CHICAGO (AP) Pekka Rinne made 29 saves and scored an empty-net goal, and the Nashville Predators beat the sloppy Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Thursday night for John Hynes' first win with the team.
Hynes became the third coach in franchise history after Peter Laviolette was fired on Monday. Hynes dropped his debut when Nashville lost 6-2 to Boston on Tuesday night, but the Predators held off the Blackhawks in the final part of the third after nearly blowing a three-goal lead.
Matt Duchene, Viktor Arvidsson and Colin Blackwell also scored for Nashville, which had dropped five of six. Nick Bonino also picked up an empty-net goal before Rinne's shot from behind the Predators' net went in with 22 seconds left.
The 37-year-old Rinne was mobbed by his teammates after his first goal and 14th career point in the NHL.
Dominik Kubalik scored for the third straight game, but Chicago dropped to 1-2 on its four-game homestand. Alex DeBrincat added a power-play goal in the third period, and Corey Crawford finished with 25 saves.
After DeBrincat's slick backhand trimmed Nashville's lead to 3-2, the Blackhawks pushed hard for the tying goal. But Rinne helped the Predators kill off a power play before Bonino put it away with his 14th goal.
Nashville skated circles around Chicago at the start of the game, and the Blackhawks made several mistakes that led to quality opportunities for the Predators.
All-Star defenseman Roman Josi danced around Chicago defenseman Adam Boqvist before trying a backhand that went off Arvidsson on its way to the net. Arvidsson was awarded his 10th goal at 3:16, and Josi extended his point streak to 12 games.
Blackwell then made it 2-0 with his first career goal in his 17th game. Yakov Trenin took the puck away from the 19-year-old Boqvist before passing to Blackwell for the wide-open opportunity in the low right circle.
Blackwell entered the lineup in place of Austin Watson, who was a healthy scratch.
Another Blackhawks turnover led to the Predators' third goal. Duchene slipped behind Chicago defenseman Slater Koekkoek, got a pass from Mattias Ekholm and beat Crawford for his 10th at 16:55.
Duchene, who turns 29 next week, has two goals and four assists in his last four games.
NOTES: Blackhawks C Dylan Strome was scratched after he hurt his right ankle during Tuesday night's 2-1 loss to Calgary. He is day to day. ... Predators F Kyle Turris played in his 700th NHL game. ... Blackhawks G Robin Lehner was active for the first time since he injured his right knee Jan. 2 at Vancouver. ... Blackhawks F Drake Caggiula played for the first time since Nov. 10. He had been sidelined by a concussion.
UP NEXT
Predators: Visit the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
Blackhawks: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.
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Tony DeAngelo had a night to remember at Madison Square Garden.
The New York Rangers defenseman tallied five points on the back of his first career hat trick against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. DeAngelo's big night tied the single-game franchise record by a defenseman for both goals and points, according to Rangers Stats and Info.
All three of DeAngelo's goals in the 6-3 victory came from virtually the same spot on the ice, as the 24-year-old became the first Rangers defenseman to record a regular-season hat trick since Reijo Ruotsalainen in 1982.
His most impressive play came on an assist in the opening period. DeAngelo connected with forward Chris Kreider on a perfect full-ice bank pass for a highlight-reel goal.
Chara suffered multiple fractures in his jaw during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final last spring but still played the remaining three games of the series. He missed a Dec. 22 contest against the Washington Capitals this season to undergo a scheduled procedure on the injury.
The 42-year-old has suited up in 43 games this campaign, tallying 13 points while logging just over 21 minutes per contest.
TORONTO - "Who is Neal Pionk, and how did he shut down our No. 1 line?"
Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice walked out of Madison Square Garden on Dec. 2, 2018, with those two questions percolating through his brain. Some defenseman named Pionk had teamed up with Marc Staal to keep stars Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler off the scoresheet during five-on-five action.
Roughly six months later, the Jets sent Jacob Trouba to the Rangers in exchange for Pionk and a first-round draft pick. Like Maurice in New York, the hockey world had questions: "Pionk's the only player included in a trade for a stud blue-liner like Trouba? Who is this dude, anyway?"
Fast forward another eight months, and Pionk's stock has skyrocketed. Folks across the league have taken notice because the 24-year-old's impact on the 2019-20 Jets - a 24-16-4 squad that's scratching and clawing to stay in contention amid a crowded Western Conference - is simply undeniable.
"Fantastic in all areas, really," Maurice said this week when asked to evaluate Pionk's tenure as a Jet.
"He's taken an opportunity here and ran with it," Wheeler, the team's captain, added. "He's been outstanding all year."
Gregory Shamus / Getty Images
"Opportunity" is the operative word for Pionk and the Jets, who last offseason took a stick of dynamite to their defense corps in order to create room on the payroll for raisesup front. Not only did the club bid farewell to Trouba, but it also let Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot leave in free agency. A fourth defenseman - longtime anchor Dustin Byfuglien - has been MIA all season and may never return to the NHL.
When the dust settled, Josh Morrissey and Dmitry Kulikov were the lone holdover D-men from the group of 2018-19 regulars. This season, relative unknowns like Pionk have filled out the lineup card through 44 games.
"We know we need to battle every single night, and it's going to take every guy in this locker room," goalie Connor Hellebuyck said of overcoming the talent gap. The first-half returns - wins in 14 of 20 one-goal games and an overall goal differential of plus-3 - suggest the grind-it-out mentality has been working, at least for now.
Following a thrilling 4-3 shootout win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, Winnipeg moved past Calgary to claim the first wild-card spot in the West. The Jets are also two points behind the Dallas Stars, who sit second in the Central Division, heading into a Thursday night meeting with the Bruins. Considering the circumstances - the aforementioned talent purge on defense, and more than 150 man games lost to injury or illness - the Jets have been surprisingly steady.
"We haven't played horrible games," forward Nikolaj Ehlers said before facing Toronto. "I think that we're happy with where we're at. There's still lots of room to improve and we're doing that day by day."
Jonathan Kozub / Getty Images
Pionk, who's seen the ice for a team-high 23 minutes and 17 seconds per night, has effectively replaced Byfuglien. Already, he's established personal bests in assists (25) and points (28). He's carved out a well-rounded role, manning the point on the power play and chipping in on the penalty kill.
While the coaching staff tends to toss Morrissey and Tucker Poolman over the boards to face the opposition's most dangerous forwards for even-strength shifts, Pionk is leaned on during tense situations, too. "I would say the hallmark of his game isn't necessarily how well he skates or how well he moves the puck - those have been all good - it's been his consistency," Maurice noted.
Pionk's deployment and usage is also a comment on Winnipeg's lack of depth. The team's defensive pairings - various combinations of Pionk, Morrissey, Kulikov, Poolman, Luca Sbisa, Nathan Beaulieu, Anthony Bitetto, Sami Niku, and Carl Dahlstrom - routinely get exploited at five-on-five (the Jets rank last in Expected Goals and 24th in Corsi) and are partly responsible for the NHL's worst penalty kill.
Ronald Martinez / Getty Images
But while the Jets' high-end forwards - Scheifele, Connor, Wheeler, Ehlers, and Patrik Laine - have shouldered the vast majority of the offensive workload, the defense has provided just enough support for Hellebuyck, the team's MVP and a serious contender for the Vezina Trophy thanks to a .929 even-strength save percentage in an NHL-high 37 appearances.
"He's been doing it all year," forward Mathieu Perreault said of Hellebuyck. "That's the difference, really. And we've got two lines, with our top six, that is as good as anybody's in the league. They provide offense for us, and the rest of us, we just try to defend and make sure we keep it out of our own net and do the things that help you win the game. If you're not scoring a goal on this team, you're defending hard, you're blocking shots, you're being physical."
At the heart of the Jets' identity is Maurice, the league's second-longest-tenured coach. He was hired in January 2014, an eternity ago in the current NHL climate. The Jets have made the playoffs in three of five seasons during the Maurice era, peaking with a trip to the 2018 Western Conference Final.
Jonathan Kozub / Getty Images
Ask around about Winnipeg's ability to keep its head above water so far, and you'll quickly be directed to Maurice and the way he works a dressing room. The 52-year-old connects with players on a deeper level than most bench bosses do, and he's not afraid to make in-game adjustments. Above all, he's figured out how to keep his message fresh six years into the gig.
"He just gets us. He feels what we feel," Hellebuyck said. "That allows him to be the best coach that he can be. He doesn't stray away from affection."
"He's been really good. Especially for me as a new guy coming in," Pionk said. "Being able to say what he wants of me as a player and out of us as a team, I think he's really good at vocalizing that."
The next month will further challenge every member of the Jets, Maurice included. The team, which has enjoyed one of the easiest schedules to date, according to Hockey-Reference, is about to start a nasty 11-game stretch. The difficult run will include two games against each of Boston, Nashville and St. Louis, and one against each of Vancouver, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Carolina, and Columbus.
That means the scrappy Jets, who've thus far survived their offseason talent purge, will learn a lot about themselves in the days ahead. And if they manage to stick in a playoff spot, they'll have Hellebuyck, Maurice, and their no-name D - led by the surprising Pionk - to thank.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets engaged in one of the most eventful three-on-three overtimes of the season on Wednesday night.
The two teams traded chances for five minutes straight, keeping the fans on their feet. Despite the action, the game was eventually settled in the shootout, with the Jets coming out on top.
"It was nuts," Jets forward Mason Appleton told The Athletic's Ken Wiebe. "There were so many opportunities at both ends. I couldn't believe it didn't end in overtime."
Natural Stat Trick tracked a total of nine scoring chances in overtime - six for Winnipeg and three for Toronto. At one point, the Jets had a 2-on-0, followed by a clear-cut breakaway less than a minute later.
Jets head coach Paul Maurice admitted three-on-three overtime has grown on him.
"I didn't care for three-on-three when it came in but I think it's outstanding," he told Wiebe. "If you're going to spend money to come see a game, somebody should win and somebody should lose. Three-on-three, I can't use the words that came into my head ... a free-for-all of fecal matter. It's a shitshow out there and that's great."
Many fans have been clamoring for the idea of extending overtime, others would like to get rid of the shootout all together.
Jets forward Mark Scheifele would like to see overtime extended by five minutes.
"I'd be down for that," he told Wiebe. "For sure."
"I'd rather win in overtime than lose in a shootout, obviously," Andersen said. "If we have more chances, that's what it is. But I'd like to see more overtime, to be honest."
Other goaltenders, most notably Chicago Blackhawks' Robin Lehner, dislike the shootout as well.
Some players, though, are content with just five minutes of three-on-three.
"No, five minutes is pretty good," Jets sniper Patrik Lainetold Wiebe. "That's a pretty good pace with five minutes. Everybody is getting two or three shifts max, so that's good."
Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews joined some elite company after notching his 30th goal of the season Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets.
Matthews, who was born in California and raised in Arizona, is the first U.S.-born player in league history to begin his career with four straight 30-goal seasons, according to NHL Public Relations.
He also joined a handful of Maple Leafs legends with four straight 30-goal seasons, but he's the only one to accomplish the feat to begin a career.
Auston Matthews became the sixth different player in @MapleLeafs history to score 30-plus goals in four or more consecutive seasons and first to do so from the start of his tenure with Toronto (NHL debut or otherwise). #NHLStatspic.twitter.com/kPM1HdrgJq
Matthews is now one of 15 players in NHL history to score 30 goals in each of his first four seasons. Alex Ovechkin, who's on track to record a 15th straight 30-goal campaign, is the only other active member of that group.
The 22-year-old is on pace for a career-high 56 goals in 2019-20 and sits two back of David Pastrnak for the league lead.
Andersson is currently playing out the final year of his entry-level contract. The right-handed shooting blue-liner has a modest 12 points through 45 games in his second full NHL season, but he's posted strong underlying numbers. He owns a Corsi For percentage of 51.5 and an expected goals percentage of 51.1 at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Flames have more decisions to make on the back end prior to the offseason. Along with Mark Giordano and Noah Hanifin, Andersson is just one of three defensemen on the active roster signed beyond this season. Veterans TJ Brodie, Travis Hamonic, and Michael Stone are pending unrestricted free agents, while Oliver Kylington is set to hit restricted free agency.
