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CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 12, 2017

What changes Peters is promising for Hurricanes

By Chip Alexander

[email protected]

Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters allows assistant coach Rod Brind’Amour to take charge of the team’s power play.

But as Peters said Saturday, “I think we have to make some personnel changes myself. It will be my opinion, my two cents.”

Something has to give. After going 0-for-3 on the power play with one shot Saturday in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Canes are 1-for-26 in the past 10 games and 0-14 in the past five.

Peters likes to break the season up into five-game segments. Other than Jeff Skinner’s power-play goal against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 29, everything else has come up empty the past two segments.

When a team fails to convert on five power plays and wins 3-1, as the Canes did Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, it goes on a checklist for things to be corrected in a later practice. But on Saturday, it denied the Canes (6-5-4) a point they can’t afford to be giving away and ended a two-game win streak.

“It’s costing us in some situations where we need a bit of a jump, where we could use one from the PP (power play) but we’re not getting it,” Skinner said.

On the Canes’ first power play Saturday, the Blackhawks had more scoring chances than Carolina. The Blackhawks’ Brandon Saad shook free on a shorthanded breakaway, forcing a penalty shot as defenseman Noah Hanifin tried to corral the speedy forward and slashed him.

Canes goalie Scott Darling easily denied Saad’s attempt, although Saad would later be the one to beat his former Blackhawks teammate for the overtime winner.

Speaking of overtime …

Whether it’s execution, shot selection, a lack of finish or lack of confidence, the Canes can’t find a way to win in those three-on-three overtime sessions the fans tend to love and the goalies probably dread.

The Canes have had five games go beyond regulation this season, winning the season-opener in a shootout against Minnesota but losing the past four. They were fairly dominant three-on-three against Anaheim and Arizona but couldn’s score, losing both games in shootouts.

On Saturday, first Elias Lindholm and then Justin Faulk had chances to end it for the Hurricanes early in the overtime. But backup goalie Anton Forsberg, in net as Corey Crawford had the day off, made the two stops and Saad soon beat Darling five-hole for the winner.

“We may have to look at some personnel (changes) there, too,” Peters said.

The Canes, coming off a 3-1 road win Friday against Columbus, had other issues Saturday. They never trailed in the game until Saad’s goal, taking a 2-0 lead after the first period and 3-1 lead after two as Brock McGinn scored twice and Skinner notched his eighth of the season.

“In the third period, especially at home with a two-goal lead, you’ve got to able to close those out,” Canes forward Derek Ryan said.

But Alex DeBrincat scored the second of his two goals in the third and defenseman Gustav Forsling scored from the point on a shot that Darling couldn’t track or stop.

With the Canes leading 3-2, Skinner was looking at an open net but missed high and later was denied on a backhander by Forsberg.

“Sometimes you try to get those off as quick as you can,” Skinner said. “You’ve got to bear down, especially late in the game.”

And especially on the power play. And in overtime.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Hurricanes squander two-goal lead, lose in OT

Blackhawks get two third-period goals to tie game

November 11, 2017

Cory Lavalette

RALEIGH — Saturday’s game between the Hurricanes and Blackhawks was supposed to be about Carolina’s five players playing against their old team.

Instead, it was the guy who came back to Chicago who ended up the hero.

Brandon Saad, reacquired this offseason from Columbus, snuck a shot under former teammate and Hurricanes goalie Scott Darling to give the Blackhawks a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win Saturday at PNC Arena.

Carolina entered the third period up two goals, but Chicago chipped away with rookie Alex DeBrincat getting his second goal of the night at 3:16 and defenseman Gustav Forsling’s seeing-eye point wrister finding the net with less than nine minutes left to tie it.

“Whenever you go into the third period, especially at home, with a two-goal lead, you oughta be able to close those ones out,” Hurricanes center Derek Ryan, who finished with two assists, said. “I thought they got a couple bounces, but at the same time we have to make sure we’re locking it up defensively and we didn’t do that.”

Brock McGinn scored in each of the first two periods for Carolina, his third straight game with a goal, to help Carolina to a 3-1 lead.

Shortly after leveling Chicago’s Jan Rutta at center ice, McGinn scored the game’s first goal and gave Carolina a fast start.

Justin Williams threw the puck toward the Blackhawks net, Ryan whacked it and McGinn batted it in for a 1-0 lead at 6:53.

Carolina’s second goal came just over four minutes later when Jeff Skinner snapped a four-game point drought. After nearly trickling a puck through Chicago goalie Anton Forsberg’s pads seconds earlier, Skinner shot from the right boards and snuck it inside the far post for a 2-0 lead.

Chicago finally broke through in the second. A hobbled McGinn, who had blocked a shot previously in the shift, cleared the puck down the ice. But the Blackhawks came back with speed, and captain Jonathan Toews zipped a pass toward the far post that DeBrincat — who beat Jaccob Slavin to the far post — chipped in to cut the lead in half.

McGinn got his fifth of the year midway through the game when he took a Ryan flip pass and raced down the ice, roofing a highlight-reel backhand past Forsberg to pad Carolina’s lead to two, 3-1.

But the Hurricanes (6-5-4), playing for the second straight night after winning in Columbus Friday, let the two-goal lead slip away in the third.

After DeBrincat’s goal, the Hurricanes had a few chances to re-establish a two-goal lead. Most notable was Skinner’s chance at the side of the net, which went high and left him staring at the roof.

“It’s disappointing when it ends up sort of costing you,” Skinner said of his missed opportunities. “The one, I think, in the third just kind of rolled up on my stick. I probably could’ve settled it down, but sometimes you just try to get those off as quick as you can.

“So just keep working for those chances,” he added. “I think the positive is you’re getting them, but you’ve got to bear down, especially late in the game.”

And then there’s the Hurricanes power play, which was again held without a goal on three opportunities. The team has scored just once in the last 10 games, going 1 for 26, with the man advantage.

“You know what, tough segment for the power play — five games, didn’t score,” coach Bill Peters said.

Peters added that he expects to discuss making changes to the power play.

“I think we have to make some personnel changes myself, that would be my opinion, my two cents,” Peters said. “I’ll have to to talk to Roddy [Brind’Amour], see what he wants to do.”

It was Chicago (8-7-2) that had the first chance to break the ice in the first two minutes when Saad was awarded a penalty shot after Noah Hanifin was called for slashing on the former’s shorthanded breakaway.

However Darling, playing his first game against his former team, stopped Saad to keep it scoreless.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Notes: Slavin was one the ice for all three of Chicago’s regulation goals and finished minus-3 on the night, the first time that’s happened in his career. … DeBrincat had three

points for Chicago. … Carolina win 34 of 52 faceoffs. … Darling stopped 26 of 30 shots, while Forsberg made 35 saves for his second career win and first as a starter.

Saad scores in OT to give Blackhawks 4-3 win over Hurricanes

By MIKE POTTER, Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — Brandon Saad missed an early opportunity for the Chicago Blackhawks, but he rose to the occasion when it really counted.

Saad scored at 1:44 of overtime to give Chicago a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. His penalty-shot attempt was stopped by Scott Darling less than two minutes into the game.

Final 1 2 3 OT Tot

Chicago 0 1 2 1 4

Carolina 2 1 0 0 3

Preview | Box | Gameview | Recap

Three Stars

1: Alex DeBrincat, Chi (2G, 1A)

2: Brandon Saad, Chi (1G)

3: Brock McGinn, Car (2G)

Copyright © 2017 by STATS LLC.

All rights reserved.

Alex DeBrincat scored two goals and Gustav Forsling had one for Chicago, which scored three times after falling behind 3-1. DeBrincat and Forsling also assisted on Saad's game-winner.

"That's a big comeback win and one we needed in the room," DeBrincat said. "Hopefully we can keep moving with this. Getting two goals was nice. I get a few puck bounces there and get lucky and it goes in. But it was good timing for me. We definitely needed this win."

Brock McGinn had two goals and Jeff Skinner scored one for Carolina.

Chicago's Anton Forsberg had 35 saves to beat Carolina for the first time in three career meetings.

Darling, who spent the previous three seasons with the Blackhawks, stopped 26 shots for the Hurricanes.

"It was a tough segment for the power play," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "We didn't get a (power-play goal) and when you're not winning the special teams battle it makes things hard. We got some good looks when it was 3-2 but weren't able to finish."

Carolina led 2-0 after an opening period in which the Hurricanes outshot the visitors 16-15.

"I had a couple of chances early," Saad said. "You miss those chances and they end up scoring. You definitely want one, and it was great to get it in overtime. It feels good. But the biggest thing is contributing to a win."

McGinn put the Hurricanes ahead at 6:53 on a backhander from the left doorstep with assists from Derek Ryan and Justin Williams. McGinn has goals in three straight games, while Ryan has points in three straight and Williams has assists in the last three.

Skinner added his eighth of the season, unassisted from the same spot at 9:01.

The Blackhawks scored on a rush just after a power play ended at 7:34 of the second, with DeBrincat converting on Jonathan Toews' pinpoint pass to the right doorstep.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Back came Carolina at 9:58, with McGinn roofing the puck past Forsberg on a rush.

DeBrincat scored his second goal early in the third, and Forsling tied it on a blast from the left point with 9:31 remaining.

"We dug a hole again, but I thought we hung in there," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Certainly scoring that late (Forsling) goal helped. I liked their response coming in after (Carolina's) third goal."

Along with Darling, Carolina forwards Joakim Nordstrom, Teuvo Teravainen and Marcus Kruger and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk were members of the 2015 Blackhawks team that won the Stanley Cup.

NOTES: C Patrick Brown and D Klas Dahlbeck were healthy scratches for Carolina. ... C John Hayden, D Michal Kempny and D Jordan Oesterle were Chicago's healthy extras. ... The teams' other meeting is in Chicago on March 8.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: Return home on Sunday to face New Jersey in the opener of a two-game homestand.

Hurricanes: Host Dallas on Monday night to complete a two-game homestand.

Recap: Canes Fall to Blackhawks in OT

McGinn scores twice, but Canes fall 4-3 in overtime

by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / CarolinaHurricanes.com

November 11th, 2017

The Carolina Hurricanes squandered a two-goal lead in the third period but managed to salvage a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Brock McGinn tallied twice in regulation, but Alex DeBrincat's pair of goals and Brandon Saad's game-winner in 3-on-3 overtime propelled Chicago.

Here are five takeaways from tonight's cross-conference tilt.

One

The Hurricanes' power play remains an albatross.

The man advantage was 0-for-3 tonight, and the Canes are now 0-for-14 on the power play in their last five games and 1-for-26 in their last 10 games. Tonight, it had a chance to be a difference-maker in the third period. Up a goal, 3-2, the Hurricanes could have restored their two-goal advantage. Instead, their third opportunity went by the wayside, and the Blackhawks tied the game about three minutes later.

"The power play has been struggling as of late," Jeff Skinner said. "We've got to find a way to turn it around because it's costing us in some situations where we need a bit of a jump and we could maybe use one from the PP and we're not getting it. It's got to be better."

"I think we have to [reassess everything]. I think we have to make some personnel changes, myself," head coach Bill Peters said. "I'll have to talk to Roddy and see what he wants to do."

Two

Stepping back for a broader assessment of the third period, the Hurricanes entered the final 20 minutes with a two-goal lead. Anything less than two points - especially at home - is going to feel like a letdown in that situation, no matter the opponent.

"It's tough," Derek Ryan said. "You've got to be able to close those ones out. I thought they got a couple of bounces, but at the same time we have to make sure we're locking it up defensively, and we didn't do that."

Playing their sixth period in as many nights, you could point to fatigue as what plagued the Hurricanes' third period tonight. But, that didn't seem to be the issue. The Canes doubled up the Blackhawks in shots in the third, 10-5.

https://www.nhl.com/player/brock-mcginn-8476934

https://www.nhl.com/player/jeff-skinner-8475784

https://www.nhl.com/player/derek-ryan-8478585

CAROLINA HURRICANES


"I felt like my legs were there," Ryan said. "I felt good."

"I think the ice time was divvied up well," Peters said. "I didn't think there was much [given up]."

Three

DeBrincat scored the Blackhawks' first two goals of the game, and a seeing-eye point shot tied the score in the third. Gustav Forsling's shot from up top found its way through seemingly every other body on the ice to beat Darling.

"A little bit of duplication on the game-tying goal, which led to their D-man being open," Peters said. "Self-inflicted wound there."

In 3-on-3 overtime, DeBrincat drew two Canes defenders to the middle of the ice before dropping the puck off to Saad, who took a couple of steps and beat Darling five-hole for the game-winner.

Four

Brock McGinn was one of the Canes' best players tonight to cap what's been a productive week for the third-year forward.

McGinn had a pair of goals to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games (four goals in that stretch). He also leveled Jan Rutta along the near boards in the neutral zone in the first period, a booming check that was one of his two recorded hits in the game. And, prior to scoring his second goal, he blocked a Cody Franson clapper, taking it right off the shin.

McGinn opened the scoring at the 6:53 mark of the first period. Justin Williams put a shot towards the net from the far boards. Ryan swung at the rebound, getting enough on it to where McGinn was able to tap it home.

The highlight reel belonged to McGinn in the second period when Ryan skied a pass to McGinn, who chased the puck down and backhanded a filthy shot top shelf to give his team a two-goal lead.

Five

With his assist on McGinn's first goal, Williams now has assists in three straight contests and seven helpers in his last seven games. The veteran forward paces the team in both points (13) and assists (11) through just over a month of play in the regular season. We knew how shrewd of an acquisition that was on July 1, and it's proving to be just that so far.

Elsewhere on offense, Skinner scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season to make it a 2-0 Canes lead early in the first period. He nearly scored in the slot, a nifty shot that slid through Anton Forsberg but was cleared away in the crease by Brent Seabrook. The puck came back to Skinner along the far wall, though, and he beat Forsberg, who was a bit out of position, from a tough angle.

Up Next

The Dallas Stars make their first and only visit of the season to PNC Arena on Monday night.

https://www.nhl.com/player/brock-mcginn-8476934

https://www.nhl.com/player/justin-williams-8468508

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Recap: Hurricanes lose two-goal lead, fall

to Blackhawks 4-3 in OT Brock McGinn’s two goals weren’t enough as the Canes

earned a point but failed to take two.

by Brian LeBlanc@bdleblanc Nov 11, 2017, 10:03pm EST

Even though the Carolina Hurricanes were playing their

second game in as many nights and the Chicago

Blackhawks were in Raleigh awaiting the Canes’ return from

Columbus, you’d have been hard pressed to decide which

team was which early in Saturday night’s game at PNC

Arena. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, by the end of the

night the distinction was obvious.

Despite a two-goal game by Brock McGinn, the Hurricanes

ran out of gas late in the game, losing a two-goal lead before

falling 4-3 to the Blackhawks on Brandon Saad’s goal 1:44

into overtime.

The Canes averted an early hole after Noah Hanifin

conceded a penalty shot under two minutes into the game

when he slashed Saad on a shorthanded breakaway. Saad’s

former teammate, Scott Darling, making his first start against

his old club, shut down the Hawks’ center on the penalty shot

attempt.

The stop seemed to energize Carolina, and five minutes later

McGinn scored the first of his two goals on the night, a

backhander from the top of the crease after Anton Forsberg

couldn’t control a rebound. The Canes’ lead was doubled two

minutes later when Jeff Skinner cleaned up an unassisted

chance seconds after Brent Seabrook cleared the puck off

the goal line with Forsberg way out of position.

Alex DeBrincat pulled the Blackhawks to within one just as a

tripping penalty to Marcus Kruger expired, taking a pinpoint

pass from Jonathan Toews and beating a helpless Darling.

McGinn restored the home team’s two-goal lead a minute

and a half later, swiping the puck from Duncan Keith and

beating an unprepared Forsberg.

But in the third period, the heavy legs started weighing

Carolina down. DeBrincat matched McGinn with his second

of the game 3:16 into the third period, and Gustav Forsling

tied it through a screen with 8:30 to go. Bill Peters

contemplated challenging for goaltender interference, but

decided against it. While Carolina got some good pressure

late, including a crossbar dented by the luckless (and still

goalless) Sebastian Aho, Forsberg shut them down and sent

the game to overtime.

The Hurricanes had the best chance of the extra session to

take the bonus point. Justin Faulk skated around DeBrincat

and was one-on-one with Forsberg, only to be denied. His

rebound bounced to Elias Lindholm, who fired off Faulk and

sent the puck into the crease, where it sat for an eternity with

no Hurricanes able to get to it.

Finally, Saad ended it on the Hawks’ only shot of overtime,

beating Darling through the five-hole and denying the Canes

a back-to-back sweep. Forsberg earned the win by making

35 saves; Darling made 26, but conceded three goals on

Chicago’s final six shots of the game.

The Canes return to the ice on Monday when the Dallas

Stars will visit PNC Arena for the only time this season.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Checkers Reassign Josiah Didier to ECHL Florida Written by Paul Branecky

Published: November 11, 2017

The Checkers have reassigned defenseman Josiah Didier to

the ECHL’s Florida Everblades.

Didier, who attended training camp with the Checkers but

started the season in the ECHL, recorded one assist and a

plus-3 rating in his first four games with Charlotte – all of

which were victories. Including time spent with the St. John’s

IceCaps over the last two seasons, the 24-year-old, fourth-

round draft choice of the Montreal Canadiens in 2011 now

has 104 games of AHL experience.

With Didier no longer on the roster, Josh Wesley is expected

to draw back into the lineup for tonight’s game against the

Syracuse Crunch. Fellow blueliners Jake Chelios and

Brenden Kichton remain sidelined due to injury.

Comeback Attempt Falls Short in

Syracuse Written by Paul Branecky

Published: November 11, 2017

The Checkers’ attempt to come back from a 3-0 deficit and

win their fifth straight game fell just short as the Syracuse

Crunch skated away with a 5-3 victory on Saturday.

Nicolas Roy and Andrew Poturalski each scored for the

second consecutive game and Aleksi Saarela added another

as Charlotte twice fought back to within one goal after

allowing three in the game’s first 14:25. Jeremy Smith took

the loss against former Checkers netminder Michael

Leighton as the Checkers were out-shot 35-24 for the

evening.

Playing for the second consecutive night with travel involved

while Syracuse enjoyed a week off, Charlotte fell victim to

the Crunch’s early onslaught that included a pair of power-

play goals in the first period.

Roy gave his team some hope via a man-advantage tally of

his own scored with just 13 seconds left in that otherwise

troublesome first frame. Poturalski would keep that

momentum going in the second, but the eventual game-

winner came off the stick of Michael Bournival despite

Saarela’s strike that got the Checkers to within one for the

majority of the third period.

Amid a relatively calm third, Charlotte had its best

opportunity to tie the game via a power play with five minutes

remaining but could not generate sustained pressure.

Minutes later, Syracuse forward Erik Condra, who was just

named team captain earlier in the day, deposited his second

of a game on an odd-man rush before Smith could vacate his

net for the extra attacker.

NOTES

Charlotte fell to 10-4-0 on the season … The first period

marked the third time that the Checkers have given up three

goals in a period this season … Roy’s three goals this

season all came in different situations (even strength,

shorthanded, power play) … Former Carolina Hurricane

Jamie McBain had four points (1g, 3a) … This was the first

loss on the Checkers’ season-long, eight-game road trip (4-

1-0). The team fell to 8-2-0 on the road this season … This

was the Checkers’ first game against Syracuse since March

19, 2011 … Both teams scored two power-play goals.

Charlotte had five chances and Syracuse had seven …

Forwards Lee Stempniak and Lucas Wallmark and

defensemen Jake Chelios and Brenden Kichton missed the

game due to injury … Forwards Mike Ferrantino and Zack

Stortini were healthy extras.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Blackhawks rally, top Hurricanes Saad scores at 1:44 of overtime after Chicago scores twice

in third period

by Kurt Dusterberg / NHL.com Correspondent

November 11th, 2017

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Brandon Saad scored at 1:44 of overtime

to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 win against the

Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Saturday.

Saad, who scored the game-winning goal in each of

Chicago's first four wins of the season, had been held

without a goal for the previous 10 games.

"I think the biggest thing is getting the win, helping

contribute," Saad said. "Goals are going to come. You just

keep getting chances. But that one definitely felt good."

The Blackhawks (8-7-2) trailed 3-1 in the third period but got

goals from Alex DeBrincat, who scored twice, and Gustav

Forsling. Anton Forsberg made 35 saves to earn his first

NHL win as a starter.

"I liked our response coming off [Carolina's] third goal,"

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Obviously, a

couple nice plays. We had more traffic at the net than we've

seen lately. Coming back from down two is a huge win for

us."

Brock McGinn scored two goals for Carolina (6-5-4). Scott

Darling, who spent his first three seasons as the Blackhawks

backup goaltender, made 26 saves in his first start against

his former team.

McGinn gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 6:53 of the first

period when Derek Ryan found him at the left side of the net.

The goal gave McGinn a three-game goal-scoring streak.

Carolina extended the lead to 2-0 on a strong individual effort

from Jeff Skinner. After his backhand shot was cleared from

the crease by Brent Seabrook, Skinner gathered the puck

along the boards and shot to the far post for his eighth of the

season at 9:01.

Darling kept the Blackhawks off the scoreboard early in the

period when he made a save on Saad's penalty shot at 1:57.

DeBrincat's fourth of the season made it 2-1 at 7:34 of the

second period. After a nice breakout sequence, Jonathan

Toews made a nice pass to DeBrincat at the far post just as

a penalty against Marcus Kruger expired. Richard Panik

earned the secondary assist for his 100th NHL point.

McGinn scored his second goal at 9:59 to make it 3-1. He

took a pass from Ryan in the neutral zone and got a step on

Duncan Keith before he lifted a backhand over Forsberg's

shoulder on the short side.

DeBrincat's second goal made it 3-2 at 3:16 of the third

period. Patrick Kane made a short pass to the slot to find

DeBrincat alone for a quick shot.

"I think it's good timing for me," DeBrincat said. "We

definitely needed that win. I thought it was a pretty good

game for us too. Confidence is a lot in this game. If we have

it, we'll be moving."

Forsling tied the game at 11:29 with a hard shot from the left

point.

"You've got to be able to close those ones out," Ryan said. "I

thought they got a couple bounces, but at the same time, we

have to make sure we're locking it up defensively and we

didn't do that."

They said it

"It's different. I thought [Darling] played pretty well, especially

early on in that first period when we had some chances

around the net. He's a big goalie, so he gets his body in front

of a lot of pucks. It's weird facing (Trevor) van Riemsdyk and

Kruger as well. I wish them all the best, but it was nice to

beat them tonight though." -- Blackhawks forward Patrick

Kane on playing against Hurricanes goalie Scott Darling

CAROLINA HURRICANES


"The power play has been struggling as of late, but we've got

to find a way to turn that around. It's costing us in some

situations where we need a bit of a jump, and we're not

getting it." -- Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner

Need to know

DeBrincat, who set up the overtime goal, had the first three-

point game of his NHL career. ... The Hurricanes have

scored one power-play goal in the past 10 games.

What's next

Blackhawks: Host the New Jersey Devils on Sunday (7 p.m.

ET; NBCSCH, MSG+, NHL.TV)

Hurricanes: Host the Dallas Stars on Monday (7 p.m. ET;

FS-SW, FS-CR, TVAS, NHL.TV)

TODAY’S LINKS

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article184218873.html

https://nsjonline.com/article/2017/11/hurricanes-squander-two-goal-lead-lose-in-ot/

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/saad-scores-in-ot-to-give-blackhawks-4-3-win-over-hurricanes/17108647/

https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/recap-hurricanes-fall-to-blackhawks-in-overtime/c-292896104

https://www.canescountry.com/2017/11/11/16638754/carolina-hurricanes-chicago-blackhawks-game-recap-brock-mcginn-alex-debrincat-brandon-

saad-overtime

https://www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-carolina-hurricanes-game-recap/c-292896986

http://gocheckers.com/articles/transactions/checkers-reassign-josiah-didier-to-echl-florida

http://gocheckers.com/game-recaps/comeback-attempt-falls-short-in-syracuse

1082826 Carolina Hurricanes

Blackhawks top Hurricanes in OT

BY CHIP ALEXANDER

NOVEMBER 11, 2017 9:35 PM

Brandon Saad’s goal at 1:44 of overtime lifted the Chicago Blackhawks

to a 4-3 comeback victory Saturday over the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC

Arena.

Brock McGinn scored twice and Jeff Skinner picked up his eighth of the

season for the Canes, who led 2-0 after the first period and 3-1 after two.

The Canes had five former Blackhawks in the game, including goalie

Scott Darling, forward Marcus Kruger and defenseman Trevor van

Riemsdyk, all in their first season with Carolina.

News Observer LOADED: 11.12.2017

1082842 Dallas Stars

Don't call it a 'breakout:' Nobody should be surprised to see Stars' John

Klingberg taking the next step

By Mike Heika

It's difficult to call this a breakout season for John Klingberg when he's

already been one of the best defensemen in the NHL over his three-

season career.

Klingberg entered the season eighth in scoring for NHL defensemen

since his career started in 2014 and 15th in SAT (shot attempt differential

at even strength). He's also been fourth overall on the Stars in scoring

during that span and first in time on ice, plus-minus, and SAT.

He's been a pretty complete player.

So it shouldn't be a surprise when the 25-year-old blue-liner takes the

next step.

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article184218873.html

https://nsjonline.com/article/2017/11/hurricanes-squander-two-goal-lead-lose-in-ot/

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/saad-scores-in-ot-to-give-blackhawks-4-3-win-over-hurricanes/17108647/

https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/recap-hurricanes-fall-to-blackhawks-in-overtime/c-292896104

https://www.canescountry.com/2017/11/11/16638754/carolina-hurricanes-chicago-blackhawks-game-recap-brock-mcginn-alex-debrincat-brandon-saad-overtime

https://www.canescountry.com/2017/11/11/16638754/carolina-hurricanes-chicago-blackhawks-game-recap-brock-mcginn-alex-debrincat-brandon-saad-overtime

https://www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-carolina-hurricanes-game-recap/c-292896986

http://gocheckers.com/articles/transactions/checkers-reassign-josiah-didier-to-echl-florida

http://gocheckers.com/game-recaps/comeback-attempt-falls-short-in-syracuse

CAROLINA HURRICANES


After a three-point night Friday in a 5-0 win over the New York Islanders,

Klingberg was leading all NHL defensemen in scoring with 18 points (four

goals, 14 assists) in 16 games.

"I see a young guy maturing," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He

doesn't have a lot of games in the league to be a go-to guy, but I see his

game maturing in that he's really learning when to live to fight another

day with the puck. I think that's putting him in a good spot."

Klingberg has made it his goal to be a strong all-around defenseman,

and the new coaching staff led by Hitchcock and assistant coach Rick

Wilson has helped him make that transition this season. Klingberg is

playing in all situations, including killing penalties and shutting down the

final minute of periods and games. Despite weighing just 177 pounds, he

is learning to defend with positioning and quickness.

"He's a smart player, and he's using that to his advantage," Wilson said.

"He's understanding that if he has the puck, then that's good defense,

too."

Klingberg's puck possession has helped him with his offensive numbers

and has helped him feel comfortable controlling the game.

"Today, I felt that I was back in my first year of playing hockey, so it felt

very good," Klingberg said after the win over the Islanders. "My

confidence is really good now. I felt that I have a really good gap right

now and I'm playing well defensively. It feels good now."

Bottom line, good defense leads to good offense.

"Part of my game for sure is points, but that's nothing I am looking at," he

said when asked about leading NHL defensemen in scoring. "I just feel

that I am playing a good all-around game right now."

His teammates have definitely noticed.

"Klinger, you can see the confidence is growing," forward Jason Spezza

said. "When you're an offensive guy like him, confidence is really

important. The more confidence you have, it seems like almost the

smarter you play ... and you just wait for the game to come to you. He's

playing a lot of big minutes and he's showing a lot of poise, and he's

really anchored things back there. You can see his game growing and

getting more confident every day."

So maybe it really is a breakthrough to a level that includes

conversations about Norris Trophies and All-Star Games.

"He's not trying to make the perfect play every time. When it's time to

release it into the neutral zone he's doing that," Hitchcock said. "I think

he's playing very calm, and there aren't a lot of pucks coming back at us

when he's on the ice. He's got a calmness to the way he's moving the

puck that is helping, not only the team but his partner too."

Because that's what a great defenseman can do.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 11.12.2017

1082889 New York Islanders

Islanders respond to Weight’s challenge in rout of Blues

By Associated Press

November 11, 2017 | 11:52pm | Updated

ST. LOUIS — One night after coach Doug Weight ripped his team for a

lack of “heart,” the Islanders responded in a big way.

John Tavares scored early to start the Islanders’ three-goal first period,

Thomas Greiss stopped 35 shots and they beat the Blues, 5-2, Saturday

night.

“As players we know we’re the ones that go out on the ice and obviously

have to do the job and execute,” Tavares said. “The system and the

framework that they want us to play with, we weren’t really close to that

last night so we just wanted to get out there and be a lot more

competitive like we know we can be.”

Anders Lee had a goal and an assist, and Casey Cizikas, Jordan Eberle

and Joshua Ho-Sang also scored to help the Islanders bounce back from

a 5-0 loss at Dallas the previous night. Greiss won for the third time in his

past four starts for the Islanders, which had just one win in its previous

four games (1-2-1).

“Some heart would be nice to see,” Weight said Friday after the 5-0

drubbing in Dallas. “Some work ethic, maybe following a game plan and

maybe some consistency as far as getting pucks in.”

One night after the Islanders mustered just 14 shots in the ugly loss to

the Stars, Tavares got them on the scoreboard 3:21 into the game as he

came from behind the net and beat Allen from point-blank range.

Cizikas got the rebound of a shot by Nick Leddy and easily beat Allen to

double the lead just past the midpoint of the period.

Eberle made it 3-0 as he took a pass from Jason Chimera on a 2-on-1

break and fired it past Allen on the glove side with 6:42 remaining for his

sixth of the season and fourth in the past four games.

“We took advantage of some plays, but we got pucks in,” Weight said

Saturday. “We were aggressive. We were skating.”

Brayden Schenn and Scottie Upshall scored for the Blues, and Jake

Allen had 14 saves before he was pulled after Ho-Sang put the Islanders

up 4-0 at 3:35 of the second period. Carter Hutton came on and stopped

10 of the 11 shots he faced.

The Blues, who snapped three-game winning streak and lost for just the

second time in their last nine games, had allowed just six first-period

goals all season.

Ho-Sang, called up from Bridgeport of the AHL earlier in the day to

replace the injured Anthony Beauvillier, then chased Allen early in the

second.

The Blues finally got on the board with 8 ¹/₂ left in the second a wrist shot

from Schenn. Upshall scored off a scrum in front of Greiss at 6:41 of the

third to pull St. Louis to 4-2.

Lee capped the scoring on a deflection with 4 ¹/₂ minutes to go.

Weight coached in St. Louis for the first time. Weight played parts of six

seasons with the Blues. … The Islanders improved to 5-0-0 when scoring

first this season.

New York Post LOADED: 11.12.2017


Big bounce-back win for Islanders against West-leading Blues

By Arthur Staple

[email protected] @StapeNewsday

Updated November 12, 2017 2:07 AM

ST. LOUIS — New night, new Islanders.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Less than 24 hours after their worst performance of the season, the Isles

rode superb goaltending by Thomas Greiss and some opportunistic

scoring to beat the Western Conference-leading Blues, 5-2, on Saturday

night.

“We were a little bit, I guess you could say, embarrassed in Dallas,”

Anders Lee said of the 5-0 drubbing the Islanders took on Friday night

from the Stars. “And we’re in here on a back-to-back against one of the

best teams in the league. We did a nice job showing our legs early and

Greisser was terrific.”

It certainly wasn’t a cakewalk despite building a 4-0 lead early in the

second period — certainly not the same as what the Stars did to the

Islanders. Dallas’ 4-0 lead seemed like 40-0 against a listless Isles team

that mustered only 14 shots on goal.

The Islanders had pace and determination Saturday night and produced

an early lead as a result. John Tavares outworked defenseman Colton

Parayko behind the St. Louis net and curled around the goal with the

puck, waiting to find a hole to beat Jake Allen for his 13th goal just 3:21

in.

It was only the fifth time in 17 games that the Islanders scored first.

Greiss, who finished with 35 saves, was instrumental from there. He

made two outstanding stops on Paul Stastny within a few minutes of one

another later in the first that led directly to Islanders goals.

After the first, defenseman Nick Leddy raced down, ostensibly to give his

teammates time to change. Allen directed his soft shot into the slot,

where Casey Cizikas worked through two defenders to flip it home at

10:07.

The next Greiss-on-Stastny theft was even better — a scissor-kick stop

with his legs at 12 o’clock that sent the puck soaring and started a two-

on-one that Jordan Eberle finished at 13:18.

“You give a team like that some life, especially in their building, and it can

be trouble,” Andrew Ladd said. “Greisser shut the door when we needed

some big saves.”

Josh Ho-Sang, returned from AHL exile after three weeks, pounced on

another rebound for his first goal of the season at 3:35 of the second to

send Allen to the bench.

The Blues, who came in on a 9-1-1 run to sit atop the Western

Conference, certainly had a response from there and cut it to 4-2 at 6:41

of the third. But as the minutes ticked down, the Islanders stood pretty

strong. Lee deflected Adam Pelech’s shot past Carter Hutton with 4:27 to

play to seal a much-needed response from Friday’s awfulness.

Doug Weight was furious after Friday’s game and let his players know it

in their Saturday morning meeting.

“I took a strip off them and it was probably warranted,” he said. “They

know it. But you could see throughout the day the leaders addressing

what needed to be addressed, even without the coaches saying

anything.”

The Islanders have had the ability to respond this season. They still

haven’t lost consecutive games in regulation and have responded to their

three really ugly defeats — opening night in Columbus (5-0), Oct. 26 in

St. Paul (6-4) and Friday — with resounding wins.

“It’s when you lose a few in a row that you start to slip in the standings

and the confidence slips with it,” Lee said. “You just want to put those

behind you as quickly as possible, and I thought we did that tonight.”

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.12.2017


Islanders call up Josh Ho-Sang, then he nets his first goal

By Arthur Staple

[email protected] @StapeNewsday

Updated November 11, 2017 10:12 PM

ST. LOUIS — Josh Ho-Sang got a call late Friday night, and by Saturday

morning, he was on a plane to meet the Islanders here. The 21-year-old

forward was sent to Bridgeport on Oct. 25 with no real timetable for a

return, but there he was, back in the Isles’ lineup Saturday night thanks

to a couple of injuries and a sudden need for offense.

“Got up at 5:30, flew, sat next to a nice old man who talked to me about

his life in St. Louis,” Ho-Sang said before the game. “It was good. Got to

the hotel, guys were really welcoming, now it’s time to play hockey.”

That he did. Ho-Sang scored his first goal of the season early in the

second period Saturday night to extend the Islanders’ lead to 4-0 over

the Blues.

Doug Weight wanted to see the talented Ho-Sang adopt more of a game-

savvy mentality — knowing when to use his wondrous puck-handling

skills and vision to try and create offense and when to cut it short, dump

the puck in, go for a change and wait for his next chance to shine.

Oddly, Weight criticized his Islanders team for some of the same

mistakes coming off Friday’s 5-0 loss in Dallas. He felt his team was

trying to make a million individual plays instead of a few straightforward,

team-oriented ones, and it cost the Isles dearly in their worst game of the

season.

“Pretty interesting test, right? He’s coming up at a time when the team’s

been struggling with some of the things he was struggling with,” Weight

said. “We talked about it before. The kid’s got work ethic, he has talent

and he has no fear. Those are three really good things. He’s got to put

that consistency and that predictability in his game while using his talent

as well.”

Weight was fuming Friday night and declined to do a postgame news

conference after his rights holder-required chat with MSG Network, in

which he wondered where his team’s heart was in the blowout.

“It’s tough doing interviews five minutes after . . . Short answers, smoke

coming out of your ears,” Weight said. “It’s disappointing to come off a

really good stretch with the way we’ve decided to manage the puck. You

can be a skilled team, a team with the puck a lot, but you have to make it

a little more predictable for your teammates, pursue pucks and do what

Dallas did to us. It was a disappointing effort in that regard.”

With Anthony Beauvillier day-to-day after blocking consecutive shots with

his right leg on Friday, Ho-Sang got a chance again after recording two

goals and four assists in six games with Bridgeport.

He may have been disappointed by the demotion, but he didn’t show it.

He’s up under emergency conditions, meaning he can stay for 30 days or

10 games, whichever comes first — but it can be converted to a regular

recall at any time.

“It’s not necessarily the outcome of the plays I make, more how it can

affect the momentum in the game,” Ho-Sang said. “I think I went down to

Bridgeport and did my job for the most part, tried to take everything in

stride.”

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.12.2017

1082820 Buffalo Sabres

No punch from offense, no hope for Sabres to survive

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Mike Harrington

Published Sat, Nov 11, 2017

Updated Sat, Nov 11, 2017

MONTREAL -- From a multitude of possible discussion points, there's

really only one thing to focus on in the wake of the latest gut-punch

absorbed by the Buffalo Sabres.

The name of the game is putting the puck in the net. You can't do it, you

don't win. Next case.

The Sabres have scored exactly one goal five times in their last eight

games and that's simply taking them nowhere but yet again back to the

draft lottery. Buffalo skated well for long stretches Saturday but still only

managed one measly goal.

A broken stick, a lost puck battle and an elite deke undid all the good in

the Sabres' game. Montreal's Max Pacioretty capitalized, sliding a

backhand home past Chad Johnson with 1:52 left in overtime to give the

Montreal Canadiens a 2-1 win over the Sabres in Bell Centre. Buffalo fell

to 5-9-3 with its second straight loss but the loser point at least got the

Sabres out of last place in the Eastern Conference.

The Sabres have a paltry 40 goals in 17 games and their puny average

of 2.35 per game is 30th in the NHL. The only team below them is the

Edmonton Oilers, who are averaging 2.31.

Jack Eichel's team and Connor McDavid's team. Who would have ever

guessed that back in 2015? Who would have ever guessed that back in

September?

"Scoring goals has been an issue," said Buffalo's Ryan O'Reilly, who

netted his team's lone tally on a power play with 5.7 seconds left in the

first period. "I had a lucky break on the power play but other than that I

didn't generate nearly enough offensively.

"A lot of guys did good things and played hard. But when it comes down

to it, the guys who play the most minutes have to put the puck in the net."

The Sabres had 35 shots on goal, equaling their most in the last eight

games. Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart had five apiece, with Reinhart's

total a season-high. Eichel had three on goal and six attempts in a much

better offensive showing than recent games.

Nine players had at least two shots on goal for the Sabres. Almost

nobody found the net. The entire defense corps remains 0-for-the-

season.

"Tonight was a start," insisted coach Phil Housley. "It was our best night.

We got pucks to the net. We were really gritty and dirty in front of the net.

We continue to do that, we're going to break that one-goal thing. We had

opportunities to score but the thing that was intriguing to me was when

we delivered shots to the net we had guys willing to pay a price."

But Eichel, who has now gone a career-high eight games without a goal,

still struggled with the puck at times and was in the penalty box on a

slashing call when Andrew Shaw tied the game at 1:01 of the third

period. Early in overtime, Eichel committed a grievous giveaway to

Pacioretty but Johnson bailed him out by stopping the Montreal captain.

Johnson couldn't do anything on the winning goal, a play that started with

Nathan Beaulieu snapping his stick in the Montreal zone to turn over

possession to the Habs and O'Reilly losing a puck battle along the wall to

Philip Danault at the Buffalo blue line. Danault, a former Chicago

prospect, fed Pacioretty for the game's decisive breakaway.

"Possession in overtime literally is everything," Beaulieu said. "Whoever

has the puck more is usually going to score. It couldn't have happened

for a worse time for my stick to snap. It's really unfortunate."

"They made a good play. Skilled players making good plays," O'Reilly

said. "It was my error. I should have at least thrown it back to our goalie

or do something to at least make sure they don't get possession when we

have a broken stick."

Johnson had stopped breakaways earlier in the game by Alex

Galchenyuk and Paul Byron but was unable to hold the fort again.

"I tried to be patient because I know he likes to go 5-hole and had a little

bit more time," Johnson said of Pacioretty. "He was going slow as well. It

was real close, I had to bite and he went around me. My legs weren't

long enough there to make the save."

It was the second disappointment of the season against the Canadiens,

as the Sabres have lost both meetings in extra time after leading through

40 minutes. They suffered a 3-2 shootout defeat on opening night in

KeyBank Center, giving up the tying goal in the final nine minutes of

regulation.

"We have to keep our heads up in here," Beaulieu said. "I thought

everyone was really good tonight. It's really unfortunate both times we've

played Montreal we've had them on the ropes and couldn't get the job

done."

Buffalo News LOADED: 11.12.2017


The Wraparound: Canadiens 2, Sabres 1 (OT)

Mike Harrington



MONTREAL -- Max Pacioretty's goal with 1:52 left in overtime gave the

Montreal Canadiens a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres Saturday night in

a heartbreaker that saw the Sabres lead through 40 minutes but lose

their second straight game.

The usual Bell Centre sellout crowd of 21,302 roared its approval as

Pacioretty beat Buffalo goalie Chad Johnson on a breakaway with the

backhand after Ryan O'Reilly fumbled the puck near the Sabres line.

Unknown in the net: Charlie Lindgren made 34 saves for the Canadiens

as he continued his strong play in the face of injuries to starter Carey

Price and backup Al Montoya. Lindgren, who spent most of last year at

St. John's of the AHL, entered the game with a 1.35 goals-against

average and equally scintillating .961 save percentage in his first three

appearances this season.

Beat the clock: The Sabres opened the scoring wtih 5.7 seconds left in

the first period as O'Reilly pulled a loose puck off the back boards and

jammed it by Lindgren to give the Sabres a power-play goal to forge a 1-

0 lead for the second straight game. Replays showed Evander Kane took

the shot that O'Reilly corralled but the goal was listed as unassisted.

Slowly gaining power: The Sabres went 1 for 3 on the power play and

have scored with the man advantage in consecutive games for the first

time this season. They had been a paltry 1 for 25 on the power play in

their previous eight games.

A new look: Coach Phil Housley made a couple major changes to his

forward lines, putting Sam Reinhart with Jack Eichel and Kane while

moving Jason Pominville down to the third line with Matt Moulson and

Johan Larsson. The trio of O'Reilly between Benoit Pouliot and Kyle

Okposo remained together. The fourth line was Zemgus Girgensons

between Jordan Nolan and Nick Baptiste.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Pominville entered the game with no goals in his previous four games

and just one goal in his last seven.

Pulling even: The Habs tied the game at 1-1 on Andrew Shaw's power-

play goal at 1:01 of the third period. It was a mid-air deflection from in

close by Shaw off a long Jonathan Drouin wrist shot from the middle that

found its way past goaltender Chad Johnson's glove. It came with eight

seconds left in a slashing penalty to Eichel.

In the net: Johnson made 27 saves for the Sabres, including two on clear

breakaways. In the game's first 90 seconds, after Buffalo defenseman

Nathan Beaulieu blew a tire to allow Alex Galchenyuk to speed in on a

breakaway, Johnson robbed Galchenyuk with a right pad save. A few

seconds after the Drouin goal, Johnson stymied former Sabre Paul Byron

on a backhand.

Getting pugilistic: Former Canadien Josh Gorges returned to the lineup

for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury Oct. 20 and had an

impact with some physical play. Late in the first period, Gorges drilled

Brendan Gallagher and was immediately challenged at center ice by

Jordie Benn. The two traded blows for several seconds in a spirited

scrap.

Up next: The Sabres are in Pittsburgh Tuesday night for their first

meeting of the season with the two-time defending Stanley Cup

champion Penguins. On Friday, they play the Detroit Red Wings in their

first trip to Little Caesars Arena. The next home game is Saturday night

against Carolina in KeyBank Center.



Sabres Notebook: Pouliot happy to survive his brush with NHL law

Mike Harrington



MONTREAL -- Benoit Pouliot has been so productive of late, the last

thing he wanted to do was sit out a game when he wasn't hurt. It looked

like that was a possibility Saturday morning, as Pouliot had a phone

hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for a hit Friday night

on Florida's Keith Yandle.

But the Sabres got good news Saturday afternoon when the league

cleared Pouliot, issuing no suspension or fine. So the veteran winger was

in his normal spot with Ryan O'Reilly and Kyle Okposo for Saturday's

game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Pouliot entered Saturday with five goals and two assists in 16 games for

the Sabres this season, with all of his goals coming over the last eight

games. He said Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill gave him a

heads-up Friday night that the league might be calling and that's exactly

what happened.

"I saw the replay and I didn't think it looked as bad," Pouliot said prior to

the game in Bell Centre. "The helmet came off and that kind of made it

look bad. When we saw the replay on the slow-motion I thought it was a

bang-bang play and it was fine."

We have determined there will be no supplemental discipline for Benoit

Pouliot. After a thorough review of all available angles and a hearing

today with Pouliot, it was determined that the head was not the main

point of contact.

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 11, 2017

Coach Phil Housley admitted he was caught off guard by the NHL giving

the play a closer look.

"I thought Ben was just finishing his check," Housley said. "Yandle got

tangled up a little behind the net and sort of leaned forward. I don't think it

was his intention to get him up high. He was just out there finishing his

check."

"They said I've just got to be careful with those types of situation," Pouliot

said. "They told me, 'You're a smart player, you've never really been in

trouble in your career. You're not playing the game that way but you've

still got to be careful.' Those situations can be dangerous but fortunately

Keith is OK too."

Pouliot, who had never been part of a disciplinary hearing before, was

not penalized on the play and Yandle was not injured. Both of those

factors certainly impacted the decision. Still, it was a surprise because

most players who are called to hearings at least get a fine and a large

percentage earn suspensions.

"I was surprised afterwards when Jason told me the result of what they

were thinking," Pouliot said. "It was a little surprising but at the same time

a relief. I was like, 'Good'. I didn't think I deserved a suspension or

anything else."

Sabres defenseman Nathan Beaulieu made his return to Bell Centre after

being acquired in a summer trade from Montreal. Beaulieu was selected

17th overall by the Habs in 2011 and played 225 games for them from

2013-2017.

"It's weird. I took a walk around the city this afternoon and it was just

different," Beaulieu said. "It was nice to get back, see the familiar streets

and just walk around and take it all in. But there doesn't need to be much

to get up for this one."

Housley could relate, recalling his first game back in Buffalo with the

Winnipeg Jets in 1991.

"It was very emotional," Housley said. "You went to battle with the guys

across on the other side of the rink and you have to get comfortable right

away, get settled into the game and just go about business because if

you get caught up in the emotion sometimes that can work against you."

Asked what stood out about Bell Centre, a smiling Beaulieu quickly

responded, "The best part is the hot dogs."

The massive arena's smoky dogs on sliced bread rolls are a favorite of

fans as well as visiting media members, and players have been known to

partake as well.

Veteran defenseman Josh Gorges, who played 464 games for Montreal

from 2007-2014, returned to the Buffalo lineup after missing the last nine

games with a lower body injury. Rookie Victor Antipin, who has two

points and is minus-4 in 12 games, was a healthy scratch. One of

Antipin's assists was on Okposo's tip-in goal Friday night.



Sabres at Canadiens: Five Things to Know

Mike Harrington


CAROLINA HURRICANES


MONTREAL -- Twice in the next three Saturdays, the Sabres will be in

Bell Centre to meet the Montreal Canadiens and those will be the only

visits they will make to the Habs' home this season. Both games will

come on the second half of back-to-backs, with tonight's contest starting

shortly after 7 on MSG and WGR Radio.

Here are Five Things to Know about tonight's game:

Homecoming for Beaulieu: Sabres defenseman Nathan Beaulieu will get

the bulk of the pregame attention from the ravenous Montreal press

corps as he makes his return to Bell Centre after getting traded to the

Sabres in the offseason. Beaulieu was selected 17th overall by the Habs

in 2011 and played 225 games for them from 2013-2017. Beaulieu

returned to the Buffalo lineup Friday night against Florida after missing

seven games with an upper-body injury. He played 21:06 and had a

minus-1 rating.

Backup brigade: The Sabres did not skate today, with coach Phil Housley

having a scheduled media briefing a couple of hours before faceoff. They

are expected to start Chad Johnson in goal tonight against Montreal's

Charlie Lindgren, who has taken over in the wake of injuries to struggling

starter Carey Price and backup Al Montoya. Lindgren is 2-1-1 but has

sensational numbers with a 1.35 goals-against average and .961 save

percentage. Johnson, meanwhile, has not done much for the Sabres

overall (1-3-1/3.84/.878), and has given up 13 goals in his last three

starts.

Habs get healthy: Two major names should be back in the Montreal

lineup as Jonathan Drouin (upper body) and Shea Weber (lower body)

are scheduled to play after missing Thursday's 3-0 loss to Minnesota.

Drouin and Weber are tied for second on the team in scoring, with both

having three goals and eight assists for 11 points. Drouin's shootout goal

was the difference as the Habs posted a 3-2 victory over the Sabres in

the season opener Oct. 5 in KeyBank Center.

Tough opponent for Eichel to try to break out against: Jack Eichel has

just four goals on the season -- and none in his last seven games. It's the

fourth time in his three-year career Eichel has gone seven straight

without a goal, but he's always managed to find the net in Game 8. That

won't be easy in this one because he has never scored in nine career

games against Montreal, collecting just four assists against the Habs.

Sabres' Eichel is frustrated: 'I don't like my game right now'

Numbers games: The Sabres are 1-3 in the first game of back-to-back

sets this season and 2-1 in the second game. ... The Canadiens are 29th

in the NHL in penalty killing (75.4 percent), but are 14 for 16 at home.

The Sabres, meanwhile, are 28th overall on the power play and 27th at

home. ... The Habs lead the NHL in shots on goal per game (37.7) but

are averaging just 2.5 goals. ... The Sabres have been outscored by

eight goals in each of the first two periods of their games (17-9 in the first

and 23-15 in the second).



Mike Harrington's NHL Power Rankings

Mike Harrington



Through Friday's games. Last week's rankings in parentheses.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning. Stamkos hits 30 points through only 17 games.

(1)

2. St. Louis Blues. NHL-high 19 goals from defense -- which is 35

percent of offense. (3)

3. Los Angeles Kings. Gave up four first-period goals to Tampa on home

ice. (2)

4. Toronto Maple Leafs. Won first two games without Matthews. (9).

5. Vegas Golden Knights. Second in Pacific, third in West. Flat-out

amazing. (10)

6. New Jersey Devils. No more boring hockey: Averaging nearly 3.5

goals per game. (5)

7. Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby has no goals in last 10 games ... and

hosts Sabres Tuesday. Uh-oh. (6)

8. Ottawa Senators. Karlsson was the star attraction during two-game

set with Avs in Stockholm. (7)

9. Winnipeg Jets. Team Hall of Fame, which opened last year, inducts

Hawerchuk on Tuesday. (8)

10. Nashville Predators. Addition of Turris makes them stocked at center.

(14)

11. Dallas Stars. Trip Thursday to Tampa Bay should produce an

offensive showcase. (23).

12. Philadelphia Flyers. Ghost is fastest defenseman to 100 points in

franchise history. (16)

13. Washington Capitals. Who was that team that showed up here

Tuesday night? Brutal performance. (19)

14. Columbus Blue Jackets. Offense struggling during four-game skid.

(4)

15. Vancouver Canucks. Henrik Sedin gets first goal since March 23.

(12).

16. Calgary Flames. Going 5-5 at home in front of rabid Saddledome

fans doesn't cut it. (18)

17. New York Islanders. At 5-0-2, join Pens as only teams left without

regulation loss at home. (11).

18. New York Rangers. Quick turnaround with five wins in a row and 7-

2-1 run in last 10. (25)

19. Colorado Avalanche. All props to Sakic for haul he got for Duchene.

(13)

20. Chicago Blackhawks. Just 7-7-2 and out of a playoff spot through 16

games. (15)

21. Anaheim Ducks. Fractured cheekbone could shelve Getzlaf into

January. (26)

22. San Jose Sharks. Weren't in the same league as Bolts came to

Shark Tank and schooled them, 5-1. (17)

23. Boston Bruins. Nice win Friday in Toronto turned into overtime loss

after tying goal in last minute. (20)

24. Detroit Red Wings. Sabres see Little Caesars Arena for the first time

Friday night. (21)

25. Minnesota Wild. Five goals in two nights for Zucker, including first

career hat trick. (22)

26. Carolina Hurricanes. Aho still with no goals through 14 games. (24)

27. Montreal Canadiens. Lindgren getting the job done in net with Price

sidelined. (30)

CAROLINA HURRICANES


28. Edmonton Oilers. McDavid: Hat trick in opener, three goals in the 14

games since. (28)

29. Florida Panthers. A night against Sabres' woeful attack was all

struggling defense needed. (29)

30. Buffalo Sabres. Far more important than hockey: Pure class from

Lehner to honor fallen Buffalo police diver with same surname. (27)

31. Arizona Coyotes. On a different level of stink from rest of NHL

bottom. (31)



Updated: Sabres' Pouliot cleared on check to the head

Mike Harrington



MONTREAL -- The Buffalo Sabres got a break from the long arm of the

NHL law and will have Benoit Pouliot in the lineup when they meet the

Montreal Canadiens tonight in Bell Centre.

After a phone hearing, the NHL's Department of Player Safety ruled there

would be no supplemental discipline for Pouliot in the wake of what it

initially termed an illegal check to the head against Florida defenseman

Keith Yandle late in Friday's 4-1 loss to the Panthers in KeyBank Center.

We have determined there will be no supplemental discipline for Benoit

Pouliot. After a thorough review of all available angles and a hearing

today with Pouliot, it was determined that the head was not the main

point of contact.

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 11, 2017

Pouliot was not penalized for the play, which occurred with 2:15 left in the

third period. The hit knocked Yandle's helmet off his head.

Pouliot has five goals and two assists in 16 games for the Sabres this

season, with all of his goals coming over the last eight games.

With tonight's game on a back-to-back, the Sabres are not skating today

in Bell Centre. Coach Phil Housley will update the media in the 4:45

range this afternoon.

1082964 Websites

The Athletic / Duhatschek: A 76-goal rookie season was just a glimpse

into the greatness to come for Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne

Eric Duhatschek

In Mark Chipman's office, amid all the memorabilia associated with the

second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets, there is a portrait in oils of

Teemu Selanne, which honors the Jets’ first.

Selanne will enter the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday as a result of a

sparkling career that spanned 20 years, covered three continents and

honours both his play on the ice and the way he carried himself off the

ice. He was known as the Finnish Flash – one of the last great hockey

nicknames – and won a Stanley Cup championship with the Anaheim

Ducks, a world championship for Finland, plus four Olympic medals.

But for all the things Selanne accomplished in the game, nothing can

ever top the way his NHL career began – with an eye-popping 76-goal

season for the 1992-93 Jets, a number that was so much higher than

anyone before or since has ever produced that barring some radical

change in the game, it will stand forever. In the same way that Joe

DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak or Wayne Gretzky’s 215-point single-

season scoring record seem bulletproof, it is impossible to conjure up a

scenario where a rookie arrives in the NHL and proceeds to score 76

times.

Chipman, in that time, was a fan, just like everyone in Winnipeg, a tight

community that radiates pride in the accomplishments of one of its own.

And Selanne they adopted as a native son, practically from the moment

he arrived in the NHL.

“The impact Teemu had here was so profound,” said Chipman, now the

Jets' executive chairman, governor and minority owner. “When you think

about 76 goals, there was shock and awe. He had taken the league by

storm that year, to the extent that other players around the league were

in awe of him. I remember listening to the radio broadcasts of those

games late in the season and they were talking about how players on the

other teams were sticking around to watch him at the morning skate.

“Now, he was a 22-year-old rookie. He didn’t come right over after his

draft year. He did his military service first, and then played for Jokerit, so

he was a man when he got here, but still … 76 goals. You just don’t even

talk in terms like that anymore.”

Selanne shattered the previous mark – of 53, established by Mike Bossy

with the 1977-78 New York Islanders – in March 1993 in a game against

the Quebec Nordiques and ended up breaking the record by 23 goals.

Since 1993, the closest any rookie has come to Selanne’s record was the

Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, who scored 52 times in his rookie

season, 2005-06.

Even given the changes in the game – and how NHL scoring has

dropped in the 25 years since Selanne made his debut — it was an

extraordinary thing to see, this easy-going rookie from Helsinki positively

obliterating the Bossy mark.

“To be honest, that whole year was just like a dream,” Selanne told me

Friday. “Honestly, I don’t think I realized what I’d done until a couple of

years later. It didn’t feel anything too special at the time. Obviously, the

whole city of Winnipeg – and the fans there – were so excited, and I lived

with that. But I didn’t read the papers. I felt the passion and the

excitement, but I didn’t really pay too much attention to that. I was just so

hungry on the ice, I just wanted more and more and more. Obviously, I

played with great players – and the confidence just got bigger and bigger.

“But I think you realize more now what you have done. Obviously, it was

something unbelievable.”

What set Selanne apart from other NHL players was his instinctive

personal charm, something people came to appreciate almost from the

moment he arrived in Winnipeg, knowing only his close friend and

surrogate dad, the popular agent Don Baizley. In that first year, kids in

Selanne’s neighborhood would knock on his door, asking for an

autograph, and sometimes, he would even go out on the street and play

ball hockey with them.

“That’s absolutely true,” Selanne said. “A lot of times, when I’d come from

the practice and I saw the kids playing street hockey – and I didn’t have

my own kids at the time – so I took my stick and went to play with them.

For 10 seconds, they would look up and look at each other and say, ‘oh

my god’ – and then we would play. Sometimes, if we had an afternoon

game, I’d come home and take my suit jacket and tie off and go out there

and play with the nice clothes on.”

In Selanne’s rookie season, his most memorable goals came on a

familiar play, repeated over and over. Defenceman Phil Housley would

CAROLINA HURRICANES


be by the side of the net and hit Selanne in full flight, for a breakaway

pass. This was in the era where there was still centre-ice offside, so

Selanne had to be good at straddling the red line or flying the zone in

order to be on the receiving end of Housley’s pinpoint passes.

“Every player I ever played with, I had great chemistry with,” Selanne

said. “And we had a lot of set plays. Me and Phil, we would sit before and

after the practices and talked about the things we could do. We were

practicing that. He was the quarterback and an unbelievable passer. The

way he saw the game, you playing with a guy like him, you just want to

find the opening somehow, and you know the puck is coming. There’s no

better feeling.

“And at the time, there was no real video scouting much, so that helped

us, too. There were a lot of teams, I don’t think they did their homework.

We surprised them, night after night, and it was a good feeling.”

Selanne spent three seasons in Winnipeg, but midway through the fourth

– which turned out to be the final Jets’ season in the Manitoba capital

before the move to Phoenix – he was traded to the Mighty Ducks of

Anaheim for Chad Kilger and Oleg Tverdovsky, two former top-five draft

picks.

The Mighty Ducks were just in their third year of operation, but the

Selanne trade turned everything around for the franchise. Selanne and

Paul Kariya, the Ducks’ first choice in the 1993 entry draft, developed an

instant chemistry. Selanne had 36 points in 28 games for the Ducks and

the next year the Ducks unexpectedly made the playoffs in their fourth

season of operation – an unusually fast ascension, given how

unenlightened and onerous the expansion draft regulations were in the

1990s.

Soon after arriving in Anaheim, Selanne’s journey became entangled

with Kariya’s at almost every turn. According to Kariya, the two were in a

room together for the first time at a Hockey News awards banquet,

honoring him as the U.S. college player of the year and Selanne as the

NHL’s rookie of the year, but doesn’t recall them having a conversation.

The next time was at an All-Star Game in Boston, where they

represented the Western Conference and skated onto the ice, one after

the other, Selanne wearing No. 8, Kariya No. 9. As every subsequent

member of their team and then the entire Eastern Conference team was

introduced, the two fell into an easy exchange, and their observations

about their peers were virtually identical.

In an interview with The Athletic a few days before arriving in Toronto for

the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Kariya said he had a sense even

then that they saw the game in a similar way.

“What I always appreciated about Teemu was that he was a fan of

hockey and a fan of the players who played hockey,” Kariya said. “He

doesn’t have a jealous bone in his body. He was just inspired by what

other people were doing on the ice. Sometimes, you hear people talk

about what a player was lacking. Teemu always saw it the other way:

What a guy could do, the skill set a guy had, and what he could learn

from them.”

Kariya remembered being in the Ducks’ dressing room when news of the

trade with Winnipeg first filtered down. Coach Ron Wilson came in and

took Tverdovsky and Kilger aside to notify them they were going the

other way in the deal. Then the GM, Jack Ferreira, came in and passed

on the news.

“When he told us we’d gotten Teemu, the guys were just floored,” Kariya

said. “We couldn’t believe that had just happened. It was one of the

greatest trades in NHL history. It was a life-changing event for me.

“Getting someone of Teemu’s talent for an expansion team was a dream

come true for our franchise. I don’t know if anyone could have, at that

point, imagined the impact Teemu would have on the franchise and on

hockey in southern California.”

For their first years together in Anaheim, the two were roommates on the

road. In order to keep people from randomly calling their hotel room while

travelling, they registered under aliases. Selanne was Teddy Flesh, a

pseudonym that he had adopted years before when he was racing rally

cars in Finland and didn’t want his employers – the Jets – to know about

the risks he was running. Kariya, a fan of Al Pacino and the movie

Scarface, registered as Tony Montana. That was all fine until one night,

when they wandered back after hours and realized they’d both left their

keys in the room and were locked out.

They approached the hotel’s front desk and identified themselves to an

employee who wasn’t a hockey fan and thus couldn’t coax a replacement

room key out of him because, of course, their IDs said Paul Kariya and

Teemu Selanne, not the names they were registered under.

“We tried to explain, these were our aliases, but we didn’t get anywhere,”

said Kariya, with a laugh. “We ended up having to call Alex (Gilchrist, the

Ducks’ director of media and communications) to vouch for us and tell

him who we were.”

The fact that Kariya and Selanne are entering the Hall together is a

source of great pride – and mirth – for both. When they are together, the

two interact like a comedy duo, a latter-day Martin and Lewis, with Kariya

playing the part of the buttoned-down straight man, while Selanne is the

laugh-a-minute class clown. The two roomed on the road for years and

bonded over, among other things, reruns of Baywatch. Kariya was

developing a love of surfing and the beach; while Selanne just liked to

watch Pamela Anderson. But in every city they visited, Selanne knew

exactly when Baywatch came on and on what channel. During the 2004-

05 NHL lockout, a lot of NHL players had time on their hands. Some

decided to wait it out in southern California and while they did, tried their

hands at surfing. Selanne had a great fear of sharks, but Kariya

eventually coaxed him out on a morning when about a dozen NHL

players showed up, including Joe Sakic, Rob Blake and Scott

Niedermayer.

“It was Teemu’s first time, so we put him on a long board and Teemu’s

just dominating,” Kariya said. “He says he caught his second wave, but I

don’t recall him missing any. He was doing unbelievably well. So Joe

came up to me in the water and said, ‘Teemu’s got to go on a shorter

board.’ And I’m like, ‘no Joe, let him enjoy himself his first day. It’s a big

transition to go from a 10-footer to a 9-footer.’ I had a shorter board in my

car and Joe is really being adamant, so I said to him: ‘Look Joe, the

waves are really good. If you want to go in and get the board, you go in

and get the board.

“We’re up in San Onofre, which is a world-famous surf spot and

everybody is really nice and nobody’s going to steal your car. But I

always kept my key in the wetsuit. So we’re half way out in chest high

water and here’s Joe undoing my wetsuit to get the key and suddenly, I

hear, ‘plop.’ So I’m saying: ‘What was that?’ And Joe goes: ‘Don’t move.’

I mean, it was a murky day, overcast, and there is no way you’re finding

a key there, in the rocks and sand. Still today, there is a Lexus key in the

ocean off San Onofre.”

The only reason Selanne didn’t stick with surfing, according to Kariya,

was that fear of sharks.

“Of all the hockey players who surfed, Teemu was the one that picked it

up the fastest,” Kariya said. “He’s such a good athlete. When he first

arrived, one of the things that surprised me was how flexible he was.

Basically, he could do the splits and kick a door frame, like the golfer

Sam Snead. Every kind of game or sport – soccer, hockey, tennis – he

was just a natural.”

Growing up in Finland, Selanne’s NHL role model was Jari Kurri, who

patrolled Wayne Gretzky’s right wing during the Edmonton Oilers’

dynasty years.

Kurri was still playing in North America as Selanne first started attracting

attention domestically, playing for Jokerit. They didn’t cross paths until

one summer when Kurri invited Selanne to participate in one of his

summer hockey schools.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


“He was 17 or 18 I think because he had his drivers’ license and he

asked to borrow my car,” Kurri said. “In those days, I had sports cars, so

he said, ‘let me borrow it a little while.’ I said, ‘take it easy.’”

But when it comes to Selanne and speed, there is no such thing as “take

it easy.”

Kurri was playing for the Los Angeles Kings when Selanne arrived in the

NHL. Two years later, they were teammates for the first time, playing 20

games for Jokerit during the 1994-95 NHL lockout. Two years after that,

Kurri – at Selanne’s urging – joined the Mighty Ducks for the 1996-97

season, where Kurri switched to centre and played between Kariya and

Selanne, a year in which the latter produced 109 points, including 51

goals, the second highest point total of his career.

Kurri stuck around the NHL one more year – 1997-98 – so he and

Selanne could play together on Finland’s Olympic team, the first time

NHLers were eligible. Selanne had 10 points in five games that year, and

Finland defeated Canada to win the bronze medal.

By then, Selanne was a star in Finland.

“People recognize him that way – that he spends a lot of time with the

fans and cares a lot about the fans,” Kurri said. “Not all the players can

do that. Everybody’s different. But he enjoyed being around them, and

exchanging stories. He’s an easy-going guy and fun to be around. He

had a lot of energy for that.

“Even more in Finland. He’s been a big part of the Finnish national team.

Everybody knows him. He’s a very recognized player.”

Selanne eventually accumulated a car collection practically unrivaled

among NHL players, part of his ongoing fascination with speed.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a car or a boat or skis or whatever,” Kurri said.

“Speed is in his blood and it’s a big part of his game and the way he

played.”

It looked as if Selanne’s career might be in eclipse in the 2003-04 season

when he and Kariya both signed to play with the Colorado Avalanche.

Selanne’s knees were giving him trouble and he slumped to 32 points in

78 games. And while the 2004-05 lockout was devastating for many

NHLers, it was actually a blessing in disguise because it gave Selanne a

chance to heal.

In the summer of 2005, he signed again with the Mighty Ducks and

immediately was back in form – 90 points in 80 games, in a year when he

also led Finland to a silver medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics, where he

led the tournament in goals – with six – and points, with 11.

A year later, the Ducks won their first and only Stanley Cup

championship, Selanne contributing 94 regular-season points and 15

more in the playoffs. By then, he was 37 and Selanne thought that might

be it for him. Accordingly, he spent most of 2007-08, considering

retirement — though he was eventually coaxed back into playing.

In the end, he returned for the final 26 games of the season and then

played a further six years, always hoping for a chance to win one more

championship. By 2010-11, after turning 40, Selanne produced an 80-

point season in 73 games. The NHL was already starting to skew

younger, but Selanne’s impact on the Ducks didn’t start to wane until his

final two seasons, when his ice time started to diminish. By the summer

of 2013, Selanne was wavering over his future, but eventually announced

his plans to play in typical Selanne fashion. He posted a comical video on

the Ducks’ website – of him having a bad day on the golf course, which

culminated in him heaving his clubs into a nearby pond. At that point,

Selanne waded into the water, fished out his cell phone and purportedly

called Ducks’ GM Bob Murray with the news – that he was coming back,

but this would be his swan song.

Just as Kurri was his role model, Selanne later influenced a generation of

Finnish players that came after him, including Patrik Laine, who arrived in

the NHL with a splash last year. Playing for Selanne’s original team, the

Jets, Laine produced 36 goals in 73 games. It wasn’t the 76 that Selanne

managed, but it was the second highest total of the year, behind the

Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews. Laine is a different sort of player

– more Alex Ovechkin than Selanne – and says he didn’t see as much of

Selanne’s exploits growing up. But Laine followed Selanne in the Finnish

news and, as his own star emerged, the two have become well-

acquainted during the past couple of years.

Laine described Selanne as “the poster boy of Finnish hockey. For me,

there wasn’t many opportunities to see his games when I was growing up

because the games were in the middle of the night, so it was pretty hard.

But I’ve seen lots of his highlights and he’s been one of my idols growing

up.

“I also think he’s the nicest guy I ever met. His personality is just

something else – and just an awesome player and person.”

Laine said he learned from how Selanne carried himself as he adjusted

to life in the NHL – and the increasing demands that his own emerging

fame is putting on him.

“I mean, for me, I try to be as nice a guy as he is – and handle the media

and the fans the way he does,” Laine said. “There was a unique way that

he did it. I’m just trying to follow in his footsteps.”

Kurri, who is part of the 18-member Hall of Fame selection committee, is

flying into Toronto on the weekend so that he can be part of induction

ceremony. Kurri was inducted in the Hall back in 2001 and says the

media landscape in Finland has changed dramatically since then, making

the Selanne induction a much bigger story back home than his own was.

Channeling his inner Bob Johnson, Kurri noted in a telephone interview:

“For such a small country to develop so many NHL players, it’s a huge

honor – and a great day for hockey in Finland.”

And for Selanne, it was an honor he couldn’t ever have imagined,

growing up as one of a set of twin brothers, who developed separate

passions over time.

“I am so thankful for everything for sure,” said Selanne Friday. “As a

player, this is the highest honor you can get. I feel very humbled to here

this week – and obviously, it’s so great to share this with everyone. We

all have the same background – parents who helped us and so many

teammates and coaches and everybody. We have been around great

people. I really feel we all have been very lucky.”

The Athletic LOADED: 11.12.2017

1082965 Websites

The Athletic / Despite generation gap, Zdeno Chara helping ease Charlie

McAvoy's transition into the league

Joshua Kloke

In April, before Charlie McAvoy walked into the Boston Bruins dressing

room for the first time, he was naturally nervous. But once he found his

stall, those nerves gave way to feelings of being “star struck.” There

stood the six-foot-nine, 40 year old future Hall of Fame defenseman

Zdeno Chara.

McAvoy, the Bruins 2016 first round draft pick, had signed his first

professional contract after leaving Boston University and was going to be

expected to perform on the same defense pairing as a man that was a

full generation older.

It was, needless to say, a little overwhelming to be in the same room with

players like Chara.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


“Being in an NHL locker room, it’s something I’ve dreamed about my

whole life,” McAvoy said Friday in Toronto. “And I looked around and

they were these larger than life figures.”

Joining the team at a crucial point in the season, McAvoy expected to be

treated as the “new guy” in the room. But instead, the warm reception he

received and the no-nonsense approach from Chara in the dressing

room brought out of a level of comfort in McAvoy that continues today.

Chara and McAvoy are the Bruins most-used defense pairing and they

currently rank ninth in the NHL in CF% (56.07 percent) among defense

pairings that have played at least 100 minutes together.

With eight points in 15 games, McAvoy is third in rookie defense scoring

and is an early Calder Trophy contender. He credits Chara for “setting

the bar” among the Bruins in their treatment of the rookie and believes

it’s allowed him to find his own footing in the league.

“If it wasn’t as welcoming a room, I could see it being difficult to play

good hockey,” he said. “But from the moment I walked in, in the playoffs

and how nice they were to me, it felt like I’d been there for years and I

was a part of that family.”

McAvoy admits he was hesitant at first to pick Chara’s brain. But at the

rink, Chara is all too eager to share what he’s learned from his 20

seasons in the NHL. Being a valuable source of information has helped

ease McAvoy's transition into the league.

“Before a game, when we’re going over the other team’s matchups, he’s

very good at hinting to me, ‘Hey, watch out for this guy, this guy can

really skate, this guy will finish his checks,’” McAvoy said. “He has such a

wealth of knowledge of other players in this league and the way the

game is played. He’s very good about helping me be prepared.”

McAvoy might not get star struck anymore, but he does have to stop and

pinch himself every so often that he’s found such success with a future

Hall of Famer. McAvoy grew up watching Chara and his favourite

memories are from Chara’s time with the Senators when he began

playing in Ottawa in 2001.

And yes, McAvoy knows Chara began his career with the New York

Islanders. But that was a little too early for McAvoy. Though he may feel

like part of the team now, he can’t hide his youth all the time.

“When he was with the Islanders,” he laughs, “I don’t even know if I was

having memories at that point.”

Chara has been paired with young defensemen before, such as Dougie

Hamilton and Brandon Carlo. Chara and Carlo spent much of last season

together, when Carlo was also just 19 as the season began.

The secret to Chara’s ability to bridge the generation gap and pair with

defencemen much younger than him? Don’t over exert your influence on

the ice and try to change the player they are.

“We like to communicate on the ice, read off each other,” Chara said.

“We understand each other and what we’re doing on the ice. Sometimes

it’s just a matter of the first reaction and not overthinking things.

Communication is the big thing. When you let each other play the game

you’re supposed to, you can work together.”

It’s Chara’s ability to work well with young defenceman that will make him

such a lucrative free agent, should he get there once his seven-year,

$45.5 million contract expires on July 1, 2018. Chara will be 41 at that

point and there could be no shortage of teams looking for a veteran

presence to guide younger players.

“(Chara) can teach you lessons about the type of person you want to be,

the way you want to carry yourself,” McAvoy said. “He’s a guy who’s so

special to have on your team because of those lessons he can provide.

I’m very happy to be on the same team as him. I’m grateful for that.”

Chara himself understands the importance of having a guiding, veteran

player in the dressing room. On Friday, he was asked about what it was

like to play alongside 2017 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Mark Recchi.

Recchi finished his NHL career at 43 with the Bruins in 2011.

“It’s only a benefit for us to have players like that,” he said. “And you can

spread that leadership around the room.”


1082966 Websites

The Athletic / Bruce Boudreau draws on Ducks' 2015 poor start to

convince Wild things will be OK

Michael Russo

PHILADELPHIA – Mikko Koivu’s the first to point out that one win doesn’t

make a season and hardly cured the Wild’s ills heading into Saturday

night’s four-game road trip finale against the Flyers.

But asked where the Wild mustered up the energy to pull off a 3-0 win at

Montreal on Thursday to at least temporarily stop the bleeding, the Wild

captain cracked, “We’re in shape.”

Fair enough.

But winning against the Habs could have been easier said than done.

Physically, the Wild could have been spent after playing the night before.

Mentally, the Wild could have been depressed by the latest meltdown of

thoroughly outplaying the Toronto Maple Leafs and still losing.

“This is a good group,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “There’s a lot of

character in this group.”

Boudreau loved the “sacrifice” from his group against the Canadiens. The

Wild blocked a season-high 28 shots, and players like Marcus Foligno

set the tone early with a slew of hits on his first shift. Foligno finished the

game with eight hits, one short of his career-high.

It’s no secret the Wild, sitting last in the Central Division, have gotten off

to a lowly 6-7-2 start.

But Boudreau spent much of Wednesday before the Wild played the

Maple Leafs trying to repair bruised egos and worried souls that all is not

lost.

In 2015-16, Boudreau’s Anaheim Ducks were shut out in five of their first

eight games and on Dec. 22 sat last in the Pacific Division with a 12-15-6

record. They emerged from the Christmas break and went 34-10-5 the

rest of the way to finish with 103 points and another division crown.

What Boudreau explained to the Wild is he convinced the Ducks to “stay

the course.”

“We just couldn’t score, and I just felt that if we continued to play the

same way, eventually the pucks aren’t going to hit that post,” Boudreau

said. “We didn’t panic and that’s what we’re trying to do here. Seven

games, we’ve been tied with seven minutes to go and lost every one.

You turn that around and all of a sudden you have a pretty good season

going.”

Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, whose 41 saves against the Canadiens were

the most he has ever had in an NHL shutout, said the Wild took

Boudreau’s message to heart.

“Fortunately we're not off to the start they were off to,” Dubnyk said. “I

think we all remember that. That was pretty crazy and they were able to

come back. He just told us that no goals were going in back then, they

were hitting posts, and nothing seemed to be going their way, and they

stuck with what they were doing and what they believed in and eventually

those pucks started to go in the net and they turned things around.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


“It's kind of a similar situation for us. We just have to stay with it and

believe the bounces are going to start going our way.”

But, for the Wild to catapult themselves up the division standings, a win

streak is needed. They’ll have a chance Saturday in the first of a home-

and-home with the Flyers; the Wild open a two-game homestand

Tuesday.

“It’s going to be a relentless-type schedule here with a lot of games

coming up,” veteran Eric Staal said. “But we’ve got to pick up points.

We’re one game below .500, and a team that’s trying to climb in the

standings. So we’ve got to fight to win these games and get points.”

The Wild will also need somebody else to score beside Jason Zucker,

who has the Wild’s past five goals. Boudreau knows it’ll happen if the

Wild stay on path.

“This group, they never quit, they want to win,” Boudreau said. “They

haven’t been happy with the results of a lot of the games and they really

wanted to win [Thursday] and it showed.”

Granlund’s impressive play

Most folks got caught up in Zucker’s scintillating winning shorthanded

breakaway goal against the Canadiens, but the play Mikael Granlund to

make something out of nothing was impressive.

Granlund not only won a puck battle, but then he lifted the stick of Artturi

Lehkonen in the neutral zone and slid a pass to Zucker, who took off.

“Yeah, I just lifted the guy’s stick and one-handed it,” Granlund said, like

it was no big deal.

0:00

Staal picks up milestone

On Zucker’s second of three goals Thursday, Staal picked up his 500th

career assist.

“It means I’ve been around a while,” he said. “It’s still nice, for sure. I’m

hoping to play a lot longer yet and have some more of those milestones

as I continue my career. It’s nice to have it happen with a win and a big

game from a linemate. We’ll take it and look forward to Philly.” …

Backup goalie Alex Stalock, whose wife gave birth to daughter Selena

Raine on Wednesday, rejoined the Wild in Philadelphia and Niklas

Svedberg was reassigned to Iowa.


1082967 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Canucks’ inept power play scores more for Sharks than

themselves

Iain MacIntyre

November 12, 2017, 2:14 AM

SAN JOSE, Calif. – In a statement game, the Vancouver Canucks

shouted: “Our power play sucks!” Other than that, they were fine.

But if they’d played any better, they might have lost by a touchdown.

Needing a response to a slow, sloppy performance Thursday in Anaheim

and expected by coach Travis Green to be better on Saturday, the

Canucks dominated the San Jose Sharks over the final two periods but

surrendered a critical shorthanded goal before an absurd final two

minutes ended with a 5-0 Vancouver loss.

The Sharks scored twice into an empty net and once, by Chris Tierney,

on a penalty shot with 12.2 seconds remaining as the Canucks played

well enough to win but lost by five. Shots were 41-31 for Vancouver, 31-

17 over the final 40 minutes.

Including the 4-1 debacle against the Ducks two nights earlier, the

Canucks have been outscored 9-1 in California and now they get to play

the Golden State’s best team, visiting the Los Angeles Kings on

Tuesday. Luckily, the National Hockey League no longer has a team in

Oakland.

“Last 45 or 50 minutes, we outshot that team badly, which is not easy to

do in this rink,” Canucks winger Daniel Sedin said. “We’ve got to stay

positive about it. The process is so important. But there are games when

good teams just put their foot down and make sure the losing stops.

We’ve got to make sure we stop the losing.”

“I think we played better than the score showed,” defenceman Alex Edler

said. “They were coming hard the first 10 minutes, but after that I thought

we were better. We did a lot of good things in the second and third

periods. We battled harder, helped each other better. We have five-man

units all over the ice. It’s something we can build on.”

The problem is whatever the Canucks’ build is liable to sink in the

quicksand of their power play.

For more than three years the power play has been debilitating. It’s not

an elephant in the room for the Canucks. It is the room. They have lived

uncomfortably and lost frequently because their man-advantage unit fails

them in key games and undermines other improvements.

Two of three garbage-time goals for San Jose were, technically, scored

shorthanded because Sharks forward Timo Meier was issued a major

penalty and game misconduct with 1:23 remaining for hitting the

Canucks’ Michael Del Zotto in the face with the butt of his stick.

But the legitimate shorthanded goal that crushed the Canucks came at

15:59 of the second period when the Sharks, clinging to a fluky 1-0 lead

and under constant pressure at even strength, got a breakaway goal

from Logan Couture after a weak giveaway by Vancouver captain Henrik

Sedin.

The Canucks were outshooting the Sharks 13-2 in the middle period

before Joel Ward’s slashing penalty put Vancouver on the power play.

Instead of pulling even, the Canucks fell further behind when Couture

slipped a backhand deke between Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom’s

pads.

But that’s the Canucks power play for you.

Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Vancouver’s power play is the

worst in the NHL at 15 per cent. It’s a full point below the next poorest

team, the Colorado Avalanche, and has produced just 81 goals in 181

games.

This season, the Canucks’ power play is ranked 27th with a 14.1 per cent

success rate. It has generated 10 goals in 17 games, but five of those

man-advantage goals were bunched into two nights, so the power play

has scored in only seven games. Saturday was the 10th time

Vancouver’s power play was blanked.

The Canucks are 4-5-1 in those games. They’re 4-2-1 when the power

play scores.

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Over 26 months, the Canucks have changed head coaches, changed

assistants who run the power play, and juggled on-ice personnel. Four of

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the five skaters signed as free agents in July were supposed to bring

power-play skills to Vancouver and still the power play continues to cost

the Canucks games.

“Your plan is always to have an effective power play,” one of the

newcomers, Sam Gagner, said when asked if he’s surprised by the

Canucks’ struggles with the man-advantage. “I don’t think we should ever

expect it to go poorly or have a negative mindset going into a man-

advantage. We just have to continue to work through it, talk through it

and make sure we’re doing the right things. The first couple of power

plays were OK tonight, and then it went downhill.”

This season, at least, the shortage of power-play goals was offset for a

while by superior Canucks penalty killing, but Vancouver’s shorthanded

unit has been getting torched in November. Opposing power plays were

7-for-16 against the Canucks before the Sharks were blanked Saturday.

San Jose, of course, didn’t need its power play. All it needed was

Vancouver’s.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.12.2017

1082968 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens will take the wins now no matter how they

come

Eric Engels

November 11, 2017, 11:54 PM

MONTREAL – You don’t win points for style, so you’ll have to forgive the

Montreal Canadiens for not being willing to toss back the two they earned

in the standings with their 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on

Saturday.

It was a hideous performance, on home ice, on Hockey Night in Canada

– especially for a team that had lumbered out to a franchise-worst start to

a season in 76 years before finally stringing together some wins to bring

the playoff picture back to within view.

The Canadiens, who had won five of their last seven games coming into

Saturday’s contest, had a layup and nearly bricked it off the bottom of the

rim. The Sabres had come to town as the 30th-best hockey team in the

31-team NHL, on the heels of a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers a night

prior, and were ripe for the taking.

And yet, somehow, it was the Sabres who took 25 of the first 36 shots

recorded in Saturday’s game; it was the Sabres who led 1-0 after two

periods; it was the 5-9-2 Sabres who looked like they were going to

deliver a devastating blow to Montreal’s resurgence.

Le Journal de Montreal’s Jonathan Bernier jokingly asked Canadiens

coach Claude Julien after the game if his team had intentionally tried to

lull the Sabres to sleep through the first 40 minutes in order to pounce on

their tired legs over the final 20.

“No,” said Julien. “That wasn’t exactly the strategy. If I drew up strategies

like that, I wouldn’t be coaching here very long.”

Believe him.

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The Canadiens, in spite of their (less-than-stellar) results this season,

have been among the league’s top possession teams in just about all of

their games. They rank third in the NHL in shot-attempt differential. They

have ritually out-shot and out-chanced their opponents and ended up on

the losing side of the equation more often than not – sometimes by as

many as three goals, as was the case against the Minnesota Wild on

Thursday. By the numbers, they’ve lost eight of 12 games in which

they’ve out-shot their opponents.

If the skate was on the other foot for Saturday’s game, it had a lot to do

with Canadiens goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who has been a revelation

in the absence of starter Carey Price.

Lindgren improved to 3-1 this season (6-1 over his career) with the 34-

save performance and was named first star of the game. With the

Hockey Night in Canada towel draped over his shoulders, he wore an

ear-to-ear smile as he contemplated his reaction to seeing Canadiens

captain Max Pacioretty score the overtime-winning goal.

“A lot of relief, and obviously super excited,” the Minnesotan said.

You wait a lifetime to have this towel around your neck #CharlieLindgren

#1stStar pic.twitter.com/vUFUSNEt5l

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) November 12, 2017

Lindgren was just as pleased to see Andrew Shaw tip home Jonathan

Drouin’s point shot on the power play just 1:01 into the third period to tie

the game 1-1.

“For the team it’s a huge two points,” he said. “Coming back like that in

the third period is not easy to do and we showed a lot of resiliency

tonight. It was fantastic.”

It was necessary.

A loss would’ve made it a 1-2 week for the rested Canadiens against

three teams who had come to Bell Centre on the second half of back-to-

back games. It would’ve plundered them further down the depths of the

standings.

It would’ve been unacceptable.

“I can’t say I’m extremely happy because I know we can play better,” said

Julien. “But I’m not going to say I’m disappointed because we need to

win games and we’ll take wins no matter how we get them.”

How did Julien react to the way his team played through the first two

periods?

“I said something between every period,” he said. “I went in there after

the first, I went in there after the second. You talk, you find different

ways. I wasn’t happy with the first so you know what I might have said

after the first and going into the second. It’s [about] the importance of

winning a hockey game; ‘What are we willing to do?’

“We won tonight, but as I said, not good enough as far as the game’s

concerned and we need to get better in those areas if we expect to be a

successful team.”

No question about it.

So the Canadiens will take a day off Sunday and get back to work

Monday before opening up next week’s slate by welcoming the

Columbus Blue Jackets to the Bell Centre Tuesday. The Arizona Coyotes

visit Thursday and the Toronto Maple Leafs visit Saturday.

By the end of the week, the Canadiens could find themselves in a playoff

spot for the first time since winning their opening game of the season.

We have no doubt they’d take that result, no matter how beautiful – or

ugly – it looks along the way there.


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1082969 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs nearing deadline on Nikita Soshnikov

decision

Emily Sadler

November 11, 2017, 11:39 PM

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nikita Soshnikov started the 2017-18

season in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies, but he likely won’t be there

much longer.

“Maple Leafs fans are well-aware of this situation: Nikita Soshnikov, on

Tuesday, if he’s not in the NHL he has the right to go back overseas,”

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during Saturday’s Headlines on

Hockey Night in Canada.

According a clause in Soshnikov’s contract, which he signed as a free

agent out of the KHL in March 2015, the winger is allowed to return to

Russia if he’s not skating on NHL ice by Nov. 14.

As of Saturday night, there’s no update yet.

“Lou Lamoriello has a saying: ‘if you have time, use it.’ So this probably

means it gets sorted out at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday night, but either it’ll

be something as simple as a roster move or maybe another kind of

move,” Friedman said. “But people are expecting the Maple Leafs to do

something to make room for him.”

Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek also discussed the Maple Leafs’ dilemma earlier

this week:

Soshnikov, 24, scored five goals and added four assists in 56 games with

the Maple Leafs last season, adding to the five points in 11 games he

tallied following his debut in 2015-16. He’ll be a restricted free agent on

July 1, 2018.


1082970 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Jarome Iginla isn’t ready to retire from NHL yet

Emily Sadler

November 11, 2017, 10:11 PM

We’re almost a quarter of the way through the 2017-18, and Jarome

Iginla is still without a team. According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the

veteran winger isn’t ready to call it quits just yet.

“Jarome Iginla wants to resume his NHL career—and not necessarily the

one that he also has at the international level,” Kypreos said during

Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “He had

some minor surgery that was described to me as maintenance, but he

wants to get ready to play.”

Iginla has 20 seasons worth of experience, 16 of which were spent with

the Calgary Flames. He also had short stints with the Pittsburgh

Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings.

The 40-year-old registered 625 goals and 675 assists for 1,300 points in

1,554 career NHL regular season games.

“We all know that the NHL teams out there use the American

Thanksgiving as a bit of a gauge to reassess their team,” Kypreos said.

“He’s hoping at that point that there will be enough interest where at least

he can find a team that perhaps he might even skate with and be in a

situation, much like others have, with a PTO—player tryout—and wait for

his opportunity to sign.”

Because he’s still without an NHL deal, Iginla is eligible to suit up for

Team Canada at the upcoming 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang,

South Korea. The winger has represented Canada three times on the

Olympic stage, winning gold twice (2002, 2010).

But Kyproes said the Olympic rings are not his priority this time around.

“The Olympics? They’re there, but it’s not his focus right now,” Kypreos

said. “He’s expected to have a conversation with general manager of

Team Canada, Sean Burke, but that probably won’t come much later

until at least he’s explored all his options in the National Hockey League.”


1082971 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Jason Spezza score cools trade rumblings

Emily Sadler

November 11, 2017, 10:32 PM

Friday night was a big one for the Dallas Stars as they flexed their

offensive muscles against the New York Islanders to the tune of a 5-0

win.

The biggest goal came off the stick of Jason Spezza, who finally broke

his 15-game drought to start the season.

Not only did Spezza’s first goal of the season remove the monkey that

was getting pretty comfortable on his back, it also may have cooled off

some trade rumblings, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

“Prior to [Friday] he hadn’t scored yet and also he was looking at his

lowest playing time since he first became an NHL regular and he’d been

moved out of centre and onto the wing,” Friedman pointed out during

Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “I started to

hear his name a bit, maybe as a potential trade chip.”

“Now, one thing we should realize is he has full control over his

situation—no-move clause during the season. No. 2, he’s got one more

year at $7.5 million dollars,” Friedman said. “Just also in researching it, I

think Dallas realizes you need offence to win in this league and Jason

Spezza can still provide offence.”

Spezza signed a four-year, $30-million deal with Dallas back in 2014.

The 34-year-old registered 15 goals and 35 assists for 50 points in 68

games with the Stars in 2016-17—his 12th season hitting the 50-point

plateau.

“I think the No. 1 choice is for this to work before they explore to see if

they need to make a move or anything like that,” said Friedman.


CAROLINA HURRICANES


1082972 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / X-ray shows Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey lost a tooth… in his

lip

Emily Sadler

November 11, 2017, 7:16 PM

If you were watching Saturday’s matinee matchup between the New York

Rangers and Edmonton Oilers, you probably saw the scary encounter

between Zack Kassian‘s skate and Jimmy Vesey‘s face. (If you didn’t,

you can watch the play at the top of this post.)

Thankfully, Vesey was OK and was able to skate off the ice with a bloody

lip. We later learned that he lost a few teeth in the collision, too.

Turns out, they found them in his lip.

Yes, that’s a tooth you see lodged firmly in his bottom lip.

Actually, according to Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault, there are two

teeth in there:

“He’s got a couple teeth right now in his lip … they’re going to find a way

to take them out,” Vigneault said during his post-game press conference.

“Hockey will be hockey, eh?”


1082973 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Shipachyov: Russian players should think before leaving

for NHL

Sonny Sachdeva

November 11, 2017, 12:44 PM

It’s safe to say the Vadim Shipachyov era in Vegas didn’t turn out as

either party had predicted. After repeated AHL assignments, a brief

three-game stay in the big leagues, and a messy financial split, the

veteran Russian pivot returned to the KHL Saturday, signing a one-year

deal with his old club SKA St. Petersburg.

Back with the club with whom he twice lifted the Gagarin Cup,

Shipachyov opened up on his tumultuous experience trying to break into

the NHL with the Golden Knights.

“The promises which I was given in America didn’t come off,” Shipachyov

told reporters on Saturday, according to a translation posted to SKA St.

Petersburg’s official website. “But everything works out for the best. A lot

of other SKA players who are here now have gone down this route, it’s

probably the correct strategy.

“Now I know that Russian players should think 10 times before leaving

for abroad, it’s different from what the clubs and agents tell you.”

The three-time KHL all-star pointed to miscommunication as one of the

key obstacles that blocked his path to the NHL.

“Face to face I was told one thing, but when it came to hockey, the story

changed,” Shipachyov said, adding that things didn’t improve after he

managed to score a goal in his Golden Knights debut. “We won, but the

coach said that I’m not going to play a lot at the moment. I was told that

everything’s fine, but I’m going to be in the fourth line. I didn’t need to be

on the powerplay, I simply wanted to play in every game.”

Shipachyov signed a 1-year deal with SKA for just $0.5 million. That's a

huge drop

— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) November 11, 2017

Before leaving for the NHL, Shipachyov had a 3-year offer from SKA for

roughly $4.5M per season. https://t.co/Z2EGOGwEd4

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) November 11, 2017

After it became clear that Shipachyov and the Golden Knights weren’t a

match, the process allowing him to move on from Vegas was put into

action. It wound up being a tedious one, however, due to the club’s

request that Shipachyov pay back the majority of his $2-million signing

bonus and agree not to seek a deal with another NHL club upon leaving.

“I didn’t understand what was happening,” Shipachyov said. “Vegas

didn’t search for other options, despite it being the better option for them.

They obviously wanted me to cancel the contract and give them money.”

Then came the confusion surrounding the forward’s AHL assignment, as

Shipachyov was assigned to the Chicago Wolves for the second time,

and then suspended by the Golden Knights for leaving the minor league

affiliate.

“After all of this, I decided that I didn’t want to be there. My agent spoke

with the general manager, they agreed that we need a few days to

search for a new team,” Shipachyov said. “Because of that, I left Chicago

for Las Vegas. (George McPhee) didn’t tell the Chicago Wolves about

that discussion, so it was assumed that I left the team on purpose. In the

press, there was a story that I travelled to my wife because she doesn’t

speak English. Where did that come from?”

While his North American tour didn’t pan out, Shipachyov said he’s glad

to have landed back with the KHL’s current No. 1 squad.

“Of course I’m happy. It’s the best option for me,” he said. “I knew that

SKA had won 20 consecutive games and not lost in regulation for a long

time. I knew that they could say: ‘Sorry, we don’t need you,’ but the club

helped me and I am grateful.”


1082974 Websites

TSN.CA / Leafs hit their stride after sweeping weekend series with Bruins

By Kristen Shilton

BOSTON – Taking on the Boston Bruins for the second time in as many

nights, the Maple Leafs came out on top again, beating the Bruins 4-1 to

complete the weekend sweep. The Leafs have now won six straight over

the Bruins, dating back through last season's sweep. Toronto moves to

12-7-0 on the season with the win, and they’re now 3-0 without top-line

centre Auston Matthews in the lineup. Matthews’ status going into the

Leafs’ four-day break isn’t yet known as he remains day-to-day with an

upper-body injury.

Takeaways

Flipping the script

When the Leafs and Bruins met on Friday night, it was Toronto that

trailed throughout the game, from early in the second period right to the

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final minute of the third period. But the Leafs still managed to secure the

3-2 overtime win by staying composed and sticking to their structure. On

Saturday, it was the Bruins’ turn to try and do the same. The Leafs

jumped out to an early 2-0 lead less than 15 minutes in and Boston was

playing catch-up until the end. Toronto’s special teams haven’t been

strong of late, but their penalty kill in particular is what helped propel

them to victory. The kill had given up at least one goal in five straight

games leading up to Saturday night. When the Leafs were leading by

one, Andreas Borgman and Dominic Moore took tripping penalties in

rapid succession, giving the Bruins a 5-on-3 power play for 1:07. Toronto

did a good job boxing out and blocking shots to not give the Bruins many

quality chances. The penalty kill finished a perfect 4-for-4, their best

showing since Nov. 1.

Tightening the reigns

The Leafs returned from a poor road trip through the Western

Conference eight days ago after ceding 11 combined goals to the Los

Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues in their final two stops. Over this

current four-game win streak, Toronto’s longest of the season, the Leafs

have only given up eight goals in total. No longer outscoring their

opponents by multiple goals, the Leafs have won two of these four

games by one goal, and it would have been three by a single goal if not

for an empty-netter against Minnesota. Toronto has been doing a better

job on breakouts from the defensive zone and as a group they’re finally

making consistent strides in puck management (they were credited with

only seven giveaways on Saturday). Both James van Riemsdyk and

Morgan Rielly talked about the Leafs getting some confidence and

swagger back in their game, and how it’s manifesting in all three areas of

their game.

Back on the board

It had been 17 games, dating back to the Leafs’ season opener on Oct.

4, since Mitch Marner last scored his lone goal of the season. He finally

doubled that output on Saturday, capitalizing on a Bruins’ turnover and

picking the top corner behind Tuukka Rask. It was one of two first period

goals for the Leafs, a category in which they lead the league (28). Known

more for his prolific playmaking abilities than lighting the lamp, Marner is

second on the Leafs in assists (11) and claimed throughout the five-week

goal drought to not be concerned by it. One of the major impediments to

Marner scoring has been his comparatively low shot total. He ranks

eighth among Leafs in shots on goal (35) and readily admits he passes

up open looks for himself to feed teammates. But on Saturday he

directed five shots towards the net on one power play shift alone,

showing he can make more of an effort to ignore the stick-taps of

teammates when he has open opportunities himself. Marner finished the

night with one goal, one assist and a team-high six shots on goal

Mac attack

Curtis McElhinney’s last start, against the Kings 10 days ago, went about

as poorly as any he’s played in since joining the Leafs. The Kings held a

5-0 lead before the Leafs really seemed to get their legs under them, and

McElhinney knew he wouldn’t have a chance to redeem himself for a

while. On Saturday he did just that, turning in a 38 save performance in a

game where Toronto was outshot 39-24. He didn’t have to make many

saves on high-end scoring chances in the first period, but when the

Bruins started the second period trailing the Leafs, they were flying

around McElhinney. In that frame he made a couple good stops on

Patrice Bergeron, including when he set up Brad Marchand on a two-on-

one try. Aiding McElhinney was a solid night from the Leafs’ defensive

core, led by Morgan Rielly. While sound in his own end, playing with Ron

Hainsey has opened up more offensive chances for Rielly and he’s taken

advantage. With a goal and an assist against the Bruins, Rielly extended

his point streak to four games, the longest of his five-season career.

Next game

After a busy stretch of five games in eight nights, the Leafs have a four-

day break before facing the New Jersey Devils in Toronto on Thursday.

TSN.CA LOADED: 11.12.2017

1082975 Websites

USA TODAY / Matt Gilroy, thriving in the KHL, now expected to become

go-to player for U.S. Olympic team

Kevin Allen

Published 4:02 p.m. ET Nov. 11, 2017

Updated 5:15 p.m. ET Nov. 11, 2017

The first couple of times Fox Sports reporter Jenny Taft explained to

bosses that she needed time off to travel to Moscow to see her husband

play hockey she remembers they gave her “funny looks.”

“One of the guys I work with thought I married a Russian guy,” Taft told

USA TODAY Sports. “There was confusion about it.”

But Taft’s husband, Matt Gilroy, was born in Long Island and became a

star defenseman at Boston University, where he won the Hobey Baker

Award as college hockey’s best player. Now he is a leading candidate to

play for the U.S. Olympic team in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The complication of the Gilroy-Taft marriage is that Gilroy, 33, is a top

player in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League. He’s played the

past three seasons in Moscow, and today plays for the KHL franchise

Jokerit in Helsinki, Finland.

When Gilroy first joined the KHL in 2014-15, he believed it would be a

temporary stay until he could land another NHL opportunity. He had

played 225 NHL games with four different teams, but he spent much of

2013-14 season in the American Hockey League.

What Gilroy didn’t expect is that he would enjoy his international

experience on and off the ice.

“It turned out to be a blessing,” Gilroy said. “What I’ve gained in life

experiences …meeting different people, learning about different cultures,

languages ... to say that is my life is pretty cool.”

His playing style also turned out to be better suited for the international

ice surface, which is 15 feet wider than the NHL's.

“I found a niche,” said Gilroy, who has 103 points in four KHL seasons.

“It’s a more offensive game. It’s more of a skating game. There is more

time with the puck. Little more time for creativity, which helps my game.

The skating aspect, a lot more room to work with, does help me.”

As one of the KHL’s top offensive defensemen, Gilroy looked like a

favorite to make the Olympic roster as soon as it was announced NHL

players wouldn’t be going.

Gilroy played with the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay

Lightning and Florida Panthers, and now will be participating in the

Deutschland Cup in Germany this weekend. Tony Granato, the USA’s

Olympic coach, is also coaching that team.

“I’ve always admired him for his skill and what he has,” Granato said.

“He’s a guy who could be a leader at the back end. He can juggle a lot of

minutes in a lot of situations. He’s a good all-around player.”

Gilroy considered trying to come back to the NHL on a two-way contract

this season, but the opportunity to play in the Olympics weighed in his

decision to stay in the KHL, where players earn wages commensurate

with NHL salaries.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Taft and Gilroy were married in 2015, but they started dating when they

were both freshmen at Boston University. Taft was a lacrosse player.

They view their situation more as an adventure than a hardship.

“I give him credit for being overseas and going it alone,” Taft said. “I have

it easier. I’m around my family and friends.”

Despite her busy schedule, including serving as a sideline reporter in

major college football games, she travels to Europe whenever she can.

She guesses she has seen about 30 KHL games since he went over.

“It is difficult, but we make it work,” Gilroy said via phone from Germany.

“It’s great to be able to explore the world with your wife and see different

people and cultures. We try things you don’t usually get a chance to do.”

Taft points out they had a long-distance relationship even when he was

in the NHL. Because of her job, she lived in Los Angeles when he was

with the Lightning and Panthers. “A six-hour flight from L.A. to Florida is

long too,” she said, laughing.

They just accept this is their life. The day after they were married, Taft

left to cover a soccer tournament and Gilroy returned to Moscow for

training camp a month later.

“We haven’t had a honeymoon yet,” Taft said, laughing. “I keep

reminding him that will happen one day.”

Gilroy said one of the best aspects of their relationship is the support

they have for each other’s careers.

“It is cool because she gets to do what she loves,” Gilbert said. “She’s

good at it. It’s fun to see how excited she gets on game day as she

prepares. It’s fun that talk about sports. It’s a big part of our family life.”

Taft is the daughter of John Taft, a defenseman for the U.S. Olympic

team in 1976. He also played briefly for the Detroit Red Wings.

After Taft left the NHL, he played four seasons in the minors. Gilroy didn’t

have to explain to him why he went to the KHL.

“I always tell people when you have a chance to keep playing you keep

playing, because it’s a great sport,” John Taft said.

Jenny Taft remembers Gilroy talking about playing abroad even when he

was in college. Even then, he appreciated the romance of that life.

“He really enjoys this,” Taft said. “It’s so cool that he plays a group of

guys who don’t speak the same language. But hockey is a game they all

understand. I think that is so fascinating. Hopefully, he will have so many

stories to tell our kids someday."

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