Articles in NHL Teams

from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

In a rough and tumble game that featured plenty of big blasts and bad blood, Pelletier was hit awkwardly along the boards by one of the league’s biggest bruisers, Jacob Trouba.

Showing immediate signs of distress, he slowly got to his feet and as he straddled the boards to climb into the bench he needed help from teammates.

After several minutes of rotating his left arm in obvious discomfort, he used the first TV timeout to skate onto the ice for a brief test.

It was a fail, leading to a hasty departure through the Zamboni exit.

He did not return, prompting the team to confirm in the second period he’d suffered an upper body injury.

Coach Ryan Huska said after the game he did not have an update on his condition, but it’s natural to fear the worst.

“It’s brutal, we all love the kid,” said Rasmus Andersson, covered in ice packs in the middle of a downtrodden dressing room following a 2-0 loss to the Rangers.

more

Watch the hit below.

* The Rangers, Devils and Flyers – three of the four teams skating in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series – each picked up wins Monday in the lead up to the upcoming weekend festivities.

* Alex Pietrangelo became the sixth defenseman in NHL history to record multiple assists in his 1,000th career game – a list that includes Ryan Suter, Sergei Zubov, Kevin Hatcher, Brad Park and Tim Horton – on a night his teammate, Jonathan Marchessault, joined a short list of players to score in under 30 seconds in consecutive contests.

* An 11-game Tuesday will include the Islanders welcoming the Kraken at UBS Arena for their lone visit in New York’s final game before the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series.

from Laura Vozzella and Meagan Flynn of The Washington Post,

A plan by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and the owner of the Wizards and Capitals to move the teams to Northern Virginia faced heat on both sides of the Potomac on Monday: A powerful Virginia Democrat said she considers the proposal dead, while D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) doubled down on insisting that she would enforce the teams’ lease to try to prevent their early exit.

The dual pushback led executives with Monumental Sports & Entertainment — billionaire Ted Leonsis’s company that owns the teams — to hastily convene a briefing with reporters Monday afternoon to assert that the plan to move to a new megacomplex in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard was fully on track. Still, the tension emanating from both sides underscored how the foundation for the teams’ move is far from solid, with support in the Virginia legislature uncertain. Meanwhile, Bowser alluded to the possibility of legal action in D.C. to enforce the teams’ existing lease at Capital One Arena downtown.

continued

NEW YORK (Feb. 12, 2024) – Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom, Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Feb. 11.

from Travis Yost of TSN,

But the Florida Panthers, as it stands today, may be the most dangerous team in the National Hockey League. And for Atlantic Division contenders — including their most likely first-round foe in the Toronto Maple Leafs — they are becoming a major concern.

Outside of Sam Reinhart’s mind-boggling 39 goals (and counting), coverage of the Panthers has been a little light for a team with so much returning pedigree.

Through the weekend action, Florida already has four skaters (the aforementioned Reinhart, as well as forwards Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, and Alex Barkov) over the 50-point threshold, keying an impressive offence.

But it’s their defensive performance that has garnered my attention. This isn’t the same old all attack, all of the time, team. Florida is second in the league in goals conceded per game (2.5), with Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz both outperforming behind an improved defensive structure.

The Panthers are starting to tilt the ice in these games in stunning fashion. Florida’s goal differentials (both real and expected) have been going vertical for months, and they compare extremely favourably to their Atlantic Division counterparts:

read on

from Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Journal,

The Edmonton Oilers are good, but not good enough.

Not yet.

With the trade deadline fast approaching, it’s up to general manager Ken Holland to find the necessary ingredients to make a good team great and position the Oilers for their best chance to win a Stanley Cup since 2006.

Everyone around him is loading up already. The first overall Vancouver Canucks got a jump on the trade deadline by adding what every contender wants, a solid two-way centre in Elias Lindholm. The Winnipeg Jets added Sean Monahan and the Colorado Avalanche are about to find out how much Zach Parise has left in the tank.

In Edmonton, Holland has a group that has paid its dues and is ready to win now. What he does prior to the deadline will play a major role in whether Connor McDavid and Company can finally push through or if it’s another long summer of ‘Wait till next year.’

So, what are those ingredients? What’s the biggest need? There are cases to be made in all three areas, goal, defence and forward, and the GM has limited assets with which to forge a deal.

This is going to take some creative manoeuvring.

continued

from Amalie Benjamin of the NHL's website,

In the snippet of video, shaky and shot diagonally and not entirely in focus, the voice comes through loud and clear and full of emotion.

“That’s my dad,” Jorge Lopez yells on the crowded Las Vegas Strip with his phone trained on a passing bus. “That’s my dad right there.”

Jesus Lopez, the Spanish language play-by-play broadcaster for the Vegas Golden Knights, has unfurled a Mexican flag atop the bus and is shaking it as his son hits record. It is days after the Golden Knights captured the Stanley Cup last June, besting the Florida Panthers in five games in the best-of-7 Final, and earning the franchise’s first title six years into its existence.

“It’s as if he had a second life,” Jorge said, marveling at who his father is, at what he’s done.

It’s as unlikely a story as there is in hockey, that of the Golden Knights and that of Lopez, whose background in hockey was nonexistent when he came to the United States from Mexico, when the threats and violence, which he believes came from La Familia Michoacan, a Mexican cartel, altered the course of his life and his family.

continued

from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News,

If you haven’t already purchased tickets for a game the rest of the season, why would you do it now? Why would you plunk down for a minipack or a season ticket for 2024-25? You love your hockey, but when is this team and this franchise going to love its fans back?

One of my Twitter followers sent me a reply during the second intermission of Saturday’s 3-1 loss to St. Louis that capsulizes it perfectly. There’s no reason for me to wordsmith something when @Kratzey16 chiseled it so well on his own.

His message: “It is truly remarkable how the Sabres have gone from a super fun, really interesting team to watch and in one offseason have now become a super dull, boring and lifeless team. It’s quite something. Just no reason to watch. It’s become unwatchable.”

Unwatchable. That’s a real problem.

read on

* J.T. Miller scored the winner in the dying seconds of overtime as the Canucks padded their lead atop the NHL standings, while Torey Krug had five assists to help the Blues score a touchdown (plus the extra point) on Super Bowl Sunday.

* Krug became the second defenseman with a five-assist game this season, joining Kris Letang (0-6—6 on Dec. 27, 2023). The 2023-24 campaign marked the first season to feature multiple five-assist games by blueliners since 2003-04 (Sheldon Souray & Marek Zidlicky).

* The week ahead features several national broadcasts, including a Sportsnet and TVA Sports doubleheader Monday as well as the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series from Saturday to Sunday.

original post was on 2/10/24 at 9:48pm,

NEW YORK (Feb. 11, 2024) – Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for spearing Washington Capitals forward Max Pacioretty during NHL Game No. 808 in Boston on Saturday, Feb. 10, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 18:08 of the first period. Grzelcyk was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for spearing.

The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Watch below.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Maybe ownership and management perceive this as a Gap Year for the Devils, when the players go off on their own pursuits after having put so much work the previous year into not only making the playoffs but winning the first round Battle of the Hudson.

Maybe that is why there has been no material improvement at all to the roster of one of the most disappointing teams in the league, which has been fiddling along below the cut line just about all year.

The goaltending issue that has been allowed to fester has swallowed much of the team’s morale, and it is kind of a surprise that Martin Brodeur, as executive vice president of hockey operations, has, in part, presided over this chaos in the crease.

The Devils rank 32nd, last overall, in save percentage and 30th overall at five-on-five. That goes a long way in explaining the team’s plight — fifth in the wild-card chase — but not entirely, since the Lightning, Avalanche and Hurricanes all have save percentages ranked in the NHL’s bottom five and have not been knee-capped by it....

continued plus more, including topics like this,

Finally, did you hear that the NHL has added to the Blackhawks’ punishment for the organization’s misbehavior as applies to the Kyle Beach sexual assault scandal by awarding Chicago the 2025 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field?

This action, following the 2023 lottery victory that granted the team first-overall draft pick Connor Bedard, should close the book on the disciplinary portion of the program.

And you thought the league wasn’t taking this seriously.

NEW YORK (Feb. 10, 2024) – Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov has been suspended for two games, without pay, for an illegal check to the head of Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond during NHL Game No. 805 in Detroit this afternoon (Saturday, Feb. 10), the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 4:07 of the second period. Zadorov was assessed a match penalty.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Zadorov will forfeit $39,062.50. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

For a full explanation of the decision, complete with video, please click on the following link: https://www.nhl.com/video/topic/player-safety/zadorov-suspended-two-games-6346665141112.

Devils/Flames talk regarding Markstrom, available players, Sabres want to make moves now and the situation in Arizona were the topics tonight.

* All eyes at Xcel Energy Center were on Marc-Andre Fleury from start to finish Friday evening, from celebrating his 1,000th NHL game to withstanding a flurry of saves within the final minute of regulation to hold off former teammates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

* #NHLStats Packs for the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series and 2023-24 NHL Trade Deadline are now available on the League’s Media site. The Rangers, one of four teams heading to MetLife Stadium for the NHL’s fourth and final outdoor game of the season, captured their fourth straight win thanks to Mika Zibanejad’s franchise-record eighth overtime goal.

* A total of 26 teams are in action today, with Alex Ovechkin looking to extend his goal streak during an ABC Hockey Saturday doubleheader and Auston Matthews aiming to add to his League-leading 41 tallies this season on Hockey Night in Canada.

via TSN's YouTube page,

There were some strange things on the ice last night, including the Bruins' unlikely group of goals against the Canucks, Martin Necas' improbable natural hat trick for the Hurricanes and more. 7-Eleven That's Hockey's Gino Reda recaps the wildest moments from an eventful Thursday night in the NHL.

from Iain MacIntyre od Sportsnet,

The biggest game of the season was the most disappointing game of the season for the Vancouver Canucks, who haven’t had many of them. At least Brad Marchand didn’t punch anyone in the head six times.

Rolling into Boston on a 10-0-2 burn, on equal footing with the Bruins for the first time in a decade, the Canucks on Thursday conjured vibes of the franchise’s Stanley Cup Final losses here in 2011, giving themselves no chance to win due to a series of early mistakes and goals against.

Boston won 4-0, scoring two shorthanded goals in the first period, then doubling the lead in the first minute of the second. The Bruins pulled even with the Canucks atop the National Hockey League standings.

It was Vancouver’s first regulation loss since Jan. 4, and only its third since Dec. 5. But it came at an inopportune time, on a big stage against a formidable opponent who has been living in the heads of Canucks fans for 13 years.

"A lot of eyes were on us tonight," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. The Bruins "didn't play well their last game (and) their coach kind of called them out. They showed up, and we just, we made some stupid mistakes. You're in big games, you’ve got to make sure that you don't make mistakes and you... have to have effort. I thought some guys played well. I mean, I thought some guys tried. Unfortunately, we had half the guys, they weren't there."

continued

Game highlights are below

from Ethan Sears of the New York Post,

In their first five games under Patrick Roy, the Islanders looked, understandably, like a team in transition — taking to a new system well, but hitting stumbling blocks along the way.

In the sixth game, they looked like a team that had wholly embraced what the new head coach has preached.

And they got the result to show it, beating the Lightning 6-2 on Thursday at UBS Arena in an offensive explosion for their second-straight win following the All-Star break, with the crowd chanting Roy’s name as time ticked down in the third period.

On a night where everything went right for the Islanders, even injury luck was in their favor with Casey Cizikas back in the lineup and Brock Nelson returning for the third period after spending part of the second in the dressing room following a hit from Emil Martinsen Lilleberg.

Just as important, they played perhaps their best all-around game of the season.

continued

Watch the game highlights below.

Watch below.