Bruins take 4-1 win over Canes in Ward's return By Chip Alexander calexander@newsobserver.comnovember 18, 2013 Updated 8 hours ago RALEIGH For the third time in four days, the Carolina Hurricanes faced a big, bruising team. For the second time in three days, the Hurricanes lost to a big, bruising team. The Boston Bruins punched out a 4-1 victory Monday at PNC Arena, getting a bounce-back game from goalie Tuukka Rask and more than enough goals against a team struggling to find the net. The Canes (8-9-4) had goalie Cam Ward back in net for the first time since Oct. 24. They also got a boost from forward Tuomo Ruutu, who scored his first goal of the season with 4.8 seconds left in the first period. But Canes coach Kirk Muller said the team didn t have enough juice to beat the Bruins after physical games against Anaheim on Friday and then at St. Louis on Saturday. It also hurt that forwards Alexander Semin and Jeff Skinner were out with injuries Skinner made a scratch after going through the morning skate. Ward suffered what he said was a groin tear in the Oct. 24 game at Minnesota. With backup goalie Anton Khudobin also injured, Justin Peters had started the past 10 games for Carolina. Ward was activated off injured reserve Monday. The Bruins (13-6-1) scored their first goal on a chip by forward Reilly Smith on a power play, then made it 2-0 later in the first when Dennis Seidenberg s shot from the point glanced off Bruins forward Carl Soderberg. It felt really good to get back in the net, Ward said. It s not an easy thing. Unfortunately I ve had some bad luck lately with my injuries. It wasn t exactly the best start. They came out jumping in that first period. But Ruutu scored late in the first and Ward settled in, making saves, keeping the Canes in it. He hung in there, battling hard, Muller said. He got better as the game went on. The Bruins netted their third goal at 10 minutes, 29 seconds in the third period. After a scramble in front of the crease, Ward was pulled out of net as Boston s Milan Lucic skated past him. Ward then had his stick pinned as the Bruins Johnny Boychuk ripped in a shot for a 3-1 lead. Obviously there was a collision in front of me, Ward said. It took me out of position, out of net. On top of that, I went to go back in net and my stick was caught. Tough break. Asked if there appeared to be goaltender interference on the play, Muller said bodies were tangled up and it was hard to tell. He added, Tough timing. We were coming on, but that goal killed us. Ruutu s goal came when he crashed the net. Eric Staal s pass hit the skate of Boston s Patrice Bergeron in the slot, then went off Ruutu s stick and past Rask. The Canes then had 63 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play in the second period but could get just one shot. Chris Terry fired a shot with a second left in the two-man advantage but that was it. Muller had Ruutu and Drayson Bowman on Eric Staal s line. Defenseman Mike Komisarek again was used at forward and was on Riley Nash s line with Terry, although Muller made changes during the game. We had to put some combinations together that are not used to each other, Muller said. Alexander Semin was hurt Saturday in the 4-2 loss to the Blues after taking a big hit from Alex Pietrangelo. Muller said he was not sure about the severity of the injury, saying the Canes were awaiting the results of additional medical tests. Rask, who said he was pretty bad in the Bruins 4-2 loss Friday to Ottawa, finished with 23 saves on Monday. Lucic scored the Bruins final goal on an empty-netter. We just didn t have enough extra juice to fight back, Muller said. I thought the guys fought and battled, just not enough to get back in it.
Smith, Soderberg lift Bruins over Hurricanes 4-1 The Associated Press November 18, 2013 RALEIGH, N.C. When the Boston Bruins take a two-goal lead, they can pretty much count on skating off with a win. The Bruins surged ahead early against the Carolina Hurricanes and then relied on their penalty-killers to earn a 4-1 victory on Monday night. Beginning with its 2010-11 Stanley Cup championship season, Boston is 100-6-6 in games it has taken a two-goal lead. It took the Bruins about 10 minutes to establish the margin against Carolina, which had won five of seven in the series. Boston killed four Carolina penalties, including 63 seconds when down two skaters, to extend its streak of consecutive penalty kills to 32. "It's commitment," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "Most of all, we're winning battles. We're doing a good job of standing teams up." That wasn't the case in late October when Boston allowed goals on five consecutive power plays. "We were really awful on the (penalty kill), which is really unusual for us," said Tuukka Rask, who made 23 saves. "We wanted to go back to basics, killing one penalty at a time." Reilly Smith and Carl Soderberg had a goal and an assist each in the first period. Johnny Boychuk scored midway through the third, and Milan Lucic added an empty-net goal for Boston, which has 11 points in seven games (5-1-1). Carolina's Tuomo Ruutu scored his first goal of the season with 4.8 seconds left in the opening period, but Boston didn't waver. "That was impressive for me that we kept our composure despite that one," Julien said. Boston's penalty-killing unit was especially effective in the second period, when it worked more than a minute of the Hurricanes' 5-on-3 advantage after penalties to Boychuk and Gregory Campbell. The Bruins also killed a third-period penalty while leading 2-1. Carolina has scored only one goal in its last 21 power plays. The Hurricanes played their first game since Oct. 24 with Cam Ward in net. Ward, who missed 10 games because of a leg injury, made 26 saves. He rebounded from a rough start in which he gave up two goals on Boston's first four shots. "I thought Cam competed hard," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "He started off (with) two that weren't easy to make saves on. After that, he hung in there." Smith gave Boston the lead with a power-play goal 2:31 into the game. Loui Eriksson passed to Soderberg, who found Smith in front for a one-timer that got past Ward for his third goal. Soderberg redirected a shot by defenseman Dennis Seidenberg to put Boston ahead 2-0 midway through the first period. The Hurricanes netted their only goal when a pass from Eric Staal went off the skate of Boston's Patrice Bergeron and caromed to Ruutu, who nudged the puck past Rask. NOTES: With Ward activated from the injured list, the Hurricanes reassigned goalie Mike Murphy to Charlotte (AHL).... Ward is 12-12-2 against Boston in 26 games.... Carolina center Jordan Staal played in his 500th NHL game.... Boston's Eriksson extended his point streak to six games with an assist on Smith's goal.... Boston defenseman Adam McQuaid missed his fourth consecutive game.... The teams will meet again Saturday in Boston.... The announced attendance was 13,919. Ward returns, Hurricanes lose 4-1 to Bruins by Peter Koutroumpis on November 19, 2013 RALEIGH, N.C. It wasn t the result that goaltender Cam Ward wanted as the Carolina Hurricanes suffered a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins at PNC Arena on Monday.
In reactivating Ward from the team s injured reserve earlier in the day, the Hurricanes returned goaltender Mike Murphy to the team s American Hockey League affiliate club, the Charlotte Checkers, accordingly. The veteran netminder, who missed 10 games since suffering a groin muscle tear on Oct. 24 in a game against the Minnesota Wild, stopped 26 shots but didn t have much time to ease into the game. Boston took advantage of its first power play opportunity early in the first period and scored on the first shot that Ward faced at 2:31 a redirected one-timer in close from Reilly Smith that was set up on a pass from Carl Soderberg. The Bruins continued to keep their offensive pressure in and around Carolina s net throughout the first 10 minutes of play and eventually extended their lead to 2-0 as Soderberg got a stick on a point shot from Dennis Seidenberg that beat Ward at the 10:24 mark. The only offense the Hurricanes could generate was one goal from forward Tuomo Ruutu, his first of the season, with five seconds remaining in the first period that cut the Bruins lead down to 2-1. It wasn t the best start, Ward said. They came out jumpin in that first period and scored on their power play opportunity and had a good tip on the second goal. Getting that goal towards the end of the first period really gave us a boost and I thought in the second period we kinda started to play better, and unfortunately came up short in the end there. Both teams went scoreless during the second period as Ward and Bruins goaltender Tuuka Rask, who finished the game making 23 saves of his own, were kept busy at even strength and on the penalty kill. Carolina was afforded a five-on-three opportunity at 13:52 when Boston s Gregory Campbell was called for delay of game for shooting the puck over the glass while teammate Johnny Boychuk was already in the box serving an earlier tripping penalty. Sending out different power play groupings that couldn t find their tempo in moving the puck with the man-advantage, and coupled with Rask making key saves on the close chances they did have in trying to beat him, the Hurricanes couldn t get any closer to tying the score. They haven t been together, Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said of his new line combinations. We had injuries. I thought we might have had some guys back this morning. That didn t happen and we had to put some combinations together that are not used to each other, but I thought they went out hard. The Hurricanes were afforded another power play opportunity early in the third period but couldn t capitalize on that one either, but managed to continue to pepper Rask with 10 shots on goal. However, at the 10:29 mark, Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk put the game further out of reach as he unleashed a point shot that ended up in a half-open net that Ward was drawn away from as the result of bodies pulling him and his stick out of position. To be honest, I haven t seen the replay, Ward said. There was a collision in front of me and took me out of position and out of the net. I m not sure exactly who it was, and on top of that I went to go back to the net and my stick was caught. Not sure where that was caught, but tough break. Trailing 3-1 as the final minutes of the period and game counted down, the Hurricanes pulled Ward for the extra skater, but Boston s Milan Lucic scored an empty-net goal with 11 seconds remaining to finalize the score and end result. I know that I gotta get my game back to where it needs to be, Ward said. I d rather look at the positives of tonight than the negatives. I hate losin, but in the second and third period I felt a lot better with my game. As the Hurricanes finished playing their third game in four nights, Muller was happy with having Ward back in goal, but had more concern for the rest of his team getting healthier in order to play with enough bodies and energy to win games. We just didn t have the extra juice to fight back, Muller said. I thought the guys gave it heart, a hard-fought battle, but just not enough to get back into it. Another Slow Start: Bruins 4, Hurricanes 1 By Bob Wage @CanesCountry on Nov 18 2013, 10:41p The Canes fell behind again and were unable to catch up to the Bruins at the PNC Arena Monday night. The Carolina Hurricanes have yet to lose a game in regulation when scoring first this season, but the unfortunate thing for their fans is that they seldom jump out to a lead, (4-0-1). The same thing happened on Monday night as they fell behind to the Boston Bruins, 2-0 in the first period and ended up losing, 4-1 in front of 13,919 at the PNC Arena. Kirk Muller felt his team played hard, considering this was their third game in four nights.
"I thought they battled hard. We had some injuries and thought we would have some guys back this morning, (but) that did not happen. We had to put some combinations together that are not used to each other but I thought they went out hard. Again, three games in four nights and we need 20 bodies going." Cam Ward made his first start in 11 games and started out a bit slow as would be expected for a goalie who has not played in a month, but he did make some good saves to keep his team close throughout much of the contest. He started out allowing two goals on the Bruins first four shots, but ended up with 26 saves on 29 shots for the night. After falling behind early, Tuomo Ruutu scored his first goal of the season with just five seconds left in the first period to give his team a lift. But that is the only time the home team would get a puck past Tuukka Rask this night. The Hurricanes could only put 24 shots on goal for the game, to 30 for their opponent, but they missed the net 15 times giving them a total of 202 missed shots on home ice, which leads the NHL. (Home ice missed shots). They also had 10 shots blocked. Carolina had a over a minute of a 5-on-3 advantage during the second period but they were unable to light the lamp with the chance. Officially, they ended up 0-4 on the powerplay. The key goal was scored midway through the third period when Milan Lucic crashed the net and Ward was jostled a bit. The goalie tried to get back in net, but it looked like Tim Gleason got tangled up with his stick down on the ice and he was unable to move. Johnny Boychuk ended up scoring the unassisted goal. Finally, with just 11 seconds left, Lucic would score the empty netter to close it out. Things do not get easier as the Canes battle the Detroit Red Wings at Detroit on Thursday night. Game Notes: Patrick Dwyer had a team high five shots on goal. The Canes were credited with 34 hits and were led by Brett Bellemore and Ruutu with five each. Jordan Staal and Mike Komisarek had four each. The team had 20 blocked shots. Bellemore had a team high four. Ron Hainsey led the team with 23:09 of ice time. Komisarek was low man with 6:32. The Canes won 58% of the game's faceoffs. Riley Nash won 75%, Manny Malhotra 61%, Eric 53%, and Jordan 50%. Ward's return doesn't help Canes' offense November, 18, 2013 By Scott Burnside ESPN.com RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carolina goaltender Cam Ward didn t miss a beat. Or, at most, half a beat. Unfortunately for the veteran goalie, who returned to action Monday night after missing 10 games with a groin tear, his teammates continued a troublesome season-long trend of failing to generate much in the way of offense as Carolina fell by a 4-1 count to the Boston Bruins. The loss marked the 16th game of the season in which the Hurricanes failed to score more than two goals and was the 11th time in their past 12 games the offense has come up more or less empty, scoring two or fewer goals. Now, the Hurricanes have done their fair share of winning in spite of the lethargic offense, but it s not sustainable over the long haul, not with the lineup looking the way it does these days. Carolina was missing Alexander Semin, who took a huge hit from Alex Pietrangelo in a loss to St. Louis on Saturday, and Jeff Skinner remains out. Toss in the fact Monday s tilt was the third game in four nights for this group and that's pretty much the story for this team, according to head coach Kirk Muller. On Monday, the Canes fell behind 2-0 just past the midpoint of the first period, then squandered a lengthy 5-on-3 in the second period, failing to take advantage of an unusually sloppy Bruins team. The power play, ranked 15th in the Eastern Conference, went 0-for-4 on the night. It d just be nice to have the same guys and roll out all the time and be consistent, Muller said. When you get these injuries, we re rolling different guys, different trial and error. Eventually we have to capitalize on those chances -- they come back to haunt you."
As for Ward, he was beaten by a power-play goal and a deflection in the first period, but otherwise looked sharp in turning aside 26 of 29 Boston shots. He did look a little out of sorts on the Bruins third goal, when he was involved in a collision near the net then saw his stick get tangled up with one of his own players below the goal line. Johnny Boychuk rammed home his first goal of the season when Ward wasn t looking. The netminder admitted it s been mentally taxing fighting through injuries that cost him significant time last year (a torn medial collateral ligament) and now this groin tear. It s tough to evaluate my game when it's my first game back and only my ninth start of the season, and [I] haven t played a whole lot of hockey when you consider all of last year, Ward said. I know I ve got to get my game back to where it needs to be. I d rather look at the positives of tonight rather than the negatives. I hate losing, but in the second and third period I felt a lot better about my game. For some reason it s been a real mental test for myself," Ward added. "I tore my MCL last year on a really freak collision in the net, and to have a tear in my groin this time, when I came into camp in the best shape I can. It s tough mentally when you re trying to do what you can to avoid those injuries and they still happen. It s how you deal with it and how you respond. This injury, I was able to get back a lot quicker than people would have anticipated. The loss was the second in a row for the Canes after they d managed to go 4-0-1 on a recent homestand with Justin Peters more than ably filling in for the injured Ward. Muller insisted the team isn t frustrated by its ongoing offensive struggles. It wasn t frustrating last week when we were winning, Muller said. It s what our group is right now. We re capable of winning some of these low-scoring games. When we lose bodies though, and we had to shorten (the bench) though, we pay for that. When we have 20 guys going and we re fresh, we re capable of winning these types of games. Daily Primer Nov. 19: Rangers host Bruins Tuesday, 11.19.2013 / 3:00 AM / NHL Insider NHL.com An "Original Six" matchup in New York City highlights what is primed to be an exciting night on the NHL schedule Tuesday. The Boston Bruins, who earned a 4-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Monday night, finish up their three-game road trip Tuesday, when they'll face the New York Rangers in front of a nationally-televised audience (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, NESN, MSG 2). Here's a look at all the action Tuesday: St. Louis Blues at Buffalo Sabres -- After opening their three-game road trip with a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday, the Blues will try to bounce back against the Sabres, who split a home-and-home series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the first two games for Buffalo interim coach Ted Nolan. Tuesday marks the first meeting between the Blues and Sabres since Jan. 21, 2012. New York Islanders at Toronto Maple Leafs -- The Islanders begin a three-game road trip Tuesday, and they will do it without the services of No. 1 goalie Evgeni Nabokov, who suffered a groin injury during a 5-4 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. Newsday reported Nabokov could miss at least four weeks, which means 23-yearold Kevin Poulin is about to see his workload increase a great deal. The Maple Leafs opened their five-game homestand by beating Buffalo on Saturday. Toronto is 7-2-0 at Air Canada Centre. Ottawa Senators at Philadelphia Flyers -- If Senators coach Paul MacLean has decided who will play goal Tuesday, he isn't telling anybody. Craig Anderson has allowed 11 goals in three starts since returning from a neck injury. Robin Lehner won all three starts in Anderson's absence and has a.945 save percentage in eight games this season. The Flyers may finally be turning a corner; they are 3-0-1 in their past four games, with three of those games on the road. They've scored 13 goals in that span. Now Philadelphia returns home, where it has won three of 10 games and has been outscored 29-15. Minnesota Wild at Montreal Canadiens -- The surging Wild enter with an eight-game point streak (7-0-1) and have moved within two points of the first-place Chicago Blackhawks in the Central Division. Josh Harding's remarkable story seems to get better each day; he made 21 saves Sunday night for his 12th
win of the season in a 2-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets. Harding boasts a 1.25 goals-against average and.946 save percentage in 17 appearances. The Canadiens will be looking to bounce back from a 1-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday. Goalie Carey Price is 1-3-2 over his past six games despite a 2.16 GAA and.920 save percentage over that stretch. Nashville Predators at Detroit Red Wings -- Nashville returned home for one game after a seven-game road trip and cruised past Chicago in a 7-2 win at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday to snap a four-game skid. Now, the Predators get right back on the road to face a former division rival. Detroit has struggled mightily at home; the Red Wings are winless at Joe Louis Arena in their past seven games. Overall, Detroit is winless in its past six (0-1-5), with the past five games requiring more than regulation time. Boston Bruins at New York Rangers -- The Bruins get right back at it after ending a three-game road skid Monday, when they earned a 4-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Carl Soderberg and Reilly Smith each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who conclude their three-game road trip in New York. The Rangers are struggling to score goals again; one night after earning a 1-0 victory at Montreal, they were shut out at home 1-0 by the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden. New York has three goals in its past three games. Chicago Blackhawks at Colorado Avalanche -- Chicago's annual "circus trip" begins Tuesday against the Avalanche, who have lost three straight. The Blackhawks will visit six more cities before they play their next home game, which won't take place until Dec. 3. Chicago responded nicely from the 7-2 loss to Nashville by earning a 5-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night at United Center. Not only is Colorado in the midst of a skid, but it will be without forward Matt Duchene for the next week due to an oblique injury suffered during a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday. Columbus Blue Jackets at Edmonton Oilers-- Columbus has earned points in four straight games, but was winless in the first three before a 4-1 victory against Ottawa on Sunday afternoon behind three power-play goals. The Blue Jackets' penalty kill, meanwhile, has turned aside 22 of the opposition's past 25 man advantages. Edmonton fans will have to wait for goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to make his Oilers debut; coach Dallas Eakins announced Monday that Devan Dubnyk will get the start. Florida Panthers at Vancouver Canucks -- Four different players scored for Florida in its 4-1 win against Colorado on Saturday. The Panthers have won two of their past three games, the first time that's happened this season. Those wins came against the Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks, a sign interim coach Peter Horachek may have the Panthers headed in the right direction. Vancouver is 0-3-1 in its past four games. The Canucks fired 43 shots on goal Sunday night, but still fell short in a 2-1 loss to Kari Lehtonen and the Dallas Stars. Vancouver has had at least 35 shots on goal in each of its past three games. Tampa Bay Lightning at Los Angeles Kings -- Tampa Bay has won two of the three games its played without Steven Stamkos, who is out indefinitely after suffering a broken tibia last week in Boston. Perhaps even more impressive, the Lightning improved to 7-0-0 against Western Conference opponents after earning a 5-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks last Thursday. Los Angeles returns home after a strong showing in the New York area; the Kings picked up road wins against the Islanders, Rangers and New Jersey Devils. Ben Scrivens, who is filling in for the injured Jonathan Quick, has been dominant. Scrivens was named the NHL's First Star of the Week after going 3-0-1 with a 0.66 GAA,.977 save percentage and two shutouts. Soderberg sparks Bruins past Hurricanes Monday, 11.18.2013 / 11:29 PM Kurt Dusterberg - NHL.com Correspondent RALEIGH, N.C. -- If his credentials in the Swedish Elite League are any indication, Boston Bruins forward Carl Soderberg will transition nicely into the NHL. On Monday night, he spoiled goalie Cam Ward's return by scoring a goal and an assist in Boston's 4-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. "What I expect from myself I keep to myself," said Soderberg, whose 31 goals led the SEL last season. "I don't know if there are expectations on me to score, but hopefully I can score maybe 15 goals this season." He will if he can build off his performance against Carolina. With the score tied 1-1, he scored the go-ahead goal at 10:24 of the first period by redirecting Dennis Seidenberg's shot for the eventual game winner. Ward was back in net after missing 10 games with a lowerbody injury. He stopped 26 of 29 shots in the loss. "It felt really good to get back in the net," he said. "Dealing with injuries is not an easy thing. I hate losing, but in the second and third periods, I felt a lot better about my game." Soderberg has two goals and eight points in 14 games this season. After appearing in eight games between the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs for Boston in 2012-13, it appears Soderberg is beginning to adjust to the NHL game. "He's coming around," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "He was a good player last year in Sweden and that's all we've heard. You're starting see some of those traits you've heard about. He's got a pretty heavy stick around the net-front area." Soderberg improved steadily in nine professional seasons in Sweden before the 28-year-old joined the Bruins last season. Indeed, he has a leg up on most first-year NHLers. So how has the transition been? "Pretty easy," he said. "It was tough last year. I came after a long season in Sweden and I didn't play in games for four or five weeks before I got (to Boston). Then I had the whole
summer and I had a good workout so I knew the system. So everything was pretty smooth." Soderberg set up the first goal just 2:31 into the game. From the right side of the net, Soderberg fed Reilly Smith at the far post for a tap-in on the power play. Smith also picked up an assist on Soderberg's goal. The Bruins carried much of the play in the first period, but they lost some momentum when Carolina scored with five seconds remaining. Hurricanes captain Eric Staal's centering pass deflected off of Boston forward Patrice Bergeron and then Carolina's Tuomo Ruutu. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask could only watch as the puck slipped into the net. "You never want to score one in your own net, but those things happen and there's nothing you can do about it," said Rask, who stopped 23 shots for his 11th win of the season. "I was going across and Bergeron blocked that pass. I had to stop my momentum and get back there. It's tough." But the Bruins didn't let the late Carolina goal deflate them. "It was important for us to come back in the second period and try to regain some momentum, and we did," Julien said. "We didn't lose our composure and that was impressive for me." Boston's resolve was tested in the middle of the second period, when the Hurricanes had a two-man advantage for 1:03. With Johnny Boychuk off for tripping and Gregory Campbell for delay of game, the Bruins had to stave off Carolina's bid to tie the game. The Hurricanes' best chance came on Chris Terry's one-timer from the high slot, but Rask stopped it with his glove. "I think it came down to that our PK was great," Bruins forward Jarome Iginla said. 'We had to come up really big on that 5-on- 3 in a one-goal game. That was a huge part of it." The Bruins, who have killed 32 straight penalties, managed to keep the Hurricanes away from the net for most of the power play. "We won faceoffs and we were in the right place to ice the puck," Julien said. "We iced it three times. With 1:03, they could have spent a lot more time in our end, but we didn't give them that opportunity. Our guys were in the right position, so we got what we wanted out of it." With a 2-1 lead heading to the third period, Boychuk gave Boston some breathing room when he beat Ward from the top of the right circle at 10:29 for his first goal of the season. Milan Lucic added an empty-net goal with 11 seconds remaining. The Hurricanes lost their second straight, and their first without Alexander Semin, who suffered an upper-body injury against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Combined with the continued absence of Jeff Skinner to an upper-body injury, the Hurricanes' offense wasn't a consistent threat. "Three games in four night, and we need 20 bodies going," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "Losing Semin the other night, we get our bench shortened up a bit. When you see us rolling four lines in those last couple of weeks and we have been picking up the wins, we're a much better team. I thought the guys gave it a hard battle. It just wasn't enough to come back." Bruins' Krug has early edge in Calder race Tuesday, 11.19.2013 / 3:00 AM / Trophy Tracker By Jon Lane - NHL.com Staff Writer Torey Krug burst upon the NHL like a flaming arrow when, as an emergency call-up, helped power the Boston Bruins past the New York Rangers in five games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He became the first rookie defenseman in League history to score four goals in his first five postseason games and the 10th player in Bruins history to score a playoff goal before scoring in the regular season. There's been no letdown in Krug's first full season. In fact, he's near the top of the rookie leaderboard and in front of the race for the Calder Trophy, according to NHL.com. Krug has points in four of his past six games (2-3-5); his six goals are tied for second among defensemen behind Ottawa Senators blueliner and former Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson (7), and his 12 points are third in rookie standings. A sizable contingent from the heralded 2013 NHL Draft Class is making an immediate impact, yet it's Krug, 22 years old and signed by the Bruins after his junior season at Michigan State in 2012, who's determined to not accept the status quo. "Check back with me around Christmastime, and we'll see where I'm at," Krug told Comcast SportsNet New England. "You just try to continue to be on top of things and don't be comfortable. That's when things can start to creep up on you." His production may not equate to the 20-plus goals he's on pace to score, but Krug's booming shot and inner confidence will remain intact, and the Bruins will reap the rewards of his talents as his game continues to peak. "I think you just let him play," Bruins coach Claude Julien told NHL.com. "His game offensively is almost a natural part of it, so you let him do that stuff. I don t think there's too many times where he makes bad decisions up front. If he does, it's going to happen once in a while. There's always a risk and reward; you want to minimize that risk. That's what you want to do. But right now I think he s doing well offensively, so I'm certainly not going to take that part of his game away from him." FINALISTS Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks: "The Hammer" caught everyone's attention on Oct. 8, when in his third NHL appearance, Hertl became the fourth-youngest player to score four goals in a game against the New York Rangers. Now 20 years old, the NHL Rookie of the Month for October leads all first-year players in goals (12) and points (18), and is second with a plus-7 rating. Sure, the four-goal evening (punctuated by an ebullient between-the-legs goal) that made him famous has buffed his numbers, but Hertl ended the week of Nov. 11 with points in three out of four games to help pace the 13-3-5 Sharks, so don't expect the kid from the Czech Republic to flame out anytime soon.
Seth Jones, Nashville Predators: He was hyped as can'tmiss and projected to go No. 1 in the 2013 NHL Draft. Alas, Jones slipped to No. 4, where the Predators happily grabbed a player they rated atop their list. Motivated to prove he deserved to be No. 1, all this precocious 19-year-old defenseman has done is dominate his fellow rookies in total ice time average (24:04) while riding shotgun for much of the season with Shea Weber (26:25 per game). Jones' game is predicated not by the numbers (two goals, minus-6), but intangibles and advanced hockey sense. His maturity level is way beyond his teenage years and what he does with his extended minutes will keep him entrenched in the Calder race all season long. "A lot of people say defensemen need five, six years to get their feet wet and get used to playing in the NHL," Predators teammate Matt Hendricks told NHL.com. "He's stepped in and has done a great job. You see mistakes in his game, but he admits the mistakes in his game. He's not one to hide behind, oh I'm a rookie. He stands up for the media and says, 'I made a mistake there.' That's a very mature thing for a 19-year-old kid to do." Five Questions: Brodeur on trade talk, his future Tuesday, 11.19.2013 / 3:00 AM / Five Questions With By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer NEWARK, N.J. -- Martin Brodeur is closer to the Hall of Fame than he is to scoring another long-term contract, but that hasn't stopped the New Jersey Devils goaltender from continuing to build on his laundry list of NHL records, including wins, shutouts, games played and minutes played. Brodeur, 41, has six wins, a 1.98 goals-against average,.919 save percentage and two shutouts in 11 starts this season despite not having a firm grip on the No. 1 job that he held for nearly two decades. Cory Schneider is working in tandem with Brodeur to provide the Devils some of the best goaltending in the NHL this season. Brodeur, though, can be an unrestricted free agent after the season and the only thing he knows for sure is he has roots in New Jersey and it's where he wants to live once he hangs up his skates for good. There's no telling when that will be or if he will do that as a Devil. Prior to a game last week against the Los Angeles Kings, he spoke to NHL.com about his season, the trade that brought Schneider to New Jersey and his future. Here are Five Questions With Martin Brodeur: Have you developed a new attitude this season in order to handle the fact that you aren't the unquestioned No. 1 goalie now? "A little bit, but you learn how you should feel and how you should go about things and if you're too easy on it and you don't care too much -- I never had that attitude. I like to play. I like to do certain things. I have to prepare a certain way. If I take a step back and just say do what I'm told, the next thing you know it's not me. I need to be a certain way. I've tried to change a little bit because I know with time you have to adjust to different things, but I found out with myself that I can't change too much. I have to be the guy I need to be because this is what success has brought me." I was recently talking to Brendan Shanahan about the Hall of Fame and he said that there comes a time in a player's career when you get grumpy because you're doing the same thing over and over, but when you know you're near the end it all becomes fun again. I'm not trying to put you in a retirement home here, but is that the case with you? "You can appreciate it a little more, but that comes with success. You have to play well or your team has to do well for you to enjoy it, and some guys don't have that opportunity. "Two or three years ago I didn't know if I was going to come back. We didn't make the playoffs and the whole year after it was like, as you say, you're kind of grumpy. The next thing you know you're tasting that fun again and you probably have more fun than you should have, but that's what hockey brings you. That's a feeling that everybody who is retired has, and I know because I've had a lot of conversations with a lot of them because I know I'm coming close. That's one of the things they say. They're like, 'After this you won't be able to laugh like this or be able to yap at a guy and say what you say because in the real world that doesn't exist, you can't do that.' These are things that you'll miss so you have to enjoy every single moment because it'll be over. That's the attitude I have about it. "But this year with [Jaromir] Jagr I have a guy to relate to and I never had that before. That's kind of fun for me. We have conversations about certain situations or guys we played against or with that only me and him can talk about. It's fun having him around for that." You're sitting up there in the suite at the 2013 NHL Draft here at Prudential Center when the trade for Cory Schneider is announced. What was the first thing you thought of when you heard the news? "I was in shock, to be honest with you. I didn't see it coming. But thinking about it a little more, five minutes after, I'm like, 'You know, this is what I've been asking Lou [Lamoriello, Devils general manager] to do for the last few years.' When I signed my two-year contract I told Lou, 'Bring some young guy in so I can help him out and do these things.' I kind of forgot about what I told him, but the next thing you know I'm thinking, 'Yeah, that makes sense.' I'm not going to play forever and having a guy like him is a big luxury. The future of this team will be in good hands now." The topic of a trade already has come up this season with you and you've addressed it. You've basically said that you won't ask for a trade but if it ever came to the point that Lamoriello approached you, you'd be willing to listen. How do you think you'll react if you're the subject of trade talk this season, because you've never had that?
"I don't know. Like, you say it and I get a little smile because I don't know how I'm going to react. If you would have asked me that question say three years ago I would have said there is no way because I felt that I had two more years to go. I don't know if I'm ready to move on somewhere for another two years or so and redo my life somewhere. But if, and we always talk about ifs, if there is an opportunity that the Devils are seeking and they ask me and I think it could be a good fit and a fun fit for two months or three months, then who knows? "But it's not something that I want to do. That's my point. People have to understand, I'm never going to ask for it. But whatever happens I'll be back here anyway. Regardless in what capacity, this is where my life is going to be. It's going to be attached to the Devils. That's my hope, so I want anything good for them. Hey, if I'm able to get them something back -- they haven't gotten anything from me yet besides winning hockey games." You bring up that you'll be here no matter what. I know this line of questioning is looking ahead and you're in the now, but have you thought about what capacity that you'd want to do something in, no matter if it's next year, the year after, three years from now? "You know, I'm not looking at something right away. Whatever I'm going to get into I want to make sure I'm ready for it and I want to learn things. "Coaching I don't think will be an option early on just because the day-to-day operation of a coach, I've done this as a player for so long that I'm going to need to take a break and just enjoy my kids. I've had this conversation with my boys. You know, Anthony [Brodeur, Devils 2013 seventh-round draft pick], I've seen him play maybe three times in the last four years. So when I'm not going to play I want to watch him, I want to be a part of it. I'm watching every game on the Internet and I'm going crazy. I want to be that dad too, just a regular guy. I want to enjoy my kids. I have a little one that's 4 and he's going to start playing hockey soon. I want to be part of it. These coaches work way harder than hockey players, so for me coaching is not an option right away, if ever. "For me it's more of an in-the-office type of thing, looking over everything, the young guys. I want to stay in hockey. This is what I know. I did some color for 'Hockey Night in Canada' and I enjoyed it. I wouldn't do it forever, but maybe that could be something I could do while waiting for something else. Opportunities will come, but I'd definitely love to stay here." 'NHL Revealed' a unique challenge for Greenburg Monday, 11.18.2013 / 7:10 PM / NHL Insider By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer NEW YORK -- For all he's done in his almost three decades worth of award-winning experience documenting the nuances of sports and its characters from behind the camera lens and in edit rooms, Ross Greenburg has never taken on a production with the size and scale of "NHL Revealed: A Season Like No Other." Greenburg, who won 51 Sports Emmys and eight Peabody Awards during his 26-year tenure at HBO Sports, is one of three executive producers tasked with developing seven hours of all-access NHL-based reality TV for NBC and CBC. "NHL Revealed: A Season Like No Other" will follow the players and teams participating in the four 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series games, the 2014 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic in Vancouver, and the 2014 Sochi Olympics from mid- January through mid-march. "I've never undertaken a reality-based show with this number of teams and characters at your disposal," Greenburg told NHL.com. "You can look at that as a plus in that you have so much ground to cover that you can pick and choose some colorful characters with unique stories and dive into it that way. Or, you can look at it as a negative and say, 'My god, what am I going to have to leave on the edit room floor?' " Greenburg, as President of HBO Sports, was the executive producer for the first "24/7: Road to the Winter Classic" series produced by HBO in 2011. He said his experience working on that series, which featured the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, gave him an up-close knowledge of hockey players and their generally humble nature. "There is a closeness to a hockey team that I haven't seen in many other sports, and that's at every level," Greenburg said. "You don't really see an arrogance or an aloofness to hockey players. They have stayed down-to-earth as human beings and there is just a guy next door sitting on the living room couch talking normal like you-and-i quality to them." Greenburg said that every-man quality makes for insightful and entertaining television. It's part of why he wanted to document it again, only on a grander scale. The undertaking ahead of Greenburg and fellow executive producers Julie Bristow, a former executive at CBC and current president & CEO of Bristow Global Media, Inc., and Steve Mayer, the Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of IMG Productions, is to turn what will be hundreds of hours of content coming from nine teams into seven hours of TV that gives the viewers the same feeling Greenburg had when he did the first "24/7" series. "They're human beings," he said. "They're not to be put on a pedestal and awed. They're to be looked at realistically." "NHL Revealed" debuts Jan. 22 on NBC Sports Network in the United States and Jan. 23 on CBC in Canada. Subsequent episodes will air in the United States on NBCSN on Jan. 29, Feb. 5, Feb. 27 (two hours), March 5 and March 12. CBC will air the one-part episodes one day after NBCSN, but will also air the two-part episode on Feb. 27. Sportsnet will provide additional viewing opportunities on Jan. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 23, March 2 (two hours), March 9 and March 16. "NHL Revealed" will be filmed by crews that embed with the teams for three or four days at a time at least four or five times
during the entire production process. There will be two crews going to Sochi to capture the players at the Olympics. The editing will take place in Toronto. Each episode will be anchored by one of the marquee events on the NHL schedule, starting with the first three Stadium Series games. The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks open the Stadium Series at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25 (9:30 p.m. EST, NBCSN/CBC). The Stadium Series moves to Yankee Stadium the following day as the New York Rangers play the New Jersey Devils (12:30 p.m. EST, NBC/CBC). The Rangers and New York Islanders complete the pre-olympic leg of the Stadium Series on Jan. 29 at Yankee Stadium (7:30 p.m. EST, NBCSN/TSN). "The focus on those first couple of episodes will be on those teams, as they prepare for those stadium games and execute on those games," Greenburg said. The focus in parts of the second episode and most of the third episode is expected to turn toward the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators as players participate in regular season games while preparing to go to Sochi for the Olympics. "The show would have worked without the Olympic games because the Stadium games in and of themselves and simply following players and teams throughout the regular season is fascinating television, but the icing on the cake is surely the Olympics," Greenburg said. "Not only because of the great feeling these players have for their countries and playing for their countries, but also for that dynamic of suddenly in midseason turning your teammate into your rival. "For [Evgeni] Malkin and [Sidney] Crosby to be joined at the hip and firing pucks at the opponent suddenly to have to turn around and check each other on the ice when Canada plays Russia, it's just a fascinating dynamic. We'll be with them on the plane over, on the plane back. We'll be interviewing them between games. We'll be following their families in Sochi, and maybe them if they get out of that Olympic village and go somewhere to relax." The Stadium Series finale takes place at Soldier Field, where the Blackhawks and Penguins will play on March 1 (8 p.m. EST, NBC). The Canucks and Senators participate in the Heritage Classic on March 2 in Vancouver (4 p.m. EST, NBCSN/CBC). "There is a simplicity to having two teams to follow for four or five weeks because you can embed guys in those two teams, get the footage in, go through the editing process and you have an easily identifiable beginning, middle and end," Greenburg said. "Here what we have are nine teams over a two-month period participating in five different stadium games and the Sochi Olympics, and to interweave the stories through the eyes of the individual players on all of those teams to make some semblance of logic out of it is really the challenge." 'NHL Revealed' offers behind-the-scenes look at stars Monday, 11.18.2013 / 5:48 PM / News By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer NEW YORK -- Five outdoor games, featuring nine different NHL teams, combined with the NHL's participation in the 2014 Sochi Olympics should provide plentiful ingredients for mustsee TV. The NHL believes in the compelling content. On Monday, the League, along with the NHLPA and broadcast partners NBC and CBC, jointly announced the creation of an all-access television series entitled "NHL Revealed: A Season Like No Other" during a press event in Manhattan. The series will feature an exclusive inside look at the four 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series games, the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at BC Place in Vancouver and the Olympics, focusing on the star players from the nine teams involved in the five outdoor games. "We love the game, we admire the players and we want to take that and make it as big as we possibly can," NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins said. "We want to make it big through the events we do. We want to make it big through the programming we do. It's not just enough to feed the core hockey fan, but we want to expose the sport to casual fans as well and continue to grow the game. That's been a huge part of the partnership with CBC and it's been a huge part of the NBC relationship." Collins stressed that the NHL's participation in the Olympics is a factor behind the series. "It's a huge storyline for how we want to profile the game and how we want to profile the players," Collins said. "CBC and NBC have come on board, as they always do, to make some of this a reality. We've been able to pull together really an all-star lineup of executive producers to tell the stories that are going to come out of a hundred days and nights of shooting throughout this process." The series is being produced by Bristow Global Media Inc., headed by Julie Bristow, a former executive at CBC whose duties included overseeing production of CBC s Hockey Night in Canada and creating and producing other top programming. Ross Greenburg, the former HBO Sports president and winner of more than 50 Sports Emmys, will serve as an executive producer on behalf of the NHL. Greenburg was executive producer of HBO s initial "24/7: Road to the NHL Winter Classic." Steve Mayer, the senior vice president and executive producer of IMG Productions, is serving as an executive producer on the series as well. The seven-part series debuts Jan. 22 on NBCSN and Jan. 23 on CBC (with a re-air Jan. 26 on Sportsnet in Canada). Subsequent episodes will air in the United States on NBCSN on Jan. 29, Feb. 5, Feb. 27 (two-part), March 5 and March 12.
CBC will air the one-part episodes one day after NBCSN but will also air the two-part episode on Feb. 27. Sportsnet will provide additional viewing opportunities on Jan. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 23, March 2 (two hours), March 9 and March 16. "I don't think there are many leagues out there besides the NHL and really with John's leadership and vision that could have put this all together in this short period of time," NBC Sports President Jon Miller said. "When the Winter Classic first happened this was something he had thought about and we had talked about for a long time, about bringing games to stadiums. The natural progression is bringing fans inside the ice and letting people see what is going on." There will be production teams embedded with the teams for several days in a row, and two production crews will follow the players in Sochi. "What's most important is we want to give that feeling to the viewer that they're inside, that they'll be in training rooms, meeting rooms and locker rooms, they'll be hearing from coaches, players will be miked on the ice, cameras will be low on the ice in arenas," Greenburg said. "We also want to bring to life these Stadium games and, obviously, Sochi because those are the big events." Stadium Series games begin on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, when the Anaheim Ducks face the Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium (9:30 p.m. EST, NBCSN/CBC). The first of two Stadium Series games at Yankee Stadium follows Sunday, Jan. 26 when the New York Rangers play the New Jersey Devils (12:30 p.m. EST, NBC/CBC). The Rangers battle the New York Islanders three days later on Wednesday, Jan. 29 (7:30 p.m. EST, NBCSN/TSN). Following the NHL s participation in the 2014 Games, the Stadium Series finishes in Chicago on Saturday, March 1 when the Pittsburgh Penguins square off against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field (8 p.m. EST, NBC). The NHL Heritage Classic wraps up this dramatic run of signature events on Sunday, March 2 in Vancouver, B.C., when the Vancouver Canucks host the Ottawa Senators (4 p.m. EST, NBCSN/CBC). "The players are excited to be a part of it," said Steve Webb, a divisional player representative for the NHLPA. "They understand to grow the game we have to do things like this, we have to do things big, extravagant in a way where it creates attention and draws people in to watch our sport. Here you have an opportunity to get really in-depth behind the scenes with a lot of our greatest players." Greenburg said a key storyline to follow will be the arc of some players going from teammates in the NHL to rivals in the Olympics to teammates again in the NHL, or vice versa. He said the producers have earmarked Penguins center Evgeni Malkin as a player they want to follow in Sochi because he will be participating in the Olympics in his home country. "There is something about going home to play in front of your home country in your home event," Greenburg said. "There is some beauty to that." Greenburg added the goal of the series is to have the star players on each team be the main characters, but with the expectation that the camera and the storyline will gravitate to some role players who stand out. As an example he mentioned Pittsburgh Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis' surprising lead role in the "24/7" series featuring the Penguins and Washington Capitals three years ago. "We're looking forward to finding those little gems," Greenburg said. "People will develop." While admitting HBO's "24/7" and "NHL Revealed" are similar in that they're access-driven shows about hockey, Collins said the viewer will find that the comparisons stop there because of the path each series follows. "'24/7' is a chronological, intense look at two teams that clearly has a beginning, a middle, and an end being the Winter Classic," Collins said. "The coach in '24/7' tends to be the focus because that's who controls much of the action and what goes on. I don't think that's expected to be the case here. We're going into this with a view toward saying we want to make the players the focus. And because we have nine teams, and all these various events with the Olympics in the middle, you're not going to get that same chronological countdown." Mayer pointed out that an interesting element to "NHL Revealed" is the show will follow all nine teams throughout the entire series. So even though the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings play at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25, players on those teams will be featured in episodes through the series finale. "Each of the shows will have the stadium games and Sochi involved so you'll feel the climax, closing segment," Greenburg said. "Of course the last segment will wrap up the experience of the preceding hours you watched as a viewer as well as a look to the playoffs. That in and of itself will be an interesting ending." Rangers send Mashinter to AHL; Nash return close? Monday, 11.18.2013 / 1:20 PM / News NHL.com The New York Rangers on Monday assigned forward Brandon Mashinter to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League, which raises the possibility of Rick Nash returning to action as soon as this week against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden or Thursday at the Dallas Stars. Nash (head) has not played since Oct. 8, a 9-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose, when he took an elbow from Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart. He has three assists in three games.
"Every day we just see how it goes, but he's the one who tells us where he's at, he's the one who knows his body best," associate coach Scott Arniel told BlueshirtsUnited.com on Sunday. "If he says he's ready to go Tuesday that's great for us. If he needs more days, we'll certainly have to be cautious." A healthy scratch the past two games, Mashinter skated in six games for the Rangers and has four assists in six games for the Wolf Pack. Scrivens, Seguin, Harding named 'Stars' of week Monday, 11.18.2013 / 12:00 PM / News NHL.com NEW YORK - Los Angeles Kings goaltender Ben Scrivens, Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin and Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending Nov. 17. FIRST STAR BEN SCRIVENS, G, LOS ANGELES KINGS Scrivens went 3-0-1 with a 0.66 goals-against average,.977 save percentage and two shutouts to help the Kings improve to 14-6-1 (29 points), their best record through the first 21 games of a season since 1990-91 (15-5-1, 31 points). He relieved injured starter Jonathan Quick for the final 1:20 of overtime, serving as the goaltender of record in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres Nov. 12. Scrivens then started the next three games, posting 23 saves in a 3-2 comeback victory over the New York Islanders Nov. 14 and recording consecutive shutouts against the New Jersey Devils Nov. 15 (26 saves) and New York Rangers Nov. 17 (37 saves). The 27-year-old native of Spruce Grove, Alta., has not allowed a goal in his last 155:02 of playing time and leads the NHL with a 1.24 goalsagainst average,.955 save percentage and three shutouts in eight appearances this season. SECOND STAR TYLER SEGUIN, C, DALLAS STARS Seguin paced all players with five goals and tied for first with seven points in leading the Stars to three straight victories. He scored the insurance marker in a 3-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers Nov. 13. Seguin then tallied a career-high four goals, including the game-winner, and five points in a 7-3 triumph over the Calgary Flames Nov. 14, becoming the first Stars player to register four goals in a game since Nov. 16, 2007 (Jussi Jokinen). He capped the week by collecting an assist in a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks Nov. 17, extending his point streak to four games (6-2 8). The 21-year-old native of Brampton, Ont., leads the Stars, and is tied for sixth in the NHL, with 12-11 23 in 20 games this season. THIRD STAR JOSH HARDING, G, MINNESOTA WILD Harding posted a 3-0-0 record with a 1.38 goals-against average and.939 save percentage to help the Wild improve to 13-4-4 (30 points), their most points through the first 21 games of a season in franchise history. He relieved injured starter Niklas Backstrom in a 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Nov. 13, stopping 19 shots, plus another two in the shootout, in 54:29 of playing time. Harding then recorded 22 saves in a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers Nov. 15 and 21 stops in a 2-1 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets Nov. 17 to extend his home-ice winning streak to 10 games. The 29-year-old native of Regina, Sask., is 12-2-2 in 17 appearances this season and ranks second in the League in goals-against average (1.25), save percentage (.946) and shutouts (tied, 2). NHL Three Stars: Fleury downs Ducks, B s ruin Ward s return By Jen Neale 8 hours ago Puck Daddy No. 1 Star: Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins The resurrected Penguins goalie stopped 27 of 28 shots in Pittsburgh's 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. So what if Evgeni Malkin hasn't scored a goal in the past 14 games?! Over the same time period, Geno has picked up 12 assists, including 2 against the Ducks. Pittsburgh's Brian Gibbons had quite the NHL debut. The rookie tallied a goal, an assist and ended up plus-2. No. 2 Star: Carl Soderberg, Boston Bruins Soderberg had a helper on the game's first goal scored by Reilly Smith on the power play. The second goal came directly from Soderberg and ended up being the game winner in the B's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes. Carolina took issue with Boston's third goal scored by Johnny Boychuk. Did the contact made with Ward prevent him from attempting the save? The 'Canes thought it did. No. 3 Star: Reto Berra, Calgary Flames The 5-4 (SO) win by the Flames was the end result of an ugly game against the Jets. Both clubs traded goals all night. The rookie goaltender stopped 43 of 47 shots in regulation and OT before heading to a shootout, Berra's first in the NHL. He allowed in 2 goals on 8 attempts before Sean Monahan saved the day and snuck one past Winnipeg's (#1 mobster) Al Montoya.
Honorable mention: Evander Kane skated away with only an assist despite having 10 shots on goal and 8 hits, both team highs... Probably not a good idea to leave Ryan Getzlaf alone in front of the net. Captain Duck scores his 11th of the season on a possible missed off-sides call... Jussi Jokinen played in his 600th NHL game... Milan Lucic added an empty net goal to his plus-2, 6 hit game... Olli Jokinen was 72% on the dot, winning 21 and losing 8 faceoffs. Did you know? Carolina netminder Cam Ward played in his first game since being injured on October 24th. That should stop goalie trade rumors (and/or Team Canada rumors) for about 10 minutes. Dishonorable mention: Brian Little was on the verge of being the 3rd star of the night after he scored the game-tying goal with 5.6 seconds remaining. At the end of OT, he did and/or said something refs didn't like and he received a 10 minute misconduct - making him ineligible for the shootout. Little is 2- for-4 in the game deciding skills contest, good enough for third best on the team. The Jets probably could have used him... Carolina's Alexander Semin is out indefinitely after taking a hit in St. Louis this past Saturday. John Collins on NHL outdoor games, overdoing rivalries and making hockey $4 billion business By Greg Wyshynski 16 hours ago Puck Daddy NEW YORK John Collins has performed an admirable balancing act for the NHL since joining it in 2006, both honoring the traditions of hockey while exploiting them as much as possible for profit. Like recognizing hockey s roots on frozen ponds, but playing outdoor games in baseball stadiums in front of tens of thousands. Like understanding the importance of rivalries in the NHL, and then working with NBC to create a Hockey Night in America -like weekly destination called Rivalry Night. Like seeing how NHL players are just like us, and then making reality television stars out of them. The latest innovation is NHL Revealed, a 7-part series that will air on NBCSN and CBC that focuses on the seven teams participating in the NHL Stadium Series, itself a Collins innovation; as well as the star players that will compete outdoors and then in the Sochi Olympics. Collins said it was past time for the NHL to use the Olympics to better promote its players. Through all the debate about whether we should be there as a League or not be there. We re there. It s a great platform. We should try to take better advantage of it while we re there, he said on Monday at a media luncheon. "NHL Revealed" will feature players from the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. It's going to follow star players through the outdoor games and Olympics, as well as those unsung heroes and fan favorites that "24/7" chronicles so well -- players like Willie Mitchell of the Kings were name-checked by the producers. In fact, their stories will continue through the Olympics even if they're not in Sochi. The show is produced by Ross Greenburg, who was the guiding force behind HBO 24/7 before leaving the network in 2011. It ll have that look and that vibe, but Collins said it s not a case where NHL Revealed is going to water down the next 24/7 featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. That s thanks to the power of NBC and CBC, he said. HBO does a phenomenal job. But ["24/7" viewership] can be like that Wilt Chamberlain 100-point game on Philadelphia where everyone says they were there," he said. "HBO s distribution in the U.S. is what it is. Nowhere near the firepower of what NBC s going to bring to it. And their distribution in Canada is less than 1 million homes; certainly, far less than what CBC brings to it, he said. Being able to use these two networks to push it out is a game-changer. Again, it s been a successful balancing act: Collins himself is a game-changer, without having the game dramatically change to reach his objectives. The NHL announced the Stadium Series five outdoor games in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Vancouver, to supplement the Winter Classic in Ann Arbor in the wake of the 2012-13 lockout. Skeptics immediately figured it was a quick way to boost the League s bottom line, and get revenues surging forward again to cover those work-stoppage losses. Collins doesn t believe that s necessarily the motivation. To me, that s not it. These games do well. They re profitable, he said. When you get into markets like Vancouver and see the mittens and the toques and the scarves and everything, it s almost like having a 31st NHL team with all the revenue that s created. All the more reason to hold these games after the lockout, actually. With strong revenues benefiting both the NHL teams and their players, the NHLPA was on board with playing and promoting the Stadium Series games, even if the lockout was a bitter affair. Work stoppages are business. It s not that they don t want to grow the game for the right reasons. They dealt with it, and move on, said Steve Webb, Divisional Player Representative for the NHLPA. The Stadium Series is going to make a monstrous amount of cash for the NHL, which means Collins is getting closer to his ultimate goals: 1. Making national revenue a bigger piece of the NHL pie, upwards of 25 percent of it from six percent.
2. Taking the NHL from a $3.2 billion company to a $4 billion one. (Oh, you can hear that salary cap rising now.) Collins doesn t anticipate doing five outdoor games again next season, although the idea of multiple outdoor games as a way to reach NHL cities underserved by the Winter Classic intrigues him. The next big revenue engine for the NHL? The Canadian media rights deals that will be sold by the end of the year. After that: The return of the World Cup of Hockey, in what most people expect will be Sept. 2015. Collins said NBC would get first, and probably last, crack at the broadcasting rights. We spoke with Collins about a number of topics, including the future of outdoor games and rivalry over-saturation: Q. It may not be six games, but is the thought to continue doing these Stadium Series games so the Colorados and Minnesotas of the world can get a taste of outdoor events? COLLINS: That s certainly the opportunity. To get to more markets sooner, and to get back to markets that worked. Boston was a great experience. Philadelphia was a great experience. But if we re only doing one game a year, we re not getting back there in 10-15 years. Has there been any thought to having a Stadium Series game overseas? Yeah, they have had outdoor games overseas, in [Red Square in Moscow]. We ve talked about it in a model in playing regularseason games or a World Cup or a Champions Cup. NHL Revealed feels like HBO 24/7. Can there be overkill of this type of show? Again, I see so much opportunity to grow the profile of the sport. I look at other sports that do this on a weekly basis I think with the quality of the athletes, the quality of the game and the quality of the storytellers, I hope people don t feel that way. You mentioned that this show is going to be repackaged for other nations? Like, a Kopitar-centric show for Slovenia with the footage you capture here? The international rights holders are definitely interested in whatever footage we have, and I think that s the opportunity somewhere down the road. We want to be able to reconnect the European fan with their heroes. Finally, the NHL has made rivalries the focus of its television properties: Rivalry Night on NBC, a show about rivals and rivalry games in the stadium series. Might the NHL be hitting that piñata too often? Is there a danger that rivalries are being stressed so much that teams without natural rivals are left out of the hype? Some of it depends on programming windows. But the bigger picture is that we re trying to build an incremental behavior for fans. Getting fans to care about a game even if their favorite team isn t in it. In time, maybe it just becomes a great matchup, like you have in Denver and New England next Sunday in NBC. There s no history there, other than those two players, and the fact that they re two of the best teams. P.K. Subban protest song demands ice time, uses Village People By Harrison Mooney 16 hours ago Puck Daddy It's difficult to understand the way Montreal Canadiens' coach Michel Therrien handles P.K. Subban. Down a goal? Expect to see Subban on the ice as the Canadiens press for it. Up a goal? Expect to see Subban on the bench while the Habs try to hold onto the lead. Last Tuesday, for instance, Therrien benched Subban for the final 4:38 of regulation in a tie game, in what appeared to be a bid to guarantee the loser point before attempting to win the game in overtime. It's baffling. Subban is a Norris trophywinner, not a rookie. The uncertainty and distrust with which Therrien handles him doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. But if an award for the league's best defenseman isn't enough to convince Therrien he's got something special on his hands in Subban, what will? Why, the power of music. Cue Chris Pennington, with his Village People inspired anthem, "Why Not PK". The song debuted on TSN 690 last week, and it's pretty great. It's just so bizarre to drive a jet like a car / He's your very own superstar Quality lyrics there. The only thing this is missing is a video. There could have been dancing! You could have worn a police uniform! Man. I wish I'd thought of this. But there's more. Not only did the song advocate change -- it appears to have made a difference. From Mitch Melnick's Blog: Two days after Chris Pennington's song "Why not P.K.?" (imploring Michel Therrien to use his star defenseman more often) made its debut on TSN 690, Subban played 28:22. The power (tower) of song. Subban led all skaters with 8 shots on goal, most of them on the power play. Seemed ready to carry the offense - if only he could. His agent Don Meehan was in the building as discussions on a new contract have begun with GM Marc Bergevin. Imagine the Habs without Subban? One can only hope Bergevin feels as you do and tries as hard as he can to lock up Subban instead of sending him to, say, Edmonton. The takeaway: not even Michel Therrien can resist a message wrapped in the irresistible disco package of the Village People. Next up for Pennington, hopefully: a song about playing Douglas Murray less.
Oblique injury sidelines Duchene; Tortorella upset with no-goal call; Cherry on Kadri (Puck Headlines) By Sean Leahy #TeemuForever Ben Scrivens, Tyler Seguin and Josh Harding are your NHL Three Stars of the Week. [NHL] An oblique injury will sideline Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche for about a week. [Denver Post] John Scott on his "Princess Phaneuf" remark over the weekend about Dion Phaneuf: "I haven t trademarked it. I kind of regretted it. [Bill Hoppe] John Tortorella on the goal that was waved off for the Vancouver Canucks due to goaltender interference: "All the crap we review and they don't review an important thing like that it's wrong." [Province] On Nov. 28, the Ottawa Senators will reveal their Heritage Classic jersey, which they'll wear against the Vancouver Canucks March 2 at BC Place. [Icethetics] Don Cherry to his old buddy Nathan, err, Nazem Kadri on the Maple Leafs forward's suspension: "Smarten up, Kadri. Nazem, you know what I think of you, but you played stupid." [National Post] Really great feature on Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill and his wife, Bekki, and her battle against cancer, and why it took him so long to move on from the Detroit Red Wings. [NBC DFW] Zach Bogosian is considered "week-to-week" with a groin injury. [Winnipeg Free Press] Old Russian goaltender update No. 1: Nikolai Khabibulin goes on injured reserve. Antti Raanta has been recalled. [CSN Chicago] Old Russian goaltender update No. 2: Evgeni Nabokov will join Khabibulin on IR. Anders Nilsson has been called up. [Islanders Point Blank] Fluto Shinzawa on the Nail Yakupov situation: "The blame belongs to the Oilers. They are one of the primary log-throwers onto a fire that s burning organizations as well as players. The Oilers are leading the charge toward rushing young players into the meanest league in the sport." [Boston Globe] Ever wonder what your favorite team would look like as a Mega Man sprite? Today's your lucky day. [Deadspin] Stupid sexy salary cap ruining all of our trade fun. [Russo] Pretty cool feat by the Erie Otters scoring three shorthanded goals in one period during a 4-3 win over the Guelph Storm. [Buzzing the Net] Why Jeff Zatkoff is not the answer to the Pittsburgh Penguins' backup goaltender situation. [The Hockey Writers] Phoenix Coyotes prospect Connor Murphy was called up Friday, scored a goal Saturday and sent back to the AHL on Sunday. Thanks for stopping by, kid! [Arizona Republic] What's eating David Desharnais? How about that big contract, for starters? [Montreal Gazette] What's the fantasy hockey take on Peter Holland to the Maple Leafs? [Dobber] Finally, here's Zach Boychuk of the Charlotte Checkers rocking the helmet and stick cam during practice. NHL Revealed: League creates 24/7 -like series around outdoor games, Sochi Olympics By Greg Wyshynski NEW YORK With six games in five different cities, the NHL has gotten ambitious with its outdoor hockey events this season. So the League has decided to do something equally ambitious on television to build hype around them and the Sochi Olympics in 2014. NHL Revealed: A Season Like No Other is a new hourlong, 7-episode series on NBC Sports Network in the U.S. and CBC in Canada that will follow nine teams in the NHL s stadium series the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators (in the Heritage Classic) before, during and after their outdoor games. NHL Revealed will focus on the stadium series, while HBO 24/7 returns this season to focus on the Winter Classic featuring the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. The show will bounce from team to team following the storylines of individual players, all of whom are expected to compete in the Sochi Olympics. When the NHL shuts down and the Winter Games begin, cameras will follow those players to Sochi and capture their Olympic experiences. (Since the series is shared between rights holders, that means Olympic game footage on the show.) The players announced so far as the show s focus: Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, John Tavares, Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick. Think of the show as a PG-rated HBO 24/7 with a player focus, a super-hyped version of last season s NHL 36 that aired on NHL Network. The coaches, so essential to the HBO show, won t be featured on NHL Revealed. But the look of it is expected to mimic 24/7 as that series creator, Ross Greenburg, is behind NHL Revealed along with former CBC TV exec Julie Bristow. This sounds awesome. It might be hard to balance several narratives at the same time, although the show will focus on the Los Angeles and New York games before Sochi and then the Soldier Field and BC Place
games after the Olympics. But the potential is there to bring added context to the outdoor games and the Olympics, and bring us closer to some tough-to-crack NHL personalities (looking at you, Mr. Tavares) than ever before. Especially in Sochi. 'HBO 24/7'-esque NHL show in Sochi? Yes please. Hurricanes Return Mike Murphy to Charlotte Created: November 18, 2013-1:53 pm Written by Paul Branecky With Cam Ward returning to health in Carolina, the Hurricanes returned Mike Murphy to Charlotte on Monday. Murphy, who originally headed to Carolina when Ward suffered an injury in Minnesota on Nov. 9, backed up former Checkers teammate Justin Peters for 10 games but did not see game action. He will be eligible to meet up with the Checkers as they continue a two-game road trip in Toronto on Tuesday. The move leaves the Checkers with three goalies, with John Muse and Rick DiPietro both signing professional tryout contracts since the season began. The team did not announce a corresponding transaction after receiving Murphy and is able Weekly Report: Nov. 18, 2013 Created: November 18, 2013-10:45 am Written by Paul Branecky The Checkers' recent struggles continued through last week, with the team losing three more games to set a franchise record. Two home losses to the Hershey Bears and an unsuccessful return to the road in Toronto over the weekend extended the streak to an all-time high of six games, which marks the longest endured by any AHL team this season. The week also saw the team set records with its longest home losing streak (six games) and largest regular-season defeat (8-1 to Hershey on Thursday). The team will now play an additional game in Toronto on Tuesday before returning to Time Warner Cable Arena to face the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday and Sunday, with Saturday also marking the second annual Charlotte Checkers 5K Run & Walk that morning. Between now and Dec. 21, the Checkers play 12 of their next 15 at home. Week in Review Team Statistics Overall record to carry as many players as desired in the absence of an AHL roster limit, though it has yet to carry three goaltenders at the same time this season. The organization's goaltending situation could become even more crowded once Carolina's Anton Khudobin returns from an ankle injury suffered on Oct. 13, though he had not yet begun skating with the team as of Monday. In three appearances with the Checkers this season, Murphy, a 24-year-old playing his fifth professional season, went 1-2-0 with a 3.81 goals-against average and.873 save percentage. He is the franchise s all-time leader in games played (74) and victories (40). He is one of six goalies to play for the Checkers this season along with Peters, Muse, DiPietro, Jesse Deckert and Allen York. 5-9-1 Home record 0-6-0 Road record 5-3-1 Last week's record 0-3-0 Last 10 games 2-7-1 Division Standings 5th Conference Standings 14th League Standings 28th Hershey 5, Checkers 3 The Hershey Bears jumped out to a 5-1 lead against goalie Rick DiPietro midway through the second period en route to an eventual 5-3 victory over the Checkers at Time Warner Cable Arena on Wednesday. Michal Jordan, Adam Brace and Elias Lindholm scored for Charlotte, with John Muse stopping all nine shots he faced in relief of DiPietro (10 saves on 15 shots). The loss dropped Charlotte to 0-5-0 at home this season, tying
a franchise record for longest home losing streak, and marked the team's fourth straight loss overall. Full recap Hershey 8, Checkers 1 The visiting Hershey Bears handed Charlotte the most lopsided regular-season loss in franchise history to the tune of an 8-1 score on Thursday. The Bears scored the game's first three goals on John Muse (19 saves on 26 shots) before Zach Boychuk got one back on the power play near the end of the first period. However, Hershey would then run away with the game, with Charlotte's seven-goal loss margin tying an 8-1 loss to Oklahoma City from last season's playoffs as the largest in team history. The loss kept Charlotte winless at home this season, setting a new franchise record for longest home losing streak (six games) and tying the franchise record for longest overall losing streak (five games). Full recap Toronto 4, Checkers 1 The Checkers' first-ever meeting with Toronto on Saturday afternoon did not go as planned, with the Marlies taking home a 4-1 victory in the first of two games on the Checkers' brief road trip. Greg McKegg had two goals and two assists for the home team, with Zach Boychuk accounting for Charlotte's lone goal on the power play for the second consecutive game. The result extended Charlotte's losing streak to a franchise-record sixth game, giving the team an overall road record of 5-3-1. John Muse made 24 saves, while defenseman Michal Jordan left the game due to injury in the first period and did not return. Full recap Notables Losing Skid After starting the season with a record of 5-3-1, the Checkers have lost each of their last six games, setting a new franchise record. The previous record was set last season when the team dropped five in a row, all at home, from Nov. 24-Dec. 6. The current slide is the longest regulation losing streak than an AHL team has experienced this season, with Bridgeport, Hamilton and Utica all snapping out of five-game funks. Only two teams suffered losing streaks longer than six games last season - San Antonio and Worcester, who each lost eight in a row in March and April. Trouble At Home The Checkers are 0-6-0 at Time Warner Cable Arena, setting a new franchise record for longest home losing streak. That ties Utica for the longest home losing streak of any AHL team this season, with Charlotte and Utica the only two teams that have yet to earn a victory at home. There were three home losing streaks of six or more games in the league during the previous season, with Worcester dropping its final nine games, a league high. Dating back to last season's playoffs, when they lost their last two games to Oklahoma City, the Checkers have lost eight straight home games. Four of those games were decided by four or more goals. Tough Night The Checkers' 8-1 defeat to Hershey on Thursday marked the most lopsided regulation loss in the team's four AHL seasons, home or away. Prior to that, the team's largest loss was by six goals in an 8-2 home loss to Abbotsford on April 8, 2012. Thursday's final score tied another 8-1 game that occurred during Game 4 of the Checkers' playoff series with Oklahoma City on May 3, 2013, for the worst defeat in team history. That game was the start of the team's current eight-game home losing streak that spans both seasons. Thursday's result also tied the largest loss margin of any AHL team this season, with Grand Rapids topping Rochester by an 8-1 score on Oct. 4. Youth Movement Elias Lindholm, the fifth overall selection in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, made his AHL/Checkers debut on Nov. 7, becoming the youngest player to ever play for the franchise at 18 years and 340 days. Defenseman Justin Faulk, who debuted with the team following the end of his freshman season in college, had the previous record at 19 years and 40 days, set on April 20, 2011. By scoring his first AHL goal on Nov. 13, Lindholm became the youngest Checker to score a goal or record a point at 18 years and 347 days. He has three points in his last three games (1g, 2a), giving him the most points on the team during that time. Lindholm is the second-highest-drafted player to suit up for Charlotte behind Rick DiPietro, the 2000 first-overall draft choice who made his debut with the team earlier this season. Manny Malhotra (7th overall in 1998), who has since signed with Carolina, gives the team three top-10 picks this season alone. Prior to this season, the highest-drafted player to ever play for the team was defenseman Ryan Murphy (12th overall in 2011), who played his first game with the team last March. Muse's Run Ends After allowing three or fewer goals in each of his first five starts this season, goalie John Muse allowed a franchise-record seven goals in Thursday's 8-1 loss to Hershey. Prior to that, a Checkers goalie had allowed six goals in a single game on eight separate occasions, including two by Muse last March. Muse, who set a franchise record with a 154-minute shutout streak to start the season, entered Thursday's game leading the league in goals-against average (1.29) and save percentage (.957). After that loss an a subsquent 4-1 defeat in Toronto on Saturday, he now ranks 15th with a 2.36 goalsagainst average and is 14th with a.921 save percentage. Scoring Slump The Checkers have scored just seven goals in their last five games, with three of those goals coming during a 5-3 loss to Hershey on Nov. 13. The team managed just one goal in each
of its four other contests and has now scored one goal in six different games this season. Charlotte, which has scored just one even-strength goal in its last three games, ranks 25th in the AHL with an average of 2.47 goals per game. Rare Territory A 2-1 loss to the Chicago Wolves on Nov. 9 dropped the Checkers to 5-6-1 on the season, marking the first time they had been under the.500 mark since starting 0-1-1 in Norfolk on Oct. 7 and 8, 2011. With the team now 5-9-1, this is the latest in a season that the team has been under.500, with the 2010-11 Checkers evening their record to 7-7-1 on Nov. 11, 2010, en route to an eventual run to the Eastern Conference Final. Since joining the AHL, the Checkers have been under.500 for just 46 total days, 29 of which came during the team's inaugural season, when they hit a record-low four games under.500 (2-6-1) on Oct. 29, 2010. Divided Division In 15 games, the Checkers have played against their own division, the West, just three times (2-1-0) and will not play another game against a West team until hosting San Antonio on Dec. 10. No other AHL team has played fewer games within its own division. Quick Hits Since scoring first in eight conscutive games, the Checkers have allowed the opposition to score first in each of their last three After going through an 0-for-13 drought over three games, the Checkers have four power-play goals in their last three games (4-for-16: 25 percent) The Checkers have allowed multiple power-play goals in five of their last eight games, including each of their last three Despite not scoring a goal since Oct. 26, Mark Flood is tied for fifth among AHL defenseman with five goals and ranks tied for fourth with three power-play goals The Checkers' one overtime game is tied with Iowa for the fewest in the league Charlotte is one of three teams that have yet to score a shorthanded goal Player Streaks Elias Lindholm has points in each of his last three games (Nov. 13-16; 1g, 2a) Zach Boychuk has goals and points in each of his last two games (Nov. 14-16; 2g, 0a) Milestones Elias Lindholm scored his first career AHL goal on Nov. 13 and recorded his first AHL assist on Nov. 14 Nicolas Blanchard recorded his 350th penalty minute as a Checker on Nov. 14 Nicolas Blanchard is 2 goals away from 25 Checkers goals Michal Jordan is 3 assists away from 50 AHL/Checkers assists TODAY S LINKS http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/18/3385463/bruins-turn-back-hurricanes-4.html http://www.wralsportsfan.com/smith-soderberg-lift-bruins-over-hurricanes-4-1/13128095/ http://trianglesportsnet.com/ward-returns-hurricanes-lose-4-1-bruins/ http://www.canescountry.com/2013/11/18/5120492/another-slow-start-bruins-4-hurricanes-1 http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/27829/wards-return-doesnt-help-canes-offense http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=692181 http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=692176 http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2013020309 http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=692080 http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=692150 http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=692054 http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=692065 http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=692050 http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-three-stars-fleury-downs-ducks-b-ruin-060405546--nhl.html http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/john-collins-nhl-outdoor-games-overdoing-rivalries-making-220832236-- nhl.html http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/p-k-subban-protest-song-demands-ice-time-215310976--nhl.html http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/oblique-injury-sidelines-duchene-tortorella-upset-no-goal-204300375-- nhl.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-revealed-league-creates-24-7-series-around-173219948--nhl.html http://gocheckers.com/articles/401-hurricanes-return-mike-murphy-to-charlotte.html http://gocheckers.com/articles/400-weekly-report-nov-18-2013.html 726480 Detroit Red Wings Brendan Smith returning to Detroit Red Wings' lineup wiser and more patient 1:30 PM, November 18, 2013 By Helene St. James Brendan Smith has spent the past few weeks working on the cerebral part of his game. He has mended from a separated shoulder and used the recovery time to figure out how to be a smarter player. Smith is expected to be one of seven defensemen the Detroit Red Wings will use Tuesday, when they host the Nashville Predators (7:30 p.m., FS- Plus). Coach Mike Babcock said today he expects to have only 11 forwards available. Daniel Alfredsson has missed two games with a sore groin, and while he didn't rule himself out after skating on his own after practice, teams tend to err on precaution's side when it comes to groins. Forward Stephen Weiss, also dealing with a groin, is hopeful to play by the end of the week. Danny DeKeyser sat out practice because he has flu, general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press. "Hopefully, good to play." The Wings are looking to overturn an overall six-game winless streak and a six-game winless streak at Joe Louis Arena. The Wings haven't won a game since Nov. 2 in Edmonton, which happens to be the game in which Smith got hurt. Babcock made a point of that, noting that while Jonathan Ericsson and Johan Franzen also were out for parts of that stretch, Smith's value on the back end shouldn't be overlooked. "We were rolling along, winning, Smitty got hurt, and we didn't win," Babcock said. "Now you can say, 'Oh, Big E was out and Mule was out.' But it just goes to show you: Your back end has got to be able to move the puck for you. Smitty can move the puck." The problem has been Smith's inefficiency without the puck. He's a minus-7 after 11 games, with just one assist. He was a healthy scratch in the fifth game of the season, after racking up a minus-4. It didn't go over well within the organization when Smith said that that rating wasn't because there had been a breakdown on his side. It went over much better when Smith, speaking in Winnipeg two days after he hurt his shoulder, said he would spend the recovery time studying. Smith zeroed in especially on Niklas Kronwall, whose game benefited from a decade spent playing with Nicklas Lidstrom. "I was focusing on some of the plays Kronwall would make and how he jumped up in the rush," Smith said. "I like how Nik can have such a good gap at all times. He makes it very efficient for himself that way. When he has good gap, obviously, nobody is going to beat him. "There's little tricks that he's learned from Lidstrom that I'm picking up as I play more and watch him more. He's very patient with the puck, and that's something that I want to bring into my game, be a little bit more poised with the puck and maybe take that extra second and make the better play, don't try to rush things." Detroit Free Press LOADED: 11.19.2013 726481 Detroit Red Wings U-M regents to consider Winter Classic fireworks, new operations facility 11:45 AM, November 18, 2013 By Mark Snyder The Michigan athletic department will offer two proposals to the university s Board of Regents at this week s meeting. One is a close proximity fireworks display for the NHL s Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, to be held Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium. From the regents agenda posted today: Fireworks would be displayed at various points during the playing of the national anthems of Canada and the United States, and during player introductions. They may also be displayed during musical performances during the first or second intermission. Immediately following the game, the event would close out with fireworks for approximately one minute. The brief pregame and intermission displays will be performed from the field and rooftops and the postgame display from the rooftops of the east and west towers of the stadium. NHL Enterprises would contract with ACE Pyro for the display. The other item on the regents agenda is the latest building project: a $6- million operations facility that would house laundry, maintenance operations and offices, and storage for equipment. The 18,000-gross-square-foot building would be located south of Stadium Boulevard on State Street. Detroit Free Press LOADED: 11.19.2013 726482 Detroit Red Wings Red Wings' Brendan Smith stretching out the skates, ready to play Ted Kulfan Detroit -- Brendan Smith feels healthy and is ready to come back Tuesday when the Red Wings entertain Nashville. The shoulder injury, which forced him to miss the last six games, has improved. But, wait, there is one thing. "Everything but the feet," said Smith, who was testing skates during Monday's practice. "New skates. Everything else has been pretty good. "I feel like I m eight years old again," said Smith, noting the sore feet. New skates notwithstanding, Smith will be back in the lineup -- and he s been looking forward to it. "Absolutely," Smith said. "I haven't had any setback in quite some time. I've been shooting, hitting, battling (in practice) -- everything feels good." Smith has one assist in 11 games, a minus-7 rating, and is averaging 18:13 of ice time. Smith paid attention to veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall during the time he was out of the lineup, trying to learn how Kronwall plays his position.