This ghost is for real.
Shayne Gostisbehere continued his sublime rookie season Monday night, scoring two goals for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The second put him into the Flyers' records book.
The goals were the 13th and 14th of the season for Gostisbehere, and No. 14 - a clapper on the power play - set a new Flyers record for goals in a season by a rookie defenseman. Behn Wilson scored 13 for Philly in 1978-79.
Between Gostisbehere, Artemi Panarin, and Connor McDavid, the future of the game's in good hands.
If you didn't know who Gostisbehere was before the season - or how to pronounce his name - you do now.
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Unreal extension and effort by Vasilevskiy to get a piece of this! https://t.co/LunVNlskfH
— The Goalie Guild (@TheGoalieGuild) March 8, 2016
Andrei Vasilevskiy is so good he appears to be toying with the opposition.
Related: VIDEO: Lightning's Vasilevskiy foils Flyers' 2-on-0 chance
The Tampa Bay Lghtning goaltender made another miraculous save Monday, this time at the peril of Philadelphia Flyers forward Chris Vandevelde.
Vasilevskiy recovered brilliantly after appearing to lose sight of a shot that rang off the crossbar behind him. Vandevelde had Vasilevskiy at his mercy, but even despite the open net, the 21-year-old backstop got back in time to get a skate on the puck.
Better luck next time boys.
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In a showdown with Steve Yzerman, the Red Wings icon always wins. Ask Jonathan Drouin.
Drouin blinked first last week. Suspended for walking out on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s AHL team after requesting a trade, Drouin called his general manager and told him he wanted to do what he should've been doing all along: play hockey.
Related: Yzerman not closing door on Drouin's return to Lightning
It was a call Yzerman was waiting for, likely expected. He was never going to back down, never going to have his arm twisted. Drouin, after not being traded by the Feb. 29 deadline, and set to lose a year on his entry-level contract, had no choice. He needs to play. And so, in a showdown with Yzerman, Drouin - and his agent Allan Walsh - were the unequivocal losers.
Yzerman labeled Drouin's call a "pleasant surprise." He’s saying all the right things.
"I will do whatever I think is right for the Lightning and that could include recalling Jonathan," Yzerman said. "If he gets back, plays well, he’s going to help us win, in the right frame of mind and he deserves it, he’ll get recalled."
Yzerman has proven as a player and executive that nothing and no one comes before the team. He left Martin St. Louis off Team Canada, eventually trading his captain. He did the unconventional, coming out and saying pending unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos wouldn’t be traded. And Drouin’s been watching with the rest of us as the Lightning have won a franchise-best nine in a row.
Drouin, Walsh, and the NHL once again learned a familiar lesson: No one bullies Steve Yzerman.
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With an assist on Aleksander Barkov's first-period goal Monday, Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr collected point number 1,851 of his career, passing Gordie Howe for third place on the NHL's all-time points list.
There was a brief delay to the celebration of the 44-year-old's feat as the goal was immediately challenged. The Boston Bruins argued that goaltender Tuukka Rask was interfered with on the play.
The goal would stand, leaving Jagr just 36 points away from catching Mark Messier for second place on the all-time scoring list.
Most Points, NHL History
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 8, 2016
1. Wayne Gretzky: 2,857
2. Mark Messier: 1,887
3. Jaromir Jagr: 1,851
4. Gordie Howe: 1,850
5. Ron Francis: 1,798
Monday saw Jagr hit another milestone as he moved ahead of Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque for ninth on the NHL's all-time games played list, dressing in his 1,613th career match.
The assist gives Jagr 28 helpers and 49 points in 63 games this season.
You can watch video of the historic assist here.
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Vasilevskiy stops Bellemare and Simmonds on the 2-0. pic.twitter.com/gWd7l495cG
— Joe Dought (@JoeR35h93) March 8, 2016
Things are not coming easy to the Philadelphia Flyers.
The team had a glorious chance to get itself back into Monday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, courtesy of a 2-on-0 break, but goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was having none of it.
The Lightning netminder went post-to-post, making a sprawling save on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to keep the team's early 1-0 lead intact.
The Flyers will need to capitalize on such chances if they plan on claiming a playoff spot in the East.
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Radim Vrbata will return to the Vancouver Canucks lineup Monday in Los Angeles, but you could forgive him for wanting the season to be over already.
The 34-year-old hasn't played since Feb. 21 due to a groin injury, and has only 12 goals and 12 assists in 57 games. It's been a nightmare few months, a season removed from scoring 31 goals.
Vrbata will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and he's got the remainder of his season to up his value. He wasn't moved at the trade deadline, which means suitors won't likely be banging on his door on July 1.
Asked by the Vancouver Province's Ben Kuzma how tough the season has been, Vrbata was honest.
"We could be here a while," he said.
"It's been frustrating and there's not just one thing you could pinpoint and if not the most frustrating season, it's certainly one near the top."
Vrbata's a veteran. He broke into the league in 2001 and has 258 goals and 293 assists in 928 regular-season games over his career.
"To score goals in this league you need to have guys around you who are clicking," Vrbata said. "There aren’t too many guys who can do it on their own."
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The Calgary Flames won't be raising season-ticket prices, the club confirmed to the Calgary Sun's Eric Francis.
The drop in global oil prices has hit Calgary's economy hard, and while the Flames have been awful on the ice, this decision is more about the community, said Rollie Cyr, the Flames' vice president of sales, ticketing, and customer service.
"We thought it was the right thing to do," said Cyr. "We're not blind to what's going on in our economy. We're looking after the consumer who has been our partner for a long time. Being a good corporate partner and citizen is important."
Oil markets were active Monday, jumping more than five percent, according to Reuters. Brent crude oil hit $40 a barrel, up more than 50 percent from $27.10 on Jan. 20, a 12-year low. A New York-based consultancy told Reuters that "major OPEC producers are talking about a new oil price equilibrium of around $50."
In addition to falling oil prices (the price per barrel was close to $100 in October 2014), a falling Canadian dollar has taken its toll on the Flames, as well. But the club is looking towards the future, and Cyr says that while cancellations have come in, the waiting list for season tickets is 3,000-people long. The Flames have the fifth-highest season ticket prices, Francis writes.
The Flames were very active at the trade deadline, selling unrestricted free agents Jiri Hudler, Kris Russell, and David Jones for draft picks and young players. General manager Brad Treliving's been lauded for how he's rebuilding his team.
"People can see the light at the end of the tunnel," Cyr said. "We are doing the right things."
- With h/t to Pro Hockey Talk
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Henrik Lundqvist is not sorry, and he'd do it again.
The New York Rangers goaltender lost it Thursday, flipping his net off its pegs during play, a few moments after captain Ryan McDonagh inadvertently collided with him.
Lundqvist suffered neck spasms due to the collision, and won't play Tuesday in Buffalo. He's hoping to return on the weekend, and said Monday that he did what he did because he needed a whistle - and when it didn't come from the referee, he took matters into his own hands.
"When I realized the puck is in our end, I was not really ready to play. That was the truth," Lundqvist said, according to the New York Daily News' Justin Tasch. "I don't know how I came up with the conclusion to move the net, but that's what came up in my head, and I'm not gonna apologize for it because I was just not in a position where I could play the game. I needed a break."
Lundqvist's opponent that night, Marc-Andre Fleury, called the incident "baby stuff," but the Swede refused to address the comment, saying he wasn't ready to play, and did what he had to do.
"I needed a whistle. If the ref's not gonna give me one I'm gonna deal with it my way," Lundqvist said. "Could I have done it differently? Absolutely. But at the same time it was a really tough hit where I was not really thinking straight, I think. But I got the whistle."
The Rangers are in Detroit on Saturday, and home to Pittsburgh on Sunday, so expect Lundqvist back in the crease in one of those games - hopefully the one versus the Penguins.
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What trade deadline?
Vancouver and Carolina made a minor deal Monday, the Canucks sending forward Dane Fox to the Hurricanes for future considerations.
Fox has spent the majority of the season in the East Coast Hockey League, with Kalamazoo, where he has a team-leading 26 goals and 50 points, but he's moving on up to the American Hockey League's Charlotte Checkers.
By trading fox, the #Canucks open up another contract spot. They currently have 44/50 - let the NCAA/CHL hunting begin! (hopefully)
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) March 7, 2016
The 22-year-old was an undrafted free-agent signing of the Canucks in 2013. He's 6-feet tall and weighs 188 pounds. He had 30 goals in his first ECHL season, after scoring 64 goals in 67 games in his final season of junior hockey.
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