Matt Gilroy ‘bribes’ goalie during KHL All-Star shootout

Matt Gilroy used the KHL All-Star shootout to show off his bribery skills.

During the competition, the former NHL defenseman, who has 37 points in 52 games with Moscow Spartak this season, earned himself an easy goal by offering goaltender Igor Bobkov $100 to let him score.

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Weight: Confident Islanders ‘starting to believe’

Doug Weight may have steered the New York Islanders around a corner.

The interim head coach is 2-0 since taking over behind the bench, the latest victory coming Saturday, a resilient 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Weight believes the Islanders can be a playoff team, though they have plenty of work to do. New York sits dead last in the Eastern Conference, yet are only five points separated from the second wild-card spot with games in hand on everyone that lies ahead of them.

It's that, and a refreshed energy surrounding the club, that has Weight and the Islanders feeling good for the first time this season.

"We're entering relevance," Weight said, according to Zach Braziller of the New York Post. "It's a good feeling in that room. They're starting to believe."

Suddenly, the Isles have won four of five overall, and the players are buying in.

"There's just a different feel," forward Jason Chimera said. "Coming off that road trip (when we went 2-1-0), there's a different feel, different swagger."

New York continues its homestand Sunday versus the Flyers, then have a series of tough tests against the Blue Jackets, Canadiens, and Capitals.

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Deadline preview: Pacific Division trade candidates

The Pacific Division has an interesting blend of teams, ranging from Stanley Cup contenders to attentive lottery ball watchers.

Regardless of their positions in the standings, each team has chips on the table in the trade market leading up to March 1.

Here's a look at some Pacific candidates who could have a new home for the stretch run:

Anaheim Ducks

Several teams will be dialing Bob Murray's number for the next month and beyond.

The Ducks own a surplus of reliable defenseman, and seek an extra piece up front to solidify an underachieving attack.

Cam Fowler's name has been tossed around all season, but is Anaheim better off with him or without him for the postseason? Depends on the price.

If Murray is unwilling to deal one of his top-four blueliners, Josh Manson, Shea Theodore, and pending unrestricted free agent Korbinian Holzer could draw attention.

Arizona Coyotes

We've got some options here.

The Coyotes aren't going anywhere this season, and yet again, Martin Hanzal is the subject of many calls heading John Chayka's way. The 6-foot-6 pivot could be a dream rental for a contender, with his contract expiring following the season.

Beyond Hanzal, franchise icon Shane Doan could be available, but that's up to him. Elsewhere, 26-year-old right-handed defenseman Michael Stone - and his expiring contract - is circulating the rumor mill in the desert.

Calgary Flames

The Flames are in the thick of the wild-card race, but don't have a ton of expendable assets.

If they fall out of contention, Kris Versteeg - a staple in trade deadline discussions in recent years - could likely haul in a draft pick or two from a team heading to the playoffs.

That said, if they look poised to lock down a playoff spot come deadline day, staying the course might be the best bet.

Edmonton Oilers

For the first time in a long time, it looks like the Oilers will be buyers.

With a core so young and few relevant contracts set to expire, Edmonton's surplus of 2017 draft picks - a pair of third- and fifth-round picks - might be the only pieces shipped out of town.

The Oilers have been linked to big names in Kevin Shattenkirk and Jarome Iginla, but they will require Peter Chiarelli to heavily sweeten the pot.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings will need to be the Kings again if they want to reach the postseason. With just 48 points, Los Angeles is three points out.

General manager Dean Lombardi doesn't have much wiggle room to add, but if the club winds up selling, forward Dwight King could be movable.

King was a solid role player on Los Angeles' two Cup-winning teams, and could be a serviceable rental for a team searching for some depth.

San Jose Sharks

Perhaps no team has a better outlook to its roster than the Sharks.

San Jose returned nearly the exact roster that reached the Stanley Cup Final last season, and that squadron has them in contention for top spot in the Pacific.

The Sharks have minimal cap space, few enticing draft picks, and their only major expiring contracts are Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, who won't be dealt ahead of the playoff push.

Vancouver Canucks

Like many others, the Canucks are in wait-and-see mode.

Unexpectedly vying for a playoff spot, Vancouver is still very much in a rebuild, and have stated they won't be dealing picks just to make the postseason.

If Vancouver falls down the standings, dealing Alex Burrows - if he's willing to waive his no-trade clause - could be an option for management.

The playoff-experienced 35-year-old will be a UFA July 1, and could prove useful on a contending team.

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Capitals’ dads at it again, this time with pushups

The Washington Capitals are having fun lately.

Following the Caps' win over St. Louis on Thursday - a stop on the team's annual father's trip - Marcus Johansson's father cut a rug in the dressing room. Then on Saturday, Kenichi Ohashi, father of hockey operations analyst Tim Ohashi, delivered on his promise of 100 pushups if Washington beat Dallas after the Capitals pulled off a 4-3 overtime win.

Washington have earned at least a point in 13 straight games. It's no wonder everyone's so happy.

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Patrick Eaves proving to be among NHL’s best bargains

Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Jason Spezza. Not one of the Dallas Stars' triumvirate of superstars have scored as many goals as Patrick Eaves this season.

With a tally in Saturday's overtime loss to the Washington Capitals, Eaves now sits at 17 goals on the season - not bad for a guy the Stars kept on the books with a one-year, $1-million contract July 1.

Just 47 games into this season, Eaves' 17 markers put him on track to shatter his career-high of 20, set as a rookie in 2005-06 with the Senators.

What's more, Eaves has chipped in 12 assists for a total of 29 points - 13 of which have come on Dallas' struggling power play.

Most importantly, he's been healthy, which has surely helped his increased production. The 32-year-old has been hampered by injuries for years, and has been unable to top the 60-game threshold since the 2010-11 campaign.

Eaves has provided the Stars with tremendous value this season, and in the process has raised his personal stock heading into unrestricted free agency once again this summer.

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Gulutzan: Oilers’ season sweep of Flames is ’embarrassing’

The Battle of Alberta wasn't much of a fight this season.

With star pieces in place on both sides and growing optimism for a renewed rivalry between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, it was Edmonton that did all the damage, winning their fourth of four meetings Saturday night - the first ever season sweep over their divisional foes.

Suffice to say, Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan was none too thrilled about dropping another crucial game to a team they're chasing in the standings - on home ice, no less.

"I think we need to relook at everything," Gulutzan said. "How we play without a lead is probably, maybe, the top thing on the list."

"It's embarrassing," he added.

Gulutzan isn't wrong, the Oilers outscored the Flames 21-11 this season.

Date Result
Oct. 12 7-4
Oct. 14 5-3
Jan. 15 2-1 (SO)
Jan. 21 7-3

Calgary remains slotted in the second Western Conference wild-card position with 51 points, one point clear of the surging Canucks, who own two games in hand.

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Brossoit’s 1st NHL win gives Oilers sweep of Battle of Alberta

CALGARY, Alberta - Jordan Eberle had two goals and two assists, Laurent Brossoit stopped 38 shots for his first NHL win and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 7-3 on Saturday night to sweep the four-game season series for the first time.

Eberle's wrist shot at 5:58 of the first period made it 3-0 and prompted Flames coach Glen Gulutzan to swap Brian Elliott in goal for Chad Johnson, who allowed three goals on four shots.

The Oilers kept capitalizing on Calgary's mistakes in the second period. After Connor McDavid's power-play goal at 3:57, Eberle scored again at 12:24, making it 5-0 when he was left open in the slot to deflect in Matt Benning's pass.

Eberle has three goals in his last three games after ending an 18-game goalless drought.

Anton Slepyshev, Mark Letestu, Oscar Klefbom and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for Edmonton. The streaking Oilers are 5-0-1 in their last six.

Sean Monahan extended his goal-scoring streak to five games and Matthew Tkachuk and Lance Bouma also scored for Calgary.

Brossoit won in his seventh career start. He was a Flames sixth-round draft pick in 2011 that was part of the November 2013 trade in which Calgary acquired defenseman Ladislav Smid.

Elliott made 23 saves in relief, getting tagged with the loss to fall to 8-11-2.

Slow starts have been a trend for Calgary lately and that chronic issue continued as the Flames yielded the opening goal for a seventh straight game.

At 1:17, Drake Caggiula won a faceoff back to Slepyshev, who quickly buried his third goal past Johnson.

Edmonton made it 2-0 when Zack Kassian zipped a pass through the slot that Letestu one-timed past Johnson. Eberle's goal came 36 seconds later and was the result of a poor defensive play by Jyrki Jokipakka, who left Eberle with a clear path to the net off the wing.

Tkachuk's deflection on a power play at 15:55 of the second finally got Calgary on the scoreboard, but Edmonton answered back with a power-play goal of its own 58 seconds later. Klefbom's slap shot from the blue line bounced crazily off the ice in the slot and eluded Elliott.

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