Race to the Playoffs: Would you want to see a first-round matchup between the @MapleLeafs and @NHLBruins? 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ovaMoorGfF
— theScore NHL (@theScoreNHL) April 5, 2017
A two-year absence from the Stanley Cup Playoffs was long enough for the Boston Bruins.
The video above looks at what was a banner night for this Original Six franchise.
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Not all injury news was bad in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
After it was announced that Kris Letang would undergo surgery on a herniated disk in his neck and be out of the lineup for four-to-six months, head coach Mike Sullivan spoke about Evgeni Malkin and was confident the sniper would be back for the postseason.
"We're optimistic that Geno will be ready," Sullivan said. "He's been skating for a couple days now."
Malkin has been out of the lineup since March 15 with a shoulder injury, missing the last 10 games. His return would be a welcome addition considering he sits second on the club with 33 goals and 72 points.
In other injury news, players sidelined by various ailments - including Bryan Rust, Matt Cullen, and Olli Maatta, but minus Chris Kunitz - will join the team on their season-ending three-game road trip.
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Fans and players alike seem quite disappointed that the NHL won't be heading to the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Seeing a best-on-best international ice hockey tournament can always be exciting, but the fact that the league has opted not to attend might actually be a good thing for hockey.
Anything can happen in sports, it's why the games are played. However, the prospect of another international best-on-best hockey tournament had one likely result: Team Canada winning it all.
Canada has won three straight best-on-best tournaments, coming out on top at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. In fact, it hasn't lost a best-on-best game since a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the United States in the round robin stage of the 2010 Olympics.
No country can match Canada's combination of forward depth, star talent on the blue line, and Carey Price between the pipes.
However, with Canada projected to send a roster full of has-beens, the tournament is suddenly wide open. Russia will likely be the favorites thanks to their talent in the KHL, but both Sweden and Finland are rich with talent in their respective leagues. The NHL's absence should provide great parity.
If Canada, or a Team USA squad full of misfits, were able to pull off a victory, it would be one of the greatest underdog stories in recent memory. Imagine the likes of T.J. Brennan and David Booth leading the U.S. to victory over a Russian team led by Ilya Kovalchuk? It would be reminiscent of the 1980 Miracle on Ice.
Or maybe a team such as Latvia, who lost just 2-1 to a powerhouse Canadian team in the the quarter finals of the 2014 games despite lacking quality NHL talent, could make some noise. The possibilities are endless.
Sidney Crosby's "Golden Goal" from the 2010 Olympics was an iconic moment in hockey history, but imagine if it was scored by, say, Rob Klinkhammer instead?
Klinkhammer's life would change drastically. He would instantly become a beloved figure across Canada, much like how Mike Eruzione, who scored the game-winning goal in the 1980 Miracle on Ice, is beloved by hockey fans everywhere in the United States.
In the past, the three-week Olympic break has been a burden for those players not participating in the games. It results in a condensed schedule, leading to more back-to-backs. Routinely playing three games in four nights can not only lead to more injuries, but a poorer overall quality of hockey since players are fatigued. It's easy to forget that professional athletes are humans, too.
If you're a hockey-crazed fan, the three-week stretch during the Olympics could actually be pretty awesome. With the time change in South Korea, games will be on TV during times competitive hockey wouldn't normally be televised.
Combined with the NHL's normal scheduling, this could result in entire days of non-stop competitive hockey on TV. Every day could wind up being like football Sundays, only for hockey. This is a dream come true for die hard fans of the game.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
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It appears Shawn Thornton's playing career is winding down, though the 39-year-old will reportedly still work with the Florida Panthers in some capacity.
Thornton will join the business side of the team next season, reports George Richards of the Miami Herald, specifying the position won't be in hockey operations.
The veteran has spent the past three seasons of his 14 years in the NHL as a Panther. Though he was a fourth-liner for the majority of his career, he has two Stanley Cups to his name, winning with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and the Boston Bruins in 2011. Not bad for a seventh-round pick.
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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will undergo surgery on a herniated disk in his neck, the team announced on Wednesday.
The expected timeline for Letang's recovery is four-to-six months.
The news is a crushing blow to the Penguins, who will now look to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions without their No. 1 defenseman.
"Kris underwent an MRI in February that revealed a herniated disc in his neck," General Manager Jim Rutherford said in a release. "Our neurosurgeons examined him and recommended conservative treatment in an attempt to correct the condition without surgery. Kris had been making progress and was hopeful of returning for the playoffs until about a week ago, when the progress plateaued. He underwent another MRI, and, at that point it was determined that surgery was needed."
Letang has been out of the lineup since Feb. 21 and has been limited to just 41 games this season. The news is just the latest in a series of injuries that have plagued Letang throughout his career. Since he joined the league on a full-time basis during the 2007-08 season, he has missed 190 games.
The 29-year-old will surely be missed as the team heads into the postseason. Letang led all Penguins blue-liners with 15 points in 23 games en route to his second Stanley Cup last season.
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The NHL announced Monday that it won't participate in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. So, with American-born stars such as Auston Matthews and Patrick Kane seemingly unable to participate, the roster will look vastly different than expected.
Team USA will be a mix of former NHLers skating overseas and players having great seasons in the AHL. The following names will likely draw one of two reactions:
1) Oh, I remember him.
2) Who is that guy?
Note: Only AHL players with fewer than 10 games played in the NHL over the past two seasons were considered. Players signed to entry-level contracts were excluded as well.
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Agostino | Wade Megan | Cole Schneider |
| Ryan Stoa | Chad Rau | Dan Sexton |
| Broc Little | Chris Mueller | Steve Moses |
| David Booth | T.J. Hensick | Peter Mueller |
| Jeff Taffe |
Agostino and Megan are first and fourth, respectively, in AHL scoring. In fact, they both play for the Chicago Wolves, so the chemistry is already presumably there.
The second line is made up of former NHLers who are shining in the KHL this year. Their experience on the big ice will be crucial.
Some familiar names round out the bottom six, such as Booth and Hensick. Little and Moses haven't played in the NHL, but both have carved out excellent careers overseas.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| T.J. Brennan | Matt Gilroy |
| Matt Taormina | James Wisniewski |
| Sam Lofquist | Jonathon Blum |
| Jake Chelios |
Former Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy will anchor the back end, along with perennial AHL point-producer T.J. Brennan.
Chelios brings a strong American bloodline to the team, though the 26-year-old has yet to play in the NHL.
| G |
|---|
| Troy Grosenick |
| Ryan Zapolski |
| Kyle Hayton |
Grosenick, 27, has a .929 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average in 44 games with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL this year.
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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin scored his first regular-season goal in over 800 days in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was his first regular-season goal since Dec. 15, 2014 - a stretch of 150 games.
When asked about how the goal transpired, Dumoulin provided quite a humorous remark.
"I think I blacked out," he told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
As a stay-at-home, shutdown defenseman, Dumoulin's job isn't to be scoring goals - the Penguins have enough high-end talent to take care of that. Although, the injury-hit team will surely take any contributions it can get.
Dumoulin now has two goals and 30 assists over his 161-game career. He did, however, score two goals in 24 playoff games last spring during Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup-winning playoff run.
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Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand will have a hearing Thursday morning for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday.
The incident in question occurred late in the first period of Tuesday's contest when Marchand speared Dotchin between the legs.
Related: Bruins' Marchand ejected for spearing Lightning's Dotchin
Marchand received a five-minute major for spearing and a game misconduct.
Following the game, Marchand called the play an "undisciplined penalty" and tipped his hat to his Bruins teammates for killing it off.
A suspension for Marchand could be detrimental to the Bruins, who have just two games remaining on the schedule. With a 4-0 win in Tuesday's contest, though, they have already punched their ticket to the postseason.
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The Flames fell 3-1 to the Ducks on Tuesday, extending their road losing streak against Anaheim to 25 games. The last time the Flames won a regular season game in Anaheim was Jan. 19, 2004.
Let's take a look at how things were different in January '04:
Ah, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. We'd all love to see Anaheim sport their Disney-themed uniforms with more regularity. It wasn't until the 2006-07 season that the Mighty Ducks traded in their teal and purple uniforms for the black, gold, and orange to become simply the "Ducks."
Tying is such a terrible way to end a hockey game, but at the same time, shootouts aren't a whole lot better. Perhaps the most annoying part of ties was the need for four columns to write out a team's record.
At the time of their Jan. 19 win, the Flames were 23-15-4-3. They would go on to finish sixth in the Western Conference, only to upset the Canucks, Red Wings, and Sharks before losing the Stanley Cup Final to the Lightning in seven games. Aside from Jarome Iginla in his prime, the Flames were led by a then-unknown Miikka Kiprusoff in goal and a 32-year-old Craig Conroy as their No. 1 center.
Although they failed to make the playoffs in 2003-04, the Mighty Ducks were just coming off a miracle Cup run of their own. Jean-Sebastien Giguere won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP, despite his team losing the series 4-3 to the Devils. Mike Babcock was the team's head coach and Paul Kariya was the captain and leading scorer in 2002-03.
The infamous NHL lockout of 2004-05. It was the first year in league history when there was no champion. Sad, sad times.
It feels like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have been the faces of the NHL for an eternity. But in 2004, neither had played an NHL game. In fact, neither had even been drafted yet.
McDavid, the new face of the NHL, was born Jan. 13, 1997, and therefore had just turned 7 years old. He was probably already playing against 10-year-olds - and probably skating circles around them.
Jackman? He's not even in the NHL anymore. You're probably assuming it was a weak rookie class, but he actually edged out Henrik Zetterberg and Rick Nash to earn Rookie of the Year honors.
On a pop culture note, only two Harry Potter movies had been released in theatres. "The Prizoner of Azkaban," the third installment in the series, wouldn't come out until later that year.
Yes, that song is still extremely catchy.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
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Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how the night's action impacts the playoff race, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.
Two of 16 playoff spots remain up for grabs after the Boston Bruins clinched their berth Tuesday, and barring a miracle, those spots are going to the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning - the former winners and the latter losers Tuesday - are still alive, but only barely, while the Carolina Hurricanes were officially eliminated after losing in Minnesota.
So #tblightning needs 3 regulation/OT wins plus either Toronto or Ottawa to lose final three. And #Isles now tied with TB (hold tiebreaker)
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) April 5, 2017
Here's what the math looks like in the Eastern Conference:
| Team | Result | Playoff Chances | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senators | W 2-0 | 97.6% | +5.3% |
| Islanders | W 2-1 (OT) | 2.9% | +0.5% |
| Maple Leafs | L 4-1 | 97.6% | -0.6% |
| Lightning | L 4-0 | 2% | -11.5% |
To see percentages for the entire NHL, visit Sports Club Stats.
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