Penguins to honor Dan Rooney with helmet decals in Game 2

Solidarity in the Pittsburgh sports community.

In light of the passing of Steelers chairman Dan Rooney on Thursday, the Penguins will wear special helmet decals in his honor during Game 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

A moment of silence will also be held prior to puck drop Friday night.

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Blue Jackets’ Foligno inspired by Caps’ OT winner: ‘No bad shot in the playoffs’

Tom Wilson opened eyes around the NHL with his overtime goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, for example, scored just once in their Game 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and captain Nick Foligno pointed to Wilson's shot from the side boards as an example of a simple way to help boost his team's offense.

"There is no bad shot in the playoffs," Foligno said Friday about Wilson's goal, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "Sometimes when you're trying to create offense you're looking for the perfect play but that's not how it's going to work in the playoffs. The best offense is gritty and just throwing it in there."

And when Foligno says there's no bad shot, he means firing an attempt from anywhere.

"Catch a goalie off guard. Catch them off guard," he continued. "Right when they think you're going to go behind the net with it, rip it at the net. Things like that that all of a sudden cause chaos. That's really what you're trying to do in the offensive zone."

The Blue Jackets did outshoot the Penguins 32-29 in their Game 1 loss, a total that could rise if Foligno's message gets through.

And with Marc-Andre Fleury in net for Pittsburgh, one never knows what could happen.

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Bowman recalls watching Jackie Robinson play as anniversary nears

TAMPA, Fla. - Scotty Bowman was 12 years old when he saw Jackie Robinson play in Montreal. More than 70 years later, Bowman says Montreal welcomed Robinson during the Hall of Famer's one season with the International League Royals.

''Adoration,'' the winningest coach in NHL history said. ''Montreal fans embraced him.''

Robinson ended racial segregation in major league baseball on April 15, 1947 when he made his big league debut at first base in a Brooklyn Dodgers home game against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field.

Robinson is honored every April with ceremonies throughout baseball. All MLB players will wear his retired No. 42 jersey in Saturday's games.

Robinson's journey to Brooklyn had one final stop after being signed in 1945 by Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey: a season in the minor leagues.

Bowman attended Sunday games at Delorimier Stadium in 1946, where Robinson was part of a powerful Dodgers Triple-A team that won the IL title and the Junior World Series. Robinson hit .349 with three homers, 66 RBIs, 113 runs scored and 40 stolen bases over 124 games in his lone minor league season.

''He could have played in Brooklyn that year,'' Bowman said. ''We went to the games, my friends and I, and you could see it. He was an all-around player.''

Robinson remains revered in Montreal. The house where he rented an apartment is a landmark.

''They made it a heritage building,'' Bowman said.

Robinson, raised in California, got a taste of the Canadian winter as the Royals capped off the year by beating the American Association's Louisville Colonels for the Junior World Series championship.

''It was snowing in one of the games,'' said Bowman, currently a senior adviser with the Chicago Blackhawks. ''It didn't bother them, they won.''

After Bowman had his hopes of an NHL playing career derailed by injuries, he eventually ended up becoming a Montreal legend, too. Five of Bowman's NHL-record nine Stanley Cup coaching championships came from 1973-79 while with the Montreal Canadiens.

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Hanifin, Keller added to U.S. worlds roster

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Noah Hanifin and Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller have been added to Team USA's World Championship roster, USA Hockey announced on Friday.

This marks Hanifin's fourth time that he will dress for the United States at the tournament. As for Keller, this marks the second time this year that he will represent his country after he contributed three goals and eight assists in seven games at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Related: Lee, Hellebuyck among 15 players named to U.S. World Championship roster

Hanifin is coming off a strong sophomore season in the NHL that saw him post 29 points in 81 games - a seven-point improvement over his rookie year.

Meanwhile, Keller is coming off his first year at Boston University where he posted 21 goals and 45 points in 31 games. The 18-year-old also got his first taste of the NHL collecting two assists in three games with the Coyotes.

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Ducks’ Fowler improving ‘rapidly,’ could skate within week

The Anaheim Ducks could receive a boost to their lineup sooner rather than later.

Head coach Randy Carlyle spoke to reporters after Friday's practice and noted that injured defenseman Cam Fowler is improving "rapidly," based on a Thursday assessment. The team is hopeful that Fowler will begin skating within a week.

Fowler missed the final two games of the regular season and Thursday's playoff opener after a knee-on-knee hit from Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano on April 4. His timeline was expected to be anywhere between two and six weeks.

The 25-year-old Fowler led all Ducks defenders with 11 goals and 39 points in 80 games this season, his highest points output since his rookie campaign back in 2011.

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Ducks spoil media with huge In-N-Out Burger spread at practice

The Anaheim Ducks sure know how to put out a spread.

At Friday's practice - following Thursday's 3-2 Game 1 victory over the Calgary Flames - the Ducks provided media members with a spread of burgers and fries from In-N-Out Burger, and it was something to behold.

One would assume the players' meal may have been just a tad lighter on the stomach.

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Wilson got 91 text messages after scoring Capitals’ OT winner

With a flick of the wrist, Tom Wilson became a very popular man.

The Washington Capitals forward was the hero of Game 1 on Thursday, scoring the overtime winner against his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. When he looked at his phone after the game, he had 91 text messages from family and friends in both cities, according to Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic.

Related - Watch: Wilson's OT winner completes Capitals' Game 1 comeback over Leafs

Of course, the goal makes Wilson more an enemy than a hero in his hometown, but teammate Brett Connolly said that should make Games 3 and 4 in Toronto even more exciting for Wilson.

"He's probably so excited to go in there and be the villain and just do his thing," Connolly said, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.

In the meantime, the Maple Leafs will try to even the series in Game 2 on Saturday night.

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MacArthur: Low-scoring Sens offense ‘banging the ketchup bottle’

Sooner or later, Clarke MacArthur believes the Ottawa Senators will catch up and start scoring goals at a more consistent clip.

Speaking to reporters Friday ahead of the team's Saturday matinee against the Boston Bruins, the forward was confident in his team, and compared Ottawa's lack of offense to a condiment issue.

"It's like banging the ketchup bottle here, waiting for it to ooze out," MacArthur said, according to Sportsnet's Kristina Rutherford.

Goals have been tough to come by for the Senators of late. Bobby Ryan netted the team's lone marker in Game 1, and over the last five games, the Senators as a team have managed just nine goals.

The longer view doesn't bode well for the Senators either: They had the 22nd-ranked offense during the regular season, the lowest among all playoff teams.

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Zaitsev expected to miss Game 2

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to endure at least one more game without defenseman Nikita Zaitsev.

Head coach Mike Babcock said Friday that he expects Zaitsev to miss Game 2 of the Leafs' first-round series, according to TSN's Mark Masters.

Zaitsev did not dress for Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals after being forced from Sunday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with an upper-body injury.

While Zaitsev did not take the ice for practice with the team, Masters reports the blue-liner was spotted riding the stationary bike.

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Squad Up Daily NHL Fantasy Dose: Pens are mighty at home

Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.

Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Friday, April 14:

Dynamic Duos

  • C Sidney Crosby (78K) and LW Conor Sheary (48K), Penguins (vs. Blue Jackets): The Penguins are an incredible offensive force at home, averaging 3.8 goals per game there during the regular season. They potted three in their series opener against the Blue Jackets and easily could have had several more. Crosby and Sheary are the most cost-effective forward pairing among several options.
  • C Connor McDavid (77K) and LW Milan Lucic (50K), Oilers (vs. Sharks): If the Oilers can reclaim the early magic they showed in their Game 1 loss to the Sharks, they should rebound to even the series. McDavid will be critical, as always, to Edmonton's success, and is the most dangerous player on either end of the ice. Lucic is more of a risky play, but his Squad Up upside is immense.

Goalie Breakdown

  • TARGET - Carey Price (116K), Canadiens (vs. Rangers): Price put together a solid performance in the opener with 29 saves, but was overshadowed by the brilliance of Henrik Lundqvist. Both goalies are as elite as they come, and with the Canadiens in immediate must-win mode, look for Price to be at his best Friday night. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to see his teammates give him some offense this time.
  • BARGAIN - Henrik Lundqvist (87K), Rangers (at Canadiens): It boggles the mind to see King Henrik's price remain so low given how well he performed in Game 1. The Canadiens boasted a league-average offense this year, and while Montreal had Lundqvist's number during the regular season (4.04 GAA, .871 SV%), none of that matters now. Take a chance on an encore performance and save some bucks.
  • FADE - Marc-Andre Fleury (131K), Penguins (vs. Blue Jackets): While the Penguins have the second-highest win probability on Friday's slate, the game's over/under of 5.5 is also the highest on the schedule. The Blue Jackets will come in waves, and Fleury - coming off a 31-save effort in Game 1 - will be in tough to duplicate that performance. At this price, he's virtually unplayable.
  • CONTRARIAN - Jake Allen (75K), Blues (at Wild): Why not? After putting up a sensational 51-save showing in a stunning Game 1 win, Allen represents a terrific contrarian/bargain double against the reeling Wild. This isn't the safest way to anchor your lineup, but if you're looking to make a major splash, rostering Allen will allow you to maximize the amount of salary you spend at forward and on defense.

Bargain Plays

  • C Brandon Dubinsky (37K), Blue Jackets (at Penguins): Dubinsky had a quiet Game 1 against the Penguins, held without a point while registering just two shots on goal - his first in four games. But Dubinsky sees enough high-leverage ice time to be worth a gamble, particularly if the Blue Jackets come out more assertive on offense. It's a major risk on a slate full of quality centers - but if it works, you'll be in great shape.
  • Marc-Edouard Vlasic (28K), Sharks (at Oilers): Vlasic's primary goal in this series is to prevent McDavid from looking like Wayne Gretzky - but Vlasic has been a valuable Squad Up contributor of late, averaging better than 20 fantasy points over his previous five games. That includes a 35-point effort in Game 1 - and a similar result Friday would make him one of the top value options on the slate.

Top Fades

  • RW Vladimir Tarasenko (79K), Blues (at Wild): Tarasenko is skilled, no doubt - but carrying a salary this high requires far more upside that the Blues' sniper has Friday night. While he scored three goals in five regular-season meetings with Minnesota, he was limited to an assist and four shots in the series opener - and with the Wild focused on shutting him down, he isn't going to see a lot of open space. Look elsewhere.
  • RW Brendan Gallagher (58K), Canadiens (vs. Rangers): Only four right-wingers have higher Squad Up salaries than Gallagher - and given his recent performances, that's unnecessarily generous. Gallagher is averaging fewer than eight fantasy points over his past five games - all while carrying a 50K-plus salary. Might he break out Friday? It's possible - but this is one expensive way to find out.

Contrarian Options

  • Evgeni Malkin (79K), Penguins (vs. Blue Jackets): Most of the Squad Up universe will opt for Crosby, as he's the more dynamic offensive player and is actually 1K cheaper. But Malkin has similar upside and is a great Crosby pivot in big cash events; he skates alongside a surging Phil Kessel on Pittsburgh's second line and is the middle man on the Penguins' ever-dangerous No. 1 power-play unit.
  • Oscar Klefbom (44K), Oilers (vs. Sharks): Klefbom will likely see reduced ownership due to the immense upside of Sharks counterpart Brent Burns. But Klefbom has been no slouch himself, recording 27.5 Squad Up points in the series opener and a whopping 64 points the previous time these two teams met on April 6. Burns is a terrific option, but so is Klefbom - and he's nearly 20K cheaper to boot.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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