All posts by Josh Wegman

Watch: Lightning power play capitalizes on phantom high-stick call

Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie was issued a two-minute high-sticking minor in the first period of Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, even though his stick never touched Victor Hedman's face.

It's clear on the replay that Oshie's stick tipped the fluttering puck as Hedman went to catch it. When the puck changed direction off Oshie's blade, it hit Hedman in the face, which is why he went down.

On the ensuing power play, Steven Stamkos blasted home a one-timer that gave the Bolts a 2-1 lead Sunday night.

It may have been a tough call for the referee to make in the heat of the moment, but the Capitals likely don't feel much sympathy.

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Report: Canucks prospect Pettersson to miss rest of worlds with thumb injury

The undefeated Swedes will have to play the rest of the tournament without a key offensive figure.

Vancouver Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson will miss the remainder of the World Championship after suffering a thumb injury Sunday against Switzerland, according to Uffe Brodin of Hockeysverige.

After setting the SHL (Sweden's top professional league) record for points by a U20 player in both the regular season and the playoffs, Pettersson finished with a goal and three assists in six games at the worlds.

Sweden should be well-equipped to handle the loss, though, as it recently added Nashville Predators forwards Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson to an already impressive crop of players up front.

Canucks fans will likely have to wait until training camp to get their next look at Pettersson.

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Blues prospect Kyrou named OHL player of the year

St. Louis Blues prospect Jordan Kyrou was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy on Saturday, recognizing him as the Ontario Hockey League's player of the year.

The Sarnia Sting forward racked up an incredible 39 goals and 109 points in just 56 games - good for 1.95 points-per-game.

He put himself on the map with an impressive performance at the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championship, collecting 10 points in seven games as Canada took home the gold medal.

The 20-year-old could very well find himself on the Blues' season-opening roster come October.

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Jets awarded 3rd goal after kicking motion, goalie interference reviews

The Winnipeg Jets scored their third marker of the game before the 10-minute point of the first period despite the fact that the goal was originally waived off due to goaltender interference.

In fact, two reviews took place: one to see if Joel Armia kicked the puck in the net, and then another to see if he interfered with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Both rulings turned out in Winnipeg's favor, and the Jets took an early three-goal lead as a result.

As expected, Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant was not happy with the outcome.

This marks the first time this postseason that Fleury has allowed more than two goals in the first period of a game.

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Report: Predators’ Turris to join Canada at World Championship

Nashville Predators players are heading to Denmark in flocks like the swallows of Capistrano.

On Friday, the team announced seven of its players would head overseas to take part in the World Championship, but TSN's Ryan Rishaug is reporting one more player is on his way.

New Westminster, British Columbia native Kyle Turris has been added to Canada's roster and will join the team in a few days, per Rishaug.

After a 5-1 trouncing at the hands of Finland, Canada will welcome any reinforcements it can get.

Turris has a wealth of international experience, most recently at the 2014 World Championship, in which he potted three goals and added three helpers in eight games.

In a season split between the Ottawa Senators and the Predators, Turris collected 51 points in 76 games.

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Finland upsets Canada in blowout victory

Canada was decimated on Saturday, falling to team Finland by a score of 5-1.

Goaltending proved to be an issue for the Canadians, as Curtis McElhinney was pulled after allowing three goals, and Darcy Kuemper didn't fare much better upon his entry into the game, gifting Eeli Tolvanen a fourth goal for the Fins.

While Canada's play in the crease is certainly concerning, that wasn't the sole reason it lost. It only managed to score once against journeyman netminder Harri Säteri. Canada's struggles to generate scoring chances likely come from its inability to stay out of the penalty box, as it collected 22 minutes in penalties.

Mikko Rantanen, Teuvo Teravainen, and Tolvanen were the offensive catalysts for the Finns, combining for four goals and two assists.

Canada will close out the round robin on Monday and Tuesday with games against Latvia and Germany before the medal round begins.

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Vasilevskiy replaced by Domingue to begin 3rd period

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was yanked from Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Washington Capitals after allowing four goals on 25 shots. Louis Domingue replaced him to begin the third period.

Vasilevskiy had played every minute in the Lightning crease this postseason prior to being pulled.

Domingue has no NHL postseason experience, but he managed to post a .914 save percentage and a 2.89 goals-against average with the Lightning this year after a midseason trade from the Arizona Coyotes.

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Backstrom remains out to begin conference finals vs. Lightning

The Washington Capitals will be without Nicklas Backstrom for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Swedish center left Game 5 of the second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an upper-body injury and proceeded to miss the series-clinching Game 6.

Even though the Capitals were able to beat the Penguins without Backstrom, his absence can't be understated. He had yet another 70-point regular season and was off to a strong start in the postseason, collecting 13 points in 11 games.

Lars Eller will once again be counted on for big minutes down the middle in Backstrom's absence.

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Conn Smythe Power Rankings: Fleury still leading the pack

With the second round of the playoffs wrapped up and only four teams remaining, we take a look at the leading candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

5. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

GP W-L GAA SV% SO
11 8-3 2.04 .926 0

Perhaps the biggest reason the Capitals got the monkey off their back and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 2 was that Braden Holtby outplayed his counterpart, Matt Murray. He'll need to do the same against Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy if the Caps are to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Holtby is coming off the worst regular season of his career, but he's making up for it in a big way this postseason.

4. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

GP G A P +/-
10 6 6 12 0

The Bolts have won eight games so far in the playoffs and Kucherov has scored in five of them, notching the game-winning tally on three occasions. However, after picking up 10 points against a relatively easy first-round opponent in the New Jersey Devils, Kucherov's production tailed off a bit in the second round against a better Boston Bruins team, which is why he's somewhat low on this list as Tampa Bay's representative.

3. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

GP G A P +/-
12 8 7 15 +3

Ovechkin still managed to be productive during the Capitals' playoff failures, so it's not surprising that he's been playing at an extremely high level during the franchise's deepest postseason run this century.

Arguments can be made that Holtby or Evgeny Kuznetsov have been Washington's most valuable players this postseason, but the Caps march to the beat of Ovechkin's drum. He's the heart and soul of the team, which he leads in both goals and points in these playoffs.

2. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

GP G A P +/-
12 11 5 16 +6

The most impressive part about Scheifele's spectacular performance this spring is that nine of his 11 goals have come away from home, including an NHL-record seven road goals in one series against Nashville - not exactly an easy place to play. He was also clutch when it mattered most in Winnipeg's Game 7 win over the Presidents' Trophy-winning Predators, finding the twine twice.

1. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights

GP W-L GAA SV% SO
10 8-2 1.53 .951 4

Anyone who disagrees with ranking Fleury at the top of this list probably hasn't watched more than a minute of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He's been nothing short of sensational, and has single-handedly stolen four wins. If Vegas is going to continue its miraculous run all the way to the final, Fleury will be the reason why.

And while Scheiefle has been remarkable, Fleury's had a greater impact on the direct outcomes of games, giving him the edge.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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3 studs and 3 duds from a lopsided Jets Game 7 win over Preds

The Winnipeg Jets took control of Game 7 against the Nashville Predators and never looked back, winning 5-1. Here are three players who stepped up in the winner-take-all affair, and three who did not.

Studs

Connor Hellebuyck

Hellebuyck was calm, cool, and collected in the Jets' crease, stopping 36 of 37 shots that came his way. The only puck that beat him was off a P.K. Subban power-play blast that went in off the post. Even when the Predators amped up the tempo late, Hellebuyck was there to weather the storm.

Paul Stastny

Maybe the best trade-deadline acquisition of all time? Stastny notched two goals in Game 7, including the game-winner. The Jets generated 62.96 percent of the shot attempts and 66.67 percent of the scoring chances while Stastny was on the ice (at 5-on-5), both of which led the team.

Mark Scheifele

Scheifele had two goals, though one was an empty-netter. It's tough to choose between him and linemate Blake Wheeler since they both had phenomenal games, but Scheifele gets a slight edge. In addition to his nose for the net, he also had three hits and three blocked shots in the contest.

Duds

Pekka Rinne

Game 7 nightmares could keep Rinne up at night all summer long. He allowed two early goals and was yanked less than 11 minutes into the game. To make matters worse, both goals were awfully ugly on his part.

Ryan Ellis

It was also a game to forget for Ellis. He could've been much more aggressive on Statsny's first goal, as he allowed him to walk in and get not one, but two shots on Rinne - even if they were both from a bad angle. He finished with two giveaways, was on the ice for three goals against, and nine scoring chances against at 5-on-5 - the second-most on the team.

Roman Josi

Given that he's paired with Ellis, it's not all that surprising that Josi didn't have his best game, either. He had two giveaways, was on the ice for three goals and a team-high 10 scoring chances against at 5-on-5. We're accustomed to the Josi-Ellis pairing controlling the game and driving offense, but they failed to do that when it mattered most.

(Advanced stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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