The goalie carousel continues to spin in Vegas, as the Golden Knights placed netminder Oscar Dansk on injured reserve and recalled Dylan Ferguson from Kamloops of the Western Hockey League on an emergency basis, the team announced.
#Vegas has recalled G Dylan Ferguson from his Junior club under emergency conditions, which is permitted under the current NHL/CHL agreement pic.twitter.com/DppvOEdqX2
Fourth-string goalie Maxime Legace was thrust into action in relief of Dansk, but allowed four goals on only 11 shots.
Ferguson will be available for the Knights' matchup against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, but there has been no indication from the club on which goalie will be manning the crease when the puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.
Across 13 games for the Blazers of the WHL this season, Ferguson has registered a 4-9-0 record to go along with 4.05 GAA and .878 save percentage.
We all love a good fright on Oct. 31, and there's no shortage of scary statistics through the first few weeks of the NHL season.
Here are four of the most frightening:
Boo-urns
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Last season, Brent Burns led all defensemen in goals (29) and points (76), and the Norris Trophy winner ranked first among all players with 320 shots on goal.
In 11 games this season, however, the San Jose Sharks standout has fired 51 shots on goal without a single tally to show for his efforts.
To put that in perspective, Burns is on pace to obliterate his shot total from last season. He's averaging 4.6 per game, which would amount to 380 over a full season. At that rate, if he were to return to the 9.1 shooting percentage reached in 2016-17, he'd be good for close to 35 goals by season's end.
If the pucks starts bouncing his way, this Shark will bite hard.
Jackets firing blanks
Columbus have jumped out to a respectable record of 8-4-0, a bit of a miracle considering how bad the power play has been.
The Blue Jackets have converted on only three of their 35 opportunities, giving them a success rate of 8.6 percent and putting them well at the bottom of the league rankings.
The next most futile teams on the man advantage are the Oilers and Ducks, both of whom have made good on 12.1 percent of their power plays. Even last year's woefully bad Avalanche managed to hit 12.6 percent, finishing 30th.
In 2016-17, Columbus finished with 108 points and boasted a power-play percentage of 19.9. The Blue Jackets are currently tied for the fourth-best point total despite their poor efforts with an extra man, and will be a force to be reckoned with when this stat begins to correct itself.
Porous Penguins
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Much has been made of the holes in the Pittsburgh Penguins' back end this season, and for good reason.
Their 50 goals allowed is the second highest among all teams, and only one less than an Arizona team that just won its first game.
The reasons for this are many: Injuries on the blue line, a complete and utter lack of backup goaltending, Matt Murray's .903 save percentage, and a vicious schedule that features 19 back-to-back scenarios.
There's time to fix some of the above, but in the meantime, any and all talk of a threepeat should be put on hold.
Another rough October for Andersen
Thanks to an offense that can't be stopped, the Toronto Maple Leafs are seen by many as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. For them to be taken truly seriously, though, Frederik Andersen will need to once again shake the October blahs.
Much like last year, he's gotten off to a shaky start, but the hope is he'll once again find his form as the season goes on.
October Save%
Rest of Season Save %
2016-17
.876
.922
2017-18
.896
TBD
The Leafs' sticks have been covering for deficiencies in net and of those directly in front of Andersen, but this treat will turn into a trick real fast if not tidied up.
We all love a good fright on Oct. 31, and there's no shortage of scary statistics through the first few weeks of the NHL season.
Here are four of the most frightening:
Boo-urns
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Last season, Brent Burns led all defensemen in goals (29) and points (76), and the Norris Trophy winner ranked first among all players with 320 shots on goal.
In 11 games this season, however, the San Jose Sharks standout has fired 51 shots on goal without a single tally to show for his efforts.
To put that in perspective, Burns is on pace to obliterate his shot total from last season. He's averaging 4.6 per game, which would amount to 380 over a full season. At that rate, if he were to return to the 9.1 shooting percentage reached in 2016-17, he'd be good for close to 35 goals by season's end.
If the pucks starts bouncing his way, this Shark will bite hard.
Jackets firing blanks
Columbus have jumped out to a respectable record of 8-4-0, a bit of a miracle considering how bad the power play has been.
The Blue Jackets have converted on only three of their 35 opportunities, giving them a success rate of 8.6 percent and putting them well at the bottom of the league rankings.
The next most futile teams on the man advantage are the Oilers and Ducks, both of whom have made good on 12.1 percent of their power plays. Even last year's woefully bad Avalanche managed to hit 12.6 percent, finishing 30th.
In 2016-17, Columbus finished with 108 points and boasted a power-play percentage of 19.9. The Blue Jackets are currently tied for the fourth-best point total despite their poor efforts with an extra man, and will be a force to be reckoned with when this stat begins to correct itself.
Porous Penguins
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Much has been made of the holes in the Pittsburgh Penguins' back end this season, and for good reason.
Their 50 goals allowed is the second highest among all teams, and only one less than an Arizona team that just won its first game.
The reasons for this are many: Injuries on the blue line, a complete and utter lack of backup goaltending, Matt Murray's .903 save percentage, and a vicious schedule that features 19 back-to-back scenarios.
There's time to fix some of the above, but in the meantime, any and all talk of a threepeat should be put on hold.
Another rough October for Andersen
Thanks to an offense that can't be stopped, the Toronto Maple Leafs are seen by many as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. For them to be taken truly seriously, though, Frederik Andersen will need to once again shake the October blahs.
Much like last year, he's gotten off to a shaky start, but the hope is he'll once again find his form as the season goes on.
October Save%
Rest of Season Save %
2016-17
.876
.922
2017-18
.896
TBD
The Leafs' sticks have been covering for deficiencies in net and of those directly in front of Andersen, but this treat will turn into a trick real fast if not tidied up.
NEW YORK - Not very often in their inaugural season have the Vegas Golden Knights looked the part of an expansion team, entering the week winners of eight of their first nine games.
Then came Monday night against the Islanders, when Golden Knights goaltender Oscar Dansk was injured late in the second period on a play that resulted in Isles star John Tavares’ tying goal.
Maxime Lagace made his NHL debut in in relief; the Islanders scored four goals on 11 shots against the 24-year-old, and Vegas took a 6-3 loss. That’s a full 24 percent of the Golden Knights’ all-time goals allowed, all in one night.
Goaltending depth has already become a major concern for the Golden Knights. They've seen Marc-Andre Fleury suffer a concussion, lost Malcolm Subban to a lower-body injury, traded expansion draft pick Calvin Pickard to Toronto, and did not immediately know how severely Dansk was hurt.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
It took a journey this far down the goaltending depth chart to unearth a team that looked in need of directions around an NHL rink, the way a first-year club might usually expect to be.
“We’re an expansion team,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “And the next goalie up’s gonna play and see what happens.”
Whoever is in net, what Vegas cannot do is expose its goalie the way the Golden Knights did against the Islanders, allowing breakaway after breakaway to leave Lagace in an impossible situation. The cause of the mistakes was easy enough to identify - a trailing team gambling to make big plays instead of sticking with its usual formula.
“We keep things simple,” said defenseman Brad Hunt. “We’ve got to control the things that we can control - how hard we work, and how smart we work. Everyone is confident and we’ve got everybody believing in each other. That’s what it’s all about, and that’s when you play your best hockey.”
It’s beyond a cliche, but the reason for it is clear: When you have an expansion team, players are joining the roster from all over the league.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
To create any kind of on-ice chemistry among what are essentially strangers, there are two options: an exotic system everyone has to learn all at once, or a very basic style of play built on hockey essentials that any NHL player would be able to grasp, no matter where their previous journeys have taken them.
The Golden Knights’ choice, wisely, has been the latter.
“We play as a team,” Gallant said. “We work hard as a team, and it’s 20 guys working hard, competing hard. We keep it simple and we play the game the right way. (Monday), we made three or four huge mistakes, and they ended up in the back of our net. We weren’t making those mistakes before.”
There will be more nights like Monday for the Golden Knights, not because they are an expansion team, but because every team has those kind of performances. Two-time defending Stanley Cup champions the Pittsburgh Penguins already have a nine-goal loss and two six-goal losses this season.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Vegas has also benefited from a home-heavy schedule that is about to even out in a big way; Monday's loss kicked off a grueling stretch in which the Golden Knights will play 12 of 16 games on the road. Vegas won't enjoy consecutive home games again until Dec. 3-5.
What Vegas has going, though, is simplicity on the ice, self-awareness, and motivation. So far, it’s paid off.
“Honestly, with this group of guys, we don’t have any Patrick Kanes, Sidney Crosbys,” said Vegas winger Alex Tuch. “There’s good, high-end talent in here like James Neal and David Perron, but even those guys play a hard-nosed game, play simple, get pucks to the net.
"Everyone’s bought into the system. Everyone’s here to showcase themselves because a lot of guys have chips on their shoulder. Guys want to go out and prove that they should’ve been protected, or shouldn’t have been traded. That’s the case for pretty much everyone out here.”
While the St. Louis Blues continue to turn heads with 10 wins in the month of October, their hottest player has seemingly flown under the radar.
After Monday night's convincing 4-2 beat down of the Los Angeles Kings, Blues forward Jaden Schwartz sits third in the NHL in scoring with 17 points (eight goals and nine assists) through 13 games. If not for the insanely hot starts from Tampa Bay Lightning forwards Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, Schwartz would be pacing the league.
But, for whatever reason, no one is really talking about the unheralded Wilcox, Saskatchewan native, when they really should be.
In addition to being the club's leading scorer, Schwartz is also its most versatile forward, playing in almost every scenario for St. Louis head coach Mike Yeo.
He plays on the Blues' top power-play unit, kills penalties, and logs heavy minutes (19:30 per game this season) while serving as an offensive catalyst on the top line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
The newly-formed trio are putting up solid offensive numbers to start the season and Tarasenko is just getting warmed up, having scored just six goals.
Schwartz, Schenn, and Tarasenko have accounted for almost 40 percent of St. Louis' goals to this point, displaying a chemistry that should have Blues fans lining up to get No. 17 stitched on their backs.
Fans should be especially excited due to the fact that Tarasenko and Schwartz have a history of playing well together, with Tarasenko playing a major role in Schwartz posting back-to-back 25-plus-goal seasons a few years ago.
Given the injuries to Robby Fabbri and Patrik Berglund, and the offseason departure of David Perron, Schwartz will be counted on even more this year and will get ample time to continue to prove his worth.
Schwartz might be well known in St. Louis hockey circles while currently operating under the radar, but with numbers like his, expect his stock and popularity to rise.
Point production, a strong two-way game, and the ability to play in all scenarios make Schwartz a player you need to be paying attention to.
Over the course of the 2017-18 season, theScore will run a series of interviews with former players in which they recall some of the greatest moments of their careers. This edition focuses on defenseman Denis Potvin, who won three Norris Trophies and four Stanley Cup rings over a sensational 15-year Hall of Fame career with the New York Islanders.
On what he remembers from his first NHL game:
That's quite interesting. We played in Atlanta, and, of course, we had the dark road uniforms. And when we got to Atlanta, I opened up my bag, and I saw only my white helmet. Of course, they wouldn't let me play without a black helmet, and we didn't have an extra helmet at that time.
So I played the first period without a helmet, which was the scariest thing I think I've ever done. I always played with a helmet, so it was pretty ironic that my first game in the NHL, I wouldn't have a helmet. Finally, after the first period, they finished putting black tape - you know the kind you put on your blade? - they put black tape all around the helmet.
The damned thing was so heavy ... it was really uncomfortable. I don't even remember what happened that game, whether we won or not. All I remember is not playing with a helmet, and then playing with one that felt like I had five pounds on my head.
On his first NHL goal:
You never forget that. We're playing on home ice, and it was in October, so I probably had a few games under my belt. It was against Eddie Giacomin and the New York Rangers. The importance of that is that, when the Rangers scored, even if they were playing in our building, the whole place exploded.
It ended up being a 3-2 victory, I scored two goals ... the second one was a slap shot from the point. The first one, I came up on the side, and it was kind of a snap shot that went right between the legs of Giacomin. So my first two goals happened in my first game against the Rangers.
On cutting down on penalties over his first few NHL seasons:
It finally came to a point where (head coach) Al Arbour tapped me on the shoulder and he said, "You ever notice that they're challenging you in the third period?" And I thought, "Well, I'm not going to back down." I had had a number of fights. My third year was when I scaled back considerably from fighting, and I ended up winning the Norris Trophy.
And Al was pretty smug when he said, "See? I told you. Stay on the ice and you'll get more done." My penalty minutes were up there at the end of my career, but the aspect of fighting like I did in junior, night after night ... by the way, that's not what I prepared for when I prepared for the game. I was thinking about playing the game.
So, it easily became secondary, and I was fortunate, because we had plenty of guys who could fill that role. And at that time, there was no rules. The benches emptied, and obviously we had some real brawls with the Bruins, and the Flyers, and even the Rangers. Most players can talk about having at least a couple of fights - whether they wanted to or not. (laughs)
On who hit him hardest in his career:
I got hurt twice, and one of them was when Bryan Trottier and I were trying to hit the same guy. We both missed him, and he just ran me over. That was probably the hardest hit I ever had. One time, Clark Gillies and I were reaching for the puck in practice and we collided. I think that was about as hard as I've ever been hit. Clark was an awfully big boy.
As far as being really rocked in a game, Bobby Plager caught me pretty good in St. Louis. It was a low hip check. I kind of spun up in the air and landed back on my butt, and instead of looking up the ice, I was looking back at Billy Smith. (laughs) I think that was about as solid a check as I ever got as a pro.
On the best trash-talker of his era:
Phil Esposito was probably the best. Phil was always trying to talk to you; he was friendly and made jokes.
Back then, you didn't know guys very much. It's not like today, where a lot of players from a lot of teams know each other from being traded, or free agency, or maybe even playing world championships, or Olympics. We didn't have any of those things. We had the All-Star Game, that's about it.
I was not a very big talker on the ice; matter of fact, I hated it. I was totally focused and very rarely got into a verbal confrontation with anyone on the ice.
On his favorite referee story:
I like to tell the story of (referee) Wally Harris skating by me one time after I had pitchforked somebody in front of our net. He said, "Denis, you do that again, and I'm going to have to give you two minutes." (laughs) That was the way it was back then. They just gave you a warning.
On what he felt he did best as a player:
I grew up watching J.C. Tremblay and Doug Harvey and Jean Beliveau, who was my idol. I never thought I'd ever play center ice, it was never that kind of thing. But what I practiced probably more than most was my passing.
I really felt that I could step out from behind the net and hit somebody at full stride at center ice - and did it many times. That, to me, was the key. I believed, and still believe today, that the guys who can pass the puck really well are going to be effective, and also will be around for a long time. Guys who carry the puck get hit more.
The other thing is, I came out of a football background. I really like the contact. So passing and getting a good hit at the beginning of the game really sort of set the tempo and got me going. So there was a part of my game in which I had to be physical. But the passing was what I practiced most, and I wanted it to be key.
On who he considers most underrated from his era:
John Tonelli was an unbelievable competitor. Tonelli, to me, was huge. He played first, second, and third line. Bob Bourne had incredible speed; if he wasn't the fastest at the time, he was pretty darned close. Ken Morrow joined us in 1980 and became my partner right away. He was the easiest guy to play with. I couldn't believe how we meshed together so quickly.
In terms of guys I really didn't like to play against, Gilbert Perreault scared the crap out of me. I played against him in junior, and I was thrilled when he passed the puck. He was a one-on-one machine. So was Marcel Dionne. It was a horrible feeling when you'd see them coming at you at full stride; the possibility of them making you look sick was real.
I'd put Perreault and Dionne in the same boat. Scary.
On his favorite NHL season:
I would have to say that the first Stanley Cup was probably the most trying year of my life, yet the most rewarding.
In November 1979, playing a game in Edmonton, I mangled my right thumb. I missed more than 30 games that year; I didn't come back until March 1, 1980. And Ken Morrow had just finished playing the Olympics and winning the gold medal, and he and I started the very first game I came back. It was unbelievable how quickly we meshed, and how good we became as a team.
That season, I think we were 15th out of 21 teams at Christmas. And we worked our way into the playoffs, certainly not as a favorite, and then went on to win the Stanley Cup. I think that season, 1979-80 is probably ... when you ask me directly, as to the season that was most emotionally rewarding, that has to be the one.
On the Islanders' dynasty:
I don't need to be humble about this: We were so good. We never let anybody go seven games. Never happened. We were so fine-tuned. If you look at our series against Minnesota, against Vancouver, the first time against Edmonton in the finals in '83, I mean ... it was unbelievable. We were so focused.
We had 16 guys who ended up with four Stanley Cup rings. There wasn't a lot of change in that dressing room. Every year there was one or two guys who might come in and play, but they were players that added to what we had.
It was really a phenomenal run. I think back to what we did with the 19 consecutive playoff series (won), and then losing in the finals to Edmonton (in 1984) ... it was quite something. It might never be done again.
On what he remembers from his last NHL game:
I was injured. In 1988, we won the Patrick Division, and then we played against the New Jersey Devils in the first round. I had all of a sudden developed a sciatic nerve problem, and I never knew that anything could be that painful.
I didn't end up playing in Game 6. That was my last game - I'm sitting with Mike Bossy, and we're watching the end of the New York Islander era. The players on the ice were guys like Mikko Makela, and Dale Henry, and Alan Kerr. It was tough, because the whole picture of what we were as an Islander dynasty was fading away and moving on.
The very last game I played during the season was in Boston. I had 19 goals my last year, and I wanted 20 - that would have been the 10th year that I scored 20 goals in the NHL. And I had seven shots on goal, and (Bruins netminder Reggie Lemelin) ... I could never get a puck by him. It was amazing. Sometimes some goalies just seem to have your number.
Everybody was passing the puck to me, but it never happened. So I ended my last season with 19 goals.
On his favorite visiting arena:
Montreal. I mean, come on. I grew up French-Canadian on the French side of Ottawa. I was a kid with a pizza and a Pepsi, laying on my tummy and watching Rene Lecavalier on Wednesday nights and Saturday nights. For us, it was all Montreal Canadiens all the time.
All the pictures I have as a kid from three, four, five years old, when I started skating, I was always wearing one of those Montreal Canadiens jerseys, the big woolen ones with the turtlenecks because we were playing outside. Growing up a Montreal Canadiens fan was great.
So of course playing my first game in Montreal had to be the most nervous thing I can imagine. I'm starting, and I've got my brother (and teammate) Jean on the other side, and I look up, and it's Henri "The Pocket Rocket" Richard facing off, Yvan Cournoyer on the ice, and Jacques Lemaire ... well, Jesus, I nearly crapped my pants right there. (laughs)
They officially handed the reins to Andrei Vasilevskiy last season after deciding to part ways with Ben Bishop, and the 23-year-old Russian has been as good as anyone could have hoped in the early stages of 2017-18.
In fact, Vasilevskiy's 10 wins in the month of October matched a single-season NHL record.
Vasilevskiy posted a record of 10-1-0 with a .927 save percentage, and he ranks first among all goalies in wins, saves (341), and shots against (368).
The tenth win came Monday in an 8-5 victory over the rival Florida Panthers.
Backup Peter Budaj has appeared in only two games, and while Vasilevskiy has proven capable of handling the heavy workload, he'll need a night off here and there as the season progresses in order to be fresh for when the games matter most.
The 38-year-old forward originally tied Kurri with an assist Oct. 23, but the helper was later taken away. He tied him again with a goal against the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
