Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet lamented his club's performance after an embarrassing 7-1 loss in Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
"Listen, we've all been embarrassed in life before," Tocchet said following the defeat, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "I played hockey. I've been embarrassed.
"I can't tell you a guy that played well tonight. We were embarrassed. It was men against boys today."
Colorado jumped out to a 3-0 advantage after a first period that saw the Coyotes muster just three shots on goal. The Avalanche owned a dominant 76.56% share of expected goals for and 82.35% of high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five overall, per Natural Stat Trick.
Coyotes starter Darcy Kuemper was chased from the net after allowing four goals on 22 shots following his sensational 49-save performance in Game 3.
Now facing a 3-1 series deficit, Tocchet challenged his team to show that they want to remain in the postseason.
"This whole bubble thing ... it's about who wants to stay," he said, per Wyshynski. "You can tell who wants to stay and who wants to go home. For this game, it looked like we wanted to go home. We'll see about the next game."
The Coyotes will look to stave off elimination in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Svechnikov was helped off the ice late in Game 3 versus the Boston Bruins with what appeared to be a leg injury. On Sunday, Brind'Amour said he "highly doubts" the young forward would be able to return this postseason.
"Certainly it looked terrible. We feared the worst, I think maybe we dodged that bullet," Brind'Amour said.
There's still no specifics, as the NHL barred all teams from revealing specifics regarding injuries during the restart.
Although he's sidelined, Svechnikov will stay in the bubble with his teammates in Toronto, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Svechnikov, 20, collected seven points in the bubble after a breakout regular season saw him register 61 points in 68 contests.
The NHL's bubbles maintained their clean slates for the third straight week of hockey's return-to-play plan.
No positive results for COVID-19 were recorded from the 5,640 tests administered from Aug. 9-15, the league announced Monday.
Since players and staff entered the bubble in late July, zero positive tests have been recorded. The league has been testing players and staff daily in both the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles.
Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment (HBSE), the ownership group of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils, announced Monday it is pledging $20 million over the next five years to combat systemic racism, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
HSBE's company-wide plan includes a $10-million donation from the Sixers to the NBA and National Basketball Players Association's newly launched joint foundation. The foundation is intended to "drive economic empowerment for Black communities through employment and career advancement."
"Looking at things from my perspective as a Black man in America, as an executive for HBSE, I really wanted to have action and more than just words. And that is what really excites me about this," Sixers general manager Elton Brand told Spears. "They were not just allies. They were going to another level in terms of being part of actual change."
HSBE is also creating a program through which the Sixers and Devils will provide more than $5 million in marketing assets to Black-owned businesses.
"While we will never be able to correct the past harm and injustice faced by Black Americans, it's our duty to provide resources that enable tangible action and greater opportunities for equality," HBSE founder Josh Harris said in a statement, according to Kennedy Rose of the Philadelphia Business Journal.
"We are committing to a fundamental change in our business strategy by embedding our organization with Black communities and businesses through significant and sustained investment and support."
"My initial reaction to people that bash Tuukka is that they don't know what we're going through and we don't know what those people are going through," Wagner said, according to NBC Sports Boston's Joe Haggerty.
He continued, "They don't know what we're missing. I don’t have kids, so I can't speak for Tuukka like that. But I'm sure that is a whole other level of missing somebody and wanting to be there for your kid if they're missing you and struggling. I think Tuukka tried to power through that, but there are some things that he felt like he needed to sort out."
Rask opted out Saturday and left the bubble in Toronto midway through his team's first-round series versus the Carolina Hurricanes. The 33-year-old explained that while he wanted to remain with his teammates, being with his family was more important.
He was named a Vezina Trophy finalist for his performance during the 2019-20 regular season but struggled to perform at his usual elite level during the round robin and beginning of Round 1. Rask went 1-3-0 in four games, with a .904 save percentage and 2.57 goals-against average.
Wagner understands that Rask's decision wasn't one he took lightly and that family should always be the No. 1 priority.
"I definitely think it was probably a difficult decision for him," Wagner added. "I think he wants to be here. He wants to win just like all of us, but at the same time - as guys have been reiterating - family is the most important thing. Even if it is a job and it is playing hockey, family comes before everything, and Tuukka felt like he needed to be home. We all support that decision."
The Bruins lead the Hurricanes 2-1 in their series, with Game 4 scheduled for 8 p.m. on Monday.
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We ended Sunday 1-1, and while the Stars were definitely deserving of the win, nothing about the Flyers-Canadiens game suggested the over was ever in play.
Let's move on to Monday's slate, and I don't love the card here. There are a couple of Tuesday games I feel very strongly about, so tread a bit lighter today.
Boston Bruins (-125) @ Carolina Hurricanes (+105)
Game 3 was the worst the Hurricanes have played in the bubble, and it wasn't particularly close. They couldn't get anything going offensively and were expected to score just 0.93 goals at five-on-five. Their 1.75 expected goals for mark at all strengths was by far the team's lowest of the series.
Carolina is much better than that. The club led the NHL this season in expected goals for and high-danger scoring chances (both per 60 minutes). Losing Andrei Svechnikov is undoubtedly a blow, but there's plenty of depth at forward and no shortage of scoring talent available to the Hurricanes. Head coach Rod Brind'Amour will light a fire under his team after such a poor Game 3 showing.
The Bruins rallied around Jaroslav Halak in Game 3 following the departure of Tuukka Rask from the bubble, and Carolina will do the same in Svechnikov's absence. These things can energize teams, and the Canes will use Zdeno Chara's supposed slew foot on Svechnikov (it wasn't a slew foot) as a rallying cry in Game 4 while looking to even up the series.
Pick: Hurricanes (+105)
St. Louis Blues (-140) @ Vancouver Canucks (+120)
The Blues already won their Stanley Cup, and now it seems they want to get the heck out of Dodge. St. Louis knows how difficult it is to win a championship, and the players just can't find the same motivation a year later. That's understandable given the circumstances after leaving their families to enter the bubble, and returning to play in empty arenas following a five-month hiatus.
For a young, hungry team starving for success like the Canucks, the circumstances matter little. But for a club like the Blues fresh off its greatest achievement, finding motivation is surely a bit tougher. These guys are professionals and competitors, so I'm not suggesting they don't want to win. But there's a big difference between want and need, and for the Blues, the same intensity just isn't there.
The Canucks have impressed in these playoffs, and I was a bit lower on them than I should have been. But in normal circumstances, the Blues undoubtedly would cruise through this series. However, Vancouver just wants it more now. With the embarrassment of a potential sweep gone for the Blues after an overtime victory in Game 3, the Canucks will put a stranglehold on the series Monday night.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.
Malkin drew some criticism after the Penguins collapsed in the qualifying round earlier in August versus the Montreal Canadiens. He collected just one assist but managed 21 shots on goal in four games.
The 34-year-old missed 14 games during the 2019-20 regular season, 11 of them due to a knee injury he suffered early in the campaign.
Malkin was dominant during the regular season when he was in the lineup, amassing 25 goals and 74 points in 55 games.
On Saturday, before the Chicago Blackhawks avoided getting swept, Mark Stone pickpocketed Duncan Keith at the Vegas Golden Knights' blue line and peeked over his right shoulder as he headed a counterattack. Breezing into the middle of the ice was William Karlsson, Stone's fellow penalty killer and the jewel acquisition - one of a few, anyway - of the 2017 expansion draft.
Two backhanded flips of the puck followed: Stone's pass to his teammate, and Karlsson's shot beating Corey Crawford top shelf, nimbly executed on the rush as Keith and Kirby Dach trailed in helpless pursuit.
Mark Stone steals the puck from Duncan Keith then sets up William Karlsson, who scores a shorthanded goal for a 1-0 Golden Knights lead against the #Blackhawks at 4:12. pic.twitter.com/qgtdhwRNiS
It was among the sweeter goals of the 26 the Golden Knights have scored in the playoff bubble. The composition of the play was fitting, given what Karlsson and Stone represent regarding the process for Vegas to build a powerhouse.
Like Karlsson, several core Knights have prospered since now-inferior teams cast them aside. Stone arrived in a shakedown of a trade, which is also why he gets to play with Max Pacioretty and Robin Lehner. Talent abounds on this buzzsaw of a Stanley Cup favorite, a team with a record going back to mid-February - 17 wins in 20 games, including six of seven in Edmonton - that's the franchise's finest run in three years of existence.
Dave Sandford / NHL / Getty Images
After surging to the final as expansion darlings in 2018, the Golden Knights no longer surprise anyone. Stone and Karlsson's Game 3 linkup on the penalty kill showed the squad is capable of bullying also-rans and overshadowing Western Conference heavyweights as it edges closer to the next stage of this unprecedented NHL postseason.
Vegas was the last team to lose in either hub city, with the 3-1 Blackhawks victory to snap the Knights' six-game winning streak coming Sunday in Game 4. But the Golden Knights nearly tripled Chicago in scoring chances, and based on the history of NHL clubs winning the first three games in a best-of-seven series, it remains 97.9% likely they'll progress past this round.
"This is what we live for as coaches. It's the best time of year," head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters after Game 3. "If you have a good team at this time of year in the middle of the fight, you have a real chance. That's what every coach at this level is looking for."
Vegas in the playoffs
Opponent
Score
Round robin
Stars
5-3 W
Round robin
Blues
6-4 W
Round robin
Avalanche
4-3 (OT) W
Game 1
Blackhawks
4-1 W
Game 2
Blackhawks
4-3 (OT) W
Game 3
Blackhawks
2-1 W
Game 4
Blackhawks
3-1 L
Even this early in the playoffs, no observer could be faulted for pegging Vegas as a potential conference champ.
Chicago survived on Sunday, but combined with a spotless round robin - and, pre-pandemic, the .727 points percentage Vegas posted under DeBoer after he replaced Gerard Gallant - the Golden Knights' stranglehold on the series sure suggests they're legit. Moreover, they're substantiating the savviness that's come to characterize George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon's front office, which assembled a contender in record time.
That contender became good enough to quickly learn the torment playoff hockey can cause. The five-game loss to Alex Ovechkin's Washington Capitals in the 2018 final was a letdown, as was the 3-1 series lead Vegas blew to the San Jose Sharks (with DeBoer on the opposing bench) in last year's first round. No fan will soon forget Sharks goalie Martin Jones stopping 58 shots in Game 6 - nor, obviously, the dubious Cody Eakin cross-checking major that triggered the nightmare end to Game 7.
After subpar netminding from Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban hindered Vegas' start to 2019-20, first-year general manager McCrimmon swung a deadline deal with Chicago, acquiring Lehner - the NHL's seventh-best goalie by Goals Saved Above Average this season - for Subban, college defenseman Slava Demin, and second- and fifth-round picks. Lehner's old side beating him in Game 4 doesn't devalue the trade, as his save percentage (regular season and playoffs) since arriving in Vegas is strong at .921.
Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images
Outside the crease, Vegas' well of influential players runs deep.
Stone has logged 18 months of meshing with Pacioretty and Paul Stastny. Sensible tinkering this season brought to town top-pair defenseman Alec Martinez and top-nine forwards Chandler Stephenson and Nick Cousins. Then there are the mainstays from the expansion draft, six of whom - Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Jonathan Marchessault, Alex Tuch, Shea Theodore, and Nate Schmidt - are among Vegas' top 10 scorers in the bubble.
The sum of these parts leads to a roster that's sound defensively, good at forcing turnovers, and perpetually dangerous in the offensive zone. The Golden Knights' 54.8% shot-attempt rate led the league this season. Upping that mark to 59.8% in the playoffs means Vegas is driving possession and hounding netminders like Crawford as adeptly as ever.
"The way that we want to play, that grind-you-down type of mentality - we play fast, we play direct, we try to play in your face - I think that type of game benefits us," Schmidt said.
"You've got guys up and down our forward lineup that can hurt you in a lot of ways," he added.
Andy Devlin / NHL / Getty Images
That much happened in the Western round robin, when the Golden Knights racked up 15 goals across consecutive wins over the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Avalanche. Their production has slowed over the last two games against Chicago - on a rare down note, Vegas is 0-9 on the power play this series - but not for lack of trying or analytical might. Since Game 1, the Golden Knights have generated 63.89% of scoring chances in the matchup at five-on-five.
The imbalance in Game 4 was especially stark. The Golden Knights engulfed Chicago, creating 36 chances to the Blackhawks' 10 and amassing a 74-29 edge in shot attempts at five-on-five. The Vegas skater with the lowest individual Corsi For figure surpassed the highest-performing Blackhawk by a wide margin. Crawford's mastery was the difference, with his 48 saves the most he's notched in a playoff game since Chicago's 2015 championship postseason.
"That's the irony of playoff hockey, right? You play your best game and you lose, and you win other games that you're not playing at that level," DeBoer said. "Let's come up with the same effort again (in Game 5). If we can keep throwing that game at them, eventually we'll get a break."
Dave Sandford / NHL / Getty Images
As the top seed in the West, the Golden Knights' possible opponents in the next round if they move on include the Calgary Flames, who've split four games with Dallas, and the Vancouver Canucks, who still lead St. Louis despite losing Game 3 in overtime on Sunday night. The second-seeded Avalanche have generally controlled their matchup with the Arizona Coyotes, legitimizing Colorado's hope to go deep with a loaded roster that's finally healthy.
The Avs encountering Vegas would make for one heck of a conference final. No doubt it'll be enthralling until then to see if the Golden Knights can continue to uphold their own towering standard. Before Sunday, they hadn't lost a game since March 6, a staggering fact regardless of how long the season was paused.
"I love our group. I love the commitment of our group. Every day, we're getting a little bit better," DeBoer said after Vegas won Game 3. "There's a lot of tough obstacles and tough games left to play. But we're doing the right things to keep advancing here."
