On April 3, 2013, the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals pulled off a trade that the hockey world might not have believed if they'd announced it two days earlier.
The deal was a head-shaker at the time, even as then-Capitals general manager George McPhee made it clear he wanted to help his team win now: Why would the Capitals give up on such a talented prospect before he'd even seen NHL ice?
Predators GM David Poile, meanwhile, appeared to have a more accurate forecast of what the young Forsberg could become.
"In Filip Forsberg, we are adding one of the top-rated young forwards in the world; we are excited to have him join our other emerging young talent and solid veterans at the position," Poile said.
The writing was on the wall once the Capitals packed their bags after being eliminated from the 2013 playoffs by the New York Rangers. Erat had failed to show up, providing the team with just one goal and three points in nine regular-season games down the stretch and going pointless in the only four postseason games he participated in.
Forsberg, on the other hand, underwent an incubating period with the Predators and finally burst onto the scene last season, proving to be exactly as Poile had claimed two years prior.
As a 20-year-old, Forsberg put up 26 goals and 63 points in 82 games, finishing third in rookie scoring while adding another six points in six playoff games.
Most goals in NHL since Feb. 1: 1. Forsberg - 16 2. Galchenyuk - 15 3. Crosby/Marchand/Ovechkin - 14
In nearly poetic fashion, Forsberg finished just a point shy of doubling the point production of Erat. The veteran would finish his final season in the NHL with nine goals and 32 points in 79 games with the Arizona Coyotes.
On Monday, Forsberg became the youngest European to hit the 30-goal mark since Evgeni Malkin and Anze Kopitar did so during the 2007-08 season.
Filip Forsberg needs four goals to set the Predators' single-season goal-scoring record.
He is on pace to lead the Predators in goals and points for the second straight season. Meanwhile, he sits just three goals away from matching the franchise's single-season record.
Forsberg is an incredible talent who, just two seasons in, already appears destined to hit marks unseen by the Predators. There's no question he's become one of the league's elite talents and and is quickly becoming the face of the franchise - a franchise that changed its future by acquiring him.
Boll caught Bellemare with a late, high hit early in the second period of Tuesday's game. Boll received a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play.
Bellemare appeared to escape serious injury, as he remained in the game.
The 21-year-old is coming off his third season with Pennsylvania State University, where he compiled a record of 13-8-1 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.98 goals-against average.
McAdam - who was drafted by the Islanders 70th overall in 2013 - will join the club's American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and finish the season on an amateur tryout.
"Got some goals, finished early. It was kind of the opposite of what we've been doing lately (by having) a good start and (tailing) off (for) the rest of the game. I think we're all kind of sick of the way we've played at times (for) the last couple of months. You can tell it's starting to turn, just everyone's realizing we have kind of hit that bottom. Tonight, you could kind of tell. That's where we turn around now."
The Capitals had allowed the first goal in seven of their previous eight games, but they jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the first intermission Tuesday. The Senators made a game of it in the final 40 minutes, cutting the deficit to one before T.J. Oshie's empty-netter.
"We know we haven't played as well as we've needed to," Washington head coach Barry Trotz said. "We've got some work to do, there's no question. But we haven't played a real meaningful game for a while here."
Securing home-ice advantage doesn't mean much, as far as Nicklas Backstrom is concerned.
"It's nice to be a No. 1 seed in the East, but at the same time, it doesn't really matter, to be honest with you," the center said. "It's nice to start at home, but it's so tough. We've seen many times before that the No. 8 seed is as good as the No. 1 seed. ... We have 10 really important games. We haven't played our best hockey since after Christmas, so we have some areas we have to get better on and make sure we play a full 60-minute game."
The Capitals still hold the NHL's best record and goal differential by a comfortable margin, and haven't lost consecutive games in regulation all season.
The Chicago Blackhawks appear to be limping towards the finish line as the regular season concludes.
The club was dismantled 6-2 at the hands of the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, marking Chicago's sixth loss in its last seven games. However, with eyes still on a Stanley Cup repeat, the team remains confident it can hit the brakes on the current skid.
"Hopefully we can look back on this and say, 'It's better it happened now than in a month or so,'" Patrick Kane told Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago. "But we have to shake out of it.
"It seems to be the same old story where we get behind and we're playing catch-up the rest of the game."
The Blackhawks have averaged just two goals a game over their last seven contests, and while they may have come up just short on two occasions - losing two games to the shootout - captain Jonathan Toews doesn't think they can wait for their luck to improve.
"You can't blame it on bad luck," said Toews. "You just need to work through some of these games we're not getting the bounces."
The Blackhawks are sure to be back in the playoffs for the eighth straight season, and maybe then things will start to turn around. The team has been the picture of postseason success, winning three Cups while amassing a playoff record of 73-44 since the 2008-09 season.
Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk claims changes are coming to his club this summer. ESPN.COM: With the Ottawa Senators’ playoff hopes dimming, team owner Eugene Melnyk told reporters yesterday “key changes” were coming this summer. “I’m looking at all of it — right across the board. There’s no one that’s safe when you’ve had a year […]
Project his statistics for the lockout shortened 2012-13 campaign out over 82 games and Ovechkin would have finished with 54 goals. That would give him three consecutive seasons of 50-plus goals - no other player's put together a 50-goal campaign in that span. Still at the top of his game at age 30, Ovechkin's on pace to win his fourth consecutive Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal-scorer. Unlike Benn, whose rise to fame has been flanked by an All-Star centerman, Ovechkin's ascent to stardom has been less reliant on the quality of his linemates.
Jamie Benn is the NHL's best left-winger
Playing alongside Tyler Seguin has certainly helped propel Benn's game to new heights, but his skill set as a goal-scorer, playmaker, and physical force are undeniable. He's a throwback to a dying breed: a true power forward. A powerful skater with a big frame, Benn contributes at both ends of the ice, using his body to separate opposing players from the puck and create offense from defense. He's been better than a point-per-game player for the Stars over the last three seasons, and at 26 years of age, is only now entering his prime.
Who do you think is the NHL's best left-winger - Alex Ovechkin or Jamie Benn? Cast your vote on the banner below.
Updates on the playoff race, recent injury updates, outrageous hockey moments on Twitter & more in today’s collection of NHL headlines. NHL Playoff Race. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Vernon Fiddler scored twice as the Dallas Stars clinched a playoff berth with a 6-2 victory over the slumping Chicago Blackhawks. THE WASHINGTON POST: The Washington Capitals secured […]
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Tobias Rieder scored the winning goal in the second period and Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned from injury to spark the Arizona Coyotes to a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.
The Coyotes extended their poi...
