Monthly Archives: November 2017
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 7, 2017
Tortorella after Jackets’ loss to Rangers: ‘We’re a dumb hockey team tonight’
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella has never been one to mince words.
After his club's 5-3 defeat Monday at the hands of his former team, the New York Rangers, Tortorella didn't hold back any frustration, specifically with his team's lack of discipline and penalty killing.
"Couldn’t kill one off. When you take stupid penalties, you don’t kill them off," he told reporters after the game. "We’re a dumb hockey team tonight. We pissed one away."
The Blue Jackets had a 2-1 lead heading into the third period, but took three penalties in the frame - all of which resulted in power-play goals for the Rangers.
This came in spite of the fact that they controlled possession for most of the game.
"we pissed one away," said john tortorella...and yes, he is correct. yikes. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/1Qw2W1X7P6
— Rob Mixer (@RobMixer) November 7, 2017
Yet, the penalties taken in the final frame erased any good that came from this game in the mind of Tortorella.
"Stupid. We don't deserve to win."
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Marner’s shootout winner lifts Leafs over Golden Knights
TORONTO (AP) Mitch Marner scored in the shootout to lift Toronto to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night after the Maple Leafs blew a two-goal lead.
Marner was the first skater in the tiebreaker and went out wide to the left before cutting in toward the net, forcing Maxime Lagace to commit with a deke before tucking the puck past him.
Nazem Kadri had two goals and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto, which led 3-1 after one. Frederik Andersen made 22 saves and stopped three skaters in the shootout.
Deryk Engelland's third-period goal for Vegas forced overtime. James Neal and Reilly Smith also scored for the expansion Golden Knights, and Lagace stopped 25 shots.
The win was a much-needed boost for a Maple Leafs team that had dropped back-to-back games and lost six of their past 10 after starting the year with a 7-1 record.
Kadri put Toronto in front with a power-play goal 4:14 into the first. A long shot in by Morgan Rielly rebounded off Lagace and Kadri snapped it in from the slot, with van Riemsdyk serving as a screen right on the crease.
Vegas quickly replied with a fluky goal. A long shot deflected off the skate of Neal as he tussled with a Leafs defender and bounced in past Andersen.
Van Riemsdyk restored Toronto's lead on the power play near the midway point of the first, but Auston Matthews did the heavy lifting on the play.
Carrying the puck down the right wing, Matthews spun around Vegas defenseman Luca Sbisa and drove to the net, getting a shot on Lagace. The rebound came to van Riemsdyk's stick and he made it 2-1 at 9:31.
Matthews had left the morning skate early with what Leafs coach Mike Babcock described as ''soreness.''
Kadri scored his second of the night with 4:57 left in the opening period. Standing in the slot with his back to the net, he took a cross-ice feed from Patrick Marleau, put the puck on his backhand and shot it past Lagace as he fell to his knees.
The pace of the game slowed down in the second, with Toronto having to kill a lengthy two-man advantage starting with a too many men on the ice penalty 12 minutes into the period. Zach Hyman took another penalty 48 seconds later when he was called for goaltender interference after he ran into Lagace on a breakaway. The Maple Leafs argued he had been taken down by a Vegas defender, but the penalty stood.
Although Toronto kept the Golden Knights scoreless for those overlapping power plays, it couldn't hold them off later in the period with Matthews off for tripping. Smith cut into the Leafs' lead with just over a minute to go in the second, rifling in a rebound.
Engelland tied it 6:16 into the third, wiring a wrist shot into the far corner of the net over Andersen's shoulder.
NOTES: The announced attendance was 19,398. ... Toronto FC players Alex Bono and Jay Chapman were in the crowd a day after the Major League Soccer club advanced to the Eastern Conference final. ... It was the first time in history Vegas and Toronto played each other since the Golden Knights officially joined the NHL on March 1.
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Carlson’s OT winner carries Capitals to comeback win over Coyotes
WASHINGTON (AP) John Carlson scored the winner in overtime as the Washington Capitals came back to beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Monday night for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Carlson scored with 45.4 seconds left on the clock in overtime, his first goal in 16 games, after T.J. Oshie whiffed on his shot attempt. Devante Smith-Pelly and Alex Ovechkin scored in regulation for Washington, which got 24 saves from Braden Holtby.
Clayton Keller scored his rookie-best 11th goal of the season and Christian Fischer added another for Arizona. Coyotes goalie Scott Wedgewood was one of the best players on the ice with 37 saves on 40 shots.
The Capitals outshot the Coyotes 40-26.
Keller scored exactly a minute in when he blocked a shot by Lars Eller and scored on a 2-on-1 rush. It marked the 12th time in 16 games this season that the Coyotes scored first.
Fischer deflected a centering pass by Christian Dvorak past Holtby at 6:41 to give Arizona a 2-0 lead on its first two shots. Washington dominated play and got on the board 8:41 in on a backhand by Smith-Pelly.
It took until the Capitals' fourth power play for them to break an 0-for-21 home drought. Ovechkin scored from his usual spot in the faceoff circle to tie the score at 2-all 14:23 into the second period.
Washington went 1 for 6 on the power play and is 2 for 26 this season at Capital One Arena.
NOTES: Ovechkin scored his 216th career power-play goal, one back of Jaromir Jagr and Hall of Famer Mike Gartner for 10th in NHL history. ... Capitals D Madison Bowey left midway through the second period after blocking a shot but returned for the third. ... Coyotes LW Anthony Duclair was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in five games.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: Visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night as coach Rick Tocchet faces his former team and gets another Stanley Cup ring.
Capitals: Also on a back-to-back as they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
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Leafs’ Matthews in lineup vs. Golden Knights
After being listed as a game-time decision earlier in the day due to soreness, Auston Matthews will indeed suit up Monday for the Maple Leafs against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The star forward has 10 goals and eight assists in 15 games this season, to go along with an NHL-best plus-14 rating.
The Leafs have sputtered of late, winning just one of their last six games, so having their leading scorer in the lineup is no doubt an integral part of trying to snap out of their skid.
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Canada adds Purcell, Spaling to pre-Olympic squad
Team Canada has added former NHLers Teddy Purcell and Nick Spaling to the pre-Olympic squad that will compete for the Karjala Cup.
Purcell last appeared in the NHL in 2016-17 with the Los Angeles Kings. The 32-year-old is currently suiting up for Omsk Avangard of the KHL, where he has tallied three points in four games.
Spaling is two years removed from the NHL, as he last skated with the San Jose Sharks in 2015-16. The 29-year-old has spent the past two seasons with Geneve Servette of the Swiss League.
Team Canada also announced Monday that forwards Matt Frattin, Derek Roy, and Dylan Sikura are no longer on the roster. The team first announced its full lineup in October.
The Karjala Cup takes place Nov. 8-12 in Helsinki. Canada will compete with Russia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, and host nation Finland in a precursor to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
On Monday, Team Canada also named former NHL defenseman Adam Foote a player development consultant. Foote won Olympic gold with Canada in 2002.
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Panthers send Tippett back to OHL
The Florida Panthers have assigned forward Owen Tippett to the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads, general manager Dale Tallon announced Monday.
"Owen was impressive in his time with our club and has a bright future with the Panthers," said Tallon. "This was a tough decision, but we think it's best for his long-term development."
Tippett was selected 10th overall at this year's draft, and recorded one goal on 17 shots through his first seven games at the NHL level.
Last season, he led Mississauga with 44 goals and 75 points in 60 games.
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Benn to Byfuglien: ‘Get ready for Round 2’
There could be some fireworks in Dallas.
Stars captain Jamie Benn and Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien dropped the gloves and engaged in a heavyweight bout last Thursday in Winnipeg, and there may be a rematch when the two teams face off again Monday night.
Dustin Byfuglien just walked in the building. Jamie Benn saw him, said: “Get ready for round two.”
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) November 6, 2017
In case you missed it, here's a look at Round 1:
Byfuglien appeared to get the upper hand, but perhaps Benn feels a bit more confident within the confines of his home rink.
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Dorion: Sens moved Turris after extension didn’t seem possible
The Ottawa Senators believe Kyle Turris didn't have a long-term future in the Canadian capital.
After trading the forward on Sunday in a three-team deal that brought former Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene to Ottawa, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said his team felt it wouldn't be able to sign Turris to an extension.
"At the end of the day, we just felt a contract wasn't going to get done with Kyle, so why not try to maximize that asset for someone we know we have for at least one more year?" Dorion told TSN 1200 on Monday.
Turris was shipped to Nashville as part of the trade, where he subsequently agreed to a six-year, $36-million deal with the Predators.
At a Monday press conference, Dorion added that a six-year deal was never presented as an option for Turris with the Senators, and that the player's camp was insistent on a seven- or eight-year extension, per TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Meanwhile, Duchene is signed through the 2018-19 season.
Turris recorded nine points in 11 games with Ottawa this season, while Duchene tallied 10 points in 14 contests for Colorado.
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