All posts by Josh Gold-Smith

Maple Leafs’ Muzzin in lineup vs. Red Wings after 6-game absence

The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting Jake Muzzin back before the start of the playoffs.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe said Muzzin is in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Detroit Red Wings, according to TSN's Mark Masters.

The defenseman missed the last six games for an undisclosed reason.

Muzzin has been limited to 45 contests this season. He's sustained two concussions - one in January and then another in February, only six games after he recovered from the first one.

The 33-year-old is averaging 20:48 of ice time in 2021-22. He's collected three goals and 11 assists while authoring an expected goals for percentage of 53.25 at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Toronto acquired Muzzin in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings in January 2019.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Maple Leafs sign Hobey Baker Award winner McKay to AHL deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the Dryden McKay sweepstakes.

The club signed the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner to a two-year AHL contract.

McKay was named the NCAA's top men's hockey player April 8. The goaltender, who'll turn 25 in November, set a national record for wins in a season and helped Minnesota State-Mankato advance to the national championship game. He produced a .931 save percentage over 43 contests in 2021-22, his senior year.

The netminder became an NHL free agent when the Mavericks lost the title game to Denver.

Earlier in April, just days after winning the Hobey Baker Award, McKay accepted a six-month sanction by the USADA due to a doping violation. He'll be allowed to use the Maple Leafs' facilities as of Aug. 25, and he can play for the Marlies beginning Oct. 11.

McKay could've been subject to a four-year period of ineligibility - despite the completion of his college career - but he was able to prove that the positive test for ostarine resulted from a contaminated vitamin D supplement. He was tested while serving as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic team in January.

The Illinois-born goalie is named after legendary puck-stopper Ken Dryden, who was the Maple Leafs' president from 1997-2003.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

DeBoer: Collapse to Sharks would be hard ‘to sleep on’ if Knights miss playoffs

Peter DeBoer knows full well how much his Vegas Golden Knights' late-game letdown against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday could haunt him and his team if they fail to reach the postseason.

"You hope that it doesn't cost us a playoff spot," the Golden Knights head coach said after his club blew a two-goal lead in the final two-plus minutes of regulation before falling in a shootout. "If it does, that's a tough one to sleep on all summer, but I'm going to look at the glass half-full here.

"We found a way to get a point, and hopefully that point is the difference between us making it or not."

Nicolas Roy gave the Golden Knights a 4-2 lead early in the third period, but Sharks forward Nick Bonino scored with 2:06 remaining and teammate Timo Meier tied the game with less than a second left. No one scored in overtime, and San Jose rookie Thomas Bordeleau produced the only goal in a shootout that also featured Logan Couture, Jack Eichel, Meier, and Shea Theodore.

Vegas captain Mark Stone had a chance to seal it late regulation but failed to hit the empty net from inside his squad's offensive zone.

"I don't think anything got away from us, I think it was just missed opportunities," he said. "Game's over if I put that in, so it's tough for me to look back and say we did a ton wrong. We just have to close out games. We can't allow two goals in the last two minutes, and when you get the opportunities, you've got to finish them. So, (it's a) tough one to swallow for me."

Vegas now sits three points behind the Dallas Stars for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and four behind the Nashville Predators for the first one. All three teams have three games remaining in their regular-season schedules.

The Golden Knights hold the tiebreaker over the Stars with three more regulation wins, but the odds aren't in Vegas' favor.

Sunday's collapse came nearly three years to the day after the Sharks stunned the Golden Knights in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series on April 23, 2019. San Jose stormed back in that contest with four third-period goals en route to a 5-4 victory in overtime.

DeBoer coached the Sharks for four-plus seasons before San Jose fired him in December 2019. Just over a month later, the Golden Knights dismissed bench boss Gerard Gallant and hired DeBoer to replace him.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Oilers clinch playoff berth with win over Avalanche

Evander Kane netted a hat trick as the Edmonton Oilers punched their postseason ticket for the third consecutive season with a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

The Oilers can finish no higher than second in the Pacific Division because their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames, clinched first place Thursday. The Flames lead the second-place Oilers by eight points with four games to go, and Calgary holds the tiebreaker with six more regulation wins.

Edmonton improved to 46-26-6 on the season.

The Winnipeg Jets swept the Oilers out of the first round in the 2021 campaign, and the Chicago Blackhawks upset Edmonton in four games of a best-of-five series in the 2020 qualifying round.

The Oilers haven't advanced past the first round since bowing out in the next stage in 2016-17, and they haven't gotten past the second round since losing the Stanley Cup Final in 2005-06.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Flames clinch Pacific Division title with win over Stars

The Calgary Flames ensured themselves of the top spot in the Pacific Division with a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

It's the Flames' eighth division title in franchise history and only their third in the last 27 years.

Calgary is 48-20-10 with four games left in their regular-season schedule. Their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, occupy second place and sit 10 points back with a game in hand.

The Flames have completely transformed themselves under head coach Darryl Sutter. The previously moribund Calgary squad went 15-15-0 last season after hiring the veteran bench boss and improved further in 2021-22.

Only the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche - the No. 1 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively - have produced a better goal differential than the Flames this season.

Calgary has also been one of the best road teams in the NHL, going 24-11-3 away from the Saddledome.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Watch: Rangers’ Copp notches natural hat trick in 1st period vs. Isles

Andrew Copp came ready to play Thursday night.

The New York Rangers forward buried three consecutive goals in the opening frame against the Islanders.

Copp one-timed a feed from Artemi Panarin for his first of the period.

Panarin found Copp again for the American's second of the night.

Copp then completed the natural hat trick off a pass from Ryan Strome.

Copp became only the third Rangers player ever to net three goals in the first period, joining Kelly Kisio in 1986 and Don Raleigh in 1948. No Rangers skater had scored a natural hat trick in the first period since Raleigh did it 74 years ago.

Unfortunately for the current New York forward, he left the game in the third period. The Rangers said postgame that he sustained a lower-body injury and that they will issue an update Friday, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Hobey winner McKay accepts anti-doping sanction, can play in October

Hobey Baker Award winner Dryden McKay will accept a six-month period of ineligibility handed down by the USADA for an anti-doping rule violation.

The goaltender confirmed his decision so he'll be allowed to play in October. McKay recently completed his senior year at Minnesota State-Mankato and can now sign with an NHL team.

McKay, who was an alternate for the U.S. Olympic team ahead of the Beijing Games, tested positive for ostarine on Jan. 23. He could've been banned from competing for four years, but he ultimately proved the positive result came from a contaminated vitamin D supplement.

The USADA notified the 24-year-old of a provisional suspension on Feb. 1, according to McKay.

McKay said he immediately sent all of his supplements to an independent lab upon learning of the positive test. The lab then identified an opened bottle of D3 immune booster as the source. He added he was taking the vitamin for its anti-viral benefits to decrease the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 on the advice of a trainer.

An independent arbitrator lifted the ban on Feb. 3, which enabled McKay to continue playing until the USADA rendered its final decision.

The netminder excelled in his senior year at MSU-Mankato, setting an NCAA record for goaltending wins while leading the Mavericks to the national championship game, which they lost to Denver.

Earlier in April, McKay won the Hobey Baker Award, which the NCAA hands out annually to its top men's hockey player.

McKay will get credit for serving part of the provisional suspension from Jan. 31 through Feb. 2. He can begin practicing with a team on Aug. 25 and play in games as of Oct. 11, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The Illinois-born goalie told Friedman he'll be honest with NHL teams when they ask about the incident.

"I’m just going to tell them, 'I accept the risk that I took the non-certified supplement,'" McKay said. "That’s something I can’t hide from. At the same time, I’m not a cheater. I’m not someone who is trying to get an advantage. I was trying to take care of my body, avoid COVID and stay healthy so I could play the rest of the season. There was no intent."

McKay said on Twitter he's looking forward to starting his pro career in the fall.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ducks GM sticks up for Zegras: ‘He respects the game’

Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek defended Trevor Zegras when asked about the young forward's lacrosse-type goals.

Verbeek acknowledged the phenom's skillful individual plays wouldn't have gone over well when the GM was a player, but the executive has changed his stance on the issue.

"From my perspective, if you would have done that in my era, it's frowned upon. Right? Very frowned upon," Verbeek told The Athletic's Eric Stephens on Tuesday.

"So, I think there's still a little bit of that mentality out there. Now, we've gotten a lot of feedback. A lot of people (think) it's a positive thing. I think people light up when you watch (Connor) McDavid run through and totally undress players. ... Through the neutral zone with the speed and the skill. The ability to be able to handle the puck with speed and do that. For me, people love that. I love watching that.

"Now, when I watch Trevor, this is just another unreal skill set and creative way to score goals. I guess what I'm trying to do, I'm trying to really stick up for my player in the sense that there's people that really think this is hot-dogging, or it's not respecting the game. I don't feel that way anymore."

Verbeek added: "He respects the game, and he respects the traditions of the game."

Zegras has captivated the hockey world with his on-ice ingenuity, but not everyone approves.

Arizona Coyotes broadcaster and former NHL enforcer Tyson Nash was criticized for essentially saying Zegras deserved the cross-check he received from Coyotes veteran Jay Beagle late in a game in early April. Zegras scored a lacrosse-style goal earlier in that contest.

"That's the problem sometimes with these young players," Nash said during the incident, in which Beagle also initiated a fight with Ducks youngster Troy Terry. "You want to embarrass guys? You wanna skill it up? You better be prepared to get punched in the mouth."

The broadcaster later tried to clarify his comments during a podcast interview but doubled down on his original opinion. Nash admitted he should have said "hot dog" instead of "skill it up." However, he added that he didn't like the way Ducks players smiled and smirked after scoring goals and said the Coyotes' response in that game "is what you have to be prepared for."

Zegras called it "humiliating" that Beagle went after and pummelled Terry, the Ducks' leading scorer.

The Coyotes weren't the first in the hockey community to take issue with Zegras. Former NHL head coach John Tortorella questioned whether the Ducks star's "Michigan" goal was good for the game after Zegras pulled it off for the first time in the NHL back in December.

Verbeek racked up 522 goals and 541 assists over 1,424 games in his 20-year playing career, which ended in 2001-02.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jerry York retires as NCAA’s all-time winningest hockey coach

The winningest bench boss in NCAA hockey history is calling it a career.

Jerry York retired Wednesday after 50 seasons in Division I coaching. He guided Boston College for the last 28 campaigns after spending 15 with Bowling Green and seven at Clarkson.

The 76-year-old set the record for coaching wins in 2012 and leaves the game with 1,123 victories, including an all-time best 41 in the NCAA tournament. York led Boston College to four national championships (2001, 2008, 2010, and 2012) after claiming his first with Bowling Green in 1984. The late Michigan head coach Vic Heyliger holds the record for most national men's hockey titles with six.

York is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to win national titles at two different schools.

The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted him as a builder in 2019.

York molded many players who ultimately established themselves in the NHL. Calgary Flames superstar Johnny Gaudreau and New York Rangers sniper Chris Kreider are the most notable on a list that also includes Thatcher Demko, Spencer Knight, Alex Tuch, Kevin Hayes and his late brother Jimmy, Cam Atkinson, Brian Boyle, and Brian Gionta.

Two Massachusetts-based college hockey powerhouses are now in need of new leadership behind the bench. Boston University said in late March that Albie O'Connell won't return after four seasons at the helm.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Golden Knights get Stone back after 26-game absence

The injury-plagued Vegas Golden Knights finally have their captain in the lineup for the first time since February.

Mark Stone is playing against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night after missing nearly one-third of the 82-game schedule with a back injury.

The star Golden Knights winger collected eight goals and 20 assists over 28 contests before sustaining the ailment.

Vegas moved goaltender Laurent Brossoit along with forwards William Carrier and Nolan Patrick to injured reserve, clearing enough cap space to activate Stone. The Golden Knights moved the trio to LTIR to facilitate the move, according to CapFriendly.

That brings the team's current number of players on LTIR to seven, the most by any NHL club in a season simultaneously since at least 2015.

Stone's usual linemate and fellow star forward, Max Pacioretty, came back Saturday after missing the last 12 games himself. The Golden Knights have had a slew of players out with both short- and long-term injuries this season. It's forced them to battle for a playoff spot down the stretch that they may have already secured otherwise.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.