At this point, the San Jose Sharks will take, well, anything.
While a lead - any lead - in the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins would be nice, down 3-1, the Sharks will look to do what they've done all spring: play some of their best hockey late in playoff series.
For what it's worth, #SJSharks are 5-1 in Games 5 through 7 this postseason, outscoring opponents 30-13 in those games. Only loss came in OT
The Sharks put away the Los Angeles Kings in the first round in Game 5, winning 6-3 on the road.
In the second round, tied 2-2 with the Nashville Predators, the Sharks won Game 5 handily, 5-1, before losing Game 6 in overtime, 4-3. No matter: San Jose dominated Game 7, winning 5-0.
In another 2-2 series in the third round, San Jose decided it was done with the St. Louis Blues. The Sharks won Games 5 and 6 by a combined 11-5.
The good news for San Jose: They're all elimination games from here.
Game 5 of the Cup Final is Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. If San Jose prolongs the series, Game 6 is Sunday at 8 p.m. in the Bay Area.
Sweden's presence in the NHL is reaching unprecedented levels.
A record 87 Swedish players - or 8.8 percent of the league - played at least one game this season, according to the IIHF.
That's the highest figure ever by a European nation in league history, and the number of European NHL players this season (263) is also the highest of its kind in 10 years.
Canada accounts for 49.2 percent of NHLers, a figure that leads all nations but also represents the lowest Canadian participation level in the history of the league.
There are 241 players from the United States, or 24.3 percent of the 993 NHL players.
Patrik Elias isn't quite ready to hang up his skates.
The New Jersey Devils' franchise leader in goals, assists, and points was limited to just 16 games last season, and according to his agent Allan Walsh, would like to return for another year.
"He desperately wants to play one more year," Walsh said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "We’re not talking to other teams. If Patrik is able to play at the level he expects himself to play, if he can contribute to a team, I think New Jersey would very much love to have him back."
The decision will most certainly come down to Elias' health. The 40-year-old missed the majority of this season dealing with a significant right knee injury and underwent surgery at season's end on the same knee.
Walsh feels Elias' current predicament is similar to the one Teemu Selanne had during the 2013 offseason before he and the Anaheim Ducks agreed to a one-year contract - the last of his career.
"I would say it’s a similar situation to what Teemu Selanne went through with Anaheim for several years," Walsh said. "When he felt his knee would hold up and he felt good, he told Anaheim, 'I'm ready to commit to another year.' And then they worked out a deal."
Elias has amassed 408 goals and 1,025 points during his illustrious career.
Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur has never been afraid to speak his mind.
The Montreal Canadiens legend is at it again, and this time the facial hair of San Jose Sharks Stanley Cup finalists Brent Burns and Joe Thornton is his target.
"I think it's a disgrace for hockey," Lafleur said, according to the Montreal Gazette's Stu Cowan. "I hate it. It's not a good image for the NHL. I don't mind a guy wearing a beard, but to his belly ... enough is enough. The team's managers should put their foot down."
Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer is three wins from a Stanley Cup. It's safe to say he's cool with whatever is on Burns' and Thornton's faces.
"They can't see the puck. That's why they're struggling," Lafleur added, tongue-in-cheek.
Burns and Thornton have four assists between the two of them in the Cup Final. Joe Pavelski's much shorter beard has him pointless.
His next spring win, should it come, will also put the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender into the NHL record books. It would be his 15th, tying him with Patrick Roy, Ron Hextall, and Cam Ward for the most wins in a postseason by a rookie 'tender. Heady company.
Murray turned 22 on May 25, during his miraculous playoff run. He's been stellar in the Penguins' crease, seemingly too young to understand the magnitude of his situation. He has a .925 save percentage, stopping 495 of 535 shots he's faced, and one shutout. He's won 14 of 19 starts. He's a legitimate Conn Smythe Trophy candidate.
Yet Murray's numbers, impressive on their own, also serve as a reminder of how incredible Roy was for the Montreal Canadiens in the spring of 1986, when he won 15 of 20 starts to lead the Habs to the Cup.
Roy finished the playoffs with a .923 save percentage, having stopped 467 of 506 shots he faced. He had one shutout and a 1.92 goals-against average. The difference between Murray and Roy is the era in which Roy's heroics occurred.
During the 1985-86 regular season, 3.97 goals were scored per game. In 2015-16, that number was 2.71. In '85-86, Wayne Gretzky won the Art Ross Trophy with 215 points. The league's 10th-place scorer had 105 points.
Sure, games always tighten up during the playoffs. Doug Gilmour led the league in scoring in the postseason with 21 points in 19 games. Mats Naslund was Montreal's leading scorer, with 19 points in 20 games. But the numbers that most clearly show how good Roy was may be Hextall's stats from the 1987 playoffs, when the Philadelphia Flyers lost the Stanley Cup Final in seven games to the Edmonton Oilers.
Hextall won 15 games, but finished the postseason with a .908 save percentage in 26 contests.
Roy's counterpart in the crease in the 1986 Cup Final was the Calgary Flames' Mike Vernon, who had a .897 save percentage in 21 games when all was said and done.
Roy put up Murray-esque numbers in arguably the highest-scoring era hockey's ever seen. It's unlikely there will ever be another such performance.
OTTAWA - The Ottawa Senators have hired Kurt Kleinendorst as head coach of their American Hockey League affiliate.
The Binghamton Senators agreed a two-year contract with Kleinendorst, bringing him back to team he led to the 2011 Calder Cup t...
When the regular season ended on April 10, the Boston Bruins found themselves out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season - and the Bs aren't often watching in the spring. In fact, the Bruins missed the postseason only once from 1968 through 1999.
Boston finished this season with a 42-31-9 record. Claude Julien's club won more games than it lost and recorded one more win than Detroit and Philadelphia, but it was the Red Wings and Flyers who took part in the playoffs.
That isn't right.
For 11 years, the NHL has used a convoluted points system to determine the standings - two points for a win of any kind, one point for an overtime or shootout loss, and zero points for a regulation-time loss. That means two overtime and/or shootout losses equate to a win.
To incentivize teams to avoid the shootout, the NHL introduced a new column in the standings ahead of the 2010-11 season: Regulation plus Overtime Wins (ROW). Its sole purpose is to serve as the first tiebreaker in the standings.
The Bruins and Red Wings finished with 93 points this season. Boston won 42 games to Detroit's 41, but since the Red Wings won 39 games in regulation and overtime to the Bruins' 38, Detroit got to play for the Cup.
Across the pond
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) employs a different three-point system. Teams are awarded three points for a win in regulation, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss, and no points for a regulation loss. This system ensures the same amount of points are up for grabs every night, and it provides the best incentive to win - and win in 60 minutes.
Outside of North America, all professional hockey leagues use the IIHF system. We decided to apply the IIHF's point system to every season since the NHL eliminated ties ahead of the 2005-06 season, and got some interesting results.
2015-16
Eastern Conference, Metropolitan Division
Team
W
OT/SO W
L
OT/SO L
PTS
Washington Capitals*
45
11
18
8
165
Pittsburgh Penguins*
38
10
26
8
142
New York Rangers*
39
7
27
9
140
New York Islanders*
34
11
27
10
134
Philadelphia Flyers*
28
13
27
14
124
Carolina Hurricanes
26
9
31
16
112
New Jersey Devils
27
11
36
8
111
Columbus Blue Jackets
26
8
40
8
102
Eastern Conference, Atlantic Division
Team
W
OT/SO W
L
OT/SO L
PTS
Florida Panthers*
39
8
26
9
142
Tampa Bay Lightning*
36
10
31
5
133
Boston Bruins
33
9
31
9
126
Detroit Red Wings*
30
11
30
11
123
Montreal Canadiens
30
8
38
6
112
Ottawa Senators
26
12
35
9
111
Buffalo Sabres
29
6
36
11
110
Toronto Maple Leafs
20
9
42
11
89
Western Conference, Central Division
Team
W
OT/SO W
L
OT/SO L
PTS
Dallas Stars*
42
8
23
9
151
St. Louis Blues*
36
13
24
9
143
Chicago Blackhawks*
36
11
26
9
139
Nashville Predators*
35
6
27
14
131
Minnesota Wild*
34
4
33
11
121
Colorado Avalanche
33
6
39
4
115
Winnipeg Jets
29
6
39
8
107
Western Conference, Pacific Division
Team
W
OT/SO W
L
OT/SO L
PTS
Anaheim Ducks*
39
7
25
11
142
Los Angeles Kings*
34
14
28
6
136
San Jose Sharks*
37
9
30
6
135
Arizona Coyotes
29
6
39
8
107
Calgary Flames
24
11
40
7
101
Vancouver Canucks
22
9
38
13
97
Edmonton Oilers
20
11
43
8
90
* denotes playoff teams
We've established the Bruins should have qualified for the playoffs over the Red Wings, who would have seen their consecutive postseason streak end at a very impressive 24 seasons.
With Boston officially on the outside looking in, there was all kinds of speculation as to Julien's status and whether he'd return for a 10th season. He will, with management electing to keep him behind the bench. Perhaps that's because Don Sweeney and Co. realized the Bruins' season was quite good - the club was the seventh-best team in the East based on the international system - despite missing the playoffs.
2014-15
Pacific Division
Team
W
OT/SO W
L
OT/SO L
PTS
Ducks*
35
16
24
7
144
Canucks*
36
12
29
5
137
Kings
37
3
27
15
132
Flames*
32
13
30
7
129
It was considered a shock when the Los Angeles Kings, the defending Stanley Cup champions, failed to make the postseason in 2015. Under the IIHF system, it would have been the Kings and not the Calgary Flames who made the playoffs. One wonders what Los Angeles might have accomplished had the club had the chance to defend its crown.
As for the Flames, head coach Bob Hartley won the Jack Adams Trophy as Coach of the Year in 2014-15, and it's safe to say he doesn't take home the hardware if Calgary misses the playoffs. Hartley and the Flames parted ways last month.
2013-14
The right 16 teams made the playoffs in 2014, but in the race for the bottom, Edmonton and Florida would have finished tied for 29th with 87 points under the international system. The Oilers would've owned the tiebreaker, thanks to one fewer regulation win than the Panthers. That means the Oilers would've finished second last and won another draft lottery, likely selecting Aaron Ekblad first overall a year before landing Connor McDavid. Imagine.
Based on the NHL's standings in 2014, the Panthers finished 29th with 66 points, while the Oilers finished 28th. The Buffalo Sabres had the best odds at the first overall pick, but the Panthers won the lottery, and Ekblad.
2010-11 through 2012-13
The data from 2010-11 through the shortened 2012-13 season shows the best 16 teams made the playoffs each year.
Well that doesn't happen under the international three-point system. The New York Rangers not only take Montreal’s spot, but the Canadiens actually fall to 10th, behind the Atlanta Thrashers.
Montreal’s magical 2010 spring and its short love affair with Jaroslav Halak should never have happened.
2008-09
Peter DeBoer signed on to coach the Panthers for what was his first-ever NHL head coaching gig. They narrowly missed the playoffs, but under the international system, Florida not only makes it, but does so as the seventh seed, bumping the Canadiens from postseason play. Eight years and two Stanley Cup Final appearances later, things seem to have worked out for DeBoer.
In the West, Minnesota would've snatched the last playoff spot away from Anaheim. The eighth-seeded Ducks upset the San Jose Sharks in the first round that spring. Would the Wild have done the same?
2007-08
Rank
Team
W
OT/SO W
L
OT/SO L
PTS
1
Penguins*
39
8
27
8
141
2
Canadiens*
37
10
25
10
141
3
Hurricanes
36
7
33
6
128
4
Senators*
37
6
31
8
131
5
Flyers*
36
6
29
11
131
6
Devils*
31
15
29
7
130
7
Rangers*
30
12
27
13
127
8
Capitals*
32
11
31
8
126
9
Bruins*
32
9
29
12
126
A few things stand out from the 2007-08 data. Not only do the Carolina Hurricanes earn a postseason berth over the Bruins, they actually end up third by virtue of winning the Southeast Division. The Canes' advanced stats showed they deserved a better fate - they had the league's fifth-best Corsi at 52.7 percent.
The Thrashers would have been the last-place team in 2007-08, not the Tampa Bay Lightning, who finished last under the NHL's points system, and won the draft lottery thanks to having the best odds. If Stamkos became the poster boy in Atlanta, the Jets may have never returned to Winnipeg.
2006-07
Eastern Conference
Rank
Team
W
OT/SO W
L
OT/SO L
PTS
1
Sabres*
38
15
22
7
151
2
Devils*
36
13
24
9
143
3
Thrashers*
29
14
28
11
126
4
Senators*
44
4
25
9
149
5
Penguins*
31
16
24
11
136
6
Canadiens
34
8
34
6
124
7
Rangers*
30
12
30
10
124
8
Maple Leafs
32
8
31
11
123
9
Hurricanes
34
6
34
8
122
10
Islanders*
30
10
30
12
122
11
Lightning*
29
15
33
5
122
Who can forget the dramatic end to the 2006-07 season? The Maple Leafs were at home against the Canadiens on the second-last day of the schedule. Montreal needed only a point to clinch a playoff spot. Toronto needed a win in regulation to stay alive.
The Maple Leafs prevailed in a wild 6-5 regulation affair, only to watch Wade Dubielewicz help the New York Islanders defeat the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, knocking Toronto out of contention and sending New York to the playoffs.
Under the IIHF system, Toronto and Montreal would have made the playoffs, while the Islanders and Lightning wouldn't have.
2005-06
Western Conference
Rank
Team
W
OT/SO W
L
OT/SO L
PTS
1
Red Wings*
51
7
16
8
175
2
Stars*
38
15
23
6
150
3
Flames*
42
4
25
11
145
4
Predators*
40
9
25
8
146
5
Ducks*
37
6
27
12
135
6
Sharks*
34
10
27
11
133
7
Avalanche*
37
6
30
9
132
8
Canucks
35
7
32
8
127
9
Oilers*
28
13
28
13
123
Remember that glorious and improbable run by the Oilers in 2006? It was fun to watch it all unfold, but it was the Vancouver Canucks who actually recorded more victories. Like Boston and Detroit in 2016, Vancouver had 42 wins to Edmonton's 41.
Looking back over a decade's worth of data, it's clear some teams have the right to wonder what could have been. The international points system ensures the best teams make the playoffs. The teams that win the most games should make the playoffs. Period.
It's time to give the international system, the true three-point system, a look on this side of the pond.
“I thought when I looked at it at the end of the season, we were very fortunate to have two goaltenders that were there to grab the ball when it hit the floor. We had those significant injuries to both guys, and both guys took the challenge and then ran with it and then didn’t let the other guy back in the net until an injury.”
Elliott finished the season as the starter following the Blues' run to the Western Conference final, but he'll once again have to compete for the job.
It will be an open competition for the No. 1 role, just as it was last fall, and according to Timmerman, Allen likely has a leg up after starting more than Elliott when both goalies were healthy.
“I like our goaltending,” Armstrong said. “I think Jake is still pushing towards being an upper-echelon goalie. He lost the net this year, Brian took it, Brian didn’t give it up. Kudos to Brian for that. I know what’s happening now (is) Jake is preparing to wrestle it back in September, and we’re going to see how it goes down. But I would have zero issue if both of these guys came back and were asked to compete and fight.”
Elliott outplayed the younger Allen in the playoffs, but the 31-year-old veteran isn't sure how the starts will be divided next season.
“You want to play, that’s what it all comes down to,” Elliott said. “That’s the predicament of pretty much every NHL team. So I don’t know what will happen.”
Allen is the Blues' goaltender of the future, but he's embraced the two-headed monster approach for the time being.
“You do (want to play every game), but you need a break,” the 25-year-old said. “There’s only a couple guys in the league that can still play 70 games and teams are very fortunate to have them, but I think teams in the West, with the travel, the grind of the schedule, two goalies is crucial. I think we’re pretty fortunate.”
Unlike the Dallas Stars, who are paying their goalie tandem of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi a combined $10.4 million next season, the Blues' duo comes at a much more reasonable price. Elliott's hit is $2.5 million, and Allen will count for only $2.35 million against the cap.
The Blues ranked fourth in the league with a 2.40 GAA in the regular season, but that figure rose to 2.80 in the playoffs.
It's one thing to say the Pittsburgh Penguins have shut down the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final. It's another to look at who's done what on the Sharks through four games.
Look at the NHL's playoff scoring leaders and the top three are all Sharks: Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, and Brent Burns. The Penguins didn't get that memo. The trio have a combined four assists in this series, with Pavelski scoreless heading into Game 5.
Here are the Sharks' leading scorers in the final. If you had Joonas Donskoi atop the list in the pool, you're lying.
Player
G
A
P
Joonas Donskoi
1
2
3
Justin Braun
2
0
2
Joel Ward
1
1
2
Brent Burns
0
2
2
Logan Couture
0
2
2
Joe Thornton
0
2
2
Chris Tierney
0
2
2
Tomas Hertl
1
0
1
Melker Karlsson
1
0
1
Patrick Marleau
1
0
1
Brenden Dillon
0
1
1
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
0
1
1
Burns, Couture, Pavelski, Joe Thornton, and Patrick Marleau have a combined one goal in the series - Marleau's in Game 1. The Sharks' best players have been completely neutralized after ripping up the Western Conference through three rounds.
Another way to put it: Pavelski has as many points as Roman Polak in the Stanley Cup Final. Unless that changes, and fast, the Penguins will hoist the most beautiful trophy in pro sports - perhaps Thursday night.
