New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz knows every game in a shortened season counts, and he doesn't like his team's effort so far this year.
"It's playoff mentality right now and I'm not sure we have our playoff mentality yet," Trotz said postgame on Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Arthur Staple. "And it's pissing me off."
The Islanders lost to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday after allowing the game-winning goal with 26.7 seconds left. Washington outplayed New York all game, finishing with a Corsi For of 56.52% at even strength and nine high-danger scoring chances to the Islanders' five.
Trotz vowed he'll change the lineup moving forward to try to get something going.
"We need more. I just felt we had one line," Trotz said, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "That’s all I felt like I had tonight and that’s a couple games in a row here, so we’re going to shake it up and put some new people in and go from there."
After New York won three of its first four games of the season, it's now lost the last two to bring its record to 3-3-0.
"I'm told that the Blues have engaged with teams (in) conversations about Vince Dunn," TSN's Frank Seravalli reported Tuesday on "Insider Trading."
The Blues made Dunn a healthy scratch Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The rearguard has collected one goal and one assist while averaging 16:32 in ice time over the first six games.
Dunn signed a one-year, $1.875-million contract Dec. 31. The 24-year-old had been a restricted free agent.
He played poorly in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Kings, as Carl Grundstrom burned Dunn for a goal that Blues head coach Craig Berube lamented postgame.
"Gotta play better. Can't get walked one-on-one. We'll keep that in-house talking about it," Berube said.
Dunn spent his previous three NHL seasons with the Blues, who drafted him 56th overall in 2015.
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has been removed from the club's COVID-19 protocol list and is expected to make his season debut against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, the team announced.
The 27-year-old previously tested positive for COVID-19 and rejoined the Flyers at practice Monday for the first time since Jan. 8.
Gostisbehere is looking to rebound from a down season in which he recorded a career-low 12 points through 42 contests. He was made a healthy scratch early in 2019-2020 and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in January, which kept him out of the lineup for 14 games down the stretch.
He ranks first in points (153) and power-play goals (14) and second in total goals (34) among Flyers blue-liners since the start of the 2016-17 campaign.
Philadelphia will hope Gostisbehere can provide a defensive boost, as the Flyers rank 25th in goals against per game (3.50) heading into Tuesday's action.
Campbell appeared to tweak something in his leg during the final minutes of Sunday's contest, but he remained in the game to record his second victory of the season.
A few plays after the injury occurred, Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk accidentally fell on Campbell's leg while attempting to score the tying goal.
After receiving some postgame criticism, Tkachuk called it "classic" to accuse him of deliberately trying to injure the Leafs puck-stopper.
The Leafs and Flames meet Tuesday night for the second of nine matchups between the sides this season.
Forslund initially joined the Hartford Whalers in 1991 as public relations director. He started calling games on TV in 1995 and followed the team when it relocated to become the Carolina Hurricanes. He continued calling games for the Canes until his contract expired after last season.
The 59-year-old has also called games nationally for NBC. He's known for his catchphrases, "Hey, hey, whadda ya say!" and "That's hockey, baby!"
Forslund has ties to the Kraken. General manager Ron Francis is one of the most decorated Hurricanes/Whalers players of all time and served as Carolina's GM from 2014-2019.
Chytil, 21, suffered the injury during Sunday's loss when he took a hard hit from Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues midway through the game. Rodrigues also left the contest following the collision and is likely to miss extended time.
One of the best stories so far in the young season is Bobby Ryan being just a goal off the NHL lead with four tallies in five games.
The Detroit Red Wings forward believes he wouldn't be off to such a strong start if he was still playing for the Ottawa Senators.
“I was thinking about it the other day. Personally, I think the fresh start was welcome. There’s just an excitement that feels different than Ottawa,” Ryan told Ian Mendes on "The Athletic Hockey Show" Podcast.
The Senators bought out the final two years of Ryan's contract this offseason - a decision he said came as a "complete shock." The 33-year-old then inked a one-year, $1-million deal with the Red Wings.
“I just don’t think I would have the same buzz that I have now about playing the game going back to Ottawa," he said. "There was just too much there in the past. I don’t think it would have translated this way for me there.”
Ryan's tenure in Canada's capital was a rocky one on and off the ice. The 2005 No. 2 pick joined the Senators with plenty of promise after averaging 32 goals and 63 points per 82 games over his first five NHL campaigns with the Anaheim Ducks. He averaged just 19 goals and 48 points per 82 games over seven seasons in Ottawa.
Ryan also took a leave of absence from the Senators last season to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program to seek help for his struggles with alcohol abuse. He scored a hat trick during his first home game back in the lineup, and Ryan was later named the recipient of the Bill Masterton Trophy for his perseverance.
“There is part of me that wanted to go back (to Ottawa) and do it the right way, like I am now. Not only sober, but correctly - as a professional,” Ryan said. “But it’s hard to argue with that ending.”
Ryan is the first player in Red Wings history to score four goals in his first three games with the club.
Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith isn't happy with some of his players, and he threatened to change the lineup after the Vancouver Canucks routed the club 7-1 on Monday.
"We got some guys that maybe are taken for granted positions in the NHL and we've got to find the right combination," Smith said following the team's fifth straight loss, according to TSN's Brent Wallace.
"And we've got to give some other guys some opportunity to see if they want to play a little harder than some of the guys that are playing now," he added.
The Canucks didn't need their loaded power play in the win while scoring six of the team's seven goals at even strength and one while shorthanded.
Netminder Matt Murray logged his first forgettable start of the season, allowing seven goals for just the second time in his career, and the first since his sophomore campaign in 2016-17.
Smith said he thought about pulling Murray in the second period, but the bench boss decided to let his goaltender ride out the tough loss.
"He’s got to find a way to work through it," Smith said, according to Wallace. "He certainly didn’t have a very good game but, you know what, he’s got to find a way to work through it and battle for us."
The Senators fell to 1-4-1 with the loss and are last in the North division. The two sides meet twice more this week, with back-to-back contests Wednesday and Thursday to close out the three-game set.
In the first edition of theScore's 2021 Calder Trophy Power Rankings, we get an early look at how this season's freshmen are adapting to NHL life.
With such a small sample size - and little contributions from the 2020 draft class so far - this list is destined to change drastically.
5. Pius Suter, Blackhawks
Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images Sport / Getty
GP
P
ATOI
xGF%
6
4
15:04
45.25
Suter has made an impact early in his career with the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old undrafted center who spent the last five seasons in his native Switzerland is logging first-line minutes alongside future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane, and he bagged the first of his three goals this campaign during an impressive performance versus the Red Wings. Suter's analytic metrics are poor, and his monstrous shooting percentage (20%) is bound to regress, but Chicago has to be pleased with the early returns from an unheralded offseason signing.
4. Josh Norris, Senators
Jonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
P
ATOI
xGF%
6
4
16:20
57.00
Norris' development has been a lengthy project for the Senators, but it's beginning to pay dividends. The 21-year-old didn't receive much attention after being included in the Erik Karlsson trade package from San Jose, and he's quickly established an important role in his first full season in Ottawa. Norris is centering the club's dangerous top line and getting first-unit power-play minutes. The forward is proving he's worthy, too, while ranking third in rookie scoring. Keep an eye on Norris, who could be a dark horse rookie of the year candidate.
3. Ty Smith, Devils
Jared Silber / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
P
ATOI
xGF%
5
6
15:31
37.65
Smith has been a bright light on a surprising Devils squad. The 17th pick in the 2018 draft has frequently shown flashes of his brilliant offensive instincts, and he can become a legitimate star with some effort to improve and adapt to defending at the NHL level. If Smith puts his name on the scoresheet in his next contest, he'll become only the second blue-liner in NHL history to open their career with a six-game point streak.
2. Alexander Romanov, Canadiens
Rich Lam / Getty Images Sport / Getty
GP
P
ATOI
xGF%
6
2
19:05
56.65
The Canadiens expected big things out of Romanov right away, and he's delivering for the red-hot Habs. Only 21, Romanov plays with poise and a hockey IQ well beyond his years. His versatile style features strong skating, quick puck movement, and physicality. He'll be in tough to win hardware this season without racking up points, but Romanov has been spectacular so far.
1. Kirill Kaprizov, Wild
Harry How / Getty Images Sport / Getty
GP
P
ATOI
xGF%
6
6
18:42
47.93
Nearly six years after drafting him, Kaprizov has emerged as everything the Wild had hoped for and more. The former KHL dynamo is leading Minnesota - and all rookies - in scoring while providing a significant spark to a Wild attack that's long been starving for creativity and playmakers. Kaprizov's play during his first stretch of games indicates he may run away with the Calder Trophy after entering the season as a favorite.
