After returning home from his gold-medal win at the IIHF World Championship in Russia, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly joined Hockey Central, where he shared that head coach Mike Babcock may have been more interested in a possible future player than one of his current stars:
"[Mike Babcock] spent more time talking to him than he did talking to me." –Morgan Rielly on Auston Matthews at worlds (HC @ Noon)
Matthews - widely expected to be selected with the No. 1 pick by the Maple Leafs at June's draft - was outstanding in the tournament, leading the American team with six goals and three assists in 10 games.
Rielly called the 18-year-old a "smart player" while admitting he was "way bigger than I thought." Across two tournament losses vs. Canada, Matthews finished with six shots, including his team's first goal in a 4-3 semifinal loss.
Babcock was in Russia to watch both the young center as well as another option for the team's No. 1 pick - Patrik Laine of Finland, who was named Tournament MVP.
Vancouver, B.C. – The Vancouver Canucks and Canucks for Kids Fund announced today a donation of $100,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to help in aiding people affected by the Fort McMurray forest fires.
“Our thoughts continue to be with the famili...
Vladimir Tarasenko has been silent so far in the Western Conference Final, as his St. Louis Blues are down 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks. With his lack of production, all head coach Ken Hitchcock wants him to do is keep his game simple.
"What happens with goal scorers when they get frustrated is they look to hit home runs," Hitchcock said, per NBC's Pro Hockey Talk. "We need him just to act like a worker."
The 24-year-old has been completely shut down by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and the Sharks' defense, recording just one shot on goal in each of his past two games.
It's the second time during the playoffs that Tarasenko has been held to two shots or less over a two-game stretch - after it happened just once in the regular season.
Hitchcock believes more scoring chances will come if Tarasenko plays closer to the puck.
"I think it's a natural tendency with younger players who have this heightened sense of urgency to do what they do well, which for him is score goals," Hitchcock said. "He's gotten too far away from the play. He's got himself too stretched out. We just need him to come back to the puck a little bit more."
The Blues will likely need a big game out of Tarasenko on Wednesday to force a Game 7 back in St. Louis - and help the franchise reach their first Stanley Cup Final since 1970.
Pavel Datsyuk is still scheduled to meet with the Detroit Red Wings in the coming weeks, but there's further evidence to suggest that the discussion will be centered around a clean break rather than a continued union.
According to Russian reporter Slava Malamud, Gennady Timchenko, who heads the KHL board of directors, has made it known that Datsyuk will join Russian outfit SKA St. Petersburg.
This is just another sign pointing to Datsyuk's NHL career being through, but the longtime Red Wing hasn't made anything official, ostensibly out of respect for the club he helped win two Stanley Cups.
Detroit will be on the hook for his entire $7.5-million hit if he chooses to play out the twilight of his career elsewhere. That's unless the two parties can employ a third to stomach his contract through trade.
Many hockey fans north of the border - and of course east and west of the Hundredth Meridian - were rocked by the news Tuesday that Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie was diagnosed with a terminal form of brain cancer.
The Hip are special in that they're so uniquely, unapologetically Canadian, and so sewn through the fabric of the country's pop culture that even those not necessarily impacted by the news have been affected by their music in some fashion.
This is a group that's taught the history of Canada through song, after song, after song. And Downie has penned the lyrics that don't just hold up in the country's textbooks, but could serve as the curriculum.
This, of course, includes a few lessons in hockey.
Here are three times that Downie, the die-hard Boston Bruins fan and minor-hockey goalie from Kingston, Ontario, referenced the sport in his music.
Fifty-Mission Cap
Quintessential Canadian storytelling, "Fifty-Mission Cap" is undisguised as a hockey anthem, telling the story, and delving into the myth and mystery, of Toronto Maple Leafs legend Bill Barilko.
Bill Barilko disappeared that summer He was on a fishing trip The last goal he ever scored Won the Leafs the cup They didn't win another till nineteen sixty two The year he was discovered
Fireworks
"Fireworks" is uncharacteristically bubblegum, at least by Hip standards, but stays true to their general thematic. It reflects back to the moment in the young life of many Canadians, or anyone, who suddenly realizes there's more to life than just hockey. And it includes simplistically brilliant references to the 1972 Summit Series and Bruins great Bobby Orr.
If there's a goal that everyone remembers It was back in old seventy two We all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger And all I remember is sitting beside you
You said you didn't give a f--- about hockey And I never saw someone say that before You held my hand and we walked home the long way You were loosening my grip on Bobby Orr
Heaven is a Better Place Today
Downie wrote this song after the death of former Atlanta Thrashers forward Dan Snyder, who died in a car crash when his then-teammate, Dany Heatley, lost control at the wheel.
Like most of his hockey references, though, Downie tributes Snyder as part of a larger scope, or, in the case of "Heaven is a Better Place Today," also paying homage to those who serve their country.
Here's a glue guy, a performance god A makeshift shrine, or newly lain sod Hardly even trying, gives the nod
I sure hope I'm not the type to dwell Hope I'm a fast healer, fast as hell Heaven is a better place today Because of this, but the world is just not the same
Through the first two rounds, it looked like the Pittsburgh Penguins were advancing through the postseason in spite of their best players' struggles. But in their first elimination game Tuesday, it was the stars who led the team to victory in Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Veterans Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang both scored while Evgeni Malkin recorded an assist - the first time all three found the scoresheet in the same game since their series-clinching Round 1 win over the New York Rangers.
Crosby, the Penguins captain - after scoring his third game-winner of the Eastern Conference Final - deflected the attention onto his team when asked about the top players' production, in a post-game interview.
"Yeah, we know the circumstances. I think you go out there with the mindset of playing desperate, and I think it's pretty natural when you're in this situation. I think we have confidence in the whole group, no matter who it needs to be to step up.
"I think everyone played great tonight. Everyone contributes in their own way in a big game like this. You don't have to do anything special. You've just got to do your job. I think that got us this far going into tonight."
After a strong first round, Crosby, Malkin, and Letang all went cold as Phil Kessel powered the offense in the second round against the Washington Capitals. Now, one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals, all four are contributing as the Penguins eye the franchise's fourth championship.
Playoff production
Player
Round 1 vs. NYR
Round 2 vs. WSH
Round 3 vs. TBL
Crosby
3G 5A
0G 2A
3G 2A
Malkin
2G 5A
1G 1A
1G 3A
Letang
1G 4A
0G 3A
1G 1A
Kessel
3G 3A
2G 4A
4G 2A
With the red-hot Kessel also finding the back of the net in Game 6, the star winger realizes how important it is to have all of the Penguins' top players firing on all cylinders.
"We're trying our best out there," Kessel told reporters of the leadership group. "We're trying to get it done. Here tonight, we were able to get a couple in there and hopefully we can do it in Game 7."
Updates on Vladimir Tarasenko, expendable wingers on the Edmonton Oilers and more Dallas Stars speculation in your NHL rumor mill. Does Tarasenko face an uncertain future with the Blues? SPORTSNET 960 (VIA TODAY’S SLAPSHOT): Despite Vladimir Tarasenko being in the first year of an eight-year contract, Elliotte Friedman claims there’s quietly been some rumblings […]
Penguins down Lightning to force Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Details, the latest signings & more in this morning’s NHL headlines. TRIBLIVE.COM/TAMPA BAY TIMES: Pittsburgh Penguins stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang combined for two goals, two assists and 11 shots to lead their club to a 5-2 victory […]
Mike Sullivan believes keeping cool under pressure is simply a trait Matt Murray was born with.
"I just think that's part of his DNA ... He doesn't get rattled," the Pittsburgh Penguins head coach said after his goaltender stopped 29 of 31 shots in Tuesday night's Game 6 win.
Murray was named the Game 6 starter earlier Tuesday after Sullivan opted to start Marc-Andre Fleury in Pittsburgh's Game 5 loss.
"My job isn't to worry about (who starts)," Murray said postgame. "My job is to be ready if my name is called, then play my heart out and compete."
His teammates had nothing but praise for him after his strong play forced Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Final.
"He doesn't look like a young kid who is feeling the pressure," Penguins forward Chris Kunitz said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "If he was we probably wouldn't be playing this many games."
Patric Hornqvist agrees, saying, "He's (22) years old but he plays like he's 30. Can't say enough about him."
The Penguins have leaned on Murray for most of their playoff run this spring, and for the most part, he's delivered.
The rookie is 10-4 with 2.30 GAA and .924 save percentage in the postseason.
The Lightning failed to take advantage of a 3-2 series lead and Game 6 on home ice, and now head coach Jon Cooper knows his team needs to respond.
"They volleyed the ball into our court, now it's time for us to smash it back," Cooper said, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
The Lightning were outscored 3-0 in the first 40 minutes, a hill too high for them to climb, as the team fell short of a comeback after bringing the game within one at 3-2.
"They played better than us for two periods. That's it," said Cooper. "We have to play better than them, that's the bottom line."
The Lightning will now play in their second Eastern Conference Final Game 7 in as many years, something Cooper knows will be in the minds of his players.
"What I can take from last year is we went to Game 7 and we won Game 7," Cooper said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "I bet we'll be thinking about that."