NEWARK, N.J. - In a season where Nikita Kucherov established himself as one of the top offensive threats in the league, the Tampa Bay Lightning winger also displayed a more cantankerous side than in past years.
Kucherov was popped five times apiece for holding and slashing, three times for hooking, twice for roughing, and once each for cross-checking, delay of game, elbowing, high-sticking, interference, and tripping. That's 21 minor penalties for a career-high 42 penalty minutes - garden-variety stuff for a player who had his first 100-point season. Basically, every four games or so, Kucherov made a mistake and wound up in the penalty box.
It happened again in Game 4 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. Kucherov got called for holding in the second period, which negated a Lightning power play.
It was not the hold, however, that made Devils coach John Hynes so furious that he held an 82-second postgame press conference after Kucherov's two goals and an assist had led the Lightning to a 3-1 victory and a 3-1 series lead.
"I don't have any comment on it," Hynes said of the Kucherov hit that knocked New Jersey's best defenseman, Sami Vatanen, out of the game. "It does me no good to get into it."
The collision happened late in the first period, after Kucherov had assisted on J.T. Miller's tying goal, then scored the tiebreaker himself. Vatanen was in his own zone, likely intending to circle back behind the net after receiving the puck from defense partner Andy Greene, when Kucherov skated into the Finn’s path and blasted him with a high, hard hit - one that was judged clean by referees Wes McCauley and Tim Peel.
"It's just the way the game is in the playoffs," Kucherov said. "Too much physical games, there's not space, and you might sometimes throw a hit. … I didn't want to hurt him, but if I see a guy with the puck, I'm going to finish (the hit). I'm not doing it a lot, but sometimes, you might as well just throw it."
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
As much as the play enraged the Devils, it was an important moment for the Lightning - a bigger takeaway from Game 4 than the fact that Kucherov scored his third and fourth goals of the series. After all, he scored 39 times in the regular season, so that was nothing new. But Kucherov being a physical force? That was something different.
"He's normally the one dancing around guys," Miller said. "I couldn't believe it was him. I was right behind him, and that's a big-league hit right there. That's the type of player he is. He's competitive. He wants to win really bad. Obviously, he's such an important player for us."
It was Miller who was put on Kucherov's line with Steven Stamkos to be the power forward and accentuate the skills of Tampa Bay's two all-world wingers. After a sloppy 5-2 loss in Game 3, seeing Kucherov - all 5-foot-11 and 178 pounds of him - playing the heavy Wednesday sent a message to his teammates: It was time to take things to another level.
In the final two periods, already in the lead, the Lightning outshot the Devils 25-15, with three penalties for each team. That's how Tampa Bay wanted to play, re-centering itself after Monday's defeat.
"Kuch flexed his muscles," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "He's been pretty dynamic on the power play, but tonight he was, I thought, all around, he was the best player on the ice. When you're playing on both sides of the puck, you're contributing offensively, defensively, you're physical, you're engaged, it did nothing but lift our team. He's a big part of why we won."
As NHL teams are eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, theScore NHL freelance writer Katie Brown looks back at the highs and lows of their seasons, along with the biggest questions ahead of 2018-19. The 15th edition focuses on the St. Louis Blues, who missed the playoffs by one point.
The Good
Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz. Schenn has thrived since landing with the Blues and was their leading scorer this season, posting career highs in goals (28) and points (70). He clicked immediately with linemate Schwartz, who recorded 59 points of his own. The two were occasionally joined by Vladimir Tarasenko to form a truly dangerous top line.
Carter Hutton. Backup goalie Hutton had the best year of his career, playing 32 games and posting career-high stats in save percentage (.931) and goals-against average (2.09) - both tops in the NHL. His 26 wins were also the second highest of his career. Hutton will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and he’s bound to get a raise from someone, if not St. Louis.
Alex Pietrangelo. The Blues' captain followed up a career year in 2016-17 with another in 2017-18, as his 15 goals and 54 points in 78 games were the best marks of his career. He also set career highs in shots on goal (216) and blocked shots (164). Pietrangelo might have been a Norris contender if he wasn't slowed down by a foot injury in December.
The Bad
The power play. The Blues’ power play ranked second last in the NHL. Their 0.463 power-play goals per game was the worst rate in franchise history, and the team finished one goal shy of tying the franchise's full-season record for fewest power-play tallies. It was a steep drop from 2016-17, when the Blues boasted the league's No. 8 power play.
Lots of injuries. Robby Fabbri missed the entire season, Jay Bouwmeester played in just 35 games, while Patrik Berglund appeared in only 56 contests. And losing Schwartz to a broken ankle in December - an injury that knocked him out of action for a month and a half - proved to be catastrophic for the team's postseason chances.
Jake Allen. Allen had one of his worst seasons as a starting goalie, going 27-24-3 with a .906 save percentage and a 2.75 GAA. There were times when he had just about zero goal support, but those numbers are still undeniably poor for a starter in this league.
The Questions
Will Tarasenko be ready? Tarasenko separated his shoulder in the last game of the season and had surgery during the second week of April. The recovery timeline for this ailment is projected as four-to-six months, so the Blues hope to have him back when training camp starts in the fall.
What can be done this summer? It’s no secret that the Blues' offense was a one-line show all season long, so GM Doug Armstrong needs to do something about that. Perhaps he throws his hat in the ring for John Tavares or goes after Mike Hoffman. Many wondered why Armstrong didn’t do anything when Fabbri was lost for the year or when Schwartz was sidelined for six weeks, but he has a chance this summer to make the Blues a playoff team in 2018-19, and he should seize that opportunity.
Will Hutton re-sign? Hutton's stellar regular-season performance went a long way toward proving he can be a No. 1 goaltender, as he rose to the challenge when Allen slumped midseason. Hutton should see a raise from the $1.125 million he made this season, but will he be in St. Louis, or will another team give him a shot?
The New York Rangers made it clear prior to the 2018 trade deadline that they were entering a rebuild. In a statement released by the team, president Glen Sather and general manager Jeff Gorton expressed their intent to add "young, competitive players that combine speed, skill, and character."
After firing Alain Vigneault earlier in April, the Rangers are looking for a head coach who can help develop these young players.
"We're looking for someone who can develop players and develop a team," James Dolan, executive chairman of The Madison Square Garden Company, told the New York Post's Larry Brooks on Wednesday. "We want someone who is going to be able to work with young players - all of our players, really - so that they and we improve from one stage of the season to the next and we're better at the end of the year than at the beginning."
While Dolan appreciated Vigneault's work, he admitted he wasn't the right fit for the team.
"I think Alain was a great coach, but a great coach for a developed team," Dolan said. "Even though he probably didn't mean to, he sort of affirmed that himself when he talked after the last game about how he didn't have the players this year."
"(Vigneault) was probably correct, but the next coach is going to have to be able to take the players we have, the young guys we have, and get them to the next level. I liked what I saw in the young guys and so did the staff," Dolan said.
"The guy we hire has to be a developmental coach, I can't stress that enough."
The Rangers already have a list of candidates in mind, and while the owner thinks NHL experience is valuable, in the end, he just wants "the best guy."
Based on Dolan's criteria, Todd Nelson, who has NHL head coaching experience with the Oilers and plenty of AHL success, would seem to be a nice fit. So too would Sheldon Keefe, who has done an impressive job developing young talent with the Maple Leafs' AHL club.
Regardless of who takes over behind the bench, the Rangers are well-equipped to right the ship sooner rather than later. They have seven picks in the first three rounds of the draft, and nearly $25 million in projected cap space, per Cap Friendly.
With some young building blocks already in place, such as Mika Zibanejad, Dolan believes the Blueshirts could be in line for a quick turnaround.
"We're committed to winning the Stanley Cup. I can't give a timetable, but I also think we can compete for a playoff spot next year and sneak into seventh or eighth place," he said. "We're rebuilding but it doesn't have to take forever."
A GoFundMe page for the Humboldt Broncos ended Wednesday night, collecting a total of $15,185,700 - nearly quadrupling the original goal of $4 million.
The funds donated through GoFundMe will be transferred to a newly created non-profit corporation called "Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund Inc.," the page says, and will then be distributed for its intended purposes.
An advisory committee is being set up to decide how to allocate the funds.
Sixteen people were killed in the bus crash that occurred April 6.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Tomas Hertl scored the tiebreaking goal 9:09 into the third period, Martin Jones was spectacular in goal yet again, and the San Jose Sharks completed a first-round sweep of the rival Anaheim Ducks with a 2-1 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday night.
Hertl scored just 1:16 after the Ducks finally got a puck past Jones when he deflected a point shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic past John Gibson. San Jose then held on to advance to the second round against the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
Fourth-line winger Marcus Sorensen scored for the third straight game to open the scoring for San Jose and Jones did most of the rest of the work with 30 saves. He robbed Corey Perry several times and got help from a replay review that negated an apparent tying goal early in the third.
Andrew Cogliano scored the lone goal for the Ducks, who were outscored 16-4 in the series and swept for the first time since 1999 against Detroit. Gibson finished with 22 saves.
Gibson was unable to match the play of Jones, who had a shutout in Game 1, set a San Jose playoff record with 45 regulation saves in Game 3 and then might have been even better in the clincher that gave the Sharks their second sweep in franchise history after also doing it in the first round in 2013 against Vancouver.
Jones robbed Perry with a pad stop early in the second and then again twice in one sequence later in the period. Anaheim looked poised to capitalize on a late power play in the period but Jones stopped Perry once again with a sprawling pad save and then Ryan Getzlaf finally got a puck past Jones, although it came a fraction of a second after the final buzzer.
Referee Eric Furlatt emphatically waved the goal off on the ice and Getzlaf could only lean on the goal in frustration over the failed opportunity.
That frustration only grew as the power play continued into the third period. Rickard Rakell appeared to tie the game with a one-timer but the Sharks challenged the zone entry and the officials ruled Perry and Rakell were offside after video review.
Cogliano finally scored for Anaheim off a feed from Ryan Kesler but the good feeling didn't last long before Hertl responded.
That led to chants of ''We want Vegas!'' and ''Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!'' down the stretch at the sold out Shark Tank.
Even though the Ducks were the team facing elimination, the Sharks looked more desperate at the start. San Jose got the first seven shots on goal in the game and took the early lead with another contribution from the fourth line.
Sorensen, who spent most of the season in the AHL, took the rebound of Brent Burns' point shot and scored his third goal of the series less than six minutes into the game.
Gibson then robbed Evander Kane later in the period and Anaheim killed off a penalty to keep the game at 1-0 before the Ducks generated some chances late that Jones was able to turn aside.
NOTES: Perry had no points in the series. ... Linesman Brad Kovachik left the game in the first period with an injury and was replaced by Mark Shewchyk. ... San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan opened the dressing room door to lead the Sharks onto the ice pregame.
Bernier made 23 saves on 26 shots in two periods before exiting.
With Semyon Varlamov already sidelined with a knee injury, losing Bernier would make toppling the top-seeded Nashville Predators that much more difficult.
As for Hammond, this marks just the second NHL game he's played in all season.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) A feisty Nikita Kucherov scored two goals, set up another and knocked New Jersey's top defenseman out of the game with a big hit, and the Tampa Bay Lightning moved within a game of making the Devils' first trip to the playoffs in six years a short one with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday night.
J.T. Miller also scored and had two assists, and Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped three breakaways in making 27 saves as the Lightning bounced back from a loss in Game 3 to tale a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.
Tampa Bay can wrap up the best-of-seven series in Game 5 at home on Saturday.
Kyle Palmieri scored on a 5-on-3 advantage for the Devils, who are back in the playoffs for the first time since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. It was the only time they beat Vasilevskiy, whose 44 wins in the regular season shared the league lead with Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck. Cory Schneider made 34 saves for New Nersey in starting his second straight game.
This game might have been the roughest of the series, especially in the first period when the Lightning took a 2-1 lead in a session with a lot of scrums.
The play everyone is going to talk about and the NHL probably will look at is Kucherov's hit on Sami Vatanen late in the first. No penalty was called but the league's No. 3 scorer appeared to jump before hitting Vatanen in the shoulder and head area. Devils coach coach John Hynes screamed at the officials after the play.
Vatanen did not return.
The Lightning were leading 2-1 at that point and the score didn't change until Kucherov's empty net goal with 1:08 to play iced the game.
Kucherov broke a 1-all tie with 4:58 left in the period. Defenseman Brayden Coburn sent a pass from the left boards that hit off Devils' defenseman Damon Severson. Kucherov collected the loose puck right in front and put it high into the net for his third goal of the series.
The Lightning had tied it at 11:30 on a great rush. Steven Stamkos fed Kucherov entering the zone and he found Miller on the left side for a shot over Schneider's shoulder.
Cory Conacher appeared to give Tampa Bay the lead with 7:39 left in the period, but a review found the Lightning were offside.
For the first time in the series, the Devils scored first with Palmieri converting from the left circle with the Lightning playing two men short at 8:23 of the first.
Alex Killorn got the first penalty at 7:47 with a hook and 25 seconds later Cedric Paquette tripped Taylor Hall. Eleven seconds later, New Jersey had its second 5-on-3 goal in two games.
Vasilevskiy kept Tampa Bay in the game over the next few minutes, stopping a breakaway by Travis Zajac with Paquette still in the penalty box and a semi-breakaway by Blake Coleman with 9:05 left in the period. He also stopped Patrick Maroon on a second-period break.
NOTES: Lightning D Ryan McDonagh appeared in his 100th NHL playoff game. ... This is the first time Schneider has had consecutive starts since Jan. 22-23. ... There were no lineup changes for Game 4. ... Vatanen has been leading the Devils in time on ice in the series, averaging 23:23. ... Tampa Bay was 5 of 9 on the power play in the first three games. They were 0 for 5 in Game 4.
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