Articles in NHL Teams

from Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider,

13 wins and 29 points through 20 games. Not a bad place to be one quarter into the season.

Over the three seasons prior, the Kings posted between 21 and 23 points in each season through their first 20 games, with last year’s 11 victories their most in that span. The Kings had a shot at 30 points through 20 games for just the second time in franchise history, heading into Wednesday’s eventual defeat against Washington, but even with that result, consider this to be one of the best first quarters in franchise history.

The 13 victories are the third most in a season-opening 20 games in franchise history, behind only the 1990-91 Kings and the 1980-81 Kings. The Kings finished the first 20 games of the season with a goal differential of +30, finishing just one goal shy of the 90-91 squad for the best in Kings history. While franchise rankings are nice, franchise rankings don’t get you into the playoffs. NHL rankings do, and the Kings have set themselves up amongst the league’s best in several categories, as they sit between games 20 and 21.

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* The Sharks scored six goals for the first time this season in their win against the Devils who had Simon Nemec, the No. 2 pick from the 2022 NHL Draft, record a two-point outing in his League debut.

* Rookies Dmitri Voronkov and Adam Fantilli accounted for two of the Blue Jackets’ four unanswered goals to help their club earn its first multi-goal comeback win of the season – the contest also featured Columbus boost its first-period goal total to 28, tied Tampa Bay for the second most among all teams behind Edmonton (32).

* Two Original Six showdowns will be featured on a four-game Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, which will also include Nikita Zadorov and his new club, the Canucks, visiting his former Flames.

Five hours later after deciding to take a 20 minute nap, I awake to news.

NEW YORK (Dec. 1, 2023) – New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith has been suspended for two games, without pay, for slashing Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny during NHL Game No. 344 in Philadelphia on Thursday, Nov. 30, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 17:07 of the third period. Smith was assessed a minor penalty for slashing.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Smith will forfeit $11,458.34. 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/smith-suspended-two-games-6342185819112.

NEW YORK (Dec. 1, 2023) – Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for cross-checking New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith during NHL Game No. 344 in Philadelphia on Thursday, Nov. 30, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 17:07 of the third period. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Watch both incidents in one video below.

NEW YORK (Dec. 1, 2023) – Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the month of November.

via the Montreal Canadiens,

Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced today that the team has agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension (2024-25 to 2026-27) with goaltender Samuel Montembeault. The deal will pay him an average salary of $3.15 million per season.

* Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry claimed both a multi-goal comeback win and his first NHL goal as NHL EDGE tracked his empty-net shot moving 55.76 mph, covering 148.7 feet while airborne and reaching as high as 16.4 feet above the ice. Last season, LinusUllmark scored a “goalie goal” for Boston that clocked in at 53.24 mph, had an airborne distance of 132.9 feet and a max height of 15 feet.

* With the help of MitchMarner, ConnorDewar and Tom Wilson, AstraZeneca donated another $15,000 to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

* Luke Hughes took a bow when he scored the winner for the Devils and was one of four players with an overtime goal Thursday (also Mathew Barzal, Nick Bjugstad & Nazem Kadri).

from Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic,

It’s part of what will be a 19-hour day for Berube, 57, and it comes at the end of a four-game, eight-day road trip that has already had stops in San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim. The night’s game is the third of the season against the Coyotes, and a win would allow the Blues to save face with a 2-2 road trip that began with a lump-inducing 5-1 loss to the Sharks.

Either way, though, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Blues are traveling back to St. Louis after the game, and when their chartered plane lands around 3 a.m., Berube will be reunited with his wife, Dominique, and his twin 15-year-olds, son Nashota and daughter Charlotte, for the holiday. They live in Philadelphia, where the children are in high school, and Berube hasn’t seen them since he left for training camp in September.

“It’s going to be good to just hang out for a couple days,” he says. “But today is today. I’m pretty good about separating those things. We’re right there, a couple points behind Winnipeg in the standings for the third spot. It’s a grind, so we just want to keep putting points on the board. That’s my focus: this game tonight.”

And from the early wakeup call Wednesday to the wee hours Thursday, he’ll keep that focus, even with an observer in tow. To give fans a better idea of what it’s like behind the scenes and off camera, Berube has agreed to let The Athletic shadow him from start to finish.

Here’s 19 hours in the life of an NHL coach on game day.

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6 1/2 minutes of saves.

* The Rangers grabbed the top spot in the League standings with the help of Artemi Panarin who extended his season-opening home point streak to nine games – the longest by a Rangers player since 1996-97.

* The Capitals snapped the Kings’ win streak and improved to 7-3-1 in November – tied for the third-most wins by an Eastern Conference club this month.

* NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman helped open the 2023 White House Holiday Ice Rink by participating in a ceremonial puck drop alongside First Lady Jill Biden on Wednesday.

* Thursday’s 14-game slate features the Hurricanes hosting the Islanders on ESPN+ and Hulu, several skaters concluding noteworthy Novembers as well as a general manager looking to climb the NHL’s all-time wins list.

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Man, that is weird seeing Patrick Kane in a Red Wings jersey. As word spread that Detroit was the landing spot, some people who knew him said they dropped their guard — admitting they weren’t surprised. Kane wanted to go to the Rangers last season, but had periodically discussed Detroit as a possibility if he ever needed another option.

On a personal level for him, it makes sense for family reasons, being close to his personal “hubs.” From a hockey perspective, there’s old partner Alex DeBrincat, his belief they are going in the right direction and a legit spot on the roster for what he brings....

- Toronto is down three defencemen: Mark Giordano (injured Tuesday, length of time to be determined), John Klingberg (could be rest of the season) and Timothy Liljegren (already out three weeks). As they consider what to do, the biggest question might be, “Is this the year to spend key assets on rentals?” A less-costly depth option, OK. Someone with term or that you know you can sign, all right. But a pure rental? Do they think that makes sense for this team, this season?

- You can see the strain on D.J. Smith. Ottawa’s new ownership/management is trying to set the tone of how they will run their organization: patiently, calculated and with purpose. I’ve mentioned this before, but when Mike Andlauer and Steve Staois took over, the players told them there was too much distraction/craziness around the team. They wish to show they will limit that. One of the theories is that if the Senators do decide to make a change, they’d rather make one than two (interim to permanent choice) for this reason.

more on the first topic and other hockey Thoughts...

from Michael Russo of The Athletic,

“I’m not going to hole up in my apartment worried people are going to look at me, saying, ‘There’s the coach of the Wild who got fired,’” Evason said. “I’m not embarrassed. I don’t think we did a crappy job. I want to be out and about. This has been my home for five years. I’ve lived in that same place for five years. I walked to the rink every day. I love it. I love living here. I love the people. I love the team, the organization. Does it get emotional sometimes? Sure. I mean, I get emotional. But I’m more thankful than anything.”

Mid-afternoon Monday — after coaches had met in the morning to put together video clips for players ahead of Tuesday’s Blues game, showing the type of fast hockey that had been missing in the first 19 games — Evason got a call from Guerin asking him to come down to his office at Wild headquarters.

Evason called his wife and told her one of two things was happening: “Either I’m getting fired or he’s going to ask me to fire some of my assistant coaches, and I don’t know what I’m going to do if he asks me to do the latter.”

In other words, Evason was willing to sacrifice his job to save Bob Woods, and it wasn’t the first time. That happened after last season, too, when Guerin was dismayed by the penalty kill.

Evason walked into Guerin’s office, looked at his face as he sat behind his desk and knew right away: “Are you firing me, bud?”

“He said, ‘Yeah,’ and he stood up, came around the desk and we hugged and he just started crying,” Evason said. “And so did I. I said, ‘Billy, I didn’t expect it to happen, but I’m so grateful and so honored to have the opportunity,’ and I thanked him. I’m not bitter. Do I want to still be the coach of the Minnesota Wild? Yeah, of course. But I understand what he’s doing. Do I agree with it? No, of course not, because I lost my job and Bob lost his job. But we had a fantastic conversation.”

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9 1/2 minutes for 10 goals.

* The Devils thrilled fans with a third-period, multi-goal comeback win – they became the 20th different team this month to achieve the feat, setting up an accomplishment witnessed only five times in NHL history.

* Connor McDavid continued his torrid scoring pace and has now accumulated 13 points over the past seven days, including a three-point period in three consecutive games – a feat achieved by only two other players in NHL history: Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

* A three-game Wednesday will feature the Rangers hosting the Red Wings on TNT and Max, one day after Detroit announced the blockbuster signing of three-time Stanley Cup champion and 2012-13 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Patrick Kane.

from TSN (Insidere),

Why did the Detroit Red Wings win the services of free agent forward Patrick Kane?

Chris Johnston: This was a result of a lot of hours on Zoom with Kane and his agent Pat Brisson at CAA. They talked to a number of teams these past few weeks and it probably extended a week longer than they initially thought it would before Kane made a decision.

When it comes to Detroit, what stood out was [head coach] Derek Lalonde had a strong impact on Kane during their discussions. We’ve talked [also] about the connection with Alex DeBrincat and the strong start to the season the Red Wings had.

The Red Wings also had the most cap space of any of the teams that were involved right up until the end.

There’s no timeline when Kane will play but it sounds like sometime next week we expect him to make his debut in Detroit.

Pierre LeBrun: What made a lot of headlines during this whole process was when the Toronto Maple Leafs poke their nose in this thing. [Maple Leafs general manager] Brad Treliving is notorious for investigating all the scenarios that can help his team, he’s been like that his entire career.

The reality is, yes the Leafs spoke to Kane and his camp but were not one of the three or four teams on his short list. It’s not surprising, Treliving said himself earlier this week that he is trying to upgrade the blueline and that’s their priority.

more (watch/read) on Kane, plus Corey Perry, the Senators and other topics...

from Wayne Scanlan of Sportsnet,

When the Senators got booed off the ice following the 5-0 pasting on Monday, it marked a new low on an already difficult season. At 8-9 despite having 13 home games, Ottawa fell to dead last in the Eastern Conference, with 16 points in 17 games.

Senators head coach D.J. Smith fell on his sword after the game, but that wasn’t enough to appease fans pleading for a change on the post-game radio show in Ottawa.

“We weren’t ready to play at the start, and that’s on me,” Smith said. “They come out and outshoot us 9-1 on the first shift. ... It took us to the nine-minute mark of the first before we got real competitive. And then five-on-five we were fine, obviously.”

Well, not really. The Panthers outshot the Sens 25-15 at even-strength and scored two even-strength goals to go with three power-play goals. The total shots were 38-20 in favour of Florida.

If this was supposed to be a bounce-back game after Friday’s loss to the Islanders, it was an abject failure.

Smith had said beforehand this was a good time to face Florida as a test for his team. The results are in. Ottawa didn't measure up in any category, other than penalties committed.

Talk about a nightmarish start — the Senators took two icing calls and then a penalty before the game was a minute and five seconds old. Just 23 seconds into that man advantage, Florida had a one-goal lead off a shot by Sam Reinhart at 1:28 of the first.

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* The Sabres (10-10-2), Flames (9-10-3) and Blue Jackets (7-12-4) toppled the top three teams in the League standings allowing Buffalo to move within one point of the final Wild Card seed in the East and Calgary to move into a playoff spot in the West.

* Sergei Bobrovsky collected his 40th career shutout and became just the fourth active goaltender (min. 1 GP in 2023-24) to achieve the feat.

* The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend will be expanded to a three-day event after the addition of NHL All-Star Thursday, which will include the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft, the NHL Alumni Man of the Year, Honouring the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs and the Canadian Tire PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase.

from Mollie Walker of The New York Post,

The Rangers have had a gusty wind soaring through their sails for weeks, but the Sabres slowed them down Monday night before another injury to a key player threatened the team’s buoyancy.

A 5-1 loss to a feisty Buffalo team — just the Rangers’ fourth defeat in regulation this season — was overshadowed by yet another significant injury when the Blueshirts lost Kaapo Kakko in the second period following an ugly and awkward fall on his left leg.

It was clear it wasn’t the Rangers’ night from puck drop, but the apparent severity of Kakko’s injury only appeared to lengthen the club’s journey toward the end of its near month-long injury battle....

Kakko exited late in the middle frame after a collision with Buffalo defenseman Erik Johnson swept his legs out from underneath him along the boards.

The Finnish wing immediately grabbed at his left knee and squirmed on the ice in apparent pain....

Head coach Peter Laviolette didn’t have an immediate update on Kakko after the loss, saying that the 22-year-old would be evaluated for a lower-body injury and they will know more on Tuesday.

more

below watch the injury and game highlights...

Watch below.

update, original post was on 11/26/23 at 7:43pm,

NEW YORK (Nov. 27, 2023) – Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman has been suspended for two games, without pay, for tripping Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat during NHL Game No. 316 in Detroit on Sunday, Nov. 26, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 7:51 of the third period.

Hartman is considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, will forfeit $41,463.42. 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/hartman-suspended-two-games-6341860873112.

from Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic,

Dean Evason sounded as exasperated as he ever has following Sunday’s loss in Detroit, the Minnesota Wild’s seventh straight defeat.

His team was running out of answers. So was he.

“We’ve got to change something,” he said.

In the end, the change was Evason.

The Wild fired Evason on Monday afternoon, hoping to provide a jolt to a club that has lost 13 of its past 16 games, nose-diving to near the bottom of the NHL standings. Assistant coach Bob Woods, who coached the defense, was also dismissed. Woods, in his seventh season in Minnesota, was in charge of a penalty kill that ranked last in the NHL having allowed 23 goals.

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NEW YORK (Nov. 27, 2023) – Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov and Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Nov. 26.