Tag Archives: Hockey
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 19, 2018
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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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.
With his 5-0 shutout tonight, @mattmurray_30 recorded his 25th career playoff win in 36 games played, making him the fastest NHL goalie to reach that milestone. pic.twitter.com/K7DtVdqDJI
— Penguins PR (@PensPRLady) April 19, 2018
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
The captain and the all-time playoff point leader in @penguins history, Sidney Crosby. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/8876z6BqdP
— NHL (@NHL) April 19, 2018
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.
With the @penguins 4th goal of the night, Sidney Crosby officially surpasses Mario Lemieux and now owns the franchise record for most postseason points with 173. pic.twitter.com/RmEENgbNqw
— Penguins PR (@PensPRLady) April 19, 2018
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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Watch: Kucherov avoids penalty after landing high hit on Vatanen
Another night, another questionable hit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils continued the trend on Wednesday night, as Nikita Kucherov caught defenseman Sami Vatanen with a high hit in the first period of Game 4.
Here's a look at the play.
Kucherov hits Vatanen, no penalty called & Vatanen's off to the locker room #NJDevils #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/6qEB8r1SNh
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 19, 2018
Kucherov wasn't assessed a penalty on the play, while Vatanen immediately left the ice and was later diagnosed with an upper-body injury.
The collision was awfully similar to the one that landed Los Angeles Kings blue-liner Drew Doughty a one-game suspension earlier in the playoffs.
Doughty's hit on Carrier. Hearing today. pic.twitter.com/2KH4mPDveD
— Pure Hockey (@PureHockey) April 12, 2018
It will be interesting to see whether Kucherov will receive similar treatment from the Department of Player Safety.
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Flyers’ Elliott given hook midway through Game 4
It wasn't Brian Elliott's night on Wednesday, as the Philadelphia Flyers goaltender lasted less than 28 minutes into Game 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He surrendered three goals on just 17 shots.
Michal Neuvirth came into the game in relief of Elliott, marking only his second appearance since mid-February.
Netminder Petr Mrazek, whom the Flyers acquired from the Detroit Red Wings at this year's trade deadline, was made a healthy scratch Wednesday.
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