fair to say his line dominated this game because of his two superstar linemates.

Morgan Rielly – Elite puck-moving, subpar defensive play

I’m never sure how to evaluate Rielly on nights like these. Individually, I thought he was spectacular in transition. He led the team in clean zone exits by far with eight (no other defenceman had more than three) and was the only defenceman to generate more than one clean zone entry – he had five. With that being said, the Leafs got outshot and outchanced when he was on the ice. Should we attribute that to his subpar play in the defensive zone? How much of that comes down to the difficulty of his minutes, not to mention his 38-year-old defence partner?

I’m not sure what the right answer is, but I’d still like to see some better 200-foot play from Rielly.

William Nylander – Excellent in transition, less-than-ideal decision making

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Matthews line began dominating play again right when Nylander rejoined the top six, and we saw some examples of why. Nylander was excellent in transition, getting the puck into the offensive zone with consistency. The issue is that he wasn’t as dynamic in the offensive zone, struggling to generate dangerous chances off the cycle. He also had a few rough turnovers, one of which came later in the third period with the team up a goal. I love his talent, but much like Jake Gardiner, sometimes you need to understand the situation late in a one-goal game.

Nikita Zaitsev – An enigma

This is always the grade I have the toughest time with because, frankly, I don’t know how to evaluate Nikita Zaitsev. He struggles in most areas that help drive results in the modern game, but then he makes solid defensive plays that coaches love (whether it’s breaking up a 2-on-1 with a well-timed slide or some excellent penalty killing). I’m going to meet somewhere halfway and say this was a “decent” game from him, as he did a great job recovering loose pucks and icing them on the PK … but he also brought that same mentality at 5-on-5.

Mike Babcock – Love him or hate him, he’s trying some new things

I completely understand why fans get frustrated when they see Patrick Marleau and Connor Brown on the third line, considering Tyler Ennis and Trevor Moore have looked much more dangerous at even strength. With that being said, I liked some of the creativity from Babcock (trying something new on the power play with Rielly on PP2 to balance things out, using Dermott on the PK, giving Rosen a chance on the bottom pairing, giving us the Nylander-Matthews-Kapanen line we’ve all been dreaming of). As frustrating as some of the lineup decisions can be, I like to see a coach tinker with things heading into the playoffs, which Babcock appears to be doing right now.

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Ron Hainsey – This might be controversial, but I didn’t think Hainsey played too well when you take everything into account. He looked solid on the penalty kill, but he also tried swinging his stick at a puck eight feet in the air when he could have easily batted it out with his glove (the Islanders ended up scoring a power play goal a few seconds after this). At even strength, he really struggled moving the puck, and got eaten alive in the shots and chances relative to his teammates. I understand that he plays tough competition, but he also plays most of his minutes with either the Tavares or Matthews line, not to mention a Norris candidate in Rielly. At some point, bleeding shots and chances at even strength is going to come back to bite you (and I’m worried that’s going to be against the Patrice Bergeron line in the playoffs).

The Fourth Line – I was a bit underwhelmed by the fourth line, but to be fair, they only played about six minutes at even strength. Ennis had some speedy zone exits; Moore had a few nice backchecks; Gauthier got into it with Matt Martin after the whistle (wait what?) – but at the end of the day, they didn’t look very good despite playing sheltered minutes. I’ve loved this trio throughout the season, but it just didn’t seem like their night.

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Worst player(s) on the ice: Nazem Kadri & Connor Brown – This was a pretty forgettable game for these two. Neither forward was doing much to drive play in the right direction, which is a big part of the reason the third line got heavily outshot and outchanced at even strength. I thought Kadri chipped in a bit more offensively and Brown had a better night defensively (particularly on the penalty kill), but the Leafs need more from this line considering the cushy usage they’ve been getting at 5-on-5.

Game Score

Most important GIF of the night

PIC.TWITTER.COM/H7VQOP53LK

— FLINTOR (@THEFLINTOR) APRIL 2, 2019

This is probably throwing gasoline on the fire (which I’m really looking forward to in the comments section when Islanders fans make their way over here again), but I’m sorry, this is a fantastic GIF.

Final thoughts from the game

The Leafs managed to play Tavares’ former team in his old building and not get embarrassed – that’s definitely a step in the right direction. More importantly, this was Andersen’s best performance in well over a month. The Leafs have actually been playing solid hockey lately, but the save percentage just hasn’t been there. If their starter can give them more of the Vezina-quality goaltending that we saw earlier in the season, they could be a much tougher out in the playoffs than a lot of analysts realize.

Final Grade: B+


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1138719 New Jersey Devils

NJ Devils cap home slate with tough win over Rangers

Abbey Mastracco, NHL writer

Published 9:48 p.m. ET April 1, 2019 | Updated 10:32 p.m. ET April 1, 2019

NEWARK — The Devils and Rangers playing in April should produce some form of fireworks, but without any playoff implications on the line, the feel was a little different.

But midway through the second period the fireworks came in the form of fists. A few well-timed fights resulted in a game-tying power play goal by the Rangers, setting up a tense third period at the Rock.

Trade-deadline acquisition Connor Carrick had the final punch for New Jersey in the metaphorical sense, scoring the game-winner with 4:10 left to give the Devils a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Monday night at Prudential Center.

“I really liked the way we competed tonight,” coach John Hynes said. “It was a rivalry game and we really hadn’t held up our end of the bargain, particularly in the last few games. It was nice to see the response tonight.”

Miles Wood and Travis Zajac also scored and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 30 of 32 shots for his first Hudson River Rivalry victory. Joey Anderson iced the game with an empty-net goal.

Brett Howden and Filip Chytil scored for the Rangers while Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves on 40 shots faced.

The New Jersey Devils celebrate a goal by New Jersey Devils left wing Miles Wood (44) during the first period of their game against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center.

Carrick’s goal was facilitated by veteran forward Drew Stafford, who stripped a Rangers player at the wall and fed Carrick for the score to cap off a wild one. It was Stafford’s fourth point in six games.

“He kind of got on the right half of his body like he was in a shooting position and you don’t want to scare a guy out of a good shot but sometimes you’re not as open as you think you are," Carrick said. "I gave him a good yell. Staff is a veteran player with great poise and he was able to find me and put it right on my tape. I just tried to go across the grain with the shot based on the angle Hank was coming from.”

At 9:21 in the second period a scrum broke out in the corner of the Devils’ zone with Brendan Lemieux, the son of former NHL winger Claude Lemieux, being sent off for a roughing double-minor. A fight broke out between Devils’ rookie Nathan Bastian and New York’s Tony DeAngelo.

"He asked me to go and it was my chance to jump in on the New York-New Jersey rivalry," Bastian said. "I liked that a lot. It was fun."

When all the penalties were sorted out, the Devils ended up with a power play. New Jersey failed to capitalize but that did little to lessen Lemieux’s emotions.

Less than 10 seconds after Chytil tied the game with a power play goal at 16:36, Lemieux tangled with Wood and received a five-minute fighting major.

New York Rangers left wing Brendan Lemieux (48) and New Jersey Devils left wing Miles Wood (44) fight during the second period at Prudential Center.

Still, the extracurriculars weren’t done. Blake Coleman and Lias Andersson tangled at 17:23 and Carrick and Vladislav Namestnikov had to be broken up following the expiration of the period.

The Rangers came in having outscored opponents 7-0 over their last five periods. Wood broke the streak at 3:54 of the first period when he sniped one past Lundqvist from the right circle. Zajac then put the Devils ahead 2-0 at 14:34 with a power play goal, tipping a point shot by Damon Severson past Lundqvist.

New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson (28) pulls the puck off the goal line behind New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29) during the first period of their game against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center.

But at 18:40 of the same period Howden cut the lead in half. Just 18 seconds later Chris Kreider appeared to have tied it up when he banked a bouncing puck off the post and past Blackwood, but the goal was overturned on review. Severson was able to sweep the puck off the line before it crossed.

It was the final game of a disappointing season at Prudential Center but the show on the ice didn’t disappoint. On a night that was supposed to be about fans from both sides of the river, the Devils and Rangers gave each of their fanbases something to get excited about.

"Everyone is in their own different spots in their careers but at the end of the day, we're all playing for the same goal of playing for each other and playing this last game at home for the fans," Bastian said. "I think we played pretty well."

Bergen Record LOADED: 04.02.2019


NJ Devils not ready to rule out Taylor Hall for season


Published 1:30 p.m. ET April 1, 2019

NEWARK — Since sports gambling is now legal in the state of New Jersey it might be a good time to place a bet on whether or not Devils’ star winger Taylor Hall will return for the final two games of the season.

I’d bet no.

Hall still has not skated since undergoing knee surgery sometime in late February. He did on-ice rehab Monday morning at Prudential Center but was done and out of the building by the time the team took the ice for the morning skate ahead of the game against the Rangers.

It’s safe to say Hall is ruled out for Monday’s rivalry game and for the final two games on the schedule, but the organization is still reluctant to make any sort of firm statement.

“I’m not ready to make it official but it looks that way,” coach John Hynes said following the morning skate. “That decision is not up to me and until I get word from the people that ultimately make the decision, meaning the player and our medical staff. It’s not fair for me to come out and say that.”

The Devils have avoided confirming any details of the surgery, including the date and any sort of timeline for a return. Hynes did

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give one minor detail following the surgery saying the procedure was for clean-out purposes rather than any sort of major reconstruction.

Prior to the news of the surgery, the picture was even more cloudy, with the team saying he was “day-to-day with a lower-body injury.”

The reigning Hart Trophy-winner who helped will the Devils to a playoff spot a year ago hasn’t played since Dec. 23. He missed back-to-back games on Dec. 14-15 before returning to play four more and was placed on injured reserve on Jan. 1. At the time of the injury, he had 11 goals and 37 points.

The Devils were already skating on thin ice without their alternate captain after a rocky November had them toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings but without Hall they plummeted. The power play was inconsistent and the scoring depth was minimal.

It’s tough to measure Hall’s influence on the ice but 26 assists through 33 games is a telling statistic. Hall held the team lead for assists until recently when Nico Hischier (28 assists) surpassed him and Damon Severson (26) caught up.

Of those 26, 17 of them were primary assists, showing how influential of a playmaker he can be 5-on-5 and on the power play.

Dec 20, 2018; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson (13) receives a pass as New Jersey Devils left wing Taylor Hall (9) trails the play during the second period at Nationwide Arena.

Hynes rule out Jesper Bratt (lower-body) is out for the rest of the week but said there’s a chance Kyle Palmieri (upper-body) and Sami Vatanen (illness) could return for one of the final games in Carolina or Florida.

It’s not at all unfair of Hynes to say he wants his star player to speak for himself, but the writing is on the wall. Set the odds at a return for Hall somewhere near zero percent.

Bastian back

Nathan Bastian only played in four NHL games this season but quickly proved himself to be a top prospect in those four games. But he was injured in that fourth game and forced to put his season on hold. Now cleared for a return, the Devils want to see him play the rest of the week to be able to gauge his progress before heading into the offseason.

“He maximizes his ability,” Hynes said. “He’s pretty strong on the puck, he does bring a physical presence, I think he’s a smart player, he’s responsible systematically and knows what we’re trying to do. Those are things we did like about him and we’d like to see that type of a game tonight.”

Ready for Rutgers

The celebration will continue for Rutgers’ wrestlers Anthony Ashnault and Nick Suriano on Monday night when the Devils will honor them for their historic NCAA Championship wins.



How they line up: NJ Devils' Nathan Bastian takes place of Kyle Palmieri vs. Rangers


Published 11:05 a.m. ET April 1, 2019

NEWARK — Good morning from Newark, for the final time this season. There’s not much to play for Monday night at Prudential Center except pride in this last Hudson River Rivalry game. Both teams are long out of the playoff race and the Devils already held fan appreciation night on Saturday.

But you have to play out the slate so, here we are at one of the last morning skates of the season.

New Jersey Devils right wing Nathan Bastian (42) celebrates his first NHL goal during the first period of their game against the Montreal Canadiens at Prudential Center.

Mackenzie Blackwood was in the starter’s net for New Jersey and Nathan Bastian was on the ice in place of Kyle Palmieri. The lines were shuffled quite a bit from the weekend contests with Kenny Agostino getting a bump to the top line with Nico Hischier and Blake Coleman. Joey Anderson, who scored his third NHL goal on Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues, has moved up to the second line.

With the Rangers are coming off a 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday the Blueshirts opted out of a morning skate. Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be in net since Alexandar Georgiev had the net in the win.

Looking at this game on the schedule at the beginning of the season you might have expected it to have playoff implications and it sure would have been exciting if it did. But the rivalry games always produce a heated atmosphere and this one will be no different.



Rangers fall to Devils, miss out on season sweep

By TOM CANAVAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

APR 01, 2019 | 10:16 PM

NEWARK — Defenseman Connor Carrick scored with 4:10 left to break a tie and the New Jersey Devils beat the New York Rangers 4-2 on Monday night to avoid being swept in their season series by their longtime rivals.

Myles Wood and Travis Zajac also scored in the Devils' regular-season home finale. Joey Anderson added an empty-net goal to ice the game and MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves.

Brett Howden and Filip Chytil scored for the Rangers, who won the first three meetings. Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves in losing his fifth straight decision.

Henrik Lundqvist, l, was unable to keep the Devils from scoring.

There have been only three regular-season sweeps in the series since the Devils moved to New Jersey in 1982. The Rangers had the most recent one in 2014-15, the year they won the Presidents' Trophy.

The game-winning goal was set up Drew Stafford. He stripped the puck from Vladislav Nemestnikov near the Rangers' blue line and found Carrick between the circles for his first goal since being acquired from Dallas at the trade deadline.

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The game between the rivals was chippy with three fights, including a one-shot bout in which Brandan Lemieux bloodied Wood.

For the third time in four games against New York, the Devils took a 2-0 lead and allowed the Rangers to tie it.

After the Rangers took nine of the game's first 10 shots, Wood broke down the right and beat Lundqvist with a shot to the top corner at 3:54 of the first.

Zajac got the second one with a tip of Damon Severson's shot on a power play at 14:34.

Howden cut the deficit in half, beating Blackwood with a shot from the right circle on a 3-on-1 rush.

The Rangers thought they had tied the score 16 seconds later when the red light came on after Chris Kreider's shot. The play was reviewed and the shot hit off the goalpost and did not entirely cross the goal line.

New York tied it on its first power play when Chytil snapped a 22-game goal scoring drought, putting the rebound of Vinni Lettieri's shot into a wide-open net for his 11th goal.

NOTES: Rangers F Pavel Buchnevich, who has a career-high seven-game point scoring streak, did not play after being hurt (concussion protocol) Sunday. ... The Devils were 15 for 15 on the penalty kill over their past seven games before Chytil's goal. ... Rangers D-F Brandan Smith was a healthy scratch after picking up four penalties Sunday. Lemieux replaced him.

New York Daily News LOADED: 04.02.2019


Frustration comes through as Rangers can’t complete Devils sweep

By Mark Cannizzaro

April 1, 2019 | 10:36pm | Updated

Well, it was nice while it lasted for the Rangers — albeit for two games.

A very modest two-game winning streak came to an unceremonious end in the form of a distasteful 4-2 loss to the Devils on Monday night at Prudential Center.

It was the fourth meeting between the teams this season and the first in which the Devils, the only team below the Rangers in the Metropolitan Division, managed to win.

It was perhaps that motivation that led the Devils to surprise the Rangers with some unexpected fight one day after the Rangers breezed past a loafing Flyers team Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia — a sure sign the Flyers, just eliminated from playoff contention, wanted no part of playing a game of no consequence.

The fact both the Rangers and Devils have long been out of any postseason conversation mattered little as the game hardly resembled one between teams anxiously awaiting the offseason.

In fact, behind the closed doors inside the Rangers locker room minutes after the game loud cursing could be heard from a frustrated player.

“The thing that surprised me was how intense the game was for two teams out of the playoffs,’’ coach David Quinn said. “We had a

chance to sweep them and I’m sure they didn’t like losing the first three. It was a heated game for sure. Give them credit, they played well. They played with a lot of energy and were physical and it was a lot different game than [Sunday], that’s for sure.’’

The highlight moments in the game came in a fight-marred second period, during which 40 penalty minutes were doled out — 19 to the Rangers and 21 to the Devils — with each team losing three players to five-minute majors for fighting.

“I think it was two frustrated teams battling, and wanting to show that we were better than our record with obviously a New York rivalry,’’ Brendan Lemieux said.

The entertaining second-period slugfest began with a scuffle between Lemieux and the Devils’ Kevin Rooney at 9:21. But as those two were separated, a mano-a-mano main event broke out between Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and Devils forward Nathan Bastian.

Once that was broken up, both players glided to their respective penalty boxes wearing wide grins. It was if both teams were letting out nearly 80 games of frustration in the span of one period.

The Rangers tied a game they trailed 2-0 — on Devils’ first-period goals by Miles Wood and Travis Zajac — at 2-2 at 16:36 on a nifty rebound one-timer by Filip Chytil.

It was made possible by a blast off the stick of Vinni Lettieri, a shot that was deflected off Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and right onto the stick of Chytil for his 11th goal of the season.

That goal seemed to ignite more emotions from both sides as, just seven seconds after the Chytil goal Lemieux and Wood dropped their gloves away from the play and went at it, rewarded with five minutes each for fighting at 16:43.

“He plays hard,’’ Lemieux said of Wood. “He was playing physical. He gave some cross checks behind the play that I didn’t like too much. He asked me to go and … that’s that.’’

Less than a minute later, Rangers forward Lias Andersson and Devils forward Blake Coleman got into what appeared to be more of a stand-up wrestling match, perhaps in honor of two Rutgers wrestlers who recently won NCAA titles and were recognized during a break in the game.

The Devils owned the game when it mattered most — in the third period — with defenseman Connor Carrick scoring what ended up being the game-winner at 15:50 and Joey Anderson clinching it with an empty-net goal at 18:51 to make it 4-2.

So, at the end of this night — one that ended in a 35th loss of the season for the Rangers — the only solace they left the building with was that they showed some fight.

Henrik Lundqvist

“The fight back shows we still care and we want to win these games and we’re not going to let anyone push us around,’’ Kevin Shattenkirk said. “As the game went on, we kind of forgot about the situation that we were in in the standings and we just started playing a hockey game — a Devils-Rangers hockey game.

“That was when we started seeing the game elevate in intensity. That’s when it started to turn into a real rivalry, both teams playing for those bragging rights.’’

Sadly, with just days remaining in the season, there hasn’t been a lot to brag about from either of these teams as they’ll fade quietly irrelevantly and into the offseason after this weekend.

New York Post LOADED: 04.02.2019

1138744 Philadelphia Flyers

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Goalie Cam Talbot, favored to return next season, continues his Flyers audition

by Sam Carchidi

DALLAS — It’s a no-brainer that Carter Hart will be the Flyers’ No. 1 goalie next season, but it will be interesting to see whom general manager Chuck Fletcher signs as his backup.

Right now, it appears Cam Talbot, who will start Tuesday night in Dallas, is the favorite. For lots of reasons.

For one, Fletcher traded for him. For another, Talbot and Hart have worked out in the summers, and Hart, 20, has called him his mentor. Keeping the franchise goalie in his comfort zone is not a bad plan.

Talbot and Brian Elliott both can become unrestricted free agents July 1. If Fletcher had to pick one of the two based strictly on this season’s performance, he might opt for Elliott (2.81 goals-against average, .912 save percentage) over Talbot (3.32, .895).

But Talbot is younger (he’ll be 32 in July) and not as injury-prone as Elliott, who will turn 34 next week.

In addition, Talbot is just two seasons removed from finishing fourth in voting for the Vezina Trophy, given to the NHL’s top goaltender.

So the odds are pointing toward the Flyers’ signing Talbot, whose career numbers (2.59 GAA, .915 save percentage) are similar to Elliott’s (2.47, .913).

Because he won’t be coming off a long layoff, the 6-foot-4, 196-pound Talbot should be sharper Tuesday in Dallas than he was in Saturday’s 5-2 loss in Carolina, a game in which he allowed three goals on 30 shots. The Hurricanes, who eliminated the Flyers from playoff contention that day, scored a pair of empty-net goals.

It was just Talbot’s second start with the Flyers since he was acquired Feb. 15 in a deal that sent Anthony Stolarz to Edmonton — and his first start since March 1.

Talbot was a bit rusty with his rebound control early against Carolina, but he got better as the game progressed before allowing a power-play point drive by Justin Faulk to beat him, giving the Hurricanes a late 3-1 lead.

“That’s a stop I have to make,” he said

This could be Talbot’s last game of the season, and he said he has been approaching his Flyers appearances as an audition.

If he passes, more Flyers appearances are likely in 2019-20 because Talbot said he wants to remain in Philadelphia.

“I like everything about the organization,” he said.

Breakaways

Dallas, coming off a 3-0-1 road trip through Western Canada, can clinch a Western Conference playoff spot if it collects one point Tuesday. … Defenseman Samuel Morin, who sat out Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Rangers, will return to the lineup Tuesday. Morin has played in five NHL games in his career. … The Flyers scored a 2-1 win over Dallas on Jan. 10 in their only other game against the Stars this season. Hart made 37 saves in that game. … Despite not being recalled from the minors until Dec. 17, Hart leads the Flyers in the star-of-the-game standings with 46 points, three more than Claude Giroux and six more than Sean Couturier. ... Entering Tuesday, Stolarz had a 4.00 GAA and .898 save percentage in five games with Edmonton.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.02.2019


Flyers observations: Team desperately needs an era of its own

by Sam Donnellon


The Flyers followed up a playoff-denying defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday with a listless, 3-0 home loss to the Rangers on Sunday.

Here are some takeaways:

The Flyers disconnect

The testimonials about fans in Citizens Bank Park over the weekend were predictable but devoid of one undeniable fact. Those who packed the place and delivered all the electricity the players spoke so glowingly about had some history with the team, and were simply renewing their vows.

A 26-year-old fan in the stands, for example, likely witnessed some of the heroics of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, might have even attended a World Series or playoff game. The Phillies delivered an era of exciting baseball even before they strung together those five straight division championships, creating a ton of birth certificates with Chase, Ryan or Jimmy on them, kids that by now might have attended a game or two.

The Flyers simply don’t have this. Oh, there was that run to the Finals in 2010 that generated a disproportionate number of Carcillo jerseys in the stands, but that was a flashing comet amid the same type of one-and-done frustration that has plagued the decade since then, triggering finally the long-term view that the Phillies undertook.

That produced enough home-grown talent in players such as Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins on the current roster to compel ownership to go all-in this winter, and the result of that is easy to see — not just in the number of fannies in the seats, but also in the renewed sea of red you see all around the Delaware Valley.

It’s cool to wear Phillies stuff again.

But the key word is again. It is instructional that, despite a career track that suggests the Hall of Fame, Claude Giroux has never experienced that. Neither has Jake Voracek, nor even their departed warrior, Wayne Simmonds. It’s part of the disconnect, I believe, between this team and the fan base. Fans boo if the Flyers take too long to take a power-play shot. Players speak more about their obligation to the organization or the sweater than they do to the ticket buyers, who these days have a closer relationship to Stubhub than they do to the team.

Which brings me to Sunday. It is understandable that the team was emotionally and physically drained after being eliminated by Carolina on Saturday. But Sunday was the Flyers’ second-to-last chance this season to acknowledge the diehards who came out, and it didn’t seem as if there was much of that.

It’s understandable. This team has not had an era since Eric Lindros left. The Sixers (Iverson) have, the Phillies have, and the Eagles most certainly have. Among those returning to Citizens Bank Park is a generation that spent hours there as kids.

It’s what makes the coming offseason so very important for the Flyers. They desperately need an era of their own.

Goaltenders, what else?

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Cam Talbot played his second game for the Flyers on Saturday, and both games have shared a similar characteristic: Start a little shaky, finish with a solid performance. That’s to be expected with so much down time, and the guess here is it will be enough — he’ll start against St. Louis on Tuesday — to warrant signing him this summer as Carter Hart’s backup, which was the intent when Talbot was acquired in a trade with Edmonton.

Barring injury, Brian Elliott might have played his last game as a Flyer. There should be some sort of appreciation montage when the team finishes its season Saturday night against Carolina. The man played hurt, rushed back to help the Flyers last season, and gave it everything he had when here.

If he stays healthy, he will be somebody’s bargain next year. But it’s too big of an if for a Flyers team that set a record for playing goaltenders this season.

As the D-men turn

Not only did Shayne Gostisbehere return to the lineup Sunday, he also played 25 minutes and 36 seconds. Some of that was because of his fresh legs, but it was mildly interesting that he was paired with Ivan Provorov, with whom he played well in 2017-18.

Equally interesting was the pairing of Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers, who were so good together during the Phantoms’ second half and playoff run last year. Scott Gordon was the Phantoms coach then.



The Flyers seem poised for big changes this offseason, but at what cost?

by Mike Sielski

The Flyers lost to the Rangers, 3-0, on Sunday, playing as if they had drunk all the NyQuil in the world before the game, and if such a performance wasn’t to be excused, it was to be expected. Any chance that they might qualify for the playoffs had vanished, officially and finally, the day before with a loss in Raleigh to the Hurricanes. They were lifeless, and so was the Wells Fargo Center. Swaths of the arena’s lower bowl were pure maroon, the color of the vacant seats. There were plenty of boos, but even they seemed to be offered with lethargy, at least until the end.

In seasons past, this sort of scene would have ignited an eventful offseason for the Flyers. There would be trades and signings and changes galore, because Ed Snider would have demanded them. In turn, the team’s fans became conditioned, over time, to anticipate such creative upheaval, and they came to look forward to it, even revel in it. Ron Hextall’s four-year tenure as general manager served as a hiatus from this tradition. But Dave Scott – the chairman of the Flyers’ parent company, Comcast Spectacor – made clear his strategic predilections earlier this season, when, after tiring of Hextall’s patient approach and his recalcitrance in deviating from it, he fired Hextall.

The Flyers’ failure to reach the postseason, their inability to collect the gate revenue that home playoff games generate, and the relative indifference within the Philadelphia market to the franchise are likely to inspire Scott, team president Paul Holmgren, and GM Chuck Fletcher to go buck wild Snider-era style this summer. What those changes might be and the effect they might have, of course, is anyone’s guess at this point, but it’s fair to say that both the

organization’s power people and its fan base are hungry for something different. With Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek as, generally speaking, their primary leaders and top scorers over the last seven years, the Flyers have made the playoffs just three times – and never in consecutive seasons.

“I don’t know,” Voracek said. “Somewhere I think it said the core had to get traded. So, maybe the core? Maybe we’ve got to get traded – me, G? I don’t know. You figure it out.”

Even if the Flyers were inclined to trade Giroux and/or Voracek, the lengths and expense of their contracts make moving them difficult, if not impossible. Giroux is 31 and has three years, with an average annual value of $8.275 million, left on his contract, according to the database CapFriendly.com. Voracek is 29 and has five years, with an AAV of $8.25 million, left on his. Any prospective upgrades the Flyers might want to pursue, then, will involve cutting into the salary-cap space they have for 2019-20 and/or trading one or more of the organization’s young and still-blossoming players. And that’s where things get complicated.

The Flyers have always been willing to do something fast to fix themselves, and Scott, Holmgren, and Fletcher appeared poised to follow that history. But what’s fast is not always what’s best, and with the exception of Carter Hart’s ascension into the team’s No. 1 goaltender, nothing has changed about Hextall’s core philosophical principle: that the Flyers needed to collect more young talent throughout their organization and give that talent time to ripen.

It’s easy to point out that the Flyers could have used more production from their less-experienced players, that Nolan Patrick has just one goal in his last 20 games, that Oskar Lindblom has just two in his last 16, that Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov regressed. It’s much harder to remember that Patrick is 20, Lindblom is 22, Gostisbehere is 25, and Provorov is 22. That the players they are now might not be the players they become in another year or two or three. That giving up on young players too soon had long been a cardinal sin of the Flyers.

“You’ve got to find that groove, that consistency,” Gostisbehere said. “For us, it’s just getting back to basics. We obviously fell flat on our face out of the gate this season, and that really bit us in the butt. I think we’ve got a good group of guys here, a good young core. I think we can do some damage. We’ve just got to figure it out. …

“I don’t think we’re too far off as a team. Once we get everything settled, I think we’ll be good.”

Gostisbehere’s view of the future might be a bit too rosy, and this isn’t to suggest that every player in the organization who hasn’t yet turned 26 ought to be an untouchable. A splashy offseason isn’t the only way to improve a team’s roster and culture, though, and it’s foolish to overlook the risks intrinsic to it. No one in the Flyers’ front office and none of the few thousand loyalists who stayed until the final horn of Sunday’s game want to hear that, of course. None of them wants the Flyers to be careful anymore. But when it comes to building a team that can win a Stanley Cup, want’s got nothing to do with it.




by Sam Donnellon

CAROLINA HURRICANES


The Flyers followed up a playoff-denying defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday with a listless, 3-0 home loss to the Rangers on Sunday.

Here are some takeaways:

The Flyers disconnect

The testimonials about fans in Citizens Bank Park over the weekend were predictable but devoid of one undeniable fact. Those who packed the place and delivered all the electricity the players spoke so glowingly about had some history with the team, and were simply renewing their vows.

A 26-year-old fan in the stands, for example, likely witnessed some of the heroics of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, might have even attended a World Series or playoff game. The Phillies delivered an era of exciting baseball even before they strung together those five straight division championships, creating a ton of birth certificates with Chase, Ryan or Jimmy on them, kids that by now might have attended a game or two.

The Flyers simply don’t have this. Oh, there was that run to the Finals in 2010 that generated a disproportionate number of Carcillo jerseys in the stands, but that was a flashing comet amid the same type of one-and-done frustration that has plagued the decade since then, triggering finally the long-term view that the Phillies undertook.

That produced enough home-grown talent in players such as Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins on the current roster to compel ownership to go all-in this winter, and the result of that is easy to see — not just in the number of fannies in the seats, but also in the renewed sea of red you see all around the Delaware Valley.

It’s cool to wear Phillies stuff again.

But the key word is again. It is instructional that, despite a career track that suggests the Hall of Fame, Claude Giroux has never experienced that. Neither has Jake Voracek, nor even their departed warrior, Wayne Simmonds. It’s part of the disconnect, I believe, between this team and the fan base. Fans boo if the Flyers take too long to take a power-play shot. Players speak more about their obligation to the organization or the sweater than they do to the ticket buyers, who these days have a closer relationship to Stubhub than they do to the team.

Which brings me to Sunday. It is understandable that the team was emotionally and physically drained after being eliminated by Carolina on Saturday. But Sunday was the Flyers’ second-to-last chance this season to acknowledge the diehards who came out, and it didn’t seem as if there was much of that.

It’s understandable. This team has not had an era since Eric Lindros left. The Sixers (Iverson) have, the Phillies have, and the Eagles most certainly have. Among those returning to Citizens Bank Park is a generation that spent hours there as kids.

It’s what makes the coming offseason so very important for the Flyers. They desperately need an era of their own.

Goaltenders, what else?

Cam Talbot played his second game for the Flyers on Saturday, and both games have shared a similar characteristic: Start a little shaky, finish with a solid performance. That’s to be expected with so much down time, and the guess here is it will be enough — he’ll start against St. Louis on Tuesday — to warrant signing him this summer as Carter Hart’s backup, which was the intent when Talbot was acquired in a trade with Edmonton.

Barring injury, Brian Elliott might have played his last game as a Flyer. There should be some sort of appreciation montage when the team finishes its season Saturday night against Carolina. The man played hurt, rushed back to help the Flyers last season, and gave it everything he had when here.

If he stays healthy, he will be somebody’s bargain next year. But it’s too big of an if for a Flyers team that set a record for playing goaltenders this season.

As the D-men turn

Not only did Shayne Gostisbehere return to the lineup Sunday, he also played 25 minutes and 36 seconds. Some of that was because of his fresh legs, but it was mildly interesting that he was paired with Ivan Provorov, with whom he played well in 2017-18.

Equally interesting was the pairing of Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers, who were so good together during the Phantoms’ second half and playoff run last year. Scott Gordon was the Phantoms coach then.



Slow start turns into lackluster effort and another Flyers loss

By Rob Parent Apr 1, 2019

PHILADELPHIA — The final curtain had dropped on the Flyers’ hanging heads in lovely downtown Raleigh Saturday night while one of their old warriors-turned-genius head coach and his Hurricanes players played duck duck goose or surged stronger than the storm or whatever their latest cool celebration dance is all about.

There have been Flyers teams of the past watching playoff foes throw dead octopie and dead rats or reasonable facsimiles of both after lost series. There has been no other Flyers “core group” of players miss the playoffs four times in a seven-year span, yet that’s what this quickly diminishing “core group” has managed to do in Philadelphia.

Via a 3-0 loss to a reasonable facsimile of the New York Rangers Sunday, one that kept holdover goalie star Henrik Lundqvist on the bench, surviving long-term core players Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Jake Voracek helped set the tone for an ugly follow-up to being eliminated from playoff contention.

They weren’t alone.

“I think some of us, including myself, were kind of sitting back a bit, waiting for the play rather than going to get it and make plays ourselves,” Shane Gostisbehere noticed. “That cost us, for sure.”

What was more surprising than that was interim head coach Scott Gordon seeming surprised by it all. Or maybe he was just slow on the uptake that his club has been slow of late.

“I think any time you play back-to-back (games) ... especially with an afternoon game, you’re cautious of the fact that your team might come out slow,” Gordon said. “We came out slow. Whatever amount of time it was to get going, we did have some good shifts toward the latter half of the period. Obviously, I think everybody’s frustrated that the season’s ending on Saturday and we’ve got to find a way to generate energy in the last three games.”

But Gordon’s slow take was only indicative of the Flyers’ lost weekend, that also just a byproduct of a lost stretch.

With the freshly installed Gordon making subtle shifts on the fly and Carter Hart turning himself into an NHL goalie, the Flyers went 19-5-2 in a stretch from Jan. 10 through March 11. In the three weeks since, they won only three out of 10 games, thereby being eliminated by Carolina Saturday and all-but declaring themselves dead by the way they played against the Rangers a day later.

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“Obviously being eliminated sucks, but at the same we’ve still got to play for the pride and the logo on the front of our jersey,” said Hart, who by the way is still 20 years old. “I think we need to finish off strong so we can carry it into next season. It sucks that we’re not playing to get into the playoffs but at the same time we have to play for pride.

“It just feels like the last couple of games we’re starting slow, and if we kind of set the pace early in the game we’ll be a lot better off.”

Only three games remaining to do that of course, but fortunately for the Flyers, two of them will be played away from home. It is there, at the supposedly still-being-refurbished (Insert Bank Name) Center, where what’s left of the core group and their teammates committed retro sins.

Two-month-long resurrection streak or not, the Flyers Sunday clinched a losing home record for this season. At 19-17-4, they’re assured of having more total losses than wins for the first time since that glorious season of 2006-07, when the worst team in Flyers history (at least by record) chalked up an awful 10-24-7 home mark.

“Bothers me a lot,” Claude Giroux said of the home record. “We’re a young team. Wearing that jersey should be ... it’s something special. Everybody in this locker room, we love the city. We like playing for the city. We just have to be better.”

As the leader of the three players who have been here for that entire up-and-mostly-down seven-year stretch, Giroux still seems to feel the losses more than most. But that’s not to say the younger guys don’t get into the act.

“It’s not fun. What can I say? It’s not good enough,” Robert Hagg said. “The home record is not good enough, even on the road, it’s not good enough. So the whole season, it’s not good enough.

“We need to stick together and play as a team and I don’t think we are doing that right now. If we don’t play together it doesn’t matter. If you’re trying to do a one-man show for 60 minutes, you’re going to end up at 3-nothing.”

Added forward Scott Laughton: You’ve got to show up and play a little harder than that.”

And yet there was some thought that Rangers backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev had to really work at nailing down this shutout, which may have been true. But it was also obvious that the number of uncovered Rangers gliding in or bombing away at Hart during the game was criminal, even for a defensively culpable club like the Flyers.

Ah, but those guys who have been here lo, these past seven years?

Been there, seen that before. Especially at home.

“We usually just push, push, push there; forget about the little things,” Jake Voracek said. “On the road you don’t have to push that much. At home, you try to get that goal as soon as possible and sometimes it hurts you.

“I don’t think we’ve been good enough defensively the last three games to make any kind of statement, either at home or the road. When we finally create something we just don’t execute.”

NOTES >> Three games left in the Flyers’ season, one in Dallas Tuesday against head coach Jim Montgomery and the Stars, one in St. Louis Thursday against (interim) head coach Craig Berube and the Blues, and a finale at home next Saturday against those celebrated Carolina Hurricanes and their head coach, Rod Brind’Amour. None of those three former Flyers ever played for a team here as ineffective at home as this one was this season. ... After being held out as a healthy scratch Saturday, Gostisbehere was back, saying he knew Gordon just picked him first for a rest in a planned rotation of scratched defenders while Gordon tries to get rooks Sam Morin and Phil Myers some playing time. “Obviously, he apologized to me,” Gostisbehere said of Gordon. “He said he

probably should have sat me this game, not the game (before), because everyone thinks it’s performance-based. But it is what it is. We’ve got some good young players who need to get experience.”

Delaware County Times LOADED: 04.02.2019


After missing playoffs, it's fair to ask: What's Flyers' standard?

By John Boruk April 01, 2019

With a point against the Flyers Tuesday night, the Dallas Stars can secure their place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The same Stars organization that saw their CEO Jim Lites take a verbal bullwhip to the Stars’ two superstars — Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn — and unleash a profanity-filled tirade that may have been a little extreme by John Tortorella standards.

Lites referred to both players as “f------ horse----” for their “terrible play” and the overall effort of the team over the first three months of the season. The argument certainly can be made whether Lites was actually on point by calling out the team’s two biggest point producers.

Since that outburst, Seguin has been in the top 20 in scoring, while Benn has continued to struggle mightily. The Stars’ captain is on the verge of finishing with his lowest point total since 2010-11 season. Overall, the Stars have played decent, with a 22-15-4 record since Jan. 28. More than likely, they’ll likely get bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

Sound familiar?

You can almost regard the Dallas Stars as the Western Conference equivalent to the Flyers in the East.

Dallas has advanced in the playoffs just once over the past 11 years, whereas the Flyers haven’t made it out of the first round since 2012. Within both organizations, you have high-end talent locked up in long-term contracts, but overall, they’re two franchises mired in mediocrity.

While it’s not prudent that such harsh words come from a team executive who has never played the game, there’s still a place within an organization for those types of conversations to take place. Accountability is a priority that should originate within the leadership group, and preferably in private.

Ask any player who wore the Flyers sweater during the 1990s and 2000s what it was like when Bob Clarke addressed the team in a closed-door session during a losing streak, or how captain Keith Primeau never backed down in calling out a situation, as uncomfortable as it may have been.

While this Flyers team may not necessarily miss Chris Pronger the player, they certainly lack the Pronger presence. That one player who will deliver a harsh message no matter how many feathers need to be ruffled, as long as that one player takes care of their own business on the ice.

Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov did precisely that at the end of the 2016-17 season — one where the Lightning missed the playoffs — by saying “some players got their money and stopped working.” Kucherov established the standard, has been arguably the league’s top player since, and the Lightning now own the NHL’s best record over the past two seasons.

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When the Flyers were struggling mightily prior to Dave Hakstol’s firing, one player mentioned during a postgame scrum how tight-knit this group was and how they enjoy spending time together on road trips. The underlying concern with that is players don’t get paid for their chemistry off the ice, and whether they’ve created a culture where they don’t demand responsibility of each other for fear of being the pariah.

Instead, the Flyers have been a hockey team that will be drafting a lottery pick for the fourth time in seven years during which they have cycled through four different head coaches.

That should be an unacceptable standard to any CEO or GM, but it means very little if the leaders within the team don’t view it as completely intolerable.

And then take the hard, necessary steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.02.2019


Rangers 3, Flyers 0: 10 things we learned from a rough introduction to the post-elimination world

By Charlie O'Connor Apr 1, 2019

For the final week of the regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers will largely be playing out the string, knowing that a playoff berth is impossible and the offseason is nigh.

They certainly looked like a club with full awareness of that fact on Sunday afternoon.

Facing the rival New York Rangers with an opportunity to sweep the season series, the Flyers were instead outplayed from start to finish, falling by a 3-0 score at the Wells Fargo Center. Alexandar Georgiev delivered a 29-save shutout, while Ryan Strome, Pavel Buchnevich and Brady Skjei provided all the offense that the Rangers would need. Carter Hart took the loss, stopping 22 of 25 shots for the vanquished Flyers.

Note: This article will reference advanced hockey stats. If you’re looking to better understand any of the referenced metrics, please read this primer, which explains the concepts behind them.

1: Flyers looked on Sunday like a team that was eliminated on Saturday

The Flyers’ playoff chances were minuscule long before they were officially eliminated from contention on Saturday afternoon versus the Carolina Hurricanes. But there’s an undeniable difference between being essentially out and actually out, particularly in terms of how the team in question responds to the news. When hope entirely dies, the possibility of a major letdown exists — after all, what is left to play for once the ultimate goal of every season becomes impossible?

On Sunday, the Flyers seemed like they fell prey to that particular phenomenon.

They were never truly in this game. A terrible start led to a completely deserved 2-0 deficit after 20 minutes, and even though the offense found its legs a bit in the second period (23-8 shot-attempts advantage), the Flyers never showed the quality necessary to spark a real comeback. The end result was 2.03 Expected Goals, zero actual goals and a lot of dissatisfied players in the locker room

afterward. It wasn’t hard to pick up on the belief held by some players that the team didn’t respond well to its official ouster.

“I know we still have to stick with each other, play our game, play for the team and that didn’t happen today,” Robert Hagg bluntly said. “It was too much of a one-man show out there and (trying) to do too much. For me, as a not-point producing guy, it’s frustrating. We’re talking about before the game to do the small things right for the team, and we go out there and do the exact opposite. It’s frustrating.”

Carter Hart shared similar sentiments, though articulated in a more positive way. “I mean, obviously, being eliminated sucks but we still have to play for our pride and the logo on the front of our jersey and I think we need to finish it off strong so we can carry it into next season,” he said. “I know it sucks we aren’t playing to get into the playoffs, but we have to play for pride and play for everybody in this locker room.”

Not all players thought pride was necessarily lacking. “I think it was all about execution – which we didn’t have today,” Jakub Voracek said. But there were enough voices in the locker room who expressed concerns about the impact of the elimination on the team’s cohesiveness and all-around play to guess that it at least played a part in the poor overall performance. “We need to stick together and play as a team, and I don’t think we’re doing that right now,” Hagg said.

Yes, it was the second game of a back-to-back, and yes, it’s fair to expect a tired team to let down a bit in its first meaningless game after emptying the tank over the preceding two-plus months. But if the Flyers replicate this effort on Tuesday, this final week could get pretty ugly.

2: Backchecking, emotion lacking

How does “not playing as a team” manifest itself? Hagg’s point about the Flyers’ and their “one-man show” approach to offense creation was one way, but the team didn’t merely look underwhelming with the puck. Particularly in the opening 20 minutes of play, there wasn’t much commitment to defense, either.

Twice, the Flyers allowed a trailer to move into the play for a dangerous shot uncontested by back pressure, and the only reason goals weren’t scored on both plays was because Hart came up with a miraculous sequence to keep the puck out on the first. Then, with time running down in the period, the Flyers flubbed their regroup neutral zone forecheck so badly that no one accounted for the opposite side of the ice.

Scott Laughton — who looked to be at least partially to blame for the breakdown on Goal No. 2 — was nearly as blunt as Hagg in discussing the team’s effort. “Yeah, but you’ve got to show up a play a little harder than that,” Laughton said when asked if the previous day’s elimination had played a role in the poor showing. “Not a whole lot of emotion in our game,” he later added. Shayne Gostisbehere concurred, and he didn’t let himself off the hook. “Yeah, I think some us, including myself, kinda (were) sitting back a bit, waiting for the play, instead of going to get it and making plays ourselves, and it cost us for sure,” he acknowleged.

Again, considering the circumstances, it’s understandable that the Flyers’ effort might be lacking in this one. Their season is over for all intents and purposes, yet they still have to play out the string. A couple rough games now isn’t going to ruin the kids, or mean that the veterans can’t get the job done. Still, you’d like to see the team hold together for one final week and hit the offseason on a more positive note, even if the ultimate outcome of the season was a major disappointment.

3: Uneventful offseason gives Flyers lineup from Sunday

It’s expected that general manager Chuck Fletcher will push for major additions to the Flyers’ roster this offseason; that’s the case

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because of both his view of the roster and the fact that the previous GM lost the faith of the brain trust — at least in part — due to what was perceived as a too-patient, unyielding approach. My belief is that Fletcher is going to target three specific needs: a dynamic, top-six scoring forward, a second-line-caliber center and a veteran defenseman who can be a positive contributor on a first or second pair. Whether he ultimately fills any or all of these “holes” remains to be seen, but I do believe he’s going to try — and Fletcher has lots of cap space, draft picks and prospects to use as ammunition to do it.

But what if Fletcher — by design or simply because he proves unable to acquire anyone who fits the above requirements — largely sits on his hands this summer? What would the Flyers look like come October? Sunday’s starting lineup provided a fairly accurate snapshot.

Above is an adjusted version of an “entering the offseason” chart I used last week after the Michael Raffl signing. To be clear — this isn’t a straight depth chart. Jakub Voracek will obviously receive more minutes than Travis Konecny, and James van Riemsdyk will be deployed more often than Oskar Lindblom in all likelihood. But putting Voracek on Line 2 to spread out offense and JvR on the third line to shelter him a bit are logical decisions, as would be using Shayne Gostisbehere as something of a “super No. 5,” who might be on the third pair in name but ends up with the third-most minutes on the defense. And the red boxes, of course, are the holes in this particular lineup that Fletcher would like to fill if everyone currently on the team is to play in his ideal spot.

Sunday’s starting lineup was essentially the above chart, but with the next logical player moving up a spot to fill in the obvious gaps. Nolan Patrick was 2C in between Lindblom and Voracek; Scott Laughton bumped up to third-line center to replace Patrick. Ryan Hartman — instead of functioning as a high-end fourth liner, became the 3RW. And Gostisbehere, having prior success alongside Ivan Provorov in 2017-18, filled the vacant 1RD spot, with Robert Hagg sliding out of scratch territory and into the lineup. Fill in the two now-open spots on Line 4 with prospects, and boom — there’s your “Fletcher did nothing” 2019-20 Philadelphia Flyers.

Truthfully, this roster might not be terrible! If Carter Hart were to replicate his rookie success, Patrick and Konecny take big steps forward, Hartman resembles his Chicago Blackhawks-era self and Gostisbehere morphs back into 2017-18 form, we’re talking about a clear playoff team, if not a legitimate contender. But there are quite a few leaps involved with getting to that outcome. The risk is that one more of the above best-case scenarios don’t play out, and the Flyers find themselves a bubble team yet again.

4: Ghost returns with Provorov

As promised by head coach Scott Gordon, Shayne Gostisbehere returned to the Flyers’ lineup after his one-game scratching to accommodate Samuel Morin on Saturday, and he came back with his role fully intact. Not only did Ghost lead all Flyers defensemen in minutes played (23:01), but he also returned to his old spot beside Ivan Provorov — reconstituting the duo that proved so effective last season. If it wasn’t an intentional vote of confidence, it at least showed that Gostisbehere isn’t about to be marginalized the rest of the way. There’s no more prestigious spot on the Flyers’ defense depth chart than playing alongside Provorov.

If that wasn’t enough, in the wake of the game, both Gostisbehere and Gordon took time to throw water on the fire of his Saturday scratching. Because Ghost was removed from the lineup for Morin before any other defenseman — and because he had a rough finish to Wednesday’s game and didn’t even see the ice once in overtime — it seemed fair to theorize that there was at least an element of dissatisfaction behind the move to sit Gostisbehere first. Not so, according to Gordon and Ghost.

“To be honest with you, I wish I had not played Shayne today and played him yesterday, so nobody would be talking about that he got

benched because he made one turnover,” Gordon said after the game. “There will be another defenseman that will sit out on Tuesday, there will be another defenseman that sits out on Thursday. For me, there’s a lot more talk about Shayne than there really should be.” Gostisbehere explained that Gordon had even apologized to him for creating the misconception with the scratching. “We’re in a five-man rotation, I was just the first guy,” he said. “Obviously he apologized to me, said that he probably should have sat me this game and not the game right after, so everyone thinks it’s performance, but it is what it is. We’ve got some young guys, good young players who need to get some experience, and they’re going to get that in the next couple games.”

Does that end this bout of drama? For the most part. At the very least, Gordon recognized the importance of putting out this particular fire as quickly as possible, which serves as evidence that Gostisbehere is still valued by the coaching staff (and the organization as a whole). Still, it’s a little tough to swallow the idea that Gordon — a sharp hockey mind — wouldn’t realize that scratching a player the game after he was benched for the final 13:27 of action might raise eyebrows. At the very least, Gostisbehere isn’t in the position where he’s “un-scratchable” (as one presumes Provorov is), which is absolutely a downgrade from his place on the depth chart in 2017-18.

5: Provorov-Ghost reunited, but Sanheim-Myers gets toughest matchups

When they functioned as one of the NHL’s best pairs, the duo of Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere was used as a true first pair — getting the bulk of the ice time versus opponents’ top lines. But even though Scott Gordon and Rick Wilson chose to reunite them on Sunday, their role wasn’t that of a top pair; instead, it was the duo of Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers that received the most minutes at 5-on-5 (8:18 to 5:01) against Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and Chris Kreider — the Rangers’ most dangerous offensive line.

Frankly, this is exactly what the Flyers should be doing during this final stretch of games: trying out players in new roles, and seeing how they perform with increased responsibility. The Sanheim-Myers duo was flat-out dominant during the second half of the 2017-18 season for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after Sanheim was demoted in January. It’s worth checking to see if that chemistry could manifest itself at the NHL level.

The results? Mixed. The duo had no issues driving — posting a fantastic 68% Corsi For Percentage in over 15 minutes together — but they were on the ice for two goals against. The first in particular wasn’t a great look for either, as the Rangers got the puck around Sanheim in the neutral zone and then Kreider was able to thread a pass through Myers into the slot. The play-driving numbers imply that the Flyers might have something here, but considering the youth of both blueliners, they’ll likely make mistakes as well, especially if they continue to face top lines. There’s no better time than meaningless end-of-season games for that to occur.

6: Myers still struggling to get shots through

About five and a half minutes remained in the second period, with the Flyers trailing by a 2-0 score. Philippe Myers wound up for a slapshot — and based on the team’s lighthearted radar gun practice competition on Friday, he’s right there with Radko Gudas as the hardest shooter on the club (96 mph). Unfortunately, a heavy shot doesn’t have much value if it can’t even get within 30 feet of the net without being blocked.

As noted in last week’s analysis of Myers’ game, getting shots through to the net has been an issue for him, and Sunday was no exception. Myers attempted three shots, and tested Alexandar Georgiev with none of them. The 0-for-3 performance lowered his rate of attempts to shots on goal to 37.29 percent. Only 12 regular

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NHL defensemen (with at least 300 minutes played this year) entered Sunday with a lower rate.

Myers’ shot clearly can be a weapon. But in order to fully harness it, tweaks will be necessary — he’ll have to be a bit more accurate, a bit more deceptive, and sometimes, a bit more patient in order to become a more efficient offense producer on the cycle.

7: Hart impresses despite less-than-stellar stats

By the numbers, this won’t go down as one of Carter Hart’s better games. He finished with an 0.880 save percentage, and allowed three goals on 2.04 worth of xG. But don’t be fooled — the Flyers could have easily been down 4-0 by the end of the first period if not for the play of Hart. It seemed like he was the only Flyer to show up for the club at puck drop.

Only Ryan Strome’s late-first-period tally qualified as one that Hart “should have” stopped — Pavel Buchnevich was left alone in the slot on his goal, and Brady Skjei’s third-period marker was the result of a double deflection. There were many players worthy of criticism in the wake of Sunday’s game. Carter Hart, unsurprisingly at this point, was not one of them. He’ll sit on Tuesday for Cam Talbot, but Hart will likely be back Saturday to close out the season in front of the home crowd.

8: Giroux-Couturier-Konecny reunited, then broken up

Just as Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere were given a chance to turn back the clock and play alongside each other as if it was October, so was the Flyers’ start-of-season first line of Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny reunited to begin Sunday’s game. Like Provorov/Gostisbehere, the 28-14-11 line was stellar in 2017-18, driving play to the tune of a 54.71% Corsi and 58.61% xG over 494 minutes. And they haven’t been too shabby this year, either, posting 61.08%/53.77% Corsi/xG rates in about 290 minutes at 5-on-5 this season.

On this particular day, however, they didn’t have their fastball. After suffering a major defensive breakdown on New York’s first goal and losing the scoring-chance battle 3-2 over the first twenty minutes, Gordon apparently had seen enough. To start the second period, he swapped Konecny and Jakub Voracek, moving No. 93 up to the top line and creating a “Kid Line” with Konecny, Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom — groupings that would hold the rest of the game.

If Gordon’s comments after the game were any indication, Konecny won’t be rejoining Giroux and Couturier anytime soon. “I thought they were excellent,” he said of the Lindblom-Patrick-Konecny trio. “I thought they were our best line tonight.”

9: Flyers remain not just a good faceoff team, but an elite one

It shouldn’t surprise at this point that the Flyers came out on top in the faceoffs department, winning 31 and losing just 21 for a 59.6 average win percentage. Of course, the team’s poor win/loss record also shows the limitations of faceoff wins in terms of driving actual standings success, but it can’t be argued that winning draws at a league-high rate — their current 54.9 percent tops second-place Toronto by 1.7 percentage points — is a bad thing. It’s undeniably a positive that Philadelphia has won lots of faceoffs this year. What’s worth pointing out, however, is the extent of their success: The 2018-19 Flyers aren’t just the best faceoff team of the year, they’re one of the best of the decade.

Since 2010, only the 2012-13 Boston Bruins and their 56.4 win percentage clearly top this season’s Flyers. And right now, Philadelphia sits mere fractions of a percentage point behind the 2010-11 Vancouver Canucks — the second-best faceoff team of the past nine years.

Interestingly enough, both the 2012-13 Bruins and 2010-11 Canucks saw their seasons end the same way — with a loss in the Stanley Cup Final. The Flyers, of course, will not come close to repeating

that trick, despite their comparable results in terms of faceoff efficiency.

10: Where could the Flyers finish for the draft lottery?

With the playoffs now a true impossibility, only one race remains for the Flyers over the final week of the season. That is, of course, the jockeying for position in the upcoming draft lottery, which will occur early this year, on April 9.

Philadelphia famously jumped from a probable 13th overall selection to No. 2 to win the right to select Nolan Patrick back in 2017. The Flyers again sit 13th, tied with the Panthers with 82 points but possessing three more wins.

Right now, it’s theoretically plausible for six teams to “jump” the Flyers in the standings if Philadelphia does not win another game. The Panthers, Wild, Blackhawks, Canucks, Oilers and Ducks are the teams that Flyers fans should keep an eye on the rest of the way, especially if Philadelphia’s final three contests resemble Sunday’s loss.

Most likely, many of these teams will lose the majority of their remaining games, considering the fact that lots of matchups with playoff-bound or playoff-chasing teams are on their schedules. But every little bit helps — even moving from 13 to 11 would increase the odds, giving the Flyers a 6.6 percent chance of acquiring one of the top two picks in the first round, as opposed to a 4.6 percent chance if they remain at No. 13.

All statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and Natural Stat Trick.


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The Athletic / Ralph Krueger would consider a return to the NHL but most likely not as a coach

By Pierre LeBrun

Apr 1, 2019

Ever since he stole the coaching spotlight at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey while leading Team Europe, many have wondered if Ralph Krueger would ever be back behind an NHL bench.

Turns out we’ve been asking the wrong question.

A return to the NHL? Perhaps one day, Krueger told me on Monday. But likely not behind the bench.

And it makes sense if you consider his experience as chairman of the Southampton Football Club in the English Premier League, which has put him in a different place as far as his skill set and motivation, should a return to hockey ever come to pass.

There could potentially be a window this summer for that kind of change.

“This is my sixth season now in the Premier League, I have a very good relationship here with the ownership and my role has been exciting,” Krueger said over the phone from England. “We’re in a period right now of evaluation, both sides, and we’ll see how long and where … but I can see in the future taking on another leadership challenge in my life. If you spoke about hockey with me now, I would probably tend more to one day take the experiences of being a chairman/president of a Premier League team and possibly back into the game of hockey or other sports. The one thing I’ve learned, it’s not really sport-relevant. But it’s really clear hockey still has a special place in my heart.’’

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There have been some NHL calls to Krueger over the past few years about head coaching vacancies, including one from Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill during his first coaching search a few years back. And why not? Krueger led Team Europe to a stunning run to the World Cup final and gave powerhouse Canada all it could handle in that championship series. He was also an important part of Mike Babcock’s coaching staff at the 2014 Sochi Games in helping Olympic champion Canada fully prepare itself for the big ice.

But it would appear more than likely those coaching days are behind Krueger.

“You can never say never about coaching, but I really enjoy the growth of actually being in a role where you hire the best possible people, so that everybody you bring into an organization is actually better than you at what they do,’’ Krueger said. “That kind of became my goal here in Southampton. I think just the driving of a culture in a professional sports organization has become really my new passion and I could see bringing that back into North America someday. I really think that we do some things in the Premier League and in global football that are unique and different. And I think if you amalgamated and mixed the two together, it could be pretty powerful for an organization.’’

Which is to say if Krueger re-emerges in the NHL it would make sense for it to be as a team president or president of hockey operations.

There are about six to seven NHL owners, who once they read this column, should be scrambling to get Krueger on speed dial. Given his rather unique experience in pro sports, there are several attributes Krueger could bring to the table as the leader of a hockey franchise.

“Now I’ve had the opportunity to be that person who creates a culture where you try to have it that everybody can really find their potential and find out what they’re made of,” Krueger said of his growth form hockey coach to English football club chairman. “So my evolution has been neat that way. Now six years into this, if someone is asking me about the NHL, your brain goes to a similar role.’’

But first thing’s first. It’s not clear exactly if or when he would leave his gig at Southampton other than it sounds as if this approaching offseason represents a chance to think about a different future more than he has in a while.

“I have told some people that this is the summer of evaluation,’’ Krueger said. “At the moment the focus is keeping the team in the Premier League. We’ve been running a self-sustaining business here on pretty young players. So there’s always a risk of relegation. We’ve had a good run of late and we look like we’ll be able to be safe (they were five points clear or the danger zone as of Monday). We really need everyone focused on the job at hand. This will certainly be a postseason of evaluation though I would call it.’’

The hockey pull is always there.

“The first thing I look for every morning are the NHL scores,” Krueger said. “It’s funny how you just don’t lose that, I’ll watch highlights on TSN and I stay in contact with my friends.’’

One such friend is Paul Maurice. They coached Team Europe together at the 2016 World Cup and have cottages nearby each other on Lake of the Woods. Krueger’s yearly July passage to his native Winnipeg and the nearby cottage country is important to him.

“The lakes around Winnipeg are really quite beautiful and it’s always something special,” Krueger said. “My friendship with Paul Maurice has also really bloomed out of the World Cup. We’re very close still. Our families get along and we try to spend some time together. It’s nice because Winnipeg is my hometown. You can’t beat those lakes.’’

That partnership with Maurice for the 2016 World Cup was a short window in time and yet had a lasting impact.

“It’s amazing how that short gig has stayed part of my life,” Krueger said. “The connection with everybody that was part of our group there is still so strong, you wouldn’t believe it. Probably because we all knew it was a one-off, it was one of those confined spaces that was never going to get bigger than it was. And somehow it’s remained special.’’

Those relationships could be reignited with a potential return to hockey.

If Krueger ever does get that opportunity to run an NHL team, he would return to his sport with a new understanding of how he would want things to work between himself, the GM and the coach.

“What I see as the ideal model now, is a really strong triangle, for me the triangle of the head coach, the general manager and the president in a professional sports organization. If you get three people that have different strengths to fill each other’s weaknesses, which we all have, and they work in unison toward a goal on a regular basis, that for me is the basis,” Krueger said. “It took me a few years to really get that right here.’’

It’s not clear what’s next for Krueger. Perhaps he stays exactly where he is at Southampton.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if a return to the NHL as an executive was in the offing within the next few years.

It’s about the next challenge, with Krueger pushing himself to find new ones.

“You educate yourself in different ways when you go from player to coach to manager, you’re educating, educating and learning and growing,’’ Krueger said. “One thing I really like to do is push myself to have to get better, to have to learn, to have to grow and I like to put difficult things on my plate every day. It’s my driver.

“That will be my answer to you, that looking into the future, something back in North America, with a mix of this experience, that would be very interesting and very exciting.’


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The Athletic / Los Angeles-based youth hockey program suspends players, coaches over anti-Semitic video

By Katie Strang

Apr 1, 2019

A Los Angeles-based youth hockey team suspended 15 players and three coaches last month after a video was posted on social media showing one player appearing to do a Nazi salute and other players making what sound like anti-Semitic remarks.

The nine-second video, which was briefly posted on social media and later obtained by The Athletic, features one player from the LA Jr. Kings 14U Bantam AAA team appearing to do the salute while several others laugh. Individuals can then be heard saying what sounds like “Are you a Nazi?” and then “fuck the Jews” and “fucking Jews.” Not all the players in the video comment and only one raises his arm in what appears to be a Nazi salute.

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In response to calls from The Athletic, the LA Jr. Kings forwarded a statement last Friday that was later posted on its website. It reads, in part: “Today the LAJK communicated to the players & coaches that as a component of their suspension they will be required to participate in a mandatory educational program; comprised of sensitivity and social media training administered by outside professionals experienced in impactful positive youth education.

“We are a club that prides itself on being a community; one that fosters values such as friendship, respect and teamwork, and upholds ideals like diversity, equality and tolerance.”

The LA Jr. Kings are not owned or run by the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. However, the club operates out of the Kings’ Toyota Sports Center practice facility in El Segundo, Calif., and has permission from the LA Kings to use the Kings’ marks and logos.

When asked for comment, the NHL team said in a statement: “Since we were made aware of the incidents of March 9 we have been in regular communication with the LA Jr. Kings – a recreational club team operating out of our training facility. We fully supported their decision to indefinitely suspend all players and coaches after they conducted an immediate internal investigation. The LA Kings have zero tolerance for this type of behavior. We now await the results of the SafeSport investigation done by (the California Amateur Hockey Association), on behalf of the Pacific District and USA hockey.”

The Jr. Kings became aware of the video before the team’s final game in the USA Hockey Pacific District Tournament in Las Vegas last month. The organization decided to suspend all players on that team who had attended the team event at which the video was filmed, as well as the coaches who were responsible for overseeing the team pending an investigation. Not all members of the LA Jr. Kings 14U Bantam AAA team attended and/or participated in the tournament.

At that time, the incident became the focus of a CAHA/Pacific District SafeSport Investigation. The LA Jr. Kings said any further decisions or action would come following the completion of that investigation.

SafeSport is an oversight and investigative body that aims to prevent all forms of abuse within the national governing bodies under the U.S Olympic Committee’s umbrella. Tom Hancock, CAHA president and the executive committee chairman, declined to comment on the specifics of the probe when reached by telephone last Thursday.

According to USA Hockey’s SafeSport Program handbook, SafeSport strictly prohibits online harassment, threats and bullying, including “the use of electronic communications to harass, frighten, degrade, intimidate and humiliate” and any physical and/or non-physical behaviors that “reflect discriminatory bias in an attempt to establish dominance, superiority, or power over an individual participant or group based on gender, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, or mental or physical disability.”

Hancock revealed that the same team was put on probation by the Jr. Kings organization earlier this season because of a violation regarding the team’s use of social media. A person familiar with the previous infraction said that it involved inappropriate and offensive language and imagery posted on social media that was directed toward a rival team. None of what was posted was anti-Semitic or racist in nature. The team went through educational training on social media and was put on notice that any future activity that ran afoul of SafeSport’s policy would result in discipline.

This is at least the third notable incident of anti-Semitism in Southern California reported last month.

The Jr. Kings incident also comes on the heels of other examples of intolerance and racism in the ranks of amateur youth hockey in the United States. Two other incidents involved alleged racial taunts directed toward black players; one in Michigan and one in Maryland.

USA Hockey, the national governing body that oversees youth hockey in the U.S., addressed the issue in an email sent to members in February to mark Hockey Week Across America. In the email, president Jim Smith stated in the third paragraph that though USA Hockey has “done much together, we have much progress yet to make.

“Unfortunately, this season has included some ugly incidents of racial slurs and intolerant behavior in our programs.

“It’s important that as parents and coaches, we educate our children as to what’s acceptable and what is not, and also to make sure we practice what we preach.”


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The Athletic / DGB weekend power rankings: What we know and what we don’t heading into the season’s final week

By Sean McIndoe

Apr 1, 2019

One week to go, and the picture is starting to come into focus.

Let’s start with what we know. Ten teams have already clinched playoff spots and Dallas, Pittsburgh and Toronto are all close enough that it would take an epic collapse for any of them to miss. We also know that the Lightning have won the Presidents’ Trophy and will have home ice throughout the playoffs, that the Flames will be the top seed in the West and that the Sharks will host the Golden Knights in the other Pacific matchup. Toronto and Boston are close enough to a sure thing in the Atlantic, almost certainly with Boston having home ice, that we can go ahead and call it a done deal.

That leaves one wildcard spot in the West and two in the East. That Western slot looks like it will come down to the Coyotes and Avalanche; we can’t quite write off the Wild but after yesterday’s loss it’s getting close and the Blackhawks and Oilers are mathematically alive but would both need a miracle.

Colorado owns a one-point lead on Arizona with the ROW tie-breaker still up for grabs and has a game in hand that they’ll use tonight in a tough one in St. Louis. After that, the two teams have remarkably similar schedules the rest of the way, with both teams hosting Winnipeg and a bad team (Edmonton for the Avs, the Kings for the Coyotes) and also visiting one of the Pacific contenders (San Jose for Colorado and Vegas for Arizona).

In the East, it’s down to Montreal chasing Columbus and Carolina, with all three teams having three games left. The Blue Jackets are in the best shape, holding a one-point lead on the Hurricanes and two on the Canadiens along with the ROW tie-breaker and they’ve heated up at exactly the right time to the tune of five straight wins. Carolina still controls their own destiny and has a workable schedule, facing the struggling Leafs tomorrow and then closing with the Devils and Flyers. Montreal has the toughest hill to climb, facing the Lightning, Capitals and Leafs, although all three of those teams might not have much to play for. Still, Montreal needs some help.

(Hey Montreal fans, would now be a good time to point out that the Habs are on pace for a playoff miss despite being 14th overall, ahead of all the Western wildcard contenders and even the Golden Knights too? No? OK, forget I brought it up.)

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We’re also still waiting to see who’ll win the Metro, where the Caps have control, and the Central, where the Jets and Predators have slowed down enough to let the Blues back into the picture. And there’s still the Art Ross and Rocket Richard to figure out, although Nikita Kucherov and Alexander Ovechkin, respectively, are close to locking those up.

While we might be close to having all this sorted out, we are still staring down what could be a dramatic week. With that, let’s move onto the rankings. The top five is pretty straightforward this week and I’m sure you’ll agree with my picks. Haha, April Fools.

Road to the Cup

The five teams that look like they’re headed towards a summer of keg stands and fountain pool parties.

Last week, I made the call to move the Golden Knights into the top five, dropping San Jose out for the first time in ten weeks. My reward was watching the Knights lose four straight this week, including Saturday’s showdown with those same Sharks. Thanks, guys.

The Knights are back out, opening a spot for someone else. But who? Not the Sharks, who haven’t won in regulation is three weeks, got smoked at home by the Flames last night and couldn’t even beat Vegas without also doing stuff like this. It’s certainly not the Predators, who’ve lost more than they’ve won since the first week of February or the Leafs, who lost to the Senators yet again. Maybe it’s the Blues, who continue to roll along and still have a shot at winning the Central. Or maybe it’s the Islanders, who somewhat quietly have more points than anyone else in this paragraph.

But when in doubt, we’ll play it safe by replacing the Knights with a new team that isn’t all that new. You’ll find them down in the four-slot, once we get past yet another struggling contender …

5. Winnipeg Jets (45-29-4, +29 true goals differential*) – Needless to say, I don’t feel great about this pick. The Jets have the edge in the Central race, with a game in hand on the Predators, a two-point lead on the Blues and (probably) control of the tie-breaker. That all puts them in a good position to draw a very winnable matchup with a wildcard team.

But they’ve also looked shaky down the stretch with the Central title there for the taking, including three losses this week. There are all sorts of warning lights blinking on the Jets’ dashboard and I’m not convinced that they’re a better team than the Islanders or even the Blues right now. But they are in position to earn a better playoff path, and when you’re trying to measure Cup odds, that matters a lot.

4. Washington Capitals (47-24-8, +30) – The Capitals move back into the top five, thanks to winning four straight and looking like they’re going to hold off the Islanders for the Metro title. Getting a wildcard opponent in the first round isn’t as much of an advantage as it is out west – they’ll probably get a very good Hurricanes team, or a very hot Blue Jackets one and could even end up with the Penguins. But it helps, and after Saturday’s impressive win over Tampa, we’ll slot the Capitals in even though not everyone is buying what they’re selling.

3. Boston Bruins (47-23-9, +41) – Despite a lousy weekend that saw them cough up points against the Panthers and Red Wings, they remain all but locked into home ice against the Maple Leafs. Given how last year’s series between the two teams started, that’s one more reason to figure Boston will head into the matchup as heavy favorites.

2. Calgary Flames (49-23-7, +66) – It’s pretty much all good news here, as they’ve clinched everything they can clinch with a week to spare. Kicking some sand in the Sharks’ face along the way was just an added bonus.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (59-15-4 +92) – With everything they can win in the regular season already wrapped up, shouldn’t the Lightning be resting their stars in advance of what they hope will be

an eight-week playoff run? Not according to Jon Cooper, who explains his reasoning here.

He makes some sense and even rest can’t guarantee that players will stay healthy. But there’s still risk involves and we saw it on Saturday when Victor Hedman went down with an upper-body injury that sure seemed like a concussion. We don’t know his status yet, but needless to say, any long-term absence will be a huge story.

*Goals differential without counting shootout decisions like the NHL does for some reason.

Not ranked: Pittsburgh Penguins – Last week I wrote about the best potential matchups we could see in the first round. And along the way, I apparently managed to make Penguins fans very mad at me.

The offending passage was a single sentence: “The Pens haven’t been great this year, but most of their core still has two (or three) Cup rings, so they’re hard to dismiss.” That seemed pretty fair to me, but I heard from more than a few Pittsburgh fans who objected to the “haven’t been great” line.

Do they have a point? Let’s figure it out.

On the one hand, the Penguins are currently sitting eighth in the overall standings, and that’s helped along by 11 loser points, the most among Eastern Conference playoff teams. They’re probably not going to be able to catch the Capitals for the division title and there’s a good chance they won’t even have home ice advantage in the first round.

That’s not bad; plenty of teams would love to be sitting comfortably in the overall top ten. But great? Not especially.

On the other hand, the Penguins head down the stretch lumped in with teams like the Sharks, Jets and Leafs, all of whom have made frequent appearances in our top five this year. The Penguins haven’t, cracking the list only once, way back in October. They were admittedly inconsistent earlier in the year but have been very good over the last few months, going 14-5-4 since snapping a four-game losing streak on Feb. 11. They’re sixth in the league in goals scored and tied with the Capitals for fifth in goals differential. And oh yeah, they’re the Penguins, stacked with names like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and all sorts of other elite talent that’s just a year removed from back-to-back titles.

So sure, there’s a case to be made that the Penguins are being overlooked. You don’t hear a lot of buzz about them as Cup contenders, even though they’re basically the same core that won in 2016 and 2017. Let’s face it, if they end up taking on the inexperienced Islanders in the first round, plenty of us are going to pick them to win that series even if they don’t have home ice.

How’s this for a compromise: No, the Penguins haven’t been great this season. Good, yes, and maybe great for stretches here and there, but not overall. But could they shift gears up to great once the playoffs start? They sure could. And I wouldn’t want my team to be the early opponent who gets to find out.

The bottom five

The five teams that look like they’re headed towards hoping the ping-pong balls deliver Jack Hughes.

The biggest pro hockey news of the weekend didn’t come from the NHL, as we learned that the CWHL will cease operations. The announcement came as a surprise following what had been a successful season on the ice, but the league’s statement pointed to a business model that “has proven to be economically unsustainable.” That leaves the NWHL as North American’s only major pro women’s league left standing, albeit one without any Canadian teams, at least for now.

The bigger question is what happens now. There’s been increasing pressure to see a CWHL and NWHL merger, and maybe in some sense, this weekend’s announcement paves the way for a version of

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that one-league solution. Some are choosing to view the news optimistically, including Hayley Wickenheiser, and that’s reassuring, even as the NHL says they won’t step in yet. But at the very least the women’s pro game is left facing some major questions and an uncertain future and a lot of people who thought they had jobs in the industry found out yesterday that that’s not the case. It’s hard to look at that as a good thing.

5. Detroit Red Wings (31-38-10, -42) – The big news is that Jeff Blashill will be back, with reports of a two-year extension that will be announced this week. That has to rank as at least a mild surprise, not so much because he’s done a bad job but because we still don’t know who’ll be the team’s GM next year. Would somebody new have wanted to bring in their own guy? Apparently, the Red Wings aren’t worried about it, even as some of their fans sure seem to be

As far as the bigger picture, Max Bultman took an in-depth look at what went right and wrong for the Wings in a difficult 2018-19 season that’s at least ending with a hot streak.

4. Buffalo Sabres (31-38-10, -55) – Robin Lehner’s transformation of both his game and his life has made for one of the season’s best stories and I’m sure even Sabres fans are rooting for him. But he’s raised a few eyebrows with recent comments to Newsday’s Andrew Gross about his time in Buffalo, which he describes as “just this cloud and atmosphere of negativity” that “couldn’t be any worse.”

“It was so bad there sometimes. You would walk out to games and the game hadn’t started and people are already booing. It’s an incredibly passionate fan base and they’re filling that building, but it can be miserable in that rink,” Lehner said, while also pointing a finger at the “incredibly hard” local media.

Has the Buffalo media been negative? Sure. They’d have to be, given how awful the Sabres have been over the years. It’s not their job to be cheerleaders or the team’s PR department. But Lehner’s comments are an important reminder of the danger of rock-bottom rebuilds. A few years of losing, and everything that comes with that, can have an impact on the players. As much as every GM will talk about the importance of creating a winning environment, it’s not always easy to just flip the switch when the time comes. That’s something worth remembering in cities like Ottawa, Edmonton, Detroit and Los Angeles.

In other Sabres news:

3. New Jersey Devils (29-40-10, -53) – We’re at the point in the season where we get headlines like this when bad teams like the Devils lose to other bad teams like the Red Wings, and New Jersey fans can rightfully feel annoyed when the team makes it to overtime to pick up a point against the Blues. Hey, when you have a system that rewards failure, this is what you get.

Meanwhile, in an alternate universe in which the NHL uses the vastly superior Gold Plan, we’re headed down the stretch with a thrilling finish in which the Red Wings (14 points) are looking to hold off the Senators/Avalanche (10) and Kings (9) to earn the top pick. You can check the updated standings at any time right here. And then wonder why the NHL doesn’t wake up and make the change.

2. Los Angeles Kings (29-40-9, -57) – The Kings’ end-of-season “everybody complain about something” tour continued this week, with Anze Kopitar weighing in on how he was handed the captaincy back in 2016. And the Ilya Kovalchuk drama rolls on, as he sat out a sixth straight game. Give Willie Desjardins credit, I guess – if this is the end of his run behind the Kings’ bench, he’s doing it his way.

1. Ottawa Senators (28-44-6, -52) – And they said you could never bring Senator and Maple Leaf fans together …

The bigger news in Ottawa remains the team’s search for a new president of hockey operations. Chris Stevenson weighs in on what the team should be looking for in an ideal candidate and the challenges they might face in finding one.

Not ranked: Anaheim Ducks – They’re worth a mention only because they managed to do something unusual on Saturday night. No, not going into Edmonton and embarrassing the Oilers – we said unusual.

Instead, the Ducks made news by messing up their own lineup. They surprised their fans by listing injured Troy Terry as active and Jake Dotchin as a scratch. But when the game started, Dotchin was dressed and taking a shift. The officials noticed and he was removed from the game, leaving the Ducks to play the rest of the way with five defensemen. Apparently, these are the things that happen when your coach isn’t a coach.

And they still blew the Oilers out on home ice. I’m starting to think that Edmonton might be bad. Will work to confirm and report back next week.


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Sportsnet.ca / Tavares' redemption goal a bonus as Maple Leafs secure playoff berth

Chris Johnston | @reporterchris

April 1, 2019, 9:46 PM

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — One puck is being sent back to Sweden as a souvenir for mom.

The other sent the Toronto Maple Leafs back to the playoffs.

That the winner came off the stick of John Tavares, in a building where they only weeks ago tossed rubber snakes in his direction, guaranteed that this goal would be just as memorable as the first of teammate Calle Rosen’s NHL career.

“It’s a big one,” said Mitch Marner. “You could just tell our whole bench, everyone on the ice, was very excited about that moment. That’s a great shot by him. It’s great to see him score in this barn and get the game winner.”

There was something poetic about the way it all went down. The Nassau Coliseum crowd didn’t give Tavares anywhere near as rough a ride as they did for his first trip back on Feb. 28, nor did the New York Islanders make things quite so difficult on the Leafs while losing 2-1.

If that was a hard rock concert, this felt more like a night at the symphony.

And Toronto had every part of its game working in unison.

That’s not the way it’s been very often in the 31 days between trips to Uniondale — a humbling and briefly harrowing stretch where injuries and indifferent play backed the official playoff clincher into April. The Leafs didn’t earn their “x” until a few days after the Islanders already had, something even locals here wouldn’t have bet on when Tavares decided to come home as a free agent last summer.

Mike Babcock is viewing the delayed clinch as nothing more than pre-playoff character building, especially since he’s encouraged by how they’ve emerged on the other side. Against the Islanders, Toronto came out ahead in shots, attempts and chances — only leaning heavily on goaltender Frederik Andersen during a couple hairy moments at 4-on-5.

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“I think what we’ve been through this last little bit — even though we’ve been playing better and better defensively, we haven’t been winning every night — I think it’s probably good for our group,” said Babcock.

It had to be good for Tavares to come back in this building and find a reason to smile. You could see the relief on his face as he left the visitor’s dressing room and walked towards the bus afterwards.

His goal came after Marner delivered the puck deftly to the slot. It was behind Robin Lehner within a second of touching his stick, the career-best 46th goal and 87th point of his headline-grabbing season.

“Mitch put it in a great spot where I could just kind of step into it and I liked what I saw,” said Tavares. “Just timed it right and I’m happy it went in.”

That’s exactly how Rosen felt, even he didn’t see his shot hit twine. The 25-year-old defenceman had waited a long time for a moment like this one — a wait made longer because of a foot injury in the American Hockey League that prevented him from being recalled for the Leafs’ last visit here, after Travis Dermott joined Jake Garinder in the injury ward.

This was Rosen’s first NHL game since Oct. 17, 2017 and he played it alongside the now-healthy Dermott, his former Marlies teammate. He felt much more confident than his previous four-game cameo with the Leafs.

“It’s almost two seasons since I had the last game,” he said. “All the games I played with Marlies, all on the small ice, have helped for sure. …

“I know myself. I kind of felt that I had it in me today.”

His goal opened the scoring on an innocent-looking shot that appeared to glance off the shaft of Michael Dal Colle’s stick. It completely fooled Lehner.

“I think it hit the stick or something and then maybe bounced on the ice and the post, too,” said Rosen. “So I can’t say I’m completely sure how it went in but, for sure, a good feeling.”

He found an excited text from his mother Marie, who stayed up deep into the Swedish night to watch the game. He plans to send the puck back to her home in Vaxjo for safekeeping.

If the previous stop on Long Island seemed to hint of trouble brewing for the Leafs, this one felt like a choppy sea calmed. Tavares was arguably the most effective player on the ice. Andersen allowed one goal or less for the first time since Feb. 4, a span of 21 starts. And they’re getting healthy and adding depth just as they’ve booked another first-round series with Boston.

“It’s great to punch your ticket,” said Tavares. “You work so hard all year to give yourself a chance and to be a part of it.”

Now Babcock has the luxury of resting regulars over the final three games of the regular season and everyone inside the organization can exhale for a brief moment.

“Finally,” said Andersen. “We took a few tries to clinch it, but obviously, it’s great to be back in the playoffs. Hopefully we can get revenge from last year.”

A fair thought after seeing No. 91 exact a small measure of his own.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.02.2019

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Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens' reset coming together with new signings and playoff push

Eric Engels April 1, 2019, 6:29 PM

BROSSARD, Que. — The goals stated at the beginning of this Montreal Canadiens season appeared to be at odds with each other, but now seem to be perfectly in line: To compete for the playoffs while resetting with youth and building towards the future.

When you look at what’s happened over the last 48 hours – a pivotal win against the Winnipeg Jets to remain within one point of the final wild-card position in the Eastern Conference, followed by two prospects in Ryan Poehling and Cayden Primeau forgoing their remaining years of NCAA eligibility to sign their entry-level contracts – you can see the plan coming together. Both the present and the future of the team are cast in a positive light and represent a massive divergence from the direction the organization appeared to be going in just months ago.

It’s no wonder general manager Marc Bergevin’s outlook is of the glass-half-full variety.

“We have 92 points and after [the last] three games we could get to close to a 100 points,” Bergevin said on Monday. “It’s a very good season. It’s certain that missing the playoffs would be something to evaluate but the progress the team has made this year – and we still have a good amount of young players – is impressive, and it’s fun for the fans this week to have three big games and have everything still be possible.”

It’s also fun for the fans to see the simultaneous growth of the team’s prospects; to know that 18-year-old Jesperi Kotkaniemi has leapt from third-overall pick at the 2018 NHL Draft in June to third-line centre in October, that 20-year-old Victor Mete transformed into a legitimate top-four defenceman, and that both players developed throughout this season around a positive, constructive, and mostly winning environment. Especially in the wake of a 28th-place finish in the standings one season ago.

There’s more to be encouraged about, too. Nick Suzuki, who came over in the September trade that sent Max Pacioretty away from the Canadiens and to the Vegas Golden Knights, posted his third straight 90-point season in the Ontario Hockey League and emerged as one of the best junior players in the world. Alex Romanov, one of the team’s two picks in the second round of last summer’s draft, turned heads in the Kontinental Hockey League and is currently considered one of the best players outside of the NHL. And then there’s flashy Finnish scorers Joni Ikonen and Jesse Ylonen, who took steps upward in their country’s top league.

A number of other Canadiens prospects are in the midst of completing banner seasons.

“On the whole, I think you can ask a lot of hockey people and they’ll say our group of prospects are among the best in the league,” said Bergevin. “I won’t say they’re the best because time will prove whether or not that’s the case, but the group is among the best. A lot of young kids are coming.”

Gone are former first-rounders Alex Galchenyuk and Nikita Scherbak. Jacob De La Rose, a second-round pick of the Canadiens in 2013, was waived back in September. They were the final members of a prospect pool that needed to be flushed out and replenished.

And now the new kids are coming into a healthy environment, which can only help them grow faster.

Josh Brook was the first. The defenceman, who was chosen by the Canadiens in the second round of the 2017 Draft, was added to Montreal’s American Hockey League affiliate in Laval over the

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weekend after completing a 75-point season with the Western Hockey League’s Moosejaw Warriors.

Primeau is joining him now after posting a 44-18-6 record, a goals-against average of 2.00 and .932 save percentage in two seasons with Northeastern.

The seventh-rounder, who is a two-time Beanpot champion and MVP and was a standout at the 2018 World Junior Championships and a player twice nominated for the Mike Richter Award, which is given to the top goaltender in the NCAA, couldn’t wait to sign his name on a three-year contract with the Canadiens.

“I had great times at Northeastern but I’m excited for the future,” said Primeau on a joint conference call with Poehling on Monday. “Last year, being a freshman, I was just trying to take everything in and just trying to give my team the best opportunity to win each and every game. And this year I tried to take a bigger role and I wanted to be the reason that my team was winning, so I was trying to make sure that I can steal games and stuff like that and just trying to get better each and every day in practice. I feel like I’m ready for the next step and next jump and just excited to get into Laval and take everything in that I can.”

The organization gets younger and better with this move. As it does with Poehling leaving St. Cloud State prior to his senior year.

The opportunity to sign with the Canadiens — and join them to burn the first year of his three-year contract — was too compelling for the Lakeville, Minn., native to ignore. And though Bergevin qualified the possibility of Poehling playing while the Canadiens remain in the playoff hunt as a slim one, the 20-year-old centre, who scored 29 goals and 75 points in 107 games over three seasons with St. Cloud and put up five goals and eight points as the World Junior MVP, is anything but discouraged.

“I think this is just what’s best for myself, not only learning from the older guys but just having the tools they have is something that I need,” Poehling said. “Getting there earlier –

especially at a time when they’re making a playoff push – just learning from those guys in that type of situation … I think it’ll help myself learn for hopefully the season to come.”

This is where those two pre-season goals converge. That happening only pushes this team forward.

The encouraging thing, as Bergevin noted, is that the Canadiens have already come a long way in a matter of months – owning the 14th-best record in the NHL ahead of their final three games.

“I’m biased, it’s our team, it’s the team we put together,” he said. “I’d like to believe, with a fun season, I think our fans should be proud of the team that performed this year.”

They have to be excited about the future, too.


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Sportsnet.ca / James Neal keen to pass on playoff wisdom to young Flames

Eric Francis | @EricFrancis

April 2, 2019, 1:31 AM

LOS ANGELES – In this case, the shouting from the bench was warranted.

Sam Bennett was in the near corner, trying to get to his feet after a hard hit from 6-foot-5 Kings defenceman Kurtis MacDermid left the Flames forward woozy late Monday night at the Staples Center.

The Flames were none too pleased.

It came several minutes after the two teams exchanged runs at one another, prompting a furious Flames bench to ensure the opposition and the officials knew of their fury.

It’s the type of situation James Neal had spoken to his teammates about before.

Never let ’em get you off your game.

As the Flames approach the playoffs with an otherwise inexperienced post-season roster, Neal has been reiterating the perils of losing focus, being distracted by the wrong things.

The lads tend to listen to a guy with 100 games of spring action under his belt, which may help explain how the Flames moved on from the second period transgression to score four in the third.

(Incidentally, MacDermid and Bennett left the game, but coach Bill Peters insisted his team “dodged a bullet” as Bennett was “fine.”)

“We’re a team that’s very fiery and we like to get on things and get on the refs a little,” said Austin Czarnik, one of many impressionable young Flames looking to soak up knowledge ahead of next week’s playoffs.

“But recently, since (Neal) has been back from injury, I feel like he’s kind of tamed everyone and got everyone to think positively and not get on the refs because at this time of year it’s not going to help our team success.

“When someone is upset, teams know and when certain guys get upset teams are going to just keep going at him. You need to just be focused on the team at hand and not outside factors that can potentially make or break your season in situations like that.

“I feel like that’s something he’s always been good with. He’s never really shown much frustration or anger. He has a cool demeanor when he’s playing. We need that type of leadership on the ice to control our emotions.”

Let the record show, despite his paltry offensive numbers (seven goals, 12 assists) Neal is finding ways to contribute.

In Monday’s 7-2 win over Los Angeles, the former 40-goal scorer extended his point streak to three with a goal, a helper and another solid showing.

It gives hope to the notion Flames fans are clinging to, that Neal’s trying season can be saved by a springtime resurgence.

In the meantime, his teammates insist he’s doing well to contribute in other ways, by way of lessons learned from 100 playoff games and the 31 goals he’s scored in them.

“It’s a whole different game,” said Neal, 31, who has been to the last two Stanley Cup finals with Nashville and Vegas.

“The way you deal with adversity – I think your composure is a huge part of it, not getting frustrated. You’re going to have hard games and guys all over you and players going after you. Guys are finishing their checks no matter how you are.

“You can’t let guys show that they’re bothering you out there – you’ve got to keep a clear mind. It’s hard in a lot of different areas when you’re in the game and you’re emotional and everything happens. But once you go through that, you learn about yourself and how tight you have to play as a team to win and get through stuff like that.”

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The Flames have plenty to learn, and Neal is keen to pass on the wisdom he’s gained from playing alongside other playoff stars.

“I’ve had some great leaders over the years help me with that,” said Neal, who has played 764 regular season games with Dallas, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Vegas and Calgary.

“I’ve learned a lot and come a long way and played my best hockey in the playoffs. No one really sat me down and said, ‘this is what’s going to happen.’ We went to battle together as teammates and learned as we went.

“Mike Fisher, Shea Weber, Brad Richards, Brenden Morrow, Sidney Crosby, (Evgeni) Malkin and all these guys I’ve played with helped me out and helped you learn. I think you learn a lot just being in the playoffs and going through different things that happen.”

As Neal is the first to point out, plenty happens.

It’s how you respond to it that matters most, which is why he’s already started reminding players that ref rage is counterproductive and wasted energy.

“That would be the biggest thing I think, the ups and down you’re going to go through,” said Neal, who insists he’s spent plenty of time imparting such wisdom all season long.

“You’re going to go through hard losses and overtime losses and overtime wins at the top and you’ve got to be able to come back to reality and be even keeled the next day and know everything has to be put behind you so you can refocus on the next game.

“All the little plays and the discipline, the game gets amplified up so much. A little penalty here goes a long way so you have to be as disciplined as possible.”

Some things are evident.

Still, having the point hammered home by a man driven to complete a journey he’s fallen agonizingly short of – twice – resonates.

“Right now he’s carrying the right mindset,” said Czarnik.

“He’s been here so much in his career and he’s trying to get the most out of everyone.”

Andrew Mangiapane is another youngster lapping whatever he can from Neal.

“He obviously has that playoff experience and when he says something a lot of guys in the room, including myself, listen and you try to learn,” said Mangiapane.

“When he says not to yell at the refs he’s kind of right.”

It would be even nicer if he continued scoring, as he has two of his last three games.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he steps up in the playoffs,” said Czarnik.

“He’s a big body and he’s been there and he knows how to score goals and get to the net. I mean, he’s had 20 goal seasons for how many years? Obviously he’s not happy with the year he’s had. It has been frustrating for him. But I think when it comes down to this time, I think he’s going to be a big asset for us.”


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Sportsnet.ca / Questions, frustration remain in wake of CWHL's decision to fold

Kristina Rutherford | @KrRutherford

March 31, 2019, 5:00 PM

Players had no idea this was coming. The women who founded the CWHL didn’t even know. All six general managers were caught completely off guard, too.

On Sunday, CWHL players and staff found out via a conference call that their board of directors has decided to cease operations of the 12-year-old Canadian-based league. The CWHL is folding, effective May 1.

Toronto Furies GM and CWHL co-founder Sami-Jo Small found out that the league she helped start was now finished the same way nearly everybody else involved did: On a Sunday morning phone call.

“Shocked, deeply saddened,” the two-time Olympic gold medallist told Sportsnet, while she was cleaning up the Furies dressing room at Mastercard Centre. Players had moved their things out just days earlier.

“It’s something I just never expected,” Small said. “I thought the season was great and we just had no inclination that this was coming down the pipeline. It’s hard to not have been part of that conversation.”

Players and team staff members became a part of it on March 31, or at least they listened, a week after the league’s championship final, during two separate calls. That’s when the board of directors announced they’d decided to discontinue operations. Chair of the board, Laurel Walzak, says the decision was made officially on Friday night through a board-wide vote (she wouldn’t disclose the details).

It became clear the league wasn’t financially viable since it couldn’t secure additional funds for next season, even though the CWHL just had its most successful Clarkson Cup weekend ever.

“We made a decision based on our model here and our desire to advance the women’s game,” interim CWHL commissioner Jayna Hefford told Sportsnet, calling the announcement “heartbreaking” and “very difficult.”

“We think the game deserves more, we think this current model cannot advance the game in the way we hope,” Hefford added. “We hope that there’s something better in place for a sustainable model.”

Hefford, a four-time Olympic gold medallist and former CWHL star herself, said the league informed players and teams of the decision as soon as it could. “It was a priority to us to make sure the players heard it from us first and that they were the first to know,” she said.

Players are wondering, though, why they weren’t part of initial conversations. Could anything more have been done to save the CWHL?

“As players, we’re shocked,” said CWHLPA co-chair and Markham Thunder goalie, Liz Knox, an all-star this year. “We were largely unprepared for this. I’ve had an hour to process all of it. It’s very shocking news for us, unfortunately.”

Asked why the players weren’t consulted before the board made the final decision, Knox just laughed. “If I had to guess?” she began… “Yeah, I honestly don’t really know.”

“How did the six GMs of the six franchises have no idea?” Small asked. “That’s a great question.”

It’s one of many now facing the women’s pro game in Canada.

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“It’s unfortunate that it had to come down to a half-hour conversation,” Knox said. “Players are left with a lot of questions. My primary concern of course is the players and where does that leave us? And what are some of our next steps? I mean, we’re blindsided by it and we don’t really have a plan, so I was trying to seek out some information. There was a lot of dialogue, there was a lot of frustration on the players’ end, there’s a lot of confusion.”

It was Walzak who led the conference calls Sunday, first with team GMs and representatives of the CWHLPA, and then on a call for the 120 or so players in the league who were given a call-in number. Players and GMs were encouraged to asked questions on both calls, but weren’t given much time to do so.

“We didn’t really have the opportunity to say much. It was more a dissemination of information,” Small said. As for questions, players and GMs asked good ones, “but they didn’t have any answers,” she said. “I think it just left people frustrated without knowing what the future really holds.”

Small says the GMs met just a week ago to discuss plans for next season, to talk about improvements they could make to their teams and share best practices. And then boom, Sunday’s news hit.

“At least we’re all on the same page that we’re kind of left in the dark,” Small said.

What a mess. Not only did the announcement come out of nowhere for teams and players, but it comes on a Sunday morning, and while national team players are in Finland preparing for the world championships, which start April 4.

The news that wasn’t news to players is the fact the league wasn’t making money, wasn’t seeing increases in attendance year-over-year, “and we’re not seeing the game grow as quickly as it should,” Knox said. “But you have 120 women who have moved cities or have missed job opportunities. There’s a lot of sacrifice that goes into playing what we know as pro women’s hockey. It’s not just a matter of, ‘OK, there’s nowhere to play right now, find something else.’ These girls sacrificed their lives for this because they just want to play hockey and they play for pennies. And then we’re told the league no longer exists.”

If you want your heart to break a little, check out what one of the best players on the planet — maybe the best, period — Tweeted out, just after she found out the CWHL was done. Marie-Philip Poulin, whose Montreal team lost in the final last Sunday (she couldn’t play, due to injury) is currently in Finland, preparing for world championships. This identical Tweet was sent out by numerous CWHL players on Sunday.

No league in Canada, at least.

This leaves a lot of questions for players wanting to play pro hockey in this country. As for the NHL’s involvement, commissioner Gary Bettman has said the league will step in and start a pro women’s league of its own, but only if there isn’t a women’s league in existence in North America. And of course, there still is: The five-team U.S.-based NWHL will open its fifth season in October, after its most successful year yet. And in that case, the NHL won’t be making a move.

“We want to be supportive of women’s professional hockey,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Sportsnet, in an e-mail. “It’s important and we recognize its importance. But at this point, there continues to be professional opportunities for women in hockey. We endorse those opportunities.”

The NWHL has never said it would fold so that the NHL could take over, and the league underscored that point in a statement Sunday, after expressing sadness in seeing its Canadian-based counterpart cease operations.

“We had an excellent meeting with the CWHL in January, where we presented significant proposals to them about forming one league,

and we agreed to meet again in April. We are sorry to know those talks will not continue. We wish the best to Jayna Hefford and everyone involved in the CWHL,” the NWHL’s statement reads.

“The NWHL wants to assure the players, fans, staff and supporters that our season is confirmed to start in October. As we have since our first season in 2015, we remain committed to building the value of women’s professional hockey players — not just in the U.S., but around the world.”

In response to whether the NWHL would look to expand to Canada, you bet it will. NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan said, in a follow-up statement: “We will pursue any and all opportunities to ensure the best players in Canada have a place to play. Those conversations have started already and have quickly become a priority.”

young-fans-at-clarkson-cup-and-toronto-furies-game

From Small’s standpoint, her hope is that the Furies organization remains. And if there are no viable options for women to play pro hockey in Canada, the GM says there’s no reason why players couldn’t once again start a league themselves. That’s what happened in 2007, when owners walked away and players, including Small, came together to start the CWHL.

“We were able to start this 12 years ago, and we have the information of how to get the league to this point,” Small says. “I think we can do that together. I’m not fearful there won’t be a league, I just don’t know what iteration it will be.

“I want what’s best for the game and I want the best for my team and I want the best for my organization,” Small adds. “The biggest question is the conversations the CWHL has had with people. They keep having these optimistic outlooks, but what is coming down the pipeline? That’s my biggest uncertainty, is I have no idea. I really await whatever announcements come out.”

There are no announcements coming from anyone on the CWHL board, however. Hefford says they aren’t having conversations with interested stakeholders. “At this point, no,” the interim commissioner said. “I think that there’s a number of organizations that have declared their support for women’s hockey and expressed their desire to see the sport continue to grow,” and it’s her hope that these people step in to help create a viable pro women’s league.

“We wouldn’t be surprised if things were to occur now that we have announced we’re discontinuing operations,” Walzak added, though she didn’t want to speculate.

The CWHL put in a call to NHL commissioner Bettman earlier Sunday to let him know they were folding. “I think he’s saddened,” Hefford said. “It’s a disappointing thing when you have to discontinue an operation.”

Hefford has lost in an Olympic final before, had to wear a silver medal around her neck on that stage (just once, though), and at the world championships. But the Hall of Famer admits she’s never had a day quite like this.

“I’ve had difficult days on the ice, you know, and certainly some difficult outcomes,” she said. “But I think having to deliver difficult news like this to the number of people we had to do today — I would say this has probably been one of my most difficult days in terms of that side of things.”

Players are still processing what all this means. For her part, Knox is choosing to see the silver lining.

“You can see where the women’s game is at the Olympics and on the world stage and the attention that it gains there,” she said. “We should be competing with that market, that should be what our professional league looks like. And I think that in a way, if the CWHL thought that maybe they were standing in the way of that happening, maybe it was the noble thing to do — just say this isn’t working, we’ll have to figure something out… If the end goal is to have a pro

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league that’s widely recognized as such, this is a painful step, but hopefully one that leads to decades of something better.

“We have no league, OK, so immediately, what’s our next step, what are we going to do?” Knox asks. “Because women’s hockey isn’t just going to stop.”

The CWHLPA group has been texting, discussing options. Their first step, Knox says, will be to get anybody around the table who wants to discuss how to go forward: Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, the NHL, the NHLPA, other interested stakeholders.

“There is a certain amount of responsibility, I feel, on those who profit from the women’s game at least every four years, if not in between, to say, ‘OK, you ladies and gentlemen have been doing this for 100 years, now’s the time,” Knox said. “There’s an opportunity here and the players who are your product are looking for your help. I would hope they would see that as an opportunity.”

Small is still in shock, and she hasn’t cried yet about the news or really registered many emotions aside from disbelief.

“Maybe I’m just steadfastly moving forward and trying to remain positive so that my players and my staff also don’t jump ship. We have this amazing organization that we’ve created here in Toronto. I don’t want that to go away,” she says. “I’m optimistic for the future, that there’s something great out there and we’re going to find it together.”

Women’s pro hockey today in Canada is full of a whole lot of optimism and hope and shock and uncertainty.

About an hour after players had been informed that they’ve played their final games in the CWHL, Small got a text from Furies and Team Canada forward, Natalie Spooner, all the way from Finland. It was night time there.

“Can you make sure that we still rent ice next year?” Spooner asked. “We still want to play.”


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Sportsnet.ca / Furies GM Sami Jo Small searching for answers after CWHL closure

Sportsnet Staff | @Sportsnet

April 1, 2019, 6:43 PM

Like everyone else upon seeing the news Sunday morning that the CWHL was shuttering in May, Sami Jo Small, GM of the Toronto Furies and one of the original founders of the CWHL, was blindsided.

“I think when the news came out, we were all in shock.” Small said not even 48 hours after the initial stunning press release came out Monday on Prime Time Sports.

Still in an seeming state of shellshock, Small expressed confusion over the recent events as she, nor any of the other CWHL GMs in the league, were made aware of this decision coming down beforehand.

“The week previous we had our Clarkson Cup and everything was positive there,” said Small. “We had great viewership numbers, we had a five-hour GM meeting with [CWHL commissioner] Jayna

Hefford there and talked about best practices, how we’re gonna improve for the next season. This was less than two weeks ago that this all happened.

“And in that time frame they had a board meeting, decided this, had their vote on Friday night – which is why we found out on Sunday morning – and here we are.”

In the press release the CWHL sent out announcing the league was ceasing operation, it stated that it wasn’t “sustainable financially,” something Small has had a hard time believing because of the way the league is set up.

“Having sat on the board initially for the first six years of the league it was never not financially sustainable,” she said. “It’s a not-for-profit so all the money that comes in we then spend every year. The reason why we set it up that way is each team gets the exact same amount of money and it was sort of a failsafe. It was supposed to protect any team from having more than the other, but also if we brought in less money in a year then we’d disseminate less money.

“So we just felt as GMs that if this was the case, if there wasn’t the financial stability at any point in the season, you could’ve asked us to spend less money or bring in more money.”

Even more confusing for Small, is that she appears to be told that the CWHL closing down might actually be a positive for women’s hockey in the long run.

“There’s a lot of unknowns along the way, a lot of things I think that should’ve been done differently. In the end, is this the right thing for women’s hockey? Maybe. And maybe this is exactly what needed to be done.”

Small might be saying this in speculation that a proper NHL-involved women’s league could be coming as Gary Bettman has stated in the past that as long as existing women’s leagues are operating in North America he won’t step in.

However, the NWHL intends on operating for another season, that can’t possibly the reason, can it?

“What does that mean for our future? We weren’t privy to those conversations between the NWHL and CWHL board prior so we don’t know what was agreed upon. Were they both supposed to disband at the same time? Who knows? I don’t know the undercurrents there.”

The confusion and frustration Small expressed Monday mirrors many of those who were both a part of and followed the CWHL as answers haven’t been too forthcoming in the immediate aftermath.


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Sportsnet.ca / Weekend Takeaways: Can Ovechkin, Capitals go back to back?

Ryan Dixon | @dixononsports

April 1, 2019, 10:49 AM

What a wonderful place the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin find themselves in these days.

You’re reading this season’s final edition of weekend takeaways and we couldn’t close it out without paying tribute to the defending

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champs and the NHL’s goal king. (BTW, we’ll have a special season-takeaways piece for you next week after each club has concluded its 82 games).

‘Ovie’ scored his 50th and 51st goals of the year during Saturday’s 6–3 win versus the Lightning in Tampa Bay and is on pace to lead the NHL in that category for the sixth time in seven seasons, and eighth overall.

Meanwhile, Washington continues to round into playoff form one season after they flipped the script forever by winning the title most of us thought had already passed the team by. We didn’t even go through the annual “Does this team have the right stuff?” dance last April because we figured the question had long been answered. Now, it feels like the Caps are just sharpening their championship claws. They’re 13-3-1 since Feb. 24 — with two of those regulation-time losses coming versus the league-leading Bolts — and have the inside track on first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Nothing nutty is happening in D.C.: The team isn’t being carried by a crazy hot streak from Ovechkin or any of its other high-end skaters. It’s just that everybody — from top to bottom — is starting to shine in his role. Nine players have at least 10 points in the past 17 games, meaning that’s how many are producing at roughly a 50-point pace. Trade deadline acquisition Carl Hagelin is one of them, as the speedster has blended well seeing just a tick under 15 minutes a night. Also contributing to the scoring depth is Brett Connolly, who notched his 22nd of the season in the victory over Tampa. After registering 15 goals in each of his first two years with Washington, the 2010 sixth overall pick — now 26 years old — will set career highs across the board this year.

Of course, this team will always be defined — tangibly and spiritually — by the guy who continues to make a case for himself as the greatest goal-scorer we’ve ever known. And with one Cup already in the cupboard, doesn’t Ovechkin really seem like the type of person who goes for seconds?

Other Weekend Takeaways

• That tilt between the Caps and Bolts got pretty heated in a third period that featured a pair of fights. The biggest news, though, was the fact Victor Hedman left the game in the first period and did not return. The best defenceman in the league had to miss a little time at the start of the year with a concussion, so hopefully he’s fine for the start of Round 1.

We should know more today, as Tampa is slated to play in Ottawa.

• Buffalo came into the weekend having won three of its past 21 games, then got pumped 5-1 by the Islanders on the road and 4-0 by the Jackets on home ice. I keep thinking — with Jack Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin — that the Sabres have the potential to turn a corner quick, but I might be just flat dumb.

• Speaking of the Islanders, I can’t link you to Robin Lehner’s post-game, on-ice interview following that win over the Sabres, but do yourself a favour, find it and make sure you’re in a safe place to have the volume on. It’s not often someone drops a casual f-bomb in front of 14,000 people.

• What is going on in the Central? Winnipeg has dropped four of five after losing at home to Montreal on Saturday. The Preds got beat in Nashville that same night by Columbus and are just 5-4-1 in their past 10, meaning St. Louis — which was last overall earlier this season — enters the final week of play just two points back of both of those squads, with a chance to claim the division if everything breaks right.

• Calgary’s 5-3 win in San Jose Sunday night locked up top spot in the Pacific Division and Western Conference for the Flames. What sticks with me, though, is the fact San Jose can’t get a save during this horrendous 1-7-1 stretch the team is mired in. Martin Jones’s

save percentage in the back half of March is .864, while Aaron Dell is at — wait for it — .846.

• Though they’re sweating over different things, there’s enough collective angst in Toronto and Montreal that if you could stretch it out across Highway 401, it might be enough to connect the two cities. The Leafs, who are basically a .500 team in the second half of the season, lost 4-2 in Ottawa on Saturday and fans are freaking out about the club’s first-round prospects. The Habs got that crucial win in Winnipeg, but remain one point out of the final wild-card berth.

For all that’s gone on with both clubs, consider this: Montreal lost twice to Toronto in February. In the first game, the Canadiens held a one-goal lead in the third and lost in overtime. In the second, the Habs blew a 3-0 first-period advantage and lost in regulation. Had Montreal closed out those contests, they’d have three more points and be sitting pretty. If Toronto hadn’t grabbed all four, the Leafs would officially be fighting for their playoff lives.

• Farewell, Storm Surge.

• Tough news from the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, which announced on Sunday that it will be ceasing operations in a month. Sportsnet’s Kristina Rutherford, just a couple weeks ago, dug deep into the world of professional women’s hockey.

Ryan Dixon and Rory Boylen go deep on pucks with a mix of facts and fun, leaning on a varied group of hockey voices to give their take on the country’s most beloved game.

Red and White Power Rankings

1. Calgary Flames (49-23-7): .922 save percentage for Mike Smith in his past five outings. Is he officially the playoff man?

2. Winnipeg Jets (45-29-4): Four road games to close out the year; not ideal as the Jets try to wrest control of the division and avoid playing St. Louis or Nashville in Round 1.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs (45-26-7): Another lovefest awaits John Tavares in Long Island Monday night. Say, for kicks, the Leafs lose that game, then the second of their back-to-back at home to a desperate Carolina club on Tuesday. The panic levels will be CN Tower-level high.

4. Montreal Canadiens (42-29-8): Is Jordan Weal the new Paul Byron, as in a low-to-minimal cost acquisition who instantly looks remarkably capable? Weal has eight points in 13 games with Montreal since coming over in a deal that barely made a blip at the trade deadline. Toss in the development of defenceman Brett Kulak, and it’s been a nice year for the Canadiens’ pro scouting department.

5. Vancouver Canucks (34-35-10): Sounds like old-school defenceman Luke Schenn has found himself a home for at least the next year in B.C.

6. Edmonton Oilers (34-35-9): Leon Draisaitl is four goals back of Ovechkin for the league lead and the only guy with any real prayer of catching him.

7. Ottawa Senators (28-44-6): Hey, at least they finished the year 3-1-0 versus Toronto.

In Your Ear

Check out last week’s edition of the Tape to Tape podcast to hear a silver lining for every team that will miss the playoffs. This week, co-host Rory Boylen and I are doing a blowout year-end pod, where we’ll answer all kinds of questions tossed our way from the Sportsnet newsroom.

Looking Ahead

• All three teams in the race for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot — Columbus, Carolina and Montreal — have three games

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remaining. It’s basically down to Colorado and Arizona in the West; the Avs play four times, while Arizona has three contests remaining.

• Suddenly, there’s all kinds of speculation this will be the final week of Roberto Luongo’s career. He turns 40 on Thursday and has said, for family reasons, he wouldn’t play for any team other than Florida next year. Whatever happens, it’s a crime this guy didn’t win a Vezina at some point.

• Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. May every single day bring another tiny drop of healing and peace for everyone involved.


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TSN.CA / Teammates eager to win one for Tavares

Mark Masters

TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on the Maple Leafs. The Leafs skated at Nassau Coliseum Monday morning ahead of tonight's game against the Islanders.

John Tavares is back in the eye of the storm. On Feb. 28, he was booed and taunted by Islanders fans as the Maple Leafs fell 6-1 in his first game back at his old home.

"You learn from it," the 28-year-old said. "It's definitely a unique experience. So, I mean, I think overall you'd just like a better result for our team. So if I can play better and be more effective that's just what I try to worry about."

Tavares was the subject of derisive chants throughout the night and had plastic snakes and a jersey tossed at him during the warm-up. Did the experience make him mentally stronger?

"You continue to try and find ways to get better and how to handle certain things, overcome adversity and what not, and certain challenges. So, I guess, yeah, it is a good way to learn more about yourself and continue to grow."

Considering how hard he worked for the organization during nine seasons in New York, was Tavares at all disappointed with the rude welcome?

"Everyone has their feelings," he said. "You know, it is what it is."

The best revenge would be a win tonight. Tavares has gone two straight without hitting the scoresheet matching his season-long drought. Despite the high expectations this season in Toronto, the centre has been the model of consistency.

"He's a great person," said head coach Mike Babcock, "and a great teammate and a great man for us and that's all, to be honest with you, we really care about. We would have liked to have a better showing. We came in here on a back-to-back and had a good first period, but didn't sustain it through the game. In the end, we've got an opportunity here tonight and want to do better."

Are his teammates eager to win one for Tavares?

"Yeah, I think so," said defenceman Morgan Rielly. "I think we had that (feeling) last time, but it didn’t go our way. This time around it’s even more. I believe we have an opportunity to clinch so there’s more than just that on the line and the expectation is we’re going to come to the rink and be ready to play."

"He's a great human being," said goalie Frederik Andersen, "so, yeah, definitely want to try and battle for him tonight."

Tavares believes hate from Isles fans will make him stronger

When John Tavares was pressed about his thoughts on his first game in New York, he simply responded with 'it is what it is'. Tavares' ability to maintain his calm demeanor in a hostile environment impressed his teammates the first time around, something he's hoping to do once again. Mark Masters has more.

The other two games against the Islanders this season came on the second half of a back-to-back set, so this will be the first time Andersen will start against them this year. He hasn't played since Wednesday's shootout loss in Philadelphia, making this his longest break between starts since the bye week in January.

How has the rest helped him?

"It’s been good," he said. "Good to work on a few things more in practice and balancing that with some rest. It’s always good to get a few extra days between games. At this time of year it’s usually a pretty packed schedule, so it’s been good."

Andersen posted an ugly .890 save percentage in 11 starts last month while questions about his workload grew louder and louder. What's more important at this time of year: rest or getting in a rhythm?

"Both are really important so you got to try and balance that," Andersen said. "I don’t know the secret recipe, but we're trying to get it right and hopefully be ready to go."

Rest or rhythm? Andersen searching for the 'perfect recipe'

With the playoffs looming, Frederik Andersen is trying to strike the perfect balance between resting and playing as the regular season draws to a close.

Last week, Babcock said the hope was that Jake Gardiner would get into a couple games before the playoffs. Is the defenceman, who has been out since late February with a back injury, still on track to return in the coming days?

"That's our plan," the Leafs coach said. "Now, I don't know until that day ... I don't know for sure. That's our plan. He'll get pushed hard here today and we're making steps towards that happening."

The Leafs have three games left after tonight: at home against Carolina on Tuesday, at home to Tampa Bay on Thursday and in Montreal on Saturday night. Toronto still needs one more point (or for the Canadiens to lose a point) to clinch a spot in the playoffs. If they get it done tonight would that have an impact on the psyche of the group moving forward?

"It would help, for sure," Rielly admitted. "We got a chance to do it last game and we let it slip and it's not a good feeling so I think tonight it’s important we take it seriously and make sure we're ready."

The Leafs have stumbled down the stretch, posting a 6-6-3 record since Feb. 28, which ranks 25th in the NHL.

The Islanders, meanwhile, wrapped up a spot in the postseason with a win over Buffalo on Saturday.

"They’ve had a great season," Tavares observed. "You have to tip your cap to the way they’ve played and the type of season they’re having. Obviously, when you make the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s a very difficult thing to do so they’ve had a great season."

The Islanders made the playoffs three times during Tavares' tenure, advancing to the second round once.

Left winger Andreas Johnsson and defenceman Jake Muzzin missed the morning skate because they were feeling under the weather.

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"One, I think, has food poisoning and the other one had chills," Babcock said. "I don't know if they're playing. We think they are, don't know."

At the skate, Kasperi Kapanen filled Johnsson's spot on the left side of Auston Matthews while Travis Dermott moved up to Muzzin's spot opposite Nikita Zaitsev.

Recalled from the Marlies Sunday, defenceman Calle Rosen will make his season debut tonight for the Leafs.

"We thought probably on our napkin last summer that he was going to be on the team," Babcock said. "It didn't go that way at training camp. He's had a good year ... Playing in the National Hockey League on D and playing in the American League are two different things, as we've seen. In saying all that, we like his skill set and he gets an opportunity here tonight."

Rosen may be in the NHL, but he didn't have a stall in a packed visiting dressing room on Monday morning. Instead, his gear was hanging on a folding chair.

The Swede played in four games with the Leafs early last season.

"I'm ready for this now," Rosen told a group of reporters, including Leafs Nation Network. "I'm confident in myself and my game and I’m just going to go out there and do my best."

Babcock on Rosen: 'He's getting an opportunity here tonight'

Calle Rosen hasn't played an NHL game since October 17 of last season, but Mike Babcock and the rest of the Leafs are excited to see how he has developed over two years in the AHL. Morgan Rielly believes that the mobility Rosen brings to the blueline will give Toronto a late-season boost.

TSN.CA LOADED: 04.02.2019

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TSN.CA / Offence wins championships in today’s NHL

Travis Yost

The old sports adage says that defence wins championships. In the National Hockey League, that line of thinking is increasingly under scrutiny.

One of the fascinating developments in the modern era of hockey is that the offensively dominant teams are the ones realizing success, and that’s particularly true during the postseason. It does seem a bit counterintuitive, but great offensive teams tend to be deadly for two reasons. One, they pile up shots, scoring chances and goals, creating scoreboard separation easier than the average NHL team. Two, the more teams play in the offensive zone, the less they play in the defensive zone. That means fewer shots, scoring chances and goals against.

We’ve seen a lot of different styles of offence from Stanley Cup winners over the last 10 years. The Los Angeles Kings, who won in both 2011-12 and 2013-14, played a relentlessly effective dump-and-chase style of hockey and territorially dominated opponents. The Pittsburgh Penguins, who went back-to-back during 2015-17, didn’t generate the same type of shot volume as their predecessors in Los Angeles. But they were lethal about turning seemingly ordinary shooting opportunities into dangerous ones, regularly finding open shooters in the slot. Last year’s Washington Capitals

were similarly effective in their ability to pierce the interior, and married it to one of the league’s best power-play units.

Over the last decade, Pittsburgh and Washington are the two teams that really challenged the ‘defence wins championships’ notion. In their respective title years, Pittsburgh finished seventh and 17th respectively in goals against; Washington finished 15th. Subset down to 5-on-5 play and those ranks look even more middling: 16th and 28th respectively for Pittsburgh, and 18th for Washington. Use expected goals against rates (all situations) to neutralize goaltending effects and you have a similar theme: Pittsburgh finished 26th and 14th in their respective title years, and Washington 26th.

I bring this up because Pittsburgh and Washington didn’t defend their way to the Stanley Cup – they attacked their way to it. But that doesn’t make them outliers. Again, what Pittsburgh and Washington were really good at – above all else – was generating dangerous offence. It’s a characteristic that actually makes them quite similar to Cup winners of yesteryear.

Looking at the statistical resumes of Stanley Cup winners over the last 10 seasons, one measure jumps out as quite meaningful. If you look at the last 25 games of the regular season – a big enough sample to measure team performance, and recent enough to calibrate and adjust for roster changes incurred over the course of the year – there is one notable commonality across all 10 of these winners: their ability to generate scoring chances in volume at 5-on-5. (I went through all offensive measures available to the public and have accordingly subset down to those that have generally been leading indicators of future success.)

The average Stanley Cup winner over the last decade has been ranked in the 86th percentile (or, average rank of fifth in the league) in their ability to generate scoring chances. Of all of the measurements we looked at, the ability to generate scoring chances offensively was the most singularly shared trait. You can see that shots (77th percentile, or average rank of seventh in the league) and goals (73rd percentile, or average rank of eighth in the league) are fairly strong too, and that’s because all of these are different ways of capturing what we know is important – sustained offensive zone pressure.

Let’s consider the defensive side now by the same exact measures. What ranks do we see from our historical Cup winners?

Being stronger defensively certainly helps a team’s cause, but it is interesting to see a relatively weaker relationship between defensive performance and the resumes of our historical Stanley Cup winners.

I suspect there are a number of explainable reasons for this. Perhaps the most impactful: a bad goaltender can submarine a team’s otherwise strong defensive play, while a great goaltender can smooth over a team’s otherwise weak defensive play. Add that to the fact that teams shoot on different goaltenders every night (as opposed to playing the same goaltender behind their defence 60+ games a season), and you can see how goaltending can cloud our understanding of true defensive performance.

I mentioned a shift in the hallmark of Stanley Cup winners earlier, and it’s obvious in the table above. Whereas modern era Cup winners tended to pummel the competition territorially, 2016-17 Pittsburgh and 2017-18 Washington were more about trading opportunity. Their bet was that their skill players could turn shots into chances and chances into goals better than their opponents could, and they were right.

This does offer up another question, one pertaining to the 2018-19 regular season. If offensive performance (and the ability to generate scoring chances with high degrees of frequency) really matters, how do we go about separating contenders and pretenders?

I mentioned over the weekend that the one reason I remain bullish on the Maple Leafs is that they can generate attack like few other teams in the league, and despite some ugly losses of late, no one

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has really been able to slow down their forward group. Of course, that doesn’t do a whole lot of help when your first-round opponent could end up being the second-best team in the league, but it is something to note.

Calgary, Vegas, and Tampa Bay also jump off the page here in a good way. Calgary and Tampa Bay have sat near the top of these rankings all season long, and Vegas have been a freight train since the trade deadline. On the other hand you have Winnipeg. The Jets have decided to save their ugliest, least-effective brand of hockey for the stretch run right into the playoffs. And it’s not just their inability to generate scoring chances. The Jets over the last 25-games sit 24th in Corsi%, 30th in Scoring Chance%, 20th in Goal%, and 23rd in Point%.

The good news for the Jets is that they still have a real shot at winning the division and securing a fairly comfortable first-round draw. The bad news for the Jets is that they’re one game away from sliding into the two-spot in the Central Division, which would mean a date with one of Nashville or St. Louis. Pivotal four games ahead for the Jets!

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