Kukla's Korner Hockey

from Neil Best of Newsday,

In case it was not evident before Tuesday night, the Islanders reminded everyone that they are the best hockey team in New York State, routing the Rangers, 6-1, at Nassau Coliseum.

Up next, three games against the Capitals, with whom they are tied for first place in the East Division. Fun? Sure. But even in a 56-game sprint, this regular-season story is starting to get a little stale.

Just wake us in mid-May, will ya, guys?

In the meantime, let us say a few words before it is too late about another interesting New York hockey team, one built for the near future more than the present.

Will the Rangers catch the Bruins for a playoff spot? That is increasingly unlikely. Tuesday’s loss, combined with surging Boston’s 2-0 victory over the Sabres, left the Rangers six points out with 10 games to play, two fewer than the Bruins have left.

It was a cold, hard slap in the face after four consecutive victories over the Devils’ JV squad.

Humbling? "Yeah, sure," Brendan Smith said. "They’re a good squad. They’re playoff-ready, and we got a little taste of that, for sure."

Said coach David Quinn, "When you lose 6-1 in the fashion we did, it certainly is humbling, that’s for sure."

The good, big-picture news for the Rangers is that making the playoffs is of secondary concern. Competing for them is the point, as the young Blueshirts try to deliver on the organization’s famed "we’re rebuilding" letter of Feb. 8, 2018.

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from Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun,

William Nylander showed up on time on Tuesday night.

Not all of his Maple Leafs teammates could make a similar claim.

We’re looking at you, goaltender David Rittich.

After getting a reprieve for missing a team meeting on Monday, Nylander redeemed himself with a couple of assists on two John Tavares goals against the Vancouver Canucks.

As effectively as Nylander played in the offensive zone, Rittich was wretched at the other end, allowing two soft Canucks goals in the third period.

The result was a 6-3 Leafs loss, marking the first time Toronto has lost five in a row since Mike Babcock’s last stand as Leafs coach. The Leafs had lost six consecutive games when Babcock was fired on Nov. 20, 2019, and won its first three under Sheldon Keefe.

The fall on Tuesday came 48 hours after the Leafs lost 3-2 in overtime to the Canucks, a loss that included a couple of weak goals on Jack Campbell.

“I’m concerned about our goaltending,” Keefe said. “We got to get that sorted out. I’m not concerned about our team. I believe in our group. We played well enough to win, we played well enough to win the other night. But we got to get better goaltending to give our group confidence.”

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Below are the game highlights.

THREE HARD LAPS

* The Penguins achieved a first-of-its-kind NHL win after withstanding a six-goal, third-period rally by the Devils.

* Spencer Knight, the first goaltender born in the 2000s to appear in an NHL game, turned aside 33 of 34 shots to earn a win in his League debut.

* The League-leading Golden Knights look to extend their lengthy winning streak in the second half of an NBCSN doubleheader.

Trouba has not returned.

via the Bob McGown podcast YouTube page,

NBC hockey insider, PIERRE MCGUIRE joins the podcast to let Bob and John know why Sidney Crosby is the most disrespected superstar in the NHL. That leads the gentleman to discuss the top talents in the league, and who is at the top of Pierre's list when it comes to the greatest hockey player playing in the NHL today.

The three also chat about how the size of goaltenders equipment has gotten out of hand, the shelf life of an NHL coach today and Pierre informs us as to why thinks having playoff experience isn't going to make or break your post season performance.

Watch the 46 minutes show below.

NEW YORK (April 20, 2021) – “While we hope the end of the trial offers a chance for healing, we remain committed to actively engaging in the movement for equality and we invite our fans to join us in supporting systemic change.”

from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

On the night Patrick Marleau made history, Connor McDavid offered yet a reminder that his shortened season may be history in the making.

McDavid scooped up a loose puck just inside the Edmonton Oilers’ blueline, fired up the jet packs and picked his way through two Canadiens defenders – including one (Jeff Petry) who will receive Norris Trophy votes this season – to break open a tied game with less than five minutes to play.

Another three-point third period? Yawn. That was McDavid’s league-leading 130th end-to-end rush, according to Sportlogiq, some 28 more than New York Islanders centre Mathew Barzal, the NHL’s next closest player.

“I’m never really afraid to take on two defenders,” McDavid told reporters postgame. “It can get me into trouble sometimes … [but] I was able to get it in good stride and I was just trying to make a play.”

Yes, the greatness of hockey’s most highly evolved player is on display with such regularity that we’ve run out of superlatives to describe McDavid. Nights like Monday, when No. 97 takes a game over, have become routine.

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Witness another great goal from McDavid below.

Just over three minutes.

Congrats Patrick Marleau. If Gordie Howe was still around, he would have been the first to shake your hand, of course followed by a sneaky elbow to the ribs.

added 10:31pm, Below a longer version with Randy Hahn, the TV voice of the San Jose Sharks.

Three minutes worth of top goals.

NEW YORK (April 19, 2021) – Buffalo Sabres goaltender Dustin Tokarski and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center RN Michaela Pastorius have been named the NHL’s “First Stars” for the week ending April 18.

Throughout the 2020-21 season the NHL is celebrating the remarkable efforts of the off-ice stars who make it possible for us to play our games amid a pandemic by honoring frontline healthcare heroes from the regions represented by the League’s weekly and monthly “Stars.”

Pastorius works as a nurse at Buffalo’s Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, where just a few years ago she was walking the same halls as a patient battling a cancer diagnosis. Pastorius put nursing school on hold while going through treatment, but vowed to finish her degree and now works alongside the nurses who once cared for her as a patient.

The inpatient unit at Roswell Park where Pastorius works – known as 6West – is typically for cancer patients with solid tumors, but has become a designated COVID-19 space over the past year. Pastorius understands what these patients are going through and brings a positive attitude to the floor despite the incredibly challenging and emotional experience of the pandemic on both patients and staff.

"When I was going through inpatient chemotherapy at Roswell Park, the Buffalo Sabres gave me motivation to continue fighting,” Pastorius says. “The amount of support the Sabres show for Roswell and its patients felt personal to me since I am such a big fan . . . The appreciation I had and still have for their support is bottomless.”

Rounding out the “Three Stars” of the week are New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin and Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone. More on each NHL player’s performance can be found below:

Watch the incident below.

update 4:15pm, Suspended 2 games for kneeing.

THREE HARD LAPS

* History will be made when Sharks forward Patrick Marleau steps on the ice tonight at T-Mobile Arena.

* Braden Holtby made a season-high 37 saves and Vancouver scored three unanswered goals – bookended by tallies from Bo Horvat – to rally past Toronto in its return to action.

* The Islanders and Flyers required overtime in six contests during their eight-game season series, which concluded on Sunday.

from Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun,

To twist an old Neil Young song, rust never sleeps.

The Vancouver Canucks, three weeks after COVID-19 halted their season, far back in the playoff race and with many of their players still out or ailing, gave the fully charged Maple Leafs all they could handle Sunday night at Rogers Arena.

Braden Holtby, who was having a sub-par year before the COVID outbreak, denied the best Leaf shooters much of the night as the Canucks won 3-2 in overtime. Bo Horvat’s second of the game, the OT winner, sent the Canucks’ bench into emotional celebration.

But midway through the game, Canucks Alex Edler took the fight a little too far, sticking a knee into Toronto spark plug winger Zach Hyman. Hyman limped off and did not return; Edler received a major, misconduct and possible Player Safety Department discipline.

Though a couple of Leafs were optimistic Hyman’s injury wasn’t serious, head coach Sheldon Keefe said “we’ll see tomorrow.”

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Below, find the game highlights plus a sensational save by Braden Holtby.

Yes, Tom Wilson has a reputation, but this was the correct call. No penalty on Wislon.

As you can imagine, social media wants the scalp of Wilson.

Much longer version is below.

from Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun Sentinel,

That sounds lofty, even theoretical. Here’s what it means: Patric Hornqvist, one of the veterans Zito brought in this season, said something as everyone moved off the ice after a pre-season practice.

“He said, ‘Where’s everyone going? We’re not done,’ " Zito said. “Did some players need to hear from a guy like him about putting in more work? He even said it to [goalie Sergei Bobrovsky], who’s one of the hardest-working guys I’ve seen. ‘Hey, we need to work on the penalty kill.’ "

Maybe the change in the standings started there. Maybe it started with coach Joel Quenneville getting some players he needed for this team. Maybe it just was Zito signing Hornqvist, Carter Verhaeghe, Radko Gudas — you can go down the roster of new, supporting names brought in before this season.

This moribund franchise had signed new players for years. Just the previous year, they brought in so many players the news conference had to have two shifts because there weren’t enough seats at the table to accommodate them all at once.

Here’s the difference: These signings led to wins. Again, serendipity? Again, luck? The nucleus of this team, the stars like Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Frank Vatrano and until his injury Aaron Ekblad, were brought in by previous general manager Dale Tallon.

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from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- On Saturday night, Patrick Marleau tied Howe by playing in his 1,767th game. (Marcel) Dionne is more impressed with Ovechkin than he is with Marleau, who on Monday, barring an injury, will pass Howe. “What is he scoring now, a goal or two a year? I’m not that impressed with that. I give him credit for playing that long. Just not how he’s doing it.” Marleau, for the record, has four goals this season.

- So if J.T. Miller doesn’t say anything, would the Vancouver Canucks have been playing on Saturday night? Would the NHL have turned its back on its players’ health and safety? Would the NHL Players’ Association have protected its membership? Would Canucks management and ownership have stepped in? Odds are the games would have gone on as scheduled without the Miller interview and to hell with the health of those putting their lives on the line.

- The top four goaltenders in all-time wins are Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Roberto Luongo, and now Marc-Andre Fleury. All of them Quebecois. And there’s not a single Quebec goalie of consequence (apologies to Jonathan Bernier) playing in today’s NHL.

- Didn’t understand all the praise for GM Steve Yzerman for getting a first-round pick and more for Anthony Mantha. Mantha has a big shot to go along with big shooters like Ovechkin, John Carlson, Nikita Kuznetsov in Washington. The Capitals get a player now. The Red Wings get a player and a draft pick, who might be a player by 2024. Mantha can be a playoff series difference-maker now for Washington.

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THREE HARD LAPS

* It's been a long road to the top, but Sharks forward Patrick Marleau finally matched “Mr. Hockey” on the NHL’s all-time games played list.

* The Coyotes overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Blues after Oliver Ekman-Larssonguaranteed a win for Leighton Accardo, who the club honored in a pre-game ceremony.

* Sunday’s six-game slate opens with the Bruins facing the MassMutual East Division-leading Capitals on NBC.

Before Saturday's game.

via Sportsnet,

Patrick Marleau joined Ron MacLean and Kelly Hrudey to talk about tying Gordie Howe’s record for NHL games played, and looks back at his favourite memories of the legendary Howe.