The Boston Bruins should not expect the Ottawa Senators to lie down and let them walk into the playoffs.
So says forward Zack Smith, who's intent on playing the role of spoiler on the final Saturday of the NHL's regular season.
"We're not handing anything to them," Smith said Friday, according to Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun. "We've had enough battles with them. There is a little bit of a rivalry there, too. We don't owe anything to them, we have to go in there and win the game.
"Everyone has to find motivation from somewhere, whether it’s personal goals or just wanting to prove some things to different people that we're not giving up, that we do have something to play for."
Winger Mike Hoffman, sitting on 29 goals for the season, sees it as an opportunity for a positive end to a disappointing year for the team.
"It's great, it's the last game of the year and there's going to be a great atmosphere in the building," Hoffman said. "Why not finish the season on a high and go in there and kind of spoil the party there?
"We're professionals, we're trying to prove a point and play right to the last game. It's going to be a tough game. They're fighting for their lives. It's a good challenge for a lot of guys in here."
The Senators finished three points ahead of the Bruins last season, snagging a wild-card spot on the strength of an incredible run to end the season. This season, Ottawa has posted a record of 2-1-0 against Boston, but with the Bruins holding a 9-8 scoring advantage.
The puck drops at 12:30 pm EST.
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Well, this is awkward.
The Nashville Predators offered congratulations to Harvard forward Jimmy Vesey after he was named the winner of the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA's top men's hockey player Friday.
Last month, Vesey informed the Predators he wouldn't sign with them, and would instead explore free agency when eligible on Aug. 15.
Nashville made the 22-year-old winger a third-round pick in 2012, but he spurned them last April to return to Harvard for his senior season before rejecting them again last week.
After accepting the award Friday, Vesey said there's no favorite to sign him yet, and his father added that his role with the Toronto Maple Leafs won't determine his son's future.
Whether this was a last-ditch effort to get back in his good graces, or simply a sincere and heartfelt sentiment, it's a bad look.
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A Columbus Blue Jackets minor leaguer was taken to hospital after reportedly collapsing on the bench Friday night.
Brett Gallant of the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters was "alert and conscious," the team announced Friday night.
He was taken off the bench on a stretcher during the Monsters' game against the Toronto Marlies at Ricoh Coliseum, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
Monsters play-by-play broadcaster Tony Brown described the scene:
Efforting details on the condition of Brett Gallant. Horrible scene, thoughts of @monstershockey players, staff & fans with him now.
— Tony Brown (@TonyBrownPxP) April 9, 2016
Gallant appeared in 47 games for the Blue Jackets' affiliate this season, after five campaigns with the New York Islanders' farm club, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
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