Tag Archives: Hockey

Report: Cammi Granato joining Canucks front office

The Vancouver Canucks are adding American hockey icon Cammi Granato to their hockey operations department, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

The role is unconfirmed, but Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports Granato will serve as assistant general manager.

Granato was previously working with the Seattle Kraken as a pro scout. She became the first woman in NHL history to hold the title when Seattle hired her in 2019.

The Canucks hired Emilie Castonguay as an assistant general manager last month.

Granato is one of the most decorated women's hockey players ever. She captained the United States to gold at the 1998 Olympics and retired as the all-time leading scorer in women's international hockey. She was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010 and is one of two women on the institution's selection committee.

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Marchand suspended 6 games for roughing, high-sticking Jarry

Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand has been suspended six games for roughing and high-sticking Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry during Tuesday night's contest, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.

Marchand got heated late in Tuesday's contest. After being denied on a scoring chance in the final seconds of the third period, Marchand punched Jarry in the head, then soon afterward slammed his stick into the goalie's mask as a scrum broke out.

This marks the second time this season Marchand has been suspended. He received a three-game ban for slew-footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson in November. This is the eighth suspension of his career.

Marchand leads the Bruins with 49 points in 39 games this season.

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Rask retires after 15 seasons

Veteran Boston Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask announced his retirement from the NHL after 15 seasons on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old returned from hip surgery this season, but he only appeared in four games before opting to hang up his pads for good.

"Today is a day that I hoped would never come. But now that it's here, I feel I owe it to everyone to hear it from me," Rask said in a statement.

He continued: "Over these last few weeks, I've realized that my body is not responding the way it needs to for me to play at the level I expect of myself and that my teammates and Bruins fans deserve. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from the game of hockey."

Rask was a first-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2005. He was dealt to the Bruins the following year, where he authored a Hall of Fame worthy career.

The Finland native made 564 appearances for the Bruins, finishing his career with the fourth-best save percentage in league history among qualified goaltenders.

Rank Player Years SV%
1 Dominik Hasek* 1990-2008 .922
2 Johnny Bower* 1953-70 .921
3 Ken Dryden* 1970-79 .921
4 Tuukka Rask 2007-22 .921
5 Ben Bishop 2008-20 .920

*Denotes Hall of Famer

Rask also posted a career 2.28 goals against average, won a Stanley Cup in 2011, and captured the Vezina Trophy in 2014. He's Boston's all-time leader in games played, wins, and goals saved above average.

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Blues sign Berube to 3-year extension

The St. Louis Blues signed head coach Craig Berube to a three-year extension through the 2024-25 season, the team announced Wednesday.

"I've enjoyed working with (general manager) Doug Armstrong and (chairman) Tom Stillman, working with the coaching staff and training staff and all the players we have here," Berube said. "Why would I want to go anywhere else? I love it here."

Berube took over the Blues' bench in 2018 and brought the club from last place to a Stanley Cup championship the following spring. It was the first title in franchise history.

The Blues own a 133-72-30 regular-season record and have made the playoffs in each of the past three campaigns with Berube at the helm.

St. Louis is in the thick of the postseason race again this season, currently holding the fourth-best points percentage (.648) in the Western Conference through 44 games.

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Canadiens fire head coach Ducharme

Less than a year after Dominique Ducharme led the Montreal Canadiens on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final, the team has dismissed their head coach.

The Canadiens will name Ducharme's replacement later Wednesday and are retaining all of their assistant coaches for the time being.

Montreal sits last in the NHL standings with an 8-30-7 record in 2021-22. The Habs went 23-46-14 in 83 regular-season games under Ducharme and 13-6 in the playoffs.

The club has also overhauled its front office since its Cup Final appearance. Montreal fired former general manager Marc Bergevin and tabbed ex-New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton as executive vice president of hockey operations in November. The Canadiens then hired former player agent Kent Hughes as GM in January.

Montreal has played without goaltender Carey Price and captain Shea Weber for the duration of the campaign, while numerous others have also missed time.

The Canadiens brought Ducharme on as an assistant coach in 2018 and promoted him to the lead job upon firing Claude Julien last February. Ducharme served as interim head coach until the squad formally removed that tag on July 13.

The 48-year-old signed a three-year extension with Montreal on the same day.

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NHL Wednesday player props: 2 shooters to back

Shot props were good to us Tuesday night as we hit on both picks. Jesper Bratt registered three shots in Montreal, while Connor McDavid failed to reach four against the stingy Vegas Golden Knights.

We'll look to keep the ball rolling with another pair of winners Wednesday night.

Matt Duchene over 2.5 shots (-125)

On a team with volume shooters such as Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg, it's Matt Duchene leading the way in shots over the last 10 games. He's picked up 37 shots on target (3.7 per game) in that span while attempting 61. Very potent numbers.

The Dallas Stars are a good defensive team, but their play has dipped a little of late. They've allowed 31.73 shots on goal per 60 minutes of five-on-five play over the last 10, which slots them 23rd in the NHL. They're not a team you have to avoid right now, especially when backing a player shooting as much as Duchene.

I don't think these odds are low enough for someone with a 60% hit rate on the season and a 70% hit rate over the last 10 games.

Jordan Eberle over 2.5 shots (+100)

Backing anyone on the Seattle Kraken to contribute anything offensively, including shots, is a scary proposition. But this is the spot to do it.

The Arizona Coyotes are a complete disaster. They bring out the best in their opponent seemingly every night. They're among the worst shot-suppression teams at five-on-five and, over the last 10, no team has allowed shots at a higher rate while killing penalties.

Jordan Eberle should be the primary beneficiary of that Wednesday. He leads the Kraken in shots on goal (25), scoring chances (31), and shot attempts (48) over the last 10 home dates. He's also among the leaders in power-play attempts.

These odds seem very fruitful for a fairly consistent shooter in a smash spot against a bad defensive team in a back-to-back situation.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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NHL Wednesday best bets: Golden Knights to extinguish Flames

Tuesday was a rough one on the ice. An empty-netter spoiled our under in the Boston game, while the Minnesota Wild saw their 10-game point streak come to an end against the struggling Winnipeg Jets. Go figure!

The great thing about sports is you can get right back on the horse the very next day. We'll look to do just that with our best bets for Wednesday's slate.

Predators (+100) @ Stars (-120)

The Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars both possess firepower at the top half of their rosters. However, they're still defense-first teams. That's been evident in their meetings over the last couple of seasons.

The Predators and Stars have gone head-to-head eight times since the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign. Five of those games featured fewer than 20 high-danger chances, while 23 was the high. Unsurprisingly, a lack of Grade A chances led to low expected goal outputs. They combined to go over five expected goals just once.

I don't see either team forcing the other out of its comfort zone and turning this into a track meet. This game should go under the number, barring poor goaltending. Luckily, that's not a big cause for concern.

Juuse Saros has been amazing this season. He owns a .927 save percentage and has saved 19.8 goals above expectation, which is the third-highest output in the NHL.

Jake Oettinger's play hasn't been as consistent, but, in the aggregate, he's performed fairly well. He's sporting a respectable .912 save percentage and is above ground in terms of goals saved above expectation.

Dallas is fighting for a playoff spot, while Nashville is within striking distance for the top spot in the Central. This game is big for both sides. We should see a close, tight-checking affair.

Bet: Under 5.5 (+100)

Golden Knights (+115) @ Flames (-140)

The Calgary Flames have won three in a row, and their underlying numbers are as good as anyone's over the last 10 games. At home, against a Vegas Golden Knights team playing in a back-to-back situation, we have to go back to the Flames, right? Not so fast.

As much as I like the Flames, I think the odds are a little out of line here. Vegas is playing very good defensive hockey right now. At five-on-five, the Golden Knights sit inside the top five in attempts against per 60 over their last 10 games.

They also have a higher offensive ceiling than the Flames. Chances are great, of course, but they're not as important if you don't have dangerous weapons taking them. The top of Calgary's roster is very gifted, but the team is shallow in the way of natural finishing.

Even without Jack Eichel, scoring is not a problem for the Golden Knights. They've dealt with an overwhelming amount of injuries and COVID-19 cases this season, and yet they still sit second in the NHL in five-on-five goals. Calgary's top dogs can match Vegas', but the Golden Knights have more scoring punch from their second line down.

I think that'll be a factor in this game. While playing in a back-to-back isn't ideal for Vegas, the whole league is coming off an extended break. So, I'm not sure it's as big of a deal as it normally would be. The Golden Knights should be ready to roll.

Bet: Golden Knights (+115)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Wild’s Foligno appears to knee Jets’ Lowry in head at end of fight

Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno appeared to knee Winnipeg Jets enforcer Adam Lowry in the head at the end of a fight during Tuesday's spirited affair between the Central Division rivals.

The incident occurred in the third period of Winnipeg's 2-0 win. It was the second fight of the game between the two players.

Here's an alternate angle showing where Foligno made contact.

Foligno was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on top of a fighting major. He said the knee wasn't intentional.

"I saw them complaining about maybe I got a leg in there or something, but that was me just kinda ticked off and trying to get at him," Foligno said, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. "There was no intent to not throw with your fist or use another body part. ... For me, it was just a heat of the battle."

Foligno is in the midst of a career year with 27 points in 40 games.

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