Tag Archives: Hockey

Marner scores cheeky, controversial shootout goal

Mitch Marner pulled out all the moves on Saturday night, one too many if you ask Mike Condon.

The Toronto Maple Leafs rookie scored a cheeky shootout goal, dangling Condon before dragging the puck around him and slamming it into the net.

The goal was magical, but according to Condon, it shouldn't have counted, as he argued to officials that the puck had come to a complete stop.

Nevertheless, the goal would stand.

As for Condon, the Senators would prevail in the fourth-round thanks to a goal by Tom Pyatt.

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Lehner takes game-winner away from Galchenyuk with insane glove stop

Robin Lehner and Carey Price went save for save on Saturday night.

After Price made a miraculous glove save on Rasmus Ristolainen to send the game to overtime, Lehner stole the show making a desperation diving glove save on Alex Galchenyuk for the save of the game and arguably the year.

Related - Watch: Price absolutely robs Ristolainen with huge glove save

The Sabres would not let Lehner's work go unrewarded, as Zach Bogosian would score the game-winning goal just seconds later.

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Watch: Price absolutely robs Ristolainen with huge glove save

Carey Price is just fine, thank you very much.

The Montreal Canadiens goaltender made an incredible save in the waning moments of regulation against the Buffalo Sabres, committing grand larceny on Rasmus Ristolainen with about six seconds to go in the third period of a tie game.

Related: Lehner takes game-winner away from Galchenyuk with insane glove stop

Price made 35 saves on the night, but he didn't stop the one that mattered most. Zach Bogosian won it for the Sabres less than two minutes into overtime with his first goal of the season.

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Chimera the beneficiary of Budaj’s header fail

Sometimes it's better not to use your head.

Peter Budaj learned that the hard way Saturday. The Los Angeles Kings goaltender attempted to steer a Jason Chimera shot away by heading the puck, but the biscuit took an unfortunate bounce, dropping between his legs and into the back of the net.

The goal extends Chimera's sudden surge, giving him four goals and five points in his last five games.

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Blues have allowed 5 or more in last 5 losses, including 3 straight

Different goalie, same result for the St. Louis Blues.

With Jake Allen watching on television back in St. Louis, Pheonix Copley got the start in goal Saturday in Winnipeg, and the Jets had their way with him, scoring five goals on 29 shots in a 5-3 win.

It's St. Louis' third straight loss, and the Blues have been shelled in five of their past seven games:

Date Result Goalie Opponent
Jan. 10 L 5-3 Allen/Carter Hutton Bruins
Jan. 12 L 5-1 Allen/Hutton Kings
Jan. 17 L 6-4 Hutton Senators
Jan. 19 L 7-3 Allen/Hutton Capitals
Jan. 21 L 5-3 Copley Jets

St. Louis won two games in between losses two and three above, both won by Carter Hutton. Allen last won a game on Jan. 2, outdoors at Busch Stadium.

The Blues outshot the Jets 37-29 on Saturday, and you know it's bad when you're looking down at the other end and wishing you had Ondrej Pavelec on your team.

Despite the rough go for Copley, Ken Hitchcock wasn't blaming him after Saturday's loss.

"He played good," Hitchcock said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jeremy Rutherford. "No issues there, he played real well. Really happy with him."

This one's on the entire team.

"Quite frankly, we're allowing too many goals against, too many scoring chances," Hitchcock - who clearly has his finger on the pulse - added.

St. Louis now has a minus-13 goal differential, and while it holds a wild-card playoff spot, it's a tenuous grasp, at best. The Blues need to figure their goaltending issues out before it costs them their season.

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Jets’ Laine cleared to practice

Patrik Laine's return to the lineup appears imminent.

Following the team's 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon, Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice gave an update on the team's star rookie, stating all restrictions will be removed and the 18-year-old will return to full practice on Sunday, according to TSN's Gary Lawless.

Laine has missed the team's last seven games after suffering a concussion following a devastating hit from Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe back on Jan. 7.

The Jets have gone 3-3-1 in Laine's absence.

Meanwhile Laine now sits one goal and one point behind Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews in the rookie scoring race.

The Jets will practice Sunday and return to game action on Monday when they host the Anaheim Ducks.

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Jets’ Ehlers wires precise slap shot past Copley

You can give the St. Louis Blues' goaltending a pass on this one.

Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers scored the team's fifth goal of the game on Saturday afternoon, hammering a precise slap shot over the catching glove of Blues rookie Pheonix Copley.

The goal gives Ehlers 16 on the year - setting a new career high in his second season - while the Blues have now given up at least five goals in three straight games.

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Report: Blackhawks have ‘sniffed around’ Red Wings’ Nyquist, Tatar

They don't call it the dog days of winter for nothing.

The Chicago Blackhawks have "sniffed around" Detroit Red Wings forwards Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar, two sources told Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Lazerus prefaced the report by reminding people to "take every name you hear this time of year with a grain of salt," and later added that the Blackhawks are likely just doing their due diligence in calling other teams about potentially available players.

Nyquist is under contract for two more seasons after this one at a cap hit of $4.75 million, and Tatar is a pending restricted free agent carrying a hit of $2.75 million.

The Blackhawks are expected to have about $3.3 million in cap space at the trade deadline, according to CapFriendly, while the Red Wings are projected to have none.

A source told Scott Powers of The Athletic on Friday that Chicago is looking into adding a top-line left winger and a veteran defenseman.

The Red Wings are three points out a playoff spot with three teams standing in their way, and they only have games in hand on one of them.

Chicago sits in second place in the Central Division behind the Minnesota Wild, who have the same amount of points (63) but possess four games in hand and one more regulation-or-overtime win.

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Julien not concerned about job security: ‘My job is to fix things’

While his seat might be getting hotter with each passing day, Claude Julien is focusing on what he can control: ensuring his team is prepared to win hockey games.

Pressure is swirling around both Julien and his Boston Bruins club to right the ship. Losers of three in a row, the Bruins are clinging to the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, with every team currently hot on their heels also possessing games in hand entering Saturday's schedule.

Despite the mounting rumblings of his impending dismissal, Julien - in his 10th season as Bruins' coach - knows what he can and cannot control.

"Am I worried about my job? No, I’m not. Because it’s not my job to worry about it," Julien told Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com. "My job is to fix things, and my job is to coach this team and do everything I can. If I become one of the reasons that we're not doing well, then management has to make that decision."

Boston's past week has seen the team suffer a 4-0 wipeout at the hands of the lowly Islanders and a pair of crushing defeats to the Red Wings and Blackhawks. Things don't get any easier from here on out for the Bruins, as they head to Pittsburgh to take on the red-hot Penguins on Sunday.

"I'm not quitting on this team," Julien said. "I'm not quitting on anybody. I'm not quitting on management. I'm ready and willing to go through the hard times, and I said that at the end of last year. If it's deemed my fault, then I shouldn't be here, and that's all I can say."

While times are tough for the Bruins at the moment, staying the course might be the best plan of action, as Boston has been unfathomably snake-bitten this season. Despite ranking second in the NHL in shots per game (33.9), the Bruins have the 29th-ranked team shooting percentage (6.01%).

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Blues’ Pheonix Copley gets 1st career start amid goalie turmoil

Pheonix Copley: You're up, kid.

As the sliding St. Louis Blues - Jake Allen aside - gear up for Saturday's contest in Winnipeg, head coach Ken Hitchcock announced the 25-year-old netminder will earn his first career start.

The Blues are just 4-6 over their last 10 games, allowing 36 goals in that span. Enter Copley, who's tasked with providing St. Louis some stability as they look to reset.

In case you haven't heard of him, don't be alarmed, Copley's flown well under the radar to reach this point.

The native of North Pole, Alaska (seriously) went undrafted, and played college hockey at Michigan Tech. From there, Copley's played in the ECHL, followed by three seasons in the AHL.

With St. Louis' farm team - the Chicago Wolves - Copley has put together an 11-4-1 record with a .920 save percentage and 2.32 goals-against average.

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