"It should be nasty," Beagle had told Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. "It's the playoffs. That's the way we like to play. That's the way they like to play - you know, hard hits, going after each other. These are two teams that don't like each other."
Khurshudyan noted that Beagle's quote wasn't in reference to Matt Niskanen's crosscheck in Game 3 that gave Sidney Crosby a concussion - it was just about the physical tone of a series between two rival teams.
Yet, when the quote was passed on to Kessel, he didn't take it lightly.
"If he thinks that's a clean hit, he's an idiot," Kessel said, according to Chase Williams of WPXI.
Beagle also added that he and Kessel could settle their differences over a game of Mario Kart. Who wouldn't pay to see that?
Beagle is clearly unafraid to display humor during serious times, but when asked about Niskanen's hit on Crosby, he agreed with Kessel that "it wasn't a clean hit," per TSN's Mark Masters.
Game 4 is set to take place Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, where there should be no shortage of fireworks.
"It should be nasty," Beagle had told Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. "It's the playoffs. That's the way we like to play. That's the way they like to play - you know, hard hits, going after each other. These are two teams that don't like each other."
Khurshudyan noted that Beagle's quote wasn't in reference to Matt Niskanen's crosscheck in Game 3 that gave Sidney Crosby a concussion - it was just about the physical tone of a series between two rival teams.
Yet, when the quote was passed on to Kessel, he didn't take it lightly.
"If he thinks that's a clean hit, he's an idiot," Kessel said, according to Chase Williams of WPXI.
Beagle also added that he and Kessel could settle their differences over a game of Mario Kart. Who wouldn't pay to see that?
Beagle is clearly unafraid to display humor during serious times, but when asked about Niskanen's hit on Crosby, he agreed with Kessel that "it wasn't a clean hit," per TSN's Mark Masters.
Game 4 is set to take place Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, where there should be no shortage of fireworks.
"The time period expired and so the charges were dismissed and the record sealed," Kane's lawyer, Paul Cambria, told The Buffalo News' Harold McNeil.
Kane was charged with misdemeanor trespass and separate noncriminal violations of disorderly conduct and harassment after two female patrons and a bouncer at the bar alleged he had grabbed the women, pulled their hair, and then refused the bouncer's orders to leave.
"The time period expired and so the charges were dismissed and the record sealed," Kane's lawyer, Paul Cambria, told The Buffalo News' Harold McNeil.
Kane was charged with misdemeanor trespass and separate noncriminal violations of disorderly conduct and harassment after two female patrons and a bouncer at the bar alleged he had grabbed the women, pulled their hair, and then refused the bouncer's orders to leave.
While Nugent-Hopkins has been lauded by head coach Todd McLellan as an effective two-way player, Eberle - who's perceived primarily as an offensive weapon - was recently called out for not doing enough to help the team win.
Out of all the players remaining in the postseason yet to record a goal, Nugent-Hopkins' 24 shots lead the way. In fact, he ranks first on the Oilers in this category. Eberle, however, is well behind with 17 in nine games, which he admits is cause for concern.
"I want to score, put the puck in the net," he said, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet. "The thing that sucks is, the last two games I haven't had too many chances, and that's when you start to worry. ...
"I'm an offensive guy, and my own worst critic. You can be great defensively, do good board work and all that. But I'm a goal-scorer. I've got to put the puck in the net."
Eberle scored 20 goals during the regular season, and Nugent-Hopkins chipped in with 18. It's time to dig deep and strike while there's still a chance to do so.
Alex Pietrangel-0
Coming off a regular season in which he scored a career-high 14 goals, St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has yet to hit the back of the net, despite 23 shots on goal through nine games.
Six of those strikes came on the power play, which is not clicking for the Blues at the moment. St. Louis has recorded two goals on 24 opportunities, ranking seventh among the remaining eight teams with a success rate of 8.3 percent. That can't all be pinned on Pietrangelo, but his lack of production isn't helping the cause.
The weird thing is that fellow Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson has scored three playoff goals, matching his regular-season total.
If the captain can't start scoring from the back end, the Blues' season could be done as soon as the end of Game 5.
No red lights for these Blueshirts
The New York Rangers received high marks when college standouts Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey decided to take their acts to Broadway as free agents. But in six games against the Montreal Canadiens and three against the Ottawa Senators, the Blueshirts have yet to benefit on the scoresheet from either player.
Hayes has registered 16 shots without hitting the back of the net, while Vesey's 12 shots have proven equally as ineffective.
Hayes (17 goals) and Vesey (16 goals) ranked sixth and seventh among Rangers scorers during the regular season, and provided a healthy measure of depth that's necessary to succeed in the playoffs.
One or both needs to get it going in order to help erase the Senators' 2-1 series lead.
While Nugent-Hopkins has been lauded by head coach Todd McLellan as an effective two-way player, Eberle - who's perceived primarily as an offensive weapon - was recently called out for not doing enough to help the team win.
Out of all the players remaining in the postseason yet to record a goal, Nugent-Hopkins' 24 shots lead the way. In fact, he ranks first on the Oilers in this category. Eberle, however, is well behind with 17 in nine games, which he admits is cause for concern.
"I want to score, put the puck in the net," he said, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet. "The thing that sucks is, the last two games I haven't had too many chances, and that's when you start to worry. ...
"I'm an offensive guy, and my own worst critic. You can be great defensively, do good board work and all that. But I'm a goal-scorer. I've got to put the puck in the net."
Eberle scored 20 goals during the regular season, and Nugent-Hopkins chipped in with 18. It's time to dig deep and strike while there's still a chance to do so.
Alex Pietrangel-0
Coming off a regular season in which he scored a career-high 14 goals, St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has yet to hit the back of the net, despite 23 shots on goal through nine games.
Six of those strikes came on the power play, which is not clicking for the Blues at the moment. St. Louis has recorded two goals on 24 opportunities, ranking seventh among the remaining eight teams with a success rate of 8.3 percent. That can't all be pinned on Pietrangelo, but his lack of production isn't helping the cause.
The weird thing is that fellow Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson has scored three playoff goals, matching his regular-season total.
If the captain can't start scoring from the back end, the Blues' season could be done as soon as the end of Game 5.
No red lights for these Blueshirts
The New York Rangers received high marks when college standouts Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey decided to take their acts to Broadway as free agents. But in six games against the Montreal Canadiens and three against the Ottawa Senators, the Blueshirts have yet to benefit on the scoresheet from either player.
Hayes has registered 16 shots without hitting the back of the net, while Vesey's 12 shots have proven equally as ineffective.
Hayes (17 goals) and Vesey (16 goals) ranked sixth and seventh among Rangers scorers during the regular season, and provided a healthy measure of depth that's necessary to succeed in the playoffs.
One or both needs to get it going in order to help erase the Senators' 2-1 series lead.
The National Hockey League and the Players' Association have come to an agreement on a list of players that will be exempt from being selected by the Vegas Golden Knights at the upcoming expansion draft.
These players have all been off the ice for a considerable amount of time due to injuries that have put their careers in jeopardy or effectively ended them altogether, but who are still under contract with their respective teams.
The expansion draft will take place on June 21 in conjunction with the NHL Awards.
The National Hockey League and the Players' Association have come to an agreement on a list of players that will be exempt from being selected by the Vegas Golden Knights at the upcoming expansion draft.
These players have all been off the ice for a considerable amount of time due to injuries that have put their careers in jeopardy or effectively ended them altogether, but who are still under contract with their respective teams.
The expansion draft will take place on June 21 in conjunction with the NHL Awards.
A scrum between multiple Blues and Predators players led to offsetting minors for Joel Edmundson and Cody McLeod, but Blues tough guy Ryan Reaves - who joined the scrum as the odd man in - received an extra two minutes for roughing.
A penalty such as this - especially in the playoffs - usually requires the referee to provide an explanation to the coach or one of the players with a letter on his jersey. However, Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo received no such explanation.
"It's the first time I've ever seen a ref not even let the captain talk to him," Pietrangelo told Lou Korac of NHL.com. "I'm sure that's what the C's for."
It's highly unlikely Pietrangelo could have convinced the referee to send an even amount of Blues and Preds to the box for the scrum, but he has every right to plead his case.
There may be no evidence to prove such theory, but the more a well-respected captain such as Pietrangelo questions each call, the more likely his team is to get the benefit of the doubt on a future call.
The Predators, of course, would go on to score on the ensuing power play, giving them a 1-0 lead. It didn't wind up being the game-winner in the 2-1 contest, but it was no doubt a series-altering goal.
Reaves himself, was not pleased with the call.
"I completely disagree with that call. I think it's garbage in a playoff game like that," Reaves said in a postgame interview with Fox Sports Midwest. "You got a 10-man scrum and all of a sudden you're just picking one guy. You can't do that in a playoff game."
The difference between regular-season officiating and playoff officiating has been well documented. The refs are far more lenient in the postseason, not wanting a single penalty call to decide the game.
Unfortunately for the Blues, Reaves' penalty was a deciding factor in Game 4. They will begin their quest to win three straight games on Friday in St. Louis.
