Category Archives: Hockey News

Coyotes’ Domi suspended 1 game for instigating

Arizona Coyotes forward Max Domi has been suspended one game for instigating a fight in the final five minutes of regulation Thursday.

Domi's automatic one-game suspension was upheld Friday by the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

The 21-year-old winger went after Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Garbutt late in the third period Thursday after Garbutt hit Arizona defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Related: VIDEO - Domi loses it, jumps Garbutt after hit on Ekman-Larsson

Domi was given a minor penalty for instigating, a fighting major, and a game misconduct for the incident, which occurred with less than three minutes remaining in a 5-1 Coyotes loss.

Rule 46.22 states that any player instigating an altercation in the final five minutes of regulation or at any point during overtime is subject to an automatic one-game suspension, pending a review.

Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett is also subject to a $10,000 fine and the team cannot appeal, according to the rule.

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Holtby: Delay of game penalty on Lundqvist ‘absurd’

Braden Holtby says Henrik Lundqvist shouldn't have been penalized for knocking his net off its moorings in an act of frustration Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I think he did the right thing,” the Washington Capitals goaltender said Friday, according to Chuck Gormley of CSN Mid-Atlantic.

“I thought it was absurd he got penalized for it. You get hit in the head as a goalie, you can’t skate to the bench for a line change. You’re seeing stars, you can’t see the puck, you have no other option. It was the wrong call and I felt bad for him.”

Lundqvist knocked his net off after teammate Ryan McDonagh collided with him in the first period of the 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh.

The netminder later left the game, and head coach Alain Vigneault said afterward that Lundqvist was treated for neck spasms. He won't start Friday when the Capitals host the Rangers at Verizon Center.

“I don’t think he should be (criticized) one bit,” Holtby said. “You’ve got to look at our position for what it is. We get hit in the head a lot and we don’t have the protective helmets for getting hit like that. It jars your head around.

“Most people know that when you get hit like that you don’t really feel it until a few seconds after. His first instinct was to get back in the play so he couldn’t really stay down. You can’t go for a line change so you’ve got to get help in different areas.”

Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury didn't exactly share Holtby's opinion, calling Lundqvist's actions "baby stuff" when asked about them after Thursday's game.

The Rangers and Penguins will renew acquaintances March 13 at Madison Square Garden.

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Wild activate Zucker from IR, will play Saturday vs. Sabres

The Minnesota Wild activated forward Jason Zucker from the injured reserve Friday, and head coach John Torchetti says he will be back in the lineup Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres.

Zucker has not played since suffering a concussion during his team's Feb. 21 Stadium Series game against the Chicago Blackhawks after being hit by defenseman Michal Rozsival.

The 24-year-old needs just four more points to match his career high of 26, set one season ago.

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P.K. Subban would ‘gladly’ play for Canada at World Championship

Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban isn't rattled about being snubbed from Team Canada's preliminary roster for the World Cup of Hockey. In fact, he isn't even overly surprised.

"The competition is so strong," Subban said Thursday. "You can't take anything away from the guys they've already named."

Subban - who played one game for Canada's gold medal-winning squad at the Sochi Olympics - will compete with the likes of Alex Pietrangelo, Brent Burns, Kris Letang, Brent Seabrook, and Mark Giordano for the final three spots on Canada's blue line. He's eager to prove to general manager Doug Armstrong that he belongs on the team.

"When I spoke with (Armstrong), he said I'll have a chance if I just keep playing my game," Subban said. "They want responsible players, players who they can trust, players who play in all situations, players who can play against the best and log big minutes."

The 26-year-old, who leads the Canadiens with 50 points in 65 games, may even take the World Championship in Russia as an opportunity to demonstrate what he can do on an international level.

"I'm always proud to play for my country," said Subban. "If I'm healthy, and if we're not playing in the playoffs, I'd gladly take the opportunity."

The Canadiens will wrap up their season on April 9, but all indications are that Subban will be wearing Canada's jersey - one way or another - very soon.

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Jets’ Maurice: Peluso out 3-4 weeks, Ehlers’ status unknown

Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice announced Friday forward Anthony Peluso would miss three-to-four weeks with an upper-body injury.

The 26-year-old left Thursday's loss to the Carolina Hurricanes after just 1:22 of ice time. He has a goal and four assists in 35 games this season.

Maurice also said he would have a better idea about the extent of Nikolaj Ehlers' apparent upper-body injury Saturday. The rookie forward took a puck off his visor, which broke on impact.

Ehlers sits sixth in team scoring with 31 points in 63 games.

The Jets also announced forward JC Lipon will be recalled from the AHL's Manitoba Moose.

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Penguins’ Porter out 12 weeks following ankle surgery

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kevin Porter's season has likely come to an end after we underwent surgery on his ankle Friday. He is expected to be out of the lineup for 12 weeks.

Porter was limited to just four shifts Thursday after sustaining the injury early in the game against the New York Rangers.

The 29-year-old has three assists in 41 games this season.

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Canucks trying to bring over prospect Nikita Tryamkin from KHL

The Vancouver Canucks could have a young addition to their blue line before the end of the season.

Canucks general manager Jim Benning confirmed Friday that the club is trying to sign prospect Nikita Tryamkin.

Tryamkin - a 2014 third-round draft pick by the Canucks - just finished his fourth season with Yekaterinburg Automobilist of the KHL.

The 21-year-old defenseman recorded four goals and 11 assists while accumulating 71 penalty minutes in 53 games this season.

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Penguins hang new teammate Schultz’s clothes over the ice

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Justin Schultz.

After meeting all of his new teammates Thursday, five days after being traded from the Edmonton Oilers, one of his fellow Penguins got ahold of Schultz's clothes prior to Friday's practice, then suspended them above the ice at Consol Energy Center, spelling out "NEW GUY" on the jacket with tape.

Though the message was clearly meant for Schultz, he was apparently unbothered by the prank at first glance.

While it might have been anyone, Penguins fans seem to believe there's only one man who could've pulled this off.

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3 goalies the Flames should target in the offseason

It's been a difficult season from start to finish for the Calgary Flames. Last year's biggest surprise possesses the worst record in the Western Conference, and there's a direct correlation with their atrocious goaltending.

Calgary's struggles in goal have been magnified during a seven-game losing streak in which they've given up 28 goals - an average of four goals against per game. It's easy to pinpoint why the Flames are a serious contender in the Auston Matthews sweepstakes: Despite sitting 11th in shots against per game this season, they're second-last with 203 goals against.

Goalie Games Goals Against GAA SV %
Karri Ramo 37 94 2.63 .909
Jonas Hiller 24 73 3.41 .885
Joni Ortio 9 23 3.33 .889

The Flames are tied for last with the Arizona Coyotes with a combined 3.21 goals against average. They also possess an .899 save percentage, which could be a lot worse, if not for occasionally good play from Karri Ramo. However, in front of a solid defensive core of Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, and Dougie Hamilton that's definitely limiting scoring opportunities, the aforementioned numbers are unacceptable.

The Flames will have roughly $23 million in available cap space next season. The majority of their cash will be allocated to significant pay raises for pending restricted free agents Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, but outside of a few depth additions - and an entry-level deal for a high-end prospect in the draft - Calgary will need to make acquiring a No. 1 goaltender its biggest priority.

Here are three goalies the Flames should target in the offseason:

James Reimer

Reimer could certainly be a good fit in Calgary, especially when considering his connection to president of hockey operations Brian Burke. The 27-year-old is in the prime of his career, and he's shown he can post good numbers despite playing on the worst team in the league.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs, who sit dead last in the NHL standings, Reimer posted a 2.49 GAA and .918 save percentage in 32 games (29 starts). These are solid numbers - his best since a playoff-bound season in 2012-13 - when considering the team he was playing for.

Although Reimer hasn't had the opportunity to play more than 37 games in a single season, the talent is there. He'll surely be looking for a pay raise this offseason, but there may be no better opportunity to finally receive a shot at being a true No. 1 than in Calgary. That alone should give both sides something to think about come July 1.

Ben Bishop

It will be an interesting summer for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have roughly $17 million in cap space, but more than half of it will be used to try to resign pending unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos. If the Lightning can re-sign their superstar, they'll need to make some difficult roster decisions.

Nikita Kucherov - a pending restricted free agent - is due for a significant pay raise. Alex Killorn, J.T. Brown, Cedric Paquette, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Nikita Nesterov are also restricted free agents at the end of the year. And, of course, key top-six forwards Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson are a year away from big raises as well. There's no other way around it: someone has to go.

With youngster Andrei Vasilevskiy seemingly lined up as their goaltender of the future, Ben Bishop could be a prime offseason target for the Flames. The Lightning likely won't be able to pay him what he's looking for a year from now, and may elect to move away from their No. 1 goalie when he still has a year remaining on his contract at the end of the season.

With a career .920 save percentage in 218 games, and a run to the Stanley Cup finals last season, there's no doubt the 6-foot-7 backstop is a legit No. 1 goalie. He could be everything Calgary needs to take the next step, they just need to find a way to make it happen.

Frederik Andersen

Andersen is enjoying a solid campaign for the Anaheim Ducks, which is certainly a trend in his brief career. However, he's mired in yet another 1A/1B situation with John Gibson. The 22-year-old Gibson is without a doubt the goalie of the future, and the Ducks may certainly look to give him the reins beyond this season. This makes Andersen available on the trade market.

The pending restricted free agent has posted a .919 save percentage in 117 NHL games, and has proven he can perform even when his team doesn't. When the Ducks started the season with a shocking 1-7-2 record, he possessed a 2.05 GAA and .932 save percentage in eight starts.

The 26-year-old has also been near unbeatable in 2016, posting an impressive record of 11-1-2 in his last 14 starts. Equipped with a big frame at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Andersen - who is just entering the prime of his career - would definitely be a sound, and perhaps cheaper, addition in Calgary.

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