After a potentially disastrous start to the season, the Anaheim Ducks are making history for all the right reasons.
With a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, the Ducks won their 11th game in a row, setting a new team record for consecutive victories.
The result also put Anaheim two points ahead of Los Angeles in the race for the Pacific Division crown, and marked Bruce Boudreau's 400th win as an NHL head coach.
Bruce Boudreau becomes the fastest coach to 400 #NHL wins (400-186-77), as #Ducks set franchise record with 11th straight win. Good for him.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 6, 2016
Related: VIDEO: Kings, Ducks renew acquaintances with line brawl
The hot streak runs back even further than the past 11 games.
Holy Anaheim. The #ducks are now 18-1-1 since mid-January and lead the Pacific Division.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 5, 2016
All of the above is significant for a few reasons, beginning with the month of October, wherein the Ducks posted a record of 1-7-2 while scoring a grand total of 10 goals and putting Boudreau's job very much in jeopardy.
Key to the Ducks' resurgence has been the play of David Perron, who's averaging a point per game since arriving in Anaheim, including this power-play goal against the Kings.
Now, the Ducks are flying towards the postseason, and appear on track to return to the Western Conference Finals one year after losing to Chicago in seven games during that round.
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As a Toronto Maple Leafs supporter, you either liked Dion Phaneuf as captain, or you hated him. There was no middle ground.
One group of Phaneuf's detractors has a suite Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre, as the defenceman returns to Toronto as a member of the Ottawa Senators. It's safe to say they're big fans of Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello.
The pylons are a bit much pic.twitter.com/9c4ofAqqq4
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 5, 2016
Phaneuf has "mixed emotions" ahead of his return, but his new Ottawa teammates helped him feel a bit at ease during their morning skate.
Everytime Dion Phaneuf touches the puck during the morning skate his teammates boo him. #Sens
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) March 5, 2016
Phaneuf will have a letter on his sweater as he takes to Toronto ice again.
"A" OK pic.twitter.com/Uh282L2Fm0
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 5, 2016
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In an act of intended goodwill, Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog tossed a puck over the glass during Saturday's pregame warmup to a young girl celebrating her birthday.
While a clean catch wasn't made on the other end, a thumbs up and a head nod signaled a relatively happy ending to the story.
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Tensions were high when the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks took to the ice Saturday.
Less than seven minutes into the game and before the first goal was scored, the Pacific Division foes engaged in a full-out line brawl, much to the delight of the Staples Center crowd.
Here's a look at the penalty breakdown after the dust settled.
(Courtesy: NHL.com)
And on top of that, both Kevin Bieksa and Andy Andreoff were handed game misconducts for their roles in the action. Bieksa's absence forced the Ducks to play the rest of the game with only five defensemen.
We think it's safe to say this rivalry is alive and well.
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TORONTO – When he stepped onto the ice Saturday morning, Ottawa Senators defenseman Dion Phaneuf acknowledged that it felt a little weird.
It probably didn’t help that a bunch of Toronto Maple Leafs fans were invited to watch the morning skate. Some of them stuck around to see Phaneuf; when he touched the puck, some even booed.
“It was different, obviously, going out there this morning on this side,” Phaneuf said. “That’s the way it is right now and they (the fans) gave it to me a bit.”
Phaneuf was back at Air Canada Centre for the first time since he was shipped to the Senators in a nine-player deal on Feb. 9. He’d spent seven years in Toronto, including more than six as Leafs captain. He was also a polarizing figure in the city, a lightning rod for criticism.
However, it’s evident Phaneuf forged lasting relationships with his ex-teammates, as many players met up with their former captain for dinner on Friday. Many of them didn’t get a chance to say goodbye when Phaneuf was traded.
“For me, it’s mixed emotions because I was such good friends with them. I enjoyed my time playing with them immensely,” Phaneuf said. “It was different going for dinner with the opposition side - I don’t usually do that but for them I made an exception.”
One of the players at dinner was Leafs forward Nazem Kadri. For the first time in both of their careers, Phaneuf and Kadri will be looking across the ice and seeing the other as the enemy. With the trade not even a month old, it’s not a familiar look.
“I’ve watched a couple of his games before (tonight) just keeping tabs on him a little bit,” Kadri said. “It’s pretty awkward to say the least, even doing the scrums after the game with his Ottawa Senators hat on and the red and the black, it just doesn’t sit too well with me yet.”
Video tribute planned for Phaneuf on Saturday
The Maple Leafs will honor Phaneuf with a television timeout video tribute during the first period. Back in October, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel returned to Toronto for the first time since being dealt in the offseason, but there was no acknowledgement of his return by the Maple Leafs during the game.
Kessel led the team in scoring in each season he was a member of the Maple Leafs.
The reason for the change this time around is largely due to the captaincy Phaneuf held. Although many will point to the team’s lack of success during Phaneuf’s tenure as its leader, that can never be taken away from him.
At the Maple Leafs’ training facility, there are life-sized pictures of every past team captain. When Phaneuf retires, his likeness will join the ranks of Mats Sundin, Doug Gilmour, and Wendel Clark.
The crowd reaction is expected to be what it usually is for a past player returning to Toronto. Every time Phaneuf touches the puck, the crowd is sure to boo. But during the video montage, there will be some applause.
“I think it should be outstanding,” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said about the fan reaction he’s hoping to see. “In my opinion, and I’ve only had a limited time, (he is) a good man, played hard and trained right.”
No matter what the reaction is, Phaneuf’s mindset will be on helping his new team grab a spot in the playoffs. Sitting seven points out heading into Saturday’s game, there is a lot at stake.
“The bottom line is, once I was traded, I had two flights to go to Detroit and I had some time to reflect and I was all in,” Phaneuf said. “I’m excited to be part of the organization and I like the group that we have here and I just wanted to come and fit in. We’re fighting for our lives right now; it’s fun to be in a race.”
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That sound you hear is the New Jersey Devils organization holding its collective breath.
Cory Schneider will not play against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, and he'll be evaluated in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon when the Devils return home from Dallas, where Schneider left a 4-2 loss to the Stars on Friday with what the team called a lower-body injury.
Related: Devils' Schneider hurt in loss to Stars after making stellar pad save
The Devils won't provide another update on the goaltender's condition until Sunday.
New Jersey sits five points back of Pittsburgh for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 16 games left, but the Penguins have three games in hand.
If the Devils are forced to play more games without their No. 1 netminder, their playoff hopes could be in serious jeopardy.
(Courtesy: New Jersey Devils)
Schneider has a 2.17 GAA and .923 save percentage with four shutouts while appearing in 55 of New Jersey's 66 games this season.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs will get their first look at the man who wore the "C" for six season with the club Saturday night.
Dion Phaneuf and the Ottawa Senators will renew the Battle of Ontario on Saturday as Phaneuf takes to the ice at the Air Canada Centre for the first time since being traded to the Senators nearly a month ago.
Some of the #sens players are booing Dion Phaneuf when he touches the puck during morning skate at ACC. Hilarious.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 5, 2016
Love him or hate him, Phaneuf executed his captainly duties with class during his tenor, and it's for that reason head coach Mike Babcock is currently without a plan on naming Phaneuf's successor.
"No plan. No timeline," said Babcock. "Right now I don't even want to think about it. We purposely haven't got any of our kids, even though we demand some of our kids lead. We expect (Nazem) Kadri to lead, we expect (Morgan) Rielly to lead, we've given our assistant captains to our veterans who are doing it right every day, and when someone is ready they'll get the opportunity.
"This is the first time I've talked about it. I haven't to Lou (Lamoriello) about it one time, I haven't talked to Shanny about it, but I'm pretty sure you'd get the same thing from them."
Phaneuf held the captaincy from 2010 until his departure last month. Prior to that, the team went two seasons without a captain after franchise-great Mats Sundin departed from the organization.
Phaneuf: "I said it when I was named captain & I'll say it for the rest of my life, it was an honour to be the captain of the Maple Leafs."
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 5, 2016
Though there remains no immediate plans for a replacement, Babcock did give some insight into his personal timeline.
"I think in the end when it becomes obvious to us who the next captain is, that's when it'll be," said Babcock.
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