Monthly Archives: October 2017
Watch: Neal buries game-winner for Golden Knights once again
Vegas' knight in shining armor, @jneal_18, does it again. #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/3A8BOjRZUM
— NHL (@NHL) October 8, 2017
It appears the Vegas Golden Knights plucked the right player from the Nashville Predators, as expansion draft pickup James Neal buried his second game-winning goal in as many nights with an overtime tally Saturday night.
Neal scored two goals in the third period of Vegas' first-ever game Friday night, and was able to come through in the clutch again with a nice five-hole finish to top the Arizona Coyotes.
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Brown defends protest: ‘In my heart, I know I did what was right’
J.T. Brown has no regrets about making a silent statement during the national anthem Saturday night.
"I know there's going to be negative backlash," Brown told reporters postgame, according the Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith. "But, in my heart, I know I did what was right."
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward further explained his decision to raise his fist while standing on the bench during the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Sunrise, Fla., before playing against the Florida Panthers.
"I wanted to do something to show my support, and there are some issues that we have to talk about," Brown said. "In my mind, I'm just trying to bring a little more awareness, and any type of conversation that we can get started would be great."
He added that his teammates understand why he chose to join the numerous NFL players and other athletes making a point about racial injustice and police bruality.
"We've talked about it," Brown said. "They've made their statements as well. They support it. I'm not sure whether or not everyone fully agrees with it or not, but at the same time, they still support my decision, so it's good."
The winger became the first NHL player to protest during the anthem this season when he did so Saturday night.
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Looking at the wild stats behind Ovechkin’s torrid start
In case you haven't heard, Alex Ovechkin has set fire to the NHL to begin his 2017-18 campaign, potting seven goals in two games.
Ovi started with a natural hat-trick Wednesday, then followed up with a four goal performance Saturday night, marking a historic start for one of the most prolific goal scorers in NHL history.
Here's a look at some of the best stats and facts from Ovechkin's blistering start:
Rarefied air
Alex Ovechkin matched a 100-year-old benchmark with hat tricks in each of the @Capitals first two games of the 2017-18 season. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/U4W4tZCfxB
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 8, 2017
ELIAS: Ovi is just 3rd player in history with hat tricks in back-to-back periods.. (Joe Malone in 1920, Darryl Sitler in 1976).. #Caps
— Rob Carlin (@RobCarlinNBCS) October 8, 2017
Ovechkin has tied Peter Bondra for the Capitals franchise record for hat tricks (19).
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 8, 2017
He's slowly but surely moving up the all-time ranks, too, with a huge name up next:
Updated-AGAIN-all-time goals
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) October 8, 2017
21. Mike Bossy 573
22. Alex Ovechkin 565
23 Joe Nieuwendyk 564
(tie) Mats Sundin 564
25. Mike Modano 561
Efficiency
Alex Ovechkin has 6 scored goals in his last 12 minutes and 13 seconds of ice-time lol what
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) October 8, 2017
It took Alex Ovechkin 11 games to score 7 goals last season. Took him two this year. Didn't score 7th until 11/5. Almost a month earlier.
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) October 8, 2017
More tidbits
- Ovechkin's fired 14 shots on goal so far, earning him a 50 percent success rate through two games.
- After a career-low 16 even strength goals in 2016-17, six of Ovechkin's goals this season have come at five-on-five.
- As of now, Ovechkin is on pace for 287 goals this season. That would indeed be a new league record.
- Linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov has assisted on all seven goals, six of which being primary helpers.
So, what's behind it all?
Ovechkin said his wife's sister is in town, and every time she's here, he scores a hat trick. "She's leaving Monday ..."
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) October 8, 2017
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Maple Leafs edge Rangers in wild 13-goal affair
TORONTO (AP) Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov and Nazem Kadri scored third-period goals and the Toronto Maple Leafs held off the New York Rangers 8-5 on Saturday night in their wild home opener.
It was an adventure in defending for both teams at times, with Toronto pulling ahead 5-1 in the first period and chasing Henrik Lundqvist before the Rangers scored four straight to quieten the Air Canada Centre crowd.
Bozak ended the Maple Leafs' slide to make it 6-5 at 7:17 of third, redirecting a pass from the corner from Jake Gardiner over Ondrej Pavelec's glove. The Rangers lost a challenge that the play was offside, earning a minor penalty in the process.
Kevin Hayes took a slashing penalty for New York, and Komarov made it 7-5 at 9:52, tapping in the rebound after William Nylander roofed a backhand off the crossbar.
The Rangers pulled their goalie with some 3 minutes remaining only to see Ryan McDonagh take a hooking penalty. Kadri took advantage with a low shot with 1:30 to go.
Zach Hyman scored twice, and Dominic Moore, Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev added goals for Toronto.
J.T. Miller, Kevin Shattenkirk, Mika Zibanejad, Marc Staal and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Rangers. Zuccarello also had three assists.
Toronto won its opener 7-2 on Wednesday night in Winnipeg, and ran circles around the Rangers in the early going.
NOTES: The Rangers were coming off an opening 4-2 home loss to Colorado on Thursday night. ... Moore, who played parts of five seasons with the Rangers, replaced Eric Fehr while defenseman Calle Rosen came in for Andreas Borgman.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Host Montreal on Sunday night.
Maple Leafs: Host Chicago on Monday night.
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For more NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
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Murray shuts out Preds for 3rd straight time in Cup Final rematch
PITTSBURGH (AP) Evgeni Malkin scored, Matt Murray stopped 26 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators 4-0 on Saturday night in a Stanley Cup Final rematch.
Olli Maatta, Ryan Reaves and Jake Guentzel also scored in Pittsburgh's first win in its third game of the season. The two-time defending champion Penguins were coming off an ugly 10-1 loss at Chicago at Thursday night.
Reaves, acquired in a June trade with St. Louis, also fought Austin Watson and Cody McLeod, finishing with 24 penalty minutes. He skated on a line with Sidney Crosby when the game turned chippy in the third period.
Murray, who allowed 11 goals on 65 shots in his first two games, posted his sixth career shutout. He also shut out Nashville in the final two games of the Stanley Cup Final in June.
The Predators went with Juuse Saros instead of Pekka Rinne, the franchise's winningest goaltender. Saros, who earned his first NHL win last October against Pittsburgh, stopped 30 shots. Rinne was 0-3 on the road during the Stanley Cup and is 0-6-0 with an .822 save percentage lifetime in Pittsburgh.
Nashville forward Nick Bonino faced his former team for the first time since signing a four-year, $16.4 million contract with the Predators in July. Bonino, who received his Stanley Cup ring from Pittsburgh on Saturday, scored in the first two games of the Final before a broken tibia in his left leg sidelined him for the rest of the playoffs.
Malkin put the Penguins in front 66 seconds into the game with a slap shot from the high slot that beat Saros to the blocker side. He has points in all three of Pittsburgh's games this season.
Murray denied Pontus Aberg on a breakaway later in the period. It was significant because Guentzel made it a 2-0 game less than a minute later, crashing the net and converting a rebound from the slot.
Nashville carried the play early in the second period with six of the first seven shots, but Pittsburgh scored the next goal. Reaves scored his first for Pittsburgh when he tipped a Maatta point shot between Saros' pads.
Maatta scored the Penguins' fourth goal 33 seconds into the third period.
NOTES: Penguins D Ian Cole took a one-time slap shot to the face from Predators D Roman Josi during a first-period power play. Cole, who did not return, quickly went down, but eventually got up on his own and immediately skated to the dressing room while crews cleaned blood from the ice. ... Predators C Calle Jarnkrok played in his 250th NHL game. ... Nashville F Kevin Fiala is day to day with an upper-body injury.
UP NEXT
Predators: Host Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Penguins: Visit Washington on Wednesday.
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Lightning on Brown’s protest: We respect our players’ individual choices
Warning: Post contains coarse language
J.T. Brown's team says it doesn't have a problem with the silent protest he made during the national anthem.
"The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate the moment before every game when we can unite as a community, paying homage to a flag that is representative of our nation and those who have sacrificed," the club said in a statement Saturday night, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
"At the same time, we respect our players and individual choices they may make on social and political issues."
Brown raised his fist while standing with his teammates as "The Star-Spangled Banner" was performed Saturday night before the Lightning faced the Florida Panthers.
He became the first NHL player to protest police brutality and racial injustice during the anthem this season, joining countless NFL players and other athletes who've followed Colin Kaepernick's lead.
Several black NHLers, including P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmonds, Joel Ward, and Ryan Reaves, have weighed in on the protests as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins' decision to visit the White House and President Donald Trump, who referred to any player who protests during the anthem as a "son of a bitch."
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Watch: Hischier shows off unreal stickhandling in debut
The best of Nico Hischier's puckhandling in his NHL debut. Super slick. pic.twitter.com/x0b8zjpJ2C
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) October 7, 2017
His name may not have shown up on the scoresheet, but best believe Nico Hischier had himself quite the debut Saturday.
The No. 1 pick in this year's draft put on a stickhandling clinic against the Colorado Avalanche, further reinforcing that the Devils made the right decision.
Hischier did manage six shots on net, and, if Saturday's display means anything, he's bound to score some pretty goals in the near future.
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Ovechkin notches 2nd hat trick in as many periods
To declare Alexander Ovechkin scorching hot would be an understatement.
After netting a natural hat trick in the third period of his season debut versus the Ottawa Senators, the Washington Capitals captain scored three more in the first period Saturday with the Montreal Canadiens in town.
Remarkably, it's only taken Ovechkin 12:13 of ice-time to score all six goals.
Let's see what else he can do.
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Lightning’s Brown stands with raised fist during national anthem
J.T. Brown is the first NHL player to make a statement during "The Star-Spangled Banner" this season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward raised his fist while standing for the U.S. national anthem Saturday night before playing the Florida Panthers.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown raised his fist during the national anthem this evening pic.twitter.com/k7jVGeEdRT
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNationNHL) October 7, 2017
Brown joins a growing list of athletes across several sports to protest police brutality and racial injustice, a movement initially led by quarterback Colin Kaepernick that drew incendiary comments from U.S. President Donald Trump.
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