WWE Monday Night Raw was hosted at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday, and four wrestling superstars were surprised with custom Kings jerseys prior to the event.
The @LAKings presented @HEELZiggler, @IAmJericho, @RicFlairNatrBoy & @MsCharlotteWWE w/
— WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2016
personalized jerseys! #RAW pic.twitter.com/mihj4WOJal
Chris Sutter, son of head coach Darryl, presented jerseys to Ric and Charlotte Flair, Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho - whose father Ted Irvine spent parts of three seasons with the Kings between 1967 and 1970.
What an honour to receive my dad's @lakings jersey today from #ChrisSutter and the #LosAngelesKings! pic.twitter.com/7IySMr1PNu
— Chris Jericho (@Y2JIsReal) April 12, 2016
The younger Sutter even had a chance to 'woo' with Ric Flair in the Kings dressing room before the show.
WOOOOOOO!
— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 12, 2016
Chris Sutter and @RicFlairNatrBoy before @WWE #Raw.https://t.co/D57YPeHHnk
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Midway through the NHL season, it didn't appear as though the Anaheim Ducks, nor the Nashville Predators, would reach the postseason.
Thanks to drastic second-half turnarounds for both teams, though, the Ducks and Predators are set to square off in the opening round.
Nashville won the season series 2-1, but the clubs haven't met since November. Both strong possession teams that have trouble scoring, this has the makings of a long, tightly contested series.
| Ducks | Statistic | Predators |
|---|---|---|
| 103 | Points | 96 |
| 2.62 (17th) | Goals per game | 2.73 (13th) |
| 2.29 (1st) | Goals against | 2.6 (14th) |
| 23.1% (1st) | Power play | 19.7% (10th) |
| 87.2% (1st) | Penalty kill | 81.2% (16th) |
| 52.4% (5th) | Corsi | 52.5% (4th) |
| 6.6% (T-28th) | 5-on-5 SH% | 7.3% (18th) |
| 92.4% (T-18th) | 5-on-5 SV% | 92.2% (22nd) |
| Getzlaf: 63 | Leading scorer | Forsberg: 64 |
John Gibson and Frederik Andersen
Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau joked he may flip a coin to decide between Gibson and Andersen to start the series, and luckily for him, both sides of that coin are reliable between the pipes.
| Name | GP | Record | GAA | Sv% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andersen | 43 | 22-9-7 | 2.30 | .919 | 3 |
| Gibson | 40 | 21-13-4 | 2.07 | .920 | 4 |
In a series that will likely be hard-pressed for goalies, the Ducks - no matter who starts in net - have a capable goalie to shut down opponents.
Ryan Johansen
Someone needs to score for Nashville, and a strong series from Johansen could solidify his worth to the Predators' brass.
Acquired in one of the biggest trades of the season, Johansen tallied only eight goals in 42 games with Nashville, but a good showing in the playoffs would erase a troublesome regular season.
Beyond Filip Forsberg and James Neal, Nashville's offense needs to step up to beat the team that allowed the fewest goals in the 82-game campaign, and although it's a small sample size, Johansen has tallied six points in six career playoff games.
Corey Perry
Perry's style of play is built for the playoffs.
The gritty winger excels in getting under opponents' skin, and is a menace in front of the net. Nashville's top defensive pairing of Roman Josi and Shea Weber will be in charge of neutralizing Perry's time and space, but that's easier said than done.
The 30-year-old Perry has already racked up 90 career playoff contests, in which he's scored 32 goals and 42 assists.
| Date | Time (ET) | Location | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri. April 15 | 10:30 p.m. | Anaheim | NBCSN/CBC/TVA Sports |
| Sun. April 17 | 10:30 p.m. | Anaheim | NBCSN/Sportsnet/TVA Sports |
| Tue. April 19 | 9:30 p.m. | Nashville | USA/SN360/TVA Sports |
| Thu. April 21 | 8 p.m. | Nashville | CNBC/FX Canada/TVA Sports |
| Sat. April 23* | TBD | Anaheim | TBD |
| Mon. April 25* | TBD | Nashville | TBD |
| Wed. April 27* | TBD | Anaheim | TBD |
*If necessary
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With Mike Richards set to face the team he spent the first six years of his career with, Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz has promoted the forward to the team's third line, beside Jason Chimera and Marcus Johansson.
"I'm excited to see him play in the playoffs," Chimera said of Richards, per CSN's Chuck Gormley. "He's one of those guys that gets it done. He always brings out the physicality. Guys like him and (Justin Williams) always seem like the bigger the game the bigger they play. It’s a different dynamic for sure."
Richards has struggled to produce during his short tenure in Washington, recording just five points in 39 games. But Gormley notes that like Chimera, Richards has averaged more points per game during the playoffs (0.70) than in the regular season (0.65) during his career.
"He has the ability to slow things down when everything gets hectic," Trotz said of the two-time Stanley Cup champion. "In the playoffs he's been a player who finds a way to affect the game in a positive way. It's the same with Justin Williams."
He and Williams - his former Los Angeles Kings teammate - both boast incredible 7-0 career records in Game 7's, and the Capitals hope this veteran experience can finally bring them the playoff success that's escaped them in the past.
Game 1 between the Capitals and Flyers is scheduled to begin Thursday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk isn't ruling out dealing any of his players, but he'll leave those decisions up to his new general manager.
Melnyk joined Sportsnet's "Tim & Sid" on Tuesday and was asked if he'd consider anyone on the Senators roster untradeable.
"No," he said.
When asked if that included Erik Karlsson, Melnyk said while the owner does have final say, that decision will be made by management.
"I'm not going to say anything other than ... first of all, I don't make those decisions. I let the coaches and the GMs make those decisions. They come to me when it's a big name, they come to me for everything in the end, but ... if they came in and had a deal on the table ... I can't keep them accountable if I don't let them take a shot.
"If they're wrong and wrong and wrong, then things change, but it's their team to coach and to manage, so if I stick my nose into it, who do I blame at the end but myself? (I'll) let them do their job. That's what they're paid (to do) and that's what they know how to do much better than I ever will."
Melnyk said he hopes to have a new head coach in place by the draft in late June.
Pierre Dorion replaced Bryan Murray as general manager Sunday and his first major act was firing head coach Dave Cameron on Tuesday.
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Well, that couldn't have gone any better.
The Toronto Maple Leafs finally bottomed out, and for franchise supporters - who wear it like a badge of honor, an understanding of profound disappointment, and never-ceasing impending doom, of leads never too large to not be blown - it was beautiful to watch. Last place. Thirtieth. The best of the worst. They finally did it.
It's easy to get philosophical about the Maple Leafs. If God exists - a big if - she or he isn't a fan of Toronto's hockey team; that cannot be disputed. What's also certain is that timing has never been the organization's forte. Until The Great Rebuild.
The Blue Jays made the playoffs in 2015. For three months, all of Toronto - babies, mothers, grandmothers - was drunk on baseball. Hockey, the Maple Leafs, weren't on the radar. Not during training camp, after expectations were placed so low they weren't even truly set. The Leafs were even an afterthought on Opening Night. "Game 5" means the complete and utter wondrous opposite to Blue Jays supporters of what "Game 7" means to Maple Leafs fans.
Baseball magic transitioned almost seamlessly to basketball delight. This season's Toronto Raptors are the greatest Raptors, the best basketball team to ever call Toronto home. In the spring, the Air Canada Centre and the area around it belongs not to the Maple Leafs, but the Raptors.
And what the Maple Leafs have hopefully learned is that Toronto isn't a hockey town, or a baseball, or basketball town. It's all of them. Like any place else, it only wants a winner. And it will wait. Decades. But when that winning team comes back, Toronto will be there. Will love it. Will make you think the SkyDome roof may blow off after Troy Tulowitzki hits a bases-clearing double, or when Marco Estrada triumphantly walks off the mound - again - in a do-or-die game. Whether it's the fall or the spring, whether it's the Blue Jays in the American League Division Series or the Raptors and Wizards in the first round, when the playoffs come to town, Toronto comes alive in a way only a sports team can bring it to life.
The timing of president Brendan Shanahan's great gutting isn't very Maple Leafs-like at all. It's good.
What's been so soul-crushing about the Maple Leafs of recent years is they made you feel, well, almost nothing at all. Apathy. The Maple Leafs are not good. They lose. That's simply what they do.
Paul Maurice's and Ron Wilson's teams could never make a save. Randy Carlyle was completely maddening behind the bench. The debate over Phil Kessel, which the media helped become unbearably toxic, was so polarizing to the point it became exhausting, a relic of the early Mats Sundin years, the shadow of Wendel Clark seemingly forever looming over an often brainless sports town. Dion Phaneuf's tenure was symbolic of failure, "It was 4-1" the punchline. The poor guy was sent over the boards time and time and time and time again, he never had a chance.
But goodbye, finally, to all of that.
It's almost surreal how quickly the tone around the Maple Leafs changed after Babcock took over. His Maple Leafs played hard. Like Shanahan, Babcock had a plan. With a rag-tag roster, Toronto had the puck. The players bought in, almost immediately. Even P.A. Parenteau was out there giving it everything he had, becoming Toronto's only 20-goal scorer. It couldn't have been hard to move on from what Carlyle was selling, but it was nothing short of striking what Babcock was able to get out of the roster he was given, a roster that continued to be dismantled in his first season on the job, that resembled a minor-league club by April.
It's funny, Toronto finished dead last, but ask a Maple Leafs supporter if she or he thinks Babcock's worth all that money, and the answer's yes, oh yes, at least nine times out of 10.
What didn't work?
Phaneuf's gone, the Ottawa Senators trading for the defenseman and his entire contract in order to try to make the playoffs. Lou Lamoriello made Stephane Robidas disappear. Joffrey Lupul may be next to go poof. Jake Gardiner was a treat to watch on the blue line, his 53.3 Corsi For rating easily the highest of his career.
Morgan Rielly's going to sign a long-term extension. Nazem Kadri made fans in Babcock and Lomoriello, and proved he's one of the very, very few players who can be part of the solution in Toronto. The Martin Marincin signing worked out, Frank Corrado and Connor Carrick look like they have futures on the Toronto blue line, and Nikita Soshnikov and Zach Hyman are young forwards to be positive about. Hell, even Garret Sparks played his part. Toronto doesn't finish last if James Reimer isn't traded and Sparks isn't given the crease.
Then there's young William Nylander. Eight of the 19-year-old's 13 points during his audition came at 5-on-5, his Corsi For rating an exceptional 53.9. The Maple Leafs have something in this kid, no doubt. And the last young blonde Swede who came along with a ton of pressure on his shoulders ended up with a statue outside the ACC.
The pain arrived, as prescribed. But it came as part of a plan. This wasn't the Maple Leafs expecting to make the playoffs and finishing 29th, as happened under Brian Burke in 2010. The club didn't have its first-round pick then, of course, which would have been used to draft Tyler Seguin. This time around, Toronto has two first-round picks, and two picks throughout the second, third, and fourth rounds. Twelve picks in total. And that's the difference.
Pain is a big part of being a Maple Leafs supporter. Pain is always expected. But it's a lot easier to stomach when it's clear the pain will lead somewhere. It's okay to be swallowed by the losing abyss that has become the essence of the Edmonton Oilers, as long as there's a plan to get out. As the Oilers have proved, nothing's guaranteed. But the abyss and the hope that comes with it is better than the alternative, better than spinning wheels going nowhere, than no patience, no vision, nothing but pain for the sake of pain.
Let's be honest, the Maple Leafs are probably not going to win the draft lottery. This goes back to timing, and God. But that's not the point. That Toronto put itself in the best position to win it, that it has the highest odds, is.
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Canadian teams may have been shut out of the NHL postseason, but there is still a plethora of young Canadian talent looking to steal the spotlight as they chase a Stanley Cup, with the eyes of the entire hockey world upon them.
Here's a trio of young Canucks - under 25 - worth watching this spring:
After being selected first overall in 2014, Ekblad needed to wait just two seasons before making his playoff debut, and the 20-year-old heads into a series against the New York Islanders in incredible form.
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | CF% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 18 | 50.7 |
The defenseman has seven points and a plus-5 rating in his last six games as his ice time continues to increase, playing at least 21 minutes in all but one game since March 1.
Paired with 36-year-old Brian Campbell and surrounded by veterans with a wealth of playoff experience including Roberto Luongo and Jaromir Jagr, Ekblad won't be looked upon to carry his team, but the Calder winner could make a huge statement with an impressive playoff run.
The Predators long coveted a No. 1 center, and believed they finally found their man after dealing Seth Jones to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Johansen. The 23-year-old will now have to prove that he can be the difference for a team who has won just two of ten postseason series all-time.
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | CF% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 14 | 46 | 60 | 6 | 50.8 |
While he failed to score at the 30-goal pace set in his past two seasons, Johansen has emerged as a key playmaker for the Predators, posting a career-high 46 assists this season while seeing power play time beside 30-goal scorers James Neal and Filip Forsberg.
Nashville faces a tough test in the Anaheim Ducks, but the Predators did manage to take two of three regular-season meetings - all before the Johansen trade. If the young forward can find his scoring touch early, a first-round upset may not be unrealistic.
One of the biggest storylines of the NHL season is now continuing into the playoffs as Drouin has been thrust into a top-six role in the absence of captain Steven Stamkos - who is dealing with a blood clot.
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | CF% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 50.7 |
The 21-year-old was recalled in the midst of a five-game goal-scoring streak with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch, and he continued his productive run with goals in both of his games with Tampa Bay since being brought up April 7.
Last year, Drouin went pointless in six games during the Lightning's Stanley Cup Finals run, but if his recent offensive output is any indication of how he'll play in the playoffs, Steve Yzerman's decision to keep the winger at the deadline - and give him a second chance - might just save their season.
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Dean Lombardi says Drew Doughty's lack of flair shouldn't prevent him from winning the Norris Trophy.
The Los Angeles Kings general manager made the case Tuesday when asked why his franchise defenseman deserves the award, which is handed out annually to the NHL's top blue-liner.
"Not even close. All you've got to do is stay up and watch West Coast games, and you'll know why, and I won't even have to explain it to you," Lombardi told Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News.
"You know what the beauty of that position is? It's the classic case where greatness is the subtleties. And that No. 1 defenseman, what makes him special? Unless you really understand the game and see some of the things he does, you have to study the game, not watch the game, and realize what he does is really special, and has nothing to do with highlights and the points and all of this stuff.
"It's not the highlight-film position. It's not supposed to be, and then we turned it (into one) because (of) Paul Coffey. I guess he pulled it off. But at least Paul Coffey was in the playoffs. And this stuff that (Doughty) plays for a better team? How good do you think we are without him? How about the other way around?"
Doughty's principal competitor for this year's Norris Trophy is Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson, who led all rearguards in assists and points while ranking fifth among all skaters in the latter category with 82.
The Kings defenseman notched a respectable 51 points, and, like Karlsson, played in all 82 games.
Doughty was unrivaled at the position when it came to puck possession, ranking first among qualified defensemen and fourth among all qualified skaters with a 58.94 even-strength Corsi For percentage, according to War-On-Ice.
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