Tag Archives: Hockey

Coyotes lose 11th straight, tie NHL record for worst start to season

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Jesper Bratt's tiebreaking goal on a power play with 4:13 left sent the New Jersey Devils to a 4-3 victory Saturday night over the winless Arizona Coyotes, who became the second NHL team to start a season with 11 consecutive losses.

Taylor Hall scored twice and Bratt also had an assist as New Jersey improved to 8-2-0 with its fifth win in six games. Brian Gibbons added a goal on a short-handed penalty shot for the Devils.

Cory Schneider made 33 saves after missing two games due to a lower-body injury and the birth of his daughter.

Arizona fell to 0-10-1 and joined the 1943-44 New York Rangers (0-11) as the only clubs in NHL history to open a season with 11 straight defeats.

Christian Fischer, Brendan Perlini and Clayton Keller scored for Arizona. Louis Domingue finished with 21 saves.

The Coyotes scored the first goal for the eighth time this season when Fischer connected on the power play 10:37 into the game. Fischer drove down the left wing and whipped Christian Dvorak's rebound past Schneider before colliding with the New Jersey goalie in the crease, which sparked a mini wrestling match between Coyotes and Devils players.

The Coyotes had a lead. And it lasted a full 1:18 before Gibbons tied it with the Devils down a man at 11:55. Gibbons drew a hooking call on Oliver Ekman-Larsson on a breakaway, leading to the penalty shot. New Jersey's leading goal scorer broke in on Domingue and faked a shot before using a forehand-backhand move to slide the puck under Domingue.

As they did in the first period, the teams traded goals in the second.

Hall broke the deadlock with his second of the season at 11:09 with a wrist shot from the slot set up by Bratt's forecheck, but Perlini pulled Arizona even 48 seconds after Hall's goal.

New Jersey nearly went ahead with 5:37 left in the period, but Domingue stopped Drew Stafford's stuff-in attempt. Keller stripped top draft pick Nick Hischier in the offensive zone before snapping in his team-leading eighth goal of the season 50 seconds later to give the Coyotes a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

New Jersey tied it 3-all on Hall's second power-play goal from the left faceoff circle 4:30 into the third to set the stage for Bratt. With the Devils on a power play following Fischer's roughing penalty, Bratt slammed in Hall's feed from the right circle.

New Jersey was 2 for 2 on the power play, while Arizona went 1 for 5.

NOTES: Before the game, Arizona and New Jersey announced a trade in which the Devils received a 2018 fifth-round draft pick from the Coyotes for goalie Scott Wedgewood, who dressed for Arizona and wore No. 40 as he served as the backup to Domingue. After acquiring the pick, New Jersey has eight selections in next June's draft. . During his pregame media availability, New Jersey coach John Hynes announced defenseman Andy Greene would miss the game after his wife, Rachel, gave birth to the couple's second child, Maddox David. . Devils right wing Kyle Palmieri missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. According to Hynes, Palmieri's status is day to day. ... New Jersey dressed right wing Stefan Noesen in place of left wing Marcus Johansson. On its Twitter feed, the team announced Johansson sustained a lower-body injury during warmups. . Arizona scratched defenseman Adam Clendening and center Nick Cousins. Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta missed his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury, and goalie Adin Hill was sent down to Tucson of the AHL. . The first of two regular-season meetings between the Coyotes and Devils also was the second of two professional hockey games Saturday at Prudential Center. Earlier in the day, the Metropolitan Riveters beat the Boston Pride 4-1 in a National Women's Hockey League matchup. The Devils have a partnership with the Riveters.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Continue their five-game road trip Monday at Philadelphia.

Devils: Begin a three-game road trip to Western Canada on Wednesday in Vancouver.

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Stamkos, Kucherov held off score sheet as Ducks pound Lightning

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Rickard Rakell and Brandon Montour had rare power-play goals, John Gibson made 31 saves and the Anaheim Ducks rebounded from a one-sided loss by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 Saturday night.

Anaheim entered with the NHL's second-worst power play, going 2 for 31 over their first nine games. The Ducks went 2 for 2 with the man advantage, while Tampa Bay's second-best unit in the NHL failed to score on four chances.

Rakell got his second goal midway through the third and Hampus Lindholm also scored for the Ducks, who were beat 8-3 Thursday night at Florida. Ryan Getzlaf had three assists

Tampa Bay, which lost for just the second time in regulation (9-2-1), got a goal from Chris Kunitz. Backup goalie Peter Budaj stopped 17 shots in his second game of the season.

Lightning stars Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov both snapped franchise record-tying 11-game point streaks to start the season. Martin St. Louis also accomplished the feat in 2009-10.

Rakell opened the scoring at 10:13 of the second on the Ducks' first power play.

After Montour, on the power play, and Kunitz traded goals 57 seconds apart late in the second, Lindholm made it 3-1 from the high slot with 0.1 second left in the period.

Gibson made a lunging stop on Yanni Gourde's wraparound and Stamkos' left circle power-play shot in the second.

NOTES: Both Anaheim D Sami Vatanen (shoulder surgery) and backup G Ryan Miller (upper body) were in the lineup for the first time this season. ... Anaheim RW Patrick Eaves (Guillain-Barre syndrome) has been released from the hospital. ... Ducks D Cam Fowler, who hurt his knee Oct. 20, will be out another three to seven weeks. ... Anaheim D Kevin Bieksa (left hand) should get timetable for his return after being re-evaluated Monday. ... Lightning D Dan Girardi played in his 800th NHL game. ... The Ducks reassigned D Steve Oleksy and LW Kalie Kossila to San Diego of the AHL.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Complete a four-game trip Sunday at Carolina.

Lightning: Play Monday night at Florida.

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Ottawa unveils Stanley Cup monument

The Stanley Cup hasn't been north of the border since 1993, but a monument resembling the iconic trophy was unveiled in Ottawa on Saturday.

The Lord Stanley Gift Monument, situated next to a series of posters detailing how the trophy was gifted to the NHL, was revealed before a series of dignitaries, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"(The Stanley Cup) has a weight of symbolism and strength of binding our country together that very few material symbols do," Trudeau said at the unveiling, according to The Canadian Press.

In 1892, Canadian governor general Frederick Arthur Stanley, also known as the Lord Stanley of Preston, donated the Cup with the intention that it be rewarded to Canada's top amateur hockey team.

The Montreal Hockey Club of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada became the first team to win the Stanley Cup in 1893.

In 1947, the NHL was granted control of the Stanley Cup.

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Crosby doesn’t consider Golden Knights’ hot start a fluke

The reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner is a believer in the Vegas Golden Knights.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is apparently a bit of a stickler when it comes to analytics, and after breaking down their performances, believes the Golden Knights' 8-1-0 record is not a fluke, he told The Athletic's Josh Yohe.

The club is enjoying the best start ever for an expansion team and currently leads the league in point percentage (.889).

Related - Poll: Will the Golden Knights make the playoffs?

Vegas currently boasts a PDO (five-on-five save percentage plus shooting percentage) of 106.55, according to Corsica, the highest mark in the league, suggesting regression is likely to follow. The club has also played just two of its opening nine games on the road, but will now embark on a six-game road trip, which should provide a stern test of its mettle.

The outcome of the road trip could go a long way in assessing the accuracy of Crosby's hypothesis.

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Ovechkin bought clothes for homeless person in Edmonton

Alex Ovechkin: Great hockey player, better human being.

A report surfaced Friday that Ovechkin gave his winter jacket and hat to a homeless man he passed by outside an Edmonton cafe.

As it turns out, the Washington Capitals superstar saw the homeless man nearly half naked, then went to a store and bought him a sweater, coat, and hat.

Ovechkin downplayed his kind gesture when talking to reporters.

The world could certainly use more Alex Ovechkins.

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Devils announce partnership with women’s pro league team

The New Jersey Devils recently became the first NHL club to announce a formal partnership with a team from the National Women's Hockey League.

The Devils will support the Metropolitan Riveters by allowing them to play the majority of their home games at their practice facility in Newark, assist with marketing and promotion of the team, and host a Riveters/Devils doubleheader at the Prudential Center on Saturday, Oct. 28.

"They are marketing us like a real sister team - everything from the website, social media, to the broadcast and in arena," NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan told Melissa Murphy of The Associated Press. "You name it, they’re going to be helping us market the Riveters."

The NWHL played its inaugural season in 2015-16, and currently has three teams in addition to the Riveters: the Boston Pride, the Buffalo Beauts, and the Connecticut Whale. Their 16-game season spans from October to March.

Their biggest competitor is the Canadian Women's Hockey League, which has been around since 2007, and has seven teams, including two based in China.

- With h/t to The Associated Press

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Devils announce partnership with women’s pro league team

The New Jersey Devils recently became the first NHL club to announce a formal partnership with a team from the National Women's Hockey League.

The Devils will support the Metropolitan Riveters by allowing them to play the majority of their home games at their practice facility in Newark, assist with marketing and promotion of the team, and host a Riveters/Devils doubleheader at the Prudential Center on Saturday, Oct. 28.

"They are marketing us like a real sister team - everything from the website, social media, to the broadcast and in arena," NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan told Melissa Murphy of The Associated Press. "You name it, they’re going to be helping us market the Riveters."

The NWHL played its inaugural season in 2015-16, and currently has three teams in addition to the Riveters: the Boston Pride, the Buffalo Beauts, and the Connecticut Whale. Their 16-game season spans from October to March.

Their biggest competitor is the Canadian Women's Hockey League, which has been around since 2007, and has seven teams, including two based in China.

- With h/t to The Associated Press

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Poll: Will the Golden Knights make the playoffs?

The Vegas Golden Knights are 8-1-0 after defeating the Colorado Avalanche 7-0 on Friday. They sit fourth in the NHL with 16 points, and first in the league with an .889 points percentage.

Though there's still plenty of hockey left to be played, do you think the Golden Knights will make the playoffs in their inaugural season?

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