Tag Archives: Hockey

Rangers want coach ‘who can develop players,’ says Dolan

The New York Rangers made it clear prior to the 2018 trade deadline that they were entering a rebuild. In a statement released by the team, president Glen Sather and general manager Jeff Gorton expressed their intent to add "young, competitive players that combine speed, skill, and character."

After firing Alain Vigneault earlier in April, the Rangers are looking for a head coach who can help develop these young players.

"We're looking for someone who can develop players and develop a team," James Dolan, executive chairman of The Madison Square Garden Company, told the New York Post's Larry Brooks on Wednesday. "We want someone who is going to be able to work with young players - all of our players, really - so that they and we improve from one stage of the season to the next and we're better at the end of the year than at the beginning."

While Dolan appreciated Vigneault's work, he admitted he wasn't the right fit for the team.

"I think Alain was a great coach, but a great coach for a developed team," Dolan said. "Even though he probably didn't mean to, he sort of affirmed that himself when he talked after the last game about how he didn't have the players this year."

The Rangers, of course, were busy at the deadline, shipping out veterans Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash, and Michael Grabner, among others.

"(Vigneault) was probably correct, but the next coach is going to have to be able to take the players we have, the young guys we have, and get them to the next level. I liked what I saw in the young guys and so did the staff," Dolan said.

"The guy we hire has to be a developmental coach, I can't stress that enough."

The Rangers already have a list of candidates in mind, and while the owner thinks NHL experience is valuable, in the end, he just wants "the best guy."

Based on Dolan's criteria, Todd Nelson, who has NHL head coaching experience with the Oilers and plenty of AHL success, would seem to be a nice fit. So too would Sheldon Keefe, who has done an impressive job developing young talent with the Maple Leafs' AHL club.

Regardless of who takes over behind the bench, the Rangers are well-equipped to right the ship sooner rather than later. They have seven picks in the first three rounds of the draft, and nearly $25 million in projected cap space, per Cap Friendly.

With some young building blocks already in place, such as Mika Zibanejad, Dolan believes the Blueshirts could be in line for a quick turnaround.

"We're committed to winning the Stanley Cup. I can't give a timetable, but I also think we can compete for a playoff spot next year and sneak into seventh or eighth place," he said. "We're rebuilding but it doesn't have to take forever."

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Humboldt Broncos’ GoFundMe ends with more than $15M in donations

A GoFundMe page for the Humboldt Broncos ended Wednesday night, collecting a total of $15,185,700 - nearly quadrupling the original goal of $4 million.

The funds donated through GoFundMe will be transferred to a newly created non-profit corporation called "Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund Inc.," the page says, and will then be distributed for its intended purposes.

An advisory committee is being set up to decide how to allocate the funds.

Sixteen people were killed in the bus crash that occurred April 6.

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Sharks complete sweep of Ducks, will meet Golden Knights in Round 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Tomas Hertl scored the tiebreaking goal 9:09 into the third period, Martin Jones was spectacular in goal yet again, and the San Jose Sharks completed a first-round sweep of the rival Anaheim Ducks with a 2-1 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Hertl scored just 1:16 after the Ducks finally got a puck past Jones when he deflected a point shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic past John Gibson. San Jose then held on to advance to the second round against the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

Fourth-line winger Marcus Sorensen scored for the third straight game to open the scoring for San Jose and Jones did most of the rest of the work with 30 saves. He robbed Corey Perry several times and got help from a replay review that negated an apparent tying goal early in the third.

Andrew Cogliano scored the lone goal for the Ducks, who were outscored 16-4 in the series and swept for the first time since 1999 against Detroit. Gibson finished with 22 saves.

Gibson was unable to match the play of Jones, who had a shutout in Game 1, set a San Jose playoff record with 45 regulation saves in Game 3 and then might have been even better in the clincher that gave the Sharks their second sweep in franchise history after also doing it in the first round in 2013 against Vancouver.

Jones robbed Perry with a pad stop early in the second and then again twice in one sequence later in the period. Anaheim looked poised to capitalize on a late power play in the period but Jones stopped Perry once again with a sprawling pad save and then Ryan Getzlaf finally got a puck past Jones, although it came a fraction of a second after the final buzzer.

Referee Eric Furlatt emphatically waved the goal off on the ice and Getzlaf could only lean on the goal in frustration over the failed opportunity.

That frustration only grew as the power play continued into the third period. Rickard Rakell appeared to tie the game with a one-timer but the Sharks challenged the zone entry and the officials ruled Perry and Rakell were offside after video review.

Cogliano finally scored for Anaheim off a feed from Ryan Kesler but the good feeling didn't last long before Hertl responded.

That led to chants of ''We want Vegas!'' and ''Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!'' down the stretch at the sold out Shark Tank.

Even though the Ducks were the team facing elimination, the Sharks looked more desperate at the start. San Jose got the first seven shots on goal in the game and took the early lead with another contribution from the fourth line.

Sorensen, who spent most of the season in the AHL, took the rebound of Brent Burns' point shot and scored his third goal of the series less than six minutes into the game.

Gibson then robbed Evander Kane later in the period and Anaheim killed off a penalty to keep the game at 1-0 before the Ducks generated some chances late that Jones was able to turn aside.

NOTES: Perry had no points in the series. ... Linesman Brad Kovachik left the game in the first period with an injury and was replaced by Mark Shewchyk. ... San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan opened the dressing room door to lead the Sharks onto the ice pregame.

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Avalanche’s Bernier leaves Game 4 with lower-body injury

Colorado Avalanche goalie Jonathan Bernier was replaced with Andrew Hammond for the beginning of the third period Wednesday night after Bernier sustained a lower-body injury, the team announced.

Bernier made 23 saves on 26 shots in two periods before exiting.

With Semyon Varlamov already sidelined with a knee injury, losing Bernier would make toppling the top-seeded Nashville Predators that much more difficult.

As for Hammond, this marks just the second NHL game he's played in all season.

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Kucherov center of attention as Lightning take 3-1 lead on Devils

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) A feisty Nikita Kucherov scored two goals, set up another and knocked New Jersey's top defenseman out of the game with a big hit, and the Tampa Bay Lightning moved within a game of making the Devils' first trip to the playoffs in six years a short one with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday night.

J.T. Miller also scored and had two assists, and Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped three breakaways in making 27 saves as the Lightning bounced back from a loss in Game 3 to tale a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Tampa Bay can wrap up the best-of-seven series in Game 5 at home on Saturday.

Kyle Palmieri scored on a 5-on-3 advantage for the Devils, who are back in the playoffs for the first time since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. It was the only time they beat Vasilevskiy, whose 44 wins in the regular season shared the league lead with Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck. Cory Schneider made 34 saves for New Nersey in starting his second straight game.

This game might have been the roughest of the series, especially in the first period when the Lightning took a 2-1 lead in a session with a lot of scrums.

The play everyone is going to talk about and the NHL probably will look at is Kucherov's hit on Sami Vatanen late in the first. No penalty was called but the league's No. 3 scorer appeared to jump before hitting Vatanen in the shoulder and head area. Devils coach coach John Hynes screamed at the officials after the play.

Vatanen did not return.

The Lightning were leading 2-1 at that point and the score didn't change until Kucherov's empty net goal with 1:08 to play iced the game.

Kucherov broke a 1-all tie with 4:58 left in the period. Defenseman Brayden Coburn sent a pass from the left boards that hit off Devils' defenseman Damon Severson. Kucherov collected the loose puck right in front and put it high into the net for his third goal of the series.

The Lightning had tied it at 11:30 on a great rush. Steven Stamkos fed Kucherov entering the zone and he found Miller on the left side for a shot over Schneider's shoulder.

Cory Conacher appeared to give Tampa Bay the lead with 7:39 left in the period, but a review found the Lightning were offside.

For the first time in the series, the Devils scored first with Palmieri converting from the left circle with the Lightning playing two men short at 8:23 of the first.

Alex Killorn got the first penalty at 7:47 with a hook and 25 seconds later Cedric Paquette tripped Taylor Hall. Eleven seconds later, New Jersey had its second 5-on-3 goal in two games.

Vasilevskiy kept Tampa Bay in the game over the next few minutes, stopping a breakaway by Travis Zajac with Paquette still in the penalty box and a semi-breakaway by Blake Coleman with 9:05 left in the period. He also stopped Patrick Maroon on a second-period break.

NOTES: Lightning D Ryan McDonagh appeared in his 100th NHL playoff game. ... This is the first time Schneider has had consecutive starts since Jan. 22-23. ... There were no lineup changes for Game 4. ... Vatanen has been leading the Devils in time on ice in the series, averaging 23:23. ... Tampa Bay was 5 of 9 on the power play in the first three games. They were 0 for 5 in Game 4.

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Follow Tom Canavan on Twitter at https://twitter.com/APTCan

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Murray becomes fastest NHL goalie to reach 25 playoff wins

That didn't take long.

With the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 on Wednesday night, goaltender Matt Murray became the fastest goalie in NHL history to reach 25 playoff wins.

Murray completed the feat in just 36 games, one quicker than Bill Durnan, Terry Sawchuk, Gerry Cheevers, Grant Fuhr, and Patrick Roy - all of whom are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

With the blank, Murray also became the first Penguins goalie to post multiple shutouts in two different series, having also done so during last year's Stanley Cup Final against the Nashville Predators.

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Predators’ Jarnkrok returns after 16-game injury absence

Calle Jarnkrok is back in action.

The Nashville Predators forward returned to the lineup Wednesday for Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche, marking his first appearance of the playoffs after missing the last 16 games with an upper-body injury.

Jarnkrok skated with Mike Fisher and Ryan Hartman in the pregame warmup prior to Wednesday's contest.

In 68 games this season, Jarnkrok has pocketed 16 goals and 19 assists.

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Watch: Crosby stuffs goal, becomes all-time Pens leader in playoff points

Move aside Mario.

With a goal at the midway point of the second period on Wednesday night, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby surpassed Mario Lemieux for the franchise record in playoff points with his 173rd.

Earlier in the game Crosby set up Evgeni Malkin to tie the record.

While Crosby does take over the record, it's worth noting that it took the Penguins captain 152 playoff games to hit the mark, while Lemieux put up his 172 points in just 107 contests.

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