CAROLINA HURRICANES. NEWS CLIPPINGS January 27, Canes return, face uncertainty

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1 Canes return, face uncertainty BY CHIP ALEXANDER 26, 2015 RALEIGH After six days off for the NHL All-Star break, the Carolina Hurricanes went back to work Monday. Some players had new tans as they took the ice for practice. All seemed refreshed, ready for the rest of the season. Ahead of them: 36 games and a lot of uncertainty. The Canes, who will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at PNC Arena, are 20 points out of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference. For the sixth straight season, Carolina ( ) stands to be an outsider when the Stanley Cup playoffs begin. Personnel changes soon could be on the way. We re not going to win 32 of the last 36 or whatever, and so be it, defenseman Ron Hainsey said. But what we have to continue to worry about is what we can control, and that s playing like we ve been playing for a couple of weeks now and building up some wins. The Canes are in January, winning their final two games on the road before the break. Carolina topped the Ottawa Senators 3-2, then it went into Toronto and beat the Maple Leafs 4-1 for its first back-to-back road wins this season. We want to show we re a better team than our record shows, center Jay McClement said. We started to do that and unfortunately the break seemed to come when we were hitting our stride, so we d like to pick up where we left off. For us, it s just show up every night and not worry about anything else and playing the way we re expected to play and the way this organization expected us to play right from the start. The Canes will go into the final 36 games with a healthy roster. It s the team Bill Peters expected to have in his first season as an NHL head coach. Peters said as training camp began in September, he believed the Hurricanes were a playoff-caliber team. But center Jordan Staal suffered a broken leg during the second exhibition. Jeff Skinner had a concussion in another exhibition, Eric Staal was injured early in the regular season and Alexander Semin has missed games because of injuries and conditioning issues. Jordan Staal returned Dec. 29 after missing the first 35 games. It s now the group Peters had hoped to have the first 46 games. I like our group, Peters said. I know our group a lot better than I did in July. I like our group moving forward and like the pieces we have in place. There s a lot of things to build upon, and that s what we ll do. I don t think we re far away. Some moves likely will be made before the March 2 trade deadline. General manager Ron Francis has said some players who would become unrestricted free agents in July could be dealt to attain assets whether players or draft picks. Need a veteran defenseman who can move the puck and help on the power play? The Canes Andrej Sekera could be available. Need a veteran center who can win faceoffs and kill penalties? McClement might be the one. So it goes. Forwards Jiri Tlusty and Patrick Dwyer and defensemen Tim Gleason and Brett Bellemore also are pending UFAs. That s just the way the business works, McClement said. There s going to be a lot of speculation, especially with UFAs. Sekera said Monday he hoped to stay with Carolina and sign a new contract. Francis has had discussions with Sekera s agent as well as Tlusty s and that it s a matter of finding the right price and right term for the two players. Sekera s contract, which the Canes picked up in the June 2013 trade with Buffalo, paid him $1.75 million in each of the past two seasons. The former Slovakia Olympian might be able to fetch considerably more on

2 the free-agent market but said Monday he s in no hurry to leave. I really like it here, Sekera said. Hopefully we ll get something done. Until then, Sekera will play. On Monday, he sat taping the handles of his sticks, his mind on the final 36 games. We want to play our best hockey and see where it will take us, he said. Just go out, play hard, show character and make sure we feel good about ourselves. Quick hits from Canes practice Posted by Chip Alexander on January 26, 2015 What now for the Carolina Hurricanes? The All-Star break is over and 36 games remain in the regular season. The Canes are 20 points out of playoff position, so that's out. What's the goal now? "We want to continue to get better," Canes coach Bill Peters said after Monday's practice at PNC Arena. "There are a couple of areas we just have to maintain. Obviously we're happy with our penalty killing but we have to get our power play going a little better and improve in that area. "We need to continue to score. We've scored a little bit more lately but when you look at it we're the second-lowest scoring team in the National Hockey League. We want to make sure we have that under control and get our D gapped up and active. "There's a lot of things we can continue to do to lay a foundation moving forward. We want to continue to play well and make it hard on teams." The Canes face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at PNC Arena. Carolina lost twice to the Lightning in Tampa last month, both by 2-1 scores. It wasn t much better last season -- the Canes lost twice to Tampa Bay on home ice and were beaten in overtime on the road. -- Even though the Canes were in January before the break, no one was complaining about having six days off. "With our schedule, it's so busy and you have to take advantage of the days off," goalie Cam Ward said Monday. "At the same time you're excited to get back and get things going for the remainder of the season." Ward and his family headed to Mexico and other players found warmer climes. Canes coach Bill Peters said he took his family to Fort Lauderdale for a few days. "A last-minute decision to go and we're glad we did," he said. "It's your last chance to recharge and get dialed in for the home stretch." The Canes won road games at Ottawa and Toronto before the break -- the first consecutive road victories this season. "We left for the break on a really good note," Ward said. "The team has been playing extremely well and we want to keep a good thing going." -- Defensemen Justin Faulk and Ryan Murphy missed practice Monday. Faulk was returning from the NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, and Murphy was to play Monday night in the AHL All-Star Classic in Utica, N.Y. -- The Canes put in some power-play work before the full practice began, then went another 45 minutes on the ice. The lines had Jordan Staal centering Eric Staal and Jiri Tlusty; Victor Rask at center with Nathan Gerbe and Elias Lindholm, Riley Nash with Jeff Skinner and Chris Terry and Jay McClement at center with Brad Malone and Pat Dwyer. Alex Semin rotated in with Malone and Dwyer. With Faulk and Murphy missing, forward Andrej Nestrasil subbed in as a defenseman. -- Peters did not name a starting goalie for the Tampa Bay game. Anton Khudobin was the winner against the Sens and Maple Leafs.

3 TWO WAYS TO LOOK AT REMAINDER OF CAROLINA HURRICANES SEASON by Peter Koutroumpis on January 27, 2015 RALEIGH, N.C. The Carolina Hurricanes returned to the ice on Monday following the recent National Hockey League (NHL) All-Star break. After winning their second game in a row on the road, a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 19, the Hurricanes have 36 games remaining while sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a record and 37 points. A record in January, their best month of play to date aside, the outlook for this team depends on whether you think the water bottle is half full or half empty. The outrageous thought that this team can even come close to making the playoffs is permissible for those positive thinkers. Why can t a record-setting winning streak develop and put this team in a place where it thought it could be when it took to the ice at training camp in September? The possibility, at least mathematically, exists and is possible. However, realistically, no one is talking about the postseason involving Carolina. Why would they? The hole they ve dug sitting 20 points behind the final wild card spot as they prepare to face the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay Lighting on Monday, seems insurmountable they re just too far behind. With no significant personnel moves made to improve upon this season, it looks that those who have been chained to the oars while learning to work as a unit under Bill Peters will remain to continue earning the incremental positive results they have. Small steps and not enough of them have kept Carolina from keeping up with other teams that have taken long strides to outdistance themselves during the first half of the season. For the optimists, why can t the Hurricanes expected scorers come out of their slumber and start to light up opposing goaltenders while pulling in the same direction as everyone else? What a joy and sight that would be. It s really all just a matter of perspective. Is this team running on the treadmill, or can it jump off and start gaining real traction on the road to success wherever that lies? Listening to what head coach Bill Peters said after practice on Monday, it seems that much work remains. We gotta continue to get better, he said. There s a couple of areas that we have to maintain. Obviously, we re very happy with our penalty kill we ve gotta get our power play goin a little better and improve in that area. We need to continue to score. I think we ve scored a little bit more here recently, but when you look at it, we re the second-lowest scoring team in the National Hockey League. So, we wanna make sure we have that under control and get our D gapped up and active. A lot of things we can continue to do to lay a foundation moving forward. Laying a foundation is more about focusing on showing up in every game and gaining wins when possible, but not taking the NHL by storm. That s the realist s view. On the other hand, anything is possible, and for those who believe in miracles, showing up to the team s remaining home games and wishing and willing victories to take place is admirable and appreciated. One thing is definite in all of this the season will continue until April 11th. Thus, it will be a period of time to either dread or enjoy following the remainder of Hurricanes season while it lasts. Just a matter of how you want to look at it all.

4 Gameday: Lightning vs. Hurricanes Tuesday, / 6:00 AM / Tracking the Storm By Michael Smith Welcome back, everybody! This is the gameday hub, where you can find all the latest news and information related to tonight s game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes in one handy location. Make this a regular stop throughout the day, as we update it with notes, videos, photos and more as puck drop draws near. A projected lineup and a preview of tonight s nationally televised game can be found below. The Canes will hold a 10:30 a.m. morning skate at PNC Arena ahead of the 7:30 p.m. faceoff. Check back here for plenty more! Last updated: 6:00 a.m. CANES PROJECTED LINEUP 6:00 a.m. Based on Monday s practice, here s how we expect the Canes lineup to look tonight versus Tampa Bay. E. Staal-J. Staal-Tlusty Gerbe-Rask-Lindholm Skinner-Nash-Terry Malone-McClement-Dwyer LIGHTNING vs. HURRICANES Lightning vs. Hurricanes PNC ARENA 7:30 p.m. TV: NBCSN RADIO: 99.9 FM ARTICLES ALL-STAR WEEKEND: FAULK REPRESENTS CANES CATCHING UP WITH RON FRANCIS VIDEOS RINK REPORT: JAN. 26 ALL-STAR GAME RECAP GAMEDAY LINKS BUY TICKETS IN-GAME TWITTER FIRST GOAL CONTEST Sekera-Faulk Liles-Gleason Hainsey-Bellemore A starting goaltender has yet to be named. Anton Khudobin has started in the team s most recent two games, winning both and making 64 saves on 67 shots (.955 save percentage); after starting the season 0-8-2, Khudobin has won five consecutive starts. Cam Ward is on the year, his last start coming on Jan. 17 against Vancouver. CANES RETURN AFTER ALL-STAR BREAK TO HOST BOLTS 6:00 a.m. After a near-weeklong break for the NHL s All-Star Weekend, the Carolina Hurricanes are back for their final 36 games of the season. That stretch begins tonight when the Canes host the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning in the third and final meeting between the old Southeast Division foes this season. It s a quick turnaround for the Hurricanes, who have not played since last Monday a decisive 4-1 win in Toronto and have practiced just once since: yesterday afternoon. We need to make sure we re getting the most out of this practice, Eric Staal said. We don t have a lot of time before the game tomorrow, but you make sure you re warmed up properly, and you try to get the pace up to be ready for tomorrow. Some guys looked like there was no rust in their game, head coach Bill Peters said after a skating and battle-filled practice. I thought Eric Staal was shooting the puck a ton here today and scored a bunch of goals. But it takes time. We want to make sure we got up and down and skated enough. We want to make sure we had our legs underneath us, he continued. I think we re a good skating team when we re playing hard and playing properly, so I wanted to make sure that we skated today and got a little cardio work in. But, certainly, an extended break begets a bit of disorganization, and that s to be expected in the first 10 or 20 minutes of tonight s game. It s tough. You re in the routine of every day, and then all of a sudden you take multiple days off in a row, Peters said. It takes a little bit of time to get your timing back and everything else. The Hurricanes bring a two-game winning streak and a record in the New Year into tonight s game.

5 We were playing good hockey coming into the break, and now we have to find our game again, Peters said. We want to continue to play well and make it hard on teams, for sure. Tonight, the Canes will face a team that has beaten Carolina by a score of 2-1 twice in December. Tampa Bay has won three straight and is in We ve got to continue to get better. There are a couple of areas that we just have to maintain. We re very happy with our penalty kill, Peters said. We ve got to get our power play going a little better. And we ve got to continue to score. We ve scored a little bit more here recently, but if you look at it, we re the second-lowest scoring team in the NHL. We want to make sure we have that under control. A lot of things we can continue to do to lay a foundation moving forward. NOTES: Fourth-line offense: Brad Malone has points in three straight games (2g, 1a), and Jay McClement and Patrick Dwyer (0g, 2a each) have points in two straight games. The trio has combined for 13 points (5g, 8a) this month, and the Canes are in January when the fourth line scores a goal Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes game preview Fox Sports Florida January :56P ET The Tampa Bay Lightning rode a perfect homestand into the All-Star Break and enter the second half of the season with the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Following the midseason layoff, the Lightning will hit the road Tuesday night looking for a 10th win in their last 11 meetings with the Carolina Hurricanes. Tampa Bay ( ) strung together three wins prior to the break, topping Edmonton, Colorado and, most recently, Vancouver 4-1 last Tuesday. Ben Bishop stopped 27 shots as the Lightning boosted their league-leading goals per game average to The win streak followed a two-game trip in which Tampa Bay allowed 11 total goals in losses to Philadelphia and Boston. "We didn't get any points on that road trip, and we knew we had a few games at home before the break," defenseman Jason Garrison told the Lightning's official website. "That's the good thing about our sport is we play often enough you can forget a couple bad games or a bad game and get right into the next one." Forward Alex Killorn had his first career two-goal game in the win over the Canucks, and he has nine points in as many career games against Carolina. Only Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Drouin took part in the NHL's All-Star festivities as leading scorer Tyler Johnson pulled out of the game with a lower-body injury. But he showed up for the weekend, meaning he's eligible to play in the Lightning's first game after the break. Stamkos scored two goals in the exhibition while the 19-yearold Drouin won the fastest skater event in the Skills Competition. Tampa Bay Lightning on Sun Sports Print out the Tampa Bay Lightning Sun Sports broadcast schedule. The All-Star experience could serve as a much-needed boost for Drouin. The rookie has two goals through 37 games, and was designated as a healthy scratch in Tampa Bay's win over Edmonton on Jan. 15. "It was a great weekend for me," Drouin said. Carolina ( ) also enters Tuesday's matchup following consecutive victories, as the Hurricanes swept a two-game road trip against Ottawa and Toronto to improve to since the start of the new year. "It's a great feeling right now. We're in games, and we have chances to win. It's more fun winning," forward Jiri Tlusty told Carolina's official site. "I'm excited to get back (after the break) and get to work." The Hurricanes might not be too thrilled to see their first opponent out of the break. They've lost nine of 10 to the Lightning while being outscored 35-14, and Bishop is with a 1.19 goals-against average against Carolina - including a 2-1 home win Dec. 27. Carolina's goaltending situation isn't as clear. Longtime starter Cam Ward has appeared in 31 games, but Anton Khudobin was in net for the past two wins. Khudobin has won his previous five starts while allowing seven total goals. "He's a good goaltender, a good man and guys like playing in front of him," coach Bill Peters said. "We have good depth at that position right now."

6 TYLER JOHNSON TO BE A GAME-TIME DECISION AGAINST CAROLINA Monday, / 4:30 PM / News By Bryan Burns - Lightning Beat Writer Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson skated with the Bolts during Monday s post-all-star Game practice session before the team boarded a plane for Carolina, but his status for Tuesday s game versus the Hurricanes is unknown. Johnson was selected for his first All-Star Game but was unable to participate because of a lingering lower-body injury. Encouraging to see him out there [at practice], but don t read into anything, he ll be a game-time decision at best tomorrow, Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper said. Johnson missed Tampa Bay s road game January 13 at Boston after he was injured the previous day against Philadelphia. Johnson played in the Bolts three home games prior to the All-Star break but re-aggravated the injury against Vancouver (Jan. 20) and was used sparingly down the stretch in that game. Johnson traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for All-Star weekend but had to sit during Saturday s Skills Competition and Sunday s All-Star Game. It s disappointing, Johnson said. Obviously, you want to be able to be there and be able to play, but there s other things that are more important. Johnson said the five days of rest helped, but the injury could need more time to heal. We ll see how it goes, he said. It s still there, so. While he didn t get to play in the All-Star Game, Johnson said the experience was one he ll never forget. It was cool to meet everybody, he said. It was cool to be there and see the fans, go through all that. Disappointing to be there and not be able to do anything, but, at the same time, it was a lot of fun. Johnson leads the Lightning in scoring (48 points) and assists (31) and is tied with Nikita Kucherov for the second-most goals (17) on the Bolts. Cooper said the Lightning were unlikely to bring a player up from the team s AHL affiliate in Syracuse for tomorrow s game against the Hurricanes. I wouldn t expect so because we ve got the D too, and so we ve got enough players and all guys we like, Cooper said.

7 Game Day Canes vs. Lightning By Jamie on Jan , 8:00a Carolina Hurricanes vs. Tampa Bay Lightning January 27, :30 pm ET PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC TV - NBCSN Radio FM The Fan SB Nation Rival Blog - Raw Charge Fancy Stats Hurricanes Lightning Record Points Division Rank 8th Metro 1st Atlantic Conference Rank 15th EC 1st EC Streak Won 2 Won 3 Power Play % 16.6% 18.4% Penalty Kill % 87.0% 82.0% Goals/Game Goals Against/Game Shots/Game Shots Against/Game ES Goals For % 42.4% 57.5% ES Corsi For % 51.3% 54.3% ES PDO PIM/Game Goaltender Ward Bishop Record ES Save Percentage GAA Goaltender Khudobin Nabokov Record ES Save Percentage GAA Stats via NHL.com and War on Ice Game Notes The Canes and Bolts square off for the last time this season, and one would assume the Canes are glad to put this series behind them, having lost nine of their last ten against the Lightning including two 2-1 losses in Tampa in December. During that ten-game stretch, going back to the beginning of the season, the Lightning have out-scored the Canes The Canes haven't beaten the Lightning in Raleigh since November 1, With the All-Star break marking the unofficial halfway point of the season (technically 46 games down and 36 to go), the Canes come into the second half of the season in 27th place (tied with the Arizona Coyotes), and have 37 points, or a 66- point pace. They rank in the top third of the league in their ability to play with defensive responsibility, with a penalty kill ranked fourth best (87.0%), shots against/game ranked seventh (27.8), penalty minutes per game ranked second (7.8), and a goals against/game ranking just outside the top ten at 11th (2.52). Though middle-of-the-pack in terms of possession (with evenstrength Corsi ranked 14th at 51.3% and shots/game ranked 18th at 29.6), their ability to convert offense into goals is at the bottom of the league. The power play has dropped to 22nd (16.6%), even strength goals-for percentage is 28th (42.4%) and goals/game is next to last in the league (2.06). With a January record and only three games remaining, the Canes will close out the month winning more than they lose, which is a step in the right direction. However, only four out of those nine games were against teams currently in the playoff chase, and the Canes went against them. Seven out of the next ten games will be against playoff contenders. But hey, how about that fourth line? Brad Malone has points in his last three games, and Jay McClement and Patrick Dwyer, along with Victor Rask, have points in two straight. And how about that goaltending? Anton Khudobin has wins in his last five starts, including two in a row on the Canadian road trip that preceded the All-Star break. During that stretch he has given up seven total goals and has a save percentage of.950. Justin Faulk was a late arrival in Raleigh yesterday after completing his first full All-Star experience (he participated in the Skills competition as a rookie in 2012). He notched two assists for Team Toews, the winner in a shooting match. If you missed it, you can find full coverage of Faulk's weekend at the All-Star Weekend blog on the Canes website. Bill Peters ran an uptempo, cardio-oriented practice yesterday at PNC Arena, with the primary purpose of getting players back up to game speed. With Faulk out but all others accounted for, Andrej Nestrasil served as Faulk's placeholder on defense, and Alexander Semin rotated in with the fourth line, and those two are the likely scratches again for tonight's game. Ryan Murphy is still on assignment to the Checkers as he wraps up his participation in the AHL All-Star Game (posting 3 assists and a +5 in a Western Conference win), so John-Michael Liles will draw back in. A starting goaltender has not been announced. Tampa Bay hopes to pick up where they left off heading into the All-Star break, winners of their last three games and leading the Eastern Conference. They are ranked third overall in the league and seventh in the number of points-per-game accumulated, and they rank first in the league in total goals and goals per game.

8 The Lightning sent three players to Columbus with All-Star honors. Rookie Jonathan Drouin was the fastest skater in the Skills competition. Steven Stamkos had a three-point game (2g, 1a) on Sunday for Team Foligno and leads the Lightning with 26 goals, good enough for fourth in the NHL. Tyler Johnson leads the Lightning in total points with 48, and has a team-best 31 assists. Johnson attended the All-Star events but was unable to play due to a lingering lower body injury. He is eligible to play tonight and participated in a full practice yesterday, but will be a game-time decision. On a side note, there's an pretty cool connection between Tyler Johnson and Bill Peters, who Johnson credits as the first person to tell him he could play in the NHL (read more here). The Lightning had already been without the services of Radko Gudas (knee surgery) on defense, but they received more bad news last week when Matt Carle suffered a torn adductor muscle and required surgery just prior to the All-Star break. Barring any trades, the Lightning will rotate in young defensemen Mark Barberio, Nikita Nesterov, and Luke Witkowski, who made his NHL debut on January 20th. Ben Bishop has started the last four games in net for the Lightning, and is tied for fourth in the NHL with 24 wins. He is with a 1.19 GAA and two shutouts in his five prior appearances against the Canes. The Lightning practiced yesterday but were missing Stamkos and Drouin, so the projected line-ups are as the team skated in their last game prior to the break. Any additional updates on both teams will be forthcoming after the morning skates. Projected line-ups Hurricanes (from Monday's practice) Eric Staal - Jordan Staal - Jiri Tlusty Nathan Gerbe - Victor Rask - Elias Lindholm Jeff Skinner - Riley Nash - Chris Terry Brad Malone - Jay McClement - Patrick Dwyer Andrej Sekera - Justin Faulk John-Michael Liles - Tim Gleason Ron Hainsey - Brett Bellemore Anton Khudobin Cam Ward Injuries and Scratches:, Alexander Semin (healthy), Andrej Nestrasil (healthy) Lightning (from game on 1/20/15) Steven Stamkos - Valtteri Filppula - Ryan Callahan Ondrej Palat - Tyler Johnson - Nikita Kucherov Alex Killorn - Cedric Paquette - Brett Connolly Brenden Morrow - Brian Boyle - Jonathan Drouin Victor Hedman - Anton Stralman Jason Garrison - Andrej Sustr Nikita Nesterov - Luke Witkowski Ben Bishop Evgeni Nabokov Injuries and Scratches: Matt Carle (abdominal surgery), Radko Gudas (knee surgery). Mark Barberio (healthy), J.T. Brown (healthy) There are 11 games on the schedule tonight, and this one makes the national broadcast, hence the later start time and station change. The Canes are back in black. Good seats are still available. TODAY S LINKS

9 Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries on blue line forcing newcomers to step up for Lightning By Erik Erlendsson Published: January 26, 2015 RALEIGH, N.C. Last we left the Lightning, their fortunes turned around on the ice. Tampa Bay closed the pre-all Star game schedule with a perfect threegame homestand and sat atop the Eastern Conference standings. But as the Lightning open the unofficial start of the season s second half with tonight s game at Carolina, the blue line suddenly looks a little green. Injuries to Radko Gudas and Matt Carle have taken two of Tampa Bay s top defensemen out of the lineup for an extended period. That means rookies Nikita Nesterov and Luke Witkowski will assume some of those lost minutes. If you dress six defense- men, the top guys are getting (minutes), other guys are going to get 20. So somebody else has to get minutes and we have to get them in there somehow, so they are going to play, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. Gudas is out for the remainder of the regular season following surgery this month to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. Carle is out until March after undergoing surgery to repair adductor muscles in his abdominal region. While Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman figures to fill the holes created by the injuries via the trade route, nothing appears imminent. So with the more strenuous part of the schedule about to begin as teams fight for playoff spots and positioning, the revamped and improved Lightning defensive corps suddenly doesn t look as strong as it did at the start of the season. Now the coaching staff has to find a way to integrate Nesterov, who made his NHL debut Dec. 31 and has seven games of NHL experience, and Witkowski, who made his debut in the final game before the All-Star break, to help fill the void. We have to get them in and there is no perfect scenario to get them in, said associate head coach Rick Bowness, who is in charge of the defense. This is what we are dealt with and we will deal with it. Our defense will deal with it. They will have great support on the ice from their teammates and we will handle it the best we can. And you never know until you throw them into a game situation how they will respond, so we ll just have to go from there. In the short term, Nesterov has been better than expected in his seven games. He has two assists and is a plus-3 while averaging more than 14 minutes of ice time. Witkowski drew rave reviews for his simple style in his first game last week, logging 14 minutes, 29 seconds, making the right plays and not getting himself into trouble. But the sample size has been very small for both players and the games now start to get tighter and mistakes often get magnified. Not exactly ideal conditions to learn on the fly in perhaps the toughest position in the game to try to master. The game does change a little bit in the second half of the season. Guys have to make plays a little bit quicker and it s more physical. You just try to make them aware of that as much as possible and when they get on the ice, they are going to get a feel for it. And after that, it s up to them to do the rest, defenseman Jason Garrison said. When you are paired up with somebody who has less experience, you try to help them out as much as you can and talk to them. You want to let them know how things usually go in a game and what to expect. They obviously have to learn on their own out there, too. It s live and learn out there on the ice a lot of the time. But they are good players. They are here for a reason and they are going to go out there and do the job. Johnson update Center Tyler Johnson, who did not play in Sunday s All-Star game because of a lower-body injury, took part in practice on Monday afternoon and is a game-time decision tonight against Carolina. When you have five days rest, it obviously helps. But we ll see how it goes. It s still there, said Johnson, who aggravated a previous injury last week. Practice today was more getting things working for everybody, so we didn t really try all the stuff you need to be able to do in a game, so that s something we ll address (today). Cooper said after practice that there were no plans to make a recall from Syracuse in the American Hockey League. Tampa Tribune LOADED: Tampa Bay Lightning Lightning s Drouin hasn t lived up to the hype By Martin Fennelly Tribune Staff Published: January 26, 2015 TAMPA Lightning rookie winger Jonathan Drouin finally made his mark the other night: as a blur. Drouin won the fastest skater event at the NHL All-Star skills competition in Columbus, Ohio, in a record time seconds. I didn t know I was that fast, Drouin said with a smile. He wasn t selected to play in Sunday night s All-Star game, But I was fortunate to be around all those superstars, Drouin said. I watched a lot of them growing up. I d love to get to play (as an All-Star) in the next few years. Maybe that will happen, but Drouin s rookie season hasn t broken from the gates like that. I m happy with the process, Drouin said. A lot of people think it s been really slow or not the way it was supposed to be. The expectations were there. Yes, they were. Drouin, 19, was taken by the Lightning third overall in the 2013 draft, was supposed to have deep impact. He hasn t. I figured he d be playing on the same line with Steven Stamkos by now. I was at least a year off. In that sense, Drouin has been a disappointment, though he doesn t turn 20 until March. Remember that. He has 18 points, but only two goals. There are 33 rookies in the league who ve scored more goals than Drouin. Lightning coach Jon Cooper has made Drouin a healthy scratch in a handful of games. Drouin has sat, watched and he says learned. He hasn t been teamed with Stamkos very

10 often, has rarely cracked the Lightning power play. He gets third- and fourth-line ice time. Two goals? We keep waiting for that light to go on, in more ways than one. At first you re disappointed a little bit, Drouin said. You see all those rookies doing well, so it s not quite what I wanted. But he adds that he has had a lot of talks with Lightning GM Steve Yzerman and coach Jon Cooper It s a process, Drouin said. We just want to make sure it s done the right way. Face it: We re a little spoiled around here, rookie-wise. Stamkos scored 23 goals as a Lightning rookie. While Drouin was scoring 108 points in 46 games of junior hockey at Halifax last season, Lightning dynamos Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson vied for the NHL s Calder Trophy for top rookie. Palat and Johnson were beaten out for that rookie prize by Colorado s Nathan MacKinnon, who was picked No. 1 in the same draft as Drouin and was Drouin s former linemate in Halifax. Many assumed Drouin was on that kind of track when he hit training camp this season. Everyone wants things to happen right away, said Stamkos, who also was a healthy scratch a few times as a rookie. As a player, you want to be the best right away. You want to win the Cup right away. Life usually doesn t work that way. You have to deal with what you re given. And (Jonathan) has done a pretty good job with that. The Lightning are atop the Eastern Conference as they come off the All- Star break tonight in Carolina. Their success and depth at forward have allowed Drouin room to grow, though it would be oh, so helpful if he kicked it in down the stretch. This isn t a one-year investment. It s long term with (Jonathan), Cooper said. It s a different game than what he came from in junior. But he s gotten better and better and better. It s clear when you watch the games now. There s more command of the puck. He doesn t rush plays anymore. He knows he has a little more time. The comfort level is way higher, Drouin said. Just confidence-wise, system-wise, I think I m playing a little bit better. It s definitely not easy, Stamkos said. You re that go-to guy in junior and you come in here and you re not necessarily given anything right away. It s tough to put up the same kind of numbers and have the same kind of expectations. On to the second half of Drouin s first NHL season. He has shown star flashes, that stick work, a move or two that faked defenders out of their skates, some pretty assists to set up goals. There are moments with Drouin when we wonder How d he do that? There are more moments when we ask when he s going to do more. Did you remember that Jonathan Drouin doesn t turn 20 until March? Everyone wants things to happen right away. Life doesn t usually work that way. No matter how fast you skate. Tampa Tribune LOADED: Tampa Bay Lightning Lightning s Johnson sits out NHL All-Star game Published: January 26, 2015 Updated: January 26, 2015 at 06:52 AM From staff reports COLUMBUS, Ohio Lightning center Tyler Johnson did not play in Sunday s All-Star game because of a lower-body injury. Johnson, who was drafted by Team Toews on Friday, was replaced by the Flames Johnny Gaudreau. If Johnson is healthy, he could play in Tuesday s game against the Hurricanes because he participated in All-Star weekend events. Tampa Tribune LOADED: Tampa Bay Lightning Tyler Johnson questionable for Lightning's Tuesday game Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer Monday, January 26, :07pm TAMPA The Lightning was a little encouraged to see center Tyler Johnson back on the ice for Monday's practice, considering he missed Sunday's All-Star Game with a lingering lower-body injury. But coach Jon Cooper made it clear there's no guarantee Johnson plays tonight in Carolina. "Don't read into anything," Cooper said. "He'll be a game-time decision at best." Johnson, 24, the Lightning's leading scorer, suffered the injury Jan. 12 in Philadelphia, forcing him to miss the next game in Boston. Johnson played the final three games before the All-Star break but re-aggravated the injury late in the first period Jan. 20, when Vancouver's Alexander Edler tripped him. Johnson said while the five days of rest helped a lot, the injury is still there, which is why he pulled himself out of the All-Star game in Columbus, Ohio. He still enjoyed the festivities. "It's disappointing," Johnson said. "Obviously, you want to be able to be there and be able to play, but there's other things that are more important. " I think you can play with any injury, but at this point, for an All-Star Game, you really don't want to risk something more than it is to play in something like that." Few players are more important to Tampa Bay ( ) than Johnson, who leads the team with 48 points, 31 assists, and is tied for second in goals with Nikita Kucherov (17). Known for his toughness, Johnson played through a broken foot the second half of last season. Cooper said there's always a concern of an injury like this lingering, but he doesn't expect a callup before tonight's game. "(Johnson) wanted nothing more to play in the All-Star game," Cooper said. "For him to pull himself out, especially a first-timer, that's got to be something. The other side of the coin is he plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning, he went out there, represented well, just couldn't go. So we'll see, hope he can go (tonight)." Captain Steven Stamkos, who scored two goals in the All-Star Game, and rookie Jonathan Drouin, who won the fastest skater in Saturday's skills competition, were excused absences from practice due to travel. Drouin, 19, said the All-Star experience was even better than he expected, though he admitted he was nervous in the fastest skater challenge (he won at seconds). "When you're in line waiting for the whistle, it was nerve-wracking," he said. "Everybody is watching. All four guys on our team just didn't want to fall." Drouin, who has two goals and 16 assists, said his confidence is way higher than it was earlier in the season, with his weekend potentially giving him a springboard into the second half. "I think participating in an event like this, it was fun, it was special," Drouin said. "Hopefully it'll give me a little boost." Tampa Bay Times LOADED:

11 Tampa Bay Lightning Tyler Johnson a game-time decision vs. Carolina Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer Monday, January 26, :41pm The Lightning was a little encouraged to see center Tyler Johnson back on the ice for Monday's practice, considering he missed Sunday's All-Star game due to a lingering lower-body injury. But coach Jon Cooper made it clear there's no guarantee Johnson plays Tuesday night in Carolina. "Don't read into anything," Cooper said. "He'll be a game-time decision at best." Johnson, 24, the Lightning's leading scorer, said the five days of rest helped his injury, which he suffered Jan. 12 in Philadelphia and reaggravated in Jan. 20 game against Vancouver. But it's still "there," which is why he pulled out of the All-Star game. Johnson did enjoy the festivities, though. It s disappointing, Johnson said. Obviously, you want to be able to be there and be able to play, but there s other things that are more important. Few players are more important to Tampa Bay than Johnson, who leads the team with 48 points, 31 assists, along with 17 goals. Known for his toughness, Johnson played through a broken foot the second half of last season. "He wanted nothing more to play in the All-Star game," Cooper said. "For him to pull himself out, especially a first-timer, that's got to be something. Other side of the coin is he plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning, he went out there, represented well, just couldn't go. So we'll see, hope he can go (Tuesday) night." Cooper said he doesn't expect a call-up for Johnson because they have an extra forward, as well as an extra defenseman. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: St Louis Blues Blues return to ice after long break 1 hour ago By Tom Timmermann For the All-Star break, the Blues scattered in every direction, some going north, some south, some east, some west. Golf was played, beaches were visited. Wing Steve Ott went back to Windsor, Ontario, where his junior team retired his number. Coach Ken Hitchcock had what amounted to his own film festival, taking in five movies over the six off days. For some there was work, for some there was rest, or in the case of goalie Brian Elliott, who cut short his vacation in the Caribbean to be a late addition to the All-Star roster, there was work and rest. I would do the same thing, defenseman Ian Cole said. You can always go back to wherever you are. You can t be an All-Star too many times. But wherever they went, all roads led back to the IceZone in Hazelwood on Monday, where the Blues practiced for the first time in a week. The Blues got a head start on their hiatus by playing their final game before the break last Monday, and they get some extra rest on this end as well since they don t play until Thursday. (Only one team, San Jose, won t already have been on the ice by the time the Blues and Predators start on Thursday at Scottrade Center.) Three straight off days are rare in the NHL season, and three straight off days on which you can practice are even rarer. The Blues won t have this chance again this season, so Hitchcock didn t hesitate to put the team to work in their longest practice since training camp, running over an hour. It was a chance to teach, but he also sees a need to get the team up to speed on their own because, when the Blues play Thursday, Nashville will already have played a game. We ve got to take advantage of the time we ve got, said Hitchcock. This is our quality practice time. When we start up, we play nine (games) in 15 nights; we are going to have to really get onto the floorboard with the pedal right away because we re going to be behind everybody in games and playing catchup a little bit. So these quality practices that we need to get in are important, and I thought we had great focus today. We deserved it, defenseman Barret Jackman said of the longer session. You get some time off, the coaches get nervous. They want to make sure everybody put their work in while we were away. It looks like everyone has. Hitchcock wants the team to pick up where it left off before the break, where it had won six of seven. Hitchcock had planned to have the team go for 40 minutes, have a rest while the ice was resurfaced, then go another half hour. He pulled the plug about 10 minutes early on Monday. I think we had really good energy, said Hitchcock, whose drills on Monday stressed checking. We had good focus. We scaled the second phase of the practice back because we felt like with the tempo we were going at, we were seeing the effects of having too much sand between our toes instead of our socks. Now it s getting back into that mindset of how hard it is to win, how hard it is to play the right way and the price that it takes to win games, center David Backes said. That s our focus, getting the sharpness back in our game, making passes tape to tape and executing. It was good, said Ott. You feel refreshed. You can feel the energy from the group. The guys had some step, and when you have three good days to really ramp up your game, it s nice as well. The break paid some clear benefits. T.J. Oshie, whose ice time in the past two weeks had been limited to games because of a bruised foot, was back on the ice for the first half of practice and it looks like he ll be back out more often. He looked a lot better, Hitchcock said. He s able to participate, so now it s us just being careful. Everyone was on the ice for the Blues except for their three All-Stars, who will be back on the ice Tuesday, and goalie Martin Brodeur, whose leave of absence continues. Brodeur s agent, Pat Brisson, didn t return a message on Monday, but a decision is expected soon from the veteran goalie. Hitchcock reiterated that the team would like Brodeur to stay around. We wish that he was here, Hitchcock said, but I m sure he s got some career decisions he s trying to balance. Rules bending Hitchcock was asked Monday if he d seen anything comparable to the New England Patriots and their underinflated footballs in his years in hockey. He scoffed. After all, this is a guy who once coached juniors, hockey s version of the Wild West. Worse. Way worse, he said. Competitive advantage was the norm, every day. There was no strong guidelines set, so you did whatever you could to gain a competitive advantage. If that meant finding another place for gas in somebody s bus, or painting the locker room, or putting sand on the bench, or turning up the heat in the locker room and it happened to go from 60 to 90, you did whatever you could. The rules needed to get changed because quite frankly it was getting out of control. So whatever s going on with these inflatable footballs is nothing compared to what I saw or witnessed and was a perimeter participant at times on. Oh boy, you d go to jail for half that stuff now. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: St Louis Blues

12 Brodeur was 3-3 with a 2.87 goals-against average and one shutout. Blues ready for busy stretch after a six-day break; nothing new on Brodeur By Norm Sanders News-DemocratJanuary 26, 2015 Updated 3 hours ago ST. LOUIS After six full days off since their last game before the NHL All- Star break, the St. Louis Blues hit the ice again Monday for practice feeling rested and relaxed. Six days off with no texts from Ken Hitchcock, so it was a great break all around, joked Blues captain David Backes, whose team entered the break on a torrid stretch. We ve got three days of hard work to put in at practice, get our feet back under us and get comfortable on the ice again and hit the ground running against a good Nashville team. The only players missing were NHL all-stars Vladimir Tarasenko, Brian Elliott and Kevin Shattenkirk along with goaltender Martin Brodeur, who has been granted a leave of absence by the club. It didn t feel like a long break for us, Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. Driving to the rink this morning it felt like we were here two days ago, time went by so quick. You get back to the rink and you flip that switch and you get excited to be back on the ice. The Blues ( ) have two more practices before resuming the season Thursday at home against Central Division leader Nashville, the first of nine games in a 15-day stretch. The Predators ( ) are three points ahead of the Blues and Chicago Blackhawks ( ) in a tight division that includes three of the NHL s top eight records. That s life in the Central Division, Backes said. We ve got really seven capable teams of making the playoffs and going deep in the playoffs, I feel, in most years. Winnipeg started off a little slow and now they re red hot. You ve got Colorado and Minnesota, teams that made the playoffs last year... it seems like if you re not winning you re falling behind. You ve got to win just to keep pace. Hitchcock said the busy schedule and playoff race presents its own set of challenges. This is really the dialed-up phase, Hitchcock said. This is the phase where everybody can see light at the end of the tunnel. There s a real race going to happen now. I think the good play before the break came from great focus, great energy and really strong leadership. We expect that to stay the same, but you can t dismiss great leadership and great focus. They go hand in hand. I thought at the end of the break we were one of the most focused teams in the league and we want that to be our starting point when we come back. Monday s workout was part cardio work and also some fine-tuning of the team s basic concepts. We re going to have to really get onto the floorboard with the pedal right away, because we re going to be behind everybody in games and playing catch-up a little bit, Hitchcock said. These quality practices that we need to get in are really important. Backes said he spent the all-star break in his native Minnesota with his wife, Kelly, and some of the family s many rescue dogs. It was a chance to recuperate and re-energize, Backes said, but now it s getting back into that mindset of how hard it is to win, how hard it is to play the right way, that sacrifice to win games. Hitchcock worked the team hard for 40 minutes, then gave banged-up Blues forward T.J. Oshie a chance to clear out early before finishing up with a second practice session. Hitchcock said the 42-year-old Brodeur will take as much time as he needs before deciding his next move. Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong has said the team s two goalies are Elliott and Jake Allen, though Brodeur provided some valuable goaltending while Elliott was out with a knee injury. To be honest with you I m out of the loop, Hitchcock said. Doug said when and if Marty makes a decision he s going to let me know. To show how far out of the loop (I am), I m Marty s neighbor and I don t even know what s going on. He s not here and we wish that he was here, but I m sure he s got some career decisions that he s trying to balance. Hitchcock stressed that the club is willing to let Brodeur make the decision on what he wants to do. It s nothing to do with us. It s 100 percent on Marty, Hitchcock said. Marty wanted some time off to think about things and so we felt as an organization that he came in and helped us at a real delicate, critical time (so) we owed him that. We said sure, take your time, it s a big decision. Whatever you want to do, go ahead and do. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: New York Rangers With New Confidence, Rangers Reanimate Power Play By ALLAN KREDAJAN. 26, 2015 The Rangers oft-derided power play a source of frustration through the regime of their former coach John Tortorella and during Alain Vigneault s first season behind the bench is now a source of confidence as the team heads into the second half of the season. Buoyed by the addition of the veteran defenseman and power-play specialist Dan Boyle and growing chemistry among forwards Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard and Martin St. Louis, the Rangers ( ) are 12th in the N.H.L. in power-play efficiency, converting 19.3 percent of the time. They return from the All-Star break Tuesday night against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum, a game threatened by a snowstorm. The Rangers had an efficiency rate of 18.2 percent last season after two years with an identical 15.7 percent (23rd in the league). The last time the Rangers registered a man-advantage success rate among the league s top third was We have a lot of guys going great at the right time, and we re all more and more comfortable, said center Stepan, who leads the Rangers with 24 assists, including 7 on the power play. We re keeping it simple and getting results. His fellow center Brassard leads the Rangers with 14 power-play points, and St. Louis has 13. Nash, who is tied for the N.H.L. lead with 28 goals, rounds out the top power-play unit, with 8 points with a man-advantage. During a recent 11-game stretch, the Rangers scored 10 times in 31 powerplay chances, including goals by Brassard, Chris Kreider and Nash in the first period of a 6-1 victory over Buffalo on Jan. 3. Brassard said that cohesion and confidence as a group were main factors in the Rangers 16-3 record since Dec. 8. We re well-prepared because we want to use the power play as a weapon and we have a plan for every game, Brassard said. We know special teams are key every game, and we all know our roles. We just need to keep going. The assistant Scott Arniel, who joined the organization with Vigneault before last season, works with the team s forwards and pays close attention to man-advantage strategy. St. Louis, 39 and a veteran of more than 1,100 games, credited Arniel, the former head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, with instilling additional mindfulness to the team before each game.