NHL on NBC color commentator Eddie Olczyk is set to make his return to the broadcast booth just two months after being diagnosed with colon cancer.
Olczyk will be part of Wednesday's broadcast, a rivalry-night showdown between the Central Division's Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues.
Olczyk, 51, has completed three rounds of chemotherapy, and will work when his health allows.
"We have some dates that we have highlighted and hopefully I will be strong enough to do the job," Olczyk told Kevin Allen of USA Today. "If I am not feeling good, I just have to be honest with everyone and tell them I can't do it.
"Doing what I love to do will help me pass the time. Looking at the calendar hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month gets a little long."
Prior to becoming a broadcaster, Olczyk spent 16 seasons in the NHL, lacing up the skates for six different clubs prior to his retirement in 2000. He later coached the Pittsburgh Penguins for part of two seasons.
The Vegas Golden Knights' social media department hasn't been shy about pushing the envelope since arriving in the NHL, but on Monday, they admitted they went too far.
"Before Sunday's game against the Boston Bruins, we issued a series of tweets quoting a Boston-based movie with a bear as its main character that were in poor taste," the Golden Knights wrote to USA TODAY Sports via email.
"By no means were the tweets intended to disparage females or female hockey players in any way. We do not condone sexism in any form and fully support the inclusive culture of hockey that makes our sport great. We accept full responsibility for our actions and apologize to those who were offended."
Here were the tweets, before they were deleted:
The female names are apparently referenced in the movie "Ted," a Seth MacFarlane comedy from 2012 starring Boston native Mark Wahlberg and featuring a talking teddy bear.
Athlete Ally, which "educates and activates athletic communities to eliminate homophobia and transphobia in sports," wrote in a statement that, "These (sexist) acts have no place in sport or society."
The organization's founder and executive director, Hudson Taylor, added the following:
This is just another example of how sport systematically attempts to degrade women and teach boys and men that women are inferior. Now more than ever, we need men to stand up and speak out against the sexism that’s pervasive in sport and society.
Nikolaj Ehlers is the NHL's latest recipient of its first star of the week distinction.
The Winnipeg Jets forward racked up five goals - including a natural hat trick and two game-winners - to go along with two assists in three victories.
Toronto Maple Leafs sophomore sensation Auston Matthews picked up second star of the week honors with four goals - including two overtime winners - in three games.
The 39-year-old signed a one-year deal to return to the Canadiens in July.
He played his first three NHL seasons with the organization from 2005-06 to 2007-08, after being selected by Montreal in the ninth round of the 2004 draft.
Streit's return to the Canadiens lasted only two games, during which he was held off the scoresheet while averaging a mere 14:13 in ice time.
The Detroit Red Wings are doing their best to dispel most preseason predictions, but there are several signs that the club's encouraging start is unsustainable.
Let's get the obligatory "it's early" disclaimer out of the way, because that's always a critical caveat when looking at standings or statistics through five games, or what amounts to six percent of the Red Wings' regular-season schedule.
It's not just the notion of typical early-season wackiness that should curb Detroit's enthusiasm over its 4-1-0 record.
Here are three other reasons why the Red Wings aren't likely to maintain the success they've enjoyed so far:
Their opponents
Detroit opened its season with an impressive win over the Minnesota Wild, a consistently competitive club many expect to challenge for the Central Division crown.
But then, they needed a shootout to beat the Ottawa Senators and lost to a Dallas Stars team that's still trying to gel, while their two other wins came against the Vegas Golden Knights - a terrific story, but another likely mirage - and the Arizona Coyotes.
How the Red Wings fare in those three contests will be telling, regardless of the remaining schedule.
The underlying numbers
On the surface, there's a lot to like about Detroit's first handful of games. The Red Wings boast the NHL's fourth-most effective penalty kill (91.3 percent), and the 11th-best power play (22.2). They're in the top 10 in goals per game (3.4) and rank seventh in goals allowed per contest (2.4).
But a closer look at more meaningful figures shows the club is not as good as it appears.
The Red Wings are 16th in Corsi For percentage at even strength (49.77), according to Corsica Hockey. That tells us that while their special teams play has been effective, they're being outplayed at even strength.
Detroit has a plus-6 goal differential through five games, a mark bested so far by only five clubs, but a team shooting percentage of 9.73 and a PDO of 101.9 (via FirstLineStats) indicate regression is likely coming.
Howard isn't this good, even if Mrazek isn't this bad
Again, we're dealing with an extremely small sample size here, but that doesn't mean we can't put things in context.
Jimmy Howard is 3-0-0 with a .955 save percentage in three games, which is above average in a limited time frame, but a quick glance at his career numbers and his age give reason to believe it's not sustainable.
The 33-year-old's career save percentage is .916, and while he posted a stellar .927 figure last season, that was in only 26 games. The .955 mark is bound to come down.
Petr Mrazek is better than the .898 save percentage he has through two appearances, but his career mark of .913 shows he's not better by much.
Karlsson missed the Senators' first five games recovering from offseason foot surgery.
The two-time Norris Trophy winner didn't join Ottawa on last week's road swing, a three-game Western Canadian tour on which they defeated the Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers.
On Monday, Boucher attempted to allay any concerns that his all-world defenseman was going to play before being fully healthy.
"One-hundred percent he's ready," Boucher said, according to TSN's Ian Mendes. "He will play (Tuesday)."
Over the course of the 2017-18 NHL 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 Jeremy Roenick, who became one of the best power forwards of his generation while tallying 1,216 points over his 20-year NHL career.
On the memory of his first NHL game:
I remember how scared I was in the locker room.
I remember I was 158 pounds, and I should have been a senior in high school - and here I am starting my first NHL game. I remember just being so in awe of the size of the guys, and how intimidated I was. They were like gladiators, and here I am, a scrawny little kid trying to survive. It was exciting, but it was extremely scary at the same time.
On his first NHL goal:
It was a pretty cheap goal - but you go to the net, and good things happen.
Brian Noonan and I had played together in the summer leagues, so we were on the same team for three or four summers. And it just so happened that we would be playing together in Minnesota (where the Blackhawks were facing the North Stars.)
I got called back up from junior in February - it was Valentine's Day - and I remember almost missing the flight because of a snowstorm. I remember getting into Minnesota just before the pregame skate, so I didn't even get to participate. I hadn't skated in a month and a half because of a knee injury; I had everything going against me.
I remember Brian throwing the puck into the crease, and it slipped through (North Stars goaltender) Kari Takko's feet and was sitting right on the goal line. And all I had to do was skate by and tap it in. That was my first goal. It wasn't anything pretty, but it was memorable because of who assisted on it and because of the circumstances.
On playing a physical game as a small forward:
I was really afraid. I was forced to do it by Mike Keenan. He grabbed me by the throat on the bench in Kalamazoo in one of my first preseason games, because I wouldn't hit anybody. I would always swing by and wouldn't finish my check - and that's just not acceptable for Mike Keenan. So he said I wouldn't play a single game for him as long as I continued to swing by checks.
I was fearful of what would happen if I didn't finish my check, even though I was small and weak. So I used my speed to turn myself into a human torpedo. I would have ice packs all over my body after games. But the fans seemed to like it, and I seemed to enjoy it, and then I would score goals and make big hits all at the same time, so it was pretty cool.
It probably took a few years (to feel comfortable playing a physical game). I started putting on some weight, and felt much stronger. I totally enjoyed it, but I took a real beating on my body. It was just getting into that mentality of having to hit everybody that was pretty scary.
On who hit him the hardest:
Jim Johnson hit me with an elbow one time and knocked me out. That was 15 minutes of my life that I don't even remember anymore, so that was scary. Scott Pearson hit me in Toronto, and it stopped me in my tracks. All the wind got blown out of me.
I've been hit hard by a lot of guys. Darcy Tucker absolutely launched his entire body at me and hit me as hard as he could. But I loved the competition with those guys. I would go around and hit people, and they would do it to me. That's just what the game was all about.
On the best trash-talkers he encountered in his career:
Kevin Stevens was a great trash-talker. Dallas Drake was a phenomenal trash-talker, as was Keith Tkachuk. These guys were just so funny to listen to. Stu Grimson, Mike Pleuso, they always threw out funny one-liners.
I remember Dallas Drake commenting as (Red Wings teammate) Darren McCarty was skating off the ice. Drake said he told him to get off the ice and go to the locker room before he scared all little kids in the stands. He was so ugly that he was scaring kids out of the building. (laughs) Just stupid little one-liners that come out when you're not expecting it.
On his favorite referee memory:
I have a bunch. And I really respected the referees, even though I didn't show it a lot of times because I was a whiner, complainer, bitcher.
I remember one time I was skating down the ice, and I was flying. And I got tripped by an opposing player. Kerry Fraser was the referee. And I turned around and yelled at him, "What the fuck, Kerry? How could you not call that a tripping penalty?" And Kerry goes, "Tripping? You fell. You fell on your own."
I said, "What? Are you kidding me? I'm one of the best skaters on the planet. You think I would just fall for no reason?" And he looked right at me and started laughing his ass off. He's told that story to so many people. We both got a good chuckle out of that.
On players he considers underrated even to this day:
People don't understand how really good competitive guys like Chris Chelios and Tkachuk were. Not only were they great, but they did so many little things and the competitive effort was so far off the map that you wouldn't believe it watching it day by day.
There were defenseman that were flashier, that were better goal scorers or offensive threats, guys like Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque - guys like that who took the spotlight away from Chelios because they had better offensive prowess or looked like better skaters. Chelios was not a good-looking skater - he had to work for everything he had. He had to dig harder than most guys.
He wasn't the biggest guy, but his heart and his dedication and his commitment were triple that of most guys I've ever seen. With Coffey, he would be behind his own net and next thing you knew, the puck was in the back of the net. Chelios didn't look graceful, or look like he was dominating, but he did a lot of little things that helped win games.
Justin Williams is another guy that I think was under the radar. He scored more Game 7 goals and points than anybody in history. He was a guy who found a way to get it done.
On the greatest game he ever played:
I think I'd have to pick my first year, in 1989, in the playoffs against St. Louis, where I lost my teeth and had 15 stitches. I had a skate blade that hit my nose in the first period, and Glen Featherstone cross-checked me in the mouth and knocked out three teeth.
I got a two-minute penalty, and he got a five-minute major. I came out of the box and scored the game-winning goal in that game. That was kind of like a coming-out party for me. It's where my reputation was kind of written out and created. I always have that in the back of my mind.
The 2002 Olympics, playing the Canadians in the gold-medal game, is probably one of my proudest, favorite moments as an athlete. Even though we lost, that put a stamp on USA Hockey being a world power, playing on such a large stage for the gold medal against our archrivals. It was pretty cool.
On what stands out from the last NHL game he ever played:
How pissed off I was, and how much I hated (Ducks goalie Jonas) Hiller.
We (the San Jose Sharks) were one of the best teams in the league again; we won the Presidents Cup in 2009 and we lost in the first round to the Ducks because of Hiller. He just stood on his head; he was invincible. He pretty much beat us by himself. I think I won the Presidents Cup trophy three or four times and lost in the first round twice.
I think that frustration and disappointment, and that hatred for that goaltender because of how well he played, is what sticks with me.
On his favorite hockey story that he hasn't shared much:
I remember my second year, we were playing the Edmonton Oilers in the conference finals. And I was having so much fun playing the game and competing through the playoffs; I remember it was the time of my life.
Before our elimination game at home, right before the game started, I was filled with so much emotion and fear that the season could be over that night that it overcame me. I ran into the changing room where we put all our clothes, and I sat in my stall and literally cried my eyes out because I was so afraid that the season could be over that night, and I didn't want it to be over.
I loved playing so much that the fear of the season ending was the end of the world to me. And then I went out and watched one of the best performances I've ever seen by an NHL player. Mark Messier beat us pretty much single-handedly and ended our season. I've seen some pretty good individual efforts in my time, and Messier's was one of them.
On which active player reminds him most of himself:
I think in watching Jamie Benn play ... fierce, hard-hitting, he'll fight, scores beautiful goals, I think his mentality probably is the closest to the way I played. I think I hit a lot more than Jamie does. I think I hit a lot more than any player does these days.
I've been asked this question before, and I really can't think of anybody that hit as much as I did, or ran around and threw the body as much as I did and scored as much as I did, points-wise. That might sound egotistical, but not to the level and extent that I did.
Quick Hits
The greatest player he ever played with: Chris Chelios
The greatest player he ever played against: Mark Messier
The best goaltender he ever faced: Martin Brodeur
The best coach(es) he ever had: Mike Keenan, Todd McLellan
The month of October usually has very little effect on how the NHL standings and player stat lines look come the end of the season, but at this point, it's all we have.
So even though it's still way too early, let's put the small sample sizes aside, and take a look at five players who haven't had the impact we expected in the early stages of the new campaign.
Brent Burns
Coming off a dominant season that earned him a Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman, Burns has struggled to be the offensive catalyst the Sharks need to generate consistent offense.
Burns has produced just one assist through four games, while the Sharks only have one win. The 32-year-old blue-liner is still getting pucks on net (18), and is logging heavy minutes (26:04 per game), but in order for San Jose to find its footing, Burns will need to lead the charge.
Cam Talbot
The Oilers are facing numerous early-season problems, but perhaps even more surprising than their lack of scoring punch has been Talbot's sluggish play thus far.
After posting a .919 save percentage across 73 starts for Edmonton last season, Talbot owns an .880 clip and a 3.96 goals-against average in four games to start the campaign. Goaltenders frequently go through ups and downs over the course of the NHL schedule, so the Oilers are surely hoping their workhorse begins his upward trend sooner rather than later.
Max Pacioretty
Pacioretty is by no means the only player on Montreal's roster in need of an offensive jolt, but only one point through five games has left something to be desired from the team's captain.
As a perennial 30-goal threat, Pacioretty rightfully earns top-line minutes, but after being blanked for four consecutive games, it's about time to get things going.
Ryan O'Reilly
The Sabres are off to a dreadful start in a season that was supposed to be a step forward, in large part because nearly their entire offensive output has come from Jack Eichel and Evander Kane.
O'Reilly, on the other hand, has contributed just one assist during Buffalo's early slide, and has a relative Corsi For percentage of minus-4.4. For a player who's relied upon heavily at both ends of the ice - and also earns $7.5 million per season - it's been an underwhelming showing so far.
Alexander Radulov
Radulov hasn't endeared himself to the Stars faithful quite as quickly as he did in Montreal last season, producing just two assists in five games to begin the season.
Linemates Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn each have four points, and while Radulov by no means looks out of place, we've yet to catch a glimpse of his electrifying abilities. Odds are it occurs sooner than later, but until then, we're left pining for a little more.
