Monthly Archives: February 2019
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 22, 2019
Predators take down Kings to move atop Central Division
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Roman Josi had a goal and an assist as the Nashville Predators beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 Thursday night to move atop the Central Division with their third win in four games.
The Predators now have 77 points to edge ahead of Winnipeg (76), though the Jets have three games in hand on Nashville.
Kyle Turris scored a goal for Nashville, which also swept the season series with Los Angeles.
Goalie Pekka Rinne made 28 saves for the win.
Michael Amadio scored a goal for the Kings, who now are 0-4-2 in losing their sixth straight.
Nashville coach Peter Laviolette mixed up his top two lines a bit looking to spread out the offense. He moved Viktor Arvidsson, who has 21 points in his past 25 games since returning from a broken thumb, to the second line with Turris and Calle Jarnkrok while moving Kevin Fiala to the top line with Filip Forsberg and center Ryan Johansen.
Turris scored the first goal, his first since returning from injury Feb. 7 and seventh of the season, on the power play where Nashville has struggled. His snap shot from the left circle beat Jonathan Quick at 8:50 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. Rinne kept the Kings scoreless 70 seconds later after a turnover behind the net, scrambling back to stop Trevor Lewis' shot from the slot.
Josi put Nashville up 2-0 with his 14th goal this season within the first minute of the second. Arvidsson, who did not take part in the morning skate, sent a backhanded pass to Josi, who went top shelf with his wrister from the left circle.
Amadio pulled Los Angeles within 2-1 scoring off a rebound at 9:24 of the third, and the Kings got the man advantage 25 seconds later when Turris went to the box for hooking Ilya Kovalchuk. But the Predators killed the penalty, keeping the Kings 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
Johansen hit the post with five minutes left , missing an insurance goal for Nashville that Rinne wound up not needing.
NOTES: Josi now has 21 points in his last 19 games for Nashville. He also became the first defenseman in franchise history with four seasons with at least 50 points. ... Before the game, the Predators put forward Craig Smith on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and recalled Taylor Gaudet from AHL Milwaukee. ... Nashville improved to 27-3-1 when scoring first and 16-1-1 when leading after the first period.
UP NEXT
Kings: Visit Florida on Saturday.
Predators: Host Colorado on Saturday.
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Follow AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/teresamwalker
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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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Blues’ 11-game winning streak snapped by Stars
DALLAS (AP) Stars captain Jamie Benn had his first multi-goal game since early October and Dallas beat St. Louis 5-2 on Thursday night, ending the Blues' franchise-record 11-game winning streak.
When Benn scored the game's first goal 3:46 into the second period, the Blues trailed for the first time since Feb. 5 - a span of more than 517 minutes on the ice over 10 games.
Radek Faksa and Alexander Radulov put Dallas up 3-0 with goals in a 65-second span midway through the second period.
The Stars snapped a three-game losing streak in which they were shut out twice.
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington entered the game with a 13-1-1 record and was riding a nine-game winning streak that was a rookie team record. The only other time he allowed four goals was Jan. 21 against the Los Angeles Kings, 4-3 in the last loss for him and the team.
Anton Khudobin stopped 43 shots while starting his seventh consecutive game for the Stars. Regular starting goaltender Ben Bishop, who missed the previous six games with an upper body injury, was active and on the bench as the backup after going through an optional practice Wednesday.
Benn scored his second goal of the night, and 21st of the season, when he redirected a flying puck with his stick with four minutes left in the second period to make it 4-1. His only other multi-goal game this season came Oct. 6, when he scored twice in a win over Winnipeg in the second game of the season.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 27th goal for the Blues on an assist from Ryan O'Reilly, who got his 24th goal of the season in the closing seconds of the second period.
Except for Tyler Seguin's empty-net goal in the final minute, all of the scoring was in the second period.
NOTES: The Blues were without C Brayden Schenn, who sustained an upper-body injury in their 3-2 overtime win against Toronto on Tuesday night. Coach Craig Berube isn't sure how long the injury will keep Schenn (11 goals, 28 assists) out of the lineup. ... Blues D Joel Edmundson broke his stick in two when he slammed it across the post following Benn's second goal. Edmundson had Benn pushed into the corner just before the score. ... Brett Ritchie of the Stars and Colton Parayko got five-minute majors for fighting after trading several hard punches in the second period.
UP NEXT
Blues: At Boston on Saturday.
Stars: Play their third home game in a row, Saturday against Carolina.
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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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Stone, Duchene, Dzingel scratched ahead of trade deadline
Ottawa Senators forwards Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel were scratched Thursday against the New Jersey Devils.
The three won't see the ice for precautionary reasons, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Each player will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and has been rumored to be on the move ahead of the Feb. 25 trade deadline.
Stone, Duchene, and Dzingel rank first, second, and third, respectively, among forwards in team scoring.
Despite a tumultuous campaign for Ottawa, Dzingel has already set a career high in points with 44, and both Stone and Duchene are on pace to best their previous highs for points in a season.
After their tilt with the Devils, the Senators head home to play the Columbus Blue Jackets Friday and the Calgary Flames Sunday ahead of Monday's trade deadline.
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Ho-Sang open to being traded by Islanders
Josh Ho-Sang wouldn't be opposed to a change of scenery.
The much-maligned New York Islanders forward - a former first-round pick who's spent most of this season in the AHL - admitted Thursday that he'd be on board if the Isles use him as trade bait before Monday's deadline.
"I don't know what they want to do with me. I'm not opposed to (being traded) if it helps the Islanders get better," Ho-Sang told The Athletic's Arthur Staple.
"They’re a good team this year. For me, obviously I want to play in the NHL, that’s my main focus. For them, if they need to trade me for pieces to go further in the playoffs, improve the great team they have, then I'm all for it."
Ho-Sang has made plenty of headlines, but mostly for the wrong reasons, since being selected 28th overall in the 2014 draft. As a 19-year-old, he showed up late to training camp and was subsequently sent back to the OHL. His maturity has since been publicly questioned by Islanders employees on multiple occasions.
The 23-year-old's skill set, on the other hand, has never been brought into question. He's recorded 32 points in 39 AHL contests this season, but picked up just two points in a 10-game stint with the big club earlier in the campaign.
The Islanders currently sit atop the Metropolitan Division and are in a prime position to buy on deadline day.
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Report: Panthers ask Hoffman to submit 10-team no-trade list
The Florida Panthers have asked forward Mike Hoffman to submit his 10-team no-trade list, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Hoffman is enjoying a career year in his first season with the Panthers, tallying 26 goals and 49 points in 58 games thus far. Last June, he was traded from the Ottawa Senators to the San Jose Sharks, and the Sharks then flipped him to Florida on the same day.
The 29-year-old hasn't scored fewer than 22 goals over the last five years. He's signed through next season with a $5.19-million cap hit.
The Panthers enter Thursday nine points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
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Capitals acquire Hagelin from Kings for 2 picks
The Washington Capitals acquired forward Carl Hagelin from the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday in exchange for a 2019 third-round draft pick and a conditional sixth-round selection in 2020, the teams announced.
Los Angeles will receive the conditional sixth-round pick if Washington wins two playoff series in 2019 and Hagelin plays in at least 50 percent of any two rounds combined, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
The Kings will retain 50 percent of Hagelin's remaining salary, according to the Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan.
Hagelin was traded to the Kings from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Tanner Pearson in November.
The 30-year-old has recorded 8 points in 38 games this season, split between the Kings and Penguins.
Hagelin will make his Capitals debut Saturday versus the Buffalo Sabres, Khurshudyan notes.
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NHL podcast: Mike ‘Suitcase’ Sillinger on what it’s like to be traded
Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.
Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.
In this episode, John's joined by former NHL forward Mike 'Suitcase' Sillinger, who was traded a record nine times over his 17-year career. Topics include:
- Pros and cons of being on the move
- How family members deal with trades
- The post-trade locker-room routine
- Favorite, most talented teammates
- Oilers job, future plans in hockey
... and more!
Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.