Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

All About ESPN And The NHL

03/30/2021 at 5:06pm EDT

from Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports,

Mark Gross, ESPN’s senior vice president of production and remote events, will lead all aspects of NHL coverage. He gave Front Office Sports a preview of ESPN’s strategy:

  • ESPN may hire an uber news-breaker for the NHL similar to Adam Schefter (NFL), Adrian Wojnarowski (NBA), or Jeff Passan (MLB).
  • Look for talent mainstays like Steve Levy, Linda Cohn, John Buccigross, and Barry Melrose to play key roles in the coverage.
  • Yes, the popular ’90s-era NHL theme music will be back (but a redux of Fox’s “glowing puck” is not in the cards).
  • A new NHL studio show on ESPN’s linear TV channels and an expansion of Cohn’s “In the Crease” on ESPN+.
  • Will ESPN’s on-air talent talk about gambling? Don’t bet against it, Gross says.

A Q & A with Mark Gross by Michael McCarthy can be read here and here is a snipet...

FOS: Tell us your coverage approach. How many teams of announcers will you use to call games?

Gross: We’re actually in the process of figuring it out. Right now, we have a list going, because we’ve heard from so many people that it’s overwhelming. We have a list of play-by-play announcers who are interested, analysts, hosts, reporters and production people. We’re just in the process of playing around with it.

Obviously, we know the number of games. We’re still trying to confirm the days of the week of the games. We’re not quite there as far as announce teams. Needless to say there will be at least two to three [announce teams] going during the course of the regular season. That will likely increase during the playoffs.

Video- When Scotty Bowman Talks You Should Listen

03/30/2021 at 3:45pm EDT

The Buffalo Sabres Were Rolling Last Night But...

03/30/2021 at 10:07am EDT

from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News,

The first thing that popped in my head late Monday night was that old clip of John McEnroe from an early 1980s tirade at Wimbledon.

Remember the one where the ball was clearly on the line and chalk flew up? What four words that live in tennis lore did McNasty rail at the umpire after his serve was called out?

You cannot be serious.

That's how you have to feel after the Buffalo Sabres' utter collapse in KeyBank Center. Their hideous winless streak was over, cemented away in the history books at 17 games and no more.

And then it wasn't over. And now it's 18 games.

A 3-0 lead after two periods went poof in the night. The Philadelphia Flyers roared back with three goals in the third period and got the winner in overtime. A shocking 4-3 loss. An 0-15-3 record, equaling the NHL's longest winless streak of the last 27 years.

continued

Game highlights are below.

NHL Short Notes

03/30/2021 at 9:17am EDT

THREE HARD LAPS

* On Oct. 1, 1997, Patrick Marleau skated in his first NHL game and last night he skated in his 1,757th – only one other player in NHL history has hit that mark, Gordie Howe (1,767 GP).

* Cale Makar and Philipp Grubauer combined to help the Avalanche extend their point streak to 11 contests, one shy of the longest run by any team this season.

* Darnell Nurse became the NHL’s leading goal scorer among defensemen after his 12th tally of the season won the game for Edmonton in overtime.

The Vancouver Canucks May Be Limited At The Trade Deadline

03/29/2021 at 8:13pm EDT

from Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province,

The simple summation for suitors interested in unrestricted free agents Tanner Pearson, Brandon Sutter, Alex Edler and Jordie Benn is that they must balance the salary-cap equation. Money coming in, even as rentals, can be justified if similar money is going out — unless owner Francesco Aquilini retains cash on expiring contracts.

That’s probably a moot point because the Canucks currently have no current or projected cap space. Add no-movement and modified no-movement clauses — plus current injury situations and family preferences — and trading UFAs for draft picks gets more complicated.

It’s not surprising that Travis Hamonic, 30, won’t waive his NMC, even though there’s interest from the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets. The right-shot defenceman has always preferred to play in Western Canada for professional and family purposes. It could be the same scenario with Edler and his NMC.

As for Pearson and Sutter, their value as experienced depth forwards is tempered by salaries and ailments.

continued

Aaron Ekblad Out Three Months After Surgery Today

03/29/2021 at 7:34pm EDT

SUNRISE, Fla. - Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito announced today that Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad underwent successful surgery to repair a fracture in his lower extremities and is expected to be out of the lineup for 12 weeks.

Ekblad, 25, sustained his injury during the second period of Florida's March 28 game against the Dallas Stars.

"To be without a player of Aaron's caliber and character is an irreplaceable loss to our hockey club," said Zito. "Aaron is an incredibly driven and talented young player and a tremendous leader for our team. He has the heartfelt support of our organization, his teammates and fans as we wish him the best in his recovery and his eventual return. Despite Aaron's absence from our lineup, we are confident in our group's resiliency and motivation as we move forward."

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound native of Windsor, Ont. has registered 22 points (11-11-22) over 35 games this season with the Panthers and ranked tied for first among all NHL defensemen in goals. The two-time NHL All-Star (2015, 2016) and 2014-15 Calder Memorial Trophy winner was originally selected by Florida first overall in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Monday Hockey Thoughts

03/29/2021 at 1:17pm EDT

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- I will admit this even if it makes me look unprofessional, but I’m rooting for a Buffalo victory. No one deserves this level of on-ice misery in such a mentally challenging isolation season.

With two weeks until the trade deadline, no GM is using more data than Kevyn Adams. The Sabres are out of the race and not pretending otherwise. I thought he did well to get two picks for Eric Staal, and Adams tried for a second-rounder before committing to Montreal. The advantage for him right now is some other teams (Arizona, Columbus, Nashville among them) are holding because they’re suddenly in the race.

Adams was believed to be discussing something with struggling St. Louis. I wondered if it would be Taylor Hall, but received pushback on that idea, so we’ll see where it goes. There are a ton of teams calling to see what he’s willing to do, and what it will take.

- I’m another one who believes Luke Glendening is very much on Edmonton’s radar. (Tippett is not the source for this.) Makes too much sense, but the challenge for the Oilers is getting outbid by a higher pick than they want to exchange.

I heard that his Detroit teammates jokingly compared Glendening — when in the face-off circle — to a dog eying a ball. His eyes never leave the puck in a linesman’s hand. He’s completely focused on it and ignores all else. Guess that’s why he’s at 64 per cent.

- According to multiple sources, Peel, devastated by what happened, threw himself on the grenade and took full responsibility, apologizing to the Predators post-game. Apparently, he’d seen a replay of his call on the video screen, realized it was a miss, and was annoyed at himself.

Most of the current and retired officials who were willing to discuss the incident said they understood the decision. They didn’t like it, and felt terribly for Peel, but they understood. A couple of them brought up disgraced ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who was caught betting on games in 2007. (Let’s just state for the record, I don’t believe Peel was doing anything remotely similar or unethical.)

“When that happened,” one said, “the NHL immediately reached out to us. They asked us if there was anything they needed to know.”

more on Tim Peel and other notes of interest...

Stars Of The Week

03/29/2021 at 1:07pm EDT

NEW YORK (March 29, 2021) – New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox and Northwell Health – Long Island Jewish Medical Center RN Deena Trupkin have been named the NHL’s “First Stars” for the week ending March 28.

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.”

Trupkin, a Rangers fan since birth, is a registered nurse in maternal fetal medicine at Northwell Health – Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y. At the height of the pandemic, she was reassigned to work in labor and delivery. Her role became even more essential to many laboring women who could not have the in-person support of their partner or family due to the unknown threat of COVID-19 on newborns.

Trupkin’s fandom of the Rangers spans generations. Her grandfather had season tickets for more than 60 years and her daughter’s middle name is Madison, after Madison Square Garden. Trupkin is very proud to share this weekly honor with Fox, who hails from Long Island (Jericho, N.Y.).

Rounding out the “Three Stars” of the week are Carolina Hurricanes center Martin Necas and Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros. More on each NHL player’s performance can be found below:

NHL Short Notes

03/29/2021 at 6:32am EDT

THREE HARD LAPS

* Alex Ovechkin continued his goal-per-game pace since March 11 as the nine-time Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner moved within four of Auston Matthews for the League lead in tallies this season.

* Just days after The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers began streaming on Disney+, Anaheim rallied for a multi-goal comeback victory (which are commonplace in the film franchise) and Florida forward Anthony Duclair scored the winner on a penalty shot by beating Jake Oettinger via a move reminiscent of the “triple-deke”.

* Patrick Marleau is set to move past Mark Messier on the NHL’s all-time games played list when the Sharks welcome the Wild to SAP Center.

Video- Aaron Ekblad Injury

03/28/2021 at 7:26pm EDT

Watch the injury below.

added 7:42pm, longer version of the injury is belo...

Big Update Of Rescheduled NHL Games

03/28/2021 at 6:53pm EDT

NEW YORK (March 28, 2021) – The National Hockey League today announced the following updates to the 2020-21 regular-season schedule:

Video- Top Shots

03/28/2021 at 1:04pm EDT

Exactly as the title says, the top shots so far this season. Certainly a talented group of players.

Hockey Thoughts On A Sunday Afternoon

03/28/2021 at 12:19pm EDT

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- Players I’d be inquiring about if I were the Leafs: Boone Jenner and Nick Foligno in Columbus; Sam Bennett in Calgary; Anaheim’s Rickard Rackell. The Leafs would need to move some money around for any of those deals but they appear quite willing to do that.

- How bad are the Buffalo Sabres? Frankly, as bad as any non-expansion team I’ve ever seen. They’ve gone 17 games without a win and in that time they’ve been outscored 70-25 and shut out five times. The Sabres need a Brendan Shanahan type to go in and change the culture of the organization, and then begin to build over again … What Buffalo shouldn’t do: Trade Rasmus Dahlin. Trading young defencemen of talent can backfire. See Chris Pronger and Seth Jones, both traded at 21; Dougie Hamilton traded at 22. Dahlin turns 21 next month.

- This is Wild: Minnesota’s Bill Guerin and Dean Evason would be my picks for GM and coach of the year in the NHL.

- f the NHL is getting into the gambling business, which it is, the league’s coaches should be instructed to announce starting goaltenders day before the game, the way starting pitchers are announced in baseball. You can’t be hypocritical by welcoming gambling and cutting off information from said gamblers

more

Eating With The Chicago Blackhawks

03/28/2021 at 8:46am EDT

from Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times,

Hockey players are notoriously ravenous. Simply to replenish their caloric output, Hawks players regularly consume food quantities that would add many pounds to the average person.

There is no McDonald’s on the menu, but there is some of everything else.

“We have meals pretty much all day, pretty much everything you can think of,” defenseman Connor Murphy said recently. “They coordinate with our trainers and nutritionists to make sure we’ve got the right stuff cooked a certain way.”

The Hawks have a reputation as one of the best teams, food-wise, in the league, Murphy said. That’s not only because of Chicago’s world-class array of restaurants, but because the food the organization cooks in-house or caters is especially tasty and abundant.

“That’s a perk that guys have here more so than other teams: the amount of food and everything being available to us all day long and on the road, [allowing us] to keep eating and getting recovered,” Murphy said.

“We have a full salad bar and pretty much any kind of food you can think of. A lot of guys go with the chicken and pastas and other cooked vegetables, so nothing too crazy there. But the food has been unreal.”

more

Vegas Golden Knights Win Their Way Against The Colorado Avalanche

03/28/2021 at 8:37am EDT

from Ed Grainey of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

I’m not sure who would be doubting a team that has won as much as the Golden Knights. But if that perceived slight gives you the motivation to get a significant road split, who’s to argue?

It’s not just that the Knights defeated Colorado 3-2 in overtime Saturday. It’s how they won. Playing their way.

We saw Thursday what happens when they don’t against this specific side. It’s not pretty.
Responding to a 5-1 loss in which they were dominated two days earlier, the Knights remained atop the Honda West Division because they refused to get caught up in another track meet.

They can’t beat Colorado that way. Patience isn’t just a key against the Avalanche. It’s the only way to succeed. You either limit transition rushes or you lose.

continued

Game highlights are below.

NHL Short Notes

03/28/2021 at 6:16am EDT

THREE HARD LAPS

* Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid each registered multi-point efforts, but the former’s 22nd goal of the season helped Toronto complete a multi-goal, third-period rally.

* Sidney Crosby extended his point streak to five games and continued his personal success against the Islanders. The Penguins captain has 3-7—10 over those five contests.

* Max Pacioretty’s fourth overtime goal of the season propelled the Golden Knight past the Avalanche. He sits one shy of the most in a single season in NHL history.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

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