Kukla's Korner Hockey

THREE HARD LAPS

* Saturday's 11-game slate includes the League-leading Golden Knights putting their lengthy winning streak on the line, the top two teams in the Discover Central Division going head-to-head again at BB&T Center as well as the Avalanche squaring off with the Blues in a matinee on NBC.

* The Wild improved to 6-0-0 in their last six games as Kirill Kaprizov became the first rookie to reach the 20-goal mark this season.

* The Rangers and Flames inched closer to fourth place in their respective divisions.

from Anthony Crupi of Yahoo Sports,

While neither the WWE nor Peacock are willing to disclose how many new subscribers signed on to the OTT platform in the run-up to WrestleMania 37, Nick Khan on Thursday seemed happy to spill the beans about at least one other aspect of Comcast’s sports-media business.

Speaking to analysts during the WWE’s first-quarter earnings call, the president and chief revenue officer of the House that McMahon Built suggested that NBC and the NHL are poised to go their separate ways. In a response to a query about how the shuttering of NBCSN might lead to a scheduling boondoggle for USA Network, Khan said a coming regime change would eliminate any overlap between wrestling and hockey.

“It’s our belief that NBC and the NHL are not going to continue to be in business together,” Khan said, before adding that the remainder of the rights package that was not snapped up last month by ESPN would go “to a new suitor.”

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via Gord Miller tweets,

One of the subjects discussed by NHL GMs yesterday was the proposed schedule matrix going forward, whether the league should stick with divisional playoffs for the first two rounds or go back to the old conference format.

As of last year, the format was mostly divisional, the top three teams in each division qualified, then the next two teams in the conference with the best records got in. An idea being floated now is for divisional only playoffs.

You could either have the top four teams get in, or you could expand it to five, and have teams 4/5 play in a best of three “play-in” series, with the winner playing the top seed in the division.

Division only playoffs could lead to an 84 game schedule that keeps a high number of divisional games:
-2 vs other conference home/away (32 games)
-2 vs other division home/away (16 games)
-5 vs own division (35 games)
-one additional game vs team in own division (biggest rival)

In exchange for an 84 game schedule, the teams would agree to a shortened training camp of two weeks (a big hit for the players) and a maximum of four pre-season games.

NEW YORK (April 23, 2021) -- Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joe Thornton has been fined $3,017.24, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for interference against Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault during NHL Game No. 726 in Winnipeg on Thursday, April 22, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 7:26 of the third period. Thornton was assessed a minor penalty for interference.

The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

from Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News,

Not me, not ever. I wear the mask, I wash the hands, I stay 6 feet away from humans, for the most part. COVID has no shot against me.

That was me four weeks ago, dutiful and defiant. This is me today: 14 pounds lighter, still craving the taste of bacon, tired but getting better.

It will find you, if you let it. I let it with a brief letdown, and near as I can tell, contracted COVID-19 on March 27, two days after getting my first Pfizer shot. Did I get cocky or cavalier after one shot, even though two days isn’t nearly enough time for the vaccine to take hold? I don’t think so. I was restless, bored, and frankly, dumb. It was the second Saturday of the NCAA Tournament and I joined a few friends at a restaurant-bar where tables were sufficiently spread out. As the games went on, more people came in, I stayed too long indoors, and that was it.

I blame no one but me. Not the governor, not the government, not the CDC, not the bar, none of them. They made the mandates and recommendations, and the rest is on us. On me. (I guess I could blame whoever spread it to me, although many people don’t know they have it).It is not oftern I post an article not related to hockey, but today is one of them.

So let this be a cautionary tale, if you’re inclined to listen to this sort of thing. It’s not over. Sorry folks, we’re gonna have to play this to the end, no timeouts, no letting up, no looking back. It’s not over until we make sure it’s over, and that includes vaccines and continued vigilance. If this sounds like preaching, it’s not my intent. I’m just relating a story that many, many others have experienced, and maybe some can learn from.

continued, it is a paid subscription but the above should be enough for you to understand what Wojo is saying.

“I think last year we took a huge step forward from the year before and not being able to take another step forward is definitely very frustrating to be in the position we’re in now. I don’t think we saw each other being in this position at this point of the year, so it’s confusing and frustrating.”

-Claude Giroux, captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelpia Inquirer has more.

THREE HARD LAPS

* Nathan MacKinnon led Colorado to its fourth straight playoff berth, the longest streak for the franchise since a run of 11 consecutive postseason appearances from 1995 to 2006.

* Jakub Vrana erupted for a career-high four goals and became the first Detroit player in over 76 years to score a hat trick within his first four games with the franchise.

* The Maple Leafs opened a six-point lead atop the Scotia North Division as Nick Foligno recorded an assist in his team debut. Fellow Sudbury Wolves alumnus Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a decorated goaltender at both the international and junior club levels, is set to make his NHL debut with the Sabres tonight.

from Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times,

A University District punk-rock bar is suing the Kraken for $3.5 million, alleging the NHL expansion team’s name choice and plans to open a Northgate Mall practice facility restaurant risks irreparably harming its brand.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in King County Superior Court states the Kraken Bar & Lounge, founded in 2011 by William Knupp and husband-and-wife Kat Colley and Daniel Colley, had begrudgingly tolerated the team’s name choice despite a parade of new patrons in “hockey themed attire” showing up amid its usual music clientele wanting to make the venue their hangout. But the final straw, according to the lawsuit, came when the team this month announced it will open the Kraken Bar & Grill at its planned $80 million training facility come mid-September.

The lawsuit for trademark infringement and tortious interference asks that the team be prohibited from using “The Seattle Kraken” name and any others similarly confusing with its own trademarks.

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TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger and TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli joined host James Duthie to discuss the latest on the Women’s Worlds, the NHL at the 2022 Olympics and possibilities for this year’s NHL playoffs if the border between the United States and Canada remains closed.

Watch and read the transcript from the segment at TSN.

added 8:44pm, or watch below...

Less than 3 minutes of your time.

via the YouTube page of the NHL,

Recapping another legendary equipment manger moment, a way-too-many-men penalty, fluke bounces, mad scrambles and a wild Joe Thornton cameo.

from Gentry Estes of The Tennessean,

A season once drowning in disappointment was saved in time for the Nashville Predators to play meaningful games and chase a playoff spot at the end of a shortened regular season.

But on Wednesday night in Chicago, the added significance only made a fresh setback even tougher to swallow.

The 5-4 overtime loss to the Blackhawks will go down as a stunningly disappointing moment in this season, especially if the point the Preds dropped by blowing a late three-goal lead ends up costing them in the NHL's Central Division three-team race for one playoff spot.

"We were playing really good until that moment," said forward Mikael Granlund. "I think we got a little loose there, and it just happened. ... We had a great chance to get two points, and we only got one tonight. That's on us."

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Watch the game highlights below.

THREE HARD LAPS

* The Golden Knights defeated the Sharks and became the NHL’s first team to clinch a berth into the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* The Blackhawks kept their playoff hopes alive after scoring three third-period goals in a span of 2:51 to erase a 4-1 deficit and defeat the Predators.

* Alex Ovechkin has scored some monumental goals against the Islanders as of late. Will the trend continue tonight at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum?

Ten of them in under five minutes.

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Injuries aren’t just a factor for teams, they are also affecting the officials. Three linesmen who retired last season (Scott Driscoll, Darren Gibbs, Brian Murphy) were not replaced. Four others — Derek Amell, Greg Devorski, Brian Mach and Steve Miller — have been out most of the year. As a result, the NHL’s needed to use minor-league referees as linesmen on a few occasions.

The league is also down two referees: Tim Peel (suspended) and Chris Rooney (injured). This doesn’t include short-term injuries, which pop up from time to time. It’s been a struggle.

- Get well soon, Carey Price. The Canadiens’ netminder was injured Monday night in the first period of their 4–1 loss to Edmonton and will miss at least a week in concussion protocol. Cayden Primeau is up on an emergency basis, and could face Calgary this week.

The secondary concern is the roster headaches this creates for Montreal. If they activate Cole Caufield, it will be their last available post-deadline recall. (You get four, and the previous were used up by Paul Byron, Xavier Ouellet and Alexander Romanov.) Adding Caufield would put someone on the taxi squad (Byron?) who cannot be recalled. It’s an extremely delicate dance, and I wouldn’t want to depend knowing only an injury could make someone like Byron eligible again.

-. Spencer Knight made his NHL debut Tuesday night, as the Panthers beat Columbus 5-1. He might have played sooner, but had to get his equipment modified to NHL standards. His chest protector, pads and pants all had to adjusted. (It’s possible he wears one of Sergei Bobrovsky’s old chest protectors.)

- Chris Johnston reported last week that the NHL sent a note to all teams warning of increased scrutiny on long-term injury usage, specifically when it came to cap manipulation. I don’t get riled up about this issue, since I try to manipulate the rules of every pool I’m in. But it drives some teams absolutely crazy.

more Thoughts

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.