Monthly Archives: February 2018
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 15, 2018
Puck used for historic Korean goal heading to Hockey Hall of Fame
One of the most prized hockey souvenirs at PyeongChang 2018 is headed to Canada.
The puck that Randi Heesoo Griffin forced into the back of Japan's net Wednesday to score the first Olympic goal in the history of the combined Korean women's hockey team will be enshrined in the sport's most revered museum, the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Getting hold of the puck, however, proved to be a tricky assignment for Martin Hyun, deputy sport manager for hockey at PyeongChang 2018, after he noticed referee Drahomira Fialova was on the verge of re-using the priceless piece of memorabilia.
"If the puck was still in play and gone, the historic puck would be gone forever," Hyun told Yoo Jee-ho of the Yonhap News Agency. "I ran and made my voice heard that the puck has to come and stay."
The joint Korean team was formed last month after North and South Korea agreed to combine players from each nation.
Despite finishing last in Group A, Korea, who lost 4-1 against Japan in the final game of the preliminary round, will play at least once more before PyeongChang 2018 concludes, when the battle to place fifth overall in the women's tournament kicks off Saturday.
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Projected No. 1 pick Dahlin a healthy scratch for Sweden’s opener
Teenage defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, widely tipped to be taken first overall in the 2018 NHL Draft in June, was a healthy scratch for Sweden's Olympic opener against Norway on Thursday.
Dahlin, 17, has been the projected No. 1 overall pick all season.
With NHL players not competing in PyeongChang, his involvement was one of the highlights for hockey fans heading into the tournament.
Dahlin has drawn rave reviews from teammates and analysts alike for his play with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League, where he racked up six goals and 17 points in 35 games prior to arriving in South Korea.
His next opportunity to make his anticipated Olympic debut will come Friday, when the Swedes meet Germany in Group C action.
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Avalanche tie franchise record with 10th straight home win
The Colorado Avalanche have pushed their win streak on home ice into double digits.
Semyon Varlamov stopped all 44 shots he faced as the Avalanche shut out the Montreal Canadiens 2-0 on Wednesday night, and Colorado matched a franchise record with its 10th consecutive home win in the process.
The Avalanche joined the 1983-84 and 1994-95 editions of the Quebec Nordiques as the only teams in club history to win 10 straight contests at home.
Granted, the NHL has played without ties since 2005-06, thereby increasing the frequency of wins league-wide, but the accomplishment is still an impressive one for the Avalanche, who put together a previous win streak of 10 games - including both home and away contests - last month.
Coincidentally, that run was snapped by the Canadiens.
Carl Soderberg and Alexander Kerfoot provided the offense for Colorado on Wednesday night.
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Andersen makes career-high 54 saves in win over Blue Jackets
A heavy barrage of shots from the Columbus Blue Jackets didn't phase Frederik Andersen.
The Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender established a new single-game career-high mark of 54 saves in Wednesday's 6-3 victory.
Anderson's handiwork included this impressive kick save in the third period.
The Danish netminder has allowed more than three goals just once since the calendar flipped to 2018; he gave up four in a loss to the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 10.
Andersen's milestone night came on a historic evening for the opponents, as well. Columbus became the first team in the expansion era to fire at least 50 shots on goal in three consecutive games.
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Kadri stays hot with career-high 5 points vs. Blues Jackets
With an assist on Patrick Marleau's empty-net goal, Nazem Kadri set a career high with five points Wednesday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Leafs forward concluded the evening scoring his fourth-career hat trick - and first on home ice - to go along with two assists in the team's 6-3 win.
For Kadri, the offensive outburst is just the latest in a blistering streak that has seen him put up seven goals and 14 points in his last 10 games.
The catalyst for the sudden surge in offense appears to be the result of playing alongside linemates Mitch Marner and Marleau. Over the last 10 games the two have combined for 34 points.
The streak also comes off the back of a terrible midseason slump that Kadri looks to have put in the rearview mirror. Prior to his current 10-game stretch, Kadri had gone 20 games - between Dec. 2 and Jan. 22 - with just one goal (scored on a redirect off his skate) and two points.
Thanks to Wednesday night's onslaught, Kadri has now hit the 20-goal mark for the third time in his career. And with 39 points on the season, he looks to be on his way to surpassing the 50-point mark for the third time.
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Blue Jackets make shots-on-goal history in loss to Maple Leafs
The Columbus Blue Jackets are putting pucks on net at a rate unseen in modern NHL history.
In firing 57 shots on goal during Wednesday's loss to Toronto, the Blue Jackets became the first team in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to record at least 50 shots in three consecutive games.
That feat has been achieved only once before:
Prior to this one, Columbus recorded 51 shots in a 4-1 win over the Islanders and 50 in a 6-1 win over New Jersey. This time around, however, luck was not on their side, as the Blue Jackets lost 6-3 to the Maple Leafs.
They could have had much more than 57, even, with a total of 91 shot attempts recorded in the loss, per Hockey Stats.
That amounts to 158 shots in three games, none of which required overtime.
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Maple Leafs’ Gardiner leaves game with muscle spasm
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner left Wednesday night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a muscle spasm in his leg, head coach Mike Babcock said, according to TSN's Mark Masters.
"He's got some kind of spasm and he couldn't get it to relax so they wouldn't let him come back," said Babcock. "They knew he had, but he thought he was fine and then when he got out there he wasn't fine."
Gardiner did not come out for the second period after being limited to just six shifts and left with nearly nine minutes to play in the first period, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton.
The 27-year-old currently leads the team in ice time, playing 22:52 per night, while pacing all Maple Leafs blue-liners with 35 points in 59 games.
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Robitaille: No question, Doughty will stick with Kings
As far as Luc Robitaille is concerned, Drew Doughty's long-term future is with the Los Angeles Kings.
The team's president appeared on TSN1050 in Toronto on Thursday and expressed extreme confidence in being able to lock up the star defenseman, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2019.
"No, there’s never even a question in our mind - Drew’s going to be a King and he’s going to be with us," Robitaille said. "He’s a very special player. He plays with an extreme amount of passion. He’s one of those guys that, you know, he found a way that whether he gets a goal or not, he plays the game so well at both ends. He’s definitely, for us, the best defenseman in the league in his own end, and I’m not even talking about what he does offensively."
Doughty made waves earlier this season when he said he and Erik Karlsson deserve more money than P.K. Subban, and that he didn't know if he'll re-sign with the Kings.
Robitaille understands Doughty's worth and seems intent on doing whatever it takes to retain the Stanley Cup and Norris Trophy winner.
"He’s one of those very special players. We wouldn’t be where we’re at today without him and we know we can’t have success without him. So in our mind, he’s with us. He’s going to stay with us. We’ll figure out a way."
Doughty carries a cap hit of $7 million through to the end of next season, while Subban's $9-million cap hit ranks the highest among all defensemen.
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