He was replaced by backup Alex Lyon as Brian Elliott, the Flyers' other starter, is unavailable for five-to-six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery, the team announced Tuesday.
Entering Sunday's game, Neuvirth had posted a record of 8-7-3 with a .919 save percentage in 20 appearances.
He was replaced by backup Alex Lyon as Brian Elliott, the Flyers' other starter, is unavailable for five-to-six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery, the team announced Tuesday.
Entering Sunday's game, Neuvirth had posted a record of 8-7-3 with a .919 save percentage in 20 appearances.
In the opening 20 minutes of their matinee at the World's Most Famous Arena, the Metropolitan Division rivals combined for six goals and three fights, starting with unlikely combatants Pavel Buchnevich and Shayne Gostisbehere just 15 seconds after puck drop.
The NHL has responded after Saturday's incident in Chicago, when Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly was the victim of racist taunts from fans.
The league released the following statement Sunday:
"Last night in Chicago, individuals directed racial taunts and abuse at Washington Capitals player Devante Smith-Pelly," said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. "The National Hockey League condemns this unacceptable and reprehensible behavior. The League fully supports the actions taken by the United Center and the Blackhawks to eject the offenders and would expect the same response to any similarly unacceptable behavior at any of our arenas.
"While this incident was isolated in nature, no player, coach, official or fan should ever have to endure such abuse at one of our games. The League will take steps to have our clubs remind all stakeholders that they are entitled to enjoy a positive environment - free from unacceptable, inappropriate, disruptive, inconsiderate or unruly behaviors or actions and may not engage in conduct deemed detrimental to that experience."
Capitals head coach Barry Trotz and the Blackhawks also addressed the situation following the game.
February is "Hockey is for Everyone" month, a movement to help provide social change and offer more inclusiveness across the NHL.
Even though their captain may not want to admit it, the Winnipeg Jets have all the pieces to compete for the Stanley Cup this season.
The Jets are quick, young, and strong up front, deep on the blue line, and have developed an All-Star netminder who's shown no signs of letting up in his breakout campaign. While Blake Wheeler may want to slow down the hype train until his team actually makes the "f---ing playoffs," the rapidly approaching trade deadline presents Winnipeg with several options to perhaps change his mind.
Fighting for the top spot in the Central Division, the Jets, if anything, will look to add to their lineup for the stretch run. How significantly? Well, that remains to be seen, but because he constructed one of the NHL's deepest outfits, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has the unique luxury of being able to choose just how drastically he wants to change his roster with little risk of harming Winnipeg's chances of a deep playoff run.
Without further ado, let's explore the avenues the Jets can go down before the NHL's Feb. 26 trade deadline:
Option No. 1: Stand pat
By far the most boring possibility, but the Jets probably wouldn't be too upset to enter the postseason as is - the return of a healthy Jacob Trouba notwithstanding.
"We've got so many guys here right now," Perreault said recently. "With all the injuries, when these guys come back we'll have a boatload of players. So I don't know if we necessarily need to add players to our team."
Winnipeg's battle with the Nashville Predators for first in the Central will likely come down to the wire, but even if the Jets miss out on the top seed, a second-place finish will ensure home-ice advantage in the first round. This season at Bell MTS Centre, the Jets are 22-5-2.
Additionally, the Jets are 9-6 against divisional opponents, and have gone 24-9-4 versus the West, proving they can hang with any potential postseason adversary.
Even after losing Mark Schiefele, Dustin Byfuglien, Trouba, and two backup goaltenders for significant chunks this season, the Jets rank in the top five in goal differential, fifth in power play, and sixth in penalty kill efficiency. This team is as solid as they come right now.
Option No. 2: Low-cost tinkering
Another option for Cheveldayoff is to scan the market for cost-effective rentals to solidify the Jets' depth.
Winnipeg obviously has tremendous firepower up front, but to win in the playoffs, teams need contributions throughout the entire lineup. Could a player like Michael Grabner work? He likely wouldn't cost more than a draft pick, and can contribute regular minutes in the bottom six as well as the penalty kill. Not to mention, he leads the Rangers with 25 goals.
If the Jets are content with their wingers, upgrading the fourth-line center position and adding a body to play the left side on defense make the most sense.
The Jets' fourth-line pivot is Matt Hendricks, and while he probably won't single-handedly win or lose a series, finding an improvement as insurance - perhaps Carolina's Derek Ryan - would be beneficial. Meanwhile, a reliable left-handed shot to fill in behind Josh Morrissey and Tobias Enstrom could round out the Jets' defense corps nicely without too much of a shakeup.
Option No. 3: Go for it
Alright, now let's have some fun. What if one of the NHL's best teams made a concerted effort to get ... even better?
GMs have become somewhat sheepish to go big on rentals ahead of the playoffs at the risk of spending too much only to have the experiment fail, but the Jets have a major advantage in being stocked for both the present and the future.
Winnipeg's affiliate - the Manitoba Moose - sit first in the AHL's Western Conference, and have consistently churned out NHL-caliber players, including Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic, and Nic Petan, all of whom are in the Jets starting lineup. Trading any of these players would sting, but it's at least worth inquiring what they may bring back.
Imagine a top-four of Trouba, Morrissey, Byfuglien, and Ryan McDonagh? Or sliding Rick Nash or Derick Brassard into the Jets' rotation of weapons up front? Now we're talking.
If the Jets were to swing for the fences, it hardly affects their championship window, as the only core player in need of a new contract after this season is Connor Hellebuyck. While his raise will be significant, Winnipeg has the space to comfortably fit him in its books. Furthermore, the Predators are reportedly in the mix for trades, and at the very least will lure super-sniping prospect Eeli Tolvanen from overseas for the playoff push. The Blues are reportedly looking to make a splash as well, so if the Jets' main competitors are pushing hard to improve, shouldn't they try as well?
In the midst of an unprecedented start to their Olympic bonspiel, the Canadian women's curling team received a surprise call from someone who knows a thing or two about succeeding on the international stage.
"We were just finishing up our team debrief meeting around midnight, and then Cheryl (Bernard) came into the room with a phone call for (Team Canada skip Rachel Homan), and it was Mike Babcock," Team Canada second Joanne Courtney wrote in a blog post.
The Toronto Maple Leafs' current bench boss is a Team Canada alum himself, having coached Canada's men's hockey team to back-to-back golds at the Vancouver games in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.
At this point, the Canadian women will take any momentum where they can find it. Homan's rink looked dead on arrival, dropping their first three games in round-robin play before finally breaking into the win column with an 11-3 drubbing of Team USA.
"... For him to be watching and thinking of us, it was really neat to hear his words and hear that he’s pulling for us," Courtney wrote of Babcock's pep talk. "He just reminded us to keep our heads down, working as hard as we can to get the results we want."
Perhaps Babcock should call more often. In their most recent game, the Canadians beat a tough Swiss rink 10-8. The win brought their record to 2-3, resuscitating their medal hopes for the moment.
Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz was delayed in addressing the media following a 7-1 loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago because he was busy attending to an ugly incident revolving around forward Devante Smith-Pelly.
After fighting Connor Murphy in the third period and taking a seat in the penalty box, Smith-Pelly was met with chants of "basketball, basketball, basketball" from nearby fans, a Capitals spokesman told Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post.
When Trotz did come out of the locker room, he had a simple message.
"There's absolutely no place in the game of hockey or our country for racism," he said, per Tarik El-Bashir of NBC Sports Washington. "I think it's disgusting. There's no place for it. The athletes in our country don't deserve that. It just shows ignorance."
Off-ice officials confirmed what happened and four fans were ejected. The Blackhawks later released this statement:
Trotz said he was going to discuss the incident with Smith-Pelly in a private setting, while several Capitals teammates had already offered support in the locker room.
February is "Hockey Is For Everyone" month around the NHL, with the aim of providing "a safe, positive and inclusive environment for players and families regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation and socio-economic status."
