Dan and Sat debate whether or not topics such as the Elias Pettersson narrative, the Canucks' winning percentage against top teams, and much more is overrated or underrated.
This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.
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.
Dan and Sat discuss the bleak power play and what needs to change for the top unit to get back to where it was to start the season. They also get into the Elias Pettersson conversation and if he is criticized too harshly.
This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.
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.
Adversity is officially here for the Canucks! 3 straight losses after the defeat in Denver, so that has Matt and Blake looking at exactly what might be wrong with the team, and what might realistically be changed to stop the bleeding.
Irfaan Gaffar stops by with his take on the game vs the Avs, including the NHL debut of Arshdeep Bains. The guys get into whether Bains might actually be a part of the solution moving forward, and where he fits in. Irf also chimes in on the pursuit of Chris Tanev, and the update on Phil Kessel in Abby.
Patrick Johnston pays his weekly visit, and he is “not” buying into any moral victories after the performance in Colorado. He also has a breakdown of the struggling Canucks power play, players in the wrong places, and how that might have changed their fortunes in the past week. Also, his thoughts on Bains and a struggling Ilya Mikeheyev. All that, plus the BC Lions with a key contract extension and more! Presented by Applewood Auto Group.
Follow us on social (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok & YouTube). Powered by The Nation Network.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kyle Dubas acknowledged that he's kept the Penguins on a long leash this season, but the general manager hinted that his tolerance is wearing thin as Pittsburgh drops further out of the playoff picture.
"I feel like out of respect to the group here and what they've accomplished, I'm trying to be as patient as possible and give the group the time, and I've outlined that to them, to show that we can really make a push and make a run at it," he said. "As we've continued to stay level or drop, we look up today at the standings, it's a daunting task.
"Is the group capable of it? Yes, I think we've shown this year that we are, but we're running out of time to show that we can do it consistently."
The Penguins are in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division. They're eight points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand, but they'll need a swift turnaround to avoid missing the playoffs again. Pittsburgh currently has a 33.5% chance of making the postseason, according to MoneyPuck.
TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Tuesday that the Penguins were willing to listen to offers on all non-core players. Dubas addressed that report on Wednesday.
"I had another GM mention it to me today or ask me about it," he said. "I think we've received a lot of calls on a lot of our players, especially as our team has been in the spot that it's at."
The Penguin generating the most headlines is Jake Guentzel, who can become a free agent this summer. Dubas didn't commit to keeping or moving the star player.
"I understand how valuable (Guentzel) has been as a teammate. ... But at the same time, we have to take stock of where we're at and be realistic about the fact that one of the issues we have is we need to get younger," he said. "We have a lot of guys in their 30s signed - some of them are some of the best players in the history of the franchise. It's tough with Jake - as I've said to him - because he's an excellent player and playing at an elite level."
The executive said he hasn't asked anyone to waive any no-trade or no-movement clauses (Guentzel has a 12-team no-trade list). He has been looking to make a "hockey trade," but nothing has materialized.
Though there's a lot of uncertainty in Pittsburgh, Dubas doesn't expect to become a serious buyer around the trade deadline.
"I can't see us moving future draft capital at this point to try to bolster the team," he said. "At the same time, are there moves that will allow us to add good younger players to the organization that can help to expedite things here and support the group that's already here?"
Next up for the Penguins is a clash against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.
Headlined by a clash between two of the league's top teams, we have a small but juicy five-game slate Wednesday night.
Let's look at the best ways to attack it.
The Oilers have been the NHL's best team over the last few months and continue to be worth backing on a nightly basis.
Edmonton has as much high-end talent as anybody, and the process to match it. The club has consistently out-chanced opponents, controlling nearly 60% of the expected goals share at five-on-five in February.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know the Oilers - equipped with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, etc. - will win a ton of games if those guys are getting more opportunities to score than their opponents.
That should again be the case versus the Bruins, who have stumbled a bit lately. They've won just four of the past 10 games, and their underlying metrics are heading in the wrong direction.
Boston has posted a 48% expected goals share at five-on-five in February, sandwiching it between the Canadiens and Blue Jackets. That's not where you want to be as a contender.
The Bruins have it in them to be much better than that. They also generally have enough firepower - not to mention goaltending - to compensate when they're not grinding out those edges in chances.
But it's a tall order to ask them to do that against the Oilers. Boston doesn't have the edges in top-tier talent or depth compared to Edmonton, and it doesn't have the centers to match up. The Bruins' five-on-five process is also weaker. And the Stuart Skinner we've seen over the past few months can match the level of goaltending we generally see from Boston's great tandem.
With the Oilers playing such a well-rounded game and having home ice, there's value in backing them to take care of business Wednesday.
Bet: Oilers (-140)
Elvis Merzlikins started in goal Tuesday night for the Blue Jackets. That means they'll turn to Daniil Tarasov in the latter half of their road back-to-back.
Goals tend to come in bunches when Tarasov is between the pipes. He's conceded at least three goals in nine of 11 appearances this season, averaging a hair under four per game.
Tarasov owns a .877 save percentage and has allowed nearly 11 goals above expectation. That's no small feat considering Columbus gives up a lot of chances and expected goals.
The Ducks won't be mistaken for an offensive juggernaut any time soon, but they can score. They've netted three-plus goals in seven of the past nine games and are poised to do it again versus a struggling goalie like Tarasov.
Anaheim also ranks 28th in shot suppression and 27th in goals allowed per contest. It's a bad defensive team with up-and-down goaltending, and no club has spent more time shorthanded per game this campaign.
This is a good matchup for the Blue Jackets - who surprisingly rank ninth in five-on-five goals over the last 10 contests - to net a few of their own.
I see this as a high-event, back-and-forth affair, and I like it to go over the number.
Bet: Over 6.5 (-110)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.
Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.
We had a disappointing 1-2 night with shot props. Aleksander Barkov started things off with an over against the Senators, but Filip Forsberg hit the net only twice on 10 shot attempts in Vegas, while Viktor Arvidsson didn't even complete his first shift of the game before leaving with an injury.
We'll take those losses on the chin and look to bounce back with three more props for a fruitful Wednesday card.
Thompson registered at least four shots on goal in five of the past six games, with the lone exception coming against a stingy Kings side.
There is every reason to expect continued shooting success Wednesday night in Montreal.
Thompson has Alex Tuch back on his right wing. That provides a boost to his shooting floor and ceiling, as Thompson generates five-on-five shots at a higher rate alongside Tuch than any other regular linemate.
He should be able to pile them up in bulk against the Canadiens. Thompson's line will see a lot of Cole Caufield and Montreal's top unit, and, although that line is piping hot offensively, it gives up plenty of shot volume at the other end.
It's also worth noting a good chunk of Thompson's shots come from power-play opportunities, and there will likely be plenty against a Canadiens side that leads the slate in shorthanded time per game over the last 10.
Thompson's recent success has come against teams unable to stay out of the box (the Panthers, Ducks, Wild, etc.). Those extra power plays help push his shot outputs over the edge, which I expect to be the case again in this one.
Odds: -106 (playable to -125)
Vatrano is an absolute force on home ice. He has recorded three shots or more 20 times in 27 tries, good for a remarkable 74% success rate.
A lot of those shots came without Troy Terry, who was recently moved onto his line and whose impact is certainly being felt as Vatrano's shot rates are skyrocketing even further.
Vatrano is averaging nearly 14 shots on goal per 60 minutes of five-on-five play with Terry on his line.
For perspective, Vatrano generated 11.31 with Adam Henrique, 9.21 with Ryan Strome, and 6.81 with Alex Killorn. Big differences.
With such a low shot total, Vatrano is a prime target at home against any opponent - let alone the Blue Jackets, who have given up shots in bulk all season long. Their top line is the only one limiting shots at a decent rate, and Vatrano should see very little of them.
Odds: -140 (playable to -150)
This matchup is as good as it gets, as the Coyotes have been an unmitigated disaster defensively of late, posting horrendous metrics across the board.
They rank 30th in shot suppression at five-on-five over the last 10 games and 29th while killing penalties. The Coyotes compound their PK woes by parading to the box more than almost every team in the league.
Arizona is conceding a ton of shot volume across all situations, and it just so happens a huge chunk of it comes from opposing centers.
The Coyotes allowed just under 14 shots per game against centers over the past 10 contests. For added color, only one other team (the Canadiens) has conceded more than 12.10 shots per game to centers in that span.
Matthews is one of the best volume shooters in the league and is pushing for 50 goals against his hometown team, a team that is bleeding shots to his position and taking penalties in bulk.
The stars are aligning for another big shooting - and perhaps scoring - night for Matthews.
Odds: -110 (playable to -125)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.
Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Patrick Kane's departure from the Chicago Blackhawks last season was well-documented, but he says it likely would never have happened had the organization committed to keeping him for the rest of his career.
“If they came to me and said, ‘We want you to be a Blackhawk for life. Can we work something out?’ I think it probably would have been tough to say no, just because of what happened there and the success we had and just the relationship with the organization,” Kane told The Athletic's Scott Powers.
The veteran forward waived his no-trade clause last February, allowing the Blackhawks to trade him to the New York Rangers. Kane departed Chicago after 16 seasons with the club that included three Stanley Cup championships.
"Being there for a long time and kind of being comfortable in the situation and just kind of what you do on a day-to-day basis, there’s definitely some comfort in that,” he said.
“But I think it’s been good for me to have some new experiences. And even though it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped in New York, I still thought that was a great experience for me. Even here, coming to Detroit, kind of a team on the rise that can have some success, it’s been fun to be here and try and build that with this group.”
Kane's nagging hip injury limited him in his brief tenure with the Rangers. The American winger collected only five goals and seven assists over 19 games before adding a goal and five assists in seven playoff contests. His recovery from offseason hip surgery forced him to miss nearly two months to start this campaign before he signed with the Red Wings as a free agent in late November.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has overhauled the roster since taking over from Stan Bowman, who stepped down in October 2021. The futures of Kane and fellow ex-franchise fixture Jonathan Toews were persistent storylines last season as Davidson made it clear he was leaning toward more of a youth movement.
Toews eventually decided to take time away from hockey this season, the first campaign the club has played without him since 2006-07. Kane and Toews both debuted with the Blackhawks in 2007-08.
Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Sat Shah and Bik Nizzar breakdown the Canucks 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Hear from Head Coach Rick Tocchet (37:03) and Arshdeep Bains (1:06:50) post game. Plus Randip Janda and Iain McIntyre (1:24:18) 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.