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In one video Dylan Larkin and Jeff Blashill appear first, below find the game highlights.
It's amazing to me how many times we have seen this type of game to play with Detroit usually coming out on the losing end.
Again today, Wings fall down 2-0 in the first and have to battle to get back in the game
Detroit did make it 2-1 early in the third period, pulled Greiss with 1:50 left but could not get the equalizer.
Adam Erne goal is below.
See you again tomorrow, same 1pm, sorry a noon ET Easter Day start.
from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,
If the NHL, IOC, and IIHF don’t all get on the same page in the next few months, the 2022 Winter Games will be the second straight without NHL players. If so, both Bowman and Guerin likely will shift to support roles, with USA Hockey charged to shape a roster of amateurs and minor pros.
In part, the unresolved issues is why Bowman said Wednesday that naming a coaching staff is not imminent. The Yanks want to have a staff headed by an NHL coach, likely with NHL assistants, and none of those coaches would be available if the top pros aren’t going to Beijing.
The USA roster, with NHLers aboard, stands to be its best in history, with first-timers aboard such as Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, and Charlie McAvoy. Then the issue, reminded Guerin, becomes some elite players having to adjust to lesser roles, often with lesser ice time. All for the cause.
“There definitely has to be a buy-in factor,” he said. “The one tricky thing is, everyone that’s going to be on this team is going to be a star on their current NHL team. And you have to assume roles, and it’s our job and the coaches’ job to keep everyone happy and make sure there is great buy-in.”
more plus other hockey topics....
Eighteen games, including today's tilt are all that's left in the Wings season. As fans, all we ask, is for a game that can hold our interest for a few short hours.
It's a Live Blog!
via the YouTube channel of the NHL,
Mathew Barzal nets a leading goal-of-the-year candidate, Kirill Kaprizov continues his eye-opening rookie campaign, Auston Matthews scores a nasty OT backhander and Mikko Rantanen keeps the pedal to the metal in March.
It's 33 minutes long, watch below.
from Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province,
The news for the Vancouver Canucks has gone from bad to worse.
Postmedia has confirmed as reported first by TSN’s Farhan Lalji that several COVID-19 cases affecting the NHL club have been identified as the P.1 variant first found in Brazil.
That variant has been growing in number in B.C. over the past month and was recently identified as a major driver of an outbreak that originated in Whistler. Some research has shown the P.1 variant is as much as 2.5 times more transmissible than earlier strains of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Further, it is expected that more Canucks players will be confirmed as positive when the NHL updates its COVID-19 protocol list on Saturday afternoon.
Four Canucks games have already been postponed because of the team’s outbreak, which has seven players and one coach confirmed as positive cases already. And a player on the team’s taxi squad has been identified as a high-risk close contact, a source confirmed.
On Friday, the NHL told Postmedia they want to wait and see if more players and staff tested positive for the virus before making further decisions on the Canucks’ schedule.
But with so many players now likely out for two weeks or more, it will be difficult for the Canucks to return to action by next weekend, putting their chances of playing a full 56-game season in serious doubt.
from Andrew Gross of Newsday,
Trotz has 22 seasons of experience in how best to acclimate young players into the NHL and has said several times recently Bellows "is going to be a really good pro."
But with the trade deadline looming on April 12, it’s fair to wonder exactly for whom that message is meant. Bellows, the 19th overall pick in 2016, is one of the Islanders’ most valuable prospects. Surely, other organizations ask about him in any trade discussions.
Trotz could just be answering the questions asked. Or, he could be trying to assure other organizations of Bellows’ potential.
Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello has made no secret that he’s looking to offset the season-ending loss of captain Anders Lee (torn right anterior cruciate ligament). Lee has been placed on long-term injured reserve, so Lamoriello can use his $7 million salary cap hit to spend over the $81.5 million ceiling.
"The biggest thing for young players making an impression and having lasting success in the NHL is gaining the trust of the coach," Trotz said. "That starts with details on both sides of the puck.
"Rookies, they’ve got to bring the juice. They’ve got to be noticeable night in and night out."
THREE HARD LAPS
* The Avalanche edged the Blues to extend their point streak to 13 games, the longest by any NHL team this season.
* A pair of division-leading teams earned wins past regulation, while several other clubs climbed the League standings.
* Saturday’s 11-game slate is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET with the Bruins hosting the Penguins again at TD Garden and the League-leading Lightning welcoming the Red Wings to AMALIE Arena.
Below, find videos of Adam Erne and coach Blashill after today's practice.
from Kevin Kurz of The Athletic,
Sharkie hung from the rafters, 40 feet above the ice surface at San Jose Arena. He was helpless. He couldn’t go up, and feared an unexpected descent. It was March 12, 1999, and the San Jose Sharks’ beloved mascot was in trouble just before the game against the rival Red Wings was set to start. The man inside the costume was afraid of heights and while he dangled, his extremities numbed.
Fans watched in wonder, and maybe amusement. Broadcasters and reporters, high up in the arena, saw the spectacle at eye level. Players first joked about it, then worried he might plunge to his death. And inside the costume, Sharkie sweated and waited for help to arrive.
This is the tale of the harrowing 20 minutes that might have signaled the end of mascot-related stunts in sports arenas. Might have....
Randy Hahn, Sharks play-by-play announcer: You think at first that’s part of the routine, and then after awhile everybody’s waiting for him to finish with the routine, and it becomes apparent that he’s caught. He’s stuck. It was bizarre. I was working with Steve Konroyd, the former NHL defenseman at the time. Now we’re in two modes — first of all, you’re concerned that the guy’s going to fall, right? That’s the first concern, for his well-being. Then it became kind of apparent that he wasn’t going to fall, he was just stuck. Now we’ve got to keep talking about this, because we’re on the air live.
more (paid)
Randy Hahn with the indicent, watch below.
from Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic,
GMs will tell you that given their preference, they’d acquire picks in 2022 rather than 2021 because there will be greater certainty by then – more eyeballs on the prospects, a truer sense of what players’ upsides might be.
If you’re a team selling low-budget rentals at or before the trade deadline this year and all you are offered in return is a bunch of fifths, sixths and sevenths, is it even worth the bother? The answer, according to at least one decision-maker, is yes, absolutely.
His thinking: If there’s ever a year to accumulate extra late-round picks, it is this one, on the grounds that if it truly is a shot-in-the-dark draft anyway, the more guesses you get, the greater your odds of actually turning a long shot into a gem.
The draft, remember, doesn’t create talent, it just distributes it. The lack of playing time is going to set a lot of prospects back, not just high-end, first-year draft-eligible ones. It doesn’t mean they can’t blossom eventually.
more ($$$) and other topics too...
from Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star,
A little more than a week away from the NHL’s trade deadline, here’s what we can say for sure about the Maple Leafs’ goaltenders: They sure could use another one.
Because if the playoffs started today, let’s face it: All of Toronto’s possibilities between the pipes would have a rather large question mark attached to their name.
Maybe there’d be comfort in seeing familiar Frederik Andersen in goal. Except that Andersen, in the midst of a pressure-packed contract year, is having the worst statistical season of his career while nursing a lower-body problem that’s kept him out of the lineup going on two weeks. On Thursday, head coach Sheldon Keefe said that Andersen’s recovery is “progressing well,” but that he won’t be available to join the team for the three games remaining on the four-game Western road swing that continues Friday in Winnipeg.
Even if the Dane can round himself into game shape before the playoffs begin in mid-May, there’s the small matter of rediscovering the confidence he recently acknowledged he’s lost this season.
from Gary Santaniello at the New York Times,
There’s a lot that is different about the N.H.L. schedule this season.
Start with the compressed timeline, requiring 868 regular-season games to be played in 119 days. Then there are the numerous Covid-19 protocols and restrictions, with more added since the season started. And due to the postponements and shutdowns, schedules have been in near-constant flux, wreaking havoc on practices and planning.
Yet there’s widespread agreement that this season’s scheduling format, which mostly features two-game series in the same city with a day off in between, and the geography-driven divisional alignment, has enlivened what typically is a grueling slog to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“If you could put fans in the building,” Winnipeg Coach Paul Maurice said, “I would love for it to be like this forever.”
As teams approach the final 20 games of the regular season, and races to gain playoff position by finishing in the top four of each division intensify, this year’s schedule provides another bonus. The exclusively intradivisional play makes each contest a four-point game and provides the potential for quick climbs or slides in the standings.
In its 10 games starting March 11, Nashville went 7-3, including a five-game winning streak, to move from sixth place in the Central Division into a tie for fourth. After beating the Rangers on March 4, Philadelphia was tied for second place in the East Division with 27 points. Going into its game Wednesday, the Flyers had fallen to fifth, three points out of a playoff spot.
from Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer,
When March started, the Flyers had the best points percentage (.694) in the eight-team East Division. They had all their regulars back from COVID-19 protocol, and they were riding a three-game winning streak that included two shutouts, albeit both against Buffalo.
When the month ended, they were playing like the East Division’s worst team. They went 6-10-1 in March, and allowed the most goals (75) in any month in franchise history. They ended the month with a 6-1 loss to those same worst-in-the-NHL Sabres, who snapped an 18-game losing streak.
“Everybody needs to bring their ‘A’ game every night, and it seems we have some guys on and some guys off,” Flyers center Sean Couturier said after the latest defeat. “It’s tough to win that way. As professionals, you have to find your game every night. It’s tough to win when you have some guys off. Matchup-wise, it’s tough.”
from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,
...after a poor performance Tuesday, the Wings played a stronger game all the way around, especially on the defensive end.
"We had a couple massive breakdowns in the first (period), but other than that, we played pretty good defensively," coach Jeff Blashill said. "We were above them way better, especially in the neutral zone. We played better overall."
The disappointing aspect of it all for the Wings was, and is, the fact some of these better efforts have come after ugly losses.
"I wish it didn't have to be after a bad effort that we would come back and play well," forward Luke Glendening said. "We've spoken about it before, but I don't want to be talking about moral victories. We still lost the game, and that part isn't what we want.
"But we worked hard and did more things right."
Below watch a few videos that did not mske the cut last night. We have Glendening and Blashill individual and longer videos than last night plus Mickey Redmond.
THREE HARD LAPS
* Mathew Barzal registered his fourth career five-point game. Only one player in Islanders history has more prior to age 24: Bryan Trottier (8).
* Adam Fox and Ryan Strome each extended their respective streaks as the Rangers held off a late Sabres rally to collect two points.
* Colorado, averaging an NHL-best 3.63 goals for per game played this season, sets its sights on recording a 13-game point streak for the third time in franchise history.
Luke Glendening and Jeff Blashill are up first in one video, below find the game highlights.
If the Wings could play like they did tonight, they would be known as a team that comes to compete every night.
Hopefully they realize it and understand this type of effort should become the norm and not something that happens every 4-5 games.
Florida Panthers win 3-2 in OT but the Wings should be happy with their effort.
Detroit goals are below.
Are the Oilers and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins close to a contract extension? Which former Olympic gold medalist is expected to be Canada's GM at the IIHF World Championship? Will the Panthers move one of their goalies? TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun and Frank Seravalli discuss this and more.
added 10:39pm, Watch below too.
I NOW consider this LB to be light hearted Doom Scrolling. This past year has been pretty tough on everyone. Cautious choices, limited movement, sucky Red Wings. With that in mind, tonight 19 of us will gather here for a few hours to commiserate, opine, joke, and hopefully laugh.
Not to worry. There is light at the end of the tunnel. This season will be over soon enough, and, with any luck, "the Process" will move on and find a new fan base to torment.
It's a Live Blog!
via Sportsnet's YouTube page,
Back in the 1990’s, Brian Burke had a lot to navigate as the Director of Player Safety: Monitoring the whole league with just four VCR’s, historic rivalries that bubbled over into cheap shots and brawls, and every GM thinking he was an idiot.
Burke talks Wings/Avs at the 3:00 mark.
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