Here are three player matchups that will significantly swing the Stanley Cup Finals depending on who gets the upper hand:
P.K. Subban vs. Sidney Crosby
Though it hasn't been confirmed, the pairing of P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm will likely draw the assignment of Sidney Crosby's line. Subban and Ekholm did a tremendous job containing Ryan Getzlaf in the conference finals, holding him to zero goals and four assists in six games.
Crosby is a whole different animal, though. His playmaking capability, edge work, and ability to protect the puck are second to none.
Subban, who leads all Predators defensemen with 31 hits in the postseason, is going to have to continue his physical play against Crosby. Keep in mind, Crosby has played a lot of hockey over the past three years:
Game type
Amount
2014-15 reg. season
77
'15 playoffs
5
World Championship
9
2015-16 reg. season
80
'16 playoffs
24
World Cup
6
2016-17 reg. season
75
'17 playoffs
18
Total
294
Crosby has played an astounding 294 meaningful games since the beginning of the 2014-15 season. This could be taking a toll on his body, especially considering the wear and tear of back-to-back deep playoff runs.
Now, Crosby might be in better physical condition than anyone on the planet, but it will still be key for Subban to set a physical presence throughout the series against No. 87.
Roman Josi vs. Evgeni Malkin
With Subban likely to match up against Crosby's line, the pairing of Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis will see Evgeni Malkin's line over most of his ice time.
Malkin has been playing some of the best hockey of his career this postseason - and that's saying a lot. Not quite like his '09 playoff performance, but through 19 games, the big center has seven goals and a postseason-leading 17 assists.
He will certainly be a handful for Josi. However, Josi's best asset could mitigate Malkin's impact in this series: his skating ability.
Josi is one of the best skaters in the entire league. The more he wheels the puck out of his own zone, the less chances Malkin will have to generate offense. Though he certainly isn't a slouch in his own zone, Malkin isn't known as an elite defensive center. He has received a total of four Selke Trophy votes in his career, and they were all for fifth place back in 2008-09.
Forcing Malkin, and his linemates Phil Kessel and Scott Wilson, to play without the puck can lead to frustration, as we saw in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Pekka Rinne vs. Matt Murray
Though Rinne and Murray will never be in each other's faces like the aforementioned matchups, their head-to-head play will arguably be the most important of the entire series. Both goaltenders have been spectacular in the postseason:
Stat
Rinne
Murray
W-L
12-4
3-1
GAA
1.70
1.35
SV%
.941
.946
SO
2
1
Obviously Rinne's numbers are over a much larger sample size, but Murray's play can't be discredited.
Here's a not-so hot take: the better goalie will win the cup. Plain and simple. However, Rinne will likely be relied upon more heavily than Murray will, making his performance that much more crucial.
A local Pittsburgh fish market is doing its part to prevent catfish from winding up on PPG Paints Arena ice.
With the Nashville Predators' tradition of throwing catfish onto the ice becoming a more common occurrence as the team treks forward in the postseason, Jim Wholey, the co-owner of Wholey's Fish Market has implemented new policy to keep Preds fans at bay.
"You have to show ID if you want to buy catfish here," Wholey said, according to Ben Schmitt of the Tribune-Review. "If you're from Tennessee, we're not selling it to you."
For Wholey this isn't the first time he has implemented such a rule to prevent certain sea creatures from making an appearance on Pittsburgh Penguins ice.
Back in both 2008 and 2009, a similar rule was put in place to try to deter Detroit Red Wings fans from throwing octopi onto the ice.
"Like I said in 2008, this is for eating, not throwing," said co-owner Dan Wholey. "Catfish are delicious, and we're going to eat them before, during and, after we beat the Predators."
During Round 2, an inspired Preds fan was lucky enough to sneak a giant catfish into Honda Center in Anaheim and chuck it onto the ice ahead of Game 2.
With the offseason underway for a number of teams, with the remainder to join them in a few weeks, we're looking at what's in store for each club in the coming months.
Check out what a wild ride 2016-17 was in Missouri:
Month
Record
Season Record
October
5-2-2
5-2-2
November
8-5-1
13-7-3
December
6-6-2
19-13-5
January
5-8-0
24-21-5
February
7-5-0
31-26-5
March
11-2-2
42-28-7
April
4-1-0
46-29-7
Of note:
Head coach Ken Hitchcock, thought to be in his final season behind an NHL bench before retirement, was fired on Feb. 1, with his replacement, assistant Mike Yeo, taking over sooner than expected.
Hitchcock was dumped after a disastrous January that saw St. Louis allow five or more goals in seven of its eight losses. Starting goalie Jake Allen's save percentage in six January starts: .841. Backup Carter Hutton was better in six starts, but still bad, at .904. Hitchcock - a terrible goalie, clearly - paid the price.
The change worked, though, as the Blues won seven of eight as Yeo took over. The club allowed two goals or fewer in six of those seven wins, with Hutton posting two shutouts and Allen one. Goalies, right?
Then, all of a sudden, the offense dried up. The Blues scored six goals during a five-game losing skid, before winning nine of 10 in March.
So, actually, it was a tale of about eight different seasons for the Blues these past few months.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
In the end, the Blues won a playoff round, beating the Minnesota Wild in five thanks to Allen's heroics - he stopped 174 of 182 shots, for a .956 save percentage. Eventually, St. Louis bowed out to the Western Conference champion Nashville Predators in six games, with Allen posting a .909 mark in the second round.
While there's no shame in losing to a Cup finalist, there won't be a lot of turnover in St. Louis, and the players are looking at their second-half run and playoff success after a rather tumultuous season as a sign of things to come.
As Vladimir Tarasenko put it, the team stuck together, and that means something, because the same group is coming back for another go in 2017-18.
Free Agents
After trading Kevin Shattenkirk to the Washington Capitals at the deadline, the Blues have one player who will be an unrestricted free agent: Scottie Upshall. He'll turn 34 in October and is unlikely to return.
A year after letting captain David Backes and forwards Troy Brouwer and Steve Ott walk in free agency, and trading pending UFA goalie Brian Elliott ahead of July 1, there will be little turnover on the roster heading into training camp.
Player (Position)
2017-18 Status
Age
2016-17 Cap Hit
'16-17 Points
Scottie Upshall (F)
UFA
33
$900K
18
Magnus Paajarvi (F)
RFA
26
$700K
13
Colton Parayko (D)
RFA
24
$858750
35
Nail Yakupov (F)
RFA
23
$2.5M
9
Draft Picks
The Blues have seven picks in the coming draft, including two in the first round - their own and Washington's, acquired for Shattenkirk.
Round
Picks
1
2 (Own @ 20 + Capitals @ 27)
2
1
3
0
4
1
5
1 (Sabres)
6
1
7
1
Summer Priorities
1. Lock up Parayko
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
With Shattenkirk gone, the focus shifts to getting restricted free agent defenseman Colton Parayko's signature on a contract extension. Only 24, the kid's going to be a star.
Parayko averaged 21:12 of ice time during the regular season, behind only captain Alex Pietrangelo and veteran Jay Bouwmeester. That jumped to 23:44 in the playoffs, where Parayko chipped in offensively with five points in 11 games.
The question is: Bridge contract or long-term, big-money deal? Doug Armstrong views Parayko as a "cornerstone player," and would prefer to keep him around for a while, but he's got Pietrangelo at a cap hit of $6.5 million (through 2019-20), Bouwmeester at $5.4 million (through 2018-19), Carl Gunnarsson at $2.9 million (through '18-19), Robert Bortuzzo at $1.15 million (through '18-19), and Joel Edmundson at $1.05 million (he'll be a RFA on July 1, 2018, took some major strides in the playoffs, and is only 23).
The core of this Blues team is Tarasenko, Alex Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka, Robby Fabbri, Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester, Gunnarsson, Bortuzzo, and Allen, all signed through at least 2018-19 and beyond (Fabbri's a RFA ahead of 2018-19, but the 21-year-old isn't going anywhere). Armstrong has to figure out where Parayko fits in cap-wise, and then figure out how to take this team over the top.
2. Fix Jake Allen
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Allen had some season. In fact, it was a lot like the Blues', writ large.
Month
Starts
SV%
Wins
October
7
.923
4
November
11
.903
7
December
11
.892
5
January
6
.841
1
February
10
.933
5
March
11
.953
8
April
4
.913
3
Playoffs
11
.935
6
Allen was basically useless November through January. And no NHL goalie can have a January like Allen did. It got so bad that the poor guy was left at home to take a mental break when the Blues departed for a three-game road trip on Jan. 20, with the 26-year-old returning to the net on Jan. 31 (another loss in which he stopped only 19 of 23 shots).
The staycation worked, though, as Allen found his game in February and beyond. He finished the post All-Star portion of the season with a .938 save percentage and three shutouts, and the truth is the Blues don't beat the Wild in the first round without Allen playing arguably the best five-game stretch of his career.
St. Louis was outshot in the series:
52-26
24-22
41-31
28-28
37-27
After years of trotting out multiple goalies - Elliott, Allen, Jaroslav Halak, even Ryan Miller briefly - the Blues finally committed to Allen, and he's the guy going forward, signed through 2020-21 at a cap hit for $4.35 million. But they've got to ensure he finds consistency moving forward, because every point, every win counts.
3. Trade Paul Stastny
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
St. Louis' free-agent signing of Paul Stastny hasn't worked out. That's life. The Blues shot their shot, and we won't begrudge them for that, but it's time to move on, and perhaps the most value Armstrong will get is this summer, with a full season left on Stastny's deal (at $7.5 million - yikes).
The Blues are still in win-now mode, so they're not about to expose Stastny in the expansion draft, but he'll be 32 in December, and injuries have kept him out of far too many games the past two seasons. A 0.85 points-per-game producer in his first eight seasons in Colorado, he's at 0.66 through three seasons and 204 games in St. Louis. That's respectable, but not good enough for someone making $7.5M against the cap.
This goes back to Armstrong figuring out how to put the Blues over the top. Stastny and David Perron (turning 29 on May 28) will be UFAs on July 1, 2018, and will make a combined $11M against the cap. With Fabbri expected to be healthy after an ACL injury cut his season short, the Blues are deep up front, so there are numerous decisions to be made.
The Blues had the big fish ahead of the 2017 deadline, and could dangle Stastny ahead of the 2018 deadline.
2017-18 Outlook
The Blues' window remains open, and it's up to Armstrong to figure out how to prop it a little bit wider. But this team will again be strong in 2017-18, pushing 100 points.
As stated, the same team's coming back, with a healthy Fabbri, and a full season of Sobotka. If Stastny's healthy, and producing, one option is to hold on to him and make a run, then let him walk in free agency, like Backes before him.
The Blues have options, in other words. But their goal is singular: Win the Stanley Cup.
St. Louis finished with 99 points this past season and a plus-17 goal differential. That's five more points than Nashville had in 82 games, and the Predators finished at plus-16.
Get in, get hot, and anything can happen. The Preds are proof. And the Blues are hoping it's finally their turn.
Two people with knowledge of the situation say the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs will play an outdoor game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, next season.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the NHL had not announced the event. The game is scheduled to be played March 3 at the 34,000-seat Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium that hosts Navy football games.
It's the first NHL outdoor game to take place at a U.S. service academy. It's the third outdoor game for Washington and Toronto.
A potential opponent is unknown at this point, but Khurshdyan reports the NHL is expected to announce the event Monday, which also marks the beginning the Stanley Cup Final.
The Arizona Coyotes rearguard's mother, Annika, died in March after an extended battle with cancer, and a few days after the shootout triumph over Team Canada, Ekman-Larsson explained exactly how important the medal was to him.
"That gold medal means so much to me and my family," Ekman-Larsson said Friday, according to Dave Vest of NHL.com.
"I played for my mom. She's the reason I decided to finish the season with Team Sweden, and I'm really happy that I did. She meant so much to me and was such a big part of everything I've been doing for my whole life. I'm playing hockey because she loved it. That's why I want to bring the medal to her and show her."
As Vest points out, Ekman-Larsson played through a portion of the 2016-17 season with a badly injured thumb suffered in November. Despite the ailment, the blue-liner suited up in all of the Coyotes' games last year until a three-game absence to be with his family ended his season a week early.
Playing hockey in Arizona is hard enough, but add in the injury and the loss of his mother, and Ekman-Larsson had a season that he would likely want to forget.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
"It was a tough season for me from the beginning until the end," Ekman-Larsson said. "But my teammates in Arizona and the Coyotes organization have been unbelievably supportive.
"When you go through something like losing your mom you realize that hockey doesn't mean everything in life and that family comes first. I'm doing all right now, but this is not something that is going to take one day or one week or one year to get over. It's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life."
Candid words from one the best young D-men in the NHL.
At only 25, Ekman-Larsson is on the cusp of superstardom and is quickly developing into an elite-level player. In 494 career games, Ekman-Larsson has amassed 88 goals and 160 assists for 248 points - 40 of those tallies came on the man advantage.
OEL was equally impressive in Sweden's shootout victory over Canada, logging 27:40 of ice time, registering five shots on net, and scoring one of Sweden's two shootout goals.
The team success felt at the worlds may be short-lived for Ekman-Larsson, as he returns to a Coyotes squad that finished tied for the third-worst record in the league last season.
But what about players who don't get the headlines? Here are five others to keep your eye on when the puck drops Monday:
Roman Josi
Arguably the NHL's most underrated blue-liner, Josi plays the most minutes on a Nashville defense that features the likes of Subban, Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm.
A tremendous defender who plays calm under pressure, Josi is capable of chipping in offensively, too, with 10 points in 16 games. He is also one of just four Predators to net five or more goals this postseason.
Jake Guentzel
Not Crosby or Malkin. Not even Phil Kessel. No, the Penguins' top goal-scorer in the playoffs has been Guentzel, who's lit the lamp nine times. The Penguins' scoring depth has been on display all postseason, with no better headliner than the freshman forward.
Guentzel ranks behind just four rookie scorers in NHL playoff history, and the 14 goals that Dino Ciccarelli scored with the Minnesota North Stars in the spring of 1981 could now be in striking distance.
James Neal
The agitating winger is sure to find his way into the spotlight in the Stanley Cup Final. The question is whether he'll do so by burying pucks or by getting under the skin of the opposition. Probably both.
It's an interesting series for Neal, as the former Penguin was dealt to Nashville in 2014 in exchange for Patric Hornqvist. In Tennessee, Neal has become a mainstay of the Predators' offense, and has already chipped in with five goals in the playoffs.
Olli Maatta
Key injuries on the Pittsburgh blue line, where top defender Kris Letang has been out since mid-February following neck surgery, has left youngsters like Maatta to carry the mail on the Penguins' back end.
Pulling down just over 21 minutes a night, Maatta is the Penguins' third-most relied upon defenseman. He's also averaged more time than the team's top-scoring blue-liner, Justin Schultz. Maatta has recorded seven points in 19 postseason contests, including the winning goal in Game 5 against the Ottawa Senators.
Mike Fisher
No, that's not a misprint. The Predators' captain has yet to find the scoresheet through 14 playoff games. Which means there's no time like the present.
Sidelined for the two closing contests against the Anaheim Ducks, there is a good chance Fisher returns when the puck drops against the Penguins. With fellow pivot Ryan Johansen on the shelf for the remainder of the postseason, that makes Fisher's assignment up the middle even more crucial, as he will be charged with shutting down Crosby & Co. Never an easy task.
Nothing but respect between two of the game's very best.
Upon shaking hands to close out a thrilling Eastern Conference Final on Thursday night, captains Erik Karlsson and Sidney Crosby shared a genuine embrace, with the Ottawa Senators' leader telling Crosby to go out and win another Stanley Cup.
