San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner wasn't happy after Anaheim Ducks forward Rickard Rakell scored in what the bench boss deemed questionable fashion to win Sunday's game in overtime.
Early in the extra frame, Rakell came off the bench while teammate Adam Henrique was still leaving the ice. The Swede received a pass and buried the decisive marker moments later, only 14 seconds into the extra frame.
"It's a complete, disastrous blown call," Boughner said postgame, according to The Athletic's Corey Masisak, before adding he believed it was "too many men all day long."
Boughner was particularly upset with how the officiating crew handled the aftermath.
"The thing that pisses me off the most is they don't even come over to the bench. They race off the ice, (don't even have)the respect to come and explain it," the head coach said, according to the Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka.
Players may be changed at any time during the play from the players' bench provided that the player or players leaving the ice shall be within five feet (5') of his players' bench and out of the play before the change is made. Refer also to Rule 71 – Premature Substitution. At the discretion of the on-ice officials, should a substituting player come onto the ice before his teammate is within the five foot (5') limit of the players' bench (and therefore clearly causing his team to have too many players on the ... ice), then a bench minor penalty may be assessed.
When a player is retiring from the ice surface and is within the five foot (5') limit of his players' bench, and his substitute is on the ice, then the retiring player shall be considered off the ice for the purpose of Rule 70 – Leaving Bench. If in the course of making a substitution, either the player entering the game or the player retiring plays the puck or who checks or makes any physical contact with an opposing player while both players involved in the substitution are on the ice, then the infraction of "too many men on the ice" will be called.
If in the course of a substitution either the player(s) entering the play or the player(s) retiring is struck by the puck accidentally, the play will not be stopped and no penalty will be called. During the play, the player retiring from the ice must do so at the players' bench and not through any other exit leading from the rink. This is not a legal player change and therefore when a violation occurs, a bench minor penalty shall be imposed. A player coming onto the ice as a substitute player is considered on the ice once both of his skates are on the ice. If he plays the puck or interferes with an opponent while still on the players’ bench, he shall be penalized under Rule 56 – Interference.
Sunday's result gave Anaheim victories over the Sharks in the first and last contests of its six-game homestand. The Ducks prevailed 4-3 in a shootout Feb. 22.
The Kraken originally claimed Czarnik off waivers from the Islanders in February. He skated in six games with the team, registering two assists. Czarnik put up five points in 11 games with New York before joining Seattle.
The Panthers acquired Juolevi in October in a trade that sent defenseman Noah Juulsen and forward Juho Lammikko to the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver drafted the 23-year-old fifth overall in the 2016 draft. Juolevi went pointless in 10 contests with Florida this season.
Schmaltz set a franchise record with seven points (two goals, five assists) in a thrilling 8-5 victory. That feat includes the club's era as the Winnipeg Jets,
The effort was the most prolific across the NHL this season, and the most the league has seen in a single game since Sam Gagner recorded eight points for the Edmonton Oilers in 2012.
Ehlers sprained his MCL when Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov caught him with a knee-on-knee hit on Jan. 18. The Jets placed Ehlers on LTIR four days later. He was required to miss at least 10 games and 24 days as a result. The Danish winger ultimately sat out 19 contests.
The 26-year-old produced 13 goals and 12 assists over 34 games before the injury.
Ehlers is a key offensive contributor for the Jets. He posted nearly a point per game last season (46 in 47) and scored at least 20 goals in five of his six previous campaigns. Winnipeg drafted him ninth overall in 2014.
Nikita Kucherov is once again doing Kucherovian things - a development that should petrify opponents of the healthy and engaged Tampa Bay Lightning.
While the Lightning were embarrassed Thursday night in a 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kucherov put on an absolute clinic two days earlier during a 5-2 comeback win over the Ottawa Senators. Both scoring plays he initiated - the Lightning's opening goal and the eventual game-winner - were highlight-reel worthy and a reminder of how extraordinarily dangerous Kucherov can be with the puck.
On the first, the highly entertaining two-time Stanley Cup champion forced a turnover on the half-wall, corralled a pass, and then, identifying free ice, made a beeline to the crease area where he backhanded the puck top corner.
A period later, the right-winger flashed his signature sly playmaking ability by executing a no-look pass to Steven Stamkos. Again using his backhand, Kucherov shoveled the puck from the right corner to the heart of the left circle where Stamkos was waiting to hammer in a one-timer and break a 2-2 tie.
Sports fans who don't know much about Kucherov might opine that the 2019-20 Hart Trophy winner guessed and got lucky on the pass to Stamkos. But he didn't. Part of what makes Kucherov special is his quickness of mind. He makes hard things look easy - to the point of looking fluky.
"We've seen him do it a few times in practice lately," Brayden Point, Kucherov's center, told reporters when asked about the pass to Stamkos. "That's just unreal skill (to) pick up the puck off the boards like that and find a guy right away. He's just so talented, one of the most talented guys in the league. His skill is off the charts, and his vision is off the charts."
The 28-year-old has only appeared in 18 games this season, recording 10 goals and 16 assists to average 1.44 points per contest. In the third game of the season, he sustained an unspecified lower-body injury, which required surgery and kept him out of the lineup for three months. Then, in late January, COVID-19 protocol sidelined Kucherov for an additional three games.
Similar to when he burst onto the scene in the first round of last year's playoffs after missing the entire regular season, Kucherov has hit the ground running. Only Mitch Marner, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Auston Matthews have been more productive on a per-game basis since Jan. 6, and Tampa has been just as effective as its top winger, owning a 13-4-1 record in that span.
If Kucherov remains healthy, he can play a maximum of 47 games. He won't take home an individual award. A third Cup ring, though? Maybe.
Revisiting young Crosby
Kevin Sousa / Getty Images
Sidney Crosby is about as private as an all-time pro athlete can be. Relative to his talent and impact on the sport, we don't really know a ton about the guy personally.
The vault opened up ever so slightly this week with Audible's release of an eight-part audio documentary called "Sidney Crosby: The Rookie Year." As actor and narrator Joe Manganiello put it in an interview with theScore, the documentary is an "insider's view and an insider's experience of one of the great athletes of our time."
Manganiello, a Pittsburgh native and huge Penguins fan, said he gained a greater appreciation for Crosby's mental makeup and his journey from Nova Scotian prodigy to 102-point NHL rookie through the narration process.
"He was a child star, and most child stars don't handle that pressure well in my industry, in the entertainment industry," Manganiello said. "It's a little different with athletes, but still, there are no guarantees in life, and especially in sports. So, to watch him have the kind of success he's had but also be the person that he is, and kind of weather the storm (is impressive)."
Rich Fury / Getty Images
I've listened to the entire show. It's quite good, although not deeply enlightening.
Here are two anecdotes I found particularly amusing:
Grandma pays up: You probably know about the Crosby family's famous beat-up dryer. You probably know about the Montreal Canadiens drafting his dad Troy. You might even know his cousin Forbes MacPherson played in the AHL.
But it's unlikely you know Crosby's grandma once promised him $1 for every goal he could score in the upcoming minor-hockey season. And, when Crosby racked up 159 goals, grandma yelped with pride.
"I felt so bad for her," Crosby says with a slight laugh in the documentary.
"She had no idea," he adds. "She thought, 'I don't know, he's maybe going to get 20 goals this year. It'll be a nice little gift for him at the end of the year.'"
Dave Sandford / Getty Images
Mario's dog duty: For a brief period during his rookie year, Crosby played on a line alongside Mario Lemieux, who also doubled as co-owner of the Penguins franchise.
The generational stars were housemates, too, after Lemieux invited then 18-year-old Crosby to move into the family home. Naturally, Crosby's teammates poked fun at the odd arrangement. "They're going to give it to you," Crosby says. "But the next question is going to be, 'How is it? What's it like? Can I come over?'"
At some point, Crosby adopted a puppy, and one night after a game - with Lemieux's wife and kids already sleeping - he walked into the house and immediately smelled feces. Uh oh.
"I came around the corner, and there's Mario," Crosby says of the stoic legend, with the sleeves of his white dress shirt rolled up and necktie undone.
"He's there cleaning up this mess," Crosby adds, "and I'm thinking to myself, 'This cannot be happening …'"
West Conference race
Heading into Friday's slate of matchups, there are four Western Conference teams comfortably in a postseason spot based on points percentage.
The Colorado Avalanche (.764), St. Louis Blues (.660), and Minnesota Wild (.644) are all well on their way to securing playoff berths in the Central Division. Meanwhile, it'll take a wild turn of events over the final third of the regular season for the Calgary Flames (.670) to lose their comfy spot in the Pacific.
That leaves the Los Angeles Kings (.591), Edmonton Oilers (.582), and Vegas Golden Knights (.582) to jockey for the other guaranteed division spots. The Pacific team that falls off the pace will then vie with the Dallas Stars (.594), Nashville Predators (.593), and Anaheim Ducks (.545) for the two wild cards.
John Russell / Getty Images
So which of these six teams chasing a playoff spot is facing the stiffest test? It's the 30-20-4 Predators, current occupants of the first wild card.
Nashville's not only in the middle of a rough patch, having gone 3-6-1 in its last 10 games, but the club also ties the Kings and Stars for most back-to-back sets down the stretch with five. (The Golden Knights, Ducks, and Oilers have four, three, and two, respectively.) Two of the Preds' back-to-backs are in late April, giving them five games in their campaign's final seven days.
Nashville is also facing the highest quality of competition. The team's scheduled to meet a top-10 side in the NHL (based on current points percentage) in a whopping 13 of its final 28 games. At the other end of the spectrum, Vegas will meet just five top-10 teams in their final 28 games while L.A. has only six in 27.
The Predators play 16 of their final 28 contests on home ice. Perhaps that can be their saving grace - though they're a pedestrian 15-10-0 at Bridgestone Arena.
The kicker: Nashville has an exceedingly difficult stretch to close out the season. Six of the squad's final seven games are against the Flames (twice), Blues, Wild, Avalanche, and Lightning - all top-10 clubs.
Even though HockeyViz shows they have a 78.4% probability of making the playoffs, it's still going to be an uphill battle for the Preds.
Parting thoughts
Jack Johnson: On Tuesday, the 35-year-old defenseman became the 363rd player to appear in 1,000 NHL games. Johnson, a plodding, mistake-prone blue-liner with iffy underlying numbers, has been a punching bag for multiple fan bases over his career. Yet it's not hard to root for a guy who's lasted this long, who is by all accounts loved by his teammates, and who has endured economic hardships thanks to his own greedy parents. Johnson, now with the juggernaut Avalanche, deserves that commemorative silver stick just as much as the 362 others who have reached 1,000. Enjoy the spotlight, Jack.
Kyle Davidson: The Chicago Blackhawks officially named Davidson general manager earlier this week. The young executive immediately used the word "rebuild," which smartly removed any guesswork from the public discourse. Overall, his top priority is figuring out if Patrick Kane and/or Jonathan Toews should be part of the team's long-term future. However, those conversations can wait until the offseason. The more pressing situation is Marc-Andre Fleury. The goalie will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and was promised by the previous regime that he would be involved in any trade-related discussions. So Davidson must slide on his salesman hat. Chicago's in desperate need of draft picks and prospects, and a few playoff-bound teams could use an upgrade in goal. Convincing Fleury to move on would be a huge first win for Davidson.
Kyle Davidson said his wife, Angelica, recently told him (after he was a little short with her), "You might be the GM of the Chicago Blackhawks but I'm the GM of this house."
Isabelle Khurshudyan: I wanted to echo some of my colleagues by praising Khurshudyan, the terrific Washington Post foreign correspondent who previously covered the Washington Capitals. She's in Ukraine reporting on something far more important than sports. Here's to Khurshudyan, fellow journalists, aid workers, and, of course, innocent Ukrainians staying safe.
Greetings from Odesa, the city where both of my parents and their parents were born. I’ve been wanting to visit here for years. I wish my first time in this beautiful place wasn’t under these circumstances. pic.twitter.com/TNxwsaB1Fs
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) March 4, 2022
Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
If you like sitting around and watching hockey all day, this weekend is what dreams are made of. We have a whopping 25 games to look forward to, with tonight's seven-game slate being the smallest.
There is plenty of value on the board, which we're going to zero in on with our weekend best bets. Let's dive right in.
The Wild won for us inside 60 minutes Thursday night in Philadelphia. We're going right back to the well and banking on them doing the same Friday in Buffalo.
While the Sabres are coming off an impressive dismantling of the Maple Leafs, they still aren't playing great hockey right now. They have won just three of their last 10 games and controlled only 46% of the expected goals at five-on-five in that time. They rank 26th in said category, just below the Blue Jackets.
For perspective, the Wild have controlled better than 52% of the expected goals over the same period. That's good for 13th, just ahead of the Golden Knights.
With Cam Talbot getting the surprise start on Thursday night, that means Kaapo Kahkonen will get the nod in Buffalo. He has saved 3.6 goals more than expected this season, while Talbot has conceded 3.8 more than expected. That's more than a seven-goal swing.
I think Kahkonen will be able to limit the damage Buffalo's offense can do. On the flip side, the Wild offense should have a strong night against a Sabres team that ranks 29th in expected goals against per 60 over the last 10.
The Red Wings aren't a great hockey team. They're quite top-heavy, they're routinely out-chanced at five-on-five, and their special teams are anything but special.
Even so, I see value in Detroit in this game. They're going up against a Lightning team in the latter half of a back-to-back. That's significant and not because of fatigue.
The Red Wings will have the luxury of facing Brian Elliott instead of Andrei Vasilevskiy, which is one of the biggest gaps you'll see in quality between a starter and backup.
The 36-year-old netminder owns a .902 save percentage. That's below league average, and yet, if it holds, it'd be his best since 2018-19. He's well past his prime and tends to concede a soft goal or two that allows opposing teams to hang around in games.
I don't have confidence in the Red Wings to win this contest. However, I do believe they can score enough on Elliott to hang around and keep things close.
The Coyotes almost shockingly picked up a win over the Avalanche on Thursday night, but I don't expect them to get back in the win column on Saturday.
I believe the Senators are the better team in every sense of the word. Their share of shots, goals, chances, high-danger chances, and expected goals are all several percentage points higher than the Coyotes.
They're starting to get healthier, too, as top-line center Josh Norris recently returned to the lineup.
Could Arizona have another goaltending performance that helps them steal two points? Sure. But even though Karel Vejmelka has shown the ability to win games by himself this season, he's been wildly inconsistent, and his overall body of work isn't all that impressive.
I don't expect lightning to strike twice and am comfortable backing the Senators as slight favorites.
Bet: Senators (-117)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
