Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens provided an honest critique of his team after its 6-2 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
"We're too easy to play against, and we need to get a little 'F you' in our game," Cozens said, according to Buffalo News' Mike Harrington. "I think we had more of that last year.
"We're way too soft this year. I feel like we don't kill plays. We kind of get bullied. … We need to finish more checks, be harder to play against, stronger on puck battles. We need to kill plays in the defensive zone."
The 22-year-old noted that he needs to be "way better to help turn things around." Cozens has four goals and 11 points in 22 games amid the first season of his seven-year, $49.7-million contract signed in February 2023.
The Sabres remain without star forward Tage Thompson due to an upper-body injury. Jack Quinn has yet to play this season because of an Achilles injury.
Saturday's loss dropped the Sabres to 10-12-2 on the campaign and 3-6-1 in their last 10 contests. Buffalo is last in the Atlantic Division by points percentage after narrowly missing the playoffs a season ago.
Sat Shah and Bik Nizzar breakdown the Canucks 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Hear from Head Coach Rick Tocchet (29:09) and Nikita Zadorov (1:17:17) post game. Plus Brett Festerling and Iain McIntyre (1:21:18) provide their analysis.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Anaheim rookie Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist and added the shootout winner as the Ducks snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.
Carlsson, the second overall pick in June's draft, skated in and deked Colorado goalie Ivan Prosvetov to have a clear shot at the net for the only goal in the shootout round. Carlsson has seven goals, which is second among rookies and four behind Chicago’s Connor Bedard.
John Gibson, who played in his 448th game and surpassed Jean-Sebastien Giguere for most games played by a goaltender in Ducks history, stopped 34 shots and all three in the shootout.
Anaheim’s Alex Killorn scored his 200th career goal and became the second player selected in the third round or later of the 2007 draft to reach that milestone. Kilorn also had an assist for his second multipoint game of the season.
Adam Henrique also scored for the Ducks.
Bowen Byram had a pair of first-period goals for Colorado. Devon Toews had a goal and Prosvetov made 34 saves.
Colorado quickly jumped out on a pair of goals by Byram in the first nine minutes. He scored from the high slot on a 3-on-2 rush 36 seconds into the game and then put a 82 mph snap shot past Gibson at 8:59 to finish off a 2-on-1.
Anaheim got within 2-1 when Henrique tipped in Ryan Strome's pass on the power play but Colorado took a two-goal lead into the first intermission when Toews wired a snap shot past Gibson's glove and into the far side of the net with 43 seconds remaining.
The Ducks got back within a goal at 2:58 of the second when Carlsson beat Prosvetov with a high shot in front of the net.
Killorn made it 3-3 at 10:22 on a snap shot from the right faceoff circle for Anaheim's second power-play goal.
Anaheim center Mason McTavish suffered an upper-body injury during the first period and did not return.
UP NEXT
Avalanche: Remain in Southern California to face the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs tried to land defensemen Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames before the latter was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks earlier this week, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported during Saturday's "Headlines" segment on Hockey Night in Canada.
The would-be deal fell apart due to salary cap restraints, Friedman added.
"From what I understand, the issue here was that the Maple Leafs and the Flames could not agree on what it would cost for Calgary to keep up to 50% of the salary on both players," he said.
"The two sides couldn't figure out that compensation, in addition to just the compensation for the players."
The Maple Leafs currently have approximately $2.9 million in available money, per CapFriendly, while the Flames have $4.2 million.
Zadorov was ultimately dealt to Vancouver for two draft picks. Both he and Tanev are unrestricted free agents next summer. Tanev remains a trade target with the Flames struggling in the standings.
The Maple Leafs are still in pursuit of help on the blue line after missing out on Zadorov, according to Friedman, preferring a right-handed shot.
Barrie's anticipated to be a healthy scratch Saturday against the New York Rangers.
The 32-year-old has zero goals and nine points in 22 games this season with Nashville. Barrie's 18:51 average ice time is his lowest since 2013-14.
Barrie was acquired by the Predators before last year's trade deadline as a cap dump from the Edmonton Oilers in the Mattias Ekholm deal. He collected 13 goals and 55 points in 85 games last season. The blue-liner played three more contests than a standard campaign length because of the trade, tying the NHL record for most games in a season.
With the Oilers, Barrie led all defensemen in scoring during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign with 48 points in 56 contests.
Barrie is in the final season of a three-year contract that carries a $4.5-million cap hit. He'll be an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 campaign.
The IIHF agreed to make neck protection mandatory for the World Junior Championship and the Men's U18 World Championship, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
No decision has been made regarding the Men's and Women's World Championships, Dreger adds.
Neck guards have been a topic of discussion ever since former Pittsburgh Penguins player Adam Johnson died in October after his neck was accidentally sliced by an opposing player's skate in England's EIHL.
Although it only recently became mandated in the WHL, neck protection has been mandatory in the OHL and QMJHL for years. The NCAA and USA Hockey do not enforce any mandates.
The NHL has no regulations in place, either, although several players have started to wear neck guards voluntarily in the wake of Johnson's death.
The 2024 World Junior Championship begins Boxing Day in Sweden.
On this week's episode, Brendan Batchelor and Randip Janda break down the Canucks' acquisition of Nikita Zadorov from Calgary and preview Vancouver's Saturday night matchup with the Flames. They also answer some listener questions and conduct the weekly Rose Ceremony.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The NHL passed the quarter mark of the 2023-24 season earlier this week.
As expected, goal-scoring continues to rule. The per-game average (6.3) is tied with 2022-23 and 2005-06 as the highest of the 21st century.
As expected, comeback wins are prominent. There were 62 third-period comebacks through Monday, tied for third-most at this stage of a season.
Expected is cool. Unexpected is better.
Let's check in on four unexpected trends at the team and player levels.
Pens' power play a mess
Kirk Irwin / Getty Images
The Penguins last scored on the power play three weeks ago Saturday.
Over nine games, Pittsburgh's heavily used top unit, led by future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson, has failed to convert on 21 man-advantage opportunities while allowing a goal against.
Overall, the Penguins have bagged only seven goals in 59 opportunities. Their 11.9% success rate - down 10 percentage points from last year - ranks 27th in the NHL.
It's perplexing given the personnel. The top unit also features Jake Guentzel, perhaps the most underrated offensive player of his generation, and one of Bryan Rust, Reilly Smith, or Rickard Rakell.
So, what gives? Just about everything.
For instance, in five opportunities against the Rangers on Nov. 22, Pittsburgh had trouble completing basic tape-to-tape passes and struggled to enter the offensive zone with control of the puck. When the Pens did manage to set up, New York predicted every move, leading to blocked shots and easy clears.
The zone-entry problem lingered against Toronto three days later. The Pens tried dumping the puck in, but penalty killers beat them on the retrieval. They tried to force seam passes high in the offensive zone - no dice.
Justin Berl / Getty Images
One major theme throughout the 0-for-21 drought: the net-front guy is barely a factor. He often fails to take away the goalie's sightlines, and not enough pucks are getting to the net overall. The action's too much on the perimeter, making life easy on the penalty kill. There are no rebounds.
All that said, I don't think Pittsburgh's power play is hopeless.
The personnel's too talented to be this bad for a full season, and the 11-10-1 Pens are actually generating a decent amount of power-play offense. Pittsburgh ranks fourth in PP shot attempts per 60 minutes, fifth in PP shots on goal per 60, and second in PP expected goals per 60. Further: Pittsburgh ranks 30th in the league in total PP time. Drawing an extra penalty or two every game would relieve the pressure on each opportunity and, in a perfect world, help build momentum.
Each member of the top unit looks frustrated. They're probably overthinking it. If I were coach Mike Sullivan, I'd either sub in Kris Letang for Karlsson or have the star blue-liners co-run the top unit. Shuffling the deck is worth a try.
Reinhart pushing for Rocket
Sam Reinhart and Nikita Kucherov are currently tied for second in the NHL with 15 goals. Interestingly, Reinhart tops Kucherov and 17-goal man Brock Boeser in a different category: percentage of team goals scored.
Reinhart's scored 21.7% of all Panthers goals - a remarkably high rate 23 games into the season. (He has 13 assists, too.) The only player challenging for the Rocket Richard Trophy with a higher percentage than Reinhart is Frank Vatrano, whose 14 tallies account for 22.2% of Ducks goals.
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Reinhart, a career 14.6% shooter, is hitting on an absurd 25.9% of his shots; he's skating a career-high 20:41 a game; and seven of his goals have been scored on the power play.
So, yes, Reinhart's 82-game pace - 53 goals, or 20 more than his previous best - is deceiving. He's riding the percentages a bit.
Still, the 6-2, 193-pound forward generally comes by his production honestly. He's a true master of the fundamentals.
Coaches at all levels instruct forwards to stop at the net at the end of a rush - Reinhart does this every single time. He's strong on his skates, takes very efficient routes in all three zones, and cycles the puck extraordinarily well.
He has what coaches call a "good stick," especially on special teams. He extends his stick into passing and shooting lanes on the penalty kill and, as shown in the clip below, subtly presents it to teammates on the power play:
Also of note: Reinhart's name consistently shows up on leaderboards for individual expected goal and inner-slot shot generation, suggesting the 28-year-old often attacks from the offensive zone's most dangerous areas.
He does benefit from playing on a line with Aleksander Barkov, but that's true for anyone who skates with the Finnish center. Regardless, there's no denying Reinhart has asserted himself in the final year of a three-year deal carrying a $6.5-million average annual value. Time for a hefty raise.
Bruins dominating again
Richard T Gagnon / Getty Images
Projecting the 2023-24 Bruins wasn't an overly controversial process.
Impact forwards Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Taylor Hall, and Tyler Bertuzzi all departed, and the magic of last year's record-breaking regular season vanished, so Boston logically appeared ready to take a major step back. Making the playoffs in an improved Atlantic Division was certainly possible but not preordained.
Oh, how wrong - horribly wrong! - most of us were.
Boston's 15-4-3 with a plus-19 goal differential through 22 games. This year's team isn't quite as dominant as last year's, and has lost four of its past seven, but the Bruins mostly look like a Stanley Cup contender and currently hold the Atlantic's No. 1 seed.
As for where the consensus projection whiffed, let's start with the core.
Bergeron, arguably the greatest defensive forward of all time, was a massive loss. But two forwards (David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand), two defensemen (Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm), and two goalies (Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman) are all either smack in the middle of their primes or near the end. We probably didn't give that enviable top of the lineup enough credit.
David Pastrnak with the zone entry and pass. Pavel Zacha with the finish.
The coach is also still around, and Boston's been one of - if not the best - puck-support team in the NHL under Jim Montgomery. They worked in numbers on offense and defense all of last year and continue do this season.
We definitely underrated the quality of Boston's goalies and top-six centers. Having Ullmark or Swayman in net every game means the opposition never gets a break - an elite netminder for all 82 is a massive trump card in this shared workloads era. Meanwhile, Pavel Zacha (Pastrnak and Marchand's main center) and Charlie Coyle have filled in admirably for Bergeron and Krejci.
Lastly, the rookie class is notable. Five first-year players have appeared in 10 or more games and each is pitching in, led by forward Matthew Poitras. Teams of Boston's ilk don't usually receive a shot in the arm like that.
Talbot-Copley is all Kings need
The Kings opened the season with the least amount of money devoted to goaltending, with Cam Talbot and Pheonix Copley making a combined $2.5 million, or 3% of total cap dollars. I called it the Adin Hill Won the Cup Effect.
Talbot's cap hit this year ($1 million) is lower than Copley's ($1.5 million), though Talbot already secured a $1-million bonus by appearing in 10 games. L.A. will happily deal with that bonus charge on next year's cap sheet considering the value Talbot, 36, is offering right now.
Ronald Martinez / Getty Images
Analytics company Sportlogiq awards a "quality start" whenever a goalie posts a positive value in its goals saved above expected metric. So far, Talbot has 10 quality starts in 14 tries. His .928 all-situations save percentage ranks second among 27 NHL goalies who've logged 700 or more minutes.
Including Copley's minutes, the Kings have the league's sixth-best team save percentage through 20 games. The .913 rate is a huge upgrade on last year's debacle between the pipes: an .889 rate that tied for 26th out of 32 teams and that was spread across four goalies, including two who made around $5 million.
What should be most encouraging is the play in front of Talbot and Copley. Coach Todd McLellan's skaters are on average surrendering very few shots, and the ones they do surrender tend to be from medium or long range. The skaters are insulating the goalies.
That lockdown style is conducive to winning in both the regular season and playoffs - as reigning Cup champion Vegas and Hill showed.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
