Monthly Archives: March 2024
Tortorella: Flyers ‘hit the bottom’ in loss to Blackhawks
The Philadelphia Flyers' playoff hopes took a sizeable hit Saturday night with their 5-1 loss to the basement-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks, but coach John Tortorella hopes the defeat serves as a wake-up call.
"We sucked tonight," he told reporters postgame. "We didn't execute, we didn't make one play. ... I think we hit the bottom tonight here. Maybe that needs to happen for us to get back into it."
Tortorella called the loss "a good old-fashioned drubbing."
The Flyers trailed 2-0 after the first period, but rookie Tyson Foerster brought them within one with his 20th goal of the season. Philadelphia couldn't capitalize on two consecutive power-play opportunities in the second period before Nick Foligno cashed in on the man advantage to restore the two-goal lead for the Blackhawks.
Chicago scored two more in the final frame, and those in attendance at the Wells Fargo Center booed the team off the ice to show their disdain for the Flyers' fourth straight loss.
Philadelphia didn't get much help from its divisional rivals, either. The Washington Capitals picked up a point during their 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins to overtake the Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan. The two teams have 82 points each, but the Capitals have played in two fewer games.
As a result, the Flyers have been bumped down to the second wild-card spot, where things get even more crowded. The Detroit Red Wings are just two points behind Philadelphia with one game in hand, and the New York Islanders are five points back with two extra contests to play.
"We're certainly making it interesting here," Tortorella said. "We've gotta try to figure it out. They're all big games now."
The Flyers have gone 3-5-2 over their previous 10 games, dropping their last two contests to teams far outside the playoff picture.
Tortorella suggested fatigue as a possible factor behind the Flyers' slump in form, though he acknowledged that "there are a lot of teams that are tired this time of year."
"I know (Travis Sanheim) and (Cam York) are on fumes," the bench boss said. "Just watching them play, they're not even thinking correctly."
He added: "We're killing them as far as ice time."
Sanheim has averaged 24:10 of playing time over the last 15 games since March 1, while York has posted 25:27 per contest. Both players are a minus-six over that span.
"We know that we're relied upon," Sanheim said of his and York's workload. "We've gotta contribute and play well in those minutes. We're going to need to be much better moving forward."
The Flyers face the Islanders on Monday.
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Quick passes Miller to become winningest U.S.-born goalie
New York Rangers veteran Jonathan Quick made U.S. hockey history Saturday night by becoming the NHL's winningest American-born goalie.
Quick made 27 saves in an 8-5 win over the Arizona Coyotes for his 392nd victory, one more than Ryan Miller in second place.
Here's the top of the all-time list now:
Rank | Goalie | Wins | GP |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jonathan Quick | 392 | 778 |
2 | Ryan Miller | 391 | 796 |
3 | John Vanbiesbrouck | 374 | 882 |
4 | Tom Barrasso | 369 | 777 |
5 | Craig Anderson | 319 | 709 |
Quick mostly focused on his team's success when asked about his record-setting night.
"You do everything you can to not think about it, but it's there," he said, per The Athletic's Peter Baugh. "So it's kind of a good feeling to get it done, over with. Focus on what's really important: Trying to win the division here, win the conference."
Quick tied Miller with a 24-save effort in a 5-2 victory against the Boston Bruins on March 21.
The 38-year-old is enjoying a resurgent campaign in the Big Apple. Heading into Saturday's action, he owned a .916 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average to go along with an impressive 16-5-2 record.
Quick spent 16 seasons with Los Angeles after being drafted by the Kings in the third round in 2005. He's the franchise's all-time leader with 370 regular-season wins and 49 playoff victories.
The Connecticut native won Stanley Cup championships with the Kings in 2012 and 2014, and he lifted Lord Stanley's Mug once more with the Vegas Golden Knights last spring.
Though Quick holds the top spot for now, other U.S.-born goalies are in pursuit. Here's how the list looks when accounting for only active players:
Rank | Goalie | Wins | GP |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jonathan Quick | 392 | 778 |
2 | Connor Hellebuyck | 270 | 500 |
3 | John Gibson | 193 | 476 |
4 | Thatcher Demko | 115 | 217 |
5 | Jake Oettinger | 108 | 187 |
Hellebuyck, Demko, and Oettinger are slam-dunk starters for their teams. Quick, meanwhile, serves as the backup for Igor Shesterkin in New York.
But Quick has at least one more season to build on his lead. The Rangers signed him to a one-year extension with a $1.275-million cap hit earlier in March.
Saturday's win marked the Rangers' 50th of the season. Alexis Lafreniere was the standout performer of the game, chipping in with his first career hat trick and two helpers.
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Canucks, Avalanche secure playoff berths
The Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks clinched Stanley Cup Playoffs berths Saturday.
The Canucks secured their spot with the St. Louis Blues' loss to the San Jose Sharks, while the Avalanche did so with a 7-4 comeback win against the Nashville Predators.
The Avalanche and Canucks join the Dallas Stars as Western Conference teams to have punched a ticket to the postseason so far.
Vancouver goes to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 in the COVID bubble. Rogers Arena last hosted a postseason game on April 23, 2015.
It's Colorado's seventh straight season making the playoffs, matching the second-longest streak in franchise history with the Quebec Nordiques' run from 1980-87. The franchise record is 11 consecutive postseason berths - from 1994-06.
Down 4-2 early in Saturday's second period, Colorado scored five unanswered to battle back and secure the 7-4 win. Yakov Trenin, who the Avs acquired from the Predators before the trade deadline, netted the game-winner against his former team.
Colorado pulled netminder Alexandar Georgiev after he allowed his fourth goal and received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for shooting the puck into the crowd.
Mikko Rantanen hit the 100-point mark for the second year in a row with an assist on Nathan MacKinnon's empty-net goal.
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Eichel ejected for spearing Wild’s Kaprizov
A couple of stars got into it during Saturday's clash between the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild.
Jack Eichel received a five-minute major and game misconduct for spearing Kirill Kaprizov, marking the first major penalty of the Golden Knights star's nine-year NHL career.
Kaprizov cross-checked Eichel prior to the incident. Officials can only assess spearing infractions as double-minor or major penalties.
Kaprizov got his revenge by scoring on the ensuing power play to break the game's scoreless deadlock.
Eichel registered five shots on goal in almost 13 minutes of ice time before getting tossed.
The 27-year-old entered Saturday's action with 25 goals and 57 points in 54 outings.
Vegas won the contest 2-1 in overtime after the Wild pulled their goalie in the extra frame. Jonathan Marchessault scored the deciding tally for his 40th goal of the season.
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Devils’ Hamilton likely done for season
Don't expect Dougie Hamilton to suit up for the New Jersey Devils before the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
Devils interim head coach Travis Green said Saturday they "probably won't" see Hamilton return this season, according to team reporter Amanda Stein.
The 30-year-old defenseman had his campaign cut short on Nov. 28 when he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in a win over the New York Islanders. Hamilton underwent surgery a few days later, was deemed to be out indefinitely, and hasn't played since.
The Canadian blue-liner racked up 16 points, including five goals, in 20 games before getting hurt. He's coming off a campaign in which he established career highs in goals (22), assists (52), and points while playing all 82 contests.
Hamilton is in his third season with the Devils, who signed him to a seven-year, $63-million contract in July 2021. He's also played three campaigns apiece with the Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, and Boston Bruins.
The Devils have underachieved in 2023-24, but Hamilton's absence has clearly contributed to their struggles. New Jersey has had to rely on rookies Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec to quarterback its power play, a circumstance that ex-head coach Lindy Ruff lamented in late February before the club fired him in early March.
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Red Wings’ Larkin returns after brief injury scare
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin suffered an injury scare Saturday against the Florida Panthers after he was struck by an errant point shot and had to be helped off the ice 28 seconds into the game.
Larkin returned for one shift in the first period and took one faceoff but then limped back off the ice. However, he returned for good to start the second period.
He put together a gutsy performance after returning, scoring the game-tying goal late in the third period to force overtime in Detroit's 3-2 shootout loss.
Larkin has already missed 14 games this season due to injury. He's tallied 29 goals and 29 assists in 60 contests, sitting just two back of Lucas Raymond for the team lead in points.
The Red Wings have struggled mightily without Larkin in the lineup this season, going 4-10-0 in his absence.
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