Articles in NHL Teams

* In a head-to-head battle broadcast nationally on ESPN+, it was Mitchell Marner’s point streak that outlasted Jason Robertson as the Maple Leafs forward became the fourth active player to record a run of 20-plus games.

* It was four first-period goals for the Kings, who have the second-most tallies in the opening frame among all teams, and a season-high seven-goal outburst from the Blues that allowed each club to skate off victorious.

* The Devils blanked the Blackhawks at Prudential Center and became the third team in NHL history to post 10-plus wins both at home and on the road in 26 or fewer games.

from George Richards of Florida Hockey Now,

“It’s still home for some of my family and a special place,” Maurice said before the Panthers took off on their five-game road trip which ends at the arena on Portage Avenue.

“It’s a really good team, a tremendously well-run organization and a special market because it needs the fans to survive. It’s not a big building, it’s not a big market. So that connection there between the fans and the players is unique. And special.

“It will always be a special place. They understand the loss (of the team to Arizona) so the connection they have is unusual and important. That franchise is a great model in the league for smaller and maybe unique markets.”

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from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Two weeks into his Calder Trophy season four years ago, Elias Pettersson was thrown violently to the ice in Florida by defenceman Mike Matheson, who had been embarrassed by the rookie Vancouver Canuck earlier in the shift.

Pettersson got a concussion, Matheson a two-game suspension and the incident set off an inferno of debate about the culture of both the Canucks and the National Hockey League.

But even then, as a 19-year-old with the physique of a 2-iron, Pettersson was tougher than he seemed. Tougher mentally and physically. Four years later for Pettersson and two teams later for Matheson, the Canucks’ elite two-way centre victimized the Montreal Canadiens’ defenceman in overtime to give Vancouver an inexplicable 7-6 victory in front of fans who have rarely been so entertained.

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Highlights are below.

* Just a day after the Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit to force overtime against the Wild, the Canucks mounted the first four-goal comeback win of the 2022-23 season, capped off by Elias Pettersson scoring the fastest overtime goal in Canucks history.

* The Golden Knights held off a Bruins comeback attempt to earn a win in their 400th game and became the first team to capture a victory at TD Garden since April 16 (regular season & playoffs).

* Mitchell Marner and Jason Robertson are set to put their 19- and 18-game point streaks on the line when the Maple Leafs and Stars face off at American Airlines Center.

There was no post-game update on the upper-body injury except he will fly back to Denver with the team.

via Sportsnet's YouTube page,

Jeff and Elliotte discuss Erik Karlsson and Brock Boeser, Jacob Trouba and the New York Rangers, some details of the 2024 All-Star Game, define the word “Imminent” and talk about the play of Jordan Binnington.

Watch below and see the start times for each segment.

from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

The point being: We are far enough along in the season that if a team isn’t performing, management will be getting a little antsy.

Let’s take a look at four teams looking for answers right now....

New York Rangers

I could be wrong, but I see the course correction coming organically here. I don’t think Drury has to do anything drastic at this time. This team will turn around. I know that’s a boring take, but this is an example of a team where patience will ultimately be the best course of action. Of course, I could be wrong. But there are times when GMs feel the pressure to do something drastic and end up doing something they absolutely regret.

Washington Capitals

But the bottom line is, the Caps have not hung in there standings-wise as MacLellan had hoped. They’re far from out of it, but a .462 points percentage through 26 games is indeed a hole dug.

MacLellan has 11 pending UFAs on his roster, including the likes of Dmitry Orlov, Lars Eller and Nick Jensen. Without a turnaround, the Caps GM will be in listening mode soon, followed by selling mode. We’re not there yet, but MacLellan will know what comes next by the new year.

Ottawa Senators

Here’s the thing about this team, though — and maybe I’m totally wrong here, but I honestly believe it: There’s still a chance the Senators get on a heater and salvage some semblance of a season. Not a playoff spot, of course, but the kind of hockey for the rest of the season that at least reassures they’re on the right track.

Vancouver Canucks

Finally, there’s head coach Bruce Boudreau. He replaced Green behind the bench a year ago and his contract expires after this season, but given the pressure on management to enact change, I don’t think it’s a question of “if” but rather “when,” in terms of a Canucks coaching change. That’s the crappy part of the business, for sure.

Where this team sits after the March 3 trade deadline and what its salary-cap situation looks like heading into the offseason will be interesting to watch.

much more ($) on each of the above teams...

from Craig Merz at the CBJ website,

Jakub Voracek said Monday that his chances of playing again this season with the Columbus Blue Jackets are "very slim."

The 33-year-old forward sustained a concussion Nov. 4 at the 2022 NHL Global Series in Tampere Finland, when he was hit below the nose with a high stick from Dryden Hunt of the Colorado Avalanche. He has not played since.

"After talking to many people and many doctors we came to the conclusion that as of right now, I'm not capable of coming back, I won't be coming back anytime soon," Voracek said. "Obviously, I'm going to make my best efforts to do that (return) but it might be a long process and as of now I don't see myself playing in the near future.

"I had a lot of head injuries in the past and that's something I've got to think about and be smart about and that's where I stand right now."

Voracek said he is not contemplating retirement at this point. He is signed through the 2023-24 season.

"If I'm going to be medically cleared, I'm going to try. We'll see about that," he said. "And retirement? I can't retire, I'm still under contract. I would like to finish it off. If I'm going to be able to, I'll be happy about that. If I won't be, that's going to be up to doctors.

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NEW YORK (Dec. 5, 2022) – Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens and Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Dec. 4.

from Travis Yost of TSN,

We are two months into the regular season, and though there is still time for this to change, what the Toronto Maple Leafs are yielding from a ragtag goaltending tandem has been impressive. Considering the sizable pressure on the Maple Leafs front office to deliver a Stanley Cup contender that can advance beyond the first round of the playoffs, banking on an injury-prone underperformer in Matt Murray and an unknown in Ilya Samsonov was risky.

What’s interesting about Toronto’s decision to dress Murray and Samsonov behind an otherwise talented lineup is that much of it was born from economic headwinds within the league. The league’s slowed salary cap growth, stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, pinched a number of top-spending teams, including Toronto. Combine that with a weak summer goaltending market, and Dubas’ options were limited.

Considering their skating talent advantage over most teams in the league, the Maple Leafs didn’t need the Murray-Samsonov tandem to be anything more than average – at least during the regular season. But even managing through injuries, it has held up incredibly well.

A fascinating part about Toronto’s first two months is, on the surface, you wouldn’t know the goaltending has outperformed relative to expectations. Toronto’s aggregate performance is actually underwhelming relative to the prior two seasons – true if you are looking at actual goal-scoring rates, or expected goal-scoring rates:

read on

* In a contest Kirill Kaprizov and Jason Robertson each extended their recent strings of success, the Stars nearly completed a four-goal, third-period comeback, but the Wild halted all hopes with a shootout victory.

* Rasmus Dahlin and the Sabres outdueled Erik Karlsson and the Sharks in a showdown between the two highest-scoring defensemen in the NHL this season.

* Connor McDavid and Alex Ovechkin are set to go head-to-head for the 11th time in their careers, with the Capitals captain holding the all-time edge (WSH: 6-2-2; EDM: 4-5-1).

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- Jason Robertson has scored 80 goals in his first 152 NHL games with the Dallas Stars, which is hugely impressive. And getting more spectacular by the day. In the first 152 games of his career, Auston Matthews had 84 goals. Matthews leads Robertson in goals, Robertson leads Matthews in points, 164-148.

- Speculation continues about Matthews’ future with the Leafs, even though there is this season and next season on his contract. Some are saying he doesn’t like this roster much. But his on-ice body language suggests otherwise. Question to ponder: why would he make any decision on his future at this time of year, especially as he’s struggling and especially before you have any idea of what might happen in this season’s playoffs?

- Add Igor Shesterkin’s name to the list of goaltenders who have had marvelous seasons but not necessarily two in a row. Thatcher Demko is on that list, too. Once upon a time, the NHL had Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Ed Belfour, Grant Fuhr, Tom Barrasso, and Curtis Joseph. Today, there is Andrei Vasilevskiy and whichever goalie happens to be hot each year. The hot one this year: Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders.

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* The Devils and Bruins continued their winning ways Saturday, both extending their respective winning streaks while also becoming the first teams to reach 20 wins this season.

* Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each posted a four-point performance in Edmonton’s win at Rogers Place, with the former becoming the second player to hit 20 goals in 2022-23.

* Jason Robertson will look to extend his point streak to 18 games when the Stars host the Wild on a five-game Sunday.

via Sportsnet's YouTube page,

On this edition of 32 thoughts, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discuss how the Canucks are starting to explore a trade with Brock Boeser, the possibility of the All-Star game coming to Canada in 2024 & when the World Jr. roster will be announced.

from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

Bruce Cassidy, abruptly dismissed as the Bruins coach in June, will be back at TD Garden Monday night, with his Vegas Golden Knights nipping at the back tips of the Devils’ and Bruins’ blades for the No. 1 spot in the NHL overall standings.

In his span of six seasons behind the Black-and-Gold bench, Cassidy directed the club to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, rolled up a franchise-best .672 points percentage, then was kicked curbside by Don Sweeney some three weeks after the general manager told him he would be back in Boston for 2022-23.

Sweeney’s public explanation for the move: messaging. Cassidy was outta here because the players, in the GM’s opinion, weren’t picking up what he was putting down — be it due to tone, timing, content, or frailty of ego.

RELATED: Bruins coach Jim Montgomery learned a lesson about achieving success at the 1991 Frozen Four

Cassidy, whose Knights carried a .700 winning percentage (17-7-1) into Saturday night’s matchup in Detroit, said in a phone interview this past week that he has kept Sweeney’s farewell words in mind.

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* Brady Tkachuk netted Ottawa’s latest-tying goal in over four years and found the back of the net in the final seconds of overtime to rally the Senators to victory in his 300th career game.

* Patrik Laine made an impact in his return to Columbus’ lineup, posting a multi-goal performance against his former club in Winnipeg.

* Hockey Night in Canada will include Mitchell Marner aiming to extend his point streak to 19 games and place his name alone atop the Maple Leafs history books and Alex Ovechkin skating in his 1,300th NHL game.

from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN,

Through Tuesday night, the Devils, Islanders and Rangers had a combined .657 points percentage, or the number of points in the standings divided by the total possible points. If that holds, it would be the most successful season for the three rivals combined since the Devils relocated from Colorado in 1982. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the previous high for combined points percentage is .599 in the 1993-94 season.

As Stan Fischler told me recently: "I don't recall a trifecta quite as special as this."

That assessment carries the weight of history. Fischler attended his first Rangers game in 1939. As a journalist, he covered each of these franchises during their Stanley Cup championship runs. He's seen a lot of New York hockey. He's never seen it look like this.

"Right now, we have the rare opportunity -- slumps notwithstanding -- for each of the Met clubs having a shot at making the playoffs," he said. "This is rare, exciting stuff for the fans overall, and me in particular. It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'm sopping it up every night."

read on (paid)

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Thatcher Demko’s dark start to the National Hockey League season turned black Thursday when the goalie was injured trying to rescue his collapsing team. It’s hard to see any light around the Vancouver Canucks now.

For the second straight home game, the Canucks were dull and leaden at the start, outskated and overrun by the Florida Panthers in a 5-1 loss at Rogers Arena. The Washington Capitals beat the Canucks by the same score on Tuesday, but this game was worse for Vancouver.

It was worse because there was no discernible boost in energy, emotion or cerebral function by the Canucks after the previous game, and because on Thursday they lost not only another lopsided contest but their starting goalie.

Demko hobbled off the ice with what appeared to be a significant leg injury with 47 seconds remaining in the first period after the Canucks surrendered three goals in 59 seconds to the Panthers. It was the fastest any National Hockey League team has surrendered three goals this season.

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Below watch the 3 quick goals by the Panthers and the Demko injury...

* Steven Stamkos celebrated 1,000 NHL points as the Lightning captain became the ninth active player to accomplish the feat and first to do so in franchise history.

* A goal in the first 11 seconds, a game-tying tally in the final 10 seconds of regulation before completing the comeback in overtime and holding off the high-flying Devils after they scored three times in 2:38 – it was quite the night for the Predators.

* The quick goals continued as both the Hurricanes and Panthers added to the action with a trio of goals in 1:04 and 0:59, respectively.

* Jason Robertson was one of the stars featured in a busy #NHLStats: Live Updates after scoring a hat trick and becoming the first player to reach 20-goals in 2022-23.

A hard dump-in turns into a goal.

Goals, plays and moments.

Just south of six minutes to watch.

NEW YORK (Dec. 1, 2022) – Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson, New Jersey Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek and Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitchell Marner have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the month of November.

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Good line on Wednesday about Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews: “Right now, there’s more talk from people who can’t make it happen than from people who can.” Expect this to gain traction in the new year, with more clarity on what (or where) both players prefer. On some level, I think Kane in particular would like to take a run at some of Stan Mikita’s franchise records (games played, assists and points). Therefore, there were rumours he might prefer to play out the season in Chicago and decide his future in free agency, but several sources threw cold water on that idea. As you can imagine, there’s been no extension talk in either case.

- It is an extremely difficult puzzle to piece together, but I do think Florida would have interest in Erik Karlsson. Not sure how it could happen, though.

- Toronto’s on an excellent run despite a banged-up defence and goaltending that just recently returned to full health. The Maple Leafs are fourth in the NHL just weeks after we had the entire organization looking for new jobs. They have time to let this play out, but it’s safe to say they will save their best assets for whatever they feel they might need on the blueline. There’s the possibility of adding a left-shot scorer, but that’s not the priority and I think they’d also like to show Matthew Knies there’s a path when he’s ready to leave NCAA Minnesota.

- I get lots of DMs about the New York Rangers (my DMs have to be the least exciting on Twitter). I really think they are trying to be patient, hoping that some who played important roles on the road to the Eastern Conference Final last season rediscover that form. Igor Shesterkin should be the least of anyone’s concerns, but it’s always an adjustment to deal with the weight of expectations once they really arrive. He also played a career-high 73 games last year (including the playoffs). Shorter summer, higher expectations. Sometimes that’s hard to navigate the first time you experience it. And he’s not the only one.

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Connor McDavid