After the rookie forward was turned aside nine times through three periods and the 3-on-3 overtime, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock tapped Marner as one of his three shootout weapons.
This time, Marner sealed the victory, and with it, gave the Maple Leafs their first win in the shootout this season in six tries.
Pittsburgh carried a 3-2 lead into the third period, before scoring 3:13 into the final frame and then adding an empty-netter to seal the victory.
"I just didn't see the urgency from everyone to really want to tie that game and then the empty netter," Schneider told Andrew Gross of the North Jersey Record. "It might just be an empty-netter to make it 5-2 but could we have kept that one out of the net? Probably.
"We've got to take some pride in not giving up four or five a night and bearing down and believing we can get back in these games. We just have to change that mindset and be better going forward."
It's a been a rough month for the Devils, who have come away with a 3-8-2 record through December, including back-to-back losses to the Penguins.
"We just need to be stronger in the last minutes of periods, myself included, come up with the save, get to the third tied," Schneider continued. "But the last couple of games that's been an issue. I just don't know. They get the next one and there's the game.
"(Pittsburgh is) a great team. I'm not discrediting them. We can play with that team. There's no reason why we couldn't have won this game. Not to disrespect them. They're a fantastic team ... That's three games now that they've beat us in a short amount of time and that should bother some people."
Schneider and his teammates will have a shot at redemption on Thursday, as the Devils head to D.C. to take on the Washington Capitals.
What a nice return that would have been for Ondrej Palat.
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward returned to the lineup on Wednesday after being sidelined since Dec. 14 with an undisclosed injury. He even looked destined to score a goal in his return, but that opportunity was denied by Carey Price who made an incredible paddle save on the 25-year-old early into the second period.
Everson made headlines in October for his anthem performance prior to a Toledo Walleye (ECHL) home game, where he painted a canvas of the Marine Corps Memorial, all while singing the Star Spangled Banner.
Afterward, Everson took his talents to the concourse, painting this beauty of the legendary Jaromir Jagr, who captured his 1,888th career point earlier in December, passing Mark Messier for second in all-time NHL scoring.
On Wednesday, the Blackhawks and Panarin agreed to terms on a two-year, $12-million extension. The deal secures Panarin's place in the Blackhawks' lineup for the next two seasons, while he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2019.
With 37 points in 37 games, Panarin has outpaced all Blackhawks this season, including Patrick Kane, last year's Art Ross winner, and sits just four places and five points back of the NHL scoring lead. The 25-year-old made his NHL debut last season after spending the previous six seasons in the KHL, and captured Rookie of the Year honors after scoring 77 points in 80 games.
On his new deal, Panarin will become the Blackhawks' third-highest paid forward, behind only Kane and captain Jonathan Toews. Beyond that, he's the fourth-highest paid on the team, behind defenseman Brent Seabrook and earning the same as goaltender Corey Crawford.
Taking that a step further, 10 Blackhawks will earn at least $3-million against the salary cap. In total, 15 players are signed through 2016-17, and nine others are in need of new contracts, including five forwards, three blue-liners, and a backup goalie. Assuming little to no change in this year's $73-million salary cap, the Blackhawks will have less than $7 million to fill out the rest of their roster.
In short, others need to go in order to make room for Panarin's new money. Here are three possibilities:
Marcus Kruger
Center Marcus Kruger is relied on for his strong checking presence down the middle. He's a valuable pivot at both ends of the ice, relied on for his skills on the penalty kill, in the faceoff circle, and even his knack to chip in offensively.
He's also owed a shade over $3-million against the cap for the next two seasons. His intangibles aside, that sort of money makes Kruger a good candidate for the trade block.
In his place, look for the Blackhawks to turn to some of their more affordable young talent to pick up the slack for Kruger.
Niklas Hjalmarsson
A high-end second pairing defenseman could be a luxury the Blackhawks can no longer afford, given that the same money could soon be redirected toward Panarin.
At a $4.1-million hit on the salary cap, Niklas Hjalmarsson is signed through the next two seasons, a price tag that is likely too much of a squeeze for the Blackhawks. Chicago could opt to move the blue-liner for picks or prospects, or even young and affordable players to fill out the rest of their roster.
The Blackhawks have some interesting young defensemen, including Gustav Forsling, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Michal Kempny, which should help cover the potential loss of Hjalmarsson. The team could also re-sign veteran blue-liner Brian Campbell, who returned to Chicago this season on a hometown discount, earning a cap-friendly $1.5 million.
Scott Darling
The Blackhawks have a quality second-string goalie in Scott Darling. The problem is his performance this year will earn him too big of a raise for the Blackhawks to accommodate.
Through 17 games this season, Darling has posted a 10-3-2 record and .923 save percentage. That type of play gives confidence to coach Joel Quenneville and offers key breaks for Crawford.
But with a cap hit of under $600,000 this season, Darling is due for a healthy raise.
A jump of about $1 million or so will be tight for the Blackhawks, while Darling will likely look for a lot more minutes elsewhere, in addition to a raise in pay. For the Blackhawks, a younger, more economical goalie could better fit their cap picture next season, like Swedish goalie Lars Johansson, who made his North American debut this season with Rockford (AHL).
On Wednesday, the Blackhawks and Panarin agreed to terms on a two-year, $12-million extension. The deal secures Panarin's place in the Blackhawks' lineup for the next two seasons, while he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2019.
With 37 points in 37 games, Panarin has outpaced all Blackhawks this season, including Patrick Kane, last year's Art Ross winner, and sits just four places and five points back of the NHL scoring lead. The 25-year-old made his NHL debut last season after spending the previous six seasons in the KHL, and captured Rookie of the Year honors after scoring 77 points in 80 games.
On his new deal, Panarin will become the Blackhawks' third-highest paid forward, behind only Kane and captain Jonathan Toews. Beyond that, he's the fourth-highest paid on the team, behind defenseman Brent Seabrook and earning the same as goaltender Corey Crawford.
Taking that a step further, 10 Blackhawks will earn at least $3-million against the salary cap. In total, 15 players are signed through 2016-17, and nine others are in need of new contracts, including five forwards, three blue-liners, and a backup goalie. Assuming little to no change in this year's $73-million salary cap, the Blackhawks will have less than $7 million to fill out the rest of their roster.
In short, others need to go in order to make room for Panarin's new money. Here are three possibilities:
Marcus Kruger
Center Marcus Kruger is relied on for his strong checking presence down the middle. He's a valuable pivot at both ends of the ice, relied on for his skills on the penalty kill, in the faceoff circle, and even his knack to chip in offensively.
He's also owed a shade over $3-million against the cap for the next two seasons. His intangibles aside, that sort of money makes Kruger a good candidate for the trade block.
In his place, look for the Blackhawks to turn to some of their more affordable young talent to pick up the slack for Kruger.
Niklas Hjalmarsson
A high-end second pairing defenseman could be a luxury the Blackhawks can no longer afford, given that the same money could soon be redirected toward Panarin.
At a $4.1-million hit on the salary cap, Niklas Hjalmarsson is signed through the next two seasons, a price tag that is likely too much of a squeeze for the Blackhawks. Chicago could opt to move the blue-liner for picks or prospects, or even young and affordable players to fill out the rest of their roster.
The Blackhawks have some interesting young defensemen, including Gustav Forsling, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Michal Kempny, which should help cover the potential loss of Hjalmarsson. The team could also re-sign veteran blue-liner Brian Campbell, who returned to Chicago this season on a hometown discount, earning a cap-friendly $1.5 million.
Scott Darling
The Blackhawks have a quality second-string goalie in Scott Darling. The problem is his performance this year will earn him too big of a raise for the Blackhawks to accommodate.
Through 17 games this season, Darling has posted a 10-3-2 record and .923 save percentage. That type of play gives confidence to coach Joel Quenneville and offers key breaks for Crawford.
But with a cap hit of under $600,000 this season, Darling is due for a healthy raise.
A jump of about $1 million or so will be tight for the Blackhawks, while Darling will likely look for a lot more minutes elsewhere, in addition to a raise in pay. For the Blackhawks, a younger, more economical goalie could better fit their cap picture next season, like Swedish goalie Lars Johansson, who made his North American debut this season with Rockford (AHL).
Valtteri Filppula will watch from the sidelines after missing a team meeting earlier Wednesday.
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward was scratched for Wednesday's game versus the Montreal Canadiens after he was a no-show at a team-mandated meeting, the Lightning announced prior to puck drop.
Filppula has scored six goals and 18 assists in 34 games this season.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the deal is for two years and will pay Panarin an annual average of $6 million.
The 25-year-old is in the final year of his two-year deal and was set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end. He currently holds a $3.5-million cap hit.
Since joining the league last season, Panarin has quickly become a core piece on the Blackhawks' roster. He captured the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie last season after putting up 30 goals and 77 points in 80 games and has the fourth-most points league-wide since his inception last season.
Early this campaign he is on pace to eclipse last year's totals, having amassed 15 goals and 37 points in 37 games.
The contract could impose some more cap juggling by management, but in the meantime, Stan Bowman and company have secured an important part of their team going forward.
The 24-year-old - who has missed the team's last two games with a lower-body injury - was placed on the injured reserve on Wednesday, the team announced.
The news is not good for the Kings who are already deprived of goals, having averaged the 20th most in the league at just 2.53 per game. In fact, besides Jeff Carter's 19 goals, no other Kings player has more than Toffoli's eight.
After a goal and an assist, Malkin's 801 points place him ninth on the all-time Russian scorers leaderboard. And he'll be in sole possession of seventh place in a few weeks.
Only five Russians have managed at least a point per game in their careers, and Malkin's 1.18 average is best:
Player
Points Per Game
GP
Malkin
1.18
680
Ovechkin
1.14
872
Pavel Bure
1.11
702
Mogilny
1.04
990
Kovalchuk
1.00
816
Yeah, it was a real shame injuries cut Pavel Bure's career short. He was incredible.
But back to business: Malkin's in his 11th season in the league, while Ovechkin's in his 12th. Ovie gets a ton of headlines because of his ability to score - he'll go down as the best pure Russian goal-scorer, and likely the second-best goal-scorer of all time behind Wayne Gretzky. And more headlines are on their way, as he's set to hit the 1,000-point mark early in 2017.
Malkin, though, has put together a stellar career, despite being dogged by injuries throughout his time in black and gold. He was healthy in his first three seasons, accumulating 304 points in his first 242 games. Since 2009-10, though, he's played more than 70 games in a season only once, in 2011-12, when he finished with 109 points in 75 games, winning the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy. At 1.45 points per game, it was the finest season of his career.
Ovechkin bettered that 1.45 mark in 2009-10, when he averaged 1.51 points per game, finishing with 109 in 72 games. He's got four 100-point seasons to his credit, while Malkin has three. Malkin's scored 50 once, while Ovechkin's done it an absurd seven times.
Lastly, when comparing the two, there are three things Malkin has that Ovechkin covets: Stanley Cup rings and a Conn Smythe Trophy.
This season, Malkin's healthy. He's played in all 36 Penguins games, and is tied with Sidney Crosby for the team lead in scoring with 41 points. Geno's on pace for 93 points - easily his highest total since that special 2011-12 season.
Malkin and Ovechkin are two of the best players in hockey - of that there's little doubt. But it's definitely interesting to look at their careers side by side and wonder: If the Capitals could do it again, would they pick No. 8 or No. 71?
