The Winnipeg Jets have recalled forward Jarret Anderson-Dolan and goaltender Chris Driedger from the Manitoba Moose.
Anderson-Dolan will provide the Jets with insurance on their upcoming three-game road trip. Rasmus Kupari suffered a setback in his recovery from a concussion and without him and Gabriel Vilardi, the Jets only have 12 healthy forwards. If they suffer another injury on the road trip, Anderson-Dolan can step into the lineup.
In 51 AHL games, the 25-year-old has scored seven goals and 19 points. He was selected in the second round of the 2017 NHL draft by the Los Angeles Kings but has never been able to cement his place on an NHL roster.
Driedger was acquired by the Jets at the NHL trade deadline in a swap for Kaapo Kahkonen. Since joining the Moose, the 30-year-old has posted a 1-3-0 record in five games, including a .872SV% and a 3.30 GAA.
According to Mike McIntrye, Eric Comrie's wife went into labour over the weekend. If Comrie is forced to miss time, Driedger will serve as the backup goaltender to Connor Hellebuyck. Driedger has accumulated 67 games of NHL experience throughout his career.
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Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been named the NHL’s Third Star for the week of March 24-30. Hellebuyck, already miles ahead in the Vezina Trophy race, went 3-0-0 last…
NHL Player
Safety handed the Florida Panthers’ Niko Mikkola a $5,000 fine after the
brouhaha that ended Sunday’s matinee against the Montreal Canadiens.
The puck
rose high, prompting Canadiens defenseman David Savard to duck to avoid it.
Niko Mikkola has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for unsportsmanlike conduct during the Panthers' loss to the Canadienspic.twitter.com/b3X7OinWRC
The Habs
players skated over to confront Mikkola, leading to a skirmish after time
expired. Jayden Struble, Christian Dvorak, Brendan Gallagher and Savard all tried
to get at Mikkola as Panthers players and officials tried to separate them.
After
linesman Julien Fournier brought Mikkola to the Panthers bench, the defenseman and
Struble continued to shout at each other before heading to the dressing room.
Mikkola
received a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-minute
misconduct. The $5,000 fine, which is the highest the collective bargaining allows without a hearing, goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Both teams
face each other again in Montreal on Tuesday. They’ve played each other three
times already this season, with the lower-ranked Canadiens winning in
regulation every time and outscoring Florida by a combined total of 11-3.
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been named the NHL's third star of the week.
The 31-year-old posted a 3-0-0 record this week, including a .961 SV%, a 1.00GAA and a shutout. Hellebuyck has been dominant all season, earning praise and consideration in the Hart Trophy raise.
He currently leads all goaltenders in wins (43), save percentage (.925), goals against average (2.01) and shutouts (7). This feat has been achieved twice in NHL history, by Jaques Plante in the 1958-59 season and Bernie Parent in the 1973-74 season.
"Hellebuyck went 3-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average, .961 save percentage and one shutout to help the Jets (51-19-4, 106 points) reclaim first place first place in the overall NHL standings as they clinched their third straight playoff berth. He denied 27 of 29 shots to lead Winnipeg to a 3-2 overtime win against the Washington Capitals March 25 in a battle of the League’s top two teams. Hellebuyck then made 24 saves to set a franchise record with his seventh shutout of the campaign in a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils March 28. The reigning Vezina and William M. Jennings Trophy winner closed the week by stopping 23 shots, including all 18 he faced over the final two periods, in a 3-1 triumph versus the Vancouver Canucks March 30. The 31-year-old Hellebucyk has played in 57 total contests this season (43-10-3), topping the NHL (minimum: 25 GP) in wins (43), goals-against average (2.01), save percentage (.925) and shutouts (7)."
The Jets begin a three-game road trip which will feature another two difficult tests against the Los Angeles Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights. With the Dallas Stars breathing down the Jets' neck, they'll need every bit of Hellebuyck's dominance to continue.
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The Buffalo Sabres have announced that defenseman Jack Rathbone has been loaned back to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
The Sabres just recalled Rathbone from Rochester on March 30 ahead of their matchup against the Washington Capitals. The 25-year-old blueliner did not dress for the Sabres' contest and is now returning to Rochester.
Rathbone has yet to appear in a regular-season game for the Sabres this season. In 56 games this season with Rochester, he has five goals, 15 assists, 20 points, and a plus-6 rating. This is after he posted nine goals and 25 points in 69 AHL games last season split between the Abbotsford Canucks and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
In 28 career games over three NHL seasons, Rathbone has posted two goals, three assists, five points, and a minus-5 rating.
If the Flames lose to the Avalanche in regulation tonight, the Golden Knights will clinch a playoff spot for the seventh time in eight seasons. The Golden Knights currently sit atop the Pacific Division with 98 points, leading the Los Angeles Kings by seven points.
The Golden Knights have nine games remaining on the schedule and are back in action on Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers, who they hold a nine-point lead over. Six of the Golden Knights' last nine games are against Pacific Division teams, and all but two are against teams fighting for a playoff spot.
If the playoffs started today, the Golden Knights would battle the Minnesota Wild in the first round. Due to their point percentage, they currently hold the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, tied with the St. Louis Blues with 87 points.
The postseason in the Western Conference is shaping up to be a gauntlet, with several teams capable of going on a long run.
Stay updated with the most interesting Golden Knights stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.
The NHL has levied a fine against Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola.
On Monday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Mikkola had been fined $5,000 for what it calls “unsportsmanlike conduct” during Sunday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal defeated Florida 4-2 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.
In the game’s final seconds, Mikkola had the puck on his stick in the Panthers defensive zone.
As time expired, Mikkola wound up and fired a blistering slapshot down the ice that nearly hit David Savard about 150 feet away.
Niko Mikkola ripped an absolute CLAPPER at the Habs at the buzzer and the Habs weren't having that 😳 pic.twitter.com/E2dHyzd7BM
The Canadiens players responded, understandably so, by going after Mikkola as officials attempted to usher the players to their respective locker rooms.
Mikkola was given a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and a ten minute misconduct, according to the game’s official scoresheet.
It took less than 24 hours after the game had ended for the NHL to respond with the $5,000 fine, which is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement.
We’ll see how Montreal responds when they host the Panthers Tuesday night at Bell Center.
Between the aforementioned animosity and how both teams are fighting for every point they can get in the standings, it should be a doozie.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is eight goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL Goal record with odds increasing for it to happen versus the New York Islanders
The biggest storyline of the NHL season has by far been the GR8 Chase with Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin on the precipice of passing hockey legend Wayne Gretzky for the all-time goals record. There is nine games left in the Capitals season and Ovechkin is within five goals from breaking the record after scoring versus the Sabres this past Sunday.
The Russian winger has 37 goals on the season now, and betting odds for the record to be broken this season have dropped drastically to -170 and means if you haven't taken it already like we suggest, you may have missed your last opportunity to take the bet at a bargain but we have several other betting options that you still can take.
All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
In our last post about the GR8 Chase, we said to take the odds while you could at -136 and like we predicted the odds continued to drop due to Ovechkin continuing to score as the Capitals were heading into several favourable matchups. Washington is still dominating with the league's best offence and seventh-best defence plus they have the third-easiest remaining strength of schedule, according to Tankathon.
The case is starting to look more and more likely as they will play against bottom eight defences in the Blackhawks, Penguins and Bruins as well as two bouts with the Blue Jackets. They will also face off twice against the Hurricanes, who is one of the top teams in the East but Ovechkin has his second-most career goals against. We don't see a ton of value in betting the record to be broken now but we can take a guess as to who it'll be against.
The Capitals will have a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday with games versus the Bruins and Hurricanes, which should give us the ability to pencil in a goal or two there. We will need just four more goals after that and Washington will return home on Friday to take on the league's worst defence in the Blackhawks. A home matchup versus a Chicago team that has allowed 83 goals over their last 20 games should spell for at least a goal for Ovi there.
That takes us into next week with three goals to go and after a Sunday matchup versus the Islanders, Washington will get a four-day break not playing again until Thursday versus the Hurricanes again. This game could be the most crucial as a much-needed goal here would leave him with two left and four games left to do it.
A pair of matchups versus the Blue Jackets should provide at least one goal there and will leave us with one goal to go with two matchups left versus the Islanders and Penguins. Everyone is speaking into existence that Ovechkin will break the record in front of his longtime rival Sidney Crosby when taking on the Penguins and as much as the sports world would love to see it, I expect he gets the job done versus New York.
A random Tuesday night on the road in the Big Apple wouldn't be the most romantic setting for the record to be broken but could provide a massive spectacle with many flocking to the city, hoping to see Gretzky's record broken. Ovechkin to break the record versus the Islanders or Penguins is listed at +490 and +600 odds respectively and both could be taken at not a high number and should provide a decent return if either hit.
The Blue Jackets have the highest odds at +280 but with how Ovechkin has slowed down with four goals over his last nine games, I don't expect him to break the record earlier then the final two games. The record being broken in New York should give us the best case scenario to cash in on some attendance bets for notable people attending the game.
Wayne Gretzky to be in attendance for the record-breaking goal isn't available on FanDuel but a longshot bet for someone who could be is former teammate Jaromír Jágr. The Hockey legend is still playing actively at 53 years old for the Czechia-based team he owns, Rytíři Kladno, but has been known to miss time and could again to see what will be a one-of-one legendary hockey moment.
A very special congratulations from Jaromir Jagr to Alex Ovechkin (plus a little surprise at the end). 😉 pic.twitter.com/HGgSlqRTaQ
Jagr and Ovechkin have been known to have a very close relationship with Jagr even sending a video to Ovechkin after he became the all-time leading goal scorer for European-born players and congratulating him on the achievement.
