It's The Open as Dan and Sat discuss the Canucks' soft performance in Vegas and what went wrong for Vancouver. They also get into whether or not the Canucks are shaking up their lines too much lately.
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Matt and Blake discuss the Canucks' 6-3 loss in Vegas and whether it's time to worry. Difficult night for Elias Pettersson, Ian Cole, Casey DeSmith, Nikita Zadorov and others. They talk about the hard-charging Oilers and first place in the division, the Canucks' poor form since the all-star break (especially against good teams), Pettersson's pointless nights, officiating, missing Thatcher Demko, and whether Noah Juulsen is one of their six best defencemen.
Patrick Johnston joins and says he's worried, especially about Pettersson. He talks about Demko's timeline for return, whether DeSmith should've been pulled in Vegas, the power play, the star players, Rick Tocchet begging players to step up, the team's lack of run-and-gun and more recently, lack of gun, and flashbacks to the 1992 & 1993 Canucks.
Irf Gaffar stops by and says it's no mystery as to who needs to give more. He takes us through injuries and timelines for return on Demko, Elias Lindholm, plus guys like Hronek (and Pettersson?) playing through injuries. Cole, Juulsen, Vasily Podkolzin, Arshdeep Bains are also covered. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.
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John Tortorella expects more from his Philadelphia Flyers down the stretch and feels his players are buying into a narrative that isn't giving them enough credit.
The outspoken head coach explained Wednesday what he believes is troubling the club at this crucial juncture of the campaign but dismissed the idea that players would tune him out.
"It always comes down to, 'Oh, they're going to quit on him.' It follows me around. And so be it," Tortorella told reporters Wednesday. "If a player is going to quit on me, or players are going to quit on me because I'm trying to make them better people or better athletes, you've got the wrong damn coach here, and you've got the wrong damn people here."
Tortorella harshly criticized his team following Monday's overtime loss to the New York Islanders, saying only "one guy played - the goalie (newcomer Ivan Fedotov)." He also called out "certain people" who "don't have it in them to play in these types of situations" and described the Flyers' second-period performance as embarrassing.
The bench boss didn't back down from those comments Wednesday.
"I was in control the other night," he said. "What I said, I meant. And quite honestly, when I watch the tape now, I'm more concerned than just the second period. Because of, I'm so proud of the team getting here.
"I guess now the narrative out there is - because I've heard from other people - that they're young, they're not supposed to be here. Bullshit. We're here. We're here. Face it. And let's be better. And I don't think we're ready to be better, and that's my problem with us right now. And it is my job - I have not done a good enough job to get them over the hump. ... I haven't done a good enough job to make them understand we have to be different now."
"If players are going to quit on me because I'm trying to make them better people and better athletes you've got the wrong damn coach here." - John Tortorella pic.twitter.com/LHW2qQjtD8
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 3, 2024
The Flyers came into Wednesday's action sitting third in the Metropolitan Division but have won only two of their last 10 games. They have a 61.9% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck.
Four of Philadelphia's next five contests are against subpar teams (the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, and New Jersey Devils).
The Flyers will also take on the division-leading New York Rangers before closing out the regular season against the Washington Capitals, who are jockeying with them for a playoff berth. The Caps entered Wednesday ahead of Philadelphia by points percentage, but the Flyers have one more point with two more games played.
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We have a small but exciting five-game slate on the docket Wednesday night. Let's look at a few of my favorite ways to attack it.
Offense tends to explode when the Lightning and Maple Leafs square off. Seven of their past eight regular-season meetings have featured seven goals or more, with an average of 7.75 goals per game.
There's no reason to expect different in this game. Even with Mitch Marner sidelined, Toronto is firing on all cylinders offensively. Led by Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, the same can be said of Tampa Bay.
The Lightning have scored 3.64 goals per 60 minutes since the calendar flipped, which ties them for third in the NHL. The Maple Leafs have scored 3.72 goals per 60 over the same period. That puts them ahead of every team but the Avalanche.
The abundance of firepower in this game means goals will be scored in bulk because of the efficiency and talent of the shooters. On top of that, the goaltending matchup doesn't look all that great.
Andrei Vasilevskiy isn't playing anywhere close to the level we've come to expect from him. It's not getting better, either: Vasilevskiy has conceded three or more goals in 13 of his past 17 starts.
Joseph Woll has allowed 19 goals over his last six starts (3.16 per game), so it's not like he's untouchable at the other end of the ice.
Expect Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Kucherov, Point, and all the dynamic stars in this game to make plenty happen en route to another high-scoring affair.
Bet: Over 6.5 (-115)
The Devils are struggling defensively. They're banged up on the back end and playing very fast, resulting in a ton of shot volume against them on a nightly basis.
A lot of the shots are coming from opposing centers. The Devils have conceded 13.30 shots per game to the position over the last 10, according to ShotPropz. No team has allowed more.
That puts Zibanejad firmly on the radar. The Swede has gone over his total in five of the past six games, averaging 6.33 shot attempts in that span. He also has a strong history against the Devils, surpassing his total in four straight regular-season contests. He's also in good shooting form right now.
With Zibanejad rested and playing at home against a Devils team that played Tuesday, this is a great spot for him to continue firing away.
Odds: -134 (playable to -150)
Garland is in his best shooting form of the season. He surpassed his total in seven of the past nine games and is consistently hovering around the five-attempt mark. He plays a hard-nosed game and lives around the net, so he needs fewer attempts than perimeter shooters to cash this bet.
His uptick in shots stems from more opportunity. Garland is riding shotgun with J.T. Miller at even strength and skates on the top power-play unit. He routinely logs 15 minutes in his current role alongside the team's best weapons and is in ideal situations for generating offense.
He should have no problem continuing his current trajectory against the Coyotes. They bleed shots at five-on-five and have the worst shot suppression numbers in the NHL while undermanned.
It's also worth noting there's a bit of a revenge factor. Garland has gone over his total in five of seven contests against his former team, producing an average of 3.4 shots on goal.
Expect that to continue on Wednesday night.
Odds: -114 (playable to -125)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.
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Florida Panthers star Sam Reinhart insists he's not preoccupied with the fact he could become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his 10-year career.
Of course, sitting on 52 goals in 76 games and being due a sizeable raise may have something to do with his nonchalance.
"It hasn't been an issue at all, honestly," the Florida Panthers forward told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun this week. "I think (when) you get off to a good start, it makes everything easier. You're able to just put it behind you. I think the relationship that we have, me and (general manager) Billy (Zito), me and the organization, it's all positive, all mutual.
"I'm very comfortable with it being ongoing. We've got bigger things in mind the next couple of months, hopefully. But I'm not losing sleep over it by any means."
Reinhart's three-year contract signed with the Panthers in August 2021 carries a $6.5-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.
Both Reinhart and the Panthers have been riding high this season. The 28-year-old forward entered Wednesday tied for second in the league in goals, while the Cats occupied second place in the Atlantic Division at 47-24-5.
Florida is looking to build on last season's unexpected playoff success when the club eliminated the historically dominant Boston Bruins in the first round and ultimately reached the Stanley Cup Final. Reinhart said he believes he'll come to an agreement to stay in the Sunshine State and made it clear his top priority is to help the Panthers win it all.
"I've got all the confidence it's going to work out," he said. "I'm very comfortable with where it is. Billy respects that … he knows there's bigger things that I'm worried about, too."
Reinhart is far outpacing his previous production in his contract year. The Canadian obliterated his old career best of 33 goals notched in 2021-22, and his 87 points in 2023-24 are five more than he collected two seasons ago.
He's scored more than half of his goals (27) on the power play - a fact Florida will undoubtedly raise in contract talks - but his expected goals for and scoring chances for percentages at five-on-five are stellar at nearly 59% in both cases, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Reinhart is playing his third season with the Panthers, who acquired him in a July 2021 trade with the Buffalo Sabres. Florida shipped out young goaltender Devon Levi and a first-round pick the Sabres used to select promising forward prospect Jiri Kulich.
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Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark deserves to have the edge in the battle to start Game 1 of the playoffs after a great performance Tuesday.
While flowers bloom in April, preseason predictions wither. Those who doubted the Washington Capitals expected their year would be completely different.
Rather than snipe at will for a lottery team, Alex Ovechkin drove less offense than usual for a surprising playoff contender. The Capitals rank 28th in the NHL in goals scored (2.69 per game) and are 27th in goal differential (minus-35) entering Wednesday's action. Somehow, they're a point back of third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Six Eastern Conference foes and five Western clubs are on track to miss the playoffs with stronger goal differentials. The improbability of Washington's push is historic.
Contrasts define this former Stanley Cup champion. Only two teams - the lowly Sharks and Blackhawks - get blown out more often by three or more goals, per Stathead.
When a result's undecided, the Capitals salvage points. Their record in one-goal games is 18-2-10. That amounts to a .767 situational points percentage.
Their roster took hits throughout the season. The degeneration of Nicklas Backstrom's hip, combined with trades that shipped out Joel Edmundson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Anthony Mantha, weakened Washington's depth. But Dylan Strome has scored reliably, and in net, the breakout of 30-year-old career backup Charlie Lindgren offset Darcy Kuemper's abrupt decline.
The Flyers, Red Wings, and Islanders stalled in the standings as certain Capitals stepped up. A 13-7-2 run since mid-February helped Washington catch those teams and the sluggish Devils and Penguins. Twelve of Ovechkin's 26 goals, nine of Connor McMichael's 17, nine of Sonny Milano's 13, and six of Hendrix Lapierre's eight were tallied during the hot streak.
The Capitals are tied in points with ninth-place Detroit, but have two more regulation wins and a game in hand. Both teams, or one plus the Islanders, could make the playoffs if Philadelphia slides below the wild-card cutline. The circumstances give Washington a chance to do something rare.
The last statistically bad team to advance in the postseason iced seven future Hall of Famers. Wayne Gretzky's arrival in a February trade helped the aging, underperforming 1995-96 Blues (minus-29 goal differential) belatedly discover their scoring touch. Those Blues dragged the powerhouse Red Wings to Game 7 of the second round. Steve Yzerman's famous slapper finally eliminated them in double overtime.
A recent comparable, the 2011-12 Panthers (minus-24 differential), tied an NHL record with 18 losses after regulation. Key players for the lackluster Southeast Division champ included Tomas Fleischmann, Stephen Weiss, Kris Versteeg, and the Jose Theodore-Scott Clemmensen goalie tandem. Florida scared the eventual Stanley Cup finalist Devils in the opening round but fittingly gave up OT winners in Games 6 and 7.
Revitalized after a creaky start, Ovechkin's trying to complete a record 18th 30-goal season. He needs 46 more goals to equal Gretzky's career benchmark of 894. Give the Capitals credit: Without winning a series since their Cup breakthrough, they've found new and unique ways to stay relevant.
Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.
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Michael Finewax advises looking beyond Andrei Svechnikov in the last two weeks of the regular season to find a player who is producing. The forward leads our drops this week.
