#playoff yanni is so good

[krakenshipwreck]

(x)

[bropunzeling]

Shane Wright no 26?

group project/team effort

"Getting to the playoffs is a team effort," Ebs said in the locker room early on in the season, brand new C still shiny on his chest, sweat-stained baseball cap firm on his brow. "We're all gonna give it one hundred percent."

And like, Shane agrees. Shane totally, totally agrees. He remembers reaching the Calder Cup final with the Coachella boys; he remembers how good it felt to have a championship within reach for a team that only just became a thing. He can only imagine how much better it will be one he does that in the bigs.

The only question---or maybe it's more a concern---that he has is whether or not wanting to sleep with a teammate fucks with that vibe.

"It's fine," Ryker says, sipping on his cocktail through a curly straw. It should look stupid, because Shane's pretty sure curly straws are only supposed to show up at kid's birthday parties, but Ryker can carry it off somehow. He just has that rizz. "You're not gonna fuck the team's chances just because you wanna tap that."

"Please don't say it like that," Shane says.

Ryker sucks down his drink, cheeks hollow. The resulting sound is incredibly obnoxious. "What?" he asks when he's done. "So you wanna fuck your liney. That's no big."

"Says the guy who wants to fuck the goalie," Shane points out.

Ryker shrugs. He looks so chill for a guy who's into goalies. Though maybe that's why he can be into goalies. Extra chill to balance out the crazy. Shane can't exactly relate. "I don't want to fuck the goalie," he says. "I am fucking the goalie."

"I didn't need to know that," Shane says, wishing he was ten so he could stick his fingers in his ears without Ryker immediately taking a picture and sending it to the team groupchat.

He still thinks about doing it for a minute, despite the potential for mockery. Mostly because thinking about Ryker and Joey like that---like that like that---well, it's kind of like when he figured out his parents had sex for the first time, only worse.

"Anyway," Ryker continues. "Just because you want Matty to hold your hand and kiss you goodnight and fuck you into the mattress---"

"Could you say that any louder," Shane groans, shoving his palms into his face. His ears feel singed.

"It's not going to fuck up the vibe," Ryker continues ruthlessly. "Honestly. I mean, you know he's interested, right?"

"What?" Shane squawks, hiding his face forgotten. "No he isn't. I would know."

Ryker shrugs. "Just calling it as I see it, Shane-o. Can't ruin it if both of you want it."

"You're wrong," Shane hisses, leaning forward. But as he does, he scans the rest of the bar, just in case. Not that anyone's paying much attention---Yanni's shouting about ski shots, Borgy's found a beer glass the size of his face, Ebs is watching them all with a long-suffering expression, Matty---

Matty is looking over at them, watching. When he catches Shane's eye, he startles, then waves, shooting a secret smile that seems to be just for Shane.

Shane waves back, of course. He can't just leave Matty hanging.

"Like I was saying," Ryker says. "Can't ruin shit if both of you want it."

[release-th-kraken]

Tarot Pull for 3/5 Kraken-Jets! :

ok ok interesting!! cool!! so introspection, the calling to a time of solitude... i think with about 20 games left, it's a good time for the boyos to re-reflect and set intentions for what they personally want out of this season. playoffs sure, but i think there are other ways for the team and their fans to make the most out of the rest of the games. i also think this team has a lot of quietly talented players on the team, not necessarily the most showy/their stats don't support it all the time but a lot of our key players are often just kinda... sneakily good? lol so mayhaps some of those guys will get to shine tonight! the overcoming obstacles card aghhhgg,,, after whatever last night's game was i'd bet there are maybe mixed emotions and feelings in the lockerroom right now, and with wenny scratched, dunner likely out, a lot of really dirty plays from the flames.. that's probably lingering on their minds at least a bit? and to add insult to injury apparently the entire jetsties crew is sick and so the boyos could catch a COLD! :( but along the lines of what the card says to, a recent obstacle or loss appearing, i think this card and the introspection card go hand in hand to say!! we are still here!! we are still balanced and strong!! back-to-back games??? no problem!!

the imagery omg the goat... stubbornness.. work ethic... yannis?? burky?? if burky finally gets a goal tn i'll cry

is it bad to say for the weasle i want riggy to have a day. the 6'7 weasle!! he did really well yesterday id love to see some more of that

[cellythefloshie]

ummm, benn is a bitch to take dunns stick and punch him while he's on the bench. Captain Yanni would never. I know Lars took good care of calming down Vince in the locker room.....as did the Kraken road wifie 😈

This quickly became a very long hockey-stats-based post, so I have put my rant about why Benn is a horrible teammate and captain beneath the read more.

Having watched Yanni play hockey for many years in Tampa before he moved over to the Kraken I wouldn't say he would never BUT he would leave it out on the ice, not on the bench like Benn. Yanni likes to start shit and get under their skin, but I don't think he would be taking another player's stick from the bench.

Lars and Vince seem like such great friends - and Dunn plays with so much passion that I'm sure that Lars has had to learn a few things on how to bring Dunn back down to a calm. And a RW would have to master this so fast, and she would be very good at it.

I said it in 2019, and I have been saying it for years. Benn is an anchor on his team - and not the good kind. Jaime Benn has had 768 (90 in the playoffs) Penalty Minutes in his career. To compare these are the career penalty minutes of some of his teammates. The teammates I selected are In a similar age range. The number in brackets is their playoff penalty minutes)

Seguin - 277 (24)

Marchment - 151 (16)

Pavelski - 438 (82)

Dadonov - 38 (4)

Glendening - 259 (12)

Suter - 733 (58)

And their career playoff stats in comparison. It will be formatted as games played - goal - assists - plus/minus

Benn 75-21-37-+10

Seguin 104-20-37-+12

Marchment 19-6-2- -7

Pavelski 172-69-62-+4

Dadonov 13-4-3-+3

Glendening 32-4-2- -7

Suter 104-6-31- -24

The PK for the Dallas Stars this season was 82% in 2019, 79% in 2020-2022 and 83% this season. Which I would argue is pretty good. As the best in the NHL this season was 87% (BOS). But that means the opponent is scoring the other 17% of the time.

With Benn's 34 penalty minutes this season, assuming each is a 2-minute minor - that would mean taking a goal against 5 times during the season because he took a penalty. If we take that same calculation and apply it to his career penalty minutes of 768 that is 130 goals against total and 15 in the postseason. That is 15 goals that have cost him a game, and even a playoff series. *cough*Against Tampa Bay*cough* - I am a strong believer that he cost Dallas the cup in the bubble with the penalties he took during that series.

It absolutely baffles me that this man has the C when he fails to embody the characteristics I believe a Captain should have on the ice. He does not have to be the best scorer on the team, but he should not be the one that always finds himself in the box either. It would be like giving Tom Wilson the C in Washington.

[haloslips]

5 & 20 for the hockey questions meme

THANK YOU

5. favorite piece of hockey memorabilia you own

oooo hmm. i love my yanni gourde reverse retro jersey from last year i'd love to have it signed some day. my kraken inaugural season morgan geekie jersey was SO lucky but i'm afraid now that geeks is a bruin it will have lost its magic.... lowkey i bought the like stuffed hand tentacle the kraken sell during game four against the avs in the playoffs when we won in overtime and it has a place of honor in my home because i'd been eyeing it all season lmao. i think it's too early in my hockey memorabilia career to have a real favorite i love em all

20. a player you think is underrated

oooo well. hmm. i have really complicated feelings about daniel sprong rn but i do think he's an underrated player, he really came thru for the kraken last year. that said the red wings gave him a pretty good contract so maybe he's not underrated anymore? i'll be so real i only am super familiar with players on the kraken rn but i'll go w this answer for now. subject 2 change once the season starts

[pucking-rare]

pucking rare masterlist 2019

below the cut are all the fics added to the pucking rare collection 2019, sorted by team/relationship. thanks everyone who wrote, beta’d, left prompts and in any way contributed to this year’s collection!

fyi: fics are sorted by who was on what team prior to 1 july because trying to keep track of who is on what team is beyond our capabilities right now.

BOSTON BRUINS

Anders Bjork/Matt Grzelcyk/Charlie McAvoy; Anders Bjork/Charlie McAvoy

something worth holding onto by cjmasim 

Anders turns over to face away from Charlie. It really doesn't matter how Charlie would react to him being aromantic. He's not going to come out to him just based on a random thought. There's no evidence whatsoever that Charlie likes him like that. If he did, he'd at least try to sleep in the same bed, Anders is sure.

It was a good hookup, and Charlie wants to do it again. Anders wants to do it again. So they'll do it again, and that's all they'll do. If it gets out of hand, well, he can deal with that when it happens.

Marcus Johansson & Brad Marchand

A 1000 Ways by onlypartly (foreverkneeld) 

Marcus Johansson finally gets an apology from Brad Marchand. Sort of.

BUFFALO SABRES

Rasmus Dahlin/Casey Mittelstadt; Rasmus Dahlin/Victor Olofsson

bloom by eichart

Ras doesn’t mean to keep buying plants for each and every one of his teammates, but he does, creating little explosions of green and orange and purple around the apartment. It’s his nature to look after them, to know when something’s wrong, so he will.

This team: he loves them.

This city: it’s special.

Jake McCabe/Rasmus Ristolainen

emptiness to melody by rawrimmapanda 

Jake knew that the random sore spots were something. He just didn't know what from exactly. After a trip to the doctor he sets off on a mission to find out who is soulmate is.

Bits of You on Me by eafay70 

Three times Jake's soulmate left him injured, and one time Jake was the one to blame.

CALGARY FLAMES

Johnny Gaudreau/Matthew Tkachuk

sealed with a kiss by iknewhim

“You want me,” Chucky drawls, “To kiss you for hockey.”

Elias Lindholm/David Rittich

We’ve Come Too Far, To Give Up Who We Are by Aer

David’s life has taken more than a few twists and turns over the years, but he’s always been able to see them coming, to some extent.

He never would have seen Elias coming in a million years.

COLORADO AVALANCHE

Tyson Barrie/Tyson Jost

soft shines through by somehowunbroken 

Defensemen have to marry forwards. It's a rule, and Tyson's been putting it off for longer than he should've, and now he needs to marry someone before the season starts or he won't be able to play.

Enter Tyson Jost.

J. T. Compher/Tyson Jost/Alexander Kerfoot; J. T. Compher/Tyson Jost

no regrets, just love by ancientdeceiver

The kiss, in the end, is just one friend helping out another friend.

Tyson Jost/Colin Wilson

bring your good times and your laughter too by somehowunbroken 

Sure, the stuffed pink rabbit and balloons had been funny, but it's Tyson's birthday. Colin's maybe in the mood to give him whatever he asks for.

DALLAS STARS

Miro Heiskanen/Roope Hintz

round one, round two by ghosthunter

“Are you nervous?” Miro asks, reaching out and tugging Roope’s thumb from between his lips.

“Are you not?” Roope asks him, his voice quiet. Miro grins at him.

(maybe it's the finnish summer) got me seeing stars when I'm with you by up_and_away 

After they get eliminated, Miro can't bring himself to go home and face his parents' sympathy. He goes home with Roope instead, and finds a way to exhale.

keep it subliminal by carissima

Miro smothers a yawn and opens his door. Roope’s standing there with two coffees and an expression that matches his own mood.

when it hits you by carissima 

And that’s the precise moment he realizes that he may, in fact, have a Miro-sized problem.

MINNESOTA WILD

Mikko Koivu/Zach Parise

You Know My Words (Look Up the Name) by sleeperservice

Zach's soulmark shows up during his rookie season after a game against the Wild. Nobody told him it would take years to find out who else had one show up that night.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Taylor Hall/Nico Hischier/Jack Hughes

I won't hesitate for you by theshipstorulethemallwrites 

To be 29 years old, made the playoffs once and be a virgin was not in plans for Taylor Hall. Neither was falling for his, much, younger teammates. Yes, there's a plural in that last word, stop judging.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Mikhail Grabovski/Nikolay Kulemin

Windows by blueorangecrush

Kolya's grandmother used to say that dreams were windows into other worlds.

Anders Lee/Devon Toews

I’m on your clock, you’re in control by Mooresomore 

"Breaking up is hard to do...especially when you're not out to the team and you can't let anyone know about it (or that it's over). It really sucks too when you still want the person, but they want nothing to do with you." Mat had never thought those words would apply to him, but here he was.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Brady Skjei/Jimmy Vesey

we’re never gonna win the world by skjei 

Jimmy doesn’t want to die.

(or, jimmy vesey signs with the new york rangers and his live changes more than it ever has).

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Carter Hart/Nolan Patrick/Travis Konecny

Hens and Chicks by Hock_hug 

Travis Konecny can’t make coffee

Carter Hart/Claude Giroux/Danny Briere

Shining bright to see what you could truly be by Mooresomore

Just a fluffy look into the life of Carter, Claude, Danny, and their family.

Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick

dumbasses in love by andersens

“So, I talked to Lawson, and it turns out he does think we’re dating.”

“I told you,” Nolan says.

“Yeah and see the thing is, I was gonna tell him he’s wrong. But then he started going on and on about how proud of me he is and how happy. And he was looking at me with his stupid Lawson face with his stupid Lawson smile and I just...I couldn’t tell him he was wrong.”

say that you're into me, let me know how it'll be (if you don't know, just say so) by haruspexes 

Really, the wedding is the thing that sets it all off. Someone self-aware might say it started way before the wedding but Travis has always been a little suspicious about that whole know-thyself thing. So, it starts on an otherwise unremarkable Tuesday afternoon.

***

“Anyways, you know I’m the best wedding date you could get on such short notice,” Travis fires off. It’s a pretty weak chirp, but the chance to say something is just too good to pass up.

“Yeah.” Nolan nods where Travis was half expecting him to argue.

take down some summer time by manybumblebees

Summer is lake days and fishing and coolers full of beer, the boat kicking up spray in its wake, and Nolan coming to stand next to him on the deck in his too-short shorts, holding his forearm next to TK’s and complaining about his Irish skin, which burns and freckles but never tans.

Or: summer makes TK stupid.

trouble's gonna follow (where i go) by carissima 

The first thing Travis learns about Nolan is that he can’t tie a fucking tie.

Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick; Carter Hart/Nolan Patrick; Carter Hart/Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick; Lawson Crouse/Travis Konecny; Nico Hischier/Nolan Patrick

kiss me & take off your clothes by ghosthunter

“You’re so sexy in the morning, God,” TK says.

“I’m sexy all the time,” Nolan says. “That’s why I make the big bucks.”

SAN JOSE SHARKS

Tomas Hertl/Tommy Wingels

blame it, blame it by frausorge

Olive juice? That sounds disgusting.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Anthony Cirelli/Mikhail Sergachev

Once Smitten by verbaeghe 

It isn’t that Tony’s expecting Misha to already be in their dorm room when he arrives per se, it’s just. Well, it’s junior year, classes start tomorrow, and Misha still hasn’t managed an on-time arrival yet. At least he’s consistent.

A Tale of Courtship by Sugarchev, verbaeghe

“Marriage,” King Anton repeats to a slack-jawed Tony. “The council agrees, it’s time we secure our alliances.”

The King’s cabinet falls silent. Stamkos purses his lips, while Victor pretends to notice something out the window. Cally and McDonagh glue their eyes to the tactical map sprawled across the table and Misha…he should sit down before his legs give out.

Anthony Cirelli/Mikhail Sergachev; Braydon Coburn/Slater Koekkoek

How to Train Your Partner 101 by darkone 

Tony’s previous partner retired a month ago and he’s been anxiously awaiting a new one. He’s tired of going on missions with other well established teams because it makes him feel like a third wheel.

Braydon Coburn/Slater Koekkoek

Yours by Lecavayay

He takes Slater’s wrist, holds it to his lips like the name there is his and not some other Braydon waiting for the man in his bed to find him.

Tyler Johnson/Ondrej Palat

The Playboy of Central New York by blueorangecrush 

Tyler just wanted to be a semi-anonymous graduate student, not the funder of a biotech startup with his old money inheritance.

He thought he'd meet a girl who didn't know or care about his money. He was wrong about the "girl" part.

Cedric Paquette/Louis Domingue; Alex Killorn/Andrej Sustr; Jake Dotchin/Yanni Gourde

I Could Stay Here Forever by TylerAndAlexAndCeddyOhMy 

Ceddy and Louis were fall in love while studying abroad

“We should go to Italy!” Yanni yelled. 

“You just want to sleep with Italian guys,” Louis groaned. “We should go to France. The museums! Imagine all the history!” 

“Yeah! Because there is ZERO fucking history in ITALY, you huge fucking moron,” Yanni yelled at Louis. 

“You aren’t even interested in history! You’re interested in dick!” Louis countered. 

“Yes,” Yanni screamed stomping toward his room. “Big Italian dick!” With that he slammed his door.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Frederik Andersen/Auston Matthews/Morgan Rielly

Filled Up by eyeslikeonyx

When Auston pictured going on vacation with Freddie and Mo during the bye week, he was expecting to have fun in their hotel room, obviously. He knows Mitch is most likely getting railed on his own trip with Marty and Cees if the suggestive snaps from the night before are any indicator. Auston has been waiting for this trip for a while now, and he’s excited to finally relax and get some much needed sun. He doesn’t want to just have sex the entire time he’s on vacation.

He should have known his body would betray him the moment he, Mo, and Freddie actually made it to their resort suite.

Kyle Dubas/William Nylander

The Lace in Your Dress by elenajames 

There’s a garment box on their bed when Willy gets home.

You’re my golden hour by mozartspiano 

Kyle's condo is terrible. William helps him find a house.

This One’s For You by theshipstorulethemallwrites 

Since his father’s death in a classified military accident, William Nylander has always had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he could be more. And then he gets in trouble in a way that he can’t get out of.

Enter Kingsman

Enter Kyle Dubas

I Hope You Lie by dizzzylu 

"You think that we don't notice?" William asks. "How you take care of us, how you take the blame for us. We notice, Kyle. I notice."

Nazem Kadri/Mitch Marner; Nazem Kadri/Mitch Marner/John Tavares

Knights by eden22 

London Knights are always proprietary with each other.

Mitch Marner/John Tavares

A Monster Under the Bed by eyeslikeonyx 

On the morning of November 9, 1973, Good Hope Sheriff John Tavares is the third man to pull up to the banks of Lake Perry where a body has been found. Principal Patrick Marleau of Good Hope High School was the first, and Deputy Sheriff Morgan Reilly was the second.

Mitch Marner/William Nylander

You Brought Out The Best In Me by Bluejay141519 

Mitch is the sun and Willy's been in the shadows since the day Mitch was drafted. That doesn't mean he loves Mitch any less.

William Nylander/Andreas Johnsson

facts of life (it’s i and love and you) by florabee 

some things change and some things don't. the most set-in-stone fact in andreas's life is this: he loves willy and willy loves him

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Brock Boeser/Elias Pettersson

boy with love by lilcrickee 

“Oh no,” Brock murmurs, the reality of the situation sinking in. It’s 11 o’clock in the middle of the offseason and he’s holding a baby. The baby is his. Brock is 22 and has a baby and the mother has run off to work on a cruise ship.

Elias Pettersson/Jacob Markstrom

Waiting Tied and Bound by Sister_Grimm 

Jacob knows exactly how to take Elias apart every time

WINNIPEG JETS

Nikolaj Ehlers/Patrik Laine

make my heart sparkle like champagne by softEldritch (assbutts) 

Hey, Niky,” he says slowly, enunciating it carefully so he doesn’t somehow mess up the words, “what if we do get married this summer?”

Turns out there’s a lot more to a wedding than just showing up, saying a few words and putting on some rings.

Adam Lowry/Brandon Tanev

while all his body trembled by onlypartly (foreverkneeld) 

(407): It's very finicky. Like baking. or BDSM.

mixer attachments by snailmailed

“It’s a KitchenAid. You have the same one. Are you feeling okay?” He added when Brandon continued to stare at his brand new mixer.

Brandon blinked. “Yeah dude, I know what it is.”

“Okay well it didn’t seem like -”

“I know what it is! Obviously.” Brandon huffed.

(Adam buys his own KitchenAid, Brandon doesn't take it well.)

FORMER/INTERNATIONAL TEAMMATES

Nazem Kadri/James Van Riemsdyk

hit me with that by landofpromise 

Nazem isn’t sure what to think when James’ name appears on his screen.

Mathew Barzal/Thomas Chabot

careless with my heart again by aimerai 

Mat looks at Chabby, actually looks at him, and wants to kiss him. This is not a new thought, nor is it particularly damning. Mat wants to make him fall apart, and that’s fine, too. But wanting to smooth out the faint wrinkle of his brow and uncoil the tension from his shoulders is a line he can’t cross. Wanting Chabby to go back to the person he was when he was asleep, carefree, is not something he is allowed. Staying the night was a detour; staying in bed was a mistake, and yet, Mat can’t bring himself to regret it. Some things are an inevitability; this may not be one of them, but Mat thinks he’d have chosen to land here anyway. Even if it’s going to hurt, even as he’s trying to pull himself out of one of the biggest hurts he’s ever had.

Anthony Cirelli/Taylor Raddysh

It Started Out With a Kiss (Or: How It Ended Up Like This) by love_stella 

“Who was that?” Misha asks, cutting him off.

“It was no one, don’t worry about it,” Tony tries to say, knowing damn well it’s going to be impossible to get them to stop now that they’ve started.

“No no no, that wasn’t no one,” Misha says, “You don’t just walk up and kiss no one.”

Anthony Cirelli/Taylor Raddysh/Mitchell Stephens

Magnolia by love_stella 

What catches his eye is a hint of blue floating around the water, but before he can reach his hand in to check he’s hit with another coughing fit, only this time he’s able to catch most of the petals in his palms so he can inspect them to make sure his eyes aren’t tricking him. Surely enough, Taylor didn’t even cough up any of Tony’s flower this time, the petals he’s holding are shorter and a pale blue that Taylor might find beautiful if they didn’t just come out of his lungs.

Eric Comrie/Chase De Leo

Trying To Get That Feeling Again by Mooresomore 

Chase and Eric had been together and things were perfect. What happened when Chase got traded to the Ducks changed all that. Can they find what was missing?

Dante Fabbro/Tyson Jost

all these songs of love by somehowunbroken 

Dante's an aspiring musician, so he'll take whatever help he can get, including a boy in 

his dreams who helps him write his music. Everything's going fine until he looks up during a show and sees that boy in the crowd.

Alexandre Fortin/Jeremy Lauzon/Philippe Myers

this doesn’t look that much different from home by aimerai 

Alex is born somewhere between a hope and a dream, made more of magic than of DNA. He’s not quite a changeling child, but the first time he watches Pinocchio, he cries and cries and can’t stop, until he feels like he’s going to throw up with each hitching breath. It feels too similar, and he’s always known what he is.

Or, the moments that make a homecoming.

Marcus Johansson/Evgeny Kuznetsov

putting broken pieces back in place by ghosthunter 

“Evgeny Evgenyvich,” the stranger says.

“Huh?” Zhenya asks, confused. He stops to look up into the black space where a face should be.

“What would you give,” the stranger asks.

“For what?” Zhenya asks. He considers continuing walking, but he can’t. He considers running, but he can’t do that either. He thinks these things, but his body won’t do them.

“For what you want,” the stranger says to him.

Auston Matthews/Patrick Kane

Half in the shadows, half burned in flames by Caivallon 

Between night and day. In this strange endless twilight between yesterday and tomorrow when everything is possible.

They have played a game. A tempting and thrilling game.

Nathan MacKinnon/Mitch Marner

Pine your way to China by Aderam

In which our hero is surprisingly good at talking about it, but not to the right person.

AKA hockey boys are dumb, but we like them anyway.

William Nylander/David Pastrnak

Love and Marriage by blindbatalex 

“Yeah I got married and didn’t tell any of you,” David deadpans before it’s too late, finally able to form words, and there is a moment when it goes so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Taylor Crosby/Amanda Kessel

run it, run it (like a girl) by ghosthunter 

Hockey analysts will make a rivalry out of anything. And if it’s not the analysts, then it’s the media. All they really had in common was they went to the same school and play the same sport.

OTHERS

Leon Draisaitl/Connor McDavid/Dylan Strome

ain't nothing like them summer nights by liroa15 

Connor's got one boyfriend for home and one boyfriend for away, and somehow they're all making it work. Together. Away from it all.

Alexander Ovechkin/Tyler Seguin; Nicklas Backstrom/Tyler Seguin

Icebreaker by myrthrilmercury

Throughout the league, Alexander Ovechkin is known as "Icebreaker" for his prowess at training the brattiest and most stubborn subs. His latest assignment is to transform the rude, rebellious Tyler Seguin into an obedient submissive willing to do anything commanded.

Sidney Crosby/Travis Konecny; Sidney Crosby & Marc-Andre Fleury

Forever in a Minute by elenajames

Sid lets the league send an alpha match for his heat, and he's not prepared for who they pick.

[axiomsofice]

Kraken: A New Threat Rises

The much anticipated Seattle Expansion Draft was not quite what anyone expected, and until they take the ice we can do nothing but speculate how this team might perform. One thing is for certain, Seattle’s approach to the onslaught of transactions was far closer to GM Francis’ Hurricanes than to Vegas’ previous expansion, in terms of strategy and vision.

It is under this context we can start to assess the main strengths and themes of the inaugural Kraken outfit, and immediately one commitment stands out, defence. A hallmark of Francis’ aforementioned Hurricanes tenure, this was clearly a focal point in choosing a coaching staff. Coach Hakstol’s track record is quite strong at this moment of time. His work with the Flyers is ageing well, and as an Assistant with the Leafs the team’s defence transformed from weak to strong. Ultimately, where it matters most is on the ice, where the roster is consistent with their Coach and GM in said defensive ability.

Right away the blueline should be among the top third of the league as it boasts a very deep group that has some star power as well. Giordano and Larsson are established defenders, so we know they will deliver quality minutes. Oleksiak signed a big deal with the team, and well deserved. Even though he’s the same age as Larsson, he’s continued to get better every year. If that trend continues at all the rest of the league is in trouble. Vince Dunn had a tough final season in St. Louis, but he’s shown he can play enough in his young career that many have called him Seattle’s Shea Theodore, which might be a bit bullish, but he certainly is around the same age and coming from a similar situation. With the three mentioned prior with him he will not be overextended, and in fact between the four their skillsets do seem to cover a lot of bases.

Beyond that Carson Soucy projects for 3rd pair minutes, a role he excelled at in Minnesota. Jeremy Lauzon was one of my easiest choices in my own Seattle Expansion mock, coming from an important role on the Bruins. He’s fast, physical, and aggressive, and Boston is definitely not thrilled to have lost him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he found his way further up the lineup at some point. This is already 6 good NHL caliber defenders and we haven’t even touched on the brothers Fleury (Haydn, Cale), Will Borgen, Denis Cholowski, and Conor Carrick, who would all be fighting for time on any NHL team. Without a doubt the Kraken have the tools to ice a very strong defence group.

However, this defensive philosophy is present throughout the forward group as well, it takes every player on the ice after all. Yes, looking through their forwards one might try to wonder who will score for the Kraken, it does lack the name brand excitement retrofitted to the Inaugural Vegas team, but they are both defensively strong and deep, and they most definitely will not cheat you for effort. Perhaps the perfect player to encapsulate these characteristics is Colin Blackwell, and if you’re wondering who that is, that is exactly what I mean. He played his way onto a Nashville team two years ago, played well enough to sign with the Rangers, played his way onto Panarin’s line (to the dismay of those who wanted Kakko or Lafrenire to get minutes there) and played so well Panarin is rumoured to have asked to keep Blackwell on his line. As Babcock famously said of Hyman, “the stars like to play with someone to get the puck back”, Blackwell has thrived on doing the dirty work.

And he’s not alone. We saw Yanni Gourde play a huge role on the Lightning’s 2nd most important line (sorry Stamkos) in back to back cups, forming a legendary checking line with Coleman and Goodrow. In 2021 I learned both Tanev brothers are severely underrated, so Brandon will be a lot more than a pretty face once the season starts. Finally both Wennberg and Jarnkrok are really well rounded, defensively responsible, and physical players. Throw in Mason Appleton and that’s 6 really intense forwards to start with. Particularly Gourde and less so Wennberg have a bit more offence, but all 6 could chip in 10+ goals in a full season as well, which starts to add up as we go through the lineup.

Schwartz is a strong signing, a bona fide top 6 winger does a lot considering the rest of the roster, but Schwartz has posted strong defensive numbers with the Blues throughout his career. Eberle adds a splash of offensive flavour that is needed. Donskoi is a good middle 6 forward but if you aren’t familiar with his work, the guy’s got mad dangles. McCann has had a tumultuous carrer path thus far, but he’s coming off a strong year with Pittsburgh, and he might be one of the best power play options on this team. He was on pace for 25+ goals last year and could easily equal that pace again in his 25 year old season. This quartet should be the offensive catalysts of the team, and if they could all get 15+ goals it would put the team in a good spot to be successful.

The two biggest x factors, especially when it comes to Seattle’s goal scoring potential, lie with Morgan Geekie and Alexander True. Both have proved to be strong offensive players in the AHL and are ready to be full time NHLers. Both have positional flexibility as well, and if they can both play well enough to take a hold of a role in the top 9 forwards this team would be so much better for it.

All this attention to detail in terms of preventing goals against will make the netminders’ jobs that much easier. Grubauer’s played really well on strong teams, but has been a bit injury prone, so his contract does remind me of the Leafs signing Andersen 5 years ago. The injury history, as well as the continuing trend of tandem situations in net, justify the overqualified Drieger. Joey D’Accord is a good 3 as well, regardless virtually everything would have to go wrong for this group to underperform.

It’s for these reasons that it’s hard to imagine Seattle being that bad of a team this year, and as everyone chuckles at the on-paper strength of the Pacific Division, it’s not out of the question that they make the playoffs. It’s getting ahead of myself, but they seem rough and tumble enough to do really well in the playoffs as well, and if they finish 3rd they’ll probably play Edmonton in the 1st round…

As we go forward it will be interesting to see how their treasure trove of cap space is utilised, and most likely they might be waiting to see how they perform before deciding how to use it to their advantage. It’s easy to see how adding a talented but expensive played might not cost a lot, and simultaneously vastly improve the quality of the team. Tarasenko is one that’s been speculated, and honestly I think that would take them into a legitimately good team tier.

The final, and perhaps most important point of their offseason is the acquisition of Matthew Beniers. I’m not sure they will have a shot of selecting so high in the near future, and to be able to grab a great centre prospect, especially considering how scarce that opportunity is for even an expansion team (ahem, VGK), and the strengths and weaknesses of their roster, it bodes so well for the future of the Kraken beyond 2022. Many said he is a good defensive centre, a good support player, a good transition player, some Larkin and Bergeron (stylistic) comparisons, and it's easy to see how that would fit in so nicely whenever he makes the jump (my guess is spring 2022, after NCAA season).

[puckyouranalysis]

The Fate of #8: Tampa vying for Pavelski

Joe Pavelski, captain of the San Jose Sharks, will be listed as a free agent this Monday, July 1st. This comes as a result of the Sharks not being able to shift finances around enough to pay his ever rising AAV. He is projected to be valued at $7.7M this next season. 

Pavs was spotted June 26th by a fan, @matthewkoval_ on Twitter, having a meeting with Lightning GM Julien BriseBois (JBB) in Hyde Park.

YALL. We’re at a restaurant in Hyde Park and freaking JBB AND JOE PAVELSKI JUST GOT SAT DOWN ACROSS FROM US THEY’RE MEETING RN!!!

— Matt Koval (@matthewkoval_)

Since then the internet has been stormed (pun intended) with rumors about the where we may see Pavelski move next. Note: He also has met with the Dallas Stars, and other teams have expressed interest. The main question we’re asking, as fans, is:  

Problem #1: Can we afford him?

Easy answer: No. But that doesn't mean we won’t try to make it work anyway. Lightning just traded J.T. Miller to Vancouver, and announced Ryan Callahan will be on LTIR which frees up some cap space and promotes flexibility. [x] However, we have $12M and seven spaces to fill, as of right now, on the ice.  

“Even assuming the Lightning can get him at a number closer to six million because of taxes and his desire to pursue a Cup, there’s no easy solution for how this would work under the salary cap. Any idea of bringing in Pavelski probably has to start with trading Yanni Gourde. The team just signed Gourde to a five year extension at a little over $5 million per season last fall. He has a no-trade clause that would kick in on July 1. So if they want to make that move, it will have to happen before Monday.” [x] Breaking a contract they just arranged would reflect poorly on JBB and our teams integrity. But what Gourde and our team generally lack in dominant net-presence, Pavelski brings to the table.

Problem #2: Why sign a vet player?

He’s 34 so technically we wouldn't see him signing a 35+ contract yet. And Yes, right now, Pavs certainly doesn't play like he's grown out of his prime. He's a monster on the ice with 38 Gs in 75 games last season, a career record, compared to 22 Gs in 82 games during the ‘17-’18 season. But age tends to sneak up on players then hit quickly, severely affecting their ability. This was exemplified with Roberto Luongos of the Florida Panthers recent retirement. This should make age and regression fresh in mind for JBB. Just in the past season, we've seen Pavelski having to overcome serious injuries, it is quite possible we’re going to see all this catch up with him sooner rather than later. If he is signed, it clearly would not be in our best interest to have that contract stretch beyond a few years.

After lightning leading the hockey season, then falling more than short in the playoffs, it’s possible JBB views bringing in a veteran as a safe bet at a cup. [x] And Pavs could be viewing it as a cup opportunity and an income tax break making his overall earnings higher even if the amount is lower than we’re expecting. 

Problem #3: Is he a good fit?

“He was a high end offensive play driver in San Jose last season. Going back to Evolving Hockey, he had the tenth best impact on his teams offensive play of anyone in the NHL last season and was in the top 50 overall...On a team like Tampa, he’d probably pick up more assists just by being on the ice with other high-end shooting talent so if he repeated what he did last year, he could easily end up with 75-80 points.” [x]

It has become obvious that a lot of other far-reaching changes would have to be made to the Lightning roster to create a space for Pavelski. We’ve already seen J.T. Miller traded to make cap room for Brayden Point, and before we even have a second to process that contract, we’re seeing another steep contract for another center try to be negotiated? It’s a questionable strategy, and there are so many factors to weigh. But Pavs packs a punch: The punch we might need to dominate playoffs this time around, and win the cup. 

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 45 - TBL - Fire Housley

Perhaps I was too tough on the coaching staff Friday night after the loss in Carolina. As I kept tabs on the standings this weekend it was clear the Sabres would indeed fall out of their playoff spot but it got me thinking how crazy it is that holding a playoff spot is a thing for this team. Not to turn this team into a kiddy ride but this is the first season in recent memory Buffalo has been in a place to have to defend a playoff spot and they did it for 63 days kicking it off with the first ten game win streak in a decade and a reclamation of a City’s love for Hockey. I think we can all put that streak to rest now. It’s clear as day that this team isn’t any kind of divisional contender. The bar has been raised nonetheless and they need to make the playoffs this season or Phil Housley, no matter how refreshing this season may have felt, ought to be on the hot seat. Before we jump down that rabbit hole we thought was filled in before Thanksgiving let’s have some playoff trash talk: Tampa Bay, You may be the only team in the Eastern Conference I see the Sabres being unable to beat in a first round playoff series. That said, the monster bleeds and when Buffalo beats the beast, which happens more than one might think, it’s the result of a totally complete team getting stifled by a goalie and five skaters who all play somehow defense. A Playoff Series would be a fun matchup if for nothing else except the experience it would give a young Sabres team. If it was a fair go of it some of us WNYers may even find ourselves pulling for the Bolts to win the big prize but I can see scenario where a Bolts team off their game gets surprised by a Sabres team firing on a cylinders because it’s so wild they’re there in the playoffs: Sabres in 7. Sorry, that wasn’t all that encouraging from a Sabres point of view was it? There are some points of encouragement in this game for a Buffalo Squad undoubtedly in free fall as well as points of contention for a Coach who is getting Jack Adams Trophy talk.

Some games trigger the collective spirit of a City or region. Its playoffs time in the NFL and with that league’s brief seasons and culturally engrained fan support in cities like Boston and Kansas City there are tons of moments of group misery and catharsis. 26 Seconds into this Sabres game the Lightning scored after a blown coverage off a faceoff. Brayden Point snuck it past Linus Ullmark as if this wasn’t a game in Buffalo where we’re all pleading for this team to not look like its dead in the water. I was not in the building but you could feel the “Here we go” through the internet. Luckily the Sabres were not dead in the water at any point for the rest of the game. Less than two minutes later Buffalo got some sustained offensive zone time that began a lead in shots they would hold for the rest of the first period. At one point Jack Eichel got the puck to Sam Reinhart who found himself in front of a wide open net behind Louis Domingue. Neither he nor Jeff Skinner who quickly arrived on the scene could put it in. The Sabres didn’t get many hot shots on the ensuing powerplay but maintained O-zone time until at 5:47 in Sam Reinhart wired in a shot through the woods from the slot to tie the game. Later in the first period the Sabres found themselves on a brief 5-on-3 advantage after penalties to Steven Stamkos and Yanni Gourde. Once again the powerplay fell flat and for the second time in three games the Sabres did not convert on the double advantage. On lighter note, Victor Hedman took a shot that broke his stick and Ullmark scooped up the separated stick blade as it slid into his glove. Little point of humor, eh? The Sabres got a second goal in a period they could have had four when Zemgus Girgensons and Tage Thompson cruised into the zone together racing the horn. Thompson got the goal and his brief stint on the top line in the Carolina game may not be an aberration if he can stay consistent.

It was 7:20 into the second period when Mikhail Sergachev and Ondrej Palat teamed up for a goal that was quicker than lightning. All puns aside it was the kind of quick pass goal you see Championship teams convert. The puck was in the corner with Sergachev maybe a half second before it was off Palat’s stick and in. Ullmark probably only saw a handful of those plays in his AHL days and a stop like that will only come in time played in the NHL. Nonetheless it was 2-2 and for the majority of these first forty minutes you might be saying the Sabres were playing the better game if not at least the more fun version of it. Our favorite rookies Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin had some glorious opportunities and yes, I do say that all the time. You have to imagine as they become more and more experienced more and more goals will come their way. The third period was the most contentious one. It was hardly five minutes in when Marco Scandella tapped in a pass from Jason Pominville and Domingue really looked out of position. Maybe the Sabres can confuse the living shit out of us again and beat the team they were supposed to lose to the night after they lost to the team they were supposed to beat; I mean Marco worse-in-his-own-zone Scandella scored a goal! The building was not done celebrating when Nikita Kucherov out-maneuvered Zach Bogosian and Lawrence Pilut to scored one of those full-body extension goals they always use as the background of every hockey page ever. Kucherov is a real threat for the Art Ross Trophy so you probably won’t demean his skill but I fear for Lawrence Pilut who maybe in the Press Box for a few games because of that play. I’m not to that line of criticism yet because this is a tie game at 3 at this point.

The turning point of this game probably comes when the Sabres are on a powerplay and Jack Eichel attempts to go between Ryan McDonagh and the boards in the corner and gets called for elbowing. Eichel definitely made contact with McDonagh and perhaps McDonagh does feel that but it was clearly not intentional and the former Ranger certainly sold the hit falling on the ice thereafter. Eichel didn’t want to use the word embellishment in postgame but I think an objective observer might. That penalty negated the PP and Steven Stamkos scored moments later. I was saltier than the roads in Buffalo are right now and for Sabres fans in attendance there were boos. Rochester native Ryan Callahan snuck in a powerplay goal in the dying minutes after a holding call on Lawrence Pilut and this game ended 5-3. It’s worth noting the Sergachev high-sticking on Zemgus Girgensons that would be negated earned that particular Montreal black sheep a 2 grand fine that I’m told is the max allowable under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. It’s perhaps only noteworthy because it drew blood from Girgensons and in a stretch when my only feeling toward the Sabres can be summarized with the word salt it feels like justice. Nonetheless it’s a regulation loss, no points and a certain fall from the playoff picture with a Western Canada road trip staring us in the face.

Enough teasing: you read the click bait. Fire Housley. Remember when we had a fucking watch on that through Halloween? It was hasty then but it’s founded now. Every coach makes puzzling deployment moves every now and again but the good ones maximize their player’s strengths and minimize their player’s weaknesses. It’s probably unfair to lay the blame for a shit stretch since Christmas and beyond on Jason Botterill and I am honestly not the type to chase guys out of town. Botterill has done a good job signaling he isn’t rushing to get the Sabres somewhere they don’t need to be this spring but he’ll also tell you the roster is good enough for a playoff berth. Can Housley make good on that belief? I assume that’s the party line the whole Front Office is pulling. Chris Taylor down in Rochester pulled the Amerks out of a Pre-Christmas slump and he is looking down the stretch at a playoff run that very well could end in a trophy. They’re different leagues but coaching is all the same. You use what you got to get the best out of what you got. This is two games in a row the secondary scoring has clicked on. If the forward corps keeps clicking and the wins don’t come more and more folks will be looking at Housley. I’m not saying I’ll be tweeting Fire Housley, that’s click bait, but now more than any time in his tenure I think we have the criteria for his firing. We can find ways to hate any coach but it will be hard to feel for a coach who blows the Sabres first half in their back half.

On that cheerful note, I ask you to like, share and maybe even leave a comment on this blog. I really could use some input. Not only that: but if I get a handful of comments I might just have a surprise on the blog side for you faithful readers. That said, do you exist? I know folks read this because twitter and tumblr metrics tell me but you guys minus well be data points on a screen to me unless you let me know you’re there. We could use all the company we can get going into this cold Western Canadian trip and barren bye-week. What hockey blog does puns better than this one? Let me know you’re here. Let’s go Sabres! 

Thanks for reading.

P.S. In the “It could be worse” category the Anaheim Ducks are now on an 11 game losing streak.

[winterolympicssports2018-blog]

Lightning make emphatic 'Point' to pull even with Bruins

Click here for More Olympics Updates https://www.winterolympian.com/lightning-make-emphatic-point-to-pull-even-with-bruins/

Lightning make emphatic 'Point' to pull even with Bruins

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been just as resilient in the Stanley Cup playoffs as they’ve been all season.

Challenged by coach Jon Cooper to compete harder and raise their level of play after dropping the opener of their second-round series against the Boston Bruins, the top seed in the Eastern Conference responded with a 4-2 victory in Game 2 of the best-of-seven matchup Monday night.

Point’s 4-point effort led the Lightning to a 4-2 win over Boston, tying their 2nd round series 1-1. 1:37

Brayden Point had an empty-net goal and three assists. He also teamed with Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat to slow down Boston’s high-scoring line of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand.

Game 3 is Wednesday night in Boston.

“It feels good. I thought we played well,” Point said after posting just the third four-point game in Tampa Bay’s history. “We had a tough night in Game 1. I thought we came back tonight knowing we’d end up better.”

Bolts answer challenge

Point assisted on Tampa Bay’s first three goals before sealing the win with his empty-netter with 25.2 seconds left.

Yanni Gourde had a first-period goal and Johnson and Palat also scored for the Lightning, which rebounded from a 6-2 loss in Game 1.

“We needed to have a bounce back, we needed to have an answer, and I thought we did that,” Johnson said. “I thought we competed really hard, I thought we played well and we got rewarded with some chances and some opportunities.”

Bergeron, Pastrnak and Marchand combined for three goals and 11 points in the opener, with most of the damage coming while Point’s line was trying to contain them. They had four more points in Game 2, but were unable to take over the game.

Cooper said he never considered changing the matchup against Boston’s top line.

Point made

“I honestly didn’t. … We know they can do it. We have faith in them, and I thought they were outstanding tonight,” Cooper said before turning his attention back to Point.

“The kid’s a hockey player and he competes hard,” Cooper said. “Trust me, if there was any talk of pulling him off that line, I think those three guys would have marched right into my room and said, ‘What are you doing?”‘

Charlie McAvoy scored for the Bruins late in the first period. Torey Krug’s late goal trimmed Tampa Bay’s lead to 3-2 with just over four minutes remaining.

Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 18 shots. Tuukka Rask finished with 27 saves for Boston.

“They lost 6-2 at home and didn’t feel good about their game. So, you’ve got to expect they’re going to come out and play hard,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I expect it in Game 3 going forward. They’ll play hard and so will we.”

‘We’ve got to be better’

The Lightning had nearly twice as many scoring opportunities as the Bruins in the series opener and controlled play early Monday night, getting off the first 10 shots of the game and taking a 1-0 lead on Gourde’s power-play goal at 11:47 of the first period.

With the exception of failing to taking advantage of a long 5-on-3 power play, the Bruins made the most of limited chances, with the Bergeron line leading the way.

McAvoy’s goal, with Bergeron and Marchand assisting, made it 1-1. Pastrnak and Marchand set up Krug’s goal to keep the Bruins close.

The Bergeron line has 12 goals and 41 points in Boston’s five playoff wins. The four assists Monday night are the only points the trio has delivered in four losses.

“I know they had a good game, but I think it’s more on us,” Pastrnak said of the play of Point’s line. “We’ve got to be better Wednesday.”

McAvoy said no one should be surprised the series is tied headed to Boston for the next two games.

“You want to sweep every series, obviously. But how attainable is that?” the defenceman said.

“We’re down to the last eight teams in the league. Every team here belongs here. These guys are a great team. We were battling with them all year for first place in the standings,” McAvoy added. “We know they’re a good team, but we’re a good team as well. So, this is going to be a tight series. I don’t think anybody doubts that.”

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[junker-town]

An underrated little star kept the Lightning from the edge

The Lightning won by getting the puck to the (Brayden) Point.

Losing two home games to start a playoff series is trouble. The Capitals got away with it in these Stanley Cup Playoffs’ first round, but more than 80 percent of teams that fall into that position go on to lose. So the Lightning, down 0-1 to the Bruins, didn’t quite have their backs to the wall against Boston on Monday, but they were in the wall’s neighborhood.

The Lightning recovered, though, two days after getting run out of their own building by a deep Bruins team that (like them) never runs short of scorers. They notched a 4-2 win in Game 2, and the man most responsible was a 5’10 third-round draft pick who’s made himself into one of the NHL’s better players over the course of a two-year career.

Brayden Point has been good all year. He was better in Game 2.

Point has had a quiet emergence. He’s a third-round pick from 2014 who made his debut last season, the only one in the last five that saw the Lightning miss the playoffs. He established himself as a man to watch that year, with 40 points in 68 games.

In 2016-17, his rookie year, Point didn’t score a goal until his 12th NHL game, but he started to make noise as an otherwise lousy Lightning season wound toward its conclusion. Point scored nine goals in Tampa Bay’s last 15 games. He carried his strong play into this season, when he scored three in three games to start the year and never really let up. This year, he finished third on Tampa in scoring with a balanced 66 points, behind Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. The little winger was one of the best players on the best team in the Eastern Conference. And he’s saved some of his finest work for the playoffs.

Having gotten drubbed in the first game, the Lightning needed someone to drive them to a win in Game 2. Point was that dude. He had four points, and one of them was on an empty-net goal that I swear was among the most skillful empty-netters you’ll ever seen in your life:

+ @BraydenPoint19 had himself a night. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/PdNCauj7Uq

— NHL (@NHL) May 1, 2018

Point’s play was picturesque. He had the primary assist on the first goal of the game, a Yanni Gourde wrister that beat Tuukka Rask from 27 feet out on a power play. Point is a right-handed shot and didn’t have an ideal angle to make this specific pass, but he moved downward from the top of the right circle and threaded a cross-ice needle to Gourde, who finished the play:

Find the seam and put it through. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/iVPx9nGnDX

— NHL (@NHL) April 30, 2018

Tampa Bay’s second goal came from Tyler Johnson on a fast break. The play started with playoff magician Ondrej Palat corralling the puck in his own end, turning, and bouncing an area pass off the boards ahead of Point. The thing about Point is that he’s — ahem — lightning-fast, and he won a race to the puck before cutting back and putting it on Johnson’s tape for a primo scoring chance:

So. Much. Speed. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Ljnl25rQMo

— NHL (@NHL) May 1, 2018

The third goal, the last one before Point’s effortful empty-netter, came off Palat’s stick. Boston’s star winger and alleged serial face-licker Brad Marchand lost the puck at his own blue line. Point collected it, shielded it with his butt, and gave it to Palat in time for the Czech to go top-cheddar glove-side on Rask.

Marchand turns it over and Palat capitalizes pic.twitter.com/srhxteiZaa

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 1, 2018

Point needed his teammates to close the deal on all of these goals, but he was the engine at the center of all of them.

The 21-year-old has real goal-scoring ability and put 32 pucks in the net this year, just about even with his 34 assists. But dating back to his junior career with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, Point’s always been a playmaker first. He puts up huge assist totals year after year, and he can use his speed to back off defenders and make space for his teammates.

The Lightning have a ways to go in this series and afterward, but they might yet win the Cup.

If they do, Stamkos, Kucherov, defenseman Viktor Hedman, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy will be the biggest reasons why. Point won’t be the first guy to get the Cup from captain Stamkos and skate it around the ice in whichever NHL arena. But every winning superstar needs supporting cast-mates who can step into the limelight in a pinch. Point has shown he can do that all year, but he drove the point home with authority on Monday.

[newsfundastuff]

Mitch Marner has never played a game without fans.Even as a kid trying to hone his skills in frigid minor hockey arenas, there was always a parent, a sibling, a friend or even strangers in the stands watching the future star winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs.But as government and health officials scramble to try and contain the COVID-19 outbreak around the world, NHL players are facing the very real possibility of battling behind closed doors."It'd be weird," Marner said earlier this week. "Growing up, you've never played an empty stadium or empty arena. You always had someone there to watch. It'd be interesting ... we'll see what happens."It's now a reality for several teams.The Columbus Blue Jackets announced late Wednesday afternoon they will play their home games, including Thursday's contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins, without fans after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he will be issuing an order regarding "mass gatherings" in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus.The Blue Jackets said they will abide by the forthcoming ban as long as it's in effect.Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks announced they will play their next three home games without fans after the county where their arena is located banned large public gatherings. The games are March 19 versus the Montreal Canadiens, March 21 against the Boston Bruins and March 29 versus the Arizona Coyotes.Before the Sharks' announcement, Montreal defenceman Jeff Petry was asked about the possibility of playing games with no fans."It would be weird," he said. "It would be weird to play in that atmosphere — that lack of atmosphere."Hockey leagues in Germany and Austria have already cancelled the rest of their seasons and playoffs, while a number of other overseas sporting events have been played without fans.The NBA's Golden State Warriors will face the Brooklyn Nets at home Thursday in the league's first game minus spectators after San Francisco's mayor banned all gatherings of 1,000 people for more for two weeks.The NCAA announced Wednesday it would be holding the high-profile March Madness men's and women's basketball tournaments without fans, next week's world figure skating championships in Montreal have been called off, and baseball's Mariners have moved their games at the end of the month out of Seattle after that city's mayor banned large gatherings.The Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips announced the junior team will play their final regular-season home game on March 20 without fans after Washington state banned large group events in its county. The WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds are doing the same thing for their next two home games.Dr. Alon Vaisman, an infection control physician at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine, said closing venues to fans will reduce the likelihood of transmission."Given the direction we're headed in, and given perhaps the short-term nature of this, although we can't say for sure how long this will last, I think most people would agree now that limiting interaction and sporting events is a good thing," Vaisman said. "It's necessary to try to slow down the virus."Most people diagnosed with COVID-19 experience mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, and the vast majority of those who contract the virus recover. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, the risk to the general population is low.But for some, including those 65 years of age and over, those with compromised immune systems or pre-existing conditions, the illness can be much more severe. Among the Canadians diagnosed with the illness, so far fewer than 15 per cent have required hospitalization."It's a tough situation," Vancouver Canucks winger Tyler Toffoli said. "Everybody is trying to take precautions needed.""It'd be obviously much different," Leafs centre Auston Matthews added of fan-less contests. "(They're) obviously a huge part of the game. That wouldn't be too fun."The NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer all restricted access to locker-rooms earlier this week, including members of the media, as a precaution.The next steps, which started in earnest Wednesday across North American sports, are more drastic."No question you want to play with people in the building," Leafs captain John Tavares said. "There's a lot of circumstances that go into to it. I hate playing the 'what if' game."Jason Spezza said playing in front of no fans is better than having games cancelled altogether."You try not to let your mind wander too far," said Toronto's veteran centre. "As players we still want to play games. We'll see where this goes."Tampa Bay Lightning forward Yanni Gourde said it would be difficult to get up for games in front of 20,000 empty seats."But it's our job," he said. "It's what we do. We come to the rink, we're ready to play."(But) we'd be better off if the building was filled."\- With files from Alexis Belanger-Champagne in Montreal, John Chidley-Hill in Toronto and Jim Morris in Vancouver.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2020.___Follow @JClipperton_CP on TwitterJoshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

https://ift.tt/3aMsupN

[paradoxicalca]

(OC) Frenchifying the Canadiens (An Alternate Reality)

(This is the squeakquel threequel to Moneyballing the Senators and Covertly Tanking the Wild)It's August 2019. Marc Bergevin and Trevor Timmins are sitting in the Montreal Canadiens' war room when the phone rings. It's Geoff Molson, the team president and co-owner.Hey guys, it's Geoff. I'm gonna cut a long story short - the province's Minister for Sports has apparently stumbled on some... compromising information about this organization. For legal reasons I'm not gonna get into it, but it implicates all of us in the front office. The good news is that he says he's not going to put it out there for the sake of the franchise and the city. The bad news is that he has one demand, and I don't think we'll be able to get out of it. He's a bit of a nationalist, you know? Very vive la Québec francophone and all that. He says the worst thing that ever happened to les Habs was when they started letting Ontarians and Americans on the team, and that he stopped watching when they made Saku Koivu captain. He told me he'll shred all the dirt he has on us if we make the Canadiens a 100% Québecois team by October. I know that puts you in a tough situation guys, but good luck guys!Bergevin and Timmins look at eachother in shock."Well at least this will save us a shit-ton on amateur scouting""This isn't funny Trevor, what the hell are we going to do? I guess I'll start sending out feelers and hopefully we'll be ready by opening night. If we rush this we'll lose every trade and look like imbéciles""No, Marc, we have to get all of this done now. Tonight. You think we'll lose these trades if we hurry? If McKenzie somehow gets wind of this and tweets it out we're gonna be icing a fucking QMJHL team this year. We need to do this all at once before anyone figures out what's going on.""Merde you're fucking right.""Think about it though Marc. If you brought a Cup to Montreal with a bunch of Anglos and Americans on the ice you'd be a hero, sure. But if you get les Canadiens une Coupe with all French guys they'll add your biceps to the fucking fleur de lis. Let's just do it and be légendes, frère.""Alright. Get me a list of every son of a bitch in this league with an accent aigu in their name, a six pack of Taureau Rouge, and 29 more phones."Six Hours Later​Bobby Margarita @TSNBobMcKenzieIt's probably nothing, but I'm hearing that the NHL trade line has about 12 trades pending.​Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNICHabs have signed Pominville (1.5M), Chartier (0.75M) and Bourque (0.7M) to 1 year contracts.​Bobby Margarita @TSNBobMcKenzieA lot of talk around the Habs right now. Things are about to get really silly.​Tampa Bay Lightning @TBLightningThe #Lightning have acquired LW Tomas Tatar, D Mike Rielly, G Charlie Lindgren, and a 2020 3rd round pick from the #Canadiens in exchange for RW Yanni Gourde, LW Cedric Paquette, and G Louis Domingue.​Columbus Blue Jackets @BlueJacketsNHLBLOCKBUSTER ALERT: #CBJ have acquired G Carey Price, C Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and D Jeff Petry in exchange for C Pierre-Luc Dubois, D David Savard, C Maxime Fortier, and a conditional 1st round draft pick.​Pittsburgh Penguins @penguinsTRADE ALERT: The Penguins have acquired defenceman Shea Weber and forward Max Domi from the Coyotes in exchange for Kris Letang, Jack Johnson, and Samuel Poulin.​Ottawa Senators @SenatorsNews Release: #Sens acquire defenceman Cale Fleury, forward Joel Armia from Montreal for Christian Wolanin and Anthony DuclairCommuniqué : Les #Sens acquièrent Cale Fleury et Joel Armia de Montréal pour Christian Wolanin et Anthony Duclair.​Colorado Avalanche @avalancheA big trade. #GoAvsGoColorado trades Sam Girard and Mark Barberio to Montreal for Victor Mete, Artturi Lehkonen, and 2018 2nd round pick Alexander Romanov​Vegas Golden Knights @GoldenKnightsTrading places! ⚔️Vegas acquires RW Brendan Gallagher from the Montreal Canadiens for LW Jonathan Marchessault and a conditional 2020 3rd.​New York Islanders @NYIslanders#Isles trade RFA rights to Anthony Beauvillier to MTL for C Ryan Poehling and C Nate Thompson.​Jim Matheson @NHLbyMattyStill blws my mind that Keith Gretzky hasn't been offered a GM job yet. Lots of respct around the league for his scouting in EDM. Wouldn't be surprised if Minneosta takes a long look at him​Chicago Blackhawks @NHLBlackhawksTRADE ALERT: Left Wing Paul Byron, Cayden Primeau, and Keith Kinkaid have been acquired from Montreal in exchange for Corey Crawford and Nicolas Beaudin.​Detroit Red Wings @DetroitRedWings#RedWings have acquired RW Cole Caufield and LD Brett Kulak from the Montreal Canadiens for C Joe Veleno and a 2020 4th round pick​Winnipeg Jets @NHLJets#NHLJets have acquired forward Jordan Weal and a second-round draft pick in the 2020 #NHLDraft from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Matthieu Perreault.​Arizona Coyotes @ArizonaCoyotesTRADE ALERT: #Coyotes have acquired Noah Juulsen from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jason Demers.​Vancouver Canucks @CanucksNHLTRADE ALERT: #Canucks have acquired a 2021 5th round pick from MTL for D Alex Biega​Anaheim Ducks @AnaheimDucksTRADE: The #Ducks have acquired centre Nick Suzuki, defenceman Ben Chiarot, centre Nick Cousins and a 2020 2nd round pick from the @CanadiensMTL for C Benoit-Olivier Groulx and LW Maxime ComtoisBergevin and Timmins slump down in their chairs, surrounded by crumpled up pieces of paper and half-drunk half-Red Bull protein shakes, and look at the new roster they've assembled, scrawled on the white board in front of them.Jonathan Marchessault - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Jonathan Drouin Anthony Beauvillier - Philip Danault - Yanni Gourde Anthony Duclair - Mathieu Perreault - Jason Pominville Joe Veleno - Cedric Paquette - Maxime Comtois Gabriel Bourque Samuel Girard - Kris Letang Christian Wolanin - David Savard Alex Biega - Jason Demers Mark Barberio Corey Crawford Louis Domingue The Next MorningThe hockey world is in complete chaos. The Canadiens' front office pulled off all of these trades simultaneously, and not a single other GM realized what was going on. Sure they guessed that the Habs were targeting their French players (what else is new?) but they were as shocked as anyone when they started getting frantic texts as soon as they had submitted the deals to the league.Hockey media is a mess. TSN has interrupted their coverage of Canadian U20 Cricket regionals and dispatched the Bellicopter to retrieve Bobby Margarita from the Muskoka wilderness; analytics bloggers are frantically assembling heat maps and charts to make some sense of the madness; podcasters are recording 6-hour episodes.Bergevin and Timmins are asleep, and will be until the afternoon. They'll wake up to a copy of Le Devoir and the Montreal Gazette on the front porch of the Bell Centre with competing editorials:Montreal Gazette - August 11 2019"What the Hell did Bergevin Just Do?"MONTREAL, QC - NHL teams aren't put together in a day - it takes years of scouting, developing, trading, and signing to put together a team that can compete for the Stanley Cup. To succeed, managers have to be able to set aside their biases - for certain types of players, for action, and for nationality - and make rational, measured decisions.Apparently nobody told Marc Bergevin that.On Saturday night, Bergevin blew up a team that finished as close to a playoff spot as is humanly possible. Usually in hockey "blowing up a team" means trading a few core pieces; in this case it meant a rabid simultaneous onslaught of 13 trades replacing 90% of the roster and a large chunk of the prospect cupboard. And why? So that the insecurity of nationalist Francophones can be resurrected on the Bell Centre (excuse me, Centre Bell) ice, and the worst nostalgic tendencies of our society can play out below the retired number banners of Doug Harvey, Larry Robinson, and Bernie Geoffrion.Maybe this team will be a Cup contender, maybe they won't be. But the message that Marc Bergevin has sent to the thousands of children who watch the Montreal Canadiens (many of whose Weber or Price jerseys are now suddenly out of date) is one of exclusion and tribalism. And he, and Geoff Molson, and every element of our province responsible for this idiocy should be ashamed.Le Devoir - 11 Août 2019"Bergevin: le sauveur du hockey québécois"MONTRÉAL, QC - Avant jeudi soir, le mandat du directeur général des Canadiens, Marc Bergevin, était controversé. Pour chaque échange intelligente, il en avait un autre qui était horrible. Mais maintenant, il n’ya aucun doute: Marc Bergevin est un héros.Les Canadiens de Montréal participeront à une coupe Stanley ce printemps, et ce, avec une formation entièrement née et élevée au Québec pour la première fois en près de cent ans. Les enfants de la belle province seront inspirés, et le hockey québécois retrouvera enfin sa place sacrée au sommet. Une nouvelle génération de fierté française, de renouveau national et de domination du hockey est à portée de main. Et il n'y a aucun doute sur qui est responsable. Vive Bergevin!​How did it turn out in the end? Let's just say that the Fleurgevin was hanging in every classroom in the province by the summer.Hope you enjoyed, if you have any ideas for a future thing like this let me know! (OC) Frenchifying the Canadiens (An Alternate Reality) Source

[thrashermaxey]

The 2019 playoffs are total chaos. Is that good? It depends on your door

The​ 2019 NHL playoffs​ are​ chaos.

On​ that,​ we​ can​ all agree.​ The argument comes​ with the second​ half​ of the equation,​​ which we’ll get to in a minute. But chaos? Honestly, that might be underselling it.

As far as things playing out as expected, we’ve got the Maple Leafs and Bruins going to Game 7, which we all figured was coming. The Capitals are in good position to beat the Hurricanes, although it’s been a tougher battle that most one-versus-wildcard matchups. The Islanders were technically the favorite over the Penguins, although nobody saw that one ending in four.

Beyond that? Madness. The first round has been a steady stream of upset exits, ranging from mildly surprising (Jets) to shocking (maybe the Predators Monday) to stunning (Flames) to incomprehensible (Lightning). Both top seeds are out, and it’s possible that all four division winners could be done in Round 1. The Islanders might be the only home-ice team to make it out alive. I don’t know what your bracket looks like, but I know it’s busted, and I wouldn’t be shocked if more than a few of you are staring down the possibility of an oh-for-eight.

That should be pretty close to impossible, but here we are. Nothing makes sense, nobody knows what’s going on, and none of us have the slightest clue what’s going to happen next. It’s chaos. We all agree.

Here’s the part where the argument starts: Is all this chaos a good thing?

I’ve asked that question in a few places, and something very strange happens whenever I do. Take this tweet, which quotes from a post I wrote a few weeks ago and then adds what seems like a reasonably lukewarm take: “I’m not sure this kind of Tampa upset is really a good thing for the NHL.” I tweeted that a week ago, and lots of people called me an idiot. That’s not strange – it’s Twitter, you can’t say anything without getting called an idiot. But the reaction was split almost exactly down the middle, with half of the people in the “Can you believe this idiot?” camp and half on the “Yep, this is how I feel too” side of the fence.

Here’s the strange part: More than a few fans on both sides didn’t seem to understand why the point even needed to be made. It was either the dumbest thing they’d ever heard, or the most obvious. There were all these hockey fans, just about evenly divided, who didn’t even seem to be aware that the other side of the debate even existed. It was Yanny vs. Laurel for the NHL playoff crowd.

It’s weird. Even when hockey fans get really mad over replay review or suspensions or fighting or whatever else, they tend to at least be aware that there’s another side. Not here. All of these upsets are obviously a good thing. Or they’re very obviously not. Why are we even talking about this?

I think I’ve figured out what’s going on.

Picture yourself standing in front of two doors. It’s Day 1 of the playoffs, when everything is still all shiny and new and nobody’s brackets are busted yet. You’re about to settle in for two months of NHL postseason action. But first, you have to decide which door you want to go through. You’re probably going to pick the same door you pick every year. You’re probably so used to picking that door that you don’t even realize the other one is there. But which door you pick ends up deciding a lot about how you view the playoffs, and whether you’re enjoying this year’s edition.

The first door stars with a belief, and it goes like this: The best team always wins the Stanley Cup.

It’s not the team with the best regular season record, because while the regular season tells us something, it’s not enough. It’s not the team with the biggest stars, or even the most talent top-to-bottom. It’s not the team with the best special teams or the smartest coach or the loudest fans or even the hottest goaltender, because while all of that certainly helps, it can only take you so far. And that’s what it’s all about: How far you can go.

One team goes all the way, while the other fifteen go home. When it’s over, one team is left standing, and that team is the best. They always were, even if we didn’t realize it until the very end.

In essence, if you choose door No. 1, you view the Stanley Cup playoffs as a two-month tournament designed to reveal the identity of the best team. The system can be ruthlessly efficient, discarding some teams almost immediately. It can also tease us with fakes and misdirection, baiting us into thinking we’ve figured out the identity of the best team, only to have the case dramatically collapse, leaving some other team as the new favorite.

But the key point is that the best team always wins. The occasional controversy aside, the system has a pretty much perfect success rate. It’s brutal and exhausting for everyone involved, but it works, and in the end the best team is left standing. They win because they’re the best. They’re the best because they won.

>> Read the full post at The Athletic

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from All About Sports http://www.downgoesbrown.com/2019/04/the-2019-playoffs-are-total-chaos-is.html

[thegloober]

Records, records, everywhere! The NHL has become the Everybody Gets A Record League

The NHL announced today that the NHL has set an NHL record for setting NHL records to start an NHL season. And they’re all wonderful great records because everything is so wonderful and great in the NHL.

Concussion lawsuit? Hey, look, Kyle Palmieri just became the first player in NHL history to score his team’s first goal in four consecutive games to start the season. Attendance issues? Well, nobody is coming to the games in Ottawa, but Max Lajoie’s 4-3-7 totals is the best first six games of any defenseman in Senators’ history. Choke slam to a Calder Trophy candidate? Look, Connor McDavid just became the first player to factor in on his team’s first nine goals of the season.

In the league’s defense, it is not referring to these stats as records. Instead, it says things like, “Connor McDavid makes history…” Or “Kyle Palmieri of the @NJDevils is the third player to score a power-play goal in each of his team’s first four games in a season since the NHL officially began tracking the statistic in 1933-34.” Good Lord.

Clearly, there has been a new hire at the NHL and this person either (a) has too much time on his/her hands, or (b) has a mandate to come up with scads of this phony-baloney stuff. So the NHL has become the Everybody Gets A Record League.

It seems we can’t go a day without somebody setting some sort of “record”. In fact, each of the 31 teams in the NHL has established a high-water mark of some sort this season, some of which might just be fabricated.

ANAHEIM: If Ryan Getzlaf gets into the lineup tonight against the Islanders, it will mark only the fourth time in history he and Ryan Kesler have been in the Ducks lineup at the same time. They recently went out for lunch to get reacquainted.

ARIZONA: The Coyotes are 1-4-0, have been shut out three times and scored just three non-shootout goals in their first five games. That makes 12 of the past 15 years the hockey world has said, “Here we go again,” which is a new record.

BOSTON: Brad Marchand established the longest stretch from the start of he season without licking an opponent. Giving Lars Eller a licking in a “fight” that should have gotten him suspended does not count.

BUFFALO: With a 3-3-0 record to start the season, the Sabres marked the first time in eight years they haven’t been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs in the first two weeks of the season.

CALGARY: Defenseman Travis Hamonic landed on the injured list with a facial fracture that stemmed from a fight with Erik Gudbranson of the Vancouver Canucks, which stemmed from a Gudbranson hit on Calgary rookie Dillon Dube for which he was penalized. That fight came less than five minutes into the game, setting the record for quickest dubious decision from the start of a season ever.

CAROLINA: Sebastian Aho recorded a point in each of the Hurricanes’ first seven games, giving him the record for the best start to a season among NHL players named Sebastian Aho.

CHICAGO: The Blackhawks have gotten off to a 3-0-2 record, leading to a record-number of analytics proponents to wonder what their purpose is in life.

COLORADO: Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen became the first teammates in franchise history to record points in six-plus to start a season since Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin in 1993-94. We didn’t make this up. Really, guys?

COLUMBUS: Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella set a personal best by going five games to start a season without telling anyone to go forth and multiply.

DALLAS: Defenseman John Klingberg scored at least a point in the Stars first five games to tie a franchise record. Which prompted him to ask his agent, “Can you recall exactly why I signed a seven-year deal that pays me only $4.25 million a season a few years ago?”

DETROIT: The Red Wings got off to an 0-4-2 record, the worst-ever start for a Red Wings team that didn’t have Nick Libett on it.

EDMONTON: With points on the Oilers first nine goals and a four-point performance in Edmonton’s 5-4 overtime win over Winnipeg Tuesday night, Connor McDavid set a record for shutting up the fan base in The Center of the Hockey Universe™.

FLORIDA: With no wins in their first four games, the Panthers set the franchise mark for fewest games to underachiever status to start the season.

LOS ANGELES: The Kings established a record for the slowest breakout of all-time Monday night against Toronto. However, they expect to be cycling the puck in the Leafs zone without getting a scoring chance well into next week.

MINNESOTA: Six games into the season and the Wild are already the most ‘meh’ team in NHL history.

MONTREAL: Tomas Plekanec became just the fourth player in franchise history to score a point in his 1,000th career game. And since Alexei Kovalev also did it, the second to do it while wearing a turtleneck.

NASHVILLE: The Predators are tied for their second-best start (5-1-0) in team history. That’s it. Hey, they can’t all be golden.

NEW JERSEY: Forget about all those goals, Kyle Palmieri has the best beard in NHL history.

NY ISLANDERS: The Islanders drew only 8,790 for their 4-0 win over San Jose, their lowest single-game attendance number since they moved to Brooklyn. That’s a record, right?

NY RANGERS: The Rangers have failed to sell out each of their first four home games this season. That’s cray-cray.

OTTAWA: With Chris Tierney, Dylan DeMelo and Mikkel Boedker outscoring Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman 18-5, the Senators have set the modern-day mark for confusing the hell out of everyone.

PHILADELPHIA: Goalie Brian Elliott set the record for complaining about the new goaltending equipment and as his 4.04 GAA and .874 save percentage attest, it has made him much more difficult to hit.

PITTSBURGH: With Sidney Crosby tied for 132nd in NHL scoring, he actually had a video session with coach Mike Sullivan. There’s a record in there somewhere.

ST. LOUIS: Jaden Schwartz took a puck in the foot and missed two games, giving him the record for most unlucky player ever, previously held by Joe Btfsplk.

SAN JOSE: The Sharks lead the league at plus-126 in shot attempts 5-on-5 after six games for an average of plus-21 per game. They’re currently 2-3-1, and have 10 players, including Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. If that’s not some kind of record after six games, it is now.

TAMPA BAY: The Lightning’s top three scorers are Tyler Johnson, Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde, giving the Lightning the shortest top-three scorers in history (averaging 5-foot-9) after the first four games of the season.

TORONTO: Coach Mike Babcock used the word “opportunity” 17 times in his post-game comments Monday night, which puts him at 214 times over the first seven games, shattering his record from last season.

VANCOUVER: After being choke-slammed to the ice in his fifth game of the season, Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson set the record for a rookie learning that some old-time hockey observers are delusional for suggesting it happened because he didn’t hit the weight room hard enough.

VEGAS: With four defeats in their first seven games, the Golden Knights established a franchise-high for losses in the month of October.

WASHINGTON: The Capitals have scored at least five goals and allowed at least six in three of their first five games, becoming the first team to play with a literal Stanley Cup hangover.

WINNIPEG: “He causes the pull, the gravitational pull.” Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice on Connor McDavid after watching McDavid singlehandedly beat his team Tuesday night. Best Connor McDavid quote ever.

Tags: lists, milestones and records, nhl

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About the Author

Ken Campbell

Ken Campbell, The Hockey News’ senior writer, is in his second tour with the brand after an eight-year stint as a beat reporter for the Maple Leafs for the Toronto Star. The Sudbury native once tried out for the Ontario League’s Wolves as a 30-year-old. Needless to say, it didn’t work out.

Source: https://bloghyped.com/records-records-everywhere-the-nhl-has-become-the-everybody-gets-a-record-league/

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 24 - TBL - Going Stan

5-2 Regulation Loss

We’re all resigned to it now aren’t we? This brutally disappointing November has made us all accept, barring a wicked trade or a Yuletide comeback, that this season will probably be another stinker. Sure, they’re still only four points back of a playoff spot but we’ve all seen this show before haven’t we? It’s now looking like a decent chance the Sabres will have a two-win November… like March… ugh. I’m sorry, I don’t got a rant in me. I’m not upset, I’m just disappointed. How do you follow a sports team you know is going to suck? Other than the tank thing which I know I can’t do; you normally pick a player or two and ride them like you’re the biggest One Direction fan in your High School. I went off the deep end after this game last night. Someone tweeted Carter Hutton isn’t looking good, I thought back to Linus Ullmark’s god-like performance Sunday night and went into full stan-account mode. I’m finding all the gifs I can and dusting off my favorite hot take: Linus Ullmark is the best goalie in the organization. That’s right move over UPL and your fake hips! Move over Carter “I looked good because I was Pekka Rinne’s backup on a fun playoff run” Hutton! The revolution continues! Lord knows this organization is going to go on platooning them because it’s law apparently that this club cannot have fun and or a smart deployment strategy. Are we in hell? Like Donald Trump is President but not only that but he’s been all but proven guilty of treasonous bribery and nobody cares. Sorry, no need to get political but this world kinda feels like the upside down these days. Botterill hasn’t pulled the trigger on the trade we’ve been waiting for since July and the coach we all loved until Halloween decided to call Phil Housley for some deployment advice. I could just be grumpy because those Buffalo Wings from Sunday night wreaked havoc coming out the other end during this game. Saying that might be worse than going political. Hmm. I guess we should talk about the game now.

I missed a few things last game because… well to be very frank I’m not watching these games. I’m going to the Calgary game tomorrow and that will be the first game I sit through the entirety of since that Isles 1-0 snooze fest. Brandon Montour as a forward… *Very RJ voice* WOW! Evan Rodrigues injured in the first play of the game further deepening a forward injury crisis when the team has already fallen behind in the standings? *Even more RJ voice* They’re bad, SCARY BAD! So nobody would have been shocked if you told them the Sabres were going to lose this game. They’ve looked like garbage and Tampa is one of the better teams of the cap era. However this game was looking for ways to kick us in the balls. Andrey Palat hardly has to work to get a defensive zone turnover out of the visitors and he gets it to Nikita Kucherov who puts in… 13 seconds into this game. I don’t know what your game day habits are but my dad would still be on the concourse buying beer. I just ran out of money for the streaming service I got Sabres games on, so I’ve been working with the illegal streams reddit and that nasty underbelly normally causes me to not get my eyes on the game for the first 2-5 minutes. I would have missed that goal… you know, if I was watching. But as I said, this game, at least in the first period was looking creative ways to hurt our genitals. So after an early Tampa goal how do you do that? How about an Eichel to Olofsson to Sam Reinhart goal 3:40 in to even it up at 1? Sure! It was fun little goal. The cute top line we’re stuck with made a full neutral zone transition as the nerds say and Sam Reinhart took a shot that probably would have gone wide had Andrei Vasilevskiy’s pad not redirected it in. We’ve seen this show before though. With that tie the most I could muster was a solid Larry David “Meh”. This club can’t win unless it throws everything, and the kitchen sink out the door these days.

Buffalo didn’t look particularly awful in this game either. They outshot Tampa 27-14 in the first two periods. For a minute they wanted this game. But just like we’ve seen over and over this month, something just doesn’t connect, and they can’t get it going. Last night however, they had one more trick up their sleeves before the Bolts took the game away. Jimmy Vesey is the beneficiary of a blueline giveaway and takes it all the way home for the 2-1 Sabres goal! When I saw Jimmy Vesey unassisted I was already shocked but a breakaway against the Bolts? This stuff is getting weird now. Rasmus Asplund, now a fulltime Sabre because of the forward plague going on, got to Vesey first after the goal and you can’t see his mouth, but you know he was saying “Holy Shit, if you scored I can totally score!” Sorry, fourteenth Rasmus, you would not score in this game. But before we dive headlong into the negatives, and you know there is a lot of them, let’s sneak in some happy thoughts for your shortened work week. Victor Olofsson now has a four-game point streak with the Reinhart assist. Neat, right? In this economy!? A point streak during this stretch! There is more: Jack Eichel is now on a six-game point streak with six goals and five assists in that stretch. That’s the most points of any player on this team as if I needed to tell you that. I’m going to write a children’s book called Jack and Linus. It will be all about if you only have two friends in the world, you have to love them and treat them with respect. You have to defend them from the suburban hockey dads but also the stat geeks who will tell you Ullmark isn’t the best goalie in the organization. Yes, if this season is going to get bad I’m going to become a stan for Jack and Linus. I need something! I am not going to go to the Rochester Americans like I did in 2017-2018; they need to win a playoff game before I’m going to trust them with my heart again! Well after 2-1 we go headfirst into the rout.

First it was Mikhail Sergachev, the kid we passed on for Alex Nylander, getting a powerplay goal for the Lightning. Anthony Sciandra @SciandraSports brought up a devastating point: in November the Sabres have given up more goals on the powerplay than they’ve scored. They’re now 1-31 on the man advantage. That is the kind of stat where you can envision the Jennifer Lawrence Yikes gif as soon as you hear it. Are you ready? It. Gets. Worse! Yanni Gourde scores because to make it 3-2 Bolts and shortly thereafter this game gives us its hardest and most painful shot to the reproductive organs: the Sabres on the powerplay and Rasmus Dahlin drops the puck back before getting drilled in the face by Alex Cernak. When I say drilled, I mean the elbow was used as the drill head. Dahlin didn’t see it coming and falls to the ice. He did not return to the game. The zebras didn’t call it because of course they didn’t, this is the NHL! Cernak has a hearing but you and I both know this is a junk league, right? In a league where Robert Bortuzzo gets a four-game suspension for trying to murder Victor Arvidsson you know Cernak isn’t going to regret that hit. I don’t often use the term chicken shit but that was chicken shit. Ralph Krueger confirmed it was concussion in the postgame and say what you will about Krueger’s patience and hospitable manor, I would have preferred some anger over saying its in the league’s hands. I know you’ve been in England for a hot minute but over here we shit in the league’s mouth every chance we get. They deserve it. And the Sabres deserved the 5-2 loss that followed after surrendering in the third period. There was a 6-2 goal called back, but I think the game was over at that point.

How long am I going to be a Stan account? Well… if they lose to Calgary I am 100% going to stay this way into December. With a home-and-home series with the reborn Toronto Maple Leafs I’m going to need the armor of my sweet boys. Like, comment and share this blog if you need that armor as well. While you’re at it, if you like making fun little graphics, put Linus Ullmark and Jack Eichel in a little thing together; maybe two stoic faces back to back. I love the Eichel talking to Dahlin photo I got as my twitter cover now but if this gets rough I’m going to need the statuesque grace of Eichel and Ullmark watching over my tweets. I’m going Stan for now and it feels so right. It’s a busy holiday week on the blog, there is something going up every day. Yesterday and today it’s New Look Sabres. Tomorrow its State of the Support Episode Six, Thanksgiving Day its New Look Sabres again and Black Friday you’ll get a rare post from my religion blog: Hypostatic Thoughts. I think I’m going to post the one about Purgatory. That topic feels somewhat appropriate in a Sabres context right now as well, eh? Well I hope they don’t suck against Calgary. We’ll see! Let’s Go Buffalo!

Thanks for Reading.

P.S. My Ten Year Challenge tweet was a little too easy.