via the New York Islanders,
New York Islanders President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Lou Lamoriello announced today that Lane Lambert has been relieved of his coaching responsibilities. Patrick Roy has been named Head Coach of the New York Islanders.
* Saturday marks the 24th annual Scotiabank Hockey Day In Canada and Sportsnet’s Ron MacLean will host the day-long celebration from Victoria, B.C. with a cast of special guests and in-depth features. The four-game slate is set to include 17 players headed to 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend, including Auston Matthews looking to continue his 71-goal pace with the Maple Leafs and Connor McDavid aiming to extend his point streak to 13 contests with the surging Oilers.
* Quinn Hughes contested several games at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre during the 2019 World Junior Championship, which was one chapter in Victoria’s rich hockey history that also includes teams from the city winning a Stanley Cup against the Canadiens and serving as a feeder club to the Maple Leafs.
* Vancouver will be the fifth team to contest a Hockey Day in Canada game while ranking first in the NHL standings entering play that date (also TOR on Feb. 13, 2021, VAN on Feb. 12, 2011, DET on Feb. 9, 2008 & OTT on Feb. 15, 2003). Winnipeg and Boston enter Saturday occupying first place in the Central and Atlantic Division, respectively.
* Kirill Kaprizov and Brock Faber each recorded three points on the man advantage Friday as Minnesota matched its franchise record and became the second team to score five power-play goals in a game this season.
Seattle’s Yanni Gourde will have a hearing today for charging Edmonton’s Mattias Ekholm.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) January 19, 2024
Watch below.
from Sportsnet,
The Vancouver Canucks are expected to announce an extension for president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman can confirm.
Friedman reports the team and Rutherford were discussing a three-year deal.
The Canucks hired Rutherford as president of hockey operations and interim general manager after clearing house in 2021, firing former GM Jim Benning, his assistant John Weisbrod and head coach Travis Green in December of that year.
After a tumultuous start of his tenure last season, going 0 for 7 to start his first full season as president, Rutherford and his hand-picked general manager, Patrik Allvin, have appeared to right the ship, bringing in their own head coach in Rick Tocchet and key new players such as Filip Hronek, Casey DeSmith, Carson Soucy and Ian Cole.
League minimum for this season, but sounds like there is work being done on a longer-term deal https://t.co/2Z0OMchRbC
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 19, 2024
from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,
The Edmonton Oilers, it seems, have forgotten how to lose, winning their team-record 12th straight Thursday night. As they’ve done in eight of the 12 games, the Oilers erased a deficit — this time 2-0 in the first 13:32 of the game — a trend that seems dangerous, but is perhaps becoming something better than that here.
"It's been a theme of this winning streak. We stay composed,” said big Mattias Ekholm, who snapped late in this one when Yanni Gourde left the ice to deliver a headshot, a hit that earned Gourde a well-deserved charging major. “We just come in and take a breather, catch your breath, and get out there again.
“I feel like it hasn't really mattered if it's going in the third, going into the second or going to the last five minutes of the game. We find a way right now to stay in it and end up on the right side of things.”This was the fifth straight game — all Oilers wins, obviously — where the opponent has scored first. And it was the 10th consecutive game that Edmonton has allowed two goals or less, a stat that is as foreign to Northern Alberta as an elected Liberal.
That ties a team record set all the way back in the spring of 2002.
"Wow, I didn’t even know that," said Foegele. "I think it is a credit to everyone buying in and taking a lot of pride in playing the right way. This group was down at rock bottom, so it means a lot to climb back and to try and build each day."
Watch the game highlights below.
* The Oilers continued to roll Thursday, extending their win streak to 12 games and matching the longest run by a Canadian team in NHL history with the help of their star players, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
* David Pastrnak, Auston Matthews and T.J. Oshie each netted hat tricks in their respective team’s wins, bringing the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation up to $280,000.
* Nikita Kucherov was one of a number of 2024 NHL All-Stars that had notable performances Thursday, becoming the third-fastest active player to reach the 500-assist milestone.
* A four-game Friday will see multiple Eastern Conference teams battling for position in action, including the Red Wings who will look to overtake third in the Atlantic Division when they face off against the Hurricanes on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin today announced that captain Jared Spurgeon will miss the remainder of this season due to injury. He is scheduled to have left hip surgery on Feb. 6 and will then have back surgery approximately four weeks later. Spurgeon is expected to be fully recovered before the start of training camp in September.
#mnwild captain Jared Spurgeon is having season-ending hip and back surgery. He’s expected to be ready by next season. With Spurgeon on LTIR, Wild can exceed the cap by roughly his $7.575M AAV (minus callups). I anticipate Bill Guerin is now in the market for a pending UFA dman
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 18, 2024
The slippage this year compared to extraordinarily steady goal-scoring rates across the prior 16 seasons has been breathtaking. For most players, this is the sort of age decay we would expect, but for perhaps the best goal scorer in the history of the sport, it’s stunning. And as it pertains to Ovechkin’s chase for true greatness, he remains 64 goals behind Gretzky for the all-time lead – a gap that Ovechkin could have once covered in a single regular season, but a gap that now may require him to play for longer than anticipated.
-Travis Yost of TSN where you can read more on this topic.
from Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun,
This shouldn’t diminish what Hellebuyck has done so far this season. He’s only put together the most spectacular numbers of his career.
Has it been helped by the team play in front of him? Absolutely. That was one of Bowness’ intentions, to lessen the load on Hellebuyck.
But it’s not as if the 30-year-old netminder has changed anything.
I’d argue that he’s only elevated himself further, becoming a better version of himself while adapting to what must be a sight for sore goalie eyes.
Look no further than his goals saved above expected number this year.
In all situations (so 5-on-5, power play, penalty kill, etc.), Hellebuyck outpaces every goaltender in the league with 20.5, a full four more goals than second-place Thatcher Demko in Vancouver.
only widens. There, Hellebuyck entered Wednesday at 20.1, nearly a full seven goals more than Toronto’s Martin Jones, who has played less than half the games.
More traditional stats suggest a similar story.
* Childhood friends Juraj Slafkovsky and SimonNemec met for the first time since their names were called 18 months ago in an historic NHL Draft, with both registering a point in the contest.
* The Eastern Conference playoff race is heating up – much like Panthers forward Sam Reinhart who set a franchise record for longest goal streak – as the Red Wings stayed red hot to climb into the top three in the Atlantic Division for the first time in more than a month.
* Nikita Kucherov will look to maintain his lead in the Art Ross Trophy race during the opener of an ESPN+/Hulu doubleheader, while half of the League’s top eight scorers will take the ice in games available nationally on Sportsnet (Nathan MacKinnon, David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen and Connor McDavid).
Keefe on losing 4 straight: “While the story is us giving up leads, to me, the story is more our inability to execute on chances, pull away. My job is to be even-keel, really recognize what’s going on, see where we can continue to grow, but continue to show belief in the guys”
— Lance Hornby 🇺🇦 (@sunhornby) January 17, 2024
from Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun,
The Edmonton Oilers simply don’t lose hockey games.
Against a Maple Leafs team that is experiencing some big-time issues, that wasn’t about to change.
A 2-0 Leafs lead on Tuesday night in Edmonton seemed too good to be true, and sure enough, it was.
When Ryan McLeod beat a screened Martin Jones — by Connor McDavid, no less — at 16:55 of the third period, the Oilers needed no more, scoring their third unanswered goal in a 4-2 win.
An empty-net goal by Evan Bouchard put an exclamation mark on the Oilers’ 11th win in a row.
For the second time this season and first since Oct. 24-Nov. 4, the Leafs have lost four games in a row. It won’t get any easier as their four-game trip continues in Calgary against the Flames on Thursday.
As much as the Leafs have played uneven hockey this season, it was just the fourth time they lost in regulation on the road. That won’t dampen speculation that it’s time for a coaching change, though it could take some heat off Sheldon Keefe if the Leafs can pull it together and win a couple before they return home to face the Winnipeg Jets next Wednesday.
Game highlights are below.
* Ryan McLeod scored a late go-ahead goal against his hometown team to help the Oilers complete the comeback and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 11 games.
* Kyle Connor and the Jets moved back into first place in the League standings, while the Avalanche kept pace after Nathan MacKinnon tied Nikita Kucherov for the most points in the NHL this season.
* A three-game Wednesday will see national broadcasts when the Sabres host the Blackhawks (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT & Max) and the Canadiens visit the Devils (7 p.m. ET on SN).
via the YouTube page of the NHL Network,
NHL Network insider Elliotte Friedman joins NHL Tonight to discuss how the goalie trade market is shaping up, as well as Jake Guentzel's approaching free agency and Tampa's announcement that they will be be trading Steven Stamkos.
TSN’s Hockey Insiders discuss the future of the NHL’s second-winningest regular season goalie, what’s next for Steven Stamkos, the Jets potentially bolstering their playoff run, the Blackhawks at the trade deadline, the market for Elvis Merzlikins and the latest on the Coyotes in Arizona.
UPDATE: Jack Eichel had successful lower-body surgery and will be out week-to-week. #VegasBorn
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) January 16, 2024
“Steven Stamkos is not getting traded so we can put that one to bed. That is not going to change between now and the deadline under any circumstances."
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) January 16, 2024
-#tblightning GM Julien BriseBois https://t.co/QBHRGG4p8c
via the Chicago Blackhawks,
The Chicago Blackhawks today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Jason Dickinson on a two-year contract that runs through the 2025-26 season ($4,250,000 salary cap hit).
“Jason adds a unique two-way game to our lineup and his compete level is consistently strong every night,” said Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson. “He’s showing his offensive game this year, which has been a huge lift to our team. His leadership has been instrumental, and the impact has been evident around the room, particularly with our young guys. We’re excited to bring him back and to see him continue to grow with our team.”
* Marc-Andre Fleury foiled the Islanders at Xcel Energy Center to pass Patrick Roy for sole possession of second place on the NHL’s all-time wins list.
* Fleury’s former teammate Mark Stone scored his first hat trick since the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup-clinching win last spring.
* The NHL and Professional Women’s Hockey League announced rosters for the Canadian Tire PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase, taking place during NHL All-Star Thursday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Feb. 1. Tickets to NHL All-Star Thursday are on sale via Ticketmaster.
* Trevor Moore, who tallied twice in the Kings’ 5-2 victory Monday, is set to go head-to-head with fellow Californian Jason Robertson on ESPN+ and Hulu tonight.
With the win, he moved past Patrick Roy and is now in second place for career wins.
He won't catch Martin Brodeur at #691.
TORONTO/NEW YORK (Jan. 15, 2024) – The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association announced today that forward Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche will be unavailable to his Club for an indefinite period while he receives care from the Player Assistance Program of the NHLPA and NHL.
Under the terms of the joint program, he will return to the Club when cleared for on-ice competition by the program administrators.
NEW YORK (Jan. 15, 2024) – Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson, Calgary Flames center Blake Coleman and Colorado Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Jan. 14.