Report: Denver’s Jim Montgomery getting 2nd interview with Panthers

Jim Montgomery is reportedly getting another opportunity to impress the Florida Panthers.

The University of Denver head coach will have a second interview with the NHL club near the end of this month for its vacancy behind the bench, a source told Mike Chambers of The Denver Post.

Montgomery met with the Panthers about two weeks after leading the Pioneers to the national championship last month.

He declined to comment when reached by Chambers on Thursday, saying he'd only take an NHL job if it were "the perfect opportunity," and adding, "Denver's been great throughout this process. I feel valued. I feel loved, and loyalty means a lot to me."

Ron Grahame of the school's athletic department wouldn't get into specifics but said the Pioneers have taken significant steps financially to help Montgomery, his staff and the program itself, in an effort to keep the head coach.

Montgomery signed a contract extension with the university last summer and has four years remaining on the deal.

Other reported interviewees for the Panthers' job include former Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien and San Jose Sharks assistant Bob Boughner.

At season's end, the Panthers opted not to continue having general manager Tom Rowe serve as head coach. He took over for Gerard Gallant, who was fired 22 games into the season.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Report: Denver’s Jim Montgomery getting 2nd interview with Panthers

Jim Montgomery is reportedly getting another opportunity to impress the Florida Panthers.

The University of Denver head coach will have a second interview with the NHL club near the end of this month for its vacancy behind the bench, a source told Mike Chambers of The Denver Post.

Montgomery met with the Panthers about two weeks after leading the Pioneers to the national championship last month.

He declined to comment when reached by Chambers on Thursday, saying he'd only take an NHL job if it were "the perfect opportunity," and adding, "Denver's been great throughout this process. I feel valued. I feel loved, and loyalty means a lot to me."

Ron Grahame of the school's athletic department wouldn't get into specifics but said the Pioneers have taken significant steps financially to help Montgomery, his staff and the program itself, in an effort to keep the head coach.

Montgomery signed a contract extension with the university last summer and has four years remaining on the deal.

Other reported interviewees for the Panthers' job include former Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien and San Jose Sharks assistant Bob Boughner.

At season's end, the Panthers opted not to continue having general manager Tom Rowe serve as head coach. He took over for Gerard Gallant, who was fired 22 games into the season.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Watch: Ducks’ Silfverberg mic’d up for Game 4 OT winner

As luck would have it, Jakob Silfverberg was mic'd up for perhaps the biggest moment of his career.

The Anaheim Ducks forward scored the overtime winner in Game 4 against the Edmonton Oilers, with the ensuing on-ice and locker room celebrations captured from his point of view.

What a moment.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Golden Knights to offer free street hockey clinics for kids in Las Vegas

The best way to build your fan base is by attracting youth, and the Vegas Golden Knights are doing just that.

The Golden Knights will offer free street hockey clinics for kids in Las Vegas from ages 5-to-15 on May 20, 21, and June 3, according to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Each child who participates will receive a free hockey stick. Not a bad deal.

What once was an untapped market, the Golden Knights will have to compete for fandom with the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders upon their arrival in 2019 or 2020.

The Golden Knights will certainly do whatever they can in their brief time as the city's only major professional sports franchise to build a foundation of die-hard fans. What better way to begin this than providing children the chance to take up road hockey?

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Golden Knights to offer free street hockey clinics for kids in Las Vegas

The best way to build your fan base is by attracting youth, and the Vegas Golden Knights are doing just that.

The Golden Knights will offer free street hockey clinics for kids in Las Vegas from ages 5-to-15 on May 20, 21, and June 3, according to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Each child who participates will receive a free hockey stick. Not a bad deal.

What once was an untapped market, the Golden Knights will have to compete for fandom with the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders upon their arrival in 2019 or 2020.

The Golden Knights will certainly do whatever they can in their brief time as the city's only major professional sports franchise to build a foundation of die-hard fans. What better way to begin this than providing children the chance to take up road hockey?

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Avalanche president reaffirms faith in Sakic despite woeful season

The Colorado Avalanche put together the worst season of the salary-cap era in 2016-17, but team president Josh Kroenke says general manager Joe Sakic isn't going anywhere.

"Joe's leash hasn't changed at all," Kroenke said Wednesday when asked if Sakic's leash has been shortened, according to Terry Frei of the Denver Post. "Nobody wants to get the Avalanche back to where they were, where we all expect them to be, more than Joe Sakic.

"We're going to continue to give him every resource at his disposal. ... At the end of the day, Joe wants what's best for the Colorado Avalanche. Whether that's him in his current role or something else, it doesn't matter."

Sakic captained the Avalanche to two Stanley Cups during his playing days and is the most decorated player in the franchise's history.

He has been in charge of the team's personnel decisions since May 2013. Since then, the once-promising team has taken a nosedive, finally hitting rock bottom this season.

Year Points
2013-14 112
2014-15 90
2015-16 82
2016-17 48

Though this year's Avs were right up against the salary cap, they managed just 48 points. The 2013-14 and the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres, who were in clear "tank mode," managed to earn 52 and 54 points, respectively.

Kroenke called Colorado's 2016-17 campaign "unacceptable." However, taking into account factors including head coach Patrick Roy's abrupt August resignation and injury-riddled seasons from defenseman Erik Johnson and goaltender Semyon Varlamov, he said Sakic "deserves the benefit of the doubt" based on what he's done for the organization as both a player and an executive.

"I want to be sure that this staff, based on being in the tough position that they were, has a chance to get it right," said Kroenke.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Crosby takes part in Penguins’ optional practice, remains day to day

Sidney Crosby is back on the ice.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain, who missed Wednesday's Game 4 against the Washington Capitals due to a concussion, took part in an optional, no-contact practice Thursday.

"Sid skated this morning (and) is in the process of rehabbing," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said later. "We'll leave it at that. It's a day-to-day process."

Crosby suffered the concussion after a cross-check to the head delivered by Matt Niskanen early in Game 3. He missed six games at the beginning of the regular season due to the same injury.

Game 5 of the series, which the Penguins lead 3-1, is scheduled for Saturday in Washington.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Trending â–², Trending â–¼: Predators rising, Capitals falling short once again

Each week, theScore looks at the teams, players, and other hockey figures trending upward and taking a step back.

â–² Nashville Predators

People like the Predators. Sweeping the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round will do that.

But it's not only in Nashville, where the team is setting local television ratings; the Predators are drawing eyeballs on the national level as well.

Bridgestone Arena has also been bumping on game nights, with an atmosphere that undeniably stacks up against any market around the NHL.

One win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, the rise of the Predators might only just be starting.

â–¼ Mike Milbury

Speaking of the Predators, NBC analyst Mike Milbury recently came under fire for comments made about defensemsan P.K. Subban prior to Game 2 against the St. Louis Blues.

As a refresher, here's what Milbury had to say after Subban was seen dancing on the ice during warmups, per Joe Rexrode of The Tennessean:

When I see this I start to think maybe (Predators coach) Peter Laviolette ought to give him a rap on the head and say, 'Hey, P.K., we've got a game tonight, focus in. You don't need to be a clown out there. And he will. He's been a clown in the past, and we've seen him act like a clown. When he's serious and focused, he's one hell of a player.

Milbury later said he regretted saying using "rap on the head" and "clown," but still questioned whether Subban was acting as a distraction to his teammates.

The short answer is apparently not.

The Predators have posted a record of 7-1 so far this postseason, and Subban has contributed one goal, five assists, 17 shots, and (for old-school analysts who still care about the stat) a plus-7 rating.

As mentioned above, Nashville is one of the hottest hockey markets the NHL has going these days, and Subban represents all that is fun and good about the game in 2017.

His game and personality should be celebrated and embraced, not questioned and suppressed.

â–² Mika Zibanejad

Many were left scratching their heads when the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers pulled off a trade that saw Mika Zibanejad and Derick Brassard (along with draft picks) switch teams last summer.

It's not that Ottawa wasn't receiving a good player in Brassard, but more the five-year age gap that exists between the two players, and the fact Zibanejad was much further away from reaching his ceiling.

As fate would have it, the two clubs are embroiled in a second-round playoff series less than a year later, with both Brassard (two goals, six assists) and Zibanejad (one goal, six assists) leading their new teams in playoff points.

It's Zibanejad, however, who's making a bigger mark on the current matchup, having registered three assists in three games against the Senators, while also averaging four shots a game on Senators goalie Craig Anderson. Brassard, meanwhile, has been kept off the scoresheet for Ottawa, with zero points on his old mates.

Whichever team comes out on top in this series, the Rangers have to be excited about what they're seeing from Zibanejad on the big stage.

â–¼ Washington Capitals

Here we go again.

Following a Game 4 loss on Wednesday, the Washington Capitals find themselves on the brink of being eliminated at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round for the second year in a row.

And this after finishing atop the NHL regular-season standings for the second straight season.

On top of that, defenseman Matt Niskanen is rightfully feeling the heat for a hit to the head that left Sidney Crosby sidelined with a concussion for the second time this season.

As a result, the Capitals' latest apparent shortcomings aren't drawing much sympathy around the hockey world.

Where they go from here is anyone's guess.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Penguins’ Guentzel joins elite company with 8th playoff goal

There's elite company, and then there's the company Penguins forward Jake Guentzel joined by scoring his eighth goal in his first nine playoff games Wednesday against Washington.

Maurice Richard, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzy, and Jake Guentzel. Wow.

What's perhaps most impressive is that three of Guentzel's playoff goals have been game-winners. He's delivering in the clutch.

Of course playing on a line with Sidney Crosby helps, but the speedy forward still managed to pick up a goal and an assist without Crosby in the lineup, though he did have some help from Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Getzlaf led by example in Game 4 win: ‘I have to go out and live it’

The captain stepped up when the team needed him most.

The Anaheim Ducks found themselves in a 2-0 hole Wednesday after the first period of Game 4 against the Edmonton Oilers, but erased the deficit with three unanswered goals in the second. Two were scored by Ryan Getzlaf, who earned the primary assist on the third.

For him, it was all about walking the walk.

"I can say anything I want in the dressing room, but I have to go out and live it," Getzlaf said after the win, according to the Ducks' website. "I tried to do that in the second period and the group went along with it. We kept playing."

Though the Oilers tied the game late in the third, Getzlaf beautifully assisted Jakob Silfverberg's overtime winner, drawing praise from head coach Randy Carlyle.

"It's just another exclamation point on the type of player he's been for our hockey club," Caryle said. "He's our captain and leader. He's done a lot of things that go unnoticed. Now, in these situations in the playoffs, he's been a guy who has stepped to the forefront. Even the play in overtime, he read that, cut the pass off, and found Silfverberg all alone."

The four-point effort was the second of Getzlaf's postseason career, while the two strikes marked his first career multi-goal playoff game.

Game 5 is set for Friday in Anaheim with the series tied 2-2.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Remember, we are all Canucks!