from Amber Neely of Apple Insider,

Hockey teams across the U.S. and Canada utilize a first-of-its-kind app on the iPad to create better-informed decisions during the game.

The app in question is SAP-NHL Coaching Insights App for iPad, and it has revolutionized the way coaches gain insight into a game.

It is capable of providing coaches with a wealth of information at their fingertips. Coaches can quickly lookup real-time data on how players on both teams have performed on faceoffs overall, how teams have performed at specific locations, and how players have faired against particular opponents.

"It's a huge part of coaching in today's game," Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told The Atlantic. "We're trying to get better every day, and you do that on the ice, but you can't only get better on the ice. You need to get better in all aspects, and you need to use every tool that's available to you, and that's where the technology and these iPads have become so important."

It also analyzes information throughout the game, making it more valuable as the game goes on. For example, SAP-NHL Coaching Insights can be used to keep track of which players have taken breaks and for how long. This information allows coaches to make sure players are being rotated out to maximize energy while minimizing potential injury or fatigue.

continued

10 saves in 5 minutes.

from Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

It might not be official, but things have reached city limits: Consider the Golden Knights the best varsity team in the Honda West Division.

The Knights beat Colorado 5-2 on Wednesday night before 3,950 at T-Mobile Arena, creating what should be an insurmountable cushion between them and the Avalanche for first place.

And, yeah, that matters a lot.

And, yeah, those in the lead hate to even consider having such an edge.

“A huge, huge result for the standings,” Knights coach Pete DeBoer said. “It gives us a real chance. We still have a lot of business to take care of over the last two weeks, but it sets up that our destiny is in our own hands. Which is at least what you want heading into the last few weeks of a season.”

continued

Below, watch the game highlights.

THREE HARD LAPS

* Auston Matthews, who leads the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race with 35 goals this season, scored the game winner as the Maple Leafs clinched a berth in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Connor McDavid recorded his fourth straight three-point game and is now on pace for 100 points in a shortened NHL season.

* The Golden Knights moved into first place in the NHL standings as they earned their 10th straight win.

If you missed it earlier today, Gallant was name head coach for Canada at the World Championship.

“As players, we feel we’re very fortunate that we’ve been able to do what we love to do. There’s a lot of situations out there where people have had to sacrifice what they love to do and we’re still able to do it, obviously under different circumstances. Guys have had to really adhere to protocols and things like that, and it’s made it stressful at times.

“But at the end of the day, we’re playing hockey and we’ve enjoyed that part of it.”

-Sam Gagner of the Detroit Red Wings. Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News has more from Gagner.

Hockey starts early today at 5:30pm ET with Vancouver in Ottawa. Some excitting games will follow, the full schedule is below. Quinton Byfield makes his NHL debut for the LA Kings too.

Big game of the night is the Colorado Avalanche against the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas holds a four point lead but Colorado has a game in hand.

Jeff Blashill first, Sam Gagner below.

A little less than five minutes to watch.

It's slow, so...

Join NHL prospect guru Scott Wheeler, Aaron Ward and Ken Daniels.

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Teammates told Detroit Red Wings prospect Joe Veleno to work hard, have fun and enjoy the moment Tuesday, because you only get one opportunity to make your NHL debut.

“They said everything you did to get here, bring it on the ice every shift,” Veleno said.

After feeling some butterflies and what he called exciting nerves during the pregame warmup, Veleno did not look out of place in his first NHL game, a 1-0 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

“He was strong on the puck, strong on his stick, played a 200-foot game, had some opportunities,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I thought he played a good hockey game. He looked like a guy who’s played two years pro and was ready for the opportunity to skate in the NHL. His strength really showed.

“He got a decent amount of ice time and he earned it.”

continued

THREE HARD LAPS

* The Panthers and Lightning both earned wins to clinch a berth in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, joining the Hurricanes – who clinched on Monday and moved into first place in the overall NHL standings with a win on Tuesday – to fill three of the four slots in the Discover Central Division.

* The Capitals swept their three-game set with the Islanders, shutting out New York in two of the three contests, to move one point ahead of the Penguins for first place in the MassMutual East Division.

* The NHL and Turner Sports announced a seven-year media rights agreement that will have regular-season, Stanley Cup Playoff and Stanley Cup Final games televised on TNT and TBS starting next season and running through 2027-28.

Not much to say when the score was 0-0 going to overtime.

Both goalies were good and both teams looked as if there was nothing to play for, which is correct for Detroit and Columbus.

Now really not much to say after a goal less OT.

CBJ wins in the shootout, Wings failed to score.

Team stats.

added 10:50pm, Below, find Joe Veleno and coach Blashill in one video and also the game highlights.

added 12:43am on 4/28/21, Longer versions of Veleno and Blashill are below.

added 12:52am, Mickey Redmond is below and good night.

via TSN's YouTube page,

TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli joins host Gino Reda to discuss an update on the NHL’s Draft Lottery, if All-Star Weekend is on the league’s radar for next season and whether or not the league’s new U.S. TV deal could have an impact on the salary cap going forward.

There's not much to talk about. The Wings are finishing out the season, and, the 19 are thinking about which players we'd like to have back, and hoping to catch a glimpse of Joe Veleno.
It's anybody's guess regarding what Yzerman plans to do with the coaching position, and, who stays or goes.

So, let's just sit back, enjoy the rest of the season, and look forward to next year.

It's a Live Blog!

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

If you’ve watched this Red Wings team on television on a nightly basis or covered them, you can’t deny facts. They've gotten better, individually and collectively, despite the noise around them.

Coach Jeff Blashill called it out the other day, noting what has stood out in this irregular season.

“I would say both on and off the ice, our push to keep getting better on a daily basis,” Blashill said.

On many levels, this Wings season has been so much more watchable than last season — a low bar to jump over — and maybe the last several seasons.

For Blashill, who doesn’t have a contract for next season, the way this roster has continued to forge ahead could be a check in the “why to bring him back” column.

This season would have been an easy one for this team to mentally get away from, especially after a disastrous first month (2-6-2) and an eight-game winless streak from Jan. 22 to Feb. 5.

continued

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- GMs seen so far at the Under-18s: Doug Armstrong (St. Louis), Jim Benning (Vancouver), Ron Francis (Seattle) and Steve Yzerman (Detroit).

- During Monday’s Board of Governors’ meeting, Bettman made it very clear there would be serious consequences for post-season COVID outbreaks resulting from not following protocols. A couple of governors were left with the impression that if a team could not finish a series, it might have to forfeit.

- For awhile now, teams have indicated they’d like to reign in coaching/front-office salaries, and we’re going to get an indication of how serious that really is over the next little while. Carolina’s Tom Dundon is one owner who’s mentioned it, and the Hurricanes are working on an extension with Rod Brind’Amour — who sets the tone for a really good team.

A month ago, I’d heard it was a foregone conclusion, but was then warned it was a tougher grind than anyone hoped or wanted. I don’t believe Brind’Amour wants to go anywhere else, and I have always believed this gets done, but it’s been a challenge.

- McDavid’s 1.76 points per game is tied for 30th in NHL history. It’s the highest since Mario Lemieux’s 1.77 in 2000-01. Only Mike Bossy, Phil Esposito, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Lemieux, Bernie Nicholls, Adam Oates, Bobby Orr and Steve Yzerman are ahead of that.

- On cross-checking, GMs were reminded of the standard: a push versus a punch with the stick. The former is okay, the latter is not. There’s a little more latitude in front of the net as opposed to elsewhere on the ice. There is supposed to be an allowance for net-front battling, which is where the subjectivity comes in and makes some people crazy.

more Thoughts, including a look at the Turner Sports deal.

Seider left his last game and did not return. His coach was silent on his status but he is back playing today.

As mentioned yesterday, Veleno has yet to be cleared to play but that could happen before tonight's game in Columbus.

A bit over 3 minutes to watch.

added 12:23pm, watch the full podcast below.

via the NHL PR department,

TNT to Crown Champion with Stanley Cup Final and Extensive Stanley Cup Playoffs Coverage; Rights to Up to 72 Exclusive Live Regular Season Games, Including NHL Winter Classic Each Season

Comprehensive Agreement Also Highlighted by Live Streaming Rights; Expansive Digital and Highlight Rights for Bleacher Report and More

Turner Sports, a division of WarnerMedia, and the National Hockey League have reached a multi-faceted, seven-year agreement set to begin with the 2021-22 season, it was announced today by Jeff Zucker, Chairman, WarnerMedia News & Sports, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. This historic multimedia rights agreement will bring the Stanley Cup Final and Stanley Cup Playoffs to TNT and TBS for the first time, along with providing Turner Sports rights to up to 72 regular season games and the NHL Winter Classic each season.

from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer,

Because this team expected no less than this, and because it has indeed elevated its game from last season and the season before, this can’t be enough. Amid the disruption of last season and the stifling uncomfortability of the playoff bubble, there were times when it seemed like the Hurricanes were merely happy to be there, especially as the Boston series went sideways.

There hasn’t been any of that this season, and there shouldn’t be any of that in the playoffs, and there can’t be any of it now. The stakes are just as high over the final eight games as they were over the first 48. In this division, with three heavyweights slugging it out at the top, finishing first means more than hanging a banner.

With the obvious and perennial caveat that every playoff series is its own miniature universe, the odds will lean heavily toward the team among the Carolina-Tampa-Florida trio that doesn’t have to play one of the other two in the first round. That 2-3 semifinal series in the Central Division has the potential to be an absolute slog, every bit as difficult as the division final will be. No disrespect to Dallas or Nashville, but the gap between the top three and the rest of the division is tangible and significant. There’s a reward for finishing strong, and the Hurricanes control their own destiny to claim it.

Closing out the season the right way and claiming the division title would be a statement of intent from a team that has shown its Stanley Cup window is as open as anyone’s. There are 12 players on this team who participated in the first-round win over the Washington Capitals in 2019. That core is as experienced in the postseason as it is going to get. With the addition of Vincent Trocheck, Brady Skjei, Martin Necas, Jesper Fast and Alex Nedeljkovic to that group, their time has come and it has come now.

more

THREE HARD LAPS

* The Hurricanes rallied in the third period to collect a point and become the first team from the Discover Central Division to clinch a berth in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Connor McDavid helped the Oilers overtake second place in the Scotia North Division with his third hat trick of 2020-21 and is now on pace for 99 points this season.

* The Predators prevented the Panthers and Lightning from clinching a postseason berth and were one of four teams to boost their playoff hopes on Monday.

There are 8 NHL games tonight beginning with Montreal in Calgary starting at 6:30pm ET. Cole Caufield will make his NHL debut for the Habs.

Tracey Myers of NhL.om has al the scenarios for the games.

Below, find the schedule for tonight.