One of the greatest players in the history of the Colorado Avalanche believes the club should do more to address the Matt Duchene situation.
”Doubtful that he should be allowed to play (with the Avalanche),” Peter Forsberg said Saturday on Swedish television, as translated by Expressen's Robin Lindgren via Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.
“Put him in the stands," Forsberg continued. "If I were playing with a player that I know doesn´t even want to be in the team, it´s not like he is going to throw himself on the ice and block shots with his head. It is mostly difficult to have a player like that in the team, although he is skillful and is doing his best. I would rather play with someone that wants to be there. I would put him on the bench and trade him.”
Duchene, who has been on the trade block since last season, said he was "here to honor (his) contract," when he reported to training camp last month.
The center notched a goal and an assist in Colorado's season-opening win over the New York Rangers on Thursday night, and was held off the score sheet Saturday in a loss to the New Jersey Devils, despite firing five shots on goal.
Forsberg is the NHL's all-time leader in points per game among qualified Swedish players (1.25), and he ranks second on the Avalanche's franchise list for points per game (1.28), only behind Quebec Nordiques legend Peter Stastny.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.
I have respect for those who put their life on the line to protect and serve their community. I have had both negative and positive encounters with police officers so to say all police officers are bad would be false.
Again, this is about bringing awareness to the real issues and not changing the narrative. My @'s on Twitter alone prove why this topic must be talked about.
I have received racist remarks and death threats because they disagree with how I choose to raise awareness. We need to be able to listen to those with an opposing view and talk to one another if he want to learn, grow, and make change.
With his actions Saturday night, Brown became the first NHL player to protest during the anthem this season.
Despite being a perennial 20-plus goal threat, Neal has been pegged as an expendable, one-dimensional player by the three previous NHL clubs he's suited up for in Dallas, Pittsburgh, and most recently, Nashville.
While Neal, like a lot of other Knights, was deemed dispensable by the Predators after a season in which he registered only 41 points in 70 regular season contests, the Whitby, Ontario native as been a revelation in two games so far in Vegas.
Three goals, two wins, and a change of scenery have a resurgent Neal and the Knights turning heads around the league.
Of course, two road victories is hardly enough to start planning the parade route - unless you are a Maple Leafs fan - but, on the back of Neal's clutch scoring and veteran leadership, the Knights are one of the feel-good stories of the first week of the 2017-18 campaign.
A tight one-goal victory over the Dallas Stars followed by another close one-goal affair against the Arizona Coyotes were both topped off with game-winners from Neal.
Sure, maintaining this winning pace would be a foolhardy prediction, but, with veterans like Neal and Marc-Andre Fleury leading the charge, these Knights might be more that just a flash in the pan.
Fleury has been dynamite across his two starts for Vegas, racking up two wins to go along with a minuscule 0.98 goals-against average and a sparkling .973 save percentage.
Again, foolish to expect Flower to keep putting up those kind of numbers, but, with Neal leading the way up front and Fleury holding down the back end, the Knights could make some noise in the Western Conference wild-card spots come April.
Neal may have been written off in the past, but, if he continues his resurrection, expect the Knights to rise along with him.
NEWARK, N.J. - The Nico Hischier era in New Jersey began Saturday with a game in which the No. 1 pick in this year's draft had only the third-most notable debut among Devils rookies in a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
Jesper Bratt, the Devils' sixth-round pick in 2016, had a goal and an assist, while Will Butcher, a free-agent signee out of the University of Denver, tallied three assists. That's not to say it wasn't a memorable day for Hischier, as the 18-year-old from Switzerland was plenty impressive as he registered six shots on goal in 15:44 of ice time.
"He's well aware of expectations," Devils coach John Hynes said. "He has an innate ability to be able to concentrate on what matters most, which is his preparation for his performance, and I think he really focuses. One of the things it really seems like with him is he's focused on the team more than himself. It seems like that deflects some of the pressure that feels like could be put on him from outside the locker room."
Hischier came over the boards for his first action 38 seconds into the game, and Devils fans showered him with chants of "Nico! Nico!" The shift lasted 25 seconds until there was a stoppage, and was uneventful, but with it, Hischier was officially an NHL player.
"I was too much focused, so I didn't hear that," Hischier said. "It's exciting, and I'm really happy to play this game here, in front of these fans. ... It was really special, and the fans made it special. It was just a great game, and I'm really happy that we got the win."
Hischier looked dangerous on the Devils' second power play of the game, setting up along the half-boards on the right side. On one play, he got the puck as it popped free from a corner scrum, zagged his way toward the net for his first bona fide scoring chance, and forced Jonathan Bernier to make a close-range save. He then scooped up the loose puck and retained possession on the other side.
Later in the shift, Hischier spotted Drew Stafford open in the slot and fired a laser pass at the veteran winger, just missing the connection as the puck skittered through after a deflection. He was dangerous on the power play all day with the extra space afforded, and so were the Devils as a team, as they went 3-for-4 with the man advantage.
"I think I had some chances to score my first goal," Hischier said. "But what's even more important is, we got the win, and that's what makes me happy."
When Erik Johnson put a knee-to-knee hit on Kyle Palmieri with 2:16 left in the second period, earning a two-minute penalty and forcing Palmieri to the locker room with an injury, it was Hischier who was first on the scene to confront the Colorado defenseman, who was coincidentally a No. 1 pick himself back in 2006.
At 6-1 and 175 pounds, Hischier is hardly the enforcer type, but he got a couple of shoves in before the cavalry arrived from both sides.
"That's huge," Devils center Adam Henrique said. "That's something we've talked about, guys jumping in and stepping up for their guy when they're unable to defend themselves. It was great to see him get over there and not shy away at all. Obviously, drafting him first overall, that's not what everyone expected, but that's awesome to see."
With 14:45 left in the third period, Hischier came blazing into the offensive zone, took a cross-ice pass from Marcus Johansson, and fired a slap shot from the left circle that made the crowd gasp. Bernier, in the midst of an outstanding third-period performance that was highlighted by his Save of the Year candidate to rob Damon Severson, got enough of the shot to deflect it wide.
Hischier didn't find the back of the net Saturday, but the goals are sure to come, and his ability to avoid even the appearance of nerves while launching 10 shot attempts proved the Devils knew what they were doing when they picked him first overall.
NEWARK, N.J. - The Nico Hischier era in New Jersey began Saturday with a game in which the No. 1 pick in this year's draft had only the third-most notable debut among Devils rookies in a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
Jesper Bratt, the Devils' sixth-round pick in 2016, had a goal and an assist, while Will Butcher, a free-agent signee out of the University of Denver, tallied three assists. That's not to say it wasn't a memorable day for Hischier, as the 18-year-old from Switzerland was plenty impressive as he registered six shots on goal in 15:44 of ice time.
"He's well aware of expectations," Devils coach John Hynes said. "He has an innate ability to be able to concentrate on what matters most, which is his preparation for his performance, and I think he really focuses. One of the things it really seems like with him is he's focused on the team more than himself. It seems like that deflects some of the pressure that feels like could be put on him from outside the locker room."
Hischier came over the boards for his first action 38 seconds into the game, and Devils fans showered him with chants of "Nico! Nico!" The shift lasted 25 seconds until there was a stoppage, and was uneventful, but with it, Hischier was officially an NHL player.
"I was too much focused, so I didn't hear that," Hischier said. "It's exciting, and I'm really happy to play this game here, in front of these fans. ... It was really special, and the fans made it special. It was just a great game, and I'm really happy that we got the win."
Hischier looked dangerous on the Devils' second power play of the game, setting up along the half-boards on the right side. On one play, he got the puck as it popped free from a corner scrum, zagged his way toward the net for his first bona fide scoring chance, and forced Jonathan Bernier to make a close-range save. He then scooped up the loose puck and retained possession on the other side.
Later in the shift, Hischier spotted Drew Stafford open in the slot and fired a laser pass at the veteran winger, just missing the connection as the puck skittered through after a deflection. He was dangerous on the power play all day with the extra space afforded, and so were the Devils as a team, as they went 3-for-4 with the man advantage.
"I think I had some chances to score my first goal," Hischier said. "But what's even more important is, we got the win, and that's what makes me happy."
When Erik Johnson put a knee-to-knee hit on Kyle Palmieri with 2:16 left in the second period, earning a two-minute penalty and forcing Palmieri to the locker room with an injury, it was Hischier who was first on the scene to confront the Colorado defenseman, who was coincidentally a No. 1 pick himself back in 2006.
At 6-1 and 175 pounds, Hischier is hardly the enforcer type, but he got a couple of shoves in before the cavalry arrived from both sides.
"That's huge," Devils center Adam Henrique said. "That's something we've talked about, guys jumping in and stepping up for their guy when they're unable to defend themselves. It was great to see him get over there and not shy away at all. Obviously, drafting him first overall, that's not what everyone expected, but that's awesome to see."
With 14:45 left in the third period, Hischier came blazing into the offensive zone, took a cross-ice pass from Marcus Johansson, and fired a slap shot from the left circle that made the crowd gasp. Bernier, in the midst of an outstanding third-period performance that was highlighted by his Save of the Year candidate to rob Damon Severson, got enough of the shot to deflect it wide.
Hischier didn't find the back of the net Saturday, but the goals are sure to come, and his ability to avoid even the appearance of nerves while launching 10 shot attempts proved the Devils knew what they were doing when they picked him first overall.
When you are the legend that is Jaromir Jagr, you get your own group of travelling look-a-likes.
The "Travelling Jagrs" have been attending the NHL games of the real Jaromir for over a decade, and were in attendance Saturday night in Calgary in hopes of meeting their idol.
Jagr did not disappoint, surprising the crew of long-haired, jersey-rocking puckheads with a custom Flames sweater with his famous No. 68 freshly minted on the back.
The group of "Jagrs" was founded in the province of Alberta, so their excitement with Jagr's signing with Calgary is understandable. Their choices of wigs, on the other hand, are somewhat questionable.
The start of the 2017-18 campaign hasn't exactly gone according to plan for Henrik Lundqvist.
That's because the New York Rangers netminder has now allowed eight goals in two games, after getting shellacked with five in only 20 minutes at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night.
"First period was just embarrassing," Lundqvist said, according to The Canadian Press, as reported by Sportsnet.
"Obviously not what you’re looking for in your second game. I need to be better. Just a period where they were just all over us. No structure really in our own end and I wasn’t able to come up with enough saves."
Looking to rebound after a rough 2016-17 season where he posted a career-worst goals-against average (2.74) and save percentage (.910), Lundqvist is off to a terrible start, and knows he needs to be more consistent.
"Personally I have to look at this one quickly and move on," said Lundqvist.
"As a goalie it’s definitely easier when you have structure in front, but you have to step up as a goalie and find a way and I wasn’t able to do it. Just have to look in the mirror and be better."
The Rangers will look to to bounce back Sunday night when they host the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.
Cole left for the dressing room and did not return, but posted the grisly photo on his official Twitter account Sunday morning, insisting that he was "doing well" and would be back on the ice "ASAP."
The Penguins have yet to give official word on his status, but given Cole's upbeat attitude, expect him to be back in Pittsburgh's lineup sooner than later.
