Craig Anderson won't close out Game 4 for the Ottawa Senators, as the veteran netminder was pulled in favor of Mike Condon to begin the third period Thursday night.
Anderson had allowed three goals on 20 shots versus a New York Rangers club determined to even the series.
Through nine starts this postseason entering Thursday's game, he's crafted a 6-3 record, with a goals-against average of 2.28 and a .917 save percentage.
Jim Montgomery is reportedly getting another opportunity to impress the Florida Panthers.
The University of Denver head coach will have a second interview with the NHL club near the end of this month for its vacancy behind the bench, a source told Mike Chambers of The Denver Post.
Montgomery met with the Panthers about two weeks after leading the Pioneers to the national championship last month.
He declined to comment when reached by Chambers on Thursday, saying he'd only take an NHL job if it were "the perfect opportunity," and adding, "Denver's been great throughout this process. I feel valued. I feel loved, and loyalty means a lot to me."
Ron Grahame of the school's athletic department wouldn't get into specifics but said the Pioneers have taken significant steps financially to help Montgomery, his staff and the program itself, in an effort to keep the head coach.
Montgomery signed a contract extension with the university last summer and has four years remaining on the deal.
At season's end, the Panthers opted not to continue having general manager Tom Rowe serve as head coach. He took over for Gerard Gallant, who was fired 22 games into the season.
Jim Montgomery is reportedly getting another opportunity to impress the Florida Panthers.
The University of Denver head coach will have a second interview with the NHL club near the end of this month for its vacancy behind the bench, a source told Mike Chambers of The Denver Post.
Montgomery met with the Panthers about two weeks after leading the Pioneers to the national championship last month.
He declined to comment when reached by Chambers on Thursday, saying he'd only take an NHL job if it were "the perfect opportunity," and adding, "Denver's been great throughout this process. I feel valued. I feel loved, and loyalty means a lot to me."
Ron Grahame of the school's athletic department wouldn't get into specifics but said the Pioneers have taken significant steps financially to help Montgomery, his staff and the program itself, in an effort to keep the head coach.
Montgomery signed a contract extension with the university last summer and has four years remaining on the deal.
At season's end, the Panthers opted not to continue having general manager Tom Rowe serve as head coach. He took over for Gerard Gallant, who was fired 22 games into the season.
As luck would have it, Jakob Silfverberg was mic'd up for perhaps the biggest moment of his career.
The Anaheim Ducks forward scored the overtime winner in Game 4 against the Edmonton Oilers, with the ensuing on-ice and locker room celebrations captured from his point of view.
The best way to build your fan base is by attracting youth, and the Vegas Golden Knights are doing just that.
The Golden Knights will offer free street hockey clinics for kids in Las Vegas from ages 5-to-15 on May 20, 21, and June 3, according to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Each child who participates will receive a free hockey stick. Not a bad deal.
What once was an untapped market, the Golden Knights will have to compete for fandom with the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders upon their arrival in 2019 or 2020.
The Golden Knights will certainly do whatever they can in their brief time as the city's only major professional sports franchise to build a foundation of die-hard fans. What better way to begin this than providing children the chance to take up road hockey?
The best way to build your fan base is by attracting youth, and the Vegas Golden Knights are doing just that.
The Golden Knights will offer free street hockey clinics for kids in Las Vegas from ages 5-to-15 on May 20, 21, and June 3, according to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Each child who participates will receive a free hockey stick. Not a bad deal.
What once was an untapped market, the Golden Knights will have to compete for fandom with the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders upon their arrival in 2019 or 2020.
The Golden Knights will certainly do whatever they can in their brief time as the city's only major professional sports franchise to build a foundation of die-hard fans. What better way to begin this than providing children the chance to take up road hockey?
The Colorado Avalanche put together the worst season of the salary-cap era in 2016-17, but team president Josh Kroenke says general manager Joe Sakic isn't going anywhere.
"Joe's leash hasn't changed at all," Kroenke said Wednesday when asked if Sakic's leash has been shortened, according to Terry Frei of the Denver Post. "Nobody wants to get the Avalanche back to where they were, where we all expect them to be, more than Joe Sakic.
"We're going to continue to give him every resource at his disposal. ... At the end of the day, Joe wants what's best for the Colorado Avalanche. Whether that's him in his current role or something else, it doesn't matter."
Sakic captained the Avalanche to two Stanley Cups during his playing days and is the most decorated player in the franchise's history.
He has been in charge of the team's personnel decisions since May 2013. Since then, the once-promising team has taken a nosedive, finally hitting rock bottom this season.
Year
Points
2013-14
112
2014-15
90
2015-16
82
2016-17
48
Though this year's Avs were right up against the salary cap, they managed just 48 points. The 2013-14 and the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres, who were in clear "tank mode," managed to earn 52 and 54 points, respectively.
Kroenke called Colorado's 2016-17 campaign "unacceptable." However, taking into account factors including head coach Patrick Roy's abrupt August resignation and injury-riddled seasons from defenseman Erik Johnson and goaltender Semyon Varlamov, he said Sakic "deserves the benefit of the doubt" based on what he's done for the organization as both a player and an executive.
"I want to be sure that this staff, based on being in the tough position that they were, has a chance to get it right," said Kroenke.
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain, who missed Wednesday's Game 4 against the Washington Capitals due to a concussion, took part in an optional, no-contact practice Thursday.
It is an off day for the Penguins but Crosby was on the ice with a few other players in full gear.
"Sid skated this morning (and) is in the process of rehabbing," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said later. "We'll leave it at that. It's a day-to-day process."
Crosby suffered the concussion after a cross-check to the head delivered by Matt Niskanen early in Game 3. He missed six games at the beginning of the regular season due to the same injury.
Last time Crosby got concussion diagnosis, skated on his own next day. He kept skating and undergoing testing. Came back two weeks later.
Bridgestone Arena has also been bumping on game nights, with an atmosphere that undeniably stacks up against any market around the NHL.
One win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, the rise of the Predators might only just be starting.
▼ Mike Milbury
Speaking of the Predators, NBC analyst Mike Milbury recently came under fire for comments made about defensemsan P.K. Subban prior to Game 2 against the St. Louis Blues.
As a refresher, here's what Milbury had to say after Subban was seen dancing on the ice during warmups, per Joe Rexrode of The Tennessean:
When I see this I start to think maybe (Predators coach) Peter Laviolette ought to give him a rap on the head and say, 'Hey, P.K., we've got a game tonight, focus in. You don't need to be a clown out there. And he will. He's been a clown in the past, and we've seen him act like a clown. When he's serious and focused, he's one hell of a player.
The Predators have posted a record of 7-1 so far this postseason, and Subban has contributed one goal, five assists, 17 shots, and (for old-school analysts who still care about the stat) a plus-7 rating.
As mentioned above, Nashville is one of the hottest hockey markets the NHL has going these days, and Subban represents all that is fun and good about the game in 2017.
His game and personality should be celebrated and embraced, not questioned and suppressed.
It's not that Ottawa wasn't receiving a good player in Brassard, but more the five-year age gap that exists between the two players, and the fact Zibanejad was much further away from reaching his ceiling.
As fate would have it, the two clubs are embroiled in a second-round playoff series less than a year later, with both Brassard (two goals, six assists) and Zibanejad (one goal, six assists) leading their new teams in playoff points.
It's Zibanejad, however, who's making a bigger mark on the current matchup, having registered three assists in three games against the Senators, while also averaging four shots a game on Senators goalie Craig Anderson. Brassard, meanwhile, has been kept off the scoresheet for Ottawa, with zero points on his old mates.
Whichever team comes out on top in this series, the Rangers have to be excited about what they're seeing from Zibanejad on the big stage.
▼ Washington Capitals
Here we go again.
Following a Game 4 loss on Wednesday, the Washington Capitals find themselves on the brink of being eliminated at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round for the second year in a row.
And this after finishing atop the NHL regular-season standings for the second straight season.
On top of that, defenseman Matt Niskanen is rightfully feeling the heat for a hit to the head that left Sidney Crosby sidelined with a concussion for the second time this season.
As a result, the Capitals' latest apparent shortcomings aren't drawing much sympathy around the hockey world.
