The Anaheim Ducks won't fly under the radar for much longer.
The Orange County club has been of the hottest teams in recent weeks, rifling off four straight wins and a 9-2-1 record through March.
Now with 93 points through 75 games, the Ducks stand atop the Pacific, a division they've won in each of the past four seasons.
Anaheim has caught fire at the perfect time, with the playoffs less than three weeks out and the team looking to avenge last year's early postseason flop. Despite Anaheim's consistent regular-season success, it hasn't always translated to the playoffs.
Still, the Ducks aren't far removed from the 2015 squad that was one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals. Much of that core remains intact, including captain Ryan Getzlaf, and no player has outpaced the Ducks leader and his 20 points in March.
Also back is coach Randy Carlyle, who guided the franchise to its first Stanley Cup in 2007. Returning to Anaheim after his dismissal five years ago, the veteran bench boss has seen his message take shape. Carlyle demands an in-your-face style, something that hasn't been lost on his players.
"We've had some guys playing great hockey all year and we've had some people start off slow," defenseman Cam Fowler told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun. "Now we all seem to be firing on all cylinders here, all really buying into the type of hockey Randy wants us to play - which is hard, physical, and structured defensively."
The Ducks' next opportunity to showcase that style comes Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks, where Anaheim will shoot for a season-high five game win streak.
The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with college free-agent forward Vinni Lettieri, the team announced Monday.
The 22-year-old center recorded 37 points in 38 games with the University of Minnesota this season.
Lettieri will now join the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers' AHL affiliate, for the last eight games of the season, according to Michael Russo of The Star Tribune.
The Ottawa Senators forward was very vocal on Monday, stating that he still hopes to play in a couple games before the season is out.
"I’m always holding out for this year. I could care less about next year," MacArthur said, according to TSN's Ian Medes. "I’m only training like this and doing what I’m doing now for this year. Next year is next year. I’m going to do anything I can to get back in and if they clear me, I’ll be ready."
MacArthur has been practicing with the club, but has missed nearly two full campaigns after suffering a concussion four games into the 2015-16 season and another during a practice in training camp this past September.
Back in January, MacArthur took a step back in his recovery when he failed his baseline test which saw the team shut down the 31-year-old and state he would not play this season. Nevertheless, MacArthur remains confident that he would be able to join the team during their upcoming four-game road trip, which kicks off Tuesday in Philadelphia and concludes next Monday in Detroit.
"I think it would be important to get some regular-season games in. Obviously, it would be tougher to go in right in the playoffs - but I would do it," he said. "I would love to get a couple of games in at the end. That’ll be enough to get the systems down full speed and know what I’m doing."
Of course, MacArthur must first pass the same baseline test he failed earlier in the year before he can enter a game, and as far as general manager Pierre Dorion is concerned, even that might not be enough.
"There’s been some talk that we may have him do the baseline. As far as him playing again, it’s always on the doctors, it’s not up to us," Dorion said. "The doctors will decide if he can play or not. But to put him in a game situation or a playoff situation when you’ve played four games in two years might not be the smartest thing."
The Senators have just eight games remaining on their schedule and will conclude the regular season against the New York Islanders on April 9.
Make no mistake - the Oakland Raiders' relocation is devastating news for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Despite what the NHL and the team itself continue to say publicly about the NFL team's impending move to Sin City, Monday's vote that officially approved the Raiders' move to Las Vegas will likely sting hockey's newest expansion franchise in the long run.
NHL commissioner Bill Daly insisted in January that an NFL team in the Golden Knights' market "won't materially affect the business of the hockey team," and he reiterated that stance Monday.
Golden Knights owner Bill Foley declined to address the actual impact of the Raiders' move on his club in his congratulatory statement Monday, instead merely welcoming the Raiders and touting the fact that Las Vegas is now part of "a select group of cities" to boast two pro sports franchises.
Nevermind that 17 NFL clubs are currently in NHL markets. Foley should be concerned about the Raiders' move into his city for a number of reasons.
For one, there's the corporate side.
Despite Daly's insistence in January that he's not worried because "the sports buy" for sponsorship is different in football than it is for hockey, Foley admitted to Carp on Monday that the Golden Knights now have a tougher road ahead.
Spoke to VGK owner Bill Foley re: Raiders. Says VGK will have to work harder to secure corporate sponsorships now that they have competition
There's also significant overlap between the two schedules. The football season goes from September to February, while the NHL regular-season calendar stretches from October to April.
Sure, the Raiders will only play eight home games per season, not including the playoffs, but if they make it to the postseason consistently, as they're expected to do again next season and perhaps beyond, any positive noise generated by the NHL's arrival might be drowned out.
Then there's the all-important matter of winning. Most fans latch on to winners, and the team moving to Nevada from Oakland is going to have a major advantage in that department.
The Raiders went 12-4 last season, and they have the pieces in place to presumably contend for the next few seasons. The NFL club won't be in Vegas until 2019, but it's unlikely the Golden Knights will be a playoff team by the time their NFL brethren arrive.
The Golden Knights are going to need star power to attract long-term fans and force them to divide their attention between the behemoth that is the NFL and the NHL, which is booming in California after years of growth, but is still largely a niche league in the southern U.S.
The NFL, by contrast, is a juggernaut. It's America's most popular sport for fans and gamblers alike, and while the NHL certainly isn't foreign in the area, it's proven to be a tough sell in the desert. Just ask the Arizona Coyotes.
Could both teams coexist and thrive financially? Absolutely. The Golden Knights will have a two-year head start on their NFL counterparts, and they've already secured 16,000 season-ticket deposits for their debut season.
But how many of those season-ticket holders are going to renew their packages when there's suddenly a more familiar and likely more competitive option for their hard-earned sports-attending dollars?
The fledgling hockey club was already going to have to compete with the myriad distractions in one of the entertainment capitals of the world, and soon it'll also have to contend with a beloved and all too familiar fixture of American sports culture.
Good luck, Golden Knights. You're going to need it.
Haley caught Jarnkrok with a punch to the face during a melee he ignited Saturday after the Predators center checked him against the boards, for which Jarnkrok was assessed a minor penalty.
The league called Haley's blow a "forceful, barenuckle punch to Jarnkrok's face" and noted that, despite the initial hit, Haley's response is "in no way permitted or excusable."
Haley received a match penalty for the incident.
The department also revealed Haley said - presumably in his hearing Monday - he was seeking retribution.
He'll forfeit about $3,000 in salary in addition to the suspension.
That's Justin Williams' philosophy when it comes to his hairdo for team photos, and this year he enlisted the help of fellow Washington Capitals forward Andre Burakovsky.
"It's just all fun. Every team picture always looks the same," Williams explained, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "So of ours is going to look a little different. I was happy to have (Burakovsky) on board."
Burakovsky added, "Justin just came up to me a couple of weeks ago (and said), 'Hey, we need to do this together. It's going to be awesome if we sit next to each other.' So we went for it."
Craig Anderson took some time Sunday to express his gratitude after earning the Ottawa Senators' nomination for the 2017 Masterton Trophy.
Anderson, who spent several weeks this season away from the game to be with his wife Nicholle as she underwent cancer treatment, told reporters he very much appreciates the support he's received from teammates, staff, management, media, and around the league.
He also touched on what the game has meant to him in the midst of a difficult situation off the ice.
"It's always on the mind, but I feel that the three hours we get at the rink is always a time to kind of put things aside and exert the frustration and energy that you might have," he said. "You just go out there and give everything you can and then when you take off the equipment, then you can address real-world problems after that."
Anderson was also able to gain perspective on what it is he's able to do for a living.
"It makes the game just feel like a game again," he said. "When you're growing up as a kid, the game of hockey is supposed to be fun and enjoyable, and I think that sometimes gets lost as you get older and it becomes more of a job.
"When you go through difficult times away from the rink, it makes you realize that it is a game and you're supposed to have fun while you play it. That's kind of how I've approached it."
Anderson has indeed exemplified the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the game this season, posting a record of 22-10-2 and a .927 save percentage in 34 games.
Bill Foley is extending a welcoming hand to the NFL's Oakland Raiders.
The owner of the NHL's Golden Knights offered congratulations to Mark Davis and the Oakland Raiders after it was confirmed the team would be relocating to Las Vegas for the 2019 season.
More from Foley:
It truly is an exciting time to be from Las Vegas. There is only a select group of cities in North America that are home to both an NHL and an NFL franchise and Vegas is now one of them.
This alone should be a great source of pride for our community and our fans. Las Vegas has always been one of the most popular destination cities in the world and it is now emerging as a premier location for major league professional sports.
The Raiders are set to build a new stadium in Las Vegas, while the Golden Knights are set to take to the ice at T-Mobile Arena beginning next season.
WASHINGTON - Fourteen U.S. senators wrote a letter to USA Hockey's executive director Monday over their concerns about the treatment of the women's national team.
Players have threatened to boycott the upcoming world championships over a wage dispute. The senators, all Democrats, urged David Ogrean to resolve the matter and ensure the team receives ''equitable resources.'' They cited the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.
USA Hockey's board of directors meets Monday, and players said Sunday night they hope there's a deal.
The senators joined a chorus of support that also includes unions representing players from the NHL, NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball. Those organizations said over the weekend they stood with the women's team and criticized USA Hockey for attempting to find replacement players.
The U.S. is the defending champion at the International Ice Hockey Women's World Championship, which begins Friday in Plymouth, Michigan.
In negotiations over the past 15 months, players have asked for a four-year contract that pays them outside the six-month Olympic period. The senators' letter notes the $6,000 that players earn around the Olympics and USA Hockey's $3.5 million annual spending on the men's national team development program and other discrepancies.
''These elite athletes indeed deserve fairness and respect, and we hope you will be a leader on this issue as women continue to push for equality in athletics,'' the senators wrote.
In a statement Sunday night, players said they hoped USA Hockey would approve terms discussed last week. They said the agreement has the ''potential to be a game changer for everyone.''
The letter was signed by: Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Patty Murray of Washington, Dianne Feinstein of California, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Thomas Carper of Delaware, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Robert Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
The Carolina Hurricanes are set to host the Detroit Red Wings on both Monday and Tuesday, with the first contest being a make-up date after it was originally postponed in December due to ice cooling issues at PNC Arena.
This prompted the Hurricanes to offer fans a frosty treat prior to puck drop on Monday.