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CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 27, 2017

Hurricanes edge Predators in shootout

By Chip Alexander

[email protected]

November 26, 2017 03:58 PM

UPDATED 3 MINUTES AGO

RALEIGH

No team has been hotter of late in the NHL than the Nashville Predators.

Not exactly the ideal opponent for the Carolina Hurricanes, who had dropped two straight at home.

But the Canes found a way to win Sunday, edging the Preds in a shootout 4-3 at PNC Arena.

Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen had shootout goals for the Canes (10-8-4). The Preds (14-6-3) did not score in the shootout against goalie Scott Darling.

Canes center Jordan Staal was called for tripping at 2:03 of overtime, giving the Preds a 4-on-3 power play. The Canes killed off the penalty, then had a brief 19-second power play.

Justin Williams’ power-play goal in the third period gave the Canes a 3-2 lead. Williams, active around the net much of the game, knocked in a rebound for his fourth goal of the season to beat goalie Juuse Saros.

But Craig Smith banged in a short shot to tie the score 3-3 for the Preds, who had won four straight games and nine of 10 before Sunday, looking the part of a confident team that reached the Stanley Cup finals last season.

Victor Rask had a goal and an assist, and Josh Jooris also scored for the Canes, who were playing the last game of a four-game homestand.

Victor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm also had goals for the Preds, who had their fathers along on the annual “Dads Trip.

Jooris, a healthy scratch for Carolina in the last game, gave the Canes an early lead as the fourth-line contributed a goal.

Marcus Kruger’s stretch pass caught Jooris racing up the middle of the ice, and Jooris beat Saros, the puck squeezing through the pads and trickling over the goal line.

Saros steadied after the goal, and the Preds took the lead on a goal by Arvidsson late in the first, then Ekholm on a power play early in the second.

Ardvisson danced around Canes defenseman Noah Hanifin to beat Darling to the wide side. Ekholm’s goal came on a shot from the point that glanced off bodies and past Darling.

Rask gave the Canes a lift with his fourth goal of the season and first since Nov. 2. The center, recently made a healthy scratch for two games, backhanded a shot past Saros after Hanifin’s shot from the point that caught the skate of Elias Lindholm in the slot.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article186602213.html#storylink=cpy

Nordstrom blocks spur Hurricanes to shootout win over Predators

By Chip Alexander

[email protected]

November 26, 2017 06:01 PM

UPDATED November 26, 2017 06:01 PM

RALEIGH

Hockey games aren’t always won on slick offensive moves or acrobatic goaltender saves. It isn’t about style points.

Sometimes, it’s a player gritting his teeth and stepping in the way of a heavy slapshot.

Then, doing it again.

Joakim Nordstrom did that Sunday for the Carolina Hurricanes, blocking back-to-back shots in overtime by the Nashville Predators’ P.K. Subban. It allowed the Canes to kill off a penalty against Jordan Staal and the Preds’ four-on-

three power play, and allowed them to escape overtime and eventually win 4-3 in a shootout at PNC Arena.

“Blocking those two bombs, we rallied around it,” Canes forward Justin Williams said.

To stay in the thick of the playoff chase in the Eastern Conference, the Hurricanes (10-8-4) need more of that – a willingness to accept the pain to make a play, to do whatever is necessary to secure two points.

“It hurts way more to see a puck go into the back of the net than to get hit by it,” Nordstrom said. “It’s an easy choice for me.”

No one appreciated it more than Canes goalie Scott Darling, who once played with Nordstrom in Chicago and said, “That’s ‘Nordy’ through and through. He would do that in the first minute of a game against any team.”

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And not just Nordstrom. Marcus Kruger and Jaccob Slavin also blocked shots in the overtime.

But for a team like the Hurricanes, that’s what it’s going to take. Everyone has a job to do and must do it.

Victor Rask, for example. The center recently was made a healthy scratch for two straight games, something of a comedown for the quiet, proud Swede. But he had a plus-3 rating Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs – albeit in 5-4 loss – and then contributed a goal and assist Sunday in being named the game’s first star.

“We need that out of him, and we need that each and every night, and that’s part of being a pro,” Canes coach Bill Peters said.

Few know more about “being a pro” than Williams. After more than 1,100 games in the NHL, after winning three Stanley Cup rings, Williams has as good a handle on how to win games as anyone in the league.

On Sunday, Williams was a big part of it. His power-play goal in the third period came when he went to the front of the net, slipped to the side, then returned to bang the puck past Juuse Saros for a 3-2 lead.

Earlier, when Subban began bumping and harassing the Canes’ Jeff Skinner in an increasingly chippy second period, Williams more or less put an end to it, going after Subban.

Williams was called for an interference penalty and defenseman Mattias Ekholm’s power-play goal gave Nashville a 2-1 lead. But Rask tied it 2-2, backhanding a rebound, and Williams scored in the third.

It was a game of hard checks and tough puck battles. Once, when crowded by the Preds’ Calle Jarnkrok, Darling reminded him that he is a 6-6, 232-pounder, swatting Jarnkrok away.

Darling’s low point this season came last week against the New York Rangers, when he muffed Mika Zibanejad’s high-floating flip from outside the blue line for a stunning goal in a 6-1 loss.

“That just can’t happen in the National League,” Darling said Sunday. “I just lost it in the lights. It was comparable to an outfielder with the sun. I saw it, saw it, lost it, lost it and it was gone. It was ugly, and I hope it never happens again.”

The Canes were 1-2 in shootouts this season and 1-4 in games decided in overtime before Sunday. But the Canes won this one as Darling made the stops in the shootout, and Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen scored shootout goals for Carolina.

After losing the past two games and facing 10 of the next 12 games on the road, the Hurricanes sensed the importance of Sunday’s win.

“Really big,” Williams said. “We know where that (playoff) line is and we know we’re beneath it. It’s time to go punch in and get some points.”

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article186614583.html#storylink=cpy

PKers come up big in OT, Hurricanes win in shootout

Aho, Teravainen score, Darling stops both Nashville attempts in shootout

November 26, 2017 Cory Lavalette

RALEIGH — After the Carolina gave up the tying goal in the third period, it would have been easy for them to wilt during an overtime penalty kill.

Instead, it was the defining moment in a 4-3 shootout win over the Nashville Predators in a matinee Sunday at PNC Arena.

With key penalty killer Jordan Staal in the box for tripping, Joakim Nordstrom made two big blocks on Predators defenseman P.K. Subban during a 4 on 3 to help Carolina survive overtime, and Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen scored on countryman Juuse Saros in the shootout to give Carolina the win.

“That’s my job out there. I didn’t really have much of a choice,” Nordstrom said. “But it hurts way more to see the puck go in the back of the net than getting hit by it. So, easy choice for me.”

Nashville forced overtime when Carolina goalie Scott Darling had trouble with his glove hand for the second straight start, bobbling a shot that allowed play to continue and lead to an eventual goal by Craig Smith to tie the game with 8:45 remaining.

“The third goal’s my bad. We should’ve won in regulation,” said Darling, who made 32 saves and stopped both shootout attempts he faced. “The boys sucked it up and did an extra five minutes of hard work for me and then scored in the shootout.”

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The hard work included key blocks by Marcus Kruger and Jaccob Slavin, along with Nordstrom’s efforts.

“That’s Nordy through and through,” Darling said. “He would do that first minute of the game against any team. He’s such a team guy, and that’s not an easy guy to go up and stand in front of a slapshot from. P.K. has a great shot. So, you know, it was awesome by him.”

Hurricanes coach Bill Peters called it the best-played game between Carolina and an opponent this season, but saved his highest praise for his penalty killers.

“I got an unbelievable respect for guys that do that, play that role,” Peters said. “You look at that game coming down the stretch — they went down to three (lines), we went down to three. So Nordy and Krugs haven’t played a whole bunch.

“And the next thing you know that game is on the line and you tap ’em and they go out and execute like that.”

The unique 1 p.m. start time didn’t seem to slow either team, as the Hurricanes and Predators jockeyed back and forth for control.

Carolina’s fourth line opened the scoring 3:37 of the first, with Kruger zipping a two-line pass to spring Josh Jooris. Jooris shrugged off Mattias Ekholm, deked to his backhand and slid the puck through Saros’ five hole for his third goal of the year.

Nashville answered with 4:24 left in the first, tying the game when Viktor Arvidsson dangled around Noah Hanifin coming down the left wing and beat Darling over his left shoulder.

The Predators took the lead just past the midway point of the game, converting on their first power play opportunity when Ekholm’s point shot hit at least one Carolina player and got past Darling for a 2-1 Nashville lead.

Just over a minute later, Victor Rask — playing his second game after being a healthy scratch for two games earlier in the week — got his first point since Nov. 2.

Hanifin’s point shot was redirected in the slot by Elias Lindholm, and Rask crashed the net and knocked in the loose puck to Saros’ right to tie the game at 11:37 of the second.

“It’s tough when you do that, you make those decisions,” Peters said of scratching Rask for two games. “And he ended up plus-3 (Friday) and … was plus-1 again tonight with a goal and and an assist, right? So we need that out of him. We need that each and every night, and that’s part of being a pro. He’s a big part of what we do, and we need him.”

It looked like Carolina got the game-winner 5:49 into the third. The struggling second power play unit broke through when Justin Williams knocked down a Derek Ryan shot in front and backhanded the puck past a scrambling Saros for a 3-2 lead.

Then Darling failed to squeeze a shot in his glove and Smith tied it setting up the overtime and shootout.

After both Brock McGinn for Carolina and Nashville newcomer Kyle Turris were stopped in the first round, Peters went to his two Finns, Aho and Teravainen, against Saros.

“I said to Sea Bass, I said, ‘You own this guy?’” Peters said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ … And then [Teravainen] said the same.”

After Aho scored, Darling denied Filip Forsberg. Then Teravainen ended it with a top-shelf backhand, snapping a two-game slide and putting Carolina back in an early-season six-team scrum for three Eastern Conference playoff positions.

“It’s time to go punch in and get some points and get it to work,” Williams said.

Hurricanes slip past Predators 4-3 in shootout

Posted 5:50 p.m. yesterday Updated 5:51 p.m. yesterday

By KYLE GLASER, Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — When it came time for Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen to face Juuse Saros in a shootout, they knew what to do against their fellow countrymen.

"A little bit of Finn on Finn there," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "They know Saros ... and I said to (Aho) 'You own this guy?' and he said 'Yeah, I do.' Teuvo said the same thing."

Final 1 2 3 OT SO Tot

Nashville 1 1 1 0 0 3

Carolina 1 1 1 0 1 4

Preview | Box | Gameview | Recap

Three Stars

CAROLINA HURRICANES


1: Victor Rask, Car (1G, 1A)

2: Justin Williams, Car (1G)

3: Joakim Nordstrom, Car

Copyright © 2017 by STATS LLC. All rights reserved.

Aho and Teravainen scored in the shootout and the Hurricanes earned a 4-3 victory over the Predators on Sunday.

Aho beat Saros with a wrist shot over his blocker on Carolina's second attempt.

After Hurricanes goalie Scott Darling stopped Filip Forsberg's second attempt for Nashville, Teravainen lifted a backhand over Saros' left shoulder for the winner.

Josh Jooris, Victor Rask and Justin Williams scored in regulation for the Hurricanes, who snapped a two-game skid. Darling finished with 32 saves.

Viktor Arvidsson, Mattias Ekholm and Craig Smith scored for the Predators. Saros made 33 saves and Nashville had its four-game winning streak end.

"I thought they were a little quicker than us," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "We had our looks and our chances."

The shootout capped a back-and-forth matchup. Jooris opened the scoring in the first period when he got behind the Predators defense and finished with a nifty backhand through Saros' legs that trickled across the goal line.

Arvidsson evened it for Nashville when he beat Noah Hanifin one-on-one near the right faceoff circle with a highlight-reel move where maneuvered the puck between his legs, and then fired a wrister over Darling's left shoulder into the upper corner of the net.

Ekholm gave the Predators their first lead with a power-play goal midway through the second period. But Rask stuffed home a loose rebound in the crease just over a minute later to tie the score at 2-2.

Williams put the Hurricanes back on top in the third period with a power-play goal, stuffing home a deflected shot he had originally knocked down from Derek Ryan. Williams appeared to enter the crease before the puck on the play, but his goal was allowed to stand.

"It's tough to tell," Williams said. "I think I was where I needed to be and I was able to bang one in."

Smith tied it for Nashville with 8:45 remaining when he found an open spot along the back post and buried a pass from Kevin Fiala.

The Predators had a chance to win on a power play in overtime, but the Hurricanes blocked four consecutive shots, including two by Joakim Nordstrom, to keep it tied.

"The penalty kill was unbelievable with those guys blocking shots," Peters said. "That goes a long ways. That's how you win games."

NOTES: Rask had a goal and an assist for his first multi-point game since opening night. ... Saros recorded an assist on Arvidsson's first-period goal. It was the Predators goalie's second career assist. ... Hurricanes F Lee Stempniak (upper body injury) missed his 20th game. ... F Miikka Salomaki and F Cody McLeod were scratched for the Predators. ... D Klas Dahlback and F Phillip Di Giuseppe were the Hurricanes' healthy scratches.

UP NEXT:

Predators: Return home and face the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday to start a four-game homestand.

Hurricanes: Visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday to begin a quick two-game road swing.

Recap: Hurricanes Top Preds in Shootout

Canes close out homestand with 4-3 shootout win

by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / CarolinaHurricanes.com

November 26th, 2017

The Carolina Hurricanes closed out their four-game homestand with a 4-3 shootout win against the defending Western Conference champion Nashville Predators.

Josh Jooris, Victor Rask and Justin Williams netted goals for the Hurricanes in regulation, and Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen scored in the shootout.

Here are five takeaways from this afternoon's game.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


One

Let's first look at the big picture of this one, a big win over a team that came into today's game with a four-game winning streak and a 9-2-0 record in the month of November. The Canes, meanwhile, were looking to slow a two-game skid to finish off a homestand and did just that.

"I thought it was a high-end game. I think it might have been the best game we've been involved in all year between both teams. I think they're a real good team, and we're a real good team when we play properly. I thought we did that today. Both teams looked like they were dialed in. I thought it was very competitive. I thought we were physical, which helps us," head coach Bill Peters said. "A lot of good things here in the last two games."

"Every game is big, but you don't want to slide too far and get in too big of a hole," Jordan Staal said. "It was nice to get on the right side of it this time."

"That was a big game, really big, especially finishing up our homestand here and going on the road," Williams said. "It was a fun game to watch, certainly from the bench. It was intense. The guys were into it. They were engaged."

Two

This was an evenly-played, back-and-forth contest. Each team scored a goal in each of the three periods, forcing extra hockey for the sixth time this season. The Canes are now 2-2 in the skills competition this season, with Finns Aho and Teravainen scoring on their countryman, Juuse Saros, to seal the victory.

"I said to Seabass, 'Do you own this guy?' And he said, 'Yeah, I do,'" Peters recalled. "Turbo has been so hot. He's been outstanding offensively. His compete level has improved from last year to this year, and that's what allows him to be successful. His skill is undeniable."

At the other end of the ice in the shootout, Scott Darling went into the splits to force Kyle Turris' shot wide and then made a save on Filip Forsberg's wrister.

Three

Since returning to the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch for two games, Rask has been solid. He didn't directly factor in on the scoresheet against Toronto on Friday, but he was a plus-3 and generated four shots on goal.

Today, Rask scored a goal in the second period to tie the game at two and recorded the secondary assist on William's power-play goal in the third period.

"I felt good last game and this game," Rask said. "Happy to score one tonight."

Rask's goal was the result of a simple play - he went to the net, was in position for a rebound and banged it home.

"He's gone through some ups and downs this season, so it was nice for him to get one. Hopefully he continues to do that for us," Staal said. "He's been playing better since he's been back in the lineup and doing a lot of good things. It was nice to see him get rewarded."

"We need that out of him. We need that each and every night," Peters said. "That's part of being a pro. He's a big part of what we do, and we need it."

Four

The Hurricanes fourth line of Joakim Nordstrom, Marcus Kruger and Jooris didn't see much ice time in the third period when the benches shortened, but they each contributed in crucial ways throughout the game.

Jooris opened the scoring just 3:37 into the game, when he put his shoulder down on a breakaway and slid the puck through Saros for his third goal of the season.

In overtime, Kruger and Nordstrom were tasked with killing off a 4-on-3 man disadvantage. Nordstrom twice dropped to a knee to block the booming shot of P.K. Subban.

"That's my job out there," Nordstrom said. "It hurts way more to see a puck go in the back of the net than get hit by it, so it's an easy choice for me."

"We had big plays from big guys. Nothing bigger was Nordstrom blocking those two bombs on the penalty kill. I think we rallied around that," Williams said. "I'll keep it G-rated here, but he had a set of kahunas on him getting in front of those shots, not one but another one coming back-to-back."

"The penalty kill was unbelievable with those guys blocking shots - Nordy and Krugs. That goes a long way. That's how you win games," Peters said. "I've got an unbelievable respect for guys who play that role."

Five

The Canes have scored four power-play goals in their last four games. Williams had the man-advantage tally tonight, as he batted a puck out of midair before collecting the rebound and scoring the goal that gave his team a 3-2 lead in the third period.

"Getting some greasy, dirty goals. We need more of those," Peters said.

Up Next

The Hurricanes head back to Columbus for the second time in two-and-a-half weeks for a Tuesday night match-up against the Blue Jackets.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Carolina Hurricanes Pick Up Two Huge Points in Shootout Win Over Nashville Predators

The Canes and Preds needed a shootout to declare a winner, and that winner was the home team.

by Brett Finger@brettfinger Nov 26, 2017, 6:41pm EST

Losers of two straight, the Carolina Hurricanes desperately needed to turn things around, and they had to do it against one of the league’s toughest customers, the Nashville Predators.

The Canes did it, and they did it with heart, picking up a huge 4-3 shootout win in the Sunday matinee.

The Hurricanes were the better team early on, and they capitalized on a big chance just 3:37 into the opening frame.

Marcus Kruger shot a spring pass down ice and connected with Josh Jooris, who was able to open up Juuse Saros and inch the puck over the goal line to make it 1-0.

The Canes continued to play well through the middle

portions of the first period, but the Preds started to establish

some offensive consistency as the period wore on, and they

found twine with less than five minutes left in the frame.

Viktor Arvidsson, Nashville’s breakout star a season ago, took Noah Hanifin for a walk inside the Carolina blue line and

went high-glove side on Scott Darling to tie the game at one.

The second period was fairly even as both teams went back and forth.

The Hurricanes had a chance to take the lead on a man advantage, but the Predators killed it off. Moments later, the Preds got a powerplay of their own, and they didn’t squander it.

Mattias Ekholm sent one on net through traffic, the puck tipped off of multiple Hurricanes in front, and found its way past Darling to make it a 2-1 hockey game.

Just a minute later, the Canes responded. This time it was Victor Rask, who had a great game against Toronto after being a healthy scratch for two games, as he hammered home a rebound chance to tie the score yet again.

The was a huge goal from Rask to even things up going into the third period.

The Hurricanes failed to score yet again on an early man advantage in the final regulation frame, but they got another chance shortly thereafter.

Justin Williams provided the net-front presence and lifted a rebound chance up and past the blocked of Saros to give the Canes their second lead of the hockey game.

It wouldn’t be enough, though.

Scott Darling couldn’t handle a seemingly easy glove stop, the rebound rolled out to Kevin Fiala, and his shot was deflected in by Craig Smith with less than nine minutes left in regulation to tie the game yet again, this time at three apiece.

That score would hold through a flurry of chance both ways, thus forcing extra inter-conference hockey at PNC Arena.

The worst case scenario became a reality for Carolina as Jordan Staal went off for tripping, giving the Predators a 4-on-3 powerplay.

That could have, and maybe should have, ended the hockey game, but the heart that the penalty kill showed was incredible and Joakim Nordstrom had the shift of the game as he blocked a shot and cleared the zone late in the Nashville powerplay.

The Canes got a powerplay with 17 seconds to go, but the road team held strong and forced shootout.

Darling was a perfect two-for-two and the Fins came through as Aho unleashed a nasty wrist shot and Teravainen went forehand-backhand to beat Saros.

The Hurricanes cap off their homestand with a huge win against one of the league’s best teams. They’ll now head on the road and play 15 of their next 21 away from PNC Arena, starting on Tuesday in Columbus.

Quotes

Bill Peters:

It was a high-end game. I thought it might have been the best game we’ve been involved in all year. They’re a real good team, we’re a real good team when we play properly and I think we did that today. Both teams looked like they were dialed in and it was real competitive. We were physical, which helps and it really helps us defensively. A lot of good things here over the past two games.

We’re getting some greasy, dirty goals and we need more of them. It was good to see the Rask unit score on the powerplay. That’s a three-footer but you have to pay the price to get there. The penalty kill was unbelievable with those guys (Nordstrom and Kruger) blocking shots. That goes a long way and that’s how you win games.

[On Victor Rask] It’s tough when you do that and make those decisions (scratching Rask for two games). He ended up +3 (against Toronto) and he was a +1 with a goal and an assist. We need that out of him and we need that each and every night. That’s part of being a pro. He’s a big part of what we are trying to do.

[On Joakim Nordstrom] I have unbelievable respect for guys who do that (block shots). If you look at that game, coming down the stretch, Kruger and Nordstrom didn’t play a bunch,

CAROLINA HURRICANES


and the next thing you know, the game is on the line, and they go out and execute like that. I have a lot of respect for guys who play like that.

[On Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen in the shootout] A little Fin-on-Fin there. I said to Seabass (Aho), “Do you own this guy (Jusse Saros)?”, and he said “Yeah, I do.”

[On if he is worried about the play of Justin Faulk] No, I’m not. I thought he played real well. I thought he was physical today. There were some plays left on the table by our group. When we start cleaning things up and start playing a little bit better with our execution and spend more time in the offensive-zone, all of those guys who don’t have the numbers that you’d want will improve and they’ll be there after game 82.

Victor Rask:

I felt good last game and this game, and I was happy to score tonight. It’s the way I have to play. Our team played really well tonight, and our PK was really good.

The crowd was good tonight. I’m glad they came out.

Joakim Nordstrom:

It’s nice to be back on the winning track again. I thought, throughout the game, we played well, so it’s nice to come out as winners.

This game was way better than the two games prior. I thought we came out with higher pace and played faster throughout the game. We played with more desperation as well.

Scott Darling:

The third goal is my bad. I wish we could’ve won in regulation, but the boys sucked it up and put in an extra five minutes of hard work for me and scored in the shootout.

[On Nordstrom’s blocked shot in overtime] That’s Nordy through and through. He would do that in the first minute of a game against any team. He’s such a team guy and P.K. (Subban) has a great shot. That’s not an easy guy to stand up and block a shot against.

[On if he felt like getting a win after his poor start vs. NYR was important] Oh yeah, big time. You can’t have games like that, especially on the second goal, you just can’t have those in the NHL. You know those goals are going to happen in your career, so you have to just forget about it and move one.

[On Mika Zibanejad’s center-ice pop-up goal vs. NYR] *through laughter* I just lost it in the lights. Usually, long shots stay more flat, but when they go up in the lights, they’re hard to track. They’re comparable to an outfielder with the sun. I saw it, then lost it, and then it got by me. It was ugly and I hope it never happens again.

Justin Williams:

That was a big game, really big, especially finishing up the homestand. We have games in hand but keep dropping them, so we need to get boosted back up and that was a good start.

It was intense. The guys were into it and engaged, and we had big plays from big guys. The biggest one was probably Nordstrom blocking those two bombs on the penalty kill. I think we rallied around that. *through laughter* I’ll keep it g-rated here, but he had a set of cajones on him stepping in front of those shots.

We know where the (playoff) line is and we’re below it. Games in hand are only good if you win them. We let a few slip away. We got one tonight and it’s time to punch in and get to work.

[On what stands out about Teuvo Teravainen] I think with his calmness and smoothness, nothing really fazes him. He’s got a great stick and one of the best set of hands I’ve seen and that’s certainly saying something (Williams has played in 1,101 NHL games). If we’re going to get to that next level, he’s going to have to be a huge, huge part of it.

[On Victor Rask] I think he’s played great over the past couple of games. He’s held on to pucks and he’s made guys come to him instead of just getting rid of it. He’s a very, very hard guy to get off the puck when he’s determined to keep it. He came up big for us today.

[On if he was focusing on not interfering with Jusse Saros on his goal] It’s tough to tell nowadays (what is and isn’t goalie interference), but I think I was where I needed to be. I was able to bang one in and I was happy it went in.

Game Notes

Victor Rask was the game’s first star, scoring a goal and picking up an assist in 16:52 of ice time in his second game back from sitting out two games as a healthy scratch. Oddly enough, it’s his third multi-point game of the season. Six of his seven points this season have come in just three games (10/7 vs. MIN, 10/26 vs. TOR, 11/26 vs. NSH). The Hurricanes are undefeated (5-0-0) in games wherein Rask tallies multiple points, dating back to December 10, 2016.

Noah Hanifin now has three points in his last two games and eight points in his last 11 games, dating back to November 4 against the Arizona Coyotes. He assisted on Rask’s second-period goal. The 20-year-old also tied with Jaccob Slavin with a team-high four blocked shots and led the team with three takeaways.

Outside of taking a tripping penalty in overtime, home captain Jordan Staal had a marvelous game. He led all Carolina skaters with 10+ minutes of even strength ice time with a 58.54% corsi share and laid out a game-high eight hits in a team-high 23:00 of ice time. He also won 65% of his faceoffs and had a number of chances around the crease. The TSA line didn’t crack the scoresheet, but they generated offense and had a number of quality opportunities.

In game 1,101 of his NHL career, Justin Williams scored his fourth goal of the season and had a game-high seven shots on net. Like Hanifin, he had two points against Toronto on Friday and has three points over his last two outings.

Scott Darling improved to 3-1-0 in his career against the Predators. He made 32 save on 35 shots, which is nearly identical to his stat line the last time he faced the team. He stopped 33 of 36 shots in a 5-3 win over Nashville on

CAROLINA HURRICANES


October 15, 2016, his first start of his final season with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Hurricanes’ special teams units had varying degrees of success. The powerplay scored once on four chances against Nashville’s sixth-ranked penalty kill. The Canes’ penalty kill went one for two as Mattias Ekholm beat Darling on the Preds’ second-period odd-man opportunity. The PK came through in a huge way in overtime, which led to the shootout win.

The win gives Carolina 24 points in the standings. With two games in hand, they are four points behind the New York Rangers for the second wild-card spot in the East.

After an even 2-2 split on the homestand, the Canes will go on the road for games in Columbus and New York on Tuesday and Friday. Ten of the team’s 15 games in December and 16 of their next 21 will be on the road. They are 5-4-1 away from PNC Arena this season.

Canes snap skid with shootout win over Predators

Andrew Schnittker, Sports Editor

15 hrs ago

It took 65 minutes of hockey and a shootout, but the Carolina Hurricanes got back in the win column. Carolina defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3 Sunday at PNC Arena after dropping two straight games earlier this week.

Forwards Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen scored for the Canes (10-8-4) in the shootout, and goalie Scott Darling stopped all three Predators (14-6-3) shooters. Carolina got goals in regulation from forwards Josh Jooris, Victor Rask and Justin Williams.

“Both sides were playing some good hockey,” Darling said. “Letting in the third goal was my bad; we should have won in regulation, but the boys sucked it and did an extra five minutes of hard work for me, then scored in the shootout.”

Carolina was forced to kill off a tripping penalty to forward Jordan Staal with 2:57 in overtime, but got the job done, largely thanks to two key shot blocks from Canes forward Joakim Nordstrom on clappers from Predators defenseman PK Subban.

“That’s my job out there,” Nordstrom said. “I didn’t really have much of a choice. It hurts way more to see a puck go in the back of the net than to get hit by it. It’s an easy choice for me.”

Carolina took a 3-2 lead on the second of back to back power plays early in the third period; Williams batted down forward Derek Ryan’s shot in front of the net and stuffed it by Preds goalie Juuse Saros on his backhand.

“That was a big game,” Williams said. “Really big. Especially finishing up our homestand here. We go on the road; we’ve got games in hand but we’re dropping in our division. We need to get boosted back up, and that was a big step.”

Nashville tied the game with 8:45 to play; Darling’s errant clearing pass went right to Predators forward Kevin Fiala, who found forward Craig Smith on the back door for the easy tap in to make it 3-3.

The Canes wasted little time jumping out to a 1-0 lead in this one with Jooris’ breakaway goal less than four minutes in.

“I thought it was high-end game; I think it might have been the best game that we’ve been involved in all year between both teams,” head coach Bill Peters said. “I think they’re a real good team. We’re a real good team when we play properly and I thought we did that today. Both teams looked like they were dialed in. I thought it was very competitive. We were physical, which helps us. A lot of good things here these last two games.”

The Predators got a golden chance to tie it with a breakaway for forward Ryan Johansen about halfway through the first period, but Darling came up with a big save to keep the Hurricanes ahead.

Nashville forward Viktor Arvidsson did tie the game at one with 4:24 to play in the first, deking around Canes blueliner Noah Hanifin and snapping a shot from the left circle over Darling’s glove.

The Predators took a 2-1 lead about halfway through the second; defenseman Mattias Ekholm beat a screened Darling with a point shot on the power play.

The Canes tied it at two barely a minute later, as Rask swiped home the rebound of a point shot by defenseman Noah Hanifin for his first point 10 games.

“I know this is the way I have to play,” Rask said. “I thought our team played really well tonight.”

Carolina finishes its two-game homestand at 2-2-0, and will hit the road to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday night and start a stretch of 10 of 12 games on the road.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Checkers Fall to Bruins in Teddy Bear Toss

Written by Nicholas Niedzielski

Published: November 26, 2017

Charlotte’s defensive side took center stage in the team’s rematch against the Providence Bruins, but it wasn’t quite enough to eke out two points as the Checkers fell in a shootout 2-1. With Alex Nedeljkovic unable to suit up due to sickness and radio broadcaster Jason Shaya serving as an emergency backup, Jeremy Smith got the start and delivered a stellar performance. The veteran netminder was peppered with 41 shots from a potent Providence offense that entered the game frustrated from an 8-2 loss the night before and turned aside 40 of them across 65 minutes of play. The Checkers were able to open the scoring thanks to a quick shot from out front by Nicolas Roy that triggered the annual Teddy Bear Toss, with 1,200 teddy bears littering the ice on their way to being donated. That advantage was erased shortly after, however, and neither side would be able to produce anything else through the remainder of regulation. After a scoreless overtime period that saw the Bruins control much of the possession and fail to beat Smith, the contest progressed on to a shootout, Charlotte’s first of the season. Each netminder denied the first three attempts they faced then surrendered a goal on the fourth shooter. With the shootout in sudden death, Bruins netminder Jordan Binnington stopped Warren Foegele to set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s winner and send Providence home with two points.

QUOTES

Coach Mike Vellucci on the team’s start I thought they took advantage of us early on. I thought we were really slow and that they out-skated us pretty hard in the first. We played a little bit better obviously in the second and third. Vellucci on the Checkers’ first overtime game of the season We’ve got to learn to win those tight games. This was the first overtime game in 21 games for us and we just played 12 games in 23 days. It’s a lot of hockey so I was proud of the way they grinded it out. We got one point. Would you like to get another in the shootout? Yeah, but that’s the way it happens sometimes in the shootout. Vellucci on goaltender Jeremy Smith I thought he was awesome. He got us the point. We didn’t

start out on time but he held us in there and then we got going. Smith on his game today I felt really good today. It’s just about staying focused. There’s going to be breakdowns, but the more that I can manage it the better. When they get caught out there for a while, you try to do your best to either freeze it our get us out of play. Smith on overtime That was our first overtime, I don’t know if you could tell. We had a good chance out there towards the end of overtime, but it would have been nice to get a win. Checkers broadcaster Jason Shaya on serving as the emergency backup goalie I was skating with the injured guys this morning and then coach walked out there and said Ned wasn’t going to make it most likely and that he wanted me to back up the game. I said my concern was obviously the broadcast because I’m a broadcaster, but once we got that figured out and situated I said I’d do it. Shaya on how he handled the job The big thing for me is to stay out of the way. I don’t want to be a distraction for anyone and for anyone to change what they do. Typically I’m out of the way completely, and that’s really the goal. I want the guys to just do their thing as if I’m not there, and I think I made myself almost completely invisible today.

NOTES

The Checkers collected 1,200 stuffed animals for charity as part of the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss promotion … Nicolas Roy’s goal that triggered the toss ended a six-game streak in which the Checkers allowed the game’s first goal … Roy’s goal gave him five points (1g, 4a) in his last four games … Roy’s goal was also the Checkers’ fifth shorthanded goal of the year, which ranks second in the AHL. Warren Foegele assisted on the goal, tying him for the league high with four shorthanded points on the season (3g, 1a) … This was the Checkers’ first overtime game. Coming into today, they were the only AHL team that had yet to go to overtime … Smith’s 40 saves were a season high and the most by a Checkers goalie this season … Forwards Clark Bishop and Lucas Wallmark and defenseman Jake Chelios missed the game due to injury … Forward Valentin Zykov and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic missed the game due to illness … Defensemen Tyler Ganly and Josh Wesley were healthy extras.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


UP NEXT The Checkers’ home stand continues Friday when they host the Springfield Thunderbirds for a 7:15 p.m. puck drop.

Aho, Teravainen deliver for Hurricanes in shootout victory

Darling makes 32 saves, helps end Predators' winning streak at four games

by Kurt Dusterberg / NHL.com Correspondent

November 26th, 2017

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen scored in the shootout to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-3 win against the Nashville Predators at PNC Arena on Sunday.

Josh Jooris, Victor Rask and Justin Williams scored, and Scott Darling made 32 saves for the Hurricanes (10-8-4), who won for the first time in three games to finish 2-2-0 on their four-game homestand.

Carolina killed a tripping penalty against Jordan Staal in overtime. Forward Joakim Nordstrom blocked two shots by P.K. Subban before clearing the puck as the penalty was expiring.

"That was big for us," Staal said. "Obviously, there is a lot of room out there 4-on-3. Nordstrom did a great job of eating a few, and he made a couple other good plays to get us the kill."

Viktor Arvidsson, Mattias Ekholm and Craig Smith scored for the Predators (14-6-3), whose winning streak ended at four games. Juuse Saros made 33 saves in his first game since Nov. 4.

Nashville tied the game 3-3 at 11:15 of the third period when Smith tapped in the loose puck at the left post after Kevin Fiala sent it toward the net from the right face-off circle.

"Letting in that third goal was my bad," Darling said. "We should have won in regulation. The boys sucked it up and did an extra five minutes of hard work for me and scored in the shootout."

The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead at 3:37 of the first period when Jooris received a stretch pass from Marcus Kruger and scored on a backhand between Saros' legs.

Arvidsson tied it 1-1 at 15:36 with a nice individual move. He played the puck between his legs in the left circle before getting a step on defenseman Noah Hanifin and beating Darling to the far post with a wrist shot.

"I thought that they were a little quicker than us in the first period," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "I thought the

second and third period we played better, had our looks and had our chances."

Ekholm gave Nashville a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 10:32 of the second period. His wrist shot from the right circle deflected off Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce's stick.

Rask tied it 2-2 at 11:37. Saros stopped Hanifin's shot from the point, but Rask was at the left post to tap in the rebound on his backhand.

The Hurricanes went ahead 3-2 when Williams scored on the power play at 5:49 of the third period. Williams knocked down Derek Ryan's shot before poking in the loose puck from the top of the crease.

"It might have been the best game we've been involved in all year between both teams," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "They're a real good team, and we're a real good team when we play properly."

Goal of the game

Jooris' goal at 3:37 of the first period.

Save of the game

Darling stopping Arvidsson at 8:37 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Arvidsson's goal at 15:36 of the first period.

They said it

"I thought his performance today was excellent. This is a team that throws a lot of shots at the net. There is a lot going on for him. This might be one of the games where we gave up the most quality chances; it might be 26 or 27 quality chances. He played an excellent game." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette on goalie Juuse Saros

"A little bit of Finn-on-Finn there. They know Saros, and that's always a disadvantage, or an advantage. I said to Aho, 'Do you own this guy?' He said, 'Yeah, I do.' Teravainen has been outstanding offensively, his compete level has improved from last year to this year. He said the same thing." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters on choosing Finland-born forwards Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen for the shootout against countryman Saros

"We know where that (eighth-place) line is, and we know we're beneath it. Games in hand are only good if you win

CAROLINA HURRICANES


them or bank points. We've let a few slip away the last couple games. We got one tonight, but it's time to go punch in, get some wins, and get to work." -- Hurricanes forward Justin Williams on the Eastern Conference standings

Need to know

Saros' only prior NHL shootout was a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Dec. 17, 2016. … Darling made a save on Filip Forsberg in the second round of the shootout. Predators center Kyle Turris missed the net in the first round. …

Teravainen's shootout goal was the first of his NHL career; he was 0-for-3.

What's next

Predators: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)

Hurricanes: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-CR, NHL.TV)

TODAY’S LINKS

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article186602213.html

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article186614583.html

http://nsjonline.com/article/2017/11/pkers-come-up-big-in-ot-hurricanes-win-in-shootout/

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/hurricanes-slip-past-predators-4-3-in-shootout/17142798/ https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/recap-hurricanes-top-predators-in-shootout/c-293390778

https://www.canescountry.com/2017/11/26/16701746/carolina-hurricanes-pick-up-two-huge-points-shootout-win-nashville-predators-darling-rask-

williams

http://www.technicianonline.com/sports/article_053daf9e-d2f4-11e7-a06e-4ff68459791a.html

http://gocheckers.com/game-recaps/checkers-fall-to-bruins-in-teddy-bear-toss

https://www.nhl.com/news/nashville-predators-carolina-hurricanes-game-recap/c-293391296

1085324 Carolina Hurricanes


BY CHIP ALEXANDER

NOVEMBER 26, 2017 03:58 PM




Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen had shootout goals for the Canes

(10-8-4). The Preds (14-6-3) did not score in the shootout against goalie Scott Darling.

Canes center Jordan Staal was called for tripping at 2:03 of overtime, giving the Preds a 4-on-3 power play. The Canes killed off the penalty,

then had a brief 19-second power play.

Justin Williams’ power-play goal in the third period gave the Canes a 3-2

lead. Williams, active around the net much of the game, knocked in a rebound for his fourth goal of the season to beat goalie Juuse Saros.


Victor Rask had a goal and an assist, and Josh Jooris also scored for the Canes, who were playing the last game of a four-game homestand.

Victor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm also had goals for the Preds, who had their fathers along on the annual “Dads Trip.


Marcus Kruger’s stretch pass caught Jooris racing up the middle of the ice, and Jooris beat Saros, the puck squeezing through the pads and

trickling over the goal line.

Saros steadied after the goal, and the Preds took the lead on a goal by Arvidsson late in the first, then Ekholm on a power play early in the second.


Rask gave the Canes a lift with his fourth goal of the season and first

since Nov. 2. The center, recently made a healthy scratch for two games, backhanded a shot past Saros after Hanifin’s shot from the point that

caught the skate of Elias Lindholm in the slot.

News Observer LOADED: 11.27.2017

CAROLINA HURRICANES



Nordstrom blocks spur Hurricanes to shootout win over Predators

BY CHIP ALEXANDER

NOVEMBER 26, 2017 06:01 PM

UPDATED 9 HOURS 27 MINUTES AGO

Hockey games aren’t always won on slick offensive moves or acrobatic goaltender saves. It isn’t about style points.

Sometimes, it’s a player gritting his teeth and stepping in the way of a heavy slapshot.

Then, doing it again.

Joakim Nordstrom did that Sunday for the Carolina Hurricanes, blocking

back-to-back shots in overtime by the Nashville Predators’ P.K. Subban. It allowed the Canes to kill off a penalty against Jordan Staal and the

Preds’ four-on-three power play, and allowed them to escape overtime and eventually win 4-3 in a shootout at PNC Arena.

“Blocking those two bombs, we rallied around it,” Canes forward Justin Williams said.

To stay in the thick of the playoff chase in the Eastern Conference, the Hurricanes (10-8-4) need more of that – a willingness to accept the pain to make a play, to do whatever is necessary to secure two points.

“It hurts way more to see a puck go into the back of the net than to get hit by it,” Nordstrom said. “It’s an easy choice for me.”

No one appreciated it more than Canes goalie Scott Darling, who once played with Nordstrom in Chicago and said, “That’s ‘Nordy’ through and through. He would do that in the first minute of a game against any

team.”

And not just Nordstrom. Marcus Kruger and Jaccob Slavin also blocked

shots in the overtime.

But for a team like the Hurricanes, that’s what it’s going to take. Everyone

has a job to do and must do it.

Victor Rask, for example. The center recently was made a healthy scratch for two straight games, something of a comedown for the quiet, proud Swede. But he had a plus-3 rating Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs – albeit in 5-4 loss – and then contributed a goal and assist Sunday in being named the game’s first star.

“We need that out of him, and we need that each and every night, and that’s part of being a pro,” Canes coach Bill Peters said.

Few know more about “being a pro” than Williams. After more than 1,100 games in the NHL, after winning three Stanley Cup rings, Williams has as good a handle on how to win games as anyone in the league.

On Sunday, Williams was a big part of it. His power-play goal in the third period came when he went to the front of the net, slipped to the side, then returned to bang the puck past Juuse Saros for a 3-2 lead.

Earlier, when Subban began bumping and harassing the Canes’ Jeff Skinner in an increasingly chippy second period, Williams more or less put an end to it, going after Subban.

Williams was called for an interference penalty and defenseman Mattias Ekholm’s power-play goal gave Nashville a 2-1 lead. But Rask tied it 2-2, backhanding a rebound, and Williams scored in the third.

It was a game of hard checks and tough puck battles. Once, when crowded by the Preds’ Calle Jarnkrok, Darling reminded him that he is a 6-6, 232-pounder, swatting Jarnkrok away.

Darling’s low point this season came last week against the New York

Rangers, when he muffed Mika Zibanejad’s high-floating flip from outside the blue line for a stunning goal in a 6-1 loss.

“That just can’t happen in the National League,” Darling said Sunday. “I just lost it in the lights. It was comparable to an outfielder with the sun. I

saw it, saw it, lost it, lost it and it was gone. It was ugly, and I hope it never happens again.”

The Canes were 1-2 in shootouts this season and 1-4 in games decided in overtime before Sunday. But the Canes won this one as Darling made the stops in the shootout, and Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen scored shootout goals for Carolina.

After losing the past two games and facing 10 of the next 12 games on the road, the Hurricanes sensed the importance of Sunday’s win.

“Really big,” Williams said. “We know where that (playoff) line is and we know we’re beneath it. It’s time to go punch in and get some points.”

News Observer LOADED: 11.27.2017



BY CHIP ALEXANDER

NOVEMBER 26, 2017 03:58 PM

UPDATED 9 HOURS 3 MINUTES AGO




Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen had shootout goals for the Canes (10-8-4). The Preds (14-6-3) did not score in the shootout against goalie

Scott Darling.

Canes center Jordan Staal was called for tripping at 2:03 of overtime,

giving the Preds a 4-on-3 power play. The Canes killed off the penalty, then had a brief 19-second power play.

Justin Williams’ power-play goal in the third period gave the Canes a 3-2 lead. Williams, active around the net much of the game, knocked in a rebound for his fourth goal of the season to beat goalie Juuse Saros.


Victor Rask had a goal and an assist, and Josh Jooris also scored for the

Canes, who were playing the last game of a four-game homestand.

Victor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm also had goals for the Preds, who

had their fathers along on the annual “Dads Trip.

CAROLINA HURRICANES



Marcus Kruger’s stretch pass caught Jooris racing up the middle of the

ice, and Jooris beat Saros, the puck squeezing through the pads and trickling over the goal line.

Saros steadied after the goal, and the Preds took the lead on a goal by Arvidsson late in the first, then Ekholm on a power play early in the

second.


Rask gave the Canes a lift with his fourth goal of the season and first since Nov. 2. The center, recently made a healthy scratch for two games, backhanded a shot past Saros after Hanifin’s shot from the point that caught the skate of Elias Lindholm in the slot.

Herald-Sun LOADED: 11.27.2017

1085335 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets notebook | Improving Milano sees bigger role

By Josh Horton The Columbus Dispatch

Posted Nov 26, 2017 at 8:02 PM

Updated Nov 26, 2017 at 8:02 PM

Sonny Milano has responded well after having his ice time diminished

and is making strides toward being a more well-rounded player, something Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella was searching for with the 21-year-old sniper.

One play in particular on Friday against Ottawa stood out to Tortorella: the left winger’s cross-ice pass to Nick Foligno from his own corner that lead to the captain’s goal in the third period.

“Not too many players can do that,” Tortorella said. “That’s a talent, as far as holding onto it and just his passing ability. We’re all intrigued by his offensive abilities, but it’s him making steps away from the puck, and I think he’s made some steps away, and that’s why I think he gets to play in an offensive position.”

Milano’s role has increased lately, with him being moved into more of an

offensive line with Foligno and Oliver Bjorkstrand. He logged 15 minutes of ice time against the Senators, his most in regulation-only games since Oct. 7 at Chicago, the second game of the season.

Harrington rides pine

Tortorella said that it’s tough to scratch defenseman Scott Harrington night after night, but the coach needs to do what’s best for the team. With the stellar play of Columbus’ third defensive pairing, Markus Nutivaara and Ryan Murray, there isn’t much of an opportunity for Harrington to carve out a role.

“It’s a lousy position, but (Harrington) has handled himself very well,” Tortorella said.

The 24-year-old defenseman has only played in two games this season, with no points.

Line play

The Blue Jackets’ offensive lines at the beginning of practice mirrored what they were in Ottawa, except with Bjorkstrand and Cam Atkinson

flipping spots. Bjorkstrand was on the right wing with Boone Jenner on the other side, with center Brandon Dubinsky in the middle. Atkinson

joined center Foligno and left winger Milano.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 11.27.2017

1085336 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets | Wennberg readies for return from injury

By Josh Horton The Columbus Dispatch

Posted Nov 26, 2017 at 7:37 PM

The Blue Jackets are getting closer to being full strength.

Alexander Wennberg took another step toward returning to action and participated in practice at the Ice Haus on Sunday. He said he is traveling with the team to Montreal for the Blue Jackets’ game on Monday against the Canadiens.

“It was good to have him on the ice,” coach John Tortorella said.

The center, dealing with an upper-body injury, has been out since Nov. 11. He is a game-time decision for Monday.

“It’s good to be out on the ice with your boys and good to be out handling pucks and all that stuff, instead of being out with an injury,” Wennberg said. “It feels better.”

Tortorella had mentioned that Wennberg was nicked up before he was injured, and Wennberg acknowledged that he was playing through it before being sidelined. The 23-year-old center did not record a point in six games before missing time. He has nine points in 18 games this season after breaking out with 59 points last season.

Taking some time for his body to recover might do wonders for his game.

“It’s a part of hockey, but it comes to a certain point where I couldn’t do it

anymore,” Wennberg said. “But I got some time off and healed up, and now I feel 100 percent ready to play.

“If I felt like I could play through it, absolutely I would. But at some point you have to make a decision, and that’s what happened.”

If Wennberg can’t go on Monday against the Canadiens, Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes in Columbus could be his return game.

Tortorella will have to make some decisions with his lines. Wennberg’s return up the middle would mean someone currently playing center will move to the wing. Pierre-Luc Dubois was playing on the wing before being moved to the middle, centering the top line with Josh Anderson and Artemi Panarin. Tortorella also has mentioned that Nick Foligno

could be moved to the wing.

Wennberg isn’t sure what his role will be when he returns. Right now, he

is eager just to get back on the ice.

“I just have to get back to the hockey player I am, which is to score goals

and be an offensive threat,” Wennberg said. “That’s what they’re asking for.”

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 11.27.2017

1085366 New York Rangers

Rangers Win Fourth Straight After an Extended Shootout

CAROLINA HURRICANES


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSNOV. 26, 2017

The Rangers did not lead at any point until the seventh round of the shootout against the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, but they still

managed to earn their fourth straight victory.

Jimmy Vesey scored the tying goal early in the third period and added

the winner in the seventh round of the shootout to give the Rangers a 4-3 victory.

“We have to feel good about what we’ve been doing here the past four weeks,” Rangers Goalie Henrik Lundqvist said after his 417th career N.H.L. victory. “We had a tough time but we got it done tonight with a really strong third. But we should definitely feel good about how we’re playing and finding ways to win games. That’s going to help us moving forward.”

Lundqvist made 29 saves to help the Rangers extend their home winning streak to eight games.

Vesey tied it at 5 minutes 5 seconds of the third with a nifty forehand-backhand combination for his fifth goal of the season. Rick Nash, who

also scored in the shootout, set up the goal with a spinning pass.

“The third period was our best. It was a little bit of a slow start,” Nash

said. “Good teams find ways to win when they don’t play their best. We found a way to do that.”

Jesper Fast and Michael Grabner also scored for the Rangers. Loui Eriksson, Jake Virtanen and Sam Gagner scored for Vancouver, and

Jacob Markstrom stopped 17 shots.

Grabner tied it 19 seconds into the third with his 10th goal of the season,

beating Markstrom with a wrist shot. Gagner put the Canucks back in front 41 second later. Thomas Vanek forced a turnover behind the net and fed Gagner in the slot.

“They got one right back and that could hurt you, that can demoralize you,” Shattenkirk said about Gagner’s goal. “We gathered ourselves. We realized we had enough time left to just get one more goal. It didn’t feel as hard as a hill to climb like it was earlier in the game.”

Vancouver opened the scoring at 7:54 of the first when Eriksson snapped

a wrist shot past Lundqvist.

The Canucks made it 2-0 at 7:21 of the second when Jake Virtanen fired

a wrist shot over Lundqvist’s glove. The Rangers were unable to clear the puck from the defensive zone, Virtanen pulled it away from the

boards and took an uncontested shot.

“We have to find ways to win these games when you’re up a couple

goals,” Eriksson said. “It’s tough when they come back and win it like this. It’s something we need to do better.”

New York Times LOADED: 11.27.2017


Rangers overcome early deficit to defeat Canucks, 4-3, in shootout and continue win streak

JUSTIN TASCH

Updated: Sunday, November 26, 2017, 6:58 PM

Sunday marked exactly 12 years since Marek Malik’s game-winning shootout stunner, a between-the-legs, top-shelf finish that ended what was then a record-long 15-round shootout.

This wasn’t as long and didn’t end as remarkably, but a dozen years later it was Jimmy Vesey sealing a 4-3 Rangers’ victory against Vancouver in the seventh round of the shootout after he had scored the tying goal at 5:05 of the third period.

In overcoming a sloppy afternoon at the Garden, the Rangers (13-9-2) earned their fourth straight win and have won 10 of their last 12. They extended their home winning streak to eight, tied for the fifth-longest in

franchise history.

After taking a late second-period shift with Rick Nash and Kevin Hayes following Jesper Fast’s goal with 2:20 left in the second period, which cut the deficit to 2-1, Vesey remained up there from the fourth line

throughout the third and finished off a spin-o-rama feed from Nash to tie the game at 3.

A wide-open Vesey confidently cut across to his backhand for his fifth goal of the season.

The Rangers overcame an ugly first period to outlast the Canucks.

“You have a million things going through your mind when you get a chance like that,” Vesey said. “Your eyes always light up and you are playing a scenario in your head before it even happens.”

Henrik Lundqvist (29 saves) was a rookie that night in 2005 when the

NHL first adopted the shootout, on the opposite end from Malik’s shocking move. He isn’t happy with how he’s fared in the skills competition since then.

“I remember the good old days when I actually was really good on

shootouts, but I’m working on it,” said Lundqvist, who told Alain Vigneault to let Vancouver shoot first in the shootout and the coach obliged.

Meanwhile, the Rangers are working through some consistency issues while still putting together results. They were outshot 11-4 in an ugly first period, when that simple game the Rangers harp on so often was nonexistent.

“That mixed with (the Canucks) coming out like gangbusters,” said Kevin Shattenkirk, who kept the Rangers in it by scoring in the third round of the shootout. “You have to really credit them. They came out hitting, they came out forechecking really well and hemmed us in our zone, didn’t allow us to make clean plays. Then we started to try to do things that weren’t there.”

Nineteen seconds into the third, Michael Grabner’s 10th goal of the season tied the game, 2-2, but Sam Gagner answered just 41 seconds later, Lundqvist swatting the puck away in frustration after the goal.

Nash knew after Hayes chipped the puck ahead that Vesey would be oncoming and managed to make a perfect pass.

It was the kind of high-level play the Blueshirts needed on a far-from-ideal afternoon that ended with them occupying a playoff position, almost unfathomable at this stage after those first 12 games.

“Sometimes good teams find ways to win games when they don’t play their best,” Vigneault said. “That was definitely the case (Sunday.)”

New York Daily News LOADED: 11.27.2017


Rangers catch a break while missing their captain

By Brett Cyrgalis November 27, 2017 | 1:51am

CAROLINA HURRICANES


The Rangers played a third straight game without their captain, Ryan McDonagh, when they managed to take a 4-3 shootout victory against

the Canucks on Sunday afternoon at the Garden. This was the day that McDonagh’s “mild” abdominal strain was supposed to be reevaluated, but coach Alain Vigneault had not spoken to doctors and didn’t have an update.

“Because it was an afternoon game, I haven’t talked to my medical staff,” Vigneault said. “I haven’t talked to anybody.”

This was an injury that McDonagh had been playing through for a while that finally came to a head, first keeping him out against the Hurricanes last week in Carolina. It helped that they won that game, 6-1, just as they won Friday night, 2-1 in overtime against the Red Wings at home.

With another win Sunday — while notching eight in a row at home and 10-of-12 overall — there likely isn’t a rush to force McDonagh back before he is absolutely ready. The upcoming schedule should help, as well, with the Rangers getting the day off Monday before being home to the Panthers on Tuesday. That’s followed by two more days without a

game before Friday’s Garden match against the Hurricanes, and then another three days before the Dec. 5 against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

In McDonagh’s absence, the duo of Brady Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk have become the de facto first pair, with Skjei getting a team-high 27:89 — including 26:43 at even strength — while Shattenkirk got 25:30, with 22:38 at even strength. Shattenkirk was also the third player to go in the shootout, beating goalie Jacob Markstrom with a slick wrist shot to keep the skills competition going.

“AV called me about a second before, so there wasn’t much time [to think about it],” Shattenkirk said. “You really want to make sure you’re

committing to what you want to do, and just following through with it 100 percent. I think that’s what I did.”

Emerging fourth-line center Boo Nieves missed his first game after he suffered a hip-pointer injury late in the first period Friday. Vigneault had

said the injury “shouldn’t be something serious,” and Nieves took part in an optional practice Saturday and the pregame warm-up Sunday.

After three straight as a healthy scratch, David Desharnais replaced Nieves, starting on a line with Jimmy Vesey and Paul Carey. But Vigneault cut his bench down, moving Vesey to a line with Rick Nash and Kevin Hayes, while Desharnais didn’t play beyond 7:39 remaining in the second period, finishing with a team-low 6:46. Carey managed three third-period shifts for 8:07 overall.

New York Post LOADED: 11.27.2017


Jimmy Vesey wants to be the one Rangers call on in the clutch

By Larry Brooks November 27, 2017 | 12:20am

In the bad old days after an opening 35 minutes through which the Rangers’ energy quotient was equal to the big round zero on the Garden scoreboard Sunday afternoon against the Canucks, someone surely would have gone over the boards to initiate a fight in order to get his team going.

“Oh, for sure,” Rick Nash said. “Down 2-0? No doubt. But those days are gone.”

For better or worse — better for everyone’s health, perhaps worse regarding the level of competitive passion on the ice — those days are in

the past, replaced by a present that is all about skating and skill and includes, yes, the shootout.

Which, after rousing themselves following their somnambulant effort for

much of the afternoon, was finished by Jimmy Vesey, who’d tied the match 3-3 at 5:05 of the third period with a snappy backhand up top from the slot off a brilliant spinning feed from Nash.

“Ever since I was a kid I’ve been the goal-scorer, and I was able to score

a lot in college, so yes, I do consider myself a finisher,” Vesey told The Post after beating Jacob Markstrom with a wrist shot to the glove side in the seventh round for the 4-3 victory that extended the Rangers’ winning

streak to four games overall and eight at the Garden. “I know I’ve only got five [goals], but I have been getting chances, so my mindset is to just

keep shooting and the law of averages will kick in.

“Obviously the goalies are better and the defenses you face are better,

but I’m not going to overthink it. It’s such a mental game that it’s easy to let it get in your head, so I don’t overthink it. I rely on my talent and let it

take over.”

The shootout try was Vesey’s fourth in his two NHL seasons and the goal

his second. He wants to get the call when coach Alain Vigneault surveys the bench.

“I think I’ve got some good moves in my arsenal,” said the blue-collar kid from Harvard, who came in on the right before accelerating on Markstrom. “I tried the same move on [Carey] Price last year but didn’t get it up quite enough. I’ve got a couple of tricks.”

Each team had scored twice when Vesey got the call. The Rangers, who chose last licks on the suggestion of Henrik Lundqvist, had been down to their final strike twice. It was Kevin Shattenkirk, 10-for-26 in his career, who tied it in the bottom of the third on a silky move after Brock Boeser

had beaten the King in the top half. Then Nash kept it alive in the bottom of the fifth with a glove-side wrister after Sven Baertschi had scored.

“You definitely feel the pressure when it’s on you to keep the game alive,” Nash said. “It’s a little more fun when you know you can win it with a

goal, but regardless, I really enjoy going in the shootout.”

As well No. 61 should, given that his career 37.9 percent success rate in

going 33-for-87 is 13th best among qualifiers since the NHL adopted the skills competition coming out of the 2004-05 canceled season.

The shootout is a gimmick that has nothing to do with the 65 minutes of hockey that precedes it — just as the three-on-three OT is disconnected from regulation — but its entertainment value sure did save the day on Sunday.

“The way you play in the shootout has nothing to do with the game,” Lundqvist said. “You start over. You never know. Giving up two goals is disappointing to me, there’s a lot on me and that’s not what I was looking for, but I guess it worked out OK.”

It worked out for the Rangers following their extended walkabout from which they were roused when Jesper Fast scored late in the second

period. And it worked out despite the fact Brady Skjei and Mats Zuccarello were each on for an opening overtime shift of 1:40 that lasted

through an offensive-zone change on which the Canucks were able to get Henrik and Daniel Sedin onto the ice.

Speaking of this being a new day: neither twin got the call in the seven-round shootout.

Neither, on the Rangers side, did Chris Kreider. The winger, 0-for-1 lifetime, was asked how deep he thought it would go before he might get the nod from Vigneault.

“Are we allowed to use the trainers?” he asked and answered.



CAROLINA HURRICANES


Vesey latest to show everything’s going right for Rangers

By Brett Cyrgalis November 26, 2017 | 4:56PM

Here is one message the Rangers are sending to themselves, with a hint of truth and a hint of hyperbole:

“Sometimes good teams find ways to win when they don’t play their best,” coach Alain Vigneault said after his team eked out a 4-3 shootout

victory over the Canucks on Sunday afternoon at the Garden.

So now it’s eight wins in a row at home for the Rangers (13-9-2), winners of 10-of-12 overall, and some real confidence is manifesting itself on the ice in the fact that no in-game falter creates a snowball of disaster. Because there was a ton of faltering against the Canucks (11-9-4), who dominated the first period and most of the second, but saw leads of 2-0 and 3-2 disappear before falling to Jimmy Vesey’s winner in the seventh round of the shootout.

“I think it was a tough game, a little bit sloppy at times,” said Vesey, who had tied the game 3-3 at 5:05 of the third period with a nifty backhand

finish over goalie Jacob Markstrom’s glove after receiving a great spinning pass from Rick Nash. It was a rare skill play on a night when the

ice was far from ideal.

“Pucks were bouncing, guys were battling pucks,” Vesey said. “At the

end of the day, it wasn’t our best game. But we stuck with it and found a way to win. I think that’s a sign of how things are going for us. And

definitely a sign of a good team.”

One thing that has unquestionably been good over this whole stretch is

goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who made his 12th straight start and finally allowed an even-strength goal for the first time in three games when Loui Eriksson beat him five-hole at 7:54 of the first, giving Vancouver a 1-0 lead. But Lundqvist reverted to his splendid form, as he came in having stopped 70 straight even-strength shots and 105-of-106 in the previous four games.

“Everybody makes plays that matter,” Lundqvist said after making 29 saves. “You can’t take a shift off, and that’s the same for me.”

Lundqvist stopped five-of-seven Canucks shooters in the skills competition, and he needed the game saved first when Kevin Shattenkirk

scored in the third round and then Nash in the fifth — neither toying with the ice and opting for wrist shots. That was a sign for Vesey, who came

down with the game on his stick and picked the top corner for the victory.

“I don’t think the ice conditions are very good at that point of the game,”

Vesey said. “I just tried once again to get it over his glove.”

The Canucks’ lead had gone to 2-0 at 7:21 of the second when Jake

Virtanen buried an open shot after he won a wall battle with three Rangers — Marc Staal, Steven Kampfer and David Desharnais. But the Blueshirts gained a semblance of momentum when Jesper Fast got his fourth goal (third in the past three games) at 17:40, to make it 2-1 going into the third.

Michael Grabner tied it 2-2 just 19 seconds into the third when Markstrom whiffed on a shot off the wall, but Sam Gagner gave Vancouver a 3-2 lead just 41 seconds later. Vesey got the game-tying goal, and the wild, back-and-forth, three-on-three overtime didn’t result in a goal, leaving it open for him to be the hero in the shootout.

It wasn’t pretty, but once again, it was enough.

“The league is so competitive that if you start to think you’re that good —

you can forget about yourself, but don’t fool yourself,” Lundqvist said. “You have to earn it every night.”

That is the more concrete message inside the locker room, and a message that resonates whether they’re a good team or not.



Rangers win in shootout on anniversary of Malik’s unlikely goal

By Steve Zipay

Updated November 26, 2017 8:58 PM

Sunday’s Rangers-Canucks shootout at the Garden, which lasted seven

rounds, came on the 12th anniversary of the Rangers’ longest shootout in history, when Marek Malik — an unlikely hero — scored against Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig in the 15th round for a 3-2 win.

Malik, a Czech defenseman in his first season with the Blueshirts who

hadn’t scored a goal to that point of the 2005-06 season, backhanded the puck through his skates and scored over Kolzig’s shoulder as the Garden crowd went wild.

Henrik Lundqvist, then a rookie, said: “I started to think it would never end.” On Sunday, he remembered: “That one went much, much longer.”

12 years ago to the day #NYR Marek Malik had his shootout winner. Today Vesey had his turn. � them both again! pic.twitter.com/WqoG0aewv5

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 27, 2017

Kevin Shattenkirk, who scored in the Rangers’ 4-3 shootout win Sunday, said defenseman Marc Staal said he “was getting a little nervous that he was going to have to go [in the shootout] and I told him, if he had, he

would have had to pull a ‘Malik.’ That would’ve been nice.”

Mats Zuccarello, Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and J.T. Miller failed

to score on their attempts. Lundqvist said with a grin: “I remember the good old days when I was really good at shootouts, but I’m working on it.”

SKJEI GETTING MORE TIME

Defenseman Brady Skjei, getting more ice time because Ryan

McDonagh was sidelined for the third game with an abdominal strain, led all skaters with a career-high 27:49 in ice time . . . Michael Grabner leads the Rangers in even-strength goals with 10. Eight have come in third periods . . . David Desharnais, playing because Boo Nieves is injured (hip pointer), was on ice for only 6:46 and was benched in the third period. Paul Carey played only 8:07 . . . Zuccarello, who scored in overtime against Detroit on Friday, assisted on Grabner’s goal and has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his past seven games.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.27.2017


Jimmy Vesey ties it in third, then wins it in shootout for Rangers

By Steve Zipay

Updated November 27, 2017 1:17 AM

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Jimmy Vesey had scored the tying goal in the third period, and he was watching and waiting on the Rangers’ bench as Sunday’s game against the Canucks at the Garden extended into the seventh round of the shootout.

“It actually helped me, definitely,” Vesey said. “I saw Nasher [Rick Nash] be successful with a shot. I don’t think ice conditions are ever good at that point of the game, and it looked like the goalie [Jacob Markstrom] was deep in his crease, so the guys were shooting and I tried to get it over his glove. I had been on ice for all three goals against, and I wanted to make sure.”

In only his fourth career shootout attempt (he had been 1-for-3), Vesey skated in and stickhandled only once on the choppy ice. He went

backhand to forehand and then wristed a shot over Markstrom’s glove hand to give the Rangers a 4-3 win over the Canucks.

The Rangers extended their home winning streak to eight games and their overall winning streak to four.

The Rangers (13-9-2) had trailed 2-0 and 3-2 before Vesey pulled them even at 5:05 of the third period on an outstanding spin-around pass from

Nash on a rush. “I was coming late and might’ve got lost in coverage,” said Vesey, who beat Markstrom on a high backhander. “I didn’t even have time to yell for the puck and it was on my tape, and instinct just took over.”

Vesey had started the game on the fourth line, but coach Alain Vigneault moved him up to play with Nash and Kevin Hayes as the game progressed.

The Rangers didn’t play by instinct, or with any sharpness, until late in the second period, when they trailed 2-0 on goals by Loui Eriksson and Jake Virtanen. They had been outshot 18-10 and badly needed a spark.

Jesper Fast provided it, fighting off Bo Horvat in front to beat Markstrom with a redirection of Nick Holden’s shot with 2:20 left.

“It was a huge goal for us,” said Kevin Shattenkirk, who scored in the shootout’s third round.

Michael Grabner tied it at 2 on the first shot 19 seconds into the third period, but Sam Gagner, left all alone in front, answered 41 seconds later

off a pass from Thomas Vanek to make it 3-2. Brendan Smith had tried to clear it around the boards from behind the net, but the puck took a funny bounce and went right to Vanek.

After the Canucks controlled the three-on-three overtime, forcing Henrik Lundqvist to make three saves, the goalie went to Vigneault with a suggestion. Home teams usually choose to shoot first, “but Hank told me to let them shoot first,” Vigneault said. “He was on top of his game today, so I trusted him.”

Lundqvist, who made his 12th straight start, allowed shootout goals by rookie Brock Boeser (third round) and Sven Baertschi (fifth). Nash scored

for the Rangers in the fifth round.

“I thought I’d keep it simple,” Nash said. “It seemed like everyone who

tries to deke, the pucks were bouncing. I thought I would try to get it over [Markstrom’s] shoulder. Good teams find ways to win the games that

they don’t play their best, and I thought we did that.”

Asked if that meant the Rangers, who have won 10 of 12, are a good

team, Nash said, “We’re getting there.”

After the game, Lundqvist, who made 29 saves and five in the shootout,

said: “We have to feel good about what we’ve been doing the past four weeks. Our record is really good, but this league is so competitive that if you start to think that you’re that good — don’t fool yourself. You have to earn it every night.”

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.27.2017

1085344 Florida Panthers

Panthers forward Evgenii Dadonov could miss extended time with shoulder injury

Matthew DeFranks

Florida Panthers forward Evgenii Dadonov had an MRI on Sunday to examine his shoulder after he exited Saturday’s loss to Chicago in the

third period, coach Bob Boughner said.

Boughner said he expected the injury to “be something a little longer than

shorter,” meaning a potential extended absence for Dadonov. When asked if something longer meant weeks or months, Boughner said he was not sure.

“Don’t know that yet, we got to get the MRI back,” Boughner said. “So, let’s hope weeks.”

Dadonov left the game with 7:50 left in the third period after a hit by Chicago’s Cody Franson in front of the net after a Dadonov shot. He was slow to skate to the bench before heading to the dressing room shortly after. He didn’t return to the game.

Dadonov will not be on Florida’s trip to New Jersey and New York on

Monday and Tuesday, and the injury will create a sizable hole in the Panthers offense. Dadonov is fourth on the team with 18 points on seven

goals and 11 assists.

He’s helped solidify the top line and — next to Aleksander Barkov and

Jonathan Huberdeau — turned the trio into one of the NHL’s best. Dadonov entered this season as Jaromir Jagr’s replacement after the

Panthers didn’t resign Jagr in the offseason.

Dadonov played for the Panthers in parts of three seasons early in his

career, but his career took off when he played in the KHL for five seasons. Last year, with St. Petersburg SKA, he scored 30 goals and assisted on 36 more.

On Sunday, Colton Sceviour slid onto the top line with Huberdeau and Barkov. Dadonov was also on the top power play unit for Florida, opening a spot for players like Nick Bjugstad or Jared McCann to move up.

-- Roberto Luongo did not practice Sunday morning, a recovery day after starting eight of the Panthers’ last 10 games. Backup James Reimer and

emergency goalie Zach Andrews served as the netminders on Sunday.

“He had a lot of work lately,” Boughner said. “We haven’t decided who

we’re going to go with in Jersey yet. We’ll decide that when we get on the plane, but I wanted him to take a day to rest.”

Luongo and Reimer will likely split duties Monday against Devils and Tuesday against the Rangers.

-- The Panthers sent Chase Balisy back to AHL affiliate Springfield on Sunday morning. With Derek MacKenzie back from a lower-body injury

that sidelined him for two weeks, Balisy’s fourth-line minutes at center disappeared.

Here are the lines from Sunday’s practice:

Jonathan Huberdeau – Aleksander Barkov – Colton Sceviour

Jamie McGinn – Vincent Trocheck – Nick Bjugstad

Henrik Haapala – Jared McCann – Dryden Hunt

Micheal Haley – Derek MacKenzie – Connor Brickley

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 11.27.2017


CAROLINA HURRICANES


Preview: Panthers at Devils, 7 p.m., Monday

Matthew DeFranks

Panthers at Devils

When/where: 7 p.m./Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.

TV: Fox Sports Florida Radio: 560-AM; 640-AM (Palm Beach)

Scouting report: The Florida Panthers embark on a quick trip through New Jersey and New York with a game against the Devils on Monday

night. The Panthers are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night in which Florida couldn’t recover from a poor first period. Jared McCann scored the only Panthers goal, his third of the season and first since Oct. 12. … The Panthers entered Sunday in 15th place in the 16-team Eastern Conference and nine points out of a playoff spot. They’ll try to avoid the fourth loss in their Past five games on Monday night. … It will be the second meeting between the two teams in about two weeks, with the Devils beating Florida, 2-1, on Nov. 11. The Panthers allowed just 21 shots on goal, and held the Devils to a season-low 33 attempted shots in the loss. … That game jump-started a nice run

for the Devils, who have collected points in seven of their past eight games, including the game against Florida. Forward Taylor Hall has nine

points in his past 10 games, and a team-leading 26 overall. … Radim Vrbata (face) and Evgenii Dadonov (shoulder) will be out for the

Panthers.



The Next Day Look: Chicago Blackhawks 4, Florida Panthers 1

Matthew DeFranks

The Florida Panthers lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1, on Saturday night at the BB&T Center in Sunrise. Florida mustered only seven shots

on goal in the first period as Chicago jumped out to an early 2-0 and never looked back.

The Panthers are now 8-12-2 with 18 points, on pace for 67 points.

Here’s another look at Saturday night’s game.

The story

Blackhawks overwhelm, breeze past Panthers, 4-1

Telling number

4. The number of times this season the Panthers had a chance to win a second consecutive game, but lost instead. In a big picture sense of things, Florida has struggled to string together wins as it tries to climb out

of the Eastern Conference basement. The Panthers entered Sunday in 15th place in a 16-team conference, only Buffalo’s horrid start saving

Florida from being in last place. The Panthers are three times closer to being the worst team in the NHL (three points ahead of Arizona) than

they are to a playoff spot (nine points behind Pittsburgh).

It’s a big hill to climb simply to get to mediocrity for the Panthers and

they’ll need to have winning streaks to do so. But so far this season, they have only won back-to-back games twice. They’ve never won three

games in a row. They’ve had losing streaks of three and five games that torpedoed any optimism.

Under the radar quote of the game

“It was just a minor change, trying to tweak a few things down, 2-0,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said.

This was Boughner on flip-flopping Jamie McGinn and Henrik Haapala in the second period. McGinn returned to the second line while Haapala,

playing in his second NHL game, was dropped to the third line. Boughner said the second line in the first period — with Haapala, Vincent Trocheck

and Nick Bjugstad — struggled, so he opted to make a change.

The second line has been a carnival of changes this season, with

Boughner mixing and matching to try to find the right fit alongside Trocheck. Haapala, a skilled winger who dominated in Finland last season, was penciled in as the guy that could complement Trocheck. Instead, we’ll see if he only got four periods to prove himself in the top-six.

Goal of the game

Jonathan Toews scored either one of the luckiest goals of his season, or Roberto Luongo allowed one of the softest goals of the season on this one. Reality is probably somewhere in between, but Toews bats the puck out of the air with a one-handed swing that somehow bounced through Luongo’s legs.

Assist of the game

Jonathan Toews had one of his two assists on this play, where Connor Brickley simply left him alone in the corner. As Brickley drifts higher into

the zone, Toews has more space to find Brandon Saad on the edge of the crease. Toews threads a nice pass to Saad, who buries the ultimate game-winning goal.

Shot heat map (via Natural Stat Trick)

The heat map could have looked a lot worse than it ended up looking at the end of the game. After the first period, Chicago had 30 shot attempts to Florida’s nine. But the Panthers returned to respectability in the game’s final two periods to kind of even the visuals. Still, Chicago still fired a bunch of shots from high-danger areas while Florida’s only goal came from the high slot.



After postgame shooting session, Vincent Trocheck, Aleksander Barkov hope to turn around Panthers season

Matthew DeFranks

Forty-three minutes after the Florida Panthers’ 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks ended on Saturday night, the BB&T Center stood still. It was silent, save for the distant music at an arena bar and the chatter of workers. Then Vincent Trocheck arrived.

Armed with a bag of pucks and his stick, Trocheck set up in the slot and fired shots on an empty net. It was an odd postgame event. After nearly every game, the players will disappear into the gym for a workout or abandon the rink. But Saturday became the latest loss this season for the Panthers, who entered Sunday with the third-worst record in the NHL.

So Trocheck grabbed his skates and headed toward the ice. As he left the dressing room, Alekander Barkov stopped him.

“Hey, you going out?” Barkov asked.

“Yeah, you want to come?” Trocheck responded.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


The franchise’s two star centers fed each other passes from circle to circle. They practiced one-timers and shooting on the move. They switched sides. Towards the end of the 23-minute session, Barkov displayed his one-handed backhands that wowed during Wednesday’s shootout. Trocheck mimicked them. Then he pushed the goal the length of the ice to help put it away at 10:35 p.m.

“It’s nice to have somebody out there working on it with me,” Trocheck said Sunday afternoon after practice.

Trocheck and Barkov have been two of Florida’s best players this season. Trocheck leads the team with nine goals. Barkov is tied for the

team lead with 15 assists. Together, they are on pace for 160 points across the entire season.

Panthers coach Bob Boughner talks about players like Vincent Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov shooting on the ice after a 4-1 loss to Chicago on

Saturday night.

They’ve been a big part of Florida’s unbalanced offense that stars the Panthers’ top line and then Trocheck. Now, they’ll assume even more responsibility with Evgenii Dadonov sidelined for what could be weeks.

“We both know that we need to score more,” Barkov said. “Our shots are not that good right now. We’re not that confident, so we practice even more shooting. I hope it’s going to help.”

Barkov is goalless in his past five games. He hasn’t scored on his past 19 shots on goal. Trocheck has one goal in his past seven games. He has scored once on his last 20 shots on goal.

Now, the once high-flying Panthers offense has slowed, averaging 1.4 goals per game in the past five games. Florida is 2-3-0 in those games.

“Right now, we’re missing a lot of shots,” Barkov said. “We’re missing the

net and hitting the other players and the pucks are not going in.”

For Barkov and Trocheck, the losses can hold a different meaning. They were driving forces behind Florida’s division championship two seasons ago. They both signed long-term contract extensions that keeps them in Sunrise through the 2021-22 season.

Both wear letters across their chests as alternate captains, and both fly below the national radar as the Panthers sink to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

“I think we know we have the ability to be a really good team,” Trocheck said. “It’s just putting it all together now. The fact that it’s there, pieces to

the puzzle are there, we’re just not putting it together, that’s what makes it frustrating.”

Barkov said Saturday was one of the worst games of the season for Florida. It joins a list of games like the back-to-back blowouts against

Tampa Bay and Columbus, or four-goal thrashings in Montreal and Philadelphia.

The Panthers suffered through a dreadful first period in which the Blackhawks had 21 shots on goal and took a two-goal lead. Panthers coach Bob Boughner said “everything that could go wrong went wrong in the first period.”

Boughner said Saturday’s first period was the first “real bad period” since playing Dallas on Nov. 14, although he acknowledged the third period against Toronto in which the Maple Leafs tied the game. Boughner and Panthers players lamented a lack of preparation that led to the slow start.

“You can’t see how good you’re playing until you see the bad parts,” Boughner said. “Today was just looking at all the bad parts. It’s everybody’s responsibility. We talked about that as a team: maturity level, being honest with ourselves. One of the words in our locker room is authenticity. We have to be authentic and say what we do, do what we say.”

Trocheck added: “I think every game we come in prepared, ready to play with that attitude that we need to win, a little bit of desperation, we

outplay teams. We win games. We’re starting to figure out what it is. It’s just a matter of enough talk and start to do it.”

The Panthers play in New Jersey against the Devils on Monday before

visiting the Rangers on Tuesday night.

“We can’t be frustrated, but we want to be pissed off,” Barkov said. “We

want to be pissed off tomorrow in the game, ready to go and ready to prove ourselves that we’re a lot better team than we were yesterday.”


1085404 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Loss to Rangers shows Canucks still learning how to win

Iain MacIntyre

@imacSportsnet

November 26, 2017, 5:09 PM

NEW YORK – You could tell from the way the Vancouver Canucks lost Sunday that they’re still learning how to win. Two dreadful bottom-three

seasons will drag a National Hockey League team back to school.

The Canucks are showing on this difficult, six-game road trip how much they’ve improved. They’re quicker and deeper, better at defending and getting the puck out of their zone, better at finishing and extending shifts in the offensive end.

They largely dominated the New York Rangers for 35 minutes here Sunday and could have – probably should have – led by more than two goals late in the second period.

But as happened eight nights earlier when the formidable St. Louis Blues surged against the Canucks to erase a two-goal Vancouver lead at

Rogers Arena and win 4-3 in overtime, the Canucks were unable to survive the late charge by a Rangers team that had won seven straight

games at Madison Square Garden.

Well, the Canucks survived just enough to get one point out of a 4-3

shootout loss to the Rangers. But their tight, efficient game evaporated when New York pressed them into mistakes and, for the second time in

five games, the Canucks were unable to close out a game they led by two.

The Canucks were the better team in OT on Sunday, and they twice had the Rangers at match point in the shootout. But after Kevin Shattenkirk, then Rick Nash beat Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom to extend the shootout, Jimmy Vesey won it for New York in the seventh round after the Rangers chose to go last.

Jake Virtanen, who scored for the Canucks in the second period and with nine shot-attempts had one of his best games of the season, was not among coach Travis Green’s seven shooters. Neither was Loui Eriksson, another of Vancouver’s goal-scorers during regulation time.

The tiebreaker was a microcosm for the game: when the Rangers needed a goal, they got it, and when the Canucks needed a save, they didn’t. The Rangers are a good team – they’ve averaged 103 points per season since Alain Vigneault became coach – that knows how to win.

The Canucks were once a good team, and but now are trying to learn how to win again.

“It starts with just playing good hockey,” veteran Sam Gagner, one of

eight new players in the Canucks’ lineup, said after the team dipped to 2-1-1 on its trip. “Make sure your details are good and you’ll turn into a better team. Then you’re in a lot tighter games and you find a way to get

over that hump. I think we’re pretty close.

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“We played well, did a lot of good things. It’s definitely disappointing letting leads slip. It’s one of those you deserve to win, but you’ve got to find a way to do that. We’ll just keep going here. Play that way most times in this league and you win.”

Players said largely the same thing after blowing a 3-1 lead against the Blues.

“For sure, it’s about finding ways to win,” Virtanen added. “When you’re

up 2-0, whether it’s not turning pucks over at the blue line or just getting pucks behind (their defencemen) and grinding, those two points are huge in the long run.”

Starting with Jesper Fast’s redirect at 17:40 of the second period, the Rangers scored three times in a span of 7:25. They barely generated three scoring chances in the first 28 minutes while the Canucks took a 2-0 lead on goals Eriksson and Virtanen.

Vancouver twice blew leads in the third period.

Markstrom botched Michael Grabner’s wrist shot from a sharp angle just 19 seconds into the final frame. And, after Gagner responded from the slot 41 seconds later to restore the Canucks’ lead, Vesey tied it 3-3 at 5:05 after a series of Canuck mistakes: Troy Stecher’s giveaway up ice, Eriksson’s poor position while filling in for Stecher, and Markstrom’s overly aggressive push across towards Vesey on a 2-on-1.

It is important to note, however, that the Canucks still outshot the Rangers 14-9 in the third period and overtime. Daniel Sedin had two chances to win it for the Canucks, while Brendan Gaunce, goalless his last 83 games, was stopped from the slot by Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist late in the third.

“I’m not disappointed with the game,” Green said. “We played well tonight against a real good hockey team.

“We come into Madison Square Garden and hold a team like that to 20 shots? You’re not going to hear me complain about a lot of things. I

would have liked to have won the game, but you’ve got to be honest with your game.”

Vigneault, the former Canucks coach, was honest about the Rangers’ game.

“At the end of the day,” he said, “what I can say about today’s game is sometimes good teams find ways to win games when they don’t play their best. That was definitely the case today.”

And teams trying to be good will lose sometimes as they’re learning to win.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.27.2017

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Sportsnet.ca / Vanek having bigger impact than expected for Canucks

Iain MacIntyre

@imacSportsnet

November 25, 2017, 5:25 PM

NEW YORK – There is far more to Thomas Vanek than we expected.

Even his passport is more complex and impressive than we knew.

Sure, Vanek was born in Vienna and is considered by far the greatest player in Austrian hockey history.

But his family and hockey roots are from the Czech Republic, where his father, Zdenek, played professionally. And Vanek’s most important minor hockey season was spent in Lacombe, Alta., outside of Red Deer, where a Canadian hockey friend of his dad knew a family that would take him at age 14 so he could learn the game in Canada.

At 15, Vanek moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., to play in the United States Hockey League, and three years later the winger became a fifth-overall draft pick out of the University of Minnesota by the Buffalo Sabres. And Minnesota is where Vanek, his wife Ashley and their three boys have a home.

"I wanted to play hockey in Canada," Vanek, 33, says. "My parents supported me and said: ‘Go try it, and if it doesn’t work out, you can

come home in two days, two weeks, it doesn’t matter.’ The hardest part for me is I love to talk and joke around and, at 14, I really didn’t know any

English. But the family I stayed with had a son my age and a younger daughter. He became my best friend, and his friends became my friends.

I still keep in touch with them, see them when we play in Edmonton or Calgary.

"My dream coming from Austria was to play in the NHL and win a Stanley Cup, and I’m still chasing the Cup."

Oddly, Vanek figured he might yet achieve that by signing a free-agent contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Sept. 1.

The Canucks became Vanek’s seventh NHL team in less than four years, so the former 40-goal scorer seemed more red flag than red light when general manager Jim Benning tossed him a one-year, $2-million contract at the end of the summer.

Apart from the screeching it caused on social media that the Canucks were depriving a younger player of development time by adding a

veteran near the end of his career, Vanek had disappointed some of the teams he’d played for.

The Minnesota Wild bought out the final season of a three-year, $19.5-million contract it gave Vanek in 2014, which allowed him to sign before

last season with the Detroit Red Wings, who dealt him at the trade deadline to the Florida Panthers. He scored twice in 20 games in South

Florida.

Vanek has played 908 games in the NHL and grossed $75 million, but has never been to a Stanley Cup Final.

So there was, naturally, a wariness regarding Vanek when the Canucks signed him. What could he really offer a rebuilding team during the downslope of his career?

Well, for starters, five goals and 15 points through 23 games. Only rookie Brock Boeser has been more productive for the Canucks in terms of points per minute. Playing on the third or fourth line, Vanek is averaging only 13:18 of ice time, which ranks 12th among Vancouver forwards who

have played at least five games.

But beyond his scoring, Vanek has looked fully engaged, displaying guile

and tradecraft, and leading by example by playing hard without complaint each night even when his low ice time makes little sense. (Checking

forward Brendan Gaunce has gone 82 games without a goal, yet is getting 14:14 a night from coach Travis Green).

Vanek is strong on the puck, his playmaking is better than expected, and his robust work in front of the net has helped the power play.

"My game has grown into something a little bit different than it used to be," Vanek says. "I used to be more of a scorer that played with good players, who tried to set me up. But over the years, as teams kind of let the young guys go, you’ve got to become more of a secondary-scoring guy, which I’m completely fine with.

"Would I like to be playing at the 16-minute mark on average? Sure, but every player wants to play more. I think I’ve learned to not worry about it and the shifts I do get, be productive. Is it harder to score? For sure it is.

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The chances you get are less than when you’re playing 17 or 18 minutes, but you just have to make the most of it."

Vanek spoke with Green in July, weeks before he decided where to play,

and says he knew the Canucks would be better than most people predicted.

He says bouncing between teams has been difficult on his family – his eldest child is 10 – and knows that he could be traded again if Benning

decides to leverage moveable assets at the deadline.

But Vanek is having fun with the Canucks and still feels he can

contribute, which he is proving.

"I don’t feel like I’m just hanging on to playing," he says. "At this point in my career, I’m not playing for money anymore. I want to win. I want to have success. As far as the future, I’m just really having fun with this year and trying to do my best. And whatever happens next summer, I’ll look into that."


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Sportsnet.ca / Is Connor McDavid actually regressing defensively this

season?

Andrew Berkshire

November 26, 2017, 1:04 PM

In case you hadn’t heard, the Edmonton Oilers are struggling in an epic way. Only the Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes have fewer points in

the standings and fewer wins.

Things aren’t quite as bleak as the start of the Oilers’ season when they

went 4-8-1, but in their last 10 games they’ve still only managed a 4-5-1 record. To make things worse, predictive statistics like Corsi and

expected goals used to have the Oilers at the top of the league, despite their record, but they’re dropping off by those measures.

The axiom “Your best players have to be your best players” is held in high regard in hockey, especially when teams are struggling. So when a team with the expectations the Oilers had this season is performing at this level, fingers start to get pointed at the players who were expected to be difference makers.

Recently there has been a lot of focus on Connor McDavid’s defensive play, specifically how often he turns the puck over compared to last season.

McDavid being the focal point of criticism for this struggling Oilers team is pretty absurd when you consider he’s been involved in 46.7 per cent of

the team’s offence and is on pace for 100 points just like last season, despite the Oilers dropping from scoring 2.96 goals per game in 2016-17 to 2.61 this season.

But hey, maybe McDavid really has been a disaster with turning over the

puck. And, despite the fact that he’s the best driver of offence in the NHL, maybe he’s giving up more than he gets because of it.

Luckily, we can verify that. So let’s take a look at McDavid’s turnover rate by zone and situation, relative to his teammates.

For the purpose of graphical aesthetics, turnover rates are inverted here so that positive numbers mean turning the puck over less than the team average.

As you can see, in no area, no matter the situation, is McDavid turning the puck over more often than his teammates are. In fact, McDavid’s puck management is among the best in the entire NHL, despite the fact that he attempts more difficult plays with the puck than almost anyone else.

Compared to last season, McDavid is turning the puck over a little bit more often in the defensive zone compared to his teammates, but that may be due more to an improvement from other forwards than McDavid dropping off. Last season McDavid turned the puck over in the defensive zone on 11.9 per cent of his plays with the puck. This season he’s turning

it over 11.8 per cent of the time.

Others have improved while McDavid has stayed the same. He’s still well

above average, just not by as much as last year.

In all situations, it looks like McDavid has taken a bigger step back, but

the main difference there has been the fact that McDavid has added an extra 32 shorthanded seconds per game, and lost three seconds of

power-play time per game.

That 35-second swing per game may not seem like much, but it makes a

big difference.

Even accounting for that slight change in role, McDavid’s personal numbers remained consistent while other Oilers forwards turned the puck over less. His turnover rate in the offensive zone in all situations over both seasons is 18.7 per cent, while his defensive zone turnover rate rose from 11.8 per cent last season to 12 per cent this season—not a big change.

After looking at the area in which it appears McDavid might have taken a step back, we see that despite the Oilers playing a safer style and turning the puck over less often, the Oilers captain has been even safer still,

improving his relative rates in the offensive and neutral zones at even strength.

It’s natural for frustration to creep into analysis of a team’s failings, and for some to point fingers at the players who are supposed to be game-

changers, but in regards to McDavid suddenly being a problem due to careless play with the puck, there’s just nothing there.

This is a case of massive failure for the ‘eye test.’


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Sportsnet.ca / Victor Mete doing what he can to stick with Canadiens

Eric Engels

November 26, 2017, 12:29 PM

BROSSARD, Que. – Victor Mete knows the writing might be on the wall for him.

The 19-year-old defenceman, who was drafted 100th overall in 2016 by

the Montreal Canadiens, shocked the hockey world by graduating to the NHL this season.

He started off as Shea Weber’s defence partner and has since appeared in all but one of the team’s 24 games, flashing his speed and smarts on a

nightly basis. But as his ice-time has dwindled over the past month, the idea of him sticking with Montreal and not going back to major junior has become more and more far-fetched.

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And now that David Schlemko appears poised to make his Canadiens debut on Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, it seems like a foregone conclusion Mete will return to the OHL’s London Knights in short order.

It’s a possibility the kid desperately wants to avoid, but also one he’s facing with total positivity.

“My goal at the beginning was to make a pre-season game, so I

accomplished that,” Mete said Saturday morning. “After that it was to make the team, and I also accomplished that. And what I’ve learned from when I started to now is really good. It’s stuff I can take back with me to

junior. I now know what I need to focus on for my summer training. Having the experience of playing in the NHL for a bit, I can kinda see

what I need to work on and improve that much more. If I do get sent back, then next season I’ll be more prepared.

“It’s all positive.”

There’s no question about it. And Mete also acknowledged that he understands from the team’s position that the upside of the decision to send him down to junior soon might be too strong for them to ignore.

The Canadiens have to believe Mete will be better served playing big minutes as a leading member of the Knights than he will playing marginal ones with their team. They have to like the prospect of him going to the world junior championship as a member of Team Canada instead of sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch – like he did against the Nashville Predators this past Thursday.

And it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to let Mete get to the 40-game mark in Montreal as a sixth, seventh or eighth defenceman. If he stays beyond that point, he’ll have banked one season towards unrestricted free agency.

Players become unrestricted free agents after seven seasons in the NHL or by age 27. Once a player has played 40 games in his first season, it

counts as one of those years.

There is one possibility that will keep Mete in Montreal for at least the

next two weeks – and possibly beyond.

The Canadiens might want to keep him as an insurance policy. Schlemko

is just starting out after a hand injury has kept him out of action since the first day of training camp, Weber is likely returning soon after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury, and the team might want to make sure they have Mete available in case anyone else falls to injury.

If the Canadiens were to send Mete to London now, they’d have almost no chance of recalling him. He could only return in case of emergency (if they are in need of a player and can’t make a call up from the AHL for whatever reason).

But if they keep him and then decide to loan him to Team Canada, he can be recalled after the world junior tournament. Mete has proven he

can play at the NHL level, so exercising this option might be the most prudent way to go. Especially if the Canadiens pull themselves back into

the playoff race and all of a sudden find themselves with some injuries on the back end as they head into January.

But the current reality is that the games are getting harder and Mete is playing less and less. At Sunday’s practice, which does not include

Weber, he appeared to be on the outside looking in.

“Teams are finding their style now and finding their identity moving out of

the first quarter of the season. So they play tighter and better,” Mete observed. “I think everyone has found their game by now, so they’re that much better because of it.”

He’s aware there’s only so much he can do to gain more ice-time from Canadiens coach Claude Julien under the circumstances.

“I think just every shift I go on I need to compete, play hard, just win my battles and just try to do my best out there,” Mete said. “I can’t back down at all. Stay focused and try not to make mistakes.”

It’s an attitude he can take to the rink, no matter which team he’s playing for next. He understands it might just be the one he spent his three prior seasons with at the junior level.


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Sportsnet.ca / 5 things we learned in the NHL: Lightning fighting through

first slump

Josh Beneteau

November 26, 2017, 9:38 AM

Nikita Kucherov‘s hot start for the Tampa Bay Lightning is one of the biggest stories through the first quarter of the season. With 17 goals in

his first 19 games, Kucherov appears to be the next great superstar in the NHL.

But the mark of a true star is consistency and lately Kucherov has struggled, failing to find the back of the net for the fourth straight game on Saturday. In response, his team has fallen into a four-game slump too.

As Alex Ovechkin continued to roll with three more goals against the Maple Leafs, the difference between great and legendary remains a pretty big one.

Kucherov still has a long way to go.

Alex Ovechkin could be one of the greatest goal scorers ever

This might not necessarily be something new we learned, as Alex Ovechkin has been a goal scoring machine for his entire career, but his

historic performance against the Maple Leafs was a nice reminder of just how great he can be.

Ovechkin scored a hat trick in the Capitals win, flying past Mike Bossy for 21st all-time with 576 goals. He now has 18 goals to lead the league and

is only one goal behind recent Hall of Fame inductee Mark Recchi for 20th all-time.

Moving up the all-time list was just one many historic marks Ovechkin hit on Saturday.

On top of all of this, Ovechkin showed everyone that he’s a nice guy off the ice too.

His biggest fan, 13-year-old Alex Luey, was in attendance and was Ovechkin’s special guest for the game. Luey is a cancer survivor and after Ovechkin heard his story, he invited the Niagara Falls, Ont., native and his family to hang out with the team before and after the game.

It’s an incredible story and may have motivated The Great 8 on the ice too. Luke Fox has more on the two Alexes’ special bond and you can see

more of their adventures after the game in the video at the top of this page.

Nikita Kucherov, Lightning in first slump of season

For the first time all season, the Tampa Bay Lightning appear to be in a

rut. With a loss to the Penguins, the Lighting have lost two in a row for the first time all season and also three of their last four games. Nikita

Kucherov doesn’t have a goal in any of those four games.

While he’s obviously not the only reason the Lightning have struggled

(Steven Stamkos also hasn’t scored in those four games) this is just another example of how teams only go as far as their superstars do.

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In their most recent losses, against the Penguins Saturday and Capitals Friday, the opponent’s star players were simply better than Tampa Bay’s.

Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel especially had dominant games against

the Lightning, with each scoring two goals on Saturday.

The Lightning are still in first place in the Eastern Conference with 34

points and will be fine moving forward. But their recent struggles show that even the best wins can’t win them all.

Duchene finally gets on the board with Senators

Matt Duchene had been waiting to be traded from the Colorado

Avalanche for a long time, but his early games with his new team have been less than ideal. However, Duchene finally got that monkey off his back, with a goal against the New York Islanders on Saturday.

It was Duchene’s first point in eight games with the Senators since the trade three weeks ago, but while Duchene has gotten off the slide, his team continues to tumble.

The Senators have now lost six in a row and seven of their last nine after dropping Saturday’s game to the Islanders. The Sens now have a 8-8-6 record and only 22 points, which puts them in a tie for 12th in the East.

“We definitely deserved better, right now it’s not about the effort. It’s

clearly a total effort from beginning to end,” head coach Guy Boucher said after Saturday’s game. “We’re right there.”

While the Senators are staying positive, they’ll need to turn things around soon if they want to return to the playoffs.

Price is perfect

The Montreal Canadiens got a saviour sent from teh IR with Carey

Price‘s return to the net on Saturday and he immediately stole the show with a 36-save shutout. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for

the Canadiens.

Sure it was against the Buffalo Sabres, but a shutout is a shutout and it’s clear that Price’s return has energized the Habs.

Look how happy Brendan Gallagher is!

Now it’s only one game and Price has struggled for most of this season — you may remember he had an .877 save percentage entering this game — but having Price return to his old self could help stabilize things in Montreal.

Goaltending hasn’t been the Canadiens’ biggest problem this year. Their 29th-ranked offence is taking that crown.

Alex Galchenyuk also seemingly returned to form, snapping an 11-game goalless streak against the Sabres.

Are the Canadiens turning a corner? It’s too early to say. But as Eric Engels wrote in his post-game column, Saturday’s win was a “gigantic

step in the right direction.”

Rittich backstops Flames to win in first NHL start

With the recent struggles of Eddie Lack, the Calgary Flames called up 25-year-old David Rittich this week and gave him his first NHL start on Saturday.

Despite his inexperience he looked like a veteran back there, making 24 saves to lead the Flames to a 3-2 win over the Avalanche.

Rittich was originally signed by the Flames as a free agent in 2016 after he started his pro career in his home country, the Czech Republic. He’s been one of the best goalies in the AHL this year posting a 5-1 record, 2.17 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and two shutouts for the Stockton Heat.

While getting his first NHL start was certainly exciting, Rittich almost seemed more excited to be skating with Czech legend Jaromir Jagr.

“If somebody told me 10 years ago that I will play or I will be practising with Jagr, I would be like, ‘No way. No chance,’” Rittich told The Calgary Sun earlier this week. “And it’s coming true, so I am happy about that.”

What a great story. Welcome to the NHL David.


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