Monthly Archives: March 2017
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 15, 2017
Coyotes dent Kings’ playoff hopes with 11-round shootout win
LOS ANGELES - Anthony DeAngelo and Brendan Perlini scored in an 11-round shootout, Louis Domingue made 44 saves and the Arizona Coyotes defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Max Domi scored two goals for the Coyotes, who have won three consecutive games for the second time this season. Domi tied it 2-all with less than a minute left in regulation.
Tyler Toffoli scored twice, including a power-play goal with 1:36 remaining that gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead. Ben Bishop stopped 30 shots, but the Kings' playoff chances were dealt a second major blow in two nights.
Toffoli converted a one-timer from Jeff Carter, only to see Domi tie it at 2 with 44.3 seconds left. Domi was alone at the edge of the crease and easily scored after Derek Forbort failed to clear the puck for the Kings.
Domi tied the game at 1 with 14:21 remaining in the third period. The Coyotes capitalized on Jarome Iginla's turnover in the neutral zone, and Domi went top shelf over Bishop's left shoulder with his shot.
Toffoli snapped in the rebound of Jake Muzzin's shot 5:03 into the second, giving the Kings a 1-0 lead seconds after Shane Doan could have put the Coyotes ahead. Bishop never realized the puck was loose after stopping Doan's initial backhand, and Alec Martinez alertly knocked it away to prevent the tap-in by Doan and lead to a break the other way.
Los Angeles' need to come away with two points increased dramatically after its 3-1 loss to St. Louis on Monday. Not only did the Blues extend their lead over the Kings for the second wild card in the Western Conference to five points, they have a more favorable schedule down the stretch.
The Kings will play nine teams currently in playoff position over their final 13 games, with five of those on the road, while the Blues face just four opponents set to reach the postseason before the season wraps up on April 9.
But that hunger didn't necessarily manifest in the opening 20 minutes, as two offensive-zone penalties blunted the Kings. Dustin Brown's breakaway represented the best scoring chance for the Kings, who had 11 shots and won 13 of 18 faceoffs in the sleepy first.
NOTES: Toffoli had a point for the third straight game. . The Kings scratched D Brayden McNabb, with Kevin Gravel active for only the second time in the last seven games to take McNabb's place. . The Coyotes and Kings will conclude their four-game season series April 2 in Los Angeles.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Seguin says rock bottom keeps getting deeper, Ruff calls out leaders
It's bad in Dallas.
The Stars lost their third straight game on Tuesday, and have been outscored a remarkable 17-4 across those contests. Against Edmonton, head coach Lindy Ruff was forced to use both goalies for a third consecutive affair, and then called out his "leaders" after Dallas allowed seven goals.
"That may be the worst game I've coached as a Dallas Star," Ruff said, according to the Dallas Morning News' Mike Heika. "We need a lot more out of the leaders of our team. They're the guys who can make the difference at this time. They're the guys that the responsibility lies on."
Related: Stars agree to terms with college FA defender Bayreuther
Tyler Seguin, meanwhile, can only wonder how low the Stars can go.
"I thought we kind of hit rock bottom last game," Seguin said of Dallas' 5-1 loss to San Jose on Sunday. "But we got deeper tonight."
Seguin and captain Jamie Benn were held pointless Tuesday, but both have essentially been point-per-game players this season. They're doing their part. But unless they learn how to play goal, they can't fix what ails the Stars.
Here are the save percentages of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi over the past three games:
Goalie | 5-2 L vs. OTT | 5-1 L vs. SJS | 7-1 L vs. EDM |
---|---|---|---|
Lehtonen | .833 | .625 | .778 |
Niemi | .600 | .889 | .750 |
Look, it's not all on the two goaltenders; the Stars clearly have issues on defense. But Lehtonen and Niemi are a big reason why Dallas has conceded the most goals in the NHL.
Only 13 games to go, Stars fans. It's almost over.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Watch: Eichel accidentally boots puck into his own net
Jack Eichel scored two goals Tuesday. Only problem: One of them was on his own net.
The Sabres phenom inadvertently kicked the San Jose Sharks' second goal of the game - which held up as the eventual game winner - past Robin Lehner late in the middle period, and Eichel wasn't happy about it back on the Buffalo bench.
It was a tough bounce, especially for Lehner, who was stellar through 40 minutes while stopping 35-of-37 shots.
Micheal Haley got credit for the goal, and he'll never score an easier one. Hey, life happens sometimes.
Eichel skates right to Lehner as period ends and they tap gloves. #Sabres #Sharks
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) March 15, 2017
Earlier in the game, Eichel bagged his 20th of the season, putting him in some fine Sabres company:
Jack Eichel has become just the eighth player in Sabres history to score 20 or more goals in each of his first two NHL seasons. pic.twitter.com/Vm4fgSvv5J
— Sabres PR (@SabresPR) March 15, 2017
The Sharks won 4-1.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Stars agree to terms with college FA defender Bayreuther
The Dallas Stars have agreed to contract terms with college free-agent defenseman Gavin Bayreuther out of St. Lawrence University, the club announced Tuesday night.
The deal will be official Wednesday.
#7 Gavin Bayreuther: Canaan, NH. One of the best college players I've seen in person. Great on and off the ice. #Gav pic.twitter.com/M9RR296Fu7
— SLU Hockey EQM (@SLUHockeyEquip) February 18, 2017
Bayreuther is 22, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, shoots left, and had eight goals and 21 assists in 30 games this NCAA season. He leaves college after four years with 35 goals and 111 points in 142 games.
It's likely a two-year, entry-level contract, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie, who adds that Bayreuther will likely spend the rest of this season with the Stars' AHL affiliate on an amateur tryout. That means his contract will begin in 2017-18.
The Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, and New Jersey Devils were reportedly interested in Bayreuther, but in the end, the kid chose the Stars.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Oilers hit 80-point mark for 1st time since ’09
The Edmonton Oilers have finally done it - they've got 80 points.
Eighty-one, even better, in fact, after a 7-1 thrashing of the goalie-less Dallas Stars, snapping a three-game losing streak.
It's the first time the Oilers have eclipsed 80 points since 2008-09, when the club finished with 85 points, but still missed the playoffs.
That's the difference this time around - barring a monumental collapse, the Oilers will play postseason puck for the first time since 2005-06, when they lost the Stanley Cup Final in a heartbreaking seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Connor McDavid scored the extra point for the Oilers on the evening, giving him 76 points on the season. He's tied for the league lead in scoring with Patrick Kane, who put up a three-spot Tuesday in Montreal.
Cam Talbot, meanwhile, earned his 34th win of the season in goal. To put that in perspective, the last time an Oilers team won that many games was - you guessed it - 2008-09.
Most wins in a season, @EdmontonOilers goaltenders:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 15, 2017
40 – Grant Fuhr in 1987-88
36 – Tommy Salo in 2001-02
34 – @ctalbot33 in 2016-17 pic.twitter.com/EUuMUiJ73z
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Watch: Maroon uses toe drag, backhand to end Niemi’s night
Some beautiful dangles courtesy of... @patmaroon? pic.twitter.com/AoMZq2pjzf
— NHL (@NHL) March 15, 2017
Guess how many Dallas Stars goalies played on Tuesday?
Hint: The answer is always both.
Edmonton Oilers forward Patrick Maroon sent starter Antti Niemi to the bench slightly past halfway into the game, deftly using a toe drag to evade his man before slotting home the backhand.
In Niemi's defense, he didn't have much of a chance on the goal, after his own defenseman collided with him (in said defender's defense, he was trying to cover Connor McDavid). Not working in Niemi's favor: He stopped only 15 of the 20 shots he faced.
Tuesday marked the third straight game in which the Stars allowed at least five goals and played both Niemi and Kari Lehtonen. At this point, you can't help but feel for Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff. Hell, even Benoit Pouliot managed to score - his first goal since Dec. 8.
Maroon's goal was his 22nd of the season, which can't end fast enough for Dallas.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Blackhawks’ Anisimov seen in walking boot after win over Canadiens
Officially, and according to head coach Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov is listed as day to day with a lower-body injury.
But after Tuesday's win over the Montreal Canadiens, he was seen sporting some extra footwear.
They were checking Anisimov's left ankle on the ice; he left the arena wearing a walking boot. Walking boots aren't for knee sprains/tears.
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) March 15, 2017
Anisimov left the game after this collision with Alexander Radulov and was unable to return.
Anisimov injury....Radulov went down hard on that leg pic.twitter.com/qZTuFSvKvm
— Ozzie (@OldComiskey) March 15, 2017
Prior to the injury, he recorded an assist to set a new career high in points (45).
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Kane, Crawford put Blackhawks back atop West
MONTREAL - Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists and Corey Crawford made 40 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Johnny Oduya, Artemi Panarin and Jonathan Toews, into the empty net, scored for the Blackhawks, who jumped past Minnesota and lead the Central Division with 93 points.
Paul Byron and Shea Weber scored for Montreal.
Carey Price made 20 saves as he became the third Canadiens goaltender to reach the 500-game milestone.
Only Patrick Roy (551) and Jacques Plante (556) have played more games between the pipes for Montreal.
The Canadiens have not beaten Chicago since 2014 (0-6-1).
Crawford is a big reason for the Hawks' recent success against the Canadiens.
The Montreal native, who was coming off a season-best 42-save effort against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, has never lost to the Habs in regulation (7-0-2).
Crawford withstood a flurry of shots at the end of the first period to preserve Chicago's 1-0 lead.
In the second, the 32-year-old took a mighty Weber slap shot off his mask from just a few feet out. The Blackhawks goalie was stunned but stayed in the game.
Crawford was beaten twice in the third period.
Byron slapped a bouncing puck over his shoulder at 12:42 before Weber scored on a slap shot from the point at 16:32.
Crawford has never conceded more than two goals in a game against Montreal - his highest save percentage against any opponent.
Both the Canadiens and Hawks came into Tuesday's matchups with 8-2-0 records in their past 10 games.
Chicago was outshot 11-4 in the first period, but the visitors made the most of their good chance when Kane scored at 12:23, capitalizing on a mistake by Alexei Emelin at center ice then firing a wrister off the post and in.
Oduya made it 2-0 at 10:49 of the second period when his slap shot from the point took a slight deflection off Byron's arm - enough to elude Price.
Emelin was again to blame for Chicago's third goal. The Canadiens defenseman inexplicably changed sides mid-rush, leaving Panarin all alone in front of the goal.
With time on his side, Panarin roofed the puck on Price 47 seconds into the third period.
Emelin finished the game with a minus-3 rating.
Chicago's Artem Anisimov left the game in the first period with a left leg injury and did not return.
NOTES: Defenseman Brandon Davidson, acquired at the trade deadline, got his second start with Montreal, replacing Nathan Beaulieu on the blue line. . The Clarkson Cup-winning Canadiennes de Montreal (CWHL) were honored in a pregame ceremony.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.