Monthly Archives: March 2018
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 24, 2018
Blues’ Gunnarsson out for season with torn ACL
The St. Louis Blues will be a little shorthanded on the back end for the rest of their playoff push.
Carl Gunnarsson is out for the remainder of the season with an ACL tear in his left knee suffered in Friday's win over the Vancouver Canucks, the Blues confirmed postgame.
The defenseman sustained the injury in the first period and was later taken to hospital where an MRI revealed the tear.
Gunnarsson contributed nine points in 63 games while averaging 16:09 in ice time for the Blues this season.
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Playoff Percentages: Devils earn crucial 2 points; Stars continue to blow it
Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how the night's action impacts the playoff race, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.
The jockeying between the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers looks like it could come down to the final day of the regular season at this point.
After giving up a two-goal lead in the third period, the Devils rallied, on the back of a Taylor Hall overtime winner to earn a critical two points against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Of course, the Devils' good fortune is anything but for the Panthers who watched in agony during an idle Friday.
Eastern Conference
| Team | Result | Playoff Chances | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devils | 4-3 OTW vs. PIT | 63.9% | +12% |
| Panthers | Off | 46.6% | -9.1% |
The Dallas Stars let another game get away from them, giving up a 2-0 third-period lead to the Boston Bruins, topped off by a David Pastrnak winner with just 11 seconds left to play. The Stars have now lost nine of their last 10 contests.
On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues made up ground on the final wild-card spot with their fourth straight win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Western Conference
| Team | Result | Playoff Chances | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blues | 4-1 W vs. VAN | 61% | +9.7% |
| Stars | 3-2 L vs. BOS | 5.2% | -8% |
To see percentages for the entire NHL, visit Sports Club Stats.
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Report: NHLPA approves new draft lottery odds proposed by NHL
Players are reportedly on board with the league's new plan for the draft lottery.
The NHLPA signed off Friday on the new percentages that the NHL submitted to it for approval, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports.
Here are the new odds of winning the lottery for the three worst clubs and the best non-playoff squad, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman:
18.5 per cent chance for 31st, 13.5 for 30th, 11.5 for 29th -- down to 1 per cent for 17th. https://t.co/NHkpTYqA9S
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 23, 2018
Last season, the worst team had an 18 percent chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick. That didn't stop the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, and Dallas Stars from landing the top-three picks despite possessing the fifth-, 13th-, and eighth-best odds, respectively.
The Buffalo Sabres entered Friday's games with the NHL's worst record at 23-38-12 and only 58 points in 73 games.
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Jets’ Laine in the lineup vs. Ducks
Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine will not miss any time after taking a shot to the foot against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night as the sniper is in the lineup against the Anaheim Ducks.
More to come.
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Ducks’ Getzlaf out vs. Jets with flu-like symptoms
Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf is dealing with flu-like symptoms and is subsequently not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Winnipeg Jets, the team announced.
The news comes with the Ducks currently battling to clinch a playoff berth. The team sits in the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a slim three-point advantage over the St. Louis Blues, who have a game in hand on the Ducks.
Anaheim is currently on a roll, having gone 7-3-0 in its last 10 games, including four straight wins. Meanwhile, Getzlaf has tallied three goals and 18 points in those 10 games.
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Former Blackhawk Dan Carcillo joins NHL concussion lawsuit
Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Dan Carcillo has joined the concussion lawsuit against the NHL.
Carcillo has long been outspoken about concussions and the NHL's failure to warn players about the potential risks regarding them, and hopes his involvement will further push the league to make changes.
"I'm not a bitter guy looking to hurt the NHL," Carcillo said, according to TSN's Rick Westhead. "I'm not out for money.
"I'll donate anything I get to research. I just want to put pressure on the NHL and educate and advocate for guys."
Carcillo - who joins a group of over 5,000 former NHL players seeking restitution from the league - played 474 games (regular season and playoffs) and suffered several concussions during his playing career.
The case is currently awaiting the decision of judge Susan Nelson as to whether it can proceed as a class action lawsuit.
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Report: Flames shut Monahan down for rest of season
Sean Monahan appears to be done playing for the 2017-18 campaign.
The Calgary Flames forward won't be in action again until next season, a team source confirmed to Postmedia's Wes Gilbertson on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan confirmed Monahan has been playing through two significant injuries.
Gilbertson reports the Calgary bench boss was waiting for his first-line center's medical reports at the time, but a source later confirmed Monahan will be shut down for the final seven games and will have surgery to address one of the ailments.
The Flames entered Friday's action sitting eight points behind the Anaheim Ducks - who occupy the second Western Conference wild-card spot - and trailing both the St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars in pursuit of that position, with more games played than all three clubs.
Monahan has a career-high 64 points in 74 games, the latter of which would be a career low.
The 23-year-old leads Calgary with 31 goals in 2017-18.
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Blue Jackets’ Bill Zito named GM of U.S. men’s hockey team
Bill Zito, assistant general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, has been named GM of the 2018 U.S. men's national team in advance of the IIHF World Championship in May.
Zito will be supported by an impressive advisory group made up of a collection of NHL executives including Stan Bowman (Chicago Blackhawks), David Poile (Nashville Predators), Ray Shero (New Jersey Devils), Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers), and Jeff Gorton (New York Rangers).
"This is a tremendous honor and I want to thank USA Hockey for the opportunity," Zito said in a statement Friday. "I look forward to working with the advisory group in building a team that will represent our country well. I'd also like to thank John Davidson, Jarmo Kekalainen, and the Blue Jackets for their support and allowing me to take on this endeavor."
The former player agent has been with the Blue Jackets since 2013. He also serves as GM of the AHL's Cleveland Monsters, who won the Calder Cup in 2016.
The United States will begin play at the World Championship in Denmark on May 4 against rival Canada.
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