Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant continued his retirement tour at home Wednesday, watching the Los Angeles Kings beat the Washington Capitals in overtime.
A win, an appearance on the kiss cam, and it got even better: Kings mascot Bailey's autograph.
The Colorado Avalanche captain went up high with a cross-check to the side of the head of Anaheim Ducks defenseman Simon Despres on Wednesday night, and will having a hearing with the Department of Player Safety, according to TSN's Gino Reda.
The play somehow went unpenalized. The Avs shut out the Ducks 3-0.
His presence will be a boost for a club that went 1-2-1 in his absence, although it's probably too late to make much of a difference in the playoff race, as the Senators sit five points out of a wild-card spot with 14 games remaining on the schedule.
Anderson has posted a record of 27-20-4 with a .917 save percentage in 52 appearances this season.
A discussion over the state of hockey has risen straight to the top.
While introducing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Washington on Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama tried to end the "which country is better at hockey?" debate by pointing to his hometown Chicago Blackhawks as the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Trudeau wisely pointed out the debate is a bit more nuanced than that:
PM Trudeau just shot back that Canada exports many high quality goods to the US like Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp.
Reaves was given five and a game after he clocked Ehrhoff behind Chicago's net. The league concluded the hit was hard, but legal, according to Kuc's source.
The Blues won a chippy game, 3-2 in a shootout. Reaves played only 2:29 before being tossed, while Ehroff finished with 11:45 in ice time over 17 shifts.
On Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, the NHL's trade deadline will be 10 days old. Almost prehistoric. And that means it's time to look at how those players who changed addresses (since Feb. 21) are faring, and determine whether trades went boom or bust.
As for Lee Stempniak, it should come as no surprise that he's fitting in with his new team, the Boston Bruins. This is what Mr. Stempniak does - get traded, keep producing, rinse, and repeat.
Forwards
Player
GP
G
A
P
PPP
Team
Lee Stempniak
5
1
5
6
0
Bruins
Alex Tanguay
3
2
3
5
1
Coyotes
Patrick Maroon
4
2
2
4
0
Oilers
Andrew Ladd
5
2
2
4
3
Blackhawks
Shawn Matthias
7
3
1
4
0
Avalanche
Devante Smith-Pelly
3
2
1
3
0
Devils
Mikkel Boedker
5
1
2
3
1
Avalanche
Jamie McGinn
5
2
1
3
0
Ducks
Jiri Hudler
3
2
0
2
0
Panthers
Eric Staal
5
1
1
2
0
Rangers
Markus Granlund
7
1
1
2
0
Canucks
Teddy Purcell
2
0
1
1
1
Panthers
David Jones
3
1
0
1
0
Wild
Tomas Fleischmann
5
1
0
1
0
Blackhawks
Shane Prince
5
1
0
1
0
Islanders
Brooks Laich
6
0
1
1
0
Maple Leafs
Dale Weise
3
0
0
0
0
Blackhawks
Kris Versteeg
4
0
0
0
0
Kings
Daniel Winnik
5
0
0
0
0
Capitals
Notes:
Stempniak is amazing. He should go to unrestricted free agency this summer with one request: a no-trade clause. He's earned it.
Fact: When Maroon scores, the Oilers win. Look it up.
Ladd's ice time has gone up in each game with the Blackhawks, and he hit the 20-minute mark Wednesday.
Staal was acquired for the playoffs, but the Rangers have to be a little disappointed so far. Privately, at least.
Meanwhile, a couple of forwards who weren't traded have only two goals in seven games between them:
Player
GP
G
A
P
PPP
Team
Loui Eriksson
5
1
0
1
0
Bruins
Radim Vrbata
2
1
0
1
0
Canucks
Defensemen
Player
GP
G
A
P
PPP
Team
Kris Russell
4
0
2
2
2
Stars
John-Michael Liles
5
0
2
2
0
Bruins
Jyrki Jokipakka
5
0
2
2
0
Flames
Connor Carrick
6
0
2
2
1
Maple Leafs
Rob Scuderi
6
0
2
2
0
Kings
Justin Schultz
2
0
1
1
0
Penguins
Christian Ehrhoff
3
0
1
1
0
Blackhawks
Notes:
Eight points between Stempniak and Liles. Don Sweeney is a genius.
The haul the Flames got for Russell, which included Jokipakka, still doesn't make a lot of sense.
The highest-scoring defenseman since Feb. 29 who was on the trading block but didn't get moved? Dan Hamhuis, of course.
Player
GP
G
A
P
PPP
Team
Dan Hamhuis
5
2
2
4
1
Canucks
Bravo, Vancouver.
Goalies
James Reimer was the only goalie of note to be traded before the deadline, acquired by the Sharks from the Maple Leafs.
Player
GS
W
SV%
SO
GAA
Reimer
2
1
.946
1
1.53
Notes:
Reimer's numbers look good, and he has his first shutout in over a year.
Since the Feb. 27 trade, Sharks No. 1 goalie Martin Jones is 4-0 and has stopped 119 of 125 shots he's faced, good for a .952 save percentage. The Sharks appear set in goal.
The Vancouver Canucks and Brandon Prust have mutually agreed to shut the forward down for the balance of the season as a result of nagging discomfort in his ankle, the team announced Thursday.
Prust will return to his hometown of London, Ont., for his rehab but will remain under the supervision of the team's medical staff.
The 31-year-old had been assigned to the AHL's Utica Comets after clearing waivers in early February. There, he recorded a goal, six assists, and five penalty minutes in nine games.
Prust is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
On the outside of the playoff picture, the Minnesota Wild will be without their starting goaltender for Thursday's game against Edmonton.
Devan Dubnyk will be unavailable due to illness, meaning Darcy Kuemper will draw the start. Steve Michalek, who was recalled from the AHL on an emergency basis, will serve as the back up.
The Wild sit two points behind Colorado for the Western Conference's second wild card spot, albeit with two games in hand.
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