Monthly Archives: May 2016
Rangers’ Lindberg out 6 months after hip surgery
New York Rangers forward Oscar Lindberg will be sidelined six months after undergoing hip surgery, the club announced Friday.
Lindberg had a "simultaneous bilateral hip labral repair."
The 24-year-old collected 13 goals and 15 assists in his rookie season, playing 68 games. He averaged 12:11 in ice time per game.
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New York Rangers rookie Oscar Lindberg has hip surgery
Penguins embracing success of depth players
In a series expected to be dominated by a plethora of superstars, it's the Pittsburgh Penguins' role players that have had the greatest impact.
It was supposed to be Sidney Crosby versus Alex Ovechkin, but the team captains have scored only one and three points, respectively, through four games.
Pittsburgh, currently in command of a 3-1 series lead, benefited from the production of Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin, who each have four points, but head coach Mike Sullivan is giving credit to the entire roster.
"It seems like every night different people step up at different times and make important key plays that help us win," Sullivan told Mark Giannotto of The Washington Post. "Sometimes they're game-winning goals, but sometimes they're subtle plays ... For me, that's the essence of a team and that's what I've grown to admire about this group."
The superstar scoring shortage runs deeper than Crosby and Ovechkin, as Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel have four points combined, while Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov have one each.
Although it may not be living up to the expected narrative, Crosby is happy with his team's success.
"You just have to believe in the way you play and trust that we'll get our chances, and when we do, someone will step up," he said. "It's been different guys."
The balanced recipe is working for the Penguins, on the cusp of advancing to the conference finals for the first time since 2013.
"We have a nice mix of young players with a veteran core group that get along extremely well," Sullivan said. "I think because of that chemistry, it has helped both sides, whether it be the core guys or the role players that step up and make key plays at key times that help us win."
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Watch: Sharp’s adorable daughter is happy that daddy’s coming home
Not only is daddy coming home, Sadie, but he's coming home with a win.
The Dallas Stars won Game 4 on Thursday night in overtime, 3-2, and Patrick Sharp played a major role, scoring a goal and adding a helper. He tweeted the above after the game.
The series is tied 2-2, and Game 5 goes Saturday.
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Stars’ Ruff proud of bounce-back win: ‘I thought our leaders were our leaders’
After a deflating 6-1 loss in Game 3, the Dallas Stars bounced back in a big way Thursday night.
Thanks to a laser off the stick of forward Cody Eakin, Dallas took Game 4 over the St. Louis Blues in overtime, evening the series at 2-2.
Stars head coach Lindy Ruff was expecting a winning effort, and his best players delivered.
"I said, 'It's time for us to man up,' and I thought we did," Ruff told reporters postgame. "I thought our leaders were our leaders."
Indeed they were, as captain Jamie Benn had two assists, taking the lead on the playoff-points leaderboard with 14 through 10 games. Patrick Sharp, acquired by Dallas to help turn them into postseason contenders, also notched two points.
"We put it behind us," Benn told Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. "You can't play perfect hockey all the time. I think it was just magnified a bit because it's the playoffs. The message was 'stay positive, get back at it.' We know we're a good team. We finished where we did because of the way we played throughout the year, and we believed in each other."
"I know it was ugly for a lot of the guys and the team in general for Game 3," Sharp said. "Credit to the team, we were able to put it behind us."
Eakin, who is centering the top line in the absence of Tyler Seguin, is happy to be headed home with the series tied.
"That's the nice thing about finishing first, we've got home-court advantage back," he said. "It's a race to two, and it's going to be a lot of fun."
Dallas hosts a pivotal Game 5 on Saturday afternoon.
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Rinne says he would’ve played all night as Predators soak up triple-OT win
There's nothing like overtime in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ask the Nashville Predators.
The club won a triple-OT thriller in Game 4 late Thursday night - or early Friday morning, depending on your perspective - thanks to Mike Fisher's winner, tying their series with the San Jose Sharks in the process. And all of it, every minute, was worth it.
"If we would've won 5-1, it would've been nice," said Mattias Ekholm, according to The Tennessean's Adam Vingan. "But when you win it like this, it's obviously extra nice."
Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne, who made 44 saves - 25 in the three overtimes - was ready to make another 44.
"I don't care how these wins come if we have to play all night," Rinne said, according to the Predators' website. "It's a 2-2 series right now, and you can't say enough about San Jose too. They have a great team, and they played a strong game, but like I said, it shows a lot of character when you pull out a win like this."
The Predators were down 2-0 in the series and left for dead. They're alive.
"You have to give credit to Rinne," Ekholm added. "He kept us in the game all OT and all game long. ... It's a huge win for us, and we'll enjoy it tonight, forget about it tomorrow. It's a new game Saturday."
Fisher credited the crowd in Music City.
"That was a great hockey game, and our fans had as much energy as anyone," he said. "Going out for that third (overtime) they were unbelievable, and we tried to feed off of that a little bit too."
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NHL Rumor Mill – May 6, 2016
Sharks’ DeBoer sounds off on officiating after Pavelski’s no-goal
A goaltender interference call stopped the San Jose Sharks from taking a 3-1 series lead.
During triple-overtime of Thursday's nights Game 4 versus the Nashville Predators, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski put forth a Herculean effort that appeared to win the game.
Related: Pavelski's extraordinary OT effort negated after contact with Rinne
However, referees determined Pavelski interfered with Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne, negating the goal.
Understandably, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer wasn't thrilled with the call, as Nashville evened the series later in the frame.
"I don't understand. I guess if incidental contact is if you're getting cross-checked from behind while you're in the air and have the opportunity to stop. I guess that's what it is," DeBoer told reporters after the game. "That rule has been clear as mud to every coach in the league all year, so why should it be different now?"
Pavelski, who was held pointless for only the third time this postseason, is ready to move on from the call.
"I know I hit it in, so I'm waiting for it, and later they're saying they're going to look at goaltender interference, too," Pavelski said. "They just kind of covered it, you know? ... What are you going to do, it's kind of out of your hands."
Game 5 goes Saturday night in San Jose with the series knotted at 2.
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