Sometimes it's better not to use your head.
Peter Budaj learned that the hard way Saturday. The Los Angeles Kings goaltender attempted to steer a Jason Chimera shot away by heading the puck, but the biscuit took an unfortunate bounce, dropping between his legs and into the back of the net.
The goal extends Chimera's sudden surge, giving him four goals and five points in his last five games.
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Different goalie, same result for the St. Louis Blues.
With Jake Allen watching on television back in St. Louis, Pheonix Copley got the start in goal Saturday in Winnipeg, and the Jets had their way with him, scoring five goals on 29 shots in a 5-3 win.
It's St. Louis' third straight loss, and the Blues have been shelled in five of their past seven games:
| Date | Result | Goalie | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 10 | L 5-3 | Allen/Carter Hutton | Bruins |
| Jan. 12 | L 5-1 | Allen/Hutton | Kings |
| Jan. 17 | L 6-4 | Hutton | Senators |
| Jan. 19 | L 7-3 | Allen/Hutton | Capitals |
| Jan. 21 | L 5-3 | Copley | Jets |
St. Louis won two games in between losses two and three above, both won by Carter Hutton. Allen last won a game on Jan. 2, outdoors at Busch Stadium.
The Blues outshot the Jets 37-29 on Saturday, and you know it's bad when you're looking down at the other end and wishing you had Ondrej Pavelec on your team.
Despite the rough go for Copley, Ken Hitchcock wasn't blaming him after Saturday's loss.
"He played good," Hitchcock said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jeremy Rutherford. "No issues there, he played real well. Really happy with him."
This one's on the entire team.
"Quite frankly, we're allowing too many goals against, too many scoring chances," Hitchcock - who clearly has his finger on the pulse - added.
St. Louis now has a minus-13 goal differential, and while it holds a wild-card playoff spot, it's a tenuous grasp, at best. The Blues need to figure their goaltending issues out before it costs them their season.
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Patrik Laine's return to the lineup appears imminent.
Following the team's 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon, Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice gave an update on the team's star rookie, stating all restrictions will be removed and the 18-year-old will return to full practice on Sunday, according to TSN's Gary Lawless.
Laine has missed the team's last seven games after suffering a concussion following a devastating hit from Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe back on Jan. 7.
The Jets have gone 3-3-1 in Laine's absence.
Meanwhile Laine now sits one goal and one point behind Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews in the rookie scoring race.
The Jets will practice Sunday and return to game action on Monday when they host the Anaheim Ducks.
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You can give the St. Louis Blues' goaltending a pass on this one.
Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers scored the team's fifth goal of the game on Saturday afternoon, hammering a precise slap shot over the catching glove of Blues rookie Pheonix Copley.
The goal gives Ehlers 16 on the year - setting a new career high in his second season - while the Blues have now given up at least five goals in three straight games.
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They don't call it the dog days of winter for nothing.
The Chicago Blackhawks have "sniffed around" Detroit Red Wings forwards Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar, two sources told Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Lazerus prefaced the report by reminding people to "take every name you hear this time of year with a grain of salt," and later added that the Blackhawks are likely just doing their due diligence in calling other teams about potentially available players.
Nyquist is under contract for two more seasons after this one at a cap hit of $4.75 million, and Tatar is a pending restricted free agent carrying a hit of $2.75 million.
The Blackhawks are expected to have about $3.3 million in cap space at the trade deadline, according to CapFriendly, while the Red Wings are projected to have none.
A source told Scott Powers of The Athletic on Friday that Chicago is looking into adding a top-line left winger and a veteran defenseman.
The Red Wings are three points out a playoff spot with three teams standing in their way, and they only have games in hand on one of them.
Chicago sits in second place in the Central Division behind the Minnesota Wild, who have the same amount of points (63) but possess four games in hand and one more regulation-or-overtime win.
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While his seat might be getting hotter with each passing day, Claude Julien is focusing on what he can control: ensuring his team is prepared to win hockey games.
Pressure is swirling around both Julien and his Boston Bruins club to right the ship. Losers of three in a row, the Bruins are clinging to the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, with every team currently hot on their heels also possessing games in hand entering Saturday's schedule.
Despite the mounting rumblings of his impending dismissal, Julien - in his 10th season as Bruins' coach - knows what he can and cannot control.
"Am I worried about my job? No, I’m not. Because it’s not my job to worry about it," Julien told Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com. "My job is to fix things, and my job is to coach this team and do everything I can. If I become one of the reasons that we're not doing well, then management has to make that decision."
Boston's past week has seen the team suffer a 4-0 wipeout at the hands of the lowly Islanders and a pair of crushing defeats to the Red Wings and Blackhawks. Things don't get any easier from here on out for the Bruins, as they head to Pittsburgh to take on the red-hot Penguins on Sunday.
"I'm not quitting on this team," Julien said. "I'm not quitting on anybody. I'm not quitting on management. I'm ready and willing to go through the hard times, and I said that at the end of last year. If it's deemed my fault, then I shouldn't be here, and that's all I can say."
While times are tough for the Bruins at the moment, staying the course might be the best plan of action, as Boston has been unfathomably snake-bitten this season. Despite ranking second in the NHL in shots per game (33.9), the Bruins have the 29th-ranked team shooting percentage (6.01%).
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Pheonix Copley: You're up, kid.
As the sliding St. Louis Blues - Jake Allen aside - gear up for Saturday's contest in Winnipeg, head coach Ken Hitchcock announced the 25-year-old netminder will earn his first career start.
The Blues are just 4-6 over their last 10 games, allowing 36 goals in that span. Enter Copley, who's tasked with providing St. Louis some stability as they look to reset.
In case you haven't heard of him, don't be alarmed, Copley's flown well under the radar to reach this point.
The native of North Pole, Alaska (seriously) went undrafted, and played college hockey at Michigan Tech. From there, Copley's played in the ECHL, followed by three seasons in the AHL.
With St. Louis' farm team - the Chicago Wolves - Copley has put together an 11-4-1 record with a .920 save percentage and 2.32 goals-against average.
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Even when it's just for show, a one-on-one with Pavel Datsyuk seems like a nightmare for any opposing goalie.
"The Magic Man" displayed his soft hands for the bazillionth time in his storied career with two ridiculous shootout moves at the KHL All-Star game.
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A win on the #CapsDads trip always leads to a dance w/ Lars Johansson... Last night in STL, Coach Trotz joined in on the fun. #FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/Ma9J6ZD0Tr
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 20, 2017
The Washington Capitals kicked off their annual father's road trip in St. Louis on Thursday with a big 7-3 win over the Blues.
The dads also got to join their sons in the locker room afterward to help them celebrate, and Marcus Johansson's father, Lars, used the opportunity to bust out some of his dance moves.
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It's by far the tightest division in the league, everyone in the Atlantic still has a chance of making the postseason, at least in theory.
The Atlantic Division could become one of the more interesting collection of clubs down the stretch with teams now faced with decision whether they are buyers or sellers at the deadline.
It's tricky territory, where a move or two could propel teams toward the playoffs or the ever-provocative first-overall pick.
Here's what trade bait currently lingers in the Atlantic:
The Bruins continue to flirt with a playoff spot, holding one down for the time being, but with many other clubs nipping at their heels - all this while rumors of Claude Julien's imminent dismissal run rampant.
The team's roster presents itself as one closer to a contender than it does of a club ready to tear it down, but in all fairness the Bruins could use a more reliable option on defense.
In turn the team's most likely trade candidates appear to be Dominic Moore and Adam McQuaid, though the pot will need to be sweetened here in any potential deal.
It will pain Sabres fans, but once again the team will be vying for another top draft pick this offseason.
In a perfect world the team would use the deadline to recoup some draft picks in exchange for Matt Moulson, but with $10 million owed the next two seasons, it will be hard to find a buyer. The other possible option would see Cody Franson dealt to a team looking for defensive depth.
Don't get too comfortable Thomas Vanek.
The 33-year-old has been among the Red Wings' most consistent players of late and for that reason could be worth dealing as the team projects to miss the postseason for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
Vanek served as a solid deadline pick-up for the Canadiens back in 2014, putting up five goals and 10 points in 17 games. He could reprise such a role once again.
After last year it seemed like the sky was the limit for the Panthers, but now the team will settle for a hill.
It's been hard to evaluate the state of the Panthers given they have been decimated with injuries and key ones at that. Someone like Jakub Kindl - who will become an unrestricted free agent - could be dealt, but next to him the Panthers best move might be to stand pat.
The team still has tons of young, budding talent and it would be foolish for the team to move any of it thinking they can save this season.
The Canadiens could use some depth, both up front and on the back end.
The team is unlikely to part with many - if any - of their roster players.
Enter draft picks.
The Canadiens have all of their first round picks for the next three years in tact, and thanks to some trades, have six second-round picks over that span that could easily be packaged to pull off a deal or two.
The Senators could certainly be considered buyers this year, one problem, they tend to penny pinch.
The team has surprised many by putting themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt despite being rather thin up front. The club has made it clear in the past that they would covet forward help and now would be the best time to acquire it.
Ottawa is likely in the market for more than just a rental. The Senators have few trade chips that would garner anything of high value, but with draft picks and possibly including Curtis Lazar - who has struggled mightily - in a deal, the team might be able to fetch them that missing piece they've been looking for.
In an all too recurring theme, a healthy Steven Stamkos would trump any potential trade acquisition.
With that considered, despite their recent struggles, it's unlikely the Lightning do anything of significance at the deadline. Sure their list of upcoming restricted and unrestricted free agents is high. However, that list contains the likes of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin - guys the team will rely heavily on down the stretch.
The Lightning hold all their draft picks for the the next three years so that might be their best bet for the time being, though having nearly no cap space presents a problem.
The Maple Leafs will approach the deadline a lot differently this time around.
The team is likely to act as precarious spenders this season, with the club's emphasis being to upgrade defense, but only if the deal makes sense moving forward.
Toronto isn't interested in a rental, nor should it be.
James van Riemsdyk's name has been thrown every which way, but with a cap-friendly deal and the thought that they team might need him for a playoff run, his availability remains uncertain.
In that case look towards Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak as possible candidates in any potential swap.
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