The trio is a new addition to the Blue Jackets this year, as Dubois is skating in his first NHL season. But, their little time together hasn't stopped the three from finding instant offense.
Panarin and Anderson sit first and second in team scoring, with 26 and 18 points on the season, respectively. As for Dubois, he's not far behind, as he's tallied five goals and eight assists through 30 showings.
The line has been a major factor in why Columbus has been one of the top team's this season, as the Blue Jackets sit atop the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division with 39 points.
The trio is a new addition to the Blue Jackets this year, as Dubois is skating in his first NHL season. But, their little time together hasn't stopped the three from finding instant offense.
Panarin and Anderson sit first and second in team scoring, with 26 and 18 points on the season, respectively. As for Dubois, he's not far behind, as he's tallied five goals and eight assists through 30 showings.
The line has been a major factor in why Columbus has been one of the top team's this season, as the Blue Jackets sit atop the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division with 39 points.
Former NHL defenseman Zarley Zalapski has died at the age of 49.
Ken King, president and CEO of the Calgary Flames, with whom Zalapski spent parts of five seasons, released the following statement:
We are deeply saddened with the news of Zarley's passing. We are proud that Zarley wore the Flames jersey; made Calgary his home following his playing career; represented our alumni executive; and we will always remember him as a member of the Flames family. This is a terrible loss of a man with great character who truly loved the game of hockey. We express our sincere condolences to the Zalapski family.
Zalapski logged 637 games from 1987-88 to 1999-2000 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hartford Whalers, Flames, Montreal Canadiens, and Philadelphia Flyers, collecting 384 points. His best season came in 1992-93 with Hartford, in which he collected 65 points.
Forward Corey Perry will be out week to week with a lower-body injury, the team announced Tuesday.
Perry's injury comes right after teammate Ryan Getzlaf played in his first game in nearly two months. Ryan Kesler has yet to play a game this season, and key defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Cam Fowler have also missed significant time this season with injuries.
Despite all of the adversity, the Ducks still find themselves just one point out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Perry's scoring has tailed off, with just six goals and
Erik Karlsson was rumored to be one of several Senators asked to submit their 10-team no-trade lists to management, but the superstar isn't making a big deal over the situation.
"That's one of the things that's in my contract and it's just a formality and it's just business," he told Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. "I don't read too much into it."
The request comes less than two weeks after Karlsson said he isn't interested in taking a hometown discount to stay in Ottawa when he becomes an unrestricted free agent following the 2018-19 season.
Karlsson has 18 points in 23 games this season as the Sens sit second-last in the Eastern Conference.
Team Canada didn't need Victor Mete, but it'll surely take him.
Mete has been given a chance to take part in Hockey Canada's selection camp for the upcoming World Junior Championship by the Montreal Canadiens.
The 19-year-old blue-liner had held his own in 27 games with the Habs this year, picking up four assists, just two penalty minutes, a plus-5 rating, and a 51.0 Corsi For percentage.
The former fourth-round pick is just 5-foot-9, 184 pounds, but he was deemed ready for the NHL as a teenager thanks to his exceptional skating ability and high hockey IQ.
While there's still no guarantees Mete makes the team, it's hard to imagine Canada would leave out a player who's spent all season facing the best players in the world.
Assuming he lands a spot after getting cut from last year's silver medal-winning team, Mete would join what projects to be a stacked blue line - maybe Canada's best in nearly a decade.
This year's D-men could come close. Here's a look at the rearguards vying for a spot:
The returnees
Name
Draft
Team
GP
G
A
P
Dante Fabbro
#17 (NSH '16)
Boston Univ.
18
4
8
12
Kale Clague
#51 (LA '16)
Brandon (WHL)
28
10
37
47
Jake Bean
#13 (CAR '16)
Calgary (WHL)
25
5
22
27
Fabbro, Clague, and Bean will be counted on to lead the way as the three returnees, and they should have no problem doing so. Clague is certainly the most offensive-minded of the three, while Fabbro might be considered the most reliable. Regardless, all three are exceptional skaters and should shine with prior experience in the high-pressure tournament.
The 2016 draftees
Name
Draft
Team
GP
G
A
P
Logan Stanley
#18 (WPG '16)
Kitchener (OHL)
30
7
18
25
Dennis Cholowski
#20 (DET '16)
Prince George (WHL)
28
8
17
25
Josh Mahura
#85 (ANA '16)
Regina (WHL)
27
11
18
29
Most of Canada's defensemen in camp are made from a similar mold: average-sized or undersized puck-movers who can skate like the wind. The 6-foot-7 Stanley brings a physicality and nastiness that the others don't, giving him a strong chance at making the team.
The 2017 draftees
Name
Draft
Team
GP
G
A
P
Cale Makar
#4 (COL '17)
UMass (Amherst)
16
1
8
9
Cal Foote
#14 (TB '17)
Kelowna (WHL)
30
6
24
30
Mario Ferraro
#49 (SJ '17)
UMass (Amherst)
16
3
5
8
Conor Timmins
#32 (COL '17)
Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
28
6
28
34
Makar was chosen so high because of his incredible offensive talent, but given that Canada already has so much of that, it's possible he's left off this roster for someone who plays more of a low-risk game. Foote plays a lot like his old man, and will likely be brought in to play a shutdown role - much like he's done all year in Kelowna.
Projected starting seven
Here are Team Canada's projected starting seven defensemen, and possible pairings:
LD
RD
Kale Clague
Dante Fabbro
Victor Mete
Cal Foote
Jake Bean
Cale Makar
Logan Stanley
This would give Canada three right-handed shots and four left-handed shots. Mete has shown the ability to play his off-side in Montreal this season, giving head coach Dominique Ducharme further flexibility.
Despite these possible pairings, Clague, Fabbro, Bean, and Mete will likely be counted on to play the most minutes.
With Carter Hart (1.32 GAA, .961 SV% in WHL this year) returning in goal, Canada will be incredibly tough to score on with this defense corps in front of him. Moreover, the skating ability and aggressiveness the unit provides will help drive an offense that lacks a star presence up front.
If everyone plays to their abilities, this unit will be the backbone of Team Canada for its hopeful return to gold-medal glory.
Murray was injured Nov. 27 against the Philadelphia Flyers, and missed the last six games with a lower-body injury.
Rookie Tristan Jarry has been decent in relief of Murray, registering a record of 3-2-0 and a .927 save percentage across six starts.
The Penguins take the ice next against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, but the club has yet to announce which puckstopper will man the blue paint.
To make space for Murray on its roster, Pittsburgh sent third-string goaltender Casey DeSmith to the club's AHL affiliate.
The Minnesota Wild knew what they were up against when they faced off against superstar winger Johnny Gaudreau and the Calgary Flames last November - so they figured, if you can't beat him, slash him.
The result: Gaudreau was slashed 21 times in that fateful game, with one well-placed whack breaking his finger and forcing him out of commission for 10 games. Between Gaudreau's busted digit, the Sidney Crosby-Mark Methot lacerated finger incident, and countless other slashing-related injuries, the league finally decided it was time to significantly crack down on malicious stick work.
The news must have been music to Gaudreau's ears.
"He really got slashed last year," teammate Michael Frolik told theScore. "He's a guy that carries the puck a little bit more than me, but when he goes through the neutral zone and stuff with his speed, it's definitely good for him."
The NHL is sticking to its guns on the crackdown - and so far, the results have been astonishing. Officials called 791 slashing penalties last season; just over two months into the current campaign, we're already at 587. It's no coincidence, then, that Gaudreau, who ranks sixth in league scoring with 37 points through his first 30 games, has enjoyed having a little more space to create.
"Just (to) make that extra play, have the puck for that extra second," Gaudreau said to theScore. "A lot of teams in past years had their sticks to the hands and it's tough to make a play. You gotta make a play a little bit quicker, and now you have that half a second to keep your head up and try to find that open guy."
Since arriving on the NHL scene, Gaudreau has been one of the league’s most thrilling playmakers, and he’s no longer limited to generating chances from the perimeter. Able to manufacture offense fearlessly from anywhere in the attacking zone, it appears the game is suddenly tailor-made for his exhilarating abilities.
"That's a guy you don't want to give space," head coach Glen Gulutzan told theScore. "He can beat you wide, he can curl up and find guys. He's dynamic when he gets space, and now it allows him to go into traffic areas, which he does without getting the big whacks or pucks knocked off your stick."
Gaudreau has taken advantage of defenders' limitations on a nightly basis, drawing 16 penalties so far in all situations - the second-highest total in the league. There’s no denying the ripple effect the changes have had on long-time partner in crime Sean Monahan as well - he's comfortably on pace to smash his career high in goals.
Yet, as much as the slashing enforcement has set Gaudreau free, Gulutzan believes there’s more to the success of his top players this season.
"The biggest thing I've noticed about Johnny is his commitment to a 200-foot game," Gulutzan said. "I've kind of changed the way I've implemented those guys, they play against the top guys every night, and when they had their success - the 45 points in the month of November - they were committed to playing, getting above the puck, working above the puck, and playing defense and they got really rewarded for it."
Still, it's about what Gaudreau does at the offensive end that has people buzzing about his potential. And in one of the most eye-opening statements of the season, future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr - who out-produced just about everybody in the peak of the dead-puck era - proclaimed upon arriving in Calgary earlier this season that Gaudreau can win all the Art Ross trophies he wants.
Just over 12 months ago, Gaudreau unwillingly became the poster boy for a league-wide epidemic. Now, in the midst of his most productive season as a pro, his greatest adversity as a player has become an afterthought - and he's taking full advantage.
