best sports betting sites Canada
Guide on Choosing Canadian betting sites
Legal US sports betting

Video- Alex Edler Will Have A Hearing Today

04/19/2021 at 10:22am EDT

Watch the incident below.

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

Up Or Down Time

04/19/2021 at 8:46am EDT

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Stock up

Michael Rasmussen

Rasmussen had a goal and two assists last week, tallying his second multipoint game of the season when he contributed two assists April 12 at the Hurricanes. (His first was Jan. 28 against the Stars). Rasmussen, a first-round pick in 2017, is noticeable every game for how he uses his big body to protect the puck, or drive to the net for a scoring opportunity. He led his team with six shots on net Saturday and nearly scored. He’s playing with so much confidence, and the improvement from even the start of the season is remarkable.

Jakub Vrana

What a debut for the trade-deadline acquisition: Out of the penalty box and straight up the ice for the winning goal. Vrana looks like he can be a good fit — he has won puck battles, and gone to hard areas. As his comfort level with new teammates grows, and as he finds chemistry on a new line, Vrana could be a bright spot over the final 10 games.

Stock down

Dennis Cholowski

The first time the 2016 first-round pick was called up this season, he appeared in two games before being sent back down. He has been up again since April 10, with steadily growing minutes — and no points. Saturday, he played 21:19, and 5:14 of that was power-play time. That’s the area where Cholowski, 23, needs to make an impact if he’s to gain traction. He’s an NHL-caliber skater, but needs to be more assertive with the puck.

more ($$$), no other players in the down section, also in the up are Stecher and DeKeyser.

NHL Short Notes

04/19/2021 at 1:21am EDT

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.


Video- The Vancouver Canucks With An Incredible 3-2 OT Win Over The Toronto Maple Leafs

04/18/2021 at 10:53pm EDT

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.”

continued

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

A Home & Home Series Times Two

04/18/2021 at 5:00pm EDT

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

In a scheduling quirk — thank you, pandemic-shortened and affected NHL schedule — the Wings play the Dallas Stars four consecutive games.

The Wings are in Dallas for games Monday and Tuesday, then return for games Thursday and Saturday at Little Caesars Arena.

Are these the playoffs? No, of course not.

But there’s a good best these games will have a feel of something extra, given how important they are for Dallas.

“(We’ll) treat it like first four games of a playoff series, two games there and we have two games at home,” forward Dylan Larkin said. “It’s going to be physical and going to be tight checking and we need to respond to that. It’s a great challenge.

“I know our guys will look at it like that, and we have to step up and rise to the occasion for that one.”

The defending Stanley Cup finalist Stars are three points behind Nashville (49-46) for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division. Chicago is in between with 47 points.

Dallas has played two fewer games than Chicago (45-43) and three fewer games than Nashville (46).

more

Videos- Tom Wilson Hit

04/18/2021 at 2:55pm EDT

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.

What Changed With The Florida Panthers?

04/18/2021 at 9:52am EDT

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.

more

19 Detroit Thoughts

04/18/2021 at 9:37am EDT

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

With a nod to his number he wore, now raised to the rafters in Little Caesars Arena, here are 19 thoughts on what Yzerman has accomplished since April 19, 2019.

- Trading Anthony Mantha was not an indictment on the state of the rebuild, it was an indictment on Mantha. Yzerman said early on he wanted to observe the team he took over from his predecessor, Ken Holland. Yzerman saw in Mantha what others in the organization had seen for longer: That the nights he was unnoticeable outnumbered the ones where Mantha dominated. Anyone who remembers Yzerman knows how competitive he was as a player — he played on one knee, basically, at the end of his career, and still gave it his all. Yzerman had had enough, and that’s what led to the trade.

- Since Yzerman took over, 14 NHL regulars are no longer part of the roster. In addition to shedding Mantha, Athanasiou and Abdelkader, Yzerman opted not to re-sign Jimmy Howard, Thomas Vanek, Luke Witkowski, Trevor Daley and Jonathan Ericsson. He did not issue a qualifying offer to Martin Frk, Madison Bowey and Christoffer Ehn, and also traded Mike Green and Jacob de la Rose. Niklas Kronwall retired.

- Even with holding on to Bernier, Staal, and Luke Glendening, all pending unrestricted free agents, Yzerman carries 12 picks into the 2021 draft, including five in the first two rounds. That potentially could speed up the rebuild.

- One of the most important prospects is Moritz Seider, the defenseman Yzerman drafted sixth overall in 2019. Loaning Seider to Rögle in the Swedish Hockey League meant a season-long commitment — other European leagues allowed players to be recalled once hockey started up in North America — and it has worked wonderfully. The 20-year-old has flourished, tallying seven goals and 21 assists in 41 games, and is in position to win a championship. He’s poised to join the Wings’ lineup next season.

more (paid subscription)

Hockey Notes On A Great Spring Sunday Morning In Motown

04/18/2021 at 9:27am EDT

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.

more

NHL Short Notes

04/18/2021 at 12:58am EDT

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.

Video- Patrick Marleau Visits With Ron MacLean And Kelly Hrudey

04/18/2021 at 12:26am EDT

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.

Quick Recap- Wings/Blackhawks

04/17/2021 at 9:30pm EDT

The Wings started strong and had numerous scoring chances in the first period but could not score.

With less than 30 seconds left in the first, Chicago scored and it became an uphill battle for Detroit.

Chicago added a goal in the second and two goals (one ENG) in the third to make the final score 4-0.

Team stats

added 10:20pm, Below find post game talk and game highlights.

Video- Saturday Headlines

04/17/2021 at 9:25pm EDT

via Sportsnet,

Elliotte Friedman and Chris Johnston look at the latest news from around the NHL, with the Canucks recovering from COVID-19 and the playoff situation for all the Canadian teams.

A Bad Look

04/17/2021 at 6:43pm EDT

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

The NHL and NHLPA have handled the unprecedented challenges posed over the past 13 months admirably, balancing the well-being of the industry with the safety of those under their charge.

But sending the Canucks back to work after the most serious outbreak of COVID-19 encountered by any NHL team so they can dutifully play out the string of a season gone horribly wrong seems a story that belongs under one of those generic headlines we’ve read all too often:

“CORPORATION ORDERS EMPLOYEES BACK TO WORK”

Please do not talk to me about the integrity of the schedule or the integrity of the playoff race in the Canadian division. Neither exists under these conditions. The five teams that have a sum of 19 games remaining against Vancouver will in essence be picking at the carcass of a club whose players, staff members and respective families have been struck, and struck hard, by the P1 variant of the virus.

Playing these games — when they start Sunday night, the Canucks will be scheduled to play 19 games in 32 days, an insane burden even if placed on the healthiest and best conditioned of teams — will add mockery to the playoff race, not justify it....

continued plus more topics including...

So I hear or read about the Blue Jackets’ upcoming decision whether to “rebuild or reload,” and wonder if we are taking about the same Blue Jackets who have won one playoff round in their history. That one triumph came two years ago while they still had all the guys who left town as soon as they could.

A Streak Of Sorts

04/17/2021 at 6:30pm EDT

For the first time this season the Wings have posted three wins in a row. To many of the Wings faithful this represents a streak of sorts. Improvement with some consistency, even at a snails pace is better than none, and, the addition of the two new players seems to have sparked the team on a bit. It's the best effort we've seen this season.

Vrana scored his first goal as a Wing, which was also the game winner, on a nice feed from Lindstrom as he(Vrana) exited the penalty box, and skated in alone, ripping a nice shot into the back of net. I don't remember the last time that happened, but, it sure felt good.

One more win against the Cawks tonight would really go a long way as far as holding the interest of 19 Wingaholics for the remainder of the season.

It's a Live Blog!

Be Prepared For Ads On The NHL Sweaters

04/17/2021 at 4:54pm EDT

from Mark J. Burns of SportsBusiness Journal,

NHL jersey advertising could become a reality as early as the 2022-23 season, multiple sources tell Sports Business Journal, cautioning that nothing has been finalized or approved by the league’s Board of Governors.

In recent weeks, NHL clubs have been conducting valuation work -- some with third-party sports sponsorship and marketing agencies as well as valuation firms -- to determine what a jersey patch and helmet decal could both be worth before eventually providing that data to the league, sources said. In other words, what’s the business and revenue case for formally adopting the new sponsorship assets, some sources described.

The exact location of a jersey patch, chest or shoulder, is also still being discussed and evaluated, sources said. Jersey patch sizing is unknown at this time.

continued

Patrick Marleau About To Replace Gordie Howe In Most Games Played

04/17/2021 at 3:38pm EDT

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com,

Growing up in Aneroid, Saskatchewan, Patrick Marleau looked to see which players from his province had made the NHL. At the top of the list was one of the greatest of all time, the one who had played more NHL games than anyone else, Gordie Howe.

"It gives you hope," he said. "It gives you hope that maybe that could be me one day playing in the NHL, since these other guys before me did it coming from small farming communities in Saskatchewan."

Playing in the NHL is an accomplishment in itself. Out of everyone who has laced up a pair of skates, only 8,102 have appeared in the League in more than a century, starting with its first season in 1917-18. The number is 8,074 including only the regular season.

Marleau is about to reach one of the greatest milestones in the sport considering that, and it's all the more special because he is passing none other than Mr. Hockey. Marleau is scheduled to tie Howe's record of 1,767 NHL regular-season games when the San Jose Sharks play at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; BSN, NBCSCA, NHL.TV) and break it at the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.

continued

The Mantha/Vrana Deal

04/17/2021 at 2:44pm EDT

from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

Up until the Red Wings and Capitals stunned the trading floor on Monday, the best deadline deal belonged to the Islanders, who jumped out ahead by five days and added dependable ex-Devils Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac to a strong group of forwards.

But then, just as the dealin’ was nearly done, the Capitals filched the single-best talent that few knew to be available, acquiring 6-foot-5-inch right winger Anthony Mantha from the Red Wings.

“Wow!” said one front office executive, praising Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman for the deal....

The Capitals, always enamored by size and skill (why not?), surrendered slick Czech forward Jakub Vrana and Slovak right winger Richard Panik, whom Yzerman drafted for the Lightning in his Tampa GM days. They sweetened the package even further with first-round (2021) and second-round (2022) picks. Sweet haul, no doubt.

But the best player in the deal is Mantha, who pitched in with 1-1—2 in his Capitals debut Tuesday night. Few in the league have the new age Big M’s size and skill, which the Red Wings no doubt viewed to be true in November when they extended his deal for four years at a $5.7 million cap hit. Five months later, what, he’s trade bait?

The asterisk on Mantha, age 26, is his erratic consistency and motivation. He can appear maddeningly disengaged, even now seven years into his pro career. In part, that label was why, even with his size, he lasted until No. 20 in the 2013 draft (three picks after the Senators grabbed Curtis Lazar, don’t ya know?).

Vrana, 25, will be a restricted free agent in the summer, and the Capitals were concerned he might earn Mantha kind of money via salary arbitration. Now that’s Yzerman’s worry. Stevie Y is hoping Vrana (career-high 25 goals, 52 points) might find Detroit a comfortable fit with fellow Czechs Filip Hronek (D) and Filip ZadinaRW). If he’s right, that might bring some added value to the deal. Detroit is a hard sell these days.

The deal is somewhat reminiscent of the Bruins abruptly dishing Joe Thornton to the Sharks 23 games into the 2005-06 season, when no one knew the former No. 1 pick (1997) was being shopped...

more and other topics too...

Video- Coach Blashill After The Morning Skate

04/17/2021 at 11:34am EDT

5 1/2 minutes long, conference begins with a question about Lucas Raymond.

Poor Handling By The NHL

04/17/2021 at 10:07am EDT

from Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press,

COVID-19 is no joke. But the way the NHL has mishandled an outbreak on the Vancouver Canucks sure is, suggesting a tone-deaf league that will always put profit over people, including forcing a sickly bunch to hit the ice when it was unsafe to do so.

Only a player-led revolt and some public shaming forced a last-minute change of plans that is just slightly less egregious.

If NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and company had their way, the Canucks would have hosted the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night, their first game since March 24 and the start of a murderous stretch of hockey that would involve 19 games over 31 nights. It would have come after just one measly practice, with multiple players still in virus protocols and others still working their way back from battling serious symptoms that were a result of the more potent Brazil variant.

That, folks, was a recipe for disaster.

Instead, Vancouver was given an extra two days to gear up for what will now be 19 games over 32 days starting Sunday, which is still ridiculous.

continued

It's All About The Playoffs For The Core Of The Toronto Maple Leafs

04/17/2021 at 9:11am EDT

from Damien Cox at the Toronto Star,

So the Leafs are really pretty much the same team they were before the deadline, perhaps slightly improved, with the same strengths and same weaknesses. No. 1 on the list of those weaknesses is the uncertain situation in net, and while four different masked men have now earned points for Toronto this season, we all are pretty familiar with the NHL’s rule that you can only play one at a time.

Currently, that looms as a prickly problem for Keefe. He’s got lots of goalies hailing from lots of different places, and he just needs one of them to play well enough to get the club past the first round of the playoffs. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

The fate of this team in this bizarro season rests on Keefe identifying a goalie, and on whether Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, Zach Hyman and perhaps one or two others have the ability to play much better in the playoffs this spring than they did in last summer’s bubble playoffs. Joe Thornton and Jason Spezza are nice stories and occasional contributors, as is Wayne Simmonds. But the big money boys have got to come through.

For 44 games, this team has performed very well. If it can hang on to first place, sometime next month it will likely face Montreal in the playoffs. That could be loads of fun and the stars will need to come out.

Dubas has so far declined to touch the core of this team, believing it will mature and eventually perform at a level that might get the Leafs to within striking distance of the Cup.

Soon, we will see if he was right. Or, more accurately, whether he was right within the context of a season like no other.

more

The Vancouver Canucks Prepare To Play Again

04/17/2021 at 3:33am EDT

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Given two more days to prepare for the worst month of their hockey careers, the Vancouver Canucks will have a full lineup when they end an unprecedented 24-day layoff Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

They don’t know who will be coaching (bench boss Travis Green was among the hardest hit by the organization’s COVID-19 outbreak) or who will be playing (except injured star Elias Pettersson won’t), but at least the Canucks will have a team. They wouldn’t have had one Friday had the NHL not revised Vancouver’s schedule a second time and pushed back its re-entry into the stretch drive for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

With 19 games in 32 days, the Canucks may well finish a regular season that has been officially declared a disaster while the top four teams in the Canadian division are playing playoff games.

After a year in which the NHL thought it had seen everything, it turned out nobody had seen anything like the Canucks’ COVID-19 outbreak, which was made exceptional – and especially dangerous – because it was driven by the aggressive P.1 variant.

None of the league’s earlier outbreaks, including those similar in scope and duration to the Canucks’ crisis, were caused by any of the coronavirus variants that have built a gigantic third wave in Canada.

A Canucks’ official described it this week like this: 10 days into the NHL’s earlier major outbreaks, nearly all the players involved had recovered enough to resume training; 10 days into the P.1 variant outbreak in Vancouver, not only were a lot of players still sick but a few were actually getting worse.

continued

NHL Short Notes

04/17/2021 at 3:11am EDT

THREE HARD LAPS

* Oilers captain Connor McDavid is set to return to the ice and can accomplish a rare feat with his 70th point of the season.

* Jeremy Swayman became the ninth different rookie goaltender to post a shutout in 2020-21. The most in a single season in NHL history is 17.

* Tyler Toffoli joined rare company by scoring his 20th goal with the Canadiens in fewer than 40 games.

Ranking The Top Prospects

04/16/2021 at 4:44pm EDT

Chris Peters of HockeySense does a great job with prospects. His site is subscription only but this time of year is well worth it. Consider a subscription if you can.

1. Owen Power, D, Michigan (Big Ten)

With his season over, there isn’t a ton more Power can do to solidify his case to be the No. 1 pick in the draft, but he’s done enough this season to earn the pole position at this point. As has been the case throughout the season, the race for No. 1 remains tight with opinions widespread on who it should be.

To me, the player with the most translatable skills to NHL impact and potential stardom remains Power. His maturity is already beyond his years and he’s taken the right approach to his development, excelling at each step without rushing the process....

2. Matty Beniers, C, Michigan (Big Ten)

Beniers does the things every team needs in a center to win games. He’s got the skill and speed to pressure teams offensively, but then he’s able to be among the best defensive centers you can throw over the boards. His work ethic on and off the puck is unrivaled in this class, which makes him both difficult to play against and a coach’s dream. He has that natural toughness that doesn’t manifest itself in big hits or over-aggressiveness, rather he’s going all out in the corners, at the net front, with one goal in mind – the puck belongs to him and it’s going to be a fight for you to try and keep it....

3. Dylan Guenther, RW, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)

My, oh my, what a start for Guenther since the WHL returned. He’d been among the top scorers in the league since the puck dropped and never really looked back before leaving for Canada’s U18 camp. We should take some of the numbers with a small grain of salt just because of the way the WHL schedule is set up this season. When you remove the grueling travel and almost 40 games from the schedule, it does make for a better chance at more sustainable production in a smaller, more controlled sample. Even without that, though, you just need to look at Guenther’s skill set to see why he is among the exceptional in this draft class and averaged a WHL-best two-points per game before departing.

more on each of the above plus 42 more names...

Schedule Changes For The North Division

04/16/2021 at 3:09pm EDT

NEW YORK (April 16, 2021) – The National Hockey League today announced the following updates to the 2020-21 regular-season schedule for the Scotia North Division:

About Kukla's Korner

Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet.  We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.

The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here.  For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by Paul in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 7 minutes ago
Comment by retrospecd in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 23 minutes ago
Comment by damndogrevenge in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 29 minutes ago
Comment by Shanny_Fan in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 51 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 1 hour ago
Comment by damndogrevenge in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 1 hour ago
Comment by RWHockey13 in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 1 hour ago
Comment by TreKronor in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 1 hour ago
Comment by retrospecd in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 1 hour ago
Comment by bigfrog in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 1 hour ago